#and they become bitter rivals and try to one up the other to the point they both have excellent grades and are always top two in the class

[devils-dares]

Man's World

summary: a tight championship race, a relationship situationship enemies with benefits that can't take place anywhere but behind the scenes, two drivers pitted against one another. who will prevail?

pairing: f1 driver x f1 driver!fem!reader (written with lewis hamilton in mind, but contains no identifying traits for any driver)

warnings: smut MDNI, verbal fights, driving, strong language, toxic masculinity, women being talked about negatively (in a man's world), being pathetic

wordcount: 5005

a/n: i have been working on this since august. this fic has gone through many phases of life with me, and i have finally finished it. i truly hope you enjoy.

-----

Good God, what had you gotten yourself into? It wasn’t supposed to be anything, if anything you two were bitter rivals to the death. Saying his name was like licking a battery, leaving a coppery acidic taste in your mouth.

So why did you wake in his bed? He, his body shining in the early morning sun, was making a plate from what you imagined was room service breakfast. His sheets, they smell like him, and the memories from last night and nights past come flooding into your head again.

He’s laying it on thick, smiling at you when he sees you sitting up in bed.

“You okay?” He says, the sweetest voice spilling from his lips. You hum, the ache between your thighs and the soreness in your hips delectably painful. He hands you a plate.

Your head spins from the irony of it all. Enemies to lovers, you’d said the night before as a joke. And what did he say in response?

“Lovers don’t fuck each other like this.”

It was true, the bruises on your body spoke wretched stories when they darkened over days, but sung beautifully while you moaned out his name underneath him as he pressed on them. He fucked as hard as he fought on track, the two of you trading first and second place back and forth every race. It’d become a game, riling each other up all week long just to end up on the podium next to each other and the same bed later on. It was a joke around the paddock that the two of you had tension and needed to “sort it out”.

All things had to end eventually, right? It bothered you when his alleged girlfriend was at Silverstone. He’d just spent the night prior making sure you couldn’t talk while his head was between your legs and now Thursday brings rumors of him walking the paddock with a lady friend.

She was beautiful, and that pissed you off.

He came to your room Sunday night after the race, a knock you two have come to create inadvertently. You didn’t bother to open the door, instead opting to lean against it.

“Open the door,” he said, “someone could see. Open the fucking door.” He’s agitated, good, you think. He led the race by a few seconds, but his cockiness came through like always, leading to an ill-timed spin and you taking the win from him. You’re winning the championship by just over ten points, and he’s had a slew of what could be considered amazing races, but losses in his book because he’s a place behind you. He knocks and knocks until you’re sure his fingers go raw, and you wipe a stray tear before opening the door to toxicity personified. He pushes past you to get in and slams the door shut. You sigh and rub your forehead before he pushes you up against the door.

“When I say open the door, open the fucking door, got it?”

“I’m not going to listen to you.” You challenge him, and he puffs his chest out, showing off just how much bigger he is than you.

“You’ve already tried being a brat, remember what that got you?” A night full of edging and no release, that’s exactly what that got you. Your body shudders at the memory.

“Yeah, that’s what I fucking thought.” He laughs.

“Fuck you!” You try to shove him but he barely moves an inch, instead grabbing your wrists and pushing them back against the door.

“What’s got you in such a mood? Back to back races left you a little sex-starved?” He tuts. “I thought I taught you better than that.”

“Who was that girl you were walking around with?” You ask, tears brimming at your waterline in anger.

“You’re jealous! Do you know how pathetic that is? What gives you a right to know, being my whore in private?” Your face turns away from his, but he pulls your hands up to hold with one of his, and he turns your chin towards him with his free hand. He sees how red you are, face burning with embarrassment.

“She’s an obligation. Management, you know.”

“So you’re not-”

“No. I wouldn’t be here if I was. She’s in the room across the hall from me.”

“Oh.”

“Oh? You don’t own me, you shouldn’t be obligated to know who she is.”

“Yet you told me.” He drops his hands.

“You know, if I’m not going to get what I want from you tonight, maybe I should go to her. She seemed very eager to get to know me when we got together for this.”

“Wait, no,” you say, sighing at the words you’re about to say, “just stay here with me, you’ll get what you want.” You’re embarrassed, face turning red. He smiles, and the bared teeth spell out danger for you.

“That’s what I wanted to hear from you.”

He leaves at two in the morning. You know because you lay awake all night, listening to him breathe. The ache between your legs was no longer pleasant or welcome, and you were tired of giving in to him. He gathers his clothes, does a half-assed job at pulling the covers back over your body, and doesn’t even bother to close the door quietly, instead opting to come near to slamming it.

You wish he could just break your heart, leave you to sulking by yourself, but he seems to have that same, sick attachment that you have to him. He’s bad for you, and the both of you would be sick in the head if you had any fantasy of this becoming a real thing. He’s not worried about losing his job if this gets discovered, his name is more than enough to keep the lights on and the paychecks running. You, on the other hand, were not well liked throughout the paddock apart from the drivers. You were a controversial topic, people either hated you or were your fiercest defenders.

You turn over and check the clock, 2:46, it reads. You sigh, squeezing a pillow over your head. This needs to end, for both the betterment of you and him.

—--

That ideal comes crashing down in Qatar, literally. The two of you collide, taking each other out of the race. It was his fault entirely, and that was reflected with the addition of two penalty points to his super license. Unfortunately, the two of you had to enter the media pen at the same time, and the daggers of death he sent your way were not easy to miss.

You were wound up, he hadn’t come into your room since Zandvoort when he’d beaten you by quite a close margin, just a touch over half a second. He hadn’t even spared you a word, driver’s meetings be damned. You were left to hang high and dry.

It wasn’t for lack of trying, though. Almost every stop you had, and weekends in between, you spent time at the clubs, attracting men to bring back to your place, but none of them scratched the itch that he left. You barely even finished with half of them. He was obnoxious, insufferable, yet you found yourself in the bathroom of another hotel room fixing up your hair to go knock on his door.

You looked at yourself. You were attractive, sexy, but it made you feel dirty that you dressed up all for him. Suddenly, the lace in your lingerie felt itchy, cutting into your skin. The silk felt like it was actively pilling against you, and the tendrils of your hair wouldn’t stop sticking to the lipstick that just so happened to be his favorite shade on you.

You had to get your independence back from a man who knew he had it and just didn’t care. You didn’t go.

That didn’t stop you from opening the door when he knocked a few minutes later, though. He smiled when he saw your attire, you didn’t bother to cover up. At least you didn’t fall into the trap of knocking on his door, small victories.

He stayed the night this time, just like the first few times. He actually cared back then, and it feels like that today, with his hand in your hair holding your head to his chest. You woke to his soft breathing, he’s still asleep, and that gives you the perfect opportunity to leave him like he left you.

You throw all of your clothes in your suitcase haphazardly, and drag out the luggage to the hallway to zip it up, in fear that he might wake and try to talk or squeeze another round out of you.

You two ran into each other a weekend later at an event in Monaco.

“You left.” He says.

“What did you say?”

“You left a week ago in Qatar. You weren’t there when I woke up.”

“Did you expect me to be?”

“Considering how-”

“If that sentence ends in some grade school jab against me I’m going to hurt you. You just lost a good thing.” He put his hands up in mock defeat.

“I didn’t know how sensitive you were going to be about this whole thing.”

“And if you knew?”

“I would’ve found someone else to fuck.”

—--

The Las Vegas Grand Prix, if you could’ve skipped it you would’ve. Inaugural grand prix in Sin City, your hands were already shaking on the way over here. He must’ve gotten the idea after Qatar, because absolutely no effort was given in him talking to you other than what was necessary, which seemed like a lot, given every single interview question was framed towards yours and his friendship. Both of you answered the same, there was no friendship beyond what was required in a purely professional setting, and the two of you were excited to put the championship race behind you once one of you was crowned.

Mathematically, there were about six drivers still in the championship race, the thorn in your sides that kept the two of you from being in a truly isolated battle, but realistically it’d come down to the two of you. That idea was currently being drilled into you from your team. Keep a clean race and good pace. Every single scenario was being run through during this meeting, and you only participated when necessary, which wasn’t smart, considering this would be your first time racing this track. You couldn’t help it, your mind was wrapped up in a twisted way, your situationship taking over your mind like a sick grade school crush.

I wonder if I’m on his mind as much as he is on mine. Does he think about me often? Does he think about what happened? About why I left the way I did in Qatar?

Your name was being called and your teammate knocked your leg with his knee. You looked at him, a thankful look in your eyes as you answered a question on strategy.

The start of this race weekend sucked. Practice 1, you’d picked up a puncture from an extra bit of carbon fiber on the track. Practice 2 brought mechanical failures, components overheating from the temperature of the track. Your confidence was shot seeing him at the top of the leaderboard in the sessions leading up to qualifying. And when qualifying came, your bad luck stuck around. You felt a power cut in your last flying lap of Q3, resulting in a measly P6 where your teammate qualified P2 and he got pole position.

With the team breaking curfew to put you in a driveable car for the next day, you were shaken up to say the least. You were in the car, the team doing their last minute checks and holding tire blankets and coolers to the car. The track was lit up beautifully in an elegance that only the night could hold.

Five cars in front of you. Five to pass and then hold the position. That’s all you had to do to secure a good lead into the final race. The clock clicked into position, the track cleared. You took the formation lap to get locked in, butterflies fluttering in your chest when the red lights started stacking.

The timing was perfect. You had an amazing start, picking off two positions into turn one. The start was great, but not much else was. You gained another position about halfway through the race, and a botched pit from another team allowed you to gain second up until an aggressive move from another driver caused damage and relegated you to P3.

But everything about his race was aces. Perfect pit, minimal tyre degradation, he was flying. You would’ve taken him out yourself, he was pissing you off that much. Yet again, you felt a power cut in the straight, and that caused you to lose fastest lap to him. Luckily your teammate was in a position to steal it back, but that was one less point for you in a championship battle for the ages.

You stood on the podium next to him, proud bastard, you thought. He walked past you, a glint in his eyes that was unmistakably lust, but could’ve only been seen as a rivalry spark by anyone else. He took his spot on the podium, and when it came time to spray, he was sure to aim only for you, seemingly rubbing in his victory.

He didn’t knock that night, or the night after that. You waited up for him, willing to bring him inside, but he never came. You couldn’t bring yourself to knock on his door either, saving yourself from the embarrassment of him not answering. You didn’t go clubbing, you couldn’t. If you saw him out with another woman, having the time of his life… you shook your head. It wasn’t worthwhile to think of him like that.

You flew home. Wasting tears in Vegas would do nothing to prepare you for the last race. The only one that really mattered, the championship decider.

You put in the hours at the facility, spending nights there because you didn’t want to go home. You’d sleep in your office, the only place he hadn’t tarnished with his presence. The team was concerned about you, but they still had two cars and two drivers to get ready for the finale.

I wonder if I’m on his mind as much as he is on mine.

If you had to go to one more team related event, you were going to cry. You were squeezed into formal wear and airbrushed to the gods the days leading up to Abu Dhabi. You shook hands with sponsors and promised results over the weekend. You were fucking exhausted.

It didn’t help that he looked amazing every time you saw him, which was often considering you stayed at the same hotel, and he was everywhere you were. Whether you were arriving and he was already sat in the breakfast lounge, or you were with a friend and his gaze lingered just a bit too long on your smiling figure, he was fucking everywhere.

Finally, a moment of reprieve, you thought as you entered the hotel. You were able to sneak past the fans, and took your hood off as soon as you entered, the lobby serene in the middle of the night.

You punched the button to call the elevator, and once you got in you pressed the button for the rooftop terrace, leaning against the back wall. Just before the doors closed, however, a hand jutted between the doors. A few people darted in from different teams, immediately making the cart feel small, and someone came to stand next to you, their body pressed up against the side of yours, pushing you against the wall. You knew that cologne, and dared to peek up.

It was him.

You cursed him in every language you knew. He stayed pressed up against you like that even as staff began to filter out. Soon enough, it was just the two of you, and he seemed like he was heading to the roof with you. As if every holy body hated you at that moment, there was no one else on the terrace when you two got there. You rushed to the edge, taking in a breath with your arms on the railing.

“Been a while since it was just the two of us, hasn’t it?” The man had to be immune to taking hints. You didn’t answer.

“Are you just planning on ignoring me for as long as possible?” Ignored again.

“I just hope you’re doing okay, y’know.”

“Don’t do that thing where you pretend to care just to get into my pants, it’s not going to work.”

“That’s not what I’m doing.” You turned around to face him, a look of disbelief on your face.

“I swear.” He says. You don’t answer.

“What we were doing, it was fun, it is fun, but I’m not losing you over it.”

“Look who’s ready to be the bigger person,” you say sarcastically, “we weren’t friends, you’re not losing anything.” He rubs his forehead.

“Don’t you get tired of all of this?”

“I tire of you.”

“Ouch.” Silence falls on the conversation.

“We’re rivals,” you say after a bit, “we were never meant to be close.”

“So it’s like that.”

“It always was.” The two of you lock eyes, both unwilling to break first. You’ve effectively shut down the conversation, but your heart still aches to hear his voice, his hands on your skin, anything.

“For your sake, I hope you win on Sunday.” He starts to walk away, towards the elevators.

“Why the sudden attitude change?” You blurt out.

“Maybe I realized I lost a good thing.” He turns back to you as he says it.

“You…” You try to start. He steps closer to you, looking at your hands as if he was contemplating holding them. He huffs, deciding on grabbing them and holding them close to his chest.

“You are far more important to me than you realize.” And just like that, he’s got you trapped again. He leans down, letting go of one hand to cup your chin, tilting your head up to kiss you. You curse yourself for feeling a connection to him, even still. HIs hands fall to your hips, squeezing them.

“We shouldn’t… too out in the open up here.” You say.

“My room?”

“We have practice tomorrow.”

“Okay. Whatever you say.” He starts to turn away.

“Just a little bit of time together won’t hurt, right?” You say. He smiles at you.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” He takes your hand, leading you back to the elevator, clicking his floor number.

As it turns out, spending a night with your ex-enemy with benefits does hurt. Your phone was buzzing off the nightstand with your manager asking you where you were. You groaned, rubbing your eyes as you reached over.

“Fuck!” You yell, waking him up with your voice.

“What? What is it?”

“I’m going to be massively late, I have to go.” You scramble to find your clothes, scattered across the floor.

“I’m not going for another hour and a half, you can’t be that late.”

