#Cause we all had to go trough that

[tiagar]

its so depressing that we live in a world where you cant study in peace, without socializing. “Cause in school, you gotta learn how to be a socialising employee, and if we gotta force it in you, we will”

[hislittlesparklejumpropequeen]

Watching you

Hwang In-ho x female!reader.

Summary: In-ho sees you and his brain chemistry changes. A/N: in reader’s pov he’s referred as Young il. Sorry if it’s confusing. Warnings: Obsessive and possessive behaviour, masturbation, stalking, perverted opinions, murder, blood, kissing, mentions of arousal, mentally and physically vulnerable characters, dubious consent, non-con touching, manipulation, sadism, dacryphilia

W/c: 3,5k

It was strange that he kept his eyes on you more than anyone in the games. The moment he saw your shaking figure among the crowd of people in the green suits, he felt his breath get stuck in his throat. You were looking around with eyes that were full of fear, hands wrapped around yourself and holding back tears as others started an argument in the middle. You listened as someone complained about his shoes being so expensive, and someone asking for his phone, an old lady argue with her son and guards answering the players’s questions with patience.

He kept his eyes on you as the first game started. He saw your eyes widen when someone was shot right in front of you, and he watched you as you realise the seriousness of the game you accepted to take part in. Gi-hun was interesting to him, yes. He was searching for them, for him have been for years now. And he was brave enough to come back to the games just to find who was behind them. He respected his determination. Yet there was something about you that he could not name. Something captivating. Something that shifted things in him, made his skin sting in ecstasy as you nearly moved when the doll turned around. You looked around with those innocent eyes and blood of someone flowing down your cheek, he felt his trouser tighten. A small, tingly sensation took over his loins and made him frown in confusion. He had never taken a liking to a someone, let alone a little, fragile thing like you.

When he found the video of you playing ddajki with the recruiter, he felt himself get harder and harder as he watched you spill tears in pain every single time you received a hard slap on your cheek. The camera captured the noises you made as your body was falling backwards with every single slap. The recruiter hit you hard and In-ho wandered if you would sound the same when he pounded you hard on his bed. He took his mask off and palmed himself trough his trouser as he kept replaying the video over and over again. When he was finished spilling his seed into his palm, he wished that was your mouth wrapped around his tip instead.

When the first game finished and your number and picture still shone bright on the floor, you voted for ‘X’ and expected everyone to vote same as you. Yet you were so wrong when the last player 001 and all others voted ‘O’, causing all of you to stay in this hellhole. You felt tears fill your eyes as some people were cheering with victory in front of you. You sat down on one of the beds at the front and hugged your legs with disappointment. As you were thinking what was going to happen next, you felt someone sit next to you.

“I’m sorry, I thought staying was the best option.” Said the man who was looking at you, watching your tears flow down your flushed cheeks. You looked at his number and saw 001 in bright white font. He was the person who voted last and made the decision. You sighed and shook your head.

“It is not only you, sir. Half of us wanted to stay.” You said as you pointed at the people who had the ‘O’ banners on their right side. He did not look at the direction you were pointing at, he kept his eyes on. You were so pretty when you cried. He wandered how beautiful you would look when you were overstimulated with his fingers in you. He felt his cock twicth when you looked at him again. Your lips were plump, and the tip of your nose was red. He wandered how your tears would taste like.

“We have a winner here. I thought we could use this for our advantage.” He explained as he pointed at Gi-hun who looked very troubled not so far away from you. Your eyes were on the last winner when you felt the man beside you stand up and take few steps towards the player 456. Yet he stopped mid way and looked back at you, as if he was waiting for you to follow him. And for some reason you wiped your tears away and followed him like a lost puppy as he walked towards the previous winner of the games who was already accompanied by few guys who kept asking him questions.

And the small group was formed with two of you joining them. You did not know much about others, did not trust them meanwhile player 001 was confident and comfortable talking to them. When he sat down next to Gi-hun, his eyes pointed at the small space next to his feet, so you sat down there. Being close to him brought you a sense of safety. He was the first person who approached you in this mess of a place with kindness. You did not know him, didn’t know his name or why he was here. Yet there was a look in his eyes that made you want to stick beside him.

When everyone went to sleep, In-ho looked at your resting form. You were wrapped in the thin blanket and was curled up into a ball. He looked at your curves that were visible from the tracksuit, his mouth watered. You were so frightened and powerless. You needed someone to protect you in the games. Someone who would look after you, make sure you make it alive. He knew what humans were capable of doing in a place like this. People were going to go mad and hurt one another viciously. Would he be able to just stand and watch if you got hurt?

Your soft whimpers and cries brought him back to reality. When you woke up from your few hours of sleep drenched in sweat and tears flowing down your cheeks, he crawled to you, in the darkness of the hall. He reached out to you, from the metal bars of the beds, and held your shoulder. You squirmed in fear and was about to scream until a large hand covered your mouth.

“It’s me.” He whispered to your ear as his whole body was pressed against your back, other arm wrapped around your shoulders. He was towering over you, as you felt sweat drops make their way to your neck from your temple.

He let go of your mouth, but his touch did not leave your body when he moved to sit next to you. He was close, his breath hitting your face and neck when he looked at you with observing eyes that did not give any feelings away. His touch made your heart beat fast and quicken your breaths, yet you did not want him to stop holding you.

“Bad dream?” He whispered, his voice is low yet deep enough to make your insides shake. You nodded when tears filled your eyes again. The images of dead bodies all over the playground haunted you since the moment you came back from the game as winners. You didn’t want to cry in front of anyone, but you felt like he would not mind seeing you cry.

He nodded along with you, almost like a grown up talking to a little kid and mirror her moves to befriend her. When he saw your bottom lip tremble and eyes full of fear scan the hall of people sleeping, he felt his loins burn in need. The face you made when you were scared and felt alone was enough to make him cum in his underwear without any touch.

Without hesitation he brought your body closer to his own and his arms embraced your shaking form with mercy. You buried your face into the crook of his neck and wrapped your smaller arms around his waist. He was warm. Very warm that you felt your fingertips burn over his body. When you breathed in and out in the crook of his neck, all In-ho wanted to do was throw your body back into the bed, rip those clothes off of you and ravage you in front of dozens of people without any care. The though of fucking you, turning you into mass in front of them, giving them a show as he claimed you, sent shivers down his spine.

“I’m so scared,” you whispered, your crying voice reaching his ear as he tried to hold back a smile at your situation. You were so helpless that you were crying in the arms of the man who was the reason why you were still here. He was a stranger, who had the potential to do anything. Yet here you were, quivering against his chest and making his member throb in need.

“I’m here.” He said. And you had no chance but trusting him.

———————

The next game you were automatically given the Gong-gi game as the only female in the group. Yet your hands were shaking when it was your turns to play after player 390 completed his part successfully. When you missed two times, you were so sure you were going to die and worse, be the reason for everyone’s death in your group.

He watched you panick, drop the pebbles and fail to catch them midair. Everyone around you was getting inpatient and scared naturally. Even tho he loved the way you were struggling and feeding into his twisted desire, he could not let you die. He held your waist and stopped the trembling of your body. You looked at him under your lashes that were wet with your tears and went back to work once he gave you a reassuring smile. With that you managed to catch all the pebbles in your palm and passed the round.

It was then, you felt something was off, when it was his turn to play his own game. The top kept slipping from his hands or landed wrong on the floor that was covered in the blood of eliminated players. You wanted to step back yet could not because of the ties when he started to scream in anger and slap himself. There was a crazy, off-putting look in his eyes. It was less uncomfortable when he was looking at you, yet it was still there. His eyes made your skin crawl and stomach twist in sickness. You did feel safe around him. But not like you would feel safe with a family member, a friend, or a lover. It felt like he was a wolf who claimed a lamb, kept her on his chest and waited for right moment to eat her.

When your group managed to survive and go back to the hall, he kept to you close. His hand was on your back, leading you to your bed. When it was mealtime, he gave half of his food to you, telling you to not to worry about him when you tried to reject him. He watched you until you finished all your food. After all of you exchanged names, he watched you talk to player 388 about his time in marine and watch you laugh when he was talking excitedly, telling everyone how prideful he was about his military service. He watched your tears dry up as you listened to the conversation that was flowing in the group. Your smile made his stomach twist and his jaw clench.

Your hopes once again were shattered when people voted for “O” more than “X” and decided to continue playing the games. Young-il wiped your tears away and convinced you to get some sleep for the night. You could only relax and fall asleep when he sat next to you on your bed and caressed your head as he decided to stay awake. He looked extraordinarily strong to you. He did not need to sleep, gave his food to others, calm people down when everyone was scared, raged and pass the games like it was nothing. Most importantly, he held you close no matter what. Did not mind you cry and fail and fall. Maybe it was a sense of guilt he felt, for making you stay in the first round of voting, you thought.

——————

Next morning he held your hand when everyone was taken to the new game. It was mingle. Your group had decided to stay together. You were grateful that they had take you in and did not leave you alone. You all took your place on the platform and started to spin as the song was playing. You felt his hand get tighter around yours, reminding you that he was here with you.

10

You ran as fast as you can and took deep breaths when all 10 of you finally managed to get into a room. The sound of lock made you jump slightly. You saw Young il’s eyes on Gi-hun as he pulled you under his arm. The images of him looking at Gi-hun since the moment you met him lingered on your mind until the woman who claimed to be a shaman started to speak loudly in the middle of the room. As you waited for gunshots to stop and doors to open, you could not help but wonder the reason behind Young il’s weird behaviour about Gi-hun. He seemed to get along with him. Seemed to respect his ideas and experiences about this place. They seemed to understand one another, somehow. Yet that unexplainable look in 001 eyes was making you shift uncomfortably in your place.

Until last round, you had no chance but sticking beside Young il. As you entered rooms and people kept dying outside, you became more paranoid. And when it came to the last round, Jeong-bae asked how many people it was going to be this time. Without hesitation Young-il answered.

“2.” And it was it. When the song stopped and the platform stopped spinning, Young il held your hand tighter than before, and started to run to closest room. As you were trying to catch up with his pace, someone bumped into you, causing you to lose your balance and stumble midway. Young il turned around immediately and wrapped his arms around your waist. He lifted you like a piece of feather and made his way to the yellow door that was already opened by a guy. Young il pushed you into the room and threw the other guy away from the door. When you scanned the room, your eyes were met with pair of foreign eyes.

“Out.” Young il said sharply to the other man in the room.

“We were here first.” The man said, his voice cracking as he was shaking in fear. Person behind the door tried to open it. You pushed your back against the door and held it with all of your strength. There was not much time left, and you were afraid that all of you were going die in this room.

Young il grabbed the man and locked his arms around his head. As they scooped to the floor, his arms got tighter around the player 343’s neck. You were still holding the door and preventing the other player to get in. For a second Young il’s intense gaze met with yours and you couldn’t look away.

He looked into your eyes, showing no emotion or weakness as the man he was choking started to turn purple. Your breath got stuck in your throat, your knees were shaking, and your palms were getting sweaty with the scene taking place in front of you. As there were few seconds left for the countdown, Young il twisted the man’s neck. The sound of bone cracking filled the room along with the sound of door locking behind you. He kept his eyes on you, as he tossed the dead body of the side.

The lifeless body of player 343 laid on the ground and the gunshots filled your ear. The screams of people scratched your brain, and you finally managed to close your eyes. He had killed someone in front of you, broke his neck with one swift motion and he had no emotion on his face as he did it. Your heart was beating so fast that you thought it was going to fail at some point. Then the images of him came to your mind. When he knocked down player 124 and 230 as he looked down at them with those emotionless eyes, when he carelessly slapped himself in the second game, when he looked at Gi-hun as if he wanted to strangle him when he thought no one was looking, when he pushed everyone out of his way to get both of you to safety during the mingle game and now when he killed someone.

“Open your eyes.” He breathed out, his breath hitting your face. Suddenly you felt his warmth surrounding you and him towering over your head. You slowly opened your eyes and there he was. Looking down at you, his eyebrows lifted up and with a mocking look in his eyes. His face was close to yours. Yet it did not feel comforting and safe like it did a night ago, when he was comforting you after a nightmare.

“What did you do?” Your voice was shaky and sounded terrified as you tried to look at the dead body that was in the corner of the room. He did not let you look away with his fingers finding your chin and holding it tight. He held you with those hands that just took the life of someone. You felt chills going down your spine.

“I made sure that we survived.” He whispered without breaking eye contact with you. You could hear soldiers cleaning up the mess outside of the rooms.

“You killed him.” You tried to shake his touch away, yet he didn’t let you. Instead, he got closer, until you were trapped between him and the door. His hot breath made your skin tingle, and his touch made you wanna cry.

“Yes.” He said, and his lips touched your cheek that was wetted by your tears. His lips planted a soft kiss onto your skin. The kiss made you feel dizzy and your knees weak.

“For you.” He continued. His words made you freeze in your spot. His lips traced over your skin like a ghost and reached the corner of your lips. “Only for you” He kissed the side of your mouth, softly, gently, with mercy. You wanted to rip his hands off of you, and run away. The floor beneath your feet was slippery with the blood of eliminated players. If you slipped and fell, would he let you go?

“All for you.” His lips found your chin, then your nose, then your other cheek. He did not rush or hold you harsh enough to hurt. Yet knowing that he had just killed someone with those hands made you wanna throw up.

Your tears dropped to his lips, and he licked his lips as if he was dying over thirst. And when he made eye contact with you again, it was the first time you saw a clear human emotion in his eyes. An emotion he did not try to hide or was afraid to show; yearning. You did not know if it was for you or winning. In both cases, it terrified you to your very being.

“Stop!” You said as sobs filled your mouth and he pressed his forehead against yours hard. You felt him shake his head, his arms wrapping around your fragile, little body compared to his strong form.

“I will give you everything you want, you need.” He said and pressed his lips against yours. Without waiting, his tongue made his way into your mouth, forcing your lips to open up for him. You felt the dizzy feeling take over your head. Your ears were ringing, your mind was foggy as he kissed you harsh, deep. There was no power left in your body, so you just let yourself to his arms.

His teeth crushed against yours and he was biting every corner of your lips until he drew blood. The irony taste filled your senses, made you jump. You did not know if it was you bleeding or him. But there was blood everywhere. Covering your tongue, your lips and staining your chin as your shared spit escaped from the corner of your lips. You felt your body burn all over. Your back was arching like a cat to get any closer to him, and there was a soreness between your legs that made your clit throb. You felt shame fill you and guilt making you wanna cry out. Instead, you kept kissing him, devouring him, eating him as much as you could.

You whined and pushed your head towards him when he parted your kiss with the sound of lock. The door was opened. The third game was finished. There was still a dead man in the room. Your mouth was covered in blood, making you look like you just feasted on someone. And his eyes were on you, watching you.

