#he seemed to be the leader of his sibling from what i remember | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wiltedkyinn · 1 year

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I was never there.

2.9k words woozwes, might b a little rushed my bad.

sully family x son/brother (m) reader

Being the middle child, the third oldest of the Toruk Makto and the neytiri, the great warrior. While neteyam carried the burden of being the responsible one, lo’aks burden was trying to live up to his brother's name, kiris was being an outcast and yours? No one seemed to remember you. neteyam’s least reckless sibling, lo’aks quiet voiced brother, kiri’s tag along brother, tuk’s babysitter. A no one in a family of great, a shame really, you couldn't do much. Was pretty average in everything, not standing out. If there was a crowd your own father couldn't find you. Being left out in everything, the family went on a picnic? Oh, you were sleeping. The siblings had support from neytiri and jake. You? They were too busy, you had to tame an ikran by yourself. You had taught yourself to braid your hair. You were all alone, alone in such a big family, the family of the tribe. You weren't sad when you were told that the family had to leave and find a new home. Your kind of happy, you could rebrand yourself. Maybe, and just maybe, make a name for yourself.

You were behind your family on your way to the reef clan, the metkayinan tribe. You head looking down letting your father do the convincing, suddenly your hand was being lifted in the air, showcasing to the clan members. Ronal the tsahìk yelled “they aren't even true na’vi! They have demon blood!” you looked at her at surprise then looked at tonowari, the leader. Your father quickly intervened, “look, look” he brought up his hands showing the same hands as y/n. 5 fingers, instead of 4. She let go of your hand and went to talk to her mate. After being settled in and setting up where you would sleep. Far from where your family was, the closest bed to you was neteyams. You quickly laid down and brought your knees as close as they would go to your head, fetal position. Wishing your hardest that if you took up less space that you could just disappear completely. You woke up early and a few rays of sunshine hitted the island, you prepared breakfast for your family. Before anyone could wake you swiftly were curled up back into a ball. Your family normally thought you were sleeping so they didn't want to burden you, or that's what you hoped that was the case.

The first to wake was lo’ak he mindlessly poured some food onto a clam shell and ate two plates. Jake and tuk wake up, following neytiri and neteyam. All laughing and eating. “Who warmed this up?” Neytiri's voice was a little raspy from just waking up. “n/n did! I saw!” tuk’s bubbly voice awoke you from sleeping-but-not-really-asleep. She crawled up by y/n and hugged him, “wake up y/n~” her voice sang your name. Quickly waking up and sitting up, careful not to drop tuk. “What?” you were trying to wipe away his sleeplessness. “Thanks for breakfast.” your mother yelled, y/n slowly nodded to her. “Come one tuk let's eat” tuk yanked the boy up from his bead and ran by the family. But before you could even serve yourself something to eat, tsireya came to gather the kids to start lessons.

Soon meeting with Aonung and Roxto by the shore. They didn't seem happy to see your sibling but neither the sullys were. After a couple silent moments they reef na’vi dived in with everyone quickly following. While your brothers and baby sister, neteyam, lo’ak and tuk needed to resurface for air, you and kiri easily got the hang of it. While she was busy looking at the animals, you ventured trying to look for a place to hide from the others. You found an underwater cave, it had an air pocket inside of it, the roof of the cave being covered in crystals, the water reflected the light of the beautiful gems. You were awestruck with its beauty. You laid down and for some reason went into a deep slumber. The sea provides soothing background noises.

Waking up slowly, you got up and started to stretch, some popping noises coming from your bones. You dived into the ocean, swimming back by the shore you saw kiri. You kept swimming, you took notice of some of Aonung and Roxto's friends circle around her. You weren't sure what was happening until lo’ak and neteyam were there defending kiri. You hurried to make sure they were okay before you heard roxto call your siblings freaks. You were behind roxto, pulling his hair you blew a quick punch to his face. One of his friends grabbed your tail and dragged you off of him. You older brother, lo’ak, quickly grabbed your assailant's ear. You kicked someone who was trying to grab your foot, you were too busy with whoever you were punching to notice neteyam joining the fight. After what seemed like 30 minutes, both sides got tired, the reef na’vi were the first to retreat. You were worse than neteyam and lo’ak, scratches by your ankles and littered around your back, a black eye on your left eye, you had a long scratch that started by the base of your tail and stopped halfway down your tail. It was bleeding more than the other ones.

While walking back to your marui, you were in the back, as always. Jake instantly took notice of your older brothers, you walked by, he didn't notice you at all. You sat down and asked your mom to give you some aloe and some leaf wraps. She thought you were going to bandage your brothers up, well until she saw your black eye. “y/n! You got into the fight?!” your mother shouted at you. You nodded, Your father quickly laid onto neteyam. “You even got y/n into the fight? What the hell neteyam!” “im sorry sir-” neteyam was cut off by y/n own voice. “For the love of eywa! I threw the first punch. It was my fault.” you seethed through your teeth, trying to not wince when putting the gel onto your tail. “I'll apologize tomorrow.” your voice was more relaxed, after putting on a leaf wrap. “Yeah I'll go with him too!” lo’ak was trying to save face for himself. “First Thing. Tomorrow.” Jake basically growling towards y/n and lo’ak. When lo’ak and neteyam looked at y/n. He put his hand to his chest and widened his eyes. The brother silently laughed at his antics.

Me and lo’ak had to go apologize to roxto and whoever. The brother slowly stopped by Aonung, Roxto and his friends. “We are sorry.” y/n looked at roxto, specifically at the bruise on his jaw. “So sorry, that i hitted you.. So many times” i chuckled at lo’ak’s “apology” They all looked at each other before grinning at one another. “I forgive you, wanna go hunting outside of the reef?” Aonung asked, mainly towards lo’ak. After the bickered I noticed that lo’ak was going. I followed mindlessly, not really paying attention. Until I noticed they were leaving us. I tapped and signed to lo’ak ‘they left i think it was a prank” he seemed scared, scared? I looked where he was looking, noticing a gigantic black fish come towards us. I quickly got back on my ilu. Trying to hint at lo’ak to do the same. He was frozen, almost entranced by the unknown fish. Y/n grabbed his wrist and wrapped lo’aks arm around him. Trying to get him to hold on. Once he did, the ilu went as fast as it could, barely missing a few close calls. Soon the ilu didn't miss the shark like fish, and it attacked the ilus fin. Following the fin was a streak of crimson blood.

Y/n gabbed lo’aks wrist and swam as fast and hard as he could, hiding in some coral reef holding him behind him, even if he was younger. Before the fish was barely able to snatch and eat us. A gray colored version of the thing attacking us. Slammed him into a wall of reefs. Before y/n could notice, lo’ak was slipping from his hands. Looking behind himself, he couldn't find him. Freaking out, he started panicking. Since he couldn't hold his breath any more. y/n passed out.

Floating in the ocean y/n opened his eyes. Nothing in miles near him. Just pure ocean. y/n started swimming towards the front of him, seeing a small rock. He perked himself there. Finally taking a deep breath to help calm him down. Trying to pinpoint where he was. He was taken out of his thoughts when he felt a sharp pain on his back, touching where it was throbbing. He pulled back his hands, realizing he was bleeding. A few tears seeped through his closed eyes, he felt pure fear. He was in the middle of nowhere, bleeding, wondering if lo’ak was okay. He tried to call for an ilu, hoping he was at least somewhat close to the island. Thankfully an ilu appeared, he took in a deep breath preparing himself for the salt water to sting his bleeding wound. He made the bond, and rode. After a half day he finally found the island.

The island seemed gloomy, he approached with caution. He walked towards what he thought was the shared marui between him and his family. He peeked through hearing sniffles between the youngest sister. He was relieved to see his family. He was painfully aware of his cut even after a while it was still oozing out some blood. He whimpered out his pain, “mom my back” his voice was barely above a whisper but to the rest of the family, they could hear him planets away. They gasped, tuk running with her tail in between her legs and immediately clinged onto the elder one's leg. Kiri followed after. Jake released a breath that sounded as if he was holding it in for weeks. Neytiri started crying and smiled. Holding y/n as tight as she could. You winced underneath her grip.

“Show you your back,” her voice only held happiness in her voice. You tried to turn around, before black spots had entered your vision. Your body went limp, the rest of the men in the sully family ran to turn you over, kiri ran to fetch ronal. The cut started at your shoulder blade and went down to your hip. You had a bruise along your right thigh. To put it simply, it looked like you went through hell and back. Ronal was quick, she was there along with tsireya. You were quickly bandaged, Ronal quickly went and prayed for your safety, tsrireya and neytiri joined her. You slowly opened your eyes, you had a killer headache, and your back was like someone was actively clawing at you again and again. You fully opened your eyes and were met with an empty marui. You nearly died and they left you? Bro was flabbergasted. He pushed the lump building up in the back of throat. Hecrwled out of the marui. He winced at the image of fire, coming from a human boat. He called out for his ilu, the one who safely brought him back home. He saw tsireya swimming. ‘What is going on?’ he signed to the seemling distressed girl. ‘They have tuk and kiri come on!’ She sat behind you and led you to where your sister was.

Before you were on the boat you spotted your oldest brother on a rock with lo’ak, you quickly swam by them. Neteyam breathing was uneven. y/n took off his bandages and cut them in half with his hunting knife. He put one on the front of neteyams chest and one on his back where a hole was gushing out blood. “Get him to ronal! She's on the island!” you yelled at lo’ak, you gave him your ilu. Tsireya was leading the way to the boat.

You were met with the back of an army dressed as na'vi, holding kiri. Neytiri had a knife to your formerly human friend, spider. Jake holding tuk. “Go” your voice was barely a whisper so only the girl by you could hear. Your tail went back and forth studying the unknown na’vi. After a second you jumped, kicking your sister out of his grasp. You bit as hard as you could on his neck. He groaned, flipping his back over, dropping his gun with y/n. You quickly picked it up, pointing at him. “Kid, you don't even know how to use that” he chuckled, taunting y/n. y/n hissed, his first time honestly hissing. He points at a human coming his way. He shoots the gun, right at the human head, never leaving the glare from the unknown na’vi. “Mom! Neteyam is with Ronal, I don't think he is gonna die!” y/n knew why she slit spider's throat. Somehow, miles had gotten another gun. Y/n noticed a little late, the much bigger na’vi shot y/n in the thigh. y/n noticed the pain before even realizing he was shot. He ran behind miles, cutting off miles' kuru, sending him with waves of pain to the colonel. After letting miles float in pain, y/n slit his throat. Blood spraying onto y/n's face. y/n had kneeled, his adrenaline rush finally running off. The boat started going upside down. Uh-oh. y/n quickly held his breath swimming as fast as he could, he ran into lo’ak. ‘Dad, i dont where dad is, go save him’ the signs were becoming messy, making them harder to read. Lo’ak still had the gist of it and nodded. y/n swam back to the island waiting for the rest of his family to return. He checked on neteyam, he was unconscious but had a steady heartbeat. y/n smiled knowing he would pull out. He is the great son of Jake Sully after all. After waiting a bit, y/n was drowsy. He was suffocating in pain; with his back and thigh, he would believe you if you said he was gonna die.

He tried his hardest to stay awake, he closed his eyes, body going limp for the second time this day. He opened his eyes, seeing a beautiful sanctuary, filled with na’vi laughing while walking, some holding hands, some crying. He felt at peace, no throbbing back, no blood-colored thighs, no war. An old man with wise eyes and a small smile came up towards y/n, y/n wasn't frightened, he felt an instant connection, like he was the man he was missing in his life. “Oh, dear one, it's great to finally meet you. But you belong with neytiri, not me, no. far too early." His crow's feet were noticeable, he had wise eyes, and a strong facial structure. “I'm sorry to ask but uhm but where are we?” Y/n was looking around at the beautiful scenery. “We are with ewya dear one” his smile faltered for a second. “What? I-im dead? No. no, my family,” y/n was quickly panicking, he can't be dead. What about Neteyam having kids? Lo’ak finally mating with tsireya? Kiri becoming a beautiful young healer? Tuk finding her ikran? “If you want to be with your family, you’ll need to step back, it will be painful,” y/n put two and two together figuring out who this man was, “eytukan, my grandfather?” he gave a cheerful nod and slightly pushed the younger na’vi back, “tell your mother i miss her.” he smiled before your vision was black. It was cold, very cold. After the cold surrounded him, he felt the most excruciating pain ever. He felt a very bone crack out of place. He saw his limp body, his father slightly crying, holding his son's hand, caressing it. His mother screaming at eywa praying for him to come back, his oldest brother was awake looking at y/n with guilty eyes, lo’ak with shameful ones, tuk crying the loudest out of all the, y/n was tuk’s rock, always clinging onto him when her parents were busy. Kiri tried confronting but she wouldn't do anything since it wasn't you. Spider was a couple feet away; he wasn't crying, instead angry at himself for trusting his “father.” y/n was screaming, crying as the pain was becoming worse. His soul went back into his body; since his soul was set free, he had to be molded back to his body.

His eyes opened softly, “you guys thought you would get rid of me that easily?’’ his voice was groggy, all eyes on him. Once again, his oldest brothers embraced him tightly. Kiri clinging onto his right side, tuk cuddled on his arm. After they cleared off of him, expect tuk. He felt his father's tears on his forehead, “why are you crying i'm not dead right?" he held onto his father's forearm. To try and sit up, his mother hastily pushed him down. “Don't move, it'll only cause you pain” her voice breaking on every other word. “Grandpa said he missed you, i was with ewya, one with her. It was very peaceful. Many families were there.” y/n was ranting reassuring everyone that he is indeed still alive, neytiri was looking at the body of her middle child, happy. He had met her father, one of her wishes. For her children to meet her father. “My leg hurts,” he was yearning for some type of relief from the pain. Ronal was there within seconds, wrapping his thigh, his back again. “How do you feel neteyam?” Even after his actual death experience, he still wondered about his sibling. “Alive.” he said, both him and y/n chuckled.

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carooosa · 5 months

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The Rose with Hidden Thorns

A/N This takes place before Enchanted Distractions

Summary: ADHD!Tav (reader) struggles with being a leader. They need to balance what they want and what the rest of the party wants. After taking some time alone for themselves, Tav is caught off guard by Astarion. They share some moments together, before Tav finds out who he really is...

Word count: 4k

Smut if you squint, slight angst at the end

One of the good things that came out of the tadpoles was your increased ability to focus. Remembering what happened last week, let alone yesterday, no longer caused mental strain. For the first time in decades, you were confident in yourself. You could finally think clearly. There was no reason to second guess yourself now that the cloud of uncertainty that followed you around seemed to dissipate.

Botany had been one of your many short-lived passions as a kid, and now out in the forest, each turn brought about new plants and herbs to identify. The catalog that lay dormant in the back of your mind was thrust to the forefront; excitement that was long forgotten making itself known once more.

Not only were you excited to grow your knowledge, but to actually put it to use. The nights you spent under the covers sneaking a few chapters or so of whichever botany book you could get your hands on were finally proving useful. Potions, grenades, elixirs, oils, and anything else that your party needed, you could make. Granted, it took some trial and error at first. The satisfaction of saving your group a few gold was well worth the wasted ingredients.

You couldn’t help it when you ran off to grab a bushel of mugglewort or a handful of weavemoss. Lae’zel was the first to remark on the frequent side paths you would lead the party down.

“T’cthk. There is no time for gathering when we should be hunting down the ghaik that plagued us with these tadpoles,” she said. Lae’zel was always impatient, but when Wyll mumbled approval and Shadowheart wearily nodded in agreement, you faltered.

Noticing your self-doubt, Karlach spoke up. “Aw come on guys, don’t be so hard on Tav. It’s not like they’re doing this for no reason. They make those potions for us so we can save some coin.”

You heard a scoff behind you and turned to face a disapproving Astarion. “Extra gold is useless if you’re a mind flayer, darling.” He grabbed the plant in your hand and grimaced as he took a sniff of it. “You could at least find something with a more pleasant aroma.”

You ignored his remarks, choosing not to get into a petty argument; lately, Astarion seemed to always have a quip or smart remark ready for you. “They’re right, Karlach. We don’t have time to be taking detours,” you say, snatching the daggerroot from Astarion’s hands. “Besides, I can always come back later if I want to.”

Karlach wasn’t satisfied with that answer, and to make it known she stormed to the front of the group and started pushing everyone forward. “If you’re gonna get your panties in a twist over taking too long, you better be ready to get your steps in.”

Karlach had taken it upon herself to act as an older sibling to you. You hadn’t asked, and you were certainly capable of managing things yourself. The silent allegiance was formed after you had convinced Wyll that Karlach wasn’t a devil, and that she wasn’t harming anyone. Although her support was unnecessary, it was appreciated, as being tasked to make difficult decisions as the impromptu leader weighed heavy on you.

You knew you weren’t everyone’s first choice of a leader, anyway. Hells, you weren’t even your first choice as a leader. Wyll seemed like the smartest answer, but neither Astarion nor Karlach felt comfortable with a monster and devil hunter commanding them around. Gale was the next logical option, however with the secrecy of his… condition… and the fact that if he died again he would destroy Faerun, he had been pushed to the back of the party.

Shadowheart and Lae’zel had volunteered at the exact same time, and it was clear amongst everyone that neither of them would be calling the shots. You suggested Karlach, and Astarion had made some comment about how she would blow at the first difficult decision. You’d suggested him then, instead; clearly this is what that manipulative vampire wanted. He smirked when you had said his name, but his eyes searched your face. He was looking for something, and you weren’t sure what. Before you could comment, he had taken you by surprise by saying that you would be the best choice.

“Darling, I do not need that stress. My face is flawless and I’d like to keep it that way. However, you,” he had always found ways to make digs at you, “look like the type who handles stress regularly. You were able to talk your way out of getting burnt to a crisp by a Zhentarim, while he was casting a fireball. You were able to walk into the goblin camp without causing any suspicion. You were able to somehow convince all of us to work together to get these damned tadpoles out of our heads.”

The rest of the group had agreed with his reasoning, and you were set in charge of the party. You tried to argue, but Astarion cut you off

“It’s already been decided. Besides, if you ever need help, I’m sure anyone here would be willing.” He took a step closer to you and lowered his voice to be just above a whisper, “I know I certainly would.” You weren’t sure if he had said that to flirt with you or threaten you, as the glint in his eyes could’ve gone either way.

What he had said about the others helping you had been a load of shit. In fact, everyone seemed to come to you for every little problem now. Gale needed an enchanted artifact to consume? It was up to you to find one. Wyll turned into a half-devil because he didn’t kill Karlach? You had to comfort both of them and promise to find a way to get him out of his pact. Lae’zel stood too close to Shadowheart? You were the one running in between them to stop the impending bloodbath. And yet there everyone was, annoyed that you took quick detours to find ingredients to help them spend less money on potions.

Now here you were, 2 nights later, trying to remember where you saw the herbs on the path taken earlier that day. You were mumbling to yourself as you passed the same dead tree for the 3rd time when you heard a twig snap behind you. You reached into your bag and grabbed the first thing you could to threaten your stalker, turning around to prepare for a fight.

Astarion stood in front of you with both hands up in the air like a thug who had just been caught red-handed. “A mushroom?” He raised an eyebrow while using one of his hands to push the fungus away from his face. “Not the most menacing of weapons, is it now?”

You pushed him away from you as you sighed in relief “Hells, Astarion, you scared me! It’s not nice to sneak up on someone, you know? What are you even doing out here this late?”

He tutted at your reprimanding. “I could ask you the same thing. You’ve been walking in a circle for the past 20 minutes.”

You shoved the mushroom into your bag and turned away from Astarion, continuing to search the brush for plants. “I told everyone I would stop taking detours, didn’t I?”

“So you’re out collecting mushrooms?”

“Not just mushrooms,” you corrected, “other ingredients, too.”

As you dirtied your hands in the brush, a silence fell over the both of you. You grabbed the last morsel of a mushroom and turned around to be faced with Astarion tapping his foot impatiently, his arms folded across his chest. “I haven’t seen you make any potions lately.”

You stare at him incredulously. “I know. I’m purposely not flaunting around the potions that I spend half my night gathering ingredients for and the other half making.”

Astarion laughed and his mouth curled into a devilish grin. “Who would’ve thought that the ever-so-kind and selfless Tav would do something for only their gain.”

A warm blush spread over your cheeks. “You still never told me why you followed me out here. Everyone needs to sleep if we’re going to have any hope of getting these tadpoles out.”

“Darling, are you forgetting that I’m an elf? We don’t ne-“

“Oh that’s right!” You interrupted, “Elves don’t sleep, they meditate. I read that in a book. Is it true that elves can relive exact memories?”

“That… depends.”

Oblivious to his uncomfortable demeanor, you ask more invasive questions. “Is it true that elves don’t grow facial hair? It looked like none of the wood elves in the grove had facial hair. I suppose it’s kinda ignorant of me to just assume all elves are the same. I mean, Halsin is super tall and elves are usually short.” You quickly blurt out an apology, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that! Besides I wouldn’t even call you short, you’re taller than me, although that’s not saying much,” your words start to tumble over each other as you ramble. You turn back around and bend over a rock to continue searching for ingredients, wincing as you remember you’ve already collected anything of use.

Astarion chuckles as he brings a hand to his forehead. “Yes, it is quite rude of you to assume all elves fit into the exact description you found in whatever children’s book you read.” He looks at you in amusement, “But sadly, no, I cannot grow facial hair.”

“Oh, that’s not so bad. You don’t have to worry about shaving.” With your mind focused on pretending to search, you don’t realize the words you’re saying until after they come out, “it must be nice not having to worry about pubic hair, either.”

You freeze as your mind catches up to your mouth.

Astarion takes a step towards you, positioning himself right behind you, settling his hands gently on your back as he leans down to your ear.

“Was that also in a book of yours?” His breath tickles the tip of your ear, sending a shiver down your spine. Noticing the way your body reacts, he drops his head down. His lips hover over your neck for a moment before he presses himself into you, causing you to let out a gasp. You feel his hardness push into your back as one of his hands begins to slowly caress your arm.

