#I’ve learned that not everyone sees Two Face as a system and I was SHOCKED to find that out tbh

[wakeywakeyjakey]

The Batman characters I always write and view with DID (aka the “DID baddies”) are Batman, Two Face, and Scarecrow—and I LOVE that they each present with such wiiiiildy different interactions with their headmates + experiences within their headspaces.

The way I see it, Bruce and Batman coexist easily. They have the same mission so they work alongside each other and view the other as having an extremely valuable role to play in their life/are aware that they can’t function without each other. What’s cool is that they have completely different approaches to their collective goal, but ultimately they trust the other and both get where they want to be (from a big picture perspective).

Harv and Harvey coexist grudgingly and work against each other in a lot of ways (it’s a WIP) BUT they have a system (haha) for how to navigate daily life so that they both feel equally represented in their decisions. While “trust” might be too strong a word to use, they definitely both see the other as capable of living their collective life even if/when they don’t agree with the other’s decisions—and so they mostly don’t stand in each other’s way.

Jonathan and Scarecrow DO NOT COEXIST! Jonathan views Scarecrow as a liability actively ruining their life and thus works to keep Scarecrow away from the front entirely. Scarecrow views Jonathan as weak and unwilling/unable to do what needs to be done to keep them both alive. The one area of overlap is their research (and criminal endeavors) so it’s the one space they’re willing to coexist, but outside of their heists they’re almost exclusively at each other’s throats and would rather the other not have access to their life/body/decisions.

It adds so many layers to their characters and entirely fleshes out the “personas” when you come at it from the lens of DID as opposed to just viewing it as a costume they take off at the end of the night imo!

[moonselune]

OMG i think my req sent without finishing :(! So sorry! Could we maybe get a writing snippet where elf tav reunites with Astarion after he became a vampire / post-tadpole?

Magistrate Astarion’s assistant tav became an expert in magic, and runs into Astarion (ascended if you wanted) in the lower city after being gone / pronounced dead for those 200 years?

Omg omg omg this is such a good ask tysm !!

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

Ascended!Astarion x Reader | My Dearest Assistant

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

The Lower City of Baldur’s Gate was a place of shadows, where the past often resurfaced in unexpected ways. The years had not dulled its chaotic energy, but you had grown accustomed to the winding streets and the constant hum of life that filled them. As you walked through the familiar alleys, your thoughts drifted to memories of a time long past—a time when you had served as an assistant to Magistrate Astarion.

Astarion had been a figure of authority and charisma, a man who had commanded both respect and admiration. He was known for his dedication to protecting the citizens of Baldur’s Gate, a beacon of justice in a city rife with corruption (at least that is what you thought of him - there were some unsavoury rumours that he was a harsh and corrupt magistrate but you simply could not see him that way).

You had worked closely with him, learning the intricacies of the legal system under his tutelage, and in time, you had become an expert in your own right. But then, one day, Astarion had disappeared without a trace. Rumors of his death had circulated, but there had never been any confirmation.

It had been two centuries since that day, and though you had moved on, the memory of him had never truly faded. You couldn't face the legal system after his disappearance, the courts had ruled him dead and you knew - just knew, in your heart that they were wrong, so they had lost your faith.

Due to your disciplined nature, once you had a taste of magic you quickly rose the ranks and became a successful mage in Waterdeep. Though tonight, as you made your way through the Lower City, visiting some old friends of yours. You felt a strange sense of nostalgia. The air was thick with the scent of rain, and the cobblestones glistened under the dim light of the streetlamps. You were lost in thought when a voice, rich and familiar, broke through the night.

“Well, if it isn’t my little apprentice. I never imagined we’d cross paths again.”

You froze, your heart skipping a beat. The voice was unmistakable, but it was impossible. Slowly, you turned around, and there he was—Astarion, standing before you as if he had stepped out of a dream. He was just as you remembered him, though there was an air of something different about him now, something darker and more powerful.

“Astarion?” you whispered, hardly believing your eyes. “But… you were—”

“Gone?” he finished for you, a sly smile playing on his lips. “Yes, I suppose that’s true, in a way. But I’ve returned, and it seems the fates were kind enough to bring us together again.”

You were overjoyed to see him, your initial shock giving way to excitement. You rushed forward, embracing him without hesitation. Astarion’s arms wrapped around you, and for a moment, you felt the warmth of familiarity, the comfort of a bond that had never truly been broken.

“I thought you were dead,” you said, pulling back to look at him. Your face alight with joy. “Everyone thought you were dead.”

“A rumor I allowed to flourish,” Astarion replied smoothly. “It served its purpose.”

You didn’t notice the way his eyes lingered on you, or the hunger that flickered behind his smile. To you, he was still the same Astarion you had known all those years ago, the upstanding magistrate who had fought for the people of Baldur’s Gate, no matter what others said. You had no reason to suspect otherwise.

He invited you to his mansion, and you accepted without hesitation, eager to catch up on all the years that had passed. The mansion was grand and opulent, a testament to his success. As you entered, you marveled at the fine decor, the luxurious furnishings, and the sense of history that filled the place. You couldn't help but note he had many loyal servants, all coincidentally having the same red eyes. A strange coincidence you assured yourself, -perhaps they were just family.

Astarion guided you to a room with high ceilings and ornate chandeliers. The air was heavy with the scent of incense, and a fire crackled in the hearth, casting a warm glow over the room. You sat together, reminiscing about the past, sharing stories of your adventures and your magical studies.

That night you fell in love with your mentor all over again, he had reached the success you always knew he deserved - you weren't exactly clear on the details on how, but you were happy for him all the same. The rest of the night was filled with heavy flowing wine and reminscing.

But as the night wore on, you felt a growing unease. Something about Astarion’s demeanor had changed—he was more intense, more focused on you than you remembered. When you finally decided it was time to leave, you stood up, thanking him for his hospitality.

“I should be going,” you said, making your way to the grand door. You tried the handle but the door wouldn’t budge. You frowned, trying again, but it was locked.

“Astarion?” you called out, turning back to him. “The door… it’s locked.”

He remained seated, watching you with a predatory gaze. “Yes, it is.”

“Why is it locked?” you asked, a note of alarm creeping into your voice, yet you couldn't help but let out a nervous laugh. “Astarion, let me out, we've had plenty of wine tonight.”

He rose from his chair, moving towards you with a slow, deliberate grace. “You’ve always been so diligent, so obedient. My perfect little assistant. I’ve missed that about you.”

“What are you talking about, Astarion?” you demanded, your heart pounding in your chest as you continued to try the handle, only stopeed when Astarion pulled your shoulder and pinned you to the door.

“I find myself in need of your services once more,” Astarion continued, his voice low and smooth. “You see, I’ve come into a new… position, and I could use someone like you by my side. Forever.”

“Astarion, this isn’t funny. Let me out.” You told him firmly, yet your vouce wavered, your panic evident. Like an animal realising it was prey. "We can talk about this another time."

But he didn’t listen. Instead, he reached out, his fingers brushing against your cheek. “You were always so good to me, always so eager to please. You always silenced those naysayers, those who wished to see me fall. Always saw me for the best that I was and I think it’s time I returned the favor.”

There was a darkness in his eyes that sent a chill down your spine. You tried to move, to lunge away, but he was too fast, his hand gripping your arm with a strength that belied his appearance.

“Let me go, please Astarion” you whispered, fear creeping into your voice. But Astarion only smiled, his fangs glinting in the firelight.

“I’m going to give you a gift,” he murmured, his breath hot against your skin. “A gift that will ensure you stay by my side, just as you always have.”

And before you could react, he sank his fangs into your neck, the sharp pain making you gasp. The world around you began to blur as he drank deeply, his hold on you unyielding. You tried to resist, but it was futile—his power was overwhelming, and you felt yourself growing weaker with every passing moment. No magic would help you now.

As the darkness closed in around you, you realized the truth: Astarion was always the man they said he was, not the man you wanted him to be. And now he had becomes something entirely more wicked.

As the world faded, the last thing you heard was his voice, a soft, satisfied whisper in your ear. “Welcome home, my darling. You’ll never leave me again.”

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

Heheh silly naive little assistant bless them they only wanted the best for astarion ! Hope you guys enjoyed this if you like anymore ascended content check out the dark masterlist below - Seluney xox

If you want to support me in other ways | Help keep this moonmaiden caffeinated x

✦. ── Dark BG3 Masterlist ── .✦

[iliumheightnights]

The Newbie | Tony Stark x Male Reader

Fandom: Marvel Pairing: Tony Stark x Male Reader Summary: During a routine walk through Tony meets M/n. He can’t stop thinking of him afterwards.

…

“Mr.Stark, it’s time for your annual lab walkthrough with Mr.Anderson.”

