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moonlinos · 2 months

Note

Hi love 💖

Which romance trope do you associate each skz member with?

For eg: enemies to lovers, forbidden, friends to lovers, boy next door etc

Tbh, from your perspective what relates to them....

Bye, keep writing more 🥰🤗☺️

Ahh I loved writing this, thank you for asking. I got a bit carried away, but it’s not proofread since it’s a drabble so I tried to be less annoying with myself 🙃 Basically a trope for each member + a small blurb 🩷

Chan - Second chance love Maybe it’s because I just wrote about this, but it fits Chan well.

He was your college sweetheart, the one boyfriend you could never truly forget. After he moves to a different country due to a job offer, you’re left to reminisce about the amazing relationship you foolishly let slip through your fingers. You unknowingly compare every boyfriend you have to him, and they all fall short. No guy is as caring as Chan — he missed out on his own birthday party to console you after failing a test. No guy is as romantic as Chan — he was too broke for flowers during your relationship, so he made you paper roses every day until you broke up. No guy would ever live up to what Chan meant to you. Although you want nothing more than to look for him, your falling out wasn’t quite amicable. When you meet again, it’s by pure coincidence. He’s been transferred back to Seoul, where his company is located across the street from the building where you work. You’re completely different from who you were when you were together. Somehow, that’s exactly what you needed, and you find yourselves wanting to give your old romance a second try.

Minho - Friends to lovers This is so strange to me because this is actually my least favorite trope, and this man is my bias.

Minho is the one person at your job who you can stand to be around. You always joked about how his hidden talent is making you laugh even while you’re crying. Having worked together for three years now, you two have your little routine: going out to eat cheap street food after work and getting drunk at your favorite bar on weekends. He’s nothing but a friend to you, but he’s secretly pining after you, just waiting for that right moment to confess his feelings. But that moment never comes — you’re always too focused on work, or whining about yet another failed blind date. It takes one drunken night, when he’s carrying you from your car up to your apartment, for just how sweet, caring, and handsome Minho truly is to dawn on you. From there, you begin to subtly show him your feelings — which would totally make him flustered and maybe even a little annoyed that you could do it so effortlessly while he just waited around like an idiot. When you’re asked why you had a change of heart after being his friend for so long, you simply answer that you had no choice but to fall for him. He’s your best friend and the love of your life all wrapped up into one, how could you not want him?

Changbin - Holiday romance He just screams hot, funny dude you meet on a holiday.

You’re a bit down as you walk into the luau; the beautiful beach does little to distract you from the ugly jealousy inside your chest. Your friends are finding their perfect partners one by one, getting married, and leaving you to be the single friend. Your last friend from your little group is set to get married in two days, her wealthy fiance flying all the guests out to Hawaii for a dream beach wedding. You’re happy for her, but being her bridesmaid was almost like rubbing salt in your wound. Changbin’s loud voice is the first thing you hear after sitting down at the bar. You two get to talking, and his contagious laughter and constant jokes have you enthralled the entire night, and the way the sleeves of his shirt strained against his biceps certainly helped. You end up hooking up that night, leaving you hopeful you won’t be so lonely during yet another wedding. Except he simply disappears when morning comes, a small note explaining he had to catch his flight left on the pillow beside you. He didn’t know if adding his number would be too much — maybe you were just looking to de-stress and have a good time at your friend’s bachelorette party. So he doesn’t, simply signing his name and telling you he had an amazing time with you.

Hyunjin - Forbidden love In so many different ways. A crown prince set to be king, your bodyguard who really shouldn’t have fallen for you because it puts his life at risk, your best friend who’s already in a relationship. A love you know is unattainable, but you pursue it anyway.

The crown prince has a soft spot for you, even though you’re only a village girl who runs your family’s bakery. Despite his guards surrounding him and his cold appearance, he treats you as an equal whenever he visits your shop — which happens frequently, seeing as his mother cannot live without your strawberry pound cake, a recipe that’s been passed down to you by your late father. Hyunjin’s love starts shyly, without him noticing. His father often berates him for being too soft on the help, too kind to people below him — he simply assumes it’s his seemingly too-kind nature that makes him want to befriend you. He begins escaping from the palace under the pretense of fetching his mother’s favorite treat himself, until he finds himself escaping simply to see you. You spend your days teaching him how to bake various treats while he revels in feeling so normal for the first time in his life. Hidden inside your little bakery, he’s not expected to be gracious and courteous, or to be ruthless and calculating. He can simply be himself around you. Only problem is his parents announce he will be marrying a princess from a neighboring kingdom in less than six months.

Jisung - Fake relationship Jisung screams early 2000s romcom for me, you can’t change my mind. The real chaotic ones like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, The Wedding Planner, and of course, The Proposal.

You were certainly not his first option, given his love for tormenting you and your history of bickering at office get-togethers. But Jisung is left with no choice as Christmas is quickly approaching, and his entire family expects to meet his fiance when he visits. In all fairness, he did have one, but she broke off the engagement with no real explanation, leaving him heartbroken and in a huge predicament. He could either come clean to his family and endure two weeks of nagging or find someone to act as his fiance. Unfortunately for him, you’re the only single woman in his department he knows would accept this crazy deal — that’s enough ammo for a year of teasing, and you can’t pass up on that.

Felix - Sunshine/grumpy I know this is the most obvious choice but hear me out, it’s for good reason.

Felix moves back to Australia to get away from the corporate world he’s been sucked into, missing his carefree days at the beach when he was a kid. You move in next door after a year and a half of enduring a terrible writer’s block that threatens your career as a writer. You have no time for futile things, seeing as your livelihood depends on you sitting down and finishing your book before summer ends. Except your neighbor is unrelenting, determined to help you find your lost passion through his carefully curated list of days at his favorite childhood fair and late-night ocean trips to teach you how to swim. It’s irritating at first, and you want nothing more than to get through his silly list as fast as possible lest you drown him during one of your swimming lessons. Only Felix’s outlook on life slowly wins you over, and you find yourself with more than just your forgotten love for writing filling your heart.

Seungmin - Enemies to lovers He also screams romantic comedy. His handsome face hiding his chaotic need to pester everyone he loves makes this the obvious choice to me.

As a lawyer just starting her career, you expect to be faced with the usual issues: overworking, your boss being an asshole, and dealing with cases that make you question your own morals. A co-worker who makes every second of your day unbearable was not on your bingo card. Seungmin is assigned to the same team as you, working under the supervision of the firm’s most prestigious lawyers. His need to be the best drives you up the wall, his competitiveness possibly being the worst trait you’ve seen on a man, only rivaled by his cockiness. If that wasn’t enough, he’s seemingly determined to make your life a living hell, constantly engaging in petty fights and teasing you every chance he gets. When a particular case proves too much for you to handle — hitting too close to home — Seungmin trades his unwelcome jokes for words of encouragement, keeping you company after work hours simply to help you. You see him take a step back from his beloved spotlight for the first time just to watch you shine. You find it odd, to say the least, but you can’t bring yourself to question it in your situation. Little do you know he’s been falling for you since he was first introduced to the team, and his need to rile you up is simply a desperate attempt to make you pay attention to him.

Jeongin - Boy next door I read this one in your message and I just knew it was Jeongin.

He moves next door after a heartbreak, which makes him want nothing more than to run away from the bustling city of Seoul and its cold residents. Jeongin intrigues you from the first day — having lived in that small town your whole life had you desperate for excitement, for what adventures the city could provide you. You have a happy, albeit quite monotonous life. Running the only bookshop in town provides countless stories from your nosy neighbors’ chaotic lives that keep you entertained throughout your days. Still, you’ve grown tired of only hearing about these experiences. Jeongin begins frequenting your bookshop, walking you home, and coming inside for a piece of cake every day. During your talks, you always complain about your dull life in the town, while he swears you wouldn’t trade the tranquility of your little life if you knew how ruthless and lonely the city can be. You fall first, his bright smile and gentle nature capturing your lonely heart. But he falls harder, vowing to help you find the excitement you yearn for in life, even if it means losing you to the city he hates so much.

♡ taglist: @bloom-ings, @linocz, @farahia, @mirbokk, @jisunglyricist, @jazziwritesthings, @seungseung-minmin, @yourcvndx, @hynjinnnnnnnie, @vlctorriaa, @yongbokkiesworld, @kiensecent, @redstayrosie

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scorpioriesling · 6 days

Text

Guilty as Sin?

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Pairing(s): Azriel x reader

Warnings: angsty asf

Summary: It wasn't hard to love your best friend; after all, you'd been through everything together. He'd seen every in-depth part of you, but now you were forced to give all of that up. All because of the stupid cauldron, and stupid fate.

SR’s Note: Brb going to get "mine" tatted on my upper thigh... this is so UGH anyways. I had to; I apologize in advance. This is one of my favorite new songs.

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The cauldron could boil itself at this point.

You weren't sure how to make the best of this situation; something you could normally do without fail. A talent everyone loved about you. However, that talent was failing you now.

Now that the bond had snapped, and there was no way out. No way of avoiding what you so desparetely wanted for years, and somehow it all ended up messed up in the end.

Lucien was a good male, you would give him that much; but that wasn't enough. Your life felt near over when your best friend revealed his hidden bond with the Archeron girl -- but now, you were in the same position. Somehow, you were cursed in more ways than one. Not only was your best friend mated to someone else -- but now so were you.

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"You're right, we should definitely get matching tattoos!" You laughed, bumping into Azriel's arm as you both stumbled down the Velaris streets. It was past midnight, and you were both buzzed from your night out at Rita's -- something you did at least once a week -- and the walk home turned into more of a walk through town.

He chuckled beside you, fingers curling around your elbow to help steady you. His wide smile was a sight you'd never tire of; he rarely let it show, but when he did, you made sure to illustrate it in your mind, holding onto the masterpiece forever.

"It isn't our worst idea..." he admitted, taking another swig from the bottle he held. You watched as his throat bobbed, swallowing the liquid and turning his attention back to you. You look toward the sky, trying and failing to pretend you weren't staring.

"What should we get?" You ask with a grin. He ponders for a moment, brow lifted in mockery. "Hmm.." he says. "What if we got eachother's handwriting?" You giggled, and he laughed with you.

"I'm serious!" He exclaimed. The tattoo parlor was coming into view, and you rolled your eyes. "I don't know if I trust you to literally write on me," you say. "We've been friends for far too long for me to put it past you to write something like "Azriel is so hot" or "Kiss my ass" on me-" You barely get it all out before laughing again, his gaze on you softening as he loops an arm around your shoulders.

"I promise I won't do something so vulgar," he says. You're now in front of the tattoo shop, the neon lights illuminating his face in a deep blue glow. He grabs the door handle and opens it, gesturing you to go inside.

"Ladies first." He smirks. You lightly smack his shoulder, and saunter your way inside.

"Fine -- but you have to go first." You throw over your shoulder. He enters behind you, and within minutes he's put in a chair and the tattoo artist is holding the needle gun over his forearm.

"Okkayyy, 'lil lady," he says, pulling up a stool to allow you to sit beside him. He hands you the gun, and places his hand over yours to help you with the process. "You ready?" he asks. You glance at Azriel, who now has his eyes lightly closed as he lays down on the bed in front of you.

"Are you ready, Azzie?" You say. He nods silently, a small smile playing on his lips. You release a breath as the gun whirrs to life, and the artist guides you to begin pressing into your best friend's skin. Stealing a glance at his face, you find him peacefully laying there, almost sleepy. That would make sense, seeing as you both drank a lot tonight.

After a few minutes of darkening the lines and wiping away the excess liquid, the artist powers down the needle and scoots back on his rolling chair. Your fingers lightly dance over the puffy black lines on his otherwise bare forearm, and he stirs at the sensation.

"Have a look," you say. He opens his eyes and sits up, delight overtaking his features as he sees your work.

"I choose you and me," he says aloud, reading over the ink now drying in his skin. He almost blushes, gazing at the ink and touching it lightly. His eyes meet yours, and in seconds he is hopping up and offerring you the bed. You sit on it, pulling the hem of your shorts up so it's easier to access.

"Heyy..." he starts. "You picked the spot for mine-" You huff.

"I want mine up here," you point to the upper part of your thigh, and he rolls his eyes. He shoots a look to the artist, and shakes his head.

"I've learned to just not argue with this one," he says, and you gasp at him. He laughs, his white teeth shining like stars inside the dim shop. The tattoo artist sighs, powering on the newly replaced tatto gun and handing it to Azriel. You place a hand on your leg, eyes wide.

"You're not gonna help him?" You ask the artist. He only shrugs at you.

"I've seen his work before -- he knows how to do a pretty damn good tattoo." Your eyes narrow toward your best friend, and he only grins down at you.

Sighing, you rest your head back against the cushion of the tattoo bed. "Az, you better not fuck this up-"

You're cut off by his fingers brushing against the skin of your leg, pulling on your shorts to move them slightly. Your breath catches in your throat, now staring wide-eyed down at the man you'd secretly fallen so madly in love with. His messy curls tickled the strips of skin between the hem of your baby tee and the top of your shorts as he stared intently at his work, needle lightly pressing into your skin. His other hand laid flat on your stomach, holding you gently in place.

You couldn't ever get rid of this sight unless someone quite literally ripped it from the archives of your mind.

He glanced up at you, noticing your labored breathing. His soft expression was one he only ever used with you; a stark contrast to the strong, unfazed front he presented to everyone else. You figured he was going to tell you to chill out -- little did he know you weren't focusing on the pain, but rather the striking male on top of you.

"Lay down -- you can't peek 'till I'm done."

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The air was warm as it rolled off the sidra, the salt air so familiar. You'd come down here for some peace; some time away. Since learning of the bond with Lucien, it was like you couldn't escape. You couldn't get away from the constant "Are you okay?"s and "Have you told Azriel?"s and "Do you think you'll accept the bond?"s. It was getting to be too much. No, you weren't okay. No, you did not want to accept the bond.

And fuck no, you did not tell Azriel. You remembered what happened last time when you found out his bond snapped, and you hadn't even seen him in months. There was no point -- it wouldn't change your situation.

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"I made you that strawberry cream cake, you know, your favorite?" Feyre's kind words filled the kitchen as you continued to pour glasses of lemonade, setting down the pitcher to meet her watercolor eyes. You gave her a soft smile.

"Thank you... but whatever for?" Her gaze dropped, fingers fiddling with one another as she looked around nervously. You arched a brow at her.

"Nothing, I just -- I thought you might like it. To celebrate the first day of Summer," she stuttered. You'd never seen her at a loss for words, but before you could think too long about it, Cassian barged into the room, eyes full of delight when he spotted the filled lemonade glasses.

"Ahh," he grabbed one and chugged it, putting it back on the counter after a few gulps as though it was a shot. You giggled, Feyre finding his interruption rather funny as well. He peered at you, sliding the glass over on the counter top.

"Fill 'er up -- Gods, it is so hot outside." He says, fingers fiddling with a small band tying his hair back. You top off his glass, and he takes it again, only sipping this time.

"Are you ladies joining us outside? Or what?" He asks giddily. You swear, if he wasn't a fae bat he would be a golden retriever.

"Absolutely," Feyre nods. He saunters out of the room, and within seconds you spy him by the edge of the Sidra tackling Rhysand into the river with him. They both come up within seconds, laughing and shaking their wet hair. Feyre peers out with you, and your heart catches when you see Azriel not joining in. He is sitting on one of the picnic blankets the group laid out, Elain's head in his lap as he leans back on his hands. She tenses, laughing at something he said. He gives her a smile; one you'd thought only he shared around you.

"I'll meet you outside in just a moment?" Feyre offers. She knew; she knew exactly how you'd felt for Azriel. But, she also knew that he was in some newfound, weird relationship since her sister arrived.

You tried to brush it off. Your best friend had lovers before; most of them only lasted a few weeks anyway, then they were gone. This one would be no different.

Finally making your way down to the river, tray of drinks in your hands, you were greeted by Mor as she helped pass out the drinks. She walked over to Feyre and Cassian; of course, leaving you to head over to Azriel.

You sighed, and walked over to the blanket where he sat. Her annoying laugh rang out again, and you winced. Azriel looked up, finally noting your presence and shielded his eyes from the sun with his hand. The unmistakable black writing on his forearm still reading "I choose you and me". Your heart swells just a bit.

"Y/N! Did you bring us drinks?" He asks nicely. You smile back, appreciating this side of him never failing to come out around his best friend.

"I just might have..." You say. Elain sits up upon hearing your voice, offerring a kind smile. You pass one glass to Azriel, and hold out another for her.

"Thank you Y/N! You must have known lemonade is my favorite," She takes it from you, beaming and turning to Azriel. He nods in agreement, sipping from his drink.

"Lucky guess." You say, grinding your teeth in a tight smile as you set down the empty tray on the grass. She giggles and continues conversing with Azriel, and you decide to not even try to engage this time.

You stalk over to the towel Mor is currently lounging on, her sunglasses set high on her nose. Your body creates a shadow, and she sits up grumbling.

"Ugh, Y/N, I'm trying to get a tan!" Her eyes finally adjust, seeing that you're stripping off your clothes, only a small emerald green bikini underneath. Her mouth pops open and she gasps, loud enough for everyone to hear. You're kicking off your shoes when she takes her glasses off and gapes at you.

"Girl, I'd let you stand over me any day -- you look good as fuck!" She squeals. You roll your eyes, her loud appraisal catching attention as she continues to compliment you.

"Seriously! Feyre, have you seen Y/N's suit? She is looking like fine wine-" She looks you up and down, and you notice behind her, Feyre has jogged over to where her friend Lucien has just arrived. Feyre turns her attention to you over Morrigan's whooping and hollering, giving you a thumbs up

"Looks good! I told you it would!" She shouts. She turns back to her Autumn court friend, but his eyes are drinking you in as though you are the wine itself. You steal a glance at Azriel, and boy are you glad you did -- he is pissed. He is glaring at Lucien as Elain babbles on, absentmindedly. She doesn't even realize he isn't listening to her anymore. You bend down, coming face to face with your bubbly blonde friend.

