#chapter 20 - hard spoilers

[ddenji]

okay i think this is about to be an unpopular opinion but…. these two are like 2 sides of the same coin to me. beyond the shared public safety allegiance, they both violate denji's autonomy (yoshida stripping him to his underwear, tying him up, and threating his family in chapter 132 vs fumiko assaulting him in the movie theater in chapter 136) and work against his own best interest for the sake of the government. however, while they both take action in trying to force denji to do what they want, fumiko takes a more directly active role in the space of the fanatic who can't see/ doesnt care about the human behind her idol, whereas yoshida takes the more passive role of the government drone who wont act to protect the human if it means going against orders. in previous chapters, fumiko actively runs away from denji, leaving him to fight for himself, while yoshida passively tells denji that he isnt allowed to protect himself, putting him in harms way in his own right (and there is still the underlying threat of violence there if he tries to protect himself). even in the panels from this chapter, we see fumiko being active about her disregard for denji's well being by asking for little pieces of him, where yoshida is more passive in his disregard of the plan to dismember denji with a simple "yeah" answer. i know that they also have their differences, but i just think that they share intentional similarities (that other characters, particularly in the chainsaw man church, also share!!) that overall lead to denji getting hurt.

#chainsaw man #csm #chainsaw man manga spoilers #csm 156 #spence.speaks #guys pls don't come for me... #know that this is all fun & games and if yoshida is your scrimblo then please enjoy away!!! but #listen. the yaoi goggles are real and they're blinding some people #sorry…. just know that i've been there too.... #i don't really like either of them... but i hate to see a man get praised while a woman is getting hated on #it doesn't sit right with me #i've just lived through too much fandom misogyny to let fumiko get hate every chapter (even though it's deserved) #while yoshida gets “aww it must be really hard for him to hurt denji like this” (which is definitely not deserved at this point.) #don't worry guys in 20 chapters when yoshida finally shakes off public safety and helps denji i'll be willing to take this back #but until then... he is not denji's friend to me lol #anyways enough waxing about this #flop post incoming

[anewp0tat0]

NOOOO DON'T GO OUT THERE literally when in these past 3 arcs or any other instance has it ever been okay to wander the halls at night

NOOOOOOO

#but also. hazzah for fast plot! it's not 40 but like 20 pages is great for chapter length nowadays so I am happy #but it's still not enough so the less time we spend on multiple scenes and just cut to the fruit seeds the better #oh it was 19 pages (excluding the cover)... well pacing wasn't too bad here #anyway noooo but yeeesss please learn more cause these children could never hurt you anyway~~ #kuroshitsuji #black butler #kuro spoilers #kuroshitsuji spoilers #kuro chapter 198 #kuroshitsuji chapter 198 #... also where did this kid come from? why can he just do that? what is he from the circus too? #don't try to tell me average 11(?) year olds can just do that #also! last also. that chibi sebastian is new. change is hard but I like it. very clean. #finny black butler

[astralstarlight]

i really have to read the rest of the chapters so that i can confirm my thoughts, but tr genuinely feels like it ended somewhere during/after the bonten arc for me

#tr 277 #tokyo revengers spoilers #i literally still read like 10-20 chapters after that but it just didn’t feel right #and obviously i kept up with the weekly spoilers etc #but unfortunately i think i’m still going to feel this way even after reading till the official end #we’ll see though #i kind of lost interest in tr after that so that’s probably why #— alathea speaks #i still love all the characters so much though </3 #so it’s like hard to hate it or anything

[storygremlin]

I can’t believe we got a dream version of Excalibur and they gave it to Cody as a bit, I fuckin hate this show 😂😂😂

#truly unhinged #the aurthurian mythology nerd in me is deeply offended but #truly I laughed so hard lmaooooooo #the unsleeping city #dimension 20 #unsleeping city spoilers #chapter 2

[angeltannis]

Man for as overall kinda simplistic and Meh MLP G5 has been so far, the shit with Misty and Opaline is surprisingly dark and mature. I wonder how many kids with emotionally abusive parents will watch this and really relate to what Misty has been put through

#mlp #mlp g5 #mlp MYM #I’m only on episode 4 of this new chapter so no spoilers please #but man. Opaline locking Misty in her room and then coming back with the ‘im only hard on you bc I believe in you and want you to be better’ #and Misty’s resolve to finally leave visibly wavering bc yes Opaline sucks but she’s All she’s ever known #I also like that they’ve stretched it out across these 20 or so episodes instead of resolving it in one 2-parter like FiM would’ve done #really helps convey the weight of her situation and just HOW long this abuse has been going on

[sugucidal]

# HOW TO SEDUCE YOUR NEIGHBOR 101 !! — M.LIST

୨୧‬┊pairing: toji fushiguro x fem! reader

୨୧‬┊synopsis: one mistaken confession was all it took to have your world stomped to the ground and kicked to the curb. who the fucks confesses to their parent’s friend and neighbor (whos almost 20 years older !?) that they wanna fuck? and now he’s avoided you like the plague because of it. luckily, two years have gone by since then after moving away for college and you’re no longer that naive little girl. but what if you see eachother again? and he’s no longer able to hold back? duh. you’re gonna finish what you started. cause if there’s one thing you’re not, it’s a quitter.

୨୧‬┊warnings: taboo cw! + age gap (reader is 19 and toji is 34) + fem! reader + first time + corruption kink + cunnilingus + loss of virginity + first time blowjob + fingering + morally impure thoughts + size difference + mutual pinning + humor + reader turns her stuffed animals away from the atrocities that are being done on her childhood bed + toji is a pervy man that plays hard to get + you are an insatiable minx that tests his limits everyday + sort of forbidden love? ig + semi slowburn but not rlly its just for the tension + more to be added as it goes along!

‪୨୧‬┊a/n: reader is on her winter bimbo shit. i know its the middle of summer but idc!! the original fic got deleted a long time ago so the first chapter comes out right after this <3 second, follows right after (i know ahh).

‪୨୧‬┊CHAPTERS:

i. ITS BEEN A WHILE

ii. OPERATION: GET THAT D1CK

iii. RESISTING URGES (SPOILER IT FAILED!)

© DIVINEDABI 2023 — All rights reserved. Do not copy, modify, or redistribute my work without permission.

#୨♡୧ — 𝐉𝑼𝐉𝐔𝐓𝑺𝑼 𝐊𝐀𝒊𝐒𝑬𝐍 #⸼ ׁ꒰ ᵗᵒʲⁱ ᶠᵘˢʰⁱᵍᵘʳᵒ ꒱ ׁ⸼ #neighbor! toji #toji fushiguro x reader #toji fushiguro smut #toji smut #toji x reader #toji fushiguro fluff #toji fushiguro x you #toji x you #toji fluff #toji x y/n #toji fushiguro x y/n #neighbor! toji x reader #toji fushiguro fanfic #toji fushiguro fic #toji fushiguro series #toji fic #toji fanfic #jjk self insert #jjk series #jjk fluff #jjk fic #jjk x reader

[verysium]

if you had to associate a city from the world w any bllk character of your liking which cities with who and why? sorry for the odd question lmao it just crossed my mind. love ur works btw!💗

i love unconventional questions like these cus then i have to really think hard to come up with a good answer. i will admit i am slightly biased because i feel that the current teams they play for already represent them well, so some of these might be a repeat. also i am not that well-travelled (wish i could if i had the money), so i'm merely going off the reputed description of each city.

rin would be paris. i know it sounds unoriginal, but pxg rin has already grown 10x prettier than he was during the u-20 arc, so something in that city air must be doing him right. also i feel like he just dresses like a stereotypical european lol. the winter coat and scarf combo plus the perpetual scowl on his face. he probably walks super quickly down the metro too. i have this fic in the drafts where rin and reader meet up at his shitty parisian apartment and eat hotpot and smoke cigs on a random sidewalk in winter. rin is also high class. it just comes naturally to him. like if u ever take a walk near place charles de gaulle (the arc de triomphe area), there's this quiet luxury that is prominent in the fancy hotels and brand stores that make up the vicinity. even better if u go during christmas time because they have these intricately detailed light fixtures. i remember seeing this one cartier store with a giant glittering jaguar on the front. not to mention their swarovski christmas tree. rin's like that. i feel like in a few years once he goes fully professional, the media would go wild over his poise and refined grace. he just has that subtly enticing aura, like a silent glamour.

sae would be madrid. not just because it's canon but also because i feel like the city is just the polar opposite of him. madrid is one of the hottest cities in europe, and sae's just perpetually cold. even in the literal sense, i feel like he would have cold hands and feet too. if u see those wes anderson style travel commercials of madrid, it's always some variation of pastel houses, sunshine, and bikini beaches. that is exactly what sae is not like. i also chose this for...*ahem* spoiler reasons in my upcoming fic chapter which i'm not going to delve too much into. but the gist is that the contrast is why sae fits so well in madrid and also why it's a bit tragic to see how drastically he has to change in order to adapt to a new environment. if not spain, i feel like he'd still end up somewhere with a large coastline because of how fundamental the sea is to him throughout his childhood. it's sort of his safe space. if i had the choice to assign two cities, i'd also include his hometown of kamakura since he seems like the type to be secretly sentimental. i picture sae as someone who values his roots even though he constantly says he has bigger and better places to be. like he would tell everyone that he was born in the wrong country but then proceed to sigh melodramatically whenever he actually misses home.

kaiser is a weird mix of munich, new york, and las vegas. i chose munich largely because of his german roots. i also picture him as bavarian. new york and las vegas are mostly attributed to the duality of his character. when we first see kaiser, he's this figure of flamboyance. his entrance was hands-down the most theatrically dramatic one, and there are theatre motifs throughout his dialogue (eg. roles on a stage, rejecting yoichi's script/play). i feel like this would fit well with the extravagant nightlife las vegas is known for and, of course, broadway in NYC. furthermore, kaiser is this prime example of clawing your way to the top. he seems charismatic and welcoming at first, but then we see his internal motives and well...it's something. he is cutthroat when it comes to competition, and he's not afraid of using others in his ascent to the top. i mean...he literally holds people by the hair as if they're mere objects. that seems pretty ruthless and machiavellian to me. i doubt he even humanizes any of his rivals; rather, he views them as opponents to his ideology. there's also a reason why they say if you make it in new york, you can make it anywhere. there's a highly individualistic mindset, and if you really want something, the resources are there for you to achieve it. kaiser is like that in the sense he is willing to put his all into getting something he desires, even up to an obsessive degree.

yukimiya is london. like u know what taylor swift said about the english? that's yukimiya for you. he treats his mother right, sleeps 8 hours a day, and said his first love was when his friend's 16-year-old sister kissed him on the forehead. he cannot be any more perfect. not to mention he's a literal model. like hello? IMG is calling.

shidou is somewhere in ohio. i'm not going to elaborate. the man's just weird.

isagi is somewhere rural. idk why but he strikes me as a country boy. probably helps his parents on the rice farm and bikes long distances to school. i found a lot of parallels between him and hinata shoyo from haikyu mostly because they're both from a smaller, lesser known neighborhood, have a pretty ordinary childhood, and become inspired by this influential role model. my secondary reason is just that isagi doesn't seem like he'd even be familiar with the urban landscape. he's lived his life in humble origins, so i think there might be some culture shock once he actually gets to the city. like...boy was genuinely amazed when he entered that blue lock facility. never seen so much high-end equipment and technology in his life.

ego lives in a sewer. i cannot tell u his precise location just that he probably hasn't washed his hair in 45 days and is still surviving off processed ramen noodles. please pray for him.

barou is los angeles and if not socal, then he's from the bay area. i took one good look at his artificially dyed red hair and the answer was clear. he is not immune to trends guys. it's almost embarrassing. furthermore, i think the general silicon valley area is known to be hardworking, and that encapsulates barou pretty well. he is disciplined to the core, and he knows that success is not going to come to him without him actively trying to reach it. he's also...(let's be real guys)...just a teensy weensy bit arrogant. he calls himself a king, as in a literal monarch. and he says this in the most serious tone too. now he rightfully earned that title, but it doesn't erase the secondhand cringe i felt from reading that dialogue LOL.

#asks #blue lock #bllk #bllk x reader #blue locks x reader #blue lock headcanons #rin itoshi #rin itoshi x you #rin itoshi x y/n #isagi yoichi #art #rin itoshi x reader #sae itoshi #sae itoshi x reader #sae itoshi x you #sae itoshi x y/n #michael kaiser #kaiser x reader #kaiser x you #kaiser x y/n #yukimiya kenyu #yukimiya x reader #bllk fluff #bllk imagines #shidou ryusei #shidou x reader #isagi x reader #isagi x you #ego jinpachi #barou x reader

[meidnightrain]

SUBURBAN LEGENDS - furina

❝ i am standing in a 1950s gymnasium and i can still see you now. ❞

summary: your relationship with the hydro archon would be warning to the audience that the divine and mortals don’t mix, that was if you had taken legends seriously

warnings: reader is gn, fontaine archon quest spoilers

notes: day 20, the second last day of the event! i wanted to write something furina related so i tried my hand at this one.

taglist: @staretes , @rynnlvrs , @sentifua , @i-probably-sleep-too-much , @reilly34 , @qqingque , @akutasoda , @mhiieee , @starryshinyskies , @kazemiya , @pix-stuff , @inscaraithrust

furina de fontaine had people who worshipped, idolised her and send her letters anonymously in your peripheral vision. but you let it slide like a hose on a slipper plastic summer and forgave her quickly for it.

it was tough being an archon you knew and to be the lover of the god of justice was an honor. she was so magnetic, it was almost obnoxious. flushed with the currency of cool that she exuded, wowing her audience all the time that you were always turning out your empty pockets when it came to her.

you didn’t come there to make friends after all, you both were born to be suburban legends. your romance was one that captured the essence of the nation’s love for drama and theatre, a beautiful and entrancing tragedy waiting to play out.

when she held you up, spinning and leading you into a quick jive under the shining spotlight, it was like she was holding you together. the way that she would kiss you in a way that it would mess you up forever, erase the potential love interests in the story of your life for she would be the only one for you.

you had the fantasy that maybe your mismatched star signs would wow the whole crowd. that different authority and standing in the society wouldn’t deter you two from being together. love conquered all, crossed boundaries and transcended time and space. it would do the same for you.

when you ended up back on stage playing the role of the archon’s lover, you reveled in their shock. walking in with your head high for the first time and furina’s hand in yours. she would be more than a chapter in your story that would have its pages ripped out. she would have a whole section dedicated to her. you’d have a grand finale and a heartwarming epilogue with her.

but you were now standing in the crowd of fontanians, hidden in plain sight as she entertained them with a grin and twirled like a ballerina on stage without any care of you. you knew that she’d still remember that you were both born to be national treasures, fontaine’s picture perfect couple. when she would one day tell you that you’d get back together or so you thought before disaster struck and she was revealed to be a hoax.

tick-tock on the clock, and now you paced down the block of her new apartment in the aftermath of the flood. did she pretend to be in love with you, in an attempt to fool the crowd into thinking that she was truly the hydro archon? that playing with your heartstrings would distract them from whatever her real agenda was? in fact you didn’t want to meet her, it was neuvillette who had given you her address and suggested you reconcile and give her a second chance.

furina couldn’t deny that part of your relationship was for show either but it was real, at least to her. she had been so accustomed to being the center of attention she had forgotten what it was like to live without it, to live normally without a care of what other would say. what you had was real, a small speck of light in the darkness she had suffocated in for five hundred years but you were too close to foiling her plans.

you had gotten too close to her, you knew she was hiding something that was eating her up. that it wasn’t the fame that came with being an archon, no matter how hard she tried to pass that lie off. another one more step and a whole plan devised for centuries would come crashing down so she pushed you away under the guise of finding you boring. she broke her own heart because you were too polite to do it for her.

you missed her, waves crashing on the shore that you go surfing at during her downtime, dashing to the door whenever you heard the familiar click-click of her heels and her laughter. but she didn’t knock anymore and your whole life was ruined.

she missed you too, the comfort you’d bring in the chaos and weight pushing her head under the waves of the relentless sea. she had broken her heart, passed it off as a mere falling out or that you two were too different to ever understand each other.

