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bitterbeanren · 5 months

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Just a Little Longer

Kamisato Ayato x Reader

Summary: Now that things have quieted down after the winter festival, you feel it’s time to celebrate with a hot pot party. Ayaka has insisted that you invite Ayato personally.

A/N: My gift for @laurequenta

I had a lot of fun writing this! Ayaka and Thoma are such shippers in their own subtle and sometimes less subtle ways.

Happy Holidays!

~*~

After the winter festival concluded, work around the Kamisato estate and your own family’s estate calmed down, and the weather became even colder, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to play another hot pot game. You had gone to the Komore Teahouse to ask Thoma what he thought (as well as play with Taroumaru), and he had happily agreed to participate. You’d just taken off your haori and scarf and hung them when Ayaka arrived as well. After hearing your idea, Ayaka grew excited about having a hot pot party too. Then, she insisted that you need to be the one to let the Head of the Kamisato Clan know about the plan and invite him as well.

You don’t mind. Your families had worked together for generations, your mothers had been close, and you considered him a dear friend. You’d known each other since childhood after all. You had fond memories of walks in the gardens, studying and comparing notes after lessons, of playing together with Ayaka, and of him showing you what he’d learned about sword fighting. You remember going to the Narukami Shrine together for New Years, warming your hands with cups of amazake and checking fortunes. When you think back on those times, you realize that you actually spent a fair amount of time together. A good chunk of your youth was spent at the Kamisato Estate and with the eldest Kamisato sibling. At least that was the case until Ayato took over the position of clan head. He became significantly busier after that.

As the years passed you maintained a good friendship with Ayaka and Thoma, however, you still felt fondest of the eldest Kamisato despite your differing paths.

Even now that you are adults, because you know of his fondness for odd snacks, whenever you see something you think he would enjoy you would get it for him. When you were able to give him the unique treats in person, his gaze would soften and the small smile that appeared on his face felt more… genuine. But when you weren’t able to give them to him yourself, he would send a letter describing the goods almost like a review column belonging in something from the Yae Publishing House. It never fails to make you smile. And when the two of you do get to spend time together, it’s like nothing has changed… provided that the two of you aren’t in public or are alone. When you do see him at events, there’s an air of formality around him that makes him feel more distant.

You much prefer being around him when he doesn’t need to put up a front.

“Master Ayato said he would be taking a walk around Hanamizaka, ___,” Thoma informs with a smile. “He didn’t leave too long ago.”

“Oh, you should go over now and invite him! I don’t believe he has any plans for tonight, so we could meet back here with ingredients in a few hours to have the hot pot party,” Ayaka claps her hands together with a warm expression on her face. “And if he is busy, then we could have one with just the three of us. Would that work for you?”

You look up thoughtfully before giving the younger Kamisato a nod. “I’ll need to send word to my family, but I don’t have any other commitments today.”

“Would you like me to send the message to your estate while you check in with my lord?” Thoma tilts his head to the side cutely.

“That would be much appreciated, Thoma,” you smile politely and wave goodbye before making your way towards Hanamizaka. “I’ll see you two soon. Jya ne!”

As you make your way through the city, you can see your breath come out in puffs. It’s cold— and you can feel the chill through your kimono even though you’re wearing one of your thicker ones. Ayato certainly was bold— most Inazumans avoided being out in this temperature. But perhaps that was why he felt comfortable to walk about— he’d never been fond of crowds, especially after he’d become clan head. It was important to keep up public appearances when part of a noble household, and since Ayaka was well-loved by the people, Ayato could get away with being in the shadows so long as his few appearances were viewed positively.

The street vendors are still manning their stalls even though business is slow, but they were more prepared for the weather than you. They wear scarves and hats as well proper outer layers. Drat— you should have grabbed your scarf at least before leaving the teahouse. You mentally kick yourself and bring your fingertips up to your mouth, attempting to use your breath to warm them. When you next glance up, you see Ayato making his way towards you, an easy smile playing on his lips.

“Ayato!” You beam at him when he stops in front of you, one hand on his hip as he furrows his brows.

“Aren’t you cold, ___?” The man asks, you nod your head sheepishly.

“Ayaka and Thoma told me you were around here, and I forgot to put my layers back on before I went looking for you.”

“When you say it like that, it makes it sound like it’s my fault you’re cold,” Ayato chuckles, taking off his scarf and looping it around your neck. “Honestly… what could be so important that you’d forget? Surely seeing me isn’t worth catching a cold over.”

“We’re going to have a hot pot party tonight,” you explain, subconsciously nuzzling into the warm fabric and laughing with a hint of embarrassment, “since things have quieted down, I thought it’d be nice for all of us to get together again.”

“Ayaka must have insisted you invite me personally. Am I correct?”

“She did. But I would have invited you regardless.”

Ayato’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he leaned in a bit closer. “Truly?”

You roll your eyes. “Have you so little trust in me, Ayato? We’ve been friends since we were kids.”

The Yashiro Commissioner gave you a noncommittal shrug. “It seems like these days I only see you when you’re with Ayaka and Thoma. I suppose I’ve been feeling a bit… neglected.”

“A hot pot party with just the two of us wouldn’t have nearly as much variety,” you shrug in response. “So, would you like to join us? We could get ingredients together.”

Ayato takes a moment to consider his response before letting out a sigh and securing his scarf around your neck. “Let’s find something interesting at least. Where did you find those sea urchin chocolates last time, ___?”

He already knows, of course. He’s the Yashiro Commissioner after all. But still, Ayato asks.

“If I tell you my source, then how will I be able to surprise you anymore?” You joke lightly.

“I’d never refuse a gift from you, even if it was uninteresting.”

“That doesn’t mean you’d like a boring gift.”

“I’d like any gift from you. We’re… childhood friends, after all.”

You place your hands on your hips. “Even so, the fun of finding weird things to put in hotpot comes from using perfectly normal things that don’t belong in hotpot. Ayaka still wins for using cake that one time… I need to think of something incredibly normal but just as upsetting for us to discover.”

The two of you begin to walk towards various stalls together, chatting as you go. “Perhaps… sunsettia?” Ayato offers as an idea.

“In Liyue there is a soup dish that uses sunsettia as the main ingredient,” You reply with a shake of your head. “So… adding sunsettias feels as though I’d be playing off that dish. Oranges, though… that might be fun…”

“Depending on what other ingredients are added, I imagine that the inclusion of orange slices would be quite novel.”

“But see, now that you know I’m considering it, that makes it less fun.”

You don’t notice how Ayato’s expression softens as the two of you continue, still shooting ideas back and forth. Being together feels so natural that you don’t even realize when you’ve taken his arm, purchasing a variety of normal and unique ingredients to bring to the hot pot party. Or maybe you choose not to notice, happy to bask in your closeness. Normally you aren’t this close while in public, but the lack of people on the streets make both of you more comfortable.

You’re childhood friends, after all. Of course it’s natural for the two of you to be close, despite everything. It’s something that both of you remember and remind yourselves whenever you end up standing closer than most would comfortably be. Whenever you find yourselves staring or thinking of the other for a moment too long.

There is no shortage of people vying for Kamisato Ayato’s attention these days. But you were there before. Back when the clan was struggling and the future was uncertain— be it because of foolish, childish innocence or loyalty, you had been and continue to be there for him even if only in the most miniscule of ways.

It begins to snow and Ayato adjusts his scarf on you. It’s cold, you really should have brought your own scarf and haori. But you want to enjoy being like this a little longer— together, chatting and carrying ingredients as you walk down the quiet streets back to the Komore Teahouse. Normally, you wouldn’t get to do this. Ayato had an image to uphold, after all. People would talk, seeing you two acting so familiar… but would either of you really mind, if they did?

He laughs at something sassy that you mutter under your breath, a fond look in his eyes, and you think you’ll be able to handle the cold for a bit longer.

Just a little longer.

#gixrsecretsanta2023 #ayato x reader #genshin impact #kamisato ayato

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is-today-tomorrow-in-nz · 3 months

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Why Nikolai fails as a leader

I made a post about why I cannot accept Alina as a protagonist here. I wanted to continue the trend and do the same with the other members of the Righteous Gang. I will start with Nikolai this time.

This is a long read so, brace yourselves.

Nikolai Lanstov is a character I enjoyed reading very much and he is the only member of the Righteous Gang that I find likeable. He is shown as an inventor, visionary, a lawless pirate and a prince who threw away his cushy life to support his country. LB proposes him as an alternative- the 'good' leader opposed to the 'evil' Darkling. However, as the story progresses, we cannot help but see several parallels between them. Both are clever, have a thirst for power(not for themselves), are patriotic and posses an opportunistic nature.

So what differentiates our 'Good' King from the Dark Lord? The short answer is LB and her plot armour.

In other words, the 'goodness' in Nikolai that is supposed to make him better than the Darkling is never put under trial. Even though, Nikolai as a character has enough traits in him to make him swing easily towards the 'evil side', LB restricts his character to his goodness and devices a plot armour in such way that his morals and ideals are rarely threatened.

Let me point out a few key instances where LB restricts Nikolai's character growth to keep up his clean image:

Nikolai's bid for the throne: Ever since Sturmhond's true identity as Nikolai is revealed, we are shown of his ambition to take over the throne of Ravka. We also see the ground work he had laid since his days as a soldier in the First Army but his plans just stops there. After re-entering Ravka, his only plan is to solely rely on Alina(a fickle person at best) accepting his hand in marriage, kickstarting his campaign for the throne. With the Darkling on the run and the country in shambles, we see no tangible efforts from him even when the situation calls for it He neither strong arms Vasily(or the King) nor does he march in and seize the throne. He does nothing but attend meetings and act as an underling to Vasily. For someone who loves Ravka enough to give up his princehood and live his days as a pirate in the sea, we don't see him doing much to aid the said country when it is in literal chaos.

So how does Nikolai secure the throne?

Answer: The Darkling does it for him.

LB had already established Nikolai as a morally grey character. So why didn't she let Nikolai blackmail his father or brother to position himself in the throne? The country is in shambles and the entire population is looking for a miracle. Marching in with the Sun Summoner, his First Army supporters and seizing the throne is obviously the correct step here and yet we don't see Nikolai doing that or rather LB doesn't let him do that because if she did, then how can she differentiate her hero from the villain?

Nikolai's when faced with the truth about his parents: For once, we are given an excellent opportunity to see how good and righteous Nikolai is. He learns the truth about his dear father, aka the rapist King. He also learns how his mother had been turning a blind eye to his crimes for years. And he, their only remaining son, is placed is in a position to dole out judgement for their crimes.

How does Nikolai punish his family?

Answer: He doesn't.

He shamelessly uses the opportunity to establish himself as the King and sends his parents on a nice, luxury retirement to the colonies. So where did his sense of justice go? How is he the 'good' King when his first instinct is to pardon his kin and not hold them accountable? Isn't that what self-righteous, non-Darklings supposed to do? And the way LB later twists this on the Darkling is laughable. Nikolai literally denies Genya her justice and yet the Darkling is blamed for it. Instead of Nikolai shouldering the responsibility for his actions(by extension his family's), the entire fault is solely placed on the Darkling. What is one more evil deed to his list of crimes, eh Miss LB?

Nikolai on Mal's insubordination. Why does he allow Mal(much later we see it with Zoya too), a literal nobody, to talk and treat him the way he does? He was well within his rights as a prince to demand Mal's blood and yet time and time again he lets Mal walk scot-free? Why? Because he is different? Because he wants Alina to see him in a positive light? To present himself as a better prospect? Because he is a good person at heart that doesn't want to force Alina into something and 'win' her over? So kissing Alina without her consent, in a public event no less, was an act of chivalry?

Answer: Because if he acted, it would make him look as 'bad' as the Darkling. The Darkling would have never accepted insubordination from anyone let alone a nobody tracker from the First Army. He demands respect as any good leader should. Punishment for insubordination is not as 'evil' act as LB perceives it to be. It has been existing since the dawn of time and it exists even in today's modern society. You cannot mouth off figures of authority without consequences. And yet LB cannot have that because Nikolai is not the Darkling. He is different, he is 'good'.

*****

Throughout the trilogy and duology, through several mouth-pieces, LB keeps telling us how much of a good person Nikolai is and yet when presented with an actual moral dilemma, she does not allow him to make a decision that would sully his 'goodness'. So how can we, as readers, call him 'good' when he is never presented with a trolley problem?

LB keeps shooting Nikolai in the knee to keep him from growing. Because if he did, then we would see how he was no different from the Darkling. The 'evilness' of the Darkling stems from the fact that he had to make hard choices since the day he was born. He had taken up an cause that no one before him did and so being 'good' was never an option for him because the only choices he had were preserving his soul or preserving his community. And he chose the latter and this is where Nikolai fails as a leader. Nikolai never had to make a choice of sacrificing a few for the goodness of many. LB swathes him in plot armour after plot armour that by the end of the duology he is almost as virtuous as Virgin Mary.

It's a shame that LB's views of the world are restricted to black and white. Had she understood the nuances of morality, she would not have maimed one of her strong characters.

A good King shows strength, courage and fights for his country. He commands respect from his subordinates and strives to improve the lives of his subjects. A good leader does not hesitate to use any tools at his disposal to get results he needs- diplomacy, violence, threats, warfare etc. A good leader will always puts his people first before his morals and more importantly does not give up his crown to Daenerys Targaryen knock-offs. By making Nikolai's character cling to his cloak of morality, LB makes him look like a people-pleasing child rather than a formidable leader he has the potential to be.

In conclusion, as much as I like Nikolai as a character, I would say Uther Pendragon made a better King to Camelot than Nikolai did to Ravka.

#shadow and bone #grishanalyticritical #grisha critical #grishaverse #nikolai lantsov #anti leigh bardugo #anti shadow and bone #pro aleksander morozova #pro darkling #king of scars #rule of wolves #seige and storm #ruin and rising

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thebadboyfanclub · 1 year

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Do You Want This? Pt. 1 (Jacaerys x Reader)

Hello everyone! Merry Christmas and happy holidays. I’ve had this in the drafts and nitpicking on it but fuck it consider it a gift and give me an A for effort. There’s incest here btw and also Jacaerys is older cause keeping him the age of the show is weird. Enjoy!

“Sister, Welcome home”

(Y/n) called for Rhaenyra as her big sister opened her arms wide in order to embrace (y/n) in a big warm hug to which her younger sister ran into and wrapped her arms around Rhaenyras waist tight but careful not to hurt her or her baby. (Y/n) was almost attached at the hip with Rhaenyra when they were younger, it felt like she was the only person that understood (y/n), in her sisters arms she felt the familiarity and love she had missed.

(Y/n) was the second child of Aemma and Viserys, the reason her mother passed away, the reason why Viserys could barely look at her. He let the maester perform the cut hoping for a son so as a result not only did he lose his beloved wife, the child was another daughter.

(Y/n) felt her fathers disappointment in her from a very young age, however she never resorted into sitting comfortably in her victim role and slouch in the shadow of her sister, she found joy in not having to attend to the court meetings or learning how to perform duties of an heir. Rhaenyra never blamed (y/n), she was aware of whom it was that made the decision to go forth with the fatal procedure that took their mothers life, on the contrary she was protective of her -not that she needed it- she just always made sure her little sister was safe.

(Y/n) had been perfectly content with being alone, the quietness and freedom suited her well, Rhaenyra was amazed by how much her younger sister was glowing, she looked more beautiful than ever. (Y/n) had always been a lone wolf yet no one really believed she would have lasted this long.

“You left for a few years and you decide to give birth to an entire pact and with another one on the way”

(Y/n) teased playfully as she lightly caressed the bump that her sister had. Rhaenyra smiled before softly grabbing her sisters shoulders to give a small squeeze of endearment as she kept smiling wildly showing off her pearly white teeth.

“Gods have been good, I wish you the same soon”

“I’m perfectly content with being able to tighten my corset until I’m unable to breathe, I’m leaving the birthing stuff to you dear sister”

She joked light heartedly still there was some truth in her remarks.(y/n) had thought of being a mother, quite often actually however she hadn’t found someone to believe was worth to stand as the father of her child.

“My oh my, do my eyes deceive me? Jacaerys, Lucerys and Joffrey, gods be good! You have grown to such handsome men”

“I missed you”

Lucerys blabbered out loud before running to her and squeezing his aunt. (Y/n) and Lucerys had shared quite the bond before they left, her and Rhaenyra were the only ones he would not cry when he was held, when he had bad dreams and did not want to admit to his mother that he was still scared of nightmares he would run to her bed and ask if he can sleep with her.

“And I missed you too dear Luke, let me take a good look at the future lord of driftmark”

(Y/n) of course adored him, he was such a sweet and gentle soul, she would do anything to protect him. She had him back and placed a kiss on the top of his head before she placed her hand on his chin to take a good look at him.

“You’re so much taller since I last saw you, hopefully now you can start taking me on rides with Arrax”

“Anytime you wish”

She kissed his chubby cheek before she diverted her gaze to the tallest man out of the three. She stepped towards him as she scanned his presence.

“It’s lovely to see you again, aunt (y/n)”

Jacaerys spoke in a low voice, avoiding to look at her. Jace always had a crush on his aunt, she was such a beautiful woman, he remembers dropping his sword on accident when she appeared on training or messing up his words when she tried to test his high Valyrian knowledge.

He was hoping his feelings have pasted and he would be able to face her, he was betrothed to a beautiful woman that had a good heart, he was praying that his little dirty thoughts would not come back, although they never really left him, he couldn’t have been more wrong. There she stood, her alluring presence and melodic voice was his soft spot.

“Jacaerys, welcome home my dearest”

(Y/n) smiled at the kind boy and walked over to hug him, Jacaerys froze for a quick moment before returning the favour. Her scent hit him immediately, she smelled of vanilla and jasmine, such a warm and suitable combination. He took a deep breath and felt his shoulders sink before he snapped out of his trance

As she pulled away (y/n) gave him a comforting smile and caressed his cheek in such a gentle manner that almost made him turn red before turning back to her older sister.

“Rhaenyra, I must show you how big Kai has gotten”

As the week passed Jacaerys tried to be as discreet as possible, he yearned for her presence and did almost everything he could to be around her. Respectfully of course, he was betrothed to Baela as well as being whispered around the castle that Cregan Stark had started to show interest in (y/n). It wasn’t the first time someone had shown interest in her, still he had to recognise that it was a tempting offer and people were starting to whisper about how she still has not been wed.

The hour was late yet Jacaerys could not seem to be able to rest, his mind was so preoccupied with different types of thoughts and refused to quiet down in order to fall into deep slumber.

He quickly got up and out of his room to roam around, as the idea of taking a walk to his dragon came to his mind he saw a small source of light in the library. Who would be up at this hour? He took a few steps before realising who it was.

(Y/n) was sitting close to the window in one of the chairs, her white night gown leaving her shoulders and collarbone bare, her hair was down and tucked behind her ears and she had pulled the material a little bit higher leaving her legs exposed, she looked like a dream as she sat there reading.

“I see that being discreet is not your strongest trait”

She spoke to him without looking up. (Y/n) had started to notice how Jacaerys looked at her, how he lingered in the background how his gaze followed her around wherever she went, she tried to rid of those thoughts although it was no easy task. Jacaerys was handsome, kind, a true gentleman, yet how could she do that to Rhaenyra? (Y/n) knew her sister would never understand.

Jacaerys cleared his throat before he fully entered the room, closing the door behind him as he faced (y/n). He could sit there and watch her all night if he could, he hated the gods for making him think like this, besides she would never give him a chance to prove himself worthy of her love.

“What’s keeping you up my lady?”

“I don’t know, I just cannot seem to fall asleep, what about you?”

“Do you want the truth?”

“Always”

“You”

That was when she raised her gaze. He stood proudly even though his expression was filled with anxiety. No she must have heard wrong, he didn’t just admit that it was her that kept him up at night.

“I assume you are jesting”

“Unfortunately not”

“Jacaerys I-“

“I know what you will say. It is inappropriate for us to discuss this type of matter, you’ve raised me as your own therefor you could never betray Rhaenyra like that and the list goes on”

he interrupted her as he paced back and forth while talking with his hands moving. He was well aware of what she would try to say, that this could not be, that it would be impossible, that he is betrothed. (Y/n) got up from her seat making Jacaerys come to a halt while she left the book on the wooden table that stood between them. Her fingers traced the dark wood before she took a deep breath

“If you know then… what are you trying to achieve?”

“I guess one call only wish, is that such a bad thing? To dream of you”

“Yes, yes it is bad Jacaerys, I am your mothers sister”

“Do you think this situation pleases me (y/n)? You have made these past few days insufferable, I cannot seem to focus on anything, I am not even able to rest my mind cause you are driving me insane”

(Y/n)s palm came in contact with the table as she put her weight to her hands in order to support herself breaking eye contact for a few seconds so she can collect her thoughts.

In any other situation (y/n) would have already tried to get close to him, to show him she is interested, he was a man that did not go unnoticed, she was shocked when she first saw him after so long, he had grown into a ravishing young man, she had managed to ignore her sexual longing for Jacaerys for the past few days and now she came face to face with reality.

“I am leaving for the north in two days, I have decided to accept Cregans offer”

“No, I will not let you”

“Are you listening to yourself? You are to be married to Baela, she loves you Jace”

She whispered yet yelled at the same time exasperated, she was not only thinking of herself, he was the future king, his entire life was at risk, she felt responsible to prevent him for doing something he might regret. As she desperately tried to reason with him it took all her might to not spill her thoughts that had torture her.

“And I thought I loved her as well but I’ve been proved wrong.I’ve made so many attempts to remove you from my mind, to finally allow another woman I have always dreamed of you, ever since I was a young boy, do you want to know how many nights I’ve spend fantasising of you? of your… body, you are the succubus that has turned into a weak man with no power over my acts, I’m sitting here in the middle of the night begging for just a crump of your affection”

Jacaerys started to walk in her direction, his finger reaching out to make a trace from her wrist all the way up to her shoulder before he stood right behind her. His voice was Low and seductive, he knew the power he was starting to have over her, (y/n) exhaled loudly as his hand brought goosebumps at her spine and looked down in order to avoid eye contact.

(Y/n) could feel his chest colliding with her back while his free hand gently grabbed her hair and placed them on her right shoulder. He could feel her shallow and unsteady breathing, she closed her eyes at his touch that made her shiver lightly.

“My imagination has been my company through my adolescence, I have prayed to be given the chance for a few moments with you alone”

“I did not wish for any of this, think of the… consequences. This marriage means everything to our family”

“To hell with them, you are worth losing everything for. Haven’t you thought of it (y/n)? You’ve never spared a moment to imagine what it would be like if I… pleased you? Better yet, you have ever imagined what it would feel like? Say you haven’t thought of spending the night with me and I’ll be gone in an instant”

He whispered in her ear. His breath hitting her skin and almost forcing her to lose her train of thought. She turned her head slightly to look into his eyes which was a mistake. She fell victim of his intense glare that compelled her to not even be able to form a sentence.