His behavior surprises you, and you try to think back to any signs of possible attraction. Some looks that linger for a second too long, a hand on the small of your back as he passes by, and the fact that lately he seems to always be next to you, but you don’t want to jump to conclusions. These gestures could very well mean nothing to him and you would be none the wiser.

Thinking back on what you know of him, you realize you don’t know much at all. He mentioned that he was a magistrate in Baldur’s Gate before the mind flayer abduction, but that was about it when it came to his past. Astarion would always change the subject whenever anyone asked him anything personal. Just like he had changed the subject earlier when you asked him a question.

While you were lost in your mind, he began to grind into you, the hand that was previously caressing your arm now gently groping your breast. He placed soft kisses on your neck, moving from the tip of your ear to the nook where your collarbone was. Your body pushed back against his absentmindedly, matching the slow rhythm of movement he had set.

It took him completely off guard when you spoke up. “You never answered my question: what are you doing out here?”

He quickly pushed off of you, “Gods, Tav! You’re still thinking about that?” You scrambled off of the rock and caught a glimpse of him adjusting his clothes. A sticky silence filled the air as you stood and studied Astarion. His face was turned away from yours, similar to how a child would act if they were trying to show defiance. The silence continued as it became clear neither of you would fold. You refused to let him get away with not answering you again.

To ensure there wouldn’t be any other distractions, you stared into the side of his face, repeating in your mind over and over, “What was he doing out here this late?” You weren’t sure how long you both stayed there; seconds, minutes, hours; but at one point Astarion quickly glanced and made eye contact with you before averting his eyes again. You watched as his features softened for a moment. That softness was swiftly hidden by a sly smirk as Astarion relented and turned towards you.

“If you really must know the truth, I was curious as to what you were up to.” Although he spoke with a concerned tone, his eyes were slightly glazed over.

“So you decided to sneak up on me and scare me?” This time you were the one who acted like a child, crossing your arms and letting out a huff.

Astarion let out that mischievous chuckle of his and took a step toward you. “That really wasn’t my intention, whether you believe it or not. I was simply worried about you.”

His words took you by surprise, a small gasp leaving your mouth. You tried to find the words to a smart reply, but instead stood there, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

As if your reaction was what he wanted, the glint returned to his eyes. He closed the gap between the two of you, his movements precise and calculated. Astarion gently grasped your arms and unfolded them, his hands cupping both of yours.

“Is that really so hard to believe, darling? That I could be worried about you?”

You felt your tadpole squirm from behind your eye, causing you to look up at Astarion. He silently pleaded, and you relented, opening up your mind to whatever it was he was going to show you. You closed your eyes, the darkness fading into the previous morning.

You saw yourself from Astarion’s point of view. There was blood sprayed all over your armor from a skirmish with some gnolls. Although you had tried to hide the gaping wound on the left of your back, it was clear now that Astarion had noticed it.

After checking on the rest of your party, you watched as your body stumbled in to what you thought was a secluded corner. Your past self quickly pulled up your armor to apply a salve on the wound. In this vision, you could feel what Astarion felt as he watched you. Concern, yes, but there was something else there. Something feral that had awakened once you pulled up your armor. That feeling was pushed down, and just as he had done earlier in the day, Astarion stayed in place, watching you treat your wound from a distance.

Another vision pushed into your mind, this one unique and new; not a retelling of the past, but instead currently happening to you. You were out in the forest, taking off your clothes. As you lifted your blouse above your head, cold hands wrapped around your waist. You let out a shudder as needy lips worked their way up your back. The kissing stopped at your neck, and you turned your head to the side to get a view of who was with you. Before you could see the white curls and pointy ears of the man behind you, his scent overwhelmed you. You let out a choked gasp.

Astarion made eye contact with you, his eyes radiating that same feral feeling you must have felt in the previous vision. Without leaving you a chance to catch your breath, his lips crashed into yours. He turned your body to face his as his grip tightened on your waist. A low growl started in the back of his throat as he ravished your lips. Instinctively, your hands raised up to his head and grasped at his hair, trying to ground yourself as your pulse quickened.

The familiar feeling of a wiggle behind your eye snapped your mind back to whatever “reality” you were currently in. You felt Astarion trying to dig deeper into your mind, into your wants and desires, and without a second thought, you quickly yanked his head back, throwing you out of the vision.

As you steadied yourself, Astarion made his way behind you, similar to the vision he had forced into your head.

“Darling, let’s go back to camp, hm?” he said in a low, sultry voice.

You were tempted to agree, if for nothing else to at least get some much-needed rest. But if you went back now, there wouldn’t be enough ingredients to make a potion of greater healing, and after your fight with the gnolls earlier today, you were desperately needing one. “I won’t rest until I find that balsam I saw earlier.”

Astarion gave you a tight squeeze before pushing you away, “Gods, you really are persistent, aren’t you? I guess I have no choice but to aid in your search.”

You scoff, “You and I both know that you won’t be getting your hands dirty.”

The two of you spend the next two hours searching. Astarion is the one who finds the balsam, and you’re the one who digs it up. You make your way back to camp, talking about trivial, inconsequential things; anything you can think of to keep your mind off the visions Astarion showed you earlier.

Has he always looked at me with such cravings? Maybe I’m oblivious to any signals he’s given me, you ponder. The utter need you felt from Astarion as you stood in his shoes was almost unbearable. It was hard to breathe. You glance up at him beside you and see that stoic face he always reverts to. His hair looks like it’s glowing in the moonlight, his eyes sparkling like the stars in the sky.

You catch the faint flicker of the camp’s fire in his eyes’ reflection and you pick up your pace, not noticing the brief second that Astarion’s eyes caught yours. Your body aches from the exhaustion of the past few days, and you quickly drop your bag and kick off your shoes, not caring about the mess you’re making. I’ll deal with it in the morning, you think to yourself, as you pass out next to the fire.

You wake up with a jolt and push yourself up from your bedroll. In front of you is Astarion, his eyes swirling with fear. His mouth is opened into a snarl, and the moonlight catches on his teeth.

His fangs.

“It’s not what it looks like, I swear!” Astarion pleads with you to listen. He says that he’s a vampire spawn. As he continues to frantically explain himself, your body grows numb. Your mind wanders away as you question everything that happened mere hours before.

You sit all the way up from your bedroll, causing Astarion to stumble to his feet. While he’s regaining his balance, you mindlessly ask, “What were you actually doing out late, Astarion?” You don’t look him in the eyes when you question him.

He sighs. A moment passes before he answers, “I was out hunting. I heard a rustling and followed it. To be honest, I thought it was a mouse making that noise. It just so happened that what I heard was you, scrounging around the forest floor.” He lets out a nervous chuckle before continuing, “I was merely curious as to what you were doing. I had no intent to harm you. I promise.”

You don’t believe a word he says, but you’re too tired to question the authenticity of his story. If he wasn’t just ‘curious’ as to what you were doing and instead hunting yo—

You quickly push the thought down and remind yourself that you’re supposed to be a leader to this group, to Astarion. Leaders are strong and benevolent. You’ve always struggled when it came to strength, and lately, more and more blows have been hitting you. Difficult decisions are always on your shoulders, and no matter what you choose, someone is always let down.

You weren’t sure how to command a group of adventurers, but you knew you had to be selfless. And a selfless leader makes any sacrifices necessary for their companions.

“Ok.”

Astarion looks at you with an arched brow. “Okay? You’re not going to shove a stake through my heart?”

Refusing to meet his eyes, you bluntly say, “I’m not going to judge you for taking care of your needs. Everyone in this group needs sustenance to be strong enough to fight.” Your exhaustion is starting to catch up with you, and perhaps if you had more sleep you would have thought your next actions through. Against your better judgment, you tilt your head to the side and offer your neck. “Go ahead, but make it quick.”

Astarion takes a step back, surprised that you would be willing to give him your blood. You’ve also surprised yourself, but your mind is elsewhere as he positions himself on his knees in front of you. You shiver as he gently brushes away the hair from your neck. Without warning, a sharp pain shoots through your neck. You feel your blood drain as Astarion sinks his teeth in deeper, consuming your very life’s essence.

You begin to feel dizzy from the blood loss. Unable to stay present in this moment, you think of all the times any of your companions have helped you, and you realize they all have the same thing in common: they’re using you as protection. Lae’zel and Shadowheart are using you as protection against each other; Karlach is using you as a safety against Wyll. Gale is ensured magical items to consume, and Wyll can rest easy with your assurances of his freedom from Mizora.

You thought he was different, but even Astarion was using you for his benefit. For his place in this group. For his meals. Tears start to pour down your face and your body trembles from the heartache you feel.

Astarion pulls away from you and you finally look him in the eye. His eyes are blown out, practically completely black. There almost looks to be genuine concern on his face. Almost.

“Are you alright? Did I hurt you? Well, more than the obvious, of course I hurt you, I can go get a potion,” he rambles, your blood dripping from the side of his mouth.

Barely above a whisper, you stare him directly in the eye as you say, “I thought someone actually cared about me for me, not for what I could provide them.”

Taken aback, Astarion stares at you, his expression unreadable. He quietly gets up and starts to walk into the forest before stopping. “This was a gift, you know. I won’t forget this.”

As you watch him slither into the darkness, your exhaustion comes back. Your body, mind, and blood are all drained. Sleep quickly consumes you, your mind an endless void allowing you no respite from your sorrows.

When you awake, the rest of your party is already packed up and ready to continue on the path forward. You quickly ready yourself, not noticing the neat bundles that the plants from the previous night were tied into, and prepare for the long trek ahead.

Thank you to @socialinadequacybeingsuchamust for helping me with spell checking/grammar/pushing the story in the right direction! And thank you to the many beta readers on @oharahive's discord!

#astarion #bg3 astarion #astarion x reader #astarion x tav #bg3 tav #baldurs gate astarion #bg3 #bg3 shadowheart #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 lae'zel #bg3 karlach #bg3 gale #bg3 wyll #fluff #smut if you squint #angst

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cloverthebarbearian · 5 months

Text

The Party

Rolan/GN Tav No smut (yet) just, angst? Fluff? And initial encounters. Tav is intentionally left as nonspecific as possible but in my mind palace they are a human fighter. Word Count: 3,195 (P.2 Alone Together)

Sharing a drink with the hero of the hour. His lips against the same cup theirs having embraced the entire evening. It suddenly left him feeling… sheepish? No, something else. Deeper. Warmer. Rolan swallowed, a lump forming in his throat. This was all just incredibly inappropriate, he thought. But instead of taking back their drink, Tav just smiled, and further held their cup out towards Rolan's lips. "It's alright," they said, "It's almost empty. We can finish it off together." He let the moment linger, weighing his circumstances. This is a party, after all. However unfamiliar an environment this is for him, it was clear to Rolan that everyone around them was here to relax and have fun. Fun, with his hero.

(This is my first ever fic if anyone is mean to me about it I WILL cry anyways pls enjoy!)

"Well?" Shadowheart's eyebrow raised as she swirled her wine around her chalice.

"'Well', what?" Tav returned, watching their rescued merry band of tieflings mingle and drink around the campsite. Just that morning, they stood together to defend the grove against this 'Absolute' worshiping goblin hoard. It set Tav's heart at ease to see them all safe. Relaxed. Happy. Even if they knew by morning, they'd be back on the road, facing any and every danger that lurked on their way to Baldur's Gate.

But tonight? Tonight was for celebrating.

"Well," Shadowheart continued, "I've noticed nearly everyone's been coupling off tonight. Those tiefling lovebirds have been cuddling by the water since they got here."

"And? They've been attached at the hip since we met them."

"And that cute bard girl's somehow gotten herself mixed up with little Miss Pony-tail," she raised her glass and smiled to Alfira and Lakrissa, who were not-so-subtly cuddling up by the fire.

Tav turned their drinking horn to their lips and smiled, "They are quite cute together."

"Karlach's been flirting with Dammon, I think? She keeps punching his arm, which I believe she thinks is flirting. Or maybe she's just drunk… Hells, I swear I even saw Astarion sneaking off with Lae'zel, of all people."

The wine nearly shot from Tav's nose at that, "You're kidding!"

Shadowheart laughed, shrugging her shoulders, "I know Astarion's quite the flirt. But I'd assumed Lae'zel had a bit more self respect."

Tav gasped with a smile, elbowing their companion as they both kept a steady watch over the party.

"My point being," Shadowheart continued, "The last few days have been exhausting. Who knows when we'll have another chance to relax like this."

Tav gingerly placed their hand over their heart, faux shock dripping from their voice. "My goodness, Ms. Lady of the Dark, are you attempting to court me?"

"Ha! I'm sure you'd like that," Shadowheart said with a teasing glance, "But I'm afraid the wine's already got me spoken for." With that, she gulped down the last of her chalice and sighed, "What I was suggesting," she side stepped to Tav's shoulder, matching their gaze into the crowd, "Was perhaps a certain wizard. One I've noticed you continue to observe. One bound for greatness under an apprenticeship in Baldur's Gate? Before he's become too famous to remember us great Saviors of the Grove." Her voice took on a playful tease as Tav's cheeks began to burn, a slight tingle reaching their ears. Hopefully, they could pass this off on the alcohol. Considering they'd never admit Shadowheart's intuition was spot-on.

"He seems quite busy putting on a show for his siblings, at the moment," Tav said, smiling, though a bit feeble.

"Don't tell me our big bad leader is shy!" Shadowheart teased once more, "Taking on a goblin cult, lead by a terrifying drow warrior, and they don't even bat an eye. But Gods forbid they speak to a handsome tiefling!" Shadowheart's voice was starting to rise. People's heads were turning, and Tav couldn't tell if she was intentionally trying to embarrass them, or if she was truly just a bit too drunk off the cheap booze.

"Shadowheart! By the Hells - Okay, if I go over there will you please just, maybe, be quiet? Go to bed and - Gods - have some water, perhaps?" Tav's cheeks were flushed in full now, well past a point of being able to blame the wine. Shadowheart laughed to herself again, clearly more composed than she was letting on.

"I'm a big girl, but thank you for caring," She smiled once more, picking up a canteen instead of another bottle, "And I will be going to rest. But you-" her finger gently poked into Tav's shoulder, "- are going to tell me all about it tomorrow."

Tav rolled their eyes, "Yes, I'm sure you'll be utterly enthralled as I regale you with some bardic novella of Master Lorroakan's greatest deeds, or something to that effect."

They began walking away from Shadowheart's tent, making their way back into the mingling crowd. After her outburst, Tav didn't want to walk straight up to Rolan, lest he somehow connect the conversation back to him. No, they couldn't risk it. Instead, they looked for their favorite camping companion - Scratch! Who was quickly found surrounded by tieflings. Mostly the children, but even Zevlor was standing near, smiling at the scene.

"Hey, Scratch!" Tav called out, waving his favorite ball in their hand, "Wanna fetch, boy?"

Scratch barked excitedly, play bowing, tail wagging. The children around him broke apart, giggling expectantly. Tav threw the ball as far as they could across the camp, and watched as Scratch made a break for it. Weaving through the crowds of party-goer's to retrieve his prize. He quickly returned with the slobbery toy in his jaws. But instead of rushing back to Tav, he trotted back into the group of children, all of whom were very excited to play a game with their new best friend.

So much for that out.

Tav took a moment to look around the camp. True to Shadowheart's observations, they saw Karlach laughing heavily, one hand slapping against Dammon's back, the other holding a spilling tankard. Though, by no means did Dammon seem uncomfortable. And to Tav's surprise, Lae'zel and Astarion were seemingly absent. Where could they have gone off too -

"Hey! Tav!"

Tav spun around to follow the voice calling for them, only to see Lia waving frantically, motioning them to come over. They smiled and waved in return, their stomach doing cartwheels. Of course this would become unavoidable. The Gods so love to tease me. They took a mighty sip of wine as they walked over.

"Tav, please tell our brother here that, if it weren't for you lot, we all would have been the main course in some sick goblin buffet!"

Rolan's eyes rolled and his teeth bared into a scoff, "Lia, please, that is not at all what I was implying."

"Really, now? Because it sounded like you seem to believe you could've fought off that whole hoard all on your own, for some bloody reason," she said with a smile, winking at Tav. It was very clear she was simply arguing for the sake of seeing her eldest brother get himself worked up. She turned her own tankard to her lips and pouted playfully, "What would you have even done? Cast 'Rolan's Shimmering Sparkles' and hope they'd be distracted long enough to make a run for it?"

Cal laughed, clearly a bit too drunk for Rolan's liking, "Heh, 'Rolan's Shimmering Sparkles'. I like that. Is that a real spell?" He turned to his brother in inebriated earnest. Rolan looked up into the sky. He was no devote worshiper of any Pantheon, but Mystra did bless him with access to the weave. He wondered if she were capable of divine intervention, striking him down with a lightning bolt in this very moment. A heavy, exhausted sigh escaped him.

"Lia, all I said was I wish I had gotten a chance to show those goblins some real magic," Rolan caught himself in the moment, casually glancing to see if Gale was somewhere within earshot. Tav couldn't help but smile at the thought of someone telling Gale, Mystra's ex-Lover, that his magic was sub-par. When Rolan realized the party's resident wizard was nowhere near, he cleared his throat, "And Cal, no. 'Shimmering Sparkles' is not a real spell," his glance caught Tav's eyes for a moment, "Although… I do have my own spin on Dancing Lights that I've been working on. If… If anyone were so inclined as to wish for a demonstration," he stated, puffing his chest out ever so slightly.

"I-" Tav was immediately interrupted by a very drunken Cal.

"Yes, brother! Rolan's Shimmering Sparkles!" He nearly fell off the boulder he was sat upon caught up in his excitement. Lia linked her slightly more sober arm into his to keep him balanced, encouraging Rolan further.

"Go on then. Let's see what makes your spell so special."

"Patience, you two," Rolan stretched out his arms, shaking his neck and shoulders loose, "Have you no respect for showmanship?"

"Having performance issues, Rolan?" Cal retorted in a cheeky mock-whisper.

Rolan rolled his eyes, "Oh, hush you," he replied, centering himself once again in preparation of his spell.

Most of Tav's familiarity with magic came from seeing Gale in combat. It was interesting to them - fascinating, really - seeing another wizard's process. Dancing lights wasn't a spell Gale used often. Yet they could tell right away, the way Rolan worked with the weave was different. Gale always acted like the weave was Mystra herself - to be revered and respected, always somewhat fearful of its fickle nature. And Gale treated the weave as he treated Mystra, as if he had to prove to himself that he was capable enough to work with her, for her. That he knew everything naturally and intimately enough that magic just came to him. Even if Tav always felt like that was a load of crap.

But Rolan? He treated it like a science. As though he were a craftsman, a Master of his trade. Its like he studied the weave to a perfect formula. There was a practiced structure to his movements. As if he could pinpoint where the exact aspect of the weave he needed was located, and then simply pull it from thin air itself. Something about it made Tav's heart race.

He brought his hands before his chest, right above his diaphragm.

"And… Behold!" His arms outstretched, and a rippling wave of lights, indigo and magenta, flowed from his body, carrying themselves up and out into the air. It were almost as if a portion of the Tears of Selûne itself had fallen from the skies and brought itself flowing through the campgrounds. Tav brought their hands together into an enthusiastic applause. Or as enthusiastic as one can be with a drinking horn of wine in their hands.

"Adoring applause?" Rolan cooed with a smile, dipping into a bow, "You're too kind."

"Remember when he could barely cast that?" Lia playfully chastised, gently elbowing her brother in the rib.

Cal chuckled, sighing like a proud father, "They grow up so fast, don't they?"

Rolan smiled and shook his head. A genuine smile, Tav noted. Something they weren't sure they had ever seen from Rolan before.

"Never have I met such troglodytes," he commented, "Now, pass the wine."

Cal stood up to pass Rolan the bottle he had been milking, only to stumble over himself when trying to sit back down.

"Woah there, big fella! Easy now," Lia giggled, reaching up to help Cal find his balance, "I think we had better find you something to… eat? Drink? Or a quiet place to vomit, perhaps?"

Cal shook his head, waving a hand in the air, "You worry too much! I'm perfectly-" his words trailed off as he caught his stomach, "Actually, Lia, you may have a point," Lia rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Playing babysitter once again," she hooked her arm below Cal's shoulder, "I'm gonna get the lightweight somewhere decent to rest." She glanced to Tav, the back to Rolan with a smirk, "You two don't have too much fun without us."

Rolan's tail suddenly swished and thudded against the ground, almost frightening himself with the reaction. Lia and Cal both laughed as they walked off. Rolan gripped his wine bottle tightly, bringing a large gulp to his lips. He laughed. A tired laugh, shaking his head.

"Its a wonder why I love those two idiots," he said in a strained tone, almost as if he were trying to convince himself.

"Isn't that the whole point of family?" Tav said quietly, trying to tease.

He choked on another sip of wine, Tav getting the idea perhaps Rolan had forgotten they were even still there for a moment. And Rolan suddenly realizing his vulnerability.

"Um. You won't… tell them I said that, will you? Surely it's the wine talking, but I'll also deny it if you do."

Tav laughed.

"Gods forbid you love your family," they teased.

Rolan smiled again, weakly, then hid it with a scoff, "Of course I love them, I just can't let them hear me say it. Lia would use it against me for the next three months. Minimum," he spat out. Perhaps a bit too harshly, he thought, turning the bottle to his lips once more. Only to find it empty.

"Oh, bother," he muttered to himself, tipping the bottle over, spilling one single drop of purple-red liquid into the dirt. Tav hesitated briefly, before offering their own drinking horn. Tav hadn't met many tieflings before stumbling upon these refugees, so they couldn't be certain, but they swore they saw Rolan's deep red cheeks flush a shade darker.