Tony groaned. The annual walkthrough. It was the time of year when he walked through every department in Stark Industries from janitorial all the way to upper management. He always figured it was something for Pepper to do but she had said he needed to do it since ‘his name is still on the paper’.

It wouldn’t have been as bad if he didn’t have to do it with Mr.Anderson. The man was one of the heads of the science departments. A really smart man but…such a suck up. He always seemed to find a way to try and suck up to Tony. “What’s Anderson have this year?” Tony asked as he sat his tools down. “A hand knitted doll of you, sir.”

Tony shivered. “Really?”

“Yes.”

Tony groaned before stepping into the Elevator. He didn’t bother to get changed, he would go just as he was. In his t-shirt and lab pants. To be fair, it was actually a common look for Tony whenever he went into the labs.

The elevator opened and Tony was greeted by the sight of Anderson. “TONY! Nice to see you again.” The man opened up his arms but Tony didn’t indulge him. “It’s Mr.Stark, Mr.Anderson.” Friday spoke up. The man’s face went a bit red but nodded. “Of course, of course, must look professional in front of everyone else. Here, I made this for you.” He handed Tony the knitted doll. “This is…great. Thanks Anderson.” Tony wanted to just get past this.

“Alright let’s get this started!” Anderson turned around and began walking off. A person walked past pushing a cart and Tony dropped the doll onto it. Bye little doll. With that out of the way he followed Anderson for the walkthrough.

Of course the walkthrough starts from the very basement of the tower with the janitorial section. Not Tony’s favorite but that job and everyone who does it is important. He makes sure they’re properly thanked for their hard work because without them things would collapse. After that, the two make their way through the other departments as they go upwards in the tower.

Eventually the two of them had made it to the labs. This was always Tony’s favorite part. He loved seeing all the minds at work using their creativity and intelligence in different ways. He always wanted to just jump right in and work alongside them. But then again, he didn’t want to steal all the limelight and make them look bad.

“So these interns over here are working on a new heating system for-” Tony drowned Anderson out as he looked around. Eventually his eyes locked onto one of the most beautiful men he had ever seen in his life. “Who’s that? I don’t think I’ve seen him around.” Anderson looked to where Tony was pointing. “Oh. That’s M/n L/n. He’s a new hire/transfer. Pepper found him during a tour of Oscorp and poached him. Glad she did, he’s insanely smart.”

It was at that moment that M/n’s eyes met Tony’s. The man gave him a small smile before turning back to his work. Now, Tony didn’t believe in soulmates, not at all. But that moment right there made him question everything.

He needed to learn more about him. He needed to see him more. He just needed M/n.

A week had passed and Tony still couldn’t get M/n out of his mind. After the walkthrough Tony had pulled up the files on the man to learn about him. To say he was impressed was an understatement. He was honestly shocked that they hadn’t found M/n before Oscorp had.

Wanting to see M/n again Tony had planned out how he could. He had ordered a catered lunch for M/n’s department and planned to be there during it. Of course he disguised it as a ‘thank you’ lunch for them and made some half assed hastily written speech for it but really it was just for M/n.

Everyone was enjoying the lunch and appreciated it. A few people tried to speak to Tony which he returned the conversation but quickly exited as well. That was until he was able to speak to M/n. “Hello, I don’t believe we’ve met.” Tony casually said to him. M/n smirked. “No. We haven’t Mr.Stark. I’m M/n, nice to meet you.”

The first conversation was a bit awkward. Both of them dancing around each other. Tony was actually surprised. Usually he had some sort of witty comeback or a dialogue to fall on, but with M/n he seemed to get tongue tied.

Their second conversation had gone a lot better. It happened about another week after the lunch. M/n had stepped into the elevator while Tony was on. “Oh! Sorry Mr.Stark, I can take another one if-” 

“No!” Tony quickly composed himself and straightened up. “I mean no. Don’t worry about it. Makes no sense to wait for another one.” Tony stepped aside to let M/n in. The doors closed and the elevator started. At first neither said anything but then Tony eventually did. “So, how’s the project?”

“Oh good. A few setbacks but nothing too bad. Still on track.”

“That’s good.” Tony nodded. “Those new shoes?” He pointed to M/n’s shoes.

“Yeah, I had to buy a new pair. Dropped some chems on the last pair a few days ago. These are better though. Feel more comfortable.” He let out a small laugh which made Tony smile. “Honestly I’m surprised you noticed.”

Tony shrugged. “I like to surprise people.”

“That you do.” M/n said smirking at him. “Wonder what other surprises you have up your sleeves.” With that the door opened to M/n’s floor. “This is me. Thanks for the chat, hope we can again soon.”

He stepped off the elevator and as the doors closed Tony knew. He was crushing on M/n. “Damn.”

After the elevator M/n and Tony had a few chats here and there. A lot were short and in passing like suddenly finding themselves stuck in the elevator together. Tony began to wonder if it was Friday planning it out. One of those days however was different. M/n entered the elevator not looking his normal self. His whole attitude was down and he seemed to have a dark cloud following him.

“Rough weekend?” Tony asked. A bit of teasing in his voice. M/n let a dry humorless laugh escape his lips. “You could say that again.” Tony seemed to realize something actually had happened over the weekend. “Shit. Sorry, want to talk about it?” M/n shrugged. “Not much to say really. Just got stood up by a date this weekend. Also found out he was also dating someone so there’s that.”

“Damn.” Tony chuckled. “Yeah that’s pretty shitty.” He tilted his head thinking of it. He looked at M/n and realized he really must have been taking it hard. “Well that guy is a complete idiot. Anyone with eyes can see you’re a complete catch and would be lucky for a moment with you.”

M/n smirked and turned to Tony. “You’re just saying that.”

“And? It’s true.” Tony didn’t move his eyes away from M/n’s. “Plus insanely cute and sexy, not to mention smart. Should I keep going or have you had enough?”

M/n was blushing at this point but laughed again. “Thanks Tony…” He bit his lip as if thinking. “You know…I really did want to try that restaurant. Maybe…would you like to go with me?”

Tony gave M/n a wicked look. “Oh Mr.L/n, are you asking me, your boss, to go on a date with you? What WOULD the HR department think of this?” M/n laughed and looked away. “Fine. Forget I said anything, I’m sure Mr.Anderson would-”

“Nope.” Tony interrupted him then and there. “Not a chance in hell. I’m not losing a chance of a date with you to Andy. Screw the HR department, let’s do this. This weekend alright?” Tony was teasing of course, but he was also being completely serious.

M/n’s smile wouldn’t fade. “Sounds perfect.” The door opened. “This is me. See you soon.” With that M/n stepped out of the elevator.

When Tony appeared for his meeting with Pepper she noticed the difference in attitude. “Well someone’s happy. What? Just found out you're going to be featured on the cover of men’s health or something?” Tony’s grin also didn’t fade. “No, but that’d be great.”

He thought back to M/n’s smile. “I have a date this weekend.”

[whats-amata-you]

Man it’s weird being trans. Like yeah I did always know, I did my googling waaaaaaay back in middle school and found the gender vs sex rabbit hole when I was like 11 on ye olde 2004 Wikipedia, I prayed for years for god to let me be some kind of intersex that just looks female so I wouldn’t get boobs or periods, I asked my Texan dad to call me “sir” instead of “ma’am” when I was maybe 7 and he did for a week before he realized I wasn’t going to get sick of it.

But I didn’t always KNOW. I grew up under this weird kind of rock made of autism and whiteness and being middle-class and non-denominational Christian, so I was brought up believing everyone was basically the same, and then there were The Weird Ones, but The Weird Ones were usually fine as long as they weren’t being “in your face” about things. I knew that there were men and there were women and there were intersex people, I knew what was expected of men and what was expected of women. But I didn’t know how the cishets ACTUALLY saw the queers. I didn’t know the consequences of being born in a female body but insisting on being a boy. I didn’t know what my transness would actually cost if I pushed too hard for it.

And no,I didn’t try, because I didn’t know it was an option, obviously. But I’d never seen trans people anywhere before, never heard of them outside that Wikipedia article, never saw them referenced in media (we only got PBS until I was 16 and by then I was disinterested in almost anything outside my hyperfixations). I heard about gay people, and how it was wrong to sleep with someone of the same sex, but it was the lukewarm distaste of casual homophobia that just “doesn’t want to see it.” The biggest cost I actually saw to queer people was just… people not wanting to see them kiss their partner. As an aroace kid, I didn’t understand why that would be a big deal for either side.

