#it was actually meant to come up earlier but I decided to save it for near the finale because Im so proud of it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

writerslittlelibrary · 2 months

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Don't worry about a thing

masterlist

summary: your parents needed the extra money, even if it meant making you work for it. what happens when two women disagree with your parents methods?

pairing: dark!Wandanat x teen reader, dark!Yelena x teen reader, dark!Melina x teen reader, dark!Bucky x teen reader, dark!Alexei x teen reader

warnings: alcoholism, dark Wandanat, dark themes, kidnapping, it’s kinda fluff as well

genre: angst, fluff

words: 2690

a/n: this kinda turned from dark!wandanat to a very soft fic. I mean, reader still gets kidnapped, but Wandanat are so sweet about it… :)

You do not have my permission to repost, copy or translate my work

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You had been working in the cafe for a while. Your parents needed the money, and to be honest, you needed it too.

Your parents had been drinking since you were a young child, and you now you were a teenager, which means it is legal for you to work. Your parents didn’t hesitate to push you towards a job. With all their money going to alcohol, they needed your money for either food, or more drinks.

On the side, you would save a little bit of money, trying to save enough to hopefully one day go to college.

Today it was a day like any other.

You had just gotten back from school, and you went to the cafe immediately. However, this time was a little different. For the last couple of weeks, you had the weird feeling that someone was watching you. There had been a few people that asked about a lot of details from you, which creeped you out a bit.

At first, it was a red-headed woman. She looked to be around her thirties, and she was very kind.

Then, there was a brown haired woman. She asked how you were doing, whether you were still in school, and also how you would be getting home. She seemed concerned for your safety. After all, it had been late that day.

Then, a blonde haired woman had walked in. She went into the cafe with a dog, and after ordering for herself and her dog, she offered to walk you home. You had told her that you were fine, and that your father was picking you up, but as usual, he hadn’t showed up. The woman insisted on walking you home, and you had allowed her. What was the harm, right? She was very kind and respectful, and her dog was nice.

After that, you had a week of boring people, as usual. People who didn’t give a single shit about your life. People that only cared about the fact that they had been waiting on their coffee for five whole minutes.

You figured you had just been imagining things, and that the three women you had met where just genuinely kind.

However, after that week ended, weirdly invasive people started to come into the cafe again.

At first it was a man. He was wearing gloves, and he looked a little scary. His hair was brown, and he was tall and looked strong. However, when he ordered you decided he was actually very sweet. He talked with you the entire night, thanking you when you served him his drinks and food, and he tipped very well.

A week later, this week, you spotted the red haired woman from a few weeks ago sitting at one of the tables.

She wasn’t alone this time. The brown haired woman, who you had seen earlier as well, was sitting beside her. You walked up to them with a smile, pushing your odd feelings down and getting ready to serve them just like any other day.

The women smiled at you, and after giving you their order, they continued a conversation of their own.

You brushed your anxiety off of yourself, making their drinks and continuing with your shift. However, after serving them and getting back to another costumer, the man you had seen earlier walked in. He looked a little angry, but smiled kindly when he met your eyes. You smiled back, but before you could ask for his order, he went to sit down with the other two women.

Again, you didn’t think much off it, rather just pushing the anxiety away and continuing with your job.

It started to get really weird, though, when the blonde haired woman walked in. She was accompanied by her fluffy dog, which didn’t hesitate to greet you with a wagging tail. You bent down to pet him, when you noticed a slightly red streak running along his fur.

You went to brush your hand over it, but the dog retreated back to it’s owner.

She smiled at you and stopped at the bar, ordering the same thing she ordered a few weeks ago. After doing so, she went to sit down with the other man and women. Why did they know each other? Had it been a coincidence that you had all seen them before? Were they watching you?

You shook the thoughts from your head, preparing the woman’s order, putting some whipped cream into a cup for her dog, before bringing it over to the table.

You put it down with a smile, grabbing the empty two cups and asking if you could get them anything else.

“We’re alright, sweetheart,” the brown haired woman spoke with a gentle smile.

You nodded and retreated back to the counter, ready to serve other costumers, before you realised, there were no other costumers.

The entire cafe was empty, minus the four people sitting in the corner.

Odd, this was usually such a busy time.

You didn’t think much off it, rather deciding to start cleaning up a bit in the hopes of getting home earlier tonight. When you were about to shut off the coffee machine you heard the little bell ring, indicating that another costumer had walked in.

You turned to look at them, discovering that it was a tall, large man. He had tattoos covering his arms, and a long beard. He was followed by a woman, who smiled at you before she pulled the man over to the table where the other people were sitting. You hadn’t seen them before, but you did find it odd.

When your colleague told you she was heading home for the night, you agreed to closing up, telling her to get home safe.

After she left, you glance over at the table impatiently. They had been sitting there for hours, and you wanted to get home on time tonight. You still had a few tests to study for, and there was a project you were supposed to hand in yesterday.

You stood impatiently at the counter until the blonde woman walked up to you. You had hoped she wanted to pay, but instead she simply asked for a donut.

You hid your annoyance and got her what she wanted, smiling at her when you handed the sweet treat over.

“How are you getting home today?” she asked as she took the donut from you, taking a bite.

“My father was supposed to pick me up, but I suppose I’ll be walking once again,” you replied, closing the treat cabinet.

“I can give you a ride if you’d like. My parents are probably leaving with my sister anyway, so there will be a car left that I’ll have to drive,” she explained, giving her dog a few pets when it excitedly walked over to her. She snuck the dog some pieces of the donut while praising her for being such a good girl.

“That’s very kind, but I’m sure I’ll be fine,” you replied, not wanting to get into a strangers car.

“Don’t be silly. It’s no problem, I promise. A young girl like you shouldn’t be out on the street alone at this time. It’s dangerous, someone could hurt you,” the woman reasoned, and you thought for a moment before agreeing.

It did seem dangerous to walk home alone in the dark, and this woman was very kind. There was no way that she would hurt you.

“If you’re certain that it won’t be a problem…” you said, and you watched the woman shake her head.

“Of course not. Besides, Fanny would love the extra cuddles,” the woman explained, giving her dog, Fanny, a few scratches behind her ears.

You turned around, missing the sign the woman gave to the other people at the table. They got up, walking towards the door. The red headed woman stayed behind, telling the others she would be there soon.

She walked over to the counter, giving Fanny a few pets before pulling out her wallet.

“I’d like to pay for the whole table, please,” she told you as she grabbed her card. You nodded and typed in the amount on the device.

After paying, she thanked you and walked out of the cafe.

“I’m Yelena, by the way,” the blonde woman said as she waited for you to close everything up. “I’m y/n,” you told her, locking the register and walking out from behind the bar.

“This way,” she said as she led the way out of the cafe, waiting for you to lock the door before opening the door of her car.

You were about to get in before Fanny jumped into the car before you, settling in the middle of the couch chair. Yelena drove a truck, so it was easy to fit three people on the chair. You got in after Fanny, sitting beside her and petting her head when she laid her head on your lap.

Yelena got into the drivers seat, closing the door and starting the car.

“Here, you must be thirsty after working for so long,” she said as she handed you a bottle of water.

“Thank you,” you thanked her as you opened it, taking a few sips.

“Who was your sister?” you asked Yelena after a little while. She turned to you with a smile, rubbing Fanny’s fur.

“The red head, Natasha. She’s my sister. The big guy, with the long beard, that’s my dad, and the woman with dark brown hair is my mom,” Yelena explained, focusing back on the road. “The cafe you work at is close to our work space, so we come there a lot, but we’ve never been there together.”

“What kind of work do you do?” you asked her curiously.

“We take care of business. Make sure people pay… taxes… that sort of stuff,” Yelena explained, although she weirdly paused before mentioning taxes. You nodded, focusing on the world outside.

After a few minutes of silence, you started to get a bit dizzy, grabbing onto the dashboard to steady yourself as black spots took over your vision.

“Everything alright?” Yelena asked, concern lacing her voice.

“Just a little dizzy…” you explained, taking a few deep breaths in the hopes of clearing your vision.

“That happens sometimes after doing a lot during the day, especially for girls your age. You should drink a bit more water and take a few deep breaths. It’ll pass,” Yelena told you, and you nodded as you gulped the leftover water in the waterbottle down.

You sat back, taking a few deep breaths and looking out the window, suddenly noticing the road you were at didn’t look familiar.

“This isn’t my street…?” you asked Yelena, who merely shrugged.

“There is construction that way, so I figured we’d avoid it,” she reasoned, turning on her turn signal and steering into another unfamiliar road.

You were about to protest, but the spots in your vision took over nearly everything, and you suddenly felt to dizzy to talk. You tried to say something, but you couldn’t even remember what happened after as you lost consciousness completely.

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You groaned slightly when you woke up, the sun blinding your vision as you covered your eyes with your hands. You turned around in the bed, pulling the covers a little higher a closing you eyes again, fully prepared to go back to sleep.

Suddenly, you sat up in a fright, looking around the room and taking in you surroundings. You never got home lat night.

You don’t remember anything past the points of being dizzy.

You threw the covers away, standing up from the bed, ignoring the slight dizziness as you walked over to the window. As soon as you pulled the curtains open, all you could see was snow. What the actual fuck. It never snowed where you were from.

You ran towards the door, surprised when it opened immediately.

You looked out into the hallway, making sure it was clear before you made your way downstairs. You could hear chatter coming from what you assumed was the living room, and so you tried to go around it, heading towards the front door, or atleast, what looked like the front door.

You almost thought you weren’t spotted, until you heard a voice coming from the living room.

“If you’re going outside, don’t forget your boots and jacket. Winters are very cold around here.”

You stopped dead in your tracks, frozen in place as the voice spoke so casual. If she knew you were leaving, why didn’t she try to stop you? You hesitated a moment, unsure of what to do as you looked at the rack of shoes. Your shoes were there, together with a vast variety of boots.

“If you’re hungry, there is also some breakfast,” the voice spoke again, and you took a deep breath before deciding to follow it.

You walked into the living room, seeing all five people sitting on a few couches.

The red headed woman, Natasha, was sitting at the edge of the couch with the brown haired woman beside her. Natasha was scrolling on her phone while the other woman was reading a book.

After they noticed you arrived in the living room, the woman put her book away.

“Where am I?” you asked quietly, glancing over at Yelena who was watching something on the tv. You couldn’t understand the language, and you figured it must’ve been something slavic.

“You’re home,” the woman smiled softly, getting up from the couch and reaching for your hand.

“We figured we’d let you sleep in, so I put some breakfast in the fridge for you,” she explained as she led you towards the kitchen, letting go of your hand and opening the fridge, pulling out a plate of waffles.

You went to sit down at the barstool, leaning on the kitchen island, debating on what to say next.

“Who are you…?” you asked hesitantly, afraid to upset her.

“My name is, Wanda, but you may call me mom, and Natasha is mama,” Wanda stated simply, squirting some whipped cream on the waffles before topping them off with some fresh fruit.

“... What…?”

“I understand that it may be a bit confusing, but I promise you you will be happy here. We will make sure you will never have to worry about anything another day in your life,” Wanda explained, smiling as she put the plate of food in front of you.

“What about my parents?” you asked, and Wanda just smiled.

“You don’t have to worry about them hurting you ever again, I promise.”

You nodded slightly, staring at the plate of waffles.

“So you kidnapped me?”

Wanda chuckled a bit, sitting down across from you and pouting you a glass of your favourite juice. “I guess you could call it that, although that is not our intention. We love you, and we’ll show that to you,” she explained, putting the glass of juice down in front of you.

You hesitated before you felt your belly rumble in hunger, staring at the plate of waffles for only a second longer before you dug in, enjoying the amazing tasty treat.

“Why me?” you asked after taking a breath, taking a sip from your juice and staring at Wanda.

“You are special. You might not understand it, but you are special, and we love you. You are perfect,” Wanda explained, smiling as Natasha joined you in the kitchen.

“Don’t worry about it too much, malysh. You will love it here, and you will have everything you could dream off,” she said, giving you a kiss on your forehead. She reached over to the cabinet, grabbing a glass and filling it with some juice as well.

“If you want, I can take you outside later, or you could explore the house a little if that’s what you prefer,” Natasha suggested, and you nodded.

“Okay,” you simply said, taking another bite of your waffles.

You were confused beyond comprehension, yet for some reason, you felt safe. You knew you were safe, and for the first time in your life, you felt content.

Permanent tags: @marvelnatasha12346 @lesbionion @nova-kyle @darkstar225 @saraaahsstuff @marvelwomenarehot0 @screechcat @iheartjohansson @tia-thesimp @swaqcenix @karmasgxrl @marvel-lous3000 @n0txn3vee @lorsstar1st

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generalllimaginesss · 5 months

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How many pick up lines will it take to get you to go out with me?" jack trying to get the reader to go out with him by asking her a million pick up lines

Jacky boy!! Thank you for requesting!! I hope you like it!!

••

The world knows Jack Hughes as good with the ladies. How couldn't he be? He was one of the best looking up-and-coming players in the league, but you knew him as the family friend that was hopelessly in love with you, though the feelings were not quite as mutual.

Jack and your older brother were teammates from the very beginning, finding a close friendship while being on the same team as him, the very first team they were on actually. Throughout the years they may have gone different directions, but they always found time to spend together.

Jack had found his way to your family's house during his break for the holidays, where you happened to be while on break from school. Your brother and parents were out doing something, deciding that it was a good idea to leave Jack home alone with you since you would never entertain anything with Jack.

As you watched Christmas Vacation, snuggled into the recliner, Jack scrolled through his phone, sitting across the room on the couch. You were able to get about 20 minutes into the movie without any interruptions, but Jack decided it would be a good idea to ruin that.

"Hey, Y/N...can you take a look at my phone? I think something is wrong with it. I can't seem to find your number..." He cheekily smiled at you.

"Jack, you dumbass...you've had my number since we were in middle school," You groaned, rolling your eyes as you directed your focus back on the tv. Everybody knew Jack was head-over-heels in love with you. Your parents didn't worry about the two of you home alone, though, because they knew you found him incredibly annoying.

He chuckled, reading something on his phone and once again interrupting your movie.

"Hey, Y/N...do you have a pen?" He could barely talk without laughing.

"Why do you need a pen?" You looked at him, annoyed displayed clearly on your face as your eyebrows furrowed.

"So I can write out our future together..." He giggled as he said it, but it made you want to throw up.

You snorted, "Trust me, there's no ink required for that because you have no future with me."

Jack began to bite his pinky nail, a grin spreading as he continued to read the list of pickup lines he had saved on his phone, "Do you have a sunburn, or are you always this hot?"

His eyes immediately darted towards you, mischief glinting from them as he waited for your response.

"It's the middle of December in Michigan...do I look like I have a sunburn?" You didn't even bother to look at him at this point, unimpressed with his attempts to charm you.

"I think I need to call the police...it's illegal to look as good as you," He couldn't keep his composure at that one, snickering as he watched you roll your eyes and throw your water bottle at him. He caught it with ease to your disappointment. You were aiming at his face.

"If anybody calls the police it's going to be me because you're annoying as fuck and will not quit harassing me," You turned the tv off, there was no point in trying to watch it when he wouldn't shut up.

"Oh yeah, I meant to ask earlier, but do you like my shirt?" He looked down at it and looked back up at you.

You made eye contact with him as you looked at his shirt, realizing it was just another t-shirt, "I guess...there's nothing special about it, though."

"Oh, you didn't notice? It's made out of boyfriend material," His smile only grew wider after each pickup line.

"God, you're such a loser," You groaned as you turned your attention to your phone.

"Come on," He whined, "...how many pick pick up lines will it take for you to go out with me?"

Chortling, you locked eyes with him as you got up from your spot in the recliner, "I would not be caught dead on a date with you."

He groaned, defeated, but only for now. He'd break you eventually, he was sure of it.

You were going to head to your room, but the sound of your brother walking in from the garage caught your attention. He was bringing some groceries in when you confronted him.

"If you don't get your friend, you might not have one anymore," You threatened.

He sighed, "Jack, stop hitting on my sister!"

A laugh erupted from the living room, followed by Jack meeting the two of you by the door.

"I make no promises," He smirked, helping bring in the rest of the groceries.

