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genderfluid-insomniac · 6 months

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“Poor Unfortunate Soul Reprise” octopus hybrid!Scaramouche x reader nsfw

A/N: picture for reference of Cecaelia the actual term for the myth being (male reference). Sorry this took so long it was collecting dust in my folder for a while due to cliche AO3 author shit but I hope you enjoy!

You couldn’t tell how much time has passed but what you do know is you’re sore like you’ve been hit by a truck, stirring awake enough to feel someone cradling you in their arms and tiny waves of water lapping at your shins. The cool temperature of the water shook your sleep logged mind enough to register that you were still naked and tried to sink deeper into your sleeping companions body warmth.

It was very dark but a small dark red light illuminated the cavern softly, allowing you to see you were in Scaramouche’s more private habitat where no one could see him unless a diver swam into it. Which rarely happened since the last person who tried it ended up with a broken arm and a 4 week recovery period, a silent message from the Cecaelia. “Keep out pathetic weaklings.”

Scaramouche had pale as snow skin like he’d rarely been in the sun for longer than a couple minutes and mix of blues and purples coloring his ear that took on a more webbed fin like appearance. Bits of vibrantly sparkly lavender scales scattering his body from the waist up, giving more of a divine appearance compared to his sharjjp fowl mouth. His tentacles were twitching ever so slightly and almost blending into dark waters, their mass made up of entirely muscles reminding you of their power. A face so gorgeous looking like it was sculpted by the gods or some heavenly being designed to lure people into a sense of calm. Short silky smooth dark violet blue hair with messy cut bangs framing his youthful face and thin but longer hair falling down this back swaying on the surface of the water. Speak of the devil or sea witch rather.

Cecaelia. A term your superiors had found after scouring the library and internet for answers. Happening upon the very name for a being that had the upper of half of a human and the lower half (usually at the waist or hips) of an octopus. They apparently have others unknown abilities being to said to take ‘a form of mermaid or sea demon’ and most often ‘combining the head, arms and torso of a woman (more rarely a man)’.

He could feel you squirming as you woke and chose to leave you to your devices, only worming his tentacles around you for a better grasp and settling his pet into a more comfortable position as you both came to. “Good morning, pet. I can see you had a nice nap.” Scaramouche chuckled to himself as his eyes flicked over every mark adorning your body and wrapping his arms around your waist to bring you closer. “I hope you aren’t too sore Name because I have plans for you but for now rest up.” Kissing gently on your lips and hoping you weren’t too cold or the effects of his blood hadn’t faded.

You hummed in satisfaction and fully relaxed, murmuring a “thank you” before succumbing to the fatigue pulling at your eyelids and leaning into your dear companion. A talk about what your relationship was could be had at a later time. Dreams slowly passed your mind and occupied your attention, provoking thoughts gaining your attention; such as how were you supposed to go back to your job after this happened? Did he like you more than just a one night stand? Well, the way he spoke didn’t seem like he planned on giving you up nor like things would go back to normal. ‘I hope you aren’t too sore Name because I have plans for you but for now rest up.’ Hm.

The stress from all your questions wouldn’t allow you to sleep soundly and ended up waking up anyway, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes and stretching. Your head turned to Scara and nudged your head under his chin to wake him up. “Scara I need to talk to you about what the fuck is going to happen after this….thing.” Laughter filled the small cave and bounced off the walls, his arms moved you so you faced him. “And what would you like to talk about, love?” You sucked in a breath and rethought what you wanted to say, “First what are we in terms of our relationship? Second, what plans do you have for me? Three-”

You remember reading some of the documents given to the staff of the mythology and one of the sections was about reproduction or theorized romantic relationships. It was said that cecaelias are likely to mate for life or until one of them reaches death and are loyal to the end when the find the one they love. That couldn’t be what he felt for you right? He did seem seriously about his feelings, not to mention the clear favoritism he held for you as you both grew to become familiar with another.

A feeler covered your mouth before you could finish your sentence and wouldn’t move when you tried pulling it away, glaring at the person responsible. “Don’t look at me. You were the one who was talking too fast for me to understand… hahaha but alright. To answer your first question, I thought I made myself clear. You’re mine now and until I decide so, pet. For the second question, you’re going to help me out of this damn prison and back to your house.” To say you were stunned was an understatement, starting to spew worries about your job and him getting hurt but it was of course muffled by one of his arms gagging your mouth.

“I know, I know. ugh, you humans and your meaningless worries. I assume your anxious about getting fired or in trouble.” His hand stroked your hair soothingly in an attempt to calm you and removed his tentacle so you could speak. You nodded and chose to say nothing about the worry of him getting hurt since all it would do is inflate his ego. “Alright thank you for clarifying but how the fuck am I supposed sneak you out. You’re enormous and I don’t think you can survive on land for long periods of time.”

The violet haired being rolled his eyes and told you you had nothing to worry about, just rely on him and after hours cut the power entirely. Help get Scaramouche get out to your car and then turn it back on so the other animals would be okay but it would seem as if it was simply a power outage. You hesitated but agreed after he told you if you did get caught then he’d take the entire blame and punishment, insisting that it wouldn’t come to that. “Alright, but what time is it?” One of his purple slimy arms pulled a watch from a small crack in the wall next to the light and examined it. “6am. As much as I would love to keep you here, you have work and I have breakfast to eat.”

Right. Work. You hoped it was a relatively low maintenance day and saw your still dampened clothes being handed to you, thanking your now boyfriend and standing on the dryer platform to put your clothes back on. “I just remembered that I have to swim back up to to surface which means my work clothes will get wet. Well, I suppose it was worth it-” A feeler curled its way around your ankle tightly and squeezed, “You suppose?! Ugh, it looks like I didn’t fuck you hard enough did I? Or maybe you’re daring me to test my own stamina like the brat you are.” You scoffed and finished buttoning up your shirt, getting back into the water. Slapping the arm still stuck to your ankle lightly and kissed his cheek, enjoying the light pink flush filling his cheeks and grinning at your small success of making him flustered.

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. You’ll have to find out. Now, if you want to leave with me tonight then help me get out of here because I don’t know if any security is patrolling this area.” Scaramouche shook his head to get focused again and slipped under the water to check, quickly coming back up to let you know it was all clear. You took a deep breath and sunk underneath the water. The trip to the top of the tank was fast, much faster than if you swam on your own. Fresh air filling your lungs and pulling yourself onto the platform for the trainers, climbing up the ladder and reaching for a towel by a bench with supplies.

Hearing him cough for attention, you went over to fridge and pulled out a sizable part of bass that was already prepared. “Don’t think I forgot about you, discount ursula.” Throwing it to the hybrid and ignoring the glare he sent your way for the insulting nickname, muttering something about being better than whoever this ursula person was. “I must’ve done something right to receive more food than usual. Seems like should keep testing your limits.” He smirked as you muttered curses in anger at him and walked off to change clothes, admiring the visible marks he had left last night and swimming down to enjoy the alone he had before the building opened.

You wandered into the employees only section where the uniforms were kept whenever volunteers would sign up and pulled out your size, changing into them and using your towel to dry your hair. It was still early and you hadn’t had anything to eat so you went to the cafeteria usually meant for customers. Checking the schedule to see which area you’d be covering today and were shocked to see you’d be in charge of Scaramouche’s tank with another person since it was a two person job. “Oh guess I won’t have to stray far from him. Wait this means he won’t bother to hide much since he’ll probably want to torment me more and that means a bigger crowd.”

Grabbing a scone and coffee quickly before heading back up to grab your phone, headphones, and employee badge. You texted your coworker that you had come early and that you were both on cecaelia duty, laughing at the comment Alex made about work being cut out for you both. Well, they weren’t wrong but for you it was for different reasons and went to space in front of his tank to tell him the news. The gate to the employees area unclipped as you got behind the metal railing and pressed a button that was connected so a waterproof speak in the water.

“Scaramouche. I’m going to be working with you today.” Keeping the call button on so he could hear the outside and struggling to keep your chuckling visible when you saw the hybrid swim down so quickly, scaring off a bunch of fish and receiving a hiss from a algae green large moray eel. A small but noticeable smile spread across his face before it disappeared as soon as it appeared most likely to keep up his ‘I don’t care and I hate you all’ act. “Oh! And Alex is working with me too.” He looked visibly displeased and went to swim away before you spoke again. “Wait, regardless I’m going to stay with you. Would you rather me work in another part of the building cause I can make that happen?” You didn’t know if you could but the threat was clear and he gave you an angry look, not saying anything but not disagree either. “That’s what I thought.”

He pressed a hand against the thick glass and only looked at you, what you wouldn’t give to see what was going on in his mind. Pressing your own hand against the glass and smiling, asking him through the intercom if he had a way to get out of the tank. Scaramouche nodded and continued to “talk” with you, on occasion making rude gestures whenever you teased him or caught his soft emotional looks (even if it only happened once in a blue moon). “Name! Hey- Oh Woah! The spitfire legend is out!” Alex jogged over to you and got behind the gate as well, admiring him closely since it was rare to see him out in the open and this close to the glass on his own free will.

“Wow! He’s more beautiful than I thought. What did you do to get him out?” You laughed at their fixed gaze on Scaramouche who clearly was not pleased with the attention solely on him and feigned ignorance. “I don’t know, I just got hear and made my rounds only to see him out.” They laughed and pushed your playfully, “Yeah right. Everyone knows he like you more than anyone here, not to mention you explicitly tell others how not to piss him off. Do you know how many accidents you’ve prevented?” As if to spite you, your lover turned to face you and crossed his arms with a raised eyebrow. Your coworker pointing it out “See even he agrees!” The three of you talked (your beloved nodding or making gestures) as the morning went on slowly, dreading the rush hours and helping people out with directions if they needed it.

Everything was going great and shockingly calm until a swarm of people flooded into the room.

About 25 or 30 people ran up to the metal railing, sending the octopus reeling back in shock and swimming to hide behind a bolder nearby. You and Alex answered the questions you got about the tank’s inhabitant and occasionally checking in on Scaramouche to make sure he was okay. This went well until I very angry mother stormed up you specifically and started screaming at you. “Make him come out!” You flinched at the volume and backed up “Excuse me?”

“Get that thing out so my kid can see him! He’s not doing anything so get him out into the open!” You turned to Alex who gave you a look if you needed help but you shook your head, focusing your attention back on the karen. “I’m sorry but Scaramouche is a cecaelia, not a thing, and second he isn’t fond of crowds so I’m forcing him to out.” What you said only seemed to anger her more and she got face to face with you. “I’ve seen others use cattle prods on him to get him out but you’re telling me there’s nothing you can do?!”

You nod firmly and stand your ground. In no way were you going to hurt Scaramouche even before you knew him or got into a relationship. You would never hurt an animal or any creature. “No, ma’am-” “MA’AM” Interrupting her again you continued, “I refuse to use those things. Now, do I need to call security?” The room was quiet before a loud slap could be heard and you felt her palm hit your face, an audible gasp fall over the crowd and they all stood in silence for a slip second before movement could be heard behind you. Scaramouche who’d been watching (and hearing) the whole ordeal closely and already pissed at this vile woman for yelling at you didn’t bother to control himself when he acted automatically upon seeing you get slapped.

Swimming as fast as possible behind you and flaring his lower half to make himself look bigger than he already was, his tentacles spread out and pressed against the glass. The hybrid would’ve beaten your assaulter had the glass not been in his way and inches thick. His fist banged on the glass to get her attention and gave her a death stare, surely given off how infuriated she’d made him. The woman was to scared to speak, fear overtaking her expression and shaking where she stood. Good. She knew she made a grave mistake and he sharpened his glare, baring his teeth and slamming his fist against the glass. “Run.” Even if he couldn’t be heard, the message was clear. The disgusting trash took of running, her child who apologised profusely to you yelling insults at their mother.

Scaramouche’s eyes remained on yours as he watched and heard several things happen. Alex called security and told them what happened (also to ban the woman specifically from the aquarium and not her kid). Concerned parents and kids asking if you were alright, something his heart warmed at. ‘Maybe not all humans were cruel’ He thought, you and two others from his past were evidence it was true. Finally gaining your attention and hearing you whisper into the radio. “I’m alright, Scara. It doesn’t hurt much, just stings.” Reluctantly, he nodded and stayed at the front of the glass in case something else happened, using his scary and fierce reactions to his advantage if any issues occured.

You could see the concern on his face and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t retreat back to the bolder, not that you expected to after that. He could indeed be terrifying when he wanted to be, seeing the speed he moved at from the corner of your eye and how intimidatingly big he made himself seem in response. A response your heart couldn’t help but leap at the protection he gave you even from the other side of a thick transparent wall. “Thank you.” Alex had checked back and examined your cheek after coming back from dealing with the woman. “Are you okay? That’s a stupid question- you just got slapped. She’s gone and not coming back ever.” Their gaze flickered over to the guarded cecaelia still right behind their coworker.

“Thank you, Scaramouche. You’re getting a special dinner for that.” He nodded and glared off to where the woman left, seemingly still peeved at her. “Hey, she’s not coming back she’s banned. You did a good job scaring her off.” These words were all it took for him to calm down at least visibly and turn his attention back to you, lifting a tendril to the glass next to you. Things calmed down and the crowd spoke their apologies incase they had help instigate altercation. A small voice made themselves known as they politely asked others to move aside and stepped up to the railing so they were standing on the lowest rung. “Excuse me? I hope you’re okay! That woman is a nasty meanie. Klee drew this for mister Scaramouche since he reminds me of a prince.”

A small girl maybe 7 or 8 years old with blond hair pulled into pigtails and fiery ruby red eyes handed you a paper depicting a kid’s drawing of the mythical being. He was frowning but wearing a simply drawn crown standing in front of a castle under the ocean, it was clear she took pride in it. You smiled at her and turned partially to show the muse of her art. “Hey, Scara. Klee drew this for you, you like it?” Scaramouche skeptically looked at the drawing and nodded whilst mumbling something that you could guess was a half hearted compliment. You could see the flustered expression on his face as he tried to not show how much he liked it and turned back to Klee to give her art back to her. “Oh. I want him to keep it. I have tons of drawing at home just like that. Thank you Mx Name!”

She waved goodbye to you and Scaramouche who also waved back with a smirk now realizing how many people probably thought the same (not like they could compete with his new favorite kid). “Mommy! The pretty octopus boy liked my picture! I can’t wait to tell big brother Albedo!” “I saw, mama’s so proud. I got a picture you can show him.” You watched as the blond pair walked off to another room, one practically bouncing off the walls and the other calmly intertwining her hands. The day went on significantly more smoothly and nothing else major happened, your lover hadn’t left your side for one second as the day eventually ended and your coworker said goodbye as their shift ended.

It was around closing time when you were preparing dinner for Scaramouche and chatting while he was lounging on the sunken platform. “I’m telling you the plan will go smoothly so stop worrying about. I see your stupid mind whirling away like diver lost in an underwater cave.” You continued to cut the slices of different fish onto a plate with some greens and freshly washed vegetables, taking what he said to heart and hoping it would all go according to plan. “Are you sure you want to leave? I don’t know if you’ll be able to go outside what with people knowing what you look like-”

“After what happened today?! You only got hurt because of me and the crowd I was drawing so that should answer your question. It isn’t the first worthless humans treated you rudely either. Why would I want to go out when you’re all I need?” You reminded him that you’ll still need to work and probably more hours since you’d now be providing for two people to which he countered that he’d get a job after retrieving his identification files. “You’re what now?!” He looked at you like you had two heads and laughed. “What do you think I don’t exist? I have a birth certificate and everything…granted they’re mostly fake but they do work.”

Clearly you were stunned and had several questions but guessed you wouldn’t get an answer out him. “You gonna tell me?” Scaramouche shook his head and grinned smugly, resting his head against his palm. “In time, but firstly dinner then get another set of clothes around your size. After pull your car around the closest back exit and turn off the power. No one should be here anyone since it’s sunday and everyone went home early.” Agreeing you set his dinner down before getting a extra pair of clothes (for who? you couldn’t figure out) and grabbed your bag and keys, heading out to your car. You pulled into the back entrance where the animals usually get transported into the facility and began to lock up all the door, going off your mental checklist when you normally closed.

Heading the main power switch, you took a hold of it and turned it off. Switching on your phone light and running towards Scaramouche, you skipped steps to get to the top faster and went to call out to him only to stop short. There before you was your lover dressed in the employee clothes you left him with but on two legs instead of his octopus half with all eight tentacles. “How-” He ran or rather tried to but ended up wobbling towards you and nearly falling to the ground. “There’s no time to explain. Help me, I haven’t been in this form for a long time.” You did as you were told and slung an arm over your shoulder, carefully walking down the steps and helping him stand like you would with someone relearning how to walk after an accident. Even after turning the power on you’d have a around 15 minutes before they were active again and that was all you needed.

“Turn the power back on. It’s the big green button at the top. I would do it but I’m holding you.” Scaramouche pushed it and the light flickered back on, trying his best to walk after years of not using his legs. You finally got to your car after a minute of reaching the transport bay and got him into the passenger's seat, closing the door and running over to the drivers side. The car turned on and you swiftly drove out of there, telling siri to set a reminder to text your boss that you’d be taking a few days off because of a sudden family emergency and the incident that happened today. The sound of the radio and running engine filling your ears, looking briefly over to your companion who seemed enamored with the sights passing your car.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen the outside. Thank you, Name.” The light ahead of you turned red and you stopped which gave you time to turn your attention back to him. “Scara. Explaination. Now!” He rolled his eyes and continued to look out the window, speaking after a couple seconds seemingly in thought. “I’ve always had the ability to grow legs but as you can see some of my scales remain visible. They could just be attributed to makeup or a tattoo but they’re still there.” His head turned so you could see the lavender scales like marks on the corner of his cheeks and collar bones when he unbutton the top of his shirt. They did look like he could pass them off as not being real. “But if you could escape before. Why did you wait that long? You had plenty of chances before.”

He took in a breath carefully and kept his gaze on the now passing environment as you started driving again, look at you. “I met you. I was going to leave, I had a plan and everything but then you wormed your way into my heart and made me care. So, I stayed and put up with it all, waiting for the chance to maybe get out with you.” Scaramouche’s small speech left you stunned in silence and honored that you’d left such an impression, muttering a grateful response and remaining silent as you returned home. You lived in a relatively small area but not in the middle of nowhere and only 20 minutes from the aquarium just at the entrance to a small wooded area but off the coast near the ocean.

