#(like for instance not admitting they were fooled)

[lacewise]

Something I’ve been watching people comes to terms with is that a lot of people don’t care about propaganda or truth or information because they don’t want to be inconvenienced or challenged—so they simply don’t make room for it and are shocked when it imposes on them anyway

[nhlclover]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐊 | 𝐋𝐔𝐊𝐄 𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐄𝐒

summary: luke takes the risk and admits his feelings for you

warnings: a couple instances of cursing, mostly fluff, awkward dialogue

word count: 1.40k

“Luke, if you don’t get your ass over there right now, I’m gonna do it for you.”

Luke turned back around in his chair, reluctantly meeting the sets of eyes boring at him. Dawson let out a snort at Luke's sheepish face. “Look at his cheeks, he’s blushing.” Dawson laughed.

Luke rolled his eyes, taking a sip from his glass. His drink, purchased over an hour ago, had now become watered down and lukewarm.

“You’re such a pussy.” Jack taunted, sipping from his bottle.

“Okay, fuck off guys,” Luke muttered.

Luke fought the urge to look back over his shoulder where he knew he’d spot you still, dancing freely with your friends. Your body swaying and twirling along with the beat, hand in hand with your friend.

“Luke, c’mon, she’s been in Jersey for… what, six months now? And you still haven’t made a move.” Nico pointed out.

“She’s… we’re just friends,” Luke said, pulling his eyes onto his glass.

“Oh please, Luke, you’re not fooling anyone with that whole ‘we’re just friends’ bullshit,” Jack said, his tone practically a laugh.

Luke opened his mouth to retaliate but shut it promptly when he realized he had nothing. Luke had spent countless nights replaying your interactions, dissecting every smile, every laugh, every glance. But nothing gave him a clear answer on what your relationship was.

He remembered the first time you met. One of Luke’s first days on campus he’d gone to the rink to film some content for the Michigan Hockey social media. Your eyes caught Luke first, sparkling as you instructed him on the content he needed to film and the various photos to take.

He got to know you over the year, and your relationship developed into something that felt like more than friends, but you never actually crossed that barrier.

You laughed at his jokes, but then again you laughed at everyone's jokes. You smiled wide at him, but you smiled at everyone. The ambiguity drove Luke mad. Sometimes, he thought he caught you looking at him, your gaze lingering a second longer than necessary. But then he’d dismiss it as wishful thinking. Maybe you were just friendly. Maybe you were just nice.

Then, early this summer when you gave the news of your hiring by the Devils to Luke, he felt that maybe he’d get to clarify what you were. But six months of you being in New Jersey had come and gone, and the status of your relationship still hung up in the air.

“Look, Luke, just go talk to her,” Dawson said, his tone softer. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

Luke knew the worst. The worst that could happen was you telling him you didn’t see him that way. That you valued your friendship but nothing more. The worst was losing the ease and comfort of your current relationship. The late-night conversations, the inside jokes, the shared secrets.

But the best? The best was you feeling the same way he did. The best was the possibility of something deeper, real and deep. That thought alone made his heart race and his palms sweat.

“Guys I… I don’t know.” Luke admitted, his voice low and barely audible above the music in the bar. “What if she doesn’t feel the same way?”

Nico smiled softly, recognizing the nervous demeanour of the younger boy. “Luke, you’ll never know unless you go for it. And if she doesn’t feel the same way, at least you’ll have your answer. You can move on. But if she does… think about it, man. Think about how amazing that could be.”

Luke thought about it. Thought about what could be between the two of you. And right now the best was seeming like it was worth the risk.

Luke took a deep breath, his mind racing. He glanced over at you one last time, seeing the way you laughed and moved so effortlessly. The fear of rejection loomed over him, but something shone through and pushed him forward. He watched as you said something in your friend's ear, before laughing and sauntering over to the bar.

“Alright,” Luke said, standing up and setting his glass down. “I’m gonna do it.”

“Attaboy!” Dawson cheered, while Jack and Nico whooped in encouragement. Luke gave them a look and they quieted their cheering. The last thing Luke wanted was for the boys to freak you out before he even got a chance to speak.

Luke leaned on the bar next to you, flagging down the bartender before you got the chance to. “Hey, man, can I get a Heineken and a Jack and Coke?”

You shot Luke a small, appreciative smile, your heart tensing slightly at him remembering your usual drink order. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yeah, but I wanted to,” Luke said, glancing over at you with a small smirk tugging on his lips.

Once you got your drinks, Luke fully turned to you, heart pounding. “Having fun out there?” Luke asked, nodding towards the dance floor.

You laughed, a sounds that was melodic in Luke’s ears. “Yeah, you should join us.”

Luke chuckled, shaking his head. “Maybe later. I'm more of an observer than a dancer.”

You raised an eyebrow, teasingly. “Oh really? I seem to remember a certain someone busting some moves at that team party last month.”

Luke felt his cheeks heat up at the memory. “Okay, okay, maybe I dance a little. But only for special occasions.”

“What? Is tonight not special?” you asked, taking a sip from your drink.

He leaned in slightly, eyeing your face for any hint of where you were going with this. “It is now.”

Your eyes widened slightly, caught off-guard by his sudden boldness. “Luke Hughes, are you flirting with me?”

Luke grinned, feeling a rush of adrenaline run through his veins. “Maybe. Is it working?”

You bit your lip, fighting back a grin. Despite him trying to keep a calm exterior, you could tell that Lukes mind was running a million miles a minute. “Maybe. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

Luke took a deep breath, deciding that it was now or never. He set his bottle down on the bar top, wiping his damp hands hands, either from sweat or the condensation of his bottle, on his shirt. “Okay, here it goes,” Luke said under his breath. “We’ve known each other for a while now, and… I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you. You’re amazing, and I love spending time with you.”

Your smile widened, but you stayed silent, giving him the space to continue.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is… I have feelings for you. More than just friends. I’ve been trying to figure out if you feel the same way, but I can’t tell. So, I’m just gonna come out and say it: I like you. A lot.”

Your expression softened, a mixture of surprise and something else that Luke dared to hope was mutual affection. "Luke… I don't know what to say."

“Say you feel the same way,” Luke said, his voice slightly desperate. “Or tell me you don’t, just give me something, anything.”

“Luke,” you began, your voice filled with warmth. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that.”

His eyes widened in surprise. “Really?”

You nodded, a smile spreading across your face. “Yeah. I’ve liked you for a long time too. I just wasn’t sure if you felt the same way.”

Relief washed over Luke, and he couldn’t help but grin. “So… does this mean we can give this a shot? Us, I mean.”

You leaned in closer, your eyes locked onto his. “I’d like that.”

Luke felt a wave of joy and excitement as he closed the distance between you, pressing a soft kiss to your lips. The bar around you seemed to fade away, leaving just the two of you in that moment. When you pulled back, you were both smiling, as months of pining had finally culminated.

“So… where do we go from here?” Luke asked.

“How about we start with a dance?” you suggested.

Luke laughed, feeling lighter than he had in months. "Alright, let's do it."

He took your hand, leading you to the dance floor, where you both lost yourselves in the music. As the night went on, Luke realized that taking the risk was the best decision he had ever made.

[shomatoriashi]

10/07/24; 05:40pm

{ drabbles / headcanons }

[ when you watch them fall in love with someone else ]

featuring: sylus, zayne, xavier, rafayel

notes and warnings: unedited; non!mc reader; unrequited love; angst, no comfort. do not ask for a part 2. mc names for each story ( lorelai, ashley, teresa, melody )

thank you @/nyashykyunnie for providing the banners for this story ♡

{ she's got you mesmerized, while i die | why would you ever kiss me? | i'm not even half as pretty | you gave her your sweater, it's just polyester | but you like her better... i wish i was heather. }

to sylus, you were simply someone he hired to help with making his life easier. his relationship with you was nothing short of a mere business deal, with your mere existence seeming to be a means to an end.

yet foolishly enough, you had fallen for this cocky bastard, knowing you would do anything to please him-

anything to make him happy.

you couldn't count the instances where you sacrificed your own dignity for the sake of furthering his agenda alone. from sleeping with his enemies to obtain their secrets, to risking your life backing him up in various situations that more often than not, ended up in a gunfight-

you truly didn't understand why you would put your body and heart through such torture, simply to receive a mere nod of approval in response. it was during times like these, when you're so busy nursing your wounds, that you wondered why your traitorous heart beat so strongly for him, despite knowing how he didn't reciprocate your feelings.

in order to feel better about this whole situation, you managed to convince yourself that sylus was a busy man. that he didn't have time to feel such trivial emotions like love; that he treated you well enough, and as long as you could forever remain by his side, then you had no complaints.

you were a fool, purposely living in this tiny sandbox, convincing yourself that you could survive on mere scraps alone when it came to sylus.

yet that all changed when a certain hunter crash landed into his life, changing not only the course of his life-

but yours as well.

you had simply tagged along, being sylus's all too willing shadow when the young woman foolishly stepped into the n109 zone with an agenda of her own. as sylus takes her back to the warehouse, you could detect the fear and anxiety in her voice even when she willingly went against sylus.

and it was with those eyes, so filled with conviction, that you could see the way the walls around sylus's heart was beginning to crumble. he makes a few snide remarks to the woman, yet you could hear the amusement in his voice when he steps closer to her, pressing his hand over hers that felt much too sensual for your eyes.

envy was felt choking you, and you had to turn away from the scene. ice was felt coursing through your very veins at the sight, and you bit down against your bottom lip with such intensity that you swore that you were close to drawing blood.

thoughts pertaining to your denial kept repeating itself in your mind, like a never-ending mantra, and you knew that deep down you were simply trying to lie to yourself.

sylus was simply using that hunter as well.

she was just as much of a tool to him like you were.

that woman is nothing special.

yet it all came crashing down one late evening, when you stepped into his room in hopes of seeking some sort of comfort from him. you were dressed in a thin nightgown, with your heart racing with anticipation within your chest. while admiring his sleeping face, you were filled with a longing for him, finding yourself praying that he would somehow return your feelings and take you in his arms all while admitting that he never wished to let you go.

when your hands reached out to him was when he began mumbling in his sleep, stating the syllables that made up a name that had your heart cease its beats almost immediately.

a name that wasn't your name-

"lorelai..."

you felt like you couldn't breathe, hearing his deep voice becoming so filled with yearning for that woman that it made you sick to your stomach. hot tears were felt streaming down your face, and you quickly turned away from him all while biting down against your fist.

lorelailorelailorelailorelailorelai! it was always her!

the woman with the smooth, pale skin and alluring gaze; her doe eyes and perfect hair managing to captivate sylus within mere minutes of him meeting her. your heart was utterly destroyed along with your confidence and love for him.

after everything you had done for him, he still refused to give you his heart-

yet it was stolen so freely by that perfect woman... lorelai-

you didn't think you could forget the way sylus spoke her name, filled with such reverence that it made you feel dizzy with envy.

spending several days avoiding sylus, doing your best to cut him out of your life. you wanted to skip any confrontations, not wishing to even admit the truth about your feelings when it came to him-

but as always, you were foolish into thinking that sylus would ever give you an easy way out.

you had been taking your usual trek home, ready to enter your apartment complex when a flurry of black feathers begin marring your vision, making you stop dead in your tracks when the onychinus leader appears before you. his large hands grips at your wrists almost painfully, making you cry out.

but perhaps more so than the pain was the fact that he treated you roughly, clearly not caring about your own well-being whereas he treated lorelai like she was made of porcelain.

"where the hell have you been?" annoyance twists sylus's features, morphing it into an expression of absolute disdain for you. "i've spent weeks trying to get in contact with you, and it turns out you've had me blocked this entire time?"

anger surges through you, and you use that sole emotion to fuel you when you manage to shove sylus away from you. his eyes go wide, taking a few steps back while giving you an incredulous expression. strengthening your resolve, you meet his gaze and give him the iciest glare that you could manage.

"we need to stop this charade, sylus. i can't go on working for you, not when you make it so damn obvious that i was never the one for you."

a flash of emotion was seen within his crimson gaze before quickly disappearing. his jaw seems to tighten in response to the way he was now gritting his teeth, "what are you talking about?"

you sharply inhale, finally spilling your darkest secret to him, "i love you, but you don't give a damn about me- not like you do with her."

surprise flashes across his features, and he takes an unsteady step towards you, "you... what?"

shaking your head, you angrily wipe away your tears, "i love you, that's why i can't be with you anymore. everything i've done, i've done for you, to make you fucking happy- to make you acknowledge me."

with your head held high, you meet his gaze and tell him (all while managing to keep your voice even), "if you want me to come back to you, then you need to make a choice. knowing how i feel about you, how i've always felt about you, you need to choose-

if you want me to come back, it's me. but if you choose her, then i'll be forever gone from your life."

sylus looks away from you, remaining silent for just a few seconds before his body began to shake, his laughter seeming to pierce through your heart, "you have no idea how long i have yearned for her... so to have lorelai so much closer to me than ever before, it's clear that i would accept any losses, including you."

the devastation you felt in that very moment was almost too much to bear, with you quickly running away from him. the tears continue to cascade down your cheeks, and every memory you shared with him continues to play within your mind.

your love-

the sacrifices you had made for him-

it had been all for naught.

when you were hired to work as one of the general surgeons as akso hospital, you felt as though you had hit the jackpot, landing a job at such a prestigious hospital in the heart of linkon. feeling happy at being able to further your career, you didn't think that anything could possibly distract you.

that is... until dr. zayne came into the picture.

you had heard about his achievements in the medical field, and you held a great deal of respect for him. becoming a cardiac surgeon of his caliber was no easy feat, and the fact that someone so young could accomplish it was commendable to you.

in fact, you were eager to start your work life with dr. zayne-

however, what you didn't expect was to fall so deeply in love with him at first sight. his bright eyes and the way his tiny smiles would constantly invade your mind was taking its toll on you. each time you would think about him, daydreaming of scenarios with your beloved doctor, your coworkers could see your lovestruck expression and take note of how your cheeks would suddenly go warm at the sight of zayne.

you were just so enamored with him that you gathered your courage and asked him out, first. after all, there was no penalties for developing a relationship between coworkers as long as both parties kept it professional while on the clock.

the memory of you confessing to zayne became a fond one. you had heard from yvonne that his favorite food were macaroons, and you figured that you had a better chance of winning his heart by gifting him his favorite food. so, with the box of colorful cookies in hand, you step into zayne's office and offered the gift to him all while confessing your feelings for him.

