#i just couldn't see him wanting a mistress for any other reason besides this

[radio-writes]

Hi, will u do a human alastor x side mistress reader, so basically he has a wife, but he doesn't really love her, so when he's on the air he has sex with his side mistress in the radio tower. His side mistress knows he's a serial killer, by the way. You don't have to do this if u don't want to. I love ur fics.

By the Gold Ring on His Hand

Synopsis: He loved you and only you. You were his to cherish, to adore, to worship. Sweet words he whispered softy, promisingly, into your ear. Sweet words he also whispered softly to his wife.

Warnings: smut, oral (m receiving), mentions of murder, heavy manipulation, cheating

Tags: human!alastor, alastor x reader, gn!reader, reader is the other wo/man

MDNI

You've always revered Alastor.

You were entranced by the way his smile never broke. The way he seemed to take control of any situation he was put in. The he always managed to just charm the socks off of anyone he's ever met.

You loved the way he made little corny jokes. You loved the way he danced—barely drunk from the bottles of rye he downed.

And oh, did you love the way he spoke.

You could listen to him all day on the radio, just absolutely smitten and melting where you stood. 

The one thing you didn't love about Alastor—the one thing you despised, really—was his wife.

That naive little thing. So meek, so quiet. You always hated the way she would cling onto his arm at parties. Loathed the way she'd shyly smile at everyone, including you.

There was just no way that delicate stupid girl could satisfy someone like Alastor.

Alastor needed, deserved, a real partner. One that had enough of a spine not to be stepped on, at the very least.

Your fingers twitched, aching to touch him more; to caress his thighs that perfectly framed your head. You wanted to feel him beneath you, reassure your heart that he was here with you.

You groaned as your longing was denied. You felt Alastor press his shoes harder against your hands, pinning your palms to the floor. The fingers in your hair tightened their grip, guiding you more strictly down his cock.

It was enough to cheer you up a little. Although your touch was declined, the little vibrations your sounds made clearly still had an effect on him. You felt a little proud knowing something as small as you moaning around him pleasured the hefty cock in your mouth.

The reality was far more bitter, though. Not that Alastor would ever let you know that.

Truth be told his grip was a warning. He had explicitly told you to be quiet, to keep your hands to yourself. But you seemed to be so adamant on testing his patience today, as you were refusing to do both.

Alastor's smile strained just a tad bit more in annoyance as he spoke into the microphone. "Hate to finish up the broadcast with some sour news, but someone's gotta keep you lovely folks up to date!"

You continued to bob your head between his legs, hidden from the rest of crew by the control panel. You made sure to drag the flat of your tongue over the under side of Alastor's dick each every time you lowered your mouth to his crotch. If your ministrations did anything for him, you couldn't really tell.

His voice was perfect, not a tone out of place as he continued his broadcast. You've never seen a man so well put together while having someone's mouth serve them so reverently.

"Seems the coppers found a couple more for the good old wooden kimonos last night. Grizzly sight it was—so I heard. Hate to be the ones to dig those poor souls out."

Even though he was the one to put them there in the first place, you suppressed a laugh. Not that you were complaining, though. It was part of how you and Alastor finally got together, after all.

Alastor finished up his broadcast, and you continued your slow little prayer on your knees. He waved his staff away when they tried to approach, simply sending them off with a friendly jest that he'd meet them at the bar after he cleaned up his work station.

It was only when the lock clicked behind his crew did Alastor finally acknowledge you. His lovely smile was intact, but you could tell his mood was a little soured by the way his brown eyes narrowed at you from behind his glasses.

The hand gripping your hair pulled you off his cock, a pathetic whine escaping your lips as he did so.

Alastor tried to ignore the—rather off putting—sight of a thin string of fluids connecting your mouth to the head of his dick. He bent down closer to you, keeping his gaze locked on yours.

"My dear, I thought I told you to be quiet while I worked." His voice was as sweet as ever.

You chuckled lightly, you wanted to move your hands to cup his cheek, bring him even closer to you. Perhaps even for a kiss to lift his seemingly bad mood.

The moment Alastor so much as felt your fingers twitch, he stepped harder on your hands again, keeping them pinned to the floor and away from him.

You opted to shrug your shoulders sheepishly instead. "I may have gotten carried away," You responded coyly "You just taste so good."

Alastor did his best not to cringe, choosing to tighten his smile. Ah, you were in one of your moods again, he thought.

"Then why don't you go ahead and have your fill of me now." His hand left the back of your head, resting instead on the sides of his chair as he leaned back. The gold band on his ring finger momentarily caught the light and drew your attention to it.

Your chest tightened just the slightest bit. You absolutely hated the reminder that Alastor wasn't fully yours. That he'd still go home to his stupid wife at the end of the day.

But not for long, at least that's what Alastor had promised you. And not right now. 

You ran your tongue along the thick vein of his cock, from the bottom, up its shaft, and smiled at the sight of his hips bucking up to your touch.

"In your mouth now again, darling." It didn't sound like a request, but you obeyed faithfully anyway. You were rewarded with a soft sigh as you welcomed him back in your warm mouth.

You'd bet your job that his sweet little wife never pleased him like this. Skittish thing like that would probably run at the thought of putting her lips on a hard dick.

Well, her loss is your gain.

You were so far gone in your own head that you hadn't even noticed Alastor wasn't looking at you.

No, instead his head craned towards the ceiling of his studio, eyes closed and tired.

He was trying to focus on the physical sensations you brought him, not that he had much of an interest in it in the first place, but he tried hard to concentrate. All he had to do was finish, and he could finally leave. Leave you here with some sweet promises, and not have to deal with your disgustingly loving gaze on him until maybe his next shift on Monday.

Not that spending time with his wife at home felt any more appealing.

He pushed the thoughts away, willing his mind to stay on you instead. He thought he can finish, at least he could feel the bottom of his gut tightening just a tiny fair bit.

He focused on the way your tongue felt as it swirled around him. How your lips stretched so softly to fit his shaft. How you practically drooled over his cock. How you—

You were noisier now that you knew you were alone, and it wasn't doing Alastor any favors. A rather loud moan cutting through his mind and it almost made the coil in his gut loosen completely, his shoulders tensing instead.

No, no this just wouldn't do. He had much more interesting plans tonight than to sit there and buy your silence with his cock.

His hand reached out once more, much less gentle than it was before. With less grace and care, Alastor's hand rested on the back of your neck, before harshly pushing you down as he bucked his hips up.

Your eyes were wide, a surge of panic filled you at the suddenness of the sensation. His dick hit the back of your throat and you tried to pull back immediately.

Alastor's other hand came up to the back of your head to push you back down. Your nose pressed firmly to his skin as his cock pushed past your throat. 

Your arms strained as you tried to use your hands to push him away, but Alastor merely stepped on your fingers harsher to get you to stay.

"Ah, fuck, darling. Stay like that. Oh that's lovely." You thought you heard him say.

He was finally looking down at you. The way you heaved as you choked on him. The way your body spasmed to get away. The way panic filled your pretty tearful eyes. 

Your throat tightening around him as you tried desperately to breathe felt miles better than whatever you were trying to do before, and it was exactly what he needed.

"Finally," He breathed out softly, almost in a moan, feeling the coil in his gut finally snap. He pressed you down, just the tiniest bit more and you felt his warm seed flow down your willing throat.

"There we go, dear." Alastor's harsh grip in your hair loosened, slowly petting through your locks. The hand on your neck remained, locking you in and rendering you unable to pull free.

Your eyes flickered up to him, part of you ready to beg for mercy, but one sight of his dazed smile made you pliant. Your body relaxed into his touch, simply letting him ride his high out with your bruised throat. 

He must have just gotten carried away, that's all. Simply something new he never got to do with his stupid wife. 

You felt his softening dick slowly pull out of you, his shaft dragging across your tongue and you finally pulled free with a choked gasp of air.

A gentle hand tipped your face back to meet Alastor's before you could be too dramatic. He pressed a gentle, chaste, kiss to the corner of your lips to calm you.

"You'll have to forgive me, my dear. Your body just makes me feel far too good—just couldn't hold back." The charm practically oozed from his smooth tongue.

Your gaze softened immediately. Your hands, now free from beneath his feet, made their way to his cheeks but he easily pulled back.

Really, what on earth made you think he'd let you touch him with filthy hands. Had you forgotten he'd been stepping on them this entire time? Kind of rude, if you'd ask him.

Not that any of those thoughts showed when Alastor simply, gently, helped you up to your feet by your elbow.

"Always so good to me, my dear. How I got so lucky to have a divine thing like you service me, I'd never know." He stood up with you, part of him did enjoy it whenever he got to look down on you in a more literal sense.

He pressed his body against yours, arms on the control panel behind you as he caged you in. His lips barely grazed your ears as he continued his sweet, sweet, praises. "Why couldn't you have shown up sooner, dear? I would have had it all." 

You placed your hand on his chest, failing to notice the way he flinched at the touch. "You still could, you know? All you have to do is leave that naive little thing and I could give you this every night." Your voice was low, seductive, alluring.

Alastor held back an annoyed groan. This again. His eyes rolled, not that you could see it with his head nuzzling against your shoulder.

"We both know I treat you so much better." You continued, hand trailing up to scratch at the hair at the bottom of his neck. "And I'd never hold you back from that little hobby of yours either." 

He chuckled at that, you could feel his lips at the base of your neck. "My dear, we've been through this." His kisses were soft, gentle, barely touching you, just like how he preferred it. "You don't have to feel so threatened by her, it's you that I want."

"Then why don't you—"

A gasp passed your lips.

"Leave her?" Alastor continued your sentence when you couldn't. His warm tongue licked over the reddened skin he bit. "I will, my dear, I will. Things are just a bit complicated at the moment."

More complicated than you knew, really.

He couldn't leave his wife because her dad was a big boss of his station. His ass would be out on the streets in minutes if he ever hurt that shy doll.

But he couldn't just kill you either. Not when your dad was the town sheriff.

He was lucky you were so obsessed with him that fucking you once in a while was enough to keep your pretty little mouth shut.

Honestly, just fuck the day you caught him slicing that man's flesh. That scum was hardly worth all the trouble he now has to go through.

"But I'm working on it." Alastor promised as he finally pulled away from you.

You gazed up into his warm, honest eyes. You adored the way he towered over you, really. It's like you fit together so perfectly—like puzzle pieces, was it? Was that how that cheesy line went.

"And then we can be together?" Your palms move to cup his face, and Alastor caught them on instinct before they could.

But you didn't notice, not when he corrected his actions so smoothly by pressing his lips to your knuckles instead—he tried his best to ignore how filthy they are, just to hide his mistake. "Of course, darling. In fact, I think I can work things out by tonight." 

Your father was going to be alone at the station.

Your eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yes, my dear. Soon all of this hiding and sneaking around will be a thing of the past." He said, almost with the same amount of excitement as you.

He couldn't wait to toss your body in a ditch next to your old man's corpse.

"But I musn't be late"

He'll miss his chance to slit your father's throat if he lingered any longer.

"Soon you wouldn't have to be jealous of my wife, dear."

After all, the dead don't envy do they?

Alastor willed himself to humor you one last time, pressing his lips to yours before he bid you a good night.

He couldn't have rushed out that door any faster.

Who would have known trying to keep his cover would have eaten up so much of his time? He barely had any left to do the very act he was even trying to cover for.

Honestly, how troublesome.

But no matter, no matter.

He glanced back at the station. He could vaguely see your lovestruck figure through the window. He watched amusedly as you pathetically held your fingers to your lips, absolutely lost on cloud nine.

It won't be long until he was rid of you, and that fact was enough to lift his sour mood.

#tw: mentions of murder #tw: heavy manipulation #tw: cheating #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin alastor #hazbin alastor x reader #alastor #alastor x reader #alastor smut #gn!reader #vien writes #I'm sorry i made alastor want to kill you #i just couldn't see him wanting a mistress for any other reason besides this #alastor only fucks to fuck with people in my book if that makes sense #if the smut seems choppy y'all can blame susan

[thekatebridgerton]

Please give us more of the Twisted Fairy Tale AU's! Like you know Anthony's siblings agreed to help him overthrow their mother to go after their respective love interests. I'm curious as to what fairy tale would suit Benedict and Sophie with Cinderella being out of the way. I can the Little Mermaid (the Hans Christian Anderson One) going along with Penelope or Lucy's story.

Well since you asked. here's a continuation of my twisted Farytales au. for Benophie, Polin and Philoise. hit the keep reading button if youre interested

find the original post with the kanthony twisted fairytale here

Benophie:

You see, Kate’s twisted Cinderella story wasn't supposed to end that way, everyone knows the story, nice girl evil stepsister, meets a fairy gets a dress, goes to the ball, dances with the Prince. Voila happy ending. so then what happened? why did the Prince get distracted by the evil stepsister and not by Cinderedwina?.

Well it might have been the silver fairy’s fault. To be fair, Sophie wasn't supposed to be there. Fairy Genevieve who was Edwina's actual godmother, had a problem with her wings and couldn't make it so someone had to fill in for her and neither Posy or Rosamund wanted to. Sophie herself, was just one of the three fairies of fortune currently raising Princess Hermione in the woods. But a friend asked for a favor so there she was making sure that everything went according to the plan in the Bridgerton Ball and attending the masquerade ball with a little bit of magic

And okay maybe the reason some fairies became fairies was because they never got a happy ending so Sophie indulged herself with one little dance with the second Prince to sate her curiosity of what could have been. He did have a rule that he’d only marry a girl who could feel a pea under a thousand mattresses, so dancing with him was a safe bet. Later she would just magically make him forget her when she went back home to the other fairies anyway. What was love at first sight for a guy who believed in hiding peas under matresses? Really, Love at first sight was just a myth told by humans to other humans. Besides she’s messed up Cinderedwina’s fairytale by not being vigilant enough on who was dancing with Prince Anthony in the first place. The Silver fairy needed to do some damage control asap.

 Prince Benedict and his attractiveness could stuff it, there were more important things in the world than being his mistress (She’s a fairy!! Fairies don’t fall into bed with humans!! Let alone have dalliances with them in beds of a thousand mattresses with peas hidden in them), Sophie needed to fix her mess and help Kate escape Prince (now King) Anthony and get the Cinderedwina story back on track, She just didn’t count on the Bridgerton royal family being one of those weirdos blessed by the Queen of the Fairies who went a bit crazy if they couldn’t be with their true love. But what’s a second prince to do when he falls inlove with one sleeping beauty’s 3 fairy Godmothers. Well, make war with the fae until they give up her location of course.

Oh Forget Kate!!!, now Prince Benedict has started a fairy hunt of his own and Sophie is running/flying for her life. What’s that about the troll castle that’s supposed to be East of the Sun and West of the moon? Do you think that’s far enough to get away from this family of maniacs?

Polin because why not:

Penelope the magic-less daughter of a beauty obsessed witch (literally, her mother mixes beauty potions for fun and occasionally curses people). Always knew her life wasn’t destined for tales. Raised at court, nursing a little (big) crush on the third prince she resigned herself to spinsterhood, it’s okay that prince Colin never saw her as more than a friend, she could still dance at balls, and write her funny columns for fun. One day she’d be the lady in waiting to princess Eloise anyway, when her friend finished finding true love that is.

 And then Colin washes up ashore after a shipwreck and claims Penelope… rescued him and now he wants to marry her?? Oh no, no, no no, Penelope Featherington is the daughter of a witch and she knows there’s only one type of creature that rescues handsome men at sea, and Penelope is not a mermaid, neither is she keen on inviting the wrath of one into her door just because Colin was at the verge of death and hallucinated with her face!! Penelope doesn’t even like the beach, she doesn’t even sing.

Whoever the siren that did this to him is, they better snap Colin out of his besottedness with her!! Which definitely looks like a mermaid love song gone wrong. She demands a recount. So she takes the next ship out of the kingdom and goes on an adventure to track down Mermaid island and find whoever that mermaid was (Meanwhile poor dear mermaid Marina would simply like to clarify to Penelope that her love spell didn’t work because the guy was already inlove with someone else, and that it only made the man realize his feelings)   

And Colin, well he always knew that traveling so much and leaving Penelope alone would make her easy to seduce by other men, he just thought he’d be safe from that with his brothers watching over her. Clearly he was wrong, it’s sea creatures he should be wary of, surely Penelope has rejected him because she’s gone to look for her merman lover. And Anthony is already taking over the kingdom, and Benedict is hunting down a fairies, what’s wrong with him starting a war with the sea creatures too in the meantime? Nobody is going to steal his Penelope away from him

Phillip and Eloise

You know when you’re the father of this Generation’s Hansel and Gretel and you live in a Kingdom where the newly crowned King is certifiably crazy, and in love with a recently initiated witch (who knew Lady Kate would turn to the dark arts to escape that tyrant). You just don’t around advertising that you just helped Lady Kate hightail out to your brother’s estate in the neighbor kingdom, or that the Silver Fairy happened to pass by and gave your family some very impressive gifts as thanks for giving her food. Or that your kids murdered a witch in an oven and are now a little too bloodthirsty for your taste.  

You as a sensible man, especially don’t mention that detail of your life to the pretty dark haired stranger who showed up at your door seeking shelter after the 7 dwarves kicked her out of their cottage for being incredibly bossy. And while discretion was a virtue of his, Phillip’s great flaw in life was that he was too trusting. And lived in the woods, while the royal family was making war on every magical species available to hunt.

 So what if he just thought that Miss “Louise” was one of those ladies running away from obsessive men (he already met two, three if you counted Miss Penelope whom he gave directions towards Mermaid island when he went to the bay to trade). He never thought that Louise was anything but a person in need. Was miss Louise very prone to attracting witches with poisoned apples? Yes, but Phillip ran a plant apothecary, he was great at detoxifying, and he loved to feel useful by doing whatever she wanted.

Phillip wanted a normal life in his apothecary with his plants and his witch killing kids, how was he to know the woman he fell in love was a scary princess on a mission to help her brothers hunt down their true loves. Now Eloise wants her cute plant man to come live with her at the palace with their kids (they’re hers now too, she loves them, they’re going to kill so many witches together until Anthony finds Kate). And Phillip just wants to cry at the mess he's gotten into.

Especially because he knows exactly where Kate, Sophie and Penelope are!!

#twisted fairytale au #polin #philoise #benophie #colin bridgerton #benedict bridgerton #eloise bridgerton #penelope featherington #phillip crane #sophie beckett

[erudianokabe]

Nat-san (@quiveringdeer) and I were talking about this scenario. So. As requested, I am posting this here. But this is seriously the first time I'm doing something like this, so I do hope I do this justice, and for whoever reads it to find some enjoyment in it.

Afternoon gets a bit boring when your husband wasn't around. But what can you do? You're new to this wife business and as much as you want to spend as much time as possible with him, you can't. How could you when he was a man of particular importance? The war was over, sure, but the army and the military weren't going away which meant that your husband— former Vice Chief, now appointed a rank higher— wasn't all yours for the taking.

Sometimes, you wonder who he was REALLY married to. Was he married to you, or was he married to Marley instead… with you being some mistress that he went home to so very late into the night; like you were the secret.

"Aren't you worried that he's spending too much time at the base? What if it's not work? What if someone has him intertwined around their little pinky?" A concerned friend asked you. It's not always that you ask her to drop by. After all, she was not from Marley. You could only ever ask Hitch to visit when she was in town AFTER she's done with her own series of work. You were just so lucky, weren't you? Every one of your friends just had to be from one form of military to the next. Still, you can't help but want the company. There were just some days when you felt a little lonely, a little frustrated even, when you know that Reiner won't be coming home early because Marley comes first.

