#I think he also didn't say a word just gave me a slight nod without breaking eye contact. While still smiling like he was gonna eat me

[slushycoookie]

My Husband Has a Symbiote! Pt. 2

Pt.1 - Pt.2

Relationship: Symbiote! Miguel O'Hara x AFAB! Reader

Word Count: 2,804

Content: Smut, p in v, vaginal fingering, Miguel gets choked, Reader can't go ten minutes without being railed, MINORS DNI!

Summary: You try to have a serious conversation about the symbiote Miguel has, but it doesn't really work.

A/N: I'm having so much fun with this, don't mind me. Also, you guys really liked the first part, so here's some more!

After the most wonderful sex you had in your life, you had to get a grip.

It couldn't happen again. Having sex with an alien that your husband bonded with. You were still trying to understand why using a symbiote was the best action out of everything else. You all could try the normal way. Without taking extreme measures. Or, in your case, out-of-this-world ones. That's what you decided to do getting up this morning.

You took your time putting on clothes, your legs wobbling as you stood. You smelled the strong scent of coffee while traversing to the kitchen. Only to get a view of your husband's gorgeous back. 

“Good morning.” Miguel handed you a cup of coffee as a peace offering. As you took it, you tried not to get distracted by his hairy chest and arms. Or how his sweatpants hung low around his waist. 

“Good morning.” You smiled against your cup, “Sleep well?”

He nodded, matching your smile. “Did you?”

“Yeah.” Your eyes darted around his form. No clear view of his new symbiote. Unless he put it in a bottle. “Where is it? Or them?”

Miguel rubbed the back of his neck, “They're still here.” Just then, his new best friend appeared. Only its head, sporting your partner's signature blue and red colors. Its smile and tongue gave you flashbacks of how that was on your lower half last night. Taking exceptionally good care of you. You squeezed your thighs again to ignore the arousal.

“Pretty thing.” A weird form of greeting they uttered before disappearing.

“We should definitely talk about that. In-depth.” You settled your cup down.

Miguel did the same, standing beside you. “What's more to talk about? I told you why I got one.”

“And I understood that.” You sighed, “But that can't happen again. We should try like normal people. Go see a doctor, try more sex positions…”

He chuckled, wrapping an arm around your waist and holding you close. “We're not normal people.”

“I know.” You let out a slight laugh, “But I think it's best to-”

“Did you not enjoy last night?” 

Your heartbeat picked up. His eyes were lowered, gazing at you with an emotion you knew all too well. It didn't help that he smelled so good. Hints of ginger mixed with the fresh coffee hugged your senses. Or the way his rugged arms held you up last night while thrusting into you. “I did-”

He stole a kiss. Stopping you from regretting anything that occurred last night. You started making out in the kitchen, absorbed in the bitter coffee taste. Which somehow turned into you getting destroyed from behind. Miguel's symbiote form pressed against your back, body rutting into you. His ginormous hands covered the countertops. Little cracks formed with each thrust he took. You couldn't be upset about the destruction of your kitchen. You didn't want him to stop.

“You deserve to have our children…” That deep voice resonated in the room, causing you to shiver. 

“Don’t say that…” You whimpered, pressing your ass back against him. A territorial growl emitted from behind and he went harder. Pounding into you until you screamed his name.

Everything was a mess. 

The countertops were damaged, coffee spilled on the floor along with the broken pieces from your mugs. And a sticky, warm substance was sliding down your thighs. Miguel’s normal hand reached down and scooped up whatever was coming out. Pushing it back in to make sure it didn't go to waste. All while he kissed your head.

You couldn't even talk to him about the symbiote in the room. Whenever you tried to bring up getting rid of it, somehow you were on your back, side, bent over or on top. Taking your partner's cock like a champ. Getting full of his seed. And at the end of it, feeling completely satisfied. 

You ranted to MJ and Jess when you all went out for lunch at a café. It's been a week of Miguel using you like his own sex toy.

“All I heard is that you've been getting some.” Jess remarked while sipping on her drink. “And you're complaining about it.”

“Because he's distracting me! So I don't tell him to get rid of it!” You buried your face in your hands.

“Well…how big is it?” Mj asked, eyes wide with genuine curiosity. 

You raised a brow as your cheeks turned dark. “I shouldn't tell you that.”

“You look the way you did when you came back from your honeymoon.” Jess noticed your body practically glowing from all the sex you were having. “We gotta know how good it is.”

The table they were sitting at was rectangular in shape. Long enough for you to show them how big Miguel was with his symbiote. Which was almost half of the table. 

“Whoa.” Mj gawked at the description. “And tell me why you're complaining again.”

You rolled your eyes, “Symbiotes are dangerous! I don't want him to get obsessed with it all because of a problem I have.” You turned to Jess, “Shouldn't you be agreeing with me here? Didn't you have a symbiote?”

Jess waved you away, “No, because I'm too smart not to put myself through that.” You purse your lips as the Spider-Woman kept going. “They are dangerous, but only if they don't have a decent relationship with who they're attached to.”

“Yeah, Peter was very different when he had it.” Mj explained, twirling her drink around with a straw. “First he was energized and then snippy. He couldn’t part with it until he had a wake-up call that it was destroying our relationship. It was scary.”

That's what you were worried about. Your partner turning into someone you couldn't recognize. You weren't scared of him but for him.

“You know you can say no, right?” Jess said before getting a mischievous glint in her eye. “But you don't want to. The sex is that good, huh?”

You gasped at her accusation, “You are…absolutely right.” Your friends sympathized with you, “But we need to talk…”

You had to come up with a plan. A way so you could talk without having his cock buried inside you. You decided to visit him at HQ, trying to look as unattractive as possible with a hoodie and sweatpants. Being married to the leader of Spider Society had its perks. One of them was looking into mission distribution. You noticed the teen dream, which you called Miles, Gwen, Pavitr, Hobie, and Margo, going to report to Miguel that day. You couldn't barge in when he spoke to Peter. He'd have Mayday with him, adding more fuel to the fire. Or any reports with Ben because Miguel would get jealous and sex would ensue. A bunch of teens on the other hand was perfect.

You approached the group as they were about to make their way into his lab.

“Hey!” Miles greeted with open arms, “What brings you here?”

“Oh, I need to talk to Miguel about something.” You waved it off, not deeming it as important. 

“Trouble in paradise?” Hobie said with a smirk, causing you to shake your head.

“No, no. It's just about the symbiote. You guys think it's weird, right? That he's using it?”

“Actually,” Gwen took over, “some of our people have had success stories in using it. Like me, for example.”

You stared at the girl, surprised. “What? You had a good relationship with one of those things?”

“Yeah. It's no big deal.” Gwen shrugged it off. The entire time they were slowly making their way inside his lab. Going past his equipment in the darkness.

Pavitr jumped on her back, “She says it's no big deal. Like a boss.”

“That's Gwendy for ya.” Hobie winked at her.

“Guys, it really isn't a big deal. Symbiote relationships can be symbiotic. It depends on the person and who they connect with. It could make them better or worse.” 

Everyone blinked at Gwen's explanation. Your knowledge of her connection with the alien made you pause. Was it possible for Miguel to have a healthy relationship with the thing? Were you stressing yourself out worrying about him?

“Miguel has been getting better lately.” Miles cut in.

“Yeah, at first he was moody, but then he gave me the day off so I could play a new game that came out.” Margo added. “He never lets me take the day off for video games.”

You hummed. Sure, his mood was getting better, but they still had to talk. You didn't want to assume everything was okay until they at least spoke about it.

Inside the lab, the teens gave their report to Miguel. The entire time he stood high on his platform, nodding to everything they were saying. Once in a while, he’d glance at you, a trace of intrigue, like he wanted to talk. Or breed you before getting back to work. You couldn’t relax seeing him in his typical suit. The symbiote was still attached to him, just not present. 

“Good work.” Miguel complimented, “Now, my partner needs to speak to me about something.”

You perked up, shaking your head. “They can stay, it’s not that important-”

“I’d rather they didn’t.” His stare shot through your body. It was hard but yet filled with increasing lust. All you did was walk in the room. 

The teens walked past you, shooting apologizing looks. Hobie’s face was amused, giving a reassuring pat on the back before whispering in your ear. “Don’t rough ‘im up too much.”

Miguel called you to his platform. You made your way across, trying to devise a quick game plan as your current one backfired. You placed yourself on the other side to create as much distance as possible. You heard him command Lyla to lock the lab so no one could get in. You took a deep breath to stabilize your beating heart. 

“Why are you over there?”

You shot him a glare, “You know why.”

“Do I?” Miguel tilted his head in question. A rumbling chuckle filled your body when you tsked. He stood on the other end, not making any moves to get closer. Yet his eyes were trailing down your covered body. Picturing himself peeling every layer off of you. “I like your outfit today.”

You saw him take one step closer and you had to straighten yourself. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Another step and you cleared your throat. You could see yourself being bent over that console if the conversation kept up like this. 

“Look, we really need to talk about this symbiote.” Miguel hummed, partially listening. As he took another step, you pressed yourself back against the console. Realizing you couldn’t get further back, you raised a harsh pointer finger towards him. “Miguel.”

“I’m listening, preciosa.” He paused, that same look of hunger in his eyes. 

“Are you? Do you see yourself right now?” You watched him take another step. 

Miguel snorted, “Do you see yourself right now? You’re so sexy. I can’t believe I married you.” 

He closed the gap, one hand on the console behind you. You placed your hands on his chest. At first, it was to try to create some distance, but the hardened muscle under your palms made you reconsider. Those same pectorals you've always felt and pressed up against. Your hands had a mind of their own, running along them. The corner of Miguel’s lips curled up in amusement. 

“You still wanna talk?” He picked you up and placed you on the console. His other hand placed against your lower back, pressing your entire body against his chest. Your resolve was dwindling as he gazed at you. “Or do you want to be bred?”

That’s how you ended up the way you were now. Clothes removed, thrown who knows where in his lab. Legs spread while his gigantic finger pumped into and out of you. Miguel’s symbiote form took over, drooling while watching you take him in easily. You whined while clutching his arm. Small sopping sounds fill your ears. 

A gasp escaped your lips when a second digit entered you. Your back arching at the beautiful friction. How his fingers knew where to touch inside. A satisfied growl erupted from Miguel, mouth wide as his tongue glided across your pleasure-fixed face. 

“Pretty thing. So obedient…” His thumb pressed against your clit. Your nails dug into his sticky skin at the additional sensation. Not wanting him to stop for a second as that familiar burning feeling started to rise. It pooled in your stomach before spreading up and over your body. Miguel didn’t care when you screamed for him in his lab, letting all the spiders know he was pleasing his partner. 

You panted, leaning back a little on the console when his fingers were gone. The familiar sight of his large cock came into view, ready to go in. A rush of clarity filled your mind as you stopped him. He gave you a look in question.

“Lemme be on top.”

Miguel grinned, eyes lighting up with intrigue. “Oh? Pretty little thing wants to bounce?” 

Before you could nod in confirmation, he sat down. Back pressed along the console. Goosebumps formed, feeling the cool steel amongst your feet. You licked your lips, watching your partner observe you. Dark blue cock aching to be inside. You hovered over him, stabilizing yourself by touching his shoulders. Before sinking down. 

Each time Miguel’s cock entered you, it was always as if it was the first time. After a couple of thrusts, You always lost your ability to think straight. Only taking what Miguel gave you. This time was going to be different. 

A moan escaped you, getting used to the feeling before raising your hips again. Before slamming back down on him. His eyes lowered at the sight of his partner fucking yourself on his shaft. Even though Miguel took over most of the time during sex, You had your moments of being the one to make him quiver under your touch. While fucking the symbiote, it was still affected by things that made regular Miguel whine. So you went slow, sliding up and down at an antagonizing pace. Even for you. But you needed to get your point across. Miguel’s hands hovered by your hips, ready to have you pick up the pace. Only for you to use one hand to grip his thick throat. 

His eyes went wide at the sudden action, your tiny hand doing your best to choke him out. “Pretty thing wants to get rough?”

“You like it rough.” You quipped back, still rolling your hips on him. Miguel growled at the sensation before latching his hand on his arm.

“We do.”

It happened in an instant, the symbiote tendrils curling around the lower half of your arm, coating it the signature blue. You felt stronger. Enough to grip his neck tighter. You also picked up the pace, bouncing in a way to drive him crazy. If you could see Miguel’s face, you knew his eyes would be rolled back, while his hips thrusted up in unison with your bounces. 

“L-Let me…speak to him…”

“You are.” The symbiote’s chest heaved, almost succumbing to the intoxicating sensation. 

You shook your head, a whimper coming out as you hit a spot that was too good. “No. I wanna…see him…” Miguel’s face appeared, pleasure permeating his dazed face. If there were any other moment, you wouldn’t stop, help him chase his fucked out high. But not right now. You slowed down, earning a cry from Miguel. 

“N-No. Don’t stop, mi amor.” 

“Listen to me first…” Your pace was torture as you sunk down enough to provide pleasure still. In this position, Miguel was susceptible to agree to anything as long as he made sure he released inside you. “We’re gonna have a conversation about this thing.”

“Okay, okay. We will. Now let’s-” A strangled moan escaped him when you squeezed his neck.

“I’m serious, Miguel. If we end up like this again without talking, you’re not coming back home.” You stared right into his eyes, serious while clouded with pleasure. Miguel stared right back, taking in that you meant every word. You didn’t like it had to come to this, but it would put you at ease if you two talked about it. 

He nodded, taking your words to heart. “Okay.”

With that, your pace picked up again. You bounced on his cock with vigor, hand removed from his throat and back to his shoulders. Miguel’s hands were on your hips as he fucked up into you to meet your own. Both were extraordinarily loud in the lab. Neither cared as they went to chase the high together. A mix of grunts and moans spread amongst the atmosphere. 

Then, a comfortable silence took its place.

#miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o hara x reader #miguel o'hara x you #miguel x reader #spiderman 2099 x reader #slushycoookie writes

[rottingparts]

Confessions

[Mirage x Human!AFAB!Reader]

Summary: Mirage wants to take you out, and not with a sniper.

Word Count: 1.4k

Warnings: SMUT!! 18+, MINORS DNI!! Human/Alien Robot Relations, mentions of clit, grinding, size difference, bruising, marking up (but not on purpose) (please let me know if i missed something! Sometimes my brain thinks it typed it out or i just miss it in general, it's not on purpose i promise!)

A/N: There is no use of pronouns! Reader is AFAB, but is written GN. This was supposed to be like, multiple characters separately, but this got a little long and i didn't wanna write the other two this long as well, so I'm posting this one by itself. I also kinda wanna do one with potentially a male reader?? Give me your thoughts🔫 -Rot

It started with a ‘I know a place’ and ended with you hopping into Mirage and going to wherever it was he wanted to take you.

The two of you wound up in some secluded area, on a hill, overlooking the sunset below you. Mirage’s door opened and you scooted out. You looked at the scenery before you and gasped. It was astounding, beautiful, and most definitely breathtaking.

“How do you know about this place?”

Mirage waved his hand, “Ah, it’s-” He seemed to not be able to come up with anything, “Noah told me about it.”

“Of course,” You smiled at Mirage, “I should have known you wouldn’t know any cool New York places on your own.”

Mirage feigned being hurt, touching his chest and giving a slight gasp. “I’m trying to spend time with you, and you say that?”

You rolled your eyes playfully and sat down in the grass, looking at the pink and orange sky above you. You lied down and closed your eyes. You sighed and heard movement beside you. You peeked over and saw Mirage sitting beside you. He was watching you, thinking. You didn’t know about what, but you could see he was thinking hard.

“Y’know…” Mirage started, shifting where he sat, “This is probably not a good time,” he rambled on, “stop me if it isn’t,” he put one of his servos up, “but, you’re really beautiful, and I can’t stop thinking about you- I think the team gets mad with how much I talk about you-”

“Mirage-”

“Now, I understand if you don’t think the same thing-”

“Mirage!” You almost shouted. He stopped. “I think- I feel the same.”

“You think you do?” His optic ridges furrowed. He sounded worried.

“No! I know I do.” You smiled at him. “Um, this is embarrassing-”

“Oh trust me,” Mirage shook his head, “It isn’t.”

You paused, “No, it is. I think about you a lot. A lot more than I, uh, probably should.”

Mirage, growing intrigued, gave you a curious look. “Oh? What do you think about? I need every detail.”

Your eyes widened. “No you don’t. All you need to know is I feel the same, and maybe then some.” You were fidgeting, playing with the grass beneath you.

Mirage’s fingers met your face, and he gently, very gently, tilted it towards him. Your eyes met his blue optics and your stomach dropped. A heat pooled between your legs and you tensed. ‘Now is not the time,’ you shouted at yourself. Your breath caught in your throat.

“I’ll tell you what I’ve been thinking, but you gotta go first.” He inched closer to you, “I don’t want my thoughts to be too weird.”

You nodded, “Okay,” your palms hit your thighs and anxiously rub down them. Mirage was still keeping you looking at him, and as soon as you closed your eyes and inhaled, Mirage was quick to ask you to keep your eyes on him. You looked back at him, “For starters, I think about you a lot at night. I think about your voice, your… servos?” You asked, pointing at them, and he nodded, “I think about what they would feel like against my skin.”

Mirage’s ego was being inflated at a speed unknown to man, “Well, you don’t have to wonder any longer.” He smirked. “I’ll share now!” He seemed excited to tell you after you shared your thoughts, “I think about how soft you would be. Your skin, oh especially your lips-”

You, without thinking, interrupted him, “Would you like to figure that out?”

Mirage cocked an optic ridge at you, “Which one?”

“Both,” You whispered, voice barely audible. Mirage was stuck. Did he think he’d get this far? Not really. “You can kiss me…”

Mirage was on you instantly. Your warm hands went to his face and cupped it. His lips pressed to yours and your stomach turned with excitement. You pulled away, faster than Mirage would have liked and he pouted at you.

“No one is gonna come up here?” There was a desire in your eyes that Mirage could not get enough of. As soon as he shook his head, you nodded. “Can I-” You motioned towards his lap. He moved back from you, sitting directly on the grass and patted his thigh. You crawled onto him and started to kiss him once more.

Mirage grabbed at your waist, dragging you up his thigh slightly, causing you to moan. Mirage took this as a chance to happily stick his tongue into your mouth. You gasped, eyes widening and fingers tensing on his face.

Mirage’s tongue explored your mouth and you rocked on his thigh. That elicited another moan from you and you felt Mirage smile. Mirage moved his leg, picking it up and dropping it, causing you to fall with it as you tried to grind against him. You whined and pulled away from Mirage. He gave you an innocent look, acting as if he didn’t just do that.

With brows furrowed, you huffed at him, “Mirage,” You whined out his name.

“Oh~” He smiled, “I can definitely get used to hearing that!”

“Come on! You’re not gonna leave me high and dry are you?” It was your turn to look at him innocently.

Mirage was melting under your stare. He could have sworn his spark stopped. “How do you wanna do this?” He was folding already. “I mean, I think you’re too small for my spike…”

You bit your lip, thinking, “I could-” You couldn’t articulate your words properly, “I want us to both feel good.”

You saying that was all Mirage needed to hear. Before you knew it you were half naked, and Mirage had his spike out. Your shirt was still on, but your bottoms were thrown by Mirage to the side. You had asked him to not destroy them. He proved to be a good listener.

Mirage positioned you against his spike. He leaned back, keeping you steady, and watching you as you started to move. Since you were quite a bit smaller than Mirage, and knew you could not feasibly take his spike, he had decided it would be best for the both of you if you just would grind against it.

You started to move, pushing yourself along the spike. As you reached the head of it, your thighs would tense together and you could feel Mirage twitching under you. You would slide back down his spike, your clit rubbing against it. You let out a loud moan and cried out Mirage’s name.

“Fuck,” You whined as you hand grabbed for Mirage’s forearm, keeping yourself upright. Your legs were going to be sore the next day. But at that moment you did not care. As you pushed yourself up and slid your way back down Mirage’s spike again, you were getting closer and closer to release. “Baby,” You whimpered, “I’m gonna-”

As soon as you said ‘baby’ Mirage was close to losing it. His hips bucked upwards and you were sure the noise he made was going to be heard a mile away. His grip on you tightened and you came hard and fast, all over his spike. You did not stop grinding against him though, not until Mirage came himself.

You watched as Mirage’s optics seemed to fizzle out, he seemed to be short circuiting momentarily. When he whimpered you were sure you could orgasm again just from that alone. Transfluid came from his spike and your grinding began to slow.

“Don’t-” Mirage’s optics were blue again, and staring straight at you, “Don’t stop.”

“Mirage,” Your voice was soft as you were growing tired, “I’m too sensitive.”

Mirage seemed to realize his grip on you was not as soft as it once was and he let go, letting you slide down onto his leg. When you felt him lift your shirt and you heard him let out a little gasp you looked down at your side.  You noticed a bruise forming, one that resembled a not so small hand, and you felt yourself snort.

“This isn’t funny!” Mirage was not laughing, “I hurt you!”

“Mirage,” You reassured him, trying to steady yourself on his thigh, “it’s a bruise, it’s gonna heal. The way you held me was kinda hot, anyway.” Mirage was conflicted. “Let’s just hope the others don’t see it…”

Something clicked, “Wait, if they do see it, they’ll know-” Mirage looked ecstatic.

“Mirage! I am not going to show off this bruise so everyone knows that I was with you.” You shook your head. “But-” You put a finger up, “If someone asks I won’t deny it…”

#valveplug #tf mirage #rotb mirage #mirage #mirage smut #mirage x reader #transformers smut #transformers x reader

[runningfrom2am]

cold nights // part twenty-seven

summary: you were back in the capitol, and you would be damned if you didn't try your hardest to make it worthwhile.

pairing: coriolanus snow x fem!reader

wc: 3.4k

masterlists / nav / requests

tags/warnings: tribute!reader and mentor!coriolanus, r is very sweet (too kind for this world. literally.), sunshine x grumpy trope kinda, he falls first, violence typical for the source material, depictions of mental illness, also she's is very smart (as she should), district twelve!reader.

a/n: omg we're coming up on the end i could cry :') i finished writing everything and i feel like a shell of a person rn without this fic to plan and write, but i hope you guys are excited! there will be five more parts after this and then the epilogue, which brings me to some really exciting news!!

big news #1: i'm opening oneshot requests for this series!! my normal requests will remain closed but i'd love to see what you guys want for the more of this series! (link is here!)

big news #2: the end of this story is opening the doors to my third coryo series which I've been working on for a hot minute, and it'll be called requiem! (see the original request for it here to get the vibes before i post anything!)

my asks are also open to talk about this series! (i do have emoji anons open now too!)

send me any and all of your thoughts! here!

series masterlist // playlist

The protests caught you off guard, more than anything.

It had only been two weeks since you started your classes and you were loving them, but you hated getting dropped off in the morning and picked up in the afternoon. You and Coryo could no longer eat lunch outside, and the previously full lecture halls you had occupied saw more and more students dropping out as people stood outside just to shout at you as you came and went from the school four days a week. To call you an animal, that you don't belong there, that you should be "put down" for crimes against the Capitol. What they were? You had no idea.

Suffice to say, parents were not happy that you were there.

Generally, Coryo said that people had loved you in the games. You were "harmless", and "sweet", you gave them someone to root for- but now that you were walking freely among them instead of being kept behind the bars at the zoo or trapped inside the arena awaiting your death, you were suddenly a threat.

"They... they think I'll hurt someone?" You sniff, watery eyes overflowing as you look at Coryo lying beside you in his bed.

He bites his tongue, nodding as he wipes away your tears with the hand he has resting just under your cheek on top of his pillow. "They're afraid. That's all, it's not because of anything you did."

"I won't." You cry. "I would never, you know that, right?"

"I know, love. I know that." He promises you quietly.

"I don't want people to be afraid of me. It's not fair to them... If they feel unsafe I should just drop out."

"You're not doing that." He insists with a slight shake of his head. "We'll figure it out. Okay? Don't worry about them."

You just nod softly, wiping your eyes as he pushes his arm under your neck. "C'mere." He mumbles rolling onto his back and you move closer, laying your head on his chest as he pulls you closer to his side.

Coryo did figure it out, for the most part, which is how you ended up standing in Capitol TV's studios, awaiting an interview with Lucky Flickerman, someone you definitely thought you would never see again after the games. You didn't know how Coryo did it, who he had to talk to in order to convince them to let you plead your case so publicly. Apparently, the Snow name came with more power than you knew.

"You're gonna do great, love." Coryo whispers to you. "Just be yourself, but remember what I said about your essay, right? Be honest, but think about how you word things. I know you can do it." He assures you quietly, hands resting on your shoulders.

You nod, giving him a hopeful smile. "Thank you."

"I'll be right here, I'm not going anywhere." These types of reassurances were becoming less and less necessary over the month you've been here, but still, you don't like it when he's far, and he doesn't like it when he doesn't know where you are. It worked nicely for you both.

"Miss Y/L/N, whenever you're ready." One of the crew directs you, pointing to the comfortable chair they had set up in front of a homey-looking backdrop. It was fake, but it was meant to look like you were in someone's house. The idea of it was confusing to you, but you supposed it was also unimportant. You had much bigger concerns.

"Thank you." You smile at them and give Coryo another quick nod before making your way over to the seat that they said was yours.

Coryo watches as you carefully brush your hands over the front of your dress, smoothing it as you sit down. You looked so elegant as you did it, if he didn't know better, it looked like the habits of the people you were now surrounded with were rubbing off on you quickly. He had watched you rehearse how you would carry yourself and how you would speak and act with Tigris just this morning, after she fit you into the dress she had made for the occasion. Clearly, you had been paying attention.

When you draw your hair from your back and over your shoulder so your meticulously styled curls wouldn't be crushed against the chair, Coryo thinks he might need to sit down. Especially so when you look back at him again, subtly waving at him with your hand from where they are placed in your lap. The dress Tigris had given to you was red- a deep red silky material that complimented the red of his coat and mimicked the shade of the Capitol's flag but still had you standing out on your own. Seeing the way that dress fit you and hugged your form in all the right ways even as you were sitting, he was sure he had never been more grateful to his cousin and her talents.