“she was a god, you were a mortal,” she had said dismissively and it broke her own heart to say those words knowing that they weren’t true. she knew you paced down her block, watch your figure from the window with a hopeful heart. but you didn’t knock anymore and she always knew it.

you both were born to be nothing more than a story, a legend, a warning to the audience. a mess behind the scenes but captivating the media and world into thinking you had a picture perfect relationship.

now both your lives were ruined, all because of some prophecy and a part she played in a musical much greater than the one depicting your romance.

that was until she heard soft knocking on her door one day that made her dash to the door and drop the box of uncooked macaroni in her hand.

you had learned from the botched script you both read from and now things would be different because you’d do a retake of this whole relationship, cut the bloopers out and try again.

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© AVENTURNE 2023. DO NOT COPY, REPOST, SHARE, TRANSLATE OR REUPLOAD MY WORKS ONTO ANY OTHER SITE WITHOUT MY PERMISSION

#🕊️ - 1989 event #・ nouveau livre ˎˊ˗ #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact x you #genshin x you #genshin impact x gender neutral reader #genshin x gender neutral reader #genshin impact x gn reader #genshin x gn reader #furina x reader #furina x you #🪧 - event: 1989 #🗞️ - genshin impact fics

[thyme-in-a-bubble]

i’ve got you

plum, chapter nineteen 

warnings: Joel Miller x reader, smut, MILD SPOILERS for the last of us (both games and the hbo series), timeline wise this is set in between the first and second game (so when they live in Jackson), age gap (20 years), rape recovery, ptsd, kissing, pussyjob, penetrative sex, unprotected sex, pull out method, dirty talk, love confession

word count: 1301

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“Hey, are you okay?” Joel asked as he felt your body suddenly stiffen up in his lap. 

“I-…” you exhaled slowly, focusing your jittery vision on his warm eyes, “this just got very real all of a sudden…”

“Yeah…” his wide palm moved gently over your bare back, his respectful gaze staying on your face and not drifting down to soak up the distracting vision of your collective nude forms moulded against each other, “do you wanna stop?”

“No,” you shook your head lightly. 

“Do you wanna do something else? Because you know I’m fine, we don’t have to do this.”

“No, I really really want to, I just-…” your eyes drifted down to stare at his shoulder while you spoke sincerely, “I wanna stay here with you and not have my mind wander off and get confused…”

“I want you to stay here too, more than anything,” his fingers tangled themselves in your hair, bringing your eyes back up to meet his, “what can I do? What can I do to help?”

“I don’t know…” you offered him a shy shrug, “I guess you could try and remind me? Help keep me focused on this, on you…”

“Okay,” he agreed softly, his thumb swiping over your flushed cheek, “well you’re right here with me, there is no one else, just you and me, plum.” 

“Yeah,” you exhaled, your shoulders relaxing under his comforting touch. 

“And you know that I’ve got you, right? No matter what, no matter how, I’ve got you.”

Feeling a soft smile warm up your face, you echoed, “you’ve got me,” and absentmindedly rolled your hips once more against his own, rubbing your leaking cunt all over the underside of his length as it stood proud. 

Leaning in to steal a chased kiss, you sneaked your hand down between your forms and ghosted your fingers over his girth. Joel sucked in a breath as you slowly gained more confidence, dancing your fingertips over his slick stained dick. 

With a hand rooted on his chest as an anchor, you needily began to buck your hips against him, your weeping folds enveloping his cock as you rocked against him.  

“Fuck,” Joel hissed in pleasure, his nose bumping lightly against your own as he commented on the slick sounds accompanying every desperate rock, “you’re so wet.”

Brows knitted together you let your head drop down and hide in the crook of his neck, your whimpers vibrating against his skin and as you felt the fire inside of you begin to grow out of control, and so did the confession that irrepressibly flowed from your blissful lips. 

“I love you.” 

You instantly froze up, feeling your swollen clit throb against his hard cock. 

“Oh my god…” he breathed, sounding utterly amazed. 

“I-…” you continued to hide, “oh god, I’m sorry… I-, I’m sorry…”

“No, hey, hey,” his hands found your neck and gently pulled you back, “why are you sorry, huh?” he searched your averted gaze. 

“I didn’t mean to say that.”

“You didn’t mean it?”

“No, I just didn’t mean to blurt it out like that!” completely mortified, you brought your hands up to shield your face.

“…so you-”

“I’m sorry, I just-”

“Plum,” you felt his thumbs swipe over the backs of your hands, begging them to reveal your face to him, “please stop apologizing for telling me the best thing you could ever say to me,” holding your breath, you slowly let your fingers fall down. Sucking in a gasp of air, he gazed into your nervous eyes and uttered earnestly, “I love you too.”

Feeling lightheaded, you breathed, “what?”

“I love you,” he repeated with a small chuckle as the words sank in. 

“You-… you do?”

“Yeah, of course I do, I mean, how could I not-,” but he didn’t get to gush any further as you feverishly grabbed his face and pulled him into a kiss, an amazed giggle soon interrupting your adoring lips. 

“I love you,” you smiled, planting a dozen pecks all over his face, his arms wrapping around you and enveloping you in warmth as he contentedly rocked the both of you lightly in his embrace. 

“I love you,” he beamed as you gently raised your hips up and grabbed his twitching length, aligning it with your entrance, “I lo-… love-… holy shit,” he cursed as you slowly sank down on his fat girth.

The sensation of him stretching you out had a confusing cocktail of emotions flooding your system. It both felt so beyond amazing because it was him, it was Joel, but it also had your body trembling with the assault of tainted memories. 

Your wide eyes eventually locked on his as you stilled in his lap, letting the warmth of his kind eyes ground you as you breathed, sounding like you were sucking in your very first breath, “Joel,” your chest rose and fell rapidly as your vision washed over his face. 

One arm staying safely around your torso, the other hand drifted up to the side of your head, “yeah, it’s me, it’s just me,” lovingly taming your wild hair as you steadied your fevered breath. 

Feeling your body relax under his touch, your fluttering eyes darkened as you instinctively rolled your hips, “Joel,” watching his face contort beautifully as you grinded in his lap, letting his cock nuzzle in that much deeper. 

“Yeah, that’s it,” the arm that was tangled around you snaked down so that the hand could supportively grip your backside, “keep saying my name, just like that,” you desperately picked up the pace, moaning intoxicatedly at the sound of his deep voice, “it’s just me, I’ve got you.”

Half of the time when his name left your lips, the mantra sounded utterly incoherent as your moans drowned it out, leaving the whispered prayer completely unrecognizable. 

Asking for permission with his gaze, he kept his eyes locked on yours as he lowered his head down enough to bury it in the swell of your tit, feeling his hot tongue swipe across your skin as his cock stretched you out so intoxicatingly. 

With one hand firmly aiding your fevered pace, the other one stayed right where your bodies met, swirling your swollen clit with a firmness that made it difficult for you to keep your hazy eyes open. 

“Joel,” you let him take over as you neared the end, surprising you with how effortlessly he bounced you in his lap, sloppy wet sounds filling the living room as your skin slapped against each other with every needy thrust, your juices undoubtedly dripping down onto the couch at this point. “Joel,” you whimpered as you clambered down around him, nearly choking his dick to death as you came on his cock.

Your thighs trembled violently as he let out a string of beautifully lewd moans, holding you there and fucking your spasming pussy just a few more times before he pulled you back just enough for him to yank out his angry cock, pumping it quickly in his tight fist, his forearm flexing under the strain as hot ropes of cum spilt out and painted your heaving belly. 

“Fuck,” he cursed, breathing heavy as he pulled you in to kiss your cheek. Draping both of his arms around you and holding you close, you felt his heartbeat thump against your chest as you slowly regained composure of your own ragged breathing. “You okay, Y/n?” 

“I-… I think so…” you blinked back at him, completely starry-eyed, “oh my god, I love you.”

“I love you,” he couldn’t help the relieved, breathy chuckle that bubbled out of him, “fuck, I’m so proud of you. You-, you’re-…” his eyes flicked across your face, his brain visibly melting at the way you looked back at him right now, “christ, I love you…”

© 2023 thyme-in-a-bubble 

#lea’s writing #plum #joel miller smut #joel miller x reader smut #joel miller x reader #joel miller imagine #joel miller x fem!reader #pedro pascal smut #joel miller series #joel miller hbo x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller x ofc #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller fanfic #pedro pascal x reader #joel miller one shot #joel miller x y/n #joel miller x female reader #joel miller hurt/comfort #joel miller fanfiction

[daffodil-mania]

The Itch, pt. 3

Stanford era!Sam Winchester x fem!Reader. Swearing, sexually suggestive/explicit language, mentions of drugs and alcohol

Author’s notes: Y’all we are sO CLOSE to the smut I promise. I almost ended this series with this one but (spoiler alert) I felt like I just couldn’t until some smut happens. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Lmk what you think <3

—

You’re pretty sure you’re dreaming.

Because there’s no fucking way that you, a regular, ordinary Stanford freshman, are actually standing in the living room of one of the most beautiful men you’ve ever seen. And there is definitely no way that he’s making a trip downstairs to the communal laundry room in his apartment building to wash your shirts that he accidentally spilled a drink on. And there is definitely, absolutely, no motherfucking way that he’s eye fucked you tonight. Multiple times.

You pinch yourself. Hard.

You’re not dreaming. Here you stand, in Sam’s apartment, wide awake, waiting for him to get back with your laundry. A feeling akin to getting zapped with 5,000 volts of electricity surges through you at that realization, and it sends you scrambling to find Sam’s bathroom. You stagger into it and find that, much like the rest of his apartment, it’s pristine; and for some reason, that only makes you want to fuck him more. You shudder. Your eyes land on the mirror and you stare at your reflection; you look like you’ve done approximately 20 lines of cocaine — your cheeks are a deep red, and your pupils are blown so wide your eyes almost look black. You turn on the sink and bend to splash some cold water on your face. You pat your face dry as gently as you can with a hand towel, and then press your now icy hands to your cheeks. You shut your eyes and try to take in some deep, calming breaths, and while the exercise does help tone down your arousal, it does fuck all for your nerves.

After a minute you open your eyes and gaze at yourself in the mirror, and decide a pep talk is in order. You inhale and exhale one last time, and grip the edges of Sam’s sink. “Calm. Down.” You command your reflection firmly, pressing your lips into a thin line to emphasize your point. “He’s just a guy. And if you want to fuck this guy, you have to chill out. He’ll be back in a few minutes; until then, you have got to get a grip. Fix your hair, fix your makeup, whatever. But calm. Down.” You push away from the mirror, feeling slightly calmer but also a little silly. You play with your hair, trying to muss it in a way that’ll look effortlessly sexy. When you’re satisfied, you dig into your jacket pocket for your lip gloss and mascara and touch up your makeup. After you’re finished primping you attempt to make sexy (but not too sexy) faces in the mirror, but quickly drop the act out of embarrassment.

At this rate, you’ll never get laid again.

You shake your head and leave Sam’s bathroom, turning the light off as you do. You make your way over to his couch and plop down on it, and you’re pleased to discover that it’s just as comfy as it looks. You take off your jacket and the zip-up hoodie Sam lent you, deciding to neatly fold the latter, placing it gently on the coffee table, your own jacket lying messily beside you on the couch. You smooth your hands over your denim-clad thighs and take in a shaky breath. You rack your brain for something, anything, to occupy your thoughts until Sam returns. Oh fuck, Sam is gonna come back soon. The thought makes you shiver, and you find yourself compelled to dig through your jacket pockets for something to touch up your makeup again. You once again pull out the lip gloss; it's your favorite because the sheer pink color has a flirty, girlish quality to it, which has traditionally worked very well for you, and you pray that history repeats itself tonight. You smooth another thin layer on your bottom lip and rub your lips together in a way that hopefully won’t ruin your gloss the second you start talking.

You drum your fingers nervously on your legs and let out a puff of air. Your stomach is flip flopping like crazy and you’re not sure how much more of this you can take when you hear footsteps out in the hallway. You jump, your heart beating wildly in your chest, and you feel your hands start to shake and sweat with nerves. But the footsteps recede, and you draw in a slow breath while you sink back into the cushions of the couch and curse yourself for being the stupid, turned on, nervous wreck you are.

No sooner do you start actually relaxing than the door to Sam’s apartment swings open and you shoot to your feet, whipping around to face the entryway. Sam closes and locks the door behind him in a very deliberate manner, and you swallow the knot that’s forming in your throat, clenching and unclenching your hands at your sides. He looks as wound up as you feel, which is a small comfort. He draws a shaky breath as he turns, his eyes raking up and down your frame swiftly, triggering another wave of uncomfortable horniness. The pair of you lock eyes and you need his clothes off now, right now, and you’re about to tell him as much when he speaks.

“Your, uh, clothes should be done washing in about thirty minutes,” he shifts his weight from one foot to the other and continues, “a-and I figured I’d put them in the dryer after that. Wouldn’t want to get you soaked more than once tonight.” Your face feels like it’s on fire, and Sam’s eyes widen so much that it would be comical if your nerves weren’t making you feel as if you’re about to throw up. His face turns scarlet as he realizes the implication of his words. “Jesus, fuck, I-I meant your shirts, I wouldn’t want your shirts to be soaked, n-not—”

You can’t fucking take it anymore. You don’t even need your itch to drive you at this point; you’re acting of your own volition. You cross the room with a determination that stops Sam’s stuttering apology dead in its tracks, and once you’re in front of him you grab his collar and pull his mouth down to yours. Sam groans and the sound almost makes you cum on the spot, but then he spins you so you’re pinned against his door and kisses you back with a ferocity that makes your head spin. Your hands fly to the back of his head and root in his hair while his arms wrap around your waist, pressing you against the solid wall of muscle that is his chest, and a moan bubbles out of you before you can stop it.

Somehow, Sam manages to pull you even closer and laves his tongue across your bottom lip. You part your lips, allowing him access to the inside of your mouth, and Sam slots his tongue against yours. Your tongues dance together, fighting for dominance until Sam runs out of air and has to pull away panting. You start to plant sloppy kisses down his neck, leaving a trail down to his collarbone, and Sam laughs breathlessly. “Y-you’re insatiable,” he gasps, turning his head to face you. One of his sinfully large hands comes up to the back of your head and pulls you off of him and you bite your lip in order to suppress a whine. His hand smooths your hair away from your face and comes to rest against your cheekbone as the other moves to cradle your jawline. You are completely malleable at this point; you are his to do with however he pleases, and he knows it. Sam gives you a syrupy sweet smile and a traitorously blissful smile spreads over your face before you can even try to stop it.

“Hey.” He sighs as his eyes take in every inch of your face, his thumbs now caressing your jaw and cheek. “Hey,” you breathe back, your hands snaking up to loosely grip his wrists, and he clears his throat, bracing himself for whatever it is he’s about to say. “I really like you—” he states gently, and you can feel the but coming from miles away and suddenly the incredible weight of your stupidity is crashing down on you, breaking your euphoric trance, “—but I want to do this right.”

You blink.

Oh. Well. That’s not what you had expected.

“I wanna take you out on a date, i-if that’s okay. You know, get to know you. I don’t want this to be just a hookup; I mean, you seem like a really cool girl, and I—” you stop his rambling in its tracks by placing a finger against his plush lips. An intoxicating tidal wave of relief and giddiness floods your gut, and you feel like you’re about to be swept away with happiness. His mouth makes an adorable “o” shape in surprise, and you give him another smile, barely containing your excitement. “That sounds more than okay. I’d really like to get to know you, too, Sam, and I certainly don’t want this to be a one-time thing.” Sam grins, really grins, and one of his eyebrows twitches upwards as he does. “Yeah?” You nod, your flimsy facade quickly giving way to your dorky elation. “Yeah.”

You barely get the word out when Sam dives back in for another kiss. You let out a squeak in surprise, which in turn prompts a laugh from Sam. Soon the two of you are giggling so hard it’s hard to stay upright, much less kiss. But the two of you give it a valiant effort, connecting your kiss-swollen lips over and over, passing breathless laughs between each other. Eventually the two of you manage to stumble over to Sam’s couch, and while at first you’re kissing whilst sitting side by side, things quickly take a turn for the horizontal. Sam’s hovering above you, pressing against you in all the right places — well. Except for one place, but you figure that that will come soon enough — no pun intended.