#nhl imagine #nhl fic #jack hughes #nhl fanfiction #quinn hughes #trevor zegras #alex turcotte #cole caufield #jack hughes imagines #nico hischier #jack hughes x reader #jack hughes imagine #jh86

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yourdakg · 2 months

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Donation Found!

Remember Ryder? The SoCal pretty boy who was depressed that his life was a vapid, superficial, and party focused existence? He contacted Turnaround Technologies to ask, nay plead for a new body and a new life. See his Donation Request Form.

If only it were that simple. Turnaround Technologies utilizes some of the most advanced science on the market. When a body is fully adjusted, it's a slow and sometimes torturous process! If it was as simple as switching brains, that would be one thing. But the subjects have to physically transform into one another, and then brainwaves are overwritten. Chemistry, genetics, biology, and psychology are all involved in this elaborate process.

So Ryder had to come up with the $325,000 fee. Luckily, he had money saved and he was able to sell off the red Mustang convertible and his yellow Yamaha Sport Bike to meet the target. The final straw was giving up the deed to his WeHo apartment. Don't tell him, but his donor bought the items! Isn't that funny? He covered the rest with personal loans! Well, a little bit of debt won't hurt.

Let's remind you of where Ryder is starting his journey:

And now let's the see information plate for his donor. I think he'll be very pleased! After this, he'll never have to worry about being surrounded by vapid, beautiful people and fending off pesky pool party invites! Yes, this is the ideal swap partner for Ryder.

Meet Dr. Pervus Fondler. And wouldn't you know it? Dr. Fondler was a doctor in Ryder's hometown! They actually know each other. The good doctor cares very deeply for Ryder and was pained when he heard about his current circumstances. He decided that his job as a physician meant he had to step up and give the ultimate sacrifice! You know what they say: First Do No Harm.

Donor Statement: While I am nervous about the process, I am confident that I will give Ryder a new future, one where he won't have to worry about all that vanity and his gym obsession. True freedom for the boy!

Thank you, doctor, for going the extra mile for your patients. Turnaround Technologies will prepare the Exchange Chambers. Both subjects will be stripped down and cleansed before being placed in metallic, moisture wicking bikinis while our technicians prepare for the process:

Now that Ryder is dressed and the drugs are injected into his system, it's time to introduce him to his generous benefactor. I hope he has a positive reaction to the kind of man he will become. Let's check in!

Patient Statement: No! Holy shit! No, not Pervus the Perv! You can't put me in that. Don't force me into that body! I'd be going from a perfect ten to a zero. Please! No... LET GO. Please, oh my God. No, I thought it would be another buff guy like me. I change my mind, I changed my mi--**UMPH HRRMPH**

It's not clear why Ryder objected so strongly to his partner. Maybe it was the shock of knowing who the doctor was from earlier in his life. At any rate, he paid the fee and signed the paperwork so there is, quite literally, no going back. Swaps of this nature are once in a lifetime and, of course, quite permanent.

Subject had to be forcibly gagged and sedated.

Add another $125,000 for the service. Ryder sure is going to pay a lot of money for his new life!

When he came to in the chamber, Ryder was pounding on the door. I think he was crying. His oversize genitalia were mashed against the glass in his silver pouch. It was quite the sight. When the whirr of the machine began and the paralyzing blue light hit, his eyes went crossed. He fell backwards and pumped his hips in the air. Well, the erection is to be expected. I've heard the process somewhat erotic, though painful.

It takes a couple days and the exchange unstable during that time, but I am happy to report the following:

Donor Report: I feel good. Very good. I'm probably going to move to SoCal, sort of take over Ryder's apartment. I'll probably start using his name now too. Don't wanna confuse people. I don't even have my old, perverted urges. I hope he's comfortable with the mental traits foisted on him. Oh... he wants to take picture of me? Ha, okay. I'll flex for $100. Recipient Report: What do you mean I can't go back *whimper* why do I feel so strange. I'm already out of breath. Give it back! What do you mean a name change is included in the package *sob* MY NAME IS PERVUS NOW??!?! Oh. I have to take his medical practice in my shithole hometown? Oh God! I just... oh goodness, seeing it from this angle it's such a fine body. So tight and firm! At least flex for me, my boy? A little. So I can snap a few pics and... use them later. Eehehe. Oh God, what have I become?

#body swap #male body swap #male transformation #muscle theft #mind swap #body switch #permanent #young to old #old to young

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ithebookhoarder · 7 months

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A Whole Latte Love to Give 🍁 (Matt Murdock x Reader)

Description: You hate running late to work as it means you don't have time to stop for coffee - and what's worse, it's your favourite coffee season too.

A/N: It's Autumn and I'm a coffee addict so this felt right 😅 In fact, if anyone brings me coffee in the morning they are automatically my favourite for life 💕

Warnings: Swearing, references to smut, I think that's it.

Masterlist

You hated running late.

It was frustrating and meant you had to sprint to make sure you made it to the subway on time to get across town to your office. You’d also then end up arriving with your hair all over the place, out of breath, and normally dripping with an uncomfortable amount of sweat.

That alone would have been bad but when your boyfriend/boss had the super nose of a blood hound, it actually made you want to curl up into a ball and melt into the carpet.

Needless to say, you were having one of those days today. The alarm hadn’t gone off and you had barely had enough time to put a comb through your hair, let alone grab some form of breakfast, or more importantly, coffee.

You were embarrassed to admit how heavily you’d come to rely on the caffeinated beverage but honestly? It was all that kept you running most days. Besides, this was New York. People here were used to drinking it like it was water - which is to say you were struggling by the time you made it up the stairs to Nelson & Murdock. Worse still was the fact that you’d passed your favourite coffee shop on the corner as you’d sprinted to make it to your first meeting of the day.

The bright fall leaves glued in the window were mocking you as they declared the arrival of the season and with it, their drinks menu - including your favourite drink of all time: a pumpkin spice latte.

Yeah, that particularly stung as you had to physically drag yourself away, knowing you didn’t have the time. Damn it.

You’d have to wait til lunch to treat yourself and mark a start to your favourite season - a thought that had you grumbling to yourself as you finally made it up the stairs and to your office.

Thankfully, it was quiet when you pushed the door open and managed to drop your bag at your desk. No clients were sat waiting for you, ready to berate you for clocking in a whole five minutes late, which was a huge relief.

In fact, the only other person who appeared to be in the office at all was Matt - and even he seemed to have only just arrived, given the fact he hadn’t even taken off his coat yet. How strange. Normally he’d have been here a good twenty minutes or so already, having barely stopped long enough at his apartment for a quick power nap.

Maybe he was also running late this morning?

“Morning, Matt,” you sighed, by way of greeting. “Sorry, my stupid phone didn’t charge last night so I missed my alarm. I only woke up because the asshole builders outside my place decided to start construction a whole hour earlier than normal, which is a pain but kinda saved my ass in the end. I mean, thanks to them I at least had time to brush my teeth but that was it if I was going to make the subway- Oh!“

You stopped.

You stared down at your desk, surprised to see the steaming plastic cup sitting waiting for you. You were even more surprised to see your name scribbled on top, as well as your order printed on the side: a large Pumpkin Spice Latte.

“Is this for me?” you blinked, turning your gaze across the room. “You got me coffee?”

“I figured you wouldn’t have time,” Matt shrugged, in true Matt fashion. He always underplayed it whenever he did something for you. He never saw it as a big deal, whether it was taking a bullet for you or just grabbing your dry-cleaning. “You’re always in before I am unless you’re alarm fails to go off so… I grabbed you a coffee when I grabbed myself one. Don’t worry about it.”

“But … you got my favourite? You remembered?”

Matt laughed, holding his hand over his chest as he gasped in mock hurt. “Your surprise wounds me, sweetheart.”

“Oh, hush. It takes more than that to hurt the big bad Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, Matty.”

“Well, I don’t know about that. You’re kind of my weak spot.”

His admission tugged at your heart and it was hard to hide the resulting grin, especially when he followed the words by stealing a kiss and pulling you into his arms.

This was always the best part of your morning routine, stealing a moment together before Foggy and Karen arrived. Just a perfect moment of peace, where nothing else existed other than the two of you. It was as if the world had stopped, just for a second, and there was no crazy crime bosses trying to kill you both, bills to pay, or clients in need of your help.

You were simply two people in love, starting another day at work with a cup of coffee.

“Have I told you today that you’re the best?” you hummed.

“Not today, I don’t think.”

“Well then, I’m telling you now. You’re my hero - my coffee grabbing hero.”

“At your service,” Matt chuckled, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “But, you do know there’s an easier solution to this, right? One that would cut your commute in half and allow you ample time to get coffee in the morning?”

“Oh, what’s that? Super speed? Or are you going to show me how to parkour my way across rooftops?”

“Actually… I was thinking you could move in with me?”

You stopped.

Your head lifted so you could look him right in the eye. For a second you couldn’t tell if you’d misheard him or even just imagined it. “Are - are you serious?”

“As a heart attack,” he teased, his nerves showing as he waited for your answer. “Which is incidentally what you’ll have if you keep on drinking nothing but coffee all the time.”

“You are such a hypocrite, Murdock-”

“So what? That a deal breaker?”

“No,” you gasped, meaning every word. It was true. There was no force on earth that could drive you away from the man you were blessed to call your own. “I think, that actually sounds like a pretty good idea to me.”

“Wait, is that a yes?”

“Yes, Matt. It’s a yes.”

It was about a week later that you finally made the move a reality.

You spent the Saturday, assisted by a giddy Foggy and Karen, moving your boxes up the flights of stairs to Matt's apartment. They were only too eager to facilitate the pair of you finally moving in together (a fact proven by the fact you caught Foggy handing Karen a $50 bill. She had apparently bet you'd move in together before the end of the year).

"I had you down for six months ago," Foggy had grumbled, rolling his eyes at Karen's triumphant cheers. "Not my fault you two move at the pace of a glacier."

Still, you knew he was only joking. He was second only to Matt in his enthusiasm, helping move your worldly belongings about the apartment that was now also your home.

"I'm just going to run down and grab the last box from the van," you called, stepping out into the hallway and leaving the three of them to it.

However, you'd only made it a step when you heard someone calling your name.

"Y/N? Is that you?"

You turned and smiled at the kindly elderly woman who you knew to be Matt's closest neighbour. "Hi there, Mrs Manning."

You'd run into her a few times since you and Matt had started dating. She was a kind old soul who had been widowed sometime last year. Now, it was just her and her cat Tigger who resided in their apartment - and she had a real soft spot for your boyfriend.

"You doing ok?"

"Fine, thank you, dear," she smiled, gesturing to the few cardboard boxes still sat by the front door. "Those yours?"

"Uh, yes," you nodded awkwardly, sliding your hands into your pockets, “I’m actually moving in.”

"Well, finally. It was about time," she teased, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Now I can have you both over for dinner. It'll be nice for me and for that darling boy in there to have some company. He always spends too much time alone. I swear, he is wasting away - never any meat on those bones of his."

"We'd love to come to dinner," Matt answered smoothly, opening the door and popping his head out with a stealth you still couldn't get used to. He must have heard you talking from the other side of the door. "And don't worry, Mrs Manning, we'll both take good care of each other."

"Good good - and don't worry, I'll have my music playing nice and loud for most of the night so make all the noise you need," she teased, winking cheekily at the pair of you before turning back towards her apartment.

You and Matt were left standing there, speechless.

"I'll see you lovebirds later."

#ithebookhoarder #masterlist #thesilentmage #marvel #marvel x reader #matt murdock x reader #matt murdock x y/n #matt murdock x you #marvel daredevil #daredevil x reader #daredevil x you #daredevil #marvel imagines #charlie cox #foggy nelson #karen page #fluff #flufftober

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gamerwoo · 1 month

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[SKZ Imprinted] Stray Kids: Dungeons & DragonsWerewolves (Spin-Off)

Characters: ot8 skz x ocs

Genre/warnings: college au, werewolf au (sort of), humor, minor angst. lots of d&d happening (coming from someone who knows very little about d&d), possible major character death in the beginning and the end but not really, a twist on dream theory

Word count: 2,976

Summary: What if it was all just one elaborate D&D campaign?

a/n: this wasn't requested i just thought this might be fun hehe

SKZ Imprinted Masterlist

This was it. This was the moment the entire pack had been waiting for.

Jungkook was back.

The only problem was it wasn't on the terms they'd hoped. They wanted Namjoon to track him down. They wanted the hunters to bring him to them under safe circumstances so they could be sure everyone on their side would be safe.

Instead, it was chaos.

Ryujin was held tightly in front of him, one of his strong arms wrapped around her to keep her there. In his other hand was a gun, the barrel pressed to her temple. Jungkook's wild eyes scanned the small crowd in front of him.

"Don't move," he threatened through clenched teeth, his jaw impossibly tight, "or I'll shoot."

But how could Minho not move? Of course he was going to do anything to save his mate, even if it meant putting his own life in danger.

He lunged forward, betting on his reflexes being faster than Jungkook's. The hunter moved his arm that held the gun to his sister's head and--

Bam!

The room froze, all eyes going from Ryujin to Minho as time seemed to slow. Chan's jaw dropped as he watched his brother fall to his knees in front of Jungkook. He saw the bullet come out from the back of Minho's head--

"No fuckin' way!"

Aeri slowly lifted her gaze from the two large books she propped up around her like a child in school taking an exam and trying to hide their test behind folders and binders. Spread out in front of her were more papers. But instead of her eyes being wide as she read off of the papers she had written and spent hours planning, she was now glaring at the cause of the interruption.

"Minho died?!" Hyunjin gasped, looking at the dungeon master with wide brown eyes.

"Well dumbass over here wanted to just lunge at Jungkook like a psychopath!" she stated, gesturing across the long table to the psychopath in question.

Minho still looked displeased, continuing his earlier outburst, "There's absolutely no shot I die there."

"There was actually a shot," Seungmin stated, "and you did die to it."

Minho continued to glare at Aeri as he grabbed his d20 without looking, while she scanned over her paperwork to make sure she was correct -- even though she knew she was. She had copies of all of their character sheets and had been keeping careful track of all of their stats. Minho definitely hit 0.

She looked up and nodded once, stating, "Roll."

It was her idea to start this D&D campaign. She actually came up with all of the characters and their backgrounds. She also decided to modify it to make it at least a little more realistic.

Originally, the eight boys were supposed to be part of a gang with all of them having different roles. But her boyfriend begged to be a werewolf, and then Seungmin decided he needed to be one, and it snowballed into all eight men banning together to create their werewolf pack.

Chan was their fearless alpha, which gave him an extra strength point just for that. Aeri assigned Minho as a Rogue, taking some inspiration from his slyness in real life. Changbin was a Rogue Barbarian, using a mix of stealth and brute force to take down any foes in his path. The others in the pack were simply 'Scholars', a class Aeri invented for this "realistic" campaign -- though, Hyunjin's character had a mysterious past that nobody knew details about, and they had yet to discover anything else about his possible class or alignment.

Overall, the girlfriends of the group were simple Human Scholars with their different alignments. The only exceptions were Jamie, and the sisters. Jamie's class and alignment were both unknown, though her character was a mostly non-verbal person with a lot of her thoughts, emotions, and past kept a mystery.

The youngest of the Jeon sisters was classified as a Fighter, while Elsie was a Werewolf Hunter -- another class Aeri invented, but said it was a sub-class of Fighter.

And their brother was made one of the villains, and was the current main villain. All because Aeri was upset he wouldn't join their campaign.

Minho's die hit the table. 14.

"One win," he smirked.

"Two more to go," Aeri reminded him.

"Wasn't there a rule last time about not going with Minho's first answer and letting the group decide?" Ankita recalled while the rolls for combat continued.

"Yeah, but it wasn't as fun," Aeri sighed. "I made an executive decision as DM to undo the rule."

"Honestly," Jamie spoke up, holding a steaming mug of tea between both hands, "it's his own fault for getting shot."

"It's Aeri's fault for rolling a 19!" Minho shouted, making Mari jump during her turn to roll, prematurely dropping the die on the table.

"Okay, okay," Chan stepped in to calm the group before they decided to gang up on his girlfriend, "let's remember this isn't the first time someone got shot -- and Elsie lived."