“I know I’m not as experienced as you, yet you have haunted me throughout my life, I thought I would be happy enough with finding a woman that you shared similar traits but I just… my mind, body and soul yearns for you, your touch, your warm embrace, I belong to you”

“No, no we mustn’t”

“Yes we must”

He turned her roughly and head her by her waist in place, his body pressed against her leaving no space for her, her bum colliding with the table.

“Do you want this?”

“I- We”

“Do you want… me?”

“Yes”

She breathed out, her tone so low that he could barely hear, she had known lust before but mixed with the fantasy of biting the forbidden fruit made it more thrilling. His hands cupped the sides of her face as hers went to hold on tightly at the sides of his waist, grabbing the material of his shirt with all her might, it was better than any wine she had tasted and more passionate than any man she had bed.

His eyes trailed down and then up, her lips were slightly parted and her chest rose and fell as she tried to take deep breaths, her piercing eyes sparkled as she stared at him, like an antelope looking at their predator, he couldn’t believe she stood right in front of him, he was in awe of how she looked while the only source of light was the moon and a few candles, he had thought of this moment for so long so he wanted to take it slow, cherish every second of being this close to her.

“I have a wild imagination but i never thought you would be so… breathtaking”

His hands went to the small of her back as he slowly leaned in towards her lips, even though she tilted her head to the side he still stopped inches away from her lips wanting to tease her and make her feel just an ounce of how he has been dealing with for all these years.

“Do you want me to kiss you?”

She didn’t say anything, she just closed the space between them and attacked his lips hungrily. The kiss was full of passion, full of unsaid words and eagerness, they had both thought of this moment yet they had chosen to suffer in silence until now.

He pushed her up on the table and (y/n) wrapped her legs around him, she needed him to be as close as possible, as her hands found the hem of his pants they were both startled by the knock on the door.

“Princess (y/n)?”

It was her knight, (y/n)s eyes went wide before she jumped up and grabbed him by the upper shoulders to wake him from the shock

“Hide”

she whispered to Jacaerys. Lost in the moment and startled by the interruption he kissed her passionately one more time before he ran behind one of the bookshelves.

(Y/n) comped her hair before she took one deep breath and opened the door.

“Ser Helias, thank the gods you came I had seemed to…. Fallen asleep”

She said in a low and drowsy manner and even faked yawned in the middle of the sentence. Jacaerys wanted to laugh on the other side he was thankful but her quick thinking and a pretty believable story she had chosen.

“Princess rhaenyra is asking for you, she says it’s urgent”

Her blood ran cold at the mention of her sister, could she had seen them? Or heard them? No it could not be. On the outside she remained calm, she smiled sheepishly to her knight and nodded

“Odd, alright then lead the way please”

Part two

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ruershrimo · 5 months

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#18 with platonic Brother-in-law Diluc! I think it would be funny if Traveller!Reader (jokingly) and Paimon (not so jokingly) kept asking for increasingly expensive things for Christmas. Whether Diluc delivers is up to you.

the christmas mix | #18- santa baby & #7- rocking around the christmas tree | brother-in-law!diluc and traveller!reader (platonic), husband!kaeya x traveller!reader (romantic)

event masterlist

features diluc (platonic), kaeya (romantic), traveller!reader

notes: hello honey, I really hope this is okay!! you were so sweet and I really liked your idea hahah it just took me a while. I’m so sorry if it’s not up to standard and wasn’t worth the wait (please let me know if you’d like me to write anything else in the future to compensate ;v;,,). regardless, I hope you have a wonderful christmas ❤️!!

warnings: none, really (except for no capitalisation, I suppose?)

summary: it seems like paimon doesn’t have any regard for diluc’s bank account (and why would she?), and that your husband and his brother will be having a good christmas this year, whether they’d like to admit it or not.

christmas in mondstadt, you’ve come to learn, is always a cheery, beautiful thing. there are stalls temporarily set up in springvale and the city itself, selling mulled dandelion wine, more varieties of wurst than there were dandelion seeds in teyvat, and all kinds of lovely little trinkets from traditionally made wooden toys to handmade christmas tree ornaments. it’s like the one time of the year when parents are taking their children all the way to dragonspine to play with the snow, the time when citizens are flocking to the cathedral to pray to their lord (who just so happens to be the drunkard singing christmas carols in the tavern), the time when families are gathering by the fireplace to chat and bask in each other’s presence or sitting by the table to enjoy a lovingly prepared meal at christmas gatherings, parties and the like. even some members of the knights of favonius are taking a break no matter how busy they are— especially jean, lord knows how much the lady needs a break— and you and your husband kaeya already have loads of preparations underway for christmas gatherings and the like.

it was a lovely thing.

“merry christmas,” your brother-in-law— diluc ragnvindr, the wine tycoon himself— greets you as you enter the tavern after a long day of commissions (it was to be expected, what with all the preparations needed to be made for a safe and pleasant christmas).

kaeya waves at you as you sit by the counter, before you peck his cheek and tuck some few of his luscious strands of blue hair behind his ear with a “hello, love”.

“merry christmas to you too,” you reply to diluc, “even if it’s only, like— a whole week away?”

“well, christmas in mondstadt starts a month before the actual day itself,” kaeya jokes, “and I’m sure my dear brother would be pleased to gift you whatever christmas present you’d like, wouldn’t you, diluc?”

diluc grimaces as if looking at the most disgusting thing he’d ever seen. (it was funny.) “shouldn’t you be doing that for your own spouse, kaeya?” even the way he says his brother’s name sounds like he’s spitting it out, though you know he doesn’t truly despise him, and so you try your best to hold a snort.

“oooh, ooh, master diluc!” paimon starts, rather discourteously (or maybe out of a lack of care for how the poor man would perceive her) waving her little arms about before his face, “maybe you can give us some really tasty, fancy food for christmas!”

“hmm, expensive, too,” you join in, teasing him, “oh, please, diluc? or maybe even one of those new automobile machines they’re working on in fontaine…”

it seems kaeya’s getting the hint— your hint, at least, since it seems like paimon is every bit serious about this unlike you and your husband. “well, you heard them, diluc—”

“I am not getting you a car from fontaine of all places. and aren’t you already closely acquainted with the actual Chief Justice himself?”

and on it went, with paimon naming every thing she could think of, and you (or your beloved kaeya) listing whatever else was more expensive than what she did as if you were raising the price at an auction— yet one difference this had from an actual auction was that instead of the buyers paying for the increasingly costly dishes, gifts and goods, it was poor master diluc instead.

and your brother-in-law, though annoyed, was never fazed by the prices themselves and kept at the empty glasses he had been cleaning.

—

“do you think he’ll actually get any of what we said we wanted?” you ask as the two you walk out the tavern, a dozed-off paimon in your arms.

“I don’t think so,” kaeya begins, “but knowing him… well, let’s just say that whatever he decides to do will be interesting, to say the least.”

“uh-huh,” you reply, raising a brow.

—

there’s music playing from the gramophone, a jolly tune that kaeya hums as the fireplace crackles in tune with in delight.

“kaeya,” you call. he stops mid-hum, setting down the cutlery on the table. he gets up immediately, like a pet to its owner’s voice, and suddenly you’re giggling fondly at the thought without having noticed it.

“yes?” from behind his arms circle you like a warm, snug blanket, luscious and long strands of beautiful blue tickling your back and the nape of your neck, and his hand on your waist.

“I think that madman really did it,” you grin, gesturing to the bottom of the ornately decorated (courtesy of both yours and kaeya’s ideas for where to place each and every ornament) christmas tree, and each of the gifts below them (from how you know what each one is, you’re quite sure he’s not the best gift-wrapper around, but definitely the wealthiest): a cutting-edge thirty-million-mora watch from fontaine, bespoke paimon-sized garments made from liyuean materials and handmade by inazuman tailors, and even a limited-edition TCG card yet to be fully released to the public (you know cyno would be punching the air right now if he knew). “or, at least, he tried to get some, even though some of the wishes we brought up were almost unfulfillable. he tried to get most of them.”

“well I suppose we ought to just wait for him to come, if he’ll even visit,” kaeya says.

“wonder how he even snuck it all here in the first place,” you jest, though you suppose the darknight hero had temporarily done some christmas duties in santa’s stead the night before, “and I’m sure that he’ll come,” you finish, pecking your husband on the cheek.

—

“merry christmas,” diluc says as he walks through the door, and although it’s late and most of the others have left, the clock has yet to strike midnight and it’s still christmas night.

“and a happy christmas to you too, diluc,” kaeya greets, “and I was surprised you actually delivered. you wouldn’t happen to just be fooling us with the wrapping paper, would you?”

“do you want me to have done so?”

pft— even after regaining some of what they had before they bore the titles of estranged brothers, your husband was still absolutely incorrigible. (it was really funny, especially now that you knew each word they spoke to the other had less hate and more love than the last; that you knew it was more of playful jesting against a thoroughly annoyed sigh instead of vestiges of a duel many, many years ago.)

but still. poor old master diluc, having to deal with his brother and his spouse, as well as the borderline unmeetable demands of said brother’s spouse’s long-time travelling companion.

“haha! I was just joking, diluc. but thank you, for this, I suppose.”

“mhm,” you add, “you should’ve seen paimon’s face when she saw the wrapping— actually, we were waiting for you to come so that we could open all of the presents together, right in front of the person who’d gotten them for us.

“paimon!” you call, directing your voice to the rooms above you and up the stairs, “diluc’s here.”

then she floats down, and, like a child, wags her legs about excitedly. “ooh, paimon was so excited for this!”

so the four of you open the gifts together, untangling the poorly-tied ribbons (again, you’re sure diluc must have tried his best, and done so on his own, too) and tearing away at the wrapping paper. paimon squeals in delight with each gift opened, and kaeya whips out a kamera for a picture of the four of you.

—

“merry christmas, diluc,” kaeya says, handing him the gift, “from me to you.”

—

“grape juice, huh?”

“of course. he likes it, after all,” kaeya answered as he sat by the christmas tree, wrapping paper, scissors and tape scattered all over the floor, and then he pointed to the leather-wrapped object beside him, “but this makes everything better.”

“a book? it looks beautiful,” you commented.

“no, a photo album. to capture memories we used to store old mementoes and photos in old boxes, but now that kameras are getting more and more common than ever, I decided to get one like this. see?” he grinned, displaying its opened pages before you, “it has these cases to protect and preserve the photos inside.”

“oh, kaeya,” you kissed his cheek, “it’s wonderful. I’m sure he’ll love it.”

event taglist (please send an ask if you’d like to be added!):

wishing everyone a happy christmas ❤️!

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moonlit-imagines · 1 year

Text

Headcanons for being Matt Murdock’s child (Part 4)

Matt Murdock x child!reader

warnings:

a/n: thank you guys so much for waiting patiently for this!!! (except for that one anon who got an attitude with me for not writing this fast enough for them if you’re reading this, learn some manners) anyways, so glad that i finally finished daredevil, now i just gotta push through the last few defenders shows (and catch up on everything else i’ve missed in the past year. haha. fuck.

prompt:

part 1 part 2 part 3

everything was just so shitty.

you had to hold it together and pretend like your dad was just on a very long work trip

it wasn’t like you didn’t plan for this. i mean, you had a dozen notes in his handwriting ready for any occasion, just in case something unexpected happened

to whom it may concern, i have been hired by a client residing in california for an undisclosed amount of time. i will be leaving my child, y/n murdock, in the care of their godfather, franklin nelson. due to my condition, i have granted mr. nelson legal permission to make decisions on y/n’s behalf if i am ever unable to, including this period in time. if you have any questions, please call. matthew murdock.

you read that page over and over again while foggy shuffled around your dad’s apartment, gathering all of your stuff and anything of your dad’s you’d want to hang onto

“you know, marci is fixing up the guest room to be more…you. i think when you see it you’re gonna love it” -foggy

you were half spaced out trying to wrap your head around everything

and you were still so pissed off

it made foggy feel even more guilty

“i got their father killed. if i didn’t bring him that suit, given him my blessing, he’d still be here to raise his kid” -foggy

“you’re being too hard on yourself, foggy bear. the others made it out, he chose to stay. that’s not on you” -marci

“it doesn’t feel like that. i mean, every time i look at y/n i feel like they blame me” -foggy

“blame you? y/n loves you. you’ve always been there for them and they are well aware of that” -marci

you kind of hated karen for a while

i know it’s harsh, but almost every time you saw her, she wanted to give you hope instead of helping you grieve

“maybe he’s still out there somewhere, sweetie” -karen, attempting an embrace

you just wanted her to ditch your old apartment and let you move on with what you had left

on a more lighthearted note, you’d always been welcome in the nelson family

“y/n! honey, come here! lord, foggy, y/n looks like you’ve been starvin’ them!” -foggy’s mom

“aw, no, uncle foggy’s—” -you

“nonsense, dear. theo! fix your lovely [niece/nephew/nibling] a sandwich!” -momma nelson

“mom—” -foggy

“don’t even start, y/n’s in our kitchen now. the nelson meats kitchen”

you always felt best surrounded by all that love

meanwhile, your father laid in the church you grew up with. and no intention of calling you up

“matthew, your child. where are they?” -sister maggie

“they’re safe, safer than they’ve ever been” -matt

you had your days ever since midland circle’s collapse though

some days you could be okay, just getting by. you knew deep down you’d be losing him soon, and you were well prepared

other days were violent fits of rage and sorrow, punching bags and screaming and crying

and a time or two, you’d do it in front of foggy

“he left me! he left me for her and he didn’t even say goodbye! and i’m supposed to forgive him?! fuck him, he chose to do this to me, he’s a piece of shit and he i’m glad he’s gone!” -you, screaming through sobs in the middle of the night

foggy would grab you so tight and wouldn’t let go until you were calm again

and marci would cry to herself as she listened, not fully able to process all of your emotions

but she tried as best as she could, she just didn’t have the deep bond you and foggy did (but she definitely did everything she could for you)

she’d have lil lunch dates with you, just you two

“foggy tells me you got another 100 on your test? that’s always a good thing, especially in a class as tough as that” -marci

“yeah, foggy’s kind of my cheerleader when it comes to that stuff” -you

“any ideas for the day? i could take you to a salon or a game…maybe an arcade or a movie?” -marci

honestly you couldn’t express to her how much she really helped you get through the day

foggy and theo came up with the idea to hire you at the sandwich shop, that way you had something to keep you busy and foggy felt less pressured to help out there

it did help get your mind off things—until little whispers of a familiar vigilante started popping up

the day foggy found out matt was still alive…he wanted to kill him for you

“you’re back! does karen know? oh, matt, y/n’s gonna be so happy, they—they’ve been so down since it all happened—” -foggy

“slow down, foggy. i’m…not actually back. matt murdock, he’s gone” -matt

foggy started to get very frustrated by matt’s explanation

“hold on just a second here, matt. your child—for months on end—has been grieving the loss of their father, wishing they could have him back. i’ve done everything i can to keep that kid afloat, destroyed myself watching them fall apart…and you’re not even gonna consider seeing y/n?” -foggy, beginning to raise his voice and hit the table

“they’re safer without me. just keep them far away from fisk. please.” -matt

foggy didn’t even want to mention it to you. he felt awful keeping secrets from you, but knowing your father was out there and wouldn’t see you? after sacrificing himself for elektra? you’d be a mess

but it didn’t stay secret for long once you and foggy were questioned together by the FBI

you kept cool about it in front of agent nadeem, playing along just right. but once that door closed

“he’s alive?! he’s alive and you just didn’t tell me?! and he met with you, why the hell hasn’t he seen me yet?!” -you, weakly trying to attack foggy as you began to cry, he pulled you in for a hug

“i’m sorry, kid. i’m so sorry. i don’t have a lot of answers right now” -foggy

“where is he? i want to see him” -you

you knew the moment you saw him you’d unleash hell

matt did feel guilty not reuniting with you, you were his only child and you just experienced the same pain he had as a child, but he kept justifying it as “protecting you” much to the sister’s dismay

and plans were hashed not long after, you were left out of them all and put under marci’s care

chinese takeout and a tv show marathon was a great plan until you both picked up your phones, shocked to see an attack going on where your friends and family were supposed to be

you were terrified, but you saw marci terrified, too. you were there for her the same way she always was for you

things blew over, you got out of the house to clear your head

matt went back to the church, still hellbent on ending all this

“matthew…i think you should see y/n. think of all they’ve been through, to see you again would, well, it would be a blessing” -sister maggie

“i have to keep them as far away from this as i can” -matt

“they won’t get too far, being a murdock and all. it’s not just your nature, it’s the name. that name is being thrown around everywhere, maybe you could do the protecting this once” -maggie

“can’t risk it, especially not after this imposter daredevil is on the loose. no morals, no self control, he’s dangerous” -matt

“matthew, what would you do if your father ended up being alive after believing he was gone for so long?” -maggie

that happened to put things into perspective, just the one question

unfortunately he got a bit sidetracked overhearing the prayers of maggie, his mother

but matt couldn’t run or hide from you anymore, couldn’t demand foggy keep you away

so he showed up at foggy’s apartment, knocking on the door gently as he knew you were the only one home

when you looked through the peephole, you saw a battered version of your dad, nothing changes

but you flung that door open so fast and…punched him in the chest a dozen times

“you—piece of shit—motherfucker—how could you?! i hate you! i hate you! selfish asshole!” -you

he let it happen, he thought it’d make you feel better until you wore yourself out

“where the hell were you?” -you, sobbing

“doesn’t matter, i’m here now” -matt

“no, you aren’t. you always have something else come up. always” -you

what an inconvenient time for his phone to ring

you heard the message, you knew he had to be somewhere

that was the first time you felt in the loop in a while, though. hearing the message of where he needed to be. that was all you wanted, was to know what was going on. it was the tiny bit of control you needed

there was nothing glamorous about this life, for sure. the idea of him being out there still made you sick.

fogwell’s gym was the next place you saw him, with agent nadeem and foggy

“really exciting being on fisk’s shitlist, huh?” -you to nadeem, fidgeting with old equipment

“cut it out, y/n” -matt

“what? this isn’t our first time around the block, that’s why we’re hiding here” -you

it’d been a while since you’d been here, you used to hang out cuz “abandoned shit is cool”

you were currently taking your anger and anxiety out on a punching bag, revisiting your old karate lessons from way back when

*while talking testimony with nadeem and foggy* “that is…so distracting. hang on, let me just—” -matt, stopping when his arm was grabbed

“no, they need this. leave it alone” -foggy

matt sighed an nodded, feeling like he was in no place to parent at the moment

karen decided to stand with you and watch

“so…you were right” -you

“you don’t seem too happy about that” -karen

“believe me, wish i could be. but do you recognize him? like, really?” -you

“i…i know. he’s changed. but maybe once this all blows over…i think he’ll go back to himself. be a friend—a dad again” -karen

“sure as hell not to me” -you, scoffing “he’s done picking and choosing when he can be my father. i was always supposed to come first”

karen understood. she knew exactly what you meant and she felt it so deeply, but she wanted for you what she couldn’t have anymore

you hadn’t stopped hitting the punching bag as you talked to her

“can i get it a whirl?” -karen

she got a few good hits in, they were noticed by present company

from there, you stuck with foggy. the least likely of the bunch to get shot!

and court did not go spectacularly either, making you feel just as on edge as before

“y/n, listen, i’m not gonna let anyone hurt you. have they ever gotten to you before? no, and it’s gonna stay that way” -matt, cupping your face in his hands to hold as if it were the last, which it was starting to feel that way for the both of you

“you’re not good at promises. you’re gonna leave again” -you, tears beginning to stream down your face

“no, no. well, yeah, for a little bit. it’s fine, y/n, we’re gonna be fine. i love you, okay?” -matt

foggy took you home and you just shut down again. and although there was a LOT of work to do, marci and foggy always made time for you

“y/n, foggy’s making dinner. you wanna help me make dessert? i’m thinking…cupcakes?” -marci

“do we have the good frosting?” -you

“of course, kiddo, i’d never let us run out” -marci, winking

she got a smile out of you and you rushed to the kitchen with her, which lifted both of their spirits of course

but nothing could be calm forever, bodies dropped every minute and you could only wonder “was that my dad?”

and lord help him, he asked for it every day

especially when, after a few more issues arose, he marched straight into the presidential hotel with faux-daredevil

“you…you keep my secret…keep away from my friends…my kid!” -matt

“heh…your kid. ever think they’re gonna follow in your footsteps? you’ll be long gone, i’ll still be here. with them. maybe they’ll be out for revenge, who knows?” -fisk

“you say anything else, vanessa goes down with you. it’s over, fisk. now swear to me, my kid is safe!” -matt

“i swear…just leave vanessa out of it, i’ll leave y/n out of it” -fisk, surrendering

you were watching the news as it happened, stunned, shocked, in awe. it was better than the last time

“foggy let me drink last time they put fisk away” -you

“jesus, weren’t you like, thirteen?” -marci “i mean, now’s fine, that’s about the age i started partying. what the hell? i’ll get the good stuff out. just a little bit though, dont get your hopes up”

(it was like four “little bits” but you weren’t complaining)

you knew it was coming and you acted surprised anyways

“y/n. i am the shittiest dad in the world” -matt

“well aware” -you, arms crossed after he started the conversation that way

“just another chance. i wanna be your dad, i wanna be there for you, you’re like, the best kid anyone could ask for. foggy’s gotta feel pretty lucky having you around” -matt

“last time i gave you another chance to be in my life, you gave it up for elektra. a second time—third if. you count law school” -you

“she’s gone, out of the picture. died under midland circle” -matt, sort of comically waving her off in front of you like he was over it

“yeah? you survived it. and she came back from the dead. how do i know she isn’t gonna pop up out of nowhere again and ruin our relationship again” -you

“i can’t stress enough how little everything matters compared to you right now. i’ll do anything, y/n. i can’t lose you again” -matt

god, you were angry with every word that came out of this mouth. same old spiel. but then again

“i don’t wanna lose you again” -you

matt grinned at you

“i bet you’re smiling back at me” -matt

“you’re on really thin ice, like paper thin. you better cut it out” -you

“that’s fair, i’ll stop…for now” -matt

you did have to go to father lanthom’s funeral, which was a drag. you may not have asked him for as much forgiveness as your dad, but he was still a pretty big part of your life

“hey, y/n. i know i forgot to mention this…but sister maggie? you know her, she’s around. i just found out she’s your grandmother” -matt

“good one” -you, pretending to laugh. matt didn’t laugh though. “you’re not joking? man, you’re telling me that nun is your mom…and you found out when?”

you all went to nelson’s meats afterwards

“so, you make a mean sandwich, i heard” -matt

“im off the clock” -you “and i don’t serve the blind”

“wow, dark! you know that’s discrimination, right? we could take you to court over that. nelson, murdock and page’s first case?” -foggy

“ok, noted. no more blind jokes…is it sound if i don’t serve vigilantes?” -you

“yeah, it’d hold up better in court. having the right to refuse service to anyone” -matt

“hold on, i still can’t get over the fact y/n just said they hate blind people” -karen, nearly snorting

“did not! i’ve only historically hated to blind people…” -you, being stared at for an answer “stick? right, you know?”

