#are we making a ballad drinking game

[wh0reforcoriolanussnow]

Billy and his songbird || Billy the kid x singer!reader

Summary: Billy is captivated to say the least when he watches you perform on stage.

Warnings: none that I can think of

Wc: 983

A/n: crap summary but I've always wanted to do a crossover between tbosas and btk lol. this was so fun to make, ALSO nothing you can take from me has to be one of the top three songs on the soundtrack along with pure as the driven snow and the ballad of lucy gray baird. I SAID WHAT I SAID.

Divider by @pommecita

The sun hung low on the western horizon, casting long shadows across the dusty streets of the small frontier town. The swinging doors of the saloon creaked as a lone figure stepped inside, his silhouette framed by the fading light.

The murmurs and laughter of the patrons hushed for a moment as they turned their attention to the newcomer. The dimly lit room flickered with the warm glow of oil lamps, and the air was thick with the scent of whiskey and cigar smoke.

The stranger, a tall and lean figure wearing a wide-brimmed hat pulled low over his eyes, scanned the room before his gaze settled on you. A slow grin crept across his face as recognition sparked in his eyes.

You were unaware of Billy’s gaze with your back turned to the crowd as you tuned your guitar ready for your performance for the night.

Billy looked around, his eyes scanning the room until they locked onto a familiar face: Jesse Evans. The two had esse crossed paths many times before, sometimes as allies and sometimes as adversaries, but tonight, it seemed like old times.

“Billy!” Jesse called out, a wide grin spreading across his face. “Well, I’ll be damned. Thought you were avoiding us. Billy smirked and tipped his hat as he approached Jesse and the others at a table near the corner that had a good view of the stage. “Just needed a bit of a break, Jesse. Couldn’t resist the allure of Sante Fe and the atmosphere ‘round here.”

Jesse slaps Billy’s back, “Well, you came on a good day, kid. Y/n’s singing tonight.“ He cocks his head to you on the stage as Billy’s eyes roam your figure. “Jesse leaned in toward Billy. “You know, we used to get mighty excited whenever we heard she was performing. She’s got a voice that can make even the toughest outlaw shed a tear.”

Billy raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued. “Is that right? Well, I reckon I’ll have to hear it for myself.”

Jesse smirks at his friend as Billy catches on to his smirk with a roll of his eyes. “How’s everyone’s night goin’?” You speak in the mic as the saloon erupts in loudness, a few cheers, whistles and the sound of hands hitting tables, showcasing their feelings.

You chuckle, “Good, good, that’s what I like to hear,” a mischievous glint flashed across Billy’s eyes as he hears Jesse chuckles beside him, a playful nudge to his stomach.

“Oh! Is that bottle there for me?” Your eyes widen the slightest as you see one of the locals walk over to you with a flask in hand. “Of course, doll,” Cal grins up at you as the crowd loudens. “Oh, come on, ya’ll. You know I gave up drinking when I was 12,” You playfully wink.

The crowd erupted in laughter and amusement at your customary banter. Billy found himself captivated by your charm. “It’s to clear my piles, ya’ll. To clear my pipes” You assure them jokingly, throwing the flask back to the crowd with a grin.

You turn your head to give a sign to your band to start the song you prepared. The crowd hushed, waiting for the music to start, “You can’t take my past,” your bandmates start off, “you can’t take my history,” the crowd was silent in awe as they listen to the melodic voices that filled the space.

“You could take my pa,” “but his name’s a mystery.” You take a step forward to the mic, “Nothin’ you can take from me was ever worth keeping” your eyes flutter shut as you hear a few whoops from the crowd.

“Oh, nothing you can take,” your eyes open and Billy swore he saw them sparkle, “was ever worth keeping,” the corner of your mouth tips up to form a small smirk as the upbeat song comes to life causing an eruption of cheers from the patrons.

You wore a huge smile on your face as your fingers skilfully strum your guitar. “C’mon!” You encourage the already hyped up crowd full of cowboys and cowgirls; your boot tapping on the wooden stage as they clap along, already boosting your adrenaline.

“Can’t take my charm. Can’t take my humour. Can’t take my wealth, cause it’s just a rumour.” The way you effortlessly and gracefully twirled around the stage, your voice and stage presence mesmerising and commanding everyone’s attention—Billy was truly and utterly enchanted—you, the enchanter.

“Nothing you can take was ever worth keeping. No, nothing you can take was ever worth keeping,” Billy couldn’t help but feel his head lightly bopping to the beat, his eyes looking around to see everyone else just as captivated by your presence.

You were having the time of your life, like always whenever you sang, your heart pumping with adrenaline, “Thinkin’ your so fine. Thinkin’ you could have mine.”

Billy couldn’t help but be enchanted by your performance. He leaned against the wall, a half-smile playing on his lips as he watched you sing. Jesse and his gang, too, were caught up in the infectious energy of the moment. It seemed like everyone in the saloon, regardless of their affiliations, was having a great time.

“Thinkin’ you’re in control. Thinkin’ you’ll change me, maybe rearrange me, think again if that’s your goal.” Your eyes roam around the practically full saloon before you lock eyes with none other than Billy the Kid in the corner.

You saw him a few hours prior from a distance, but that was it. Now, his blue irises were staring straight at you, his lips lightly upturned as his finger taps along to the beat of the music, your fingers still dancing over your guitar strings, not missing a beat.

You both stared at each for what seemed liked hours but was merely a few seconds; and, for those few seconds, something unspoken passed between you.

A playful smile made it to your lips before you tore your eyes away from Billy’s. “Can’t take my sass. Can’t take my talkin’,” Billy’s watches your figure as you move across the stage, leaning forward to the crowd, “you can kiss my ass, then keep on walkin’,”

An amused expression flashed over Billy’s face, “She’s good isn’t she, Billy?” Jesse shouts over the loud music as Billy chuckles, nodding his head. “She’s somethin’ alright. A songbird.” Jesse snorts at him, “a songbird, huh?” he echoes as Billy’s eyes fall back onto the stage that you controlled.

“Nothin’ you can take from me is worth dirt.” Your eyes lock with one another, “take it ‘cause I’d give it free, it won’t hurt.” Your eyebrow lightly cocks at his direction as Billy’s lips parted. It seemed as if it was only the two of you in the saloon, everyone fading in the background.

The crowd falls into a hush, sensing the end of the song, “Nothin’ you can take was ever worth keepin’. No, nothin’ you can take was ever worth keepin’.” The upbeat tempo once again affiliated the saloon as the pleasantly surprised patrons clapped, danced, and tapped along to the catchy beat of the song.

When the song reached its crescendo, you finished with a flourish, your fingers dancing over the guitar strings. Everyone in the saloon cheered and whistled, and you couldn’t help but bow, acknowledging the appreciation.

“Ya’ll have a good night, thank you!” You exclaim into the mic before turning around and packing up your equipment. “We’re havin’ a drink, join us?” Annie, your bandmate comes up to you, placing her hand on your shoulder.

You smile up at her, “Thanks, Annie. I’ll come join you guys later.” As you stand back up, you lock eyes with Jesse Evans. You were well acquainted with the man, the two of you hanging out whenever you were free. He was sat a table with Billy, his gang the next table over.

He beckoned you with a smile as you reciprocate it, signalling to him that you’d be there in a sec. “Hey, sweetheart,” Cal drawled, obviously drunk as he had a cigarette in between his lips.

“Hey there, Cal. Enjoying yourself?” You politely smile at him as her offers to hold your hand as you descend the stage stairs—although you were quite capable of walking down yourself.

“Wanna join me for a drink, eh?” “Uh-“ “-what do ya say?” Your eyes lock with Billy’s who was staring you down. “Thank you for the offer, Cal. But I’m gonna have to decline,” You quickly say as your feet quickly moved away, leaving him there.

“Popular, ain’t ya?” Jesse chuckles, moving the seat back beside him for you. “Mind sharin’ a drink with us?” He pats the seat as your eyes flicker between him and Billy. You returned the smile, taking a seat between Billy and Jesse “I’m a busy girl but I’ll make time for ya. Always a pleasure to share good company,” you playfully wink at Jesse as you hear Billy softly chuckle.

“Lovely to finally meet you, Mr. Bonney,” You extend your hand out gracefully as he looks down at it before looking back at you with a smile. “Please, the pleasure is all mine.”

The conversation flowed as freely as the whiskey, and soon, the saloon was filled with the sounds of camaraderie. You found yourself in the middle of it all, laughing at Jesse's stories, clinking glasses with the gang, and sharing glances with Billy that spoke volumes.

"It was Billy's first time here watching your perform y'know," Jesse pipes up, his glass of whisky close to his lips before he throws his head back as you look at Billy who was already looking at you. "What'd you think 'bout my performance Billy?"

Billy pretends to ponder, rubbing his jaw as you giggle. "What can I say, darlin'? You were great out there. I couldn't keep my eyes off of you," he admits as you grin at his bluntness.

As the evening drew to a close, Jesse stood and stretched. "Well, Billy, it's been a pleasure catchin' up with you. But we've got a long ride ahead of us tomorrow."

Billy nodded, his gaze lingering on you. "I reckon it's time for me to hit the trail as well. But before I go, there's somethin' I've been meanin' to ask." You looked at him, curiosity in your eyes. "Ask away."

Billy hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Would you mind if I walked you home? It's not every day a man gets to meet a singer as talented as you." You smiled, touched by the slightly expected request, you nodded with a gracious smile. "I'd be delighted, Billy."

As you and Billy stepped out into the cool night air, the distant sounds of the bustling saloon faded, leaving only the soft murmur of the wind and the occasional creak of a swinging sign. The moon cast a gentle glow on the empty streets as the two of you walked side by side.

"Quite a night, wouldn't you say?" Billy remarked, his tone a mix of charm and genuine admiration. You hummed. "Never thought I'd find myself walking home with an infamous outlaw." You smirked as Billy reciprocated it, "Life's full of surprises, darlin'," he tips his hat.

#billy the kid #tom blyth #billy the kid x reader #billy the kid x you #william h. bonney #william h bonney #coriolanus snow x reader #the hunger games #coriolanus snow imagine #ballad of songbirds and snakes #billy the kid 2022 #billy the kid tom blyth #billy the kid smut #william bonney #billy the kid imagine #william bonney smut #william h bonney x reader #tom blyth x you #tom blyth fanfiction #coriolanus snow smut #snow lands on top #corio snow #young president snow #tbosas #coriolanus snow x you

[berzahoes]

snow lands on top | tom blyth

summary: a sutherland (not donald) and the younger version of president snow walk into a bar . . .

an: terrible summary ik but eh <3

when tom told you he had auditioned for the part of a young coriolanus snow, you got flashbacks to attending premieres of the hunger games movies. your grandfather was always taking you to the set of whatever film he was starring in and you loved it. sometimes you even got to yell ‘action’ or ‘cut’. your favorite memories were always on the hunger games set when your grandfather played president snow and now you received the news that your boyfriend auditioned for the younger version of said character.

“what do you think your grandfather would say? it is his character. what if he hates that i’m doing this? say something, you’re making me nervous!” tom said when he noticed how quiet you got.

“i’m just thinking . . you’re going to bleach your hair. i love your brown hair so much.” you ran your hands through his soft brown hair.

“we don’t know if i have to bleach it, i haven’t gotten the part.” tom reassured.

“yet. don’t think about my grandfather, think about how you’re going to be coriolanus snow.” you kissed him.

“but-”

“tom, if it bothers you that much, you can talk to him about it. i’m having lunch with him tomorrow and i’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you joined.”

and that’s how you ended up having lunch with your grandfather and boyfriend. it had been weeks since you last had lunch with your grandfather and you missed him dearly.

“it’s such a beautiful day. we should go on a walk after.” donald said as he picked up his glass of water to drink.

“it is. a walk sounds nice, but i think tom would like to tell you something first.” you nudged your boyfriend side.

“is that so? don’t tell me you kids got married and didn’t invite me. i always told you that i wanted to walk you down the aisle.” donald said sternly.

“no, sir, we did not get married, but i do intend to marry your granddaughter. she is the love of my life and i know how much it means to her that we have a proper wedding with you there. this is about . . . something else. um . . i recently had an audition for a role you’re familiar with. i’m sure you heard that another hunger games film is being made, but this one doesn’t involve the original cast-” donald cut off tom.

“you’re playing president snow.” he said.

“nothing is confirmed yet, but i’m hoping i get the part. but if you want me to back out, i understand.” you could hear the hurt in his voice. you reached for his hand under the table and squeezed it.

“why would you do that, tom?” donald asked.

“it’s a role made famous by you, sir, it’s your character. i don’t want to mess up such an iconic character like snow.“ he admitted.

“tom, i’ve seen you act. my granddaughter made me watch billy the kid twice. you could never mess up our character.” your grandfather smiled warmly.

“our character?” tom questioned. your grandfather nodded.

“i think i’m going to cry.” you spoke.

it was days after the ballad of songbirds and snakes premiered and the fans were loving it. positive reviews about the cast and film came out and you couldn’t be more prouder of your boyfriend and his bleached hair. it took some time to get used to, but he was soon back to his brown hair.

tom was currently doing an interview in your shared office on his laptop with josh horowitz from mtv. you were catching up on your favorite show when you heard josh ask tom a question that caught your attention.

“your girlfriend, she’s part of the sutherland family. her grandfather is the og president snow, I need to know if you were nervous playing snow because of who your girlfriend is related to.” josh chuckled when he saw that tom laughed.

“i was and then the three of us had lunch. that’s when i told him i had auditioned for the role of snow and he was so nice about it. by the end of it, he actually called snow ‘our character’ and it just warms my heart that he supported me taking on this role.” tom explained.

“and did donald sutherland have any involvement with your take on snow? any advice?” josh asked.

“the first day of filming, he texted me the usual ‘good luck, have a great day’ but there is a line i said in a scene with peter dinklage that’s in the end of the film. ‘snow lands on top’ that line was actually written by donald sutherland and he told me to say it because he knew that it fit the character of snow really well.” tom explained.

you smiled to yourself as you listened to tom. who knew the character of coriolanus snow would come back into your life after many years?

