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sweetestlamb · 4 years ago

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Put On A Show

Summary: Cha-young goes to her high school reunion and brings a certain mafia guest.

Author's note: I heard someone wanted a on top and in control CY so here it is! I already had this idea about a HS reunion so I simply combined the two ideas and got this smutty brainchild. This is rated E for extremely dirty so read at your own discretion, I planned on writing more fics of them pining but I really do love a women in control so I took a break from my cockblocking to fill this prompt. Hope you enjoy ;)

Dear class of 2005,

That time has come once again, our class reunion! This year's reunion will be held in the Phoenix Hall in honor of us all rising from the ashes of this pandemic and being reborn stronger than ever before! Tickets available for purchase below. There are separate tickets for food and drinks and this year's theme will be luxury: a life of decadence. We look forward to seeing you all.

Cha-young skims the email that had initially landed in her spam folder, only the name of her old high school attached in the subject line catches her attention enough to make her open the otherwise nondescript email.

Another high school reunion.

She had been evading these gatherings like the plague itself, ever since the last time she'd made the mistake of going to one. She had just landed her job at Wusang Firm and finally felt confident in herself, in high school she'd always been the loud one and the weird one but now she was a lawyer and a damn good one if she said could say so herself. Nobody could dismiss her now or jokingly remind her of the bowl cut she had sported before, she was always the butt of their jokes and she was tired of feeling small beneath their condescending thumb. She finally had something worth bragging about.

She'd stepped in with a smirk on her face, tight black dress and heels clicking as she walked waving at people she knew but didn't deign important enough to stop her entrance for a chat. The buffet table was her sole destination but she'd been intercepted by familiar annoying high pitched voices, Chang Ae-ram and Bom Min-he, the popular girls in her school and the banes of her existence both rushed over to her with drinks in their hands.

They never had anything kind to say to her and seemed to seek her out simply to put her down or remind her of how much of a “pathethic loser” she was in high school, as if she hadn’t been the one living her life.

The verbal sparring began almost immediately, with them all battling for lead in the "my life is going great" contest, coyly listing their accolades and accomplishment and assertively she told them both about her new job at one of Korea's most successful and well known law firm.

"Oh." Ae-ram answered with a tight smile that pulled her surgically enhanced face into a wrinkleless grin.

Score.

She sipped her drink feeling victorious as they both avoided her brazen eye contact. She had just opened her mouth to make her leave when a vindictive smile stretched over Min-he's face, "A job is so important but what about a family? Surely you don't plan on dying alone, how come you never bring anyone with you? We're all so sad that you don't have anyone still." She gripped the stem of her wine glass at the fake concern, suddenly the group was larger and everyone was congratulating Min-he on her engagement, the other woman waving the huge diamond on her finger in her face.

It was so vapid and stupid and she knew that it didn't make her any less of a woman that she didn't have a man but those words still burned. She had noticed that everyone was paired up and she was one of the only people who came alone, she'd been seeing someone before the reunion but at her mention of the gathering he had told her that "things were getting too serious for him" rolling out of her bed while tugging on his underwear and that had been the last she heard from him.

She'd spent the rest of the night on the outskirts avoiding her college mates and later stumbled out on her heels unsteady from the amount of liquor she'd consumed.

That had been her last reunion. She'd pointedly ignored all the invitations since then, the shame of that night still stinging all those years later. They only served as a reminder that she still had no one and regardless of how successful she was at her career she would be deemed undesirable by others.

It was such a fucking joke but she couldn't shake the insecurity despite knowing how false it was.

The sound of keys jingling near the front door knock her free from her reminiscing and she spins around to the sight of Vincenzo struggling to squeeze through the entrance with several bags in his arms, he never wants to make more than one trip- the overachiever. She nods her head in hello before trudging over to him without closing her laptop, greeting him easily with a peck on the lips freeing a few bags from his hands.

"Did you get my cookies?" She asks again despite the various text messages she had sent reminding him about her sweet treats, he rolls his eyes at her again swinging another bag into her waiting hands.

"Here. When I told you to text me necessities, cookies are not what I had in mind." He flicks her forehead lightly silencing her cry of pain with a follow-up kiss to the spot, she grumbles but stuffs the soft baked chocolate chip cookies into her mouth, cheeks puffing out like a chipmunk hoarding food for the winter.

Smooth as a well-oiled machine they put the groceries away, the sound of cabinets opening and closing the soundtrack for their movements. When everything is correctly put away, she makes her way back over to her laptop only then remembering what she'd been doing.

She stares at the screen contemplating her next move before she feels a familiar heavy weight on her shoulder, his breath is hot on her neck when he speaks, "What are you looking at?" He barely waits for her reply covering her hand on the sleek mouse, scrolling down to read the entire email. She waits anxiously in her seat as he reads the words out loud, obviously she had thought about him when she first received the email but her last experience had made her nervous about asking him to attend.

They hadn't been officially dating for long. They'd been too focused on taking down Babel and the aftermath had left them both with unanswered questions about the nature of their relationship.

Only this time when she asked him the same question she'd been asking since he crash landed into her life unexpectedly, after everything was over, he'd looked over at her and said in a small voice "Not if you want me to stay."

She'd been a coward and he had taken her silence as rejection and it had taken a dramatic and honestly cliché airport interruption, complete with her pushing past airport staff and screaming his name crying as they told her that the plane to Malta had already taken off.

She'd returned to her house with red rimmed eyes that widened into huge saucers at the sight of him in front of her house, large suitcase beside him.

Gasping she ran into his arms, as terrified as she'd felt that fateful night so long ago in the underpass.

"I couldn't go."

He tugged her closer, burrowing his face in her thick hair and breathing harshly his voice was raw and rough like he'd been crying too.

"Because of me?" She asked shock laden in her words and that's when he drew away to stare into her eyes and with a defeated nod he said, "Because of you."

The rest had been history. He came inside with her and he hadn't left since.

"Are you going?"

She stills at the inquiry, head dizzy from the memories racing through her mind.

"What?"

He places a finger on the computer screen, "This reunion. Are you going?"

She feels a small sting in her chest at his words, with a sad smile she starts to shake her head in decline but then he chuckles, "We should go. I'll be your arm candy." He teases wagging his eyebrows in her peripheral.

Oh.

"You want to come with me?" She repeats stunned by his casual offer, this seemed huge for some reason and she could feel her heart pounding erratically in her brittle chest.

He finally straightens up walking off to the kitchen grabbing a cup, pulling the fridge open.

"Yeah I mean unless you have another boyfriend you want to bring with you."

She laughs at his joke but internally her blood sings, she didn't want to get her hopes up but now she can barely contain her happiness.

She can always count him to have her back.

Slamming the laptop shut she circumvents the chair running over to him, he looks at her with a raised eyebrow prying the cup of water from his hands she pulls him down into a grateful kiss. He hums low when she slips her tongue into his lax mouth, this kiss vastly different from the peck she'd greeted him with at the door.

She can taste the caffeine on his tongue, the strong flavor of his favorite espresso swirling around her taste buds, pushing him firmer into the counter she laps at his mouth eager for a deeper exploration. He melts under her touch letting her manhandle him and move his head as she sees fit, his complete surrender makes her hot under the collar.

It's with reluctance that she pulls away from his addicting lips.

She smirks as he sways into her body as if intoxicated.

"Sorry. We have to go soon, it's game night."

It's a weekly tradition at the plaza, tonight they're playing Taboo, it had been announced in the group chat that Mr. Nam had forced them to join. It was chaotic with so many different voices there but it made her feel warm, like they were their own little family.

He groans disappointed but nods slowly, adjusting himself discretely but not enough for her vigilant eyes. She stares at the hardon visible through the thin material of his sweatpants.

"Let's go before you get me any more excited." He grumbles, picking up the snacks he'd purchased for tonight. She smiles triumphantly at his back still in disbelief that she has that kind of power over the great Corn Salad, Vincenzo Cassano.

Game night is a success, filled with laughter and playful arguing. They all work together in pairs and their team loses horribly with her accidentally shouting out all the taboo words every time it's her turn. Mi-Ri and Larry Kang- from the dance studio make a great team using dance moves and inside jokes to solve their words in seconds much to everyone’s shock, they both adamantly deny any change in their relationship at the groups subsequent teasing.

Nobody believes them.

Just like they hadn’t believed her and Vincenzo.

They get home at midnight and both collapse before they can finish what they started earlier in the kitchen, but cuddling is great too. He’s always the little spoon.

The reunion isn't a point of conversation again and she almost forgets about it completely until it's Saturday, the day of the event and she wakes up alone. It's not totally abnormal with him being a morning person but she still groans in annoyance at his disappearance. The bed is so cold without his body letting off heat like a human furnace.

The sun is high in the sky when she finally pulls herself out of bed much later, 12:45pm according to her phone and she sits up with a full body stretch, body popping and cracking.

"Vincenzo? Are you here?" She calls out to the empty house, receiving no reply.

With a sigh she goes to shower and brush her teeth, he should be back soon from wherever he went.

When she finally comes out of the bathroom, a cloud of steam following her she pauses at the package on the bed. A huge white box catches her eye, the gold silken bow striking across the large rectangle. Taking a closer step she runs a finger across the smooth material in wonder.

There's a note and immediately she recognizes the distinctive penmanship.

Open me.

Not needing to be told twice she tugs the bow watching it unraveling before lifting the top of the box, peering inside with glowing eyes.

She lets out a soft gasp at the sight of the piercing white material that is almost perfectly camouflaged in the matching box. She lifts it with awe, watching material unfurl until she can see it clearly. It's a dress made from expensive fabric based on the its luxurious feel in her hands and her eyes widen at the cape that hangs lower than the dress itself.

"He was listening to me."

She remembers her group chat with the ladies from the plaza, sending them different options for her reunion and letting them help to pick it her outfit. She wanted something that would garner attention but that still felt like her, and that's when she'd seen it. The new Alexander Wang collection, all white blazer dress with a cape and button details, it looked like luxury and she knew it had to be hers.

The ladies had all been in agreement sending her thumbs up emojis and demanding that she purchase the stunning dress. She'd quickly added it to her cart but much to her dismay as she'd been entering her card information, that dreaded message popped up at the top of her screen.

This item is no longer available. Sorry, try again.

Her heart had sunk and despite Miri's computer savvy and Yeon-Jin 's online shopping prowess they had not been able to locate the dress on any other site. It was sold out, everywhere.

Or so she thought.

Wordlessly she slips into the dress and surprisingly it fits like a glove, as if it was tailored just for her but that can't be.

"I'll zip that up for you."

She jumps at the dark voice behind her and then a chill runs up her spine at his fingertips on her bare back. He slides the thick curtain of her hair to the side to zip it up the rest of the way, their eyes meet in the full length mirror across the room.

"You look beautiful." He compliments easily, eyes caressing her body from her head down to her bare toes.

She feels like a goddess under his eyes.

"Where did you get this? It was sold out everywhere." She stares at him in wonder and he smiles at her gaping mouth, "I called in a favor. I knew a designer who owed me a favor." He shrugs as if it's nothing that he knows designers who are connected to the Alexander Wang, she's still not used to his influence.

Wait.

"Do you know Alexander Wang?" She shouts in surprise spinning to stare at him and his easy smile and open hand gesture is enough of an answer.

"I got your measurements from Mr.Tak. I wanted tonight to be perfect for you."

Her nerves have been shot all week, it's true that they haven't discussed the reunion at all but that doesn't mean it hasn't been on a mind even haunting her dreams.

She didn't want to be embarrassed again. She knew that she shouldn't let them get to her, she didn't have to prove herself to anyone but for once she just wanted to make them all eat those condescending words. She wanted to show them that she was the same weird girl from high school but she was even more now, also a successful woman and there was nothing wrong with being both sides of those coins.

Without her even saying one word he'd been able to detect how important this night was for her.

"Thank you." She breathes tears glistening on her eyes, he wraps both arms around her waist beaming at her in the mirror.

"Don't thank me yet you didn't even see the shoes yet."

Without waiting for her answer he steps away to lift a pair of sparkling shoes from the box, the red soles immediately notifying her of the exorbitant brand.

She gapes at the shoes and then a smirking Vincenzo and then back at the shoes, "Are you crazy? Are those Louboutin's?" She asks the obvious question turning the shoes over to stare at the vibrant scarlet soles. A certain Bronxite’s voice blaring in her head about blood shoes.

"They did say the theme was luxury. I thought these were just right for you." Squealing like a kid in candy store she sits down on the bed with both shoes in hand, but before she can slip them on he's lowering himself to his knees. The sight is enough to stop her in her tracks, her traitorous imagination running wild at the implications and possibilities. When he takes the shoes from her loose grip she merely watches as he slides the shoes onto her feet, just like the dress they too fit perfectly.

"I feel like Cinderella." She chuckles trying to break the tension and the swell in her chest but his bright smile only makes her chest constrict tighter, she doesn't know if she'll survive tonight.

"Hong Cha-young!" She freezes at the sound of Ae-ram's squealing voice only pausing for a moment before turning with a tense smile.

Here we go.

The woman is flagged by her usual posse and parrots, who are always ready to echo her biting remarks and she gulps down her dirty martini needing some liquid courage.

As if sensing her unease instantly Vincenzo takes the hand that was artistically placed in the pocket of his fitting white dress pants and curls it around her waist, grounding her with the simple touch. She turns to him and he greets her with a calming smile that she can't help but return.

I've got your back. He says with only a slight lift of his lips.

She takes a deep breath.

Ae-ram's smile dims as she gets closer to them, her eyes honed on the hand on her hip and she leans fully into the warm body pressed against her side.

Min-he speaks first, an equally constipated smile on her face, "Who's this? You've never brought anyone before. Is this a work friend?" She almost rolls her eyes at the ridiculous question, as if work friends would be this comfortable with each other. They're already finding excuses, grasping at straws and creating complicated solutions for something that is easy to understand simply because they don’t think she’s worthy of attention. That large hand tightens lightly before a light chuckle reaches her ear, “Vincenzo Cassano, lawyer and the lucky man who gets to call her my mine.” She fidgets in his hold blushing at his bold introduction and watching all eyes widen at them, nobody speaks at first clearly in shock at the revelation.

“Vinshenzo? What kind of name is that?” Someone harps from the back of the crowd and she feels her hackles rise, yes she might have struggled with the pronunciation of his name at first but it felt petty and intentional right now not an honest mistake like her mispronunciation had been.

But before she can unleash her anger, another old classmates breaks the tense stalemate.

“Oh you’re the Italian lawyer I heard about on the new, who took down Babel! Great job!”

She had also helped with that, them being a team but nobody seems to care about that all focusing on Vincenzo, all herding around her Italian like he’s a celebrity and she watches shock as he easily wins them over.

“Sì, ero io. Il piacere è tutto tuo.” Yes that was me, the pleasure is all yours.

The group minus Ae-ram and Min-he all oh and ah at his effortless Italian despite having no clue what exactly he just said, she too is clueless at the quickly stated sentence but the mischievous smirk on his handsome face informs her of all that she needs to know, he is mocking them right to their faces. She hides a smile behind her hands, pretending to cough into her fingers.

Wordlessly, the group separates based on sex-she watches helplessly as Vincenzo is tugged away in a boisterous discussion about the state of Korean football- and she is left alone with those harpies but unlike the other reunions suddenly she is the most interesting woman there, regardless of Ae-ram trying to steal the show with pictures of her new full breed dog. She watches amused as the other woman is pushed aside and she is accosted on both sides, questions firing off like rockets.

“Where did you meet him?”

“Does he have a brother?”

“When are you getting married? You have to marry him!”

“Does he always smell that good?”

She turns flabbergasted to hear that question coming from Ae-ram’s right hand woman, Min-he and Ae-ram glares at her looking betrayed before she storms off with her professional head shots of her dog. She expects Min-he to trail after the spiteful primadonna but to her shock the other woman moves in closer, joining the firing brigade with their million questions about the handsome Italian.

They all settle down when the man they are so curious about returns, hand back on her waist like that its resting place.

Her ears ring from their coos and shrill “awws” but she leans into him nonetheless happy to have him back, already exhausted dealing with these people.

Then she notes that the tone of the questions suddenly shift as they begin to bombard the Italian Korean all at once. There are....more flirtatious when speaking to him and she feels her blood curl at the unprecedented change.

“Are all Italians this handsome?” Her eye twitches at the bold inquiry, subconsciously she feels her eyes narrow into slits as she glares at the woman who was brave stupid enough to ask that. The bitch blanches at her sneer but still flutters her eyelashes at Vincenzo waiting for his response, she clears her throat loudly answering for him, “He’s one of a kind and fortunately all mine. “ She can feel the smug bastard preening next to her practically buzzing from her compliment, and she quickly makes their escape, “Please excuse us.” Vincenzo smoothly tips his drinks at the women, “Addio,” he bids farewell in Italian arm still hooked around her waist as she sashays away, Louboutin's clicking on the marble tile floor.

The scrap of Italian leaves them all in a frenzy, whispering wildly behind them.

She drags them to the bar, ordering two shots of soju and another dirty martini ignoring his examining stare.

“You’re enjoying this aren’t you?” She already knows the answer to her question, it’s written all over him and she tries to stifle the jealousy that wants to rear its ugly head.

He looks over at her with a lazy grin, trying to appear innocent. She isn’t fooled for one second.

“Me? I’m not doing anything. I’m only here for you.”