I’d only heard of HIV and AIDS in dry, clinical explanations in sex ed. “It’s a sexually transmitted virus so use a condom every time, it also spreads via needles so don’t do drugs. The virus works like this and destroys your immune system so even a cold can kill you. You cannot get it by breathing their air or touching them or using a toilet seat or whatever, it has to be bodily fluids and usually not saliva. It’s incurable and fatal.” In retrospect, I learned WAY more about HIV/AIDS than a lot of kids did back in the late 90s and early 2000s, so that’s a mark in favor of Washington state (or maybe just that particular school district). But I never, not even once, heard queer people of any type and AIDS mentioned in the same sentence. I never heard of “the AIDS crisis” or its impact on the queer community until after I graduated high school and met a queer or two on the internet.

My old mentor Orion would probably have been shocked and appalled. She must have lived through and seen so much that I never knew about up until the last couple years, actively chasing down this elusive thing called “queer history” that I’d never known existed until I created a tumblr account in 2017.

I’m an aroace gay gnc trans masc enby. I could fill an entire book just explaining all the different aspects to my own queerness that I’ve found over the years. Most of it is just stuff I found words for, not things I didn’t already know about myself. And I never, until 2017, had any clue what any of it actually means in the context of society, culture, or politics.

I dunno what to do with that. I’m gonna chew on it for a while longer.

[anarchy-n-glitter]

𝕸𝖆𝖉 𝕷𝖔𝖛𝖊

Summary: Dr. Heather Winters is hired by CHAANK to give her professional opinion on a mystery patient. The kicker? She has two months to determine whether or not he's sane enough to be let out of the vault in the basement of the building - if he's determined unsafe he would be left to die. Even worse, what happens when she begins to fall in love with her mystery patient? (So, this is very Batman inspired. Does the plot make sense, no not really? Do I care, also no. Jack just reminded me so much of Joker I had to do this, sorry.)

(CHAPTER 2 HERE)

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 1

“He’s in there? My patient is in there?” The blonde woman breathed, absolutely flabbergasted after being led all that way down to the tenth vault in the basement of CHAANK headquarters. She wasn’t even entirely sure what she was doing there, why she even accepted the job. She was a criminal psychologist, someone who could be helping others in the prison system or even helping in court cases (or, at least, that’s what she assumed - she was still new to this psychologist thing). Instead she was there, walking through dark hallways following the brunette CEO of the company. 

“It’s a long story, Dr. Winters.” The CEO, who went by Ms. Cale, as far as she knew, turned to face the doctor. “But you have a few months to learn everything about it.” She sounded irritated, and the doctor couldn’t help but ask questions - after all that was her job.

“You don’t sound pleased about me being here, why is that?” Dr. Winters asked, tucking her notebook under her arm. Cale rolled her dark eyes, though the doctor was sure it wasn’t at her, moreso at the situation. 

“Some people on the board wanted him alive, said we could fire him but we needed to let him out. I wanted him to rot after what he did. The board was split on the matter until someone mentioned getting a psychiatrist in here to make sure he wouldn’t kill us all. No offense, Dr. Winters but-”

“Please just call me Heather for now.” The blonde, Heather, breathed. The conversation was already rubbing her the wrong way. They really expected her to be judge, jury, and executioner. 

Cale smiled a tight lipped smile. “Heather, I don’t have faith in this. I’ve seen what he’s capable of, I’ve read his file. To me, he’s better off in there.” It had only been a few days since the carnage he wreaked on CHAANK, and this was to be Cale’s last impact on the company. She had hoped everyone would agree with her when she said he should die in that vault. Heather looked up at the large, steel door under the blue lighting of the basement. Everything down there was a cool grey tone, mostly thanks to the blue lighting, but it set Heather on edge. She could easily lose track of time down there, and lose track of where she was. Not many people seemed to go down there, and she feared that if she did get lost no one would be able to help her find her way out. She wondered for a moment if the man behind the vault door knew his way around the basement, she wondered if he himself had gotten lost down there and they just closed the door on him.

“If my patient is behind this door how exactly am I supposed to interact with him? I find better results when I’m face to face with my patients.” Heather remarked, unable to hide her discontent with the situation. If there was one thing Heather and Cale could agree on it was their displeasure with the whole situation they found themselves in. 

“We have a way of letting you see and talk to him but you’re not permitted inside. He’ll be able to hear your voice, though.” Heather huffed at this. “Did you look over his file?” Cale continued. Heather shook her head.

“I haven’t been given access yet. Will I have an office? I’ll look over it as soon as I can get settled in and given access.” She promised, a bit more sincere this time. She wanted to help him, she really did, but so far the company was making it hard for her. She would try her best.

“They’re putting you in his old office.” That was a shock. Heather hardly had a chance to respond before Cale started walking in the opposite direction. She followed aimlessly, like a lost puppy. She followed her down the twists and turns, up an elevator, right to the engineering department. It was just as dark - if not darker - on that level. Heather looked around uneasily, wondering how the hell Cale seemed so calm and collected. Perhaps the events of the last few days hardened her in ways Heather couldn’t understand.

Men stood to the side, working silently while some stopped to leer at the duo. Heather scoffed, wondering how long it had been since they had last seen a woman, everyone down there seemed like they lived there. Sparks flew on either side of them, making Heather jump ever so slightly. She wasn’t a fan of things she felt could set her on fire. But hey, at least it seemed like they were hard at work.

Cale stopped before a wall covered in colorful graffiti, taking a deep breath and glancing at the smaller blonde beside her. Just to the side was a red, sliding door, which Cale pulled open to reveal a large, cluttered room. TVs were stacked along the wall and towering shelves were lined up around the room, making a sort of pseudo labyrinth of this mad man’s design. It’s not right to think that way just yet, Heather scolded herself. She knew nothing of Jack Dante, but from what she could see, her task was already quite daunting. 

“All his shit is still there, hopefully it’s enough for you to get a good idea of the man before you get his file.” Cale turned on her heel, ready to get the hell out of there and go home for the rest of the day. Ever since submitting her resignation letter she had been counting the days before she could get the hell out of there. Unfortunately, she knew she couldn’t leave until Dr. Winters made her decision regarding one Jack Dante, who was still locked in Vault Ten, likely still thinking he was fighting for his life. She didn’t turn to look at the doctor as she spoke. “Knock yourself out.” 

Two months. Heather had two months to get some sort of idea of who Jack Dante was - what his psyche was like. So far, she had a sinking feeling. If he wasn’t deemed safe and sane enough to be let out they would simply let him die - or at least that was the vibe Cale gave off. Heather knew they would leave him to die - but somewhere deep down she hoped they would instead send him to a facility that could help him. She picked up an action figure from one of his many cluttered desks. She recognized the figure - it was one of the only characters she recognized - Batman. Clad in his black batsuit with his yellow emblem, he held his grapple gun. She found herself amazed that such a small accessory was preserved, despite the mess around the figure. Heather looked around, wondering if he had a Joker lying around somewhere too. 

She walked along the isles, looking at his various drawings and scribblings that were plastered along the shelves while still holding onto the little Batman, playing with the cloth cape between her fingers anxiously. The longer she looked at one drawing the worse her sinking feeling got. All fuzzy feelings she felt - any endearing qualities she might have picked up on - from looking at his action figures were washed away the longer she stared at his drawings. They were done with dark, almost violent, strokes scribbled all over the page, depicting naked women and other taboo subjects. Turning around, Heather caught sight of a wall full of pornagraphic photos of women in various poses and in various states of undress. 

A porn addict, clearly. Heather thought to herself as she stared in wonder and a sick sense of awe. On the table below the wall sat a pair of lacy panties, which she wished she never saw. She wondered if he had a girlfriend at some point or another, hoping for this hypothetical woman’s sake that he didn’t. She also hoped, that if there was never a girlfriend, that those were just panties he bought and were never stolen from some poor, unsuspecting woman. 

Moving on from there, she made her way to the stack of TVs along the back wall, and cautiously turned one on. It crackled and a white line flashed before the picture came on, and on its display was an old Tom and Jerry cartoon. She thought she learned her lesson the first time, but she found herself fighting the urge to smile again. It was endearing, even if this space reminded her of a teenage boy. 

Maybe he’s emotionally stunted? She wondered to herself as she moved to the next TV, pressing the power button to see if he had the same thing playing on each individual display. She let out a shocked gasp and jumped back as a video of a woman getting railed from behind came up on the TV, covering her eyes out of embarrassment and surprise. She quickly hit the power button, shutting off the TV as she shook off her discomfort. Note to self, stop smiling at things.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

Heather’s hand shook as she set up her notebook, setting her pen (a pink glitter pen - she wanted to have a bit of fun despite how nerve wracking this experience had been so far) down beside the spirals binding her notebook together. She straightened her pen yet again, trying her best to make everything perfect - a nervous habit she picked up from her mother. She worried that if her pen wasn’t perfect something would go wrong and she would be responsible for a man’s death. As she went through school she began to suspect it was some form of OCD or anxiety tick. 