“who?” -karen

“alright, can we get back to mourning with nelson’s meats? i mean, we work hard to bury those sorrows in your stomachs” -foggy

“hey! that can be the new slogan!” -you “and your new law firm’s can be ‘we sue teenagers’”

these happened to be your people. no matter what you all went through, you always ended up back here.

BONUS

“can i meet him? spiderman? pleaaaase?” -you

“how many times have we been over this. i didn’t let you meet jessica and i’m not gonna let you meet peter, do you want me to get disbarred?” -matt

BONUS (PT2)

“you’re coming back to new york, right?” -you, over the phone

“of course i am, i told you i just owed a favor to someone out here, i’ll be home soon” -matt

“foggy says that he will take me back if you bail again, and he doesn’t care if i’m legally an adult either” -you

“well, too bad, he can’t have you” -matt

“please don’t tell me you and the she-hulk lady are quote-unquote, ‘friends’” -you

“how do you do that?” -matt

“you’re predictable” -you

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#matt murdock #matt murdock x teen!reader #matt murdock x reader #matt murdock x child!reader #matt murdock imagine #dad!matt murdock #daredevil #daredevil imagine #daredevil x reader #marvel #marvel x reader #marvel imagine #murdock!reader #defenders #defenders x reader #defenders imagine

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animatorweirdo · 2 months

Text

When the dragons fly(book 2)

Three years have now passed. Your dear little brother had nearly learned everything, and you still wonder about your elven friend's true identity. But then, you see a troubling dream that reminds you of a certain fortune teller's prediction.

[] = High Valyrian

Chapter 13

Warnings: mentions of wars, coming battles, infections, injured throats, muteness, getting hit, Aelon getting struck hard, suspicions, nightmares, fire, burning, getting killed, and troubling predictions.

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

Three years have passed.

Galloping through the forest, Maedhros returned to the village with Aelon riding right behind him. The young teen rode upon a black and white horse borrowed from the village's stablemaster for his riding lessons, having grown tall enough to handle the reins and the stirrups on his own.

"That was good, but you still leave yourself behind," Maedhros said as they came to a trot.

"Learn to speed it up a bit. That way, you don't end up being left behind or get caught by your pursuers," he added.

Aelon shook his head. "Maybe you're just going too fast for me. How do you expect me to catch up with you when you ride faster than the wind?" he asked, making Maedhros chuckle.

"Well, you need to learn how to ride as fast as the wind. You won't get anywhere if I continue going easy on you," Maedhros replied as they arrived at your house.

In a small training field that you had set up for Eweniel and Ramuel, who also wanted to learn how to shoot with a bow, you stood behind them as they aimed at the targets.

"And shoot,"

The two released their arrows. Ramuel's arrow hit a few rings beneath the dot, but Eweniel struck bullseye with hers.

"Nice!" Eweniel grinned as it was her third time in a row hitting the center of the target. "Well done, Ewe. You're exceptionally talented at this," you praised, then glanced down at Ramuel. "Ramuel, aim a bit higher. The arrow will fly farther and won't fall to the ground at the last minute," you instructed.

"Okay..." Ramuel said quietly. "Don't overthink it. It's only been a week since you started learning. You have time to master this," you reassured him, then noticed Maedhros and Aelon returning from their ride.

"This will be all for today," you said.

"When will I get to learn how to wield a sword?" Eweniel asked as she and Ramuel went to pick up their arrows. "Once your parents get comfortable with the idea. Be happy that they allowed you to learn archery," you answered.

"But I'm already so good shooting with the bow. You said it yourself," Eweniel said. "I did, but I can't go against your parent's wishes," you replied, making her groan. "Be patient. I'm certain they will eventually let you train with the sword soon enough," you tried to assure her. "But even Aelon has a real sword now. It will take ages before my parents will finally let me hold a sword," Eweniel pointed at the sword attached to Aelon's hip, a gift from Maedhros after learning all he could from him.

"Oh, don't be like that. You still have time," Aelon said while petting his horse.

You chuckled as Maedhros walked up to you, and Aelon left to return his horse to the stablemaster. Eweniel and Ramuel also left after cleaning up.

"They have become more energetic. I wonder how long it will take before Eweniel decides to train herself to catch up with Aelon," you mused.

"Well, they can become more rebellious at this age, so it's not impossible," Maedhros remarked, then observed your village as people were busier than usual.

"There seems to be more unrest than usual," Maedhros stated.

"Yes... it's about an upcoming battle. Some houses from other villages and people have been called to join a cause to fight Morgoth, or so I heard," you explained. "It was apparently some elven lord from the Noldor who made such a call," you added.

"And what do you think about it?" Maedhros asked. "It's a bit sudden, to be honest," you answered. "Morgoth and the Noldor had been quiet since the war of the sudden flames. To suddenly call to arms to fight after hearing someone steal a silmaril from Morgoth is a bit unexpected," you explained.

"I certainly hope the lord behind this knows what he is doing and has enough knowledge to pull this off," you stated.

"You do not think he might not be able to pull this off?" Maedhros asked.

"If he manages to rally all the people of Beleriand to fight for his cause, then maybe he has a good chance. I don't know much about Morgoth and his stronghold in the north, but I do know that his power is great, and he might be hiding a few tricks up his sleeve," you said, looking at him. "Who knows what he has been doing inside his fortress for all these years," you added. "So rallying an attack like this, caution should be the best course of action."

"My father always told me that the worst enemy is the one you know less about," you stated.

"You're... not wrong, but I think Morgoth will fail this time," Maedhros said, quietly contemplating your words.

You observed him from the corner of your eye. He was quiet and seemingly lost in thought.

"Anyway... Nelyo," you said, gaining his attention. "There is going to be a celebration feast soon. We had a good harvest year, and because of the upcoming battle, we decided to hold it early. If you have time, would you be willing to join us?" you asked with a hopeful tone.

"I... I'll see what I can do," Maedhros answered. "Sorry, but I must get going now," he said, then left.

You watched as he climbed back on his horse and rode out of the village. Your mind was bothered by his strange behavior. He had started visiting less and seemed more restless than ever. You were also still wondering about his real identity. He has opened up a bit to you for the past years, but there was still so much mystery around him.

"Hey, is something wrong? Did Nelyo already leave?" Aelon asked after returning from his walk to the stablemaster.

"Nothing. Let's take a hike in the mountains. We need to check on the food storage and the younglings," you said and then walked into your house, trying to brush off the suspicions you had about your elven friend.

At the mountains, Baleria was outside, feasting upon a deer she had caught for herself. Aegar and Viserya were eyeing her prey, even daring to sneak closer to try to have a bite, but the older dragon growled them away, slightly annoyed by their presence and constant attempt to steal her prey.

You were standing in front of Smoke with Samuel, trying to teach the young dragon to breathe fire upon the dead rabbit on the ground.

"[Dracarys]," You said as Smoke only croaked at you, confused by the word and why you would not allow him to eat the rabbit.

"[Dracarys]," you said again.

Smoke only crouched down, attempting to lean his head forward enough to snatch the rabbit. "Smoke..." you looked at him with a warning tone. His ears flattened against his head, and he stared at you with pleading eyes. "Don't even try it," you said sternly, causing him to hiss and pull back.

"You get to eat the rabbit. If you do the thing," you gently explained.

"[Dracarys]," you said with a commanding tone.

Smoke stared intently at the rabbit. Black smoke started to billow out of his nostrils, and his chest began to steam as he took in deep breaths, preparing to release his breath.

You and Samuel watched as Smoke released a puff of smoke, then released a blast of scorching hot air onto the rabbit, burning off the fur and steaming the meat until it was piping hot.

Samuel clapped his hands with an excited smile as you finally allowed Smoke to eat the steaming rabbit.

"He will finally be able to feed for himself from now on," you stated as Smoke swallowed the rabbit in one bite.

“How long will it take for them to breathe real fire?” Samuel asked while petting Smoke.

“Dragons should be able to breathe fire when they’re three months old, but since it took this long for those three to even learn how to produce hot air. There is a possibility that it will take many more years for them to learn, or they may never learn at all. I wonder if this is why they were abandoned in that nest,” you said thoughtfully.

Smoke then tried to chirp, but it came out as a mix of groans and croaks, which was not a natural sound from a dragon.

“Oh, Smoke,” Samuel said as the dragon looked embarrassed by the sound he produced.

“(Name). Is there truly no medicine that could help Smoke to get his voice back?” Samuel questioned while comforting the dragon. “He sounds worse each day. At this rate, he is going to sound like a lizard toad,” he added.

“I’m afraid so. That infection Smoke suffered last year left a nasty injury to his vocal cords,” you replied with a pitying look since it meant the young dragon would be unable to vocalize for the rest of his life. “I don’t think he would even be able to find himself a mate with that voice,” you added.

“Well, he doesn’t have to worry about finding a mate. He could stay with me so he wouldn’t be lonely,” Samuel smiled. You smiled in return, touched by the idea.

The sounds of beating wings reached your ears, and then you saw Aelon flying with Falconer, riding upon the saddle you finished making last year. Falconer landed on the side of the cliff, roaring like a falcon as the metal straps on his chest jiggled. You carefully observed the straps of the saddle. Since Falconer had grown larger than a house over the years, there were some adjustments you needed to finish on the saddle, but so far, everything seemed to be working just fine.

"How is the saddle for you?" you called out to Aelon as he was still on Falconer's back. "It's great! It works pretty well! But some of the straps are making funny noises, and the saddle might be a bit loose," Aelon explained, moving around on his new saddle.

"You get used to it in time. Maybe we only need to tighten up the girth," you said. "Well, whatever it is. I think I'm gonna go on another fly around the mountains if that's okay with you?" Aelon asked.

"Go for it! Just stay out of sight!" you replied.

Aelon grinned. "I will... [Fly Falconer]!" Falconer pushed down his wings, shrieking as he flew into the sky, away from the cave.

You smiled briefly before your attention was drawn by distant thundering. Turning northward, you saw a black storm lingering above the Thangorodrim and the Iron Mountains. It was a concerning sight, accompanied by the distant sound of lightning. The increased wind only added to your unease, leaving you contemplating the implications of the upcoming battle.

A black storm was usually a bad omen. While a thunderstorm might have presented an opportunity for attack under normal circumstances, but there was something ominous about this storm. You do not know why, but it felt like this storm had a will of its own or was following the will of another.

Giggling then reached your ears, and you saw Samuel playing with Smoke. The sight warmed your heart as the two have bonded over the years. You had allowed Samuel to be a caretaker for the hatchlings, and the hatchlings had grown well under his care. They had grown larger than hunting dogs, which made it impossible to keep them in the house anymore, so they now lived in the mountains with Baleria and Falconer.

"Hey, (Name). Could Smoke grow big as Baleria one day?" Samuel asked as the young dragon basked in the attention he was receiving.

“Well, that one is possible,” you then grinned. “Why? Are you hoping you could ride Smoke one day?" you asked.

"Maybe..." Samuel looked away, embarrassed.

"Well, we just have to wait and see once Smoke has grown bigger," you smiled.

"Now, come on. We need to tidy things up. It looks like it might rain soon," you stated. Samuel picked himself up and assisted you in cleaning up the stable. Together, you waited for Aelon to return from his flight, and then all three of you returned to the village.

After returning to the village, you and Aelon decided to have a quick training session with long sticks as you had started teaching him handling spears and long point end weapons. He had long learned how to handle a sword and two blades, the latter having been more challenging for him to learn. However, handling a spear seemed to come naturally to him.

"Alright, let's recall what we learned from our previous session," you said as Aelon was spinning the stick in his hand.

"(Name), you seem a bit restless. Is everything alright?" Aelon questioned.

"Everything is fine. Let's just focus on the session," you replied.

"It just seems like you're forcing yourself to be busy and all," Aelon prepared himself, holding the stick in a defensive position.

"Just some minor things. Now focus, and show me what you have learned," you ordered, and then Aelon attacked, trying to poke you with the top of the stick. You stepped back, blocking his attempts. He then tried to strike you from the side and even went for your face. You quickly moved your head to the side, avoiding the stick and then grabbing it. With a swift motion, you struck your training sword against his stomach, causing him to groan and step back.

"That was good, but you need to be quicker than that," you stated as Aelon charged again.

As you blocked Aelon's attempts to hit you, your mind was troubled by the impending battle and Maedhros's peculiar behavior. He started acting oddly ever since the day when Helena shared the news about the elven princess and the stolen silmaril. And he even acted odd today when you two talked about the incoming battle and the possibilities of pulling it off. It's like he is somewhat involved with it.

Even though he had opened up to you more about himself, being the eldest of his brothers and doing important work for his people, which he did not really clarify, like what kind of work. You still knew very little. You knew he was part of the Noldor, but there were still some things he had not shared. You had tried not to inquire too much about his life out of respect, but now, you wanted answers to your nagging suspicions.

Deep in your thoughts, you failed to block one of Aelon's attacks.

Aelon managed to hit you hard on the rib, making you snap back to reality and strike back in a reflex.

You struck Aelon's weapon away before striking him in the legs, making him yelp and fall on his back with a harsh thud.

Your mind finally realized what you did when you heard Aelon groan and saw him lying on the ground.

"Ah... Aelon! I'm sorry! Did I hurt you?!" you dropped your training sword and crouched down to him in worry.

"Ow! I didn't know you could hit him that hard," Aelon sat up before looking at you. "You drifted off. I actually managed to hit you," he stated with a confused tone.

"Yes... I did. My mind was elsewhere," you looked away in embarrassment.

"Okay, (Name)! Sit down!" Aelon gently pulled you down, making you sit against the ground before looking at you deep in the eye.

"What is going on with you? You should always keep a sharp focus during a fight," he questioned, then waited for your answer.

You exhaled, relaxing your shoulders, deciding to tell what had been weighing on your mind.

"You're right..." You started. "It's about Nelyo. I... think he's not telling us everything," you added.

Aelon stared at you curiously. "What do you mean? He's been our friend for three years now?" he questioned.

"I know, I know, but— like he doesn't know about our dragons. We don't know much about him," you explained. "We know he lives among the Noldor, but we do not know exactly where. We know he has brothers, but we do not know their names or the names of his parents, and we know that he does important work, which makes him quite busy, but he hasn't told us what kind of work it is," you listed while Aelon listened, nodding his head as he began to think about it himself.

"Do you see where I'm going with this?" you asked.

"Yeah. Now that you told me," Aelon nodded with a questioning look, thinking the same as you.

"And upon our second meeting. I noticed how Nelyo seemed hesitant to tell us his name, so there might be a chance Nelyo might not be his real name," you stated. "Or it could be since the elves could have more than one name, but it's a name we wouldn't recognize him as," you quickly explained.

"Okay... but why would he hide things from us?" Aelon asked.

"Perhaps for the same reason as how we keep our dragons a secret," you answered thoughtfully.

"For all we know, he could be an elven lord or even a prince," you said.

"What makes you think he could be a prince?" Aelon asked.

"Quite a lot of things, actually. Usually, those from a noble ground go on hunts in a large hunting party. And the way he talks and holds himself, and let’s not forget that he also gave you a generous gift, which would have been expensive for us, which means he’s quite wealthy," you listened and mentioned Aelon's sword, which he had named Dragon Tooth.

"That makes sense..." Aelon nodded to himself before turning his gaze on you. "We need to ask Nelyo if he is a prince or something!" he stated.

"Well, we just have to wait for his next visit. Now, let's get back to the session. We're losing precious sunlight," you stood up. Aelon whined before standing up to continue the sparring lesson with you.

Smoke surrounded you, blurring your vision, and heavy coughs escaped as you unintentionally inhaled it. Quickly crouching down, you covered your face and mouth with your arm, trying to see through the haze.

Confusion overwhelmed you as you surveyed the smoke-filled house. Why was it smoking all of a sudden? Was there a fire?

Your ears then heard something heavy breaking above you. Looking up, you were startled to see a burning wooden beam falling toward you. Reacting quickly, you dropped back as the beam crashed before you, scattering embers everywhere. Instinctively, you covered yourself to avoid getting hit in the eyes, then realized with horror that it was your house that was burning around you.

"Aelon!" you called out but couldn't hear anything except the burning wood around you.

"Over here!" you heard Aelon call out from the outside.

Dashing quickly toward the doorway, you made it outside just in time before your house collapsed, burning in flames.

You coughed out the smoke from your lungs, then paled when you witnessed the chaos around you.

The whole village was on fire. All the people were screaming as they were getting chased and killed by the orcs.

"Mom! Dad!" you heard Eweniel cry out, and saw her house collapse in flames. The young girl stood outside, sobbing as she watched her home burn. Her parents were nowhere in sight, leading you to fear they were trapped inside the burning house.

You then heard a woman's scream and saw the twins' mother holding Samuel in her arms, crying as there was a black arrow sticking out of his chest. Her husband and Ramuel were tugging her to run away with them.

"(Name)! Don't just stand there! Run!" Helena yelled before she was then attacked and mauled by a warg.

You were horrified by the sight and found yourself unable to move.

A loud, ear-piercing roar ripped through the sky. You winced in pain before seeing the peaks of Thangorodrim and a large shadow standing over them.

It was massive, and when it spread its wings, you beheld an enormous black dragon towering over the mountains. Its eyes gleamed red as blood, and its chest glowed with the intensity that it looked like it was leaking lava.

The dragon laid its red eyes upon you, and before you even knew it, the beast unleashed a torrent of fire upon you and the world around you.

You yelled in fright as you woke up on your bed. You felt your heart pound against your chest, and you subconsciously started checking yourself for burns.

You then heard something running behind your walls before someone opened the door to your room.

"(Name)! I heard you scream. Is everything alright?" Aelon asked worriedly, standing at the door. You breathed in and calmed yourself. "I'm alright," you sighed, then looked at him with a questioning frown. "But why are you up so late?" you asked.

"I had a bad dream. I couldn't sleep after that, so I went to get some water," Aelon explained.

“It was awful. Everything was on fire," Aelon said.

You looked at him as he started describing his dream.

"Our house and the whole village were on fire. Eweniel was standing alone in front of her house as it burned down. Someone had shot Samuel, and then I saw the mountains," he described, making your eyes widen.

"The three big ones, the I saw an enormous.." Aelon continued.

"Dragon," you finished for him. Aelon looked at you as you rubbed your brows. "I saw it too..." you uttered.

"What could it possibly mean?" Aelon asked.

"Hopefully, nothing," you answered.

"But I've seen a prophetic dream before. The one before Amdirvelui kidnapped me, remember?" Aelon sat at the edge of your bed.

"What if this is a prophetic dream too since we both saw it?" he asked, making you think of the possibility.

"If it is, then we might face something terrible in the future," you said. "But let's not think about it. We can never be sure," you added with an apprehensive tone.

"I once saw Falconer appear in my dream, trying to rescue me. And he did come when I was being kidnapped," Aelon said. "This dream felt too real just to be a dream," he stated.

You remained quiet. The dream felt too real for you as well. Your mind was still bothered by the sight of the smoke, fire, and death. They reminded you too much of your time as a commander and the things you did.

You released a deep sigh.

"Try to go back to sleep. Let's think about it tomorrow," you laid back on your bed.

"Okay..." Aelon uttered, stepping away from your bed. "Goodnight," he said as he walked out of your room. "Goodnight," you mumbled as he closed the door, and you heard him return to his room.

Your mind returned to the dream, replaying the horrid scenario again and again.

You didn't want to think about it, but you had an awful feeling that the dream might be linked to the upcoming battle against Morgoth, especially if it was the aftermath and Morgoth freed his terror all over the world. The scenario would fit all too well.

Then, The woman's prediction came to mind—the one where all the birds flee forever south, and the blue banner of the king is set ablaze.

Shaking your head, you closed your eyes, pushing the troubling thoughts away and attempting to find sleep before sunrise.

Taglist: @natchayaphorn @kimnamnu@thatrandomidiot182 @springfountain

#silmarillion x reader #silmarillion #tolkien #silm fic #middle earth x reader #when the dragons fly #hotd x reader #hotd #middle earth #silmarillion imagines #various x reader #targaryen reader #silmarillion x targaryen reader #maedhros x reader

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ctitan98official · 4 months

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Anonymous: How about a Pregnant Donna x Y/N. Where Donna and Y/N are expecting and tells everyone but Miranda is delusional that Donna's Baby is hers and want to take it but Y/N gets protective and makes her back off.

Yeah! Soft mama Donna my beloved! I just love the idea of Donna as a mom. Very good idea. I hate that I always end up making Miranda the big bad, but… I love her even when she’s evil so that’s fine. In this one, I tried to make her a little more morally gray because I always find that more intriguing, but Miranda’s desires are dark, no getting around that T^T Let’s get into it!

You and Donna had been dating for a little over a year. You were so ecstatic that a gorgeous and sweet woman like herself was even interested in you, but… Donna had fallen for you from pretty much the first moment she saw you.

It was difficult getting used to dating a Lord. Donna’s adoptive family were definitely not happy about you dating her.

Ouch.

Lady Dimitrescu, in particular, is very protective of Donna. She makes smart comments to you when she thinks Donna can’t hear her, but… Donna has actually defended you quite a few times to her big sister.

Seeing how devoted Donna is to you makes Alcina come around… Just a little. You have yet to prove your worth to her, but maybe that could change if an opportunity presented itself.

Salvatore and Karl, while also protective of Donna and not your biggest fans at first, actually found that they liked you a lot. You go fishing and watch movies with them often.

That left just one other family member to navigate, and the most intimidating… Mother Miranda.

One of your very first memories growing up was when your parents took you to be “Blessed” by her. It’s a rite of passage for all children in the village. You remembered thinking how gorgeous and ethereal she seemed in her religious garb.

Miranda would always have a soft spot in her heart for children, considering how tragically she had lost her own daughter, Eva… But, she often wrestled with jealousy and couldn’t help but wonder if one of these children that she blessed over the years would make a perfect vessel to bring back her dear Eva. She had learned somewhat from her past mistakes and wasn’t as impulsive as she had been right after her daughter passed away, but the temptation to experiment and test her theories was always boiling under the surface.

Miranda, surprisingly, hadn’t been opposed when she learned of you dating Donna. Out of all of her children, she keeps the closest eye on Donna. Deep down, she cared for her adoptive children. She often had a hard time showing it, though.

——————————————————————————

Donna had recently posed the question about starting a family with you. She had always wanted to be a mama and finally worked up the courage to ask you what you thought.

You blushed. “That may take me a few tries, but I don’t think that’ll be a problem.” (You get a cookie if you know what I’m referencing XD)

You and Donna had a lot of… Fun while working towards the goal of getting her pregnant. Lately, that’s pretty much all you two have been doing.

Soon, Donna begins feeling… Weird. She’s been quite nauseous and exhausted recently. She doesn’t want to get her hopes up, but she has never felt like this before. Could she really be… Pregnant?

About a week into the onset of her symptoms, Donna finally asks you if you could run to the apothecary in the village and pick her up a pregnancy test. (She would have been mortified going in there to buy it for herself).