“I also can’t be seen with you, do you know how bad that would be for both of our reputations? If someone were to catch me leaving your room and going back to mine… I knew this was a bad idea!”

“Don’t overreact, we’ll figure this out.”

“There is no figuring this out, I’m going to get caught on the way to my room in my clothes from the night prior, which, may I remind you, I was photographed in. That is going to ruin me publically, who, may I remind you again, already hate me.”

“I’m sorry.” He says.

You get dressed quickly and sneak out, getting to your room with almost no eyes on you.

—--

Friday brings a better showing for you and your team than Las Vegas did, topping both free practices by two-tenths and one-tenth respectively. Everyone was happy about your performance, and you were excited to see yourself on the top of the timing sheets again.

Saturday brought the same results, topping another free practice. It was a bit touch-and-go at qualifying, having to rush across the line with only a few seconds remaining to get your last flying lap, but that was just enough time to push you over him.

Sunday. The day you were simultaneously dreading and looking forward to. Between the two of you, winner takes all.

You sat in your car in the pole box. You glance to the side and catch a glimpse of him, he’s nodding his head to something the mechanics are saying. You sigh. Your mechanics float around your car, fiddling around for anything last second. The coolers blow on you as well as the car, the temperature of Abu Dhabi was nothing to trifle with.

You take a deep breath, feeling secure and quiet in your helmet. You play out the track in your mind, feeling every twist and turn in your body before you drive. Your eyes are closed, but your mind is far from relaxed.

During the formation lap, you become acutely aware of just how much is riding on this race. Not only your reputation, but your opportunities for the next season, and just how much power you can have with negotiations as it was your contract year. You shake your head. No time to think about that if you haven’t even accomplished the first step, winning this race.

You roll into your box, watching in your side mirror as the last of the drivers do so and then your eyes flick up to watch the lights. All you had to do was get the start.

Your timing couldn’t have been better. You were gone by the time you reached the first corner. He’d gotten a good start, but nothing compared to yours. All you had to do was manage the race.

The two of you quickly realized you were both pulling away from the competition, and he had much more grip in the corners, cutting at your lead. Soon enough, you were called in to box.

Time ticked away as you rolled into your pit box. The mechanics lifted the car, but one of the tyres wouldn’t come loose. Your internal timer was screaming at you. You see him enter the box and leave before you get all tyres on, and by the time you exit, he’s got a second and a half on you. You curse out your engineer after learning the pitstop took six seconds.

The race was on, and with him just out of DRS, you had a lot of time to make up. The race was slipping out of your grasp, and you thought of every wrong decision that put you in this position. Did you not slim down enough? Was there an extra gram or two of something on the car? You huff, shaking your head clear of the thoughts. There was no time to think like that, not when there was a slim chance you could still win.

And then it happened.

The screens on the side of the track blinked the letters that turned out to be your saving grace: FCY followed by SC. The limiter flashes on the screen of your steering wheel and suddenly you’re back in the race, seeing his rear end grow closer and closer until you’re right up against him. Finally, after a few laps, your engineer lets you know that the safety car is coming in.

“Be ready,” he warns, “you know he could take off at any point.” And so he does. The exit of turn 16, onto the start straight.

You had him, you didn’t let him slip away, not even for a second. It was close with him for a while, two laps to be exact, before your slipstream and DRS combo took him. Your engineer cheers you on as calmly as he can, his even voice showering you in praise. You breathe through the turns, knowing only a few laps remain between you and this championship. Everything rides on this, everything. Win this last race and your name will be in the history books forever.

And that’s exactly what you did, crossing the finish line with those fireworks going off in the background, nothing could take this from you. You did your cooldown lap, pulling back up to the finish line to do your celebratory donuts, laughing and hollering on the radio with your team. You couldn’t even be bothered that he was there with you, right next to you. You pull into the pitlane, your heart racing as your engineer offers the news that you are not, in fact, the target of any penalties. You sit in your car after pulling up to first place, flipping your visor up and crying, soaking up every emotion possible in this moment. You feel pats and slaps on your helmet, other drivers congratulating you on the win, on the championship. You finally find it in you to leave your car, climbing out slowly and soaking it in, that your name will forever be in the history books. You drop your steering wheel in your car and turn around-

He’s standing right there, his shoulders droop a little more than usual but he stands there, waiting for you. He approaches you slowly, leaving his helmet on.

“Congratulations, you drove well.” He says softly. Interestingly enough, your heart breaks a little for him. You pull him into a half hug.

“Scared me for a minute there, thought I’d lose to you again this year after that pit stop.”

“You underestimate your drive. There’s nothing I could do to stop you in those last laps. Don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful set of last laps to close out.” Your heart races at his words, his praise eliciting a reaction that feels unlike anything you’d ever felt with him. He flicks your visor down as he walks away, getting a small giggle out of you.

Finally, you get to your team. They’re practically bursting over the barricades to congratulate you, chanting your name. You laugh, running up to them, allowing yourself to be bombarded with their congratulatory cheers.

“Go get that damn trophy for us.”

The trophy ceremony was honestly a blur, literally and figuratively. You’re pretty sure you blacked out during it, and tears filled your eyes and rolled down your cheeks. You don’t even remember the party afterwards, the sprays of champagne, the club overflowing with the team’s staff, your teammate getting hammered after helping to win the constructor’s championship as well.

You didn’t remember much until the next morning.

You woke up groaning in the hotel room, your phone buzzing itself off the nightstand. You grabbed your head, this hangover was not going to let you go gently. You snatched your phone off the floor, genuinely surprised that you remembered to plug it in last night.

“Hello?” You answer, your voice hoarse from whooping and cheering all through last night.

“Please tell me you didn’t fuck him, because if you did I’m gonna bury your body where no one will find you.” It’s your publicist, sounding exasperated and also hungover.

“What?”

“Did you fuck him?”

“Fuck who?”

“Friday morning, somebody has a photo of you stumbling out of his room at the goddamn crack of dawn in your dress from the night before.”

“Oh my god.”

“So I’m gonna take that as a yes-” You drop your phone, unwilling to hear the rest as you can just predict how much of a PR nightmare this will be.

“Who knows?”

“It’s a pretty grainy photo, honestly, and it’s posted by one of those deuxmoi wannabe F1 twitter pages… but-”

“But what?”

“If you edit it to make it a little clearer, it’s pretty fucking obvious. It’s circulating pretty fast, but we can put out a statement if it’s not true. So, did you?”

“I didn’t mean to-”

“How many times?” You sigh, rubbing your forehead.

“I don’t know. A lot.” It’s her turn to sigh.

“I’m too hungover to deal with this, but I’ll see what I can do. It… it won’t be a lot, more likely than not we’ll be planning damage control. And of course this comes out the morning after you win the championship, you need to pick your men better.” She hangs up with a click.

You know you shouldn’t, but of course you begin to scroll through social media, seeing everything that’s under your name. Forget the championship, this is the biggest piece of news this sport has seen in a while. And of course nobody’s condemning him, why would they? He’s got a paycheck the size of his goddamn ego and a fanbase that spans continents. You scream into a pillow, throwing your phone across the hotel room. Your phone buzzes on the floor again, and you’re the most sure you’ve ever been that if you dare to check, it’ll be your team principal. He wouldn’t reach out, it’s not his reputation that’s being destroyed. No, he’s being paraded around for hitting that.

Angry tears stream down your cheeks. How could you be so fucking stupid? Of course you were bound to get caught, but they couldn’t let your championship sit undisturbed for one day? The stupid trophy sits on the countertop by the bar, practically taunting you with its presence. The hunk of metal changes from an achievement to an accusation before your eyes. That you slept your way to the top, that he let you have it, that you needed a man to get you to where you are. It makes you sick, and that’s probably why you find yourself hugging the toilet now. It’s not fair, it’s never been fair…

And it will never be fair.

#f1 x reader #f1 fanfic #f1 fic #lewis hamilton x reader #lewis hamilton smut #lewis hamilton fic #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc smut #charles leclerc fic #carlos sainz x reader #carlos sainz smut #carlos sainz fic #max verstappen x reader #max verstappen smut #max verstappen fic #lando norris x reader #lando norris smut #lando norris fic #daniel ricciardo smut #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel ricciardo fic #oscar piastri smut #oscar piastri x reader #oscar piastri fic #lewis hamilton #charles leclerc #carlos sainz #max verstappen #lando norris #daniel ricciardo

[very-straight-blog]

Aegon and Aemond. Brothers. Rivals. They can't stand each other. They're jealous of each other. The shadow of the Iron Throne looms ominously over Aegon. It suffocates him, haunts him in nightmares since his childhood. From the moment he heard his mother's prediction: "Rhaenyra will kill us all if you don't become king." These words rang like a bell in his head for several more days, and then they died down, but didn't go away. He tries to drown the fear of the future in wine – somehow, this makes it even worse, alcohol leaves an aching emptiness inside, and also a terrible hangover. He stopped trying to live up to his mother's expectations a long time ago. And his father's? Well, he would never be better than Baelon anyway. It's hard to compete with someone who never existed. A dead boy can be absolutely, oh so perfect. The only son Viserys wanted. His promised prince. Aegon is jealous of Aemond. He's everything Aegon couldn't be. At some point, his quiet younger brother became taller than him, stronger than him and – damn, probably even smarter than him, otherwise why would he spend so much time in the library? It's not in Aegon's nature to compete, so he just gets angry and plans to become even worse, just to spite everyone. Self-destruction is now his habit. Aemond condemns his brother – condemns his bad manners, his depravity, his weakness. He had burned out all the weakness in himself a long time ago. He had to and realized it quite early – in Driftmark.

They often think about that night – never talking about it out loud. What can they even say? Aegon winces and looks away, seeing the ugly scar on his brother's face when he removes the eyepatch. He remembers his hungover, confusion and nausea from the sight of the eye on the table. Aemond's eye. Then a slap and a feeling of helplessness. That whole night feels like a delusional crazy dream. He never admits it – not even to himself, but guilt has been haunting him ever since – he's been trying to numb it with alcohol and sex, along with the rest of his feelings – hatred, loneliness, pain – Gods, Aegon feels too much. Sometimes it seems to him that he feels everything at the same time. Aemond doesn't feel anything. He forces himself to clamp emotions inside like a spring – one day they will erupt, he feels it. In his memories of Driftmark, there're only bitterness and anger, and also the realization that now only he can protect this family, and it means he needs to be strong. Aemond isn't quite sure what this means, so he looks at his mother – she sacrifices herself for the sake of duty, she does what's required of her and never complains. Aemond decides that he'll be the same. He grows up several years overnight and tries very hard not to cry.

When Aemond's anger finally bursts at dinner, Aegon raises his cup without even thinking. "We are family. You may cuff him about as you wish at home, but in the world, we must defend our own." He's already let him down, it won't happen again – this thought flashes through his mind when he hits Luke's head on the table. He had wanted to do this for a long time – these little bastards look too happy, too loved, even despite their questionable origin and the fact that one of them maimed his brother. That evening, for the first time, they feel a strange new feeling – something like unity.

#aegon targaryen #aegon ii targaryen #aemond targaryen #aegond #house of the dragon #hotd #team green #pro team green #opinion #i have no idea what is it

[yougavemeyourheartyouknow]

Love me or hate me, both are in my favor (Miguel O’Hara x Fem! Reader [HS Academic Rivals AU])

Y’all ready for Miguel to finally kiss (Y/N)’s ass??!?!?!? Not proofread enjoy lol, I had a lot of fun writing this. I tried to be a bit artsy near the end it it’s too cringe I’ll probably delete it and redo it lmao.

Cursing, Miguel finally getting his shit together, lol he’s ooc but it’s okayyy lol

(Y/N)- Your name, (L/N)-Last name, (N/N)-Nickname.

Word count: 2.1k

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Chapter 12: What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way

—

You hated to admit it, but you kind of missed throwing away those stupid little apology notes from Miguel. Oddly enough, they had stopped appearing on your desk the day after your last little “date” with Spider-Man. Though you doubt there was any correlation, you couldn’t help but wonder why all of a sudden he would stop after what was about two or three weeks of nothing but notes after notes of apologies.

“He probably realized that you aren’t going to forgive him and decided to finally give up.” Mj’s voice sounded through your phone speaker, lying next to you as you laid on your stomach on top of your bed. Checking over your new manicure you had just received that morning, before letting out a huff as you dramatically dropped your head down on the mattress.

“Can we stop bringing him up? I don’t need reminders of his existence, not like I didn’t have enough reminders before…” You grumbled, you're sure if she was there with you she’d roll her eyes at your theatrics.

“I feel like we talk too much about you two.” She teased, the end of her sentence trailing off in a chuckle.

“Yeah because now that you're dating Peter, I can’t tease you about how you act like a nervous wreck around him anymore.” You shot back, picking your head back up and raising your brow, your smirk evident in your tone.

“Don’t be bitter that I got a boyfriend before (N/N), I’m sure spidey will ask you soon enough.” Your cheeks flared as your best friend tease, despite you starting it first you couldn’t help but feel yourself becoming a bit more shy at the mention of Spider-Man. You know not to take it to heart though as you let out a small laugh.

“Hey aren’t you supposed to be getting ready for that date right now.” You point out, having remembered that she mentioned to you during your last class together that Peter was planning on taking her to some movie after his photography club.

“Oh shit- you’re right! I got to go, I’ll text you later!”

“Okay bye have fu-aaaand she hung up, welp.” You drop your head on your bed once more after grabbing your pillow to place underneath you. Deciding taking a nap would be better than spending the next few hours doing something else, too tired from school to even attempt to watch a movie or tv show, let alone read or do homework. A sigh escapes through your nose, closing your eyes as you snuggle against the pillow, waiting to succumb to your own exhaustion. The white noise of your air conditioner running in the background lulling you to sleep.

—

“Maybe this is too on the nose…” Miguel mumbled to himself as he glanced down to the wrapped item in his hands, trying to compose himself as he stands in front of your dorm room, gathering the courage to knock.

It was almost embarrassing, that he was going to grovel at your doorstep in order to get you to even look at him again. He was already bruising his ego enough with the countless apology notes that you didn’t even bother to glance at for longer than a second before tossing them, let alone read. Still despite his… complicated feelings towards you, he’d rather you bruise his ego then anyone else.

