#so instead I had them each make their own

[alotofpockets]

Flirting & friendzones | Leah Williamson x Arsenal/Swiss!Reader

Where Leah is a flirt and you are scared to give in to your feelings

Woso masterlist | Words: 1.6k

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Moving to a new club always brought some nerves with it, but luckily your national team captain and close friend Lia Wälti had been at your new club for years. Through her you had met some of her teammates for quick moments on the field during national team games over the years, but you didn't have much more of a connection with them. 

While that connection wasn't there, you had kept one secret from Lia, and that was that you had a crush on her best friend Leah ever since she first introduced the two of you on the pitch years ago. You had never acted on your crush on the England captain more than following her on Instagram, but now you'd be playing at the same club as her, which brought a whole different wave of nerves your way.

You were welcomed at Arsenal with open arms, as Lia had ensured you. Each and everyone of your teammates, and the staff members made you feel right at home. Lia had helped you secure an apartment before you had arrived, so you had your own space right away. 

After your first training, Lia invited you to come hang out and Beth and Viv their place. A regular hangout spot according to her, especially since they just got a new puppy. Lia drove you home from training, and told you she’d pick you up in an hour to head over to Beth and Viv’s.

An hour later your doorbell rang, but when you opened the door it was Leah instead of Lia. “Hey, Lia had to run some errands before heading over to the girls, so she asked me to pick you up instead.” Leah had taken the request to ‘pick you up’ to a whole new level as she started flirting with you. 

“You look great by the way.” She started while you walked over to her car. Just a simple friendly comment you thought, but still the blush rushed to your cheeks. “Thank you.” You said before quickly getting a step ahead of the blonde, to make sure she wouldn’t notice your blushing.

Of course Leah noticed right away and would now make it her mission to see you blush. “I mean it, you clean up nice. Haven’t seen you outside of football kits in person.” You reach the door and she opens your side for you. “Seems like a great date outfit too, if you even need a dinner date to wear it to, you know where to find me.” She left you frozen in place with her comment, and closed your door only to get in on the other side with a big smirk on her face.

“So, how has London been treating you so far?” You started telling Leah about your first week there, happy to no longer be the target of her flirting. At least that is what you thought until she followed up with, “Good to hear! If you ever need a tour guide, I am more than happy to volunteer.” On its own it wouldn’t be flirting, but the way she looked at you while you said it, gave the sentence a whole different meeting. 

“I really appreciate it, but Lia is showing me around already.” You said as you got out of the car, as you arrived at the girls' house. “Always Lia, huh?” She acted hurt. “Well, if she ever gets too busy, give me a call.” You walked up to the door quickly, “Oh look at that, we’re here.” You say as Beth opens the door. Darting inside without even saying a proper hello, propping yourself up between Viv and Kim who were already cuddling with Myle. 

Beth turned her attention to Leah, “Damn, what did you do?” She shrugs her shoulders, “Nothing.” In return Beth raised an eyebrow towards Leah, but she didn’t push further. Instead she turned her attention to you. “Glad you could make it. I see Myle made a new friend already!” Myle had gotten comfortable in your lap and started taking a nap there only moments after you had sat down. “She’s very cute.” You comment while looking at the pup lovingly. “I understand why everyone wants to hang out at your place.” You joke.

The conversations between everyone started flowing freely, and you felt immediately accepted into the group of girls. Leah continued her flirting with the rest of the girls around, which piqued the interest of the girls, though they didn’t say anything. Only the occasional chuckle when you would turn Leah down again.

It was hard having to say no to the woman you had been crushing on for years, but you had just joined a new club and she was co-captain of it, as well as Lia’s best friend. It didn’t seem right to act on your feelings, even though Leah was acting on them plenty. You came here to play football, you kept reminding yourself. 

Half an hour later Lia arrived, carrying in a few bags of groceries. “Sorry, it was quite busy at the store. What did I miss?” Some of the girls looked between you and Leah and wondered if they should poke some fun at the situation, but before they could, you answered her question. “Nothing much, we were just talking about how cute Myle is.” 

Lia, who had handed the groceries over to Viv, sat down beside you with a smile on her face. “She really is adorable. I’m glad to see you fit right in, I was worried about leaving you out here on your own.” It really did feel like you fit right in. 

“You don’t need to worry,” Leah interjected smoothly. “she wasn’t alone. I was here to make sure she’s well taken care of.” Her comment earned her a loud chuckle from Vic, who hurried to the kitchen to hide her laughter. Lia shot her best friend a look. “I’m sure you were, Lee.”

After dinner, Lia drove you home. “I am so happy you’re feeling at home already. How are the girls?” She asked while exiting the parking space. “Yeah, they’re really kind. I couldn’t have asked for a warmer welcome.” Lia was truly happy you found your spot within her little family at the club. 

She turned to you with a smirk. “What?” You asked instantly, already not liking the look on her face. “Don’t what me.” She laughs, “I was just going to ask what about Leah?” The slight blush that creeped up to your cheeks should’ve said enough. “Leah has been kind too, very kind.” Lia chuckled at your expression. “Kind? That girl has been flirting with you since the moment you arrived.” Your eyes widened, Lia had noticed. 

“Relax! Why do you think I introduced you all those years ago? You are literally perfect for each other. Back then I didn’t tell you my reasoning, because I didn’t think it would be fair to try and set you up with someone that lived in a different country.” She let that set in for a moment before she asked again, “So, what about Leah?” Her smirk grew again.

“Leah is great. I think I’ve kind of been pushing her into the friendzone though.” Lia stopped the car. You hadn’t been paying attention, not that you knew the roads yet, but you knew that you weren’t at your place or Lia’s. “It’s a good thing that Leah doesn’t easily give up, go shoot your shot.” You sent her a confused look, “Right now?” She points to the building ahead of you, “Yup, right now. That’s her place right there. Her car is here already, so she just got back as well.” She unbuckled your seatbelt, “Go!” You shake your head at her but get out of the car anyway. “Call me when you need a ride back.” 

You walk up to Leah’s door nervously, but knock nonetheless. When Leah opens the door, Lia decides to drive off. “Oh, hi, come in. Finally done with Lia?” You roll her eyes at how her flirting turned right back on. 

She walks you into her home, and you get right to the point. “Can we talk about today?” Leah’s face turns serious, feeling like she might have messed up. “Oh, I’m sorry if I was taking it too far. I thought there was a vibe, sorry if I read that wrong.” You shake your head, “No, no don’t worry. Actually it was me wanting to apologise. I was kind of pushing you towards the friendzone, because I didn’t want to mess anything up with Lia or the team.” 

Leah’s lips curve into a smile again, “But now you’re throwing me a ladder to come back out of the friendszone?” Her tone is hopeful. “If I’m not too late, yeah.” The blonde shakes her head, “Definitely not too late.”

Now that the big conversation was out of the way, you finally felt like it was okay to sit down. “You know Lia has been rooting for us for years?” You nod remembering the conversation in the car. “Yeah, she told me on the way here. I had no clue that this had been her intention all along.” 

Leah sits down beside you, “You know, I’ve liked you ever since we met when our teams played against each other that time Lia introduced us.” Your cheeks heat up again, “I have liked you since that day too.” 

Her eyes light up, “So, can we give this a try?” Her tone was hopeful again. “Yes, I’d like that.” With that, Leah closes the distance and presses a gentle kiss to your lips. When you pull back, both of you are smiling. 

“Want to stay for a while? I can drive you home wherever you want to go home.” You smile, “Yeah,” You’d love to spend more time with Leah. “I’ll text Lia and let her know that I won’t be needing that ride anymore.”

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#leah williamson #leah williamson x reader #leah williamson imagine #leah williamson x you #arsenal wfc imagine #arsenal wfc x reader #awfc x reader #awfc imagine #awfc #lia walti x reader #lia walti #engwnt #engwnt x reader #engwnt imagine #woso #woso x reader #woso imagine #lionesses x reader

[wifeyoozi]

mingyu & wonwoo : Still stuffed, one shot, double kill

w.c : 3.1 k ┊ synopsis : boyfriends mingyu and wonwoo give their bestfriend more than you could have bargained for, but you are not complaining┊ content warning : smut , best friends to lovers sorta, bisexual threesome (m/m/f) , oral sex (f + m rec) , edging , hard dom (top) wonu + sub (bottom) gyu + sub reader , slight size kink , (idrk what its called but ig sandwich sex?) , anal (m rec) a/n : note that depiction of mingyu and wonwoo as bisexual is just for the entertainment of this fic and I do not intend to impose any sexuality on them irl. also I was absolutely wasted drunk when I wrote this so I don't even know just nasty threesome.

it was just another video game night with wonwoo and mingyu. it was at your house, like always, because you had a gaming system installed in your bedroom instead of the living room unlike wonwoo and mingyu's shared apartment. and all three of you agreed that the bed was more comfortable to spread out and sit on while gaming.

you yelped from the right side of the bed, having won yet another round (well, technically you came second, but at least you won against mingyu). the screen in front showed the game over slide once again. you sighed and got of the bed to stretch your libs a little.

"i'm getting more beer," you announced seeing all three of your cans empty already, "y'all need anything else?"

"some snacks would be great!" mingyu called out. you took the empty cans to dispose off and left the bedroom.

you, mingyu and wonwoo have been best friends forever. you and mingyu had been childhood friends since you were neighbours. you met wonwoo in highschool and decided immediately to make him part of your little gang. the friendship remained as solid as it could throughout school and college.

wonwoo and mingyu had started dating around last year after pinning over each other for almost 2 years until mingyu asked wonwoo out for a date finally and wonwoo agreed shyly. you knew both boys were in some part of the bisexual spectrum and them dating didn't change a thing in your friendship. you were happy for them and rooted for them all the time, but you'd lie if you were to say you weren't a little jealous. you just wished you had someone to take care of you the way they did of each other. of course, they took care of you almost as well as a boyfriend would, but its been so long since your last relationship that you need more than just care.

meanwhile, mingyu and wonwoo had started making out on your bed in your absence, kissing nastily with wet noises enveloping the room. "mingyu, stop, y/n is gonna come soon," wonwoo whisper yells when he felt mingyu's hand get frisky over his sweatpants.

"i can't help it baby. you're so hot, winning every round like that. you deserve some reward," mingyu argues and wonwoo can't the sound that escapes his throat when mingyu latches his mouth on his neck, "besides, its been so long, i can barely keep away from you."

wonwoo chuckle, "we fucked last night."

"my point, its so long already," mingyu said sucking a hickey on wonwoo's neck. they were too lost in their own world to notice the door opening.

"uhm, guys?" you didn't mean to interrupt them, but you were also not exactly sure what you were supposed to do seeing them make out like animals in heat on your bed. it was hot to see them frisky like that, you had never before seen them get like this, but you had to remind yourself that it was not appropriate to think of your two best friends like that.

"o-oh! y/n! we're so sorry-" wonwoo stumbled to say, pulling away from mingyu and adjusting his glasses back up.

you didn't exactly know how to react. for one, it was difficult to unsee the growing bulges in both boys' pants. it wont be very easy to continue the game again after having that image in your mind. the beer you have had has made you a little horny - its an effect alcohol seems to have on you always - and your hot gay bestfriends weren't making it easier for you.

"whatchu thinking 'bout?" mingyu asks in a more teasing tone, seeing you malfunctioning and just standing in your place like a broken machine, "thinking 'bout joining us?"

mingyu was smacked on his arm by his boyfriend, "gyu! be nicer!"

"what? its not the worst idea," mingyu says, rubbing the spot he'd been hit on, "i remember her mentioning her interest in threesomes last time we got drunk at joey's. besides, i know you find her really hot, you'd love it too, right? i see this as a win-win!"

"i-i never said that!"

"oh but your eyes say it all, baby. i've seen how you check out her ass all the time. i am not complaining, don't worry, i do find her really hot too." mingyu was smacked again.

"boys, boys! what are y'all talking about?" you were dumbfounded. wonwoo checks out your ass!? mingyu finds you hot!? that's some great information to digest. wonwoo and mingyu share glances, as if speaking more than that you can hear with their eyes alone

"say, y/n, i'm horny, nonu is horny, and you could join us if you like, no pressure, but we'd really make it worth your time," mingyu says, looking back at you.

"you don't have to if you don't want to. you could say no and we'd never speak of it again," wonwoo adds.

you think about it seriously. on one hand you were really arounsed and your bestfriends' bulging sizes against their respective pants were sending blood to your crotch and they just offered you for a threesome. then on the other hand, your conscience said it was morally wrong to do this.

fortunately for you and your throbbing pussy, you had just the right amount of alcohol in your system to put your morals aside.

"okay, what the hell," you mumble and jump on the bed between the two, pulling them both by the collar. mingyu giggles as he pins you down and connects his lips to yours instantly. you feel two pairs of hands exploring your body, feeling you up and messing with your clothes. mingyu ravishes your mouth with his tongue, kissing you wet and dirty.

you are surprised when wonwoo pushes aside mingyu's head to take his turn to kiss you. you whine into his mouth, feeling the sudden change. wonwoo can taste mingyu in your mouth still, and the mixed flavours with the taste of your mouth turn him on incredibly. if you thought mingyu was a dirty kisser, wonwoo was worse. his spit was all over the places as he kissed you hungrily and open-mouthedly, and you absolutely loved it.

it must be visible on your face because mingyu chuckled at you, already taking off his clothes, "i should warn you, y/n, wonwoo may look shy and innocent with his nerdy glasses, but he is a complete freak in bed. he is a literal sex monster."

you gasped at mingyu's words. wonwoo took the opportunity to stick his tongue deep down your throat, making you almost choke. then suddenly, it was gone. wonwoo pulled back from you, making you chase his lips, but he pushed you down. he sat up on the bed, taking off his t-shirt, making you whine as he did it all so slowly.

"mingyu, take off her clothes."

mingyu obeyed so. your shirt was pulled off you, your bra taken off at a speed that your think the clasps must've broken, and your shorts yanked off. you felt cold and exposed out in the air, so you tried to approach mingyu to kiss you again, heat your body with his again. but your hair was pulled, making you fall back on the bed with a gasp.

"did i say you could kiss him already?" wonwoo's eyes were dark, and you were scared of him in a hot way which made you want to obey everything he says like a little obedient slut. you were leaking so bad from his strong demeanor, you were sure they both could see the huge dark spot on your panties.

wonwoo leaned by your ears, and whispered softly, "if i make you uncomfortable with my words or action, you can tell me to stop, yeah?"

you nodded, but you didn't plan to. if anything, you wanted him to keep acting meaner to you. you didn't know you would be into being dominated like this until now.

wonwoo snaps at mingyu after that, "open her legs up, kiss her thighs." mingyu does just that, slowly spreading you knees apart and placing buttery wet kisses long your thighs, nearing to your core. you cannot make out if the sound he makes is a laugh or a moan against your soft thighs when he sees how wet you are.

wonwoo snakes his hand down to your breasts, grabbing one in each hand and slowly kneading the flesh. "take her panties off," wonwoo commands mingyu and he does so. "lick her up. she's making a mess, lick all her juices up."

mingyu licks a flat strip along your pussy, his tongue dipping into your folds. wonwoo helps him, reaches a hand to open your outer labia with two fingers, and properly gives mingyu access. mingyu licks a long strip from your slit to your clit and you let out loud whorish moans to let it be known how much you love this.

"squeeze his head with your thighs, he likes that," wonwoo tells you and you comply with him without even thinking. you press your thighs to mingyu's ears, enough to for him to feel the pressure but not so much you'd hurt him. but that's not what wonwoo wants. "more," he he tells you, and you squeeze your thighs tighter around his head until, --

oh. mingyu moaned over your cunt, and you felt the vibrations. wonwoo smirked when he heard it too. he grabbed a hold of mingyu's short hair tightly and pushed his head deeper into your cunt. you understand now. mingyu likes being hurt like this. he likes being controlled by wonwoo. you couldn't hear what wonwoo said next, lost in the thoughts when you suddenly felt a tongue dart into your cunt, earning a choked moan from your lips.

wonwoo leaned down to kiss your nipples, sucking on them and licking them up like a hungry cat. your hands reached over his head, lacing your fingers through his soft hair. you were close already and both the boys could sense it from the way your moans got more erratic and your thighs trembled.

you were just about to reach your high when wonwoo grabbed mingyu's head and pushed him away from your cunt. a cry left your lips, your cunt spasming and clenching around nothing with all sensations gone. you felt tears filling up your eyes as wonwoo leaned down and kissed your lips.

"there, there. it wasn't that bad now, was it? i know a pretty girl like you can take better," wonwoo's words were comforting, as his hands rubbed circles on the side of your hips, but his tone was awfully teasing and it just made you want to cry harder.

wonwoo instructed mingyu to sit up on the bed against the headboard and got you on all fours in front of him so your face was to mingyu and ass to wonwoo who was preparing his dick behind you. mingyu's dick was red and hard against his belly, but he wouldn't dare touch it without wonwoo's instructions. mingyu and wonwoo were a little similar in sizes, you noticed (and it made your mouth salivate), except mingyu was thicker than wonwoo and the latter was longer.

it was more so of a punishment for you too, to just watch his painfully erect dick and not put it in your mouth. hell, you couldn't even kiss his pretty pink pouty lips until wonwoo said you could. you had only spent twenty minutes with wonwoo and mingyu in bed, but you already knew the rules of this game. you knew wonwoo was in charge of everything and you should obey everything he says, otherwise the consequences could be harsh. and that turned you on incredibly.

wonwoo played with his dick, sliding along the length of your slit, teasing you. "wonu, please," you whimpered needily.

"hm? did you say something?" wonwoo said in a fake tone, landing a smack on your ass, only to rub the spot soothingly soon after, "its difficult to hear with this beautiful pussy in front of my eyes."

you whined again, tears falling down your cheeks. mingyu was smirking at you, as if he was in any better position than you with his throbing untouched dick.

"daddy, please, fuck me," you whimpered at wonwoo.

the latter chuckled, slowly pushing his head into your cunt, already prepped and stretched by mingyu's tongue before. "shit, you're so fucking needy. just a needy little slut, arent you? don't worry, i'll fill your pussy up."

he set a high speed for you. you gasp and almost fall face-flat on the bed, only to be held up by mingyu. mingyu's other hand clutched the sheets, trying his best not to lose control. he liked being a good boy for wonwoo. the rough punishment-fuck was good, yes, but he loved the way wonwoo praised him and rewarded him better. besides, he had to be a good role model for you.

wonwoo could see the desperation on his boyfriend's face, and chuckled, deciding he deserved a treat. "mingyu has been a really good boy, don't you think, y/n? why don't you blow his dick, hm?"

wonwoo pushed your head down till your mouth was on mingyu's dick. you licked a long strip lengthwise on his erection, testing and teasing. mingyu let out a guttarial moan and you took his dick inside your mouth as far as it could go. wonwoo wasn't satisfied with your mediocre efforts, and pushed your head till you swallowed all of mingyu.

you forced your gag reflexes to relax as mingyu's head hit the back of your throat. with wonwoo's relentless speed, your head bobbed over mingyu's dick from inertia alone, not having to do a lot of work. mingyu's thighs started convulsing soon and both of you were near to your edge already. you thought if you don't let it show you were close, wonwoo wouldn't notice until you're actually cumming and he wouldn't be able to edge you a second time.

it was risky, but you really wanted to cum already.

unfortunately for you, mingyu was too obedient to his boyfriend to cum down your throat without asking first.

"wonu, i'm close," he whined, making wonwoo pull your head off mingyu by your hair, making you whine loudly. you whined even louder when wonwoo exited you without giving you the release you needed.