"Barely," she stated. "I literally met God, like, 3 times."

The bad thing about having a DM who only just recently got into D&D and only knew the bare minimum -- if that -- was that Aeri tended to just make things up as she went. She wasn't always sure when to roll Perception or Initiative or when to roll for one's literal life. So sometimes she just...made things up.

The good thing about having a DM like Aeri, though, was that things were always interesting. Sometimes she would throw things in as she went, even if they weren't pre-planned. Having her ex-boyfriend, Taehyung be the original bad guy along with her mutual friends with him was something she had planned all along, but she decided to really focus on Jungkook out of nowhere when he refused to join the campaign when she offered that one time he came over for the Halloween party. She had always planned for Elsie to be a Fighter, but decided last minute to add on Werewolf Hunter when her and Seungmin went on The World's Shortest Break just to tease them. She made the decision while they were actively rolling for their Abilities to lower Minho, Hyunjin, and Jisung's Intelligence and Wisdom scores despite what they had rolled because she just couldn't have them being smart in any universe.

The die hit the table again. 1.

Aeri smirked at Minho, "Two losses. Good luck, champ."

"Two?!" Minho exclaimed angrily. "But I--"

"If you roll less than 10, it's one loss. If you roll a 1, it counts for two," Seungmin explained before rolling his eyes. "Don't you pay attention to the rules?"

"Not when Chan's girlfriend makes up half of them!" he shouted, gesturing toward the DM at the head of the table.

All she did was stare back at Minho, glance around the table, and shrug.

"Some of us died several times and aren't complaining," Elsie reminded him.

"Babe, can you just roll?" Ryu whined softly. "This is supposed to be fun."

"It's fun when I'm not about to die!" he exclaimed again before tossing the die across the table, landing on Hyunjin's character sheets.

The younger boy looked down in front of him before looking up at Minho to tell him, "19."

Minho tossed his head back and loudly groaned before shouting, "Motherfucker!"

The rest of the table, however, was having a fantastic time watching Minho struggle. He was so close to an instant win, and they couldn't help but laugh at his failure.

"If you die, you can always have Yoongi bring you back to life," Minseo shrugged. "I don't see the problem."

"That was only because Yoongi showed up for one game night and he wanted to do something cool," Aeri stated. "If he's not here, he can't help you."

"That's a stupid rule and you know it," Minho huffed, rolling his eyes until they glared at Aeri.

"Not stupid. Intentionally mean," Hyunjin corrected.

Aeri just grinned, "If it wasn't so funny seeing Minho get this mad at a game, maybe the rules would be different."

"Monopoly may end friendships but DnD completely burns all bridges of friendship," Ankita said quietly as she stared down at the table, too afraid to look up in case she caught Minho's intense stare.

Minho blew on the die, mumbling, "C'mon, c'mon..."

Finally, with a deep breath that was slowly let out, Minho tossed the die onto the table. Everyone leaned over to see what the outcome was, some standing up from their seats to see. And...

Ryu cried out Minho's name, one hand reaching out for him as she squirmed to get away, but Jungkook just tightened his grip. Some of the pack stayed frozen, trying to process what had happened as Minho blood pooled on the floor around where he lay seemingly lifeless. Others fell to their knees, sobs wracking their bodies.

Chan was one of the few that hadn't yet processed what exactly had happened as he stared at Minho's body. But as he stared, he realized...he was still breathing. Was it possible that maybe, somehow, Jungkook hadn't used a silver bullet? Maybe he didn't have access to that after running away? Maybe there was a chance for Minho to live.

But they would have to act quickly.

"I try to distract Jungkook to get his attention off of Minho and avoid a finishing blow, and so Changbin can sneak around and attack," Chan stated for his turn.

Aeri nodded for him to roll the dice.

Slowly, the alpha put up his hands in surrender. Jungkook's gaze and gun immediately pointed to him, but Chan didn't even flinch.

"It doesn't have to end like this," he said slowly and calmly as he tentatively took a small step forward, testing the waters. Jungkok was shaking and had clearly lost all rational thought, but this was still a risk Chan was willing to take for his brother. "You don't want to hurt Ryujin -- I know you don't. You care about her. You just want your family back and for things to go back to normal. Trust me, I understand that. But...this isn't how you should go about it."

Changbin tried to pull himself together, sniffling as he wiped stray tears from his cheeks. His reddened eyes stay trained on Jungkook as he slowly and cautiously took a step to the side. He just wanted to get out of the rogue hunter's line of sight. But currently, Jungkook seemed to have tunnel-visioned onto Chan.

"You still have a chance to stop yourself from hurting her and making it worse," Chan assured Jungkook. His eyes were sincere, even if they were still blood red. "If you walk away now and let Minho go--"

"This isn't realistic literally at all," Elsie was the one to interrupt this time with a huff and a roll of her eyes.

Aeri froze, eyes wide in annoyance and staring at her sheet. She slowly moved her gaze to the older girl toward the other end of the table, "What now?"

"You really think Kookie wouldn't notice that absolute unit side-stepping away?" she snorted.

Jisung sighed, "Fine, I'll roll for distract--"

"No," Seungmin stated. "Every time you roll for speed when you're driving in serious situations, you end up going, like, 5 under."

"Fine, then you do it," Jisung told him in a sassy, high-pitched voice.

"For Minho? No."

"Your character would, though," Hyunjin reminded him.

Seungmin let out the loudest and most drawn-out groan before picking up his die and rolling it in his hand. He threw it on the table and immediately was beaming.

"15!"

However, his smile fell when he saw the way Aeri was looking at him, "What?"

Seungmin took a step forward to start running and immediately shifted, roaring at Jungkook as he lunged toward him. Jungkook's arm moved at lightening speed, and all Chan could do was cry out, "No!"

Jungkook shot Seungmin in the chest, but the distraction was still enough for Changbin to sneak up on the hunter and wrap one arm around his neck before forcing the gun out of his grasp with his other hand. Chan rushed to Ryu's aid to get her away from her brother before handing her off to Felix, who escorted the girl out of the room while she was kicking and screaming for Minho.

"How do I get shot?!" Seungmin demanded.

"Shut it, you're still alive. It wasn't a vital shot. Get a higher number next time," she said dismissively before going back to the story.

Jisung and Jeongin rushed to help Changbin subdue Jungkook, while Hyunjin went to the alpha's side as he examined the hurt wolves. Chan had rolled Minho onto his back and saw his chest was still rising and falling, even if it was shallow. He knew a bullet that wasn't made out of silver wouldn't kill him, but it could still wound him pretty badly. For all he knew, he could have permanent brain damage. And Seungmin could face something similar.

"We need to get them out of here," Chan breathed, trying to stay calm. "We need to get them to Josh and Aya."

"How are they still alive?" Hyunjin questioned. "It shouldn't be possible, right?"

Chan had his suspicion the bullet wasn't silver, but he had to make sure. His eyes scanned the floor until he found the bullet from Minho. Without even thinking about it, he reached for it, hissing in pain as it immediately sizzled against his skin.

His eyes widened.

"Roll to kill Jungkook!" Changbin shouted out of turn.

Aeri immediately turned to him, "Can you wait your turn? It's technically Jeongin's anyway."

"Roll to kill Jungkook!" Jeongin cheered with a wide grin.

"Don't you have the lowest stats?" Jisung asked.

"No, I'm way smarter than you are."

"Are you sure?" Aeri asked, her tone serious as she looked across the table at the youngest. "If you don't roll high enough, it could end badly for you."

"What, another fake shot?" Minho scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"No."

All eyes went to Aeri. This was very crucial information to the campaign. She was warning them that this time, there would be a very real death for Jeongin's character. There would be no going back.

"I don't want to spoil anything, but...I know this run means a lot to you guys so far. So...just a warning," she told him with a shrug. "Are you sure?"

The group looked around between each other. The girls didn't really have much to do with the current predicament, so it was something the boys had to work out. But ultimately, they decided it was Jeongin's decision. Did he think he would be lucky enough to roll a number high enough to actually get rid of the biggest villain thus far in the campaign?

Jeongin stared at his d20. Did he think he could do it? Did he even want to risk it? But if he pulled it off, it would be so cool. And it would be such a big accomplishment within the campaign. They could move onto something new or even expand Ryu and Elsie's lore with this. Overall, the opportunities for Jeongin pulling this off would be great for the group.

But if he failed...

Jeongin lifted his hand, pausing like he was second-guessing if he should pick up the die. But then his hand moved forward again.

"You're killing me off?"

The majority of the group at the table jumped. Hyunjin even let out a gasp and almost fell into Mari's lap as he put a hand to his chest.

"What are you doing here?" Ryu whined, looking at her twin brother that had just walked into Jeongin's parents' dining room.

"Didn't you tell me to pick you guys up at 9?" Jungkook asked, checking his phone again to make sure he had the time right.

Jisung's eyes widened, "It's already 9?!"

"It's passed my bedtime..." Ankita mumbled.

"Oh, shit," Chan chuckled as he also checked the time on his phone. "Didn't realize it was already ending time."

"But it was just getting good!" Minseo whined.

"And I'm on death's door with chucklehead over there," Minho scowled, pointing his thumb over his shoulder to Seungmin. "We can't just leave it like this!"

"If you guys are killing me, shouldn't I fight for myself?" Jungkook asked.

Aeri scoffed, "No! You didn't want to join the campaign to begin with!"

"Yeah, but now my life is on the line," he countered. "Can't I join in at least for the boss battle?"

"We don't even know if Jeongin is gonna go for it," Jamie said.

"And we apparently won't know until next week," Aeri sighed as she slapped one of her books closed.

"Well," Jungkook began as everyone started collecting their belongings and standing up from their chairs to leave, "maybe I'll hang around next week to see what happens."

Aeri eyed the boy up and down, eyes narrowed. She had wanted him to join... Maybe letting him play his own boss battle -- if it happened -- would be interesting. Even if Jeongin didn't go through with it, just watching the group play might convince Jungkook to join.

She grabbed Jungkook's character sheets, and the notes from the campaign so far from her folder and slapped them into his chest, "Study up, buddy."

"Alright, dingdong," Elsie walked up behind her younger brother and reached up to mess up his hair, "let's roll."

Jungkook shot her a dirty look, "Can you not?"

"Bye, guys!" Ryujin called as she put a hand on her brother's back to guide him out behind Elsie.

"Can't believe we're leaving it on a cliffhanger..." Changbin mumbled, clearly unsatisfied with the current ending.

Aeri just shrugged with a sweet smile, "Isn't that what this campaign does best?"

tag list (italics are unable to tag): @honeyylin @brattybunfornct @henloiamaweirdobye @anissanightyoung @mythicalamphitrite @nokachiki @liendoesja @smollquokka @hosh1kwon @cyberpunksunwoo @jadeblackwoll @jaspriv @sankyg @animefreak2112 @stay-berry @shuabby1994 @sarcasticsweetlara @bee-the-loser [if you’d like to be added to the tag list, please fill out this form!!!]

#k-labels #stray kids #skz #stray kids au #stray kids fic #stray kids series #stray kids x reader #werewolf!stray kids #skz au #skz fic #skz series #skz x reader #werewolf!skz

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sepublic · 10 months

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I saw people complain that Belos didn’t see Caleb’s ghost one last time during his death, and now that I’ve really thought about it in hindsight… I don’t think the ghost sequence in For the Future was meant to set up some sort of epiphany or something like that for Belos; Rather, it was THE conclusion to his twisted little storyline involving Caleb and the Grimwalkers.

I think what happened was that in earlier drafts for Belos’ death, the writers considered having Caleb and the Grimwalkers appear, but then they decided that they wanted the scene’s focus to be between Luz and Belos; This is the series finale, it’s Luz’s triumph against Belos first and foremost, and that of the friends and family she’s made (people Belos looks down upon).

But the writers still wanted a final bit between Belos and the ghosts, so they moved it to For the Future, another time we see him dying at a low point; There’s no other part of Watching and Dreaming this would fit, not even the sequence when Belos possesses the heart, since at that moment he’s convinced he’s nearing a narrow but certain victory.

So Belos all by his lonesome with only his dark thoughts to keep him company, falling apart, dragging himself as he’s desperately trying to figure something out? That happens in For the Future, so the ‘ghosts’ happen in that episode. Apparently some color references refer to these ghosts as illusions, which points fairly solidly towards the interpretation that it’s all in Belos’ delirious head.

And I think it makes sense that it’s the end; Not only are we accounting for how a lot had to be crammed in, but I feel it’s symbolic. After being rejected by Hunter, the big culmination of Hunter’s conflict against his uncle, Belos comes crawling back to all of the other Grimwalkers. It’s that same memory of Caleb and his clones he’s chasing, he tries to inhabit another grimwalker, one last time…

But it fails; The grimwalkers are done with Belos, because Hunter finally stood up to him in the previous episode and broke the cycle. Belos can’t continue it anymore, despite his final effort to resuscitate this thread of his life; He is rejected both mentally and now physically by the clones. So in the end, Belos leaves it all behind. After being forced to suffer in the culmination of his failure with Caleb, it rejects him one final time. And by that point, Belos has gotten the hint, he can’t go back to that anymore.

So he finally let go; He moves on, he abandons it behind in the Titan’s skull. It was never about Caleb, it all circled back to Philip and what he wanted and expected of his brother, rather than actual, unconditional love. Belos has dedicated his centuries to two things, saving Caleb and slaying the witches… And now he’s forced to reconcile with the fact that Caleb is a lost cause when the last Grimwalker fails, so all Belos has left is his murder, his vengeance. And he casts aside this last thread to pursue that ultimate goal.

Plus, Belos’ relatively subdued reaction, as people pointed out, indicate he’s been experiencing this for a while now; And he hadn’t changed then, so why would he change now, from an in-universe standpoint? And I suppose a Doylist one, too. The fact that the ghosts were given their own separate scene also means the writers could focus on Belos and the Grimwalkers without worrying about other characters present, which gives us a longer sequence than a brief cameo at the end.

A lot of people insisted they just wanted a final acknowledgment of Caleb by Belos, anything at all, in the finale… But I think we DID get a final haunting, it just had to be pushed back into the penultimate episode instead, especially to make room for Luz. Whom I must remind you is the main protagonist, for whom this entire story begins and ultimately comes back to. As a contrast to Belos, who acts entitled to this assumption for himself, his motives ultimately boil down into thinking he’s the main hero. But it’s Luz, who learns to let go of that sort of pride, and healthily engage with her own story, in her own way.

And before people complain that Kikimora and Boscha took time away from Belos (whose Caleb story would still end in For the Future with or without them), I should remind y’all that there are actually plenty of reasons for that subplot; For starters, the Hexside situation follows through on the setup of Hunter telling the students about Belos’ plan in Labyrinth Runners, so something actually comes of that. A bunch of unruly kids being in charge, with an adult preying on the leader, is a parallel to the Collector’s situation.

Conflict with Boscha and Kikimora create a low point for Luz and Willow to be frustrated over, providing an opportunity for their loved ones to step in and make a breakthrough, thereby contributing to Luz and Willow’s growth. Hunter gets to develop a relationship that is healthy to him, helping him move on from his abuser.

Boscha being an antagonist leads to a wonderful scene in which she and Willow are paralleled, which of course contributes to Willow’s arc. And this is speculative, but this plot seems to be the remnants of an original plan for Boscha and Kikimora’s arcs that unfortunately had to be trimmed down thanks to the shortening; Kikimora especially, since she’s set up in the S2 intro as being on the same level/significance as Lilith and Hunter, and was likely intended to be until the shortening.

#the owl house #emperor belos #philip wittebane #the owl house boscha #the owl house kikimora #meta #caleb wittebane #grimwalker

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formula1neverleft · 2 years

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Shameless - Arthur Leclerc

Pairing: Arthur Leclerc x Fem!reader

Summary: Your tinder date is alright. His roommate is just better.

Warnings: smut, swearing, me refusing to write anything other than the -we shouldn’t be doing this- trope :))

Words: 4.5k words of breaking bro code

Author’s note: not my best work but I just had to get this man out of my system.Took some creative liberties to make it a college!AU so let’s just pretend that makes sense lmao. Also my French is doubtful at best so if you are a native french speaker and catch me writing absolute nonsense no you didn’t :)) Not proofread. Feedback very much appreciated!! Enjoy xx

You had told yourself it would never come to this.