She scoffs at him, staring at his annoyingly handsome face and his gleaming white suit he discarded the jacket earlier and his arms have been distracting her all night.

“You love the attention.”

He rubs his neck before turning to her fully, leaning on the bar counter.

“What? Are you jealous of the attention I’m getting? isn’t that why you brought me to make you look good?”

She wants to deny it and laugh at him, but even now she can hear the voices in the distance all intrigued by the Italian and the bartender’s eyes linger just a minute too long as the smooth Lawyer throws his free shot back in one fluid motion. She should be used to it by now, everyone in a ten mile radius getting a hard on for the Korean Italian. She understands why he gets all this attention, he is gorgeous that was one of the many reasons that she had fallen for him too but sometimes it can be intimidating to be with someone that so many others desire and so obviously too.

She wonders if she even deserves him.

Was she enough for him?

“What’s going on in that pretty little head?” He taps her on her forehead dragging her from her self-deprecation. “Do you know why they’re all so mean to you?” He suddenly asks and she stares at him before shaking her head no.

Probably because she’s a hot fucking mess.

“They’re jealous of you.”

A burst of laughter slips free at this speculation and she watches as his face tightens, “You really don’t know do you?” His voice is liquid fire, smoky and dark like the tendrils from a cigarette.

“What are you talking about?” She manages to get out despite being lost in his voice.

“How sexy you are.” He leans over to whisper directly in her heated ears, she moans lightly at his breath on her skin.

That is hardly ever a word that she has heard used to describe her, Hong Cha-young.

Clumsy. Forgetful. Selfish. Loud. Demanding. Too Much.

Those words she had heard all her life but never sexy. She was too strange to be sexy.

“You’re smart and beautiful and you have a successful career. You aren’t afraid to be yourself and now you have me on your arm. You have everything and they wish they were you, they’re jealous.” He repeats firmer this time, rubbing a large thumb across her bottom lip and grinning down at her with barely contained glee.

She starts to deny his claim but then she looks behind her and sees nothing but a sea of envy, women and men both looking at them and she notes not all eyes are on Vincenzo a few men seemed lost in the low cut dip of her dress and the miles of naked skin on display.

She gasps at the hard line that pokes at her bottom when he leans into her back, standing flush her back to his front. She shivers when he leans down to breathily say, “Everyone is watching, why don’t we give them a show?”

This is not like her, at all.

She has never been a fan of public displays of affection, even screaming at horny strangers in the past to get a room but she feels all that restraint leave her body at his challenge. Driving her body back into his jutting erection she slowly grinds in perfect rhythm to the song playing over the stereo.

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She feels seductive as the music curls around her and she lifts her arms to wrap around his neck, bringing him ever closer and pushing back harder delighted at the groan that escapes his lips. He is coiled tightly behind her but he doesn’t move a muscle letting her have complete control over their interaction and she has never felt more powerful. Continuing to sway she leans back when he tightens his grip around her waist, mewling as his nose rubs at her earlobe and letting out a soft gasp when he blows on the tender flesh.

When she peels her heavy lids open, there are so many hungry and watchful eyes on them.

Ae-ram looks scandalized and she can see the woman pointing at them but she can’t hear a word that she’s saying the blood in her ears is too loud, drowning out all other sounds.

It must be the liquor in her veins because seeing all the voyeurs only makes her bolder, before she can second guess herself she spins around much to Vincenzo’s chagrin but she silences him with a finger on his lip.

“Follow me.”

He arches a thin eyebrow but eagerly obeys her command when she tugs him in the direction of the bathroom.

She hears several gasps behind her as she tugs open the door stepping inside, dragging him right behind her the silence is deafening when he closes the door behind them, turning the lock with a metallic snap.

Her breath comes out in hurried puffs.

What the fuck am I doing? She asks herself, wondering if this is what people call an out of body experience.

“We don’t have to do anything. Their imaginations will do the rest.”

He’s giving her an out.

Gripping his hands tighter, she pulls him over to the toilet which is thankfully clean using her feet to slam the seat down before pushing down him to sit. He looks up at her with inquisitive eyes, waiting for her next move but lets himself be manhandled the second time this night.

“Thank you for everything tonight,” she covers his mouth with her hands as she climbs into his lap, whatever words he had on his tongue evaporate when their groins meet.

“I know I don’t say this enough, but I love you.”

She has only ever said it once before and he’d been sleeping, they both knew he wasn’t truly asleep but he let her pretend and she appreciated it but there was no way she couldn’t say it now, tonight. He had been her prince charming when she had expected nothing.

“Are you serious? You say it to me in her-” She pops open his pants button cutting off his stunned response and he stares at her, making her feel hot.

“Talk later?” She begs and her request is backed by her hand disappearing through the slit in his pants and wrapping around his dick, the hot muscle twitching fiercely in her hold.

He chokes out word that sounds like a jumbled “yes” and that’s all the consent she needs to stroke him harder, using his precum to glide her hand down from the tip to the base and then back up again, he lets out a punched out groan at her purposeful handling of his imported goods.

Shifting back marginally, she gives herself more room tugging his pants down further to get a better look at the pretty pink cock, it’s standing at attention and weeping for her and rubs harder twisting in a corkscrew motion on the mushroom head much to his pleasure, he thrusts up into her hand and immediately she lets go.

“Please,” he whines so prettily and she tsks at him, “Don’t move, you can only take what I give you. You said you were mine right?”

She doesn’t know what has come over her but seeing all those women and men lusting over her boyfriend makes her want to remind them and him, just who he belongs to.

She expects him to put up some sort of fight, instead he nods eagerly at her command stilling his hip and she can see the strain in his white knuckled grip on the toilet edge.

“Good boy.” She praises and notes with stunned satisfaction the way his dick jumps at the praise too, interesting.

She starts with a light pace, stroking with the barest amount of pressure before she starts to grip him tighter when he groans at the dryness of her hands she leans over to spit on his head, this makes him hiss and fight to stay still in her grip she rewards him with a kiss to his flushed red head. The wet sounds of her hands stroking his hot meat fills the small space of the bathroom and lifting one hand she grabs his tie using it to yank him into a hard kiss, he opens up for her immediately letting her tongue explore his mouth.

She has never seen this mafia man so docile, it’s like seeing a lion behave like a house cat.

With a hard suck at his bottom lip, she breaks their kiss leaving them to pant into each other’s mouth harshly.

She didn’t know how far she actually planned on going but now nothing seems like enough, she needs more.

Staring deep into his eyes, she stands up releasing her grip on him and he sighs watching her confused before she slides both hands under her dress and slowly pulls down her panties, they are tiny, white and lace, matching her bra and he looks mesmerized as they are pried down her legs.

“Are you sure?” He’s still checking on her and she smiles at him, stepping out of the panties and cheekily putting them in his pocket, “Give them safe for me,” she doesn’t give him a chance to reply before sinking back down onto him, his dick is hard and thick but she’s so wet that he glides into her like they are two matching pieces of a puzzle. An erotic puzzle.

“Fuck!” He shouts when he bottoms out and his cock is completely encased in her tight walls, his voice echoes off the bathroom walls.

She grabs his tie, making his eyes pop open and she watches amused as he sputters as she stuffs the expensive material into his mouth.

“You’re being too loud.” She teases remembering all the times he had been the one admonishing her as she screamed beneath him.

“You’re enjoying this aren’t you?” He echoes her words from spitting out the tie and she can’t deny it, so instead she rocks forward taking even more of him simultaneously shoving the wet tie back into his mouth listening to his barely muffled grunts. She rises up on the tips of her toes, her red bottoms giving her that extra bit of height, his hard tip popping free with a wet squelch before she slams back down onto him titling her head back and moaning to the ceiling.

He’s being so good, not moving at all simply letting her fuck down on him and she can tell his control is slipping every time he grips her waist too tightly, painfully.

She continues to ride him, chasing her own pleasure and whimpering when his blunt head slides across her engorged bead, rocking vigorously up and down as she feels the end drawing near. She tightens her hold on his shoulder, using him as leverage to ride him faster, his thighs tense under the weight of her body and her rapid pace.

The wet smacks fill the air filthily and she feels dirty, absolutely nasty but instead of shame an intense wave of pride barrels over her.

“You’re mine.” She whispers out loud to herself but he misinterprets the words and eagerly nods at the statement thinking she wants him to declare that he’s hers, “Yes I am yours, all yours,” and she loses her mind, pistoning herself rapidly on his lap before pleasure surges through her body, starting in her toes and curling up her thighs and she rocks her nipples into his chest through their layers of clothes, she muffles her cry in his throat roughly pulling at the skin there to silence her deafening screams.

It’s only then that he breaks the rules, reaching up to grab her shoulders and yanking her down to meet his vicious upward thrust and waves and waves of thick streams fill her up until she feels it leaking at the sides.

There is no sound besides their louds pants.

Then two loud knocks make them both jump from their wrecked state, his softening length falling from her grip.

“This is the only bathroom.” A voice calls out disgusted and with a gasp she stands up straightening her dress and running a hand through her hair before realizing that it’s still sticky, great.

Vincenzo is a puddle on the toilet, legs spread apart and softened dick not yet tugged away, he looks like sin reincarnated and it takes everything not to initiate another round.

“Come on lover boy,” she tugs him up pulling him up and zipping up his pants, then she moves him over to the sink washing her hands and making him do the same. Their eyes meet in the mirror and that’s when she sees much how debauched they truly look, when he turns to look at the hickey she sucked into his pale skin while trying to be quiet she finally feels the ability to be embarrassed returning.

it’s huge and red, almost purple, covering the thick column of his throat and he winces when he rubs at it.

“I’m sorry, I got carried away.” She apologizes but its for naught because he grins at her proudly, “You were just claiming what’s yours.”

His words light another fire under her skin and it’s only the pounding on the door that stops her from jumping him again.

When they finally pull the door open, none other than a blanched face Ae-ram is on the other side. The woman looks shocked to see them both standing in front of her and the gears begin to slowly turn and a bright blush rushes up her unnaturally high cheekbones while color evacuates the rest of her face.

“Are you serious?!”

She doesn’t stay to hear the rest of the woman’s snide remark, all eyes are on them as she walks over to the bar to grab her discarded purse and Vincenzo’s jacket, the bartender winks knowingly at them looking equal parts aroused and jealous and she chortles, winking back.

He hands them two shots, “It’s on the house,” he looks them up and down languidly licking his lips and she slams back the bitter liquid before turning to Vincenzo, his lips are shiny and now wet under the bright lights.

“Let’s get out of here.” She slams the shot glass on the counter, pulling him out the door.

He hastily swallows his drink, letting her tug him out the door into the cool night air.

“You didn’t let me answer you before, but me too.”

She looks at him from the corner of her eye, the wind causing her to sober up and it takes a minute to understand what he’s talking about. She shifts awkwardly when she ultimately realizes nodding while looking away, their cab is three minutes away.

“I love you too, Hong Cha- young.”

As if she didn’t already know. It was too obvious after tonight.

#vincenzo #vincenzo cassano #hong cha young #rated E #smut with feelings #chayenzo #CCFC2021 #top CY

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pitviperofdoom · 4 years ago

Note

"Vet AU" as in veterinarian? Definitely curious about that, vets don't get nearly enough love in fiction :) I had never considered that as an AU, but now I'm immediately picturing how it would go!

The Vet AU! Yes, Vet as in Veterinarian.

This one’s a bit scattered, so I’ll just post what I have written and let it speak for itself:

---

Martin was in the middle of doing payroll when Sasha poked her head into the office with a polite knock on the doorframe. “Hey Martin, Room 2 is ready for you.”

“Oh! Thanks.” Quickly, Martin finished filling in the last number, then saved the spreadsheet and got up from his chair. At the sight of her, he bit back a chuckle—she had one of the new puppies settled against her shoulder, wiggling and poking around like a furry little worm. “Tim leave you on babysitting duty?”

“Not his fault,” Sasha said with a grin. “He’s dealing with the rottweiler situation in 5. You good?”

“Yeah, fine—remind me who’s waiting for me in 2 again?”

“According to the appointment schedule, you’ll be handling a general check-up for ‘Sticks’,” Sasha replied. “New patient, new owner.”

“Right, right, yeah.”

They usually stuck him with the first-time patients. Not that Tim and Sasha weren’t perfectly friendly and welcoming, but Martin—at least according to them—had very calming manners. He had the appearance of someone pleasant, patient, and according to Sasha, far less likely to go off on people who came in asking to declaw their cats.

“I have gone off on people for asking to declaw their cats,” Martin had said when she told him this.

“Oh, obviously. You just look like someone who wouldn’t, that’s all.”

That was what he got for being the only one with years of retail experience.

As he approached the door to the examination room, he took a few settling breaths. First-time appointments weren’t always a big deal. A majority of the time, they went smoothly; the animals weren’t familiar enough with what went on in a vet office to be nervous about it, and their owners were just as eager to be polite and pleasant as he was. But once in a while…

Well, once in a while you got someone like Peter fucking Lukas—

He shook his head. No, don’t think about Peter Lukas. Peter Lukas wasn’t worth wasting the space in his brain.

Martin settled his face into a resting pleasant expression, and opened the door.

It didn’t take a great deal of self-control not to stop in his tracks, but it did take a little. More than none. It wasn’t anything bad! Nothing against this new pet owner.

Less than nothing, if Martin were privately, sheepishly honest with himself.

The person was standing by the examination table, with a cat-sized pet carrier beside them. They were tall enough for Martin to look them in the eye without tipping his chin down, which put them a cut above most. Their hair was shoulder-length, mostly black with a bit of dark blond creeping in at the roots, framing a jawline and cheekbones so sharply defined that there had to be at least a bit of makeup involved. The snakebite piercing and the bar through the eyebrow really rounded out the whole look, especially with the long black coat, and the tattoos on the hand that rested on top of the box.

Very nice hands, Martin noted, then shrugged off the observation and funneled all his nervous energy into the safety of politeness.

“Good morning,” he said. “I’m Dr. Blackwood.”

They shook the hand he offered. “Gerry. Ke—Delano. Thanks for seeing me.”

“No trouble at all,” Martin replied, nodding toward the pet carrier. “I assume that’s my patient in there?”

“Oh, right, yeah—gimme a second.” Gerry Delano unlocked the carrier, then carefully reached in and lifted its occupant out onto onto the table.

“Oh, aren’t you lovely,” Martin murmured. “This is Sticks?”

“That’s him,” Gerry replied, as the small, fluffy, and perfectly black rabbit stretched forward to give a spot on the table a sniff, then retreated back into a loaf shape. Gerry stroked him gently. “Least I think it’s a him.”

“Well, let’s see, then.” Martin reached out, careful not to spook his new patient, and started examining her. He—yes, he—handled it all about as calmly as a nervous rabbit could. Martin didn’t have to grab a towel, at least, nor did he have a repeat of the time a nervous lop tried to jump off the examination table entirely. Sticks tolerated all the poking, prodding, and manhandling, and only got wriggly once before a quick pause and readjustment calmed him back down.

“So how long have you had him?” Martin asked, once he was done. Sticks immediately fled to the nearest safe haven, which turned out to be his owner’s armpit.

“Less than a week, since Monday,” Gerry replied, petting him as he attempted to burrow deeper into his jacket.

“Well, he’s a touch underweight,” Martin told him. “There’s some information I can give you on rabbit care, if this is your first time owning one. He’s not neutered, is he?”

“Probably not,” Gerry replied, grimacing. “I don’t know much about his history. I took him off an acquaintance who got him as a present and wasn’t doing a very good job of things.”

Martin pulled a face. “Pets make poor presents, yeah. Well, he’s old enough to be fixed, and with history like that he probably hasn’t gotten the shots he needs. After we’re done here, you can talk to Rosie out front, schedule another appointment to get those done. What do you feed him?”

Gerry, as Martin discovered, was an absolutely model rabbit owner. He’d done his homework, read up on how to keep a rabbit happy and healthy, and hadn’t scrimped on expenses. It was no wonder Sticks was happy to hide under his arm for the remainder of the appointment; he had a good home with good food and toys and what sounded like a nice setup, habitat-wise.

“What sort of vegetables are good for him?” they asked at one point. “I’m thinking of growing some. I’ve got the space, but I’ve heard too much causes problems?”

They want to grow vegetables for their pet rabbit, Martin thought, a little dreamily. “Leafy greens are a safe bet,” he replied out loud. “Romaine, parsley, cilantro, kale, that sort of thing. Work them in slowly if he’s not used to them, and he’ll be fine. I can give you a list, if you’d like?”

When the appointment was done, a future one scheduled, and the patient safely back in his carrier, Martin finally let himself ask the question that had been on his mind.

“So, is there a special meaning to ‘Sticks’?” he asked. “Is it short for something, or does he like to play with them, or…?”

“What?” Gerry looked confused for a moment, before the question seemed to click. “Oh, no, not Sticks like—he’s Styx as in the river.”

“Oh! Styx, of course. Sorry, I just—I heard it, but I didn’t see it written down—”

Gerry’s grin was crooked, like they were trying to hold it back but only partially succeeding. “It’s fine. And thanks for everything.”

“Oh, no problem, you’re doing great,” Martin assured him, smiling back. “He’s lucky to have you.”

He was pleasantly baffled when a bit of color crept into Gerry’s face. “Right, well, who can resist a bunny.”

“You’d be surprised,” Martin said as he showed him out of the room. “If I get one more new rabbit owner telling me about their lovely outdoor hutch—”

Gerry looked scandalized at the thought as he left, which was another point in his favor.