"Swim with me?" You say. She scoffs, tossing her sunglasses down and rising. You both walk to the bank of the Sidra, its gleaming water only inviting you in further.

"You know I'd never deny you, but I did want to lay out-" She is cut off by a strangled scream as Cassian yanks her in by the waist, her head reappearing moments later. Breathless, she pants.

"Cassian! Are you kidding?" Him and Rhysand only laugh, you shaking your head and chuckling along with them. You slowly enter the warm water, basking in the last few warm days the year has to offer. Mor wades past you, and makes to get out of the stream.

"Aww what! Where you goin'?" You whine pathetically. She runs her fingers through her soaked locks, huffing.

"I. Am not. Swimming. With those knuckleheads. Any longer." She stomps back over to her towel, and you stick your bottom lip out in feigned sadness.

"Aww, come on, Mor! You're already wet, just get back in and swim for a while!" You say. It isn't long before a splash to your left flings water near you, and you look around for a few moments before something grabs your ankles and drags you under. You come up a few moments later, Azriel resurfacing in front of you and laughing at your drenched complexion.

"I'll play." He says lowly. You shove his shoulder, and Mor waves a hand from her blanket, sunglasses already back on her face.

"Yes, yeah. Let Az play with you."

It isn't long before you're splashing around with your friends, everyone swimming besides Morrigan and Elain. Even Lucien has joined in, the water twirling his fiery locks over his shoulders. Maybe in another life, you'd fall in love with him.

But you're living this one, and you're still in love with your best friend.

"Hey, uhh," Azriel swims close to you, the sunset on the horizon illuminating his tanned skin. You can feel his hands creating water riplets around you to stay afloat, and you gaze at him. "Can we, like, swim over there? Maybe?" He asks, jerking his head toward the rocky alcove a few hundred feet away. Your eyes widen as you try not to think too hard about why he'd want you in there with him instead of his girlfriend; so you glance over to where everyone else is drying off and gathering their items. Elain is staring a hole into the side of your head.

"Sure," you say, timidly. Azriel grabs your hand under the water, his scarred fingers threading through yours with ease. You suck in a breath, and Azriel throws a smile towards Elain.

"We'll be in soon!" He shouts, and she returns the smile, almost a little smugly. She helps her sister collect the items from the grass, and Azriel stars swimming away, pulling you with him.

"Why did we need to come over here?" You ask, out of breath when he finally stops swimming behind a large rock. You can't see your friends anymore. You glance around nervously.

"Well, I had something I needed to talk to you about." He says. "Privately," he adds. Your cheeks heat. Its finally here, the moment has finally come.

"Oh, um. Okay. I think I have something I talk to you about too." You say. His eyebrows raise, and he smiles kindly at you.

"Oh! Alright. Well, why don't you go first then." He offers.

"I don't really... know... how to explain it." You fumble. The breeze blows over the water, pulling you away a bit. Azriel reaches for you, probably to hold you close but his hand grips onto your waist. He pulls a little too hard, and you're flush against his chest. His intense hazel eyes bore into yours, tiny water droplets dripping from the end of his onyx curls. Its silent for a moment, the mixed heavy breathing the only sound other than the nature around you. You gaze up at him, his eyes trailing down from your eyes... to your lips... then down to where your heaving chest rises and falls beneath the water's surface. Your eyes can't escape his full lips, and you snake your hands around his neck, pulling him in so impossibly close and close the gap.

Finally, after all these years, you get to taste those delicious lips on yours. You kiss him, softly, and when he pulls back, he looks at you with sorrow.

"Y/N... I..."

"I don't mind, Azriel. You know I love you; I want this. I would choose this. I choose you and me." Silver lines his eyes and you don't think you've ever seen him get so emotional. You pull him to you once more, kissing with more hunger this time, and he doesn't stop you. His hand scoops under your ass, squeezing and holding you tight, the other one flat against the side of your neck. His thumb brushes along your cheekbone as your fingers curl into his wet locks, when suddenly he rips away from you. He lets go as if he was a bug caught in a zapper, flinging himself away from you like you had electrocuted him. You instantly feel colder without his touch.

"W-what's wrong?" You ask, timidly. He runs a hand through his hair, and rubs his eyes with his palms, sighing.

"What is it, Azriel?" You ask, moving closer. He puts a hand out to stop you, and you begin to feel regret. No, not regret. Fear.

"Don't, Y/N." He says. You eyes close, near slits as you try and keep the sob rising in your throat at bay. He's never taken that tone with you before.

"Don't what? Be honest with you? Azriel, I love you, and-"

"I have a mate, Y/N." He cuts you off. You feel like you've been stabbed in the gut, thrown off a cliff; what was he talking about?

"W-what?" You ask. That sob is barely at bay, tears stinging your eyes as you try to keep from crying. He moves his hands to look at you, and immediately sighs and looks down at the water, hating to do this.

"Yeah... uh, Elain and I-"

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." You huff a humorless laugh and a single tear slips free. You don't bother brushing it away; you just cross your arms instead. He narrows his eyes at you.

"What is your problem with her?" He asks. The sinking feeling in your chest only intensifies as he defends her. You begin to feel angry, angry your best friend, who you'd die for, would defend another dumb girl who didn't know him like you did. Not even in the slightest.

"What is the problem with me?" You ask. He shoots you a confused look, and you continue. "Am I not quite good enough for you? Is that it? I'm not an Archeron, I'm not High Fae; I'm not officially in the Inner Circle? I don't-" You breathe, gasping for air as tears run down your cheeks now. "I don't look like her? I get it Azriel. I fucking got it. Loud and clear-"

"Shhh, shh shh. Heyy," he swims close, offerring you his hand. You want more than anything to fall into his chest and cry, just cry it all out; but you don't. You won't. He doesn't want you. He never did.

"You know none of that is true-"

"Don't bother." You say sharply. He sighs, dropping his hands in the water.

"Y/N, look I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, okay? You know how important mating bonds are; I just wanted to make sure it was real, and it would work and Feyre would be okay with it-"

"You... you already told. Feyre?" You seethe. His eyes widen, realizing maybe he shouldn't have revealed that information.

"I, uh... yeah. I did. And once she knew, it kind of got out and everyone knew," he mumbles. You clench your hands into fists.

Your favorite cake.

Elain's smug smile.

"Let Az play with you," Mor had said.

They all knew. No one told you. Not even your best friend. They knew you'd be hurt and not a single one of them told you. A small cry reverberates in your chest and you turn away from Azriel.

"Please don't be mad at me, Y/N. You know you're my best friend, you know I'd do anyth-"

"Save it." You say, wading toward the water's edge. "We're done here."

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You hadn't seen him since he accepted his bond with Elain six months ago; you couldn't even bring yourself to sit through the entire ceremony they hosted. It was all too much.

That was the first crushing blow. But then, to find out that not only had he accepted the bond and been happy about it, but now you were bonded to someone you didn't want either?

What a joke. The mating bond was a joke -- it had to be. All these years of believing that bonds were so special... it was all bullshit.

As you sit near the bank, you hear footsteps approaching behind you. You didn't quite care who it was; after all, you were so deep in loathing that you had grown distant from all of your friends over the past few months. It didn't help that the last words you'd hurled at them were unkind, but... maybe it's what they needed to hear. They did keep a huge thing from you, and you haven't even begun to figure out how to move on yet.

Moving on from Azriel sounded like it would be the end for you. You didn't know how you'd ever do it -- it was always him. There never was anyone else for you. You only wanted him.

And now he was honeymooning with his mate. Fucking her. Loving her. Allowing her to know him on a level only you'd ever been on.

Tears are streaming down your cheeks when a whisper pulls you from your thoughts.

"Y/N?"

You turn slowly, the last person you'd expected to see standing behind you. His hair was windblown, his skin tan from the Summer court sun. He had a few light freckles dusting his nose.

Upon seeing your upset state, he slowly approached you, and sat down beside you. Staring out at the water, you continued to let the tears fall, chin resting on your bent knees. His gaze was hot as he stared at you, taking you in fully.

"Y/N... this isn't okay... you're-" his voice cracks. "You're not okay." He whispers the last part, and your eyes meet his. Tears stream down his cheeks, dripping onto the cream colored button-down he's sporting. Typical Summer court fashion, but you should expect that as he did just spend time there.

He grabs onto your shoulders, pulling you to his chest. You have no choice but to sink in, open sobs emitting from your broken hearted chest. He breaths deeply, resting his chin atop your head. A drop of water lands on your shoulder, a tear. It's from him.

He holds you for a few minutes, allowing you to release all your emotions. He sighs, the sun dipping low alolng the horizon. You finally pull back and look at him. Nothing was going to change about your situation.

Your eyes caught on the black letters still imprinting his arm, fresh tears brimming your eyes.

"I hate seeing you like this," he says, sniffing. "You're my best friend Y/N. You always find the good in every situation, in everyone... that's why everyone loves you so much. You saw the good in me when no one else did." He says, rubbing your shoulder. You train your eyes on the grass below.

"I hate this too. But I love you," you say, not looking to meet his eyes. "If this is what is making you happy, I love that for you." He takes one of your hands in his.

"Y/N, it's just... Gods, this is a mess." He says. You let out a humorless laugh.

"Yeah. Even more of a mess now that I have a mate too." His eyes widen, and you look up just in time to see something swimming in those hazel orbs.

"Oh." He says. He drops your hand, but you reach over and place yours on top of where his now rests in his lap.

"The difference is, I would still choose you and me." You say, and he wipes a tear from your cheek. "I would always choose you and me. Because you're my best friend Azriel; and I love you. I don't know how to stop." You say. You lean back, resting your head in the grass as he gets comfortable laying beside you. His fingertips graze over the spot where he'd written on you -- marked you -- years back, reiterating the sentiment he'd etched there.

"And you're mine, too."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *

#acotar smut #a court of frost and starlight #a court of silver flames #a court of mist and fury #a court of thorns and roses #a court of wings and ruin #acotar #lucien acotar #azriel fanfic #azriel acotar #azriel smut

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igncrxntripley · 1 year

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their secret weapon pt. 10

synopsis: two hall of famers challenge the judgement day - both in the ring and in their personal lives.

a/n: threw this together to go in tandem with the piece @witcherfromwallachia wrote recently! i recommend reading that piece before this so it all makes a little more sense, but since her writing uses a self-inserted character this piece uses y/n if that’s something you’re into. more will come as well about SW’s relationship with edge and beth so look out for that as well!

mentions: fem!reader, poly!judgement day, minor descriptions of violence in the ring, slight anxiety/panic, kayfabe compliant

taglist: @thesithdiaries @cassiesgreta @roseheartsworld @theworldofotps @babybatlover @ripleyswhore @auburnwrites @obl1vionblackhart @emogoblin-666 @hereliespumpkin @blxxdshxteyes @neptune-lover @bunnysmyname @i-have-issues-lol @ares-athena @thatonepansexual2000 @witcherfromwallachia @christinabae

everything was going considerably well for y/n and the judgement day. finn was getting better every day when it came to not being as harsh on his partners, and his new demeanor had begun to make everyone else in their little family relax as well. they spent more time with one another having fun - something they all had missed out on for quite some time - and they got to show one another why they were all meant to be as a group. things were perfect.

but someone came and decided to ruin that fun for everyone. and that someone came in the form of edge; a man y/n had looked up to for years, a man who led her through the ins and outs of the industry alongside his wife...the man who started the exact group she was apart of now. not only was edge all of those things, but he seemed to be turning into the man who put y/n in the position to distance herself from her newfound family.

--- ---

"you're mad because i picked them." y/n noted softly during her backstage conversation with edge. the two stood, hidden amongst sound equipment boxes and tools, as the secret weapon to the judgement day was manipulated by a man she saw as a father figure.

edge looked down at y/n and shook his head. "no, i’m worried and concerned because they picked you." he said. the look on his face told a slightly different story as the wrinkles around his eyes and mouth tightened in frustration. "last year, shortly after war games if I remember correctly, i swore i was going to end the monster I created." he started in a hushed but tense tone of voice. even with the cameras who had approached them to get this moment in action, hoping to find a hall of famer ripping the shy new girl into pieces, y/n had other plans.

"so you're putting the weight of your mistake on me because i took an offer from the people who not only my surrogate father picked over me, but also dislocated my shoulder last year at the rumble when she eliminated me." y/n started, standing toe to toe with her hero. “you're upset that while you were gone, someone else took me by the hand and told me that i wasn't the mistake but those above me. you're upset because the force you created to give talent like me a platform came for me despite you turning your back on me from the moment damian intervened at mania. you only seemed to notice me again after the they decided they didn't need you, so finn kicked your ass."

“watch your tone, kiddo.” edge said, that phrase being one that would normally turn y/n into a puddle of tears. not anymore, though.

“no.” she spat, acid laced through her tone. “i’m not the same kid you and beth met when i was in NXT. or the same person you walked away from me to make your own little group - a group that you never treated right in the first place.” y/n challenged edge, a smirk tugging up at her lips. “i’m their secret weapon. the fifth member of the judgement day. and i stand on equal ground with four people who love and care about me and my success more than you ever did.”

--- ---

It had been a few weeks since both edge and beth confronted y/n in their own instances backstage. all of her partners knew about her conversations with them, and now it was time to unpack it all with four people who knew how to calm her down more than anything.

a rare weekend, where all of them got to be home before elimination chamber, was the perfect time for y/n to be with her partners and discuss everything that had been going on. they knew bits and pieces of the conversations with edge and beth, but they hadn’t gotten their girl’s perspective on it yet. they all sat on their big, comfy couch in the living room; y/n in dominik’s lap with her back to his chest, finn with his head in damian’s lap, and rhea shoved against dominik’s side with his arm over her shoulder. the australian busied herself by playing with y/n’s hair, each of then listening intently to her side of the story.

“i hate this.” y/n mumbled, fidgeting with dominik’s fingers. “i don’t get why he can’t just leave you guys alone. i don’t care if he talks to me like that or if he’s upset with something i did...but he always has to bring you guys into it.” she closed her eyes as rhea’s fingers gently worked at her scalp to help relax her, it being obvious at how much this conversation overwhelmed her. “he’s thinks i did something wrong...but i don’t get what’s wrong about finding my place with people who care about me.”

her last sentence made damian and finn smile, but they both quickly collected their thoughts before finn spoke up. “nothing is probably ever going to make him okay with you doing this, love.” he told her softly, his hand reaching out to rub her thigh over the blanket she was cuddled under. “but it’s not your fault. we promise.”

damian nodded as his own fingers played with finn’s hair. “anything we did was going to make him upset.” he added softly. “don’t listen to him, princesa. you’re allowed to be your own person.”

y/n nodded, leaning her hand back against dominik’s shoulder and letting him kiss her temple. “i’m not the same kid he met in NXT.” she said quietly. “i’m better than that.” and all of her partners nodded in agreement, because they knew she was right; hell, she probably wouldn’t have gotten there without the four of them.

rhea offered a small smile to y/n and pushed some hair behind her ear. “damn right you’re better than that.” she chuckled. “and you’re ours. that’s better than anything he could give you.”

all of her partners were right. and the moments like this, when they all were together and exchanging gentle words with one another, reminded y/n why she continued to be with them. it reminded her why she wasn’t just a member of their group...she was their family. and they were hers.

dominik was the next to speak up as his grip on both girls tightened. “don’t worry about them, baby.” he told her softly. “it’s our one weekend that we get at home. don’t let their ridiculousness worry you this much. we can always deal with it when we go back to work.” y/n knew dom was right; they rarely got to be home anymore, so she was going to enjoy this time with all of her partners together on the couch and not stuck at the airport.

damian smirked. “i could think of a couple different ways to take your mind off of it.” he teased softly, making y/n playfully roll her eyes and cuddle further into dominik.

“you do that, i’m going to take a nap.” she teased him, the rest of their partners chuckling and following suit as they held one another on the couch.

--- ---

monday night raw, two weeks before elimination chamber 2023.

"the thing is, the thing is- i started the judgement day with the intention of elevating underutilized and recognized talent.” edge said, standing in the ring alongside beth as they spoke about the judgement day. “and i succeeded. every member is miles better than they were a year ago. and well, then there's dom." edge always knew how to get to the crowd and get them on his side; dom was an easy target, but no one in the judgement day found those jokes funny. "now i know, you all would like me to address the elephant in the room but i’ll get back to that in a second…"

what edge and beth didn’t see, was y/n backstage with her partners watching the entire situation unfold. the two people y/n saw as family, as surrogate parents when her own didn’t give her the support she needed, stood in the ring and spat nothing but hatred and sarcasm towards the people she loved; but it was about to get much, much worse.

“now i am not a man that is used to feeling helpless, but when rhea hit beth with those brass knuckles and held that chair in her hand at extreme rules - i knew what was coming. and i was powerless to stop it. so congrats, judgment day. but also-" the hall of famer stopped suddenly, popping his lips after a moment, "there was someone else ringside during that match, wasn't there, beth?"

tears filled in y/n’s eyes. she knew where this was going, and that memory alone caused tears to fill in her eyes again. watching someone she viewed as a mother figure, a role model...be beaten helplessly by someone who would eventually turn into her partner? it was a fucked up memory in the deep pits of her head - one that she’d barely been able to unpack with the judgement day - but now she was going to have to be confronted with it all over again.

“they’re wrong...they’re so wrong for this...” y/n mumbled, her arms crossed and finn standing next to her with his arm around her waist. “they know what they’re doing and they don’t even care.”