A large river that connected to the ocean flowed next your cottage down the hill which you figured could be a good place if Scaramouche ever wanted to relax in his octopus form or swim with you in the warmer days. It was roughly 25 feet deep and was mainly saltwater with little freshwater home to some birds and small sea life. The trees surrounding your home kept you sheltered from major storms while still allowing a great view for lightning over the sea. You pulled into the driveway and got out with your bag, moving to help the now humanish cecaelia who you guessed had been flexing his muscles as he was now roughly standing with his on your car. “Let’s get inside, I can cook dinner while you can into more comfortable clothes.”

Your home was more comfy than Scaramouche would’ve guessed with fluffy blankets covering part of a leather brown couch and brick fireplace neatly cleaned of ash. Pictures decorated the wall of your friends and family he surmised and rustic decor could be found all around your living room, following you to your bedroom after he wiped his feet and being handed some soft loungewear. “Here you can change into that and I’ll cook some dinner. Feel free to wander about.” Leaving him to change, you grabbed a set of sweatpants and sweatshirt to change into in the bathroom. You mulled over your thoughts after everything that had happened today, how your life had changed significantly and hopefully for the better.

The warm cotton fabric acted as a comforting shield from the cold air seeping in through the window and tickling your ear as if to whisper your unconscious thoughts to you even if you couldn’t understand them. DING! A notification from your phone brought you out of your thoughts and brought you back to the present, slipping your hand into your fleece pocket to retrieve your phone. It was the reminder you set when you both were in the car to text your boss and coworker, heading out of the bathroom and to the kitchen to make some quick dinner. You texted your boss and coworker the same thing, how you would be taking a few days off because of “family emergencies” and your mental health. Which wasn’t entirely false but a little white lie couldn’t hurt.

“It’d take too long to fully cook something and ordering take is expensive so it looks like I’ll just throw a frozen pizza in the oven for tonight. I can go shopping tomorrow,” Opening the freezer drawn and grabbing a recently bought frozen flatbread with your favorite toppings. It was supposed to be a treat for a self care night but this could count as such too. You set the oven to the correct temperature and put the pizza in so it would cook as the machine preheated. “Hey Siri, set a timer for 15 minutes.” The AI did as it was told and you went to call out to your new roommate and lover only to see he was leaning on the jamb of the doorway. In his hands was the rest of his long hair and scissors, where the ponytail began now roughly cut off so it formed almost a wolf cut.

Scaramouche walked over and put the scissors down, “Like my new look? I figure it’d be easier to take care of and I’ve been wanting to cut for a while. Where is your trash?” You pointed to your garbage can camouflaged like all the other drawers and continued to stare. “Are you sure? I mean you look great but-” The short haired man nodded and tossed the length of hair in the trash shutting the lid before falling into your embrace. Nuzzling his head into your neck and placing small kisses, taking your hands in his and leading them up to the sides of his face. You wove your fingers through the violet hair, untangling any knots and sighing deeply to rid of your anxious worries.

“What’s wrong?” It was obvious something was bothering you and he couldn’t blame you. Your life had changed so much in the past 24 hours and you had still yet to adjust to it; he’d do his best to be a constant variable. “I- I’m just worried about everything. What if you get caught? What if this is only temporary?” Silence hung in the air as you both waited for an answer, the fear of their unknown future looming over you like a remind of the big decision you’d made. His grip on your got tighter and he rested his forehead against yours, kissing your lips softly. “If this is temporary then I’ll enjoy it till the moment it’s over. I won’t get caught, I’ve been wandering alone for a while before they caught me. I have experience on my side.”

That was a promise. He’d never let anyone take him from you, not after his friend was killed because of him and not after the little boy died in his arms. You were his new hope. A ball of light untouched by his past mistakes and he intended to keep it safe. Keep you safe. “Don’t worry, Name. This will all work out.” Unfurling himself from the hug and rubbing comforting circles with his thumb on your cheek, whispering affirmations and promises that no measly human could tear either of you apart. You felt better and relaxed, it was new territory which was always scary but you had Scaramouche with you. RING! RING! The timer on your phone went off and made you jump at the sudden noise, catching a small flinch from your significant other as well. “I made pizza for dinner. You can have some even though you already ate, Scara.”

The hybrid looked pleased and nodded, searching through all of your cabinets and drawers until he at last found the plates. Taking two out and grabbing a slice after you’d cut it, you could hear his quiet curses when he grabbed the hot pizza. “Be careful. It just came out, I don’t want to bandage you so soon.” You felt like you were reminding a child the basics of living and safety, assuming that it was probably years since he was last in a house with working appliances and you’d have to remind him until it became a habit for him. The hot marinara sauce hit your tongue as you bit into the pizza and perfectly cooked cheese pulling apart messily, using your finger to tug the long string of cheddar apart so it didn’t become a piece of spaghetti. At long last being able to eat something solid and filling felt like heaven after the exhausting hours of work, secretly eyeing Scaramouche to see if he liked it.

A satisfied hum came from him and he was focused on eating something that must’ve been a lot better after eating nothing but raw fish for meals. Plans had started forming in your mind for other delicious meals for him to enjoy and restaurants you could go on dates to. Once things settled down and you both could back to work, finding a job for Scaramouche and you going back to work, you both could enjoy the more fun things in life like going on dates and waking up together. You should take a bath after the stress of today and working among sea life would cause you to smell a bit salty or fishy, “I’m going to take a bath after this. It should only take-” “Can I join you?”

You swallowed the piece of food in your mouth and turned to him, “What!?” He shrugged and returned back to eating, continuing the talk to you, “I want to wash my hair and body after being in a saltwater tank for a few years. Can you blame me? Wait- are you embarrassed?” The flustered expression you was the only answer he needed and laughed at the sudden silence coming from you. “Fuck you totally are. What, it’s not like we haven’t seen each other naked or do I need to remind you how good I made you feel?” You stood up and washed your plate, deeming that you were full from dinner and putting the rest of the pizza into the over so it would stay warm. The hybrid’s laughter could be heard even after you went into the bathroom and turned the faucet on to your jacuzzi tub, something you’d spent a decent amount of money on because of nice it was to use.

“Damn fucking asshole. He’s too attractive for his own good and he knows it.” He knew how to push your buttons so you’d react accordingly and remain entertained based on your reactions, happily watching you squirm under his gaze. Grabbing some soap to make bubbles and testing the temperature of the water to make sure it wasn’t too hot or cold. You looked back to the door that was slightly ajar and undressed, putting your clothes on the counter and sighing joyously when you sunk into the warm water. “So much better.” Muttering to yourself and slipping underneath the surface to soak your hair. The door creaked open and your lover strolled casually in, blatantly admiring your figure through the light sheen of bubbles. “Shit. You really do things to me, beloved. I’m going to join you.”

You went to argue when he countered you never said no to him and allowed him to undress, averting your eyes with a light blush on your cheeks and gaining a response from the other. “Aw, you’re still so shy. Look at me. Look at me, Name.” Holding your face and moving so you had no choice but to see him bare before you. Unable to stop yourself from staring at his toned muscles and light scarring all over his body, your eyes traveling down to his v-line and hard erect cock. “Good baby. Hm, I can’t wait to fuck you so hard you only remember my name.” He got into the tub and relaxed his body, seemingly concentrating on something before you saw his lower half shifting and changing color. Below his waist his skin turned a dark violet and scales became more pronounced, an ink like dark cloud covered the water and nine tentacles formed where his legs used to be.

Some of them spilled over the tub and others lay floating on the surface, “Ah~ so much better. I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I had a hot bath.” He eyed you up and down, extending his arms opening and made a “come ’ere” motion. Soft cool tendrils circled your thighs and moved you to his lap, curling themselves around you. You hands made their way to the back of his hair and gripped it, playing with the messy cut strands and frowning a bit. “I miss your long hair, it looked pretty and I could’ve used it to pull you back into a kiss. Too bad it’s short know.” Absentmindedly playing with his hair until his hand was against yours, “You can still pull it see?”

His eyes daring you to pull at it and your fingers tightened around his roots, pulling lightly and getting an delightful moan. “Well maybe I should do that again.” You did it again and received the same reaction, his head was tilted back and mouth ajar with arms closing tighter and tighter around you. His tendrils crept towards your clit and breasts, all too eager to mark you up for all to see and know you’re his. “I’m going to breed you. I’m going to fuck you so much that you’ll be the parent to our kids. What do you say, huh?” Nodding slowly you kissed him and gasped when cold tentacles circled your clit and sucks teasing your most sensitive areas. Wetting your nipples and further fondling your pussy.

He broke the kiss and nipped your neck, licking the bruises he left and aiming to make more. Scaramouche wouldn’t be satisfied until your entire body was littered in hickeys and marks from his suckers. “Fuck me. Scara please fuck me.” You just wanted him to bury his cock inside your cunt and pounding away at your cervix. Anything besides the lack of friction being given to you right now. You’d beg. What you would give to be on your knees sucking his dick and being overstimulated till your knees gave out. “Since you asked so nicely pet. I won’t make you beg even though it’s very arousing and only strengthens my desire to make you cum your brains out.”

He lifted you up above his face and smirked, licking a stripe up your pussy and blew cool air against it. “Hm, maybe I should overstimulate you till you can’t orgasm. How about that?” Returning to kissing your wet cunt and thumbing off your arousal fluid, pressing the tip of his thumb on your bottom lip. You tongue poked out and tasting yourself in your mouth. Two of his tendrils snaked their way up your body and wrapped around your waist, the other one prodding your gaped puffy lips and pushing it way inside. “Mhm~” Going to move your arms but failing to and feeling two other tentacles binding your hand together, making you subject to your boyfriend’s will.

The tentacle occupying you mouth steadily moved back and forth, reaching the back of your throat and causing you to gag. You suppressed the urge to gag again and moaned when you felt him put pressure on your clit again. Rolling your hips to get more friction, crying out when you felt waves of pleasure wash over you and moaning with his tentacles in your mouth. Scaramouche groaned and laughed a bit, “Hm, you always do such a good job sucking on my cock. Fuck- Keep going, kitten~” Hollowing out your cheeks and running your tongue along the underside it and sucking the tip, briefly being interrupted by harsh thrusts of his tongue against your walls and unable to stop your eyes fluttering shut. You could feel your orgasm was close and kept bobbing your head up and down.

The knot in your abdomen tightening and tightening, your lewd noises getting louder and louder with the hybrid extending his tongue to reach the sweetest spots in your pussy. “Come on. Cum on my tongue and I might just fuck you till the morning sun shines through the window.” Diving back in and fitting his whole mouth around your sopping cunt, wishing that he could’ve done this much sooner had he known you tasted better than his favorite meal. He felt your walls squeeze around his tongue and knew you were getting close to orgasming, something he didn’t get to taste when he was in that “cage”. His finger dipped knuckle deep to furth egg you on and trigger your climax, countless dirty fantasies going through his minds.

“I should have fucked you on my cock right in front of the glass so everyone could see who you belong too. ngh~” That very idea aroused you, clenching the muscles in your legs and desperately trying to push yourself onto his tongue more. “Oh~ You like that? Maybe I should sit you on my dick whenever we go the beach and hide away in the shallow pools. Make to much noise and someone would see.” Muttering praises against your inner thighs and tightening his hold on your thighs, holding them so your couldn’t try to close them even if he head wasn’t in between them and gripping the plush fat of your ass. “But you’d like that wouldn’t you my slutty pet.”

You were sucking his cock so well and feeling him twitch in your mouth, struggling against the arms holding your wrists and thighs together. “Mhm- nghn-” Nodding as best you could while you gave him a blowjob and hearing his smugly laugh, moving at a faster pace. Both of you were close and you felt the knot snap when he bent his fingers, hitting your cervix and harshly sucking your clit. “Ahh~ Scara- ‘m gonna cum” You told him and loudly mewled, the vibrations from your moans lighting the cecaelia’s nerves on fire as it increased the euphoria his cock was getting. “Hm- I- ngh. So am I-” Working you through your orgasm and sinking his fingers into your pussy as you helped him through his own.

Hot white ropes of cum shot out from a slit you had been teasing on his tip and coated your tongue, swallowing it and panting heavily as it dribbled down your tongue. Your moans being heard louder as you became overstimulated and flexing your hands still bound. You looked down and saw Scaramouche lapping up your cum, slick covering his mouth and dripping down his chin. Shuttering when his thumb wiped the excess of his face and licked it up, humming in satisfaction. “Gods you taste divine. Was that fun kitten?” Very tired from your orgasm you shook your head and were lowered back onto his lap, guiding your head into the crook of his next and unbinding your hands so you could hug him. Affectionately pressing kisses on your shoulders and embracing his beloved lovingly, your arms wrapped around his neck and lazily pecking his neck.

Scaramouche pulled back and used two of his fingers to swipe up a bit of you cum from your labia, causing you to whimper slightly from the overstimulation still present and moaning softly. Spreading his fingers to show you the semi transparent fluid and resting them against your bottom lip. “Open up, beloved.” You let your mouth go slack and sucked him clean, tasting yourself as you curled your tongue around his slender pale fingers. A string of saliva connected his fingertips to your lips and broke when he kissed you sweetly, full of love and loyalty just like he’d promised you. His attention turned to you, curling his tendrils around your waist and smiled. “Can you make it one more round, pet? I’d love to feel my cock in your tight wet pussy but if you’re too spent I could always cuddle you into slumber-”

You eagerly responded yes and weakly leaned into him, pressing kisses up his neck and nipping in hopes to mark him so others wouldn’t steal him away from you. “No, I wanna feel your cock inside me. I want people to know that you’re mine but I’m so tired. You’re mine as I’m yours, love. Take me~” Continuing to press open mouthed smooches on his skin and feeling your boyfriend shift under you. The extra tentacles started to retract from below his hips and formed back into his two legs in his human form. Scaramouche taking your chin and tilting your head down to see his more human like dick, the pale girthy shaft with small veins leading up to his rosy mushroom tip twitching and desperate to be touched.

It was already leaking pre-cum and red from the overstimulating blow job you’d given him, “Are you just going to sit there slack jawed or do I have to do all the work myself?” His hand guided yours to his cock and you fingers curled around it, stroking it slowly and coating it in his pre-cum. “Don’t start getting arrogant now. I’ve haven’t touched you and you’re still sensitive~” He glared before smirking at you and rolled his cock against your slit. Kissing his chest and trailing up until you met his lips, rooting your other hand in his smooth violet hair. You lifted yourself with his help and sunk onto his cock. “Fuck. I should’ve done this a lot sooner. You feel so good clenching me- ngh-”

Slowly you rhymically moving up and down, breathing heavily and moaning whenever he bottomed out. Your slick making a white ring around the base of his cock and biting his neck. Feverishly kissing his jawline and rocking your hips in time with his thrusts. “Ah~ Just like that- Keep fucking yourself on my cock! I-” Scaramouche was interrupted when you grabbed his hand and brought it to your next, squeezing his hand in your own. Your eyes rolled into the back of your head when he tightened his grip and chuckled mockingly. “Well well, what a kinky little slut you are. Ngh-”

His dick kissed your cervix as he harshly pounded into your cunt and cut off your air supply. Checking in with you to make sure he wasn’t going to far and pecking your cheek softly when you signal you were alright. “Scara- aHah keep going! I’m close-” “Shit! Me too! ngh~ Guess you riled me up, beloved!” A breathy moan left your mouth and fell against his chest, scratching his back with your nails when the pace got even faster. Pistoning his cock deep into your pussy and feeling like it was splitting you in two. A second later his unoccupied hand crept down to your clit and pinched it sending painful overwhelming pleasure through you.

Your climax hit you like a ton of bricks and made your legs spasm, trembling thighs tensing and crying out in joy. “Cumming!” The hybrid felt your cunt contract around his cock and groaned loudly. “Cumming too!” Feeling warm spurts of his cum fill you and faltering when you both road out your high, collapsed against the rim of the tub. The water mellowed out and stopped splashing about as you panted to regain the lost energy. “Let’s actually get clean because we just dirtied the water” Scaramouche weakly laughed and hugged your closer, “I wouldn’t mind going for a round 3-”

He was cut off by your glare and quickly scooped you into his arms albeit stumbling a bit before getting out, putting you on the cool tile to refill the tub. “I’d say I marked you up quite well, now others will know who you belong to.” Lifting you so you could see your reflection and the countless hickeys and bite marks all over your body. You smiled and nodded, shakily tapping his arm to put you down and using the counter to keep yourself standing. Towels on your nearby shelf were used to dry yourself off and tossed one to Scaramouche He thanked you and wrapped the towel around his waist, grabbing your body and bringing closer to him once again. “Now let’s go to sleep because in morning you’re not leaving my side and I have to thank you for breaking me out~”

“Hm, sounds good.” My bedroom is-” Already out the door and on the way before you realized he knew where it was since you had shown it to him when you both came in. Leaning your head against his bare chest and stretching out when you’re laid down on the soft pale green comforter. You crawled under the covers and snuggled into the soft pillow, letting your muscles go soft and practically fusing yourself to the hybrid’s body. “You comfortable there?” You nonverbally hummed ‘yes’ and tried to embrace him, happy that he wrapped his arms around you. “Now go to sleep, beloved. I’ll be here in the morning.” “Goodnight.” Closing yours eyes and welcoming sleep with open arms, the warmth under the covers mixed with his body heat.

Your dreams consisted of memories from the day and fantasies of days yet to come, swimming deeper and deeper into the sea of your unconscious before the bright rays of the morning sun peaked in through the curtains. A soft groan came from the person beside you and pulled you closer, messily tangling the sheets around your legs which was already intertwined. RING! RING! You shot up briefly at the sudden loud noise coming from your phone and blindly reached your hand at your bedside table until you finally had the vibrating cell phone in your hand. Pressing the answer button and slowly bringing it to your ear, a loud automated voice quickly giving you a message from your workplace.

“Hello… Name. This is the Deepwater Cove Aquarium calling it’s employees to let them know they will have the following week off with paid leave due to a high security inhabitant breaking out and having gone missing. Tell no one about this and keep it within company staff to avoid a mass panic. If you have any questions or concerns please contact head of Human Resources Teresa Merrii. Thank you and goodbye.” ….well that answered the question in the back of your head and you guessed they didn’t have a clue you were behind it.