It's not as if you don't understand why he does what he does either. Keeping Marley safe meant keeping you safe, and with those little details inserted into the equation, your husband was even more eager and zealous about Marley's stability as a nation. He no longer has the Armor, but that doesn't mean that he can no longer protect his homeland. He was a warrior and a soldier. He's equipped with enough knowledge, training, and experiences to make things work.

"That'd be easier to remedy if that's the case." You started, shrugging your shoulders whilst leaning back against the wooden chair. You threw your head back, eyes fixed on the ceiling. A small pout etching itself on your features.

"So, what you're saying is it's fine if he has a lover?" She continued to interrogate, her honeyed tone of voice taunting. A digit pressed itself upon your cheek and all you could do was swat away at Hitch's hand.

"Absolutely not. What I'm saying is, I don't even need to be worrying about others when I'm already losing to his duties as War Chief. And I'm telling you, Hitch, at the rate that Reiner's going, he won't have eyes for any other man or woman— me included." She could hear the frustration in your voice, and couldn't help but laugh a bit. Who knew that your man of choice would be Mr. Boring. That Reiner guy, the one who wrote Annie the dullest letters.

"He sounds as soul-crushingly boring as ever." She says, this time, taking hold of her cup to take a sip of the tea that you've prepared prior.

"It's not like that, he's just really busy. Besides," You reasoned, pausing a while as you folded your arms over your chest.

"Besides?" The curiosity took over your companion for a bit, mildly eager to hear what you had to say to defend your workaholic partner.

"Besides, it's not like I can strangle his paperwork. And if I shred them, he'll get mad at me…" Again. You noted; Hitch raising a brow at you, a silent way of asking if you've actually done it. Which you have; something that she picked up on when you looked away guilty as a criminal. It took a few seconds for the woman beside you to burst into a healthy fit of laughter. Oh the way she would have paid good money to see his reaction to that.

"It's not funny! He really got mad at me; you know!" And yet, the crimson that painted your cheeks hardly seemed like an indication of what's usually supposed to be disappointment. "Well, if he was really mad, how come you look so flustered, hmn~? Are you skimping out on some juicy tidbit? Come on, you can tell me~"

"I-I'm not. It's just that…"

And you trail off, murmuring unintelligible words as you try to force the memory back, and failing in the process.

You remembered it so clearly. Your husband's hulking frame before you, looking at you as if you were some sort of miscreant. The War Chief looked like he was waiting for something, an explanation that he couldn't wedge out of you because you were being childish. More or less however, he was aware of your crimes because he caught you red handed.

"Do you know what you've done?" His voice was stern, disappointment dripping from his mouth like venom from a viper's fang.

"I was getting rid of competition." You clicked your tongue then, arms folded, eyes cast to the side and pouting like a brat. You were a little younger than him, but he didn't expect you to act like a child. Granted that on most occasions, he found that charming, but this time was different. There was no reason for you to have ripped his documents to shreds. No matter what reason you had, that was something that you shouldn't have done; and an act that he couldn't exactly condone. Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose, one hand massaging his temple. How was he even going to explain this to the brass? "I hope you know that those were logistics reports, maps to supply routes, as well as an analysis for the next mission. I can pretty much draft everything else, but how do you expect me to go to base tomorrow without those maps? You've gone a little too far with this one."

"Tell them your wife ate it." The spite that was seething from your lips made him furrow his brow. Perhaps it was his fault because he's been working nonstop lately, but he's explained this to you time and time again. He knows that you're smart, that you and him have an understanding, but this was just a little too much, even for you. And this bratty answer, you weren't 12 years old to be saying things like this.

"What are you? A dog?" He asked sarcastically, gathering new sheets of paper from his desk in order to draft new reports while there was still time. "With the way that you're being pretty difficult lately, I should eat you instead." A thoughtless remark, for sure.

"Do you even have the time to do that? You're so busy flirting with your work, that I think I prefer you taking whiffs of Historia's letters instead." You said, also rather thoughtlessly. This made him look up from his drafts. The stare he gave you was absolutely indignant. You were really doing this right now, weren't you?

"Hey, I stopped doing that a long while ago. Now, I only do that to your letters." Reiner attempted at a taunt, maybe that would get you to back down.

"You could be doing that to things other than letters, but of course, you don't have the time." Your answer definitely made him believe that this was all his fault. Him always letting this rebellious attitude of yours slide. A part of him found your jealousy for the mundane adorable, and he loved you for it, but sometimes you also really got on his nerves. And when you do, when you're visibly annoyed at him and making that face… pouting, it makes him want to forget what he's doing and indulge in you. Maybe play your game, put you in your place. Wreck you a bit.

"Are you really challenging me right now?" And when he thought about putting you in place, it was to remind you that you were his top priority even if he's showing it through this obsessive means of insuring you a safe future.

"Sir, with all due respect." There wasn't even a shred of respect in your tone. "If the boot fits, lace it up." Your reply was cheeky and defiant. And he didn't have any words for that in that instant. How that attitude of yours made him chew at the inner walls of his cheek. How that made him undo his tie and unbutton his shirt's collar just to give him some room to breathe. Sometimes, putting you in place also meant giving you your just desserts for being so… you. Sometimes, he just couldn't hold back the urge to make you bite more than you can chew.

Needless to say, two things happened that night. One, someone ate their words. Second, someone was reminded just what Reiner specialized in as the Armored Titan.

"By way of your silence and that look on your face, I'd say Reiner showed you who the boss was." You were pulled out of your thoughts when Hitch's voice broke the silence. You were going to protest but that grin on her face just made you all the more guilty. See, Hitch was the best and the worst person for these conversations. She was the best because she listened attentively to these little girl talks, was invested in the details and the little gossips… but she was also the worst because Hitch was invested in the little details that, when pieced together, gave depth to the entirety of the puzzle. Why was she extra sharp when it comes to things like these?

"P-pretty much." You admitted because the glint in your friend's eye was already an indication that you couldn't lie your way out of this one.

"Well, was it good?" If Hitch could stop hammering you like this… but when she starts, she can be pretty relentless. For a moment, you were silent. Unsure if you even wanted to answer this because it was embarrassing. Soon enough, you folded your arms against the table and pressed your face against it. So helpless. Red as a beet, gaze thrown coyly at the interrogator.

"He was amazing." You whined in defeat, unable to hold yourself back from bragging about your husband. It was the truth anyway, so there was nothing wrong with admitting to it, right?

#◤ .You have to be a Chosen One. ◥ Imagines and Reader Inserts #◤ .To You ◈ 2000 Years From Now. ◥ Drabbles #quiveringdeer #Reiner Braun x Reader #AoT imagines #Suggestive? Kind of? Maybe? I don't know. #hitch dreyse #Reiner Braun #Here you go Nat-san~

[unecoccinellenoire]

Hi,

I have a one million dollar question about when Emilie confronted Nathalie in Make Me Over.

😉

Thanks

Have a belated birthday present in the form of me finally filling this :)

Nathalie walks exactly as far into the room as it takes to ascertain no teenagers are hiding into any nooks or crannies and then carefully slowly turns around.

Any idea of conveying the danger Paris had once seen in her is lost at how Emilie out artifices her with her studied learn against the wall.

"My husband is in love with you," Emilie declares before Nathalie can even say a thing, "and I know him- he's old fashioned. So he'll have told you before tonight; wanting to spare the poor innocent maiden from the jealous harpy. Not that I can see what's so innocent about stealing someone's husband."

Her hands suddenly regretted leaving her drink behind her. Instead she crossed her arms, "So?"

"So?"

"Gabriel and I never did anything. I had no idea of his feelings," and besides that, because she's been asking herself this even since the restaurant, "if they even are real and not something you've put into his head for whatever reason."

Emilie tilts her head even so slightly, so her hair shifts to show off that white swanlike neck. If Nathalie couldn't see the venom in her eyes it would almost come off as seductive.

"What reason on earth would I have to do that?"

She inhales. It's a gamble. But then Nathalie has her own resentments. For being thrown into a situation where her own feelings are so exposed. For everything Mayura encapsulated.

For the fact they did as they said they would and saved Emilie and that's why Gabriel can come to her and tell her he loves her and it doesn't change anything.

"Because it's easy to blame me isn't it? Easy to say I'm why the two of you don't connect like you did, why it took so long to save you, why Adrien looks elsewhere for support. Because the alternative is either blaming him, or blaming yourself."

Emilie seems frozen for a moment, as if not moving is the only way she can stop herself from assaulting Nathalie.

Then she laughs.

"There's the Nathalie I remember. "

Despite her apparent amusement Nathalie doesn't feel any safer. Feigning boredom she tries, "can I go now? Neither of us are going to do anything so all these theatrics are for nothing."

She starts to walk out when Emilie says, "I'm willing to share "you know."

"What."

"My husband."

"No, I got that," she's not stupid, "I just can't believe what I'm hearing."

"He's..." Emilie swallows, "he's not the man the was, not the Gabriel I know, but together, together Nathalie we could fix him. Put him back were he belongs on the top of the fashion world."

Nathalie does consider it.

For a second.

And then Emilie says, "you could come back as his assistant, I'll drag him to a few public events, you could even have him to yourself when I'm filming-"

"Stop." Nathalie holds up her hand, "I'm not going agree to be Gabriel's mistress to patch up your marriage."

"Good." Emilie says with a nod.

"Good?" Nathalie hates this uncertainty Emilie can make her feel.

And yet the other woman glances down shyly like she's the one who's unsure, "knowing that makes it easier to see you as, well,-"

Then suddenly Emilie's lips are on hers, and she's a similar height to Sylvie but there's air where usually Nathalie's hands would grip onto hips, and shock instead of comfort, and Emilie is beautiful, has always been so in a way that had transfixed a younger less jaded Nathalie, but right now she doesn't want her at all.

Fingers trickle at the nape on her neck sending lightning down her spine and that breaks her out of whatever fugue state she's in enough to shove Emilie off her.

"Are you alright?" Gabriel's voice echoes from the doorway.

Whether he's addressing her, or his wife who she's sent into the wall with more force than she'd really meant to she's not sure.

#gabenath #kinda of emenath but more like anti-emenath?

[mengyao]

4 for strike dear mistress, 12, 17, 22 for fowd, and 46!

4. What detail in strike, dear mistress are you really proud of?

oh jeez. there are a fair amount in there tbh, since it was me trying to cram all of my headcanons about JC pertinent to foowd that couldn't come across naturally via NHS POV into one piece of PWP, but i liked getting to dwell a bit on JC's whole concept of marriage and how miserable he imagines it must be if it's not with someone he's already actively in love with… If he did put effort into looking for candidates, he can’t imagine anyone angling their daughters at him for any reason besides his name and position. Not with his reputation. He’s not compelled by the prospect of being politely—or impolitely—tolerated under his own fucking roof. He remembers his parents. How difficult it is to share a life. he's not even really wrong because i can't imagine that marrying some random 20 year old at this point in time would be emotionally fulfilling for him lol. he's framing it in this scene as being about his Perverse Sexual Desires but that's not really the issue… tfw you got promoted to authority figure as a teen but you're a baby brother to the core :( and you just want someone to genuinely like you for you, not just respect and defer to you out of social obligation :(

12. Are there any tropes you used to dislike but have grown on you?

i think the opposite experience is more common for me lmao but i'm sure this has happened before. let me think. hnmmmmm i'm still very picky about amnesia fics but kitsch's bingqiu amnesia fic you are who you love outsold!

17. What highly specific AU do you want to read or write even though you might be the only person to appreciate it?

[shaky deep breath] Beefleaf. Madoka Magica. Fusion,

i litchjerally don't have more details about this concept than a very vague moodboard about um. girls who become witches (who pretend they're girls). cosmic entropy. does this make shi wudu kyubey or is kyubey jun wu? who can say. this is all part of my compulsion to assign all of my faves with "homura akemi vibes" regardless of if this is a real thing that they have

22. Who is your favorite character in flight of a one-winged dove and why?

[rihanna mario tweet voice] nie huaisang baby! nie fucking huaisang!!!!!

the reasons i love nhs (and foowd nhs specifically) are manifold so i shant elaborate on them here besides to say that for me personally, the characters i feel the most affection for are the ones who have a lot of problems that they didn't create but then who go on to create a bunch more problems for themselves and others, and you understand why they did so and they probably think they had no choice but it's like hmmmmmmmmm girl but did you really. did you really,

i like to pity my favs. just a bit. but also i want them to be happy whether or not they deserve it. you know how it is

46. Do you prefer writing on your phone or on a computer (or something else)? Do you think where you write affects the way you write?

i hate writing on my phone because it's so un-ergonomic and i have an on-and-off repetitive stress injury so i try to minimize the amount of typing i do on there BUT i do find that i often make different connections or get different ideas about how to write things when i'm on a phone, just because you're physically looking at the words in a different way, they end up arranged on the screen differently, etc… the "shape" changes… you can see much less words at a time vs. opening up a page on a computer screen… so i often do nitpicky little line edits on my phone, especially if i'm just reading a draft/wip file over idly on the train or before falling asleep etc (both of which i do a lot.)

my desktop computer in my room is where i do either my best or my worst writing, because i either get super in the zone or i'm sitting there totally distracted by everything else i can do on my computer/in my bedroom and have no sense of the external accountability that i'd have in a public place, or even out at the desk in the living room where my roommates can pass back and forth (i'm pretty good at writing deranged stuff in a small font stonefacedly which is the only way this is able to work)

#replies

[galesdevoteewife]

Crafting List

Sooo I have way too many drafts piling up, and I'm having a bit of decision paralysis here 😅 Thought I would make a list of them. For the sake of my personal notes and perhaps some community help on choosing? Feel free to let me know if anything interested you! <3

! Spoiler ahead, all the way to epilogue !

Pregame

The Proud Arch Wizard

1. "Mine was a popular hand at the annual Blackstaff's Ball" -Yet Gale was the one who couldn't be won by anyone, for magic was his one true love. 2. Imagining his character at the time, how he had been "many things to many people." Finished: - Imagining baby Gale - Imagining teenager Gale

Zilvera’s Past

1. The chained elephants. In Menzoberranzan, an enslaver is nothing but a slave to another. There is no innocent in the cursed cycle. 2. Her friendship with a myconid. 3. A series of sicky dark romance with her ex-mistress.

Quarantined Gale’s Life

1. How he was frustrated by becoming a weave-thirst abomination. Finished: - Doodles of the seclusive wizard

Act 1

Some relationship curves, about how Zilvera was ironically learning there are other things besides survival from Gale. And how she was confused by the springing affection.

1. Cooking. 2. The names of the stars. 3. The hand that feeds. 4. The song of a friend. Finished: - Late night chat - Gale's Snack pouch - Gale complaining about being stealthy

Non-Romance

1. Astarion’s vampire reveal -bloody and violent, yet only goblins died, so not too bad, I guess? -> something like this Finished: - Just a drawing of Astarion and Zilvera - Shower time

Act 2

Where the romance is getting real.

My take on Act 2 cutscene. Finished: - But I've got so many - The first morning together - The new couple still getting used to seeing each other's skin - Chatting with Astarion after first night

Act 3

A series of relationship bonding, a bit of bittersweet as they were so in love, but any day could be their last.

1. "If you need a moon, I will be one for you" – comforting Gale who was having doubts about his decision. 2. My take on Act 3 cutscene. Zilvera was feeling hurt by the way Gale phrased his request. 3. Gale was keen on studying...'anthropology'. He went consulting the professionals. Finished: - Kissing the wizard - "Marriage? What's that?" - Halsin's offer - Zilvera's submissive kink reveal - The orb offer - Last kiss

Non-Romance

1. Astarion’s ritual choice. 2. Some doodles with the companions. 3. Zilvera left with Astarion in a rush at the dock. They spent some time saying goodbyes. Finished: - Astarion needed a 'mirror' so... - Zilvera's endgame character sheet

Postgame

Life in Waterdeep

1. Going home. 2. Propose. 3. *Wedding (which I have no idea how it should be yet lol) 4. Highest Ambition. 5. "I want to be who's best for you, but the more I try, the more I realize... I might never be the one." -Zilvera was frustrated, jealous, and scared. For Gale no longer needed to be saved, and she didn't know how else she could keep him. 6. Jealousy - a series of little stories where one of Gale’s apprentices, who was staying in his tower with them, had a crush on Zil. 7. A queue of stories where Zil was figuring out her place and finding goals. 8. Moments with Tara/Morena/Gale’s acquaintances, etc. ∞ Endless list of small sweet moments in life xD Finished: - Doodle about braiding hair - Christmas knitting competition [1] | [2]

God Romance

As the divinity roots deeper and deeper, they sometimes forget the reasons for holding hands. Still, there is hope since they have forever.

1. Some good days. 2. A means to an end - Gale was granting his love to his chosen, but he was also the one who felt hurt and confronting Zil for not saying anything. 3. How Gale’s insecurity was eating him and the God of Ambition was a possessive, jealous type of lover. Finished: - Just a drawing of crowning

I also want to create some nicely finished pieces, magic kink NSFW ideas, animatics, dividers, modern AU doodles, and, and... Did I ever mention they're constantly turning in my head 24/7???

#bg3 #gale x tav #gale romance #bg3 spoilers #notes to self #my brain is writing a very thick book #help choose? #hyperfixation is my thing #normal has died #speaking of dividers i am open to any idea! #constantly updating #the spell is too strong #do i need a doctor or a withers??

[mytwilightimagines13]

Pet The Beginning (Part Nine)

Masterlist

IMPORTANT MESSAGE: Okay before we start, this may seem like an somewhat awkward or unnecessary chapter but, consent and talking openly about what you want or don't want and what you desire from your partner is crucial in consent and just good sex overall. This way no one can go over your limits and you cannot cross theirs. Real life isn't like the movies where the partner just magically seems to know what you like and it takes communication to fully satisfy your needs, fantasies and to fully get consent. Okay enought babbling, enjoy!

Headcanon requests: Open Imagine requests: Closed Taglist: Open

Taglist: @aro-is-gay-af @vamp-army @raindancer2004 @like-rain-or-confetti @volturidoll13 @kpopgirlbtssvt @avyannadawn @alexavolturisblog @alecvolturiswifeforever @imaginetwilight2704 @develin13 @marcusofthevolturi @wallwriterstuff @volturiwolf

Word count: 1.336

28th of February 2006 Volterra, Italy

The masters and mistresses led me to what seemed to be a large meeting room inspired by the Middle Ages. Then again, it would not have surprised me if the room hadn't really gotten and update since then. The room was made of dark bricks and the floor was a rich, ebony colour. Large, open windows spread around the room allowed the evening sun to lighten up the room, making it seem very spacious. Besides every window a large torch was mounted on the wall, providing the room with light once the sun went down. In the middle, a large, round table resided with about 10 chairs around it. A large fireplace with a roaring fire stood on the opposite side of the door, not only further providing the room with light, but also with warmth.

Heidi, Felix and Demetri were occupying three seats when we walked in. The three quickly stood up and nodded their heads in greeting. Heidi smiled brightly as soon as I stepped in while Felix smirked and Demetri winked. I blushed, bit my lip and felt my heartbeat slowly increasing. Aro took his spot right in front of the fireplace with Sulpicia seated on his right. Caius and Athenodora took a seat on Sulpicia’s right and Marcus led me to the two empty chairs at Aro's left. He pulled back my chair for me and I thanked him before sitting down. Marcus sat down next to me and held out his hand for me to hold. I thankfully took it in mine, feeling little calmer than before.

“Very well, we all know why we are here.” Aro started yet no one but me seemed to look at him. Every single red eye in the room was focused on me.

“Our dear Mandy has decided to respond to our avances and I am sure we couldn't be more delighted!” Aro almost seem to coo with excitement making me blush. The other vampires in the room seemed to share his excitement, although they kept it contained.

“However, we all agreed that we must put some rules out there for everyone's safety and enjoyment. First of all, this relationship should not get in the way of anyone's duties. I know it may seem straightforward, but it is best discussed than left to speculate.” Aro continued and a few chuckles could be heard from the room.