She worked much later than she had expected the night before, trying her best to clean up a corner of his “office” so she could keep her things there and sit at a table without feeling the urge to burn everything that came in contact with the surface. She went a little above and beyond though, even making her way to the old, stained mattress in the corner and trying her best to get the stink of sweat out of it, even putting on the fresh sheets she bought from the store when she stopped to get cleaning supplies. She was lucky she did, because after all she did that day she ended up accidentally spending the night when she passed out from exhaustion. When she woke up she realized he had no pillows and mentally wondered how often he actually slept - wondering if he had a home outside of that building. 

One of the engineers, Lou, had come down to help her with the video feed from Vault Ten, showing her how to speak to Jack and explaining each piece of equipment she needed to worry about. Lou was a large man standing at about six foot two with a muscular body and a bit of a gut - as if he needed to be any more intimidating. His hair was red and thinning, with a large bald spot in the middle of his head and stray grey hairs all throughout. He had kind green eyes that shone when she showed appreciation for his help. In some ways, he was reminiscent of Homer Simpson. 

Lou took a step back, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Need more help or do you think you’ve got it?” He asked in a thick Brooklyn accent. Heather shook her head, looking up at the man with a smile on her face.

“Nope, I think I’ve got it. I press this button to turn on the security feed from vault ten, then I just press this button to speak to him right?” She wanted to make sure she had it, but she was almost certain she did. Lou nodded.

“Yep, you’ve got it.” He chuckled, but there was something underneath his jovial facade. He seemed worried about something. “Do you need anyone to stay here and wait for you? I can wait right outside if you want.” Heather pondered his offer for a moment.

“Do you think you need to stand guard like that?” She asked, hoping her voice didn’t shake as much as her hands were. His words worried her more than anything. 

“I don’t know, all I know is this guy gave me the creeps when he worked up here with us. He was just bad news…” That wasn’t promising. “I have a daughter your age, I’m just trying to look out for you. I don’t want him to have this place boobytrapped and have you stuck here with no one out there to help.” 

Heather smiled. 

“Then yes, please stick around.” She laughed. “You seem to have one up on me since you actually worked with this guy.” She watched as Lou’s expression changed, it grew more somber. 

“He was not a nice guy.” Was all Lou could muster. Jack Dante was not a nice man, he was closed off and short when speaking to others. He hardly offered help and was more concerned with whatever it was he did in his office all day and night. He hardly showered, and he seemed to think he was smarter than everyone else. He insulted people, and there were times when he got violent. Lou didn’t like Jack, but he didn’t think that was a good enough reason to sentence the man to death. He didn’t know enough about him to say he was pure evil, hell, he didn’t even really know why he was locked in that vault in the first place. 

Heather pressed her lips into a thin line as she stared at the blank monitor before her. In its reflection, she could see Lou brush past toward the door.

“I’ll be right outside. If you need anything give a shout and I’ll be there.” He reassured her, to which she could only nod in acknowledgement, before he shut the red door. 

She took a shaking, deep breath, and held it as she pressed the button on the remote beside her to turn on the monitor. It crackled and static filled the screen before focusing into the blue image of the man she presumed to be Jack Dante. 

He seemed exhausted, sitting on the floor leaning against the concrete wall. He had long black hair that came down below his shoulders and looked like it hadn’t been washed in ages. His eyes were closed and she watched his chest rise and fall as he took deep breaths. Was he hurt? She knew he was tired - he had to be - she was sure they weren’t giving him food or water while he was down there, and from what she understood it might have been actively dangerous to do so. 

Her hand shook as she reached for the intercom microphone and controls. She wasn’t even sure where to begin. Her words got caught in her throat and they felt as if they were choking her. All she could do was stare at the screen wide eyed. It was slightly easier to come to terms with having someone’s life in her hands when she couldn’t put a face to the name, but now…

He looked scared, even when trying to rest he looked terrified. She knew CHAANK was bad, everyone did after their war machine went haywire and killed a bunch of people, but she didn’t expect this. It looked like he had went through days of literal torture. She couldn’t do this. 

“Jack Dante?” His name felt like the easiest thing to start with, they were the only words that would come out. She prayed her voice sounded steady. His head jerked in the direction of the camera, as if he knew people had been watching him. His look of surprise morphed into one of dismay and confusion. 

“Who the fuck are you?” Charming, she thought to herself and she opened her notebook, flipping to a page filled with basic bullet points and notes. She had gone over his file while she took a break from cleaning that one corner of his office, and she took as many notes as possible. The more she read from his file the more daunting the task of trying to save him became.

Why are we trying to save him? She asked herself. After everything he’s done it seems like a lost cause.

“Everyone deserves a second chance.” She reminded herself, muttering under her breath as she brought the mic closer to her again. “Mr. Dante, I’m Dr. Heather Winters, it’s nice to finally meet you.” He scoffed.

“They sent a shrink…” He murmured, though it was loud enough for the security feed to pick up on. “Hey, at least they didn’t send the cops.” He laughed darkly, and she found herself agreeing with him. From what she knew and could see, she was almost glad the cops weren’t called to come get him - he probably would have been shot and killed. Something about that thought made her feel uneasy.

Jack stood up and brought his fingers to his mouth, chewing on the nail and cuticle in focus as he began to pace. “If you’re talking to me that means the War Beast isn’t on anymore, right?” There was something urgent in his tone. Heather didn’t even know what the War Beast was.

“Why don’t you tell me a little bit about how you ended up here, Jack.” She changed the subject. Jack took a step forward, looking directly at the camera this time. 

“No, no. You’re gonna tell me if that thing is still after me.” He was starting to get aggressive, but she knew there was more to it than that. Something was after him and he was scared… he was alone…

“What thing?” She asked genuinely, and he scoffed in response. “No, they really didn’t tell me what was going on. Is something after you, Mr. Dante?” He paused for a moment.

“You really don’t know?” She shook her head, even though she knew he couldn’t see her. He snickered to himself, putting his hands on his hips as he began to pace. “I created the thing… it was…” He laughed again, this time sounding more proud than before. “It was beautiful. A perfect killing machine. I worked so hard to make sure I got everything right…” He spoke so passionately about his project. Each word felt carefully picked, and she couldn’t help but notice the large smile that came to his face the longer he talked about it. 

“That bitch took the controls from me and locked me in here with it.” He finished, his expression growing dark at the memory. That was a good tangent to follow, she determined. 

“Who locked you in there with it?” He looked up at the camera again.

“Who do you think? The bitch, the one that hired you! Cale!” 

“I’m sorry.” Heather stated in a voice barely above a whisper. She watched as his demeanor changed from that of a caged animal to something more human. He relaxed, and in turn so did she. He smiled at the camera and she smiled back knowing the look was meant for her. 

“Hey, it’s alright, babe - sorry, doctor. I didn’t expect her to tell you how much of a fucking hypocrite she was. She’s been trying to kill me for two days straight now.” Jack snorted. He moved closer to the camera, staring up at it with gleaming eyes filled to the brim with curiosity and mischief. If only you knew Jack, the doctor thought solemnly. She wanted to tell him why she was really there - wanted to tell him the whole truth - but she feared what he would do if she did. 

Jack stopped for a moment, looking around for something to stand on. He wanted to be closer to this mystery woman, give her a good idea of who he was. He felt he was doing a good enough job already. He wished he could see her - she sounded hot. He loved how gently she spoke to him, sounding almost shy, but she still had that professional tone that most doctors had… it drove him nuts. 

In the corner there was a crate full of various mechanical parts (which he had ordered and never used). He dragged it over to the security camera and stepped on top, getting uncomfortably close to the lens. Heather jumped back slightly.

“I wanna see you.” He whined. 

“If you cooperate with me I can try and convince them to let you come to my office.” She offered, which brought a large smile to his face. He hopped off of the crate, pumping his fist excitedly.

“Yes! Sick! Awesome, I promise you won’t regret it dude. I’ll be good.” He stepped onto the crate again, and this time she felt like he was staring directly into her soul. “What do you want to know?” 

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

He was volatile, full of anger directed at a world he couldn’t control. He was passionate, but certainly seemed to have an affinity for the dangerous and deadly. His file had described him as having acute violent psychosis, and I could see some truth to that. Yet, the longer he spoke the more I realized he was nothing more than a lonely soul crying out for love and acceptance. He was a lost, injured child trying to make the world laugh at his antics - and much to my dismay he had succeeded quite a few times at making me laugh at his crude jokes. I still don’t think I’m the best person to have on this case, I am, unfortunately, a bleeding heart, and I’m human. He told me about his past, growing up lonely and without much guidance, and deep down I felt there was something in him that was worth saving. He made me want to reach through the screen and comfort him, to pull him into some sort of embrace to let him know he wasn’t alone. 

[learningselflove]

Healing my relationship with food and fitness

I’ve always struggled with body image.  