"Y/N, it's so good to see you again." Lucky smiles at you as he sits down across from you, adjusting the small device attached to his lapel as crew members come up to you and fasten the same thing to the front and back of your dress.

"You as well." You grin, trying the best you can to mask your nervousness.

"Are you ready? Do you need anything?" He asks and you shake your head.

"I am ready whenever you are." You confirm, looking around as some more lights flick on, bright in your eyes as the man behind the camera starts counting down.

You look over at Coryo one last time and he nods at you. It was just like your first interview all over again- you had to sell yourself to the people. To prove that you were worth trusting.

"My name is Lucretius "Lucky" Flickerman," You smile as he flips a coin up into the air. You've seen him do it before, but you still weren't sure how the trick worked. "Amateur magician and your host for everything interesting on Capitol TV, and today is certainly no exception. Today, I have a familiar face with me who I know you will all recognize as well, the Victor of the Tenth Annual Hunger Games, Miss Y/N Y/L/N." He looks over at you and you keep your eyes on him, certain that all cameras are watching you now.

"Y/N, I am so happy to have you back. How have you been?" Lucky asks you and you're already fighting off the need to fidget with your hands.

"I am very well." You smile at him. "How about yourself? It has been a while."

"I'm great, thank you! You know, I was not allowed to bet on the games, but anyone who was there can tell you that I predicted your win from the beginning. You certainly are something else."

"Oh, well thank you." You giggle. "Though, I can't fully be credited for my win. I have to thank the sponsors who allowed Coriolanus to send me food and water. That made all the difference in my game."

"Oh, most definitely." He agrees. "But you shouldn't deny your own role in that. Hiding in the vents, that was genius!" Lucky claps. "Truly, that was a jaw-dropping moment for all of us watching. I remember thinking 'wow, how did she think of that?' It was incredible!"

"Yes, well, I saw the grate and knew it was worth a try." You shrug, slightly laughing. "I had nothing to lose."

"Yes, well, I'm dying to know- what have you been up to the last few months? You went back to Twelve, and then what?"

"Oh! Yes, I did. I've been spending time with friends and family, I got a job at the local library, catching up on some reading, that sort of thing." You grin, glancing at Coryo for only a moment and he gestures for you to continue. "I got home and I really realized for the first time how much we should be appreciating everything we have- even out in the Districts where sometimes life is tough, it's key to remember how privileged we are to be alive. The games were truly eye-opening for me."

Coryo gives you a quick nod of approval, and you smile, training your view back on the man across from you.

"Yes, I agree. Live life to the fullest, that's what they say." You just nod at his response. "Which also begs the question, if you were happy back in Twelve, what brought you back to the Capitol?"

Let the lies begin.

"Well," You laugh nervously. "When I was given the opportunity to come here for the games back in July, I was so interested in everything. The people who I got to talk to, the things I got to see, it was all amazing and I was just dying for more."

"So you decided to come study at the university here, is what I've heard."

"Yes, exactly." You grin. "I just think that the Capitol has so much to offer as far as education goes, I am already learning so much and I am having so much fun doing it."

"So really, your focus is just on your education." He prompts you and you nod.

"Definitely, considering the course load I don't have time for much else, but that doesn't really bother me. Like I said, I just want to learn from the greatest minds in the nation. Even the other students, it's amazing! Everyone has earned their spot there and I can see why and all the work they have put in to be there. It's a privilege to study among them, and I am so grateful that I was given this chance."

"You say 'all the work that they put in to be there', but you didn't attend the academy, so how is it that you were admitted?"

"I filled out the same application that all the other students did, I went through all the same testing." You confirm, nodding at him. "Although," You laugh slightly. "I was only given one day to complete it all. I was locked away in my room working on it all night. I hardly had time to blink, it was tough."

"Wow!" Lucky laughs. "One day? I remember when I applied to the university, my application took months to get just right. You must have aced it all."

"I am very proud of the work I did to be admitted, yes." You smile.

"From what I hear, you should be." He agrees. "So, you're really not in it for the sake of making friends."

"Well, I certainly would love to, but it is not my priority." You nod. "But, if any of my classmates are watching, I promise I am good at proofreading and if you need a second set of eyes on your papers, I'm happy to help. I'd also love to have more people to discuss our readings with." You joke, looking into the camera for the first time.

Lucky laughs. "You've heard it here, everyone. Y/N's pitch to make some friends!"

"Yes, I suppose it was." You chuckle, smiling at him.

"Now on the topic of friends while we're getting to know you better," You tilt your head at him while he begins the question, unsure where it is going. "Back home, do you have a boyfriend? Surely he must be missing you."

"No, not at home..." You laugh, catching in the corner of your eye as Coryo shakes his head at you, his face flat of emotion. "I don't have a boyfriend. Again, that's really just not where my priorities lie at the moment. I've... I've had a very busy year, you could say." You explain hesitantly.

"Wow! A beautiful girl like you?" You laugh nervously at his response. "Capitol boys! She's smart, pretty, and single. Just saying." He says, raising his hands.

You knew his job today was to help you, to make you more likable and more normal, to humanize you, but it was still uncomfortable to hear. "Oh, please." You laugh nervously, waving a hand at him. "Like I said, I'm just here to learn. I'm not after anyone's son."

"No? Not even all the handsome boys in your classes? I'm sure there are at least a few." He teases you and your cheeks flush red.

"I wouldn't know, I'm watching the lectures." You shrug jokingly.

Coryo is trying not to lose his mind while you talk about how single you are. Not that you were much of a willing participant, and to be fair he did tell you not to indicate to them that the two of you were together. You technically weren't, if he was being totally fair, but just because it hadn't been said doesn't mean it isn't real. He knew you knew that, though. So why was he getting so mad?

He doesn't even realize how little attention he was paying after that until you're standing up and shaking Lucky's hand. It was over, you'd done everything you could have to ease the minds of scared and angry Capitol parents.

Lucky gives you a quick hug, wishing you good luck in your classes before you're allowed to rejoin Coryo. "Ready to go?" He asks and you nod.

"How did I do?" You ask as you walk out of the studio and into the hall, aiming for the elevator to take you back to ground level.

"Amazing, love. You were perfect." Coryo confirms, still noticeably tense as he walks next to you.

"Are you sure?" You ask as he presses the button to call the car up to your level, unsure since he still hasn't really looked at you.

The door opens and you both step in. "Yes." He tells you again, quickly tapping the door close button.

"Oh, good. I was really nervous..." You laugh slightly as the doors slide shut, and as soon as any light from the hall ceases to enter the elevator his hands are on you and his lips are pressed against yours.

You let out the slightest squeak out of shock, but quickly relax as Coryo rubs familiar small circles on your hips with his thumbs. How he could be so gentle as he backs you into the wall of the elevator you don't know, but you're grateful for it as you hum into his mouth. But still, something was different.

Spending so much time with you only made him want you more. He loved you, he knew that, and someplace deep in the corners of his mind, he had always wanted you in a way he never thought possible when he first fell for you before the games. Now, with you curled up under his sheets almost every night, seeing you step out of the bathroom with damp hair after a shower in pyjamas that don't fit you quite right, he thought about it more than ever. Thoughts of you plagued him more than usual, and the best way to describe the accompanying feeling was guilt. Guilt that he couldn't show you off given the circumstances- at least not yet.

He trails his kisses away from your lips and across your jaw, pulling you tighter against him. "You're so beautiful, my love..." He mumbles into the skin just below your ear, leaving a kiss in his wake that has your head spinning.

You giggle, eyes fluttering open. "What has gotten into you?" You ask, hands sliding up over his chest to rest on his shoulders.

"I can't tell my girlfriend that I think she's gorgeous?" He asks, shaking his head slightly as he looks down into your eyes.

"Oh, so I am your girlfriend." You giggle and he nods, kissing you again.

"Of course you are, and don't forget it." He chuckles, pulling back from you as the elevator stops moving, waiting for the doors to open.

Your skin is flushed down to your chest as the doors slide apart and even though he's not touching you anymore, you can feel the ghost of his hands on you. You look up at him, a lingering smirk still on his face as he looks straight ahead and leads you out of the car.

The phone rang at the time you were eating dinner, and you quickly asked if you could be excused to go answer it. Coryo and Tigris both just nodded at you, but you could still feel their grandmother's eyes burning into your back as you quickly walked away. She still wasn't fond of you, but she tolerated you. For now, that was just enough.

You grab the phone off the receiver as the small round screen flickers to life. "Hello?" You answer, hopeful that it would finally be your family you see on the other side.

You had answered every call that came to the Snow's apartment for weeks, waiting anxiously to hear their voices again.

"Y/N, is that you, honey?"

You gasp with excitement when you get a clear enough view of your ma. "Ma! Hi!" You smile, leaning in a little closer to get a more clear view as the camera on their end begins to adjust. This was likely the first time it was being used.

"Oh, honey, how good it is to see you!" She smiles, and out of nowhere, you feel hot tears welling up in your eyes.

"You too, Ma." You nod, biting into your lower lip. You didn't want to cry so quickly into the call. "How are you? How's everything at home?"

"Same old." She shakes her head with a slight laugh. "I'm much more interested in you- how is everything? How is school? And how is Tybalt settling in? How are you settling in? My goodness, I just have so many questions!"

You laugh, quickly wiping a stray tear. You had told them about all of this in letters, of course, but she just wanted to hear you say it all. "Everything is good. School has been so lovely, Coryo walks me to all my classes and we eat lunch together between. And Tybalt just loves it here! They have a garden on the roof, and I take him up there as often as I can. Tigris won't stop giving him treats either so he couldn't be happier."

You look down at the animal as he brushes against your leg, looking up at you.

"That's amazing. I've been so worried, it's just so good to see your face again. God, we've been missin' you..."

"I miss you too." You agree, careful not to choke on your tears. "How is Len? And have you seen Lucy Gray and the Covey?"

"He's... He's doing alright." Your mother looks off-screen, and you assume he must be there. The look on her face, one of nervousness and hesitation tells you he doesn't want to speak to you. "But Lucy Gray has been around every day, she and Maude Ivory come over and they help me with hanging the laundry and such... It's been good to have them around."

You smile sadly, nodding slightly with the receiver pressed to your ear. You felt bad about that aspect of leaving- you spent as much time as you could before the games helping out around the house, but even in the summer when you came back you weren't much help. Your mother wouldn't let you do dishes all summer, for fear that the sight of a knife might set you off. She knew you came back a different person, and she wasn't taking any risks. All she really allowed you to do was hang laundry and "keep her company" while she did other home chores. But now, she didn't even have that.

"Can I speak to him?" You ask, referring to your brother who you knew was there.

She nods, waving off camera and holding her hand over the wrong part of the phone. "Lennox, come over here. Y/N wants to talk to you."

His response is muffled, but you make out the gist of it. 'I don't want to talk to her'.

"She's your sister, Lennox. You can't ignore her forever."

'If she wants to talk, she should come home.'

Your heart clenches in your chest and you chew your lip. You have to pretend you couldn't hear, but you just felt so horribly guilty. You shouldn't have left, but he doesn't understand you had no choice. He wouldn't be able to understand until you could come home and see him again, likely not until the summer. Coryo had told you to be mindful of what you write in letters and what you say on the phone, it's possible others were listening. The Capitol was always listening.

"He's just a little busy right now, honey." She smiles at you, but you can see right through it. "But tell me about your day! Did you have class?"

taglist: @soulessjourney , @that-veela-girl ,  @dreamyysouls, @rockstarbfs, @maysileeewrites , @baybieruth , @kitscutie,  @fratboyharrysgf0201 , @totallynotkaibiased , @stelleduarte , @secretsicanthideanymore , @bejeweledreverie , @drewsandsebastianswife , @niicole-87 , @queenofshinigamis , @innercreationflower , @nallasstuff , @iovemoonyy , @thatmarvelchick19 , @wearemadeofstardust0 , @regulusblackcore , @puredreamagination , @fantasticchaosthing , @becauseseaotters , @secretsicanthideanymore , @strawberryflavouredkisses, @cascadingbliss

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#tbosas #tbosas fanfiction #tbosas fic #tbosas x reader #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #thg #thg fanfic #thg fic #thg series #thg fanfiction #the hunger games #coriolanus snow #coriolanus snow x reader #coriolanus x reader #coriolanus fanfiction #coriolanus imagine #coriolanus x you #coryo snow #coryo x reader #coryo x you #snow lands on top #snow x reader

[kasagia]

❄️️Warm my heart pt. 4❄️️

Pairing: Aleksander Morozova/ The Darkling x fem! heartrender! reader Summary: The aftermath of the events leads to a (semi-)honest conversation with the general. Various other things are happening too… Warning(s): memories of drowning and trauma (children are sometimes monsters), argument, tension Word Count: 3k Taglist:@aoi-targaryen @budugu @flostvs1508 ~•♤♤♤•~ Aleksander Morozova’s Masterlist ~•♤♤♤•~ ~•♤♤♤•~ Part 3 ~•♤♤♤•~ Part 5 ~•♤♤♤•~

You wake up wrapped in warm, soft blankets. Before you even open your eyes, you hear the fire crackling in the fireplace, and judging by the softness of your bed, you can't be in the hospital wing of the Little Palace. You open an eye and hiss as the light from the fire in the fireplace and the lamps on the walls reaches your eyes.

You rub your eyes and notice that everything around you is getting darker. You open them slowly, relieved to see a few shadows floating around the room, effectively blocking too much light from reaching your eyes.

"Better?" Aleksander's whisper comes from across the room. He emerges from the shadows, just as you had imagined when your mind was still able to process anything in the icy water.

You nod, staring at him. You don't know what to say to him. Thanking him for saving your life seems... woefully insufficient. You swallow, feeling the slight tension in the room, and it's only now that you realise where you are.

"Why am I in your bedroom?" you ask, your voice cracking and rasping.

"My chambers were closer than yours." he replies, handing you a glass of water. Grateful, you take the glass from him and quench your thirst.

You can see through his poor lies. You know he's lying, and he's lying terribly. But you don't say anything. You drink the water he gave you and pretend his burning gaze doesn't do anything to you.

You see that he wants to say something. You don't push him, though, as well as you don't say anything. Because what are you supposed to tell him? What could you say to him without revealing your feelings for him? That you were afraid of death or glad that he was the one who came for you, that he didn't let you flow downstream under the ice, when all you could think about in your probably last seconds of life was… him.

"You stayed on the shore. You didn't follow me; you just let me do what I wanted. Why?" you ask, remembering his strange behavior. He shudders. You see how quickly he puts on an impassive mask on his face, hiding his true emotions from you.

"I let you save her and become a hero. I didn't want to take away your applause and credit." he lies, running his hand through your hair. He places it on your forehead, checking that the healers have cured you and that you don't have any signs of fever. You grab his hand and pull it away from your forehead, giving him an incredulous look.

"I know you. If you had known in advance what I wanted to do, you would have grabbed me by the collar of my kefta and wouldn't have let me take even one step on that damn ice."

He swallows, his eyes shifting to the fireplace behind you. But you don't let go of your hands. You both unconsciously hold them in a tight embrace. You only notice it when he nervously starts drawing patterns on your hand with his thumb.

"When I was young I… I didn't have many friends. I wasn't able to live in Little Palace with my father, so me and my mother were hiding and travelling from village to village. It was winter. I played with some other Grishas' children, who became friends with me. They found out that, beside being a shadow summoner, I was also… something else."

"Something else?" you ask, confused, wondering what he means by that. His dark eyes meet yours with such an intense, piercing gaze that you shiver.

And then you feel it—a tingling sensation that spreads to you from where your hands touch. You slowly feel the blood in your veins rushing more. You are suddenly aware of every quiet heartbeat in the area, especially one that is so close to you. The flood of new sounds in your head tells you that it's starting to hurt, but you don't let go of his hand... you know that nothing can tear you away from him right now, as he watches your reaction so intently. One wrong gesture, one wrong breath, or one tremble, and you will break the moment between you. And you can't let that happen.

"An amplifier. A living amplifier. Source of power." Aleksander explains and waits until he sees even a sliver of lust in your eyes—lust for his amplifying powers or greed for extensions of your own power.

He had been betrayed many times in the past, by many people. His mother, his sister, and his friends turned out not to be them at all. He was sure you would be next. But with each test he put you through and each piece of himself he revealed to you, somehow you... stayed. You didn't change your behaviour towards him. Except for this situation from a few days ago. In fact, he still wasn't aware of the reasons behind your distancing...

"Like a Morozova's stag?" you ask and he can't help but laugh softly. He squeezes your hand and freezes for a moment, looking down at your joined hands as he realises he still holds on to you. It was so easy for him to just be himself around you... you were a dangerous weakness. A weakness that he protected instead of nipping in the bud.

"Yes… I guess that's a good example. After all, they also wanted my bones… when your friends push you into the ice hole and they cover it with a log of wood, you realise how fake other people can be."

You can't help but reach up and cup his cheek tenderly. He flinches at your touch at first, but as you slowly start stroking his cheekbone and head, he nuzzles his face into your hand.

"You didn't deserve it." you whisper, looking at him. Your eyes meet again, and you hear your heartbeats speeding up.

You think you see tears in his eyes as he looks at you. He tangles his hand in your hair, his fingertips brushing against your cheek, stroking it as softly as a feather, making you quickly forget about his glassy eyes.

At some point, he pulls away from you. He gets out of bed and walks over to his desk as he starts looking through the reports as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn't just shown you a vulnerable part of himself.

"I don't blame them. Everyone wants to have the strength to defend themselves." he says this nonchalantly, standing with his back turned towards you.

"It is better to fight in a group than alone." you see the muscles in his back tense at your words, and he becomes more and more defensive, trying his best to hide behind his wall of indifference.

"Loneliness toughens you." he states matter-of-factly.

The cool tone of his voice might have made you drop the topic before, but now, lying in his bed, wrapped in his blankets and clothes—with the irrefutable proof that he cares about you much more than he does for the average Grisha or his second-in-command—you decide to pursue the topic further.

"And hurts more than the sharpest blade or worst wound you can get." he freezes at your words.

He puts the papers on the desk and takes a glass of kvass. He drinks it in one gulp, still with his back turned to you, and (changing the subject, as he usually does when he sees that you are losing the discussion or that you are intruding on topics that are too sensitive for him), he says in a tone of voice that is too calm for him:

"You ignored my order there."

"Technically, you didn't give me any orders." at your words, he slowly turns towards you. He looks you up and down and licks his lips.

"Are you trying to tell me now that you didn't hear me calling for you to come back?" he asks, raising an eyebrow in challenge—the only warning he's giving you—your last chance to back out.

"It's not like I did something wrong." you insist on your opinion.

His face darkens, and so do his chambers, as the shadows grow stronger, shrouding the room in greater darkness. You involuntarily shiver, sensing the growing threat. Subconsciously, you know he wouldn't hurt you... not after he put so much effort into keeping you alive. Although... you saw him torture people in various ways. Even Ivan flinched once at that.

"Your little rescue operation delayed our arrival at the Little Palace." he starts calmly, but you can see in his eyes how furious he is. His heartbeat also speeds up.

"We gained a new Grisha thanks to this…"

"What would I care about some kid if I lost you?!" he bursts up suddenly, and you can't help but shiver. It seemed to be the first time he raised his voice at you; you couldn't remember if you had ever been on the receiving end of his anger. "What would I do without you?! MY SECOND-IN-COMMAND! MY HEARTRENDER! WHAT USE WOULD I HAVE FROM YOU IF YOU DIED THERE LIKE AN IDIOT?!" with every word he shouts, he takes a step towards you. You decide to get out of bed and face him in anger as well.

"Given the choice, I'd fucking do it again!" you shout at him, looking at him defiantly. You know you did the right thing, even if your life was on the line. Besides, he had no right to talk to you like that.

"Be careful how you talk to me; I'm your general! I will not have a second-in-command who does not respect my decisions and makes risky, reckless, idiotic decisions, putting herself and others at risk of death!" he growls at you in anger, shadows gathering around you.

Any normal person, with the Black General's furious gaze on them and shadows circling around both of you in a dangerous, threatening way, would have immediately backed down, let him win the argument, admitted he was right, and even begged for forgiveness. But you were never normal.

"It was my choice. I didn't drag anyone along with me!"

"YOU DRAG ME AFTER YOU! And I would send every Grisha into that damned river after you!" his challenge would probably have caught your attention if you weren't boiling with rage.

You clench your fists in anger, unconsciously manipulating his heart. His eyes widen in surprise as he watches you with bated breath, too surprised or paralysed to move.

"WHAT FOR?! If I'm such a burden, such an irresponsible commander, why did you go for me?! Why didn't you let me die?!" you shout as you walk up to him, so determined to win this verbal battle with him that you don't notice the shadows wrapping around your wrists.

You gasp as they suddenly push you against the wall. You unclench your fists, releasing his heart from your control. You look at each other, breathing deeply. Drerad slowly begins to develop within you as you realise what you have done. Shadows still hold onto your wrists.

He takes a step towards you. Shadows move out of his way as he slowly approaches you. You don't flinch, you don't beg for mercy, and you don't make a sound. Your eyes are focused on his as he gets close enough for the tips of his shoes to touch the tips of your toes. Suddenly, you're very aware that you're only in a black nightgown (that's probably his). You swallow thickly as he lifts his hand and gently pushes your hair behind your ear.

"We thought we lost you… I thought I lost you." he whispers, stroking your cheek with his thumb. "When I picked you out of the water… when Ivan said he couldn't feel your heartbeat… I had to shout at the others and summon my shadows to shut them up so he could finally tell that you were still alive."

"I..."

"And when he felt your heartbeat, we noticed you weren't breathing. You had water in your lungs. Tidemaker's hands were shaking as he pulled it out of you. One wrong move, and it could have ended your life. I think I told him to get away from you before I cut off his hands by using my shadows. I had to push the water out of you somehow myself. Ivan and Fedyor helped me. If it weren't for them, I doubt whether any of us would have returned to the Little Palace in such good condition."

"Did you get hurt?" you ask. Aleksander laughs half-mockingly and half-bitterly and shakes his head in response.

"I wish I did." he says, and you shiver as his fingers slowly move from your cheeks to your neck and shoulders. He gently caresses your shoulder, where a bruise had formed from how hard his grip was on you as he pulled you out of the water a few days ago. "I… I've already lost so many good soldiers. Friends… The list is very long, and it seems like it is only getting longer with each passing day. I can't write your name on it either. I can't lose you too… I…" you hold your breath, waiting for his next words. His eyes are fixed on your bruises and small scratches that the healers have not yet healed. He licks his lips and takes a breath to say something. But he closes his eyes and moves away from you. You shiver as your skin is suddenly deprived of his electric touch. "I've invested too much in your training. It would be a waste of time if I had to train another heartrender again to be my second-in-command."

"So? This is who I am? Your investment?"

"Each of you is." he replies with a shrug. He turns his back to you. His shadows follow him as he walks back to the desk and takes a glass of his kvass.

"You don't jump into an ice hole for everyone. Or take off your coat." you joke, and he chuckles, both of you forgetting about the argument between you that happened just a few minutes ago. He turns towards you and gives you an 'almost' affectionate look.

"Not everyone is my right hand." you smile at his response. You walk up to him and grab his hand, squeezing it as you look into his eyes.

"Thank you, Aleksander." you whisper, making him shiver. He's not used to having anyone's gratitude.

Not the honest one. It's starting to dawn on him that he's not used to anything involving you. And maybe that was what kept him drawn to you like a moth to a flame, seeking and wanting something he had never experienced in all the centuries he had lived.

"Anytime." he whispers back, entranced by your gaze. He knows that this… tenderness, understanding, and compassion would've passed the second you knew the truth about him. The truth of his origin, age, plans with the fold, and for Ravka… His mother could be a mean old witch, but she was right about one thing. At the end of the day, no one will be there to stay by his side… at least not in the way he desperately wanted. "Don't ever dare to do that again." he says, clearing his throat. "I won't always be around to pull you out of the river… I also don't like seeing you as white as a corpse with blue lips. You also disobeyed my command… but considering the circumstances, let's just say I'll turn a blind eye to it this once."

"You are a very merciful general." you say teasingly, and you walk over to his desk, looking at the map where he marked some positions with his wooden soldiers. You snort quietly, amused. Boys will be boys… even the fearsome general of the Second Army.

"You have no idea..." he replies. You turn towards him, almost bumping into his chest.

You stand close enough that you can feel his breath on your skin. Your gaze involuntarily moves from his eyes to his lips. You lick your own, imagining for a moment what it would be like to kiss him. Your gaze quickly returns to his eyes, the pupils of which are suddenly dilated.

He tangles his hand in your hair and leans down so that your noses are touching. You hold your breath and close your eyes, taking in his scent and warmth. You hear your hearts beating at an equally fast pace in anticipation.

"I would never let you die. You're my burden to endure." he leans in and whispers, referring to your previous words that you shouted at him. His lips brush against your earlobe, and you can't help but shiver. "And I can't... I can't allow myself to lose you..."

"Aleksander." you whisper, opening your eyes and staring at him as he pulls back slightly. His face is still close to yours, his gaze moving between your eyes and your lips.

His thumb strokes your neck as he slowly leans towards you…

A knock on his door makes you both pull away from each other. Ivan enters with Fedyor. Aleksander clears his throat and listens to what they have to say. As Ivan talks to him, Fedyor looks you up and down and gives you an amused smirk. You roll your eyes at him and place a hand on your flushed cheek, trying to calm yourself down... And don't curse these two for their wonderful timing.

However, all your efforts are in vain when you catch the general's gaze for a moment. The moment between the two of you from a few seconds ago plays in your head, and the possibilities of how it could have ended are haunting your mind.

You groan internally, already hearing Fedyor's teasing about that.

The only comforting thing about all this situation was hearing that Aleksander's heart sped up every time he looked your way. And you can't help but wonder… maybe you could be more to him after all?

You shake your head and quietly leave his chambers. You couldn't stay there forever, even if you wanted to. Besides, you had Christmas to plan. And Winter Fete to get ready to…

#general kirigan #the darkling #aleksander morozova #aleksander morozova x reader #aleksander morozova x y/n #darkling #shadow and bone #the darkling x reader #aleksander kirigan #miniseries #christmas #darkling x reader #the darkling x you #darkling shadow and bone #grishaverse #shadow and bone au #aleksander morovoza #general kirigan x you #general kirigan x reader #fools in love #hopelessly in love #crush #romance #darkling imagine #the darkling x y/n #darkling x you #angst #argument #argue with the wall #almost kiss

[aalyssah]

Fun Night

Pairing: Solo Sikoa x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Fluff!