“Scara.” Shaking his shoulder and attempting to wake him up, only to receive a mumble and pulling at your torso for you to cuddle with him more. “Scaramouche! They know you escaped-” He opened his eyes just a tad and raised an eyebrow, “It was bound to happen eventually and besides they don’t think it’s you so come back to sleep with me.” The cecaelia had a point, you were also on paid leave which you hadn’t expected and might as well make the best of it. Checking your notifications for any major or important messages you should respond to while you were up and saw a text from your coworker telling you ‘I hope you and your family are alright! Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help and we need to talk about the week off from work because what if it’s Scaramouche?!’.

You’d have to give them your thanks, turning your phone off and getting back underneath the blankets, feeling the smooth bits of scales littering his chest and heat radiating off of him. It felt like you were sleeping next to a fire on a cold winter morning and you pulled the covers over your head. “Well, even if they try to find me, they can’t cause I’m free of that prison and at home with my mate-” THAT’S WHAT YOU BOTH WERE?! “We’re just dating scara-” His finger was pressed against your lips. “Yes, my mate. That’s what most cryptids, as you all like to call us, call our significant others and almost all of us mate for life.”

A second passed. You were fairly sure that he was going to live longer than you which didn’t bode well since he seemed very clingy and insistent on you being with him till death. “How long do you live?” Scaramouche pondered and hummed to himself, recalling all the years he’s been alive. “About 36, but “special” beings who are half immortal live about 150 years. Cecaelia fully mature at about 20 years.” Further explaining about how his kind usually took a mate at 30 or so and pinching you playfully when you laughed, commenting on how it fit that he was 6 years “late” on finding a soulmate. “I’m sorry but with your bitchy personality I can see why no one wanted to date you-” He interrupted you with a pinch on your cheek and scowled at your mockery. His arms wrapping even tighter around your torso and guiding you hand to touch a patch of scales on his cheekbone.

“Oh please, that incompetent mermanta ray Childe couldn’t find a partner and he probably hasn’t knowing him and his battle obsession.” Eyes flicked to the window that looked out onto the sea, seemingly where is (possibly?) friend lived and trying to imagine what kind of hybrid he could possibly be by yourself. The curiosity in you spilling over the edge of your mind and asking yourself if the fairytales you heard of mythical being was true. If half octopus people existed did that mean nagas, mermaids, fae, and kitsunes were real too. “What other mythical beings exist that you know of?” Scara rubbed comforting circles on your tummy as he thought back, “A fair amount of people but many of them are miserable to be around, but as far as the ocean goes I know a couple mermaids and selkies. Two of them are tolerable to be around and offer good conversations last I remember, their names are Kaveh and Kokomi I think.”

“Kaveh always bitches about his annoying merman of a roommate which is always amusing to hear. Of course there are other cecaelia but I haven’t met many others so I assume they live in deeper parts of the ocean.” Laughing to himself as he remembered the insults he’d hear from the selkie about how emotionless and arrogant Alhaitham was to live with. You scooched up so you were laying against his chest and pulled up a soft throw blanket over both of you, “Are mythics only in the ocean?” Lifting his hands from your body and playing with his fingers as he talked. “Haha don’t be silly. They’re all over the world. Some live in the skies and mountains like harpies, dracotaurs, and butterfly people. I know before your boss captured me there was news about a dracotaur named Zhongli and a harpy named Xiao who watched over a city near here almost like a guardian angel.”

The sun shone brighter and the wind picked up, whistling and causing branches to tap against the glass. Birds looked for worms in the ground to bring to their young and chittering to each other. “Hm, I wonder what he’s like?” His hand broke from your grasp and turned your chin so you looked at him, “I thought I was the only supernatural being that interested you?” You laughed and nodded, confirming he was. “You are but that doesn’t mean I can’t be curious. And butterfly people? Aren’t those just fairies?” Apparently not and you shouldn’t say that to a fae’s face because it could piss them off. You had heard stories from your grandparents about people who angered the fae. How travelers would knock on trees when going through the woods to check if the fae were hiding in trees and offer small gifts of flowers or shiny objects for safety when hiking in their territory, with the promise of being respectful.

In your younger years you had believed it, often giving small gifts of your own at the edge of the woods near your house and leaving notes with messages to them. You knew not to tell them your name or else bad things would happen to you and the possibilities of you getting dragged into the forest to never been seen from again only increased. “No, fae are very mischievous and playful. Most of the stories about tricks and fairy circles you’ve heard are true. Butterfly people are similar to fae but have butterfly wings and are much kinder, often helping out creatures of all kind including humans if anyone is in trouble or in need of a helping hand.” Letting your mind drift off into what you thought some of them would look like and your inner child hoping you could meet one one day.

“Just before I got kidnapped, I was washed up by a mangrove near some abandoned but fruitful orchards looking for help since a bad storm had caused me to sprain my wrist. What I thought was a butterfly at first turned out to be a tiny person who called herself Nahida and helped me with my injury.” He explained that butterfly person was the protector of the small kaleidoscope that was home to the ethereally lit forest and her official name was Kusanali. “She helped me identify what fruits were safe and ripe to eat and what herbs could be used for healing or nutrition. Nahida told me what she knew of the fae and that a certain fae prince was becoming quite well known for his artistry and experiments.” Scaramouche kissed your lips and nuzzled his nose against yours, revelling in the comfort and affection you were giving him.

Of course there were other supernatural creatures of the land like nagas and lamias, attractive people with the lower half of a snake with more serpent like features such as scales or forked tongues. Who often are sneaky and stereotyped as sadistic thanks to generalizations from Christianity’s view of snakes when in actuality a lot of them are well versed in healing and medicinal treatments for travelers or other mythics. One type of supernatural you were not so please to find out about were the driders, people with the lower half of a spider and actually very dangerous. “They’re just as cruel and sadistic as the tales say they are or at least that’s what I’ve heard. I don’t intend to find out and I’m hope you don’t either. Remember my home turf is water not land.” You laughed and shook your head, shivering at the thought of running from a being with eight legs and liquidated to be eaten.

“Yeah, that doesn’t seem pleasant to run into but if those are the only dangers in the forest then it seems fine-” He interrupted you and then chuckled, carding his fingers through your hair to work out the tangles that had gotten more apparent over night. You looked up and saw him still looking out the window but away from the sea front view. “Ever heard of werewolves? You’ve probably walked passed by more of them than you think thanks to their ability to remain human looking except during a full or new moon. They are very territorial and possessive of who or what they hold close to them which my kind are also prone to-” You cut him off with some laughter and lightly hit his chest, raising your eyebrow at him and reminding him of the incident involving the ‘Karen’ yesterday.

“Scara you nearly had to be held back when I was hit and any time another employee tries to make a mood on me within your sight even before you dragged me beneath the water-” A bright blush covered his cheeks and he averted his gaze from you, clearly trying to pretend like he didn’t remember it despite you reminding him. “I- It’s not my fault that you attract everyone else’s attention and I have to show them that you’re mine. At least I’m not as bad as the kitsunes! Gods…Those vixens are downright malicious if someone offends them or someone dear to them. My mother’s wife is a nasty example and I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s been stopped many times from striking me with lightning by my mother.”

This was the first you were hearing of his past in general and his mother, no one who found him could get any answer as to who his parents were or where his home was. “I’m plenty happy that you’re possessive and I appreciate you not killing people just for flirting with me.” Laughing towards the end of your sentence and carefully thinking through your words to find out more about his life. “I’m going to need you to be more tolerant now that you don’t have 4 inch glass separating you from the public whenever we’re outside. But you’ve never mentioned your mother before, what was your life before all of this,” You gestured vaguely to your house and around you both, “happened.

The cecaelia’s eyebrows furrowed and his mood got noticeably somber. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea, “If it’s something you don’t want to talk about then I understand but I’m here. I know what it’s like to not like your past.” You kissed his cheek and rubbed comforting circles on his chest, letting him think it over and seeing him shake his head out of a deep thought. “No, it’s alright. I just have… mixed feelings toward my mother and it’s not a pretty story.” Scaramouche shifted so you were sitting up and side by side, his hand intertwining with yours and gratefully looking at you. The dark pools of pale purple overflowing with inner turmoil and deep seated unspoken emotions laying just beneath the surface.

“Well not only am I not human but my mother is a goddess, specifically a goddess of storms and lightning.” Eyeing you for a reaction to which you were stunned and gaped at your non-mortal lover, nodding slowly to let him continue. “My mother had a relationship with a human which resulted in me but I don’t know my father and I haven’t seen my mother since she abandoned me.” This was heartbreaking to hear. Why would any mother ever abandon their child? He was still, silence enveloped the room as he kept his eyes locked on the comforter balled up in his fists. Outside you could see the sky darkening, dark grey clouds gathered strangely with your knowledge that there wasn’t supposed to be rain this.

“That makes me a demigod in addition to my weird ass octopus half. I don’t think I have any abilities like my mother but my human emotions are linked to stormy weather which might explain the thunderstorm coming together outside.” Both of you were now focused on the growing anomaly, you looked to Scara and unwrapped his tightly wound fists. The muscles in his fingers still tense and slowly being relaxed thanks to your hand sliding its way into his. “I’m right here with you. I’m- I’m sorry you had to go through that but how did you manage living on your own at such a young age?”

A fond but sad expression painted over his face and he leaned his head on your shoulder, “I didn’t. I was found on a beach by a man named Niwa, someone who I considered my friend…my family. He was the one who showed me how to live and grow up while trying his best to find answers for both of us as why what I was.” Apparently, when he was a child, Niwa took them both to the library to search as to who Scara’s parents were but were stunned to find his mother’s name belonged to a local goddess. While he told the story, a flurry of emotions crossed his mind upon digging into memories he thought he had put away permanently.

“At first we thought it must have been a mistake but Niwa spotted a symbol marked on my skin behind my neck,” Turning his back to you and lifting his hair to let you view a black triple right tomoe. Black ink filled the shape and bent when you ran your fingers over it, noticing the shiver your lover tried to suppress. It looked like a tattoo freshly healed but there was something not natural about it like the scales that littered his skin. “along with the scales, it was clear that I wasn’t human….but he didn’t look at me differently. He wasn’t disgusted or fearful that he was living with a demigod and helped me discover more about who I was but…”

Tears pricked his eyes and threatened to fall, indicating hesitation and what you could tell was a emotionally traumatizing moment back then. You wished you could have done more but the best you could do is be by his side and comfort him the best way possible. “but there- there was one question he couldn’t answer even though he tried. Why did my mother abandoned me? Clearly she knew about my existence since she put me to sleep on a beach but-” The damn broke as streaks of tears fell down his cheeks, quiet sobs loudened as he tried to muffle them and latched onto you when you brought him into your arms. The tight grip Scaramouche had hurt your heart, no one deserved to go through this and you had some choice words in your head for his mother.

There were several better ways to set him free without the lack of communication or possibility of harm. You were glad that someone like Niwa was there for him while all this self discovery was going on, you’d have to thank him if he ever introduced you two. “Scara-” “Kuni. My name is Kunikuzushi. You- you deserve to know.” With the look he was giving you, you had no doubt that this meant a great deal to him and clearly had gained his trust with your help and kindness. Tears still streamed down his face but they had stopped a bit thanks to your comfort. “Kuni. I’m so glad you had Niwa with you. How come he didn’t help you when you got captured?”

There was silence for a couple minutes then he started quietly crying harder burying his head into your neck and mumbled words you couldn’t understand. Carding your hand through his hair and cooing softly, “It’s alright. You’re safe. You’re with me safe and sound.” After gathering himself he kissed your lips and brokenly smiled. “T-thank you. Niwa-” Kuni stuttered and took a deep breath while thunder shook the house. “Niwa was killed by a self proclaimed doctor called Dottore who hunts the supernatural and dissect them. He used Niwa to get to me after seeing bits of my scales You would have gotten along, he was kind and determined like you.” He paused briefly between words to sniffle and then embraced you again, seeing lightning shatter the sky which reminded him to take a breath.

“He helped me with these pathetic human emotions that plagued me. I thought my mother tossed aside because of my disgusting human half and tried to get rid of my mortal part…. to no success.” To say you were stunned was an understatement. To think in addition to all the torture he’d endured at the aquarium he had tried to kill himself in order to get to his mom. You didn’t notice tears that fell from your eyes and landed on his warm bare chest. His thumb brushed your cheek and wiped them away, whispering apologies that he didn’t need to say at all. “I know, I’m not going to say I regret it because I don’t but you and Niwa changed my mind about humans.”

You sadly laughed and kissed him, “I’m glad you’re here. You made my life brighter and I love you dearly. However, how did you come to live in the ocean?” He wiped his eyes and dried his tears, looking down at the lavender scales decorating his skin. “When I tried to drown myself, something different happened my legs split into 8 and my pale purple scales darkened from my waist down.”

“My ears grew webbed and more fish like, entirely below my waist I looked like an octopus from the hips down but I could move through the water faster than I ever could before-” He stopped and look to you, winds calming down and a genuine happy expression took over his face. “I was free. Free to do what I wanted and be free from the pain of loss…so I shut out the world until I met you.” He whispered, almost in disbelief and awe upon reflecting into his past. Time seemed to stop as he moved closer and cupped your face, rubbing his nose against yours affectionately.

Kuni slowly kissed your lips and slowly pulled away for air begrudgingly, still resting his forehead against yours and closing his eyes. A comfortable silence fell between you two. So many emotions poured out and no doubt you could sleep for another couples of hours given it was only 9 in the morning. You kissed his lips sweetly before pulling your boyfriend back under the covers and slurring your words out of fatigue. “I love kissin’ you but sleep is a definite tie. Come cuddle me, Kuni~”

There was little hesitation as he wrapped his arms around you and tangled his legs with yours, taking the small spoon position. Sleep tugged at the corners of your mind but before you succumbed to it you whispered something you’d been holding in for a bit. “You and ursula would get along very well.” You practically felt the annoyed tick mark appear on his face with even having to see it and struggled to hold in your laughter. “Who the fuck is this Ursula bitch?!”

Genshin cryptids

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #kunikuzushi #kunikuzushi x reader #wanderer #wanderer x reader #scaramouche #scaramouche x reader #scaramouche smut #scaramouche x you #genshin cryptid AU

373 notes · View notes

aerequets · 9 months

Note

I really liked the scene you drew for the fanfic Once more with feeling. Do you have other fanfics recommandations? PS. I love your art :3

thank you! :D and yes of course i do 😎 i have this list (twiyor) from a while ago but i have amassed more than enough new faves to make a new one!

i will try to get a mix of fics w/ different vibes, and different lengths, as well as those that you may not have heard of before. most if not all of them will be twiyor tho, bc that's what i read most.

i'll put them under the cut!

FUN FACT i spent like 45 mins writing a list and SOMEHOW DELETED IT ALL. so this is take 2 😭😭😭😭 ANYWAYS

The Woman in Red by @nightofnyx8

rated M, 7/7 chaps, 47.9k words

this fic feels like a book to me if i was already invested in the characters. it revolves around yor, who gets an assignment to find out where a bunch of trafficked girls are being kept by the asshole of the millenium, vito cohen. it is also post reveal, post relationship twiyor. this fic has dark moments just by virtue of the subject matter, but none of it feels gratuitous if that makes sense? like every bit of violence lends to the whole picture. there are also some Steamy ™ twiyor moments, which are easily skippable if that's not your thing, but their whole relationship here is just written so well. the trust is there and the protective loid vibes are 👌 i m m a c u l a t e

Smoldering by @julphines

rated G, 1/1 chaps, 2.1k words

i freaking love the look into post reveal, pre relationship twiyor we get here. it's not overtly romantic but instead them getting to know each other. i especially love the details of them having to make themselves be vulnerable in some ways because they just aren't used to it. a really nice, in-between sort of fic :)

In Love With the Distance by Newt on ao3

rated T, 37/37 chaps, 21.5k words

this one is formatted as a collection of letters and i am OBSESSED. i think the author does a very good job getting the character voices down, and the fact that the progression in their relationship is clear despite being in this letter format will never cease to amaze me. it's also incredibly consistent and has cute 'ciphers' at the top that are used to disguise the letters. this one is also post reveal, and kinda follows what happens immediately after. some bits are outside the letter format, but for the most part, it's loid and yor writing to each other. love

La Vie En Rose by @jubileen

rated T, 1/1 chaps, 3.7k words

i love me a good ol 5+1 fic, and this one did not disappoint 😌 i especially liked how the thing that is being counted here (you know, the "five times x and one time x") is not explicitly stated each time. it's something that is as slowly revealed to the reader as it is to the characters, which is a nice touch. and there are more things you catch after a reread, which i am also a great fan of!

An Ever Fixed Mark by Spiraling (Stormwind13) on ao3

rated T, 3/3 chaps, 3.8k words

soulmates that share wounds!!!!!! need i say more?? ALSO, there's some GORJUS artwork in this fic! actually, the first "chapter" is just the cover page, and then in the third chapter is another illustration which is so well done! so that's a plus :) this fic has the nice ol heartwrenching mix of backstory and present for the characters, another plus!

this fic is restricted tho, so u gotta be logged into ao3 to read it 🙏

Love, He was Certain by toteally on ao3

rated M, 1/1 chaps, 3.2k words

this one is so funny and good to me bc loid goes head empty seeing fruit juice dribble down yor's chin KJFDHSJ i love when overthinking characters suddenly can't form a thought at the most mundane of happenings. ALSO the thing fics/books do when the title comes up and you're like OHHHH THERE IT IS!!! yeah that as well

Macabre Theme and Variations by @piracytheorist

rated T, 15/15 chaps, 66.6k words (lol)

WOOOO TIME LOOP FIC! yet another thing that i am a fan of :DD although HEED THE WARNING because there IS violence but there is also a happy ending. this fic follows twilight as he goes through the same day over and over again and tries not to die a horrific death forever. mans gets more trauma, BUT he also gets character progression and a happy ending so fair trade off right 🤔 (yes. the answer is yes)

anyways, this list is hardly even the tip of the iceberg. there's also my bookmarks which, at the time of writing this post, are at 354... most of which are sxf/twiyor.... so yeah LMAO obviously i couldnt put all of them into this post but definitely check those out. i've also got my own works if you're interested but hopefully this list contains fics you have not yet read, and that you will like 🙏🙏

(if your fic is on this list and you haven't been tagged + would like to be, pls let me know!)