“What’s that look for?” Tim asked as Martin passed him on the way back to the office. “Oh dear. Don’t tell me Jon has competition again?”

“Oh my God, Tim, give that a rest. There was never any competition!”

“Yeah, Tim, keep it straight, will you?” Sasha called out from the temporary puppy pen. “Oliver wasn’t competition. Martin was jealous of him, remember?”

“Nothing straight about it,” Tim shot back.

“I have payroll to do,” Martin reminded them primly. “You trust me with our finances and then you treat me like this. How dare you. I’m defrauding both of you, see if I don’t.”

***

It wasn’t that Martin fell in love easily, per se. It was just that he had a very specific set of standards when it came to who he found attractive, and in his line of work he always ran into people who either met every single one of them, or disappointed him in every possible way.

When he stepped into examination room 4 and found Jon Sims trying to herd three kittens away from the edge of the examination table at once, he kept his deep sigh on the inside. Jon was batting a thousand, and he’d been coming around long enough for everyone in the clinic to know about it.

“Hello again, Jon,” Martin said, doing a wretched job of hiding his smile.

Jon looked up with a helpless expression. “It’s kitten season,” he said, and Martin poured all his sympathies into a more situation-appropriate sigh.

“It’s kitten season,” Martin agreed. “So, where did these little ones come from?”

“These came from the colony in Battersea,” he replied. “Well, sort of. The mother already has an owner, and said owner keeps letting her out every day, even though I’ve told her time and again there’s that unfixed tom I’ve never been able to catch—and that’s just the one I know of—”

Martin scowled as he examined one of the squirming kittens. Much easier to manhandle than rabbits, he thought, apropos of nothing. “Better than being born on the street, I suppose.”

“Small mercies,” Jon agreed. “Anyway, when the kittens were born she told me either I could take them or she was going to take them to the park and give them out for free, which really isn’t a choice at all. Poor things.” The ginger kitten in his hands squealed until he settled it more comfortably against his shoulder, where it calmed down and immediately tried to eat his hair.

“Gonna find a foster for them, then?” Martin asked.

“I don’t have much of a choice,” Jon sighed. “I’d do it myself, but—you know how Duchess is.”

“Yes. How is Duchess, by the way?”

“Cantankerous as ever. You don’t happen to have room, do you?”

“Room, yes. Time…” The black kitten was finished with her exam, and protested when she was put back in the carrier. “Did Sasha tell you about the puppies?”

“I haven’t seen Sasha today,” Jon replied, handing over the ginger kitten when Martin reached for it. “What puppies?”

“Rosie came in early this morning,” Martin informed him, wincing when the kitten bit hard on his thumb. “There was a box waiting by the door, with four puppies inside. No note or anything. So, that’s been fun.”

“I can imagine,” Jon said distastefully. “Are you serious? Someone just left a box of puppies on the doorstep? Like foundlings in a Dickens novel?”

Martin snorted before he could think better of it, startling the kitten into biting him again. Jon was the only person he’d ever met who would use a word like foundlings. “More or less. They are cute, though. Tim says his brother might be interested in taking one, and Sasha says she’s got friends who volunteer at a dog rescue. Retrievers usually aren’t too hard to adopt out.”

“Well, good luck to you. I suppose the season’s hard on everyone.”

The three kittens were in good health, which Martin was more or less expecting. Kittens tended to have a better chance when born in a home than out in the street—even in a less than responsible home. Between the two of them, Martin and Jon got them back into the battered old carrier, where they went back to wrestling each other in the blankets. Jon reached in to tickle one between the ears and got nipped for his troubles, but it only made him smile.

“Well, anyway,” Martin went on, realizing that he’d been staring long enough for it to be rude. “I don’t think you need any follow-up care instructions?”

Jon laughed quietly before closing the carrier. “No, I think I’m alright. Thank you, Martin.”

“It’s not problem. Always a pleasure.” Martin beamed. “Good luck on finding them a foster. And—catching that tom.”

“One of these days, I swear.”

Martin showed him back out to the front. Not necessary, considering how often Jon walked that hallway. But it felt nice to walk beside him, talking shop or chatting about nothing, all to the background tune of healthy, vocal kittens.

After waving Jon off, he turned back to find Sasha watching him from behind the front desk, chin in hand, the very picture of unimpressed.

“What,” said Martin.

“He’s been coming in for months,” she said, raising an eyebrow at him. “Are you going to make a move or not?”

“No I’m not going to—Sasha, he’s a client.”

“So? It’s not like you’re his doctor. There’s no conflict of interest or weird power dynamic when your role in his life is taking care of animals he brings in.” Sasha sat back, letting the swivel chair roll backward. “You’re already chatting like old friends every time you see him.”

“I know, I know, it’s just—it’s weird?” Martin shrugged helplessly. “We only ever meet during business hours, so it’s like—how much of our, our, our friendliness is just a working relationship?”

“Easy fix!” Sasha spread her hands wide. “The man works at a cat rescue! You can just swing by and say hello anytime!”

“He works there part-time, and I don’t know what hours! Not like I can just stand outside and case the place until I see him.”

At that moment, the door to the back swung open, and Tim poked his head out. “Could I get some help? Bailey’s giving me some trouble and I need an extra set of hands.”

“Be right there,” Martin replied. To Sasha, he said, “Look, I’m fine. It’s not a big deal, we’re just two people who keep meeting in very specific circumstances. And that’s all it needs to be.”

Sasha sighed. “I just think you’re making this out to be more complicated than it needs to be.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Martin muttered, and followed Tim into the back.

#the magnus archives #tma fic #vet au #jongerrymartin #tales from the pit #calamityandwoe

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aphrodite-would-be-proud · 4 years ago

Text

Anon said: I hope I'm not too late to slip in a request! I was actually hoping for a more platonic request with Miche? Just how he would help out a new cadet on his squad or something... Maybe there having a hard time fitting in now that there on a section commander squad or even worried about an upcoming expedition. Miche is one of my biggest comfort Characters and I'm such a shy person lol...I love you blog by the way, it's such a comforting place...🥺

Miche reassuring you that you're enough.

{Miche & reader | tw:none | platonic, comfort | canonverse}

{ "The Interior of the Palm House on the Pfaueninsel Near Potsdam" 1834 by Carl Blechen 1798 - 1840 }

No one can deny that the survey corps had a...certain reputation between the people, for being ruthless, unhinged and not a place for someone hoping for a future.

Their leader is known for gambling with human lives, their strongest has a criminal history record and their most intelligent, does experiments that would put medical student dropout Frankenstein himself to shame.

In short, you'd be crazy for walking there with your own two feet and expecting a crumb of compassion.

You don't go looking for fish in the desert.

You've heard it all, those sayings people keep reciting like a broken record whenever you'd bring up joining the survey corps.

"You'll just end up titan food"

"Why do you want to throw away your life?"

"God your poor family…"

And despite all of that, you still marched on, despite everyone who told you to quit.

Not only did you join and stayed alive for so long, you've even managed to climb the ranks in record time.

So fast in fact that you were assigned to join a section commander's squad after a very successful titan capture mission that earned you a pat on the back from Erwin.

Being pulled from your friends and moved to a new place where you were surrounded by veterans who've been in their positions for 10 years or more, was quite sudden and shocking.

One thing that should've eased your nerves, was the fact it was squad Miche you're being put into.

Anyone in the survey corps can tell you that in comparison to other squads, this was the most...friendly per say, since they prioritised teamwork and coming back alive over everything else, knowing together they're much stronger and willing to protect each other no matter what.

While yes they did have their quirks, it was almost nothing in comparison to Levi's strict hygiene rules and Hange's workaholic routine or Erwin's unreadable intentions.

And yet, you felt unease at the whole situation.

You were clearly "that new cadet" in this old group of close-knit people, almost standing out even.

You wanted to prove yourself, you've done it before to all those people so why is it any different now.

Maybe...because they are actually experienced soldiers this time, and not strangers living in blissful ignorance inside the walls.

Maybe because you feel the growing burden of expectations set on you for being the newest person in the squad, and being put there by none other than the commander himself which would raise some eyebrows if you couldn't deliver.

Uncertainty and doubt began pooling up inside your mind, making you second guess decisions and overthink actions.

And it's not like the squad members were leaving you out, no in fact they were doing their best to include you.

….maybe even too much actually, it didn't help that all of them were outgoing people, it was overwhelming.

Nanaba was an unofficial stand in caption when Miche wasn't around. Having a confident yet compassionate personality made her protective of her teammates, almost like a big sister, earning her a lot of respect.

So much in fact that it would unintentionally intimidate people out of approaching her

Gelgar was a strong believer in Miche, loyal to a fault almost. Yet he wouldn't say no for a chance to relax and grab a couple drinks, being friends with so many people came naturally to him with his mellow personality and overall friendliness.

Maybe a bit much too friendly? That personal boundaries were often crossed without him realising it.

Lynne was a good balance between the two, she was considerate of others feelings...even so much in fact that she tended to sugar-coat almost everything.

Thomas and Henning were close with each other, both serious and determined. But maybe because they were so used to each other that dealing with new people became...strange, for conversations with them resembled an awkward dad attempting to check on you but not actually putting much effort to understand.

Meanwhile, you were a reserved and shy person.

It was a miracle that you managed to get a group of friends in cadet training that stayed with you throughout the years, but now after being transferred it was all turned to dust.

You have to start again, meet people again and talk to them while wondering if they actually like you or are pretending to be nice because they don't wanna come off as rude-

On top of that, Erwin seemed to keep an eye on you after your last mission, silently conveying the trust and expectations he's putting your way, to not fail him and show you're worthy of this special treatment.

It was too much, too overwhelming and draining.

Dread and uncertainty loomed in the corners of your mind, only metastating in size as the date for the new expedition was announced.

To add fuel to the fire, apparently everyone seemed almost...excited or nonchalant for going out there again, like this is a mere walk in the park as they began making preparations and training.

Were you the only one that felt nervous? Oh god.

Your legs felt like they were weighted down by stones as you stared at the large board in front of you, a white sheet signed by the commander announcing next week to be the date of the expedition, several names listed below for who'd be required for service.

Your name was at the top, even with a line underneath it. The fact it was in cursive didn't make it any less gut-wrenching.

The chatter of people around you, discussing the plans and joking with each other, began blurring out at the back of your mind.

The weather seemed colder as shivers ran down your neck. A rolling feeling in your stomach making your throat tighten, your own voice inside your head was the only noise you could hear.

All those thoughts and worries creeping from underneath the dark corners that you've been pushing them into all this time, like a swarm drowning you in their "what if" and skepticism, full of doubt and illogical pessimism for worst case scenarios.

Thoughts that aren't even your own joined them, ones you never had and knew weren't true and yet amidst the storm it was hard to tell the real from the ones passing through.

You know you're capable, so why…

Are you capable?

Yes…

but are you really?

...

And how are you even sure?

Before it could pull you deeper into that hole of despair, something snapped your attention back to reality, a hand nudging your shoulder.

"You really didn't hear me huh." The voice came from behind you, a tall figure stepping closer till you were in his shadow.

Miche looked at you with a tilted head, his lips pressed into a thin line as his eyes bore into you like he's attempting to guess what's going inside your brain.

You've been too lost inside your mind you didn't notice that you were the only one left standing in front of the board.

From the way Miche's shoulders fell after reading your expression, eyes softening after glancing at your name on the sheet, he was quick to catch on.

Before you could say something to save your face after being caught in this state by none other than your new captain, Miche just told you to come with him, making sure to walk beside you، protectively staying close that no one on your way would interrupt.

Passing the corridor leading to his office, you gave him an uncertain glance as he simply gestured for you to continue walking for whatever unknown place you're headed to.

Soon enough the buildings and stone streets faded the further you went on, grass and dirt roads taking its place.

It wasn't a long walk per say, but more of a secluded area that took both of you some turns in seemingly shady alleyways to reach.

You couldn't hear the horses or soldiers walking anymore, only the soft flowing of the nearby river.

The tall grass barely reaching below your knees, some ladybugs crawling on top of the scattered daffodils in-between, the closer to the river cliff you got the taller it became.

The first thing Miche did, wasn't explaining to you why you're here, or what exactly he was after.

No, he barely said a word even, only taking in a deep breath as the wind had the courtesy of pushing his bangs back, eyes finally in clear view now.

Gaze meeting yours, he gave you a nod, a gesture to do the same thing.

You reluctantly took a deep breath.

He smiled.

Both of you sat by the river, he gave you his jacket to sit on.

As the silence grew between you, even while it wasn't the uncomfortable kind, it was clear he was struggling to phrase something, the right words just not coming to mind.

Turning his body towards you, he finally said, "how about i just..listen, let it out.".

It wasn't easy, you can't just pour out your heart to your superior.

Not to mention the military wasn't a place for weakness, could you really openly admit to your worries?

Well, yes you could, because it isn't weak, it takes great strength to face something scary and admit to it.

It's strength that got you this far.

How could you ever mistake vulnerability for weakness?

Keeping true to his words, Miche didn't interrupt you as you slowly opened up about what's been troubling you.

He patiently listened, occasionally humming for you to go on whenever you'd lose track.

And by the end of it, after you poured out all your frustration, sadness and worries, it felt...like a weight lifted off your shoulders.

Miche looked at you with understanding in his eyes, as if he himself has been in this exact same position years ago.

...and maybe he was, considering his behaviour wasn't what's socially common, he would've definitely stood out back before he had the respect of being a captain.

He isn't a man of words, for actions spoke much louder.

That's why he became more attentive from that day on, offering to help you train, giving you a smile whenever you passed by and sitting near you whenever his squad were gathered so he'd ask for your opinion on plans or simply share looks whenever they began joking with each other.

He didn't attempt to make you change, instead he made changes to accommodate you.

You're part of the team and he made it clear.

And while he couldn't give reassuring words, he certainly gave his time and energy, paying attention to you, reading your moods and listening whenever life becomes too much.

Maybe he saw his past self in you, and wanted to give you all the comfort, attention and care he wished for back then.

Even if it was mere hugs and shoulder pats that he could offer, he knew small things can make changes overtime.

For him, it's not getting rid of your stress that he was attempting to achieve, no, for life is full of stress.

Instead, he wanted to offer you ways to deal with the stress, to acknowledge it as it is and be heard, to be understood.

Because while stress will pass either way, it didn't mean it had to pass painfully.

You weren't alone, he made sure of that.

Maybe he got too attached, maybe someone might say he's giving you special treatment, maybe Erwin would give him a backhanded comment every now and then.

But since when did Miche pay attention to these things?

Well...he can't deny he might be giving you more break days than the other Cadets, larger food portions and even most of his time.

But he won't justify himself to anyone either, he doesn't have to.

Because after all, there really isn't any ulterior motives behind his actions, they were as simple as they came.

It was pure genuine care, the type that makes someone want to protect a person and watch them grow healthy.

The type that made him offer you a thumbs up after each training session, a proud smile on his face for how much you're learning.

Maybe some slight teasing about how if you keep this up, you might even replace him as the second strongest one day.

And while he said it with a joking tone, the hopeful pride-filled look on his face told a whole nother story.

you're not sure if it was a joke or a promise.

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thewriterowl · 4 years ago

Note

I need people to be including tone indicators or something because I'm having a really hard time understanding what's happening. I read the original anon message and it was fine. They seemed maybe a little concerned but mostly they were just trying to get a situation sorted and better. You replied and seemed really genuine in wanting to rectify the situation. But then Starbound replied and his response seemed very disproportionate to what had happened. He made it seem like the anon was attacking you and that wasn't how I preserved the situation at all. Was I wrong about the whole thing? Was the anon being malicious? We're you being condescending? I don't agree with what Starbound said of fic writers not owing their readers tags but I also don't agree with maliciously attacking fix writers who 99.9% of the time apropriarly tag their posts and blowing that one instance way out of proportion. I'm so confused and nervous. Please help if you can. /gen

Hey! It is very hard to read tone over the internet, totally agree.

I read the ask as concerned too...but a bit aggressive. The anon made an approach in a way that it could be easy to read as they are saying I'm being ignorant of others and presenting an assumption i am not a survivor of anything and this is a multitude of offenses. I think they reacted in shock and to protect others but the language, cursing, and some choices presented can easily be read as guard dog. There is a positive intent there, I do believe that, but there is also a sense at being lunged at from them.

I've missed tags before--it happens. I hate when it does, but hey it can be easy to overlook at times. Or maybe there is something I haven't thought about. In my story Hope someone pulled me aside and said "hey, you know how you mentioned Luke has an unhealthy relationship with food--that may trigger someone. Could you tag that please?" and I was all, "oh man, that's a great point. I didn't think of it!" and I tagged it in the chapters. Now, Tumblr can be harder, it doesn't have the best tagging system in my opinion and when I start to get on a roll answering asks it can be easy to forget to do a tw: Dark or something. But normally I do if I see as what is being written as triggering.

The people who support me, whom I love dearly, saw this as someone who saw one thing and reacted before they really thought out what they were writing--because I don't believe they have ever approached me before. So, them coming up and saying I am personally making things unsafe was, in of itself, triggering because it felt as if there was no thought from their end on what exactly they were saying.

