It's way funnier to me to imagine that Geralt is the one who desperately wants Dandelion to winter at Kaer Morhen with him but Dandelion keeps saying no on the simple grounds that it's too fucking cold and do you want me to die Geralt? Do you want me to get hypothermia and fucking die?

And Geralt's like "please I am begging on my knees I will cuddle you every night to keep you warm I just need to prove you actually exist"

weird little guy Jay was a little too bright and clever and inventive as a kid, for most people. Ed and Edna loved it, of course, but other kids at his school and other adults he talked to weren't sure what to do with him. from his personality in the pilot, it seems like he's not used to others liking him

it's a common issue for any kid (especially ND kids) with a strong sustained interest in something. using my credentials *gestures to childhood* I will hypothesize what Jay's social life growing up might've looked like:

a curly little mop of auburn hair ran home from the bus stop, waving a messy technical drawing and yelling. Ed lifted up his welding hood, "what's goin' on, Jay?"

"Dad! Dad! I know how to- how to make-" Jay plopped down next to his dad, sending a little puff of dirt into the air, "I know how to make it go smooth! we use ball bearings!"

"kiddo you're exactly right- but first you gotta drop your backpack by the house and tell your Mom about school," Ed went to pull his hood down," and I'm nearly done with this, okay? we can get started right after"

"make sure you look at these," Jay carefully flattened his wide ruled notebook paper with hastily done technical drawings, using some nearby scrap to hold each corner down, "I explained everything here," pointing to a mass of scribbles, "okay?" peering up at his Dad, Jay's curls obstructed more of his vision.

"I promise, kiddo," Ed patted his son's fluffy head, "you worked real hard on them."

beaming, Jay slung his backpack on and ran back to the house bent down partway with both arms extended behind him. kids, Ed shook his head with a smile, always finding ways to do new silly things

~*~

excited shouts were a regular occurrence at the Walker home, Jay frequently came back from school with new insights and ideas to tell them. since his latest project was with Ed, Edna got to talk to Jay about everything else. they switched off so that one of them got to spend hours with their son while the other took care of most of the business and cleaning.

speaking of her son, the trailer door rattled before flinging open, "Mom!" Jay ran over to give her a hug at the kitchen sink, where she was doing dishes.

"hi dear, how was school today?"

"good. I drew for me and dad's project and we did some more multiplying and I'm really good at it" he rattled off more activities as he pulled out his lunchbox and homework for that day.

everything he talked about involved teachers and classwork. Jay only mentioned other kids when they commented on his drawings or played with him at recess, which was not as common as they would've liked. when she and Ed last met with his teacher, she remarked on how bright Jay was and that he loved speaking to all of his teachers- even at recess and during lunch.

he had friends, but most of them didn't talk to him as much at school as they did when they came over. she could tell Jay was trying very hard to not take it personally, but he was just a child.

it wasn't malicious, of course, the other kids weren't trying to be cruel- they wanted to have a lot of friends and Jay wasn't joining the other kids at recess; he found sticks and things to make little cars and catapults. no one could keep up with him and he never cared to race the cars or use the catapults to hit things. he just wanted to make them better and better.

he is so similar her and Ed were as children: bit with the invention bug and always pushing towards making everything better than it was before. except Jay didn't have a close friend to share that with. he asked her once, in between sobs, why everyone else had a best friend except him. it broke her heart, knowing that Jay felt that everyone was friendly with him, but not friends with him.

"Mom, can you help me with math tonight? I need to practice my multiplication tables up to 12"

Jay's request pulled her back to the present. taking a beat, she made sure he wouldn't be able to read the sadness she felt, "of course, dear, I'd love to," smiling, she ruffled his curls and glanced at the kitchen table. all his homework was in a neat stack, he'd emptied out what was left in his lunchbox, and set the tupperware onto the countertop. her son was bouncing up and down on his toes, waiting for her permission to run outside.

Edna bent down, taking Jay's head in her hands and placing a light kiss on his forehead, "good job, dear, and thank you for unpacking everything. make sure you take a glass of water out for your father and come in once the sun goes down, okay?"

"okay!" making a mad dash for the door, Jay suddenly diverted to grab the glass, and then started a more careful walk over to Ed, valiantly trying to not spill a drop.

their precious son would find his people, she was sure of it. and in the meantime, she and Ed would be here for him.

Exiled: What is she?

✧Chapter 4✧

(Photos retrieved from Pinterest. Credit to whom it may belong. Edit made by me.)

Previous < Masterlist > Next

Genres: Fantasy, Supernatural, Werewolf! AU, angst, hurt, fluff

Series rating: Mature

Summary: I have spent half my life in exile. I woke up in the middle of the forest with no memories. I don't know who I am, how I ended up like this, I don't know if someone is looking for me or even if I have a family. The only thing I know for sure is that I must hide and that when the full moon is at its highest, disaster begins.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧❂✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Author's note: Hello everyone! How are you? I'm sorry I've been missing for so long. Last year was a difficult year. Adult life is complicated 🥴

Here I leave the promised chapter, we are still in the introduction of the story so you can probably find it boring but it will improve as the chapters go by (I hope so🤭).

I don't remember if I already mentioned it but all the data that appears in the story as potions or scientific data are not exact, many are inventions and others I tried to investigate to make the story more reliable, but as I mention in this chapter if you are not involved on the subject, it is very difficult to understand.

I hope you enjoy it!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧❂✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"I told you! I told you! I told you!” Joohyuk kept repeating to me over and over again as he paced back and forth. "Or didn't I tell her?" he looked at Jisung, who was coming down from the first floor with a bag.

Joohyuk's house wasn't fancy, but it was comfortable and homey. It was a two-story cabin, with two bedrooms, a dining room and a kitchen, it also had a garage where he kept tools and supplies. The cabin was located near the lake and had a small bridge that took you to it. I loved spending time at Joohyuk's house, especially on rainy days like today, where I could sit on the porch with a cup of coffee and watch the rain fall. But, now I'm looking at it from the inside, sitting bored on the couch, listening to the scolding of the half-vampire. I had arrived an hour ago, totally soaked, although we had already agreed that we would meet here, I should have taken the most direct route and arrived much earlier, but let's say that Mr Mafia sent his lackeys to follow me, so I had to deviate and mislead them.

"Yes hyung," the omega rolled his eyes. "We already understood that you told her, calm down."

“Calm down?!! You must be kidding, Jisung!! It goes straight to his death,” Hyuk said pointing at me.

“The other option was a direct kill,” I told him, looking at him tiredly, “at least this will give me a little more time to plan an escape plan. Anyway, you didn't want me to get a pack for Jisung? … There it is, the best pack that an omega can be in, a real luxury,” I said ironically, moving my hands exaggeratedly to make my point.

"Yes, but I didn't ask you to crawl after him."

"Oh! Yeah! Thanks for getting rid of me,” Jisung said despondently looking at us sideways.

“No one is getting rid of you on their own, little guy,” Hyunk proceeded to sit in the single sofa next to the fireplace. “If you continue to live in the cave with Girl…” Jisung intended to interrupt him, but Joohyuk stopped him and continued. "Or, if you live here with us, you will die", the sad omega looked down at his feet. “As I very well explained to you, wolves are destined to live in packs, they become crazy and wild if they are alone, which leads them to be eliminated or die of sadness and anguish. You are lucky to find someone like your noona, he even managed to be with you in that pack.”

“When you go into annoying mode,” I told him as I threw the towel off his head, “you're unbearable. Well," now looking at Jisung, "we must agree on our stories so as not to make mistakes if they come to interrogate us, we don't have much time and we must hurry if we don't want them to come to find us."

“That is not important now. What are you going to do with your…with your medicine?” Hyuk made a quotation mark with his hands when mentioning the said medicine.

“I will not have this discussion again. I already told you that I don't need it, it won't be a problem.”

“Don't be stubborn, you know you will weaken. It's dangerous, too."

I sighed. I was tired of always arguing for the same thing, he was not going to understand and I was not going to agree. It was preferable not to answer him and settle the story with Jisung. I needed to prepare him and reassure him so they wouldn't suspect anything, my life now depended on how convincing Jisung was to the royal pack.

━━━━━✧❂✧━━━━━

It was already night and the rain had stopped a while ago, but we had to leave the cabin even when it was raining, we took the long way to dispel any trace of Joohyuk's scent. We didn't have many belongings, a medium bag where we had our clothes, many of which we shared, and my backpack where I had a couple of books, my notebook, my mortar and my herbs. While we were walking, we were reviewing what we should say. Obviously, we agreed to hide that we knew Joohyuk and that the things we had, we got from the surrounding villages.

I knew that the one at a disadvantage in this situation was me. Jisung was a weak omega who would instinctively be protected by this pack, instead, I was a strange orphan girl who, apparently, due to the attitude of suspicion and resentment they showed me, was considered a threat. I looked at Jisung who was walking a few steps behind, he was tired and shivering from the cold, if we didn't hurry up, he would get sick. I took Jisung's bag to ease his tiredness so he could walk faster.

We were reaching the border of the pack, I could slightly hear some murmurs, they were already waiting for us. Instinctively, I touched my pants pocket where I had the box that Joohyuk gave me before we left and which I had to keep hidden. It was very likely that they would go through our things, so he had told me that I should keep it with me until I found a safe place to hide it.

As we came into view, the wolves that were waiting for us turned and urged us to hurry up as we were already late. The one who seems to be the leader of the wolf guard warned us that from now on we should use the main entrance and stay away from the borders and that if we wanted to go out into the city or the forest it must be in the company of an alpha. I had to bite my tongue to avoid getting a curse word out about his last comment, I looked at Jisung who was doing everything possible not to appear nervous and was listening carefully to what the alpha was saying. He would adapt easily, I on the other hand was sure that things were going to go south at any moment.

━━━━━✧❂✧━━━━━

Here we are, in the office of the alpha of the pack. There were a lot of people here, some I didn't know. I looked at Jisung who was with his head down trying not to look anyone in the eye, I could feel his nervousness and I could also feel the calming pheromones that the alphas in the room were producing to reassure my friend.

“Your name is Jisung, right?” Prince Namjoon asked, and Jisung nodded without looking up. “Taehyung told us something about you, but I would like to hear it from you, what pack did you belong to and how did you get into this situation?” he concluded the alpha looking at me.

“Umm…well, I'm…I was from the Dawn Pack. I was banished for mating with someone I shouldn't and he disgraced me by breaking the mating mark. My family despised me, and the only thing I remember was arriving at one of the human villages near the pack and I fainted, I woke up a few days later and Girl was by my side, she took care of me and let me stay with her,” he concluded holding my hand looking for support.

Prince Namjoon looked at our joined hands and then looked at me raising an eyebrow, then he turned his gaze to Jisung and smiled saying, “Don't worry, you'll be safe here. We'll give you a new identity if you want or can keep your name, but you'll officially belong to the royal pack. And you,” he looked at me seriously, “you will also have a temporary identity until you find out who you really are or until the alpha king decides what to do with you. Well, I'll make the formal introductions. They are the two oldest princes in the family; Crown Prince Seokjin and Prince Yoongi," he said pointing to where they were standing to his left, "alpha prince Hoseok and well, you know prince Taehyung," they were to his right, "and he's our omega Prince Jungkook," he concluded pointing to one of the people who were a few steps behind us.

With Jisung we turned around to see who it was. The guy standing behind us gave us a brief nod, he was the same guy I had crossed earlier. Now, he was dressed in white shorts and a beige long-sleeved shirt, our eyes met again, but he quickly diverted it. Now that he knew he was omega he could make out a trace of a sweet scent, however, the smell of the alphas prevented me from identifying his scent.

“And then we have Mrs Park, the housekeeper, and Miss Choi, one of the employees who work inside the castle,” the prince continued. Both women curtsied to us and smiled at us. “So, tomorrow you will have an appointment with the royal doctor for a general check-up and we will talk about your studies. After they settle in and shower, Prince SeokJin, who has studied medicine, will briefly check on them and ask them a few questions. Mrs Park shows them their rooms, please.”

━━━━━✧❂✧━━━━━

Mrs Park gave us a brief tour of the ground floor of the mansion, showing us the living room, dining room, kitchen, laundry room, and places where we could not enter without permission such as her majesty's office, the laboratory and the basement. Then, she led us to a large white marble staircase with gold details that branched off into two other large stairs. It was located in the centre of a room with a different entrance than the one we had entered. In the centre of the wall that divided the stairs, there was a carved shield of the head of a black wolf about to bite surrounded, on one side, by a crescent, where there were some rare symbols and, on the other hand, some golden figures similar to elongated diamonds that apparently formed the rays of the sun. In turn, he was surrounded by a strange and perfect braid.

