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kentuckywrites · 2 years

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Imperium 3: Chapter 7

Tempus est dicere bonam noctem. (It’s time to say good night.)

Starr knew his eyes were open. He could feel himself blinking, shaking in the onslaught of confusion, but everything was pitch black. There was no structure below his feet; he was floating, somehow, in this dark expanse of nothingness. Was this death? Was this somewhere in between? He took a deep breath, the air cold and frigid around him, but no condensation dared to form, no sign of life emerged from his being.

“Mira?” He called out, hoping for some kind of answer. It was foolish to expect one if he was dead, but maybe the planet had a way of reaching him in this state, so far from the realm of reality and life.

I am here. I just…

The planet responded, hesitant, unsure. Starr grit his teeth. They had no time to be cowards. This was what needed to be done, and the sooner it was over with, the sooner he’d be gone. He didn’t want to linger here, not in this world, not when the beings that formed him had clearly changed their minds about fusing together and finding their path towards healing. Were they both happy with this, truly? Was Starr really just a plaything for them to find their peace, and now that he’d fulfilled his purpose, they’d discard of him? The longer the silence lasted, the more Starr felt angry at the entire situation. This was wrong. This was unfair. He opened his mouth, about to scold Mira for taking its sweet time in killing him, when -

“You must be tired of falling into holes and dying. I hope this is the last time you’ll ever have to do it.”

…

Starr turned his body, his heart plummeting into his stomach, freezing over from the ice that electrified his veins. There, floating in the darkness, kissed by the faintest blue glow…

“Hello, Starr,” Nessa said, her smile so soft and sad and full of pity. “I’m Nessa. Mira’s told me a bit about you.”

“So we are dead,” Starr couldn’t help but hiss the truth, “Mira lied.”

“No, not exactly. Not yet, at least,” She leaned towards him, moving slowly closer. “Right now, we’re in a kind of limbo between life and death. You’ll die when Mira leaves your body and Pongo takes over. It’s just having a hard time letting go of you, I think.”

“Why? We were pointless, in the end. They both used us as a means of achieving their own personal goals without any consideration as to my own happiness. We were an escape and nothing more.” He hissed, the initial shock of seeing Nessa turning into rage. Her smile faded, replaced by an even sadder frown. The pity even shifted into sympathy, the understanding of his plight. Somehow, it felt worse.

“Do you really think you were pointless?” She asked, “Because the way I see it, you’re the reason both Pongo and Mira were able to heal. You saved them both from sinking deeper into their trauma.”

“They made us live with it instead of dealing with it themselves! They were too weak to carry their memories, so they dumped the hard work onto us in the hopes we could fix it for them!”

“...They did. You’re right.”

That caught Starr off guard, her readiness to agree with him. She pressed her hands together, held them up to her chest as she massaged her own knuckles. “I don’t think it’s fair that you got dragged into this. I think there might’ve been other ways to help Pongo and Mira both. But…well, that’s the shitty part. We can’t go back and change things. We have to live with the consequences of both our own actions and the actions of those around us, as unfair as that might be.”

“I never asked for this!!” Starr cried out, the sudden increase in volume causing Nessa to flinch, “I never had a choice, I never wanted to be their puppet! And now they expect me to die!! Was everything I did meaningless? Was it a waste to try and live?!”

“...That’s not something you should be asking me.” Nessa said, “Ask yourself that. Was it a waste, living the life you created for yourself? Was it a waste forming the bonds that you did, or fostering the powers that you got? Was it a waste, making all of those memories over the last six months?”

Starr didn’t respond right away. All of the memories he’d created came to the surface: meeting Vanala and Froyoyo, being accepted into the caravan, learning how to use water ether, creating the gauntlets to house his ether and using it to defend the caravan from indigens, playing with the littlepon and listening to their bedtime stories until the night had fallen and they’d snuggled up together. There were memories of being awake, being alive. But just as many memories were of his sleep, the blissful and peaceful slumber. The Disgrace’s nightmares would sometimes greet him in the unconscious, but Starr never let them prevent him from sleeping, because he knew the waking world would be kinder to him. He was so thankful for that, so incredibly thankful that he’d been able to forge ahead of the Disgrace’s fears. And in reminiscing, in his gratitude towards the past six months, Starr found himself grinning. No, none of it was a waste. He’d lived. He’d lived the life he was given, and he never regretted a second of it.

“I lived.” He breathed, “I am so thankful that I got a chance to live.”

“You lived for yourself, and in doing so, you lived for Pongo and Mira,” Nessa told him, “You are Starr, and Starr lived according to his own desires. But Pongo and Mira were able to see how you lived, and your joy is what set them on their path to heal. They never told you how to live, they just…they wanted you to live. That’s all.”

Hearing that brought tears to Starr’s eyes, and he sniffled, looking down. Only the darkness existed around them, and yet, he began to find it soothing in a way he couldn’t quite describe. When he looked back up at Nessa, her sad smile had returned, and her hand was extended out towards him. He willed himself forward on instinct, his own hand getting closer, closer. A memory shot forward of himself, the Telethia self, flinging his tail upwards and launching Solstice and Nessa into the skies to plummet to the ground below. He could feel her shock, her betrayal, her pain.

He did not take her hand, his arm falling back to his side.

“I hurt you, back then.” Starr whispered, “And I am hurting Mira and…and Pongo, now, by existing. They gave me the chance to live, but in doing so, they denied themselves that very same chance. They have always deserved that chance, far more than I ever did.”

“Don’t say that,” Nessa begged, her own tears beginning to spill over, “You deserve to live just as much as they do. I’m just…I’m so sorry you can’t. I would’ve given you the biggest hug.”

“You sound like Pongo when you say that,” Starr chuckled. It felt strange, using Pongo’s name again, but…but it was harsh, calling him the Disgrace. Pongo’s only sin, after all this time, was the severity of his breakdown. He and Mira had both come a long way, and Starr could attest to their growth more than anyone. A moment passed, and the warmth left his body, fleeting into the cold expansive void. He couldn’t revel in this comfort forever, this chance at seeing Nessa again.

“I…I think I am ready,” Starr confessed, “But before I go…can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“You, um…you are dead. Do you know what comes after dying? Will you be there?”

Nessa swallowed hard, the topic causing her shoulders to tense. “Death is like falling asleep. There’s not much afterwards. But for the time being, even if we can’t see each other, I’ll be there with you.”

“Then I welcome sleep with open arms,” Starr said, grinning despite the pain. Was it pain, at this point, or was it resignation? Could it have been both? How fitting, it was, that he was born into life welcoming the darkness of sleep, and in death he was holding himself to the same acceptance.

Nessa looked up, almost looking at something specific, but there was nothing there. Starr felt his heartbeat slowing down, Mira’s presence becoming increasingly stronger. It had been a part of him this entire time, and though he knew this swelling in his chest was the beginning of the end, he could only feel gratitude. He’d been given a chance to live, however small his time had been, and dying with rage in his heart would leave a bitter taste on his tongue. No, he refused to die with regrets, not when he’d lived such a wonderful and beautiful life.

I am sorry. I am breaking my promise.

“It is okay,” Starr said, “We both knew this would not last forever.”

That does not change how much it hurts.

“I know.”

…Good night Starr.

“Good night, Aidoneus.”

Starr closed his eyes. The world left him, and he passed into the arms of eternal slumber.

Good morning, Pongo.

“...”

How do you feel?

“...”

I know this must feel strange, after all we have been through, but -

“It still hurts.”

The body’s eyes opened, and both were now indigo, Pongo’s color. The separation had gone smoothly; he felt no traces of Starr internally. Externally, however, this was not Pongo. It was his body, taken over by someone he’d forced into handling his pain. It didn’t feel right, returning to what Pongo had been gifted, but…but what else was there?

“I feel like a fool,” Pongo said, “Starr was right. I am a coward. I…I do not regret his creation, but it was wrong of me to agree to it. I should have been strong enough to handle my own trauma.”

It was my prerogative to fuse. The blame is as much mine as it is yours.

The planet sighed, a deep and wistful thing.

But we cannot linger. You know what has to be done.

“I do.”

Are you ready for it?

Pongo did not respond, not immediately. His hands shook, quivering with the weight of expectation. Nessa had been right, too - how many times did he have to do this? Fall into a hole, die, and somehow save the world? Why, why was it constantly him who had to make the sacrifice? Why did he keep placing himself into that role, why did fate keep insisting that this was all he was good for?

Pongo?

Pongo buried his head into the crook of his arm, a combination of cool metal and warm fabric rubbing against his skin as he attempted to push his tears down. When he finally had the strength to respond, his voice still shook, weakened with emotion.

“Starr was angry. He had every right to be, considering his circumstances. I always thought his anger towards me was justified, because I was being selfish. I should have simply pushed it down and gone back to NLA to continue my life. But…but I would not have been living, if I had done that.”

Because the pain you carry would have held you back.

“And I would never have forgiven myself, knowing it would have. I would have wanted to push through it and act normal so I did not worry those around me. But I…I was not strong enough to do that.”

That was never going to be a question of strength, Pongo. You are putting too high a standard onto yourself.

“I am. I did,” Pongo admitted through his tears, “And that is something Starr taught me. I need to…to be kinder to myself. I want to live. I want us both to live, and not be burdened by the pain we have accumulated. I want to drink hot chocolate with L’Cirufe at his shop, I want to help Lin with her schematics, I want to get book recommendations from Elma, I want to meet people and make friends and just…I want to live.”

At his confession, the space in front of him grew brighter. Pongo half-expected the figure that appeared to be Nessa, but she’d disappeared when Starr died. She was keeping her promise to him, that she’d be there with him in death, and Pongo couldn’t fault her for that. Instead, what formed was a small ball of white light, ether sparkling and rising up from the shape inside it. A little draconic tail, spined and curled around itself - Mira.

When it spoke again, a strange effect occurred. Pongo could hear it in his mind, just as he always had, but he also heard its voice echoing from its ethereal form.

That is what you deserve. You have deserved the chance to live ever since I created you. I am so sorry that your life has treated you so unfairly up until this point, but I swear that no matter what comes your way, you will never have to face it alone. Myself, your friends, your family…you are surrounded by people who love you. Now, the last step is to love yourself as much as you love those around you.

Pongo sniffled, wiping the tears from his eyes. “That may be the toughest thing I have ever tried to do.”

It is a good thing you are brave enough to try.

Another deep breath, filling his lungs with all that he felt, all that he had pushed so deeply inside his subconscious returning to the surface with the strength he finally knew he had. Pongo was shaking, his nerves comprised of fire and electricity and a deep, deep sense of responsibility. He was stalling, right now, but he didn’t care. This was a good feeling, being able to speak, able to be heard. He would never let go of this blessing again.

“I am ready now,” Pongo told Mira. “I am ready to end this.”

It will hurt.

“It will be nothing I cannot handle.”

Pongo.

“You should know more than anybody else that I have suffered through worse. As long as you are by my side, I will bear it.”

…I made a promise to Starr. I will extend that promise to you. We will be together until the end of time.

“May the sun and the moons above grant us the power of the star. Let us, the humble servants, protect the land and the sea, the sky and all between…” Pongo finished, trailing off into a quiet smile.

It is time. I will be here when you wake.

The image of Mira pulsed, forcing itself back into Pongo’s chest. The impact threw him into an expanse of white, and he felt full, bursting to the brim with energy about to ignite. He knew his body was morphing, morphing to accommodate the expanse swelling within him, and the resulting effect on his body was indeed a physical pain he’d never experienced before. But Pongo was telling the truth, before. He could handle it, because he knew Mira was there with him. That would always make the pain worth it in the end.

Before he fully receded into the back of the body’s subconscious, Pongo could see Nessa. She was smiling. She was proud.

He smiled back.

Elma thought she had seen it all. Mira had thrown challenge after challenge at humanity, yet they always came out on the other side. Even with the understanding that there were new continents to explore, that there were threats at their doorstep that were awesome in their destructive capabilities, Elma truly thought that nothing could phase her.

Corvhesperikon’s reawakening, its reanimation from a pile of bones, did not surprise her. Sure, Elma admitted to fearing the yggralith, especially after dealing with Pharsis. She understood the danger that yggraliths posed to Mira, a planet which was nothing short of a tasty appetizer to a world-eating extraterrestrial goliath. She would stop at nothing to defeat Corvhesperikon and see to it that humanity’s home remained relatively hospitable.

Elma had even seen Starr tumble backwards into the pit, swallowed whole by the darkness. She’d been firing at Corvhesperikon’s legs - minimal damage, hardly left any impact at all - when the monstrosity directed all of its ire towards the “little godling”. She could only conclude that it was referring to Starr. After all, Corvhesperikon took the plunge into the darkness after Starr fell, screaming with all the rage it had stored in its blackened heart. Elma was not surprised by this, no, she was scared. Fear and shock, though they often worked in tandem, were completely separate entities.

That being said, Elma was shocked by what emerged from Cocytios’s pit.

There was a brilliant beam of light, nearly as wide as the pit itself, reaching up and into the night. The sheer force of the blast nearly knocked Elma off of her feet, but she maintained her balance, shielding her face. She heard a screech as the light separated and Corvhesperikon emerged, its wings flapping with wild abandon. Was it hurt? No, no. That was anger of the highest caliber, anger that could never be tamed.

As the initial wave of light began to recede, a figure became apparent. It wasn’t as large as Corvhesperikon, far from it, but it was far taller than any xenoform or human Elma had ever encountered. It was white, blinding white. Every part of its body was a beacon, dimming down to the point of acknowledgement but not to comfort. A massive pair of wings stretched out of its back, reminiscent of the Telethia’s, and its limbs were long and dangly and coated in stardust. Parts almost appeared as armor, chitinous and otherworldly. Centered in its chest was an emblem, a draconic tail that swirled around itself. From its head, two jagged horns, two elongated and pointed ears, something akin to hair covering one ear. A halo of every color imaginable shone just behind it, and those same colors danced in its singular eye like a galaxy contained.

From a respectable distance, Corvhesperikon spat at the figure with nothing short of hostility.

“IT IS YOUR TIME TO DIE, AIDONEUS.”

Aidoneus? Lumina had mentioned the name, Lumina admitted to seeing this Aidoneus’s ether strand intertwined with Starr’s - Pongo’s? Fuck, this was getting complicated, and all Elma knew was that Aidoneus was a friend according to Vanala and Lumina both. It had fought alongside them in the first battle against Corvhesperikon and Syriahnydra. It was here again, rising from the depths that Starr had been pulled into.

Aidoneus had no mouth with which to speak, yet its voice rang out as a song; Elma heard it all around her, from above and below and behind.

“I WILL NOT LET YOU DESTROY WHAT I HAVE WORKED SO HARD TO CREATE. THIS ENDS HERE.”

Corvhesperikon screamed, charged at Aidoneus. Its maw was easily larger than Aidoneus’s body, it could swallow the entity whole if it wasn’t careful. Yet Aidoneus snapped out of existence, reappearing by Corvhesperikon’s left flank and throwing balls of energy directly into its side. Finally, attacks that did noticeable damage to the yggralith, noticeable and painful. Elma could only stand and stare, watching the exchange unfold in the sky above. A tinge of orange on the horizon, an indication that the dawn was close to greeting them. Did the sun want so badly to witness this fearsome battle? Elma had to admit she was thankful for the dawn, for the chance at seeing a new day grace the world. But for now, the darkness was nearly all there was, save for Aidoneus’s everlasting glow.

“Friend Elma!!” Vanala sprinted over, her wings balled up behind her. Her fire ether sparked in her hands, her gloves turning red from the flames. “Need to get far away from here!! Take Sprinkle Sprinkle and run!!”

“I won’t leave,” Elma spoke before she could fully think things through. Wait, Vanala’s idea was smart - what help could she possibly provide? But there was this nagging feeling in her heart, a need to remain behind and see things through to the end. Was Aidoneus a permanent resident? Was Starr dead? By extension, was Pongo dead? Fuck, FUCK. Elma reiterated her stance, “Aidoneus may still yet need our help.”

Vanala looked up at her, and somehow, she must’ve known there would be no convincing Elma out of her current plan. “Vanala will help Aidoneus. But friend Elma can’t fly, and -”

“LOOK OUT!!”

Froyoyo charged at the two, carrying Sprinkle Sprinkle in his wings. Behind him, Aidoneus was tossed into the side of the mountain, Corvhesperikon roaring in absolute delight at getting a hit in. The resulting impact brought down debris, sprinkled in with snow and rubble and boulders the size of houses. That was not what Froyoyo warned them against, however. Corvhesperikon circled the mountain perimeter in the hopes of repositioning and getting a better angle on another attack, and in doing so, it swept low to the ground, its claws mere inches away from slicing through the snow. Elma lept to the side, dodged with a swiftness she’d perfected over the years. Vanala flew up, lingered by Elma and Froyoyo even though everything about her suggested she wanted to give chase.

Aidoneus never made contact with the ground, but it dipped in a moment of recovery from the blow it had received. By the time Corvhesperikon returned to re-engage, it was charging more energy-based attacks to throw at its body, and still every hit made its mark, still every hit burned through the layer of feathers protecting the flesh and bone beneath. Elma was in awe, tracking the battle and maintaining close visual contact with Aidoneus. Even with Vanala’s help, weakened after the first battle, would Aidoneus be able to defeat Corvhesperikon? There had to be something, some way she could make a difference, it was torture just standing by while the fate of the world was decided in a matchup between two godlike entities -

What the hell was that?!

Another screech, beyond the horizon of snow-peaked mountains. That didn’t belong to Corvhesperikon. It couldn’t belong to Aidoneus, no? No. Something was flying towards them, something with long crystalline wings, yellow shards of ether mimicking the movement of feathers. Elma couldn’t contain her smile, the single laugh that escaped her mouth.

“Hello again, Solstice!” Elma called out. Telethia, the Endbringer responded with another screech - they heard her, they knew, and they were happy to see her again. But kicking Corvhesperikon’s ass was their duty, and their duty came before all else.

Aidoneus looked over its shoulder. Curse that form for not having a mouth, because Elma was certain it was happy to see Solstice, happy enough that it would have smiled. A resolute nod later, and the two were tag teaming blasts at Corvhesperikon. Man, maybe Elma didn’t need the sun to rise after all. Solstice and Aidoneus were doing just fine pushing the darkness back on their own.

“Go, mamapon, go!!” Sprinkle Sprinkle cheered, drawing Elma’s attention for long enough that she saw Vanala push herself up into the air with her wind ether, joining the fray. Her attacks had hardly left a mark before, and they didn’t do much now, but Elma had to admire Vanala’s willingness to fight despite the odds. Froyoyo had placed the littlepon down in the snow, watching the scene just as intently. That was worry there, in his eyes, that familiar shine of hope and concern. Elma wished she could reassure him that this wouldn’t be as devastating as the first time he had fought against Corvhesperikon, but how could she say that in due confidence? She wasn’t there. She hadn’t seen the devastation all those centuries ago.

Solstice dove down onto Corvhesperikon’s back, her claws digging into its flesh and ripping chunks out one by one. It wasn’t a pretty sight, far from it, and yet Elma felt resolute pride in how effective their attacks were. Lightning cascaded off of their body, a storm of ether surging straight into the freshly formed wounds. Corvhesperikon screamed, its neck suddenly swiveling as it tried to bite at Solstice. Solstice darted out of the way long before the yggralith was able to land a hit; in this form, they had access to its mind, its thoughts, its plans. And even without that ability, she was fast, terrifying so even for her size. Elma remembered her very first encounter with Solstice, back in Noctilum, back when she and her team had been fighting the Sphinxes. Even then she’d displayed an intergalactic strength, an unparalleled speed - a recognition that Elma hadn’t been able to decipher. Now, looking back, she knew that Solstice had been bowing her head to Pongo, to Mira, to the body they inhabited together and to the being that gave her purpose.

Aidoneus released another powerful blast of ether, directing the energy towards Corvhesperikon’s face. It flinched backwards, shaking its head. It swung its claws in every direction, blinded for the time being but still enraged enough to keep fighting. Aidoneus floated, hands balling up into fists as it spoke to Solstice and Vanala.

“KEEP THE BEAST OCCUPIED.”

Solstice roared again to convey their understanding, and Vanala reacted with a hearty cheer. “Vanala do her best! Send Corvie to hell!!”

And off the two went, unleashing blast after blast into the yggralith’s flank. Corvhesperikon kept swinging in each direction, its focus constantly switching and propelled by blind rage. It snapped at Vanala, and the Nopon was able to just barely dodge out of the way. She was hardly visible when paired against the other three beings, an insignificant speck spouting fire and ice and lightning. She had speed on her side, however, and she used that to her advantage. Solstice continued drawing most of Corvhesperikon’s ire, flipping onto their stomach to release a beam of ether out of their mouth and into the yggralith’s neck. Corvhesperikon screamed, and quicker than anticipated, it struck at Solstice with a mangled talon that rivaled their size. Solstice wasn’t able to dodge the attack and took the brunt of the damage, faltering and falling a couple hundred feet out of the air. Speckles of blood dripped down to the snowy surface, an impromptu rainfall. Elma flinched as the wind carried some over towards her, not far enough to stain her armor but far enough to leave a mark a few feet away from where she stood.

With Solstice out of commission for a short period of time, Corvhesperikon was able to direct all of its attention towards Vanala. Elma cried out a warning, but it came too late, it came without enough strength to carry it to her ears. Corvhesperikon lunged, and in one fell swoop, it snatched Vanala up into its jaws. She had no time to react and disappeared from Elma’s view, trapped within its maw.

“VANALA!!!” Froyoyo cried, his voice cracking from the strain. Sprinkle Sprinkle watched on in horror, shrinking into their father’s side. Elma felt her heart plummet, thinking that Vanala couldn’t survive such an attack.

Solstice roared, pushing their wings furiously in an attempt to return to the fight faster. Corvhesperikon anticipated how fast she was, where she’d attack next, and grabbed Solstice out of the air with their talons, locking her within its grip. More blood rained down as its claws dug into Solstice’s body, and the Telethia yelped and squirmed in pain.

But then, Corvhesperikon’s mouth began to leak. Something was trying to emerge out of it, something blue and white and shining. It tried to scream, but that was exactly what it wasn’t supposed to do. The floodgates opened, and from inside its mouth, ice formed along its jawline, freezing it wide open. The source of the ice was none other than Vanala, poised on Corvhesperikon’s tongue as ether glided out of her hands. Sprinkle Sprinkle cheered at the sight of his mom, but Froyoyo remained wary, watching, anticipating the worst.

“Aidoneus…better…be ready!!” Vanala shouted through gritted teeth, the frost from her hands beginning to falter. Some of the ice began to crack as Corvhesperikon waved its head back and forth, attempting to regain control of its mouth. Vanala wouldn’t be able to hold the effect for much longer.

Aidoneus had been floating in the same spot all this time, unmoving. Swirls of ether were condensing in the air, flowing straight into its chest where the spiked draconic symbol was ingrained. It was amassing power, but how would it release it? Was Vanala seriously suggesting that she’d keep Corvhesperikon’s mouth locked open and let Aidoneus fire its shot through her and into the yggralith? That was suicide!! And even if Aidoneus couldn’t finish its charge by then, the ice would shatter and Vanala would be swallowed up, separated from her family and her ether feasted upon until she was nothing but an empty husk, a body starved of life’s building block.

“NOW!!”

Aidoneus yelled, and Vanala closed her eyes, tumbling forward. It was a miracle that she didn’t hit any of Corvhesperikon’s teeth on the way out, for the ice shattered almost instantly when she stopped supplying ether to create it. Corvhesperikon let out another painful screech - its loudest one yet, making Elma flinch back.

And then, Aidoneus let go.

From its chest, the ether had congregated and released into one fiery beam of energy, piercing straight through Corvhesperikon’s mouth and through its body, exiting out the other end. It was every color imaginable, a cosmic rainbow of sound and beauty. Elma couldn’t pull her eyes away, watching as the yggralith’s scream was cut off and its body torn asunder. The beam persisted for what felt like an eternity, and when it finally imploded on itself in a storm of light, Corvhesperikon’s body dispersed, fragmented into tiny pieces of flesh and unprocessed ether.

Elma hadn’t realized her jaw was slack until she forced her lips back together. Corvhesperikon was dead. The yggralith was no more.