When your best friend first brought up the idea of downloading a dating app, you almost choked on the wine you had been drinking. During a night out she had been telling you non stop how you were too picky when it came to men, and that you just had to ‘put yourself out there’, whatever that meant.

You wouldn’t say ‘picky’ was the right word exactly, more that for you there was a difference between finding a guy-good looking or nice, and actually being attracted to them.

The idea of having to advertise yourself only for a guy to decide within approximately seven seconds if you had potential or not, made you cringe internally. But that was months ago, and you had to admit that between school and serving overpriced lattes to other students in the on-campus coffee shop, you had gotten bored…and lonely.

Bored and lonely enough to download Tinder after tossing and turning in your bed for over an hour. Without thinking about it too much, you threw some pictures of yourself onto your profile and got to work. In the dark of your room, your phone screen the only source of light, it was easy to get over the initial embarrassment of it all and just give it a shot.

After a while, you had gotten a few matches, but had absolutely no idea how to start a conversation on here to save your life, so instead you opted for putting your phone down and trying to sleep once again, the monotone action of swiping left or right having made you just the right amount of tired.

The next morning as you got ready for class, you had received a message from one of the tinder guys.

New message from Oscar:

Hey, Y/N :) how’r you doing?

He was cute, and looked like a nice enough guy. You remembered he had some pictures in racing attire, and that made him seem slightly more interesting. At the very least it gave you a conversation starter if you were to go out. You replied to him as you made your way out of the apartment, and continued to message back and forth the rest of the day.

After about a week of sporadically messaging Oscar, he offered to take you out next friday. He hadn’t made a huge impression, but to be honest neither had you, texting had never really been your thing, so perhaps meeting up would give you an idea if this was something to pursue or not. You accepted, and you agreed on dinner and a movie at his place, being that his roommate would be out that day.

You really hoped you weren’t gonna regret this.

The walk to Oscar’s apartment was cold and miserable, the rain promptly undoing the effort you had put into your hair earlier. When you arrived outside his building, you caught a glimpse of yourself in one of the windows and quickly tried your best to make yourself look presentable again before ringing the bell that had ‘Piastri/ Leclerc’ written on it, the last few letters were smushed together to make it fit on the small line of paper, making you chuckle slightly.

Oscar opened the door and greeted you with a kiss on the cheek as he showed you up to his apartment on the third floor. It was clearly inhabited by two college boys, the questionable interior design choices and posters that littered the wall a dead give away. You could tell he had put in effort though, it was tidy and the small table in the middle of the room had been set nicely.

“Uhm, I’d show you around but, this is kind of it” Oscar said as he scratched the back of his head.

“It’s nice actually, way bigger than the shoebox me and my roommate live in” you chuckled as you placed your jacket over your chair. Oscar quickly moved to pull out your chair for you.

“wow, a true gentleman, huh?” you smirked as you took your seat.

“Yeah, I try, I haven't been on a date in ages so I’m, uh, trying my best. I made us pizza if that’s alright with you. I was going to ask you what you wanted but It’s kind of the only thing i know how to make, so”

The dinner went by fast and luckily without any awkward silences. Oscar told you the full story about why he was studying here as an Australian.

“I’ve always wanted to be a professional driver, but my parents want me to have a ‘back-up’ plan in case that doesn’t work out, so I decided to study here while training in Europe, that’s how I met Arthur, he was in the same boat as me” he explained before taking another bite of his food.

“Your roommate, right? Is he also from Australia?” you asked.

“Oh god no, pretty sure he wouldn’t last a day out there. Not really a bug person ya know. He’s from Monaco. Basically means he’s french but not really”

When the two of you finished your food, you helped Oscar with cleaning the table despite his protests, and just as you were about to ask what movie he wanted to watch, the sound of keys rattling and the door opening took both of you by surprise.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me” Oscar muttered as he ran a hand through his hair.

You were soon greeted by a blonde boy standing in the middle of the room, looking at you like a deer in headlights.

“Arthur, mate, what are you doing here? Thought you’d be out?” Oscar spoke as he approached the boy. So this was the roommate he’d been talking about.

“Yes I was, but now I am back. You did not say how long I needed to be gone. I cannot study any longer than I already have” Arthur said as he raised his hands in defense, a thick french accent lacing his words. Oscar looked dejected, and slightly panicked as he turned back around to face you.

“Sorry, Y/N, I had no idea he’d be here, maybe we can go to the cinema if you don’t wanna watch a movie here or-”

“Oscar, you have still not introduced me to the girl, this is impolite, no” Arthur gave Oscar a pat on the back as he stepped closer.

“Y/N, Arthur, my roommate. Arthur, this is Y/N”

You smiled politely towards the boy, slightly taken aback when he closed the space between you to take your hand and placed a quick kiss on the top of it.

“Bonjour, Y/N” Arthur replied with a smile of his own, and for a few seconds both you and Oscar were too stunned to speak. His smile was genuine and sweet, and you found the gesture more endearing than anything. You had barely managed to mutter a quiet ‘nice to meet you’ when Arthur dropped your hand and disappeared in one of the rooms. Oscar approached you with an apologetic look in his face.

“Yeah, I told you he’s French,” he joked as he tried to regain his composure.

“But seriously, we can head out if you want-”

“No, it’s okay. We can watch it here” you interrupted him, you would rather spend the rest of your date here so you could get to know Oscar a little better, rather than the forced silence that accompanied the cinema.

Oscar looked somewhat surprised by your answer, but accepted it anyway and invited you to sit down on the small L- shaped sofa in the corner of the room. After a short debate you had convinced him to watch Pride and Prejudice, but it took you less than twenty minutes to realize he was trying really hard to pretend to like it. The movie served more as background noise anyway as you continued to chat about the typical first date topics, mostly school and hobbies. During the conversation, Oscar rested his arm on the back of the sofa towards you, a classic move that made you hold back a smile. After about an hour, you had focused back on the movie for a while, only to realize Oscar had somehow fallen asleep in the last ten minutes, his head slumped into his own shoulder as his chest raised rhythmically.

Great job Y/N, maybe go for a comedy next time, you thought to yourself as you awkwardly shifted on the sofa, not wanting to wake him but not exactly knowing what to do either. You eventually settled on letting the movie finish and hope by then he would wake up on his own accord, until the sound of a door opening made you turn your attention away from the film once again.

“Oscar I promise I will leave, I'm just thirsty” Arthur was already rambling until the sight of you next to Oscar’s sleeping frame made him stop in his tracks.

“Oh no, mate…” Arthur said with a disapproving look on his face, “This is why I tell him to stop studying until two in the morning, it just messes up the sleep schedule”

“I should probably let him sleep then, huh?” you wondered out loud.

“Maybe that is a good idea, yes”

A few seconds of silence passed between the two of you, Arthur was staring at you, taking you in, and you shifted under his gaze, feeling exposed somehow.

“Did he even offer you a drink?” Arthur said as he walked towards the fridge to examine his options. “Ok, so we have…water and beer, maybe that is why Oscar did not offer you anything”

You stood up from the couch as you were careful not to wake Oscar.

“Actually I’m gonna head home, It’s getting late and I have work in the morning, so-”

“Okay, I will walk you home then, let me get my jacket”

“No! No, you don’t have to do that” you protested, but he had already disappeared back into his room and came out soon after. You quickly scribbled a note for Oscar so he wouldn’t think you were rude just leaving without a goodbye.

Thanks for the pizza and the company

Get some more sleep next time ;)

(and I’ll choose a better film)

xx Y/N

You placed the note on the sofa next to Oscar and turned around to see Arthur grab two beer bottles and store them in his jacket pockets. You grinned in response as he looked at you, caught in the act.

“One for the road, no?” he smiled and gave you a wink as he held the door open for you. This night had not at all ended up the way you’d expected it to, but you weren’t complaining.

The walk back to your apartment seemed to be significantly shorter than it had been earlier that night, as you and Arthur joked around while drinking the beers he had brought along. He spoke about Monaco, about racing and about his family, and you thought to yourself you could listen to him speak for hours if he’d let you. There is nothing quite like seeing someone's eyes light up when they talk about things they are passionate about. On a few occasions, he made you laugh so hard tears pooled at the corners of your eyes. You couldn’t remember the last time somebody had made you feel this way, like life suddenly wasn’t as scary and serious as it seemed sometimes. It felt like you’d known him for years.

You thought to yourself how Oscar hadn’t really left the same impression on you tonight, but he was clearly tired and not expecting his roommate to show up, so he deserved a second chance at least.

Before you knew it, you arrived in front of your building and turned to face Arthur. His eyes were boring into you again, always making eye contact but not in a creepy way, more like an…intense way. It was kind of nice, knowing he was intrigued by you and not just walking you back because he felt like he had no other choice. You found yourself not wanting to say goodbye to the blonde boy in front of you, but you couldn’t really go there, right? How would you explain that to Oscar?

Thanks for cooking for me, but your roommate is hot and funny and you fell asleep so can you blame me?

Not exactly the best impression to leave after a first date. You wondered if it had been Arthur that had been your Tinder match, how different the night would have been. As you were contemplating this, you were still facing each other in silence.

“I really want to kiss you right now”

Arthur’s words felt like a cold bucket of water had been dumped over you, and you thought for a few seconds you had just imagined him saying it, but as he stood there before you, those beautiful eyes still firmly fixed on yours and full of anticipation, your body made the decision for you as you nodded your head.

You caught a glimpse of his serious expression breaking into a smile once again as he leaned in, lips just barely grazing your own before he really kissed you. Your lips moved together as one of his hands found the back of your neck. You were so wrapped up in him it felt like you were the only two people on the planet. The kiss turned more heated as Arthur slipped his tongue into your mouth, working expertly against your own as his free hand drew you in closer by your waist.

God, you had never been kissed like this before.

The sound of a phone ringing brought you back to reality as Arthur broke the kiss and quickly reached in his pockets for his phone, face falling slightly as he looked at the screen.

“Um, I think Oscar woke up, I should, uhm…probably head back” he said hesitantly.

The reality of the situation had well and truly set in now and you suddenly felt guilty, even though Oscar was far from your boyfriend, it still felt like you’d done something wrong.

“Ofcourse, yeah, you should go…thanks for walking me home”

Shit, it was awkward now. You shouldn’t have fucking kissed him. What else were you supposed to say? Say hi to Oscar for me? Not exactly the best thing to say given the predicament you were in.

“I will see you around, Y/N” Arthur spoke with a smirk as he walked backwards, keeping his gaze on you for a while before turning around and breaking into a small jog back around the corner.

As you dropped down on your bed, your brain was working overtime trying to process the night you’d had. It had taken you exactly one tinder date to make a mess out of everything, fantastic.

Just as you hoped you would fall asleep, the sound of your phone pining made you pirk up again, and curiosity got the better of you as you took it from the nightstand to see 3 notifications.

2 New messages from Oscar

Sorry for falling asleep on you, remind me to never first date so close to finals week ever again

I had a great time, hope you’re up for a second date soon?

But it was the third notification that really made your heart nearly beat out of your chest.

Arthur_Leclerc requested to follow you on Instagram

You sighed as you threw the phone haphazardly on your bed, suddenly wide awake again.

Shit.

Two days.

It had been two days since the tinder date fiasco, and Oscar’s message remained unanswered in your inbox. You didn’t have a clue what to say to him, and lying seemed just as bad as telling him the truth, so you took the easy way out and said nothing.

You’d accepted Arthur’s follow request and followed him back the morning after, but hadn’t had the guts to send him anything either. Guess you were back to square one then. Alone.

The heavy doors of the library creacked in protest as you pushed through them, and immediately you took in the comfortable silence of the big study hall, only interrupted here and there by squeaking shoes or a student coughing. In between all of this, you had almost forgotten that you desperately needed to study for finals, so you decided to head to the library and hopefully focus on school instead.

It seemed to work, but just as you were about to start the conclusion to the essay that had been giving you a headache for weeks now, a hand on your shoulder made you jump. The sound of surprise that you let out made a few students glance up from their books to see what the commotion was about, but you had no time to apologize because Arthur was standing there, so close to you that you had just about forgotten how to function properly. He took a seat next to you as you quickly removed your headphones.

“Hi” he smiled, leaning one arm over the back of his chair as he gave you that signature look again.

Hi? This boy had been the reason for your lack of sleep for two days straight and all he says is…hi?

“How is the studying going?” he asks casually. Okay, had he just forgotten what went down the other day?

“Arthur, we should, uhm…talk. About the other night you know” you whispered as you took a quick look around, afraid somebody would overhear you.

“Okay, talk about what exactly?” he challenged you, smirking.

“You kissed me”

“and you wanted me to, no?” he replied quickly. He was playing games and you knew it, so you decided to play along.

“Okay, so maybe I did. You’re talking big game for somebody who was too scared to message me afterwards”

You were bluffing, obviously, pretending like you’d been waiting for him to make the next move when you were just as scared as he was.

“Okay…what would you have wanted me to write?” he retorts, still seeming as confident as ever, carrying a more serious tone this time.

“Would you want me to write to you how…how I haven’t stopped thinking about you since that night?”

Okay, so maybe he was better at playing games than you, and you were sure the look on your face was proof of your defeat. His normal joking tone had completely gone now, and his french accent seemed even stronger than it had when you had last seen him. You slumped back in your seat and unconsciously pressed your thighs together. Arthur noticed though, his eyes immediately following the movement.

“Have you been thinking of me too?” he continued, his leg closing the space between you underneath the desk until his knee met yours. You silently cursed yourself for wearing a dress today of all days.

“Yes”

Your mouth had decided to act before your brain did, and you were telling him the truth. When you had failed to fall asleep that night, you had touched yourself thinking about him, thinking about that kiss. Even just remembering it now, it made a blush creep onto your cheeks as you felt your heartbeat quicken.

His fingers brushed the hem of your dress underneath the table, and the tension building between the two of you was getting unbearable.

“We can't,” you said, and Arthur's face fell slightly as he began removing his hand from your skin.

“We can’t do this here” you continued as you closed your laptop and put it in your bag.

You stood up, and leaned down to whisper in Arthur’s ear,

“Meet me at the coffee shop downstairs in 5”

Smirking to yourself as you confidently strutted out of the library.

The shop had been closed for hours, but your boss had given you a set of keys for when you had the opening shift. You tiptoed your way to the break room in the back of the coffee shop, a small room with a two-person sofa and a vending machine, but it would make do. Once you saw Arthur appear outside the coffee shop, you went to unlock the door, quickly locking it again after he’d made his way in. You took his hand in yours and pulled him toward the room.

You hadn’t even made it fully inside when he pushed you against the back of the door, shutting it in the proces. Once his lips were on yours again, you forgot about all the doubts and worries you’d had before. In this moment, you were exactly where you needed to be. He kissed you like he did that night, tongue exploring your mouth as your hands grabbed onto the hair at the back of his neck. Arthur removed his lips from your mouth, only to focus his attention to your jawline and eventually move further down your neck. You didn’t even try to suppress the moans he was coaxing out of you.

“Fuck, you have no idea how difficult it was to act normal when I came back home that night…I couldn’t sleep thinking about you”

If his mouth hadn’t already done the trick, his words sure were enough to make your legs tremble. You wanted him so badly.

Arthur let his hands travel down, playing with the hem of your dress again, before looking back up at you.

“Are you sure? I will not do this unless you want it”

The statement seemed almost ridiculous at this point, because you had never been so sure about anything in your life.

“Yes, Arthur, I want it, please” you were almost begging for him. If he’d asked you, you would have gotten on your knees and really begged, but he had beat you to it as he sunk down onto his knees, still staring up at you.

“vous êtes si belle…Y/N” he muttered as he slowly pulled down your underwear, leaning forward to kiss your thigh in the process. You let your head drop backwards into the door, the sight of him on his knees in front of you almost too much to bear.

Arthur bent one of your legs at the knee and hooked it over his shoulder before he got to work.

He ran a finger through your folds once, looking up at you, not wanting to miss the way your eyes screwed shut as he let his fingers linger on your clit.