But I do agree with Starbound on the tagging. I think we as a community should try and tag. We should work together to focus on making things safer for others...but fan fiction and art and all of that is not something "owed" to people. There is a two-way-street of responsibility here. Some people won't tag, some people forget to tag, sometimes tagging has a challenge (seriously, in Tumblr v. AO3 tumblr has a ways to go to make things better) because when you tag something here it's not just being fed as not appearing in people who have blocked it...it may not appear at all. And for people who are maybe making commissions, who are talking about different things, etc. etc. that being "fully blocked" can't work. So they have to think of other ways to tag it--and other people will need to see it and react in a way that is responsible for them and pull away.

I will always tag. I will always do my best to tag it properly. But there has been a history of "dark content" and the creators of it being exiled and personally attacked even WITH tags (I saw it in the Sherlock fandom--it was not a pretty sight and very unfair). So those of the dark content can get a bit protective and frustrated when instead of being approached as a conversation, we can be approached with a lecture and accusations and the presentation that dark content creators are all ignorant or those who would instigate what they are writing about...completely overlooking that a massive amount of them are involved in these because they dealt with things themselves.

I feel that each interaction can be a lesson experience. We want to help teach people. But, like there are bad teachers, there can be bad "lessons" and when someone presents a "bad lesson" in where they approach things with something that can be read as an intent to bite, others will come out and bite right back...because then it feels like someone came on their yard to say "you've attacked someone, holy shit" not realizing they just came on and did the same.

Unless making a generalized post to vent, I think everyone needs to approach a blog with "greetings, please, thanks, bye!" type of mind-set when they see something they don't like. I feel that is the professional step and cannot be misinterpreted of a demand or of an attack.

Did I read it as an attack? Not really. But there were triggering language in their ask to me and people responded in kind, just as they did to whatever post I made (which I still am not quite sure which).

So, I think this can be a learning experience of just always take a step back and breathe before you reach out in regards to things that may not settle right with you.

I hope that helped and made sense! :)

#owl inbox

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kkpaaw · 5 years ago

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Do I have any chill in making Oc's? No. No I don't lmao. Honestly tho, Ehani has to be one of my favs, she's just baby and I love her(and totally not because I added portions of my own personality too her definitely not)

Ehani

○ Full name: Ehani (E-Han-e)

○ Alias: E, Hani

○ Age: 22

○ Date of Birth: 05/01/XXXX

○ Sex: Female

○ Gender: Female

○ Species: Techno/Country Troll

(I guess you can say she's a..Seahorse Troll? Eh? No? Ok i go now)

○ Voice: N/A

○ She's a Demisexual Aromantic

(She only feels sexual attraction to those she has a close bond with and she doesn't experience romantic attraction)

PERSONALITY:

|| +Attentive | + Nice | + Empathetic || = Curious | = Introvert | = Shy ||- Forgetful |- Lazy |- Irritable

Ehani is a very attentive troll. Due to where she lives and being mute, she has learned to pay very close attention to pretty much everything around her, making it so that very few things escape her notice. Despite that though, she is very forgetful and will often forget where shes going or what she promised someone even if it only recently happened. She's still very nice however, and can very easily empathize with other even to the point of feeling what they feel, which makes it easy to talk to her able your problems as, even if she can't verbally respond to them, shes still a great listener.

One big downside to her personality though us her laziness and irritability. She has a very short tempter, especially to bullshit and can get very irritated, very easily, so if you catch her on a bad day your gonna get irritated glares thrown your way. She's also a very lazy troll, often choosing to lay around and do nothing 90% of the time, which has usually never worked in her favor(leading to many days she just chooses not to get food cuz she felt too lazy to get up).

○ Likes:

+ Sweets

+ Night time

+ Stars

+ Sleeping

+ Eating

○ Dislikes:

x Horror Movies

x Dumb Things

x Moving around

x Morning time

x Sudden flashing lights

RELATIONSHIPS:

○ Sweetheart: None

○ Friends:

King Trollex | King of the Techno Trolls | Alive

'Very king hearted and sweet, my biggest cheerleader and best comforter. Would do anything to keep him protected'

Bliss Marina | Princess of the Techno Trolls | Alive

'Very energetic and bubbly. Love her sass and the pranks she likes to pull me into. Has been there for me in my hardest times'

○ Allies:

○ Enemies:

Any predator capable of killing and eating her or those she cares about

HISTORY

Ehani was born on the outskirts of Techno reef close to the shore and was raised by her Father, Orca(Techno troll) and her Mother, Baila(Country Troll). After they had gotten together Baila moved to live closer and built herself a home near the shore so that she could be around her family.

Ever since she was young, Ehani was always told by her parents what a beautiful singing voice she had it complimented her soft voice alot. She was always big on singing. She would always be seen singing all the time, even if the timing isn't the best for the situation. Being the curious troll she was, she often went out and explored areas that were way past the safe zone for her leading to her parents having to rescue her on more then one occasions. Even through all the scolding she got it never quelled her curiosity of the ocean around her and she would be right back to exploring the dangerous side of the ocean.

She was unaware of the other techno trolls until she was 7 when her father took her to meet the current king at the time, ???, One of Trollex and Bliss' dads(he was 5 at the time, her 4) once there she immediately got along with Trollex and Bliss and they all became almost instant friends. Every journey to Techno Reef after that was eagerly awaited by her as she couldn't wait to see them again.

Her life was relatively lively and normal until her father passed away suddenly when she was 17. She had woken up to see him unconscious and not breathing and had panicked and swam to shore to get her mother. Both were devastated when they found out he had passed, but gave him a nice funeral. When the Current King's found out they offered to take in Ehani only for her to reject the offer saying that she wouldnt be able to handle all the bright lights of raves and that she prefers to live on the outskirts anyway.

After her father passed her relationship with her mother turned bitter. Due to Baila's constant grief she no longer bothered to take care of Ehani, which forced her to learn his to hunt and survive on her own, and often got injured in the process.

Her biggest injury was caused when she was in a battle with a barracuda and barely managed to survive, at the cost of her voice. The barracuda managed to sink its teeth deep into her neck which destroyed her voice box and rendered her incapable of singing or talking ever again.

After she was found unconscious and severely injured by a guard she was brought to the Reefs hospital where she managed to get treated for her wounds, though not without scarring. It took a month before she woke up only to be greeted with Trollex and Bliss' sleeping bodies around her bed. She tried to tell wake them but realized she couldn't talk so she shook them awake. They were super happy when they realized she was awake and shot out the room to get the doctor.

She grieved over the loss of her voice when she found out her voice box was injured beyond repair. To her singing was everything and now she couldn't even do it anymore. She spend alot time when she left the hospital grieving and refusing to leave from the temporary room in Trollex and Bliss' home. They tried everything they could to help her out of her mild depression but nothing worked. It wasnt until she was sat down with one of the King's and they talked that she realized that maybe it wasnt so bad and that she could recover.

After that, though not completely happy again she began learning how to communicate via body movements and slowly over time she grew used to not beign able to talk and was even able to appreciate music even more because of it.

After Trollex became king(age 18 for him, 17 for Bliss and 20 for her) she decided it was time to move back out to the outskirts but before she left she gave Bliss and Trollex a gift to ensure that if they ever needed her they could call her and she would be there

EXTRA NOTES

• She lives in the outskirts of Techno Reef and often helps defend the Reef from predators, hence her scars

• She lives in a mini coral reef located deeper down into the ocean

• She gave Trollex and Bliss these Seaweed whistles that they can use if they are in a troubling situation they cant get out of, to call her and shell be there to help. Though half the time they use them just to call her and hang out, much to her annoyance

• She has very sharp teeth and very sensitive hearing, hence why she can hear the call of the seaweed whistles she gave Bliss and Trollex

Ok I may...MAY have gotten a bit out of hand with this gals backstory n I apologize for that lmao. I'll be updating her as time goes on so expect changes!

#trolls 2 #trolls world tour #dreamworks trolls #dw trolls #kkpaaw #my art #trolls dreamworks #trolls oc #Ehani #techno trolls #country trolls #Seahorse Trolls...i guess #i mean technically #king trollex #bliss marina #they are both just mentioned tho #headcanons are used in this #so most may not match the timeline of the movie #srry bout that

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skzluvs · 5 years ago

Text

Crimson Roses 🥀; Kim Seungmin

Genre: Vampire Au! College Au! Angst; Fluff?

Warnings: Mentions of blood, Mild swearing

Word count: 3.6K

A/N: It was supposed to be a quick little drabble and became a whole ass fic. All I have to say is vampire concept seungmin HOT

He observed you from the corner of his eye.

There you were sitting on the first row with your materials spread out on the desk, taking notes as your life depended upon it.

He knew how interested you were on all those past events, on the ones we tend to call history because they change the course of living.

He found himself lost on your endearing figure. On the way you tried to blow the hair falling on your face but failing during the process, frowning at the distracting tingling sensation on your forehead. He smiled to himself wishing he could be the one that could brush your hair away softly.

But that was impossible.You were definitely too kind

And He... He was just a simple evil creature that had lived longed enough to know that falling for a mortal would be nothing more than a death sentence

An a crucifix to his heart.

The voice of his professor interrupted Seungmin's thoughts.

"Before you leave, we are getting closer to the end of the semester Which means you'll be assigned a project that is worth half of your final grade, It'll be a partner assignment and you will have a week to turn it in" He informed to all the students. The classroom exploded with all source of complaints from everyone who was not happy to say the least at the sudden notice.

"Are we allowed to pick our partners" You asked raising your hand. It's not like you had someone you already wanted to work with in mind; more like you could absolutely take advantage of this opportunity to pair up with Lee Minho. He was the top of your class, partnering up with him would undoubtedly mean securing that grade. And you needed that.

"Unfortunately for all of you I've already decided on that" He replied raising a list with names on it.

He began to call one by one, making the teammates move around to sit together by their announced partner. You were tapping your foot impatiently. This assignment played a crucial part on your final grade therefore you were scared your partner would not contribute enough for you to get a passing score.

" Y/L/N Y/N and Kim Seungmin" He said handing you a piece of paper with the prompt and expectations written on the back of it.

You lifted your head, getting rid of the air you had been holding on your lungs. Your eyes scanning the room. Making eye contact with him for a second, his eyes staring directly at your soul. You turned around quickly; a rosy blush spread over your cheeks.

You knew nothing about Kim Seungmin, besides he was drop dead gorgeous. He had this mysterious aura that was attractive. He was certainly not the bad boy type; He was more reserved, only hanged out with his close group of friends.

Who you had to admit they were all extremely cool.

Seungmin almost lost his bunkers when you were assigned as his partner for that stupid historical events project.

He knew everything about history. He lived through it; from the renaissance to the post modern movement. Seungmin had been around for at least 1000 years.

To say that living for so long had become nothing less but boring would be an euphemism. Because it was. He had gained experience and power through the decades. But it was no longer exciting.

Until he found you. You were the one who acted magnetically with his heart an undeniable attraction that made him stay for the first time. Seungmin was known for being playful. Never sticked around for long because he found humans despicable. He was not too fond of them. But his perspective changed completely the day he first saw you.

It was probably because you were not human like. With an overwhelming beauty and high manners. In all of the years he had lived on earth, he never met such a sublime soul like yours. So Breathtaking and admirable.

You stood up from your chair with a panting breathing walking through the aisle, all the way to the back to his usual seat. You were more than nervous; Seungmin's presence truly intimidated you.

You sat next to him and offered him a smile. Hoping the atmosphere between you two wouldn't be as awkward.

You expected him to be quiet most of the time as you was trying to come up with ideas for the project. However it was the total opposite he kept on engaging on the conversation. It felt comfortable how he carefully listened to you and instantly agreed with your opinion. Surprisingly he knew so much about the topic; more than you ever imagined as the few times you spared a glaze at him during class he seemed to be doing everything but paying attention.

After discussing your main subtopics you decided it was enough work for one day, and decided to set a schedule to work on the other parts of the project outside of school.

" We need to meet up to work on the presentation" You said looking through the papers to were holding on your hands.

He looked at you with adoring eyes. You looked so cute when you were concentrated.

"Definitely, where do you want to meet at?" He asked you smiling.

" What do you think about the coffee shop down the street? I can bring my computer so we can do it digitally unless you are old fashioned and prefer to work on a poster we can do research on the library" you said shrugging your shoulders.

" Y/N you did not just called me a boomer"

" I mean if the term fits you then" you said laughing.

" Back in my days, youngsters were respectful towards their elders" He said in a grandpa like voice.

" We are the same age!!!" You yelled at him unable to control yourself from laughing at his impersonation.

Or at least that's what you think; He said to himself.

" We are supposed to deliver history through this project don't you think Y/N I say we should do it the right way"

" You are right everyone is probably going to go down the easy road but we are smarter" You said getting excited; reaching your hand to high Five him. "Great minds think alike"

" I can assure you we are going to beat Minho's and Jisung's project"

You had to acknowledge Seungmin and yourself made an amazing dynamic duo. You were content at the selection of your partner and definitely had to thank the professor for it. Because you two clicked with such effortlessness.

The bell ranged and you had to say your goodbyes to go into your next class.

You were standing by the door ready to leave but you turned around quickly to yell at Seungmin.

" I'll meet you at 5 inside the library and you better be on time boomer" you said with a playful smirk

Wanting to mess with him; gaining a loud laugh from your partner. pretending to act offended crossing his arms.

Seungmin went to the library earlier than the time you had set. He rushed his way there, right before excusing himself from his group of friends who were going to hangout after class.

He wanted to pick up a few books for you; he thought you would find them interesting.

He scanned the aisles, holding with one hand a pair of hard cover books that were just as dusty as the coffin where he used to sleep in, during the counter reformation.

He sat at a table and laid the books, shifting uncontrollably in his seat, from time to time, observing the clock, waiting for you to come through those doors.

Hell, you were fucking late. And you regretted taking that extra time looking through your closet; trying to find something decent to wear. Is not like you were to meet Seungmin for a date, it was a simple study session; however for some reason you wanted to look presentable. He always looked good no matter what. Which was totally unfair.With that leather jacket and fitting tight pants that made him long taller. Your mind wondered for a second. And you began to question yourself if you were starting to develop a small crush on the pale boy.

You were walking as fast as your feet allowed you. Through the hallways, your high heel boots were making loud noises every time you took a step forward. The dress you wore lifted a couple of times due to the wind. Your hair was probably entangled from running the couple of blocks from your apartment back to campus. Your shoe selection had definitely became a nightmare to your now bruised feet.

Your hands were sweaty and you had to remind yourself. " Y/N this is not a date once again you are just stuck with him for the project stop being delusional" you said trying to calm down. Taking a deep breath before pulling the door to enter the library.

You tried to fix yourself before spotting Seungmin sitting on the back. He smiled with relief at your sight. You couldn't be more awkward by sending him an effusive wave. " What's all this" you asked pointing at the pile of books laying on the edge of the table. "Just some research materials" He said.

" We are going to be here for a while then..." you said jokingly lifting a book from the stack. Leaving at least 10 more underneath.

" I don't mind as long as our project comes out good" He replied to you brushing his head to the side.

What he actually meant was that he didn't mind as long as he could spend the most time with you as possible. He didn't even gave a single care about the goddamn project, all he wanted was your company.

You two began to read the old books; most of them focused on events that happened during the 17th and 18th century.

Seungmin was almost falling asleep when you suddenly jumped in excitement next to him.

" Look Seungmin!" you said and began to quote the reading out loud "On the baroque era there were myths about vampires who attacked its victims during the night draining their blood as a food source."

" Let me see" He said taking the book in his hands. Reading word for word and For his surprised It had to be a fucking article about undead creatures specifically Vampires. How lucky seungmin got with that one. "You don't believe on those things do you Y/N" He asked curiously awaiting for your response.

" I mean; I do believe that there could be creature such as vampires out there. I just don't believe in all those tails you know, the ones that over romanticized or demoralized their existence. In my opinion vampires are not blood-thirsting bats. If they do consume blood it must be because it's their only food source they can't fight against those Instincts. It'll be like going against natural selection. They do what they can to survive"

Seungmin was more than pleased at your explanation. He couldn't contained himself from looking you with sparkling eyes and a huge smile plastered on his lips.

It made him happy that you weren't into that cliché bullshit like Bella and Edward type of fantasy. That even if you didn't knew the whole spectrum you still had a pretty clear understanding of his lineage.

Your words made his heart warm. He did an introspection on the reasons why he liked you so much; to begin with you were understanding like no other, you never judged anyone based off looks, you spent your time getting to know them first, smiling kindly at everyone and never seeking for recognition but always helping out of selflessness.

In Seungmin's eyes you were all he always wanted a person so pure like you was impracticable to find somewhere else. He thanked for the timing being right for him to meet you, because after all these years living in vain, you were the only one and he was glad he waited everlastingly to be with you right now, in this moment. He will treasure it forever in his heart.

The weeks passed by and Seungmin and you got to finish the project, a perfect chronological detailed poster that contained every important event through history. Your presentation was to say the least the best one among all your classmates even Lee Minho's and Han Jisung's was not even half as good as yours. Your grade boosted quickly with that perfect score.

And you had to give most of the credit to Seungmin he provided most of the facts you were utterly impressed at his range of understanding history so well. It was as he knew better than all those books you spent hours reading. You called him a true intellectual.

The things with Seungmin changed after the project. You could say you got closer to him than to any other person.

Your friendship with him began to shift towards a completely different direction the morning he came early holding a white rose, on its stem a little note wrapped around it.

He still remembers the blush that covered all your face when he handed it to you. You were truly speechless. You almost cried at the middle of the classroom due to the poem he had handwritten for you.