The debris was like snow, polluted and darkened. They were the fragments of Corvhesperikon’s feathers, those that had once given it the capability of flight, now falling to the earth. Some clung to Elma’s armor, desperate and wanting, but she shook them off. They reeked of death and rot, bitter when mixed with the cold. She’d rather not have it surrounding her.

Vanala was the first to descend from the sky, but her first target was not Elma. She instead ran to Froyoyo and Sprinkle Sprinkle, hugging the two with her last ounce of strength. Froyoyo’s face nuzzled into her fur, and Sprinkle Sprinkle found themself happily squished between their two parents. The occasional sniffle rang out in the wind. Elma looked up when she heard another creature descending, quickly revealed to be Solstice. She landed, creating a whirlwind of snow and Corvhesperikon debris. If Elma didn’t know any better, she would’ve thought Solstice was trying to control how hard they flapped their wings in an attempt to lessen the pollution. Their flank was still soaked in its own blood; Corvhesperikon had held it in a vice-like grip, before, and it hadn’t freed them during Aidoneus’s attack. Elma wasn’t sure if any of their injuries were collateral. She took a step forward, seeing the recognition and respect in the Telethia’s eyes, and by the time her boot finished crunching the snow beneath, Aidoneus floated downwards, positioning itself between herself and Solstice. Elma paused, swallowed. She continued onwards until she was next to them both.

Solstice made a noise akin to a huff, and then a rumbling purr. Elma raised her hand, touching their snout gently. Through her gloves she could feel the swirls and delicate patterns in her chitinous body, a natural armor that housed a cacophony of ether below the surface. She allowed herself a moment to connect, to feel, to be.

“HELLO, ELMA.”

Aidoneus spoke, softer than before. Had it used up its strength, too, or was this tonal shift on purpose? Elma had a suspicion that it was the former, and thus, she found herself mimicking its tonal level.

“Hello, Aidoneus,” She said, “Thank you for saving Mira.”

“MIRA AND I ARE ONE AND THE SAME. IT WAS NOT MY TIME TO DIE, NOT WHEN I HAVE SO MUCH LEFT TO DO.”

Ah, that explained a few things. Elma smiled at the realization, the conclusion that Aidoneus was the being Mira had once been and the reason the planet was sentient to begin with. But that connection also harbored another question, one that she wasted no time in asking.

“If you’re Mira, then what happened to Po -”

Wait. No, he said that wasn’t his name. That hurt, that hurt so badly. She corrected herself despite the pain.

“- to Starr?”

Aidoneus seemed to recognize this tension, averting its gaze for a moment. Elma expected bad news - how could you feel good about an answer when the other party wouldn’t meet your eyes? But when it spoke again, it was with a combined softness. Yes, it was weakened, and that was affecting its volume. But there was a love there, too, a compassion so deep that Elma could feel it through every part of her being.

“THIS IS A TEMPORARY FORM I CAN TAKE. PONGO AGREED TO RESUME CONTROL ONCE I HAVE REVERSED THE TRANSFORMATION. HE HAS MADE PEACE WITH HIMSELF, THOUGH HE WILL STILL NEED TIME TO HEAL. I THOUGHT I COULD HELP, BUT…BUT I MADE THINGS WORSE. I REALIZE THAT NOW.”

A pause.

“WILL YOU BE THERE FOR HIM? HE WILL NEED YOU AND HIS FRIENDS NOW MORE THAN EVER.”

“Always,” Elma didn’t hesitate in her response, “But if you’re really Mira, then you must know that Pongo needs you just as much as he needs us.”

“...I DO NOT KNOW IF I BELIEVE YOU. HE IS WHO HE IS TODAY BECAUSE OF HUMANITY - BECAUSE OF YOU.”

“Sound like friend Aidoneus don’t know value of self,” Vanala piped up, having walked over with Froyoyo and Sprinkle Sprinkle by her side. Eye bags were beginning to form under her eyes, tired yet still shining with compassion. “Does Vanala need to sit Aidoneus down for pep talk like Vanala did with Starr?”

Aidoneus chuckled at that. “NO, THAT WILL NOT BE NECESSARY. BUT I ADMIT…I HAVE THINGS I MUST COME TO TERMS WITH REGARDING MYSELF. PONGO WILL NEED TO DO THE SAME.”

“And we’ll be there for him every step of the way,” Elma reaffirmed, “Thank you again, Aidoneus.”

“Many thanks indeed,” Froyoyo said, “Were it not for Aidoneus, wifeypon would be…” He shuddered, the mental image giving him pause. “Second time now that Aidoneus saved world. Makes you honorary Heropon in Froyoyo’s book.”

“...AN HONORARY HEROPON?”

“Not as cool as Legendary Heropon. Froyoyo still Legendary Heropon of Cocytios. Honorary Heropon like sidekick.”

“I CERTAINLY FEEL HONORED BY THAT. THANK YOU, FROYOYO.”

“Meh meh!! No reason dadapon and Aidoneus can’t both be Legendary Heropon!!” Sprinkle Sprinkle pouted, “Both heroes! Both heroes Sprinkle Sprinle forever look up to!!”

Aidoneus chuckled again, reaching down to pat Sprinkle Sprinkle’s head. The height difference between the two was laughable, even more so when Aidoneus returned to its previous stature. It looked off into the distance, to the pit that it had emerged out of. “EVERYONE, FOLLOW ME. IT IS TIME.”

And off Aidoneus floated towards the edge without further explanation. Was it needed, when they all knew what was going to happen? Elma and the Nopon followed silently, though moments after their first steps the ground below them shook. Sprinkle Sprinkle was the only one who looked outwardly panicked, and Elma couldn’t blame them. It was Solstice behind them, the great and powerful Telethia, attempting to follow as well. She made eye contact with the littlepon, and after that, all of her steps were calculated, softer.

The sunrise was beginning to dominate the night, midnight mixing with the oranges and yellows of the dawn. As everyone congregated by the cliffside, Aidoneus turned back towards the group, making a request.

“I ASK THAT NO ONE HERE SPEAKS OF ME, OR WHAT HAPPENED THIS DAY. I DO NOT WANT TO CAUSE ANY UNNECESSARY CONCERN, NOR DO I WANT HUMANITY TO RELENTLESSLY PURSUE ME IN THE HOPES OF ANSWERING THEIR QUESTIONS.”

“Humans are a naturally curious race,” Elma said, “But I understand. I promise BLADE and those who live inside NLA’s borders will not hear of this.”

“THANK YOU AGAIN.”

A pause.

“THE EARTH WOULD BE PROUD OF YOU. FOR HOW FAR YOU HAVE COME, AND FOR HOW YOU HAVE GROWN.”

Elma wasn’t sure what to make of those unspoken implications, but she could feel the sentiment, the nostalgia dripping through Aidoneus’s voice. All she could do was smile, nod, watch as Aidoneus flew upwards and then descended into the darkness of the pit. The same beam of light that had graced its entrance to Cocytios returned, though nothing emerged from it for quite a while. When something finally did begin to take shape, Elma observed with keen interest. There was a torso, arms, legs, a head. As the light began to fade, more details became apparent - black hair, pale skin. Elma got her hopes up…

Until she recognized Starr’s armor.

Starr descended down from the light, eyes closed and body limp. His hair was short like Pongo’s, and the scars across his right cheek were gone. Maybe this was Pongo. He fell into Elma’s arms just as the light vanished, and Elma turned him over so that he lay in her arms. The moment reminded her of when she’d first met Pongo, that fateful day in Starfall Basin. How time had flown past them, how time had treated Pongo. If she could only go back in time and warn him then about all the pain he’d bear, all the loss and tragedy…

No. There was only the present, there was only the gift of today. Elma had to make it count, and she’d make sure Pongo made it count, too.

Softly, gently, Elma spoke.

“Wake up, Pongo.”

#xenoblade x #Imperium 3: Chapter 7 #ow.#yeah i lost track of how many times I teared up in that first scene #but um...yeah.#good night starr.#one chapter remains.#and then...it's over.

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maddipoof · 1 year

Note

There is nothing like staying at home, for real comfort 🌷 you saved my life." "not a big d-" "no. you saved it." With tangerine

Reader’s code name is Pomelo because i like the sound of it, and also called small once, not as like a descriptor but just like, in comparison to a pomelo and an insult. And also if you don’t like swearing this is not the fic for you, it’s Tangerine, what did you expect? uhhhh TW: Like violence, duh, swearing, and yeah WC: 1.7k and the ending is kinda lame but meh, I hope you like it <3

For only meeting them less than a year ago, you’ve certainly lost track of the number of missions you’ve been on with the twins. Lemon was always lovely, always looking out for you, making sure you were alive, not that you’ve ever been that close to death, but still. And Tangerine…Tangerine was a little less hands on with you but you still knew he cared, just as he knew you cared about him surviving.

You were a team, all three of you. You stuck together and looked out for each other, always.

But not this time.

“Pomelo!” was the last thing you heard Lemon say just as you were struck in the back of the head. The woman in all black stepped up to your limp form on the ground just as you miraculously gained the strength to put your arms around your head as a weak means of protection.

“Pomelo, is it?” She turned you over with her foot, the metallic tang of blood forcing itself down your throat. “You’re a bit small for a pomelo, aren’t you? You need your big, strong boys to do all the work for you, hm?” Her face, so close to yours, was becoming blurry as she spit her painfully forced posh accent at you. She stabbed her katana into the ground next to your head, “I could just tear you apart.” She was kneeling over you and pulled another smaller knife out of its sheath in her back, just to stick it by the other side of your head. “Eh, I s’pose I should peel you first.”

She leaned down close to you again to pull the knife out from beside your head. You were fairly certain this was it for you, and if she was gonna kill you, may as well make her work for it. She was about to push herself off her knees when you spat a horrid mix of blood and spit in her face. She dropped a knee to your stomach then and you lurched up. With half her weight on you, she was about to strike. You could follow her eyes to her lazer-like target on your face. She raised her arm but Lemon grabbed her wrist from behind. It was futile, he may have been bigger but she was much stronger. She slammed her head into him and he fell back into another of her henchmen. The blade was halfway on its descent to your jaw when it slid across Tangerine’s back. He jumped in its path and took her down with him. Him beating her face to a pulp through her balaclava was the last thing you saw. His hair a wreck if you’ve ever seen it and he’d already lost the jacket and vest an hour ago. You couldn’t help but watch, though you were fading fast, couldn’t help but stare at the thin line blooming red through his crisp white shirt.

Then it went dark.

You woke up with a throbbing pain behind your eyes and a groan. Also in a familiar bed, but not your own. Long legs stretched out next to you, cashmere socks pointed towards the tv. It took you a second to realize what it was playing. A scene from …, the one you always skipped to after an assignment went wrong and you just needed something to calm down. The one Tangerine always made fun of you for liking so much. You looked up even though the slightest movement felt like your head was filled with lead marbles. Tangerine was violently tapping on his phone with one index finger. Either he was stuck on that same level of the game he’s been obsessed with for the last two months, or he was texting Lemon.

You tugged on the side of his trouser. He looked down at you immediately, face filled with worry, “Turn it—“ it was like your throat was the nile river and the rasp was the second plague, that’s how many frogs were in there.

“Off?”

“Down, turn it down.”

He grabbed the remote first and held a water bottle down to you second, you didn’t have to sit up too far with the mouthpiece to sip from. You swallowed too much too fast and the coughing that followed did nothing for your headache. “Easy, easy. Breathe, love.” He led you down with one hand to your shoulder and one to your head, “There ya go.” He moved his hand to your chest and rubbed gentle circles. “Better, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

You both sat there for a few moments more, half watching the movie (or pretending to), and half watching for the other to make a move.

“Than- uh, thank you.”

“For what, Pom?”

“For saving my l—“

“It’s really—It’s not a big deal.” He brushed it off as if the prospect of you being grateful for such a thing scared him, and tried to quiet you by holding more water to you.

“No, you saved it. Thank you.”

This inadvertently sent him into a trance of contemplation, he was staring off at something towards the end of the bed.

He was about to speak when Lemon popped in.

“Oh lovely, you’re awake.”

“Regrettably.”

“Sarcasm intact. I’ll take that as a good sign.”

“Ha ha. I mean I’d rather be sleeping, not dead.”

You moved to lay back down but Tangerine held you up, “It’s best you eat first, love.”

Try as you might, for the next few weeks without any new missions to distract you, sleep never came easy. And when it did it was marred by inconsistancy and horrible nightmares. Each time you couldn’t fight it and dozed off on the couch or your face on your arms on the counter, you were jolted awake by the most terrifying visions.

Both Lemon and Tangerine knew, but after knowing you this long, they knew it’d be worse to say anything before you brought it up. Even if you tried to fake it, like you did 5 weeks to the day after it happened.

Lemon went to bed early that night, and though you could see Tangerine wanted to too, he wouldn’t go if you were still up.

As exhausted as you were, everytime you closed your eyes you were faced with the same scene of red blooming through Tan’s shirt.

You were both watching some movie you insisted he pick and you let him get away with thinking you didn’t know that he picked one of your favorites on purpose. He was on one end of the couch and you were on the other, it wasn’t terribly long but if both of you were laying flat across it you still wouldn’t touch.

“Watch your movie,” he said when he caught you looking.

“It’s not my movie, you picked it.”

“You’ve been looking at me all night.”

“Have not.”

“You have. Why?”

“I haven’t— It doesn’t matter.”

“Pom,” he said sincerely, “Love, why?”

“I can’t explain it.” He moved like he thought about getting closer to you but decided against it. “Just- come here.” You waved him closer and he slid down the rest of the couch while you made room for him.

He looked understandably confused and stayed up straight next to you. He tilted his head in a silent question that you couldn’t answer with words but instead a question of your own. You reached out to him hesitantly and waited for him to nod before you went for the fourth button of his shirt, the top 3 had been undone since dinner and he followed your lead and started undoing them from the bottom but looking at your hands instead. It was like an electric shock when you both went for the same button. Both of you jumped away like you were scared of each other’s hands. He looked at you and you nodded so he continued then pulled off his undershirt. As if he knew what you wanted without having to ask, he turned around so you could see the wound. He nodded when you put a hand on his back and you pulled at the edge of the bandage, just enough to see how it was healing.

It wasn’t deep, and it wasn’t wide, but it was long. The edges were starting to come back together and he’s been wincing much less lately. It never got infected and now only the very center stripe was still red.

He was going to turn back around but you practically threw yourself against his back, careful to avoid anywhere near the bandage. He tried to quiet his groan from the force, “Sorry,” you whispered.

“No, it wasn’t you.”

It was good. Those few minutes just feeling each other’s warmth and heart and breathing. It was good.

“Tan?” Asking could have been the greatest mistake of your life.

He sighed and let his head fall back to your shoulder. “Pom.”

“You saved my life.” He straightened at that.

“And you’ve saved mine, we’re even. Don’t- don’t make it more than it has to be.”

“No, listen, please for once.” He took a deep breath and leaned back again. “It’s never gotten that close before, for either of us. And I don’t— If you weren’t there I don’t know—“

“Don’t fuckin say it.”

“But it’s true.”

“It’s not.”

“How?”

“You don’t know what would have happened and it doesn’t fuckin matter cus it didn’t happen.”

“Thank you though, for what did happen.”

He didn’t say much more than a hmm and laid down on his back, kind of uncomfortably on your leg from the way the two of you were sitting. He waved for you to join him, “Here, love,” he pulled you down to his chest and you moved past the temporary awkwardness to get comfortable. “Just go to sleep, yeah?”

“Mhm.” He could hear the hesitance.

“You wanna go to your room?”

“No, here’s ok, here is good.”

“Good. Relax, alright? We’re ok.”

taglist but like, you guys are slacking, pick up the pace come on(no i'm kidding, I love all you guys do for me): @new-romqntics @sw34terw34ther @beezywriting @haydipoof @avipoof @callmyheartyours @puppy-coded @manyfandomsfanvergent @loving-and-dreaming @munsonsreputation @esperisdrunkinwonderlandwonderland @babyrunsforfanfic @sp1rit-realm @doyouknowwhoyouare13 @imshiningjustforyou @munsonsreputation @harringtonssangel @honeymunson @katsu28 @masivechaos @steveharringtonsleftshoe

#tangerine #lemon bullet train #tangerine fic #tangerine x reader #tangerine x you #lemon and tangerine #tangerine bullet train #bullet train tangerine #tangerine x y/n #tangerine x fem!reader #bullet train 2022 #bullet train #bullet train fic #tangerine fluff #tangerine fanfiction #della celebrates 100 #dell's fics #dell's tag list

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always-andromeda · 1 year

Note

strawberry crème for Calvin pls? :) your layout for the event is so pretty! ❤️

– 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐞𝐢𝐫-𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐱 𝐆𝐍!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: thank you so very much, anon!! and aGH thank you for feeding my love for Calvin!!

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: lmao Calvin is an out of touch little weirdo, 100% fluff, nothing else I can think of!

If Calvin could write his first kiss with you, he'd know exactly how to set the scene. It would be the perfect balance between planned and spontaneous. Something cinematic yet quaint.

And really, under those parameters he could go about a dozen different directions. He'd certainly dreamt about it many times.

In one, he took you to an expensive dinner and you both waited all night only for the chef to completely botch your entire order. Instead, you ate fast food burgers in Calvin's car all while softly talking and laughing over the eclectic LA crowd that you'd observed in the restaurant. When you took a sip of your strawberry milkshake, he asked, "Let me have a sip." Only for you to reply, "Why don't I do this instead?" Then grasped Calvin's tie and brought him to your lips. And even in his dreams, he could taste the cool, creamy strawberry on your tongue.

Another one saw him walking with you in a park with Scotty. And of course Scotty couldn't help but drag him along on his leash before trampling in mud. The dog then proudly hopped up to paw at Calvin's legs, tracking the sludge all over his khaki pants and leaving Calvin very frustrated. To which you merely giggled and said, "He's just showing you he loves you, Cal. Here, let me give it a try too." Within seconds, he stopped caring about the inevitable stains that would never wash out of his pants because your mouth was press firmly against his.

Then there was the one that intrigued him most. He was still trying his best to write that one up in a way that did the dream justice. In it, you and him were at his mother's house, up in that treehouse that he often hid away in when his mother and Mort were becoming too much. But he would always be willing to share that treehouse with you. All he could remember was the light of golden hour falling over both of your figures as he took hold of your chin and slowly brought you closer. Your lips barely ghosted over his own before he closed his eyes and sank into the languid kiss. That one was his favorite. He would live in that treehouse with you for the rest of his life if he could. It would just be you and him in a world alone.

Calvin had been writing all day. The more you heard the faint tapping on the keys of his laptop, the more your frustration increased. He had this terrible habit of getting so lost in an idea that it would suck up an entire afternoon if he wasn't careful.

"Cal?" You called from his living room couch downstairs. "Are we going to watch our movie?" No answer. Aaaand he's still typing. You sigh and get up, making your way upstairs.

You found him lost in...something. His eyes were completely glazed over as he typed like a madman. "Calvin?" you tried hopefully.

"Hm?"

"Are you coming down sometime soon? It's been about an hour since you said you'd be finished up here."

"Uh-huh, yeah," he replied distantly.

You folded your arms over your chest, walked around the front side of his desk, and stood beside him. Still, Calvin wouldn't stop typing; hell, he didn't even seem to notice that you were now reading what he was typing from over his shoulder.

And as soon as you saw your name scattered among the paragraphs on his screen, you wanted to tear your hair out. "You're seriously writing about kissing me when I have literally been downstairs for the past hour waiting for you to do it?"

Calvin jumped in his seat and looked at you with wide eyes. Immediately, his mouth began to hang open, speechless and completely unable to form a comprehensive sentence.

"Fine, if I have to do everything myself, might as well add this one to the list," you grumbled. You leaned down and pressed an indignant peck to his lips. Getting ready to turn and leave him, you started to say, "There, now you won't have to stress about planning our your first ki–"

But within seconds, Calvin was on his feet, taking your wrists in his hands and spinning you back towards him before spattering an assortment of little kisses all along the planes of your mouth, cheeks, and jaw. Soon, that lingering frustration was replaced with butterflies tickling at your insides as he continued his onslaught of quick kisses.

"Sorry, I just didn't know–" he mumbled breathlessly against your skin. "Didn't know how to do it just yet..."

You giggled, "Well, you sure are doing it now!"

"Yeah," Calvin finally pulled back, hand going to hold your chin and his thumb brushing over your bottom lip. "And I don't think I ever want to stop," he resolved.

#chocolate box valentine event❣️#danonation #paul dano #danocel #ruby sparks #calvin weir fields #calvin weir fields x reader #calvin weir fields x you #calvin weir fields x y/n #˚ʚ meda writes ɞ˚

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2nd-mushroom-circle · 5 months

Text

lines that made me cry in my 3rd relisten to the chaos protocol ep 32 (MAJOR SPOILERS):

- “brother heed me, as you ought.” something about the way connie says brother this time… i will never be ok about sing and seir

- i mean i could say the entire rest of the opening monologue. but the little hesitance on “lover, hold me”? OW.

- THE WAY VAL’S VOICE SOUNDS ON THEIR FIRST LINE. illegal.

- similarly, the sobbing after “it is lost. forever.” always catches me off guard and RIGHT IN THE HEART

- the way connie just moves on to lumiéra after val says “something snaps”. cause there’s nothing more to say. nothing that can fix it.

- “a door that had been so carefully pried open slamming shut, and… he doesn’t feel.”

- “and he just… looks at where he should have been a shield.” have i ever mentioned that cai is a masterful storyteller? cause cai is a masterful storyteller and god. i’ll never stop feeling things about xainan esch

- this whole scene with xainan crumbling into dust destroys me.

- “you have always been half dead, xainan esch”

- connie calling oblivion the most beautiful person you’ve ever seen as xainan is drifting away from his own life sure is something, huh.

- “i think im just exhausted with being a coward” no cause i have so many feelings about lumiéra waiting, waiting, always a little too hesitant and afraid to tell sing how she really felt, even though sing felt the same, because it’s too scary because it’s too complicated because lumiéra is literally just fucking HUMAN and it takes so much to make that step - only for her to finally do it and it’s just. a moment. too. late.

- the moment when we move from lumiéra’s flashback to the present. the imagery of happy, triumphant, hopeful lumi giving way to lumi crouched over sing’s body, tear tracks staining her face.

- and the imagery of seir holding up lumiéra with his sister. fuck me i guess.

- THE FUCKING PERSPECTIVE SHIFT

- ok being fully fr seir’s monologue here is when i actually started crying in earnest this time. what the fuck val. not one line. all of them

- “the knife that is xainan” always hits me a little bit

- “whelming it’s pitiable vessel” is just such a good phrase. didn’t make me cry but i love it

- the music cue when artemis appears did make me cry though

- “eyes that immediately fall upon sing’s body” if i think too hard about artemis’s relationship with sing (artemis singing the twins to sleep, artemis signing her transfer request because artemis can see right through her, artemis giving them all the warning she can, artemis knowing when they die and appearing right away but unsurprised, with grief that has always been there, artemis making a choice) i will break. and start making some not-yet-canon assumptions about artemis’s own emotional state. so we are not thinking about that!

- “a lance in her chest” “bleeding.” ow ow ow the multiple possible readings of this line. connie and sea kicking off their insane narration chemistry with a lance to my chest. ow

- “those warm, gentle hands, that do not touch, that are so careful with their love” ok so when i said we weren’t feeling things about artemis? i lied

- “and when her hands pass through your flaming horns, snuffing them out like a candle at the end of its wick, it is not violent. it is not to put a cap on your grief, not to quiet you, not to for you into a box or a body that cannot contain you -“ “it is a mercy.” “it is the sweet mercy of rest when you have no tears left to cry.” the actual reason i’m relistening to this episode is to memorize all the words. so i can hold them like precious things in a box inside me. btw

- and artemis sings you and your sister to rest one final time.

ok. *wipes away tears.* anyways.

- artemis wiping a tear from lumiéra’s eye and calling her the bravest girl in the room .

- we interrupt your regularly scheduled tears to bring you: i’m gonna pull an øka* and punch fate in the fucking face. “this pain has a design”. yeah it’s called fate’s a BITCH and a BAD PARENT. and you can quote me on this

*i have not yet watched the second stranger only seen the clip of øka punching fate. so many times. i replayed that clip quite a bit after this episode.