Word Count: 1,258

A/N: This was requested by @xxdevillexx. I LOVE this idea so much! Also, I wanted to say, sorry that this isn't super fluffy and that it's long. Hope You Enjoy!

You just got the opportunity to be a number one contender for the women's title.

You walked backstage, instantly being met with praises from your fellow co workers. "Hey, we should all go out for drinks as a celebration!" You thought about it for a moment. "Y'know what? Sure!" The girls cheered and parted ways to get ready.

You went to the Bloodline's locker room to get your clothes. "Y/n, good job!" You smiled even more at the praises of your teammates. "I'm going to the bar with a few girls, does anyone want to come?"

Everyone politely declined. "Alright, I'll see y'all tomorrow." You grabbed a pair of clothes and walked out to the girls locker room.

You were walking to the parking lot, until someone stopped you. "Y/n." Solo's deep voice made you turn around. "Yeah, babe?" He looked at you up and down, admiring your outfit. "You gonna be okay tonight without anyone coming with you?"

You nodded your head, throwing him a smile. "Yeah, I'll be alright, why'd you ask?" He looked around, thinking for a second. "Because you don't usually go out to public places alone, so I wanted to make sure that you were comfortable."

You loved how much of a caring and concerned boyfriend he was over your safety. "I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow." You gave him a kiss on his cheek and got your car with a blush on your face.

-

You made it to the bar and everyone was already waiting for you. "Sorry guys, me and Solo were having a little talk." Becky looked at you, raising her eyebrows up and down. "You and Solo, talking?" You shook your head, taking a sip of a drink Charlotte got you.

"Not like that you weirdos! He just wanted to make sure I was gonna be okay." Beside you, Liv bumped shoulders sending a wink. You rolled your eyes at everyone's saying. "So what do you plan on doing after you win the title, Y/n?"

Bayley asked, smiling. "Well, IF I win it, I'll try to hold it as long as I can for the legacy of The Bloodline." There was a look of disapproval on Sonya's face. "Uh, not to ruin your moment, but don't you think you should break away from the team?"

All attention snapped on Sonya. "What do you mean?" Sonya shrugged her shoulders, playing with the straw in her drink. "I don't know, I just think you should go solo or with Sami.” Your brows scrunched down in slight anger. "Are you telling me to leave my group?"

Sonya's eyes grew wider at your tone. "N-no, I'm- y'know what, never mind let's enjoy our drinks." She let out an awkward laugh, downing her drink. "I need something stronger." You said, getting up and going to the bar. The girls stayed behind, letting you cool down for a second.

You ordered your drink and watched everyone having a good time. You should be the one, not sitting at the bar after a small argument. You thanked the bartender, taking a sip of your drink.

Just then, a waitress came up with plaster of drinks. "Someone call for a celebration?!" Everyone started cheering, taking drinks. The drinks were so good that you didn't know how many you were drinking.

The intro of your favorite song started playing and you looked at Liv. "Let's dance!" Liv dragged you to the dance floor, grinding and groping you. Somehow you were pulled into the middle, all eyes on you both. "Shots!" Some random lady called out, drinks being poured in cups.

You also did some karaoke. It might've been a little sloppy, but people still cheered you on. You were having the time of your life, but then your friends start leaving. "Liv, I think I'm gonna go!"

You yelled over the music. "Alright, babe. I'm gonna stay with Rhea. Enjoy your night!" She gave a small kiss to your cheek and out you went. Your vision was slightly blurry and you stumbled as you walked.

You might be tipsy or slightly drunk, but you know better than to drive, so you pulled your phone out and called Solo. All it took was 2 rings and he picked up. "Y/n? Are you okay?"

You giggled, hearing his worried voice. "Y-yeah, could you- you come pick me up?" Your random stuttering and the way you slurred your words made him already know what happened.

"Y/n, are you drunk?" You hummed for a second. "No! I mean, I don't think I am?" Solo was already out the hotel lobby, in his car. "Share me your address."

You let out a confused sound, not knowing what he was talking about. "I can do that? How?" Solo huffed, running through how to share your location and was there within 10 minutes.

"Oh god." He mumbled, seeing you rock back and forth while looking up in the sky. "Y/n!" You looked at Solo with a smile. "Come on, let's go home." He tried pulling you to his car, but you began fighting back.

"Hey! Stop it! Leave me alone or else I'll call my boyfriend!" Solo couldn't help, but chuckle at your words. "I'm sure he'll know." He successfully got you in the car. While driving you home, he answered weird questions that you had such as;

'Why are there bright dots in the sky?' And 'What if people could teleport?'

He carried you in the hotel lobby, elevator, and even to the room, without a single protest coming from you. He gently set you down to the couch and began removing your shoes. "No!" You kicked him away, earning a hiss from him.

"Do I have to tell my boyfriend that you tried kidnapping me, and that you're trying to undress me? I will NOT let that happen!" Solo laughed, putting his face in his hands. You ended up taking your shoes off.

He guided you to the bathroom and turned the water on. "Take the your clothes off and get in." He left out, getting a microwavable Mac & Cheese cup and some left over chicken ready for you to eat. Solo came back, sitting on the ground and put your favorite soap on the loofah.

He gently scrubbed your body, surprised that you sat still. Next squirted some shampoo in his hand and gave you a scalp massage. You sat back, finally feeling relaxed as his nails gently scratched at a particular part.

It was cut short when the water came back on, rinsing the shampoo out. He grabbed a towel, holding it out for you when you jumped in his arms. He dried you off and put you over his shoulder as he dropped you on the bed.

“Change and I'll get you some food." He went back to the kitchen, thinking you would grab some of your clothes, but of course when he saw you, you were wearing one of his shirts and a pair of panties.

He let you get situated on the bed before handing you the cup. "Eat at least 6 bites and then you can go to sleep." As soon as he said that, he took notice of how droopy your eyes looked.

He went to change into his own pajamas, but when he came back, you were already asleep. He took the cup and placed it on the nightstand before cuddling you to his chest.

He can’t wait to tell you all about the fun night you had.

#solo sikoa #solo sikoa fluff #solo sikoa imagine #solo sikoa smut #solo sikoa x reader #solo sikoa fic #wwe fluff #wrestling fluff #wwe smut

[stuffieplaydateinc]

"Biting Habits"

🍬 | had a tie on the vote ,, so my friend voted CG!Marshall to cut the tie. + title change! + flag theme colors belong to the Vampire CG flag from @/zack-agere

🍇 | gender neu pronouns used, petnames from Marshall (bats/baby bat(s)), physical touch like lap sitting, hugging and cheek/chin touch, reader doesn't talk (verbal status up to reader)

Promt/Cws: slight confrontation(?) | Marshall has a stern talking with his little about them biting people and gives them things to bite instead

Word count | 712 words

Your hand was held by Marshall's bigger and much colder hand. The kinda cold that'll make you shiver yet not be cold. That was the type of cold that was comforting and harmless I'd think. You two made it down the hallway of his home. the way his silence pierced the silent air gave you an idea that he probably wasn't pleased. Not angry, not disappointed, nothing negative per say. Just an unreadable emotion you knew wasn't negative. You finally arrive to his messy room. Clothes were scattered on the floor, cds and record players hanged on the walls, and his guitar left on his bed. The only thing looking somewhat decent in his room was his made bed. But you didn't complain. You visited this room many times of the week afterall. It was radio silent before Marshall broke the silence with a soft sigh. You felt him let go of your hand before you were picked up. His two hands slipped underneath your armpits as he lifted you up without struggle nor hesitation with his movement. He sat you down on the edge of the bed before he sat next to you. Silence filled the air as if he was expecting you to talk first, but when you didn't he let out another sigh; He lifted his legs up before he sat in a criss cross like position. "(Y/n,).." he began, not meeting your gaze just yet. "I heard what happened at the kingdom today. Gumball said you bit him.. is that true?" He finally met your gaze. His gaze wasn't intimidating but soft and gentle. "..." another wave of silence hit the air. Marshall than began to talk again as his gaze switched to his nails instead. "I left you to be babysat by gumball while I ran errands. I know, you weren't happy about me leaving you without telling you a few days ahead of time, that was my fault. But I had a business to take care of. A job little bats like yourself shouldn't get involved in." he playfully squished your cheek as he said this. In response you let out a squeal mixed with a somewhat giggle from your throat. He chuckled lightly before pulling his hand back. He sighed again before getting a bit serious once more. "But you bit gumball when he tried to put you down for a nap. Baby bats you know better, you can't go around biting people like that.." his face softened, before he continued after a moment pause. "I know, this is coming from me, a vampire who also 'bites people' but remember how I told you, that you can tell me about your feelings?" He tilted his head slightly once you gave a small nod. "Yknow you still can tell me how you're feeling. Gumball is also here to help if you need to talk. He isn't a stranger, bats. He's your babysitter and.. kinda like a second caregiver if you think about it.." he gave it a thought before shrugging. "Still, you shouldn't bite people.." he touched your cheek reasuringly. You knew he was just looking after you. there was no hint of judgement behind those eyes. Marshall turned away before grabbing something from his backpack once he unzipped it. "I knew an incident was going to happen again, so i uh.. got you a few things that I hope might help." He pulled out a few options. A stuffed animal ram with fake stitched on bandaids. It's sol purpose being to help relax your jaw and to chew on it. As well as a chewy, necklace and bracelet and a stress ball. You slowly picked up the stuffie and the necklace. Which Marshall happily helped you get it on, as well as the bracelet. Once you were settled you began to calm down the stressful feelings as you squeezed the stuffie to your chest. Marshall smile as he helped you back into his lap. Giving you a gentle kiss on the head as a sign of comfort before his arms caged around your body in a hug like way.

"Let's see If this ends up working out. If it doesn't, I'll bring you to the store to get one to your liking, yeah?" He smiled.

End!

#agere fic #fandom agere #sfw agere #agere blog #x platonic!reader #dni proship #x platonic #adventure time agere #marshall lee agere #cg Marshall lee #fionna and cake agere #agere reader

[fantisyoflove]

Snape's First Year of Teaching (part 4)

[Image from pintrest if you know the artist please tag 😁]

Warnings ⚠️ death, mentions of death, and death eater attacks

Chapter word count: 4663

Total work word count: 24,244

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

Your mind slowly comes into the conscious realm. In your sleepy state, you are perfectly at ease. That is until you feel a strong presence in your mind. It shrouds around you in a green cloud of smoke.

In a panic you throw up a mental wall slamming out the curling suffocating smoke. Your body responded in kind by jumping out of bed and landing with a thud on the rug below.

Severus shot up and slammed himself into the headboard, knees drawn up, and arms wrapped around himself. He hid his face in his arms.

"What the fu..." you start but then see Severus shaking and muttering.

You stand up, brushing the hair out of your face, you slowly crawl back on the bed.

"Severus?" You say softly and reach to touch his leg. He flinches away with a sharp breath.

"Severus, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you"

"I'm not scared!" He snapped lifting his head.

You gave him a soft smile, "no you're right you're not scared. I'm still sorry for whatever that was" you waved an absent minded hand towards where you had fallen out of bed. Severus straightened himself out on the bed again.

"What... what was that? "

"Did you feel the smoke too!?" You asked concerned "do you still feel it now? Close your eyes!"

Severus was taken aback by the bombarding of questions. He started to shake his head no and then quickly covered his eyes.

"Wait what smoke? What about that giant wall and why are my eyes closed?"

"You felt a wall?"

"Yea it felt like I was smacked in the face by a giant metal wall."

"Severus," you started carefully "were you inside my mind?"

"Well I umm.. " He gave a half shrug, his hands still over his eyes. "Yes. I mean I didn't mean to ... exactly. I was just.. well sometimes I just... but I thought once I was asleep it would kind of like I guess turn off."

"You really are a legilimens?"

Severus nodded, "I'm sorry Lyra I didn't mean you look into your mind. It was just an accident at first but then I kept doing it when I wanted to feel comfortable or safe or to make sure you still like me..."

You grabbed both his hands and pulled them down away from his face. Setting them in his lap you then cupped his face and pulled him closer. You brush your lips against his and then try to pull back to gage his reaction but instead Severus wrapped both his arms around your neck and pulled you against his chest. You quickly move your legs to either side of his hips as he kisses you, pulling your bottom lip into his mouth, his tongue swiping across it before letting it slip into your mouth.

He pulled back suddenly, "wait why did I have to close my eyes?"

You sigh, "really Severus you should do some research into magic before you just start using it all willy nilly"

You adjust yourself so you are straddling his lap, your hands rest between you two, and you can look at him. You feel his cock flex underneath you and you give him a coy smile, "do you think you can focus like this?"

He licks his lips and then nods. "Yes please ignore that" he says not meeting your eyes.

"Well, first of all I told you to cover your eyes because I didn't know who was in my mind before I shut them out and I was worried they might be watching through your eyes."

Snape was truly puzzled now, "you mean to say I could see current events not just thoughts or memories?"

"Some can, it's powerful magic. I can achieve some insight with a spell but you seem to do it just on whim" you said with a slight question to your tone. Severus nodded and you continued, "so by covering your eyes they couldn't see out, even if they could still listen or see in your mind."

"And the wall?"

"That is also magic but that can be learned without spell work. I can teach you if you want"

"It would probably be useful.... why don't you shield your mind all the time?"

"It takes a lot of concentration to do it completely but most of my memories are locked away all the time."

"Oh?"

"What have you seen when you've looked into my mind?"

Severus blushed a deep red and turned his face away from you, suddenly very focused on the pattern in your blankets. "Umm well mostly I just like the feelings I feel from your mind. You are always so calm and it's warm in there" he shrugs dismissively.

You cup his cheek again and pull his face back to yours. He still won't meet your eyes so you nuzzle into his neck, his arms wrap around you instinctively and he rests his cheek on top of your head.

"Do you want me to stop going into your mind?" He whispered

"Part of me wants to say yes because it feels .... odd that you can see so much... but at the same time no because I have nothing to hide"

Severus felt that twinge again, like you were lying.

You felt his stiffen slightly and cautiously put up a complete wall in your mind. He can feel you lying you thought. You didn't think he was that strong with his powers but if they were natural gifts he had of course it would be ... you'd have to choose your words more carefully. You lowered back down the wall with a sigh.

"I won't ask you to stop Severus but I will ask you not to dig too much, a girls gotta have some secrets." You feel him nod and kiss his neck, a groan vibrates in his chest and his hips buck into you.

"I can agree to that." He said

"Do you wanna ask anything else?"

Severus was quiet and still for a very long time. You almost thought he fell back asleep before he cleared his throat and shifted slightly underneath you.

"Do you... do you really... umm see yourself ... see I mean us. Do you see us having..." his voice fails him and he falters trying to complete his sentence. He clears his throat again.

"Do you see us having a relationship? Like with each other? " You can't see his face but you can feel him holding his breath waiting for your answer.

"Oh, umm... well Severus" he tenses "I kinda already" you feel the utter dread filling up inside of him "thought we were... you know. Together?" All of those feelings whooshed out of him so fast and his eyes welt up with tears.

"You mean that?" He asked his voice so shaky you felt like you needed to hold him tighter.

You felt the soft curl of smoke in your mind again. You wondered why you haven't noticed it before, you were always so careful! 'Maybe it's because you are too blind with all these feelings' a voice hissed in your head. 'You are too invested. You are too close. This isn't real'

You take a soft breath and push the thoughts down. You grab Severus's chin and turn him towards you. Kissing him once on the lips, "yes of course" you say and start kissing along his jaw. You think back to that night at Malfoy Manor and focus on the feeling of his hard cock beneath you right now.

Severus tried being sneaky and it seemed like he was successful in reaching your mind without you knowing this time. He felt the sincerity in your words and then the rush of other feelings. He felt how you felt in that moment and his hips jerked in response.

"Since we are now officially boyfriend and girlfriend do you think we could, well you know" you say and roll your hips into his then gently rock back and forth.

Severus's eyes widen, and he pulls out of your mind. The feeling of his body on fire is too much. His mind is racing, even with the unmistakable proof from your mind he still questioned if you ACTUALLY liked him or not.

"We can wait too, it's okay Severus, no rush" you say seeing the sheer panic on his face.

"Lyra, I want to. Gods all mighty I do, I just don't know if I can right now." He is so pink right now you have to kiss his nose. Then you nuzzle your nose with his.

"It's okay Severus. I understand. I've never done anything like this before either so I get it"

Severus scoffed, "I find that hard to believe."

You furrow your eyebrows and look at him a little perplexed, "what's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just saying that you seem a little more... skilled at certain things. And that night in the closet when your father found us... he made it sound like that wasn't the first time he found you in a closet with some guy!" Snape's voice raises slightly towards the end.

You press your lips together, your tongue pushes on the inside of your teeth as you bite back a quick response. You breath in through your nose and try to calm yourself.

"Severus it's not like that. Please I feel like you are just trying to find another way to push me away."

He rolls his eyes, "sure yea whatever"

You climb off of him and go pull a robe on over your pajamas. "Maybe you should go" you say softly.

"Maybe I will" he snapped. He shoved his legs into his pants not even bothering to take off the pajamas he was already wearing and then snatched up his cloak before stomping out into the living room.

You followed behind him twirling your hair up on top of your head and putting your wand through it to hold it in place.

He stuffed his feet into his boots not even bothering to tie them as he stomped to the door.

"Severus," you start but then stop as he turns to look at you. The anger in his eyes steals your voice.

"What!" He snaps

"I'm... I " you clutch your arms around yourself, not sure what to say.

"Well spit it out!" He snaps and you flinch at his words.

"Please don't be mad. I don't want you to be mad"

"I'm not mad!" He shouts. You feel the green smoke engulf your mind and suddenly you are spinning very fast the whole room a blur until you stop. You drop to your knees unable to keep yourself upright. The scene before you clears and you see yourself a young girl sitting in your father's shop reading a book. A group of men enter and promptly dispose of all the customers. Your father shouts at them but your eyes are locked on the little girl version of yourself. You watch as she hides under the table, as she is pulled out by her ankles by one of these men, as her father is made to kneel before them, as they point their wands at him at first and then at you. You still feel the pricking of the mans nails in your shoulder, your hand goes to your shoulder to check if he was actually holding you and not the child version of you. Nothing. You catch sight of Severus watching the scene unfold too behind you. He looks stunned. You turn back to the scene now the child is screaming. Glass shatters, everyone covers their ears and the death eaters fall to their knees. You cover your ears too, the scream deafening. Suddenly the death eaters fly out the now shattered windows and land in a pile in the street. The child stops screaming. Everything stills. You remember you have the power to stop all this and throw Severus out of your mind.

Crashing back down to the present. You don't even try to stand up, your head is still spinning.

The silence surrounds you as Severus seems to come back to himself, he rushes towards you.

"Lyra! Lyra I am so sorry! I didn't mean to do that! I wasn't trying ..." you hold up your hand to stop him and then place it on your forehead trying to stop the spinning. Severus picked you up, surprisingly with ease, and set you on the couch. In a fuss he seemed to flit around the room as he started the kettle, got you a blanket, and brought you a cup of tea.

You held it in both hands, the warmth of it grounding you. Severus stood near you wringing his hands together.

"What can I do?" He whispers.

"Hold me?" You breath

He is so hesitant but finally he sits next to you with his arms wrapped around your shoulders. You lean your head against his chest.

After a long 10 minutes he said "how did that happen?"

You took a deep shaky sigh and set the cup of tea down and snuggled closer to him. He pulled you into his lap and tucked the blanket around you more, resting his chin on top of your head.

"Your powers are unchecked and big emotional responses can make it harder to control it. You need to control your emotions, discipline your mind."

Severus nodded and then kissed the top of your head. "I'm sorry" he muttered into your hair.

"For...?" You coaxed

He sighed, "for being a jerk. I don't know how you're still friends with me"

It wasn't the best apology but you could accept it.

"Maybe it's because I secretly know you're only a jerk because people have always been mean to you. How would you know what a healthy relationship looks like "

Severus felt like the invisible glass shattered around him. You were right, he realized.

"How do you do it?" He asked.

"Hmm?" You hummed your eyes closed and your body relaxed into his.

"How do you keep yourself in such control all the time? You always have your emotions in check and here I am a complete mess."

"Lots of practice." You say

Severus is drawing light circles across your arm, "could you teach me?" He asked

"To control your emotions? "

"And to shield my mind"

"I guess it would be useful, it would mean though that you would have to practice against the spell and the first few times I might get in and. .. well see inside your mind."

Severus stiffened, "you could see anything?"

"I could see everything." You say firmly. You pull back from him to look at his eyes. "But who would you rather see inside your mind? Me? Or your enemies? "

Severus honestly thought about it. "... you" he said after a beat.

"Excellent, we will start tomorrow" you said and snuggled back against Severus' chest.

Severus wanted to protest and say that you should start now but the warmth and heaviness that clung to his body stalled him. He held you close to him and breathed in your scent. Soon he felt you snoring lightly and he felt comfortable enough to rest his eyes too.

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

After dinner Severus came to your flat to practice. You stifled a giggle as you watched him from the window sneaking across the snow covered lawn. Luckily the foot traffic there was so thick no one would notice another set of foot prints. You told him he didn't need to sneak around since you were both adults but he made a good point that the students would talk and they didn't need to be talking about their two professors together or speculating what they were doing together, alone, and so late into the evening.

You had to hold yourself back from telling him they come up with these theories all on their own with little evidence. Some students you had even over heard spoke about Severus being interested in professor McGonagall or even madam Hooch. Simply on the fact that he had sat next to them during meals sometimes or spoke to them in the halls.

The first time he came you promised you would go easy on him.

"Imagine all your memories and thoughts locked away in a chest or trunk.... now mentally think of a wall all around your thoughts.... ready?"

You watched his face as he set it to neutral and then held his hands behind his back.

"Ready" he confirmed

You raised your wand, a slight tick in his eyes but otherwise he held firm, you cast the spell and felt yourself enter his mind easily. So many memories and thoughts flashed before you. You saw a small boy huddled in a corner as two adults shouted at each other, then a woman standing in front of that same little boy as she struck him across the face, then you saw hogwarts and the small boy gets sorted into Slytherin, then out in the lawn the boy lays next to a little girl with red hair, then the boy is older now sitting under a tree as a group of four other boys use magic to pelt him with pinecones. You feel like you've seen enough and pull away.

Severus staggers back and catches himself on the edge of your couch. Sweat beads on his forehead and he looks paler than before. You rush over and help him sit down on the floor. You pull out a chocolate bar from your pocket and brake off a piece for him. He takes it hesitantly, his fingers shaking, but pops it in his mouth and chews.

"I'm sorry Severus. The first time is always the hardest. Once you've rested a moment we can try again." You move to sit by him but he jumps up.

"No," he quickly swallows the chocolate "do it again." He looks determined but you are nervous.

"Sev... we can take a minute..."

"No!" He snaps. "Sorry . . . No." He says a little softer this time. "I can do this"

You sign and stand back up pointing your wand at him again, "you sure?"

"Do it."

You cast the spell again this time there is some resistance. You feel a small amount of pressure. But one push further and you see tumbling back into his memories. You feel flooded with emotions, you can't exactly see anything but you feel the most awful pain on your back, then like someone has kicked you in the stomach. You lurch out of his mind and fall forward on your hands and knees. The faint feeling of the wind getting knocked out of you passes almost immediately but the ghost of it has you cautiously taking your next few breaths.

"Lyra!" He choaks and rushes forward to help you up. Your body hunches, expecting the pain, but there isn't any. You stand up straight and brush the hair out of your face.

"That was better" you quip.

Severus still looked worried for you, "I'm so sorry I was really trying that time"

"Don't rush it! It takes time. Come let's sit awhile." You motion to the table and Severus sits while you make tea. As you wait for the water to boil you find yourself rubbing at your back where the pain was.

Severus watches you and then looks out the window as he says, "it was a strap."

"Hmm?" You turn around. He isn't looking at you and you thought maybe he hadent spoken in the first place but then he said so softly you had to focus on his lips to understand.

"The pain is from a strap, he used it on my back." You could hear the pain in his voice and so many odd quirks about Severus finally made sense.

Suddenly you felt very angry and had to force yourself to calmly make tea. 'Dumbledore really knows how to pick us' you thought bitterly. 'Take a wounded animal and give it a little food and some attention and suddenly it will do anything you ask'

You take a deep breath and fix your face before turning back to the table and setting the mugs down.

"I'm so sorry Severus." You take his hand in yours and just hold it for awhile. Slowly Severus turns back to you.

"Thank you... for the tea" he says picking up his mug.

You both feel tired after and Severus insists on going back to his own chambers for the evening.

"If you're sure Sev ... but like I said I have watch tonight so you could sleep here and I'll be back closer to dawn"

Severus shook his head. "No last time I slept over I was almost seen leaving your place by those students that jog in the mornings" he scoffed, he never understood people running for enjoyment.

"Alright Severus well if you feel up to it tomorrow we can try again." You shrugged on your cloak.

"Yes tomorrow" he said as he grabbed his own cloak and followed you down the stairs.

You walked him to the dungeons and then went about your watch duties. After you had checked all the common room halls and the great hall you went towards the headmasters office.

Up the stairs you found Dumbledore pacing in his office.

"Ah miss Burke. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You have to cut him loose"

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows, "I'm sorry you'll have to clarify"

"Snape, he is too fragile. Cut him loose. Get someone else to spy for you. I'll do it"

"You know Voldemort doesn't allow women in his inner circle."

"I'll take a polyjuice potion every night and ..."

"And when he discovers your true identity? Then what will happen to you? To your family?" Dumbledore says matter of factly. "You would put your own life on the line but what about theirs?"

You clenched your fists and tried to breath evenly. "Well we must do something. I don't think he can handle it."

"And what makes you say that? Severus is far more powerful than he let's on. I believe with the right tools and the right training he could do great things." Dumbledore picked up a jelly bean from a bowl on his desk and chewed it thoughtfully. "Ah, lemon, my favorite" he turned away from you now and looked outside the window.

"These are dark times Melyra. We must all do our part." The tone in his voice left the impression that no more would be said about it.