You resist the urge to rub your thighs together for some friction and gently push Sam away from you. Sam’s brow knits together in concern, his eyes sweeping your face, searching for any sign of discomfort. “Everything okay?” He inquires, his voice soft and genuine. You nod, pursing your lips. You feel hot and itchy and your core fucking aches with want. You take a deep breath to steel yourself. “Yeah, it’s just…” You wet your lips and manage to rush out, “I’m just really turned on right now and I know you said you wanted to do things right, and I do too, but I’m afraid that if you don’t get off of me right now I’m gonna fuck you stupid.” The words escape you in a rush and you squeeze your eyes shut, bracing yourself for Sam’s inevitable awkward shuffle off of you and the even more awkward solitary walk you’ll shortly be making out Sam’s front door. But Sam doesn’t get off of you, and you never leave the couch. Instead, after it feels like hours have gone by, you slowly open one of your eyes to look up at Sam. His face is crimson and he blinks down at you slowly, his eyes glazed and unseeing. His head drops down to your shoulder, and you can’t be sure, but you’re almost positive a small whimpered “fuck” leaves him as he does.

“Are.. you… okay?” You tentatively inquire, afraid that you’ve somehow broken this beautiful boy’s brain. You feel him shake his head slowly, and with a deep breath, Sam pushes himself off of you, raising up so that he’s sitting beside you on the couch. You awkwardly scooch over to make room for him, and assume a sitting position yourself, not entirely sure what’s about to happen. Sam swallows, and you raise an eyebrow expectantly, pulling your knees to your chest.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just…” he trails off as he sinks back into the couch cushions, his gaze fixed on the ceiling. You shift slightly closer to him. “Yeah? You’re just what?” You murmur, resting your chin on your knees. Sam squeezes his eyes shut. “I’m just… promise you won’t laugh?” He winces. You nod. “I promise. What’s up?”

Sam takes in another shaky breath and opens his eyes, turning to look at you. “What you said. I really, really want that. You… have no idea how much. A-and I’m having a hard time… controlling… myself.” He says, his words coming out in a slow, deliberate manner. Your face flushes scarlet, and you feel very warm. “O-oh. I see.” Sam nods. “Yeah. It’s dorky, I know. It feels like I’m a freshman in highschool all over again.” He laughs awkwardly, and you’re quick to jump to his defense. “I don’t think it’s dorky. It’s… nice.” Sam cocks an eyebrow. “Nice?”

“Yeah, nice. Kind of… hot, even. It’s… well, it’s nice. To be wanted like that. Especially by a guy like you.” Sam looks extremely puzzled by that, and shifts closer to you. “A guy like me? What do you mean?”

If you felt warm before you are burning now. “W-well, I mean, you’re um, you’re funny. And smart. And you’re really… sweet. Most guys aren’t like that. Especially n-not really, uh…” you clear your throat. “…Especially not really hot guys.” You avert your gaze, suddenly fascinated with the wood grain on Sam’s apartment floor.

You feel Sam’s fingers gently slide under your chin and move your head to face him. You don’t know what you expect to see when your eyes meet his; but what you’re definitely not expecting is how soft and tender his gaze is. Your lips part, and Sam swoops in for a kiss. This kiss isn’t like the others; it’s not fueled by wanton need, and there’s no rushing. It’s undoubtedly passionate, but in a pleasantly understated way. It feels like someone has stirred up the embers of your arousal in your gut, and when Sam pulls away, your lips chase after his. He tucks your hair behind your ear with a grin. “What was that for?” You whisper.

“Well, I just got a string of compliments from a really, really pretty girl, and I really, really wanted to kiss her.” Sam murmurs, his face inches from yours. “Do you think she minded?” You shake your head. “Not at all. You should probably give her another kiss, though.”

“Oh yeah? Why?”

“Well, something tells me she’ll give you another compliment if you do.”

Sam nods slowly. “Ah, I see. So a kiss equals a compliment, then?” Now it’s your turn to nod. “Uh-huh. And Sam?” You husk, trailing your hand up Sam’s chest to fist in the front of his shirt.

“Y-yeah?”

“I wanna compliment you all night.”

—

Tag list: @startterfly

#sam winchester x reader #sam winchester #supernatural #slow burn #fluff #daffodil-mania #the itch

[yougavemeyourheartyouknow]

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

Hiiiiii! Sorry for the long wait, I wrote most of this chapter while rewatching to all the boys I’ve loved before because reader is sooooo Laura Jean coded. Not proofread, enjoy!

(E/C)- Eye color, (L/N)- Last name.

Mentions of suicide, mentions of poison, mentions of stabbing, (Romeo and Juliet spoilers???), Cursing.

Word count: 1.6k

Series Masterlist Series playlist

Chapter 4: I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you,

—

Monday, your first day back to classes since your little incident, and although you wanted to be excited for it, it was hard. Sure, the ability to leave your small cramped dorm room was nice, being able to feel the crisp November air breeze through you once more rather than the shitty AC system in your dorm was a nice change of pace from the past few days, but your injury made the whole thing annoying.

Having to awkwardly place your crutches next to your desk and praying to God they didn’t fall in the middle of class (they did about a fourth of the time), pretending like you didn’t feel the stares of your other classmates when you go from one class to another, or acting like you don’t see them turn to their friends and whisper about you. It also gave almost every guy within a 20 foot radius a “knight in shining armor syndrome”, so if it looked like you were even so much as struggling to grab a pencil from your bag, you’d have to deal with a bunch of senior boys racing each other in order to be the first to help you. Lucky you have most of your classes with MJ, being your actual knight in shining armor, shooing them away from you like they were a pack of stay dogs, but when she wasn’t around you they stuck to you like flies in honey. You and MJ weren’t the only ones annoyed by theses guys.

Currently, you’re sitting in your Advanced placement literature class. Your teacher droning on about your next and last assignment before your class would move onto the next unit which was the Victorian era of literature, usually you would be excited about starting a new class unit but your usual energy had been thoroughly drained out of you due to all the extra attention you weren’t used to. Sure you were one of the “well-known” and “prettier” girls on campus but you never had the amount of attention that you'd been receiving throughout the day on you before.

“As for your final assignment, I will be having you all pair with someone at random and you will all have to perform a scene from one of the two plays we read in class, also from random.” Your teacher finishes with a smile, not even faltering in the slightest when the collective groans erupted throughout the classroom. Ms.Covey was really playing into the stereotypical English/Drama teacher troop with this assignment. She let out a small chuckle before continuing, “You’re all so dramatic, don’t worry I won’t grade on acting skills, more so on your efforts that you put into the performance. You don’t have to be an amazing actor, but I do want you all to try.” She finishes as she bends gown to grab two small pastel coffee mugs, and places them onto her desk. Calling your classmates by random to go pick a paper from the pink mug (the ones with the scenes), before picking out from the green one (the one with names).

After the third or fourth name that wasn’t yours was called you began to zone out, your eyes looking up and the ceiling as you began to count the little holes on the tiles as you propped your elbow on top of your closed hardcover notebook, your cheek resting on your opened palm, subconsciously chewing on your bottom lip, tasting your strawberry lip gloss when you wipe away the residue from your teeth with your tongue. You let out a quiet sigh as you lost count after passing 40, you were about to start over when your ears perked up after hearing an oh-so familiar name was called up.

“Mr.O’Hara, come up and pick your scene please.” Although the way the words were phrased, the command came out more as a question. Curiously, your (E/C) eyes made there was to look over to the left, watching as the male begrudgingly got up from his seat, the chair making a small scraping noise as he cursed quietly under his breath in spanish. He could feel your eyes on him, despite the rest of the classroom watching him as well, he always knew when you were watching him, maybe it was because he’s grown almost a sixth sense that was dedicated to just you, he’s convinced himself that he could always find your eyes in a crowd, the idea almost drives him mad. Why does God have to curse him with your presence?

His large tan hand went into the pink mug and pulled out a price of paper that was a bit thicker feeling then the rest, most likely being one with a bit of a longer description, before handing it over to Ms.Covey, his bored stoic eyes purposely avoiding yours. Although this would usually be normal for you both, it felt a bit odd, since after your last interaction with one another. Your teacher let out a surprised hum when she opened the small strip of paper.

“This is an interesting one… Your scene is going to be Act 5, Scene 3 from Romeo and Juliet.” She mumbled the first part to herself before saying the latter half louder, so he as well as the rest of the class could hear. You couldn’t help the smile that began to creep on your face, you didn’t even need to open your copy of the book to know exactly which scene that was. That scene was the one where Romeo visits Juliet with the impression she’s dead and is so distraught and filled with grief, that he takes his own life by drinking poison, before she wakes up and follows his lead and takes hers by stabbing herself with a dragger. The scene was heart wrenching, and beautiful and tragic and Miguel is totally gonna butcher it. The thought of Miguel having to act out that scene was absolutely hilarious! You can’t wait till class ends, you’re gonna tease the ever living sh- “Miss (L/N)! You will be his partner.”

Your smile instantly dropped, Shit. No, no, no, nooooo. Your hand instantly shot up, you didn’t even have to glance over to Miguel to know his face held the same look of slight panic when he turned to face your teacher.

“Ms. Covey-“ You and Miguel both began in unison, you not even waiting for her to at least call your name, but she quickly shuts down any type of protest you or he could spit out. Her hand coming out in front of her in a stop motion as her expression shifts to one of mild annoyance.

“Ah- Don’t start. I don’t want to hear it!” Her brows scrunch closer together as she sends you both a pointed glare before continuing, “No switching, don’t even ask. Besides, this will be a good excuse for the both of you to bond, maybe you’ll learn to at least get along enough to not bicker at the time.” You lowered your hand back down onto your desk, an exasperated sigh leaving your lips.

This is gonna be a long assignment.

—

Your chewed on the inside of your check as you put your book down and reach for your phone again, only to see that another 15 minutes have passed. You let out a groan and shut your book with a small slam, startling yourself a bit as you began to put away your supplies back into your book bag, before slinging it over your shoulders and grabbing your crutches to make your way back to your dorm.

“What a fucking asshole… I don’t wanna do this assignment with him either, but the least he could do was text me while I was still in my dorm… he knows it’s hard for me to walk still…” You ranted to yourself quietly as you carefully made your way down the ramp of your favorite school library. You and Miguel had (begrudgingly) agreed to meet up at 5:30pm at the library to go over the assignment, read over the lines and whatnot. That was the plan at least, but after an hour and a half of waiting without so much as an update text you had decided to throw in the towel. You couldn’t wait for the next time you see him so you could rip him a new one. Now you had to walk limp? from the library back to your dorm by yourself, that was all the way across campus. Not only that but the fall weather was not being forgiving as the temperature began to steadily decline, your fleece lined tights underneath your school uniform and your bomber jacket doing very little to keep you warm, the bleak darkness of nightfall already covering Nueva York thanks to daylight savings.

You were only halfway back when you had to stop for a break, hazardly dropping your stuff on the other side of the bench you were resting on. Miguel totally owes you one. You closed your eyes, letting out a small huff as you placed your gloved hands coming over and rub your face, disregarding your tears of frustration and blaming them as your body’s reaction to the skin-numbing coldness.

“Need a lift?” Asked a voice asked from… above you? You pulled your hands down and cranked your neck up to look directly above you, your lips twitching upwards slightly. “Well- a swing.” He added, making you let out a small giggle, already going to gather your stuff.

“Nice to see you again, Spider-Man.”

—

Taglist: @famouscattale @oharasfilipinawife @mxltifxnd0m @loser-alert @homewreckingwreck @dumb-gemini12 @cowboylikeevie @thedevax @codenameredkrystalmatrix

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

[avastrasposts]

The Pilot and his Girl - ch. 19 **

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter because we've got some nice smut but also a long action sequence unlike anything I've written before and that was fun so I hope you enjoy it!

Please comment and reblog, I love hearing your thoughts on the story and my writing! And BIG thank you to all of you who continue to support this crazy little one shot that's now 19 chapters long.... (and growing).

Chapter 20

Series Master List

Word count: 6.6k

Warnings have their own post, but contain spoilers

Frankie meets you in front of the high school kitchen that same afternoon, you’re going to head over to the gym for another round of combat training with him. Even from a far you can see his big smile when he walks towards you.. 

“I talked to Benny!” he grins when he gets close, pulling you in as he wraps his arms around your waist. 

“Oh that’s amazing! How are they doing? Is Will with him?” 

“He sounded good, apart from when I asked about Will. He doesn’t know where he is, he went missing the evening of the outbreak.” Frankie sighs and pushes a strand of hair behind your ear as your smile slips.  “I guess that was expected since Ingrid didn’t hear about Will, but I was still trying to hope.” 

“Me too, and Ben didn’t sound hopeful about it being the guy Pope mentioned in New York. He said Will’s office building was on fire and there were lots of infected when he got there, he didn’t give me any details but ... .yeah, didn’t sound good.” He takes your hand and you walk over towards the double doors into the gym, “But I did get the paperwork for a transfer, just need to drop Pope’s form over to his place this afternoon, you wanna come with me after our session?” 

“Yeah, I’ll come, I haven’t been to that part of Franklin yet,” you say as he holds open the door for you, stepping into the empty gym hall. Large windows provide enough light for your needs, the electricity isn’t on for this part of the building most days. 

““You ready for this?” Frankie asks, dropping his bag on the floor. 

“No, I’m so tired from last night but you’re not gonna let me skip it are you?” you give him a mock scowl and he grins. 

“Not a chance, when we get to Arlington I’m gonna ask Benny to train you, Master Class style, and then you’ll need every trick I can teach you.” 

“Oh fuck it…just throw me to the infected now and be done with it…” you sigh and start jogging around the gym to warm up. 

Frankie puts you through your paces, making you drip with sweat as you punch and dodge around him. When he’s ready to let you practice breaking loose from his grip, your muscles are aching. 

“Frankie, I’m wasted, please, can we just call it a day?” You’re bent double, hands on your knees, breathing hard, after a final sparring match where Frankie barely pulled his punches.

“Five times, just break my grip five times and then we’ll call it,” he says, handing you a towel to wipe yourself down with. You pull your drenched t-shirt over your head, stripping down to your sports bra underneath, and Frankie’s eyes darken as he watches you pat your skin with the towel. 

You catch his eye and smirk, “If you wanna do something else, that’s totally fine with me too.” You let the towel slip over your cleavage and up along your neck, tilting your head back and from under your lashes you see Frankie open his mouth, the pink tip of his tongue coming out and swiping across his lower lip. 

“Tempting,” he says, reaching out and grabbing the towel from you and throwing it back towards his bag. “But not just yet, five times, c’mon.” 

Turns out being in only a sports bra makes things easier for you. Your sweat slick skin easily slips under Frankie’s fingers the first two times until he catches on and uses a different grip, pinning you to the floor as you scramble to hook your legs around him in the way he showed you earlier. You manage the grip but your muscles are too tired and Frankie too heavy, with a pathetic whimper you go limp under him. 

“I give, I can’t do any more today:” 

Frankie chuckles and loosens his grip, dropping down with his elbows on either side of your head. “What about this one, can you get out of this one?” he smiles, you’ve got your legs around his waist, his hips dropped into the cradle of yours and you can feel his rapidly growing hard on. 

“I don’t think so, unfortunately” you give him a mock sigh, shifting your hips under him and the friction between the two of you makes you both groan. Frankie drops down closer and brushes his nose across your cheek, down over your neck slick with salty perspiration, finding the spot under your ear where he always likes to leave a mark. 

“What about now?” he whispers, rolling his hips into you as his tongue comes out to taste the salt on your skin and you moan into the air as your hands find purchase in his damp curls.

“Frankie, we’re on the floor in the middle of the gym.” You can hear people walking past the double doors leading into the big hall and you’re suddenly very aware of how public you are if someone walks in. Frankie pushes up off the ground, grabbing hold of your hand as he rocks back on his heels and stands up. 

“Come,” he says, pulling you with him towards the locker rooms at the back, stopping to grab your bags off the floor.. You’ve never showered in here but you know there’s running water for those who use the gym. Now Frankie pulls you into the women’s section and locks the door behind you. 

“Take your clothes off, I wanna shower with you,” he smiles, dumping the bags on a bench and pulling his t-shirt over his head. You quickly strip, kicking your sneakers off and watch as Frankie unlaces his boots and stands to pull his pants off, his boxers tenting over his cock. You step closer, running your fingers under the elastic, slipping under and wrapping your hand around the heavy length as Frankie inhales sharply. You let your fingers stroke him up and down while your other hand pushes down his boxers, letting them pool around his feet. 

A hushed “Fuck,” escapes him as his head tips back, “Your hands are always so soft and warm.” 