"I… N-No, it's fine. I've had quite enough to drink already," Rolan wavered, laughing awkwardly. Not an entire lie. He was surely feeling the muddling effects of the evenings festivities. But this hesitation was much more… personal. Sharing a drink with the hero of the hour. His lips against the same cup theirs having embraced the entire evening. It suddenly left him feeling… sheepish? No, something else. Deeper. Warmer. Rolan swallowed, a lump forming in his throat. This was all just incredibly inappropriate, he thought. But instead of taking back their drink, Tav just smiled, and further held their cup out towards Rolan's lips.

"It's alright," they said, "It's almost empty. We can finish it off together."

He let the moment linger, weighing his circumstances. This is a party, after all. However unfamiliar an environment this is for him, it was clear to Rolan that everyone around them was here to relax and have fun.

Fun, with his hero. He reached out, taking the cup from their hands, their fingers overlapping in the exchange.

"I, uh… I thank you, my friend," he smiled and gave a slight bow. Always so formal, Tav thought. They almost wished Cal or Lia would come back, just to see him act a bit more relaxed again.

Almost.

Rolan's sips were small, and slow. He wasn't sure how much to drink, how much to share. And the moment he put his lips against the rim of the horn, he was reminded of Tav's lips once again. Suddenly struck with an internal battle of wanting to keep his mouth here for as long as he could, and wanting to get the moment over with out of sheer, self imposed embarrassment. One small sip, and then another. Tav tried desperately not to stare at the way his throat bobbed every time he swallowed.

Once finished, he handed the cup back to Tav, who took a sip of their own, finishing the last of the drink off. They reached their fingers up to catch a small spill of wine from dripping around the corner of their mouth.

And suddenly, it was so very apparent that it was now just them. An awkward silence growing over the both of them. One which Tav broke first.

"So," their voice immediately cracked, leading them to clear their throat and laugh at the social blunder, "Um, you must be excited to finally get out of the grove, yeah?"

Rolan laughed in a tone that to an unfamiliar ear likely would've sounded mocking.

"By the Hells, yes. I am so incredibly happy to finally get out of this filthy quagmire. Once we reach Baldur's Gate, perhaps I can engage in a civilized conversation for the first time in weeks," once again, Rolan immediately felt himself bite back his words.

"That is… Not to say your company isn't more than engaging. I-I'm just so use to speaking with Cal and Lia. They've never had much interest in… learned topics. I mean, Cal likes to read, at least. But it's all adventure novels. The Illustrious Tales of Balduran or some similar drivel. Nothing with any merit," he glanced over at Tav, who was just staring at him. Their eyes wide, their mouth just barely parted. Rolan stiffened, feeling his cheeks flush once again, ever so slightly.

"Ah, I see I am rambling quite a bit and, uh, likely boring you," he said, trying to sound flippant. Tav blinked suddenly, locking back into his focus.

"What? No!" Their hand flew out and touched his arm, "I love listening to you speak about… well, anything, to be honest." They laughed to themselves, "Sorry if I seemed bored, I suppose. I just, um," suddenly, their face felt warm, their words catching in their throat.

Rolan's attention still set on them, on the feeling of their hand squeezing his forearm, "You…?" he continued their thought. Tav took a deep breath in, and smiled.

"You really… Light up. When you talk about your family," Tav finally let out, "Even to complain about them. It gets you talking. Like, really talking. And it just makes me happy, to see you happy," their voice trails off as they realize what they're saying. Then, they laugh again, releasing his arm, "I suppose now it's my turn to blame the wine. Speaking of which, maybe I should get us some more?"

Rolan smiled, almost reaching out to touch their wrist in response, but stopping himself, "I… yes. Um, well," he cleared his throat, "No offense to Zevlor, I know he did his best with the supplies, but, this wine is… ah, I think the word I heard your pale elven partner regard it as was 'piss' earlier, did I not?"

Tav laughed again.

"Yes, Astarion. I believe he did."

"Well," Rolan turned toward his companion for the evening, smoothing his hands across the front of his robes, "I actually have a lovely vintage of Arabellan Dry back in my belongings. I was going to save it for when we reach Baldur's Gate, to celebrate my apprenticeship. But, perhaps…?"

Tav's heart was suddenly racing, their stomach a bundle of nerves. A smile crept up their face as the flush built on their cheeks. They gingerly placed their hand over their heart, and spoke in a cool, coy manner.

"My goodness, Mr. Future Arch-Wizard of Baldur's Gate, are you… attempting to court me?"

Suddenly, Rolan's face went hot. Even with Tav's limited tiefling experience, it was wholly apparent. Immediately, Tav began laughing once more, nearly doubling over at the severity of his reaction.

"Sorry, sorry!" The reached out for his hand, "I'm only teasing, Rolan. Yes, we can go have a bottle of wine together. I'm starting to get tired of all this noise anyway," they waved a hand around, gesturing to the festivities around them.

Tav hooked their arm into Rolan's, looking up into his eyes. The burning yellow-gold and the hell's touched black vastness behind it. Rolan said a silent prayer to any God listening, thank the stars the likelihood of Tav hearing his heartbeat through his arm alone were slim. He felt as if his chest were on the brink of bursting. Still locked in his gaze, Tav smiled and tilted their head.

"Well? Lead the way, Mr. Wizard."

#rolan #rolan bg3 #bg3 rolan #rolan x tav #tav x rolan #really dont know how to tag this shit homies if you find it you find it ig! teehee

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multifandomwriter56 · 1 year

Text

As It Was

A/N: Hello! I know I've been MIA for a long time. Life has been crazy and going back to college while having a full time job has taken a lot of my time. But I'm hoping to get back to writing on this blog. I've missed it and I have missed everyone so much. I make no promises but I'm going to try.

Summary: Arthur and Y/n have always been super close; but when the boys get back from the war, things have change.

Characters: Arthur Shelby, Tommy Shelby, Sister!Reader

Warnings: language, mentions Arthur's attempt at suicide

Word Count: 2,698

*gif is not mine*

The rumor about the men who came back from the war are not the same men that left; It’s true. No one came back the same after the war. Not a single soul.

But it wasn’t just the soldiers who changed. Those who were stuck at home, waiting for their loved ones to return. They changed too.

Y/n couldn’t pinpoint exactly when she changed. She just remembers one day realizing she’s not the little girl who loved to draw rainbows, horses, and flowers anymore. Or the little girl who taught Finn how to aim at a moving rat, even though their Aunt Polly despised them touching guns. Not even the little girl who would take walks with her favorite brother, Arthur.

Y/n would never say she has a favorite brother aloud, but she knows her family sees how close the oldest brother and youngest sister are. There may be eighteen years difference between them, but they would sometimes act like twins.

Y/n enjoys John’s company and loves his jokes. Finn, she will always protect and care for. Ada, well they clash on fashion and boys, but they would kill for one another. And Tommy, well, the two siblings have never been able to get along. Tommy had big dreams that didn’t include his baby sister. Greta wanted to change the world and wanted Tommy to help her. Y/n wanted Tommy to help take care of the family instead of spending all his time at the docks waiting for the young woman to show up.

Even at a young age, Y/n knew it would always be Tommy who would provide for the family; be their leader. She loves Arthur, but he’s more of a follower than a leader. Tommy has always had ideas and Y/n knew those ideas would help them rise in Small Heath.

So with the boys off fighting in the war, Y/n made sure to follow her brother’s orders on how to run the shop.

Polly was the only one Y/n would let stray from Tommy’s list.

“You’re ten years old, Y/n. You are not the boss and know nothing about bets.” Her aunt admonishes.

“I know enough, Polly. I have Tommy’s list and Arthur’s notes.”

“So now you’re an expert at running betting shops?”

“I wasn’t saying that.” The ten year mumbles.

“Then you’ll do your best to remember who is in charge of the business.”

Y/n knows when to stop when it comes to her aunt. “Yes, ma’am.”

Y/n will admit, she learnt a lot from her aunt; not just business, but women’s business.

But now that the war is over, Y/n’s noticed how more involved Tommy is; how he keeps adding to the business.

Arthur is less present when it comes to his baby sister. They don’t go on walks anymore.

The fourteen year old moved into Arthur’s home when they came back. She wanted away from her very controlling brother and closer to the brother she knows best.

Except now, it seems that she understands Tommy more than she does Arthur.

The war may have changed all of her brothers, but something broke in Arthur. His nightmares keep her up at night and the one time she tried to wake him up, he almost choked her to death.

After that, she would either lay in her bed, listening to his screams or she would get John if the screams lasted longer than ten minutes.

“You shouldn’t be at Arthur’s alone.” Tommy tells his sister as he lit a cigarette.

“I’m not alone. Arthur is there.”

“You know what I mean, Y/n. Arthur is struggling and you being around isn’t helping.”

Y/n scoffs. “Actually, I think I help Arthur more than you can ever imagine trying to help him. You just hate that I’m not under your roof and you can’t boss me around.”

Tommy points his lit cigarette at her, his eyebrows raised in warning. “You will do as you're told or I will turn you over my knee.”

Y/n once again scoffs. Tommy has never disciplined her, he wasn’t ever around to take her in hand. That dirty task was left to their aunt. “Not only am I fourteen years old, but you have never raised a hand to me. Why start now?”

“Don’t push me, Y/n.”

Yeah, he’s bluffing, Y/n thinks. She stands to her feet. “Yes sir, Sergeant Major. If that’s all, Sergeant, I would like to finish my studies. Wouldn’t want to show up to school without my work now would we?”

Tommy pinches the bridge of his nose, resisting the urge to keep arguing with his sister. He, instead, waves his hand in a dismissive gesture without even glancing up.

The day Y/n dreaded came. Arthur had tried to commit suicide by hanging himself after he fell for their father’s con. She had found him at their home, raging and destroying the room. She skillfully dodged his swings and shouted at him.

“Arthur! It’s me! It’s Y/n!” She ducks when he throws an ashtray at her head. “It’s Y/n, brother!”

“Y/n?”

The broken voice has Y/n on the verge of tears. “Yes.” She nods her head. “It’s Y/n. I’m here.” She makes her way to her brother as his knees buckle and he lands on the floor. She holds him close, his chin digging into her shoulder as he sobs.

Y/n doesn’t know how long they stay in this position but she loses feeling in her left shoulder and feet.

When Arthur finally is able to compose himself, he stands to his feet, rubbing a shaking hand through his hair.

“Arthur, what happened to your neck?”

The older man covers the deep bruise around his neck. “Nothing.”

Y/n starts to shake her head, the pieces falling together. “No, no. You wouldn’t. You wouldn’t leave me here.” She stops talking but her head is still moving side to side; not wanting to accept that her brother, her hero, tried to kill himself.

“Y/n, I’m sorry, I-”

“No!” She sharply cuts him off. “Don’t apologize. I just need a moment to process.” She sits in a chair that he hadn’t flipped yet. “I need to figure out what to do. I need- no you need some of Polly’s ointment, and a drink… yeah, yeah.” She stands to her feet, ignoring the concerned look coming from her brother. “Sit down, Arthur. I’ll pour you some whiskey and get some ointment to help with the bruising.

“Y/n, I don’t- fuck.” Arthur curses when she completely ignores him and heads for the kitchen.

Only a few minutes pass until Y/n comes back. She hands the glass of whiskey to him and starts applying the ointment.

Y/n stayed with her brother until he decided to go to bed. She heads up to her room. In the morning, she’ll tell Polly. Fuck knows what Tommy will say if he hears about this. She never knows if he will help Arthur or make it worse.

In the morning. Y/n told her aunt and she should have known her aunt would tell their fearless leader. So she wasn’t surprised to see him walk in as she hands Arthur a cup of tea.

The look Tommy sends her is clear.

She smiles softly at her eldest brother. “I will be up in my room if you need me.” She tells him, her invitation not extending to the other brother.

She heads upstairs but does not go into her room. She sits on the top step, listening as Tommy belittles their brother. She rolls her eyes. She should’ve known Tommy would never express real feelings.

“Just use a fucking gun, man.”

“Are you fucking serious?” Y/n shouts as she storms down the stairs. “That’s all you have? Next time, use a gun?”

“Leave it be, Y/n.”

Y/n glares at Arthur. “No, Arthur, I can’t just leave it be.” She turns her glare back at the brother she is upset with. “I know it’s hard for you to express feelings now, but I would rather you not say anything at all than talk to our brother that way. He deserves better.”

“Y/n, that’s enough.”

“Fuck off, Thomas!” She shouts as she steps in his space. “You only care about having Arthur around so he can beat and kill people who piss you off. That’s all that matters to the all powerful Tommy Shelby.”

The slap echoes throughout the whole house, each sibling frozen in their place.

Y/n holds a hand over her now stinging cheek, staring at the man who has never raised a hand to her. Her and Tommy may not get along but she never thought he would physically harm her. Never.

She turns to Arthur, wondering how he will react. To her surprise he’s staring at her in disappointment.

“You shouldn’t have spoken to Tommy like that, Y/n. You were out of line.”

“I was out of line?” She snaps. “What am I supposed to do, Arthur, eh? Am I supposed to stand at attention and wait for the sergeant to bark orders? Huh?”

“Enough.” He doesn’t shout, but his voice still booms, causing his baby sister to flinch, preparing for another blow.

The guilt had already come, but seeing her flinch made Tommy feel sick to his stomach. “Y/n, I-” He reaches out to comfort her but stops when she steps back.

“Don’t you fucking touch me. I hate you.” She looks at Arthur. “I hate you both.”

“Let her go, Arthur.” Tommy orders when the eldest Shelby stands to follow Y/n who ran out of the house.

***

For a month, Y/n stays with John and his kids; but as much as she loves her nieces and nephews, she refuses to stay there another night.

Lizzie Stark, who’s been helping her brother with the kids, tells her to go back home, to work it out with Arthur.

“And Tommy?” The fourteen year old asks the older woman.

Lizzie smirks. “Tell him to fuck off.”

Y/n smiles at that. She hopes her brother doesn’t wait too long to give Lizzie the ring he’s been hiding.

Knowing exactly where her brother will be, Y/n heads to the Garrison. Taking a deep breath, she knocks on the locked door.

“We’re closed.” Is the muffled response from the barmaid.

“It’s Y/n Shelby.” She knows that’s all she has to say for the doors to open. Grace has been kind to her since she’s started working at the pub, and Y/n appreciates that, but she doesn’t trust the barmaid. She’s not sure why, but she has a hard time believing this Irish woman just decided to move to Birmingham without a real reason.

When the door opens, she smiles politely at Grace before squeezing past her. She heads straight to the back room, knowing her eldest brother will be attempting to balance the books.

She comes to halt mere centimeters from the entrance, her heart racing. What if he really is on Tommy’s side? What if he thinks she really did deserve to be slapped? What if she’s completely lost the only person to ever love her for her?

“Gracie, is that you? You ready to help me with these numbers yet?”

Y/n laughs quietly through the breath she was holding. Who is she kidding? Arthur is one of the kindest, loving people she knows. How could he hate her… right?

“It’s me, Arthur.” She barely gets that short sentence out above a whisper.

“Y/n?”

She steps fully into the room, her arms behind her back. “Hi.”

Arthur just stares at his baby sister, the anger, the pain of not seeing her for days, and the guilt… the guilt that has literally eaten him alive, rises to the surface. His loyalty to his brother clouded his love for his sister and he will hate himself for the rest of his life.

Being a Shelby makes it hard for them to express their emotions through words. No matter the emotion, the words usually fail to spit out, but actions, they’ve never been a problem for a Shelby.

So instead of saying the words, “I’m sorry” Arthur jumps to his feet and pulls the young girl into his arms, holding as tight as he can.

And since Y/n is not only a Shelby but also able to read her brother like a book, Y/n returns the hug and her anger disappears.

“You’re coming back home, ain’t ya?”

Y/n smiles, glad she was right. “My bag is already back in my room.”

Arthur squeezes her one more time, dropping a wet kiss on top of her head before releasing her. “Good.”

Y/n goes to ask him about how he’s been but a familiar voice stops her.

“Arthur, Tommy told me to get you. Family meeting in ten.” Finn turns to his sister, hope in his eyes. “Are you back?”

Y/n had kept in touch with Finn, having him fill her in on everything that was happening while she was gone. Finn didn’t know much, but she was able to fill in the gaps on most of what he told her.

“Yes, I’m back.”

Finn smiles. “Good. Arthur’s been too emotional and Tommy’s about to shoot him if he hears him complain one more time about you not being at the family meetings.”

Y/n laughs at Finn’s blunt statement; laughing harder when Arthur spouts profanities as he takes off after the youngest Shelby. She follows the duo, figuring it’s time for her to show her faceto the rest of the family.

Her smile stays in place as they make their way to Watery Lane, listening to her brother banter back and forth about what to tell and what to keep to yourself. So far, Finn’s winning the argument.

She can feel her smile start to get smaller the closer they get to her old home; and the smile completely disappears when Arthur opens the door for her. She comes to a halt at the threshold of the betting shop, her eyes immediately on the Peaky Blinders leader.

She’s thankful he hasn’t noticed her yet, but that little comfort quickly disappears when her aunt tells him to shut up as she makes her way to her niece.

Y/n easily accepts the hug from her aunt, the woman who practically raised her, but winces when she gets a clip to her ear.

“A month is too damn long, girl.”

“I’m sorry.” She whispers as Polly releases her; a small smile appears when her aunt gently caresses her cheek.

Knowing she needs to face the elephant in the room, or more commonly known as Thomas Shelby, Y/n peels her eyes off her aunt and stares straight into her brother’s eyes, hoping he can’t see the fear in them.

Compared to the other family members, Tommy is a mute when it comes to emotions. The only time words and emotions are mixed together is when he’s angry. He doesn’t say “I love you”, “I need you”, or anything that is remotely tied to emotions.

That said, the man is a master at showing his emotions through actions. One look can tell you so much about the gang leader. You just have to know how to read them; and Y/n is a master at this skill. She’s almost as good as their aunt.

So when she sees the barely noticeable nod of approval, and watches as Tommy pulls out a chair; she knows she has been welcomed back by their fearless leader.

And after she sits, he gently kisses her cheek, the same cheek he hurt a month ago, and she knows he’s asking for forgiveness.

She grasps his hand before he can pull away, giving it one good squeeze, so he knows he’s been forgiven.

They will never have a relationship like her and Arthur, or like him and Ada; but they can coexist together in their family; and that’s enough for them both.

Peaky Blinders: @psychkunox @theshelbyclan @lilymurphy03 @findinghisredrighthand

Forevers: @desiredposion @theseakrakence @simonsbluee

#arthur shelby x sister!reader #tommy shelby x sister!reader #shelby!reader #peaky blinders one shot #peaky blinders #tommy shelby #arthur shelby

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 6 months

Text

Floyd, Kalim: The Way of Water

I was wondering how the artwork would frame the sitting boys, but I guess having Floyd floating there on his butt is fine fjeviwgxkwjwhfoen I don’t know what the alternative would be…

It's nice to learn more about the land boot camp the Octatrio went to; Floyd's vignettes indicate that merpeople need passports and that they went to a zoo as part of the program.

A Tale as Old as Time.

Museums could be such snore fests sometimes. Sure, the place had an entire section dedicated to merpeople history, but it was nothing compared to what the Atlantica Memorial Museum boasted under the sea: the Mermaid Princess's silver comb, a replica of the Sea Witch's cauldron, bones of a sea dragon, a statue of the Sea King...

Here? All they had were some crummy paintings.

Floyd tilted his head back, taking in merman arriving in a dolphin-drawn chariot. He was an older man that sported bushy brows and a grand white beard that flowed in the water, his physique muscular and imposing. There was a regal presence about him, perhaps in how upright he stood, or in the glisten of the crown upon his head or the gauntlets cuffing his wrists. With his trident in hand, it was clear who he was.

The ruler of all the oceans. The waves obeyed his every whim, the sea and all its spoils bowing to his power. He, the Sea King.

Meh, what’s so great about him? So stiff and uptight. It’s be so much better workin’ for the Sea Witch.

Floyd's eyes flickered to the boy next to him, who seemed far more interested in the painting than he was. A steady grin crept onto his face, and he leaned in close.

Floyd pounced, hooking a long arm around Kalim's shoulder and yanking him over. The eel peered down at him, a single golden orb colliding with a pair of garnets. Leering, Floyd jerked his head at the depiction of the Sea King.

"Ne, ne, Otter-chan. What'cha think of this one?"

Any sane person might have been paralyzed with fear encountering Floyd in a dimly lit room, but not Kalim. No, Kalim was not sane at all.

The dorm leader greeted his peer with a smile so wide it could fill the horizon. "Floyd!! I'm so excited I get to see more of your history."

He blinked. "You actually like studying this kinda thing? Are you even any good at it?"

"Nope, not really!!" Kalim confessed (perhaps a little too easily). "I was looking at this painting and going, 'His beard's so impressive!' It reminds me of the one my dad has. I won't remember all the details later, but I'll always remember how cool the Sea King looks."

"It goes in one ear and out the other. Why bother then? Just dedicate your time and energy to stuff that actually interests ya."

"But it does interest me. It's fun learning about where your classmates come from! I heard humans and merpeople weren't always on good terms."

"Yeah. Back when the Sea King still ruled, there were tooons of rules forbidding merpeople from coming into contact with humans." Floyd held up a finger for each one he counted off. "No going to the surface world, no owning human stuff, no exploring shipwrecks... even no music at one point. You'd think Goldfishy wrote the lawbook."

Of course, even if those rules were in place, he would still totally disregard them. No one—not royalty, not his parents—could stop Floyd from venturing into the unknown.

"Whoa, the Sea King sounds like he was super strict and scary! I don't think I could live without music..." Kalim's face dropped. "He looks like such a nice person in the painting though."

Floyd rolled his eyes. "Cuz he lost his wife to a human ship. After that, he got all paranoid, thinking himans and merpeople are too different to coexist. He got especially protective over his daughters. The Sea King had seven of 'm and he breathed down all of their necks.”

"Ooooh!" Kalim didn't even bat an eye at the number (Floyd was sure it paled next to the number of siblings he had running around in his home.) "So the Sea King just wanted to protect his loved ones and make sure nothing sad like that ever happened again. He's a good guy after all!"