“breathe, mi princesa.” damian warned softly, his own eyes still watching the monitor closely. he could feel the anxiety radiating off of y/n, but he wasn’t sure anything he did in the moment was going to make it better.

edge started back up again, fake hurt all over his face as he spoke. “ i remember a certain NXT superstar being backstage that night.” he said. “i remember that certain NXT star crying inconsolably over beth as people rushed out to help her. i remember one arm around her shoulders, and the other hand nervously stroking my wife's face to make sure both of them were okay. not only that, but i remember wrapping my arms around that young girl once we got backstage to make sure she was okay before going to check on beth.” y/n sniffled and looked down at her feet at the memory, her partners each looking at her with sadness. they knew they caused that moment...they caused that pain. yet they hadn’t talked about it.

y/n watched as she became nothing more than a plot point for this feud; no longer was she the fifth member of the judgement day, but she was the young girl caught between the two hall of famers and the group that loved her. she hated this. and there was nothing she could do except listen to edge spew utter hatred.

beth was the next to speak up, her voice breaking y/n down even more. “i’ve spoken with y/n about her recent addition to the judgement day.” she started, the crowd booing once again. “and when i spoke to her, she presented the same story as dominik; feeling betrayed by the people she loved, feeling like there was something better out there for her...and she’s right. there’s always something better.” beth looked into the camera, and y/n could feel that nausea in her stomach once again. “but honey, this isn’t the answer.”

y/n hadn’t even heard anything else said, both over the monitor or by her partners. she didn’t even realize edge had challenged finn and rhea to a match at elimination chamber. damian gave her pointers about the interruption they were about to make, dominik was whispering to her to make sure she could even go out there, and she didn’t hear a single word. her body reacted faster than her mind did, and before she realized it she was following her partners out of gorilla and into the ring.

--- ---

damian kept a hand on y/n’s lower back the entire time. her rage pumping through her body as she stared down beth and edge sent shockwaves through his own body, and finn and dominik stayed just as close by in case they needed to get her out of the ring. but they also gave her the room to speak up for herself and her partners, even if it resulted in her mentors slightly ridiculing her. she was waiting for the ring to open up and provide her with an escape, but instead she was stuck there in the middle of the arena; all eyes on her, laughing and booing when put up against her mentors who obviously had the leg up on the audience.

finn accepted the challenge without any hesitation. he called his match at extreme rules against edge ‘child’s play’, knowing that match alone did enough damage to edge and beth alone that anything else would be catastrophic. but edge wasn’t going to allow them to have the last word. “everything i said about you being better is true.” he started with a shrug. “even though you’re better, you still all confuse me. priest, you follow these people around like a lost dog even though you said you didn’t want a leader. y/n has you wrapped around her finger, just like rhea does with dominik. and finn, you’re better than all of this. you’re walking around like a cheap, knockoff version of the finn balor who once ruled this company.” the son of a bitch smirked as he looked at y/n one more time. “none of you really have one another’s backs. y/n, kiddo, they’re going to stab you in the back before you can even count to five.” he warned her, watching the young superstar’s face fill with anger.

eventually she lost it as they all bickered with one another. the last straw, was the last time edge brought her name up into the conversation and used her as a plot point for his own vendetta against the judgement day. her manicured fingers snatched the microphone from dominik, and she finally let herself speak up. “enough! enough, all of you! stop it!” she practically begged. “tear me apart all you want, i don’t care.” she turned to beth and edge. “but as soon as you two drag me into your issues with them, then i’m going to say something. keep my name out of your mouth, or rhea won’t be the only one with brass knuckles and a chair.” she said, beth and edge both laughing at her once again.

“y/n, honey,” beth started as she smirked. “back up and let the adults talk, yeah?” she knew exactly how to get under y/n’s skin.

damian rested a warning hand around y/n’s arm, gently coaxing her to let go of the microphone and pushing her body behind his. “easy, amor.” he whispered, his own eyes watching beth and edge carefully.

edge laughed at the judgement day as they stood in front of him, y/n slowly falling apart and the others trying to make sure she didn’t do something rash. “you wanted to play with the big kids, kiddo.” he said, smirking as she clung to damian’s arm to ground herself and stay calm. “grass isn’t so green on the other side, is it?”

those words made her see red, and before she knew it chaos broke out in the ring. everyone was throwing their hands at each other, damian ending up outside of the ring at one point and y/n by his side. she didn’t want to get involved in anything else that was going on, but needed to make sure her partners were okay. “damian?” she asked softly, but he was quick to calm her down through his own pain.

“i’m okay, mi amor.” he said, groaning as he held his back in pain. “get out of here before-”

before he could even finish his sentence, y/n locked eyes with finn who was hunched in a corner. he was in direct line of edge, who stood across from him and clearly had every intention of delivering a spear. but y/n wasn’t going to let that happen. she’d proved her loyalty before, and she was going to do it again.

y/n hopped back up into the ring and used all of her weight to push finn aside. edge was already running full speed ahead in hopes of getting to finn, but instead his body collided with hers so hard that not only did she have the impact from the spear, but she felt the impact of the ring post to the back of her head. she crumbled to the mat with one hand to her back and the other holding her torso; a loud whimper filled with pain left her lips, all of the air knocked out of her body, and it felt like the deepest of breaths couldn’t fill her lungs.

edge looked at her in horror as she writhed in pain. he couldn’t even believe what he’d done - something he never would have hoped to do, he did because she didn’t want finn to get hurt. “honey, i-” he started, reaching a hand out to touch her and make sure she was okay. but as soon as edge’s hand touched y/n’s arm, she scrambled away from a man she once looked up to out of fear.

if looks could kill, the judgement day would’ve ended edge right then and there.

finn’s face turned red in rage, pulling y/n closer to him before passing her body to damian. “get her out of here. now.” he said, already standing up and going right back to where edge was standing. “you think this is a game? huh?” he yelled at the hall of famer.

while finn continued getting physical with edge, damian had picked y/n’s body up in his arms and started walking back up the ramp. “i know, princesa. i’m so sorry.” he said in her ear, letting her groan and occasionally wheeze in pain.

y/n gripped at his jacket and hid in his neck. the thoughts that ran through her mind were absolutely all over the place, but the pain in her body overpowered everything else. she couldn’t even find the words to say as she drifted in and out of semi-consciousness from the pain in her head.

damian rushed backstage as an official led him into the medical area. he wasn’t taking any chances with how hard y/n hit her head, so he sat her down on one of the benches and held her face with his cheeks. “baby, hey y/n, look at me.” he said softly, trying to get her still slightly frantic, but mostly absent gaze to meet his. “you’re okay, i promise.”

y/n wondered why damian looked so...blurry; almost like her brain had photoshopped or edited him to look smoother than before. “edge did that to me...?” she mumbled, pieces of what happened being burned into her memory for the worst or for the better. this wasn’t the same man who would show her how to put someone in a submission hold when she’d just barely started her wrestling career, or who taught her the proper way to tape her wrists before going into a match. this edge was...he was different. he could’ve stopped himself when he noticed y/n get in the way of the spear but he didn’t; he let himself hurt her, and now he was going to deal with his consequences.

damian let out a soft sigh and frowned as a medic began to examine y/n. “my head hurts.” she told him softly, her eyes closing as her head started to feel heavy on her shoulders. y/n leaned forward to rest her forehead on damian’s shoulder, but he was quick about sitting her back up straight.

“i know it does, hermosa.” damian told her softly, making sure she stayed upright. “i just need you to stay still...” it wasn’t long before he heard the rushed footsteps of finn and dom enter the medical room, both of them out of breath and their clothes a disheveled mess from the brawl that occurred in the ring.

“oh god, baby!”

“chica, are you okay?”

“y/n, we’re so sorry!”

the rushed voices of all three men in the room was enough to overwhelm both y/n and the medic working with her to assess the damage edge did in the ring. “fuck, guys! too much!” y/n winced, as her head throbbed in pain.

the medic looked at damian, finn, and dominik with a gentle shake of her head. “i’m sorry but i need you guys to step out for a second.” she said, moving to lead all three men out of the room. of course they all tried to stay - none of them wanted to leave y/n alone after what happened. but before they knew it they were stood out in the hallway and staring at a closed medical room door.

--- ---

the backstage aftermath was anything but calm after the judgement day’s segment with edge and beth. the match for elimination chamber was confirmed, and everyone knew it was going to be an absolute bloodbath because of what happened in the ring. this was anything but settled, and now they each had to deal with their own aftermath and emotions.

edge paced nervously in his own dressing room with beth after he’d come to terms with what he’d done. he couldn’t even go see y/n to apologize; he was stuck in his own thoughts, replaying the moment his body slammed hers against the ringpost and he could do nothing but watch her moan and writhe in pain. beth was just as overwhelmed, and she was doing her best to talk edge down from his current state. “adam, we need to take a deep breathe and calm down.”

“calm down?” he said, looking to his wife with panicked eyes. “i can’t calm down, beth. not after what i just did out there. i-i didn’t even realize she pushed finn out of the way. damnit, beth! she’s too involved with them that she’s taking their hits for them now?” he asked, a stressed hand running through his hair.

beth shook her head. “honey, you couldn’t have controlled what she did.” she said softly. “she’s an adult, whether you want to acknowledge that or not, and she’s going to make her own decisions. y/n’s the one who has to live with what she did, not you.”

edge sat down on the couch and nervously bounced his leg. the lines on his face creased with tension as he gritted his teeth, looking up at his wife. “we have to do something.” he mumbled. “she’s in too deep with them...she thinks this is good for her but they’re only turning her against people who have been there longer than anyone else. y/n is throwing her relationships with everyone down the drain, including us.” he let out a soft sigh as he came to terms with what his next steps were.

“we have no choice, beth.” he said softly. “we need to get her away from them and end the judgement day once and for all.”

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sparrowrye · 1 month

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Demi Demon || Alastor x Reader, A2 part 18

Synopsis: It’s been over a year since we were brought under Alastor’s watchful eye. We’ve unlocked our Demonic powers, discovered our own talents, and began building the Safe Haven with Charlie and co. Alastor seems increasingly interested in the power we hold as one and intends to use it properly.

Previous part

Part 18: Blackwater

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reagan and I weren't having a great week.

Reagan was starting to get teased about Lucas by girls who weren't her friends. Even some of the boys joined in and would make passing comments. She felt further and further alienated. It grew worse, still, when one of the girls made a comment on her magiclessness and she turned it into a fight.

After the fight, I knew I needed to get her out of the haven for a break. I needed it, too, after everything with Alastor. So I took her with me to another ring fight attack.

As promise to Lucifer, I asked Charlie to stay in the haven and teleport everyone back when we were ready. I managed to convince her by telling her we needed her to explain everything to the newcomers and get them settled. She jumped on it right away.

This ring fight was a legal one. Vox's technology was growing ever bigger and broadcasting the legal ring fights became a norm. There was one stretch of land that was unclaimed by any Overlords but was frequently checked on to ensure no Humans were plotting anything. There was no order, no law, nothing but a different version of Hell on the surface. It was effectively called the Badlands.

The ring owner had put on social media that the top five winners would be released. I knew better than to believe that. So I made sure to arrive before the ring ended to save those poor five souls from being killed anyways. I kept Reagan hidden safely in the forest well away from here.

After the last ring fight, I waited for them to announce the five fighters who could be released. Instead of killing them, they were put into an enclosed vehicle and driven away from the ring and town.

I shifted into my Dragon form and hastily followed in the shadows. I ran for what felt like thirty minutes before they arrived at a dark, double storied building. Unlike most other old buildings from before the Great Collapse, this one sat in the middle of a forest. It would be extremely rare for someone to just 'come across it'. It was hard to see its exact layout since the trees blocked the moonlight. The sun was rising but it wouldn't do anything until it came above the horizon.

I teleported Reagan to me and explained what had happened. "We'll go into town as soon as I see what this is," I said.

"Do you think it's Blackwater?" she asked. She was the only one aside from myself, Husker, Charlie and Alastor to know of Blackwater and his threats. We didn't want to panic the town but I felt she deserved to know.

"At this point anything could be. Wait here, please." I melted with my shadow, Alcine, and snaked into the shadows on the inside of the building. The first floor was plain. A large fireplace burned on one side and a circle of chairs sat in the center.

Each chair held one of the fighters, a metal headband strapped tightly on to prevent them from using magic. They looked exhausted and possibly drugged.

Before I could watch further, Reagan's yell caught my attention. I sprang back to her and manifested as my Dragon form. The man fell away from her and casted a bright blue shield over himself. I had never seen such magic and resorted to staying planted over Reagan, lips pulled back in an ugly snarl.

The man laughed. "Well well well, here you are. Gotta say, that was some show with your Striker fellow." He stood up and dropped the shield, revealing himself as the man who had teleported Reagan and I into Hell that one time.

The tendrils on my neck and back stood up sharper, my claws digging into the earth as I grew more nervous at the sight of him.

"The name's Finn, in case you forgot." He stood up and brushed dirt off his tailored clothes. "What is a such a lovely woman like yourself doing all the way out here?"

"What do you intend to do with those fighters?" I growled, half using magic to speak given my current form.

"What do I—What do I~ intend to do with them?" He began to laugh and even went as far as to lean against a tree. I shifted into my Demon form and helped Reagan to her feet, eyes never once leaving him. "I do love how much credit people give me. I'm not the master mind here. I'm the one who gets shit done, excuse my language. I'm the one people can depend on."

"Then allow me to rephrase," I hissed, "what does your boss intend to do with them?"

"Well that's a question for him, not me." He held one hand up to pick at his nails. His eyes shifted to something behind me but I felt nothing. There was nothing, no presence, no magic, nothing behind me. The wind was blowing against me so I couldn't smell anything either. My ears twitched and I stretched my hearing.

I heard breathing.

I spun too late. Something heavy and sharp connected with my head. I barely remember hitting the ground. I was spinning, seemingly infinitely, and couldn't ground myself. My magic was all over the place.

Cold water splashed my face, wrenching my soul back into my body and eyes snapping open. I coughed up the water that had gotten in my lungs and pulled against restraints on my wrists.

I lifted my head to find myself in a gray, blank room. Finn held an empty bucket in his hands and moved to put it down. As he moved, he revealed another man standing behind him.

This man wore a long, dirty brown coat and a black mask over the lower half is his face. His dark brown hair was short and messy, nearly hiding the pair of short red horns. He held his hands behind his back as he walked over to me, black boots knocking on the metal floor.

I straightened up, finally realizing what position I was in. Two chains pulled my arms from a higher position while two more chain my knees to the ground. I tried to sit up as straight as I could as the man stopped a hand's length away. His red glasses glared unemotionally down at me.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Ms. Python." His hands were sitting in his pockets. "The name's Blackwater."

My jaw clenched. This was him. This was the man creating all those devices. This was the man who kidnapped two Overlords who have yet to reveal if they're alive or not.

"What do you want?" I curled my claws into fists. My magic was still gone, the metal headband successfully keeping it out of my reach.

"A test subject."

"You didn't get enough from the two Overlords you kidnapped?" I retorted.

He shrugged. "They're still proving their worth to me."

Metal clanging caught my attention and I turned to see Finn pulling out the blood sucking device that was used on Spencer. I attempted to move but the chains kept me in my kneeled position. I let out a hiss when it hooked painfully onto my forearm. He turned on the machine and it began taking blood at an alarming rate.

"Let her go!" Reagan yelled. I hadn't noticed her tied to a chair in the corner of the room. "Take mine instead!"

My vision turned fuzzy when he moved away from me to stand in front of her. "Don't touch her," I slurred.

"You don't have to worry," his voice was light and uncomfortably friendly, "I don't kill children. But I will take some of that sweet blood." He ran his fingers along her exposed arm, causing her to pull away, eyes squeezed shut.

Finn took off the machine and packed it away. Blood dripped down my arm and stained my shirt. "She's magicless," I struggled to say. The world was tilted at a funny angle and my shoulders were hurting from the position they were being held in.

"Oh?" he sounded genuinely interested. "You're a true Human?"

"What does that mean?" she asked, voice quivering. He stopped his assault and took a step back to examine her fully.

"It means your family line has stayed pure since before the Great Collapse." When she showed no obvious sign of understanding, he let out a sigh and put his hands back in his coat pockets. "Magic was not a thing before the Great Collapse. Demons were leaked into our world and brought their wretched magic with them. They started having children with Humans and generations later, everyone had Demon's blood in them. You, my dear," he stood beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "are a rare, pure gem. You're not infected with their blood."

Reagan's eyes snapped over to mine. All I could think was - oh no.

He reached up to his face to remove his glasses and his horns. They were fake. "I, myself, am a pure Human." My eyes widened, mouth dropping open. He was a Human. He was a defenseless Human. No wonder he had made all those inventions. "And I'm so glad to have found another one to add to our family."

"Family?" she questioned with a tone of disgust.

"I've been all around the world and collected ten pure Humans. We're going to be the foundation of the new world. A world that isn't tainted by Demons." His eyes narrowed on me.

"We're not all bad," I tried, limply pulling against the chains. My energy was taking forever to return. "We've created a safe haven for everyone. A place where both sides can live peacefully together."

"That wont last long." He waved his hand dismissively. "Demons are ruthless killers and Humans can't fathom having anyone above them. It's better to return to the way things were before the Great Collapse."

"You don't even know what that looked like. You weren't there." I made a point on his age. As a Human, he was restrained to the age period of all other Humans that lasted under 100 years. Demons could live for centuries.

"But I know enough," he turned on his heel to face me. "My family line has made sure we stay pure. I grew up with stories about the old world, about their inventions, about their trifles. I've known since I was a kid that I was born in the wrong generation."

A thought came to mind. "You hate Demons and our magic, but you're giving out inventions that allow people to use that magic."

He hummed with a smile. "You're catching on." He moved away from Reagan to stand in front of me again. I had to sit back on my heels and crane my neck to keep our line of sight. "There's Demons and Slight Humans, which outnumber you all. If I bring the Slight Humans to the same level as Demons, it's only a matter of time before they hunt your kind to extinction."

"But then you have the same problem as before. Slight Humans are just replacing the Demons."

Blackwater moved to the case next to Finn. He opened the back and pulled out a vile of my blood. He held it up to the single light for a moment. It connected in my mind before he spoke.

"They require the blood of Demons to have that power. When the Demons are gone, what's left? Just Humans with small magic."

"And what? You'll kill them off somehow? Make them turn on each other?" I retorted.

"In a way." He lowered the vile and settled his gaze on me. "But we haven't gotten there yet. The problem remains of the Overlords holding power over us. I know your kind can hide away in Hell. This plan has to be full proof."