“Not as soft and warm as other parts of me,” you smile, giving him a firmer stroke, making his eyebrows knit together as he groans. A bead of precum glistens on the tip and you swipe your thumb across it, gently rubbing it into the smooth skin. Frankie looks down at your hand wrapped around his thick cock, your thumb brushing over the head on every upstroke and you watch his eyes, they’re almost black, so dark there’s hardly anything left of the warm brown color. His lips are parted, the tip of his tongue resting on his bottom lip and on impulse you lean forward and kiss him, slipping your tongue against his, tasting his mouth, the sweat from his scruffy mustache on his lips. His hand comes up and grabs yours around his cock and wIth a firm grip he backs you into the showers, your lips still pressed together. There are no stalls, just a big, white tiled room with shower heads, and Frankie turns the knobs on the first one, letting the water run until it’s hot, pushing you up against the cold tiles. The warm water runs down your face and between your bodies, your hand still stroking him, the hard length twitching under your fingers. 

“Slow down, hermosa,” Frankie breathes against your lips, “or I won’t last much longer.” You loosen your hold, slowing down as Frankie lets his hands slide over your shoulders, up into your hair, kissing you gently while his tongue tastes yours. His hands slip down, caressing your neck, his calloused thumbs running down your sternum, finding your pebbled nipples hard under his touch. He lets his cock slip from your grip as he sinks down onto his knees and you move your hands to his wet hair with a sigh. With firm grip on your thigh he lifts one of your legs onto his shoulder, holding you steady with his hand on your hip. 

He looks up at you, blinking away the water droplets, “Is this what you want, cariño?” he asks with a smirk on his lips and you smile back with a nod, he knows full well this is exactly what you want from him and his cheeky grin as he dips his head makes you giggle. The tip of his nose runs along the inside of your thigh, his tongue following, swiping through the water cascading over you both. His teeth sink into the plush flesh, making you gasp and buck your hips against his grip. The hot swipe of his tongue soothes your skin after, even with the warm water running down you. You can feel the heat building in your core as the anticipation makes your legs quake under his firm grip. 

“Please, Frankie,” you whimper, his clever tongue always brings you close to your climax almost too soon, but this time you don’t want to fight it, just let him push you over the edge as fast as he wants too. Your grip on his hair tightens and you feel him chuckling against the soft skin where the thigh meets your heated core. 

“You can’t get out of this grip, my sweet girl, so sweet tasting,” he smiles up at you, teasing at the top of your pussy with his nose. 

When he finally slides through your wet folds you moan loudly enough for it to echo around the tiled shower room. His tongue unfurls and drags through your heat, the pointed tip flicking across your clit without warning, making you gasp, water raining into your open mouth. He loves pulling strings of incoherent sounds from your mouth while he works his way through every trick he knows will have you clenching around his tongue as he buries it as deep as he can get. His nose nudges your clit with every stroke of his tongue and when your grip on his hair tightens, he shifts his hold on your hips, opening his jaw and pushing in deeper. 

You feel your legs starting to shake and Frankie looks up at you, your eyes are closed, your head tilted back, shallow breaths lifting your chest as the tension starts to build in your core. You’re moaning his name, rocking your hips against his face and he keeps his eyes on you as he takes your clit in his mouth, applying more pressure and with a few skilled flicks of his tongue, he feels your tension break with a cry of his name. 

He eases you through it, letting his mouth bring you down slowly until he moves away, placing a warm kiss on the crease of your thigh, and getting to his feet with a groan. 

“Tiles are not ideal for this, remind me next time,” he groans and you hold out your hands, pulling him up with a breathless chuckle as you try to bring your breathing back to normal. His hands find your face, cupping your cheeks as he sinks his lips onto yours, even with the shower you can taste yourself on his lips and tongue and it makes heat run through your core again. Letting your own hand slip between your bodies you easily find his hard length, twitching under your fingers as you wrap your hand around it. He groans into your mouth as you slowly pump it, his hips thrusting into your hand. 

“How do you want it, Frankie?” you mumble against his lips. 

“Turn around, against the wall,” he replies, pulling away and helping you turn, smoothing down his warm hand along your spin as you bend at the hips, leaning your forearms against the cool, white tiles. You can feel his hands roaming across the soft skin of your ass, grabbing the flesh and dimpling it under his large hands. One hand leaves your hip and the blunt head of his cock runs through your folds, making you push your hips back towards him, Frankie giving a low, appreciative groan. You turn your head and look back at him, his jaw is clenched and his eyes trained on where he’s slowly sinking into you, pacing himself to not push in to fast. The stretch makes you keen and gasp, he’s already big, but from behind he stretches you even more, hitting new nerve endings deep inside. You can feel your walls clenching around him, your body responding to the feeling of his cock pushing so deep. With a growl, Frankie sinks all the way in. His hands leave your hips and smooths along your sides, down over your breasts, cupping them under his wet hands. 

“Come closer, hermosa,” he whispers, gently pulling you up against his chest, his hips flush with your ass, the change in angle making you both gasp. Frankie wraps an arm around chest, one hand on your hips,and starts pumping, driving up into you, making you cry out with every thrust. You reach up and grab onto the back of his head, tangling your fingers into his wet curls, turning so that you can reach his lips, a messy kiss with shower water running over your faces, into your mouths and down your bodies. Frankie is breathing hard into you, his hands roaming over your skin, grabbing all that he can find before sliding down between your legs. With practiced motions he circles your swollen clit with, making your arch your back into him. 

“GIve me another one, cariño, I want to feel you come on my cock, take me with you.” His hips slam into you, his cock hitting nerves deep inside, and you feel the heat rush through you, his fingers slipping over your clit, tightening the coil inside. Frankie’s lips leave yours, trailing along your jaw as you squeeze your eyes shut, meeting every one of his thrusts best you can. Your rhythm falters as his fingers change their pattern, slipping down to feel where he’s pushing into you before sliding up to run firm circles around your pulsing bundle of nerves. With a groan against your ear, Frankie speeds up, breathing heavily through the pelting water from the shower head. As his teeth find your neck, that one spot only he seems to find, you snap, your body folding onto itself if it wasn’t for Frankie’s arm coming up to hold you tight to his chest. You whimper his name and his hand digs into your flesh, the heat of his spend flooding inside you, making you convulse around him again. Frankie groans, pumping his hips against you, trying to steady his legs on the tiled floor as he buries himself as deep as he can go in you. You hang your head, leaning it against the cool wall and Frankie’s hot cheek rests on your shoulder. 

With a low hiss Frankie pulls out and turns you around, wrapping his arms around your neck as he leans his forehead against yours. He’s dripping out of you, mixing with the water, and you close your eyes as a deep calm settles over you. Frankie is caressing your hair, running his fingers through your wet strands, humming contentedly under his breath. You reach up and find his lips with your eyes still closed, the soft, plush feel of his mouth familiar under your lips. 

You remain under the shower until it starts to run cold, making you quickly clean up, you shriek as the last minute is under ice cold water, rinsing shampoo out of your hair. Frankie wraps you in his big towel as you come out, rubbing his hands up and down your arms as he chuckles. 

“You’ll get warm as we walk over to Pope’s place,” he says, starting to dry off himself and you follow suit. 

It turns out Pope’s place is pretty close to the wall and tucked away in a part of the QZ that still hasn’t been cleared out very much. Frankie and you make your way past bombed out buildings and burnt cars before finally finding the right address. Pope’s on the first floor, his living room window looking out at the actual wall, dissecting a wide city street. He shows you around, the small one bedroom place that he clearly shares with a woman, but she’s not in this evening. Frankie lets his gaze wander around the apartment, taking in various items stacked in the corners of the rooms. 

“Lots of stuff here, Pope,” he comments and the younger man shrugs. 

“Just holding on to some stuff for some contacts, it’ll be gone by tomorrow.” 

“You know FEDRA doesn't take smuggling lightly, right?” Frankie says, his tone a warning, “If they suspect you’re into it they’re not going to approve your application for a transfer." 

“I’m applying under my real name, I’ll just say I was here on outbreak day and that there must’ve been a slip up in the system. If Benny vouches for Santiago Garcia, it won’t be an issue.” 

“Ok, but I won’t be able to help you if your transfer doesn’t go through, I’m applying with her as my fiancee and I’m not risking anything with that.” Frankie motions to you, you’re in the kitchen, helping Pope chop up a bunch of slightly wrinkled carrots for a stew he’s got going. 

“Sin problemas, hermano, it’ll go through.” He brings out three glasses, “You guys staying for dinner right?” he asks, raising them questioningly to you and you look at Frankie who nods. 

“Yeah, sure, I’ve got a late shift tomorrow.” 

With the stew done Pope ladles it into bowls for the three of you, digging out some stale bread from a cupboard. “It’s a bit dry but guaranteed free from those fucking spores,” he says, handing it out. 

While you eat, Pope tells the two of you more about life inside the QZ. 

“In short, FEDRA are quickly making everybody who’s not FEDRA pretty pissed off. If they’d only let people trade more openly, what they find inside the QZ, they wouldn’t have an issue with smuggling.” Pope leans back and sips the whiskey he’s poured you all. “And a major part of the problem is that all their ‘soldiers’ are inexperienced rookies, hardly a real soldier among them, you must’ve picked up on that Frankie?” he raises his eyebrows at his friend and Frankie nods. 

“Yeah, I spend a lot of time training people who join FEDRA but really have no business in the army.” 

“Did you hear about the woman who got raped in FEDRA lock up?” Pope asks and you widen your eyes in horror. 

“What the fuck, Pope, what happened?” 

“She got caught smuggling two pairs of boots, nothing major, not like it was medicine or food.” Pope scowls, shaking his head. “And the jackass who picked her up, threw her in lock up instead of giving her a fine and letting her go home. Then the night shift came in to keep an eye on the prisoners, there were only two, this woman and a guy they caught stealing. And these two FEDRA guys, both new to the QZ, signed up to get inside, they took turns with her.” Pope’s hand clenches as his jaw tightens. “They threatened the thief, told him they’d bash his head in if he told anyone. The poor woman was a wreck when the day shift turned up, all beat up and bruised but wouldn’t say a word.” 

“Shit,” Frankie growls under his breath, his hand gripping your thigh as he glances over at you. You’ve got tears in your eyes, you can’t even, you don’t even want to, imagine the horror the woman must’ve gone through. The memory of the threats the looters had made while you were restrained at their house makes your skin crawl. Thank god for Frankie. 

“Once word got out, because her friends sure as hell guessed what had happened when she came back, there was nearly a riot. But FEDRA said the woman was lying, protected the men and did fuck all apart from squash all protests, cut rations, imposed a curfew, that one’s still in place by the way.” Pope nods at the window. “Speaking of which, you two should start heading back or you won’t make it back on time.” 

“Yeah, true,” Frankie says, pushing back his chair. 

“Thanks for dinner, Santi,” you say, getting up to hug him, “I know I said it yesterday, but it’s so good to see you safe and have you around again.” 

“Same to you, hermana,” he smiles, giving you a tight squeeze before turning to Frankie, giving him a bear hug. 

“Cuídate, el pececito,” he grins, ducking to avoid Frankie’s swipe at his head with a chuckle. 

“Cuídate, pendejo,” Frankie scowls, taking hold of your hand and flipping Pope the finger with a grin before you get ready to leave and make your way through the bombed out city.

The transfer process is faster than any of you expected, Frankie hands in the two applications, with Benjamin Miller as a reference in Arlington the next day, and it’s not even a week before the all clear comes through. Frankie’s commanding officer in Franklin is less than happy, scowling at him as he begrudgingly gives him his approval to leave. 

“If it wasn’t for the fact that you used to live in Arlington…” he sighs, “I would’ve denied this. I hate losing such an experienced officer, Morales. You’ve been a great asset in training the men and showing them the ropes.” 

“Thank you, sir,” Frankie replies, standing to attention in front of the man’s desk. “I’m anxious to get back to Arlington, as is my fiancee, and we still have friends there.”

“Well, best of luck to you, the transport will be taking you and supplies on Wednesday, if it all goes to plan. You’d better get packing.” 

“Thank you, sir.” Frankie snaps a sharp salute before he turns around and leaves. Three days to pack up should be plenty, neither of you have many things, mainly just a few clothes and shoes that’ll fit in the backpacks you got from the donation center. But there’s a knot of worry in the pit of his stomach. The actual journey to Arlington was going to be risky, even with an escort. Stepping out of the FEDRA headquarters he turned his face to the sky, closing his eyes for a minute. 

Am I doing the right thing but risking this trip with her? On my own, it wouldn’t matter, but with her…what if something happens to her? Fuck, don’t even let yourself go that way, Francisco, she wants to go and she won’t let me leave her behind,. Besides, as if I could leave her, I tried that already, for all the good it did. No, I won’t let anything happen, I’ll have her back and Pope will too. 

He drops his head back down and starts walking towards the high school kitchen to give you the news.

Wednesday morning three of you make your way to the main QZ gate where the convoy is waiting. There’s two army  trucks in your transport, hardly an actual convoy, but it feels safe enough and Frankie seems to be content with the security arrangements. The security isn’t for you three though, the trucks are loaded with supplies, mainly food, for Arlington. From what Frankie’s heard, Franklin has plenty of food, but hardly any medical supplies, Arlington still has a functional hospital, but a problem with their food supply so there’s regular trade between the two QZ’s. Hence the heavily guarded transports. 

The three of you are directed to the second truck along with a driver and a soldier up front. Frankie and Pope have been given automatic rifles to help guard the truck should anything happen. You’ve been given a small handgun, just in case, and Frankie gives you a quick refresher on how to use it.

“Grab it with both hands like this, remember?” he shows you, “Safety is here, and then just gently squeeze the trigger, ok?” 

“Ok, Frankie,” you say, nodding as you check the safety again and put it in the leg holster it came with. 

“You look like a bad ass with that gun,” Pope grins at you as he climbs into the truck bed behind you. You roll your eyes at him and settle into your seat. 

“I just hope I don’t have to use it because chances are I’ll hit you instead of what I’m actually aiming at.” 

“Just yell ‘Fore!’ before you fire, give me a chance to duck,” he chuckles, giving your shoulder a quick squeeze. “Don’t worry, just relax if you have to fire and you’ll do fine.” 

You laugh gratefully at Pope’s attempt at lighting the mood but Frankie remains quiet, his eyebrows knitted together in a worried look. You know the risks of this transport has been weighing on his mind, and it shows in the tense way he holds his shoulders as he triple checks his rifle and glances back at you. 

“If anything happens, get down on the floor and stay down, ok?” he says and you nod, even though it’s the fifth time he’s told you this in the past two hours. 

“I promise, Frankie, head down, make myself as small as possible.” 

“Ok, ok,” he says, his eyes drifting up towards the soldiers on the walls tasked with making sure it’s clear for the transport to leave the QZ. 

The gate creaks open after the all clear and the first truck rumbles out into the city. The first truck has a driver and five soldiers, from your seat behind the driver of your truck you can see four of them sitting under the covered truck bed, scanning the bombed out landscape as the trucks move away from the safety of Franklin QZ. Behind you, Frankie and Pope are on high alert too, you can hear their low conversation about potential threats during the three hour drive. 

The first couple of hours are quiet, only a few pockets of infected rush out towards the sound of the trucks and are quickly disposed of by the soldiers in the first truck. You can hear them cheer and celebrate after a particularly accurate shot but they all need at least three shots to take down any infected. 

“Wasting fucking bullets,” you hear Pope mumble under his breath at Frankie, who grimaces and takes aim at few stragglers running towards the trucks. They all go down with three consecutive head shots, efficiently shutting up the cheers from the truck in front. 

“Haven’t lost your touch, Catfish,” Pope grins, still scanning the surroundings for more infected. 

Frankie lowers his rifle and gives you an uncomfortable look, “They used to be regular civilians, Pope,” he says, dropping his gaze. Pope looks back at him and shrugs. 

“Yeah, of course, but they’re already gone, either we kill them or they kill us, you know?” 

“Yeah, I know, but they still look like civilians.” 

You reach over and put your hand on Frankie’s shoulder when Pope isn’t looking, giving it a light squeeze. He turns and opens his mouth to say something but his words are drowned out by an ear splitting explosion, the shock wave reverberating through your lungs. Frankie’s hands are on you in a split second, shoving you down in between the seats, you can see that he’s yelling something but your ears are ringing. The truck slams to a stop and between the seats you see the first truck flipped on its roof, engulfed in flames. Pope leans forwards and slaps the shoulder of the driver, you can see him yelling Drive! Drive! The truck lurches forward again, picking up speed, you fall sideways onto the truck floor as it swerves to the right to get around the burning wreck. A pick up truck suddenly shoots out of a side street in front of your one remaining truck, keeping its distance, it drives at high speed just in front of the army truck, something mounted on the flatbed. You can’t see what it is but there’s men on it and as you watch, dazed from the explosion, you hear the first loud cracks of  gunfire.