He now regarded Floyd with eager, sparkling eyes. "Wow, you know so much about this!! It's crazy thinking about how different things were in the past."

"Duh. It'd be boring if things stayed the same all the time." The eel smirked. He let go of Kalim and stepped back, giving a playful twirl, arms stretching out above him. "Ehehehe! Good thing the Mermaid Princess ended up opening doors for us to come onto land~"

Kalim beamed. "That's right!! She did! We wouldn’t be able to be friends without the Mermaid Princess’s help.”

The word gave Floyd pause, a rock tossed along his path as he brought his foot down upon it, snagging his step. Friend. He didn’t like spoken in that saccharine, trusting tone.

It was sticky and sweet, stuck in his teeth. Like cotton candy residue yet to be washed away by the waves, or sweat accumulated from summer heat. A gross feeling.

“You’re bein’ way too generous with your definitions again,” Floyd groaned, peeling away. “Cut it out, or I’ll get annoyed.”

Kalim (unwisely) laughed. Not at Floyd, but with him. “Oh, hey. When you think about it, we’re not really that different.”

“Mmm? What are you saying now, Otter-chan? Did all the sunbathing finally melt your brain?”

“In the Scalding Sands, waterways are really important. We use them for trade and travel. It’s the same for the Coral Sea. With all that water, it’s convenient for those sorts of things.” Kalim said matter-of-factly. “We’re using those same waterways now. We’re connected by water.”

“A good part of Twisted Wonderland is water,” Floyd pointed out. “You sayin’ everyone can be friends with everyone?”

Kalim nodded eagerly. “The Sea King was probably wrong. Humans and merpeople are actually very similar. I think the Mermaid Princess knew that too, and she wanted to help others recognize it.”

Floyd stared at Kalim, the moment long and hard. He wasn’t irritated anymore, only a little disappointed. Maybe mildly disgusted. “… Otter-chan, you’re so happy it hurts.”

“Thanks!”

“That wasn’t a compliment.” Floyd sighed. The energy and fight had been rapidly drained from in over the course of the short exchange, leaving him as wilted as a salted slug. “Aaaah, whatever. I’m tired of this already. I’m bailing.”

He turned on his heel and made for the exit and into the adjacent room. Already, Floyd could see a platinum frame of the Sorcerer of the Sand in the distance, bony fingers clasping a golden scarab.

“Wait up, I’m come with!” Kalim called after him. “I can teach you about my country’s history too!

That was how water was—always seeking to follow the flow. One body leading straight into another.

Floyd picked up his pace, arms pumping. (No running in the museum? Screw the rules.) Adrenaline deposited into his bloodstream, and he was hit with a rush.

Suddenly excited again, maybe a little interested in what a certain otter had to offer. A game, a chase, a thrill.

This is what he had come to the surface for.

Not rules or restrictions or a royal bossing him about. Not even friendship, as Kalim had suggested. Just fun, plain and simple.

It looked like he was going to get it.

Floyd grinned and shouted back, “Catch me if you can then!!”

And hurled right into the next room over.

Bless the Mermaid Princess.

#twisted wonderland #twst #Kalim Al-Asim #Floyd Leech #twst imagines #disney twisted wonderland #spoilers #something no one asked for #twst scenarios #twisted wonderland imagines #twisted wonderland scenarios #Floyd birthday takeover

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wangxianficfinder · 3 months

Text

Fic Finder

Feb 6th

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1. Hi!

I've been watching your content for a while and I really liked it, so I would like you to please help me find a fic.

This fic is a One shot with a/b/o theme (wwx omega LWJ alpha) where wwx lived a "house" for omegas (where he is a friend of mm) and they "borrow" it for prince Lwj, Lxc ( alpha) is the emperor and JGY (omega) is his partner.

In Gusu, omegas are not considered for cultivation, however, wwx doesn't care much about that and there is a scene where he along with LWJ fight in a cave with a monster. The final scene of the one shot occurs when WWX runs away from Gusu to the beach, LWJ follows him because they promised to visit the sea one day together.

the wangxian relationship is slow and with lwj's problems to express his feelings 😓

I would appreciate your help, if you need more information, I will gladly try to remember more things😊 and sorry for the grammar, my native language is not English (google translator)

FOUND? Rattling our cages by danegen (E, 69k, wangxian, A/B/O, but like polite, Slow Burn, Pining while fucking, so much hair combing, WWX has a vagina, POV WWX, no yin iron or wars or plot really, Canon Era, spiders--see the notes, Spanish Translation Available)

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2. Heya! Can y'all help me find a fic?

The part of the plot i remember is that WWX uses an array to erase himself and the wens from the memory of the cultivation world. The array stops one day, and a bunch of people go to the burial mounds to see what's up. It was on ao3, probably.

and that's ~all i remember~

a nice fic but not the one i remember. pretty sure wwx was hiding in the burial mounds with the wens. thanks for this fic tho!

NOT FOUND! Second Summer by Anonymous (M, 152k, WangXian, canon, Post-Sunshot Campaign, Mystery, Amnesia, Memory Loss, Curses, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, somebody lives/somebody else dies, Golden Core Reveal, canon-typical lack of lube, Ambiguous/Open Ending)

NOT FOUND! you've heard that melody before by Stratisphyre (M, 66k, wangxian, JL & LSZ & LJY, JC/WQ, Canon Divergence, Hurt/Comfort, Memory Loss, POV Multiple, Multiple Canon Character Deaths, Depictions of depression, Light Dom/sub, Not Everyone Dies AU, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Dynamics)

FOUND? Run Off The World by Sapphire_Roses (M, 271k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, SL/XXC, WIP, Not Everyone Dies AU, Canon Divergence, Wen Remnants Live, Flashbacks, YLLZ WWX, WWX Creates a Sect | Yiling Wei Sect, Sect Leader WWX, Married WangXian, OCs, POV Outsider, Morally Grey Characters, (Do Take That Tag Seriously), Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Developing Friendships, Fluff, Attempt at Humor, Yunmeng Siblings Feels, Gusu Siblings Feels, Sibling Bonding, Pining, Character Study, Tenderness, Mild Smut, POV Alternating, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Minor Character Death)

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3. Hi, i was looking for a fic i think i found in your blog? It was a wip and it was something along the line of wwx as yilling patriarch and the sects sent lan wangji for tribute. But they already knew each other.

I remember this one scene where lan wangji finds bunnies inside the burial mounds but wwx captures them to eat and lwj is sad.

I don't remember the title or anything because i think i directly clicked the link and started reading but then i forgot to bookmark it and lost the link.

Please help me find it, i really wanna know what happened next.🙏😔

FOUND? The Jade Bride by lanwangjibo (Not rated, 16k, wangxian, WIP, Pining LWJ, YLLZ WWX, Misunderstandings, POV WWX, POV LWJ, Fluff and Angst, WQ Lives, Wēn Remnants Live, LSZ is a Wēn, WWX is Bad at Feelings, LWJ is Bad at Communicating, SS Being an Asshole, Pining WWX, Hurt LWJ, BAMF WWX, Angst with a Happy Ending)

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4. fic finder request! looking for two fics that i can't seem to locate in my bookmarks - A) in the first one, sizhui (and the rest of the juniors?) somehow reach through time and rescue wwx (i think dead in present time), bringing him into their present! in the process they create a lot of trouble, due to the power expended and released, i believe they turned a mountain into a crater or something.

B) the second fic I'm looking for takes place during the sunshot campaign, when baoshan sanren decides to join the fight and intervenes. she restores both jc and wwx's cores, by reaching back into time and removing jc's core right before it's melted by wzl, she also returns wwx's core from jc's to wwx's body. she does this in her tent, which is also a dimension travel portal or something which iirc links back to her home on the mountain.

thank you very much!! @potatokunst

4A)

FOUND! Would You Come Home? by s6115 (Not rated, 46k, WangXian, Junior Quartet Centric, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon Divergence, Junior Quartet Dynamics)

4B)

FOUND! Can't Tell Me Nothin by natacup82 (T, 35k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Everybody Lives, Family Feels, Communication, BAMF Women) Baoshan Sanren return Jiang Cheng's core from the past in chapter 4

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5. hi! gosh, i have had this fic stuck in my head for the past weeks but for the life of me, i just cannot remember the name. i really hope you can help me find it!

the fic is about how modern wei wuxian is a researcher/scientist and he got his hands on a shady book written by baoshan sanren, accidentally triggers a talisman/array and somehow being transported into the wuxia version and it involves the people who died coming back to life and they all watch/read the past and it just sort of becomes one big therapy session.

i think i remember there being a part in the fic where modern wei wuxian mentions transferring/donating his organ to modern jiang cheng in reference to how og wei wuxian transfered his gold core to og jiang cheng.

and also a part where it was mention that for modern wei wuxian, it was madam yu who found and brought him back to the jiang family to be raised and not sect leader jiang; also it was implied that the modern jiang family is actually a loving happy family in contrast to the sort of dysfunctional og one because modern wei wuxian address's madam yu and sect leader jiang as mother and father.

i wish i could remember more, i hope this would be enough to go on. please help me and thank you so much in advance! @lilith--14

I believe this fic has been deleted but please correct me if I'm wrong - Mod C

FOUND? Yes the fic was deleted. It's "Loving Future, Distant Past" by yareyarejojosan. Here is a link to a folder that contains all of the author's fics

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6. For a fic finder, there was this nsfw kinda darkji (probably pwp) fic that haunts me and might have been deleted, becaused i’ve searched in every way I know how: (post?)canon, wwx can’t get hard anymore for some reason. He is embarrassed to admit it to lwj, who then calms him and says it’s normal and that he doesn’t use it for much anyway. Turns out lwj was the one who started and keeps giving him the tea for impotence. The lan doctors are in on this(?) Thanks if anyone can identify this one!

I don’t think 6 on the last fic finder was it (still a delishiously dark-ish rec, thank you!), it was (probably) a shorter pwp and not modern

NOT FOUND You Sing of Thanatos; I Hear Only Eros by kanonkita (E, 39k, WangXian, MIND THE TAGS, Modern AU, Extremely Dubious Consent, Dark!LWJ, Mild Horror, Omorashi, Tentacles, Rope Bondage, Shibari, Praise Kink, Breeding Kink, Oviposition, Non-Consensual Body Modification, soft pillow talk, Hurt/Comfort, non-consensual emotional healing, Panic Attacks, Wetting, Body Horror, Impotence, Magic, Anal Sex, PIV Sex, Mpreg, Mild Suicidal Ideation, Voyeurism, PWP, Angst, nonconsensual medical treatment)

FOUND? Succumbing to His unconditional love? by MurderRose (E, 2k, wangxian, mildly dom/sub, WWX's floppy little cock, the trials of being utterly loved, LWJ can be a tiny bit dark as a treat, opt in or opt out at your will, its almost invisibly mild, a lil bit of humiliation)

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7. Hello (✿◠‿◠) hope you having a good day! This is for the fic finder, I've been looking for this fic where after his death wwx comes back as a rabbit, it has a glossary at the start for words/terms the rabbits use, I think? I really hope this is enough to go form!

FOUND! Dignity and Animality by quick_cat_tl (G, 31k, WangXian, Watership Down, u know the one with the political/philosophical bunnies, Reincarnation, Lapine language, Rabbit!WWX, Sunny Angst, Pining) Hi, number 7 is probably „Dignity and Animality“ by Anielka. Unfortunately, it seems to be deleted on AO3. / For #7, I remember reading "Dignity and Animality!" When I click the link for it (from the wangxianficrecs tumblr), it redirects to Dignity and Animality by quick_cat_tl - maybe the author changed their AO3 handle? / The question about #7 - I copied the link for the current posting for that story and then took it into the wayback machine where that same link does pull up the story being underneath the original name mentioned back in 2021, so it was a name change and not a repost.

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8. I’m looking for a fic, one chapter, Lan Wangji is a teacher in Cloud Recesses. He takes Wei Wuxian to the Jingshi and it’s implied that he told Wei Wuxian he’d not tell anyone what Wei Wuxian had done so long as Wei Wuxian let him fuck him.

~*~

9. Hi! I hope you can help me find this. All I can remember is that WWX fell asleep in the cold spring and I think Lwj or Lqr saw his body few hours later and wwx is cold as if he is already dead.

FOUND? 🔒 Warming up (to him) by barisan (T, 9k, LQR & WWX, WangXian, Hypothermia, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Temporary Character Death, Medical Inaccuracies, YZY Abuses WWX, JFM Bashing, pre-wangxian, Good Uncle LQR, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort)

FOUND? Warmth by Quiet_crash (G, 2k, WangXian, LQR & WWX, Hypothermia, Fluff, Kinda, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm)

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10. Hi! Your work on this blog is absolutely amazing! For fic finder, I've been searching for a fic I read awhile ago. It's post-canon. WWX is traveling and writing to LWJ, but letters stop coming. LWJ searches and finds that to prevent a creature from preying on a local child, WWX took it on himself but to prevent the curse from hurting anyone else, he's hiding in a cave, constantly drinking to dull the effects.

FOUND? Fire in the Blood by Jo Lasalle (Jo_Lasalle) (M, 20k, wangxian, First Time, Post-Canon, Angst with a Happy Ending, hurt/comfort themes)

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11. Hey I read a book recently, in there, there was a scene where, wwx was protecting someone? Or someone was protecting wwx? By standing on one side of fire and the attackers/i think it was jins or someone on the other side of fire. The scene was fierce. They were like us against the world type of scene. Do u know this fic? @constellationdks

#11 for recent fic finder here, thnx for the rec but it's not the one. The one I'm looking for is quite long, I think it was more than 30 or 40k. Also the scene wasn't with a yuan.

I know number 11 and I'm trying to search for it. It's wwx holding a-yuan in his arms in an alleyway when they are attacked by the jin. The premise has something to do with that strength parents get when defending their children? 🤔 let me get back to you!

NOT FOUND Hysterical Strength by covalentbonds (Not Rated, 3k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Parent WWX, Fix-It of Sorts, Everybody Lives/Nobody dies) Wwx is out one evening with a-yuan when he is ambushed by the jin.

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12. Fic finder please! 🙏

This would be a hybrid/warprize LWJ where he was a bunny hybrid and WWX was a snake. WRH has LWJ shipped off to WWX, who ends up helping him and eventually gets him reunited with LXC.

I remember there was art of LWJ and rabbits bc WWX was trying to help him calm down. I’ve read this sometime last year and can’t find it anywhere! 😭😭

FOUND! 山水盆景 (Shānshuǐ Pénjǐng) by meicairoubingfan (kiradyn) (M, 64k, WangXian, warprize AU warprize lwj, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Vers WangXian, Top WWX, Top LWJ/Bottom WWX, Animal Traits, Non-ABO Universe, Snake Demon Lord WWX, Animal Traits, Hand Jobs, Seduction, Found Family, Wedding In The Cloud Recesses, Handfasting In The Cold Spring Cave, Alternate 3Zun, Alternative Sunshot Campaign, Hinted Future ChenLi, YZY is a better mother, JYL Is Not A Wilting Wallflower, empowerment, Side-Character Cameos, Rabbit Sanctuary In The Burial Mounds, Cutest Little Bun MXY, Accidental Child Acquisition, Child MXY)

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13. (First part added to itmf) But I’m looking for a modern au were even though jc’s family is rich they don’t give wwx and jc pocket money and they were hungry in front of a bakery? And wwx used the « orphan in the street card » and lwj bought him food

I don’t know if it’s the same one but I think at some point wwx bought lwj home while he was drunk and waited for lxc to come pick him up and jc saw them talking on the couch and he thought they were dating (they weren’t together yet)

ANYWAY thank you for everything ✨✨✨ @ihaveasoftspotfora-yuan

~*~

14. Hi! for the fic finder please, there was a fic where lz read on a book abt the hannaki disease and he thought it beautiful so he started choking himself on gentian flowers to imitate the feeling @cocoaphil

FOUND? the sweet scent of their tragedy by HeavenlySkyfarer (E, 23k, WangXian, Angst, Cultivation Sect Politics, Depression, Hanahaki Disease, Language of Flowers, Love Confessions, Manipulation, Marriage, Mental Health Issues, Pining, Post-Sunshot Campaign, Rumors, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Whump, Self-Harm, Bittersweet, Self-Blame, Canon-Typical Violence, Blanket Permission, Morally Gray LWJ)

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15. Hello, I am looking for a fic I read some time ago (it could be a few years). I think it was post-canon, Lan WangJi and Wei WuXian were together. LWJ gets cursed and the only thing he has in mind is killing WWX (since he sees him only as the big bad Yiling Laozu). At the end, WWX pretends LWJ killed him and the curse is lifted. It was posted on ao3. Thank you for your hard work! And have a great day!

I think I remember this fic! It starts out with WWX accidentally cursing LWJ with a talisman while they were in the jingshi and ends with WWX running to the burial mounds, finding out there are people who worship him living there, and he uses the incense burner to trick LWJ into thinking he killed him to break the curse, right? I can't recall the name though - Mod C

FOUND? all the broken things that I made by ilip13 (E, 43k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Established Relationship, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Lovers To Enemies, (then back to lovers I'm not a monster), Dubcon Kissing, Dubious Consent, But mostly not in the way you might expect - see notes for details, Explicit Sexual Content, Bondage, Flirting, Competence Kink) might be this? I haven't read it yet, but the summary sounds like what they are looking for!

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16. Okay I could have easily dreamt this up but I could have sworn there was a fic where either LWJ or WWX was in a orchestra and his band mates thought he was married to wen qing because she was the one to always bring a Yuan to him after school or something only to think he was cheating when his actual husband comes by pls tell me I didn't dream this

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17. Hi! im sorry i lost a fic and i need help. It was an old wangxian fic, where LXC He's emperor (?) and LWJ is engaged to WWX, in this fic they get married and there are problems with the marriage because LWJ was a little bad during their engagement, since they were children. WWX was always trying to get his attention until one day he gave up. In the fic there is a part where Su She shoots WWX with an arrow and LWJ punishes him in some way.I remember it was also a Tumblr AU that later become a fic

NOT FOUND! rebuttable presumption by @sarah-yyy

NOT FOUND! Burning Bridges by Keysmashed (E, 12k, wangxian, arranged marriage, misunderstandings, pining, angst w/ happy ending, family drama, swordfighting, non-graphic smut, emotional rollercoaster, love confessions, everyone lives au) it’s probably not this one because su she is not in it and it’s not royalty but wx are engaged and wy does give up so even if it’s not you might like it

FOUND! permissive presumption by sarahyyy (G, 7k, WangXian, Royalty, Arranged Marriage, Pining, Mutual Pining, Misunderstandings) could also be permissive presumption by sarahyyy, on AO3, which is an AU of the author's fic on tumblr

~*~

18. Hi! This is for fic finder. WWX is killed by SMS in sunshot campaign. He then resurected years later by MXY in JGS order. WWX and LWJ fight together. WWX hand is blackened i think. JGS refused to tell WWX what is MXY wish is. In last chapter, JGS is killed by JGY or Madam Jin and WWX is free from the curse. I think JGS death is because of NHS plot i think. Thank you! @idontknowwhattowriteforusername

Hi! I'am #18 from the latests fic finder. I want to add some details. Not much but i hope someone can recognize it. Jin Ling and Lan Jingyi was sent to Qishan either as a hostage or indocrination. In there, everytime they are punished, Wen Ning and Wen Yuan help them to make the punishment lighter. Sometimes they warned Jin Ling, Lan Jingyi, and other junior everytime other wen sect member (the one that didnt hesitate to punush them harshly) nearby. I think Wen Qing too help everytime the punishment is so harsh that caused injury, she make them stay in infirmary where they are safe

~*~

19. Hello! I’m looking for a fic where mxy and wwx are a couple who take lwj home for a night in a modern AU. The beginning talks about how mxy and wwx looked so similar that when they first met they were worried they were related. Lwj is on the verge of being in love w/ wwx, but he’s hesitant to act on it bc of the relationship between wwx & mxy. Once he’s in bed with them there’s a line about red satin sheets for special guests. It’s such a specific premise but I couldn’t find it on ao3😭

FOUND? you and me alone by plonk (Not rated, 6k, wangxian, MXY/LJW/WWX, modern)

~*~

20. looking for a fic from a prev ff or itmf, modern au, college/research lab? setting, abo dynamics. wwx and lwj participate in some scientific research study and get together in the process. iirc they are not in the same yr at college. i didnt manage to save it then but really want to read it, please help!!

NOT FOUND Pairfire by PaidSubscription (E, 65k, wangxian, NMJ/LXC, JC/NHS, WQ/MM, JYL/JZX, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Fluff, Relationships 101, Getting Together, First Time, Explicit Consent, Bordering on Kink Levels of Communication, Elements of Assigned-ish Marriage-ish, Non-Traditional A/B/O Dynamics, A/B/O With a twist, Because Cultivators CHOOSE Their Gender During This Course, After Trying Out All Three, It’s a Three Course Meal and WangXian’s Gender Acceptance is the Dessert, But Horny Pining is the Main Meal and the Most of the Snacks, Bottom LWJ, Bossy Bottom/Henpecked Top Energy, Everyone is over 21, Gender Choice Raises Issues for Most But I Promise Happy Endings + Everyone Comfy in Their Own Skin, Side Couple Aro/Ace/Agender Storylines)

FOUND! 🔒 I is for Instinct by beeswaxing (E, 71k, wangxian, LXC/NMJ, JYL/JZX, hualian, A/B/O, Alpha WWX, Omega LWJ, Scenting, Possessive Behavior, Getting Together, First Time, First Kiss, Public Display of Affection, Public Claiming, Good Parent LQR, Alpha YZY, Good Parent YZY, Family Feels, Fluff, Romance, Aftermath of Violence, Slice of Life, Modern, College/University, BAMF WWX, Soft Wangxian, Barebacking, Knotting, Semi-Public Sex, Shameless, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg)

~*~

#wangxian #mdzs #wangxian fic finder #wangxian fic search #the untamed #wangxianficfinder #long post

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beautifulblooms · 1 year

Note

my mind has been absolutely PLAGUED with neteyam and ao'nung fighting for male readers love while also having some enemies to lovers of their own?? and they both confess to reader at the same time idk you can edit this as you please obviously,, i just love them sm ☹️☹️

Dual Love - Neteyam x Ao’nung x Male! Metkayina! Reader

I had a blast with this request and wanted to say thank you for requesting, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

CIS Women and Female Aligned people, please DNI, this story and all of my others are for non-binary, masculine aligned and male readers!