#tom blyth one shot #tom blyth fanfic #tom blyth fanfiction #tom blyth imagine #tom blyth x reader #tom blyth #tom blyth fluff #sutherland!reader #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #coriolanus snow #tbosas #the hunger games the ballad of songbirds & snakes

[keiwook]

LIVESTREAMS WITH ZB1

pairing zb1 x idol!reader

genre mostly comedy, maybe fluff ? reader is in zb1 🤝

warnings mentions of food/drinks in hao and hanbin’s

notes hi anon, thank you for requesting ! i didn’t want this to be romantic as idol life is,, something.. but still, i hope you enjoy this ! 🫶

masterlist<3

— zhang hao

you’re playing drinking games

and before you ask, no. it’s not actual alcohol

you mix up the most unhinged drink combinations

like soy milk + tea + mountain dew 😃

the drink literally has particles in it

you play the ‘of course’ game and it turns ugly real quick

“you know that i’m better than you at everything, right?” zhanghao says, feeling proud

“of course! zhanghao.. you know that hanbin loves me more, right?” a smirk tugging on your lips that zhanghao so desperately wanted to slap off

loses the game because of that and has to chug down every drop (he’s ok tho i think)

“you’re lucky we’re live right now.”

— sung hanbin

since he was a barista, you guys are making drinks

he teaches you some tips and tricks but it’s more complicated than you think

his drink is so much more visually pleasing than yours although you both followed the same steps 😭

like pretty gradient colors that blend well together

but it’s expected cuz he’s a professional

you do a taste test

and his drink tastes like heaven 👍

you offered yours to him and he tries it

ngl, you were nervous about his opinion

“uh, it’s definitely a new experience.”

— seok matthew

some kind of crafts live

where you both are making those bead bracelets

you make ones for eachother and also the other members !

and matthew is all like ‘oh, you’re gonna love what i made for you’

he’s so proud of his creations

and at some point he accidentally spills every bead onto the table 😭

and you both take a look at eachother like 😐

and it becomes quiet for a whole 5 minutes as he picks everything back up

after that, you both continue making bracelets for the other members 🫶

“jiwoon hyung likes this color, i know him better than you!”

— shen ricky

painting live

you guys are making paintings to hang on eachothers walls

it’s actually pretty chill with ricky 👍

but then he accidentally splattered some paint onto his designer white shirt

his honest reaction to that: ☹️

but its okay, he can just buy a new one. maybe get a car too while he’s at it

since ricky is really good at arts

you wanted to paint him smth nice too

so you just put your autograph onto the canvas

he loves it tho and keeps it in his room 😔

“i can sell this!”

— park gunwook

workout stream

it was actually supposed to be a live for gunwook and matthew

but matthew had to do smth else

so you offered to accompany gunwook instead !

gunwook shares his workout tips and you just nod and agree

you both share your workout routines and people make articles abt them 🫢

‘zb1’s gunwook and y/n workout routine: is it effective?’

oh and you also get thirst trap edits bcuz of this

flaunting your muscles and abs and stuff idk 😭

“do you guys wanna know the secret to my godly physique?”

— kim taerae

from the content we have now..

it’s 100% a karaoke live

wbk he loves singing and he wanted to invite you to ‘taerae show #2’

has his anpanman guitar, ready at hand 🤝

you both have a blast singing and taerae becomes main rapper at some point

he’s so immersed in the ballad songs, he prolly starts crying for effects 😔

biggest hypeman

like he’s all ‘OH MY GOD WOAHHHH’

and he also harmonises w you

don’t be surprised when you get a compilation of ‘y/n and taerae: 5th gen main vocals’

“100 points?! i’m so good!”

— kim gyuvin

q&a stream

answering fan questions and basically fan service

“is a butt one or two?”

gyuvin actually thinks about it for a second and is like “oh my god.” 😭

it got too confusing though so you continued reading the comments

someone asked what he did today and he started thinking

“uh..” “sorry, i forgot.” you joke, making gyuvin stare daggers to you 🫢

he looks back to the screen

and with a wide smile he said

“i’m sorry zerose! i think we have to end the live here. thank you for watching!”

— kim jiwoong

makeup stream

where you do his makeup

and he’s giving you those eyes yk 👀

the comments are going crazy bcuz of it

and when you do his lips, he smiles and it curves so perfectly (ahdguajskshaikahdh)

you accidentally went overboard with the glitter

but jiwoong pulls off everything so it still looks amazing

everyone loves what you did and your makeup style is trending 👍

“i think some glitter got stuck in my eye.”

— han yujin

i don’t know why but you both are face painting

but instead of face painting on yourselves, you face paint eachother

“i’m gonna make you into a piece of art” he says as he paints a streak onto your face

he stops to take a step back and look at everything from a bigger picture

and bursts into laughter 😃

you’re so worried abt what he did to you

he tries to regain his composure but laughs every few seconds

“what’s wrong? what did you do?” “nothing! i made you look very.. cool.” 😁

and then you look into a mirror and you look like shrek's offspring (yes, you get turned into a meme)

“this is my best piece yet! should i leave my signature too?”

© keiwook

#💫—keiwook workz #zb1 #zb1 imagines #zb1 scenarios #zerobaseone #boys planet #boys planet imagines #zb1 drabbles #zb1 x reader #boys planet reactions #zb1 reactions #zb1 fics #zb1 zhanghao #zb1 hanbin #zb1 sung hanbin #zb1 matthew #zb1 seok matthew #zb1 ricky #zb1 gunwook #zb1 park gunwook #zb1 taerae #zb1 kim taerae #zb1 gyuvin #zb1 kim gyuvin #zb1 jiwoong #zb1 kim jiwoong #zb1 yujin #zb1 han yujin #zb1 fluff #zb1 zhang hao

[hawkeyeslaughter]

Any Henry Blake headcanons you're dying to share?

yes !!!

— henry’s fishing hat was given to him by his kids for father’s day . it was more or less supposed to be a gag gift orchestrated by loraine , but wearing it always makes him think of his daughter’s big smile when she put it on his head

— he’s scarily good at poker , when he’s sober . that’s why hawktrap usually has him drinking when he joins a game .

— he’s a big dog guy . back home whenever the kids would start asking for a dog again he’d join them in trying to wear down loraine into giving in , he stopped when he was threatened with sleeping on the couch LMFAO

— loraine calls him embarrassing pet names around his friends and he blushes and says “ aw , honey , not in front of the guys “

— the reason we don’t really see radar driving in the early episodes is because his driving is god awful and henry has to teach him how to drive better

— henry also watches radar’s teddy bear for him if radar isn’t around / doesn’t have access to it for whatever reason . he says goodnight to teddy , tucks it in and everything

— most of the liquor in his office is stuff hawktrap brings him back from tokyo when they go on leave

— he can fall asleep literally anywhere . he also talks in his sleep , hawktrap has been known to hold whole conversations with sleeping henry ( while laughing their asses off )

— he likes country music idk what to tell y’all . specifically cowboy ballads .

— back home they have his picture on the wall of a local bar amongst others . when the news of his death reaches home they move the picture behind the bar where everyone can see it . his old friends toast him when they come in for a drink .

— he tried doing standup one night in the mess tent . he promptly got boo’d out and never did it again .

— he had a drunken ceremony where hawkeye and trapper made him an honorary swamp rat .

— sometimes klinger comes to henry’s tent to show him outfits he’s unsure about . henry yay or nays them .

— one time father mulcahy asks him why he doesn’t usually attend sunday services and henry tells him , quote , “ you wouldn’t want me , father . if there was one thing i was known for back home it was falling asleep in the pew “

— henry started the tradition of the blakes throwing big christmas / new years / other holiday parties . he invites his fellow doctors and patients he’d become friends with . the blake parties become quite infamous

#BYE bc i didn’t realize i wrote so many until i went back to read them #and i was like hmmm maybe i should put a read more line 🤔🤔 #the way i had more that i DELETED #i’m so normal about henry i’m so normal about him i swear 🙂 #m*a*s*h #mash #mashposting #mashblr #mash 4077 #henry blake #colonel blake #lgbt #lgbtq

[captainremmington-13]

A Lady Made of Snow

DISCLAIMER: I don’t own The Hunger Games franchise, the images above, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, or any of the characters in this fic other than Bellova and Kallista. I also do not condone the beliefs or actions of Coriolanus or Bellova.

SUMMARY: After Bellova’s friends demand to know what caused the sudden change in her behavior, Coriolanus resorts to his default strategy: lies and poison. Little does he know that he’s finally about to face some consequences for his cruel ways…

⚠️Warnings⚠️: THIS IS A DARK CHAPTER. It contains gaslighting, death, swearing, mentions of poison, Coriolanus being a complete bastard, and mentions of undressing (not NSFW)

A/n: she’s back :))

“You bastards!” Coriolanus yelled, grabbing Festus Creed by the collar. 

Persephone Price, Kallista Philo, Lysistrata Vickers, and Hilarius Heavensbee gasped in horror as he shoved Festus to the ground. “You were going to poison my fiancée!”

“Coriolanus, stop!” Lysistrata shrieked. “We haven’t done anything!”

“Stop lying!” Coriolanus snarled. “You poisoned the drink that you were going to give her! I’ve already heard you’re conspiring with rebellious district citizens, and now this? You’re disgusting.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Kallista asked, bewildered.

“You know damn well what!” Coriolanus bit back a grin as he felt the eyes of everyone in the room on him. “You’re giving rebels funds so they can start a revolt against the Peacekeepers in their districts!” 

He knew it wasn’t a solid lie. However, even saying the word “rebel” in the capitol was enough to mess up and possibly ruin someone’s reputation. And suggesting that someone was a rebel sympathizer? 

That would almost certainly get them killed.

“Are you insane?” Festus screamed. “That’s a lie and you know it!”

Persephone, Hilarius, Kallista, and Lysistrata formed a barrier between their friend and the Snow heir.

“Coriolanus, calm down,” Kallista said, trying to de-escalate the situation. “We just wanted to know what happened to Bellov-“

“How dare you act like you care for someone you tried to murder!” Coriolanus cried, surpressing a smirk as he saw a group of Peacekeepers approaching them. 

“What’s going on, Mister Snow?” the highest-ranking Peacekeeper asked, turning to Coriolanus. 

“Those people,” Coriolanus said, pointing to Bellova’s old friends. “Tried to poison my fiancée by giving her a drugged glass of posca. And, I overheard them plotting to help district rebels.”

The protests of Kallista, Lysistrata, Hilarius Persephone, and Festus were cut off by the Peacekeepers pointing their guns at them.

“Can you prove that the glass is poisoned?” the Head Peacekeeper asked Coriolanus. “And that they were the ones to contaminate it?”

“Bring me an Avox, and have them drink the posca.”

An unsuspecting Avox was dragged over to the scene, fear in their almost lifeless eyes. Coriolanus just smiled cruelly, and shoved the glass into their hands.

“Drink,” he commanded.

The Avox hesitantly brought the glass to their lips. Almost immediately after the liquid entered their throat, they collapsed, twitching for a moment before going still.

The people around them gaped in horror, staring wide-eyed as the dead Avox was dragged away, along with the five Capitol heirs.

Coriolanus smiled to himself. Once Festus had been searched and the bottle of poison he’d slipped into his blazer pocket was discovered, there would be no escaping the accusations against him and the others.

This would certainly be making headlines tomorrow morning.

“Coryo?”

Coriolanus turned around swiftly to see Bellova, who was accompanied by Doctor Gaul, staring him. She looked scared and confused, which pleased him. That was the desired effect.

“Yes, my love?”

“What’s going on? Why are Festus, Lysistrata, Kallista, and Persephone being arrested?”

Coriolanus walked over to her, taking her hands in his. “They tried to kill you, darling. With poison.”

“T-That can’t be true,” Bellova whispered, shaking her head in disbelief. “They’d never do that. They’re my friends, they care about me.”

“It seems like that’s what they wanted you to think,” Coriolanus said softly. “But they didn’t actually care. They wanted you dead.”

Bellova’s eyes filled with tears, and she looked away from him. Her whole body was trembling, clearly overwhelmed by this new information. She instinctively curled up against him, and Coriolanus put a protective arm around her waist.

“You’re alright, darling,” Coriolanus said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “I’ll never let anything bad happen to you, I promise. Nobody will ever try to hurt you again.”

Bellova didn’t respond to that. Instead, she begged him to take her home.

And Coriolanus complied. They left the gala, ignoring the curious gazes of everyone they passed. Bellova was hastily wiping away her tears, trying not to ruin the perfect eye makeup her new stylist had put on just hours before.

Bellova didn’t speak at all on the way home. She looked lifeless, similarly to how she’d been when she’d just found out about her father’s death.

Coriolanus assumed that she was having trouble processing the “betrayal” of some of her oldest friends. She hadn’t even spoken to them more than once since she’d been declared the future Mrs. Snow. He couldn’t understand why she seemed so heartbroken.

But it didn’t really matter. He didn’t need to understand her feelings.

He just needed to be able to control them.

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

Coriolanus began taking off his formal attire as soon as he’d reached Bellova’s room. He was still full of adrenaline after what had happened at the gala, and needed a nice shower to calm himself down.

Bellova was undressing just a few feet from him, but he didn’t pay her any attention. He was too caught up in his own victory.

Besides, it was nothing he hadn’t seen before. When she was barely able to take care of herself, he’d had to help her do everything, including bathe.

“I’m going to shower,” he told her, pulling on his blue silk robe.

“Okay,” she said flatly, focusing on taking the pins out of her hair.

Coriolanus was slightly surprised that she was still so numb. He expected her to break down in his arms again, or at least show some emotion. But she seemed indifferent.

He decided to brush it off. She was probably sadder than she was letting on, she’d come crying to him eventually, like she usually did.

Stepping into the spacious bathroom connected to Bellova’s bedroom, he turned the shower on to a medium heat. He would never understand why Bellova preferred the water to be scalding hot. He hated when the bathroom became foggy and humid.

It reminded him of District 12.

.

.

.

After thoroughly washing and combing his hair, brushing his teeth, and applying a few products to his face and neck, Coriolanus pulled his robe back on. He turned the ventilation system off, flicked the light off, and opened the door to return to the bedroom.

He expected Bellova to be sitting on her plush bed, half-covered by her pink comforter. She usually occupied herself by watching something on the new television she’s bought while waiting for him to return to her.

Instead, the bed was empty.

Coriolanus scanned the room. Bellova was nowhere to be seen.

His heart seized. Surely this couldn’t happen to him twice. He couldn’t let his girl get away again.