#spy x family #sxf #sxf fic #spy x family fic #spy x family fanfiction #ao3 #asks #recommendations #fic recs #twiyor #loidyor #loiyor

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burst-of-iridescent · 9 months

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Hi! Just a quick message to say that I love your analysis on Katara and Zuko and their dynamics with each other. I personally love how you place the emphasis on them having their journey towards growth together, but an individual one as well. I've only started watching AtlA two years ago, but reading your remarks during my second rewatch of the show made me appreciate the nuances of their relationship and arc more <3 I was just wondering, because you've made some good Zutara fic recs in the past, which Zutara long fic would you absolutely recommend? Thank you so much!

aww, thank you so much! i haven't read long zutara fics in quite some time actually but off the top of my head here are my favs:

the color of the stars by bluenebulae: yes i know i've recommended this fic a hundred times already but i will continue to do so bc it's SO GOOD. this is a book 3 canon divergence where zutara get captured together on DoBS and need to find their way back to the gaang together and it is just everything.

tempest in a teacup by akaVertigo: if you've been around in zutara fandom for a while, you probably already know this fic but i couldn't not include it. this is an au where katara ends up in the fire nation as a child after her mother's death and she and zuko grow up together. fire nation katara AUs do make me a little suspicious because they can easily be done wrong, but this one does it right and the writing is absolutely stunning so trust me when i say you won't be let down.

zuko's tiny dilemma by boogum: book 1 au where zuko is accidentally turned into a 6 year old (with his 16 year old consciousness) and the gaang ends up having to take care of him. i know that sounds like a weird set-up for romantic zutara but i promise nothing gross happens. it's actually a very funny, sweet and wholesome fic so i strongly encourage that you give it a chance!

the worst prisoner by emletishfish: book 1 au where sokka accidentally kidnaps zuko during the events of the blue spirit, and shenanigans and zutara ensue. this is the funniest zutara fic i have ever read AND there are two more installments in the series so you will be good to go for a long time.

(i couldn't find this fic in my bookmarks at first because my browser logged me out of ao3 and i nearly had a breakdown thinking it was gone forever and texted my friends in full panic mode, so that should tell you how much i adore it.)

once around the sun by eleventy7: i would be deeply remiss in offering fic recommendations if i didn't mention one of the most goated zutara fics of all time. i'll warn you now that though this fic has a happy ending, you should absolutely check the tags or you will be stabbed in the heart halfway through just like i was. the pain is definitely worth it, though.

i hope you enjoy reading these! <3

#zutara #zutara fanfiction #zutara fic recommendations #zutara asks

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ronwestbreeze · 1 year

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TO YOU , WORLDS AWAY : PART ONE : CHAPTER FIVE

pairing: jake sully x human!fem!reader

summary: in which you and grace make your return to hometree

warnings: none!

word count: 2.6k

author's note: another chapter! yay!

AO3 | prev | next

It wasn’t until Norm started setting up your link bed did you realize what was happening.

Grace was shrugging off her lab coat and Jake was already linked up by the time you entered. A part of you was relieved. You didn’t have to talk to him yet. You weren’t really sure yet what to think of what happened between you two the other night. So right now, not talking to him first thing in the morning was probably the best idea. Especially, when you were already so discombobulated about what you were about to do.

“Are you sure you want me there?” You asked, standing awkwardly next to your link bed. “The kids probably remember you the most anyway—I was just your assistant after all.”

“I could take her place.” Norm tried suggesting even though you all knew the answer to his request.

Grace hoisted herself onto her link bed, “Mo’at wouldn’t have asked for both of us if she thought those kids were only impacted by me, Tinkers.”

“Yeah, but—”

“You’re too humble, kiddo. Those kids loved you then and they will love you now.” Grace gave you a meaningful look before saying slowly, “But if you don’t think you’re ready, I understand. I won’t force you.”

For a moment, you really considered saying no. For a moment, the word was already at the tip of your tongue.

But you stopped yourself. You stopped because you knew he’d win. You knew this fear would keep you from being in a place you loved. All this time, all you ever did was hide.

You had made a promise to yourself. And Project Pandora was an indication of said promise. This would be a part of it too.

After a short pause, you shrugged off your flannel jacket, “Norm, I’m going in.”

Said man looked surprised as you hopped into your link bed while Grace grinned.

Minutes later, Norm appeared next to your bed after setting up Grace’s, “How long has it been since you’ve been in one of these?”

You sighed. There he goes with the questions. “Two years.” You lied down, heart practically hammering within your chest. “I almost feel like I’m a newbie all over again.”

Norm chuckled, “I’m sure you’ll be fine. Probably better at it than me—actually come to think of it, how long have you been on Pandora?”

“Um, since I was sixteen… So four years now?”

He looked surprised, “Huh, I didn’t know they allowed teenagers to travel to Pandora.”

“Quaritch was my legal guardian at the time. Where he went I went.” You glanced at the computer next to your bed, wanting your conversation to be over. “Is it ready?”

Norm nodded and began closing your lid. Not without saying, “Welcome back, Doc.”

And then there was darkness.

Two years passing had made you forget what it felt like to be home.

Even though you had been in your avatar before, it all felt so new again. A thrilling feeling of being free from your human body and being in something new. A fresh start.

The world was a lot brighter now because of it. You could breathe in the air without needing a mask. You didn’t have to look up at other Na’vi people just because you were several inches shorter than them.

When you first woke up in your avatar, you were surprised to find that you were under a log bridge, it was large enough to hide your body so that no one would stumble upon it and accidently mistake it for a dead Na’vi. Well, then again, a Na’vi would be able to tell that it wasn’t one of their own because of your five fingers instead of four and the clothes you left on the body.

It almost felt like you had risen from a grave. Quite a bit morbid if you thought about it.

In a tree nearby, if you remembered correctly, your handmade spear was still there where you left it. Tsu’tey had taught you to carve it yourself and since then you’ve kept it ever since, despite not being in your avatar body for a long while. You made sure to keep it well hidden so that no animals or other Na’vi would take it.

When you found it, it was a bit splintery but still well intact. Could use a bit more carving, you were sure Tsu’tey would say the same if he saw it. Might even force you to make a new one.

A smile tugged at your lips.

“Hey, Tinkers!” You look up to find Grace’s avatar jogging toward you with a large grin on her lips. “Long time no see.”

You grin, “I’ve always been here you know. It’s not like you haven’t seen me.”

Grace smiled at you and gestured toward your avatars, “Not like this. It’s been too long.” She then gestured toward the opposite direction, “Come on, the village’s this way.”

You had forgotten what it felt like running in your avatar form. You were a lot faster than you would be in your human form, your long legs stretching forward as you went. Plus, without the mask, there was no fog covering the glass around your face, temporarily blurring your vision with how much breathing you were doing with it on.

Instead your face was barren and the breath felt amazing against your new skin.

During the time when the school was open, you had only been to the Omatikaya village only once. And that one time was when Sylwanin begged you to come and hunt with her and Tsu’tey, his original betrothal before it fell to her younger sister. You didn’t know how to hunt at the time so Tsu’tey, begrudgingly, decided to teach you the basics so at least you’d be able to keep up with them. Really, if it were up to him back then, you probably wouldn’t have been invited.

But he would’ve done anything to please Sylwanin. And that included playing nice with her new friend which happened to be you. Even reluctantly learn the handshake you taught them. Tapping your hearts three times. Three hearts. One beat.

Now it was: Two hearts. One beat.

“Sa’nok! Sa’nok!” Was the first thing you heard upon entering the Omatikaya village. It was the same as you remembered it. Hometree stood tall and proud in the sky, blue dots of Na’vi jumping about in the high branches. You didn’t really expect to see children so soon, but then again it made sense considering around this time they would either be training or following the adult Na’vi around.

Seeing them run toward Grace and you made your heart elated immediately. Some of them you recognized having known them since they were little, now they were taller and almost reached your shoulders. They surrounded the two of you excitedly.

“Look at you all.” Grace smiled as she kneeled down to be at their level. “You’ve grown so much!”

“Sa’nok, look what I made!” One of the children said excitedly, holding up a handmade knife. Seeing Grace smiling and happy with the children surrounding her felt so right. It felt like there had been a missing piece to a puzzle that you could not solve for the longest time. And now, watching Grace be happy as if they were back at the school again, you believed that void had slowly begun to fill itself back up. All the nerves you had felt before were slipping away when some of the kids approached you.

There was a small tug at the hem of your shirt. You looked down to find one girl looking up at you curiously, “Tsmuke, do you remember me? My name is Osa, you gave me a doll. It was—how do Sky People call it? Sheep?”

Your heart melted as you knelt down in front of her, “Osa? Yes, I do remember you! You’re such a big girl now!”

“I know how to shoot an arrow now! Do you want to see?” Osa grinned excitedly, grabbing your hand.

You grinned, “Sure, I would love to see.”

“Let me go get my bow!”

Osa ran off and a few other children took her place. They asked the both of you and Grace where you had been and why they hadn’t seen you in a while. Grace explained it to them the best way she could until Osa came back seconds later with her bow and arrows.

She tugged at your hand, “Come on, come on! Let’s go!”

You allowed the girl to drag you off, followed by a few more kids. You all didn’t wander too far from the village, especially when one of the adult Na’vi said to stay in view so they could watch them. Or rather watch you closely. You didn’t mind it really nor did you blame them. Right now you were just thankful to even be allowed back into the village.

There was a small pond of fish that you all arrived at. Osa readied her bow and arrow, rambling on about how her father taught her to aim and load the arrow. You listened closely and knelt down next to her as she began to aim her arrow at the pond.

“Don’t miss this time, Osa!” One of the older boys, Maw’i, teased.

“Yeah or you’ll scare the food away!” Another boy said.

You hushed them, sending them a stern look, “If you keep at that, you’ll distract her. Then she’ll actually miss and scare them away. We wouldn’t want that would we?”

“No, tsmuke.” They both say with small pouts.

Osa nudged you to gain your attention again. You nod to her, giving her the go ahead. Osa aimed her arrow and waited a few seconds, then she let go of the arrow and missed.

There were snickers behind you, “Ssh!” You say to them before turning back to Osa. “It’s okay, just try again. Those fish can be really fast.”

Osa nodded and retrieved her arrow. She aimed at the pond again. You motioned for the older kids to be quiet and gently patted Osa’s arm, silently encouraging her.

After a few more seconds of her pausing, she let the arrow go. And this time it hit one of the fishes.

“Well done, Osa!” You cheered, clapping your hands happily. When you stood, she hugged your waist tightly and you patted her head. “Go one and get your fish, okay? Then we can head back to the village and show the others.”

Osa nodded and skipped toward the pond to retrieve the fish and her arrow. Just as you gathered up the children, especially the older ones that got distracted by playing amongst each other, all of you started your way back to the village.

“Tsmuke!”

At first, you thought it was more kids coming your way but when you glanced over your shoulder, you instead saw Tsu’tey on a direhorse riding toward you. Osa hugged your leg as he stopped in front of you, brows raised curiously at you being surrounded by children.

“Tsamsiyu!” You nod with a grin.

Tsu’tey got off his direhorse, sizing you up and down as he walked paced around you. “I did not expect to see you here or in this form of yours ever again.” He tapped his heart twice.

“Don’t even think about it, Tsu’tey.” You said, doing the same with your heart. You already knew what he was thinking with the way he was examining your physique and spear that was strapped over your shoulder. “I’m not even ready! It’s been years, it wouldn’t be a fair fight!”

“Are you challenging her again?” Maw’i questioned. He was one of the kids you remembered taking care of when the school was open. And there was no doubt that he remembered you and Tsu’tey’s earlier relationship. Had to since the boy practically followed you around when he was younger, especially when Tsu’tey stopped by the school.

“Huh? What of it, little man?” Tsu’tey smirked before looking at you challengingly. “Sounds to me like you’re scared, dreamwalker.”

You rolled your eyes and playfully shoved him away, “That’s enough strong warrior. You know I can’t beat you.”

Tsu’tey smirked but backed off. He fell into step with you as you and the children walked back to the village. As you got closer to the village you saw that Grace was deep in conversation with a few Na’vi women, children still clinging to her as much as they clung to you.

“When are you going to try and become Omatikaya?” Tsu’tey asked you, eyes watching Grace curiously. “Like your demon friend.”

You tried not to snort at the latter bit. Really, you were surprised at his question. It was the last thing you expected from him considering he was so against the Sky People invading his home. But it was sweet in a way. But also the question dampened your smile, just a bit.

“No matter what I do, I do not think I will really belong here.” You say truthfully as some of the kids at your side rushed over toward Grace. “And that is something I’ve come to terms with a long time ago.”

“Hmph.” Was all he said.

You scoffed, “Really? That’s it? No words of comfort?”

Tsu’tey rolled his eyes but patted your head. It was the only comfort he knew how to give. He did it when the two of you were younger as well. Seems like things hadn’t changed that much.

He looked past you and his eyes suddenly narrowed, “Your demon friend is here.”

It was kind of pathetically hilarious at how quickly you turned toward the direction Tsu’tey was looking.

Next to Neytiri was, who you assumed, was Jake in his avatar form. This was the first time you’ve seen it and you were pleasantly surprised at how similar his face was compared to human form. The only difference now was that he was blue and standing instead of being in a wheelchair.

You heard Tsu’tey grumble next to you as Jake’s eyes met yours.

It wasn’t until you saw Jake’s stunned face did you realize that he hasn’t seen your avatar before now. You realized Tsu’tey had left your side, especially when Jake approached you with Neytiri trailing behind.

“Oel ngati kameie.” You nod to Neytiri.

A look of recognition crosses her face as she was sizing you up. After a pause, she nodded in return, “Oel ngati kameie, tsmuke.”

Jake was still looking at you in slight awe, Neytiri noticed this and rolled her eyes. She smacked your arm and mumbled, “He’s still big baby.”

You giggled as Neytiri walked away. Jake looked at you in confusion, glancing from Neytiri to you, “What? What did she say about me?”

“You still have a lot to learn, Puppet.” You patted his arm but then frowned when you noticed small cuts on his chest and the side of his head. “Really? Not even a few hours here and you’ve already bled?”

He caught your hand when you went to check one of the cuts on his chest, “I’m fine, Doc.” He smirked, hand still grasped around your wrist. It grew when you tried hiding your flustered state. “Neytiri’s just throwing me around a bit.”

“Sounds kinky.” You quipped, playfully shoving him away until he let you go.

“Funny, I said the same thing and got a bow smacked in my face.”

“You probably deserved it.”

Jake grasped both of your arms and started pulling you in a random direction, “Come on, I wanna show you something.”

You frown but let him pull you along, “Shouldn’t you be training?”

“Not when the teacher is distracted.” Jake grinned back at you. “Come on before she catches us.”

The mischief in his eyes wasn’t missed by you as he continued dragging you through the forest.

You were definitely going to regret this somehow.

taglist: @luvvfromme @sully-stick-together @dazedshoon @jakesullylvr @s-u-t @ssc7514 @cheari@tojigirl @nyotamalfoy @perfectprofessorloverapricot @erenjaegerwifee @naityelen @dumb-fawkin-bitch @raggedyoldwitch

#to you worlds away #avatar way of water #avatar jake sully x reader #avatar jake #avatar jake sully #jake sully #jake sully x reader #avatar the way of water #black!reader #sam worthington #tsu'tey

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sundrop-writes · 1 month

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Hey everyone! I'm Sundrop, but you can call me Sunny. I am a fanfic writer, and this is my fanfiction blog where I post all of my newest fics. Right now, my main fandom is The Walking Dead. If you want to know about the fandoms I'm interested in generally, check out my Main Masterlist. Requests are currently open. Please read my rules page before sending in a request. If you have a question about my fics or about my blog in general, it might be answered by my FAQ.

About me: I'm a 90s baby (I remember Blockbuster lmao), my pronouns are she/her (but I don't mind being called dude or other masc nicknames), I am autistic, bisexual, and polyamarous (and those things often heavily inspire my writing). I am chronically ill; I have POTS, EDS, and some of my fics may go behind schedule or may be cancelled due to flare-ups of my illness, just so you guys are aware.

All of my fics are subject to The Autism Clause. This means that I could randomly lose interest in a fandom, an idea, a WIP, or a series that I’m writing at any time. If something is victim to this Clause, it means that I will stop working on it before it’s finished, and I will likely never mention it again unless asked about it.

If you are curious about what happened to a fic that was planned or you want to know why I haven't updated in a while, definitely go over to @tenpintsof-sundrop to see updates about my personal life and my creative process and how that affects my fanfiction posts. This is not my main blog. This is just a blog I use for posting fics, so if you wanna know more about my interests and the progress of my fics, then definitely head over to my main.

Please do not follow me if you support using AI to generate fanfiction or fanart, or if you use c.ai. I have worked for many years to cultivate my writing talents and I think it is a huge insult to writers to do these things. If I find anything on your blog that is AI generated, I will block you.

I would highly recommend downloading the Interactive Fics Extension for Google Chrome - it turns every use of Y/N into a fanfic into your actual name, and it works very well with my fics to turn the reading into an immersive, personalized experience.

If you are looking for more of my older fics, then definitely check out my AO3 - which is the largest living catalogue of my fics in existence with over a million words on it. If you enjoy anything that I have posted here, you can go there to check out more of my work. However, please keep in mind that all of my work over there is archive locked to keep it out of the hands of AI scrapers and bots, so you will need an account to view it. And you need to make sure that you're logged into your account on all browsers before you click the link.

Most Recent Work: Careful - Dad!Spencer Reid x Mom!Fem!Reader (Series)

Currently Working On: The Jaws of Life (sequel to Emergency Contact)

Coming Soon:

Heaven’s Gate (for The Walking Dead) - Daryl Dixon x GN!Reader. Strangers to Lovers/Soulmates/Lovers Reunited. Angst, Fluff, Hurt and Comfort. Set during Season 1 to Season 5. 17k in counting. You can find a preview here. In this fic, you and Daryl get separated when the Governor attacks the prison, and though you both believe the other person is dead (or long gone) you find each other at the most unlikely time, in the most unlikely place.