" Your fragrance just as sweet as the one the roses give off when they're cover in dew

Blissful sight at the sunshine caressing your filaments

You're the flower I carefully picked out from the field

The only untarnished one

You natural beauty worthy of being preserved

I’ll water your roots everyday just tell me you’ll stay with me even if the rain overflows our pot "

From that day onwards. He gifted you a white rose every single day and you never knew why. But you loved it so much. You made a bouquet with all of them and kept them safe in a vessel displayed as a centerpiece on your kitchen table.

He truly believed white represented your purity

It was a shame he had to stain your soul

That he tinted the petals scarlet.

It was dark outside on a night where the ‘blood’ moon eclipse appeared in the skies. And in the shadows there was something that challenged Seungmin's own instinct.

It was part of his nature.

How he was able to smell the candid scent of your blood despite the distance

It was endearing almost hypnotizing for him.

A battle for self control.

Where he wanted to paint white roses with the deepest red.

Seungmin called you during midnight you answered without hesitation as his name appeared brightening your phone screen.

Heaving breathing's was all you were able to hear through the other line.

“Min is everything okay? Why are you out of breath I'm getting worried” it was unusual for him to call you at this hour, your heartbeats began to increase at his response. “Can we meet now? I'm on my way to your apartment” His voice was low. You never heard seungmin talk like that with such desperation. It sent shivers down your spine.

“Of course but tell me did you got in so kind of trouble” You asked with a preoccupied tone.

“I'll explain everything to you once I get there” He said hanging up immediately.

He was scared at the mere thought of you finding out

He wouldn't be able to handle the terrifying look on your face at the sight of his fangs.

He always lived with ease in between humans

He had adapted himself into their characters creating the perfect facade. He did it all for you.

Going back to this college life was definitely not his style but you made him stay. Life finally made sense the moment he saw you and now he had to reveal his true identity because you didn’t deserved to be lied to. No matter the outcome. He would have to face it.

When he reached you apartment his pale face was almost translucent. He gathered all his courage to knock on your door.

You rushed rapidly opening the door; with worry eating you inside. The first thing you noticed was how dark his eyes were, his pupils were almost completely dilated.

You quickly wrapped him into a hug. You didn’t knew what was going on but you were here for him regardless. You were always going to be there.

“Let's take a walk” He said out of nowhere. Intertwining his hand with yours and leading you outside.

It was dark and the moon was shining brighter than ever before. You walked through the streets without certain direction just enjoying each other’s presence.

Your reassuring smile seemed to calmed Seungmin down.

“I have something to say to you, but before I do you need to know that I like you, that I've been in love with you since I first saw you and that what I'm about to say doesn't change a thing” He said stopping your tracks, your face almost collapsing into his chest. You were standing face to face with him.

“I like you too seungmin... “ You couldn't think properly because there was something else behind it, something that could change your feelings towards him. The true reason behind his so blunt sudden confession.

You knew Seungmin. He wasn't the type that seeks for trouble that's why you just couldn't wrap your head around what exactly was he hiding from you.

“I- I am a vampire” He stared at you with bloodshot eyes while letting his fangs slowly come down his teeth. He lowered his head frightened at your reaction.

You were in a state of shock. Rubbing your eyes multiple times at the sight in front of you because it was truly unbelievable.

You had to regain your posture before speaking again. You were experiencing a difficulty at making your words exist your mouth.

“That doesn't change anything seungmin, I might be going crazy, Fuck. You just said a vampire. I love you nonetheless because I fell for Kim Seungmin. I don't care if you are a vampire, a demon, a demigod, I'm in love with you because you are you. And now that you know that I reciprocate your feelings something tells me this comes at a higher price” You said breathless.

“It does Y/N we cant be together I have instincts that can't be controlled... it's getting harder everyday not wanting to you know” Not even able to finish his own sentence because it was embarrassing enough.

“Bite me?” You said lifting his chin from the ground “look at me... Min you want to bite my neck?” You asked straightforward.

“Yes” He said in an inaudible tone.

“What does that mean, what happened if you actually do it, do the things I read from the article are actually true” You asked biting your own bottom lip until you savored the metal flavor of your own blood. The one seungmin desired to have a taste from.

“No Y/N. I could never do that you. You are just too beautiful and flawless you don't deserve to get ruined by me”

“Stop treating me like I can't take my own decisions seungmin I know exactly what I want” You snapped back at him.

“You don't know what you are talking about is way more than just transforming you'll have to serve to the underworld in perpetuity”

“You have been alone long enough seungmin let me stay by your side. I want to immortalize this love

And be with you for the rest of the eternity”

“Just bite me seungmin I beg you” you implore to him, decisively pleading eyes.

You wanted this like you never wanted something else more in your whole entire life.

That’s all it took for Seungmin’s body to wash over lust. He places his mouth in between the crock of your neck trailing soft teasing kisses along the way. Right until he found that sweet perfect spot. The one that drove you completely insane.

You let out an agonizing scream. Filled with both pain and pleasure at the same time, when his teeth was incrusted without a warning sign tugging at your sensitive skin. He savored every single drop of blood that instantly began to drip from the laceration down your neck.

You began to convulse. Your body shaking and veins popping out from your skin. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head almost unconsciously.

Your soul transforming into pure immorality and immortality. Reaching an inexplicable climax that threw you over the edge. An overwhelming feeling that carried iniquitous power.

When you came back still too fragile to stand with your own feet. You were no longer a human being. Your fangs and sinful eyes and ghostly complexion gave out for finalizing the end of your transition.

Seungmin carried you in his back. You were now forever his. While he took you back to the apartment you dared to ask him something that had been lingering on your mind.

“So all your friends are vampires as well” You said intrigued.

“ Yes all of them” He said clearly laughing at your weird unexpected question.

“Even Jeongin!?” You couldn’t believe the cutest student could possible be a vampire.

“ Even Jeongin” He responded making you gasp in a shocking manner.

“ How... He’s like the most adorable thing on earth I don’t understand” you said whispering in disbelief.

“You mean on hell he’s good at pretending but that kid is nothing but pure evil”

Kissing your forehead and whipping your sweat, you looked exhausted but yet still beautiful as always. He laid you down on your bed. Playing with your hair. He would take care of you as he promised with all those flowers he once gave you.

That were no longer white but crimson roses.

#I totally got carried away with this one #stray kids imagines #stray kids vampire au #stray kids angst #stray kids fluff #stray kids school au #stray kids au #kim seungmin #hwang hyunjin #lee minho #bang chan #yang jeongin #kim woojin #lee felix #han jisung #seo changbin #stray kids blurbs #stray kids scenarios #stray kids

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nicoforlifetrue · 5 years ago

Text

Summery:Dee Roman and Remus practicing a dead religion has some hiccups when it comes to history

Notices:

none of these are in any real timeline yet!

Yes the other sides are here

More then one person wrote this

There is a prologue! Read it here

The History Class Incident-

History was taught by Professor Thomas Sanders, he was a bright, cheery guy who never called Remus out for the 'juice' in his water bottle. He was a great guy by the standards of the three. That is, until the mythology course started.

You see; Roman, Remus, and Dee hadn't yet told their roommates why they burned their food or why Remus was always inebriated or high. They hadn't said why Roman was so focused on appearance or why Dee's knee jerk reaction was to lie. Because all that was normal to them. It was how the three followed their respective patrons. But after the first day of mythology, the boys dragged their roommates out to meet the people they grew up with and rage over the inaccuracies of the course; expecting said roommates to rage with them.

Dee had talked Virgil into going the entire way to the little coffee shop a friend of theirs worked at. The college student was seething the whole way there; you see the first unit in the course was Norse mythology and dear Professor Sanders had called Loki, his patron, the main villain of all things! Now Virgil, the good but anxiety ridden person he was, finally asked Dee what was wrong about halfway to the coffee shop. "Dude, what's your deal? Why are you so pissed?"

Dee sighed at that, rubbing his face before he stated, "You sat next to me in history; I know you heard what the professor said. He insulted the gods themselves and insinuated that Loki was a villain! That's why I'm pissed; he's a disrespectful cunt!"

Virgil laughed. "Dude, chill; he's just talking about an old religion. Like, sure, Loki is a cool superhero, but he's still pretty crazy in the myths."

Dee leveled his gaze at Virgil upon hearing that; disbelief written across his features. "Are you fucking with me? Please say you are; ‘cause if you aren't, I might have to kill you."

Virgil raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Oh really? Why are you taking it so seriously?"

"How are you not?" Dee snapped back before he sighed, trying to calm down. "I'm sorry I just- good gods and goddesses he called Loki a character, flattened his story's into two dimensional cluster fucks, left out all of the good Loki did; and all around disrespected him; thus disrespecting me and all other wards of Loki! I have no idea who your patron is but imagine if that happened to them. It physically sickens me just remembering that 'lesson', ugh."

"Wait wait wait," Virgil said, putting two and two together. "You take mythology seriously? Like it's actually your religion?"

Dee gave him a look. "Stop calling it a mythology and what; you don't? I always thought you followed Hades or Nyx," he hummed. "I grew up learning about the gods and goddesses, yes."

"Oh that's cool, I didn't know anyone still believed in that religion. I've no clue who my patron would be though," he said, laughing a bit.

"You don't?" Dee questioned before pausing and humming. "That actually explains some things…. But he's still a fucking cunt."

Roman, on the other hand, felt more betrayed; though not quite nearly as much as when he had watched Hercules. He knew what Loki meant to Dee, and to hear such a grossly incorrect retelling of the gods stories? It was devastating. And to hear not just that, but Loki being reduced to his greatest mistake and flattened into an evil villain? He was brokenhearted at the fact that his favorite teacher could be so ignorant and brash, to the point of calling Loki a character! Now Logan, despite his ineptitude with emotions could tell the class had upset Roman. So as at least a good acquaintance of the man he felt obligated to ask what was wrong.

"Roman? Why were you feeling upset in class?"

"How could I not be?!" he responded, throwing his hands up. "The professor grossly distorted one of Loki's stories and refused to tell any others! Instead he just honed in on his greatest mistake and made Loki seem like a Disney villain!”

“I still don't see why you are getting angry over a retelling of a simple character's story."

Roman’s gaze flattened at that.

Staring at his roommate angrily, "Logan. You did not just call Loki, the trickster God of Asgard, a character from some fictional work. If you did, may the gods and goddesses help you when Dee finds out."

"Gods and Goddesses are not real, they are simply imaginary characters people created to explain the causes of natural phenomena, they are useless now that we can define the world with science."

Roman stared at him dumbfounded. "Logan, my friend, blessed by Athena, unless you wish to end up being mauled by my brother; I suggest you change that perspective before he runs out of wine. And perhaps pay more respect to those higher than us mere mortals."

Logan sighs. "You will not understand that one cannot praise something that is just a fictional character, so I will end this pointless conversation."

Roman rolled his eyes at that. "You’re going to be punished for ignoring the gods, you know."

And the last pair was Remus and Patton. Patton wasn't a fan of Remus, the only reason he was coming along was so the drunk didn't hurt himself.

"I just can't believe the guy!"

"What?"

"What do you mean, ‘what?’ He shit-talked the gods!" Remus huffed, well more like pouted. That statement basically ended the conversation.

The door to the cafe slammed open, an angry Dee storming in and over to their table. The other four were already there as Virgil trailed behind him. He slammed his palms against the table staring down at the wood, eyes full of fire.

"Fuck Professor Sanders."

Roman and Remus made noises of agreement as Dee sat down. "Who does he think he is! I mean, he's so clearly biased against trickster gods. Holy fucking Underworld!"

Roman nodded in agreement aggressively, and Remus kinda hummed as he took another sip of his drink.

"I do not understand why you three are getting so riled up about what Professor Sanders said, he was merely telling the story of a mythological character." Logan said, monotone.

All three looked at him askance. "Because he retold it incorrectly, and refused to share any stories that would make my patron seem like he wasn't a complete shithead," Dee snapped; Roman frowning and Remus giggling drunkenly.

"Your 'patron' is a complete shithead, as you say, he wasn't a good person at all."

Dee stared at him at that "I'm sorry, did I hear you correctly? Did you, one, put air quotes around the word patron and then secondly, follow it up by calling my patron a villain?" His voice was cold and dead serious, angry to the point of pulling a Remus and ripping the next person who insulted Loki to shreds.

"Yes, I was speaking clearly, so unless you are deaf; you heard me correctly. Secondly, I did not call him a villian; you called him that."

Dee took a breath, then sighed. "Logan, you dumb fuck. How has Athena blessed you?" he stated, mostly to himself. "Ok, here. Think of it this way. Let's say someone explains something as simple as the water cycle in a grossly incorrect manner. Wouldn’t you be pissed?"

"I would fix their falsehood and move on. Yes I would be mad, but I would be right and they would be wrong."

"Now think of it like that, but it’s fucking stuck with me because I was also personally insulted with this falsehood. It would be like someone explaining how colors work to you as if you’re five; but they do it so very incorrectly. That's why I'm pissed off, get it?"

"Yes, I'm now partly understanding, but how were you insulted by this 'falsehood'?"

"’Cause it's also a fundamental part of who I am," Dee responded blandly. "Loki being my patron shaped who I am today; and what I present and act like, being Loki's ward, has made me who I am. And to insult him? It's a personal attack on who I am as a person, as well as an attack on someone who I hold higher than myself."

Logan places his hands on the table. "So let me get this straight, you hold Loki in the same esteem that, say, a Christian would hold God?"

"Kinda; unlike Christianity though my patron, though unlikely, might change. I don't know how but it can happen. But basically, yeah."

Logan nods. "And Roman and Remus are the same?"

"Different patrons, but yeah." Roman chimed in, Dee nodding.

"Big ego, loves his own appearance; Roman is your patron Aphrodite?" Logan asks.

"Got it in one, Teach!"

"Teach?" Logan says confusedly.

"You act like a teacher. So, Teach." Roman responded with a smirk; Dee chuckling, Remus watching him with his loopy tipsy-but-not-quite-drunk grin.

"Thank you for explaining, Princey." Logan says holding back a smile

"Ooo! I like that one," Roman hummed; Remus's face scrunched up before he grinned.

"Can I be Dukey then?" Logan ignores that.

Virgil, who had previously been quiet, snickered. "Sure, why not?"

Dee sighed, relaxing.

"Now I'm worried about what he'll do to the rest of our patrons, especially Aphrodite." Roman shook his head. "I might just file a complaint, at this rate."

"I mean, Aphrodite was a little bipolar in the stories. And no, Roman, I'm not insulting her." Logan said, trying to stop Roman from getting mad.

"Good," Roman huffed; Remus giggling again.

"Yeah, but with what the professor did to Loki; he'll turn her from bipolar to outright batshit crazy."

"Yeah; that's my job!" Remus cheered.

"Wait, drunkenness, insanity…is your patron Dionysus?" Logan said.

"Bingo!" Remus responded.

"You could just offer to teach things the right way around, since you have first hand experience with the stories," Virgil offered calmly.

"They could; but wouldn't that be taken as slander to Professor Sanders’ teaching?" Logan said, pulling a Rubix cube out of his pocket.

"Yeah, most likely not worth the risk," Dee hummed with a sigh. "We'll just have to grit our teeth, and hope he doesn't damn us all by insulting the gods and goddesses too badly..."

"Yeah, oh! Why do you have the snake tattoo, Dee?"

Dee raised an eyebrow. "I like snakes, and they’re a sign of my patron; tattoos are also a sign of rebellion against higher ups, especially on the face and areas of high visibility, so..." he gestured at his tattoo. "I got one."

"We should get back to school."

"But we have the rest of the day off! Don't tell me you need to study that badly," Roman whined; Dee nodding.

"Nothing to stress over…"

"You can never be too behind on your work. Also, seeing how we have to do something about Loki, I would suggest you get it over and done with."

Dee groaned at that. "I'm going to put in the truth, not whatever nonsense the professor was spouting."

That promptly started a 'discussion' on work ethics.

Enjoy that? Well join the discord to help make more or just to support it!

https://discord.gg/Pun4QBA

#sander sides #logan sanders #virgil sanders #thomas sanders #deceit sanders #remus sanders #creativity sanders #roman sanders #creativitwins #polytheistic roman/remus #dlamp

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reaching-for-roses · 6 years ago

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Rennaisance Fair with the Theoi

So yesterday I went to the rennaisance fair with my bf and we had a great time!

Before we went I made my usual pre-travel offering to Hermes of incense and pocket change. I prayed for him to look after us during our travels and invited him to join us in the festivities. I asked him if he would extend the invitation to any of the other theoi who would like to join.

So on the way there, my bf and I prayed that Zeus would keep the thunderstorms at bay, and Apollo would keep the day from being too awfully hot. We talked about what each deity would enjoy there and these were our conclusions:

In our experience Hermes just loves any kind of adventure. It's also a huge marketplace so it's basically in his wheelhouse anyway. He'd be high fiving all the kids dressed as rogues or thieves and looking after the competitions.

Papa Zeus would be making sure everything was in order, that proper xenia was being followed and everyone was safe and having a good time.

Dionysus would love the theatre of it. All those people dressed up and putting on a show. There is also plenty of drinking going on.

Hephaestus would like to see all the craftspeople at work. So many tents filled with awesome stuff that's made by hand. Including, of course, swords and other weaponry.

Ares would enjoy watching the jousts and sword fights. He'd be laughing at the knights in shining armor and all those unbloodied weapons. He'd be giving some kid advice on how to properly hold his sword and shield.