- “and you cannot hold on to your life much longer. you are a dead man walking and you can go no farther than this.” ok back to crying! this is the sequence i was originally most abnormal about. and you know what? it still hits. so much. xainan my beloved

- sea and connie narrative trading my beloved.

- “do you want to live?” “i don’t know.” “then why don’t you come with me, and you can tell me your answer later.” god what a line. what a perfect response. there are no words that can fix this, but maybe with time and love and care someday you will want to live again. why don’t you come with me.

- “and she carries you home.”

- i don’t think i fully internalized the imagery of sing’s sword being driven into the earth by the roots of the world tree and the roots growing up around it before, but this time i imagined wildsailors hundreds of years from now coming upon this site and approaching it with reverence and love, knowing that it was here that something bigger than their world changed forever, holding sing’s eulogy in the very heartwood of the wildsea—yeah.

- “i love my dad, ok?” thanks abasi already sobbing.

- “it is effortless, the care that they hold for you. it is a reality unto itself.” just. cause. this is what i was hoping the whole time in the lead up to this episode. i know it would be awful and crushing and it would break them, and i was so worried that they would have to just. find a way to push on somehow. make plot happen anyways. but this, nova being cared for and held and protected in their grief? someone carrying them home when they can’t do it themselves anymore? this was just what they needed. and what i needed. i cannot wait for arc 2.

#hoo boy this is long. unsurprising #transplanar rpg #the chaos protocol #this is fully just a record for myself cause i needed to process it #xainan was what hit me the most initially. and i think still the one my heart gravitates to #seir is the one i thought of while making a playlist about this ep #and the one that made me cry the most this time #it’s cause i’m seeing my sister again this week #after this relisten it’s lumiéra and the quietness of her grief that’s sticking with me #how she never said a word #and how she was seen and held and carried anyways

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byleresque · 2 years

Text

here’s how I want a milquetoast breakup okay: they apologize for hurting each other and come to a mutual conclusion that they want different things. okay. this will be long and exhausting and they’ll probably bicker but at the end they do care about each other... maybe they can start over?

cue tail-end of a break up scene

...

“I just,” Mike heaved a sigh for the hundredth time this hour. “I really want us to be friends. We never really got a chance to be friends.”

Like a snowball rolling down a steep hill, their relationship picked up speed before either of them were ready. They had neither the time nor experience to brace themselves with when the weight of it came crashing.

El nodded. “So it was a mistake. We were a mistake.” Her eyes were rimmed with red and growing misty again. She tucked her chin down. This wouldn’t be the first cry of the day.

“No, no, hey! Not a mistake. Not at all. I don’t regret any of it. This is just... Life, I guess. Nobody is always doing the right thing.” He cringed inwardly at his lame speech and took El lightly by the shoulders until she looked up at him. “And just because we aren’t together together doesn’t mean I’ll like, hold a grudge against you or anything. We’re friends. We can be friends.” He said. El’s brows knit together in concentration; like she was solving a puzzle.

Mike continued, “Unless you hate me now. I mean, I mean if you hate me I guess that’s fair, but-”

“Mike.” A tear tracked down her cheek.

“Yeah?”

“Promise?” The word barely made a sound. “Friends?” Mike smiled down at her, brushing away her tears with the sleeve of his pullover. Sometimes he couldn’t believe this was the same terrified girl they found in pouring rain years ago.

She’d grown tremendously since.

Mike caught his reflection in the hanging mirror on his bedroom door. His face was red and blotchy, his hair a shaggy mess. But despite those things, he was proud of the guy in the reflection for the first time in memory. Even just this year, he’d learned many truths about himself-- what he wanted and didn’t want in this life-- El wasn’t the only one who had grown.

“Of course. Promise.” They linked pinkies like they were twelve again, giggling until Mike crushed them both into a much-needed cry-hug. “Can we start over?” Mike sniffled. When had he started crying?

“Start over?” El stepped back.

“Yeah. Like...” Mike held out his hand and put on his best introduction voice despite the warbly, weepy tone. “Hi, I’m Mike. Nice to meet you.”

El snickered. “Mike, I know who you are.”

“I know, I know.” He said. “Pretend you don’t.”

She raised an eyebrow, but shook Mike’s hand regardless. “Alright. Nice to meet you, Mike. I’m Jane.”

“Jane... Do you wanna be friends?” Mike said, hoping he sounded as earnest as he felt. She beamed at him. Her eyes glistened with the tears spilling over.

“I--” She gulped. “I would like that very much.” And like that, the atmosphere in the room brightened. Mike stood up straighter; breathed easier. It was as if a boulder had been lifted off his back. He could finally think with a clear head. El looked relieved as well, hunting around the room for tissues and trying to bite back a grin. Thank god, Mike thought, thank god I can still make her happy.

“Do you... Wanna go to the mall?” Mike asked.

“You will buy the ice cream?” El cocked her head at him expectantly.

Mike gave a sideways smirk. “As long as you hack Joust for me at the mini arcade.”

“Deal!”

They left the Wheeler residence talking-- honestly talking-- like they hadn’t seen each other in years. Making up for lost time. Mike learned a lot in such a short time. El apparently did Will’s math homework in exchange for him writing her English essays, she once drove the pizza van for Argyle while he was “out of commission”, and a few months ago she burned off a chunk of her hair with Joyce’s straightening iron. Mike felt like an idiot for not realizing how dynamic El had been this whole time. And kind of weird. In a good way.

At the food court, El peered over her scoop of mint chocolate, quiet for the first time since they’d left the house. Mike felt her eyes on him.

“What? Something on my face?

“No.” She fibbed. His chin was covered in Rocky Road. “I was thinking about something Max said. And since we are now friends, I want to know...” She leaned forward secretively.

Mike gulped. Mischief twinkled in her eye that he’d never seen there before.

“...What’s going on with you and Will?”

#um. that's it #oh damn i forgot the mall has been bisected #or is at least not in operation lol #what's the name of platonic mike and el #elmike #found it #byler #haha just kidding i think their real break up will not end this smooth #they're messyyyyyy ahahaha #my writing

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damelucyjo · 1 year

Text

Possibly my favourite episode of the season. But could that be because it feels like they just remembered this show is really about Rebecca Welton and is just named after her boyfriend?? Not at all!!

Let’s go!!

Episode 10 - International Break

Woah! What a way for reveal Nate left West Ham! 🫢

Shut up, George!! You’re just bitter you were shut at your job and it’s showing now

Ted! We want to spend every weekend with you! Please never leave

Is this really how they find out who got chosen?? Seems like something they’d personally get told first. I think the boys knew, but the coaches didn’t!! Hmm

‘Wait, hold on. Bumbercatch, you’re Swiss?’ ‘Yeah. Look at me’ this boy really is a man of mystery!! 😂

Poor Sam 🙁

But God love Jamie though! He’s come so far!! 🥰🥰

‘I am not your bro. We are now enemies, and soon, you will be my bitch’ woah, Mexico Dani is a whole other breed of dog, huh!! I’ll stick with Richmond puppy Dani, thanks 😂

YYEEEAAAHHHH!!

We love a convo that sounds like it’s about periods but is actually about wine 🫡

MADELINE KAHN REFERENCE!!! 😍😍 this alone could make this episode my favourite!!

Totally tracks though that Ted doesn’t like gossip

As much as I always want scenes of Ted & Rebecca alone, that reveal to Trent was brilliant. And of course he’s good at girl talk 😂

Please, they way Rebecca reacts to Ted is such married behaviour. AND TRENT IS SEEING IT ALL FIRST HAND!! I’m so excited

Oh, Ted. You’re cute. You knew exactly what they meant. You just wanted to make your wife smile. It’s okay, we get it 🥰

AND AGAIN WITH THE DEVIL BIT. Boy…

I’ll continue to say it; Nate & Jade are cute!

Fully expected her to flip them all off, not gonna lie

Omg I totally saw this coming, and yet it’s still heartbreaking 🥺

Keeley’s not stupid. She knows it’s not the board, Barbra

JUNO TEMPLE!!! 😢😢😢 (first time I got teary this episode)

Scary Mexico Dani 🤘🏼 You just know Cristo had a blast with this episode!! (Peep the guy in the back with the huge smile😂)

Slutty Ted in red with his arms out 🥵

‘It’s hard to see the ball when your eyes are full if tears’ fucking savage 😂

The Wunder Turd. Nice

Fuck Jane though

I think Trent’s next book should just be about Beard. That is an interesting man, for sure! Like, why do you need so many axes, my guy?!

Well that was awkward… but also a little sweet 🫣

‘The creepy old man that lives in the sewers’ Renee, you’ll always be famous to us

Okay, I could go on and on about this, but I think this is a great, subtle way to begin showing Rupert falling apart.

‘When they used to play by candlelight’ YES, REBECCA! FUCK THAT OLD MAN UP!! 😂

‘Some people just are t ready when they get their shot’ That is not at all what happened, Rupert

Oop she knows that’s bullshit, too

HAPPY UNCLE DAY, ROY!! 🎉🎉

Okay, I love Roy’s sister. And also the subtle call back to her actually being the doctor that treated Sharon last season 👍🏼 Nice

Of course that’s the order of Phoebe’s favourite holidays. Uncle Roy is number 1! (&2😉)

Uh oh, secrets out boys! 😂😂

How fucking cute though that Jamie gets a call (probably from Phoebe herself) inviting him to this party and he actually turns up with a really thoughtful gift 🥹 THE GROWTH IN THIS BOY IS GORGEOUS!!

Omg Eloide’s face journey in this scene is perfection. Phoebe has been grossly underused this show!

Also the cutest fucking present. She’s knows your inside is so bright and colourful, Roy! You shouldn’t hide it!

‘Your sister is fit’ ‘I will cut your eyes out’ 😂 okay, but like… I would 100% be behind these two being brother-in-laws, just saying 😂

SAM RICHARDSON!!! 😍 always a blast when he shows up!

And you just know from Toheeb himself that these scenes are a struggle to get through once Sam gets on a roll

But poor Sam, though. Edwin is such a dick

Poor Nate, too. He’s so lost right now 🥺

Yeah, Lloyd, shut up (which is what she meant to say)

Seeing her signs blocked off 🥺🥺 heartbreaking

Since when does her lady ship enter a room like that?? 😂 but I’m glad it means we get to see more physical comedy from Jeremy 👍🏼 Always a bonus!

So her order is Keeley, Ted, Sassy, Leslie and never her mother 😂 I love that actually

‘I hate to break it to you, Rebecca, but those children are dead’ made me laugh just as much as it did the first time! 😂

We love a protective Papa Higgins in this house 🥰 but boy seems traumatised by that story 😂

Oh don’t suck your tie, Leslie 🤦🏻‍♀️

So that photo has shown up on both Keeley & Ted’s phone, but whose did she take it on?? 🤔

That is a bullshit text, Jack. Absolutely no excuse. I knew I was right to not trust you from the start! 😡

‘Everything? Fuck no’ another great call back

Also hell yeah to a Keeley & Mae scene!! (Do have some thoughts about what I’ve seen some people say about this scene, though…)

Whether she’s drunk or making a joke, Keeley actually going with Mae’s full name being Maybe is genius!😂

I really need a Mae in my life. I feel like I could actually get my life in order after a conversation with this woman

Everyone not knowing what to do or how to react to him wearing this t-shirt is brilliant

(Also Red Right Hand playing over this is maybe the last little push I need to finally start Peaky Blinders once this show is done)

Beard trying to get Ted’s attention- amazing. But what was he doing on his phone that he was so focused on??

‘Okay, now I’m worried. Are you alive? Text ‘no’ if dead’ living for silly, real Rebecca! 🥰

The boys all getting together to watch all the games is beautiful 🥹 they’re all so supportive!!

Also genius work casting Colin & Ryan as the commentators for this match 👌🏼

Savage Dani!!

What are you decorating, Rebecca, that you have a ‘decorating made easy’ pdf on your laptop?? 🤔

📢 THE ARMY MAN IS BACK!! 📢

Yo, Rupert is really struggling atm, huh!

Yes I gasped when he threw it on the floor, but had no doubt he’d bake back for it!

Rebecca is a gif sender. Of course she is

Rebecca has anxiety confirmed?? 🤔

Okay this scene with little Rebecca is absolutely gorgeous!! And did make me tear up a little, not gonna lie.

(As I’ve also said, I choose to believe Paul taught her to do that when she was little)

That is going to become his new favourite t-shirt, I can see it already. Something will eventually happen to it and he’s going to be devastated!!

Again, who the fuck is Leann?! Your name is Ruth, woman! 😂 it’s times like this that fanfic really screws with you 😂

‘I teach kids. I don’t mind cleaning up a mess’ tell him like it is, RuthLeann 😂

Aannndd it’s all falling into place finally. Took your time, Roy!!

‘I like clothes that tell the truth’ BARBARA!! You juicy minx 😂 I love you, please never leave!!

I’ve absolutely loved watching these two together 🥹

She’s so awkward, maybe a little bit autistic 🤷🏻‍♀️ makes sense!

Rupert’s being nice. Makes me feel weird…

‘How could I resist the chance of having a bunch of old men speak directly to my chest?’ Don’t try so hard, man. She’s not that funny!!

His assistant is called Bread. A play on Beard perhaps?? 🤔

Okay, what has he said about Rebecca to get a reaction from her like that??

Also this is deliciously awkward. I hope it comes out that Nathan told everyone he was sleeping with his assistant, as well as others, and that’s why he left. And that Bex left him too. You must suffer

Your ex-wife is also not stupid. She knows exactly what happened with your old assistant.

He introduced her as an owner, not his ex. HE’S TRYING SO HARD!!

I’ve had this exact exchange with many an older gentleman in my time. This is too real 🤢

This man and his obsession with Chicago-style hot dogs knows no bounds! 😂

Okay, these baby pictures are cute

Sam pulling the most out of a tiny little thing is wonderful 😂 wonder how long that actually went on for??

‘An untried dream’. Eww.

So Keeley does know how to text back! 🫢

I love how they bring things in from the actors themselves, assuming this really is Nick playing

‘Is this a fucking joke?’ FUCK THEM UP, GIRLIE!!

And Sam’s face 😂

They really just said let’s surround Hannah with kids this episode, huh 😂

Love her talking to a bunch of old men like they’re children, too

Jamie wearing 24 for Sam 🥹🥹🥹 yes, I have to pause until the tears go away

Roy, your handwriting is atrocious

How dare this show make me have a feeling towards Rupert 😡

I agree with you, Edwin, what a lovely speech indeed. Rebecca, you have come so far from the bitter ex-wife who just wanted to destroy something your ex-husband loved. You truly care and love the sport and your boys now and it’s delicious to witness 🥰🥰🥰

Omg that reveal with amazing!! (Although I will say, on my first watch I though initially the food on Tony’s head was because he’d been punched 🫣😂)

Those giggles were purely Hannah & Tony

Nick is absolutely killing in this season. This scene is a great showcase of exactly how these types of families are. It’s beautiful to witness

Also shoutout to the actor playing his dad. He’s done an amazing job too!!

I’m feeling so many emotions watching this scene. Tony is showcasing beautifully exactly how charming Rupert can be. Reminiscing about old times, getting food out of her hair. Doing his ‘Rupert act’ that likely always works for him. But not with her. Not anymore. She’s the strong one now and he’s lost 🥹 Good for you, Rebecca!

She has to look now, Roy, because nobody can read your handwriting 😂

Brett & Juno kill me. His letter is just beautiful and made me tear up every time I’ve listened to it 🥹 AND HE TOLD HER HE STILL LOVES HER!! 🥰

‘Sincerely yours, Roy Kent. XOXO’ 😂😂 never change, please

They really are beautiful and I can’t wait to see them coming back together!

Keeley opening that door and screaming at Rebecca was *chefs kiss* 😂 Juno Temple, comedy queen!

And I want what they have!! I love how she can share her good news, ask for a hug, then tell her she’s cross with her friend. And her friend completely understands. It’s wonderful

Again, being accountable for you actions. Rebecca doesn’t even have to say anything to her

I’ve seen people against Rebecca funding KJPR, but I think it makes perfect sense. Rebecca has the money and she wants to do something within her means to help her friend reach her full potential. Why wouldn’t she help?!

Keely’s disgust is all of us 😂

Baby girl is finally at the top of her mountain! Now just needs her lightening 😉

I love that the salute has become Rebecca & Roy’s thing 🥰

Wilk is shocked! Bit what a beautiful gesture!

Barbara left Jack and wants to stay with Keeley, as she should! I’ve said from the beginning she knew what Jack was like, but I think the difference is she actually likes Keeley…

I THINK THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP 🩷🎉🥰

Puppy Dani is back!!

Roy wears a colour other than black (or charcoal heather grey) and Beard learns he can share bits of himself with people. Yes, we’re coming to an end, guys…

She didn’t get rid of the painting!!

Also doesn’t need saying, but how fucking gorgeous is Hannah in this scene! That dress & colour on her are delightful. She’s so fucking soft now!!

She didn’t open the biscuits right away! 👀 and she shuffled closer to Ted 👀 is this it, girls? Is it happening?? I’m not ready! What do I do?!! 🫠

The little smile after she says so no longer cares about beating Rupert 🫣 He’s so proud of her!!

The heart eyes 😍 Ted, she is still your boss! She’s not your wife yet!!

OMFG!! 😂😂 how many times do you think she had to do that before she could do it without laughing?? 😂

‘As long as none of that tree piss gets in my mouth, I’m actually okay with it’ Okay, Ted. We get it!!

Well that episode was absolutely beautiful! On so many fronts!!

I do have more thoughts about a few points which I may elaborate on at some point, but I do feel like it’s showing we’re on the home stretch now 😢

Looks like we’re getting Mumma Lasso next episode, too!! 🫣 Kinda vibrating with excitement, but at the same time telling myself not to expect too much! But she’s in Richmond so it’s only right to assume there’d be a scene between her & Rebecca, right??

Only 2 more left babes!! 🫡

#Ted Lasso #Ted Lasso Live Blogging

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becomingbts · 3 years

Text

Time heals (sometimes) - 1

Summary: 6 years ago, (Y/N) thought that she was finally taking her life into her hands, leaving behind a toxic and abusive relationship with a man who taught her she’d never be worthy of love. However, it became hard to ignore his words when she met her seven soulmates who rejected her without even giving her a chance to prove herself. It took (Y/N) 3 years to realize that it wouldn’t be her end. She would live on to prove them all wrong; she would become what they all thought she wasn’t: someone worthy of love. And as she stands proudly on the stage, under the burning spotlights and the applause and the cries of the delirious crowd, she feels alive. Alive, just like the bond she believed to be broken.

Pairings: Y/N x OT7

GENRE: Soulmate AU!, Idol Y/NAU!, semi social-media AU!, ANGST (mainly), fluff, romance, maybe smut in the series.

Ask or comment to be tagged!

1.5k

Warnings: The series is going to be heavy with a lot of personal experiences mixed into the fiction, so this is going to be kind of therapeutic for me. Please, consider not reading the series if you are not comfortable with: abandonment issues, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, self-harm (not descriptive and only part of MC’s past), suicide thoughts (in the past), toxic behavior, toxic and abusive relationship (in the past), depreciating self-talk and low self-esteem, a lot of curse, physical and mental pain, near death experience situation (in the past), and maybe smut scenes (happy ending though, but it will probably be quite the ride).

NOTE: So hello everyone, welcome to Time Heals (sometimes). Thank you so, so much for the warm welcoming, it has been my first time getting so many asks, I was honestly overjoyed. I still don’t really know what to call this part; is it a teaser? A note? A full chapter? I believe we’ll get some snapshot of memories like this one throughout the series because there is going to be a lot to unpack on both sides. I think it will be a chapter nevertheless because I have to establish some kind of order as to which parts should be read first, and I think this one is extremely important.

Thank you for reading,

-Dolly

Profiles #2 - here - part 2

Her scream pierced through the air while cries broke in the frenzied arena while a single blond-haired man froze, emptily staring at the stage. It felt like his senses heightened; his skin was shuddering, his eyes were frantically searching for one specific figure while his voice was lost in his throat. The screams resonating in the stadium would have been too loud for his voice to be heard anyway.

Jimin knew he shouldn’t be there.

Namjoon had told them more than once that none of them should try to go to one of (Y/N)’s events. It could be dangerous and they could be overwhelmed; anything could happen to them and they would still remain a nobody who fainted in the howling crowd. Would they want to take this risk? No.

So, Jimin would have had to admit that going to her very first concert in Seoul since the pandemic sounded like a very, very, very bad idea. And to be honest, it still didn’t seem to be a bright idea now that he was actually there.

But he still went because he needed to see her for himself; to see how she was. He had so many things he dreamed about asking her. Are you okay? Are you sleeping well? Did you eat before coming to the arena? Are you nervous? Do you... remember me?

Maybe he was torturing himself. He kept on watching her lives, following her on all social media, always made sure to leave a sweet comment, and never miss any of her new updates... Maybe he even had a folder of pictures of her on his phone but he’d never admit it to any of his mates. Taehyung would probably take his phone away from him and delete everything and Jimin couldn’t let that happen.

He felt like it was cheating. Don’t take him wrong though. When he thought that, he was not really thinking about the boys. They did collectively agree not to follow her activities as an artist but it was getting harder and harder with how popular she got anyway. Moon was everywhere. In commercials, on the radio, her songs were on the TV… Even if she was known for refusing most of the promotional contracts that were offered to her, her image was still constantly in the media despite her avoidance of it. Ironic, but the media were trying their best to find anything about her, be it positive or negative. One day she was seen on her bike, the next, she was in a coffee shop, and it kept on going on, overstepping on her privacy as if it was just a meaningless word.

The lockdown had admittedly played a major part in Jimin’s obsession. Being in their apartment meant quickly running out of activities, and his job as a dance teacher was not really filling his free time (a lot of his classes were also canceled). It was also during that time that (Y/N) truly blew up as an independent artist. Advertisement on YouTube started being around her channel and her music, the recommendations he kept on seeing were about also her… Jimin’s resolve honestly broke easily. It was hard not to be curious about his lost soulmate even though he didn’t feel like he had the right to be hurting.

Anyway, to come back to his main point, if Jimin felt like he was cheating; it was mostly for her. After all, (Y/N) had no means of letting the curiosity get the best of her, to know what they were doing; to simply see or contact them. He had, at first, not really thought about that. Watching her content seemed a very innocent thing to do in his opinion; billions of people were watching her content, why should he prevent himself from doing so? Yet, Jimin could still remember one of her live she did soon after that interview she had given on this damned radio show where she had revealed who her title track ‘TIME’ was about… She had gone live the next day-Jimin had jumped on his phone because of the notification-and one fan had asked her what would she do if she knew that her ‘ex-soulmates’ (and those words left a very sour taste in Jimin’s mind) were watching her. The question had silenced a previously restless Jimin, replacing his initial excitation with dread while a lump formed itself in his throat. He had not even noticed it; he was so focused on her live and her upcoming answer that Jimin had completely missed the sound of a glass breaking in the apartment. Jimin had been home alone, so even if had indeed heard it, he probably wouldn’t have bothered to check what had happened, thinking that the wind knocked it over or something. Jimin had been so absorbed by what he had been watching that he even got surprised a few hours later when Seokjin came home and yelled at him for breaking something when he had been clearly innocent, engrossed in (Y/N)’s live (not that he could tell his soulmates about that part, but yeah). (Y/N)’s live would always be more important than some random glass breaking again in their apartment. Every object was doomed with Namjoon living here anyway.

On her side of the screen though, (Y/N) had seemed taken aback as she had read the question and had gritted her teeth gently. She had seemed to be pondering about her answer even though a lot of people in her chat were telling her to forget about the question if it made her uncomfortable (a lot were even scolding the person who asked). Yet, sighing softly, she had looked up at the screen:

“I’d appreciate it if you could refrain from asking questions on this topic. It’s not taboo but I’d rather not remember everything that comes with it. However, to answer this-hopefully-last question about it, I’d ask them to turn off my stream and to stop watching any of my content. It would only be fair after all. I’ve been denied access to their lives six years ago, why would they get a free pass into mine now?” She had not smiled nor had she seemed hurt by her own comment, yet Jimin’s heart had shattered in pieces, unable to press the cancel button.

Her voice had slowly faded into background noise while her words had been stuck in his head.

I’d ask them to turn off my stream and to stop watching any of my content.