You stomped your foot and left in a huff. You couldn't help it, Dumbledore was right.

If you couldn't keep Severus away then you would help him be strong enough to hold his own.

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

For the rest of the week Severus came to your flat after dinner and you practiced. By the third night he had managed to keep the wall up and keep you out.

By the fourth night he could push you out of his mind after you had entered it.

And by the fifth night he was able to lock away almost all of his memories so all you could see was what he allowed you to see.

"I'm so proud of you Severus! You've come so far. You are a very good student" you booped him on the nose with your finger. He smiled and playfully pushed you away only to grab you and pull you back into his arms.

"I have an excellent teacher" he kisses you on the lips and holds you against his chest.

"Yes you do" you agree and kiss him back.

You both relax on the couch, comfortable in the silence.

Outside the clock tower chimes signaling the stroke of midnight. Severus shifts and starts to stand up from underneath you.

"Wait, Sev, please stay. You haven't all week and tomorrow is Saturday anyway. You won't have to rush off early for classes. No one would know." You plead.

Severus looks unsure. He knows he has been trying to keep you at arms length. He feels that if he pulls away enough you'll still keep him around but it won't hurt as bad when you find out the truth.

"Please" you whine. Severus can't help but smile. You are so strong, so sure of yourself, but then you resort to whining and pouting to try and get your way.

"Alright, I will stay tonight" he says. You squeel and pounce on him kissing him all over.

Severus summons his pajamas and toothbrush and goes to your bathroom to prepare for bed. You make up the bed with clean sheets and once Severus comes out you go into the bathroom to brush your teeth.

You leave the door open out of habit and Severus can see you from the bed. He watches as you comb your hair, put on lotion, and brush your teeth. It is all so domestic he can't help but think he would never find something like this.

You climb into bed and wave your wand to put out the lights.

"Good night"

"Good night"

You snuggle under the blankets, a slight chill to the air now that everything was dark and the fire was just embers. Severus wraps his arm around your waist and pulls you tight against him. You fit so perfectly together. His thumb lazily drags across your skin as he holds you. His soft breath warms your neck and you feel comforted by the rise and fall of his chest against your back.

Sleep comes easily.

You feel a tingle between your legs. At first you feel so far away from your body but that feeling pulls you in close. Your brain is fuzzy as you try to work out what it is. You reach down and feel a head between your legs. Your eyes fly open and you try to sit up but Severus gentle pushes you back down. He winks at you before going back to eat you out. His tongue circles your clit and a finger is tracing up and down your folds. He looks up at you and holds you gaze. His finger continues to trace along the edges. You hips buck just wanting more and you realize he is asking for your permission. You can't find your voice but you nod excitedly. The gleam in his eyes as he watches your face as his finger slowly pushes into you. You moan at the wonderful feeling. He sucks you clit and pushes in another finger.

"Oh Severus" you moan your back arches, your body wants more.

"That's my girl," he says. And then kisses up your stomach, his fingers move to your mouth and he watches as you lick them clean.

"Do you want me, my darling?" He whispers in your ear . He kisses along your neck until he finds the perfect spot and starts to suck a hickey onto your neck.

Your hips buck and you nod again.

"Mmm I need to hear you my darling"

"Yes" you breath. Oh gods you can't believe this is actually happening. You feel his cock press against your folds.

"Yes what?" He teases taking his cock and rubbing it up and down your slit coating the tip in your juices.

"Yes Severus please fuck me!" You are so horny right now you want him to fuck you until you can't move anymore. He smiles and trusts his cock into you.

You cry out, back arching.

You bolt upright your eyes wide. Pricks of sweat beat on your forehead. You wipe them away with the back of your hand looking around the room. Everything is dark, you feel a hand on your shoulder.

"Mm Lyra? You okay?" Severus's sleep voice brings you back to reality. It was just a dream.

"Yes, sorry, weird dream" you say and settle back down next to him. Your clit is throbbing and you feel like you might explode but you press your knees together and take calm even breaths.

"Want to tell me about it?" He asks with a yawn.

"Maybe later go back to sleep."

"Okay" he yawns again and then pulls you close to him. You feel like your body is calming down again but you can't fall back asleep.

You lay there and listen to Severus's steady breathing.

'It was just a dream'

#imagine #fanfic #fandom #writing #harry potter #fluff #smut #snapedom #snape smut #professor snape #snape #severus snape #pro severus #pro snape #severus snape x reader #snape imagine #snape fluff #eventual smut #snapes first year teaching #part 4 #severus #severus snape headcanon #hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry #slytherin

[blackbat05]

Fate

Adam Warlock x Reader

Plot: Who knew a mundane activity could help you to develop a new bond in the strangest of ways?

Genre: PG-13 (Mentions of public attack, please do not read if it triggers you)

A/N: I have no idea why but I suddenly decided to try writing for Adam Warlock! Honestly, Will Poulter caught my eye way back in maze runner (yes I know) and I hope he does well! The movie isn't out yet so I'm leaving a lot to my creativity here. If you like it, do reblog! Feedback is greatly appreciated! Also, if you do like my work and if you can, do tip here!

Tired.

You were so very tired. Yet you were so restless. Somehow the sage advice from your mother rang loud in your ears despite the grueling schedule you had just gone through today.

An exercise will do you some good.

Cursing under your breath, you prepared to head out in your workout gear. As they say, the starting is always the hardest.

Getting into a rhythm with the music, you started on your usual route. Shoes pounding the pavement, you let yourself feel the burn on your thighs.

Sure, you despised running. If there was an easier way, you would take it without a doubt. But there were upsides to it as well.

Such as the fresh air, the familiar scent of spring, and freshly baked croissants mixed together.

It was definitely not the man that you ran face-first into.

As you collide with him, you almost bounce off right into the parked car at the side of the pavement. Bracing for the impact, you didn't expect a pair of arms to wrap you by the waist.

"Are you alright? I mean, did I hurt you? That's what Quill told me to say if I offended someone." The man mumbled the last part loud enough for you to hear. You can't help but be amused at his choice of words. Standing back upright, you're able to take a better look at the man- scratch that.

You were looking at a god.

His skin was unbelievably golden as if it was kissed by the sun. It certainly didn't help that his chiseled features were staring at you unabashedly with piercing eyes.

Snapping out of your stupor, you nod a little too fast for your liking. You allow your eyes to run, hovering over his figure, wondering how hard you must have run into him to almost get a concussion.

Or was it the other way around?

Get your head out of the gutter.

"I wouldn't say you offended me. I wasn't really watching where I was going either." You gave your most amicable smile. To your slight disappointment, the man seems to be lost in thought as he stares beyond you.

Get real and get your arse moving. You have no business with him anyway, he's just some stranger whom you bumped into-

You attempt to sidestep him to continue your journey when he grabs you once more right as a blast throws the two of you back onto the ground.

Ears ringing, you realize the man's trying to rouse you from your shock. All you can see is chaos as people around you run frantically for shelter.

Carrying you away from the open, he gently places you down. You struggle to get your hearing back but you know what he's trying to tell you.

"Stay here."

Before you can argue, he leaves the temporary shelter he found for you and walks into the open. Just what was he thinking?

"Are you mad! You'll get yourself killed!" You screamed enough for your throat to go hoarse.

The man looks over his shoulder, an unreadable expression on his face. And then, the unbelievable happens.

Eyes glowing bright yellow, he leaps into the adjacent building with frightful speed, crashing the windows on his way through. A flash of bright light and soon enough, the assault on the streets stops.

You don't realize how hard you're trembling until a hand rests on your shoulder. You are now looking at a woman with big black eyes and antennas attached to her head staring at you curiously.

"Go to sleep."

***

You jolt with shock, panting wildly. What kind of a crazy dream was that? You were positive you were going insane with all the recent stress.

Wait... this wasn't your house. Why did you feel like you were on a moving spaceship?

Scrambling out of the covers, you press the button, planning a great escape. You see a knife discarded at the entrance. Yeap. You had to get out of here.

Arming yourself with the weapon, you creep out of the room and make your way to the front of whoever kidnapped you. As you inch forward, you could hear hushed voices trying to climb over each other at once.

"What were you thinking Adam? I mean I'm reckless but this is a whole new level! What if someone saw you?"

"Reckless is an understatement. You should have seen Quill, he was a hot mess."

"Not now Rocket! Drax can you check on sleeping beauty? The mechanics should have worked by now."

At the mention of what you presume to be you, you raise your knife and make the most intimidating face you can conjure at this moment.

"Somebody has three seconds to tell me what I'm doing on a flying spaceship or I'll cut someone's head off. Trust me, I can be pretty mean with this knife."

You see the man- Adam as you have learned staring at you along with the rest. Seeing how no one was making their move, you advance forward, holding the knife to his throat.

To your shock, Adam smirks, pushing away the tip of the knife with his ring finger without breaking eye contact with you. "Drax, you should really keep an eye on your stuff you know."

Another man with a hulking figure and dark green skin shrugs helplessly. "Sorry."

The third man in a red leather jacket rushes over to stop the altercation. "Please put the knife down. We have not kidnapped you. In fact, we haven't left Earth yet. Remember the blast? My name is Peter Quill and if you would we can explain everything to you."

You turn your attention to him, letting Peter continue.

You can't believe your ears- that have now been equipped with some sort of alien tech, courtesy of the talking raccoon that was tinkering away at the control panels, oblivious to the absurdity of it all.

"The blast affected your hearing and Adam bought you here to get it fixed. It may be a little weird but you feel comfortable in no time."

You nod numbly, trying to process this information. "Can I speak to Adam in private please?"

Peter nods, ushering the others who seemed eager to stay. Once the doors to the smaller rooms had slid shut, you approached the man.

"I appreciate what your team has done but I don't get it. Why did you help me? You could have just left me."

Adam pauses and for a split second, you're positive that he's almost zoning out on you.

"You were concerned about me. No one was ever concerned for me before."

You frown at his admission, silently sitting beside him.

“Well, I don’t know what you went through but you deserve every bit of concern. Even if you can fly through buildings and practically indestructible.” You hold his hand to which causes him to freeze momentarily.

But you don’t let go. Instead, you wait for him. Confused, Adam slowly interlocks his fingers with yours before holding it tighter. He looks at you, as if to seek your approval.

“Thank you Adam. Thank you for saving me.”

Your intimate moment was broken by his team as they stumbled out of the room, a lopsided grin on Quill’s face that you choose to ignore. Even so, Adam doesn’t let go of your hand.

“Well then! I hope that settles everything. I’m so sorry but we really must get going. And I’m not going to be accused of kidnapping another human into space.”

You blushed apologetically to which the rest of the team accepts good naturally with the exception of the raccoon whom which you were still weirded out by to be honest.

Walking down the steps, you see Adam slowly trailing behind you, hesitant to leave to god knows where. You see that he’s struggling to form his words, so you decide to take the lead.

“If you come back to Earth again, I’ll be happy to show you around.”

He blinks at your offer, breaking into a smile. “I’ll love that.” Adam strides over to you, giving you a last goodbye hug before getting back into the jet, leaving his lingering trace of his embrace.

You can’t explain it but as you watch the jet soar into the skies, you feel like you will see him again very soon.

Just like your first encounter, it would be fate.

#adam warlock #adam warlock x reader #guardians of the galaxy

[godsmenusuperbowl]

Romeo's Sun ~ *Lee Minho*

Summary: You were the sun and he was your moon. It was a star-crossed love affair. However, your families are determined to pull the two of you apart, no matter how much you love each other...

Pairing: Lee Minho X Fem!Reader

Genre: Angstyish Oneshot

Word Count: 2346

Warning: mentions death, star-crossed lovers, triggering topics, s*icide ideation, hurt no comfort, slight character death

Masterlist

Taglist: @plutonieve @mxnsxngie @maeleelee @kpop-will-kill-me

A/N: I absolutely love this story, you have no idea.

To him, she was the sun. 

As cliché as it sounded, Minho had never met someone who was as vibrant and as lovely like the sun as her. There was never a dull moment between the two of them and she was never without a smile. To him, she was everything and more, and he was determined to stop at nothing to be with her forever.

It was the rumors that made his blood boil; the itching, prickly, unceasing thorns in his side. Ever since he was a child, Minho has heard about her family and what filthy, good-for-nothing lowlifes they were. Despite their considerable rank in society, they were always looked down on others with scorn and contempt. He just couldn’t understand. How could someone as vivacious and dazzling as Y/n be from such a terrible family? Despite all of the nasty rumors, she never let them dampen her sparkle, which she wore proudly for everyone to see. Nevertheless, no one bothered to give her so much as a glance.

Which is why Minho was so confused when he saw her in the royal ballroom on his twenty-fifth birthday. He knew his parents would never invite her family to such an important party, so why was she here? It was because of this question, he knew he had to speak with her immediately.

“Your Highness.” She dipped a polite curtsy as he approached, a small smile still on her lips.

He gave her a bow, a bit less formal. Offering out his hand, he said, “May I please have this dance? I’d like to speak with you.”

It perplexed him even more when she accepted so readily. Most women would play coy, and tease or flirt. But not her. She agreed as if it was her right to dance with him, though many would disagree with that sentiment.

Before he could even open his mouth, she spoke, “I know what you came to talk to me about. You’re right, I shouldn’t be here. You’re also correct in the fact that my parents, well really my father, is a no-good, rotten, scoundrel. A forged invitation, that’s how I got in here. The outfit is a stolen dress and some questionable costume jewelry, as my parents are bankrupt and one coup away from being run off their land. Is that all you were wondering about or do you have more you’d like to discuss?”

At first, he couldn’t find the words, not after she so candidly answered the questions he didn't get the chance to ask. His jaw flapped open and closed several times, which wasn't very princely of him. Nevertheless, he managed to choke out, “Why did you tell me all of that?”

Her smile only brightened. “I do so hate rumors, don’t you? I thought I might as well clear the air, since you seemed so adamant to speak to me.”

“I see.”

“So, do you still wish to speak with me? Or have I lost my mysterious charm?” It was remarkable how quickly her sincere smile shifted into a cheeky grin.

It took a brief pause before he nodded. “Yes, I would like to talk to you. Not only has your story captivated me, but you appear to be an excellent dancer as well.”

Her laugh mixed with the music of the ballroom in perfect harmony, making his smile grow. “Why thank you. You’re quite light on your feet yourself.” After a particularly robust turn that settled back into gentle swaying, she added, “But I suppose you say that to all the ladies to charm them, yes?”

His smile turned fond, before he leaned in to whisper in her ear. “No, only you.”

Not only was he pleasantly surprised, but slightly cocky in the fact he could make her blush so prettily as he did.

Minho didn’t think she would leave such a lasting impression on him. Yet, he was already desperate to see her the very next day.

From there, their relationship blossomed. Before either of them realized it, they had slipped into a courtship. However, neither of them seemed to mind. If anything, they were happy with how easily they got along.

Until one fateful day…

“And what was so urgent you needed to meet with me right away?” She asked, her angelic smile glowing despite the setting sun.

He rolled his eyes, his hands covering her eyes. “It’s a surprise! Just be a little patient please.”

She chuckled. “Well, judging by the tone of your voice, I think it might be a good surprise. So, I won’t have to murder the crown prince.”

“I’m not sure if I should be relieved or offended.” He chuckled.

“I suppose we’ll have to wait and see if the surprise is worth it or not.” She mused, her smile still cheerful.

“Alright.” He finally stopped. “I’m going to remove my hands, but keep your eyes closed!”

As he gently lowered his hands, her eyes remained shut. He took a step back before taking a deep breath. It was a vain attempt to try and calm his nerves.

“Okay, open them.”

Her eyes fluttered open and she gasped, a hand rising to her mouth. Before her, she could see the sun sinking behind the mountains, a beautiful waterfall tumbling from their rocky cliffs and feeding into the river before her. She marveled at the fireflies that danced between the willow branches overhead that also dipped down to brush between the wildflowers at her feet. It was truly a magical sight to behold.

“Oh, Minho. It’s like a patch of heaven on Earth.” She breathed, her voice delicate with emotion.

“Perhaps you should turn around then.”

“How could I do-” Her words caught in her throat.

He was so thankful his proposal turned out the way he planned it. The perfect setting for the perfect person. It took months to plan all of this out, but for his sunshine, all of his work was worth it to see her expression shining down on him, just like the sun she was.

“Y/n, you make me the happiest man in the world. Title or not, I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else in the entire world. Will you do me the honor of marrying me, so that I may make you happy for the rest of your life?”

“Oh, Minho, yes! Yes, yes, yes!” Tears flooded her eyes like diamonds before she too knelt down to kiss him. And they stayed there all night, together in blissful harmony.

But the sun cannot always shine so brightly forever. Dark clouds of trouble were brewing a storm neither of them were prepared for.

On the day he was to announce the day of their engagement, Minho's parents forbade the union and refused their son access to the outside world, so that he may see her again. Nevertheless, he resisted. He snuck out as often as he could and wrote letters even more often. He hated being away from his sunshine like this and he made sure to tell her so.

“I’ll come for you.” He vowed to her one night by the willow tree where he proposed. “As soon as I am King, I will come for you and we shall be married that very day.”

“Oh Minho.” She breathed, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears as she embraced him tightly. “I love you so very much, moonlight.”

“And I love you so very much, sunshine.”

As the days continued to drag on, the more and more anxious he got. He knew he couldn’t keep her waiting forever. Even though she swore loyalty to him, he knew her parents or his for that matter would do something drastic to split them apart for good. He was terrified of the plans that he did not know about. He couldn’t let anything happen to them, no matter what.

But fate had other plans. 

There was a visitor in his study.

Never in his life did he expect to see the sun so dull and lifeless like he saw that day. And yet there she was, staring out the window, a blank expression on her face.

“Y/n.” His voice was no more than a gasp. “Sunshine, you’re here! How, why-”

“Your Highness.” Her voice was emotionless and precise. She only called him his title once, when they first met. She was never this formal with him, ever. “I have to give you something.”

“What-”

The ring hit the table, echoing in his mind forever, his heart shattering along with it like glass. It just couldn’t be the truth. She couldn’t mean it. It wasn’t possible.

“Sunshine, I-I don’t understand.” He breathed, barely moving as she stood.

“I’m afraid I can’t marry you. I’m so sorry, Your Highness, but it’s better this way.”

“NO!” For the first time ever, he raised his voice at her, making her flinch slightly at his tone. “No! It’s not better this way! Y/n, we can fix this, please! I know we can! Please don’t give up on us. I don't want to give up on you. I don’t want this to be the end, please. Sunshine.”

She sighed, looking away. “Goodbye, Minho.”

As she was almost to the door, he whirled around to speak to her once more. “Just tell me one thing before you go. Through this whole thing, from the first moment we saw each other to the day I put that ring on your finger, did you love me? Even just a little bit? For even the briefest of seconds, did you ever love me?”

He could just barely hear her gasp before she shook her head. “No. I never loved you.”

And with that, she was gone. His sun had disappeared behind dark storm clouds. He fell to the ground and sobbed for a very long time.

It was well past midnight when the anger hit him. No, he knew for a fact that she loved him. All of that time they spent together, there was no way she could fake it for that long. Either his or her parents put her up to this and he was not going to stand for it. He made up his mind to go find her and get married just like they planned before all of this happened. 

And no one was going to stop him this time.

He raced to her house as fast as he could. He didn’t care about the valet who was trying to stop him. He needed to find her as soon as possible and then they would be gone without a trace.

However, he found something else entirely. Her father and someone who looked to be a royal guard were drinking in his study. They both appeared to already be drunk.

“…Apparently the wedding is canceled, which doesn’t do me any good.” Her father grumbled.

“And why is that?” The guard asked. “With the Prince out of the picture, her reputation is ruined and she’ll be penniless, alone, and miserable forever, just like you wanted.”

“Well I had concocted a new plan.” He growled, “When that nosy little Prince got engaged to her, I planned to reveal her true identity at the reception. You know she’s nothing but a bastard child.”

“No! Really?”

“Yes. Some whore from a brothel in some nameless town is her real mother. I didn’t intend to keep her but I assumed she’d be useful sooner or later.”

The guard nodded. “Very wise of you.”

Her father gave a smug smile. “It is, isn’t it? After that, I assumed the King and Queen would disown their son due to the scandal and the shame he’d bring. Of course, it’s no skin off my nose if the two of them killed themselves afterwards from the ostracization they’d receive, which I had planned out as well. With no heirs, the kingdom goes to the next in line, and I’ll be damned if that isn’t me. I’ll see to it that every adversary coming after my throne is quickly eliminated.”

Minho gasped. Her father truly was the heartless monster in all of the rumors he heard about her family. To him, it didn’t matter that his sunshine wasn’t a legitimate child. He still loved her with all of his heart and soul, no matter what. But to see that her father planned to kill both of them was truly despicable. He really had no time to waste, causing him to dash down the hall, missing the last bit of their conversation.

“Right now, she’s in her room asleep. I had her chloroformed since she wouldn’t stop crying about her precious moon or whatever it was. I plan on dumping her in an abbey or a river tomorrow.”

Her bedroom door swung open, yet she didn’t stir. He was too late. The deed was done.

He choked on his sobs as he stumbled to her bed. He couldn’t believe it. She was dead. Really dead. His sun snuffed out for all eternity, leaving nothing but tears in his eyes that sparkled just like her eyes in the sun. He couldn’t believe it, but after what he overheard from her father, he wouldn’t put it past him.

What could he do now? Where does he go from here? Why didn’t he come find her sooner?

Minho couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. A cold numbness overtook him and silent, overwhelming sadness made him tremble. Now what could he do?

There, next to his hand, the answer sat. A bottle with a dark, forbidding elixir called out to him. It would be so easy. Quick uncork the bottle, down the whole thing, and then the sun would return. It would be too easy.

Taking it in his hand, he whispered a promise into the cold night air:

“I would much rather die in hatred than live without your love. I wish we could become flowers when we meet again. I will not become the fool who was sacrificed by destiny again. Even if destiny separates us.”

The cap came off.

A gasp.

“Wait.”

#Stray Kids #Stray Kids Fanfiction #Stray Kids Oneshot #KPop #KPop Fanfiction #KPop Oneshot #Stay #Lee Minho #Lee Minho X Reader #Lee Minho Fanfiction #Lee Minho Oneshot #Lee Minho Angst #Lee Know #Lee Know X Reader #Lee Know Fanfiction #Lee Know Oneshot #Lee Know Angst #Romeo and Juliet #Romeo and Juliet AU #Royalty #Royalty AU #Oneshot #Angst #Fluff

[diluclover300]

Just One Week (10)

Gojo Satoru x Female Reader

also on my ao3: diluclover300

CHAPTER INDEX:

I H8 U

My Kinda Fun

Balance

{S] Awake

Eggs and Rice

Wait, but I'm broke

Couple's Discount

Waffles + Cream

Karaoke Night

KFC

CHAPTER 10: KFC

...

If objects could speak, you'd interview the skyscrapers of New York and Hong Kong with only one question in mind - "How does it feel to be so tall?"

You can now confidentially answer that for yourself - "It feels great."

Your tongue already gave yourself away earlier, but you meant every word in that short sentence. Gojo Satoru has grown a lot more than you remember. It was no illusion, nor was it a trick deceiving your own two eyes. Those ripples of fabric, clinging onto each defined, humanly shaped bulge are muscle. You were resting against the very product of his blood, sweat, and tears, some of which you can easily recognize, and others who turn out to be complete strangers. Unfamiliarity overtakes you. 

"You're really fuckin' tall." You re-tighten your arms around his neck, trying to strangle an answer out of him. Perhaps that was your oddly creative imagination. 

"I-" He lifts his neck up, swallowing at the pressure. You're strong. "I've always been tall." 

"I guess so." You roll your eyes, slumping against his rather sturdy back. He's the strongest of them all, you justify your action, agreeing with how you put a little extra weight on his shoulder. It'll be his little workout. "Yeah, I guess so." 

You hate it, being puny and short to the all-mighty Gojo Satoru, but a threat to anyone below that haughty title. You're not a weak little thing, heck, if they forced you back into jujutsu society, you'd punt his ass real good. You'd be the strongest, at the very tip of that tall iceberg. 

"I don't have any friends." You hum out, scanning your surroundings like a watchtower. "Not a single one." 

This is the city, all right, engulfed in cold, turbulous winds from the bay area as the crickets sing for the nightlife. The countless buildings of restaurants, bars, and nameless shops come and go at their convenience, not bothering to say a little farewell before they depart ways. It's cruel.

"You don't?" Satoru locks his arms over and under your legs, pushing them further up his sides. You keep moving. "What about Nanami?"

Nanami Kento. The name takes you back, it used to fill you up with hope, and the very mention had you oozing with respect. 

"This again?" You scowl, securing your chin onto his shoulder. It's warm there. "Well, y'know, I talked to him, but..."

You stop with another mindless, light hum, slowly resting your eyes against the light breeze when the lights of the city begin to blind you. You feel tall, so free that you might as well be escaping the cage that is gravity. You're flying and the wind glides along your humble wings, keeping you afloat. 

"...but?" He presses the matter further, sluggish in his steps and breaths slower when you rest in the crook of his neck without warning. It's another problem he won't ever get to solving, not because he can't - he just doesn't find the need to. 

"..b-u-t..." You sing each letter to yourself, yearning for another pre-written lyric to hover in the sky among the many stars as you grasp onto a sleek microphone. Your voice would be the very subject of conversation. 

You liked that conversation a lot more than you anticipated, a lot more than you'd like to admit. Oh, how the instruments danced and twinkled along your timbre. How time slowed, how each minute mattered as much as the last. 

You miss it already. 

"... I didn't want him- er, no, me... yeah, me, to get the wrong idea." You smile, tired as your cheeks sting. You're still as drunk as ever. The static of your brain is fulfilling. 

"Whaddya mean?" Satoru looks up to the stars, air blowing out from his lips. There's a slight white fog that dissipates. 

You think the answer is pretty straightforward. 

"...uh... because I liked him? Yeah, I did." You say, confirming your doubts with a small nod. "He was cool, so I didn't wanna-"

"It's not bad to be alone." The answer leaves him restless. 

"I don't know 'bout that 'cause I hate it a little bit." You whisper, elbows pressing into his shoulders. They are as steady as bricks and as wide as the universe. "... but Nanami, he-"

"You said he was miserable." 