“Secondly, and this is mostly for you, Stellina, anyone of us can step out of this relationship at any time regardless of reason. We will discuss safe words shortly after, not just for Mandy but for everyone. It is a way of immediately ending any interactions with no further questions until everyone involved is ready to discuss.”

“And finally, once again I know this may seem straightforward but, our precious human will set any further rules for us unless we see fit otherwise. As we all agreed, this won't be the safest interactions for her and therefor is it of the upmost importance that she trusts us and feels safe with us.” Aro finished as all the vampires agreed.

“Stellina? Would you please be so kind and tell us your rules, your limits? Anything you think might be useful information to us.”

“Oh, eh.” I couldn't really think straight at the moment. I could not believe this was happening. That these eight gorgeous and sexy vampires wanted me.

“I'm sorry, Stellina. I think I may have caught you a bit of guard. Caius? Maybe you can start then?”

“Of course, brother. I do not have many rules for you, Bambina. I simply want you to obey me. I do not care too much for brattiness and I wish you to be honest with me at all times. I am in control.” Caius said, his voice awfully kind.

“Very good, Dora?” Aro said. Athenodora smiled at me.

“I want the same as my husband, however, I also want you to let me take care of you. Nothing major, just simple things as making sure you eat and drink well and be rested.”

“Heidi?” Aro continued.

“I want to be in control, Tesora. However, I do like it if you are a bit of a brat. And I would like it if you let me pick out some of your outfits from time to time.” Heidi said and winked at me, making me blush.

“Very good. Felix?” Aro asked.

“The same as everyone else. I want to be in control, and I like to be rough.” Felix said getting straight to the point as he shot me a playful smirk. I could only imagine it.

“Demetri?”

“I want to be in control of you, Micetta. I do not care much for switching. And I like to make you exhausted from cumming, preferably that you forget your name in the process.” Demetri said with a cheshire cat grin. I bit my lip hard and clamped my thighs together. These vampires already made my head spin but hearing the things they wanted from me made slowly lose my mind.

“Sulpica, mia amata?” Aro said, grinning widely.

“I want you to be Aro and my little plaything, Neonata. Be a good girl and you will be rewarded, if you are not, we will punish you.” she said, her voice smooth as velvet making me shiver.

"Punished how, Mistress?” I asked slightly frightened.

“You will not be able to sit comfortably for a day or two, Stellina.” Aro answered, his smirk only growing wider. Marcus gently squeezed my hand in a comforting way before he started speaking.

“I want to be your teacher, your lover and your master, Cara. But mostly I want you completely and utterly under my spell.” he whispered softly making me blush.

“Very poetic, brother.” Caius said making Marcus smirk.

“I just know how to sell it, brother.”

“Oh please. The minute she says ‘go ahead’ you will have her bending over this table with no second thought.” Sulpicia said, her smirk mimicking that of her husband.

“Wouldn't we all, sister?” Athenodora said, coming to Marcus defence.

“How much I enjoy your bickering, I think it is time for our dear Mandy to say what she wants.” Aro said, returning the attention back to me. I took a deep breath and sat up straight. I knew I wanted this, more than anything if I was honest. So now it was time to put my embarrassment away and see this as a business transaction.

“I guess you all being dominant over me will not be a problem. I am not very comfortable in taking the lead in the bedroom. I agree with all of your terms, however, I do require some aftercare. It doesn't necessarily have to be cuddles or anything very long. Just a simple hold of my hand and asking how I am feeling would suffice.”

“Aftercare is mandatory, Bambina. You should not worry about that. Every single one of us will make sure you feel safe and secure at all times. If not, then we are failing our duty to you.” Caius said, and he seemed almost surprised I even had to mention aftercare. All of them did in fact seemed shocked about that.

“Is there anything you really do not want us to do, Piccolina?” Felix asked, concern around his features.

“Ehm, I do not handle being degraded well. Not at all, actually. So that is really off the table. And other than that, I guess we will find out along the way.” I say, my voice as steady as I could keep it.

“Very well, does anyone have any questions, or anything they would like to add?” Aro asked looking around the table, yet no one answered.

“Perfect! Now, how about we start making those fantasies come to live, Stellina?” Aro asked, his voice suddenly thick with lust. The other vampires in the room soon followed with soft growls in agreement. Marcus chuckled darkly.

“And let's combine them with some of ours.” he purred in my ear.

#aro volturi #marcus volturi #caius volturi #volturi imagine #volturi #felix volturi #demetri volturi #heidi volturi #athenodora volturi #sulpicia volturi #twilight imagine #twilight #pet

[angellesword]

MAGIC SHOP | JJK (02)

Description: You and Jungkook were best friends who were in love with each other. What would happen when Soojin, your half sister who you’re trying to impress, told you she’s in love with Jungkook too?

Alternatively,

“Would you believe me if I said that I was scared of everything too?”

Genre: childhood best friends to lovers, family drama, angst, fluff, slow burn, pining, slice of life au.

Pairing: Architect!Jungkook x Architect!Reader

Word Count: 3k

Warnings/Note: child abuse (physical and psychological/emotional violence) , psychological manipulation, infidelity.

SERIES: CHAPTER 1 | CHAPTER 3

Your relationship with your father used to be a secret.

You were an illegitimate child and your mother was a mistress. Taemin obviously didn’t want the world to know about his dirty secret.

So he hid you.

He hid you from his wife and your siblings.

"Mom, is dad coming?" Seven year-old you asked. This was the question you uttered once a year.

Your father was never late with any of his appointments with you. He would always show up on time, sometimes earlier. But there's always that one day of the year wherein he was either hours late or he wouldn't come at all.

That day was your birthday.

You were four years old when your mother made you understand that Taemin couldn't stay at your house since he was busy with work. You didn't question this even though you wanted to know why.

Why couldn't he stay for more than an hour a day? Why didn't he kiss your mother or tell her he loved her just like what you saw husbands did in children's books and movies?

"He's not coming because he doesn't love us. He doesn't love you." Your mother was glaring at you as if it was your fault your father couldn't come to your own birthday party.

Everything was prepared according to his liking, even the food she cooked were his favorites. It was your natal day but it looked like your mother wanted to please somebody else.

It was never about you.

"That's not true! Dad said he loves me the most! I'm his princess—"

"Enough!" She slapped you right across the face, your cheek instantly turning red.

Your eyes brimmed with tears. You also didn't understand why your mother always acted so hostile. What did you do to make her hate you this much?

You followed everything she said. You didn't like sketching but your mother forced you to do it. She kept saying that you needed to be good at it so you could beat Sin-ae's daughter.

You didn't know it that time but your mom was actually referring to Soojin. The latter was a prodigy when it came to drawing. Your mother wanted you to surpass Soojin's talent since it was the only way to become the best architect.

She was wrong though. Being able to draw beautifully wasn't the key to succeeding in the mention field. It was only a bonus.

"You have to be the best if you want your father to stay with us. Do you understand, huh? Be a good girl so your father wouldn't have to look at Sin-ae's daughter." She caressed your cheek after slapping you.

"You can do it, baby girl. You are my leverage."

You were. Your father couldn't leave his obsessive mistress because of you. Your father loved you and didn't want to abandon you, but most importantly, he didn't want Sin-ae to know that you existed.

Your mother threatened Taemin that she would expose his infidelity if he tried to abscond from his responsibilities to you.

Taemin was a powerful person, unfortunately he couldn't control your mother. She was richer and stronger than him.

Your mother's only weakness was the love she claimed she felt for your father.

At this point, you didn't know if it was love. Did she really love your father or was she just lonely?

Was your mother scared to be alone? Just like you?

"I'm not going to leave you." You remembered seven year-old Jungkook's promise to you.

You were six when you first met little Jeon. He was the son of Jong-in, another influential architect.

Taemin and Jong-in were best friends. The latter was the only person who knew about your father's secret.

Jong-in knew you. He knew your mother as well. You lived in a small world after all. Jong-in and Taemin built Castle Architectural firm. Your mother was one of their investors.

She saw the potential of Architect Kim and Jeon, but it didn't end with that.

Your mother didn't just see Kim Taemin's potential. She also saw a future with him. She acted based on desire, ignoring the fact that Taemin was already a married man with three children.

Taemin didn't seem to mind the advances of your mother. In fact, he seemed to like it. Because if he didn't, then why were you existing?

Why did he fuck a baby into her?

He wanted this to happen as much as your mother did.

And now, they weren't the only one paying for the price.

You were paying too.

You were suffering because of them. You suffered abuse from your mother and at a very young age, you came to realize that people, no matter how many times they assured you they loved you, would still end up hurting you and breaking the promise they made.

"You are!" This was your response to Jungkook when he said that he wasn't going to leave you.

You two were seven years olds. What did you know about promises and keeping them? You drilled it in your head that Jungkook was just like your father. He would end up breaking his promise.

He was going to leave you too.

"You're a liar, just like my dad!" Tears cascaded down your cheeks.

You were very upset. Your father promised to take you to an amusement park, a simple way to make it up to you for not being able to attend your birthday party. Again.

The promise was made yesterday. Taemin told you to wear your favorite onesie because you were going to Lotte World with him and Jungkook.

Taemin was true to his words. You were at Lotte World with Jungkook, wearing your favorite onesie. However, the adult accompanying you was not your father.

Taemin said he had to work so he sent a nanny to look after you and your best friend.

You found it stupid and annoying. You wanted to spend time with your father. You missed him so much. He hadn't been home for weeks now.

"He keeps saying things he doesn't mean!" You sobbed, continuing your rant.

Jungkook was only staring at you using those innocent eyes. He felt bad. His little heart was shattering.

"I hate him! He doesn't love me!" You were slowly believing what your mother told you.

Were you hard to love because you weren't good enough?

"He doesn't love me." You said again and again. "I'm not a good girl. He doesn't love me—"

Jungkook pulled you into an embrace, cutting your absurd thought.

"That's not true. I love you.." His voice sounded genuine.

You sobbed once more, breaking the hug.

"Really?" The thing about kids was that they were easy to reassure. Buy them an ice cream and voila! They’re okay again.

Jungkook didn't give you an ice cream but you believed him. You guessed you love him too, and also because the stars in his eyes were enough to make you believe that he would never ever leave you.

Nineteen years later, Jungkook was still keeping his promise.

He stayed with you through thick and thin.

"We are baking cake today, Tiger." Jungkook announced.

He sometimes called you Tiger, when you asked him why, he simply said 'because I can.'

You stopped questioning his reasons a long time ago; however, you couldn't stop yourself today.

"Bake a cake? Why?" You creased your forehead.

"Because I want to." Was his answer once again, causing you to roll your eyes.

Why did you even ask?

"Do you know how to bake a cake?"

"Nope," he grinned. "But it won't hurt to try. I've read before that baking is a good way to relieve stress..."

Jungkook brought out an apron from the kitchen cabinet and then he went near you, carefully helping you to put on the garment.

He was standing in front you, buckling the D-ring neck that was on the apron. After that, he pulled you closer, your head hitting his chest.

Jungkook encircled his arms around your waist, reaching for the strap behind you as he expertly tied it.

"I can do it, Kook," you slightly pushed him away, chuckling.

He grinned at you.

"I know...but I want to help you."

Of course he did. Jungkook had always been thoughtful and kind. This was why he invited you to his apartment.

You had been staying with him since yesterday. Today was Saturday. You slept here last night. Jungkook didn't mind. He had a spare room and even if he didn't, he wouldn't mind you staying over.

He could always sleep on the floor.

Jungkook was used to sleeping in the same room as you anyway. You used to live in the same house together.

When Jungkook's father died, he officially became an orphan at the age of fifteen. His mother died giving birth to him so no one would look after him now.

All of his relatives were living abroad, this was why Taemin decided to adopt him. Jungkook didn't change his last name. He was still a Jeon. Taemin was simply his legal guardian.

Sin-ae didn't mind that there was an additional member of the family. She could never deny Jungkook since she also treated Jong-in as a dear friend. Besides, the Kims didn't have to worry about the increase of their expenses.

Jungkook was the only heir of Jong-in. The former would inherit his father's share at Castle. Taemin was Jungkook’s fiduciary guardian. He gave Jungkook his share as soon as he reached eighteen.

Jungkook tried to compensate Taemin but the latter didn't accept the money. Instead, he urged Jeonguk to work at Castle as soon as he graduated college.

Your best friend agreed. He could never say no to Taemin. He even stayed at the Kims' mansion despite having the ability to live on his own.

Taemin asked him to stay as per Soojin's request, but two months ago, Jungkook finally moved out of the house because Kim Taehyung, the third born son of Taemin, went back to Seoul after studying and working in New York for years.

"You wanna try baking banana chocolate chip cake? I have all the ingredients here," Jungkook was waiting for you to answer.

You shrugged nonchalantly, helping him prepare.

"Fine by me."

Jungkook asked you to prepare the wet ingredients while he took care of the dry ones.

"You think this is enough?" He was sifting flour.

You coughed.

"Kook! What the hell?" You covered your nose because he was tapping the strainer grimly.

"Oopss..." His lips curled up. "Sorry!"

He wasn't sorry. Not at all. You could tell he was doing this on purpose because instead of stopping, he only used more force while tapping the strainer.

"You ass!" Gritting your teeth, you grabbed a handful of flour from the bowl and started throwing it at Jungkook.

He stopped sifting the flour, eyes widening because of what you did.

"I-It's your fault! You're pissing me off!" You stammered.

You were supposed to be mad at him, but it was you who felt shiver running down your spine when he just stared at you.

Was he mad? Was throwing a handful of flour on his face uncalled for?

"I'm sorry—what the fuck." You hissed when Jungkook also threw flour on your face.

You ended up squinting and coughing because the powder went to your eyes and mouth. It tasted like shit.

"Jeon Jungkook!" You were so annoyed you threw flour at him again.

Jungkook bursted into laughter, clearly having fun.

You two ended up having flour fight—if this was even a thing.

You had to admit that though annoyed, you couldn't help the smile gracing your lips. You liked playing with Jungkook to the point that you didn't want to stop.

You were only forced to end the fight when someone banged on his door.

"Jungkook! Open up!"

Soojin.

You were certain she was on the other side of the door.

"Is that Soojin?" Jungkook furrowed his brow, the smile on his lips was slowly disappearing.

"Yeah. I think so..."

"Huh." He furrowed his brow more. "Did you invite her?"

You shook your head.

Jungkook shrugged. "Okay. I'll ask what she wants. Stay here..."

You nodded, frantically running towards the sink so you could wash your face.

You didn't know why your heart was beating fast or why you felt as if you had done something you shouldn't have.

Maybe you had.

It was the only reasonable explanation why Soojin was glaring at you, her jaw tensed because of annoyance.

"What the hell were you two doing? I've been banging the door for so long! Didn't you hear me!?" This was the first thing Soojin said the moment she took a step in Jungkook's kitchen.

She didn't like that you and Jungkook were staying under the same roof.

"I'm sorry." You bit your lower lip, trailing off.

You didn't know what else to say. You knew your sister. Her question was rhetorical. She would only get madder if you tried to reason out.

When she was pissed, all you had to do was shut up and take the shit she would give you.

"The door is literally a few steps away! I don't understand why you can't hear me!"

Soojin continued to rant as you watched Jungkook enter the kitchen. He instantly stopped your sister's mean remarks because he could feel that it was making you uncomfortable.

"Let it go, Soojin. We apologized, didn't we?"

But Soojin just scoffed. She was about to speak again; however, Jungkook cut her off.

"There's an apron in the cabinet. Wear it if you want to join us..."

You were surprised when Soojin didn't protest. Rolling her eyes, she stomped towards the hanging cabinet to get an apron.

"What are we making?" Soojin crossed her arms.

"Banana chocolate chip cake." You simply said.

Soojin nodded, refusing to look at you.

"I'll mash the bananas." When she said this, you were expecting her to peel the bananas and use a fork to mash them.

Soojin didn't do any of this. Instead, she threw the bananas in the trash bin.

"What? The bananas are overripe." She reasoned out when you and Jungkook groaned.

"It doesn't matter. We can still use—"

"I said I don't want overripe bananas!” It was her turn to cut what Jungkook was saying.

"There's a grocery store across the street. Go buy some bananas, Jungkook."

It was hard to fight Soojin. She would just continue insisting what she wanted until you relented.

Jungkook didn't have a choice but to follow your sister, leaving you in the kitchen with Soojin.

You were thinking how to break the ice when your sister suddenly spoke.

"You didn't go home last night..."

You stopped weighing the butter, your heart skipping a beat.

"Yeah. I stayed the night here..."

Soojin clenched her jaw and you wondered if you should have lied instead. It looked like she didn't like your answer.

"You know, dad asked where you are and I told him you were in your room, working..."

Silence.

"I told him not to disturb you. You're obviously still moping because of what happened yesterday..."

You didn't know what to say. You knew you should be thanking her. Your father was strict. Jungkook was a friend, yes, but Taemin would go feral knowing that you were out here, doing God knows what with a boy when you should be in your own room, working and fixing your mistakes.

"I covered for you because I care about your feelings." She scoffed once again. "But it turns out you don't care about what I feel, huh?"

"Soojin..." You called. "What are you talking about?"

Why was she getting mad at you? You covered for her countless times! Meanwhile she only did the same for you once.

"I'm saying I like Jungkook, sister." She confessed, emphasizing the word 'sister.'

Your heart sank, face growing pale.

"Y-You like...Jungkook?" Saying this felt like a stab in your chest.

"I've been in love with him since we were sixteen. I tried telling him how I feel but I can't do it because of you." The way she said this made you feel like it was your fault.

"Me?" You blinked, shocked.

"Yes. You..." She inhaled deeply, like she was trying hard to stop herself from lashing out on you.

"You were always with him. I can't find the perfect opportunity to tell him the truth because I feel like you're preventing me!"

"Soojin..." You tried to reach for her hand but she swatted it away.

She was upset.

"I'm sorry..." You apologized. You honestly had no idea why you're saying sorry.

You guessed you felt bad.

She was right. You were always with Jungkook, always monopolizing his time that you didn't realize that you were hurting Soojin—preventing her happiness.

"I don't need your sorry. I need you to stay away from Jungkook for a while. Can you do that, huh? Will you let your sister confess first?" Just a few breaths ago, she was swatting your hand away, but now, she was taking it, gently stroking the back of your hand.

"Please? I'm not saying that you should stop being friends with him. I get it. You met him first. You were friends before I came into his life....but please, please give us time and space. I really, really like Jungkook..."

Soojin was looking at you as though she would die if you didn't say yes.

So yes.

You said "Yes. I won’t stop you from telling him how you feel..." just to make her happy.

Soojin's happiness mattered to you.

You could live without Jungkook for a while.

She couldn't. She had waited long enough.

It was her time to be with him.

You were allowing this.

You were allowing her to be happy with your best friend.

"Yay!" Soojin embraced you. "Thank you, sister!"

You smiled and hugged her back, reminding yourself that you made the right choice.

After all, it should always be family first, right?

#ficswithluv #bts jungkook #jungkook fluff #jungkook best friends to lovers #jungkook fanfic #jungkook angst #jungkook x reader #jungkook x you #jungkook x oc #jungkook x y/n #jungkook roommate au #armywriterssupport

[lilallama]

Valentines Day

TW: Obsessive behaviour, mentioning of stealing and slight homophobia, proceed with caution!

"Taehyung sweetie, wake up.~"

I groan and turn in my sheets, slowly regaining consciousness. "I've prepared you breakfast. Get dressed and come downstairs." The clacking of my mother's heels echoed through the hall as she went away. Groggily I sit up and stretch. I push my bangs out of my eyes I stare towards the window to my left. The sun shines through the thin curtains casting an orange light on my bedroom wall. I yawn and stand up, pulling the curtains aside and flooding the room with light. I take a moment to look outside, admiring our beautiful garden before remembering what day it is. Today is Valentines day! My God/Goddess asked me to meet up with them. Oh, spending Valentines with my saviour is the best thing to have ever happened to me!