[rafesslxt]

Love Potion ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ | Mattheo Riddle

summary: y/n thought she would smell something different while making Amortentia

warning: enemyxlover vibes, cursing, mattheo blushing for a second

note: shorter than usual but got this idea and had to write ( obviously there are other imagines like this so no not a new original idea i mean )

Together with my friends Harry, Ron and Hermione I walked to out next class potions. This year Professor Slughorn was teaching us and I really enjoyed what we learned so far.

Today we shared class with slytherin. Everyone got in and sat down, waiting for Professor to start.

" Good evening everyone, today you are going to learn how to make a love potion. The strongest to be exact. It is called Amortentia."

All the girl started giggling but I was distracted by a strong scent, something like mens cologne.

" Who can tell me something about it? " Professor Slughorn asked. Hermione‘s hand shot up into the air. " Yes, Miss Granger."

" Amortentia is the most powerful love potion in the world. It is distinctive for its mother-of-pearl sheen, and steam rises from the potion in spirals. Also Amortentia smells different to each person, according to what -"

" Yes yes yes Miss Granger, 10 points for gryffindor. And the rest of the students should figure the last point out by themselves, right?" Hermione nodded and looked at the example in front of her.

" All the ingredients are on your tables, you can either partner up or do the potion on your own. You have time till 10 minuten before the class ends. Have fun!" He clapped into his hands and everybody started.

Ron and Harry decided to do the potion on their own while Hermione and I decided to team up. It went really well until my nose was filled with this strong scent again. I looked around and the only person walking behind me was Riddle. I rolled my eyes at the thought of having his cologne in my nose.

" What is it with you? You seem so tense since we started class." Hermione asked while stirring the potion. " I have Riddles fucking strong cologne in my nose. This guy needs to start using less of it."

She knew about my hate towards him and everything he does. But I didn‘t started it, he did and I was never one to back down. So we tried to get on each other‘s nerves on every opportunity.

"Oops." i heard and felt a shoulder bumping into my side, almost knocking the potion over. I turned my back and saw Mattheo. " Wow, really mature. But what did I expect from you huh?" i snickered and turned back.

As everyone got ready, Professor Slughorn walked around the class and looked at eachs Amortentia.

" Very good ladys. May I take this for an example?" Hermione nodded proudly and we watched him putting it on the table in front of all of us.

" You all did a great job. Now I want you all to take a deep breath trough your nose and smell the potion in front of you." Everyone did as he said but again I couldn‘t smell anything but that stupid cologne.

"Y/n, why don‘t you tell me what you smell?" Professor Slughorn asked you smiling, pointing at the potion you and Hermione made. " I would love to professor, but I can only smell Mr. Riddle‘s cologne cause he apparently doesn‘t know when to stop spraying."

I gave Mattheo a dirty look but got confused really fast due to his confused look. What? No barking back?

" I don‘t wear any today, I rushed out of my common room cause I overslept." My eyebrows drew together, I didn‘t really understand why I would smell his cologne all class.

" Maybe If you take a step closer to the potion you can concentrate on the single ingredient you smell." Professor Slughorn suggested.

I did as he said and took a deep breath in again. " Um, I smell Sandlwood, bergamot and something like the deep ocean.. sea salt maybe."

I was in some kind of trance while smelling it. It was lovely, i felt so light and some goosebumbs formed on my body.

I looked up seeing Hermionie smiling. " What?" I whsipered. " Miss Granger, could you tell us the last fact for the Amortentia ?" Mr. Slughorn asked her.

" Amortentia smells different to each person, according to what attracts them." Attracts them? No no no..

I look at Mattheo, who‘s already smiling from head to toe. " Very good Miss Granger, now have a good day! And remember: Amortentia is a very dangerous potion! You should never underestimate it!"

We packed our stuff and left the class. " So what was that all about y/n? Smelling Mattheo? I mean do you really have a crush on that doucheba-" Ron startet but got interrupted shorty after " Yeah y/n, you have a little crush huh?“ Mattheo swung his arm around me, taking me away from my friends.

"What the fuck are you doing?" We rounded a corner and he stopped. " No playing around anymore little princess. Was that supposed to be a joke ?" I hope so too. " Because I smelled your fucking perfume the whole time too!"

" You - You did what?" I almost whispered, my hand flying onto my mouth. " I smelled you the whole time. Vanilla and something like strawberry.. fuck I wanted to devour you so bad." He came closer, pressing me against a wall, his chest against mine. "Tell me you don‘t feel the same, tell me I can go fuck myself and tell me to get my hands off of you."

I couldn‘t. He was right, I wanted to tell him to fuck off and to not touch me, but I simply couldn‘t. " Y/n.." he whsipered my name, coming closer with his face. Then it hit me, it has to be a joke.

I started laughing which he just answered with a confused look. " It is a joke right? You try to fuck with my head because I said I smelled you while smelling the potion. I smelled your cologne not you. Somebody else could wear it too."

" I‘m not joking y/n." " Prove it."

And from one second to another, my whole life changed. He took my face in his hands and pressed his lips again mine. Hard at first but the kiss got softer and passionate. I slowly kissed him back, putting my hands on his chest. He let my face go and put his hands on my hips, squeezing them a little bit.

Out of breath I broke the kiss, his lips red and swollen, smirking. "So you don‘t hate me huh?" I grinned. "Oh shut up." He smiled back at me and kissed me again.

—

hope you had fun reading 🫶🏻

Masterlist

xoxo sarah

[anyxis]

I just hate how everyone seems to see Leona as less than he actually is. Neji, who was surprised to see his skills in the Bead Brawl. Vil, who was slightly offended when Leona could see trough his act and know he was injured (pretty sure the only other person who could have done that was Rook). Everyone comparing him to Malleus in spelldrive even though Malleus is practically a god with how magically powerful he his (of course he won’t be able to win?!).

Like, give the boy a break, would you?! He is so intelligent and talented. I’m pretty sure he could ace all his classes if he actually gave a damn. And let’s not forget about Vil’s Overblot. Remember when everyone came back to the scene, just to realise that the settings had all suddenly disappeared and there was not enough time to do it all again before the show? First off, Leona was the only one who thought of saving them in the cloud and, second, he obviously knew that something big happened for that to happen. Did he suspect it was an Overblot? I don’t know. But he was clearly suspicious of something.

Also, all the insights he gave Jamil during book 6? Helping him see that he could actually take his place and didn’t have to jump in front of Leona all the time? But also helping him think of how it was for Kalim? That money was power and Kalim was learning to use it?

All the chess references he gave during the new event and his opinion on how to develop his country to avoid having more people live like Ruggie his forced to live.

I don’t know… I just felt really upset about how people looked down on Leona in the new event and I needed to rant. I just feel like, if people stopped treating him this way, saying that they’re surprised of something almost basic or that ‘of course he would do that’, he would start showing that he cares about things and people. Because he does. God knows that boy cares. But what’s the use of putting himself out there if anyway people are going to give him backhanded compliments?

Edit: I forgot something in my rant! What’s up with the way Neji and the guards address Leona? Do they talk so freely with Falena? Will they talk that way too with Cheka when he’ll be older? Or do they just do this with Leona? Because, as far as I’m aware, Jamil didn’t address Leona that way and no one acts like that with Malleus (except us, but we didn’t know, and Lilia and Silver, but they’re his family). So what’s up with the disrespect, uh people??

Also, do we know what caused Leona’s scar when he was a kid..? Because I’d be curious to know which fucker did this to the poor boy!

[puttersmile]

Join the HeartnSol community!

Heart & Sol Month Days 2 & 18

Prompts are "Teasing" and "Lazy"

Oneshot and pics!

The Workaholic's Downfall

After three long days of helping Picky Piggy on her farm, Bobby Bearhug, Hoppy Hopscotch, and Catnap had finally decided they had earned a break.

Dogday, however, had other ideas.

“Come on, y’all!” Dogday barked, standing over the others with his hands on his hips. “We still got hay to stack, fences to check, and the water trough needs cleanin’! We don’t have time to be lazy lumps under a tree!”

"We're not under a tree. We're in a barn." Hoppy complained.

"It doesn't matter!"

Bobby, sprawled out on a soft pile of hay inside Picky's barn, barely cracked one eye open. “Dogday, we’ve been busting our tails for three whole days. We deserve this.”

Hoppy flopped next to her, stretching her ears. “Yeah, cmon, Day! We’ve earned the right to be lazy.”

Catnap, already half-asleep, flicked his tail. “Mhm.”

Dogday huffed, tail lashing. “Y’all are givin’ up! What happened to helpin’ Picky?”

Bobby yawned. “She told us to rest.”

Hoppy snickered. "What happened?! What happened to your voice? What is that accent?"

Dogday blinked confusedly. "What ya'll mean?"

Hoppy sing song mocked playfully. "Old Farmer Dogday-a-skippin down tha lane. We've been workin hard for three days, so stop bein lame!"

That got a laugh from Bobby and Catnap.

Dogday's face turned red.

"I don't...know what you're talking about." He coughed. Hoppy continued.

“But yeah, Bobby's right. So technically, you’re going against Picky's orders, mister hard worker.”

"Cattle Dog."

"Turbo Pup."

"He is absolutely rest-phobic." More giggles.

Dogday's brow twitched. That felt like a challenge.

Bobby patted the ground next to her. “Sit, Dogday. You worked just as hard as us. Just lay down. Five minutes.”

Dogday crossed his arms. “I don’t need a break.”

Catnap flicked his ear looking his brother up and down. “ You look like you do.”

Hoppy grinned. “Maybe the nap thief will come for him if he keeps resisting.”

Dogday narrowed his eyes. “Y’all -uh- you're makin’ stuff up again?”

Bobby shrugged. “Nope. It’s true. The nap thief loves stubborn critters who don’t rest when they’re supposed to.”

Hoppy wiggled her fingers ominously. “He sneaks up, waits ‘til they’re exhausted—then boom! Snatches ‘em right into dreamland.”

Catnap yawned. “He doesn't need to drag me. I go willingly.”

Dogday stared at them. “…That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Bobby rolled onto her side. “Suit yourself.”

Hoppy stretched. “Look if you still need to work. Didn't a sheep girl just move in. Go...I dunno. Herd her around or or something.”

Dogday’s tail wagged low. Irritated.

For a few long seconds, he stood there, fists clenched, tail flicking.

And then—he flopped.

“…Not ‘cause I need a break,” he muttered, curling his arms behind his head. “Just figured someone should guard y’all- ugh-you guys..."

Bobby smirked. “Sure thing my faithful ranch hound.” she couldn't hold back a light hearted giggle.

Hoppy snuggled deeper into the hay. “Toughest guard dog ever.”

Catnap flicked his tail. “I give him five minutes.”

Dogday lasted three.

By the time Picky Piggy came to check on them, all four of them were snoring in an adorable tired heap.

Picky just shook her head. “Took ‘em long enough.”

[mehwmidklpe]

Heyy idea for percy jackson x reader!

Reader that's always high on adrenaline always ready to have a fight, flight, or freeze response if they senses even the slightest bit of danger near!

Percy didn't know how you did it.

It was as if you always knew what was gonna come ar you six seconds before it actually happened.

The only thing you've ever said to explain it is that "you have Spider senses cause you are Spider-Man"

To be honest you had no idea who Spider-Man was but Connor Stoll had told you a lot about him.

And then the fighting. It was too good. Even he, the boy who dipped into river Styx wasn't even close to being as good as you.

Your explanation?

You're Black Widow.

Again, you had no idea who she was but Connor told you you would meet her at his wedding.

He basically had a huge celebrity crush on her.

But in general you just had this boost of energy that never left your body.

And at firdt Percy found it annoying. But now he finds himself kind of... admiring it?

Right now, he was walking around close to the archery fields when he saw you running around, chased by some other campers.

"Y/n!" One of them yelled, Percy could not make out who it was, but what he did know as that you had pulled something on some campers again.

And when you and Percy's gazes met each others your eyes widened.

Then suddenly, just like that, you jumped onto him, making him fall onto the ground, you on top of him.

And Percy's eyes just caught the arrow flying above you.

That's when he realized that if you hadn't tackled him, that arrow would've gone straight trough his head.

"Hi." You smile at him.

"Hey.. you.. saved me." He got out.

"Of course! We're friends, I'm not gonna watch you get killed by a single stupid arrow." And the smile never left your lips.

Percy vould only look at you. You were on top of him, and you were beautiful.

But just to his 'luck', you jumped right back up. "Anyways, gotta go, some people are trying to kill me. Sue me for pulling some pranks and having some actual energy."

With that and a quick kiss to his cheek, you left.

Percy was stunned. You kissed his cheek..

"Y/n!" The person yelled again.

"Not my fault you're slow!" You said back, running faster and dissapearing into the distance.

It was as if you had extra senses. It was like that in fights, too.

You never stopped until everyone was defeated. You never got tired, you always had this smile on your face.

But then on the most random moment, you froze, closed your eyes and before anyone knew it you launched yourself at any threat that no one had even noticed.

Just like right now. It was dark, past bad time, yet you and Percy were still out in the woods, walking together.

Percy had called it a date.

Yes, you read that right. The most oblivious demigod at camp had asked his crush on a date.

And all he could do was smile as he listened to your enthusiastic rants.

"Ooh, and Connor finally let me read his Spider-Man comic for the first time ever. And I really like it, so now we keep talking about it to each other, which is fun. And apperently there are movies of him, too. But I've been at camp for so long, I don't even know if I have ever watched a movie. But seeing it sounds fun."

Percy then scratched the back of his neck. "I could.. take you to see it sometime." He offered at which your eyes widened.

"Really??" You ask him.

The son of Poseidon nodded. "Yeah, totally. I like the first one. Homecoming. I think you'd really like it too. I could ask my mom to go out sometime so we could watch it at my place. I'm sure she won't mind."

Did he just invite you to his house?

Does this mean you're going on a second date?

Does this mean he actually likes you?

"Yes! Yes! That would be amazing! Oh my gods, you're the best!" You jumped up and down, hugging him tightly before pulling away.

"I'm sorry, I just can't help it. Ugh I just can't keep still, like I need to move or–" "Hey." Percy stopped you.

"I get it, it's the ADHD. Most of us have it, some more than others, but that isn't a bad thing. If anything I really like you for it." The boy continued.

You felt a smile growing onto your lips. "Really?" "Yeah, really." He nodded.

You wanted to do something. Maybe lean in closer. But you froze.

Not because of nerves.

No.

Just this feeling.

And before Percy could process it you had grabbed your sword and stabbed a harpie that tried to sneak up to you.

Then you turned to him with a smile. "Anyways, I'd like to come over. But maybe we should head back to our cabins before some other harpies try to eat us."

Percy just blinked.

"Come on, silly." You grabbed his hand and led him out of the forest, swaying your intertwined hands between you two.

Then you stopped. "Ooh, careful, don't trip." You warn him as you suddenly noticed a branch on the ground.

"You're really something else, Y/n." Percy told you.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" You aks him.

"A bit of both. I like that though."