Athena would also like the competitions, and there's tents with books of Medieval history I think she'd get pretty excited about. The birds of prey show (with beautiful owls) would probably be a favorite of hers.

Persephone and Hera would most likely find all the hub-bub surrounding The Queen amusing.

Aphrodite and Persephone would probably think the fairies were adorable in their glittery makeup and flower crowns. And I think Aphrodite would want to smell all the handmade soaps and lotions.

I think Hestia would be happy to witness the camaraderie between friends and the togetherness of people out on a fun day with their family.

Apollo would be playing along with the musicians, encouraging people to drop coins in their cup.

Artemis would be carefully watching the archers, whispering tips in their ears. "Aim a little lower, my sweet. You won't hit the target the way you're doing it now."

When we came to Demeter, Poseidon and Hades we started to struggle a bit coming up with associations. We weren't sure what Demeter would like because neither of us have any experience with her. Perhaps she'd take pleasure in the pretty forest surroundings and the castle gardens, or the food court with all the yummy food.

The only thing I could think of for Poseidon is that he might like to see the people dressed as pirates singing sea shantys??

As for Hades, I wasn't sure what exactly he'd enjoy about the festivities. Maybe the tents filled with shiny crystals? Or the skulls and bones and animal furs used in various items? Maybe the necromancers dressed in full black robes with skull tipped staves.

Feel free to add your ideas, I'd love to hear them!

We had a lot of fun. On the way there we saw lots of vultures (Ares?) and a turtle/tortoise? Which sadly had been run over and was roadkill. We took it as a sign of Hermes' and Hades' presence.

We saw some shows, listened to musicians and comedians, watched the jousting and sword fighting, learned about birds of prey, admired craftsmanship, ate delicious food, bought souvenirs, played a game of avoid the fairies at all costs (because they WILL fuck with you), got our exercise in, threw some throwing stars (which my bf was pretty good at, but I suuuuucked at), and perhaps my favorite thing of the day.. tried archery for the first time.

I absolutely fell in love with it! At first I just couldn't get the hang of it, aiming way too high. I kept accidentally almost dropping the arrows. But then I swear I actually had a moment with Artemis. It was like I suddenly knew I needed to take a breath, trust my instincts (don't spend forever aiming and don't anxiously grip too tight) and let it go. So I just picked up the bow, nocked the arrow, let it fly and it went straight through the bullseye. I got a surge of confidence from that, and the next couple of shots were better.

I really have a newfound respect for Artemis after that experience. I can't imagine shooting while moving or hitting a moving target. But I really did develop an interest for it, and I think I will invest in some equipment and set up some targets in the field behind my house. I can dedicate my practice time to Artemis.

Oddly enough, on the way back home we saw a live turtle making his way slowly across the road so my bf quickly pulled over, motioned for traffic to stop or go around, and ran over to coach him to safety. He made it across without injury!

Pictured above are the gorgeous crystals we bought: smoky quartz, amethyst, clear quartz, and pyrite. I'm going to use them as the start of a small shrine for Hades and Persephone.

So anyways, comment with other ideas on what the gods would be doing at the renn fest, or if you have any archery tips for me!

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urfavmurtad · 7 years ago

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Hi ! Do you have any books recommendations for someone who want to have a better understanding of Islam (on the historical aspect for exemple)? Beside the quran/hadiths. I want to learn more but I don't want Islamic propaganda or something overtly negative. Thanks!!! I love your blog and you're a great writter

No problem anon, I’d love to give some book recs! There are so many shitty books on Islamic history out there, and they’re shitty in many ways. It’s not just the ones written by Muslims that have problems. Some books are written by pop “historians” who have no business writing about this subject, others are from Orientalists who think Arabs invented civilization, others are from revisionists who don’t seem to have met a single Arab person in their lives. I have had to read through buckets of shit to find some gems. This is the true jihad.

I’m gonna dig through my bookshelf and mostly focus on the books that can be found for free online or in most libraries, just for the sake of accessibility.

I think a very good and very basic place to start is this… semi-series by Robert Hoyland, who is a professor at NYU. Hoyland was a student of a writer I’m not fond of (Patricia Crone, who did make some valuable contributions about the status of Mecca but was an extreme revisionist). But he’s not really like that at all, and his sources are basically impeccable. He has three books that I’d happily recommend for beginners, starting in the pre-Islamic era and going into the conquests:

Arabia and the Arabs* (pdf here). This is one of the very few works about pre-Islamic Arabia that brings in information from non-Islamic sources. It’s mostly about northern and southern Arabia (as in… not Mecca or anything near it) because those are the places mentioned by outside sources, but still. This is one of, like, three respectful books on pre-Islamic Arabia that I’ve ever read. I was so happy when I found it.

Seeing Islam as Others Saw It* (pdf here). I’ve linked this before in this post, so you can glance through that to see if the subject interests you. This is just a collection of early non-Islamic sources about the Islamic conquests. It’s a huge reference book, so feel free to skip around and just read the parts you’re interested in. It’s good stuff and may make you stan Muawiya a little purely based on his competency idk

In God’s Path: The Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire* (pdf here). I like this a lot, but I don’t agree with all of its conclusions. This is where you can see some of Crone’s influence, but it’s not super revisionist and there are some interesting ideas within it. Hoyland does significantly downplay the role of Islam as a faith here, seeing it as essentially a glue pulling Arabs together and uniting them into one political entity. The last three pages of Fred Donner’s frankly bitchy review… points were made. I still recommend it tho!His ideas on one of the driving forces of the conquests being the Arab “muhajirun” (applied to the conquering army as a whole instead of just the group that left Mecca) and their desire to settle in other lands is at least food for thought.

I’d also v strongly suggest reading up at least a little on the poor long-forgotten empires that dominated the Middle East before Islam’s glorious birth, the Byzantines and the Sassanids. In my experience, most ppl know very little about the former and nothing about the latter. But they were kind of, uh, important? So it might be worth reading a bit on them.

For the Byzantines, take your pick: do you want a dense scholarly book or a lighter but quicker read? The scholarly one I’d suggest is The Making of Byzantium by Mark Whittow (pdf here). The lighter one, Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization* by Lars Brownworth (borrow), has a very ott title that reminds me of those “ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION SAVED EUROPE!!” books that I hate. But the content focuses far more on internal Byzantine stuff than its “legacy” or w/e. It’s definitely less academic than Whittow’s book, but on the plus side it’s way easier to read tbh.

If you really get into it and want to read more single-topic Byzantine books, I’d also suggest most of Judith Herrin’s books, including Unrivalled Influence: Women and Empire in Byzantium and Margins and Metropolis: Authority Across the Byzantine Empire. She also has a general overview of Byzantium (borrow).

There’s also a Byzantine history podcast, I stan it.

The Two Eyes Of The Earth* by Matthew Canepa (pdf here). This is half regular-history and half art history, but don’t let that scare you!! I know very little about art history and I found it easy to read. It’s REALLY GOOD and for a book you can find for free it lays out the relationship between the Byzantines and Persians really well.

For the Sassanids: Sasanian Persia* by Touraj Daryaee (pdf here) is a very brief, easy read and only around 150 pages long. It’s worth it just to familiarize yourself with the topic. A more in-depth rec is Arsacids and Sasanians by Rahim Shayegan (pdf here), which is a longer-term view of Persian history.

Arabs and Empires Before Islam* (pdf here) is a collection from multiple authors that touches on Arabs in relation to both empires, and extends its reach into South Arabia as well.

The Palestinian historian Irfan Shahid’s long series on Byzantium and the Arabs* has been made available online via the Dumbarton Oaks library. His work is a tad outdated nowadays, but it’s still a great resource. This guy has literally spent decades on this single topic and he provides us with his work for free…… a legend tbh. (The download links are on the top right of each page, if you can’t find them.) Honestly every book has worthwhile information in it, but on the topic of Islam/Islamic history you probably want the ones on the sixth century, since that’s when Mo was born. The full thing is like… 800 pages, so. Take it slow! Other scholars on Byzantine-Arab interactions include Walter Emil Kaegi and Greg Fisher, with Fisher being more skeptical of later Islamic texts than the other two. But I’ve read useful stuff from all three.

Rome and the Arabs (pdf here)

Byzantium and the Arabs in the 4th Century (pdf here)

…Fifth Century (pdf here)

…Sixth Century: Volume 1, Part 1 (pdf here)

…Volume 1, Part 2 (pdf here)

…Volume 2, Part 1 (pdf here)

…Volume 2, Part 2 (pdf here)

Now… if you are looking for some actual history about Mohammed and his earliest followers, just be aware that 100% of the information on The Life And Times Of Crazy Mo comes from Islamic sources written over a century after he died. All that anyone can do is dig through them and try to determine, based on whatever criteria, what is plausible and what isn’t plausible. I’d actually suggest you read the primary sources (as in the stuff written by Muslims over a thousand years ago) yourself, since that’s what all these books are based upon. If you don’t wanna slog through the big ahadith collections, you might wanna read one of these:

The Expeditions* by Mamar ibn Rashid (pdf here). I might suggest starting here, because 1) it’s short! (the page count is a lie bc it’s dual Arabic-English) and 2) once you understand the stuff in this, it’ll make reading the larger works way easier. This is a selection of ahadith narrated by a student of al-Zuhri, who was a student of one of the sahaba (Anas ibn Malik). So there is a short and very direct chain of transmission all the way back to the rise of Islam here. You can see how much of the “official story” of Islam was already decided-upon in the 8th century (a lot!), what spots were vague and still being filled in (90% of the pre-hijra days), and what was open to debate (tidbits like: when was the “year of the elephant”?). Note that this covers like… fragments of the story, it is not a full sira.

It’s interesting to compare the above to Ibn Ishaq’s long-ass sira (pdf here), which is from the same century. I might do a post on the differences between them at some point. Ibn Ishaq’s is referenced by virtually all later authors so it’s kinda… important to read it, even though it’s long.

There is another early biography by al-Waqidi (who was considered less credible by his contemporaries and deemed an outright liar by many of them), I don’t really care for it but you can read about the differences between his and Ibn Ishaq’s sira here. It’s still worth a read even tho al-Waqidi himself is questionable, but I can’t find a free English translation.

Muhammad and the Origins of Islam* by F.E. Peters (borrow) is a decent summary of the story, if you don’t feel like reading a sira. The book mostly just quotes from Islamic texts. But at only 300 pages, around a third of which is more about Middle Eastern history around the 7th century, it’s a pretty easy read.

There’s also al-Tabari’s 40-book-long history series (pdfs here), which covers like… everything up to the 9th century. You obviously aren’t gonna read this whole-ass thing but it’s useful as a reference if you wanna check up on a particular topic. I’ve read multiple volumes of this and I didn’t find them hard to read at all, they’re surprisingly short.

If you’re looking for a recent English-language biography of Mohammed and his followers, well. The truth is that there are very few decent English-language books on this topic, and by Allah, some are absolutely cancerous. I’d strongly suggest staying away from: 1) anything written by someone who is not a scholar of Islam, Arabic, or Middle Eastern history in general, 2) older ones written by Orientalists, especially the white guys who were in the habit of dressing in thobes, and 3) works written by Saudi or Qatari-funded scholars (who tend to work at places helpfully named after their benefactors). Also, pls do not read anything that begins a discussion of goddamn 7th century Arabia with “ever since 9/11…”.

Look for something fairly recent (like… since the 90s, maybe) written by a credible scholar of Islam whose work is favorably reviewed by his or her peers. And be aware that no book is going to get it 100% right because of the limitations I mentioned. I think this short article (pdf) summarizes what you should expect going into any of these works.

Since I don’t really like any of them, I can’t recommend any, but I can at least point you in the right direction, hopefully...

In my experience, single-topic articles (that you can read using scihub 👀) are way better and more informative than any books on the topic. I dunno why, but I think it’s just because each individual topic requires so much specialized knowledge that no one can write about the entire era convincingly. I’d be happy to suggest some articles on any particular subject you’re curious about.

If you want some scholarly “analysis” of early Islamic history:

Analysing Muslim Traditions by Harald Motzki (pdf here) presents a convincing argument against people who reject the ahadith because they see them as completely unreliable. The book is basically a defense of “the science of ahadith” created by scholars in the 9th/10th centuries. Not all ahadith are “real” in the sense that they can be plausibly traced back to Mo & Crew–but it’s pretty clear that many of them can be.

Islamic Historiography* by Chase F. Robinson (pdf here) isn’t about whether some parts of Islamic history are true or not–it’s more of a look at the development of Islamic historians and how they built upon the very early ahadith. Short and an easy read.

Arabic Historical Thought in the Classical Period by Tarif Khalidi is somewhat similar, but touches more on specific authors in a specific period. Khalidi is a big name in Arab Islamic studies, and a lot of his work is pretty decent, though I’ve noticed it’s kinda hard to find some of his books in libraries.

Sectarianism!!!

The Caliph and the Heretic, Ibn Sabaʾ and the Origins of Shīʿism by Sean W. Anthony (pdf here). This is a subject that I’ve been weirdly fascinated by for whatever reason. The guy it’s named after has long been accused of being one of the “ghulat”, meaning people who took Ali to be a divine figure in blatant violation of Islamic doctrine. (A book that goes into more depth on “ghulat” sects is Ghulat Sects by Matti Moosa, pdf here. The “extremist” subtitle means their religious beliefs, not terrorism.) A lot of legends and myths have popped up with respect to this guy and his place in Islamic history, and the author tries to disentangle all the stories and find the root of it all to find an actual basis for early Shiism, without the hateful propaganda that’s clouded it. Really good.

A more general overview of Shia history is Shi’ism by Heinz Halm.

The Heirs of Muhammad* by Barnaby Rogerson (borrow) is a very, very basic overview of the political clusterfuck of the Rashidun era. It’s not super scholarly and leaves out a lot of details, but if you don’t know anything about the topic, give it a try.

The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate by Wilferd Madelung (pdf here) is essentially a book about the title’s topic from a Shia perspective, or at least from an Abbasid perspective. It’s very… credulous, in the sense that it doesn’t question the sources, but it’s good if you want to know one side of the story. The Umayyads, and to a lesser extent Abu Bakr & Crew, are the bad guys here. Full disclosure: the author works at a place funded by the Aga Khan (Ismaili Shia leader).

The Ismailis by Farhad Daftary (pdf here) is an absolutely gigantic book that I would not recommend for beginners, but if you happen to be curious about the Ismailis–this is a historically important Shia group distinct from Iranians et al, who are from another sect called Imamiyya or “Twelvers”–here you go.

The Birth of the Prophet Muhammad by Marion Holmes Katz (pdf here). This is a single-topic book about Sunni (including Sufi) mythology surrounding Mohammed and his life. I’m not talking history here, but outright mythological elements, like Mo’s dad being glowy. This is semi-topical re: the crazies who blow people up for celebrating Mohammed’s birthday, but is also useful in understanding the process by which Islamic theology built Mohammed into a hell of a lot more than “just a man”. Slightly more specialized than the other books here, but I included it because I don’t think it’s so academic that you’ll be lost and confused while reading it.

Here are some basic overviews of the Umayyad and early Abbasid eras, which is when 90% of what we think of as “Islam” was crystallized:

Again, al-Tabari’s history series is really useful for these eras. The Expeditions and Ibn Ishaq’s sira also touch on some of this stuff. Don’t discount the classics! The only thing to remember is that all of these were written after the Abbasids overthrew the Umayyads, so obviously they have a certain angle to them. But they’re still useful.

The New Cambridge History of Islam (pdf here). A great, six-volume-long series of articles on a huge variety of topics of early Islamic history. Look through the tables of contents and pick an article that seems interesting, and give it a shot.

The Encyclopedia of Islam* (a tad outdated in places, but still great overall) covers this era and…. like, basically everything. It’s huge. I got all my pdfs of it from Tehran University’s site here, idk why that’s the only place where I can find it. The glorious Islamic Republic doesn’t gaf about copyright laws I guess. There’s also an Encyclopedia of the Quran (pdfs here), but that’s more for religious matters than historical stuff.

The First Dynasty of Islam: The Umayyad Caliphate* by G.R. Hawting (pdf here) is, imo, a very dry and scholarly book. But if you need an overview, it’s useful. It’s also only like 150 pages so it shouldn’t be too hard to get through.

Black Banners from the East: The Establishment of the Abbasid State by Moshe Sharon is an account of the Abbasid revolution and everything that led up to that moment.

Inquisition in Early Islam: The Competition for Political and Religious Authority in the Abbasid Empire by John Turner. I really wish I had a pdf for this one, but I don’t. This is probably more suited for someone raised Muslim or at least someone who already knows a bit about Islamic history–if you’ve heard of Imam Ahmad’s trial before the caliph al-Mamun, you’re good–but it’s a good look at how religious authority was handled by the early Abbasid leaders.

The Canonization of Islamic Law by Ahmed El Shamsy (pdf here). Oh boy, if you don’t really enjoy the legal side of Islam, this one will bore you to tears. Regrettably this topic is extremely important for understanding Islamic history, so try to power through it.

For some other Islamic empires, here are three books about al-Andalus, two of which I’ve already recced:

Kingdoms of Faith: A New History of Islamic Spain* by Brian Catlos. This one focuses more on the religious communities themselves, the relationships between them, and the conflicts within them.

