#(even though that's not their ship name!?!? what is????)

[sparkletastic-cookiedough]

Barbara calls Damian-Robin her “little brother”. I’m not using a version of Barbara Gordon that has a romantic relationship with Bruce.

That being said, reincarnating into different bodies probably messes with a lot of things, not just family structure.

//-\\-//-\\

Barbara Gordon knows she’s strange, even before the memories come in.

She’s incredibly smart for her age. She’s enrolled in a class for gifted children, and even then she learns quickly and easily. She’s incredibly advanced for her age. It’s as though she already knows everything the teachers tell her. She’s best at science and math, but she has skills in other places. The first time that she opens a book on Psychology, she feels as though she’s already read it dozens of times.

She learns to hide her intelligence once certain people take notice and start questioning things. After all, no human should be able to do calculus at eight years old, so it’s no wonder a few conspiracy theorists tried to kidnap her…

Barbara Gordon learns how to hack, how to hide her presence, how to use a computer with the same ease she learns everything. Somewhere in her mind, she already knew it.

She learns to run, to evade, to fight back in case a few weirdos try to kidnap her again.

Few things actually feel new to her, but when they are new, it feels wonderful.

She becomes obsessed with reading mystery novels. Sometimes she can predict the ends, but most times she’s on the edge of her seat trying to figure it out.

She has a strange relationship with the idea of Bruce Wayne. He’s a local celebrity, but something about the guy always feels fake to Barbara. She gets the feeling that he’s hiding something, but doesn’t have any proof. At the same time, he feels familiar. It’s comfortable to hear that he’s doing well.

And then there’s Batman.

She loves the local hero. She wants him to be safe, she wants to help him, she feels like she belongs at his side.

It’s completely irrational. No one would let a child out on the streets of Gotham. The thought of someone so young fighting crime makes her tense.

No one except Batman, apparently, because only a few months later, Robin shows up in a yellow cape and elf boots.

Thus, Batgirl makes her debut. If she can take out the nastier criminals, that means Robin doesn’t have to deal with them.

Fighting crime comes as easily as the rest of things- it’s a skill that she feels she’s learned before, and is relearning. Occasionally, she reaches for a gun that doesn’t exist. She tries out pistols at the shooting range at the police station, but none of them feel right.

She sticks to her makeshift Batarangs. Making her own equipment is the perfect blend of familiar and not-familiar. She learns the fundamentals of engineering with ease, then applies them with a bit of trouble. It’s thrilling to learn how to make a grappling hook from scratch, while not having to work too hard to master the physics behind it.

She meets Batman. Instantly, she feels oddly protective of the man, as though she’s supposed to be looking out for him, not the other way around. It’s difficult to express this idea when he constantly beats her at sparring.

Still, she’s better than him when it comes to technology, and she outclasses him by far when it comes to psychology.

She takes on Robin as a bit of a little-brother figure. Something about the role feels natural to Barbara.

This leads her to learning the identities of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. It leads to her becoming their unofficial family member.

She loves Alfred. She cries the first time she meets him, but she doesn’t know why.

Then, she starts strange dreams. Dreams of being a different person: taller, thinner, less muscular. Faces and names are blurs, but are becoming clearer over time.

What’s weird about these dreams, is that many of them are true. She can remember the grand opening of a factory, smiling next to a man she thinks of as her husband, then watching the CEO of a shipping company fall off a stage. The event, as Barbara found out with some digging, was televised.

It actually happened. Arthur McKinley fell off the stage. His stupid green suit is exactly the same as she remembers it.

Some memories- if that’s what these are-aren’t provable, or might be false. She remembers seeing technology that doesn’t exist, a land with a green sky, dancing with a pirate, riding a dinosaur, hundreds of little things that never happened, probably could never happen.

She doesnt tell Bruce. She doesn’t want to worry him with her problems. Something about that logic feels familiar yet again.

Barbara isn’t interested in romance. The guys her age feel really immature. In her dreams, she’s married. She feels romantic love.

She’s never felt that outside of a dream.

Then she dreams of a little baby named Bruce, and she knows just whose memories she’s been getting.

Zatanna Zatara ends up explaining things to her. She’s a reincarnation. Over time, her memories will continue to come in, and her personality will start to blend with past versions of herself.

It’s odd. Some days her body feels entirely wrong. She looks in the mirror and sees a stranger. She writes down the wrong name on a test at school, gets questions on history tests wrong.

It adds up. Eventually, she tells Bruce.

The conversation is long, and full of tears. Bruce learns he doesn’t exactly have his mom back- Barbara isn’t exactly the same. Time has changed them both.

Martha was Bruce’s mom, and Barbara could never be that for him. Bruce isn’t a child anymore, Barbara reading him a story before bed wouldn’t feel the same.

Even after gaining Martha’s memories, Barbara is still different. She doesn’t understand the mechanics of reincarnation, so she doesn’t know why. She just knows she has separate tastes and interests, she has different opinions, she has different quirks and traits.

Then Barbara remembers a summoning ritual- one for the king of ghosts.

Before long, she’s smiling at the Ghost King, reunited once more.

“Hey Danny.” She says.

“Hi, Jazz.”

Royal Bats

DP x DC Prompt

Danny and Jazz always were together in life, and they would remain together as siblings whenever Jazz would reincarnate as a mortal again.

Jazz reincarnated a lot, wanting to experience the different things in those dimensions she chose with a fresh start and no memories. She had many adventures in her new lives, with Danny beside her as her 'Imaginary Friend' whenever she was a kid and her 'Guardian Angel' during the rest of her lives.

This new life she has reincarnated in has her living as a rich woman with a loving husband and a kid. The first time he's seen her have one in her many lives. He couldn't save Jazz or her husband's lives because of Clockwork, who had sent him on a small mission related to time.

When he returned to the dimension with Jazz's new life, he arrived at the funeral for Thomas and Martha Wayne, with their Ghosts behind Bruce. Martha, or Jazz again, had embraced Danny in a hug and told Thomas the basics of who Danny was to her, but before they left, Jazz left some parting words to Danny.

"Look after my son, little brother. Protect him like you how you protect me."

So Danny does. He follows Bruce around while he's training to become Batman. And when Bruce returns to Gotham to be Batman, he helps him with Lady Gotham. With each kid Bruce brings into his family, Danny duplicates himself to help each of them.

Danny had killed the Joker after his resurrection by Bruce when the Clown was alone. He couldn't do it while the Joker was living, as he needed to follow the rules, or else he would have had more paperwork to sort through.

Danny had been telling Jazz and Thomas about their son and what he's been doing about his feats, his children, and his friends. They did support Danny's decisions on killing the Joker. He felt a tug on his core, the tug that happens when he is being summoned, so he quickly said his goodbyes to Jazz and Thomas and accepts the summoning.

What shocks him is seeing that he's in the Watchtower, with the Justice League there, including Bruce and his children. All of his seriousness is drained out of him, and he smiles at Bruce and his family.

"My nephew, it is good to finally speak to you"

[epickiya722]

Okay, I read what I can from the epilogue and I just want to put out that I'm not saying I'm right about anything I say here because it's not an official release and I read from fan translations.

『Also refer to this post and this one!』

So, again, I was right about Ozawa meeting Yuji again and they have a little heart to heart.

Talking about snow, what they're doing in the same place, bit about Shibuya, it was cute.

But the ending of it was more open ended (which isn't something I hate to be honest).

Before anyone goes "Oh, they pulled a MHA 431, it's so homophobic", I get that it might feel that way but... in no way did Yuji express anything romantic to Ozawa, let alone any kind of feelings for her. Like, let's take a step back FOR ONCE and analyze what's up here. Here, take my hand. Come on and follow along with me.

If anything, from his side, he thinks she is a cool girl. However, he still barely knows her and I doubt him if confessed to he would be like "Oh, I like you like that, too, Ozawa! Let's date!" She's, at best, an acquaintance. Someone in passing, someone he did go to middle school with.

So, her epilogue isn't even homophobic. At best, it's once again just Ozawa being all starry eyed over Yuji who doesn't know how she feels.

It's actually sad when you think about it.

In no way is her feelings are mutual. If Yuko was looking for love, Yuji may not be that person for it. I get it, sometimes you'll have feelings for the one person who was nice to you, but that doesn't mean it will be the only person.

Yuko being too busy hung up on Yuji may have missed a person who likes in the way she likes Yuji. What if there was someone else who did pay attention to the way she writes? Who did meet her at some point and got to know her and liked her for who she was?

And if not that, Yuko should have took Yuji's words to heart and realized how great she is and learn to love herself a little more.

The thing about the middle school flashback I feel, isn't just a flashback about her, but also to show the kind of person he is.

It shows that he's attentive and thoughtful. But also that his actions tend to be swayed by other people, even forcefully. Which happens often for Yuji. He told those boys he didn't like anybody and when asked again if he had to choose, he choose someone who he thought was a neat person. Those boys forced Yuji to give another answer despite him saying he didn't like anybody the first time.

If anything, that flashback serves as a more gentle example of who Yuji contrasting to Rin, another person who knew Yuji when he was a middle schooler (Rin is actually older than Yuji). In Rin's flashback, we see Yuji defend a kid that was being picked on.

Yuji was being attentive, he didn't ignore a kid being bullied. He stepped up and told them to leave him alone and when they didn't and decided to charge at Yuji, he was then forced to act violently. In turn, Rin was left with the impression he had of Yuji, just as Yuko was.

Bringing up the snow bit, it was cute. I liked it! Yuji being compared to snow. But this is not the first time someone has came across Yuji and thought of snow.

What was the incident they bring up this chapter? The Shibuya Incident, right. And who did Yuji have to fight and had cowering by the end of it? Mahito, yes, him. And other than a wolf, what else did Mahito imagine when he became fearful of Yuji? SNOW!

So like with Rin, Mahito's perception of Yuji is opposite of Yuko's. She got to experience a gentle side which she admires. Rin and Mahito got his violent side, which they feared.

With all that being said, even with this epilogue ending the way it did, it doesn't smell "canon" to me. Especially, on Yuji's end of things.

Yuji may have a type of girl he likes, but he is also someone who doesn't express romantic interest in anybody.

While this is Yuko's epilogue, I do feel like she is also just another character to showcase the kind of person Yuji can be. She being present shows a gentle side of him while characters like Rin and Mahito shows his violent side.

And no, again, I don't think this means they're canon. So I beg, certain shippers who like the same ship I do, don't jump on Yuko, Yuji or Akutami for thinking this is some homophobic chapter when the romance between a girl and a boy here once again went nowhere.

It really didn't feel like Akutami-sensei was really trying to make them canon. And given the track record of F/M ships in this series? Yeah... no...

[simpingforbots]

Idk if you do small oneshots if not I'm sorry

But ever since I saw the a human ended on Cybertron with Megatronus I've been screaming internally by how adorable it was, could you do a small Megatronus x human story where the little human sneaked out and when it came back it was all full of mud and so Megatronus gave them a bath like he does in the "what if a human ended in Cybertron"

hello yes i am happy to do one shot. hope you will enjoy it.

Little heaven

This is not right. You are not supposed to be here at all. stifling your scream, you jumped out of the way of huge bot, who did not even noticed you, continuing on it’s way while chuting with another bot. You then had to quickly gather your self as to not get stomped to death by another bot, rushing towards the gutters, not caring if you gonna find your self among trash and mud. You stutter a bit, feeling gag coming up and started coughing. How did all come to this?

Well you used to live a peaceful life on earth – working, having your own rented apartment, hell you were even going for promotion until you wee suddenly kidnapped by huge bug like creatures, who kept you for experiments, which were not pretty. One day you managed to escape the ship, only to run in to battlefield between your captors and huge fucking robots. You had to run for cover with all your might, trying not to scream as explosion rung all around you and ground shook. Finally running behind a huge rock, you sight with relief for a moment, looking up and trying to figure out your next step while your heartbeat echoed in your head. It did not last long as one of the biggest bots suddenly took cover behind the same rock and looked down, notisisng you.