And you couldn't helo the smile that grew onto your lips.

idk if this is good or if I wrote the character well so I'm sorry

[mjbarrosart]

My Dragon Prince Boards season 6, episode 605

Ok folks, It is time to go trough the next episode of season 6 I worked, episode 605.

When you are working on an episode as a storyboard artist you, usually, want to choose how to approach your sequences. Most of the time your will get instructions from your director and supervisor to do things in certain ways, making sure that things aligning between episodes and general season arcs; but most of details of your sequences are up to you.

In this episode I had the huge privilege to tackle most of Soren and Viren interactions, and a big question for my, from the beginning, was "what will be my approach?"

Because, how I see it, there are 2 big forces, struggles, arcs- or whatever you want to call it- in conflict during this sequences. In one hand, you have Soren and his pain, and in the other hand, you have Viren and his desire for forgiveness.

I decided to approach this sequences from Viren's, because 2 reasons mainly:

The first one, is the most obvious one, is that- at least for me- Soren's arc is already resolved, of course he is in real pain, and he is a victim of abuse and there is a lot of trauma that he needs to heal, but his overall arc resolved in season 3. He is one of the goof guys now, and he knows where he stands. This is an important moment for his healing, for sure, but it is more relevant to Viren's arc that is still incomplete at this point.

The second reason is more personal. While I am a daughter, I have the blessing of having a really good relationship with my parents, so while I understand Soren's trauma, I have not a lot of personal experience to pour into. But, I am also a mother, and from that point of view, I deeply understand Viren. I still think that he is a villain, and what he did was wrong in all levels, but I can absolutely connect with the idea of "parents sacrifice for their children, not the other way around".

Parenting is the eternal struggle between being able to do anything for your children well being, and understanding that they are their own person, and their have the right to make their own mistakes and live their own life.

So yeah, that is what was in my mind during this episode, now let's check sequence by sequence!

My first sequence is a sweet one, between Ezran and Soren. I usually don't have a lot of sequences with the young king, so it is always fun to work with him

Overall, it is a simple and sweet moment between this two, I love how much Soren respects Ezran but at the same time tries to keep it casual, haha. I love the idea of friends loving and supporting each other.

My next sequence is when Soren goes to visit Viren for the first time. This is a big one. In one hand, Viren wants to talk and express everything he has to say, in the other Soren holding up his feelings, dealing with confusion and anger.

The sequence opens with the shot of Viren in the cell and the fly on the spider web. It's a pretty on the nose metaphor that we used through the full episode.

A less on the nose metaphor I tried to build during the sequences was using the bars as a framing devise to show emotional states. When Viren is talking with guilt and resentment, he is usually framed behind the bars. When he is talking from a place of love, taking into consideration Soren's feelings and acknowledging the damage ha has caused, he usually is framed without the bars.

This is a sequence where they fail to connect, and by the end, Viren tries to follow Soren, but the chains stop him. There is still a huge division between both of them.

Next sequences is another interaction, This time, they will talk, but it will not be good. We start with Viren, still trapped, suffering. He is a little calmer now. He tries to connect with Soren, but it is still hard, the bars are between them, and the pain is keeping them apart.

But then, Viren starts to talk more freely, to recognize his mistakes, the damage that he caused to Soren, to Claudia. The ways he was a bad parent and hurt them both. So we flip the framing, now Viren is free, Soren is behind the bars.

Soren's pain is stopping him from healing and is coming out as rage.

he has a hard time believing whatever his father is telling him. In the past, Viren manipulated him, why now would be different. It is so hard to break cycles of abuse, and it is hard to forgive, too. Some people don't deserve forgiveness, to be honest. And I am not sure if Soren ever will forgive Viren.

So Soren burst into rage. I wanted to create a pretty visceral reaction. Talking with his hands and body, almost like puking out his feelings, so much pain that he can not hold anymore. But this is not necessarily what he needs. He screams at Viren, he hits the bars, he leaves in rage, and the wound is still open.

And Viren is defeated again. Forgiveness will not be something easy to get.

My next sequences is a short silly one, hahaha. Rayla and Callum going to fight the beast. I swear to god i have the "Slash, Slash, Swirly dash" line stuck in my head until today ><

Well, back to the drama.

My last sequence of the episode is when Viren wakes up, and Soren is there.

This time, there is no confrontation between them. Viren understands that no matter what he says, he may never be never forgiven. So he stops trying to "convince" Soren that he is sorry, and just tell him what he thinks Soren needs to hear.

And after that Soren leaves, maybe for the first time ready to start the path to healing.

And that was my work on episode 605!!

Thanks for reading this long post, again!

If you have any questions about the board process on Dragon prince, please feel free to ask! Also, I always read all the comments you put in the tags, they always make me smile :) Thank you!!!

Soon I'll post about my work on 608!

[glitchy1938]

If you had and Absolut solver

Uzi Doorman :

She would be terrified, I mean, we all saw after she discover about her abselot solver and how she can not always controle her powers… So, she's worried that you had the same problem as well.

But it doesn't mean that she doesn't love you anymore, she actually try her best to help you trough this, with N, V and Z, she's sure they could help. They're murder drones, and they know what to do after they find out of what to do with Uzi.

Usually, your tail like to come closer to her and purring like a cat, for you it's a little embarassing, but for her, it's adorable. She even come closer and pat a little the little creatures of how gentle he is.

When you have your urgents, she will go hunting with you for oils, she would like N or V to come 'caus, if something happend, they could use extra help.

If you even attack her, she'll try to calme you down because she doesn't want to hurt you with her RailGun. She would let N or V to handle this, but remaining them to not killing you. (Specially to V)

She love cuddling you when you have this forme, when she pat you, she heard you purring and relaxing, she think it's too cute

Her father doesn't agree for you to approach her because of your condition, but how said that he had to know if you were with her~ ? Z and N help you get into her room when he's not her so you two can cuddle ^^ !!

V usually tease Uzi about that, that like their like so weird together, then Uzi always replying by saying : "BITE ME !!", but when V does teaser her about it, Z always here to tell her to stop and apologising for that.

If you had an nightmare of you being a monster and hurting the others, don't worry, she's here to comfort you, she will wrapt her arms around you and sing you a little lullaby, and tell you that everyone is fine and she know you will never hurt her

After that, she will still wrapt her arms around you until you both fell asleep.

Serial designation N :

N was actually really shocket that you had one ! I mean, he though that it's only Uzi who had it, but he find out that the two of you had it. He would try to help you trough this with the others

He's concerne about you grow up much now, he just whan to protect you for horrible things. And as expected, he love patting your tail, it's purring when he does !! He think it's adorable.

When you start to be hungry, he come with you to giving you the oil for drinking. He usually come with you for two reason, 1 : He need oil too boy, and 2 : He want to spend more time with you. And protecting you if there's Sentinels.

He adore when YOU do head pats, his tails draw a heart and sometime purring too ! He usually cuddle up on you so he can rest on you chest, or it's the inverse, you are up on him while resting.

He's really scared that one day Cyn take control of you and use your body and try to kill them all… Hopefully Z tell him (to V and Uzi too) that, she can reach you or Uzi with the new anti-virus that she made for them.

He also love drawing with you, and also giving you gifts ! You want a toy ? HERE YOU GO !! You when an arm ? HE WILL GIVE IT TO YOU !! Anything for his girlfriend !!

He like to hold your hand, when he's scared or you are, he just hold your hand and give you a comfort smile, but is a blushing mess because, he NEVER done that before ^^'

If you attack him, or the other, he would do the exact same as what he Uzi, TROUGH YOU UP IN THE AIR !!! He will come to you and ask you why you didn't tell him. Finally, he comforts you and catch you before you two can reach the ground ! He love Picking up style mariage, it's making you flustered and he think it's cute.

If you had a nightmare, he might wake up 'cause, he sleep like a bath and usually, you sleep in bed like Uzi. When he see you awake and scared, he will come down and ask you if everything is okay.

After you tell him about your nightmare, he will hug you tight and tell you that this will never happend. That, you have him, V, Uzi, Z for protecting you from anything, even if you attack them. After that he will stay with you all night(?) until you two fell asleep. He's her for you.

Serial designation V :

She would be suprise at first, but doesn't want to live you, she love you. Why should she live you if you had the absolut solver ? She don't care, at least, you two can share the same thing : Eating oil and stuff -_-"

She ask Z if there is a possibility of Cyn can use your body like she did to Uzi, and when she heard that Z made an anti-virus that can protect you two from Cyn, she was relife.

She absolute LOVE your purring she can't resiste ! She sometimes tease you about this 'caus, you know, she's usually the top in a relationship - -"

When you're hungry, she share with you her oil, or help you hunte a worker drone, and it's an excuse for her to spend more time with you, like a date.

She's just scare of your tail, after the fight of Uzi, she don't want to come any closer to it, but of course with time, she'll get use to it.

She like to hug you from behind by suprise, she just love your reaction and your little squeeze, she just can't get off of it ^^"

She's mostly of a jealous girlfriend, when you spend time with Uzi, N, Z (even she if they are best friend -_-") even J or other worker drones, she just want your attention, she will show it, but only for those who dare to flirt with you, not with N, Uzi or Z

If you attack her, she will fight back, even if she doesn't want to hurt too, she'll just knock you out until you came back to yourself. BUT, if you ever hit her agains a wall… Let's just say, she won't be happy about it… But N and Uzi stoped her of making you any more damage and take you to Z.

She will apologize to you for the injures, and promes you she won't be crazy when this happend.

She's the big spoon, so if you had a nightmare she'll wake up and ask you why you're awake. When she saw your tears, she immediately get concerne about what's going on, after you tell her y about your nightmare, she'll just wrap her arms around you and tell you that none of this is going to happend. She'll stay by your side no mater what, and then you two fell asleep.

Thanks for reading, this is my first Murder drones x reader headcanon so, I hope you enjoy it,

Also, If you ever want an other headcanon of this, just ask me and I'll do it !! bye !!

[stancestanomaly]

Horse Riding lesson! 🐴

Wrote a short scene for this cause my mind wouldn't stop replaying it over and over while I worked this.

-

Struggling against the rag that bound his hands behind his back, he tried to ignore the chuckle from the man who put him in this position. "Stanley! Y'know this was not what I was referring to when I asked for your assistance when learning to ride a horse!"

"Aww, sug'r~" Stan's throaty purr sent a wave of heat up Ford's spine. "This is gonna help ya, you hafta learn to stay on yer mount if ya gonna be ridin' it."

"Then why must I be in your lap, instead of practicing on an actual horse? And why do you insist on chewing on that?"

"Becuz darlin' it's like chewing gum in a way." Stan pinched the wheat between his teeth. "And the last time you tried to ride a horse, you ended up in the horse's trough. Remember?"

"Don't remind me," Ford groaned as another chuckle tumbled from his brother. "But I don't see how your argument counters, the fact that I can't practice on a real horse."

"N' all honesty, I'm all the practice yur gonna need. Y'know I got all the horsepower." He ran his hands up Ford's thighs as he moved to give his butt a squeeze. "I mean, I know yur buns do~"

"St-Stanely," Ford gritted his teeth, as blood rushed across his face.

"Wha? Ain't like I'm lyin', I can still hear yur pretty voice singin' my name as we fucked n' the barn." Caressing his twin's sides as the memory replayed.

"And I still remember all the prude language that left your mouth too," Ford grumbled at the strong hands that danced along his trunk and ushered forth another wave of satisfying warmth.

"N' I still remember how disheveled yur hair was while your face was redder than that time ma got mad at us for playin' in mud after she just washed our clothes."

"I also remember dad chasing us because they were our good clothes too," he smiled as the sound of Stan's laughter rang in the air, like music to his ears. He listened to the tune a little longer before he cleared his throat. "So about my lesson, are you gonna help me or not?"

"Sure am darlin'," Stan spat out the wheat before he leaned up to capture his brother's lips. Stan strummed Ford's cords, drawing out lustful melodic moans as he stuck his tongue into Ford's mouth. Joining in on the song libidinous desires. He bucked his hips to usher out another chorus of bubbling lust between them.

Pausing their record, Stan drew back to get a look at Ford as he panted through closed eyes with a cherry-red bridge stretching across his face. Admiring how the sunset streaming through the widow panted his brother's features.

"I say we take this to the bedroom," Stan purred, tightening his hold on his brother. He stood up from the couch, tossing his brother over his shoulder. "Alrighty cowboy, let's go give ya that lesson~" Smacking his brother's butt as he sauntered to their room.

"St-Stanley, w-wait, this isn't what I was referring to!" He squirmed, as he was carried out of the den, up the stairs, and down the hall toward their room.

"Stanleeeyyy!" Ford shouted as the bedroom door was shut and locked behind them.

-

Had a ton of fun writing that, lol. This is my second time drawing ranch life/cowboy 30!stans. (Honestly, I should draw them more often. Because Stan's with that hair is doing something for me🥵.) The first time I drew them was two years ago for another set of Halloween stancest drawings I did. The drawings. I had liked this au idea so much that I wrote a fic about it but never actually finished it😅 So maybe I'll do that sometime soon... Anyway, have some ranch life stancest! 🧡🤎

[tommydarlings]

pairing: charles leclerc ; carlos sainz ; max verstappen ; toto wolff ; rbr!sebastian vettel ; astonmartin!sebastian vettel ; lewis hamilton x reader

warnings: mentions of smut, mentions of dacryphilia, brief mention of chocking, mention of face sitting, mention of fingers in mouth, mention of hickeys, mention of little bites, possessiveness

check this out: my masterlist <3 // my ko-fi to support me! <3 // my PayPal to support me! <3 // my Patreon to become a member! (get access to +50 works) <3 // Save a Life carrd made by me! <3

CHARLES LECLERC

This man is definitely a dom… but if you really want him to be a sub, he can also be one.

“I’ll do anything for you, baby…tell me what I should do and I’ll do it mon amour, I swear.”

“Please don’t stop, ma jolie…S'il-vous-plaît!”

You sometimes really love him as a sub, but you still couldn’t deny that you love him even more as a dom.

“You're so cute when you’re struggling.”

“You know you’re mine, aren’t you? Yeah, you are.”

CARLOS SAINZ

99% a typical dom but oh those beautiful puppy dog eyes that carry this 1%.

Te quiero mucho, cariño, me arrodillaría por ti, mi amor.” I love you so much, baby, I would go on my knees for you, my love.

LOVES it when you sit on his face while he looks up at you with those brown puppy dog eyes, whining and groaning every time you pull on his hair to pull him closer.

Enough of puppy dog eyes Carlos, let’s go to possessive Carlos 'cause oh my go was this man possessive over what he claims to be his.

Pulls you closely by your waist to his body and roughly squeezes your skin if he catches you talking to Charles for a little to long.

ALWAYS forces you by your chin or throat to look at him if you refuse to do so.

“Los ojos puestos en mí, pequeña zorra.” Eyes on me, you little slut.

MAX VERSTAPPEN

He doesn’t get called 'mad max' or hot headed or stone cold for no reason.

This man doesn’t only always dominates the racing tracks, but you as well.