Muslim Spain and Portugal: A Political History of Al-Andalus* by Hugh Kennedy. Kennedy has written a lot of books, and for me they’re very hit-or-miss. His style can sometimes be dry, and at other times he glosses over important details. But this one’s good. It’s…. well, it’s what it says it is, a political history. If you want intrigue and drama, here you go.

Philosophers Sufis & Caliphs by Ali Humayun Akhtar (pdf here). This is more about Islamic scholars in Andalus and focuses on their interaction with and responses to Fatimid (Ismaili Shia) ideology. A lot of texts on Andalus frame it as part of a European context (as in, devoting a lot of space to Christians), but this one puts it more in the context of the wider Arab world, which is helpful.

Ottomans!!!!

Osman’s Dream* by Caroline Finkel (pdf here) is a great and really in-depth summary of centuries of Ottoman history. It covers over 600 years, so forgive the length and take it one chapter at a time.

The late Halil Inalcik was a master of producing really good, in-depth books about Ottoman history with the driest titles you could possibly imagine. I’m pretty sure he is (or… was) one of the top Turkish experts on the subject, so any of his stuff is worth a look. The one I read was The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300-1600*. But if you can find any of his stuff at your library, you might wanna check it out.

Three books from Roger Crowley touching on the Crusades era, in order: City of Fortune: How Venice Won and Lost a Naval Empire*, 1453: The Holy War for Constantinople* (borrow here), and Empires of the Sea: The Final Battle for the Mediterranean* (yes the first one is mostly about the Italian city-states but there is plenty of Turkish nonsense too). I’ve recced these before but they’re great. There’s also an interlude about Acre called The Accursed Tower, which is likewise excellent.

Before Homosexuality in the Arab-Islamic World, 1500-1800 by Khaled El-Rouayheb. Well… not all of it is about the Ottomans, but a large portion of it is. Don’t be put off by the title–it doesn’t mean that gay sex didn’t exist before the year 1801. I don’t agree with all the author’s conclusions, but the sources he’s collected are still useful. Everything you could possibly want to know about pederasty is contained within, enjoy.

“Roxolana: The Greatest Empress of the East”*. This is an article, not a book, but it’s a brief summary of the Eastern European slave girl who used her body and mind to worm her way into the highest echelons Ottoman politics. I’ll write about this whole weird era someday.

The Ottoman Age of Exploration (pdf here) by Giancarlo Casale is the story of how the Ottomans tried and almost succeeded in getting in on the whole Asia imperialism thing. (Despite this occurring during the Ottoman heyday, you hardly ever hear them mentioned in discussions about it.) It begins with a man named Selim the Grim. If that doesn’t sell you on it, what will?

There is ALSO an Ottoman history podcast (+articles) although tbh the earlier seasons were better and more, uh, Ottoman-focused. It’s kinda more a Muslim history podcast now. It descends into academic jargon and glorification at times but there are still some gems to be found there.

Some of the important Shia dynasties:

Converting Persia: Religion and Power in the Safavid Empire by Rula Jurdi Abisaab (pdf here). Iran became Shia under the Safavids, which is… kind of important, for modern-day issues! So you might wanna read about it! Because this happened in the 16th century, there’s also a lot about geopolitics between them and the Ottomans, interactions with Asian and European nations, etc.

The Fatimids were a hugely important Ismaili dynasty that ruled large swaths of land, including Egypt, during ye olde “golden age” that they’ve been largely erased from. There are, unfortunately, very few decent overviews of the caliphate, but there are some nice “character studies” (for lack of a better word) so I’d suggest reading articles about them instead. There are some collections of essays, including a long series called Egypt and Syria in the Fatimid, Ayyubid and Mamluk Eras.

Maghrebi topics:

Black Morocco: A History of Slavery, Race, and Islam* by Chouki El Hamel is a recent book about a tragically underexplored topic, namely Black slaves in Arab countries (which is usually dismissed with “slavery wasn’t about race!!!”). This covers mostly the early modern era (~1600s-1800s) of Morocco.

A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period by Jamil M. Abun-Nasr. This is a 20th century book that’s kinda written in the style of an old Arab history book, but it’s still good. There’s a lot goin on in the Maghreb and keeping track of all the tribes and their loyalties is very difficult, so a basic primer like this is very useful.

Some miscellaneous dynasties:

The Empire of the Steppes* by René Grousset (borrow) is only, like, half about any sort of Islamic dynasty (Timurlane and the Timurids), but the early Mongols are part of Islamic history by virtue of killing lots of people, so! Might be worth a read. It’s an old-fashioned book, but it’s an intro to the subject.

The Millennial Sovereign: Sacred Kingship and Sainthood in Islam (pdf here) by Azfar Moin. I’m sure this is noticeable, but I know about 1) Arabs, 2) Turks, 3) Persians, and 4) Amazigh people, in that order. India is kinda beyond my wheelhouse, but I’m trying to learn more. This one was a good start and covers topics that you’ve probably heard of before (the Mughal Empire and the emperor Akbar) in great depth. It covers Iran and the Timurids too, but most of it is about India.

The Seljuks are another one where I’ve just been really unimpressed with the books I’ve leafed through tbh. The only one I’ve enjoyed and actually read through to the end was The Great Seljuqs: A History by Osman Aziz Basan, so if you can find that, go for it.

Books specifically focusing on women:

Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate* by Leila Ahmed (borrow). This is a Hot Topique as many of you know, and if you search for Islam+women you are likely to receive a bunch of bullshit in return. But Leila Ahmed has been covering this subject for decades and her book is about as in-depth and “fair” as you can get.

Concubines and Courtesans: Women and Slavery in Islamic History*. Hey, wanna hear something fucked up? Many if not most of the notable Muslim women throughout history were sex slaves. Some were used purely for sex, others for entertainment, others as the mothers of their masters’ heirs. A few slaves managed to manipulate or charm their way to political power, and they’re some of the most powerful “Muslim” women in history. This messy topic is explored in a series of essays in this book.

Marriage and Slavery in Early Islam* by Kecia Ali (pdf here). This approaches the same topic as the above from more of a religious perspective rather than a historical survey. It traces the development of religious opinions and justifications for slavery, the “proper” treatment of women, the differences or lack thereof in the ultimate status of a freed woman vs a slave woman, etc.

That is…………. a lot!!! But I do think that all of them taken together are a pretty solid basis for understanding the first…. I dunno, 1000 years or so? of Islamic history. I think most of them are accessible for someone with zero or very little knowledge about any of these subjects, though some are denser than others. I put asterisks on the one that I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to get through, no matter how little you know about the topic.

Also, I know you said no Quran or ahadith but… ur gonna be real-ass confused about many things if you don’t at least know a little about them tbh. If you’re ever in the mood for it, there are a bunch of tafsirs online (Ibn Kathir’s famous one is here) and I have @quranreadalong for this exact purpose so pls enjoy!

If anyone wants more recs about any specific topic, hit me up! I got literally hundreds of books on my bookshelf.

#ask #anon #recs #history #reference

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musicfeedsmysoul12 · 6 years ago

Note

Hello once again. That sphinx writing was just top tier amazing. I have another if you don't mind of course. This one's a bit different though. I'm think Vandal savage immortal type. Like Mcs been alive for a very long time do to some mystic event or something but she's not you know trying to take over the world. Shes just like really crazy intelligent and really badass i guess, knowing like a couple dozen languages and easily how to fight supernaturals. But thats all up to you of course.

EEE! Thank you! I’m so happy you’re enjoying my writing!

General Headcanons

-MC knew the place was a Haven (ha) for supernatural people. MC purposely picked Havenfall because of it so she knew that there was a large number of supernatural people. She knew from like the get-go.

-MC was rich, but ran into Code Black a while back and lost like most of it because they were convinced it was illegal money. She proved it wasn’t, but she didn’t bother getting all of the money back because she figured it was a pain in her ass. However, Code Black is now very wary of MC and do her favours so she doesn’t cause to much trouble about it.

-MC adopted Grace here, so she’s actually more of her mother than like her sister. They just called each other sister because MC doesn’t age. As well, Grace is part of her family and is like her something-something great grandkid.

-MC is Scandinavian and was a legit Viking. She still has Viking tendencies and likes to drink. She has no idea her original country and just grunts when asked because c’mon man, she was busy doing shit back then. Like she knows.

-They moved to Havenfall after they lost the money to an old house MC owned.

-Immortality was because of some trinket she picked up that was the artifact of a God or something. She has no clue- she just stopped aging.

-JD kinda knew about it a little. I mean- MC swears a lot in random languages and some of those JD only knows cause their dad speaks them. So they knew something was up.

-Grace going missing because of Rip had MC going nuts and just ranting in Norse and just ripping into the Face Stealers with her skills. JD just kind of hovered and watched.

-”Okay, I knew something was up, but an Immortal Viking?!” “Hey, what’s wrong with being a Viking?”

-JD and MC like to chat about languages and swear words and taveling the world. MC has a lot of old knowledge about places and she really gets confused about new names so JD finds it hilarious.

-Their relationship is more built on mutual understanding of a shitty situation brought on by their powers and how they never asked for them and it’s hard to deal with.

-MC can pick up JD and bench press them. They find it really hot.

-MC knows Nessie and Nessie hates her. They refuse to say why.

Razi

-Razi only knew because JD let something slip about MC being odd. Razi started paying attention and oh yeah- odd.

-Jonas should not piss off a couple thousands year old Viking. You get punched, kicked and… yeah.

-Razi and MC get along great with their love of knowledge. As well, given how old MC is, the leylines really hold onto her better and don’t need to draw on the Nassar family.

-Baba Yaga is wary of MC because MC has and will beat the crap out of any witch she crosses. Witches know about MC.

-Rahim actually knows MC because of a situation regaurding his shop and a very annoyed Fae a few years back. MC stepped in, and Rahim was the one to tell her about Havenfall so he’s not surprised to know she’s there. The fact she’s dating his brother?! Weird.

-Razi likes to try and recreate some old foods of MC’s even though she says some of them were gross in hindsight, she misses some of the sweets. MC appreciates it.

Mac

-Viking and werewolf wrestling!! Both are thrilled by this. Also, they work out a lot together- before the reveal they often jogged together.

-Mac didn’t know but she isn’t to upset. Secrets are secrets and all that. She does like hearing history from MC though.

-Code Black doesn’t pull as much crap with Mac here because well… MC can ruin them and they already fucked up by forcing Grace to join them. So… Beau finds himself arrested quickly when he presses to much.

-MC and Mac are very cuddly and happy and they like showing off for one another and hunting. Annabelle makes a lot of faces.

-The Beast knows MC because they’re both old. So actually the Beast respects her, MC respects the Beast and thus the Beast leaves them alone. Because they both know they probably would kill each other.

-Comic Con is sillier when MC ends up getting an axe and remarks it looks like her old one. And MC knows Medusa. (May or may not have been a fling)

Diego

-MC is older then Diego and has had similar experiences as he has. As such they’re a lot closer off the bat.

-Diego and MC often bicker about languages and laws and tend to argue over time periods. It’s kind of annoying for others to watch cause it always ends in kissing.

-Grace going missing means very angry Viking going after vampires. Diego only lives because he managed to dodge while explaining.

-MC is very amused by Diego and his attempts to cook and explains that she is a viking and has eaten a lot worse than the eggs he made when he figured out spices make things taste better.

-MC loves Diego very much and when Dracula attacks him, she snaps and really goes to town. Dracula does fight her off but damn it’s close.

-Diego turning human is terrifying for MC because she’s like him. She doesn’t want to live forever alone.

Antonio

-Her magical immortality is how he can revive his sister. Also why Frankenstein is after her- though like she’s been fighting him off for years.

-Antonio has to put up with Grumpy Viking who has no qualms destroying shit. He is mildly amused. Victor is not. Lillianne is.

-MC and Antonio get along better in second season but that’s cause Antonio stopped trying to bring back his sister with MC as he realized it was wrong and not because kiss. They only kiss in second season.

-MC kind of views the kidnapping a little like a marriage kidnapping though she doesn’t say so. She does like him now though so whatever.

-MC and Antonio share similar morals so both of them just casually talk about murder and shit together. It’s disturbing to people.

-MC is very hardy so she’s shocked she got hurt so bad by Frankenstein. It’s really strange.

Vanessa

-It’s MC who nearly married Dracula but chose not to cause like she decided she did not want to be married to him in the end. He isn’t happy about it and MC was so thrilled he died.

-Oh, hell it’s her. Is MC’s only thought about dealing with the Bride and then oh, crap- she’s stronger then normal.

-The Helsing Organization knows about MC but didn’t know about her being able to bring back Dracula so Vanessa is assigned actually to keep an eye on her and not to protect her. The romance is a little more touchy.

-MC and Vanessa bond over shiny weapons and fighting skills. Both also love anime and stuff so it’s adorable.

-Vanessa is a little worried about beign with MC cause MC is immortal and won’t die, and she worries about MC after she dies. She knows MC has had lovers and even families before but like… she wonders.

-MC may or may not be secretly wondering how to turn Vanessa immortal cause she’s tired of her loved ones dying.

#havenfall is for lovers #writing prompts #supernatural MC

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lifeisdabubbles-undersalmondean · 4 years ago

Text

La Pomme ~ Chapter 11

Pairing: Sam x OC (eventual Dean x OC and Dean x Castiel. And I mean eventual.)

Series summary: George is a casual French-Mistake-universe Supernatural fan living in no-COVID 2020, who's life is upended when she's suddenly launched between realities, two years into the boys' past (S13E22). What begins as an insane, immersive fan experience turns into more when Jack goes missing and George offers up her AU information to help track him down. Soon it's discovered that she and Sam may actually have history. But that's impossible, right?

Word Count: 4,800

Warnings: {smut, fluff, angst, show level violence, swearing, mentions of suicide} ***Detailed warnings will be tagged for specific chapters.

A/N: Following the events of my prequel Paradise and second story From My Eyes Off. Reading those first gives context but isn’t necessary to start this one.

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

"Cab company says one of their drivers picked up a random fare in front of Target two hours ago and took them to Carson City!" Sam shouted to Dean and Cas as he jogged back anxiously from inside the gas station. "I got the address."

"We sure it's George?" Dean asked, screwing the gas cap back on and shutting the flap

"Well, she said she was from there," He answered matter of factly. "If she ran, home is the most likely place she'd go, right?" Dean gave him a skeptical look and Sam shrugged as they both climbed back into the Impala, "And it's our only lead, so let's go!"

Knowing Sam was right about their very short list of options, the engine roared to life and Dean began driving in the direction of Carson City. 30 minutes later, Dean pulled up along the front of a tall, sprawling beige building.

"We think this is where she went? A community college?" Dean asked, looking skeptically at Sam. He didn't respond, looking at the building curiously. It was definitely strange but Sam felt confident. Or at least, he tried to because if he didn't he would spiral into panic.

Dean had graciously allowed George an extra 30 minutes in Target-because you know how women are about clothes-while stewing hangrily, before he'd gotten impatient and stormed into the shopping center with the other two men in tow. They'd swept the store and the parking lot twice with no sign of her, then started to get worried. After questioning nearly everyone in Target, they'd driven around Reno for an hour looking for any sign of her with no luck-and no food. Finally Dean suggested contacting cab companies in the area to inquire about recent fares and Sam thought it was genius. This had to be right.

"This is the address the cab company gave me," Sam explained, looking around at the-clearly closed-buildings. Dean kept slowly driving past the main building and turned left into the school, looking for signs of life.

As they came back to the main building at the end of their circle and hadn't found any, he finally asked, "OK, so now what?"

Sam thought about it for a minute, trying to logically figure out their next move. Maybe the buildings were open when she'd gotten here earlier? But what was she looking for here and where did she go next? He scoured his memory of their conversations trying to identify any clues.

Just as Sam was about to give up, Castiel pointed to something on their right side, "What about over there?"

Off in the distance, behind the football field and next to the student parking garage was a more modern, silver building with all it's lights still on. The brothers exchanged a look before Dean drove over.

"A library?" He asked as they pulled up.

"A library! That's it!" Sam exclaimed excitedly. Dean parked the car and Sam quickly reached into the glove box and grabbed out three fake IDs that looked closest to security badges.

The three of them got out, Sam passing out the badges, and as they walked up to the entrance Dean asked, "What? How is this 'it?' Why would she go to a library?"

"For the internet?"

"The internet?" Dean was confused. "You think she ran away from us to look at porn?" They reached the glass doors and Castiel opened the left side for them to pile in.

Sam rolled his eyes and said quietly once they were inside, "How many times do I have to tell you there's more to the internet than porn?" Not waiting for an answer, Sam walked over to the large, round information desk conveniently located in the middle of the entryway.

Sat behind the counter was a woman who looked older than your typical college student, but younger than him; he guessed 30ish. She wore a white ripped up band shirt under a black button down and lots of gold jewelry on her wrists and fingers. She had multiple facial piercings-nearly everywhere you could have them-and her hair was styled in short, red wine-colored dreads that fell to her chin. When she looked up at him, he noticed her strikingly beautiful skin was a random pattern of rich terra-cotta brown and stark pale pink. Sam realized she must have vitiligo.

"Hi, I'm Officer Grohl from campus security," he flashed the badge too quickly for her to actually see and continued confidently, "Officer's Cobain and Novoselic," he pointed at Cas and Dean, coming up behind him. "What's your name?"

"Stacey." She removed her earbuds and stood up nervously.

"Nice to meet you Stacey. Can you tell me how long you've been working tonight?"