Before he could open his mouth to call her name, he felt the cold blade of a knife press against the front of his neck.

“Move, and I’ll slit your fucking throat, you monster.”

For the first time in a good while, Coriolanus was genuinely terrified.

The real Bellova had returned.

And she was out for blood.

✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊

TAGLIST: @daenerysqueenofhearts, @squidscottjeans, @euphemiaamillais, @gracieroxzy, @effectwalker, @vxnilla-hxrddrugs, @mystargirl-interlude

Author’s Note: Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think in the comments! I’m so excited to write the next chapter, it’s gonna be SUPER intense👀

Also, let me know if you want to be added to the tag list!

#coriolanus snow #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #coriolanus snow x reader #coriolanus snow x oc #tbosas #the hunger games #original character #thg prequel #the hunger games the ballad of songbirds & snakes #the capitol

[mochinek0]

Love Ballads

This was previously posted on my Wattpad. It has been in the works of being rewritten. Most of it is the original storyline (wasn't published) but also changes from the shadows. It will be a long fic in the making and will be posted every Friday.

"You will be dating an upcoming model, Lila Rossi." announced Gabriel, "Is that understood, Adrien?"

"Does it have to be Lila?" asked Adrien.

'Out of all people, why did it have to be her?'

"Dating experience is necessary for your future in finding a bride to uphold the Agreste name." his father continued, "Miss Rossi is new to the public eye and will boost your standing, as you do to hers."

"Understood." sighed Adrien.

"In light of this new 'relationship', you will have three nights to appear more relatable to the public. Let me know the days and what you will be attending on said days. Miss Rossi must accompany you on one of said days." he stated.

"Yes, Father." replied Adrien, as he was dismissed.

'What do couples do? I haven't dated since I was fifteen and I'm pretty sure there's a difference.'

Adrien paced his room as he tried to figure out how to spend his new freedom.

'I have three free days, but I'm stuck with Lila one of those days.'

He didn't really want to spend time with Lila, but that was the price of his freedom. Not to mention, he had to 'date' her. Lila had always been high-maintenance and he was sure somehting like going to the movies, wasn't going to cut it for her. Not to mention, he didn't want to be in a dark room with her. He was sure she'd try something. That was another thing he had to worry about, her lies and fake tears on dates.

'I have to treat her like she's Chloe. Chloe would want five star resturants and shopping so those are out of the question to do with Lila. If I took her somewhere in public, she could create a scene.'

"What do couples do?" he asked out loud, before inspiration struck him.

'Nino!'

Adrien pulled his phone out of his pocket and immediately dialed his best friend's number.

"Adrien, Bro!" Nino answered, "What's going on? Bored at another shoot?"

"No." replied Adrien, "Not this time. I actually need some advice."

"Really? About what?" questioned Nino.

"I have three nights off to appear more 'relatable to the public' and I have no idea what to do. Of course I still have to uphold the family name and all that, but-" said Adrien.

"That's great, Dude!" cried Nino, "I'm sure I can come up with a list in an hour!"

"One catch, I have to bring Lila with me." murmured the young Agreste, "At least on one of those nights."

"Lila? As in Lila Rossi?" asked Nino.

"Yep." Adrien eye-rolled his answer, not that his best friend could tell.

"Congrats, my man! Oh, I got it! Tomorrow, most of us from the old class meet up for karaoke. Majority of us are couples, but we still let in single people, so you can spin it off to your Old Man as a couples night." said Nino, excitedly.

"That sounds great! Okay, what else?" asked Adrien, happily.

"On Wednesdays we have a Guy's Night." the DJ continued, "The girls go off and do their own thing. Sometimes they go out for drink, other times it's movies, or just lounging at someone's place. I'm sure the girls would love if Lila could join them."

"Great! Where do we meet up so I can just give him all the details?" asked the young model.

"We usually rotate places, incase the girls do the same. We usually just chill out at each other's houses, play video games, chill out, and eat junk food." Nino said.

"Okay, I might have to spin that, but I can work on that." Adrien replied, "Got anything else?"

"Fridays, we have Game Night and I seem to remember you almost being a UMS3 champ. Basically it's the same as Guy's Night, but the girls can go too. It's been our way of letting out frustrations from school or work." laughed Nino, " Close to finals, it turns into study sessions, instead."

"Okay, I'll call you back in a bit to let you know how it goes and maybe to get more ideas." spoke Adrien.

"You got it, Bro." said Nino, before hanging up.

Adrien knocked on his Father's office, hoping things go his way for once.

"Enter." he heard his father call.

Adrien entered the room and waited for his father's approval to speak.

"I take it you have some ideas for these days." announced Gabriel from behind his desk.

"Yes, Father." said Adrien, "I called some of my friends for ideas for couples and many of them are old colleagues of both myself and Miss Rossi. On Saturdays, they have couples night karaoke. They also spend their Wednesdays split between gentlemen and the ladies. Friday's are game nights."

"A couple's night out will be relatable and will put your singing skills to use. This gentleman's night will also make you more relatable to your gender, just make sure you do not do anything foolish." spoke Gabriel.

"Of course, Father." calmly said Adrien.

"This 'game night', tell me more." the elder Agreste stated.

"It will be held on Fridays evenings. It is open to everyone. I was hoping to talk with you about relocating it to here, if you allow it?" answered the young model.

"Explain." said Gabriel.

"I was hoping to move this evening to my room. I am well aware I have photoshoots early morning on Saturdays. If I held it here, I could immediatley fall asleep after everyone has left. We can have everyone leave by midnight if you prefer." explained Adrien, "My room is also more equipped to handle a large amount of people and I have a vast amount of systems that can be used. I am told they use this night to destress and once finals approach, they use the night for studying together and help each other with their weakest subjects."

He could feel his father's heavy gaze on him, weighing this idea.

"I will approve this idea, for now, but your friends must be off the premise by midnight and stay only in your room, at a reasonable volume level." said Gabriel.

"Yes, Father. I shall let them know now and will inform Miss Rossi of our planned activities tomorrow." spoke Adrien.

"Very well." said the elder Agreste, with a wave of dismissal.

"So how did it go?" asked Nino.

"He approved of everything!" cried Adrien, excitedly.

"Really?" questioned his best friend.

"Yep. Oh, and I more news. He allowed us to have game night here in my room!" announced Adrien.

"Are you sure that's your Old Man." asked Nino.

"There are some rules." spoke Adrien.

"I spoke to soon." Nino sighed, causing Adrien to laugh.

"I usually have early shoots on Saturdays so everyone has to leave by midnight. We also have to stay in my room and keep the volume to a reasonable level." continued the young Agreste.

"That's cool, Dude. Still open to all genders?" asked Nino.

"Yep. I'm assuming Alya comes to these." chuckled Adrien.

"Nah, she uses it as time to prep for her classes." yawned Nino.

"It is getting late and I have a shoot at 10AM." yawned Adrien in return.

"Night, Bro. Oh, I'll text you the address to the karaoke place." spoke Nino.

"Great. See you tomorrow." said Adrien.

"Tomorrow." said Nino and hung up.

'I can't wait to see everyone again. I wonder what they've been up to. Lila won't be able to manipulate me with so many witnesses.' 

TAG LIST: @animeweebgirl @a-star-with-a-human-name @meme991001 @vixen-uchiha @abrx2002 @alysrose-starchild @fandom-trapped-03 @dood-space @moonlightstar64 @saltymiraculer @marveldcedits20 @09shell-sea09 @icerosecrystal @animegirlweeb @insane-fangirl-of-everything @blueblossombliss @nickristus-dreamer @megawhitleycalderonpaganus @missmadwoman @meira-3919  @princessdaisysolosyourfaves @blep-23 @fangirlingfanatic @darkhinauniverse @ravenr22 @im-a-satanic-ritual @ravennm84  @bianca-hooks123 @a-slytherinish-gryffindor @starling218 @stainedglassm @psychicdelusionwerewolf @missmadwoman

#adrien agreste #gabriel agreste #fake dating #lila rossi #liladrien #nino lahiffe #ideas #fake relationship #mlb au #mlb fanfic #planning #mochinek0

[thegreatmelodrama]

We learn in The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes that Snow’s father used to say that the people in the districts “only drank water because it didn’t rain blood.” When reading this for the first time, I couldn’t help but think about how one of the sections in the Quarter Quell arena from Catching Fire is blood rain. While quote itself is most definitely meant to metaphorical (an allusion to the “savagery” and “barbarism” of the districts), I do still think there is a comparison and an analysis to be made here.

While Plutarch was the head game-maker, it doesn’t seem like too far of a stretch to assume that the blood rain had been done before or even that Snow himself made a recommendation to include it. And while we know Katniss and the members of the alliance never drank the blood rain, it doesn’t mean that the other tributes didn’t. For all we know, one or more of the tributes did have to resort to doing so. Even then, however, just the prospect alone is enough: that in an arena where fresh water is extremely difficult to find, odds are that the tributes may have resort to drinking the blood rain in order to survive. And what better way to further reinforce the notion that while these tributes may be Capitol favorites, they are still from the districts and thus inherently “barbaric” and animal-like.

Regardless of whether Suzanne Collins thought back to the blood rain of the Quarter Quell in Catching Fire while writing this quote for Crassus Snow in TBoSaS, it nevertheless can be interpreted as having some relation to the former. And interpreting it as such, makes for such an interesting analysis.

#the hunger games #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #tbosas #tbosbas #coriolanus snow #sejanus plinth #thg

[antivanbrandy]

i wanted to take a crack at the relationship chart meme for bg3, but made life harder for myself in the process by doodling everyone asdfghjkl

a bit of info about the relationships under the readmore!

so to start from the top and work around clockwise:

Astarion: her best friend, her partner, and love of her life. his flippant hot-n-cold attitude at the start of their relationship (she failed that first big insight check so she didn't know it was all an act at the start) leaves her feeling bad about herself at times, but once they have their Act 2 heart-to-heart, their relationship only goes from strength to strength. we all know what a supportive and loving tav does for spawn!Astarion, but over the course of their adventure he supports her, too. they make each other stronger.

Rhapsody's self sacrificing need to help everyone, no matter how thin it spreads her, comes dangerously close to breaking her by late Act 2. Astarion talks her back from the ledge, so to speak, and helps her realise why she's doing it (Family Trauma Hour 2, Shitty Father Boogaloo) and the harm it's doing her in turn. it's purely self-interest that motivates him at first, because if she burns out then his protection and best chance at taking on Cazador goes with her, but once he comes to care for her his motives are much kinder.

i have so many post-game thoughts for these two, which includes an eventual cast of good old Reincarnation (which i honest to god rolled for and nearly squawked at the outcome) and the very specific complicated feelings that digs up for them, but if i keep typing i'll be here all day.

-

Gale: truly one of her best friends. she could sit with him in silence, just reading together, or her playing an instrument while he studies the weave, and be perfectly content. Rhaps is a lore bard, so she really enjoys swapping stories, information, and theories with him. she's also a big fan of his cooking, and enjoys the simple companionship of doing vegetable prep while he cooks and they chat together. she'd go to bat for him against anyone.

-

Wyll: a dear friend, and inspiration for more than one epic ballad (which makes him proud-blush every time). they swap tales, often together with Karlach, and he's been known to join her in a song and dance when she plays at camp if he's feeling in the spirits. they bond over complicated relationships with their fathers, love of good red wine, and most importantly, their unflinching dedication to helping people in need.

-

Lae'zel: their relationship is complicated. they both operate on a level the other just does not understand, and chafe against the others attitude to life. they grow to respect each other, but never truly become friends, which is sad because Lae'zel does get to a point where she'd like to extend that offer but has no idea how to voice her growing fondness, and then the adventure is over and she leaves with Voss.

-

Minsc: definitely a friend, even if they're not especially close. for his part, Minsc is delighted when Rhaps comes up with a little ditty about him ('from top to tail, evildoers do fear - Boo gnaws their eyes, Minsc kicks their rear!').

-

Jaheira: Rhaps' liked Jaheira immediately, as soon as she clocked the wine was spiked and Jaheira gave her that knowing smile and asked her to drink anyway. Rhaps grew up starved for parental approval and attention, and there's an undeniable current of Momther™ that carries with Jaheira's approval, stories, pick me ups, and pep talks that she latches onto very quickly. Jaheria herself is reluctant to be seen as a mother figure, she has her own kids after all, riiiiiight up until the point the gang come face to face with Rhaps and Aisling's father and she sees first hand how she's treated and how much she wilts in his company. After that it's just kind of defiant instinct, if a parental-flavoured pep talk is what the cub needs to get through the end of days, that's what she'll get, and her old man can go get fucked.

-

Shadowheart: Shadowheart and Rhapsody have a rocky start - Shart's combative attitude puts Rhaps on the backfoot, and they have a two steps forward one step back slow-crawl to understanding each other. There's a bit of a blow-up between them in the shadowlands that sets them back even more; Shadowheart's constant sneering and too-edgy-for-you remarks regarding Selune and Selunite magic grate on Rhapsody, who is already spread desperately thin by this point and is absolutely baffled Shart can't keep it buttoned for ONE minute when Selune is all that's standing between the people at Last Light -the tieflings she fought tooth n nail to save- and a gruesome death. and the more evidence they see of Shar's cruelty in the shadowlands, the more Rhaps begins to truly understand what Shar is capable of and the thinner she's spread from trying to help people in this bleak situation, the closer she gets to lashing out, until eventually Shadowheart goes one snippy comment too far and Rhaps blows up at her. they have it out, and it's bad, but when they eventually make up afterwards theyre stronger for it, and by the end of Act 3 theyre a lot closer than they ever thought possible.

-

Halsin: Halsin is a calming presence in Rhapsody's life. she thought turning down his offer was going to make things awkward for them, but it never did. there's a lot to learn from him, and a call to a calmer life and a sense of peace that Rhaps feels most keenly when she's out in nature with him. the druidic life isn't for her, but those moments of peace do wonders for her when she needs it.

-

Karlach: darling dearest bestest friend, platonic love of her life, sister from another mister, 'would absolutely ride the rollercoaster in the front car with you' bestest best friend forever. Rhapsody adores Karlach, admires and is inspired by her. Rhapsody has had very little interaction with other tieflings, and in comes Karlach full of friendly cheer and good humour and a massive heart, emotional vulnerability and honesty and cheeky smiles, all things Rhaps is drawn to and wants to be. she'd do anything for her, go to any lengths, and I can't even begin to describe how heartbroken this makes her on that dock at the end.