I was more developed and at an earlier age than everyone. In fifth grade, I was self conscious about my sports bra lines being visible through my t-shirt. I was too insecure to take the plunge to wear a real bra yet.  

  After high school, I gained a significant amount of weight. I was struggling with balancing my social life, school and being independent for the first time in my life. I made my own money and always having work, school, or social plans. Being readily available for my soical life encouraged poor nutrition choices.  

My social life consisted of drinking heavily on the weekends with my group of friends. We would order fast food or pizza to satiate our drunken cravings. Applebee’s offered half-off appetizers after 10 p.m. and we were working minimum wage jobs. Cheap food and a place to hang out that didn’t bother our parents? Awesome!  

I wanted to join a gym when I was 17. My peers had started to work out in preparation for prom. Social media influencers started to emerge around that time as well. I wanted to lose weight. I was embarrassed to be in my own body. I thought boys didn’t like me because of that. I wanted to have good self esteem. When I asked my dad if I could join the gym he told me no that it was a waste of money. If I wanted to work out, I could go for a walk. I was defeated. I didn’t have a good role model to show what a healthy relationship with food and exercise looked like. I grew up with news outlets promoting low carb, low fat, low sugar diets and supplementing that with working out seven days a week. The hurdle felt insurmountable.  

Without a proper support system, I just moved on and accepted that I was going to be a heavier and curvier woman than everyone else. I continued my lifestyle the way it was. It wasn’t until I decided to drop out of my first year of college and decided to focus on working that I was able to have some more money. I worked full time at Staples and I made enough money for a gym membership.  

I spent a majority of my twenties being dedicated to working out and dieting and then getting frustrated that I wasn’t seeing results. I would do everything online forums and instagram posts told me to do like 100 crunches a day or lifitng weights 7 days a week but I wouldn’t lose a pound. This would lead to burnout which then I would restart every few months with new motivation and new ideas on how I could reach my fitness goals. I’d reward myself with new clothes, new headphones, or new sneakers just to keep my momentum. Eventually, the motivation would stop and the cycle would continue to repeat itself. 

I then realized that maybe the reason I couldn’t achieve my goals was because there was something wrong with me. I spent countless hours scanning google articles and subreddits to figure out why I felt the way I did. I was tired all of the time. I could sleep for eight hours a night and then need to take a four hour nap when I got home from work. My face was breaking out. I had intense mood swings.  

I FINALLY reached out to a doctor for blood work. 

When my results were ready, I was shocked to find that I had a hormonal imbalance. That explained everything. It was bittersweet. It was a huge sense of relief to know that my concerns were valid but it was also disheartening to learn this would be a lifetime of maintenence. When I learned about my hormone imbalance, it was the middle of 2020 and we were in a pandemic. Gyms were deemed as one of the least safe places to be. I spent a lot of that summer going for walks instead. I have spent the two years since then trying to get my body to function the way it should.  

With the help of medical treatment from my endocrinologist, I was able to lose 45 pounds this past year. My confidence has improved, I have plenty of mental clarity, if I need to nap, I can take an hour nap and function properly. I am once again finding myself trying to fall in love with the gym. I am taking baby steps with two days a week of working out. I love seeing the definition of muscle in my arms and legs. I love feeling stronger. I love having more stamina when running up flights of stairs.  

I believe that my relationship with others and the gym itself is solely based on my relationship with myself. There is beauty in aging.  I find myself not worrying about my belly when I wear leggings. I wore a crop top to my first night back in years. I would have blown my 21 year old self away with who I am at 28. I make sure to give myself plenty of self-care. I take a bath every night. On Sundays, I use face masks and add a bath bomb. I make time for video games because I enjoy playing them and I need a mental break from school and work. Fitness should be one of those routines. What your body looks like does not mean you should feel excluded from places like the gym. Everyone is there for the same goal.  

I took this photo on easter 2023 and I couldn't fathom how small my shoulder looked and I felt confident wearing a dress in size xL and having room in it.

[passerine-writes]

Silent Sparks - Volt 10

Warnings: Mentions of bullying, violence, swearing (and not because of the angry pomeranian) Word count: 2887

Notes: Italics - Tsukare signing Bold italics - Family member/friend signing 'Italics with apostrophes' - Thoughts

Masterlist

Volt 9 | Volt 11

After the new year, Shinsou and Tsukare started at Aldera Middle School. Not many schools were open for taking transfers so late in the year but the drive was on the way to UA, so everyone agreed it would be the best opportunity. On the first day there, the brothers were swarmed by a majority of the students, plenty of kids welcoming to the fresh set of faces, especially a certain kid with green hair.

"Hi! My names Midoriya Izuku! We never really get transfers so everyone's really excited! If you don't mind me asking, what are your quirks?" The two were immediately taken aback and gave each other quizzical looks.

Do you think we should tell him?

I'm not worried about telling him mine, I'm just worried about accidentally using it on him because of how overwhelmed I am. Do you know when lunch is?

"Lunch is at twelve thirty! Sorry, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, I don't know if that's a thing with sign language, I just know sign language. If you accidentally use your quirk on me, I won't take any offense! I just think all quirks are so cool and useful, I want to learn as much as I can about them!" The brothers were now in shock, never seeing a fan to this extent.

"Hey nerd! Back off before you rub your quirklessness all over them! They probably don't even want to be around a useless Deku like you." The pair glared at the loud blond, not enjoying his loud and brash tone as he shoved Midoriya out of the way. "The names Bakugou Katsuki, I'm gonna be the next number one hero. What're your names, extras."

"If you were paying attention maybe you'd know." Bakugou's palms crackled at Tsukare's retort.

"HAAAAHHHH? WHAT WAS THAT YOU WORTHLESS EXTRA?" The youngest of the group shirked back a bit. Old, fresh wounds, stirring to the surface before he bounced back.

"I said what I said, I thought I was supposed to be the one with the sound quirk. Jeez you're loud. You can go now, we were actually having a pretty nice conversation with Midoriya before you interrupted." He watched as the blond stomped away, his followers giggling under their breaths that someone actually told off the loud blond.

That took a lot more focus then it should have to not accidentally use it on him. So yeah, I have a sound quirk.

"Nobodies ever told off Kacchan like that before. But you have a sound quirk? That's so cool! How does it work?" Shinsou nodded for his brother to explain, knowing the boy still needed guidance here and there.

I call it sound wave, I can control how loud someone hears me. So if I used it on you, I can make it sound like I'm playing a radio next to your ear at max volume but to Hitoshi it would sound like I'm regularly speaking. But I can only use it if I'm looking at the person.

"That's so cool! Do you know who Present Mic is? Your quirk is kind of like his but on more of a select scale and could throw someone off in combat if needed. Do you plan on being a hero?" The brothers tried not to laugh at his first question. They knew the hero far too well, however nobody needed to know that.

I plan on applying to UA.

"I want to go there too! They finally lifted their quirkless rule so I might have a shot! How come you called Shinsou by his first name? Are you two related?" The scattered conversation felt comforting to Onryo, with his ADHD he could easily keep up.

Yeah, we're brothers. Adopted, but still brothers.

"That's cool! I've heard how bad the system is though, I'm sorry you two had to go through that, but at least you both found a family together in the end!" Shinsou smirked and nodded along, something about the gentle nature of Midoriya warmed his heart and gave him butterflies.

My quirk is brainwash. If someone answers me, I can control them for some time. But like all quirks there's limitations and rules.

"That's so cool! Are you planning on being a hero too? There's not a lot of hero's with mental quirks so that could be beneficial to a lot of people! Plus you could easily capture someone before they could even attack as long as you use your quirk!" That made Shinsou blush, nobody had gone on a mini tangent about the benefits of his quirk that wasn't related to him. He looked down to try and collect himself, his brother sending him a confused look but didn't push anything.

Thank you. I plan on going to UA as well, Onryo and I are applying next school year.

"I hope to see you both there! Ah, it's almost time for lunch, I'd suggest not eating with me. I'm one of the only quirkless kids here so I don't want you two getting any backlash for it. Especially from Kacchan." The brothers shared a look, easily reading each other after having lived together for four years to know they made a new friend.

We'd honestly rather eat lunch with you then the rest of the class. Most of them are nice but we aren't big fans of the blond kid from earlier.

A new, strong friendship was made after that. Every weekend, at least two of the three would hang out when Shinsou wasn't busy training with his capture weapon his dad got him and Tsukare wasn't busy training in general. Shinsou wanted to get a decent grip on it before entrance exams and it took his dad six years to master, so if he can learn a decent amount in a year and a half, he might have a shot at the exam.

Onryo met Midoriya Inko first and was slightly taken aback by his friends extensive All Might collection. Not understanding why he adored the man so much, however that sparked a friendly debate for the two and Onryo probably hadn't talked that much at once in his whole life.