"Started my shift about three hours ago," she responded curiously.

"Great, then maybe you can help. We're looking for a woman; caucasian, tall, long blonde hair, blue eyes, friendly, rambles a lot. Sound familiar?" They could instantly tell she knew something. Her well practiced, customer service friendly expression was replaced with shock and guilt as soon as Sam finished his description.

Clearing her throat, Stacey responded, "Uh… why? Is she in trouble?"

"Well, we don't know," Dean began, feigning concern. "She's a student that's been reported missing by her boyfriend. Have you seen her?"

"Sorry, did you say boyfriend?!" Stacey's attitude shifted quickly, placing an indignant hand on her hip. It was clear that she was annoyed by that information, though it wasn't clear why.

Dean glanced at Sam curiously before confirming, "Yea, I did. Why?"

Stacey didn't answer right away, clenching her jaw and huffing. Finally she rolled her eyes and smirked in anger, "She came in about two hours ago with some sob story about losing her ID. Said she had a paper due the next morning; seemed stressed about it."

"So, you let her in?" Sam guessed and Stacey nodded guiltily. "When was this?"

"She got here about midnight, just after my shift started."

"Can you tell us what she was doing while she was here?"

"Erm… Mostly, she was on the computer. I assume working on her paper?"

"Really? Can you show us where?" Sam inquired.

"Sure," Stacey said with some frustration, leading the group to a computer station about 50 feet away. "Right here."

"Do you know what she was using the computer for?" Sam asked, wiggling the mouse and getting a login screen.

"I didn't ask and she didn't say."

"Is there any way to find out?"

"Not without a warrant," She sighed with a bit of attitude. Obviously she felt they had overstayed their welcome. The three of them shared a surprised look, unsure how to respond.

Sam turned on his sad puppy dog charm and cleared his throat, "Listen, Stacey, her boyfriend is really concerned. When she left, she left with nothing; no ID, no money, no keys, no phone. She's out there by herself in the middle of the night with nothing and could be in danger. We just want to get her home safe."

Stacey hesitated for a moment, then rolled her eyes in frustration, "Look, I don't know what she was doing while she was here but before she left I gave her directions to the closest Brown Cub Diner, over on Carson street. I assume that's where she was headed next? Left about 30 minutes ago."

Dean looked like he was going to blow a gasket at that information but Sam was elated, "Great! Thank you for your help."

The three of them turned to leave and she followed them back to the front desk.

Sam and Castiel shared an eye roll as Dean held the door open and muttered furiously, "After all this, she's going to the diner for my pancakes?!"

Sam paused in the doorway and turned back to when Stacey called, "Officer Grohl!" Dean looked back as well and Stacey lobbed, "I don't need any more confused straight girl drama. If you find her, tell her to lose my number!"

"Wha?" Dean was very confused.

Sam was too but they didn't have time for it, so he called back, "Sure thing!" before grabbing his brother and pulling him out the door, "C'mon."

They made it to the diner but were unfortunately no closer to finding her. According to the waitress inside, a woman matching her description came in almost an hour prior, bought nearly two bags worth of to-go food, and left. The best they had was a direction. Dean pulled the car back onto the main street through town in said direction while Sam searched carefully out the window for any sign of her. He was very worried. If anything happened to her… he didn't want to think about it.

"Well this is great. Just great, Sammy." Dean was furious, and Sam seemed like the easiest one to take it out on, considering he hadn't let Dean get any food at the diner. Maybe Dean was also a little worried that they wouldn't find George but that was no one's business but his. "What do we do now that we've lost your confused-straight-girl friend, huh? Cas can't sense her because she's not human apparently, so how are we going to find her?"

Sam's neck snapped back and he glared at Cas, "You told him about that?"

"I didn't say she wasn't human. I said maybe not entirely human," Castiel said softly. The more time he spent with her the more he liked her and, though he was still suspicious of her, the suspicion made him feel guilty. But he'd already spilled the beans earlier to Dean when Sam was inside the gas station.

"Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"Uh-about what? George being… 'fuzzy'?" Sam mocked defensively. "What's there to say? We don't know if that means anything. Even Cas isn't sure what to think. She's from an alternate dimension for Christ's sake, it stands to reason she'd be a little fuzzy!"

Dean and Cas were quiet in response to Sam's outburst. They could tell he was a bit on edge.

Even so, Dean muttered, "Listen, I get it. It's not a lot to go on, and if you ask me, the only thing she's a real threat to is your abstinence." Sam clenched his jaw and glared, nostrils flaring as Dean smirked proudly. "But, that's something we should both get the opportunity to decide together. I get that the two of you have history," Sam turned his head and looked out the window guiltily, "and you've got all the feelings now, but she didn't step into the Sam Winchester show. We're brothers and we're in this together. When you start hiding things from me, shit blows up and the next thing you know you've jump-started another apocalypse, alright? Both our lives get affected by this stuff; you just gotta keep me in the loop."

Sam stayed silent but unclenched slowly in his seat. He knew Dean was right, it was irresponsible, dangerous, and unfair to keep things from each other; he wanted to agree to those terms but he wasn't sure if he could. Would it mean having to tell Dean about the dream? No, right? For his own sanity, he'd decided that the woman in the dream couldn't be George, so they weren't related… but his feelings were obviously the reason for Sam's recent missteps, so how was he supposed to explain himself without mentioning it? He was very conflicted.

As he continued scanning the area Sam felt a pull in the pit of his stomach and he leaned forward in his seat. Spotting a sign for the Motel 6, he sat forward like his whole body was being wrenched toward it.

He pointed, "Dean, there."

"What about it?" Castiel asked curiously, as they both looked toward the motel.

"She's-" Sam began confidently and then stopped. How could he say this without seeming crazy? "Maybe she's there?" He tried to sound casual while stopped at the red light just before the motel, "It's possible right?" Dean and Cas shared a look and then Dean stared at him suspiciously. He explained quickly, "Where else is she gonna go with all that food? We can at least just go ask," Sam offered, defensively.

"Fine." Dean grumbled in exhaustion and pulled into the parking lot once the light turned green.

After having gone inside to ask the clerk if they'd seen a woman matching George's description, Dean was walking back to the car and seemed relieved, but still pissed. "Jerry Garcia behind the desk says little miss runaway checked in about 30 minutes ago. Room 24." Dean pointed to a room on the second floor of the motel as he got close enough to Sam and Cas to relay the information.

"Are they sure it's her?" Sam asked anxiously. He wasn't sure if he was happy or freaked out. He definitely wanted to find her, of course, but this strange feeling of knowing where she was was very unnerving.

"Based on my description, which included the phrase 'confusingly endearing blabbermouth,' he seemed pretty sure," Dean shrugged. "Which begs the question-"

"How did you know she'd be here?" Cas asked while he and Dean gave him matching accusatory stares, waiting patiently for his explanation.

"I don't know-I mean, I didn't! I didn't know. I just…" Sam searched for something plausible but came up empty, "lucky guess?" Dean gave him a 'wtf' look, obviously wanting more of an explanation for how Sam was able to find the world's smallest needle in the world's largest haystack. Sam became exasperated; he wasn't able to fully explain it to himself, let alone to anyone else. "I don't know! I guess I just figured with her cab and pie expenses, she's probably low on cash. This is the cheapest motel in the area, so it just stands to reason that she'd have come here, alright?!"

"OK, man, don't blow a gasket. We found her, let's just go get her, so we can get the hell out of here." Dean had lost all patience at this point. They'd wasted the last three hours driving left, right, and center of Nevada to track her down, not knowing whether they'd find her alive or not. All he wanted to do now was to strangle-er, wrangle her back into the car and go get Jack. He'd had enough of Nevada and her shenanigans, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't also want some of that food she'd ordered!

The three of them headed toward room 24. They approached the door and were just about to knock when it opened lazily. George was standing on the other side, seemingly unscathed. She didn't seem at all surprised to see the three men outside her room; as if she'd opened the door in response to their arrival. Her eyes were bloodshot like she'd been crying and she was "dressed" in only one towel wrapped around her body and one twisted atop her head.

"Come on in," she sniffled flatly, turning away from them. In her towel dress, Sam couldn't help but notice that the bright ink he'd seen glimpses of on her calf not only stretched down onto her foot but also up her thigh, disappearing under the towel; it looked like the same colors he'd seen on her waist earlier as well. He still couldn't make out what it was supposed to be but his curiosity definitely piqued.

After they'd exchanged a few confused looks, it took the stunned men a good 15 seconds to snap out of it. With a shrug Dean stomped into the room, Sam following closely behind, and Castiel shutting the door behind them. She walked over to a chair across the small room and flopped down dejectedly.

Once inside, they stood in awkward silence, not a clue how to respond to the sight in front of them. Dean especially had been ready to rip her a new one for the stunt she'd pulled. He hesitated now, seeing her so sad and pathetic; the fact that she didn't have any clothes on made it challenging, too. But this anger had been building for three hours and even a sad, naked woman wasn't going to be saved from his hangry wrath.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Dean began ranting at her and pacing around the tiny room. "Do you know how dangerous it was to run like that? We've been driving around for hours, worried out of our minds that you'd been hurt or worse, with no way to find you-and I never got my damn pie!" He gave her his best angry dad face, pausing for her to provide an explanation.

At the mention of food, she got up and walked to the nightstand by the bed, which had a large brown bag filled to the brim with takeout boxes set on top. She pulled out the two stacks of boxes and set them back down on the nightstand, tossing the bag aside. She grabbed the top box and checked to make sure it was the right one before walking over and handing it to Dean.

"Here you go. A slice of strawberry rhubarb pie and a double stack of sweet cream pancakes." She went back to her chair and sat down again, slumping forward and laying her head face down on the wooden table next to her. "I didn't know what kind of pie you'd like, so I got one slice of each, they're in the other boxes on the nightstand. Help yourself." Came her muffled voice as she spoke into the table.

The three of them looked over at all the takeout boxes and then at each other in shock. Dean nearly shed a happy tear. He hesitated for a moment, worried that it might seem insensitive to start eating, but she did say to help himself. Eventually he grabbed a plastic fork from the discarded bag and plopped down on the bed to dig in, ignoring Sam and Castiel's judgmental looks.

"How did you know we were coming?" Castiel finally asked, gobsmacked.

"Dunno, just did." George shrugged. Castiel gave Sam a concerned look, Dean was too busy eating-if you could call it that, it was more like inhaling-to notice.

"George, can you tell us what happened?" Sam began in a gentle voice. "Why did you leave? Where were you going?"

She lifted her head and looked at him, a devastated, frightened look on her face, "Home." He frowned unconsciously and she winced, "I'm sorry, I don't really know what I was thinking. I just thought I saw--I just--ugh, just being so close to home I realized how insane the last few weeks of my life have been and I panicked!" She shouted defensively. Then she sighed and shrugged, "I simply panicked and ran. Trying to get to the only safe place I could think: home."

She paused for a moment and the three men shared understanding, yet uncomfortable looks. Welling up a bit she croaked, "But it doesn't exist. My home doesn't exist. My family doesn't exist. I don't exist!" At that she burst into tears again and hung her head, the towel atop falling away clumsily. Her long wet hair fell forward and draped down over her knees. The three guys froze, half a pancake hanging out of Dean's mouth, looking at each other like "wtf do we do?"

Sam wanted to comfort her. Truthfully, the second she opened the door he'd wanted to grab her and not let go; 'relieved' didn't even begin to cover it. But this whole situation was so very complicated. He was undeniably drawn to her--unnervingly, so--but felt deeply ashamed of his history and had convinced himself that she was just being polite and friendly as a fan of the show. Therefore, he was trying to be respectful and maintain appropriate distance.

When he caught his brother's eye again, Dean motioned for him to go to her as if to say "you're up dude!" Sam scrunched his nose at him before hesitantly moving to her side and carefully pulling her into an awkward side hug against his knees. To his surprise, she stood up suddenly and hugged him tight. Instinctively, he wrapped both arms around her, too, and closed his eyes briefly, relishing the feeling of her in his arms again. It was strangely familiar and comforting, as though she was made to fit perfectly there.

When his eyes opened again, he ignored the smirking look of approval on Dean's face , and asked her quietly, "What do you mean, you don't exist?"

Pulling herself together after a moment, George pulled back and clumsily tried to wipe her snot from Sam's jacket. Dean made a yuck face, shoveling another bite of half pie half pancake into his mouth. Sam was too busy trying to ignore the sudden cold, empty feeling and the strange ache in his chest from the loss of her to notice the snot.

Way to maintain an appropriate distance, dude.

"According to historical records, my grandparents were killed in a house fire shortly after my Aunt Lorna-who was the oldest of my mother's siblings-was born." She reached over to grab a couple pieces of printed paper which were sitting on the opposite side of the table and handed them to Sam. "Copy of the newspaper article about the fire from 1963," she explained. While he scanned the pages quickly, she grabbed a hand towel from the vanity, wetting it at the sink and then rubbing it over her face as if to wash away the sadness. With a sigh she continued, "Second page, half way down: Franklin and Bernadette Byrne. My grandparents. Dead. 5 years before my mom was born."

"That would mean-" Cas began to state the obvious but was cut off by George.

"My mother was never born in this stupid reality! And if she was never born, then I was never born and I shouldn't exist-I don't exist! Here! Wherever here is?" She began pacing in the small room as she spoke out loud, "A television show? But that makes no sense because you all are terrible actors. A dream? That was certainly my first theory, considering it's obviously not the first time I've had sex dreams about fictional characters, not even the first one I've had about The Winchesters-or you, Cas; and I promise it was always Misha-" Sam and Dean exchanged "yikes" looks; she was rambling. Suddenly she stopped and took a deep breath before continuing, "But-but something about this experience seems far more real and distinctly un-dream like. But it also doesn't feel like my real life because ever since I've been here I've felt weirdly… comfortable? The pain is gone and I can actually listen to my instincts which feel heightened somehow; I trust them now more than ever! Which feels like it means I'm supposed to be here, like I'm where I'm meant to be." Sam tried not to look too happy about that statement, as she gave a pain expression before saying, "But how can that be if I don't exist?" She paused only briefly and then turned on her heel and started again, "Or, does it make sense that I don't exist here already because if I did, there'd be two of me in one universe and I suppose that could cause some kind of paradox? Maybe-"

"OK, time out!" Dean stood up and put his half finished food down. He turned to look at her for a split-second before turning back around and picking the food up again. He spoke to her between bites, "it's been a long day and we're all too tired to get into paradoxes right now. Why don't we go see if we can get adjoining rooms and try to get some shut eye. Give ourselves a little time to rest, recharge, and then we can talk things through in the morning? How does that sound?" Dean's mood had improved exponentially now that he'd had some food in him and his offer was tempting to everyone. George felt like a spinning top that would never slow down and figured maybe sleep wouldn't be so bad, so she just shrugged concedingly.

"Sam and I will go talk to the front desk about the rooms." Castiel wanted to talk to Sam alone.

"And I'll stay here and supervise the pie while you take a nice hot bath to relax, OK?" Dean took the last bite of the food in his first takeout box and tossed it into the trash before nudging George in the direction of the bathroom. She gave a loud sigh in faux-test but went and started the bath anyway. She'd already showered but he had a point; a hot bath would probably help her relax enough to sleep. Cas and Sam headed out the door while Dean grabbed a second take out box and they heard an excited "Cherry! Score!" as the door shut behind them.

"Sam, I'm concerned," Cas stated as they were walking to the lobby building.

"You don't think they're going to have adjoining rooms available?"

"Not about the hotel, about George," Castiel clarified. "I'm concerned about how she says she's feeling."

"Cas, it's totally natural for humans to feel sad. She was ripped out of her world and plopped into what she thinks is a TV show and then she finds out she doesn't exist? I mean, it'd be overwhelming for anyone. When Dean and I got stuck in her reality, it was-"

"I'm not concerned about her emotional state, Sam," Castiel stopped Sam from walking and made him turn to look at him. "I'm concerned about her saying she feels like she's meant to be here? Like her 'instincts are heightened'?" Castiel questioned, checking to see if Sam had heard that too.

"So, what's wrong with that? Maybe we've just been making her feel so at home that she's having a nice time." Sam felt defensive; he'd been nothing but selfishly happy that she seemed to feel so comfortable here. Hoping beyond hope that maybe he might be part of the reason why. Questioning that was a can of worms he wanted to keep tightly closed.

Cas gave him a look, "It's more than that. You saw all that food in there, how she opened the door as we approached." Castiel shook his head, a suspicious look on his face. "I think this goes beyond good hospitality…" he trailed off though, as he really wasn't sure what this was. Every time he was around her, he felt a niggling sense of dread that he couldn't shake and the more she displayed this strange, coincidental clairvoyance, the more the dread grew. Yet she was an inarguably pleasant human, who had been nothing but kind and friendly to him. If only he could sense her, he'd feel a lot better.

"What? You think it's something bad? Something to be concerned about?" Sam didn't see what all the fuss was about. Sure, she'd had food waiting for them-Dean's always hungry and she maybe felt like she needed a peace offering? And she opened a door five seconds before they knocked-maybe their footsteps were rattling the wall of the rickety old motel, who knows? Sam didn't see the relevance either way.

"I don't know," Cas admitted finally.

"OK, then let's just get some shut-eye for now and like Dean said, we can talk about all of this, including your concerns, in the morning, yea?" Cas conceded begrudgingly since he knew humans tended to function better after having slept.

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