Satoru bites his tongue, impulsive with both his words and thoughts. The reek of sake fogs his patience, his rationality. His tone grows tenser with each mention of Nanami Kento, curiosity killing the cat indeed. 

You think about it, and the accusation is the truest, most honest thing he's said all day. You called him miserable, you're guilty as charged. 

"Yeah, well, yeah... I did." You confirm, guilt swarming your wings. "I said that, didn't I?"

Nanami Kento. You respected him. The feeling wasn't as simple as envy, no, it was a bit more than that - you admired him, really. He was an honest man, simple, hard-working, true to his words. If you weren't the same age as him then you'd at least pray that he was your senior at some point in your life. He was someone to look up to. Even so, you never talked much.

Still, the feeling was present, it became undeniable that you found his presence calming like the soft embers of a campfire. 

"I'm wrong, maybe." You dwell on it, fighting the urge to doze off on his shoulder. "He, uh, I dunno, the last time I reached out to him, he looked..."

You try to sketch it out on your mental canvas with quick, fading strokes. The weak embers that kept you shivering, trembling against the otherwise unnoticeable breeze. Those slightly hollowed out cheeks, his small wrinkles, and his eyes. The core was pitted. 

"Yeah, he looked real miserable." 

Once you sensed it, his unease, your admiration began to chip away, the flames coaxed themselves. Nanami Kento was no longer the calm, composed man you knew him as. He too had changed. 

"I didn't- hah, he's really unbelievable, but..."

It was like looking into a mirror. 

"...but?" Satoru doesn't know whether he resents the sake anymore, whether he's grown fond of the smell or sick of it. Your words, some are warm and others hurt more than the last.

"I was, no, I am the same, haha..." You sleepily chuckle. "I was like, hey, he's fuckin' handsome, but I really can't-"

"You really can't." He finishes, fingers drilling into your legs as he repositions you. His steps start to sway to the rhythm of his uneven breaths. "You can't." 

"Well, yeah." You shrug, deciding that was it. "I never did."

The pictures, all the memories blur together. What drew out your brave conclusion, that pitiful comparison was not your admiration, nor his calm demeanor. You came to it after you ran into him on a busy Friday afternoon on the subway, job hunting in Tokyo. 

Nanami Kento, who once held his head up high succumbed to the likes of sheep. That white fur shielded him, he blended in well without putting up a fight. He accepted it. 

He was not who you recalled from years ago. The embers were put out, every single one of them replaced with fur as pale as the moonlight, a foreign tongue, and strange horns.  

And that was all there was to it - Kento Nanami was miserable. Your admiration was in vain, you left Friday disillusioned, numb to the joys of the weekend. 

After that dose of reality, you never ran into him again. Because seeing the man that you so hoped to serve as an anchor, for his flames to re-kindle and hold you tightly... they instead left you with your head hung low. 

You never ran into him again and moved to Osaka quietly, not leaving a single trace behind. You knew it was unfair to cut your conversation short, to run away as soon as those two doors slid open, but you did it anyways. It was unfair that you felt betrayed, let down by your own delusions. 

Nanami Kento was no longer a jujutsu sorcerer, and you grew afraid of your own reflection. That was all there was to it. 

"How is it?" You stretch out your fingers, clutching onto his shoulders. It's secure. Satoru flinches in between his steps, snapping his head to you.

"How is what?" 

"Osaka. Do you like it?"

His chest relaxes, the subject abruptly changed. The breeze feels light. The weight on his shoulders is even better, as light as a feather. As soft as one too. 

"All of a sudden?" 

You nod, chin rubbing against the fabric of his shirt as you do. 

He hasn't given it much thought, not until now. He looks around him, then up at the moon, and down at the sidewalk. It's the city, all right, with lights flashing down each block, taxis rushing through the roads as they haul strangers in and out. 

He thinks it's typical, not much different from what he sees back home, until his eyes land on you. The extra weight on his shoulder that reeks of alcohol, cozying up on his shoulder, it's arms wrapped around him.  

He looks again at the city, how the nightlife decorates the aged sidewalks, how the lights glimmer against each other. The amount of smiles, the warm ambience surrounding all these strangers as they roam the roads, crossing each sidewalk with small laughs. 

"I like it. Osaka is-" 

"Nah. I don't." You object, grabbing his lips with your cold fingers as you fumble around with the skin, twisting and turning. "I fuckin' hate this place." 

"Hey-" 

"Let me finish, moron." You tunnel his lips in your fist, leaving them with a firm smack. "It's suffocating, there's so many people! It's like they release swarms of 'em in the morning and hide 'em in the night."

"Of course you hate it." He jerks his head away, grumbling to himself when you make it harder from him to walk. You swerve him to the left, then the right, and finally, to the very middle of the sidewalk - where he belongs.

"Do you like anything?" 

"I liked Nanami-"

What an unsatisfactory answer. 

His elbow smacks onto the crosswalk call button with a slight grunt. "Not anymore." That revelation stands irrelevant as long as he's here. It always will. 

"That's true."

You examine the spit coating your fingers, harshly wiping it down on his back. They were soft, easy to squeeze and mold in your grasp. 

"Then, I dunno." You inhale, pushing your fingertips into his shoulders, re-balancing yourself in his hold. "Sorry, I just hate-"

"I know." He crosses after looking down both sides of the road. The words are tattooed onto your tongue, the ink of it glazed with your saliva. "You hate everything." 

The crickets fill in the silence, the sound of tackling leaves accompanying nature's beat. Was Osaka always this peaceful? Maybe that was the sake warping your perception, you were just seeing the population unwinding in both numbers and intensity. They all walked with leisure, holding hands and cracking up half-assed jokes. 

"Hey, Satoru, you..." You laugh, licking your lips moist as you take in the scenery. "I like some things a little bit."

"Yeah?" He replies, teeth digging into the flesh of his cheek. Carrying you is not as easy as he makes it out to be, not when your lips continue to brush against his neck with each word you say, with each move he takes. Unintentionally, he tells himself. You're drunk. "Like what?"

The wet run of your tongue wakes your appetite, the fact that you drank on an empty stomach growing more apparent with the smell of food lingering in the air. You're craving something that you don't hate. 

"I like fried chicken." You suggest, your body giving yourself away for the second time when your stomach rumbles.

"Okay." He takes a left at the mention, luck on his side when he's met with a familiar sign just a couple of feet away. You're allowed to like this. This is relevant as far as he's concerned. 

"Satoru, I'm hungry." You whine, burying your face into the crook of his neck when your stomach compresses against itself. "Feed me-"

"I get it." His breath hitches, briefly squeezing his eyes shut. You're close. "I'm taking you to KFC."

You whine a little more before rubbing your brows against his shoulder, itchy as the wind messes with your hair. 

"Stop moving." 

"M'kay." You don't register his words, sliding your face down and up his back. Did a mosquito bite you on your face? You're unusually itchy, the sensation making you feel warm and tingly. You do it again. 

"I told you to stop."

"Sorry."

The small jingle of the door catches your attention. You look up only for the sweet smell of meat to fill your nostrils, stomach contracting at the mouth-watering wafts of fast-food filled air.

Then you turn to Satoru, who gently lowers you onto a nearby seat. "Let go."

You comply, unraveling your arms from his neck as heaps of shopping bags occupy your sides. You're tired. 

"Don't move, okay?" He takes hold of your shoulders, placing you upright against the seat when your limpness gets the best of you.  

"Got it." You nod, eyes half-lidded as you pat yourself awake, skin heavy and sluggish. "I won't move an inch."

"Good. Wait for me, okay?" 

"O-k-a-y." You start to slouch, eyelids dragging further down your vision. "I'm waiting." 

"Okay." He nods, slipping his hands away to rub his own skin. His neck burns unexpectedly, skin flaring up the more he wonders about it's cause.

Maybe it's best for it to be an afterthought, a mere problem that he'll deal with later, without you in the picture. 

You try not to move much, staying true to your word as you watch him order. It's hard to hear, especially over the blaring music, so you focus on his expression instead. He's smiling just as he did in front of the waitress at the waffle shop, a strange almost sunlight like aura beaming from the action. After a while of exchanging sticky, gooey looks and words, he pulls out that handy card of his, pitch black as it shines against the ceiling lights. 

Satoru laughs again once he's given his receipt, giving the girl at the register a light wave when she hands him a tray of food. She giggles like a schoolgirl. 

"Here." Wow. It's like his personality from earlier sheds off like the scales of a snake, replaced with such an easy-going ring that you're sure of it now. 

"You're a flirt." You deduce, crossing your arms with a sneer as he places the bucket of fried chicken in front of you.

"Hm?" He doesn't catch that, scooting his chair towards you when you lazily pick a leg out of the batch. "Did you say something?"

You rip off a bite, chewing with small grumbles. You can't believe you're associated with some kind of modern-day playboy. It's embarrassing.

"It's tasty, isn't it?" He reaches over for the packet of ketchup, peeling off the wrapper before placing it next to you. 

You grumble again, a small 'thanks' as you scoop out a glob onto your half-eaten piece of chicken. Fast food tastes much better when you're not the one paying for it. You bet it'd be more worth it with a couple of beers, but you're convinced Satoru won't entertain your fantasies. 

"You're making a mess..." He shakes his head, pulling the food away from your face as he snatches a napkin from the tray. "Come here." 

You don't mean to, but your eyes meet with the cashier at the register. You clear your throat, thickly swallowing. The creak of your chair follows. 

"Okay."

You scoot closer, and he holds your chin tightly, clicking his tongue in disapproval as he wipes your lips clean. His fingers push through the thin, frail paper, poking at the skin. 

You lied to yourself, haven't you? This was your dilemma, hidden in plain sight. Was it a lie? Was this truly deceit? 

Perhaps you feigned ignorance. 

"Satoru, why do you just do that with every girl you meet?" You scoot away, using the napkin on your own now. "It's weird."

"Huh? What does that-" 

"The waffle shop, like, you, ugh..." You groan, the napkin falling onto the table as you try to put it into words, tapping at your temples. "...You just kept flirting with her and stuff, like you kept smiling like an idiot, and... uh, what else?" 

You don't know how else to put it, chewing on another piece of meat to make up for your lack of clarity. You want another drink. 

"So what?" He grabs another packet, peeling it open. "You jealous?"

"You wish I was." You say in-between bites, rolling your eyes at the very suggestion. There goes another leg, a victim to your roaring appetite. "Keeping dreamin', 'cause it's never happenin'."

Your eyes meet with the poor girl at the register again and she quickly hides behind the walls of the kitchen. You feel bad. 

"Look, she's looking over here because you kept flirting with her." You take the ketchup from his hand, biting off another piece. "It's fuckin' annoying."

Satoru doesn't know whether to laugh or apologize. He doesn't know why he feels the need to do the latter either. Whoever he flirts with should never concern you. 

"Oh, come on, just ignore her." He betrays himself, sticking a straw between your lips when you frown. You reluctantly sip. "I won't do it again. I'm sorry." 

You gulp, the water washing down the heavy breading of the chicken. He presses the cup further into your hold, pulling off his glasses at the opportunity. They clatter onto the tabletop, and your eyes travel to the shades before his fingers.

Satoru rubs his eyes, sighing to himself. "You're killing me." 

You quirk a brow, swallowing another sip of water before dishing out a chicken leg from the bucket. You were killing the Gojo Satoru? The high and mighty jujutsu sorcerer of the modern age? That was unheard of. 

Yeah, right. 

"You should go back, y'know?" Your voice is muffled as you eat. Some crumbs litter your lap. "They need you to kick ass and shit."

"Am I the only sorcerer in Japan?" He laughs, pinching the bridge of his nose. The red-mark etched into his skin stings, a reminder of why he abandoned the flashy disguise in the first place. "They'll be fine without me." 

You exhale deeply, swallowing another piece down your throat. That was easy for him to say, but no one else would ever agree. Gojo Satoru keeps this country afloat, he is the balance between both good and evil. Without him, you'd be as good as dead. Everyone would. 

"You're a damn lucky bastard, all strong and shit." You look into the empty bucket filled with bare chicken bones. "You could kill me-"

"You talk too much." 

"Yeah, anyway, I don't get it." You lazily cradle the bucket in your lap, avoiding his bare gaze. "Why did you come here? It's been five years." 

Satoru reminds himself that he shouldn't talk back, that there was no sense in arguing when you were anything but sober. 

"You finally remembered I existed or something?"

"I already told you." He looks over to you and then the bucket, grease dampening the flimsy carboard. 

"It's not like you missed me, Satoru." Your fingers poke at the rims of the bucket, dryly laughing to yourself as you do. 

"I did." He argues, he betrays himself once more, unable to bare the possibility of a misunderstanding. "I missed you." 

"There you go again." You tut, shaking your head when the sturdy paper dents against the pressure of your thumbs. "You're lying."  

"When did I lie?" 

Your eyes don't meet his, nails fumbling with the red label of the bucket. There are multiple instances today, some significant and some not so much. You're reminded of the past, memories tracing over the irrelevant, insignificant present as you speak. 

"Your stupid jacket. The lady at the store said-"

"She told you it was mine?"

You rip a piece of the label off, picking at the mascot. The air conditioner blows onto your shoulders, and the almost-sheer fabric of your button up shudders. 

"I'm cold." You groan, hands warming up your forearms. 

Satoru itches his eyes once more, picking up the scraps of paper that fly onto his lap. 

"Then wear my jacket." He offers, polishing the lens of his glasses with the fibers of his shirt. "I don't need it."

Your eyes meet with the small pull of the fabric, giving you a bit of leeway to the skin underneath. It peeks at you first, baiting your vision. Your shoulders slump, mind clearly out of touch when the thought escapes you for the second time tonight.   

"You've grown." When did he get a six-pack? Satoru was always scrawny. "It's unfair." 

He scrubs at his glasses, lightly shaking his head to himself when another smear appears. 

"You say something?" The music must have covered you up, the crevices of muscles along his stomach taunting. 

Who is the liar?

"I said, I dunno where the jacket is." You are unsure now. 

"Look for it then." The shirt snaps back on, and now it becomes obvious how tight the cloth truly is. You notice more cracks, more ripples running down his torso. 

The radio carries on conversation, a symphony of guitar strums, snare beats, and vocals allowing for comfortable silence. 

"Do it for me." 

Satoru does one last pick at his eyelashes, catching a loose hair before it falls to the ground. 

His obedience is unspoken, yet determined the very moment you decide to order him around. He has no choice, you have already dictated his will. There is nothing he can achieve out of an argument except for wasted time, so he places those troublesome glasses back on, fishing through the several bags. It isn't long before he reels in a fine fish, also known as his jacket. 

"Give me your arm." 

"Why?" You scoot back in your seat. He holds up the jacket by the collar, shaking it as if his goal was to entice you. 

"Please."

"Okay." You're intrigued. 

His other hand reels out another fish from the sea when the legs of your chair screech against the tiles. Satoru thinks it's a great catch he's made when the distance between the both of you narrows. A definite rare find. 

You stick one arm out after the other, the oily bucket of chicken bones now discarded on the table. The label of a torn up Colonel Sanders sways in the air before landing on the floor.  

"Turn around." 

You twist in your chair, firmly and quickly put into place with the hold of his fingers.

"This good?" He drapes the rest of the fabric over you until it sits on your shoulders evenly, adjusting the collar around your neck. His breath tickles your neck.

"Yeah." You turn back around, catching a whiff of cologne. The forest is near, somewhere over here. "Thanks."

The velvet lining seeps through your thin shirt and reaches for your skin. You're held in it's warm embrace, back easing against the seat. 

"Tired." Your eyelids lower, the abnormally large jacket bunching around your arms. He's all grown-up now, just like you have, but way taller, way bigger than you initially thought. He really owns his title, wears it like a suit. You don't have one. 

Satoru tries to speak. You beat him to it, arms crossed in your rest. 

"Everythin' hurts." Your fingers loosen up around your elbows, knees straightening out underneath the table. "My body, my mind, fuck - even my soul hurts."

He thinks to reply, mind scrambling for a solution. Satoru should fix you. He should reach out and grab your worries, hold them tightly and choke them all in the heart of his fist. What he should do is take responsibility, even if he has failed the test of time. 

"Even then, I'm still talkin' like an idiot." The sentences spill out, meaningless chatter only to garner an ounce of pity. "I'm drunk, right?"

"Yeah." His voice completely ceases, already drowned by the bass of the restaurant speakers. 

When would the solution occur to him? No, the wonder of, the fear of uncertainty should not exist. You were a unique problem, not impossible. A problem that only catered to him, a problem that only concerned him. No one else could come close, no one could ever involve themselves with this special problem.

No one could ever lock fingers with the intricacies of your body, your mind, fuck - even your soul. Naturally, Satoru should know everything, all the details, all the nooks and crannies of you. 

"Yeah, I am." That is just another hollow chuckle down the drain, one he is yet to grow used to. "Alcohol-"

Your smear your palm down the length of your face, eyelids pulled down. 

"Alcohol makes me crave food, but I..." You tip your head back. "... Ah, I don't know, but I really hate eating."

Stop that. Don't say that. Please.

"Nothing tastes as good as it looks anymore, Satoru." You toss out another soulless laugh, eyes completely shutting at the confession. "I'm getting old."

Stop. Don't tell him that.

The person he so remembers shatters right before his very eyes, glass shards dancing beneath his feet. The person he treasured in his memories, oh, that girl he can't get rid of no matter how much her resent grows as the days shrink and pass by. She always ate well, she slept fulfilled with her heart happy, stomach full. She always did. 

You don't. Who are you? What was she? 

"Who was it?" Satoru feels like his throat opens forcibly, voice coming out faint and weak. 

You shove a finger into your chest, over and over until the motion slows and finally stills. 

"Who-"

"Me." It lands, puncturing your chest. You sigh. "It's all because of me." 

His fingers clench in his lap. You aren't her. What you are is the culprit. 

"Yeah, I think that's it. It's me." Your chest draws in a short breath, brows tackling one another. Your words are mixing up terribly, pouring out lukewarm. It's frustrating to hear your tongue give up.

"I'm the problem." You open your eyes, blinded by the yellow ceiling lights. You blink. "I realized that when-"

"You should stop."

"Ah, should I?" You groggily turn over, recovering your vision to make out his figure. Satoru gathers up the mess you made, all the scraps and napkins dumped into the bucket. That too is soon tossed into the trash.

"Why?" 

Each bag beside you escapes to his arms, scurrying from the floor and sneaking into his wrists. 

"You'll regret it tomorrow." You feel a tug at your chair, drawing you away from the table. 

"Ah."

Do it all for tomorrow, but never do it for today. This was what you were told. 

The world seems to revolve around the future despite existing through the present. The days, the weeks, the months, the years - they all stretch into the ambiguous blanket of "tomorrow".

Put it off for tomorrow, but never do it today. This is what you followed. 

"... Then you'll hate me even more tomorrow, right?" He whispers over his shoulder, back as familiar as it is wide. Your eyes blur into a lengthy blink. 

You do everything for tomorrow. Today is already a part of your past. Your present is lost time, to forever be shunned away by your selfish, never-ending future. 

"I..." You feel your words sharpen, suddenly vehement. "I'll hate you."

As if pure instinct, your arms sling around the comfort of his shoulders, letting out a short huff of air when your wings allow you to float. You're flying. 

"I know." His arms bind with your legs, the hold tighter than, stronger than any of his courage. Was it ever possible for him to muster any of it? "Me too-"

"I hate you more than yesterday, and..." You take in a deep breath, the jingle of the door signifying your departure. "...even less than tomorrow, yeah. I think that's..." 

You lose track of your thoughts, eyes sluggish as the crickets chirp and the stars shine. Osaka is peaceful, the moon wraps around you and holds you tightly. 

"Me too." He releases the postponed beat of his heart, his hands re-catching your thighs.

You groan at the sudden disturbance, nose pressed against his neck. The smell of fried chicken is soon replaced with the night, dewy and coastal air grazing the hairs of your neck. 

"Don't do it, Satoru." Your words stroke his neck, face nodding off in the very crook. "Don't take me home." 

He halts. 

"Do you hate it there?" 

The exhaust flees, it runs off as your sore muscles unclench. The day slowly ends, the hours are sewn together, and before you know it, your future is set in stone. Tomorrow would be here. 

"Y...yeah." Your eyelashes bind together, his resumed steps lulling, nurturing. "I hate it."

That wasn't her, not a single hint of it was. That was all you, every single bit of it. Satoru can identify it now - his special, unique problem, exclusive to only him. 

When the night settles and the stars occupy the stretching sky is when he begins to reflect on the question he shrugged off for weeks. 

The strongest jujutsu sorcerer of the modern age, who has come to Osaka with the illusion of a vacation has deceived himself. His own mind, his own body, his own soul is a traitor.

Gojo Satoru has a goal. He came here with a purpose. 

Though light in his movement, each step continues to drag on when your breath calms and unwinds against him. The shore is finally at rest, the waves stuck in a mediocre slosh, and there is a clear divide with the sand. At last, the seagulls too can hide away, they can too rest after soaring through unruly paces. There once was unrest in that shore, the sand dampened with each trashing, merciless, and unwarranted wave. 

In that chaos, in that state of unrest was when he realized this goal of his. The reason as to why he holds you so close, so tightly despite the long and hard years in-between. The reason as to why he abandons his God-given, divine right of protecting the weak, the helpless for seven nights and seven days. 

It was to send her off with a fine farewell, and for Gojo Satoru, the strong, to mend you, the weak. It was for him to solve you, to fix you until the shores could regulate themselves. 

"I'm sorry." This whisper, broken yet rooted in his resolve is only a fraction of his sincerity. It is only the beginning of it all. "I think I'm going to be selfish from now on."

That night, the first out of the eventful seven, Satoru vowed. 

He lifted the veil. 

...

see you next chapter!!!

#ao3 fanfic #ao3 writer #fanfic #archive of our own #enemies to lovers #eventual smut #friends to lovers #romance #jujutsu gojo #jujutsu kaisen #jjk gojo #satoru gojo #gojo x reader #gojo satoru #gojou satoru x reader #satorugojo #jujutsu satoru #gojo saturo #jjk satoru #gojo x y/n #jjk x y/n #y/n #reader insert #x y/n

[thebangtancloud]

hello! may i kindly request an angst reaction to when after breaking up with y/n and her moving out, the members find all the things they gave her over the course of the relationship sitting on their once-shared bed or returned to them via mail? thanks so much i love u

You return the things that he gifted you after a breakup ~ BTS Reactions

Genre: Angst, Post-breakup blues. Warning: Curse Words.

A/n: thank you for requesting this, i love u too <3

Kim Namjoon:

"RM-ssi," a young man's voice floated towards Namjoon.

"Yes?" He looked up, gently setting his book down and holding his hand out for the man who had a small box in his hands.

"This came in with your name," the staff explained. "Here you go."

"Oh, thank you," Namjoon bowed a little, taking his glasses off and blinking down at the box. It felt light, but a sudden heaviness made its home over his chest, gulping anxiously at the brown cardboard.

Rather than tearing it open, Namjoon spent a good two minutes looking for a box cutter, sitting down comfortably and placing the box over the coffee table, ready to open it.

"What's that?" Hoseok wandered towards Namjoon, curious eyes peering over the man's shoulder. "Fan mail?"

"I don't think so," Namjoon shook his head with a slight frown. "I think I know who sent this in."

Gently cutting through the tape over the opening of the box, Namjoon's trembling fingers reached in just as Hoseok settled beside him.

"Oh," both men commented blandly at the sight.

With a touch as soft as a feather, Namjoon pulled out a zip-lock plastic bag, the delicate silver chain glistening under the lights of the practice room.

"(Y/n)?" Hoseok asked gently.

"Mhm," Namjoon nodded a little. "I didn't think she'd return this."

"I'm sorry, bro," Hoseok murmured under his breath. "That was a really messy breakup."

"It's all in the past," Namjoon shook his head. "T'was the best for both of us."

Hoseok hummed a little, picking up the chain after Namjoon set it aside.

"This is really pretty, though."

"Keep it," Namjoon chuckled under his breath. "I have no use of it, now."

"I think you should keep it," Hoseok suggested with a little smile. "What if she comes back?"

"I don't know, Hoba," Namjoon sighed deeply. "I don't think she'll come back to me."

"You never know," Hoseok shrugged lightly, patting Namjoon on the shoulder.

"You just never know."

Kim Seokjin:

"Seokjin-ah," the sweet sound of his mother's voice brought a smile to Jin's face the moment he entered his house.

"Eomma?"

"Surprise," the beautiful woman came into view, the sweetest of smiles making her eyes crinkle at the corners.

"Eomma!"

Regardless of his age, the man skipped his way across the living room, jumping excitedly into his mother's open arms.

"You're here early! You were supposed to be here next week!"

"I wanted to surprise you," she murmured fondly, running a hand across the top of Jin's head. "Happy to see me?"

"More than you would ever know," Jin hummed in contentment, bending down to rest his head against her shoulder. "It's the happiest I've felt in a while now, thank you for being here, eomma."

"My little one," she whispered gently. "It must be a really rough time."

"Really is," he agreed in a small voice. "Come, let's sit."

"Okay, also!" The woman turned on her heel, reaching for the little bag that she had placed in the corner. "This came in for you. The delivery guy was at the door so I picked it up for you."

"He just gave you a delivery? Without asking for anything?"

"That surprised me too," she spoke with a frown. "He didn't even ask me for a signature. Just gave me the bag and left."

"What-" Jin paused, eyes misting over with tears. "Ah..."

"What's in it?"

"It's a watch," he explained, clearing his throat and looking up at the ceiling in an attempt to keep his tears at bay. "The watch I bought for (Y/n)."

"Oh," she gasped lowly. "I'm sorry, sweetheart."

"No, it's okay," he shook his head quickly. "It's all okay."

"Would you like me to..." she trailed off, suddenly feeling uncertain of what she was about to say.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing, nothing," she quickly waved him off. Jin's eyebrows raised in question.

"Would I like you to what?"

Gulping down nervously, she touched the side of his arm gently.

"Would you like me to go meet her?"

"You'd do that?" Jin's eyes grew wide in surprise.

"Yeah," she murmured gently. "(Y/n) is a sweetheart, from the few times I met her, I had a feeling that she felt comfortable with me. Maybe I could speak with her?"