"zayne, i apologize if you find this... unprofessional, but i can't hide my feelings for you any longer. i... i truly like you so much, so please, will you give me a chance and go out with me?"

you watch as his eyes grow wider, an embarrassed expression taking over his expression as he hides his lips from you with the palm of his hand. he seems to be deep in thought, and after much deliberation, he accepts your confession and agrees to date you.

for the first couple of weeks, you were on cloud 9. zayne was nothing short of being the perfect boyfriend, taking you out on weekend dates at the end of your long shifts while giving you special trinkets here and there.

but there was one glaring issue-

zayne never once kissed you.

sure, he gave you gentle hugs here and there, yet each time you would lean up to try and kiss him, zayne would inevitably look away from you, saying that he was tired or how it wasn't the right moment to kiss.

despite how he never once complained or said a word to you, his lack of affection-

or rather, the lack of him reciprocating your affections, was taking its toll on you.

and you couldn't figure out the reasoning behind his distance until much later.

you had just come out of surgery, and as you stepped out into the lobby, you saw something that made you freeze, unable to move or say a single word.

standing a mere few feet away from you was zayne, and he was smiling at a petite woman. never before had you seen zayne appearing so soft before. the woman seemed to be chattering on about something to zayne, and your boyfriend did nothing but smile at everything she said-

as if he were hanging on to her every word.

feeling the pinpricks of jealousy beginning to surface, you march towards zayne and take a hold of his hand, doing your best to maintain a casual air as you cling to zayne and smile at the other woman. "zayne, i was looking everywhere for you!"

your laughter was strained as you eyed the woman, feeling the envious feelings begin to rise upon seeing how... perfect she looked. with kind eyes and full, rosy lips tilted up in a smile, she greets you. "hello, you must be zaynie's girlfriend! my name is ashley, and zayne's been my friend since we were little kids! he talks a lot about you, and i'm happy he's met someone so wonderful."

from your periphery, you could see the way zayne winces upon hearing ashley's words. it was clear that her calling zayne as simply her friend was enough to earn a wounded expression from him-

and that was the moment your epiphany came.

there was a reason why zayne never kissed you; why he never went beyond hugging you while taking you on simple dates-

it's because his heart had never been yours to begin with-

it belonged to her.

the blood had already rushed to your ears, blocking out whatever ashley had said before she excuses herself, leaving the hospital lobby. in your daze, you look down to see zayne clutching on to something tightly, realizing that ashley had made lunch for him.

feeling your throat go dry, you manage to tell him, "we need to talk."

zayne gives you a stiff nod, following you towards the upper floors and into his office with almost robotic movements. upon reaching the privacy of his office, you close the door, watching as zayne gingerly places the container filled with ashley's homemade lunch on his desk.

"who is she?"

zayne doesn't meet your gaze, simply staring out the window, answering your question softly, "it's like she said, she's a childhood friend."

"...a childhood friend that you love."

your heart was felt shattering all over again when zayne stiffens momentarily before visibly relaxing, as if feeling some type of relief-

like he didn't need to lie to himself or hide it anymore.

you thought hearing him confirm your suspicions would be the end of your heartache, but it was so much worse when he admits to you, "ashley is the reason why i worked so hard to become a cardiac surgeon. she... she has a heart defect, and i wish to save her life... to keep her alive and live a happy, fulfilling life."

his admission has left you reeling in response, the pain becoming so palatable that you could feel your heart begin shattering into a million pieces. "if you love her so much, why aren't you with her?" you ask him, feeling the tears welling up in your eyes.

zayne simply shakes his head in response, "she doesn't feel the same way for me... and truth be told... she deserves better than me. even though i've loved her through every timeline and universe, i-"

your heart couldn't take zayne's pain any longer, the hurt you once felt for him quickly becoming overshadowed by the unconditional love you still felt for him. taking him within your embrace, you feel the way he trembles against you, clinging to you as soft sobs were wracked through him.

and when he finally lifts up your chin, meeting your gaze while sayig your name with a broken gasp, he finally kisses you-

the taste of your first and last kiss with him was salty with his tears, yet you were too far gone to realize that this single kiss of desperation was made in response to his own lingering emotions for ashley-

never for you.

"there's a new girl that's going to be my partner at the association... and i'm in charge of looking out for her."

xavier tells you as you prepared dinner for the night. you frown at this information, but thought nothing of it. after all, he was skilled at his job as a hunter, often receiving praise for his strength when it came to dealing with the wanderers that roam the world.

"that's fine, i know what your work entails, xavier. you're a hunter, and if there's a newbie you need to train, then that's the end of it." you tell him with a hum, your back now facing him as you focused on cooking once more, missing the relieved expression on his face.

you serve dinner and ask him about his day, only to receive one word answers in response. this also seemed a bit strange for you, since xavier never really shied away when it came to telling you about his day and how he felt.

you had both been dating to close to a year now, with you growing closer after becoming friends. you realized that you both shared similar interests and just... naturally progressed your relationship into something a bit more romantic. at the 6 month mark of your newly developed relationship, you decided to move in together with him.

it was true that you dated and had a few other boyfriends before, yet none of them were quite as serious as your relationship with xavier. despite never once saying the l word to each other, deep down, you knew that you were falling for xavier. in fact, with the sheer amount of times you had gushed to your family and friends about how much you adored him, they were confident that you would get engaged the moment your one year anniversary hit.

with the date quickly approaching in just a few weeks, you began to paint your daydreams, thinking of different ways xavier would propose to you while giggling like a little girl. you had always dreamt of having the perfect proposal, and you couldn't help but feel giddy at the thought of what was to come.

after serving dinner, you sit across from xavier, taking a few bites here and there all while sneaking glances at him. you couldn't stop grinning at him, which makes xavier raise his eyebrows at you in suspicion.

"what? do i have sauce on my face?"

you snort and quickly shake your head, reassuring him that you were simply caught up in your reveries. xavier doesn't bring up the subject any longer, simply returning to his meal.

later that night, as you both got ready for bed, you were dressed comfortably in your favorite pajamas all while anticipating xavier's return to you. after his usual shower, he comes out of the bathroom with a plush towel wrapped around his head. tossing the damp towel into the hamper, he gets into bed, with you expecting your boyfriend to face you while taking you in his arms.

but when he gets into bed with his back turned towards you, you had to fight back the strange pang felt within your chest. your mouth kept opening and closing, asking him if he was okay-

"sorry, i'm just a bit exhausted. let's just sleep..."

ignoring the way your throat seemed to clench in response, you give him a stiff nod, only to realize that he couldn't see you. "r-right... i understand, you're tired, that's all."

the tears were felt brimming against your eyes, but you quickly wiped them away, falling into bed while clenching your eyes shut. you tried to ignore the lingering suspicions, distracting yourself by counting sheep until you could fall into a restless slumber all while trying to convince yourself that everything was going to be okay...

{ ... }

the weeks leading up to your first anniversary with xavier was strained, to say the least.

for starters, he seemed to be taking on more missions than usual, all while telling you that teresa was still new and needed someone with experience like him on these higher level missions.

at first, his reasonings didn't bother you or raise any alarm, and you simply allowed him to work with teresa because it was his job and that woman was his partner. you couldn't let your insecure thoughts put a damper on his job.

even when you saw him less and less-

your love never once wavered for him.

on the day of your one year anniversary, you decided to surprise him at work instead. surely, he would have completed his mission sometime during the late afternoon, and you were certain that he would appreciate your kindness.

with his favorite takeout in hand, you walk into the hunter association building, weaving your way through the area. it takes you a few minutes to locate him, but when you went down to the lower levels and could see his familiar, blond hair, you quicken your pace, his name already on the tip of your tongue when you freeze in your steps.

"i thought i had lost you!" xavier's voice was heard cracking as he wrapped his arms around another woman, seeming to crush her slender frame against his chest. your heart begins to ache at the sight, making your labored breathing feel even more painful as you struggled to remain calm and not hyperventilate.

but, it was clear that such a heartbreak would not break even when he opens his eyes and sees your trembling form staring blankly at him. even after seeing you, xavier does not move away from the woman, seeming to hold her even closer to him as he shakes his head at you.

while meeting your gaze, he mouths a few words, and you could read his lips while taking in those harsh syllables. you drop the bag of takeout, your choked sob echoing throughout the area as you ran out of the building.

your sobs coupled along with your gasps for air were making a scene, with some of the civilians looking at you with bewildered expressions. yet you stopped caring, allowing your mind to piece together what had always been in front of you ever since teresa had come into his life.

xavier distancing himself from you-

xavier suddenly filled with the desire to protect teresa, a woman he had just met-

the way he held her so tightly at the memory of nearly losing her-

a sudden cry of your name stops you from taking another step, your stupid heart suddenly filling with hope when you hear xavier's voice and his rapidly approaching footsteps.

you hear him stop a few feet away from you, his voice strained once he begins speaking once more. "i... i'm so sorry, i didn't want you to find out like this, but you have to know the truth."

it takes you a herculean effort to fight back your tears, but you knew you had to hold it together and allow xavier to finally explain himself. "i do care about you... but... fuck, the moment i saw her, everything else just melted away. all of my life, my entire existence, was simply waiting for her to come back to me. i've waited so long for her... and what i feel for her... it's like... like gravity isn't what's keeping me grounded, but she is."

you had no idea what kept you rooted on the spot, knowing that both your heart and mind were screaming at you to move away. but, you couldn't find the strength to do so. instead, you had to listen to his words once more, the same ones he had mouthed to you earlier-

"i'm sorry, but i love her..."

when the beautiful and charming rafayel confessed to you, you accepted his feelings and simply wished to date him just to have fun. despite his occupation as an artist, rafayel was so full of life- so full of light that you couldn't stop yourself from basking in his brilliance.

during the first few weeks of your relationship, your rafe was achingly sweet and cute, often giving you sketches he made of you when he drew your portraits on a whim. he liked calling you his muse before pressing audible kisses against your features, earning a series of joyous laughter from you. because of how much you adored rafayel, you often liked to spend the night at his place, where you would both order your favorite seafood and simply watch cheesy rom-coms together.

as time went on, you began to realize that you were falling hard for the young artist, with him being constantly on your mind even when you were at work. and just when you thought you couldn't love him anymore than you already did, he surprises you by gifting you a gorgeously crafted bracelet that had cute little seashells along with aquamarine gemstones.

altogether, your relationship was achingly perfect with rafayel, with you being certain that he would become your endgame. truly, there were times where you felt like your relationship with rafayel was too good to be true-

yet sadly, you would learn the harsh reality when it came to his feelings for you, realizing that the love rafayel had given you had been his own way of coping.

when it was nearing your 8 month mark of being together with him, rafayel suddenly became distant with you, often locking himself within his studio as he seemed to produce copious amounts of artworks. of course, when you tried to see his new paintings and sculptures, rafayel would hide them all away from you, covering them all with a thick sheet while distracting you with a date.

this behavior was strange, but you thought nothing of it. perhaps he was nervous about an upcoming art exhibit, and he didn't wish to reveal anything until the day of his exhibition came.

so, you went along with it, making up excuses each time rafayel would stiffen when you hugged him, or suddenly turned his head away from you each time you tried to kiss him.

but perhaps what hurt the most was the day you found out the reasoning behind his growing distance. rafayel told you he needed to take a break from making art and invited you over to enjoy the evening with him. you arrive an hour earlier (unable to contain your excitement at finally spending some time with him), and caught him with streaks of paint decorating his outfit.

he mentions how early you are, yet still allows you inside, telling you to make yourself at home while he takes a quick shower. as you rest against his kitchen counter, you hear the shower go off and smile. a few minutes pass, and you felt the palm of your hands begin to itch with a sudden sensation.

biting down at your bottom lip, you look towards the area where rafayel keeps all of his artwork. you were filled with curiosity, wondering what he was working on that made it such a touchy subject for rafe each time you asked about it.

you close your eyes, still hearing rafayel in the shower when you decided to push yourself away from the counter. "i'll just take a quick peek, then put the sheets back in place. he won't even notice."

stepping into his gallery room, you turn on all the lights, coming closer to the sheet as you gripped at the corner of it before pulling it away-

only to reveal a gorgeous carving that depicted a mermaid. she was by far the loveliest creature you had ever seen, with her soft features carved with a gentle smile as she held a pearl within her slender hands. from the amount of care rafayel had put into making her, it was clear that this sculpture was made with love.

there was just one problem-

the mermaid looked nothing like you.

your throat was felt painfully clenching at the sudden realization, but you brushed it off as mere paranoia. surely, there was some other art piece that held your likeness. as you trail your eyes towards a canvas now, you felt your heart sink even further.

it was the same woman; her features matches that of the mermaid sculpture, but this time, you could see the colors. her cheeks were painted in a rosy hue, with each paint stroke seeming to accentuate the soft beauty the woman displayed. around her neck was an aquamarine pendant in the shape of a banded tulip seashell. trailing your eyes further downwards towards the frame, you felt your heart clench upon seeing the title of his painting:

melody, my beloved queen

your mind was racing now, and the sheer intensity of the hurt and envy you felt renders you incapable of taking another step. you were so caught up in your reveries that you didn't even realize that rafayel had come out of the showers until he places the sheets over his works once more.

"you- you weren't supposed to see that."

slowly, you turn around to face him, and his guilty expression was more than enough proof, confirming your suspicions that the woman he kept painting and sculpting- this melody-

he loved her.

"why did you even approach me when your heart was never mine to begin with?"

you were proud at how even your voice came out, and when rafayel tried to stutter out some excuse, you immediately cut him off.