As a Metkayina, I’m no stranger to the clan leader and his family. Especially his children, Tsireya and Ao’nung. I had always grown up playing with them, Ao’nung more than Tsireya as she was usually training to be the next Tsahik with her mother. As a close friend to the siblings, I was almost adopted by their parents, seen as somewhat of another son to them. Of course they’d never try to take me from my parents, but there always was a second home for me with them.

When the forest people came to us, it was a shock to us all, and while I wasn’t one of their children, Tonowari and Ronal assigned me to assist them with their adjustment to our lifestyle. The forest people had many children themselves, and being assigned to them, I learned their names rather quickly. Kiri was the most stand-off ish to me, preferring to connect to the elements or perhaps Eywa. Tuk was the only other girl, she was rather nice and full of life, regressing young energy.

Neteyam and Lo’ak were the only boys, as such, I was essentially given an extra special role of making sure that Ao’nung didn’t do anything stupid when teaching them. Sure he can be responsible, but he can also be crass and rude, especially when it comes to new people he could bully.

“C’mon, we’re gonna try to hold our breath again, remember what we taught you. Breath deep from here, and slowly release it when you’re underwater.” I rubbed my hand gently across Neteyam’s stomach, showing where he needed to try breathing from again. He was getting better at it, as was Lo’ak, but it seemed the older one was making more progress than his younger brother. Tsireya and Ao’nung were off to the side, showing them how to do it as well, also helping Kiri and Tuk get a hang of it.

“I think I got the hang of this.” Neteyam said while trying to keep his voice down for some reason. I looked into his eyes only to see him turn his head quickly. I was confused but paid it no mind, returning to help Lo’ak with his breathing placement. From behind me I could almost hear a hiss from Neteyam, still paying it no mind I guided the brothers to the water to try again for a longer time. Diving into the water gracefully I spun around to watch them attempt to dive with me. Cue their balled jumps into the water, and me silently giggling underwater at how childish they were.

“Let’s try again.” Tsireya spoke to the girls she and Ao’nung were instructing. Ao’nung gave me a look when he saw how close Neteyam was to me, Al thought given his attitude to all the newcomers, I expected it. He’s not a fan of big changes, and teaching many Omatikaya how to be Metkayina was something he definitely didn’t want. We all swam into a loose circle together, Tsireya, Ao’nung and I all counted down from 3 to have them all take deep breaths before sinking underwater. Once under I noticed that Tuk had breathed in poorly and wasn’t gonna last long, tapping her and pointing up to have her surface. She followed the direction and I continued to watch the other three forest people. Kiri quit next, almost out of boredom it seemed. As the three used to being underwater, the siblings and I had no problem watching the last two Sully children attempt to hold their breath.

“They’re lasting a lot longer than before, good job (y/n).” Tsireya signed to me as I nodded and thanked her while the two brothers looked at us confused.

“I forgot we still need to teach them sign, this is gonna be worse than taming a skimwing.” Ao’nung signed to us, making all three of us realize it was gonna be a hard task to teach them another language. Glancing over to the brothers right as Lo’ak quit and surfaced for air, leaving only Neteyam left. I made a note to compliment him once he could understand what I’m saying. Another few minutes go by before he starts to choke on the water, surfacing immediately. Following him, the three of us surfaced as well and made our way back to the shore.

“That was very good for all of you, Tuk I want to work with you more later to figure out breathing styles. Kiri….is not here anymore, where did she go? Anyways, Lo’ak and Neteyam, also very good job to you two, I’ll help you both out with holding the air for longer and releasing it slower.” The three Sully’s that were left nodded and gave noises of agreement or acceptance to my words.

“It’s been awhile since we started, we should take a break.” Tsireya butted in before I was about to start helping Tuk, but realized we had been working for a good bit of time by now.

“You’re right, I’ll be back in my Marui, let me know if we start training again.” I started to head back to the village and where I had settled myself amongst my people.

“(Y/n), I need to talk to you.” Ao’nung came walking into the Marui and sitting right in front of me.

“Okay, can I help you?” He took a very deep breath and a second to collect his thoughts.

“Why are you so nice to the forest people?” I was confused by his question.

“We’re teaching them, it’s not like I should be a rude teacher just because they’re different from us. Why do you ask?” Ao’nung was almost taken aback by my answer, I guess he wasn’t expecting such a genuine answer.

“I guess you’re right, but I don’t think you should be around Neteyam so much, he gives me a strange feeling.” I sighed at what he said, of course it was him being protective, he always had been like this about me.

“Ao’nung, I know you’re protective of me, but I promise you, he’s fine, and I can defend myself if I need to, no need to protect me.” His cheeks brightened at my words and he turned his head away from me so I couldn’t see it.

“If you say so, but I warned you.” He stood up and left my Marui, leaving me to go back to what I was doing before.

Over the next few weeks, the three of us had managed to teach all the Sully children how to hold their breath underwater, to dive properly and deeply, hunt and harvest, and even how to ride the Liu’s. Neteyam and Ao’nung bickering never ceased, there was always some way they but heads or it seemed like a silent hatred for each other. At some points it almost seemed as though they were interested in each other because of how they acted with one another. I never paid either mind when they fought like children, but I did grow rather fond of Neteyam in the time I’d taught him. I’ve always had a quiet liking to Ao’nung, something I’ve experienced since I was a young boy and played with him in the shallows. While I developed a crush of sorts on Neteyam, the one for Ao’nung only seemed to strengthen. I loved them both as much as the other, but for the sake of both friendships I kept my feelings to myself.

We had just finished training the Sully boys again with hunting on Lius when I retreated to my Marui for a late meal and sleep. Not even a few minutes into cutting up the fish I found earlier, I could hear the two of them bickering on one of the pathways near my home. Once again, I paid them no mind, until the sounds got louder and louder and suddenly they were standing in front of me.

“Why don’t you just leave and go back to the forest, you’re clearly better off there.” Ao’nung almost shouted at Neteyam, who quickly made a comeback.

“Maybe you should try to swing and run in the forest, I’m sure you’d suffer there a lot more than we have here.” Just before Ao’nung retorted I stood up and put a hand on both their mouths.

“What do you both want and why are you arguing in my Marui?” I was mildly pissed off at how they just openly did such a thing while everyone in the village could hear them. They simultaneously responded with a jumbled mix of excuses and the word confession was thrown around a few times. “Enough, both of you, Neteyam, you first.” He nodded and began speaking.

“I was headed here to confess something to you, and ran into him, he started the argument.” I gave Ao’nung a look and he glanced down at his feet to avoid my gaze.

“Ao’nung, your turn.” He nodded and was more quiet in his tone than he was earlier.

“I also was on my way to confess to you when I saw this scown and had to say something about what he was doing.” Before they could start bickering again I slapped a hand over their mouths.

“Boys, if you can’t be nice, you both have to leave, now, I’m gonna move my hand, and you tell me what you wanted to confess, both of you.” I got grunts of agreement and so I moved my hands.

“I like you and want you to be my mate.” They both said in almost perfect unison, shocked looks took over their expressions as they realized they were here for the same reason. I giggled in response, not entirely sure how to react.

“Well, I like both of you as well, and it may not be traditional, and it will be very difficult, we can all be each other's mates.” They seemed to be almost pleased with my response, not too sure about how to handle being mates with their enemy, but for me, they were more than willing to make it work. Now I just had to talk to their parents and tell them about everything.

#avatar (2009)#avatar (2022)#avatar x male reader #james cameron avatar #avatar #male reader #male reader fanfic #x male reader #mlm account #nblm account #neteyam x male reader #Neteyam sully x male reader #Ao’nung x male reader #poly

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spooky-bunnys · 11 months

Note

another taiju request cause I just found out something and i had this idea. So it’s canon that taiju likes sharks so imagine the reader one day showing up to his house and says he bought something special for him and go to change real quick and taiju is probably thinking something else but when the the reader walks out he’s in this cute shark onesie and starts acting like a shark and says “but that’s not all look” and pulls out a shark onesie for taiju and maybe Hakkai and yuzuha come home to see the reader and taiju acting like sharks while wearing the shark onesie and taiju start playfully chasing Hakkai while the reader is playing the jaws theme in the background

Meanwhile yuzuha is secretly recording this beautiful moment

Sorry it's so short and not exactly what you wanted. I'm writing Draken's Brother part 5. Haitani Baby Brother part 3. I'm also writing the D.L x V.K. crossover. And I'm trying to write something special for having 200 followers. But i hope you Enjoy!

Shark Attack

Taiju x Male Reader

When (Name) texted Taiju he had a surprise waiting for him at home. Yhe Black Dragons could tell their boss was excited. He was constantly checking the time on his phone. Since (Name) had gone shopping with his younger siblings. So he was excited to see what (Name) had gotten him. He wasn't going to lie. He hopes it's something "special".

His phone buzzed and Taiju almost fell over trying to get his phone out of his pocket. The gang members all sweatdropped. This was their mighty leader? When he saw it was a text from (Name) informing him they were home. The members had never seen their boss run so fast. "He does remember we have a meeting in like an hour right?" Kokonoi asked looking at his best friend who shrugged.

"He left with a smile. (Name) probably has something to do with it." Inui replied looking back at him. Kokonoi cringed. "Hey that's my cousin! I don't want to know what they're up to like that." The look of disgust and the shiver Kokonoi had as enough to explain his answer. He'd walked in on them too many times.

I mean how else are you supposed to react when you find out your cousin is EXTREMELY flexible. By walking in on your boss blowing your cousins back out on his kitchen counter. Please Kokonoi never wanted to see something like that again. But did when he got invite to swim at (Name)'s house and found his cousin preaching Taiju's name like he was a Saint in the hot tub!

Back with Taiju who had just pulled into the drive way of his and (Name)'s house. He turned off his bike and made his way inside. Expecting an empty house for his surprise but only to see both of his younger siblings playing what he guessed was a new game (Name) probably got Hakki. "I'm home" He called out. The two siblings barely looked away from the TV answering with a quiet "Welcome home."

(Name) came out of the kitchen with a new apron on. Considering Taiju ripped the other one off him last week. Taiju cringed remembering the smack and lecture he got for destroying the apron which apparently was a birthday gift from his siblings. "Babe! I wasn't expecting you to be home so soon! Don't you have a meeting soon?"

Taiju shrugged. If it meant spending more time with his (Name) he didn't care about some meeting. Inui and Kokonoi can take care of it. "I got your message that you had a surprise for me?" (Name)'s face lit up and he squealed kissing Taiju's cheek before running upstairs. Taiju confused smiled loving how happy (Name) seems to be.

It didn't take long for (Name) to return. Taiju was expecting a revealing outfit. Like maybe a crop top and those shorts Taiju has been trying to convince (Name) to get. But no. (Name) came hopping down the stairs in a full suit. A full shark onesie. Taiju froze staring at him. (Name) giggled catching his attention. "That's not all~" (Name) pulled from behind his back an even bigger shark onesie. Taiju smirked widely. God does he love him.

Bouns:

(Name): *playing jaws music from his phone*

Hakki: *running away with tear filled eyes*

Taiju: *chasing after Hakki in the shark onesie* I'm gonna eat you!

Yuzuha: *recording to sent to Kokonoi and Mitsuya*

#male reader #x male reader #tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers x male reader #taiju x male reader #taiju shiba x male reader #taiju shiba

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neteyamsyawntu · 1 year

Text

And So She Danced with Death

Dark!Neteyam x Na’vi! Reader fic

👉Chapter 2

Disclaimer!: All canon characters in ATWOW that appear in ASSDWD are all aged up by 5 years.

Synopsis: You are mated to Neteyam before his death and the impact it had on you was catastrophic. Your entire world had shattered, but you couldn’t find it within yourself to dwell on mourning, making it an obligation to your deceased mate to take up his role in watch after his siblings. After a first RDA raid on Awa’atlu, Neteyam has been resurrected by the RDA now being mind controlled to fight against his family and you. After your first encounter seeing Neteyam back from the dead, you know that he isn’t his true self… maybe there is a way to bring him back.

WARNINGS: angst, SOO much angst, choking, mentions of death, near death experience, evil Neteyam

(I wrote this up on my iPhone so I apologize if the spacing between paragraphs is a lil wonky)

A piercing ring filled your ears, your vision slowly coming back into focus as you took in the sight of Awa’atlu ablaze. You blinked rapidly wondering if maybe your eyes had betrayed you, not wanting to believe the reality you were in, when the sound of screams began to materialize in your ears along side a muffled voice that seemed close by. With a sudden tug at your bicep, you whirl your head around to see Neytiri frantically trying to pull you up, Tuktirey cradled against her chest.That’s when it all became clear. This nightmare was real, and if you didn’t act fast you would die.

Finally realizing Neytiri’s voice screaming for you to move lit a instant fire in you to get your family to safety. You sprung to your feet, grasping onto Neytiri’s shoulder for support steadying your balance, “Come child! Come!” She pleaded, tugging you along. Ahead of you, Metkayina na’vi were frantically gathering their families and diving into the ocean for protection to get as far away from the flames as possible. You noticed amongst the commotion was Lo’ak guiding Kiri, Tsireya, and her family away from their burning home. Your eyes quickly looked behind you as you pulled away from Neytiri’s grasp, scanning the burning marui for any sign of Jake or Spider, who you had noticed wasn’t in the retreating group. You then spotted an air ship hovering above the water, which seemingly had been the one to deploy the attack on Awa’atlu. Jake must be there. “Y/N we must go!” Neytiri yelled to you attempting to grab your arm once more, to which you ducked grabbing a discarded spear near by. “Go, get yourself and Tuk out of here! I will go help Jake”and with that you take off toward the ship dodging debris and corpses of fallen na’vi. As you neared closer to the ship you spotted Jake, taking cover under what looked to be a broken bridge to one of the marui. As you neared closer you heard a familiar voice and immediately ducked for cover. It was him, Quaritch the leader of the recoms, “Come on Jake you know you can’t hide forever, I think we both remember last time you didn’t follow my instructions… still a shame about what happened to your boy” the faux na’vi sneered, cockiness dripping in his words. You grimaced, ears falling flat against your head as scenes from that day flashed in your mind. Neteyam, your mate, the life draining from his eyes as you held his face in your hands, trembling and sobbing uncontrollably.

Taking in a shaky breath you readied yourself to move forward, making eye contact with Jake signaling your intent. He nodded back to you, a pained expression on his face as he recalled his own events of that day. Clearing your mind of any distraction you surveyed the area for more weapons, to which you noted 2 more spears and a cross bow, abandoned in the sand. Taking one final breath and acknowledging Jake’s approval you lunged from behind cover and chucked the spear in Quaritch’s direction, aiming for his chest. Almost a near perfect hit, when he dodged last minute, missing your mark entirely. With a hiss you pick up the cross bow and gathered as many arrows as you could, taking cover behind debris while Jake made his own charge, firing his gun at his target, before following your lead and taking refuge behind another piece of debris. You huffed aiming your cross bow in the same direction as before and firing a shot that skimmed the enemy’s bicep creating a deep gash in the muscle. With an agonized holler Quaritch grabbed his arm, dipping to take his own cover. Quaritch commanded something over his radio, scooting himself further into cover. You took this time to move closer lifting the cross bow to strike once more. Before you had a chance to pull the trigger, a metallic arrow shot past your head with an audible woosh.

Shaking off the shock quickly you step back and aim your cross bow at the offender. That was the moment your blood ran cold. You immediately began to feel an ice cold sweat start to infest your body, fighting against the heat of the flames around you. There at the entrance of the air ship, tail lifted high into the air in defiance, muscles flexed as his body readied for another strike, braided hair shaping his strong face. It couldn’t be, your eyes must be playing tricks on you, but then you noticed his own eyes staring into you, the same deep gold that mesmerized you so effortlessly. Yet they were not the same. Something was off. Those once soft eyes you held so dearly, now burned holes into you as if they were made of fire themself. His brow bone bore a heavy shadow over his eyes his nostrils flared. Your eyes then drifted to his lips, although most of his face was hidden by the strung bow, you could see his lips were pulled into a thin line. The same face he’d make when he was deep in focus, but it was furious. You’d never seen so much anger emitted from this… thing in your life. You knew that whatever it was, it wasn’t your mate. He was gone and dead. Whatever this demon was, it wasn’t your Teyam… it couldn’t be.

“Well I see you’ve met our newest recruit” you heard the same snide voice from your peripheral, “although I don’t think any real introduction is in order. Why don’t you come out and see your family, boy” with his bow still drawn, the phantom slowly made his way down the ramp, his eyes never leaving yours, “Neteyam?!” Jake called out as confusion and concern painted his features. This was the one thing that took the demon’s look away from you as he now aimed his weapon at his father, “Not expecting to see me were you father? It has been a while” he spoke with a low growl. Fury pouring off his tongue, but why you didn’t understand. If this really was Neteyam why would he be holding his father at ‘gun point’, eager to fire his weapon. “What did you do to my son?” Jake grimaced turning his attention to Quaritch who had now stood up to his full height, stepping next to Neteyam, “oh well isn’t it obvious? We patched him up. Times have changed Jake, you’d be amazed at what technology can do now. Even brining back old faces” he finished, patting Neteyam on the shoulder who didn’t even flinch at the contact. “Ma’Teyam…” you whispered to yourself in disbelief, loud enough for the clone to catch, causing his ear to twitch in your direction. Quaritch eyed you with a smirk then leaned into Neteyam’s ear, “that’s your woman right? Why not go say hi to your lover?” He mused before leaning away and crossing his arms. Neteyam eyed Jake before lowering his weapon, slowly shifting to make his way to you. Your heart clenched as you finally noticed the scar on his chest from the bullet wound. How? How had they managed to save him from something so fatal? You raised your cross bow higher as he drew near, he raised his hands a bit in surrender, “yawne..” he hummed longingly, yet you didn’t fail to notice his eyes were still glazed over in anger “DONT call me that!” You spat, as a tear emerged from the corner of your eye. You cursed yourself as you began to tremble at his presence, “you are not my mate, you cannot be him!” You hissed. Neteyam clicked his tongue as he inches closer to you, “my love I’ve missed you, please” he begged, a pinch of sincerity in his voice almost making him sound believable… if it weren’t for those eyes. “KEHE!(get back)” You ordered as you inched your finger over the trigger of the crossbow, but it was too late, he was too close now.

Neteyam took the opportunity to disarm you in one swift movement and knock you to the ground with a shallow punch to your gut knocking the wind out of you landing harshly against the sand. You could hear Jake calling your name as sparkles danced in your vision trying to catch your breath, only to be met with a fierce hand around your throat, the demon you’d now come to recognize straddling your waist, pinning you to the ground. Now you were face to face with him, you could truly see him. This wasn’t a clone, it was indeed your mate, back from the dead. You shivered under his touch as the control you had over your tears dissipated into nothing. Your lip began to tremble “Ma’Teyam..” you wheezed under the pressure on your throat, “Don’t call me that” he spat right back at you baring his fangs. You whimpered closing your eyes not wanting to believe the reality that was so plainly in front of you, “what did they do to you Nete?” You let out in silent sobs. He scoffed, causing you to open your eyes in disbelief at his reaction, “they did what none of you could. They saved me” he hissed adding more pressure to your throat, causing you to desperately claw at his hand in desperation as you began to feel yourself slipping away.

“NETEYAM!” Jake yelled from across the beach a choked plea, which earned a dark chuckle from Quaritch, “See.. I’m not a bad guy Sully. I’ll call him off if you surrender and come aboard willingly. You don’t have to loose another kid” he said with a tilt of his head, eyes focused on Jake watching for his next move. Jake gritted his teeth shaking his head lightly as he started to feel his own throat clench up, tears threatening to prickle his eyes, “Neteyam! Come on look at me boy, you don’t wanna do this.” He begged fighting for your life from the sidelines. Neteyam grunted trying to ignore the words of his father while your nails dig into his skin desperate to get air into your lungs. “Please Neteyam c’mon! If you do this, no matter what bullshit they are feeding you, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life! You have a choice!” Jake pleaded once more.

You whimpered up at the man above you, for a second you thought you witnessed a glimpse of conflicting thoughts played in his features, and as your vision began to blur you used whatever strength you had to reach your hand up to rest weakly on his cheek. For a moment Neteyam froze, the pressure on your throat weakening as he narrowed his eyes scanning your features, taking it all in and comparing it to past memories he had of you. He was going to stop, he was listening, you thought. From across the beach Jake, having given up with peaceful negotiating growled“fuck it” firing his gun at Quaritch landing a few serious shots. Quaritch fell back clutching a wound on his chest, the sound breaking Neteyam out of his trance, looking over his shoulder to witness the assault. Getting one last look at your strained face, Neteyam releases his grasp on you before bolting over to Quaritch, using the momentum to fall back and slide on his hip to get out of range and pull Quaritch behind cover, immediately putting pressure on his wound. Jake halted his fire rushing to your side perching your head against the crease of his arm as he lifted you into his lap, “I got you kiddo, I got you” he cooed aiming his gun with his free hand at his son and biggest enemy as a warning. Neteyam glared up at him, baring his teeth as he helped Quaritch to his feet, an arm slung around his shoulders “is the kid secure?” He asked Neteyam, eyes heavy from the loss of blood, “Yes sir, Spider is currently restrained on the ship”. Quaritch knodded in acknowledgment and with a wave of his hand motioned for them to fall back, with Neteyam immediately leading them back to the aircraft.