How could Jimin ever do that? He realized that he truly should. Namjoon would even agree with you, as ironic as it sounded for Jimin. Namjoon had been one of the most adamant ones about rejecting your bond, after all. Jimin was shaking with bitterness while ‘Moon’ continued her stream peacefully with music. Jimin could only try to gulp his anger down as he remembered her crumbling features on that fateful day.

“You’re not our soulmates. This name on our arms means nothing to us. You are nothing to us if not a hindrance. Leave us alone.”

If Jimin could go back in time, he’d prevent Taehyung from spatting those words at her. Yet, he couldn’t do anything. Playing the scene over and over in his mind wouldn’t change anything. It wouldn’t change that she probably hated them. It wouldn’t change the song she made about them.

And worst of all, it wouldn’t change the fact that Jimin had let himself believe that their choice had been for the best, trying to console and reassure himself, even if he had already known that it was wrong. Tears were pooling up in his eyes even if none escaped as he finally caught a glimpse of her on the stage. Suddenly brought back to reality after his subconscious memory trip, Jimin finally connected back to the world, looking around while he was still frozen on his spot. People were still screaming around him and he wondered if he looked like an intruder. Because, after all, wasn’t that what he exactly was? She said it herself that she didn’t wish for them to watch her; so what was he doing here?

Jimin couldn’t help but stare; she looked ethereal, dressed like a queen in the middle of a sold-out arena. People were screaming her name as she yelled her infamous ‘hi people’. It was an opening sentence that Jimin heard way too many times in her vlogs and suddenly hearing it in real life seemed surreal.

Jimin could only watch in awe, entranced with her everything.

Screw the boys and what they would think once he’d be back from her concert.

He had been the one to find her six years ago anyway. He had been the one to bring her to their home six years ago, hoping for the boys to change their mind once they’d meet her.

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Uploaded : 09/04/2021

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celestialarchon · 3 years

Text

Celebrating 600+ Followers

i can’t believe i’m writing another celebration post less than two days after my first

this has been rotting in my head all day and might become a series in the future

Genshin Impact x F!Reader | Modernish AU | warning: it’s cute!

“I hope you don’t mind, we gave you a student teacher as well. It’s only fair since you were given the most troublesome class,” Headmistress Ping smiled at you warmly.

“Ah,” You nodded, “Thats fine.”

The elder woman patted your back, “Genshin Academy is truly lucky to have you. Your track record is impressive and you have an extremely rare vision. I think you’ll get along fairly well with Mr. Aether, he’s a good kid.”

You smiled at her, honored by her words. Genshin Academy, the elite and prestigious school, had taken you as a teacher. The education system was impressive and diverse, teaching elementary to college aged students. You were given the first year elementary school students and now a student teacher as well. No matter how troublesome the class may be, having assistance would be appreciated. If it didn’t, the extraordinary pay would make up for any issues you had.

The older woman walked you to the doors of the building and then left you to prepare yourself. Clutching your class roster, you stepped in and made your way to your classroom. When you entered your room, you were greeted by a young blonde man. He introduced himself as your assistant teacher and made some small talk before leaving you to prepare for the day. You appreciated his thoughtfulness as you tidied the room up a bit, smiling at your class pet, Dvalin.

Soon enough, the children poured in and greeted each other and you. Aether returned to the room, beaming at each child. You took attendance, ticking off each name as they all answered. Qiqi, Teucer, Klee, and Diona seemed to be the most lively of them all. They were also marked with asterisks as the worst “troublemakers” but so far things were running smoothly.

“Welcome, my name is Miss Bright,” You beamed at the children, “Let’s have a good year, okay?”

“Wow, you’re very pretty Miss Bright!” An energetic Teucer exclaimed.

Klee squealed, “I’m so excited!”

Diona scoffed and Qiqi nodded in agreement. You went through the motions, following your detailed curriculum perfectly. There were two separate general subjects, academics and control. One was simple enough, teaching the kids by the book. The other was all about assisting your students in controlling and growing their abilities as vision users.

By the end of the day you were exhausted. Soon enough the week flew by. As Friday came, you were exhausted. Most people had made these kids out to be terrible and mischievous, and in some ways they were. Yet, you had already grown very fond of all of them. They were much more tame than you had expected, save for some explosions and outbursts. Now you were stuck as some of the children were late being picked up.

“I hope my big brother gets a girlfriend like Miss Bright. She’s so nice and pretty.” You overheard Teucer whisper to the last three kids.

“Oh yeah!” Klee’s whispers weren’t whispers at all, “She’s like a princess. My brother is a prince. I wish he’d marry Miss Bright.”

“Tch,” Diona intervened, “Honestly, I wish Miss Bright had adopted me instead of that annoying man at home.”

“Qiqi thinks Xiao and Zhongli would like Miss Bright a lot.”

You giggled at their words, they were too sweet. Aether chuckled overhearing them as well and waving you off.

“Go finish up your paperwork, I’ll take care of them.” The cheerful blonde nearly pushed you out the door.

You sighed and made your way to the office up front. Paperwork was such a drag, not nearly as fun as over hearing those brats gossiping. The paperwork ended up taking up the rest of your time. By the time you were done you wanted to scream. As you left the office, a handful of coworkers approached you and invited you out. No was not an option as they insisted you let them treat you.

You were exhausted as they led you to their favorite bar. Aether followed like a lost puppy and you sighed.

“You can’t drink can you?” You questioned him.

“Ahhh,” Aether started but was interrupted.

“It’s fine! I know the owner. He doesn’t have to drink he can just babysit us.” Venti exclaimed.

Poor Aether couldn’t get out of it either. Once you entered the bar, things blurred. Immediately, your coworkers bought you many drinks. Venti was especially aggressive about drinking. The short music teacher was babbling to an extremely handsome bartender with vibrant red hair.

The scarlet haired man seemed to be a bit annoyed by the drunken chaos ensuing. Amber was giggling crazily and the school nurse, Baizhu had cornered a tall man with amber eyes, and Ganyu was petting you. Aether was awkwardly fidgeting, stone cold sober. Eventually, your poor student teacher ended up having to call a cab and carry you home. He was forced to try and navigate to your cozy apartment by unlocking your phone with your drunken face. It took way too many attempts.

You awoke the next day with a pounding headache and over a hundred notifications. The night was still a blur so you proceeded to try and take care of yourself. Aether was kind enough to go out and buy you some pain medicine and left it on your counter with your keys. It was embarrassing how you couldn’t find any memories of your adventures in liquor.

The weekend flew by until Sunday night came and your phone buzzed. You looked down and horror filled your body. Tomorrow was parent conferences. It wasn’t mandatory for parents but encouraged. Suddenly, you were tearing through your apartment trying to prepare for the upcoming doom.

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Before you knew it, parent conferences were upon you. Aether wasn’t attending because it wasn’t mandatory and you insisted he go home and rest. He had done so much for you already, you didn’t want him to suffer through it with you. You looked up as somebody knocked on your class door and opened it to see two beautiful blondes.

“Hello, is this Miss Bright’s room?” The woman’s blue eyes met yours.

“Yes,” You held your hand out, “Hello, I’m Miss Bright.”

The woman shook your hand, “I am Jean, Klee’s guardian. This is her older brother Albedo.”

The young man’s beautiful eyes bore into you as he shook your hand. You stepped aside and gestured to the tables in your room. The two took their seats and almost immediately a tall red haired man sauntered up to you.

“Hello!” His tone was cheerful, “I’m Childe, Teucer’s older brother!”

“A pleasure to meet you, Childe. I am Miss Bright.”

“Ah,” a crooked smile formed on his lips, “The pleasure is all mine. You are just as beautiful as Teucer claimed.”

You blushed and laughed nervously, but before you could answer he was shoved into your room. He turned to glare at the two dark haired men in the doorway. Huffing, he found his way to a table and sat.

“So annoying.” The shorter of the two men scowled.

The taller one sighed, “Hello, Miss Bright. My name is Zhongli, and this is my cousin Xiao. We are Qiqi’s foster family.”

Xiao stomped past you, Zhongli followed him quickly. You didn’t have time to introduce yourself to either of them before they sat down.

“How rude,” A smooth voice came from your door.

Two men stood there, a tan man with dark hair and a very familiar red head. Internally, you groaned at the sight of the bartender. It was going to be a long conference wasn’t it? You were glad you had organized your agenda so well.

“Diluc. Guardian of Diona, and this is my brother Kaeya.” The redhead said almost sternly.

He strolled through the doorway to sit at a table, all four families spread out. Kaeya winked at you and followed his brother. Now you were sure the night would be long.

No other families came, and you were left alone with the strange bunch. In the back of your mind, you were thinking of your roster and the asterisks. The irony in all of it was that the troublemaker’s parents were the only ones who showed. The room was quiet, families only talking among themselves. You cleared your throat and introduced yourself once more, starting in to your very planned speech.

A short time had passed but it felt like years to you. You felt incredibly awkward but continued on. Childe raised his hand which nearly made you laugh but you contained your amusement and paused.

“Yes?” You called out to him.

The lanky man smirked, “I’m sorry but what sort of vision do you use?”

“I will address that later on.” Your voice was kind but also stern.

This response earned several looks from the families listening. All of a sudden, their full attention was on you. The change of atmosphere had put you on edge. You tried to continue on but Childe stood abruptly.

“That’s an interesting response.” He chuckled.

“Tartaglia!” Jean intervened, “Thats enough.”

Kaeya kicked his feet up on the table, “You can’t say you’re not curious though, right? It’s only natural we want to know. This school has just as much focus on vision skills as academic skills.”

You were beginning to grow irritated. The children were more respectful than the adults. Composing yourself, you sighed. Nobody denied Kaeya’s words, although Zhongli and Jean seemed to disapprove of the attitude.

“As i said before i will-“ you were interrupted again by an arrow of water, you easily side stepped it.

Jean stood, sword in hand and glared at Childe. Diluc shoved his brother’s feet off the table and scowled. Albedo yawned while Xiao clicked his tongue. Zhongli merely observed the scene. Childe cackled at Jean which only angered her more as she dove at him.

You opened your mouth to say something but were forced to dodge a cold sword. Kaeya grinned at you but was yanked back by Zhongli. The room was in utter chaos. You gritted your teeth and once more tried to remain calm. Another arrow narrowly missed your ear and you felt yourself become enraged. Kaeya dodged Zhongli and thrust his sword at you but was stopped by a sharp pillar of light.

“That’s enough.” Your voice was cold as you used your own weapon to shove the pushy cryo wielder away from you.

As if by magic, suddenly everyone stopped to stare at you. Quickly, they sat down. Albedo’s eyes were alert now, he was suddenly interested in every word you had to say. Even Xiao seemed to have a better attitude.

You continued your speech without any further interruptions. Finally, the end was in sight.

“And to answer your earlier question,” You pushed your hair back behind your ear to reveal your vision on an earring, “I am a light wielder. I will not take any questions on it. Have a wonderful night and thank you for coming.”

You turned and exited your classroom quickly as murmurs spread across the room. Light visions were only gifted to those who were recognized by multiple gods. Light was a strange element that could mold itself and change to take shape of different elements, although it wasn’t perfect. Elemental mastery took a lot of time and the light could only bend to your will for short periods of time. Using light as anything other than itself could backfire easily. Ontop of the many complications, attaining a light vision meant going through a crisis so terrible that multiple gods had to intervene. It was a blessing and a curse.

As you headed home, shivers ran down your back. You couldn’t help but feel that you were being watched or followed. You shook it off and returned home. It was just paranoid thoughts after a rough night.

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After the conference, you seemed to be plagued by the families. Outside of work you ran into them constantly. It was nerve wracking.

“Miss Bright, Teucer loves you so much. He’d love to see you on the weekend. We could get lunch and then have a play date with him. What do ya say?” Childe grinned at you as you exited your classroom.

“Sorry, sir” An arm slid around your shoulders, “But i’m afraid she has plans for this weekend.”

You looked up to see the school librarian with a tight smile. Lisa was so kind, saving you from his shameless flirting. Although, she often seemed to flirt with you as well. You couldn’t really tell if she was being nice or flirting though.

He scowled and turned. Lisa laughed and squeezed you tighter. She escorted you out of the building, telling you about the new books the library had just received. Her eyes twinkled as you laughed at her puns and asked her questions about being a librarian.

“Excuse me,” A deep voice said “May I have a moment of Miss Bright’s time?”

You turned to see Zhongli, one of the only reasonable guardians you’d met. So far you’d not seen him after the meeting so you felt safer around him. Even Jean had appeared before you several times, though it didn’t seem intentional. You weren’t entirely sure but you’d swore you’d even seen Xiao lurking around when you were out.

“Of course,” You waved Lisa off.

She frowned and kissed your cheek before sauntering off. Zhongli raised his eyebrows as you laughed, clearly embarrassed. The nerve of that woman sometimes.

“Sorry, she’s a friend but she’s very affectionate,” you apologized quickly.

“Hm,” Zhongli nodded and stared at you intently, “I’m sorry to bother you but is there a way I could schedule another meeting with you? I would like to hear about Qiqi’s progress.”

Your heart nearly melted. He was so kind and it was refreshing.

“Of course! How about this weekend?” You beamed at him.

The two of you scheduled a conference lunch and parted ways. From afar, Diluc grimaced. He was curious about Diona’s behavior in school. She was a very moody child. Furthermore, he was curious about you. Kaeya had also pestered you for a date so the scarlet haired man was trying to find the right time to ask you. He didn’t want to come off the way he was sure Kaeya did.

“I would also like to attend the meeting.” Xiao announced to Zhongli once he got into the car.

“Too bad,” Zhongli chuckled “It’s one on one, you’ll have to schedule your own.”

Xiao huffed at his words. He disliked the idea of the two of you doing anything one on one. He couldn’t decide whether he was jealous of you or Zhongli. He decided it was you, since both Qiqi and Zhongli seemed to be infatuated with you. He clicked his tongue, Zhongli merely smiled, and Qiqi demanded coco goat milk.

“Does she like science?” Albedo questioned Klee.

“Miss Bright likes a lot of things I think.” Klee said, ice cream smeared on her face.

“I want to know more.” Albedo stated.

Klee grinned, “More ice cream?”

Albedo nodded, only hoping Jean wouldn’t catch them.

This new job had many opportunities open up for you. With so many people in pursuit of you, who would you choose?

#genshin impact #genshin impact xiao #genshin x reader #xiao x reader #genshin impact imagines #albedo x reader #jean x reader #genshin impact zhongli #zhongli x reader #master diluc #diluc x reader #kaeya x reader #genshin lisa #genshin liyue #genshin mondstadt

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aperrywilliams · 3 years

Text

Pour Some Sugar On… Me? (Spencer Reid x Fem!BAU!Reader)

(Not my gif!)

Masterlist

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Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!BAU!Reader.

Summary: What if Reader and Spencer want to try something new in bed?

Word Count: 6522.

Warnings: Smut (NSWF); 18+ (please respect that!). Sexual talk. Fingering. Oral (male/female). Spanking. Penetrative and unprotected sex. Food play.

A/N: This fic was written to my dear friend @spencers-dria in the 3rd Fic-Swap from @imagining-in-the-margins Discord Server. For reference, the song alluded here is this one.

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Days off are a blessing and a curiosity in your job. It's not that you hate it; on the contrary, you couldn't be happier doing what you do, but there are times when you need to take a break. Working at the BAU is something you always dreamed of, and once you got it, you were still willing to give your 100%. But the last few months have been intense and stressful. So having a day off was welcome. Most welcome if you could spend time with your now-boyfriend Spencer. Wow, how weird that feels to you. After working at the BAU for almost five years with Spencer, it was only four months ago that you dared to confess your feelings for him. To your delight, he also admitted that he had feelings for you. Of course, the whole team already knew that, except for you two. But hey, as they say, better late than never, right?

The first date was almost dreamy. Like a real gentleman, he picked you up at your apartment. He took you to dinner in a nice and quiet place where you both could talk. You guys had a lovely time chatting and laughing at how blind both of you were for so many years being friends and not admitting that you liked each other. At the end of the date, at the door of your apartment, you saw how nervous he was, and you took your chance: you kissed him first. After that, things flowed the way you always wanted them to. Spencer was the most caring, loving, and amazing boyfriend you've ever had. All of your previous relationships didn't even compare to this. You were sure you loved Spencer, but neither of you dared to say the three words until the first time you both had sex. It took you longer than people say. You guys didn't do it after the fourth date or the fifth. It was after a case. At that time, you had already been dating for almost two months.

It had been a difficult case. It took more than eight days to find the unsub. The entire team made superhuman efforts to identify and catch the killer. But you were one of the most affected because the case was in your hometown. You knew some of the victims or their families. That had you on the brink of collapse, but you managed to stay focused, and it was even you who managed to connect the dots and arrest the unsub. All the case tension showed in you when you guys flew back to Virginia, and you burst into tears.

Spencer was the one who sat next to you and hugged you, holding you in his arms throughout the flight. Whispering words of reassurance to you and stroking your hair and back. That night you asked him if he could stay with you. You didn't know if you were okay enough to be alone. He, of course, accepted. Neither of you both was thinking about anything other than being with each other. Still, the kisses on the forehead became kisses on the cheek, then kisses on the lips, neck, collarbone... that's when the three words came out.

"You're the bravest woman I know. You're the best in your job, you care about people. I'll never stop to amaze by that quality of you. I love you, (Y/N)," Spencer whispered, his lips brushing yours. And maybe you kissed him for the first time, but he was who said to you 'I love you' for the first time, and you lost your mind.

You said it back almost instantly, throwing yourself into his arms to kiss him and repeat those three words over and over again. You got up from the couch and took his hand, guiding him to your bedroom. That first time was slow, loving, gentle. It was the living definition of 'making love.' It was unique, and you never felt more loved in your life.

Spencer could agree with you on that. He always told you that accepting the fact he wasn't a man with a lot of experience in sex, he felt that time was the first time he knew what it was like to make love and not just fuck someone. Maybe he didn't use those identical words, but it was basically what he meant.

After that first time, many followed. And saying 'many' may even be an understatement. Not long after, you realized that Spencer was always eager to touch you and to have sex with you every time he could. It wasn't something that bothered you, quite the opposite.

Sex with him was always great. He always cared to satisfy you and make you come before him at least once or twice. Even when the time was limited, Spencer never allowed himself to leave you without an orgasm.

Thinking about that, there was something about that passion on him that led you to wonder what the limits would be for Spencer in bed - if he really had them. Sure, everyone might have thought that sex with Spencer was mostly vanilla and innocent - if the word 'sex' and 'innocent' were allowed to be put in the same sentence. But something inside told you that he could be into other things, that he maybe could be into experimentation in bed. You didn't know if Spencer could be a kinky guy. He never talked about that. But you could feel that maybe he had something like that in him. You promised yourself to find out.

But that afternoon of your day off, you weren't exactly thinking about that. Instead, you were focused on replicating a recipe that Rossi had shared with you last week. The last time you went to his house for dinner, you fell in love with the dish he made on that occasion. Spencer had offered you to call for some take-out instead of cooking, but you were hell-bent on replicating Rossi's recipe.

While you were cooking, Spencer was in the living room reading a book. He had offered you help, but you decided against it. You'd rather make a mess in the kitchen without him seeing you, and besides, he had the right to spend his afternoon off without having to cook.

You liked to cook. You didn't do it frequently for lack of time. And because you weren't a very efficient person at cooking: you always used more utensils than necessary, spilling as much as could be spilled on the floor and on the counters. That meant every time you embarked on something in the kitchen, you had to spend a lot of time cleaning everything afterward. But it was your day off, so it didn't matter. Thus you connected your phone to the speaker you had in the kitchen, put on your favorite playlist, and got to work.

You lost track of time when you realized you were almost ready. Tasting the sauce at its temperature and flavor, you were satisfied with the result. So satisfied that you started dancing and singing as you began the arduous task of cleaning up your mess. Coincidentally, one of your favorite songs started on your playlist. That encouraged you to dance and sing more animatedly.

You have always been quite eclectic for your musical tastes, but you can't deny that your guilty pleasure was the '80 glam. Which you have only allowed yourself to enjoy in the privacy of your home, doing tasks as domestic as cleaning the kitchen, in this case. The best part of the song was playing, and you couldn't help but pick up the broomstick to dance around it.

[You got the peaches, I got the cream.

Sweet to taste, saccharine.

'Cause I'm hot - hot, say what, sticky sweet

From my head -head, my head, to my feet

Do you take sugar? One lump or two?

Take a bottle - take a bottle - shake it up - shake it up -

Break the bubble - break it up - break it up

Pour some sugar on me.

Ooh, in the name of love.

Pour some sugar on me.

C'mon, fire me up...]

Singing wasn't enough, so you didn't save energy to put a show dancing into the music's rhythm. You were at it when you turned around and saw Spencer watching you from the kitchen entrance. The blush rose to your cheeks immediately, you stopped dancing and singing, but you still didn't let go of the broomstick.

Spencer stood up from the couch because he wanted to check on how you were doing and if you needed any help. He could hear the music and how you sang, but he didn't think he would find you dancing using a broomstick as a pole. Because that's what you were doing, an authentic pole dance in the kitchen.

Moving your hips sensually, up and down, with sweat running down your body. Your wet shirt clinging to your body accentuating your nipples - because, of course, you weren't going to wear a bra on your day off. The scene itself made Spencer freeze staring at you. Worse yet, when you added the music to the stage, it brought Spencer into the hot dimension. He could feel beads of sweat accumulating on his forehead and how his lower half began to reveal a particular need for attention.

"Spencer, oh my God. I didn't see you here," you apologized. But he didn't say anything or moved from where he was. Because undoubtedly he was lost in thoughts. About what? Well, not of you sexy dancing in the kitchen. Not him imagining you dancing naked in front of him. Not him imagining you naked over the kitchen's counter whit spread legs. No, he wasn't thinking about how your body could taste with sugar on it.

"Spencer?" you repeated.

Shit. What's that? Someone is calling his name. Oh yeah. You.

"Uhm?" he barely replied.

"Something is wrong?" you asked hesitantly. You didn't know if Spencer was shocked in a bad way.

"Uh- no. Everything is okay..." Spencer assured you.

"You zoned out, you sure are you okay?" you insisted.

"Yeah. Perfect. More than okay," Spencer said, trying to regain some composure.

"Did you want to ask me something?"

"Oh. I - just if you needed help," Spencer offered, remembering why he was there in the first place.

"No baby, I'm okay. Thank you. I'm sorry for the show by the way," you stated with a grimace and a blush in your cheeks.

"What?"

"I'm not a good dancer as you could see," you joked. He smiled and looked at you from head to toe.

"I wouldn't say that... I wouldn't say that at all," he stated with a minimal perceptible smirk. You took his response as a cue to relax.

"Okay, well. I'm done with dinner and cleaning. I think I need a shower now. Could you set everything in the dining table?" you asked.

"Sure," he replied. You passed by his side, stole a peck from him, and headed to the bathroom.

Spencer stood in the kitchen doorway for a few more seconds before reacting. His mind wandered into the world of possibilities of things he could and want to do to you. His erection agreed with each and every one of them. He was amazed at himself at the things that went through his mind. Not that he has never thought of 'different' things to do in bed, but he had never been motivated enough or found a partner to do them. Maybe you were the one for that. Why not? Spencer promised to test waters with you when he got the chance, but for now, what he was clear about was that he wanted to fuck you hard after dinner.

Not only were you satisfied with the result of the dinner. Spencer congratulated you for replicating Rossi's recipe so well, even giving it your own special touch.

After the dishes, you both sat on the couch to watch TV. But Spencer was distracted enough to pay attention. You were curled up next to him with your arms around his torso. He had an arm around your neck, stroking your arm. Slowly he began to kiss your head while his free hand caressed your cheek. You raised your head to look at him and found his eyes fixed on you. You smiled at him, and he leaned to kiss you. You kissed him back. As the seconds passed, the kiss became more intense and passionate. Without thinking twice, you changed position to straddle him. Thus you guys started a making-out session. You could feel Spencer's eagerness matching with your own. That intensity transformed into moans and dancing hands on both of you.

"God (Y/N), you feel so good," he whispered in your ear.

"Uhm. You too, Spencer. So so good... so so sweet," you added.

Spencer couldn't help but bring to mind the moment he saw you dancing in the kitchen.

"Like sugar..." he mumbled in your neck, grabbing your ass with both hands.