"you are really noisy, y'know that?" wonwoo tells you teasingly. "good for you, i love hearing your sweet voice. stay in your position. mingyu come back here."

mingyu stands up on weak legs and kneels on the edge of the bed in front of your ass, his dick the perfect height to your entrance. wonwoo took a hold of his lover's dick and slowly pushed it in you again. you gasped at the unexpected intrusion. "hold her hips, baby, or she'll fall. she's so weak, you gotta help her. now, don't move yet, be patient."

mingyu stays still, painfully deep inside you. you loved the stretch from his dick. you could almost feel his tip brush against your sweet spot - if only he'd move a little and hit it with force.

you heard a whimper from mingyu, making you look back over your shoulder. your eyes widened, seeing wonwoo fingering mingyu from the back, two fingers deep already, preparing him. you realised what was about to come instantly. you turned your back and waited in anticipation, knowing that the best blow will come with the surprise of it.

you couldn't be more right because as soon as wonwoo's hips snapped against mingyu's, mingyu's snapped against yours, going balls deep. the feeling was extreme, one of a kind, and thrilly. mingyu's dick hit every right spot at every hit, making you reach cloud nine with the feeling. if not for mingyu's hands supporting your hips, you would have fallen down already with how weak your limbs felt.

the room sounded really filthy with the rhythmic double slapping of skins mixed with your moans, mingyu's whimpers and wonwoo's groans. but certainly mingyu was having the best time among you three, with his prostrate being abused by his boyfriend's dick on one end and having his dick swallowed by his best friend's pussy on the other. his eyes were rolling back and his throat ached with the loud noises it created. he was close a second time and he let his boyfriend know of it.

"cum on her pretty ass," wonwoo said, marking his sentence with a loud smack of his hand on mingyu's ass, making the latter cry. just as instructed, mingyu exited you before cumming ropes of white semen in your ass. "such a good puppy. now help her cum too. use your fingers on her clit."

mingyu's fingers found their way to your sensitive clit, rubbing in circular motions. you barely took any time before you were squirting, wetting the bed under you with a cry. you let your body fall on the bed and turn on your back so you could embrace mingyu, who fell right on top of you. wonwoo had slowed his speed a little to let his lover come down from his high at a relaxed pace without overstimulating him.

you kissed mingyu and mingyu kissed you, both finding comfort in the wet warmth of the other's mouth. the sight was oddly a turn-on for wonwoo, who soon came deep inside mingyu's ass, giving him a creampie as he exited. mingyu rolled over on the bed beside you, eyes closed shut from the tiredness.

you vaguely saw wonwoo get up and leave to the bathroom before your own eyes fell shut. you were sleepy already, it's probably past your usual bedtime. you barely registered being wiped clean with a warm and wet towel before being dressed in your pajama shorts and a loose tshirt. when your eyes opened wonwoo was doing the same to mingyu, kissing him on the top of his head after.

mingyu rolled to his side and snuggled against you sleepily, making you giggle softly while wonwoo got himself a pair of grey shorts to put on. wonwoo pouted and mumbled something under his breath before he snuggled on your other side. both the boys practically sandwiched you, with your back to wonwoo and front to mingyu.

you saw as the boyfriends shared a goodnight kiss, the sweetness dripping, making you smile for them. then mingyu looked at you with pouted lips, and you muttered a me too? before he pressed a kiss to your lips. you giggled as wonwoo picked your cheek as goodnight too.

"so, uhm, is this a thing now? we ... three?"

"it could be, if you like."

"i think i'd like it, it be great."

"this is so perfect, my cute little boyfriend and my cute little girlfriend." mingyu chuckled.

"i'm not little!" you and wonwoo whined simultaneously.

#svt #seventeen #svt smut #svt x reader #seventeen smut #seventeen x reader #wonwoo #jeon wonwoo #wonwoo x reader #wonwoo x you #wonwoo smut #wonu #wonu smut #mingyu #kim mingyu #svt mingyu #mingyu x reader #mingyu x you #mingyu smut #mingyu imagines #minwon #minwon smut #minwon x reader #meanie #meanie smut #meanie x reader

[thirdsaltyhunter]

Girl's Night

Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: Jody and Donna ask you for help on a hunt and you all get drunk and call your boyfriend while you're away

Warning: fluff, cuteness, kissing, mentions of a hunt so violence?, celebratory drinking, getting drunk

A/N: not proofread, all mistakes are my own

You woke up earlier than you usually did. Jody had given you a call to tell you that her and Donna had caught wind of a pack of werewolves just south of Sioux Falls and could use your help taking them out.

You wanted to start driving early so you could avoid most of the traffic and so you could offer your expertise as soon as possible. However, mornings aren't really your thing. You fought back the groan at how much you didn't want to leave your comfortable spot in bed where Dean was currently keeping you warm. Nonetheless, you began wiggling your way out from under his arm. You were trying not to wake him up this early because he hadn't slept enough this week.

As you tossed some clothes into your duffel bag, you thought you might be able to make it out without waking him, but he was always a light sleeper. A quiet grumble of your name sounded from beneath the covers.

"Hey baby," you whispered going back to the side of the bed.

"You leaving?" he asked, noticing your packed duffle bag, voice rough with sleep.

"Yeah, Jody asked me to help her and Donna take out some wolves."

He nodded and reached for you to pull you into a hug which, from the position he was in, meant that you were just laying on top of him. He was always extra cuddly in the mornings and you loved it, despite how much it tempted you to crawl back under the covers with him. "Be careful out there," he said, placing a kiss to your temple.

"You know I will." You propped yourself up on your elbow so you could look down at him. "Besides, you know it's gonna be a milk run. They probably don't even need me, they just want me to come up there so we can have girl's night."

He chuckled at that, because he knew you were right. Now that he thought about it, the last time he saw them, Donna had threatened that she'd drive down to Kansas herself and kidnap you if he didn't hand you over for a weekend.

He leaned up to plant a sweet kiss to your lips. "Call me when you finish the hunt so I know you're ok."

"I will." You kissed him again before crawling off of him. "I love you, go back to sleep."

"I love you too, sweetheart," he said, already burying his face into the pillow.

You couldn't help but smile at how quickly he gave in to your request. Grabbing your duffle, you headed out of the bedroom to say your goodbyes to Sam before you made your way to your car to start the long drive up to Sioux Falls.

------

The hunt ended up being even easier than you thought it would be. You, Jody and Donna made a pretty formidable and efficient hunting team. The hunt was done before the sun even fully set, so you headed back to Jody's house to begin cooking dinner.

You all decided to forget the plan of cooking dinner and reward yourselves for a hunt-well-done by ordering pizza instead. Claire was off on her own hunt and Alex was working a late shift at the hospital. That left only you, Donna and Jody, sitting on the livingroom floor around a mostly empty pizza box, passing around a bottle of wine.

After catching up on everything and finishing off the bottle of wine, Jody decided to pull out the bourbon and poured a good amount of each of you.

------

About an hour later, the three of you were well past tipsy and were having the best time laughing and telling stories from various hunts.

"Soooo", Jody began with a hint of mischief in her voice. "How's Dean?"

"Yeah we need to hear about our favorite couple," Donna chimed in.

You knew she was talking about you and Dean but you decided to play around. "I don't know what you're talking about," you teased.

"Oh come on you know what we're talk'n about. We want to know what you and ol' Dean's like when you're away from the eyes of the world, y'know, when you put the hunter armor down," Jody inquired.

"I betcha he wears fuzzy socks and watches chick-flics, don't he?" Donna added teasingly.

That had you almost rolling on the floor with laughter. "Oh yeah, definitely."

It was nice being kind of childish like this with them. You had never had many friends in your teenage years and the hunting life didn't typically allow for gal-pals, but you had developed a really good friendship despite not having the time to see each other very often.

You wiped the tears of laughter from your eyes. "Oh shit, I forgot to call him", you attempted to grab your phone out of your bag, which took longer than needed, given your lack of coordination. "Dean asked me to call him after the hunt."

Jody and Donna looked at each other and awwww'ed in unison.

You tapped Dean's contact and put the phone to your ear. After a few rings you heard his voice. "Hey sweetheart."

"Heeeey", you greeted excitedly, voice slightly slurred.

"Hiya Dean-o", Donna said loud enough for Dean to hear.

You could hear him laugh on the other end, clearly gathering that you were all pretty inebriated and having a good time. "So I take it the hunt went well", he said with amusement in his voice.

"Oh it went great, we're badasses."

"I have no doubt of that," he said fondly.

"Hey Dean!" Jody cut in. "Is it true you wear fuzzy sock and watch chick-flicks when you're at home?"

"Baby, what did you tell them about me?" Dean asked you with mock annoyance.

"Oh nothing," you responded playfully. "Anyway gotta go."

You could hear he was barely holding back from laughing. "Hey hold on-" *click*

You bit your lip as you hung up on him before looking up at Jody and Donna. As soon as you made eye contact you all bust out laughing.

#supernatural #dean winchester #dean winchester x reader #dean x reader #dean winchester fic #dean winchester x you #dean winchester x female!reader #dean x reader fluff #dean x y/n #dean x you #dean x female!reader #supernatural fic #supernatural fanfiction

[sickslimez]

STILL IN LOVE! #5 — TOJI FUSHIGURO

SYNOPSIS...after still messing around with your ex husband, you began to wonder if you’re still in love with him after finding out about his new girlfriend…

INFO...ex husband!toji x fem!reader, reader & toji have two kids, megumi is readers bio son, jealousy, smut, angst, arguments, alcohol, drinking problem, family problems, arguing in front of kids, toxic behaviors, crying, mentions of divorce

OTHER...likes and reblogs are appreciated

It’s been an entire month since your argument with Toji. Neither of you had said a word to each other, not even when he comes to pick up or drop off the kids. He keeps his distance, not bothering to wait by the door with them, instead he waits on the sidewalk and waved goodbye to them when you open the door. It seems like the kids haven’t took notice of the hostility between you and your ex husband and you wanted to keep it that way. You didn’t want them to witness anymore than they already have. Occasionally, Naya asks if she can go over Toji’s more often, growing an attachment to her father, but you always have to explain to her that he’s busy working during the week. It breaks your heart knowing that your children aren’t growing up with a fully family. You know deep down, they question why they have to go back and forth between houses just to see their father, or wondering why their mommy and daddy aren’t together like the other kids. But knowing how young they are, they wouldn’t understand a single thing. Hopefully when they’re older, they’ll learn from the mistakes you and Toji have made.

You and Nanami have been going strong recently, finding that he makes you forget about the hardships in your life. He hasn’t met the kids yet, which you don’t plan on letting happen anytime soon. He’s a nice guy, great intentions, but you want to take things slow before overstepping your own boundaries. He has took you out on two more dates ever since the first one, and each time he impresses you more and more. It feels like you can be open with him, comfortable without getting judged. He’s also a great listener, not saying a word and just letting you vent all of your feelings out until you feel better. He puts a smile on your face when he knows you’re feeling down or thinking about something that stresses you out. And most of all, he doesn’t mention what happened that morning when Toji showed up at your house. You know he heard most of everything and it was embarrassing to say the least. Toji embarrassed you.

“Mommy, can I go see daddy?” You daughter tapped your leg as you were cutting up her and megumi some fruit to snack on.

You looked down at her with a soft smile. “Tomorrow, baby. You’re gonna see him tomorrow.” You popped a raspberry in her mouth, her favorite fruit.

“Dad’s been drinking a lot.” Megumi walked into the kitchen, stealing a piece of pineapple off of the cutting board.

“What do you mean?” You immediately question, placing the knife down.

“Beer. He gets uncle Gojo to buy it for him and drinks a whole bunch,” he explained. Your lips pursed together, inhaling deeply before you let out a frustrated sigh. You shook your head in disappointment, trying not to show the anger flowing through you right now.

“So can we go see him? I’m worried!” You daughter batted her eyelashes at you, a small frown on her face. No wonder she’s been asking to see Toji so much, it all makes sense now.

“How about you guys call him to say goodnight, mommy isn’t driving right now. Plus, it’s late.” You picked up the knife, cutting more pineapple into smaller chunks.

“Please! Please! Please, mommy!” You daughter grabbed onto the hem of your shirt, nearly ripping it off of you with the way she was begging.

“Naya, cut it out! Mom said no!” Megumi slightly raised his voice, an annoyed look on his face.

“I wasn’t asking you, dummy!” Her brows furrowed in anger, her gaze now on her brothers.

“Shut up, idiot!” Megumi shouted back.

“Aye! Cut the shit!” You warned, sharing looks between both of them. Naya huffed, stomping her little feet over to the living room. “I don’t need you guys calling each other names, alright? Naya, I said no, and that means no. And Megs, stop being mean.”

“She called me it first!” He exclaimed.

“I don’t care who did it first! I don’t need y’all fighting. Naya, come here!” You shouted from the kitchen. “Eh, stay here.” You pointed at Megumi when he tried to walk away. He let out an annoyed sigh leaning against the counter. “Naya!” She turned the corner with a frown on her face, eyes watery as she looked up at you. “Baby, what’s wrong?” As soon as you asked her that question she burst into tears. Before you could even place the knife down, Megumi picked her up and held her in his arms while she cried.

“Ny-ny, what’s wrong? I’m sorry I called you an idiot, okay? I was mad, but I shouldn’t have said that,” he said softly, rubbing her back as she cried on his shoulder. The little girl hiccuped softly, wrapping her arms around her brothers neck tightly. “Do you wanna tell mommy what’s wrong?” He asked, looking at her. He brought his hand up to her face, wiping the tears.

“Da…daddy!” She sobbed, trying to catch her breath. “I wanna see…daddy!” Tears streamed down her chubby cheeks as she laid her head back on her brothers shoulder. Megumi turned to look at you, and you could see that he was also worried about his father, even if he wasn’t as vocal as it. “Mommy!” She cried.

You reached your hands out, picking her up from Megumi and holding her to your chest. “You really wanna see daddy?” You asked, wiping off her tears with your shirt. She nodded, still whimpering and sniffling. She rubbed her puffy eyes, little fists holding onto the fabric of your shirt. “Okay, we’ll go see daddy then. Megs, put your shoes on.”

You held Naya’s hand as you walked up the steps with them. She had a little smile on her face, excited to all hell to see her father. Megumi rang the doorbell, waiting patiently with you in the cold. “You excited, huh?” You chuckled, looking down at your daughter.

“Who is it?” Toji’s deep voice spoke from the other side of the door.

“Dad, it’s us!” Megumi answered. You were a little nervous to see him, knowing that this was going to be an unexpected surprise, but you had a very valid reason for showing up here. Toji unlocked the door, confusion written all over his face when he seen you and his two kids standing outside in the cold. He barely had time to register the situation before Naya ran over to him and hugged him.

“Daddy!” She yelled followed by a giggle.

“Hey, peanut!” He picked her up like she weighed nothing, sitting her on his hip and giving her a kiss on the cheek. “What’re doing here so early, huh?” He asked with a smile.

“She’s been asking about you all day…all week actually,” you spoke. “She started crying cause she missed you so much, so I brought her over here,” you explained.

Naya fiddled with her dads lip scar, as Toji stood there and stared at you for a few minutes. It’s like he almost forgot how you sounded, it’s been so long. “Well, uh, would you like to come in or are you just dropping them off?” He asked, clearing his throat.

“Yeah, I’ll come in.” The only reason you accepted was because you wanted to speak to him about his drinking problem that Megumi suddenly brought up.

“Hi, buddy.” Toji ruffled Megumi’s hair, giving him a kiss on top of his head. He closed the door behind you, your eyes immediately taking notice of the four beer cans that sat on his coffee table. A rush of disappointment came washing over you as you continued to stare at them. “Don’t mind the mess,” he awkwardly chuckled, quickly trying to clean up as he sat Naya down on the couch.

You stuffed your hands in your coat pocket, standing in the middle of the living room as he grabbed the cans and quickly took them into the kitchen. “I told you,” Megumi whispered. Toji walked back into the living room, looking at you.

“So, uh, she was crying you said?” He asked.

“Yeah,” you nodded, “she…she was like full on sobbing for you. Scared me shitless at first if I’m being honest.”

“Ny-ny, you can’t be scaring mommy like that.” Toji walked over, pinching her cheeks until she giggled. You watched the scene in front of you, seeing the smile on your daughter’s face when she was with Toji made your heart swell. “If you want, I can take them early, and come pick up their stuff tomorrow. You look…tired.”

You shrugged. “Just a little. It’s been a long week.” Toji nodded in agreement, standing back up right as all you stood there in silence while the two kids watched whatever was on the tv. “Toji, can I speak with you?”

“Yeah, yeah, what’s up?” He asked.

“In private.” You stared at him.

“Um, yeah. Megs, Ny, stay here, okay? Watch whatever you wanna watch.” He smiled at them.

“Megs, can we watch The Incredibles again?” Naya clung to her brothers arm as he grabbed the remote.

You followed Toji down the hallway to his bedroom. “How have you been?” You asked, shutting the door behind you.

“Me? I’ve been fine. How are you?” He asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. Your eyes were locked onto him as you stood there by the door. Toji had a confused expression on his face. “Something wrong?”

“How have you been, Toji?” This time you asked with more sternly, clenching your jaw.

“I don’t get…I don’t get it.” He looked around the room as if he was being pranked, awkwardly rubbing his hands on his thighs.

“Megs told me about your drinking problem. You got Gojo going out and buying beer for you all the time? Getting drunk when the kids are here?! I can smell it on your breath!” You yelled in a whisper, folding your arms across your chest.

“I only drink enough to get tipsy, okay? I wouldn’t get drunk around the kids, y/n,” he sighed, holding his head in his hands.

You scoff, “like that makes it any better. Naya keeps asking about you because she’s worried, crying her eyes out because of it, because she misses you. Megumi doesn’t say a word about how he feels, but I can tell he’s scared, Toji. You had four beers on the fucking coffee table when I walked in!” You exclaimed, eyebrows raised.

“I know,” he sighed. “I’m sorry. I just…I’m dealing with shit, y/n.” He rested his elbows on his knees, looking down at the floor.

“We are all dealing with shit, Toji, but you gotta be there for our kids! I’m not here to argue with you, okay? I just want to know what is going on. The kids want to know what’s going on.” You looked at him with concern as he avoided your gaze completely, head still hung low.

“I can’t say it.” Toji looked up, finally locking eyes with you.

“Why?” You asked.

“Because it won’t matter, y/n. I’ve made mistakes, and I’m dealing with them. That’s all there is to it.” He bit the inside of his cheek, closing his eyes.

Your expression softened. There was no need for Toji to explain what he was talking about because you already knew. He was talking about you guys, your relationship, your marriage, your family. “It wasn’t just you, Toji,” you spoke softly. “It was me too. We grew apart. It happens.”

He shook his head. “You were only acting that way because of how I was treating you. It’s not your fault so don’t say it was, please. I’m the one who fucked it up. Back then I fucked it up, and now I’m fucking it up. Every time I got something good going on I find a way to ruin it.”

“Toji…” Your voice was barely above a whisper.

He stood up from his spot on the bed and walked towards you, his muscular and tall frame trapping you against the door. “I’m sorry. I miss you, I miss what we had, mama. You gotta understand me.” He cupped your face in his hands.

“No, no, don’t do that.” You shook your head, removing his hands from you.

“Do what, mama?” He asked softly.

“That, Toji.” You kept shaking your head at him. “I can’t. We can’t.”

“Why not? Hm?” He tried to catch your eye.

“I’m with someone else,” you bluntly said. Your heart was beating loudly in your chest, almost deafening in your ears as you stood there against the door. There was nothing but silence from Toji. He took a step back from you.

“Is it him?” Toji asked. All you did was nod. He scoffed. “So y’all are really together?”

“Yeah, we are,” you answered. “He treats me good, makes me happy.”

“So you don’t love me anymore?” Toji questioned.

“I didn’t say that!” You looked at him in disbelief.

“That’s not what you said the last time we spoke to each other. What you said fucking hurt me. You hate me. You wish you never married me. Remember that?” Toji cocked his head to the side.

“I was upset, Toji.” You rolled your eyes.

“You just don’t say shit like that, y/n. Never once in our entire relationship together have I said some shit like that to you.” He stood there, waiting for you to say something, but you didn’t.

“Well, I don’t know what you want me to say! I came here because Naya was worried about you and Megumi told me about your drinking problem. That’s all I came to talk about! I didn’t come to talk about what we had going on, okay? So just fucking drop it. I’m happier, I’m better. I’m getting treated the way I deserve to be treated for the first time in my life." You snapped.

“For the first time in your life? Are you hearing how you sound right now? I know I wasnt perfect, but I did everything I could to make you happy. Yes, there were some things I could’ve done better, but I loved you like you were supposed to be loved. Why else would I marry you?” Toji walked towards you again.