Without a doubt, this man would do anything for you, but only if you would be ready to do anything for him.

“You better do as I say or you’ll be regretting it my love, I swear.”

“Oh you want to play that kind of game? Flirting around with my rivals? Then so it be, y/n baby, let’s see where it takes you.”

LOVES to taste you, no matter how attractive he thinks it is to see the bulge trough your stomach, eating you out is for him the best thing in the world, even better than winning.

TOTO WOLFF

A dom. The only logical way to say it. A. Dom.

LOVES to make you beg.

“Go on, c'mon — say please.”

“Ask me nicely and I may let you cum.”

This man enjoys watching you suck on his fingers — especially his thumb, way to much.

“Just like that schatzi, yes — that’s my good little girl, am I right?”

LOVES towering over your figure, looking down at you with a stern gaze while he’s making you feel all shy and weak.

“Not having such a bratty mouth, now do we, little one?”

LANDO NORRIS

Maybe sometimes a dom if a race didn’t go as planned or just simply after a bad day but most of the time definitely a sub.

LOVES to worship you like you're some kind of goddess to him.

Also loves to kiss your thighs for what feels like hours before he pleases you with his tongue.

And definitely whining and moaning every time you pull on his hair.

“Is this comfortable for you, baby? Are you comfortable?”

“C'mere, let me take care of you, my darling,” he would whisper into your ear before he would give you the softest neck kisses.

But when he had a bad day? You do exactly as he says.

“Get on your knees and just shut up, okay? Just like that, f-fucking perfect, b-baby.”

RBR!SEBASTIAN VETTEL

Let’s be honest…dom is literally him. It was invented because of him.

LOVES to mark you up to show everybody that you're his.

Leaves hickeys and little bites all over your body — your neck, your chest, your back, even on your thighs and abdomen.

“Want every single person on this goddamn planet to see that you’re mine, understand me?”

“Every time you’ll try oh so desperately to cover them up, I’ll give you even more and even stronger ones… and believe me when I tell you that they’ll hurt even more, mein liebling.” my love.

POSSESSIVE OVER YOU LIKE NO ONE ELSE.

“Every single day I’ll make sure that you’re mine and you’re still here right now looking like some slut, c'mere.”

ALWAYS having a hand on you. Either on your thigh or around your waist or over your shoulder or simply holding your hand, obviously visibly showing everybody that you’re his.

THIS MAN HAS A BIG THING FOR DACRYPHILIA, YOU CANNOT TELL ME OTHERWISE.

“Aww, is she crying? Did I make her cry simply because of my big cock? How sweet is that!?”

“Don’t wipe your tears away, it’s okay meine liebe, my love, I love seeing what I do to you.”

But in the end, you know that he’s always there for you and would also do absolutely anything for you.

“Thank you for supporting me every race, seriously… I love you so much.”

Bonus;

ASTONMARTIN!SEBASTIAN VETTEL:

HE'S SO BABYGIRL PLS THIS MAN COULDN'T HURT ANYBODY!

“I love you mein liebling, so so so much, to the moon and back!” And you were always only able to laugh at his sweet words.

ALWAYS wants to take care of you.

You go out and need to put your coat on? He quickly grabs it and helps you put it on.

It’s wildly raining and you don’t want to get your beautiful new pair of high heels that he bought you wet? He immediately — without hesitation, picks you up bridal style and carries you to the car.

Maybe doesn’t want to admit it but one of his favourite things to do is baking with you.

“Sweetheart, can you please hand me the flour?” “Here you go, mein liebling.” my darling.

AND LOVES CUDDLING MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE.

“Come in my arms, baby — c'mere.”

“I love to hold you, I love you.”

LEWIS HAMILTON:

Honestly… a dom.

If he tells you to do that and that, you better do exactly that and that.

VERY demanding and cocky.

“C'mere — I said, come. here.”

“You’ll listen very carefully now, alright?”

COULD BE THE SOFTEST BF EVER BUT TURNS INTO THE BIGGEST DOM IN JUST A SECOND.

“You wanna say that again?”

“No, no, no, repeat that, c'mon.”

LOVES to let you ride him.

“Just like that, oh my god, you’re bouncing so fucking good on my cock.”

[rekino2114]

Training with fem!gojo

A/n:Enjoy my poor attempt at writing a fight scene because I've been seeing way too many gojo vs sukuna edits(guess who's back in his jjk phase). Also, if this does well, I might make more fighting based posts for this au cause I really liked writing this so if you have any ideas for what y/n's cursed technique might be I'd love to hear them

(This is part of my "fem!gojo with a reader stronger than her" au here's parts 1 and 2)

"Allllright everyone are you all excited for today's super special lesson?"

"Well sensei......you haven't really told us what the lesson is about"

".......Oh really?"

"Yeah, you just dragged us here without explanation. This better be good. I skipped my training for this"

"Calm down maki, I'm sure it's gonna be fun"

"It will be, yuta, I can guarantee you that....well for me at least"

".........what?"

Gojo ignored megumi and walked away, turning back to her students after a while

"For today's lesson, we have a very special guest, the strongest sorcerer of today, not to mention my boyfriend:y/n l/n!"

She moved out of the way to reveal you, who just yawned in response while she was hyping you up

"Oh is l/n-sensei going to be teaching us?"

"Nope we're going to fight"

"...........what?"

"I thought that seeing a fight between the strongest sorcerers would be a great alternative lesson. You can learn new stuff and have fun, well I'll have fun"

"I only agreed to this because I was bored, fighting weak curses all the time gets repetitive quickly"

".....that's-"

"AWESOME! I can't wait to see it"

"Very well, I knew you'd be excited"

"Wait, wouldn't a fight be useless since we know y/n is stronger?"

"To make things fair, I'm not allowed to use any of my innate techniques, and satori can't use her strongest ones like her domain or purple"

"OK get away a bit, I wouldn't want you to get caught in the blast"

Before anyone had any chance to complain, all of the students backed away as you and your girlfriend got into position

"You ready with the barrier, ijichi?"

The man with glasses nodded and proceeded to make a large barrier to defend the students.

Seeing this, gojo smiled and started to take off her clothes, leaving her in a tight black shirt (which made you blush a bit as it hugged her muscles and curves perfectly). Meanwhile, you started stretching to get ready

"Be sure to not hold back, I won't even if you're my girlfriend"

Satori smirked at your words and took off her blindfold, throwing it away

"Don't worry, we both know......I never hold back"

You both got into position and immediately ran at each other at blinding speed. She started throwing punches that you dodged. You tried to do the same but were blocked by her infinity

"Tch"

You sprinted away from her and began thinking

'Just as I thought, her infinity is as annoying as always'

You made a fist with your hand as it started glowing with (your favorite color) colored cursed energy

'Luckily, I know just how to counter it'

She teleported towards you and punched you unsuccessfully. You swung your fist at her again, but this time, it started putting strain on the invisible barrier. However, gojo teleported away before it could connect fully

"W-what? Did you see that? He was about to touch gojo-sensei!"

"Did she deactivate her technique?"

"No, the barrier was still there. It was just being weakened, was that one of y/n's techniques?"

"But he said he wasn't going to use any"

"No.....he said he wasn't going to use any that were exclusively his"

"Domain amplification Eh? Can't say I'm surprised"

'Because he's not using any innate techniques, he can focus on using domain amplification all the time,at this rate he's going to go trough infinity soon it's better to deactivate it and focus on blue for now'

"Can we get sushi if I win?"

"Hm?"

"It's been a while since we went out and I want sushi, If I win can you pay?"

"What are you talking about? I always pay anyway"

You cracked a small smile as you got into a fighting position again

"Eh, true"

You raced at her, and you started trading blows at each other like before. Only now, you could freely touch her

'She stopped using her technique?.......good'

You focused all your energy in your punches and continued aiming at satori who couldn't keep up with your strength

"It's insane! the moment he figured out she stopped using infinity he immediately amped up the cursed energy in his fists by undoing the technique, he's so fast"

"And his strength is absurd, he's definitely winning in terms of hand to hand combat"

Just as yuji said that gojo tried to land a punch on your stomach but you blocked it with both hands, thinking she had a chance she raised her other fist but you ducked causing her to lose her balance, you grabbed her by the arm and raised her in the air before making her fall and pinning her to the ground

"You know, I'd actually quite enjoy this position if we weren't fighting"

"Shut up"

"Very well"

You saw her raise her fingers and move them to the right

"Blue"

you were flinged to your right by an invisible force. You put your hands on the ground to stop your motion, but before you could even move, you saw more blue energy form right where you landed

"Ugh!"

"Cursed technique amplification blue maximum output"

You were swept up in the blue sphere of energy that formed under you and that engulfed even the ground beneath you, after playing with it for a while satori threw her blue right at the edge of the barrier, damaging you.

'She's keeping me away because she knows I'm stronger in a close ranged fight, and because I can't use my techniques, I don't have any ranged attacks. she has a big advantage......well, that just means I'll have to get closer one way or another'

You wiped a bit of blood from your face and smirked

".......thank you, this is what I wanted to see, thank you for not holding back"

You suddenly punched the ground with great force,making the rubble and dust spread everywhere, making a veil

'Is he trying to conceal his position? Did he forget about the six eyes?'

Gojo used blue to move the dust and debris out of the way, and to everyone's surprise, you weren't there

"W-what? where did he go?"

'Wait I figured it out! Before, when I used blue to move the rubble away, he got moved too. He used my own technique to move out of my six eyes range........that means'

"Look!"

A mere second before yuta yelled, satori turned her head, but it was already too late as she saw you standing behind her with a fist full of cursed energy.

The honored one tried to activate her infinity to stop the punch, but that was futile as you immediately started using domain amplification when she did. You landed the most powerful punch you had thrown in a while on gojo's back, causing her to spit blood

"That punch.......even I can tell how strong it was"

"It probably would have killed a grade 2 curse, at least. and it wasn't even a black flash"

"Wait, it's still not over"

"Eh?"

The students looked in shock as you didn't even let the special grade sorcerer fly away from the punch because immediately after it connected, you grabbed her by the hair threw her to the ground punching her in the stomach when she landed.

"THIS IS THEIR TRAINING? HE LOOKS LIKE HE'S TRYING TO KILL HER!"

You stood over her body as you looked at her bloody face, mentally apologizing even knowing she definitely wouldn't mind

"We can finish this if you-"

"This is why I love you"

"Eh?"

"Every time I fight you, I feel this sensation....I have only felt with toji, you....you make me feel so understood.......so ecstatic!.....I'm so glad I find you"

You saw her smiling at you. It warmed your heart, and a small smile crept up your face

"You didn't figure it out, did you?"

You suddenly got worried as she kept talking

"Immediately after your first punch, I deactivated infinity so I could focus on expanding blue and red's outputs"

She raised her arm and did a finger gun gesture with it, aiming it at you

"And I haven't used red yet"

You tried running but a red light started to glow from her finger and engulf your vision

"Cursed technique reversal red maximum output"

Gojo fired off an incredibly large red, which hit you directly in the face and sent you flying away, but before you could hit anything solid, gojo teleported behind you and kicked you making you fall to the ground painfully

You stood breathing heavily for a moment, blood dripping from your face before you smiled back at her once again

"Hey, can we allow RCT since the fight is truly getting started?"

The moment you said that you saw gojo heal from the wounds you gave her which prompted you to do the same

"I don't see why not"

"Good........then can we also throw all the rules out of the window since it's getting serious"

Gojo's smile got even wider as she knew what you meant. She giggled a bit before holding her hand up

"I thought you'd never ask"

Everyone who was watching gasped as satori did the hand sign they were so familiar with. you held your hand(s) too in another gesture that everyone could deduce the use for

"Domain expansion: infi-/domain expansion:(doma-"

As you were about to expand your domains, you both saw the barrier being lifted as you grunted in confusion, gojo turned towards ijichi and saw that Yaga was now with him

"Hey what's this? We were just about to get to the good par-"

"What's this!? How about you look at what you did!"

You both turned to see the area of the courtyard you were fighting in completely destroyed

"You decide to have a fight with y/n without asking me in our courtyard!?"

"Well, it wasn't for nothing, you know? My students have learned a lot from watching us"

Gojo looked at them with an hopeful look that they didn't reciprocate as all of them shook their heads simultaneously

".............."

".............."

"S-sorry sensei I was also going to say, wasn't me watching this fight a bit risky since sukuna is inside me and could learn all of your techniques and counters by watching the fight?.......hehe....."

"..............."

".............."

You and your girlfriend seemingly ignored everything everyone said and started walking away unconcerned with your hands behind your head

"So which sushi restaurant you wanna go to?"

"Does that even count? We didn't finish the fight"

"Eh, who cares"

".......you were going to buy me sushi no matter what happened right?"

"Awwww, you know me so well"

She gave you a kiss on the cheek, and you blushed while the principal continued to yell at you two

"HEY WAIT, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

In response, gojo simply held your hand and waved at everyone there before teleporting both of you out of there

"..........are they serious?"

"How are those two the strongest?"

".......wait gojo forgot her clothes and blindfold........who wants to give them back to her?"

Everyone present sighed, knowing how much of a bother it was to deal with you and satori

[strange-anni]

What is wrong with Joyce's boy?

Joyce of cause said this in regards to Will and while it leaves us without an answer as to what is wrong with him, we do get a transition to a scene with her other boy Jonathan in it.

So is there possibly a reason why Joyce would need to ask such a question in regards to Jonathan as well?

Note: This is about the infamous Murray scene with Nancy and Jonathan (and how he started their doomed relationship)

Jonathan and his friend Nancy who at the time are are probably only 17 years old get some vodka from this old conspiracy guy Murray

2. Leave it to the teenagers(!) to be the reasonable ones ones in this situation as they name very good reasons as to why they should stop drinking. Jonathan still has to drive and they want to go home.

3. Yet they get pressured into staying and possibly even more drinking

4. They also get pressured into staying in the same room

5. A suggestion said teenagers ignore because they don't really want to at this point although both agree that it is late

6. Old man is confused teenagers don't react like he expects them to

7. Still both Nancy and Jonathan are politely correcting him and telling him what they are: friends (It also makes me think of Dustin continuedly pressuring Steve into dating Robin in S3 which Steve also doesn't want and asks Dustin to stop and you know at least Dustin and Steve know and care about each other)

Imho it could have stopped here. Murray should have just accepted their word for it. It's none of his business anyway if they are friends or not.

Also notice how pressure comes from all sides? From the people we love, cherish and who are also our best friends and from people we barely even know like Jonathan and Nancy barely know Murray and he doesn't know them.

8. And we see Murray being completely dismissive of everything Nancy and Jonathan have to say -> He's just laughing at them

9. How does he even know if they're telling the truth or not? And even he's right and they did lie.. he has no idea of the reasons why. Not that would be any of his business either.

10. Look at these patient little babies and how they are still politely correcting Murray.

Also notice Jonathan is thinking.

11. What a bunch of utter nonsense. Even if we assume all of this to be true Jonathan and Nancy don't have to date just because of it. If they don't want to then they don't have to.