"Good. That door you see over there,” I point to the door across from us and diagonally towards the stairs, “is the front door for pack members and guests. It is through that door that you technically have to enter. The entrance through which they passed is only for royalty, even they avoid using these stairs so as not to bother the omegas. Through that large sliding window that you see there,” we both follow the gesture that she made towards the place, “you go out into the garden that is connected to the training ground.”

“By the way, omegas are not allowed to be in the training place. It's for security,” adds Miss Choi, who was accompanying us on the tour.

“What do you mean 'not to bother the omegas'?” I asked Mrs Park as we walked up the stairs.

“As I said, it's a place that members of the pack frequent. The staircase on the right leads to the castle annexe where many of the members live, including underage omegas who lost their families or those who came seeking refuge or protection from other packs. There are also alphas and betas that belong to the royal guard, but many of them use the entrance connected to the training ground. They avoid making the omegas nervous, they don't want them to feel uncomfortable and insecure."

“So, is in the annexe where we'll stay?” Jisung speaks for the first time since he started the tour.

"No. You will stay in the main wing,” she said as we went up the stairs of the left, “on the first floor together with the youngest princes who are not here at the moment. On the second floor of this wing, are the rooms of Prince Namjoon, Hoseok and Jungkook. Also on that floor is the library that is shared with the annexe. On the third floor are the kings' rooms, those of princes Seokjin, Yoongi and Taehyung. I recommend that you don't go peeping around, Prince Yoongi is too territorial.

While she was explaining everything, she was trying to memorize all the way we are walking to our rooms. There were many corridors and doors, not just the rooms she had mentioned earlier. We arrived at a gloomy corridor, there was no light and a strange energy was felt an indescribable sadness; we share an uneasy look with Jisung. Mrs Park flipped the switch on the wall to her right and excused herself by saying that it wasn't a very busy place. She asked Miss Choi to show Jisung his room while she led me down the hallway. We stopped in front of a double white door, it had gold details as I saw on other doors, with the difference that this one had a letter 'M' in a very beautiful and elegant calligraphy made with some type of shiny stone. When she opened the doors, I was amazed, the room was decorated in white, beige and pink tones, in the middle of it there was a large double bed tucked into a slight arch-shaped opening that was illuminated. On both sides of the bed, there were two long shelves, there was a hanging round ceiling lamp that simulated a flower crown, on one side there was a window with two medium-sized armchairs on the sides with a round table; in front was a mirror with a shelf and chair and next to the door was an empty desk.

“This is where you will sleep,” Mrs Park said as she opened the large window, “this is the balcony and over there”, she pointed towards a corridor with two doors, “is the bathroom and the wardrobe.”

I followed her to both doors, she stopped at the door that was on the side of the hall and opened it. It was the closet. Well, calling it a closet was a way of saying it, it looked more like another connected room. It was a two-story room in the shape of a completely white semicircle, it had an old pink carpet that covered the entire floor, and there were many shelves and mirrors in between. It also had a central table that contained many drawers and doors, the upper part was transparent and you could see how it was divided into sections.

"This is a bit much, don't you think?" I said as I walked around the room.

“I would say it's a standard wardrobe. You have to see the ones with Princes Taehyung and Seokjin, those are a bit exaggerated.”

"Even this shelf here is too much for my few clothes."

“Believe me, it will be full in no time,” Mrs Park said in a whisper. "Speaking of clothes, I need you to give me your clothes to wash them."

"It's clean," I said a little indignant.

"Don't get me wrong, please. The princes requested it because they are sensitive to odours outside the pack. You come from the forest,” I was about to refute how stupid that sounded, but she beat me to it, “I know what you are thinking 'it doesn't make sense', but it's hard to explain. Although they are wolves and technically surrounded by forest, she will later realize that each pack has a particular scent. This is why they detect so quickly if someone who is not from the pack enters the territory. All your clothes, although I don't doubt that it's clean, still have a strange smell, so I need to wash them with special products.”

I kept thinking about the words I use to explain, was she trying to get me to give myself away?

“I don't know how I'll find out later if I don't have the developed super sense of smell that werewolves have, but well if it's really necessary. Jisung has the clothes in the bag he has with him. A lot of the clothes, we share.”

“And what about that backpack?” she said, pointing to my back.

“There are only personal things like notebooks and books, no clothes,” I said as I left the wardrobe.

“Okay, then I'll ask Jisung. I suppose you know how to use the bathroom, don't you?", she question pointing towards the last door that was at the end of the small corridor.

"Of course. How wild do I think I am?"

“I just wanted to make sure, I wasn't trying to offend you. When you finish taking a bath, you will find clothes on the bed. I'll tell one of the employees to bring you a change of clothes,” she concluded going to the door of the room.

"If it's not too much to ask, I'd prefer it not be pink at all," I said as she gave the room another disgusted look, "I already have enough pink to burn my eyes."

Mrs Choi laughed at my comment, nodded her head and left, closing the door. I gave a sigh of resignation, took the box that Joohyuk had given me from my pocket and I headed towards the bathroom. I had to find a safe place to hide it.

━━━━━✧❂✧━━━━━

Was it so hard to have a normal shower? I almost drowned in there. The bathroom was another room, there was even a jacuzzi in it. When I came out of the bathroom wrapped in a robe and drying my hair, I saw a pile of clothes on the end of the bed. The clothes were neutral and cold colours, mainly black and gray, it had a light scent of vanilla that was comforting. I grab a long-sleeved black t-shirt and matching cargo pants.

After changing and finding a temporary hiding place for my backpack, I headed downstairs to look for Jisung, since I didn't feel his presence. On the way, I met Miss Choi, who was surprised to see my outfit. She wondered me why I was wearing those clothes and I told her that someone had left them on the bed, that Mrs Park asked for a new outfit for me. She explained to me that these were not the clothes that she ordered her to give me, she had even just found the clothes and was about to take it to me. She told me to go see Prince Seokjin who was waiting for me in the lab and after that I change my clothes immediately.

When I got to the entrance hall, I stayed for a while thinking in which direction the laboratory was until I heard someone approach.

"Jungkookie, have you seen my-" I think it was Prince Hoseok who was approaching looking at his cell phone and when he looked up he looked at me confused. "What are you doing with those clothes?" he asked with a frown.

"Um... someone left it on the bed", I said while I was looking at the clothes, what was wrong with it?

"Just change it if you don't want Namjoon to be in a bad mood," he determined, paying attention to his phone again.

"No," before my denial he raised his head suddenly, he was about to lash out, but I interrupted him. “I like it, it's comfortable and the smell of it is comforting, so I won't change it. If you'll excuse me, Prince Seokjin is waiting for me."

I left, leaving him stunned by my answer. I hated that they wanted to boss me around, much less without arguments. It's going to be hard living with alphas, they weren't used to humans or omegas rebelling against them and I wasn't used to them demanding authority over me.

After a few minutes, he had finally found the laboratory. I opened the big metal doors and the first thing I saw was Jisung putting on his shirt and getting off the stretcher. He barely saw me, he smiled at me and spoke to me through the link.

-Noona, don't worry just he i-

-Has he seen the mark?

"Oh! You're here," Prince Seokjin said as he finished arranging some jars on the table, “Take a seat on the stretcher, I'm done with Jisung”.

-No, I covered it with the makeup that Joohyuk gave me, I nodded and walked towards the stretcher. Remember to hide your eyes, he'll check them, Jisung concluded. We cut the mental link and he walked out the door.

I sat where the prince told me, he turned around observing for the first time the clothes I was wearing. He looked at it for a few more seconds and looked at me seriously, then he gave a forced smile and told me to raise the sleeve of my shirt. He tied an elastic band to my arm and prepared a syringe, when I saw what he was trying to do I jumped and pulled my arm back.

"Wh-what are you going to do?" I asked.

He laughed softly. "Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you. I just need a blood sample,” seeing my look of suspicion, he continued. “It's for the pack's database. So if something happens, we can act quickly. It won't hurt, it'll just be a prick."

After analyzing it a bit, I held out my arm. He drew the blood sample and began filling the tubes with it. He continued to listen to my heart and my lungs, he measured and weighed me, checked my eyes with a small flashlight and asked me to follow the light. Luckily, I put on the special contact lenses that Joohyuk had given me, I no longer had the strength to hide them myself.

The prince began to make me medical questions, which had the answers the same, 'I don't know'. He gave me a pitying look and told me that we were done, he asked me to go eat something and then go to sleep because tomorrow was going to be a long day.

━━━━━✧❂✧━━━━━

Seokjin' POV.

It was already quite late in the early morning and I didn't know if what I was seeing was correct or if I was too tired to see clearly. I had never seen anything like it and the fact that it was now in our pack I didn't know if I should be relieved to find something like this before others or worry if it was a threat.

The door opened startling me, I didn't realize Namjoon was getting closer.

“Here I am,” he said, stopping near the desk where he was analyzing the results. "What do you have?"

"I called you an hour ago, where were you?"

"I'm sorry, hyung. I was wit-”

“It doesn't matter anymore. Look, I found something weird,” I transferred what I was seeing on the computer screen to the large TV on the wall. "That you see there is Marian's DNA and it-"

"Marian? Are you so comfortable already with her to you call her that?” he questioned crossing her arms.

"Please, not now. focus. Now, as I was saying, this is the girl's DNA, it's super weird, I've never seen anything like it. The gene is different from an average human, even from a werewolf,” I added two more images: one of human DNA and Jisung's then got up and walked over to the TV to give Namjoon a good explanation of what he was seeing. “This second image is of a human and the third of Jisung, an omega werewolf. The difference between the two is that in the first, the nuclear genome is smaller than the mitochondrial genes present in werewolves. Furthermore, werewolves do not have the same nucleotide base pairs as humans. But if we look closely at Marian's and zoom in a little more we can see that instead of being a double helix DNA, it is a triple helix. The nucleotide bases are the same as humans but it has others that I cannot identify at this time. This will definitely go into my thesis.”

When I looked at Namjoon he was looking at the screen thoughtfully. He is very intelligent but this could be too much for someone who is not dedicated to this. I was about to explain it again in other words, when he decided to speak.

"So you're telling me that she's not human, but you can't tell what kind of being she is either?"

“Exactly,” at least he got the point.

"Can you find out that is she?"

“Yes, but it will take me a while. I cannot promise a specific time, there are many new things that I have never seen."

"We must keep her in our custody in the meantime."

"Do you think we are doing the right thing to let her stay in the pack?" I was the crown prince, I should know well what is good for my people, but since it is something we had no information about, it is not something to be taken lightly. I needed more opinions.

Namjoon knew my internal conflicts very well and understood them. This was our agreement, to consult the decisions of the pack together, we would both be the leaders in the future and if we disagree it would bring problems.

"Don't worry, hyung. I will take care of moulding her and if she becomes a threat, I will eliminate her with my own hands.”

©2023 Telephaaty. All rights reserved

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧❂✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

If you want to be part of the tag list, let me know😊

I hope you have started the year well and I know it is late but I wish you much success this year.

Feel free to comment or ask me anything 😊 See you soon!👋

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧❂✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

🌕 Taglist 🌕

@zae007live

@mayla548

Well I'm here again!

This time I bring you all the first chapter from my New mini series, I don't know how many chapter it will have because I'm writing it when new ideas come to my mind.

I started the story before the end of the world because we all know the TWD story, maybe I'll write until the CDC, I'm not sure. But I'm not going to write a whole new TWD story following the TV show line, maybe it could be more like a prequel or something like that... I'm still thinking about it!! I don't know if I have to put it like a AU fanfiction either...

Anyway!! I hope you like it!!

Maybe the first one is shorter than the stories I usually post here, but I was exciting to know what all of you think about it! I promise the next ones will be longer.

**

Your Name.

Daryl Dixon x Reader.

Mini series 1/?

Warnings: Merle being Merle. Bad language.

Words: 2130.

Summary: in this world people are marked with their soulmate name on their skins, but sometimes that name it not who you expected.

Taglist: @phoenixblack89 @browneyes528 @pncnsc @lilythemadqueen @darylsgarden @thefemininemystiquee @xxtinasxxblog @hail-yourselves @ruinedbythehobbit @green-eyedladywrites @ravenwings73

*****

≈≈≈≈≈

1.

You walk in all tucked up and buttoning your work shirt. You cross the counter and your coworkers look at you with an amused smile.

"Sorry." You say making a small grimace of apology, the clerk laughs again.