“Tu es tellement mouillée pour moi,”

You had a faint idea of what he was saying, but you were pretty sure he was talking to himself more than he was to you, so caught up in the moment he probably wasn’t aware he was speaking french. It sounded so good that you felt yourself get even wetter. Once he started eating you out, you were done for. You completely tuned out your surroundings, only focussing on how good he was making you feel. One of your hands grabbed hold of his hair, using it to steady yourself to the best of your abilities.

Soon after, he slipped a finger inside of you, his thumb simultaneously drawing slow circles on your clit as he sat back, resting in the heels of his feet as he stared up at you in awe, his face flushed from his previous actions. You could see your wetness glistening around his mouth. He looked amazing.

“God, I love the way you look at me” you said honestly, and he flashed you a signature smile in response.

“I love looking at you,” he answered. He added a second finger, and when he did the leg that was supporting you trembled, threatening to give out.

“I can’t..please, I want you inside of me” you whined. In this moment, you felt as desperate as you sounded.

Arthur nodded as he put your other leg back down and took your hand to lead you to the small sofa. He let you catch your breath as he quickly tore off his shirt, reaching into the back pocket of his jeans for his wallet. You realized why as he pulled out a condom from it.

You pushed his shoulders, prompting him to sit down on the sofa, making quick work of unbuckling his belt and dragging his pants and underwear down halfway down his thighs. Even though you hadn’t touched him yet, he was so hard, a clear sign that he had enjoyed eating you out just as much as you had. He helped you put the condom on, eyes screwing shut as you

You straddled him, knees either side of his thighs, and sunk down on him in one smooth motion. His eyes screwed shut as a plethora of french curse words and whines left his mouth. It felt so good you could feel tears pricking at the corners of your eyes, and a few drops of sweat rolling over your temples.

Arthur let his hands wander under your dress, grabbing a firm hold on your hips as he helped you build a delicious rhythm. You were so close, his teasing from earlier already having brought you on the brink of an orgasm. You were panting as you lent forward slightly so your forehead touched his.

“You are going to cum?” he asked, and all you could do was nod.

“Jouis pour moi, ma belle”

That was all it took for you to let go, your orgasm washing over you as soon as the words left his mouth. Your toes curled and nails dug into the skin of his back as Arthur held you tightly, guiding you through it. The feeling of you clenching around him combined with your moans was enough to drive him over the edge. You were still feeling the remnants of your orgasm running through you as he spilled inside of you, burying his head into your neck in the proces.

You held each other like that for a while as you both came down from your highs, heavy breathing filling the room. Eventually, you pulled off of him, sitting next to him on the sofa and letting your head lean on Arthur’s shoulder as he removed the condom and pulled his pants back up.

“That was…” he spoke, unable to find the words, but you knew what he meant.

“Yeah, I know,” you replied.

“Y/N?” Arthur turned to face you.

“Hmm?”

“Would you like to go on a date with me?”

And with those eyes staring into yours,

how could you ever say no?

#arthur leclerc #arthur leclerc smut #F1 #f1 smut #charles leclerc #charles leclerc smut #f1 rpf #f1 fanfiction #masterlist #x reader #smut #arthur leclerc fanfiction #charles leclerc fanfic #charles leclerc imagine

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bluesylveon2 · 11 months

Note

Can I request number 6 with Azul ashengrotto? :3

Hi!!! I meant to post this earlier but my summer class started and I've been busy 😭. Fun fact: past fics with "I Won't Say I'm in Love" had people telling the TWST boy or Yuu that they are in love. Who did I use for Azul? It would have been the Tweels but it is actually Azul himself! 😂 I hope that you enjoy, anon!

Notes: Yuu is bold, mentions events in Book 3, 4, and 6, and Azul having an internal crisis

Word Count: 1011

Warnings: possible ooc characters (I feel like Azul is) and not beta read.

Azul did not like the Ramshackle Prefect. Not in a romantic sense. Why would he? It's not like she stayed in his head rent-free for the past few days. No, he was thinking about how to get her to work for him for free.

He was not jealous that, according to ADeuce, the Prefect was spending time with Prince Rielle from RSA. How did they meet? Azul will never know, but one thing has been bothering him. SHE decided to have their date in town rather than in his perfectly established restaurant that was only a short walk away!

Azul set his pen down after signing the last contract of the day and stared at the ceiling. He recalled the first time he saw the Prefect during the entrance ceremony and how her cat monster set the room on fire. He did not care much about her then since his focus was on this year's profits.

His indifference changed when he wanted her dorm as a branch of his restaurant. Did he leave her homeless? Yes, but within good reason. He no longer wanted that embarrassing photo of himself hanging around the Atlantica Memorial Museum. How did she get so popular to get close to Leona, of all people? If only she and her band of Savanaclaw members did not get in his way. Azul's hand clenched into a fist at the thought of the pesky lion disintegrating his hard work. This was the only time he truly disliked the Prefect.

Of course, that backfired back on her when she got trapped in Scarabia by Jamil. Azul could not hide his smug look when she pleaded with him for help. He, being benevolent, acted like her knight in shining armor to save her (read: it was Jade and Floyd that did all the work) as the damsel in distress.

Azul hummed in thought when he realized something. The Prefect was less of a damsel and more like a knight after she broke into the Isle of Woe to save him and the rest of the overblot guys.

It was only after the whole fiasco that Azul slightly liked the Prefect.

Did he get any romantic feelings during the process? No, he did not.

Why should he, anyway?

She was nothing more than a magicless human. A reckless one, in fact.

If anything, she should be the one to develop feelings for him.

Azul knew multiple ways to charm the girl. He would start by treating her to deals in Mostro Lounge. Then, he would do different favors for her, like give her a study guide or serenade her with his lovely voice. Finally, he would be the one to save her from different incidents (orchestrated by the Leech twins); she would fall in his arms and for his charms.

She would fall for him so much that she would be at his door on her knees, begging to be his girlfriend. And Azul, being oh so benevolent, will agree.

Azul smirked. There was no way she could not resist him.

"You're amazing as it is, even without stealing anyone else's powers," Yuu's voice called out in Azul's mind.

Ba dump

"What the?" Azul clenched his chest. He could feel his heartbeat increase under his fingers. Why were the Prefect's words coming back to him?

"Your incredible diligence is so rare, it left the headmage at a loss," her voice continued to sing to him.

Ba dump

It has been months since their interaction at the museum, where Yuu had uttered those words to him, leaving him at a loss. Azul was touched by them, but he had put it back in his mind after the trip. Now they suddenly emerge and haunt him while he thinks about the Prefect.

Wait.

The Prefect.

Azul suddenly sat up and ran his hands through his wavy hair. Why did he care about the Prefect being on a date? Why was he setting up a scheme to have her begging to be with him? Why are her words echoing in his mind like a mermaid's song?

Azul's eyes widen in realization. A long time ago, when he was still a crybaby octopus, his mom told him a story about how a mermaid princess sang to a prince after she saved him. The princess had to leave before the prince gained consciousness, and he made it his mission to find her. The princess's voice was so beautiful that the prince would play his flute at night using the same tune in hopes of finding her because he loved her.

He was like the prince in the story.

He loved Yuu.

Azul took deep breaths to calm his wild heartbeat and wiped his sweaty palm on a handkerchief. He might have realized it now, but he won't say it out loud. No, he would continue his plan once Yuu returned from her date. The male leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh. He had to remain with his suave nature around her.

The room was quiet as Azul was deep in his thoughts.

CRASH

Azul immediately stood up, "What the?" his eyes landed on the door wide open. Yuu stood in the doorway with the Leech twins smirking evilly from behind. Only a few seconds passed, and Yuu was now standing before Azul. She grabbed his hand and proceeded to drag him out of his office-

Wait a minute.

"What are you doing?" Azul sputtered out, his face now red.

"We are going on a date! You and me."

"But I thought you were supposed to be with Rielle?"

Yuu shook her head, "He was just showing me around, and we're only friends. Besides, I'm only interested in octopi anyway."

Azul's mouth opened in shock, "How did you? When did you?"

"The twins told me. Now hurry up before the shops in town close!" She dragged the poor housewarden through the doors and out of Mostro Lounge.

Meanwhile, the Leech twins could not hide their laughter.

"Have fun, you two."

"Don't hurt Shrimpy now!"

Disclaimer: I do not own Twisted Wonderland and its characters. Those belong to Aniplex, Walt Disney Japan, and Yana Toboso.

©: This story belongs to bluesylveon2 2020-23. DO NOT modify, republish, or plagiarize my work.

#twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #twst #azul ashengrotto x reader #azul x reader #azul x yuu #azul ashengrotto #thank you for the ask!#400 follower event

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slayfics · 7 months

Text

Were not Just Friends

Series featuring Muichiro, Obanai, and Reader

You decide which Hashira to speak with.

Chapter links

Chapter 12

You stood frozen in the middle of the two Hashira, unable to decide. You couldn't believe Muichiro had actually come to apologize to you for what he said earlier. That must mean he cares about you, right?

But what did Obanai come here for? He was so quick to defend you that it had your head spinning. And, weren't the Hashira's friends? How had they come to dislike each other so quickly? If Muichiro decided to apologize then what did they even talk about at the Hashria meeting that made Obanai so mad?

You had so many questions and conflicting emotions that it seemed impossible to send either of the boys away.

"Forget it, save your energy. I'll make the decision for you," Obanai said standing up and turning to leave.

"Wait-!" You called not fully knowing what you wanted to say, just that you hated seeing that dejected look on Obanai's face.

"Save it, I know he's the one you want to talk to. So do it, see if his apology is even worth listening to. And, If he hurts you again, you know where to find me," Obanai said, continuing to walk away.

Once Obanai was out of sight you turned to Muichiro. "You wanted to apologize?" You asked.

"Yes..." He said softly, looking down. "I understood what I said came out too harsh as soon as I said it. The truth is I'm so hard on you during training because I want you to be as prepared as possible to fight demons... If something happened and I lost you... I don't know what I would do. So I try to train with you as hard as I can to keep you safe because I... I care deeply for you. I know I'm too late though and that you... have feelings for Iguro," Muichiro said looking up to read the look in your eyes, the look in his own eyes was one of longing and desperation.

"Tokito... I don't know where to start," You felt your heart swell. This whole time you were right, you were getting closer to Muichiro. His harsh tongue and demeanor were only his way of trying to protect you.

"It's ok, I understand now that I pushed you to him. Go after him, I'm sure you want to," Muichiro spoke softly.

"No! I mean well... it's not like that. There's nothing going on between me and Iguro, we're just friends," you tried to explain but you didn't know where to begin to explain the events of the past two days.

"But I heard you stayed over at his house?" Muichiro said curiously, causing your face to flush.

"Well yeah I did, but it wasn't like that!" You said quickly. Muichiro's eyes squinted skeptically, not entirely sure if he believed you. "He found me crying in the woods after our training session and asked me over to eat," You explained further. "I'm not going to lie, he said a lot of nice things that really meant a lot to me. But, the whole time, I just wanted him to be you. Tokito, you mean so much to me, you know I even kept this with me the whole time," You spoke and brought out the origami heart Muichiro had made for you previously. You gazed at the heart in your hand too embarrassed to look up at Muichiro's expression.

Muichiro brought a finger under your chin bringing your gaze back up to his, "I'm sorry I have always been so harsh and haven't expressed how I genuinely feel for you," Muichiro spoke, his gaze intense and eyes filled with a passion you hadn't seen in him before. "I also apologize for letting things come to this before speaking up about my feelings for you. I suppose maybe, I needed to feel that jealousy to truly understand my feelings myself," He laughed lightly. "But I don't want to make you sad anymore, and I want to be the one that says nice things to you and comforts you. I'd like to start that today if you'll let me."

You couldn't believe all of the words coming from Muichiro. It was all the things you'd always daydreamed about wanting him to say to you. Your emotions getting the better of you made it hard to answer all you could do was nod into his hand.

Muichiro used his finger to guide your lips closer to his until finally, they connected into a gentle kiss.

Amazing artwork by @valartsstuff

Thank you all for reading! Next week will be the final chapter!

Tags~

@sakurasunkiss @aeolia18 @unofficialmuilover @demonslayeranimex @yandere-kou @snowmist-hashira @jellyedkazoo @sixxze @crazycatlddy @camilo-uwu

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bengiyo · 8 months

Text

Wedding Plan Ep 7 (Finale) Stray Thoughts

Last week, Lom finally managed to clear things up with Namnuea with the help of Yiwa and Marine. We learned that Lom also experienced The Knowing along with Yiwa when they were kids and have been loyal to each other for over a decade as a result. Nuea and Lom got it in a second time, and Nuea asked to help carry their secret, much Lom’s awe and surprise. Accepting Nuea’s decision, Nuea’s family declared that Lom is theirs now, should his own family turn on him. Meanwhile, Yiwa’s mom was absolutely cruel to Marine, and so Yiwa has decided to run off right before the wedding.

Where is your grace, Saichom? Why would you scream out the problem instead of solving it? This is why your kids haven’t told you who they are.

Oh, Lom, I wish she had warned you, too.

How quickly these two moms turned on each other after being aligned for over a decade.

Not this guest living for the drama and filming it! They’re throwing the staff around!

I really love the choice to mute other sounds and play music over it instead before cutting to the guests leaving.

Namnuea really is good at his job.

Lom is laughing about all of this! He can read between the lines when it comes to Yiwa.

I love that Lom was correct about Yiwa, and that she didn’t tell him to save him the difficulty of lying. Also relieved that these two have a plan to land on their feet in England.

Lom is having too much fun playing heartbroken.

Don’t worry, Saichom. Nuea and Lom going to do a lot of healing.

Oh, I need to hand out a clown aware for whoever guessed that Nuea was faking sad and drunk from the preview with the flask.

I’m glad these two are thriving.

Namnuea, I love you. Thank you for not letting Lom drunk drive.

I’m glad Lom’s plan involves coming out in a way that doesn’t involve Nuea in Yiwa’s decision to leave.

Very meaningful grabbing behind backs there, boys. Thank you for that.

These two are fun now that they’ve settled.

Yiwa and Marine got married!!

Okay, I love that Namnuea is out of vacation leave from when he ran off earlier. Im said, I got you, boo, but you also gotta get me!

Gays arguing over who gets to propose to whom. We eatin’ good today.

The couple photo of Lom and Nuea is fantastic, holy shit.

Okay, this was a good parent moment. “I might find it difficult to accept, but please don’t disappear,” is honestly so reasonable. I’m into it. Lom hasn’t come out formally yet, but they’re talking about it.

I love the bickering in this company. They’re so funny. Now they’re gossiping. I love it here.

Alright, I have a lot of big thoughts about Lom’s mom coming around and Lom reading between the lines on his mother to know that she gave her blessing as best she could.

Final Verdict: 9.5, Highly Recommended. I never expected to be earnestly recommending a MAME show this year, but here we are. The final resolution of this show reveals an understanding of the fundamental nature of the closet in a way I did not think MAME was capable of. Yiwa understood that the gender politics of their existences meant that she and Marine could not be happy in Thailand and so she decided to leave. I love that with all that Lom and she have given up for each other, I like her taking the opportunity to take on all the hate and derision for him. I love that it’s her choice and not one foisted upon her or expected of her. With this opportunity, Lom and Nuea are allowed to soft-launch their relationship. This is actually so beautiful to me because I like the queers collectively deciding when everyone else is allowed to know. I like that they have to create a narrative that the hets will accept for them to come out peacefully. It’s not fun to live a lie, but we’re not the ones demanding the lies of us. I’m absolutely floored by the earnest way this show faced all of these obstacles and took what felt like such a gross starting line to a fantastic finish. I’m only taking a point here because the kissing with the girls was bad, and their chemistry was a little weak. So, yeah, watch the MAME show about the wedding planner getting the groom.

#wedding plan #wedding plan the series #thai bl #bl series #Ben watches

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nanaminokanojo · 9 months

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THAWING ICE QUEEN (part 30)

–one night of fooling around with the annoying campus king gojo satoru (he thinks so), turns into...well, something else more long term

CHARACTERS: gojo satoru x you | geto suguru | jjk characters

MASTERLIST | CHAPTER INDEX

<<prev part 30 next>>

A/N: This contains prose.