I rush to pick out a white dress shirt, a khaki sweater vest with a black pair of slacks. After also brushing through my hair to untangle any knots I opened my secret Y/n shrine. The picture of their smiling face makes my heart pound so fast. They are otherworldly, absolutely ethereal! I take out a shirt of theirs which I borrowed a while ago. If I close my eyes it still smells like them, it's addictive.

Just to make sure that no items were robbed from their place I go through all items once again. Five chewed on pencils, a small box of empty wrappers, my 20 most favourite photos of them, the candle they accidentally bit into because they thought it was edible, the borrowed shirt, a pair of their underwear, a bunch of pins and hair ties they touched, the bundle of 36 hair strands I managed to collect (I only collect the hairs that have fallen out, I would never dare to cut or rip out my God's/Goddess' hair) and my water bottle which they drank out of (I had to buy a new one to keep this in my shrine but it was so worth it). All my items were there.

Suddenly I hear clacking and a small thud. I turn around in confusion, what just happened? But then I hear Yeontan's bark from the other side of the door. He ran against the door again. I can't help but laugh as I go to open the door for him. He jumps up a bit so I kneel down to pet him. "I'm meeting up with Y/n today, isn't that exciting!" Yeontan immediately started yapping, he loved my God/Goddess almost as much as I do. It's really incredible what an effect Y/n has on everyone, they all seem to love them. Well, then again that is expected to be the case considering Y/n is such a godly being.

"Taehyung!" "I'm coming!" My mother called me again. "Come on, boy." I hurry downstairs with Yeontan following me. "Good morning, Ma. Good morning, Pa." My father nodded at me while my mother beckoned me to sit down and eat. While I finish my breakfast my mother was talking about a lot of stuff. "Have you heard, they're trying to make gay marriage legal here. That is complete nonsense! God created a man and a woman for a reason." I have no clue what my mother was raging about. I concluded that she's probably just misinformed, Y/n said that being part of the lgbtq community is completely natural and alright. I know they know better than anyone else. "What's so bad about it, Ma?" My mother looked at me with horror. "They can't help who they're attracted to. It's all natural, isn't it?" My mother shook her head. "No!" She exclaimed, "Being gay or trans or something is inherently selfish! Gays are selfish! Men and women were created by God to conceive a child and stop the human kind from getting extinct. Trans are selfish! God gave you a body and you chose to change it in it's entirety! Such behaviour is unacceptable." "But I thought God loves everyo-" "Where have you even gotten that idea? Maybe you should go back to homeschooling. Clearly these other kids are having a bad influence on you." I look over to my father who just continues reading the newspaper. I respect my mother but she clearly isn't ready yet for the wisdom Y/n has bestowed upon me. Not everyone is as lucky as I am. "Look at the time we'll have to go now." Right, it was Sunday which means we're going to church. I always like going there, the windows astound me everytime. And the pastor is always so welcoming and friendly. I vividly remember asking him about the lgbtq community after Y/n had told me about them. He said that God loves everyone regardless of their sexuality or gender identity. He truly is a wise man.

As soon as we returned my father got a call from a business partner. They said they'd have to go now and want me to take Yeontan with me to my meet up. While I was a bit saddened that I couldn't be alone with my God/Goddess I decided it wouldn't be a problem.

Yeontan excitedly trots besides me as I make my way to the place where my saviour and I would meet up. I debated getting them a bouquet of red roses for Valentines day, but figured that the 20 letters, 12 stuffed animals and 18 bouquets I gave them during the past week would be enough, for now. As I make my way there I couldn't conceal the excitement I felt. Getting the chance to spend time with my Master/Mistress was something I believed I'd only ever dream about. The euphoria I feel from the mere thought of getting to see them today is dizzying.

Suddenly Yeontan starts barking and storms off. He never leaves my side, that's why he's not kept on a leash. To see him run away from me like that was surprising at best. But then I notice the reason for his behaviour. The puppy ran towards Y/n who was waiting for me a few metres away. How could I have just ignored my saviour like that! What I did was unacceptable. I would punish myself, but it would likely ruin Y/n's day, I can't let that happen. So I run after Yeontan, towards my God/Goddess.

"Good morning, Y/n! I'm sorry about him." I look down at Yeontan who's still getting pet by Y/n. He better cherish that they're even looking at him. It's bad enough that he practically demanded pats from them. So disrespectful. "No worries. He's so adorable!" At least Y/n seemed to enjoy his behaviour. I doubt it would work if I behaved that way towards them, but that's for another day to find out. "I dearly hope you didn't have to wait too long." They smile up at me. Oh, their smile is to die for. So incredibly perfect! I feel my knees getting weak. "Don't worry about it. I just arrived too." Yeontan started barking again and was noe excitedly jumping around, making Y/n laugh. "Awe! Yeontan is so adorable. I didn't know you'd take him with you." "It was unexpected for me as well." They stand up and take my hand. My heart is beating so fast, I feel as if I'm about to explode. It's getting harder to breathe. "Let's go now!" We start walking along the path with Yeontan rushing after us.

We sat outside a small café and each ordered our desired dessert. "Have you ever been on a date?" That question caught me off guard. "Oh, no. I haven't." I believe that much was quite obvious, but perhaps I was mistaken. They look surprised, shocked almost. "Really? How come? Aren't you getting asked out left and right?" "I suppose I just never had interest in anyone. I barely know those who ask me out. They're all so shallow to confess without knowing anything about me." Just then the waiter returned with our desserts. We thank him before we start eating.

Both of us watch as Yeontan is running around and playing in the snow. I look over to see Y/n smile at him, leading me to also smile. I adore their smile. Everything about them is so perfect. I could stare at them for hours and never get bored. Each detail is something new, something beautiful to discover. Unable to take y eyes off them I-

"Excuse me." Who dares interrupt my special time with my God/Goddess?! Two girls stood next our table. One almost cowering behind the other and mumbling something along the lines of, "Oh my god, no. Jess, don't." But I really couldn't care less. "My friend thinks you're really cute and was wondering if you'd like to go on a date with her." So annoying. I eye them down and make one thing clear. "I'm not interested." The girl cowering behind the other looked disappointed, perhaps ashamed. Good. She should be. After they interrupted my date with the Y/n they can go burn for all I care. "Have a good day." After the girls back away with the other girl exclaiming, "What a jerk!" I turn my attention back to Y/n. "Uhm, wasn't that a bit harsh?" They looked unsure. "Was it? I thought it was reasonable. Better to tell the truth than lead them on, am I correct?" They took another bite of their dessert. "I guess you're right."

We had a grand time strolling through the park, even having a snowball fight. They won. Obviously I could not compete with my God/Goddess, no one could ever. Yeontan was also very entertained as he kept trying to catch the snowballs as they flew over his head. Soon the sun began setting. It was incredible how fast the time flew by. Both our clothes were slightly damp due to the snow. I didn't think much about it untill Y/n began shivering. No no no no! My saviour could get sick, or die! I couldn't let that happen. I take off my jacket and gently place it over their shoulders. "But, won't you be cold?" I give them a reassured smile. "Don't worry about me, my God/Goddess. If I may, I'd love to accompany on your way home." They let out a bashful chuckle, making me melt. I feel my entire body heating up from that gorgeous chuckle. Their power over me is simply astounding.

All the way home I keep my arm atound them in hopes of providing some form of warmth for them. I cannot bear knowing that they're freezing. Never would I be able to forgive myself if they'd catch a cold. Yeontan was also slowly getting tired, which was by bo means a surprise considering how he played and jumped around all day. "Thank you for bring me home, Taehyung." Hearing them say my name makes my entire body tingle and flutter. "You do not have to thank me, Y/n. It was an honour!" Whatever I expected, it was not feeling their lips against mine. My mind went blank and I could barely stand. I felt dizzy, yet so so good! They gave me my jacket back after the short peck and laughed. "Goodnight!" Then they went inside and closed the door. I stood there for a moment, shocked at what had happened yet freling absolute bliss. After a minute or so I manage to finally pull myself together. I put on my jacket, it smells like them! And then I picked Yeontan up and walked home.

Oh, this day was the best I've ever had!

If you liked my work please reblog! 💌

#yandere bts #cooking club #yandere taehyung #yandere v #valentine week

[professorsnape394]

The Potions Master’s Apprentice

Chapter Thirteen: Outrageous Outbursts

A/N: This is the thirteenth part to my fanfiction ‘The Potions Master’s Apprentice (Severus Snape x OC)’. Chapters 1-16 can be found already uploaded on Wattpad under the same name. Feel free to leave requests in my inbox for anything Snape related you want me to write. Leave a comment below if you wish to be added to my tag list.

Pairing: Severus Snape x OC (Dumbledore’s Granddaughter)

Summary: A talented young witch is employed as an apprentice professor at Hogwarts, but who will she be working under? Severus Snape is not best pleased with his new responsibility of taking on an apprentice, however she is relentless to create a friendship between them. Will she be successful? Or might the friendship just go a little two far? With the eyes of her grandfather constantly watching over them, an attempt at a relationship might not be in the cards for Aria Dumbledore and Severus Snape.

Word Count: 3520

Warnings: swearing, slut shaming, moderate violence. 

Credits to Gif Creator

Practically bursting through the doors of the three broomsticks Aria Dumbledore was very quickly greeted by Alexander who led her to a secluded table in the corner of the pub.

"Are you okay, you seemed stressed?" He laughed nervously, upon noticing the fact she was slightly sweating from her walk from the castle.

"I need a drink." She demanded simply, about to make her way to the bar.

"Sit. I'll get it for you, you look like you need a rest." He continued to laugh.

"Fire Whiskey. And make it double!" She shouted after him, to which he replied with a simple thumbs up.

Almost immediately after Alexander left, a pair of mischievous red headed boys bounced into sight, pulling a chair up to the table. Removing her head from her hands, Aria could only let out a long, hard sigh at the sight of them.

"What going on here then, teach." Fred questioned sceptically with the raise of an eyebrow. "Who's the lad?"

"A friend." Aria replied through gritted teeth, wishing they would just leave her alone. She had been stressed out enough today as it were.

"Mmmmhmmm." George hummed. "He's a pretty good-looking friend if you ask me, professor."

"And he chose a spot all the way in the back, pretty intimate don't you think?" Fred continued.

"Pretty romantic. wouldn't you agree, Freddie?" The Weasley boy nudged his brother.

"Very romantic." The second Weasley twin nodded in agreement.

"Listen this isn't appropriate, I'm your professor, you best be gone before he gets back." Aria warned, while the boys continued to heckle her.

"You're only a professor in training. Besides it isn't against any rules for you speak to us out with the castle grounds, you've got nothing to worry about." George pointed out.

"Unless it's us she's worried about, eh Georgie?" The two boys turned to glare at their potion's mistress, waiting for her to crack.

Groaning loudly, Aria knew she couldn't get rid of the boys as easily as she had hoped. "Look, it's not a date. It's just a few drinks with a friend, okay? And he deserves to be able to come back to me without the two of you causing trouble. So go on, scram."

"Alright, alright, we'll go." They obeyed.

"Just one last thing." Fred spoke slowly, turning back on his heel. "Speaking of nice guys deserving things, how's the love life going?"

She knew it was coming, there was no escaping it. But for her sake, she hoped the boys could be trusted enough to keep their mouths shut, at least until the end of the year when she would be forced to confront all her problems head on.

"He deserves to know, Aria. You have to say something soon."

"I know, I know." She whispered, bowing her head in shame. "I just need to figure things out for myself first. Please don't say anything about this."

The twins looked between them deliberating who their loyalties lay with. "If you promise it's not a date, we have no reason to." Fred stated.

"It's not, I promise." She said sincerely.

And with that the boys retreated to their table not too far away, still keeping a close eye on their professor.

Alexander returned from the bar with a tray full of drinks for the pair of them.

"I thought you'd need them." He chuckled. And he was right as Aria instantly downed the entirety of her Fire Whiskey in one gulp.

For the next few hours, the pair laughed and drunk together, and for the first time since she had arrived at Hogwarts, she felt she finally had one true friend. It was nice to finally be able to talk to someone her age and not have to constantly fight to have a conversation or speak about work the whole time.

Unfortunately, though, within seconds of her coming to this realisation, Aria's hopes of maintaining her relationship with her new found 'friend' was shattered. Alexander reached his hand across the table, resting it gently on top of her own. Slowly he picked it up, moving it towards his lips before place a soft kiss on the back of her hand.

From the corner of her eye, Aria saw the Weasley twins watching her intently, forcing her to yank her hand away from the man.

"Another Drink?" Aria asked, already getting up from the table, making her way to the bar.

"Umm, no thanks." He said slightly confused, watching her walk away.

Passing the Weasley twins she avoided eye contact, praying Alexander would not make another move. At this rate making friends was not worth risking the twins spilling her secrets.

Of course, as Saturday's always were, the Three Broomsticks was packed full of students socialising with their friends and so Aria thanked God for once in her life that she would not get served any time soon. Rehearsing over in her head how she was about to end this 'date' with Alexander, all Aria wanted to do at this moment was run back to Hogwarts and go to sleep. It had been a long a day.

Finally reaching the front of the queue, Aria was barely focusing on her surroundings.

"What can I get you?" The bartender asked.

"Fire Whiskey. Double." Two voices spoke at once.

Snapping back to reality upon hearing that so easily recognisable voice, Aria looked to her right to see none other than Severus Snape sitting at the corner of the bar, fondling an empty glass of Fire Whiskey.

"I'll get those right up." The bartender complied, obviously catching it was an awkward situation, and decided to get both the drinks at the same time.

"Severus." Aria said softly. "What are you doing here?"

"You are not the only one permitted to enjoy themselves with the occasional libation, Miss Dumbledore." He retorted, his words slightly running together, suggesting he had either been here a while, or had a lot to drink. Or both. Aria thought.

"Of course." She smiled awkwardly, not quite knowing how to respond.

"And your date." Snape spat, clearly unaware of how loud he was being. "How is it going?"

"Like I said before, Professor Snape. It is not a date." Aria tried to act a little more professional than her mentor, fully away the pub was full of Hogwarts students.

"Doesn't look like it from where I'm sitting, the two of you seemed rather close just now." Snape continued to mumble.

"You were watching us?" Aria questioned, to which Snape chose to remain silent.

"Two double Fire Whiskeys." The bartender announced.

Snape handed over his money, gesturing that he would be paying for both drinks.

Aria nodded a small thank you and made to leave.

Grabbing his drink from the table Snape stood up from his bar stool and started to walk alongside Aria, until gradually they came to a halt in the center of the room.

"Can I help you, Severus?" Aria huffed irritably.

Snape pondered for a moment, taking a large gulp of Fire Whiskey, deciding whether or not to speak.

Aria started to walk away, thinking he was never going to say anything.

"What are you trying to achieve." He hiccupped, bringing her back to attention.

"I'm sorry?" Aria asked, spinning on her heel to face him once more. "I don't think I know what you mean."

"I know what you're doing." He hiccupped again, leaning against a wooden pole in an attempt to stabilise his balance. "You're playing a game, but what do you get from it?"

"I have no idea what you're on about Snape, now if you don't mind, I'm going back to my-"

"Date?" He cut in, raising one eyebrow suggestively.

"No." Aria smirked sourly, knowing he was trying to put words in her mouth.

"Then what is it? Because, that boy over there is clearly interested in you and you're leading him on." He spat, his voice raising the more he spoke.

"None of this is any of your business, Professor Snape." Aria said still trying to remain professional and remove herself from the situation, knowing the man was clearly intoxicated. It was clear now to Aria that the majority of students in the pub were invested in listening in to their professor's conversation.

"There's no point denying it, I've seen it for myself. He's not the first, this boy." The potions master raised his voice, latching onto the woman's wrist, stopping her from leaving.

"Professor Snape, I think maybe you should quieten down a bit, people are listening." Fred interrupted as the twins bravely came to Aria's rescue.

"Aria maybe it's time to go." George whispered to her, pulling her back from the potions master.

"Here's more of them now. Students." Snape scoffed, completely ignoring anything the twins tried to say. "I bet before you came to Hogwarts, you done the same to them. Lead them on, drew them in with your sickening charms, then just left them on the hook for you. Look at them now, coming to your rescue."

"Don't be ridiculous, Severus. This is highly inappropriate." Aria tried to keep her composure, motioning to the Weasley boys to leave them, but it was obvious to everyone that a scarlet blush had begun to warm her cheeks. "You need to go home Severus. You've had too much to drink, you don't know what you're saying."

"I know exactly what I'm saying. And I know that you're here on a date with some poor bloke whose got no chance and you'll happily admit that"

"That's not what's happening, you're twisting my words."

"And I know that all day you've been flirting with Igor Karkaroff." He continued, paying no mind no Aria's objections. "I found the two of you in a rather comprising position today after the Great Feast."

"You're exaggerating, Snape, you know fine well that's not what was going on." Aria cried, which again, Severus chose to ignore.

"You've even tried your godforsaken charms on me. You tried to get me on my own in your quarters to seduce me, you're constantly flirting in a feeble attempt to manipulate me. Thank god I'm not dull enough to fall for your sickening act. I mean even now, look at how you're dressed. I'm assuming it's for all our benefits, men have been gawking and drooling over you all day and you love it. You're a teacher dressed like a common whore, how utterly inappropriate. You'd have been fired by now if Dumbledore wasn't your precious grandfather."

"This has gone too far, Severus, you need to stop this now!" Aria demanded, her voice cracking a little as she tried to match his volume.

"I'm not done." He sneered at her, the venom in his voice, showing a side of her mentor she never wanted to encounter again.

"The icing on the fucking cake is, you done all of this, played all of these cruel, childish games, and all the while you're in a relationship." He paused, relishing in Aria's reaction. She froze on the spot like a deer caught in headlights. For the first time tonight her eyes connected with the professors. "Is he being played too? Or does he somehow benefit from your antics."

"How the hell do you know that." Aria whispered, her own tone turning sour.

"I saw the letter on your desk."

"You read my mail? How dare you! That is confidential. You just don't know when to stop do you?" Aria cried, utterly humiliated.

"What's going on here." Alexander chimed in, holding Aria by the arm attempting to get in between her and Snape. He had been stood aside, listening alongside the students, but didn't know how to process any of this information until now.

"Everything he's saying, it's not true!" Aria pleaded with her friend, praying he too wouldn't ridicule her in front of everyone. "But he is right, this wasn't supposed to be a date. Nothing will happen between us, I'm so sorry." She begged, trying to hold herself together.

"It's okay." Alexander whispered, not wanting to upset the woman further. "Come with me, I'll walk you home." He attempted to embrace her.

"We all know what that means." Snape scoffed, watching them walk away. "She'll probably do anything you want she's that much of a fucking slut."

Both Aria and Alexander stopped in their tracks. Aria's whole body froze, having no idea how to react. The word rung in her ears, sending a pain to her heart and making her body go numb as if she was being stabbed with a thousand tiny knives. This was not the first time she had been called that word, and it fucking hurt to hear.

Alexander on the other hand knew exactly how to react. He paused for a moment, hand wrapping tightly around his wand before changing his mind at the last minute. Before anyone knew what was happening Alexander swung a punch at Severus hitting him squarely in his right eye. The professor instantly doubled over swearing in pain.

The students listening in instantly made to look busy, not wanting to know what Severus Snape would do to retaliate. Unfortunately for those wanting to see a show, Snape simply fell to the nearest chair, keeping his head down.

Aria quickly pulled herself together knowing this was her mess to fix.