"no more bullshit lies, rafayel. tell me."

the artist lets out a string of curses, running a hand through his damp hair. unable to meet your gaze out of shame, he sighs before admitting, "it's because she doesn't remember me... even after meeting her, she only sees me as a friend. she... doesn't remember me."

your throat was burning now, and you could feel the tears streaming down your face, "then why waste your time with me?"

rafayel meets your gaze, a pained expression painting his features. yet his next words succeeds in absolutely devastating you:

"i used you as a means to try and forget her."

the agony you felt was indescribable, with you immediately turning away from rafayel. the sting of his betrayal was felt coursing through your very veins when you rushed out of his home and into the cold, night air.

you wanted to grip at your hair and scream at the top of your lungs-

you wanted to claw at the sidewalk, making sure that your nails bled with each scrape against the concrete-

but perhaps most of all, you wanted to rip your heart out for still loving rafayel despite it all-

even when you were no longer his muse.

[ all stories are written by rei; please do not repost, plagiarize, or translate my works!! ]

[lenacosse]

Sirius x Reader fucking while being in the big bathtub at the prefects bathroom

Prefects bathroom

pairing: sirius black x female reader

cw: smut, choking

word count: 1,496

══════════════════

You walk into the prefects bathroom and you are instantly blown away, the bathroom was glistening. It's beauty is frankly captivating, the high ceilings and cool marble tiles make you feel like you've stepped into undeserving luxury. You probably should have felt bad considering you were breaking the rules and doing something you definitely shouldn't be doing but that didn't bother you at all. See you had been back at school for two weeks now, and you haven't had a chance to be alone with your boyfriend Sirius since last term. And since you had access to this bathroom the opportunity was practically thrown in front of your face. Plus you had put together a fool proof plan, in Sirius' pocket you slipped in a riddle that leads him to the library, you paid a first year to give him the next note which is full of clues to lead him to your favourite book- this was the easiest clue considering you never stopped talking about the book in question. Once he gets the book there's a scrambled message which will tell him where to go, alongside the bathroom's password.

You smirked to yourself as you filled the tub, the thought of Sirius racking his mind trying to figure the clues out was extremely entertaining to you. You also couldn't wait to see his face when he realises what is in store for him. Once you were satisfied with the temperature and depth of the bath you start undressing. You leave Sirius a trail from the door to the bathtub, first your jumper at the door, then your jeans, then your bra and finally right in front of the bath your underwear.

You slip inside the tub, a soft moan escapes your mouth as you sink deeper into the soothing water. You lean back against the ledge your elbows out of the water and resting on the titles. You just take in the moment whilst you wait for Sirius, you knew he wouldn't take that long, he was efficient when he wanted to be and this was definitely one of those instances. Just as you suspected the bathroom doors opened, you couldn't control the excited grin that overrode your face. From where you sat you could see him perfectly but he couldn't see you, you watched his priceless reaction as he noticed your clothes. You could see his face heating up and his eyes becoming more alert.

"(Y/N)?" Sirius called out, he followed the trail of clothes and his eyes fell upon you. "Caught." He smirked.

"Well done, I wasn't sure if you'd find me," You teased, you blushed as his eyes drank in the sight of you, you could practically see him getting hard.

"It was easy,"

You rolled your eyes and he just chuckled. You hum contently and raise an eyebrow at him. "Well? Are you going to continue to stand there gawking or are you coming in?"

Sirius just grins and slowly undresses, attempting to tease you- you hated to admit it was working. You bit your lip when his biceps flexed as he pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his lightly toned body. But it was him taking off his trousers and boxers that got you squeezing your thighs together, his very hard cock desperately sprang out of his boxers hitting his stomach, you didn't realise you were staring until Sirius spoke.

"Like what you see?" He teased, he slowly made his way into the water.

"Something like that," you winked.

He made his way over to you and stroked your cheek with his thumb, you melted into his touch and smiled up at him, he leaned down and kissed you softly. You felt a blush on your cheeks as you wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

"I've missed this," Sirius said, his other hand made its way down your body, caressing your thighs.

You nodded in response and attached your lips to his jaw, you kissed softly around his jaw and made your way down his neck, settling to give him a hickey. He groaned as you bit lightly on the spot, you pulled back and he kissed you again. This time it was rougher and more wanting, his hand went in between your thighs and teased at your clit, you whined into the kiss, becoming more desperate by the second. You put a hand into his hair, pulling on it as he rubbed your clit. You pulled back from the kiss.

"Please," you begged, grabbing his wrist and guiding his hand to your entrance. Sirius smirked and slid two fingers inside of you, ever so slightly spreading you out. You watched as he asserted dominance, you would be lying if you said you didn't love every second of it, the way he looked at you, and especially the feeling of being all his.

You moaned as his fingers curled to hit the right spot, it had been so long since you and Sirius had done this which in turn made you needy. You felt the coil building in your abdomen already, Sirius could tell and went faster, you threw your head back in pleasure, this only increased as he took your nipple into his mouth, the sensitivity of your nipple had you crying out. You felt your release fast approaching, just as you were about to hit that peak he pulled his fingers out. You groaned and looked at him, your expression unamused.

"Why'd you stop?"

Sirius put his finger to your lip and kissed at your neck. "Just relax."

You sighed and done as he said. You pulled him down and wrapped your legs around his waist. He kissed you again, it was rough and intense, he slid his tongue into your mouth and you both made out as if it was the last time you'd get to do it. Sirius wrapped his hand around your throat, squeezing down slightly. He pulled back from the kiss and went to your ear.

“Want me to fuck you now?” He rubbed his tip at your entrance, making you gasp. You nodded eagerly and he just tutted in response, applying more pressure to your throat, your stomach was doing flips at this and your need for him inside you was getting stronger. “Use your words darling.”

“Yes, fuck me.” You whine, gripping onto his shoulders.

He releases some of the pressure off your throat and slides into you, a soft moan leaves your lips as he fills you up perfectly. Your eyes fluttered in pleasure as he increased his pace, it wasn’t long until he was pounded relentlessly into you, making your toes curl. He briefly pulled out to flip you onto your stomach, you put your arm on the edge of the bath to rest your head on as you moaned out in pleasure. He raised your ass and gripped it, the new position sent him further down you and hitting all those spots even better, you rolled your hips along with his movements. The sensation was making your pleasure build and build.

“Feels so good.” You moan.

Sirius kisses at your neck in response, you can hear his moans which only makes this hotter. The sound of you both was sound loud you were convinced that anyone passing could hear, but frankly you didn’t care. The coil in your stomach was rapidly tightening as you felt yourself get closer. Sirius felt it too and so went harder, he was going so fast your body jolted forward with each thrust. Soon enough the pleasure maximised and you came over him, you moaned out loudly, the sound echoing throughout the bathroom.

“Such a slut for me, aren’t you?” Sirius growled in your ear. You nodded in response, he just smirked and gripped your hair.

He didn’t slow down, in fact he went even faster. You were surprised at how aggressive he was being, but it was hot as fuck so you didn’t mind one bit. You legs started to shake as the pleasure quickly grew again, you were biting your lip to contain your sounds, you truly were in a sense of complete euphoria. Sirius’ movements got sloppier and you knew he was getting closer, to make you finish again he started to rub your clit. The overstimulation had tears streaming out of your eyes and your fists curled in balls, you were basically screaming as you hit that second high. He came with you, filling you up and painting you white. Slowly he pulled out and turned you back around, gently.

“You good?” He asked, moving your hair out of your face and wiping your tears.

“So good,” you breathlessly respond.

Sirius just kisses you softly and you sit together, he puts an arm around you and you nuzzle up into his side. Your legs were calming down and you felt complete contentment.

“We’re doing that again sometime.” Sirius smirks, kissing your head.

“Oh, absolutely.” You wink.

[temtamtom]

Please ignore the fact I accidentally posted this and then deleted it okay anyways

These two have had a myriad of personal conflicts over the years. They had a difficult relationship as children and then spent the rest of their adolescence and early adulthood separately. They interacted, of course, and they saw each other as brothers, but that was it. We are related by blood, but I don’t see you as FAMILY family. If that makes sense. But if I had to pick their biggest fight, it would be:

Tl;Dr: Emotions were running high and unchecked after Italian unification, leading to a blow-out fight when Romano announced that he was moving to America for a little while.

I need to provide some context and explain my headcanons, so this might be a long one kjdfgk I hope it makes sense! Also, a warning because my Feli isn't all that canon-compliant ;; but I think he's a bit more accurate to the northern attitudes of the time

There's a common headcanon within the fandom that Romano was entirely against unification and resisted it from the start. I think this is a bit of an inaccurate and an over-simplified perspective. By the early and mid 1800s, there were many instances of uprisings against absolutism in Southern Italy, which strove for more liberal ideals. The revolutionaries wanted a constitutional monarchy, or even a republic. Through their uprisings and the creation of a secret, revolutionary network across the peninsula, revolutionary ideals began to spread throughout and inspire others.

This is of course a gross oversimplification of the history, but I’m bringing this all up to illustrate the idea that Romano was starting to grow tired of the “status quo”, and was desperate for a change. Unification wasn’t necessarily what he had in mind at first, especially when we consider that he and Feliciano were pretty distant at this point in time. However he soon got swept up in the fervor and optimism of the patriots, and he began to believe in their vision. He believed in a future where he could finally be truly independent- free to call the shots and live his life freely without the worry of being tossed around and claimed by other European powers. He believed in a future where, maybe, he could have a family again. To fix what was broken between him and Feliciano. Romano may come across as quite crude, but he’s a very passionate man. Someone who loves and craves so deeply, to the point where his heart/imagination can far outrun him.

So imagine the betrayal felt when he realized that unification wasn’t working in his favour. He was practically discarded, and seen as “lesser than” his northern brother. His brother, who treated him as an oddity, and had an air of moral superiority over Romano. They kept each other at arm's length, as though they were roommates forced to endure the other, rather than two brothers sharing a home. Disillusioned and hurt, Romano felt like a fool for believing in a dream that didn’t come true. 

Feliciano struggled with many emotional grievances, which Romano wasn’t privy to. He lost his long-time husband/partner just a few decades prior, and instead of taking the time to confront the grief, he picked himself back up and turned his attention towards independence and unification. He threw himself head first into uprisings, wars, political negotiations, and rallies- all to achieve this patriotic goal of forming “Italy”, and perhaps to distract himself from the loss (though he won’t admit it). He also thought, maybe foolishly, that his life would get better after unifying with his brother. That he would have a family again, that he wouldn’t feel so alone, that he would love and be loved and they could hold hands and skip happily into a field of sunshine and rainbows and everything would be okay– 

What should have brought them together, they both realized, seemed to drive a deeper wedge between them. The reality was that they were incompatible. They couldn’t stand each other. To Feliciano, Romano was nothing but an uncivilized brute who only complained and never wanted to work, and lived to insult him every day. To Romano, Feliciano was a pompous, stuck-up elite asshole who refused to acknowledge the very real pain and disillusionment of his new, southern citizens. Both brothers felt as though everything- all the blood, sweat, and tears- was just a massive waste.

As you can imagine, it was a VERY tense and unhappy household for many reasons. They began to argue. A LOT. Fights that were far uglier than the scraps they had as children. It got to a point where they couldn’t even stand to be in the same room as each other.

It all came to a head, however, when Romano announced that he was leaving. He had his motives, reasonable ones too, but Feliciano didn’t see that. All he saw was his no-good, lazy brother abandoning him and their country after all the effort they put into creating it, leaving him with all the stress and work while he galavants off to America. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The announcement devolved into an explosive fight. Things were said that, to this day, haven’t been fully forgiven. With all the anger and tension, they probably threw in a few good punches as well. Romano eventually left, and Feliciano thought to himself “Good riddance”. However as time wore on, they couldn’t help but think about the other, wonder how they were doing, and reflect on how they parted ways. 

Things were still a bit tense when Romano returned, and they didn’t acknowledge the fight for a while. However, they began putting a bit more effort into rekindling their relationship. It took some time, and it wasn’t an easy journey, but they’re in a much healthier place now than before. They’re glued at the hip, they share everything, they know every little quirk and detail about the other, and they’ve begun to love each other as family (though teasing and head-butting is a common occurrence). 

If you asked them back then if they would go through unification, they would be incredibly iffy. But if you asked them now, they would likely say yes. They wouldn't trade their brother for anything in the world.

[captain-joongz]

so I'm thinking too much about it and I really want to share with someone

so if you feel comfortable, can u write idol soobin x staff gf having a moment alone (🔞) just before he goes on stage??