"Long night?" she jokes and you groan softly. "Don't worry, we've already clocked in for you."

"Thank you...and no, I wish it had been that." You sigh and they look at you curiously. "The guy wouldn't stop talking and in the end he didn't even walk me home...it was a waste of time."

"Sorry, he seemed more interesting." They look at you apologetically and you put on your uniform jacket to start working. "We still don't have your badge..." She says when she sees you put on the badge with the name of a former colleague.

"It doesn't matter, I've only been here two weeks, and I don't care if they think I'm someone else." You joke.

You came to Senoia in search of a new life, you moved away from your old town and family wanting to do something else, of course Senoia was small and quiet, but it gave you the peace you needed. After a few days looking for a job you found a vacant position in the town supermarket, one of the girls had found her destined mate, his name appeared on her arm, apparently he was a childhood friend, soon after he also found her name and they became engaged.

For as long as mankind has been aware of it, people have been fated. They do not know how or why, but in some people over the years, as if it were a tattoo, the name of a person appears on their skin. Sometimes they are friends, acquaintances, sometimes they are complete strangers who are destined to meet at some point in their lives and start a new one together. Many people think it's romantic, they think it's poetic, others think it's manipulation, a government invention to keep everyone under control. Apparently everyone seems to accept that this must be so, they accept that, despite years of relationship with one person, they leave with another when their name appears on their skin.

It doesn't seem to make sense to you.

Your older sister was predestined with a friend of hers since childhood, they have two children and are happy. Your brother has a woman's name on his shoulder, but he hasn't found her yet.

You still have no name tattooed on your skin. You have had some partners with whom you have had great times, but you never created a real bond with any of them.

Your partners also have their partners, Donna is happy with her wife and kids, Felicity is meeting her man, but she seems excited and eager to take the next step, you are happy for them, but you really don't think everyone deserves to have a destined partner, you never know who it might be and what might happen next.

You don't want anyone like him.

Your eyes fix on a couple who are at the back of the supermarket, where the coolers with the soft drinks and alcohol are, they are talking to each other as one of them tries to hide some cans inside his baggy pants, you see how the other one looks around biting his nail nervously. You sigh wearily. You're not sure who they are, but it's not the first time you've caught them trying to steal something from the supermarket, your coworkers never say anything to them, but you're starting to get sick of it. You leave the labeler on top of the shelf where you are placing the new products that have arrived that morning and walk towards your colleagues.

"Who are those assholes?" You say pointing to the two men trying to leave with what they just stole.

It is obvious that the shaven haired man is the ringleader of the two, both are dressed in a scruffy manner, dirty clothes and look quite old, even his skin has traces of dirt and sweat, he must be in his late forties or early fifties, the other looks no better, maybe younger and at least looks nervous about what they are doing.

"That's Merle and Daryl Dixon, some redneck brothers who live outside in a ramshackle cabin..." Donna snorts. "Don't mind them, they always come and get some beer and leave, it's not..." But she shuts up because you're already heading their way. "Shit..."

"Hey, Dixon!" You call out to them and they both raise their heads at the same time. "Where are you guys going?" you walk over and fold your arms.

"Just havin' look 'round." Says the shaven one, the older looking of the two, he looks you up and down and gives you a devious grin and you feel instantly nauseous. "Is there a problem...?" he leans over touching the badge on your shirt. "Susy."

"Yes, yes there is." You don't even make the effort to correct him, to tell him that's not your name, you'd almost rather he didn't know. "I hope after you look, you'll pay for those beers you're carrying." You point to the bulging pockets of his pants with your head.

"Excuse me?" The man feigns offense and looks at his brother who raises his eyebrows, but says nothing. "Are y'accusin' us of thievery?"

"I'm not accusing you, it's obvious you are."

"Y'think we can't afford them?" The other speaks then taking a step forward. "Y'think we would come to steal from this shitty supermarket?" he snarls and his blue eyes bore into you like daggers.

"If you can afford them, do it and you'd be doing us all a favor in never coming back here again." You try to stand your ground, but the older man holds you by the neck and it scares you a little.

"Look, pretty girl, just because ya have a job doesn't mean ya can look down yer nose at a man, y'know what I mean? Much less talk to us like that." His nose brushes your cheek and you tense your jaw hard. "If yer pussy needs attention, I'll be happy to give it what it needs." He smiles and you hear the other snort through his nose, amused by the situation. "But y'have to ask me properly, beautiful, on yer knees and with yer mouth full." He whispers in your ear and then releases you, your legs wobble, but you don't get to fall. "And the fuckin' beers we ain't gonna pay them" He assures you. "C'mon, Daryl." He says to the other man and the two of you walk away.

Before they leave, Daryl grabs a couple of bags of chips as well and takes them with him, the door alarm not even sounding as they walk away.

Your body trembles with rage and impotence, you would like to go after them, call the police, but you know it won't do any good. No one will do anything. Your coworkers look at you worriedly as you return to the counter rubbing your neck.

"Are you all right? I told you not to listen to them."

"And let them steal whenever they want?"

"It's just a couple of beers and some chips, plus they come in once in a while, no big deal." Donna says putting money in the till, from her purse, you frown at the sight of it.

"It's okay, but you're paying for it. It's not fair, someone should stop them."

"Merle is a hopeless case, and if you go after him he'll make your life hell." Daryl is calmer, he's not a troublemaker, but when he's with Merle..."

"Yeah, what a shitty personality." You grunt again and walk away back to your work.

You spend the morning among the shelves, serving customers and restocking the products left empty on the shelves. Angry as a monkey, unable to get the Dixon brothers out of your head. Felicity has told you a little more about them, troubled past, abusive father, they've grown up wild and on the fringes of town, apparently Merle has been in and out of jail several times, doesn't seem to have learned from his mistakes, his brother Daryl has a temp job at an auto shop, but is easily sucked in by his older brother's bullshit.

You don't feel sorry for them, they're both complete assholes, and if they have to go to jail, you'll live much more peacefully.

It's the last hour, you are about to close the doors, Donna is finishing counting the box, Fely has come to pick up her boy and flirts with him at the door, you are finishing cleaning the floor when you hear Donna give your partner permission to leave. You smile as you see her excited, he looks haunted too, he doesn't take his eyes off Fely, you're happy for her, deep down.

"I'm going to the storeroom for a moment, will you take care of closing up?" the manager asks you and you nod.

You leave the mop in its place and walk over to the counter to get the keys and lock the doors. Before you get there, you hear the door jingle and see the Dixon brothers appear over there. Again you tense up at the sight of Merle smiling at you in that disgusted way.

"It's closed."

"Look, li'brother, who we've here again." Smiles Merle walking straight towards you. "Ya miss us, Susy?"

"Have you missed me? Because you came twice in the same day."

"Yer quick..." He smiles again looking at his brother, Daryl is a few steps behind, chewing his lip, he looks nervous, he doesn't want to be there, but again his brother drags him with him. "Grab some beers and a bottle of whiskey while I talk to the lady."

"Merle..."

"Y'ain't hear me?"

Daryl snaps in frustration and wanders off to the coolers to get some beers and the bottle his brother said, when you try to stop him, Merle steps into your path, blocking your path with his body. You instinctively back away, the last thing you want is for him to touch you.

"You're not going to pay for that either, are you?"

"Yer smart, sweetheart, but if ya wanna, I'll pay for it another way..." He wags his tongue obscenely and you pull away again.

"Oh for God's sake, no. Do you really think anyone would want anything to do with you? If it wasn't for your looks, your smell would be taken care of already, do you guys not know what a shower is?"

Merle's smile instantly disappears turning into an angry gesture, he advances towards you, after you, ready to make you pay for your words, but you keep moving away avoiding his muddy and dirty hands touching you. When he raises his hand to try to grab you by the throat again, you hit it hard, enraging him again.

"Fuckin' bitch..."

"Merle!" Daryl stops his brother, Merle turns to look at him. "I got it, leave that frigid bitch alone and let's get the fuck out of here." He barks again.

"You're in luck, bitch, my brother's in a hurry." She huffs and walks away, but in the process knocks over a shelf of cans of food that explode as they hit the floor, leaving everything a mess.

"Asshole..." You snort after they're gone.

"What happened?" Donna is surprised when she comes out of the warehouse.

"The Dixon brothers. Go home, they're waiting for you."

"You don't mind locking up by yourself?"

"No, don't worry, it was my fault, I shouldn't have provoked him..."

"Don't worry, and come back to work later tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, have a good rest."

Donna says goodbye and gathering her things she walks out of the supermarket leaving you alone.

Cleaning up the mess Merle has made takes longer than you thought it would. Lifting the shelf is heavier than Merle had taken to knock it down. All the cans have rolled along the aisle, shattering, bursting on impact from the floor, the meat is scattered and the juices leave the floor slimy and sticky.

Maybe you should have bitten your tongue and avoided the whole pile of shit you are now involved in, but no, your stubborn and provocative side has not let you think clearly and there you are, scrubbing the floor once again, watching the mop mop take on a yellowish color just like the water.

After an hour you put the mop back in the cleaning cupboard. You understand why Donna has given you the first hour of the morning off, it is very late and tomorrow you will not be able to get up when the alarm clock rings. Your whole body feels heavy and aches. You let out a groan as you change out of your uniform and walk out of the supermarket, closing the grille on the front door.

You hear a clink as your sneakers hit something on the floor, you lower your head and discover a half-finished bottle of whiskey, next to it are several bills and a note.

"Fer the beers and whiskey. Sorry."

To be continued...

***

I hope you liked it!!

See you in the next stories!!

You always have the most wonderful ideas to brighten up our Mondays 😍

For the imagine ask game:

- Character: Fíli - yes, yes, I'm predictable

- Something about myself: I'm a lip biter when I'm anxious, so I have chapped lips 24/7 all year round

- Type of relationship: 🍒 or 💜 or 🦊 (told you I couldn't pick, so I'm giving you that responsibility)

This also reminds me that I seriously need to start on your story request you sent me during my last sleepover. I promise I'll make it worth the wait 🙈🙈

~@guardianofrivendell 😘

Hello @guardianofrivendell 💙💙💙 Thank you for your awesome ask, now I want to write a whole fic about it!

I picked for you 🦊 - Fake Relationship with Fili, Modern AU

Let's see what the cards show:

You are happily single, well, you wouldn't mind having someone to hug at night, but after a series of dates with various people who didn't spark your interest you decided to take a break from the dating scene.

You have two very nosy and gossipy great-aunts and they've been bugging you for ages with questions like "And when are you getting married?", "You're not getting any younger, you know", "I'd like to dance at your wedding before I die", "Do you hear that, dear? It's your biological clock ticking..."

In order to appease your aunts and stop them from nagging you, you invented a perfect boyfriend: blonde, blue-eyed, handsome, with cute dimples, a sea captain (what? as a fanfiction writer, you developed a great attention to detail and him being a sea captain explained why he was away all the time). Since then they've been leaving you alone.

An invitation for your cousin's wedding came in the post. For you and... your +1. Your great-aunts made it clear that you have to come to the wedding with your new boyfriend. Also, they've been dropping you some hints that made you suspect they don't quite believe your story. Damn it.

Before the wedding came, you went to your coworker's birthday party. You've been having a great time by the pool, drinking one drink after another when you (by accident!) spilled the contents on your glass on a pleasantly hard chest in a dark shirt. Whoops.

It turned out that the lean, sinewy chest belonged to a blonde, blue-eyed, handsome guy named Fili. When he smiled at you for the first time, you noticed his sensual mouth and... dimples. Yes, he had dimples. That was it. You found your perfect boyfriend.

But of course you didn't really know the guy. Befuddled by his closeness and being a bit in your cups, you thought it would be a good idea to tell him about your problem with your aunts and the upcoming wedding.

You suspected that he had to be a bit drunk too, since he offered to be your "fake perfect boyfriend", charm the socks off your aunts and the rest of your family, and then tragically disappear from your life. Seriously, he even invented a story about his imaginary ship drowning and leaving you an imaginary "sea widow". That was bound to leave you sufficient time for imaginary mourning and stop your aunts from bothering you.

The wedding weekend came. You packed your suitcase and your best dress. Fili picked you up, a real gentleman, and you drove off in his car to the mountain resort where the wedding would take place.