His eyes came back to stare at your room number that was etched into your door, before nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

You were a smart girl, a very smart girl. Miguel knew that. So he knew he was potentially playing with fire with his apology gift, he knew more than anyone else how your brain worked, he knew that you could take one glance at it and all the pieces would fall in place. He just hoped that for one, he would wave away any suspicions that you might come up with. Worst case scenario you outright declare him as Spider-Man, but then what? You weren’t one to tell secrets, you weren’t money or fame hungry so you weren’t going to go off and tell the media for a check.

Miguel shook his head, trying to shake away all the possibilities that were now coming to the forefront of his mind. Close his eyes to take in deep breath before opening to them once again to stare at your door.

‘If I keep thinking about it, I’ll end up walking away, just knock damnit.’

Finally, with a sharp exhale through his nostrils, he brings up his enclosed fist to tap lightly on your door. The edge of lips pulling downward after not getting any confirmation that you heard his knocking. After another louder knock, his ears finally picking up the faintest of annoyed groans, making his tensed shoulders slip down just a few centimeters.

Miguel thanked whatever dumb constructor decided to not give the ancient dorm building doors peepholes, because if they did, he knew you wouldn’t have opened the door for him. That’s why he stuck his foot out to act as a stopper, preventing you from closing it in his face once you realized who had decided to interrupt your short lived nap.

What a relief to be able to see your face up close with the mask on to counsel his. Despite the fact that your fake polite smile quickly melted away from your face once you realized who was at your doorstep, leaving a scowl to come and take its place. Miguel barely had time to open his mouth before your frame was once again covered by the wooden door, his school assigned leather shoes certainly getting scuffed from it hitting the side of them. Not even wincing as you attempted to push his foot out with resting your weight against the door.

“(L/N), Come on. It’s been weeks, you can’t keep ignoring me. Just… I-I know I fucked up okay? You were trying to be civil with me and I… Look I’m sorry okay? I’m sorry.” His free hand came up and pushed against the door lightly, not enough to knock you off your balance or anything but enough to peak his head through the door to meet your glare once more. “You know more than anyone else that I don’t do serious apologies. Just hear me out. You’ve-You’ve already got me begging here (L/N), to just be in the same room with you so I can admit I’m an asshole. You don’t have to forgive me, just hear me out! Please-“

He was able to squeeze himself through the crack of the door, closing it before him and leaning against it as he attempted to catch his breath from his babbling, chest raising up and down rapidly as his pleading eyes turned a bit more intense, you took a step back and crossed your arms over your chest, letting out an irritated huff as you kept your eyes on him.

“Get out O’Hara-“

“I’m tired of you ignoring me, what do you want me to do, huh!? You and I are too intertwined into each other’s lives for you to ignore me forever. You know that-“

“Unfortunately.” You grumbled under your breath, rolling your eyes a bit. Miguel, now standing up straight, took a step towards you, a hand flying to his chest as usually narrowed and bored eyes suddenly turned wild and frantic almost like a confused puppy.

“I-“ he paused, letting out a huff, before lowering his voice down to just above a whisper. “I’m not going to leave until you listen to me please just-“ He stutters, taking another pause as his eyes flutter shut tightly, you haven’t even noticed that his eyes were turning glossy and red until he opened them again, had you ever seen Miguel cry before? Well if you hadn’t, this might be a first for you both. “Please (Y/N).”

The use of the first name between you both was rare, you had been in more near death situations then you’ve heard your first name uttered from Miguel’s lips. So hearing it with such… desperation… it made your heart jump up to your throat. Your eyes never leaving his as he took another step towards you and… oh my god… is he kneeling?

“Please I-“ He choked out, the wetness that was threatening to spill out from the corner of his eye finally came down, his hands reached out to yours in desperation, you were too much in shock to think about pulling them away as you blinked down at him almost stupidly. “I can't… take it anymore. I feel like I’m going mad.”

He was being completely truthful with that statement too. He was jealous of his super powered alter ego from getting more attention from you then he was just as himself.

You finally pull yourself back into the current moment, clearing your throat as you shake yourself to help gather your words, neither of you noticing during the whole ordeal that Miguel’s apology gift had landed a few feet away from the door. Tugging at his hands as a signal to get up and off the floor. “O-okay, okay fine. Just-get up Miguel, Jesus…”

You wanted to keep holding onto this grudge of yours, but how could you when you had brought a man who is twice your size and four times your ego down to his knees? Reducing him to nothing more than a crying begging mess. Simple answer, you couldn’t. Whether it’s simple petty or if you felt like you were truly ready to hear him out, it honestly didn’t matter to you anymore. It’s clear from his breakdown that he had suffered enough.

He let out the biggest sigh of relief, sniffing a bit as he finally brought himself back up from your floor. A large hand of his coming up to wipe away a few lingering tears of frustration once he was up on his feet again. A silence fell over you both as you gave him a few seconds to collect himself properly before he could start explaining himself. Finally, with a clearing of his throat, bloodshot eyes met yours.

“Look, I know that… we haven’t been anything more than tolerant of each other… but I should have never,” his hands went to find yours again, grasping tightly as if he was afraid that you’d disappear in front of him. “Ever. Said that stuff to you. It was… too much even for us, if I could take it back, I would. I have no idea what snapped in my mind to say such vile things to you, it was wrong, it was stupid-so stupid-and I regret it. Regret it more than anything I’ve ever done in my life. You don’t have to forgive me, I don’t expect you to. Hell, say the word and I’ll walk out of here and I’ll disappear from your life forever. “

You have honestly never felt so speechless before. Miguel has never made you feel so speechless before.

“But god do I want you to forgive, to take those words back. I'll do anything, and when I tell you that I’ll do anything, I mean anything.”

You couldn’t help the breathless chuckle that escaped your throat, uneasiness bubbling up in your lower gult, despite laughing being your first reaction, you could tell he was all but joking. Your tongue stuck out to lick your suddenly dry lips.

“I can tell you’re being quite… erm, serious, so,” you pause, inhaling the tense air in hopes it’ll help calm your nerves, “I accept your apology.” Miguel took a deep breath to keep himself from turning into a babbling mess again, he could feel that heavy pressure on his chest filling up, he could finally breathe agai-“but I don’t forgive you.” He could feel his airways clog back up, he felt like he was blue screening as his ears heard the words but his mind didn’t want to accept it. He wants to do nothing more than to grovel at your feet again for you to take those words back.

But he couldn’t, it made him a little happier to know that there is something he can build off of, still as he finally was able to drag himself out from your room after putting on the facade of countenance , he felt the need to release all his pent up emotions out. He wanted to cry till his tear ducts stopped working, sob till his throat felt raw. But he couldn’t get himself to do it, his body simply wouldn’t let him, refusing to undo all of his years hiding his emotions more than he’s already done in your room, you're the only one who could make him feel again. What was that book his class started reading last week?

He felt like he had no mouth, and he had to scream.

—

Taglist: @famouscattale @strawberryjuice9 @loser-alert @maomaimao @franceseca-the-1st @mcmiracles @mangoslushcrush @queerponcho @yournextbimbogf @tinybirdhideout @oharasfilipinawife @mxltifxnd0m @homewreckingwreck @dumb-gemini @cowboylikeevie @thedevax @codenameredkrystalmatrix @reader-1290 @laysmt (to be added click here)

#miguel o hara fanfic #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara #miguel o’hara au #spiderman 2099 x reader #astv spiderman 2099 #astv miguel #miguel spiderverse #spiderman 2099 fanfic #miguel fanfic #academic rivals au #love me or hate me fanfic #miguel o’hara x reader #miguel ohara x reader #miguel x reader #miguel ohara #miguel ohara spiderman #spiderman 2099 spiderverse

[lowkeyerror]

Teamwork

Kate Bishop x Reader

Word Count: 3.3k

Notes: Honestly its been so long I dont even know what goes here... probably violence

Summary: The leader of the Avengers thinks that Kate and Y/n need to work on their teamwork so he sends them on a mission together.

An: I won't say that I'm back prematurely (like I did my last post like 4 months ago) but I will say I feel the need to post so perhaps I will

Masterlist

Kate was sweet like gumdrops. She was the kindest soul you had ever crossed paths with. Her doe eyes were always filled to the brim with emotion. Her skin was soft like clouds in the sky.

These were indisputable facts in your eyes, yet no one would know that by the way you treated her.

You and Kate were colleagues. Both young and upcoming heroes with a lot to prove. Technically you were on the same team, but you treated Kate as your rival.

You and Kate were not cute friendly rivals, but bitter ones. Mostly due to your nasty attitude towards her.

Though you actually quite admired how good Kate was at her job, you acted as though it irked you. Every time she was in the field, she came back a better hero.

She was good at adapting to others' mistakes. She might panic under pressure, but she never failed a mission. The most irritating thing is that she did it all with that award-winning smile plastered on her face.

You were also very good at your job, just a lot less enthusiastic than Kate. If Kate was a gumdrop, you were black licorice.

You worked endlessly on becoming a better hero. Your precision was perfect, it was your gift. There wasn't any chance you'd miss a target. Whether you were throwing a knife, shooting a gun, or trying to make a paper ball in the trash can.

As the youngest members of your team, the two of you often found yourself paired together.

Being paired with Kate was such a double-edged sword for you. On one hand, you got to be extremely close with the most beautiful woman you'd ever seen. On the other hand, you always acted as though you hated her.

" Earth to Y/n, are you listening to me?"

You slowly nod at your captain's words, not at all hearing what he said.

He tilts his head to the side," Ok then what did I say?"

You remain silent, not having the slightest clue of what he said. Kate couldn't hold in her laughter about your blunder. You glare at the brunette.

" I said the main point of focus in this team is our teamwork. If we're going to be working together, we have to respect each other at least. You are lacking in that department."

Kate laughs even louder, causing you to speak up.

" Why is she here for this?"

Sam speaks up," Because she's also lacking in that department."

Kate's laughter stops abruptly," What do you mean, I'm great at working with others?"

Sam looks between the two of and shakes his head," Every time you two are sent on a mission together, you bicker at each other the entire time. You lose focus, and you almost cost us the mission."

" Key word, almost. We've never failed a mission as partners. Our success rate is 100%"

" I don't like having to agree with Y/n, but she's right. Even without being buddy-buddy, we always find a way to complete the job."

Sam sighs," I've seen the tapes, I know the missions get completed, but there's a lack of teamwork. For example, you're hardly watching each other's backs."

" Kate's a big girl, she doesn't need me to look over her shoulder," you argued with him.

" This is what I'm talking about. Everyone on this team is capable of getting the job done on their own. Which means if we send more than 1 person, it is absolutely necessary for you to be looking out for your partner. If I don't see some proper teamwork on your next assignment, you both will be suspended from field work until you can sort it out."

" Are you serious?"

" You can't do that."

Sam slides a folder over to the both of you before standing up," Figure it out, because I'm not playing."

You were fuming when he left. This wasn't fair to either of you. Why were you being punished for being successful on your partnered missions? Just because you weren’t besties doesn't mean you deserve this treatment.

" If you scowl any harder, your face will be like that permanently," Kate spoke to you.

You glare at her again, and she puts her hands up in surrender," That's not very teamwork of you, Y/n."

You sigh and put your head in your hands," This is fucking stupid."

Kate rubs a hand through her hair," I agree. So let's get it over with."

After briefly scanning through the files, you both got prepared for the mission. You were going to check out a minor anomaly in some small country you'd never heard of. The locals had been recently reporting the same suspicious figure, seemingly scoping out the place and buying normal household things that could be used to enhance chemical weapons.

" So, how exactly are we going to demonstrate teamwork?" Kate interrupted the silence on your ride.

You shrug," Fuck if I know."

Kate rolls her eyes," Guess I'll be doing all the heavy lifting as always."

" What did you just say?"

She crosses her arms," You heard me."

You get up from your seat and walk over to her. You squat down so that your face is level with hers. From there you can smell that intoxicating perfume she wears. Her doe eyes are sharp as they look into yours. You almost compliment her, but then reality kicks in.

" Listen here, princess, there was some truth to what Sam said back there. We don't have to like each other, but respect is necessary. And I don't appreciate the disrespect from you."

Kate scoffs," You disrespect me all the time."

" Name one time."

Kate begins to open her mouth, then promptly shuts it.

" I make snide remarks, sure, but I've never said anything negative about your skill level or ability to get the job done because you've given me no reason to."

Kate tilts her head," Was that a- did you just compliment me?"

You break eye contact as you feel the tip of your ears heat up," Look, all I'm saying is don't act like I'm not good at my job."

Kate keeps a small smile on her face," I never said you weren't good, I just think I'm better."

" I'm not having this argument with you."

The rest of the ride was fairly silent after that. The silence was different from the usual bickering, but maybe the captain would see that as a step in the right direction.

When you arrived in the country, you could already sense that something was off. It was a mixture of a gut feeling and observation. It seemed like most of the townspeople had barricaded themselves inside.

" Something isn't right with this place," Kate speaks softly as you both walk further into town.

When comparing what you saw in front of you to what was in the file, it was easy to see large differences in the town. Though the town was small, it wasn't supposed to be vacant by any means. The robust amount of locals was the ones who reported an issue in the first place.

" I don't like it at all. Keep your guard up, Bishop."

The few people you saw wouldn't make any eye contact with you. They were quick to identify you both as outsiders. It was inevitable, as you couldn't blend in to a crowd if the crowd was non-existent in the first place.

The next local that past you was an elderly man, he stopped at the sight of you and spoke," You lot aren't from around here, are you."

" No sir, just visiting. Actually, we're looking for a certain hotel in town," you show him a picture of the place on your phone and his eyes go wide.

" You're looking for trouble."

There's a small pocket of silence which Kate fills," Why would you say that?"

" Cause you're looking for him. He's the only one that stays at that inn. And we all know to steer clear of it."

The man tries to leave, but you stop him," What happened to this place?"

" He happened… started getting rid of people he had problems with. People who gave him trouble."

" What did he do to them?" Kate presses further.

The man looks between the two of you," He blew them up. One minute they were standing on their feet, the next their head would pop like a zit."

The imagery he created freaked you out more than you'd like to admit, "Thank you for letting us know."

He shook his head," If I were you ladies, I wouldn't go looking for trouble. Too pretty to be headless."

Those were his last words as he continued walking after that. Neither of you moved from that spot. Trying to process what he had told you.

Things had gotten extremely serious in your head. You had considered going back to the quinjet and telling Sam that you'd need back up for this mission.

However, you needed this mission to go better than any of the other missions you had been on with Kate. That was literally the reason why you were both here.

" Put these on," you passed Kate 2 ear plugs.