#tav bg3 #bg3 tav #bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #astarion #wyll ravengard #gale dekarios #karlach #tav: rhapsody #bg3 relationship chart #summoning my courage to just post this monstrosity finally sdfghjkl this thing has been in my drafts for weeks #brandy blobs #jaheira #minsc and boo #halsin #shadowheart #lae'zel

[happyely2]

Pairing: Portuguese D. Ace x Fem!Reader

Rating: 18+ | The rating will be red this time, so if you are a minor skip this reading or highlight your age in your bio.| sex scenes, cuddles, and much more very explicit.

Summary: 31 prompts for 31 days of October. Life on Moby Dick is always hectic and has become more so since Ace boarded this ship and became part of the family.

✒️Prompts taken from the contest (even if I don't participate) organized by the Italian Fanwriter page. I only translated the prompts into English, I hope you like it.✒️

🌊Writober PumpSea🌊 #day 5 - Violin

"The Innkeeper fills all the glasses you have here we want to drink." There was no lack of joy in Satch’s voice, and deep down you couldn’t blame him, you had success after success, you had gotten your hands on new loot and defeated new enemies and landed - after so long - on one of your islands, so no one would bother you.

A break and a celebration were welcome from the whole crew.

Even Dad was in the mood for celebration. He was proud of all of you and your accomplishments, and indeed he said he would soon be there too - the elders lectured him, reminding him of his health, but your old man had responded with his typical laugh and started drinking sake.

Ace handed you your beer mug and smiled at you and then took his to start toasting with everyone.

"To us men and women of White beard!"

"TO US!"

"Let’s all toast for the loot."

"And to be the most feared pirates!"

And the place was swept away by a roar so loud that it shook from its foundations. Much of the success had been thanks to hard teamwork, it had not been easy to hunt and send away the new pirates entering the New World.

"CHEER FOR US!"

And the music had started to creep into your ears. So many ballads that you started singing, who good and who more out of tune.

"What about the drunk sailor in the early morning?" Satch took you by the wrist and started twirling you as the rest of the crew began to clap their hands and feet to the beat of the song, the drunken sailor and singing it trying to catch Ace to make him dance.

They did, and you flew around until the song was over and you laughed while the others whistled for a kiss. In the end you could satisfy them a little.

And you exchanged a quick kiss, while others exclaimed enthusiastically. Your relationship was no longer a secret and everyone was happy. Then you were taken by Marco who as a good older brother interrupted your affections to continue the party.

Ace watched as you danced with Marco and then with Satch, his gaze was filled with love seeing you so happy and carefree.

"Commander Ace! Come! Let’s play Popeye."

And then the races had started between your comrades, arm wrestling, who could drink more - and everyone complained about the fruits of the devil of Ace and Mark because they were too advantaged in that way, They burned all the alcohol in their bodies, and they could drink without feeling it.

Then there are the poker games, the dice challenge and betting.

Laughter and happiness permeated the air of the restaurant, along with the glasses that were raised to toast and the songs that men began to sing.

"Ah, we haven’t had a party like this in a long time." You said sitting on top of Ace to catch your breath after the umpteenth dance you were involved in. Your head was spinning but you were happy.

"I’m glad you’re having fun, my love." Ace said leaving you a kiss on the cheek and offering you his beer.

"But is this red beer good! Is there honey?" You asked taking another sip and making Ace laugh with taste.

"I know an even better drink." A whisper in your ear and you turned red thinking about what he was referring to.

You bit your lip and pinched it on your bare side, and he grinned in response, waiting for the right time to go out without being seen to end the evening in private.

Landing on land meant that too, being able to spend more time alone.

But you didn’t have time to tell him anything else, the others arrived because Ace was required for an arm wrestling match and because you had to be the referee. Satch had bet on Ace’s victory, and you served him the extra motivation to win - and his thinking turned out to be right, because after you kicked off Ace beat his opponent right away, Also because you had a kiss on the line and Ace was a jealous guy who would not give you to anyone.

You smiled at him as you took his hat and used it as a barrier to keep you from seeing and the whistles and applause went off again.

"Let’s go dance hard!"

"More Beer, please!"

"Fund the reserves of the local Innkeeper!"

And again it was all over again. You found yourself dancing with Izo and your big brother had fun twirling you around the track for a long time.

Your head was spinning and that’s why Ace took you just in time, before falling to the ground and made you stop: "Rest a little Love, I’ll get you some water." He said looking at your red cheeks for beer.

You leaned against the counter while waiting for your boyfriend to come back with the water, and only then did you notice that other people had entered the bar. You didn’t give us much weight, even if they weren’t men who belonged to your crew, the inn was big enough to fit all of us.

"Hey doll, want a drink?" A voice came too close to your ear and you immediately walked away from the man who had approached you, you looked at him badly.

"Sorry I’m busy." You said you were ready to turn around and walk away and join Ace on the other side. But your wrist was grabbed by the man in question and he forced you to turn to him.

"Leave me." You said trying to free yourself from the man’s iron grip by scratching him with your fingernails.

"Hey Bitch! We just want to have some fun..." A fist with small flames of fire came straight into his face that made him fall backwards.

"Ace!" You said hugging him and holding on to him to calm him down.

It wasn’t wise to start a fight in a place as flammable as a tavern.

"Don’t you dare touch my girl!" Said Ace looking sideways at the man and calling to himself his flames, were concentrated in his right palm.

"But you know who I am?" asked the man in question, drawing his sword and pointing it at you two. His men did the same, and began to grin wickedly.

They were too clueless not to fear a possessor of a devil’s fruit.

There was something wrong.

"And you know which crew we belong to?" You asked by putting yourself on the defensive and stealing Ace’s dagger from his sheath to point it at your enemy.

None of the men seemed frightened by your behavior, indeed many began to come out of their arms and shout at the men to come and help them.

The math was wrong.

"Come on men." said your opponent charging against you two. You and Ace split up and you took the opportunity to trip the man who fell over the table of the commanders, while Ace sent a couple to the mat with his fist of fire - had used little flames, Sometimes you forgot that Ace was a great fighter even without his Logia.

"Hey man, drink less!" Izo said as he looked at the kimono that got wet with beer and turned his nose.

"What are you kids doing?" He asked Marco to look in your direction and looking sideways at the armed men up to the neck behind you. And if the Phoenix took that look then your enemies had to start worrying.

"These men harassed us, we were just defending ourselves! " Ace said pointing them with his head and then all the men on the crew turned to you.

"And they called me a bitch." You added, being the youngest in the group had its perks, but being the younger younger sister had its perks.

"What did you call our little sister?" Satch said, waving his sword with his men.

"Whoever you are, I don’t care!" The man said, getting up, "Crew of a stupid old man who thinks he’s powerful but who will soon end his days. Stupid White Beard Emperor." And then you didn’t see us anymore, you hit the man with the hilt of the knife and Ace threw him at his men.

"What did you say about Dad?" You said by pointing the dagger at your opponents, Izo had come out with his guns and Marco had called out his flames.

Ace was ready to attack and you were close to him.

Those men had gone too far. One thing was you, one thing was touching your family.

"Don’t destroy the place, my boys." The voice of White Beard reached you and you smiled, the innkeeper had hidden behind the counter and in the same moment the orchestra took to play a bold music in which the instrument that led everything was the violin.

And the fight has begun, chairs, tables, beer bottles have flown as you fought -a couple here and there, they ended up outside the club along with some of your enemies.

And the music on the violin charged everyone for that fight, Ace beat a couple of them by dropping them from the upstairs window, Izo and some men had started a shooting using the tables in the club to get extra protection, while Marco kept some gunshots from reaching your father.

You were with Satch to duel against some of them, Ace’s dagger was great for close combat and a couple of times you helped yourself with a bottle of beer to throw at your opponents head.

The others fought, laughed, drank and joked among themselves.

There was always joy.

In the end the clash ended at dawn when finally even the last enemy was shot down and kicked out of the club.

"They were privateers, look Ace, they’re protected by the navy!" You said while you were checking their boss’s wallet, that explained much of their arrogance.

"Scum." Ace replied while storing the knife you gave him back. Ace was right, betraying so the noble art of piracy was something unforgivable, or at least for you who had grown up following that path was something unforgivable.

"Come on, gentlemen, we haven’t finished the reserve!" Satch said by putting a couple of chairs back in his place he others were starting to rearrange. You were going to do the same but Ace’s hand has surrounded your life and has taken you far, to one of the rooms that were reserved by closing the door with a triple sent.

"I don’t want anyone to come in," he said as he kissed you at the point where his chin and neck were coming. You laughed while stroking his hair and kissed him on the temple. You both had the smell of the fight still present on both bodies boiling and snapping.

From the tents came in the first lights of dawn the music had resumed playing again, even louder than before.

You grabbed Ace even tighter, he grabbed you by the thighs, tied them to her hips, and he lifted you off the ground, and he kissed you. A passionate kiss in which your tongues danced and searched for each other.

You scratched his shoulders to try to maintain a minimum of lucidity but the moans that Ace whispered in your mouth made you crazy with pleasure.

And then you heard him.

God was so impatient.

Ace took you to the bed and started biting your neck while he undressed you.

He kissed every inch of free skin, and you kissed every inch of free skin until a skein was created on the ground with your clothes.

Kisses, bites, scratches and a lot of affection.

"So..." Ace tried to say while he was preparing you, but you covered his mouth with a kiss.

Or if you were impatient, you wanted it inside you at that moment. The fight had left you with a rush of adrenaline still circulating in your body, your heart was in your throat for the emotion and the taste of fire on the skin of Ace distracted you from the surrounding world.

Ace was sitting on the mattress and you were astride on him, he led your hips up to his cock and with a single push he entered you.

"Ace..." You gasped, taking your head back and being held by your boyfriend’s hands.

"Love..." He whispered biting your neck and starting to push inside you with a tight rhythm and without leaving you time to get used to it. His right hand came down on your ass harpooning it while the left one was touching your breast and holding it tight.

You started moving your pelvis up and down, putting your feet on the mattress and meeting Ace’s push.

One or two volts you saw the stars when Ace hit you at a certain point and you screamed with pleasure, you were covered in music, too loud, and you were far enough away from the room where the party was taking place.

You shouldn’t have held back, not like when you were on board.

The rhythm got even more intense when Ace bit your breast hard, leaving the imprint of her teeth on your nipple and starting to push harder, until you could only pronounce his name.

And then the moment came when you kissed each other and squeezed each other and fell on the messy sheets.

You were out of breath, hearts pounding so hard you hammered your ears and you were happy. The only one illuminated your room and rested on your sweaty bodies. It was not yet high in the sky, you still had time for you.

The sun was now high when someone knocked on your door so loud you woke up. The door was then opened quickly and Izo came in short of breath.

"But what... animals had destroyed the room." Satch said looking at the mess that there was.

"Leave Satch alone, get dressed, we have visits from the Navy." Izo said by checking out the window.

"What?! But how dare they ever come here." Ace went to the windows and then suddenly retreated when a cannonball was thrown at you.

You screamed with your bed sheet.

"We’ll go down and lend a hand downstairs to build a fort, get dressed and come help us."

"Ace, but who’s attacking us... clothes, honey!" You said throwing your underwear and looking for yours and then finding them over your desk.

"I have a bad feeling I did." Ace answered as he fastened his seat belt.

You prepared yourself at the speed of light and you got off while avoiding the other cannonballs that were thrown by your opponents. At the third Ace is stuck looking at your enemies and is bleached.

"Where is that wretch of my nephew!"

"Why does that old man not resign himself!" Ace said taking you by the arm and reaching out to others.

You looked at him, then you looked at your enemy and you realized.

The others also realized who could be the fool who threw cannonballs at you.

"He is your grandfather!" You said while Ace was holding you to himself to prevent pieces of wood from falling on you, you looked at him and then you said, "He’s not wearing a uniform, he’s got to be on leave or something."

Meanwhile, the evil words between Ace’s grandfather and White Beard had begun to fly. It was more of a friendly skirmish between the two old enemies.

It was Garp the hero who was facing you, and he was not an enemy to be underestimated and he was not alone, other cadets were with him, although on leave they could always arrest you.

"In short, I want to arrest that wretch Newgate!" He had told Garp by throwing a cannonball so hard that he had made half the protection fly away. By now you were discovered and had been seen.

"OLD MAN, FINISH IT!" He said Ace looked at him badly and Garp started calling him even more, throwing more cannonballs that you avoided thanks to Ace’s flames.

"YOU’RE A FOOL OR YOU WANT TO HIT SOMEONE WHO HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT." Garp had been faster and had come close to you two. Ace took you in his arms and began to avoid the blows of his grandfather throwing occasionally some kick to the old man and trying to stop him with his Haki, but without success.

Until you fell backwards avoiding a blow that would knock you out and make everyone breathe again.

Ace had literally thrown you in the air and you had been affirmed by Marco and brought back to earth while he was fighting his grandfather.

At some point you just couldn’t take it anymore.

"Hey, Grandpa Garp, you can’t arrest Ace!" You said to get between them and stop the fight. The man stopped and looked at you and said, "Who are you?"

"I’m his girlfriend. Listen to me, old man, Ace won’t become a Marine, he’s chosen his own path, and you can’t take him far from me." You said pointing fingers at him.

A grave silence had just fallen on both sides, the Marines were petrified of your audacity, while White Beard’s men were bleached for fear that something might happen to you.

Only dad laughed, followed closely by Garp.

Now the situation had taken a very different turn, which nobody expected.

It was the best time to escape, Ace took you by the hand and nodded to the others who immediately caught him and you all started to run to the ship.

The last to go up was the father who had engaged in a very fast fight with Garp, in memory of the old days and then returned to the ship after knocking out some cadets with his Haki.

"I understand how your grandfather earned his titles." You said watching the old man follow you with his ship and throw more cannonballs.

"ACE DON’T MISS A GIRL LIKE THAT." Garp’s voice caught up with you and you blew up.

Ace sighed loudly ready to ignore the old, until Garp’s voice again drew attention: "ALSO IF YOU DON’T MARRY HER YOU WILL SUFFER MY WRATH."

Those words stunned you, as well as all the crew and were stunned. And then Ace couldn’t see us out of anger.