Megatronus had to take cover, the fire was to much to take and he need to come up with some kind of tactic, diving for cover behind one of many metal rocks, taking a break for a second until he noticed movement in the corner of his optic. Quickly looking down, expecting a grenade only to find some strange small creature, cowering before his presence. It looked like it was made out of the same thing like Quintessons, but instead this little one did not had metal plating. N fact you looked like nothing like Quintessons, more like a cybertronion in fact. Just made out of flash and with strange things on your head. He had no time to think as an actual grenade landed next to you and quickly grabbed you, surprised for a moment just how small you are and returned the grenade to sender. When all was over and Quintessons ran, he let a sigh of relief, letting his shoulders slump with ease and focus on you, still on his fist pressed against his chest. Slowly pulling his servo away from his chest and unwrapped it, he saw that the strange thing was still alright, just scream and cowering in his hand, not bigger then his digits. Cocking his helm a bit, he nudged you with one of his digits, feeling your soft flesh give in and you whimper from suden touch. He looked up alerting others and changed the grip on you, piking you up by scarf of your clothes, showing you off to others. And with that your fate was sealed. You were brought to place, quickly figure out that those who took you in was some kind of royalty, living in a very-very big place with gold and other luxury. Out of 13 strange robots he seemed to be the tallest and the meanest, well at least when in publick, in privet you found out he was quite soft, choosing to shower you in affection, ��tenderness and “love”. You felt like some kind of chihuahua dog to be honest, a candy eye or something like his. All your communication attempts were discarded like gibberish and intelligible, though you did learn how to repeat his name in rough ways, but it was now shown like some kind of party trick to others. You would always be by his side no matter what, meeting, walking or just doing simple boring work, you must be there. You “followed” him around either by ridding his shoulder or ridding a strange floating pad that would never stray away from him, which you honestly did not prefer as your legs would wobble any time you tired to stand up. When you were alone with him, he would take of his mask, showing a surprisingly soft face for someone with his status and would let deep soft rumble when you were brave enough to reach and touch it. He would also pet you time to time with his huge digits, running them across your hair or your back, something that helped him o calm down or relax during boring meetings. You were also provided some kind of armour, small and somewhat resembling his, but you still did your best not to wear it. But now you used it to your advantage. With enough materials, you managed to get time of being alone and snuck out, climbing down a huge tower and getting on to the streets of strange metal city. Though you did not plan this far and had to quickly hide in gutters just to stay alive, silently regretting running away. You slumped against the wall, trying to calm your heart from beating like crazy all while trying to form next step of plan. Surely if you return the big one won’t be to happy to see you like this and learn that you snuck off, on the other hand maybe if you scavenged around a bit more you might find a way home. Nodding to your self, you pushed your self up and strated traversing though pipes, hoping to find a way to the surface.

Megatronus reached his room after another boring meeting, he really did not wanted to sit there without you, but you were asleep in your little nest of pillow so he decided to et you rest. He rumble with joy as he slowly walked up to the nest only to freeze. You were not there, and a strange rope like structure hand down from the edge. You made this to escape. Why? How? When? All sort of questions run though his mind as he looked all over his quarters, trying to find you hiding somewhere. You were not there, leading to the only way he can find you. Piking up a tablet, he turned it on and immideatly got your location. He knew you would do this someday, just not this soon, so he installed a tracker in to your armour, which was a great gift from Solus, he really should thank them. Watching a small red dot on map moved slowly, he resumed you were looking for safe space and with map in hand, left the quarters and ventured down in to Iacon. Of course he immideatly got all the unwanted attention, he just kept walking, following the small dot, guessing you got in to gutter system as he was literally walking on top of you now, silently following. Soon he was left alone by his people and managed to follow you in to the exit, stopping and waititng. It did not even took a click for you to climb out, looking around for any danger, yet failing to see him right behind you, and climb out. You looked horrible and miserable, almost falling over immideatly and trying to get up. He wanted to see what is it you planed, letting out a huff, that gave him away as you turned around so fats he ha to tack a step back. You strated screaming and ran, probably looking for another hole to hide, yet your size gave you a lot of advantage just as many disadvantages, like being small and slow. He quickly wrapped his servos around you, piking you up and heading back, ignoring your weird chatter and kicking and soft punches. You were just upset about being cough for doing something you were not, but for now he was glad you were relatively alright. Returning to his room, he left you in a box, knowing now that your little nest could serve as escape plan as well, leaving to go get some cleaning supplies to help you clean off. Upon his return you were sulking in the corner, refusing to say anything and just let him do what ever he wants, which was much batter then with you fighting him all the way. Piking you up, he easily took the armour of and gently lowered you in to a cube with water getting first layer of muck off, than added the soap and started slowly rubbing the mud of you. Ususaly he would let you do it by your self, knowing how you valued this small moment of privacy and how violently you fought for this, but now it was sort of punishment for running away, not letting you do it by your self at all. When you were done, he wrapped you up in towel and hold you close, just happy that he managed to find you before any harm come to you and quietly pondered if it will be best to make sure you won’t run away again. EVER.

[caroldantops]

baby, it's cold outside

ship: dark!agatha harkness x female!reader

summary/request:  darkfic; you're invited to agatha's christmas party, but you're afraid to make a move. lucky for you, agatha is more than willing to take things into her own hands.

word count: 3396

dead dove do not eat - this fic contains dark elements including rape/non-con, drugging, hints of victim blaming. proceed at your own discretion.

other warnings: non-magic au, smut (18+), top!agatha, praise, fingering (r receiving), oral (r receiving), light pain play (agatha slaps reader's body once), i think this qualifies as whump, pet names (darling, good girl, baby, and a couple more)

(I genuinely feel like I'm missing some important warnings so let me know if you think there's something i should add here)

masterlist | ao3 link

The wind practically knocks you over as you try to climb up the few stairs up Agatha’s porch. Christmas lights twinkle in the darkness, illuminating the snow that’s gently falling. Your mittens do little to block the cold, hands shaking as you reach up to knock on the door. 

The fog from your breath hangs in the air as the door swings open. Alice greets you with a sweet smile. “Hey, you! You made it! Come in, come in, it’s freezing out here.” 

“Thanks,” you smile, stepping in and sighing with relief as warmth envelops you. “I like your sweater.” 

“Fun, right?” Alice closes the door behind you, posing so you can see her sweater in full. It has a cute silhouette of a witch on a broomstick, being pulled by a group of reindeer. “Kind of a mash-up of holidays. Speaking of outfits, you look amazing tonight.” 

“I think I’m overdressed, to be honest,” you laugh as you shed your coat. You definitely regretted asking Jen of all people for outfit comparisons - she always overdressed for any occasion, and it made you lean towards a velvety black dress. Like Alice, it seems like the other guests milling around are dressed more casual. “Maybe I should just grab my sweatshirt from my car or something.” 

“Don’t you dare,” Jen says as she approaches you. Seeing the sparkly, emerald green dress she’s wearing gives you a bit of relief. At least you don’t stand out the most here. Flying under the radar was usually your go-to. The only reason you even dared come to a party hosted by someone you barely know was from Jen and Alice convincing you that it would be fun. 

Jen soon gets distracted by gossiping with Lilia, but Alice is kind enough not to abandon you. The party is actually pretty nice, despite your initial hesitance to even show up. There’s not very many people crammed into the house - just enough that it feels cozy and chatter fills the space. 

The weather outside starts getting worse through the night, unbeknownst to you as you’re tucked into the cozy library with a few others who prefer the quieter atmosphere. 

Though the night is still young, people have started slowly leaving, claiming that they want to get ahead of the inclement weather. You start to wonder if maybe you should leave a bit early as well, but Alice assures you that if it gets particularly bad, you can stay at her place since she’s much closer. So, you put that thought aside and just enjoy your evening. 

While you’re telling Alice about a weird customer that keeps showing up at the coffee shop you work at, your eye catches a glimpse of the host for the first time tonight as she waltzes into the room. 

Agatha Harkness. The older woman is dressed in a blood-red sweater and simple dress pants, some elegant rings and necklaces sparkling under the light. She’s talking to Jen and Lillia, the former of whom being the reason you even knew Agatha. You’d only talked a couple of times when Jen would drag Agatha along on a coffee run, but you’d always been a bit enamored with her beauty. 

You weren’t even really sure what she did for work - and if your friends knew they’ve never filled you in. All you knew is that she was a very powerful woman, with very powerful connections. Even Jen, who was frankly unintimidated by most people, had to admit that Agatha was a bit scary. 

What Agatha wanted, she got. And if something tried to stop her, there would be hell to pay. 

Alice nudges you, giving you a knowing look. 

“What?” You roll your eyes at her. 

“You’re painfully obvious, you know that right?” Alice raises an eyebrow, a playful smile on her face. “Go say hi.” 

“Well, I don’t want to interrupt their conversation…” The end of your sentence trails off as piercing blue eyes meet your gaze. Instincts tell you to look away, but some unknown feeling overrides that. 

Time seems to stand still as you mull over how little you know Agatha and how much you’d like to know. She regards you, blatantly ignoring the conversation she’s supposed to be participating in. Eyes scanning you, calculating. 

Maybe even hungry. 

With that thought, you’re the first one to break, pulling out your phone to fake distraction. With your gaze now averted, you miss Agatha’s lips quirk up in a smirk. She watches as you turn back to Alice, clearly flustered, and clearly not intending on making any sort of move. 

Lucky for you, she’s more than happy to take things into her own hands. 

“Alice,” Agatha’s booming voice cuts through the noise of the party. Alice looks up as Agatha struts over, boots thumping on the floor with determined purpose. “Would you be a dear and keep those two from starting a karaoke session? They’re both about one glass of red away from breaking into Mariah Carey, and frankly I’d rather risk walking across a frozen lake right now.” 

Alice rolls her eyes, but gets up to go make sure the others behave. Agatha sighs, plopping into the now empty seat next to you. Her nimble fingers trace the rim of the wine glass she’s been nursing. “Jen said you’d be coming.” 

“Oh, she did?” 

Stupid. Of course she did, she told you she would. In your nervous fumble, you reach for the drink Alice got you earlier. It’s remained almost untouched so far, but you’re desperate for an excuse to not talk. 

And, in a true feat of spectacular coordination, you manage to knock it into your lap. 

“Shit!” You groan. 

“Oh, dear,” Agatha juts her lip out in sympathy. “On such a pretty dress too! Come on, I’ll help you clean up.” 

You take a couple of napkins and blot ineffectively at the stain. “It’s okay, this is enough to dry it at least…” 

“Nonsense,” Agatha scoffs, putting her own glass down and standing up. You look at her, puzzled as she just stands there, before you realize she’s expecting you to follow. She starts leading you through the house, down the halls that no guests were allowed in. “We don’t want that to leave a stain, I have a couple of things that should help.” 

“Thank you, Agatha, really,” you say, trying not to analyze all the decor and photos that you pass as she leads you. 

You end up being led down to the basement, carefully descending the creaky wooden stairs. The dwindling party can be heard above you, muffled music and footsteps reminding you that you’re not completely alone with Agatha. 

Agatha shuffles some stuff around, looking through the bins near her washing machine. “Dear, do you have your phone on you? My eyes aren’t great in this darned dim basement light.” 

You turn on the flashlight on your phone and pass it to her, waiting patiently as she rummages around. “Aha!” 

Her grin is illuminated by the light of your phone, and you can’t help but smile - it’s infectious. She motions for you to come closer, turning on the nearby sink. 

“Alright, give me your dress for a second.” 

“What?” Your smile fades, and you recoil back in surprise. 

“Your dress, it’ll be easier for me to clean if you just take it off,” Agatha says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. She analyzes your face, and you practically see the thoughts turning in her head as your own brain fumbles for what to do. “Here, one second.” 

She grabs a couple of things from a laundry basket - a t-shirt and some sweatpants - and hands them to you. “Switch these out, and then I’ll clean your dress off.” 

You nod, taking the clothing and changing as fast as you possibly can. Your head gets stuck in the shirt for a moment, and you miss the way Agatha’s eyes rake over your bare torso and lacy bra. As your head pops out, she quickly turns her attention to your dress, rinsing it and applying some cleaning product, rubbing the fabric gently in her hands. 

“Ugh,” Agatha groans suddenly. 

“What’s wrong? Not coming out?” 

“No, the stain came out fine, but I think I wet it too much. It’s soaking, you can’t go out in this. I’ll hang it up to dry, but it’s gonna take a while,” Agatha ponders as she grabs a hanger. “You’re more than welcome to just keep those clothes for now.” 

“Oh, okay,” you say, playing with the end of the shirt. You’re resisting the urge to rub your nose against the fabric - even after having been washed it seems to smell like Agatha. “Thanks again.” 

“Of course, sweetheart, I’m happy to help,” Agatha beams. “I’m going to get this dress set up to dry, you go back upstairs and enjoy yourself. I’ll be right behind you.” 

When you get back upstairs, you realize that most of the guests have left. In fact, it seems like it’s just your friends left. Even the neighbors who live just down the street have retired for the night.

Alice spots you approaching and sighs with relief. “There you are! I was trying to find you. I’m going to need to take Jen and Lilia home. They’re in no state to drive. What are you wearing?” 

“Oh, I spilled my drink, Agatha’s hanging up my dress to dry,” you say, clearly embarrassed. Alice, the saint that she is, does not take the opportunity to tease you for being in Agatha’s clothes. 

“Gotcha.” A loud thump comes from the other side of the room, and you both look over to see Jen picking Lilia up off the floor, both of them drunkenly giggling. Alice sighs, “You’re good to drive, right? They live on the opposite side of town from my place, so if you do need me to pick you up on my way back, just call me okay?” 

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine,” you assure her. “I didn’t get a chance to drink anything before I spilled it on myself. I’m just going to thank Agatha for helping me out and then probably head out.” 

“Okay, be safe. And seriously, call me if you need anything.” 

“I will, I will,” you instinctively reach for your phone to see that it’s charged enough, but you realize you must have left it downstairs. The trio leaves in a whirlwind, and suddenly you’re left alone. 