" Why?"

You sigh," If this guy doesn't have powers, then it's likely that he's using nanotech to get into people's heads. So we need to cover possible points of entry."

When you finally get to the building, it's a little ways from the actual town. You're on edge. Kate walks a little bit in front of you while you watch her back.

By the time you see the trip wire, it's too late. It's not the entire building that explodes, just a corner of it. A corner that was going to fall on Kate if you did not take action.

It felt like slow motion to you. You saw the building about to crumble on top of her, and you were quick to lock your arms around her and force her out of the way along with yourself.

Your breathing was heavy as you realized the girl in your arms could've died. Your front was pressed against her back, and you could feel her ragged breathing as well.

You didn't let go of her until a voice interrupted the tense moment.

" Hasn't anyone ever told you that trespassing is illegal," a man emerged from the intact part of the building, smiling sadistically at you two.

" Who are you and what do you want with this town?"

The man cackles," This town is insignificant to me. It's simply my playground where I can test my masterpieces."

" Then what is it that you want?"

" I'm going to blow up the world, literally. It almost feels trivial to call it a bomb, but my masterpiece will destroy everything. There will be nothing left of this world when I'm done with it."

You're scared, but you can't let him know that," What makes you think we'll let you do that?"

" You two? You won't be around to stop me."

You realize it a half a second too late as another explosion happens under your feet. You brace yourself as best you can to prepare for impact, but you feel a hand latch on to your arm.

With the strength you have left, you help her carry your weight and stop you from falling to your death.

" I just need 1 shot," you growl as you stand up.

Kate sees the look in your eyes. She has seen it before, and it never leads any more good for the person you're looking at.

" He has explosives, it could be dangerous," Kate stood with you.

" Kate, go call for backup and a bomb squad."

" I'm not le-"

" KATE GO," You yell at her with your eyes focused on the enemy.

Kate wanted to fight more, to argue with you again, to postpone this situation. Yet she knew you were making the right call, she had to trust you at this moment and she did.

She took off running. You saw the man reach for what you assumed to be an explosive detonator. It took less than a second for you to whip out your gun and shoot the device in his hand.

He screamed as the bullet grazed his hand, the debris from the device burning into the skin of his palm.

" The next shot will be through your head, if you don't call it quits now."

" I didn't want to get my hands dirty, but if I must," he approached you at his own speed.

It took everything in you not to charge at him. You knew he was baiting you. So you took a shot at the ground right by his feet.

" Well, you're smarter than you look, but not smart enough."

You felt yourself being restrained and forced to the ground. Whatever held you down had a tight grip on your skull. Its cold metal prongs were cold and sharp against your skull.

" Don't bother struggling against my invention. You'll never get up. I'll blow your mind, and then the brunette's."

The mention of Kate made you fight against the bot. It also made the mad scientist laugh.

" Aw, how pathetic. I'll tell her about this after you're gone. Now open" he violently grabbed your chin and shoved something in your mouth.

He slapped you across the face one last time before walking away from you," Any last words?"

You were shaking, sweating, and scared. For the first time in this interaction, you let your eyes water. This felt like the end.

You'd failed and it had cost you. The part that made the tears stream freely was the thought that you wouldn't be able to save Kate. She didn't deserve to die like this. You'd hope she stayed by the jet and waited for backup.

" Oh right, there's a bomb in your mouth. Silly me," you watched as he reached for the detonator. Time seemed like it had slowed down.

He flipped a few switches on the remote before getting ready to hit the button. You closed your eyes, waiting for it to be over. Yet your eyes shot open when you heard the man scream in agony.

There was an arrow through his hand. Then another came down and through his foot.

" I will shoot this shit through your head if you even think about grabbing that remote."

Your face was still against the gravel, but you knew who had just saved your life.

She walked toward him with her bow at the ready. She picked up the remote, and before she did anything else, she shot the robot that was pinning you to the ground.

The tight grip on your head was now loose and limp. You slowly began getting to your feet.

Kate handed you the detonator. You did the opposite of what you saw the man do and saw the green light on the device turn red. There was still some fear in your heart about removing the explosive from your mouth.

The man had a smug look on his face when he saw you struggle," Well I suppose if it's disarmed its harmless right? Maybe it's heat sensitive, maybe it's touch sensitive, who knows. The only way to find out is by removing it from your mouth."

" Shut the fuck up," Kate shot an arrow directly past his head, grazing his ear slightly.

" You're going to be ok. Just take it out and throw it as far as you can."

You looked at her and for the first time ever she saw genuine fear in your eyes.

" You have to trust me," the look in her eyes was something you could not debate.

You didn't hesitate, you dug into your mouth, removed the device and chucked it as far as you could. It didn't land anywhere, instead it exploded in the air. It wasn't significantly sized on the outside. However, you knew if had gone off in your mouth you would've died.

You walked up to the man and pressed the butt of the gun into his temple. There was nothing more you wanted to do than blow his head off. Your chest heaved up and down.

The man laughed," Kill me then. I dare you."

You cocked the gun and your finger rested on the trigger.

" Y/n don't," Kate tried to reason with you.

You couldn't look at her, you'd fold if you did," He deserves it, Kate. You should've heard the shit he was saying."

" That's not for us to decide, Y/n."

You began to shake," Why not?"

Then the scientist laughed again, and that sent you over the edge. You took a small step back and fired the gun.

The scream you let out was primal. It ripped through your throat. It hurt more than you could ever imagine.

The bullet had taken the man's ear. His screams were nothing compared to yours.

Kate hugged you from behind as your legs began to fail you. With her arms around you, she kept her bow and arrow raised at the man.

Sam was confused at the sight when the backup finally arrived. The scientist was cuffed and taken in as other special forces handled the damaged building.

When the scientist was gone, Kate dropped her bow, but her arms stayed around you. Sam began to approach the two of you, but Kate signaled him to stay back.

" Y/n, talk to me," her breath was a whisper against your ear.

" I'm sorry," you said, trying hurriedly to get to your feet.

You didn't get too far before Kate yanked you back into her embrace.

" You saved my life, there's nothing to be sorry about," she gave you a small smile.

" But I-"

Kate shook you a bit," You didn't kill him so, it doesn't matter. He was trying to blow your head off."

" You saved my life too."

Kate nodded slowly," I did, you saved me first though."

" I was terrified, Kate. When he said he was going to kill you, I- I never felt that helpless," you were causing yourself anxiety just speaking about the moment.

Kate didn't hesitate to rest her hand on the side of your face, forcing you to look at her," I'm right here, Y/n. A few scratches and a few bruises, but I'm ok. Without your reflexes or your decision-making skills, I don't know if I would be standing here right now."

" Kate," your eyes accidentally drop to her lips.

" Fuck it," Kate muttered before surging forward and placing her lips on yours.

You kissed her back and it felt right. It felt like Kate was your other half. There was no competition anymore; just you and Kate.

" Well, I see you got the teamwork all handled," Sam spoke, causing the two of you to separate.

" We almost died on this mission. Our teamwork was fine before. The trauma we have is-"

Kate had more to say, but Y/n grabbed her hand," We're good."

" But-"

" Everyone is safe, the bad guy is behind bars, and now we get to go home; together."

Kate huffed and dropped her shoulders," Fine, but we're dealing with this together then."

" There's no one I'd rather tackle my demons with," you couldn't help but sound cheesy.

" Good, because you're stuck with me now in more ways than just coworkers."

You smirked," I'd gladly be stuck with you any way you'd have me."

Sam cleared his throat with a smile on his face," Ok, you guys are free to go. I'll wrap it up here."

Your hand never left Kate's as you walked back to the jet. Nor did it leave when you both strapped in for the ride. It was at that moment that you decided that you'd do whatever was necessary to hold on to Kate.

#lowkeyerror #kate bishop imagine #kate bishop x reader #kate bishop #sam wilson

[luminoushane]

I just saw your "Amity raised by Lilith AU" and now I really want to know more.

What's going on with the other Blights, if Lilith had to take Amity where are the twins?

What was Amity's life in the castle like? Did Lilith send her to Hexside and if so is she still friends with Willow?

What's Amity's relationship with Raine and Darius (and by extension Lilith's) like?

How about other people in the EC like Steve? Does Amity know Hunter and share Lilith's animosity with him and view him as a rival (queue "rival jealousy" from Luz) or are they friends?

Does Belos take advantage if Amity's presence in the castle to manipulate Lilith?

How does parenthood change Lilith and her view of Hunter?

Not a question but I also have this image if a tiny (4 or 5 yr old Amity) in a baby carrier thing on Lilith's chest when she goes to arrest Eda, and then Eda turning around to reveal King in a similar baby carrier on her chest. (Queue Spider-Man pointing name and mutual aunt realizations)

Haha, I get asked these a lot too, and I had a few tweets explaining is messily, but let's get this organized in the much better site, shall we?

• Amity was taken shortly after her birth. Prior to her arrival, Alador had already gotten sick of Odalia's mistreatment of him and in extension, the twins. He takes Amity away, pays a few healers to keep it a secret, and (with much hesitation) calls up Darius. He practically begs him to take Amity away from them, and even though Darius CLEARLY still doesn't like Alador, he just has a soft spot for kids. He takes Amity and Odalia is under the impression that Amity had died.

Now, remember, with this in mind, Odalia and the twins DON'T know her existence. If you ask me WHY Lilith ended up with Amity instead of with Darius, I'd tell you that Darius let her watch over her and she came back with adoption papers bc god forbid she has impulse control.

The twins are not aware of Amity's existence (at least until later) and neither is Odalia, but not for long. Alador is still trying to figure out how he can get himself and his two other children out without Odalia realizing. Lilith tries to keep it a secret. Amity's aware she's adopted though lol.

• Amity was practically raised in the castle. She learned to walk there 😭 Imagine a little Amity taking her first steps and the coven guards just cooing over her in the hallway. Like that. When she got older, she was allowed to go back to Darius' house alone (Lilith does not have a house and Darius is kind of like a guardian to her too, so...)

She personally prefers to stay in the castle though.

And no, Amity doesn't go to Hexside.

She's in St. Epiderm! You have to understand, Odalia's part of the Student Creature Association in Hexside, and Lilith CANNOT risk having her find out about Amity. Raine had her enrolled in their old school so she doesn't accidentally come across Odalia. Willow DOES know about her, but thinks she's some spoiled girl who gets a bit too competitive. (They become friends later on!)

• Raine and Darius are her secondary guardians! Kind of like how Uncles and Aunties work. Darius doesn't hold any bitterness towards her for being Alador's child. If anything, it's making him want to rebel more because Amity and Hunter, who are just two children, are being forced into the castle by circumstances they can't control. He can't wait to take them both back home and give them a better life than what the castle has to offer.

He sees Amity as his little sunshine, though you couldn't pay him to admit that to ANYONE. That's his baby, he raised her too ❤️.

Raine was a bit late addition to the parent trio. Though they didn't hesitate to help out if needed. They usually were the one to watch over a hyperactive 4 year old Amity and an equally active 6 year old Hunter during their time as an apprentice to the Bard Covenhead. Amity also talked to Raine about Luz, who she was "feeling funny about" (she is falling so hard) and Raine was watching in amusement.

And y'know. Lilith is her mom. Lilith doesn't get much free time, but she's dedicated it to taking care of Amity as much as she can. Amity is her heart, she could absolutely not take the idea that she could get hurt. She's trying to give her all the attention and love she wished she had gotten from Gwendolyn.

• HUNTER HATRED?? NOOO...!

Do not even suggest such a thing!

But in all seriousness, she grew up with him! Of course she doesn't hate him!

They see each other as siblings, though none of them have admitted it out loud. Hunter gets a bit sad when he sees Amity with Emira and Edric ("Her real family") and Amity was quick to get that thought off. He was her family too. The two of them are fairly close, both having grown up in the castle. On occasion, Amity sneaks him some snacks and books and stuff he can do on his free time whenever her was on shifts.

They had a MAJOR fallout by the end of season 1 (which I will not disclose yet), so you can imagine how absolutely rage-fueled their duel in Eclipse Lake was in this AU.

• And YES, HE DOES. Belos is a manipulative asshole we all know that. In addition, he does NOT like Amity. He took one look at her, with her brown hair, pointy ears and golden eyes and was reminded of a certain witch 400 years ago. It doesn't help that she likes to hang around with Hunter, either. Belos being haunted by the past because of two gay kids in his castle is so funny to me actually. He constantly holds Amity safety over Lilith's head because he knows how desperate she is to keep her daughter safe.

• And finally. Hunter and Lilith's relationship is much complicated in this AU. She realizes he's just as much of a child as Amity is. She doesn't really have this "animosity" towards him, especially since she takes care of him like Darius does (in secret).

-

So anyways! Don't be afraid to ask more, I like getting questions! And yes, Lilith does, in fact, bring baby Amity along when she goes on missions to capture Eda. Amity likes her Auntie Eda, goes over to the Owl House and plays with King if she can. Eda doesn't really mind her randomly popping up in her house lol.

#the owl house #amity blight #lilith clawthorne #darius deamonne #hunter deamonne #hunter noceda #the owl house hunter #WHATEVER HIS NAME IS #raine whispers #edalyn clawthorne #eda clawthorne #luz noceda #lumity #amity x luz #toh #toh au #i do not have a name for this au yet tho lol #I'm open to suggestions

[talktomeinclexa]

The Royal Guard

By: TalktomeinClexa

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Gun violence, Blood and Injury

Status: WIP

Summary: Princess Clarke of Arkadia is kidnapped by mercenaries while on a visit to one of the kingdom's cities. Her abductors treat her well enough, but everything becomes more complicated when their client orders them to execute her. Lexa thought this was just another job. High risk, high pay. But when push comes to shove, will she betray her orders or her heart?

***

Chapter 5: Reprieve

Clarke woke at the sound of whispers and doors squeaking. She stretched her back and groaned when a kink manifested itself in her neck. As comfortable as the sofa looked, it wasn’t large or long enough to rival her king-sized bed and medium-firm mattress. A blanket was spread over her frame when she distinctly didn’t remember grabbing one during the night, and she smiled at the sweet attention.

Her stomach growling loudly reminded her she hadn’t eaten since breakfast the day before. With cheeks pink from embarrassment, she stood up and headed for the kitchen.

She found Girl there, with her back pressed against the kitchen counter, and the other female mercenary Clarke had dubbed Panther in her mind for the way she quietly stared at her.

“Morning,” Girl greeted her. “How are you?”