"About what?" Jin wondered.

"Nothing, really," she shrugged. "Even if I could comfort her, I guess I'd feel a little better about it."

"Eomma," Jin looked away sadly. "I'd be eternally grateful if you did that."

"You don't need to be," she laughed a little. "She's like my girl too."

"I'm sorry," he suddenly whispered. "I ruined everything."

"Don't you go down that road now," she warned, snatching the watch from Jin's hand with a little smile.

"I'll give this back to her. It's her's, after all."

Min Yoongi:

Yoongi took a moment to simply breathe out the anxiousness that seemed to claw at his throat from within, a nervous hand holding him up against the wall.

It had been four weeks since he'd been home. Four weeks since he'd been out of the country for work and four weeks since you last contacted him after notifying him of your shift from the house the two of you shared.

With a final deep sigh, Yoongi shook his head, entering the passcode and holding his breath until he was in and locked the door behind him.

The house was dark. Even though he was just in the living room, Yoongi could sense the absence of you, the absence of your things. He could feel the emptiness.

After a difficult moment of contemplation, Yoongi decided to text Jimin and let him know that he'd be over to stay the night at his place. There was just no way Yoongi could survive this silence.

Dragging his suitcase behind him, Yoongi left it next to the couch, briefly glancing at the bedroom door and immediately turning away. He'd avoid that room at all costs, at least until he felt strong enough to face the pain of you not being there.

Maybe he could just get himself a quick sip of water and slip out of the house without much thought. Yoongi was beginning to feel suffocated in the otherwise large space of his house. He scratched at his head absent-mindedly, looking around and walking into the kitchen, thoughts as loud as the silence surrounding him.

He stopped his journey not even two steps into the kitchen, hand still on the switch beside the refrigeration, eyes trained on the marble countertop.

Four books, two wooden picture frames, and a guitar that was neatly packed in its black Yamaha cover were all that were there to greet him.

Yoongi simply let his eyes flutter shut. Visual memories flashing behind his closed eyes, some of the purest moments that he spent with you, just the two of you at the top of a hill nearby, the morning sun, the guitar in your hands, and the notebook in his.

Yoongi couldn't stomach the fact that you felt the need to return a memory that he thought would remain burned into his brain until the day he took his last breath. You just had to.

Yoongi shuddered.

Suddenly all he could remember was the pain that he inflicted upon you. Harsh enough to make you leave behind a beautiful piece of the two of you.

Suddenly all Yoongi could think of, was you.

Jung Hoseok:

"Ew, cobwebs," Jungkook grimaced, still going to the extent of running his hand along the wall and looking back at it with a scowl.

"Hyung, your place is really dirty."

"I haven't been here in a while, Jungkook," Hoseok rolled his eyes at the maknae who was holding up his finger that had darkened with a thick layer of dirt.

"But still," Jungkook frowned, "you should've come by to keep it clean. What about your plants?"

"They must've died," Hoseok's voice dropped in disappointment. "Ugh."

"Uh oh," Jungkook shrugged, sensing danger and choosing not to comment any further. The young man disappeared into Hoseok's bedroom, leaving the saddened-looking man in the hallway.

Hoseok sighed deeply, his hand reaching out to touch the wall, or rather, the empty space on the wall that once had a picture of the two of you with his dog hung up for everyone to see.

"Hyung!"

Jungkook's voice called out for Hoseok, who dragged himself across the dusty floor in search of the younger lad.

"Look," Jungkook pointed to the bed when Hoseok entered. "It's (Y/n)'s clothes."

"Jungkook-ah," Hoseok reached for the maknae's shoulder. "Can you stay out for a minute, please?"

Blinking in shock at the tears that were shining in his hyung's eyes, Jungkook nodded without a single word, gently patting Hoseok on the back before walking out and closing the door on his way.

Hoseok took a moment to run his eyes over the pile of clothes on the bed. The pain that pinched his heart when he realized that they were only the clothes that he had bought for you made Hoseok look up with a dry chuckle that buzzed through his chest.

"Shit," he cursed with another bland laugh. "This sucks."

His hand reached for the leather jacket at the top of the pile, a single tear falling straight onto the material as he let his fingers trail over the length of the zip. He thought about it for a moment, and then let held the jacket up to his nose, burying the entirety of his face into the black material.

"Fuck, this perfume," Hoseok dropped to his knees, fingers clenched in pain. "Ugh, why did she have to leave this back?"

Jungkook stood outside the door, back to the wall and head tilted up in an attempt to not let his tears fall. Maybe he should just go water the dead plants. Maybe he shouldn't stand by and listen to the heart-breaking cries of his hyung.

Maybe he shouldn't be reaching for his phone to call you.

Park Jimin:

"Yo," Taehyung whistled, "I haven't seen this in ages."

"What?"

Jimin paused when his eyes landed on an all too familiar piece of technology.

"Where'd you find that?"

"In this drawer," Taehyung pointed to the little table on the right side of his bed. "I thought you lost it or something, it's here?"

"It's not mine," Jimin admitted. "I mean, I used to use it sometimes, but it's not mine."

"Really?" Taehyung looked surprised. "Whose is it?"

"Uh..." Jimin blinked, deep in thought.

"It needs to be charged," Taehyung observed after trying to turn the iPad on. "If it's not yours, then why do you still have it?"

"Show it to me," Jimin held his hand out towards Taehyung. "I haven't seen that in ages too."

"Dummy," Taehyung chuckled humorously. "It's in your bedroom and you haven't seen it in ages? What's wrong with you?"

"Everything," Jimin whispered under his breath, letting his hand trace the back of the iPad with a sad smile.

"This was (Y/n)'s."

"Oh," Taehyung was quick to deflate. "Sorry man."

"Nah," Jimin brushed it off with a brave smile. "It's all good."

"She left it back?"

"I mean," Jimin chuckled sadly. "She used to draw little characters on this. She used to draw us. It's only natural that she wouldn't keep this."

"Sorry man," Taehyung apologized again, feeling horrible for opening up a wound that he knew hadn't healed yet.

"It's alright," Jimin nodded. "I'll charge this and do something about it."

"Like?"

"I dunno," he admitted in a murmur. "Maybe try sending it to her. Maybe throw it out if she doesn't want it."

"Why don't you keep it for yourself?" Taehyung suggested. "It's a fully functional iPad. I mean, if you want, you could delete the drawings and stuff, but keep the iPad."

"I don't think I could," he whispered, letting his chubby fingers trace the back of the iPad again.

"This is her favorite color."

Kim Taehyung:

"...yeah, we had a bunch of-"

Taehyung froze at the sight of the package in front of his door.

"Hyung, I'll call you back."

"When wi-"

Taehyung disconnected the line before Seokjin could complete his sentence, the phone slipping into his pocket straight away.

Kicking the door open, Taehyung struggled to drag the heavy box inside, running towards the kitchen to bring a knife to help open the shipment.

It took him a painful moment to register that it wasn't the shoes that he'd ordered online, but almost everything that he had once bought for you.

His hand reached for the white envelope, a low gasp escaping his chest at the weight of it.

"I had to pay you back, please don't fight me on this."

Taehyung read the words out loud, not even bothering to look inside the envelope because he knew he'd find the exact amount of money that he had once paid for the loan that was over your head without you knowing.

Taehyung didn't know whether to laugh pathetically or cry even more miserably when he pulled out the Gucci Teddy Bear that he had bought for you just two months ago, his very own shirt over the stuffed animal which had been tucked in neatly at the corners. He knew just how much you loved wearing that shirt of his.

"Ugh (Y/n)," Taehyung groaned under his breath, pulling out the three broad canvas' that he had once given you, his very own version of the two of you on the day you first met in the middle of a football turf running after the same dog, another one of him holding your hand when the two of you were on a little boat, and the last one was a family portrait that he had attempted to paint, the two of you with a little black and brown furry ball of cuteness sitting on your laps, Yeontan.

"You're so annoying," he grumbled, staring numbly at the paintings before placing them on the floor and settling down onto his butt.

"I swear to God if you've put that camera in here, I'm coming for you."

Even if he felt like shit upon seeing all the things that you had sent back via mail, a strange sense of relief filled him from within when he couldn't find the camera in the massive box filled with things he was yet to remove from it.

"Good," he spoke to no one in particular. "At least you have something to remind you of us."

Jeon Jungkook:

"Jimin!"

"Dropping the honorifics, I see," Jimin's eyes narrowed at Jungkook who was marching towards his hyung.

"What- Jungkook-ah!" Jimin squeaked in surprise when Jungkook had him pinned to the wall, collars crushed within Jungkook's mighty grip and his jaw clenched in fury.

"Did you touch my things?"

"What? No!"

"What's this perfume on you? Where'd you find this?"

Jimin turned to look away when Jungkook bent further to sniff Jimin's neck.

"Hey- leave me! Creep," Jimin scowled at the tall man, pushing him by his chest and straightening out his shirt.

"Got my ironed shirt all crumpled, man!"

"Where'd you get this perfume?"

"I got it from that cupboard next to the door, you idiot!" Jimin slapped Jungkook on the chest. "God, you scared the shit out of me."

"The cupboard?" Jungkook turned to face the main door.

"Yeah," Jimin pointed to the brown one that was built into the wall. "There are like five different perfumes there, but why do they all smell so fruity? You don't usually wear that scent?"

Jungkook quickly skipped his way towards the cupboard, opening it and numbly staring at the bottles of perfume that were placed right beside his caps.

Noticing a little paper by the wall, Jungkook pulled it with his forefinger and thumb, his eyes immediately tearing up when he recognized your handwriting.

"They remind me of you. I can't keep them and they're too expensive to throw out. Give them to Jimin."

"What's wrong with you, man?" Jimin wondered out loud when he noticed the maknae grow eerily silent.

"The perfume," Jungkook looked at Jimin over his shoulder.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it."

"Okay," Jungkook nodded softly, a sad smile taking over his expression.

"Pick your least favorite one and leave it back for me. You can keep the rest."

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[mimisempai]

Stepping into the unknown

Summary

O.B. doesn't understand.

Since the events with the Loom and Loki, while the new TVA is slowly being built, Casey comes to visit him every day. 

He doesn't understand why. 

Even more, he doesn't understand why he looks forward to these visits now.

Notes

They'll get there...at their own pace.

On Ao3

Rating G - 1872 words

"Hello O.B.!"

Although his back was to the person who had just entered, O.B. couldn't help but smile when he heard the voice with its now familiar inflections.

He turned and replied, also smiling, "Hi, Casey."

The analyst was holding a cup of coffee, which he placed on the counter in front of O.B..

He asked, "So? Any progress?"

 O.B. shook his head and replied, "No, I'm just gathering data, and since we don't have Victor anymore, it's going to take a little longer. I'd like to go faster for Loki, but..."

Casey interrupted and pushed the mug towards him, "There's no point in rushing yourself, unlike before, we're not under time pressure anymore."

OB nodded and replied, "You're right," then took a sip of coffee, humming with contentment.

Casey gave a slight self-deprecating laugh before saying, "I may not be a scientist, but sometimes I'm capable of saying smart things."

OB was about to retort, but Casey had continued, "If you need any further information, let me know, I'd be happy to help. Anyway, I'm gonna get back to work before B15 comes looking for me. See ya!"

Just like that, he left without O.B. having a chance to say anything. The scientist had a little trouble understanding the analyst's reasons for coming here so often. 

He'd bring him coffee or a sandwich or something, and sometimes he'd even manage to get him to share a meal in the TVA cafeteria.  

O.B., who rarely received visits before Loki's arrival at the TVA, received them every day now and wasn't sure what to make of it.

What's more, O.B. had come to expect this impromptu visit almost every day.

Casey really was an entertaining person, with a cheerful, enthusiastic disposition, and O.B. was always pleasantly surprised by the way the other man was so enthusiastic when they discussed science and the like. When Casey had told him that he was a bank robber who had ended up on Alcatraz in his timeline, O.B. had thought he was joking, because it really wasn't the past he had imagined after getting to know Casey. 

But it was the truth. However, O.B. couldn't care less of his past, because the Casey that mattered was the one he was today. 

The one O.B. knew.

What O.B. didn't understand was why Casey came to see him. 

Most of the time, O.B. was busy researching and fixing thing for the TVA.  He was far from an entertaining guest, but the analyst kept coming back. 

Always thoughtful and kind.

Always the same smile.

Casey could see whoever he wanted up there, all kinds of people who were probably more fun than O.B. was. Especially since fraternization was no longer forbidden.

So why?

Why seek O.B.'s companionship?

A capsule containing a device to be repaired arrived through the communication tube and prevented him from thinking about it any further.

And if his eyes wandered to the door several times in the afternoon whenever he heard footsteps, he preferred to ignore the reason and immerse himself in his work instead.

In the end, he was so focused that he was taken aback a few hours later when Casey walked into the shop and asked, "Would you like to get something to eat in the cafeteria?"

O.B., a little annoyed at having been startled, couldn't stop the words from coming out of his mouth, "Why are you here?"

Casey looked at him in confusion and replied, still smiling, "I just told you, to have dinner in the cafeteria."

The scientist shook his head and replied, "No, I mean why do you come here every day to visit me?"

For the first time, O.B. saw Casey lose his smile as he replied, "You're the one who suggested I come here to talk about what I learned in your guidebook, and even though it's a new one now, I thought I might as well."

Oh, right, it was just from a scientific point of view.

O.B. ignored the disappointment at the idea that Casey wasn't coming for him, just for "science as Casey continued, "And also because I like you. Very much."

"What?"

Casey repeated, "I like you."

"Oh..."

That was all O.B. could think to say, so unprepared was he for this genuine response. He couldn't ignore the warmth that washed over him in reaction.

And this, this was completely uncharted territory for O.B.

He liked Casey a lot. 

Even more, if he was honest with himself. 

He was the first person to visit him without expecting anything in return. 

For centuries, O.B. hadn't really bonded with others. Or rather, he'd gotten used to people coming in sporadically, always asking him for something or giving him something to fix, and usually forgetting him when they came back years later.

So the new opportunity to create a lasting bond was something unfathomable. 

But he also couldn't ignore the fact that it was something he longed for.

So what was he waiting for?

Casey's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"I understand..."

The analyst had lost his smile now and O.B. had no time to react as Casey continued, "I'm far from having your or Victor's intelligence, I'm just a clerk, an office worker who happened to be in the right place at the right time. And I guess it's not very reassuring to know that you know someone who was a bank robber in another life. Sorry, O.B., I won't bother you again."

O.B. didn't even have time to say a word before Casey had turned his back on him and was striding out of his workshop, bumping into Hunter B-15 who had just arrived.

She turned to look at Casey who continued to walk away, then at O.B., raising an eyebrow, "What's wrong with him? I've never seen him look like that before."

O.B. sighed and replied, "I'm afraid it's my fault.

B15 looked surprised and asked, "You? But you're one of the nicest people I know, and Casey's one of the most patient, how is that possible?"

O.B. sheepishly replied, "I think he took my silence for a refusal."

Hunter B15's look went from surprised to confused as she replied, "I don't understand, O.B."

O.B. more or less told her what had led to this situation, and Hunter B15 found it hard to hold back a small smile. Between Mobius and Loki, and now O.B. and Casey... well, at least for these two the happy ending would come sooner than for Loki and Mobius.

She couldn't stop her heart from clenching at the thought of her two absent friends, then she pulled herself together and replied softly to O.B., "The thing that works best is honesty. Go and talk to him. I'm sure your misunderstanding will clear up quickly."

"Oh...okay, if you say so... I... I'll go right now."

O.B. untied his apron, brushed some invisible dust from his clothes, and set off at a hurried pace under B15's amused gaze.

O.B. realized that he had left his workshop without a clue as to where Casey might be.

"Would you like to get something to eat in the cafeteria?"

He felt it in his bones; he was sure he'd find him there.

When he walked through the cafeteria door, he saw him alone at a table, always the same table by the bay window.

For the first time, he wondered if Casey was as alone as he was. Then he called himself an idiot.

"I like you. A lot."

They were all the same here.

All finding their footing in this new TVA.

All redefining themselves.

All learning to bond.

What was true for O.B. was also true for Casey.

Casey looked out the window and hadn't seen him. 

O.B. approached slowly in the almost deserted cafeteria at this hour, then pulled the chair in front of the other man and said quietly, "You didn't even give me time to give you my answer."

Casey turned his head sharply in surprise, then replied flatly, "I didn't have to. I told you I understood."

O.B. shook his head gently and replied, "How could you possibly understand something I just realized?"

Casey looked at him in confusion, his hand nervously tapping on the table next to his plate. O.B. gently placed his hand on it to calm him and, looking him in the eye, said gently, "To answer your question, yes, I'll have dinner with you here."

Then he added, "I like you, too, Casey. Very much. I've come to appreciate the time we spend together. Your company is more than pleasant. But it wasn't until today that I realized how much I enjoyed and even looked forward to your daily visit. You must understand that it's absolutely new for me to form this kind of bond. I may have been married in my life before the TVA, but I don't remember it. All I know is my workshop. For centuries. So I have no idea how to do it."

Casey nodded slowly and replied, "Just like I only know this place and my desk."

O.B. continued, "I've never thought about whether you're smarter or less smart than me. As far as I'm concerned, you're smarter than most of the people who come to see me at the TVA, and most importantly, you're passionate about what I do, so that changes everything. And even if you were "just" an office worker, as you say, that doesn't matter to me, it's you as a person that I appreciate, not your job. Your cheerfulness, your enthusiasm, your kindness are just a few of the qualities I enjoy about you, Casey. And as for your past as a robber, that's what it is, your past, we all have one and now we have this life. It made us who we are today, didn't it?"

Casey nodded.

O.B. tightened his hand around Casey's and then added softly and firmly, "I really like you a lot, Casey."

Just then he saw it.

Finally back.

Casey's smile.

He added, smiling too, "I don't want to see you lose your smile because of me."

Casey replied quietly, "I haven't been around as long as you, or maybe my memory's been wiped, who knows. But I'm on the same page as you, you know. I have no idea how to do... this."

O.B. smiled and said a little shyly, "Then maybe we can learn together?"

Casey's smile widened, if that was possible, as he replied, "I'd like that."

He returned his hand under O.B.'s and their fingers intertwined as they continued to smile softly at each other.

Lost in each other's gaze, they didn't see another smile, that of Hunter B-15, who, after one last look at them, left the cafeteria unnoticed.

It was time, she thought, for happiness to settle within the walls of TVA, and if it started with O.B. and Casey, two of her friends, it was even better.

_________

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story 🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

#Loki #ouroboros #OB #Casey #OB x Casey #Casey x OB #Time nerds #LokiS2 #loki s2 spoilers #LokiS2Spoilers #LokiSeason2Spoilers #Loki Season 2 Spoilers

[asa-writes]

Dichotomy 3

“Grace”

Aemond x F! OC / Jacaerys x F! OC - 18+ MINORS DNI

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: period accurate gender stereotypes, sexism but it's from crispin so... yeah, slight fluff, mentions periods, sexually charged jokes, alcohol, aegon being a slight creep

Maena woke up early the next day. Seeing that Maellys was still asleep, she got dressed in a simple dress and trew her hair up into two loose buns which hung above her ears. She opened the door and smiled at her guard. "Good morning. Would it be possible for you to show me the training grounds? I would like to practice my archery."

The guard nodded and led her down the halls to the training grounds. As they walked, Maena couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement. She had always loved archery and had been practicing since she was a child. It helped her clear her mind and focus on the task at hand.

When they reached the training grounds, Maena took a deep breath and readied her bow. She closed her eyes for a moment, taking in the fresh air and the smell of grass. When she opened them again, she spotted Aemond across the field. He was also holding a sword, his eyes fixed on the target.

Maena's heart skipped a beat as she realized he was watching her. She took a deep breath and steadied herself, taking aim at the target. With a swift movement, she let go of the string, sending the arrow flying towards its target.

To her surprise, it hit dead center. She felt a rush of excitement and pride wash over her as she turned to face Aemond, who was now walking towards her.

"Good morning, Lady Maena," he said with a smile. "I didn't know you were also skilled in archery."

Maena felt a blush creep up her cheeks as she lowered her bow. "It's just a hobby of mine," she said, giving him a polite smile. The last thing she had wanted was for him to think that she was a simpering weak girl.

Aemond walked closer to her, their eyes locked together. "You're quite good," he said factually. He was so close that she could smell his scent - a mixture of pine and leather. She shrugged and gestured towards his sword. "Better than with a sword. Father had prohibited us from taking up blades."

Ser Criston Cole stepped out of the shadows and gave her a courteous smile. "And he is absolutely right. Lady Maena, would you like to continue for a bit before joining her royal Highness for breakfast? It could seem unseemly to be seen in the training grounds by the Queen."

Maena nodded, grateful for the interruption. She was finding it hard to focus with Aemond's presence so close to her. "Thank you, Ser Criston. I would appreciate that."

As she walked away from Aemond and towards the training dummies, Maena couldn't help but glance back at him. He was staring after her, a look of deep contemplation on his face.

Maena's heart raced as she wondered what he could be thinking. Did he notice her skills? Did he find her attractive? Or was he simply lost in thought?

Shaking her head, Maena focused on her training. She took up her bow once again and began to shoot arrows at the dummies with precision and skill.

As she trained, Maena couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. This was the first time in a long while that she had been able to practice her archery without worrying about the disapproval of her father or brothers.

After several minutes, Ser Criston approached her with a smile. "I must say, Lady Maena, you are quite skilled with a bow. I haven't seen such precision in a long while."

Maena felt a sense of pride wash over her once again as she lowered her bow. "Thank you, Ser Criston. I've been practicing for many years."

"Clearly," he said, his voice slightly patronizing. "But let us hurry now. The Queen awaits us for breakfast."

With that, Maena followed Ser Criston back to the castle, adrenaline pumping through her veins. As she walked, she couldn't help but think about Aemond and the way he looked at her. It was not lewd - no, no at all. It was also not loving. It almost seemed like he was analyzing her.

A servant opened the dining hall's door for them and Ser Criston Cole guided them to their seats. Queen Alicent greeted her with a nod and watched as her father, Lord Hightower whispered something in Prince Aegon's ear, making him chuckle. Maellys raised an eyebrow and nudged her sister. "Where were you?", she whispered, tring to hide her face behind a curtain of her hair.

Maena shook her head. "Doesn't matter.", she replied as quietly as she could. "Tell me about your morning." Maellys shrugged. "Just slept in, as usual," she said with a yawn. "I don't have much interest in archery or any of that." She glanced around and lowered her voice even more. "My Blood has begun again. I dread going out into public... I cannot just stay in my chambers, the princes might notice..."

Maena nodded soothingly, her mind still on Aemond. She glanced towards him, but he was deep in conversation with Lord Baratheon. The man was a giant; the way he towered over the rest of the hall made that obvious. His hair was dark and his eyes were steel, his face was scarred from years of battle. She turned towards Maellys and caressed her arm. "Don't fret, I'll be there for you. We can go out for some Embroidery or entertain Princess Helaena in her chambers if the weather gets worse." Maellys nodded thankfully and glanced at the Queen. "If she won't chase us around again."

As the meal progressed, Maena found herself growing increasingly restless. She wanted to speak to Aemond, to get to know him better, to understand why he seemed to enjoy speaking to her yet also enjoy avoiding her. Every time she tried to catch his eye, he seemed to be preoccupied with someone or something else.

It wasn't until the meal was finished and they were all getting up from the table that Maena finally got her chance. Aemond was walking towards her when Ser Criston intercepted him and whispered something in his ear.

Maena watched as Aemond's expression changed from one of interest to a look of irritation. He nodded curtly at Ser Criston and turned to leave, but not before catching Maena's eye.She saw a flicker of bitterness in his gaze before he turned away, disappearing into the crowd. Maena felt a pang of disappointment but shook it off, gently taking Maelys's hand and walking back to their chambers to gather their embroidery projects.

As they walked, Maena couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that had settled in her stomach. She thought about Aemond and wondered what Ser Criston could have said to him. Had it been about her?

They made their way to the gardens, searching for a quiet spot away from the prying eyes of the court. Yesterday's beautiful weather had changed into a cool, overcast day. As they sat down, Maena pulled out her embroidery and began working on a delicate floral pattern, hoping that it wouldn't start raining.

Maellys watched her sister work with interest. She had noticed Maena's stark change of mood. Yesterday she had been alarmed, cautious and dismayed, now she was quiet, reserved and seemed to draw her eyebrows together all of the time. "You seem distracted," she said softly. "Is everything alright?"

Maena looked up at her sister with a smile. "Yes, just lost in thought is all."

The two sisters worked in silence for a while before Maellys spoke up again. "Do you remember when Father said that we would be married off to the highest bidder?"

Maena frowned, recalling the conversation all too vividly. "Yes, I remember."

Maellys clenched her jaw, stabbing the cloth with vigour. "I don't want to be some man's puppet."

Maena nodded in agreement. "Neither do I." She paused for a moment before continuing softly. "But it's not as though we have a choice in the matter." Maellys sighed, resting her head on her sister's shoulder. "I know," she said resignedly.

The small council had gathered below the Iron Throne. Lord Otto Hightower gave everyone a sly smile. "We have received word from Dragonstone. They are willing to wed one of the Rivers sisters to Jacaerys." A murmur broke out. "Furthermore we know that Maellys is unsullied - her blood had started this night." Lord Varys scratched his chin. "Lady Maena's blood should come soon as well.", he stated. "My Queen, which one of them do you think is better to give away? Which one is better suited to Aemond?"

Queen Alicent frowned thoughtfully. "Maellys is older and has a more even temperament, she would be a safe bet for Jacaerys. As far as I have understood, she is quiet and easily pliable. Maena is more spirited and would be a better match for Aemond. It depends on what we want to achieve."

Lord Hightower leaned forward, resting his bearded chin on his wrinkly hands. "If we want to ensure the loyalty of the Blacks, then Maena is the better choice. She could give them a sense of superiority. If we want Aemond to be completely devoted to us, then Maellys is the way to go. She is pious and follows orders better than her sister, it seems."

The other council members nodded in agreement, and Queen Alicent considered their words carefully. She knew that the marriage alliance was crucial to her family's hold on the Iron Throne, but she also wanted to ensure that her son would be happy.