Your eyes widen and you quickly nod before kissing her and running out the door… Without any shoes on. You may have been a little excited.

You bring back a few pregnancy tests, just in case the first one doesn’t work.

Donna nervously fidgets with her hands after you show her what you’ve bought.

You take her hand and give it a kiss. “Don’t be nervous, babe. Whatever happens, it will be okay.” You assure her.

Donna takes a deep breath and smiles. “You’re right, cara mia. I’m so grateful you’re here with me. I love you.” She says and kisses you.

The next few minutes it takes to get a result are agonizing.

Even the dolls can pick up on Donna’s nervousness. Angie and a few of the other dolls climb onto her lap and yours to snuggle. This calms Donna down a lot as she gently rubs their little heads.

Then the timer goes off and its back to the anxiety. Donna stands shakily to go get the test from the bathroom.

She freezes at the doorway, unable to retrieve it.

You chuckle and go in to get it and bring it over to her.

“Alright, let’s count to 3 and just look at it. Deal?” You suggest.

Donna quickly nods her head.

“Okay, 1,2,3!” You exclaim.

Donna turns the test over and you both look at the result.

You are greeted with a little pink plus sign. Positive.

You burst into a wide grin and Donna gasps and puts her hand to her mouth in surprise.

You give Donna a hug and she happily weeps into your shoulder. She was going to be a mama. She couldn’t believe it.

You two decide to wait to tell her family for a while. You don’t want something bad to happen after you break the news.

Donna loves to sit in her rocking chair and knit while she talks to the baby. She’s such a mom. She basically just tells them about her day and funny stories about you and the dolls.

Angie is a bit jealous about a new baby, but Donna makes sure to give her extra cuddles which help. She also makes Angie model the baby clothes she creates… Angie is less enthused about that part.

Donna’s already decided that she wants a big family and informs you that you both will be having more kids. That part kind of scares you, though.

Donna has had some… Weird cravings, though. Just yesterday she asked you to bring her some orange slices with peanut butter (Yuck). You tried desperately not to judge, but your face apparently told a different story.

“Do you have a problem with me having a snack, Y/N?” She asks in a low voice as she stares intensely at you, effectively putting you on notice to keep your opinions to yourself.

You violently shake your head and run out of the room. You fucking know better than to stick around when Donna’s voice drops like that. She’s been a bit… Emotional (Scary).

Donna is obsessed with looking at herself in the floor-length mirror in her room. She wants to know the exact day that she can see a change in her tummy.

This morning, as you read in the living room, you heard quite a loud squeal from the bedroom.

You panic and race up the stairs to check on Donna.

The sight that greets you is precious.

Donna is clad in only her bra and panties as she gently cradles her belly and tears stream down her face (She’s also been crying a lot lately).

You can see a small bump under her hands and your heart flutters.

Donna notices you standing there and eagerly motions you over. “Look, tesoro! I can see a bump!” She says excitedly.

You happily walk over and hug her from behind.

Donna places your hands on her stomach and smiles at you through the mirror.

She’s so proud of herself. It’s absolutely adorable.

You two agree that at the next meeting you’ll both tell her family.

The next few days as you wait to share are special. You both can enjoy just the two of you knowing. You’ve never seen Donna happier and it warms your heart.

——————————————————————————

Finally, the day of the meeting arrives and you and Donna make your way to the meeting site.

“Oh, great. Invite more riff-raff, Donna.” Alcina crosses her arms. “Putting up with Karl is one thing, but these meetings are for family only, child.” She sneers at you.

Donna tilts her head to the side. “What did you just say, Alcina?” She asks in a cold voice.

Alcina’s eyes widen at the dangerous husk present in Donna’s tone. She gulps. “I was merely joking, Donna.” She tells her, trying not to sweat. “No harm done I hope, bloodbag.” She says and looks at you.

“See to it that it doesn’t happen again.” Donna says simply and makes her way over to her seat.

You try not to grin as you follow Donna.

The meeting goes about as boring as it has whenever you’ve been present. You feel your eyelids getting heavy towards the end.

“Now, remember from whence you came.” Miranda says, bringing the meeting to a close.

“Um, actually… Y/N and I have something we’d like to talk to you all about.” Donna says quietly.

Everybody turns and stares at you and her.

You cringe at the discomfort of being judged by everybody.

Donna reaches out and takes your hand which calms you significantly. “We have just learned that… I’m pregnant. We’re going to have a baby.” She says, rather composed.

While Alcina does gasp quite loudly at this, the most notable noise in the room comes from Miranda… An unusual… Squeak? Quack? You don’t even know how to describe it.

You look over to Miranda and see she’s taking her mask off. This is the first time you’ve ever seen her without her mask on… She looks really young for someone who is just about as old as dirt.

Miranda lets her mask clatter to the floor and she makes her way over to Donna. “Yes… This is excellent!” She beams. “A biological offspring from someone who has already been given the cadou! Genius! Well done, Donna!” Miranda says and kneels in front of her, taking her hands in her own. “I’m so proud of you, my dear. This will be a most important experiment to see if your child will make a good vessel for my Eva!” She says and presses multiple kisses to Donna’s knuckles.

“Hey, wait a second!” You blurt out and push Miranda’s hands away from Donna’s. “This is our baby not yours, Mother Miranda.” You tell her.

Miranda’s eyes snap to you.

Alcina gasps yet again, but this time… She’s somewhat impressed at you for standing your ground and protecting Donna. She hates to admit it.

“Care to elaborate, Y/N?” Miranda says coolly and stands to her full height, fluffing her wings out.

You don’t back down. “This is Donna’s baby. She’s the one carrying them.” You tell her. “Now, unless you want to sleep with me and have a baby of your own to experiment with, I suggest you keep your distance.” You say.

Karl and Sal turn and look at each other before busting out laughing at what you just said. Even Donna begins chuckling, despite herself… Alcina just rolls her eyes.

Miranda’s eyes blaze in anger before she stops and thinks. “Well… I wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to that.” She says, putting a hand to her chin in thought. “Are you aware of any genetic disorders that run in your family?” She asks.

You grunt in embarrassment and your face flushes a deep red.

This time, Donna gets up in Miranda’s face. “Don’t even think about it.” She growls.

Miranda looks between the two of you and rolls her eyes. She can see this is a dead end.

“I still expect experiment reports from all of you!” She shouts in annoyance. “Don’t think I will expect less from you because you’re pregnant, Donna.” She says before teleporting away.

Everybody is quiet for a moment before rushing towards you both and congratulating you.

“You really showed her, alpha dog!” Karl says and proudly slaps you on the back.

“I must admit, I’m impressed at your defense of my sister… Good job.” Alcina begrudgingly praises you.

You feel like hell must have just frozen over after hearing that.

“A baby! I can’t wait to be an uncle again!” Sal blubbers and cries on your shoulder.

After everyone has had adequate time to process the news, you all say goodbye and disperse.

As you and Donna link arms and walk home, she suddenly clutches your arm tighter and turns to you. “You were just kidding about sleeping with my mother right?” She asks.

You laugh. “Of course, babe. I didn’t think she was crazy enough to even consider the idea, though.” You say, crinkling your nose in disgust.

Donna hums in contentment. “Good. I would have to kill you otherwise and I’d hate to do that.” She giggles and walks on ahead of you.

You blanch but nervously chuckle. “That was a joke right, babe?” You call out.

Donna just keeps walking with a satisfied smirk on her face. “I guess we’ll never know.” She says noncommittally. She likes to have her fun too.

Masterlist

#donna beneviento #re8 #re8 village #donna beneviento x reader #donna beneviento x y/n #angie beneviento #resident evil village #resident evil imagines #resident evil 8 #resident evil #re8 shitpost #re8 incorrect quotes #mother miranda #alcina dimitrescu #karl heisenberg #salvatore moreau

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irisopranta · 2 months

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The Iris and The Edelweiss

“An edelweiss? Quite an usual flower to have there.” Iris mentioned it to the young Haillenarte in front of her. Iris wasn’t quite sure what to make of him. Haurchefant had inform her that he was quite a gentle one for one that had great standing the Ishgardian High Houses. It was at his insistence that he wanted Iris to get to know Lord Francel.

Luckily, he was receiving a parcel at the camp. She just so happened to catch him as her was looking over the contents. The edelweiss was in already in his hand. He was quite confused as to why a stranger would strike up a conversation with him. He nodded to her, “Mayhaps, However it is a gift from my mother. She always loved edelweiss.” He looked at the woman before him. “I assumed you needed to speak to me?”

Iris nodded. “Lord Haurchfant thought it would be a good idea for me to meet you.” She held out her hand “I’m Iris, a pleasure to meet you.” The young lord took her hand to shake. As he did she couldn’t help herself to her glances to the edelweiss. “You know, if she is sending you something like that, she must be telling you to be strong for whats ahead.”

“You feeling alright there dear?” the graceful elezen before her showed a bit of concern on her face “Would you like to lay down instead of playing me in another match?”

“Oh, I’m quite fine Lady Estelle. I was just thinking back on something in my past.” She looked at the chess board before her. It seemed that Estelle took the liberty to set it back for a new match. No matter how much Iris play against her, she can never win against her lady. She can’t even think she ever saw anyone win a match against. Stephanivien might have gotten close but Iris isn’t all that surprise. After all, She probably taught her son a trick or two through out the years.

Iris has come to known Lady Estelle de Haillenarte these last few moons. Every since she got engaged to her son she seemed interested to learning more about her new daughter. Before then, she had only caught glimpse of the lady of the house every now and then. She always seemed to have a face of grief whenever she was about the manor.

“Well if you are quite fine then let’s proceed. I still have to teach you a thing about strategy if you are to become the next Countess Haillenarte.” A smirk crossed Estelle’s face. The countess seemed amused by this all. Rather if it’s because she was showing off to Iris her skills or she just was enjoying the time the two were having. Iris didn’t mind.

“Though I have to ask, why edelweiss? It’s an unusual flower to like?”

“Now wouldn’t you like to know.”

#wondrous tails 2024 #wondroustailsofffxiv #wondrous tails of ffxiv #oc: iris opranta #ffxiv #dealing with In-laws

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elentarial · 5 months

Text

Written for @whiteoliphaunt 2023.

Characters: Idril, Turgon, Glorfindel

Words: 1118

Warnings: None

Giftee: @sallysavestheday

Synopsis: Turgon plays a game with Idril to help her adjust to life in Beleriand, but Glorfindel is much better at it than he is.

“And I’ll be the princess, and you can be my knight. But you can’t have serve any Ladies other than me because Ammë wouldn’t like that. But you can be my protector, you know, so nothing evil will get to me. But they’ll probably have to eventually so you can rescue me.” Idril nodded firmly, bouncing up and down on her toes.

Turgon gave his daughter a wry smile. Occasionally Idril seemed to understand the severity and weight of their flight across the Ice. But other times, such as now, his daughter acted as if her mother was simply visiting a relative for afternoon tea. She was just so young to have experienced everything she had. If playing this silly game gave Idril even a measure of normalcy, Turgon was more than willing.

“Why can’t I be the princess and you be the knight?”

Idril considered this. “Well, I suppose you could be, but I don’t want to be a warrior, and I don’t think you’d make a very good princess, anyway.” She paused and added, “Sorry, Atya.”

“Aww,” he said but grinned to ensure she knew he was jesting. “All right. What are you the princess of, then?”

Idril gave him a look that only a few small elflings could have managed, the one that eloquently expressed just how completely dense she thought grown-ups were. “Nevarast, of course. What a silly question.”

“Well, you could be the princess of all of Beleriand if you wanted, my dear. Like – whatever her name is. The maia’s daughter.”

“Luthien,” Idril supplied promptly. “I hope I get to meet her someday. A real princess. I think we could be very good friends.”

“Who said that you aren’t a real princess?”

“Of course, I’m not a real princess, silly. I’d have to marry a prince, or you would have to be a king.” Idril nearly rolled her eyes, a gesture that she had to have learned from Aredhel. “I just like to pretend to be a princess.”

“But you are a princess,” Turgon said almost enthusiastically. “Your great grandfather was High King of the Ñoldor in Aman.”

“Atar,” said Idril, surprisingly high-handed for her tender years, “This doesn’t have anything to do with our game.”

“I beg my lady’s pardon,” Turgon said and dropped his head in wounded supplication.

“We’re starting,” Idril announced and struck a pose. “Lord-“ another pause. “Would I call you Lord Turukáno or Lord Atya?”

“Lord Turukáno is fine.”

“All right. Lord Turukáno, then, approach the throne? ---this is the throne,” she said, pointing at the chest she perched on top of. “So that you know.”

“Of course,” Turgon said and approached the throne and knelt – even if he was still several heads taller than his daughter this way. “My lady.” he adopted his most officious voice, something similar to his father’s or grandfather’s, and Idril giggled – “What is your pleasure this day?”

“Good,” she said, pleased, “You’re good at this – I mean. You are meant to report back on the success of your quest.”

“My quest? What was my quest?” Turgon looked up briefly with a perplexed smile. Idril frowned at him.

“I don’t know, you make it up! I shouldn’t have to do everything.”

“Oh,” he said. “I only thought you might have had something in mind-“

“You’re breaking up the story!”

“Sorry.” Turgon ducked his dark head down again. “My – quest, my lady. Of course. The quest – succeeded admirably, though our brave comrade Lord – Lord Laurefindil has-“

“What about me?”

Idril squeaked, then jumped, then beamed. “Glorfindel! I mean – Lord Laurefindil, you may approach the throne – I’m sitting on it. You can be a knight, too! I’ll knight you. Queens can do that, right?”

“I thought you were a princess,” Turgon murmured, offering Glorfindel a glance that said please play along.

“Well, princesses probably can, too,” Glorfindel allowed. “And what happened to me? What’s this quest?”

“You were mortally wounded,” Turgon said humorlessly, “And I’m getting to the quest's purpose. Try to look a little more mortally wounded, Laure.” Glorfindel promptly flopped to the floor. Idril giggled again. “Now. Our brave comrade Lord Laurefindil has been gravely wounded, but we have brought back the – the rare wild kittens, even though the savage Laiquendi did their best to stop us. Their weapons were no match for our speed and skill.”

“And modesty, too,” Glorfindel murmured, Turgon scowled at him.

“A kitten?” Idril asked. “Why would I want a kitten?”

“Because you like them, Itarildë ” Turgon exclaimed sheepishly and more than a little exasperated. “It was the first thing I could think of. You still like kittens, don’t you?”

“Oh,” Idril said, “All right,” and promptly readjusted to her role. “Say not so, brave Lord Turukáno! Never should our knights have to pay for their bravery with their lives.” She snuck a look sideways. “But he’ll be okay, right?”

“My lady,” Glorfindel announced from his place on the floor- wiggling away from Turgon’s boot when he huffed at Glorfindel’s actions– “The balm of your tears would heal any wound.” Idril stared at him blankly for a few moments and then brightened.

“Oh – oh! Of course, Lord Turukáno-“

“Very formal,” Glorfindel offered, sounding amused.

“Be quiet. You’re supposed to be at death’s door.”

“Does death have a door?”

“Lord Turukáno, I thank you for the wisdom of your council. Now, if only the Valar will help me save this worthy knight!” Idril hopped off the chest and hurried over to Glorfindel, where she sat cross-legged and pretended to cry.

She stopped a few moments later and poked Glorfindel’s shoulder. “Fin? –I mean, Lord Laurefindil?”

Turgon didn’t realize he was holding his breath until he let it out when one of Glorfindel’s blue eyes opened slowly, then the other, and then he was blinking and lifting one hand to his brow as though he were horribly faint. “—my lady,” he said in a voice that was nearly a perfect facsimile of their cousin Canafinwë. Idril jumped to her feet, clapping her hands.

“It worked! It worked!” She pranced over to where Turgon was still kneeling and kissed his cheek. “My brave, brave lords! You are the best knights ever, and if I do marry a prince, then you’ll be my guard all the time.”

“Of course, my love, Turgon said patiently. “That’s just how it’ll always go.”

“Did I walk into something I shouldn’t have?” Glorfindel murmured from the floor, and Turgon shot him a look while Idril scrambled back onto the cedar chest.

“Just go with it,” Turgon mouthed, and Idril knocked her knuckles on the chest.

“Are you listening, Atya- Lords Turukáno and Laurefindil?”

“Yes, milady,” they chimed dutifully and bowed their heads to receive their orders.

#silm fic #turgon #idril celebrindal #glorfindel #White oliphaunt 2023

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lumine-no-hikari · 21 days

Text

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #133

It is Tuesday. That means it's therapy day. So that's where I went this morning.

Last week I was there, I met a kindly old gentleman with poofy white hair who really liked my hat. I had a brief, but delightful conversation with him! It was a good time!

In case you are wondering why he liked my hat, this is my hat; it is on my head in this picture:

It's a pretty great hat!! Eevee is one of my favorite Pokémon, simply because it has the capacity to adapt to anything! It looks plain, but it's secretly prismatic! Eevee is a beautiful rainbow of possibilities!

Today, I saw the kindly old gentleman again (apparently we go to the same building for therapy at the same time, I guess), and he gave me a pair of buttons that he made himself, specifically for me! These buttons have my birth name on them, and it's not spelled quite right (mine isn't supposed to have an H at the end; it's so rare to find my birth name on anything at all, let alone without the H at the end!), but I don't care!! It was delightful, and it is the thought that counts, and the fact that he even remembered my birth name at all was heartwarming!

One of the buttons was pin-on; I promptly put it on my owl bag:

And the other one was magnetic; I put it on my fridge, where I'll see it every day!

Related: if it ever becomes safe to reveal my birth name to you, then you have my permission to use either my birth name or this public one that was given to me, which I use pretty consistently on the internet; both of them are appropriate descriptors of my general existence, I think!

…I was sad when he told me that his wife said to him that he might end up accidentally creeping me out. This is something I understand well; I do kind things for others just for the sake of doing it - I don't want anything. All the same, people tend to read more into my actions than I intend, assuming that I've got some kind of ulterior motive or something. I understand why most people worry about stuff like that; most of them have trauma, and most of them have experienced what they thought was "kindness", only to have someone lord it over them all entitled-like later. It's very lame, but it is what it is. It's a little lonely to be misunderstood so frequently, but at the same time, I can understand their caution; my way of being definitely isn't typical in my world.

I wondered if, like me, he is autistic. I hope I get to talk more to him sometime; I want to hear more of his story, and how he became who he is now, if he's comfortable with sharing it. 70 years is a long time to live, and I can imagine that he has a wealth of amazing memories that I might be able to learn and grow from hearing about! But I'm not really sure what is the socially appropriate way to ask, ahahaha… 😅

…After I got back from therapy, I made a tea! Today, it was a vanilla-rose white tea; I think you might like this one about as much as the vanilla-rose black tea, actually. It's got a subtler flavor; it doesn't punch a person in the face with flowery vanilla goodness nearly as hard as the black tea version, hahaha! But that's a good thing; I don't always want my tea to punch me in the face, hahaha! Br gave me this tin a while ago, and it's still one of my favorites:

It's another loose-leaf tea, so I had to break out the tea ball again - not that I'm complaining, of course!

Today, Momma (Or Oma, for short! Or Mia, as M likes to call her, because then she's "Momma Mia", haha!) is on the windowsill! She is Mogwai's mother. She was a rather murdery stray just a few years ago (quite literally; at first she was so aggressive that she had to be kept in a separate room and I had to go in by myself with cardboard armor on my legs to feed her), but with lots of love and time to adjust, she has become very cuddly and friendly, even if she still sometimes gets into brief spats with our other cats! 🥰🥰🥰

This is how the color is after it's done brewing:

...And here's how it looked with the honey added, and the cream swirling around:

...There's so much in my world that I wish I could share with you...

Also notable today was the fact that M, J, and I went out to get sushi with J's sister. And this is a beautiful thing; due to a long and complicated string of misunderstandings, J's sister and I started off on the wrong foot and stayed on the wrong foot for a long time; she didn't understand that I am not the sort of person who speaks in implication, and so a lot of weird assumptions were made about me with subtext that wasn't actually there. I also tend to be very blunt and straightforward (but not cruel!), and people tend to perceive me as rude; for example, if I'm thirsty at someone else's house, instead of saying, "gee, it sure is hot outside," or whatever other indirect thing that hints at the fact that I need something to drink, I will come right out and say, "may I get myself a glass of water?" You would not believe how MAD this makes some people, good grief!!

Fortunately, with J's help, over time my relationship with his sister has changed for the better, and though I wouldn't consider us close yet, she at least doesn't seem to be actively suspicious and mistrustful of me anymore. We went to the local all-you-can-eat sushi place, because she had never been there; I took a few pictures of my favorite things for you:

...Hey, Sephiroth? Do you like sushi? If you do, then what are some of your favorite kinds? If you tell me, then maybe I'll give them a try someday, just to see what they're like...

...I don't have a whole lot else to write to you about today. But all the same, I'm thinking of you. I hope you're okay. I hope things will get better for you soon.

Please be safe out there, okay? Because I love you enough to write to you again tomorrow.

Your friend, Lumine

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miyuhpapayuh · 10 months

Text

21. Silk.

"I'm so glad you're here. I haven't seen you, since... Gloria left us." The tears start to fall from both of their eyes.

"I... I'm sorry, I packed up and left. I just couldn't stay here." Moving their hands from her face, she lets them swing at their sides.

"I don't blame you, baby doll. We all needed our time— hell, we still need it. I'm just glad that you came to see us. To see me. I missed you terribly."

"I missed you, too. We've got lots to talk about."

"Yes, we do. Rina, dear, will you let us catch up, please?"

"Of course. I'll let you know when lunch is ready." She heads out and closes the door behind herself.

Stevie sits down in the red recliner that sits next to his, sliding her boots off and pulling out the footrest.

"How was your flight?"

"I hate planes and my nerves were shot, but I made it." She sighs. He nods, fiddling with his wedding band.

"Planes are a death machine, I believe. Every time Gloria and I would travel, she made sure to say that on every plane we'd ever gotten on."

"She loved to travel, man. I remember she took me to Puerto Rico with her, one summer. I ate the best food and got the best tan of my life!," she laughs.

"Yeah?, is that when you learned Spanish?" She nods, twiddling her thumbs.

"Mhm. She made sure to drill it in me. I couldn't go to the pool, until I could have a full conversation with her in Spanish."

"You wanna know something?"

"Always."

"I've sat in front of this window for the last three years and hadn't spoken a word to anyone, about anything. I just watched the wind rustle through those red leaves and cry. Gloria knows I hate crying and she left me, anyway." He looks away from her.

"What made you start talking, again?"

"You."

"Me?," her tone full of curiosity. "Why me?"

"I thought about you and how broken up you were. If that fiery old woman meant anything to anyone, it was you. Oh, she loved you with all her heart." He pats her leg. "I just kept seeing your face in my head and I wanted to see you. I don't even think, I realized that you had left. I was numb to everything. But, I'd gotten tired of feeling that way— it was hard, losing her. She'd been my sweetheart for fifty years and she left me."

"I never thought about how hard this was on you. I was being super selfish and I'm sorry."