“Hello. I am well, thank you. I was hoping to prepare something for breakfast. Did you find any food?”

As she was looking at their surroundings, Clarke almost missed Girl signing what she had said to Panther. That explained the silent treatment, and she felt bad for not noticing earlier that the woman was deaf or hard of hearing.

Panther signed something in response that had Girl chuckle. Upon Clarke’s interrogative look, she translated. “Do you know how to cook?”

“Well…” No, she didn’t. Cliché as it was, Clarke had never boiled an egg in her life. While she had a fair understanding of how it went in theory, it would be best for everyone if she weren’t left unsupervised in the kitchen.

“Heda’s in the pantry. You should have a look at what’s available there first, and then I’ll help you prepare something.”

With a grateful nod, Clarke moved toward the door Girl had pointed at, trying not to imagine what the two women thought of her. That she was a spoiled brat, most likely, and the notion left a bitter aftertaste in her mouth. If she made it back to the palace in one piece, she would remedy the situation, she promised herself. No twenty-six-year-old, regardless of gender and social status, should be so useless in the kitchen.

As mentioned, she found Green Eyes in the pantry rummaging through the mostly empty shelves and cupboards with a frown.

Keep reading

#Clexaweek23 #Clexaweek23 Day 2 #Day 2 secret relationship #the royal guard #clexa #enemies to lovers #princess clarke #mercenary lexa

[therosebunpost]

Is this self indulgent? Yes, I hope you enjoy it too!

I’m taking Inspo from my recent Bully! Eddie idea, and mixing it with this!

So, Bully! Eddie x New Girl! Disfigured! Disabled!Reader, where Reader comes to school for her last year of high-school. She’s Eddie’s age, and has repeated school a few times to lead her to this point. Rumors spread, but one of the biggest ones is just how she ended up looking the way she does. Was it a car crash? A fire? A bear attack? No one really knows, and it’s even said that Reader changes the story every time she’s asked. Sometimes it’s more plausible, other times she spins this yarn that could rival Eddie’s own campaigns.

Obviously, Eddie is intrigued, but he’s also a dick, so he makes it his personal mission to find out just what happened to her. Here is where the previous idea comes in, because his plan involves getting her to tutor him. In his mind, it plays out like this: She tutors him and in between mathematical equations and world history, he pressures her into telling him what actually happened.

What really happens: Actually studying (which is a shocker to him), Reader countering his attempts, and the most surprising of all, Feelings??

It’s not long before Eddie realizes that these little study dates become less of an excuse to find out what’s happened to her, and more of a ploy to just know her. He feels like he does after a while. Like she’s slowly opening up to him despite not wanting to, despite turning down his more romantic advances with a scoff or a joke every damn time. After all, no one else in school knew how many surgeries she’s had, or her countless hospital visit’s. No one else knows the kind of music she listens to, or laughs with her about some stupid inside joke. No one else knows that when she was a child, she used to pretend to be a monster and scare the other kids on the playground. “They treated me like one anyway, so why not lean into it?” (That particular tidbit is one of his favorites.)

Eddie feels normal around her, for once. Less of a freak and more of a boy just trying to impress the girl he likes. He’s so certain that she likes him too. It’s in the way she looks at him, or doesn’t mind when he gets a little too close. It’s in the way she let him actually touch her face, and her scars. It’s in the way where she actually blushes when he teases her, her protests holding barely any heat.

He knows that he likes her, even if the thought scares him. In his mind, they may be the outcasts of the school but she’s the hidden princess just waiting to be discovered, and he’s just the troll keeping her locked away with association. That doesn’t stop him from stealing an extra sandwich from the lunch line for her when they study, or being her personal driver home when they finished. It doesn’t stop him from making her mixtapes, or making NPCs with her likeness. He may be a little mean to her, but he’s worse to the people around the two of them. To the dickheads who find it hilarious to mess with her, or the assholes who liked to stare.

Still, Eddie didn’t know why she kept ignoring his advances. Kept skirting around his flirting, or his professions of love. It all comes to a head when they smoke for the first time together, the weed leaving then both fuzzy. Eddie’s a sap when high, all compliments and sweetness, but Reader just seems to get more upset with every one.

“I’m not stupid.” She says, bitterness souring the floral perfume of the weed. “I know you can be a dick, but joking about that kind of thing is fucked up, Eddie.”

It’s in that moment that everything crashes into place. “…Someone asked you out as a joke?”

“…More then once.”

With the grace of a ballerina wearing sandbags on her feet, all heavy thumps and wobbling legs, Eddie’s right in front of her. Kneeling in front of her beanbag chair, brown eyes serious despite the pink rim. “I’m not joking.” He promises, so close that he can feel her breath on his face. So close that his nose brushes against hers. “I was never joking. I’m an asshole, but christ sweetheart, that’s…that’s some evil shit. I don’t deal in that.”

Her voice is soft, tentative. “…You don’t?”

“No. I’m more of a mischief maker. Apparently, I also can’t read people for shit. Is that why you keep turning me down? You really think me, The Freak Of Hawkins, would do that to my fellow companion in social exile?” He grins a little and that gets you giggling. “Sweetheart, that’s the kinda shit people like Jason and some of his cronies do. I should revoke your free weed privileges for even insinuating that-“

More laughter, and then you do something else. You pull him close, arms wrapped around his broad shoulders so your cuddling there on the beanbag. His heart is racing, his one tense body practically melting as you run your fingers through his wild curls. “….I was also…scared. I guess. No one’s ever really…payed attention to me like that before.”

“Well that’s their loss, and my fantastic victory.” He mumbles, hugging your waist and nuzzling your neck. The scent of your body wash tickling his nose. “I mean, fuck, I get to be with the ultimate survivor? My own bear fighter? The one touched by fire and lived to tell the tale? Sweetheart, you are the most metal of people. The most badass.” He leans back, cupping your face and lightly rubbing your cheeks. “So…please? Gimme a chance? No jokes, just my bleeding heart all for you to do what you want with.”

He kisses you for the first time that night in his van, then again the next morning when you wake up together. He calls you pretty, and the honesty in his tone sings.

#thebunspeaks #stranger things #fluffybunnycorner #eddie munson x reader #stranger things hc #eddie stranger things #eddie munson #this was just supposed to be a concept and instead I wrote a fic #whoopsie #anyway I love Eddie x disabled!reader and you can pry that idea from my cold dead hands #eddie x fem!reader #eddie x y/n #eddie x you #disabled!reader #disfigured!reader #Eddie munson x disabled!reader #Eddie x disabled!reader

[alexlestar]

Muted Blue AU

Reguri AU that pulls from other’s posts.

First is @deoxysacid’s role swap https://www.tumblr.com/deoxysacid/730102658260779008/roleswap-reguri-purple-if-you-will?source=share

Second is parts of @bunnygirl678’s post https://www.tumblr.com/bunnygirl678/728819485053730816/au-or-hc-idk-buttttttttttttttt-so-red-and-green?source=share

Then there will be Blue being scared of most ghost Pokémon like he is from Origins. (The only ghosts he’s fine with is the Gastly line)

Now for the part of the AU I’ve come up with

Agatha is Blue and Daisy’s grandma and is the reason why he’s fine with the Gastly line. (Not sure how fanon this is, but I know people agree they were ex's)

Blue gets his cocky side (that he only ever shows Daisy and Agatha) from her so she has a soft spot for him but still sees him like any other trainer during their battle.

Blue and Daisy have only ever been outside of Kanto once and that was to Alola to see family when Blue was very young (like 2 ⁄ 3 years old) and Blue only knows this because of photos. So this AU ignores any canon mention of Blue leaving Kanto.

During said visit Blue and Daisy’s parents are killed by a Jellicent while on a cruise and is why Blue is scared of ghost Pokémon. He doesn’t know which Pokémon is to blame, just that it was a ghost Pokémon that isn’t from Kanto.

The grief of losing their son and daughter-in-law Oak and Agatha break up which leads to Oak becoming a bitter old man to his grandkids. Daisy is old enough to stand up for herself but Blue becomes withdrawn around Oak and is a selective mute from it. For the next 7 or 8 years the only people who have ever heard Blue talk is his sister and grandma until he meets Red.

Red isn’t born in Pallet Town and meets Blue when they are 10 and is a month older than Blue. Daisy tries to get Blue to play with Red but he’s too shy at first, but this only makes Red want to be Blue’s friend more so he’s always hanging around Blue.

It takes a few months until Blue finally starts talking to Red even if it’s simple “Hello” and “bye”. This makes Red very happy which helps Blue warm up to him.

A year after Red has been living in town and has learnt sign from Blue and Daisy to help them talk when Blue is mute. The two of them get their first Pokémon. From Oak. This scares Blue but Red promises to stay with him while they get their Pokémon. Red picks Charmander and Blue goes to pick Squirtle but Oak makes a comment about how he’s trying to one up Red. This almost makes Blue change his mind but Red tells him it’s a smart move and how the typing matches their names.

After leaving, the only thing Blue says around other trainers are the attacks he wants his Pokémon to use. But when it’s just Blue and Red he talks more openly. A few months into their journey, Blue now has a one-sided convo where he’d just gush about Pokémon while Red listens. The first few times he does, he cuts himself short thinking he’s being rude by not letting Red speak, but Red assures him he fully enjoys listening to Blue. Red encourages Blue to gush to the point where Blue has repeated himself at least 10 times about the same Pokemon facts, but Red doesn’t care. He’s just happy to see his best friend and rival is so at ease around him.

Another few months passed so it's been a year since their journey started. They took their time to catch all the Pokemon they can, collect all the badges and help each other grow. They also hold off going to the league because Blue knows that if he became champion he would have to see Oak again he’s scared that will undo all of the progress he’s done to better himself. But in the end he goes because he doesn’t want to hold Red back.

Things proceed as normal with Blue going first and becoming champion, then Red following and beating Blue. However when Oak arrives and says he’s disappointed in Blue. Red goes off on Oak and says that they are champions together or neither of them are because they worked hard together to get to this point. Lance steps in and says he’ll allow it just this once because another region has more than one champion. But one of them has to be Top Champion while the other is only champion rank. Blue takes the rank just so he can leave and get away from Oak, leaving Red no choice but to accept Top Champion.

Once Red is crowned Top Champion, he rushes to find Blue talking with his grandma outside who is telling him how proud she is of him.

From here things continue as normal with Blue taking over the Viridian Gym, but he stays there a lot of the time to avoid going back to Pallet. Red goes up to Mt. Silver and promises Blue he’ll come back after some training.

After three years Red comes back for a few months before leaving for Unova. The two chat over the phone during this time. With Red no longer around again Blue regresses to not talking much to others in person outside of his sister and grandma since he couldn’t find a connection with the trainers in his gym.

3 more years pass before Red returns again when they are both 18 and this time stays in Kanto and promises that if he ever leaves again, he’s taking Blue with him.

The first week of Red being back he notices Blue being mute around him and worries it’s because he was gone for so long but Blue signs that isn’t the case. Red knows he’s telling the truth because Blue is a terrible liar. Red then jokes Blue likes him and catches Blue in a lie when he tries to sign that he doesn’t. For the next few weeks Red tries to coax the truth out of Blue verbally by flirting with him which flusters Blue. When he finally does admit it, he explains he was scared Red would reject him but realised that none of the flirting would have happened if he were to reject Blue.

So that’s my headcanon/AU for Reguri thanks again to deoxysacid and bunnygirl678 for the roleswap and mean Oak post that inspired this AU.

Part 2 Part 3

#reguri #au #headcanon #trainer red #trainer blue #trainer green #This was so much fun to write #My green tea went cold because I was hyperfixed on this #nameless shipping

[maoam]

Is it true that narusasu is just like every other shonen rivalry and not any different than any other rivals relationship shown? Like I know in hxh killua and gon are really popular, is it the same as narusasu? Some ppl use that to say narusasu wasn't intentional and ppl just like shipping 2 main male characters

No, Naruto/Sasuke is VERY different from other shonen rivalries. Most of my blog is dedicated to pointing out that their relationship is romantic, aside from them being rivals and friends.

Killua and Gon isn't really the same because they are friendly from the beginning, they don't need to pretend they don't like each other. They meet another kid that is the same age as them and soon become bestfriends (which neither had before). Gon is very naive and innocent so it's hard to decipher his sexuality, but there are some possible signs of Killua viewing Gon in a romantic light later in the series. However, I don't believe for a moment that Togashi would be against people shipping the two, knowing how he is.

But Naruto/Sasuke is a whole another thing because the whole manga focuses on their relationship, with Kishimoto always bringing attention back to it, and making Naruto bring it up one way or another. There's an entire journey of Naruto trying to understand Sasuke and his own feelings, and Sasuke trying to get away from his own feelings towards Naruto. Their love literally ends a long bitter cycle that no one could end before lol.

#anon

[sun-and-moon-mushroom]

Day 5: Rope Burns

AO3 link

(Continuation of Day 2)

(cw: medical restraints)

Shen Qingqiu had been trying to get out of his bed again, despite Mu Qingfang’s best efforts. He had thought that his fellow Peak Lord had finally grown out of his tendency to avoid treatment, but it seemed like that instinct was still in there somewhere. He’d been restrained after the second time he’d tried to crawl out of his bed and through the window — with the condition of his body, Mu Qingfang wasn’t even certain he’d survive the attempt.

He still wasn’t sure what had happened to Shen Qingqiu when the Immortal Alliance Conference was invaded by demons. It wasn’t any of the wounds given to him by the northern demon that he’d fought off, but it didn’t act exactly like Without-A-Cure did either. If anything, it seemed as if something was pulling his soul from his body — some sort of demonic cultivation trick perhaps — and his body was trying to fight it off by holding onto the soul at tightly as it could.

It was worrying — not only the idea that someone had taken the opportunity, possibly even engineered it, in order to target one of their own in such a way, but also in now it would affect Shen Qingqiu even if the process was stopped. He might end up loosing more of his memories, or he might regain the missing ones, along with whatever trauma was attached to them.

Knocking the struggling Shen Qingqiu out with a sedation technique, Mu Qingfang sat down by his bedside and started using his qi to heal the abrasive injuries he’d given himself as he struggled against his bindings. They were the type that they usually used for patients suffering from qi deviations, designed to restrain them, but without completely cutting off their qi circulation. Red marks stretched across the skin of his arms and legs, but slowly faded as Mu Qingfang worked.