He tossed the vile to Finn who wasn't ready. He fumbled with it before it shattered on the floor. He picked his hand up from the shattered glass and looked uncertainly to Blackwater.

I wanted to ask him why he was telling me everything. I wanted to ask what I had to do with anything, or if I was just a means for blood caught at the wrong place at the wrong time?

My questions would go unanswered though, as Finn's blood made its way to my nose. Immediately, my veins seized and my throat closed part of the way. I pulled against the chains and slammed my back into the wall. It had been two days since I last had Alastor's blood. The smell of any blood was enough to make me crave it again.

Blackwater was silent as he watched. My foot claws scraped against the floor as I tried to pull away from the smell or to free myself to take some of it. My hair was on edge and I struggled to keep my snarls quiet. They turned into horrible, pained whines through gritted teeth the longer I went. At one point I even started to drool from the lack of oxygen and aggressive seething.

"You've probably never seen her like this," he said to Reagan. I glanced through my messy hair to see her staring at me wide eyed. My shoulders dropped, if they could in their position, and I tried wiping my face on my sleeve. I tried to restrain myself, pressing my back into the wall and staring down at the floor. All my muscles were painfully tight.

Blackwater roughly pulled my chin up and smeared something across my upper lip, just below my nose. The smell of Finn's blood was suffocating. I let out a screech and pulled violently against all of the chains. I tried licking it off but I couldn't lengthen my tongue without magic. Tears streamed down the side of my face from the pain and shame.

Blackwater's laughter reached past it all. "A true Demon thirsty for blood. I expect nothing less from Alastor's soulmate." He turned to look at Reagan. "Did you know about this?" She shook her head in response, eyes never leaving my writhing form.

"Not...not all...just me...just Alastor." I spoke through the spasms and clenched teeth. I don't know how any of them hadn't broken yet from the sheer force. My breathing was getting faster, my whines louder.

"This is the person you're entrusting everything to," he went on, ignoring my response. "Demons can't help but lie. Lie and manipulate. It's why they come from Hell."

Not true. Not me. That's not who I am.

I looked up at her again, face full of pain. I couldn't speak anymore.

Please. It's me. I didn't lie. I love you. Please trust in me.

I doubled over as my body pulsed. I screeched again, long and loud. They covered their ears. Blood dripped down my arms again from pulling against the chains. My foot claws were practically filed down from trying to stand up.

Reagan let out a gasp. Everything stilled and went deathly silent as I looked up. Blackwater had cut the ropes and gently pulled her to her feet. "Come dear, let's have a civilized conversation." With a hand on her shoulder, he lead her out of the room. Finn casted a glare at me, hand wrapped in a rag, and slammed the door shut.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note:

Dun dun duuuuuuunnnnnnnn

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Taglist:

@wendigonamecaller @saccharine-nectarine

#alastor the radio demon #alastor x reader #hazbin alastor #soulmate au #soulmates #hazbin hotel #reqs open #demi demon

60 notes · View notes

ladelinee · 5 months

Text

Authors note: Here it is! My first fanfic! It took me a long time I know, I blocked myself a bit at the end 😅. But it’s done. enjoy cuties!❤️ (and sorry if there are any grammar mistakes)

Word count: 3,5K

Warnings: intrusive thoughts, teasing, cussing, smoking.

All shook up

As I walked through the lobby, the click-clack of my heeled shoes broke the silence, almost like a constant drumbeat. It was just another day, another challenge.

I was staring into a blank space as if I were out of myself. Since its opening two years ago, the International has become one of the busiest hotels in Las Vegas. The reason? Elvis Presley.

His name was on everyone's lips, from my boss to the guests trying to find out more about him, it's a shame that I haven’t met him yet. And now, there I was: A young lady Guest Relations Manager having recently transferred two months ago into this male-dominated company. I often feel that the staff looked down upon me, seeing me as the mere "young and cute bossy girl." I felt that they were not taking me seriously and disregarded my suggestions. That was why I had to hide who I really am and present myself as a serious and professional person, to be respected.

At the entrance to the casino, I spotted Alex, one of my few friends here. He's the typical guy saving money for university, not taking the job too seriously but very friendly with me. A charming guy, though, nonetheless. His hidden talent is his ability to perfectly imitate Elvis, which he loves to show off whenever he can. Alex walked over to me with a big smile on his face.

"Heyy there she is, ya heard the King's comin' tonight? He's bringin' his mafia along. Ya know, with all this media buzz around him and the big show tomorrow night, he's gonna need special attention. The boss wants us to hold off the media too, so let's make sure his stay at the hotel is smooth. Hope we can make 'em feel welcome and without any troubles, ya hear baby?" He said mimicking Elvis’s southern accent to make it more interesting.

Suddenly, my heart skipped a beat. Elvis is coming. My hands began shaking and my mind was suddenly filled with a flurry of thoughts and insecurities. I've been a huge fan of him for years and was excited to see him in person, but this was different. I was here for work and was supposed to treat him the same way I would any other guest. But that thought only made my heart race even faster. It was going to be a tough night indeed.

“Are you serious?? Alright, we better start organising everything!” I said, stepping away from Alex. It was time to get started with the preparations. I had to handle everything; managing the media, securing the privacy of the other guests in the hotel, and, of course, ensuring Elvis Presley received a warm welcome at the International.

After a few hours passed, everything was in order. I started putting on my best uniform with a black blazer and skirt. I spent extra time doing my makeup, redressing my lips several times as I was feeling shaky.

My office phone rang, shaking me out of my reverie: "International Hotel, y/n speaking, what can I help?" I answered gently.

My boss cut through the pleasantries and interrupted my peace with a breathless "Elvis is in the building." Taken aback, I paused momentarily, then jumped to my feet and rushed to catch the elevator.

I found myself on the 30th floor, and all the elevators were moving very slowly, making frequent stops on each floor. In an anxious hurry, I furiously pressed the button with the feeling that my life depended on it, hoping to rush down and introduce myself to Elvis Presley. My limbs trembled, my heart was about to break free of my chest, and my breathing was quick and shallow. It was a sea of scenarios going through my mind, and I was pondering the best way to address Elvis politely.

Alex met me on my way down the elevator. Before I could say any word he said: "Hey! Where have you been? You missed Elvis Presley; he's so kind! He was very tired so he went straight to the penthouse. The Colonel asked not to disturb him, though" as the elevator began to descend again.

A wave of emotions washed over me and my stomach dropped when I realized I had missed my opportunity to meet him. I took a deep breath and tried to remain professional as the elevator doors opened and I faced my next challenge: keeping my cool, doing my job and dealing with my angry boss whose wrath I was surely to face after arriving late.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sitting in my office during the night shift was torture. Boredom plagued me and the regret of not having met Elvis was too much to bear. I swore under my breath, angry at myself. The hours of the night seemed unendurable. What if I go up to the penthouse? It will get things worse… I knew this was my role and I would have to suck it up by behaving myself.

My frustration with the situation was growing and I kicked a nearby table, the sound echoing through the office. I stared at my reflection in the mirror and called myself silly for missing out on such an opportunity. Abruptly, the floor began to shake violently. I waited for a second to see if I had caused it with my kick on the table, but no, it was an earthquake! As the shaking increased, I scrambled around the hotel, searching for a safe place to wait out the disaster.

In a rush to evacuate, I made my way down the emergency stairs. Since I was relatively new to the hotel, I quickly got lost, the immense size of the building was contributing to my feeling of disorientation.

After several minutes of wandering in the dark, I spotted a dim light coming from a nearby door, the glow invited me to investigate further. Filled with curiosity, and desperate to make sense of my surroundings, I opened the door to take a closer look.

I cautiously entered the room, relieved to find the earthquake had ended, but my sense of relief quickly faded when a deep and gruff voice spoke out from the darkness.

"Hey, darlin'" The voice caught me off-guard and sent a shiver of unease down my spine.

“My, my, you're a jumpy one, aren't ya?” the deep voice replied from the darkness.

I shot back, “Well, excuse me, I wasn't expecting some kind of mysterious man in the darkness.”

I thought it might be Alex attempting to pull a silly joke on me and I was starting to feel a little annoyed. "Anyway, what are you doing here?" I inquired in a slightly irritated tone, assuming it was just a prank, considering that it was a difficult area to reach. “Seriously, Alex? Let’s go back to work and make sure everyone is safe. I didn’t have a good day and this is the last thing I need”

The figure got closer to me, gently pushed away my hair and whispered into my ear: "Sure thing, boss". I could feel his warm breath in my neck and sense the amusement in his voice, as if it were a game.

After a moment, the figure took a step back and lit a cigar, held between two ringed fingers and turned over to switch on a little lamp. When the smoke cleared, I saw the face of Elvis, with his captivating blue eyes, dark hair, perfect nose and lips. I was mesmerized by his smile, his voice was still ringing in my ears and the smoke from his cigar filled the air.

To my surprise, I discovered Elvis dressed in a black and red robe, accompanied by golden slippers. I could perceive a white item beneath the robe, but it was difficult to make out any more due to its loose cut. Furthermore, his bare, hirsute chest was appealing, and it was all that I could focus on.

My body was flooded with adrenaline, as if about to burst. I felt intimidated by Elvis's physical presence but also filled with excitement and an intense attraction. I was frozen, unable to process what was happening, my blood boiling with a cocktail of emotions.

Elvis noticed my reaction.

"Ahh, so you do know who I am?" Elvis purred, the deep voice sending a shiver of anticipation down my spine.

With a sly grin, he leaned in close, his lips brushing against my ear as he whispered, "Sweetheart, I have to admit, I'm really enjoying this game. You're making this really fun to play."

He took a step back and blew out a big puff of cigar smoke, smiling broadly, savouring the moment and taking enjoyment in my reaction.

Even if I wanted to scream and go to his arms, I had to remain calm and professional. Actually, not reacting would be a nice strategy as he will see that his play game is not working.

“Mr. Presley, nice to meet you… unfortunately under these circumstances. I am glad you are enjoying the premises of this hotel. I would never have guessed you were in... in… “- damn, I didn't even know where I was.

“In the backstage of the showroom?” He chuckled.

“Hell, I’m more than enjoying the hotel, sugar. I gotta say the International is quite lovely. The room is very good and inviting. The bed is…” He changed his facial expression as if he was aware of something and started staring at my body while walking around me. “Oh boy, so comfortable and tender. I would sleep in there all night”

Is he talking about the hotel? I was getting confused by his words.

“Okay, the lobby was nice, but now, ya'll have to excuse my language, darlin', but the hallways in this hotel” Elvis pauses, his tone turning even friskier, his gaze never left my body, running from top to bottom and back again.

"The hallways are… oh gosh, phenomenal. And then the casino... the casino, dear god, that place is…” He takes a moment to catch his breath, his eyes moving slowly across my body once again.

"It's like a playground for sin, darlin', and I could be playing for hours.” He pauses, smiling slyly as he lets the words sink in and stare at my eyes.

Right, he is definitely not talking about the hotel.

Before I could even consider how to respond to what I had just heard, our feet began to feel a familiar vibration. The earthquake was back and even more intense than the previous one. As I noticed a tower of precariously stacked chairs near the door begin to shake, I realized that they were about to fall towards us. Elvis acted quickly, grabbing me and pulling me to the ground for safety.

All I heard was an abundance of noise, and I could not see any clear semblance of my surroundings. This was primarily due to Elvis's arms and body shielding me for protection, blocking my view. With my eyes tightly closed, I waited until the violent shaking ceased.

"There you go. Now we can finish our little talk, 'ya alright, baby?" Elvis whispered. I cracked my eyes open when the commotion ceased, finding Elvis on top of me. He was supporting himself with his arms each just inches apart from both sides of my face, close to either cheek, leaving me speechless. I had never been so close to him before, I could feel his accelerated breath and smell his cologne - a combination of manly and clean and woody scents mixed with cigar aroma that had a truly captivating effect on me.

I felt something cold against my chin, and when I took a quick peek, I saw a golden necklace dangling from his neck. It gave me a quick peek of his bare chest, I had to struggle to control my blushes.

Reality hit me hard. If my boss found out that Elvis was injured and I didn't do anything to help him, I would be in a whole lot of trouble.

"Mr. Presley!" I exclaimed with a panicked tone. "Are you hurt? I am so sorry; it's me who should've looked after you. Please let me help you," I continued, as the anxiety consumed my body.

Elvis's smile faded from his face, as he focused on something else. This worried me since I didn't know what he was looking at. Was I bleeding or something?

To my surprise, he put his hand on my chest. My heart started to race. "Well, bless my soul! What a fine name you got Miss y/n y/ln" he said, reading my employer badge. His smile returned, leaving me feeling a bit flustered and exposed.

"Mr. Presley, I understand that you wish to learn my name, but I don't believe it is the best time for that" I responded in an attempt to maintain my cool.

“Please Mr. Presley, let me check if you are alright” I requested, trying to free myself from him. “Sorry this place is a bit tight I can’t barely move if you could please stand for a second…”

Elvis chuckled again, his eyes were sparkling with mischief. “Oh darlin’ I ain’t hurt. But I appreciate your care. Don't ya worry, I've been in tighter spots than this" he said, standing up and walking over to the wall.

I couldn’t help but feel anger rising within me; I was convinced that he treated every woman in the same manner. Despite those emotions, I desired his compliments to keep coming; had I become insane?

"I think I need to leave to make sure that everyone is safe," I said, cutting him off. Setting my pride and responsibilities as my top priority.

“Darlin’ don't even try and hide it, ya know you’re blushing like a damn beetroot” He gave me a naughty smirk.

I looked at him, and I walked towards the door, intending to leave the room. I felt like he was objectifying me, and I was not going to allow such a thing. “Good night, Mr Presley” I replied politely.

“Hey hold your horses lil’ lady! And please call me Elvis”. He continued, his tone more relaxed and friendly after seeing my reaction.

With a sense of courage, I grabbed the door handle, ready to exit the room and leave Elvis behind. I wondered what would happen next. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be strong enough to deal with my boss and meet Elvis’s requests. Maybe the best choice would be to resign. Yet, I was still waiting for him to beg me: "Please don't go, please don't go." He had me completely hooked already. And then…

The door was locked.

“C’mere sweetheart, m’sorry… I shouldn’t have talked to you like that.“ he said as he was walking close to me. “it was just a little tease, I didn't mean any disrespect, honey. You're a truly amazing woman." Elvis continued, curling one lip cheekily, making me smile a little.

“Apologies accepted. But I’m afraid we have a little problem, Elvis.” His eyes shined when I called him by his name.

“The door is locked. I am sorry, I could not even bring a walkie with me in case of emergency”

“Ah sweetheart, ya ain’t have to be sorry. I like stayin' here with ya, but I’m impressed how good ya are and how much ya care about others, we gotta lot in common. We both put our hearts into what we do, no matter what, ya know what I mean? So I’ll understand if ya wanna leave”

His words shocked me a bit. I made the wrong judgment about him. Despite the enormous fame that comes with being Elvis Presley and being surrounded by people constantly, he remained very kind towards me. Even so, with the earthquake, he was still gentle and protected me. This man surely belongs to another world.

“Darlin’, ya want me to open the door for ya?” He asked, leaving me concerned.

“Oh no, please don’t push or bang I don’t want you to get hurt” I insisted.

“Honey. I’ll show ya how a real man handles a door. Step on the side” He said with confidence.

His words made me confused, I didn't know what to expect next. Elvis opened up his robe, reaching deep inside his chest where the white strip was. To my surprise, the white strip was a shoulder holster. he took out the gun and fired at the door as it was made of paper.

The noise was deafening, and made me scream in shock and take refuge in his arms. I thought the bullet might ricochet and come right back at us.

“Y'know, sugar, maybe that ain't your first scream, but I promise ya ain't gonna be the last one" Elvis joked while looking at me in a teasing way with his right eyebrow raised.

"Are you kidding me right now?" I asked with an irritated tone. "You just fired a fucking gun right next to my ear!" He didn't seem to take me seriously, instead smiling slyly and wrapping his arms around me.

"Don't get angry, darlin'," he said, his breath making me shiver. His chest was still exposed, and I had to fight not to look.

"You're right, I shouldn't have scared you like this" he continued, his tone soothing. "But at least I did open the door, right?"

"You're right" I whispered back, my voice trembling. "At least you did open the door." I looked up at him, his gaze locked with mine, my breathing getting heavier.

"I think you're enjoying this little surprise,darlin’” was all Elvis said with a charming grin, caressing my back with his fingers while the other hand kept me firmly to him.

I tried to struggle out of his grasp, but his big and strong arms were impossible to pry free. And to be honest, I wasn't really trying so hard to escape his embrace, either. In fact, I was starting to feel quite...

"Yes, I think you like it." Elvis breathed deeply, his voice and breath coming across as both intense and sultry as he was feeling my heartbeat.

My irritation and annoyance started to disappear, and I couldn't fight the urge to look at him.

When I realized what I was doing. I pulled away from him to regain awareness of myself. I knew I shouldn't be acting this way, yet I was helpless against the charm that Elvis held.

Elvis chuckled softly as I pulled away and straightened myself. He looked at me with a warm smile, his eyes sparkling with amusement and something more.

Suddenly, we heard a sound, and I assumed that it was the rumblings of the earthquake. However, when the footsteps began to get louder, we realized that it was actually a pair of feet rushing towards us.

Eventually, Joe Esposito opened the door from the other side. There was a distinct look of surprise on his face when he saw us.

"Elvis? Elvis! Are you ok?" Joe asked, his voice tinged with concern. "We were looking for you and heard the gunshots, what's going on?" He inquired, relieved but also worried.

“Hey man, all good don’t ya worry. We just got stuck down here. But thank God miss y/ln was very professional and supportive. My clever girl…” Elvis winked at me and smiled.

"Good evening, Mr. Esposito." I had met Joe previously while working with Elvis and was aware of his efforts in coordinating everything around the hotel in advance for him.

"Thank you for locating us." I said in a grateful tone, "I've made my attempts to keep Elvis safe at all times while we were inside this room, and I'm grateful that you've come to assist us."