It stung, watching him tear up over the only woman he'd ever loved.

"No, dear... it's okay,"

"It's not, grandpa. I should've checked on you. You've been without your heart for three years."

The look in her eyes is one he knows, all too well.

"You're in love, aren't you?" She wipes her tears away and pulls her knees up to her chest.

"How'd you know?"

"You've got that look. What's his name?"

"Roderick." He smiles.

"How long has it been?"

"It'll be a year in May."

"Oh, it's still fresh!"

"In the measure of time, yes. But, I feel like I've known him my whole life."

"She's the most amazing girl I've ever met." Aunt Rina, Jade and Stevie's mom, Victoria, who showed up an hour ago with her husband, Gene, swoon as Rod talks about Stevie.

"Where did she find you? Are there more where you came from?" Jade raises an eyebrow in question.

"Unfortunately, I'm one of a kind, and if anybody found anybody, it was me that found her."

"Hm. La perra afortunada." Jade says, gets swatted with the hand towel right after.

"Ouch, ma!"

"Watch your language, in this house. Lo juro, ustedes pierden la cabeza a veces. ¡Jesús!"

"I was just playing!"

"Well, knock it off! Act like the good Lord gave you some sense." Victoria cuts her eyes at her niece, before looking back to Rod. "You wanna tell them the story of how you two met?"

"I'm always up for that.," he chuckles. "Stevie would kill me, if she knew I was telling it, which makes it even funnier. Last year, I was coming from the cafe and I basically wiped her out—" Mateo cackles, loudly. "It's as funny as it sounds, for real. I got off a few jokes about her being as small as she is and she wasn't feelin' it— she laughed, but she wasn't feelin' it— but, I asked for her number and the rest is history, my friends."

"Wow, you got her mean ass to be nice to you? That's wild." Derrick shakes his head. "She used to beat us up."

"Oh, she definitely gave me a run for my money, in the beginning, but mama ain't raise no quitter. I'm built for it."

"Are you?" Gene asks, amusement laced in his tone.

Rod laughs, shaking his head. "I am!"

"You're not," Stevie says, as she steps into the living room with her grandpa. Rod scans her face, frowning at her puffy, red eyes.

"Hey ma, hey dad." She heads over to her parents, kissing their cheeks.

"Hey, honey. You look beautiful."

"That's your twin, I swear." Her grandpa adds.

"They're both gorgeous, so it works." Gene replies.

"Abuelo, I want you to meet my boyfriend, Roderick."

He stands up, standing almost eye-to-eye with the older man, extending his hand.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, sir."

"Likewise, son. I've heard a lot about you. You can call me Jorge." Giving his hand a firm shake, he gives him a warm smile.

"Good things, I hope."

"Very good things, son. You've got yourself a dime."

"I'm forever lucky to have found her," he glances at her, watching her blush, profusely.

༺═───────────────────────────────────────═༻

After lunch, the photo albums are spread out and everybody's currently ripping into Stevie about how chubby she was.

"Look at those cheeks!" Jade points to a picture of Stevie. She had to be around two or three years old, her curls were tossed all over her head and she was sitting on the lap of her favorite person, her grandma.

"Ugh, I was ugly." She laughs, leaning back into Rod.

"The lies. You were the cutest baby I've ever seen." He rubs her thigh and presses his face against her arm as she sits on his lap.

"Oh, you're a slick one." Aunt Rina points her finger at him, laughing to herself. Stevie playfully rolls her eyes.

"I'm innocent." He winks.

"Mhm. I'm keeping my eye on you." She playfully threatens.

"Ooh, look! I haven't seen these pictures in years!" Jade flips the page and points to the black and white pictures of her grandparents, looking like something straight out of a movie.

"Aw, y'all were sharp! When was this?" Stevie asks her abuelo.

"This was after church, one day. Gloria wanted ice cream really badly, I could never say no to her, so I drove fifteen miles to the nearest parlor and got her, her favorite ice cream. Anybody know what it is?”

"Pistachio!" They all say in unison, laughing.

"Fifteen miles?! That's some love." Derrick shakes his head. "We'd have to go in on gas money, together."

"Oh, brother." Jade says.

"That's a little triflin', don't you think?" Rod asks.

"How?"

"It's fifteen miles. That's not much."

"You'd drive that far for Stevie?" Derrick questions.

Rod laughs. "I'd drive around the world for her."

"You'd never ask for gas money?" Mateo asks.

"Nope. Men don't worry ‘bout things like that. If she offered, it'd be a different story, but I'd never ask and never stress over it."

"You've got you a good one." Uncle Don nods in Stevie's direction.

"I know, right." She cheeses.

The front door opens and closes. "Dad!," a female voice calls out.

"In the kitchen!," he yells back.

"I'm so sorry, I'm late. The traffic out there is terrible—" rounding the corner, Stevie's aunt Isabela and cousin Adrienne walk into the spacious kitchen.

"Stevie, hi!" Her aunt rounds the table and leans down for a hug. "Ugh!, you get prettier, every time I see you."

"Cut it out! How've you been?"

"I've been good— not as good as you, I see." She darts her eyes towards Rod, who's growing used to being the center of attention.

"This is my boyfriend, Rod. Rod, this is my aunt, Isabela." They shake each other's hand.

"It's nice to meet you, dear."

"Nice to meet you, too."

"Adrienne, are you gonna come and speak?"

"She doesn't have to." Stevie says, abruptly. "It's totally fine."

"Hey, everybody....Hey, Stevie." Adrienne replies, sarcastically, moving the phone away from her ear. "So nice of you to join your family, again."

Stevie blinks. Rod wraps an arm around her waist, sensing the hostility in the air. Gene takes a mental note, chuckling to himself.

"My boy," he mumbles to himself.

"Usually, I'd stoop to your pathetic level, but I'm not gonna do it."

"And, why is that?" Adrienne folds her arms across her busty chest.

"Because, you're simply not worth it. Go take your phone call and stop talking to me."

Adrienne stomps away into the living room, leaving Stevie to roll her eyes.

"You two have never gotten along," her grandpa points out. "Why is that?"

"She's rude. It could've been cool, had she not said what she said. That wasn't necessary."

"No, it wasn't. I'm sorry." Isabella apologizes.

"Aren't you tired of apologizing for her behavior? She's too old for that."

Sighing, Stevie excuses herself, heading down the hall to the bathroom.

"I'm gonna kill somebody, before I leave." Washing her hands, she opens the door and comes face to face with Adrienne.

"So... you finally get a man and decide to show your face, huh?" The malice in her voice is as thick as the blood pumping through Stevie's veins.

Blowing out a breath, Stevie walks past her, back down the hallway. Adrienne grabs her wrist and pulls her back. "I'm talking to you."

"Don't touch me." She grits, roughly smacking her hand away.

"What's your problem, bitch?" Stevie's eyes widen at the word that ever so, carelessly flies out of her mouth.

"Excuse me?," Rod comes around the corner and zeroes in on Stevie cracking her knuckles, quickly getting between the two.

"Move, Rod. She wanna call me out of my name! I swear, I'll beat your ass in this house. It's never an issue."

"You talk a lot for someone who hasn't swung yet."

Stevie pushes against her brick wall of a boyfriend, trying to get past him.

"Stevie, what's going on?" Her mom and aunt Isabela come into the hall and throw puzzled glances at each other.

"Adrienne's lost her mind. Calling me a bitch and making comments, like she knows me."

"I do know you! You're a flake! You show up, when it's convenient for you, like now. How long has it been since you've been down here?"

"Convenient for me?," taking all her strength, she moves Rod aside. "I'm not here for me, Adrienne. I'm not here for you. I'm here for my grandpa. I'm here to properly mourn my grandma. I'm here to see my family. I'm not here to get into these stupid ass arguments with you— got me showin' out in here. It's always some bullshit with you, why? Why do you always have to be up my ass? Weren't you the one that went ghost on everybody, after she died? That was you, right?" The hot tears that stream down her face catch her off guard.

"Stevie.," her mom touches her shoulder, making her flinch and rush back into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her.

Rod immediately heads towards the door, softly knocking on the old fashioned, wooden door. "Stevie.."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Victoria asks Adrienne, whose smug grin hasn't faltered.

"Getting her to see that she's the issue. She dipped on us, right? This was hard on everybody and she left."

"Oh, please!," Jade comes in, "you don't remember how you showed your ass, after the funeral? How you left and nobody could find your stupid ass for a week?!"

"Who was talking to you?"

"Who cares? Why won't you take accountability for your own actions? You think abuelo wants to hear you in here bitching about shit that don't concern you? Get you some business and stop bothering Stevie."

Adrienne gets in her face.

"And, if I don't? What are you going to do?"

"Keep it up. You'll definitely find out." Aunt Rina pulls Jade back into the kitchen, while Adrienne is pushed out the front door by her mom.

"Stevie... Please open the door." Rod pleads for the third time, finally hearing the lock click and seeing the door crack open.

Sliding in, he closes the door behind himself and pulls her into a hug, sighing roughly as her raspy sobs break through.

"Shh.... I gotchu."

༺═───────────────────────────────────────═༻

After an hour or so, Stevie emerges from the bathroom and heads into the living room, not even caring about her overly puffy eyes.

"I think we should check into our hotel now. Sorry about all of that, earlier.”

"Hotel?," abuelo asks, "you didn't come all this way to stay in a hotel, doll."

"Well, it's not just me, here. I didn't know if it was okay with you, if the both of us stayed."

"You never asked, neither. Your boyfriend is family now. He's just as welcome as you've always been." Him and Rod bump fists, making her crack a smile.

"Really?"

"Do you know how big this house is? Your aunt Rina and her knuckle-headed kids, including Don, stay here from time to time and remember, this was your home, at a point. You stayed here many summers."

"I know, I know."

"I'd be quite offended if you didn't stay."

"Okay, fine! We'll stay, old man."

He laughs.

"Good. You need help getting your bags out of the car?"

"If y'all don't mind," she pokes her lip out, catching her older cousin’s eyes, who blows out a breath.

Rod smiles and kisses her forehead, before leading Derrick outside.

"Come sit, sweetheart."

Plopping down on the soft cushion, Stevie sighs. "Is she still here?"

"No, she left like, an hour ago. Nobody wants to be around that energy for too long." Don answers.

"I'm not apologizing for her, but I am sorry. You didn't deserve that." Jade adds.

"I've been through a lot of things that I haven't deserved. I'm starting to think, that's a part of life." She shrugs.

"Things like what?" Mateo asks.

"You don't wanna know. Trust me."

Stevie watches them come back in, hauling the suitcases inside, head upstairs and into the room. She stands and heads up, sliding away from the doorway as Derrick exits.

"Thanks, D."

"Of course." He pulls her into a side-hug, before walking away.

Stevie walks into the room and looks around, a faint smile gracing her lips.

"This was the room that I used to stay in, when I'd visit in the summer." She giggles at the red floor lamp.

"If there's one thing about my grandma, she never matched when it came to furniture." She walks over to the bed and unzips her suitcase, pulling her clothes out.

Sliding up behind her, Rod wraps her up in his arms. "Are you okay? Truthfully."

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm still mad at her, but I'm fine." He presses kisses to her cheek.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"Everything," she turns around in his hold, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

༺═───────────────────────────────────────═༻

"I could eat this for the rest of my life." Rod blurts, before eating another spoonful of cremita de maiz, a Puerto Rican version of cream of wheat.

"It's good, huh?" Gene chuckles, biting into his darkened toast. Stevie shakes her head, cutting into her pancakes.

"I don't like cream of wheat, but the sugar and cinnamon is enough for me to not mind it." Aunt Rina pats Rod's shoulders.

"I like him. Keep him."

"I plan on it." Stevie concurs.

"Mornin', mornin'.," Derrick enters the kitchen and grabs a green apple out of the fruit basket on the kitchen table.

"Good morning, man." Him and Rod slap hands.

"Morning.," Stevie scrunches up her face as Derrick kisses her forehead.

"My girlfriend's comin' through, later. I thought I'd be nice and take y'all out. There's this club out in West Hollywood, Silk, that's always jumpin'."

"It'd be fun to let my hair down. I'm up for it! Baby?" She turns to Rod to see how he feels.

"You know I'm with whatever you with, mama."

"It's settled," Derrick announces with a clap of his hands, "y'all better not punk out on me like a couple lames."

"Ain't nobody finna punk out, meathead," she flicks him in the temple.

"You lucky you my cousin, I'd put ya lil ass in a headlock."

"Cut it out, you two," Rina cuts into the pair's back and forth, "y'all are not twelve years old anymore."

"She started it," Derrick pouts.

"I didn't start it. You started it."

"¡Ya!," she nips the impending back and forth in the bud, "Do I have to ground your grown asses??"

"No, tía."

"No, mama." They respond simultaneously. Rod has to chuckle at how quickly she gets the two adults together.

After breakfast, Stevie and Jade are in the living room sprawled out on the sofa, with Rod kicking it on the floor right below Stevie's head.

She gasps seemingly randomly, making Jade look up.

"What's up?"

"I don't have anything to wear tonight! Nothing nice enough to step into a club named Silk at least."

"You know what that means right, cuz? Shopping trip!" She does a little shimmy at the idea of going to the mall. "I hope you grew out of that awkward phase from high school, because you will not be walking in the club with me dressed like Lisa Turtle."

"¡Chíngate!"

That sends Jade into a giggle fit. "I'm just kidding, Alaina." She pinches her cousin's reddened cheek.

"Who the hell is Lisa Turtle?", Rod speaks up, genuinely confused.

"You never watched Saved by the Bell??", Jade asks.

"Do I look like somebody that watched something called Saved by the Bell?", he retorts jokingly.

"Fair," she says with a laugh, "well, my girl just could not dress. Walked out the house looking like the 80's threw up on her every morning. I'm talking big shoulders, loud ass colors and patterns, them big ass bows in her head, mom jeans", she visibly shudders at the memory, "and kitten heels when she was feeling herself, but my boo got it together, though."

"Damn baby girl, you were out here on your Madonna shit?", he ends with a Windex laugh.

"Like a virgin!" Jade sings, falling into another laughing fit at her own antics.

"You can kiss the fattest part of my ass, Jade!" Stevie throws a pillow at her head making her laugh even harder.

"Ehhh, I'll let Rod handle that, babe."

"I need a new goddamn family," Stevie says under her breath, readjusting her position on the couch.

"Oh please, you love us."

"Debatable." Jade's jaw drops, and it's Stevie's turn to laugh. "I'm just kidding, Lorena." She mocks her earlier sentiment.

The rest of the morning is full of more laughter and embarrassing childhood stories.

Around 3pm, the girls decided to make their excursion to the nearby shopping mall, letting the boys play video games on Derrick's PlayStation.

They traversed almost the entire mall looking for the perfect dress for the evening, but nothing was tickling Stevie's fancy.

That was until they came to a boutique at the very end of the mall, Luxe.

The dresses in the window were stunning enough to have them both make their way inside.

They both skim through the racks, loving everything they saw, when Stevie shrieks.

"Girl, what?? You saw a rat?"

"No, fool! I found the perfect look for tonight."

"Let me see it!"

Stevie holds the pale blue 2-piece set against her body.

"Ooh, bitch! That's hella fly. Rod's gonna have a fit!"

"He'll have to deal because I'm getting this."

She finds coordinating platforms and gold jewelry to complete her look.

When they get back home, Rod tries to peek in her bag to see what she bought, but she swats his hand away.

"Move, nosy rosy."

He puts his hand over his heart in fake shock. "I can't see it?"

"You'll see it tonight," she says teasingly, popping up on her tiptoes to reach his lips, pecking them.

"Hey, hey. None of that nasty shit.", Jade pipes up.

"Don't be a hater all your life, boo. There's someone for you, too."

"Piss off!"

"Awww, is the widdle baby upset?", she pinches her cousin's cheek.

"Ay, be nice." Rod quickly swats her backside, making her jump.

"Well, looky looky. Somebody finally got Miss Smart Mouth in check, huh? I like you more and more everyday, Roderick."

"Don't you have anything else to do??", Stevie grumbles, annoyed and slightly embarrassed.

"Nope! I can get on your nerves all day, cuz," Jade says cheerily.

Stevie rolls her eyes, heading upstairs to put away her purchases.

༺═───────────────────────────────────────═༻

Later that evening...

Stevie's putting the final touches on her look for the night. Her usual ringlets are bone straight and pulled into a high pony that grazes the top of her behind.

The makeup she wears is subtle with nude, glossed lips, wispy lashes, and matte, bronzed skin. Her legs look a mile long in the gold platforms that complement the gold hardware in her outfit.

Feeling diva-ish from being in the City of Angels, she pops on a pair of slightly oversized, baby blue shades to complete the look.

She pokes her head in Jade's room to see if she's any closer to being ready.

"We have got to cut this out," Stevie remarks as she takes in Jade's outfit for the evening. Same fit in a dark green.

They've been inadvertently dressing similarly since they were young. They always joked they could read each other's minds.

"Ooh, girl, we look cute though! And I love that your extra ass is wearing shades at night. You've come a long way, Turtle."

"Whatever! The boys are waiting. Let's get downstairs."

Walking downstairs arm in arm, Rina spots them first.

"Well, if it isn't the Bobbsey twins! You two look gorgeous."

They graciously thank her in soft voices.

Derrick and Rod look up from their conversation, and Rod feels his throat tighten.

"Damn," he mumbles before thinking.

Derrick, on the other hand, looks like he wants to throw a sheet over them as if they'd just passed out in a Baptist church.

"Yeah, you girls look beautiful. Now go change," he says in all seriousness.

They immediately hit him with the same "you got me fucked up" face.

"You can go somewhere always tryna be somebody daddy. I already have one, and I barely listen to that fool." Stevie's the first one to speak up. Rina has to keep the water she's sipped from spewing all over the counter at her niece's bluntness.

"Mama, you see how short those skirts are!", he resorts to trying to get Rina on his side, "One wrong move, and now I'm fighting every guy in the club."

"Derrick, these girls are grown! Let them be."

"But, ma--"

"That's enough, Derrick. Quieres hijos, tienes que hacerlos."

Derrick mumbles something unintelligible under his breath.

"What was that??"

"Nothing." He can feel the heat from the sandal preparing to meet his face, so he tightens up quickly.

"That's what I thought. Now--" The sound of the doorbell cuts her sentence short, and Derrick pops out of his seat to answer, knowing it's his girl, Roxanne.

He opens the door, and a stunning young woman with a pixie cut, clad in a form fitting, bright red, three piece suit appears.

"Hi, baby." Her voice is soft, almost shy as she greets him, throwing her arms around his neck. The kiss they shared is chaste since his mom is present, but sweet all the same.

"Hey, Miss Rina."

"What's going on, Roxanne? You look beautiful."

The beauty thanks her and they fall into a short conversation.

"Alright, you babies go on and have fun. I know I will," she says slickly, winking at the group.

She gives them all kisses, Rod included, and sends them on their way.

Pulling up to the imposing, brick-faced building, they're faced with a throng of young men and women chomping at the bit to get behind the velvet rope that'll grant them entry to the hottest nightclub in the city where the DJ's selections can be heard down the block.

"I thought clubs back home were hard to get into, but this is something else!", Stevie remarks as she looks at the line of people wrapped around the corner.

"Don't even sweat it, girl. Let's go," Jade responds, and they follow her with confused, yet intrigued looks.

The solid, 6'0 bouncer looks up as he hears the click clack of the girls' heels approaching him.

"'Sup, Jade," the man with intricately braided hair greets her.

"Hey, boo. How you livin'?"

"I'm straight. You know Gin in there asking for you."

"Is he now?"

"Yup. His section's on the second floor. You and your people have a good time." He unclips the rope and allows them through.

"Thanks, babe." She lightly pats his chest as she walks through.

"Damn, cuz," Stevie pipes up as they walk into the building, "you might be too damn cool for me."

"Cut it out. I just know a few people."

"And who the hell is Gin??", Derrick asks after seeing her interaction with the club's bouncer.

"Do not start that shit with me, D. I didn't come here to argue with you. Now I know there's a Cosmo with my name on it. Y'all drinking?"

She receives scattered affirmations, and they head to the bar.

California Love starts playing as Jade leads them to the second level she was directed to earlier, and she, Derrick, and Roxanne immediately start rapping along flawlessly.

Stevie bops along to the infectious rhythm, while Rod looks like the out of place New Yorker he is.

"Bruh, tell me you know this song," Derrick says when he takes in Rod's stiffness.

"Can't say that I do, playa."

Derrick & his sister's jaws both drop at the revelation.

"How do you not know about the goat?! This song is everywhere!", Jade exclaims in disbelief.

"The who??"

"Please don't get him going on this east vs. west shit. We'll be here all night," Stevie intervenes.

"Babe, the goat, though??"

Stevie gives him a look that warns him to quit while he's ahead, which he does.

The music continues with the latest in hip-hop with the drinks that keep flowing.

The girls down shots while rapping to Whatta Man. The tequila runs through their veins and loosens them up.

"What's up, stranger?", a smooth voice sounds, directly behind Jade.

She turns face to face with the handsome gentleman, whose decked out in a lime green, silk Versace blouse with sparkling diamond adornments from his fingers to his ears.

"Hello, Elgin." She remains impassive while the flock of women present look like they want to yank out her hair.

"I've been tryna hit you up all week. When are you gonna stop playing with my heart, gorgeous?"

"When you stop wearing crop tops on the red carpet," her quick wit causes her to blurt out.

Stevie & Roxanne are watching the exchange with their jaws making friends with the floor, as Jade casually brushes off the man whose song is playing in the club as they speak.

He takes the playful dig in stride, and tries persuading her to come with him so they can "talk", which she politely declines.

"I don't think so, pretty boy. I'm here with my people."

"Do not sweat us! We good, boo."

Stevie nods along in agreement. "Yeah, girl. We got them two knuckleheads back there."

Jade shakes her head with a chuckle, turning back to her admirer, who has a smirk on his face.

"You have ten minutes to convince me why I should give you the time of day."

"I don't even need that long, ma." He extends his arm for her to take, and she does, following his lead.

"She something else, isn't she?"

"I need to take a page or two out of her book. Don't tell her I said that, though." The remaining girls share a laugh.

"Ay, why y'all let my sister run off with that negro and his S-Curl?"

"Derrick, relax! She's a smart girl. She's not going anywhere if she doesn't feel safe," Stevie speaks up in defense of her cousin.

"Well, she has 15 minutes to show her face again or I'm setting it off in here."

"Okay, dad, sheesh. We need to get some more liquor in you."

"Yes!" Roxanne agrees wholeheartedly, only her reasons are a bit more...selfish. She knows he'll put a dent in the headboard with the right amount of brown in him.

While her cousin canoodles with an R&B heartthrob, the truth serum running through Stevie's system has her feeling extra touchy with her own.

Nobody serves as the soundtrack while she winds her hips against his, her hands traveling across any part of him they could reach.

She spins herself around to face him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"You know what I think?", she asks against his lips. Her words are slurred and heavy with lust.