“Then you should’ve showed that love. Just know I’ll be better without you.” You opened the bedroom door, walking down the hallway.

“Y/n!” Toji shouted. He followed after you as you ignored him. “Y/n!” He shouted again.

“Stop following me, Toji! I’m leaving!” You screamed.

Megumi and Naya looked over at both of you, seeing you two yelling. “I’m not done talking to you!” Toji grabbed your wrist, pulling you back.

“Well, I am!” You snatched your arm back from him.

“Stop it!” Megumi yelled, covering his little sisters ears.

You and Toji looked over at the kids sitting on the couch, Naya’s eyes watery, lip wobbly as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Megumi shared looks between both of you, concern and fear written on his face. “Come on, let’s go back home. You’ll see daddy tomorrow.”

“I wanna stay!” Naya pouted.

“Naya, please, get in the car.” You sighed in frustration, grabbing her hand.

“No! No!” She started screaming, dropping to the floor and kicking around, throwing a tantrum.

“Get up, Naya! I’m not gonna ask you again!” You lifted her off of the floor, grabbing her hand again. She pulled away from you, running over to Toji, hugging his legs.

“Fine. Fine. Stay with your father. I’ll see both of you in a few days. I love you.” You grabbed your keys from your coat pocket, walking to the front door, slamming it shut behind you.

“Come here, baby girl.” Toji picked his daughter up.

“You two always fight! I hate it!” Megumi stormed out of the living room and into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him, making Naya jump. Toji stood there in the living room with his daughter, a lump forming in his throat. He let out a choked sob, immediately hiding his face from his daughter.

“Daddy, don’t cry.” She wiped his tears away.

“I’m sorry, baby girl.” He sniffled. Your family was falling apart right in front of Toji’s eyes. Megumi is looking for a way out of this family at such a young age, indulging in video games and tv to drown out the real problems. Naya conflicted with her feelings, crying constantly because of the state both of you were in, affecting her. Nothing is like it was before. Toji hated this was happening. This is was last thing he ever wanted.

You sat in your car outside of his house, wiping your tears from how overwhelmed you were. You were at a loss on how to fix this. Each time you tried, it ended the same. You were fearful it was going to keep getting worse, worse until there was no way to reverse the damage done.

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[matan4il]

To the Nonnie who asked me about the countries which recently recognized a state of Palestine...

First, allow me to make it clear why it's an anti-peace move.

Since (at the very least) 1990 and the Madrid Conference, the concept of negotiations for peace in this conflict was that Israel will give the Palestinians land to have their own state, the world will recognize said state, and the Palestinians will give Israel peace.

I'll put aside all the issues with this concept, since there still isn't any other model. Since 2010, Mahmoud Abbas has refused to so much as negotiate for peace with Israel, let alone make compromises to achieve that peace.

The model only offers two incentives for the Palestinians, one is land and self-rule, the other is global recognition as an independent state. Israel already gave them quite a bit of land (areas A, B and Gaza) and self-rule. That's never been taken back, no matter how many times Palestinians turned to violence since the Oslo accords, instead of giving Israelis peace. The only other incentive was international recognition as an independent state. That was supposed to be a prize they get at the end of the peace process, when everything is resolved, no side has any claims for the other, both have a state, and both can live side by side in peace.

What does it mean, when countries are giving Palestinians "for free" that which they were supposed to compromise for? It means the Palestinians don't have as much of an incentive to do that, to reach a final resolution to this conflict, and peace. THAT is why this is an anti-peace move.

Now let me try to respond to the other parts of your excellent ask.

but what does that even mean? Palestine doesn't have a singular, let alone functional government. Gaza and the west bank are not controlled by the same people. How can they recognize a country that doesn't have concrete boarders?

You're absolutely right. Areas A and B are controlled by the Palestinian Authority (headed by Fatah), while Gaza is ruled by Hamas. The latter is an all out genocidal, antisemitic, Islamist terrorist organization. The former developed from a secular, nationalist terrorist organization, and has never completely abandoned its roots, it just compartmentalized its terrorism ties, so it can maintain global recognition and legitimacy. But the Palestinian Authority still pays terrorists imprisoned by Israel based on how long they're serving (which means, based on how many people they've killed, known as the "Pay for Slay" program), it trains kids and youth to be anti-Israel terrorists, and Fatah also has "military wings" which carry out terrorist attacks for it.

So what does it mean when countries are willing to recognize regimes directly invested in terrorism?

But let's put that aside for a second, even if we pretended either Palestinian regime is uninvolved in terrorism, how do you recognize one Palestinian state, when the Palestinian-ruled territories are divided into two, due to their own doing... In 2006 the Palestinians had democratic elections, Hamas defeated Fatah, both agreed on joint rule, then in 2007, Hamas slaughtered Fatah's people in Gaza and took over. Which means, not only do you have two unrelated regimes, these two are actually hostile and even violent with each other. Why were the 2021 Palestinian elections canceled? Because Fatah is terrified of Hamas winning again, and then slaughtering Fatah's people in areas A and B, just as they did in Gaza. How do you look at this and recognize it as one state?

But let's put that aside. Let's go with the idea that these countries are only recognizing the Palestinian Authority's rule, not Hamas'... That raises so many questions. If Hamas' rule isn't recognized, does that mean Gaza, which is controlled by it, isn't a part of the state of Palestine? Does it means it's all a part of it, but Gaza is occupied... not by Israel, but instead by Hamas? If that's the case, why isn't the world protesting Hamas' occupation of Gaza? And why would Israel owe anything to the Gazans, water, electricity, food, medical care, connectivity (for calls and internet), anything at all, if Gaza is either not a part of Palestine, or is currently occupied by Hamas (which means Hamas, as the occupiers, must provide for it all of the above)?

And even with the parts ruled by the Palestinian Authority... Like you said, what are the borders? Gaza's borders are pretty clear, since Israel withdrew from them in 2005, and that was recognized (even applauded) internationally back then. But what happens in the areas historically known as Judea and Samaria, which the Jordanians occupied between 1948 and 1967, re-named them 'the west bank' (to emphasize Jordan's claim on them, as the holder of 'the east bank' of the Jordan River), and then gave up any claim to in 1988? What ARE the exact borders of the state of Palestine there? Will Palestinians coming from those areas to work or tour Israel have to pay taxes for those privileges, as workers and tourists from other countries do (and just how I, as an Israeli, would have to pay a tax if I wanted to visit Jordan, and did pay one when I visited Egypt)? Will the Palestinian Authority renounce any claims to area C, since they are now recognized as a state, but only in the confines of areas A and B? And if it is an independent state, what about all the terrorist attacks on Israelis launched from within those areas, will the Palestinian Authority finally be held responsible for not stopping them, for supporting them financially, for launching some of them? After all, if they're an independent state, they also can't hide behind the immoral excuse that resistance is justified when people are occupied. Because they're not occupied, right? They're an independent state and have been since the mid 1990's, when they got self-rule!

Let's not get into how, if they are an independent state, they should be providing water, electricity, medical care (remember that time Covid hit, and the Palestinian Authority demanded Israel pays for and administers vaccines to the Palestinians living under PA rule? That's not what independent states do) for their own people instead of demanding to be provided for by Israel (claiming they'll pay Israel back for stuff like water and electricity, but never doing so, because they know Israel can't stop supplying them or else it will be accused of causing a humanitarian disaster in areas A and B as "the occupying force"). Basically, the Palestinians juggle between demanding to be recognized as an independent state, and shrugging off many of the responsibilities that come with that, instead relying on Israel's "duty" to provide for them as "the occupier." Which is it, is Palestine an independent state or an occupied one? It can't be both!

If Palestine is a country, does that mean Palestinians lose their refugee status?

Not only they would, it would also mean they have lost it (and might owe back a great deal of money) since the 1990's already... If the PA rules areas A and B, and Hamas rules Gaza, why have refugee camps in these territories never been dissolved, and their residents settled as regular Palestinian citizens?

And let's not even get into what Palestine being an independent state means for the crimes against peace, the crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by Palestinians, including ones in power, especially during Oct 7, but also since the 1990's in general...

Let's be honest here. If Palestine was an independent state and had to act like one, it would actually really fuck them over. They don't want to be one. They just want the perks and international political and diplomatic rights and power that comes from being recognized as one. That doesn't help the regular Palestinians who just want a normal life. It does help the anti-Israel terrorist regimes that rule over the Palestinians.

So these countries recognizing Palestine as a state now, before there's any resolution to the conflict? It's anti-peace, and it also only rewards the terrorists in power. But more than that, due to the timing, it's a specifically pro-Hamas move. This recognition is a middle finger to Israel as "punishment" for waging a war in Gaza. But Hamas started the war. This recognition is therefore a result of and reward for Hamas' massacre of innocent Israeli civilians, and it's literally how Hamas take it.

That's what this step means for the average person in the conflict, too. No matter on which side...

These European countries are rewarding an Islamist and antisemitic, genocidal terrorist organization for having launched the greatest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

Let that sink in.

(also, yes to your footnote about the hypocrisy of Spain, which hasn't been as generous with its recognition of independence for the people living under its own rule, but having no problem rewarding antisemitic terrorists with exactly that)

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

#israel #israeli #israel news #israel under attack #israel under fire #israelunderattack #terrorism #anti terrorism #antisemitism #hamas #antisemitic #antisemites #jews #jew #judaism #jumblr #frumblr #jewish #anon ask #ask

[satorusfelicity]

recollections ⋆｡𖦹°‧★

gojo x fem!reader

word count: 788

a/n: decided to practice my writing (bc I honestly suck at it) by writing fanfics!

“Can’t you stay a little longer?” Satoru asks, although he already knows the answer. He always knew the both of you would end up here sooner or later; you did too, and so did everyone else. After all, life was only fair to its favorites.

“You know I can’t.” Your voice is low, barely above a whisper, glossy eyes trying to meet his, but he doesn’t dare to meet your face.

The people around you two are too busy having other places to be to notice the young lovers under a sign that leaves people like them with hollow, empty hearts.

“We’ll see each other again,” you promise, your thumb dancing around his wrist, trying to cheer him up. However, the white-haired sorcerer shows no hint of comfort from the action.

“And when would that be?” he asks, tears brimming in his eyes. He knew they'd end up like this. He saw this coming. But he was not the slightest bit prepared.

Maybe he was being selfish, Satoru thought. Because although you had a pain-stricken face, he also knows you need this; he knows that you two have to part ways. You’re selfish too, he deems in his head, dragging him along all these months knowing the outcome. Maybe if he wrote you as the villain in his novel, it’d hurt less.

You laugh as if it would help brighten the mood. Grabbing his face with both of your hands, you softly say, “It’ll be okay, 'Toru.”

And he nods, not having it in himself to say anything else. Thankfully, the universe decides to go easy on him as his lover takes this as her cue to leave.

Time has passed since he last saw you. Your voice is nothing more than an echo in his mind, and your smile, one he once knew all too well, still flashes in his head now and then.    

Everything seems to pass so quickly around him, but it’s as if his legs are frozen; he can't go anywhere else, forced to relive moments in his life he longs to forget. 

Maybe, he says to himself, maybe the universe isn’t going easy on me after all. 

His mind recalls the glances he stole before you two started dating and the awkward yet warming first couple of dates that happened not long after. Of course, in order to ask you out, he had to confess first. A chuckle almost leaves his lips as the projector in his head replays the moment you laughed after he confessed his feelings and how his body froze, realizing he was naive for thinking that you’d reciprocate his feelings. At that time, he didn’t know you laughed because you found his nervousness endearing. He knows this now because of the countless nights spent in your apartment, ordering takeout instead of reserving a table at the new five-star restaurant he promised to take you to one day. He’d take in the way your lips parted as his predictions played out on the screen in front of you two, only for his laughter to ring out in the apartment once he admitted to watching the movie the other night. That wasn’t the only secret shared on nights spent like this. With your head against Satoru’s shoulder and the credits playing in the background, you and him would retell the words written on the pages of your own youth and pour out what had you pacing at 2 in the morning.

The sorcerer's mind begins to wander further into the forest of recollection until the sound of his name halts him. Blinking himself out of his trance, he takes in his surroundings; the sound of footsteps coming from one retail store to another reminds him of where he is. Slowly, he turns around and sees you. 

Just like a scene from a movie, the world slows down as you make your way towards him, hands rubbing on the fabric of your jeans, a habit you often do whenever the nerves kick in. Finally reaching him, a small smile paints your face as you lift your head to get a better look at him. His mouth dries as his eyes dance around your face. 

“I’m sorry I took so long,” you break the silence.

It takes a moment for him to respond, but his eyes soften, and he says, “It’s okay.” 

He would never blame you for anything. 

The two of you stare at each other for a moment until he decides to wrap an arm around your shoulder with a playful smile. Walking down the hall, he guides you to the center of the mall, rambling about a dress he saw on display, leaving the sign of the women’s restroom behind.

I love my silly little drama queen sobsob

#gojo fluff #gojo x reader #gojo satoru x reader #jjk fluff #ˏˋ⋆ satoru ⋆ˊˎ #from felicity's desk ⋆˚✿˖°

[grind-pantera]

um hi first time requester here i hope im doing it right. can you give us more noa x reader hedcanons please i'm so happy to find someone writing for him

Noa x Human ! Reader Imagines - Part Two.

Let's go babey round TWO. We are eating good today. This ended up being like 3 fanfics rolled into one. 5K+ Words haha. Likes, comments, reblogs always appreciated! Enjoy reading. Fandom: ( Kingdom of the ) Planet of the Apes. Pairing: Noa x Human ! Reader. Rating: T. ( Just for safe measure. Some mentions of aggression, mating. That good stuff. ) Read Part One Here.

Slow Burn Series: Customary. Gone Hunting.

**Does contain spoilers for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.

Noa singing to the Eagles. He felt like he never had the talent. At least, not in the way that his father did. What happened with Proximus Caesar months ago… Noa reflected on that and rested his hand down on the tightly knit together wooden branches that served as a platform high above the whole of the Eagle Clan. It had to have been a fluke of nature, maybe stupid luck that he was able to preserve and get his Eagle to cooperate instead of scratching his arm to unrecognition. Shuffling a bit to the right and out of the council's den, Noa noted that there were still some items that were out of place from the raid of his village. Some small jars tipped over, out of view to anyone who wasn’t looking for a mess. Bird feathers were fallen on the ground, flocking it beyond knowledge that there was even wood there. Noa, being so familiar here, knew otherwise but others would make the unsafe assumption that they were simply being held in animation by a structure made from bird feathers. Small bits of ash here and there from the fire, but the structure itself was able to be repaired to be used again. He was grateful for that.

It was… Where he last was with his father, where he had been crowned shortly after, blue feathers now adorning the band that encased his right bicep, where he felt he had time to reflect and dwindle into nothingness, to not be important because to himself, he rarely ever was and it seemed the feeling was only enhanced now that he was responsible for the wellbeing of everyone in his Clan. They came first, Noa came last. Protect them at the sacrifice of himself. Noa nodded at that, self-assured. He had just disbanded with his council, nothing of interest picking up through the muddled nature of his thoughts. Just talk about the repairs to the village, about the next round of young Apes who were going to be bonded with their own feathery friend… Most days, Noa felt inclined to participate, he was their leader now. But today, there was not a possibility that he could even engage in regular conversation.

He grumbled under his breath, and a few of the birds reacted purely to the sound, not necessarily to Noa himself; that was what he tried to convince his mind to believe as his own Eagle, which used to be his own fathers, landed on his shoulder. There was minimal effort put into the sounds as he began circling the room slowly, looking at each of the Eagles that rested there, so delicate and fierce on their perches. He wished to be that… Strong, unafraid, and confident. Puffing his chest out, Noa feigned fake confidence before ultimately blowing the air out of his lungs, shoulders falling in some mild defeat. He seemed to shrink in on himself before returning to his rotation of the room.

For every round he made with his feet, his vocals grew ever so gently in intensity, his mouth now making an obvious ‘O’. Apes were not known to be great at singing ( at least Chimpanzees ), but they were known to make communication with sounds. Singing was the only way to describe it, and it took Noa nearly a month to explain to you what the sound actually was because he was unsure of the word. He was too self-aware to actually demonstrate. A lot of back and forth ensued. It was not a hoot, it was not a holler. It was…. Humming. Almost, crying in sound. Screeching if he were loud enough. He wasn’t though. He kept it hushed, intimate and private between himself and his birds.

And you didn't have it in your heart to say anything or move, almost splayed completely on your stomach, trying to ignore the jabbing pain in your ribs from resting on the hard wood that served as a ramp upwards towards the Ape you had come to see. He had to have been at least two meters above you at this point, maybe more. It was a stupid decision, you knew that. He’d kick you out from being in such a sacred place to his people. Why you felt drawn here, why you wanted to see him… All rational thought disappeared when you heard him. Noa had told you that this is how bonding went. You sang to your bird in the same way the egg sang to you to be chosen. You hadn’t seen it in practice, until now. Glancing up, you could see the shape of his feet through some of the thickets of wood, a few feathers falling through the cracks and gracefully landing either on you, or nearby. Would he stop if he knew you were there? You wondered and clenched your jaw.

Most likely he’d stop, you figured. Noa wasn’t one to do this in front of others out of fear or embarrassment. The only time he did it was to save his Clan. He’d do it again, sure, but to sing for them ceremoniously was a terrifying thought that was inevitably going to come to fruition some day. He told you time and time again though, the customs, the crown that had been metaphorically passed down to him from his father, the burden, the great angst he felt knowing that it all rested on him. He never flat out expressed that’s how it was, how he was feeling with his inner turmoil, but it became more frequently observed the longer you were in the care of the Eagle Clan. You so desperately wanted to help him.

Grasping a feather in front of you between your fingertips, you propped yourself up to sit and then to stand. Giving one more glance up at Noa, you turned to leave, deciding that you had no reason to be there; you couldn’t come up with one if he put you on the spot. He’d tell you the same, you were so sure of that. But… There was one irrefutable fact in all of this regardless.

Noa knew you were there the entire time.

Noa offering you an animal pelt. ‘They get… cold.’ Raka’s words echoed for a long time in Noa’s mind as he peered over at you, observing the nature of your smaller frame sitting so intently near the communal fire of the Clan. Some chatter off to the side from some Apes also enjoying the fire, but they were out of sight, out of mind for Noa. You were so close that the roar of the flames pushed back the hair from your face, giving the male Ape an exceptionally good view of your expression, even from the distance he was at.

You even had your eyelids shut, he noted before turning his head back towards his hands, only momentarily before he was looking right back at you. You were truly soaking in as much warmth as you possibly could. The waves of light encapsulated in some elegant dance as the blaze flickered across your body. Noa was left feeling slightly mesmerized by that like he would float over to you if you beckoned him. You were covered, shoulders and below, draped in unfamiliar clothing.

Today was the first time Noa had seen you wearing a long sleeve shirt and pants that swept you up, almost consuming due to the large nature of them. You had tied a loose knot around the waist to keep the bottom piece from falling, but he did notice you picking them up here and there as you moved throughout the day. It was obvious that they weren’t tailored to your body, but when you had stumbled upon them and snagged them for yourself, you didn't want to complain. Any sort of clothing was valuable, especially as the winter was coming. There wasn’t much else to that, Noa thought to himself and rested what he was tinkering with down on the bench in front of him.

You seemed content enough, Noa dubbed and gave himself a small smile. It faded just as quickly as it came, the knowledge that someone could see him absolutely enamored like a fool begging for attention from his most desired… Was not very leader-like. Noa felt like he’d snap at someone if they were to bring it up, bring you up as if they had a right to talk freely about you. Well… The joke was on Noa. They absolutely had the right but that didn't stop him from thinking of ways to deter people from doing that. He cherished the jealousy and harnessed it into a protective shield. He cherished you and the feelings that subsided in both his mind and body.