When you arrived at the resort, it turned out that (surprise!) you got a chalet with ONE king size bed. Fili of course offered to sleep on the sofa. Sharing a room with him was very awkward at first, but you somehow ended up on the aforementioned sofa, watching movies late in the evening. You woke up in the middle of the night with your head on his chest. Best nap ever! Oh, he was so warm and his lips were so kissable, but he was asleep and off-limits (just a decent guy doing you a favor! nothing more! besides, you think you remembered from the party that he mentioned something about a recent horrible breakup and not being interested in relationships). You quickly evacuated to the bed before he woke up.

The wedding came. Fili looked gorgeous in his tuxedo and you learned the art of discreet ogling. His shoulder-to-hip ratio. His delicious bum in those well-cut trousers. Yum. Fili did exactly what he promised: charmed the socks off everyone, complemented and pampered your aunts, amusing them with tales of the sea, leaving subtle hints that you may be "the one" for him, and generally acting like a perfect fake boyfriend.

Aaaand he turned out to be a great dancer. Your aunts insisted on you dancing a lot together, because "you looked like such a lovely couple" and "just don't forget about inviting us to your wedding". Being in Fili's arms on the dancefloor was like heaven.

Unfortunately, there were those stupid games for the wedding guests. Apparently, the girl who caught the bride's bouquet (who happened to be you) had to kiss the guy who caught the groom's tie (who happened to be Fili). Weird wedding traditions. Feeling the scrutinizing gaze of your aunts on you, you had no other choice. You kissed him. A lot. And he kissed you back. Passionately. And you REALLY liked it. Everyone else liked it too, because your kiss got a standing ovation. The problem was that Fili avoided your gaze afterwards and acted distantly. He excused himself soon after, saying he had a headache.

You knew what it meant. He must have realized that you liked him a lot and he clearly wasn't interested. He was polite and gentlemanly on the next day and he apologized for his behavior the night before, but you noticed that he avoided you as much as he could.

You drove back home in complete silence. When he parked at your place, you thanked him for helping you out. He simply nodded and said his good byes. You returned home brokenhearted.

You haven't heard from him for two weeks and you were close to removing his number from your contacts. Then your phone rang. It was Fili. He sounded a bit weird, as if he was... slurring? And asked you to meet for a drink. You couldn't say no, could you?

When you met, he looked as handsome as ever; perhaps just a bit tired. It turned out that he hoped for you to return the favor: his brother Kili was getting married and Fili needed a +1 so his uncle would stop bugging him about finding a nice partner and settling down. "I promise to behave this time," Fili said.

And so you went to yet another wedding with Fili, the gentleman through and through. You were nervous the whole time, especially when Thorin, Fili's uncle threw inquisitive glances at you from time to time. You even drank a bit of champagne to relax.

The dancing part of the evening started and everyone expected you to dance. When the music sounded and Fili took you into his arms, you felt like floating among the clouds. You were inseparable, one dance after another. Finally, the music stopped and you noticed how close his face was to yours.

Something glinted in Fili's eyes when he murmured, "Would you consider not killing off your sea captain? He heard a beautiful siren's call and since she kissed him, he has been unable to think of anything else." "Let me think," you replied and kissed him. Your lips met, passion intertwining with tenderness.

"What's the verdict?" he murmured, his hot breath fanning your cheek. "We can't disappoint my aunts, can we?" you replied. "That's true, we can't," he chuckled and, cupping your face, kissed you again.

Fili kept on kissing you with equal ardor every day since, claiming that he had to make sure you wouldn't change your mind.

You invited your grand-aunts to your wedding where they could dance to their hearts' content 🙂

Let me know how you liked it! 💙💙💙 💨💨 Imagine Ask Game is here! 💨💨

Mist Memories

Leo Valdez x reader for his birthday ahhhh (even though it's angsty) with a platonic/developing jason x reader cameo at the end (lmao im sorry i couldn't help myself 😭)

Based on this picture I found in pinterest + also [kinda] based on traitor by olivia rodrigo and omg i really recommend u guys listen to this edit because it reminds me so much of this fic that's been stuck in my head for MONTHS also kind of a run away with me prologue lol

Your POV

I nervously made my way across the forest until I reached a limestone cliff. I knocked on the iron door, not really expecting to get an answer.

My boyfriend has been shutting himself in Bunker 9 for the past few weeks. I stood there counting up to seven before knocking again. I knocked again two more times, until he answered in the middle of my last knock.

He removed his goggles and winced as sunlight hit his eyes. He'd grown thinner and paler, making the dark circles in his eyes more pronounced.

"Oh, Leo..." I reached out to brush a few strands of hair away from his face, but he moved away.

"What are you doing here?" He said in a monotone voice.

I moved to walk inside the Bunker, brushing off his hesitation to let me in. "I'm your partner, remember? And I'm really concerned because you're shutting yourself out lately. You know everyone's starting to worry about you. Percy asked me to check on you because you missed pegasus riding with him. Oh, and I'm pretty sure Jason's coming back from Camp Jupiter soon. I was hoping you and Annabeth could be with Piper while Percy and I hung out with Jason because it's been a little awkward since their breakup. Plus Piper wanted to tell you something—"

"Please," he said forcefully causing me to stop and look at him. "Just... Get out."

Normally, he'd shut himself from the world for a few days to work on an important project or because he was feeling really sad and he needed space. But this was getting out of hand. He had never locked me out of his life when I offered to help him. He was never this mean when he asked for space. I was not having this attitude of his.

"Okay, Leo. I tried to play nice. What is so important that you blow off all your friends for nearly a month that you can't even tell your partner, or maybe say hi to your best friend who's coming back from the other side of the country?"

He didn't say anything. He pursed his lips and avoided eye contact. I scanned he room for any signs.

It was messier than usual with all the crumpled paper scattered on the floor, especially on his desk. He could have been drawing up new plans. Something in my gut told me that something wasn't right. There were no new unfinished projects, indicating that he wasn't starting a new invention. Harley's helicopter lay on his bench in the same state it was weeks ago. Huh, not even his siblings could enter the Bunker.

I turned and Leo was already changing Festus' oil. I took this moment of distraction to pick up a few pieces of crumpled paper on the floor and on his desk. I had to process the words a bit longer—too long that Leo took notice. Damn dyslexia.

I heard footsteps speed up behind me, but it was too late. I read enough and got the gist of what he had been trying to do these past few weeks.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He yelled at me. Small embers started to erupt between his curls.

I laughed dryly. "So this is what you've been up to?"

His fists tightened, further crumpling the paper in his hands. His eyes flashed with anger, despair and confusion.

I sighed and focused my eyes on his desk, not daring to look at him any longer. Under some pieces of paper were old photographs of him and Piper from Wilderness School. Yup, those definitely were the mist memories she had with Jason. I read the latest draft he'd been writing:

Dear Piper,

Remember the mist memories from boarding school with Jason? They were real, but they were with me.

I miss you. I miss when it was just us. I miss the night on the roof.

Yours truly,

Leo Valdez

I tried to keep my voice from cracking. "How long?"

I heard him sigh. "Three weeks."

I balled my fists. Tears started to fall and smudge the ink. I wiped them away as fast as they came.

"How?"

"In a dream," his tone softened now. "Hera came to me in a dream and told me to check an old drawer in Bunker 9. I found the photos and the memories came rushing back."

"How long were you dating back then?"

"Two weeks."

"Were you ever going to tell me?"

Silence; then a deep breath.

"No."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Why?"

"Because I knew you'd get upset like—"

"I meant why would you throw away months of our relationship for a couple of weeks of your relationship with her? And without even bothering to tell me? Gods damn it, Leo. We've been together since you've first arrived at camp. And what about those promises you made when we were sailing to Greece? You've been keeping these feelings away from me and you've been lying to me, making me believe that there's still something between us and—"

"Oh, calm down," he said with an annoyed expression and tone, which only infuriated me more, "it's not like I did anything were her yet! I didn't kiss her or tell her how I truly felt for her! She just got out of a relationship with Jason around the same time I had that dream. I had to figure out how to talk to her about it. I've been alone in this Bunker for three. Fucking. Weeks. I didn't cheat on you."

"Oh, and that makes everything better?" I countered. "Being in a relationship isn't about not cheating, Leo. It's about being honest and communicating with each other."

"Oh, like you've been communicating with me? After the war, you take go back to Manhattan for school, and you take a job. I haven't seen you much during the holidays because work has been keeping you in the city. And you won't tell me what you even do for a living!"

I took in a deep breath. "I told you I needed to have a life outside of camp! I needed to know first that I could handle myself in the mortal world as a normal human being. I needed this demigod part of my life to be separate as much as possible! I've been in two wars, Leo. I needed time to myself, too. And I was about to tell you guys in a few more days. But I guess now, I'm glad I've kept you out of that part of my life. At least I have an escape from all of this. And now, especially from you."

I took another deep breath and walked to the door, about to let myself out. I turned back again, both our tear-stained eyes meeting each other.

"If it makes you feel any better," I said softly, "I would've hated the idea of us breaking up. But if you really love her, if you really feel like you have this special connection to her and she makes you happy, then I won't get in your way. You could at least have had the decency to talk to me so we could have left on a good note."

He looked at me with wide eyes, clearly regretting his actions. I sighed and looked around the Bunker, possibly for the last time. Lots of memories were definitely created in this room; all just as grand and meaningful as the inventions they made here. But just like some of Hephaestus' contraptions, some of them were flawed and dumped in his scrapyard, no matter how much potential it could have had.

"Goodbye, Leo."

I sat on a rock on the beach that gave me a beautiful view of Long Island Sound. To my left, the sun started to set, casting an orange filter on everything. My heart broke, remembering how everything glowed orange in the Bunker. Leo always left the fires burning when he was working. The sunlight twinkling against the sea reminded me of how small bits of flame peaked through his hair earlier. I remembered how mad he was at me. Or maybe he was mostly mad at himself.

"Hey."

I jumped when someone sat—or rather, landed—beside me. I turned and smiled, seeing one of my good friends back at camp.

"Hey, you're back," I said weakly. "How long have you been here?"

He smiled at me, although he could maybe sense that something was wrong. "Half an hour, maybe? I saw Annabeth making plans to expand camp to have a city. She made me do an aerial inspection and I told her I'll get back to her tonight. That's when I saw you."

"Mhmm," I mumbled, not really knowing what to say. It was silent for a few minutes before I spoke up again, knowing he was just waiting for me to open up.

"I broke up with Leo."

His head quickly turned to me. I guess he wasn't expecting it to be that bad. "What?"

"Oh yeah," I laughed dryly. "Turns out the mist memories Piper had in Wilderness School with you? They were real. But not with you."

His eyes widened. "Oh... With Leo."

"He locked himself in the Bunker for weeks trying to write a letter. It was heartbreaking. Like, truly heartbreaking. He wanted to tell her how much he missed her and how much he missed them. Then he said how much he missed that night with her under the stars and... It hurt. Like hell."

"Oh," he said. "I guess Piper didn't tell me everything then."

"She knew all along?"

He shook his head. "Maybe not everything, but she told me she's been confused about her feelings lately and she'd been having visions or dreams of possible old memories that were messing with her head."

"I'm sorry about you and Piper," I said.

"Don't be," he said. "I understand her. It did hurt, though. But I think I can get over it some day. We're still awkward around each other, but at least we left on a good note."

I scoffed. "Leo couldn't even give me a good ending to our relationship."

"Hey," he said as he put a hand on my shoulder. "You're a great person, y/n. You've done so much, especially for him. It's his loss that he was stupid enough to let go of you."

"I know that."

"Do you really?"

"I do!" I said. "I'm a great person and I know that. But that doesn't mean what he did doesn't hurt me."

"I know," he said. "You'll find someone who'll treat you like the queen that you are. You're a great person, and I'm not just saying this to cheer you up. I truly think you're amazing."

I smiled at him. "Thanks, Jason. And you'll find someone great, too. Maybe not as great as me but, then again, who is?"

We both let out a laugh. The conch sounded in the distance, signaling dinner. I moved to stand up before hearing Jason speak up again.

"Hey, do you maybe want to just grab a couple of plates and eat out here?"

I smiled. "Yeah. That sounds good. I don't really want everyone else hounding me about the breakup right now."

I don't know how long it was going to take me to get over Leo. We really did gave something special. It was cruel how the universe gave me something so good, to make me have hope that something was finally going right, then have it yanked away from my arms just as suddenly as it came.

He never cheated on me, but that didn't mean he didn't betray every promise we made to each other. I should have known it was too good to be true. Life has always played cruel jokes on me.

Then again, who's to say that things won't turn out for the better, right?