Also all of it is true for Steve and Robin in S3 and they are also not dating.

(sorry if Nancy looks a bit weird in that shot)

But also look at how attentive Jonathan looks here. It's like he's got someone on his mind which fits that description as well, doesn't he?

12. Murray is pressing Jonathans buttons and it's getting personal here. It's also none of his business.

13. Now he's getting REAL personal -> again that's none of Murrays business AT ALL.

14. They are trying to defend themselves again and are looking slightly uncomfortable. Plus Jonathan seems to be thinking again.

15. He's also only seeing what he wants to see and he's pressuring these young teenagers into conforming to his wishes

16. He also has no business of needing to read them at all!

Plus is it even true? Is Nancy harder to read than Jonathan?

17. Because Jonathan over here looks completely closed off. Guarded. Hugging himself, shoulders slightly raised and he also looks a bit scared tbh

18. Nancy also looks so uncomfortable here.

Plus retreating back to the safety of..

19. Notice how it is Jonathan who says Steve's name here and not Nancy? I really feel like Murray could have accidentally seen right trough Jonathan by sheer luck. Not that that would make any of this better at all.

20. Maybe Murray is right here. Maybe someone really does like Steve. Or suspects he could like him or maybe even just wants to talk to him to hear what he had wanted to say when he came to his doorstep in S1

But make no mistake as this is still meddling to the extreme as none of this is any of Murrays business at all. AGAIN.

Also Jonathan seems to be thinking again.

21. None of Murrays business

22. Jonathan still looks super guarded and Murray is making Nancy uncomfortable again

23. I would really like to know what Jonathan is thinking here

24. NOW they are getting told how cute they are as in you two should get together because that's be so cute

25. And just like that Murray acts like he's never said anything at all! Like he hasn't just meddled with them and their thoughts and told them what they should do and feel

Tbc in a reblog because I've reached image limit

Look here

[puppiesandnightlock]

READ ON AO3: I will fall in love with you over and over again

for this year’s secret Santa, I got @spicy-apple-pie :D

prompt was domestic damijon on a homestead, bonus if there was porch swing cuddles. I HOPE I DID IT JUSTICE!! HAPPY HOLIDAYSSSSSSSSSS

The moon was sinking lower outside, still just enough to shine through the slit in the curtains. Out in the barn, the rooster began to crow, causing Damian to stir. 

He blinked a few times, mouth opening in a silent yawn. His husband was curled up on his chest, a direct opposite to how they’d fallen asleep the previous night. The clock on their bedside table told him that it was 5 in the morning on a Saturday, just around the time that a weekday would start. He struggled with attempting to sit up, only to have Jon’s hand tighten around the sheets.

He was under no impression that the other man hadn’t heard their natural alarm, chuckling a bit as he ran his hand through messy raven curls, sticking up one side with bed-head. Neither wished to leave the little cocoon of comfort and warmth they’d created for the morning sky, but duty called.

“Jonathan.” Damian said softly, voice a bit rough with sleep. “I’ve got to see to the chores.”

“Noooo.” Jon buried his face into the firm stomach beneath him. “Stay. Just for a few more minutes. The chores can wait a few more minutes.”

“The cows-”

“Are on a tight schedule and get milked at exactly six fifteen every morning, you would run outside barefoot in your pajamas to keep it that way. It’s the weekend, we can sleep just a bit longer.”

Damian needed little persuasion, still half asleep and easily lured by the promise of warmth and someone he loved. Still.

“Things need to be done,” he protested weakly, beginning to lie back down. Jon made a noncommittal humming noise as Damian’s hand began to run gently up and down his spine.

“And they’ll still be there in another thirty minutes.”

Jon scooted up to have his face next to his husband’s, bringing a hand to brush his hair out of his eyes. They smiled at each other softly before he destroyed the silence with a cheeky, “I win.”

“Shut up, Hayseed.” The other man grumbled, turning over and tugging the covers up to his shoulders. Jon wiggled under them, setting his chin on his shoulder and arms around his waist in a spooning position.

They drifted off for a bit longer until the light of the moon had gone. The clock hit 5:45 and this time, the both of them got up, stretching and ambling to the restroom.

Jon’s phone played an upbeat morning playlist as they brushed their teeth in tandem, just another part of the daily routine. About ten minutes later, the both of them left the house, exchanging a chaste morning kiss before heading off to their respective chores, an elderly Titus lifting his head from where his bed was and a younger puppy trotting at Damian’s heels.

Damian opened the door to the barn, gently greeting the animals and leading the cows to the proper station, starting the order.

Jon was out in the fields, doing a quick overview of the place and checking the irrigation. Once he’d gone through that, he stopped by the barn to heft the bag of chicken feed over his shoulder and pet their two horses' noses on the way out. The cows had just finished, Damian leading them out to pasture. 

The sun rays spiked in the sky, chasing the dark of the night as the two young men worked to kick-start their morning. The chickens waddled out of the coop, ambling towards the feed scattered on the ground. Jon smiled, crouching into their home and plucking the eggs with deft fingers. 

Damian passed him with a smile, crouching to greet some of the chickens and the rooster before going to the barn and checking the food bowl of the barn cats, all three of which were curled up in the hayloft.

The horses nickered as he approached them, filling their troughs and checking the water levels. They’d be let out after breakfast into the fields, but for now, they were content to be pet and spoken to lovingly.

A basket full of eggs on his arm, Jon leaned over to the side, making note of the sign of newly sprouting weeds in the smaller garden. They’d be weeding after eating, he supposed.

Damian stepped into the house just as Jon had begun to fill the dogs’ food bowl. The younger pup raced towards the bowl, beating out Titus, who preferred to come closer to Damian to be scratched.

“Aseema,” Damian clicked, calling her to his feet. She bounced back from the food bowl, sitting impatiently on the floor in front of him. She’d been the most recent addition to their ever growing farm family, chosen from a litter their neighbors had recently had. He praised her for waiting, releasing both dogs to eat.

Jon had begun to put the eggs away for the next day’s farmer’s market, Damian joining him in the kitchen to wash his hands and begin breakfast for the two of them. 

He’d begun the coffee, the morning meal scent filling the air and aiding the homey atmosphere. He came around Damian’s other side, hugging him from behind and swaying them both in a rhythm that had his husband laughing quietly, leaning back and looking at him with twinkling eyes.

“What are you doing, ya amar?” 

“Dancing, duh.” 

Jon turned him around to face him, tugging Damian’s arms around his neck and moving them both around the kitchen. He rolled his eyes fondly, stating, “This is not dancing.”

“Shhh, take your training and shove it, this is my dancing in my kitchen.”

“We share this house.”

“Stop being logical, you’re interrupting the magic.”

He muffled his laughter into Jon’s shoulder, letting him move them around the tile floor until both their stomachs reminded them that breakfast was a very much needed meal of the day, prompting them to detach themselves from each other and begin dishing out the food. They ate quickly on the island in their kitchen, cleaning up the mess and setting out to begin a new list.

“We’ve got to weed later today,” Jon mentioned as they walked out, heading for the barn. Damian nodded, adding it to the list. There wasn’t much they had to do, both grateful for an opportunity for a lazy Saturday. They led the horses out into the pasture, checking up on the cows before heading back. 

The garden tools were carried to the little patch of earth, Damian kneeling in the dirt to begin. Jon passed him the needed tools, getting his own and beginning himself.

It hadn’t been more than a few minutes when Damian looked over and remarked teasingly, “One would think Superboy would have already had more weeds out than I do.” 

Jon scoffed playfully, wiping his cheek with his hand. It only served to smear more dirt on it, his husband noted with affection. “Everything doesn’t have to be a competition, darlin’.”

“Maybe not,” Damian hummed, grinning at the way Jon sped up in an attempt to clear his side of the garden first anyways.

They worked quicker, glancing over at each other, throwing jeers and checking to see how far each was falling behind.

“Didn’t you say it wasn’t a competition, habibi?” 

“This is your fault.” Jon accused, pointing the root of one of the offending plants his way. “You knew this would happen.” 

“I do know what makes you tick.” Damian’s brow quirked. “Don’t tell me you didn’t see where I was pushing towards.”

“I didn’t think I’d fall for it,” He grumbled, throwing the weed at him. Damian felt the incoming projectile, dodging it but getting dirt on his clothing. He made a face and lunged, throwing one at Jon’s back in return.

Jon squawked as he felt the impact, arms flailing. He turned, armed, and suddenly dirt and weeds were flying in the air, laughter and screeches echoing around the fields. 

“I still won,” Damian claimed as they were picking up the fallen weeds. “I had more.”

“Sure, whatever you say.” Jon rolled his eyes goodnaturedly. “We’re filthy, by the way.”

“And who’s fault is that?” Damian brushed off the edge of his shirt. They were both covered in dirt and sweat, more than usual due to the deliberateness of the previous actions.

“Arguably, yours.” His husband gathered the plants and zipped out, dumping them in the proper bin and returning to see Damian scowling at him. It was always rather fun to be the cause of that expression when it was about something unserious as this.

“Mine? Try again, Corncob, I wasn’t the one who shot the first bullet.”

“You started the competition and you egged me on. In a chain of events, you tipped the domino. Rippled the water. Started the butterfly effect.” 

Damian opened his mouth to protest, Jon stopping him with a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

“You can keep going and stay covered in dirt and standing in the sun that’s only going to get hotter, or hurry up and finish so you can shower.”

“…Tt.” He turned on his heel, calling out the few things he was going to do. Jon nodded, turning the other direction to do the things that could be done with a little bit of help from his kryptonian heritage.

By the time he arrived back into the house, the barely afternoon sun had risen high, bringing a gentle warmth just enough to contrast the still cool breeze of the morning.

There was a folded blanket on the kitchen counter and Jon figured if he checked the fridge, there would be a basket filled with lunch. He sped up the stairs as the faucet squeaked, shutting off the sounds of the shower. His husband emerged a few minutes later, toweling his hair off and having exchanged his work clothes for casual wear. 

“In,” Damian poked him playfully. Jon swatted at him, but kissed his cheek as he passed.

“I’m going, I’m going,”

By the time he was done, Damian was waiting with the basket and blanket under one arm, offering his other hand to Jon, who took it immediately.

He swung their hands between the two as they walked up towards the hill overlooking the pasture, just on the edge of their property. Aseema scampered ahead, Titus ambling behind her until he found a spot where he wanted to sleep. Jon spread the blanket under the shade, Damian handing him food and sitting down. It was a rather quiet moment, just silence speaking volumes between the two as they watched what they’d made of life flourish, from the grazing animals to the growing crops, all from a distance.

After the food was eaten and everything packed away accordingly, Damian pulled out his sketchbook, listening to Jon ramble to him about anything and everything. He’d listen to his voice forever, if he could. His hand moved of its own volition, pencil outlining the features of the person next to him in a movement so familiar he wondered if he could draw him with his eyes closed. 

“D?” Jon had stopped, looking at him with a lopsided smile. Damian looked up, blinking at him. “Why did you stop? You were making an excellent point.”

“I thought maybe you had gotten bored.”

He tsked, managing to look almost offended. “Jonathan, it’s much too late for these thoughts now. I married you for all of you, and you know very well that if I didn’t want to hear you speak, I’d find some way to shut you up.”

(I love you, I love hearing you talk because it’s a part of you. Don’t feel bad.)

“I know, Dames. “ Jon leaned back, putting his head into Damian’s lap. “Don’t mind me, just my brain being stupid.”

“Tt, tell it to knock it off. Only I can be mean to you.” The tone was fond, the hand holding onto his sketchbook falling to tug affectionately at raven curls.

“Yes, sir,” he joked in return, shutting his eyes as Damian’s hand left his hair and returned to his artwork.

The shade began to get longer, the sun dipping down from its afternoon high. With a sigh, both men got up, Jon dashing to drop off the things from their afternoon in the house while Damian made his way to the pasture. The both of them began to bring in the cows and horses, leading them to their stalls. 

Their livestock were cared for and fed accordingly, the both of them bidding them good night, for as the evening settled in, they would not return. The dogs followed behind them both obediently as Jon and Damian began to close up their home for the night.

Stars hadn’t yet appeared when they arrived home, the sun barely beginning to set. The food was heated, warming in the stove as the two settled into their evening, quiet and peaceful as they hung around the kitchen. As Damian walked past to check on the food, Jon moved forwards, spinning Damian around to face him and picking him up, arms around his waist.

“Dami,” He sing-songed, twirling them around a few times cheerfully. 

“Jon.” Damian looked down at him, hands holding onto his shoulders and despite himself, lips twitching upwards in amusement.

“Let’s eat dinner on the swing, please?” He whined, nuzzling into the side of his neck.

“You’re a child.” Damian remarked dryly. “I married a child.”

“That’s a yes, right?” 

“Put me down and I’ll consider it.” 

As his feet touched the ground, he launched a plate at his husband, Jon yelping and catching it. “Damian!”

“You caught it.” He smirked, filling his plate with dinner. Jon made a rumbly noise, hip checking him playfully as he moved to get his own dinner. Titus was snoozing on the porch with Aseema tucked into his side when they got out, the sun nearly gone. 

Jon sat, arm stretched over the back of the swing and plate on his lap. Damian leaned back onto his arm, the both of them quietly watching the stars taken over the midwestern sky.

Once the food was gone and plates stacked on the floor, he leaned into him, head falling onto his shoulder and legs curled behind him. Jon’s feet rocked the swing in a soothing rhythm, the soft squeaking blending in with the quiet song of the night. 

“I love you,” Damian mumbled, eyes half closed as he rested against his husband. 

Jon’s free arm wrapped around him, pulling him closer. “I love you, too.”

“Tell me about the stars,” he requested, feeling a gentle kiss land in his hair. Jon’s voice, soft now, carried through the night as they held each other, the world nothing but the two of them.

Tomorrow will be another day, a new set of challenges and smiles and laughter, each finding new ways to love each other more and more. 

[howlett-n-morgan]

Take Me Home

5. Blood Stains

Arthur Morgan x Texas Red!Reader

A/n: HEY GUYS I AM BACK WITH A DOOSIE. okay so my fashion show was fantastic, let me know if y'all wanna see a video of my collection i think it turned out pretty damn good. anyways, wrote this while crocked off my ass on Benadryl bc allergy season is hitting very very hard right now so if it's not perfect we are all going to collectively blame the Benadryl, okay? okay.

Summary: An accident in the laundry causes chaos in the camp, and secrets are revealed sooner than expected. With everyone else acting like the world is caving in, Arthur steps up as usual.

Warnings: misogyny, major gender role tropes, a little bit of personal violation, but very minor. Susan is a bitch in this chapter (we love Susan). Blood plays a lot into this chapter, and so do menstrual cycles, so if you're uncomfortable with those mentions, this may be a skippable chapter for you. There's also like some sexual implications but nothing inherently sexual happens. I think that's it, let me know if I missed anything.