Those seemingly unrequited feelings were what spurred him from his perched seat and setting a small pace towards his nest. You’d be okay for just a minute or two, he figured and scattered a bit more quickly. Shuffling in your spot, you had only taken your eyes off of him here and there as your eyelids rested shut from the tiredness that swept over you in waves. That’s what the heat did to you; made you tired beyond comprehension. Maybe, you muttered inside of your head, you’d just tip right over and fall asleep on the ground rather than making the needed transverse back to your nest of twigs, feathers and smaller animal pelts. You must have dozed off regardless of your train of thought because when you looked up at where Noa had been sitting previously, it was vacant.

You blinked. Something hung on your shoulders. You blinked again, hearing a small bit of heavier breathing coming from your left side. Just a few soft hooing notions to let you know that he was near, not a threat. Submissive, if that’s what you wanted. For a lingering moment, it almost felt like there was a hand, delicately moving against your left shoulder blade, pressing in and out as if probing you to make sure you were still alive, but with sleep on your horizon of your body, it was hard to determine if that happened or if it was what you wanted to happen. Wanted Noa to do.

With your eyes shut at the pleasant sensation of the animal pelt, you drew a deep breath in and relished in the added feeling of your lungs expanding so lazily; like you were being smothered and taken down into a dark but very warm point of interest. “Hmmm.” You murmured out loud. It smelled remarkably rich once you were able to process that along the teetering line of slumber. Like a conifer tree, vines draping themselves delicately over building ruins, grainy like the Earth. There was one more note there, something incredibly fragrant. Familiar and it caused you to grasp at the item around your shoulders to dig your nose closer to it. It was a smell you savored more than you cared to admit, but in your sleepy stupor, it was happily acknowledged verbally.

“Noa.”

He was rock silent next to you, green eyes wide with surprise at the surmise of his name falling from your lips. So… so nice, Noa thought to himself, head tilting to the side in a subconscious bid to get closer to you. There was an intense and increased magnitude of his stare when you pulled the animal pelt he placed around you closer. Closer, Noa seethed softly at that, so close to you, on you… On… His thoughts came to a slow pause as he just viewed you again. You were clutching at the pelt, holding it closed against your chest.

Tameless thoughts hit the young Ape like a wave coming from the absolute silence his mind had previously been in. What it must feel like to have you hold him, what it must feel like to have Echo hand in his fur, pulling him closer, closer. He would beg you, scratch you, bite you if you pleased. If that’s what you wanted of him. Noa had no idea where this surge of ideology, of aggression came from but he did nothing to dampen it. Not when it felt so viciously good to indulge in. His lips parted, sharp canines glistening so delicately in the firelight as he hooted again, not loud enough to wake, but loud enough for him to selfishly remind you that he was there. Yes, yes yes… He chittered, moving side to side on all fours for a second before taking a sharp pace to the right and then back to the left before sitting properly next to you, solaced and draped deliciously as he stared at you. The absolute desire he had to perform such acts, such… Such vulgarity…

He couldn’t stop, he-he… Didn't want to.

Noa welled at that, revered it and felt a sense of accomplishment. You liked it! No, no, he hooted to himself so quietly, taking time to observe you again to confirm his thoughts. You were loving it. He had seen you in various states before. Embarrassed, angry, flustered, minorly injured, reminiscent, but this… Was beyond anything he had seen before. Something stirred inside of him as he sat back, now resting his body against a log for support so he didn't need to put in active thought into keeping himself up-right. He’d wait until you were awake enough, the decision was made, and let you know it was time to go back to your nest for the night. Just a few more minutes, Noa bargained with the most introspective parts of his mind, almost beaming with primal pride that he was able to keep you satisfied. You were vulnerable.

Seeing his nest for the first time. Your lips parted, slightly dry from the air that rolled around the quiet village. You couldn’t bring yourself to do anything as you stared at Noa who unwaveringly stared right back, waiting silently for an answer to a question just asked. But oddly, it felt like there was no question. Shock rocketed through you like you were being electrocuted. It started in your feet, feeling slightly numb before completely overtaking the rest of your senses. You felt blind, almost half tempted to put your hand out to touch something, you felt mute, a hard lump now sitting at the back of your esophagus and it felt like you would throw up if you tried to swallow it down, you couldn’t hear anything outside of your own breathing which made you feel even more isolated. It was hard and rigid, you were nervous and trying to hold it in but it was untimely and bursting at the seams. You knew that Noa noticed and he either didn't put much thought into your reaction to his six signed words. Had you just seen his signing right? Maybe he said something different and your eyes were playing tricks on you! In broad daylight.

Do. You. Want. To. Come. In.

Mentally, you slapped your forehead out of meager frustration. Why did you have to follow him all the way up the platformed structure? Why didn't you stop yourself like you always did? It was not a permission you gave yourself; to be anywhere near his personal space. You’d meet in communal spaces, or out in the field Noa favored. Never personal, never too close… You must not have noticed your feet transition from grass to dirt to wood. You were so transfixed on Noa who sauntered back to his nest to grab something he had forgotten, that you followed blindly. Physically, you raised your hands before dropping them in favor of actually talking. It was quiet and reserved, Noa noticed and he found himself pacing forward just a bit as he had a harder time hearing it, wood creaking as it settled under his weight.

“You want me to come in?” Your voice came to a tapering squeak but you tried your damndest to keep it under wraps. You should have signed, you dummy… Deep down, you knew that Noa had observed that but what you didn't know with any sort of confidence was that he was forcing himself to ignore that heat-skipping a beat feeling he’s been getting more frequently around you. “I don’t know Noa, that’s your home, I would…”

“I…” He started slowly before raising one hand to sign reassuringly, ‘I… would like you to.’ It was your turn for your heart to do that infamous skip a beat. Swallowing hard, you dug your heels into the wood platform below your feet to keep you from floating off at the idea. No! You snapped, it wasn’t just an idea… It was an opportunity that was now given to you, Noa metaphorically holding his hand out to see if you would reciprocate in any form. He was offering you inside, to see Noa’s nest. Where he slept, bided his time, enjoyed solitude when his Mother wasn’t around, when Anaya was getting on his nerves, when Soona was pestering him in her typical sisterly fashion… You figured the question begged was just Noa being accommodating. You figured him telling you that he would like you to was just his way of being polite. Figuring you would not be comfortable to wait outside for him, knowing more about you that you cared to admit in the moment.

If all things went according to how you wanted them to be, you’d jump on that chance. But, you found yourself pensively contemplating if you wanted to step over that metaphorical threshold, this one in the shape of an entryway. The one that landed right in the palm of Noa’s hand. You’d be a bald faced liar if you tried to convince yourself that you weren’t curious. Curling your fingers into your palms, you noticed that they were profusely sweaty. Would it be deemed rude if you denied him? If you said no, convince him you were fine waiting outside? You had no idea how he would perceive that, “Okay.”

Wait. What did you just say? Wait!

Your feet once again began moving without permission, gliding yourself right along Noa’s right side as he offered you to go on first, his hand gesturing repeatedly to the room. Quick in succession. There was no way he was excited, was there? The idea tickled your brain but you shoved it back and drew a deep breath in. From his perspective, Noa watched your rib cage expanding under the soft fabric of your shirt and then regressing back inwards slowly. Meditative breathing, he figured, to keep you calm.

There was nothing calm about this though. Your stomach felt like it was beyond the floor, now sinking deep underground, your ears pricked with anticipation. The fur on his bicep tickled at the bare skin of your arm, caressing and smoothing itself there as you were now shoulder to shoulder with him and you swore you felt his breathing against your neck when he glanced at you, counteractive to your own self soothing breaths. Hard, heavy and fast. Noa didn't know how to cover that up which was ironic because you were so convinced you managed to stave your nerves off.

You step over that threshold, you step over a line that was there for good reason. The rational part of your brain was so annoying.

You pushed yourself forward and with the blink of an eye you were inside. It was… Unremarkably remarkable. Nothing really popped at you, eyes processing through a darkened mess. Nothing in particular you noticed right off the bat, it was a dim lighting, the only two sources being a small fire pit that was begging to be put out, the pieces of wood small and frail, giving just enough energy to hold a mild orange hue and that of an opening to the right, reminiscent of a window of sorts lightly covered by a cloth. Sun peeped in and illuminated only enough to navigate and not pick apart any details. You smiled to yourself at that detail you were able to see. So, he did believe in privacy, why else have what you would consider a curtain? It wasn’t just an Echo thing like he so often pinned.

You shifted to the left and allowed Noa to enter right behind you. He was fast, hunching his body in on all fours, the pattering of his hands and feet entrapping you for a few seconds. He swept to the right, wanting to observe you in vague silence. In his space, green eyes narrowed as you stepped further in, your fingers coming up to touch a leather strap that was hanging against the wall. That was his hunting sheath, holding his spear against his back when out.

You were incredibly grateful as you felt your eyes adjusting to the lighting, able to see more details as you trailed along the left wall, almost as if you were afraid to actually dive further in. It smelt like Noa - Rich in flavors that teased your tongue. Trees surely, but trees bathed in sunlight in the late summer afternoons, smoke from the ashes of fires that burned endlessly, the absolute deepest part of the Earth that you could beckon… Shutting your eyes at that, you tried to document it somewhere in your mind. You needed to remember it, needed to recall this when you were alone later. Noa’s smell became so familiar, but being so near now, it was suffocating you and it threw an absolute chill down your spine.

Noa observed your fingers then raising, causing the Ape to perk up in baited anticipation of you saying something. Nothing came to fruition, but your fingertips were now held in animation against the feathers of his ceremony cloak, lightly placed on what appeared to be a small bench. It was splattered artistically with the blue feathers of the Eagles, the Falcons he had grown up with, admired. Friendly, you thought, with what appeared to be necklaces sitting right next to it, some with adjacent feathers to match the cloak, one holding a large engraved wooden pendant. It was so intricate and you felt the urge to run your fingers along the carved channels. All had been his fathers, tracing back several generations until it landed in Noa’s hands. Some of his most prized possessions. Hooting at that as if he were scolding you, fingers stopped touching around the feathers and you looked over at him, almost whipping yourself around, heart now jumping itself into your throat. He didn't mean to startle, but he just wanted to make you rightfully aware that what you were touching was a delicate garment. Your eyes told him you were sorry and so he allowed you to continue on.

You had turned your attention now to the tinker items he had stored. A few spear heads, some more dull than others, a few more tools that Noa frequented when something needed to be fixed. Against the wall next to his bench was an iron pipe, rusted from years of being exposed to nature. Fleetingly, you wondered why he kept it but didn't want to give off the impression you were judging him by asking why he did. Unbeknownst to you, he wondered so morbidly what you were thinking. Good or bad? Did you like it? Did you… Not…? Like his things? Noa couldn’t see your face, only your shoulders as you were turned away from him now, moving further into the room. Bad choice of sitting so far away from you, he thought to himself, scolding the immature mistake. He should have followed you around. Closer he was, the easier it was to see. He felt his fingers twitch as you came around and looked at his nest, queering it to be the next thing to inspect. Yes, please! Admire it. Say something about it! He yelled inside of his head. He wanted to ask you if you liked it, if you cared to share. If it was suitable.

Inappropriate to ask, Noa berated himself and sat back, realizing he had set himself in almost a pounce-like position.

Branches were spewed all over in a circular motion that tightly knitted itself as it got closer to the center, feathers from the eagles nestled deeply between thickets of animal pelts, some bigger than others. Rabbits, you noticed, maybe a fox as your eyes scored over a red hued pelt. One that was remarkably bigger than the rest; it had to have been a bear. Had he hunted it himself? You tilted your head and moved forward to get a better glance at it. It was a messy assortment and that felt strangely… Endearing. Noa was often quiet and reserved, not much to talk about himself he had told you, only answering your questions when he felt they garnered answers. You were getting more answers from this simple analysis of his nest than you had gotten with words before.

Noa remained silent, your body turning to face him as you were admiring, at least he hoped you were, his nest. His choice of pelts, his choice of comfort and security. You crouched down into a squatting position to get a better view at the nature of his nest. Taking in the smaller details that were resting there. Were you… repoaching him? He wondered with a tilt of his head. You had not said one word to him, did not raise your hand to sign. Did… Nothing. He did not know. He did not know what you were thinking. Frustration rose in him for a split second. He’d tear your head open just to know what you were thinking. Noa’s mouth popped into an open ‘O’ shape when he watched you place a hand on one of his animal pelts. He knew the outcome of that alone; it would smell like you and he was going to obsess about it when alone. He had something now, something personal, that held your scent.

You finally broke the silence and Noa felt a sheer force of relief hit him in waves, one after the other at each of your words, “Very Noa.”

Hm… His mouth fell, agape ever so slightly and you could see the glimmer of his canines as he caught the sun peeking through his make-shift curtain. His green eyes burned desolate holes into your own, Noa noting that you weren’t moving to break said eye contact. Carefully, he did so himself, afraid of some repercussions if he continued to look at you the way he was. Wrought with feral need. He forced himself back into the moment, back into what you said. Were your words an approval? It had to be, the tone of your voice was not aggressive, mean, passive… It was as gentle as he had heard it in a while, only recollecting once or twice that tone being used. Often, in conversations that were more affectionate than others. Rare, but Noa was familiar enough.

“Someday,” He rumbled, the sound of his voice pitching every which way as he was now scrambling to get his bearings. “Will share. With mate.” It had to have been your imagination to see him vaguely gesture to you at the word ‘mate’. Yup, just your imagination which was still running outlandishly wild at the prospect of where you were.. “With family. It is the way of the Eagle Clan.” You nodded, understanding that from previous conversations where he had opened up a bit more about his culture. The mere thought of him someday having a mate, a family, was a bit of a sting, but it wasn’t outside of the realms of reality. For the sake of the Eagle Clan, he eventually needed to provide an heir. And in order to do that, it required a mate. You'd lose him one way or another...

Noa looked over at you, enjoying the tentative feature that found your face. Noa crept a bit closer to you, trying to be as smooth as possible. Gliding is how he wanted to appear. Not to startle, not to intimidate but he wondered if you were by nature. After all, he was an Ape, you were human, together in a room with not any other creatures around. The absolute dissolution he could put you in, not knowing that you had the same power over him.

It was like he was stalking prey, you thought to yourself, Noa finally rounded the circular nest that you were still admiring. Or at least, pretending to admire as he placed his brooding body next to yours, crouching to the same level as to be face to face with him. His apparent scent only got stronger at that motion putting you into some brief tizzy. From the distance you found yourselves at, you could see the striking nature of his eyes in full force. Pupils were blown beyond comprehension, darkening only when he felt you tracing the features of his face. Around said pupils were a thin line of his regular green eyes, maybe a few specks of gold floating around. He was still child-like in some aspects, youthful was a better word. His brow ridge was strong, hereditary as he was always destined to be the leader of his Clan. Always destined to be the alpha. The swooping wrinkles under his eyes always gave the impression that he was tired, but being so close to him now, you saw them under hood eyes. He was begging silently.

His skin was varied in color; darker patches hitting his brow line, starting from his nose, upwards into his fur. There was a spot of normally colored skin on his nose, dipping in color when it met the fur on the sides of his face and around his chin. Very much like a human sporting a beard, you thought to yourself. The fur on his face was not completely shelled in darkness. It was remarkably lighter compared to that of his body and it accented his features perfectly in your mind. You lingered on his nose for a split second - never realizing it was shaped like a cartoon heart that you had seen in some children's books. Snapping your gaze up, you met his eyes again. Darker than they were before.

He was wearing an expression you couldn’t quite put your finger on. Not intimidation. You had seen your fair share of intimidated Apes. Not angry. Also have seen your fair share. It was almost… Like he was languishing. You wanted to know what his features felt like under your grasp… You wanted to hold his face closer to yours and consume… An animalistic bearing hit your chest. Without remark, you lifted your hand up, breaking no eye contact. Noa let it happen, seeing the movement out of his periphery. You were going to touch him, he prepared himself for that, all nerves standing on end. The fur lining his shoulders rose in eagerness, his mouth still agape was mumbling something wordless, soundlessly. You were going to touch him. He was certain his heart was going to climb out of his chest. He was sure he wouldn’t be able to hold onto his sanity. Noa preemptively shut his eyes.

Relief…

Never came.

Just as quickly as you decided to move forward, you were pulling back. Two steps, maybe even three. Noa squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before letting them open. You were gone, leaving nothing for him other than a pelt that smelt like you.

#kingdom of the planet of the apes #kotpota #noa x reader #noa x human reader #planet of the apes #pota #owen teague #fanfiction #fanfic #emmy writes #planet of the apes x reader

[kaeyeahsworld]

A real pussy pleaser.

Synopsis:

Toji was out on business trip and you thought you could have a night for yourself. But things never go according to the plan do they?

Tags: toji fushiguro x female reader, smut, dirty talk, masturbation, body worship, mirror sex, suit kink, orgasm edging and denial, toji has a big dick lol, pet names (mama, baby, doll)

18+

Cross posted on Ao3

MDNI and do not interact if uncomfortable

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•••~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Being Toji’s woman was the sweetest torture.

There would be days when he would drill his cock into your sweet cunt for hours together, his kisses and actions making you see stars. 

But there were also days like these where all you had was an hour's worth of video call with him at the end of the day, with him being away on his business trip. 

It had been almost a week now and you had to survive only 2 more days before you would be back in Toji’s arms. 

But then again it was one of those nights. Fresh out of the shower, the music playing on the speaker in your shared room, is tender and sinful. The lights were soft golden and ambient and you were here smelling like petals on a calming summer night. 

Waking up late in the evening, the doom scroll session had somehow turned into a soft porn marathon. With a man like Toji around, porn was the farthest thing to get you going but today was different and you had the whole night to yourself anyway. 

Sexy kisses, lustful outfits, funny dialogue writings and concepts in some and no dialogues in others and all of them ending in delicious torment of the actress’s cunts either with filthy sloppy mouths or bliss-inducing vibrators. There was one video that caught your attention though, a simple one of a man eating his woman out, but the sultry build-up of the video, the man almost as big as yours’ and the unadulterated ecstasy on the woman’s face as he pulled one orgasm after another from her which had clenching your thighs together and almost giving into the temptation, but instead you decided against it and hopped into the shower to freshen yourself. 

It would be worth the wait once Toji’s back. Right? 

But as things never go according to plan, while cleaning the room you found an unwashed office shirt of Toji, large enough to engulf you comfortably

God you missed him so much. Could the trip get any longer?

His scent was a mixture of cool rich cologne and a hint of the day’s sweat, which didn’t help the ache between your legs. Slow warm and as wet as it could get.

Imagining him at work, his cute little furrowed eyebrows as he concentrates be it when prepping for a presentation, which was quite the same when pleasuring you out. His passionate green eyes that harbour a mischievous crinkle every time he unleashes an attack of kisses all over your face.

Just this one night you decide to take care of yourself.

Minutes later, here you were in front of the full-length mirror of your room admiring your figure donned with his shirt and only a wet, stained blue panty

Your own sight was enticing enough as you settled on the floor in front of the mirror, arching your back a little and putting out gorgeous tits on display.

The tips of your hair tickling your skin, the warmth spreading through your chest and tummy and your leaky aching cunt was too much to bear as dipped a finger into your panties

Gosh, you were so darn wet and this was the effect Toji had on you even if he was miles away.

Rubbing around the folds, in no hurry, you explored each sensitive little crevice with one hand and the other massaging softly over your nipple

“Ohhh- Toji…. I am so wet for you, mhhh-“You were as comfortably loud as you could be your finger now gliding over your clit, pinching it a little. As much you liked indulging in self-pleasure once in a while it was never enough.

It wasn’t Toji’s warm calloused hand teasing you like there’s no tomorrow. It wasn’t his long fingers pumping through your tight cunt just right.

“Tojiiiii….come backk… uhhmmp-“ you were so close to an orgasm, wet slick sounds echoing all about the room when-

“Missed me doll?”

An all too familiar deep voice.

Here was the man in question, in all his black suit, and grey tie glory leaning against the bedroom door watching you like a predator does its sweet prey

If you were an impatient one, Toji gave a tougher competition. Finishing up with his work as early as he could and skipping on the last two days of drinking fun with his office mates, Toji was on the earliest flight back.

What he was expecting was his girl to jump onto him and smother him with sweet kisses on opening the door but the site before him was well…

An even better surprise.