The Jaws of Life (for DC Titans) - Jason Todd x GN!Reader. Sequel to Emergency Contact. Lovers Reunited. Extreme Angst, Smut, Hurt and (some) Comfort. Set during Season 3. 21k in counting. In this fic, you and Jason struggle with the new meaning of your relationship after what happened with Deathstroke - only for this tentative change to be harshly disrupted by the Joker. And you’re still heavily mourning when a red hooded stranger breaks into your apartment one night, seeking medical care because apparently - you owe him one.

Nasty (for Stranger Things) - Sub!Eddie Munson x Dom!Fem!Reader. Established Relationship. Smut/PWP. 3k in counting. In this fic, you and Eddie have been dating for a while, but you don’t like that all of his attempts to have sex with you have him taking on a (seemingly fake) dom persona. When you finally tell him that you prefer to be more dominant in bed, he isn’t disgusted like you thought he might be - he loves it.

#sundrop speaks #pinned post #criminal minds fanfiction #spencer reid x reader

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amadwinter · 30 days

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Star Wars Fandom Data on AO3

Data was collected on Friday March 29th 2024 at approximately 10:30 AM Pacific Daylight Time from a logged in account.

I was bored this morning, so this happened.

For a while now, I've been curious about the stats for the Star Wars fandom on AO3. It's a very fractured fandom, where everyone can find their niche and never venture far outside of it if they don't want to, and it's also an old fandom, dating back to a time before the Internet even existed. Yet it continues to march on stronger than ever, even if it looks very different depending up on which side of the fandom you choose to be in.

In the Star Wars - All Media Types fandom supercategory on AO3, there are 258,173 works. The top 10 subcategories along with their work counts are as follows:

Fandoms

Star Wars - All Media Types - 155,041 works

Star Wars Sequel Trilogy - 78,542 works

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types - 53,588 works

Star Wars Prequel Trilogy - 39,799 works

The Mandalorian (TV) - 18,694 works

Star Wars Original Trilogy - 18,425 works

Star Wars: Rebels - 13,033 works

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) - 10,527 works

Star Wars: The Bad Batch - 8,096 works

Star Wars Legends - All Media Types - 8,026 works

Now, if you simply look at the sort and filter sidebar under Include, Relationships, you'll be presented with the following relationships, both platonic and romantic, as well as their work counts:

Relationships

Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren - 24,532 works

Kylo Ren/Rey - 16,654 works

Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren - 13,027 works

Rey/Ben Solo - 10,484 works

Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker - 9,660 works

Padme Amidala/Anakin Skywalker - 9,563 works

Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren - 9,528 works

Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker - 8,970 works

Poe Dameron/ Finn - 8,670 works

CC-224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi - 6,868 works

Which is fine, I suppose, but it doesn't paint a very accurate picture. Many of those relationships can be found under the same tags (e.x. the top ship Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren includes both the #2 relationship Kylo Ren/Rey and the #4 relationship Rey/Ben Solo), and so I sought the data manually from each tag by 1st, using the broadest tag for each relationship (Ben Solo | Kylo Ren and Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader primarily); 2nd, for every platonic relationship that appeared (designated with & as opposed to /), I excluded the romantic form of that relationship from the searches; 3rd after going through the list and determining 3 relationships were redundant, I then went through the separate fandom categories tag starting from the most populous down to the least populous to determine which 3 relationships rounded out the top 10.

Is this methodology perfect? No. It cannot account for relationships that were tagged erroneously (romantic instead of platonic), or whether the tagged relationship is primary to the work, tagged as "past", "minor", or any other quirk that would implicate the relationship is not the main focus of the work. However, it is a far more accurate representation of the top 10 relationships in the Star Wars fandom on AO3.

Relationships Revised

Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren - 30,304 works

Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren - 17,017 works

Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader - 9,960 works

Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader - 9,151 works

Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader - 8,715 works

Poe Dameron/Finn - 8,670 works

CC-224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi - 6,868 works

Leia Organa/Han Solo - 6,733 works

Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader & Ahsoka Tano - 5,105 works

Cassian Andor/Jyn Erso - 4,910 works

As you can see, this paints a very different picture from the list above. By collapsing some of the relationships, it added nearly 5.5k works the #1 relationship, and 4k works to the #2 relationship (previously third). It also allowed the addition of 2 more M/F relationships (which are statistically about half as popular across all fandoms on AO3, even if the #1 on Star Wars is itself M/F), and 1 more platonic relationship.

I must say, that I am surprised by one thing: Luke Skywalker is no where on either list. I didn't include which characters are the top 10 most tagged in the Star Wars fandom, but Luke is absolutely on there (By the way, the most tagged character is Obi-Wan Kenobi, surprising absolutely no one).

If anyone can point me to a relationship in the Star Wars fandom on AO3 that should be included on this list instead of any of the ones I have listed, I would be glad to update this, but for now, this appears to be the most accurate.

#effortpost #data #star wars #star wars sequel trilogy #star wars original trilogy #star wars prequels #obi wan kenobi #ao3 #archive of our own #fandom #fanfiction #shipping

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a-small-batch-of-dragons · 4 months

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Hypermobility

Okay wait I have a prompt!!! If you wanna So I've been reading a lot of fics recently that are in space aus, with the whole humans are deathworlders concept (idk how this is common across my fandoms but it is so I'm binging them lol). And I had an idea based on recent irl events. – anon (long ask, cut for brevity)

inspired by my lovely @ghostofasecretary who has trained all of our friend group to look for hypermobility on account of our schlorpy joints :)

Read on Ao3

Warnings: none

Pairings: loosely implied analogical i guess, but as with most of my shit can be platonic or romantic you decide

Word Count; 1809

Remus glances up to see Virgil staring at Logan like his abdomen has spontaneously ruptured. He sees Roman out of the corner of his eye do the same. Virgil swallows heavily. "L," he says slowly, "what the fuck is wrong with your arms?" "Nothing is wrong with my arms, what are you talking about?" "Elbows don't bend like that!" Ah. So there was something wrong. Remus was right. Take that, human etiquette manual. Wait, shit, something's wrong with Logan.

Roman clicks at Remus as he comes onto the lab floor. Remus clicks back as he logs onto his station, sighing as he looks at the absolute mess someone's fucking made of the logs—seriously, it's only been one quarter cycle, how are they this fucked up already?—and Roman immediately leans over to see what he's sighing at.

"Wait, what's that?"

"Some xetron made an absolute fucking disaster out of the hadron logs."

Roman winces in sympathy and his carapace shifts. "Are you gonna do yours before you clean that up, or—?"

The last part of his question gest interrupted when Logan comes onto the floor, waving a brief hello with his fingers instead of his antenna—because humans don't have antennae, which was a pretty sharp learning curve for both of them when they'd been so confused as to why this human was refusing to talk to them or even show his feelings, they'd had a few apologetic shifts before Logan realized what was going on and explained everything—and raising an eyebrow when he noticed them clustered around Remus's station.

"Is there something wrong?"

"The shift before us messed up their hadron logs."

Logan rolls his eyes. "You'd think that for life forms insistent that their gravitational curves made them more naturally prepared for graviton scans, they'd have a better sense of how to record them properly."

"You're spellcasting on the acolytes, Logan."

Logan frowns, glancing at his tablet, before the equivalent phrase pings on the screen and he hums. "Ah, I see. Yes, well, if you'd like my help at any point, I only have the routine gamma sweeps to do this shift, so I should be amenable."

"Oh, I can do it, it's just a pain in my thorax."

Roman chuckles and heads back to his own station, probably to sneakily-not-so-sneakily ask some of the others on the shift who are fucking competent what the fuck happened. Remus gets himself ready to dive into the long and tedious work of redoing the spin increments and calculating the proper uncertainties for the right variables—honestly, do they even look at the readouts? It has the layout right there! And it's not like the other logs are invisible! Just look at the rows two microns above the empty one you're supposed to be filling out!—and manages to sink into a rhythm for the first half of the shift. Granted, he's absolutely muttering about how stupid it is that they aren't even calculating the basic momentum, let alone the angular velocity to account for the other celestial bodies in the middle of the waveforms, but it's fine, and Roman keeps up his running commentary of the molecular analysis machine that takes its sweet-ass time to do even the most basic of scans, and every so often he'll hear a small huff from Logan as he corrects their probe's trajectory, but for the most part, the lab is a quiet and serene place to be.

God, he can't wait until he gets rotated back to the engineering department full-time.

Like, yeah, he likes spending time with his brother, and the human's cool—he's really funny when he lets himself be, like his wit is drying than the mountain deserts on Cre-Ativa, and his facial expressions are fucking plat when their superiors are being xetrons, but there's only so much he can take of this quiet where not much happens. And he has to deal with the idiots who don't know how to format hadron logs correctly. This is the third time he's had to correct a typo that's rendered the rest of the calculations useless.

"I'm honestly about to recommend them for a review of the training course, that's how fucking serious this is."

"Maybe there's something wrong with how the keyboard is adapted for their limbs?"

"That would explain some of the typos, not all of them. And it definitely wouldn't explain why there's a massive formatting change about halfway through."

"Perhaps there's a shorthand they're using for some of the notes that we don't know about, and they're forgetting to correct them at the end of their shift."

"Yeah, but then they should tell us that, instead of—" Roman trails off and Remus looks up.

Logan is…stretching, yes, that's the right word. His limbs are extended over his head and his back is arched, but his upper limbs are…bending. Not like the way they normally bend, they're bending…too much? Not enough? The wrong way? Yeah, that's it. The wrong way.

Logan notices they've gone quiet and looks over. "Is there something wrong?"

"You're, uh," Remus stammers, "are you—okay?"

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine, what is it?"

"Nothing, nothing."

He and Roman exchange a look—the first rule in the human etiquette training manual was if they get weird, just roll with it for a reason—and get back to minding their own business. Admittedly, some of the errors do make more sense now that he's looking at it like it's some kind of shorthand he doesn't know yet, but that wouldn't explain why some of these variables are straight-up wrong and why they wouldn't bother to tell him what the shorthand is so that he's not trying to do the work of two shifts in the time of one.

Something he does appreciate is that the way the shifts in the lab are set up, opposed to engineering, is that sometimes there will be people whose shifts halfway overlap with theirs. So there's always at least one set of people that are staying in the lab while a changeover is happening and then there's not that risk that the equipment will be left unattended. Apparently they learned that lesson the hard way when the molecular exhibitor decided to go into overload in the five minutes where there wasn't anyone logged in, and nearly destroyed the matter wave projector on the station next to it. The justification was in the name of safety, but really everyone knows it's just so the higher-ups know exactly who to blame when shit goes awry.

Whatever the case may be, the door slides open to reveal the other human down here, Virgil, yawning as he makes his way over to his station.

"Hello, hello, everyone."

"Hi, Virgil!"

Virgil winces. "You are way too chipper this early in the morning."

"It's past the circadian half cycle, Virgil."

"Yeah, and?"

"I'm afraid you're going to have to acclimate to your schedule on your own time," Logan says, stretching again, "even though I'm sure your caffeine tolerance has—what? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Remus glances up to see Virgil staring at Logan like his abdomen has spontaneously ruptured. He sees Roman out of the corner of his eye do the same. Virgil swallows heavily.

"L," he says slowly, "what the fuck is wrong with your arms?"

"Nothing is wrong with my arms, what are you talking about?"

"Elbows don't bend like that!"

Ah. So there was something wrong. Remus was right. Take that, human etiquette manual.

Wait, shit, something's wrong with Logan.

"Logan? Do we need to take you to medbay?" Roman's already rushing out from behind his station. "There's a pack in the corner, I can—"

"Oh, for—relax, all of you, I'm fine."

"Uh-huh, yeah, fine, that's what I'd describe elbows that bend all schlorpy as, yeah," Virgil says, "what the—does that not hurt?"

"What? No, it doesn't hurt, look, your joints—"

"My joints suck ass but at least they're fucking bending the amount they're supposed to!"

Remus isn't quite sure how human joints are capable of such a surprising and invasive act, but never let it be said he's not curious. "Your joints are capable of performing anal suction?"

"What the fuck? No! It's a turn of phrase!"

"Oh. Disappointing."

"Ignore him," Roman says, "Logan, are you sure you're—"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, I'm just—oh," he mumbles, prodding at his tablet, "what's the word for this in Common?"

"There's no word for schlorpy elbows, Logan—"

"Yes, there is!" He pokes around for a few more seconds before he lets out a noise of triumph and says something that the translators don't translate.

"It's what?" Virgil just shakes his head when Logan tries again. "I don't know what that means, bud."

Logan sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Okay, let me try it this way. What's it called when you are in a state of heightened energy and it leads to outbursts of things like running around, or talking too loudly, or being high-strung?"

"Remus," Roman offers helpfully.

"No, Roman."

"Are you talking about being excitable?"

"No, there's a specific word for it. It also serves as a prefix for being too much of something, or an overabundance of something."

"Too much—do you mean the word hyper?"

"Yes! Yes, that's it. And then what's the name of the thing that some people hang over cribs that have little stars or animals?"

Virgil stares at Logan for another moment. "You mean a baby mobile?"

"Yes, but only the second word."

"Mobile?"

"Yes, that's it. Then put the two words together—"

"There were probably so many other ways you could've said you were hypermobile, L, I'm just gonna put that out there—"

"Well, it got you to guess it, didn't it?"

"It's too fucking early for this shit."

"Again, it is afternoon—"

"Shut up."

Roman looks back and forth between the two humans, still twitching as though he's going to be asked to sprint for the medbay at a moment's notice. "So…is Logan…are you alright?"

"Yes, for the fourth time, I'm fine. Virgil's just a little excitable, that's all."

"You try being normal when joints are doing unexpected things," Virgil mumbles, more to his caf than anything else, but he reaches behind himself to pat Roman's carapace. "He's fine, his body just does that."

"But you said it bends the wrong way, how is that fine?"

"There is a thing known as hypermobility," Logan says, "it…oh, dear, it basically means that certain joints will bend…more."

"He's not hurt, that's pretty much all I know."

Roman looks like he's about to protest but Remus just clicks at him. They exchange another look as the humans settle back to work.

Humans are weird, just gotta roll with it.

These hadron logs, on the other hand—

"I'm gonna punt these flimflobbers into the next star we see."

"Can I help? They fucked up the carbon dating program as well."

"How do you fuck that up?"

"Ask them, not me!"

General Taglist: @frxgprince@potereregina@gattonero17@iamhereforthegayshit@thefingergunsgirl@awkwardandanxiousfander@creative-lampd-liberties@djpurple3@winterswrandomness@sanders-sides-uncorrect-quotes@iminyourfandom@bullet-tothefeels@full-of-roman-angst-trash @ask-elsalvador @ramdomthingsfrommymind@demoniccheese83@pattonsandershugs @el-does-photography @princeanxious@firefinch-ember@fandomssaremysoul@im-an-anxious-wreck@crazy-multifandomfangirl @punk-academian-witch@enby-ralsei@unicornssunflowersandstuff@wildhorsewolf @thetruthaboutthesun @stubbornness-and-spite @princedarkandstormv @your-local-fookin-deadmeme @angels-and-dreams@averykedavra @a-ghostlight-for-roman @treasurechestininterweb @cricketanne @queerly-fluid-fan @compactdiscdraws@cecil-but-gayer@i-am-overly-complicated@annytheseal@alias290@tranquil-space-ninja @arxticandy @mychemically-imbalanced-romance@whyiask@crows-ace @emilythezeldafan@frida0043 @ieatspinalcords @snowyfires@cyanide-violence@oonagh2@xxpanic-at-the-everywherexx@rabbitsartcorner @percy-07734@triflingassailantofmyemotions @virgil-sanders-the-gay-emo@cerulean-watermelon@puffed-up-bees@meltheromanstan@joyrose-fandomer@insanitori@mavenmush@justablah65@10paradox10@uhhh-hi-there-i-am-nervous@cutebisexualmess@bella-bugatti-frogetti-baguetti@ultrageekygirl

#dragonbabbles #fic #sanders sides #roman sanders #remus sanders #sympathetic remus #logan sanders #virgil sanders #humans are weird #humans are space orcs

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trans-cuchulainn · 3 hours

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hello and welcome to the niche corner

hello i'm néide and this is my blog, which mostly consists of me being grumpy about niche things. i have multiple degrees in medieval irish literature and while sometimes i use these to be vaguely educational, more often i use them to write incredibly specific fic about characters nobody else cares about, and this fic can be found on ao3 (for logged-in users)

so this is a guide to my incredibly specific fanfiction, which i feel also gives a reasonably good introduction to the kind of thing i'm likely to be yelling about on this blog

current WIP: chasing someone else's dream (16k, WIP): a cú chulainn/láeg reincarnation fic. they have been reincarnated, not for the first time. they've also been cursed, and thus, unlike in every life before this one, they've never met. ngl this fic contains some of the best prose i ever wrote, please read it

group chats of the ulster cycle, or, the in loco parentis series

a modern AU of the ulster cycle. sort of a college AU, turned into a ballet AU halfway through. consists of:

in loco parentis (135k, complete): my magnum opus. cú chulainn and láeg are university flatmates; group chats featuring all your favourite ulster cycle characters and also some you probably never gave a shit about; cú chulainn as a tiny trans ballet dancer and ferdia as his pas de deux partner; baking; everybody hating on conchobar; nobody dies; way more feelings about both ballet and shostakovich than anybody was expecting, including me; and much more

getting the dee (9k, in progress/abandoned): a prequel to ILP, sort of a longes mac nuislenn fic except nobody dies and there are more sex toys. naoise/deirdre with guest appearances from conall. one day i'll go back to this but also i'm a coward

valentáin's day (4k oneshot, complete): a prequel to ILP, featuring láeg and cormac in the pub on valentine's day making fun of all their friends in relationships. they make out, fortunately their friendship survives the experience.

and when you move, i move (2.5k oneshot, complete): a sequel to ILP. just a horny lil cú chulainn/ferdia oneshot set a few months after ILP wraps up.