"Sticky sweet..." you said offhand, grinding your hips forward, looking for some kind of friction.

Your intention was not to bring the song you were listening to previously. Still, it was in your unconscious and apparently, in Spencer's too, because when the words left your mouth, he emitted the deepest groan you have heard from him in a long time.

"Oh, you liked that, uh?," you teased. Spencer nodded.

"Yeah... that show of yours in the kitchen did something in me," he confessed.

"Uhmm... and you think you would like to try something like that?" you probed, biting his earlobe.

"Try what?" Spencer replied, massaging your breasts over your shirt.

"Pouring some sweet on me?... and taste me?" you asked, and another groan left Spencer's throat.

"Yes. Yes. Surely yes," Spencer hastened to reply with his lips nibbling your collarbone. You smirked. Spencer Reid was showing the experimental side that you wanted.

You were about to suggest the first experimental activity when both of your phones started ringing at the same time. That only meant one thing: a new case. A growl of frustration came from both of you. Spencer looked at you with longing eyes, and you could only shrug.

"We'll have to put this on standby until we get back," you said after a sigh, pecking his lips.

"Okay, but I need a quick cold shower anyway," Spencer replied. You agreed.

The case took the team to Alabama. You and Spencer sat apart on the jet, both of you still feeling frustrated by the sudden interruption.

You tried to focus on the case and managed to do so. However, Spencer had a harder time doing it. Not that he was repeatedly thinking of you, imagining you naked in your bed, inviting him to taste your sweet body. Of course not. Damn, these days would be torture for him.

One of the first things you guys noticed once you got off the jet was the infuriating heat in the area. It was summer, and the town where you landed seemed to be the driest in the region.

Worse was realizing that the air conditioning was under repair at the police station. The entire team in a room trying to focus on the case, trying not to think about the place's heat.

"How uncomfortable! I feel so sticky and we haven't even been here four hours," you complained at one point. It was just you, Spencer, and Emily in the meeting room, going through files.

"Yeah, this heat barely allow to work," Emily agreed.

"Indeed, I'm sweating as I were in a sauna," you added. When you looked at Spencer to ask his opinion, you saw him flustered, with pink cheeks. You frowned, but you didn't want to say anything to him. His eyes barely met yours.

In Spencer's mind, only one verse was repeated over and over: 'Cause I'm hot - hot, say what, sticky sweet. From my head - head, my head, to my feet'. 'Fuck' he thought when he realized where his brain had gone. That was one of the moments where Spencer Reid hated his eidetic memory. He roamed your body with his eyes in the most subtle way he could. Spencer fixated on the sweat running down your forehead and down in your throat. That clearly wasn't helping the erection that began to show under his slacks.

By the second day, you guys had barely managed to get a few clues to locate the unsub. The good thing was that at least the air conditioning was fixed. You were with Morgan and Spencer in the meeting room. At the same time, Spencer wrote something on the board to illustrate a mathematical formula. Suddenly the marker stopped writing.

"What...?" Spencer wondered in frustration, looking at the marker.

"Baby, shake it up," you suggested. Spencer turned to face you, mouth agape.

"What?" he asked. Again you could see his cheeks all flushed.

"The marker. You need to shake it up," you replied. Morgan furrowed. He didn't know why Spencer was suddenly so nervous. But you started to find it out, and the thought made you smirk.

In Spencer's mind, another verse was repeated again: 'Shake it up. Break the bubble - break it up.' Along with that, he could see you in your apartment's kitchen, lowering your butt to the floor and moving you sensually. His mind went beyond, and he remembered the first time you gave him a handjob. Spencer froze when he saw Morgan and you looking at him. Then he turned, shook the marker, and kept writing. Jeez, what's wrong with me? he thought.

By the third day, you guys had already managed to deliver the profile and were in search for the unsub. After a round of interviews, you were in the station's kitchen making yourself a coffee. Spencer arrived with the same goal, apparently. He smiled at you, moving his mug in your direction since you had the pot in your hand. You put the precious liquid in his cup and left the coffee pot in its place. Spencer was adding his usual unhealthy amount of sugar to his coffee, and you couldn't help but make a comment to teasing him.

"Do you take sugar? One lump or two?" you teased. Spencer's eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he recognized the verse coming out of your mouth. You couldn't help but laugh, confirming your theory. Spencer was about to say something when Hotch came into the kitchen to put coffee in his mug as well.

"Are you two okay?" Hotch asked. You nodded yet chuckling. Spencer just nodded, focusing on his coffee.

You took the cream and put some into your coffee. Before you put it on the counter, you made the last move to finish off Spencer.

"Oh, sorry. I got the cream, do you want some? This one is so sweet to taste," you offered. And Spencer gave you a look that could have knocked you down right away.

If another day had passed, Spencer would surely lose his mind. Fortunately, on the fourth day, you guys managed to arrest the unsub and fly back to Virginia that afternoon.

You arrived at the BAU almost at dinner time. You hadn't had a chance to tease Spencer that day, and you thought it was for the best because as soon as you grabbed your things to go to the elevator, Spencer followed you from behind. You both entered the elevator without anyone else from the team. As soon as the doors closed, Spencer's lips were on yours, kissing you like he imagined doing it for the past four days.

"Tonight we are not going to cook, we are going to order take out, but after catching up, understood?" he clarified. You only nodded, feeling the heat between your legs.

As soon as the door to your apartment closed, Spencer dropped his go-bag and cupped your cheeks to begin kissing you. Almost as passionately as in the elevator. You moaned and dropped your go-bag as well. Your arms around his neck bringing him as close to your body as possible. Spencer began to kiss your neck while his hands danced between your sides and your hips.

You would have accepted that Spencer to fuck you in that moment and place, but you had an idea in mind and wanted to put it to test, no matter how eager both of you were at that minute.

"Baby, wait," you breathed out. Spencer stopped and looked at you with concern.

"What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?" He panted.

"No, no. Quite the opposite, but... I need you to ask you to wait a moment, okay?, could you do that for me?" you asked. Spencer let out a sigh.

"To wait?, yeah. I can do that. But, are you okay?" Spencer asked again.

"Yeah. I promise you this will worth it," you replied, pecking his lips and heading to the kitchen. Spencer looked at you confused, but he didn't say anything. He sat down on the couch, waiting for you.

You took your time, and Spencer started to worry, but you called him from your bedroom before he could ask something.

"Baby, can you come to help me?" you asked. Spencer stood up from the couch and walked towards your bedroom. The door was ajar, and he pushed it open. He wasn't ready for what his eyes found. Oh boy, he wasn't prepared. Or maybe he was. Too much prepared, you could tell: four days prepared.

You were lying in bed, your body barely covered in matching black lace. And even 'barely' could be too much. But to Spencer, that wasn't a problem at all. He enjoyed every time you took your time to surprise him with those details. He scanned all your body at the dim light of the bedroom.

"Wow... (Y/N). I thought - I, you... needed help?" Spencer stuttered. He couldn't move from his spot in the bedroom entrance. You smiled and played along.

"Yes. I do, actually. You can come closer?" you asked flirtatiously.

"Yeah. Yes. Of course," Spencer replied, taking a step forward, feeling his heart pumping hard. That wasn't the only thing he wanted to pump hard, though.

"Would you help me with something here?"

"Any- anything." You grinned at your accomplishment: Spencer in awe and speechless. So you pointed to a white bowl with honey in the nightstand. Spencer tilted his head.

"Would you... pour some sugar on... me?" You kept your voice seductive.

And... he lost it. His brain stopped working. All his bloodstream focused on that part of his body that wouldn't stop shrieking until its complete satisfaction. Like a small computer, his remained neurons only could process a simple string of commands: clothes off/ jump to the bed/ taste you / eat you / fuck you. Simple.

The first command was successfully completed in no time. You never saw Spencer peeling off his clothes so fast before. You couldn't deny how much his eagerness turned you on. You felt your wetness coating your panties. So warm. So hot. You didn't know if you would be capable of ending this foreplay without coming. But, who cares anyway? You surely would enjoy this.

Spencer was kneeling in front of you on the bed. You didn't think twice and started putting on a show. Still making eye contact with him, one of your hands took the bowl from the nightstand. You put two fingers into the bowl and took out a little amount of honey, which began to drain through your fingers. You slowly brought those two fingers to your mouth and started to suck the honey from them. A moan of satisfaction came from your throat at the sweetness. But what really made you lose your mind was seeing how Spencer, with his lips parted, licked them with his own tongue without taking his eyes off you. Another thing that worked perfectly as motivation for you was seeing his hard cock twitching at the sight of you. What a confidence boost.

When you finished cleaning all the honey from your fingers, you repeated the same. Putting two fingers inside the bowl, removing a little of its content, but now you offered the delicious treat to your excited boyfriend.

"Do you want to taste it, doctor?"

Spencer couldn't release any word but nodded and leaned, catching your sweet fingers with his mouth. Both of you leaving scape a deep moan when Spencer started to suck your fingers to remove all the honey from them. You closed your eyes, feeling his hot tongue around your fingers.

When there was nothing left to remove, Spencer's mouth released your fingers in search of your lips. When his lips found yours, he began to kiss you as if the world was going to end. It was a passionate, lustful kiss. You moaned into the kiss. He took the chance, and his tongue started exploring your mouth. The taste of honey on him was intoxicating.

When both parted for some air, you opened your eyes to see Spencer looking at you as you were the most gorgeous and sexy woman on earth. Well, you were for him. You blushed a little, his gaze was intense, and he hardly blinked. Spencer leaned to kiss you again, and when you parted, the only words that came from his mouth were...

"Did - did you know honey is associated with love and sex in both the Bible and the Karma Sutra? At traditional Indian weddings, the groom is often offered honey to boost his stamina," Spencer explained. He reached your cheek with one of his hands and stroking it. His lips latched in your neck. You chuckled mischievously.

"Well, it's good to know that. But I was thinking of using it in another way, you know?" you coyly stated. Spencer parted and saw you, smirking as well.

"Oh yeah?" You nodded as you get some honey from the bowl and spread it slowly onto your stomach. You took some more and smeared it in the column of your throat. You left the bowl on the nightstand and beckoning to Spencer to step closer.

"Do you want to taste it, doctor?"

"Oh God, yes," he hastened to reply. His hands roaming your legs.

"Then taste it, all of it," you invited.

Just a second took Spencer latching his mouth on your stomach. He started sucking and licking the honey from your body. His hands grabbing your hips and yours tugging his hair.

"You taste so good," he said, muffling his words on your skin. "I thought about this all-time we were in Alabama," he confessed.

"Did you? What did you think about? Tell me..." You asked. Spencer now nibbling and licking the column of your throat. A load moan escaped your mouth, feeling Spencer's hot tongue against your skin, moving to your neck. That sweet spot that drives you crazy.

"I thought about kissing your soft skin, about brushing you with my tongue, about... the sounds you do when I touch you, and you're aroused," you let out a moan, and Spencer smirked in your neck.

"Yes, those moans that I love so much. I thought about your breasts. God, your breasts..." he muttered as one of his hands unclasped your bra, taken and tossing it to the side. With your breasts on display, his mouth moved from your neck to the south. Before stopping in your bosoms, Spencer reached the bowl with honey, grabbing some with his fingers, and smeared it in your nipples. The substance was cold, and you hissed a little.

"Easy love, I'll take care of it," he said. His voice low and sexy. God, you sometimes had a hard time trying to understand that the shy guy you pinned for years was so hot in bed. You don't complain, though. You love it.

Spencer put his fingers in your mouth, and you wasted no time sucking them. He let out a groan of satisfaction and clasped his lips in one of your nipples, swirling it with his tongue and flicking the nub up and down, removing all the honey from them. You let out a howl, muffled with Spencer's fingers in your mouth, pressing your tongue.

"Fuck (Y/N), you indeed taste so sweet," he praised, letting out his fingers from your mouth and moving it, tracing a slow path to the hem of your panties. He slid them under the thin fabric, searching your clit massaging it gently.

"Spencer, oh God. That feels so good." He moved from one breast to another one, repeating his motions.

"Yeah, you feel so good. Your are so good for me (Y/N). I could stay here all night. You have no idea how much I thought about that stupid song and doing everything on you," he whispered, releasing your nipple to move his lips to your navel.

"Please, please Spencer..." you whined. If you teased him before, now you just wanted him to fuck you mercilessly.

"What do you need sweetheart?" he asked.

"You. I need you to fuck me," you replied, feeling Spencer's tongue in your navel traveling south.

"Yeah. And I need to fuck you. That's I'm going to do now. You want that dirty girl?"

"Yes!"

"So... you teased me all these days. You knew what you were doing. Don't you think I need to repay you for that?" Spencer said as toying with your panties' waistband.

"What? Are you going to punish me? Doctor?"

For those who said kinks don't fit in all relationships, maybe they were right. But in Spencer's view, this was not the case. In the most pleasant way possible, he discovered that the kinky side of him fitted perfectly, and you seemed pleased too.

"Oh, do you want that, my dirty girl?" And before an answer, Spencer slid your panties down your legs, tossing them to the floor. Now, his goddess laid naked on her bed, ready for him, waiting for him.

Spencer grabbed your thighs and pushed them open, revealing your core for him.

"What a beautiful pussy we have here," Spencer coed. Picking some more honey from the bowl, he smeared it in your inner thighs, tracing a path to the spot where you needed him most. You wanted to scream. Before you do so, Spencer started washing the honey from your thighs. He did it from down to up, brushing your clit with his tongue in every licking.

"Fuck Spencer, I know I teased a lot these days but please..."

Spencer smirked between your legs, but he kept doing what he was doing. When he was sure he removed all the stuff from your thighs, his tongue focused on your clit.

"Yes!... oh God," you cried.

He moved one of his fingers between your folds, coating the wetness, and the pleasure was indescribable. His tongue still focused in your clit, circling and licking. Spencer put a second finger, curling them and reaching that spot inside of you that had you whining in no time. Your moans encouraged him to speed up his motions. Your hands were on his hair, eyes fluttered shut, lost in pleasure. Moans filling the room while his hands kept your hips onto the mattress, stopping you from buck forward.

"Spencer, oh my God. Please, don't stop!" you begged. His fingers never stopped thrusting you in and out, and his tongue having a feast with your clit. You could feel the knot down in your belly about to explode.

"Cum for me, dirty girl," he mumbled yet with his mouth on your clit and his fingers thrusting mercilessly. Then you cried, feeling your orgasm hitting you like a train.

When you descended from your highs, you propped yourself in your forearms to look at Spencer. His mouth coated with your arousal and smirking at you.

"C'mon baby, I need to taste you too," you demanded with a lazy voice, still dizzy from your orgasm.

"As you wish," he replied, sitting on the mattress with his back resting on the headboard, looking at you. Eyes full of lust. You kneeling in front of him first admiring his big-hard cock, tip coating with precum. You replicated his same motions: grabbed some honey and smeared it into his cock. Spencer moaned at the simple sight.

"Now I'm gonna taste how sweet you are baby," you announced.

Resting on your elbows, you took the tip in your mouth, tasting it slowly. He groaned hard. Of all the times you gave him a blowjob before, for Spencer, this was undoubtedly the most amazing of all.

You moved your tongue, swirling around him, making sure of licking the pounding main vein. Spencer's breathing was sharp and unsteady.

"Oh shit (Y/N)… you take it so well, your mouth feels so good," he groaned. You keep your task hollowing your cheeks and bobbing your head. You set a steady pace that made Spencer jerk with each movement. He tried to keep his eyes open to see how you were working on him, but when you speed the pace, he couldn't help throw his head back, closing his eyes in uncontrollable pleasure. Spencer was sure that if you kept doing that, it wasn't going to last much longer, and he was aiming to cum in another part of your body, not your mouth.

"(Y/N)… I need to fuck you right now," he panted. You released his cock and looked at him with a full satisfaction grin. "Knees and hands on the mattress," he commanded, still gasping. You happily complied. With your ass on display, Spencer hardly thought about it and instinctively spank your buttocks with his open hand.

You hissed to the sharp feeling, but it was pleasant. Spencer had never spanked you before, and the very fact had you turned on. Spencer hesitated a little when he realized what he did, but your words lifted any doubt he can have.

"Again! please!... do it again," you begged, and Spencer complied, spanking you again now in the other buttock. You moaned, and Spencer groaned.

"You like that, uh?" he teased.

"Yes!" And he did it again. The sharp pain was nothing compared to the pleasure that followed. You could feel the head of his hard cock in your entrance. Slowly but with no hesitation, he pushes into you. You could feel every inch of him, and it was glorious. A loud wail left your mouth. Spencer hissed, feeling your walls clench around him. Spencer bottomed out, and he took a moment to catch his breath.

"(Y/N)… shit. You're always so tight. You feel so good," he praised.

"Yes, baby, all for you," he grabbed your hips tighter, pulling out his cock almost to the tip and then pushing again into you as he started a slow but intense pace.

As you searched for the perfect rhythm, only moans, praises, and your names came out of your both mouths. Spencer pounded to you harder and faster. You were both a bundle of moans and sighs. You could feel beads of sweat running down your body. The skin-to-skin slamming sound was lustful and wild but delightful. You were both lost in the single goal of pleasing each other and reaching your orgasms.

"Fuck Spencer! I'm gonna cum!" you cried.

"Yeah, sweetheart, me too. C'mon, give me your sweet cum, and I'll give you mine," he commanded.

Spencer moaned, on the edge of his own pleasure. His words did the trick. He thrust you once, twice, and in the third one, your impending orgasm exploded in you, running through your entire body. You curled your toes at the pleasant feeling, moaning Spencer's name and another sort of lost words. Your walls clenched around him tightest, you still in your high, feeling his cock twitched before he expulsed his warm release into you. Your eyes squeezed shut in delight, feeling how he rode out your both orgasms.

You guys stilled for a moment, trying to catch your breath. Spencer was the first to move, pulling out of you, as you turned to your back in the mattress. He rolled to your side, both of you looking at each other with a huge grin, still panting.

"Wow... that was..." he trailed off, setting a strand of your hair behind your ear.

"Yeah... I know. Amazing," you replied, giggling.

"Why we didn't do this before?" Spencer wondered.

"Well, I don't know. But I wanted to," you confessed.

"Why you didn't tell me then?" he asked, stroking your cheek.

"Maybe I didn't know if you wanted to try things like these?" you hesitantly replied. Spencer looked at you lovingly. He could stay and admire you forever if he could.

"I must confess I didn't know exactly if this kind of thing could like me, but with you... I'm sure there is nothing that could dislike me. If you want to try anything, I'm more than willing with you," he replied, leaning to kiss you. You smiled into the kiss. 'How could you be so lucky to have someone like him?' you thought. The funny thing is that Spencer believes the same about you.

"Well, I think this experimentation went quite well, don't you think?" you said, beaming.

"Yes, I do. But now we're sticky, we need a shower," Spencer acknowledged.

"Sticky sweet," you corrected. Spencer chuckled and offered his hand to you to stand up.

You both went to take a shower. Needless to say, the shower served not only to clean up the remnants of your previous activities but to add new ones. You guys came out of the bathroom exhausted, changed the sheets, and plummeted onto the bed.

You snuggled into his side, resting your head on his shoulder. Spencer hugged you and kissed your forehead. Both ready to fall into a deep sleep.

"Please, remind me tomorrow emailing to Joe Elliot to thank him," you mumbled, nuzzling into Spencer's neck. Your eyes flutter shut and dozing off.

"Who?" Spencer asked, confused. You chuckled, almost falling asleep. Of course, Spencer didn't know who he was.

"Let's say we both practiced today what is pour some sugar on me, thanks to him," you giggled. Spencer breathed a laugh.

"Oh. Okay. Thank him for me too," Spencer said, smirking.

"I will,” you replied, snuggling more close to Spencer. “Spencer?" you asked him, a few seconds far to fall knock out.

"Yes, sweetheart?" he mumbled, almost in the same condition as you.

"I love you," you blurted out. Because it was true. Your love for that man grows any second passed, and you didn't care to admit it now.

"I love you too, (Y/N)... sticky sweet," Spencer replied. You both giggled, groggy with sleep. "And (Y/N)?" he added like he forgot something important to tell you.

"Uhm?"

"Can we listen to your playlist tomorrow? I'm curious about what are we going to do next." You didn't remember if you replied to him, but you surely would think of something new to try next in your dreams.

———————

AN2: I’m sorry but I’m a sucker for 80′s music.

I’m tagging some moots around here!: @andiebeaword @blameitonthenight21 @dreatine @sierraraeck @paulaern @calm-and-doctor @spencers-dria @safertokiss @hopefulfangirl24 @reverdevivre @matthewstiles1912 @goldentournesol @psychedellic-phase @psychicdonuts

#spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid #spencer reid smut #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x fem!reader #criminal minds #pour some sugar on me #def leppard #spencer reid fanfic

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klixxy · 3 years

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Genshin Fic Recs

so... i ventured into the vast world of Google looking for some good GI fic recs... only to find such a pitiful amount that i was promptly devastated. therefore, the solution is to make my own! :D

keep in mind most of these will be ChiLi or XingYun, and yes, i will try not to include smut unless it was one i really really liked. if anyone wants a separate list for just smut (though that will most likely be shorter) i can try to make one later.`

ft. my bookmark comments :)

CHILI

wrapped up in pure gold by beyondwinter

(chili; accidental marriage; chili/childe-centric; 22k words; ongoing)

"Do you understand its meaning, Childe?" He finally asks. There's a hard glint in his eyes, like he's trying to steel himself for his answer.

"Yeah." Loyalty and devotion, right? Between business partners? "I do. It's traditional, isn't it?"

Zhongli's eyes glow a warm amber in the near darkness, reflecting the soft shine of the lanterns. He studies his face with a strange intensity, as though Childe were a piece of high quality Nocticulous Jade being sold for suspiciously small sum and he's trying to find the blemishes that would explain the price. The weight of his gaze should be uncomfortable, boring into him like he can see into the very depths of his abyss-tainted soul, but Childe finds himself preening under the attention instead.

Childe accidentally proposes to Zhongli. Zhongli accepts.

The World is Water by Millereflets

(chili; smut; hurt/comfort; chili-centric; 7k words; oneshot)

Childe doesn't visit Zhongli until it's almost too late.

(my bookmarks: HOW DO YOU MAKE A SMUT SCENE SO POETIC HOLY SHITTTTT)

Set in Stone by seredemia

(chili; fake dating au; angst; some smut?; chili/chiilde-centric; 55k words; ongoing)

What do you do when you write about a certain six thousand year old consultant so much in your letters that it somehow convinces your entire family you're not only dating each other, but that you're also engaged?

In Childe's case, the answer is plain and simple: he goes along with it, of course. Absolutely nothing can go wrong if he makes a contract with the God of Contracts, vowing that the two of them will pretend to be lovers for the duration of his family's stay in Liyue. Afterwards, they'll return as normal and speak no more of this mess. No feelings or complications involved whatsoever.

Contract accepted. A fool-proof plan set in stone. Right?

Private Ledger of the Eleventh Harbinger by JuHuaTai

(chili; humor; getting together; chili/ekaterina-centric; 5k words; oneshot)

“So guess what I did next?”

Ekaterina contemplated not answering, but Harbinger Tartaglia was just… grinning and waiting. It’s honestly rather creepy the longer time passed.

In the end, she gave a long suffering sigh that seems lost on him, “You bought him the Erhu—“

“I bought him the antique, cor lapis based Erhu,”

When she first left her homeland for the unknown nation of Liyue, Ekaterina was ready to be many things: To be a soldier, to fell Tsaritsa’s enemies in her name, to bring glory to Snezhnaya and her leader.

Being a receptionist in a cozy bank wasn’t so bad in comparison, but she absolutely can do without the front row seat to Harbinger Tartaglia’s (expensive) love life.

i know i'm where i'm meant to go by paperclips (pastel_paperclips)

(chili; humor; fluff; chili-centric; 12k words; ongoing)

"Childe," Zhongli says suddenly. "I am enjoying myself greatly." Childe’s face breaks into a grin. "Then-" Zhongli gasps, grabbing his wrist and tugging him over to an unsuspecting peddler with a cart full of rocks. "Is that an intrusive igneous pegmatite formed in the Inazuma regions?" Childe’s grin smooths into a small, adoring smile. He has all the time in the world to figure the other man out.

OR: Finding the Geo Archon is on Childe's to-do list but hanging out with Zhongli is significantly more fun.