Joe remarked with a smile, "Miss Y/ln, thank you so much for your exceptional services. Now I know that Elvis was in safe hands. Let me give you my number to keep in touch, beautiful. You deserve a good tip."

Before Joe could proceed, Elvis stopped him and whispered something quietly to him and Joe stopped. I couldn't make out what was said, but Elvis's expression was serious. After the little whisper, Elvis looked at me with a warm smile.

"Well, Miss," Joe continued, "I better take Elvis to a safe place immediately. The Colonel is going nuts!"

“Absolutely” I replied "If you require any additional assistance, do not hesitate to let me know. Have a lovely evening, gentlemen."

As I flashed my customer-service smile, Elvis returned my expression with a sly, cheeky grin. I couldn't help but return the gesture, amused by his impish expression.

“Nice to meet ya Miss y/ln. Until we get locked again in another dark room sometime.” Elvis mumbled with a smirk as he walked down the corridor.

“Sure thing, boss” I smiled whispering to myself.

Part 2 here!

#elvisaaronpresley #elvis #elvis presley #elvis fans #elvis the king #elvis history #50s elvis #60s elvis #70s elvis #elvis fanfic #elvis x reader

94 notes · View notes

goldenbuckyyy · 1 year

Text

MATILDA

Summary: During the holiday season, Harry helps you realize that it’s okay to build your own family.

Pairings: Harry Styles x fem!Reader

Word count: 3.5kish

Warnings: Mentions of past childhood neglect, slight smut mentioned, angst, crying, anything else?? Let me know!!

A/N: hi!!! Merry Christmas to all of you!! I wanted to post this earlier today, but ended up spending the holidays with my family! I got this request by someone anonymous and I loved the idea!! Hopefully you all do as well. Inspired by: “Matilda” by Harry Styles.

All mistakes are my own. Please do not repost or translate my fics on any other site nor this one.

I appreciate any likes, reblogs, messages, and interactions.

Masterlist

Today is the day before your birthday.

It’s Christmas Eve.

And you are not a fan of the holidays.

You didn’t particularly enjoy any of them.

Mostly because you’ve never had a chance to ever actually celebrate them.

You’ve never had an Easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday. You’ve never popped loud fireworks on the 4th of July. You’ve never had a warm turkey dinner on Thanksgiving. You’ve never even decorated a Christmas Tree for Christmas holidays.

You’ve never even had Christmas presents waiting for you under the tree on Christmas Morning.

It doesn’t help the fact that your birthday is on Christmas Day.

Every memory you had of a holiday was tainted with the background noise of your parents fighting and you crying yourself to sleep.

One of your earliest memories was when you were eight and your godmother, Eva, gifted you a brand new pretty pink bicycle. You loved that bike from the moment you saw it. You remember the way your heart felt so full at that age and the overpowering feeling of excitement overcame you.

You learned how to ride it with her cheering you on for your birthday, you remember laughing so loud in happiness that your belly hurt, and when you yelled for your mom to watch you… she was reading the newspaper and waved you away with her hand as she said “It’s no big deal.”

You remember the instant dread you felt in the pit of your belly, the way your happiness was instantly stripped away from you, the way tears immediately filled your eyes which caused your vision to haze, your hands to shake, and it made you lose control of your brand new pretty bike.

Then, you fell. You scraped your knees which turned into a bloody mess, bruising all your legs and arms, and you spent the entire time crying. Only Eva helped you. You remember hearing her scold your mother, but she didn’t care.

The tainted memory stayed with you forever. The scar on your knees proves it.

You never rode that bike again.

After that, you only focused on school. You remember only focusing on your grades and your after school activities. You wanted to get the highest grades and the highest praises so you could go to the best college. You wanted to do whatever you could do to get away from your family.

You wanted to get out of this small town in this forgettable state and move far far away from here. You didn’t care about how you did it. You just had to do it.

Turns out.. you had a hidden talent for singing and songwriting. One hit song when you were seventeen right after graduation ended up landing you the record deal of the year. You had gotten lucky and you felt grateful every day since.

That song and album won you three Grammys in your very first year in the spotlight. It felt overwhelming.

Suddenly, you were being pulled in different directions. You had millions of fans. You performed sold out shows in the biggest arenas in the United States and all abroad. You were living the life you had never thought you would have ever wanted. But it made you happy.

You were the happiest you had been in years. In your whole life, maybe.

And you never went back home. Especially for your birthday. You didn’t enjoy celebrating it because everything about Christmas time reminded you of your horrible childhood.

So.. yeah. You weren’t a fan of the holidays.

And it didn’t help that your wonderful, loving, teddy bear of a boyfriend loved them. He absolutely loved Christmas time.

He was the type to hire decorators to decorate the outside of the house and then to come inside and go the full nine yards in here, too.

You admit.. it made you happy seeing him happy. It made your heart tug a little bit and all you wanted was for him to be happy. But this year, you were both going to celebrate in your shared New York City penthouse.

Harry said Anne and Gemma were aching to spend the holidays up here.

You had somehow managed to get out of the Christmas holidays the past three years. Always scheduling something so you wouldn’t be home, but Harry begged you to not plan anything this year. That he wanted to celebrate with you and finally be together for your birthday, here at home. With him. You love him and you know how much this means to him. You want to make him happy, so you agreed. He’s your entire world.

Harry came into your life like a bulldozer. Fast, unexpectedly, and it was life changing. He had reached out to you back in 2018 during the holiday season.

You remember seeing “Harry Styles just sent you a Direct Message” on your notification and you about had a heart attack. Of course you knew who freaking Harry Styles was. You had basically grown up with One Direction, but with you focusing on school.. you didn’t really have time to obsess over them. But you did know them and occasionally listened to their music.

So yeah, you knew who Harry Styles was. Young, devilishly handsome, and surprisingly single. And he was messaging you. Gushing about how much he loved your music and admired the way you carried yourself in your interviews. You had just released your second album at the age of twenty one and were about to start touring for it. He was already touring for his first solo album. (Which you loved)

He wanted to come to one of your shows. You gave him a seat in the family and friends section and a backstage pass.

You had been messaging back and forth since his first message a couple months back. You had spent all of your free time texting him and if your timing aligned with his time.. then you’d talk for hours on the phone.

It felt almost like you knew him. The connection that you felt with Harry was something you had never experienced before. And it felt crazy to you. This was all new to you and it was exciting. And a little scary.

And finally, he was able to get away from his own tour to come see you.

And he met you backstage after your show and immediately pulled you into his arms, praised you with his words, and the way you felt in his arms made you cry.

It was overwhelming and pretty embarrassing. It felt safe. Harry’s embrace made you feel safe. And you don’t even remember the last time you had ever felt that way. If you had ever even felt that way before that moment.

When Harry noticed, he immediately ordered everybody in the room to get out and the look on his face… he looked so worried. So sincere. So honest.

It made you incredibly emotional and you profusely apologized for ruining his shirt with your tears. And he said he didn’t care about his shirt.

That he cared about you.

And ever since the day you met him, that’s the one main thing Harry has always made sure you feel. That you feel safe.

It did take some time for you to open up to Harry about your childhood, but when you did.. you felt grateful. It felt good to finally talk to someone other than your therapist about everything you had gone through. He had always wondered why you never talked about your family or why he hadn’t met anyone other than Eva in the year of you guys dating. And when he finally knew, he held you and didn’t let you go for hours.

Harry felt like home.

Now it was the day before Christmas Eve 2021. You and Harry were cuddling on the comfy gray couch in the living room that overlooked the NYC skyline and the Christmas tree that you had both decorated together at the beginning of December was glimmering in the darkness. All the awaiting presents under it make you smile.

Anne and Gemma had already settled into bed for the night. They stated they needed some more sleep to adjust to the time difference and you couldn’t agree more. You and Harry had decided to stay up a little longer.

You cuddled into Harry’s chest as he held you while a Christmas movie played for you guys. You guys are watching ‘Elf’ and you admit it’s a good Christmas movie. No wonder it’s one of Harry’s favorites.

Harry feels extremely warm underneath you and it makes you want to stay here forever.

He’s rubbing your scalp gently with the tips of his fingers and your hand is underneath his sweater. Gently rubbing your own fingers on his almost non existent little belly.

But his body always held into a tiny little pouch under his belly button and you secretly loved it. You played with the happy trail there and ran your fingers over his abs slowly as well.

The atmosphere around you feels peaceful. It feels entirely calm and it’s a feeling that sinks deep into your bones.

You just weren’t used to this over the holidays and it felt almost weird to allow yourself to enjoy this.

Suddenly, Harry gets a slight hold of your chin and tilts your head up to meet his lips. His kiss surprises you, but you melt into him. He kisses you softly and lets his tongue slip into your mouth slightly. You smile into the kiss and hum in content when he pulls away from you.

Meeting his eyes, “What was that for?” You whisper as you wipe his bottom lip with your thumb.

His eyes twinkle with happiness and his arms wrap around you tightly, pulling you to sit on his lap completely, and he smiles so sweetly.

You let your hair fall over your shoulders as you look down at him. He’s so handsome.

“Happy birthday, my sun.”

You intertwine your hands in his own, glancing at the clock next to you that shows it’s exactly midnight, and you smile sheepishly at Harry. You lean down and kiss him again.

“Thank you, honey.”

“Let’s go to bed,” Harry says with a teasing smile as he holds onto your waist with one arm, shuts off the tv with his free hand, and easily lifts you up into the air.

“H!” You shriek with a giggle as you koala hug him to not fall down. He laughs lowly, “I’ll never drop you, sun.”

You both giggle until you fall into the mattress in your room, locking the door in a rush, but then Harry takes his time taking you apart and letting you come undone.

Helping you fall apart with his fingers, his tongue, and then with his cock.

And when he has to clamp his hand over your mouth tightly to keep you from screaming out during your orgasm, he’ll do that all night long just to make you happy.

•••

You wake up the next morning, slowly, and to the wonderful smell of bacon in the air.

You inhale the scent with a small smile as you stretch your limbs awake. You sit down on your bed, pulling the white comforter over your naked torso, and looking around for Harry. The floor to ceiling windows are cloudy with the Christmas chill, but it sends a wave of comfort throughout the room.

And it’s as if he knew you were searching for him.

Because he walks into the bedroom with a bed tray stacked with food.

You instantly perk up with a smile, “Hi.”

Harry leans down and kisses you, “Hi. Happy birthday, my sun.”

You giggle and shush him. “You already wished me a happy birthday.”

“I’m going to keep wishing my wonderful girlfriend a happy birthday all day long,” he says teasingly with a smirk as he sets down the tray in front of you.

You adjust yourself in the bed and admire the yummy food in front of you. “Did you do all of this for me?”

Your heart fills with warm love and your cheeks flush.

“Mom did. She made all of your favorites.”

Now his cheeks are flushing bright pink and you’re instantly overcome with a sense of love.

“She made all of this for me?” You ask in shock as you look at the chocolate chip pancakes, sunny side up eyes, fresh fruit, and amazing smelling bacon.

“Of course, sun. She loves you,” he says with a kiss to your forehead.

“Shouldn’t we go eat with them in the dining room?”

“Nah. You love eating in bed and today’s all about you,” he says as he starts cutting up your pancakes.

“But—“

“No buts.”

You shut your mouth with a smile as he feeds you the pancakes and takes some for himself with a teasing grin.

“We’re only doing what you love today. That’s all.”

And that’s how the rest of the day goes with Harry pampering you and only letting you do something if you truly want to do it.

You felt so lucky.

Now it’s the afternoon, you’re all gathered in the living room after eating a yummy and fulfilling dinner in your matching Christmas pajamas. Harry bought them for all of you guys and they’re grinch themed. You have to admit that seeing Harry so giddy and excited filled your heart with so much warmth and love. You truly felt so happy today.

You all had already exchanged gifts with each other. You two had gotten Anne and Gemma a full paid trip to Paris for a little winding down when you and Harry were going to go next summer. And you had framed two of your favorite pictures of the four of you together and gifted them each one. They loved it.

Anne had gifted you and Harry two homemade sweaters that she had knitted herself and it meant so much to you. Way more than any other money made gift.

Gemma gifted you a homemade shirt that she had stitched a quote for your favorite show and she had made Harry a matching one as well.

It was something cheesy, “you’re my lobster” and Harry immediately loved it. You did as well.

You have to admit that this felt insanely weird. You and Harry always exchanged gifts, but it was never in this type of setting. With his mom and sister.

It felt so intimate and loving.

So intimidating that it felt scary, but this was something that you didn’t know you needed.

“I wrote something for you,” Harry states as he gets the guitar from Gemma. It’s one of his favorites. It’s the one that was gifted to him from a friend. It’s the one with the starry design.

“You wrote me a song?” You ask with a grin as you grip onto your hot chocolate while you adjust yourself on the couch cushion.

“Another one?” Gemma says jokingly and Anne sushes her with a jab.

You see Harry’s cheeks blush faintly as he sits down on a small stool he pulled out from the pantry.

He slowly starts to make sure his cords are in key and he lets out a shaky breathe. He looks up to meet your eyes.

“This song… is for you. Completely and utterly for you. I hope you like it, my sun.”

There’s so much honesty in his eyes that it makes you feel completely warm and full inside.

He slowly starts to strum his guitar.

You were riding your bike to the sound of "It's No Big Deal"

A small gasp leaves your lips as your fingers grip into the mug. Instant tears fill your eyes as you hear the first sentence of your song.

And you're trying to lift off the ground on those old two wheels

Harry gives you a small smile as you stare at him with a wavering expression.

Nothing about the way that you were treated ever seemed especially alarming 'til now

Your bottom lip is quivering.

So you tie up your hair and you smile like it's no big deal

You can feel your water line filled with tears and you slowly set your mug down on the side table. You watch Harry intently.

You can let it go

You can throw a party full of everyone you know

And not invite your family, 'cause they never showed you love

You don't have to be sorry for leaving and growing up, mmh

You shut your eyes for a second, allowing his words fill your body, tears slowly start falling down your cheeks, and you allow yourself to feel the emotions. Allowing yourself to finally feel the emotions you’ve been keeping pilled down deep.

You feel someone sit by you and grip your hand in theirs. You open your eyes to see Anne next to you, smiling so sweetly at you, and hold your hand tightly in her own. Her own tears filling her eyes as she holds you. Her love these past years have shown you what your own mother couldn’t.

A mothers love.

Matilda, you talk of the pain like it's all alright

But I know that you feel like a piece of you's dead inside

Harry gives you a small smile as his own tears fill his eyes. The childhood movie you loved to watch fills your mind as it used to help you escape. You frown at the memories and grip onto Anne’s hand harder.

You showed me a power that is strong enough to bring sun to the darkest days

It's none of my business, but it's just been on my mind

You can let it go

You can throw a party full of everyone you know

And not invite your family, 'cause they never showed you love

You don't have to be sorry for leaving and growing up

Images of the last years rush through your mind. Everything you’ve managed to accomplish.

You can see the world, following the seasons

Anywhere you go, you don't need a reason

'Cause they never showed you love

You don't have to be sorry for doing it on your own

Harry lets his guitar rest on the space next to him on the floor and he reaches for your hand. You grip onto his hand with your free one and he continues to sing. His beautiful angelic voice filled the entire room. His raw voice fills your ears like heaven.

You're just in time, make your tea and your toast

His voice cracks and slow tears fall down his cheeks.

You framed all your posters and dyed your clothes, ooh

You don't have to go

You don't have to go home

Oh, there's a long way to go

Gemma walks out of the room and into the kitchen.

I don't believe that time will change your mind

In other words

I know they won't hurt you anymore as long as you can let them go

You can let it go

Harry kisses each one of your knuckles and holds your hand against his cheek, his smile wavering as he continues to sing.

You can throw a party full of everyone you know

You can start a family who will always show you love

You don't have to be sorry for doing it on your own

You can let it go

You see Gemma walking into the room with a beautiful baby pink cake with colorful sprinkles all over the top and matching long candles that are glowing in the dark night. You cry even harder.

You can throw a party full of everyone you know

You can start a family who will always show you love

You don't have to be sorry, no

Tears filled your eyes as you looked around the room. A wavering smile on your lips as you watched everyone in front of you wearing a giant smile and matching tears.

And just for a second… it was quiet.

There wasn’t any loud voices behind you yelling at each other. There weren’t any doors being slammed shut nor glasses being thrown to the floor or the walls.

All you could hear was the wood crackling in the fireplace, the soft sound of the Christmas music playing on the record player, the small sniffs of the people around you trying to hold in their tears as you let your own fall freely, and you could hear your own heart silently patching itself back together.

You sniffle as you watch Harry reach for the cake and he proceeds to move the cake at your eye level.

His beautiful green eyes rimmed red, nose tinted pink, and he’s smiling at you.

“Make a wish, my love.”

Anne’s hand lets go of your own and she instead starts rubbing your back in comfort. You wrap your own hands delicately around Harry's wrists as you let the candle's warmth coat your face so lightly.

“You’ve already made all of them come true,” you whisper as you slowly blow out the candles.

Your only wish is to only ever feel this way for the next holidays.

#harry styles x singer!reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x reader #harry styles x you #harry styles x fem!reader #harry styles x female reader #harry styles x famous!reader #harry styles au #harry styles #harry styles writing #harry styles angst #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fan fic

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salty-croissants · 6 months

Note

Can you do headcanons for Rayman with a Sally type of s/o from the nightmare before Christmas?,Like a reader that tries to tell him about Eden and all of that but even if he doesn’t listen she still stays by his side and loves him nonetheless pretty please :)

Thank you for the request !

As a big Nightmare Before Christmas fan , I found this scenario to be very neat :D

I tried to integrate a few personality traits of Sally in the reader , I hope it worked !

Details : use of gender neutral reader ;

friends to lovers ;

no warnings needed , other than a few swear words at the end

One of the many things you’ve always admired about Rayman is the sheer passion he always put in his dream of hosting his very own show :

you have been watching his hard work for years , all his sacrifices … and all the difficult times he went through .