I have to admit i think about it too much

hello darling, of course i can! i'm so sorry for the delay, but i'm finally here to answer you <3 i hope you weren't too disappointed not seeing your ask here for such a long time, i owe you one my darling ;))

one Soobin x staff!girlfriend coming right up!

warnings: sex in a public place, oral (f. rec.), dating in a workplace

when you managed to get a job as part of the TXT manager team, you definitely didn't expect anything to come out of it except for friendly coworking relationship. you'd heard the boys were nice to their staff and fun to be around, and you were excited to start your career and get to know your clients

what you couldn't have foreseen was how you immediately just clicked with Soobin. at first you were friendly, than your relationship quickly shifted into teasing and playful flirting until one night the man came to you after a show and admitted to having real feelings for you

you were understandably hesistant at first - you were worried about it being unprofessional, about causing problems for the young idol and his group and also about having to sneak around. Soobin understood and gave you space, but you ended up caving after two weeks of painful silent stares and tension that wasn't lost on anybody

and you never regretted that decision - Soobin was sweet, he could be playful but he was loving, as the leader of the group he knew how to effortlessly switch between more youthful approach and sincere maturity when the situation asked for it, and he made you so so happy. and that was hard to hide

you did try to keep your relationship secret at the beginning, but how much could you two fools in love really keep from others - it was obvious to everybody around you two that you got together, but for the sake of the working space they said nothing - as long as you two kept it to time off and your relationship didn't get in the way of boys' activities, you were cool

the boys teased you two mercilessly, especially Yeonjun and Beomgyu just wouldn't shut up, something deteriorating all the way back to elementary humour with making kissy noises and faces around you two, but you always just laughed and let Soobin deal with it (read - start beating them up until they ran away in fits of giggles)

it was like a big unspoken open secret - everybody knew but nobody said anything out of fear it would get you into trouble

but you two were quite enough on your own to get yourselves into trouble. being around Soobin so much, seeing him before and after performances, helping him get ready and watching him return drenched in sweat with a glow of post-performance adrenaline... well let's say it was way harder to focus on doing your job (which was catering to the boys' needs anyway, so what if he needed to bend you over something, technically that counted as doing your job, right?)

remember what i said about everybody being okay with you two dating as long as it didn't get in the way? yeah that didn't last long, especially when Soobin looked soo pretty when he was getting all done up and he teased you mercilessly knowing you found him attractive like that, and the rush as he returned back-stage after resulted in several instances of you being pulled into empty changing rooms or having to smack away his needy wandering hands while he attempted to steal you from an actual task you had to finish

you two were quickly becoming hopeless and once Soobin actually managed to make you cum while hidden away like that between the wardrobe changes, it was game over for you - nothing would stop him now

and that's how you found yourself in the mess you were in that day - bent over a vanity table in an abandoned changing room, skirt pulled up and tights with panties pulled down, Soobin's face buried in your cunt makeup and all

not that you cared about that when he ate you out like a man starved, tongue pushed as deep into your cunt as it could go and moaning like he was losing his mind with the taste of you.

you knew something was about to go that the moment Soobin stepped out of the changing rooms and immediately booked it to you, the excitement of the big performance getting to him and his blood pumping wildly, discreetly pulling you away from your mindless task of organising table arrangements. you had a feeling others noticed, but thankfully no one commented on it, only grinned to each other and let you two go.

the makeup unnies were going to kill you though, there's no way his face was salvagable now that it was covered in your slick, mascara melting with sweat and tears of pleasure and lipstick smudged all around his mouth and your thighs

Soobin loved nothing more than to bury his face in your cunt, especially here at work where it became a point of pride with how fast he had you falling apart on his tongue, pushing himself to make you cum faster and harder everytime he managed to pull you away from the group

"y-you only have like two m-minutes left" you'd choke out in an attempt to remind him of his responsibilities, but it was all futile when he got his mouth on you - he heard nothing, saw nothing, only you and your pleasure

he'd hum in response, nothing more, and redouble his efforts, loudly sucking on your clit and slurping your juices, mouth alternating between that and fucking you with his tongue until you were a stuttering mess and clenching on the wet appendage, driving the man crazy

and once again he'd prove that two minutes were more than enough, when your orgasm broke over you and hit you like a fucking boulder, knees buckling under your weight while Soobin hungrily licked up your cum until you were whimpering in overstimulation, but you'd never push him away and he knew that

"fuck" he'd say elequently, breathless and turned on and you'd laugh at the desperate look on his face

"you can't go on stage like that" and he truly couldn't, not with pants tenting around his erection, the little wet spot where his precum soaked through masked by the dark colour of the fabric, face wet and slick with your lust and eyes crazed with arousal, pupils blown until he looked drugged on pussy

but he'd just smirk at you, wink and get on the way, immediately getting scolded by the makeup team the second he stepped out of the room. and you'd burn under their amused but scolding gazes for the rest of the afternoon while your boyfriend pushed all that unused energy towards a powerful performance, at least until he could leave and fuck you over the first flat surface he found

divider by @cafekitsune

[yandere-yearnings]

Mx Dar.. do we have any.. Ehem, NSFW head cannons for Vio?

*slides over a wad of Monopoly money*

ahaha we are going straight into the transactions today❗❗for such a hefty sum, ofc you can get nsfw vio hcs😌💕 *takes monopoly money and stows it away* it's a pleasure doing business w/ you🤧

NSFW under the cut!

Unsurprisingly, Vio is very much a brat in bed, for the most part at least.

He likes to rile you up. Everything just feels that much better when you're angry and frustrated. Knowing he has control over you like that, he plays with your emotions to no end.

It goes both ways, but he enjoys degrading you much more than the other way around. Spitting at you, calling you names — anything to make you snap and pin him down because he absolutely loves the feeling of being forced into submission.

Your hands on his wrists, pressing him into the mattress so hard that your pulses becomes indistinguishable, the heat rolls off of in waves and he's entirely enamoured by the idea that only he can pull this intensity out of you.

His career means he has to be careful about marks and bruises, but if he didn't have to worry about the media picking apart his sex life, Vio would've liked to try bondage.

When his schedule isn't busy and he can afford a few days of recovery, he might even ask you to tie him up, loose enough that he doesn't have to worry about rope burn. Hands unable to stray too far from the headboard, legs spread and completely defenseless — all scenes straight from his wet dreams.

Although, due to his upbringing and life in the spotlight, Vio's spoiled and it bleeds into his habits in bed. He's a pillow prince through and through.

It's really all he knows. Everyone is always at his hands and feet, trying to please him to the extent that they've started to look like fools in his eyes. Why should he have to pull his weight for people like that?

He'd try for you, if it was something you really wanted, though you'd have to be prepared for complementary taunts because clearly you're desperate for him and Vio will not leave you alone about it.

One thing he does well is make himself pretty for you, and on that note, if you were to ever bring up dollification or feminisation, he would be onboard without complaint. He's ever confident in himself, especially his appearance, and he knows he looks good in everything, lacy lingerie and dresses included.

Taking pictures and videos to capture his beauty is only natural, right? He'd be offended if you didn't.

In most instances, Vio always has something to say, biting back fast enough you'd think he'd somehow prepared his snarky remarks in advance. However, he can be strangely obedient at times, depending on how assertive you are.

He gets so amicable and quiet that it can be slightly jarring, but moments like those are always so peaceful to him and he will never admit how much he appreciates it when you bring them about.

Praise makes him preen, but he is slightly desensitised to it. If you set up a situation where he has to work for your acknowledgement, it does so much more for him than you'd think. It'll be on his mind for days, and sometimes have him blushing in the middle of shooting a scene at work.

He doesn't like being made to wait for pleasure, so he'd much rather be overstimulated than edged. You could still try it as a form of punishment, but Vio is more likely to give you a hard time because it puts him in a bad mood.

He knows himself well, rest assured he'll let you know what he does or doesn't want — he isn't the type to try new things without thorough scrutiny.

He actually has a fairly low sex drive. If you don't build up his desire with good enough foreplay, you can forget about bedding him. Talk some tension into the air, grab his hips hard when no one's watching, his head will go empty of all thoughts, bar you.

Massages make him horny, the pressure on his taut muscles has his eyes rolling back. His inner thighs are really sensitive, so focusing on them will bring out the sweetest moans from him.

Acting has put him in a lot of positions over the years and as a result, Vio is both nimble and flexible enough that it works to the both of your advantages. Whether giving or receiving, there is no doubt that you'll be meeting in the middle without fail if you let him put his skills to use.

He's big on hate sex as long as there's no hair-pulling involved. You'll never be able to convince him to let your hands anywhere near his scalp.

Aftercare is a must. Vio genuinely will not sleep with you again if you don't give him the proper attention he needs when everything is said and done. Talk to him as he winds down, wipe the sweat from his skin and run him a bath at that specific temperature you know he likes.

He notes the things you do, the way you work the knots from wet locks and bring him water before he asks. It's unexpected, but he repays you in kind.

Worry about how he'll manage work the next day, say you'll make it up for tiring him out by staying by his side. Satisfaction is great, but it's everything following that has Vio admitting he loves you.

[strwyofthesun]

a workplace escapade

pairing: id!leon kennedy x agent!(f)reader

synopsis: you work at the DSO and your days there have become increasingly mundane till you are assigned to a mission with Leon under the president's orders. and ever since then, tension grows between the two of you in your workplace.

word count: 2.4k

cont: smut, p in v, unprotected sex, masturbation, oral (m receiving), slight degrading, overstimulation, breeding (?)

a/n: it's like 5 am here and i have not had a blink of sleep. also, is it normal to feel hella embrassed when writing smut? can't take myself seriously i sweaaar. stream sntv too, i was inspired by i can see you to write this cuz shits jus so good.

reblogs, comments, reqs are highly appreciated! <3

The days in the headquarters of the Divisions of Security Operations have been getting more and more tiresome the longer you’ve been working. When you were newly employed, the job seemed exciting at first. Working alongside the best of the best agents from all across different branches of the US federal government, it was nice to have more company and see new faces. Over time though, the missions increased in difficulty and you’ve seen friends and colleagues come and go. You’ve tried your hardest not to become numb to everything but hid your emotions of anger and frustrations. On days where you weren’t on the front lines fighting, you were in stuffy, cold rooms reporting on what happened during your missions and relaying the information you have found. Your work-life balance was basically non-existent at this point, spending most of your time in and out the headquarters and if you’re lucky, you’d get to go home and relax for a while until you are called again for the next assignment.

Nothing gave you any thrill or excitement anymore. Everything had become a routine to you, until, under the president’s orders, you and agent Leon S. Kennedy are paired together for a mission. You left your comfort of your home immediately as soon as you were called and headed to the white house to meet the president and Leon.

Leon wasn’t exactly a new name or face to you. You’ve heard about his deeds and he does live up to the name he has made for himself. There has been a couple of instances where the two of you would bump into each other in hallways, but other than catching each other’s glances, there wasn’t anything more to say really. Though, you had to admit, other than being one of the president’s bets, he had looks that could kill as well. It’s hard to miss him whenever he’s around. His striking blue eyes, tall figure, long blonde hair, and that charming smile of his. If only your job had room for having more of a life, you’d have probably fooled around with Leon by now. But sadly, that isn’t the case.

You shortly arrived at the foot of the president’s office and you could hear him talking to who you assumed was Leon. Two of the president’s bodyguards opened the door for you and you let yourself in.

“Ah, speak of the devil, she’s here.” The president said while smiling at you. “I’m sure you are acquainted with one another, yes?” He asked while looking at the two of us.

“Yes, Mr. President but it’s our first time working together.” You responded.

“Oh? Is that so? I trust that my best agents will be fine.”

You got flustered at the president’s comment and hear Leon chuckle from the side, “We’re flattered sir.”

The president soon briefed the both of you on what needs to be done and the goals you must achieve. You and Leon nodded in agreement and the president patted the both of you on the shoulder with a look of pride painted on his face. “Make me proud my agents.”

The mission went according to plan and was successful. The following day, the both of you return to HQ and prepare to report what happened. You sported a white long sleeve button-up that has been rolled up and a black skirt that hugged your figure nicely. It wasn’t all the time you wore an outfit like that whenever you reported back, so not only were people congratulating you for the successful mission but at the same time, complimenting you on your outfit. You arrived rather early in the meeting room as it was only you and a couple associates in the room. Later, heads started turning once Leon stepped into the room. He was wearing a blue suit with a white button up underneath, looking jaw-dropping to say the least. The men and women in the room stood up to shake hands with him as you patiently waited for your turn. You stood up and walked up to him while he checked you out.

“Nice outfit. Suits you.” He said smiling at you.

You returned the smile and said, “I can say the same to you.”

The two of you head to the front and start recounting the events that have occurred. Whilst you were talking, you noticed Leon from the corner of your eye, looking at you. But it wasn’t just a simple look, you could see his eyes shine as he drowned in the sight of you. It was as though he was undressing you with his stare. One of the associates asked Leon a question but he didn’t respond due to him still having his gaze fixated on you. You turn to look at him directly and uttered a small “Hey” to catch his attention. He snapped out of his trance and apologized. Leon answered the question and for the rest of the meeting he really couldn’t keep his eyes of you.

Once the meeting was finished, you came up to him and jokingly asked, “Did I have something in my teeth? Why were you staring?”

“Oh, was I? I didn’t realize… I'm sorry." He apologized.

“No need to apologize. It’s okay Leon.” You reassured him.

He then gestured for the door and held it open for you. You thanked him and went parted ways for the day. When you weren't on a mission, you mostly spent your time on your desk from morning till night while occasionally running into Leon if he wasn't on a mission as well. You’d give each other an awkward smile and go about your business. This went on for about a week and over time, Leon was suddenly all you could think about every time you’re at work. Hopping that you’d bump into him somehow or see him around the halls. The thought of catching him staring at you excited you. It felt like there was this electrifying tension between the two of you.

You were done working together for a mission, but something told you that this wasn’t just the end for the both of you. Impure thoughts filled your head, distracting you from your job. You could tell that it wasn’t just you, and that’s what thrilled you the most. Knowing that you both want each other, yet held back. It made you long for him even more. The times you and Leon would talk to each other for work purposes, the two of you kept your composure and kept it professional when deep down you both needed the fulfill the urge to be on each other's bodies.

It was getting late at night already and you yawned from the exhaustion of a long day’s work. You rummage through your paper looking for a specific document when you remembered that you had left it in a meeting room. You sighed and sluggishly make your way to the meeting room, cussing yourself out for forgetting and now you’re working overtime. As you approach the door, you hear noises coming from the room. You thought it was odd that someone was still in there since the building was almost empty at that hour. Leaning into the door, you peaked through the glass and see Leon, touching himself. He moaned your name under his breath along with profanities. This took you by surprise. You leaned even closer on the door and ended up accidentally pushing it, making Leon jolt knowing that he’s been caught.

He quickly zips up his pants and walks up to door to see who was looking, when he was then met face to face with you.

“I-I left something inside the room…” You stuttered.

Leon just looked at you panting slightly, forehead glistening with sweat and the buttons of his shirt open just enough to see his bare chest. You excused yourself and went in the room and grabbing the document you left when all of the sudden, Leon pinned you to the wall, barely leaving any space between the two of you.

“Are you really just going to leave me here?” Leon asked .

“You seemed… busy.”

Leon let out a chuckle and leaned in close to your ear, “I know you heard me…” His breath making contact on your skin made you shudder.

“Maybe I can help you out..." You whispered back dropping the document to the floor and placing your hand on his chest, slowly moving down, palming his hard dick through his pants. Leon buried his face into your neck trying to stifle his moans. You undo his button, unzip his pants, and pull it down along with his boxers.

You bend down to kneel infront of Leon and level with his cock. You run your thumb over his tip making Leon's breath hitch. You let your tongue slide along his shaft tracing the veins on it. Slowly, you take in his dick in your mouth, bobbing your head up and down while your hand stroked the lower shaft. You licked his tip and left kisses on it, teasing Leon. You speed up the pace leaving Leon breathless, throwing his head back.

"Faster..." Leon panted.

"I can't hear you, Leon. Speak up."