CHILIVEN

Crumbling Stone by avtorSola

(chiliven; ANGST; PAIN; mind control; zhongli-centric; 74k words; ongoing)

When Morax unleashes his plan to test the Liyue Qixing and his adepti, he does not take into account the stirring of the Abyss Order in the north and the corruption of Dvalin - for why would he fear an organization that works in such shadows? He is secure in his power, after all, unlike his flighty ex, the absentee archon of Mondstadt who rises only when his people are in danger.

But, somehow, the Abyss Order discovers his plan. Somehow, they capitalize on it. And he, the God of Stone who cannot sicken, is struck down - taken by an order bent on destroying all of humanity as Liyue crumbles around him. For even Archons aren't immune to Durin's blood, and Morax is no exception. But then the question becomes - if even Archons may fall to the agony of this corrupting burn - how is their traveling friend Aether immune?

The answer comes from beyond the stars - an ancient malice that knows no kindness or mercy. A malice whose legacy the Abyss Order now bears, seeking to topple all the Archons and their people into the void of utter destruction. And they have begun in Liyue.

Fortunately, it takes a long time to erode stone.

(my bookmarks: IM SCREAMING AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA)

PLATONIC ZHONGVEN

left-behind city by trixstar

(platonic zhongven; angst; ANGST; venti-centric; 1k words; oneshot)

"An associate of mine has just informed me that Rex Lapis, the Geo Archon has been assassinated."

Venti blinks.

Or: Venti and how he copes with finding out he is all that remains.

i circle ten thousand years long; and i still do not know if i am a falcon, a storm, or an unfinished song by birdsofpassage

(platonic zhongven; angst; hurt/comfort; zhongven-centric; 4k words; oneshot)

Venti and Zhongli, and the vignettes of a much-needed vacation around Mondstadt.

(my bookmarks: ; - ; ; - ; )

oh ye with little faith by air_fried_air

(platonic zhongven; angst; hurt/comfort; zhongven-centric; 2k words; oneshot)

Two former archons do a little tour around Mondstadt.

(my bookmarks: why are all genshin angst fics so melancholy.... i feel so empty)

the wind through the mountain tops by glassdrachma

(platonic zhongven; humor; hurt/comfort; zhongven-centric; 21k words; finished)

Boredom brings Barbatos of Mondstadt to bother a certain ex-Archon of the Earth.

(my bookmarks: venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship venti zhongli friendship-)

XINGYUN

the art of exorcism by Agried

(xingyun; ghost au; hurt/comfort; chongyun-centric; 9k words; oneshot)

On the road back from one of his jobs, Chongyun runs into Xingqiu, the wandering swordsman. And then they keep meeting, over and over again. or, alternately; how a ghost and an exorcist learn how to love, one step at a time.

Bane of All Evil by tzitzimeme

(xingyun; humor; romance; chongyun-centric; 24k words; hiatus)

When Chongyun unintentionally offends Liyue's second most powerful adepti, he vows to mend the thorny relationship between Adeptus Xiao and human exorcists-- even though no one has succeeded in currying Xiao's favor for over a thousand years.

His best friend Xingqiu offers to come alone, mainly because he's worried about what kind of trouble Chongyun will run into. Along the way, they receive help from others: Xiangling packs them meals for their journeys, while Zhongli gives them advice on what demons to track.

Childe is just there because he thinks the whole thing is hilarious.

[On indefinite hiatus due to burnout; sorry!]

kiss me slowly (so i don't forget) by xiwangmu

(xingyun; humor; romance; light angst; xingqiu-centric; 8k words; oneshot)

Wangshu Inn Bulletin Board

Guest Message: My best friend whom I harbor affections for kissed me last night, but due to his special condition he does not recall a single moment of it. I am quite conflicted about whether to disclose these events to him or not, because that would most certainly require me to confess my feelings as well. If anyone has experience in romancing boys with excessive positive energy, this one humbly asks you to share some advice.

Reply: Our greatest apologies—although we would like to offer some words in response, we simply cannot decipher your handwriting. Perhaps you may return with a neater message next time?

time trials by idlestars

(xingyun/many ships; humor; modern au; xingyun-centric; 2k words; oneshot)

A modern social media AU.

Xingqiu Teases Demons. Chongyun Almost Cries. [The clip shows Xingqiu, lit by the sickly green of night vision, as he stares bored into a dark room. He’s alone - Chongyun left to see if Xingqiu could lure out the ghosts. Xingqiu glances at the camera, smirks, and then opens his mouth.

“Hey demons, it’s me, yah boy.”]

OTHER/GEN

woe be the wallet of the god of wealth by glassdrachma

(gen; humor; identity reveal; keqing/zhongli-centric; 12k words; finished)

Or, the story of how the Yuheng of the Qixing came to idolize, befriend, and discover the identity of the God of Geo, in that order.

(personal comments: hilarious, made me burst out into laughter multiple times, and was just a masterful piece of writing)

to dream of dust by miao_x

(guili/gen; ANGST; hurt/no comfort; zhongli-centric; 5k words; oneshot)

Some nights, Zhongli dreams.

He dreams of soft light, golden song, and a gentle breeze whispering tales of millennia past. It is warm, familiar, and comforting.

It feels like home.

And then he opens his eyes, and awakes to reality.

(my bookmarks: oh zhongli... made me cry)

To drown in your own tears by C_rin_nyan

(guili/gen; ANGST; TEARS; PAIN; zhongli-centric; 2k words; oneshot)

As Rex Lapis, he had never shed a tear, even as he slaughtered hundreds, destruction following his every step. As Zhongli, he had shed much more than he would like to admit, however.

Or, “Zhongli’s soul gave its last scream long ago, yet even now, the echo of said sound was still strong enough to reach Rex Lapis.”

#fic rec #fic recs #fanfic #fanfic recs #genshin #genshin impact #ao3 #chili #tartali #zhongchi #xingyun #childe #zhongli #xingqiu #chongyun #venti #zhongven #guili #guizhong #angst

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tnystrk-exe · 3 years

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Repentance

Your choices led you here.

AN: Honestly I couldn’t get the idea for the last scene out of my head.

“Alright team,” you heard Cap through your ear piece, “time to go home.”

And you did. Without a second thought.

Tony had sent out a relief squad and different aids for people. He had hoped to help. There was no after party this time around. But you understood why. Especially after finding him in his lab, staring longingly at a bottle of scotch, a screen of names scrolling past. The mission had put him through enough to want to cancel his promise of good behavior.

You walked over to him. Replacing the bottle with a cup of coffee you had brought down. “Tony, you did what you thought was right.”

“That’s not enough for them… their families. For what? A fucking whim of ours?”

“I know,” you sighed, walking over to a sink and pouring out the bottle, “I think about it too. What we could have done. What shouldn’t have. But in the moment with you, Bruce, and I all in the lab it felt right.”

“You saw the recording of New York. How couldn’t I try, something? Anything.”

A shiver went up your spine as you remembered the helmet’s footage. As much as the team had done. It would have all been over if that ship had touched ground. “We need protection,” you confirmed, “but maybe not an A.I.. Honestly, we’re probably just going to have to rely on finding good people. You should look for them instead of…”

“Are you still going to that memorial?”

“Yeah, but not as an Avenger.”

Then it all happened. After Sokovia, you all knew in a way that pulling at the right thread would tear the fabric of the team apart. Too many conflicting thoughts. Placing blame on one another. The Accords. Not wanting to be held down by a contract even though you could work your way through to the top if you could play your cards right.

None of you had ever imagined it would end like this. Broken apart. Teared open and bruised.

You had found Tony using the suites intertwined tracking systems. A tape played on repeat. The Winter Soldier, murdering two people. On a second viewing, you finally realized who exactly they were. Bile rose up your throat, you needed to find him. That just left finding him as Steve had left him. Cut up, tears- that you wouldn’t dare mention- streaked his face as he angrily shoved off pieces of his suit. A wound he had tried desperately to heal ripped open again with betrayal to act as salt.

You didn’t take away his bottle that night. Hell, you joined him.

“I’m still against this, YN,” Tony sighed, looking at you with that tired look of his, “Why?”

“I don’t know, Tone. It just feels like something I need to do. For myself more than anything.” You placed the last of your things in the suitcase. “As much as I hate what he’s done. There are things I can understand.”

“He broke us apart.”

“We were already divided. As much as we tried to be a family, do all this shit together… The second there was pressure we went into our normal fractions. Honestly, it’s a damn wonder we trusted Double Agent over there.”

He nodded, understanding that you had made a couple of points. “That was a bad call, but hey you can’t win everytime. ...I’m glad you chose this side if anything.”

“Yeah sap, what would I do without your cash?” You joked, “We’re in this together old man. Thick and thin. You know that. Anyways, by the time I come back, I fully expect a ring on Pep’s finger.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Hap’s been waiting for you for the past hour. Get going, come back safe and all that jazz.”

Walking through the prison was nerve wrenching. Honestly, even though you had planned out the trip, you really didn’t expect him to agree to the visitation. You followed the guard down the long, dim corridors, not knowing exactly what you’d do or why you were there.

“Here you are. Everything is being monitored.” With that he opened the door and slammed it shut behind you.

“Zemo,” you greeted when you laid sight on the man.

“Avenger,” he said it more as an insult, “To what do I owe the displeasure?”

“I owe you an apology,” you stated simply, “I really am. What you went through, it wasn’t anything I expected to happen.”

“I can accept it if that's what you wish, however what use does it have for me, really? You people do as you wish without a thought of what happens to others. People get hurt and killed. Then you’d all go home, back to your obnoxious towers and celebrate that none of you were killed. How many have taken your place?”

“That’s fair,” you nodded, looking at the ground, “I deserve that.”

“Did you celebrate the destruction Tony Stark created?”

You laughed humorlessly, “He always gets all the credit for that, probably because of the tin foil wrapping. It’s a shared burden, I’m afraid, Bruce and I worked just as hard to create Ultron. No. We didn’t celebrate.”

“Then we’re even. You took my family, I tore yours apart.”

“It’s not the first I’ve lost. Knowing my luck it isn’t the last.”

He tilted his head, signaling you to go on.

“We were some dumb kids at the time, maybe 16 or so. The community we lived in was an absolute shithole. Things would get swept under the rug. People would get hurt, killed, used for fun, just because that’s what people felt like doing. So what are a group of good for nothing orphans going to do, none of us really had much hope. We became vigilantis of sorts using ourselves as bait regularly. Did what we had to do. But we were young, dumb and things always have a way of catching up with you.”

“I’m very sorry for the pain you experienced in your youth.”

“Like you said…” you shook away the memories,you weren’t here to rehash those years, “The point is Zemo, I need you to know I do feel for you. I’ve looked into you and you were a good man, probably still are under all the pain. When we made Ultron we had hopes for the best, after what happened in 2012, we all knew something bigger would happen. Tony and I share that, we get paranoid, but how can’t you be when shit hits the fan like that,” you snapped, “It was just a matter of how, when, if we’d be prepared… and in all of that we failed. So honed in to the details of what we could do, we were blinded to what we would cause. Zemo, no amount of forgiveness would ever clear me of the guilt of just how badly we failed you.”

Zemo stared at you, searching for any sign that this was all just a show. When he finally decided you were sincere he gave you a nod.

“There’s something I want to ask of you…”

That’s how you found yourself in Zemo’s family grave. Each step brought you closer to three of the deaths you helped cause. His son was in between his wife and father. The bag of sweets at your side was held limply as you found your way to the right grave.

“Hey, buddy,” you set the Turkish delights on the grave, “Your father said he’s sorry, he couldn’t do this for you this year. But don’t worry, I’ll pick it up for him.”

A shuddered breath escaped you as you thought about the child in the ground. Only able to conjure up a picture of a younger looking Helmut Zemo. A soft round face, light brown hair that was combed neatly just to be messed up seconds later, eyes that questioned everything in the world around him. He should’ve been wreaking havoc, running throughout the home with his father chasing after the excited child. Instead of here, where your choices had placed him.

Sitting down on the ground you fished out the book Zemo had instructed you to get, “Now, I believe your father said he had been really excited to read this one to you. It was one of his favorites.”

#Helmut zemo #tfatws #helmut Zemo x reader #zemo x reader #baron zemo x reader

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drarrily-we-row-along · 3 years

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Day 25: Hiraeth

Hiraeth (Welch): A kind of homesickness which is a combination of the homesickness, longing, nostalgia, and yearning, for a home that you cannot return to, no longer exists, or maybe never was.

Harry hated cleaning Grimmauld. And it always seemed that no matter how much cleaning he did, more junk (half of it cursed) appeared to replace it.

He forced himself to set aside two hours every Saturday morning, someday this house would be worth living in and having guests in.

This particular morning, Harry was working in the hideous study, cleaning out the desk and thinking that he really ought to tear out the carpet and take down the wall paper, when he accidentally knocked over a small bust of Merlin only knew which Black. A heartbeat after the bust was knocked over, a panel on the wall scraped open.

That was interesting.

With a bit of caution, which was warranted given how many things had attempted to kill and maim him in this house, Harry made his way over and peeked inside of what appeared to be a cupboard of some sort. Inside was a pensive with a shelf above with memories floating in vials. Many weren't labeled at all but there were some that were labeled in Sirius' familiar script.

One sitting right in the front, as though it had been placed there for him, was labeled Harry. There were several memories swirling together in this one and Harry found himself reaching out and pouring it into the pensive without really thinking about it.

A moment later he plunged his head into the pensive.

He looked around when he landed and saw that he was standing in his parents' home in Godric's Hollow. His mum was sitting on the couch with her feet propped on the coffee table rubbing at the side of her very pregnant belly.

Sirius was knelt on the floor next to her, rubbing his hand over the other side, "And I am going to be your favorite uncle," he promised. "I'm the cool one, I'll teach you how to ride my motorbike and help you with your boy trouble."

"His boy trouble?" his mum asked, obviously amused.

"Well, I can't very well help him with his girl trouble."

(Read more below the cut)

His mum laughed and brushed her fingers through Sirius' hair. "I suppose you're right about that.

"He's kicking," Sirius crowed, rubbing his thumb over his mum's belly. "Hi, Harry," he said. "It's your uncle Padfoot," he informed him, leaning closer and putting his mouth almost against her belly, "I love you and I cannot wait to meet you."

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The scene faded and was replaced by the next one.

"He's perfect, Prongs," Sirius murmured and Harry saw that he was standing in a hospital room. His mum was sitting up in a bed, looking tired but smiling so wide that Harry's mouth ached in sympathy. Sirius and his dad were standing close together, a baby held securely in Sirius' arms and his dad hovering near his head.

"Yeah," his dad whispered in reply, sounding genuinely choked up as he brushed his fingers over the baby's downy head.

"Look at his tiny fingers," Sirius said. "He's got your eyes, Lily," he added.

Harry watched as the baby wrapped Sirius forefinger in his little fist.

"Oh Godric," he murmured. "I'm gone on him," he said, looking up at James and Lily. "I love him more than life itself."

"We feel the same," his mum replied, smiling. "James, you should tell him."

His dad covered his mouth with his hand and shook his head as though he couldn't manage any words.

"Tell me what?"

"We want you to be Harry's Godfather," his mum said.

"Really?" Sirius whispered looking back and forth at his mum and dad like he could hardly believe they were serious.

"Yeah," his dad said, patting his shoulder, "Yeah, of course."

Sirius looked down at the baby in his arms and Harry watched a tear track down his cheek, "You hear that, Harry?" he murmured. "I'm your Godfather. I'll never let anything bad happen to you," he promised.

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Godric's Hollow came back into view and Sirius was sitting on the couch, his arm around Remus' shoulders while Remus fed Harry a bottle.

"You're just a little angel, aren't you?" Remus cooed at him. "Just the most perfect, beautiful baby anyone has ever seen."

The baby kicked his feet.

"We'll teach you how to get up to mischief," Sirius promised. "Don't you worry. You'll get to inherit everything we've learned, you're going to make the best prankster imaginable."

Remus huffed, "But you'll be good to Minerva, won't you? She had more than enough trouble with your dad and uncles."

The baby finished the bottle and Remus sat him up, holding him over his shoulder as he lightly patted the baby's back. "I know things are a little scary right now," Remus murmured and Harry for the first time wondered where his parents were, if they were on a mission for the order at the moment, "But everything's going to be okay. You'll see."

Sirius rubbed Remus' neck soothingly, "Everything's going to be okay," he repeated but his face looked as weary and worn as Remus' did.

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"Come on, Harry! You can do it!" Sirius cheered and Harry shaded his eyes to see the back garden better. Sirius was squatted a few feet away from his dad who was steadying the baby as he apparently thought about walking. "Come on," Sirius said again, holding out his arms.

With a little giggle, the baby started to toddle unsteadily across the distance to Sirius. Sirius caught him and scooped him up in his arms, swinging him as he stood before pulling him in to smother him with kisses.

The baby giggled and grabbed at Sirius sunglasses, pulling them off his face.

"Ah, here, allow me," Sirius said, as he put them on the baby instead with a big smile. "Already developing better taste than your dad, I see."

"Oy," his dad called from where he stood with his arm around his mum's waist, stealing her glass of iced tea.

"I can't believe how big you've grown," Sirius murmured.

"Us either," his mum replied. "It's all gone so quickly. At this rate we'll be watching him head off to Hogwarts tomorrow."

"We'll all be there," Sirius promised, pressing a kiss to the baby's chubby cheek.

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The baby was a bit older in the next memory, and Harry knew there wasn't much longer left before the inevitable.

"I don't know how to do this," Sirius said, he was holding the baby in his arms, swaying back and forth, and Harry could hear the unshed tears in his voice.

"Be our secret keeper," his dad insisted. "Sirius we trust you with our lives, we trust you more than anyone."

"I can't," he said, shaking his head. "Dumbledore said it himself, they'll know it's me."

"Then stay here," Lily pleaded. "Just stay with us. Help us keep Harry safe."

"I would," Sirius said, "You know I would if I could. The Order won't allow it, they need more people to be able to go out on missions."

His dad nodded, scuffing the toe of his trainer over the carpet and it struck Harry how young they were. Harry was older now than his parents had lived to be.

"How am I supposed to say goodbye?" Sirius asked, pressing his forehead into the baby's dark curls.

"It's not goodbye," his mum said fiercely. "We can't think like that. It's just for a little while. It's just a see you later."

Sirius nodded and pressed a long kiss to the baby's forehead, "See you later, love," he murmured. "I'll miss you every second."

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Harry was snapped out of the pensive and he stood still for a long moment, in what must have been shock, before he realized that he was crying. It took another second to realize that his entire body was shaking as he was overcome with a sense of grief that he thought he'd long since buried.

He was overwhelmed by the longing to have a home, to have a place where people loved him and cared about him, a home were people wanted to protect him and be sure he was safe. It was a longing that he'd felt from the core of his being for as long as he could remember. And in these memories he'd had that.

He'd had so many people who loved him, so many people desperate to keep him safe, desperate to watch him grow up, and he'd lost it before he'd ever really known it.

The injustice, the hurt, the loneliness, and every moment that he'd ever desperately wished to be loved welled up inside of him at once and he couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. It was like he was being pounded by waves in the ocean and he could make it up for air.

Harry couldn't stay here, he pulled out his wand and apparated.

He'd intended to go to Ron and Hermione's, or maybe even the Weasley's but that was not where he ended up. No, Harry ended up in the front yard at his auror partner's house, sobbing and gasping for air.

"What the-" he heard and looked over to see that Draco was out working in his Garden, "Potter? What-" he started as he got closer. "Are you alright?"

Harry shook his head but couldn't manage to get any words out.

"Are you hurt?"

He shook his head again, "I didn't mean-"

"Alright," Draco said softly, wrapping a protective arm around him before Harry could even finish his sentence, "Come on. Come inside."

Harry could only nod, trying to make his feet move in spite of their numbness.

"You're shaking," Draco murmured as he guided him inside of the cozy cottage, all full of sunlight and fresh air. "You're sure you're not hurt?"

"Yes," Harry whispered, voice still raw.

Draco nodded, "Let's have some tea, yes?" he asked, guiding Harry into the sunny yellow kitchen. "Here," he said, pulling out a chair and settling Harry into it before moving to prepare tea.

Harry took the few moments of relative privacy to try to get himself under control, to try to reign in all of the feelings. He was certain that he would feel embarrassed about this later; this wasn't a great look for someone you were a little bit in love with to see.

By the time Draco turned around and brought the mugs of tea over, his breathing had even out a bit and he wasn't sobbing anymore. Draco set a cup of tea in front of him, "Here you go," he murmured before sitting down in the chair next to Harry instead of across from him.

"Thank you," Harry managed as he took a sip of tea made just the way that he liked it.

"Don't mention it," he said, he reached over and rubbed soothing circles on the center of Harry's back as Harry drank his tea. He didn't push or ask any questions, he was just quiet, just there with him as Harry's heart slowly came down to a normal pace and he finally managed to stop crying. "There we are," he said.

"Sorry," Harry whispered, feeling embarrassed and foolish and raw. "I didn't even mean to come here," he confessed.

"Well, I'm glad you did," Draco told him and for some reason, Harry believed him. "I've got some ginger biscuits in, if you'd like?"

"I shouldn't impose-"

"It's no imposition," Draco said, standing up and reaching for the cookie jar. He set them out, offering it to Harry before taking a couple himself.

Harry nibbled at his biscuit, not really sure what to say.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Draco asked. "You don't have to, of course, but I can be quite a good listener."

They'd been partners for three years at this point, so Harry knew it was true that the other man was an excellent listener. After a moment debating where to start, Harry confessed, "I always felt like there was something wrong with me." He stared down at the biscuit in his hands for a moment, "When I was little," he swallowed and set down his half eaten biscuit. "My aunt and uncle didn't want me and they weren't shy about letting me know."

Draco frowned, "Then why did you live with them? Surely there were no shortage of wizarding families who-"

"I had to," Harry said. "In her death, my mother's magic protected me. It's why Voldemort couldn't kill me. Because my aunt Petunia shared my mother's blood, as long as I lived with them I was protected."

"Alright," Draco said, nodding once and apparently accepting that answer without any other questions, which Harry was grateful for.

"They didn't want me and they didn't love me," Harry continued, "and I just really wanted to be loved, you know?"

Draco nodded, "Yeah, of course," he said as though Harry was being totally reasonable right now.

"I always imagined that I'd had parents who loved me," he said. "Like I always imagined that Lily and James Potter were completely besotted with me; they literally died trying to protect me. And I've had it confirmed by people throughout my life in a casual sort of way."

Draco nodded again, "But you've just had it confirmed in a more tangible way?" he guessed.

Harry nodded and felt a tear slip down his cheek. "I found some of Sirius memories when I was cleaning today," he said.

"That's fascinating," Draco replied.

"Yes," Harry agreed, "And there was a vial with my name on it, so I poured them into the pensive and took a look." Draco waited patiently as Harry tried to calm himself enough to get the next words out. "They were all of me as a baby," he finally managed in a whisper. "Of him with me, of my mum and dad, and Remus. And they all-" he choked on the words. He could hardly get them out, "They all loved me so much," he managed.

Draco took his hand.

"And I can't even remember-" he couldn't manage another word before the waves of grief rolled through his soul once more.

"Oh, love," Draco murmured as he stood and moved to wrap his arms around Harry, holding him and letting him cry against his stomach.

"It's not fair," Harry finally managed.

"No, it's not," Draco agreed, one of his hands stroking through Harry's hair. "It's not fair at all."

When Harry finally got himself under control once more, Draco drew back and sat down in the chair beside him.

"Sorry," Harry said, feeling miserable, and drained, and exhausted.

"You've nothing to apologize for," Draco said as he took another biscuit.

Harry sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "I just thought that I'd stopped grieving this."

"Do we ever really stop grieving the people we love?"

"It's not just the people, though," Harry said, shaking his head. "It's that I had a home, I had a place where people loved me and cared about me. If I'd fallen and scraped a knee in that home, I would have had adults clambering over themselves to fix it. I would have been tucked in at night, and someone would have read me stories. I would have always had enough to eat and I would have had clothes that fit me and toys that weren't broken. There are a million things that could have been that I'll never know."

"I'm sorry," Draco said softly, "I can't imagine what that must feel like." He put his hand over Harry's, his thumb rubbing soothingly over Harry's knuckles.