•••

Tagging: @drvrslcense @bubblybubbubs @dreamerball @quteez @aesthetxcimagines @chasingpj @beingleft @wadewilsonsgreatestfriend

Soul ties - Part 5 (Bucky Barnes au)

“And I'll use you as a focal point

So I don't lose sight of what I want”

"Oh! I didn't expect you so soon after the wedding," Bruce Banner said as you  walked into his lab. "Is everything alright?"

"Of course, thanks for asking, though. I just ran into Steve, and he said you'd actually found something while I was gone?"

A spark lit in Banner's eyes as he went around all his papers and tablets, searching for the information he wanted to share with you. Working with someone who was as passionate about science as you were was delightful : there was never an unproductive moment. You two were always thinking, bouncing off each other's ideas and coming up with useful inventions. You'd once helped two S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists, Fitz and Simmons, design "icers". They were non-lethal guns who could knock out theoretically anyone.

"See, we were talking about neural termination restaurations the other day. We thought it was next to impossible, since neurons are gone forever. But I was thinking..."

And off you started... It would be hard to get you two to stop before dinner time. You were so caught up in your work, lab goggles over your eyes, that Bruce had to tap on your shoulder to show you someone was there. You shot your head up, ready to say you were busy, but your body froze as you saw Bucky. You  didn't expect to run into him so quickly.

"Hey! Need anything?" you asked as he leaned against the door frame, hands in his pockets.

"No, I just... You guys are impressive."

Bucky looked all around the lab and his mouth didn't seem to be able to close.

"All this...is you two?"

You let out a small laugh. "Stark helped out a lot, we have to admit. He provides us with the tech, and we handle the other sciences, you know."

"What's your area?" he asked, his eyes coming back on you.

"Biochem and astrophysics."

"So like...planets and stuff too?"

"Yeah, basically."

At the other side of the room, Bruce was trying not to smile : he could only imagine how hard it was for you not to get carried away by details and explaining how amazing and compelling constellations, solar systems and galaxies were.

"I love that stuff," Bucky breathed out.

"Alright, since you're not alone, y/n, I'll go grab some lunch."

"Lunch already?"

Bruce nodded and left the room after making sure you'd be up to work again in the afternoon. You  most certainly hadn't seen time go by and a sudden soreness in your eyes made you aware of what time it was.

"I should probably take a break as well," you admitted. You fiddled with your fingers, a little awkward now that you weren't busy working, before a brilliant idea came to your mind. "Do you want to see something, like...really cool?"

"Obviously I do."

"Okay, follow me."

You instinctively grabbed Bucky's hand and jumped with surprise at the texture of it. You lowered your eyes to look at it and he immediately moved his arm away from you. It was...metal. Well, you didn't expect that, but who cared?

"I didn't know you had this," you said in a what wanted to be a casual tone.

"Yeah, long story." His elusive answer proved he wasn't ready to tell you about it.

"I'll hear it anytime," you said with a smile to reassure him before grabbing his hand again. The last thing you wanted him to think was that it scared you off. "Let's go now."

He didn't pull back this time, and you dragged him a few floors down, taking the stairs so you  didn't have to wait for the elevator. You were walking fast, impatient as the thought of showing Bucky your passion made you.  You ended up letting go of his hand to open a big door and hurried him in.

"What is this room, y/n?"

Ignoring the sound of your name in his mouth, you closed the door, plunging the room in pitch black.

"Don't move, I just have to grab the remote."

You easily found it, then carefully made your way back to him. Hearing his breath picking up, you laid a hand on his back.

"Breathe. I promise you'll love this."

With the press of a button,  billions of stars surrounded you, lightning Bucky's  face as he stared in amazement.

"I told you you'd like this," you whispered.

"This...wow." Bucky was speechless. He'd been staying here for a while and had never seen this room before, apparently.

You went to sit on one of the bean bag chairs you'd brought  yourself and Bucky decided to follow you, unable to take his eyes off the fake sky in front of him.

"Are those...real constellations?"

"Absolutely." This was your time : talking about this always made you happy. "See  the ones that are kinda forming a V? If you look closely, they form the Capricorn constellation. Right above it is Aquarius. And on the left, that's Cernus, the one that looks like a whale. And then...sorry. I talk too much."

"No, no. Keep going."

Bucky leaned back in his chair, still looking up. A huge smile split your face as  you kept on telling him about constellations, showing him well known ones as much as others, less famous. You had no idea how long it had been when you got out, and a glance at your phone told you it'd been over an hour.

"I'm sorry if that bored you,"  you told him while closing the door. "When I start talking about stars..."

"Not at all. I get that. I could have listened for five more hours."

You chuckled nervously and gulped, joining your hand in your back as you  walked along the hallway to the elevator. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I've got to get back to work, but if you want to see the stars again some time, you know where to find me."

---

"I'm eating at Brad's  tonight. I think there's pizza left in the fridge."

You'd been looking at Darren's text for five minutes : what were you supposed to say  to that? At least he had the decency to warn you...thirty minutes before your usual dinner time.

"You okay there?"

You looked away from your phone screen and gave Steve a bitter smile. "Not really. Darren bailed. Again."

Steve shook his head. You could tell he was angry at him. It's not like they had ever been wonderful friends, but you'd hoped Darren would make efforts to get to know Steve and the rest of the gang. They'd done their part ; Darren just never seemed to deem it necessary.

"I'm sure Wanda will be available for a pizza and movie night. You can stay here as long as you-"

Your ringtone interrupted Steve's sentence : Darren was calling you.

"Hello?"

"It's me, honey. Just wanted to tell you I'm staying over at Brad's. We had a few beers so I don't want to take the risk to drive."

"Oh, huh... Yeah. That's safer."

Your friend rolled his eyes – a thing he rarely did as bitterly.

"I'm not home either anyway," you said, hoping it would get a reaction out of him.

"Really? Where are you?"

"At the compound." You heard Darren make a mocking noise.

"I don't even know why I asked. Of course that's where you are."

You let out an angry breath and decided to end the phone call.

"I don't know what time you'll get home tomorrow, but don't worry if I'm not there. I'll probably come back late in the afternoon. Bye."

"By-"

You hung up. You didn't want to hear his voice any longer.  Steve grabbed you by the shoulder to comfort you.

"I'll get a room ready for you."

"Thanks, Steve."

"This guy is such a dick."

And that was your sister's reaction as she walked in, learning what had happened from your mind.  She sure was less civil than Steve, but have someone be as upset as you helped you understand that you were right to be mad at Darren.

"I'm sorry,  I know you married the guy, but-"

"No, you're right," you interrupted her as she sat at your other side. "He is behaving like a dick."

Wanda laughed as she pulled you in for a warm hug. "Men are the worst. Don't feel like it's your fault."

"You know I'm here, and a man, right?" Steve joked.

You and Wanda shot him fake ferocious looks and he held up his hands as a sign of peace.

"Fine, fine, men are the worst," he said solemnly.

--- Thanks again for the support y'all gave to the 4 previous parts. I hope this one is good! :) Tell me if you want to be added to the tag list ^^

Tag list

@ginger-swag-rapunzel @joscelyn02

another smutty piece per some of your guys’ requests, enjoy my loves❣️

word count: 1,587

What happens in Vegas // Jeff Wittek

When David text you earlier asking to pack a bag and meet the others at the airport in an hour, you didn't expect the night to progress to this point.

Sure you had your hopes, musings even, about the possibilities if you could only stop being such a nervous wreck around him. 

The past few weeks had been spent zoning out of conversations and videos, your mind struggling to grasp at the fact that Jeff almost kissed you.

There was no clarification, no conversation the next day and he did his best to avoid you like the plague since, mysteriously disappearing as soon as you stepped foot through the door.

Which is why you were confused when he proceeded to barge through the dance floor of a random club in Vegas to rip your chosen dance partner off you in blinding rage. It didn’t take long for the security to be notified, your entire group kicked out.

The others decided to carry on the party elsewhere, but you were no longer in the mood, now stood seething in an elevator with the culprit of your jumbled thoughts, buzz long forgotten and feet aching from the ridiculous heels forced upon you that night by the girls.

Jeff insisted on seeing you back to your room, no amount of scoffing and eye daggers effective in warning him off.  

‘C’mon just say it’ Jeff huffs out, hands carting through his hair as you stomp out of the elevator childishly, intent on hiding in your hotel room for the rest of the trip.

The attempt to slam the door in his face is futile, the man still slipping through as you groan.

The next tactic is to ignore, you decide, turning away from him to take off your heels and pretend as if you’re on your own.

 ‘Y/n...’ he sounds frustrated himself, following quickly in your footsteps as you venture further inside. 

‘WHAT? I...I just need to be alone right now.’ you finally declare, looking at him briefly before your mind begins its onslaught of flashbacks, faces inches away, his hand cradling your jaw. 

‘No. I know you’re mad, please talk to me’ Jeff begs. You can’t help but laugh, ‘There’s nothing to talk about Jeffrey’ his brows furrow at the use of his full name, it sounds bitter coming from your lips.

‘Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to go to bed’ you continue, both of you aware that you were nowhere near ready for that, dress still on and clinging to your skin.

It only takes Jeff three short strides to cross the room and pull you close, hand wrapped around the nape of your neck in an aching deja vu.

He’s trying to gather his thoughts, heart in his throat at the close proximity and mind spinning despite staying away from the drinks tonight.

You’re the first to break the silence, except it’s not to tell him how badly you want him closer, something Jeff’s own mind is screaming at him to finally express. 

‘You done? Cause if you’re about to chicken out of kissing me again and pretend like nothing is going on between us tomorrow then I-’ Jeff shuts you up when he leans down and plants a hungry kiss to your mouth.

The real thing was better than you imagined, your lips moulding against each other with possessive intent.

To Jeff, it felt like coming home as he pulled you flush against him. His soft fingers blindly guiding the two of you to the bed, both unwilling to part even for some air.

Ever the tease, he eased you into the sheets and on your back, choosing to start his journey at your jawline, leaving deliberate marks and kisses down the column of your throat and protruding collarbones. 

Jeff’s lips were agonisingly slow, leaving a mess in the wake of his actions.

Eventually, his mouth culminated it's worship by your hips, easing the silky dress up and over your head of messy hair.

You hurriedly slipped your bra off, itching for him to do just about anything at this point to ease the growing frustrations.

Jeff only eyed you in amusement, a teasing smirk on his lips before the remaining layers were off, leaving the muscular man bare in front of you. 

‘Wait, shouldn’t we talk about this first?’ he snaps out of the intimate setting, brown eyes staring solely at your face with worry.

Your only response is to push the handsome man by his shoulders and straddle him in the bed, ‘We can talk later’ you decide, lips painting in various shades of pink and purple across the canvas of his neck and chest on your way down.

‘Y/n’ Jeff moans in surprise, a sigh of relief leaving his swollen lips as you teasingly kiss the tip of his length.

Jeff throws his head back, hands automatically reaching to grab at your soft locks, twisting the hair into a makeshift ponytail.

He could see you lick up the shaft and back to the top this way before he finally felt your warm mouth completely envelop around him. 

‘Shit. baby...’ his breathy reassurance enough encouragement for your mouth to ease the rest of him in until he hits the back of your throat.

Jeff lets out a pornographic moan at the feeling of your throat constricting lightly around him.

He’s shuddering in pleasure, the real thing beyond any dreams he'd encountered every time you would wear a particularly revealing outfit around him. 

‘Fuck, you’re going to have to stop baby’ his protests ignored as he writhed on the bed.

It was satisfying to have him like this, the view elating as you moved around to play with his balls teasingly.

‘Doll, I swear to god, if you continue I'll cum in your mouth. I need to be inside you’ he warns, groaning at the continued ministrations of your tongue.

You concede, taking him out of your mouth with a pop, smiling angelically as he takes only a second to recover, bare chest heaving in a beautiful display.

Suddenly, your positions change, your frame expertly thrown under him as Jeff hovers, lips wrapping around your earlobe to pull harshly before you’re kissing again.

Jeff can taste himself on your tongue, he smells divine this closeup, the aroma ingraining into your own skin as he paints down your heaving chest some love marks of his own.

‘Relax baby, ‘m gonna make you feel good’ he rasps, pupils dilated at the sight of you bare and so pliant under him. 

With a smirk that could be felt against the skin of your chest he continues down your soft stomach, easily stealing the breath from your lungs as he plays with the side of her panties, snapping at the elastic before placing a kiss against the material on each side.

‘Jeff...please’ your voice sounds strained, body writhing against the bed sheets impatiently.

‘Whatever you want princess, just know I'm going to get a taste of you the next chance I get’ with that promise Jeff removes the last flimsy piece of fabric separating your bodies.