In the end, she made her decision. "We will wed Maellys to Jacaerys and Maena to Aemond," she declared firmly. "I believe it is the best course of action, both politically and personally. We will invite them for the Twins' nameday next month - the day where Maena will marry Aemond. Up until that point, it shall be our task to try and teach Maellys how to infiltrate the Blacks and to bring Maena closer to Aemond. We just have to make sure that they will slowly get pushed apart and most importantly - that they stay Virgins."

The council members murmured their agreement, and Ser Criston Cole gave a satisfied smile. "Excellent choice, my Queen," he said with a bow.

As they dispersed, Queen Alicent couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. She knew that Aemond would not be happy about being forced into a loveless marriage for political gain, but it was something that had to be done. At least he knew what his duty was. She hoped that he would come to accept his fate in time, for the good of their family and their future on the Iron Throne.

Meanwhile, Maena and Maellys continued to work on their embroidery, oblivious to the decisions that were being made about their futures. Maena found her mind wandering as she stitched, and she couldn't help but think about Aemond. She wondered what he was doing at that very moment and what Ser Criston Cole had told him.

They heard shuffling at the garden's entrance and saw Prince Aegon appearing, along with a retinue of servants. "May I join you?" he asked gruffly, his eyes flicking between the two sisters. Maellys pinched Maena and tried pulling her closer to her side. Aegon flared his nostrils. "Your future King has asked you something. I would at least expect some grace and humility from both of you.", he sneered, his eyes burning wickedly.

Maena and Maellys exchanged a quick look before nodding in unison. Aegon took a seat on the bench beside them, his eyes roving over their embroidery projects. Maena stiffened, but Maellys nudged her sister reassuringly. "It's alright," she murmured softly.

"Your stitching is excellent," Aegon said, his voice low and rasping. "Did your mother teach you?"Maellys nodded, feeling a blush creep up her cheeks. "Yes, she did. She taught us both.""I see," Aegon said with a smirk. "You must have a great deal of free time to indulge in such trivial pursuits."

Maena bristled slightly at the insult, but she kept her voice calm and gave him a sour smile. "Embroidery is not trivial, Your Grace. It is an art form that has been practiced for centuries."

Aegon leaned closer to her, his eyes flashing dangerously. "You dare to speak back to me?" Maena held his gaze steadily, refusing to back down. "I am simply defending my craft, Your Grace. I mean no disrespect."

Aegon studied her for a moment before sitting back with a sigh, laying his arms around the sisters. "Very well. You have spirit, I'll give you that." He turned to Maellys, who had been sitting quietly throughout the exchange. "And what about you? Are you as defiant as your sister?"

Maellys flushed and shook her head quickly. "No, Your Grace. I am obedient and dutiful.", she mumbled, trying her best to diffuse the situation. If she would have told him that she was just as strong as Maena, this discussion could turn sour and never-ending.

"Good," Aegon said with a nod of approval. "You will make a fine wife."

Maellys felt a knot form in her stomach at his words, but she forced a smile and batted her thick lashes at him. "Thank you, Your Grace. I will do my best to serve my future husband."

Aegon stood up abruptly after eyeing her thoroughly, his retinue following suit. "I must return to my duties. I will see you both... at a later point."

As soon as he left, Maena let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "That man is insufferable," she muttered.

Maellys nodded in agreement, still feeling uneasy about the whole situation. "I just hope that my future husband will be kind and understanding," she said softly. Maena agreed.

#hotd #hotd fanfiction #fanfiction #asa writes #asas fics #house of the dragon #prince aemond #aemond targaryen fic #aemond smut #aemond x oc #Jacaerys Velaryon #jacaerys x reader #jacaerys smut #jacaerys x oc #house of the dragon fanfiction #aegon targaryen #aegon II

[shiorinotshiori]

You can't stop me now, not like you did before (Eddie Munson x F!Reader)

You discovered the reason why Eddie broke up with you.

And you also find out that he still comes to basketball games, just to watch you cheer.

Part 1: You looked so good in green OG Ending: Finally Home

Warnings: Swearing, very slight violence, mentions of blood, Jason ugh

Notes: ' ' means it is the characters' inside thoughts

IDK HOW TO EDIT ON MY PHONE BUT I FORGOT TO SAY THAT ELLIOT'S AN OC BTW!! Hwbshsh

Word count: 3.3k

Request: "If there is a part two I will give anything to see y/n corner eddie and lay out that she still loves him and wants to be with him. Then when he starts the “you deserve better” she gets all “stop trying to make choices for me! I can make my own choices and my choice is YOU!” And then there is crying and probably making out under the bleachers" a/n: I did some changes hope thats ok! n sorry if this isn't what u expect ahghahd but yeah i didn't know if an 'under' exists in Hawkins High's bleachers so i changed the scene to hallways

I don't give permission to repost or translate my work please have mercy

It’s been months for both Eddie and you, but even so, the long haired ‘freak’ never seem to leave your mind. He’s been there since the day you met him, and even after the break-up, he was still there. It’s like Eddie’s been living in your head, rent-free; he made it his little home when he first gave you his shirt. You never understood Eddie’s change of mind regarding your relationship- yes, you knew his insecurities crept once in a while, but it never got to the point that he thought about breaking up with you. Before, it was never an option for Eddie. If there was a solution to his thoughts, it was always to fix his path but never leave you- at least that was until the ‘party’ thing; which you never knew about.

You spent days thinking about what had happened, that can’t be the only reason why you separated and left the most precious thing you had. For almost two years, you were attached to each other- as if one couldn’t live without the other. So why?

Little did you know you were about to find out soon.

The popular crowd arranged another get-together-event, just for the sake of partying and drinking and getting drunk- a.k.a, the usual. You needed something to distract yourself from the man who wouldn’t leave your mind so… you went, thinking that for a moment, you’d be able to forget and blur the painful memory of your last talk with Eddie. Ever since the separation, you never got the chance to talk with him again. Not when he kept avoiding you like the plague. At least that’s what you thought.

You and the other cheerleaders, along with the jocks, were hanging out in Andy’s house. You guys were upstairs, sat in a circle- just exchanging remarks to others’ story. You were not relating to any conversation that was going around in your circle, you stood up from where you were sitting. “Hey, I’m gonna go get drinks. Anyone want some?” you offered, hoping to get a very short time alone in the kitchen. “Ah, can I get a beer?” Jason raised his hand to get your attention, making sure you get him what he’s asking for. You only nodded back because it seems like he’s the only one who wanted to drink more.

You silently walked down the stairs, immediately making your way towards the refrigerator. Grabbing two more drinks, you went and rested yourself by the counter. You were slowly breathing in and out, getting that much needed air you were craving for while seated with people you don’t even like. Except for maybe Chrissy and Elliot. You just stood there, thinking being alone would help you but, as the silence continues- you just find your mind wondering back to a certain person. ‘Wish I was with Eddie instead’ you thought. God knows how much you miss silent times with Eddie. Believe it or not, Eddie can shut his mouth sometimes. He isn’t exactly as loud as he is whenever he’s with the Hellfire. There were times he enjoyed just laying on his bed, with his arms wrapped around you, staring at the trailer’s dirty ceiling.

As much as you dreaded to return to people who you only pretend to like, you had no other choice- you wanted a distraction and this was just it. Again, you silently walked up the stairs, hearing them laugh. You thought they were just laughing at each other’s stories again but, you stopped halfway when you heard a name. A name that never left you to find peace. “-Eddie.”

You knew that maybe it was just the usual ‘bring other’s down so we can feel better about ourselves’ thing that popular people tend to do. But no, you didn’t expect to find answers that explains the sudden break-up between you and Eddie. “Right! Like, I thought after our little talk with the freak, he’s still gonna swallow up his pride and stay with (Y/N). But, I guess we got it thru his head that they don’t belong together.” You heard a girl say.

“Wait- wait, so can you actually describe what happened? You talked? With the freak?” It was Andy’s turn to question, evident to his tone that he was frowning. Quickly followed by Jason, answering instead “Nah, we just went and explained that maybe… (Y/N) deserved better, ya know? Not that we actually care but, we can’t have OUR kind having connections, romantic or friendly, connections with the outcasts. It will ruin us! And I believe, we did (Y/N) a favor. She was once a lost soul, and we just saved her ass from being sacrificed to the devil.” There’s that joke, that running joke about Eddie being Satan’s disciple. If only they knew that Eddie’s better than all of them, not that they will ever admit that- but at least some people knew. You knew.

After hearing them laugh at your ex, it made you sick in the stomach. How could you ever thought that maybe you’d get along with them one day? Once again, you were so wrong about the people in Hawkins. Some people just don’t deserve a second chance.

It felt like ages before you realized what was happening- THEY were the reason why Eddie broke up with you. You were angry, no, you were furious. You could go up to them now, maybe even slap Jason’s smug face off, but you couldn’t. Deep inside you knew that wouldn’t be ideal, at least not for now. Your last game to cheer on, is in two days. You couldn’t find it in yourself to ruin (almost) everyone’s favorite event in Hawkins High, because if you confront them now- it’s for sure that hell will break loose. You were not that selfish, unlike those people. So, you decided to play pretend again, pretend you actually tolerate their kind. Then after the game, you’ll tell them to go fuck themselves. That was your plan.

You waited for another minute to pass before fully going upstairs, greeting them with one of your fake smiles. “Hi! Sorry I took so long to get our drinks, Jason. It’s just that uh… my mom called. She said she wanted me back like uh… right now. Says she needs me for something. So uh, sorry I have to go home early.” You almost threw the canned beer at Jason’s face, but you managed to refrain yourself from doing so. ‘Not today (Y/N), the day will come’ you promised yourself. You’d make him pay one of these days.

“You need a ri-“ before Elliot finished his sentence, you were down and running towards the door. You were still upset and didn’t want anyone near you, not even the most tolerable person in the basketball team.

You spent the remaining days, before the game, thinking on how you’d approach Eddie. Now that you knew, you want- NEED to talk to him. You were not gonna let this go so easy, not like the first time you thought Eddie’s deciding for himself. He was just provoked by some asshole who thinks he runs the whole school. You couldn’t let Eddie go, not again. Not after what you heard. You hoped that there was still a chance. You think that maybe you can convince Eddie that you don’t want anyone but him.

It’s finally game day. You never thought the day would come that you’d be wearing contacts. These past few days, with what you learned- plus your eye sight demanding for a better vision; gave you massive headaches. So, your mom convinced you to try and give contacts a second chance, hoping it would lessen your headaches too.

It’s game day, also your final cheer in Hawkins. You gave it your all, cheering and dancing your heart out. Of course, you didn’t know but, as usual- Eddie sat in the darkest corner. He couldn’t miss your last performance, he couldn’t miss the last time he’d be able to see you like this.

You were still standing near the bleachers after your routine, trying to get used to the contacts by looking far ahead of you. And that’s when you locked eyes with someone. That someone being the one and only Eddie Munson. What he didn’t expect, was to lock eyes with you. ‘Fuck! Is she staring at me? No, no, couldn’t be’ Eddie thought, he was confident you wouldn’t be able to see him. With his eyes still wide, he tried to look elsewhere, slightly scratching the back of his neck, pretending he didn’t just catch your gaze.

You felt a familiar lump in your throat, the same lump that kept hunting you for months of trying not to cry- about the guy who’s now acting oblivious in front of you. “Eddie…?” you whispered only to yourself, still not believing that he came to watch you again. Call yourself assuming but, you knew Eddie never had a reason to go to a basketball game before you. You were frozen at the spot, your eyes following the man’s retreating figure. Wait… retreating figure? You then realized that Eddie’s making his way down the bleachers, trying to desperately get away from you, again. Sitting at the last column made it easier for Eddie to go down and straight out the doors leading to the hallway.

You quickly ran towards the same door that Eddie wen thru. There was no time to waste, this was your chance, maybe the only chance you’d get to talk to Eddie again. You reached the hallway and saw Eddie’s back turned to you, he was resting an arm against one of the lockers. Eddie’s heart was racing so fast, not from the way he quickly ran to avoid you but, from the fact that you just saw him. ‘She saw me holy fuc-‘ his thoughts soon interrupted by you, calling his name. “Jesus Christ!” His arm that was resting- separated from the locker when his whole body literally jumped, spooked when you spoke. That’s another thing he didn’t expect, he didn’t expect you to follow him. So, hearing you almost scared him to death; aside from the fact that he got surprised by your voice, it was none other than YOUR voice.

He had no other choice but to face you- he had been wishing to see your face up close again but, not this way. Not when he didn’t know what to tell you now that you’re near him. Eddie never thought he’d talk to you, maybe if he did knew, he would’ve at least practiced some lines in front of the mirror.

“HI! No wait- I didn’t mean for that to come off so… aggressive…” he trailed off. ‘Yeah man, way to go Eddie’ he silently cursed. It’s been months okay, he didn’t know how to act around you anymore. You slowly came closer, swallowing before asking “Why… why were you at the game?” you just needed an answer before fully committing into telling him you now knew why he broke your relationship off.

“I uh… like basketball?” Eddie had never been a good liar, he was also aware of that. So, before you could reply and comment on his obvious lie- he just said the first thing that came into mind “You sure your boyfriend wouldn’t mind you talking to me?” now that shocked you, where the hell did Eddie got that idea?

“Wha- Boyfriend?! Eddie what are you talking about?”

“Oh, you know, the guy you hugged last game?” He scoffed, remembering the bitter sight he saw last time he went to watch you.

“Last game? Who did I hug last gam- You mean Elliot?! Wait! LAST GAME? You were also there?” At this point, you were flabbergasted. Eddie might have accidentally admitted that he’s been watching the recent games and it gave you the little tiniest bit of hope.

“Oh wow! Also an E- didn’t know you had a type (Y/N).” Eddie cocked his head to the side, saying it with pure sarcasm while smiling- a smile that’s not an indication of happiness. You did NOT expect that this will be your first conversation after months and it irritated you. “Eddie, me and Elly are not-“

“AND a nickname too! That sounds just like my name! This is great, so fantastic, sweetheart!” Eddie’s jealousy turned into frustration, an obvious one, as he raised both of his arms, bent in a way you’d think he was shrugging but that’s just Eddie letting out his frustration with his dramatic expressions. “Will you please stop cutting me off?! You didn’t give me a chance to talk last time! Now, I’m the one who’s gonna talk and you better listen to me Edward!” You’ve had enough of Eddie’s attitude, now it’s your turn to corner him against the lockers and tell him everything.

“Me and that guy you’re jealous of- are nothing BUT friends. I hugged him because he’s the only guy I felt comfortable with after you left me and avoided me as if I had some type of- some type of disease! I couldn’t even go near the Hellfire club! You avoided me like you hate me so much but then watch me in what? In every god fucking game there is after we broke up! I don’t understand what you want me to do Eddie. You’ve left me confused!” This felt familiar, but now the roles were reversed. You were now the one leaving Eddie speechless. Your eyes were hurting and your vision’s all blurry. Tears in your eyes made the contacts burn but you didn’t care. You were pouring your heart out to Eddie.

“Why? Why didn’t you just tell me that Jason and his stupid- his stupid friends told you something that made you decide for the both of us?” You were trying to choke out the words but, it was getting harder for you to talk. Beyond your tears, you saw Eddie looked down in shame for a moment, his fingers fiddling with his rings- a nervous mannerism of Eddie that you learned when you were dating.

He finally looked up to you, his own eyes filling with tears. “Because they were right (Y/N)! You deserve be-“

“Enough with the I deserve better bullshit Eddie! That’s not your decision to make, that was supposed to be MY choice and you took-“ You started accusingly pointing your index finger on Eddie’s chest “-you took that away the moment you broke up with me. You know damn well that my choice is always gonna be you. It’s always gonna be you Eddie. You can’t stop me now, not like you did before. Because I still love you, and I know you still love me too unless you miraculously started liking basketball that’s why you-“

And the moment you and Eddie were waiting for, happened. To feel each other’s lips again. Your hand that was tapping against Eddie’s chest was stopped by his own hand. He was holding yours to his chest, near his heart, as if to let you know that you were still the beat of it. Eddie’s eyes were closed but yours were surprised. His free arm snaked around your waist to pull you closer, tightening it each second, afraid to ever let you go again.

His tongue licked your lower lip, asking permission to enter. That’s when you closed your eyes and brought him closer- if that was even still possible. While your tongue moved with Eddie’s- he gently pressed your back against the lockers, his kiss was getting a bit aggressive; making up for the months he wasted moping around instead of doing this with you. Finally, both of you were out of breath.

Eddie rested his forehead against yours, last time he did, it did not end well- but this time? It was a new beginning as he said “ ‘Course I still love you sweetheart. What can I say? It was my mistake for letting you go. I- I never should’ve listened to those assholes, now I just wasted time that was supposed to be ours. Sorry, princess. Let me make it up to you?” Other people would assume that Eddie could never be defined as ‘soft’ and ‘gentle’- but this was your Eddie. He’s handling you like a fragile object against him as he hugged both of his arms around, resting his chin on top of your head.

With your faced pressed on his chest, you managed to mumble out “You already did, Eddie. Now, promise me we’ll leave together? For real this time?” You felt the vibration of his “MmHmm.”

He moved to gently lift your chin with his finger, one of his cold rings brushing on you, as he looked down to meet your eyes. “You think that- after that hot make out sesh in the middle of the hallway… I’m letting you go?” He chuckled “Yeah, no can do, sweetheart. I, guarantee you, that you’re now stuck- again- with Eddie the Banished!” There he goes again with his dramatic monologues, you thought but- it only made you smile as you look up to him, admiring him while posing like a total nerd- fist closed, arm extended up in the air with the other arm wrapped around you.

You were about to lean in and kiss him again when the doors to your right burst open, loud victorious screams were heard before it stopped, ‘Oh righhhht, the game’ which both you and Eddie totally forgot- now you’ve got the rest of the cheerleaders and the basketball team staring at the both of you; in a very promising position.

“(Y/N)? What the fuck? Is this freak bothering you again?” Jason stepped forward, ready to show his friends that he’s gonna be the ‘hero’ of the day again. “Actually no, I don’t think my boyfriend, will ever bother me. What ya’ think Eddie?”

“No, no, I don’t think I do bother you, sweetheart. Considering that we just finished MAKING OUT in the HALLWAY” Eddie made sure to emphasize the words ‘making out’ and ‘hallway’ which made you laugh. And, the look of your former teammates was priceless. It’s just the usual disgusted looks but, it was better than their fake smiles and greetings.

“You’re throwing your life away (Y/N), You’re really gonna go back to this los-“ a girl started but immediately gasped when you held your middle finger up to her. “Yes, and I, quit. I mean, it was the last game but yeah. Go fuck yourselves!” You held a sweet but sarcastic smile. Your hand making its way towards Eddie’s, to intertwine them.

As you walk away from the crowd, “You fre-!” You and Eddie heard Jason started, so you turn around, ready to deal with another drama scene when you saw Jason had his fist up in the air, ready to swing at Eddie- when someone punched Jason hard. On the face. His nose bleeding. Oh shit it’s bleeding. “That’s what you get for being an asshole, you had it coming mate. Not sorry.” You looked at Elliot, who punched Jason by the way. You mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ to him. Elliot nodded to both Eddie and you- before walking to the opposite direction. Also leaving the toxic people behind.

You were able to breathe again, finally that’s over. “Hey… sorry for the accusation earlier. I was just, y’know, kind of jealous? But he’s cool, he’s cool.” Eddie shyly admitted, you smiled at your boyfriend, taking his fidgeting hands. “S’kay, at least I got you back now.” You continued to walk down the hallway with Eddie, hands still together.

Eddie then asked you a question he’s been meaning to ask since you two made up. “So, princess… since we’re uhm, together again…”

“What is it, Eddie?”

“Can the fair maiden, join me, in today’s Hellfire campaign?” Eddie smiled as he heard you squeal from excitement. He sure missed his favorite player and you with your one and only dungeon master.

You were so glad to have him back, now stronger than ever. Eddie will never make the same mistake again, not when you showed him everyday that you needed him as much as he needed you.

You never deserved better, because Eddie Munson was the best.

_________________________________________

Here's your request! @stormcellarwitch hope you liked it <3

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #reader x eddie munson #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fics #eddie munson fic #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson st #eddie munson stranger things #stranger things #stranger things x reader #eddie x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson fluff

[get-wr3ckered]

| Karma- (GN Reader x The Bad Batch) |

Warnings: SW cursing but does that actually need a warning? Other than that I don’t think any warnings are warranted.

Wordcount: 1,200+

Notes:

Reader has an established nickname/ callsign.

While Reader is gender neutral, they're AFAB.

I think I’ve added all the appropriate warnings and tags but if I’ve missed something or tagged it incorrectly feel free to let me know and I’ll fix it asap!

Am I writing this without actually having started watching TBB yet? Yes I am. Am I praying that from the brief snippet we saw of the Batch in SWTCW that I’m doing their characterisation some semblance of justice? Also yes.

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-Chapter Two-

< Previous Next >

"Alright," Hunter voiced once they made the jump to hyperspace, drawing his brother's focus. He nodded to Tech who'd already had his datapad in hand, Cody's briefing no doubt at the ready. "What're we in for?"

Tech was silent for a moment. His eyes scanning quickly over the words in front of him. "Well, it's certainly not good."

"You don't say," Crosshair jibed. The eye roll that would've no doubt followed never came to be as Hunter shot a warning look his way.

Unbothered by Crosshair's words, Tech read on through Commander Cody's briefing. "It appears that a Special Operative known as 'Karma' has been captured by the Separatists, General Grievous to be precise."

Hunter gave a slow nod, gesturing for Tech to continue, seemingly unaware of the slight furrow that pulled at Echo's brows.

"They were to gather vital information on a new make of Battle Droid that has been giving the GAR particular trouble as of late." Adjusting his goggles, he continued. "They were assigned the task three rotations ago. I wonder why Commander Cody is so adamant about this 'Karma' being retrieved so swiftly. The Separatists have held Republic prisoners for considerably longer before any rescues were attempted."

"It's obvious isn't it?" Crosshair scoffed, Tech furrowed his brow and turned to his brother questioningly. "Commander Cody's got a soft spot for this one."

"Stow it, Cross," Hunter sighed. Crosshair's comment wasn't helpful, and even if that were the case, it wasn't any of their business. Turning his attention to Echo, Hunter took note of the thoughtful look twisting at his pallid features. "Echo, you good?"

Echo let out a quiet hum in response. He knew that callsign from somewhere and yet he couldn't quite place where. It was almost mocking him, the way the name nagged at him to remember something just out of reach.

"Echo?" Hunter tried again but got no response.

The furrow of Echo's brow deepened momentarily. The edges of a blurred memory began to clear up, a seemingly inconsequential interaction clawing its way to the surface... And then the realisation slammed into him like an out-of-control speeder.

"What?" Wrecker guffawed, exchanging a look with the others as Echo's demeanour dropped without a word. "You know 'em or something?"

"Or something," Echo muttered cryptically, his eyes widening a fraction as his mind danced with the memory of how he knew you and who had been the cause of your brief meeting.

Sensing his reluctance to speak further, Hunter turned back to Tech. "What's our ETA looking like?"

Turning back to the Pilot's controls, Tech looked them over briefly before answering. "We'll be dropping out of Hyperspace in a moment, by my calculations we'll be on the ground in eleven minutes or so."

"Let's gear up then."

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Alarms blaring was not an ideal wake-up call, but given you were currently stuck with the Separatists you supposed it could've been worse, a lot worse.

You weren't sure when you'd nodded off in all honesty but after three rotations of forcing yourself to stay awake, the small amount of unwanted rest came as a relief. The tired sting of your eyes wasn't as intense, your limbs didn't feel as heavy and the pounding in your head had dispersed a little. It seemed your impromptu nap had done a world of good.

Shimmying forward, as far from the wall as your restraints would allow, you peeked through to where the droids had been stationed... only to find them nowhere in sight.

'What the kriff is going on?' You silently asked yourself as you move back to the wall to give yourself some slack on the restraints.

While the alarm itself was somewhat concerning, this was the first instance since your capture that you had been left unsupervised and you were not about to waste this opportunity. Twisting your bound wrists behind your back, you manoeuvred your flesh hand to grasp the section of your prosthetic that connected to your arm. Working quickly, your fingers danced over the plastoid shell of your bionic limb, seeking out the release mechanism with practised ease.

Your prosthetic fell limp, a quiet clatter hanging in the air as it fell to the floor unceremoniously. Pulling your now hand-free wrist from the restraints was all too easy- getting the prosthetic back on without the use of your still bound hand however, not so much. It took a great deal of fighting with the limp hand and an uncomfortable amount of time trying to position it just right between your knees but eventually, you managed to click the artificial hand back into place.

With your hand firmly secured, breaking free of the remaining restraint was a breeze. The worn metal clasp that kept them shut didn't hold up when pitted against the strength of your artificial fingers. The small scratches left in the plastoid covering of your fingers were a small price to pay for being free of those damned restraints.

Pinpointing your escape route wasn't hard, you'd spent the majority of your captivity planning for this very moment. Crossing over to the left side of the cell, you made quick work of prying the vent cover from the wall, a silent thank you to the Separatists for being stupid enough to install vents in their cells passed briefly through your thoughts as you hauled yourself inside the small shaft, taking care to prop the cover back into place as best you could.

Climbing through the vent system, you aimed to put as much distance between you and the detention centre as possible. After several minutes of manoeuvring through the tight space, you paused briefly both to catch your breath and to try and get ahold of your partner-in-crime.

Sliding the plastoid panel that covered the back of your artificial hand to the side, you revealed the small blinking light of your comm. A sigh of relief fell from your lips. It was still active, the Separatists hadn't clocked the signal and put a block in place.

It really was a blessing how oblivious Separatist droids were sometimes. After all, who wouldn't check a bionic limb for built-in trackers or comms and such? Seppie droids, that's who.

"Hey Buddy," You tested, voice low as the clanking of metal feet echoed beneath you. "You reading me?"

A painful silence hung over you.

"Bewoop!"

Never in your life had you been so glad to hear the high-pitched beeps of a droid.

"For a second there I thought the Seppies gotcha," You mused, carefully inching forward through the vent system once more. "Please tell me this alarm's got nothing to do with you."