Alexander rubbed his knuckles to ease the pain, before wrapping an arm around Aria Dumbledore. "Come with me." He said.

"Actually Alexander, I think I better take him back to the castle." She gestured to the mass of black fabric and hair drooping over a table and chair.

"Are you mad, after all that he just said to you. There's no way I'm letting you walk alone with him. He should be fired for all he's done."

"He's drunk... and I provoked him really, it's not his fault." Aria lied. "He's not like this when he's sober, trust me."

After a few more minutes of persuasion Alexander finally let Aria have her way, and bid her goodbye.

By this time the whole of the pub was chattering and gossiping about what they had witnessed, but Aria knew this was not the time to address what had happened and she would just have to let time run its course. The only thing she could do not was please the screaming bartender and remove Severus from the premises.

Drunk and a little concussed it took the potions master a minute or two to come around, but by then Aria had managed to walk him out the pub and along the road back to Hogwarts.

"Why are you helping me." Snape slurred, as he stumbled his way along the path.

"Because I know you're not a bad guy." She said softly.

*

That evening Aria insisted on helping Snape into his private quarters. The effects of the night had begun to sober Severus up, the embarrassment rendering him speechless, but Aria couldn't help but worry for him. This was not a regular old outburst, something was obviously eating away at him, but she could not bring herself to ask what it was that drove him to that level of anger.

Not wanting to upset him further, Aria chose not to enter his bedroom and chose to stay in the main living area. Handing him a pint of water to sip on, the young Miss Dumbledore set out to arrange a place for him to sleep on the couch. She managed to gather a few stray blankets and pillows she had found lying around, and decided he was still too drunk to care whether or not he went to sleep in his clothes.

Crawling up on the couch beside where he sat, Aria help a make shift ice pack gently to his eye. It had already begun to swell and it was clear there would be a lot of bruising by the morning. Her heart hurt for him.

"Why are you doing this." Snape finally spoke, breaking the silence that had become so thick.

Aria took a deep intake of breath, not fully understanding herself why she was helping the man who had ridiculed in the worst possible way.

"I don't know." Was all she could say in return, shuffling closer to tend to his eye.

For what seemed like a lifetime, Snape's apprentice sat facing him on her knees, breathing slowly and deeply as she held the cold compress to his eye, desperately hoping the swelling would go down and result in minimal bruising. Though the bruising of his eye was the last thing Severus was concerned about. Not only had he embarrassed himself in front of half the student body, he had humiliated Aria and deeply hurt someone he truly cared about. Perhaps that's why he did it.

Severus knew the feelings he had for his assistant were becoming more real by the day and there was nothing he could do to stop them the more time they spent together. Perhaps his drunk-self had concluded that the only solution to his problem would be to drive her away, make her turn on him. But clearly his plan had failed. Now he was sat closer to her than he had ever been, watching her chest slowly rise and fall as she breathed in time to the beat of his heart.

Slowly Severus' lifted his gaze to the woman's face, watching her intently. For the first time since they had met, he saw a true sadness take over her, and he hated himself for being the reason she felt this way.

Snape suddenly felt completely dissociated from his body. He wasn't thinking, he didn't want to think. He had done enough of that in his lifetime and for once he just wanted to feel. Gingerly Snape nervously placed his hand over her own, catching Aria's attention as he removed the cloth of ice from his eye. Never breaking eye contact Severus shifted on the couch to face her better. She sat on her knees, her bare legs exposed, rubbing lightly against his own.  Letting go of her hand, Severus softly placed it on her exposed waist.

Goosebumps immediately rose all over her body, when the professors hand rested on her waist. She had hoped he would just assume she was cold from holding the ice, but both of them knew this was not the case. She wanted to break her gaze, she couldn't stand how he was looking at her, but she could not force herself to look away. Never before had Aria encountered this side of Severus Snape, she didn't think anyone had, but she couldn't help herself from feeling enchanted.

Just as unexpectedly as the first had been, Severus placed a second hand on her cheek, while letting the first snake around her body to the small of her back. The couple's bodies had gradually came edged to each other and now they were so close they could feel each other's warm breath on their skins.

Severus dropped his eyes to Aria's mouth, almost contemplating his next move. He thought about it for so long, unable to make the final move. Their foreheads touched, and his nose brushed against hers, but he just did not have the nerve to close that final gap. Both Aria and Severus' breathing had picked up the pace, and as each jagged breath left their mouths, the atmosphere became even hotter and heavier.

Just as Severus worked up the courage to make his move Aria found herself snap back to reality. Jerking away from him, she left out a small gasp but quickly covered her mouth. "I'm sorry." She whispered, shaking her head as she saw the Snape's face fall. "I'm so sorry." She cried, tears forming in her eyes, as she backed away.

Severus pulled his hands a way, balling them into fists, knowing he had made a mistake. He got up from the couch just as Aria had done, moving backwards putting some distance between them.

"Aria..." He whispered, calling her by her name for the first time. He looked at her almost pleadingly. But even he didn't know whether he was begging her to stay or begging her for forgiveness.

"I have to go. I'm sorry Severus." She breathed again, fleeing from the room.

Just as Severus made to close the final gap between them, Aria thought back to his harsh words of the night. She remembered everything he had said, and it suddenly occurred to her that he may have been testing her. He had claimed she was playing games and using men. He knew she was in a relationship, why else would he do this? To try and seduce her completely out of the blue, he could only be trying to prove himself right, prove that she really was a user, a harlot, a slut.

Aria felt the tears pour from her eyes as she tried to make sense of the confusion Severus had caused. What exactly was he gaining from this? Why would he want to ridicule her even more than he already has? Maybe he was truly just a cruel man.

Taglist:

@ayamenimthiriel  @lizlil

#severus snape #professor snape #severus snape one shot #severus snape fanfiction #Severus Snape smut #severus snape imagine #severus snape x reader #severus x reader #severus x oc #severus x y/n #snape #snape x reader #snape x y/n #snape x oc #alan rickman #Harry Potter #harry potter and the goblet of fire #harry potter fanfiction #dumbledore #dumbledores granddaughter #severus snape fluff #severus snape angst

[kileyrose-2003]

Tina’s Tuesday Night Mini Fic Pt. 1

Word count: Who cares? Lol

A/N: Hi lovelies! I am back!! First thing, I know. You're probably saying Kiley, wtf? It's not Tuesday. I know. Life happened. I've had a busy past few days and a final today. Anyways, this was something I did with @merci-bitch when the U.S originally went on lockdown. It was a fun way to keep me busy and get my mind off of stuff. We both decided to restart this about a week ago. So, I dedicate this to my dear friend Tina. Love you hun and hope you enjoy this! And please, if you haven't been to her blog to read any of her work, go do so. She works so hard on what she writes and is amazing.

Pt. 2 will be coming next week

To everyone waiting on fics: I'll get there. Eventually. And I'm not going into reasoning. But anyways, love you all and I hope you have a great day!

"...This is the greatest show!" You slammed your hands down on the piano keys and breathed in sharply. "God damn it, Jenny!"

"What?" You let a groan and handed her the sheet music. "Look there at that line there. Do you see that note?”

“I can see, can’t I?” Her bright green eyes lost their cool shade of arrogance when she seen how pissed you look. "Not F!” You pointed to the paper in her hand. “D! You hear that note there?" You pressed down on the key repeatedly. "D!"

"Sorry." The red head smiled at you impishly. "No, you're not. This is the fifth time we've done this and yet you still insist on doing this your own way." She sat next to you on the piano bench and gave your shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Well, I think the change makes it sound better.”

“Phineas liked it better this way,” you seethed through gritted teeth. “But what does he know of art?” You could feel your face slowing turning a distinct shade of cherry red and you bit down on your tongue.

"He must of known something with how much you tried to get in his pants," you mused to yourself.

You rolled your eyes. You loved Jenny to death but how you couldn't stand her at times. You tried and tried so desperately to get along with her and compromise when she was like this but no matter what you did, she was stubborn and so..cold at times.

Sure, Jenny was a bit of a snob but she was a genius when it came to music and you respected that. She was what inspired you to take up music in the first place.

Your childhood was far from easy. Before you even joined the circus, you were bounced all over the place. You never belonged anywhere. From the deteriorating cottage in a small, seaside village in Sweden to the cramped one bedroom apartment in London that no one would dare walk past at night. Your father was no where to be seen and your mother was an actress, always struggling to meet ends meet. She was never home, but that wasn't always a bad thing. That meant you got to explore.

That was how you got to hearJenny sing for the first time. Hiding out in the musty attic of an old Swedish theatre. Even before she hit extreme levels of fame, her voice was like a siren's call. Drawing you in further and further in. It still was in a way. She was so beautiful and even as much as she pissed you off, you loved watching her sing. Like the time at the palace. She was eye candy in that dress, the way it hugged her hips and how the bust showed the slightest bit of clevage when you looked at her at just the right angle-

"Stop it, Y/n!" You told yourself. "She's not interested in you."

Or was she? The way she looked at you when you spoke to Phineas was always with such contempt or such jealousy. You could never understand why though. It was her who tried to steal Phineas away. Not you. He was a close friend who gave you a chance when you had nothing and you never so much as even thought of eyeing him in such a manner. Phineas clearly wasn't interested in her or any other woman but his wife. He pushed her away numerous times. Jenny had no reason to be jealous of you. Yet, she was.

‘But it is of me or others though?"

One could never be sure with Jenny. Sure, there was a bit of a rivalry between the two of you when it came to music. But she was your friend. 'Very clingy for just a friend,' you noted.

'That's normal though, isn't it?'

Maybe you were just over thinking things. Besides, the relationship between the two of you seemed to be getting better lately. Ever since the scandal went public, it seemed the two of you were spending more and more time together.

You were the only one who listened to her side of the story, held her when she cried, made sure she wasn't drinking her emotions away, and tried to help her through it. Even as much as she pissed you off. You warned her in the first place not to seek out Phineas but despite the nasty arguments, the constant bickering she became your friend. Maybe even your best friend. Which you got alot of shit for.

Nobody liked Jenny and you were starting to get the feeling you weren't so popular anymore either. Everyone thought after the affair went public, the two of you would of left. Her name as well as yours, was slandered all over the paper simply because you associated with her. You had been called it all. The ring leader, the mastermind, the mistress to the two.

But neither of you resigned. Yet. Part of you wondered how long it would be until either would receive letters of negotiations to end your contract. But either way, you knew Jenny wasn't leaving without you. She promised you that.

'So maybe she does like me.'

Then that small voice came in the back of your head. 'Or maybe you just want her to like you back.'

Either way, you couldn't let that haunt your conscience for now. Even as much as you'd like to visualize a future with her, it wouldn't work. You could feel the heat pooling into your cheeks as you came back to reality and bit down on your lip. Jenny's hand was lingering up and down your back, rhythmically making shapes with the tips of her fingers. Damn her and her touch! You shouldn't be feeling this way.

"Are you okay?" You shook your head and covered your face with your hands, trying not focus on all the pain you felt inside. "No. No, I’m not."

You felt tears burning in the sides of your eyes. "This isn’t working!” Jenny furrowed her brow and tried to move your hands away from your face. “What do you mean?” She was trying to be gentle even though you could tell from the look in her eyes she had no clue what to do.

“This..all of this!” You ripped the sheet music out of her hand and flung it on top of the piano. “Something's got to give,"

She rolled her eyes as if she seen it all before and stood up, walking hastily over to the ice bucket. "Do you not have what you want?" She opened up a bottle of red wine. "Fame? Recogniton?"

"It's not enough and I don't know if I even have any of that anymore." Jenny eyed you as she poured the liquor heavily into both glasses. "I'm not liked here, Jenny."

She handed you your glass and sat down next to you. You eagerly took a sip of the wine, just wanting to forget everything for a little while. "That's not true. I like you." She leaned in closer to you.

You cracked a small grin filled with cynicism. Maybe even a little bit of hostility. Never had you felt so much love and hate towards someone at the same time. "We could both leave." Jenny's voice pulled you out of your head.

"And go where?"

"Back to Sweden with me for the time being." You noticed the intensity in Jenny's eyes growing and she reached out and grabbed your hand. You could feel her nimble gently squeezing into the palm of your hand. "You know I care for you, Y/n."

"Do you?" You tried your hardest not to sound sarcastic, you were still a little mad at her. But god! How close she was to you. You could smell her expensive perfume, see the slight hint of a shimmer radiating off of her lips. "You're fiery and you don't take my shit."

This couldn't be real. You had to be dreaming. "Jenny, this...there's a possibility this couldn't work." You tried to scoot away from her, a little intimidated by the proximity between the two of you.

"We can try to make it work."

"How?" You eyed her skeptically. "Let me take you out. Let me show you I can make this work." You furrowed your eyebrows. "Why? Need a new fling after Phineas?" You teased.

Jenny wasn't amused by that all. If anything she was pissed but she smiled anyways. Seeming to stoop down to your level with a smile that was sickly sweet. "More like a date."

"And why should I do this with you?" She let go of your hand and placed it on your thigh. "Because I probably understand you alot more than you think." As you looked into Jenny's eyes, you found some level of sincerity mixed into those deep lustful orbs. You wanted to trust her so badly.

"What do I have to lose?" You thought.

Everything. Everything to lose.

"Fine." You gave in, despise everything in your mind screaming not too. "But you have one shot and one shot only."

Jenny nodded and leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on your cheek. "And it won't take me more than once to impress. After all, I already made your career." You felt the hair on your arms stand straight up as her hands lingered on you, gently squeezing your hips.

"I'll see you tomorrow at 6. Sharp."

"Yeah," you watched as Jenny walked away, her hair flowing behind her like a beautiful sheath.

You felt a pit growing in the depths of your stomach. What the hell had you gotten yourself into?

#jenny lind x reader #Jenny Lind #the greatest showman #imagine #rebecca ferguson

[thecandywrites]

Blood For Gold Part 11

Woo, so while I'm in a mad rush to clean my house in preparation for new windows TOMORROW. While I've been cleaning, this story WENT OFF in my head and I was, in a mad dash to get it all down on my breaks. Oh the storm is a- brewin! And if you don't at least want to scandolously and in an outrage and a gasp- yell 'You bitch!' at the end of the chapter, I will have failed you. Becuase I was yelling that writing it.

Thank you to @kriskukko for letting me borrow her regency era orc art and to @punkhorse96 for your amazing feedback. Hehehe.

Blood For Gold

Part 11

“So what can you tell me about Charlotte?” Zax pressed as he helped pick out jewelry for you to wear for dinner among your jewelry that had been brought from your home and that had just recently been given to you, looking for more of your Kilan style pieces.

“I’ve only known her for a couple of days, she’s very nice, so far at least.” You answered.

“And what can you tell me about Jane?” Ocearian posed as he finished getting dressed himself, smoothing out his clothes and appraising how he looked in the full mirror as all three of your brothers converged in your room while their own rooms were getting prepared.

“Oh don’t you start anything with her. She’s a very sweet, kind, but very innocent girl. In England women are kept purposefully naive and ill informed and powerless and are practically property of their fathers, brothers and then husbands. Her parents are monsters. More vicious than any wolf or viper that would make the most stone cold dragonborn moura in the Qing Dynasty or every devil in hell consider returning to a path of righteousness to the Creator. They are very abusive to her, mentally, emotionally and physically and the only reason it’s not sexually too is because her virginity is considered sacred. They hurt her to control me when I had to live with them at Broadcove when they found they could not hurt me all the ways they wanted to. English custom and culture demands that she is never to be left alone with any man for any reason except her own father, who is the most dangerous of all. All she has to keep her from ruination and disgrace is her own innocence and honor and virginity which all dangles precariously by a thread. Her parents hate me. They despise me and have made my life worse than any hell in existence since I came here and it is only because I have leverage and blackmail on them that I’m surviving them so far.” You revealed adamantly.

“Oooh, blackmail? What kind of blackmail?” Axal asked as he came over and practically sat in your lap at your vanity in the room before he touched up your makeup again from his vantage point.

“Spill, I need it. All of it.” Axal insisted.

“Ramsey has five mistresses and several illegitimate heirs and his favorite mistress is Audrey Rogers at The Red Velvet Rope which is a moura whorehouse here in London Towne that he goes to on a weekly basis.” You informed him.

“No not on him, I mean that does make things fun for me, but on the Morrigans.” Axal prompted.

“No, I’m not playing my ace just yet. Not unless I need to.” You shook your head no.

“So it’s an ace. That means it’s very solid proof.” Axal grinned triumphantly.

“It is and it’s substantial.” You allowed.

“Ace of spades then.” Axal surmised.

“Ace of spades.” You confirmed to Axal before turning to Ocearian again.

“But Jane is way too sweet and innocent for anyone to mess with her and I will go down swinging to protect her, she’s the closest thing to a real friend I’ve had since I came here. All my other friends in the last year I had to pay to be so. Jane suffers enough from the hands of her parents, she deserves better than anyone trying to toy with her.” You insisted again.

“I would never toy with her! She’s divine. And there’s mutual attraction, genuine mutual attraction.” Ocearian insisted as you resigned yourself with a sigh because you could see his feelings in his eyes.

“Then court her properly, according to English culture and customs because nothing else will do. But again, her parents will shoot you down. She is their pawn and they are not about to let her go to Dorierra of all places, they probably want her to stay on the English Empire side, not anywhere else. She has a little brother who is to inherit everything and even if her parents were to be struck by lightning tonight, he would then have say in everything and he’s been brainwashed by his parents to hate me too and hate all mouras in turn.” You warned him.

“Even with your ace of spades? They wouldn’t reconsider?” Axal prodded.

“No. And it’s because of that ace of spades that they probably never will either.” You answered.

“Is the ace of spades also the reason you’re a shakan now?” Axal asked as your brothers paused to hear your answer.

“...yes and no, it’s very complicated.” You reluctantly answered before you noticed the time.

“Come on, we need to finish getting ready and go down to dinner.” You told them, not wanting to talk about it any further.

Demsey’s jaw fell to the floor when you and your brothers came to dinner just a few moments later than everyone else, all of you wearing color coordinated and matching outfits as you were clearly dressed in a style he had never really seen before as he barely noticed that Calla and Bennie and their brothers had done the same, choosing to don the style they were most comfortable in of their own cultures and quarters.

You had a little top on, that barely covered your breasts but your middle was bared as was your back but you were wearing a sheer shawl and to see your gold moura marks on such intimate parts of your person, he still couldn’t help but remember Aurdra Draft’s marks. But he was sure that yours were even more luxurious and numerous than hers had been and your skirt was very poofy and full but the embroidery and the fabrics used as well as the clearly moura ethnic jewelry, had you looking like a foreign princess yourself and had himself ready and willing to pledge himself to you and follow you to the ends of the world and forgetting every rule of decorum as he couldn't help but stare longingly and desirous as he dared and one coy look and smile from you and he swooned as he practically elbowed his way to sit next to you at the table which delighted you that he would do so.

“Oh Father, since we are expecting Audra’s family the day after tomorrow, in only three days, the Midnight Peacock has it’s Volto Masqurade, I thought we should all go and attend.” Ramsey insisted to his father.

“Oh absolutely.” Gregori agreed.

“Also, it was suggested we have an official Kamoba battle.” Ramsey added as Axal let his pinky graze the outside of Ramsey's thigh and grinned when Ramsey subtly squirmed but clearly had a physical reaction to his advance before Ramsey reached under the table and grabbed Axal's knee and tried to give it a warning grip but all that accomplished was Axal becoming emboldened even more.

“Oh that sounds magnificent, Darling you must agree to such a request.” Yalin urged Gregori as she uncharacteristically sat to his immediate left while Ramsey sat to his immediate right.

“It has been a very long time since the palace of Windsor has seen a Kamoba battle, we will have to do all we can for a proper one.” Gregori readily agreed.