Harry nodded once, trying very hard not to start crying again because three times felt like it might be a bit ridiculous for one day.

"There are people who love you now, though," Draco said gently. "And I know it doesn't change the past, and it doesn't make this hurt any less, but you have people who love you. And I'm sure that someday, you'll live with someone who loves you, someone who wants to protect you and comfort you when you're hurt, someone who wants to share their life with you."

Harry scoffed, "I have my friends but there's no one who would want that with me."

"There are loads of people who would want that with you," Draco said, rolling his eyes as if Harry was being ridiculous.

"Not people who actually know me," Harry argued. "Sure, there are people who want me because I'm Harry Potter but no one who wants me because I'm just Harry."

"That's not true," Draco replied.

"Name one person who wants that life with me because I'm just Harry and not the savior," he challenged. "One, single person and I will go out right now and move in with them. Tell me one name of someone who would want this," he said, gesturing at himself, "Who wants all of this mess, all of this baggage, and traum-"

"Me," Draco finally exploded. "I want that with you. I want to protect you and comfort you when you're hurt. I want to make you tea in the evening before bed and I want you to wake me up with coffee in the morning. I want to spend every moment with you, celebrating your successes and weeping with you about what makes you sad. I want that."

Harry blinked at him, a bit (alright, a lot) shocked.

"And I know that it's stupid and you don't want that with me, because, well," he shook his head. "There are a million reasons you shouldn't, but you said one person and I want you to know that it's more than possible for someone to know you and want that with you."

"You do?" Harry asked.

"Do you think I would have told you that I did if I didn't?"

Harry felt a little smile tugging at the corner of his lips, "I would like that with you, too."

"What?"

Harry shrugged one shoulder, "I've been a little in love with you for like a year," he confessed, feeling brave now that Draco had already told him how he felt.

Draco smiled a shy little smile at him, "Maybe we should go on a few dates before you move in, for appearance's sake," he joked.

He laughed, but then actually considered it, "Do you care about appearance's sake? We already know that we work together, we already know that we're good at spending time together," Harry replied. "I know more about you than I've ever known about anyone I've dated."

"Do you really want to move in with me? Already?"

Harry shrugged, "I mean, you've got a second bedroom, right? We wouldn't have to rush into anything. Just," he swallowed and he reached over and took Draco's hand, "Wouldn't it be nice to come home at night to someone who cares about you?"

"Yeah," the other man agreed with a smile, "Yes it would."

"Yeah?" Harry asked, feeling hopeful.

He nodded, "Yes, of course. Merlin, of course you can move in," he said with a laugh.

"I'd like very much to kiss you if you'd be amenable to that," Harry said.

"I'd like that, too," Draco said, with a breathless little smile.

Harry leaned across the corner of the table, cupped Draco's cheek in his palm, and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

When he pulled back Draco's eyes were still closed and he murmured, "I'm going to need you to do that again."

Harry grinned and obliged him.

"Again," Draco breathed.

Harry leaned in and took Draco's bottom lip between his, sucking lightly before brushing his tongue over it. Draco let out a soft sigh and his fingers clenched in the fabric of Harry's t-shirt.

"Again," Draco whispered when Harry pulled back.

He smiled and let his finger's slide in Draco's hair, tilting his head slightly as he slotted their lips together. He slowly explored Draco's mouth and Draco explored his in turn, they kissed slowly, luxuriously. Hands brushed over necks, cheeks, shoulders, and backs as they carefully learned their way around each other.

Draco was the first to pull back this time and Harry's eyes fluttered open to look at him, his cheeks flushed and lips red. "You are so beautiful," Harry murmured.

He looked down at the table, smiling shyly, "We should start getting you moved in."

"I'd like nothing better," Harry replied with a big smile of his own.

And while moving in with Draco didn't give him back the home he'd lost, it did give him a place where he belonged. It gave him a place where he could receive the love he'd longed for and give all of the love he'd always wanted to. It wasn't perfect and it wasn't always easy, but it was home and Harry wouldn't have traded it for anything.

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Thank you, @iamactuallya-cat for the prompt! I hope you enjoy it and that I didn't break your heart too much! <3

Day 24: Mafia Husband | Day 26: Broken Bone

#drarry #100 drarry drabbles in 100 days #drarry drabbles #drarry ficlets #oof this one definitely got away from me #and had me crying #happy ending #day 25 #thank you for the prompt!

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cometcaper · 3 years

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I thought I'd share my playlist for the anniversary of the boathouse kiss. :)

Song translations, MANY thoughts, and timeline under the break.

Noise warning for song 19, Hinahanap-Hanap Kita. 4:23 to the end. Loud high pitched beeps.

YouTube music version to be made soon.

Translations for foreign songs:

Ewan [Dunno] — Apo Hiking Society — Filipino/Tagalog

Amour plastique [Plastic love] — Videoclub — French

Panalangin [Prayer] — Apo Hiking Society/Moonstar88 — Filipino/Tagalog

Hinahanap-Hanap Kita [I'm Looking For You] — Rivermaya — Filipino/Tagalog

This is a collaborative playlist made with my friend.

Thought Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy would be a good starter song. Something about the music. Represents a good start of Alec persuing Maurice, like, hey, I can be yours... Whatcha doin'?

I added Puppy Princess because of the chorus but I know some people don't like that song so... You can skip if you'd like. KISS MEEEEE KIISS ME WITH YIIR EYESSS CLOSED . ALL I WANT IS YOU YEAH YOU. TELL ME I'M NOT FUNNY TELL ME I'M LEGIIIIT

Ewan. OH MY GOD this song is so them. Alec cares for Maurice, and doesn't like not being taken seriously or being treated badly and brushed off.

"I don't know why you're like that, you're difficult to talk to and you're a snob" COME ON IS THAT NOT THEM — Just a smile from you, and I'll be in heaven. Please give me a response, anything but "No idea"... What a perfect representation of Alec's continuous persuit of Maurice, always talking, always trying...

I could go on with every lyric.

Edit: I just realised this song fits so well for Alec's letters and meeting at the museum. Must resist the urge to add the same exact track twice.

So about Touch Me... Some of the lyrics apply better in other versions. Spotify just has this version tho. Touch me, just like that.

All I've Ever Known. Maurice discovered so much that night about touch and sharing and being with someone. He wants to be with Alec. "All I've ever known is how to hold my own, but now I want to hold you too. [Hold you close, I don't wanna ever have to let you go. Hold you tight, I don't wanna to back to the lonely life.]" Alec opened up his eyes and he'll never be the same.

Can't Help Falling in Love With You. 'Did you ever dream you'd a friend, Alec? ... Someone to last your whole life...' 'Alec, you're a dear fellow and we've been very happy.'

I'd Like To Walk Around In Your Mind was added from Maurice's perspective. Perhaps it fits Alec too...

I think Love At First Sight has the double meaning of the literal title, as well as "wouldn't you like to kiss her" perhaps being... Something Maurice would hear.

I Don't Dance. Based on this post/edit. Please watch this video oh my God.

Pink in the Night. Alec yearns for Maurice in the boathouse. He hasn't come. He hears his heart breaking tonight.

Every lyric is perhaps pulled straight from Alec's brain, to be honest. I remember seeing a post with this song in other contexts with them too. So yes, a few meanings.

Amour plastique. Alec reminiscences on the night in the Russet room. Why hasn't he come?

In my mind, everything goes wild. I lose myself in your eyes. I drown myself in the vagueness of your loving gaze.

And at night I cry tears that stream down my cheeks. I think of you only when the days ends, only when my sad demons descend upon my mind, into the bottomless abyss.

Waiting in the boathouse at night, when the day ends.

I ring out in kisses all down your chest. Lost in the avalanche of my heart astray. Who are you? Where are you?

The moments of then repeat in his mind. Where is Maurice?

I suppose Hopelessly Devoted To You and I'm A Fool To Want You are self explanatory. Maurice should really come... Alec really toughed it out, 2 days he spent in the boathouse, really wanted to see Maurice, really knew they had something, and doesn't want to be treated like a dog. Generally, his 1st letter.

Moon Song. My friend said they added it as a general love song. — Why do you treat me like this? Why didn't you come to the boathouse? — Alec's 2nd letter as a whole. Plus bits of 1st.

And you pushed me in, and now my feet can't touch the bottom of you. ... So I will wait for the next time you want me, like a dog with a bird at your door.

Ewan would fit here tbh.

Panalangin. My only prayer in this lifetime: to be beside you, to be together with you, that's my prayer.

"I since cricket match do long to ... place both arms round you and share with you, the above now seems sweeter than words can say."

And this heart won't allow if you will be away from me, my love, please listen.

It also fits the end of museum.

I Want You. Maurice, can you come to the boathouse already? Alec has no power to teleport you there. I hold one card that I can't use.

I found you. I found the door, but when I stepped through, there was no floor. He found Maurice, bit he's not being here for Alec.

You're coming back And it's the end of the world We're starting over And I love you, darling And I am done, dear

Alec wishes this would happen. Also, he does come back later and they love again over, and "it is finished".

Credit for suggesting the next two songs goes to @beatle-capaldi!!! He also wrote was in quotations!

English Summer Rain

The Most Radical Thing To Do

Hinahanap-Hanap Kita. 1st letter, he's looking for Maurice. Thinking about them together.

In my thoughts and dreams, in every turn of destiny, I look for you. Also applies to that hotel/post-hotel feeling. I look for you, even if I try to forget you, saying goodbye, looking back...

Wildest Dreams. They think a lot of each other. They share once more. But they must say goodbye. Alec saw this coming. Maurice hopes that Alec will remember him like this.

I Hear a Symphony. Alec truly opened up Maurice's eyes. Maurice was meant to be with him. He helped Maurice, changed his life. But now Alec is leaving on ship... Or is he? The symphony leads into...

An orchestral sountrack. The Boathouse. Unfortunately the Maurice soundtrack is not on spotify. It's on my personal YouTube music version. I added it because it just captures the boathouse the only way the sountrack itself can.

The Word of Your Body (Reprise). MLM people have moment of romantic tension, which culminates in confessions of love. Just had to add it. "Haven't you heard the word of your body?" perfectly describes Alec gifting and showing Maurice the wonder of truest physical affection and love. He lets Maurice be okay with himself, and again, changes everything. Every lyric is perfect.

Also, sorry JBW, I like other versions more... Too bad Spotify is mean.

I See The Light. Yeah. Every lyric. Maurice is Rapunzel. Movie Blond too. Both the morning at Russet room and the museum. And the world has somehow shifted. All at once everything is different, now that I see you. "By now they were in love with each other consciously."...

Suddenly Seymour. Suddenly see more, yeah? Clive = ass and someone gives him affection for once, wow! Sidenote, I want to sing this with them and their accents... Suddenly SCUDDER...

Helpless. Musical theatre songs seem to be good retellings of their love story. It's why they belong in post boathouse. Summaries and retellings. They're also good at conveying love they'd feel for each other in general, all times ever. Like loving men, retelling a story.

I'll Cover You. Cute love song feat. gays. I like to imagine them dancing around, declaring their love and devotion for each other. Walking and dancing around like in the original scene, sometime post canon. In my own imagination, I thought of Alec as Angel and Maurice (Christopher) as Collins.

Video Games. They must love spending time together. I thought this to be Maurice POV. Only worth living if somebody is loving you I mean, come on.

It's you, it's you, it's all for you. Everything I do. I tell you all the time, heaven is a place on Earth with you.

Un sospiro. I headcanon that Maurice picks up the piano and plays for Alec. Perhaps he picked it up bc of/after Clive, but now can play it for someone who gives a shit.

Something about the melody reminds me of them. And then it gets more intense... A bit like the passions of love, showing up in sharing and touch and more, too.

Liebestraum. I mean, it means love dream/dream of love. I just had to. Also I just like Liszt.

Take Me Up With You, Dearie. This song is just so sweet... So soft... Edwardian to boot... I love how quintessentially 1909 it is. Discovered it in a YT video. The thought of them getting married makes me cry. This song in general makes me want to cry, it's so romantic, tender, and exudes my favourite era...

Let us float, float, float through the clouds, and just have a lot of fun. We'll go up, up, up as two and then come down as one.

Put Your Head on My Shoulder. We Belong Together. I always imagine Maurice and Alec slowdancing to songs that come on the radio together, when the 1950s hits... Alec probably rests his head on his shoulder as this plays and they dance...

I'm using a lot of ellipses, am I secretly Rupert Graves?

Welcome to the 70s and 80s. They love dancing together and being with each other. Now, Panalangin can be a happy song. My only prayer for this lifetime ... To be together with you. And this heart won't allow if you will be away from me.

Just the Two of Us. What a nice, vibey song. Great title, great scenario of them dancing to this...

Tiny Dancer. Your Song. MLM people in the 70s + Radio, being happy and in love with each other. — I just thought I should add some Elton. A different friend, and I, like him. Maurice sings to Alec, "And you can tell everybody this is your song." That I put down in words how wonderful life is with you in the world.

Electric Love. Fun fact: this song got me to share the playlist. Got me thinking about them and their anniversary again. The funky busy instrumental describes well their passionate love. The highs of electric LOOOOOOVE describe the intensity of them.

Alt text continued: themselves together under and the love. And the love. The song has its own tension and it perfectly pictures their own tension. So yeah, this is THEIR song quite literally.

Sorry if my music taste is perhaps basic. I just made it for when I hear songs that are Them.

Falling for Ya. Alec falls for Maurice. "I saw you when you first drove up, Mr Hall..." Something about Maurice, right? Plus really nice vintage vibes with the music. The bit about Into your arms and it's a secure sure sounds like Maurice. Awh, they're falling for *each other*...

Rainbow Connections. Gay and bi people. Marriage. Everything that Maurice and Alec went through to get here, where they were meant to be. Clive. Working for Clive. Leading up to now.

All the things that had to go right, all the things that had to go wrong, that lead us to the place where we were going all along.

On the YT version there's a soft/jazzy cover of Panalangin here. Because they're old and spending time together and being happy. What a throwback, a defined meaning in their lives over time.

Still Into You. After all these decades... Old and grown, together... True soulmates... Two men can defy the world... Maurice and Alec still roam the greenwood. Imagine Maurice meeting Alec's mom in this context. If only.

Postmodern Jukebox cover, because they are a quintessentially 20th century couple. They exude vintage.

Some piano playing for Alec. Soft, tender, romantic, emotional, true. Feels like nighttime. Feels like Maurice and Alec. And a throwback to the pre 1914 world as well. Claire de Lune feels like... A credits of life piece. Time spent in the early 1980s. Nocturne feels like that too, but more romantic. Smidge less nighttime. Ah yes, Gymnopédies. The truest credits feel of them all. None of these actually are credits for Maurice and Alec, but I struggle to find the word for this feeling. But yeah. These all have Them vibes to me. Piano of the time just does I suppose. Glad to be reminded of them at any time.

What a long playlist. Like going through almost their whole lives together. 1:52 hrs. Almost like a movie. Imagine that. A full movie of THEIR lives... But leaving to the imagination was a good thing. Led to this such action. Thank you E.M. Forster.

Timeline:

1. Pendersleigh

4. & 5. Russet Room. Night, then Morning

9. Cricket

10. Boathouse Nights

18. The Museum

20. The Hotel

21. After

23. The Boathouse

24. They Still Roam the Greenwood

I just like to imagine them dancing to songs on the radio, for decades to come...

#maurice 1987 #maurice 1914 #maurice #maurice hall #alec scudder #Spotify

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tomtenadia · 3 years

Text

Remember us - part 5

Hello everyone....

Your weekly dose of angst is here... but in this part we have a bit of domestic fluff...

CW: mention of miscarriage and depression

-----

“Aelin, please.” His voice gruff with pain.

“I said get out.” She snarled at him from the bed.

Rowan moved a step towards her doing the exact opposite of what she had told him “I am not.” His arms folded at his chest “do you really think that being alone will help? That kicking me out will heal the pain of losing our daughter?”

Aelin sobbed hard and threw the pillow at him and he took the hit “don’t.”

“I lost her too. Will you accept that the pain is not only yours?” He shouted back “I feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest. And it fucking hurts because she was my baby girl too.”

“Stop…” her sobs grew in intensity “You have no idea of the pain.”

Rowan moved closer “No I don’t. I did not carry her in me for five months. I don’t know that pain.” He caressed her head “but she had a hold on my heart since the day you showed me the sonogram.”

“You are hurting me.” She said quietly looking away from him “and I need you to go.”

“Fireheart…”

“I said get out.” She shouted.

With his heart breaking, Rowan left the room.

Rowan woke up with a gaps, feeling the desperate need to get air in his lungs. He drew a hand on his face and felt tears. Had he been crying?

The memory was still vivid in his mind and it left him with unbearable anguish in his heart. In the dream he had felt both their pain. It had been real. His thumb reached for the ring on his fourth finger a gesture he had been doing a lot recently.

The memory had left him in a daze. How had they survived such deep pain? How could two people recover from such destructive sorrow?

But they did. Somehow their marriage had proven stronger than loss.

He sighed and took his phone to look at more picture of his family. He had so many that it took him a lot to go through them all. When he unlocked the phone he saw a text from Aelin sitting there, waiting for him.

Eagerly he opened it I am going back to work today, is it okay if I come and visit you?

Like a desperate man Rowan texted back as fast as he could please, it would make me very happy. The tv seems to be a very poor companion.

After he sent the text he realised his words had been true. He needed to see her.

Great. I am taking Tom to the nursery and I am on my way.

His lips tugged upwards in a smile. Then he made himself presentable. Aelin had brought him clothes and Evalin had brought some more so slowly and very carefully, he walked to the wardrobe. His right leg still getting used to have weight back on. Once he was done he went back to bed and fixed his ruffled hair. He was nervous. He had said to Evalin that his heart told him to try and that was what he was going to do. Apologise first. Then slowly start to get back to his old life. He knew it was going to be a tough ride but their time apart had increased that tug between them. He was afraid to admit that he had missed her daily visits.

Aelin arrived an hour later and as soon as she walked into his room, his heart raced.

“Hi you,” she said softly, still standing on the door.

He gave her a smile and with his head motioned to the chair. She took the offer and sat in front of him.

“Rowan—” she started but he stopped her.

“No, let me go first, please.”

Aelin nodded and he took a moment to gather his thoughts. This was his chance to right his stupidity.

“I am sorry for what I said.” He told her “but I need you to understand how frightening and overwhelming this is for me.” Pine green eyes met blue “memories have started to trickle back. Some happy some more painful, but they helped me understand us a bit better. When I married you I promised we would face this adventure together.” He took a deep breath “You said that life can be unpredictable and cruel but that at each other’s side we could conquer anything.” He told her grabbing the hand that was on the bed near his leg “what I am trying to say is that if you are happy to take back a husband in less than minted condition, I will be grateful for the help.”

Aelin stood and kissed his forehead “Yeah, yeah I will take you back.” She sobbed hard, standing in front of him.

“This is not going to be easy.

“I know.” She brushed his hair in a loving motion and the gesture felt familiar to Rowan “but our marriage has withstood far worse.”

“I know. I saw a memory of it.”

Aelin sat back down, the smile disappearing from her features “but you fought for us. Even when I was so broken that I was ready to give up everything. You brought us out of the darkness.”

“Yrene said they can let me go home in a couple of days but she needs to know that I have a place where to go.”

Aelin took his hand “you are coming home.”

Rowan was in Aelin’s car and together they were driving home.

He had been so nervous that he barely slept. In the past couple of days Aelin had visited whenever she could and had discussed the new challenge ahead. Evalin was going to stay. Thomas would go to nursery but Freyja would stay with her grandma. Rowan had agreed that he could not yet be trusted with being alone with an infant.

He was nervous about meeting their kids; Thomas in particular. He was the one who remembered him the most and did not want to break the boy’s heart.

Aelin had tried to explain to Thomas that his dad had been in hospital and unwell and that his memories had disappeared. Thomas had cried at the sadness of his dad not remembering him. She had told all of that to Rowan.

“I am terrified.”

“Don’t. Acknowledge Thomas, play with him. Even if you don’t remember things just go with it.”

Rowan sighed and then he saw Aelin park in front of a lovely detached house with a garden at the front, a swing set and a tree with a treehouse.

“The tree has a treehouse on it.” He noticed, admiring their house.

Aelin chuckled, “you built it for Tom last year. You two would sleep in there from time to time and pretend to be on some sort of incredible adventure.”

Rowan smiled and then opened the door of the car and grabbed his walking stick. Dorian had assured him that it was time to leave the crutches behind and use the stick. They had practiced together until he was comfortable with it.

Aelin grabbed his bag and joined him “let’s go, mum is making lunch and I am starving.”

“You are always hungry.” He said to her and Aelin stopped in her tracks.

“What did you just say?”

“It just came out, I am sorry.”

She turned fully to him and smiled “you said that to me a lot. Together with complaining about my diet.” She took his free hand “come on buzzard, time to meet our two terrors.”

As soon as they walked into the house and Aelin announced their arrival a little blonde hurricane crashed into him, grabbing his legs “Dad, you are back.”

Rowan looked down and saw his son with his arms wrapped around his legs, green eyes shining with happiness.

His hand brushed his blonde hair “I am.”

“Mum, can I play with him?” The boy asked eagerly grabbing his father’s hand.

“Later, Tom. Dad just got back. Give him some time.”

In that instant he noticed Evalin appear with a girl in her arms “welcome home, Rowan.”

“Thank you, Evalin.” He said, not being able to stare away from the little girl. She was his clone.

Freyja seemed to recognise him and leaned forward, extending her arms to him.

Rowan looked at Aelin almost as if to ask permission and she nodded. He took the girl and sat down on the sofa. Freyja’s head leaned on his shoulder and Rowan’s hand went to her back in a protective gesture. A moment later Thomas joined them and hugged his sister and a bit of his dad.

Aelin sobbed at the scene. They had both been scared. Both worried. Because Rowan had confessed her that hurting the kids was the last thing he wanted. But now looking at that precious moment, she realised they would be fine. Thomas was easy going and Freyja always had a deeper connection with her father. And she knew, from the way Rowan had taken his daughter in his arms that no memory loss would ever took away the bond they had.

“Hi, my love.” He whispered to the girl, inhaling her scent. Freyja snuggled closer. “Come to my side, Tom.” The boy grinned and climbed on the sofa and on his knees he turned to his dad and hugged them again “I missed you, dad.”

“Well, you need to tell me everything you did while I was away.”

Aelin’s hand went to her stomach and smiled tenderly at the man in front of her. He could not yet tell his son he had missed him so he had found a way not to disappoint him.

“Mum, you come too.”

Aelin brushed her tears away and sat on the arm of the sofa just beside Rowan. It was the first time they were that close. Rowan turned his head and stared in the depths of her blue eyes. His eyes moved down to her lips and then back up. That thread between them pulled hard and before he knew it, he was kissing her. His body recognising hers. He pulled away only when he heard Thomas disgusted sounds.

Aelin stared at him with an expression he could not decipher. Maybe she was mad at him for kissing her? But it felt right. In his soul, kissing her had been right.

“You cheeky monkey.” Aelin stood and grabbed Thomas and started tickling him and the boy and Aelin’s laughter was the best music for Rowan’s ears.

After lunch was over the kids had gone out for a walk with their grandma and Aelin had given him a tour of the house. Rowan was impressed. They had a lovely house with four bedrooms and spacious enough to welcome a big family.

“You lost your parents when you were 20. They left you a nice stash of money that you never used. When we got married you used that money to buy this house. Our home.”

She sat at his side on the sofa, with a cup of herbal tea in her hands.

“I am sorry I kissed you. I should have asked first. I am sorry.” He looked away embarrassed at his gesture.

Aelin placed the tea on the table then grabbed his face with her hand and turned to him “Ro, you are my husband. You don’t have to ask for permission to kiss me.”

“I know, but I don’t know where we stand on that aspect of us.” He explained looking at her “I don’t know where I stand. I kissed you because it felt right, but I don’t think I can go any further right now.”

Aelin nodded “of course.” That was probably their last big challenge. There was so much to deal with right now that sex was very low on her priority list although her hormones were having another opinion and that kiss had awoken in her the need for him, she had to be patient “but you can kiss me anytime and without asking, if you feel like it.” And winked at him.

He gave her a smirk that was so familiar that for a moment she felt like Rowan was truly back.