" "IT’S OBVIOUS THAT I’M MARRYING HER OLD MAN!" !" He said shouting with all the air he had in his lungs and making his grandfather laugh.

"What?" You said looking at him in awe, and your heart pounding.

"Don’t you?" Ace’s eyes are filled with worry and fear.

"Of course I want Ace!" You said by pulling his cheeks to get him back: "What do you think is certain that I will marry you!" You added staring him right in the eye.

"Wait till you’re too young for marriage." Satch was yelling at both you, Izo had fallen down the stairs for what he had heard, and Marco had also been petrified, as had the rest of the commanders.

Only Garp and White Beard laughed while you two realized what you said.

#one piece #portgas ace smut #ace smut #ace x oc #ace x reader #portgas ace x you #portgas d ace x reader #portugas d ace #one piece ace #soft smut #portgas d ace smut #portgas d ace #smut #Happy_Ely🪷

[mercurygray]

watching the rain forrrrr Fred & Brady?

Oh, this was a good one. Thank you for giving me an excuse to write them!!

It was bound to be quieter, out here with the rain.

She hadn't joined the Red Cross to be the center of attention - it was true enough that you got some of that being one of four girls in a truck, but that wasn't the same as having the spotlight on you for an unscheduled one-woman episode of Command Performance using a borrowed guitar.

Sadly for her, though, it looked like her usual seat was already taken. John Brady rose from one of the crates, his pipe giving him an almost patrician air. "Oh, I'm sorry. Didn't think there'd be anyone out here," Fred said, turning to go back inside.

"Plenty of room here for whoever wants it," Brady offered, gesturing to a second crate with his pipe. "If you don't mind a little company, that is - or the smoke."

"Reminds me of home, actually," Fred said, smoothing down her jacket and sitting down. Her grandfather had smoked a pipe - usually out on the fire escape, so the apartment wouldn't smell too awful. The smell of it calmed her. "It was getting a little loud in there for me."

"The sound of earnest appreciation," Brady said with a smile. "You made that guitar sound better than Jimmy does."

Fred blushed. It had been Curt's idea, because wasn't it always? Now, now - I think I'm owed a little treat for making it home in one piece, eh? Now where's - where's Fred? I wanna hear her sing me something. I know she's got a real sweet voice and we ain't all heard it yet.

She'd tried to beg off but Curt wouldn't take no for an answer, so they'd chivvied her up on stage, and Jimmy Hobart had handed over his guitar and pulled a stool out, and she'd tuned it up and asked Curt what he wanted to hear. Somethin' nice, he'd said with a grin. Somethin' sweet.

She wasn't about to go singing him a love song, so she'd pulled out one of those cowboy ballads she thought she'd be singing so often, I want to ride to the ridge where the west commences, Gaze at the moon till I lose my senses, Can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences, Don't fence me in.

She'd done that one, and another by Gene Autry, until Egan had joined in and gotten the whole club singing, and then Hobart had come back and she'd been able to sneak out the back door, back to the rain and the smell of Brady's pipesmoke.

"Not all of us studied music in college, Lieutenant Brady."

"You know, I wouldn't mind if you called me John," he offered quietly. "Curt's not Lieutenant Biddick, is he?"

Well, Fred, you walked into that one. "Curt excels at making himself an exception. There are rules I'm supposed to follow - and up until I got here I was pretty good at it."

"What do you think changed?" Fred looked over at Brady and found he was watching her with careful, considerate eyes - an armchair philosopher with his pipe.

She snorted and looked out into the night at the rain. It was a good question - what had changed? She was still the same person who'd left Madison twelve months ago - still had the same parents, the same college degree, the same training. Was it this place, or these people? The answer came back very unannounced, and she smiled to herself about it. "Apparently flyboys are very persuasive."

Brady chuckled. "On behalf of my fellow flyboys I will accept that compliment. So do you have any other tricks in those uniform sleeves of yours, Miss Fred? You dance, you sing, you play the guitar, you charm hardened pilots out of their seats, you make excellent donuts and a hell of a good cup of coffee. Is there anything you don't do?"

Now it was her turn to laugh out loud. "I also play a pretty good game of cribbage."

He didn't have time to respond to that, because just as she'd said it the door was opening again and Curt, listing a little bit to starboard, joined them outside. "John Brady, are you getting my best girl a drink?"

Brady sat up a little straighter, taking his pipe out of his mouth. "I can be, if she needs one."

"Hey, what is your drink, by the way?" Curt had turned his attention to Fred. "The next time I phone in I'll know what to ask for."

"A whiskey soda." Fred looked over at John, a little impressed.

Curt clapped him on the shoulder. "He remembers! See, this is why you're never gonna leave us, Fred, because we spoil you. And do you know why? Because we know a good thing when we see it. And you, Fred, are a very, very good thing."

"Maybe even the best thing?" Fred asked, getting up from her crate. Duty called - somewhere in her mind she could see the shift supervisor tapping her wrist. She'd danced too long with the same soldier, and there was no more time for quiet.

Curt was laughing at that, pulling her back inside and saying something about the jitterbug and showing Blakeley what was what and who was who. And Fred couldn't help but notice the feeling of Brady following them, resuming his seat on the stage and his clarinet, the smell of rain and his pipesmoke lingering on her jacket.

#asked and answered #basilone #i have written a thing #mercurygraypresents #freda torvaldsen #masters of the air oc #john brady x oc

[fortheloveofwonderland]

Rusty | Chapter 4 | S.R

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter Summary - Whilst you get acquainted with the locals, Spencer deals with the aftermath of his dissociation. You have a little too much to drink and another fight ensues.

A/N - tread lightly from here on out and please read the trigger warns. It’s going to be a lot going forward. I hope to not offend anyone with my portrayal of the locals, it’s meant to be over exaggerated and comical.

Paring - Spencer Reid / Fem! Reader

Category - strangers to friends to lovers | angst | smut minors DNI

Warnings - swearing, drinking, slightly pervy men, smoking, blood, accidental self-harm, mental health diagnosis, PTSD, dissociative amnesia, Spencer’s dirty thoughts and intrusive thoughts, tears, mentions of male masturbation, arguing, drunk reader.

WC - 6.2k

Chapter 4 - The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy

You drove for miles. You drove for miles but somehow didn’t make it very far. 

Your intent, after you stormed out of Spencer’s ranch, was to continue your drive to Mexico and never look back. You had no ties here, no reason to return. 

Spencer had coerced you into helping him when you hadn’t wanted to and when you finally agreed he’d snapped at you for doing the one thing he’d asked of you. 

No, you didn’t allow anybody to talk to you like that no matter how pretty they were. 

You tried to follow your original path, back on your route further down south but for some reason you just kept driving in circles. Up to Pipe Creek, back down to Bandera Town, back up to Pipe Creek and so on. 

You wished you’d had the forethought to grab the bottle of scotch before you’d left. Not that you condoned drinking and driving but you were just so fucking angry. 

So you continued to drive. Up and down. Up and down. The same stretch of road passing before your eyes again and again. 

Heading back through Bandera you saw it. It was like a sign from the heavens, a flashing beacon of good fortune. 

You pulled the car to a stop on the other side of the road and didn’t hesitate in jumping out. Crossing the empty street you glanced up at the old rickety looking building, that seemed to be moments away from collapse. 

11th Street Cowboy Bar. Don’t mind if I do. 

Outside sat three motorcycles and one lone horse tied to a hitching post. You gave the creature a wide berth. You stepped up the high curb, under the rusty tin awning and shoved open the saloon style doors. 

As soon as you breached the entrance, five sets of eyes landed on you and you instantly froze in your tracks at the heavy, penetrating stares.

Two old men with thick grey beards, stetsons, and dressed head to toe in denim perched on bar stools, eyeing you up as though you were a large steak and they were hungry wolves. 

The bartender peered at you between them, he was slightly younger but still ebbing into his late fifties. He had thinning dyed black hair, a comically oversized moustache and a red neckerchief tied snug around his throat. 

At a table nearby two other older gentlemen, in the midst of a game of cards, halted their game to stare at you too.  

You swallowed, unsticking your dry tongue from the roof of your mouth and tugging at the hem of your oversized sweater. 

The ten wandering eyes stayed on you as you took a few hesitant steps forward. 

To call this place a bar would be overselling it. It was no more a shack, barely bigger than Spencer’s living room. It was warm and musky, the scent of sweat and tobacco heavy in the air. 

It became apparent as you got further in the room that the man tending bar was chewing on tobacco between his rear teeth. One of the old men at the bar puffed on a cigar. You approached with an abundance of caution, rolling your lip between your teeth as you pushed towards the bar. 

“Howdy there ma’am.” The bar tender offered you a smile in which you caught a glimpse of the soggy tobacco in his cheek. “We got ourselves a city slicker, boys.” 

You ground your teeth together, figuratively and metaphorically holding your tongue from saying something you would regret. 

“I reckon you’re about as pretty as peach.” The old man and his smoky cigar breath moved closer, lingering. 

“Now, now Boone, don’t scare the little miss. Don’t mind him. Not his fault, he just didn’t know any better.” The tender spoke first to the cigar huffing old man - Boone - and then to you.

“No bother.” You replied curtly. “This a place where a girl can get a drink?” 

“‘Pends what she’s drinking for.” The other elderly man piped up. 

You narrowed your eyes on them both and from this close there were distinct similarities between the two. As if reading your mind, the bartender spoke again. 

“Twin brothers, ma’am. This here is Boone and Butch. Regulars by all accounts.” 

You turned back to him briefly, looked back at the brothers and smiled as amicably as you could.

“Charmed, I’m sure.” You nodded. 

“And I’m Cole, the proprietor of 11th Street.” The bartender - Cole - got your attention back. 

“Elizabeth.” You offered him a nod too. 

“What brings you to our neck of the woods, Miss Eliz-a-beth.” Boone spoke again, puffing smoke at you and pronouncing the name as if it was three separate words. 

“Oh you know, running from old Johnny law.” You winked at the old man and he blanched beneath his beard. 

Butch slapped a meaty hand on a meatier thigh and yee-hawed loudly, almost knocking himself back off the bar stool. 

“Funny and pretty, hot damn.” Butch cackled. 

You glanced over your shoulder briefly, the two other men had now resumed playing cards and weren’t paying a blind bit of notice to you and the others. 

“Most definitely running from something though, am I right sugar?” Cole picked up a tumbler from under the counter, eyes sparkling as he eyed you in a knowing way. 

“What gave you that impression?” You huffed. 

“See here,” he pointed over his shoulder to the clock hanging on the wall. “It ain’t even lunchtime. People only drink before lunchtime when they’re running from something or they miserable.” He nodded his head towards the twins and you stifled a laugh. 

“I’m simply passing through.” You drew your pack of cigarettes from your pocket and cradled one between your lips. 

Before you could even think about looking for your lighter, Boone was proffering one towards you, flame flickering. 

You leaned a little closer until your cigarette touched the flame and nodded at him in thanks.

“Didn’t I see y’all earlier in the General Store with that Cosmo?” Cole cocked an eyebrow which hit his receding hairline. 

He was scooping exactly three cubes of ice into the bottom of the tumbler. 

“Might have done.” You spoke between drags, following Boone’s lead and flicking the excess ash on the floor. 

“Strange one he is.” Butch spoke up now, cupping his bearded jaw in mild contemplation. 

“How so?” You gave him your attention. 

“Something…off about him. Don’t sit right with me.” 

“Nor me.” Boone agreed. “He thinks the sun comes up to just hear him crow.” 

You turned back to Cole who was now pouring three fingers of a rich amber liquid into the tumbler. Your expression asked silently for an explanation. 

“We’re friendly folk, ma’am.” Cole began, setting the bottle back in its rightful place. “Some might say we’re cliquey, maybe we are. We take care of our own for sure, but we’re amenable to new faces. Cosmo never so much as stepped foot in here, never said a damn word to any of us. Heard more outta your mouth right now than I ever heard him.” 

“What d’ya know about him?” Boone leaned closer again. 

“Nothing really. Only met him yesterday, he was in a spot of trouble and I helped him out.” You shrugged. The tumbler of amber was being slid towards you and you gave Cole a curious look. “I didn’t order.” 

“I know what folks are hankering for, Miss Lizzie.” He winked at you and you fought back a smile. 

You picked it up with your free hand and swirled the liquid and ice around the glass. You brought it to your nose and sniffed. You detected notes of woody grains, a mild hint of fruit and after a second sniff, even a touch of caramel. 

You tentatively lowered it to your lips and took a small sip. You held the liquid in your mouth and swilled it around a few times. It was smoky and a little nutty with undertones of that fruity scent. Certainly whiskey but not a variety you had ever tasted before.

You swallowed it down, it burnt a little as it went but it was pleasant. Strong though, incredibly strong. 

“You like that missy?” Cole smirked at you and you nodded. “My own concoction. Stronger than any other whiskey you can buy from that damn general store.”

“Stuff’ll put hairs on your chest.” Butch cackled again. 

You took a drag on the cigarette, flicked the ash on the floor, and brought the glass to your lips again. The three men watched in amazement and mild horror as you downed the remains in one.

Once it was emptied you slammed the glass on the counter and pushed it closer to Cole who looked utterly speechless.

“Keep ‘em coming.” You told him with a tilt of your head. 

“Sure thing, sugar.” He took the glass and poured you another while Boone and Butch stared on.

***

When Spencer came to he was sitting in his bathtub, completely naked aside from the cast on his arm, the shower was off. The first thing he was consciously aware of was the pain which seemed to encompass every fibre of his body. 

The second thing was the fact he was covered in blood. 

He blinked against the pain, trying to piece together how in the hell he had ended up here. He remembered your argument, you storming out and the rage bubble brewing in his stomach. And then...nothing.

His first experience suffering a dissociative episode was a few weeks after his release from prison. It was possible that he’d undergone a minor one when he had Cat Adams up against the wall with hands around her throat but he couldn’t be sure.

But the first one he was aware of happened a few weeks after his release. 

The last time he’d dissociated was the day after he’d arrived home from being held hostage by Ben’s Believers. 

That was when he made the decision to leave, to walk out on the team and move somewhere far away in the hopes of protecting those he loved from his inner Hulk. 

But the anger still swelled inside of him, the bitter pill that was losing someone he loved because of the trauma he’d sustained in prison, the trauma which had been completely out of his hands. 