“Frankie! They’ve got a fucking mini gun! Shoot the gunner! Shoot!” Pope is roaring above you and you see both men crouch down and take aim, firing shots at the man handling the mounted gun on the pick-up. 

“Behind! Behind!” the driver of your truck suddenly yells and Frankie turns, a second pick-up is coming up from behind, two men in the truck bed with guns raised, 

“I got it!” Frankie yells, you see him crouch down to steady his aim, but the truck is lurching all over the road as the driver tries to avoid the gunfire from the pick-up in front. Frankie’s shots go wide and you hear him curse, your hearing slowly returning. A gasp from the front seat makes you turn and you see the soldier in the passenger seat slumped over, blood pouring out from a gaping hole in his chest. 

“Fuck!” The driver shouts, glancing over at his dead companion, “Kill the fucking gunner! We’re sitting fucking ducks here!” 

“Keep the truck steady, I’m trying,” Pope yells from above you, taking aim again. You're crouched down between the seats, trying to make yourself as small as possible, and Pope’s gunfire is loud in your ears above you.

“Fish, how’s it going back there?” Pope yells, his gun still trained on the pick-up truck in front.

“Two men down, I can’t hit the tires, we’re moving too much!” Frankie yells back. “Cariño, you ok?” He glances back at you and you meet his eyes, giving him a quick nod, he can see your terrified face between the seats. You can hear gunshots pinging off the metal of the truck and you’re trying to make yourself as small as possible, hoping the engine block in front will cover you. 

Frankie turns back and takes aim, firing at the pick-up but the truck suddenly lurches, veering to the left, and something wet and dark splatters onto the floor in front of you. You stare at it, trying to figure out what you're looking at when Pope yells from above.

“Grab the wheel, grab the wheel, we lost the driver!”  

You look over the seat and flinch backwards, the driver's right temple is missing and you squeeze your eyes shut, pushing down the bile that’s rising in your throat. 

“Why are we slowing down?!” Frankie yells from behind, turning to see Pope struggling to pull the dead driver away from the wheel and get control of the truck. It’s slowing down, bumping over the verge of the road. 

“Cariño, grab the wheel, you’ve got to drive!” he yells, snapping you out of your frozen state and looking up again. Pope’s hauled the man to the side and as Frankie frantically fires on the rapidly approaching pick-up from behind you scramble over the driver’s seat and grab hold of the wheel and haul it back on to the road, accelerating again. In front you see that one of Pope’s bullets found its mark and the dead gunner is being hauled over the side of the pick-up but another man is taking his place, grabbing the gun and aiming straight at you. 

“Pope!” you yell as the mini gun rattle into life, little bursts of asphalt flying from in front of the truck as the bullets hit. 

“I got it!” 

“Pope, you better fucking take out that gun!” Frankie yells from the back. 

“I got it!” Pope’s aiming at the tires of the pick-up, it swerves to avoid them and it makes the bullets from the mini gun go wide. You hear them ping off the metal, the windscreen is shattered and something thuds into the seat next to you with a heavy impact. 

“Frankie, I’ve got it!” You hear Pope yell and you glance back. Frankie’s turned around and is aiming at the pick-up in front. 

“You’re fucking missing everything!” he yells back, firing a first round at the tires. One of his bullets takes out a back tire and the pick-up starts wobbling. The gunner has to hang on to the gun to not be thrown off, and a burst of bullets spray across the engine block, shattering the headlights in a shower of glass. 

A second volley of bullets from Frankie hits another tire and the driver loses control, careening off the road and flipping over in a cloud of dust. 

“Just drive, cariño!” Frankie yells at you, “Just keep it steady and follow the QZ signs!” He turns around and from the miraculously still whole rear view mirror, you see him and Pope crouch down and take aim at the pursuing pick-up. Up ahead you see the looming wall of Arlington QZ, maybe just a mile down the road. 

“Almost at the QZ!” you yell back over the din of the gunfire. You glance back in the rear view mirror again, the pick-up is wobbling and both men are concentrating their fire at the front tires. It takes only a few seconds longer for both tires to blow out and the pick-up crashes into the wall of a crumbling building, careening through the entrance. You look ahead at the road again and groan. A group of infected are running onto the street further down the city block and there’s no way to avoid them. 

“Hold on!” you yell back at Frankie and Pope, “Infected up ahead!”

Frankie glances back and sees you grip the steering wheel hard, your knuckles white, shoulders by your ears, as the truck barrels towards the infected. He grabs hold of the cross bar as Pope turns around to fire at the infected. He downs one before you hit the first one, and you wince at the sickening thud of the body on the truck, the infected is thrown away from the road as you continue. You suddenly hear Pope yelp from behind you and Frankie shouts, grabbing your shoulder. 

“Stop the truck, stop!” 

You hammer the brakes, knocking over another infected but now the rest of them are running towards the truck. 

“Back up, Pope fell off!” Frankie yells and you look in the rear view mirror as you slam the truck into reverse, thank god it’s automatic, and you see him flat on his back three hundred feet behind the truck. He’s moving, still holding on to his gun, but there are infected running for him and Frankie takes aim. 

“Get to him and I’ll pull him up, then you drive for the gate!” he shouts back at you, trying to pick off as many of the infected as possible. You’re struggling to keep the truck on track, reversing an army truck is a lot different from reversing your own tiny car. Frankie curses as his shots miss, hitting the shoulder of an infected who keeps running for Pope. He’s taken out two but two more are still coming. In front of the truck you see the rest of the horde barreling down towards you too. 

Pope’s managed to sit up, shaking his dazed head as you hit the brakes a few feet away. 

“Get up!” Frankie roars at him, taking aim and firing, the infected closest to Pope drops in its tracks. “Get the fuck up, Pope!” 

“Frankie, we’ve got more infected in front!” you shout to Frankie, turning to look at the scene in the back. 

“Fuck!” he hisses and jumps out of the truck, on to the road. With two long strides he’s on Pope, grabbing him under his armpits and pulling him to his feet. “I need you to fucking move, Pope!” he groans, taking the weight of his friend. You see the last infected running straight for Frankie’s back and you shout a warning but there’s nothing Frankie can do as he shoves Pope up towards the truck, trying to make him climb up. You grab your handgun, flicking the safety off and holding it with both hands. You have to aim just to the side of Frankie and you lean on the seat, steadying your hands. Frankie sees what you're doing and crouches down, grabbing hold of Pope’s legs to hoist him up into the truck. 

“Remember the kick!” he yells and at the last second you square your shoulders, locking your arms as you aim down the sight. The seconds seem to move slow like syrup as you exhale and gently squeeze the trigger, just like he told you.The kick back jolts your hands but you hold steady and like magic, the infected screeches and drops to the ground and stays there, mere feet from Frankie’s back.. 

Pope’s regained enough sense to crawl onto the truck bed and Frankie scrambles in behind him. “Drive, cariño, drive!” he yells and you turn back to the wheel, the rest of the horde is only twenty feet away as you slam the truck into drive. The truck rips through the infected closest and they fly to the sides, a sickening crunch as one ends up under the truck but you’re too filled with adrenaline to notice. With a death grip on the wheel you aim for the big gate of the QZ that’s slowly opening, you can see lines of soldiers on the wall, guns trained on the infected now behind you. 

As the truck gets in range they open fire, the infected screeching as the bullets find them, and you barrel through the open gate, hitting the brakes as you’re faced with a large concrete enclosure and no way through on the other side, the truck shuddering to an abrupt stop. You turn in your seat in time to see the last of the infected fall as the gate slams shut behind you. 

You made it. 

You slump down over the steering wheel, breathing hard, your hands shaking. From outside you hear yelled orders for you all to exit the vehicle and you pull your eyes up. Frankie and Pope climb down from the back and Frankie comes round and puts his hand on the driver’s side window. 

“You ok, cariño?” he asks and you nod. 

“Yeah, just need a few seconds to stop my legs from shaking,” you smile weakly and he grins back. 

“You did amazing, never knew you could shoot like that, babe.” 

“Lower your guns, soldiers!” you suddenly hear from outside the truck and you look up, the voice instantly familiar. “I know these guys!”

“Benny!” Pope roars and grins at the younger Miller brother who’s walking through a smaller gate with an equally wide grin. 

“So fucking good to see you guys!” He laughs as he grabs Pope and lifts him off his feet, making Pope groan as his ribs crack under the onslaught of Benny’s muscular arms. Frankie’s next and you hear the three men laugh and rile each other as you open the driver’s side door and step out carefully, your legs still feel like jelly. 

Benny looks at you with a smile as you climb down, “Should’ve know it was your girl driving like a fucking champ, Fish!” he laughs, slapping Frankie’s shoulder again before turning back to you. Benny’s eyes go wide and he steps towards you but before he reaches you, you feel the ground disappear under your feet and you fall. 

“We need a medic!” Benny yells as Frankie turns to see you slumped on the ground, blood staining the gravel under you red.

Chapter 20

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When the World Went to Shit (Joel x Reader) Chapter 8!

Joel Miller x FEM! Reader

A/N: this is a SPOILER WARNING, this contains spoilers from the series in general.

A/N: I am so sorry for the almost 1 year delay on this chapter life has been insane. If you want more details go to my Archive to see.

(All my other links to my masterlist and archive)

WARNINGS: Canon level of violence, swears, Joel is sad, talks of grief, PTSD, brief mentions of gore, Eventual Smut, pining (on both ends), grumpy idiots in love, reader is in her late 30's to early to mid 40's. Major character deaths. DISCLAIMER NO CHARACTERS/GIFS/PICS USED ARE MINE.

Summary: 20 years later after the world went to shit you, Joel, and Tess have to take 14 year old Ellie to the Firefly base outside of Boston QZ. What was supposed to be a simple plan turned into something much more complicated.

Prev. Chapter

It wasn’t long until Joel woke you up, you couldn’t have been asleep for longer than 30 minutes before you felt Joel’s hand gently nudge you awake. 

“Gotta go Doc,” you hear him say as you blink the blurriness away, “Trucks have stopped moving and we’re losing daylight.” With a grunt you accept his hand as he pulls you to your feet, ignoring the initial dizziness to suddenly being upright. Joel is generous enough to help you regain balance until he was sure you wouldn’t fall over, you tried to ignore how warm and worn his hands were, and how they seemed to fit perfectly within yours. 

“Just hold on to my hand,” Joel says, his eyes not leaving yours, “and try not to fall behind.”  you simply nod as your hand remained in his, not finding it in you to fight him on this. His bare palm was warm and rough against yours, now your hands weren’t soft by any means, but his were different. His had been rough for years, even before the outbreak from the army and hard work, however they felt safe to you, and that scared you more than you thought it would. 

“Alright,” you hear Joel say, “let’s go.” and with that you hurried out the door, his one hand gripping yours firmly while the other held onto the gun, ready to shoot if necessary. You three made it across the street and into a dimly lit alley, one that you probably would’ve avoided twenty years ago. It was there that Joel slowed down from a run to a brisk walk, and began looking around for what you assumed to be a door or window to climb through. It wasn’t long until you found one, the wall covered with graffiti and one door next to a vent. “Here,” Joel quietly pointed, as he rushed you and Ellie to the door. You let his hand go and leaned against the wall instead as he tried to open the door. You watched as Joel struggled with opening the door, fuck, it’s locked. You looked at the vent, it wasn’t too bad, it wasn’t too terribly small but neither you or Joel would be able to fit through there. A small sneeze alerted you to Ellie, who just stood there watching Joel get more and more violent with the door. You looked at Ellie for a bit, she was on the short and smaller side of fourteen; then you looked at the vent. Ellie was too short to reach it by herself but if you and Joel lifted her up then she could probably easily go through it. The only problem you could think of was that you didn’t know what was inside. There could be a clicker in there for all you knew or worse, other people. But as you look over to Joel who had made no progress with the door, you resigned yourself to the fact that there was no other choice. 

“Ellie,” you called over to her, you saw the young girl look at you and walk to your side. You pointed to the vent above you, “do you think you can fit in there and unlock the door?” 

“Yeah,” Ellie said with no hesitance, “but I’ll need a boost.” 

“Joel,” you call out for him, you see the peppered haired man stop before turning his attention to you, “I’m gonna need help boosting her up.” you see his face scrunch up in confusion at first before finally getting the picture. 

“Are you sure?” he asked. 

“There’s no other option,” you said, “she’ll be alright.” You hoped you sounded convincing, for the most part you were sure that she would be alright, Ellie was tougher than she looks. You knew that. Still though, you couldn’t help but worry a small amount, despite her loud mouth and the corny pun jokes that made even your eyes roll you’ve come to care about her (at least a little). 

Joel gave you one more look around to see if there was another way before sighing and walking towards where you and Ellie stood. “You’re sure you can help lift her?” He asked. 

“I’m a kid,” Ellie sasses, “not an elephant.” 

You swear you hear him say something under his breath before he gets on one side of Ellie and you on the other. He grabs her one foot and you the other as you both lift her up to the small opening, she was lighter than you anticipated. Once through the opening you see Ellie crawl before a silent thunk. 

“Ok,” you hear her say on the other side of the wall, “I’m in, I’m going to take a  look around first.” 

“Ellie,” Joel says, you don’t take your eyes off the opening but you can imagine the look he has on his face right now. The big brown sad look he gets in his eyes every time he’s worried, his knuckles turning white slightly from gripping the handle of his gun a little too tight in case he needs to use it immediately. It’s a thing you’re catching him doing more and more often. Suddenly you both hear a clanking sound from the door, as you take a few steps in that direction you hear him mutter a few curses before it opens to reveal Ellie, no worse for wear. 

“Where would you be without me?” Ellie smiles cheekily, you pretend not to see how Joel’s broad shoulders sag a little before moving past her. 

“By now Wyoming.” 

You chuckled a little before ruffling up her hair before moving past her, “you walked right into that one kiddo.” You hear her mutter something under her breath, not too unlike the man ahead of you before letting the door shut. The noise echoing slightly in what appears to be an abandoned garage beneath the building or perhaps this is where the maintenance workers worked you weren’t quite sure about it other than it had surely been ransacked and abandoned. You were not likely to find anything of use like food or ammo, something you were sure you were running low on by now considering all of your supplies were destroyed during the crash. 

You three make your way to what seemed the only door leading to the way out, B3-42 No Roof Access. 

“All right,” You hear Joel say beside you, “We’ll make our way up come morning, I’ll take a look at the city and find our way out.” the door creaked as it opened and a sense of dread filled you as you realized what you had to do. 

Fuck this. 

****************************************************************************************

Joel POV. 

His chest burns as it seems as Joel struggles to get enough air, everything hurts, even the places he had no idea could hurt. It didn’t seem like you were doing much better, you were struggling for air like him but at least it didn’t seem like your head hurt…just everything else. Fuck, how many floor had they made it up, 33? When did he get so old that climbing 33 floors feels akin to 200? He looks over to the smaller girl who, while being out of breath, didn’t look like it had winded her like you and him. It was slightly irritating, on a multitude of fronts none of which he would ever admit to. His back slid against the wall as he prays that he doesn’t have a heart attack before getting Ellie out of the city at least. He looks over at you, sitting against the wall half bent. You were breathing out before leaning back and breathing in and repeating. At first he had no idea what you were doing, and he knew that if he wasn’t so exhausted he would have had to force himself to look away from the sliver of cleavage that you bending down exposed or the sweat that made you glow somehow even in the darkness. 

“Doing this helps,” you say to him, looking over at him. “Exhaling while down helps get all the air out and inhaling while sitting up opens them back up.” he must have given you a look because you then added, “it was something I picked up while studying to be a nurse,” your eyes got a strange look while a sad smile graced your features, “it came in handy a lot when…when I went jogging before the outbreak.” He doesn’t know what you're thinking most of the time, something equal parts frustrating and intriguing…what he wouldn’t give right now to know. 

“Thirty three floors,” Ellie remarks, still standing, barely a drop of sweat on her, “that’s good.” 

Joel and you shared a look, one that clearly said. 

Damn youth. 

“It’s gonna have to be,” you said, voice still breathy,  “otherwise you’re gonna have to drag Joel and I up the rest of the way.” He sees Ellie make a face, if it wasn’t for the burning in his lungs he probably would’ve smiled. After a few more minutes of breathing he sees Ellie reach out a hand to him. 

“C’mon” she says and at this point he is pretty sure he would rather a clicker bite him than get up. 