Jake ground his teeth together as he watched his eldest son leave with the enemy, his heart clenching at the sight. His brain raced with the question of how he would break the impossible news to his family later, but for now he focused back on you. As the aircraft took off, Jake tossed his weapon to the side, putting his ear to your chest to listen for a pulse. It was weak and your eyes slowly started to close, tears and dots both making your vision fuzzy. “No no no, come on kid stay with me. Don’t you dare go to sleep on me” he warned quickly adjusting your position to perform mouth to mouth resuscitation in order to get air into your lungs faster. With a handful of pumps to your chest and exchange of airflow, you soon released a strained cough as you let your lungs fill slowly with fresh air. Tears started to flow from your eyes once more as the realization began to hit all at once, “Shh shh I know baby girl, come on let’s get you out of here” Jake whispered in attempts to soothe your pain, carefully lifting you into his arms, making his way to the edge of the shore. You wouldn’t make it in water for too long, so with a high pitched “YIP” he summoned his ikran, who landed eagerly on the sand before you. Mounting with you laying against his chest, Jake swiftly made the bond and flew off the island to reunite with his family and the rest of the remaining metkayina. You weakly glanced down as you flew away from yet another home, watching the flames consume the marui below.

Taglist:

@tiredmamaissy

(Tagging you lovelies since you were part of post that started this, just lmk if you wanna be taken off it)👇

@neytris

@jakexneytiri

@jake-sullys-whore

#avatar #avatar the way of water #avatarsmut #neteyam #neteyam sully #avatar twow #neteyam sully x reader #neteyam x na'vi!reader #dark neteyam #love hate relationship

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glitterslag · 7 months

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anthroponymy in the bear

Apologies if someone's done this already, but I've been thinking a lot about the names of the characters in The Bear, and how almost nothing in this show is accidental. It's led me to wonder whether the names chosen are also intentional and if they can tell us anything about the characters and their journeys.

Firstly, we have Michael. The name is derived from a Hebrew phrase meaning ‘who is like god’ (often posed as a question). It’s fitting in my opinion. His character certainly is a godlike presence, his influence and love felt but not seen in The Beef. As the eldest sibling, he’s presented as a leader, and Carmy and Richie worship his vision.

There’s a creation aspect with Mikey. He plays god from beyond the grave, literally breathing life into The Bear through the money he stashed in the tomato cans - we have him to thank for its establishment.

The tomatoes remind me of the bible story of the feeding of the five thousand. In this miracle, Jesus is able to feed five thousand hungry people from just a few loaves of bread and a few fish. In ep 1.08, a humble tin of tomatoes - just as much a symbol of modesty as a loaf of bread - is opened to reveal a wad of cash. From this money comes The Bear, which hopefully will go on to feed just as many hungry mouths, if not more!

Interestingly, 'michelin' is a diminutive of 'Michel', an alternate spelling of Michael. I wonder if there's a connection there? Maybe the key to The Bear earning its Michelin star will lie with Michael? A recipe of his, or a piece of advice he gave Carmy? (Sidetracking, but I just think it’s cool!)

Next, we have Carmy, who’s full name is Carmen. I’ve looked at a few sources, and there seem to be a couple of different meanings for his name. The Latin meaning comes from the word for a song or a poem. The Hebrew meaning is garden or vineyard.

‘Song or poem’ to me reflects Carmy’s creative nature, his love of cooking and drawing. ‘Vineyard’ is interesting, considering that Donna is an alcoholic, and that as far as we know, Carmy is either sober or drinks very little.

Carmen is also a gender neutral name. For me, one of the significant themes of the show is masculinity, and how different ideas of masculinity are warring with each other. To me, Mikey and to an extent Richie represent one particular masculine ideal, one that’s maybe a bit toxic. Carmy meanwhile is not painted as the stereotypical masculine guy. Richie often insults Carmy’s masculinity, jeering at his culinary training, being homophobic, making fun of his lack of experience with women.

There’s so much I could say about this dichotomy, even right down to the dishes that are associated with each character. Richie’s idea of The Beef serving ‘food of the working man’. The sandwiches - their red meat fillings. Mikey’s spaghetti, in its simplicity, its earthiness, its history as a staple food of the working class. To me, it’s a masculine, down to earth dish, very at odds with the fancier, more elegant dishes we come to associate Carmy with.

Then we have characters such as Luca and Marcus - both of whom are associated with baking. You don’t have to be a genius to know that baking is seen as a feminine art. Luca and Marcus arguably don’t fit the macho man ideal either - both of them being depicted as a lot more gentle, calm, and creative types.

Next - Sydney. It’s an Old English name, and there are a few different interpretations of it that I could find. One is ‘wide meadow’ or ‘wide water meadow’.

When Syd breezes into The Beef in ep 1, she’s literally a breath of fresh air. She’s a meadow! Her vision for what the restaurant could be, both in terms of the food served and the way the kitchen could be run (i.e. mutual respect, a smooth chain of command, no psycho bosses) is an idealistic vision, a utopia, a garden of Eden type image.

This brings me to the link with Carmy’s name:

Remember how one of the meanings of Carm’s name was garden? In my opinion, this similarity only reinforces the writer's intentions for us to see Syd and Carmy as kindred spirits. Gardens, meadows… both peaceful, calm, beautiful places. To me, it tells us they’re each other’s peace. It also tells us if they learn how to work together, they can create that ideal vision for the restaurant that they both crave.

Another interpretation of Syd’s name is that it means island or island dweller. This brings to mind the phrase ‘no man is an island’, which to me perfectly summarises her character’s central struggle. The phrase means that humans need each other. We need support, and we can’t do things alone. I think Sydney is shown as someone who can be prone to bottling things up, and maybe finds it difficult to ask for help and to be vulnerable. She’s not shown as having many family and friendship connections, and we see a lot of scenes where she’s alone - eating in restaurants, on the train, cooking at home. In that sense, she is a bit of an island, and I hope we see her become able to rely on others a little more in seasons to come (and hopefully Carmy gets his act together enough for her to trust him to be her support!).

Next up: Jimmy. Short for James, a derivative of the Hebrew Jacob, it means ‘supplanter’. A supplanter means someone who takes the place of something else, like a usurper. Now, in ep 2.06, Jimmy and Donna’s dynamic was a little suspect, and I think a lot of people would agree that we’re supposed to infer something was going on there, with Cicero figuratively and perhaps literally taking the place of Bear senior. My theory is that there was an affair, and that Jimmy is actually Mikey’s father. JAW and Abby Elliott look pretty alike I’d say, while John Bernthal has quite different features. Was this intentional? Who’s to say, but I think there’s definitely a case to be made for there being two different fathers. Equally, Mr Bear could be Mikey’s dad, while Jimmy could be Nat and Carm’s true father - he has their lighter hair and eyes, so who knows!!

In Genesis, Jacob supplants his twin brother by buying his birthright. In the show, Jimmy attempts to buy the restaurant, which of course once belonged to Carmy’s dad. Although the show doesn’t give us the full story of the pair, we gather that Jimmy and Bear Sr. were old friends who were almost more like brothers, until a feud ruined their relationship. Interesting for sure!

Next is Tina. Short for Christina, which means ‘follower of Christ’. Her last name, Marrero, is interesting. Deriving from Spanish, it means stone-breaker or hammer, reflecting her strength of character. She’s a single mother, an immigrant, and has been working in male-dominated kitchens with all these shitty, angry men for years. As far as we know, she was the only woman at The Beef pre-Syd. She dealt with Mikey and Richie’s shit for years. You’d have to be pretty fucking tough.

On the other hand, T is so warm and kind underneath it all and seems able to penetrate through the other character’s exteriors relatively easily - Richie, Carmy, Ebra, Syd. They can all be pretty grumpy, but they all have SUCH a soft spot for Tina and only Tina. She’s the stone breaker to their stony surface! 💖🥰💖🥰

Okay those are the main ones I wanted to talk about, but here’s a few more in brief:

Richie: short for Richard, which means strong or brave ruler/leader. In the final episode, we see Richie leading expo and doing a great job. He’s finally living up to his name - literally finding his purpose.

Donna: means lady in Italian. Madonna, or ‘my lady’ is another name for Mary, Jesus’ mother. The ‘mother of victory’ referenced in the prayer that Carm, Nat and Richie say before the soft open is the same Mary. Whilst Donna definitely doesn’t share many characteristics with Mary, I think the comparison is useful in showing the bear kids’ conflicting view of their mother. They of course still love her and crave her love and her blessing for the restaurant in return.

Natalie: means ‘birth of the lord’, literally, ‘Christmas’. There could be a connection here to the Fishes episode, which takes place on Christmas.

Pete: short for Peter, it means rock. When Jesus made the disciple Peter the first Pope, he said, ‘on this rock I build my church’. Pete is Nat’s rock and I think that’s beautiful!!!!!!

Ebra: short for Ebrahim, an alternate spelling of Abraham, which means 'father of many'. He’s a father figure for The Bear!

I know there are a couple I've left out from the main cast, one being Marcus, whose name means 'follower of Mars', the Roman god. I'm still figuring out whether there's a significance there - I'm sure there could be. Maybe I'll do a part two with the rest of the characters!

Anyways I just think it's neat how fitting a lot of the names are... and I really don't think a lot of them were accidental!

Pls feel free to add on and/or correct me if I got anything wrong!

#yeah i'm riddled with catholic guilt for all eternity but at least i can make the bear meta #the bear #the bear meta #sydcarmy #(tagging sydcarmy cause i know the sydcarmy army love the meta)#sydney adamu #carmy berzatto #the bear hulu #the bear fx #jeremy allen white

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geekgirles · 4 months

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Something Like You

Summary:

There were many things Branch expected from being forced to go on a date with the winner of Brozone's latest contest: boredom, forced smiles, awkwardness, the looming possibility that he might meet his end tonight at the hands of an obsessive fan...

Never in a million years would he have expected falling in love with her, however. Or the many other surprises that meeting would entail.

Word count: 8959 words

Pairings: Broppy, BrandyxBruce

Read on AO3

As he wriggled in his seat in a futile attempt to make himself comfortable, his fingers drumming impatiently on the mushroom table, all Branch could think of was one thing:

He sincerely hoped Spruce—or Bruce, if he went through with it and changed his name—and Brandy didn’t last.

At first he had been ecstatic when his brother told him and their siblings the news. How could they not be happy for him? He had finally found a girlfriend who seemed to like him beyond his role as Brozone’s Heartthrob! Moreover, one that had accepted his proposal to marry him! That was all Spruce could ask for ever since he hit puberty and trolls started noticing him, and vice versa.

Sure, Brandy wasn’t even a troll to begin with—truth be told, Branch wasn’t even sure what she was—, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she made his big brother happy. Even if she towered over all her in-laws and the lucky couple wasn’t even sure if they could have kids together, it was okay. Because Branch had never seen Spruce as happy or in love as he was with Brandy. And he should know; he had been seeing his second-oldest brother change partners almost as often as he worked on his exquisitely chiselled abs since he was a baby!

And now he had finally found the one whom he wanted to settle down with…

At least, that was how Branch had felt before the terrible fate that awaited him dawned on him.

Boy, did Spruce leave behind a string of broken hearts! Seeing all the sobbing, heartbroken fans who wailed after him once it had been officially announced Spruce had entered a serious relationship and would no longer be going on dates with the winners of Brozone’s numerous contests, a part of Branch couldn’t help but be slightly alarmed at John Dory’s reaction to it. Such a calm, collected demeanour in the face of such a major shaking of their established status quo did not match the eldest brother’s usual control freak nature. At all.

Even though he never particularly cared about sales—just as well, seeing as those contests and other Spruce-related paraphernalia made up about 75% of the band’s income—, John Dory was a well-known perfectionist. Branch could distinctly remember his very first tour as a baby. John Dory almost blew a gasket when they couldn’t reach the Perfect Family Harmony!

Even today, Branch knew that, if it hadn’t been for Floyd intervening, Brozone would have disbanded that night for good.

Which was all the more reason to grow unnerved at his nonplussed reaction to his younger brother publicly announcing he was officially off-the-market and, though he would still be Brozone’s Heartthrob, had explicitly entered ‘you can look, but you can’t touch’ territory. It was so out-of-character of him, all four younger siblings had convened to have Floyd use his psychology training to talk to John Dory and figure out what was going on.

“Looking back, I really should have seen this coming…” Branch grumbled quietly to himself with a roll of his eyes.

It wouldn’t be until relatively recently that they would come to understand the reason why John Dory was taking Spruce’s decision so well. Sure, John Dory’s role as The Leader meant he was usually too busy for this sort of thing anyway; and Clay had long written the whole experience off after the last fan thought it would be a good idea to sign him up on Open Mic Night at a stand-up comedy club to perform, seeing as he was The Fun Guy and all…; and Floyd, aside from only really meeting up with a very specific side of their demography, could get overwhelmed easily by the experience, so he couldn’t really take on Spruce’s role, either.

…which left Branch as the fill-in for their dear Heartthrob and the prize to win in their contests. Because, why not? It wasn’t like despite his public persona as Brozone’s youngest and cutest member he, alongside Clay, could be quite cynical and hated putting up a façade for longer than necessary. Or that, like Floyd, he was quite introverted and usually preferred to spend his free time on a Friday night inside their shared bunker—which he built almost single-handedly, thank you very much—reading a good book and drinking a steaming mug of coffee in his bathrobe.

No, of course not! Putting on a fake, strained smile on his face for hours on end as he risked meeting his very own personal stalker and potential kidnapper (or murderer!) was his ideal date plan!

Did he mention sarcasm also ran in the family?

Lamenting his luck and cursing his eldest brother for the umpteenth time that evening, Branch quickly checked the time on his Hug Time Bracelet. “Quarter-to-Hug. She really should be here by now…” Putting aside the slight annoyance he felt, he ultimately shrugged it off before popping a fry into his mouth. “Then again, as humiliating as it would be to be stood up by the very person who competed to win a date with me, it’s not like I can complain. It’s way better than the alternative…”

Although Branch had to admit, the whole thing had been a little weird. John Dory had instructed him to be on his best behaviour and listen intently to what the girl (because apparently the winner was a girl—good to know, not like he cared) had to say, because of course he had. That was pretty much the drill with these dates. And yet, there was something about him that seemed…off. Almost like this was somehow more important to him than just leaving a lasting, positive impression on one of their fans.

Could it be that this girl was rich, or something? Maybe she actually spent a fortune in…in whatever it was contestants were required to do to get their date this time. Maybe she was one of Spruce’s hardcore fans and this was their one chance to convince her to remain loyal to the band even after her favourite became unobtainable. Or maybe—

“Oh, my Troll Tree! I’m so sorry I’m late! I was held up in a meeting.”

Ears twitching at the sound of the new, oddly melodic voice, Branch did his best to push down the urge to roll his eyes or make a sarcastic comment at her expense. Instead, he put on his most charming smile and finally turned to face the troll he’d be spending the next several hours with.

Only for his heart to stop at the sight of her.

He had to be dreaming, there was simply no way this was really happening. At least, not to him. For some reason, he suddenly got Perfect stuck in his head.

The troll before him wasn’t just a troll; she was a vision of loveliness. A creature so divine and angelic he couldn’t stop his eyes from quickly scanning her up and down in search of her golden halo or a pair of fluffy, white wings.

She wasn’t real, she just couldn’t be! Someone so breathtakingly beautiful only existed within the passionate, sugary-sweet lyrics they so often sang about. This girl before him was more enchanting than the subjects of Girl, Baby, Baby; Baby, Baby, Girl; and Baby, Baby, Girl, Woman combined! Frosting, her mere presence was enough to inspire the poet inside of him a thousand sonnets, let alone love songs!

In fact, she alone was pure poetry. An ode to everything beautiful and good in this world.

Her skin was the loveliest shade of pink, that which adorned the sky during the very first hours of the morning and made it a little easier to look at everything through rose-coloured glasses. In contrast, the countless glittery freckles on her face, shining even under the pod’s faint light, looked like she had quite literally reached out for the stars and used them to accentuate her blush.

Her nose, a darker shade of pink than the rest of her skin, wrinkled in the cutest way, reminding him of a small critter, as she brushed her fringe behind her delightfully round ears, almost shyly. And her hair, her bright, magenta hair that she wore loose except for a deceptively simple braided headband consisting of felt leaves and twigs, looked like silk. He suddenly had a very strong urge to intertwine his own cobalt locks around hers and test out if it was truly as soft as it looked.

She was just—

“Hi, I’m Poppy!” She introduced herself, breaking him out of his trance. She gestured at the booth he had been occupying for the last twenty minutes. “Mind if I sit down next to you?”

It took a moment for Branch’s brain to reboot itself. When it finally did, he practically jumped to his feet, startling his date—Poppy— slightly and making a few other patrons look at him oddly.

“Yes, yes! Of course!” He blurted out, a little louder than he had intended. Noticing Poppy’s slightly uncomfortable stance, he forced himself to calm down. He cleared his throat with forced nonchalance and exited the booth. Just as the pink troll was about to ask him what was wrong, he bowed politely and gestured to the seat he had just vacated. “After you, my lady.”

Looking back and forth between his gentlemanly pose and the seat he was gesturing at, Poppy couldn’t help but giggle cutely at his actions, unknowingly letting loose a hurricane of butterflies in his stomach. He was such a gentleman. There was a reason why he was her favourite.

She’d been right; he’d be the perfect choice to explain her plan to.

“Why, thank you.” She said with a curtsy of her own. Walking right past him, she got inside the booth, wriggling herself between the cushions until she made herself comfortable, not unlike Branch had done earlier.

Once she was comfortable enough, Poppy laced her hands over the table and sent a grateful smile at the blue troll watching her attentively.

Branch remained standing for a few more seconds, just committing the expression on Poppy’s face to memory. When her smile dimmed in confusion, however, he realised he was taking way longer than necessary and scrambled to sit next to her with as much dignity as he could muster.

Now that he was by her side, the smile returned to Poppy’s face. “I really can’t thank you enough for agreeing to meet up with me, Branch.” She told him honestly. “I understand you must be very busy, yet you made some time for me. Thank you so much.”

Branch almost told her it was the least he could do after how much she’d been supporting Brozone, the automatic response he gave to all their fans almost rolling off his tongue, but thankfully stopped himself. He couldn’t saddle Poppy up with every other troll who won a date with them and give her a half-hearted response; not when her mere presence made Branch feel like he was the winner. She deserved so much more.

With a boldness he didn’t know he possessed, he reached out and gently placed his hand on hers. As the pink beauty looked down in surprise, the loveliest shade of pink dusting her features and making her freckles stand out even more, Branch said, “Trust me, Poppy, the pleasure is all mine.”

If he felt like a winner before, the moment her smile widened in appreciation, Branch felt like he was on top of the world.

The loud thumping on his chest echoing in his eardrums, his own face probably turning lavender at this point, the youngest member of Brozone hurried to appear as nonchalant as possible, clearing his throat awkwardly and stammering a bit.

“I-I know this-this must be a little o-overwhelming for you.” He swallowed loudly. “B-but, you have nothing to worry about. Deep down I’m just like any other troll. One with several Double Platinum Records and over a dozen music awards, true, but just a normal troll, nonetheless.”

“Frosting!” Branch cursed to himself. “Did that sound too braggy? Does she think I’m a show-off, now? I mean, she is a Brozone fan, so she must know all that already but, still, that’s not the kind of information you just blurt out in the middle of your first date! …wait a minute. Does this even count as an actual date? What’s the actual difference between this and having a back-stage pass?”

As Branch was too busy panicking and overthinking his own words, he couldn’t help but avert his eyes, his blue irises darting back and forth the pod they were in yet refusing to land on Poppy, too afraid of her reaction to take that chance. Had he allowed his eyes to land on her, however, he would have noticed the slightly perplexed expression on her face.

“Wait, does he think I’m nervous because he’s a member of Brozone?” She blinked, not quite sure what to make of the situation. “But I’m the—!”

Before she could finish her train of thought, their waitress for the night finally arrived, ready to take their order. “Well, can I get you, you lovebirds—?” Her words got stuck in her throat when she lifted her eyes from her notepad and took a good look at her customers, mouth slightly agape as her eyes glanced back and forth from Branch to Poppy.

The troll’s own awkward behaviour was all it took for Branch to get a hold of himself. Though a little surprised at first by her reaction, it didn’t take him long to understand everything. He nodded in understanding. Of course she was taken aback. She most likely hadn’t noticed she’d be serving a member of Brozone, after all. Let alone one that was on a date—he still wasn’t quite sure if that applied to their case, but let’s call it one to keep things simple.

With a good-natured roll of his eyes, he opened up his menu. “Yeah, she’s with me. It’s no big deal.” Taking notice of Poppy’s own surprised face at his comment, he dared to be a little bold again and sent her a playful wink. The adorable little sound she made when she chuckled immediately engraved itself onto his memory. “So, yeah, I’ll have a root beer and the roasted mushroom with marshtato tots. And the lady…?”

“Will have a chocolate milkshake and some chicken finger puppets, please.” Poppy replied, handing her menu back to their waitress with a quick ‘thank you’ and a smile as Branch did the same.

That seemed to break the waitress out of her daze. “Right. Got it. Coming right up!”

“Hope that didn’t make you uncomfortable.” Branch said once their waitress was out of earshot. He was used to people losing their minds over his mere presence, but Poppy was probably wholly unprepared for something like that ever happening to her. He wanted to make sure she was okay.

To his immense surprise and slight mirth, Poppy just made a psh! sound as she waved him off, as if the mere notion was ridiculous. “Don’t worry! It’s no big deal, really. Happens all the time, am I right?”

At that last part, she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at him, almost like they shared a secret. It made Branch chuckle; she probably meant she should expect that from spending time with him.

With a playful roll of his eyes, Branch leaned closer to her, his face resting on his propped up arm. “Don’t I know it?”

The two shared a small laugh at that, and Hair if Poppy’s cute giggling didn’t suddenly become the reason blood even pumped through Branch’s veins. Seriously, at this rate, that little sound she made when she laughed would kill him.