Hands deep in your panties, flushed skin covered by a dirty shirt he had left a week ago, eyes all glorious and teary-eyed.

“Toji! When did you come back.. I didn’t mean to-“Before you could even finish your sentence, Toji was kneeling and grabbing your chin

Slowly licking and nipping at your bottom lip, he whispered “Your pretty pussy couldn’t wait a week darling?”

“Hmmph!” His warm tongue was now sliding over yours, as you grabbed and pawed at his chest while his other hand was at your waist pulling you closer.

Knees buckling from the sheer dominance of the man, you couldn’t be more happy he was back. “Missed you so much…love, don’t leave me” you desperately whined out to him almost straddling him

“Leave you?” Toji chuckled handsomely “I ain’t going nowhere, mama. Even in another lifetime, I will find my way back to you”

As he shoved a finger into your panties, the wetness had him groaning into the kiss. He was sensuously pleasing the sensitive spot on your neck, biting it softly to leave a reddening hickey.

“Come on mama, I worked so hard on this trip. Put on a show and reward me” he said as he flipped you both around, your back to his chest and both of you facing the mirror. His hands parting your legs and with your glistening cunt on full display you couldn’t help but let out an embarrassing moan into Toji’s ear.

“But Toji… this is too..mm” You were blabbering shy mess out of nowhere and Toji was enjoying this.

“Show me your pretty cunt” he demanded as he put a hand over yours and guided you back to resume your ministrations. The pleasure was twofold now with Toji moaning darkly in your ear, his warm minty breath raising the hairs all over your body.

“Look at the sight of you. Such a gorgeous fucking thing you are eh? Those delicious tits and your glossy pouty lips, gosh wish I could have them around my cock all day, drooling all over it huh girl?”

His fingers had replaced yours now and with his middle and ring finger caressing your velvet walls, you were so close, rocking and thrusting your clit against the palm of his hand.

“I am so close Toji…. Uhhh! Fuckkk… right there!”

“How close baby?” Toji asked “A bit-..more” and just as you could feel the warmth in your tummy unravelling he pulled his fingers out

“What the fuck Toji?”

“Who said you could come tonight doll?” Toji replied, his gaze intoxicating in the mirror

This was going to be a long night and his reward was going to be your punishment. Albeit a sweet one

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•••~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N : Expect a part 2 lol

I named this one after an edit audio

I tried editing it for the most part but its 2 am so ignore any typos pls

lemme know how you like it.

take care sweets

#jjk toji #jjk x reader #romance #toji fushiguro #toji x reader #toji zenin #wattpad #jjk smut #jjk fluff #toji x you #soft toji #toji smut #anime smut #toji x y/n #jujutsu kaisen toji #jujustsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu toji #smut #fushiguro toji x reader #reader insert #jjk fanfic #jujutsu kaisen smut #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu gojo #jujutsu geto #jujutsu nanami #jujutsu sukuna #jjk x you #jjk #toji fluff

[wordsvomit101]

I'm about to do a lot of yapping.

I love definite answers rather than vague implications as much as the next person and wait for the story to come out first before making theories but this chat got me to realize a bunch of things so I need to share my thoughts. Important notes, the credits are for @shyanimeboi and their lovely friend who shares the source, couldn't do this without them. Warning though, there will be a lot of talking about flowers.

What a way to start a conversation, very flattering Lucifer, this just makes me think of how the devils and MC are pretty mutual in their attraction toward each other, this image said it the best, in my opinion.

But this also just makes me think that MC has to have some God's divinity in them and Solomon has something to do with it. My reason is kind of dumb but like, from the start of the game to now, MC could fit every character's ideal type (ex: Satan likes someone with wicked slaps, Mammon likes someone greedy, etc.), and if you stretch it enough (or inhaled a lot of copium like me), it could make sense, because somehow the angels have affection for MC yet they don't with Solomon and how MC can take off their charity belts in the Christmas cards, and now Lucifer said he has an erection just being around them (can't forget to mention, how every angels and angels' ideal type are God himself, and seeing how they act with him, it could explain why).

And the last two parts, Lucifer you're not fooling anyone, my guy. He likes being spoiled by his siblings as much as he is indulgent of them (like how he stops to tell the story of his past for the trio in the middle of the war and how he acts in his selfie comic). Of course he not gonna say it outright that he appreciates it but the fact that he found some flowers he likes says a lot (apparently this is not the first time as well, the nobles have done something like that for him, but this time is probably his favorite).

Also yes, it is in fact good for the body and mind to have plants around you when you have a common cold. "House plants can help you fight colds and sore throats. A study by the University of Agriculture in Norway discovered this fact. The research showed a 30 percent decrease in coughs, colds, sore throats, and other cold-related symptoms in people occupying spaces that had adequate houseplants. The reason? Plants help to increase humidity levels and decrease dust as well as purify the air."

This parts, this parts got me reeling. It seems normal right? I thought so too but when I think deeper into it, I have some thoughts on how he sees beauty and how he perceives beautiful things and associates them with people he loves (the 3 Seraphs) and how he see them as people, especially when it comes to flowers and plants. Flowers often symbolize beauty, growth, and the transient nature of life. A greenhouse, as a controlled environment where plants can thrive, represents a space of care, nurturing, and protection. Lucifer's frequent presence in the greenhouse basically said that it was his favorite place. It is a place where he can be surrounded by beauty in a natural and unforced way, much like how he perceives and interacts with others (he might see a flower and associate it with MC someday but we are not there yet).

Now, why am I so fixated on this? Well to me, how a person treats a flower says a lot about them and how they will treat others, for example, some see a beautiful flower, they will rush over to pick it, and some want to just hold it in their hand, some want to own it and have it in their possession, and some want to control and ruin it. While there are also people who see it and choose to just stay near and appreciate the flower, maybe they will pick it up one day or they don't. Lucifer fits the bill on the last one pretty well, he sees both the best and the worst side of his brothers, and instead of controlling them or snapping at them for how they are, he appreciates and lets them be, without trying to mold them to his own ideals. This is like observing a garden with both blooming flowers and wilted ones. Akin to a gardener who does not force the growth of plants but instead provides the optimal conditions and lets nature take its course.

Gabriel’s representation as a white lily, a symbol of purity, faith, and rebirth, yet always carries with him the “dizzying” scent of blood that is always on his body. The blood-stained petals symbolize the loss of innocence and the tarnishing of what was once pure. Like the white lily, Lucifer loves Gabriel for his inherent purity and unwavering commitment to God but hates the violence that taints him.

Michael’s representation with a black bellflower is surprisingly very accurate to his core, bellflowers themselves mean affection, constancy, and everlasting love, and the most prominent example of this is his love for both God and Lucifer, in the two stars event, even if one went out to buy the milk and the other throw himself to Hell and protect devils whom Michael despises, he still loves them. However, from what I can interpret, Lucifer could mean that instead of embracing the right "dew" (which likely means positive feelings, thoughts, and emotions), Michael chose to embrace the "dew" that only makes him cry and sad. Lucifer sees potential for beauty in Michael but is likely pained by his brother’s self-destructive choices.

How Lucifer sees Raphael as a chrysanthemum is interesting, the significance of the flower means strong bonds and a feeling of joy, and the warm color which resembles the sun means that Raphael should have been a bright and warm person like the flower is but the meaning of the "unrequited love" and how Raphael got misplaced affection, and instead of dealing with it in a non-destructive way, Raphael choose to rampage from the grief and the unjust feelings. It is basically what it could have been and what it becomes.

In some cases, it is a good thing to just simply observe the beauty of it all, but is it right to just only watch from afar as the "beautiful flowers", that lack the proper nurturing and care they want, beings he loves so much destroy everything around them and is also ruining themselves? He could cut off their roots and pick them out to prevent further damage but he didn't (since he is the closest to God, I wouldn't put it past him to pick up some habits and worldview from his Father, and perhaps, God also view the angels like how Lucifer does).

Interesting how he can see a bit of himself in MC, but the feeling of superiority is strong in the "pity" part when he talks about the devils. Like yes, he does love his nobles but he also pities them, and idk what to tell you besides that Lucifer kind of treats the devils like stray dogs or cats he found cute and pitiful and adopted them. Not saying that he's not at least, somewhat compassionate, but I think a part of him sees himself as a higher being than the devils like how other angels did.

I believe the small blue flowers are Forget-me-not, the shape and petals are pretty close to real life.

With the track record, we got and how Lucifer uses flowers as a stand-in for how he sees his brothers, and this flower, to me at least, is unlike how the other three in how it represents their characters, this flower is like something Lucifer sees to remember his dead brother by. Forget-me-not, outside of tragic romance, is a flower that often connects with death and lost (ex: In Newfoundland, it represents those who fell in World War I; In Armenia, it’s a symbol for the Armenian Genocide Centennial; It’s the symbol for International Missing Children’s Day; The Alzheimer’s Society uses forget-me-nots as a symbol for memory loss and to raise awareness for the disease).

Now, why am I focusing on the flower of all things instead of the fact that one of his brothers is dead? Well, because flowers not only tell a person's traits and personality, they also tell stories. According to Forget-me-not's legend and lore:

The first one describes a German knight who was strolling with his lady along the banks of the Danube River. The lady saw pretty blue flowers—but they’d been pulled loose by the river’s flow and were about to disappear downstream. She wanted to save the flowers, so her chivalrous knight jumped into the water. He couldn’t fight the strong current, so he tossed the flowers onto the bank, and as he was carried out to sea, he called out, vergiss mein nicht, which is German for “forget me not.”

Another legend says that the German knight didn’t leap into the river after the flowers, but rather bent to pick some for his lady when the weight of his armor caused him to topple into the water—and then he called out “Forget me not” as he was swept away. A separate German tale says the name was chosen when God was naming flowers. This one was the last, and the flower cried out, “Forget me not, O Lord,” to which God pronounced, “That shall be your name!”

The knight could be the dead brother in this situation, and I think that he and Lucifer were close when they were young, and Lucifer probably got interested in something or wanted to save something, his brother tried to help but ended up dead by an accident. Or he could be alive or in a limbo where no one could remember him except Lucifer. And I saw someone make a theory on this, here:

Apparently, he is the only light theme enemy, and given how he looks? He could be the brother but even I don't have a concrete reasoning as to why besides his appearance and power, and how he hides himself behind other angels in the presentation art and in battle. Though he would likely appear more in the future.

#whb #what in hell is bad #wordsvomit notes #whb lucifer #this is just my opinions #and I just yap a lot so if you disagree it totally cool #i'm glad we have different thoughts #also if I somehow make sense to you then thank you :D

[kindlingkeen]

you know those instances when the pain of losing someone is too much and you consider forgetting them altogether? that, but Bruce chooses NOT to forget. instead, he'd rather remember Jason incorrectly. gaslighting himself is his coping mechanism. it's literally the opposite of honoring the dead

Oh, anon, you are really tugging on my heartstrings with this one. I completely agree. Honestly, to me, Bruce’s response to Jason’s death is unforgivable (not the immediate grief, but the way he rewrote the narrative). He destroyed Jason’s legacy, the piece him that should have lived on forever. Fifteen year old Jason Todd hardly had a chance to make a mark on the world. As Robin, he made a difference, he gave everything he had to making Gotham a better place, to standing up for people who didn’t have anyone else behind them. The public didn’t (couldn’t) know about Robin’s death, so the only keepers’ of that memory, of that legacy, was Jason’s family. And for completely selfish reasons, Bruce didn’t just obliterate it, he tarnished it beyond recognition. And he spread that poison to the next generation. As you said, it’s the opposite of honoring the dead.

To me, the true tragedy of Jason’s story is not that he died, that Batman didn’t save him, that he was a collateral damage in Batman’s crusade, that even after he came back begging for his Dad to choose him he still lost, that ultimately his death meant nothing. It’s that his father, the person that was supposed to love him most in life, made it so his life meant nothing. It’s heartbreaking.

I will never understand how dc decided to go from these two boys who loved each other so much (Batman #383):

To a father, who, almost in the same breath, could say his son was responsible for his own death (Batman Hush):

And then turn around and claim his son knew how much he loved him:

To a father, who claimed his son was nothing more than rage (Batman 614).

and recklessness (Detective Comics 790).

That is tragedy.

#keen converses #thinking about that quote that’s often miss attributed to hemingway—you die a second death that last time someone says your name #but what about when they’re saying your name in vain? #i have a special place in my heart for good dad bruce #but i’ll really be able to forgive him for what he does to jay in death #jason deserved so so much better #jason todd #bruce wayne #batman #batfam thoughts

[kanejbr3kker]

Okay I need to vent. This morning I saw this on my fyp:

(btw I'm choosing not to reblog the original post and instead just post screenshots because this is definitely a rant and since the creator and I clearly have different opinions, so I decided it's just better to leave them out of this)

Anyways, I saw this and I got pissed. Very very pissed. And so I spent 2 and a half hours writing a whole three page essay explaining everything wrong with this.

So here it is. (:

First of all, the Darkling does every single thing listed here for Nikolai, excluding cutting people’s fingers off, but he does commit mass murder, which I personally consider to be worse than cutting off someone’s fingers. 

Anyways, let’s first just address Nikolai’s reasons for doing each of these things and then the Darkling’s reasons for doing the same things.

Cutting the fingers off a man: Nikolai was a teenager who wanted to help his incredibly war torn country. He felt helpless, and even once he became a privateer, a lot of people still disrespected him because of his age, so he proved his ruthlessness by injuring one person, so he could help save his entire country. 

Usurping the throne: First of all, Nikolai was second in line to the throne, and after Vasily died, he would’ve been first. Also, the current king was an ignorant rapist who let the rest of the country go to waste to fuel his own luxuries. Nikolai wanted to rescue his country from war and a ruler that was doing nothing to stop hundreds of people (many of them kids) from dying in unnecessary battles.

Lying to Alina/hiding information from her: All Nikolai did was hide his identity from Alina to get her safely away from the Darkling who had just kidnapped her for the second time in less than a year. Kissed her without her consent: Okay, let’s just preface this by saying Malina was what got me hyperfixated on the Grishaverse, so seeing Nikolai kiss Alina did upset me, but he did it spread hope to the Ravkan villagers. They were also already spreading around a fake engagement, so while it was wrong, it wasn’t like he was trying to manipulate her. Nikolai was just trying to make their marriage more believable. (I’d also like to address a scene later in the book where Alina actually wants Nikolai to kiss her, and he says no, knowing that she just wants a distraction and isn’t really in love with him).

And now for why the Darkling did all the same things. 

Trying to usurp the throne: The Darkling hates the king, but not because he’s a terrible person, but because he’s ignorant and the Darkling knows he could be using the Fold to expand Ravka’s power. The Darkling usurps the throne so he can try and take over the country, not because he wants to save it.

Lying to Alina/hiding information from her: Unlike Nikolai, he wasn’t trying to protect her. The Darkling lied to Alina so she would believe that 1) he was in love with her and 2) he wanted to save Ravka. We know this isn’t true. When Nikolai lies, he does it to protect Alina, but when the Darkling lies he does it to manipulate her.

Kissed Alina without her consent: The Darkling tried to convince Alina he was in love with her so she would be easier to manipulate. Alina even says she doesn’t know how he feels about her, and that she doesn’t believe he loves her, but that she wants to be wanted by him. 

And now for everything else the Darkling does:

Mass murder: He destroyed an entire town just to prove a point. 

“Gifting” Genya to the Lantsovs, and then allowing her to be continually raped by them

for years. More than anything else, I feel like this proves just how terrible he is.

Killing his own mother: No explanation needed, that’s just awful.

Threatening to kill Mal to make sure Alina stays in line. He enslaved Alina. He put an unremovable collar around her neck that forced her to do whatever he wanted, and then promised to kill her boyfriend just in case that wasn’t enough.

Using kids as bargaining chips. Using grown people is bad enough, but kids. Sure, they’re Grisha, but they aren’t strong enough to fight back, especially after seeing their captor kill Ana Kuya, who helped care for them while they were in hiding. (Also just felt like adding that Nina was one of the students who he used as a bargaining chip. That’s honestly pretty unimportant, but if you needed another reason to hate him.)

Killing Alina’s mother figure: Again, he did this just to prove a point. He wanted to show Alina that he could hurt the people she cared about, and that was his only incentive.

So that the first 75% of my rant, but I also made the mistake of looking at the comments on that post and added a whole extra page responding to those.

Saying that the same thing can be applied to Kaz is so fucking disrespectful. Kaz is a traumatized teen. Is he violent? Yes. But he only hurts people who have hurt him, his friends, or other innocent people. Oomen nearly killed Inej, as well as the other crows, so Kaz hurt him because he cared about his friends and was mad that they were almost killed. When the Darkling kills people, it’s out of greed for power and the fact that he knows it’ll get a rise out of Alina.

And then this. Kaz calls Inej an investment because he values her. She said four words to him and chose to pay off her indenture. She ended up being not only an incredible spy, but an incredible friend as well. Kaz didn’t need to pay off her indenture, but he did because despite everything terrible that he does, he’s still a genuinely good person, and didn’t want to see a woman being exploited the way she was. An investment is something you value, which is why Kaz calls her one.

Also, Kaz makes a big point of Inej not belonging to anyone. He didn’t force her to get the Dregs tattoo, because he didn’t “want to be the one to mark her again.” He recognized that she was an independent person, and by not making her have the tattoo, he was giving her the freedom to leave Ketterdam when her indenture was paid off. Also, when Inej tells Kaz she wants to leave Ketterdam, he literally buys her a boat so she can leave. That’s not how you treat your property.

And as for the Darkling, he used Alina’s power to start a civil war. What he does is beyond redemption. The Darkling exploits and manipulates women. He abuses and assaults them to reach his own goals, most of which involve destroying the rest of the world so that Ravka stays in power. Comparing him to two kids who just do what they have to to survive is so disrespectful, and clearly you misunderstood the messages of the books if you think that Kaz and Nikolai are the same as the Darkling.

So that's my little anti-Darkling rant. I've already tortured my frienda with this, so if they didn't think I was insane before, they do now lol.

#anti darkling #darkling slander #grishaverse #shadow and bone #six of crows #king of scars #save shadow and bone

[weirdgenetic-fuckup]

Hiii ❤️

Can you do a fic where fem!reader wants to try something new with jason so they switch places (jason sub)

A/n: I know I said I was only doing fluff but I was bored in class and this was requested in March, I'm so sorry it took so long for me to get to this, it is also not the only one from March :')

Also wasn't sure if you meant dom/sub dynamic or pegging so I hope I got it right lol

Warnings: Smut, sub!Jason dom!reader, riding, if I missed anything let me know otherwise enjoy!

You weren’t sure how you were gonna bring it up to him but you knew what you wanted

Jason was fairly vanilla. He liked to love you and make you feel good, receiving his own satisfaction in the end. But you wanted more.

You paced around your apartment, trying to think of what to say. You were so lost in thought you hadn’t even realized Jason coming in.

He saw you pacing and figured he’d come and help. He wrapped him arms around you and pulled you into a tight hug. Usually it worked, you only paced when you were thinking and he was like a weighted blanket.

“What’s going on?” He asked, tilting your head up to look at him.

You stated up at him for a moment before spewing out all these thoughts and eventually letting it slip what you really wanted.

Jason was nervous but he figured this meant a lot to you and he wanted to be a good boyfriend. You both had a good understanding of each other’s boundaries and it would be good to try something new, right.

You’d both stripped and now Jason was on the couch, biting his lip. Whether it was because you were naked and straddling his lap or because he was nervous you didn’t know.

His hands were tied behind his back using his belt, not tight, if he really wanted to he could take them off himself. But it was a step in the right direction, even if he could break out of them just knowing that he was tied like that had your body hot.

You rested your hands on his broad shoulders and lifted yourself up before slowly sinking yourself onto his hard cock. Jason’s eyes rolled back and a moan left him. It wasn’t forced, per se. Jason never was a quiet guy, he just grunted instead, so hearing him moan was a whole new experience.

“What was that for?” You had to ask, you’d fucked multiple times before but never did he moan.