“What’s Kamoba?” Demsey asked curiously.

“It’s a mix of several games. Do you have a game where it’s like- capture the flag of an opposing team?” You answered from your place next to Demsey since Axal had taken your former place as you sat next to Yalin per her request as Zax was sitting on the other side of Axal and Charlotte sitting next to him as the two were immediately taken with each other as Jane sat on the other side of Charlotte with Ocearian on the other side of her as Jane as Rian was practically fawning over her and she was with him as well, as shy and reserved as she was but you were worried for her because you knew that the moment her parents would reappear, she’d be stripped from him and it was almost cruel to let anything to blossom between them, as natural as it seemed to be.

But you yourself would be lying if you didn’t enjoy Demsey sitting so close to you. Before it was always across from him. He still smelled good, like fresh, clean laundry and his own spicy personal musk filling your nose and making your feminine folds squish with essence of desire. You of course partially blamed yourself for perhaps projecting your preference for Demsey Draft onto the good Duke and tried to reason with yourself that they were probably two very different people, one was a harlot in a whorehouse and the other was an upstanding Duke of nobility and besides a similarity in looks and voice, probably shared little else in common. But the message didn’t seem to reach your body from your brain because your body was reacting to him the same way it had reacted to Demsey Draft.

Also from this proximate distance, Demsey could smell your luxurious and alluring perfume and your scent in general which was still sending him into a tizzy. He could feel the heat roll off of you in waves and feel your full skirts brush against his leg as he wanted nothing more than to reach down and hold your hand under the table, or better yet, dig his nose into you and find all the sources of those amazing scents. You smelled both clean yet perfumed and decadent and opulent, alluring and divine and if he could bottle this scent, he would, in heartbeat. But he would never sell such a treasure, he would hoard it forever.

“Oh yes of course, it was a favorite of mine as a child,” Demsey nodded.

“Well it’s like that, only it’s also fencing, but the swords and other weapons are superheated so that once you spit oil onto them, so that you more or less breathe fire onto them, then you fight with flaming weapons. But you have to wear special leather armor that’s meant to keep you cool so you don’t burn up or drop from heat exhaustion. Also the Kamoba battle arena is an obstacle course with anywhere from three, to five to seven capture points, or beacons as they’re usually called, and once you capture them, you ignite the charge and they explode into flames and color, like a firework, with colored smoke. And you can either fight one on one or in teams of equal number or even among the sexes, women against the men.”

“But that is never fair because women usually win, like 9 times out of 10.” Axal praised from his spot across from you as he appraised how affected Demsey was by you. You weren’t even really trying that hard to ensnare him and Demsey was clearly already smitten, if you just put out just a bit more effort, you’d have him right where you would want him.

“What?” Demsey asked, not thinking he had heard that right.

“Moura women are fiercer competitors, usually quicker, stealthier and frankly better in every way because women communicate much better with each other and work better together and coordinate beautifully and while the men are usually fighting and arguing with each other about who takes the lead, who does what, while the women have already figured that out and are onto the second or even third or fourth beacon by that point.” Axal explained.

“And nothing will show a moura’s colors better than a round of Kamoba, you’ll see even the sweetest, gentlest moura, show a fierceness and ruthlessness and competitiveness usually only reserved for gladiators but within the Kamoba arena, even the most battle hardened veteran is not match for a moura woman agent. I remember watching Yalin fight Kamoba with.. Oh I forget her name, it was something viper, desert viper of some kind, Yalin had been nothing but sweet to me, but her ruthlessness in that arena sealed the deal for me.” Gregori praised as Yalin giggled gleefully at the praise.

"Loreiris," Yalin supplied.

"Loreiris Amaharas? The Saharan Viper?" You asked, knowing that name well as your brothers also inclined their ears to hear that name.

"Yes, the very one." Yalin Confirmed.

"That's my grandmother on my mother’s side." You revealed before your brothers confirmed that.

"Is it? Oh I didn't realize! How is she?" Yalin asked.

"Still teaching Kamoba. She is a master, I have seen her take on teams of 15 all by herself, she’s usually only armed with a boomerang, a bow and a sword, the fastest round in the records was won by her, less than three minutes." Axal proudly informed them.

"Oh there's no way I'd win a match against her now then." Yalin giggled.

“And Audra is her greatest pupil yet.” Axal praised.

“Really? Oh I knew there was a reason I instantly loved you.” Yalin cooed to you proudly as you blushed bashfully, knowing that in England, women were rather forbidden from taking up the martial arts as you worried about Demsey being put off by such a thing since he was very proper.

But on the contrary, Demsey was now fantasizing about you in full armor swinging a flaming sword and suddenly every fantasy with a battle maiden in his own orcish culture was becoming fulfilled, all he needed was to put your face in his mind’s eye and he was ready to just fall to your feet and propose. However highly improper that would be.

“I have not held a sword in two years, I don’t think my skills have kept that well.” You allowed.

“Oh it’s like riding a griffin, you never really forget.” Yalin waived off.

“And of course it’s always fun to gamble on the teams. I made Yalin’s bride price for the bet I made on her, really I went with my brother to the stables for him to pick out his queen among the favorites and being the third younger brother to the future king, they only allowed me to have the generalley bride price, which the generalley brides are fine but I was on the hunt for extraordinary and low and behold here is Yalin, with her sisters, all of which were in the imbraturi class which is the imperial class that usually only reserved for emperors and kings and the like, which is of course Yalin was in that one so I bet the whole sum on her since she was already set to duel with the Saharan Viper that if she won, and I won the bet, that I would use those winnings to buy her outright, which is of course what happened and betting on you my dear has always been my best investment of my life and one that I will always repeat.” Gregori praised as you sat there in adoration because clearly they loved each other dearly, Gregori and Yalin were proof that the system could lead to happiness and satisfaction in everything while Ramsey felt ill as he looked at you. Because he couldn’t and didn’t feel the same about you. You were a last resort, his last chance at saving grace and you kept yourself withdrawn from him while Axal on the other hand was threatening to unnerve him completely. The way Axal was dressed, had him wanting to rip his clothes off and find the source of that cologne with his mouth into every crook and cranny on Axal and really show Axal not to start anything he wasn’t ready and willing to finish as Ramsey’s touch had only stroked up Axal’s thigh to try to pay back to Axal what Axal was currently doing to him and to feel the thick, heavy bulge along his thigh, made him weak and his pucker was practically winking in anticipation.

“Oh stop. How do you know I didn’t beg Loreiris to lose on purpose to me just so that you could take me home? I was and still am madly in love with you, I was desperate to leave with you one way or another.” Yalin waived off bashfully.

“Because such a thing is one against the rules and would have resulted in an automatic forfeit and two against the code of honor. I’m sure your love for him gave you the fuel and all the power you needed to win.” Axal flattered which got Yalin to preen proudly.

“Well I suppose you’re right, of course one can’t forget the verbal component because while you’re fighting each other with flaming swords, you’re also supposed to be battling wits and trash talk and insult each other in the most artful of ways of course, all while set to music so that your words and actions compliment everything else. There is no greater spectacle than a Kamoba battle, but it will take a few days to prepare such an arena.” Yalin said.

“So wait, it’s capture the flag, but with fencing, but the swords are on fire, while on an obstacle course and the “flags” are fireworks that you have to set off, all while battling with wits all set to music?” Demsey asked as he counted each component on a finger and almost running out of fingers.

“Also while wearing another full body leather suit to save you from the flames but each person or each team rather, depending on what kind of flame oil is used, will leave a mark. So it’s usually black versus white. So one side will wear black leather, the other white. But whenever you get struck, there will be a mark, and depending on the kind of oil and the kind of pigment used, you could get any number of colors marked on you and depending on where you get those marks, it’s points. And usually when playing in teams, there will usually be an archer on either side which sends burning arrows at you from across the arena.” You informed him.

“My head is spinning just thinking about it, how in the world do you manage it all? I’m overwhelmed just thinking about it, I can’t imagine how overwhelmed I would be trying to play.” Demsey confessed which you found comforting that he would be so modest and humble in his own abilities.

“Well that’s why it’s the Dorierran national sport and why the Dorierran army has never seen a complete defeat, because if the games are that intense, imagine how intense we would be on the battlefield or much less any other place where performance is key.” Axal practically purred as you blushed at Axal’s implication because you could also see Axal practically clawing up Ramsey’s leg as he said it and Ramsey blushed and squirmed ever so slightly and you wanted to shake your head by how hard and fast Axal was onslaughting Ramsey and appreciated that Demsey was much more subtle and appreciated subtlety in turn. You had come to realize and appreciate how perhaps Lady Kate Whiteale was maybe a little to forward, a little too direct and insistent. Men did like to chase, not necessarily liked to be chased. But Ramsey was surprising you because he was giving Axal that look. That look that said ‘keep it up and I promise you, I’ll torture you with bliss’ look and Axal was giving him an equally heated look.

In your early stable days, you would have discerned that Ramsey would have wanted such an approach and two years ago, you wouldn’t have hesitated in giving it to him, hell even a full year ago, you would have been desperate to do so. But now, you were happy to be more reserved, more thoughtful, more watchful and discerning.

“Really?” Demsey asked in surprise.

“Oh yes. There was only a handful of times the Dorierran armies were somewhat defeated on the battlefield, defending Dorierra and it’s walls but when they met the walls, the whole country can be boobytrapped and it’s the Dorierran women who defeated those armies that had tried to overcome the soldier men and the walls in turn. Moura men can rise and fall, but it’s the women who are the backbone of society and run the country as well as they do. Dorierra is very much a matriarchal society. Whereas here it’s clearly patriarchal. There is no soldier, warrior, gladiator alike more devastating than a moura mother protecting her child.” Axal explained.

“Well, yeah, I suppose you’re right.” Demsey had to agree.

After dinner, Axal and Ramsey practically disappeared while the rest of you retired to the gardens to get an evening stroll in, where Axal and Ramsey’s absence didn’t appear to be noticed by anyone before you asked Amara to go with you to tour the gardens and chose a far corner near the front door where you noticed a discrete carriage was pulled up before you noticed Axal and Ramsey depart from the house, both of them wearing rather unremarkable clothes in the English style as you realized that Axal must be wearing Ramsey’s English clothes because Axal didn’t have any English clothes to speak of, so that they would blend in with any crowd on a busy street, both of them practically giggling giddily as you asked Amara to hang back while Ramsey looked almost like a deer caught in the headlights when he noticed you approaching as his cheeks flushed cherry before Axal said something to him and Ramsey got in the carriage so that Axal left his side to meet you half way.

“Where are you to off to?” You asked Axal as Ramsey was getting anxious as Axal left his side to join yours while Amara stood back as well, to give you and your brother privacy.

“To the Red Velvet Rope to meet Audrey myself.” Axal grinned.

“Oh, well in that case, have fun, actually…” You paused.

“I have a susceptibility there, you must protect me in this respect, I need to know how much that could affect me.” You murmured to him, with a pleading look.

“Of course, anything, what’s his name?” Axal asked.

“Demsey Draft, he looks and sounds almost exactly like Duke Demsey Voyambi, you can’t miss him. But oh is he exquisite, but in English society, it’s technically forbidden.” You praised.

“Consider it done,” Axal kissed your cheeks and winked and left your side to rejoin Ramsey as you did the same with Amara.

“Where are they off to?” Amara asked.

“Oh they’re going out, Axal wanted to see London and Ramsey’s giving him a mini tour apparently, I asked Axal to try to get to know the real Ramsey for me. Because surely with four brothers, who they are when they are with friends or doing whatever it is they do in gentlemen’s clubs is not who they tend to be when they’re around their families.” You explained.

“Of course. You want to see what Ramsey is really like, because you do not think that the person he shows you is the real him?” Amara surmised.

“Exactly. Men especially in English society seem to have a different facet of themselves, one for business, one for socializing, one for family, one for friends. Just like we do I suppose. But I must confess that I pulled you aside for something rather serious. I have so few friends and even fewer people I trust to have their confidence and discretion.” You began.

“Please, count me as one of them, what do you need?” Amara asked. Eager to do whatever she could to help.

“In only a day or two, my family is coming here. And while I’m happy to see them, I don’t trust that the reason for their visit is to purely reunite with me. I have reason to believe that they’ve been invited to come to pressure me and coerce me into accepting a possible proposal from the Dauphin. And I want and need you to know right now, that I will not willingly accept such a thing. We are mismatched and the Dauphin and this castle, while a loving home for Ramsey, would be a gilded cage for me. You see how Yalin and Gregori love each other unconditionally, and I know Ramsey wishes for the same for himself. But I do not care for Ramsey, I have no attraction to him or desire for him, let alone any appetite for him, even if he were the Crown Prince of England, it would not sway me to either have, or find or make up any kind of attraction or affection for him, and I can not bear to enter into another loveless marriage. Broadcove was my prison while I was there. And I do not wish for any other place, even a palace such as this to be my next one. I would rather be penniless and living in a hut on a mountain top but happily married rather than be a Dauphine of Windsor but have no respect for myself or love in my life.” You professed.

“Of course. I have far too many friends who have done nothing but find the richest suitor so that they can live a comfortable life, but there is no peace, or kindness or affection in their comfortable homes. Very few are lucky enough to find love and material comfort, and many have to choose one over the other.” Amara sympathized.

“So if I need to flee from a possible marriage to Ramsey, would you help me?” You asked.

“I would, in a heartbeat. Tell me what you need me to do and I’ll do it. I’d even consider going with you if Kate Whiteale’s brother John, who I loathe almost as much as I do Kate were to try to insist on his own addresses to me. I know this sounds crazy but if Storren were to ask me to follow him back to Dorierra, I would probably do it.” Amara confessed.

“Except if you do that, you’d be going to Dorierra as a servant to another moura woman. You could be anything from a laundress, to a cook to a farmer or...any number of things. Because Storren is only a chef in the kitchens back in Dorierra.” You tried to gently caution her.

“I would rather farm vegetables and be happy than be a duchess and unhappy.” Amara insisted herself.

“I’m happy we agree then. Your brother Demsey has offered to assist me if such a measure needs to be taken. But I can not be seen going to his room, nor he- mine without a benign reason, even if it is to keep anything there that would indicate that I would flee, I can’t keep such things in my room, or in the rooms of my siblings. Because they will tell my parents who then will tell Gregori and Yalin, much less the stables or the royal family, but you can not say anything to Storren, because he would most likely report it to Bennie who I wouldn’t put it past her to use that against me and against your family because moura brothers are sadly information pumps for their sisters, as you will see that Axal is for me with Ramsey and I don’t want you to suffer from knowing this and if you told Storren, or anyone else, I would be done for. Ramsey already is trying to entangle my griffin Heavencrest with Charlico and is having them stall together so they will become a true mated pair. If I were to try to fly her away, Charlico would either alarm the stable that Heavencrest was leaving or try to leave with us and I would be seen as stealing Charlico and a bounty would be put on my head and Charlico’s price would skyrocket, so much so that there would be no way for me to pay it, with anything other than my marriage hand or my life. I am trying to talk Axal into getting Ramsey to sell me Charlico so that if I need to flee, I can flee with both of them. But I don’t think Ramsey, let alone Gregori and Yalin would agree to it because it’s just another tie for them to keep me here. But I would rather deal with a heartbroken Heavencrest rather than being in another gilded cage.” You murmured.

“I understand, so how can I help exactly?” Amara asked.

“No one would think anything if I gifted you a trunk full of “gifts”, and no one would think twice about Demsey going to your room and simply moving those “gifts” or putting things from your room to his and if I disguise my fleeing things in a trunk of other gifts, that your brother would then move to his room and no one would think anything of Demsey moving things to the stables, because he is a gentleman and a guest and if he wanted to go for an evening ride, no one would stop him, whereas I would never get even that far without alarming at least the servants.” You proposed.

“Oh of course.” Amara readily agreed.

“And your brother has also offered that if I need to flee, if I send word to him of where I’ve ended up, he’s offered to send me the rest of my belongings. But legally giving him access to any of that is nigh impossible, that is why I want to name you my heir and successor, should I have to flee, I would formally give up all ownership to everything. But I can name you my heir as close friend and confidant. And it would be accepted by the English courts since you are a duchess and of nobility and once you have ownership of my property, can I trust you to return it to me wherever I find myself? Could I count on you for this?” You asked her.

“Absolutely, what do I need to sign?” Amara asked.

“I will write something up tonight and I will give you a trunk full of gifts as well for doing this huge favor for me. But the second trunk will be for my possible fleeing.” You proposed before you hugged each other.

“I wish I was as brave as you, willing to give up a Dauphin, knowing you would be wealthy but unhappy.” Amara murmured.

“And I wish I was like you, knowing what you want immediately upon being introduced to it and not holding back from trying to obtain it.” You offered.

“However, before you decide to follow Storren back to Dorierra, has he explained to you how Dorierra works? And why Dorierra is called ‘The Stables’?” You asked her.

“Uh, not, not really. We haven’t discussed anything like that yet.” Amara confessed.

“Forgive me for being forward, but do you know how sex, conception and thus babies, are made?” You asked.

“Of course I do, my mother has instructed me about such things.” Amara assured you.

“Well then you’re the first non married Englishwoman I’ve met who knows such things then. But there is more you need to know then. Before you get too attached to Storren, you should know that Dorierra has the name- The Stables- for a reason. Every moura wife who lives in Dorierra, is a broodmare, and every moura man is a stud. I’m sure you’ve noticed how it is only Axal and myself that look like true siblings, and that’s because Rian and Zax are only my half brothers. While my parents are married, it is the stables who dictates who has sex with you on any given moment of any given day and the stables has the business of conceiving down to a flawless science, to the point that women know they are pregnant within five days of missing the first day of their courses and they can pinpoint exactly what day and probably the time of conception because it’s all recorded.” You began.

“Every month, the conceive week is spent having sex at least three to five times a day, once upon first waking up and then after every meal and then again right before sleep, where if your husband is not who the stud is, he is removed from the house and sent to sleep somewhere else, usually across the country so there is no chance that his own seed will take root that month, and it is repeated each month and depending on how valuable the genetics that are passed down to possible offspring, either the whole week is spent with the intended stud or the week can be seperated by halves, thirds or fifths, where you have five different studs having sex with you at least five times a day for a week, most moura women pray for pregnancy so that their cunnies don’t get rubbed raw by such vigorous activities, the best studs can cum within a minute so that the woman doesn’t have to endure too much but usually the female orgasm is reserved for the last sex session before bed to promote better sleep for her.” You explained as Amara’s eyebrows practically went up into her hair line in surprise.

“Only when a moura mother is pregnant, is she allowed to enjoy only her husband for the duration of the pregnancy but while she is pregnant and no longer subject to spending her days and nights with others, her husband is still a stud and he will still spend most days and nights either working secularly for the stables or sexually for the stables, so prepare yourself that because you would be a forign wife and therefore, not subject to the stables way yourself and Storren could enjoy your own fidelity, Storren would never be able to give you the same. His genetics are too precious and the reason why moura men are rarely ever allowed to leave Dorierra is to preserve them for moura wives exclusively. Right now the stables are working on creating a pastel version paradise orcs and robin’s eggs orcs out of the current paradise orcs and Storren already has several children by several different ladies, it’s just in the culture there, but the only protection is that mouras are immune to sexually transmitted diseases, but I would fear for you because you have no such protection in your body, and Storren would have to use the very harshest soaps that are made to cleanse the male genatalia to keep from passing anything over to their wives and it’s always used on moura studs when their wives are pregnant to ensure the safety and health of the baby.” You warned her as she looked shocked and almost alarmed, if not a little gutted.