You and Satoru both dissolved into easy laughter amidst the distant chatter of their guests and the faint pink lights coming from the other side of the lake. He couldn't help the giddy feeling in his chest seeing you clutching onto the arm of his montsuki, eyes alight with mirth. The pair of you are far from the parameters of your agreement; just two friends, having fun under a fleeting canopy of rosy blooms...and maybe, just maybe, even beyond that.

Satoru glanced over his shoulder, wrenching his blue gaze from you. He took a moment to truly appreciate the view before him. He had gotten so used to it – seeing the sea of pink slowly taking over the cold white of winter. He had a private view of it, not having to go to parks like other people to witness it every year, but he never really felt anything profound about it until that moment. Sharing the view with you made all the difference.

"Do you like it?" he asked, voice quiet.

He heard your laughter, like chimes in the gently blowing wind. "That's an understatement."

Turning, he looked at you, beyond surprised to find you beaming at him. "Y-yeah?"

"Of epic proportions."

Once again, he found himself admiring the view like it was the first time he was seeing it, but not the trees this time but you. He didn't know what possessed him at that time. It was spring then, too, and he knew he messed up when he asked if he could kiss you, and Suguru almost fell onto the sidewalk from laughing too much. But he had to save face and go along with it, and maybe that was a mistake considering how you've formed this impression of him that was far from how he wanted you to perceive him.

Funny how everything goes his way on anything except when it involves you.

Go slow, he thought. This was a step forward for him. At least you weren't just seeing him through a single lens seeing as how you reacted to his little surprise. He didn't really peg you for someone who appreciated the simpler things in life. If he knew you liked these things, then he would've done more of it to win you over.

He smiled to himself. And maybe it wasn't too late to actually start doing that if it meant he'd get to see you smiling happily because of him or something he did for you.

You sighed in contentment. "I love it. Thanks for having me over."

"You can come over anytime. Just say so."

You snickered. "Don't say that, or you'll be forced to take me here every weekend."

Satoru grinned back at you. "I don't see how that's to my disadvantage, sweet cheeks." He couldn't help being cheeky with you, but that seemed to have broken the spell of enjoying a great conversation with you. "I get to spend time with you."

"You're getting clingy, Gojo."

"Satoru," he whispered, his voice being carried away by the wind.

"Huh?"

"Earlier..." He looked at you, seeing the confusion on your face, and decided against it. "Nothing."

You smirked at him. "Yes, earlier, what was your mom saying? You mentioned me to her – how did she put it? – once or twice?"

Satoru rolled his eyes at you. "In passing, probably. She's making such a big deal out of it."

"Oh..."

"I...I didn't mean to make it sound like you're inconsequential, Y/N. All I'm saying is she likes to tease me a lot 'cause all I ever talk about are Suguru and Ieiri, and I guess I didn't realize that until she brought it up. I –"

"Satoru, you're rambling."

"Satoru?"

You paused. He didn't know what that meant, but he liked how you say his name outside of the times you were in bed. Just like you did earlier.

"You're too surprised when you asked me to call you by your name."

"So, you heard me?"

You nodded. "I guess it's better to address you that way if I am to come here every weekend." You chuckled. "I don't wanna be summoning the whole clan."

He felt his cheeks heating up, thankful for the dim lighting, and like the blood that rushed into his head, he couldn't stop the involuntary step he took towards you or the way his hands seemed to have developed minds of their own to cup your face. Not even the way he leaned forward and claimed your lips with his.

Satoru pushed you against the trunk of the cherry tree, planting one hand firmly against the rough bark just beside your head, pressing his warmth into yours.

It was just the two of you, or it felt like that to him, with no one else in your little bubble and nothing to worry about. He smiled against your mouth when he felt your fingers clutching at the fabric of his robe, taking it slow, taking all the time in the world with you.

Slow is good. He liked slow. It's worth it if it's you.

You both pulled away after a few moments, your lips raw and moist from the kisses you've shared, pupils blown out despite the lack of light. You just stared at each other before Satoru leaned his forehead against your shoulder.

"You know what?"

"What?" you asked.

He snickered. "I was supposedly conceived on this very spot." Again, he couldn't help it.

You rolled your eyes, already aware of what he's gonna say, but you bit the bait just that one time. "So?"

"Wanna make babies here with me?"

~*~

TAGS LIST: @arxliana @neeneee @charlie-xo @aelynaneedsalottathing @arizzu @cloudxp @justpuddinglol @mikkies @nyfwyeonjun

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butterflydm · 1 year

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wot reread: towers of midnight (chap 39-49)

spoilers for towers of midnight

Aviendha! We haven't seen her since she went off without saying goodbye to Rand in TGS. Anyway, she has arrived in the Three-Fold Land and she's pondering ideas about home and softness. She thinks about how she's come to enjoy the baths and fine dresses that Elayne shared with her in the wetlands, despite wanting to believe she only wants the life that she grew up with.

2. As she makes camp for the night, she thinks about how the Aiel (and herself) will need to come back to the Three-Fold Land after the Last Battle, that the wetlands are too soft for them. As she drifts to sleep, there is an older woman there, at her campsite. She says that her name is Nakomi and she asks to share Aviendha's campsite. Nakomi asks if Aviendha is one of those who went west in search of the Car'a'carn and asks about him and about the wetlands. When Aviendha bursts out that the wetlands make them weak, Nakomi is startled. She points out that the Three-Fold Land was meant to punish them, test them, and shape them -- so whatever they are currently facing in the wetlands seems to be what they were being shaped for. So why does Aviendha insist that they must return to the Three-Fold Land after the Last Battle, since the 3FL has accomplished its purpose? They would be punishing themselves for no reason, because they will have met their toh.

3. I do actually enjoy this scene a lot but it really feels like Aviendha questioning all this should have happened earlier in the series, lol. She bound herself into a relationship with three wetlanders (well, Elayne and Rand; she still barely knows Min, because they just spent a month avoiding each other while living in the same place), all the while planning to leave the wetlands after the Last Battle? How exactly was that going to work? Narratively, I feel like this emotional crisis should have happened earlier.

4. Thinking over his grief over Hopper's final death and his failure with Slayer in his head, Perrin forges a hammer and Neald & some of the Wise Ones, working together, turn it into a Power-wrought weapon while Perrin makes it. He also finally embraces the idea of being a leader because 'someone else might do it wrong', essentially, lol. Like using an army to pursue a personal vendetta, you mean? Like allying with invaders and slavers and choosing to sell women into slavery, you mean? Like planning to disband said army after your personal goals have been achieved but before the world has been saved, you mean?

Anyway, Perrin has finally decided that he will lead these people to the Last Battle (like they want) instead of sending them away so... I guess that's nice. Finally caught up to every other one of the main protagonists, lol. It really is so weird how Perrin is the one who gets called the responsible one and he acknowledged his responsibilities back in TSR but then, after that, he ran from his responsibilities so much longer and harder than either Rand or Mat.

He also seems to have finally gotten over his petty jealousy of Wil al'Seen? So that's nice. Poor Wil has been NOTHING but loyal and supportive for as long as he's marched under Perrin's banner, yet Perrin has thought such mean-spirited things about him.

5. Berelain also assumes here that Rand is planning to marry Elayne, though she thinks of it more in tactical political terms than how Perrin was talking about it. So, again, there's a general "yeah Rand and Elayne are probably getting married" vibe going around Perrin's camp so I am going to be Very Doubtful that Tam knows nothing of Elayne when he first meets Min in Tear back in TGS.

6. Perrin finally thinks here that he failed Aram -- not by letting him pick up a sword in the first place, but by scooping him up in his wake and then shoving him away and ignoring him. Took him long enough to realize that it wasn't the sword's fault. He also knows that he can't go back and fix what he screwed up with Aram, but he can try to do better going forward.

...no thoughts from him on how to 'make good' with what he did with selling two hundred women into slavery, though. Maybe he feels like Rand making an alliance with the Seanchan will 'let him off the hook' for that.

7. Once again, the Whitecloaks and Perrin's army are on the brink of attacking each other. But this time it's because Perrin suspects that they're all about to get attacked by Shadowspawn and they do, and they fight together instead of against each other, etc. Battle scene. (where did the Shadowspawn come from? A Waygate, maybe? They can't go through Gateways -- Perrin thinks maybe a Portal Stone). When Byar compares this to what Perrin did in the Two Rivers, Bornhald realizes the contradiction in the logic of what he'd believed about the Two Rivers' battle: if Perrin has the command of this many Shadowspawn already, it's nonsensical for him to kill them off in order to trick the Whitecloaks (with their similar or lesser numbers) into joining him. After the battle is over, Galad names his sentencing of Perrin -- pay 500 crowns to the families of the two Whitecloaks that he killed, and fight in the Last Battle. When Byar realizes that Perrin is 'getting away' with all the crimes he's imagined up for him, he tries to kill Perrin and is killed by Bornhald before he can strike the blow.

8. Being bonded to Egwene is letting Gawyn inside the strong facade that she puts up in front of everyone else, and it's bringing him a lot of comfort to feel how emotional she still can be, under the serene mask. And Egwene and Gawyn have a frank conversation, all the more frank because they can sense the true emotions under each other's words. When Egwene suggests that a bed be brought for him in her antechamber for him to sleep in, he counters with suggesting that they can married. Gawyn also agrees with Egwene, very strongly, that something needs to be done about the Seanchan -- he's seen the assassins they sent after the Aes Sedai, witnessed the attack on the White Tower, and met some of the victims who have been freed from their cruelty. Then, just in case he needs them later, Gawyn takes the three ter'angreal rings that gave the Bloodknives their power.

9. Lan can feel the difference in the distant mind connected to his and wonders if Nynaeve has taken his bond from Myrelle. He always did his best to ignore Myrelle's feelings, but the connection feels different now, with a familiar "passion and kindness". As he passes through a fortress, he is recognized by a grandson of the queen of Kandor, who mentions that Nynaeve had said Lan might try to pass unnoticed. And here, at last, Lan gives up the notion of 'riding alone' and tells him that he will raise the banner, and any who want to join him in the ride to the Blight may come.

10. Galad here notes that it's kinda silly to have Aes Sedai as your allies and then refuse to let them heal you. Yes. Yes, that would be extremely foolish. Galad is another character who feels like a foil to Mat -- they both fell in with groups that are extremely hostile to Aes Sedai, despite having family that would get hurt by those groups (Morgase and Elayne vs Bode). So Galad thinking this here (and allowing himself to be healed) feels like a very direct contrast against something that is coming up in the near future, where Mat is going to decide to be extremely foolish.

But Galad realizes here (or begins to realize) how spending time with a group hostile to Aes Sedai HAS poisoned his mind against them, even though that was not his intention in joining them -- he thinks about how the idea of being healed wouldn't have made him uneasy when he was younger. And that's just what we saw with Mat too -- even if his intention with Tuon is to try to convince her that channeling isn't evil, spending time around her and listening to her spew her poisonous thoughts affects him even when he's trying to avoid it. It's just like the corruption of Mashadar/Shadar Logoth (which was always a metaphor for extreme paranoia and hate). Aridhol - the Children of the Light - the Seanchan... all these groups are working out of the same playbook of stoking paranoia and fear and then using that to gain control of people who are emotionally vulnerable. And it's something that's pretty common IRL too.

But combining Gawyn and Galad's realizations in TGS/ToM does feel kinda like the books have provided a road map of how Mat can emotionally pull himself away from the Seanchan and his toxic relationship with ~Fortuona~ once he wakes up enough to realize that she's not willing to ever grow as a person -- you have to realize that you DO need to make a choice that your morals can live with (can't straddle a fence forever) and realize that spending time around people who are constantly attacking and demeaning your loved ones can potentially screw with your head a lot. Child Byar is the obvious analogue for Tuon in this specific example of Galad vs Mat, and I've talked about Elaida and Tuon's similarities in earlier posts. Byar, Elaida, and Fortuona are all ~true believers~ in their individual terrible philosophies and do have a genuine 'sincerity' and 'conviction' in their zealotry for what they believe in plus share a willingness to turn to violence when they are challenged. I'm not sure if Perrin ever gets a whiff of Fortuona (don't recall), but I wonder if she would smell rabid to him, the way that most of the Whitecloaks do.

11. After they heal up from the battle, they all Travel to Andor, near Whitebridge. Morgase regrets that Faile has taken the reveal of her identity so hard and now Morgase is in a strange half-place where she is no longer a servant but not a queen either. *sigh* It's frustrating that her marrying Tallanvor is still basically forced along by Lini. Let her relax into a relationship first, sheesh. Anyway. Morgase's plan is to offer to be Elayne's advisor.

12. The chapter ends with Perrin getting to have a private reunion with Mat. lol, Perrin and Mat have barely interacted on page in the book series (especially compared to Rand and Mat) and yet Sanderson goes out of his way to let the two of THEM get a private reunion. This is genuinely the first time when Perrin has felt like an author's pet, at least for me (though I do think that Jordan would have spent considerably less page time on Perrin than Sanderson did, this is the first time when that extra Perrin time has felt like it came out of nowhere and was put in just so that Perrin could have a special treat, in this case, the treat of getting Fun Times With Mat for a couple of pages ... though actually, now that I think about, Perrin getting to be the Special One who gets to witness Rand's epiphany on Dragonmount first-hand feels like it falls into this category as well, of Perrin getting Special Treats because he's Sanderson's Particular Favorite and he wants Perrin to experience All The Cool Moments).

Why is Mat here in Whitebridge? Didn't he promise to stay in Caemlyn for a month? Has it already been a month? How did Mat even know that Perrin would be in Whitebridge? An off-screen strategic use of the color swirls, in a way that Mat has never used them before? It's just so random that he's here rather than him and Perrin meeting up for the first time once Perrin arrives in Caemlyn.

Interestingly (to me), Mat has continued to regress emotionally -- he's pulled a childish prank and wants Perrin to join him in it. Also interesting: Mat's hat is completely unfamiliar to Perrin, which speaks again to how quickly and thoroughly Perrin was able to suppress the color swirls compared to Mat and Rand. Anyway, Mat quickly hugs Perrin, arranges to meet him later, and 'borrows' one of the Asha'man to help him hop around (Neald).

Also, we know from Gawyn's chapter that there are ex-damane and ex-sul'dam wandering around the Royal Palace and yet... I don't think we ever get a scene where Mat runs across them the way that Gawyn did. Again, it feels like the narrative is sheltering Mat from seeing the full truth about the Empire that he is tying himself to, making it easier for him to play pretend that he can reason Tuon into being a decent person.

13. Elayne enjoys the warmth of her bond with Rand, after having learned the good news from Egwene that Mesaana was taken care of. It's been a week since Auldra's test (which means no more bed rest, so it was literally just a SINGLE CHAPTER where she was carried around in a bed; being carried around in a bed is the new "Elayne takes too many baths" where fandom exaggerates how much something actually happened) and Elayne has pressed every bellfounder in Andor into making more 'dragons'. Elayne deals with some politics re: the claiming of the Sun Throne. When Birgitte brings someone in unannounced, Elayne assumes that it's Mat (so Mat has permission to come into Elayne's private chambers without being formally announced). But it is Galad instead, and she is very startled to see him. And then even MORE startled to see her mother, alive and well. Morgase lets her know that she has formally renounced the throne, so no worries there, and Elayne and Galad share some information about how Galad became Lord Commander of the Whitecloaks and how the Succession went for Elayne. She invites them to a private dinner later.

14. When Elayne is alone in the room with Morgase (and Birgitte), she tells Morgase about her pregnancy and that Rand is the father. A frustrating way about how this story was set up by Jordan (and @markantonys and I have talked a lot about how this bothers us!) is because Min ~conveniently~ got black-out drunk and so was able to tell all of Caemlyn about Elayne's pregnancy but conveniently 'unable' to tell Rand, is that the pregnancy has been completely isolated to Elayne's storyline and hasn't had any impact on Rand. Which really makes it feel more like Elayne was made pregnant ~for the Dragon's Legacy~ than anything else, especially because of how Jordan immediately started having the people around Elayne treat her as a vessel for her future children rather than a person who was pregnant (even though they didn't know the kids were ~legacy babies~). Again, something that Jordan started but that Sanderson has unfortunately continued. I'm hopeful that (if the show should get that far) the show would do things differently with this storyline, because Rand has already been allowed to have "I could be a dad" related feelings in the show.