His larger frame hovers and you admire each inch of skin, lost in the moment.

The city lights reflecting off his bulging biceps, eyes dark as Jeff returns the lustful stare, still processing how he had managed to end the night wrapped between her legs. 

And then he guides his length slowly inside you, throwing his head back at the tight and warm welcoming feeling of your pussy around him.

Jeff buries his head in your neck & you wrap your soft legs around his torso, warmth pulling him in deeper like a vice.

‘You feel like fucking heaven’ he groans deeply against your sternum.

You swear you can almost feel him smiling, the two of you pulling your heads away to look each other in the eye as he finally begins to move.

His hands follow a loving path down to your hips and thighs as Jeff draws away only to snap his hips more forcefully against your own.

The fastened pace draws a toe curling gasp from your kiss swollen lips.

Jeff decides there and then it was his favourite new view and sound: you, unravelling underneath him with each precise thrust. 

For you, the vision of lean muscle and his increased movement spurred your own euphoria on to the finish line, Jeff somehow hitting at your g spot with every move. It was like he'd invented the art form, the familiar knot coiling in your stomach. 

‘...Jeff’ the graphic whine of his name on your lips spurres his own ending on, the pressure immense as he releases once you clench around him sporadically in your own orgasm. 

Trying to catch his breath, Jeff lays beside you, chests heaving from exhaustion as both of you stare at the ceiling momentarily.

Turning over to him, you swing a leg across his hip, his arms wrapping around you to pull you closer in return. 

‘I knew you were a woman of many skills but fuck...that blowjob had me writing vows" he declares, voice low and half joking against your hairline as he begins to softly trace up and down your spine.

Your reply is a round of laughter, hair messy and lips still reddened from the previous activities, Jeff leans in to stifle the adorable sound with a soft but purposeful kiss.

The pair of you fall asleep soon after, well aware you might just have ruined each other for anyone else.

Savannah, Jac, Amelia & Isabelle

Savannah: What are we doing to get party ready? Savannah: because I vote we hit the spa to get our collective ✨ back Savannah: it should be ILLEGAL how my skin looks Jac: No way, I was JUST thinking how good your skin looked like THIS morning Jac: but it's never NOT a good time for the spa too though so 🤭 Savannah: your hype is everything! I don't even deserve how flawless you are in a beyond skin deep way Savannah: but yes to the spa being my go to fave ^^ Amelia: I can't Jac: only giving what you put out, it is beyond deserved ❤❤ Jac: Why not Meelie? Amelia: I'll be at the party but the only way I could be there too is if my mum comes with and NOBODY wants that Jac: Your mum is fun Amelia: not that fun Jac: Doesn't [some boujee place they'd like] have a 10% discount right now, Savvy? Jac: they do THE BEST facials Savannah: 👏🏾 Yes! You have the BEST taste & I think it's actually gone up to 15% 🙌🏾 Isabelle: Awh 😟 it sounds like so much fun but mine won't give me any money and I'm so broke after getting those new trainers Savannah: Don't be silly! It's totally my treat, Is Savannah: your pores shouldn't have to stay clogged for the sake of those trainers Jac: That is so generous of you 🥺🥺 Jac: I NEED a hot oil hair treatment like yesterday, I don't know why it's so dry right now but it's not a mood Savannah: your hair looked beautiful yesterday & if you don't believe me, I literally heard so many girls from the year above talking about it so Jac: 😳😳😳 Jac: well I KNOW Ty heard those 6th years talking about you, he was so jealous, bless him 🥰 Savannah: I was in the bathroom overwhelmed by sadness & I heard your name over & over, it felt seriously fated Savannah: oh my god, he refuses to tell me what they sad, I've given him the full 🥺 & everything Savannah: *said Amelia: maybe you need bigger eyelashes Savannah: Do you think? Jac: Oh my God, where even was I? Boo! 😖 You should have called so I could come find you Jac: no way, you like, INVENTED puppy dog eyes, your natural lashes are so thick and dark Jac: he's just saving your blushes, so cute Savannah: ugh, my phone was like dying because Sienna had all this drama with a girl in her class earlier Savannah: 🥰 you're so cute, I can't even handle all these compliments Jac: Is she okay or do we need to talk to this girl? Jac: her year is vicious, I swear Savannah: she says she's okay but she can't hide how upset she is from me Jac: You're way too empathetic, you know her inside out Jac: Poor Sienna, does she want to come too? Savannah: that's SUCH a great idea, I'll ask her Jac: We could all get matching nails Isabelle: Sorry...mum called Isabelle: won't that be really expensive though? are you super sure Sav? Savannah: of course, Is Savannah: it's not like I need a new outfit for Erin's house party Isabelle: Yay, thank you so much! 😁 So you can come too Meels? Amelia: No Amelia: it wasn't about the money, remember? Isabelle: 😥 you don't want to be left out though Amelia: there's nothing I can do about that Isabelle: oh that's such a shame Isabelle: I'll bring you back some of those mini cakes and sandwiches they do Amelia: thanks Amelia: I'll see you at Erin's Jac: Are you sure there's no way? Amelia: you've really forgotten the 📅 haven't you? Jac: Oh, it's her birthday Jac: right? Amelia: yeah Savannah: we should send her 💐 from all of us Savannah: I love your mum Jac: Are you definitely coming to the party then? Amelia: I'll be there Amelia: Erin throws a good party Jac: 💐 is a great idea, we can go pick them out Jac: what are you doing with her today then? Amelia: 🎭🩰 totally not my thing but my dad won't take her Amelia: she doesn't think I will either, so it'll be stay a huge surprise Jac: That's really nice, she'll love it Jac: I'd love to go sometime Savannah: Ballet lessons were the highlight of my Saturday when I was little, I was obsessed Savannah: mainly for the outfits though 😄 Jac: I can so picture you with your little bun 😊 adorable Savannah: [pics because she's that bitch] Jac: 😭😭😭😭 Jac: how have you always been PERFECT Jac: I was so ugly 😬😂 Amelia: no you weren't Jac: I so was Jac: you and Is were really sweet and I was so 😱😱 Jac: never mind the puppy fat, yikes Amelia: the fringe my mum forced me to have was not sweet 😣 Savannah: I'm with Amelia, you were definitely such an 👼🏻👶🏻 Amelia: she was Amelia: [pics of them all as kids but especially her being bffs with Jac to make that point to Savannah like] Jac: You guys are so sweet Jac: I love you Isabelle: I look exactly the same is that a good or a bad thing Amelia: 😂 Amelia: better than looking like 👧🏻 Amelia: I'm literally an emoji Isabelle: Iconic, some would say Isabelle: 🤭 Savannah: these pics are going to make me cry, I swear Savannah: too adorable Savannah: as if you've all been friends for so long Jac: It's so wild to me that we weren't friends before now Jac: we should've been friends this whole time too Savannah: I know, but I guess I wasn't ready until now Savannah: I had so much character development to do first Jac: 🙌🙏 ^^ SAME Jac: it had to be now Jac: you're all being nice about it but I would lowkey DIE if you knew me even a few years ago Jac: not cute Savannah: ^^^^^^ Savannah: Ty hasn't seen me before we got together & I 🙏🏾 he never will Amelia: he didn't go to another school, I think he knows that you existed before him Jac: the glo-up is too real to go back 💁 Savannah: I'm still waiting for my glow up Savannah: there's only so much the spa can do Jac: 😤 you're so FLAWLESS Jac: like literally, there isn't a single thing wrong with you Savannah: stop, I don't know if I'll start blushing or sobbing Isabelle: I would love to look like you, Savannah Isabelle: what should I wear tonight? Isabelle: I want Tom to notice me Savannah: I'm flattered but you need to embrace your own beauty, Is Savannah: it's so important Savannah: Oh, Tom R or Tom S? Isabelle: Ew, Tom S Isabelle: I made out with Tom R last year and it was baaaad bad Savannah: One second, I'll ask Ty about him now I have the right Tom Isabelle: I'm so excited I might puke Savannah: okay so he likes to make the first move, you'll need to dress like you're not the kind of girl who kissed Tom R Isabelle: How do I do that? I need help 😩 Savannah: maybe you can borrow something of Amelia's Isabelle: Can I Meels? Isabelle: I dunno if I'll suit your style though...I'm not cool Amelia: I couldn't get the grass stains out of the skirt you borrowed last time Isabelle: Whoops 😉 Amelia: and you don't need to dress to impress Tom S anyway, he's nothing special Isabelle: He's so lush though Amelia: 🤨 Isabelle: Come on! You have eyes Isabelle: isn't he so fit guys Savannah: I only have eyes for one boy, but he does have nice eyes himself Jac: You've done worse Isabelle: Yeah, Tom R for example Isabelle: 😨 Savannah: 😅 Savannah: You know who apparently is the worst kisser ever, Donovan! Savannah: have you ever kissed him, Is? Isabelle: Have I? Isabelle: 🤔 Amelia: he leaned in to 💋 but you 🤮 on his trainers Isabelle: Ha! Isabelle: Dodged a bullet, apparently Jac: He wasn't as fast Savannah: Oh my god! Jac: It was so shaming, we had to call her mum to pick her up Savannah: my parents would kill me Jac: Your mum is like, beyond chill, Is Jac: she lets you get away with loads Savannah: I'd be beyond jealous if I wanted to kiss Tom R, or fall down drunk in his path, at least Savannah: thankfully he's not my type Isabelle: Not even, she was so mad at me for ages Isabelle: I was sick in the fireplace Isabelle: it was so hard to clean Jac: Is that friend of Ty's going? Jac: 😶 Savannah: yes Jac: 🥴 Isabelle: oooooooooooooooooh, do you like someone J?!?!? Savannah: he doesn't usually go to house parties but as soon as he heard you were, he recognised that Erin's had potential Isabelle: who who Savannah: J doesn't want to make a big deal out of it Amelia: then why turn it into a big secret? Jac: It's no secret Jac: but Is has already got no chill and you know I'm shy Jac: I won't be able to cope with how blatant her 👀 is Amelia: you could've told me that you liked someone Jac: I am telling you Jac: like, right now Amelia: not really Jac: What do you mean? 🤨 Amelia: I mean, you're not actually telling me anything Jac: I'm not trying to like, commandeer this whole convo and make it about me Jac: but okay Jac: he's one of Ty's friends, he's on the team too Amelia: I could scroll up for that info but okay Jac: I don't know what you want me to say? Jac: I've not spoken to him properly yet, he's just interesting Amelia: interesting how? Jac: 😳 Savannah: is this third degree honestly necessary? Jac: maybe I shouldn't go now Jac: I'm feeling kinda off Savannah: Baby 😔 Savannah: we can do whatever you want to do Jac: No, I won't spoil your guys fun Jac: you should all go Savannah: it won't be any fun without you Savannah: & anyway, if you don't feel well you need someone there to take care of you Jac: You'd do that for me? Jac: you'll make me cry, I swear Savannah: It's just a stupid party, you're you Jac: Will Ty be mad at you? Savannah: of course not, all his friends will be there, he doesn't need me as much as you do Jac: I wanna still try to do the spa Jac: for Sienna Jac: but I just can't see him now, the anxiety is too high Savannah: she'll understand if we have to reschedule but it might make you feel better to be pampered Savannah: but I'll give you a facial if you can't cope with a full spa situation Savannah: it's totally your decision Jac: I do have this new mask I think will be amazing for your skin type Jac: bring Sienna, she can see the new pup we just got Savannah: you understand too, don't you, Is? Savannah: I'll take you for a manicure next week, I promise Isabelle: Oh, yeah, totally Isabelle: mum said it's too much to accept anyway Isabelle: Are you sure you don't want to come though? Isabelle: sounds like he really wants to see you Savannah: I'm here for you if you want any more outfit help for Tom, just facetime me Isabelle: Thank you sweetie, I'm really torn between these 3 dresses Isabelle: wait, 4 Isabelle: I'll definitely call Jac: You're a doll, Is Jac: Tom is gonna be 😍 Savannah: ^^ I can't wait to hear how blown away he is by you Isabelle: I'll give you all the rundown tomorrow morning 😁😁😁 Isabelle: do you want to go together, Meels? Amelia: I've got to put the time in with mum, I'll probably be late getting there Amelia: don't worry about waiting for me Isabelle: Okay, if you're sure Isabelle: come find me when you get there Amelia: yeah, Tom's tall, I'll be able to Isabelle: 🤤🤤🤤 Isabelle: he's so tall Amelia: play it cool, Is Isabelle: 😖 Savannah: you don't need to listen to Amelia, she's not an expert Amelia: I don't need to know about boys, I know her Isabelle: I don't wanna be sick on this one's shoes Amelia: of course you don't Amelia: trust me, drink less, dance more Jac: you should let him give you your first drink Savannah: 👏🏾 he'll LOVE that Isabelle: Ugh, thanks guys Isabelle: I am going to need to pre-drink though Isabelle: for my nerves Amelia: me too, for my 🎭🩰🧠 Jac: What ballet is it? Amelia: 🔥🐦 Jac: Your mum will love it Amelia: she hasn't already seen it, that's a good start Jac: I haven't either Jac: I mean, I just watch the performances at home but yeah Jac: we've sent the flowers via one of those postbox ones, they'll come tomorrow Amelia: she'll love those too Amelia: maybe even more than seeing me dressed for 🎭🩰 Jac: send us your outfit too then, yeah Amelia: no way, they're going nowhere but my mum's facebook Jac: I am her friend, you know Isabelle: hey, I'm not! Amelia: add her, she won't mind Isabelle: I'm so going to Isabelle: not my Insta though Isabelle: I've blocked mine 💁 Amelia: it's okay, I don't let her on my insta either any more Amelia: she leaves too many 😳 comments Isabelle: Mammys are the worst Isabelle: 😬😬 Amelia: at least she understands socials, my dad is clueless Amelia: and he's not THAT old Isabelle: My nan loves selfies Amelia: your nan is my everything Amelia: if I could bring her to the party tonight, I would Isabelle: 😂 you're so wild Amelia: tear yourself away from whichever Tom it is and you'll see Isabelle: not with Pam thank you 🤣 Isabelle: she has a boyfriend Amelia: get it Pamela Isabelle: his name is Brian Isabelle: they go down dolly mount every Friday, it's so cute Amelia: I'm so happy for them Jac: Awh, how sweet Jac: What about Jackie, has she been dating? Isabelle: She never tells me anything Isabelle: she says she's too busy working Amelia: Jackie doesn't need a man Isabelle: You sound just like her! Amelia: cut me deeper, Is 💔 Isabelle: sorry, you do though Isabelle: do you listen to the same female empowerment spotify playlist? Amelia: link me, I'd probably I'd be into it Isabelle: [does, imagine those single lady tunes lmao] Amelia: 😂 Amelia: this could save my life when I hate the 🎭🩰 Isabelle: no, no, take this Isabelle: [some dance sexy sassy playlist she's listening to] Amelia: you should send that one to Erin Amelia: save the party too Isabelle: Good idea Isabelle: [some cringy tiktok moment of her dancing, Isabelle stop] Amelia: [a video of amelia dancing amazingly at some party or other recently that Isabelle had to go home early from so she missed it, cos we gotta remind the lurking bae who we are] Isabelle: 🤯🤯🤯🤯 YOU'RE SO GOOD Isabelle: you should post! you'd get so many likes Amelia: I was so drunk, that's all Savannah: I can't believe that's you! Amelia: 🤔 am I flattered or offended Isabelle: Meels has always been a good dancer Isabelle: you should teach me Amelia: we can start tonight if it won't make Tom rage that he isn't teaching you something Isabelle: it's for his benefit Isabelle: so many lads are gonna be 😍 at you Amelia: they'll be looking at you if I do it right Isabelle: I'm fine with that 😋 Amelia: me too Jac: [some message between Ty and this Tom with some form of insider info they've made him get lol like you're welcome Isabelle but you also owe us now] Amelia: I'm seriously not understanding why you like him, Is Isabelle: 😲 OMG OMG Isabelle: it is so useful having a boy on our team Isabelle: thank you Ty, ahhhhhhh Isabelle: [pictures of him like hello] Savannah: We all want you to be happy Isabelle: 🥺🥺 awwwww Savannah: did you narrow down your outfit picks yet? Isabelle: no, I'm making toasties Isabelle: mum said I have to line my stomach 🙄 Jac: I hope that doesn't make a reappearance later Amelia: Erin's 🏠 is lovely, try not to redecorate it for her Amelia: can I stay over at yours, Is? Amelia: my parents will be all 😍🥰😘 Isabelle: 🤢🤢🤢 Isabelle: You can Isabelle: mum's on nights so she'll be gone and we won't have to worry about waking her up Amelia: if Tom's staying too, tell me now because that's as 🤢 Isabelle: Amelia! Amelia: I don't want to see or hear it, sorry Isabelle: he won't be staying, oh my gosh Amelia: okay Isabelle: I'm not a slag Isabelle: that's just what Kane put about when I dumped him for two-timing me Amelia: until I shut him up Isabelle: Ha, that was funny Isabelle: I thought he was gonna cry Amelia: he probably did when he went home Jac: 👏 Amelia: I should probably go get 🎭🩰 ready Amelia: 😣 this 👗 though Amelia: I'm going to look like I belong on Pam's 🚽 to hide her 🧻 Jac: 😏 Jac: it's not like you can wear your grass-stained skirt Amelia: It's long gone Jac: Shame Amelia: yeah, I liked it Jac: and Is had a good time in it Jac: fond memories Amelia: I'm sorry, okay? Jac: ... Jac: What? Amelia: for the 'third degree' earlier Jac: Oh, right Jac: well thanks for apologising, that's mature of you Amelia: I can be, sometimes Jac: I wouldn't suggest otherwise Amelia: I just had no idea you liked any of Ty's friends Jac: It's not like a thing, is all Jac: I'm not like in love with the boy Jac: you'd know if it was serious Amelia: would I? Jac: Obviously Jac: don't be silly Amelia: I have to go, I wouldn't have time to be silly even if you wanted me to Jac: Make sure your mum has a good time then ❤ Amelia: she will, I've booked a dinner reservation and everything Savannah: That's so cute! I feel like I should be a better daughter starting today Jac: Same Jac: putting us all to shame Isabelle: I only got my mum a necklace from the market for her birthday Isabelle: and it made her neck go green 😩 Amelia: she's been annoying me less lately Amelia: actually being helpful Isabelle: 🥳🥳🥳 Amelia: I didn't realise she was good for advice AND gossip Jac: You know you can talk to us too, right Isabelle: ^^ We're your best friends forever Amelia: it's nothing, I thought I liked someone too but I got it wrong Isabelle: but you never like ANYONE Isabelle: no offence Amelia: none taken Isabelle: you'll find someone Meels 😙 Amelia: maybe Amelia: maybe not Isabelle: Of course you will, you're lovely! Isabelle: right girls Jac: But she can take as much time as she likes, Is Savannah: Ty has so many amazing friends when you are ready, but there's no rush Amelia: Thanks Sav, but they're not my type Jac: I hate to think of your mum waiting on her birthday Jac: you don't wanna be late because Is still hasn't picked an outfit Amelia: don't worry, I'm going Isabelle: See you at Erin's 💖 Jac: Later 👋 Amelia: yeah x 2