"Faster... please..." Leon says louder this time. you granted his request and start pumping him faster. His mouth is agape as he starts heaving heavily. It turned you on knowing that you could make the Leon Kennedy like this. The thoughts of you and him together were coming to life, and this was barely scratching the surface of all the things you've imagined.

"Fuck, I'm gonna... cum..." he said trying to desperately get out the words from his mouth. You moved even more swiftly this time until Leon came onto your hand and before he could even ride it out, you started stroking his still hard and now sensitive dick.

"Wha- what the fuck are y-you doing?" He hissed.

You don't reply. You just look at him in his eyes while you pick up the pace catching Leon off guard.

Leon whined, "Please..."

"Please what?" you responded.

"S-Stop..." He managed to say.

"And why would I do that? You seem to be enjoying it." you smirk as you stroked his dick faster and faster.

Leon started to tremble a bit and his cock twitched in your hand. He groaned at how you were pumping his overstimulated cock, continuously moaning, filling up the room with his whines and groans. He was begging to you to stop but you didn't. You didn't stop until he came again. And when he did, you finally let him ride his climax down.

Once he settled down, he looked at you menacingly and you thought to yourself, if eyes could kill, you'd definitely be dead by now.

"Stand up. You think I'd let that shit slide?" he said as he heaved. You stood up as Leon grabbed you and turned you around, your back facing his. He pulled you closer, one arm wrapped around your torso while the other snaked its way down to your core. His hand unbuttoned your shirt, slid its way into your bra, and fondled with your boobs, leaving a moan escape your mouth. His other hand moved in tight circles around your clit, doubling the pleasure you were feeling at that moment. Leon pulled your skirt up and pulled your soaked panties down. He slipped his dick inbetween your thighs just right at the surface of your cunt. He thrusted back and forth making sure his dick isn't in you on purpose. He was teasing you and you were starting to become needy.

"Leon... put it in me..." you tried pleading with him.

"Beg for it." He responded, his lips curling into a smirk as he continued moving his dick through the folds of your slick cunt. "Please Leon... I need you in me." Hearing you beg for him, he gave into it and rammed his dick in your cunt leaving you and him gasping at the sudden movement.

"Leon what the fuck?!" you screamed. "I gave you what you wanted didn't I? Ungrateful bitch..." Although Leon was cussing you out, you didn't feel any sort of hatred or resentment towards him. In fact, it turned you on even more and Leon was catching up to it.

"You like it when I call you a bitch huh?" he asked as his hand moved from your boobs to your jaw, squeezing it.

He moved closer to your ear and whispered, "Or would you prefer if I called you a slut instead? Would you like that?" You nod your head in response.

"My, my, what a dirty little slut you are... I can't wait to fuck you like one." He said as he lets go of his grip on your jaw.

"I'll be your slut and yours only... Use me however you like. I'm at your disposal Leon." You said breathelessly.

"Oh I'll never dispose you. I'll make sure I fill you up with my cum like the fucking slut you are. So shut the fuck up and take it." Leon whispered as he started pounding hard into you leaving you in shambles. Whatever mess you left Leon in a while ago, you were now twice the mess he was.

Leon was fucking you in every spot you thought nobody could even fucking reach. He placed his hands on your hips and gripped it tightly as he pounded his cock deep into you. You were panting, breathing heavy, moaning, whining, all of the above.

"Good girl... You really are taking it like a slut. So fucking good for me."

Your walls tighten around Leon's cock, milking him off everything he had in him. You scream, "Le-Leon! F-Fuck I'm gonna cum!"

"That's right cum for me, princess." You came screaming his name but he didn't stop. "Leon! S-Stop please..." You begged.

"Why would I stop? I haven't even came yet." He said with a smirk plastered on his face. All your pleading went in his ear and out the other. He continued ramming into you while your eyes welled up with tears from the feelings of pleasure derived from pain. As much as it hurt, you didn't want it to stop either. Leon quickened his thrusts and grunted as he came, feeling his hot cum fill you.

"Take all that in." he moaned into your ear. As he was filling you with his seed, tears streamed down your face from the overstimulation. Leon pulled out and made you face him.

"Don't cry princess, isn't this what you wanted?" Leon said as he kissed the tears off your face. Trails of kisses from your cheeks led to your lips and the both of you share a long and passionate kiss before pulling away and fixing each other's clothes.

Maybe overtime wasn't so bad after all.

[viv-hollande]

Ok, so this is a post that I should have made sooner. I've been somewhat out of the loop with regards to current events and the state of discourse on this website courtesy of a pretty serious depressive episode from which I am only just now recovering. As I have emerged from this state I have been pushed towards a conclusion about this website and the state of discussion around the ongoing Israel-Gaza War that I had thus far avoided due in part to my barely possessing the energy to keep myself alive and due in part to my denial that the conclusion could be true. But that denial can no longer hold.

It has become openly apparent that the pro-Palestinian camp on this website has become popularly infused with a degree of blatant, aggressive antisemitism that I, in my naivety thought impossible in the days just after October 7. I am trying to avoid turning this into a mea culpa because that would be unproductive and feel self-serving, but I do feel an obligation to admit that I disregarded prescient warnings from Jewish users whose warnings I dismissed as over-blowing a problem that I felt was real, but more limited in scope than they made out.

I'm neither an idiot nor am I ignorant. I am well aware of the long history of antisemitism in leftist politics and in the Palestinian Liberation movement. Back at the beginning of this crisis I was prepared to see the occasional instance of antisemites using the inevitable, overwhelming Israeli retaliation as an excuse to air their hateful politics. I was prepared to see both the well-meaning but ignorant and the malicious alike sharing tweets from antisemitic pro-Palestine accounts, spreading and normalizing low-grade, subtle antisemitism. Make no mistake, this should have been condemned. Antisemitism, like all bigotries, has no 'safe' level. There is no background level of antisemitism that society should just accept as normal. But I was more focused on the inevitable cacophony of suffering that Israel would almost certainly begin meting out, and so I failed to act.

The fatal blow to my denial was the increasing prevalence of the use of quotation marks around the word "Israel" and "Israeli". The first few times I saw this, I didn't really understand what it meant. Still laboring under the belief that antisemitism was a manageable problem on the left, I was certain that most of the users on this site, well-intentioned, goodhearted, critically thinking people that they were, would have recognized and called out even disguised antisemitism before it took over a good 20-40% of all posts about the conflict. I was a damn naive fool. For those, like past me, who have not cottoned on to the meaning of the quotation marks, they have become a way to express the denial of the legitimacy or even existence of, individually or all together, the State of Israel, the Israeli people, or the right of either Jews or Israelis to identify as Israelis.

CONGRATULATIONS TUMBLR! You have successfully revived from depths of 4chan neo-Nazi boards the (((fucking echoes))).

Are you serious? Are you fuckers for real? This, right here, encapsulates the pitch-black absurdity of this whole situation and why I remained in denial for so long. Never, in a million years, would I imagine that the proudly pro-Social Justice, anti-fascist, 100% Certified SAFE-SPACE(tm) website would end up using the same language as the goddamn Nazis on 4chan. I thought this website was smarter than that. But noooo, it turns out that I was a damn naive fool.

This was where the post was originally going to end. I say my piece, hope to change a few minds, and commit myself to actually fighting antisemitism instead of sitting back and dismissing the problem. But I figure, while I'm here and while I still have the driving forces of anger and guilt pushing me along, I may as well put pen to paper and spew forth my other thoughts on the ongoing crisis. I am thus compiling a much longer post detailing my thoughts on some aspects of the current situation. [EDITED ~1:25 AM GMT, 5 Dec 2023: add link to finished post] That post will definitely be long, probably be angry, possibly wrong on some aspect of fact, and will absolutely be pretentious, preachy, self-righteous and hubristic to a positively Hellenistic degree. Brief, non-comprehensive summary so you can decide whether or not get mad at me ahead of time;

Israel does apartheid, or near enough for government work.

Israel is definitely conducting a campaign of forced displacement, possibly amounting to ethnic cleansing, but I remain unconvinced of the claim of genocide.

Hamas may or may not be a anti-colonialist revolutionary group, but it definitely is an antisemitic terrorist organization with genocidal aspirations and actively supporting them is morally indefensible. Yes, this includes the Al-Qassam Brigades.

Anti-colonial and other revolutionary movements do in fact have fundamental moral obligations and suffering oppression does not give you carte blanche to do terrorism, even when an oppressor attempts to render peaceful opposition impossible. There is a middle ground between peaceful marching and 850+ dead civilians; aim for that.

The left is just as prone to unhinged conspiracism as the right.

Verify your sources, for fuck's sake.

Use nuance. It won't kill you.

There's more, but it's a little difficult to summarize an unfinished post. If you want to argue with any of these points, go ahead, just keep in mind that a longer, more comprehensive post is in the works that might have the answer to your argument/complaint/insult/intellectual disagreement. If that post isn't up by midnight GMT on Friday, assume I forgot about it and argue away. In conclusion, antisemitism is bad, apartheid is also bad, Tumblr is a hellsite (derogatory), "From the river to the sea" is, in fact, antisemitic, seriously, stop saying it, take Jews seriously when they warn you about antisemitism instead of writing them off like a damn naive fool, and last but not least, free Palestine.

[collidescopeeyes]

HCs of Aatrox as a weapon and a reader who is his user please 😭🙏

Aatrox with wielder!Reader

- Look there's gotta be a whole character arc here before he's in a state to exist around other people. He's a man trapped inside a sword trying to escape the very nature of his existence by destroying the world and by extension himself, thereby trapping himself in a nightmarish cycle of violence and pain with no respite. Like, all he's done for the last few centuries was possess some poor fool, go on an apocalyptic warpath, get killed, and be stuck back in the suffocating sensory deprivation tank of his sword form until someone new picks him up, rinse repeat.

- You find him in sword form, but much like Kayn and Rhaast he doesn't manage to overcome you–except instead of using him to murder people, you just kinda lug him around and show him all the nice things about living (cuz honestly, leaving him there would be kind of fucked up).

- Being put in forcible time out, he very reluctantly is forced to admit that maybe existence isn't all pain and okay, yeah, maybe there is inherent value in life. The hot springs are nice, he guesses. Human, bring him to the hot springs again.

- He's gonna be a huge bitch for a while let's be real, like full tilt raging complete with threats of grievous bodily harm (and he can be a real bitch when he wants to be, have you heard some of his voice lines??). At the same time, he's terrified you'll leave him so he still tries to go the ‘temptation of power, just give in’ route, and generally emphasizes how powerful he is and how useful he can be.

- Eventually you go from being you, human, to his human. He hasn't had a social interaction that did not end with someone dying in literal centuries, much less a friend. Like he still bitches but instead of threatening you, he starts threatening anything that threatens you, which he defends with the idea that he's the only one worthy of killing you. You learn not to take it personally, your giant sword with a disembodied heart set into the hilt is a tsundere, this is your life now.

- ‘ive only had this human for two months and if anything happens to them I'm killing everyone in this plane of existence and then myself’, but to be fair that last part was his plan to begin with. Anything even begins to threaten you and it's fire and brimstone from him–unfortunately, he can't exactly do much as a sword other than beg you to use him to slaughter anyone who so much as says a harsh word to you.

- The longer you wield him, the more he becomes attuned to you–which is new to him, because Darkin usually don't have a wielder without them becoming a full host for this long, and even then the wielder is usually trying to suppress them. With you, Aatrox gradually gets his senses back–unlike Naafiri and Rhaast, his sword form doesn't come with eyes, so he basically has to magically parasitize your vision and see through your eyes. Gradually this extends to other senses too–hell of a shock to him when he starts to feel your pain. Eventually, he gets his own sense of touch back, which is kinda weird since his body is a sword now, but it's still leagues better than eternal numbness. Even if he's not really sure how to process that he can feel you literally holding his disembodied heart in your hands.

- His grand plan was to accumulate the blood from every rare instance you were forced to use him to defend yourself in order to build himself a new body and then kill you with it. The plan is amended to killing you in your sleep, cuz he likes you, even if he doesn't want to admit it. It takes literally until he's standing over you that he realizes ‘I don't….actually want to do this,’ and he has zero follow up plan or capacity for self reflection so he just stands there like a weirdo. And then you wake up.

- “Are you gonna kill me?” “....no.” “Okay, cool, I'm going back to sleep.”

- You start travelling together like normal people then, except y'know, being in human form is pretty taxing so a decent chunk of the time he just...stays a sword. This is a huge gesture of trust from him, knowing that if you happen to put him down he'll be put back into a prison of his own body, but also you've kinda earned his trust in this matter since you could've left him to suffer at any point before now and didn't. He still acts like it's some sort of honor for you to be wielding him, but you've also earned his respect by this point so the ‘puny human’ talk has pretty much evaporated.

- His protectiveness gets worse once he has a body to act independently with, but not as much as you'd think–he respects your wishes and genuinely doesn't want to upset you, so he won't hurt anyone you don't want him to (...too bad)–though he will intimidate the everliving fuck out of anyone he thinks is a threat to you. He does actually still have a pretty robust sense of right and wrong–it’s just that he didn't give a fuck about it in the face of escaping the torture of his existence. Now you're that escape, and he'll defend you with the same visciousness that he killed literal gods with.

- He does not have any frame of reference for romance. He only sort of remembers being Ascended, and barely if at all being human before that–and in all that time he was a soldier through and through, devoted to his duty above all. He doesn't even know that he's caught feelings. Like he wants to be close to you all the time (and other urges he shall not be examining), but that's normal right?? You've been carrying him around for months now, surely it's because of that. He also hasn't had anyone touch him without also trying to kill him in centuries, forget that he can actually feel it now–surely that's why the slightest touch from you makes his heart skip a beat (you can literally see it, it's right there in the sword). It's normal. He's being super normal. Denial is just a river in Shurima.

- Point being, the man is oblivious, and even if he wasn't, he has no fucking idea what he's doing and he has a boatload of unresolved self-esteem issues. You're gonna have to make the first move and you're gonna have to be very forward and upfront with him. He's gonna freeze, Aatrox.exe is working overtime; internally he goes from ‘tf do you mean I have feelings’ to ‘tf do you mean I have feelings for a human’ to ‘well obviously this is my human, she's special, why wouldn't I have feelings for her’ to ‘me?? Why the fuck does she want me??’ to finally deciding that he would have to be clinically insane to turn you down (putting aside that he thinks there's a very real chance that he is in fact insane, but he's working on that).