Then there was the other problem. Mu Qingfang had known that Shen Qingqiu had changed a lot over the last few years… but his actions towards his disciple, the one who was revealed as a Heavenly Demon to the entire cultivation world, had been decidedly out of character. He had begged them — Shen Qingqiu! Begging! — to not imprison him, tried to convince them that he was at fault even, despite how obvious it was that he had been deceived as much as the rest of them.

Mu Qingfang’s suspicions had begun then, and his further investigations had confirmed his instincts. For the first few years that Luo Binghe had been on Qing Jing Peak, Shen Qingqiu had hated him. Then, he seemed to change. Slowly at first, but then suddenly, even inviting his new favourite disciple to live in his side room. It wasn’t just Luo Binghe either — Liu Qingge had told him of Shen Qingqiu’s strange behaviour after saving him from his qi deviation in the Ling Xi caves, asking him to check if he’d been affected by anything that might have caused it. Even Yue Qingyuan, ever the subject of his distaste, had become something of a friend.

There were a lot of plants, creatures, and curses that could effect how a person thought or acted, and as a healer, Mu Qingfang was expected to know the warning signs for as many as possible. The way Shen Qingqiu acted, the way he changed so drastically after his qi deviation… it all pointed to him being poisoned by the petals of the Sea-Foam Rose, a poison that turned feelings of hate into feelings of love and affection. His most hated disciple had become his favourite, his bitter rival had become a friend, and even the sect leader, who he acted so coldly towards before, had received some of his affection.

There wasn’t exactly a cure to the effect of the petals, not one that Mu Qingfang know of at least. He suspected, based on the nature of similar plants, that dual cultivation might help, but he knew Shen Qingqiu well enough to know that he would undoubtedly refuse such an experiment, even without the flower clouding his mind. No, the closest thing to a cure was to use the leaves of the flower instead, and change love back into hate. It wasn’t perfect, and worked best shortly after exposure but still… it might be their only chance to save Shen Qingqiu from himself.

#svsss #svsss au #shen qingqiu #mu qingfang #my writing #febuwhump 2024 #febuwhump

[captain-astors]

🥺 thankyew... (replying to the tags of your reblog)

Then back at u, what are some AU/aesthetic that u think HouTata will fit in?

Oh joyous! Apologies that this took a moment to get to, I was brainstorming

Obligational dungeon meshi AU, I think I could see Houji as a designated noble Canary (one of these elves without the ear-notches, like the girl on the far right, if you don't know their job is just clearing out/inspecting dungeons when they reach a point of danger.)

Houji's division has had a lot of ingrained bias in the form of constant criticism about the "susceptibility of short-lived races to demons"

However some number of years back, Houji was assigned to clear out to clear out and kill a tallman dungeon master (Yan) who, no doubt was completely off the rails and in a state of mind that could not be reasoned with, summoning horrific monsters at every turn, but nevertheless Houji couldn't ignore how his motives and descent made perfect sense, they weren't completely different creatures at all.

So years later, when Houji is assigned to another dungeon and realizes this is the younger brother of that same tallman, recognizing from the copies of friends and family that Yan kept within his dungeon, even as Tatara slaughters his friends, Houji can't help but desperately try to save him from the madness of the dungeon.

But he's still ready to kill him if the world needs it.

Also I think the two criminal canaries with their notched ears under Houji's command should be Mutsuki and Takizawa

(Fun fact, I considered sketching this but the concept of twink Houji shaved two years off my lifespan, maybe he's a half-elf who got a lot of those tallman genes for his build or something)

Additionally I think it would be funny to put them in twst, not as students but as teachers. Houji teaches history or something at their rival school Royal Sword Academy and Tatara teaches the same subject at Night Raven College. They despise eachother but both of their students have already picked up on the tension and are betting on when the day will come where one of their arguments at the school competitions will turn into making out. Little do they know, it already has occasionally, just not publicly yet.

Aesthetic-wise, Film noir detective flick anyone? Bitter rivals where one of them was the culprit the whole time and the other knows that but is just trying to prove it? That sounds kind of like Death Note premise-wise actually... oh well, that does work.

Canon-based AU but Juuzou is added to both of their legions of "children", but simultaneously. He got assigned to Houji's division and thought it would be funny to go undercover as a ghoul because he knows how to smell and behave like one that just doesn't like to use his Kagune, and instead uses a quinque like Tomoe. Both of them grow fond of him simultaneously which becomes very awkward when all three get into a fight. Shinohara would have a heart attack if he knew his son had gained two more dads and they all sort of want to kill eachother. Do you see my vision. AU where Tatara is a dragon and Houji is a knight do whatever you want with that.

#miscellaneous not-art things #tokyo ghoul #houtata #dungeon meshi spoilers

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

My thoughts on Mai is probably so irrelevant right now but i love thinking about the wasted potential in exploring Megumi’s dynamic with the Zenin Clan because he had to have some contact with them over the course of his childhood, meaning that Mai had to interact with the kid at some point (which she did I think it’s canon) and for Mai to instantly know that Megumi is a little child genius/prodigy. Also for Mai to have a little crush on Megumi (I know most find this disgusting seeing that those two are family but I think everyone forgets that the Zenin is built on incest)

Mai putting her hopes into Megumi of him somewhat changing the Zenin when he becomes Clan Head only for those hopes to be crushed bc Megumi fucked off? I find that so depressing because she probably didn’t understand (or fully comprehend) the reasoning behind Megumi cutting off contact. I know it probably hurt her for a while because she genuinely wanted to be close to him seeing as he was the only boy (i’m assuming) that was ever truly kind to her and her sister.

I’m clinging onto that Mai tag for dear life because I’m really interested in seeing her thoughts on Megumi. Admittedly, she probably grew out of the hero worship she had for him. Maybe it was replaced with some bitterness seeing as he wouldn’t be the Clan Head now unless something happens to Gojo, so Megumi won’t be her hope in that clan. She’s stuck with Naoya who probably wants her as a wife.

NAOYA. God my thoughts on his dynamic with Megumi…it could be something so complex. Like Naoya could see Toji in the boy, who he has an obsession with but he also see Gojo, and he also see the little brat who may fear him on some level but is not afraid to stand up to him which pisses him off. He also sees his replacement, a boy who has the potential to rival Gojo, making him the potential heir. I could see him being like the only one out of the Zenin who wants that kid gone, out of sight and out of mind. Like everyone else abuses him to make him become something great. Naoya would do it to take out his anger on the kid who is everything he always wanted to be and he doesn’t even know it.

Naobito. I have no thoughts on the old drunk. I do find it interesting how Kamo said something about how Megumi is either more useful or more suitable than Naobito. I forgot the wording. I can see Naobito truly caring for Megumi though in his own fucked up way because Megumi is everything he wanted in a heir. But that care doesn’t really stop him from hurting Megumi.

Maki. Well. Best aunt/nephew duo. If the Zenin ever had a family dinner or get together, those two are definitely the ones who sits in the corner and talks shit. They definitely try and fuck shit up in the house. You would find them in the kitchen spitting in Naoya’s food. You’re gonna look me in the eyes and tell me I’m wrong? I dare you. All in all, they see a sibling in each other. Especially after losing Tsumiki/Mai. Megumi if definitely her favorite kouhai. Some may argue it’s Nobara. But listen. SEE THE VISION. Megumi has the family pass. Megumi gets Maki in a way that most don’t. But Megumi is still Yuta’s boy though. Maki sometimes fight for custody however.

Excuse my rambling guys. I was just in a silly mood thinking about Gege and his….questionable writing decisions lately.

This has been sitting half answered in my asks for like a month. If you have an ask that never got answered please know that it’s probably in my drafts haunting me.

Oh Gege’s sure. Made some decisions recently. And they’re uh. They sure are decisions. That he made. For some reason.

Maki and Megumi are the bio family dream team to me. I simply love their bond. They have identical resting bitch faces. They’re always on the same bullshit. Both are completely insane in the same way. The bio family they each always wanted but never had. Megumi is Yuuta’s Boy but that doesn’t stop Maki from making her own play for the title.

Mai’s entire thing with having a crush on Megumi becomes a little bit more comfortable if it’s framed like “he was the best option.” The Zenin do practice incest, so her entire dating pool was likely framed to her as blood family from the start. She also is the only female (other than Maki) born to that bloodline around clan leadership that we know of, so she was probably viewed as a “desirable” spouse. Marriage was probably used as a means of navigating social status, so her parents are probably planning to use her as a chip for their own political games now that their own future has sort of stagnated. After all, both their kids are sort of failures by Zenin standards, and they don’t have any other kids incoming that could do better. This is basically canon to me—they did try to make a marriage contract with Naoya, who’s very high in the clans leadership and the only other contender for clan head other than Megumi himself. She’s probably spent her entire life knowing that her parents would try for marry her off to the person in the clan with the highest status, and that’s probably been considered Naoya or one of his brothers for a long time.

There’s Naobito, the actual clan head, who appears to have had all sons. Toji appears to be Naobito’s nephew, meaning his father or mother was directly from that same line, and Megumi’s its continuation. And Naobito’s brother is Maki and Mai’s father, who produced the only girls.

The Zenin clan values power above all else, so we can assume that the line that is leading the clan tends to have a lot of cursed energy and skill. Mai and Maki didn’t get that, but they are still close tie to the line.

Mai was never supposed to be a jujutsu sorcerer. She didn’t have enough cursed energy for it. She only ended up going to the Kyoto school because Maki fucked off and the Zenin wanted to make a point. But we know how the Zenin treats women—since she didn’t have enough potential to be a sorcerer but was a member of a powerful bloodline who had cursed energy herself, she was probably viewed as a prime candidate to continue the family line, as seen with them trying to marry her off to fucking Naoya, who was a pretty high candidate for heir to the clan.

Of course, Megumi inherited the Ten Shadows. He actually did beat out Naoya for the position of heir without having put any effort or involvement into the position. He likely would have instantly shot to the top of the list for clan heir the second they knew he existed. Like, he was still installed as clan head when he actively had nothing to do with the clan. When he was a kid, and everyone was assuming they’d be able to bring him back into the clan and raise him as Zenin? It would probably be considered as close to an absolute as anything gets to them.

I could see Mai kind of romanticizing the idea of Megumi as a result, especially when she was younger Naoya was actively abusive to her and had the personality of a used gym sock dipped in shit and left on highway to rot. Megumi 1) wasn’t raised with them, so felt the least like her family 2) was actually nice to her, the one time she got to spend time with him and 3) was nice to Maki. And as bad as it was for Mai, Maki was the least accepted member of the clan at the time. She was a girl and she had little to no cursed energy. Mai canonically idolised her sister as a young girl and probably hated to see how everyone mistreated her.

Megumi intervening on her behalf when Naoya targeted her would have been monumental to her. It would have been the ultimate way of saying “everything will be okay” when she just didn’t have that sense of the future growing up.

For one thing, Megumi was guaranteed to have a position of extreme authority within the clan itself as he got older. But when he intervened on her behalf, he didn’t.

He didn’t save Mai with his own authority within the clan. He didn’t extend his protection over her, because he didn’t have any protection. When they finally all got caught, the first thing Naoya did was strike him across the face hard enough to knock him over.

They all got beaten horribly for that stunt. And they all expected it from the start, because that’s what their family did.

Megumi stuck his neck out for her. He took a beating because he didn’t like Naoya bullying her around. He intervened for Mai when it was to his own direct detriment, and she never forgot it. Her own parents weren’t doing that.

Which meant that she sort of hoped that when Megumi got older and became an authority in the clan, people would stop hurting her entirely.

Megumi didn’t have the authority as a little kid to just order Naoya to fuck off, but he was pretty much guaranteed to have it one day. There had always been people in the clan where, if you had their favor, no one could touch you. Mai had just never had anyone’s favor before. But Megumi was the Ten Shadows, and he was practically cosmically ordained as the most important person in their clan in five hundred years, and he was kind to her, and he said they could be friends. He said they’d stay friends.

It cost Megumi a lot to protect her as kids. It gave her a lot of very real hope that he’d keep doing it when it cost him nothing, and that there would come a day where it would just stop hurting so much.

And it wasn’t just her. It was also a future where Maki could maybe be happy.

One of the central facets of Mai’s character is that she desperately wishes for a world where Maki would have stayed in the clan with her. She wanted Maki to keep her promise. She wanted Maki to just be content doing a few chores and keeping her head down.

At this time, Maki hadn’t broken her promise yet, but I think that Mai still wanted that as their future. Her and Maki together, with Maki never leaving her, and both of them safe in the compound from the curses that terrified Mai.

Even if Megumi was nice to her, there should have been the lingering doubt as to whether he would also make the clan safe for Maki, but that fear got shattered when she joined them in Mai’s hideout.

He didn’t treat her like garbage. He said that they could be friends too. Maki bossed him around while they played, and the most he did was grumble at her. He treated Maki better than their own parents were treating them, and he did it without a thought.

So yeah. Mai had a lot of hopes pinned on Megumi when she was a very young girl. And I think if she had any feelings for him, it was more trying to force herself to have those feelings, because the world he offered was by far the one she wanted the most. Whether she was in love with him was almost the least important consideration.

If Mai was going to be married off to the heir to the clan, better Fushiguro “respect women” Megumi than Zenin “if she breathes she’s a thot” Naoya. He made her see a future she and Maki could be happy in for once, and then it all got ripped away.

I definitely see Mai as having a lot of bitterness towards Megumi leaving the clan, but I don’t think it was initially against him. I think she was initially bitter as hell against gojo. She was a little kid buying into the propaganda, which is that it wasn’t their Ten Shadows rejecting them, no, it was gojo stealing him away. That’s definitely changed and developed over the years, but I won’t say how.