"Hmm?" The Henny has hit him in the best way, and Stevie's hands are sending sparks through his whole being.

"I think," she pauses to kiss his slightly parted mouth, "we should get outta here."

"What about Derrick?", he asks, really only halfway concerned.

"He'll figure it out."

With that, she hooks her finger in the front of his belt buckle and leads him through the crowd of people, outside to the fresh, night air.

They hail the first cab that rolls up to the club, ambling into the backseat. Rod barely gets the address out before she's in his lap sucking and nibbling on the sweet spots of his neck. The poor cab driver simply shakes his head with a chuckle, minding his business.

He has to stop her when her hands get to trying to unbuckle his belt.

"I will fuck you up in the back of this cab, Vie," he warns closely in her ear.

She licks the shell of his ear. "I dare you," she whispers seductively.

"Alright now," the driver sounds from the front, "I don't want you youngins to mess around and catch a charge over some hanky panky. Trust me. Save all that for when you get home."

Listening to the older man, Stevie reluctantly moves herself off Rod's lap, opting to sit closer to her passenger side door. That doesn't stop the sensual, fleeting touches between the two of them.

They nearly run out of the taxi once they reach their destination. Stevie ducks down near several rocks where Rina keeps a spare key hidden underneath one.

It's quiet as a church mouse as they enter, so they try their best to creep to their room undetected.

They're almost successful until Stevie's platforms finally get the better of her, and she loses her balance reaching the top of the stairs.

She squeals in shock, but she's caught by Rod's strong arms before she can hit the ground.

Staring at each other in silence for a moment, Stevie bursts into a fit of giggles, and in his attempt to quiet her down, Rod finds himself laughing too.

"Babe, your aunt is gonna come out here and beat our asses. Shhh." He puts a finger to her lips for emphasis.

She nods as if she agrees, but a few giggles escape her still. So, he scoops her up, carrying her the rest of the way. He uses his foot to close the door as quietly as he can.

Setting her gently on the bed, he takes her ankle in his hand to remove the offending, yet sexy footwear. With her legs gapped, he notices her smooth, glistening womanhood. He shoots her a questioning glance which she responds to with a wink.

Yanking her down to the edge of the bed by her ankle, he pins her legs back into the mattress and latches his lips onto her clit.

Her breathy sighs and gasps have him straining through the thick fabric of his jeans.

She pops the buttons on her top and uses a free hand to roll her nipple between her fingers, increasing the euphoric feelings.

The fact that she's pinned down and essentially forced to take this tongue lashing intensifies the feeling tenfold. Her hands run over his waves. Her almond acrylics running along his scalp send tingles down his spine, and he groans against her.

The familiar coil in her lower stomach tightens, and her thighs begin to quiver signaling her impending release.

She has to throw her hands over her mouth to catch the long moan threatening to fly from her lips. Her nectar flows freely into his eager mouth, but that doesn't stop him from slurping her like she was a glass of ice water in the summer.

Her hands find the top of his head in an attempt to push him away, but he's relentless.

Finally, he pulls away from her over-sensitive bud with an obscene pop, and she closes her legs putting her hands between them.

"Shit," she breathes, trying to bring herself down.

"You tappin' out on me already?", he taunts her. "You was talkin' big shit earlier."

While he's talking he pulls his pants and boxers down to his ankles in one swift motion kicking them off. "Now, put that ass up," he commands, smacking her thigh.

She rolls over, putting a deep arch in her back just how he likes it. He bunches her skirt up around her waist and sinks his entire length into her heat, eliciting a drawn out curse from the both of them simultaneously.

His nails dig into the soft flesh of her hips as he grinds in and out, allowing her to become accustomed to his size.

Not pleased with the low groans that make it past the barrier of her lower lip that's been tucked between her teeth, he takes her ponytail and wraps it around his hand, pulling her flush against his chest.

"Let me hear that shit, princess." He licks the sweet spot near the base of her ear, mimicking her earlier teasing.

His strokes become merciless, filling her to the hilt.

"Oh, fffuck! Baby, you're so fucking deep! Shit!" Her eyes roll to the back of her head while he continues to bring her closer and closer to the edge, his heavy hand coming down on her ass at different intervals.

Her head swims as she teeters back and forth in the space between pleasure and pain.

His hand moves from her hair to her neck, pulling her back up when she slumps forward. He feels her walls pulsate around him, and he knows she's right there.

The combination of his thumb applying the perfect amount of pressure and his filthy words of encouragement in her ear send her gushing all over his length, with his own release following shortly thereafter.

Heavy breathing soon turns into soft snores, as they collapse into the covers.

༺═───────────────────────────────────────═༻

The throbbing pain in their heads wake them up, at the same time. By the sheer grace of God, their bodies are covered up with the thick blanket.

Stevie looks around the room, shaking her head at the way their clothes are thrown about.

"Jesus," Rod sits up, looking around as well, slightly laughing to himself.

She glances up at him, giggling as he bends down to smother her with kisses. She playfully pushes him away and jumps up from the bed, in search of his t-shirt.

"I gotta pee.," she grabs the shirt off the floor and yanks it over her head, rushing across the hall to empty her bladder.

After washing her hands, she opens the door and squeals at the sight of Derrick. Thanking God that her shirt comes below her knees, she pushes him out into the hallway.

"You scared me!," she whisper-yells.

"Oh yeah?, you two horny toads scared me, last night!," his volume a little louder than hers, "how am I supposed to keep an eye on you, if you're hailing cabs back here and not telling anybody?!"

"Derrick, you weren't in charge of 'keeping an eye on me'," she laughs. "I'm sorry that I left y'all, last night— wait."

"What?" His voice goes back to normal as her eyes zoom in on the trail of deep red hickeys on his neck.

"You had sex last night, didn't you?"

"Yeah, well, I'm grown." He blinks.

"So am I!," she thumps him in the temple, pushing him out of her way. "Got me feeling bad and shit."

"Well, you should feel bad. You still left me." He turns her back around.

"Mm, right. You were worried about wittle Ol Stevie, while Roxy was chewing on your neck like a piece of candy. Get out my face, boy."

"If you two don't get out this hallway and shut up.," aunt Rina emerges from her room, hair all over her head.

"Sorry.," the speak at once, not taking their eyes off her appearance.

"What?" She asks.

Stevie smirks, crossing her arms. "I guess we're not the only ones who had some fun, last night."

Derrick grimaces at the instant mental pictures, flooding his brain. "Gross. I'm going back to bed." He excuses himself, slamming his door shut.

"Go back to bed, Alaina.," Rina scolds with a laugh.

Stevie slides back into her room, crawling back into bed to cuddle with Rod, whose gaze is on the window, straight ahead.

"Hey," she kisses his shoulder blade.

"Hey.," he nuzzles his chin against her hair. "Thanks for bringing me out here. I enjoyed myself."

"You're officially part of family vacations, now." She laughs. "I told you, they were gonna love you. Hell, they might ship me back to New York and keep you hostage."

"You're corny, vie."

"And, you love me!"

@ghostfacekill-monger @sheabuttahwrites @blackerthings @thegifstories @nahimjustfeelingit-writes @harmshake @honestpreference @cecereads209 @abeautifulmindexposed @mauvecherie-writes

#soulff #miyuhpapayuh #poc writers #blackwriters #black romance #rod x stevie #rod and stevie #stevie x rod #black fiction #90s romance #black writers #black!reader #joey badass fic #joey bada$$

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iscariotapologist · 5 months

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hi dear yes i can recommend a few things that helped me! so it kind of depends what phase you're in but when i was first deconstructing i really loved the writing of sarah bessey, i enjoyed all her books but specifically jesus feminist helped show me a different picture of christianity. others in a similar vein are jeff chu and nadia bolz-weber (i would also recommend all of their newsletters). i also really liked brennan manning at that point. ymmv but i had to get rid of the young earth creationism so things like biologos and the language of science and faith by francis collins were really helpful to me. really can't stress enough how learning about evolution and the grand scale and interconnectedness of living things helped me dispose of the weird stunted anthropocentric worldview and honestly helped some with the end times shit too.

again depending on where you're at it may be helpful to go to services of other denominations and/or religions (quaker and episcopal churches helped me a lot). however i do think it's probably good for the ex sda soul to just not go to church for a while if you can and haven't tried that, particularly if you were super indoctrinated like i was. i felt like such a a sinner for this and it took me YEARS to start feeling normal about saturday being a regular day of the week and not Thee lord's day when you can't do so much as go out to eat etc but i did do it and i'm glad to report the weekend is so much better this way lmao. also i got a spiritual director! she's great and i would recommend considering that option if you find yourself wanting more personal and professional help/guidance on this journey.

after i got out of the initial trenches i got into deeper and more intellectually challenging (at least to me lol) writing like the medieval mystics, simone weil, christian wiman, richard rambuss, etc. those aren't necessarily relevant to this question though that's just what i was drawn to. also i'm not a podcast person but i think there's several exvangelical/deconstruction podcasts around if thats your thing although i can't recommend any personally.

remember to be gentle and very honest with yourself....the fundie rationale is that they have the only objectively right answer to everything by taking the bible (and for sda ellen white) super literally and the further away from them you get the more patently ridiculous that becomes, but it can obviously be frightening to see your whole worldview crumble. un/fortunately we are all just kind of here and trying to figure it (whatever it is) out more or less as best we can and there's not one right way to have (or not have) a relationship with god. luckily for all of us there's a lot less pressure than the evangelicals make it seem like. i will drop a couple tags that should have some other reading recommendations if you're interested!

#i didnt even get to the end times bullshit but this is already so long #sorry this took a few days i kind of forgot every book i've ever read for a minute #here are the tags ->#reference #ex sda #<- NOT sure if anything in there is useful it might just be me bitching sorry #the ask tag #<- there have been some other ex sda people who i've talked to but you might have to dig a little and it might just be redundant again sorr #i hope you're doing okay anon you'll be in my thoughts!

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ssukidesu · 5 months

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Inextricably Knotted (an Inukag + Jane Eyre AU) [Chapter 2]

Summary: Kagome Higurashi was orphaned as a baby and raised by her cruel aunt until the age of ten, after which she went to school and learned the art of service and self-suppression. Now eighteen, Kagome takes a job as the governess of Shippo, the young ward of the great and mysterious Lord Inuyasha Taisho.

But as Kagome gets to know her bemusing master, a ghost seems to haunt his estate, hinting that there is a long-lost secret hiding on the third floor.

(Read on AO3)

tag list: @heynikkiyousofine @xanthippe-writes

Chapter 2: Encounter

Kagome awoke with the sun, as her many years at school had trained her. Not knowing what sort of day lay in front of her, she dawned one of her nicer dresses and secured a brooch above her breast. She secured dark curls in a simple braided bun. She knew she would not meet the master today, but she would meet her pupil: a young boy named Shippo. Other than his name, she knew nothing about him.

Kagome entered the hallway and tried not to look lost. Morning light crawled in through the windows, bathing the corridor in a soft blue hue. She tried to recall from which direction she had come the previous night, but after a few turns, the daylight bathed the furniture in unfamiliarity. She strained her young ears to hear any sounds of silverware or talking. Her feet were soft on the carpet runners as she managed to follow the distant voices of those whom she could only assume were servants.

She went down one set of steps. (Had she gone up steps last night? She couldn’t recall.) There below, two women were chattering about daily tasks. They turned and looked at Kagome, whose timid appearance cut their discussion short.

One of the women—a young girl of about fourteen—smiled brightly. “Good morning! You must be Miss Higurashi, little Shippo’s new governess!”

“I am,” Kagome confirmed sweetly, grateful for the girl’s welcoming demeanor. “You can just call me Kagome, if you’d like. What’s your name?”

“I am Anne, and this is my mother, Harriet.”

Harriet, a spitting image of her daughter with two decades of age added, nodded her head in kind acknowledgment. “Are you looking for Lady Kaede this morning? I believe I saw her last in the dining room breakfasting.”

“Thank you very much,” Kagome grinned. She then brought a shy finger to scratch her temple. “Forgive me, but—where is the dining room?”

The two women giggled at her estrangement and gave her simple instructions. A moment later, Kagome was approaching the dining room, the sound of Lady Kaede’s voice permeating the air.

Upon her entrance, Kagome was greeted instantly and told to grab a plate of food from the adjacent kitchen. She did so, grabbing two biscuits, some jam, and bacon. She listened patiently at the table as Kaede provided a mental blueprint of the house. There were three floors; most of the bedrooms were on the second floor, though there were a few on the third also (which otherwise contained storage rooms). The first floor contained the kitchen, the dining room, the drawing rooms (there were three), the library, and multiple offices of varying purposes.

“Is there a particular office in which I’m meant to work with Shippo?” asked Kagome.

“I was not given so specific of instructions by the master—all he’d told me was to advertise and hire a teacher for the boy. The largest office is where Lord Inuyasha works during the rare instances he is home, so that is likely the only place that you cannot use. The other offices are certainly available, as well as the library, if you prefer it.”

“Thank you. I will allow Shippo to pick which place of the three he prefers.”

Kaede surprised her by laughing. “Oh, my dear—there’s no need for that. You are a governess in a great house; you ought to grasp your rights in the position and settle wherever you see fit. Modesty is a virtue, but in a lonely place like this, such humility does not provide anyone else with a benefit they would notice or appreciate.”

Kagome blushed at the habituality with which she sought to avoid overbearance at all costs. “Thank you, lady Kaede.”

After Kagome finished her food and tea, Kaede rang the bell and asked for Shippo to be awakened and chaperoned to the dining room. About ten minutes later, a female servant walked in with a small boy close behind.

Kagome’s eyes widened. The boy looked normal enough; he seemed about six years old. His pale skin was littered with freckles, and his red hair fell in shags over his forehead. But the boy’s ears, instead of sloping like a normal human’s, were tall and pointed, and—most alarming—a fluffy red fox tail waggled freely behind him. He was a demon—the very first one she’d ever seen.

His eyes were glued to her, and excitement was written all over his boyish features. “Hello! Are you going to be my teacher?” he asked, coming to stand squarely in front of her.

Kagome schooled her features and smiled back. “That’s right, Shippo. I am Miss Higurashi. It’s nice to meet you.” She held out her right hand for a shake, but he only stared at it in confusion. Did he not know what such a greeting was? “You shake it,” she explained patiently. Relieved, he stuck out his little hand and grasped hers. She guided the movement, a short up and down, and then released his hand.

Lady Kaede spoke, “If you leave through the main door, you’ll pass by the offices and end at the library. Look at them all and decide where you would like to work.”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.” Kagome turned to the boy and continued, “Let’s go, Shippo.”

He trailed behind her happily, and Kagome had to keep her mind from wandering to her feelings about his demonic blood. This information was not stated in the advertisement. For many, such a surprise would result in their immediate resignation.

But how did she feel? Her school had taught her that demons were the most dangerous members of society; they were powerful and cruel, and often filthy immoralists. There was a reason why the previous two kings had fought so hard to take demons out of their positions as feudal lords. But, Kagome mused, some time had passed since then, and this particular demon was merely a child. A sweet child, too, from what she could tell. Glancing back at him, she saw him smiling up at her in unabashed glee.

She could not find it in herself to fear or hate him; on the contrary, she felt affection bubbling up within her breast. Indeed, Kagome was grateful she was the one whom Kaede hired. The thought of a stranger in her stead responding to the boy with disgust and abandonment broke her heart for him.

Back to reality, Kagome poked her head into the two available offices as she passed them. They were much alike; a large desk stocked with paper and quills sat in the center affront a large window, and a couple small accent chairs rested elsewhere. She continued on to the library.

It was seemingly one of the larger rooms in the house; the ceiling was a few feet higher, and the space grander. Oak bookshelves covered every inch of the walls and housed more books than she knew existed. The massive carpet contained a beautiful red pattern that she guessed was middle-eastern. The desk was smaller than those in the offices, but Kagome decided she did not mind. She didn’t see herself sitting at a desk, anyway; if anything, Shippo might use it more than her.

The windows provided the only break from bookshelves, and their broad reach framed a breathtaking view of the property. A couple of trees that hovered closely to the house offered their branches for keen observation. Though they were half naked now that it was autumn, she knew that they could observe firsthand the budding leaves in spring.

Kagome turned to Shippo with an excited grin of her own. “We will work in here most days,” she declared. “I would like to start working with you today, if you’ll have me.”

The boy nodded happily. “Yes, Miss Higurashi.”

“You may call me Kagome,” she said smiling. “We will begin with a small pre-examination, then. I need to know what you have already learned.”

And at this point on, the two were off to work.

In the subsequent weeks, Kagome came to know her pupil well. He had very few skills; he could not read or write, and he had little knowledge of things beyond the events of his own life before and during his residence at Jidai-Ju.

“Mother and father were killed soon after I was born, around fifteen years ago,” said he one morning while he practiced writing the alphabet with a clumsy quill. Kagome sat in a chair beside him, carefully watching his strokes for error.

This information should not have shocked Kagome; she had already learned that demons age much slower than humans. Though he was developmentally far younger than her, she was actually only three years his senior. She tried not to dwell on this and instead offered her condolences. “I’m sorry, Shippo. I understand how you feel. I am also an orphan.”

He paused his penmanship to look up at her. His look was surprised, and deeply sad. “Really?”

“Yes. Both of my parents died of illness when I was very young.”

The boy’s eyes spilled over with tears, and he dropped his pen to cling to her in a sweet hug. “Where did you go after they died?” he asked.

She patted his head with a mournful smile. “I was raised by my aunt until I was ten, and then she sent me off to a school called Shikon. I gained my education and became a teacher there at sixteen. This is my first job out in the world.”

“I’m glad that you’re my teacher,” he said.

It was a simple compliment, but it was the kindest thing anyone had ever said to her.

Weeks passed slowly, and autumn’s end approached. Kagome had no complaints about her job—it was truly the most rewarding post she could ask for—but the companionship of a child could only satisfy so much. In truth, she felt lonely often. Lady Kaede ate meals with her every day, but she remained a relatively simple friend whose company hardly varied beyond logistical conversation. Kagome found herself staring longingly out of the windows and escaping frequently into books from the library. Shikon school did not carry fictional books; for this reason, her world was opened by the dozens of novels housed by the lovely shelves at Jidai-Ju. But her actual world felt like it was shrinking more every day.

With the isolation of the house came also a trepidation for what lay outside it. In the nights specifically, Kagome would sometimes hear distant—and sometimes not so distant—croons, caws, and creaks. She heard servants whisper in the mornings of bright lights they saw past the woods from their windows, and while Kagome had not witnessed any herself, she knew better than to write off their concerns as the idle chatter of servant girls.

It was about these stories, and her general melancholy, that Kagome was musing one night when Kaede interrupted her thoughts.

“Are you alright, my dear?” she asked after supper. Kagome had been staring mindlessly into the flames of the fireplace, the teacup in her hands growing cold.

She turned her head to meet the old woman’s concerned gaze and sighed. “Yes, I’m quite alright. Only…” she stopped, worried that revealing her feelings would hurt Kaede’s, as she had tried very hard to make Kagome feel welcome and comfortable. “It’s silly. I just feel the beginnings of some seasonal depression, is all. I miss being able to enjoy the sun.”

“I see,” said Lady Kaede. “I imagine it must be hard, being in a quiet place like this. When I was your age, it was far livelier. There were three masters all at home, and my own mother was here as my companion. Now, even I feel the isolation seeping into my heart. For a young woman, I can imagine it instills a feeling of slow doom.”

“I don’t wish to water any seeds of ungratefulness within me.”

“I know you don’t, child. And you are wise to protect your heart this way. But there is grace for such feelings.”

Kagome returned her sights to the flickering flames. “Thank you.”

Kaede’s look lingered. “Perhaps you could use some fresh air. They say it is balm to troubled minds. I’ve a letter to post—why don’t you take it? The weather is not unbearable now.”

Kagome did not particularly want to walk thirty minutes to town—there was likely only an hour of sunlight left, anyway. But she wanted to submit to Kaede’s advice out of respect for her concern—and any fear she had for those woods would be tempered by an uneventful experience walking through them. “I’ll take it,” she decided with a small smile.

With her coat and satchel, Kagome left the house and began her walk. The cold air stung her face, but she did find it refreshing. Patches of ice littered the road; her eyes surveyed the ground to ensure she did not slip. The sunset was cloudless.

When she was about ten minutes away, and the sun was behind the tree line, she began to pay closer attention to noises.

The birds had not yet retired for the night, and squirrels still rushed the ground for acorns. Every movement along the road was accented by the sound of ruffling leaves, as the trees had balded almost entirely.

After she had finally managed to calm her nerves, the sound of heavy steps—far heavier and more numerous than a person’s—reached her ears from around the road’s distant bend ahead and sent her heart rate wild once again. She slowed her steps as she waited for whatever approached to make itself visible beyond the trees.

The steps became louder and louder, but the accompanying sound of a horse’s neighing brought ease to her mind. It was no monster, at least. When it finally revealed itself, she saw a black Clydesdale with a man riding upon it. He was traveling in the opposite direction as her, and when their paths intersected, Kagome lifted her head to investigate him. She held her breath. His own head was so downcast that the rim of his hat protected the upper half of his face, and the high collar of his black riding cloak hid all below his cheeks.

The rider did not spare her a backward glance after he passed, his mission supposedly dominant in his mind. But a few seconds after he disappeared behind, Kagome heard the scratching of hooves over ice, a violent curse, and a crash.

She turned around to chase the commotion, and when she found him, he and his horse both were downed. The beast did not need her assistance to rise, its whinnies and snorts vigorous in its slow but successful rise. The rider, on the other hand, clutched his leg (cursing all the while) and stayed grounded. With his hat now gone, she could see from behind that he was a demon—his long silver hair and pointed ears, which sat on the top of his head, informed her as much.

She approached him carefully. “Sir? Are you alright?”

He craned his neck to see her and huffed (in relief or anger, she didn’t know) before pushing himself up to a waddled stance, facing her. Kagome stared transfixed at his golden irises, which proved the most vibrant thing about him. His skin was darker than what the winter would lead one to expect, and his overall appearance struck Kagome as harsh. Leaves clung to his coat, and his tophat stayed half-buried in the frozen dirt. In human terms, he appeared around thirty—but she had learned that with demons, appearances meant very little. “I’ll be fine enough,” was his gruff response. His voice was like the clashing of swords, or the crash of thunder. It was deep, and very sharp. She noted that his canine teeth were larger and longer than a normal man’s. What kind of demon was he? She mourned her own ignorance.

“Do you need any help?” Kagome asked. If she was being honest, she didn’t want him to say yes. His presence put her on edge; every moving muscle and glance was charged with energy, and she could not guess his next move. Kagome had never been this close to a young man—much less a full-grown demon.

He seemed pained by her inquiry. “Do you have a cane, or an umbrella? I just need to reach my horse.”

“I don’t.”

He sighed, then seemed to consider her for the first time. “Where did you come from? Who are you? There aren’t many estates out this way.”

“My name is Kagome Higurashi. I work at Jidai-Ju.”