- Not that he knows how to be in a relationship. Mutual respect and communication can go a long way to figuring stuff like this out, but it's pretty obvious he's out of his depth–he’s struggling to adjust to existing in general, and he's got centuries of trauma and a barely repressed anger management issue. It helps that he knows you're on his side (and that he's probably already made every threat under the sun when you first met), but the man doesn't exactly have a lot of practice dealing with his frustration in a healthy way. Patience is essential here–he’s trying, and he will get better with time and understanding.

- He's actually super self conscious about his body–in his eyes, it's a twisted, filthy reminder of what he used to be. Without a compatible host, Darkin bodies start to break down without fresh blood to sustain them, and he can't help but compare it to how he used to be before the Void war. His form is stable with you, but he still has a whole lot of negative associations. You've got your work cut out for you if you want to convince him he's not some sort of malformed disgusting beast–he’s very much of the opinion that you're some kind of saint for wanting him despite what he looks like.

- Despite all that, physical closeness is a big thing in his culture, plus he's touch starved and will take any opportunity to have you close. If you're not doing anything he'll literally just pick you up and deposit you on his lap so he can be close to you. If he's in sword form, he'll sulk if you put him down for even a moment. It's funny though, because as much as he passively demands attention like some sort of large spiky cat, he also gets really flustered if you're affectionate with him. He's also a huge tsundere though, so him being flustered mostly involves stammered yelling (he’s actually kind of awkward, when he's not being intimidating–re his joke lines).

- Darkin run hot as a consequence of the hemomancy their bodies are made up of–in particular, the area over his heart is very warm. He doesn't visibly blush per se, but the glow of his heart gets more radiant when he's flustered, and he gets noticably warmer. The dark plated parts of him are hard and bone-like with the slightest bit of give, whereas the red parts feel like normal skin if slightly thicker. He has a habit of only touching you with his unplated left hand–the other one has a lot of jagged edges and he worries he'll accidentally cut you (plus, the plated parts feel less). Since his form is fairly stable with you he can manifest his wings fairly consistently, but he's stuck at a (relatively) meager 9ft tall without absorbing any new bodies. His wings are more batlike than anything, and the webbing is extremely sensitive.

- In Ancient Shuriman custom, marriage is a social arrangement wherein a couple is considered married as soon as they start living together, no ceremony or paperwork required (fun fact: actual ancient egyptian custom!). Most couples have this accompanied with a legalized property agreement, but Aatrox was raised into a warrior caste that doesn't have a concept of private property, and he doesn't currently have much of a use for possessions anyway. This is all to say Aatrox considers you to be married and you have no idea until he offhandedly refers to you as his wife.

- All that being said, he still has an extreme sense of duty to his follow Darkin, being about as close to a leader as they have left after the war and their sealing. He feels an obligation to find a way to alleviate their suffering, either by finding them hosts, undoing their binding into weapons, or finding a way to kill them and have them actually stay dead. It's a grim task and it's pretty important to him to have your support in it, however you want to approach it.

[alekthefox]

This is about my post about a future fanfic where Aventurine beats Dr Ratio in chess. What you're reading now however is canonical proof+my theories on Veritas' opinion on Aventurine's intelligence.

@resagini You're right absolutely, however Dr. Ratio already knows Aventurine is extremely intelligent! (I'm not sure if you were implying he doesn't realise it in canon... But if that's not the case... then for those people you mentioned in the last few tags here's a little info :)

Penacony spoilers underneath, with receipts.

First of all why he wears the bust:

(Source of image: Honkai Star Rail wiki, under Dr. Ratio, voice-overs.)

He has never ever been seen wearing it when with Ave. Aventurine even teases him about it in Penacony story with the line of (I love the stupid pun, the word "bust" fits both of them):

This also means Aventurine has seen it before this. I'm unsure the time placement of Final Victor light cone as of right now. But it is possible Veritas changed his mind multiple times. Since Penacony though he's not worn it when with Aventurine. It is also possible he wears it when the two of them are with others who Ratio finds to be blubbering fools.

Note: Aventurine is a high rank P45, and a Stoneheart, within the STRATEGIC Investment Department. Whyyyy, pray tell, do people think of him so lowly????

Then there's Dr. Ratio in the Aventurine showcase saying they're not exactly friends and he's not so bad to work with unlike those insufferable fools. (And I adore the callout he gets from Aventurine and how flustered he gets urgh this man <3)

Official video

Friends quote: 0:50

Veritas admitting Aventurine is in control then getting flustered when the two are described to have "mutual understanding" ("wait... mutual? What did he say about me???? 🥺"): 5:30

YESSSS YOU CAN PUT ITALIC ON EMOJIS!

And I would love to remind everyone of the lines:

Yep. Dr. Ratio knew Aventurine's plan, or the majority of it. (PEOPLE PISS ME OFF WHEN LISTING THAT BETRAYAL AS A REASON THIS SHIP IS TOXIC.) That means Dr. Ratio knew that this extremely layered, thoroughly thought through (i did NOT just use those three words like it's normal what the hell) scheme, all came from Aventurine's mind (literally nobody else would think of this bullshit, from the self-destruction to the breaking of a cornerstone to the THREE cornerstones in use in the same place without the people, in possession of the Family etc etc). I believe extremely little parts of the Penacony situation was luck. Aventurine is lucky, yes, insanely. But he uses his luck as an advantage, not main weapon. He uses it as a mask, he is a gambler to many eyes. The doctor knows this. He doesn't believe in luck but in probability, a controlled and calculable version of luck. He didn't trust his luck, but his mind. So Ratio played his part.

Another thing is that during Penacony you can retrace, during story, Aventurine and Ratio's steps. Literally. Playing as Acheron you can examine the footprints and it's stated that whoever was walking there are equals.

Despite Aventurine having full power over Ratio through the IPC authority and the cornerstone power and having him always follow his lead (begrudgingly or not), they walk side by side.

Even with Ratio being much taller and therefore faster, they walk side by side. (An easy excuse that doesn't involve feelings that both could use to avoid this respect.) Even with Ratio thinking a lot of people are morons, he walks side by side with Aventurine, without his statue mask. Even with Dr. Ratio's many accomplishments proving he's above quite a number of individuals.

In both opinions on who is greater, they choose this.

Link to wiki page

There is so so so so much more but I do think these instances alone are enough to prove my point.

[luciferlightbringer]

Talk to Me

Chapter 3

Lucifer x Fem Fallen Angel Reader Word Count: 3.5k CW: Angst, trauma, swearing, slow burn, enemies to lovers(ish?), mistrust, lies, curiousity

Chapter 2|Chapter 3|Chapter 4 (Updated through Chapter 5)

Before long, it was time for Lucifer to teleport back home for the night. He hugged his daughter and Vaggie goodbye, and gave a quick glare to Alastor before teleporting back home in his usual swirl of red smoke.

Once he was home he flopped on the bed and let out a long sigh. Lucifer was happy to be rebuilding his relationship with Charlie, the awkwardness of their reunion a few weeks ago had been slowly melting away, and he was really feeling like they were starting to get to know each other again. He just wished it was not on the brink of a war with Adam and his exorcists.

He had worried that Heaven would try retaliate at Charlie’s rehabilitation idea like they had with his many many years ago… but not like this. He felt the anxiety and frustrations start to rise in his body. Feelings of wishing she had just listened to him and not tried to push things with Heaven… but it was no use. He knew she was right. Things needed to change but he had just been too scared to fight, Heaven had beaten the passion out of him, leaving him with the fear of losing more. But, somehow, Charlie had been reigniting that spark in him. It was beautiful and utterly terrifying.

This upcoming battle put a new stressor on him that replaced the old stressor of how much he had missed his daughter, which somehow felt easier to manage, but in many other ways left him struggling within his mind in new ways. For so long he had be plagued by his past, watching sinners abuse the gift of free will he had given them, the separation of him from Lilith over the past seven years, the estrangement of his own daughter for what felt like most of her live. It left him dazed and disconnected from the world in general. Had left him with a growing void between himself, his kingdom, and the sinners he ruled. Sinners that he was ashamed to admit he despised at times. Having Charlie in his life again made it a little more tolerable, but if this upcoming battle did not pan out well, he was running the risk of losing her and everyone else for good, which would send him even deeper into the pit of his own mind.

But, in a way, that was another small new blessing in his life though, finding others to care about. Sinners even. He had been working on getting to know the other residents and staff at the hotel, and he enjoyed… most of them. He had been worried about that pornstar, Angel, trying to get up on his daughter, but he didn’t seem to do anything outside of a few pet-names for her, and him for that matter. Lucifer had also noticed Angel put a lot of their focus on Husk, the bartender. Lucifer crackled a small smile, he liked Husk, he was a no nonsense kinda guy but seemed to have a good heart, and a soft spot for others at the hotel. Sir Pentious was… interesting, an intelligent fool, which he could relate to. Niffty was… well she was good at cleaning, and a little terrifying. And Alastor… ugh, he couldn’t stand the guy, he clenched his fists at the thought of him. Lucifer knew that guy was up to something, and was not fond of how close his daughter had gotten to him… but he had to admit that he had been a big support to Charlie. He just knew that his actions were not selfless and it was all a fun little game for grabbing power.

Lucifer shook his head, he needed to be careful, he could get heated and obsess over his distain for Alastor if he was not careful. But the resident he was most curious about, was his daughter’s girlfriend, Vaggie. A fallen angel. It was odd because their falls had both been very different, his a physical fall from Heaven, her’s in an instance on the grounds of Hell themself, her status torn from her in a moment. But the mental pain of it all still the same. To have her wings torn off by those monsters, Adam and Lute, disgusting how they can be in the highest ranks of Heaven while people like her suffer, for sparing a fucking child!

Lucifer took another breath to slow down his thought process. That was a topic he needed to be careful about, his fall. That was a panic attack waiting to happen, a trauma he could never full process, even with Lilith even though she also fell with him. He pushed those thoughts away, as he always did, and decided it was probably time to get ready for bed. He went to go wash his face and change into pajamas.

His thoughts drift back to the hotel, then to what Charlie had mentioned about you, the newest addition to the hotel. His heart hurt to hear you had barely just arrived in Hell before getting attacked by other sinners so brutally. He had been curious about you, but understood that you might need some time to acclimate to Hell. He was just glad that you had found the hotel so soon after getting here. What sort of soul would be so keen on redemption soon after arriving in Hell? He tried hard not to immediately jump to thoughts of suspicion. All he knew is what Charlie told him, that you arrived sounding scared and hurt, and he hated that. He hating that he had created a realm that did that to people. He sighed, whenever you were ready to meet him, he wanted to do something nice to welcome you. He didn’t know what, but he would figure it out. For now, it was bed time.

——————————————————————

The next day, you were awoken by a knock on your door. You stretched and hobbled your way over to the door and opened it to find Charlie.

“Evening! How are you feeling?” She asked with a perky smile.

You cocked an eyebrow and yawned “A little better. Oh, is it dinner time?”

“Yes… but like… of the next day… it’s been over 24 hours since I last saw you… I left notes but you didn’t come out. I just wanted to make sure you were ok,” Charlie gave you an anxious grin.

Your eyes went wide, “24 hours?!” You looked at the ground and saw the few notes on the floor, “Oh Heav- I mean… Hells! Charlie, I’m sorry, I was asleep that whole time.”

Charlie laughed and swatted a hand “Oh gosh, it’s no trouble. If that’s all it was I’m just glad you were resting and healing, that’s all. I didn’t want you to miss out on eating so I just thought I would knock this time. Are you hungry?”

You were about to answer when your stomach did with a loud gurgle that was loud enough for both of you to hear. You both looked at your stomach, then at each other, then laughed.

“Is it uhh… is it ok if I eat in here though? I’m… still not ready to be out with others,” you asked sheepishly.

“Of course! We are having the last big rally before the battle downstairs so, it would probably be a bit overwhelming out there anyway. Let me go get you some food,” Charlie closed your door and ran down to the kitchen to grab you some of the food. You hated to admit it, but you were growing more tolerant of Charlie, possibly even enjoy her, though parts of your brain still worked to warn you about her. She seemed really genuine, and she couldn’t help but remind you of Emily. She seemed like someone who wanted to care for people and make them feel happy and safe.

Charlie came back with a bowl of soup and some bread, “Here we are!” She handed you your food.

“Thanks!” You said, taking the bowl and plate from her and going inside your room to set it down on a small table.

“Hey so… the extermination is tomorrow… will you have your place set up for you to be safe at during that time? If you don’t have a place, I always have my dad…”

“No! No, please, I have it taken care of, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine, I have a place to go. I’ll… probably just eat this, get some more sleep and be out of here early before the angels come. Ok?”

Charlie nodded, “Ok, if you aren’t up by like 8 am, I’ll come kick you out.” She gave you a wink, “Stay safe, ok?” then closed the door.

You let your curated smile deflate as you started to eat alone in your room. You didn’t realize you had put on a mask for her until she left. You couldn’t deny how much you were still working to keep up appearances around her, how much you fought with the idea of trusting her. On the other hand, you lied to her, about several different things, and that definitely did not make you feel good. Most currently, on the full belief that you had a place to stay during the extermination. You were hoping that Claire would let you hide in the Embassy, but that’s only if it is even open that day. It was all a gamble.

The next morning you woke up early and snuck out of the hotel and down to the Embassy, where one again you found Claire sweeping. She looked up to see you enter and smiled.

“Well good morning! You are looking a bit better I see, didn’t expect to see you back so soon. You doing ok at the hotel?” Claire asked as she continued to sweep.

“Uhh… ya! It’s been just fine. I’ve been asleep most of my time there. Got some actual wraps for my broken bones that have helped a lot. But, I’m here because… well…” you took a moment to collect your thoughts “The Princess’ hotel has gained the negative attention of Heaven it seems… and I am in no place to fight… so I need to hide… can I stay here? Please? I promise I won’t cause any trouble and you can kick me out at any moment if I do,” you pleaded. You hated having to beg to a hellborn, but Claire had already earned some amount of your respect and you were desperate. You knew she had probably already broken several rules when it came to you.