Well, not completely alone. 

“Good grief, did everyone decide to do an Irish goodbye?” Agatha returns from the basement and immediately makes her way to the kitchen to make herself a drink. She sees you standing awkwardly and nods at the sofa. “Take a load off, honey. Your dress will probably at least be dry enough to wear comfortably in a little while. Might as well enjoy the fireplace while you wait.” 

You hear her humming to herself from the other room, and you gaze contentedly at the crackling fire, curling your legs under you. The wind outside rattles the windows. You gasp as you look outside for the first time in a while. It’s started snowing so hard that it’s hard to see, and you can tell that it’s piling up on the streets. 

“Shit, I should really try to get home,” you start to stand up, but a firm hand is placed on your shoulder, and a warm mug is shoved in your hand. You give Agatha a confused look as she sits next to you, a steaming mug in her own hand. 

“Honey, it’s getting real bad out there. Alice said you live across town, yeah?” Agatha says, eyebrows furrowed in concern. “I think it’s a bit too late to try to start driving. Good thing is, the other ladies probably made it at least back to Lilia’s place by now. They’ll probably huddle up there for the night.” 

“Yeah…How am I going to get home though?” You look at the drink Agatha handed you, realizing it’s not alcohol but hot chocolate, the top foamy with already melting whipped cream. You take a sip, sighing as the warmth fills your body. 

As you ponder your options, you take a few more sips. Agatha wipes the whipped cream that catches on your upper lip with a napkin, and you’re suddenly acutely aware of how close she is. You kind of want to shift away, but your body feels heavy, and the way she’s looking at you has you paralyzed. 

“Stay here,” Agatha whispers, breath dancing against your skin. “You can drive home in the morning once they clear the streets.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose,” you shake your head, taking another big sip of your drink, frowning as you realize you’ve almost hit the bottom. “I can figure something out…” 

“Doubt any cabs are out tonight.” 

“Seriously, Agatha, I appreciate the offer, but I should probably go,” you start to stand up, but are hit with a sudden dizziness, and immediately sit back down. “Woah…”

“You okay, baby?” Agatha asks, but her voice doesn’t sound concerned. Or surprised. 

Your stomach churns a bit. The room feels like it’s spinning, and the lights all suddenly feel way too bright. “I don’t know. Was there alcohol in this drink?” 

“Not a drop,” Agatha answers. 

“I dunno what’s wrong then,” you mumble, your words are slurred. Desperately, you try to put the pieces together and figure out what’s wrong, but everything feels muddled now. 

“Maybe you ate something bad earlier? Here, lay down on the couch, baby.” 

When did she start calling you that? You try to respond, but the words come out too muddled to understand. Agatha guides you onto your back, your head resting on a throw pillow. All of your muscles feel simultaneously heavy and weak, and you need Agatha to guide you down so you don’t just flop like a fish. 

“Agatha,” your word comes out as a strangled whine. “What’s happening?” 

“It’s okay, I’m right here,” Agatha says, her voice deep. She’s hovering over you, and you feel a shudder run through your body as she hits you with that hungry look again. 

Wait. 

The only thing you’ve drank tonight was what Agatha made you, but…she wouldn’t have. 

Right?

If your eyes didn’t feel so heavy, you’re sure they would’ve looked up at her wide in sudden realization. Nevertheless, it seems like she reads the change in expression on you, the shift from confusion to sudden fear. Agatha laughs, low and menacing. 

“So cute. I was almost worried that I wouldn’t even get the chance. But thank god for the others leaving early, hm?” The shirt Agatha gave you is tugged up, and her thumb catches your bra as well, pulling both articles of clothing over your chest in one motion. You try to wiggle away with what little strength you have, but Agatha shifts quickly, straddling your thighs and keeping you in place. 

“Pretty tits,” Agatha says, and you don’t know if she’s speaking to you or herself. 

“Ag’tha.” 

“Shh, darling. Just let it happen,” Agatha’s face hovers over yours, her pupils blown out and dark, and your stomach twists as you realize how much this is turning her on. Drugged and delirious, you’re at her complete mercy. And she couldn’t be happier. “I’m going to take such good care of you. I don’t break my toys. Not permanently, anyway.” 

Agatha’s lips press against yours, and she doesn’t even care that you’re too weak to reciprocate. She grips your chin with one hand to keep you in place, her soft lips peppering your face with kisses. It would be sweet, in any other context. You’re sure that her shiny red lipstick is all over your face, and that it’s leaving a red trail as she drags her lips down your neck. 

Her teeth sink in, and you give up your feeble attempts at fighting it. Agatha must feel you go completely limp (well, more limp than you already were), because she chuckles against your skin as she soothes the bite with her tongue. 

“Good girl. So good when you let me give you what you need.” 

The drugs in your system make it hard to register what’s happening. Agatha’s hands are on you, but you’re unable to keep up with every pinch and grope as she explores your body. A sharp tug of your nipples is enough to give you a jolt of awareness, and you moan pathetically in response, your body betraying you. 

“Oh, you like being hurt?” Agatha tugs again and gives your tit a sharp slap as well. You groan, drool starting to drip from your lips. “Dirty girl. Bet your pussy is fucking wet too.” 

She slips her hand under the waistband of your pants, nimble fingers finding your damp cunt. Her mouth opens in a dramatic gasp. “I was right! You like this, huh?” 

You babble nonsense in response, your no’s coming out incoherently. 

“What was that? You love it? Aw, baby, you flatter me,” Agatha kisses you again, not caring about the trail of drool on your cheek. She pushes her fingers into you, meeting some resistance as you’re not quite wet enough to take her so quickly. Your hips twist as the feeling of her fingers dragging against the walls of your cunt makes you flinch. “Take it, take it like a good girl for me. This is what you wanted, right? You were so obvious, with all that staring and how nervous you got around me. You were practically begging for this.” 

“Don’t…” 

“Found your voice again, it seems. Probably not for long.” Agatha clicks her tongue, shrugging as she shuffles down your body, tugging your pants down enough that your cunt is exposed. She kisses down your mound, groaning as she reaches her prize. Nose nudging your clit, she inhales your scent and moans, the vibrations close enough that your clit throbs in response. “Fuck.” 

All the sensations are reduced to vague feelings as Agatha starts to lick you in earnest. Warm. Wet. Feels good. Darkness clouds your vision as you start slipping in and out of consciousness. Fingers again, prodding at your hole. Thrusting in, curling, working you better than anyone ever has. When did she slip a third finger in? 

“Come on, baby, want you to cum all over my fingers,” She mumbles against your clit before flattening her tongue against it, fingers curling against your sensitive walls again. 

Your body shudders, but you can’t even tell if it was an orgasm. The woman you’ve been lusting after is fucking you through climax, and you’re not even going to remember it. Maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll forget this whole thing. Or at least enough to deny it. 

Because as fucked up as it is, some pathetic, yearning part of you still wants Agatha. She’s drugged and taken advantage of you, yet there’s a part of you hoping that this isn’t a one time situation, that she’ll still want you when you’re fully awake and able to enjoy yourself. 

God, there’s not enough therapy in the world to even start to tackle that, you think.

Suddenly you realize you’re crying, salty tears hitting your tongue as you breathe heavily. Agatha crawls back up your body, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Baby, it’s okay, it’s okay. We’re done. You did so, so good for me.” 

“Good?” 

“Yes, very good,” Agatha kisses the tears from your cheeks. She rearranges your clothes so that you won’t get cold, and pulls a blanket off the back of the couch to drape over both of you. The position is awkward, since you can’t really move much, but she manages to squeeze herself into a space where she can hold you. “C’mere, darling. You took that so well. Let me hold you, pretty.” 

“Aggie,” you mumble against her skin when she pulls you against her chest, unable to conjure her full name. 

“Yes?” Agatha hums, stroking your hair. 

“Why?” 

Silence falls over the two of you for a moment as Agatha lets the question hang in the air. You can feel her heart thumping, feel the way her hands stroke soothing circles into your skin. The last thing you hear before you finally fall into a deep sleep is her voice. 

“Darling, I always get what I want.”

[thetadispatcher]

"Oh, right, three. I'm sorry." Peter had trouble keeping where most of the androids came from straight, but he tried his best as he didn't want to accidentally offend them. But that still didn't stop him from making mistakes on occasion that he felt he'd have to make up for, even if most of the androids understood that he was only human and an odd one at that.

"They're easier to care for as they need far less work. I can't say for sure if they deviate, but I'd have to say probably. It's just less noticeable as they still act like the animal they're based on. BeeBee is harmless though, sure she was aggressive to begin with, but that was just because Zlatko mutilated her and kept her locked up. She calmed down after I got her fixed back up, think she just needed proof I wasn't going to hurt her before she'd let her guard down." He didn't blame the URS12 for her initial aggression, she'd been through a very traumatic experience and was just acting accordingly as she didn't know he wasn't there to hurt her.

Peter brought his hand to his mouth, sticking two fingers in his mouth and let out a sharp, short whistle. He knew G and BeeBee should be inside as Dan had likely taken Strasky for a walk around the property to calm him down, meaning Dan would take over watching for anything suspicious and G would take BeeBee inside for a break.

He lowered his hand as he heard the sound of claws rapidly clicking on the floor that were heading for the basement. He turned as BeeBee came to a halt in front of the room and sat down, chuffing and shaking her head. Peter motioned for her to enter the room as he knew she was waiting for permission. She quickly got up and jogged over to him, getting up on her hind legs as Daniel moved out of the way. She rubbed her nose against his as she made a purring sound, using her front legs to nudge him onto the ground, allowing her easier access to rub against him.

"They are furry, and BeeBee is just as fluffy as a polar bear should be. She usually is with G as he patrols the property, pretty good deterrent for anyone looking to cause trouble." Peter explained as he ruffled her neck. "She's not gonna hurt anyone unless given the command to do so, other then that she's a sweet heart." He gently coaxed her down so he could stand up again as Brent left the room to fetch more finished parts.

"Yeah, but don't point it out to them, they don't like that and I found that out the hard way." Not that it bothered him as he didn't get in trouble for the fight, the group had attacked him first and he had merely defended himself. He was just warned not to call out anymore protestors or acknowledge them if they tried to talk to him.

"Oh, nothing else. The computers should be it as we haven't come across any issues that can't be easily fixed." Sure they were still working on the space, but so far he couldn't name anything else that was obviously wrong that needed to be replaced.

"I don't, but I'm fine with it." He didn't understand why it was so important to the android, but he knew he needed to address Dan's overbearing protectiveness before it worsened.

"Maybe, but I wouldn't blame her if she still wanted nothing to do with me. I did threaten to kill her and jump off the roof with her, even held her out when the RK800 showed up to talk me down." Daniel wouldn't hold it against Emma if she never wanted to see him again after what he'd done to her. "And I find it interesting to deal with someone who's neurodivergent verses one that was perfectly normal." He didn't mind the change, in fact he found it to be a fun learning experience.

"He also really didn't want to be there as his goal was finding me, and being stuck on a rusty ship wasn't helping him accomplish that. And then to be dragged along occasionally or just hearing them planning something just added to his hatred of being there." Peter knew Dan understood it was best he hide as a deviant, but that didn't stop him from being upset about it.

"And finally reuniting with me and finding I lost an eye didn't do him any favors mentally. He deviated because he thought I was dead and had to find out if I was okay, so finding out I actually could've died well he was in the same city as me... Messed him up. I'm gonna see if we can fix that, he's getting very over protective because of that."

"There's three." the android corrected, "Three of us remain on the property."

"What's the point of android animals?" Rook asked, "Do they deviate too? Are they fuzzy at least? Can I pet BeeBee?"

"Rook."

"I want to pet a bear, Willow!"

Willow rolled her eyes, "Yes, the belief that the evil machines are stealing jobs is a myth that only serves the corporations. Unfortunately, most humans are too dense to understand they're considered on par with any other piece of equipment, thus are just as easily replaced by whatever is more cost effective."

So, trying to get the computers out of storage through semi legitimate means was most likely a lost cause. Willow resorted to sending a text instead. "Would you like to have everything delivered to this room?"

"I'm glad you understand now." It still didn't explain why Bishop specifically wanted his counterpart to fail, but that wasn't relevant to the android's argument as to why he felt the need to prevail.

It was a reasonable question, as far as he was concerned.

"Sometimes kids don't know better. Maybe she'll come around when she grows up and starts thinking with her brain." Rook told Daniel, "It's good that you found yourself new people to hang out with, even if one of them speaks in riddles— You've got something to add, Willow?"

"Oh, I was just thinking that Dan was right about most of Jericho's plans."

[acourtofthought]

can you genuinely say at this point in time, Elain wants lucien? I'm not asking for theories or headcanons. I am asking if you genuinely think that Elain in any way is secretly pining over Lucien, and what textual evidence supports that.

People have argued about her mentioning his name, but I don't think that has to do with romantic feelings for him, moreso basic respect for another. People have talked about a "half-step" which I must've missed bc I do not even remember that - but i don't think a "half step" necessarily conveys anything romantic.