His head tilted so slightly she almost didn’t notice. “Do you know the master there? Inuyasha Taisho, I believe?”

“I’ve never met the man.”

“I see. And your position there—you are…?” He inspected her simple dress and bonnet, which led him to no clear conclusion.

“I am the governess there.”

“Ah—the governess!” he assented, agitation still lacing underneath.

Kagome felt the night’s chill wrack her frame, and she grew impatient. “Sir, forgive me, but is there anything I can do for you?”

“If you’ve no tool to assist me, you can do it yourself. Lend me your shoulder.”

She hesitated. What if he was dangerous? Could she trust an adult demon? All her education had told her no—they were nothing but trouble.

But they’d said the same about her, hadn’t they?

He must have seen this conflict on her face, for he chuckled in annoyance, “Let me guess—afraid to approach a half-demon? Are you worried I’ll turn savage the moment you get too close?”

A half-demon? How could she have possibly known the difference between full and half, when he was the first one she’d ever seen? Her master apparently carried the same characteristic; how many half-demons were there in these lands? Gulping, she stated firmly, “My concerns do not regard what I know about you from your appearance, but rather what I can’t know from it—mainly, your character.”

His golden eyes widened initially at her words, then narrowed sternly. He grimaced, “You would be a fool to not fear a demon with whom you are alone. I saw the tremble of your steps and the fear in your eyes when you approached.” His expression changed, and he gained the look of a person who sought to tease angrily. (She’d seen the look on her cousin’s face many times; this bristled her even further.) “Admit it—you thought you’d stumbled upon a Gytrash when you first beheld me.”

“I confess nothing but having the anxiety any lady would have at meeting a stranger in the woods near dusk.”

He seemed unsatisfied, but he allowed the argument to end there. He grabbed his hat from the ground beside him. “Well, then, the sooner you send me on my way, the sooner you can be free of this anxiety. Now, won’t you help me to my horse?”

Not wanting to delay the end of their encounter, Kagome approached him, each step revealing to her the immensity of his greater size. Her own stature proved smaller than average, and his height certainly exceeded that of any man she’d ever known (though she’d only known those who were beyond their prime). He held his right arm from his body—a place for her to wedge herself beneath—and waited expectantly for her arrival. She avoided his glowing eyes as she wrapped his heavy arm behind her neck. He smelled of the forest. He limped the whole way to his horse, his forsaken weight transferred to her as only a slight burden.

He grabbed the horse’s bridle the moment he was close enough, placed his good ankle in the stirrup, and hoisted himself up with a grunt.

Once settled, he prepared to leave. “Well, miss governess, thank you for your assistance. Be sure to get back home quickly. The forest is more alive than you know.”

She watched him ride away, and turning to retrace her lost ground, continued her own trek to town. Though the interaction was unique to her, she did not allow herself to dwell on the novelty. There was truly nothing to romanticize; his features were striking—bordering on ghastly, she guessed, according to the delicate sensibilities of the age; he was not ugly by her own terms, but he certainly did not fit the conventional definition of handsome. Even more notable was his brash attitude. Even if all this hadn’t been so, if he had been a handsome man of sweet composure, she was sure there was nothing interesting enough about her plain person to warrant his own lingering consideration.

About an hour hence, Kagome was walking up the paved steps of Jidai-Ju. The night had fully waxed; its pale, glowing iris cast a foggy whiteness over the thicket and stone architecture, but heaven and earth were otherwise shrouded in a ghostly vale of shadow.

Kaede met her at the top of the steps, out of breath from her apparent rush to meet her there.

“Lady Kaede? What’s the matter?”

“It’s the master—“ she began, huffing. “Mr. Taisho has come home unannounced.”

Kagome was unsure how to process the unforeseen news.

Before she could respond, the old woman continued: “His horse fell on the road, and he’s broken his ankle. A doctor is seeing him now.”

Kagome’s blood froze. “He fell only just now, on his way?”

“Indeed. Now come, I need help preparing the drawing room and his bedroom. If you so please.”

Kagome had only been in the drawing room a couple of times, but by the time they were finished preparing it, it looked like a different room altogether. The curtains were drawn, furniture polished, candles added and lit. Tea and wine were prepared and later out on a tray, though the apparent beneficiary was still absent. She did not end up entering his bedroom; that chore fell to some other.

Kaede told her to fetch Shippo from his quarters. When she had returned with him in the drawing room, the leather chair had been moved to face the fireplace, and it was occupied.

Mr. Taisho’s silver hair and triangular ears confirmed her suspicions. She had only just met her master, and already she decided she did not like him very much at all. How could he deceive her like that? Was he laughing at her? Mocking her?

She seethed inwardly but kept her expression neutral. Shippo seemed elated to see him; he was almost vibrating at her side.

The man spoke without turning, his voice an agitated growl. “What—will you just stand and stare at me? Take a seat, Miss Higurashi. You’ll be able to study me better in the firelight.”

Oh, he was infuriating .

Clenching her teeth, Kagome obeyed with Shippo at her side. She sat down slowly, waiting for his striking face to point itself at her. He had a cigar in his fingers, every once in a while bringing it up to his lips for a puff. The smoke smelled like spice and pine, and she found that what she had smelled on Mr. Taisho while assisting him to his horse was the smell of this cigar.

“So you did want to study me, then?” he inquired after a moment of her silence, finally meeting her stare. “Do you think me handsome?”

Her response was quick, too quick for reconsideration. “No. I’m only waiting to see for what purpose you’ve summoned me.”

His brows raised at this, and he turned his head in full attention. Kagome’s color rose at her blunder and his consequent focus. Should she correct herself? Would it even matter? Surely she was all but begging to be dismissed for insubordination.

Instead of addressing her insult, the master directed his attention to Shippo for the first time. He pulled a small bag from his pocket, uncinched its string, and handed it to the child. He seemed to know what it was on first glance. He squealed a thanks to him and took his prize to a small table behind them. Kagome watched him empty its contents onto a plate. It was candy.

Their eyes met again. Mr. Taisho tilted his head in judgment. “You seem less afraid of me now.”

“I was not afraid before,” she argued in a more collected tone, relieved at the absence of his anger.

“Oh? You would be wrong to assume I’m not dangerous.”

"No doubt. But—" she stopped herself, unsure.

“But…?”

Her shoulders stiffened. “Dangerous as you may be, I don’t believe you’re evil.”

“And you perceive these things as different from one another?

“Of course. God Himself is dangerous, but He is not evil.”

His look was mysterious. The question lying beneath it was as palpable as the heat coming from the fire: What could a little girl like you know about evil? Changing the subject, he gripped something on the ground from beside his chair and pulled it up for her observation. It was her portfolio.

She wanted to demand an explanation for how he acquired it, but a quick glance at a guilty-faced Kaede confirmed the only reasonable explanation there could have been.

“Oh, leave the old woman alone. She meant no harm in boasting your apparent skills. You did indeed sketch all of these?” he asked, flipping open the folder.

Her eyes landed first on her latest piece, which was still only half colored. It was a picture of her parents’ shrine—or at least, a chimeric rendition of it from splintered memories and hazy dreams.

The second piece he pulled was of a pond in the garden of her aunt’s estate. The dark colors of the water implied a depth incongruent with its width; as a child, her cousin threatened to toss her into the pond whenever she annoyed him, and her youthful imagination turned it into a place of magic and fearful mystique.

The final piece he revealed was a clouded sky; the sun descended in the bottom left, and the night bled into the scene from the East. One cloud, however—which was curling an arm around sun—stood out as a dark contrast to the other still-bright clouds in that part of the page. It went against nature; it was swallowing the sun.

Chewing on her lip, she confirmed, “Yes.”

“They show a raw talent. But even more than this, they show… a mind haunted. Tell me, Miss Higurashi, what have you to be haunted by?” His voice mimicked tenderness, but the gleam in his eyes could only be described as hateful.

Kagome did not reply; instead, she watched him with a discomforted frown.

He sighed and returned his eyes to the fire, anger waning. “Forgive me. I don’t know a thing about you. I’ve no right to ask such things.”

She remained quiet and watched Shippo eat his treats from a distance.

He spoke again. “I meant it; these are very skilled.”

“Thank you.”

“This one in particular,” he began, pulling out the drawing of the shrine, “conjures images of myths and fables. This should be no surprise to me, fairy that you are.”

“Sir?” she questioned. One glance at his face told her that he was teasing.

“It was you, after all, who felled my horse and caused this,” he explained, gesturing to his raised foot.

Though his offense was done in jest, her defense was not. “I did no such thing. Your horse slipped on the ice, and you know it.”

“Ice that should not have been there, as the temperature had not yet fallen enough to freeze.”

“I assure you that the cold has been consistent enough in this last week to prevent any ice from melting.”

“If you insist, Ka-Go-Me.”

His smirk brought a fierce and angry blush to her face. “Is there anything else you need from me tonight, sir?”

“No, that’s quite enough. In fact, what are you thinking in keeping Shippo up so late? It’s past his bedtime.”

He was unbelievable. She called to the child and started to leave. He offered her a “Goodnight” as she passed by, which she returned with less than half of his enthusiasm.

#inextricably knotted #inuyasha fanfiction #inukag #jane eyre

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empressofthesunwriter · 1 month

Text

Yin and Yang

Balance is a key aspect in the world, so why shouldn’t the Avatar have an opposite?

In a world where Raava and Vaatu merge with humans, the Avatar and the Daimon try to keep the peace between the four nations.

Aang and Hua are the current incarnations, but wake up 100 years in the future.

How will these two learn all four elements in one year and defeat the Fire Lord?

Book 1.05: The King of Omashu

Water.

Earth.

Fire.

Air.

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony.

Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar and Daimon, masters of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed them most, they vanished.

A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar and Daimon, an airbender named Aang and an earthbender named Hua.

And although his airbending and her earthbending skills are great they have a lot to learn before they’re ready to save anyone.

But I believe Aang and Hua can save the world.

Hua felt her heart fill with joy, as she saw the familiar pyramide-like city of Omashu!

Oh, how she had longed to visit it again and see Bumi!

Sadly, she was 100 years too late.

Who knows what had happened to her, and Aang's, dear friend?

Of course, Jaiyi noted the solemn aura around her girl, so the nine-tailed fox snuggled against her legs, like a cat.

Thankful Hua reached down to give her trusty kyuubi a good rub between her ears.

Meanwhile, Aang presented the other Omashu in all her glory.

The Watertribe siblings were in awe since they had nothing similar in the South Pole.

"Wait, Aang!", calls Katara out to him, who was ready to just run into the city. "It could be dangerous if people find out you're the Avatar."

"You need a disguise.", added Sokka seriously.

"Why does Hua not need one?", the Avatar wondered.

"Maybe because I'm clearly Earth Kingdom and not an air nomad?", said Hua with a raised eyebrow. "No one would look at me and go: Aah, it's the legendary Daimon!"

Aang raised his finger as if he wanted to argue, then he frowned and put it down.

"Okay I see your point, but what I'm supposed to do? Grow a moustache?"

Oh, this gives Sokka an idea!

A few moments later Aang stands before them, wearing a wig and a large moustache made out of Appa fur.

Irretaited the last airbender scratches his head under the wig.

"Ugh. This is so itchy. How do you live in this stuff?", asked Aang his flying bison.

Appa slowly turns his head toward Aang and snorts at him as if he were scoffing.

"Great! Now you look just like my grandfather.", praises Sokka, happy how his idea worked.

"Technically, Aang is 112 years old.", reminds Katara.

"Just like me.", nods Hua in agreement and fixes her low-side ponytail. "I'm just glad I still look young. Would be really traumatic to wake up one day and be turned into an old lady."

Nimbly Aang kicks up his staff and spins it rapidly around before placing it upright on the ground to be used as a walking stick.

He hunches his back and leans heavily on his staff like an old person.

"Now let's get to skippin', young whipper-snappers.", he says to them in his best grandfather voice. "The big city awaits!"

The Avatar shuffles towards Omashu, while the others stare at him.

At least he played his role.

So they followed behind him.

Appa and Jaiyi stayed behind.

Since kyuubi’s seemed to be extinct and people know the Daimon had one, it was for now better to leave her with Appa.

As they are nearly at the gates of Omashu Aang tells the new visitors: "You guys are going to love Omashu. The people here are the friendliest in the world."

It's like the universe wants to prove him wrong because a guard doesn't let a cabbage saler into the city, telling the poor man, how his products are rotten and earthbends the cart off the bridge.

Team Avatar-Daimon just looks on in shock.

Exspecially Aang and Hua.

They didn't remember Omashu being so strict!

"Just keep smiling.", advises Aang his friends nervously.

"Smile and wave, guys, smile and wave!", mubles Hua, as they walk towards the entrance.

The earthbender guard steps to the front and raises a boulder out of the ground before Aang and levitates it above his head.

"State your business!", he growls aggressively.

Quickly the disguised Avatar runs from underneath the boulder and toward the guard; he halts right in front of the surprised man.

"My business is my business, young man!", scolds Aang the earthbender in his grandfather voice, poking his chest. "And none of yours!"

This surprises the guard so much, that he lets the boulder drop beside the water tribe siblings and Hua, who just look on in total disbelief at what Aang is doing.

He is either really brave or utterly stupid!

"I've got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside!", continues Aang his spiel.

Strangely it works on the guard, who pleads the fake old man to calm down and just tell him who he is.

"Name's Bonzu Pippinpaddleopsicopolis, the Third, and these are my grandkids."

Smiling and waving, Katara and Hua step beside their "grandfather".

"Hi. June Pippinpaddleopsicopolis.", introduces Katara herself.

"And I'm April Pippinpaddleopsicopolis.", says Hua.

"Nice to meet you.", choruse the girls together.

Pensively rubbing his beard, the guard eyed the two children and one old man before him, before he pointed at Katara and Hua.

Or June and April apparently.

"You seem like responsible young ladies. See that your grandfather stays out of trouble. Enjoy Omashu!"

The guard steps aside and motions at the city's entrance.

"We will!", promises Katara, while Hua nods.

"Of course, sir."

Team Avatar-Daimon starts to pass the gate to Omashu, before nearly having a heart attack because the guard seems mistrusting of Sokka, only to reveal that he thinks Sokka should show his "grandfather" some respect and carry his bag.

Bonzu aka. Aang doesn't waste a moment and throws his bag at Sokka. The bag bounces off his head to drop into his arms.

Sokka shoots Aang an annoyed glare over his shoulder.

The quartet stands before a big Earth Kingdom emblem on the wall before them.

Then the giant earthen wall splits open in the middle of the emblem, opening up to let any passengers through.

The guard opens up the gate walls.

As the first wall slides open, a second and third are bent aside as well.

Katara and Sokka watch in awe at the spectacle while Aang and Hua are smiling behind them.

They walk through as the walls already start to move again to close right after them.

100 years may have passed, but Omashu was still as beautiful as Hua remembers.

It was comforting.

"This is the Omashu delivery system.", explains Aang in his normal voice to Sokka and Katara the intricate system of chutes. "Miles and miles of tubes and chutes."

They watch as four earthbenders stand beside a platform where one earthen cart slides out and another one filled with vegetables comes into view.

As the cart passes one earthbender, he uses his bending to change the cart's direction and pushes it to the front, where another earthbender bends it up a tube to two other earthbenders standing at the ready to receive it.

One earthbender quickly bends stone lintels underneath the cart so it would not fall down again, while the other one thrusts it off the platform, where it slides down a chute at high speed.

"Earthbending brings the packages up, and gravity brings them down."

Unimpressed Sokka states: "Great, so they get their mail on time."

"They do get their mail on time, but my friend Bumi found a better use for these chutes.", tells them Aang with mischief in his eyes.

Hua can't help but laugh as she remembers.

"Oh, this was an adventure."

***

Hua was so glad that the monks allowed them to leave the Southern Air Temple for a while to visit Aang's friend Bumi in Omashu.

It was her first time in Omashu and the Daimon was enthralled by the beauty of the city.

She loved Ba Sing Se, it was her home, but Omashu had something special about her.

So while Monk Gyatsu enjoyed some tea with Bumi's parents, the three kids were walking around the city.

Since it was Hua's first time here, Bumi wanted to give her a sightseeing tour.

The young girl had to admit, that even if Bumi had a crazy look in his eyes, he was super nice to her and threatened her like she was an old friend.

Their friendly earthbending spare had helped also.

Bumi had shown her some new cool bending moves, which she was thankful for.

Currently, they were on one of the many panoramic views points of Omashu, looking down at the city and her mail system.

"Look around you! What do you see?", asked Bumi with excitement in his voice.

"Um ... The mail system?", answered Aang unsure.

"Instead of seeing what they want you to see, you got to open your brain to the possibilities.", lectured the redhead.

"A package-sending system?", tried Hua her luck.

What was Bumi getting at?

"The world's greatest superslide!", revealed Bumi cheerfully.

For a few seconds, Hua and Aang stared at their friend, before realizing, he was indeed right!

"Bumi, you're a mad genius!", declared Aang.

Bumi made his odd snort-laugh and the three friends rode the mail system like a crazy rollercoaster.

It was one of the funniest afternoons Hua had in her entire life!

***

Now, 100 years back in the present, find Aang and Hua with the water tribe siblings sitting in a mail cart, ready to again enjoy the wild ride the mail system has to offer.

The Avatar and Daimon are full-out excited, while the siblings look around them, unsure and slightly frightened.

"One ride. Then we're off to the North Pole. Airbender's honor."

"And earthbender's honour.", adds Hua.

Katara is telling them their second thoughts about all this, but it's already too late as Aang and Hua lean forward, making the mailcart race down the slope at a tremendous speed!

Momo, who has been hiding in Aang's wig the entire time, hold on tight to his master's head, chittering away.

Aang and Hua shout happily, Hua even raises her arms up in the air!

Sokka and Katara just pray that this ride is over soon, both are seeing their life pass before their eyes!

The chute they are riding pulls up next to a parallel one, where a cart with a rack of six spears is racing down.

They pull up next to the cart with the spears and they all stare at it, no one making a sound.

They race past it and both tracks join together.

Sokka and Katara scream as the two chutes merge into one chute with the spear-cart behind them, but quickly gaining.

Sokka hears it coming and turns around. He gasps and ducks just in time to avoid being skewered by the spears.

Katara turns around and screams in fear as she sees the weapons so close.

Aang, smiling excitedly, and Hua turns as well to see what the commotion is all about.

"I'm on it!", yells Aang.

The Avatar begins to rock the cart.

Hitting each side once, the cart flies out of the chute and onto a roof, where it continues its descent.

They smash into what seems to be the middle of soldiers and warriors going off to war, which shocked the Omashu forces before they descended down further.

The cart with the quartet and one lemure breaks through the railing closing off the other chute and crosses the track, knocking over one of the supply carts, spilling a load of pumpkins all over the ground.

The knocked-over cart lies on the track, where another incoming cart crashes into it.

The waterbender yells at Aang to use his airbending to avoid a crash, however, he thinks it's about to make the cart faster.

Whatever, he uses his airbending and they pass by a restaurant, where a couple is eating together.

The couple looks up in surprise at the kids flashing by while the waiter dashes over to see what is going on.

An earthbender soldier is waiting for the arrival of the next cart. As a cart of scrolls stops in front of him, the cart with the Team Avatar-Daimon flies down an incredibly steep slope.

As the slope flattens out, the kids cry out in alarm as they are moments from colliding with the motionless cart in front of the bender.

The earthbender on duty at that station sends it on its way, briefly relieving the quartet of the speeding cart.

Much to the riders' horror, another cart instantly pops up from the tube below the bender.

Before it can be moved, the kids' cart crashes into it, catapulting them and their cart into the air, high above a lower level of the city.

Aang airbends the cart in front of them as they fall, making them drop back into the cart.

The kids ride down several roofs, leaving damaged tiles in their wake. The cart flies through one window, ricochets off of the floor where a big vase is, smashing it and making the riders grunt, and flying out the window opposite.

The craftsman peers out the ruined window as a dust cloud emerges, revealing that the cart has crashed against something else.

They land on a balcony and slide through another house.

Emerging on the other side, a bearded cat chases Momo around Aang's wig until the lemur pushes it off.

The cart smashes through a parapet and drops vertically out of sight.

Their ride ends drastically as they smash against a cabbage cart.

Aang, Hua, Katara, and Sokka are in a tangled heap by the remains, while Momo elegantly floats down.

"My cabbages!", screams the cabbage merchant in outrage. "You're gonna pay for this!"

Guards walk up, surrounding the still-dazed kids.

Aang is the first to sit up, his disguise pretty much gone, revealing his youthful face and airbending arrow.

"Two cabbages please.", says Aang sheepish, to make light of the situation.

Yeah, it doesn't help at all.

They get dragged to the ruler/king of Omashu, to be the judge about their property destruction.

The cabbage merchant demands that they get beheaded for his precious cabbages!

If Hua did not try her hardest to look apologetic and sweet to the king, she would ask the cabbage merchant if he was right in the head.

No cabbages destruction justifies a beheading.

The king of Omashu stares at them, he has a kind of crazy aura around him before he declares that they should throw a feast for Team Avatar-Daimon.

Not only are the kids shocked, but everyone from the guard to the cabbage merchant is.

This is how Team Avatar-Daimon finds themselves sitting on a rich table, filled with a lot of tasty food and the king of Omashu as their host.

It was so crazy, that Hua thought, she hit her head during their impro rollercoaster ride and was dreaming this all up.

But pinching herself didn't wake her up, so it was all real.

"The people in my city have gotten fat from too many feasts.", tells the King, leaning over Aang's chair, grabbing the chicken leg that is on his plate, holding it in front of him. "So I hope you like your chicken with no skin."

"Thanks, but I don't eat meat.", explains Aang.

"How about you? I bet you like meat.", asks the king, who stuffs the chicken into Sokka's mouth, who eats it appreciatively and walks over to his own seat.

"Is it just me, or is this guy's crown a little crooked?", whisper-shouts Katara to Hua and Aang.

"No I'm with you.", agrees Hua. "I noted it too."

"So tell me, young bald one, where are you from?", wants the king to know.

"I'm from ... Kangaroo Island!"

"Oh, Kangaroo Island, eh? I hear that place is really hopping!"

A moment of silence occurs, and someone coughs.

The four children looked straight at the king with blank faces.

Suddenly Sokka bursts out laughing.

Katara, Hua and Aang look at him, still with a blank expression.

"What? It was pretty funny.", mumbles Sokka defensively.

"Well, all these good jokes are making me tired. Guess it's time to hit the hay.", yawns the king tired.

The king eyes them with a weird expression as he leans to the left on his chair.

Out of nowhere, he hurls a chicken leg at them.

The meat flies through the air as Aang nearly tumbles off his chair in reflex of catching the chicken leg in a small airball.

The guards gasped in surprise.

Uh-Oh!

"There's an airbender in our presence, and not just any airbender. The Avatar! And the Earth Kingdom girl is surely the Daimon!", announced the King in triumph.

Oh spirits!

"Now, what do you have to say for yourself, Mr. and Miss Pippinpaddleopsicopolis?"

What should they do now?