The sad sequence of beeps that crackled over your shared frequency wasn't comforting.

"Alright Buddy, it's not your fault." You assured despite the little droid admitting to having been spotted by a squad of battle droids. "You've got the data right?"

"Boop!"

"Good work little guy," You praised softly. "Alright, I need you to hightail it outta here with that data. If they catch you, they'll scrap you."

Another series of sad beeps came through, leaving you to shake your head at the droid despite it being unable to see you.

"Don't worry 'bout me, Buddy," You sighed. "Getting that data back to Cody is all that matters right now. I've gotten myself out of tighter spots, and I'll get myself out of this alright?"

With a quiet confirmation from the small droid, the comms channel went dead. Now all you could do was pray that Buddy got that data back to Cody.

It was out of your hands now.

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Taglist: @staycalmandhugaclone @photowizard17 @burningfieldof-clover @actuallybarb

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#star wars fic #star wars #star wars tbb #star wars clone wars #the bad batch #clone force 99 #gn reader #x reader

[mickeys-malarkey]

Pt. 2/3: Expanding (Mostly) On My DCTL & TLO Thoughts

Thanks to reading @inkdemonapologist's thoughts on TLO, I can see where people are coming from saying it's an unnecessary addition to/doesn't fit with the rest of the series, etc. But I think the opposite is the case specifically because of some of the things she hit on. She asks why Joey would actually want his machine to amplify people's hidden emotions and personality traits to a cartoonishly extreme degree (because the inkwell's hive mind said the ink machine was never broken in the first place, so that must mean it was an intended function), and I think it's for one of the same reasons he wrote TIOL:

It's an S.O.S.

I think the ink didn't just make those infected with it into cartoonish personifications of their own emotions and personality traits, I think they became cartoonish personifications of Joey's emotions and personality traits. Look at the actual subjects of some of the amplified emotions/personality traits we see in BATIM, DCTL, and TLO, after everything we noticed in Part One of my analysis/theory.

The BATIM bosses seem more focused on the desire part of Joey's psyche:

Sammy desires someone who will protect and save him, tries his best to please and show love to the one he thinks can do that, but Bendy was a soulless monster that didn't care about anyone or anything (read “Henry didn't know about the full picture, just that he needed to take care of what he did understand before irreversible damage was done” and “Nathan was an abusive, manipulative monster”) and kills him (read “leaves to protect his marriage and his physical and mental health” and “turns him into an abusive, manipulative monster just like himself”), causing him to lash out because he feels betrayed and abandoned. He also goes from desiring to shed the human form he was born in (read “leave behind his poor-person origins and reinvent himself”), thinking that will be part of what sets him free in DCTL, to desiring to shed the ink form (read “escape the persona and terrible legacy”) that he was manipulated into trapping himself in by the ink (read “by Nathan”) when we see him in BATIM (by the way, please forgive all the extra colored text in this part of the list, I need it to illustrate which quotes belong to which character).

“That day the ink found me. It wanted me. He wanted me. At first I was scared. At first I could feel it inside, the drops I'd swallowed by accident. By luck. I could feel them moving around inside me. I shouldn't have been scared. I was foolish. Then the cravings started. I needed more ink. There was no choice. I had to. And the more I consumed the more I understood. The more I felt him. Heard him. I need to please him.” ~ Sammy Lawrence, Dreams Come to Life, pg. 259

“‘Joey now, Nathan,’ I said, taking a swig. Oban on the rocks. Delicious. How they managed to get it into New York City during Prohibition, I still to this day don't know. But I'll tell you one thing, since then my bar has never been without a bottle of the stuff. ‘And you can call me Nate! It's all about reinvention, isn't it?’ He smiled broadly and downed his drink in one gulp. ‘Let's dance! There are some mighty fine dolls on the floor tonight.’ I nodded and indicated I'd be right with him once I finished my drink. I returned the glass to the mirror-backed bar and gave the bartender a nod as he took it from me. I glanced at myself, I looked sharp in my tuxedo. I looked right. Joey and Nate. I shook my head at my reflection. This wasn't a reinvention. This was who I'd always been. Here, in this moment, in this suit, in this tie, in these shoes. These dancing shoes. I was Joey Drew. And Joey Drew was here to stay. I made my way to the mirrored floor, and boy oh boy, did I dance.” ~ Joey Drew, The Illusion of Living, pg. 45-46

“It's been quite a struggle to put this into words, Nathan. After so many years, you know I'd never ask unless it was dire. But when a man's in a spot, he should call upon his friends. Truth is… well, the studio is… *slight tremor in voice* coming up a little short. Hit a few unexpected bumps. If you could… lend us the amount I mentioned in my last letter *inhale* it would be a big help to me… Hope this reaches you in South America. You and Tessa enjoy your vacation.” ~ Joey Drew, Boris and the Dark Survival

“He appears from the shadows to rain his sweet blessings upon me. I see you, my savior. I pray you hear me. Those old songs, yes, I still sing them. I know you are coming to save me. And I will be swept into your final loving embrace. But, love requires sacrifice. Can I get an amen?” ~ Sammy Lawrence, Bendy and the Ink Machine, ch. 2

“She bent down. ‘It's just me, Arthur, it's just Isabel.’ She reached out her hand. ‘I'm going to touch your shoulder now. It's just me.’ She did so, very gently. She looked like an angel then, a reference I have obviously taken away and used later in my career, as you know. She was delicate, with a high sweet voice, and her touch seemed to cure him. The man slowly sat up, and she held him close now. I watched this bit of theater and was moved.” ~ Joey Drew, The Illusion of Living, pg. 125

“…But here, at home, the things I keep and display, those are deeply personal things. Not trophies, but artifacts… …A letter from Henry. You might not think I'd keep such a thing, but I do. I have no ill will toward the man as you know. Him leaving, as I said, was the best thing that could have happened to the studio. His letter reminds me of that…” ~ Joey Drew, The Illusion of Living, pg. 218

“…The time of sacrifice is at hand! And then, I will finally be freed from this… prison. This inky… dark… abyss I call a body…” ~ Sammy Lawrence, Bendy and the Ink Machine, ch. 2

“Henry! Come visit the old workshop… There's something I need to show you.” ~ Joey Drew, Bendy and the Ink Machine, ch. 5

Sounds to me like there might be some hidden context behind some of these remarks… Could he have (at least eventually) meant Henry leaving was a good thing a little more genuinely, some part of him (way) deep down understanding that his friend couldn't stay? That it was an act of self-sacrificial love to let him go? And could this mean he was going to sacrifice what was left his image in confessing everything to Henry, reinforcing that the worrying newspaper in his storage room was Nathan's doing, not his? 🤔

Back to things I'm more certain about, I think the split here – the fact Joey thought both of them would protect and save him in different ways – explains why Sammy seems to be talking to/about multiple different people when we meet him again in BATIM Chapter 5. He... he literally is. He's not (entirely) screaming about Bendy and Joey, he's screaming exaggerated versions of what Joey wished he could say to/about Henry and Nathan.

“BETRAYED!!! ABANDONED!!! I trusted you! I gave you everything… and you left me to rot! …Why? WHY?! He said he'd save me! He said he'd set me free! Now, I have nothing. NOTHING!!! He lies! HE ALWAYS LIES!!! My lord! Why have you forsaken me?! No. Don't look at me. Stay away. HA! You lied to me. You said I'd be free. Well, I'm going to free you now. Free your head right off your shoulders! Sheep, sheep, sheep… it's time for… sleep.” ~ Sammy Lawrence, Bendy and the Ink Machine, ch. 5

Susie desires to be perfect and loved and is devastated when someone she admired and who gave her opportunities to make her dreams come true (read “Nathan, Detective Sinclair, etc.”) takes away what she cherishes (read “Henry plus who knows who and what else,” “opportunities to tag along on his investigations,” etc.) and tells her that she's unlovable trash, which drives her to try harder and harder to make herself perfect, destroying herself and agreeing to horrible things that she never should've. She also desires to be safe, secure, stable, and be able to trust those around her, which when violated, causes her to lose trust in everyone, suspect everyone of lying, conspiring, wanting to betray and take advantage of her, leading her to harming innocents in her quests for self-preservation and vengeance, while also creating a split between two very conflicting sides of herself: the “Alice Angel side” that wants to do all the horrible things, and the “Susie Campbell side” that's heartbroken over the fact that she's doing it (let's call Joey's versions of this his “Joey Drew side” and his “Joseph Dempsey side,” based on the fact he tells us all about how he started going by “Joey” when he started the Studio Chapter of his life and the theory that “Drew” is actually a sort of stage name, not his legal one).

“Once upon a time, there was an angel. And she was beautiful. And loved by all. *Voice breaks with tears* She was perfect. No matter what Joey says.” ~ Susie Campbell/Twisted Alice, Bendy and the Ink Machine, ch. 3

“…I appreciated the advance notice of what event I was attending, but to be honest wondered if he felt I hadn't dressed properly for the occasion at the art gallery. It stung a bit, and while my ego wasn't hurt (I never took that sort of thing personally) it did tell me that the detective was not someone I had any interest in becoming friends with in the future… …The fact was, of course, I didn't have many options in my closet, but I did my best to look put together and accomplished the task fairly easily. The good thing with my appearance is that it is very suited to a suit, so even the most basic one looks like it was tailored to fit me…” ~ Joey Drew, The Illusion of Living, pg. 129 (emphasis added)

“They told me I was perfect for the role. Absolutely perfect. Now Joey's going around saying things behind closed doors. I can always tell. Now he wants to meet again tomorrow. Says he has an ‘opportunity’ for me. I'll hear him out. But if that smooth talker thinks he can double-cross an angel and get away with it, well. *Evil chuckle* Oh he's got another thing coming. *Dangerous tone* Alice doesn't like liars.” ~ Susie Campbell/Twisted Alice, Bendy and the Ink Machine, ch. 3 (emphasis added)

“I didn't love this probing. I didn't trust it. They say it's women who love to gossip, but in my experience men love it just as much; they just do it differently. They hide it behind short sentences and indirect questions. What did Kyle care about my experience with shoes? I wondered. Probably trying to figure out my past, and that was none of his business. Then I told myself it didn't matter because I didn't care what he thought. He might have been richer than me at the time, but that's where his superiority ended. He was simple; he was downright silly. And his attempt to get more from me, to push me to admit something that wasn't true, was lazy and obvious. Never approved of a lazy man.” ~ Joey Drew, The Illusion of Living, pg. 24 (emphasis added)

Bertrum desires the respect of others and praise for his work, and is so infuriated when he's belittled by and receives nothing but constant criticism and demands for change from someone who claims to respect, understand, and admire him but clearly doesn't (read “Nathan—” seriously, especially after my experience with my ex and his family, my gosh does his remark about the rewriting of history being a blemish make me wanna sock him! Talk to me when you can stop rewriting everything Joey says), that he is literally consumed by and made one with his doomed creation in his attempts to outshine and get back at him, nothing but an extremely miserable piece of his former self remaining.

“A grand idea is one that requires care and attention. A well calculated understanding between creation… and creator. I was told that Mr. Drew hired me to build his park for this very reason. He trusted my eye to craft and design something wondrous and exciting. So why do my notes keep coming back dripping with his critical red pen?! Changes! Corrections! Questions that a child wouldn't ask! Mr. Drew may consider himself a dreamer… but in the end, he's the man who can see the island but could never build the boat himself.” ~ Bertrum Piedmont, BATDR teaser audio log dated May 19th, 1940 (emphasis added)

“Joey definitely told me this [murder mystery] story early on in our friendship and I had the pleasure of watching him share it several other times, seeing how he perfected the telling of it. I'd say that this version is near perfect, and it's a good thing he wrote it down when he did because in later years it became more rambling, and characters would get mixed up. I even found myself correcting him once or twice, which you can imagine he did not appreciate…” ~ Nathan Arch, The Illusion of Living, pg. 98 (emphasis added)

“…The only important question is this: Who are we, Henry? I thought I knew who I was… but… the success starved me. Nothing left but lines on a page. In the end, we followed two different roads of our own making. You, a lovely family… Me… a crooked empire. And my road burned. I let our creations become my life…” ~ Joey Drew, Bendy and the Ink Machine, ch. 5

Meanwhile, the infected in TLO are more focused on the emotional reaction part of Joey's psyche:

This one's just gonna hafta be a bullet point list; there's just way too much material.

Bill is afraid of the future; of being out of control; of his dad's businesses, which will eventually be his own (read “the studio”); that he's a monster just like his dad (read “Nathan”) and cannot fix anything only destroy; of the people that his dad does business with (read “that he has to do business with, e.g., Nathan, the investors, etc.”); of indulging his desire to run away and start a new life and what that would entail, e.g., losing the safety his dad's (read “Nathan's”) money and connections do provide him. It's from this place of fear that we see Bill try to escape reality and forget the truth, but also what finally drives him to try and fight the monster when he realizes the full magnitude of the situation.

Constance is angry that she has no freedom; that she can't say what she wants and get it; at the inequality/power imbalances/etc. she suffers under (e.g., the fact that if she makes one wrong move her life could be ruined meanwhile so many others are just untouchable); at the fact she's not like the people she admires; at how everyone gossips about her and her sisters' love lives (read “his and probably also Henry and Nathan's love lives” *stares at every time Buddy got upset that people kept assuming he and Dot were dating and when Norman expressed surprise he hadn't once caught them -ahem- “fooling around,” and then at when Joey used his Angel & Devil play as a way to say “people will assume you're sleeping with someone if you're too affectionate but as long as the two of you know that ain't how it is then that's all that matters,” and then at when Constance almost got in big trouble with Bill's dad because he assumed she was trying to lure his son into marriage for his money and she flew into a rage*); at the lies and social games going on around her; at how Andrew (read “Nathan, Sammy, Jack, Norman, etc.”), someone who claims to love her, doesn't actually care and manipulatively tries to change the narrative around their breakup (read “Henry leaving”) taking her power away and making her the villain; that the people around her won't/can't help her; that she can't be her true self and has been forced to be what others want for so long that she doesn't even know what her own desires are— which she starts figuring out and trying to assert herself through discovering she might want nothing to do with romance ever and just want to focus on her career (“Nothing romantic, my darling, you don't need to run through the wall leaving a Joey-shaped hole in its place.” ~ Abby Lambert, The Illusion of Living, pg. 75 “…I knew I was a catch. But I was meant to swim the seas alone.” ~ Joey Drew, The Illusion of Living, pg. 166). It's from this place of anger that we see Constance engage in cruel, unreasonable, and even violent outbursts as well as experience massive power trips, but it's also what keeps her on the path of trying to sabotage the machine and cure ink infection. She's also the character most vocal about what's wrong in her life (as you can probably tell from the sheer length of this list entry), just like how anger is the emotion seen most often in Joey (“That's the Joey I knew.” ~ Henry Stein in one of his BATIM Chapter 4 invisible ink messages, in reference to the first audio log where we hear Joey's charmer facade drop when he flies into a shouting rage because he didn't realize he was still being recorded, previously only having heard about these common occurrences secondhand… Y'know, now I think about it, that tape itself actually addresses Joey disliking who he was being forced to be pretty directly. “…Okay, let's stop it right there. I can only do so many takes of this trash in a day…” ~ Joey Drew, Bendy and the Ink Machine, ch. 4).

Brant is ashamed of his poor-person origins and invisibility/mediocrity; of the fact his pride is bruised so easily and it makes him do stupid things; of the underhanded crap he's having to do in order to get the attention, respect, and praise he craves; of the fact he betrayed the trust of a nice person he'd started to get attached to (read “all his employees and friends”); of the fact that he's not satisfied with the idea of getting married, having kids and dying like everyone else (read “Henry”) seems to be, as seen in how he wonders if there's something wrong with him as he contemplates the obituaries and their repetition of statements like “loving husband and father.” It's from this place of shame that we see Brant engage in downright manipulative behavior, but he's also the main character that we see the least of (read “emotion we have the hardest time seeing for the longest”), being “killed” by the Ink Demon (read “the Studio Chapter of his life”) shortly after he meets (read “starts”) it; but then he comes back near the end of the book (read “end of Joey's life”), his shame so strong and actually focused on the correct things that it drives him to try and make things right with those he wronged and join the fight against JDS (related: I don't think we should be dismissing the “Phil 2:03” note on Joey's cork board as not actually referring to such a freakishly relevant Bible verse because his appointments with Dr. Hackenbush are at weird times. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves” does not feel like a coincidence, and as I said it seems like Nathan was not happy that Joey's conscience grew so loud and he reached out to Henry for help in the end; who knows how much of that very surreal memory was altered by outside forces for the sake of keeping Henry and Joey at odds beyond the grave? 👀).

Scott is paranoid that he's in constant danger and there's no escape for any of them, and is proven right (speaking of which, doesn't Joey being the one wrangling all the stray Lost Ones who almost escape make much more sense if 1: he's the literal center of the hive mind, so he can see exactly where those infected thoroughly enough with the right kind of ink are and what they're doing – as @inkdemonapologist pointed out, Buddy was clearly not exposed to the same kind of ink as Sammy+, explaining why Joey could never find him but he apparently eventually knew all about Sammy's Bendy worship and everything – and 2: he's not the real boss, he's just another puppet trapped in Nathan's twisted games).

Altogether, you get quite the full picture, indeed, if you ask me.

Maybe they didn't have everything planned this way from the very beginning, maybe they worked it all in when they realized how well it works (Lord knows I've done that, myself, as a writer. Especially in my and my bestie's BATIM fanfic, funnily enough), but the patterns match way too perfectly, at this point.

I think it's fascinating how this shows off how all of Joey's behavior that we perceive as being “because he's just an egotistical jerkwad like that” – asserting dominance and superiority at every opportunity, complimenting himself and putting others down constantly, being a control freak, lashing out for no good reason, etc. – is also completely normal behavior for people who have no freedom, hate themselves, have been wronged by others, etc…

“That big question. Why? The biggest of all the ‘W’ questions, I have found over my years, and often the hardest to answer. Especially when the why disguises itself as something else.” ~ Joey Drew, The Illusion of Living, pg. 21 (emphasis added)

“‘What?’ The most used of the ‘W’ questions, and I think the most useless…” ~ Joey Drew, The Illusion of Living, pg. 33

…It's also a fascinating way to illustrate how trauma often causes someone to cause the same trauma in others (whether intentionally or unintentionally), who cause the same trauma in others as well (thinking of how Alice stole Boris from Henry and then kept dangling the hope of achieving the dream of saving Boris in front of him until finally his cherished one and his dream were destroyed in the most devastating way possible), spiraling on and on into countless vicious cycles… until somebody decides to be the one to break that cycle. 👀

I think Joey, himself, has attempted this at points besides when he contacted Henry, though the attempts were unsuccessful for many reasons. From the more-obvious “his brain was still in Nathan's blender” to… well, my next point:

Anyone notice that both Joey and Bill clearly dissociate? I've personally experienced events both like Joey's window story where a switch flipped in my brain and suddenly nothing felt real (I usually tell people it feels like I'm dreaming, but “watching a play” is also an accurate description. Also, holy heck, this poor guy has literally been surrounded by death since he was 10, no wonder he's such a mess) and like Bill's experiences of memory blackouts whilst his body runs on autopilot. Notice how similar Brant's reaction to dissociated Bill (“He seemed strangely out of sorts; maybe he was just drunk. But it was different. It spooked me a little.”) is to Sammy's reaction to Bendy's (Joey's) smile (“That smile… Something's just wrong with that smile.” By the way, why don't I remember anyone talking about how it's clearly implied that Mr. Unger could tell Joey's hand perfectly matches Bendy's hand print in DCTL? I was not expecting the connection between the two to just be… spelled out like that). This suggests to me (as someone who's heard similar descriptions of her dissociated self) that Joey's smiles are not always malicious in nature as people tend to assume, but a sign that he's in terrible shape and trying to cope. *Stares at Nathan's Elves and the Shoemaker note* It also seems that we get further confirmation that his coping smiles are frequently caused by Nathan (and that Nathan enjoys not only watching Joey suffer, but making his reaction to suffering that people find the most unsettling happen in front of large groups of people, as abusers do because it adds to the illusion that the victim is actually the villain) in his Angel & Devil play.

“Devil: You will allow it because it is an important detail and the devil is in the details. I leaned over at this moment and placed each of my index fingers at the edge of her lips and pushed slightly to make them turn up. A forced smile. Abby's eyes grew wide but she followed along. We hadn't practiced this but it felt right for the devil to do. Smile! The devil is in the details! The audience laughed again, this time with a bit of discomfort; the forced smile had something extra to it. Something unsettling. I loved that. I dropped my fingers and Abby shook her head at me.” ~ Joey Drew, The Illusion of Living, pg. 86

I now want to point out how it's when Bill is the most visibly frightened that Joey tries to share his “philosophy” with him— Joey literally tries and fails to share one of his biggest coping mechanisms with Bill just like how Bill tried and failed to share his own “time skipping” coping mechanism with his dad.

“I hadn't been paying any attention. Now I regretted it. I remember trying to explain to Father as a child this feeling of losing moments. He couldn't grasp the concept and had no desire to try harder. Mother had just died and he hardly had room for his own thoughts. I don't blame him. But if he'd understood, I'd felt back then, then maybe this could help him too. Help him skip past the scary things, the frustrating things, and just focus on what needed to be done.” ~ Bill Chambers, Bendy: The Lost Ones, pg. 56

“Joey leaned in, and with a slight smile he said, ‘Have you ever considered, my boy, that your reality is no more real than a dream I had last night?’ ‘I… had not considered that, no,’ I replied. ‘Well, consider it now.’ ‘I… will.’ …I had no idea what he meant, and I had no desire to consider my own existence in that way…” ~ Bill Chambers, Bendy: The Lost Ones, pg. 207-208

Both of these scenes have very interesting parallels to the first paragraph of Nathan's foreword…

“The Illusion of Living first made its way onto our shelves in 1942. This was a moment in our country's history full of angst and turmoil, and Joey Drew, who I had known since we were teenagers, thought that this book might be of help to a nation in crisis. Indeed, it is my firm belief that, had readers not been so deeply invested in stories about the horrors of the world and savage satire, or the complete opposite, desiring to close their minds with silly pointless diversion, they might have found a true vision his memoir/treatise. A true hope for the future and a model for how to live a life full of positivity. As it was, the sales upon the original release of the book were not what anyone hoped for, but Joey Drew, ever the optimist, didn't get upset. He knew the world would be ready for his words when the world was ready.” ~ Nathan Arch, The Illusion of Living, pg. 1

Ignoring how much more passive-aggressively Nathan says that people weren't in a headspace to listen, and the clear implication that he would absolutely adore if more people would adopt his favorite puppet's maladaptive coping mechanism (*stares at his note where he states that part of him hopes Joey actually knew that the studio was already struggling financially in 1942 because he prided himself on knowing his studio so well and another part hopes that he didn't know because others were lying to him rather than he was lying to himself* this note doesn't reek of sinister motives at all, Nathan /s), I think this is actually a moment of truth. I think Joey genuinely believed that his so-called “philosophy” could help people because it was basically the only thing that was keeping him in any semblance of one piece, maybe even the only thing keeping him alive… and, at some point, he came to understand that people tend not to hear someone who's trying to help when they're in the wrong mindset. Feels like that might give new context to Joey's “you should've pushed a little harder” comment to Henry… Could he have really meant, “I wish you'd tried again when I could hear you?”

I'd like to point out that there's actually even more weirdly specific repeated themes/imagery across DCTL, TIOL, and TLO…

…and I think it might be direct evidence that Joey's thoughts are leaking into the minds of the infected through the ink's hive mind (much like how Bill's thoughts about Alice in Wonderland and Joey's “philosophy” leaked into Constance and Brant's minds). I'm not just talking about how Buddy, Bill, and Constance are all almost pressured into drinking like Joey successfully was at ages fricking 15-17ish (perhaps their avoiding it is wish fulfillment for Joey?), or how everyone keeps on hearing that it's dangerous to ask questions…

In DCTL, Buddy talks about how the noises in his family's apartment made him think the building was alive and then later mentions that his eyes adjust to darkness much more quickly now that he's ink than they did when he was human; in TIOL, Joey uses the very same “living thing” descriptions for his childhood home and in the very same story talks about being very good at forcing his eyes to adjust to darkness quickly. “You just need to focus hard enough,” he says. This insistence that he can control involuntary bodily functions through sheer willpower continues throughout TIOL, including an insistence towards the end of the book that he's not affected by things like cold and hunger due to having such a strong mind; then, TLO begins with Bill and Brant expressing how impressed they were that Constance didn't seem cold in her swimsuit and wondering how that was before Constance explains that she was actually freezing, but she had to pretend for the camera, so she forced her body to behave as if it were comfortable (considering Bill's dad was in charge of the advertisement she was filling in for her sister in, that doesn't seem to bode well for Joey's reasons to pretend he's impervious to every completely normal limitation of the human body and mind under the sun)…

I dunno about you, but at this point I think it's confirmed that Buddy's comment at the beginning of DCTL, heavily implied to be especially important…

“This has always stayed with me: Of all the memories that are getting mixed up a bit in here, in this brain, in this head, this… this for some reason just sticks out. Right then when he clapped, the lights came back on. It was like they were waiting for him, it was like he was in control of them. He wasn't. But I made that connection back then. Somehow it made sense that maybe, just maybe, he had the power to do that. He didn't. And he doesn't. Don't let anyone make you think he does.” ~ Buddy Lewek, Dreams Come to Life, pg. 20 (emphasis added)

…(you mean there's someone besides Joey, with his weird hierarchy charts in the Employee Handbook, etc., who wants us to think that Joey has power??) 1: was insider information gained from the ink's hive mind, and 2: was a little more… metaphorical than we thought; not referring to magical powers, but instead just… power in general…

Continued in Part Three: My BATDR Timeline & Plot Twist Theories

#long post #spoiler warning #book analysis #game analysis #book theory #game theory #bendy and the ink machine #batim #dreams come to life #dctl #the illusion of living #tiol #bendy: the lost ones #bendy: tlo #bendy and the dark revival #batdr #batdr trailer #batdr theory #joey drew #henry stein #nathan arch #sammy lawrence #susie campbell #bertrum piedmont #buddy lewek #bill chambers #constance gray #brant morris #tw: abuse