I'm trying to form an opinion in this ship war, but its hard when I see a ton of misinformation from every side. The elriels have their own faults, but they can point to text now that shows Elain wants Azriel.

Can Eluciens do the same? I'm not trying to start a fight, I really just want to know what portion of each ship is backed by the current books vs. how much is just people theorizing they are end game and what they want to happen. And if the Elucien ship is purely just "SJM will always pair fated mates together" that's also fine and valid imo, I just want to know if there's anything in the books you can point to that shows Elain wants Lucien at this moment in time. I don't want to argue about hypotheticals and foreshadowing and what a rose symbolizes. I want cold hard words on the page.

Please note: I know just because it might not be there YET doesn't mean it's not going to happen. I want to evaluate the current standing of these books and the rationality of each argument. But to do that, I need people to be honest about what's there and what's not. I'm asking you because you run one of the more...logical shipwar blogs. But if you don't want to answer this - I also understand why.

At this point in time I don't think that canon supports Elain wanting anyone and that includes both Az and Lucien.

The only person Elain ever confessed having feelings for is Graysen. Real feelings. The "my heart belongs to you" kind of feelings.

Elain specifically said she did not want a male or a mate and those are categories Lucien and Az fall under, despite the almost kiss with Az in SF. It's been proven that a FMC in a SJM book can hook-up with a guy but not want a relationship with him (Feyre / Isaac, Nesta with fae who were not Cassian, Mor / Cassian, Mor / Helion) so Elain's actions in the Az bonus don't prove Elain wants him for more than a night of fun. In fact, the text in canon has her agreeing to "just a taste and that would be it". That's not a confession of long term commitment nor was there any to be found in any other interaction she's had with Az. Even crushes don't mean you're wanting forever with someone. Not to mention she was not written as looking towards either Az or Lucien in the 5 months after Solstice so absolutely no canon supports that she wants to hook-up with Az anymore. Elain's past actions from months ago (including those with Az) can't really be used as proof of canon of now, otherwise we should all be claiming she's still in love with Graysen since she never specifically stated she no longer has feelings for him. Nobody says that though, we use the canon of her no longer breaking down over Graysen to show she's moved past wanting to be with him and currently the canon suggests she's also moved past whatever she was about to do with Az on Solstice since there are zero signs to argue otherwise. There is also zero evidence of Az still wanting to be with Elain in any way now that we're 5 months beyond Solstice. 7 if you count HOFAS.

Right now I think the only thing canon truly supports is that Elain is showing no romantic interest in anyone, male or human. 5 months is a long time. Feyre left Tamlin then was mated to Rhys within 5 months and Elain was not mentioned as shedding a tear for Graysen in that same length of time, not mentioned as looking Az's way in that time, not having a reaction (good or bad) to Lucien in that time.

So to your question, canon does not support Elain wanting Lucien but it doesn't support her currently wanting Az. Canon also never supported her wanting to start a relationship with Az, canon doesn't support her wanting a mating bond with Az, canon doesn't support her having any desire to go forward with a forbidden love with Az.

Does that mean it's what she's actually feeling for Lucien or even Az? We can't say for sure because we don't have her POV but if we're truly basing this discussion off canon alone than Elain doesn't currently seem interested in anyone. It's not fair for e/riels to claim she still wants Az 5 months later as they have no evidence supporting it. It's only their headcanon that she does. Not to mention it's their headcanon she wanted to have a relationship with Az in the first place. They have zero evidence to show she'd be willing to seriously date him.

But as far as what I genuinely think (your phrasing)? I think Elain is struggling with the pull she feels towards Lucien and it scares her.

I don't think all Elucien's assume Sarah will pair Elucien together simply because they're mates. There are many layers behind what we feel.

I do think Elucien's use logic based on Sarah's writing and that logic tells us that characters don't simply ignore a mating bond. In canon, the bond creates a tug to the other that can never be truly forgotten. Based on that canon we hypothesis that there is a lot going on under the surface which is why she's hidden Elain's thoughts from us. She's the only main side character from the original cast who has never been given a POV and there's got to be a reason for that. Sarah was willing to share her almost kiss with Az but never her actual thoughts for Lucien who she suddenly began ignoring in ACOFAS after the events of ACOWAR and that seems a bit purposeful doesn't it? How a kiss isn't a secret but what she feels about the bond she says she doesn't want is?

While we've got no proof showing she wants Lucien, we were given so many examples of the author making an effort to show their compatibility. We were given a bunch of crumbs as to where Elain's future journey could take her and many crumbs placing Lucien in those same places. The author wrote Lucien (not Az) meeting Elain's father. We were given a bunch of scenarios where we're left wondering WHY Elain behaved a certain way towards Lucien especially after she defended him to Graysen, after she took a step as if she'd stop him from searching for Vassa, after she did follow he and Feyre instead of staying behind at her father's grave, after they were left together to wash up after the war, after she invited him to come back to Velaris but only after all that she began completely ignoring him for unexplained reasons. Based on Sarah's writing that pull and push typically means a character is struggling with her pull / desire for the other person and things aren't so one dimensional as "she doesn't like him!" If she didn't like him then why take a step as if to stop him? Why follow him instead of staying with her father's grave? Why peer up at him? Why invite him to Velaris?

We've been in this place before with a Sarah book. "Why did the character do that only to do an abrupt 180?" We saw it with Nesta, who was willing to die with Cassian in ACOWAR only to do the most 180's of all 180's by giving her virginity to someone else in the novella. To telling Cassian she wanted nothing to do with him though we knew she did. So Elucien's are only waiting to see how the author deals with Elain and her inner thoughts of Lucien. We don't think Elain's setup is going to be any less complex than Nesta's was. We believe the author is going to tell a story that is deep and meaningful. And while Elain's current setup doesn't prove this to us just yet, it is canon that Sarah has given that exact treatment to every single one of her mated pairs, whether the FMC was struggling with what she felt or the MMC (as we saw with Rowan and his bond with Aelin), so it would be silly for us to think Elain would be the only one who isn't given that same complexity.

While the textual evidence does not necessarily prove Elain has feelings for Lucien, I think it's valid for Elucien's to use textual evidence of Sarah's past writing patterns to predict the direction she's taking them.

I have no problem admitting that current canon doesn't prove Elain wants Lucien but I've never seen a e/riel admit that current canon, by the end of SF, also doesn't prove Elain wants Az. That canon never proved she wanted a relationship with him at all. Canon doesn't even prove she called his scars beautiful considering Feyre said she wasn't sure if she was referring to his Siphons yet they still hold on to that one.

Canon proves Elain loved Graysen though he was an asshole, canon proves that she was willing to hook up with Az with no proof of anything more, and canon proves that she shares a mating bond with Lucien that she'll never be able to completely forget ("it will be a bond that will trail her for the rest of her existence") though she's currently trying her best which results in weirdness for everyone. That is all the canon proves.

From a romance standpoint, only one of those storylines typically has staying power.

[moonlight-joy]

Bound by Fire

Fandom: House of Dragon

Summary: Bound by duty but strengthened by growing trust, your arranged marriage to Jacaerys Velaryon transforms into a partnership built on mutual respect and shared hopes, setting the foundation for a powerful union that promises to shape the future of the realm.

Pairing: Reader/Jacaerys Velaryon

The war had been long and bloody, stretching across the realm and leaving scars that would take generations to heal. Your family, one of the most powerful houses in Westeros, had played a pivotal role in ensuring victory. The cost of that alliance, however, had been a personal one: your hand in marriage to Prince Jacaerys Velaryon, heir to the Iron Throne. Though you had agreed to the arrangement, it had always felt like a distant reality, overshadowed by the immediacy of the battlefield and the weight of your family’s duty. But now, with the war won and Rhaenyra Targaryen crowned Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, the time had come to honor that promise. You were summoned to Dragonstone, where your future awaited.

The sea air was cold as your ship approached Dragonstone, the ancestral seat of House Targaryen. The volcanic island loomed on the horizon, its jagged cliffs and smoking peaks a stark contrast to the lush lands of your home. Dragons circled overhead, their cries echoing across the water, a reminder of the power you were about to marry into. Your heart raced as the ship docked, and you stepped onto the stone pier. The sight of the Targaryen banners fluttering in the wind filled you with a mixture of awe and trepidation. This was no mere union—it was the joining of fire and blood, of two legacies that would shape the realm’s future.

Waiting for you at the foot of the castle steps was Prince Jacaerys Velaryon. You had seen his likeness in portraits, but they did little justice to the man standing before you. His dark hair, streaked faintly with silver, framed a face both handsome and serious. His brown eyes, warm yet guarded, met yours with an intensity that made you catch your breath. “My lady,” he greeted, his voice steady but soft. He stepped forward, offering his hand. “Welcome to Dragonstone.”

You hesitated for only a moment before placing your hand in his. “My prince,” you replied, meeting his gaze. “It is an honor to finally meet you.” His lips quirked into a faint smile, and you felt a flicker of something you hadn’t expected: curiosity. There was kindness in his eyes, tempered by the weight of his responsibilities, and you wondered if he felt the same mixture of hope and uncertainty that you did.

Jacaerys escorted you into the castle, the halls lit by flickering torches and warmed by the ever-present heat of the volcanic rock beneath your feet. The air was heavy with the scent of smoke and salt, a reminder of the dragons that called this place home. “I hope the journey was not too harsh,” he said, breaking the silence as you walked. “It was long,” you admitted, glancing at him, “but it gave me time to reflect on what lies ahead.”

He nodded, his expression thoughtful. “And what do you see when you reflect?” You hesitated, choosing your words carefully. “A future that is both daunting and full of possibility. Our union will shape the realm, for better or worse.” His gaze lingered on you, and for a moment, the weight of the world seemed to fade. “I believe it will be for the better,” he said quietly. “I know the circumstances of our marriage are not ideal, but I promise to honor and respect the alliance we forge together.” The sincerity in his voice surprised you, and you found yourself softening. “I believe we can build something strong, my prince. Perhaps even something good.” He smiled then, a genuine expression that lit up his face. “Jace,” he corrected. “If we are to share a life, you should call me Jace.” “Jace,” you echoed, the name unfamiliar on your tongue but not unpleasant. “And you may call me whatever you wish.” “Then I shall call you my lady,” he teased gently, a hint of mischief in his eyes. “For now.”

Over the next few days, you and Jace spent more time together, learning about each other in quiet moments stolen from the grandeur of court. He showed you the dragons in the cavernous pit beneath Dragonstone, introducing you to Vermax, his bondmate. The sight of the mighty creature left you awestruck, but Jace’s gentle encouragement gave you the courage to approach. “He can sense your fear,” Jace said, standing close enough that you could feel his warmth. “But he can also sense your strength. Show him that you are unafraid.”

You took a deep breath and stepped closer to the dragon, your heart pounding in your chest. Vermax huffed, a plume of smoke curling from his nostrils, but he did not move away. Slowly, you reached out, your hand brushing against the warm scales of his snout. The bond was brief but electric, a reminder of the power you were marrying into. Jace watched with a proud smile. “You’ve impressed him. That is no small feat.” “Perhaps he sensed my strength,” you replied, meeting Jace’s gaze with a faint smile of your own. “Or perhaps he sensed your stubbornness,” Jace teased, earning a laugh from you. It was in moments like these that you began to see the man beneath the prince—the man who carried the weight of the realm on his shoulders but still found joy in the small, fleeting moments.

On the eve of your wedding, Jace found you standing on the balcony overlooking the sea. The moonlight bathed the water in silver, and the sound of the waves was a soothing balm to your restless thoughts. “Can’t sleep?” he asked, his voice soft as he joined you. You shook your head. “Too much on my mind.” He stood beside you, his presence steady and comforting. “I wanted to thank you,” he said after a moment. “For trusting in this union. For trusting in me.”

“I suppose I had little choice,” you replied lightly, though there was no malice in your tone. He turned to you, his expression earnest. “You had every choice. You could have refused, and no one would have blamed you. But you didn’t. That means something to me.” His words, so genuine and heartfelt, stirred something deep within you. “I trusted in the vision my family had for the future,” you admitted. “But now, I find that I trust in you.” Jace smiled, and for the first time, you saw not just a prince or a warrior, but a partner. “Then let us trust in each other,” he said. “Together, we can build something lasting. Something worth fighting for.” You nodded, your heart lighter than it had been in weeks. “Together,” you agreed.

As the waves crashed below and the dragons roared in the distance, you felt the beginnings of a bond that would shape not just your lives but the fate of the realm. Bound by fire and blood, you and Jace were poised to forge a legacy that would endure for generations to come.

[justaparsec94]

Firsts

Author's Note: For @spaceyjessa. Written for the prompts: Snowed In and First Christmas (I couldn't decide so I combined them lol). I'm a little rusty after not writing for so long so I hope this is ok! Happy Holidays!