Aang and Hua looked at each other, hoping the other had an idea of what to do.

The Avatar mouthed: Follow my lead, before he stood up from his chair, raising his hands into the air.

Hua mimics him.

She hoped he knew what to do.

"Okay, you caught me.", said Aang. " I'm the Avatar and she is the Daimon."

If they had discussed this spiel before Hau continued: "Yeah, you know Doing our Daimon/Avatar thing, keeping the world safe. Everything checks out."

"No firebenders here."

"None there."

"So, good work, everybody!", chorused the Avatar-Daimon due together.

Each wrapped an arm around one of the water tribe siblings, Aang with Sokka and Hue with Katara.

Slowly they all walked backwards, in hopes they could just leave.

"Love each other.", told Hua.

"Respect all life.", advised Aang.

"And don't run with your spears. We'll see you next time!", they said as one again.

As they near the guards at the exit door, the two men cross their spears, effectively blocking their paths.

Of course, it wouldn't be that easy!

Damn it!

"You can't keep us here!", shouted Katara. "Let us leave!"

Unimpressed the king waved around with a lettuce leaf.

"Lettuce leaf?"

Then he took a bite out of it.

"We're in serious trouble. This guy is nuts.", whisper-shouted Sokka to the others.

"Tomorrow, the Avatar and Daimon will each face a deadly challenge and then together a final one.", decided the king for them. "But for now, the guards will show you to your chamber."

One of his guards leaned towards the mad king and asked him in which chamber they should put Team Avatar-Daimon.

They got a bit back in forth because the bad chamber was newly renovated before it was made clear that the king wanted them there.

Not having a choice the kids followed the guards and were brought into the chapter.

It was a nice room, with four comfy-looking beds, only no windows and doors.

"This is a prison cell? But it's so nice.", said Katara astonished.

Momo was the first to jump in one of the beds before the others each chose one to sit down.

"He did say it was newly refurbished.", reminds Aang.

"Nice or not, we're prisoners!", pointed Sokka out.

"I wonder what these challenges are going to be.", though Hua out loud worried. "That guy is so crooked, it could be anything."

Katara stated that they shouldn't stay put to wait it out.

She asked Hua if she just could earthbend them out of the room, but the Daimon was pretty sure there were guards around them. Even if they got out, they would sure get apprehended.

Aang had then the idea of using the air vents, showing Momo into it and asking him to get Appa and Jaiyi.

Sokka wondered what this should bring them, as Aang explained how Appa was ten-ton flying bison and Jaiyi could turn into a big, fighting Kyuubi, they surely would break them out somehow.

Sadly Momo seems stuck.

Well, so much for that.

The waterbender advises all to go to sleep, especially Aang and Hua since they have to face these challenges of the king.

It's not like they had another choice.

So all called it a night and got to sleep.

***

The next morning Hua gets woken up, by Aang who is shaking her awake.

"Huh, what? What's up?", mumbles the Daimon sleepy, rubbing her eyes.

"Hua, wake up! Katara and Sokka are gone!", shouts Aang worried.

This wakes Hua up fully.

Frantically she scans the room.

Indeed!

Their friends are gone!

"What's going on?", she aks Aang.

He shrugs his shoulder, being lost too.

"I don't know."

"If you two are ready now.", calls a guard over from a created passage. "The king will free your friends if you complete your challenges."

Together Aang and Hua face the guard.

Rightfully Aang ask what happens if they fail. The guard has no idea and asks in turn for Aang staff.

Reluctantly the Avatar hands it over.

With a tiny escort of guards Hua and Aang are brought into the throne room, where the mad king is already waiting for them.

"First, Avatar and Daimon, what do you think of my new outfit? I want your honest opinions.", this is the first thing the kings say to them.

Erm, what?

Hua blinks blankly, while Aang just stares blankly.

Someone coughs again.

"I'm waiting."

"I ... guess it's fine.", tells him Aang, scratching his head.

"It's a nice colour.", adds Hua, crossing her arms.

"Excellent! You passed your first tests."

"Really?", choruse the Avatar and Daimon together.

"Well, not one of the deadly tests.", the mad king waves his finger from side to side, emphasizing his words. "The real challenges are much more, uh, challenging."

Having enough of this crazy king's mind games Aang and Hua run up to him, demanding that he hand over Katara and Sokka since they are leaving.

To the misfortune of Team Avatar-Daimon, the king is much more cunning. He expected that they wouldn't cooperate, so he "gifted" the water tribe siblings each with a jennamite ring, also known as creeping crystal.

It's a crystal that grows remarkably fast.

By nightfall, their friends will be completely covered in it.

The king could stop it, but would only do so if Aang and Hua played his games.

Left with no choice, they agreed.

All to save their friends.

So they followed the king to Aang's first task, a cave filled with stalagmites and stalactites and a waterfall.

A key hangs from the ceiling and a ladder is also there.

Aang's task seems simple, fetch the king the key to his lunchbox, however, the waterfall is so strong that he doesn't have a chance to grab it just.

After he cut with his airbending a stalactite and used it as a spear to fetch the key, he can give it to the king.

Now it's Hua's turn.

They are now a large sunken enclosure in a new room.

The kings ask Hua to fetch him his pet Flopsie.

So Hua looks around and finds a cute lop-eared bunny.

"I found him.", she calls over to the king.

"Bring him to me. Daddy wants a kiss from Flopsie!"

Slowly to not startle the bunny Hua walks towards him, when suddenly something lands behind her, scaring the bunny away.

"Flopsie, wait!", she calls to the bunny, as she hears the loud huff of an animal.

She turns around and sees a huge goat gorilla.

"Oh spirits!"

Goat Gorilla chases now her, while she tries to get Flopsie.

After a few minutes of running around, the Daimon notes, how the goat gorilla seems always to stop when she calls for Flopsie.

Could it be...?

Testing her theory she turns to the goat gorilla addressing him with Flopsie.

It seems she was indeed right.

Flopsie turns out to be the goat gorilla, who picks her up and licks her cheek, before running to the mad king, getting a belly rub.

So she passed her test also and now it's the final one, Aang and her have to take it together.

They are now in an earthbending arena on a balcony, while the nearly fully enclosed water tribe siblings are on another with a guard.

"Your final test is a duel. You fight together as a team. And as a special treat, you may choose your opponent.", explains the mad king.

Two tough-looking men come out, standing next to the king. Aang and Hua look at them uncertainly.

"Point and choose."

"So ... you're saying whoever we point to, that's the person we get to fight?", wants Aang to make sure.

"Choose wisely!"

Hua and Aang look for a second and each other before they point at the mad king.

"We choose you!"

This makes the mad king cackel.

"Wrong choice!"

The king straightens up and removes his outer robe, proving himself to be a powerfully built old man!

Oh no, this was just their luck!

He earthbends Aang and Hua off of the balcony, making them fly into the arena.

The king jumps down right in front of them and still laughing.

"You thought I was a frail old man, but I'm the most powerful earthbender you'll ever see."

"Can we fight the guy with the axe instead?", pleads Aang with Hua rapidly nodding in agreement.

"There are no take-backsies in my kingdom.", makes the king clear, before telling the guard, who has Aang staff, to throw it to the Avatar.

The fight is on!

Hua bends a stone wall before her, while Aang avoids the rocks the king launches at them.

"Typical airbender tactic: avoid and evade. And typical earthbender: endure and not back down.", musses the king. "I hoped the Avatar and Daimon would be less predictable."

He keeps attacking them with flying rocks, as the two young benders stay with their tactics.

It was going nowhere like this.

"Aang!", calls Hua over. "Let's try to attack together, we can't just avoid."

"Finally trying something new, he?", musses the mad king, still happily throwing big boulders at them.

Hua bends a huge earth avalanche and surfs on top of it towards Aang.

"What is your idea?", shouts Aang, jumping away from a boulder, that would have knocked him down.

"I will attack with my earthbending when you see an opening strike!"

"At least you kids seem to work together.", chuckles the king.

He sends a huge earth plate towards Hua, who counters with her own, then she twirls around like she had Katara see with water and sends a stream of rocks towards him.

A bit surprised the king stops the rocks, while Aang jumps over Hua and his head to be behind him.

The Avatar raises his staff and air blasts him towards Hua.

She sends a huge boulder towards the king.

He can break it, but now is surrendered by Hua and Aang.

The avatar holding his staff against the back of the neck, while the Daimon is ready to smack his face in with a boulder.

This makes the king chuckle again, but this time it's quite friendly.

"Nice teamwork, like an Avatar and Daimon should have."

He bends up to the balcony where the two water tribe siblings are almost completely encased.

Aang and Hua join him.

"You've passed all my tests. Now, you must answer one question.", says the king.

The Avatar and Daimon protest, reminding him that he promised to release Katara and Sokka when they passed their test.

He just tells them what are tests if they don't learn anything.

So he asks them a simple question.

What is his name?

Leaving the Avatar and Daimon with their friends, the mad king would wait for them in the throne room, when they had the answer.

Frantically Team Avatar-Daimon brainstorms his name.

Sokka bets his name is Rocky, because earthbender=rocks.

Katara says they will keep it in mind and ask Aang and Hua what they learned during their task.

The answer was there.

Both admin how it wasn't what it seemed at first and they had to think differently than normal.

Like lightning struck them, they have the answer!

***

They are all back in the Throne Room, as Hua begins: "We solved the question the same way we solved the challenges."

"As you said a long time ago, we had to open our brains to the possibilities.", continues Aang.

The king lets out a familiar weird snort-laugh, which brings happy tears to Aang and Hua's eyes.

"Bumi, you're a mad genius.", choruse the Avatar and Daimon together.

With tears and happy shouts, they ran up to their old dear friend, who was now an old man.

The three hug each other tightly.

Happy to be finally reunited.

"Oh Aang, Hua, it's good to see you two. You haven't changed a bit. Literally.", states Bumi and you hear the emotions in his voice.

He had thought long ago, that he had lost both his dearest friends at the same time.

Never in his long life, he guessed he would see them again.

Their happy reunion has to stop because Katara and Sokka are nearly engulfed by the crystal. Bumi breaks the crystals using earthbending, making pieces fly everywhere.

He catches one of them.

"Jennamite is made of rock candy. Delicious!"

"So this crazy king is your old friend Bumi?", ask Katara to be sure.

This guy had a weird way to welcome back his old friends in his life.

"Who are you calling old?", grumbles Bumi. All just stare at him. "Okay, I'm old."

"Why did you do all of this instead of just telling Aang and Hua who you were?", wonders Sokka.

"First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people.", snorts Bumi before he turns serious to Aang and Hua. "But I do have a reason. Aang and Hua, you have a difficult task ahead. The world has changed in the hundred years that you've been gone. It's the Avatar and Daimon's duty to restore balance to the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai. You have much to learn. You must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord. And when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius. And it looks like you're in good hands. You'll need your friends to help you defeat the Fire Nation."

Momo joins them, by climbing Aang's shoulder.

Bumi laughs.

"And you'll need Momo, too."

"Thank you for your wisdom.", exclaim Aang and Hua together.

"But before we leave, I have a challenge for you."

"I think, I know what Aang is getting at and I'm fully supporting it."

The king blinks.

Sometime later the habitats of Omashu see their beloved and crazy king Bumi ride the mail system with the Avatar and Daimon.

The three having fun, just like old times.

Time may have passed, but the three would always be friends.

They knew it in their hearts.

#own character #ocs #ao3 writer #fanfic writing #avatar the last airbender #aang #sokka #katara #toph beifong #zuko #suki #zutara #sukki #aang x oc #bisexual #bisexual oc

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lonelylavenderluke · 2 years

Text

From the ashes life goes on.

morpheus x platonic!original character, morpheus x son!original character

Warnings: Angst, demon exorcism, mentions of blood, talks of nightmares and hell.

Summary: Hope makes it to the realm of the waking, Morpheus must learn that his son is hurting just as much as him.

part one - son of my father. son of my mother.

Hope stared at the human in front of him. The Waking felt weird. There wasn't the gentle thrum of the Dreaming that brought him the sense of safety he'd gotten so use too. Johanna Constantine was a women he quiet often saw being plagued by the nightmares of her past. He'd asked Lucienne once if there was anything that they could do for the poor women but all he was told was that nightmares are important for humans to learn to handle their own fears and that it would be better to allow those who still did their work to continue on.

He was fascinated watching the woman as she exercised the demon 'Agilieth' from the mortal man. He turned his head when the mortal was ripped apart, despite being known as a fiercely protective being he was quite revolted at the sight of blood. His father stood beside him as they stepped closer as the Demon addressed us, "Lord Morpheus, after all your time away." this seemed to startle the human. "And the young Lord Hope an honour to see you outside of your realm," the demon goaded smirking as Hope shivered slightly the effect of being out of the Dreaming beginning to take over. "though I confess, I almost didn't recognise you without your helm. I wonder where your helm could be." Agilieth tried to pass attention onto the elder of the endless beings. "I presume it is in Hell, with the demon whom it was traded." Morpheus could sense his sons discomfort, taking charge to spare Hope interacting for so long with the creature.

Johanna had obviously gotten tired of the chit chat and began the exorcism again. Hope had never witnessed an exorcism in person, he'd seen a dream or two of priests who had exorcised before but never an actual exorcism. He was startled to hear his father yelled at the woman as the screaming the demon was begging the mortal to listen to Morpheus. When the demon was gone, Hope began clapping slowly shaking his head with a sarcastic smile on his face, "well done Miss Constantine, well fucking done" he turned to his father "These are the people I spent a century serving?". He was tired of being there when they were making no progress words from the last family dinner echoed in his ears from his uncle, mortals were selfish and would rather see the world burn then lend a helping hand.

He left the church spotting the immortal Hettie outside by the steps, "and how goes the young lord today?" she was one of the few human that acknowledged his presence within the dreaming as well as being a friend of his mothers before her death, "how've you been Hettie?" a smile to his voice as he pulled his jacket closer to him. "As good as any immortal can be, how are you finding the waking dear boy?" the woman asked kindly knowing the sheltering that the poor child had had, "cold... mortals are frustrating" he hummed looking back to the church, the old woman laughed shaking her head, "most are little one most are" the woman smiled at the young lord seeing the reflection of his mother in his frown. By now Morpheus had made his way out of the church joining his son and the immortal woman. "You must be proud of your boy, a fine man he's growing into is he not milord" Hope new Hettie was only being polite, those who knew of the boy felt pity for the young Endless's life, she'd watched the change in the child through her visits to the Dreaming saw the pain no child should have to go through. Morpheus took a moment to look over Hope seeing the tinting of his cheeks from the cold the familiarity in the ticked off look on his face after seeing such a look directed his way through the years of his marriage. "He is a testament to his mother" the Endless stepped closer to his son worried that the boy would vanish before his watch. Footsteps approached them as Johanna appeared out of the corner of Hope's eyes as all three immortals attentions were turned to the woman.

"I said the Sandman, and I meant the bleedin' Sandman" Hettie addressed Constantine, "it's good to have you back, milord" the old woman praised Morpheus's return knowing that what was wrong would soon be put right by the Endless, "don't let her mess you about." the warning was directed at both father and son before the immortal left them. Morpheus in turn turned his attention to the mortal, "my gran used to tell me stories of you lot." Constantine looked between the pair her eyes lingering on the youngster more than his father. "I've known your family for centuries" Morpheus responded as Hope stepped a little closer pulling his coat closer to him in search of warmth, "then you know there's not a single one of us that can be trusted." Constantine fired back judging the beings in front of her wanting to understand more as to why now the Endless were appearing again, "what do you want with me?" this time Hope spoke up, "a pouch of sand recently came into your procession we need you to return it to us for the sake of both you world and our realm" the voice he used was one he used on the few subjects that remained in the dreaming one that almost commanded others to listen to him. Constantine looked surprised but smirked at the youngster, "that old thing that i got at an estate auction couldn't even get the drawstrings to bloody open" she was cool in her response seeing how the boys eye's lit up at the mention of it truly coming into her procession. "Miss Constantine I don't think you understand the seriousness of our being here, with out that pouch both your realm and ours will fall into oblivion the likes of which have never been seen before, now do you or do you not have the pouch of sand on you?" the boys voice was raised as he stepped closer looking the woman dead in the eye, "you've already seen what's happening without the sand being with us, no mortal will have anything but nightmares until what is ours is returned to us" a smile was all Hope got from the mortal.

Silence followed as Morpheus watched his son stare down Constantine fascinated by how quickly his son had tried to take control over the matter, “Fine. I’ll help you get your bloody sand back” she conceded humoured by the youngster. “But I’ll do it on my own.” She continued a displeased sound echoed from the duo as she carried on, “and it won’t be tonight. And I mean it when I say on my own” Morpheus was displeased by her terms voicing them in singular words as Hope shook his head in frustration. “I’m not dragging either of you or your little friend all over London” she relented seeing the confused looks before a flash of realisation crossed the younger face.

“Friend?” Morpheus was the one to question as Hope looked to his side spotting the Raven that was obviously missed placed within the area. “That is your Raven right? My Gran always said Dream of the Endless travelled with a Raven” Constantine watched the pair as both slowly moved closer away towards the Raven.

The Raven went by the name Matthew.

And Matthew was becoming Hopes favourite being of the Dreaming par Lucienne.

The air was still cold. Hope wished to have followed Johanna inside, he hated the cold. It was an after effect from wondering the outer reaches the dreaming trying to hold together what he could of his failing realm. "Where did you go?" he turned his head to his father, they'd fallen into silence as soon as the woman had vanished from their sites, "what do you mean?" Morpheus didn't know if he could answer or not the pain of being captured was still raw to him and hearing Johanna speak of it only made things ache more. "Don't do that" Hope snapped knowing exactly what the older Endless was doing, "do what?" Dream was curious as to what Hope would say. "Acting like I'm still a child and only answering in questions... you use to do that when I was a child" Hope hissed unpleased with how his father was acting, if this man truly called himself his father he wanted to understand what happened that meant he couldn't come back to him. "Forgive me the last I spoke with you, you were a child and if I remember correctly you are still a child" that was not what Hope wanted to hear, "sorry to disappoint oh great and noble king of Dreams but the Dreaming didn't need a child, it needed someone to try and keep it from completely being destroyed" the boy turned away from Morpheus.

Hope was hurting. He was starting to remember why he'd practically wiped the man before him from his memory. The first few days of his fathers disappearance were the worst, he'd cried none stop begged Lucienne to call Jessamy back to tell him what had happened to his father. When Jessamy did return he was never told what truly happened and for decades others who sort to twist him to their benefits used that against him offered false hope of telling him what had been his fathers fate. But now facing his father once more made him question his childlike admiration and adoration.

“I only have one true memory of you” he wanted to cause pain, in Hopes mind it would be the only retribution for the pain that had been caused. “One memory… you leaving in a cloud of sand whilst wearing the god forsaken helm of yours” it was a painful memory as most of the memories of his father had been till recent. "My first nightmare was of you wearing that thing... the eyes of it blood red... you were taunting me blaming me for you leaving, for my mother dying for everything that had gone wrong for you since I'd been conceived" it felt like acid was building up in his throat but Hope knew if he didn't get this out of him before they went to Hell then he'd only be playing right into the Morningstar's hand. "I stopped sleeping after that.. and that's when you became nothing but a bad memory... the reason for my home falling out from under me" the words hurt but he needed to speak now or he didn't know if he ever would be able to, "I wanted my father... I pleaded with my aunts and uncle for them to help get you back from where ever it was you'd gone, all of them except Death laughed at me and even she did nothing for me" by now tears were welling in Hope's eyes. That felt like a knife to Morpheus's heart, he despised seeing his children cry, had felt like a failure each time Orpheus had cried as a child but seeing Hope, his sweet innocent Hope, who's memory had been the only thing tethering him to the mortal coil after so many years of torment, crying because of the actions of both him and others it almost made him want to strike down all his family and then ask Death to take him away to the sunless lands.

Reaching out Morpheus took hold of the younger pulling him to him as Hope began to cry, "my Lucas.. my son forgive me" the plea was quiet and muttered into his sons curled hair. Hope shook slightly from the anguish of hearing his father say his name, not even Lucienne called him that anymore. "I would see myself cast before the creator and the Morningstar in the pits of the seven rings of hell then have ever abandon you willingly... my boy my heart is broken at your tears" Morpheus was cradling Hope against him as the boy cried. They stayed close Hope clutching onto his fathers cloak, Morpheus had moved a hand into his hair stroking the baby soft curls at the back of Hope's neck. "Don't leave me again. I don't want to be alone again" the boy begged quietly his voice was too quiet for Morpheus's liking, but then he cursed himself for knowing that this was his doing. The pain was still fresh for his boy and he couldn't help but wish he had done more to those who had done this upon them.

"Never again."

Matthew was brilliant. Well apparently not according to his father but Hope grew very fond, very quickly of the Raven even going as far as to allow the bird to rest upon his shoulder as they traversed the path through hell. Despite lagging behind the Older being Hope knew that his father wouldn't allow for either to be left behind. "Is he always this up tight?" the raven had asked quietly making the youngster smirk, "I'm not sure... the man we're following seems to be but the man I remember was gentler" Hope admitted looking down when he felt Morpheus look at him. "What was he like?" the curious raven asked wondering as to why there was such distance between the father-son duo, "he was caring... loved deeply, dangerously... whatever else the humans did to him during his absence has since changed that" the words seemed easy to say, Hope was quick to realise that in some ways his father still hadn't changed and yet had but that was perhaps due to him having changed. His father was expecting to come home to a young boy and instead found Hope as nearly an adult or as close to being one as he could. Most likely sensing the change in his young master, Matthew let out cooing sound head butting the side of the curly haired boy trying to sooth him. "No being sad mister, Lucienne made me promise I'd keep an eye and make sure you both were okay so that means no getting sad kiddo" The Raven cawed in the boys ear making him laugh before swatting light heartedly at the raven, "watch yourself Matthew you're sounding like a mother hen" the chide was received with a scandalised caw from the bird.

Morpheus kept looking back seeing the smile on his sons face as the boy spoke to the raven. The green monster of jealousy reared its ugly head, why was it the raven could make his son smile but all he seemed to receive were looks of contentment and frustration. Every inch of his being felt like it was on fire at the thought of his own son being in hell, he'd lost a son once to the fires of hell the undeniable fear of losing his only surviving child stewed within him.

"When you say that the Morningstar is expecting us... what were things like the last time you were here" Hope grumbled shivering once again there had been a spike of something, the feelings of hope fluctuated with each lot of souls they passed as those trapped hoped and dreamed of leaving the fire pits for somewhere better. "As civil as one would hope" Morpheus murmured seeing the never ending gates of hell approaching them. "Well, I hope there are no hard feelings for me killing those demon lords a few decades ago then" Hope murmured as they watched blood pour from the gates as they opened, his hand flew to latch onto his fathers sleeve as his stomach churned at the sight of blood. "Stay close" Morpheus warned Hope seeing the slow echoes of fear glowing the boys eyes. "I wont look back" he whispered as the fear of walking into the true depths of hell filled him to the bones.

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