“Gimme a minute”  he breathed, his legs still aching he was almost certain that if he stood up right now his knees would give out. 

“Get up, you lazy ass.” 

He looked at her for a minute, silently he wondered if she had a death wish, before accepting the helping hand. He could feel the creaking and cracking of his joints as he stood upright again. 

“Lazy ass” he groaned, turning to his right to see if you needed any help. Upon seeing that you’ve more or less recovered he walked past Ellie and continued. “I’m fifty-six years old, you little shit.” He hears Ellie laugh a little, he was willing to bet that if he turned his head around he would see you mocking him, and if he wasn’t so tired and ready to lay down and sleep for a couple of hours he would’ve. 

It wasn’t long until they came across a glass door, one easily broken by force. One swift hit from the but of his shotgun and it shattered, at least, it shattered enough for him to reach the handle without cutting himself on the jagged edges of what remained. He entered first, in case there was danger it would hit him first instead of you or Ellie; but after it was clear that there was nothing dangerous between the four walls of what appeared to be the living room of an abandoned apartment he felt a certain stiffness in his shoulders ease a little. While looking around he took a moment, just one…just to look at you. It was clear now that whatever affects the head injury caused had subsided, however, even after reassuring himself that you were fine he couldn’t find the will to look away from you. His eyes studied the way your hair swayed as you moved around, he didn’t care about the gray streaks–in fact he found each wrinkle, each sign of aging to be beautiful on you. You wore it well, age complimented you. He wondered, though, if things were different–if there were no such things as clickers or if the cordyceps never evolved, if he would still think the same way; or if he would think of you at all. 

“What now?” 

He blinked and turned his gaze away from you, he must be more tired than he thought. Lack of sleep can really mess with someone's head, Joel thought. 

“We will stay here for a couple of hours,” he said, adjusting the strap on his shoulder. “I’m going to scout out the rest of the apartment ... .it's a long shot but maybe there’s some supplies, see what you can find here."He was about to leave the room when he felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned to look at you, you who always seemed to study him as if you haven’t known each other most of your lives. 

“You should rest,” you said, “I’ll go ahead and look around, and before you argue I’m feeling better so don’t worry about me.” and with that you walked away, no room for arguments. He grumbled something intelligible even to himself when he heard you from the other room. “Go ahead and set up camp if you’re so antsy! “ it was amazing how you could tell exactly what he was doing without having to even look at him. He grumbled something else before gathering the cushions off of chairs and sofas, making makeshift beds on the floor, dust circling around them before settling back down onto the ground. There wasn’t much in terms of blankets other than what they had on their backs, but all in all they’ve slept in worse conditions before. Or at least, you and Joel had, to be completely honest, despite all of her talking Joel still knew next to nothing about the young girl that he was protecting. He knew she liked video games, and music, but most of all she seemed to like puns. Joel knew Ellie talked a lot and despite the million words per second that seemed to escape her, but how much of that was her saying something. He had some idea of what life was like for her back in the QZ, she obviously had a friend, but figuring by the way of her not saying much the friendship didn’t end well. With the current youth growing up in the midst of this futile war, they’re more violent (feral, really), they’ve got bigger mouths and moral compasses all askew, though he really couldn’t think of one person whose moral compass had never strayed from the straight and narrow even once since the outbreak. 

There’s really only enough cushions to make two beds on the ground, realistically one of them would have to sleep upright in the chair. Joel groaned as he could already feel the crick in his neck forming at the thought. But it would be better if it was him with the crick in his neck than you. 

You were taking  your time scouting out the rest of the apartment, or maybe it just felt that way to him, maybe you’ve only been gone for a few minutes but it felt longer to him. Everytime you’re out of his sight it feels like you’re a million miles away even though he knows otherwise. It was odd, this hold that you had on him, it hadn’t been there before, or at least he thinks it hadn’t. A lot has changed since leaving the QZ, you both weren’t exactly the same people you were when this job started, or maybe it just took this job to see what was always there? Joel wasn’t sure, and honestly, by the way his limbs ached as he gathered the bucket and grabbed pieces of shattered glass fragments he was too tired to think further on it. 

He had just finished setting the alarm trap when you appeared from the other room. 

“There were two cans of food and a blanket, other than that it seems like this place had already been scouted for supplies ages ago.” you placed the two cans of peas by Joel to open and handed Ellie the blanket while you assessed the camping site. He had just finished slicing the lid off of one of the cans when you turned to him. 

“So where is everyone sleeping?” You asked, not wanting to overstep or assume. 

“I’m sleeping right here on the chair while you and Ellie get the cushions.” Joel replied, handing the open can to you only to watch as you passed it to Ellie. That was the other thing about you that had never changed, even when the outbreak happened. You always thought of other people before yourself, sometimes Joel wished he could be more like that, other times he wished you were less like that. It would save him a lot of stress. 

“That’s ridiculous,” you objected, “I don’t see why you have to get a crick in your neck while we can both just lay on one set of cushions together.” the knife slips from his hand a little before readjusting his grip. 

“Someone’s gotta keep watch.” he excused, but already he could see your eyes practically roll themselves out of your skull. 

“It’s cold out,” you said, “I gave Ellie a blanket cause I figured she probably wouldn’t want to be huddled together with either of us for warmth–” 

“Good call.” Ellie agreed. 

“And it’s not like you and I haven’t slept side by side before, or huddled together for warmth. You set up an alarm trap, it’ll wake all of us up in case someone tries to kill us before sunrise. So quit with the excuses, eat some dinner and get some sleep.” 

There was nothing left to say, no more room for argument as you get the familiar stubborn look on your face that he’s learned to associate finality with. With a sigh he responded with the only thing he could, “Yes Ma’am.” 

Dinner had been quiet save for the scraping of forks against the metal tin of the inside of the can. Joel had shared his with you while Ellie had a can of her own. Both of you were used to eating half portions, though if he was honest, he had only a few bites while he let you have the majority of the cans contents. 

                   Soon enough all of you had laid down, the cushions were a little worse for wear, covered in years worth of dust and a little flat but it was better than nothing. No, it wasn’t the dust burning his eyes a little or the hardness of the floor that prevented him from sleeping. It was you, your back was to him but he could still feel you next to him, hear the gentle noise of your breathing and while you didn’t exactly smell like a bouquet of roses, you smelled faintly of sweat but the scent of the lavender and peppermint bar soap that you took from Bill and Frank’s still lingered. Joel fought back the urge to get closer to you, it was frustrating, he can’t recall the number of times he’s slept next to you and yet this was never an issue–well–he can’t really say that. There would be times when he would wake and find himself closer to you with your arm hanging loosely around his waist, he would pretend later on that those interactions never happened, or that he didn’t spend a good few minutes looking at you, watching your nose twitch occasionally and hearing your slow and steady breathing. Joel turned over until he was facing the door, careful with his movements so as to not disturb you. Joel felt silly–stupid–really, he needed to kill whatever the hell this feeling was, he was protective of you because you grew up together and were friends that was it. He couldn’t afford to have you be anything else despite what that letter to Bill had said. 

Joel tried closing his eyes and putting you from his mind, but once he finally managed to put you on the backburner Ellie came into mind. She was 14, Joel couldn’t even remember what he was like at fourteen except that he was punk. Always doing something he wasn’t supposed to do like smoke or sneak a swig of beer when no one had looked. Meanwhile here was Ellie, there was no doubt that she would be a punk too, skating after dark and probably stealing gum or something small from a convenience store. Instead she’s been forced to have a gun in her hand and had to learn to survive since she came into this world. She’s only fourteen and she went from being an ordinary person to the last hope humanity has to create a vaccine so that clickers become a thing of the past. A world without clickers…would Joel even want to live in a world like that? Was there a place for him in that world anymore? Without Sarah?...Joel didn’t like to think about how similar they were. Both funny and discerning and most of all brave. Too damn brave, too damn young. In a secret, awful way he was relieved that Sarah never had to be the one behind the gun but so damn angry to be the one in front of it. His mind brought him back to that look in Ellie’s eyes, that cold and angry look she said it wasn’t her first time shooting someone. 

“Hey,” he said quietly, trying not to wake you, “you up?”

“Yeah?”

“When we were talking’ bout hurting people…what did you mean it wasn’t your first time?” 

“I don’t want to talk about it.” There was an edge to her tone, one that clearly said to leave it alone. It was something he had to respect. 

“All right,” he gave in. moments of silence pass between them, the only silence was your soft snoring…still it ate at him so gently he rolled back over to see Ellie, who was looking at the ceiling. “You don’t have to, I’m just saying it’s not fair, your age…having to deal with all this…” he trailed off, fuck you were better at this than he was. He sees Ellie turn her gaze from the ceiling to him, brown eyes filled with a sadness that didn’t suit her age. 

“So it gets easier when you’re older?” 

“No,” he says honestly, “not really…but still.”  there was a pause, some silence between them. Honestly, killing never does get easier, it just becomes the choice you have to make in dire situations, but it doesn’t make it easier to live with. 

“The reason I asked whether you’d hear the glass or not earlier is cause I’ve noticed you don’t hear too well from your right side.” Ellie said, breaking the pause, “is it because you got shot there?” 

“Probably more from shooting.” he answers before turning himself in for the final time, “so if you want to keep hearing I’d stick to the knife.” he closes his eyes, once again trying to clear his mind from thoughts of you or Ellie or anything really. 

“Joel?”

He hummed in response.

“Did you know diarrhea is hereditary?” 

“What?” opening his eyes and wondering what the hell she was going on about?

“Yeah,” she said somberly before following up with, “it runs in your jeans.” 

It was an awful joke really, it shouldn’t have been as funny as it was but still he felt the laughter bubble up from his chest and shake him a little. It hurt a little, the sensation of laughter was something foreign to him now but still, it was pleasant. After that neither of them said a word, drifting off to sleep before they had to wake up and find their way out of this city. 

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Joel.”

He groaned

“Joel”

He groaned again. 

“Joel I’m gonna need you to wake the hell up right now but be calm ok?”

Slowly his eyes opened, and the first thing he saw wasn’t you but of a man, couldn’t be younger than 18  with a gun pointed at you and Ellie while another kid, couldn’t be any older than eleven stood over him, orange facepaint over his eyes as he held Joel at gunpoint. Shit.

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

TAGLIST:

faith-alons26

burninggracesandbridges

dorck26

issybee0611

lightninginab0ttle

@avengersfan25

@chelsey01

#x reader #joel the last of us #tlou joel #joel miller x reader #joel x reader #joel miller smut #joel miller #joel tlou #tlou smut #tlouedit #tlou spoilers #trending #ellie the last of us #joel miller x reader smut

[nottawriter]

Fanfic Writer Questions!

Thanks for the tag, @fazedlight and @thatonebirdwrites

1- How many works do you have on AO3?

I have 16

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

356,960

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Supergirl – Arrowverse/ DC Comics: Primarily Supercorp, secondarily Dansen, Brainia, and J’M’zz, and I have one AgentReign with secondary Supercorp.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

PRIDE and Prejudice – Super gay retelling of Jane Austen’s classic. Every kudos equals $1.00US to a LGBTQIA2S charity I make at the conclusion of Pride month (June) each year (teen)

Tell Me It’s Not Too Late – Post-S4, Lillian believes Supergirl is responsible for Lex’s death. Lena rushes to J’onn’s for game night, to confront Kara on her identity, only to find she’s nowhere to be found (teen)

I Believe in a Thing Called Love – Full alternate Season 6 rewrite (teen)

Wouldn’t It Be Nice – 50 First Dates movie AU (teen)

How Lost We Are – Lena is placed by her Witness Protection team (Maggie, Kelly, and Lucy) in Midvale as a flower shop owner where she meets teacher Kara and coffee/bookshop owner Jess, among others (mature)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes, I do usually respond, though not always right away. I enjoy chatting about my fics, so don’t hesitate to ask questions, but I don’t give out spoilers though.  

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

When She’s Gone, the Darkness Comes – Oof. It was so sad I had to write a second chapter. I much prefer happy endings (teen)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

All of them have a happy ending of some kind, or they will once they’re completed. Though there are some with happy endings like Speak Now and Tis the Damn Season. Smut. I’m talking about smut (explicit)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yeah, though I’ve been mostly lucky. I don’t know why people leave hate on any fics really. If you don’t like something, close the tab.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes. It started as a small scene here or there when it was a natural progression of the fic, but now I occasionally right full smut fics and pwp like those found here (explicit)

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Kind of, but the characters are all from within the Arrowverse/ DC Comics universes somewhere.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. I don't understand why someone would do this. Please respect writers.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes. I Believe in a Thing Called Love is also in Spanish Creo en una cosa llamada amor (teen)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I’m currently working on one with @thatonebirdwrites, though it's not published. It’s a Supercorp fic where Kara is a building inspector and when she goes to inspect Lena’s home, she meets Lena’s daughter to tells her the floor is lava, so naturally Kara has to ensure that issue gets resolved.  

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

Supercorp. But I do love most wlw ships

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I intent to finish all of my active WIPs. I have some WIP ideas that may or may not ever get going, but once I start a fic, I intend to finish it.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I have no idea… I guess easter egg type stuff or like blending canon into storylines. If your a reader and there's something you think is a strength I have, let me know.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Actually writing. Words be hard. And it's hard to find the time.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I do it sometimes, probably not well. I like to include the translation in the fic (unless the characters themselves aren’t supposed to understand until later). But I'm sure the translations aren't fully right as I only use google translate and the Kryptonian dictionary.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Supercorp. I started writing fiction in Dec 2020. Before that it was all scientific research papers for uni.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

I suppose What Has Been Lost (Mature). It was what started this crazy adventure, has been the most challenging piece, and my longest (still ongoing). It truly blends lore and characters from across the Arrowverse and DC Comics into a human world and original storyline.

For Tags, if you'd like to participate: @fyonahmacnally @casualsavant @luthordamnvers @itsalliebitheway @innamorament0

#supercorp #supercorp fanfic #fic writing

[heartbreakprincexsweetevangeline]

A Case For True Love 

There is nothing that the OUABH fandom is as invested in as the question who is the Prince of Heart’s One True Love–the one person that could make his heart beat again, whose kiss wouldn’t be fatal to, and his only weakness. 

It wouldn’t be as vexing if it wasn’t for the paradox that One True Love have supposedly been found and yet it was anything but love, and here’s another person who finally challenged the supposed unrequited love the Prince represents and yet they are denied to be rightfully called as “True Love.” 

That's what makes everything so confusing and compelling all the same. And  I sincerely believe that the One True Love, a powerful force in this universe, has always been the backdoor. 

Perhaps, like the Northern Tales, the promised One True Love had been twisted by the story curse until only bits of truth remained and none, even the Prince of Hearts is, the wiser

—----------------------------------------------------------------

Forewarning 

Before we proceed, I would hate to deprive you of joy of experiencing the stories you have not read before so please be cautioned that this will contain major spoilers for the Caraval book series (Caraval, Legendary and Finale) in which the Prince of Hearts first graced us with his presence. And obviously, the Once Upon a Broken Heart series (Once Upon Broken Heart and The Ballad of Never After) just in case curiosity got the best of you.

Lastly, I am aware that in one of the author’s IG story, Ms. Stephanie Garber have said that the third and the last book in this series, A Curse for True Love’s ending has changed. Thus all of my interpretations and theories based on the OUABH and TBONA would be rendered useless (ouch). 

And I've heard more people have received their copies of A Curse For True Love which sucks greatly, so at this moment, many have already know the ending and this is useless once again.

But I supposed if I love this series any less, I wouldn't feel be driven to write all of this.

Now all of that is out of the way, I hope you will have fun reading, as much as I had writing it. And perhaps could gain deeper appreciation of the wonderful, heartwrenching, but just as magical world of Once Upon a Broken Heart.

Paradox of The Prince of Hearts

One True Love that Perhaps Never Was 

The Ballad of the Prince of Hearts

The Key to the Valory Arch and More…

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·. Paradox of the Prince of Hearts

Some of us may know the tale of the Prince of Hearts by heart, but for all intents and purposes, let’s revisit what we’ve known about him, beginning from the 2nd book of Caraval Series: Legendary. 