She stared into his pine green eyes while her hand was still on his cheek and then she moved and her lips met his and Rowan did not pull away. He just stood for a moment but then his mouth parted and opened for her and Aelin, at the invitation, deepened the kiss feeling the need to connect with him again.

Rowan froze for an instant at the kiss but as she did not move away he let it happen and slowly he melted in the feeling of her lips on his. Aelin’s hand sneaked on his back, pulling him closer and as Aelin deepened the kiss Rowan felt a strange feeling surge in him. Was it passion? It burned in him that strange desire and when Aelin’s tongue brushed his a moan left Rowan and he pulled back, not sure about what was happening between them.

When they pulled apart they were both breathless and Aelin caressed his face and smiled “it looks like this part between us hasn’t changed.”

Rowan lifted an eyebrow and Aelin chuckled “the fire between us. Before we had the kids we sometimes spent entire days off in bed.”

The top of Rowan’s ears turned red and she giggled and kissed him again and Rowan this time did not hesitate and her hands sneaked under his t-shirt and after a few more minutes of their make out session Rowan pulled back and stared deeply at her “you are stunning,” he whispered. He had thought that from the beginning. Rowan leaned back on the sofa and Aelin snuggled closed to his chest, inhaling deeply his scent and his arm went around her back.

“If you are uncomfortable, you tell me.” She said to him, her hand close to his heart.

Rowan shook his head “this feels nice.” His head turned to her “I don’t know how to explain it, but it feels right.”

“Hold me.”

And Rowan pulled Aelin to him, enveloping her in his strong arms.

He thought that perhaps, with her at his side, not everything was lost.

He closed his eyes and welcomed his dreams.

#rowaelin #rowan whitethorn #rowaelinkids #aelin galathynius #evalin galathynius #rowan x aelin #angst #domestic fluff

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kudzushadow · 3 years

Text

There for You | Part 1 of 3 | A Harlivy Fanfiction

Summary: After Harley finds Ivy in tears on the floor of the bathroom, realization dawns on her about how hard the past year had been on Ivy, from literally dying (1x12) to mind control. (2x12) They have a heartfelt conversation about the events leading up to the moment, and learn that sometimes it's ok to confide in the ones you care for. (Based on the scene from Eat Bang! Kill Tour: Issue #1)

Hurt/Comfort | TW: Past trauma mentions, slight hints of past abuse. | Spoilers for Harley Quinn: The Animated Series & Eat Bang! Kill Tour: Issue #1

See bottom for extra notes!

"...Ive?" Harley's eyes widened as she rounded a corner and was greeted with a sight that made her heart ache.

Ivy sat on the bathroom floor, head buried in her hands as her whole body shook with sobs.

Harley was immediately kneeling by her side, arms wrapping protectively around her girlfriend without a second of hesitation. "Shh. It's alright, Ive. Everything's going to be ok…" Ivy had been acting strange since the wedding, but she hadn't been willing to open up to Harley. Now Harley was beyond worried, it was clearly more serious than the redhead had been letting on.

Ivy immediately relaxed into the blonde, tucking her face into Harley's chest. Eventually her sobs quieted down, but Harley could feel her trembling as she held her. While she tried to figure out what to say, she rubbed Ivy’s back comfortingly.

After a couple moments of silence, after holding Ivy, feeling her tremble, listening to her uneven breathing… seeing her tear stained cheeks… realization began to dawn on Harley. God, she was so stupid and oblivious! She’d been so focused on her own feelings, she hadn’t even begun to consider Ivy’s… and how hard it must’ve been, being stuck in the middle of everything.

“Ivy… I'm sorry. I’m so sorry… I’ve been so caught up in my own feelings, I hadn’t given any thought to how heavy all of this must weigh on you…” She brushed a strand of hair from Ivy’s face before continuing. “You’ve been through so much this past year, and I’ve been a pretty shitty friend. I should’ve been there for you, I should’ve helped you, should’ve protected you… and if I could go back in time and do it all differently, I would. A thousand times over.”

“...but I can’t, and that’s something I’ll regret as long as I live. Yet you’ve always been there for me, even when I created huge messes… when I joined the Legion of Doom, when I went back to Joker, when I released an army of parademons, when the Injustice League froze me… god, that last one sucked. Yet you rescued me. You always rescue me, Ive. Always help me. Always take care of me, even though I’m not sure I deserve it most of the time…” Harley looked away, shutting her eyes for a moment before forcing herself to continue. “...Ivy, you don’t have to pretend to be strong in front of me. You’re hurting… and that’s ok. We all hurt sometimes, but that doesn’t make us weak… or… or less human. I’m here now though. I want to share that burden with you, if you’ll let me.” Harley looked back at Ivy, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “I love you, Ive. I love you so much… and if you ever… yknow, want to talk about… well, anything at all, really… I just want you to know I’m here.”

Ivy turned her head away, and the next few minutes passed slowly in silence. Harley held Ivy, didn’t once let go, but with each passing second she became increasingly worried she’d done something wrong. Was it something she’d said? Oh god, had she made it worse?

“Ive, I didn’t mean-”

“Harley.” Ivy pulled away slightly, raising her head so she could meet Harley’s wide blue eyes. “I-” She paused, choking back a sob. “I hurt you, I hurt Chuck… I hurt so many people… all because I didn’t know what I wanted then… and to be honest, I’m not sure what I want now, either…”

Harley’s heart dropped, and she opened her mouth to respond before Ivy cut her off.

“-...but Harley… so much has happened. You’ve made mistakes, I’ve made mistakes… and you’re trying to change… that’s good, and I’m proud of you… but you're right, we can’t change the past, no matter how hard we try.” Ivy shut her eyes, letting out a shaky exhale before continuing. “Opening up… relationships… hell, just being around other people is… is hard for me… but you showed me the good in humanity. That not all humans are… are monsters. My life before I met you… was… lonely. Even with all my plants, I had nobody to talk to. Nobody to confide in… but I liked it that way. It was safe. Nobody was going to judge me, or… or abandon me... and I guess that’s why I… why I chose Chuck… because he was the safer option.”

I trust you, with my life… but I don’t trust you with my heart.

Harley winced inwardly, but she understood where Ivy was coming from. Harley definitely didn’t have the best track record with… well, anything really.

So I… I’m marrying Kiteman.

“I was… I was scared. Scared that if I… if I went with what my heart was telling me, it was just going to get broken… and after everything, I just… I couldn’t stand the idea of that happening. Of losing you again…” Ivy trailed off, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.

You were my one friend, and I asked you for one favor, but instead you ditched me for the Joker, who treats you like shit!

“Ivy… I had no idea you felt that way.” Harley spoke softly, using her free hand to lift Ivy’s chin so she could look into those beautiful green eyes… eyes whose depths she often found herself lost in. “I… didn’t know what I really wanted then. It was like… like I was trying to fill a hole inside me… like part of me was missing… and then, that night at the pit…” She smiled, using her thumb to brush a tear from Ivy’s cheek. “That was one of the most amazing nights of my life. I hadn’t realized… I hadn’t realized what it felt like to have someone else care about you. To have someone love you. Joker definitely never cared about me… not in the way you do… and... y'know, maybe I didn’t deserve it. Like I said, I haven’t always been the most reliable… but that changes today… if you’ll give me a shot, that is…”

Ivy looked up at Harley as she brushed the tear away, and smiled sadly. “...You’re trying to change… and that’s what matters. Harls, I do love you. A lot…. More than I care to admit… and… this whole relationship thing is new to me, but… I’m… I’m willing to give it a shot. To give you a shot… and today… today was proof of how much you’ve changed. How much you’re willing to sacrifice for others…” Ivy rested her head on Harley’s shoulder, but her mind was clearly wandering.

“...but that’s not all that’s troubling you, is it?”

“...perceptive as always.” Ivy chuckled halfheartedly, then looked away again. “It’s… it’s fine. It’s nothing important…”

“Well, I am a psychiatrist… but seriously Ive, you can tell me anything.” Harley stroked her cheek. “You know that.”

“Harley, I really don’t want to talk about it… can we just… can you help me out of this dress?”

“...yeah. Sure thing.” Harley stood up before reaching out a hand to help Ivy up. She definitely wasn’t going to let this drop that easily, but Ivy clearly didn’t want to talk anymore right now… so instead Harley busied herself with the zipper of Ivy’s wedding dress and the sights underneath.

- End of part 1 -

I think all of it copied and pasted? If it looks like anything is missing please lmk!

This... this is what quarantine, lack of sleep, and having covid does to you. Helps you get over writers block. This is my first work I've gone public with, and originally I wasn't going to post it but a friend gave me the confidence to share it! So... here it is, I guess?

I was going to post it on Archives of Our Own too, but I have to wait till the 14th to get an account. 😐

Comments mean the world, even if it's just a couple words. I'll even take criticism to heart! By commenting you all can let me know what you think, and if you want to see the other parts...

Any interaction is appreciated, and my inbox and dms are always open! Thank you, and have a great day! (Or night!)

#harlivy #harley quinn #poison ivy #harleen quinzel #pamela isley #harley quinn animated series #eat bang kill tour #harlivy fanfiction

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javierpinme · 3 years

Text

Part One: New Beginnings

Pairing: Frankie Morales x f!reader

Word count: 3.4k

Warnings: Infidelity, angst, friends to lovers, mentions of alcohol

Rating: M (might change)

Summary: You’ve lived in a small town for half of your life and nothings really changed until it did. Moving halfway across the country you find lasting friendships and a love you needed at the exactly the right time.

A/N: There is not a ton of Frankie in this one since I wanted to set the tone for the reader before they meet! They don’t see/meet each other until near the end (or do they?) I wanted to build the reader’s relationships with the people in her life as there will more parts.

AO3

Masterlist

Want to be on my taglist?

It’s hard to build friendships as an adult without being under the pretense of school or college. It’s especially difficult when you decide to move across the country. Away from your family and friends, but it’s what you needed. Seeing the same four walls you lived in, that same greasy diner that was always your go-to after one too many tequila shots the night before, and that one ex from high school that you’d really rather forget while running errands were making you feel complacent. Wake up. Drink. Eat. Work. Sleep. Repeat. You’ve spent most of your life here. You weren’t about to spend the rest of it here. So, you did something completely unlike you. You packed up your life and moved. The house was beautiful. You’d never owned anything in your life; just rented so this is a major upgrade for you. The first sight that greets you is the stairs after living in a first floor unit for most of your life. The house isn’t in perfect shape, but it’s yours which is all that matters.

The movers have left so you finally had the place to yourself. You couldn’t help the defeated sigh that fell from your mouth at the sight of all the boxes. If your sister and friends were here you’d probably be knee deep in pizza and wine while attempting to build furniture. You gave your brain the space to let that thought sink in, but you craved the freedom so you didn’t let that sit too long. You came here to build your own memories; no room for regrets now. So, the first thing you decide to acclimate yourself with is the closest liquor store and that is how you met Hannah.

The first thing you hear after getting lost reading a wine label is a loud oof before slamming into somebody. You only barely managed to catch the bottle before it became one with the outdated tile.

“I am SO sorry! I’m not even going to lie to you I was not watching where I was going. Are you okay? You didn’t drop anything did you?”

You manage to form a sentence between your scrambled apologies in between. The first thing you notice when you look at the face standing in front of you is how pretty she is. That typical blonde hair and blue eyes type that reminds you of the girls you went to high school with. You wince. Stop it.

“Oh, I’m okay! It was more the residual shock of it really. You must really need that bottle because you were just about ready to run me over in your pursuit to the cash register. Cheating ex or bad date?”

She says with a laugh while pointing at the wine still in your hand. Oh, she’s nice. You immediately feel guilty for that initial judgment when first looking at her.

“Oh, neither. I just moved here and need sustenance to unpack. Who knew you could fit your entire life into boxes?” You mirror her laugh.

“I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone. Walk around the neighborhood and find the necessities which is how I ended up here.” You say with a twirl in your finger.

"Ah, the one down the street that's just begging to be demolished?" She says while snapping her fingers with a mischievous smile.

"Hey, don't talk about her like that. She's old, but she's got character." You can't help the lopsided grin you give her. She hasn't even seen the dream kitchen with those beautiful green cabinets.

“Hey, well if you need help with that-“ her eyes shifting to the bottle, “I live right down the street so I can come over. I know moving somewhere unfamiliar can be a little daunting especially if you’re alone.” You can’t help the wide smile forming at her sweet gesture.

“And to help me unpack right?” You raise an eyebrow.

“I mean I’m better at draining a bottle, but if it’s necessary I will work for food and drinks. But, if I’m going to help you we are going to need way more than that.”

She finishes her sentence grabbing more bottles while traveling through the aisles. The sound of you’ve got to try this one and this one’s local in between aisle changes filling the store. You assure her that she is not off the hook with helping even with the promise of the “best merlot you’ve ever had in your life.”

Bags filling both of your hands and way too much alcohol for just two people to consume you make your way up the steps. Hannah pauses and looks up at the house.

“I was right. It should have been demolished. Will the porch cave in before I make it inside?” She says with skepticism at the foundation of your new home.

“Probably eventually but-“ you turn around to face her, “she’ll last for now. Come on, I haven’t even showed you the best part!”

You open your door and make your way inside leaving the door open for her to follow. You faintly hear from the kitchen “I seriously doubt that”, and you can’t help your chuckle at the remark.

You’ve always wanted a fixer upper; probably from all the HGTV shows you immersed yourself in as a child and the fact you’ve only ever lived in apartments. The first and only thing you managed to unpack first was your wine glasses. You definitely made a point to label them in big writing while packing up back home. A decision you are patting yourself on the back for now.

“So, do you like pizza? I know a good place. Pizza and wine should always be paired with move-in days. Oh, you’re right. This is probably the only good part of your house.”

Hannah leaned on the counter next you before shifting to test the weight taking in the scene of your kitchen.

“Love pizza. It’s not there yet, but I definitely have some plans with it; starting with keeping the color of those cabinets.”

In between sips of your glasses of wine you start to collaborate over your ideas of making it functional and aesthetically pleasing.

It didn’t take very long to start building friendships with the people in your area. You even started joining Sunday brunches and you were overly ecstatic finding out that bottomless mimosas existed. They didn’t have these at the diners back home. They even started assisting you with choosing paint swatches and going to Home Depot because you just had try that DIY project of making your own lounge chair that you found scrolling on Youtube.

“I think your measurements are a little off.”

Alex, probably one of your favorites of the group, mirrors the tilt of your head with his arms crossed. He co-owns a woodworking business with his husband so you wanted him there for any adjustments and moral support. Unfortunately for you, he wanted you to learn first which really meant fail.

You grimace at your handiwork and say, “yeah, I think maybe I should stick with what I’m good at.”

With a breathy laugh he adds, “give yourself some credit. You managed to tear up the carpet in the living room AND still able to keep the original hardwood. That’s no easy feat.”

You’ve somehow managed to create a whole support system in the little time that you’ve spent here. You’ve finally had the time and resources to create your own little touches that make your house now a home.

“Hannah, can’t we just stay in tonight? I’ve already been defeated twice by the light fixture in the living and my fingers are still tingling from the faulty power box. I’m really not in the mood.”

You give her the biggest puppy eyes you can manage while exaggeratingly lifting you fingers.

“Oh no, you’re going out to the bar tonight. You’ve been here for months and you really need to get yourself out there. You’re hot. Own it. Besides, it’s just you and me so there’s no pressure.”

She says with a swat to your ass and a push towards your closet. The only response you can add to that is Hmph.

The bar is nice enough with the dim lighting and it’s not so loud that you can’t hear yourself talk. Hannah insisted you wear one of your nicer dresses, but you wanted to feel like yourself so you opted for a t-shirt tucked into light wash jeans. If you were going to meet anyone tonight you wanted to set the standard for anything that could happen at the start. You’re still nursing your second beer while Hannah is on her third shot of the night. You feel a presence to your right and a sharp pinch to your thigh on your left. Hannah is of course attempting to alert you to the attractive man on the other side of you as if you didn’t notice. You turn around with a pained look on your face to her which she just shrugs off before making herself scarce.

“Can I buy you a drink?”

Your attention is brought back to the man to your right. He is very cute in a boyish kind of way and you briefly wonder if he’s talking to someone else. He’s dressed like he just got out of a business meeting, but his rolled sleeves are definitely doing something for you.

“Sure. What’s your name?” You say with the flirtiest smile you can muster.

“Joey. Nice to meet you.”

God, his smile must do wonders for his conquests. It’s working for you quite honestly. You completely lose track of time talking to him and see out of the corner of your eye Hannah leaving the bar holding onto a man with salt and pepper hair and scruff. Looks like she got lucky too. She gives you a wink as she walks out the door and you look to see where he was sitting in case you need to remember faces. Seems like he was out with some of his friends, but you didn’t get a thorough look because your attention is immediately brought back to Joey. You set a reminder for yourself to check in with her before you go to bed tonight.

It’s been a constant date after date and you were really beginning to develop feelings for him. Sure, you always tried to convince him you didn’t need to be wooed with all these extravagant dates. You were just happy to spend time with him. You didn’t need to go to a fancy restaurant to tell you that. It just wasn’t your style, but it made him happy so you went along with it. You had initially assumed him to be a one night stand, but you were pleasantly surprised to hear from him the next day asking to take you out dinner.

Your muscles in your stomach are straining from how hard you’re laughing at America’s Funniest Home Videos on the TV. Joey is sitting next to you on the couch with takeout cartons loitered all over your coffee table. The living room is starting to lose its natural lighting due to the day coming to a close; the only light source in the room being the lamp sitting on the end table next to the couch and the glow from the TV. You notice Joey looking at you with a far off look.

“What’s wrong?” You ask with a furrow in your brow. “Nothing.” His face shifting to a more pleasant tone once he turns back to the TV. The two of you had settled into a routine at your house. You had even introduced him to your friends and they really seemed to enjoy spending time with him. It was easy for them to fall for his charms as you did.

“Come on, hurry up. You’re supposed to be helping me pick out an outfit for tonight!”

Hannah still continued to see the man from the bar, Santi, his friends called him.

“If I’m supposed to be helping you pick an outfit then why are we in the lingerie section?” You ask with a sly grin on your face.

“That’s for after, of course. Gotta keep it interesting.”

Her laugh followed by her adding some bras and panties to her hands. You agreed to come with her tonight to officially meet him and his friends. You’ve heard enough about him from her. Some very intimate details as well. They weren’t exactly exclusive to each other and as far as you knew they were dating other people which you respected. You were nervous about meeting them, but you knew it was only a matter of time until Hannah would want to do this. You trusted her judgment and you were already comfortable that it was going to be in the bar you usually ventured out to.

In her words, “your only forms of entertainment can’t just be your home projects, Joey and me, you know? You deserve to have fun too and these guys will show you a good time I promise” while ringing up her purchases.

You barely manage to make it through the door of the bar before you feel a breeze next to you from her speeding to Santi with a kiss. You lovingly shake your head at her dramatic antics and make your way over to the table. It’s a little awkward at first since Hannah still had yet to let go of the man sitting next to her and you didn’t know how to start a conversation with these men with what was going on next to you.

“Sorry. I’m Santi, but everyone calls me Pope.”

He reaches over to shake your hand with a tone that is definitely not apologetic at all, but you find it amusing. You like him already. You can definitely see why Hannah was interested, but not your type.

He starts introducing his friends off to you. Will. He seems like the more mellow type of the group and his call sign is Ironhead. Benny is just Benny since he’s the baby of the group.

“He’s the menace of all of us so watch out for this one.” Will ruffles his brother’s hair for added measure which Benny recoils from.

Then, Frankie, they call him Catfish. Oh he’s handsome, but not in the boyish way that Joey is. He’s handsome in a more ruggish kind of way and you can’t seem to break eye contact from him. Your eyes don’t know where to go first so they travel from his deep brown eyes, to the bare patches on the beard he can’t seem to grow that you find yourself wanting to kiss, and to the curls peeking out of his standard heating oil hat. You find yourself itching to take that hat off and run your fingers through the nape of his hair. Stop. He’s the more reserved one in the group which makes sense since he really hasn’t fully spoken more than a few words at a time to you. You can’t control the side glances you keep shooting at him throughout the night. You’re just appreciating the view and maybe conjuring up a few very much domestic fantasies in your head. Liar.

You excuse yourself to go to the bathroom to get a grip on your emotions. Tilting your head at your reflection you point an accusing finger “get yourself together. You ca—.“ You jump at the intrusion of an elderly woman walking into the otherwise empty bathroom; a quizzical look forming on her face from your actions. Your nervous laugh gets the best of you. “It isn’t what it- I don’t always do this.” You’re not sure why you feel the need to explain yourself since she’s already closed the stall before you even got the chance to finish your sentence. You find yourself even more flustered leaving the bathroom than before going into it. This is going to be a long night.

***

Frankie was nervous when Santi first told him that Hannah would be bringing a friend. He remembers you from the night Santi first left with her. How could he forget? You had his attention the moment you stepped into the bar, but by the time he finally worked up the nerve to talk to you another guy had already swooped in. It wasn’t that surprising considering and it was probably for the best. He really wasn’t in any headspace to be in a relationship. His eyes followed you when you left to go to the bathroom in a hurry and he could just feel Santi’s eyes burning into him. He knew. You were exactly his type and he hoped to whoever was up above that he would just leave him to his hopeless crush without interfering.

***

You sit down at the table preparing to come up with some segway into the conversation between everyone when Santi breaks it with a loud clap calling your name out. “So, are you seeing anyone?”

You miss the glare that Frankie shoots him and the embarrassed groan he makes. You don’t miss the warning tone Will gives when calling Santi’s name out, but you get the feeling you’re not entitled to know what that’s about.

“Yes, I am.” Why does it feel so wrong to say that? “His name is Joey.” Hannah chimes in while rubbing Santi’s shoulders.

You also miss the sight of Frankie’s shoulders deflating at that piece of information. Your answer seems to satisfy Santi since he drops it after that and moves on to a different topic. “Benny, when’s your next fight?” It’s Friday apparently and all the guys along with Hannah are going to support him.

Will shifts towards you and says, “you can come if you want.” You cringe on the inside; your insecurities getting the best of you. If you want. They’re only inviting you because you’re there at the moment. “Maybe.” You won’t.

Somehow, Hannah has convinced you to go out with them a second time. “Come on, you can bring Joey since you’re so nervous! Please bring him,” she says with pleading eyes.

“I’m not nervous!” Liar. There is a sliver of truth to her statement, but you don’t want to tell her the reason for your nerves is seeing Frankie again. Yet here you were sitting in a booth with Joey across from Hannah and the rest of the guys.

“Jesus Hannah, he’s not going anywhere.”

You say with a loud laugh at her not so subtle PDA with Santi. “Sorry.” She said with a swipe of trying to remove her lipstick from Santi’s face; her smile never leaving her face. Frankie hasn’t looked at you at all tonight and you can’t help but wonder what you did wrong. You see those eyes crinkle and that cute dimple when he’s dedicating his attention to everyone else at the table, but disappears when his eyes go in your general direction.

At some point the guys and Hannah walk off to buy more drinks leaving you with Joey. He’s hasn’t hid his disinterest of the night at all even when the guys were trying to include him.

“Why are you so grumpy?” “I’m not.” His deep sigh a dead giveaway to his sour mood. “I’m just not vibing with them that’s all.” His eyes following the guys by single file line as he said it. You assure him that you can leave soon which after an hour or so you do.

Tonight’s events must have tired you out more than you thought because you’re fighting yawns the entire ride to Joey’s apartment. You don’t usually spend time here since he prefers staying at your place, but his place was a lot closer to the bar. The minute you walk inside you walk straight to his bedroom so you can promptly pass out as Joey showers. As you start to pull back the blankets something catches your eye. That’s not mine. Your heart rate is starting to speed up at the thought that’s forming in your mind. You reach down and grab a bra that was haphazardly thrown on the floor. The thing is you’d recognize that bra anywhere because you were there when she bought it; the day you were meeting Santi for the first time. You almost didn’t hear the water being shut off in the bathroom and the footsteps coming into the bedroom.

“Hey, what’s goin o—“

His eyes follow where you’re looking and then back up to your face. He’s not even trying to defend himself or come up with some shitty excuse that wouldn’t work anyway.

“How long?” Your voice is barely managing to stay steady while still staring at the incriminating evidence of your betrayal.

“How long, Joey?” His hesitation gives you your answer. It’s been a while.

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