Being so different from everyone else made him an easy target for people’s derision and prejudices , and for the longest time Rayman felt like no one would’ve ever accepted him for who he really was …

Until he met you .

You were the first person who showed Rayman kindness , and let’s just say he will never be able to forget that :

you always seemed genuinely interested in what he was doing , never once shunning him for his appearance and even offering him words of advice and encouragement …

< Another failure … I thought this time was going to be different … can’t believe I was so stupid … >

< Rayman , you’re not stupid . I know it’s tough , but people will understand your talent someday …

You just have to be patient . >

He was truly grateful for your friendship , and it’s also thanks to you if he managed to get through it all and get where he is today .

Even tough he’s now the voice of Eden , Rayman hasn’t forgotten about you and all that you’ve done for him , and whenever he’s not too busy with his shows he loves to spend time with you , happy to have a chance to get his mind off of work :

your presence is just so soothing … your kindness and eagerness to listen to him always manages to put his mind at ease , and sometimes he can’t help but wonder what would it be like if the two of you became … something more .

< You mean a lot to me y/n , you know ? I think I might be … uh … >

< Yes , Ray … ? >

< … heh … oh , it’s nothing , don’t worry about it . I’m just tired … >

Little does he know that you feel the exact same way , however every time you try to say it out loud the anxiety of getting rejected , or worse , making your long time friend uncomfortable has always stopped you from doing so …

Much like Rayman .

… but the day you eventually discovered Eden’s plans and just how much they have been using Rayman for their propaganda , everything changed .

You felt horrible to know that the people who promised to help him make his dream come true were just doing that to cover the many dark realities they were trying so hard to keep hidden from everyone , and you knew that you had to tell him somehow …

Of course , it didn’t exactly go well .

< Please - I know this sounds crazy , but you have to believe me !

The Board of Directors aren’t who you think they are … I would never lie about something so serious to you , Rayman , you know that , right … ? >

< *sigh* … y/n , I …

I’m sorry , but that just isn’t … possible . Sure , the Directors are pretty strict about a few things , but they wouldn’t do that to me … I’m their star . >

< But - >

< Please , let’s not talk about this anymore … I know you mean well , but I think it’s just a bunch of … really well made fake news .

I gotta go study my next script , just … try to forget about it , okay ? >

You were admittedly pretty hurt by Rayman’s lack of trust in you … but maybe you just needed to think of a better way to explain everything to him .

You only want him to be alright … it’s for his own good …

Despite everything , you still remained by his side , comforting him after the disastrous interview with Red and reminding him to come visit you if he ever needed help … Well , one day you were surprised to find an unannounced Rayman outside your door , wearing a coat and with a terrified expression on his face that you’ve never seen before …

It was enough to make you very concerned .

< Woah - come in Ray … are you okay ?

Did … something else happen ? >

The moment he heard you lock the door , was the moment he finally broke down :

You watch him take a few steps in your direction , locking you in a tight embrace while sobbing right next to your ear …

< y-y/n … I’m sorry , I’m just … I-I’m so sorry … ! >

After a second of shock , you hug him back , confused but most importantly worried .

< Ray … what’s wrong ? If you let me know I can try to help you … >

< You were right … you were right about e-everything … I went talk to the frog , and he showed me … I-I saw … >

Rayman tries to take a deep breath to calm himself down … to no avail .

< I saw what those bastards did … using my f-face … oh god … i-it’s so bad , and if I just listened to you I would’ve known sooner … I’m such a fucking idiot … will … will you ever be able to forgive me … ? >

You have to admit , it’s all still very confusing to listen to , but as soon as he stops talking you place your hands on his cheeks , gently wiping away his tears .

< Of course I forgive you . I understand , it really wasn’t an easy truth to come to terms with …

I just want you to know that no matter what happens , I’m always going to be on your side , Rayman , because … you mean a lot to me too . I just wasn’t able to say it before … >

You both stare into each other’s eyes , before you realize that you’ve been doing that for a bit too long and stand up , your cheeks blushing a little …

< A-anyway , um … since you’re here I could get you something to drink , so maybe we can sit and talk about what happened a bit more calmly … if that’s okay with you , of course ! >

Rayman can’t help but smile in front of how cute you are , and after a few more deep breaths he starts feeling a bit less overwhelmed .

< Yeah … yeah , that’d be great . >

#captain laserhawk #x reader #captain lazerhawk rayman #rayman #rayman x reader #gender neutral reader

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escapetheshark · 9 months

Text

Off the Deep End | part 1 | swim instructor Bang Chan x fem reader

Genre: fluff; smut; angst

Rating: 18+

Pairing: Bang Chan x fem reader

Word count: 3,6k

Warnings: mentions of past trauma, drowning, adult language (warnings will be added to each chapter)

Summary: Hellbent on facing her fears, she starts taking up swimming lessons from one attractive young instructor named Christopher.

A/N: In case you're new here, I always name my characters because I don't like writing in the second person. This story is set in Australia, therefore I use some Aussie slang and lore, lmk if there's anything you don't understand that I can clarify for you. I'm not Australian, I just tried my best to recall things from my time there and I suppose a lot of things are similar to New Zealand. If any Aussies find anything really OOC, please do let me know.

A massive thank you to @seo--changbin for her help aka putting up with my bulshit. Love you <3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | to be continued

Masterlit | Network

It's a lovely day: the sun is shining down on me, hot and bright, not a single cloud in the sky. I take another sip of my boozy cocktail and look over to my right where my sister has fallen asleep with a book on her face, several empty glasses piled on her side of the table. Not even her kids' loud screeches can seem to disturb her slumber, or maybe she's got good at zoning out. Her husband, who had disappeared inside the house God knows how long ago, has come back with a bucket in his arms and places it down by the lawn chairs.

"Help yourself," he enthusiastically says, before noticing his wife's sleeping form and immediately repeating himself in a lower voice. "Help yourself."

"Thank you," I simply say, raising my cocktail glass to show him I'm good for now. The bucket is full of beer, soda cans and water bottles for the kids.

The two boys decide to have a cannonball contest at the far end of the pool and are arguing about whose technique is the best, although I personally didn't find either that impressive. My brother-in-law finishes his Heineken and joins his kids with what was probably the only good cannonball of the day. He swims over to the edge of the pool and his head peeks out from the surface of the water.

"Come on, Jess, get in!"

"No thanks, I'm good."

"You need to face your fears at some point," he shrugs. "It's a lot more fun than just sitting on the lounger all day!"

He does make a compelling argument, however, I still see blood flowing and swaying on the water anytime I stare down into a swimming pool, the bottom seemingly invisible, like an endless pit. The scar is well hidden, thanks to really good surgeons and my own talent in makeup, but it is there and I do see it and feel its ridges whenever I touch my jaw. I'm facing my fear, looking straight into it. Maybe someday I'll be able to take a dive, but today is not that day.

I want to go home, I really do. My sister's friends are all a little obnoxious and I'm starting to feel sick from all the grilled meat I end up consuming at her weekend barbeques. At least the kids have all gone to sleep, not that the adults aren't equally as loud, especially after so much beer.

"-this year we'll go skiing in Austria instead, you know, see something new," one of the women says, wine glass in hand. "It's always Mount Hutt, I'm tired of Mount Hutt!"

"Snow all looks the same, Brenda," her husband spits with an annoyed look on his face. "You just want an excuse to go to Europe and see the hunks over there!"

"Imagine that, sitting on a plane for a day just to see snow when there's perfectly good snow down in New Zealand," some other guy retorts. "Taking those five kids of yours, too!"

Both Brenda's husband and this other guy laugh, but Brenda doesn't seem to be having fun. She sulks and pours herself another glass, keeping her head down.

"What about you, Jess, have any exciting plans for the new year?"

My eyes avert from Brenda and her troubles to the person sitting next to me, I believe her name is Amelia. She has very well-kept long blonde hair that doesn't suit her skin tone but her roots are barely visible still. Her face is somewhat orange, but I guess she pulls it off.

"Oh, I'm just gonna stay here in good old Melbourne," I shrug. "Might pop to Montague Street Bridge to see all the trucks losing their roof." I giggle at my own joke, but Amelia just seems lost, sparing me a pained smile. "I don't think they have Tim Tams in other countries."

"Oh that's not true," Brenda's husband interjects out of nowhere. "I'm pretty sure I've seen them in England!"

The awkward conversation dies down as they continue discussing their lives and I keep to myself, pretending to be very interested in the cranberry juice in my glass, avoiding meeting anyone's gaze lest they strike up more conversation and ask me why I don't just travel to Europe or the US, it's lovely up there, how can I miss out on such fun? It's either that or asking if I'd like to meet this guy they know, he's single too, he's divorced, his wife just died, he's got kids but he's nice, he works in IT. I don't want to meet their friend and I don't want to hear about Paris again, yet I keep getting dragged to my sister's pool parties where someone always asks me what drowning feels like, as if everything is supposed to feel like something else.

"By the way, my kids are taking swimming lessons with this extraordinary instructor," another woman invades my personal space to drunkenly tell me things I didn't ask about. I can't remember her name even though I know I've seen her face a few times. I remember her kid is called Jessica like me. "I hear he does lessons for adults too, he's a doll. I'll give you his card!" She reaches for her purse and pulls out a small rectangular card, very unassuming, with just a name, a phone number and a simple tagline - swimming lessons for all levels and ages.

"That's the most boring business card I've ever seen," I comment out loud, although I should have kept it to myself.

"Well, he's pretty good, just give him a call. Jessica loves him and she's making so much progress so quickly! She might get into the Olympic team at this rate…"

I feign enthusiasm, like this 10-year-old girl having such immense pressure put on her can be any good. I suppose she's growing up in a 5 million dollar home in Toorak, so she'll be fine. I place the card in my pocket and forget about it, deciding that if I'm stuck here in this rich people hell, might as well have a laugh, like when I eavesdrop at the deli section in Coles.

The smell of chlorine makes my head hurt and it takes a minute for me to adjust to the stuffy warm air. I might vomit my heart out with the way it's beating in my throat. My right hand caresses my left elbow, knees trembling, mouth dry. It's hard to focus on a single thing when everything happens so much at the same time - background music, chatter, kids screaming, whistles, splashing, that awful chlorine smell that I can't ignore no matter how hard I try. I'm not even sure where I'm supposed to go, I just stand by the door to the shower room, the swimming cap feels too tight around my head.

"Hey, are you alright?"

The voice that interrupts my anxious contemplation belongs to a short slender man in swim trunks and a tank top who appears behind me.

"Yeah, I'm just looking for my instructor, his name is uhm- Christopher?"

"He's me, I'm Christopher," the young man smiles sheepishly, his small eyes disappearing into his face for a second. "Oh, are you Miss Jessica?"

"She's me, I'm Jessica," I chuckle nervously. "We spoke on the phone."

"We very much did," he agrees, motioning for me to follow him around the Olympic-size swimming pool towards the far end of it. He waves at some other guy, I look politely at him and try to forget that I'm about to really have to get in the water. There's no escape this time, I've paid for my first fifteen lessons and it wasn't particularly cheap either. No refunds, unless caused by provable illness. Is it too late to break a leg…?

"Right, so you mentioned you cannot swim at all," his attention is back on me when we stop walking as we reach the very last lane on the opposite end of the pool. I look over at a storage unit full of various floating devices and wonder if I will be allowed one or two. Or ten. "The first step will be getting you comfortable in the water."

I watch as Christopher removes his thongs and leaves them under the bench then proceeds to lower himself into the pool using the pool ladder. He's got water up to his chest. He's maybe one or two inches taller than I am, so I definitely will be able to stand. It's too late to have a panic attack and run away so all I have left to do is go in. He's right there, the swimming instructor I've been told has several medals and apparently was part of the Australian junior swim team. It's his job to not let me drown. He's not my drunk mother thirty-two years ago who didn't see me slip and fall into the pool while she sipped cocktails.

"Go on, then," he smiles at me the way a proud father smiles at his kid's doodles before leaving them on the kitchen counter to be put up on the refrigerator door later. "See, you can stand."

My sister's friend did mention he seemed to teach mostly children so the slightly condescending tone is probably just an occupational hazard and I can't blame him for being a little bit snooty towards the thirty-something year old lady who's trembling just standing in four feet of water.

"See, it's not that bad," he offers and I can't tell if he's thinking in the back of his mind that I look like an absolute buffoon. He probably is. "So now all I want you to do is walk to me. Just walk," he instructs, making his way towards the middle of the pool, a few steps, stopping once the water reaches his shoulders. "I'm right here."

It's nothing like walking on dry land, I had forgotten what it feels like to be submerged. The water slowly and gently undulates as my legs move, tiny step by tiny step, like a newborn foal immediately forced to learn how to walk within ten minutes of being yeeted out of the womb.

Christopher keeps reassuring me that he's right there and will absolutely not let anything bad happen to me; it's almost more nerve-racking than if he simply stood at the edge of the pool yelling instructions, like the instructor a couple of lanes to our left with a class of about eight teenagers. It's hard to appreciate his seeming kindness when I'm trying so hard to focus on not letting my knees melt into wobbly pudding, each step feeling like a mile long.

He's got water up to his chest, Jessica, you'll be fine.

He's just standing there, the smile eventually fades from his face and he just watches me take slow, careful steps towards him, arms stretched out as if he expects me to tumble over like I did when I was four years old. Shit. I was doing fine without those memories, this is not a good time for the dramatic flashbacks! I stop, taking a deep breath and looking up at the tall ceiling, my vision not focusing on anything in particular, just the way the harsh bright lights illuminate the interior of the swimming complex.

"You good?"

Somehow I've muted all the noises around me, but his voice seems to come from way too close and that's when I realise I either moved without realising or he took a few steps to come meet me halfway because the next thing I know, he's a lot closer to me than I remember him being.

"I-I'm fi-fine?"

I'm not sure I sound convinced, but my head is still out of water and completely dry so I don't think anything happened to me. I look at Christopher again, his eyes seem almost worried but he offers yet another little smile. Do his cheeks not hurt from smiling so much? He already seems very non-threatening with his short and slender build and jovial face, he doesn't need to put so much effort into making himself appear as inoffensive as possible.

"Look back," he says, "you walked all this way!"

There's the condescending tone again like he's talking to one of his six-year-old students. Or maybe I'm just being a bitch to this man for absolutely no reason and he's just trying to be helpful and do his job properly. I've already paid him, either way. Might as well learn to actually swim while I'm at it.

"I sure did-"

"Do you want to try and extend your body? I'll hold your arms." He reaches out again, his pale arms extended towards me. I hold onto his hands, unsure of what exactly I'm supposed to do and how to even do it. Seems easy enough, right? Just extend your body out, like you're lying down in bed, except this isn't a safe comfortable bed, it's a dangerous swimming pool.

"Lift up your legs and kick them back," he instructs, his grip on my hands very strong, as a way to say he won't let go and let me drown. "Try one leg at a time first."

The movement is awfully uncoordinated and lacks any sense of grace, but I do manage to pull my leg back, then the other, then both at the same time, my eyes on Christopher's arms, worried he would let go on accident and leave me to brave the waters on my own. You can stand up, I remind myself. You've got water up to your shoulders.

"Good job," he praises, and I must admit a sense of mild pride washes over me. Yeah, it's a fucking good job! "Stand back up now." I obey, strengthening my grip on his hands, my body feels like it's floating and I can't remember how to get back down. It takes a minute, but I'm eventually standing up again, my hands still in his for a little longer until he finally lets go.

"How are you feeling," he inquiries "bit more confident?"

"I guess," I shrug, very clearly not that confident.

"You'll get there." Another smile. This one feels more earned, though, not as mechanic as before. I doubt his words for a minute before scolding myself. You will get there, it's just swimming, not rocket science. I nod, my knees relaxing subconsciously as I watch him get out of the water using the ladder again, making his way to the storage unit and picking up a couple of accessories he promptly throws in the water before joining me once more in the shallow end of the pool.

"Will these help make you feel safer?"

I nod again, holding onto one of the pool noodles as if I've never seen one before. I never told him my tragic backstory, yet somehow he acts like he knows there's something deeply wrong with me. I wonder if my sister's friend told him something…

"Thanks."

"Right, so the goal for now is to get you to feel confident and safe in the water," he explains, his face serious and stern. "You can have as many noodles as you want and I'm right here, I swear on my PS5 I won't let you get hurt." A little giggle leaves him, like he's making a silly little joke to the little kids he teaches. It's hard to take this man seriously when not only he seems to have never interacted with an adult, but he himself looks almost like a child, small and sweet-looking, like life hasn't yet taught him a lesson. I'm being so judgemental for no reason. This young man is just doing his job and trying to be nice about it. I have to scold myself again for thinking so negatively all the time and wonder if my sister does that too or if she's cured now that she has the perfect life…

"You basically paid me to not let you drown, if that's any consolation." His joke pulls me out of yet another session of inside-my-head rambling. He's trying so hard to be the cool and fun teacher and I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm at least ten years older than this wide-eyed pale boy.

"I guess that helps," I shrug, looking at him. "So what now? You throw me off the 10 metre plank and I have to somehow not die?" He laughs, his little eyes completely disappearing into his face and becoming crescent moons. He has dimples.

"Yeah, let's go," he jokes again. "No, we take it as slow as we need to. The goal is to not scare you any further."

"I'm not scared!"

"Yeah, that's why you were shaking coming down the ladder and holding on to me like that just now," he snarkily comments right before becoming apologetic. "I-I'm sorry, that was inappropriate."

"Don't worry, doll," I shrug, still holding on to the pool noodle, standing near the edge of the pool.

"Well, anyway, let's practice some more." His demeanour is back to the overly-friendly one from a few seconds before as he passes me another pool noodle, instructing me to loop it around my stomach. He holds out another noodle, one hand near each end, keeping it straight. "Hold on to this and look at me."

I do as he says, placing my hands next to his and facing him dead-on. "Now let's try to kick your legs back again, just like before." The noodle naturally doesn't feel as sturdy as Christopher's hands on mine, and the one on my belly almost pressures my body upwards and I have to actively force my torso down. My hands almost want to slide closer to his, to feel someone's skin on mine rather than polyethylene foam would make me feel a little more secure, but he's right there. He's literally a foot away from me, his feet firmly pressed on the tile. He won't let me drown. He wouldn't.