15. At night in the Three-Fold Land, Aviendha studies Rhuidean and thinks of the three ways that Rand 'broke' the city. He took away the shrouding mists surrounding it. He brought water to it (the lake is named Tears of the Dragon, Tsodrelle'Aman). And the final way is that he made the cultural impact of the city profoundly different by sharing the truth of the Aiel's past with all the Aiel, so it is no longer something that is a test for Wise Ones and clan chiefs. And so she thinks about how there is a strength in accepting change, and not clinging to tradition for tradition's sake alone. She realizes that her plan of retreating back into the Three-Fold Land never meshed with the other desires of her heart -- she wants Rand to survive the Last Battle but if he does, he will live in the wetlands. And Elayne is her first-sister who she loves and does not want to abandon, and plans to be sister-wives with, and Elayne would also live in the wetlands. She was thinking of how she became a Maiden in part because of her search to be strong but "strength was not strength if it had no purpose or direction".

(she does not think about Min because why would she? Min has never bothered trying to build a relationship with her and, in direct contrast to Elayne, has shown many times that she isn't interested in learning any more about the Aiel or their ways.)

16. The Black Tower plotline should belong to Nynaeve . That is my only comment on chapter 46, lol. I don't hate Androl like some people do but... the Black Tower plotline should have been Nynaeve's (and Logain's too tbh, and would have been a good source for his 'glory' viewing from Min). This also would have given Nynaeve a strong late-series antagonist in Taim, after she's defeated Moghedien earlier in the series.

17. Actually, I am going to talk a bit about how frustrating it is that Jordan kept avoiding this plotline. It is a festering wound in Rand's storyline for months/books and Rand just keeps avoiding it and avoiding it. We get these tiny little hints into what might be happening at the Black Tower, but mostly it's just a self-inflicted wound on Rand's part that never really get resolved on his end, because Rand never goes back there. He creates it and then lets it be Someone Else's Problem, and it kinda feels like it's tied to how Jordan kept having Rand avoid Caemlyn in general. It feels like it's an element of the story that Jordan just... didn't know how to solve, so he kept punting it forward to the future and hoping he would figure it out eventually (kinda like the Seanchan, I guess). But, yeah, I feel like having Nynaeve literally stop by the Black Tower for Lan's bond and then immediately leaving really feels like a missed opportunity on Sanderson's part.

18. Faile, Perrin & co Travel to Caemlyn and Faile is startled by how there is a ring of clear sky around the city, breaking the cloud cover and allowing the sunlight to shine through. That's Rand's love for Elayne. <3

Faile notes here that Elayne is a younger version of her mother (she doesn't think here about how she missed the resemblance before, though now that she brings it up -- she also met Elayne in Tear, just like Perrin did, lol) and notes her pregnancy as well. Yet more people who found out before Rand did. Though Faile does not know for sure that Rand is the dad -- though he is an option that she speculates on.

19. Anyway, obviously Elayne does not execute Perrin. They make an agreement that Perrin will be a ~high lord~ in charge of the Two Rivers but underneath Elayne. It's kinda hilarious to me that Perrin flatly turns down the whole "super early betrothal" idea between his potential kid and Elayne's because of Rand and Egwene's evolving backstory throughout the first five books in the series, one version of which WAS them being ~all but promised~ since childhood, so it kinda IS a Two Rivers thing.

The political mechanism of this is going to be them having it styled as a request from RAND aka the Dragon Reborn, so it doesn't look like Elayne is giving in to the demands of rebels from the crown but is instead honoring the debt the world owes the Two Rivers for raising Rand and "the man I love", so Elayne is thinking at the point that she does intend to go public with her relationship with Rand, it seems, otherwise I don't see how that part of the plan can work. Though this may be Elayne assuming/hoping that Rand will survive the Last Battle and then they will be able to go public.

Hmmm, given that Elayne was kinda ~eh~ on whether or not she agreed with Egwene on needing to 'stop Rand' re: breaking the seals, it's interesting that she frames things that way with Perrin, as if she agrees with Egwene 100%. This conversation is all very political from Elayne's side of things, so I wonder if this part of it is as well. Or maybe Elayne has decided that Egwene is right after thinking things over.

20. ~Fortuona's~ skirt is so heavy and long that it requires five slaves to carry the train of it as she wanders around 'her' palace in Ebou Dar. Let's see what this scene is about, especially given my recent thoughts about how the little empress is a foil for Elayne, who just engaged in some clever political justifications in order to help the Two Rivers maintain autonomy.

Ah, we are being reminded that she gets off on torturing helpless women aka ~teaching lessons~ to stubborn damane. "You did not destroy a beast because it was slow to learn; you punished it until it learned." She's so repulsive in her internal narration. Also, that once again reminds me of how she treated Mat during the circus arc. Another point for 'she was slave-breaking him'. #MatDeservedBetter #PutMatInThePolycule #Yikes

She finds it soothing to watch women be tortured into whimpering and unwilling submission. How is she better than Semirhage, exactly? This is the exact same mindset that Semirhage had.

21. lol forever, the Seanchan are the biggest try-hards in the world. Her gown is covered with writings talking about how "The Empress IS Seanchan. The Empress WILL live forever. The Empress MUST be obeyed" (emphasis in the text). Someone is really really insecure, isn't she, despite her massive ego? Also, that is a straight-forward repudiation of Mat's belief that he can fight her empire without fighting her. She IS the Empire. If he openly turns against the Empire and against slavery, she will take it as a personal assault against her as a person. Speaking of Mat, she thinks here that one of the lessons she learned from her time with him was that not every noble on this side of the ocean would be plotting to assassinate her, as they might in Seanchan. That's the main lesson that she decided to take from her time with Mat. Nothing else important happened in your time with the circus? (also, I don't get how in the world she learned that from the circus journey? lol the only other Seanchan noble on that trip besides her was Egeanin, who was a. Low Blood and b. defected from the Seanchan over to the Westlanders; Fortuona is literally just making things up and creating baseless fictions in her head)

22. Ah, we are also here to show that Elaida is in the process of being broken. I had to skim over all the grossness here. I do think that a part of the reason it's Elaida here and not any other Aes Sedai is likely an attempt at softening the horror of what ~Fortuona~ is doing for the reader but, yeah, that bs does not work on me. I'm with Egwene. No one deserves to be treated like this. It's genuinely so unbelievable that the narrative wants to convince me that Mat would be willing to kiss (let alone do anything else with) a woman like this. Another character more devoid of morals and with a lack of empathy, sure. But Mat? Complete bullshit. (which is why Mat was replaced with a pod!person version of himself in CoT & KoD -- Mat's characterization change really remains the most obvious indicator that Tuon's original plot was likely quite different than what we ended up with, because Mat in WH is clearly set up to morally challenge Tuon and then in CoT & KoD, we abruptly swap to enabling & coddling her instead)

Because sure, Mat cares about people over abstract principles, but he is aware that marath'damane are people too. He barely knew Teslyn and he reworked his entire escape plan to save her. He didn't know the Windfinders at all and, again, risked his entire escape plan to help free them. Mat throwing aside the ~little people trampled under her feet~ in favor of the elite noble lady is just... not in character. It really does suck that Jordan decided to deal with punting off the issue of the Seanchan by destroying Mat rather than... any other option.

23. Anyway, the Seanchan officially now have Traveling, which I'm guessing is the other big reason we have this scene, not just as a contrast against Elayne. But we see here ~Fortuona~ wondering if she will have "unwavering loyalty" from 'Matrim' and an "impossible marriage" out of a fantasy where she will actually be able to trust the Prince of Ravens. tbh this feels like another illustration of Fortuona Just Making Up Fictions In Her Head -- Mat has explicitly told her that her empire is his enemy, and she views herself AS the empire so... no. Mat has no current plans to pledge his ~unwavering loyalty~ to her. But Fortuona has probably blocked out that part of the conversation because she didn't like it, lol.

She then immediately begins plotting her next strike against the White Tower, with this new weapon of being able to Travel directly to the enemy stronghold.

Mat, get a better wife. This one sucks.

24. Hmm, we go directly from seeing ~Fortuona~ being a terrible person, to Mat telling Perrin about being married to 'the Daughter of the Nine Moons', which he maintains is different than being married to 'the Empress of the Seanchan', so even in outside PoVs, Mat is trying to maintain that wall of pretense that Tuon isn't actually a major part of the Seanchan Empire. Interestingly, it sounds like Perrin told his own story first, so Mat & Thom (also here) are aware that Perrin is buddy-buddy with slavers (I doubt he went into detail about selling women into slavery, but he would have needed to mention allying with the Seanchan to explain how he freed Faile & Co from the Shaido). I wonder if that shaped any of their own responses to him.

And I will say, Perrin treating Mat being married to the Empress of the Slavers like the ‘of the Slavers’ part is meaningless: Ugh. I mean, it follows from his horrendous Actually Slavers Are Great People Sometimes ‘epiphany’ of KoD but it still sucks. He literally just goes "lol married man Mat" here, and has zero opinions about the quality of Mat's bride. And this is in Perrin's PoV, so if he were grossed out by Mat marrying a slaver, we would know. He is amused that Mat is married, grins a lot, and is content with just hanging out with someone who is married to a slaver. My respect for Perrin has plummeted once again.

25. Now, Thom is in this scene, so I'm going to examine his behavior closely, as promised. Very intriguing! He is the one who mentioned the marriage when he told the story (and Mat openly wishes that he hadn't) AND Mat grouses that he didn't make Mat sound heroic. Which is to say... Perrin has gotten pretty much precisely the opposite story to the one that Elayne got -- Elayne heard the version that DID make Mat sound heroic and that stopped before there was a marriage or having a slaver enforcer sent back to her empire to do more horrible things. And Thom is the one who told both of those very different stories. Hmm.

Putting this scene so soon after ~Fortuona~ thinking about how much she enjoys torturing people is, um, interesting. We have: Good Queen Elayne figuring out a bargain that will work for everyone; Torturer and Invader Tuon already planning to attack a stronghold of Team Light once again; and then Mat, who wishes people would stop bringing up his marriage.

26. lol, Thom's only comment on Tuon as a person (someone who he spent at least one whole month with, and it might have been two months idk the circus arc felt like it went on forever): "She's something interesting." lol, wow. That's the best he's willing to say about his ~good buddy Mat's wife~, huh? That's one of the best illustrations of 'damning with faint praise' that I've ever seen.

Mat himself does not offer up anything more positive about her at this time, just echoing Thom's comment.

Ugh, so grossed out by Perrin talking about how Mat's wife will expect him to know table manners. She's a slaver, Perrin. She enjoys watching people writhe in pain in front of her. Have some fucking perspective, will you?

...also, Perrin really has no room to talk about table manners. He canonically eats like a wolf.

27. Once again, Perrin confirms that Mat is now a fey creature who obeys oaths to the letter while breaking the spirit of them, apparently. Mat shows him the letter from Verin and Perrin smells it.

Aww, Mat does worry here about Verin. Well, she's dead, Mat. Read the letter instead of ignoring it.

lol, in contrast to Perrin hating when men smile, Mat notes that he wishes Grady would smile more. Don't say things like that around Perrin! He might take offense!

28. "This is why I left my wife in another kingdom". Ah, the very familiar sound of a man who is miserably married but doesn't know he's allowed to NOT be married. You will see this type of comment around the internet and it used to be pretty common on tv (especially sitcoms), though I think that's died down a bit in recent years (or I've just managed to successfully avoid the shows where it still happens). But the "please take my wife" school of 'jokes'. Happily married Grady finds the joke unpleasant. Because he actually likes his wife, I'm guessing.

Mat also notes that he feels like the world has been laughing at him recently. Then he tells Perrin that Moiraine is alive and that he plans to rescue her.

...yeah, I'm now leaning towards Thom believing that Mat is playing Tuon, because Mat's unhappiness about his marriage has not been particularly subtle, and it doesn't make sense for Thom to assume that Mat tumbled in love with her, because he's not acting like he wants to spend any time with her -- he's basically acting like he's ashamed to be married to her, given how much he openly regrets it whenever someone new learns about his marriage (even if he's the one who told them). Since Thom doesn't know about the prophecy, spy!Mat is the most logical conclusion for him to make.

I am also 100% not surprised that Perrin would fail to pick up on any subtext in Mat's feelings about ~his wife~ -- not picking up on people hiding their complex intentions and feelings behind false words has been a subplot throughout Perrin's plotline in the books (I talk, of course, of Berelain; who compared herself to Mat back in TSR and didn't chase him because she believed they were too much alike). Perrin is often baffled by why a person would say one thing and then do another contradictory thing (especially if they are feeling a third contradictory thing at the same time). Which is probably why Mat and Rand are closer friends over the course of the book series, tbh, because Rand was a lot better at picking up on that subtext from Mat just as Mat was better at figuring out what Rand's behavior meant than Perrin was.

29. Aviendha enters the forest of glass columns, expecting to see something similar to what Rand (and every Wise One and clan chief) saw. And she does. On the plus side, Avendesora has fully recovered from being burned during Rand's fight with Asmodean, which was less than a year ago. Yay, tree! We're reminded here of all the ter'angreal that Moiraine took out of Rhuidean, boxed up on caravans meant for the White Tower, but are now just... chilling in Cairhien somewhere. All that's left here is the tree, the glass forest, and the silver rings that the Wise Ones use.

30. She continues to think on whether or not tradition for its own sake is worth holding onto. And then, she actually thinks of trying to use the Talent that she discovered during her time with Elayne to find out more information on the glass columns! But she finds that this ter'angreal is much more powerful than any of the others that she had examined and she feels almost as if it is looking at her. When she turns away to leave, she finds herself drawn into a series of visions, but different ones than the ones she's already seen and came to expect.

31. Instead of the past, Aviendha sees a glimpse of a future. I use 'a' instead of 'the' because that's really the way that Wise Ones generally interface with future prophecies -- they have the silver rings and they have prophetic dreams, and BOTH of those are explicitly subject to change, both of them show possibility rather than certainty. So it makes sense that Aviendha treats this as a 'may happen' rather than 'will happen' (as Min treats her viewings). The Wise Ones always have a degree of malleability and uncertainty when it comes to their prophecies. So even though Aviendha thinks here that this vision feels more real than that of the silver rings, I do think it's partly the lessons of the rings that makes her decide not to just lie down and let the future happen to her, as so many other characters have done.

So it makes sense that the overall lesson that Aviendha takes from the glass columns is "okay, let's prevent this future".

32. The first new vision that Aviendha gets -- of a Aiel who thinks of herself as one of 'the Folk' and who lives a scrabbling life as scavengers in the desert, startles her. She wonders if interacting with the columns in the way that she did changed them. So she decides to turn around and go back into the columns, to see if there is a new lesson here.

33. The progression of lives (for part of this journey, Aviendha thinks she's viewing a distant past):

Malidra - scavenger who dies at 18 (end of Aviendha's line?)

Norlesh - we learn that the reason that the Aiel cannot trade with the 'wetlands' is due to the Raven Empress, who forbids trade with the Aiel. We learn that the reason they don't have settlements anymore is because they are attacked if they gather in large numbers, and they are not allowed back over the mountains into the wetlands.

Tava - greatmother (grandmother) to Norlesh. At fourteen, her hold was attacked and they were driven out to wander the desert. The attack was done via raken & to'raken, sounds like. We learn that this is far from the first time that a hold has been attacked -- few Aiel still hold to societies and sept/clan, because they have been forced to scattered and then regroup with new people so many times. This specific hold was deep in the waste, so they had believed it to be safe. We learn that "being known as Aiel meant death". This is when Aviendha realizes that this is not the past -- she recognizes the raken and the Seanchan uniform.