Then he got in his first fight. Out of the two, Aizawa and Yamada thought Shinsou would be the kid to get into a fight first, but they were wrong.

Onryo was already pissed about how Bakugou decided to treat his friend, let alone how he cornered him in class. So at the end of the day, when everyone was packing up, Tsukare stayed behind with Midoriya like normal on a Friday while Shinsou headed out for capture training.

"That fight from this morning is all over the news, is it okay if I write some stuff down before I forget anything?" The boy nodded, knowing about his hero analysis journals and sat down. The two were planning on going to the Midoriya household after school so he wasn't in a rush. The two froze when Bakugou appeared and swiped his notebook.

"I dunno what you think you're doing Deku, but we're not done." Tsukare was prepared to stand up, already on edge.

"Whatcha got? His diary?" One of the goons said before glancing over. "Huh? Don't tell me you're taking notes on how to be a hero."

"That's so pathetic!" The two started laughing while Bakugou held his notebook.

"Says the ones who can't even think for themselves and follows their friend around everywhere like some dumb dogs." The two froze as he spoke, not expecting his retort.

Midoriya went to grab it back but froze, yelling as Bakugou exploded it and tossed it out the open window.

"Most first-string heroes show potential early on. People look at them and just know they're just destined for greatness. When I'm the only student from this garbage junior high to get into UA, people will start talking about me like that. They'll realize I'm legit, the next big thing. That's not ego talking, I just know I'm good." Tsukare scoffed and rolled his eyes as he stood beside his quivering friend. "Here's a little word of advice, nerd." It took a moment for Tsukare to see the smoke streams coming off of the others uniform. "Don't even think of applying, or else." Onryo quickly moved, grabbing the explosive blonds wrist and taking it off Midoriya's shoulder.

"I could say the same to you."

People have said that when the sunshine friend gets angry, somethings wrong. And these four finally knew what that meant. Tsukare Onryo, one of the seemingly bubbliest kids in the class, always smiling and laughing in the back of the room, was pissed. A dark look in his eye that made the two bystanders quiver. He watched as Bakugou huffed and stalked off.

"Y'know, if you really wanna be a hero that badly, there actually might be another way. Just pray that you'll be born with a quirk in your next life. Then take a swan dive off the roof of the building." The next thing Tsukare did, was walk up to Bakugou and send a right hook into his face. The unexpecting blond stumbled towards the door, turning around the see a very angry classmate. "What the hell! I was just being honest!" Bakugou went to send an explosion to Tsukare's face but he was prepared.

He gripped his wrist, spun him around and kicked his knees in, making him tumble to the ground.

"You wanna be a hero? Then act like it. Get your head out of your ass. You have no right to tell someone to go and kill themselves just to feed your fucking ego. You wanna pick a fight? Then make it a fair match. So pick your next words wisely before I give you more then just a black eye." He tugged his elbow a little harsher to prove his point.

And that was when a teacher walked in, of all times.

"Principals office! Both of you! Now!" Tsukare stood up with a scoff, not even caring about getting in trouble. What the blond said hit too close to home and he'd be damned if he watched his friend go through the same thing he did.

"Onryo? Why are you in here! I was expecting to see your brother, not you." Tsukare chuckled glumly and nodded his head towards Bakugou, his black eye on full display. "You didn't.."

"Why the hell is there a pro hero in here? Thought our parents were supposed to show up." The father and son duo both shot him a glare, making the blond shut up for a second. Two sunshine people angry is scary.

"How come we're here, principal?" The principal paled at the sight of a pro hero in the room.

"Your son was in a fight today."

"The extra lunged at me for no good reason!" The three sighed at the temper of the aggressive blond.

"Tsukare, what do you have to say to this?" Mic turned his attention to his youngest, curious as to why his sunshine child would start a fight.

"He told Midoriya to kill himself, he's been bullying him for well over a year now. The teacher doesn't do anything, my brother and I are the only ones who try to stop it and he claims that he wants to be a hero. If he did, he wouldn't tell someone to take a swan dive off the roof and pray for a quirk in the next life. So I don't feel guilty about what I did, I'll take a suspension or detention or whatever you think is fit but he needs a consequence too." Yamada looked at his child in shock, not expecting his son to go off on a tangent but he was proud of him for sticking up for his friend.

"Do you think this is acceptable behavior since your father is a pro hero?"

"What? No, I'm saying he's a bully and like every other school out there, you and your staff have failed at protecting its students so I took matters into my own hands. You just don't like that I stopped violence with violence and I stopped quirk misuse without resorting to those very same means." The principal sighed, and rubbed the crease between his eyebrows.

"Both of you, one days detention. Bakugou, you're free to leave. Tsukare, Present Mic, I'd like to have a word with you both." They waited for the door to shut again before the principal continued. "I understand the circumstances that Tsukare came here under, and I understand how that can make unwanted memories resurface. However, the way he handled it was unacceptable. By no means he should harm a student."

"How is that fair?" The principal looked to the child in shock. "You're reprimanding me for using physical force once, but you won't even send a second glance towards Bakugou who's physically and verbally assaulted a student multiple times under your care. Let alone misusing his quirk to harm said student. Why? Because Midoriya's quirkless?" He scoffed at the principals silence. "I don't care that his parents are rich and he grew up privileged, I know privileged when I see it because I didn't grow up like that. You can't prioritize children based off of their parents status in society, I'm not using the fact that my parents are pro-heroes to my advantage. I'm here accepting the consequences for my actions but instead you're fueling a teenagers god complex and destructive behavior. And I'll gladly accept my detention and any repercussions I might get at home. So if that's all you had to say then I'm going home." The principal sat in shock as he watched the student walk out followed by his loud father.

"You got in a fight?" Aizawa deadpanned as the four sat at the dinner table.

"He had it coming." Aizawa shot his older son a look before turning back to the other.

"Care to explain?" And so, Tsukare did. Explaining in detail how Bakugou has acted and what he said, everyone turning solemn at the comment and understanding why he reacted how he did. "I can't even be upset at you for that. Hitoshi's right, he had it coming."

"I have my first detention on Monday. I used the self defense moves you taught me when he tried to use his quirk on me." Everyone looked at him in shock, Mic didn't hear about this in the office. "He tried sending an explosion to my face, so I grabbed his wrist, tucked it between his shoulder blades and kicked the backs of his knees. Had him pinned down in under five seconds." Aizawa smiled proudly and ruffled his sons hair.

"I'm more proud then anything. You defended your friend, granted you messed up by throwing the first punch, but you got him down without unnecessary force." Tsukare smiled brightly, not expecting his dad to be proud of him. "I'm not too happy about the detention but you win some you lose some. I know how important Midoriya is to you both, despite his severe All Might obsession."

"Can I be excused from dinner so I can call and check in on him?" The parents nodded and watched as he scurried away.

After a few rings, the boy answered.

"Hey Tsukare!"

"Hey, I just wanted to check in after today."

"Oh I'm okay! It didn't bother me all that much, he was just being stupid." Tsukare tried not to sigh out of distaste.

"It doesn't make it okay."

"W-Was he mad?"

"Yeah, we both got detention, but it's not a big deal."

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!" Tsukare tried not to laugh at his friend and focused on settling his qualms.

"It's not your fault, it's Bakugou's fault for saying what he did. He hit a sore spot with me, I just reacted. Hey what ended up happening after you left? I know we were supposed to hang out today." He could sense how tense it was and worried that he asked the wrong thing.

"I met All Might today."

"What? Midoriya that's been your dream since you were a kid!"

"Yeah, I uh, I asked him if I could be a hero even though I'm quirkless, and he said no." Tsukare felt another new distaste form for the number one hero, not even remotely enjoying the comment and insinuated bias.

"Well he's wrong. Look at how many heroes have to basically fight quirkless everyday! If someone's wearing a gas mask against Midnight, or is deaf against Present Mic. The list goes on. They all have to fight quirkless sometimes." Something about his effort to prove a point warmed Midoriya's heart.

"He also left me on a roof right after.."

"Impeccable fucking timing. Is he dense or something? Especially after Bakugou said that to you!" Tsukare was fuming now, his scattered mind bouncing all over the place. "He's supposed to be the number one hero, not someone going around and crushing peoples dreams! You're getting into UA, you'll be the first quirkless kid to get in."

[pleasantanathema]

Miche Zacharias | Ripe

Pairing: Miche x Fem!Reader

Rating: Explicit (18+ Only)

Warnings: Breeding, Cum Eating, A Lot of Cum, Multiple Orgasms, Established Relationship

Word Count: 1.7k

A/N: This is part of my Nine Muses Event to celebrate 9k! Follow the link to read more fanfics I’m writing to celebrate. All this excessive cum is dedicated to the love of my life @titan-fodder​, thank you for always encouraging me and hyping me up 💖 

          “I can smell when you’re ovulating. It’s sweeter,” Miche buried his nose into your neck, stubble sending sparks up your skin, “thicker.”