"It's okay, I'm literally right here," he reassures again, that damned smile that he just can't avoid but flash every damn minute. I wonder if he's always like this or maybe he's secretly a dick outside his lessons. Maybe he even voted One Nation.

Hands firmly on the pool noodle, I kick my legs back, slowly, immediately feeling the tension in my belly releasing. "You don't have to be so tense, you know." I feel light headed again, my eyes fixated on his but not focusing or registering what I'm looking at.

"Let's breathe slowly okay," his voice lowers an octave and catches me off guard. "Breathe in through your nose. One. Two. Three. Four. Five." He's breathing in too, still looking into my eyes, and it almost feels uncomfortable. I can't remember the last time I really looked at someone for so long, especially what is essentially a stranger. "Good, now breathe out through your mouth, slowly." He counts to five again, just as slowly as before and it feels like I have never breathed before in my life.

"I've got you," he reassures once more, of course he has a smile on his face and I can't really tell if it's sincere or not because my head is spinning and it's hard to focus on anything. "I'm gonna let go of the noodle, okay? But I'm right here."

"Please don't," I beg, my hands sliding closer to his until they're slightly touching.

"That's alright," he replies. "Okay, no problem, I won't let go."

I breathe out a relieved sigh as his hands come to hold mine once more, and I feel a sudden urge to cry. It's all too much, too much noise, too much water, too much human contact, all in a day's work.

"We can take it as slow as you need, Jessica."

I nod, this time I actually pay attention to him instead of fixating on a random spot without focusing on anything. His eyes seem sincere. Again, I have to remind myself that he's a professional doing his job and there is absolutely no reason for this man to let me drown or get hurt in any way.

"Take your time."

I'm not sure how long I stayed like that, looking absolutely ridiculous with a pool noodle through my waist, holding on to my much younger swimming instructor like I'm about to drown in four feet of water, that stupid swimming cap so tight around my head it feels like my brain is on the verge of exploding. Next thing I know, I'm standing under the shower trying to remove the cap without pulling all my hair out. The water is a little too hot, but I barely register the way it burns my skin as all the background noise morphs into one giant blob of white noise.

I get dressed, put away my wet swimsuit inside a plastic ziplock bag, dry my hair and apply moisturiser to my face, still unsure of how to feel about this whole thing. I could just quit, money be damned…! No, money do not be damned, it's not like I have a lot of it and I can't afford to just toss it away like that. I- I could just- No! I'm going to finish this now. I'm going to book my next lesson and stick to this, it can't be that hard. My nephews can swim and they're kids. That Jessica girl is training to join the goddamn Olympic team and she's like eleven! I can at least learn how to doggy-swim if anything, right? Right…?

To be continued...

#neverendingdreams #bang chan x you #bang chan x reader #bang chan #skz #stray kids #bang chan smut #i suck at tagging #pls give feedback

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justplainwhump · 17 days

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BBU Community Days Showcasing Prompt: Boxie

So, today's @bbu-on-the-side prompt is about showcasing my favorite Boxies. And oh my, this is hard, because I love so many. I will try to limit myself.

KAURI | @ashintheairlikesnow | Erase to Control

Probably one of the first box boys I read about on here. This man. Is special to me. He is so intelligent and strong and sparkling - and also so desperate and sad and struggling. Kauri's story is in huge parts about imperfect recovery, with so many bumps and mistakes but he's getting there. Kauri is so different from me in so many ways, and still his story touches me so deeply, few other characters or stories do. There's some careful quiet strength I feel in him, hidden at first under so so many layers of self deprecation and fake lightheartedness. Ash lets the readers follow him through so many episodes and years of his life, and it all makes such bittersweet sense.

LOURDES | @wildfaewhump | Lourdes: One of a Kind

Everyone following me knows I love Lourdes, because I keep coming back to them, and borrowing them to make their life even more miserable (listen, Lourdes, I am sorry, but you know, that's how one shows love, right?). Lourdes' is another story about imperfect survivors, and the struggles of finding a place - and an identity - after trauma and humiliation. Lourdes has an utterly heartbreaking backstory (wrong place, wrong time, wrong relative), a very hot and very deranged owner, and the most beautiful, sad, poetic way of looking at the world. Their struggles in recovery are heartbreaking, and their choices could be considered problematic more oft than not. Lourdes' mindset is messy and beautiful at the same time, and (yes we tried it) they are an incredibly scary whumper if you push the right buttons. Lourdes is an artist, somewhere buried far under their conditioning and trauma, and honestly, I wish they eventually find that again. We have the headcanon that my OC Bradley wrote them a song, and honestly, if I had any talent, I would do so as well. But alas, this essay has to suffice.

CHRISTIE | @winedark-whump | The Safehouse

Listen, with Christie, I don't even know where it started. She is, just, such a beacon of positivity, and I don't even know how to say it, like... positive femininity? (Isaac, let me know if this is imperfect wording, please.) Christie just, has this spark inside her, and I love how she learns to navigate freedom and inspire others around her. She accepts herself, and learns to care for herself, and thus turns into someone who can be so good for others, too - I wish everyone had someone like her in their lives. And I am happy to have met her through her stories and through the headcanons Isaac shared. Even though my favorite Christie piece is a heartbreaking and one from her captivity, her path to happiness is what inspires me most.

(And now, my pizza has arrived, so this is the reason I cut myself short and end it here. Still, special shout out to @hackles-up B, @angst-after-dark Dami and @ocean-blue-whump Sunny who would be the next ones I just have to scream about and will need to do it another day)

#i love you all #and your characters #thank you for sharing them with me #and with the word #it means a lot

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myfaveisfuckable · 4 months

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Pete:

youtube

starts off as the comic relief side character. gets kidnapped and tortured. laughs in the face of the man electrocuting his dick. ends up sleeping with him later (by choice. like he wants him), decides he's in love witht he single most crazy unhinged character in the show and reduces him to like crying in his noodles because Pete escaped the safe house torture/sex dungeon where he was kinda a prisoner. shoots his man in the arm (to keep from being killed by other people), beats the shit out of him (that one is for personal reasons), the man confesses his undying love and kisses him before running off, pete chases after him, has to point a gun at him again, the man runs off, pete quits his job and chases after him again, pete stops the man from killing himself and is like "I'm your pet, you're my owner, you have to feed me" (it's a callback from their days in the safehouse torture/sex dungeon), the man gets shot by someone else, and pete goes crazy kills the guy who shot him. so yeah he's totally just a silly comic relief character

KDJ:

1. Introduced as a bland everyman only made exceptional by circumstance, slowly revealed to be the most batshit, suicidally depressed, bisexual maniac in existence. Uses self-sacrifice like a tool and is completely unaware of how beloved he is by the people he keeps pulling into his fold because he is so deeply and utterly convinced that he is fundamentally unlovable. He's like sixty foundational traumas stacked in a trench coat and he's always sixty steps ahead of everyone else and he loves the people he chooses so so dearly and people keep calling him ugly even though he's canonically pretty average and holy shit dude get some therapy please

2. He looks like a neet-pulled office worker. Spoilers: turns out to be one of the oldest things in the world and the only being keeping it going and alive. He needs to be there to keep the world going. Also, he got like kind of adopted by Persephone and hades. Like his blorbo is real and in love with him. But this man looks so average that people call him ugly to his face just because he’s surrounded by absolute gorgeous people.

3. do NOT let the pretty official art fool u. this is the most average 28 year old salaryman going through the absolute most in the apocalypse. ORV is a story about the most average man on earth with the most mundane, depressing life. and one story that he read to cope with it all. he's just some guy, but he is also the most beloved specialest guy. not because he had some hidden talent. just because he loved a story ferociously and also he likes getting in trouble on purpose. he is the most unreliable narrator you will ever find. every piece of the universe loves him for his average stupid self. you will understand when you read 👍

4. GHBJNKML i am praying someone has sent him in but. unreliable narrator the most ever and also i just. love him so much. orv in itself is such a goo dnovel but like. kim dokja is the definition of love and the most caring person but also he's suffered so much and while. yknow we're introduced to him as a kind of nerd but like. listen he's so fucked up juts LISTEN

#poll #tournament #Youtube

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shadowcatzone · 8 months

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okay. okay. okay.

Headcanon; considering the "renheng former incarnation adopted a vidyadhara child" okay. So there's the thing about little sister bailu. I know.

But now we have a complete separate child who lived with the old men (tm) for a while.

We're calling her Lian henceforth [bc i read the name (Yeon) in a manhwa and liked it and] to avoid confusion (if there should be any) you may refer to the child however you want though.

So Lian spends many of her days in the smithy with Yingxing bc let's be honest, the Preceptors don't like, well, the entire situation. Specially the child. So to avoid traumatising the poor kid Dan Feng is like "please take her with u i promise she'll behave." Like they aren't fucking married and Yingxing answers "alright lets try that".

She spends her days at home when there are no Preceptors planned for the day. (Like you can actually plan for the fuckers) if they do show up since they're unannounced, dan feng can throw them out or refuse them entry.

Now little Lian gets to watch her dad be a smith and her father be boring. But she's somehow getting Dan Fengs temperament and an uncanny interest for fire. Neat. "You can't say that to me, my father is Imbibitor Lunae so i'm objectively better than you" "that would work maybe on anyone but me Lian i'm literally married to him" she's working on it she's getting there someday. But she's learning a few things from Dan Feng. She learns how to play the audience. When to argue and when to pretend to be deeply hurt, bawling her eyes out on the spot. And When Dan Feng picks her up so her head's on his shoulder, showing her tongue to whoever dared do whatever she took offense for.

Years later and. Yingxing died, so did Dan Feng [sort of], Jing Yuan promised to take her in but people have not been nice to her. Bc when she introduces herself as the daughter of Imbibitor Lunae, or of Yingxing, you know. And one day someone's like "Hey would you like to try smithing? I've heard your dad was really good at it." In an attempt to humiliate her, (read: you'll never be as good as your dad) but for some reason. Something just clicks and she remembers watching her father work. At first, she's just trying to imitate, but she has an actual knack for it. Neat.

Like some hidden talent just breaks out, she's already better than some of the trainees, and they're all like "but how are you so good at it? There's no way!" And she just goes "i am my fathers daughter after all. Did you expect any less?"

(She's been training specifically for this day, it's not the first time, but she's not telling anyone that)

Somehow she ends up with a contract to work as a smith and Jing Yuan reads the contract a few times and he's unsure how she managed that, just a while ago, NOBODY wanted to hire her, so he just goes "Congratulations. ...your dad would be proud, ...i think..." and somewhere out god knows where, Blade suddenly gets a strange sense of competition? But also pride?? Why????

Meanwhile Dan Heng hits his head on a lamp or something.

Tldr: Yingxing+Dan Feng and their child becomes a blacksmith against all odds?

I'm done rambling

Edit: i've changed the name, from Yeon, to Lian

#//This is just rambling.#//semi-incoherent rambling.#renheng #yingfeng #xingyue #hsr yingxing #hsr dan feng #hsr shitpost #hsr jing yuan #i'm eating gilbird #honkai star rail #hsr au #hsr imagines #hsr imbibitor lunae #//xingyue child

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denimbex1986 · 19 days

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'Andrew Scott revealed his accomplishments have been bittersweet since the death of his mother last month.

In March, the TV actor announced his beloved mum Nora had tragically died after a short illness, just days before they had planned to celebrate Mother's Day together. She passed away at St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin while being surrounded by her loved ones.

The star - who features in a new Netflix adaption of The Talented Mr. Ripley from Patricia Highsmith - - has now paid tribute to Nora whom he still mourns and said: "She was the source of practically every joyful thing in my life."

The Fleabag star, 47, shared his sorrow following his recent loss and says he's managing each day as it comes. "Well, you know, you have to — life goes on, you manage it day by day," he told The Sunday Times.

"It’s very recent, but I certainly can say that so much of it is surprising and unique, and there is so much that I will be able to speak about at some point." Scott went on to reveal that he has been trying to keep himself busy and remain positive.

Andrew has received numerous accolades due to his on-screen performances, including a BAFTA Television Award and two Laurence Olivier Awards, and has previously been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards.

More recently, the star went on to collect a Critics’ Circle Theatre award for his performance in the West End show Vanya. Scott confessed that his mother had inspired him to experiment with fashion. "My mother was an art teacher, she was obsessed with all sorts of design,' he recalled. 'She loved jewellery and jewellery design.

"Anything that is visual, tactile, painting, drawing, is a big passion of mine, so I have tremendous respect for the creativity of designers."

Nora - who was mother to Sarah, Andrew, and Hannah - appeared to be one of Scott's biggest supporters and would often visit him while he worked on set. However, six years before her sad passing, Nora revealed that she was sent a stunning bouquet of roses after she informed Anthony Hopkins that she was ill.

During a meeting with the actor on the set of King Lear, in which Andrew played Edgar, she informed him that she was unwell and Anthony went out of his way to cheer her up. Speaking on RTÉ, she told Ryan Tubridy: "There was probably more than three dozen red roses and attached to them was a little card from Anthony saying 'Be well, sending hugs', and all sorts of things.

"I was thrilled to get such a gift and for the kind thought that promoted it. Now I have recovered, I can enjoy these exquisite roses that grace our hall. It was such a beautiful gift" which came after Andrew and his All of Us Strangers co-star Paul Mescal revealed that they were not fond of the idea of their parents seeing the movie.'

#Andrew Scott #Nora Scott #Golden Globes #Critics Circle Awards #All of Us Strangers #Paul Mescal #Sir Anthony Hopkins #Netflix #Ripley #The Talented Mr Ripley #Patricia Highsmith #Fleabag #BAFTA #Olivier Awards #West End #Vanya #Edgar #King Lear

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a-chaotically-small-lunta · 1 month

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Had another wild dream

There was a festival, the biggest one of the year. Where everyone comes together to celebrate. Everyone in this world has a hidden ability, like a talent but a bit more magical. This celebration shows off the most magical of them all, like the one who can take reindeer by just touching them, or the dude who can play any instrument without ever seeing said instrument before, etc etc. some are simple powers like reading fast, or able to draw anything, or even just a very good worker, but apparently I don’t have an ability and am seen as worthless. Anyway, There are many people who are invited to this festival, but in this world there are monsters, who trap and kill people in many different ways. This is important for later. Each person invited to the festival, if they are related to one of the performers, must help out in some way shape or form. Last year I tried and failed to help, by being the end flag for the army race, where the soldiers who are invited, race to see who is the fastest. I was told to hold the flag and change it when 10, 20, 30, minutes have passed, while also stopping the clock when the winner passes me. However they never told me that last part and I got in trouble. So this year they want me to just hold a plate of mashed potatoes and hand it out.

So while we are waiting for things to start we need to find our seats. Me and my siblings are sat somewhere up higher, however there are only three seats. So I’m told to just “sit near them” on the ground, but don’t literally sit on the ground cause it’ll make the place look bad. After I join the walk with my mashed potatoes, about half way through I’m out and tell the Sargent and he says “we’ll go get more from up front” which btw this walk is like walking around a mega church building. So yeah, I get pissed and walk back with everyone looking at me. I get back and decide fuck it I’m going to just sit and not do anything. So I climb in the seats where my siblings are, get yelled at by a dude who I have to pass by when getting to these seats cause “you should know better than to walk on my seat” bro it’s literally the only way to the other seats, if you know another path please show me. He just grumbles and says that I should know of another path. I ignore him and get to the seats and stand nearby cause my sibs are sitting there. The show starts then and that’s my siblings cue to leave their seats so they can be carried away to perform. So I’m left in the middle of the path that also acts as the stage and I just quickly get over to the side cause wtf else do I do. Only to get reprimanded by my aunt and mother that “I should be in my seat and not basically on the stage” I just glare at them and say “well maybe somebody should make sure there are ENOUGH seats for us then” only for them to say that there were and that I’m being unhelpful and just want to complain. I finally snap and just walk along the path/stage, backwards. I’m heading to my car and just running away cause I can’t deal with these shits.

Anyway, Remember the monsters? Once outside I see a few roaming around, they are different sizes and different creatures. I don’t care and just keep walking. Apparently last year I ran into one, it grabbed me and I thought that was it, but it just rubbed my head and cooed before putting me down, chasing another person, and then eating them. So I didn’t care cause I felt pretty safe around them, which is saying something when the step on a car and it explodes.

I’m making my way to my car when I hear that apparently my family is looking for me already. I’m like “shit” so start running across the town/city to get to my car. But once again the town is being swarmed by monsters. I get to an area where this grass tentacle monster thing is sitting, and there’s a group of others trying to figure out how to pass it with getting caught. I tell them just don’t get hit by the end of the grass thorn tentacle thing, cause that’s what’ll grab you, as I start causally climbing over the already grown tentacles. A few tentacles have fallen apart and I grab a few and say “check this out” before chucking them into a body of water. The tentacle then grow and form another monster, the exact same kind of monster that we just passed. I rub it’s little head and say it’s a good boy and needs to stay there until it’s big enough to leave the pond. The group is horrified that I just made more monsters and most run away from me in fear.

The more brave parts of the group quickly joins me and hopes I can get them to safety and I mention that the house next to the library has a spell on it that repels all monsters, and that I’ll be walking in that direction anyway so they can join me. Anyway we continue walking through the snow and crowds of people who are scurrying off to do whatever when another monster appears. This one is a classic giant who is seen chasing someone, he sees me and for a brief second considers going for me before returning to his original target. I don’t get to see if he successfully catches them or not.