WC: 7.8k

“Climb up, let’s go to town before closing time,” he walked around to the other side where his horse was hitched from earlier today, still saddled since Bill hadn’t made his rounds yet.  You complied, but were unsure of the motives for such a trip.  “Is Dutch paying you to take me somewhere? He want you to kill me quietly?” 

In the weeks since John’s disappearance, you’ve noticed three things:

One, Dutch hasn’t barely been seen in the camp, and when he makes his presence known, it’s either angry or forlorn. Two, the entire gang has been very quiet, not wanting to set off Dutch, or make anyone else upset with the matter. Three, Arthur has done as he said he would, becoming closer with Abigail, and helping nightly with Jack. 

It shouldn’t break your heart, because you had no right for it to. You shouldn’t be distancing yourself from the both of them, they didn’t do anything to deserve it, but the way your chest tightened by watching them, watching Arthur gently place a hand on her shoulder as he watched Jack squirm in her arms was far too miserable. Abigail won’t speak of it, knowing that everyone has been on edge since her former lover left, but she missed the talks and conversations you held. You understood her, and though she didn’t exactly know the truth as to why, she was still partially in grief over that bond, too. 

Arthur takes immediate notice, but doesn’t say anything. Hosea had mentioned your run in with John the evening he took off. He figured you needed time to cope with the situation, even if you didn’t know John all that well, or even like him for that matter. Everyone in camp was dealing with it differently, so why should he judge the way you handled yourself?

It was only when you stopped talking to him altogether that he became slightly concerned, and he wasn’t the only one. 

When Dutch first brought you into the gang, he knew there was some subtle competition with you and Arthur. The two fastest guns in the west, hell, maybe even the world… but you butted heads often. He didn’t know why it had suddenly stopped, but his concern grew from being in both your presences at the same time, and the icy feeling he got just from standing between you, running over job details in a tent. 

It was like Arthur didn’t exist to you anymore. Everything you said and did was conveyed to the people around him, but never to him. You would even give news to a big group of people to avoid telling Arthur directly. 

Dutch knew there was something wrong, because he could have sworn you both were inches away from getting along, but now it was worse than square one. It was after a successful job that he said something about it. After you had deliberately handed Arthur’s cut to Javier and told him to give it to the next man over. 

You’d ridden back, safe and sound, but Dutch held you back, nodding the others away from the horse troughs.  

“Talk with me for a bit, will ya son?” He tried to approach the situation gently. This couldn’t have been a gradual thing. 

“F’course,” you muttered, hands resting on your gun belt as you followed him into the center of camp. 

“I’ve been noticing some… strange behavior from you towards Arthur. Only lately…” he scratched his head, looking at you expectantly. “You can tell me if he did somethin’ to piss you off, I’ll speak with him about it.”

You furrowed your brow and shook your head. “He didn’t do nothin’ to piss me off… I’ve just always been better off on my own, don’t wanna rely on anyone.”

“I can understand that sentiment, but it doesn’t make any damn sense as to why you’re givin’ him the cold shoulder,” he furthered his point, and you didn’t have any choice but to make something else up. Something that could actually be worth what you were doing to Arthur. Your head told you that the truth of ‘I’m actually a young woman and I’m catching feelings for your gang enforcer’ wouldn’t help you. 

“He’s been tryna hold me back,” you sighed out, as if revealing some huge secret. It was partially true, but you’d grown more relaxed about the protection Arthur had been trying to provide. Still, you kept on the charade, knowing it would get you out of this situation free and clear. “M’tired of him thinkin’ I can’t keep up, tired of feelin’ like a helpless kid next to ‘im.”

Dutch let out a breath and narrowed his eyes. “I see… and so you figured it best to keep him out of arm’s reach, is that it?”

“Guess so,” you shrugged, leaning against the pole of his big tent. 

And then it seemed that Dutch saw this as a teaching moment, because he nodded for you to sit down on one of the cross latch boxes, across from where he stood. He had a whole spiel oncoming, and you were almost sure you knew what it would contain. Something about the camp being a family, everyone sticking together and more nonsense of the like.

“You don’t understand this now, because you’ve never had a time of need in this gang… but that day will come,” he paused, and you perhaps had it all wrong, listening intently now. He pointed in the direction of Arthur’s camp set up, and you glanced over, not for the first time that day. He was tired, hunched over his cot and leaning in exhaustion, running his hand over his face. “And when you are in that time of need, there is no better man to have in your corner than Arthur Morgan.”

You nodded in understanding, a small frown on your face. You wanted to protect yourself, but if what Dutch says is true, you’re only setting yourself up for failure. 

“He’s been here a long time, and no matter your opinion of him, no matter the things you do or the things you say, he’s loyal. It ain’t up to me what you decide to do, but you should know, he’s the best ally you’re ever gonna have.”

And just like that, you regretted the past weeks. Everything you did to avoid him, getting up early to grab some of the coffee before he came by. Going out and hunting without letting anyone know, just so that he didn’t have a chance to come with you. Even going as far as to mend your own clothing and do your own laundry, knowing he might catch you at one of the girl’s stations while picking up your weekly wears. You felt awful. You remembered at least four times he tried to approach you before he just gave up. At the time you were grateful, because you thought it was making things easier for you, but in actuality, the things Dutch said were true. You needed him in your corner. There would be a time of need, and Arthur was the best ally to have when that time would come, whatever it may be. 

“I think I oughta go set things right, then,” you let out, your ego deflating slightly when your eyes met Dutch again. 

“If you think it’s best,” he nodded, switching places with you and watching you walk over to his favored outlaw, the man he called his son. He called you son, too. You wondered if that would hold up if he ever found out about you. 

Arthur was on the verge of sleep, but you were doing this now. You could apologize later. 

“You look like shit,” you tried to be nonchalant, and not bring any emotion into this. 

When he looked up, he was slightly annoyed, but his face softened once he looked at you for a moment. 

“Feel like shit,” he grumbled, trying to understand what you were doing here. You didn’t exactly give him reason to believe he was important to you anymore. “Did you need something?” 

You kicked the dirt beneath your boot, trying to keep yourself composed, but you weren’t too good at these things, and the amount of shear stiffness in your body wasn’t helping you to relax about it. 

“I think I owe you an apology,” you started, and he tilted his head in slight confusion. Sure, he knew what you were apologizing for, but he didn’t know why. “I’ve been avoidin’ you, n’ I shouldn’t have.”

He nodded in thanks, accepting your words. You stood awkwardly, unsure if you should say more or just leave, but when you turned your boot to walk, he stopped you. 

“Did I piss you off or somethin’?”

Why was everyone asking that? 

“No, ain’t nothing you did. Just my own stupid ass and things that don’t matter,” you told him. You felt even worse now, because you’d made both him and Dutch think that it was something he did wrong. He could rarely do any wrong in your eyes, which made this whole ordeal that much worse. 

“Matters enough, you stopped talking to me. Couldn’t even get you to look my way.”

You didn’t want him to know anything else. With him and Abigail rapidly forming a blossoming relationship, it wasn’t for you to stand in their way. Jack needed a father figure, and Arthur was the perfect candidate. 

“I’m sorry about it. I swear it won’t happen again,” you really wanted to leave this time, unsure of how far it may go in the event of a deep conversation… but he caught your wrist and gently tugged it back towards where he sat as soon as you started turning away again. 

“You gotta give me somethin’, Red. I’ve waited weeks just to ask you,” he pleaded, his tired eyes looking through you and trying to enter your mind. You caved just as soon as you saw how badly this affected him. You hurt him. He might be big, burly, and dangerous… but he bleeds, and his heart can be wounded as easily as anyone else’s. 

“I’ve been going through some things, and you’ve had a lot on your plate with Jack and Abigail. It’s not fair of me to make my burdens your burdens… I was tryna keep you out of it,” you admitted, which was only half true. The partial truths of the night were stacking up, but fortunately he couldn’t tell the difference right now, too tired and unfocused to really study your features and what you were hiding. 

“Red,” he sighed, not yet prying for more information, but giving you one last glance. “You can tell me things. Remember that.”

You nodded, smiling at him for the first time since John left. “Alright.” 

-

You stopped avoiding and ignoring Arthur, but things were still distant. You’d been getting close right after Jack was born, but going into his third month in the world, you two were miles apart. Still, it was better than the stone cold facade you’d been turning to him before. 

“Got any laundry?” Susan asked, breaking you out of your trance as you watched the sun setting. You weren’t really paying much attention, but nodded, reaching behind you into your tent for a sheet full of worn out and dirty clothing. You should have looked it over, but you didn’t, too caught up in your own mind. “You can ask the girls about getting it back tomorrow, they’ve been going stir crazy for things to do.”

“Yes ma’am,” you nodded, tipping your hat and leaning back against your small tent’s middle pole. You had half a mind to slide your hat over your eyes for a nap, but that didn’t seem like it would fly, especially if one of the others needed you for something. 

You could definitely use a nap, you were cramping like crazy. You swore if Bill came up to you and asked for any more favors with the damn horses this week you’d kill him, but only because you were feeling grumpy. 

You wanted so badly to confide in Arthur about these things, the troubles of womanhood that you couldn’t share with anyone else but him. You wondered if he would ever tell anyone, since it’s been almost five months of your residence and you have yet to reveal your secrets to everyone else. Maybe you were being paranoid, but the closer he got to Abigail and the further you pushed him away, you thought he might care less about the agreement you both made. After all, spilling your secret to Dutch would gain him loyalty points, and Dutch seemed all too happy to be giving them out since John left. 

It was about an hour later when there was a shriek at the other side of camp, and many ran over to see what the trouble was. 

Tilly had been sitting by her wash bin, but had pulled her hands out on account of one thing. 

“What’s the matter, Tilly?” you heard Sean over your shoulder, and when you finally saw the trouble your eyes widened and you muttered a single word under your breath. 

“Shit.” 

“What’s shit?” Arthur’s voice was also heard beside you now, and you turned to him ever so slightly with a whisper.

“Me, I’m in deep shit.”

Tilly showed everyone the water, with some clothing swirling around, but it was all tinted red. 

“I think someone’s been hurt,” she said, waving over Mrs. Grimshaw to show her the problem. “There’s blood in the water.”

You tried to casually back up slowly, hoping that it wouldn’t get traced back to you, after all, the clothing in the bin was yours, and Mrs. Grimshaw had just picked up the pile from you. You were just stupid enough to leave your monthly attire in with it, and during your monthly time, too. You were only two days into the cycle, meaning there had been a lot of blood.

Grimshaw, being the stern and impatient woman she was, rolled her sleeves up and dug around in the water, looking for clothing with holes to indicate a stab or bullet wound�� but she only found:

“A sanitary apron?” She furrowed her brows. She was pretty in tune with the women of the camp, and hadn’t been aware that someone was menstruating right now. 

“You better run, kid,” Arthur caught on, nudging your shoulder. You’d already started getting further away from the scene, but it seemed Grimshaw already came to a conclusion before you could make a break for it. 

“I picked these up from…” she trailed, her brow now seemingly angry and strewn together in a stressful manner. She marched over to you, grabbing your lanky wrist harshly and tugging you away from the scene. “You better not be hidin’ what I think you’re hidin’!”

You held onto your hat as she practically ran you into the nearest tent. It wasn’t hers or yours but that didn’t matter, her urgency was all too apparent. 

“Miss Grimshaw, what’s this all about?” 

“I have had my suspicions about you since you arrived here,” she spoke intensely, pulling you forward by your belt buckle and doing her best to undo it. 

“Hey, hey! What’re ya doin’?!” You tried to protest, but her nimble hands were too persistent, and she finally got your pants loose enough to take a brief peek at what she needed to see. “What the hell, would you stop?!” 

“I knew it!” she yelled, a finger pointed in the air. 

And just like that, you knew you were screwed. 

She quickly ran out of the tent, and you tried to follow her, making a quick attempt at putting your belt back together on the way out. 

Arthur ran a hand over his face when first he saw you, and the state you were in. He knew the jig was up, too. 

“Where is that man when you need him?” Susan was turning every which way, a mess of herself just trying to frantically look for the camp leader. 

“Dutch? He’s in town with Hosea, what’s the problem?” Bill sauntered up, dusting his hands from the work he’d paused. 

Pearson and Javier all of a sudden made an appearance, and when you thought nothing could make this worse, the rest of the camp zoned in on the chaos, having had nothing better to do this whole day. It was slow, and there were no jobs to be done, so the boredom consumed minds jumped on the first sign of entertainment they could find, and boy was it something.

“We have an imposter in our midst!” She yelled, her arms waving around wildly. 

“Hold on, now…” You tried to interject, but Arthur shot you a look, shaking his head. Don’t do it, kid. Just shut up.

“What do you mean an imposter?” Pearson crossed his arms. He was never one to give bad news of any kind to, because he had a tendency to blow it out of proportion. “Who?” 

“That,” she pointed at you, her voice raised to the highest decibel count you knew was humanly possible. “Is not an eighteen year old boy! She has been fooling us all. Who even knows where she comes from, what her real name is!”

“What the hell are you even talking about?” 

“The kid?” 

“Ain’t no way…”

The rapid responses coming forward almost eased your mind, except for the fact that Susan did in fact have up close and personal proof from what she saw. 

Arthur stepped forward, and as the murmurs grew louder, and Miss Grimshaw was prepared to go on another rant, he did all he could to calm the situation. 

“Let’s not make any rash judgements right now,” he gave you a look, trying to let you see he was attempting to help, but that you needed to leave. “We’ll just wait until Dutch and Hosea get back.”

You took that as a cue to leave, awkwardly making way for your tent. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Susan tried to chase after you, but Arthur held her back. 

“Wait for Dutch,” he said, his arm blocking her path. Who knows what she’d do in this state? She’d been known to whip some of the boys into compliance before, who knows what she’d do to someone she viewed as an imposter. 

Sitting with the flaps closed, you could still hear everything that was occurring outside, and it nerved you far more than being in the middle of it all. 

“It doesn’t make any sense…” and “Do you think it’s true?” could be heard from separate conversations, and you wished more than anything that you’d just done your own damn laundry. 

Your face fell in your hands, and you started going over all the things that could happen. Dutch could hate you for lying to him, and kick you out, banishing you as far as you could go. Or, since you were a newbie, and didn’t have the trust factor built yet, maybe they would just shoot you dead. That may have been an extreme idea, but with your rapidly beating heart and increasing worry, things like that were bound to spill in. Not like you’d been in a gang before, you didn’t exactly get an etiquette and rule book when you arrived. Who knew what would happen to you. Nothing good, that you knew.

When Arthur finally opened the flap and leaned down inside the small dwelling, you knew it was time to face the music. 

“Dutch is back, Susan’s tellin’ him everything,” he sighed, looking over your face and feeling a sense of guilt that he didn’t do anything to stop all of this. When you first arrived he thought maybe it wouldn’t be a big deal, but having experienced this much drama in just the past hour has most definitely led him to believe he was wrong. 