#sea glass gardens #see the thing is that I don’t think romantic love was every proffered to her as important growing up #the Zenin clan married to have kids and further political games #love wouldn’t have factored into it or every been posed to her as a major consideration #megumi was the only person she’s ever wanted to marry and to her that might as well be love #it had less to do with anything as to who he is as a person and more because she had two options and one was a misogynistic wife beater who #had ten years on her and whose personality was ass #the other was about her age and respected women and intervened to make sure she wasn’t hurt #there was. no competition. yes please let’s go the path that means her and her sister won’t be beat their entire lives #also I have a backlog of about 90ish asks right now so please know if you sent me a message I’m not ignoring you I just am working through #them still. I saw the message and loved it. it was great and made my day. #I tend to write long answers to asks too which means there’s a lot that just end up half finished or take a long time to get out

[cyrereads]

October Releases (2023) - Indie Authors Edition

Here is a list of a few indie authors who have releases this Oct! Please check them out and support our small authors <3

The Erstwhile Tyler Kyle - Steve Hugh Westenra (Oct. 13th) A washed-up thirty-year-old actor and reluctant cryptid investigator, Tyler is used to playing the Scully to his best friend Josh’s Mulder on their stupidly popular YouTube channel. But when Tyler receives previously unseen footage of the B movie bombshell mother who abandoned him eighteen years ago— genre(s): horror

Posthaste Manor - Carson Winter, Jolie Toomajan (Oct. 18th) Everyone has a story about Posthaste Manor. None of the stories end well, but that doesn’t stop the hopeful from hoping and the desperate from trying. This composite novel stands as both history and eulogy of one very haunted house, as recounted by artists, real estate agents, and beloved family pets; by the debauched, the dead and the dying, and anyone looking for one last chance. genre(s): horror

Blood & Flowers - mars adler (Oct. 31 🎃) No one has been able to set foot in the D’Arcy family’s ancestral home for the last twenty years. The family was forced to relocate, and the only place they could find was close to their rival family, the Kanes. Proximity and years of anger have brought the situation to a boiling point, and it’s only so long before all-out war ensues. As a last attempt at peace, the Kane patriarch sends his half-witch, half-vampire advisor, Elio, to help one of the D’Arcy sons try to unravel the house’s mysteries. The only problem? Elio and Valerian D’Arcy hate each other. Years of mediating for their families have left them embroiled in a bitter rivalry, and unable to trust each other. genre(s): vampire, queer, novelette

Δάιος: A Call Me Icarus Novel - Andromeda Ruins (OUT NOW!) The Elysians are here to protect us. They uphold order, they keep citizens safe… unless you are their kid. When you are the child of an Elysian you get to see what they are truly like. You get to see their fears, their anger, their hatred. You get to be subjected to their wants and whims. Most importantly, you get to be trained by the ‘best of the best’ to become an Elysian yourself. At least that’s what we were told. We weren’t told what that training would cost us. What it would do to our bodies and our minds. How it would make us into what the Elysians really are, mindless abominations. genre(s): retelling

Herald of the Witch's Mark - Kellen Graves (Oct. 20) Saffron finally has the one thing he's always a chance to attend school. To be able to do so alongside Prince Cylvan, even while glamoured as a high fey and pretending not to know one another, Saffron is eager to finally experience the education he's always dreamed of. But the expectations of being a perfect fey lord are suffocating enough, and are only made more difficult as the unfettered rowan magic in his body runs wild. genre(s): fantasy, queer, romance, m/m

The Witch of Borygen Marsh - Lysander Arden (Oct. 31 🎃) Corliss is a witch, but their specialty is black magic and necromancy. And there's nothing sexy about that-or is there? Atticus makes a deal with them, but can he survive three nights in that dark cabin in the marshes? The appearance of an undead ex-boyfriend, nightmares that plague the two of them, and the promise of ultimate pleasure may be more than Atticus can handle.

In The Garden Of Echo - H.S. Wolfe (Oct. 31 🎃) Echo and Ender have existed nearly as long as the earth itself. They’re hungry, in love, and indestructible. For centuries they’ve wandered across continents feeding from their favorite food source - humans. But the mess they’ve left in their wake starts their prey on the path of discovering that they are not what they seem. After being forced to curb their feeding and go into hiding, a tragic incident leads Echo and Ender to learn about what they are, and the power they are truly capable of. genre(s): horror, queer

Rosemary & Iron - Dorian Valentine (Oct. 22) When a ritual to restore Mana goes wrong and sends him into the distant past, Célestin Edevane seeks the help of a strange man inhabiting an even stranger estate in order to prevent the calamity that destroyed Mana. Faced with a fascinating world unlike his own, filled with vampires, fae, witches and old gods and an unexpected love affair...will he even want to return to his time? genre(s): fantasy, queer, vampires, romance

The Misfit Mage and His Dashing Devil - M.N. Bennet (OUT NOW!) Apprentice mage Wally spends his days cataloging rare artifacts and dreaming about finally mastering his magics and living the adventures he’s always desired. Bez, a once mighty devil who craves the freedom of the outside world again, despises his confinement inside a powerful object. His only company now comes from the mages working within the archives he’s stored. Among them, the most annoying of them all, an anxious and considerate Walter. genre(s): fantasy, queer, paranormal, m/m, romance

As The Light Goes Out - Olive J Kelley (Oct. 31 🎃) When Boston born and bred Simon Abbott buys an obsolete lighthouse on the coast of Maine, he envisions turning it into a short-term rental with nothing but a HGTV understanding of renovation and heaps of gay audacity. The current caretaker of the lighthouse, Bruce Cadogan, sees right through Simon’s confidence and, in a last ditch attempt to save his quaint New England hometown’s charm, asks for three days to convince Simon not to go through with his plan, or he’ll help him with the renovations himself. genre(s): contemporary, mental health, queer, novella

Knight - Elle Samhain (Oct. 31 🎃) Avery isn’t sure she should even still be alive after Morgana’s Legion left two Reapers dead… and one Saved. She and her friends have located the fifth and final Knight of Od placed in the realm of the living by the Beldam - the Knight of Spirit. The oddball Princess Yumi has waited with bated breath and uncertain heart for the Berserker Witch. Can she be trusted to resist the demon she harbors? The ragtag band of Reapers must confront the monsters of their own pasts before they can ever hope to save the future.

Reborn - Seth Haddon (Oct. 24) When the Rezwyn Empire mysteriously cuts diplomatic ties with the Kingdom of Usleth, merchant lord Oren Radek is sent to investigate. But when he discovers a coup brewing against the emperor, Radek's life and his country's safety is suddenly under threat. Izra Dziove, visionary advisor to the Rezwyn Emperor, is trying to hold the turbulent Rezwyn court together while being plagued by dreams of his fated man. But when Izra’s adversaries launch an attack on the diplomatic party from Usleth, he is forced to take action to protect them and prevent a war. genre(s): fantasy, queer, m/m, romance

King of Hell - Morgan Dante (Oct. 17) Still need to scratch that Good Omens or Supernatural itch? Laurențiu, a vampire staked by his ex-lover's husband, only craves one thing: revenge. In Hell, as a courtier for one of the kings of Hell, he's consumed by it and willing to make a deal to kill the man, Anthony, who turned him into a vampire and abandoned him. genre(s): queer, romance, fantasy, vampires

Devour - Dae Storm (Oct. 17) When Renee Reynolds finds herself dumped by her long-term boyfriend in the middle of the pouring rain on her birthday, she wishes she could escape from her life. Standing furious in the middle of the street, Renee sees something she was never meant to, bringing herself to the attention of a very hungry... feline monster. Unable to outrun the creature from beyond the realm of her beliefs, Renee is left in the claws of her captor: Hale. Hale cannot let a human go knowing what she is; but there's something different about this one.

Outfield Assist - Cat Giraldo (Oct. 17) Outfield Assist is an MMF polyamorous romance with a guaranteed HEA. It's book 2 in the Dominating the Diamond series and can be read out of order or as a standalone.

The Ghosts of Reeser Morrigan - Amara Lynn (Oct. 13) Robert Wutherford is a warlock who runs a shop in the town of Yverwood, though his services as a warlock mostly go unneeded in a town filled to the brim with magically gifted. He spends most of his days with his nose stuck in romance novels, wishing he were in one. When a mysterious client shows up at his door claiming to be in need of his services, Wutherford doesn't believe him. Reeser Morrigan has a ghost problem, so he claims. A warlock couldn't be what he needs… Wutherford agrees to observe Reeser for one night to assess the situation. Once Wutherford witnesses what the true problem is—that Reeser is visited by a new spirit out to devour his soul each night—he realizes he might be the only one who can help, as he possesses the rare wender affinity with souls.

a special thank you to Monster Manor on twt for providing some of the titles on this.

please SHARE and spread the word so we can show our indie authors some much deserved love <3

#new books #booklr #book tumblr #book blog #authors #horror #currently reading #books and reading #writers #new release #book release #readers of tumblr #october reads #spooky reads #books #bookworm #bookblr #queer community #queer author #queer fiction #indie author #indie books #queer books #lgbtq books #fantasy #queer authors #novella #vampires #gay vampires #m/m romance

[fairydust-stuff]

Thoughts on Adam x Cherry

So I watched Skate 8 Infinity recently and these two have given me a lot of food for thought. And I have seen zero meta on them so here we go a deep dive on   Cherry X Adam as a whole. 

Honestly having watched all 12 episodes of the show. I think if we’re talking healthy, recovery, realization  Adam the best options for him would be either Cherry or  Tadashi. 

While Tadashi has his own issues and Adam x Tadashi is a very mixed bag for me. This isn’t about them so i’ll save my thoughts on them for another post because oh boy do I got thoughts. 

So anyway Cherry had a huge crush on Adam you’d have to be blind not to see it. The way he silently looks at him tells so much. I also don’t think the feelings were one sided like a lot of others seem to think. 

Adam catches Cherry in his arms at one point and that has been the  romantic short hand visual in hetero media forever. Its basically the writers winking at the audience that they should start thinking of  these two as a couple. That they have feelings for each other.  

While its unclear if they actually did date since this a thinly veiled subtext show. Either Adam and Cherry had a full on closeted secret relationship or they just pinned for each other relentlessly.  

Also Adam has issues but he did in fact cherish Joe and Cherry. 

There’s a clear scene where Adam takes off his hood and when Cherry remarks on the dangers of this. Adam replies  that its ok if Joe and Cherry see his face, implying their special. 

There’s also some bitterness from Adam and one or two remarks in present day implying Adam felt abandoned by Joe and Cherry. 

Adam also refused their beefs with him and while some may take his your boring comment as face value, I dont but we’ll come back to that.  

The fallout from what i understand is Adams obsessive need to find his Eve. Adam got more intense and willing to hurt others and Cherry and Joe got cut out of his life for trying to make him see reason. 

I think it was Joe at one point states  Adam cut them out first. 

Adam didn’t want to hear it and if Adam and Cherry were a couple. Adam’s need to find his Eve must of really stung. Its kind of ironic to me that certain fans see Kaoru as not a perfect skate board partner for Adam and that means their not meant to be in a relationship. 

Adams whole issue is he is looking for someone who can be his everything but a rival in competition has an opposite set of requirements then what one looks for in a romantic relationship. Adams abusive family has blurred those lines in an unhealthy manner. Skating has become Adam’s whole life to the point Kaoru being unable to compete with him equals not meant to be. 

Cherry is still clearly hung up on Adam in the present day and wants to pull him back from the brink. Viewing Adam’s rejection of their offers to beef as a sign Adam still cares. 

Cherry’s whole thing with Carla and measuring each degree so he can go faster, even seems to scream look at me! I can go toe to toe with you! suggesting that Adam made Kaoru feel inferior because he wasn’t good enough for Adam. He wants to both help and show Adam he is worth it. 

Which I agree with for all Adam’s talk of abuse is love. Adam can only up until the Cherry affair, hurt other skaters he competes with those he devalues and objectifies as his Eve. Adam doesn’t know crap about Reki, Miya and Langa or the other skaters he trashes. 

He projects a false image onto them and forgets them when they fail to live up to this image of the perfect Eve. (something he clearly learned from the aunties!) Langa isn’t even special he’s part of an ongoing pattern. 

But Adam won’t beef with Joe or Cherry. When Cherry taunts him about this “ were you scared”  in an attempt to push Adam to admit he still cares about him and Joe. Kaoru gets a skateboard to the face because Adam lashes out aginst the threat to his Adam persona. 

Even before their beef Adam drops his madador of love act completely. He acts distant and not like his usual flamboyant self. In fact he acts more like he does to Tadashi. Your not seeing Adam in that moment your seeing  Ainosuke. 

Cherry wasn’t attacked for being boring he was attacked because he saw though the illusion. He knew Adam was a lie.  At this point Adam wanted to drive him and Joe away. So he could continue to bask in his dellusions. 

Though there seems to be some resentment that in Adam’s mind Joe and Cherry” didn’t love him enough”  Adam ultimately in his attack on Kaoru rejects the reality of love for a false promise of “perfection” an Eve. 

If Eve was the lie Kaoru was the real relationship Adam could of had. The one rejected for the ideal.  

So where do they go from here? 

I like the ship on two fronts one the tragic angle Kaoru is  Ainosuke’s  karma he screwed up a good thing or ruined the chance for something chasing Eve who  never existed. Adam hurt Kaoru so badly he’ll be lucky to be  allowed to crawl back into the friend zone. (Kaoru was still hurt/ salty by the end and he was allowed to be) 

 Tadashi  is Adam’s second chance with Kaoru being his lingering regret. Even if Adam wanted to try again with him Kaoru has moved on. 

Or  Ainosuke is hit in the head with the fact he still has feelings for Kaoru and   has to actually work his ass off to make it up to Kaoru and has to learn to handle an real adult relationship with someone who adores him but will not put up with his shit.  

I like either option honestly because both would lead to interesting stories. 

So those are just some of my thoughts on Adam x Cherry and or Love blossom. 

So are your thoughts on the subject? 

#sk8 ainosuke #sk8 adam #sk8 cherry #sk8 kaoru #love blossom #cherry x adam #ainosuke x kaoru #loveblossom

[lizzybeth1986]

A Blossoming Friendship

Book: The Royal Romance, Book 1

Characters: Hana Lee & Kiara Theron (platonic for now)

Rating: G

Word Count: 2,864 words approx

Summary: Rivals and suitors for the Prince's social season, are never really expected to become friends. All that changes - for Lady Hana and Lady Kiara - with one conversation.

A/N: Takes place after the apple-tasting task at the Apple Blossom Festival (TRR1 Ch 11) Plum blossoms are China's national flower, and orange blossoms are used often in Moroccan cuisine (and Kiara is part-Moroccan from her father's side).

This story is a prequel one-shot to a Hana x Kiara series I'm planning, Petals and Thornes. Let me know if you'd like to be tagged.

Tagging @choicesficwriterscreations for FotW.

The first crop of the season has a particular bite to it.

As Hana Lee walks away from the trio of chosen frontrunners - the bitter aftertaste of Cordonian Rubies still ringing on her alarmed tongue - Hana finds herself feeling something vaguely approaching anger towards her mother.

All that time, all those lessons. The best tutors, the best academies, the best books. Etiquette embroidery dressage dancing music ice-skating tea-serving. Only for her downfall to be brought about by an apple.