Pairing: Crosshair x fem!reader

Word Count: 4,407

If Crosshair had to pick one thing out of his long list of dislikes as the thing he liked least, it would probably be snow. He let out an annoyed huff, crossing his arms over his chest and shifting from one foot to the other in an effort to maintain some warmth as he stood outside The Havoc Marauder. Even with his HUD on his view was almost completely obstructed by the falling snow. Perhaps, that was part of why he disliked it so much, snipers and poor visibility didn’t mix well. But the bigger reason was because he just downright hated the cold. No planet had any right to be this cold. It was icier than a Kaminoan’s heart. 

In theory, it had been a simple mission: retrieve Separatist intel from a supposedly abandoned outpost on some outer rim planet that no one had ever heard the name of before. It was easy—so easy that he and his brothers had actually been offended when the mission had come through to them. But in typical Bad Batch fashion, nothing ever turned out quite as easy as they expected.

The first problem had been that the abandoned outpost wasn’t actually abandoned, but that had made this boring mission much less boring. There was nothing The Batch liked more than scrapping a bunch of clankers. They’d made sure the place was well and truly abandoned once they were through with it and grabbed the data chip that they’d been sent to retrieve. It was at that point as they’d been on the way back to their ship that they’d encountered problem number two, the weather. It had been cold and snowing when they’d arrived but what had started out as a light dusting had turned into a downright blizzard. They’d barely been able to see a foot in front of them as they’d made their way back, the wind so strong it felt as if it was blowing right through their supposedly insulated armour. 

They’d made it though, mostly because Tech had a homing beacon on The Marauder that he could trace on his data pad but then they had encountered problem number three, likely due to the snow, their ship wouldn’t start. Instead of powering up like usual, all they were greeted with were warning alarms. 

All of which had led to his current position, standing guard outside, miserable, in the freezing cold while Tech was in the bowels of the ship, trying to figure out what was wrong with it. He cursed softly under his breath as he shifted from foot to foot again, trying to bring back some feeling into his frozen feet. A quick look at his HUD showed that the temperature was just continuing to drop. 

A curse from beneath The Marauder snapped him out of his own brooding, he turned and took a few short steps to where he could just make out Tech’s boots sticking out from underneath the ship. He ducked down, joints protesting from the cold as he did so. 

“What is it?” He called out to Tech.  

Tech didn’t answer for a long moment, so long that Crosshair was about to call out to him, or better yet, kick him in the leg when he started to move. Crosshair stood back up as his brother crawled out from underneath the ship.

“I have discovered the issue,” Tech stated matter-of-factly as he pulled out his datapad, his helmeted gaze shifting down to it as he began to type something. 

Crosshair waited for a long moment, crossing his arms over his chest once more, irritation growing by the moment, “Are you going to elaborate or…”

“Oh,” Tech made a surprised sound, as though he’d forgotten that Crosshair was there, “Well, the good news is that I will be able to make the necessary repairs. Unfortunately, based on the research I have done on this planet and the way the temperature is rapidly falling, I will not be able to complete the repairs until tomorrow morning. If I attempted to do so now I would likely freeze to death before the repairs are completed.” 

Crosshair was quiet for a moment as he took in that bit of information, “It would be a noble sacrifice,” He said before he snickered, ducking out of the way as Tech swiped at him. 

With the mystery of the broken ship now solved, Crosshair wasted no time in getting back inside and out of the snow. He wasn’t thrilled with the idea of staying the night on this planet but at least The Marauder still had heat. And most important of all, you were on the ship.

Crosshair shook the snow that had accumulated on him off as the ramp hissed closed behind the two of them. The snow was gone but the chill in his bones remained as he reached up to pull his helmet off his head. He only managed to take a step further into the ship before he was accosted by a small body. 

“Here,” You said quickly, throwing one of the heated blankets you kept stored on board as part of your med kit over his shoulders. He pulled the blanket tighter around himself, shivering slightly as you moved away to do the same for Tech. 

Before he could even frown at the loss of contact you’d returned to his side, concern etched on your features as you looked up at him. His heart rattled in his chest as your gazes met, a feeling that wasn’t new to him but still caught him off guard every time. You were so beautiful, sometimes it was like staring directly at a muzzle flash. 

His eyebrows shot up in surprise as you reached out to place a gentle hand on the exposed skin on his neck. Your brow furrowed as his skin tingled beneath the touch, the warmth of your hand against his cold skin sent a shiver down his spine. He cast a quick look over at Tech but his brother wasn’t paying any attention, instead, he was typing away on his database, the blanket you’d given him thrown over his shoulders. 

He lifted a gloved hand to cover your own, expression questioning as you looked at him. The relationship between the two of you was still relatively new, having come to a head after you’d been injured on a mission a few months previously, so he still wasn’t quite used to public displays of affection. Generally, you were entirely professional whenever his brothers were around and he was well, himself, so this gentle touch was somewhat surprising. Usually, it was reserved for the quiet moments between the two of you. 

“You’re freezing,” you replied softly, seemingly catching on to his line of thinking, “You need to get out of this armour. It’s just trapping in the cold air.” 

Crosshair smirked, his voice only loud enough for you to hear, “Trying to get me undressed?” 

“Cross,” you rolled your eyes but a smile bloomed on your face, “Behave.” 

He had another snarky response on the tip of his tongue but he was interrupted by Hunter coming out of the cockpit, Wrecker hot on his heels. 

“What’s the situation Tech?” Hunter asked, dark brow furrowed with concern as he looked at their brother. 

“Do you want the good news or the bad news first?” Crosshair drawled before Tech could answer earning him a glare from both Hunter and Tech. He snorted in amusement before his attention was pulled away by your warm and nimble fingers making easy work of removing his armour. Normally, he wouldn’t accept help with his gear, even from you, but in that moment he wasn’t about to turn away from any source of heat. He wanted nothing more in that moment than to curl up in a ball beneath the warm blanket hanging over his shoulders. Preferably with you. 

Hunter sighed, rubbing his hand against his face in frustration before looking back at Tech, “I guess the bad news.”  

“Delivering the information in that way would be illogical,” Tech stated, “I have discovered the source of the problem and I will be able to repair it, however due to the storm and the rapidly falling temperature I will not be able to do so until the storm breaks. According to the weather reports and information I have gathered on this planet, that should be sometime tomorrow morning.” 

Hunter groaned while you paused your work momentarily. A considering look overtook your face as you looked between Hunter and Tech. 

“Aw man,” Wrecker groaned loudly, “you mean we’re stranded???”

“Snowed in would be a more accurate term,” Tech replied simply before turning his attention back to his datapad. 

Wrecker groaned even louder before muttering about bad luck and being hungry and a multitude of other things. Tech simply shrugged, unbothered by this turn of events, and made his way into the cockpit. 

“Well, better get comfy then,” Hunter replied, frustration evident in his voice as he looked at the remaining members of the squad. 

Crosshair looked over at you with a frown as you suddenly stepped away from him. You’d managed to remove the top half of his armour, leaving it in a neat pile at his feet, and he was feeling much warmer than before but he’d been enjoying the feeling of your hands on him, perhaps a bit too much.  

His brow furrowed as he watched you grab your coat from where you had placed it on one of the jump seats earlier. There was a gleam in your eyes suddenly that he wasn’t quite sure he liked the look of. 

“What are you doing?” He asked gruffly as you pulled your coat back on. Both Hunter and Wrecker looked over at you questioningly as well as you zipped up your coat and wrapped your scarf around your neck. 

You smiled brightly at him before you pulled the scarf up over your nose, his heart flipped traitorously at the sight, just as it always did, “I’m just going to go grab something quick. I’ll be right back!”

“Did you miss the part where Tech said he’d freeze to death?” Crosshair hissed, narrowing his eyes at you. 

You rolled your eyes, much to his annoyance, “No, I heard. But that’s why I’m going to go right now, not later.”

“It’s freezing out and you can barely see anything!” Crosshair snapped as he stooped to pick up the armour you had removed. There was no way he was letting you go out there alone, “You’re going to get lost!”

“I am not and put that armour back down. I know exactly where I’m going. I’ll be less than five minutes!” You protested, pulling his chest plate back out of his hands and adding it back to the pile. 

Crosshair’s ire was rising by the moment, “You could freeze out there!” 

You quirked an eyebrow at him, before pulling up the hood of your jacket, leaving nothing but your eyes showing, “That would happen regardless if you’re there or not.”

Crosshair spluttered, anger coursing through him but before he could say anything else you patted him on the shoulder, “I’ll be fine Cross, unlike you I’m used to the cold, I grew up on a planet with a weather condition other than just rain. And if I’m not back in five minutes you can send out the search party for me.”

“If you’re not back in five minutes I’m just going to let you freeze,” Crosshair replied grumpily, even though it was a complete lie. If you weren’t back in 4 minutes and 30 seconds he was going to be out that door faster than a jump into hyperspace. 

“So rude,” You said with a laugh, you gripped both of his arms with your gloved hands, giving him a gentle squeeze, “It was nice knowing you then.” 

His scowl deepened as you pulled away, normally you were very logical and level-headed, which he admired that about you, so whatever idea that had come into your head that was making you think this was a good idea was completely out of the normal. 

“Wait,” He hissed softly before you could make more than a few steps toward the door. 

You paused looking up at him as he lifted his hands, pulling the scarf around your face just a little tighter and tugging it up to cover more of your face. It had slipped while you’d be talking and that was completely unacceptable. He wasn't about to let you freeze to death on his watch.

Your eyes were warm as you looked up at him for a quick moment before you hit the button to release the ramp of The Marauder.

“Five minutes!” You called back at him over your shoulder happily as you made your way down the ramp. 

He continued to scowl after you for a long moment, arms crossed over his chest unhappily as the door rose once more, sealing off the outside world. With an annoyed huff, he turned back towards his armour that needed to be stowed in his kit only to pause as he caught sight of his brothers. 

Wrecker was clearly pretending to be busy by moving an old equipment crate around while Hunter was just outright looking at Crosshair with an amused expression. 

“Shut up!” He hissed, picking up one of his vambraces and throwing it at his eldest brother who ducked away from it easily. 

“I didn’t say anything,” Hunter replied, his tone as amused as his expression before he disappeared into the cockpit to join Tech. Wrecker simply whistled casually in a very poor attempt to pretend he didn’t know what was going on. Crosshair frowned, cursing softly under his breath at your insistence to do something stupid and his own inability to keep his feelings in check as he bent down to retrieve the rest of his armour. At least you’d been right about one thing, he was much warmer without it on. 

Thankfully, you were true to your word and by the time he’d stored the rest of his gear away (4 minutes and 23 seconds to be exact) you’d returned to the ship, something bundled beneath a blanket under your arm, looking like you’d just single-handedly won the war. 

Curious about what you were up to, the rest of the squad re-appeared as the door to The Marauder hissed closed behind you. Your smile was so radiant as you pulled off your scarf that it made Crosshair’s stomach clench. Despite still being somewhat annoyed at your little side quest, he was unable to resist following after you as you headed towards where Gonky was currently plugged in placing whatever was in your arms on top of the sleeping droid. 

“Ta-da!” You announced happily, clapping your hands together in excitement as you revealed a small…tree. 

The Batch was quiet for a long moment while you simply bounced happily on your feet, looking between them all expectantly. 

“Why did you bring a tree on the ship?” Tech asked finally, breaking the silence. 

“It’s Life Day tomorrow!” You replied excitedly, “So, I figured if we’re going to be stuck here then we should celebrate. Make it a little more festive in here!” 

“Life day?” Hunter asked though it came out more of a statement than a question. 

You frowned suddenly and Crosshair instantly wanted to kick Hunter for ruining your enthusiasm, “You.. do know what life day is, right?” You asked, concern suddenly evident on your face.

Of course, they did, but only because they had once had to listen to Tech prattle on about it during a mission when they’d been stuck in hyperspace. Not because they actually celebrated it. There wasn’t much room in a clone's life for celebrations or holidays. 

“You mean the traditional Wookie holiday that has been perpetuated by large businesses to drive consumerism?” Tech asked without even looking up from his datapad, his tone completely matter-of-fact. 

Crosshair wasn’t able to stop the snort of amusement that left him at the look on your face at Tech’s comment. It was somewhere between outrage and resignation.

“Well, yes,” You replied with a grumble, though your grumpy tone was more endearing than threatening, “But it’s about more than that! It’s about spending time with your friends and family, the people you love and care about!” 

“And.. you require a holiday to do this?” Tech asked skeptically as he finally looked up from his datapad, his eyebrows were raised towards his hairline questioningly.  

Your frown deepened to an even more amusing level, “Well, no, we shouldn’t,” Your eyes narrowed slightly at Tech, “But that’s it, no more questions from Tech.” 

Crosshair snorted again as you clapped your hands together once more, brightening considerably, “Who wants to help me decorate?”

“Oh, me! Me!” Wrecker answered excitedly, rocketing up from where he’d been sitting in one of the jump seats and bouncing on the balls of his feet in front of you. Crosshair couldn’t help but roll his eyes at his over-the-top excitement. You, on the other hand, looked thrilled by his enthusiasm. 