He had let the anger consume him and he’d dissociated. When he came around that last time after his close brush with death, his apartment was trashed, books ripped apart at their spines, pages torn into confetti. His beloved chess set was even snapped clean in half.

But the more worrisome thing was the blood. 

He’d found the source of the bleeding with ease, a six inch cut down the centre of his left forearm starting at his wrist. Blood poured from the wound and he’d quickly tried to stop the flow with a shirt he’d found on the floor. 

He’d had to drive himself to the emergency room, given the amount of blood seeping through the shirt he held pressed against it, they saw him pretty quickly. When he was asked by the kind nurse who was stitching him up what had happened he told her the truth: he didn’t know. 

Well, that’s not to say he didn’t have an idea. There was no one else in his apartment and he was almost certain he hadn’t gone out in the time he had been detached from reality so it stood to reason the wound was self inflicted. 

And that was why Spencer knew, as he laid in his bathtub now with blood coating his one good hand, he’d inevitably hurt himself again. 

His left arm was encased in his cast so he looked further down his body. Sure enough it wasn’t long before his eyes landed on a series of horizontal cuts on his left inner thigh; six of them to be precise. 

The wounds weren’t entirely shallow but weren’t as deep as the cut he’d inflicted on his arm before. The blood had mostly pooled in the basin of the tub, trickling down towards the drain which he sat upon. It was then he realised he could feel the sticky substance coating his backside. 

He groaned viscerally at his utter stupidity. Spencer had, what was surely, a multitude of mental health issues, both diagnosed or not, but he’d never entertained the idea of self-harm, at least not until he dissociated. 

He had been diagnosed after prison with PTSD and mild Dissociative Thematic Amnesia. Combine that with a sprinkle of social anxiety and you got a Spencer Reid cocktail. 

But he wasn’t depressed, he wasn’t suicidal - was he? No, he didn’t think so, at least Spencer Reid didn’t. But maybe his inner Hulk did. 

The weapon for his self-inflicted wounds lay abandoned in the tub. He wasn’t surprised it was the same culprit as last time: the shiny blade from inside his shaving razor. 

Without thinking he brought his good hand to his face and rubbed but stopped quickly when he felt the sticky claret transferring to his skin.

He groaned, throwing his head back in frustration against the lip of the tub. The effort caused his back to hum in disapproval but he ignored it. 

“Why am I like this?” He mumbled under his breath, staring up at the shower head. “No wonder he left you, it's no surprise he walked out, you’re a goddamn lunatic!” 

He let out a scream, sitting back up and once again ignoring the pain pulsing through his spine. 

“Jesus Christ, you’ve got to get your shit together, Reid. Fucking hell you’re a mess. A fucking goddamn mess!” He slammed his hands against the side of the tub, his cast thumping against the porcelain and the impact vibrating up his arm and ricocheting through his broken bones. “FUCK!” 

He started screaming at the top of his lungs, a long, constant sound that would be swallowed up by the rolling hills outside long before they met any prying ears. He screamed until his throat was ravaged, his voice tapering off when he physically couldn’t scream anymore. 

By the time he was done, hot tears seared down his face. He shook his head, huffing out a breath. He needed to clean himself and try to shake this off. 

He braced his right hand against the side of the tub and trying to use only his uninjured leg, attempted to push himself up. He groaned in pain, which irritated his scratchy throat. It took several failed ventures and caused a lot of agony, but eventually he was on his feet. 

His knee throbbed with the effort, his back achy and his arm pulsed beneath the cast. He switched on the shower, only realising his oversight once it was too late and the water was already flowing.

He hurriedly stuck his casted arm out from behind the shower curtain in a vain effort to keep it dry. He had the sleeve the doctor had given him but would cause further irritation to his sore limbs to try and scrambled out of the bath and back in again. 

Instead he tried to shower with one arm sticking out to his side, which was no easy feat. He picked up the bottle of body wash, rolling his eyes as he popped the end of it in his mouth. He held out his right hand and using his teeth, squeezed the little bottle until enough pooled in his palm. He dared move his face towards his left hand peeking out of the shower and managed to deposit the bottle between the fingers sticking out of the cast without getting it too wet. 

He was gentle in rubbing the shower gel against his inner thigh, lightly lathering it over the dried blood and open wounds. The blood mixed with the soap creating some kind of pink froth which made him oddly think of Penelope. 

Once the wounds looked clean he moved his lathered hand around to his backside where he could still feel the blood clinging to his skin. 

In an attempt to distance himself from the idea that he’d hurt himself in this way again and he was having to clean his own blood from his skin after another episode, he closed his eyes and thought about you. 

He focused his mind back to earlier in the day sitting in your car outside his lodge and the words you’d uttered which had caused a flurry of excitement in him. 

“They aren’t the kind of stallions I usually like to have between my thighs, if you know what I mean.” 

“Fuck,” he mumbled under his breath, the same vague twitching it had elicited in his groin when you said it afflicting him now. “Come on, come on.” 

He pictured your face, the flirty smirk you sent his way. He imagined your sinful lips on his body, trailing lower…lower…lower… 

Another fluttering in his stomach and a twitch of his groin. His hand moved from where it had been cleaning himself to glide across the planes of his stomach. 

Lower…lower still until they reached right where he needed them to be. He screwed his eyes shut tightly, picturing you on your knees in the tub, water droplets beading on your flesh. 

“They aren’t the kind of stallions I usually like to have between my thighs, if you know what I mean.” 

Another flurry, blood was unhurriedly rushing south. He inched his hand lower until his fingers were in his pubic hair. 

Your lashes wet from the shower, large eyes looking up at him as you took him in your hand. 

With that he dared wrapped his hand around the base of his semi-erect cock. It was the most tumescent he’d been since…since - 

“Oh my god, he’s enjoying it! Fucking punk is enjoying it!” 

- Prison. 

In an instant his shaft was flaccid again and his hand fell to his side as his eyes shot open. 

“GOD-FUCKING-DAMNIT!” He screamed, tearing his throat further as he slammed his fist against the wall. 

It didn’t hurt. Or maybe it did. It wasn’t any worse than any other pain he was suffering at that moment. 

Hot tears escaped his eyes again and not caring if he was clean or not, he shut off the shower. He lowered himself to the lip of the tub gently before swivelling his way out, disregarding the pain it caused. 

He hobbled to the towel on the back of the door and slung it around his waist, tears still hindering his vision. 

In truth, Spencer had never been a regular at self pleasure. He wasn’t an overly sexual person, didn’t necessarily find himself getting turned on unless he was with another person and there was kissing and touching and preamble. 

There were odd occasions when he used masturbation as a tool for escapism. After particularly bad cases, when his stress levels were high. Self stimulation allowed the logical side of his brain to shut down, to turn off all the insipid thoughts that followed him after bad cases. 

The flood of dopamine, the pleasure chemical and oxytocin during orgasm was a nice reprieve to him when he was low or frustrated. But it was merely a coping mechanism, not something he held much stock in or something he was bothered to indulge in most of the time. 

But it was always good to have that on the table, the idea he could do it should he need to. 

But that ability had been taken away, snatched from him as though in punishment for lack of use. He couldn’t masturbate if he couldn’t get an erection. And he couldn’t get an erection without thinking about - 

“It’s not…stop it, please? Please? It’s n-normal.” 

“He’s enjoying it! Hah!”

“It’s a-adrenaline. It happens when we-we’re excited or scared. S-sexual arousal and fear a-arousal have many of the same bodily f…please stop!” 

It was a natural response, logically he knew that. Fear caused a narrowing of attention - tunnel vision - making it difficult to think of anything other than the perceived threat. If the threat is external then it can cause a groinal response. 

Fear increases the heart rate which in turn increases blood flow. It made perfect, rational sense that while his heart was furiously pumping his blood through his veins that some of that blood would travel south. 

He’d been in a horrifying situation and his body had simply acted on impulse. And the irony was that in getting aroused at quantifiably the absolute worst possible time, he now couldn’t get erect at all. Not without an immeasurable amount of guilt setting in before inevitably becoming flaccid soon after anyway. 

He padded over to the medicine counter, grabbed his bottle of pills and swallowed one dry, ignoring the ache in his throat from his previous screams. 

Prison had taken so much more from him than anyone would ever know. What he’d endured in his time at Milburn, he’d never told another soul. How could he? They would never look at him the same again. 

He’d never been exactly normal but this just made him a whole new level of unusual. 

He grabbed the first aid kit from the cabinet before closing it and hobbling to the toilet. He lowered himself slowly until he was seated on the lid and used the towel to pat dry his inner thigh. 

On further inspection now the cuts were clean he could tell they weren’t deep enough to warrant medical attention. What a relief that was, he had no way of getting to the hospital anyway. 

He retrieved a large reel of gauze from inside the kit and began wrapping it around the wounds. Round and round it went, creating layer upon layer of barriers between his eyes and his idiotic dissociated cutting. 

He pinned it together with a safety pin to keep it in place and it took great effort to push himself back to his feet. He limped his way back to the bedroom to dress in a pair of clean jeans and a fresh t-shirt. 

As he wondered, in absent-mindedness, where you may have gone, if he ever might see you again, the landline in the kitchen started to trill. 

A frown adorned on his features, in two years of living here that phone had never rang. He sometimes wondered if it even still worked. 

Using the kitchen counter to aid his balance, he dragged himself over to the handset, brow still furrowed. He picked it up off of the latch and held it to his ear. 

“Uh, hello?” He leaned against the wall. 

“This Cosmo?” A thick southern drawl met him. 

“I, uh, I guess so.” His frown was still deepening. “Who is this?” 

“Names Cole, I own the 11th Street Bar.” 

“The old bar down on 11th Street?” The words came out of his mouth before he had a chance to realise how stupid that sounded. 

“Well looky here we have a smart one.” Cole chuckled. 

“How did you get my number? I don’t even know my number.” 

“You live out at the old Clements ranch. Jimmy Clements and I, we went way back.” 

“Uh…okay? What can I, uh, help you with?” 

“Git a friend of yours down here in a spot of bother.” 

Spencer straightened against the wall. 

Friend? What friend? 

His brain started firing off thoughts quicker than he could focus on them. Penelope? Emily? JJ?…

…Luke? 

“Sorry, what friend?” He forced the words out. 

“Pretty young thing. Elizabeth I think?” Cole huffed out. 

Elizabeth? Who on earth is…

“Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Elizabeth Parker of Bonnie and Clyde fame.” 

Goddamnit. 

“Right, uh, is she okay?” 

“Just a little on the dangerous side of tipsy is all. I had to confiscate her keys so she wouldn’t go and drive herself to her death. Said she knew you, chance you can collect her?” 

God-fucking-damnit.

“I don’t have a car.” Spencer scratched the back of his head. 

“Git a horse dontcha? Seen ya riding her around town.” Cole scoffed.

“Yes but I’m…” he trailed off. Doctor Rhodes had advised him not to ride until his pain subsided. But this was an exigent circumstance wasn’t it? “I’ll…I’ll be by as soon as I can.”

“Right you are. I’ve cut her off and I’ll keep an eye on her for ya.” 

“Thank you.” Spencer breathed with a nod of his head before hanging up the phone. 

You were starting to become a hindrance. He’d asked you for help but you were causing him more grief than anything. Frustrated, he threw his jacket on and toed on his boots whilst using the wall to try and alleviate some of the pain warping his spine and flooding his knee. 

He grabbed his keys and hobbled out of the lodge, cursing you as the pain shot spikes though his leg as he pushed up towards the stable. 

It was still light out but due to his dissociation he had no idea what time it might be. A glance up at the sun's position in the sky he would estimate it to be around three pm. 

It took him longer than usual to trudge up to the stable and his leg was howling by the time he made it. He unlatched the barn and was greeted with three sets of happy mewls from his companions. 

“Hey guys,” he whimpered a little in pain. 

He patted Franklin on the snout and the younger of the two stallions neighed and nuzzled into his owner's palm. He gave Wilbur the same treatment but he wasn’t quite as receptive, slightly more aloof than Frank. 

Willow actually seemed as though she lit up when she laid eyes on him, she often had this look when she saw Spencer. Her large eyes grew larger and she tapped her front hooves in a little dance. 

Spencer couldn’t help the smile he offered in return. Willow was his lifeline. He loved all his animals but he had a special bond with the blue roan. Willow had given Spencer a reason to get out of bed in the morning even on the days he felt crippled by his trauma. She tethered him to reality when nothing else could ground him. 

Maybe Alvez was wrong about dogs being man’s best friend, because Willow was without a doubt Spencer’s. 

“Hey girl,” he patted her head and then frowned a little upon seeing her riding gear still atop her back. He shook his head in displeasure at your oversight. “I’m sorry Will, she doesn’t know.” 

Willow snuffled and then neighed, as if trying to tell him it was okay. He unlocked her paddock and took hold of her reins, leading her to the mounting block which she happily complied. 

Stepping up on the block was a struggle in itself and he used Willow’s strong body as leverage. Leg throbbing, he clenched his jaw as the realisation hit him. 

He’d been taught to mount a horse from the left side, the only way he’d ever mounted a horse. However this meant his left foot was the one slotting into the stirrup, essentially taking his full body weight while he swung the other over the horse's body. 

His left knee was his injured knee. And given his left arm was in a cast it meant he couldn’t use it to counterbalance any weight off of his leg. 

“Jesus Christ,” he hissed, eyeing up the stirrup. “This is going to fucking hurt.” 

He let go of Willow’s reins for a moment to grab his wallet out his jacket pocket. If he screamed he would startle his horses and he didn’t want that. Instead he stuffed the leather wallet in his mouth, between his teeth and bit down on it. He took hold of the reins again and counted to five in his head. 

He stepped up, toed his left foot into the stirrup and tugged himself upon the horse using the reins. His weight bared down on his leg, sending stabbing pains through his knee.

He moaned around the wallet, a few tears pricking at his eyes as he tasted the leather on the roof of his mouth. 

He got situated on the saddle, got his right foot in the other stirrup while removing the wallet from his mouth. A trail of saliva dribbled down his chin. The teeth indentations in the leather were so deep they pierced through it. 

He continued to grind his rear molars as the pain didn’t let up. On top of his knee, his fresh thigh wounds were rubbing against Willow’s body and they hadn’t even started moving yet. 

This was going to be hell. 

His heart was hammering from the intense pain and his hands were sweating around the reins. The hardest part was over. He would be okay. 