           “There’s no way you can smell that.”

         Insistent hands pulled at your shirt, fingers sneaking underneath to rub against your sides.

           He moved you easily, like a doll on strings, pinning you against the door and caging you in with all his brawn. Your palms pushing against his chest were useless; Miche had always been like this, some unmovable force in your life. Always pressing against you, capturing you when you least expected it, just because he could. Because he knew you wanted him all the same.

           “Babe I can smell a titan a mile away, of course I can smell what’s happening in this sweet little body of yours.”

           A purr almost left your throat from how good it felt to have his large hands smoothing over your stomach, thumbs dipping below your waistband to tease closer to what he wanted. Your fingers curled into the green threads of his shirt, toes stretching as you tried to get closer. He dipped his head with a smirk, tongue sweeping into your mouth without question, dark, acidic notes of lingering wine stinging the back of your cheeks. It was bitter, addictive.

           Thrills spread across your back as you kissed him, sloppy, open mouthed and sinful. You liked being his dirty little secret, always fucking him when no one was looking. You’d done it for years, curling around each other late at night, drinking down cum and slick like hidden ambrosia.

          Long fingers wandered further into your pants, sinking into the wetness between your folds. A gasp left your mouth, but still you kept chasing his lips, drowning in him.

           “I should breed you,” he whispered.

           The words made your ears burn, made your lungs feel too hot. It was like you were already in the hazey headspace of sex and he’d barely even touched you.

           “Think about it,” his palms were white-hot heat as he stripped you, lips sucking at the tender places on your body that made you keen, “we’d make the prettiest babies.”

           You would, gods you knew that. Miche’s seed would be strong, virile, would create babies with brilliant green eyes and pretty faces. Something was churning in your belly, something deep, something blooming and ripe that was screaming to take part in the miracles of sex.

           “Everyone would catch on if I started swelling with a baby-sized bump.”

           “They would. But you’re mine anyways, doesn’t matter.”

           He finished tearing the clothes away from your body, heavy fingers trailing over your stomach as he stood, skimming up to your breasts to pinch at your nipples.

           “Get on the bed.”

           You already knew what he wanted, crawling onto sheets that smelled like him—leather and coffee, warm and inviting, like home—and pressing your face into the pillows, arching your hips up as he stood at the edge of the bed stroking his cock.

           “Fuck. Look at that pretty pussy.” A massive hand cupped your ass, his thumb making you shiver as he stroked over your folds, dipping the tip into your wetness so he could watch it stain his skin. “Let’s see how much cum you can take.”

           The burn of him sinking inside of you was always a shock, a smoldering pleasure that made you feel so weak, so full. He used to have to prep you, but over time he learned you liked the arousing pain, liked to feel every fucking inch of him as he took his time letting your cunt suck him in.

           His fingers were already on your clit before he even started moving, making you whimper and nearly buckle from the influx of pleasure that invaded your system.

           “Been smelling you all fucking day, baby. Want you to milk this cock.”

           You almost toppled over when he started to thrust, little waves of delight spreading up your spine with every drag of his cock along your walls. He knew how to play you, circling your clit so perfectly that you were already shaking. Your lower belly already hurt from clenching, all the euphoria rushing to your head and making you feel drunk.

           “God you get so fucking tight,” he grunted, starting the kind of brutal pace that told you he was already aiming for the endgame, ready to fill you up and watch you drip.

           “Fucking god, Miche, you can’t just—” but he could, your walls clamping before you could even enjoy the build up of orgasm, Miche pinching your clit just enough to wring your orgasm out of you. It almost hurt, so fast and hot and had your pussy so tight that you felt like you were going to burst around his cock.

          The tight squeeze brought him closer, had him releasing your clit so he could use his long arms to pull you up by your shoulders. You were still spent, body only moving in response to his powerful hips slapping into your ass. He loosely placed his hands around your neck, pulling you back harder with the fresh leverage.

          Your whole world felt centered around the drumming of his cock on your insides. It all still burned, like a warm, wet glow between your legs, filled to the brim with him. You were gasping and moaning, little sounds you just couldn’t help, too overwhelmed, too lost.

          Those massive hands of his got tighter around your throat. Miche’s grunts were kissing your ears, like a rhythmic hymn that he loved to pray.

          “Yeah, fuck, gonna breed you, baby, fuck my seed into you.”

          Lewd words and sounds made you flush, heat racing up your neck to your ears.

          He almost choked you when he came, hips stilling for a moment so you could both feel the way his cock pulsed. It was already too much cum to keep in, dribbles spilling out over your pussy and around his cock to paint the inside of your thighs.

          But he didn’t stop.

          Miche pulled your back to his chest, stretching your aching muscles as you stayed on your knees. His cock was still hard and twitching inside of you, fat and heavy as he started to push back into you. Your head dipped back against his shoulder, one of his hands holding your neck while the other splayed across your stomach before moving lower. Two fingers slid along the folds of your cunt, spreading around his intrusive cock so he could feel the mess he left behind.

          “I’ve got you, baby,” he groaned, lifting those fingers to your mouth. You took them in, mewling at the taste of cum and slick pooling against your tongue. He kept your mouth stuffed with the digits, allowing you to scream around them as he picked up his pace.

          He was a man determined. He promised you cum, threatened to breed you, and he was going to.

          You could feel the power within his thighs as he slammed into you, feeling his cock buried so deep you knew you would feel its ghost lingering within you for hours, days. Your used, sensitive clit was signing from his balls against it, your legs nearly crumpling from the force of his enormous body against yours.

          This time your pleasure was building, each plunge of cock sending you higher and higher into the clouds of ecstasy. It was too good, too much, and his cum just kept trickling down your legs as the time passed. It was mesmerizing to focus on the feel of the wetness spurting from your conjoined bodies with every rock of hips.

          Miche licked up your neck, beautiful nose sniffing in the scents of your sex, your skin.

          “You’re so fucking ripe.”

          He withdrew his fingers from your mouth, brushing the wet knuckles over one of your bouncing tits, twisting at your nipple.

          “W-want more,” you choked out, neck arched entirely back onto his broad shoulder.

          “More what? Tell me.”

          You took a moment just to gasp with everything thrust of his cock, trying to keep your wits.

          “Cum, mphf, want more of your cum.”

          He cursed into your neck, moving his hands to push your hips down, to bounce you on his cock like you were a tight little cocksleeve. He mumbled something about needing to feel you again, long fingers stretching back to your clit that was spread over him. It was electric, had you spiraling, pussy spasming against him, slick gushing with every crest of pleasure that came over your body. Your ears burned, your throat was dry, your head tingling with desire so forceful you felt like you had exploded. Your climax had you splitting apart, and also sucking him in so deep that it had him pouring his load into you.

          You were both so out of breath, you falling back onto your hands and knees on the mattress as Miche finally pulled his still throbbing cock from your cunt. You were ruined, the tightening of your belly making cum continuously bubble out your hole, drooling onto the sheets.

          “You look so pretty covered in cum.”

          Miche’s fingers were back between your legs, making you yelp as fingertips glided over your clit. Then he smoothed his fingers down your thighs, gathering what cum was still traveling down your legs. He pushed that lost cum back inside of you, making your fists tighten into the sheets. Over and over again he repeated the motion, taking his time to gather every viscous droplet and push it back into your quivering cunt.

          “Can’t let any go to waste,” he chuckled, eyes gleaming as he marveled over how much cum you could take. What still leaked out he gathered again, coaching you onto your back so he could dip his cum covered digits past your lips. You licked against his knuckles, sucking them in with a greedy smile.

          “Tastes good,” you cooed, observing how he was still enamored with staring at your glossy pussy.

           “Get used to it, I’m keeping you stuffed with cum until I put a baby in you.”

[hpalways]

since your requests are open can i request an angst/comfort argument scenario with childe?? like he goes too far with his words and only after what he said finally sinks in he realizes his s/o might have left him for good?? while theyre just somewhere to cool down after having stormed off, ty <33

Note: hi, yes! ofc. thanks for the request

In the death of night laid the chance to let unknown truths be known. The darkness offered solace, but it also allowed anger to burn. And that was exactly what you saw on Childe’s face when he approached you, his friendly facade dropping from their usual joking smile. 

The two of you were dating secretly, for given his position, it would be too dangerous to let the cat out of the bag. He was trying to protect you -- no, save you from the evils he had encountered on his own, the same way he was trying to protect his siblings from the raw, ugly truth. That was where he was wrong. He wasn’t protecting anybody. He was protecting himself. He was selfishly afraid that if you were to see his true self, it would make you love him any less. 