Ladalin - Wise One of the Taardad Aiel, who cannot channel and wishes that she could, so that she could help her people and remained young for longer to lead her clan. We learn that the Seanchan have done a successful job of hunting Aiel channelers, both male and female (so they may be actively using those copies of the black a'dam that Semirhage made). Ladalin is an old woman now and her entire life has been spent in battle against the Seanchan. We learn that the White Tower has just fallen and only five clans remain. The remaining Aiel decide to retreat back over the mountains and leave the wetlands to the Seanchan, hoping that their children can regroup and continue the fight in future generations. Aviendha finds Ladalin's PoV almost more confusing than the others because it is similar in some ways to Aiel culture thinking but with specific important pieces lost.

Oncala - Maiden of the Spear. Rhuidean has been besieged by the Seanchan. Oncala thinks about how the Aiel respected that the palace in Ebou Dar was the Seanchan's seat and did not attack it (until Rhuidean was attacked), yet the Seanchan attacked their place of peace. Oncala is visiting the royal palace in Caemlyn to speak with Queen Talana and is somewhat resentful that the Andoran royal family thinks themselves the equal of her own family, because they both have the blood of the Dragon. Because they know that they cannot fight the Seanchan alone, she and her family have papers that they took from the palace in Ebou Dar that show plans to attack the various places in the wetlands, thus bringing Andor into the war. However, they left out a document stating that this was a contingency plan and not an active assault being planned.

Padra - Aviendha's daughter, a Maiden of the Spear. She and her siblings have been able to channel since they were children, and she holds the Power constantly, even when she sleeps. We learn that the Seanchan have refused to let any of their enslaved channelers be released, even when the Aiel have offered to pay or trade for them. lol forever at ~the old Seanchan empress~ being considered a ~woman of honor~. Dude, I've met Fortuona. She's got no honor. Pride by the barrel, but no honor. But I guess it's easy to turn the dead into saints (actually the narration here implies that Fortuona dies relatively soon after the Last Battle, which I find interesting - "The old empress, the one who had ruled during the days of the Last Battle" does not sound like she was ruling for very long past that time period. "Many years had passed since her rule". Hmm). Anyway, this is the meeting, essentially, where the Aiel clans decide to go to active war with the Seanchan, thus kicking off the rest of the chain of events. Rhuarc's son talks to Padra after the decision has been made, about how his father felt that Rand was never truly part of the Aiel and didn't know what to do with them, leaving them at loose ends.

34. Anyway, I do think we have a couple of different motivations at work here for Sanderson: a. he needs Aviendha to decide to embrace her chosen future and not just allow the future to happen to her and b. making nice with the Seanchan is a fundamental part of the ending as Jordan had it set up in the epilogue, so he needs to make it so that the Aiel will play along with that.

However... there are some pretty big 'missing character' gaps in the vision that Aviendha has been shown. It's definitely less than a hundred years into the future in the first vision (we meet Rhuarc's son and there's no implication in the vision that he can channel) so... where is Aviendha? She can channel, and channel strongly. Same with Elayne. You'd think they might have some opinions and/or impact on the world. I kinda feel like the push-off into war probably should have taken place further into the future. Maybe have this vision have Rhuarc's grandson instead of his son, and not have any memory of seeing Rand. In a world where channelers can live hundreds of years... Amys or Melaine should still be around too, I would think. I have other questions as well. So despite Aviendha's own thoughts on it, the way that the viewings actually play out feels more like an intentional warning than a true future.

But you know, I did get a good laugh when Fortuona was called honorable, so we'll always have that.

The next reread post will probably be the last one for ToM and I'm going to save any commentary for HOW Aviendha goes about approaching changing the future for when she lays out her thoughts about it, since she hasn't said yet what her plans are, and I don't know if I've remembered them correctly. I think maybe we don't find out until AMoL. We'll see!

#wot #wheel of time #wot reread #towers of midnight #wot book spoilers #wot spoilers #aviendha #perrin aybara #elayne trakand #mat cauthon

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fire-emblem-drabbles · 10 months

Text

Pairing: Lif x reader

Prompt: The summoner gets a new outfit, based on Hel.

Description: You were a little apprehensive to try on the clothing made in the style of Hel... You didn't realize it would make Lif even more anxious than you.

Rating: sfw

Word Count: 1299

Notes: Whoo its a fanfiction!!! Not only that its a series!!! Anyways is anyone surprised to find I'm writing Lif to get out a little block in writing. I'm certainly not. This is not looked over at all, and yes I did do a whole ass sketch to decide how I wanted Hel summoner to look. You'll probably see a picture for that soon :eyes:

“Wow this is really different…” You couldn’t help the way your voice softened as you traced delicate fingers over the clothing prepared for you. It sat innocently in your room, delivered by the tailor earlier and waiting for you to come and find it. You had asked them to make you some clothing similar tho the heroes from Hel (as well as those resplendent heroes from there; you did always tend to stare when another hero came though with the macabre designs).

Staring down the clothing now, you can’t help but feel a little intimidated by it. With its shining black armor, intricate designs and carefully chosen accessories you felt for a moment that perhaps something this nice (for lack of a better word) was too good for you. But, you had to remember this clothing was quite literally made for you. Each stitch considered carefully, every color chosen with care…

So its with a deep breath that you begin to dress in the outfit before you. Carefully slipping on your under clothing, you can’t help but admire the delicate headpiece and interesting armor. It was interesting to see what on your old outfit inspired the creation of this one, and the liberties taken by the tailor to create something that could absolutely be seen from the soldiers of Hel.

Once on and seeing yourself in the mirror you couldn’t help but feel a little heat over your cheeks. On the wall this outfit didn’t seem so revealing, but this skirt, with its cut edges seemed to ride up higher than yours, with the cut that usually filled you with confidence running much higher than before-- your saving grace being the bright blue thigh highs that showed just a bit of real skin. The shirt, meant to resemble the skin of the dead brought back, had careful patterns cut from it to show off your actual skin. At least, the armor resting on your chest and hips made you feel a little protected, not something the flimsy cape you wore could do.

Looking at your cloak, sitting lonesome on the bed, you almost felt like it would be better to replace your previous outfit instead. But glancing at your mirror once again, you steeled yourself; you couldn’t let your own awkwardness put this outfit down. So, with confidence renewed, you move to head out your door, trying to decide what heroes you should surprise with your outfit first.

You thought of the Robin’s, how they would probably be delighted to see how you matched them now. Or maybe Alfonse and Sharena, the latter who would be so excited to see you branching out a little with your clothing. There was any number of heroes who would be pleased to see you like this, you were sure. You really just had to pick a direction and walk!

...That was, of course, after you finished your patrol. It was that time. In all your giddiness to try on your new outfit, you had nearly forgotten!

“Ohh I know I asked someone to accompany me today…” You muttered, heading out towards the perimeter of the castle to begin. You couldn’t quite remember who it was, though. Unbothered, and expecting to enjoy their presence anyways, you hum as you reach the spot you usually start your patrol. You didn’t see anyone around, though, so perhaps you were just misremembering the day…

“Summoner…?” You turned to the sound of a gasp, already quiet footsteps stopping at sight of you.

“Oh, Lif!” You smile at him, but his red eyes remain wide with shock. “Is everything alright? I hope I didn’t keep y--!” Your cut off as Lif suddenly sweeps you into an embrace. “Lif?” You curl your head up to look at him, hands pressed against hard armor. But he’s hidden his face against your neck. You can feel your heartbeat picking up next to him. “What’s wrong?” Your voice comes out quieter now, as you take the chance to hug him back.

“This outfit you’re wearing… I…” He stops speaking but it doesn’t stop your eyes from widening. “But you’re still breathing… still alive…” You feel his heavy breath land on your neck, cold as his embrace.

“It was supposed to be for fun…” You admit softly. “I… didn’t intend to scare you.” How stupid could you be? Of course an outfit like this would cause him to act like that!

“For a moment I…” He stops again, pulling you close once more to double check your heart was still beating.

“I’m so sorry…” You pull back, just enough that you can see the sadness in his eyes, just as much as you feel it in the way he refuses to let you go. “I promise, I’m not dead. I’m still here…” Your unsure what else to say, silent as Lif closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

“Don’t apologize. I… was just taken back to the past is all.” You can’t help but frown at his words. “So many times I’ve agonized about not being able to save you, and to see you like this…” He shakes his head.

“I-I can go change! I’d still really like you to join me for my patrol.” You remember how much pleading it had taken to get him to agree in the first place.

“You don’t have to do that. I… just need a moment.” Still, he does not let you go. As if letting you go would change reality, and you too would be under Hel’s domain…

“Then I won’t go anywhere, then.” You were still beating yourself up over being dumb enough to wear this around Lif. You hadn’t even considered how he might feel seeing you like this… “I just got jealous of all the other Heroes getting new outfits, so I wanted to join in on the fun. I really enjoyed the way other heroes outfits came out when based on Hel but…” You sigh and shake your head, unable to finish the thought. “Think of it this way, Lif. I match you now!” You say instead, trying to boost his mood from how somber he had become.

“Match me?” He echoes the words. It wasn’t an entirely displeasing thought, but… Even now, taking another look at your outfit, Lif has to stop the pit of anxiety that fills him. You looked so happy though, smiling up at him in that encouraging way.

“Tell you what. We can go slow on my patrol today, and I won’t drop your hand the entire time.” You decide, pulling back from him but taking his right hand in your left. “I know were both wearing a lot of armor, but you can feel how warm I am, right?”

“...I can.” He nods, because even thought your now gauntlet clad hand, Lif can feel the heat of your hand. It’s very comforting, though he dare not admit.

“Then you can know I’m still alive.” You grin wide at him. “And if anything scary comes along during our patrol, I know I can trust you to keep me alive and safe too.” You added. “So… come on! We’re already running a little behind as it is.” You urge him forward by walking yourself, causing Lif to follow lest he lose the warmth of your hand.

The two of you continued forward like that, silent but happy in one anthers company. Lif wasn’t sure he enjoyed your new outfit yet. However, if it meant he got to hold your hand like this, soak in your warm touch as he had before… perhaps it wasn’t all bad. And like you said; the two of you did match now. You were dressed like him, and not Alfonse so… maybe, there was a chance for him after all.

#lif x reader #feh #fire emblem heroes #feh x reader #lif fire emblem heroes #fe lif #fe lif x reader

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nobedofroses · 5 months

Text

December 5th

pairing: Pero Tovar x reader

warnings: fluff, some light smut (thigh grinding)

words: 1.2k

a/n: as always, a bit longer with Pero and it's also set in the vague past. inspo from the quote prompt "I totally definitely did not just watch you chop wood outside” from @toomanystoriessolittletime's winter writing challenge ❄️

Full List

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“If you drop one more egg, I’m going to make you muck out the stables instead of him,” your sister, Martha told you, looking pointedly between you and the hired hand that was currently outside chopping wood.

You wrenched your attention away from the way his body moved to look at her, heat creeping up your neck. Still, you avoided, “Instead of who?”

“Oh, do not try to deny it, I’ve been watching you watch him for the past half hour. And you’ve lost one egg and only barely managed to save another you’re so distracted,” she impugned.

“You have two dozen chickens, it’s not as if we are hurting for eggs,” you muttered, sheepish at having been caught.

“Regardless, I will not have needless waste in my house because you are staring at the hired hand.”

“He has a name,” you reminded her, thinking that Pero deserved to be referred to as such.

“Fine,” Martha acceded. “Stop trying to picture Pero’s nude body and get back to baking.

Your mouth dropped open in shock that she would even say that aloud, but Martha just laughed loudly and ushered you away from the window.

___

An hour later, with the cake in the oven and Martha keeping an eye on it, you had been sent to collect the eggs and skim the milk for cream. Skimming the cream was one of your favorite chores, quiet and meditative. The shed it was kept in had an open doorway that faced the house, but from where you were standing, all you could see was the stacked firewood.

And then a couple minutes later, you could also see Pero, back again with the ax and a cord of wood over his shoulder. He made it look effortless, but you knew it must be ridiculously heavy. The thought of what else he could do with those strong arms made you shiver.

You lost track of what you were doing for several seconds, just watching him starting to do… whatever it was he was doing. You weren’t paying much attention to the technicalities.

So you also didn’t notice when Pero looked up and caught sight of you through the doorway. Which meant you just about jumped out of your skin when he spoke. “I hear you are making an almond cake.”

You gasped loud, hand coming to your heart and splashing some of the milk. Luckily it wasn’t the cream or else Martha would have your hide.

Pero’s eyes got wide and he looked so sweet and sorry you couldn’t help but adore him, “I am sorry, I did not mean to scare you.”

You stood, having actually finished the skimming while you were distracted, and you wanted to move on before you embarrassed yourself.

“It’s fine, I was just woolgathering. Um, yes, almond cake, do you like it?” you asked, getting the subject back on track and moving out into the open air. Hopefully the chill would help you think straight.

“Yes, it reminds me of home,” he told you softly and when you looked up, his warm brown eyes were deep, just asking you to fall into them.

“What are you— I mean, you were cutting wood earlier, so why are you cutting more now? Do we really need that much?” you laughed awkwardly.

“This morning I was chopping the logs into pieces and now I am splitting them so they are the right size for the hearth,” he explained, gesturing with his large hands and you got distracted again, wetting your lips as you looked at them.

Pero noticed your stares, had noticed them for weeks but was waiting for you to decide what you wanted to do. After all, you were the sister of his employer and he was only planning to stay in the area for a few months longer, getting food and board on the way to his own brother. William had a farm with both of their names on it waiting just a mountain away from where you lived.

In Pero’s distracted daytime fantasies, he pictured wedding you and taking you home with him, coming home to you everyday.

And in his nighttime fantasies, he pictured what you would feel like under him, how sweet you would taste, the sounds you would make when he touched you. Like how he wanted to touch you now, with the hands you couldn’t stop staring at.

The two of you were broken from your separate albeit related reveries by the loud squawk of a chicken.

“I— I have to go collect eggs!” you said, unnecessarily loud and hurried away.

“Yes, of course,” Pero replied, watching you practically run away from your desire.

___

That night, long after Martha and your brother-in-law, John, were asleep, you snuck downstairs, avoiding the creaky steps, because you needed one more sliver of the spice cake. Martha had finished it with her famous orange marmalade icing and it might’ve been the best thing you ever tasted.

The fire in the hearth had dwindled, leaving just coals, but you didn’t need the light to find your way, you were more than familiar with the layout of the house. What you weren’t expecting was to trip over a pair of boots as you walked past the chair closest to the fire.

For the second time that day, your hand flew to your heart and Pero apologized for scaring you.

“I must have fallen asleep reading. The fire is low, I should build it before I return to my quarters,” he said, referring to the loft that was on the far end of the house from the other bedrooms.

As he spoke, he relit the candle he must have been using to read, just about an inch of it left but enough that it became very clear that he was fully dressed and you were in your white cotton nightgown. It wasn’t revealing, but it was intimate enough that you felt heat creep up your chest and neck in embarrassment.

“I don’t know, it feels pretty warm in here to me,” you don’t know what possessed you to say that, but his soft, sleepy eyes and the warmth of his face in the candlelight had your heart beating faster.

“Well maybe you are feverish, because I am cold,” he said with a chuckle.

“Maybe… maybe I can help you with that,” you told him and took a step forward. And then another. You leaned forward and then, with his help, climbed onto his lap.

Your hands rested on his shoulders for balance, one knee between his and the other pressed into the side of the overstuffed chair. The skirt of your nightgown had to be rucked up by his rough hands, and you held your breath as you waited for a rip, but he was surprisingly gentle. His hands came to your hips when he was done and you settled your weight down, breathing in deeply when his thigh pressed against the most intimate part of you.

“Pero,” you breathed, and then he was kissing you.

His full lips pressed into yours, your arms wrapped around his neck, and he tugged you closer until your chest was flush with his. The thin fabric of your nightgown let him feel your warmth easily, and he moaned into your mouth when he felt your hips move against his thigh.

He helped you along, moving you in a slow grind until you had to pull away to gasp a quiet whine of his name and your body shook in his arms.

After a couple shaky breaths of calming yourself down and trying to regain some semblance of dignity, you asked, “warmer yet?”

Pero laughed lightly and kissed your cheek, “Almost, but I think I want more of your heat.”

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#pero tovar #pero tovar x reader #blurb #fluff #smut #ish #nobedofroses #snowy fics 23 #stephswinterwritingchallenge

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