Uh,Surprise? (3-?)

Summary-  Peter thought that saving Y/n was going to be the only surprise today.

Pairing- Peter Parker x Stark! reader

Warning- cursing (a little)

Word Count- 1439

A/N- I’M SO SORRY THAT THIS IS LONG OVERDUE, BUT BETTER LATE THAN NEVER RIGHT?

Hope you enjoy. If you have any requests, I will do my best to try to make them happen.

*Thoughts in italics*

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Masterlist

~General~

After Y/n’s little encounter, she decided not to tell her mother about what had happened-not wanting her to get worried. Instead she would just tell her that there were delays with the subway-which was typical for New York. 

Though, on the way home, she couldn’t get her mind off of a certain friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. It should be crazy right? To have a crush on a superhero-whose face you can’t see?! What if by chance she's sees him at the compound? Without a mask? Would he be as cute as she thinks? How would her father react to this crush-if he should ever find out? All these thoughts and questions flooded her mind as she practically autopilots home.

When Y/n arrived home, she called out to her mother.

 “Mom?”, she shouts as she tosses her keys into the bowl near the door. The keys land on a folded piece of paper which catches Y/n’s attention. She grabs the paper and reads the note. 

Went to pick up pizzas and deserts.

Won’t be long.

-Mom🖤

Seems as though her mother wasn’t there. “Well, seems like she doesn't have to know anything”, Y/n says while throwing out the note and makes her way to her room. She tosses her bag onto her bed then proceeds to change into different clothes. Once she finishes, she puts her headphones on and begins her homework, wanting it all done so she doesn't have to worry about it later. 

Halfway through Y/n doing her homework, her mother had come home with pizza and dessert just like she promised.

“Y/n?”, she called out, but due to her listening to music she couldn't hear. She noticed her daughter’s keys laying the bowl, so she knew she was home.

Y/m/n (your mother’s name) put the food in the kitchen then walked towards Y/n’s room. She knocked before entering and when she entered she couldn't help but giggle. There was her daughter dancing around in her room and holding her hairbrush as if it were a microphone.

~You~

I was too busy in my own music world to hear my mother knocking and stand in my doorway. I was dancing around and singing without a care in the world about how I sounded- completely ditching my homework. It wasn't until I turned around and saw her smiling/laughing  at me. And I when I say that I’ve never gotten so scared in my life, I mean it. I practically jumped out of my skin. My heart racing like crazy as I pull my headphones so they rest on my neck.

“You gave me a heart attack mom,” I say while trying to calm my breathing.

“I'm sorry honey, I didn't mean to scare you. In my defense, I did knock.”, she says walking towards me, giving me a hug and kisses my head. “Happy birthday sweetheart.”

I smile and hug her tighter, “Thanks mom.” 

I sigh while resting my head on her chest and immediately she knows something is up.

“What's wrong baby girl?”

I let go of her and sit on my bed, she follows. “I have a problem.”

That's when I told her about my dilemma. Of course she understood why this was a problem for me. “I don't know what to do mom.”

“Well the first thing you should do is talk to your father and try to come up with a plan. And second, If Liz and Mj really are your friends-and care about you as much as I know they do-they’ll understand why we’ve kept this secret from them if they find out.”

I thought about her words. This is a big aspect of my life that I’ve left out. I mean, I’m Tony Stark’s daughter and I know the Avengers personally- they’re practically my family as well! If anyone finds out, there will forever be a target on my back. Including the people around me. If anything were to happen to my mother or friends, I’d never forgive myself. And if anything were to happen to me, my dad would never forgive himself. 

“Look the charity isn’t till tomorrow night, so why don’t you skip school and have Happy pick you up. That way you can see your father earlier and talk to him. You’ll figure something out honey, I know it. You’re very smart just like him.”

I gave her a big hug, “Thanks mom. You always know what to say.” 

She gives me a kiss then stands up, “Now, how about we start decorating and setting up the food before the girls get here?”

“Sounds great”

Halfway through setting up the food and living room, I remembered what I asked Liz. “Oh mom I forgot to tell you.”, she turns her head to me, “I asked Liz if Peter and Ned wanted to come over. I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course honey.”

“Cool”

After we were done, about a half hour later there was a knock on our door. MJ and Liz were the first to arrive of course. After they greeted my mom, I asked if Peter and Ned were coming.

“Ned said they were but might be a little late,' Liz said. I just shrugged my shoulders then the three of us went to my room to pass time until they arrived. 

~Peter~

After I took that guy to the police station, I couldn’t stop thinking about Y/n and how I talked to her. Granted, she didn’t know it was me but still. And the way she stopped that guy ...her father’s invention was impressive. Definitely seems like something Mr. Stark would invent. 

I replayed our conversation in my head as I swung around and it almost seemed like….she was flirting with me and I FLIRTED BACK. I wonder if she wonders about what I look like behind the mask? 

I shook this from my head. She probably thinks I look like someone from the football team. If she knew it was me underneath this mask, she’d laugh. She likes Spider-Man. She’ll never like me. The real me.

A few hours passed and I get a call from Ned.

“Hey Ned, wha-”

“Dude! I'm about to be at your apartment, you better be there!”

“Oh shit! I’ll be right there.”

Sure enough as soon as I get back into my room, I hear Ned’s voice. Then my door opens and I freeze.

“Dude, we’re gonna be late.” Ned says while letting himself in and closing the door.

I let out a sigh of relief, “You'll never guess what happened.”

While I was changing out of the suit and into normal clothes, I told Ned my encounter with Y/n. Of course, he had a slight freak out.

“Man, her dad’s invention sounds awesome. Did you tell her it was you?!”

My eyes widen, “What?! No! Why would I tell her?”

“Uh because of your massive crush on her?!”

“That’s a reason why I can’t tell her! No one is suppose to know!”