When you stayed silent, and didn’t really give him a reaction of any kind, he could tell you were hit hard with the anxiety and shock of it all. He couldn’t ever get you to shut up, and he often didn’t want to, most of all now when you looked like a scared animal. 

“I ain’t gonna let ‘em hurt ya, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

You shook your head, and against your hardest efforts, tears were backing your eyes, looking for ways to escape. He hadn’t ever seen you like this, and it wasn’t pleasant. 

“I don’t wanna leave,” you admitted. You liked it here. You weren’t lonely here, and you had a family… or at least you did an hour ago. You didn’t know where you stood with half of these people. 

He couldn’t speak for Dutch or Hosea, or anyone else really, but he could speak for himself. 

“I don’t want you to, either…”

When Arthur heard his name called, he leaned back, looking in the direction of his father figure, looking angrier than a pack of hungry wolves. 

“Yeah?” 

“Tell Brooks to see me, now.”

You didn’t even need the message relayed. You stood up, and followed Arthur out of the tent, your head down as you made the distance to the center tent, the big one you’d been at only a bit ago with council from your leader. You only hoped he’d be so forgiving when he found out you lied to him. 

Arthur got into the tent first, mumbling a few things you were a little distracted to hear. You did catch the small ‘don’t be too hard on her’ fall from his mouth, though. 

You sat down on the box chest, close to the exit of the tent, just in case things went south and you had to run. Not that you were thinking about running, but again, a million scenarios crossed your mind. 

“Arthur, wait outside.”

You grew more tense as soon as those words were uttered, and so did Arthur it would seem. 

“Dutch, I think I should-”

“Wait. Outside.” 

He reluctantly did as he was told, walking far enough away that he wouldn’t be reprimanded, but still in your eye-line so he could keep an eye on you. He trusted Dutch with the gang members, but if he was considering kicking you out, that made you fair game. 

“I’m gonna cut to the chase,” he took a long drag of the cigar he held between his fingers, blowing the smoke out when he turned his head to the side. “You know why you’re here.”

“I reckon I do,” you answered quietly, trying to keep an ounce of confidence though your entire body felt like it would start shaking in fear. 

“I could have you stripped for the whole camp to see, but for propriety’s sake I’m only going to ask you this once… is it true?” He asked, his tone less stern but still eager. 

“Yes.”

He sighed, having heard the softness in your voice since you came in, he already knew. You’d never shown this side of yourself to the camp before. You were always confident, sure of yourself, cocky even. To think it was an act boiled his skin… but he wanted to take his time with this. You still had capabilities the likes he’s never seen, and if he wasn’t careful they could one day be used against him. You didn’t know about the O’Driscolls yet, and he sure as hell wouldn’t have you running off and joining them. It would be the death of the Van Der Linde gang, of that he was certain. 

“I’m gonna decide what to do with you, but until then, you stay out of my sight.”

He pointed outside of the tent, and you were honestly surprised that this was the extent of his questioning. Nothing about the lies? About the history? About anything at all?

You gave him a double glance, but scurried away in fears he might change his mind and tear you to shreds on the spot. You walked hastily towards Arthur, your face gaining more color to it once you were out of the line of danger. 

“You alright?” He asked, his furrowed brows reflecting his concern. 

“No,” you let out with a dramatic scoff. Your flare for over exaggeration was sometimes quite amusing to him. He just dropped his head and chuckled. 

“You’re fine,” he patted your shoulder before stepping past you and going to talk to Dutch. What he knows is that Susan Grimshaw spilled every nasty detail of this afternoon to the camp leader, but he also knows that he hasn’t had his say yet, and when it comes down to it, Dutch will side with his loyal enforcer over a disgruntled Miss Grimshaw. 

Dutch was stretching out his arms, sore from the ride in and out of town. It was a scouting trip, really, but it was enough to make him ache when all the stress was added. 

“First John leaving, now this. I can’t seem to catch a break, can I?” Dutch sighed out after his words, the toll they took on his mind caused him to shake his head of so many thoughts. 

“This ain’t so bad,” Arthur began, tilting his head from side to side. 

“How could you possibly think that?”

Arthur shrugged, reasoning with himself a few options before saying them out loud. 

“S’not like she did any harm. Only thing that’s come of it is a bit of surprise to everyone…” he trailed, sitting across from the man he called his father figure and his friend. The tension seemed to ease up the second he neared the man, but there was more to be done to diffuse the situation, and he was all too happy to insert himself as the cause of said diffusion. 

“She lied about who she is, for all we know she could be working with local law, or worse, the pinkertons.” 

Dutch’s raised concerns nearly made Arthur chuckle. When you first got here, facade or not, you were still just lost and looking for somewhere to call home. There were never any motives behind your gang participation other than needing a family.

“We haven’t had them on our trail in ages. Coming here, we finally put a stop to their sniffin’ around. Besides, she’s been the reason for our successful jobs lately… she’s been loyal enough to save my life despite our differences.”

“But she lied to us,” Dutch kept driving his point. A liar’s a liar, and they lie about other things. 

“She’s a scared kid, Dutch. She just wants a place to be,” Arthur defended, his arguments becoming more close and personal, which led Dutch to connect some other dots. 

He sighed, looking at Arthur and coming to an understanding of what he knew were past events. 

“You knew, didn’t you?” 

Arthur dropped his head into a subtle nod, not yet meeting Dutch’s eyes for his fear of a bad reaction. 

“Since the week she got here.”

Dutch had to laugh, because of course he did. Arthur was more in tune with the members of camp than he could ever be, and more than they could be with each other. He was like Hosea that way, his ability to connect and grow relationships with others was just a natural gift. He often thought it stemmed from Arthur’s great love of the unknown, and his endless curiosity. 

“How’d you figure it out?” 

“I didn’t, until I found some uh… rather feminine items in her saddle bag. She fessed up pretty quickly to me,” Arthur scratched the back of his neck, his nerves settling when he knew he wouldn’t be in any trouble. 

“Well,” Dutch started, coming to the edge of his open tent, looking for the troubled recruit among the busy movement of the camp. “We’ve taken in much worse, and it’s always been in our favor. And you’re right… She's just a scared kid. A scared kid with the quickest hands I’ve ever seen.”

There was a moment, and then Arthur smiled.

“So… She’s free n’ clear?” He asked, his tone hopeful, which Dutch noticed. Perhaps Red had made amends after all, and just as Dutch promised, Arthur was in her corner. This wasn’t her time of need, per se, but he knew she would have him when it arrived.

“I suppose so, although… I’m not going to be responsible for the court of public opinion,” he gestured to everyone in the camp, frantically working around just to keep themselves busy. With all the chaos going on, it’s the only thing they can do not to sit and gossip, which they do anyway. 

“I reckon I better keep her away from Susan?”��

“With a ten foot pole, preferably,” Dutch rolled his eyes. That woman was full of determination, and it could be both a great strength, as well as her worst weakness. 

Arthur smiled, ready to go make good on a promise he’d been waiting on for some time. “I’ll catch you later then.”

“Alright, Arthur.”

-

You didn’t know if Arthur’s conversation with Dutch would benefit you or condemn you, but you didn’t stick around to find out. He’d found you saddling your horse, just in case a hasty escape needed to be made. Yes, perhaps your delusions were getting a bit out of hand. 

“Where you goin’?”

“Depends,” you started, “How mad is he?”

Arthur huffed and grabbed your wrist, stilling your movements. “He ain’t mad.”

“No?” You could hardly believe it. “He seemed riled up to me.”

“I talked to him,” he explained, but gave no further intel. 

“You got magic words or somethin’?” You chuckled, slightly more relaxed since the news came better than you hoped, and Arthur wasn’t dragging you back to be punished or anything. “What’d you tell him?” 

“That you were gonna be loyal… and that you’d been scared.”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes, trying to play off his last words like they weren’t true. “I ain’t scared.”

“Really? You were about to run, weren’t you?” He pointed to your full saddle bag and stocked up horse, ready to disappear at a moment’s notice. 

You caved. 

“He gave me a little fright is all,” you toed your boot into the dirt as you spoke, looking back up to find him nodding at your horse. 

“Climb up, let’s go to town before closing time,” he walked around to the other side where his horse was hitched from earlier today, still saddled since Bill hadn’t made his rounds yet. 

You complied, but were unsure of the motives for such a trip. 

“Is Dutch paying you to take me somewhere? He want you to kill me quietly?” 

It was just a joke, but he was getting tired of the overly dramatic interactions. He wasn’t sure what all transpired in your past, albeit knowing more than everyone else… even still, he figured there had to be something that gave you your theatrical touch. 

“Knock it off, would ya?”

“Sorry.”

The ride wasn’t long, but the sun was down when you both tied your horses to the poll in front of the general store. You’d been in here a few times, and the man behind the counter always cowered in fear of Texas Red the unkillable. No matter your manners or gentility, that’s just how it was. 

“What’re we doin’ here?” You adjusted your hat, wiping some sweat off your forehead and following him up the front steps. 

“I remember sayin’ I’d get you a dress a while back, we’re here to make good on it.”

You stopped in your tracks, a wide smile blossoming on your face when you heard him say it. He’d remembered, and been waiting for it since the night he uttered the words. 

He noticed you weren’t close behind him, and turned, catching the sweet expression you wore, but brushing it off with a sideways smile. 

“C’mon now, gotta pick it out.” 

You followed after him, and once inside, the man behind the counter seemed to be nervous, as usual. He didn’t seem to be weary of having you both in, just a bit anxious. Arthur knew his presence held power, but he figured with your reputation in this town, and others around… your presence was bound to hold more. 

“What can I do for you? Need more socks?” The man asked you kindly, and you shook your head, a small laugh escaping you. 

“No, we’re uh… we’re here to get a dress for my wife,” Arthur spoke evenly, his confidence showing through when he had to put on a show. 

Your head snapped to him, and though you knew he was intending to buy the dress for you, a thought sprang into your mind. Abigail. She was going to be his wife. 

This sweet little moment, with Arthur keeping his promise, and making a big to-do over your acceptance into camp, was all part of your own little fantasy. It wouldn’t last, and when you returned to camp, he’d be with her again, helping with Jack. You tried to shake the thought from your mind, wanting to enjoy this sliver of time with him. 

“Of course! I’ve got a new selection,” he pulled out the catalog, and opened the pages to a section with different types of skirts, petticoats, chemises, and corsets. All were beautiful, but your eye was drawn to a more simple style. It was a work dress, which would be far more practical for you than any of the other ones. 

“I’m not too good with all this. What do you think, Red? Which one would she like best?” He tossed you a smirk, leaning his elbow on the counter while he let you browse over the pages a bit longer, turning them over with a furrowed brow of focus. 

“What color does this one come in?” You asked the man over the counter, keeping your act up, but letting your hints of excitement show through. 

“That one is a nice pale blue, perfect for spring and summer time,” he spoke firmly, becoming more relaxed the longer you both were in the store. Yes, he’d heard the whispers, and for you, he’d actually seen your acts of a quick trigger. But here, you didn’t seem like a threat, so he stopped acting like you were.

“Blue, huh… Might bring out her eyes a bit, hey Arthur?” Now it was your turn to smirk, and he chuckled, nodding back to you and tapping the page twice with a heavy finger. 

“You’re right it would, make em’ look like crystal,” he played along, making you blush under the brim of your hat, unbeknownst to the man behind the counter. 

“It’s gotta be that one, then.”

Arthur chuckled, counting out the cash that the dress price was listed under, tossing it down on the counter and nodding to the man. 

“You heard the kid, we’ll take that one,” he spoke in a playful tone, ignoring the movements of the man as he scurried to the back rooms, getting your dress pieces together. 

Arthur lifted the brim of your hat, and smiled genuinely at the look on your face. It was excited, sweet, and grateful. He wanted to buy you the entire stock of the store just to ensure that look stayed on your face, no matter the irrationality of it. He’d become quite accustomed to giving you his time and his efforts, and this was no different. The only difference is that now he wanted to, wholeheartedly. The deal you’d struck with him, the one where you were going to teach him your methods of shooting faster, were now null and void. He didn’t want to take anything from you, he just wanted to give.

When the store worker returned with a large box in hand, Arthur thanked him for his time, carrying the thing over his shoulder and heading for the door, which you opened for him. 

Getting outside, you went for the horses, but he stopped you with a swat of your hand away from the reins. 

“Can’t go back yet, gotta see how this looks on ya,” he insisted, nodding for you to follow him yet again. He walked for a bit before coming up on the shed with a small lantern inside. It looked like it only housed tools and ropes and things of the like, but there was space enough to change in. “Came across this when I was out one day. Took a whole nap before someone realized I was in here.” 

“How convenient,” you teased, taking the box from his hands and eagerly walking into the confined space. 

“I’ll be out here,” he mumbled as you shut the door, putting a shovel against it since it didn’t really even close all the way. 

You knew he wasn’t the peeping type, so you began tearing away at your clothes, the ones that had been worn completely through by now and needed replacing anyway. You had more back at camp, but you had always missed dresses. This would be the first of many you would probably buy for yourself, but it was going to remain your favorite, because of who it came from. 

It was just like clock work, muscle memory helping you to remember all the little ties and snaps that needed to be in place, the corset laces that needed to be pulled enough to fit the outer fabrics. You knew you probably needed a good hair brushing and face washing to actually look like a young woman again, but for now, the dress was doing wonders on your self esteem… or at least it did until you realized you couldn’t finish putting it on by yourself. The buttons on the back went up higher than your shoulder blades, and sat in a near impossible spot to reach. If there was a mirror, you could probably just contort yourself enough to get it together, but in a dark, barely lit tool shed, your options were limited. 

You sighed, pulling the shovel away from the door and peaking your head outside. Arthur had nearly gone through an entire cigarette in the time you took to change. 

“Arthur?” You asked timidly. 

“M’here, you alright?” 

“I can’t reach the back,” you admitted, just slightly embarrassed. “Can you give me a hand?” 

He was all too happy to comply, stomping out the cigarette on the ground and taking quick steps to reach you. “Turn around.”

You did as he told you, turning so he had access to the open back of the dress. He couldn’t see you all too well in this light, but even from what he could see, a few words entered his mind from a past conversation you had with him. 

I used to be quite the stunner… and he surely believed it. 

His fingers caressed the exposed skin of your back before buttoning the fabric closed, smoothing it down over your shoulders and watching the way it fit you perfectly. 

“Don’t mention this to Abigail,” you joked, turning back around and trying to keep the mood light. It was beginning to feel too intimate, and you knew you couldn’t allow yourself to feel that way with Arthur anymore. 

“Why?” 

“Well, I might be a bit old fashioned, but isn’t it frowned upon for a taken man to be helping another woman with her dress?” 

It was just another joke, but he seemed to be completely thrown off by the implications. 

“I ain’t a taken man,” he confessed, looking at you with a stare that was all too deep, and all too consuming. He needed to stop that, but you didn’t have the heart to make him. 

“Not yet,” you corrected, but again it was you in the wrong. 

“No,” he shook his head, trying to bring a serious tone to the conversation. “I’m not gonna marry Abigail.”