She is sure Mother must be sitting at home right now, watching the live feed, scowling at Hana's face as she blurts out - barely masking her disgust - "I wasn't expecting such a sour taste!" She has no doubt Mother must be hissing the rare expletive at the TV screen.

As if you had nothing to do with that, Mother!

Her brain is such a deluge of words and smart phrases, things she could absolutely say if she picked up the phone right now. How could you? You sent me here thinking they tasted like honey! She can just imagine Mother on the other end of the line, opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish. How the hell do you expect me to be Queen of Cordonia if you can't even let me know what their apples taste like! It would be so simple: she could outshout Mother, interrupt her the way she's been interrupted half her life, leave her speechless with quick, short, harsh catchphrases and ironclad logic.

Except she knows that won't happen. The moment she picks up that phone, every single word - no matter how well-rehearsed - will crumble into ashes in her mouth. Yes, Mother. I'll try, Mother. I'm so sorry, Mother. I'll work harder, Mother.

But she knows one thing now, in a way that her mother still refuses to. All the effort in the world won't be enough. She could have stood there stone-faced and waxed lyrical later, and still not stood a chance. It's a realisation that dawned on her over the past few weeks - she is not Cordonian enough, not white enough, to be worthy...no matter how perfect her dressage moves are or how skilled she is at everything a noblewoman is expected to do.

Broken engagements are small change for the likes of a Countess Madeleine - they're only reputation-ending scandals when the woman in question is a brown-skinned foreigner.

"Vous voulez de l'eau?" a familiar and rather musical voice calls from behind.

Lady Kiara Thorne is one of those women who doesn't even need to try to look gorgeous. Even on her worst days, Hana doesn't doubt that her hair will be the glossy black of a raven's wing, her skin smooth and dewy, her stride sinuous and confident. Among fellow Cordonian nobles who smile sweetly to her face, and engage in mindless whispered gossip about her skills as a polyglot (or lack thereof, they would insist - she only ever speaks two languages!) behind her back...Hana envies Kiara's ability to remain so supremely unruffled, so self-assured. She is sure that getting to that point can't have been an easy journey.

Today Lady Kiara is holding out a small bottle of water - likely taken from the stands kept for the apple-pickers. Hana's eyes search her face, warily, suspiciously, for signs of disdain, and finds none.

"Take it, I don't have all day," Kiara taps her foot in impatience. She clarifies as the doubt in Hana's face changes into pure confusion. "It'll take the edge off of the taste."

Kiara is right. The moment the water touches her tongue, the sour taste instantly dissolves into a mellowed sweetness, lingering in her mouth.

Satisfied, Hana settles down on a stone seat a little away from the press and the three women. Kiara takes a sear beside her. It's the first time they've ever sat together like this, out of choice rather than necessity or seating arrangements. Hana regards the other woman with wariness and more than a little admiration.

Lady Kiara was the first to drop out of the running, around the time of the Lythikos Ball. Hana remembers, even now, how when the spare of Castelserraillan claimed the Prince would fall for her, her smile never reached her eyes. This woman knew from the beginning she wouldn't stand a chance - not with half of the press, not with the royal family (and once Esther blazed into their lives like a rogue comet, not even with the Prince himself).

But what most people would view as a failure she'd transformed into opportunities; she has never stopped hustling from one contact to another, one prospect to another, patiently laying the foundations for the next step in her career, whatever that may be.

The two women watch now in silence as the frontrunners of the season vie for press attention, their blindingly white faces turning a little pink in the sun. Duchess Olivia stands a little back, surprisingly. She looks tired, bitterly aware that she's lost most of her footing with the public since her infamous public kiss with the Prince. Countess Madeleine exudes confidence from every pore, except when she steals glances at the woman she'd never expected to last a week. Her eyes blaze in a naked need to possess what she considers her territory. And Esther...

"This is your first time?"

"Hm?" Hana murmurs distractedly, her eyes still focused on the dark-haired woman whose striking sapphire eyes caught all of Cordonia's attention from the moment she blazed into the social season, and into Prince Liam's life. Unbidden, she lets out of soft sigh.

Kiara rolls her eyes, and tries harder than ever not to scan the area for her very own special...also-dark-haired...person.

There are a great many things Lady Lee may be good at; hiding her feelings isn't one of them.

"Eating a Cordonian Ruby," she repeats, slower and more deliberate this time. "Is it your first time?"

"My mother used to bring only a few from trips she took to Bethulia," Hana says, curling within herself and cupping her chin, almost defensively. What kind of Cordonian are you? she can almost hear Kiara thinking. "Mostly for pies. Or to be more accurate...to make me learn how to make pies. I've never actually tasted one on its own."

"How did she describe the taste?" Kiara asks, the corner of her mouth tugging upwards very slightly.

"You know...the usual," Hana says tiredly, "Pleasantly crisp. Intense flavour. Notes of caramel." Hana lets out a harsh laugh at the last description.

"To be fair, it's the first pickings of the harvest that have the harshest bite." Kiara concedes, "they mellow down a little after that."

Hana bites back a smile. "Only a little?"

Kiara grins back. "You must understand...Cordonians - especially here and among the descendants of the Fire Tribes - tend to have more of a taste for the astringent. You should try their glazed duck with garlic potatoes once - you'll understand."

Hana nods. Above her and Kiara, the petals of some apple blossoms fall, leaving the remaining to release their own bouquet of scents: some delicate and mellow, some spicy, some like mulled wine - warming your limbs and your soul.

"Perhaps that's why I might never be fully into this kind of apple. I was brought up in Shanghai. Sugar was always seen as a sign of prosperity. Most of our foods are at least a little sweet."

"That makes sense," Kiara says, "What is your favourite fruit then, if it isn't an apple?"

Hana allows herself a tiny smirk, anticipating the horror on Kiara's face when she whispers, "Durian."

"You're not serious!"

"You only think so because you haven't eaten one yet," Hana points out, laughing slightly louder now, "even if it smells like turpentine and onions wrapped up in a sock..."

"...or as Anthony Bourdain once put it so elegantly, 'as if you'd french-kissed your dead grandmother -'"

"Hah! That's a new one," Hana says, feeling a little bolder and less polite, in the face of Kiara's teasing demeanor, "But the taste is divine. Smooth like custard, pillowy like the softest cheesecake. A...slightly strange mix of flavours, like garlic or cheese or caramel, but it works."

Kiara raises her eyebrows.

"Really!" Hana says, laughing again, "but the funniest part is you can never truly know how ripe it is, except by smelling it."

Kiara wrinkles her nose. "One small sacrifice isn't much for something that delicious, oui?"

"Oui," Hana echoes. "What's yours?"

Kiara grimaces. Her answer is uttered so softly Hana isn't sure it can even qualify for a whisper.

"...oranges."

Hana lets out a rather audible gasp. "The national fruit of Auvernal?"

"Keep your voice down!" Kiara hisses, then laughs at her own brief panic, embarrassed. Hana presses her lips together to stem any more laughter, but her eyes glimmer with mirth.

Sheepishly, she whispers: "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

Hana playfully performs a zipping motion with her fingers, over her mouth. "My lips are sealed. We can't possibly have the daughter of diplomats creating an international incident at Cordonia's biggest social season yet, can we?"

Kiara's eyes widen in surprise at Hana's own audacity, before she chuckles herself and joins in the fun, pretending to jokingly punch Hana's arm.

"You're teasing!" She shakes her head, "though to be quite honest with you, the fruit is just alright. It's the flowers I'm crazy about."

Creamy-white, with honey-hued orange tips at the center of the flower...Hana has never tasted orange blossoms before, but she's aware of their scent - fresh, like new soap...now if only she could remember the words from her old copy of the Language of Flowers...

"Your purity equals your loveliness," Hana whispers suddenly, a slow smile gracing her lips.

"What?" Kiara responds, confused.

Hana laughs, lifting a small petal of apple blossom from the ground. It is velvet at the tip of her fingers. "That's what orange blossoms are meant to signify... according to the Victorians, anyway."

Kiara shakes her head, gazing at Hana with something approaching fondness. "The next time I need to send someone a bouquet, I'm calling you. I gave up trying to remember flower symbolism before I turned 15."

Hana strokes the petal lovingly, smiling as it bends a little at her touch. "Why orange blossoms?"

"My father's father came from Morocco," Kiara tells her, stretching as she makes herself comfortable and staring into the distance, as if she were there in Morocco with her father's family. "A traveling musician who married my grandmother - the Duchess of our province. Along with my Jiddah, he is considered one of Castelserraillan's best Dukes."

Hana lets the petal fall, looking downwards. "That's a very sweet story."

Kiara doesn't seem to hear her. "Orange blossom water is everywhere...our perfumes, our mint tea, our couscous...and dessert without at least a drop of it never tastes quite right to me."

"How does it taste?" Hana asks, her eyes softening. She knows, already, that her companion's mind is not even in Cordonia right now, but far away, in Morocco, exploring the streets and sinking her teeth into a sinfully honeyed almond baklava. She knows, because even though she grew up in a whole different continent Hana has felt in her bones what it feels like to belong to many places at once.

It's a rare moment, indeed, to see a pragmatic Lady Kiara wax...poetic...over practically anything, so orange blossom water must be something pretty damn special.

"You have to be careful with it," Kiara says, smiling slightly, "it's clean and bright, floral and citrusy all at once....but it's that tiny kiss of bitterness that makes it truly special. Too much and you'd let that same bitterness overpower a dish."

Hana smiles brightly, wrapping her arms around herself. "That's beautiful," she says, "I hope to taste something like that one day. My favourite blossom doesn't really get used in food that much."

Kiara regards her curiously. "Which one is it? Foxgloves? Daffodils?"

Hana shakes her head, laughing. "Plum blossoms."

"Ah, I should've guessed. China's national flower, yes?"

"Yes...and people like to see it as symbolic of our spirit as a people. A sign of persistence and grit. It looks delicate but you'll find it blooming in the harshest winters. We even have a saying somewhere about how its fragrance comes from the bitterness and the cold."

"A defiant little flower," Kiara says softly, then smiles, "It sounds like exactly the kind of flower Lady Olivia would like. She'd probably nick a shrub and try to grow it in Lythikos."

Hana fakes a cough. "Listening to her you'd think Lythikos is the only place that knows what resilience means." she mumbles under her breath.

"You only have to drop a pebble for Olivia to rant about how good Lythikan pebbles are and how no other pebble compares," Kiara whispers back, winking. Even in a voice so low Hana has to strain to hear her, Kiara manages to capture Olivia's way of speaking perfectly.

Hana and Kiara look at each other, gauging the other's reactions. Then they burst into peals of laughter.

"Are there any foods you can use them for? The plum blossoms?"

Hana pauses. In her minds eye she can see those pale pink blossoms, can almost get a whiff of their distinctive scent. No one here knows what that flower means to her...and perhaps they never will. Her Nǎinai and aunt had named her after it. Her aunt had read her poems on it. Our love is like the plum blossom/The freezing snow won’t be able to bury it/It blooms on the branch at the coldest time. When Nǎinai died, Hana placed a plum blossom from Nǎinai's favourite tree, next to the urn that held her ashes.

No one, not even Esther, knows this. And Hana is not ready yet to tell.

"Sometimes," Hana runs a fingertip over her chin, pretending to be in deep thought. "Usually as garnish for desserts. But you can also use it to make some wonderful tea."

"Really?" Kiara has always wanted to try more teas from China and Japan, but has never really ventured beyond some of the more popular varieties.

"It's lovely. It smells like peaches but the taste is absolutely like plums or stonefruit, and sometimes it'll have the nuttiness of almonds. Very sweet, very fruity, very floral. Layer upon layer upon layer of flavours."

Kiara grins. "You sound like you're describing a vintage wine!"

"We should take you to a proper tea ceremony!" Hana says, already excited by the prospect. She knows there is a chance the court may visit her city after the Coronation - maybe she could ask her parents to include that teahouse in Hangzhou in the itinerary. "Many of the tea leaves go through an ageing process - much like wine - and the drinks have their own aromas and flavour profiles."

"Only difference is you won't get drunk," Kiara teases.

"You'd be surprised!" Hana responds, with an airy playfulness. "If we ever get a chance to visit China on the next tour as a court...I'll show you."

Kiara tilts her head slightly, a smile still on her lips. Hana shifts nervously in her seat, wondering if she has overstepped.

They're not yet friends, after all. Just two people who happened to have a lovely conversation.

"Is that a promise, Lady Lee?"

Silently, eyes wide, Hana nods yes.

"Good," Kiara says, her smile a little wider. She looks down on her watch, and gasps when she sees the time. "I'd better leave. Penelope has been begging me to come join her for cocktails a little away from here. She'll be very upset if we're late."

Hana stands up, brushing away the dust and fallen petals from her dress. "Have fun, both of you."

Kiara doesn't take more than ten steps away when she suddenly turns back towards Hana.

"...Lady Hana."

"Yes?"

Kiara stares at her for more than just a few seconds, and Hana fights the urge to shuffle her feet nervously at the scrutiny.

"Would you like to join us? It's not too far, and we won't be there too long. I can always get our driver to drop you back if you want to return early."

Hana knows exactly why Kiara is asking. She'd seen the writing on the wall herself weeks ago, ever since her embarassingly desolate yacht party, but today's show of honesty has sounded the death knell on any hopes that she'd get any further in this competition. If you'd told her this weeks ago Hana would have been a wreck, dreading the next phone call from her parents.

But right now she feels surprisingly...light.

She knows why Kiara is giving her a hand in friendship. A show of solidarity. A recognition of Hana's own position, now.

And in all honesty, it doesn't actually feel all that bad.

Hana closes the wide gap between herself and Kiara, coming over to her side.

"Lady Kiara," she says, offering her new friend her most charming smile, "I'd be delighted."

--

Notes:

Vous voulez de l'eau? - Do you want some water?

Jiddah - Darija for grandmother.

The poem Hana's aunt taught her is a Song-dynasty verse called "One Plum Blossom"

In the P&T-verse, Hana has a name that only her relatives from her father's side use to call her - Méihuā (plum blossom).

While Kiara's surname/House name is Theron in canon, I've changed it to Thorne in the P&T-verse

#hana lee #hanaleeappreciationweek #HLAW #the royal romance #the royal heir #the royal finale #HLAW Day 6 #HLAW Day 6: Flowers #lizzybeth1986 #content: fanfic #kiara theron