“It is why I wanted to leave Dorierra, because seeing my house father, because there is a distinction between house father and heir father, being sent away from the love of his life for a week every month when she was not pregnant was very distressing but it is just the way it is for moura mothers in Dorierra, and the entire country would collapse because Dorierra needs all the moura brides it can create to sell on the world market like any other broodmare or heffer at an auction.” You furthered as she seemed to take that into account.

“But it’s not like moura brides fare much better. Depending on where you end up, you could be in a harem, sharing a sultan or a shah or sheik with hundreds or maybe even a thousand other women. But in Europa, even a queen rarely has a king all to herself, usually there will always be other mistresses but having to share him with a handful is better than sharing your husband with tens or hundreds of thousands of others at Dorierra. It’s why my own desire for my complete fidelity and the complete fidelity in a mate makes no sense, not to any moura or any other from Dorierra, even here in England, there are whorehouses, and courtesans and mistresses a plenty. But it is why I agreed to marry Edward, because never in his life had he ever had a mistress and he never once used a whorehouse. But moving forward, I don’t know if I could expect the same for anyone else, but my mother blames that on all the fairytales I’m so fond of as a child because a moura- there is supposed to be little to no emotional attachment between lovers, it’s all supposed to be business, but I don’t have the heart or the stomach for such business. I was crushed when I was a little girl and realized why all these men who were not my house father were coming to see my mother and why I didn’t look anything like my house father. And my hier father is one of the most popular studs in Dorierra, he can cum in about two to three pumps and while he’s a charmer and a flatterer and I like to believe that he has some kind of fatherly affection for me, he was more proud of the high bride price I brought in rather than anything else. He has thousands of children and not once has he tried to address me by my name, it’s always pet names, like dearest or darling or sweetheart. Dorierra is probably oversaturated by his genetics, but one can’t argue with these results.” You explained as you looked at the gold moura feather marks on your arms pointedly as Amara did the same, looking at them in a whole new light now.

“But Demsey has never used a whorehouse, at least to my knowledge, he is above such things as is Tzane, Sierge on the other hand, not so much. And my father would never do my mother the dishonor of having any other than her in their marriage bed, while it is true that in the past, orcs were seen to be very promiscuous, now in modern times, we’ve thankfully left that behind, at least in polite society.” Amara insisted.

“Well, keep it to yourself, but that’s probably why I prefer Demsey to Ramsey then.” You hinted which made her happy but you could tell that your word of warning had shaken her a bit.

“I don’t wish to scare you off of Storren, I really don’t, he’s perfectly wonderful and he would treat his future wife like she was a goddess and he’s capable of such things, house wives and house husbands have emotional fidelity, and his figurative heart would be yours and only yours for life should that relationship go in that direction but I feel you should know the whole truth about Dorierra and its culture, if you ever want to make it your home.” You felt compelled to try to clarify.

“Oh, don’t apologize, I thank you very much for telling me. In polite society, we don’t really talk about such things and when I hear about Dorierra referred to as ‘the stables’ I think most of us didn’t have an inkling that it was like that for the whole country, just the moura bride part but it seems the whole country is consumed by it. But as a friend, if you hadn’t told me, I think it would be in a rude awakening if I were to follow him home and get hit with that out of nowhere because Storren hasn’t even hinted at such things, should I tell my sisters about it?” Amara asked.

“If you feel there is a chance for them to form any kind of serious attachment, yes. I think such things are usually assumed. Because native Dorierrans, assume everyone else knows about it because Dorierra has that title, that it’s already implied and I think most don’t realize it’s the whole country, not just a tiny part of it.” You advised.

“But please don’t tell Demsey, or any of my other brothers, or especially my parents. Brothers can be so overprotective, at least English ones, they would demand that we stop all comradery or friendly conversation between us because they are all lovely and we’re just now becoming acquainted and barely even friends and I would hate for this to come between our friendship just because it’s a very stark distinction between cultures and Dauphin and Dauphine did say to keep an open mind. But I fear they would yank us away from them and they would do that just in an effort to protect us but it would be a kneejerk- overreaction, because Dorierran culture would most likely be seen as obscene by them.” Amara pleaded with you.

“Of course, I would think your brothers probably already assume the truth. English women, not so much and I would hate for any of your siblings, male or female alike to be deceived by ignorance.” You reasoned.

“Precisely.” Amara nodded.

“Come, you can help me pack for an escape now if you wish and pick out your presents yourself.” You offered her before the two of you went back into the house.

Meanwhile Benny was halfway through giving Sierge a blowjob, timing her strokes with every piece of dirt he offered on his brother.

“And..and uh, he...he’s used The Red Velvet Rope, it’s a moura whorehouse, at least twice now, he ahhh.” Sierge hissed lowly as he gritted his teeth in pleasure and gripped the armrests of the garden chair tucked neatly away inside the tall hedged with a vice like grip as the sweat of his brow beaded on his forehead with the strain not to make any other noises because every moan and keen he let loose, she stopped and pulled off and every time he stopped speaking she did the same and it was the most gloriously frustrating thing he’d ever endured, to be tortured by pleasure like this and his own pleasure chased away any guilt he had about telling Demsey’s secrets.

“He has gone there twice since he met Audra on the train a few weeks ago, he went there in search of a double for her, because he has been attracted to her since he laid eyes on her.” Sierge managed as Bennie masterfully stroked and fondled his testicles through his ballsack while her nose was buried into the thick forest of hair at the base of his dick as her breath in that area practically alighted with delight since even there, he was sweating.

“And. oh, oh ah, and, um, he found her, someone who looks remarkably like her there, according to him, even her voice was similar enough to induce a fantasy that he was fucking the real Audra and she even has the same nickname as Audra, only her name is Audra Draft,” Sierge panted as his butt cheeks were clenched so tight as he felt like she was sucking his soul out through his dick.

“And have you met her?” Bennie quickly asked before she got back to task.

“No, I’ve, oh, ah, I’ve, gods, I’ve tried, but she’s probably booked solid, the only one close there is an Audrey Rogers who works there, but she’s brunette and married to a minotaur that works there, he goes by “Draft” though. But he’s either not related or not affiliated with Audra Draft. Unless the Draft is an assumed name. Which is possible.” Sierge managed before Bennie decided that he had given her enough, for now before she doubled her efforts and in two minutes flat, he was emptying his extra large load down her throat as his eyes were screwed shut so he didn’t see how Bennie was rolling her eyes and almost glaring resentfully at his manhood for just the practically incessant pumping, it was practically a torrent of cum. He was such a sweaty, hairy thing and just like any other man she had ever manipulated in her life. Claiming to be a “gentleman” but when push came shove or kiss to suck rather, just like all the others, willing to sell out his own family for his own pleasure. No more honor than the average man and nothing remarkable at all in her opinion. And he was barely able to hold out for several minutes and that was her going torturously slow for the sake of pumping information, if she had gotten right to it and kept at it, he wouldn’t last two minutes. He wouldn’t really know how to please a woman at all, all he had ever wanted was his own needs and desires sated, no matter the expense. Typical. But at least she was getting somewhere with him. Calla was moving at a snail's pace and practically twitterpated with Tzane, it was like she was a lovesick school girl still, which didn’t make sense because they were the same age, had the same training, either that or Calla was playing ‘perfectly innocent’ to get his guard down. But still, not the real moura agent she was supposed to be, and not the real moura agent Bennie was.

“Is there any chance that the woman he met there was the real Sultana Audravienne?” Bennie asked once she popped off and appraised her work. Sierge was a sweaty, indisposed mess and she gauged that it would take him no less than half an hour to come back into himself. She practically sucked the soul from him. One of her easiest blows yet before she got up and straightened up.

“Not a chance in hell. No lady worth any kind of nobility would be caught dead in a whorehouse. Plus she’s been in mourning for count Edward Morrigan, the Morrigans would bury her alive if she ever did anything to tarnish the “Morrigan family honor”. And the way Demsey and Amara carry on, they practically tried already.” Sierge said as he managed to get set straight but his whole body felt spent and tired while his head was in those blessed clouds, he was in pure ecstasy, that was the greatest blow of his life.

Bennie giggled.

“Why is that so funny?”

“Audravienne? The Saharan Viper’s greatest protege to date, who if she had stayed in the stables would have been named The Golden Saharan Viper and been the top competitor in the world of Kamoba which is if ballet met the bloodiest, fiercest war ever who is as lethal as she is beautiful, the top bride in all of the Dorierran stables, the top fighter and performer in the stables, who’s more physically fit than any racehorse, who had perfect marks in almost every single category they test for including agentry which means if she wanted to be a damn spy, she could be, who is the gold standard still in the stables, being a victim of anyone? No. Audravienne is the most lethal, devastating and the epitome of the perfect moura bride. She is no victim to anyone, not unless she got way too soft way too fast. She had the potential to bring down empires. And you’re telling me, an aged couple from England? With no royal ties, got the better hand of her? No. Impossible. You know why? Because Audravienne, physically, has rarely ever seen defeat physically and if they tried to abuse her physically she could kill everyone in the house, maids and all and make it look like the plague, if they tried to poison her even, she is immune to every disease and every poison in the world, she’s a master at poisons even. You could line all of the poisons up in the world in shot glasses and she’d shoot them all like whiskey and she’d be able to tell you which was which and tell you exactly how you managed to get all of them and while she’d be drunk off her ass by the end of it she would do it perfectly without a single mistake. Audravienne’s other grandmother, The Jade Empress, who held the last Sultanate state in her iron grip, practically wrote the book on how to manipulate everyone around you to do your bidding with pleasure and do it with the thinking that it was their own idea to begin with and Audravienne excelled at it. She is no one’s victim. Now, would I put it past her to play the victim to your brother if he’s the savior type, is he?” Bennie asked as she sat down on the bench next to him.

“He is. Painfully so.” Sierge realized.

“Then there you go. She’s been working him for weeks, playing the damsel in distress type and getting thirty thousand pounds a year to do it, she’s already confided in me that she has blackmail on the Morrigans and that’s why they’re paying her double what Edward awarded her in his will, she may have even played a helpless damsel to them and let her believe that they can hurt her. But if I’m sure about anything, is that Demsey may only see what Audra lets him see. But now that you know the truth, watch them, if his attachment to her is dangerous in your opinion, you can make him see the facts and the light now won’t you? When we get a proper Kamoba battle, everyone will see Audra’s true colors everyone always does with Komoba. And if your brother Demsey is the proper English gentleman type, he should be put off because no gentleman wants to marry an agent and no orc wants to marry a warrior greater than himself in a world where such things are shunned and frowned upon. And as far as I can tell, then it’ll be done, Demsey will lose interest, Audra will come to her senses, go to Ramsey and you and I can continue naturally then won’t we?” Bennie offered. “As, natural as can be.” Sierge grinned triumphantly.

“Well if you think of anything else “useful” it will be rewarded even more so than this.” Bennie winked as Sierge looked like he was about to explode from delight and lust.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to make sure to be seen somewhere else, wouldn’t want to infringe upon your honor or mine.” Bennie cooed before she got up and strutted away.

“And?” Yalin and Gregori asked as Bennie turned the corner.

“Well Demsey is rather boring, but he still has the fatal flaw every man seems to have, and once Audra becomes aware of it, she’ll come to and see sense. Nothing to worry about and nothing too complicated. No damage to be undone there. Just a passing fancy and Sierge will now be a barrier on Demsey’s end.” Bennie reported.

“Excellent.” Gregori praised.

“You have something.” Yalin gestured to her chin before Bennie wiped at her chin to see a drop of cum had escaped the corner of her mouth, she had thought she had gotten it before but this one was missed.

“Thank you, good night, I have a thread I need to tie.” Bennie excused herself from their presence.

“It’s a shame she’s an orc. If she was anything else, Ramsey should be going after her, she is of the right mind.” Gregori offered to Yalin.

“It’s because she’s an orc that she’s gotten that far with the Voyambis. Besides, let Ramsey have his fun for now with Axal, once we have that Komoba battle, Ramsey will see the light and come to his senses too. Demsey will be disenfranchised, Audra’s little play of damsel in distress will be over and things will go as they need to.” Yalin allowed as they watched Bennie’s frame shrink and vanish into the gardens.

#Blood For Gold #Blood For Gold Part 11 #Regency era orc period drama #Regency era orcs #morua #orc love story #oh it's going to be getting good #Enjoy

[wehavelayers-shrek]

Arranged D.M

Au:after war

⚠️:angst,anxiety

A Facade that was what you two were doing making everyone think that you two loved each other but clearly behind it you can see two broken people.

You and Draco have been married for 3 years now the two of you were arranged to be married ever since you two were born your family and the Malfoy's really had a strong bond even after the news that they sided with voldemort.

You and Draco never loved each other you hated him and he also loved someone else. But being you two were cowards and want to obey your parents you decided that you won't cause any dismay to them.

You wanted to travel the muggle world be free from the curse that your family brought upon you. And him he would spend all of his time not with you but with his mistress you really didn't care about what he did. Since you knew that you shouldn't be caring since his heart was never yours to begin with.

But one day you went home him not being there usually draco and you would share your dinner together not really talking but only glancing at each other. But today he was out probably with her mistress that was when you felt the emptiness of the house the gloominess of your sorrounding you really didn't noticed it before but now it's much more evident. You didn't wand to admit that you grew find of him even if you two rarely spoke the little things he do when you were sad and lonely or even when you had anxiety when the two would you go to family events.

Flashback:

You were at a wedding specifically your sister's wedding.

You and Draco didn't came together since he was with his mistress.

You can feel your anxiety growing as people would go to you and question where was your husband and why was he not with you

You can hear gossips about you and you can feel the anxiety growing and growing within you until you see those platinum blond hair in a suit moving towards you

Great more questions you thought

As he was getting closer your father asked you something you never really thought about

"so you two have been married for a quite a while so when are you going to have a heir" he asked

"I uhm" you really didn't want to anwser it and clearly it made you uncomfortable

"I want to see mini versions of you and Draco running around don't you two want that" he added

But before you could anwser draco anwsered it for you

"we weren't really thinking of that yet father, I think we would want to first have our time together before we have a proper family but maybe soon we'll have a heir" he kissed your forehead and told you to hold his hand the whole time you were there.

thinking of these just made your heart ache

"this isn't the life that I imagined for myself" you were now talking to yourself

"stuck in a loveless marriage, I just want someone to love me, someone to travel the world with fucking hell my husband even has someone" you were so frustrated at the situation you were in if you weren't such a coward maybe you were happy.

All this thinking made not only your heart ache but also your head you decide to go to sleep trying to forget the feelings you have for your husband who will never be yours to begin with.

You can feel arms hugging you late at night you turn to see draco hugging you tightly

You two never sleep at the same bed together ever since you two were married so this was really a surprise

You decided to ignore this occurance and not to wake him you look at him.

He was handsome you always thought of that. You were torn you know in everyone's eyes he was yours but in your eyes he wasn't and that broke you.

You get up and go to the kitchen to get a cup of tea.

"you're so dumb y/n" talking to yourself

"you could be in love with anyone in the world yet you chose someone who loved someone else, how dumb can you be"you sighed

You went outside to drink your tea there was no one outside only the cold wind and occational sound of animals can be heard you gazed over the stars thinking about the memories you had at hogwarts and how everyone of your friends already we're married to the love of their lives while you were stuck here heartbroken.

"if only I was brave" you sighed

"you are brave" someone said behind you

You turn to look who that voice belonged to

It was your neighbor Nathan he had long brunette hair brown eyes, he was tall and he was about your age you and him were pretty good friends

He sat down beside you

"so what could a pretty girl doing here"he questioned you

"I could say the same Nathan"

"you know I always get up at this time to watch the stars" he honestly said

"so how about you y/n why are you here this is the first time I saw you up"

"you know being married is exhausting, you know I really want more than this"

"I might say I am surprised, you and your husband always looked happy together"

"if you only knew"

"well if you and your husband got into an argument you can always come and vent to me"

"thank you Nathan I don't know what I would do if you weren't here in this neighborhood"

"anytime y/n you know you're also a great person"

You started to talk about your lives and what would you do if you weren't married.

"too bad you're already married y/n" he said

"I would like to travel the world with you"he smiled

"stop joking Nathan you don't even like airplanes" you laughed

"it's true" he said

"you're a pretty cool girl to travel with, you know what let's plan it it's my gift to you since I can see your pretty stress"

"I don't know nathan don't you think it might be scandalous I have a husband and if people see us travelling together they might get the wrong idea"

"hey you shouldn't worry about what people would think, people can think what they want, I'll talk to your husband y/n if your afraid to tell him our plan"

"well if you insist, I'm sure my husband won't mind to have the house for himself for a couple of weeks"

You thought this would benefit you and Draco since he can invite his mistress over while you went on a vacation to get your mind of off him

"great, tomorrow at lunch I'll come by to visit"

"I really had a great time tonight we should do this more often" he said

"yeah we should"you tell him

You bid your goodbyes and you went back to your house

As you were about to enter the house you can see draco in the living room his back faced to you sitting down at his chair a glass of wine on his hand

"draco?" You quietly said

"Why are you up draco"

"I could ask you the same y/n, with another man at this hour"

Shit he saw you with Nathan this won't go well

"oh, me and nathan were just planning ab-"

He cut you off

"I've heard you want to travel with him you two were being loud chatting"

There was a long silence until you decided to break it

"so draco would you let me travel with him, don't worry I won't ask you money I have a sa-"

"no you're not going to travel with him"

"you can have the house all by yourself you can even invite your girlfriend"you were trying to reason with him

You never stopped him from having fun with his girlfriend, why was he being selfish.

"Draco never did I stopped you from being with the love of your life why are you being selfish"

"I'm not being selfish it's you duty as my wife to be with me and not with some other man"his voice gradually growing louder

"I can't believe this, it's also your duty not be with another woman have you forgotten draco, why are you blaming me for wanting to find love"

" you are stuck with me wether you like it or not"

"You haven't change at all your still the same selfish boy I met on hogwarts, I really thought you'd change but no I gave you everything I gave you freedom even if it hurts, just this once I ask you to give me freedom and you couldn't give it to me"

Silence that's all you got.

"you aren't changing my mind y/n you are staying here" he left going upstairs

You can't believe how stupid you are to think he was a good man he never cared for you this being the moment you realize it you didn't go upstairs you instead just sat down at your couch putting your hand on your head massaging it. You were now silently crying it's like he purposely want to hurt you. You stayed there trying to get your composure back

You went up to your room, draco probably isn't there anymore

You open the door to see you were wrong draco was in your room sitting on your bed

"can you leave"you said

"I'm not leaving"

"draco stop being so stubborn"

"I'm not leaving y/n"

You knew how stubborn he is so you let him be

You sat on the other side of the bed

The silence was deafening and you can feel the tension you two created

"I'm sorry" he said

"I wasn't a good husband to you"

You didn't utter a word

"I am the one to blame here, I was selfish" he added

"I didn't realize how much I hurted you all these years"

"I know you don't love me y/n, I mean how can you love me im the worst person to be with"

You could hear him choking on his words he was crying

"draco I know you don't want to marry me and Im also sorry for what I said earlier your a great guy" you tried comforting him

"you want to know a secret y/n"

"Im inlove with you for a long time, pathetic right"

"I was insecure and ended up hurting you instead of making you feel loved"

"please give me a chance y/n I'll be better"

"draco I don't know what I should say"

You don't need to he kissed you passionately

"I promise I'll be good to you darling I'll be better"

Years past

You and Draco ended up having a son together he kept his promise to you you two raised a child together which you two loved dearly he was a great dad you ended up travelling the world together you two were happy maybe being with him wasn't bad afterall.

#draco fanfiction #draco angst #draco imagine #draco x reader

[c-atm]

Dance in the pale moonlight chapter 4

  "Yo, Crystal witches! You here?" Steven called as he walked into the beach home. A little more anxious than his usual cool self.

"Anyone home? Amy? Beaks? Seer?" 