Your face screwed up in confusion, thinking about all the times when he collapsed in her tent with Jack, just to get up and help him in the night. He was Jack’s new father, wasn’t he? That was the deal he made. 

“Why not? I thought that you were- well since you were helping with Jack and… what about your deal?”

“I said I was gonna do right by this boy, and I am… But Abigail won’t have me,” he shrugged, admitting to the rejection she gave of his offer. “She’s still in love with John, n’ I can understand it.”

It should have made you feel a bit of sadness, to know that even with all that Arthur was, someone would turn him away like that. ‘Abigial won’t have me’ sounded like perhaps he thought himself not good enough, just as he always does. Despite all of this, you didn’t feel sorrow, you felt an abundance of joy. A wide smile spread across your cheeks, and he furrowed his brow. 

“What’re you smilin’ about?”

“Nothing,” you dropped the smile and shook it off, running a hand up his arm and giving it a sincere squeeze. “I’m sorry, Arthur. I know you’ve meant well.”

“S’alright. Hosea’s been tellin’ me since Jack was born that I shouldn’t have offered. He doesn’t think we’re right for one another, somethin’ like that.” 

“I agree, you’re not right for each other,” you spoke out loud, though that thought was meant only for your head. 

Arthur seemed to be catching on slightly to your behavior, stepping a bit closer and staring downwards at you. 

“Yeah? And who am I right for?” He teased, watching the redness of your cheeks spread down your neck and shoulders with every breath you took. 

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out,” you did your best to counter his taunts, stepping away from him and going to collect your old clothes from the shed. Once they were in hand you turned back to the opening of the alley, making way for the horses. “You coming?” 

And of course, he followed, shaking his head and chuckling under his breath. 

-

The next day fared better than you thought it would, if you’re being honest. 

You didn’t really know why, if Dutch had said anything, or if Hosea did, but after you returned to camp the previous night, everyone seemed to be acting just fine. They treated you differently for sure, but not badly. In fact, you noticed the men had a certain kind of reverence to you that they never held before. The same they did with the other women. 

Maybe it was just the beautiful dress that Arthur bought for you, the light and pure color of it giving you a sense of being ethereal, having finally exposed the raw feminine beauty that was hiding for so long. You reckon you’d even start growing out your hair again, as the short style coming to your chin was not how you preferred to have it in the first place.

You still went to work doing the same tasks you normally did, but were careful not to rip your dress or over-exert yourself, given you were still in the same physical condition as the day before. 

“Charl- I mean, Miss Brooks?” 

You heard a voice chirp softly from beside you, and you dropped the wagon supplies for now to walk over to the owner of said voice, Tilly.

“Yes, Miss Tilly?” You extended a smile, and she smiled back, albeit a tight and awkward one from where she was sitting. You took a step or two closer, and she had to shake her head after getting a better look at you. 

“I just-” she cut herself short on account of the words already jumbling in her head. “I don’t want there to be any awkwardness between us.”

You furrowed your brow to her, unsure of what she could have possibly meant. 

“Why would there be?” 

“Well, if you can recall,” she started, a nervous chuckle in her speech. “I tried to make some… advances towards you. Back when I thought you were uh… a young man.”

You smiled again and ducked your head, a scoff of laughter and a nod of your head brought about less tension. It was no big deal. 

“Don’t worry yourself, Miss Tilly. I was the one who tricked ya, I oughta be apologizing. Probably should to Abigail, too.”

“Abigail?”

You tilted your head, recalling the scene. About two weeks before Jack was born. You’d done the same thing Arthur did, with not a care of revealing yourself in the future. 

“Before John even left, I offered her to be Jack’s ‘father’ when he was born. I guess I was pretty certain at the time no one was gonna find out,” you explained, leaning against the wagon she sat by, mending a shirt that looked like Arthur’s. You could tell by the wear and tear around the shoulders, where his broadness likely just caused the fabric to break down faster. 

“Could you really have gone on like that?” 

“I don’t know,” you pondered, another small laugh escaping you. “Maybe not, since I had to tell everyone I was eighteen just for them to believe it.”

“You aren’t eighteen?” She seemed surprised. Maybe you just had a young face. 

“No, ma’am. Twenty two nearing twenty three as a matter of fact.”

“I’ll say,” she tutted, throwing down the shirt she was finished with, and picking up a new one. “You had us all convinced. Makes me wonder where you really came from.”

You thought about telling her, but the story was long and today was a busier day than before. There was actual work to be done in preparing for the next job, a few days ahead. 

“Some place I didn’t wanna be,” you chided, stepping away from the wagon, nodding to her in thanks for the small chat. “I’ll let you get back to it.”

“Alright. I’ll catch you around,” she spoke sweetly, a kind look of relaxation on her face, now that she knew where she stood. 

You went back to work, making sure that neither Dutch nor Hosea saw you with idle hands today. You wanted to make sure that no matter what happened now, you wouldn’t be cast aside. You still had the abilities they needed, but with a skirt on your hips, they saw you differently, and it was up to you to show them you were not going to be ignored when it came to jobs in the future. 

You hated that the rest of the women in camp were just seen as stationary helpers, only capable of mending clothes or cleaning up the camp, or even just laying the groundwork in town for the men to actually pull jobs. You’ve seen Abigail in action, she was smart and cunning and had a great way with words, she could be the difference in things staying civil or having a shoot out during a quiet robbery, but the men overlook her gifts. You know the women in this camp have great potential, and perhaps if they let you continue as you have been, they will open the opportunities for the others as well.

Tags: @photo1030 @sheepdogchick @snoopysshark @strvberrydoll @yyiikes @phantasyy @puffyhairedhipster @scorpio-echo @hollyskjlap

[agentrouka-blog]

Hey!

I’m not sure if this topic has already been talked to death (since it’s a show related question and I wasn’t in the fandom back then), but what was the point of Jon being King in the North if not for Jonsa?

I was thinking about writing a show-canon fic without the Ramsay/Sansa plotline—ended up giving up on it—but I can’t stop thinking about the show.

Jon being King mainly creates conflict/tension between him and Sansa. Okay, maybe only is a bit of a stretch, but the conflict between him and Dany could have been resolved so easily there is almost no point to it, imo. It would be sooooooo boring, and the writers knew that. That is why the show only brings up the possibility of marriage between them after he’s already bent the knee (not like almost every other alliance made in this fucking show wasn't forged trough marriage, like, at least bring it up!)

What I'm trying to say is that, imo, every single struggle in the Jon/Dany relationship feels forced and unnatural, specifically because Jon is King, because them being together would have been the easiest thing in the world if they truly wanted an alliance.

If the show really wanted Jon/Dany, they would’ve made Sansa Queen in the North, leaving Jon as just the bastard brother of the Queen, too insignificant for Dany to consider as a political match, giving them the so needed human heart in conflict with itself.

Which makes me think that this Jon/dany realatioship was written atop jonsa. Like, we could see the foundations they had laid for them but someone made the decision that Jon/Dany falling in love in two seasons and him killing her in the end would be a better story (I'm ignoring the possibility of poljon because I don't think that would ever be a tactic that Jon would use).

A bit rambly, I know. I'm sorry.

I don't think that's necessarily true.

The main conflict between the North and Dany (and the Iron Throne) was always going to center around Northern Independence. Robb's turn as king in the North exists primarily to underscore how ingrained the desire for independence from the Iron Throne is in the North (and even the Riverlands), and it makes sense for the Northern lords to crown an available Stark the moment they have the capacity to do it again.

This conflict is ultimately why Jon in the show ends up killing Dany. He knows that Sansa will never submit to Dany, especially not after what she did in King's Landing. And Dany will never stop demanding submission from everyone.

The showrunners were always going to crown their preferred rugged hero to carry that conflict during the actual run of the show, and then use the crowning at the very end to be the culmination of Sansa's arc. She credibly and consistently carries the cause of independence. That's her role, while Jon's circles around (his abject failures to protect the people from) the ice and fire threats.

Because otherwise - if they had crowned pro-independence Sansa in Season Six - the show would have been about a political conflict between two women (three if you count Cersei drinking wine in windows) with the male main characters all beholden as subjects and advisers to their will and decisions. The Long Night would have been subject to the political considerations of both women.

It was never ever going to happen. Look at HOTD. The story is actually centered around two women in conflict, and still they can't bring themselves to actually tell it.

So, regardless what their intentions were with jonsa or jonerys (i happen to agree with you there, though), Jon was always going to be crowned king by them because otherwise he's not at the center of the ice and fire construct, and they would never have allowed that.

[mehwmidklpe]

YKNOW WHAT I NEED mortal reader having visions of percy in his past adventures and they start to paint those visions to make sure their not going insaine (they are) and percy sees of the painting of him in Tatartes fighting

Ofc if you don't what to do it you don't having to AND TAKE YOUR TIME!

You felt like you've been going crazy.

Visions.

They've been haunting you for weeks. You can't get rid of them.

Every single one of them had to do something with Greek mythology.

Every single one of them had to do something with Percy Jackson.

You couldn't lose them, so you started painting them.

To make sure you weren't going crazy, that what you saw actually made sense.

Only it didn't.

Your best friend flying on a horse didn't make sense.

A lady with an arrow who turned inot animals didn't make sense.

A man with talking snakes didn't make sense.

Another man with a lot of tools on an island with Percy could've made sense, but it just didn't.

You couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, couldn't think. Those visions cam whenever you least exoected it.

You were lucky enough to say you never had gotten one infornt of Percy.

Oh!

Of course you talked too soon!

Percy was ranting about something as he sat on your bed, a smile on his face.

The smile was really cute, he must've been very passionate about what he was talkkng about.

Such a shame you didn't hear any of it.

You felt this feeling in your stomach, a feeling you've unfortunately grown very familliar with the past few months.

No.

Nah-ah.

Not now.

Not right now.

Not infront of Percy.

Never mind, here you go!

'Percy stop!'

He didn't stop.

"Y/n?" Percy asks with a frown, confused and a bit worried at your behavior.

You could barely hear him as you stood up and walked away.

With a frown, Percy rushed after you. "Y/n? Hey, what's wrong?"

He watched as you walked into a room full of paintings and quickly grabbed an oil palette before finding an empty canvas panel.

Without saying a word, you quickly started painting as if you were in a rush.

You were stressed out, Percy could tell.

"Y/n what's going on??" Percy demanded.

Percy didn't stop.

He wanted to choke this goddess.

Choke her with her own poison.

Percy had never seen someone paint as fast as you, but you looked like you were going crazy.

His sea colored eyes twitched as he saw what you were painting.

That was him.

In tartarus.

Percy looked around the room to take a look at all the paintings.

Suddenly he felt dizzy.

It was as he was looking at a gallery based on his entire life.

His heart was beating fast, a beep echoing trough his ears. And though it all, you were still painting.

"Y/n!"

He snatched your arm, forcing you to stop painting.

That was thd moment you finally snapped out of it and looked at him.

Your gaze flickered all over his face, as if trying to stop seeing that hideous, angry version of himself you saw in your head just seconds ago.

Instead you wanted to boy you fell in love with back.

The boy swallowed. "What is all this?? How do you–Why–??"

"I don't know." Your voice trembled.

"I keep getting these vision. Visions about you and these Greek gods and monsters and wars. I'm trying to understand."

"That's why you've been studying Greek mythology so much lately.." Percy realized.

You nod. "I don't know what's happening to me Percy.. and I don't know why you're in all these visions and what the heck they mean cause what the–"

"They're real! I'm a demigod, thise visons are things that happend to me trough the years, my dad is Poseidon, you're a seer." He blurted out.

You paused. "What?"

"Remember Rachel?" Percy asks. "Yeah, of course, we were friends until she loved to another schoool." You recalled.

Percy nodded. "She's like you. Only she's the Oracle now."

You frowned. "What?"

"Y/n, listen. What I'm gonna say may sound crazy, but we're friends so I need you to believe me." Your friend spoke to you.

He took a deep breath and then snapped. "Greek mythology is real, I'm a part of it, lt dad is a god, Poseidon, I'm half god, I've been going to a camp for halfbloods for years now, I've been in wars, saved the world a couple of times, made enemies, lost friends, the casual Greek stuff."

You blinked.

Blinked again.

"What?"

"Remember last year. You said you were pivking up my birthday gift, next thing you knew everythung went black and before you knew it you were laying in my bed?" Percy reminded you.

"What does that have to do with anything?" You asked him.

"You fell asleep because of a curse, meanwhile the war against Kronos and his army happened, I played a big part of it..." He sighed deeply before continuing.

"but when I saw you laying there.. with that amazing gift in your arms.. holding it so tightly as if you couldn't let go without knwoing I got it for my birthday. I had to get you to safety."

You just stared at him. "That doesn't make sense. There never was a war in Manhattan."

Percy scoffed at that. "Of course it doesn't make sense, Y/n. None of this does." He shook his head.

"But you know how you kept complaing about how you kept seeing weird things, but people always told you you were crazy?"

"Percy–" "It's because you can see what I see. The mist can't trick you." He went on.

You didn't even know whst to day. This all just was way too much.

"I'm a demigod, you're a seer."

You shook your head. "No. No. That can't be, I'm just–I'm going crazy, there's something wrong with my brain, I know that. There's something seriously broken. But the Greek mythology, I'm not a part of that, Percy, I can't–"

Percy grabbed your cheeks and pulled you into a kiss.

That waw the last thing you had expected.

But it was also the only good thing that has happened in the last few stressful months.

And you actuallyet yourself have it this time.

When he pulled away, his forehead rested against yours, his breathing ragged.

"I know this sounds crazy, Y/n." He assured you.

Then his hand came up to tuck a strand of your soft hair behind your cheek.

"But it's true. And I know that this feels selfish, but it feels so good to know that you light just understand. That you can see what i see. You know how great that feels?"

You nodded, a single tear falling down your cheek. "Honestly I thought I was actually crzay. The only one who saw it."

Percy shook his head. "You have me. And I have friends you'd love to meet who can see just the way you do." He assured you.

You smiled at that. "That sounds nice." "Knowing that you're not alone? It does, doesn't it?" He smiled back.

You held onto him tighter. "Are you okayn" you know what has happened to him. You knew better than anyone.

You have seen what happened.

You have felt what happened.

You felt the same pain he felt.

"Yeah. I'm okay now. Just.. now you know.. you're gonna gave to face a lot of trouble " Your friend who was now not-much-just-a-friend antmore warned you.

You shrugged. "I was getting bored anyways." You blinked away your tears.

"Great, but don't get yourself killed."

"You're not getting rid of me anytime soon."

"Wouldn't want it any other way."

His respond made you smile again.

Percy's thumb wiped away your fallen tear. "I'll do anythung to keeo you out of any harm." He promised.

"Worry about yourself first, Percy. You deserve it." You tell him.

You paused. "That and rest." You added.

And so he let himself finally rest for once.

In your arms.

If this was bad, I'm literally falling asleep while writing this so bear with me.