miscellaneous ulster cycle oneshots

i will be honest, most of these are sad fics of oidheadh con culainn ("the death of cú chulainn") because i just love writing angst, but there's a couple of others in there

to walk this world alone (6k): extremely niche fic featuring láeg after cú chulainn's death. some otherworldly happenings. sad but not as sad as it was originally going to be.

counterweight (3k): cú chulainn/láeg during oidheadh con culainn, anticipating cú chulainn's death. this one's pretty sad too.

dindsenchas (3.5k): missing scenes between cú chulainn and láeg during táin bó cúailnge. narrated by the landscape of ulster and addressed in second person to cú chulainn himself because the best sex scenes are the ones narrated by a tree.

in one dwelling place (2k): láeg/cú chulainn/emer. vaguely smutty, vaguely fluffy.

we'll say goodbye, today (2k): cú chulainn and láeg during oidheadh con culainn, anticipating cú chulainn's death. big sad hours.

glorious as the sunrise (3k): this is just angst. cú chulainn/láeg during oidheadh con culainn again. not particularly shippy but they love each other very much.

a marriage of inconvenience (3k): modern AU. cú chulainn wants to marry emer but unfortunately never bothered to get divorced after he married láeg for househunting purposes. a very silly fic.

of grief and glory (1.7k): cú chulainn deals with the aftermath of táin bó cúailnge, especially fer diad's death. more sad times lol.

flight risk (2.3k): teenage cú chulainn and láeg steal a spaceship. they get caught. fun scifi AU.

other medieval lit fics (non ulster cycle)

patron saint of toasties (2.5k): finn cycle fic. ois��n took time out of uni to travel and now all his friends have graduated and he's lonely enough to text the christian union's "text a toastie" hotline. which is how he meets patrick. very silly modern AU gen fic mostly taking the piss out of st patrick

two birds of a feather (2.8k): yonec (marie de france) | togail bruidne da derga crossover fic. bird dad support group. conaire and yonec hang out and bond over their dads having maybe been birds. stupidest thing i ever wrote and i adore it.

quiver and shake (1.8k): fourth branch of the mabinogi fic. gwydion and gilfaethwy's special brotherly bonding time. canon typical content warnings apply.

other

absent thee from felicity (11k, WIP): hamlet | romeo & juliet crossover modern AU in which horatio and benvolio attempt to deal with the aftermath of their respective tragedies. sad at first, will gradually get sillier. haven't updated in a couple of years but that doesn't mean it's permanently abandoned, i'm just busy

if you've never read any of my fics before and are wondering where to start, i firmly believe the reincarnation fic (current WIP) is a good one because it has a solid mix of angst, shenanigans, and weird fuckery, so you can experience the tonal whiplash of the rest of my fics all in one place! but it is a WIP and i make zero promises about upload schedule, it happens when it happens, so not so good if you're impatient haha. plenty of others to get you started though

#my fic #medieval irish #ulster cycle

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theimaginatrix27 · 1 year

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Calling all AO3 users who are visually impaired or blind and have experimented with site skins! And who use Firefox!

This morning, I tried something I had never tried before. I changed the site skin for AO3.

It was something I had been reluctant to do, as I didn't know the effect it would have, but I thought it wouldn't be that big a deal, I could just change it back if I didn't like it, right?

I switched to the Low Vision Default. I didn't like it—I was trying this to see if my screen-reader would detect bold with a non-default skin. In the Low Vision Default, italics disappeared too. So did most of my menu options unless I clicked on "Hi, TheImaginatrix!", at which point they'd open up again, but looked different.

I tried the other two public skins, with no discernible change.

Then I tried switching back to Default.

It didn't work.

I started to freak out, just a little.

I tried refreshing the page. No dice. I tried restarting the browser. Still the same. I logged out (when I had first changed skin, it said it would only apply for that session), but even logged out, I couldn't see italics with my screen-reader!

Now freaking out more than a little, I restarted the computer, then found the AO3 cookies and deleted them. Even with no cookies in my browser, the AO3 pages still looked the same as when I had first switched to the Low Vision Default skin.

I had already sent a frantic feedback/technical issue report to the AO3 team, but I sent an email to the BlindTech list I'm on, and asked for help on a couple Discord servers. By then, though, I'd tried all the advice they had except clearing all my cookies, and I'm not doing that yet because it makes no sense that cookies from another site would be impacting AO3 and AO3 alone. Also, the last time I cleared all my cookies in a moment of desperation, the problem I was trying to solve had nothing to do with me and I had to run around logging back into things, and occasionally having to wait for a verification code to come through so Google or Amazon Prime would let me back in. In short, I was freaking out enough as it was without having to go through all that again with the very real chance I would be disappointed.

So I kept trying things. I noticed the Reader View in the address bar for the first time, and tried it, thinking for a wild fifteen minutes that I'd hit on the solution, because the Low Vision Default skin could have activated a hidden accessibility setting to allow you to listen to a fic being read to you via TTS. Also, when viewed in this mode, the work text had all it's formatting, including bold, visible to NVDA! But alas, this is a default Firefox feature and perfectly normal and has always been there since it was added, whenever that was. I've literally never used it before today.

The most recent thing I tried was going to the Page Styles option in the View submenu in the Menu bar, and switch from "Basic Page Style" to "No Style". This reverted the AO3 page I was on to something resembling Pre-tampering AO3 (all my user options were back, the italics was back, it looked normal again). The problem being, that setting doesn't save across restarts, and in any case, it's set to "basic style" across the board, so that's not necessarily the problem. I can see italics, and bold, on most other sites (the NaNoWriMo site doesn't show them to my screen-reader either, but that's been the case since the 2019 site makeover).

So my current conclusion is, something's gone sideways with AO3's page style specifically, and I'm 85% sure it's on my end, because if it wasn't, it wouldn't happen when I was logged out, and clearing my cookies would have fixed it.

Unless there's a weird glitch going on with AO3 and even without my cookies it recognises my browser, but with the knowledge I currently have, I'm almost sure there's some option in Firefox I have to find and change.

If anyone else has had a similar experience while messing around with site skins using a screen-reader and/or Firefox, please please please help me I don't know what else to try.

#AO3 #AO3 Site Skins #AO3 Skins #Technical Difficulties #Accessibility #Please help me!#I'm at my wit's end!

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summercourtship · 10 months

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stay to burn (only to drown instead): chapter one: water to tread [part I]

masterpost | ao3 link

jonathan crane x reader; bruce wayne x reader; edward nashton x reader | warnings: canon typical violence, sexual themes | word count: 4218 words

DISCLAIMER: these chapters are not meant to be read alone. not every chapter has content for one of the three pairings listed. this is an ongoing fanfiction that I am cross-posting here on tumblr, not a series of one-shots.

The rain in Gotham was poison on your skin, more acid than water as it hit the city’s streets. It wasn’t doing anything to wash away the grime. Instead, it made it bubble to the surface like a toxic stew of dirt and blood. But you’d lived here for long enough that you were used to it and paid it no mind as you quickly walked home, trying to ignore your water logged shoes and pitifully wet socks. It was much later than you liked being out but your sleazy manager still scheduled you for late shifts despite you repeatedly telling him why you aren't comfortable walking home in the dark.

“Get some pepper spray and don’t flatter yourself.” He’d rolled his eyes when you’d tried explaining, raising his eyebrow as he gestured to your body. You didn’t bother telling him you already had a canister of pepper gel (it’s better than pepper spray) in your purse. And your backpack. And the inside pocket of your usual coat.

You also didn’t bother bringing up Gotham’s stupidly high crime rate and the statistics of violence in the city, knowing it wouldn’t do you any good. You didn’t want to push too hard and end up out in the rain, jobless and soon to be homeless when you wouldn’t be able to afford your rent. And then you’d lose your ability to continue your education, and everything would just keep spiraling downward along the same trajectory until you’re a drophead and trying to bum dollars off the clients outside the Iceberg Lounge.

All of that to say that you had to watch what you said around your boss because you needed your job.

Half of the time, you were able to find someone to cover the night shifts over at the 24/7 convenience store but every now and then they couldn’t (or wouldn’t). And sometimes you decided to just grin and bear it for the money. The shop was understaffed anyway and they made you feel like shit for not being able to work every waking second, even though you explained time and time again why you didn’t want to walk home after eight P.M.

But they thought it would be “special treatment” to only give you the shifts you wanted to work. Or they told you that with the extra money you made you could just order an Uber. But the prospect of getting into a random car was more nerve wracking than the idea of walking home alone at night. So you picked the lesser of two evils and walked.

So, that’s where you were at.

It was better, anyway, to brave the walk home than to be on a bus or in a cab by yourself. At least you could run if something bad happened to you out here. It felt like every other day now there was a bus or train jacking for some asinine reason and you really didn’t want to have to deal with that.

As you walked down the street, you subconsciously adjusted the hood of your rain jacket, but whether you were trying to hide your identity or shield yourself from the rain, it was futile.

Your face was dripping wet, and you were being watched.

You didn’t notice exactly when watching became following (always be aware of your surroundings, but there’s too much to be aware of in Gotham city that you’re bound to miss something), but soon enough you were more than aware of it. A hot itching feeling at the base of your neck started, sending a wave of heat and anxiety over you as you glanced in a passing window to confirm what your mind had been whispering at you.

Three men were following you.

One short and stocky, one tall and gangly. The third, middle one, being completely unremarkable- which is why he scared you the most of the three. It was always those ones who were the most dangerous.

When you stopped at an intersection for the crossing signal to turn in your favor, you glanced around you. Cars sped by, their tires disturbing the permanent puddles on the road. If you were attacked now, would anyone stop? Or would they chalk you up to another number in Gotham’s ever increasing violent crime statistic?

The men had stopped after you halfway down the block, keeping their distance behind you. You allowed yourself to, for a moment, entertain the notion that you were just being sensitive and jumpy. That nothing would happen and you'd get back to your wonderfully warm and horribly cramped apartment with a sigh of relief when you realize that your paranoia had gotten the best of you again.

But in this city, paranoia is akin to safety.

You spared another glance behind you, pretending like you were just checking out the closed lingerie store you had stopped next to while you were waiting for the crossing signal to change. They were leaning against the brick of the next shop down and goosebumps ran down your arms when you saw them looking your way. Really, they were leering and the way they did was enough to set off every alarm bell in your head. Adrenaline burned over your skin as your brain went into a quiet frenzy, trying to figure out how to get out of the situation as safely as possible.

Realistically, you had three options:

Option one: run. (but you must also consider the possibility of falling, being hit by a car if you didn’t look carefully enough, or still being overpowered by the men.)

Option two: fight back. (the option most likely to end with you dead, if you’re being honest with yourself.)

Option three: ??? (there was no option three.)

Turning back to the crosswalk you jolt forward as the little LED man giving you permission to cross the street flashed at you. You quickly crossed, not even checking the street to ensure cars had actually stopped coming. Being hit by a car was the least of your worries (at least they could pay off your student loans).

Sneaking another glance behind you as you rushed onto the other sidewalk, barely sidestepping a large puddle, your heart sunk in your chest when you saw the men start following you again, their dark eyes trained on you like a predator stalking its prey.

Without a second thought, you started running, pressing your way past all the other people walking home. You didn’t even apologize when you jostled them too much and they didn’t seem to care. Really, they barely paid you any mind, adopting the typical attitude of Gothamites: it’s none of my business; I didn’t see anything; I don’t want any trouble.

Always content to stand back and watch, never concerned enough to do anything about it.

You could feel rather than hear your socks squelching in your shoes as you ran through puddle after puddle. You twisted your body, sliding your backpack around to your front. If you could just get your pepper-gel out of your bag, maybe you’d have a chance of escaping this relatively unscathed. Shoving your hand into the front pocket, you fumbled around inside, not caring when your hair ties and period products fell onto the sidewalk. They are replaceable.

Finally, your hand wraps around the familiar canister, your thumb immediately turning it so it was ready to deploy. You should have done this from the moment you left the convenience store but you’d been so ready to leave and so tired that you trusted your luck a little too much.

You’re close to your apartment by now but you won’t risk leading them to your home- your sanctuary. Instead, you make the hasty decision to duck into an alleyway between a diner and a bike shop- both closed for the night. Pressing your back against the dirty brick, you breathe slowly, fighting against your body’s instinct to pant in exhaustion.

You knew that the men were still following you, and that they definitely saw you go into the alley- there were not enough people on this street to hide your movements. All you could do was wait for the light spilling into the alley from the street to be blocked.

You didn’t have to wait a long time- within thirty seconds the slow, wet stomps of boots on the sidewalk drifted into the alley. You held your arm out, desperately trying to keep your grip from wavering.

The second you saw one of the men, you pressed on the trigger of the pepper-gel, but clearly luck wasn’t on your side as it jammed just long enough for the man to rush towards you and knock it out of your hand. It sputtered as it landed in a puddle, useless and dead. The tiny canister hadn’t given you much hope, but even now that was dashed.

The shortest of the men shoved you against the wall, ripping your bag away from where you’d been holding it like a shield against your chest. He threw it to the one who knocked your pepper-gel out of your hand, who immediately began searching through its contents.

The short one slammed you against the wall again, knocking the wind out of your chest, bringing his knee up into your stomach before you could catch it again. You crumpled in on yourself, pulling out every ounce of strength you had to keep your feet steady on the ground. You’re brought back into reality when the tallest man comes behind you and holds you still against him. You lift your impossibly heavy head to stare at the short one, daring him to do what his sleazy smile was implying.

But the man only rears his hand back and punches you across the face.

Pain blossomed from the moment his knuckles met your cheek, an involuntary cry escaping your mouth along with a glob of spit. The man holding you readjusts his grip on you, his arms hooked under your armpits. As soon as you’re able to bring air back into your lungs you renew your struggle against his grip, trying desperately to jab your elbow against the sensitive flesh of his stomach or into his side. Anywhere that might cause him to release his hold on you.

You knock your head back, trying to look up into his face to see if he was bothered yet or if he still had that same self-satisfied grin on his face. But your eyes slip right past his grimy complexion.

Instead, through the sheets of water falling from the sky, through the lights of the buildings, your eyes focused on the clouds. Or rather, what was being projected onto them. It didn’t appear every night but tonight it seemed that somewhere, someone in Gotham needed him.

You certainly did.

“What’s this?” A rough voice broke your focus, wrenching your attention away from the signal in the sky. The one who’d been pawing through your bag held up two thick bundles of money, tied together with rubber bands. You closed your eyes, heart sinking, head dropping against the tall one’s chest.

“Shit!” The tall one laughed at the sight, his chest hitting your back with his boisterousness. But you know it's really not that much cash, maybe $350, certainly not enough to warrant the beating you’d already received. Singles and fives stack up quickly.

You wonder if they’ll be disappointed when they count it out and see it’s not even enough for a month’s rent in this city.

“Now what were you doing to get this?” The stocky one swept his gaze up and down your body, fingers twitching like he wanted to touch you too. “And how much for one night?”

You knew what he was insinuating, but in reality your boss was just shit at paying you everything you were owed on time. Every month or so you’d finally ask him about it and he’d just reach into the register and give you cash. Did it feel illegal, or at least extremely shady? Yes. But you needed the job and you were just getting what you were already due from your work. He’d be in more trouble if he withheld anymore from you than he already did.

“Give it back.” You struggled to get the words out, water and blood pooling on your lips. You tried to wiggle your way out of your captor’s grip again but he didn't let go.

“I don’t think so, whore.” He drops you to the ground, your hip hitting the concrete with a wet thud, landing in a questionably dirty puddle. He swiftly kicked you in the stomach, forcing a wheeze out of your lungs. You curled in on yourself.

The man was rearing up to kick you again, and you wondered if he’s actually aiming for your stomach. In a flash, you can see him missing and instead kicking your face in. You were so certain that this would be what was about to happen that you close your eyes, bracing yourself for the worst pain you would ever feel.

But the kick never comes.

Instead, you hear a deep thud followed by the obvious rustling and scuffing of boots on pavement. Then, the dull sound of punches landing on clothed skin, hushed threats spoken in a low voice.

The men aren’t laughing anymore.

“Go.” It’s not a familiar voice, certainly not any of the three men who’d attacked you. But it couldn’t be who you’re hoping it was, right?

Your bag lands beside you and from the sound of it, it was pitifully empty as the men ran away, almost splashing through the rain in their hurry to leave.

You open your eyes, blinking in the warm light of the streetlamp. You keep your gaze focused on the bricks, watching a soiled band-aid float across the puddle you were currently laying in. Gross.

Two black combat boots stepped into the circle of light, raindrops rolling off the leather onto the pavement.

So it was who you thought it was.

“You’re a bit late,” you cough, grimacing as you attempt to lift yourself. The man says nothing, which is about as much as you expected. You’d read all about him, the masked vigilante running around, trying to save Gotham.

You finally managed to push yourself into a seated position, your clothes now so thoroughly soaked you didn’t mind sitting in the puddle while you attempted to gather your thoughts. You don’t think you could actually stand right now anyway.

“They took my money.” You sighed, more to yourself than to him. “That was like, 30 hours of work.”

How the hell are you going to feed yourself for the next two weeks?

“You shouldn’t be out walking at this hour.”

You finally look up at him, the Batman, narrowing your eyes. Out of all the things he could say, he chose that? You don’t allow yourself to be starstruck, astounded by his overwhelming presence in front of you, instead choosing to be indignant about what he said. How removed from reality it was. You can’t read his expression, what with most of it covered by that mask of his. Maybe he regrets what he said, but it’s just as likely that he sees nothing wrong with it at all.

“I’m going home. I work late.”

Once again, he didn’t say anything, simply watching as you pulled yourself onto your feet. Your footing was shaky but you didn’t feel like you would keel over, at least not immediately. You could make it the few blocks to get back to your apartment.

Then your knee gave out from under you and you’re about to fall right back over when he steadied you with one gloved hand on your upper arm.

Your heart jumps in your chest, any annoyance that you had felt dissipating at his touch.

“Let me help you home.”

His voice cut through the silence between you. Wouldn’t it be nice to be escorted home by the man who saved Gotham on a regular basis? But a moment later your ears pick up the faint sound of a siren in the background and you shake your head, waking up from the awed stupor his presence had put you in.

“I think you’re needed elsewhere.” Bending down to pick up your soaked and empty bag, you gave him a soft smile. “That probably wasn’t for me.” You gesture to the signal in the sky, still projected onto the clouds. You’d always wondered who kept it lit, who decided when the Batman was needed and when he could stay in. As far as you knew, the crime of Gotham never ended. He was always needed.