Claire looked around and smiled before whispering “If someone were to ask, you have a complaint and are personally coming to talk to me, got it?” She winked. You cracked a small smile, nodded, and winked back. Claire then led you back further into the Embassy, past elevators, meeting rooms, all empty, until you got to a small office with a sign that said “Clarisee Emberstone, Facilities Manager”. You were curious who else was here to even comment, but you knew Heaven had eyes everywhere. Claire opened the door and you both stepped in. It was small and cramped, full of tools, cleaning supplies, papers, a desk with a chair, and a small couch. Claire gestured for you to take a seat, and you did.

Claire sighed, “It’s not much but-“

“No no! It’s perfect. Thank you…” you smiled at her. “Thank you for being so nice to me. How can I ever repay you?” You asked.

Claire shook her head, “Nothing, I want nothing from you. I just don’t want people to suffer more than they already do.” Claire thought for a moment, “Tell you what… if you can find a way to make the most of your time in hell, to make the lives of other sinner’s a little more tolerable so that they don’t get hurt in the way you have, that’s how you can repay me, ok?”

You blinked, and nodded. That made sense, you would have to think about that, but that was an idea. An idea that tugged and churned your stomach at the thought of helping sinners, but still a good one.

Claire smiled and nodded, “Now I must get back to my cleaning, I’ll come get you when the dust settles.” You nodded and Claire closed the door behind her, leaving you once again alone with your thoughts.

You sighed and lounged on the small couch, you were thankful for the well hidden room, but your mind still had plenty to leave it cloudy and worried.

Swirling emotions that still lacked names engulfed your thoughts and the pit of your stomach. It almost hurt. You understood the fear and worry, but not worry for yourself, worry about others. You were worried for Charlie and Vaggie, worried for the sinners that you had been in hotel with that you had yet to get to know, worried about the angels that came down for them, worried about Adam and Lute, worried about how Emily was feeling, but you also hated feeling worried about them. You felt like you were worried and hated that you worried about everyone. This felt like pure madness inside your head. Nothing made sense anymore and all you knew was confusion and fear. Is this how sinners always felt? Is this what it’s like to live through an extermination? Is this what Heaven was doing to people? At least you had a place to hide, how many others didn’t?

Your head ached, you tried to focus on your breathing. And then you started to feel it, the rumbles. The angels were here. You were helpless to do nothing besides desperately sense for any tremor, any sound or shift, though you didn’t know what any of them meant or how close they were. They didn’t feel like they ever got much closer to the building you were at, but they felt more powerful at times. An occasional beam of holy energy and you could still sense from all the way over where you were.

The biggest shock came from another holy blast, and a large earthquake that felt as if the ground was cracking apart, followed by a few quick shakes… and then.. stillness. It was so still and quiet that you could hear your own heartbeat, loud as a drum, your breathing quick.

There was a knock on the door, and you jumped. Claire opened the door and gave you a smile, “Relax, we are all clear.”

“All clear?”

“Ya… the angels are gone. Portal opened back up and they all high tailed it out of here,” Claire said “Come on I’ll show ya.”

You got up and followed Claire back out to the lobby, you looked out the window, and gasped. All you could see was the rubble and remains of the building you had been sleeping in hours before, along with patches of golden blood littered along the hillside. The blood of dead angels.

You got close to the window and look for any signs of movement. You had to really squint, but you were able to make out a few figures, one with long blonde hair and one with white. You sighed with relief, Charlie and Vaggie were ok. Your attention was then also caught by another individual that was flying around, with red and white wings… six of them?! You pressed your face against the glass to try to get a better look, did an angel survive?!

“You see him too? Pretty magnificent huh? He doesn’t come out in public much,” said Claire.

“Who? The angel?” You asked still looking out the window.

“Yes, Lucifer.”

You looked at Claire with shock and then back out to the seraphim outside, then put a finger to the glass in his direction.

“That? That seraphim is Lucifer? But I thought he was a demon?” You asked.

“Oh he is, he’s both, in a way. I don’t know his story super well but I just see the bits about him in magazines. Factly, from most of what I have seen of him, he looks more like an angel than a demon most of the time.”

You were mesmerized and drawn in by the slight of those wings, how he dipped and dived with them. You have never seen a seraphim with white and red wings, and you guys you never really connected the idea that he was a fallen seraphim until now.

You continued to stare out the window as the small image of him landed in the distance. You could not pick out any details about him other than the wings and a hat of some kind. You hated how much your curiosity continued to grow when it came to him. You were starting at hate a lot of things. Well hate was a strong word… feel conflicted was probably a better term.

You were about to start thinking about what you should do now that the hotel was destroyed, when you saw the distant angel soar back into the sky and start to zap the ground with magic. Soon the beginnings of a new building were starting to form. Was he rebuilding the hotel?!

That was exactly what he was doing, and with the help of the other hotel residents, it was not long before a brand new Hazbin Hotel stood atop the eastern hill of the Pentagram. Bigger and brighter than the last. You just stood and stared out the window as it formed, dazzled and enchanted by its creation.

Eventually, you felt ready to head back to the hotel. You thanked Claire and said goodbye before you made the journey back home. The streets of hell were filled with parties and debauchery, singing the praises of the King and his Princess for fighting of the “angel scum”. Normally a comment like that would make you mad, but now… it made sense. Their view of Heaven and angels made sense.

You made it back to the hotel, and found Charlie standing outside, marveling at her new hotel with Vaggie. You walked up behind them a ways.

“Room for one, please?” Charlie and Vaggie turned around at the sound of your voice, Charlie’s eyes started to water as she ran to you.

“(Y/fn)! You are ok!” She said, enveloping you in a tight hug, “I was so worried! I’m glad you are safe.” You smiled and hugged her back.

“I’m glad you guys are ok too. What all happened?”

Charlie and Vaggie went over the summary of the battle, the dome Alastor made, Adam being Adam, Sir Pentious, who was another resident you did not get to meet, was killed, Charlie’s guardian, Dazzle, being killed, then Lucifer showing up at the end to put a stop to Adam, but that it was Niffty that killed Adam.

You blinked, “Adam, the first man, is dead?” Charlie nodded. Some thing in your heart was both broke and soared hearing that, you grabbed your shoulder when you still felt the pain of your missing wing, and furrowed you brow.

“Good… that piece of shit had it coming…” Charlie and Vaggie were surprised by you words, so were you, “I mean… look at all this trouble he has caused! He sounded like a complete asshole!”

“Yes! He was!” Charlie proclaimed. You all laughed.

You looked around, “Your dad still here?”

Charlie shook her head, “No, he went home. Fighting and using as much creation magic as he did makes him tired very quickly. Look at all he made!” She said gesturing to the hotel.

“It really is marvelous, you’ll have sinners knocking door these doors to get in for sure!” You looked around. Something about this magic felt familiar someone, but you couldn’t quite pin how it felt familiar.

Charlie laughed, “I sure hope so!”

You looked over at her, it’s wild how much of a beacon of hope she was. You grabbed her hand and she looked at you with surprise.

“Charlie… thank you, for everything. How can I ever repay you for your kindness?”

Charlie smiled and held your hand back “Just do your best while you are here, for yourself and others. I still don’t have proof that rehabilitation actually works… but if it does, I want us all to support each other as best we can!”

That sounded very similar to what Claire had said earlier. You didn’t think it was possible to redeem sinners, but even if they couldn’t, you all can work to make Hell a better place. You smiled “I will Charlie, I’ll be the best that I can, and I’ll figure out what I can do you help others too. I’ll just need to time to figure out what that is…”

“It sounds like a great start” Vaggie added, “Now come on! It’s dinner time and Alastor is breaking in the new kitchen.” You followed Charlie and Vaggie inside, ready to fully start your new life inside the hotel.

______________________________________________________________

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[tragicclownwrites]

Why the ending of "Sponge-Cano!" was great SquidBob fodder

Hello! I'm back with an analysis post as I came across something recently and wanted to share some thoughts.

I'm likely late to the game here, but I saw an old post in which the author (a fellow SquidBobber) was upset by the ending of "Sponge-Cano!" and I just have to say... huh!?

Were we watching the same episode? 🤨

Needless to say, I was thoroughly perplexed by this reaction because I personally read into it much differently. Then again, I am a clown.

Therefore - in the spirit of friendly fandom discourse - I wanted to provide another perspective on this episode. Absolutely no shade to the OP either - people are allowed to have differing opinions, after all.

If you're with me, let's clown around below the cut!

The lie that started it all

Before we dive in any further, let's take a look at the scene that started this whole conversation.

Essentially, after Squidward's heartfelt confession to SpongeBob, while he's hanging on for dear life over a boiling volcano...

Squidward: "Please SpongeBob, I didn't mean any of that! I do appreciate your friendship. I am grateful. I'm… I'm… I'm grateful for the life I'm living! Who knows how long I'll have it? I learned that from you, remember?"

He says this after being rescued by his true love SpongeBob:

Squidward: "You know SpongeBob, in light of everything that just happened... I lied to you. I am not grateful for anything! I mean look at me. I don't even have a roof to sleep under, anymore!"

Now, this is the moment that had the OP so heated about this episode. After everything he said, after SpongeBob saved his life, he just... lied?

Weeeell, not exactly.

The truth always reveals itself

Now, for my hot take... I don't think Squidward was lying at all when he said he was grateful for SpongeBob.

Before you immediately decide that I've completely out-clowned myself this time, just hear me out!

There are a few reasons Squidward may have reacted the way he did in the aftermath of the volcano debacle.

He's Squidward

Our man's just lost his whole fucking house for the billionth time

The reality of what he just said is slowly catching up with him

He's Squidward

Unlike his more chipper counterpart, the guy doesn't exactly wear his heart on his sleeve and has been shown to struggle with vulnerability and admitting failure. I mean, he can barely manage to apologize for his less savory actions without choking and sputtering like a fool!

However, when his life was on the line in this scene, he was vulnerable in more ways than one. Physically, he was quite literally dangling over an active volcano - you can't get more vulnerable than that! Emotionally, he bore his soul to SpongeBob because he thought he was going to die and wouldn't have another chance to say any of that again. Keep in mind, he truly believed he wouldn't live to see SpongeBob ever again.

I've mentioned this in my Reigisa x SquidBob masterpost, but there have been several other instances where - particularly, in a dire situation - Squidward will openly admit that he has always liked/cared for SpongeBob. And similarly, he's also tried to take it back or act like he didn't mean it when everything turns out okay or if other people aside from SpongeBob hear his confession.

So, as much as he "hates" SpongeBob and can't stand him, when it really counts, the truth always reveals itself.

Is it possible that he was just trying to play at SpongeBob's heartstrings to save his own ass? Perhaps.

But then, he accepts his fate. He loses his grip, giving everyone a tearful farewell. That is, until his little yellow angel comes to his rescue.

SpongeBob: "Squidward, I always knew you felt that way. Aw, buddy. Thanks for finally opening up to us."

⬆️Just look at the pure love in his eyes! (*Patrick voice*: LOOK AT IT!) The sappy sponge was even prepared to sacrifice himself for him. 🥺

While there was absolutely no way SpongeBob would actually let Squidward perish - promises be damned - it wasn't until Squidward poured his heart out, putting his true feelings towards SpongeBob out in the open, that he was saved from certain death.

You know how they say, "the truth will set you free"? No kidding!

As for why SpongeBob was completely fine with Squidward's lie after the fact (another point of contention for OP), well... he loves him. Period. And I think, despite his emotional constipation and frequent annoyance with the sponge in question, it's pretty clear Squidward loves him, too.

Therefore, SpongeBob wasn't upset by Squidward's outburst here because, as naïve as he may be, I don't think that fact is lost on him either.

In conclusion...

I think it's safe to say that "Sponge-Cano!" was a pretty great episode to add to the ever-growing SquidBob pile.

And if you thought the scene I talked about above was the last of it, ohohoho~ 🤭😏

You. Just. Wait.

At the very end of the episode, after Squidward loses his home and complains that he no longer has "a roof to sleep under anymore," SpongeBob does what SpongeBob does best: he offers to help him out.

Even after Squidward's selfish actions in "Can You Spare a Dime?" (which had some great fodder as well, such as *ahem* Squidward making SpongeBob wear a sexy maid outfit), SpongeBob still lets him stay at his house for an indefinite amount of time. Continuity? I don't know her.

To which, this gets even better.

Squidward doesn't refuse and find somewhere else to crash. After all, wasn't SpongeBob the reason he was miserable enough to be sacrificed in the first place? Why would he subject himself to even more SpongeBob, if that were the case?

At SpongeBob's house, he doesn't sleep on the couch or in a spare room. He doesn't even take SpongeBob's bed for himself while SpongeBob sleeps elsewhere - just like he did in "Can You Spare a Dime?"

NO.

The two of them share SpongeBob's bed. As in, they sleep in the same bed together.

Are these two fucking serious!?

They totally cuddled. Maybe even kissed.

All that to say, as much as Squidward whines and gripes about how much SpongeBob makes him miserable, it's clear to see that - even in the face of life-threatening adversity - SpongeBob's presence in his life is the key to his happiness. In this case, the key to his survival as well.

Now, if only our favorite grumpy octopus would take that spongey key, embracing him fully, to unlock that door... 🌈

[clairecrive]

Hi

I wanted to request a bane x reader fanfic where bane don't wear a mask and he come come across a girl avery young one at that and they have such strong chemistry and then they fall for each other of course bane is reductant at first but then he abandoned his job as a mercenary to be with her and spend time with her.they go shopping they go to beach they like to devour each other they simply can't get enough. Thanks alot

"Guy for That"| Bane x reader

A/N: hello, hello! I know it's been a while, but I hope this will count as tagging, and you'll find yourself back to this. This kind of picks up in the middle of things but the context is what you asked for <3 It is also inspired by "Guy for That" by Post Malone. Hence the name lol. Enjoy ✨

(okay but how cute is he in this gif omg??)