“We don’t have any decorations.” Tech pointed out, “What will…”

“No more questions!” You cut him off in a sing-song voice before you grabbed Wrecker's large hands in your own and dragged him towards the back of the ship. Powerless, as he always was when it came to you, Crosshair followed along behind. Admittedly he was curious about what you’d be able to find that would count as a “decoration”. 

Within the hour they were all once again gathered around the Life Day tree, which now sported an assortment of random spare parts and a few extra headlamps as decorations while Hunter handed out their rations. 

Clearly taking their lack of Life Day experience as an opportunity to educate them, you’d started regaling them with some of your favourite Life Day stories. They all listened with wrapt attention, much more interested in your stories than Tech’s technical information about the holiday. Crosshair was unable to take his eyes off you, you were so beautiful, face lit up with excitement and laughter as you talked. There were a lot of moments, especially ones like these when you shone so brightly, that he still couldn’t quite believe that you’d chosen him, of all people. 

The hours melted away as you talked, his brothers joining in with their own stories, not specific to Life Day but the ones that had been passed on from clone to clone over the years, it was all they had to share but you listened and laughed right along with them. Crosshair remained quiet, simply basking in the warmth of the ship and enjoying the sight of the people he cared about most simply enjoying each other’s company. It was the most peaceful he’d felt in a very long time and he knew that was mostly because of you. You’d added so much to all of their lives, fitting into the squad as though you’d always belonged there.

Eventually, the stories slowed, and voices lowered before stopping altogether. Crosshair smirked as he watched your eyes begin to droop, your body slumping back in your chair as you curled further into the blanket that had once been wrapped around his shoulders. He’d been just about to jab you with his foot and order you off to bed when suddenly the sounds of Wrecker snoring rocked the ship, startling you awake once more. 

Hunter stood at the sound, casting an amused look at their brother who was fast asleep in his chair, “I’ll take first watch, get some rest.” He made his way back over to the cockpit before anyone could even think about objecting. Silently, Tech rose, giving them both a nod before he headed over towards one of the bunks and climbed up to the top. There were only three since one of them was usually on watch and there hadn’t been a need for more before you’d joined the squad.  Despite your protests, you’d been given the middle one permanently which had left the other two for them to rotate through. 

Crosshair’s eyes followed you as you rose, pulling the blanket closer around you as you made your way over to him. He reached out to gently grasp your hip through the blanket, closing the distance between the two of you with a soft tug.

You smiled softly before you bent over, pressing a kiss to his cheek, making his skin burn, “Goodnight, Cross,” You said quietly, squeezing his shoulder gently before making your way over to your bunk. Unfortunately, you only slept together when you weren’t aboard The Marauder and surrounded by his brothers. 

With a sigh, Crosshair stood and kicked the chair Wrecker had been sleeping in, jolting him awake. He, fortunately, had the ability to fall asleep anywhere and not suffer any consequences. Wrecker on the other hand would be sore if he slept all night in a chair and then they would never hear the end of it the next day. 

“Go to bed,” Crosshair ordered sternly.

Wrecker grumbled something incoherent as he stood, still half asleep but somehow he managed to stumble his way over to the bunks. Crosshair watched with amusement as he collapsed in a heap, snoring once more the moment his head hit his thin regulation pillow. 

Crosshair was about to return to his chair to get some sleep of his own when he paused, his eyes straying over to where you were now curled up in your bunk. As usual, his heart picked up a notch as he looked at you. At that moment there was absolutely nowhere he wanted to be more than in that bed with you. He suddenly wasn’t sure why he bothered pretending like he wasn’t as crazy about you as he was. 

You let out a surprised squeak, eyes popping open and he climbed into the bunk, shouldering you over and tugging at the blanket until he was between you and the wall. He pulled you in close, the lines of your body matching up perfectly with his own before he pulled the blanket back up over the both of you. 

“What is this? You asked, tone amused but you snuggled closer into him nonetheless. You moved your hands to rest over top of his own where they were wrapped around your stomach, holding you close.  

“For warmth,” Crosshair replied dryly. 

“Ah yes, of course,” You let out a soft laugh, “Practical as always.” 

He snorted, tucking his chin against your shoulder and closing his eyes for a moment. He hadn’t been all that tired but the warmth you were giving off was very quickly changing that. 

“Does your Life Day celebration usually involve rations?” Crosshair asked quietly, despite how ridiculous he’d found the whole thing at first he found himself growing curious about the holiday. Mostly because he wanted to know more about your life and the things you felt were important. 

You let out a soft snort of laughter, “Well no, but it’s the people that matter most, Cross.” 

“Hmm..” he replied, skeptical. 

“It is!” you cried, indignantly, turning your head slightly so you could look at him out of your peripheral vision, pinching his hand lightly in response. 

“If you say so,” He drawled. 

You laughed softly again, shaking your head before you turned around to face him. In this position, your faces were only inches apart and he had to try very hard not to kiss you. 

“I will say that the rations were a first. My mum always goes a little crazy, she loves life day. There’s always so much food. It’s hard to even move after because you're always so full. Hopefully, we’ll be able to go next year.” 

Crosshair’s entire body seized at your casual comment. Thinking of the future wasn’t something he ever allowed himself to do. He didn’t see the point of getting his hopes up. A future, a family, that wasn’t something he had ever thought he could have. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out with future talk,” You said softly, trying your best to meet his averted gaze. You’d caught onto his avoidance of the future much quicker than he would have liked. Though he shouldn’t have been surprised, you’d always had the ability to see him in a way no one else ever could. 

“You didn’t…” He started gruffly, but he wasn’t sure what else to say. You’d read him so easily and that still unnerved him at times.

More than just avoiding getting his hopes up by not thinking about the future, there was a part of him, an admittedly large part that was constantly worried that one day you would realize that you could do so much better than him. He was just a clone, a defective one at that, and he had nothing to offer you. Not even time was on his side. 

“Cross,” You started softly, one hand reaching up to cup his jaw, gentle touch forcing his chin down so that your eyes could meet. Your gaze was so warm that it made his heart clench, “You know I love you, right?” You continued, as though you could hear his very thoughts.

It wasn’t the first time you’d said it but the overwhelming feelings that filled him each time you did never changed. He’d never been a man of many words so he showed you just how much you meant to him in one of the few ways he knew how. 

You let out another soft sound of surprise as he pressed his lips to your own, pulling you so close that it became difficult to tell where one of you ended and the other began. When the two of you were like this, the future didn’t seem that intimidating and it was easier to forget about all the doubts that seemed to constantly haunt him. There was just the two of you, as you were meant to be. 

He nipped gently at your lower lip once before pulling back slightly, resting his forehead against your own before closing his eyes. You let out a soft sigh as your hand slid down from his jaw to rest over his heart, bunching gently in the fabric of his blacks. 

“Next Life Day we’re getting a bigger tree,” Crosshair said after a long, quiet moment. 

You laughed softly, body shaking slightly in his arms, “Of course, Cross. Anything for you.” 

He grunted happily in response, eyes growing heavier as sleep began to take over. 

“Happy first Life Day, Crosshair,” You whispered, just before he drifted off to sleep. Warm, content, and most of all, happy. 

[lay-z]

tw: self-shipping; self-indulgent; cnc; dark/possessive!Simon (I guess); unprotected sex

The air is thick and stuffy in the small bedroom, though it's more a storage room than anything, really. There's just a worn-out cot with a thin mattress and a pillow, and a bedside table, right below the small, dirty, and curtainless window.

And I'm both grateful and pissed that my teammates urged me to take the only room with a functional bed in the whole, shabby safe house while they're forced to be content with the dirty floor in the living room again. Pissed that they keep prioritising my comfort over theirs, simply because I'm the only woman on the squad.

And grateful, because now I can at least pretend they can't hear me getting pounded into oblivion by our Lieutenant.

"Gotta keep it down, hm? Sweet girl, shhh " His voice isn't soft, isn't reassuring. I know he's smiling smugly underneath his mask, holding all the power in this moment, still fully clothed and in full gear while the only patch of exposed skin is currently balls deep inside my quivering cunt, no barrier between us.

Ghost had me undressed within a minute after slipping into the small bedroom with me; the withered door had barely creaked before it was closed again, and then, his dooming shadow was looming over me.

"Jus' a quick one, sweet'eart," he'd purred against my temple, voice muffled by his skull balaclava while he pulled my tac shirt off. "Need to feel ya. Jus' the tip, promise."

A blatant lie, that one.

As much as Ghost tried and succeeded in sneaking away from our teammates and slipping into my small safe haven of privacy, it does feel like he is currently making sure that everyone understands what is going on in here.

He lets out the most whorish, guttural groan when his thick cock sinks into my sopping cunt and bottoms out after letting me adjust while I'm presented all prettily for him on all fours.

I feel feverish, flushed. I'm sweating, hair sticking to the nape of my neck while I'm dripping with sticky arousal between my thighs.

The cot squeaks and creaks dangerously underneath our weight with each powerful thrust of his hips. My body jolts, my inner walls ripple around his fat cock while his balls slap against my wet flash, and I'm forced down on my elbows, barely able to muffle my cry of pleasure as I bury my face into the old pillow below me, eyes squeezing shut with ragged breaths.

He huffs a low chuckle behind me while one of his gloved hands releases its grip on my waist to trace the bowed arch of my back with his knuckles instead, all while he keeps rocking his hips in a slow yet harsh pace that leaves the fat of my plump ass jiggling with each thrust, thick cockhead nudging too deeply against my cervix.

"Fuckin' hell," Ghost curses sharply, chest rumbling with a low groan as he grips the nape of my neck and pushes my face further down into the pillow. "Wha' did I say, huh?" He grabs one of my ass cheeks and squeezes hard. "Keep those sweet fuckin' noises down. They're only f'me."

I whimper into the pillow when he smacks my ass cheek; cold leather leaving my skin stinging while my body quakes with mounting pleasure. I'm barely able to breathe and my face gets hotter while I'm trying to get enough air in, though I'm struggling like I'm doing breaststroke in a pool.

"Touch yerself f'me. Wanna feel ya squeeze my fuckin' cock, bunny." His hand around my nape tightens and my blood starts rushing in my ears; it gets even harder to breath.

I slip a hand between my thighs and squeeze my sticky flesh with a high-pitched whimper before rubbing my swollen clit while he keeps up his languid pace.

It's too hot, too much, and I'm getting lightheaded while the pleasure intensifies and tightens inside my lower belly; licking up my spine tauntingly and making my toes curl as my wanton moans and dumb gibberish are muffled by the pillow. Thank God.

Ghost doesn't need to hear me moan his name; doesn't need to hear me begging him to let me come.

"Fuck, tha's right," he grunts, his pace picking up as his mammoth hands find purchase on my plush hips again; strong fingers digging into the fat. "Gonna cum 'nd'm not gonna pull out."

I cry out and bite into the tattered pillow, drool soaking into the flimsy fabric as my climax sneaks up on me, mind numbing and intense, and I push back into his thrusts while my pussy clenches and flutters, triggering his own release.

Ghost is nearly silent when he comes, but his breath stutters and catches in his buff chest and his fingers dig painfully before his warm, thick cum paints my velvety walls full enough to dribble out and onto the sheets while he keeps grinding his hips, milking both our orgasms for all they're worth.

His large hands start roaming, caressing, groping whatever they can reach as I collapse onto the squeaky mattress, breathing heavily while my heart rate and body temperature normalise again.

He gives my ass a few gentle pats before he pulls out, making me whine at the sudden loss of his softening prick. "Good girl," he praises gruffly as he tucks himself back into his cargo pants. "My sweet girl."

A dopey grin tugs on my lips, one that I'm keen to hide from him as I slump onto the mattress and nuzzle my face back into the pillow.

His hands keep roaming, fingertips trailing along my flushed skin. "Not gonna ask me to stay, eh?" Ghost taunts quietly, though there is no bite to his words, more longing than nothing, actually. We both know he can't stay.

A sudden sharp knock at the door cuts through the tranquility.

[svt-reneko]

📁 — 𖥔 relationships › hyung line › maknae line

masterlist

CHOI SEUNGCHEOL

ⵌ ; ship name — ( seungcheol + reneko ) rencheol

⟢ ; popularity — 90%

Reneko is basically Seungcheol’s daughter at this point. When the news that a girl would be joining Seventeen was broken, he wasn’t sure how she would adjust to being in a group full of loud, teenage boys. He wasn’t doubting her abilities or her place in Seventeen, but he was concerned about how comfortable and safe she would feel in such a dynamic. Over time, though, he saw how well she bonded with everyone, and his worries faded. Seungcheol naturally took on a protective role, always offering her support and making sure she was doing well. Reneko describes him as someone she knows she can rely on, someone who will always be there for her.