Steven groaned as he received no answer. "A waste of time." 

The teenage demon sat upon the couch of the beach home. Looking up at the familiar ceiling as the thoughts of four days ago ran though his mind.

Since the death of the demon in the city, Steven has not been able truly shake the feelings he uncovered from the body. The emotions and the familiarity still unnerved him. He just couldn't let it go, no matter what distraction he tried to employ. Worse yet, it started to have an effect on his relationship with his lady, though he couldn’t see it.

“Can’t she see I'm trying to protect her. “ He groaned as memories of this morning ran through his mind.

*earlier*

“I must assist that you abstain from traveling to the city for the time being.”

“What?”Connie paused her eating of breakfast, turning her sight towards her familiar.

Steven looked back at her from over his right shoulder, scrambling the egg in a black skillet “You should stay away from the city.”

“I work in the city, Steven. Can’t really make money for our upkeep staying home.”

“We have enough for you to stay home a few months.” He poured the eggs onto a red ceramic. “Besides, your ‘day job’ isn’t your real job.”

“I like my day job, it allows me to interact with people and get gossip for our true job.” The witch retorted as she watched the demon sit across from her. Her black eyes narrowing behind her glasses.

“Be that as it may, you are to stay away from the city for the time being.” Steven responded coolly. “Also hunts are suspended for you as well.”

Connie blinked twice as her brows furrowed in anger. “Wow, heh...You’re funny this morning.” She smirked trying to keep her annoyance down.

“I’m not joking.”

“In that case....” Connie sat up straight, crossing her arms, drumming her left index finger against her right bicep. “Who are you to tell me what I can do or where I can go?”

“Your partner and familiar.”

”And that gives you a reason to put me under house arrest?“Connie's eyes widened in surprise at his nonchalant demeanor, before biting her tongue and letting a snide chuckle loose. “That some nerves you have.“

Steven sighed, scratching the back of his head. “I don’t mean any disrespect, My lady.”

“Yet..I’m feeling a bit insulted.”

Steven's face scrunched up in irritation at the sardonic tone. “It’s for your own good.”

“For my own good? Really and how is this for my own good?”

“I’m trying to protect you.”

“Trying to protect…”Connie paused for a moment as her eyes relaxed a moment “ Steven? This is still about what happened a few days ago?”

Steven said nothing, turning his head to the food on his plate. 

“I can’t halt my life because of a ‘what if’?”

“I’m not asking you to halt your life.”

“No, you’re telling me to and that’s not going to happen.”

“My lady” Steven held out a hand for her to grasp. “Please try to understand, the last thing I want is for you to be put in unneeded danger.”

She glanced at the hand with a slight scowl. “I do believe that…” She pushed his hand closed. “ That doesn't mean I’ll accept being held as a prisoner.”

He growled  “I’m not!”

“You are.”

“Connie.”

“Rather it’s your attention or not, you are.”

“It’s dangerous for you in the city at the moment.”

“And what proof do you have of that?” Conne nostrils flared. “ We haven't heard anything from the witches.”

“I plan on visiting them today about that.” He retorted.

“You do that. It would do you some good.”  

“You will remain here.” He ordered.

“I will be heading to work!” Connie sneered as she stood up leering at him.

"Connie, stop being difficult!"  Steven stood to meet her.

" You're the one who's making this harder than it needs to be."

"Why can't you see that I'm trying to watch out for you!"

"Then watch out for me!" She looked down at the table, the creases of her fingers, scraping at the marble furniture. "Don't force imprisonment on me." 

"Please My Lady, think about how I feel. I do this to make sure you're secure." The demon laid a palm on his mistress's knuckle. "I couldn't stand it if something happened to you."

" Isn't danger a part of our lives? Don't we risk our lives every time we go out to hunt?" She shot him a pointed look. "What's different this time?"

"The possibility that someone is directly targeting you for their twisted wants." Steven snarled in anger. "I refuse to give them the chance...I refuse to throw you into such danger!"

"Do you think I'm incapable of protecting myself? Am I that weak to you?" Her voice was low and a fiery stubbornness roared in her eyes. 

Steven shook his head instantly. " No no! It's not that!" He grimaced at the thought of his lady thinking he doubted her. "I know you're quite talented...Fledgling witch as you are."

His attempt at a compliment didn't go unnoticed, but didn't ease her ire either. 

"This isn't about you protecting yourself."  He spoke gently and truthfully as he held her hands, massaging the back of them with his thumb. "This is about you being protected, period." 

She sighed downtrodden. Her eyes relaxed a bit as the anger faded and slight appreciation. "I understand."

Steven smiled in victory. "Please, My Lady this is-"

"I understand your feelings, but I refuse to accept and follow your judgement." 

Steven froze at her determined voice. Looking at her eyes he saw he couldn't  change her mind.

"Why are you so damn bull-headed?" Steven scratched the back of his head, letting go of her hand.

"Steven.."

"Why can't you trust me?!" He walked over to the sink grabbing the edge of it.

"Steven, of course I trust you."

He could hear the heartbreak in her voice.

Steven looked over his shoulder with a glare. "Funny way of showing it, partner."  He  turned to face her, fist clench. "I told you what I felt from that corpse, the emotions left behind.". He walked over towards her. “Do you know how terrifying it is for me, that someone who would do that? With those attentions, those emotions. The simple possibility that it could be towards you.” He stopped before her, a few centimeters away from her.” It’s heart-wrenching.” 

Connie looked up at him, those sad and scared eyes of his perring down at her. She grabbed his cheeks gently. “Steven, you can’t halt my life for a possibility, you know that.” 

“I’m not..I’m just being cautious...Protective.” He held her hands tenderly almost afraid to break her. 

“I know but, If THIS is your way of protecting me, then I don't need it."

“My lady?”

She tipped-toed, kissing his forehead, before looking into his eyes sadly. “You’ve always protected…” She shook her head. “We’ve always protected each other without smothering each other...Without taking away from each other...Why should that change? I trust you to keep me safe, have my back..be there when I call.” She gave him a gentle smile. “Trust that I’m capable enough that I won’t have to.. ”

“I want you to though.” He pouted just a bit.

“It is a nice feeling when you come to my rescue, admittedly..”She arched an eyebrow, patting his cheek. “But hopefully I won’t need saving today.”

He groaned as she let his face go and backed away.

“Hey, you don’t want me to get in trouble now? She teased

“Of course not!” Steven gulped as a flush came to his face. “Just..Can’t help but worry.”

“My diligent protector.”She spoke adoringly. “Come have lunch with me today, after you talk with the witches. It’ll be your choice and on me.”

“Oh..So no Panda Express?” He folded his arms with a smirk.

“If that's what you want, then yes.” She turned her back to him. “Besides, It’ll ease your nerves seeing me safe.”

“Maybe a little bit. Won’t be truly comfortable til all this is settled and done with.”

“Yeah.” She gave him a reassuring grin. “ I gotta get ready for work.”

“Or you can stay here… Under my protection... In your pajamas”

The pajamas in question was a long button up shirt that reached her knees over some night shorts. She could feel the flirtyteaseing in his tone and it made it nearly impossible for her to fight the grin on her face. 

"You wish.” She walked out of the kitchen with a wave, "Besides that what Sundays are for." hiding her blushing face. Unaware of the uncertain look on his face.

*present*

“I hope she’s safe.” He stated as he gazed up to the ceiling.

“Big Bro!”

He turned to the front door to see Amethyst running towards him. He chuckled when she leapt up onto his lap tackling him a hug.

“Hey Amy.” He sat up with her returning the hug.

“Oh...Didn’t know we’d have a visitor.”

“I did.”

Steven turned his head to see two older figures walk in holding groceries . One was a lilith woman with peach hair, a long pointed nose, clear blue eyes and skin as white as the pearl adorned on her forehead. 

Beside her was a taller, curvier, voluptuous woman. She had dark skin the color of garnet, full lips, a large cube afro and triangular glasses.

Them two, along with Amethyst were the crystal witches

“It’s good to see you Steven.” The garnet skinned woman spoke in a deep british accent giving him an affectionate smile. “Not very often you visit without Connie.”

“Yeah I guess so, Garnet.” He gave the woman a smile.

“Is everything ok? You’re not giving her trouble are you?” The lilith woman spoke accusingly.

“We’re fine. Completely in bliss, Pearl.” Steven sneered at the lilith witch. “What about you, Beaks. Pecked any good holes lately? “ He smirked as she frowned.

“Still an unruly demon, I see.“

“Just for those who deserve it” 

“Maybe, you need to be disciplined then.” She stepped forward conjuring a small white flame in her hand.

Seven sat Amy next to him as he cracked his right hand, growling defensively. 

“That’s enough, you two.” Garnet announced as Amy ran to her leg before lifting up the small demoness. “This isn’t the time for your rivalry.”

“Hmm, fine.” Pearl relented, killing the flame. Her snooty demeanor rubbed Steven the wrong way. “It’s best to return Connie her toy, undamaged, anyway.”

“Goddamn mother hen from hell!” He roared in annoyance, getting a  smirk from the lilith demon.

“They never get along without Sis refereeing” Amethyst sighed. Garnet only nodded with a grimace.

“Pearl please put the groceries away, Amethyst will help” Garnet stated as she placed the  frowning purple demoness down to the floor 

“What?”

“I need to talk to Steven about something he asked. You can play with him after we're done.” .

“Go ahead Amy,” he rubbed his little sister's head affectionately. "help Beaks out, and we can visit Connie for lunch later.”

Amy's eyes widened in excitement before she ran to Pearl’s side. 

Garnet nodded towards the temple door, a  purplish-blue door with a start in the center adorned with five different gems on it’s point The sapphire and ruby gem glowed before the door opened revealing a reddish workshop. “Let’s talk in private,”

While Steven was visiting the Crystal Witches, Connie was manning the receptionist desk at the Delmarva library. She was leaning back into her chair, a book of spells in her hand. The public place was desolate, only two other patrons were in the library…

Somewhere. 

It was quite easy to get lost in the five storey building. Her mind was not on that though.It was on the morning she had with Steven.

'My stars. Can't believe he thought It waa a liable idea to keep me under house arrest like some damsel in a fairytale. He knows better.' She frowned a bit before chuckling. 'Though, there's a sweetness to his protectiveness."'She grinned. 

'What would I do anyway after the first few days becoming a hermit..Besides leaving without his knowledge? Create a spell that turns me to a demon, just to break the boredom. Laze on the couch after reading every book in the house, drown his flowers trying to water them...Burn down the kitchen trying to cook him a meal after a long day.' She shook her head. 

"He'd reprimand me to hell, while saying I look cute with soot on my cheek, all before happily eating the burnt meal." She felt a warm heat in her cheeks. 

"And then suggest we'd spend the evening in the living room together before lig

#Connie Maheswaran #Steven universe #connverse #Witchanddemonau #Witchconnie #DemonSteven #Witchy #Dapper #action #Steven universe fanfiction #Steven universe fandom #connverse fanfic #steven and connie #meku95 #connverse fanfiction

[omgkatsudonplease]

恭喜发财! After reading your YP!LWJ posts, I couldn't help but want to ask for more. The way you wrote the concept makes me want to see this as a full fanfic.

it’s more likely to be a series of ficlets but I’ll probably put them in order on ao3 at some point! the nature of this story just lends itself better to ficlets because honestly most of the major canon events are more or less intact with slight variations on who’s saying or doing what depending on the change in their backstory. 

The arm is acting up again. The sound of breaking objects can be heard across Lotus Pier, as the arm crashes and wrecks things with almost comical amounts of wrath. Several cultivators attempt to subdue it, but only manage to get it still for about forty seconds before they have to get out of its way, lest it attempt to tear out their left arm in order to substitute itself.

“It’s almost restless,” Wei Wuxian remarks. “Restless with resentment. It wants to be whole again, with the rest of its body parts.” 

“A family reunion,” quips Jiang Cheng, crossing his arms. “I suppose that means once you’re ready, you’ll set out to hunt down the other parts?”

“Seems like that’s what it wants,” replies Wei Wuxian. “Can’t exactly say no to a corpse these days, you know.”

Over on the field, Jiang Sizhui and Jin Rulan have tackled the hand themselves, trying to force it back into the qiankun bag. Wei Wuxian steps forward, his flute in hand.

“I can calm it down,” he says, but the instant Jin Rulan touches the hand, it goes oddly still and docile. Wei Wuxian laughs. “Or not, I guess you’ve got it handled, Rulan.”

“Would you like… a hand?” teases Jiang Sizhui. Jin Rulan glares at him.

“The hand calms down near Jin Rulan,” remarks Jiang Cheng, tapping his chin. “Odd.”

A couple days earlier…

The array is drawn. Blood. Fire. A scrap of paper, from Lan Wangji’s book of the dead…

Mo Xuanyu looks down at his arms, streaked already with blood and revenge, and begins to chant. 

Justice. Justice shall prevail. 

I call forth… a vengeful hero! 

“Any news?” asks Regent Jiang Yanli, fiddling nervously with her fingers. At the table beside her, Jin Guangyao pauses in sipping his wine, mulling through her words. 

“Of my brother?” he asks. She nods, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “I’m afraid not. Every scout we can spare is on the lookout. There have been some issues at the border with Gusu, though. The Gusu Lan sect has become more insular in these recent years.” He pauses. “You don’t suppose they have something to hide?”

“Would they be the sort to hide my husband?” wonders Jiang Yanli.

“These days, it is difficult to know what a Lan is or is not capable of anymore,” replies Jin Guangyao, shaking his head. “Zewu-jun is entirely unlike himself now. You must have heard from your brother about his argument with him at the base of Dafan Mountain.”

Jiang Yanli nods, poking at her food. “Yes, the rumours of my shidi’s return have spread far and wide.” 

“What do you think, Mistress Jin?” wonders Jin Guangyao.

Jiang Yanli considers it. “I would like to throw a banquet in his honour,” she replies. “It is not every day that a loved one can defy death in such a way.” 

“You are not worried that he may have been returned due to demonic interference?” 

Jiang Yanli’s eyes narrow. “We cannot always predict when our loved ones will leave us,” she replies. “So when they return, no matter what, no matter how, we must cherish them.”

“i understand, Mistress Jin.” says Jin Guangyao. “Shall I begin banquet preparations?”

A week earlier… 

The xiao melody fills the air, discordant and chaotic. Lan Jingyi claps his hands to his ears, in a desperate attempt to let the cacophony fly over him instead. 

“I hate it when Sect Leader Lan does his demonic inquiries,” a younger disciple whines. Lan Jingyi doesn’t even have it in him to reprimand him for talking badly about the sect leader behind his back, as the music truly is atrocious today. “It makes me unable to concentrate on meditation.”

“I just feel so… strange whenever I hear it,” agrees another disciple. 

“Sect Leader Lan wishes to find his brother,” says Lan Jingyi, almost automatically at this point. “He is clearly doing everything in his power to track him. We must have faith.”

“We must have faith,” agrees the boys, and place their hands over their ears.

“Da-ge, you seem sad,” Nie Huaisang remarks as he approaches Nie Mingjue in the gardens of their residence. Sect Leader Nie usually has no use for flowers, but if it gives his good for nothing little brother something to do, then he’ll allow it, a little. 

“What’s it to you?” he grumbles. “Every time I see you I feel sad, too.”

“Sure, but this is a different kind of sad,” says Nie Huaisang, covering part of his face with his fan. “You’re sad about him again, aren’t you? Second brother?”

“He is not himself,” replies Nie Mingjue. “It is as if he is suffering his own qi deviation.”

“What do you think is causing it?” wonders Nie Huaisang. Nie Mingjue’s eyes narrow, and his hands clench on his saber. 

“I don’t know,” he replies. “But I have my suspicions.”

A couple days earlier… 

Lan Wangji sees the sign glowing before him, on the texts he’s been painstakingly rewriting from memory. The summoning array has been used. 

Who could it be? He picks a couple strings of his guqin, melodies moving swiftly through his ranks of undead. Everyone is accounted for. He broadens the search, and his stomach twists at the result.

Wei Wuxian. 

His soul is no longer among the dead. 

Lan Wangji has wanted to communicate with him for the longest time, but something placed on Wei Wuxian’s body had silenced his soul in the afterlife. Now, all of that has changed. Someone has done the thing he had feared to do – restore Wei Wuxian back to the living. Possibly just so he himself would follow, curious about the movements of his love. 

He checks the location of the sigil. It appears to be at the edge of the Lanling Jin lands, near the residence of the Mo family.

Without a second thought, Lan Wangji melds into the shadows, and heads for the direction of Mo Village.

“If you do not write to me about your adventures, I will personally break your legs so you don’t get to have any more of them,” warns Jiang Cheng as he hands Jiang Sizhui a qiankun bag of supplies. 

Next to them, Jin Rulan is pouting visibly as a couple guards lead his spiritual dog away. “But why can’t Fairy come with us?” he demands. “He’s perfectly trained, you know.”

“No reason,” says Wei Wuxian, his voice a little more high-pitched than usual. 

“This is a great honour, Jingyi,” says Lan Xichen, only the slightest smile gracing his lips as he ruffles the junior’s head. “Night-hunting with one of the Twin Heroes of Yunmeng. You’ll learn quite a lot, I imagine.”

“You sure you’ll be all right by yourself, Xichen-gege?” asks Lan Jingyi. 

Lan Xichen laughs, a little harshly. “Perfectly fine,” he says. “Please keep me updated on your progress.” 

Wei Wuxian watches Lan Jingyi nod enthusiastically with a somewhat sinking feeling in his heart. Now, the boys all tie their qiankun bags to their belts, ready their swords and talismans, and line up facing him.

“Let’s go, Master Wei!” they chirp, and Wei Wuxian leads the way towards the gate of Lotus Pier, heading towards the northeast where the hand being carried by Jin Rulan is currently pointing. 

The boys file after, bright grins on their faces at the prospect of more adventure.

A couple years earlier… 

“It isn’t fair,” whines Mo Xuanyu, wiping at his eyes with his sleeves. “I didn’t – I didn’t mean to do it, it was an accident, a slip of my tongue –”

“You remind me of someone I once knew,” says Jiang Yanli, sitting on the garden bench beside him. She looks up at the stars, beautiful in her role as worry-stricken wife. “My shidi, Wei Wuxian. He would frequently run his mouth, too, and it’d get him into all sorts of trouble.”

“Wei Wuxian!” breathes Mo Xuanyu, his eyes wide. “You mean… you really knew him? I remember he used to visit you, but I was too young for him to notice… What was he like?”

“He had such a strong sense of right and wrong,” says Jiang Yanli, smiling fondly. “If he knew someone was suffering, no matter how small, he would try to make things right. That’s why he trusted in the Master of Shadows for far longer than anyone else – Hanguang-jun was just the same, but with a different approach.”

“Was it true?” wonders Mo Xuanyu. “You know, that they…”

Jiang Yanli smiles. “I never asked,” she said. “But I know my shidi’s heart and core had always been Lan Wangji’s, even before their paths diverged. I don’t know if he ever knew that himself, though.”

Mo Xuanyu sniffles. “I think I’d like to know what he’d think of me, if he were to meet me,” he says. “Him and Hanguang-jun.”

“I do, too,” agrees Jiang Yanli. “He was taken too soon. Without him, the world just feels so much more unjust.”

“I wish I could talk to the Master of Shadows,” declares Mo Xuanyu. “He’d know how to bring Wei Wuxian back, and how to get my family to stop pestering me, and – and he’d make everything right again. I’m sure of it.”

Jiang Yanli sighs, closing her eyes, steeling herself. Quietly, she slips a folded paper from her sleeve and slides it across the bench towards him. 

“What if I told you, Master Mo… that there was?”

#魔道祖师 #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #lily's dabbles #yiling patriarch lwj au #red envelope ficlets #jae duhb #ask