He took a moment to calm his breaths before giving Willow an almost imperceptible tap with his right heel and immediately she started trotting forward through the gate. 

His face was contorted in his anguish as he passed by his two stallions. As was customary, Willow stopped in her tracks outside of the stable so Spencer could lean over and lock the barn door behind himself. 

It was made considerably more difficult with the use of only one hand and took longer than usual to achieve. Once he had it locked, he tapped her gently again and Willow was on her way.

***

You sat on the curb outside 11th Street Bar, sucking on a cigarette and hugging your free arm around your body. 

The street around you spun from the alcohol consumption. You couldn’t see straight, not even as far as your car on the other side of the road. 

It was still daylight, not late enough to warrant being this drunk. 

The cigarette was acrid on your tongue and you ended up dropping it on the floor and trying but failing to stamp it out. 

You lost track of time but at some point the sound of hooves on the asphalt alerted your attention. You could make out the blurry outline of a large horse with someone on top of it heading your way but Cole’s homemade whiskey didn’t allow you to make out any features. 

“I hope you know what a huge inconvenience this has been for me.” A male voice you recognised but couldn’t place entered your ears. 

“Huh?” You swayed where you sat. 

“I am in agony, Y/N! Or should I say Elizabeth.” 

That tone…that irritating, grating, slightly whiny…

“Spencer?” You frowned. 

“Yes it’s me, who the hell else would it be?” He came to a stop in front of you and you glanced up at him, blinking against the sunlight. 

“How’d you find me?” You slurred. 

“Doesn’t matter. I’m taking you back to the ranch.” 

You tried to stand but stumbled back down. You tried again and were slightly more successful. 

“I’m not getting on that…” hiccup “creature.” 

“Well there is no way I am getting off of her without the help of a mounting block so you’re either getting on or walking. Your call.” He spat. 

“I don’t want to go anywhere with…” hiccup “you!” 

“Too bad. I pride myself on being private, and you’ve been here all of five minutes and the nice lady at the general store thinks we’re screwing and now the bartender of a place I’ve never been to has my phone number. You will come back to my ranch and sober up and then you can do whatever the hell you want.” He was gripping Willow’s reins so hard and the leather was abrasive on his palm. 

“You’re a real jerk do you,” hiccup, hiccup “know that? No wonder you want to keep yourself to yourself! No one wants to know you!” 

Your words were knives, flying from your tongue straight to his chest. He wobbled a little on Willow’s firm back and grit his teeth hard. 

“You want to be a petulant child, fine. I offered you a place to stay. I can see you’re running from something, whether it be real or imagined I don’t know. But I was trying to help you because god knows I’ve been there. And no one helped me. 

“I know what it’s like to feel as though the world has turned its back on you and I thought, hey maybe we can be of assistance to each other. But if you’re going to be like this then you’re on your own.”

With a light tug on the reins and an even lighter tap of his right foot, Willow turned back to face the direction she’d just come and started trotting back down the road. 

You clenched your hands into fists at your sides watching them go. A fury rose within you, you couldn’t let him have the last word. 

Your legs wobbled as you started after him, jogging to catch up with the mare and swerving on your feet as you did so. 

“F-fuck you!” Hiccup. “Did it ever occur to you that I didn't…” hiccup “want your help? You self right…right…” hiccup “righteous asshole!” 

Spencer didn’t look at you, kept his eyes trained forward and kept a tight grip on Willow’s reins, his casted arm resting against his chest. 

His leg was on fire. From his knee up to his thigh. He was taken back to his early days of learning to ride and the burning in his thighs as they rubbed against the horse.

“Does it always…chafe so much?” 

“You’ll build up a tolerance to it.” 

And he had over time. But the wounds on his leg, despite being wrapped in a thick layer of gauze, were rubbing rampantly against his trusty mare’s side. 

“I’m so sick of arguing with you.” He sighed with a soft shake of his head. “I have barely had any human interaction in two years and you are exhausting me.”

“I’m exhausting…” hiccup “you?” 

He took a corner with a nudge of Willow’s reins and you scrambled to take the turn with him. 

“I appreciate you helping me yesterday but consider yourself off the hook. I’ll make do on my own. I always have.” He hated the self pity dripping from his words. 

“Fine.” You huffed but you continued following him anyway. “Why are you…” hiccup “like this? You asked me for help and then when I actually tried to help you, you…” hiccup “push me away!” 

“It’s better that I do, trust me.” He petted Willow’s neck encouragingly. 

“There you go with your damn self deprecation again.” Hiccup. “Goddamn fucking hiccups!” 

“It’s not self deprecating, it’s a fact.” He hissed through a new wave of pain in his thigh. “I am not good to be around. I have a lot of issues that I would rather not drag anybody else into.” 

Willow seemed to speed up, or maybe you slowed down but you hurried to catch them up. 

“That’s what paroxetine is for, right?” Hiccup. 

Tugging on her reins, Willow came to an abrupt stop and so did you. Spencer turned his head and looked down at you, scorned. 

“How the fuck do you know about my medication?” He growled, feeling the telltale signs of the rage bubbling in his stomach once more. 

He knew how, it was a redundant question. The only way you could know was by going through his things. 

He was partially to blame for letting a stranger into his home while he wasn’t there. Some of that anger was directed at himself. But he’d thought himself a good judge of character, he had not seen this betrayal of his privacy coming. 

You didn’t speak. You averted your gaze to the floor with another hiccup hiccup hiccup, whilst scuffing your toe in the dirt. 

“You went through my things.” He answered for you. “Unbelievable.” 

He gave Willow’s side a light pat with his heel and she was moving again. You looked up when you heard the hoofbeats on the ground and quickly followed. 

“I had a headache,” hiccup “I was looking for pain meds.” Despite your inebriation, the lie came easily to you. You hurried after him but he wouldn’t look at you, wouldn’t talk to you. “So what is it? Depression? Anxiety? PTSD?” 

You saw his jaw twitch at the last one, barely perceptible but even in your intoxicated state you noticed it. He clasped his hand around the reins, squeezing, releasing, squeezing, releasing. 

“That’s none of your goddamn business.” He spoke harshly, keeping his eyes on the road ahead of him. “You shouldn’t have been going through my things, it's a complete invasion of privacy. I am not well, okay? Mentally speaking. And I think it best once you sober up that you leave. It’s safer that way.” 

You opened your mouth to speak - hiccup hiccup - but before you could reply he’d given Willow another soft tap to indicate to her to pick up her speed which she did. She went from a slow trot to a canter, not so fast that you couldn’t keep up but it was certainly made a lot harder and you assumed that to be his goal.

The last thing you remembered was running to stay close, your lungs on fire with the exertion, before the alcohol cleansed you of any more memories. 

@andiebeaword @measure-in-pain @muffin-cup @dreatine @matthew-gray-gubler-lover @justreadingficsdontmindme @spencer-reid-wonderland @theblooomingeagle @kalulakundrum @small-and-violent @voledart @katrina0_0 @bakugouswh0r3

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid smut #spencer reid x fem! reader #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x y/n

[the-phoenix-heart]

Sorting Hat Chats - A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Heeeey I'm back again. Hunger Games is one of my recent hyperfixations, so I'm doing a sorting of the latest book/film. I'll only be sorting Coriolanus Snow and Lucy-Gray Baird in this post. And Dr. Gaul oops.

An explanation of the system I am using can be found here. (Credit: @wisteria-lodge )

SPOILERS FOR A BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES BOOK AND FILM

LUCY-GRAY BAIRD is a thriving, healthy Snake secondary through and through. She loves performing, she loves playing coy, and she clearly relishes in getting one up on her enemies. This is a woman who turn her death sentence into a concert. Her plan to defeat Reaper, someone larger and deadlier than her, is to piss him off and give him the run around until he dies of exhaustion (or drinks from a poisoned puddle). To get one up on Mayfair when her name is called Lucy-Gray puts a snake in her dress to freak her out and subsequently humiliate her on live TV. No punches held back.

She's described by her actress as "a performer in a hunt," and she is. She always gives off the impression that she is always acting and always authentic in every moment. Snow certainly can never tell if she's lying or not and for all his faults he is smart.

CORIOLANUS SNOW meanwhile is a Bird secondary (I know, oh the irony) and the two secondaries slot in well together. In ABOSAS we see how he is always calculating in every interaction how he can leverage this for the most gain. He wears a carefully manufactured mask playing up whatever trait he has to to get what he wants from the person he is talking to. That's the Actor Bird in him, he can't just become someone like Lucy-Gray can. Which is why Snow works so well as a mentor for her. He can make all the plans he wants and give her every advantage to win, and she can immediately go along with it without skipping a beat.

We also see his Bird secondary on full display when he starts to come into power. He immediately starts making plans for the 11th Hunger Games when he comes back to the Capitol. His signature method for killing people is poison, and in sixty years that never changes. It's a risky plan that always works so why would he change it? And of course we know after he becomes president just how much effort he puts into controlling Katniss with more and more plans.

As for their primaries, well, that's why they constantly misunderstand each other. Coriolanus and Lucy-Gray look at each other and they both see a Snake primary, but those aren't their true sortings. Lucy-Gray is wearing a Snake primary model, and Coriolanus is wearing a Snake primary performance, not even a model.

Lucy-Gray loves the Covey, but at the end of the day when Mayor Lipp wants her dead Lucy-Gray doesn't need to think twice about running away. She knows they can take care of themselves, and she values her own freedom above anything else. It's apparent also in how she treats Billy-Taupe. She loved him once, but the moment he cheated on her she immediately cut him out of her life and doesn't seem to regret that decision. "Without trust you might as well be dead to me."

Lucy-Gray is a Lion primary, and like her secondary it's healthy. Her mantra is "Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping." She's another example of the Jack Sparrow style of Lion primary, the Fae lion. Freedom is good and control is bad. It's also why when she leaves Snow she makes it a whole production where she sings him "The Hanging Tree" and runs around him as a way to fuck with him. She knows that Corio isn't the man she thought he was and she wants to show him she knows.

Lucy-Gray is the Yin to Katniss's Yang. Katniss is a famous Snake Lion, and Lucy-Gray is the inverse of that, a Lion Snake. That quote about Lucy-Gray being a performer in a hunt is followed by Katniss being "a hunter in a performance." The revolution in a small way begins with Lucy-Gray and is ended by Katniss. Lucy-Gray loves freedom before all else, and that means she is never going to fight the Capitol like Katniss would, "it's too early for [K]atniss," she says. But Katniss is that Snake primary who loves so deeply and devastatingly that of COURSE she would end up fighting the Capitol.

But I think Lucy-Gray likes Snake primaries. I think she likes how much the value freedom, but also the way they value their people. That's what she sees when she sees Snow, a man who will do anything to protect the people he loves over himself. But that's just a performance Snow puts on, because he knows that looks much more nobler than what he actually is.

Snow actually primary matches Lucy-Gray. When we see him he's a young lion. The impression I get from Snow is entitlement. He thinks because of the way he was born that he just inherently deserves to have what is owed to him. But after it's found out that he cheated to help Lucy-Gray win, he is stripped of what little he had and sent to be a peacekeeper. He doesn't know what he wants anymore, because he can't have what he truly wants, so he convinces himself what he wants is Lucy-Gray. Except, the moment he realizes he can absolutely still get that power he turns on her immediately.

His goals never change, in the end Snow does indeed land on top, as he achieves those goals. He becomes president, and then it becomes all about maintaining power and control. And that's the real crux of his Lion primary. Like Lucy-Gray he is a Fae Lion, but on the opposite end of the spectrum. Power and control are good, and he should have that over everyone else in the world. I also see his primary in his method of choice for killing people. He willingly poisons himself so no one catches on, that is some lion devotion to his cause of control.

But, despite him trying to appear completely composed at all times, you can see that very emotional Lion primary underneath it all. I mean, he's clearly obsessed with screwing over Katniss's life in particular because he sees both Lucy-Gray and Sejanus in her. Meanwhile everything he does that fucks with Peeta is to fuck with her, despite the fact that he was also part of that suicide threat. He doesn't like that emotional Lion I think. What he wants is to maintain control over everything, and the appear as though he has this carefully constructed worldview/ideology. He has these intelligent/convincing arguments on the power of hope and the purpose of the games. It can look very Bird to people, and I think it is. DR. GAUL is absolutely a Double Bird Mad Scientist, and I think Snow adopted a Bird primary model based off of hers.

So...

Lucy-Gray Baird - Lion primary, Snake model/Snake secondary

Coriolanus Snow - Lion primary, Bird model and Snake performance/Bird secondary

Dr. Gaul - Bird primary/Bird secondary

#lucy-gray and snow to me are so effective as a couple because they are doomed #they thought they loved each other because they saw themselves in the other #but at the end of the day corio only values control and lucy-gray values freedom above all else #sortinghatchats #sorting hat chats #lucy gray baird #coriolanus snow #lion snake #lion bird #the hunger games #a ballad of songbirds and snakes #abosas #thg

[key201303]

Pairing: Dojoon x reader Word count: 1151 words Warnings: Mentions of alcohol Plot: Dojoon asking you to marry him A/N: As soon as I saw that drinking picture of him I felt the necessity of writing this scenario 🥹 I'm in love with cozy Dojoon 💕 Hope you guys enjoy it 💕 Taglist -> Let me know if you want to be added! VALENTINE'S DAY X THE ROSE

“Okay okay, you win.” Dojoon said, throwing his uno cards on the floor, taking the bottle of beer he was drinking and going to the window. You couldn’t stop laughing and teasing him as you got once again the few bills that were on the floor waiting for the winner of the round to take them. You loved playing card games with Dojoon even more if money and alcohol was involved. 

You could see Dojoon was a bit tipsy by the few hiccups he got while he rejected to accept you won another round and his red cheeks weren’t saying the opposite. “Are you okay?” You said, hugging him from behind as you look through the window above his shoulder. “Yeah sure.” He said smiling, already forgetting he had to act mad. But he couldn’t be mad whenever you had him under your touch. It was like he was under your spell in which he would do anything you asked him to no matter when and where. 

Music was playing in the background as you both kept sharing more and more beers, stories, laughs and kisses. You felt like a teenager in their good years when you used to go to house parties and end up making out with the hot guy you just met. Only difference being you both were 30 years old, you’ve been dating the hot guy for 7 years, you were alone in your shared house and he was about to ask you to marry him. Well you didn’t know that last one. Maybe that’s why you felt like a teenager in a random house party now that you come to think about it.