Eventually we get to the house and I drop them off before going to the library cause it’s a bit closer to my destination. I get yoinked in by someone who is panicking cause there’s a monster running the library. I look over and it’s this little sand vampire lady monster. I recognize her cause a few years back she successfully trapped me in her sandpit. She started sucking out my youth before stopping and realizing that I wasn’t getting older, but she was still getting younger. She is confused and asks what’s going on and I just shrug and say that I have no idea but if she want she can keep trying until she feels she is at the youthful age she wants. She does and I still don’t age, I then tell her if she acts human and doesn’t attack anyone else, that I’ll help her maintain her youth…at least until I die. She agrees and starts to work in the library. She looks human but if you look closely you see her skin is actually sand. Anyway the person is freaking out and I just say hi to the librarian and ask how it’s going. She said fine and that she needs a little pick me up, so I allow her. Much to the horror of the other person.

We chat for a bit before another smaller monster runs in and grabs me and the shocked person shouting that another giant monster needs a sacrifice. He is this fur covered monster with horns and he rushes out, despite the librarian’s shouts. Then we see the a new monster, this giant tall skinny monster, their skin swirling with different darker colors (like dark blue, deep violet, black, and a hint of dark green too)

That’s when the monster carrying us puts us down and is about to shout at this bigger monster that he brought a sacrifice but freezes for two reasons, 1: monsters are not against attacking smaller monsters and mr fluff here was hoping to get on this big dudes good side but just witnessed the big guy rip another monster apart, and 2: he looks at me and says that I shouldn’t be there and that he messed up by bringing me. I’m still confused before it clicks in my brain. I’m not useless, I do have an ability and a very rare one at that. I have a monster ability, it’s why I don’t get attacked, it’s why I can walk by them, it’s why they hesitate and change their mind, it’s why their attacks don’t affect me and why I know so much about them despite not seeing some of these monsters. I stare at the monster who was holding me cause we both realized what I am, just then the giant dark creature is looking at us with bright violet eyes. I’m not scared and walk forward placing my hand in the middle of his face… I then wake up.

#dream I had #one time i dreamt #dreams #wild dream #I mean i felt so useless at the beginning and everyone told me so #but the second the monsters got involved it was like I was important #they respected me and didn’t treat me as nothing despite the fact that they literally did that to everyone else #and that everyone else did that to me #at first I thought that because everyone saw me as useless or not worthy that the monsters thought the same thing #but then I thought that maybe they were seen as terrible and when they see me they see a kinship of some kind #but then I realized it was just my ability to be able to hang out with monsters without them killing me #which is very nice #also most of the monsters were huge monsters and it was kinda awesome to see #there were a few I forgot to mention in the post #like the more fleshy monster that picked the lock with its gross hands when we got to another building #or the giant version of the furry monster who looked through the open door at us when I entered the library #overall pretty cool dream that I thought would be just a depressing dream where I’m ridiculed but my dream said SIKE you important #weird lesson in there: you aren’t useless even if everyone says you are cause they don’t know what you’re capable of

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anxresi · 1 year

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GOD am I sick of this. (Watch Out, MAJOR Rant Ahead)

Why do Chloe haters (nearly) ALWAYS insist on using this tired old line to ‘win’ an argument?!

No-one (at least anyone I’M paying attention to) is saying Chloe should get away with her bullying because of her shitty parents.

We’re saying poor Chloe has been a victim of character assassination, sabotage, purposeful vandalism, ruination etc by the very person who created her! No... not her fictional dad or mom... but a certain real-life Frenchman by the name of Mr Thomas Astruc.

If you want a somewhat over-exaggerated parallel, it would be like Da Vinci painting a moustache on the Mona Lisa, Michaelangelo chopping David’s ‘bits’ off or Geppetto making Pinocchio into firewood (I say this because there’s been TWO movies about the lying puppet in the last year. Hint: don’t watch the Disney one).

It’s like... I can’t even debate these people, because they haven’t just got the wrong end of the stick, we’re not even in the same forest!

My point is to those somewhat disingenuous individuals, and let me be VERY blunt here, because I ain’t repeating myself... (clears throat):

Chloe’s Character Writing Has Been The Worst I’ve Ever Seen In A Professional Cartoon Show. The Fact They Utterly Destroyed One Of The Few People In Miraculous With Any Potential For Serious Development For Growth And Basically Replaced Her With Another Girl Who’s Just As Blandly ‘Perfect’ As Most Of The Other Females Demonstrates How Utterly Lacking In Ambition, Creativity And Talent The Makers Truly Are. (As If The Glaring Lack Of Other Positive Attributes To The Show Isn’t Evidence Enough) The Only Reason You Use A Completely Manufactured And Different Scenario Than The Case I Put Forward As Your Lone Defence Proves You KNOW I’m 100% Right. THAT’S Why So Many People Are Defending Her... Not Because They Think She Should Get Away With Her Progressively More Ridiculous Misdemeanors Inserted Into The Scripts To Convince The Audience To Hate Her More And More, But Because We Recognize The Less-Than-Subtle Route The Writers Have Taken In The Last Few Seasons To DESTROY Her Character, Her Role, Her Agency And Any Hidden Depths Or Layers She Might Have. This Is A Girl Who LOVED Her Daddy, (Occasionally) Valued Her Best Friend, Adored Adrikins, Confessed How Inadequate She Felt In Front Of Her Idol Ladybug, Made A Heartfelt Apology To Her Teacher In An Emotional Hug (It Made Me Cry :,/ ), Made REAL STRIDES With Her Behavior In terms Of Being More Independent Towards The End Of S2, Had An Intriguing Relationship With Her Favorite Stuffed Bear Which Acted As Her Conscience, Was Setting Herself Up To Be An Efficient Anti-Hero With Questionable Loyalties... And All This Fascinating Narrative Was Left To ROT In Favor Of Turning Her Into The Most Boringly Generic Baddie In The Entire History Of The Show. WELL DONE, EVERYONE. Then To Add Insult To Injury, They Claim This Was The Plan All Along And Her Rapid Deterioration Into A Teenage Psycho From A Standard School Bully Is Some Kind Of Bizarre Statement On ‘How Some People Can Never Change’ Rather Than The Obnoxiously Terrible Piece Of Hackneyed Writing It Actually Was. Damnation Arc? A Fancy Title For Utter Bullsh*t That’s An Insult To Miraculous Ladybug Fans’ Intelligence Everywhere, I Say. I Don’t Know About You Guys, But I Feel Cheated, Swindled, Bamboozled... You Name It, Or Just Thorughly P*ssed Off Should Suffice. Want Some Evidence For My Claims? Okay, Here Goes: Get Comfortable... Removing ALL Of Chloe’s Positive Traits And Redemptive Moments Overnight After S3. Pretending They Never Existed Or Happened In The First Place. Turning Her Into A Villainous One-Dimensional Sociopathic Object Of Ridicule. Giving Us Zoe Who’s Goodie-Two-Shoes Non-Personality Is No Substitute Whatsoever For The True Queen. Cynically Producing AN ENTIRE EPISODE in S5 For The Sake Of Retroactively Making CHLOE Solely Responsible For Adrinette Not Happening Sooner. (Thus Purposefully Exposing Her To More Vitriol From Obsessive Shippers) Pretending That She Had ‘Plenty Of Help’ To Change When The Truth Is No-One Seriously Attempted At All. (Even Saint Marinette ‘Encouraged’ Her And Good Ol’ Toxic Audrey To Bond By Being Awful To Each Other Instead Of Getting To The Heart Of Chloe’s REAL Issues), Breaking Up All Her Closest Relationships One By One Until The Only Person Left Is With Her Is Her Tyrannical Mother Who Promises To “Take Control’ Of Her Life Now In A Different Country That Her Father Has Disowned Her. (So I Guess Letting Chloe Get Further Traumatized By Her Main Abuser is Thomas’s Idea Of ‘Punishing’ Her... Great Message There For Children!) This Means Adrien Wants Nothing To Do With Her, Sabrina Has Been Unceremoniously Dumped And Even Butler Jean Has Been Fired With Little Fanfare. (Not That Chloe’s Had Any Interesting Interactions With Adrien Since S2... What Was The Point In Making Them Childhood Friends Again?! Her Dad Is Basically An Enabler Who Got Off Scot-Free Now He’s Resigned As Mayor And Looks To Have A Fresh Start With His ‘Perfect’ Adopted New Daughter, Sabrina Has Been MIA For YEARS And Only Gets Acknowledged This Once To Further Isolate And Damage Chloe And As For Butler Jean... Who?!) What It Boils Down To Is That Thomas Doesn’t Just Want To Strip Chloe Of The Bee Miraculous Permanently And Write Her Out Of The Show, Oh No! He Wanted To Transform Her Into The WORST Possible Version Of Herself To Try And Forcibly Extract Away The Last Few Fans She Has, And Then Give Her The WORST Possible Ending In The S5 Finale Despite Other Characters (E.g Gabriel) Doing FAR Worse And Yet Either Ending Up Getting ‘Redeemed’ Or Thought Of As Heroes(!). Oh, And Lila Has Multiple Moms Now(!), A Completely New Identity(!!) And Is The Main Antagonist From Now On(!!!)... I Think Her Superpower Is Dumbing Down Everyone Else So They’ll Believe Her Obvious Untruths. GREAT STORYTELLING, GUYS. Mr Astruc Is A Pathetic, Petty, Spiteful, Talentless Excuse For A Showrunner Who’s So Problematic To Discuss His Many And Numerous Controversies Would Take Another Post Probably Five Times As Big As This Already Overlong Wall Of Text, So We’ll Save That For Another Day. Good To See Though, That His ‘Brilliant” Scheme Appears To Be Failing And The More He Sticks Pins In Chloe’s Likeness The More Support She Gets Online And The More ‘Very Sweet’ Zoe Gets Hyped Up Into Something She’s Not, She’s Recognized As The Shallow Shill She Truly Is. I Just Hope Little Kids Aren’t Taken In By His Obvious Crusade To Make Chloe The Most Hated Teenager Since Joffrey. Why Couldn’t The Idea For Miraculous Have Fallen To A Guy Who Had Some Semblance Of Ability, Instead Of This Mediocre Hack Who’s Happy To Wallow In Stale Romantic Cliches, Underwhelming Superhero Fights, Uninteresting Lore, Non-Existent Continuity, Bbaadd Dialogue, Filler, Filler And More Filler, An Overabundance Of Characters = No Development For Them, ‘Special’ Episodes Abroad That Are Anything But, Prioritizing The Merchandise Above The Show ALWAYS, Allowing SO Many Spoilerific Leaks To Spread Under His Watch, Blocking Fans Left, Right And Center When They DARE To Question ANY Part Of His Writing (Because Apparently We’re Too Dumb To See The GENIUS)... And... rreesstt.

I am well aware that this post started out as one thing and ended up rather more convoluted than I hoped for, but Tumblr has always been a great source of therapy for me... so what better to get all my major bugbears out in one word soup of a paragraph that nobody will ever read if they know what’s good for them, before slouching back in my spinning chair with a glazed yet satisfied look on my face?

Nothing, that’s what.

#This was wwaayy longer than I intended #time to cut back on the coffee methinks #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #ladybug #ml #ml spoilers #ml leaks #chloe bourgeois #marinette dupain cheng #chat noir #ml salt

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sissytobitch10seconds · 5 months

Text

Home Is With You

Fandom: Grishaverse: Six of Crows and Shadow and Bone (TV) Summary: Inej returns home after another one of her long sea voyages to find that her lover has prepared her something quiet wonderful. Warnings: Mentions of sexual slavery Word Count: 1,521 Ship(s): Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa

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A/N: At the beginning of the news of the cancellation, I felt very mixed about it. I didn't like what they had done to the Crows at the end of S2, I didn't like what they had done with Mal and Alina. But then I realized, after a while of thinking, that I want to see how it ends. I want to have more pieces of these wonderful books lifted from them word for word and spoken by these amazingly talented actors. So I'm participating in this event to try and get more attention to it, to show that we're interested and they need to stop being stupid. I hope you guys enjoy, it's not as long as some of my other stuff is! Stay sissy and bitchy everyone <3

She had always heard people speak of needing to get their sea legs. They had mentioned it offhandedly when she was a child because she had never had the opportunity to really be on a boat. She had also heard it in laughing jeers referencing Matthias when they had first begun their voyage to and from the Ice Court. She was a being that lived with wings hidden on her back and feet that gripped impossibly slick surfaces, so she had never really understood what the point of developing another way of walking was.

At least, she hadn’t until she had touched down in Ketterdam after a solid ten months out at sea. She hadn’t expected to be away for that long, but she had found a string of slaver ships that had resulted in several quick trips back to Ravka so that they could return otkazatsya and Grisha back to where they rightfully belonged.

There were more leads to follow, more names written on the little black book she kept next to he heart. She had more work to do, but her crew was weary and needed time to be back with their own families or to rest and recover from injuries. She had docked them back in Fifth Harbor so that they could see to their needs themselves and she could handle digging the problem out at the root. It was all well and good to be taking down the branches that stole people and sold them to the highest bidder, but if she could kill the demand then it would become unlucrative and thus wouldn’t happen any longer.

She could practically hear Kaz’s voice in her mind telling her that she was being too hopeful in the goodness of people again. She knew that he didn’t believe in the beauty of the world, that the evil really could be purged and would leave them with the happiness that they had earned. He told her often and sometimes made her feel so self-conscious that she wanted to give up on her entire plan. That hadn’t happened for a good long while, thankfully. He had been getting better about finding ways to voice his concerns or opinions and they played off of each other to balanced the other out, which was the beauty to be found in both of them.

The streets were just as busy as she had remembered them being almost a year ago. She was quick to find an alley that was slim enough that no one would notice her as she ducked into the shadows. Her fingers grasped at a drainpipe and her rubber-soled shoes, a replacement given to her by Kaz for her birthday after she had ruined the original pair at the Ice Court, gripped at the wall. She had always preferred walking above other people, not because she thought that was where she belonged but because it was so much easier to process what they were doing when she could see it from afar.

Inej traveled quickly and quietly over the rooftops that she had once been a spider on. She knew that Kaz had found someone new to find him secrets and get inside of buildings, but no one would ever truly replace her. She had once been offended because he had called her an investment, but after some discussion with Wylan she had learned how much of a compliment that was. The Kerch cared about nothing other than money, so it was a given that their terms of endearment and confessions of love would revolve around money and assets as well. He was simply trying to tell her that he cared deeply for her without being able to actually process his emotions.

A smile toyed over her lips as she thought about getting to see him again. They had been able to send letters back and forth thanks to their connections to the King of Ravka and the Grisha Triumvirate, but all flowy words and beautiful scripts would pale in comparison to actually getting to see him again.

She dropped down onto the landing of the Crow Club like she had many times before. She could remember almost all of them with crystal clear clarity, the ledge had basically been made for her. Her fingers slipped out of the gloves she wore to keep the ropes of her ship from callousing her hands and then she flicked the latch out of place. It would be invisible to anyone else, but she had been there watching Kaz as he installed it so he could feel safe and she could still come visit him whenever she wanted.

She stepped down into his room and then looked over the space as she was overwhelmed with a feeling of nostalgia strong enough to kill. Kaz had replaced the desk made out of an old door propped up on crates with something big and mahogany. It had marks around the edges from where his cane had hit it or a stray bullet and lodged in the wood, but it was still beautiful and shiny like it was brand new. The bed was no longer made out of milk crates with a thin blanket draped over it, but two twin beds pressed against the wall. They were pushed together that day, which meant that he was hoping she would feel up to sleeping next to him that night.

The thing that brought her attention away from the surroundings and her own feelings was the new addition. There had always been a fireplace that high in the Slat since it was a floor of the building, but there was something crackling happily away inside of it for the first time since she had first ventured up to the attic. She walked over to the mantle so that she could inspect the Suli pendant, the picture of the Crows drawn by Wylan, and the old head of Kaz’s cane resting atop it.

In front of the fireplace was a table that was laden with her favorites, jasmine rice and kurma with huge pieces of chicken and naan and the little Danishes from Fjerda that Nina had introduced her to. Between them was a pot of cloves, loose but whole.

“What is this?” she asked when she heard the door open.

“I thought that you would enjoy it,” Kaz rasped. “I was also expecting a hello from you before you began interrogating me, treasure.”

She turned to him with a bright smile as everything finally clicked into place. He was dressed as he always was: black slacks pressed at the sides so that that lump of scar tissue next to his knee was hidden, a black shirt with a perfect collar and silver cufflinks, all tied together with a pocket watch draped from the gray vest he was wearing. His hair was slicked back and he was leaning moderately heavy on his cane, which was a given seeing as storm clouds were already beginning to hover menacingly in the sky above them.

“You did all of this for me?” she asked. Her hand immediately strayed down to the simple knife that he had gifted her when he taught her how to defend herself. He had always provided her with the things that she needed to live the life that she needed to at that moment, including the wonderful spread before her. “How did you remember that I hate the smell of woodsmoke?”

“I remember everything about you, dear Inej,” he replied. His voice was deep and husky, wrapping around her bones and shattering through her body. Kaz stepped over to the table while removing his gloves, cane tucked under his arm so it was close to him but not in use.

She sat down across from him with a smile bright enough to rival Sankta Alina bringing down the fold. “Thank you, Kaz. I don’t think I could have asked for a better welcome party.”

“Good. I had to convince Jesper that you would prefer this to what he was planning,” Kaz grimaced and she couldn’t help but laugh. The joy that had already fluttered to life inside of her was given a drop of euphoria when she saw the way that his bitter coffee eyes were sparkling at the sound of her happiness.

She would have asked him about how he had been, but she already knew. He was the same as he always was, the man that she had fallen in love with instead of Dirtyhands. He was only like that when he was around her, he had removed his armor just for her. She wasn’t going to interrogate him like a wife that didn’t trust her husband, come to make sure that he wasn’t cheating or gambling away their savings. He had his life and she had hers. They were entwined together and the older that they got, the more likely it was that the braid would become tighter.

So, instead of asking about any of that, she simply grabbed a piece of naan and ripped an edible chunk off, “Do you know how to eat this?”

#fanfiction #fanfic #writing #ao3 #archive of our own #grishaverse #six of crows #shadow and bone #sab #soc #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #inej x kaz #kaz x inej #kanej #save shadow and bone ship week #saveshadowandbone #save shadow and bone #six of crows spin off

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