Jason looked back to you, lidded eyes and a soft smile. “Well you moan, I figured if you wanted to switch positions I’d take a turn” filthy whore and yet still thinking of your pleasure. He was such a sweetheart and the best boyfriend you could ask for.

You kissed him and started bounces on him, getting off just on his moans falling onto your lips.

You pulled away and moved faster, rubbing your clit as you searched for that approaching high. Jason started thrusting up into you, wanting to help you.

You hesitated a moment, as much as you just wanted to cum you had a vision. And that vision was of Jason crying, dick all red and leaking because you wouldn’t let him cum, no not until he was sobbing would you give him the satisfaction of release.

You pulled off of him but kept rubbing yourself until your eyes rolled back and you came. Jason watched with stars in his eyes as you brought yourself over the edge.

“Jason,” you started as you calmed down, "who said you could cum?" Jason looked up at you with a small pout, just what you wanted.

You took you sweet time torturing him. Telling how good he was, getting him right on the edge and then pulling away and getting yourself off.

Tears were streaming down his cheeks now, his moans were laced with sobs, or his sobs were laced with moans. You asked him if he wanted to stop but he begged you to keep going.

You were bouncing up and down on his length again, your legs were getting tired so you got off of Jason and laid down beside him on the couch. "You wanna cum?" You asked, Jason eagerly nodded. "Earn it." And with that he crawled over you and pushed into your gummy walls, not letting a single heartbeat pass by before he starting bucking his hips into yours.

He was a dog in heat, eager to please and doing whatever he could to cum. His face was hidden in the crook of your neck as he sobbed out about how good it felt, how much he loved you.

He couldn't keep a rhythm, his mind was too far gone for him to be able to. It didn't matter. You were already coming undone at the seams and Jason could barely hold himself together as is.

"Fuck, you're so good, such a good boy." You praised, knowing it would fuel the little bit that Jason had left and bringing him to the high he'd been working towards this whole time.

His cock was buried deep inside of you, he couldn't care less, he could barely move. He rolled off of you but kept his arms wrapped tight around you, getting more comfortable on the couch with you.

He sniffled. "I love you." He mumbled. "I love you so much."

You smiled and kissed his temple. "I love you, too." You whispered. "You're the best, you know that?" Another kiss. "You're perfect." Jason smiled against you and fell asleep.

#metallica #metallica fanfiction #metallica imagines #metallica smut #metallica x reader #jason newsted #jason newsted smut #jason newsted x reader

[mayasdeluca]

Well here we are at the end. It feels incredibly weird and surreal that this is the last time I'll be doing a reaction post after an episode. I think it will really sink in months from now when the show really doesn't come back but honestly I'm feeling so many different emotions right now and it's because of the episode and also just because of knowing this is the last of everything.

I feel like this finale episode really summed up my whole experience with this show. They'll do some things really well and some things that really just make you question why on earth did they think that was the right choice. Stuff that makes you so frustrated because they just get in their own way and could be doing things that isn't wasting the potential of real magic.

It feels like Maya and Carina were never able to really shine and be highlighted in the way they could have been. They shied away from the true chemistry and connection and love story that they had instead of embracing it. As soon as they would get some focus, they had to give it to someone else or insert someone else into the storyline. It was like they couldn't give the queer women too much for whatever reason. This has been a pattern since their relationship started so I'm sadly not surprised it ended the same way.

I get they had a lot to fit in so I wasn't expecting everything to happen like I envisioned. But they really didn't pay off the cliffhanger in any way. All this speculation about Maya quitting her job, all this worry about how she'd be freaking out about being near death and realizing she could lose the family that she finally has, all these possibilities about her getting injured, having some smoke inhalation, Carina being worried tat she'd have to raise their children alone and practically none of it gets addressed? Carina doesn't even find out that Maya was in that situation? We don't get to see them hug in relief as soon as they see each other? Maya doesn't even make a comment about how she thought she was going to die and lose everything she finally has? Again, didn't expect all of this, but not even a little of it?

And then instead of Maya being the one to collapse from smoke inhalation after being surrounded by an insane amount of flames, it's Andy...because of course Andy would have to be the focus. She's Captain, it's her station, they all had to come together to rally around her. Because it was already too much for them to worry about Maya for the first two minutes of the episode. We couldn't have Carina even come across Maya while she was in the field (what exactly was the point of that then? Delivering babies is a Maya and Carina thing)

I enjoyed the scene of Carina telling Maya she was pregnant. I love that it paralleled their proposal scene and we got the great camera spinning kiss like in 4x14. But again it's like we just have to be satisfied with the bare minimum and that's it. That was our only glimpse really of present Marina in the last episode. The way they did the flashforward scenes was super confusing and choppy in my opinion, not really knowing if it was the real thing at first or just what these characters were envisioning. (And don't get me started on how Maya and Carina's visions only included becoming mothers).

I don't know how to feel about Maya being Captain of 19 again honestly. Andy being Chief was...an interesting twist because I wasn't expecting that either but it always felt like 19 was Andy's station so why did they get away from that already? The whole series led up to that moment. Why couldn't Maya have her own station? I do love that her shirt had Deluca-Bishop on it though.

Will always be grateful that the show gave us Maya and Carina. What Danielle and Stefania did with these characters both separately and together will always be special. But part of me will also always feel a little sad and bitter about what could have been if they really embraced Marina as the main couple of the show and didn't let double standards get in the way and just let them be the bisexual loving wives that they are. So many missed opportunities and it's a shame.

Sending love to everyone feeling all types of things after that. It was a lot and I'm here for anyone who needs to vent. ❤️

#station 19 #station 19 spoilers #carina x maya #this all feels so weird i can't believe its the end #now off to make gifs for the last time after an episode...crazy

[lau219]

Enemies with Benefits

Part 11

Previous part here

***!!!Warning: Mentions of a gun, violence!!!***

..........................................................................................

“I’m sorry, Mr. Dresker; there seems to be some confusion. Did Steve give you some sort of indication before he left that I’m an idiot?”

Y/N was sitting behind her desk and staring at the man who was occupying one of the seats across from her. She crossed her legs as she waited for him to respond.

“Excuse me?” he asked.

“Well, the only conclusion I can come to as to why you think I would agree to any of these prices is because Steve told you that I’m a naïve idiot,” Y/N said. “Although, I find that very hard to believe, seeing as he and I have done business together for the last eight years.”

She maintained a look of cool composure as she awaited another reply from the man who was her new liquor rep, having taken the place of her previous rep who’d recently retired. He had come into her office with the obvious mentality that, due to the fact that she was a woman, she was unaware and not very business savvy. He was currently trying to convince her that the pricing sheet he’d given her with numbers higher than what she knew were current was accurate.

“Steve never called you an idiot, Miss Y/L/N,” Dresker replied.

“So, you made that assumption on your own, then?” she said.

He shook his head.

“Of course not; I’m merely sharing our current price points with you and trying to make sure you get what you need before your shelves are empty.”

Turning her chair slightly, Y/N looked to Tommy, who was casually reclined in the other chair opposite her desk, his ankle over his knee. He’d remained silent up until this point, and Y/N cocked her head as she looked at him.

“So considerate, isn’t he, Mr. Shelby?” she said sarcastically.

Tommy met her eyes, and inwardly, he smiled. On the outside, however, his expression remained neutral.

“Quite,” Tommy agreed with her. He then turned to Dresker and continued speaking, addressing him now instead of Y/N. “Although I’m afraid that your underestimation of my manager here has overshadowed any good intentions you say you have, mate.”

As he’d said, “my manager”, Tommy had gestured his hand towards Y/N, and Dresker looked between the two of them, clearly trying to decide which one of them he should address next.

“No one’s being underestimated,” he said as his eyes darted from Tommy to Y/N, and then back again.

“Really?” Y/N spoke again. “Then why is it that the numbers you’ve shared with me here are fifteen percent higher than the costs you gave the four restaurants on Main Street that also get their liquor from your company?”

As she’d said that, she’d folded the pricing sheet he’d given her in half and tossed it back across her desk. After she’d spoken, Dresker had raised his eyebrows in surprise that she had that knowledge.

“Businesses talk to each other around here, Mr. Dresker – I have relationships with my colleagues. And I happen to know that these numbers you’re quoting me are different than what you presented to them,” Y/N said to him. “Now, we can either cut the crap and you offer me the same prices as you did to the others, or I can completely transfer our business to my back-up supplier who’s helped us in the past when your company has been out of stock of certain items.”

Dresker’s eyes widened again momentarily before he turned to Tommy and spoke.

“Wouldn’t a change like that be your call, as the owner?” he asked him.

Tommy cocked his head.

“Miss Y/L/N and I make decisions together here, Mr. Dresker,” Tommy replied, highly annoyed that he’d been so disrespectful to Y/N as to ask that question, especially right in front of her.

Tommy glanced at Y/N and their eyes met briefly before he looked back to the man in the chair next to him and continued.

“In fact,” he said, “I leave it solely to her most of the time, as she’s been skillfully running this place since long before I came into the picture. But all that aside, the fact of the matter is that you’ve still quoted us prices that are higher than what you’ve offered elsewhere. I doubt that your superiors would be happy to find out that you lost a loyal client of eight years because you decided to get cocky.” He paused. “You do work on partial commission, yeah?”

Now looking like a contestant in the hot seat, Dresker slowly nodded his head as he realized he’d been bested.

“Well, ball’s in your court, mate,” Tommy finished as he stood from his chair and headed to walk out, stopping as he grabbed the handle on Y/N’s office door. “But I recommend you start over, and try to get on Miss Y/L/N’s good side. Trust me, on her bad side is not a place you want to be.”

Looking at Y/N over Dresker’s head, Tommy gave her a wink before he then opened the door to her office and headed back out into the club.

•.•.•.•.•

“Seriously, love, what are you doing in this industry? You missed your calling as a closer.”

It was later that night – well, 3:00 a.m. the next morning – when Tommy and Y/N finally had the chance to regroup after their meeting that afternoon with Dresker. 

Tommy had had to head to his office across town after their meeting to get some work done, but he’d returned to the club later that evening and spent a few hours going over the books in Y/N’s office. After that, he then made his way to the bar and occupied his usual seat at the far end. While she worked that evening, Y/N would stop by Tommy periodically between tasks, and the two of them had begun creating a schedule and itinerary of sorts for the evaluation of the other clubs Tommy had purchased. While the music wasn’t overwhelmingly loud, Y/N had had to lean across the bar multiple times to get closer to Tommy so that they could hear each other better, and there was no denying how much electricity they each felt when lips were skimming skin as they spoke into each other’s ears.

Now, Y/N just smiled at him over her shoulder as she was replacing a few bottles on the shelf, and Tommy continued.

“Screw this entire club thing,” he said. “You should be working at my office instead. I could use you for business deals.”

Y/N smiled again.

“Nice try, Shelby, but I’m not leaving this job, or abandoning our bet,” she said. “You may have stolen this place from me, but I’m getting it back.”

His expression becoming more serious, Tommy tilted his head.

“I didn’t steal it from you, Y/N. Are you really gonna keep thinking of it that way?”

Y/N fully turned to look at him.

“Well, the way you went about it sure made it feel that way,” she said. “And although you told Dresker that we make decisions together, you have yet to actually consult me on anything. You decided without me that we could no longer give any freebies, and you pulled that shit with the lights. You’ve done everything behind my back, and then expect me to think of it as a favor you’ve done.”

Tommy released a deep breath, bothered by the fact that she still felt this way about everything. He thought she’d come around to being OK with what had happened, but she obviously still had some resentment.

“I told you, love, that was never how I meant it. I’ve only ever tried to put you in a better position.”

Y/N held his eyes intently.

“You need to find a better way to go about it, then,” she replied. “Because how you currently function makes you seem greedy and dishonest, and like you don’t care about people.”

Frowning, Tommy stepped back from the counter and then walked around to the other side, moving to behind the bar and stopping several feet away from Y/N, their eyes connecting again as he spoke.

“Is that really how you see me, love?” he asked her.

Looking back at him, Y/N tilted her head. She opened her mouth and was about to speak, but before she could, they were startled by an ear-piercing bang towards the front of the club.

Both of them whipping their heads towards the noise, they had absolutely no time to even register what was happening before another identical sound rang out, preceding only a second before a man holding a gun appeared from around the corner and strode into the main bar area. Quickly, as he realized what was happening, Tommy tried moving closer towards Y/N to pull her behind him, but she’d already dashed away.

“Y/N!” Tommy called as she became out of his reach, and he saw her dart to the counter at the end of the bar to reach for her phone. But as soon as she grabbed it, she just as quickly dropped it, her hands shaking so wildly that it slipped from her fingers and landed on the floor several feet away. She moved to retrieve it, but another shot rang out as the man fired his gun again, Y/N shrieking in fear as the bullet whizzed past her dangerously close and hit a bottle on the back bar near where she was standing. Glass shattered everywhere and several additional bottles fell to the floor as her heart raced. Tommy looked at her, his heart pounding as he saw how narrowly the bullet had missed her, and he tried to get closer to her as she screamed.

“Don’t move!” the man shouted, still holding up his gun and aiming it at them again. 

Tommy reluctantly froze, his eyes darting to Y/N, but as she took a final step to steady herself, one of the bottles on the floor rolled under her foot, and she yelped again as she slid on it and tripped, falling against the counter, her ankle sprained. The commotion she created startled the man enough to cause him to shoot again, and Y/N cried out a short scream as she ducked. Tommy’s heart still pounding, he quickly shouted as he saw that the man was still aiming the gun towards Y/N.

“HEY!” he called, and the man turned, quickly refocusing on Tommy, aiming at him as they stared at each other. Still ducked down, Y/N quickly dropped the rest of the way to the floor, sliding down the wall of the back bar and landing roughly on her butt, her ankle throbbing. 

“Put your hands on the bar!” the man shouted at Tommy, who could see Y/N down on the floor out of the corner of his eye. Before he raised his hands in compliance, he quickly reached his flattened palm out in gesture to Y/N, indicating to her to stay down. He then slowly lifted his hands up and laid them on the bar top.

“What do you want, man?” Tommy calmly said, trying to keep the guy’s focus on him. As he spoke, Y/N looked up from below and saw Tommy’s face remaining neutral as he got the guy’s attention. Her heart was pounding, worried that Tommy’s attempt to temper the guy would lead to him getting hurt, or worse, shot.

“Where’s the register? Where’s the money? You just closed up, didn’t you?” the man asked, his shouting a stark contrast to Tommy’s calm tone.

Wincing at his volume, Y/N lowered her head again, and as she did, she saw her phone laying on the floor a few feet away, near where Tommy was standing. Slowly, and trying to be as quiet as possible, she shifted onto her hands and knees.

“It’s back here, mate,” Tommy said, still looking at the guy. “But it requires a PIN to open. You’re gonna have to let me move if you want me to open it for you.”

As Tommy spoke, Y/N began slowly crawling towards her phone, and Tommy could see her movements out of the corner of his eye. He silently prayed that she wouldn’t do anything stupid, noticing she clearly had an intention of some kind as she kept crawling closer.

The man took a few steps closer to the bar, his gun still raised, as he responded to Tommy.

“Open it up,” he said to him with a nod and then a jerk of his head, indicating to the register over Tommy’s shoulder.

Slowly, Tommy turned around, and as he did, he lowered his eyes to see Y/N crawl a few more feet across the broken glass on the floor before slowly reaching out with one hand and grabbing her phone, which he now realized was on the floor near his feet. He continued to move intentionally slowly, entering the PIN for the register on the digital screen and then pushing the button to open the drawer.

“It’s all yours, mate,” Tommy said, speaking loudly to try and allow Y/N to whisper without being heard. He intentionally jostled the drawer a bit and made the coins jingle in order to create even more noise.

As Tommy moved and spoke to the guy, Y/N silently opened the screen on her phone and dialed 911. As soon as the operator had answered, she waited until Tommy made noise above her before she whispered into the phone.

“Robbery. Guy has a gun.” She then waited again until Tommy made more noise before whispering their address. She then lowered the phone from her mouth, keeping the call active and silencing the ringer as she set it back down on the floor. As she looked up again, Tommy’s gaze lowered to her once more, and their eyes briefly met before the man with the gun shouted again.

“Hurry up! Now!”

Reaching into the till and pulling out all the cash, Tommy then grabbed the vinyl zip pouch kept next to the register. Slowly turning around, he laid it all on the bar top as he looked at the guy once again.

“Here ,” he said.

Still pointing the gun at him, the guy shouted again.

“Bring it to me!” he said to Tommy, but Tommy remained still.

“You’re the one with the gun, mate,” he said as he looked at him and shook his head once. “I’m not making any sudden movements.”

Narrowing his eyes, the man evaluated Tommy for just another moment before he jerked the gun in a gesture again.

“Put your hands where I can seem them!” he barked at Tommy.

Slowly raising his hands in the air, Tommy remained otherwise still as the guy slowly approached the bar, gun still aimed. Once he reached the counter, he looked at Tommy for just a moment before lowering one of his hands from the gun as he reached out for the stacks of bills in front of them and began hurriedly stuffing them into the vinyl pouch.

Tommy watched the guy for just a moment before quickly looking down to Y/N once more, who was huddling as close to the bar as she could in order to remain unseen. Returning his eyes to the robber, Tommy waited until the guy had lowered his head more while grabbing the money, and then he reached down and quickly grabbed a full, heavy bottle of liquor from below the rail.

In one forceful swing, Tommy lifted the bottle and then brought it crashing down over the guy’s head, glass shattering and liquid exploding everywhere as the guy shouted out and dropped his gun, which landed on the floor somewhere. Y/N winced again and covered her head with her arms as the debris fell down around her.

Immediately, Tommy’s arm then flew outward as he followed up his assault with a powerful blow to the guy’s face. Shouting out, the man stumbled and fell backwards, the punch enough to knock him out, and he landed roughly on the floor, slamming down onto his back.

Once he saw that the guy was unconscious, there was a brief moment of silence before Tommy slowly turned his head, looking down at Y/N who was several feet away and still clinging to the bar. Somewhere in the distance, the sound of sirens became more and more prominent as they approached, and Y/N looked up at Tommy, meeting his eyes as her body was trembling.

Tommy quickly took the steps to get to her, and then he immediately bent down and reached out, securing his arms under hers and pulling her up off the floor. As she reached standing position, Y/N wobbled on her feet slightly as Tommy held her. She raised her head to look in his eyes, and they stared at each other for just a moment before she let out a sob and Tommy pulled her against him.

His arms wrapping around her, Y/N uncontrollably released another sob as she willingly fell against him as the tears began running from her eyes. Hugging him back, she felt his grip protectively tighten around her, and he pressed his cheek against her temple as he spoke quietly to her.

“It’s alright, love,” Tommy said, his voice steady and soothing. “It’s alright now. I’ve got you.”

@nyxxie-pooh @xsweetcatastrophe @betty21rose @allie131313 @febris-amatoria

@beastofburdenxo @hannibellector @meister95 @fairytale07 @alltoowellbeneaththemangotree

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#modern tommy shelby x reader #modern tommy shelby #modern tommy shelby x female reader #modern tommy #modern tommy fic #modern tommy shelby smut #cillian murphy #cillian x fem!reader #cillian murphy smut #cillian fic #18+ only

[the-lonelybarricade]

A Blaze in the Dark - (12/14)

Summary: On the eve of her wedding, knowing nothing about her husband besides his apparent disinterest in his soon-to-be wife, Elain uses a spell to meet her true love in her dreams.

CW: Mentions of child abuse / violence against children

Read on AO3 ・Series Masterlist・Previous Chapter

-

A large free-standing clock sat in the corner of Lucien and Elain’s bedchamber.

It was weight-driven, its pendulum perpetually swinging back and forth, driving the gears of the clock so that the hands ticked forward at an ever-constant pace. Unlike the mechanics of Lucien’s prosthetic eye, which also clicked and whirred, the clock was the product of careful, precise science. Not magic.

Magic was unpredictable, steeped in ambiguity and nuance. Two people could mix a potion with identical measurements and yield entirely different results. Magic was tied to the soul, the very being of the person using it.

And yet, Lucien found the steady science of the free-standing clock to be the more unreliable. Magic was perplexing and inconstant, yes, but Time was far worse.