But as he momentarily got lost in his own daydreams, the pink troll’s expectant expression brought him back to Earth with a start. It took a lot out of him to keep his expression even and not show the slight panic he was feeling as realisation hit him. The one supposed to be enjoying the date was Poppy, not him! And though he was extremely grateful for getting to know her, he should never put himself before their fans’ enjoyment.

John Dory would kill him if word got out that Poppy didn’t have a good time.

Clearing his throat slightly—and lamenting, not for the first time, his suave persona only really came up when he was on stage—, he tried breaking the ice. “So, this night is all about you, Poppy. Anything you need from me?”

“Oh!” Poppy exclaimed, a little surprised by his question. Then again, he was right; there was a reason she was here, after all, and it had to do with him. Taking a minute to think about her answer, she finally said, “Well, I suppose there is something…”

For the first time since he became a member of Brozone—basically his whole entire life—Branch found himself thinking he, for once, wouldn’t be opposed to fulfilling her request if Poppy asked for a kiss.

He wasn’t that lucky. “I was wondering if you think it’d be feasible for Brozone to sing at a special event?”

Oh.

Wait, what?

“...I’m sorry?” The conversation had taken a turn he wasn’t expecting. At all.

“Yeah! I mean…” Poppy floundered for words. Maybe she went in for the kill a little too early, her fidgeting hands betraying her nervousness. “I guess I was wondering if you guys would be opposed to singing outside of your concerts. I know each of you has been trying to do your own thing aside from the band for a while now, so you don’t make as many public appearances as before anymore. And now that Spruce is officially engaged, things are probably going to be even more hectic and there’ll be more changes, so…”

Bright, blue eyes stared intently at the beautiful troll before him as she rambled. He could feel she had a point with this, she wouldn’t have brought it up if she didn’t, but Branch was struggling to figure out what it really was. His ears perked up at the mention of Bruce, his confused expression giving way to realisation.

“You’re worried about the future of the band, aren’t you?” He questioned, his tone soft and understanding.

At that, Poppy stopped talking, staring back at him with wide eyes. After a few seconds of silence, her shoulders relaxed a little as she let out a nervous giggle. “You could say that?” She chuckled again. “I’m sorry, I know I’m asking for a lot, it’s just—”

Before she could say more, Branch shushed her gently. Almost instinctively, he reached for her hand again, giving it a reassuring squeeze to get her to look at him. His heart skipped a bit when those pools of pink met his gaze, beckoning him to drown in them.

“It’s okay, Poppy. I understand.”

“Really?” She asked, her voice sounding so hopeful it tugged at his heartstrings in a way that was almost painful.

How could he not understand? Everything she said was true. Back when his brothers were teenagers and he was just a baby, then a child, Brozone was pretty much everything they had going on. Whenever they weren’t at home, taking care of Grandma Rosiepuff (and getting totally demolished at cards), they would be busy with the band. JD would organise everything—and be a tad bossy about it, of course— and compose the lyrics for their upcoming singles and albums. Spruce would work on his physique and his public relations skills, as his role as their Heartthrob meant he was essentially their face to the public. Clay would be thinking up new Fun Guy routines whilst working on the perfect choreography to go along JD’s latest song. And Floyd would be up to the hair both trying to keep the peace between his bickering brothers and adding the melody to their soon-to-be latest hit.

And of course, as Branch grew, he too ended up having his own responsibilities and obligations. His single-minded goal of building their bunker helped morph him into a troll with a natural talent for architecture, technical support, lighting, acoustics…; which he then applied to their performances. He was essentially the band’s own stage technician! And when he hit puberty and hormones started acting up, they discovered a new talent of his: poetry.

And just like that, the youngest sibling became the group’s composer, too. Not like his new position and the respect it commanded prevented his brothers from teasing him about the countless poems he was sure to recite to whoever caught his eye—looking at Poppy now and thinking back to the twenty-something poems and songs he’d come up about her already, a part of him hated to admit his brothers did indeed know him well.

Seemingly overnight, Branch ended up being the brother with the most responsibilities, even though both Clay and JD, thankfully, helped him with their respective processes. And Floyd was always there to offer emotional support, too, of course.

Point is, Poppy’s worries were understandable. The group was changing, they all had different interests now. John Dory, perfectionist tendencies aside, spent a lot of his time working on Rhonda and travelling around Troll Kingdom, even if he claimed it was to gain inspiration for new songs. Spruce was going to get married, and he already spent long periods of time helping Brandy out at her restaurant in her native Vacay Island. Clay was a licensed CPA, as into safety procedures as Branch was, and he moderated Pop Village’s Sad Book Club. And Floyd put years of mediating his brothers’ arguments to good use and underwent psychology training, as well as branched out to other genres and became the lead vocalist of an indie death metal band.

…Branch had to admit the last one took him aback more than it should have.

And with Brozone-related activities and concerts becoming more and more far and in between, it was no wonder their fans feared they might be retiring soon.

“Of course, I do.” He told her honestly, a kind smile playing on his lips. “That’s essentially my life you’re talking about!”

Poppy’s expression turned sheepish. “Oh! Well, I suppose, when you put it like that, you’d obviously understand…” She trailed off, chuckling awkwardly. Somehow, this meeting was both going exactly as she’d ever dreamed of, and not at all like she’d been expecting…

Maybe agreeing to meet up with her celebrity crush had not been the smartest move on her part. Her brain felt like mush whenever she stared into vibrant blue.

Sensing her discomfort, Branch went on, trying to ease her into the conversation. “Again, I do. But I can assure you, you have nothing to worry about; Brozone isn’t going anywhere in a long time.” Pausing for a second to think, he added, “In fact, I’d say we could really use some more impromptu performances. Show our fans we’re still here for them.”

“Trust me, I know a troll or two that would kill to see more of you guys.” Poppy added knowingly. She rolled her eyes with a good-natured shake of her head at what appeared to be some interesting memories.

Fully aware of the level of overzealousness some of their fans could reach, the blue troll gulped, feeling no inclination to know what his lovely companion was thinking about when her fond expression turned disturbed.

Finally, she dispelled whatever unsettling thoughts she was having with a frantic wave of her hands. “Anywho, I was thinking you guys might try performing in celebrations. At least, the ones that don’t overlap with your busy schedules.” She added after a beat, almost like an afterthought.

“‘Celebrations’?” Branch echoed, an eyebrow raised, intrigued. “What kind of celebrations? Because, full disclosure, John Dory is very adamant in not going back to singing for things like birthday parties, weddings, or funerals unless they’re a really big deal—like King Peppy’s fun-birthday! King Peppy’s super fun birthday party!”, he caught himself before he could say anything insensitive. Trolls did not take kindly to the mention of their leaders dying. And was it his imagination or did Poppy perk up slightly at the mention of the king? “He feels we’ve come too far to go back to our roots like that.”

Although JD’s sense of self-importance definitely played a key part in the band’s decision to only perform in their concerts or very specific events, Branch made a point to omit the fact that they weren’t exactly welcomed into such gatherings, either. At least not since he left a lasting impression on Uncle Ron Sr.’s wife during her birthday, her wedding, and her husband’s funeral…

Boy, looking back, that woman had some very intense couple of years.

Shaking his head from such thoughts, he let his gaze fall on Poppy, an action that was becoming second nature at that point, when she continued, “Yeah, I know. But I mean, do you think you guys would be opposed to singing in big events?”

“Poppy, we’re trolls. Everything we do is a big event.” He couldn’t help but deadpan. JD would surely call him out on it if he found out, but seriously, he once saw some trolls throwing a rager after realising they’d managed to divide their pizza equally, without the need to fight for the last slice.

Luckily for him, she seemed to take his words in stride, biting her lip as she giggled cutely and giving the boy band member a first row seat to the string of pearly white peeking from behind. How was it possible that this girl got more adorable by the second?

“Can’t argue with you there. But I was actually thinking about, say, performing live at the Electric Foam Parade?” She said coyly, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Branch’s jaw dropped in shock. “Are you kidding me? Of course we’d love to! The Electric Foam Parade is essentially the event of the year for musicians. Biggest show after the Trollings’ Choice Awards and the Glittery Awards ceremony!” As a wild grin overtook his face, he leaned a little closer to Poppy, his voice lowering into a whisper as if he were about to divulge some well-kept secret. “Between you and me, John Dory considers losing our spot to the TrollsTree Boys fifteen years ago to be his greatest failure.”

“Ugh, I’m so with him there!” Poppy agreed with a laugh. When she took notice of the blue troll’s questioning gaze, she hurriedly tried to correct herself. “Not on the ‘greatest failure’ part, of course. I-I-I I’m sure he did his best and you all worked very hard for it, just that finding out the TrollsTree Boys would be performing instead of you was such a total bummer.”

Branch allowed a playful smirk to tug at his lips. “Bet you refused to go the moment you found out.”

To his surprise, despite her laughter, Poppy actually shook her head. “I would’ve loved to. You know, standing with my favourite band in solidarity, as any good fan ought to do, but I just couldn’t. I was supposed to be there and couldn’t skip, you know?” She threw her head back, a groan escaping her throat. “Man, responsibilities sometimes suck, right?”

Even though Branch was nodding, as he honestly agreed with her assessment, a part of him couldn’t help but be puzzled at Poppy’s words. She was supposed to be at the Electric Foam Parade? How was that even possible? As much as any troll loved a good party, it wasn’t like they were morally obligated to attend them.

It wasn’t as if Poppy was King Peppy, for crying out loud!

Once again, his train of thought skidded to a halt when Poppy spoke up, unaware of the many questions circling around his mind. “Anyway, all the more reason to redeem yourselves and give it a try, right?” She gave a gentle nudge as she flashed him a smirk.

He smiled back. “Trust me, nothing would please my brothers more. Especially JD. And Spruce,” he added after a beat. “Oddly, he developed a sort of rivalry with the TrollsTree Boys’ own Heartthrob when his biggest fan left him for him.”

“The betrayal!” Poppy gasped, a hand over her heart.

“Tell me about it… You’d think he’d been actually dumped with the way he acted back then.”

“So? Isn’t that all the more reason to give it a try? To show everyone Brozone’s all set and ready to bro?”

“Hey, don't look at me!” Branch raised his hands up in surrender. “That’s not up to us, but rather, we’re granted the honour by King Peppy.”

“But what if you were granted the honour?” Poppy insisted, and the shimmering glint in her pink eyes betrayed a thousand thoughts going on behind them. Her body was practically buzzing with excitement, her grin stretched so wide Branch would have worried it might hurt her hadn’t he been so distracted by his heart thumping wildly in his ribcage. “Branch, what I’m trying to say is—.”

She never got to finish her sentence.

“Here you go! Roasted mushroom with marshtato tots and root beer for the gentleman, and chicken finger puppets with a chocolate milkshake for the lady!” Their waitress announced happily, setting down their food to enjoy. Smiling widely at the pair, she jabbed her thumb behind her, and for the first time that night, Branch took notice of the small stage in the centre of the room. “Today’s your lucky day; it’s karaoke night!” She sent a wink Poppy’s way. “You might get to listen to Mr. Popular over here sing you a song!”

As she left the two to enjoy their food and tend to the other customers, a grin spread over Branch’s face. She’d just given him a great idea.

Turning back to face Poppy, he found her staring down at their food in interest, the hunger reflected in her eyes. As she gingerly picked up a piece of chicken and dipped it into the honey mustard sauce—after a brief enactment of Hamlet, of course; it was only proper etiquette—, he caught her eye. Her brow furrowed in confusion when she noticed he wasn’t eating.

Taking a bite out of her food and swallowing, she asked, “Everything okay? Is your mushroom too well done, or not done enough?”

“Oh, no. It’s alright, don’t worry.” He answered, absentmindedly poking at the offending fungi with his fork. Setting the utensil aside, he cleared his throat. He could already feel his insides tingling at what he was about to do. “Hey, Poppy?” He called out to her. As soon as the captivating pink of her eyes met his gaze, he continued, “I was thinking that maybe I could do something to make your night really worth it. After all, you’re a Brozoner! It’s the least I can do to thank you for your support! It really means a lot, you know.”

The youngest member of Brozone felt an odd sense of accomplishment when her freckles got accentuated by the blush spreading across her cheeks. “Oh, Branch… You really don’t have to. You agreeing to meet up with me is more than enough already!”

She tried to brush his offer off with a modest wave of her hand. What she wasn’t counting on, however, was Branch gently taking her hand in his for the third—or was it fourth?— time that evening and looking at her like she was made out of glitter.

“Just let me take you to a better place.” He told her, his velvety voice impossibly soft.

Poppy could only nod dumbly at his request, her eyes wide and shimmering under the faint light as the handsome troll she had admired for so long wordlessly left the booth and made his way towards the little stage located in the middle of the pod. She let out a gasp. Was he really…?

As if on cue, her silent question was answered by Branch’s voice resonating throughout the space, immediately bringing all eyes on him like the superstar he was.

“Good evening, everyone! How’re we doing tonight?”

A cacophony of cheers and even cat calls answered back, making the blue troll chuckle fondly. Grabbing the mic and taking it off its stand, he spoke into the device. “I hope you don’t mind me hogging the spotlight for a little while. You see, I’m with a very special troll tonight,” as the words left his mouth, all eyes turned to follow his own gaze, which hadn’t strayed away from Poppy since they first met.

He absentmindedly noted how weird their silent astonishment at the sight of her was. Normally, when one of them went out on a date with one of their fans, trolls would be congratulating or even lightly teasing the lucky troll, but it wasn’t the case with Poppy. For some reason, they seemed surprised, but not as much as they would have been. Perhaps they were finally getting used to seeing fans around their idols?

Shaking those thoughts away, he went on. “We’re supposed to be having a good time, but I can’t help but feel like I haven’t exactly delivered. So, here’s to rectify such terrible oversight on my part.” He threw a wink the pink beauty’s way, causing the trolls gathered to squeal and swoon at the display. “This one’s for you, Poppy.”

Taking a deep breath, he let his velvety notes be carried over around the space. His tone, soulful and rich, strived to reflect his innermost feelings with each vibration of his voice. As he let himself be lost to the memory, his eyes searched Poppy’s, silently pleading for her mere presence to be his anchor and keep him grounded.

“So, many times

I thought, I held it in my hands

But just like, grains of sand

Love slipped, through my fingers

So, many nights

I asked, the Lord above

Please, make me lucky enough

To find a Love, that lingers”

It wasn’t Brozone’s most popular song. In fact, it technically wasn’t even one of their songs! At least not officially; they had never recorded it, let alone released it to the public. Despite how powerful of a melody it was, they just couldn’t bring themselves to capitalise on it.

It was the last thing they had of their parents, after all.

“Something, keeps tellin' me

That you could be, my answered prayer

You must be Heaven sent, I swear...

'Cause…”

Grandma Rosiepuff used to say their father had written that song to propose to their mother, and their parents would sing it to their precious trollings when they couldn’t sleep. Branch had been the only exception, his parents’ being taken barely a few days before he hatched. But his brothers and Grandma made sure he never forgot how much their parents loved each other and their family.

And now, something deep within his bones compelled him to sing it to Poppy. He doubled his efforts when he reached the chorus, desperate to properly convey the depths of his soul to the tantalising troll staring at him with so much awe in her eyes, it made him feel more important than a million fans screaming his name in a concert.

“Something happens when you look at me, I forget to speak

Something happens when you kiss my mouth, my knees get so weak

Could it be true, this is what God has meant for me

'Cause, baby I can't believe

That something, like you

...Could happen to me

Yeah-yeah...

Something, like you…”

It was like all her childhood fantasies had suddenly come true. Oh, how many nights had she dreamed of something like this? Of Brozone singing exclusively for her? Of Branch, her favourite by a long shot, dedicating her a song? All trolls longed for their special someone to serenade them, but should she dare believe Branch could be doing this beyond a sense of obligation given who she was?

For the moment, she chose not to care. Her eyes never leaving his dashing figure as he danced and sang his heart out on stage—all for her.

“Girl, in your eyes

I feel your fire burn (feel your fire burn)

Oh, your secrets, I will learn

Even if it takes forever...

With you, by my side

I can do, anything (can do, anything)

I don't care what tomorrow, brings

As long, as we're together”

Even as the other patrons cheered for him and swayed to the music, clearly enjoying the show and choice of song, Branch’s blue eyes were dead set on Poppy. Scrutinising her expression, her every move. She looked so happy, so touched. Almost as if this were the first time anyone ever broke into song just to let her know how utterly wonderful she was.

That wouldn’t do. If someone as enchanting as Poppy had never had anyone serenade her, what chances did the rest of us, mere mortals, have? He laced his voice with newfound intensity, a burning desire to make that pink angel feel as special as she was.

“My heart is tellin' me

That you could be, my meant to be

I know it, more each time we touch...

'Cause...

Somethin' happens when you look at me, I forget to speak

Something happens when you kiss my mouth, my knees get so weak

Could it be true, this is what God has meant for me

'Cause, baby I can't believe

That something, like you

Could happen to me”

Feeling the song coming to a close, Poppy followed her instincts, allowing her feet to guide her through the crowd of enthused viewers and closer to the wonderful troll turning what was supposed to be a simple meeting into one of the most spectacular nights of her life.

Coming up to the stage, she leaned against it, her head resting on her crossed forearms as she stared up at Branch adoringly. Surely, this wasn’t creepy or too obvious, was it? He was bound to have had countless fans do the same thing before, right?

For his part, upon noticing Poppy’s figure expertly and politely avoiding crashing into his small audience until she finally reached him, Branch crouched down next to her so their faces could be close enough for her to see the devotion shining behind his eyes. Surely, this was okay, right? There was nothing wrong with showing this beautiful, sweet, incredible troll that he cared, now was it? As long as Poppy had fun tonight, not even John Dory could reprimand him for anything.

“Something magical (something magical)

Something spiritual (something spiritual)

Something stronger than the two of us alone

...Yeah

Something physical

...Something undeniable (undeniable)

Nothing, like anything (anything)

That, I've ever known...

'Cause...

Something happens

When you look at me, I forget to speak

Something happens

When you kiss my mouth, my knees get so weak

Could it be true, this is what God has meant for me”

As the blue-haired troll allowed himself to get lost in Poppy’s stunning pink eyes, her captivating smile drawing him closer and shining so bright it could eclipse the sun, all Branch could think of was one thing:

He sincerely hoped Bruce had a wonderful marriage to Brandy and they had many kids. Like, a lot. Maybe something like twelve boys and one daughter.

It was the least they deserved for giving him the chance to meet the reason his heart beat at all.

“'Cause, baby I can't believe ...No

(That something, like you) Something, like you

(Something, like you)

That something, like you...

...Could happen to me

Can't believe, that you happened to me.”

.......................

After the spell the both of them seemed to be under was broken by the other patrons' raucous cheering and rounds of applause, Poppy and Branch went back to enjoy their dinner. They exchanged stories and playfully teased each other, with Poppy practically eating up each and every piece of gossip Branch could tell her about his brothers without really breaking their trust. In turn, Poppy, who seemed to be quite the adventurer, shared her own anecdotes of her time away from Pop Village. That one time she unknowingly ate a ballberry and blew up like a balloon was equal parts hilarious and disconcerting.

Oddly enough, she kept bringing up the idea of Brozone singing at all kinds of holidays, which if you knew Pop Village, were a lot. But understanding she was just a fan eager to see some more of her favourite boy band, Branch shrugged it off. If he were being honest with himself, knowing his siblings, especially their leader, they’d probably be down for it.

As the night drew to a close, Branch found himself escorting Poppy back to her pod, both out of gentlemanly obligation and uncontrollable desire to prolong the night as much as possible. Glancing around, he surmised the reason John Dory was so adamant the night was perfect was indeed because she had to have money; she certainly lived in one of the nicest parts of the village.

When they finally reached the door to her pod, it was clear neither wanted the night to end.

“I had a wonderful time, Branch. Thank you so much.” Poppy told him honestly, her appreciation reflected in her eyes and the grin playing on her lips.

“Trust me, Poppy. The pleasure was all mine.” He smiled back at her.

“And, um, please, do think about what we’ve talked about tonight, okay?” She pleaded, brushing her fringe away from her face shyly.

His smile morphing into a playful smirk, Branch pretended to think, tapping a finger against his chin. “What we’ve talked about tonight?” He asked no one in particular. Seeing Poppy’s suddenly distressed expression, he chuckled, letting go of the ruse. “Of course I remember, Poppy. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to my brothers about singing at some celebrations.”

The pink beauty let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank Troll! For a moment there I genuinely thought you’d forgotten! I’m…I’m really looking forward to seeing you all perform soon.”

Then, mustering her characteristic boldness, she closed the space between the two of them and planted a soft, sweet kiss on her beloved idol’s cheek. Her ears perking up when she heard him let out an almost inaudible gasp.

As Branch stood there, completely frozen, a hand tentatively reaching out to touch the spot where Poppy had just kissed him—it felt like it was on fire under his touch—, Poppy thanked him one last time for everything and went inside her pod, bidding him good night.

It took more time than Branch cared to admit for his brain to catch up with reality and for him to gain enough presence of mind to stop standing on Poppy’s door like a stalker and begin the trek back home. But Branch couldn’t care less. He was on cloud nine!

Who would’ve thought he’d find the love of his life in one of Brozone’s contests? Just waiting for him to notice her?

He was in such a good mood, upon descending into their bunker’s living room, one of the communal rooms it possessed, his brothers immediately perked up, taking notice of their baby brother’s unusual behaviour.

“I take it everything went well?” Floyd, ever the observant one, asked Branch as he flopped down next to him on the sofa. The magenta-haired brother had to admit it was a little weird seeing his younger brother look so happy, his smile hadn’t been so wide since he reached puberty, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

If anyone deserved to be smiling like a fool for once, it was Branch.

“It was wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.” Branch replied, his voice steeped in utter bliss.