“Thank you for the offer, though.” You stopped, frowning when you realized that only seconds after you’d finished speaking he had disappeared once again into the shadows.

The rest of your walk home saw your thoughts preoccupied, almost getting hit by a black sedan you’re so distracted.

The Batman had saved you. You! Somebody whose body, if it ever became just a body with no life in it, would’ve barely made a line on the fifth page in the next day’s news.

You moved like a zombie, ambling and slow, through the streets, only waking up from your daze when you arrived at your building. Old bricks with moss clinging on them towered above you, the buzzing light above the main entrance flickering.

Your apartment itself was small, sandwiched in the middle of a hundred year old building that showed its age in the worst ways. The apartment had clearly been renovated at some point to give the main space a more open floor plan, but aside from that it was pretty much exactly as it had been when it was built. Uneven door frames, cracked window panes, creaky floors. But it was your home, your safe haven in this godforsaken city.

Thrusting open the door with a decidedly unladylike grunt (your key got stuck half of the time), you threw your keys on the counter and your bag onto the floor. To your right when you entered was your kitchen, which consisted of nothing more than a few counters in the corner of the main room, complete with a stove in the middle and a fridge on the end of the row. A few nondescript magnets held papers on the fridge- grocery lists, greeting cards, your schedule, a brochure from the Gotham Museum of Fine Art.

You immediately made a beeline for your kettle, filling it with water and perching it back on the stove. In the back of the cupboard is a dusty Bella Reál campaign mug that you should really throw away but can’t bring yourself to. You don’t pick it though, instead pulling out an old Christmas mug. Turning and rummaging through your pantry cabinet, you pull out a well-worn box of Sleepy Time Tea that had been your saving grace this past year.

“God, I wish I was you.” You murmured to the tiny bear on the packet before ripping it open and throwing it into the Christmas mug.

It’s almost November. Close enough. (And you broke your only Halloween mug last week.)

As you waited for the kettle to boil, you moved to the section of the room that you have designated as your living room and office space. Against one wall was a desk with your laptop still open on it, various textbooks, and random documents scattered on its worn surface. Directly next to it (at an uncomfortably close distance, sometimes) was your TV stand with the world’s smallest TV sitting off-center. More books were stacked next to it, ranging from history textbooks to self-indulgent paperback romances. Barely six feet from the TV stand was your couch, and just behind that, with barely any walking room, was a sliding glass door.

You glanced outside the windowed door to your balcony- which was a glorified fire escape, really- and almost shrieked when you noticed a large black silhouette. Heart racing, you yanked open the door, grunting as sticks slightly in the middle. Mustering the most of your strength, you heaved it the rest of the way open.

“How did you find me?” You asked immediately, not stepping away from the doorframe, from the comfort of your warm apartment.

“I have my ways.” The Batman was mostly hidden in the shadows, only the light reflecting off the tiny droplets that had collected on his suit differentiating him from the darkness.

“That didn’t answer my question.” Really, it only raised more. But he didn’t say anything else, so you just sighed and crossed your arms, wincing as the movement sent pain across your skin. “Why are you here?”

Typically, you wouldn’t be this standoffish, even with strange vigilantes that showed up unannounced on your doorstep. But you were tired and had had a rough night- you could say with confidence that it was one of the roughest you’d ever had. Honestly, you just wanted to curl under your duvet and take a nap for three days.

You raised your eyebrows at him, daring him to be the next to break the silence before you realized that he was holding something out to you. It took another second for you to recognize what it was.

Money.

It was crumpled and it was wet but it was money.

“Is… is that mine?” You reach out to take it from him, but he doesn’t let go of it yet. You’re tethered to him, connected by a wad of damp and dirty cash. But you can’t let go of it, you can’t risk him leaving and taking your hard-earned money with him (though you doubt he would do that, given that it's yours).

“What did you do for it?” His voice is quiet in the night air, barely audible over the rainfall and whoosh of cars five stories down below. You resisted the urge to roll your eyes again.

“Honest work, I swear.” You looked up into his eyes, almost glowing in their darkness, hidden being the mask and a layer of dark paint. You wondered, in the event you ever saw him again, if you would be able to tell what color they were. “A 24/7 corner store, the one on Swift and Broad. My boss just… sucks at paying me.” On time or at all.

He released his hold on the money. You immediately draw your hand back into your personal bubble, cradling the bundle of cash against your chest as if it will disappear again. Who knows, maybe one of those insane city pigeons would swoop down from the sky and snatch it from you to use in their nest.

“Thank you.” You broke eye contact with him, looking at the bundle in your hands instead. “I’m sorry to have put you through this trouble. I’m sure there were plenty of other things to do tonight… Other crimes to stop and all.”

Ever since the Riddler’s murder spree last year, Gotham’s criminals really seemed to up the ante. Sure, before, there’d be a few weirdos every couple of years but now… now it seemed like everyone was trying to outdo one another. All vying for Batman’s attention.

If you weren’t so unnerved by it all, maybe you’d laugh. But instead, all you could wonder as each criminal was taken down and into custody… What now? Which nightmare would emerge from the shadows next?

“It was a slow night.”

“Well, I’m glad it was.” I would have been killed if you hadn’t found me.

“Clean your wounds before they get infected.”

“I will, don’t worry.” You both stand there for a few more moments, before the screech of your kettle breaks the silence. You turned to look into your apartment, sighing. “Do you want-”

But when you turn back to the balcony he’s gone, the droning of the rain suddenly deafening.

“-To come in.” You finish lamely, not even knowing what you would’ve done if he’d stayed and said yes. The mental image of him sitting in one of your mismatched chairs at the table was funny but incompatible with reality.

No, him leaving like this was better. You’d never see him again and would just remember the night where he saved you, perhaps think about it- reminisce, like a little old lady- when you saw him on the news.

You closed the door again, locking it and pulling the curtain closed. The familiar, anxiety-inducing smell of money wafts up to you and you put the roll on the small table by the sliding door, your makeshift kitchen table that saw more use as a catch-all table than as an eating surface.

When you count the money later, you may have noticed that there was more in the pile than you’d thought before. And you know for a fact that your boss would rather die than pay you more than what you were owed.

It seemed that Batman was more generous than he came across.

Sighing, you pushed aside the extra amount (almost $200 of extra amount), deciding that if you ever ran into him again, you’d make him take it back.

After all, you were beginning to suspect he hadn’t tracked down the thieves in the first place.

part two

#Cross-posting this over here now!#stbotdi #jonathan crane x reader #batman x reader #scarecrow x reader #batman fanfiction #jonathan crane #bruce wayne x reader

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hermitcraftx · 28 days

Note

I agree with your post about hermit fans in regard to things being very popular. I’ve seen more people being angry and annoyed about scarian in the last six months than people celebrating it. Not tagging shipping is shit but it’s better than harassing people. I don’t know what was put in the water but something changed drastically and I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s seen it.

IT'S FUCKING INSANE! This fandom used to be so positive and welcoming and overall way more pleasant than some... other MCYT fandoms, but now??? I can't log on without seeing untagged negative interpretations in the main tags, can't express an opinion without getting anons calling me heterosexual sympathizers and hoping that I die, everyone has turned their back on everything that used to make this fandom really... fun? Like, I don't tag ON MY BLOG, but usually I don't maintag my shipping posts, and if I do, I tag the ship name so people can filter it.... I don't maintag duo names. What the fuck happened to make everyone so- miserable. Anons are probably going to be permanently off for me, too many people comfortable with their opinions and not comfortable with mine and desperately needing to tell me that.

And like- look. I get not liking interpretations. Personally I'm not a fan of the Double Life cheating arc because of how abusive and out of character people made Grian be, and I had to avoid ao3 for a bit because of that and filter the fucking tags. Same thing with found family dynamics. Just because you don't like something doesn't make it "overrated and popular" and just because you don't like something doesn't make it immoral or unethical either!!! People have to make everything a moral standpoint nowadays and it's really exhausting-

But that's a tirade. All over all the confessions blogs there's "scarian is overrated" despite Grian having nearly 10mil subscribers and most of them being on YouTube and considering all the hermits friends or family truthing them. Yes, there is more shipping than before- that's because Hermitcraft season 8 made it very obvious that the people on the SMP and the people IRL are very different, and it's no longer considered RPF. None of the real hermits died via moon explosion, ZombieCleo often says she's doing "lore", they make different skins, even GRIAN acknowledges that he's acting and playing a part with the permit office. Despite all that, there's STILL wars on shipping and people insisting that we're shipping real people, I fought this war on the DSMP side of things and it's SO TIRING.

DND podcast listeners, do you ship the people playing the characters? NO!!!!! Unless you do, in which case, have fun with that. I don't really care about RPF and I filtered the tags for it a long time ago, so maybe they do do that.

Every other day I see "Third life is overrated" "Last life is overrated" (LAST LIFE IS OFTEN THE LEAST FAVORITE SEASON I SEE PEOPLE SAY!), "the life series is overrated" "the cactus ring is fucking stupid" "they left the desert but we didn't" "no, THIS interpretation of scarian is bad and wrong" and like... guys. Guys. Fandom is supposed to be fun. It is not supposed to be a full time job. It is not supposed to be moral or ethical and you shouldn't feel the need to police shit. Jesus Christ, every other month there's a new fad that tumblr users flock to and once it's over everyone goes "EWWW THAT WAS LAME AND OVERRATED AND I NEVER LIKED IT ANYWAY" like.... I promise you cannibalism as an allegory for love is not mainstream you are just on Tumblr.

Like Good God. If it's so bad here go to Twitter. I'm sick of all the complaining and misery and hatred and I miss when things were fun- people are so scared of being cliche that they don't want to write things that they enjoy. Where are the coffee shop aus???? Where are the fun silly things??? Where are the 100k grimdark fics with worldbuilding??? Wheres the 500k fics that aren't even about the same characters anymore but that we love just the same??? Where are the forums and people talking to each other in comments and meeting each other that way??? Where are the roleplay servers?????? What are you all doing??????

People are scared of being judged. They want to do what everyone else is doing. They don't want to be cringe or cliche and every day I see a "cringe culture is dead" post and then someone making fun of another part of fandom, an antithesis to their previous statement. They don't want to be late to things, either. Who cares if Last Life was a couple years ago? Draw the fanart anyway!

I'm scared. Maybe I'm just old, but every post I see I notice that I get maybe a 10th in reblogs of what I do in likes, and I don't even post my art or fics to this site. Every post is like that. More and more people only like posts and they die, unseen, by everyone. More and more people misuse archive of our own's functions, treating it like it has some algorithm, when it doesn't, and it never has and hopefully never will. I see fic reuploads to "gain traction" (not how it works) and people reaching out to find RP partners (breaking TOS) and all sorts of other shit on both sites and it fucking horrifies me. I'm not even that old- I'm eighteen, and I can already tell how fandom has changed for the worst for everyone. Fandom used to be a community. Not consumption.

It's just... sad. Old fandom had PLENTY of fucking problems, and we have problems here too, but at least the positives outweighed the negatives. It's so... mean here, now. Even the happy things are mean-spirited. People treat it as if certain people have invaded this fandom space, spreading horrible opinions and ruining it for everyone, but the truth is is that shipping is always going to be a thing. It's a foundation of fandom- fandom started with housewives in the 1950s writing Star Trek fanfiction. You can never get rid of shipping. You can just interact with what you want to interact with and leave others to mind their own business.

#sorry i kind of went on a rant i think i needed to get that out of my system #sort of went on several tirades but im SO FUCKING GLAD ITS NOT JUST ME #OTHER PEOPLE CAN SEE IT. WHAT IS UP WITH EVERYONE LATELY.#ugh.... thanmk u for the ask :3333 #jamies bad posts #jamie answers asks #grimaussiewitch #jamies serious posts #discourse

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angelicyouth · 1 year

Text

Youth ; Chapter 8

⇢ pairing: kenny mccormick x marsh!reader x craig tucker

⇢ synopsis: ❝Growing up with the boys as the sole girl of the group, it was only natural for them to grow protective over their pseudo-little sister as the years went by.❞

⇢ warning: recreational drug use

⇢ [AO3 link] ; [series masterlist] ; [previous] ; [next]

The pungent smell of acetone permeates the surrounding air of the living room, music a sharp contrast as it softly plays in the background. Intense concentration causes me to slowly blink as I focus on neatly creating streaks of black. My hand is as still as I can make it while I hold onto longer digits, meticulously painting my brother’s nails.

He sits in front of me with his raven locks pinned away from his face with overly cute clips and his other hand holding his phone. Soft taps resound from time to time when he types against hard glass and the occasional sharper sound from his ring adorned fingers.

Something lightly touches my lips as Stan handfeeds me a chip, my mouth automatically opening but my eyes never looking away from its current task. Loud crunching erupts between the two of us before my brother gently starts to chuckle under his breath. Turning his phone, he shows me a social media post with a lengthy amount of text.

“Yeah, no. Sorry, but I am most definitely not reading all of that. Especially for you.” I declare to which he rolls his eyes in irritation at, our makeshift table beginning to move. Our family dog, Sparky, lays between the two of us as a place for my brother to place his elbow onto.

“Man, it’d be sick if we can go away with the guys somewhere for winter break.” My brother says wistfully, forlornly staring at his phone.

“Hmm?”

“I’d kill to rent a log cabin or something, one with a jacuzzi and everything. Maybe we can plan something this year and have Tolkien pay for it.”

My nose scrunches in disgust before I scoff, “Fuck no. I don’t want to sit in cum infested water. Knowing you, you’d probably get off on sitting near a water jet.”

“Oh fuck off, asshole! That happened once and you know it! I was fucking ten!” I gag, obnoxiously pretending to vomit as he indignantly tries to protect whatever dignity he thinks he still has.

“You really need to get your shit together, Stanley. I’d like to at least see you get into a serious relationship once before I die.”

“Yeah? Well I’d like to see you shut the fuck up for once in your goddamn life but you’re living proof that not everyone can get what they want.”

I’m unamused as I blink up at my brother, wondering for perhaps the millionth time why the higher powers decided to make Stan Marsh. A shame, truly.

・ ─ ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑

TEXT MESSAGE (CLYDE DONOVAN)

Clydey: emergency

Clydey: like actually

Clydey: can u send me $3 pls

Y/N MARSH has sent $3 to CLYDE DONOVAN.

N/N: (rolling eyes emoji)

Clydey: ty ily <3

Clydey: (screenshot of his avatar in an app on his phone)

Clydey: they call me ranch cause i be dressing (sunglasses emoji)

N/N: did you just waste my money on an in-app purchase.

Clydey: respect the drip, babe

Clydey: god.

Tap!

My head shoots up from its prior position looking down, my body stilling to see if I can hear whatever disturbed Clyde wasting both my time and money. When I don’t hear anything after a few seconds, I dismiss it as an anomaly and look back at the screen in front of me.

Tap! Tap!

I take off my headphones and listen again, my eyebrows furrowing until I hear the disturbance another time. I locate the source and walk over to my window, watching as a rock hits the glass panel before I fully push aside my curtains and heft it open.

The cold air immediately hits me and I giggle at the scene before me: Craig perched onto a branch of an adjacent tree outside of my bedroom, his hand filled with rocks to pelt at my window. “What’re you doing? We have a front door, you know.”

Being friends with everyone for years, we’ve all naturally grown up to be honorary members of each other's families. This meant that it wasn’t unnatural for any of us to visit someone’s house even if their respective owners weren’t home. None of our parents would ever bat an eye if they were to go down to the kitchen to see that Cartman let himself in and was rummaging through our fridge, for example, even if Stan and I were both out. Formalities were a thing of a past so long ago and all of our parents learned that it was better to not question it.

“I know, I just thought that this would be more romantic.” I’m rewarded with Craig’s boyish grin and I mentally swoon at the handsome boy in front of me, giggling out loud.

He extends a large, tan hand and smirks down at me. “Come on, beautiful. Let’s get out of here.”

The moonlight hits the visage of the attractive boy in front of me, accentuating his sharp features. I feel like I’m in a daze as I slowly nod, a blush quickly spreading on my cheeks when I catch myself. After quickly throwing on a jacket, I take his proffered hand as he helps me climb down the tree.

Crossing the short distance to the front of the house, I’m surprised to see the Tucker’s family car parked out in the front. The taller teen’s longer strides allows him to reach the door on the passenger side first, to which he chivalrously opens for me.

He ducks his head a little lower, a playful grin wide on his face as he sweeps the length of his unoccupied arm in front of his body. I laugh into the night as the hand he has on my lower back gently nudges me forward to guide me into the vehicle.

I watch as the scenery idly passes by us when I look out of the window, trying to see if I can figure out where the teen is taking me. He refused to tell me our destination, citing it as a surprise and evoking further excitement on my part at the already spontaneous outing. It’s harder to discern our surroundings so late into the night due to the darkness but despite it all, the moon eagerly follows us.

Music gently accompanies us as I soon find myself casting Craig several lingering glances while he drives, the attractive teen a sight to behold. He has one hand on the steering wheel, his thumb tapping a beat onto the leather in time to the surrounding melody and quietly mouthing along with the lyrics. Silver rings adorn his longer fingers, further accentuating the veins running along his hands to his arms. I thought he wouldn’t catch me since his eyes are focused on the road but he surprises me when he makes quick eye contact with me, smirking, before placing a large hand onto the side of my inner thigh.

I blush at the sensation, the weight of him evoking a faster pace on my beating heart. When he sees the red hues steadily painting my cheeks, his hand gently grips at the area before releasing the slight pressure and smoothing his thumb over my pants. I feel mesmerized by the repetitive motion of his finger, if only willing him to move just a tiny bit—to do something about the bundle of nerves slowly building up.

I quickly find myself becoming hyper aware of every action of the boy next to me and I intently watch as his tongue darts out to lick at his lips, making them appear even more enticing and plump. His eyes are half-lidded and when I involuntarily clench my thighs, I see the exact moment that his gaze on the road shifts from playful to something many shades darker. He deeply chuckles under his breath and oh Lord, it makes my legs go weak.