In the company of his wife, it moved rapidly—passing by before he could blink, or scramble to relish his newfound happiness. His and Elain’s honeymoon officially ended weeks ago, and yet he couldn’t fathom that he’d had her to himself for months. It felt like seconds, like grains of sand slipping past his fingers.

And now their time was up, and as Lucien untangled himself from her, he could hear the distance between each steady tick of the clock slowing down. Time stretched into eternity, and he felt each second brush against his body like it were an open wound, agonized to not be touching her, to be standing from the bed and saying, “Quickly, go with Vassa to the West Wing. That’s where you’ll be staying for the time being.”

Elain sat up. He could feel her wide, startled gaze on his back as he rummaged through their drawers for something acceptable to wear. “What?”

She sounded hurt. Of course she would be. They’d only recently begun sharing a room together after all of his foolishness, and now she was being relegated back to her role of the secluded wife.

If he turned his head, he swore he’d find the pendulum frozen mid-swing behind the glass casing. He wondered if this was how it felt to stand in line for the gallows—to feel the weight of time pressing in, knowing that as each moment crawled to the next, he was slowly becoming a passenger to his own doom.

In another circumstance, he would have sat down and explained the intricacies to her with all of the gentleness she was owed. But there was no gentle way to explain: my father is a monster and you are a pawn in his game. You were meant to be my greatest torment and instead you’re my true love; if he sees how happy you make me, he will do everything in his power to ruin it.

His lips parted. He wanted to tell her. He was dying to tell her. If not all of it, then at least the most important piece; You’re my true love, you’re my true love, you’re my true love. But they had minutes until King Beron arrived, barely enough time to reach the other end of the palace. A sharp fear was coiling in his gut and he knew she needed to leave now or she wasn’t going to make it.

Lucien didn’t want to rush this. He didn’t want to say it at all if he couldn’t tell her properly. And he was terrified of what his father would do if he somehow discovered the truth. Could she hide it if she knew? Would it change too much between them?

“Hurry,” he begged, pulling her undergarments from the drawer and tossing them towards the bed. As he began shrugging on his own clothes, he tried to reassure her. “It’s only temporary. But until my father leaves, I want us to pretend that we’ve never overcome our resentment of this arrangement.”

Elain’s brows furrowed. He worried he would need to be firmer to coax her out of bed, but after a moment of staring at the undergarments, she pushed aside the blankets and began dressing. Demanding only, “Why?”

“Our marriage was supposed to be a punishment,” he said, buttoning his undershirt with little care. “My father will not be happy to learn his plan backfired, and I intend for him to never find out.”

“But the servants—”

“Are loyal to me,” he asserted with more confidence than he felt. When he took over the estate, he had each of them vetted. He increased their pay, offered them housing, promised a better life than they’d received working for his father.

But loyalty could be swayed, especially by a cruel King, renowned for resorting to violence if necessary. If Beron plucked one of their servants and threatened their lives or families in exchange for information, Lucien couldn’t trust they would holdfast. And he wouldn’t expect them to. His hope was that if he and Elain were sufficient in their ruse, Beron wouldn’t see a reason to examine them any closer.

Elain was silent for so long that Lucien turned to look at her. She was holding the front of her stays to her chest, causing her breasts to swell around the neckline of her chemise. In the morning light, the bruises he’d sucked along her collarbone stood out sharply, and he was caught up in the sight, his mind already departing from the urgency of their situation as he recalled the way she’d come undone for him last night. It was just as well that she turned, revealing the back of her stays and forcing him back into the present.

It was instinct to go to her, grabbing hold of the laces and threading them through the metal eyelets without being asked. He would miss this routine they’d fallen into. There was no indication of how long his father intended to stay, but even a day apart would be excruciating.

“So I’m to play your resentful wife,” she said. Her voice was quieter than usual, harder to sift through for the emotion she usually wore so plainly. “Will we be denying that we… have we—”

“Consummated?” he asked with a laugh that was more breath than humour. “Yes, though it would be too improper for anyone to ask. You needn’t stress, Elain. He’ll look at you and see exactly what he wants to see.”

“And what will he see?”

“A wife who is far too perfect for the likes of me,” he said, pressing her shoulder gently to let her know he was finished. He wanted to see her face. To kiss her before she left. “He’ll fill in the rest himself—that I must be helplessly in love, and you must feel trapped.”

It was the cycle of King Beron’s own marriage. A man who held on too tightly and a wife who withered beneath his obsession.

“So I have to pretend to hate you?” she asked, sounding wary.

“That shouldn’t be too difficult, given how insufferable you insist you find me.”

She didn’t laugh. And he noticed she still wasn’t turning to face him.

“Elain—”

“I understand why we’re doing this.” She drew in a deep breath. “But I hate it.”

Guilt threatened to overwhelm him. Hadn’t he just promised Elain that he would endeavour to make her happy? He bowed against her, dropping his forehead to her crown. With his nose buried in her thick brown curls, he tried to inhale without making it too obvious. She smelled of jasmine and honey—the same as his true love. How many signs had he missed, so blinded by his own self-pity?

“I hate it, too,” he murmured against her hair. “If I had it my way, I’d keep you in our bed and never let you leave.”

Elain huffed. “We’d get bed sores.”

“Oh? Is that your only protest?”

An elbow jabbed into his side, knocking the breath from him in what was mostly a laugh.

But a knock at the door quickly sobered his humour. Vassa called to them, urging them to hurry. He realized he’d made the fatal flaw of touching his wife, and time had quickened pace once again.

Elain took another deep breath. “I need to go.”

He wished she didn’t sound so scared, just as he wished he could reassure her there was no reason to be.

Instead, he kissed the crown of her head and promised, “I’ll do everything in my power to keep him away from you. Their visit will be over before you realize it.”

-

Watch the King closely, Vassa had instructed. You are only permitted to eat while he is eating.

Elain thought she’d been exaggerating. When her governess had taught the etiquettes of dining, which of course had been confined to the etiquettes of the Southern Kingdom, the focus had been on ensuring that the Archeron sisters understood the importance of curbing their sharp tongues and hot tempers during mealtimes.

Their governess insisted that so long as a lady held her silverware properly and drew no explicit notice of herself beyond polite mingling when convention prescribed, she would be prepared for any occasion.

Elain did not feel prepared for this one.

No one was speaking. She’d been taught that at a formal gathering, the hostess would begin mingling with the person to their right for some indeterminate period, and the rest of the table would follow suit. But Elain puzzled over the imposed social hierarchy. In her own home, she would ordinarily be considered the hostess, but surely she should defer to the Queen?

She turned her head, hoping to acquire guidance from the older woman, who seemed kind, if a little distant. But her hopes were quickly dashed at the sight of the Queen’s russet eyes, riveted to her untouched plate with such vacancy that Elain believed she could run her hand in front of the woman’s face and elicit no response.

The men were no help, either. Eris Vanserra on one end of the table, smirking as though he found this all quaint and terribly amusing, and King Beron Vanserra on the other. He was glaring at his meal like the roasted game was terribly beneath him. Lucien sat to his father’s right, doing his best to look anywhere but at his wife, it seemed.

Was it quiet because she hadn’t spoken? Or would she be breaching conduct by attempting to speak out of turn? Surely, surely if she was expected to, Lucien would look at her, would give her some form of indication—

“Were these peasants caught on your grounds, brother?”

Elain withheld an exhale of relief that Eris was the first to break the silence.

“As of this morning,” Lucien answered with a nod.

The Crown Prince smirked. “Did you hunt them yourself?”

“Not on this occasion.” Lucien’s voice was thin, edging towards warning

Eris angled his head. “Are you out of practice?”

“I’ll remind you, I was on my honeymoon.”

“Ah.” Eris’s attention slid to Elain. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lucien stiffen. “What a devoted husband you are, then. I expect most men become stir-crazy during the confinement.”

“Most men do not live in palaces.” Lucien plucked his wine from the table, staring as he swirled the liquid within. A peculiar look crossed his face, as though he wished he could dive beneath the surface and escape this conversation entirely. “I wouldn’t reduce the luxury of this estate as confinement.” Then he looked up, at last dragging his eyes toward Elain, and added as though in afterthought, “Nor the company of my lovely wife, of course.”

It was absurd, the way one single glance could plunge her into flame. His gaze lasted hardly the space of two quickened heartbeats, before he pretended to find the bottom of his goblet more interesting.

“Of course,” Eris echoed, making no effort to sound convinced.

Elain dropped her eyes to her plate, hoping no one took any notice of the heat building in her cheeks. If they did, they would ideally assume that she saw through the veneer of her husband’s words—that she was embarrassed. Even so, Elain dug her fingers into the fabric of her skirt, fighting the urge to seek Lucien’s face, to reawaken the heat already lifting from her skin by the minute as the table once again delved into cold, stilted silence.

With a sneer, King Beron at last lifted his knife and began the elaborate task of cutting his roast into small, precise pieces. The Queen shifted, edging as close to Elain as the wooden armrests would allow. Elain tried not to indulge in conjecture, but her anxiety got the better of her, and she couldn’t help but wonder—was it the sight of a weapon in his hand that made the Queen nervous? Had she witnessed him employ that same precision on tasks far more cruel, more gruesome?

When the King finally took the first bite of his meal, permitting the rest of the table to begin, Elain found she’d lost her appetite. All she could think about was Lucien and how he’d lost his eye. How the man responsible for the scars on his face was sitting at their dining table, close enough to hurt him again.

She felt any lingering warmth inside her smoulder into ash. Into something black and dark. And angry.

All of the ladies in her family had short tempers. Elain knew this, and she understood that she was no exception, though she worked much harder than her sisters to contain the predilection. She’d always associated that anger with heat, like it was a fire she could douse with a bit of water, or stamp out beneath her shoe. But this was cold, slow-seeping like ice spreading across a lake. It was violent, in a way that was different than when her sisters used to yank on each other’s hair ribbons.

Elain wanted Beron Vanserra to pay for what he’d done to Lucien.

It was not the thought that startled her, more so the depth of its conviction. She might have spent longer dwelling on it, had there not been a commotion outside the dining room. At first, the Vanserras seemed intent on ignoring it, with only a cursory glance from Lucien towards the Housekeeper, who immediately scurried off to settle the disturbance.

The King huffed, pausing with his meal long enough to lob a scathing glance toward his youngest son. Elain couldn’t decide if he was offended by the interruption or simply disapproved that Lucien didn’t exert firmer control over his estate. With the way servants quivered in the King’s presence, Elain imagined the residents of the King’s palace were too terrified to risk disturbing his mealtimes.

Outside, the shouting became louder as the Housekeeper slipped back into the dining room. She wavered at the entrance, throat bobbing, before she scurried straight for Lucien.

“Your Highness.” She bowed. Her knuckles turned white where she fisted them in her apron. “I apologize for interrupting your meal. You’re needed in the foyer.”

Lucien set his napkin on the table. “Has someone arrived?”

“No, sire.” The Housekeeper hesitated, glancing nervously towards the King. “There’s been a dispute.”

“I shall handle it,” Lucien said, already rising from his chair.

But the King had set down his silverware and fixed his razor-sharp eyes on the Housekeeper. There was something predatory in the way he angled his head, an air of calculation that raised the hairs on Elain’s arms.

King Beron leaned forward, and it was like watching a snake curl around its prey. His voice was dark and rumbling as he asked, “What sort of dispute?”

The Housekeeper dropped into a deep bow. “A.. a p-poacher, Your Majesty.”

Every line and divot on the King’s face twisted into rage. “A poacher?” He demanded, voice rising. “Of whose land? Ours?”

Ours, Elain wanted to snap. But the distinction didn’t matter. Poaching on any land was a capital offence, never mind land belonging to the Royal Family. Who would be so bold to even dare, especially when the King was visiting?

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The Housekeeper’s voice was weak, warbling over every syllable as if they were notes being plucked by an amateur musician. “A young b-boy. The guards caught him moments ago with a rabbit.”

“A boy?” Elain couldn’t help herself from speaking, and she noticed Lucien jerk at the sound of her voice. “How old is he?”

The King slammed his fist on the table, jostling their dining ware and causing the dark wine in his goblet to splash over the rim. “Foolish girl! It doesn’t matter how old he is.” He rose to his feet, seemingly incensed by her womanly concern. He pointed towards the Housekeeper. “Let me see this criminal.”

“I can handle it, Father,” Lucien said. “Please. You should continue enjoying your meal.”

The King offered his son a withering look. It was clear he had no intention of removing himself from the situation, but perhaps he fashioned himself as giving Lucien a chance by asking, “Do you intend to deal with the boy as our laws command?”

Elain covered her mouth with her hands. The penalty for poaching was execution. As far as she knew, there were no stipulations regarding age.

Lucien levelled his shoulders. “First, I intend to assess the situation. It may be a misunderstanding.”

An unsatisfactory response. It was clear the King would settle for no less than the boy’s death, regardless of the circumstances. Ignoring his son altogether, Beron turned towards the guards at the door and ordered them to bring in the poacher.

“Father,” Eris protested, sitting up in his chair, “Perhaps this could wait—”

The doors to the dining room were pushed open by two armed guards, each hauling the elbow of a snivelling child who couldn’t have been more than eight. He was so slight that his bones would surely snap from how tightly the grown men restrained him, and as he lifted his head to see the royal family, Elain was met with a pair of wide, watery brown eyes. Ones that she recognized with dawning horror.

Somehow, the sight of the trembling boy did nothing to subdue the King’s anger. He moved closer to inspect the child, his expression hardening at the sight of the dirt on his threadbare clothes. “What were you doing on our lands?”

The boy flinched, then immediately hitched into a sob. He screwed his eyes shut, blubbering, “I—I… M-My…”

“Out with it!” The King snapped.

Each of the boy’s attempts to speak were strangled by sobs or sharp, hiccuping breaths. The King raised his palm, stepping forward like he intended to beat the answer out of him, when the Housekeeper at last interjected, her voice little more than a raw, broken whisper.

“He’s my boy, Your Majesty.”

That small declaration must have been a mallet to her composure, because the Housekeeper’s expression immediately crumpled. She dropped to her knees, pressing her head to the floor. “Please,” she sobbed, shoulders heaving. “Please take mercy on him. He’s just a boy.”

At this, the King directed his outrage towards Lucien. “You’ve employed maids with children?”

“She is our Housekeeper,” Lucien said, voice lethally calm. “Mrs. Laurent does good work. And her boy has not been the cause of any trouble before this day.”

“Nor beyond it.” The King’s declaration cracked through the room, so sharp that Elain glanced towards her dinner plate, half-expecting the porcelain would begin to splinter. “The boy is to be sent to the gallows the same as any poacher would.”

Elain raised a hand to smother the cry rising in her throat, knowing it would pay the boy no favours if the King believed he was being undermined by her sympathies. But Lucien noticed the noise, and the distress that was plain on her face, and stepped protectively between the child and his father.

“Surely, the boy isn’t deserving of such a severe—”

“He is a thief,” the King spat. “If we enact mercy due simply to his age, what’s to stop poachers from sending children to steal on their behalf?”

“Poaching has rarely been a problem on our lands,” Luicen reasoned.

“Because we have never allowed it to be. Leniency threatens order. It demonstrates weakness.”

“Mercy is not a weakness!”

Every head in the room swivelled to Elain—even the guards, who, until this moment, had managed to coax their expressions into neutrality. Now, their careful stoicism morphed into horror. Elain wished she could claim she didn’t know what came over her. But in truth, she knew exactly what it was: it was the child, with snot and tears running down his face, crying for his mother while adults debated whether or not he deserved to live. And their Housekeeper, who was still on her knees not two paces away, pleading for her child’s life.

Not that Elain’s outburst counted for much. She was a woman, royal only through a marriage of convenience, and she could see the moment her words were discredited as hysterics.

Beron curled his lip at the sight of her tears, then turned to his son. “My point precisely. If you adequately punished your wife for speaking out of turn, she would know her place, the same as this boy. Your clemency weakens your control.” He clicked his tongue in disgust. “Perhaps you are not fit to run an estate.”

Eris, who had been watching this unravel through the rim of his drink, set his goblet down and rolled his knuckles over the wooden table. “While I agree, Father, perhaps there is a better-suited punishment for the child than death? The villagers may view the penalty as too severe, and it would be unwise to sow dissent before a potential war.”

“Death has always been the punishment for poaching,” King Beron said. There was a finality in his tone that threatened to escalate into violence should he be pushed further, but Eris persisted as though immune to his father’s wrath.

“Those poachers have invariably been grown men.” Eris gestured to the boy, whose sobs had quieted to small, sniffling whimpers. “They will view a child’s execution differently. That’s not to say the crime should go unpunished.”

The King shifted, folding his arms behind his back as he contemplated his son’s words. “What did you have in mind?”

“The boy could enlist in our army,” Eris suggested. “If we send him to the front lines, he could at least die in service of our Kingdom.”

There was no emotion in his voice, Elain noticed. No remorse for a child being sent to war before he was old enough to support the weight of a gun. No sorrow as he spoke about the child dying in battle. This was purely strategy to him, a death better served in his favour.

Elain was horrified to see Beron was considering it. He began pacing in thought, each of his steps ringing through the room like a death knell. The child attempted to scramble away at his approach, but the guards held him still, not struggling in the least against the strength of a child.

Beron examined the weeping boy with an intent that made Elain’s blood grow cold.

“Lucien,” he said, turning to his son. “Do you find this suggestion acceptable?”

Was it a test? Lucien looked as though he were wondering the same, glancing between the boy and the Housekeeper and the King who demanded their anguish in the name of a rabbit. As if their dinner table wasn’t piled with untouched food.

Lucien’s throat bobbed. “Yes, Father. I do.”

The Housekeeper immediately began wailing, which only renewed the boy’s terrified cries. Elain tried not to feel betrayed by her husband’s answer. She knew it was a better outcome than sending him to the gallows. In the army, he at least had a chance to survive. Perhaps the other soldiers would take pity on him, and would rally around the child to see him through any upcoming conflict unharmed.

“Good,” said the King with a nod. “As do I. But he will need to be disciplined in the interim. Twenty lashes by your hand should suffice. Guards—remove the boy’s shirt.”

Even Eris looked disturbed.

“I—” All the blood drained from Lucien’s face. Elain wondered if he was going to be sick as he watched the guards grab and yank at the flailing child. “You want me to whip the boy?”

Beron’s smile was the vile, poisonous sort. “You wanted him pardoned from the gallows. Do you withdraw your conviction on the matter?”

Lucien didn’t say anything for a moment. He was staring at the child, who had been spun in the opposite direction, his back now exposed as the two guards held him taut. The boy was thin enough to count the notches on his spine. But other than the sharp indentations of his bones, the boy’s skin was smooth and unmarred—unlike Lucien’s, which was littered with scars in odd, criss-crossing shapes that Elain now understood the origins of.

One of the servants came forward at the King’s request, producing a whip that Beron held out to his youngest son. And Lucien dragged his eyes away from the child to stare at the whip in his father’s hands. She thought she might have seen him flinch before he accepted it, clenching his jaw tight as he unfurled the rope.

Eris finally stood from his chair. “Perhaps I should escort the ladies somewhere more—”

“They will stay.” The King looked directly at Elain. “Witnessing the boy’s punishment may help them gain clarity on the ways of the world. And the importance of knowing one’s place.”

The emphasis of his words weighed heavily on Elain. Was he making Lucien whip the child because of her outburst? She ducked her head as he continued to stare, unable to stomach the perverse gleam in his eye—it seemed to be the most the King was enjoying himself all evening.

Meanwhile, the servants standing watch on the far wall shifted, turning their heads away. Even the guards holding the child seemed to avert their eyes. No one would relish this injustice. Least of all his mother. She’d lifted her head at the sound of the rope slapping the floor, and her pleads became silent, trembling shapes on her lips.

Elain couldn’t stand it anymore. She pushed out her chair, intending to go to the woman, to at least offer comfort while she was made to endure her son’s pain. A pale hand grasped her arm to stop her. Startled, Elain turned to the Queen, whose grip possessed surprising strength, given her slight figure.

“It will only make things worse,” she said. Quietly. Firmly.