YOON JEONGHAN

ⵌ ; ship name — ( jeonghan + reneko ) haneko

⟢ ; popularity — 98%

Don’t even get me started on these two… Put them in a room together, and you best believe there’ll be nothing but pure chaos. Their constant back-and-forth teasing and playful antics make everyone else wonder if they ever take things seriously. Jeonghan was the first person Reneko got close to when she came to Korea. Although his Japanese was limited (the same for her Korean), he managed to find ways to communicate with her and make her feel as welcomed as possible. Now, Jeonghan often goes to Reneko for help with learning Japanese, and the same goes both ways. Their friendship is built on mutual understanding, humor, and a shared love of causing trouble together. Whether it’s making everyone laugh or pulling harmless pranks, they’ve become inseparable.

HONG JISOO

ⵌ ; ship name — ( jisoo + reneko ) jiren

⟢ ; popularity — 94%

Joshua is genuinely one of the nicest people Reneko has ever met, and she is so grateful for him. His kindness and understanding make her feel comfortable in a way that no one else can. Whenever she has any problems with how she’s feeling, she will immediately go to Joshua. He understands exactly how she feels whenever she describes it, and he always reassures her with words that make her feel lighter. He knows how Reneko has problems opening up and expressing her feelings, so he’s always honored to be the person she trusts with these things. Beyond being a source of comfort, they’re incredibly close and playful with each other. They’re constantly teasing eachother and only stop once someone else has to jump in. Joshua always knows how to make Reneko smile, and she can always count on him to be there when she needs him the most.

WEN JUNHUI

ⵌ ; ship name — ( junhui + reneko ) renhui

⟢ ; popularity — 97%

These two are each other’s number one fans!!!!! Jun and Reneko always have each other’s backs, offering support no matter what. When Jun released his solo song, Limbo, Reneko proudly announced during a weverse live that she had streamed it over 400 times, leaving the other members teasing her about her dedication. It goes both ways—Jun cheered Reneko on throughout all the seasons of Alice in Borderland, sharing posts and sending her encouraging messages after big scenes aired. Similarly, Reneko made sure to hype up Exclusive Fairytale, praising Jun’s acting skills at every opportunity. Their bond goes beyond professional support, though—they’re always hyping each other up, whether it’s during practice or in day to day moments. They always keep each other grounded and find ways to lift each other’s spirits, no matter what.

KWON SOONYOUNG

ⵌ ; ship name — ( soonyoung + reneko ) soonko

⟢ ; popularity — 95%

Hoshi and Reneko share a bond fueled by their mutual love for performing and their equally chaotic energy. Hoshi has always admired Reneko’s determination and creativity. Whether it’s brainstorming choreography or pulling harmless pranks on the other members, the two are practically inseparable when they’re together. Reneko often credits Hoshi for inspiring her to think outside the box, while Hoshi claims Reneko keeps him grounded when his ambitions get a little too out of control. When it came to sorting out units, Hoshi literally got on his knees and begged Reneko to choose the performance unit over the vocal unit. Spoiler alert: he got what he wanted.

JEON WONWOO

ⵌ ; ship name — ( wonwoo + reneko ) woneko

⟢ ; popularity — 90%

Although Wonwoo isn’t the most talkative in the group, Reneko always manages to bring out his livelier side. He often describes her as someone who effortlessly brightens the atmosphere, always lifting the mood with her playful energy. Despite their contrasting personalities, they balance each other well—Reneko encourages Wonwoo to open up more, while he provides her with a sense of calm and stability. Their friendship is built on quiet understanding and a comfort that doesn’t require constant words.

LEE JIHOON

ⵌ ; ship name — ( jihoon + reneko ) hooneko

⟢ ; popularity — 93%

Woozi was so against the idea of a girl joining Seventeen. He was constantly overthinking the possibilities of things getting messed up. Would it disrupt their dynamic? Would she feel out of place? Honestly… it was stupid, and he knew it. But the worry had been there, gnawing at him in the beginning. Over time, though, all his doubts vanished as Reneko became part of their group. Now, they’re closer than predebut Hooneko could have ever imagined. Reneko often finds herself sat in Woozi’s studio, watching him work and once in a while sharing her ideas with him. He alwas loves her ideas and ensures she gets the credit she deserves. So, when it comes to their songs, Reneko is the third most credited member of seventeen.

finished this at 4am on christmas eve >_<

[the-bad-batch-baroness]

Where's Mommy?

Wolffe x Lilith Sestri (OFC)

Part 19

Summary: Wolffe's wife suddenly dies, leaving him a single father in the middle of a war.

Pairing: Wolffe x Lilith Sestri (OFC)

Characters: Wolffe, Cara (child OFC), Comet

Tags & Warnings: heavy angst, mention of death, off-screen death, spousal death, grief, hurt/comfort, family fluff, funeral

Word Count: 1.1k

Author's Note: Merry Christmas everyone! I come bearing a new chapter! Wow, can't believe it's been four months since my last update 😅 Sorry for disappearing on y'all! I can't commit to my previous bi-weekly schedule of updating, but it should be a lot better. Personally, I think this chapter is trash, and far from my usual writing (my beta says otherwise), so please extend a little bit of grace as I get back into the swing of things. As always, please enjoy 💚

Beta: @/beating-a-dead-plot

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As Wolffe approached the room, he could hear Cara laughing and Comet talking in a funny voice. He shook his head at their silliness, but the smile that crept onto his face probably looked just as silly. He loved hearing Cara laugh, even though he was never good at causing it. His wife was the one who did the tickling and the funny voices at bedtime that made her laugh until her sides hurt, not him. He just liked to watch and listen, however, hearing it now only made the hole in his heart grow bigger. It was another reminder of what he lost. Perhaps out of selfishness, Wolffe opened the door to interrupt the raucous laughter.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Cara yelled as she jumped off the bed and ran toward the door.

Wolffe smiled and bent over to hoist her up onto his hip and then gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Hey, baby. Did you have fun with Comet today?"

Cara nodded her head, eyes bright and crinkled with a wide grin. "Mhm. We went all over the place and, and we saw the tree!"

"Yeah?" Wolffe said, feigning a little surprise. "What'd you think? Was it like you imagined?"

Cara hummed. "It was smaller than I thought. Comet said there are planets with bigger trees."

"He's right," Wolffe said. "I've seen trees as big as buildings."

"Really?" Her eyes went wide with wonder.

"Yup. Some so high, you can't even see the tops."

"I want to see those!"

Wolffe chuckled. "Maybe someday."

"Why not now?" Cara whined.

Wolffe sighed and set Cara back down on the ground. "Because, I said so."

What was he supposed to say? Because he was fighting in a war and she wasn't allowed to come along? Or that she could get hurt or even die? His wife always told him there was no point in trying to reason with a child's logic because they'll always have another question buried among a thousand other questions, and a firm 'because I said so' was enough to get the job done. The other thing she taught him was to change the subject.

"Remember when you asked if you could come out with me this morning?" Wolffe asked.

Cara nodded.

"Want to come out with me tomorrow morning?"

Cara nodded with enthusiasm.

"Good," Wolffe said. "We're going to meet someone, so I want you on your best behavior."

"Who?" Cara asked.

Wolffe hesitated as he thought of what to say. "A… a new friend of daddy's. She'll be staying with us for a while."

Comet side-eyed Wolffe at the comment, but Wolffe glared back with a silent warning. Comet knew they were shipping out the next evening, and the wheels in his head were already turning about who this new friend could be. However, Comet also knew that Wolffe would kill him if he dared to mention their deployment to Cara before he did, so he kept his mouth shut, even though it ate him up on the inside.

"Will I like her?" Cara asked.

"I think so," Wolffe said. In truth, he had no information about the woman. He didn't know what her name was, what she looked like, who she was affiliated with, or what she was capable of, but he didn't have a choice at this point. It was either the mystery nanny or the mystery Jedi, and he'd rather take a chance on the mystery woman who Fox most likely already checked out. "She's a nanny."

"What's a nanny?" Cara asked.

"They help take care of children," Wolffe explained. The light huff that came from Comet did not go unnoticed and Wolffe turned his head to glare at the trooper with a sterner warning. This was hard enough as it was and he didn't need Comet breathing down his neck about how wrong it was to lie to his child. Without a single word, Comet rose from the bed and walked out of the room, visually perturbed and practically snarling out of Cara's view. Wolffe would deal with him later, but for now he still needed to convince Cara. "She's going to help me take care of you, like Mommy did."

Cara blinked, her face scrunching in thought. "Oh."

There was an awkward silence in the room and Wolffe didn't know how to fill it. He couldn't go into much more detail, or she might catch on that he was leaving, and now he didn't have Comet as back-up if he screwed up. She was a smart kid, after all, and was getting smarter every day.

"Will she be my new mommy?" Cara asked.

The innocent question punched Wolffe in the gut. The breath was sucked out of him to the point where he thought his lungs would never reinflate as images of his wife flashed across his mind, and in that split second, it felt like she died all over again. He knelt in front of Cara and shook his head. "No, baby. Mommy can't be replaced, ever." His voice quivered with emotions that he thought he was better at hiding. "Do you understand me? You're not getting a new mommy."

Cara frowned, eyes watering, but not a single tear fell. "Okay."

Wolffe took a deep breath to settle himself and then pulled Cara in for a hug. Another twisted tug-of-war was being fought between his mind and his heart. He desperately wanted to get away from everything that reminded him of his wife, including Cara, but he also desperately wanted to hold every last piece of her that he had left, which was Cara. It made him feel sick to want both at the same time, knowing that he could only have one at a time and both at the cost of the other.

"We're gonna be okay," Wolffe whispered, more for himself than for Cara. "I promise."

Cara tightened her embrace against Wolffe with little hands that used to be so tiny they couldn't even wrap around his finger. He'd give anything to have those cycles back, and he'd do it all differently. He wouldn't let his wife give birth alone, or miss birthdays and anniversaries, or miss Cara's growth markers or the doctor appointments. If he could go back, he would desert and start a new life somewhere far, far away from the GAR's reach, where he could take care of his family and enjoy them longer.

But that was why clones didn't get into romantic relationships, that was why clones didn't get married, and that was why clones didn't have babies, because that kind of life was never meant for a clone. Clones were bred for one purpose, and that was to serve the GAR from life until death with loyalty and honor. Love, peace, and happiness were never part of the original equation, and the loss of his wife was just proof that the galaxy hated him and his kind. He'd never be able to go back, and he may never be able to move forward. Only time would tell.

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[flightofthestarscream]

Starscream's tense posture didn't falter for a moment as he listened to Tarn attempt to explain himself. But slowly, his posture relaxed as Tarn spoke. It seemed the other was winning him over, even just a little, with the tone in which he told his story. And as he continued telling his story, it seemed to come across just how much Tarn revered the Megatron of his universe. How sparkbroken he had become at the betrayal of their great leader.

While it felt at odds with what he knew, the mech opposite him truly believed that his Megatron was just and fair. And maybe he was. Unlike the Megatron the Seeker knew, who did little more than infantalize him and make him feel less than. Incapable when he was more than competent. He hadn't been named Air Commander for nothing, after all. But none of that mattered currently.

Starscream hesitated, before he crossed the empty space, climbing onto the cargo ramp and stepping up to Tarn. "I doubt any Megatron can be fair. I do not intend to jump from one misery into another." He told Tarn as he began to head up into the ship, though not going too far as to cast doubt that he might intend to do something ill-advised.

"Nor will I undertake an alias to appease another Megatron and... Myself?" He wasn't entirely sure how that worked. Multiple universes has not been something he had been allowed to work towards understanding for the short period he had not been fighting in his lifetime. "I am Starscream, and no one will rob me of my designation for any reason. I would rather see the barrel of an ion cannon before I would consider such an act." He warned, staring Tarn down as if to attempt to intimidate him. Granted, he was now in Tarn's territory, and it was not the wisest idea for him to do such a thing in enemy boundaries.

Tarn was ready to receive his guest when Starscream hit an abrupt halt just shy of the ramp of the cargo hatch. He stared, bewildered by the sudden dissonance of the Seeker's spark. At first, he didn't know what was wrong, but he received his answer quickly.

"What purpose would I derive from upsetting you? We've only just met." Tarn spoke evenly, tone calm in juxtaposition to the flier's posturing. Starscream was deadly in the air, and he had no doubt this one shared the skills of his counterpart in Tarn's universe, but he had an advantage this Seeker did not know, though he would prefer to avoid showing it.

"Universes could vary greatly from each other. The contrast may be vast. As I've informed you prior, the universe within which I currently dwell is one where the Empire has triumphed. However, it is not my universe of origin." At that, his optics dimmed, and a distinct somberness settled across his demeanor. "In my home universe, the Lord defected to the enemy and became the ultimate Traitor of his own Cause. He was later trialed and executed by the demands of a conglomerate of organics. You can imagine my reasons for leaving that world behind."

Cycling a long ex-vent, the tankformer lowered his gaze, as though speaking those words was a grave and strenuous task. He did not want to think about his home universe, but doing so was unavoidable when he had a point to make. "I do not know the Lord Megatron of your world, but the one I now serve is firm but fair. Perhaps you too will serve him one day, though that depends on your decision and whether or not the Lord Consort permits your arrival. It might be easier if you simply took up an alias so that he does not find out who you are."