All too soon, the car slows to a stop and Craig looks at me again, flashing me a knowing smile. It’s smug and I can feel my face heat up even further, reaching the back of my neck before I break eye contact to stare out of the window again in a desperate effort to calm myself down. Something soft gets placed onto my head and I look at Craig to see that the teen next to me is missing his beloved chullo.

“Can’t ruin the surprise, can we?” A mischievous grin sits on his face before he pulls the hat further down, completely obstructing my view.

I hear him exit the car before getting to my side, grabbing one of my hands and interlocking our fingers together. When he begins to carefully guide me out of the car, I giggle every time I slightly stumble, the adrenaline of what awaits me makes me overexcited and impatient.

“I love surprises.” I speak out into the air.

“I know.” He hums.

After a few steps, he has me wait in one spot before I hear him open his trunk. Two hands place themselves onto my hips before he softly commands me to jump and I blindly obey, feeling myself getting placed onto a cold, hard structure.

When Craig grants me my vision back, I’m rewarded with a view overlooking what seems to be all of South Park. From this far, even the shitty town looks beautiful as the distance distorts the view, forcing whoever is looking to take in the colorful lights and buildings.

I look around to see that we’re both seated on the hood of his car, my favorite food spread out in front of me in an assortment of take-out containers. His windows are rolled down as his car continues to softly play music from the inside.

“So what do you think?” His voice is shy, containing slight hints of insecurity and nervousness at my possible reaction. My inner thoughts are filled with the sounds of me absolutely squealing for having evoked an expression like that from the notoriously uncaring teen.

“How’d you find this place?” I’m in awe of the scenery, never once seeing a view like this despite living in South Park all of my life.

“Took me a fuck-ton of driving to find something that I was finally satisfied with bringing you to.” He says, opening all the containers and setting everything up for us to eat.

“Your dad let you take out the car?” I quirk an eyebrow.

“Fuck no. I got home around 4:30AM yesterday for sneaking out so late.”

My heart stutters in my chest at the answer when I think about how well he hid his sleep deprivation at school. I feel overwhelmed at the consideration, watching as he bundles up the plastic bag the take-out came in to stuff into his pocket. Not only did he get my favorite food, but he also got my order down to perfection.

“You got my favorite food.” I say so softly that it’s almost a whisper. I feel like I’m going to cry of happiness from the thoughtfulness and care of this boy. Moments like these make me feel so undeserving, so lacking for how much unconditional love I receive.

“For you, I’d do anything.” Craig gently says, a smile so fond on his face as he reaches out for my hand. His azure eyes shine in happiness so tender, it’s almost as if they’re part of the stars above us.

・ ─ ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑

“And you see how that star connects to that one? That constellation is your astrological sign, your zodiac.” Craig's deep voice lightly says near my ear, his arm extending forward to patiently point out the star for me.

We’re both lying on the hood of the car now, my head nestled onto one of his shoulders as his unoccupied arm snuggly curls around my waist. He lays on his back while I lay on my side, pressing our bodies together to combine our warmth with an arm of my own thrown over his taut stomach.

I’m in awe at everything he says, the usually monotonous boy’s voice filled with a passion so rarely seen from him. I drink in every bit of information that leaves his mouth, mesmerized by every cadence and intonation of his words. It’s hypnotic—he could tell me that Cartman weighs only 50 pounds and I’d believe it.

“Sorry, am I talking too much..?”

“No! No. I love hearing you talk like this. I could honestly listen to you for hours. Don’t let anyone, even me, tell you otherwise.” I turn my head to face him as I quickly reassure the ravenette, a gentle smile on my face.

My arm relinquishes its hold over his frame to blindly reach out to hold onto the hand at my waist. I intertwine our fingers together and give it a small squeeze in reassurance. He blushes and I can feel my insides melt at the utterly fond expression on his face knowing that it's for me.

His embarrassment causes him to continue to stubbornly stare up at the sky, refusing to look over at me. The blush adorning his cheeks develop into a darker hue after my words, so deep that I can see the vivid shade of red despite the dark night.

“… I brought you out to see the stars because they’re more visible today. A few days after a new Moon means that the moonlight isn’t as bright.” His voice is so low between us, as if he was sharing a secret.

“Craig…” My cheeks begin to hurt at the amount of smiling this boy causes me. He finally looks over at me, our faces so close together.

“I confessed to you under the stars so I wanted to have the stars as our audience again for when I took you out on our first date.” He brings his hand over to caress my cheek and his fingers are so cold against my flushed skin, but it grounds me to the moment.

He softly continues, gently smoothing a thumb over my face. “Because of that, whenever I look at the stars, I see you. And sometimes, when I can't sleep… I’ll look up at the stars and thank them for bringing you into my life.”

He brings his forehead closer until it lightly touches my own. “I love you, Y/N. More than all the stars in the sky. And as long as there’s one star up there, I’ll always love you.”

I can only nod, dazed, not trusting that this is not just a dream, afraid that speaking will ruin the moment. Before I know it, my eyes softly close as I feel his lips against mine. And I feel like crying because Craig kisses me just the way he loves me—soft and sure, like I’m the only thing that matters in the world. In his world.

The way he slots our lips together has no ounce of hesitation, it’s gentle and patient. He lightly pulls back and nips at my lips as a small parting gift. When the distance between our faces grows, I find myself whining, letting go of his hand and pulling at his jacket.

He laughs at my eagerness, endeared at my reaction. “Come on, beautiful. Use your words for me. What do you want?”

“Craig.”

“Hm?” A smile lazily lays on his face, smug and all too knowing.

“Please.”

I tug harder so he relents and brings his upper body over mine, propping himself up with his forearm against the car as our lips connect again. It makes me dizzy with how wanted he makes me feel, the sensations I feel beginning to get overloaded. My arms reach out to thread my fingers through his hair, slightly tugging and using them as leverage to bring him even closer.

He’s a passionate but patient kisser, drawing out the movements for as long as possible, biting and licking at my lips. When I allow him entry into my mouth, his tongue slides against mine and before I can even attempt to fight for dominance, he pulls back, smiling smugly and lazily at me.

Scratch that, he’s a goddamn tease and before I can call him out on it, a large hand grabs onto the side of my face to pull me back in. It’s slow. It’s sensual. His scent fills my nostrils before the hand on my cheek slides back, gripping onto my hair. Angling my face up, he lightly begins to trail his kisses down my jaw and onto my neck.

The wet sounds that invades my ears are lewd as I feel his lips touch my skin, lighting a fire in its wake. Every kiss lights my body up, heating it up and charging it. His fingers grip onto my hair just a little tighter, smirking at the skin underneath my collarbone when I gasp.

He leaves a trail of saliva as he works his way back up my neck, the light wind of the night lightly touches the wet spots and elicits goosebumps at the heightened sensation. He works painstakingly slow, kissing every space inch by inch.

I sigh out into the night, leaning my head back to grant him better access. He drags his lips across the sensitive skin of my throat, a barely there touch, not enough. I’m so needy that I almost moan right there, when he finally presses a searing kiss under my jaw.

He kisses across the expanse of skin as he goes back down, humming in approval at the sound of harsh breathing that his actions evoke. The vibration causes me to part my lips ever so slightly, desperate breaths of air spilling between us. I relish in the slight suction of his mouth, his teeth grazing against overly sensitive skin, and his hot tongue soothing itself over the abused area.

His other hand makes quick work at reaching underneath my shirt, cold fingers lightly trailing themselves at the skin of my waist. Long digits softly run along up my stomach, the cool rings making me shiver in anticipation. When he grazes the underwire of my bra, a loud ringing cuts through the air.

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

The hold on my hair relinquishes as Craig reaches under me to retrieve my vibrating cellphone from the back pocket of my pants. I mope as I answer, mood extremely sour at the interruption.

“What.”

“Dude, where the fuck are you? It’s past 3AM. I’m not covering for you if mom or dad notice.” Comes my annoying brother’s distorted voice.

I sigh before hanging up in irritation, not deeming the conversation worthy of a response. I close my eyes in silent defeat before soft lips caress mine. Craig smiles down at me with a backdrop of shining stars over his figure. The moonlight glows brightly from behind him, as if casting a halo over the teen above me. Seeing such ethereal beauty before me is all I need before I find myself happy and content all over again.

・ ─ ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑

Thick wisps of white smoke slowly blend up into the clouds and I watch them disappear into the cold morning air, a pervasive smell filling the parking lot. I’m sitting on top of my skateboard, idly rolling it from side to side as Craig sits next to me on the asphalt with his back against the school wall. One of his longer legs is pulled up towards his torso, his forearm lazily resting against the top of the elevated knee before he lifts it up to take a drag from the cigarette lit before him.

My eyes languidly watch as Kenny skates on his own board, a blunt hanging from his mouth as his shoe hits the ground to gain momentum. An exhilarated grin forms around the object in his mouth as his body lifts off from the pavement, the board gracefully flipping in the air. I bring my hands together to encouragingly clap at the stunt in front of me, the blonde shooting me a wide smile at the kickflip he successfully performed.

He stops in front of me and offers me the blunt in his possession but I gently shake my head in response, satisfied with the current high I have going on right now. Kenny nods his head and with one last hit, he stubs the ember hues before putting it away in the plastic container it came in to smoke for later. Craig gets up and dusts the back of his pants off before offering me a hand, helping me up and taking my board off the ground for me. An arm wraps around my shoulders as we begin to make our way back to school, the ravenette stomping his cancer stick out.

・ ─ ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑

“So… Do I get any context on why you two have sunglasses on when we’re indoors, or do I just accept it…?” Kyle’s eyebrows furrow as he warily watches Kenny and I giggle to each other, the whole group gathered in front of Tweek’s locker as he puts his extra thermal filled with coffee away for after lunch.

Craig knowingly snorts as the blonde and I exchange mischievous grins, fighting to keep our smiles from growing any wider. On our faces sits oversized, flashy shades that threaten to swallow up our whole face.

“Ugh, you guys reek.” Clyde brings his face close to the two of us, wrinkling his nose as he invades our space to sniff at our jackets. We playfully lower our glasses to the bridges of our noses, showing visual confirmation of his observation when the boys spot our blood-shot, half-lidded eyes.

“Dude. It’s only 8AM. School hasn’t even started yet.” My brother side eyes us, most definitely judging us for making the smart decision of getting absolutely zooted before class.

“My bad, man. Want a hit? We didn’t finish.” Kenny offers, his hand reaching into his pocket to lift up the plastic containing our unfinished blunt. It peeks through the orange material of his parka as Stan takes the moment to seriously contemplate if he should.

He resolutely shakes his head, the elder Marsh finally making a smart decision for once in his life. “Nah. We have that test in math, remember? If I fail, my parents are going to beat my ass. Maybe after school.”

My head shoots up from where it was laying against Butters’ shoulder, the blonde rubbing soothing circles into my back as he offers me a pack of snacky cakes for my weed induced hunger. Kenny stops sipping at Tweek’s coffee to sooth his sudden cotton mouth as he and I frantically begin to search for the other’s eyes in panic.

“Oh, shit!”

“Bunch of fucking crackheads, I fucking swear.” Cartman rolls his eyes, mumbling as he rudely snatches the offered snack from Butters’ hands for himself.

“Shut the fuck up, fatass! As if you’re one to talk. An addiction is still an addiction, even if it is food.”

”Yeah, dude. At least we’re not built like an improper fraction.”

“Aye!”

・ ─ ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑

Dull thuds surround the practice room as the cheer squad practices their tumbling. I sit against the cool glass of the floor to ceiling mirrors that cover the walls, wiping the sweat that has begun to slightly bead at my hairline. Bebe tiredly leans against me and passes me her water bottle when she’s done sipping at it, my hands blindly reaching out until I feel cool metal against my fingers and muttering a small thanks. I drink the ice cold liquid before Wendy calls all of the team up to rehearse the new cheer we just learned, one final time before practice ends.

“We’re back, we’re better. We have no fear! Nothing can stop us, this is our year!” In synchronization we go through the motions of our choreography, making sure our chants are both clear and loud.

“The cows are here; in green, black, and white. We can’t be defeated, so prepare for a fight!” We ruffle our pompoms, before our co-captain is satisfied enough to dismiss us for the day.

Heidi throws an arm around my shoulders, playfully leaning her weight against me in exaggerated tiredness. I fondly laugh as I lightly skim my fingers onto her side, tickling her to force the touch-sensitive girl upright. She begins to pout at her failed mission to get me to carry her exhausted form before Red grabs one of my arms, hugging it to her chest as we make our way to the girl’s locker room.

“Hey, Marsh. You’re close with the guys, right?” I quirk an eyebrow at the redundant question as I stuff my cheer shoes into my gym locker.

Jenny Simons continues despite my lack of a reply. “You think you can bring me up to Craig? Like, put in a good word for me or something?”

She giggles as one of her friends playfully elbows her for her unabashedness and I exchange looks with Bebe, surprised at the girl’s interest.

“Uh.”

“Ooo, Craig Tucker?” Another one of her friends teases as she changes out of her practice shirt.

“Uh, yeah! Have you seen how he is with girls? It’s hot how he ignores them. Imagine someone as cold and unbothered as him giving you the time of the day. I’d die.” The ravenette continues in a dazed voice, fanning her blushing face. The other girls in the locker room exchange mischievous grins at the confession of her crush and they giggle in delight at the lovesick girl.

No one but Kyle knows about Kenny and Craig confessing to me and our feelings being reciprocated. I’m not quite sure what to say in this awkward situation and before I can even attempt to try to pull something out of my ass, I get a text from Tweek saying that football practice is almost finished.

I let out a sigh in relief at the timing of the message as I excuse myself and head down to the school’s field, thinking about Jenny’s words. When would we tell everyone? It’s still new so I don’t think I’d be comfortable with announcing it until we all found our footing. The boys are still testing out the waters and I don’t want to rush what could potentially be a perfectly good thing, especially if it ends up not working out. And it hurts me to say it, but I’m absolutely terrified of people finding out I’m with two different boys at the same time.

Oh god, how will the boys even react when they find out? What will I do when my brother finds out?

All too soon, I see the back of the bleachers coming up and forcibly stop my thoughts before it can get out of hand. I circle around the structure to take a peek at the practice taking place, not wanting to distract the boys. A shrill blow of a whistle can be heard when I step onto the white-marked grass, the coach barking out directions. From my position, I can see Cartman lazily sprawled out on the floor, his chest rapidly heaving up and down in quick succession.

Typical fatass.

From across the green expanse, I can see Jimmy and Clyde arguing with each other. Tolkien plays devil’s advocate from his position on the floor, smirking up at the bickering in blatant amusement and instigating a fight. Kyle rolls his eyes when the coach yells at them to run a lap in punishment, Clyde fake crying in indignation.

“Y/N!”

Tolkien is the first to spot me, his delighted voice distracts everyone from their laughter at the running boys. All heads turn to my direction and I shyly wave at getting caught, stepping out of my hiding spot.

“Princess!”

Kenny’s yell echoes across the entire field in excitement, the upper half of his blonde hair is tied up and I take a moment to appreciate the sight. If he had been exhausted and depleted of his energy from practice a few seconds earlier, it’s gone now as he begins to sprint to close the distance between us. He hollers as if he hadn’t seen me a few hours prior, a wide grin overtaking his handsome face.

“Ken! Be caref- OOF!” I get cut off as his body roughly collides with mine, his arms immediately wrapping me up and hefting my body into his arms.

I automatically lock my legs around his waist, quickly reaching out to lay my arms around his shoulders. He’s sweaty and grass-stained but I sigh in fondness as he smiles into my neck, slightly squeezing me. He softly coos at my blushing face as he makes a debacle out of the both of us in front of the entire team, my brother rolling his eyes as Clyde sobs my name in the distance.

The amount of happiness in the blonde’s reaction threatens to make me combust on the spot, so filled with love for someone like me. He gently places a large hand on the back of my head, lightly stroking his thumb in my hair in tenderness. The coach takes the loss of interest as his cue to dismiss practice for the day and the boys begin to walk over in our direction.

“Did you see that throw I made?” He eagerly asks me.

Despite being fresh out of practice and unshowered, I deeply inhale his scent. He doesn’t smell like shampoo or clean laundry, but it’s still a scent that makes me feel so close to him. It's a boyish, musky scent that makes him feel like home, so warm in its protective embrace. It’s just so Kenny that makes it so addicting.

“No,” I giggle. “I just got here. But I’m sure it was amazing!”

At my words, I’m rewarded with a searing kiss pressed onto my cheeks. And even when the boys catch up to us, the blonde still doesn’t put me down as they start to make their way back to the boy’s locker room. I feel his fingers start to drum along my side and I start to bite my lips in a futile attempt to prevent my smile from getting even wider than it is now. I shyly wave over the blonde’s shoulder as the boy’s other teammates wave in greeting to me.

“Did you see that, N/N? Jimmy started bullying me but I still got into trouble!” Clyde fake sobs as he makes grabby hands at me. Kenny just rolls his eyes and reaches out a hand to push at the brunette’s sniveling face.

“It’s because you weren’t listening, Jesus!” Tweek tattles from the side.

The barista doesn’t play on the football team like the rest of the boys, instead choosing to pursue boxing from when Stan got our Uncle Jimbo to teach him how to fight when we were younger. On the days he doesn’t have to work at the coffee shop, he’ll sit on the bleachers with Butters to do his homework while the other boys practice.

“It’s okay, Clydey. I’ll buy you dessert, okay?” I soothe the dramatic boy, his theatrics making the rest of the guys push at his body to further “bully” him even more for being a crybaby.

And when we choose our after-practice food spot for the day, I keep my word and buy the brunette an ice cream cone in a flavor to his choosing. I shake my head when he tries to feed me a fry in exchange, bringing my hand up to ruffle his brown locks in thanks for his kindness. In his distraction, Craig takes a lick at his soft serve and I roll my eyes as the brunette whines again, batting the taller teen on the arm.

We sit along the curb of the sidewalk, fast food scattered around us as we talk about our day at school. My brother lights up the joint Kenny and I didn’t finish and I watch the fleeting smoke escape from his parted lips, disappearing into the night sky. When I see the bright stars twinkling overhead in vivid contrast to the darkness around us, I smile.

#south park #south park x reader #craig tucker x reader #kenny mccormick #craig tucker #south park fanfiction #kenny mccormick x reader #lalawrites

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