Her russet eyes glimmered with unshed tears, and beneath them, Elain could see a depth of sorrow she could never hope to wade through. Fear, helplessness, grief—each of them wedged and threaded between Elain’s ribs, drawing her chest in tighter, until she was certain she couldn’t breathe. If the Queen couldn’t do anything to stop this, what hope did Elain have?

Realizing that the Queen was waiting for a response, and no longer trusting her own voice, Elain nodded her understanding and slumped back in her seat. Satisfied, the Queen released her grip on Elain’s arm, but instead of withdrawing completely, she reached over to clasp Elain’s hand.

Lucien glanced over at the movement, studying his wife and his mother, the tears on both of their faces. And Elain thought she’d never seen him look so conflicted.

“Someone get the child a bit,” Lucien said. His voice was unrecognizable to Elain—as if someone had squeezed it through a cheesecloth, straining all of its warmth and vibrance, leaving only a dilution of the man it belonged to.

She thought it must be exactly what Beron wanted, grinning to himself as he watched a guard slide a small piece of wood between the child’s trembling lips. He wanted Lucien to betray his kind heart, to forsake the good nature he’d somehow managed to preserve despite the years of cruelty he’d endured. Elain thought the King wouldn’t be satisfied until he’d broken and moulded his sons into his own mirror image.

Lucien drew back the whip with a haunted expression, as if he was recalling each moment he’d been on the receiving end. Did his scars sting as he raised the whip over his shoulder, mourning the pain he would inflict, knowing precisely how it would feel, that he would be the first to leave a mark on this child’s skin?

The rope cleaved the air. Elain ducked her head before it struck. She couldn’t watch, she couldn’t bear it. Even the child’s strangled scream through the wooden plank was too much. The Queen offered Elain’s hand a tight squeeze, but it wasn’t enough.

At the second strike, the cries of the mother and child rose and blended until they became a single, distant resonance. The details of the tablecloth were becoming blurred, the candlelight arcing in her vision. Elain pressed a hand to her mouth, turning in her seat so as not to hurl her supper into the Queen’s lap.

It was then she met a pair of amber eyes, watching her with none of the pleasure she’d seen from King Beron. Eris’s hand was clenched around his goblet and he slouched in a way that spoke of indifference, but all of the blood had drained from his knuckles. He took one look at Elain, seconds from spilling her dinner over the floor, and set down his goblet.

Then slid it across to her.

Elain peered over the rim of the glass to see that it wasn’t wine, but rather a deep, caramel-coloured liquid with a strong odour that made her stomach curl. She doubted it would keep her from losing her supper.

But Eris nodded, as if to say, Go ahead. Drink it.

She remembered what Lucien said when he discovered she’d caught the fever, how he’d accused Eris of giving her something at the wedding. If Lucien suspected his brother was capable of poisoning her, she would be wise to heed his caution.

That thought was dashed away by the third strike. Even Eris flinched at the child’s agony.

“Someone control her,” the King ordered.

For a moment, Elain thought he was referring to her, until Eris wiped his thumb across his lower lip, gave Elain a final nod, and stood up to collect the hysteric Housekeeper, who was being restrained by a pair of male servants.

“I’ll handle her,” Eris volunteered.

After a moment’s consideration, the King consented, and Eris directed the servants towards the far door, which led into the scullery. Elain didn’t want to consider how one might handle things in there. Would he have her tongue removed for protesting? This was the same family that had their youngest son’s eye removed for wandering outside his approved consorts, after all. If that was how they punished their sons, how brutally did they punish their servants?

Elain looked at the goblet. Her fingers stirred, moving toward the stem before she could think better of it. She had seen Eris drinking from the goblet. By that reasoning, its contents couldn’t cause her any harm. But he’d passed it towards her for a reason—could it have truly been out of kindness?

Her stomach jolted at the next crack of the whip, and that was all the encouragement her fingers needed to latch onto the goblet and down its contents in a single gulp.

-

Elain’s head was spinning when she lifted it from her pillow the next morning. And the light ripping through the curtains was far too pervasive, near-blinding her as she fumbled her way to her bathing and retched into the toilet until she’d emptied her stomach.

She longed to return to her bed, but possessed neither the strength nor the will to get back to her feet. Elain settled for collapsing on the tiled floor, relishing the cool press of tile against her flushed and clammy skin.

That was how Vassa found her hours later.

“Your Highness!” She exclaimed, dropping to her knees beside Elain. She pressed two fingers to her neck, exhaling when she could feel a pulse. “I’ll go fetch Prince Lucien—”

“No,” Elain grasped weakly at Vassa’s elbow. Her stomach lurched at just that small movement. Bile climbed the back of her throat, threatening to flood her mouth as the world violently twisted and spun. It was an effort to shake her head. “I don’t want to worry him needlessly.”

Not when he’d warned her they needed to maintain distance, and certainly not after what he’d been forced to do last night. She could imagine he was anguishing over hurting the child, and the last thing he needed was the burden of caring for her as well. Especially when her illness was the direct result of her own foolishness.

Vassa looked as though she disagreed, but she nodded all the same. “Would you like help getting back to the bed?”

“No.” Elain was certain she’d be sick again if she tried to move. “Actually, Vassa, if you could… would you be able to fetch Prince Eris instead?”

“Prince Eris?”

She grimaced at the shock in her companion’s voice. “Yes. Whatever ails me, I think he may know the remedy. Do you think you would be able to ask him—discreetly?”

Vassa drew back, pressing her lips together. Elain could understand her discomfort, especially in the wake of last night’s events. Everyone in the palace would be on edge, hesitant to call much attention to themselves lest they earn the King’s wrath.

Seeking Eris for assistance and asking that it be done discreetly… even if Vassa believed the request was innocent, they both knew it would not be interpreted charitably should word get out. Never mind how Lucien would feel to learn this had been kept from him.

It was an unfair request. Elain was already retracting it, prepared to weather the illness on her own, when Vassa stood up and brushed the skirts of her dress. “I’ll be back soon, my lady.”

Then she disappeared from Elain’s line of sight in a blur of red curls and swishing skirts. Elain dropped her head back to the floor, inwardly fretting at the thought that Vassa might return with the Prince while she was in such an undignified state.

She screwed her eyes shut, trying to battle the sensation of the world spinning. But the moment she lost sight of the bathing room, she swore the ground slipped out beneath her, sucking her down into the epicentre of a whirlpool that spun and spun and threatened to drown her beneath its surface.

Opening her eyes allayed the illusion but introduced its own set of difficulties. Any amount of light was too much, and in the white-tiled bathing room, it was everywhere, leaking in shades of blushing rose from the stained glass of the large circular window. Ordinarily, that light was soft and soothing, but at present, it hurtled upon her in shards, piercing behind her eyes and temples.

Uncertain which was more unbearable, Elain weathered the piercing light and violent twirling in increments—opening her eyes for a time, then shutting them. With no presence of mind to count the passing seconds, it was easy to lose track of time, and she hadn’t the slightest idea how long she laid there before the bedroom door clicked open.

“Vassa?” she called, though she doubted it carried far enough to be heard.

“My, what a sorry state the blood spice has made of you.”

Elain stiffened. That wasn’t Vassa’s voice. She lifted her head weakly, meeting the sharp amber eyes of Eris Vanserra.

Despite the amusement in his voice, he wasn’t grinning.

“Is that what you gave me?” She asked, uncurling from her fetal position in an attempt to sit up.

To her surprise, Eris kneeled beside her to place a steadying hand on her upper back. “Well,” he mused, guiding her into an upright position with a gentleness she didn’t know he possessed. “It was partially mixed with brandy.”

Elain knew imbibing in too much brandy could result in sickness, but she’d never had such a strong reaction. Wary, she asked, “What’s blood spice?”

“A powder,” he said cryptically. He drew his hand back, wavering it behind her as if testing whether or not she would collapse back to the floor without his support. Once he was satisfied she wouldn’t fall over, he reached into his chest pocket and withdrew a small vial of a blue liquid. “This should alleviate its adverse effects.”

He uncorked the vial with a soft pop and held it towards Elain, as if expecting she would blindly drink anything he offered her.

Elain wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice. She flinched away from the vial, and lobbed him a disapproving look. “What kind of powder?”

“The kind that makes the horrors of last night slightly more bearable.” At her beseeching look, he sighed. “It’s a powder that aids in… let’s say forgetfulness.”

“Forgetfulness?” Elain blinked. “But I remember last night perfectly well.”

Eris raised a scarlet brow. “Do you? Then pray tell, how did you get back to your room?”

“I…” Elain blinked, searching the swirling reservoir of her mind. She was certain she’d be able to find the answer as soon as her every thought stopped melting into a shapeless puddle.

“What happened to the boy?” He pressed. “The Housekeeper? Your own husband?”

“You took the Housekeeper away,” she said confidently. “And then Lucien…”

What had happened to Lucien? He continued administering the lashes at the King’s behest. And afterwards, surely, he must have retired to reconcile with his guilt.

“Lucien tried to convince Father to let the boy stay overnight,” Eris said, filling in the gaps of her memory. “But Father insisted on sending him to the regiment without proper care. Lucien saw that the boy was delivered to the camp and returned earlier this morning with the enlistment papers to prove it.”

“He didn’t even get to wish his mother goodbye?” Elain asked, blinking back renewed tears for the child.

Eris shrugged. “Such is the way of the world.”

It was such a callused response that she couldn’t help but recoil. He wasn’t Lucien, she reminded herself. He didn’t possess the same kind heart that would have accepted her grief and mourned alongside her. It would be unwise to speak freely with him, but the words pressed down on her tongue and she felt her lips curling back, begging to fling her criticism towards him.

The Crown Prince read her expression and laughed, tilting his chin like he was indulging a child. “Go on then. Regale me with your box seat morals.”

Elain’s mouth popped open. No one had ever spoken to her in such a condescending tone. “Excuse me?”

“You stand so strongly on your beliefs, but you’ve never been in a position to have them tested.” His eyes narrowed. “You can ridicule me for sending the child to war, but it saved his life.”

“I’m not denying that it was an impossible choice,” she said, affronted. “But I am disturbed to see that it grieves you so little—”

He cut her off with a sharp laugh. “I don’t trouble myself with grief. And as a Vanserra, neither should you.”

“But it’s integral to being human,” she protested, clutching her chest. She could feel her heart hammering beneath her shift. “To having a heart.”

Eris smiled. It didn’t meet his eyes. “Oh, Elain,” he said, almost like a chiding. “No one has ever accused me of having such a thing.”

He held out the vial with a gravity that said if she didn’t accept it now, she would lose her chance entirely.

“It’s an anecdote for the blood spice,” he explained. “Drink it or don’t, the difference hardly matters to me.”

After a moment’s hesitation, she stiffly wrapped her fingers around the smooth glass. It was still warm from his pocket. “Will it draw forth the memories the blood spice suppressed?”

“Yes,” he said, rising to his feet. “Hence why magic always comes at a price.”

Elain wondered at his meaning. How often did he endure the nausea and headaches to repress the worst of his family’s cruelty?

He made it a step towards the door before she called, “Eris?”

“Yes?”

Her throat tightened. “Why were you drinking a forgetfulness powder to begin with?”

It seemed to amuse him that she had the courage to ask. With a shrug, he explained, “Its effects have dulled on me over time. At that dosage, I think of it more as providing numbness.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

He inclined his head. “May you feel better soon, lady,” he said, before slipping out the door.

-

“You have lovely penmanship.”

Elain lifted the tip of her quill from the parchment. The ink was fresh, still lifting off the page in delicate lettering that she re-examined with fresh eyes. She’d never been complimented on her handwriting before. Compliments from her governess had always been reserved for perfection, which she insisted that Elain and her sisters rarely achieved.

“Thank you,” she said, placing the quill into the ink pot to stretch her fingers. She’d been writing invitations all day, and her hands were beginning to ache from the strain. “My governess ensured I practiced each morning, though I doubt she ever imagined I’d be writing letters to such important people.”

A not-so-small voice in her head still wondered who she was to be writing letters to princes and dukes and viscounts. Growing up she’d been assured she would be able to marry anyone she wanted, but she always assumed her husband would be a lord at most. Now she was inviting foreign royalty to a ball in honor of her marriage.

Lucien’s mother offered her a tight smile. In the week since she and King Beron arrived at the estate, Elain had yet to see her mother-in-law offer a full smile. “I understand what you mean. Like you, I never anticipated marrying into royalty.”

Questions burned on Elain’s tongue. She wanted to ask more about the Queen’s past, but as she turned to look at the older woman, her eyes caught on the slight discoloration around her neck. The large floor-ceiling window in the library meant the space was well-lit, and there was nothing to disguise the powder dusted over her throat, just a shade too light to blend seamlessly into her porcelain skin.

When Vassa was helping Elain get ready that morning, she’d shared that a healer had been called to the Queen’s bedchamber the night before. She was staying only a few doors down from Elain in Western Wing. King Beron was supposedly staying on the opposite end of the palace, nearer to Lucien. And though Vassa didn’t disclose the details of the Queen’s condition or its cause, she did give Elain a firm warning:

Make sure to lock your door at night.

Elain didn’t need the specifics to know the Queen’s story wasn’t a happy one. She swallowed her curiosity and instead offered a polite, “I would never guess. You’re well suited to it, Your Majesty.”

Another false smile, this one warmer, edging closer to sincerity than the others. Elain decided it was a small victory.

She felt compelled to lighten the Queen’s mood where possible, if only because she looked so much like Lucien that Elain couldn’t bear to see her unhappy. She had the same striking features, though her red hair was more muted, her russet eyes a bit duller. And her complexion was deathly pale, as if she’d been deprived of sunlight for years. It caused Elain to wonder where Lucien’s warm, rich brown tones had come from. Certainly not Beron—who was equally ashen and didn’t resemble his youngest son much at all.

“Are you excited to see your sisters?” The Queen asked, drawing Elain from her musings.

“Yes, very much so,” Elain answered. “I’ve missed them terribly.”

It was the truth, though Elain had been weary of inviting them. She knew their attendance was the very purpose of the ball she was hosting at Eris and King Beron’s behest. Allegedly, they were being encouraged to celebrate the marriage of Prince Lucien and Princess Elain, but all that truly mattered was the attendance of Feyre’s husband, Prince Rhysand.

By writing this invitation, was she being complicit in some horrible scheme? Would they try to harm Feyre to get Prince Rhysand to comply? She tried to reassure herself that Prince Rhysand was clever and capable of assessing any threats against him or his wife. If he thought it would be dangerous to attend, he wouldn’t.

Unless he thought that Nesta and Elain were in danger, that small voice whispered. Maybe Rhysand wouldn’t care, but Feyre would. And if he was her true love, maybe he would do what she asked even if it was against his own intuition.

Her stomach tightened with guilt, but with the Queen watching over her shoulder, and Beron’s royal attendants standing watch by the wall, she had no choice but to snatch up the quill and finish the remainder of the invitation.

“It must have been lonely moving to this palace after growing up with sisters,” the Queen said. There was a weight to her voice, and Elain guessed she understood the pain of having a distant husband more deeply than Elain could fathom from the short period she and Lucien vowed to live separate lives.

Elain clamped down on the instinct to assure the Queen that her son kept her from true loneliness. It was the response a mother would surely wish to hear, that her son was kind and attentive, even when he swore he would not act as her husband. But Elain was meant to be wearing a mask of resentment, and it caused her to fumble for the correct response.

Even a resentful woman would dress up her anguish with pretty, painted lies.

She tried her best impression of the Queen’s forced smile. “It’s a beautiful home,” she said. It was the sort of deflection a polite lady would reach for, a truth that didn’t quite answer the question. “But I do look forward to seeing it filled with guests.”

The Queen nodded. “Of course. As do I. The ladies in my court will be arriving tomorrow. I look forward to introducing you to your peers.”

There was no true excitement on the older woman’s face, and that told Elain all it needed to about her peers. She imagined they would be vultures eager to circle a princess still finding her feet in these new social circles. She’d previously been excited by the prospect of meeting her mother-in-law’s court, but now the thought filled her with as much dread as she felt pressing the quill to the bottom of her letter.

They would all be watching Elain. Her sisters, the Queen, her court. Eris and Beron Vanerra. Lucien. She felt distinctly as though they were all pieces being laid out on a chessboard, and she was the first pawn to move forward.

With a heavy sigh, she scribbled her signature across the page.

Your sister,

Princess Elain Vanserra

#Remember when this was going to be 7 chapters? 🤡 #ABITD #A Blaze in the Dark #Elucien #Elucien fanfic #Elucien fanfiction #Elucien fic #Elain x Lucien #Lucien x Elain

[makemake22]

Sometimes The Cure Is...

bunch of fluff scenarios for someone who writing something, haha...

I write this as payback, haha. I like how Law want to give some crochet. For note, i did crochet once before i stop because i don't have patience to do it.

The reason why i make this as some scenarios because one of it gonna be use for my oc x canon story. And it's time to go to bed, i ruined my sleeping schedule several days ago and yep...

Dancing!

"Law, come on!" you pulling him to the dance floor. You noticed Law was staring at you while you were dancing with your crew. So, instead just letting him stare and longing, a cliche word even if he doesn't want to admit it, you decided to pull him to the middle of the dance floor.

"YN, no," Law ears are red. You can see it even though it was hiding behind his hair and hat. His gray eyes glance at the Strawhat crew that is watching. They're basically in a bar. They can't just dance like this. But unlike his thought of wary, you simply didn't care about it and keep pulling him to the middle of the bar.

Law relent, and he decide to follow your request. You smiled widely at him. You pulled his hand, guide him. Even though you really want to do some random move according to the music, Law might got more awkward. So you decide this.

Law is no stranger to a dance. Doflamingo taught him several times and made him dance with Baby 5 when he was little. But those not what he wanted to remember right now.

Right, new memories.

Without you knowing, he already placed his hand on your waist and moved around. Both of you begin to dance. You feel like you were embraced by the wind or something, from how grace it was. Your eyes linger quietly at his gaze that seem in distance.

His grey eyes that it shines hide behind the shadow of his hat, his small spiky bangs poke through his hat. You hold his hand tightly, trying to not lean into his chest and makes this as a slow dance because, damn, you really love him. So much.

Drawing!

Both of you lean your back to each other. Both of you busy with sketchbook. Of course, after knowing your captain aka boyfriend can draw, how could you resist asking him to do some art date?

Even so, knowing him, Law would rather do this in the sub or his room than outside. So, you comply. How did you know again? Well, you were collecting his files because he told you so. When you tidy it up, you see some doodles and even detailed drawings of organs. And since then, you blackmail ask him to show his sketchbook or some of his drawings.

"YN, are you done?" he asked. You shake your own head. Because you are trying to keep yourself not smiling and simping over your drawing. You capture his face correctly. Well, not exactly. You draw him smiling. Which was rare. He rarely smiles. And if his crew got their hands on this drawing, they would tease him for sure.

"Done!" Both of you showed the drawings. You stunned at his drawing. It's semi realism.. Dang, you never saw him draw any people onn his sketchbook so seeing him draw you makes you a bit speechless...

Law on the other hand, had his cheeks red. He thought you would draw him in sexy pose or some handsome outfit like what you always did. But no, you draw him with a smile on his lips. Both of them draw each other smiling, so it was equal right?

"this isn't fair," Law immediately take the drawing you had away. You squeak and trying to reach it. "Come on, Law! Which part isn't fair?"

A smirk tugging his lips. He lean just in time when you jump. A kiss landed on your lips.

"I am taking these," Law said as he get outside. You, on the other hand, grumbling and murmur about his weird attitude.

On the other side of the door, Law had his hand on hisi lips, covering half of his face. If he didn't get outside immediately, you're gonna tease his reaction. Is this how people see his smile? Is that why they really wanted to make him smile? Or is this because your drawing skills are just good?

Whatever it is, he can't help but realize, that even himself, find his smile warm. Even though he smile more with you, he never feel his smile warm. But he glad everyone saw the opposite.

Okay guys, i am sleep first. I gonna update later.

#trafalgar law x reader #trafalgar law headcanons #cheese writing #trafalgar d water law #trafalgar law one piece #law x reader