Chapter 3, Legendary 

The description of the Prince of Hearts is the same as it is in Once Upon a Broken Heart, with the difference of Evangeline, being an angel as she is, couldn't imagine a more tragic existence.  She knew Fates weren’t saints or saviors, but she hoped that the Prince of Hearts was more feeling than the others. (OUABH, Ch1)

But that illusion is shattered. The Prince of Hearts is indeed a Fate. If not cruel and evil, Fates are dangerous because they couldn’t tell the difference between evil and good (OUABH, Ch 2). She thought Jacks wasn't a savior but someone needed saving from (OUABH , Ch 4)

And that makes the Prince of Hearts and his curse very baffling. On one hand, his entire driving force is to break his curse of fatal kiss, to find his one true love, and yet he himself is incapable of love. I

t’s not hard to imagine how he’s trapped in eternity of heartbreak, for in him exists the duality of Fate and very human desire–love. 

Contrary to belief, Fates are not entirely unfeeling as Lala said to Evangeline:

(OUABH, Ch 38)

As mentioned throughout, Fates are also very jealous, possessive and obsessive. They are not entirely incapable of love, but loving is antithesis to the very nature of Fates, and perhaps that’s why love will turn them human.

(Finale, Ch 20)

Jacks’s strongest feeling is to find his true love, in itself goes against being his Fate. Perhaps, that’s the problem- finding true love, but not allowing to experience love.

(OUABH, Ch 38)

Jacks could still be attracted to anyone, driving him to kiss even with tiniest hint of attraction. Operative word being “tiny hint of attraction” perhaps this is characteristic of Jacks’ Fatedness’s deadly combination of intense urges, obsessiveness, and inability to think of someone else’s welfare before his. As Evangeline puts it, Jacks being cruel as he always do. 

(OUABH, Ch 44)

His Fately powers could help him attract a person with his beauty, and indeed his kiss felt like it was worth dying for. But it is also the very thing that stands between him and breaking his curse, as if it wants to ensure he will remain a Fate.

And perhaps, a part of Jacks didnt want to become a human after lifetime of hurt. So the more he hurts the more heartless he becomes. But then again, his raison d'etre is find his one true love.

Thus the more heartbreak he experiences, the more his understanding of love becomes thwarted, perpetually damning him to remain Prince of Hearts and embodiment of heartbreak. 

Hope seems dire, until he finally comes across the girl who made his heart beat, the one who did not die of his fatal kiss, the most awaited One True Love…

︑︒⚬∙︓·⠄.*+:｡.｡　　｡.｡:+*·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.*+:｡.｡　　｡.｡:+*︑︒⚬∙︓·⠄

One True Love That Perhaps Never Was

In Once Upon a Broken Hearts, Princess Donatella of Valenda has been repeatedly mentioned and it’s becoming apparent that the sister of the Southern Empress is connected with the Prince of Hearts. 

It’s been said that she broke his heart (OUABH, Ch 13), Evangeline noticed Jacks had been tense at the mention of her (OUABH, Ch 40).

In OUABH, Ch 44, Jacks revealed to Evangeline their brief history- they first met at the sky carriage, she threatened to throw him off. The second time they met, he kissed her. He lied that she wouldn't die if she got him what he wanted. But as we know, she’s alive and well. And it’s because she’s made his heart beat and she’s the mythical One True Love promised in the story of Prince of Hearts. 

But as we could infer, it didn't work out. Jacks said that she never forgave him for their first kiss, fell in love with someone else, and stabbed him with his own knife. 

With Jack's propensity for cruelty, obsession, and selfishness, it's not hard to imagine why. But why is that the supposedly powerful force in the universe OUABH exists in itself could be so flimsy? Jacks himself repeatedly said that true love could break a curse, so why does it feel it’s the one being broken?

Most pressingly is the question, is there really true love in that One True Love? 

• • • • • • • SHORT NOTE• • • • • • •

Due to the bullet limitations, I had to cut out the timeline I created beginning from the second and third book of Caraval Series-- Legendary and Finale--up to the beginning of Once Upon a Broken Hearts. I will attempt to condense them and post them here in tumblr or on another platform.

But for now, I did as much as to include the most signficant moments and include the chapter in which you could find it

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Without further ado, let's proceed

*+:｡.｡　　｡.｡:+*

Reading the Caraval series definitely has my impressions vastly changed from what is told in the Once Upon Broken Heart series. That is just like the fairytales in the Magnificent North where stories are made both of truths and lie.

And I’d like to start with Jacks’ version of the story particularly on the part that it didnt work out :

(OUABH Ch 44)

First of all, Tella was able to forgive him, numerous times if I may add. She trusted him and she had been grateful for the kindness he showed her. She’d started to believe he was trying to fight against his nature for her, but ultimately betrayed her trust and hurt (Finale, Ch 39)

Jacks also conveniently left out that Tella was left with no choice but to stab him in the heart because it’s the only way to break out of the marriage he tricked her itno when that concept seems out of her card ( Finale, Ch 44) And when Tella thought that Jacks allowed their marriage to end because somehow the bond made him genuinely care beyond the immortal's feeling of obsession, all remains are selfish impulses. He wanted to use his restored full powers (which he was made to promise not to use against Tella or Legend but ofc he said unless they ask of him) to control her feelings for eternity. (Finale, Ch 54) 

 But most importantly, she has always been in love with someone else. She wondered if Legend felt love in the lust, obsession, and desperation in the feelings the Immortals’ possess (Finale, Ch 32). Or how during their kiss after they got unknowingly married and he’s absorbing her pain, her mind wandered to Legend (Finale, Ch 12). She didn't want to get married and yet in her mind Legend is the one that could tempt her to (Finale, Ch 22). When Tella was tempted to undo the immortal bond with Jacks she severed since she felt less alone when they were connected, Jacks wasn’t the person she wanted to be connected to. (Finale, Ch 45) 

If anything, Jacks simply made it easy for her to not to be swayed even when the object of all her desires has broken her heart numerous times.

Jacks may have wanted Tella, but to her wanting someone is not the same as loving (Finale, Ch 40) To her, love is messy but powerful all the same that you think more about someone else’s life more than your own. (Finale, Ch 34)

Of course, sometimes feelings and emotions are hard to untangle from each other. It’s hard oftentimes to say if they are the cause or the effect or something in between. Two contradicting things could be true. But I think it’s intentional that between Jacks and Tella the One True Love they shared is the lack thereof. 

As we’ve seen when Jacks kissed Tella during their marriage that allowed her to feel his emotions, there’s no love. (Finale, Ch 12) 

Or when the Ruscica that told the story of Donatella Dragna (which appears to only include objective truth) revealed that Prince of Hearts is still not capable of caring even though Tella, who supposedly made his heart beat. (Finale, Ch 44)

Perhaps, believing that he found his One True Love that thwarted it all. There’s no love that could counteract his Fately nature with propensity for cruelty and obsession. He only warmed up with Tella after the fact she’s possibly the One True Love, and it seems genuine, after all he disclosed intimate details about him and the fact he was once a human (Legendary, Ch 42).

He said that he didn’t know if she’s his One True Love, but he wanted Tella to be (Legendary, Ch 45). But is it Tella herself that dares him to hope, or because he wanted it to be true that One True Love has come? When he kissed her with all the passion and longing, did he truly want to kiss her because the lips belonged to Tella or is it because his kill wouldn’t kill her? Unlike Legend, not once Jacks said what he liked about Tella.

So if there’s no love, then why do Tella possess the characteristics of One True Love?

In OUABH, we have known there’s actual spell to turn someone into One True Love (OUABH, ch 47)

Then seven years before the events of the final book of Caraval series, Tella pulled up three cards and one of them is the Prince of Hearts. Because of this, Tella believed she’s doomed to loveless future for Prince of Hearts symbolizes unrequited love. (Legendary, Seven Years Ago)

 So maybe they got unknowingly cursed, as if dooming that their love will be loveless, and for Prince of Hearts to remain forever heartbroken. That future tried very hard to bring itself. Perhaps just like magic spells could mimic Love, some kind of curse could also mimic the promised One True Love.

So Prince of Hearts’ true love is told to be: 

Immune to the fatal kiss

Will make his heart beat

His greatest weakness. 

Let’s start with weakness. 

So it was said that Fate’s weakness is love because they will lose immortality. Well, Jacks didnt turn human, and if anything he became exactly the Fate and their destructive obsession that Tella was warned about.

With regard to weakness as in the kind of vulnerability that you could do unimaginable things for your love, or you’d sacrifice even yourself if it means they will be safe and happy – what actions did Jack do for Tella? 

Throw away his morals- he didn't have it to begin with.

 Willingness to sacrifice– regardless of his intentions, he put her life as a bargaining chip that made Tella think that he wanted his powers more than he wanted her (Finale, Ch 40) He betrayed Tella when she thought he'd try to fight his nature (Finale, Ch 39)

Unimaginable things– marry her without her knowledge and manipulate her feelings for eternity. 

Tella should've been her weakness but everything he did was less for her but more like for him and his own heartbreak. He may never intended to harm her, but as Tella said he already have. (Legendary, Ch 44) 

Making his heart beat

This one is baffling indeed. Jacks kissed Tella during the First Night of the Caraval (Legendary Ch 11), and Tella felt his pulse beating as fast as hers during the Fifth Night of the Caraval (Legendary, Ch 35). Firstly, Tella’s heartbeat weakened after the first kiss , and then it went fast, then it slowed down again until this moment. Secondly, four nights have passed by since the first kiss, did Jacks not just notice this until Tella pointed it out? 

There is a possibility that their heart beats synchronized at that moment because of One True Love binding them, and Jacks’s heart just took its time to beat. But at the same time, nothing stood out at that moment except the burning hate Tella had that made her attack Jacks, which he effortlessly avoided. 

There is another possibility that there are other things that have triggered Jacks’s heart to beat within the 4-night window. After all, Jacks is a busy man, a calculated collector, with many people writing to him asking for favors or meetings as Evangeline noted in OUABH (Ch47). There is a possibility that his heart beat far longer as there’s no definitive indication that he didn't have a heartbeat before that kiss. 

Immunity to Fatal Kiss

There were a lot of intimate moments and attempts at kiss but there about three times that Jacks and Tella shared a kiss and she didn't die. First, of course at the Fated Ball/First Night of the Caraval (Legendary, Ch 14). Second is the night Tella grieved for her mother and Jacks took her sorrows (Finale, Ch 13)

First kiss

With the first kiss, Jacks told Tella he wouldn't kill her if she got the second thing he wanted, but warned her that she’d still feel the effects. And so she did. Throughout the first to third night, Tella’s heart beat slowed down, even stopping in between (Legendary Ch 15, Ch 22). Blood pooled down from her ears to her neck, and beads of blood even fell from her fingertips. (Legendary Ch 16, Ch 24)

So if she’s One True Love, why is she showing symptoms of dying? 

By OUABH (Ch 44) , Jacks said that he purposely slowed down her heart so that she wouldn’t die immediately. That explains the heart beat. 

But I feel the revelation that Jacks lied to Tella, in a separate series, is quite significant. He purposely said that she could still feel the effects of the fatal kiss so she wouldn't suspect and still do his bidding, just to survive.

Perhaps that also explained why her heartbeat went abnormal again (fifth night of the Caraval, Legendary Ch 31, 34) just when her heart raced and healed her wounds after she was fed blood from Legend two nights ago (Third night of Caraval, Legendary, Ch 26 to 27). It healed her wounds and not completely counteracted the fatal kiss (Fifth night of Caraval, Legendary Ch 31, Ch 34). Tella was indeed dying. 

But then on the same night, Tella felt Jacks’s heartbeat pulsing . And her heart racing at the same time, which further confirmed to Tella that she’s his One True Love. The day after, she awoke with her heart pounding that further confirmed that Tella has survived the Fatal Kiss. (Fifth night of Caraval, Legendary Ch 35-36)

As mentioned with the heartbeat, there is a possibility that the One True Love activated at this moment which might explain why Tella’s heart quickened when she felt his heartbeat and no longer felt like she’s dying. 

Or perhaps, the love she had for Dante and her mother, somehow broke the curse. 

She might’ve hated her mother at this point that she no longer cared to win the Caraval especially now she knows she wouldn't die by his fatal kiss. But she wouldn't have felt so hurt by the betrayal had she love her any less. Despite the ruling anger, deep down she loves her mother very much. She was also increasingly conflicted about Dante who she suspects is Legend. That even if he wasn't, she feels she would still be betraying him. Tella was getting conflicted that she may have to choose between them so maybe the desire to save them both is what broke the curse. 

Second kiss

The second kiss took place at night (again) just after Tella’s mother had been killed. Overcame with grief, Tella agreed against her better judgment to accept the help Jacks was offering by temporarily taking away the unwanted feelings. Unknown to Tella, the blood exchange, and the words they uttered would tie them with an immortal bond that would forever tie their souls together in eternal matrimony. They proceeded to kiss as he took in her grief. (Finale Ch 12-13)

Unfortunately we don’t know if Jacks have experimented with someone else before. We also don't know how this exactly works. If the immortal bond goes beyond the grave— what happens if one half is immortal who has not become human, will the soul of the other half remain like some ghost?

There is the possibility that since the matrimony happened before the kiss, it could've saved Tella from the fatal kiss by an immortal bond that tied her soul to Jacks who was still immortal at this point. 

On other hand, I would imagine that if they were truly One True Love, they would’ve some existing bond before this..

• • • • • • •

Perhaps, the One True Love between Jacks and Tella is a cursed one, hence it mimics some of the supposed signs. 

Or maybe there is a universe where Jacks and Tella would’ve worked out in the infinite possibilities. And possibly the contradictions were due to the fact it failed to realized. 

What is clear to me, in this timeline, Jacks and Tella's love story felt almost doomed—not in a star-crossed lovers way, but doomed to never happen with every odds not in their favor. 

Perhaps their meeting and connection are necessary–Tella to challenge her notions of love. From a person who didnt allow herself to fall in love, to someone who embraced her heartaches, fought for love, and finally experienced all its wonder. 

Maybe, true could be said for Jacks. His story continues, and his true ending and ever after awaits him…

︑︒⚬∙︓·⠄.*+:｡.｡　　｡.｡:+*·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.*+:｡.｡　　｡.｡:+*︑︒⚬∙︓·⠄

The Ballad of The Prince of Hearts

It wouldn't take a genius to say that Prince of Heart’s concept of love is rather terrifying. It’s easy to chalk it up to him being Fate but we know that he was once a human. He might say he’s grateful it lasted for short time, but there's a hint of regret. (Legendary, Ch 42)

He was genuinely brokenhearted when the supposed One True Love didn't feel the same obsession as he felt for her. (Finale, Ch 44). Tella even thought that whenever she thinks of heartbreak, she will forever think the way he looked at her for the rest of her life. (Finale, Ch 45)He longs so much that he’s willing to manipulate if he could have a taste of true love. 

But we also know that using magic to make someone love you rarely ends well –we’ve seen that with Luc and Marisol, Tiberius and Marisol, Evangeline and Apollo. Their experiences may have differed but they are all left with the same despair (OUABH, TBONA). For Jacks, it's witnessing with his own eyes how his spell even with his fully restored powers, would be broken by true love. (Finale, Ch 59) 

If he witnessed true love, then it seems his notion and concept of love barely changed. Why is his concept of love twisted to begin with?

From Lala we have known that Fates are not entirely unfeeling. When they do, it’s intense and consuming; and the greatest of these feelings is the urge to be which they were made to be. (OUABH, Ch 38)

For Lala, it’s to be loved. As the Cursed Bride, she’s left alone at the altar crying poisoned tears. 

For Jacks, it’s to find his one true love. 

To help with the urge, Lala makes gowns, seeing brides happy in ways she couldn't be.

To Jacks perhaps it’s the apples. After all there’s no other constant with Jacks than apples. Perhaps that’s also why his diet varies only with the colors of the apples, because there’s nothing his lips wanted more but to feel someone else's'.

Later on, Lala revealed there’s more to her curse . The reason she’s Cursed Bride is because she’s unable to move on from her first love, calling off her weddings. She had chosen to become a Fate, thinking she would be able to stop loving him, to let go but she couldn't. (TBONA, Ch 38)

Perhaps the same is true for Jacks. Perhaps there’s more to his curse and how it was borne because of love.

Evangeline’s favorite tale is the Northern Tale Ballad of the Archer and the Fox , a romantic tale about a crafty peasant girl who could transform into a fox and the young archer who loved her, but was cursed with the need to hunt her down and kill her. (OUABH, Ch 8)

It was said that Northern fairytales and history were treated as one and the same because their stories and histories were all cursed. 