Even as Tarn made that suggestion, he had very little hope for it to work. As far as he knew, all Starscreams were prideful creatures. To use an alias for the sake of another seemed a complete impossibility.

[zarnzarn]

The doors to Olympus are sturdy and strong, given everyone's preferences for drama and slamming said doors open and sending them cracking into the wall whenever the opportunity arises. Which is why it's a surprise when they creak open during the once-a-decade pantheon meeting; less so because no entity worth their salt would take so long to open the doors, and more so because everyone who is anyone is already there.

But if everyone is being honest with themselves- which no one is, usually- these gatherings are boring enough that the bland conversation is dropped immediately in favour of craning their necks to catch a glimpse of whatever is coming to relieve them of their boredom.

When the doors finally open however, several of the pantheon murmur in surprise.

"Odysseus," Athena whispers, wide-eyed as she pushes herself off her throne to her feet. It is him- in the king's garb he was buried in but the face he has when he reached home, hair till the shoulders and speckled with grey, face oddly blank. His feet are transparent.

"What are you doing here, sceptre?" Poseidon booms, hair the color of a stormy sea. Zeus, beside him, looks reserved, observing the ghost with something approaching curiosity- eyes flicking to the lightning scars on his daughter's face and back. "Your time has long passed, and Hades-"

"It is a temporary agreement," Odysseus says curtly, barely sparing him a glance as he approaches his patron. "Athena."

Her armour clinks as she steps forward and the gods all twitch, trading glances. Owls are silent creatures- to have her aspect so affected to make noise was... uneasy to say the least. She even holds herself different than usual, something like confused delight shining in her eyes. "How did you-"

"Did you sleep with my wife?"

The throne room is silent. Several jaws drop.

Athena straightens back up, blinking in surprise. She looks a bit shifty, some of the nymphs closest whisper to each other, which- well, almost every single god present owed some part of their existence to the mere story of Odysseus loving his wife.

Would he fight his own patron goddess over it in front of Mount Olympus, though? He certainly was unbalanced enough; Athena herself looked rather uncertain of her odds, even though-

"Are you addled in death, King of Ithaka?" Artemis drawls, looking amused. "Did you forget that your own patron is celibate? Whatever rumor you-"

"No, I-" Athena says suddenly, shifting her spear to her other hand. "I did."

Artemis chokes on her breath and several assorted divine beings gasp in shock and the rest shouting for explanations, although everyone is nearly drowned out by Aphrodite's loud, "WHAT?"

Odysseus inhales sharply and pinches the bridge of his nose. "I cannot believe you."

"She asked-" Athena starts, only to be drowned out by the din of various beings screeching and shouting about the scandal.

"ATHENA!" Hera hisses, peacock tail fanning behind her sharply as she pushes herself up. "Explain yourself!"

Athena half-turns to face her, face creased in a frown. "Mother, I-"

"LET ME REPHRASE!" Odysseus cuts in loudly, and the shouting settles down into silence. He walks to his patron, eyes blazing. "I cannot believe," he throws his clenched fists wide as he growls the last word, "-you took Penelope to bed-" Athena surprisingly stays still as he reaches her, mouth falling open as he grabs her by the chiton to yank her down, uncaring of the gasps of horror from all around as he snarls, "-before you ever kissed me."

And then Odysseus grabs Athena by the face roughly and kisses her.

This time Aphrodite's shriek cannot be escaped by anyone.

"Aphrodite, please," Zeus says a few moments later, wincing as his throne reforms around him, stained oddly pink. Quite a few minor entities have discorporated, and the ones nearest to her are still trying to regenerate their hearing. "Control yourself."

Their eyes land back on where Athena has dropped her spear- dropped her spear, Ares in the corner seems to be having some minor hysteria over this, well warranted- and is also on the floor, still being thoroughly kissed by that insufferable, mannerless hero of hers, perched on her stomach to reach. Zeus inhales in fury, Poseidon close behind him as the shock wears off, lightning crackling around his fingers as he opens his mouth to shout- of all the indignities-

"If you two ruin this for me," Aphrodite thunders, warping in front of them and glaring. "I will make you both regret it."

Both gods visibly blanch at the threat, taken aback for one brief moment. Threats from Aphrodite are far worse than any of her more violent siblings, at the end of the day.

Zeus visibly gathers himself just as Athena's helmet clatters to the floor, and he gains a second wind immediately, eye twitching as he spreads a hand to the spectacle in the middle of the hall. "WHAT MANNER OF DISRESPECT IS THIS? TO BARGE INTO OUR MEETING AND THROW ONE OF THE OLDEST GODDESSES TO THE FLOOR LIKE A COMMON WENCH-"

"Zeus," Hera says quietly. Everyone falls silent, although it's not quite enough to stop the two tangled together on the ground. She clears her throat, which finally seems to get through to Athena, who had finally seemed to have gotten over her shock enough to reach out, hands hovering over Odysseus hesitantly. Still, at the noise she seems to remember herself, pushing herself up on an elbow and dislodging him enough to break their necking. He pouts at her, but Athena's eyes are too glazed over to notice, heaving for breath.

Hera opens her mouth to speak, crown manifesting on her brow as she steps in front of the throne, but closes it as the door rattles again.

This time, the spectre shimmers with a faint hint of scales that comes with a freshwater nymph's heritage and excited whispers starved for drama explode across the room as the Queen of Ithaka steps into the room, skirts hitched in her hand and panting as if she'd been running.

"Your Graces," She bows respectfully before entering, Spartan princess through and through, until she catches sight of her husband and Athena, the former of whom seems to have taken the opportunity to start kissing the wisdom goddess again, fingers in her curls.

"What are you doing?" She snaps, rushing over. The entire courtroom holds its breath. She slaps her husband upside the head, making him yelp and move back to shoot her a betrayed look. Athena looks even further dazed than before, cheeks red. "Argos has more manners than you! No wonder Lady Athena wanted nothing to do with you- ah, hello, darling, by the way."

"Penelope," Athena murmurs hoarsely, and the Queen of Ithaka leans down to kiss her as well.

Odysseus chuckles, then jumps with everyone else as Hera slams a hand down on the throne elegantly, cracking it to the base.

"Ah, goddess-" He says, clambering off Athena to bow.

"Silence," Hera interrupts, holding up a hand, eyes cold. "You will not say anything to me apart from an explanation. My agreement for your release from Ogygia was due to the assurance that your marriage was one of the truest I have ever witnessed, conveyed by Athena herself when bartered with all of us to let you go. Tell me, was it a ploy? Because from the disgraceful looks of it, this seems to not be the case in the slightest."

Odysseus frowns, face twisting in confusion. "Athena bartered with...?" He turns to look at his patron, who stares back, unspeaking. His eyes flicker to the lightning scar over her right eye as Penelope traces it with horrified eyes and a gentle thumb, and understanding seems to dawn.

For a moment, rage seems to fill him, glaring with a hatred towards Zeus that everyone whispered later wasn't met by the god king with anger, but a flicker of remorse- before he visibly throws it away behind Athena's old smile and bows.

"God-queen," He says formally, gracefully. Hera twitches a bit, and they'll all talk later about how odd it was to so clearly see Athena's younger mannerisms in the man, down to the curl of the letters. "My marriage to Penelope has never been false, never been broken, this I promise you." He takes Penelope's hand and squeezes it for emphasis, and she raises them as acknowledgement. "But... can you not argue that Athena has been part of our marriage all this time? From its start, where she advised me on courting and her on what to look for, to the twenty years she spent with both of us- me on the battlefield and Penelope in the court; to say nothing of how she helped raise our son and lived in our palace in the days after. And is she not so unbearably beautiful that even my Penelope couldn't wait-" He shoots a glare at her, which Penelope returns with a smile. "-when the chance was presented? How can you fault us for disgrace, after being so long apart from our wife?"

Hera raises both eyebrows at the impudence, the kind of disbelieving expression that hides a warning to tread carefully. "So you claim to be both married to Pallas Athena?"

"In every way that matters except legality," Odysseus says, fearlessly. He is dead, after all, what much can you do to a shade that they didn't already put him through when alive. He is sort of worried about Athena, though, as they both help her back to her feet, Penelope busy whispering compliments and updates and endearments in turn- she's not usually one to be quiet in face of a problem.

Hera tilts her head. "Ah, but you see. I need the legality, if I am to finally-" A helpless, excited smile pulls at her lips once, twice, before unfolding into a bright grin, peacock tails unfolding to their full wingspan. "-finally arrange for a marriage for my eldest daughter who has not once- oh finally, I can hardly believe this day has come-"

"I do not like the way you grabbed her, Sacker of Troy," Ares steps forward as Hera starts ranting half to herself, half to an equally loud assemblage of joyful entities about wedding arrangements, eyes narrowed.

Odysseus barks an incredulous, loud laugh, gesturing to Athena with a slightly crazed look in his eyes. "This lady has broken- and I do not exaggerate- every single bone in my body before I saw my sixteenth year. I have punched her a hundred times in the face when she taught me how to fight. We'll survive, thanks."

"That is fair," Ares steps back, hands raised.

"What duties will you provide as spouses, Ithakan Queen?" Hestia questions, stepping forward.

"Oh, the same we did when we were living," Penelope huffs a laugh. "Keep her busy, make her laugh, be of mild frustration to her, love her well, worship her-"

"I do not. Need to know," Hestia closes her eyes and raises a hand to cut her off, stepping back. Around them, the din catches speed and volume as no further objections arise, excitement spilling into the air.

"What is happening?" Athena says faintly, looking around as if she was just waking up.

"-oh, and we can get out the decor once more! Hebe, Aphrodite, loves, do you remember where we kept the fountains-"

"-finally, a reason to celebrate! Call them all out of hiding-"

"-can't believe this is finally happening, oh sister, what songs should we-

"Why am I getting married," Athena says with much more alarm and horror. She turns to Odysseus and shakes him by the shoulder, eyes wild. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!"

"How is this nothing? Do you have any idea the headache-"

"Athena, sweetheart, will you consider changing into that beautiful piece you made for the ceremony?"

Creakily, she turns her head to Hera, disbelief pasted across her face. "Mother," She says slowly. "They are both dead."

"Oh, I'll make a deal with Hades or something, you hush!" Aphrodite leans forward and snaps, before her irritation melts back into a manic joy. "Oh, what paint shall we do?"

Paint, Athena mouths, looking afraid for possibly the first time since her conception.

Penelope laughs and tugs on Athena's hand to make her turn, tucking dishevelled curls behind her ear. She wonders if the goddess knows how beautiful she is when she's flustered. "Take us away," She whispers. On Athena's other side, Odysseus leans against their patron with a besotted, helpless smile as he stares up at her, her helmet and spear in hand. She'd missed Athena like a limb, missed her deep laugh at night when they'd discussed the day's court, the dry jokes, the hands over hers as she weaved- but Odysseus wasn't himself without her, happy though they were in Hades' lands together, all of them.

"I'm-" Athena wavers, then looks around once more at all the excited screaming, something unreadable flashing in her eyes. Almost against her will, her eyes fall to Zeus, who is sitting silently and staring back at her. Poseidon looks like he still wants to start a fight, but clearly by his wary looks below can tell he will be heavily outnumbered by the overexcited crowd to not try, but Zeus just stares back at her, face blank of any emotion.

"We ask you formally this time," King Odysseus says, walking in front of her to take her attention away, holding onto her hand. His voice has strength in it, drawing the eyes of the murmuring crowd, but he's deaf to it as he stares up at her.

"Will you be our wife?" Queen Penelope asks, joining him, watching their beautiful patron shudder for breath she does not need as her eyes flick to one of them and then the other.

"Yes," She whispers and cheers erupt all across Mount Olympus.

"Finally!" Odysseus complains, and then pulls her down once more to kiss her, all three of them fading at the edges as one of the generous gods present there- who seems to realize that they're not very inclined to stop anytime soon- thankfully teleports them away into a nice room with a large bed.

"Finally," He whispers as he breaks apart to lay her down, cupping her face, voice heavy with the longing of a full lifetime and more. Penelope circles to the head of the bed and starts undoing Athena's braid, staring at them both lovingly.

Later the ones closest will murmur, as the silhouettes faded away, that tears had slipped from proud Pallas Athena's eyes as she placed one hand against Odysseus' cheek, trembling.

"I missed you," She will whisper back, and all three of them fade away to their own story, yet to be made.

[clearancecreedwatersurvival]

Katie McGrath has such insane chemistry with her female costars in whatever she’s in that it’s simply impossible not to ship it. Also she’s hot.

[z0mbiew00d]

Southlands polycule but noones really sure who’s in the polycule and who isn’t

[newtmas-supremxcy]

who would have thought the nerdy and sassy, "go fuck yourself I spent 70 years in hell but 5 minutes around this bitch is even more painful" ghost boy who hates pretty much everyone except his totally platonic 'best friend' would end up being the bicycle of the show who you end up shipping with three different people: a literal bird, a sassy hundred year old with cat eyes (essentially the dead boy detectives equivalent of magnus bane) and his aforementioned 'best friend'