I'm pretty good at breakin' down a heart But pickin' up the pieces is the hard part She's searchin' for someone who's gonna build it back But I ain't got a guy for that

Before meeting Bane, y/n had never believed in that portrayal of love where the two were inseparable and never had enough of the other. She had always loved her me time and, so far, had never been with someone that made her want to spend all of her time with them.

However, when a certain beefy bald man came into her life, she finally understood.

It almost embarrassed her to admit but she always wanted more. More time together, more of his attention, more of his care, more of their conversations, more of their quiet moments, more of his hands on her, more of them laying in bed talking about everything and nothing.

Just more of him.

The only thing that appeased her embarrassment was that Bane seemed on the same wavelength. He always came back for more. She needn't ask for it.

It had been the most magical months of her life.

It hadn't been with its challenges, though. Living with a mercenary wasn't exactly a piece of cake. But they had handled everything together.

So when Bane came home one night and asked her to sit because they needed to "talk", she knew it was just another hurdle they had to cross.

Never would she have imagined, though, that his reason was... ridiculous. Simply put, it was absolute nonsense and y/n wouldn't stand for it.

"Unbelievable," y/n scoffed.

"What?" Bane's temper was rising as well. Gesturing vaguely to himself, "Did you think I'd be your prince charming?"

"You know I don't give a flying fuck about princes and princesses, Bane!" She said, her voice raising at the absurd implication.

"You're a fucking mercenary, for fuck's sake. Do you take me for a fool?"

"If you think of me as someone who could put your heart back together, then yes. You might as well be one."

Despite being filtered by his mask, Bane's voice had the uncanny ability to portray every shade of emotion. So, y/n knew when it was flat and monotone, like in this instance, it was on purpose.

"You know what, Bane?" she chose to be the bigger person and ignore his insult. "I'm not having this conversation with you. Either you have a valid reason for wanting to break up or I refuse, okay? You cannot break up with me."

"Being concerned for your safety and questioning the future of this relationship is a valid reason to have this conversation." He quipped.

"Using your line of work is a useless argument because I already know, don't I? Knew it from the beginning actually."

"Should I question your sanity as well then?"

"Why is it a problem all of the sudden when this," she said pointing to them, "has been going on for a while?"

The question was rather rethoric but when she saw that Bane was about to reply, she knew he wouldn't let this go soon. So, raising a hand, she stopped him, "I don't think it's about you being a mercenary at all."

"I think things are getting real, and you're getting scared," she said softly despite the frustration she was feeling. It was a sore spot for both of them, letting go and trusting the other. But y/n knew that for Bane it was even harder given his past.

She knew that was exactly the point, and Bane's silence confirmed it. Sighing, she took his hands in hers. Hands that had inflicted an immense amount of pain but that could also been so gentle and caring when it came to her. Those hands that she loved feeling caressing her skin, whether it was during aftercare or in those lovely, quiet moments they shared.

"Look, babe, I know it's scary, okay? Fuck, I'd even say terrifying. But I want you to know I'm not going down without a fight."

Bane's piercing eyes were unblinking on hers. It felt like he was staring into her soul. And y/n was hellbent on proving that her word was true. Bane had been such a solid presence in her life these past few months. Now, she was ready to return the favour. He could lean on her for stability. No matter his impressive size, she wouldn't crumble.

"Let's just go to bed, okay? We can sleep on it and talk about it tomorrow."

"I've got some work to do."

"Okay then, I'll be here when you get back." Y/n stood up and left the room after leaving a kiss on his temple.

Whether it was true or not, y/n would leave him alone for tonight. She had said her piece, and if he needed time to process it, then so be it.

She would be here when he returned, and she was not going down without a fight.

[anastacialy]

actually, fuck it, i AM writing the essay, even if no one will read it.

my thoughts on penelope, how she sees herself, and why the carriage scene's ending is the most important thing in the whole wide world under the cut. and bridgerton season three part one spoilers, obviously.

penelope featherington hates herself. bit of a strong start here but, there we go. that's what you get when i'm going feral about her again at three in the morning. (it was eleven a.m. when i finished writing this post. i rewatched all four episodes of season three...)

i'll start from the beginning — she isn't a confident person. i think that's what a lot of penelope hate really comes down to, not relating to her in that way at all. not understanding what being treated the way she has can do to you. so let's start here:

imagine for a moment, no one fucking listens to you.

this includes her favorite people in the world. her family, for one thing, that's obvious, but her best friend, too. many times we hear eloise discover and re-discover what penelope's interests are in the series because, as she says, "i didn't really hear it." she was so frequently not really listening to her. they've been friends for years, but huge aspects of her friend's personality were completely unknown to her. this isn't anti-eloise by the way, i love her too, but we're adults who can admit our favs are all flawed people. the show wouldn't be nearly as fun if they weren't. eloise continues to belittle others for their interests when they don't match up to hers (like that poor girl who was just really passionate about embroidery) and she's done so to pen, however unknowingly, for ages.

penelope tried to beg marina to not fool colin into marriage. she had so, so many other suitors, so many other choices she could have made. all pen wanted was to not have her other best friend slash crush make that life altering of a mistake. but for this, she was called a child. immature. talked down to as if she knows nothing about the world. (she had been mostly right, by the way, in her insisting that george must still love marina, would still want to marry her, discovering that the letter had been forged. if he'd not died on the battlefield, penelope would have been the one to secure a happy ending for marina.) when she wasn't listened to then, she got more desperate, telling colin that marina was in love with someone else to deter him from the marriage while still careful to not ruin marina's reputation and expose her pregnancy in the process. she tried. but no one would listen.

so only when the situation became dire, she did the only thing that she could, and took matters into her own hands.

which brings us to lady whistledown.

it's interesting, really, that she chose that name. to specify lady so she might be taken seriously, yet not hide under a pseudonym completely removed from herself (i.e. using a masculine pen name or implying she's not a part of the ton at all) it's clear that lady whistledown is, for the most part, what penelope wants to and yet fails to be: someone who commands attention, who people admire and trust for an opinion, someone who gets listened to.

by the time we find her in season three, she's fresh off hearing her crush saying he'd never, ever court her, and her best friend finding out that she was lady whistledown all along and had exposed a secret of hers — only after penelope had, of course, also begged eloise to stop seeing theo, to stop raising the queen's suspicions, and was once again ignored. her only friendships have been destroyed, and she has resigned herself to a loveless marriage of convenience because she can't stand to be ignored, controlled, and belittled by her family any longer. she's ready to take the devil she doesn't know over the devil she does.

so, when i say her self confidence is on the floor, i mean it.

yes, a sliver of hope remains in her, and we can see that in her decisions (wearing parisian fashions, for instance) but her plan remains, she is simply going to marry someone, anyone, because she has to.

but even still, her confidence has not taken it's last hit.

let's imagine some more: no matter what you do, people are going to laugh at you.

penelope finally, finally gets her big moment. people stare at her as she enters the room. she still immediately hides herself in a corner because that's who she's always been, but still. she has a moment. not quite what she'd imagined, i'm sure, as she bought all new gowns, but attention and awe nonetheless. but it cracks almost instantly when her social awkwardness comes out, failing to get anyone to ask her to dance, and shatters completely when cressida destroys her dress before she can ever take to the floor.

colin tells her she looks nice, and her immediate reaction is "do not mock me, please."

it's only after this that she confronts colin about what he said, only after this that she speaks ill of him as lady whisteldown — not saying any more than what his sister had already pointed out earlier in the episode, mind you, that his change in personality seemed disingenuous — only after she has been publicly humiliated that she lashes out in her anger.

and, this anger, she also immediately regrets after colin has proven himself to be kind. it's a bit like making a snide comment online without the ability to delete it after.

but when penelope has hope, she is kind. she writes of the promising ladies of the ton and wishes them well with their matches, when she has hope she speaks positively of would-be spinsters and their successful marriages. many of her earlier musings in previous seasons were to call the women of the ton beautiful, to speak to their skills.

but hope for penelope does not last long. she manages to successfully speak to one suitor at the next ball (which, though this is another argument entirely, is backed by a string quartet version of "jealous" as colin re-approaches her at the drinks table — any arguments that his feelings start at their kiss isn't paying near enough attention) but the entirely true rumor about her having help from him spreads through the vine and penelope is hopeless once more.

and a hopeless penelope is a cruel penelope, as we've seen, and this time, she turns that cruelty inward, publicly. while she later says it would have been suspicious if lady whistledown hadn't commented, in truth, she has proven time and time again that her emotions rule lady whistledown's writings. in that moment, eyes tearful, she was embarrassed and ashamed of herself, she decided to say so. she repeats the same sentiment to colin when he comes to visit her:

"in truth i brought this on myself. a sad, stupid girl who believed she might actually have a chance at love."

and here is where lady whistledown continues to be someone penelope sees as different to herself, because penelope doesn't see herself as a lady. not just for lack of title — she does not see herself as worthy of or requiring protection. to call back to antony's season one romance: "every woman is not afforded such gallant protection." "every woman is not a lady."

she says nothing of him bribing her maid to give them time alone. like most of the ton she doesn't think the time they spend alone together could be anything other than platonic, at least on his end. they spent extended time unchaperoned at the bridgerton house and not once did she speak on impropriety. he'd been alone with her in the previous season and even when they were caught no one had a thing to say about it. no one questions it because penelope is not recognized as desirable, not seen as needing this protection, not seen as a lady. she is seen, even by herself, as a spinster already.

when she asks colin for a kiss, she reassures him that she would ask nothing of him for it, she would not entrap him in a marriage citing impropriety, she doesn't even think about whether someone might see. she does not care in this moment if she is to be "ruined," she only wants to feel some illusion of intimacy, some imitation of being wanted. even her running back inside immediately after, and the subsequent conversation under the willow tree, are further proof that she doesn't believe he could have kissed her for any reason other than pity.

and, even after all she goes through with lord debling, she is still not the only object of his affections. the entire time she pursues him, cressida is there, hot on the trail, ready to sweep him away on a moment's notice. penelope writes of their dance that his choice of her is surprising. though her feelings for colin have not simply fluttered away once debling's shown interest, her possible engagement to debling is on a wavering tightrope. not once in this can she feel wholly at ease with lord debling, only afforded a bit of security once he asks her mother for her blessing. and amongst this, her mother still belittles her, saying she should not become greedy for wanting to marry someone who actually cares for her.

she asks lord debling if he might ever love her, in all the years of marriage they may have ahead, and he says probably not.

and when colin breaks up her proposal, insisting debling isn't right for her, still penelope does not even consider, can not even conceptualize that it might be done out of jealousy. colin having feelings for her is laughable, she says as much, and it is the same thing she has been told over and over since the start. he chases after her carriage out of breath asks to be let in, gets on his knees and tells her he can't stop dreaming of her and she tells him "please. do not say things you do not mean." she cannot imagine that any of this is real. it is confusion that prompts her to repeat the agreement they had in episode one, "but, colin, we are friends."

and while an entirely separate essay could be written about the rest of the carriage scene, it is what happens the moment the carriage arrives at bridgerton house that stands out to me. they have this moment, colin asks "could the carriage driver not keep on driving?" and they both laugh, the way they always do with one another, and he fixes her dress (carefully, avoiding using a select few fingers as he does so) and they kiss again, and he gets out of the carriage.

and for a single, heartbreaking second, penelope's face falls, and she calls after him: "colin?"

it is so clear in her demeanor that she thought that was it; that's all she gets. the fantasy is over and it is back to reality. for a split second, she believes he is no longer hers.

for a single second, it's as though she thinks he is going to shut the carriage door on her, and walk away.

but he turns around, hand outstretched, asking if she'd like to come in. and she's once again confused, "what?"

do not say things you do not mean. do not mock me please.

and when he says: "for god's sake, penelope featherington, are you going to marry me or not?"

she looks so relived she could cry.

[lacyscabinet]

ok I had an idea like reader is having a shower at her house and nat sneaks into her house while readers parents are out and has a shower with her ( it doesn’t have to be smut)

A/N: awww cute 🥺🥺, school has been kicking my ass lately and I NEED some comfort, Sorry if you wanted something a little lighter because this basically turned out to be just a way to let out all my pent up emotions, enjoy:) (if you don't like it send me a feedback and I'll gladly write another version of your request)

Not proofread

MASTERLIST

Shower

Life sucks.

You knew it, rotting in bed for weeks, doing school work and feeling drained, forgetting every single thing before a test and making a fool of yourself.

Waking up and going on with your day started to feel like a chore, you were so tired.

And Natalie, your girlfriend, knew that.

She also knew that your parents weren't at home because of a work trip, meaning that you were going to care about yourself even less than before.

That's why, at exactly 7 pm she knocked at your door. You didn't go to school that day, so she knew you were definitely struggling.

And when you opened the door, messy hair and blanket wrapped around your shoulders, she couldn't help but pout

"Babyyyy" she cooed "Bad day?" She opened her arms for you, nodding you hugged her tightly as she made her way past your porch, closing the door behind her.

As soon as you were behind closed doors, Natalie kissed the top of your head while you closed your eyes, melting into her

"When is the last time you showered baby?" She asked, you knew you didn't look the best but you didn't know you were THAT bad for her to ask you when you last showered

"like...five days ago" you shamefully admitted looking down at the floor

"That's okay" she mumbled against your head while stroking your hair "Come on, let's take a shower".

Once you got into your bathroom she adjusted the water to make it warm and nice, you sat on the toilet seat looking up at her, your eyes drained, you didn't exactly have the strength to shower at the moment

She held out her hand, you took it and got closer to her, slowly, she started to peel off your clothes, placing kisses on your bare shoulder and walking you to enter the shower.

Once you were under the steaming water, you tugged at her hand and she got the message.

After undressing she joined you. Instantly pulling you close to her, chest to chest and face to face, softly, she rubbed her nose to yours and then kissed you, you kissed back, it was tender and full of love.

You stayed like that for a while, under the water, relaxing and letting Nat hold and comfort you.

After a while you completely let yourself go and started crying in her arms

"Shhhhhhh..." she whispered "it's okay... I'm here, you're safe baby..."

And for an instance you believed her, after all what could ever hurt you when she's with you?

A/N: HIHIHIHIHI HOPE U ENJOYED:)