Except this one is true and it was Jacks all along. He wasn't lying when he said truth is never the what you want it to be– he, the Archer killed the Fox (TBONA Ch 43):

Jacks said he didn't know if he really loved the Fox, but if he hadn't he wouldn't have broken the curse that makes him want to hunt her. He wouldnt own seven volumes of the Ballad, and which is the only collection precisely positioned (OUAB Ch 47) The Fox appears to have felt the same; she's the one who encouraged him anyways and chased him even when he’s driven to kill her. 

Perhaps that’s how his idea of love had become so twisted. Could he even dare to call the love he shared with Fox as true love when even though they broke the curse, she still ended up dead. 

Maybe his perception of love has become opposite of what he had once felt for Fox, because it seems it’s not meant to be. 

So when the girl that was immune to his kiss appeared, it didn't matter if there was love. He could just rely on magic to make her feel things, and perhaps that was enough. 

But we know that he desired true love. He needed true love. Because he’d be trapped in eternity of misery for chasing someone who didn't love him; for relying on love borne out of magic, an illusion so fragile that would always end up shattering.  He very deserved true love.

︑︒⚬∙︓·⠄.*+:｡.｡　　｡.｡:+*·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.*+:｡.｡　　｡.｡:+*︑︒⚬∙︓·⠄

The Key to the Valory Arch and Possibly More...

As we’ve established, Jacks’s qualities as Fate with propensity for cruelty and obsession might be the reason he is unable to break his curse. But at the same time, his strongest feelings is to find his true love, which is very human desire, and itself antithesis to his being Fate. 

But a lifetime of heartbreak– killing his Fox, being trapped in the Decks of Destiny, and the One True Love that should’ve been promised to him didn't work out– desensitized him from feeling any remotely human feelings, and fueling his obsessive nature even further. 

And perhaps he just needed something that could make a tiny track in his hard exterior, and something that could prevent his obsessive nature from taking over. That someone could make him tempted to actually love, to care for someone so much they’ve become your weakness and you will do anything in your power to keep them safe and warm. That for a Fate like him, he’d do anything within his power to fight against his nature. 

Jacks might believe that the key to the Valory Arch is his last chance to get his One True Love–and he may not be incorrect, because that will also lead him to actually experience one of a kind love..a true love in the truest sense of the word. 

*+:｡.｡　　｡.｡:+*

The moment Jacks’s realize that Evangeline could open doors, and saw the color of her hair, he have already thought of the prophesied key (OUABH, Ch 2) :

“You will know her because she will be crowned in rose gold. She will be both peasant and princess–  a fugitive wrongly accused, and only her willing blood will open the arch. (Ch TBONA 53) 

At that point, he still had some leverage over his supposed One True Love as their souls were still bound for eternity. [Note: It was reported that wedding turned to stone but was saved by the bride's sister arrived the morning after the marriage (Finale, Ch 12, 15, 16) ]

Jacks could find her use for later. 

But that’s not the only surprising thing about Evangeline–when he helped by turning something worse to even worse, she couldn’t just stand back and drank the poison to take the place of the boy she loved and people who turned to stone. Jacks must’ve been reminded of the person he used to be when he warned her heroes don't get happy endings–they give them to other people, and she should want her happy ending. (OUABCH, Ch 3)

Maybe that’s prompted Jacks to become a hero even for a short while when he gave Tella the Map of All, despite knowing she will find out about their secret marriage (Finale, Ch 40). And when he did not fight her, encouraged her even when she was reluctant to sever the bond. (Finale, Ch 44) 

As we know, he’s the one that asked Poison to save her, and suggested that the Empress send her to the Nocte Neverending, get her married by making the Crown Prince in love with her, all so she could fulfill the prophecy. 

But he also needed her willing blood, which prevented him from directly manipulating her. He needed her alive, so he needed to protect her. And all of this perhaps is how he has grown to genuinely care for her well-being. 

Unbeknownst to Jacks, Evangeline has started hearing his voice way back in the Nocte Neverending “Self-pity doesn’t look good on you, Little Fox.” (OUABH, Ch 19). And it was confirmed further when he tried to take away her grief of sorrow that was being amplified by the poisoned tears (OUABH, Ch 36) Not only that, his magical manipulation wouldn't work on her. And from there on, they could project and hear each other's thoughts, which is reminiscent of the immortal bond that Jacks once attempted with Tella. 

But that didn’t stop Jacks from betraying her trust when she realized that he’s the one who cursed her husband in suspended, thwarting his scheming (OUABH, Ch 44). Even so, Evangeline was able to gain her autonomy, as if she possessed some kind of charm that Jacks couldn't fully manipulate with magic or elaborate scheming. 

Jacks also needed Evangeline alive, that’s why he had been overprotective over her– he quickly shoved her out of the way when a vampire lunged at her (OUABH Ch42) or when he hold onto her like a grudge and didnt let go, so she could properly recovered for being given poisoned tears (OUABH Ch 36). But as Evangeline felt, perhaps with increasing intensity over time, how he genuinely protected her for her– he held her close and carried her as if his life depended on it instead of hers. (TBONA, Ch 13). Even Lala knew that he wouldn't let Evangeline die (TBONA CH23) His nostrils flared when he saw her arms with crudely carved words (TBONA Ch 20)

Not only is he protective of her, he’s gentle and comforting. Unnecessarily to his goals, and excessively even. Maybe he held her like a grudge, but then his arms were tight as if he had no intention of letting her go. When he slid his hands across the rail and twined his cold fingers with hers; he didn't even let go when she squeezed his hand (OUABH Ch41)   Or when Jacks offered to kill people who were whispering bad things about Eva (TBONA Ch 23) Even he kept warning Evangeline about Petra, Jacks was never condescending about how he is right and just crushed Evangeline to his chest, gently pressing her head to his shoulder. When she got a slash across her back, he slid his arms carefully and under her neck as he cradled her to his chest. How he comforted her when Evangeline said how much it hurts “I know love, I’m going to take you somewhere safe.” (TBONA Ch 31). 

Perhaps Evangeline is easily dazzled that Jacks had fun teasing her– claiming she is tempted to kiss him or that she's jealous. When it’s increasingly obvious he is the jealous one; but it feels that it wasnt because he is a Fate, it felt something that belonged to Jacks; something that we havent really seen him do with his supposed OTL. 

Jacks was off-kilter when Evangeline pulled her hand free from him in her desire to answer Luc’s pleas for help. He told her how to most people, he’s the worst thing that can happen to them, but not to her, as if she’s willing to be destroyed and he was only a human (OUABH Ch 42) Or how he told Lala he’s only giving her what she wants, when he just terrorized every man approaching Evangeline before (TBONA Ch 25) then wouldn't allow Luc to take her to a dance (TBONA Ch 30). 

Jacks kept reminding Evangeline that he’s not a human, and it seems Evangeline is the human that is tempting Jacks to love.

Maybe when he told Apollo for weeks how gorgeous she was, it wasn't entirely because of match-making purposes (OUABH, Ch 15) Evangeline felt the way Jacks slowly took in every inch of her black thigh-high boots, her shortened skirt, and the form-fitting lace corset cinching her waist and the muscle in his jaw (OUABH Ch 39) Or when he couldn’t seem to let go when they were wrapped in embrace even after the vampire effects have come to pass (OABH Ch 45) How as he take his took slow bite of his apple, his eyes darkening moving from her lips to her neck, to her clavicle then to her breasts (TBONA Ch 15) The way he looked her where you weren’t supposed to watch someone when they knew that you were looking —bold and unabashed and utterly inappropriate. (TBONA Ch 25) Or the occasional brushing of his fingertips to her stomach or ribs, occasionally her breasts (TBONA Ch 25) And that he knew her wounds would heal on its own but he tended to them anyways  because he wanted to take off her clothes off. Evangeline was dying, yknow! (TBONA Ch 37). 

Perhaps, Jacks has always been attracted to Evangeline, after all a sliver of attraction could drive him to kiss. But he needs her alive, thus he needs to keep fighting his urge, his nature as Fate, that only grew in intensity over time. 

Even when he was burning with desire, about to kill another unsuspecting girl, he was able to fight against his nature because Evangeline didn't want him to. And as he touched her, grazing the slit of her skirt with fingertips soft as they traveled higher, and how he reached for her hips and hitched it to his– he reminded her “I’m not a human, Evangeline. And I’m not your friend, or your husband, or your lover.” It is apparent that he was being tempted–“Then don’t try to make me act like it. It doesn’t end well.” (TBONA Ch 25)

Even he was feeling blissful –perhaps as an effect of Mirth stone– he kissed her neck instead, as if he’s not taking any chances. His mouth pressed against her throat, slowly traced a blissful line next to her ear. (TBONA Ch 38) Or when he held her tightly that it hurts but Eva didn't mind, wrapped in embrace she knew they both wanted. Even when he deliberately fell his gaze on her lips, he licked only the center of her lips softly. She could feel his fingers against her scalp, holding her firm–he’s keeping his lips just shy of hers, he wants to kiss her but her safety is undoubtedly his priority.  (TBONA Ch 43)

Perhaps because he believed the mystical One True Love has come already, that from the beginning he, warning her that he is a Fate. If he loved her any less, he wouldn’t try so hard to push her away. After all, as Chaos said, she reminds him of his first Fox (TBONA Ch35) ; he doesn't want Evangeline to end up just like her (TBONA, Ch 43). 

But ust like the Fox, Evangeline had faith in Jacks. She kept chasing her even after knowing all this time he wanted to go back in time to his supposed One True Love, pleading with him to come with her instead. That he’s wrong that they aren't meant to be (TBONA Ch 45) And one last time, despite the hurt that he wanted her to just leave, she wanted to run back to him, tell him how much she felt. On one hand she believed that love was the most powerful magic of all, and on the other, it didn't matter if they stayed forever cursed–all that matters is he stayed. (TBONA ,Ch 46) 

How she couldn't love him?

 She kept being warned against Jacks, just like Tella. The moment Evangeline stepped in the Church of the Prince of Hearts which aroma supposedly would be one’s greatest heartbreak, it smelled of apples and blood. (OUABH Ch2).

When they jumped off the cliff, where she felt like that he held her close and carried her as if his life depended on it instead of hers —she hasn't stopped failing, she could no longer deny her feelings (TBONA Ch 37).

Maybe it has been foretold when the dragon-roasted apples that were supposed to taste true love, tasted hot, searing sweetness and Jacks–(OUABH, Ch 16). 

The same man who had admitted that he’s selfish, is asking Evangeline to stay with him for one night, asking her to let him pretend she’s his. Or if it will be easier, he asks that she could also pretend she wants to be his. The man who is said to know how only to take, is asking someone to take him (TBONA, Ch 37)

Romantic as she always is, Evangeline didn't want to be person that could disappear without anyone knowing she’s gone; she wanted to be important to someone, that if her heart stopped, she wanted someone else to feel it (TBONA, Ch 14) 

Only it did happen, and only if she knew afterwards the agony, the sort of raw grief that was only seen once in a century, how horrible the scream he let out as he held her in his arms when he lost her once. How he cried bloody tears for her. 

(TBONA, The End)

Evangeline might not be the one that made Jacks’s heart beat, but she is the one that tempted him to love, to truly love again.

 Evangeline has become his weakness–he’d fought hard against his nature as Fate. He would’ve traveled through time he used to be against for the One True Love, his raison d’etre—But he did it for Evangeline. All the scheming, the hardships they went through was so he could get back to his One True Love, his reason for being, but he didn't bat an eye and sacrificed it all for Evangeline. (TBONA, The End)

To Jacks, there’s nothing of equal value to Evangeline. 

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Conclusion

No doubt in my mind that the “One True Love” promised in the story of the Prince of Hearts is the true love in the truest sense of the word. The same love held with highest regards, the powerful magical force on its own. 

Perhaps, this will also mark the ending of the Prince of Hearts– his heartbreak will cease, his love no longer unrequited because he knows how to love and someone could return it with the same intensity. 

He breaks out the curse, and perhaps he embraces the humanity he once discarded after a lifetime of heartbreak. 

The Prince of Hearts and the Valenda’s Sweeheart Savior may have experienced the greatest heartbreaks, but maybe in A Curse for True Love their story shall be remembered as a love story of astronomical proportions. 

#evangeline fox #jacks x evangeline #evajacks #ouabh #tbona #the ballad of never after #acftl #acftl theories #ouabh theories #onceuponabrokenheart #legendary #caraval #finale #prince of hearts #jacks #you wouldnt believe the amount of the time ive spent for this #i couldnt even think about anything else and even at my supposed rest time im doing this. #but am i happy #ofc perhaps im need an outlet fo all my evajacks feel

[amxrany]

!! CHAPTER 7 / DIASOMNIA ARC SPOILERS !!

Hi I just got home, so let's get to it (Part 1):

Picking up where we left off, where the main gang meet up with Idia. Sebek thought that all of them were awake in the real world but Idia was like "nah we're still stuck in the dream world"

I completely forgot that Idia barely touches grass (joke) in the main story so he introduces himself to the Silver and Sebek and when Sebek introduces himself Idia got scared cuz of how loud he was 😭

Since Idia's awake, Silver immediately goes on defense thinking that the darkness or even Malleus will attack. But then, Ortho comes on screen (like literally he appears on a monitor) telling the gang that they don't have to worry about that for a while.

Edit: There's this one part I legit forgot to add which I will now cuz it's funny where Silver and Sebek were just sandwiching Idia and Idia's says something along the lines of getting hurt from being squeezed between armor (Sebek) and HARD MUSCLES (Silver) LIKE WE GET IT IDIA WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE

Ortho then explains to the rest about how he managed to escape the dream world and transfer his consciousness to STYX. Although he's not able to conjur Unique Magic because he's not a mage, but rather a humanoid robot, he still has his unique perks (aw that's cute)

Flashback Time: So we have Cerberus Ortho investigating the current situation of Sage Island, trying to prevent the thorns from spreading as well as break through the shield, which is apparently much harder than the open gates of the Underworld. But don't worry guys the Shroud Parents are also there to help him out.

Ortho was given a 20 minute time limit to analyze Malleus's magic, because once those 20 minutes are up he shuts down, which was difficult. UNTIL THE MAN OF THE HOUR MALLEUS APPEARS, who's surprised that Ortho was awake. But Ortho tells Malleus that he simply switched bodies cuz he's an AI, which is something Malleus probably doesn't understand (damn AHAHAHAHAHA)

Knowing that he needed to buy some for the machinery thingies (idk what they're called don't even ask) to collect the needed data, Ortho challenges Malleus. Malleus admires the fact Ortho can keep his sanity for so long, thinking that it's the pinnacle of technology. It was a crazy battle, with Ortho losing one of his dogs

OH MALLEUS I LOVE YOU BUT YOU BITCHHHH (mostly the latter btw)

Ortho's running out of time, with only 30 seconds left and Malleus is about is to put him to sleep. he says he's sorry to his parents NOOOO

BUT SOMETHING HAPPENS, the attack stops; STYX came in just in time to intervene. The Shroud parents uses their drones to attack Malleus's shield and Ortho uses a full blast to get him out of Sage Island and land himself back to STYX and we get this moment of the Shrouds (minus Idia) collapsing into each other's arms.

MALLEUS NO

Ortho regains consciousness after awhile and tells his parents that he's guilty the the two robot dogs were destroyed (oh yeah forgot to mention the other one was destroyed too whoopsie), but Mama Shroud said that they can just repair them and we just have this heartfelt moment in the family.

That is, until Papa Shroud brings up that the magic used by Malleus reminds him of the ancient magic surrounding Grim. Another thing is that it's downright impossible to destroy Malleus's realm from the outside UNLESS Malleus himself disappears. They can't destroy the realm by force either because it will also permamnently lock all victims inside of it. The only thing they can do is to be as persuasive as possible to let Malleus let go of everyone (but trust me when I say I don't think that will work)

So they bring up Maleficia as someone who can persuade Malleus, but Mama Shroud has something else in mind and shows Ortho a live from Idia's dream, which is when he notices something was off. It's possible that she found a way to access everyone's dreams (and let's just say Idia is just like his mum). That;s when Ortho realizes what his mom meant, and that is to find a way to get everyone to wake up and find a way to disrupt the dream world.

Okay Ima end the first part here for now, sorry this took awhile guys I had lots of things to do the moment I got home 😭. But I promise to get things out as quick as I can (I still have a reflection paper to speedrun lmao)

Next: Part 2

#rany talks about twst #twisted wonderland #twst #twst jp #twst spoilers #diasomnia #MALLEUS YOU BITCHHHH #as much as i love him i don't accept what he did to Ortho