“Oooooh, I know that look!” Spruce exclaimed, a knowing smirk planting itself on his features. With a few purposeful strides, he strutted over to the sofa, leaning against the armrest and peering down at his little brothers, but especially at Branch. “Somebody’s got a crush!”

That immediately got Branch on the defensive. “What?! No! I-I-I I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

If his stammering sounded suspicious to his ears, no doubt it sounded off to his brothers, too. Still, refusing to admit defeat, the blue-haired sibling crossed his eyes and resolutely avoided eye contact with Spruce, not unlike when he was a child pouting at something his brothers said.

“How cute! He’s blushing lavender!” Clay pointed out, looking up from his novel.

“Shouldn’t you be reading?” Branch snapped. To his chagrin, his blush only deepened.

To be honest, the middle child was behind on his Sad Book Club book of the month, but his catching up could wait. Teasing Branch was always such a delight, and the idea of his baby brother finally getting himself a girlfriend was too good to pass up on.

Unfortunately, just as he was about to quip back, their eldest brother’s voice interrupted their bickering.

“Oh, Branch. You’re back.” John Dory half-heartedly greeted him, looking up from the stack of documents in his hands for a second as he entered the room. Pulling a pen out of his hair, he worked diligently on the papers in his hands for a short while before returning his focus on his little brother. “Hey, listen man, thank you so much for filling in for me tonight. I swear, I would’ve gone myself, but these last few days work just kept piling up and if I didn’t finish making the last adjustments to Baby, You Drive Me Wild But I Think Our Relationship Is Fuelled Only by Excitement and Won’t Last tonight, it just wouldn’t be ready on time to be included in our next album!”

Branch was about to wave it off when something he said caught him off-guard.

“Wait, I was filling in for you?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Why? Is there a problem?”

“No, not really. I just thought I was filling in for Spruce, now that he’s off the market and all that…”

“And you are.” John Dory confirmed. At the same time as Spruce said, “And I couldn’t be more thankful for that.”

“But that’s only when we hold a contest among our fans and the prize is a date with one of us.” Their turquoise-haired leader continued, his eyes squinting in confusion at their baby brother.

“But you just said I was filling in for you tonight.” Branch insisted, his own confusion apparent.

“And you were!” John Dory threw his hands to his sides, not following. Seriously, they were going ‘round in circles.

As usual, it was Floyd who came to their rescue. Turning to Branch, he asked cautiously. “Branch, what did you think you were doing tonight?”

Branch was a little taken aback by the way Floyd phrased his question. It was almost like he knew something he didn’t. “Going on a date with the winner of our latest contest…” He said uneasily, suddenly hyper-aware of the astonished looks on his siblings’ faces.

“What?!” John Dory finally exploded. Taking a deep breath to force himself to calm down, he pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “Branch, for the love of everything trolly, please, tell me you didn’t treat Poppy like any other of our fans.”

Branch could confidently say he had not treated Poppy just like any other fan. “I…really didn’t.” Then, thinking back to her insistence that he tell his brothers her idea, he perked up. “Oh, she also had the greatest idea! She thinks we should totally perform during the village’s celebrations. And, you’d like to hear, JD,” he turned to his brother with a smirk, “she thinks we could be the main event at the Electric Foam Parade.”

And just like that, all the tension left their leader’s body. “Oh, thank frosting! I knew talking to Poppy about this was a good idea!”

“Dude, what are you talking about?” Spruce sent him a pointed look. “It was her who came looking for you, not the other way around. And you almost dismissed her as just another fan asking for an autograph!”

“And, you forget it was per my suggestion she came looking for you at all.” Clay pointed out, matter-of-factly. “It’s all thanks to me we even have this opportunity.”

As their three older siblings bickered amongst themselves, it was Floyd who noticed the utter confusion on his baby brother’s face. Staring intently at his face, and taking special note of the way his eyes lit up at the mention of the pink troll, his eyes widened when he connected the dots.

“Branch, is the girl you’ve fallen in love with Poppy?” He gasped.

The moment Floyd’s question registered in their ears, all three oldest brothers halted their childish argument, turning to stare owlishly in astonishment at their baby brother. Silently asking for confirmation.

His face turning a furious shade of lavender was all the answer they needed.

And their cue to lose their collective minds.

“Look at my baby bro! All grown up!” Spruce said proudly, wiping a fake tear off the corner of his eye. “And he has such great taste, too! A chip off the old block…”

“If you were his father!” Clay corrected.

“Hey, I basically raised you three! I can say whatever I want!”

Meanwhile, John Dory kept muttering to himself. “This was supposed to be just a meeting…How did this happen? I mean, Poppy is obviously a keeper but I just can’t seem to wrap my head around it…”

“All I know”, Clay began, his voice carrying over the room and over his brothers’, “is that Viva’s going to be ecstatic to hear my little brother and his little sister might end up together.”

At that, Floyd left his spot on the couch to put a sympathetic hand on the yellow-haired troll’s shoulder. Knowing Viva and her boundless energy, Clay was in for a long couple of weeks, at the very least.

“Wait, Viva?” Branch interrupted his siblings’ ramblings. “What does Viva and her sister have to do with anything?”

All four trolls exchanged a glance. “Um, Viva’s sister is Poppy?”

Branch made a psh! sound, incredulous. “That can’t be right. It can’t be my Poppy.” Ignoring the way his brothers cooed and teased him about referring to Poppy as his, he went on. “It’s gotta be some other troll.”

“I can very much assure you it’s not.” Clay insisted. “It’s the same Poppy.”

“C’mon, it’s gotta be a coincidence. Many trolls are named Poppy!”

“Do you know any?” This time, it was Floyd who spoke, gently encouraging him to realise what was truly going on.

“But that’s impossible! Because if Poppy is Viva’s sister that means…that means…” He trailed off, his voice tapering off and his eyes widening as he finally connected the dots.

Everything made so much sense now.

Everyone’s shocked yet polite reactions at seeing them together wasn’t because of him, it was all her! The way she kept bringing up matters that only the Royal family had any power over, like deciding the groups that would perform at Pop Village’s most prestigious celebrations. John Dory was right; it was never meant to be a date, it was an important meeting! …which also explained his insistence on everything going perfectly tonight; there was way too much on the line.

Not to mention, the way Poppy carried herself with an air of grace and elegance, yet had this aura that let you know she was perfectly approachable. No, scratch that. She was like a beacon of light, guiding and warming up your soul with a mere smile. Drawing you in like a moth to a flame.

Floyd exchanged worried glances with his brothers when Branch froze up like a Swag Stag in headlights. Their concern only skyrocketed when their baby brother hugged his knees to his chest and buried his face in them.

Just as he was about to ask if he was okay, Branch threw his head back, his hands rubbing down his face. “I can’t believe I'm in love with the Pop Princess, of all people. Talk about a frosting cliché.”

“Hey, language.” John Dory admonished lightly.

“If it’s any consolation, I mean it when I say you’ve got good taste.” Spruce tried to lighten up the mood. “I met her with JD, and she’s an absolute sweetheart.”

“Oh, a total keeper.” The eldest agreed.

Just then, an impish smile made its way to the sensitive brother’s face. “You know, I haven’t really interacted with Poppy all that much,” Floyd admitted, “but I remember her face when JD told her she would have to meet up with you.”

Despite himself, Branch’s ear perked up at that, listening with interest.

Floyd smiled to himself. “She was ecstatic! Seriously, like a trolling on their quarter-half-birthday! So I wouldn’t be too surprised if it turned out the Pop Princess is also in love with you.”

As always, Floyd knew just what to say to make him feel better. His mind going back to the look of utter adoration on her face as he sang to her, Branch dared to believe, even if just for a moment, that Poppy could ever come to love him, too, and her admiration wasn’t based solely on her love for Brozone.

Maybe, just maybe, he hadn’t made himself a complete fool in front of their princess.

“You know, she’s actually the Queen, now.” Clay reminded them. “Her coronation happened a few weeks ago, but we couldn’t make it due to incompatible schedules.”

Branch could feel his eye twitch.

“I boasted in front of the freaking Queen?!”

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blahblahblees · 2 months

Note

maybe lab rats bionic island chase x reader in which chase trains reader at the academy and over time they spend more time together training and start to fall for one another? (reader is in the red category) thank you!

ヽ｀、☁ヽ｀─── kiwi ミ chase davenport

✎ ·˚ ༘ ─── passionate about being the best and proving herself, chase davenport helps her train even more and falls for her in the process.

wc: 714

chase davenport x fem!reader (use of she/her pronouns)

tw: kissing (?)

a/n: ngl i had to do some research 😔 but to add, this prompt didn’t have any preferred pronouns used… in the future if it’s not stated if it’s a fem or masc reader i’ll use they/them pronouns :) in this case she/her is used

molecularkinesis — to have limited control of physical forces and to move and otherwise interact with objects and people of a certain number, size, speed and weight without physical contact and from a distance

THE DAVENPORT Bionic Academy had seen success in the few months that it’d been opened. Mr. Davenport had seen great progress with several of the students with the help of Adam (surprisingly), Bree, Chase, and Leo (another surprise). These students would soon follow in the lead of the siblings and help save the world with training they had received.

But one students wanted nothing more than to be the best. To prove herself. She wanted to be the one who stepped out of this academy with great success. She wanted Mr. Davenport to see her a someone worthy of being sent out on missions and coming back as successful.

Which is why she trained for days. She would train herself with the lessons prior and ranked up to be label in the red category. She was practically at the top of the leaderboard and she wasn’t going to let that slip from her fingers.

She would take the lessons she learned from Adam, Bree, Chase, and Leo, and continued to train without their guidance.

But one day, Chase happened to make his rounds around the academy and saw her training by herself, using her bionic against no one else but the practice dummies they continuously had sent out to them.

“What are you doing?” Chase called.

She turned quickly, sweat dripping down her skin as she faced him.

“Practicing.” She answered quickly.

Chase stepped further into the room, placing his tablet on a nearby ottoman and grabbed her hands and kicked her feet apart.

“When sparring, you never want them to know your next move.” He said, adjusting her hands. “Don’t be afraid to use your molecularkinesis. It’s a powerful thing that not many bionics have.”

She sighed, shaking her hands from Chase’s grasp.

“I’ve never used it before.”

Chase nodded. “Then we’ll practice, you and I.”

AND OVER time Chase found himself training her more than Adam, Bree, and Leo and that’s because he wanted to spend time with her.

She seemed timid, but confident in her own skills. And she was a great fighting. She had the agility and strength that most of the others had gain with the help of others, but she had it come to her naturally.

She was a great sparing partner and the flexibility that made for great combat. She could find herself becoming a leader like himself in no time.

But he didn’t really want that.

I mean, he did want that for her. She wanted that for herself. Time and time again, she proved to herself and the others around that she had the ability to be a leader… but becoming a leader meant that she didn’t really need the training anymore.

But Chase would push that aside when it came down to actually training with her overtime. His focus would be on her and her only.

“Remember what I said.” Chase said. “Never let them know your next move.”

She nodded, holding the staff the two of them weee using for today and took her position. She took in one last deep breath and stepped forward, the two of them now sparring.

She was able to sideswipe him with her staff. She stepped forward, jabbing the staff towards his as he swiftly dodged her shots.

He was able to tuck and roll his way around her, but as he began to stand, his back had been turned towards her.

She took the opportunity to take her staff and use it to knock the boy back down towards the ground.

Chase rolled over on his back, his hands up. “Good job.” He smiled.

She returned the small smile and held his hand out for her to grab.

He took hers in his swiftly, but used that as an opportunity to pull her down towards the ground, rolling the two of them over. Chase now laying on top of her.

“Never let them know your next move.” He muttered.

They were both breathing heavily, adrenaline still pumping through their veins from the mock fight. But as Chase looked down at her, his eyes intense.

Without a word, Chase leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. It was a gentle, tentative kiss at first, but as he pulled back, he started to apologize for his actions.

But before he could finish his sentence, she broke leaned up and pressing her lips to his once again. This time, the kiss was more confident and intense, as though she was trying to prove a point.

As they finally pulled away, both of them were breathing heavily.

"You don't have to be sorry.” She smiled.

Chase smiled back at her, relief flooding through him.

You never let them know your next move.

— lucy has something to say !!

i like this i think :)

but regardless, my requested are opened!

you should check out my rules and such before requesting and check out my masterlist to see who i write for!

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the-common-cowgirl · 1 year

Text

The Lost Children- (Osferth x Fem!Reader)

Part 1

Summary: Life was peaceful, living in a nunnery since before you could remember until a wild man by the name of Uhtred and his band of “pretty boys” come and steal you away. Uhtred says you are his lost daughter by a woman named Brida. You don’t like him. You don’t like his daughter and son, who are apparently your younger siblings. And you definitely don’t like his men except for maybe one. Osferth is his name.

Pairings: Osferth x Reader

Word Count: 2k

Warnings for the series: +18, Minors DNI. Smut. Fluff. Angst. Cannon typical sexism. Swearing. AFAB. Fem!Reader. Graphic depictions of violence.

Warnings for Part 1: mentions of blood, fluff, cannon typical sexism, Angst, AFAB.

This will be a mini-series exclusive to Tumblr! I am wanting to build my following on here and what better way than writing about Tumblr’s favorite “Baby Monk.”

Part 2 Here

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“LET ME GO!” You screamed as one of the men that was sent in to the nunnery hauled you away kicking and thrashing over his shoulder.

“No can do lady.” The man huffed out his reply through labored breaths. He didn’t have to sprint. It wasn’t like the nuns were chasing after them. Knowing how they felt about your temper and overall demeanor, you thought they would be rather happy to get rid of you. Though, after being there for nearly seventeen years, one would think that they’d have grown found of you. But, as you raised your bobbing head, looking at the convent as the man carrying you away trudged quickly through the mud, you saw the nuns just looking at you from the steps, of the chapel with their hands clasped in front of them in contentment.

“Stupid whores,” you mumbled quietly to yourself.

The man carrying you barked out a, “What did you just call me Lady?”

You shrieked and remembered him and his companions were currently carrying you away from the only home you’d ever known. Anger had taken your attention away from the real situation at hand, escaping.

Realizing you could free a wrist with the slack in the knot on your hands, you quickly made work wiggling your left hand free of the binds. When you nearly had your hand free, the man carrying grasped your hips and you threw you to the ground, knocking the wind out of your lungs.

Closing your eyes and gasping you tried to regain your breath. You were vaguely aware of a man with a strange accent lightly scolding the man who was carrying you, “Careful Osferth!”

Coughing, you tried to get to your feet quickly, before they could harm you or worse. As you began to sit up, you heard the man, Osferth say regretfully, “Sorry, Lord.”

“Uhtred, we need to get out of here quickly, before Brida catches us!” Another man said. “Sihtric, Osferth, get the horses over here quickly.”

Oh, that’s why they were moving in haste, someone else is coming…

You got to your feet, quickly lunging toward the man who was giving orders and grasping a knife from his belt with the hand you freed in their panic to reach the horses. The bindings fell off your other hand without the tension of the left. “Who are you men? What do you want with me?”

The man, Uhtred, who seemed to be the leader and the other man who’s name you had heard Osferth yell for to help him when he tried binding your hands the first time and you bit him, Finan, both stood with frustrated looks on their faces as you held the knife dangerously in their direction. The both acted as if they didn’t have time for your antics, not threatened. You so hoped that they didn’t challenge you, call your bluff. There was no way you’d be able to fight, you didn’t know how, you grew up in a nunnery. But if there was a chance to run, you might get free, running you were good at.

So you took your best bet and hurled the knife at Finan, hoping it stuck him as you turned and ran the opposite direction, into the trees. Your heavy skirt billowed in the wind your path created but you knew gathering it wouldn’t make you much faster, in fact it would slow you down. You pumped your arms and didn’t look aback, afraid taking that liberty would also slow you down. Life at the nunnery wasn’t ideal but four men trying to kidnap you was worse, for you had no idea what was in store for you with them.

You made it a great distance before you heard footsteps, no, hoofbeats come up beside you quickly. Turning to the sound of the approaching horse to see if it was friend or foe, you saw Osferth jumping off the horse and sprinting in your direction. You turned to run but before you could make it two strides he had tackled you and you head hit the ground painfully, making the world go black.

That was half a month ago.

Now, you’ve settled into the little pack. There is another woman, Eadith who has tended to your head wound. Along with a young boy, Aethelstan who is quiet and the biggest suprise of all, your sister, Stirrora. Like you, she is willful and reckless but she is much more capable than you when it comes to a weapon, even though she is a couple years younger than you.

Uhtred, your father, has told you of your parentage. How he believed Brida was barren after she lost their first child and didn’t know of you until Brida decided to use your existence against him. When he took you from the convent that day, you didn’t know it, he had no time to explain, but Brida was set off to kill you. To bring your head, her own daughter’s head, to her father. At least, that’s what she told Uhtred, though, he believes she would never have been able to do it.

He explained that she never told anyone of you, she wanted to kill you as a babe in her womb but decided against it, to wait until you were born and see if she had any love for you then. She did not love you after you were born so she decided to drop you off at the nearest nunnery, hoping she’d one day find a love for you and steal you back…but it never came.

He said he knew you were his daughter by the wild look in your eye that was so reminiscent of Brida’s when they made their way into the nunnery demanding the nuns to release “Dane Child,” as Brida informed Uhtred they called you.

And she was right, they did call you the “Dane Child.” To find out, the nickname you grew up with was wrong was a point of great laughter for you. You were mocked by the nuns endlessly in your seventeen years there. To go back and see the look on their face when you proudly admitted you were of Saxon blood, not Dane would be the greatest gift God could give you.

But you couldn’t, because not long after Uhtred and his men stole you from the convent, Brida got there. She killed every nun and burnt the convent down. You felt no love for the nuns as they made your life a living hell based on the assumption you were Dane, but those other girls? The girls you grew up with, you had a kinship with. Your heart broke for them. You weeped for three days on and off, praying to God and Odin both that they found peace in their death.

And Osferth, your father’s youngest man, the one who was a monk turned warrior prayed with you and offered counsel when no one else seemed to be able to understand how you hated that place, but loved those girls. Osferth knew because that was his life as a child too. He grew up in a monastery, he knew the great love and great hate that comes with growing up in a place like that but, he was much tamer in personality than you.

When you swore a great revenge on Brida, a bloody, ruthless revenge for everything she had ever done to you, anyone else or what she had yet to do, Osferth tried to talk sense to you. To explain that Brida was a powerful enemy to have. When you demanded he allow you to leave the camp, take a horse, find her and kill her, he offered to train you with the sword first. To delay your departure and death; and you accepted.

Today is the first day of training. Your strength from your head injury has returned and you’ve grown accustomed to traveling now so you’re less sore. Osferth led you out to a flat landing in the forest where the morning dew was still stuck to the tall grass. It nearly soaked your skirts walking through it. Osferth turned in the bare clearing and tossed a sheathed sword to you. You caught the heavy blade with a “hmpf,” surprised at the weight of the sword. Uhtred and his men made them look weightless. Unsheathing the blade, it felt ungodly long in your hands and you looked it at in marvel.

“I decided to pick a smaller size for you since your arms aren’t quite used to swinging a sword.” Osferth offered a small smile but his admission that the blade was small offended you. You just sat there with the sword in your hand, glaring at him. “Oh, you look so dangerous,” he said sarcastically, chuckling to himself.

“I don’t think the Baby Monk should be mocking about who looks dangerous,” you warned. Since you had found out that Osferth had an embarrassing nickname that he didn’t like, you used it against him whenever he mocked you in jest, and for some reason, he often did.

“Ah, sorry. Forgot the Dane Child is the one who knows how to wield a blade.” Two could play your game and Osferth could use your loathed nickname against you too.

You just furrowed your brows and unceremoniously whirled the blade at him in anger. Osferth nonchalantly deflected with his own blade and stepped out of the way of your attack. “If you want to learn, you’re going to have to leave your anger behind at the campsite and listen to me.”

Your face had a pinched expression and you looked at the ground in defeat. You were barely started with your first lesson but it was apparent to you, you’d never learn. You were too old to learn to fight with a blade plus you were a woman, both reasons Uhtred gave when he objected to teaching you. Those were the same reasons Sihtric and Finan gave too. Finan decided to add in a jab that if you did somehow learned to wield a blade, he wouldn’t feel safe sleeping at night knowing you have Brida’s blood running through your veins. That comment garnered a warning look from Uhtred.

But Osferth couldn’t say no to you. Because, unbeknownst to you, he’d been pining after you since he accidentally knocked you unconscious when you tried to run from their protection. How you looked angelic as your blood flowed from the wound on your head. He thought you’d have died and even though he didn’t know you, he began to mourn you. You were a wild beauty, even the time you bit his hand when he first met you. What sealed his heart was your own heart. How you grieved over the loss of your companions in the nunnery and how you pretended to be cold and heartless, yet had shown everyone by your grief, you had a heart. He wished he could see you laugh, he hadn’t seen that yet. Just small smiles and maybe a chuckle or two at Finan’s joking but he hadn’t seen you laugh.

More than that, he wanted to see you happy. Truly happy. You’d been mournful and sad since they had saved you from the attack on the nunnery. When you fell asleep with the children and while the men and Eadith were still awake, sitting around the fire and acting as lookouts, they often discussed you. Uhtred had written you off as being cold like Brida and he seemed to have accepted you will always be that way. Sihtric and Finan quietly agreed but every now and then, added in certain times when you were helpful or kind to one of the kids. Eadith vehemently disagreed not knowing Brida but knowing there was a kindness and warmth in you that was, in her words “stuffed down deep inside.” She insisted that sometime, sooner or later, you’d come out of your shell. Osferth never agreed or disagreed any of those times. He just stared into the fire thinking about the blood pooling from your head and his stomach churned.

“Okay,” you said nodding toward Osferth with the sword in your hand limply, “I’ll listen. Show me how to fight.”

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I’ve never done a tag list but I wouldn’t be opposed to learning so if you want to be tagged, please let me know!

Please reblog if you like this fic!

#fanfic #smut #author #the last kingdom #osferth #female reader #osferth x reader

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