“But I do.”

“By accident!”

“So what if she ‘accidentally’ found out it was you?”

My head shot up to him just as I put on my sneakers, “Ned, what did you do?”

“Nothing I swear! I’m just saying hypothetically!”, he threw his hands up in defense. 

I decided to just change the topic altogether, “Liz said this was a birthday party?”

“More like a birthday hangout.”

“Well regardless, I don’t have a gift or at least a card. I’ll feel bad if we show up without anything.”

“Don’t worry bro, I got that covered already.”, Ned says holding up an envelope and a birthday card. 

~

Plus side, we were only about 30 minutes late. Downside was that Ned refused to tell me who even initially invited us. Apparently Liz was just the middleman between us and the mystery birthday girl. 

While taking the elevator to the correct floor, I asked Ned, “Why did Liz say that you said I’d regret it if I didn’t come?”

“Because we don’t get invited to things. And besides I wouldn’t have come if you didn’t.”

I don’t think that was the right answer but I’ll let it go. What are you hiding from me Ned?

We exit the elevator and walk to the right door. Once we get to the door Ned knocks.

“You’re going to thank me later.”

“Why?”, I questioned.

But I didn't get an answer at least not from him. It came from the door being opened, revealing who lived here and ultimately why I DEFINITELY would have regretted not coming.

My eyes widen, “Y/n!”

Part 4?

Message me if you would like to be a member of the VIP squad or of this specific series/person/fandom squad.

VIP Squad⭐

@sunflower-xxxs @deemelv6 @onceuponateenpanwolfian @chonisberonica @lou-la-lou @jack4xx @chennyetomlinson

Real Friends, New Crush Squad

@icantbeme71097 @vxidnik @mycatadonkey @huntermichelle

Spider-Man Squad🕷

@thewinchesterchronicles @bookgirlunicorn @adventurousbooknerd

Hi I love all your penumbra metas. In the latest episode I'm still confused by what actually went wrong with the dome, was it the society or the dome that didn't work?

Is this gonna be a thing I do?

I am totally cool with this.

Again, major detailed spoilers for Promised Land under the cut.

And an anon asked:

Thanks for explaining the end of the episode! I’m a little confused about what happened with the dome in the first place. I mean, I know the free dome wasn’t real. And Erin tried to get her son(?) to get it to work and he was a giant dick trying to torture people looking for it. Did Erin set up the dome stuff prematurely? Did it ever exist? Marshall’s son felt really bad and wanted to warn everyone. Where did the hallucination gas fit in? Did Erin and company think they had it but didn’t?

One thing to keep in mind is that we’re deliberately not given the full story, so all we’re left with is bits and pieces that we can glue together to kind of get a vague impression of what happened, but the way I put them together won’t necessarily be the way you put them together. 

So let’s get to it, shall we?

Why was the Free Dome important?

Real estate on Mars is expensive, outside of super low-income neighborhoods like Oldtown, The Boiler, etc. 

This is because 90% of Mars’s surface is uninhabitable. If you want to live somewhere, you better be willing to fork over a ton of cash for a tiny place, or else you’re going to be buddying up with your immediate family/seven of your closest friends/etc. 

JUNO: Mars only has a couple cities and a few desertoutposts cuz the radiation will bake you like a potato if you stay out theremore than a few hours, and Domes can’t be built just anywhere. So if you want anew city, you’ve got to figure out how to build a place to build it. You haveto invent a better Dome.

Life cannot exist underground, because the ambient radiation is just too strong:

PILOT: A lot of space in this subway. I wonder why I neverbuilt anything down here. Some housing or something.

PIRANHA: People lose their marbles if they live under Martianground too long. Radiation burns, Brainswell…

STRONG: You know whatbeing under all this radioactive sand too long does to you? Drives you crazy.Makes you see things.

This is likely why the subway has been closed off everywhere except Oldtown– most likely it wasn’t safe for the people working there, or for the people using it for transit.

Oldtown was the only part of Hyperion City that still had a connection to the Old Subway, behind a boarded-up door in a nondescript office building. (Stolen City)

This is probably also why the only thing that lives in the sewer are giant mutant rabbits. 

Notably, though, both the subway and the sewer system are in fairly good repair because they’re both under Hyperion City and its protective dome. The same doesn’t hold true for structures built outside of that protection:

People hadbuilt things down here, signs and lights and tracks, but the radiation hadclearly done damage even this deep below the surface. Fixtures corroded. Trackslike time had taken a blowtorch to them.

Even the existing domes are fragile. We know that Hyperion City’s has some places that are protected better than others.

RITA: Well… sounds like a pretty bad sandstorm is gonna hit this afternoon. You’ll probably want to be out of Oldtown by then; the shield over there’s about as strong as used tissues. They went into lockdown three times just last month. (Day That Wouldn’t Die)

Our Man-Who-Wasn’t picked a good neighborhood to set up shop in: the Old Industrial District, a place blasted by sandstorms and cosmic rays so hard that not even the roaches would live there anymore. The shields protecting the rest of Hyperion didn’t reach this far, and so neither would most of its citizens. It was the perfect place to do bad business – so long as you didn’t mind a tumor or two. (Prince of Mars)

That’s important: You can’t build domes just anywhere, and the domes that do exist have to be heavily shielded from sandstorms and cosmic rays. 

If you can solve those two problems, then you can build a dome wherever you want, you can build as many of them as you want, and all the unclaimed land on Mars is effectively yours for the taking– and that means that you now have the power to decide who gets to live there and who doesn’t. Do you give affordable housing to anyone who wants it, like Erin Marshall D’Arc? Or do you do like Pilot wanted, and make the hyper-wealthy pay top dollar so they can have their own personal golf course? Either way, that’s an incredible amount of power.

The Family D’Arc

So we have three main characters in this story: Erin, the scientist; Marshall, her son; and his kid, Domer 3 (they’re never given a name, but that’s what the script calls them).

We started in a reception hall that didn’t lookprepared to receive anybody. There were portrait frames on the walls, but mostof them were empty, and the ones that weren’t just showed family photos. A momand her son –- the D’Arcs, probably. The kid all grown up, moody, wild-eyed.The only full portrait in the room had the face scratched out – and theydidn’t look like Erin or Marshall. 

Erin was a military scientist who thought she had a solid technology on her hands, and believed in it enough to run away with a group of other believers. Erin was an optimist who seemed to genuinely believe in her Utopian dream.

After her death, her son Marshall took over leadership of the dome.

MARSHALL: Cuz Ma might’ve had allthat crap about everyone being her neighbor or whatever, but guess what? She’sdead.

The character descriptions in the script talk about how Marshall was a believer who wanted desperately to be good enough, but neither he nor the Free Dome ever lived up to expectations, and that broke him.

But all of that is background information. From what we see in the episode itself, Marshall was… not a nice person. His tests were murderous, sadistic, and full of gaslighting and victim-blaming, and the way he addressed his prospective “neighbors” was nothing short of abusive. 

So you’reprobably wondering why I stopped you out in these irradiated badlands, with allthe oogidies and the boogidies waiting to getcha. I’ve got three answers forthat. Answer one: it’s none of your business. Two: my testing materials havegot to last a long time, forever probably, and it’ll help wear-and-tear if lessof you make it to them. Three: it’s still none of your goddamn business.

“Anyone whowishes to enter the Free Dome must be generous, and give more of themselvesthan they can afford. So sit upon this Chair of Charity and give to us… fromyour blood.”

Congratulations.You’re a very generous idiot. Here’s the Dome… and here’s your blood back,weirdo. Just do me afavor: if you feel like you’re gonna bite the big one, show yourself out,alright? We’re already behind schedule without cleaning up your carcass.Marshall out.

That’s it!Easy, right? Just hold the Dome and walk straight. No matter what. You hear me?No matter what. (AN UNDERCURRENTOF DARK, DARK ANGER) And if youknow what’s good for you, you’ll listen.

That’s way beyond unreasonable. But it wasn’t just toward the test-takers. His kid flat out tells us that this was regular behavior for him.

Dad was a good guy, too. I mean… well, no hewasn’t. 

I never met her, but Dad… Dad wasn’t good beforethe radiation either.

(Notably, this is the same kind of language that Juno uses to describe his own mother.)

We don’t know Domer 3′s name, but we know that they lived outside of the dome with Marshall long enough to know him (and his abuse) before the radiation made him worse; we also know that Erin didn’t live to meet her grandchild. 

After Marshall presumably died, Domer 3 seems to be the last person here. They recorded warning messages to keep everybody away, and encoded a kill switch into the final recording so that once it was activated, nobody could enter the Free Dome again.

There is a fourth character here, but we only know them incidentally. I don’t know whether they were Marshall’s ex-partner or his co-leader, but Marshall really did not like this person:

MARSHALL: … a test tosee how generous you are. You want in you gotta have a sense of charity. Notlike that weasel Malvin, I swear ifyou’re listening to this, Mal, I’m gonna tear your—

Alright, fine.Test of Faith. You’ve got to do whatever I say exactly, right? That’s how youprove you can be faithful. That you’re going to listen when I tell you to dosomething. That you’re not just going to run out. Malvin.

I suspect Malvin is not Domer 3, because otherwise Domer 3 would have been given a name in the script. Also because Malvin clearly left on their own terms, whereas Domer 3 was clearly the last one there.

So what went wrong?

As near as I can put it together, there were two main problems, one structural and one societal.

Structurally, the dome tech just didn’t work.

I’m sure it did in the short term– after all, the dome sample that Pilot received was powerful enough to protect them from most of the dangers of the third trial, and it was stated to be a much less powerful version of the real thing. 

I genuinely believe that Erin set up her city on the other side of those doors in the end. But what worked in a lab setting just couldn’t hold up to the brute force of sandstorms and constant cosmic radiation. As soon as the dome failed, everybody had to rush back into the relative safety of the underground areas on the other side of the door. The ruins of the city were likely warped by radiation and ground up by sandstorms until they were reduced to nothing at all.

Underground, Erin kept trying to fix the dome tech, and then brought in her son to give it a go. Both of them failed.

I wish they made it. I wish it was possible. Erin, I think she really thought, even if she couldn’t do it… maybe Dad could. She believed in him so much. And when he realized he couldn’t make it work, he just… (BIG SIGH) It was bad. He was… bad.

They were underground in the facility long enough that they started to hallucinate death millipedes, undercrows, and from the sound of it, the functioning dome itself:

I don’t know how it happened. The undergroundradiation, maybe, making them see things, or… maybe they just wanted to see it. 

What exactly happened to them isn’t elaborated upon, but the implication is that they assumed that the tech worked and walked into the desert unprotected, which killed them within a few hours.

(Just to clarify: there was never any hallucinatory gas; the hallucinations were a result of the brainswell, which was in turn a result of the underground radiation.)

But there were some societal issues at play, too.

I’m gonna step back for a second into the real world: historically, there have been a handful of experimental Utopian colonies over the years, with varying degrees of success. A common thread, though, is that a lot of them tend to fall apart when people stop dividing things evenly and start hoarding and hiding an unfair share of the goods for themselves (among other things). The test of charity suggests that this is one of the things that went down here. Once again:

MARSHALL: … a test to see how generous you are. You want in you gotta have a sense of charity. Not like that weasel Malvin, I swear if you’re listening to this, Mal, I’m gonna tear your—

But it’s not the only thing that went wrong. 

Erin’s answer to a galaxy-ending conflict wasn’t to address any of the existing problems that broke the world, but to just pack up and move somewhere else.  Which is not that great of a strategy.

Your wholething is that the world’s a train wreck, so you open up a new city and just letanybody who wants walk in? That’s not anew world. That’s not a utopia. That’s the old one all over again. Justsmaller.

Erin’s strategy was apparently to please everybody, which is also not a great leadership strategy, especially in a small place with limited resources. Marshall had a lot of things to say about that, but he wasn’t much better. Apart from being seriously abusive, Marshall wasn’t the kind of leader that could command respect, which he clearly resented. 

… what isthis, second? Uh, Test of Faith, how about that? Listen to whatever I say.Somebody’s got to. Somebody should.

Hey, you listened. Nice work. If you’re alive. Which you probably aren’t. Because you probably didn’t listen. Nobody does. Why would you? Why would anybody? 

On a societal level, the Free Dome was doomed to fail even before the brainswell started making people hallucinate and taking away their ability to think rationally.

From the sound of it, people stopped listening to the D’Arcs, they started hoarding things, and then they started leaving or dying, until the only ones left were Marshall and his kid. And then it was just Domer 3, who shut down the whole thing and walked away.