“How did all of this end up like this?” Dojoon asked as you both sat on the floor after you danced to one of your favorite songs. “You’re that drunk you can’t even remember how the night started?” You joked, looking at him in disbelief. “No idiot, I mean all of this. How did we end up like this? With you wearing my hoodies every morning and me calling you cute names.” He said, taking his beer to take the last sip. You couldn’t help laughing at his question. You had to admit it was pretty surprising considering how you started dating after nobody expected it. And it is that you never thought you would end up dating someone you claimed to be your best friend. But he has been there for you in every single moment you needed him and you couldn’t help falling for him, especially when he was there for you when your ex boyfriend broke your heart and confessed his feelings. Every day that passes, falling a bit more until today, when you’re sitting in front of him, beer in hand, admiring how handsome and hot he looks with his beer in hand and red cheeks in the same house where everything started.

Suddenly your favorite ballad started to play, making you gasp almost choking in surprise. “Let’s go.” You said, standing up and leaving the bottle on the floor. You expanded your hand waiting for Dojoon to take it and dance with you. “You know I hate slow dancing.” Dojoon said, not believing you were asking him to slow dance with you in your small living room. “Come on, you have to practice for when we get married.” You said, taking his beer from his hands to place it next to yours and taking his hands to pull him into your embrace to start slow dancing. Little did you know what his plans on marrying you were tonight.

He was actually good at slow dances. He has always been. You never understood why he always rejected doing it with you when he knew how soothing and healing it was for you being near his heart. His soft voice started to lazily hum the song giving you a huge smile as you rested your head on his chest, feeling the vibrations his thorax produced while softly singing. You wanted to stop time, just so you could enjoy his embrace forever. “(Y/N).” He softly said, not wanting to break the atmosphere. You hummed a yes, letting him know you were listening even though you weren’t looking at  him. “Would you marry me?” He suddenly said with a low volume.You stopped your steps as soon as you heard him say that, making you both fall into the couch. “What did you just say?” You asked completely speechless as you looked at his eyes. “Would you become my wife?” He repeated, holding himself up with his left arm. “Are you drunk?” You said, not believing he asked you that seriously. “Maybe I am.” He said, placing his right hand on your cheek and pulling you into a soft kiss that quickly turned into a deep kiss. “I love you so much I just can’t wait anymore.” He whispered against your lips. Your muscles relaxed under his touch, your arms wrapping around his neck to pull him into another deep kiss.

“Can I take it as a yes?” He asked once you were done with your heated up kissing session. “Not until you clarify everything.” You said, still not believing he asked you to marry him seriously. He let out a soft giggle as he got up and went to the entrance drawer where he kept the ring he bought in his jacket pocket. “I was going to ask you in a completely different atmosphere. But I couldn’t wait anymore. Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe it was how beautiful you always look. Maybe it was a mix of both things. But yeah, I couldn’t contain myself anymore.” He confessed, playing with the little velvet box. It was true that he sucked at keeping secrets when he was drunk so it immediately clicked with you the reason why he told you already instead of waiting a few more weeks to ask you and set a perfect proposal scenario. “I’m sorry if it’s too shabby.” He said, noticing you weren’t saying anything. Maybe it seemed like you were disappointed but in fact you were speechless. Speechless because it was the most intimate and most truly proposal he could have ever done. So you and him. You loved it. “It’s perfect. It really is.” You said, finally tears watering your eyes as you looked at the boy ever so fondly. “Then, will you marry me?” Dojoon asked, kneeling down and finally showing you the beautiful ring covered with little sapphire gems. You nodded, unable to form a word. 

Maybe it wasn’t the fanciest of the proposals, nor the most romantic but it was the perfect proposal for you. Full of truth and the love the man you had in front of you had for you and the love you had for him as well. Where it all started and where it will probably end. Your home.

#valentines day #valentines day special 🌸 #kpop #kpop imagine #kpop fluff #the rose #the rose x reader #the rose fluff #the rose dojoon #the rose dojoon x reader #the rose dojoon fluff #dojoon #dojoon x reader #dojoon fluff #park dojoon #park dojoon x reader #park dojoon fluff

[velnica]

Invitation (Orpheus/Eurydice)

A continuation of Homeward. Eurydice is Sanson's Ancient self, and Orpheus is Guydelot's

We arrive at the entrance to her apartment building and she waits wordlessly, patiently, until I finish my song. One last pluck of string and I let the note ring clear through the cool night air; a sweet chord to close the day with a positive mood. On impulse I amplify the sound with a little aether, aiming it like soft tendrils of wind towards her.

Eurydice notices—she always does—and her smile deepens with amusement. We play this game well, me with the grandiose display and her with the affectionate mirth. But this is where it always ends, right at the towering front door that will soon separate us.

On another impulse I extend my aethersong further, to curve gently along the lobes of her ears. She shivers.

So do I.

It has been two full moons since we've started this new tradition. I would wait for her outside the Ploutonion, harp at the ready to match the tempo of her steps. She would dust herself and walk out the door, greeting me as if we just coincidentally met. We'd grin conspiratorially, then we would fall into step together, at first to the beat of my song, but now, more often than not, we would walk to the cadence of her voice as she regales me with the stories of particularly interesting individuals that she had chronicled that day.

Once I had turned a woman's lifestory into a ballad. Eurydice didn't admit it, but I could tell that tears pooled under her mask. Another night I had sung a ditty about a researcher with concepts so outlandish that they beggar belief, and the soft giggles that followed had haunted my every dream since.

She always tells me that she is unremarkable; how could she ever compete against all of these people she chronicles, with their monumental accomplishments and indelible marks upon the star?

I always tell her that she is wrong; how could she not see how her sincerity and gentleness had helped a great many custodians find that one last spark of joy that they may enter the aetherial sea unburdened by doubts?

How could she not see that her candour, her insightful opinions and her steadfast encouragement as I sat next to her on the grass with tangled compositions on my tongue, had set my soul afire?

"Thank you as always, Orpheus, for your song," she says softly, breaking my reverie.

I smile back at her, "Thank you for listening, Eurydice, as always."

With flourish I bow in front of her, a theatric gesture that she enjoys greatly. Caught by yet another impulse—a common occurrence when she is near—I reach for her hand and bring it up to my lips to plant a whisper of a kiss on her knuckles. Another shiver runs through her, through me. When I rise back up I catch her gaze. Her golden glows sweep from behind the mask over my form; observing, scrutinising. I hope that one day she deems me worthy of being chronicled into the pages of history.

She opens her mouth to say her goodbye, but nothing comes out. How unusual. I seek out her aether through our still joined hands, hoping to needle out her feelings for a well-aimed tease, only to be greeted by a jumble of warmth and… and affection—

Oh.

Eurydice realises what I’d done and her face combusts. So does mine.

We stand breathlessly for a moment before another emotion radiates out of her; a small spark of something bright, something confident.

“Would you—would you like to have some tea before you leave?” she asks. Her face is turned away from me but I know, even without my empathy, that she is smiling.

“Not milk and honey, as you oft do before bed?” I tease back, remembering her preference for the sweet drink.

She giggles, that selfsame sound that haunts my sleep. “I can make two cups, if you’d like.”

I seize that sound with my heart. “How can I refuse such an offer? Lead the way.”

Eurydice beams, and she pulls me by my hand through the great double doors, towards the elevator at the back. As the contraption speeds up towards her floor she slips her fingers between mine, a wordless invitation into her life. 

A melody suddenly forms deep within my chest. Eurydice always tells me that she is unremarkable. I always tell her that she is wrong… and that's where my mistake lies. Words won’t suffice to show her what she means to the star, what she means to me. 

I grip my harp tightly as the elevator stops and opens its door. Tonight I will sing her a song, her song.

And I hope she will sing it with me.

#I am consumed by warmth and affection #I simply must write this down #orpheus x eurydice #sanson smyth #guydelot thildonnet #guydesan #bard boys #ancient bard boys #ffxiv #my gposes #my fic writing

[kazz-brekker]

ballad of songbirds and snakes movie thoughts below the cut:

if you had told my past self that in 2023 there would be a hunger games prequel that opens with giving hot young president snow a shirtless scene i would have been like "you're joking" and yet here we are

i think not having snow's inner narration like we did in the book made him seem not quite as totally calculating and selfish since we're seeing him from the outside rather than hearing his thoughts

i.e. snow in the movie disdains sejanus at the beginning of the movie yet seems to have a closer relationship by the end, but in the book we know snow actually never cared for senjanus as much as he pretended to

this kind of comes across in scenes like where dr gaul tells him if he retrieves sejanus from the arena he'll win the plinth prize but snow tells sejanus it's because they're friends but not as much as in the book

hadn't seen rachel zegler or tom blyth in anything before this movie but they were both really good, they WERE lucy gray baird and coriolanus snow

kind of loved the uniforms the students at the academy wore. they look rich but also a bit ugly and also i love that it's "diversity win! in the dystopian fascist society skirts are gender-neutral!"

when reading the book i found myself thinking lucy gray's songs would be a lot more interesting in an audio format and it's true, i did like hearing them a lot more than reading

actually i was so into the music that during the scene where mayfair lipp and billy taupe died i was like "noooo go back to the music i was vibing with that song!"

one of my problems with the og hunger games movies is that they kind of decreased the horror by having the tributes all played by adults so i liked that a lot of the tributes in this movie really did look like teenagers

i kind of expected this going in since a movie need spectacle but i wasn't a huge fan of them adding more of a bloodbath at the beginning, the point is that the tributes don't want to kill each other and haven't yet been successfully condition by the capitol to do so

the movie did gain back some points with coral's "i can't have killed all those people for nothing" moment right before she died, and also lucy gray's reaction to watching dill drink the poisoned water

on a related note it is a little hilarious to me how often people in hollywood films will take poison and then immediately keel over dead. the capitol must have the most effective rat poison in the world considering it took out 3 separate people in like a minute each

sort of wish they had kept the part where the capitol was like "yeah one of the tributes had an asthma attack and died before the games, we sent a veterinarian to help but she couldn't save him" because it was such an encapsulation of their attitudes towards the districts

i am glad they kept the part with reaper arranging the bodies and everyone being more horrified that he ripped up the flag than anyone dying, and also dr gaul being like "we must now interrupt our entertainment of watching teenagers slaughter each other to announce that, sadly, a teenager has died"

lucky flickerman doing the weather report in between events instead of magic tricks like in the book does really drive home how mundane people in the capitol find the hunger games

were lucy gray's lines about katniss kind of cheesy? yes. was i here for them? also yes

the addition of tigris saying that snow looks like his father at the end of the movie was excellent

when i was reading the epilogue of the book i went "oh this is going to make a great ending to the film" and i dare say i was right

i feel like i should reread the hunger games books now that i am adult with a developed brain who can actually understand all the nuances

#pie says stuff #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #tbosas #the hunger games

[no-where-new-hero]

Fire and Hemlock Readalong: Chapter 3

…in which Hero Business begins and also I realize doing a readalong is hard because the further I get into this book the more I just kind of want to respond by whistling like a tea kettle on high boil.

Much like how the original ballad has kind of three strata of normality (Janet's home castle, Caterhaugh, and the fairy realm, represented by Janet, Tam Lin, and the Fairy Queen), the novel gives us three different home structures: Polly's house, Granny's house, and Hunsdon House (also ruled by three different yet linked women--Mum, Granny, and Laurel. Threes are of tantamount importance in this book, as DWJ tells us in her essay).

And here we finally meet Mum, who is immediately coded in opposition to Granny because “home is not a Fire and Hemlock sort of place.” We get a sense of Polly’s life in her house: stifling (the curtains are like walls) and yet invasive (Mum opens Polly’s mail and doesn’t apologize the way Granny does). I find it interesting how houses that Polly feels comfortable in smell like food and home cooking (Nina’s and Granny’s), whereas Mum makes Polly get takeout dinners and subtly shoves her out of the security a young child should feel in their own home.

The two big movements in this chapter are Seb's return as a main player and Mr. Lynn's letter. Seb enters the novel again in the guise of another game-that’s-real when Nina tells Polly she’s being followed. Already the danger from fairyland is following Polly and Nina into the real world, but in a way that’s also just real world danger: don’t talk to strange men. Don’t go to Caterhaugh. I’m paying attention to Seb more this time around because of a certain line in the last chapter, and I find it fascinating that while he’s an agent of Laurel and Mr. Morton, he’s also enough in their power to have a certain measure of solidarity with Polly. Again, he represents an intermediary between the normal world and the fairy world. He doesn’t tell Laurel about how Polly navigated the Husdon House enchantment (not eating and drinking, the vases), and he does explain a fair amount to Polly that he didn’t necessarily need to about why he’s been following her at all.

As more evidence to my claim about Mr. Lynn’s insufficient masculinity, witness Polly’s “He’s not even a man.” Like. This is a grown-ass divorcee with a job that you’re talking about. But also we know that Polly as a hero sees through to the heart of things, whatever they look like to other people.

Unspoilery letter thoughts: the mistypes always send me. Mr. Lynn’s explicit blurring of Hero’s gender is incredible? DWJ said she needed to write this book with a female hero because that simply didn’t exist for young readers in the 80s, but in a more modern context, I feel like that can be rewritten from “girls can be heroes” to “heroism transcends gender.” Same message but Mr. Lynn really decided that Polly could be a boygirl and he didn’t care. There’s more here about sight/enchantment: Mr. Piper’s insistence that if he cannot see the thing, then it cannot be real. Seeing is believing but he’s also actively trying not to make that connection, but Hero in their youth calls it like it is. I also just love this letter? The vivacity and delight in its prose is really heartwarming and does a good job I think to get to know Mr. Lynn at a distance before we meet him again in the next chapter. Minor letter spoilers below the cut.

This time around, I’m really wondering how deeply Tom knows about his gift to invent things into existence, and that’s something I’ll need to check on once we get to Part 4. If he does, then his actively creating the Hero Business as a Nowhere world for him to slide out from his curse comes across as much more manipulative than if the coming-true was an unexpected byproduct of channeling his creativity and happiness in finding someone like Polly to share that with. I feel like it might have been a combination of both—and also of course the paintings that they pick out together tie into their imaginings, so there’s a lot of symbiosis going on.

#fh readalong #fire and hemlock #diana wynne jones #dwj