Blue jagged crystals were narrowed for his pair of eyes, piercing through your heart in mirth. His expression was serious, accompanied by emotions of pain and longing. 

You supposed you did cross the line today, but you were growing tired of this routine. 

“[Y/N],” he breathed out, sounding cold. “What makes you think you could waltz into the Northland Bank like that?”

Unfortunately, while you tried to dig deeper, you were kicked out by the one and only eleventh harbringer, Childe himself. He was furious then, breathing out raggedly at your mistakes, but now, he was angry in a calm manner, which, to be honest, was a scarier thing to witness. 

“Am I not allowed to visit my boyfriend’s workplace once in a while?” you spat out, returning a glare of your own. 

“You already know our situation,” he said. 

“And I’m sick of it. What is it that you’re so afraid to show me?”

He stepped up even closer to you, where you could see his clenched jaw and the glisten in his eyes. “I have nothing to show you. You had no right to dig into my life.”

Tears began to the prickle the corners of your eyes. “Are you serious?” you sputtered in disbelief. “You’re supposed to be my fucking boyfriend. Why is it such a crime to want to learn more about you?”

“I told you that it was to protect you, not me.”

“Oh, don’t lie now. I can see through your bullshit.”

“Don’t try to wring it out again,” he snarled. “I have no use for a nosy partner.”

A pang slammed you in the chest. You stared at with wide eyes, hurt spreading through your system. You noticed the way he stiffened up and knew he regretted his words, but it was too late by now. “I see. There’s no trust to begin with here.” Spinning around, you stomped out of the room and closed the door shut behind you. 

The ginger was left to his own devices, his head hanging low in pain. He was so angry, so terrified, so anxious all the time that the spitball fire came rushing out at once. He hurt you -- the one he learned to love, despite every obstacle that hurled his way. 

His gloved hand curled around the edge of the window sill, his eyes locked on the beautiful scenery of Liyue Harbor. The glistening lights and lamps were flickered on in the distance, basking the darkness in its glory. Citizens still milled around in this hour, always willing to make business. He wondered how easy life would be if he was a normal person like everyone else was -- not part of the Fatui, not having to resist bloodlust, and not having to hurt the people around him. 

It would be smart to let go of you, but he was selfish. He was selfish because he he loved you so much and wanted you by his side forever, but he could never let his horrid deeds come out to the light. 

If your face of disgust was ever aimed at him, it would be etched in his mind for eternity. 

The next morning he found you in the kitchen, eating a quick meal for breakfast. His eyes softened at the sight of you, hesitantly joining you at the table. He was surprised you were still here -- still having the patience to hear him out. 

“Comrade,” he murmured uneasily. “I’m really sorry about last night. You’re correct about everything. I’m... afraid of it all. But I’m most afraid that I’ll lose you if you learn the truth. I’ve done horrid things in my life, [Y/N]. There were so many sacrifices I had to make in this path I chose. So I understand if--” 

You shook your head, making eye contact with his sorrowful irises. “Do you really believe I would leave you that easily? I know you’re part of the Fatui and I’m still here. Have more faith in me.” He blinked at you in shock for a second, his pain replaced by utter adoration. His tall form maneuvered around the table until he found you. His arms wrapped you in a hug, his face snuggled into the crook of your neck. Your cheeks flustered at his actions, but you hugged him back anyway. “I’m sorry too,” you muttered. His face lifted, so close to your own that you could see his long lashes. 

“None of this was your fault.”

“Yes it is,” you protested. “I shouldn’t have tried to pry into your secrets for something you weren’t ready yet. I say trust, but I wasn’t being so trusting either.”

He smiled gently and kissed the side of your face, leaving you burning in embarrassment. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, comrade.”

[bonnyskies]

deadly agenda ⇢ myg

min yoongi is a dangerous man. you’re a manipulative wife. together, you two are a deadly duo, and you both have your own agenda.

pairing — emperor!yoongi x wife!malereader ft. king-husband!taehyung

genres — angst, sexual themes, royalty!au, strangers-to-lovers!au

warnings — age-gap (reader is 20, yoongi is 28), swearing, degrading terms, mentions of death, feminization, descriptions of murder, sexual themes, infidelity, betrayal, slight voyeurism, yoongi is intimidating and reader is manipulative, basically they’re just plain evil

author’s note — i hate tumblr’s new update. i had more to write (not enough for a part two) but couldn’t because of the new 250 text box rule. but as for this story, this is probably the longest one i’ve written so far and the one i’m most proud of. anyway, hope you all enjoy and sorry for taking so long to upload this, took lots of planning and rewriting, plus i’ve been busy with school too.

word count — 7.4k

masterlist

Min Yoongi is a cautious, yet observant man.

Whoever steps foot in his palace, he makes sure to know everything about them. Who they are, they’re background, appearance, and how they approach him. Each and every thing can help him learn who he can trust, and who he cannot, who are his allies—and who are his enemies.

Yoongi stood by his palace’s entrance, accompanied with his guards and greeted his special guests, one by one as they walked up his home’s grand steps. He makes sure to take notes on each and every person’s facial expression, their appearance, chosen attire, and the certain way they walk up to him.

Anything could benefit him into knowing them. Their wealth and clan can be identified based on their specific appearance and choice of clothing. Their facial expressions help him learn what their true feelings and intentions are towards him that are hidden by their fake smiles and words. And lastly, the way they walk up to him can help him know the type of personality they have, whether that be obedient and innocent, or arrogant and untrustworthy.

The way he learns about his guests have never failed him. That was, until he met you.

Yoongi would be lying if he said he wasn’t astonished when his eyes laid on you for the first time. There were many things that left him utterly speechless when meeting you. For one, when his advisor told him that his guest would be bringing his wife, he was expecting a woman—not a man.

Another thing that left Yoongi speechless was your appearance, mostly your attire. You were dressed in feminine-like clothing, silk robes that were decorated with gold jewelry instead of fine material clothing with armor plating like what many men of royalty wear. And you also didn’t hold a blade like most men do too. Instead, you held a simple wooden decorative fan.

And lastly, your eyes.

Yoongi has a remarkable judge of character. Maybe not as good when it came to you, but still adequate. On the outside, your eyes were shining with gentleness and a kind greeting. But he could tell there was something else hidden behind them—something that left him intrigued by you.

You had an agenda—plans, and Yoongi was determined to find out what they are.

The welcoming feast was extremely dull.

Yoongi absorbed gallons of wine into his system, hoping that would help numb his mind and get through the rest of the evening without having to tear somebody’s head off from their body.

And apparently you thought the same as he did. Across the table, Yoongi watched as you fanned yourself out of boredom while everyone else were socializing with one another, an unamused facial expression shown on your face. Yoongi couldn’t help but chuckle behind his glass when seeing one of the other wives say something to you and you flashed her a quick smile before dropping it back down into a straight line.

It seems his attention on you didn’t go unnotice because next thing he knew, your eyes were now on him. Yoongi was expecting hints of disgust or uncomfort from you, but instead he was met with sly smirk and a raised brow.

Yoongi watches intently as you leaned over and whispered into your husband’s ear. Your husband—Kim Taehyung then stood up from his seat and bowed his head, “Excuse me, your Majesty.”

Yoongi turned his head towards your husband, diverting his attention completely away from you.

“My wife is not feeling well at the moment, so with your permission, would it be alright if he can take his leave from the feast early?”

The entire dining hall fell silent, shocked expressions plastered on everyone’s faces at the table.

Nobody has ever dared to leave one of Min Yoongi’s feasts before. Who would want to, right? It’s considered a great honor for one self and their kingdom to be invited by the Emperor himself to attend one of his events.

Whispers began to spread amongst the guests.

“How shameless is Kim Taehyung’s wife?”

“Wanting to leave the Emperor’s feast early? Utterly shameless I tell you.”

“That Taehyung needs to discipline his wife.”

“Doesn’t he know how important his Majesty’s events are? And he wants to leave just because he isn’t feeling well? Unbelievable.”

“He needs to learn some manners—”

Anxiety swept across Taehyung’s face when hearing the gossips coming from the other royals, eyes wide and mouth gaped open with panic. “Forgive me, your Majesty, I never intended to—”

With just the clear of his throat, everybody fell silent once again and all eyes were now on him. Yoongi’s gaze would shift between you and your husband, curiosity filling his veins when noticing that there wasn’t any signs of illness presently visible on you. You weren’t trembling, your eyes weren’t red and skin wasn’t showing any signs of flushness. You looked fine.

That only caused more questions to form in Yoongi’s mind. Like, what do you exactly want, and what is your reason for being here? Because according to his advisor, you weren’t even part of the guest list until today. That only raised even more suspicions he had towards you.

And it’s not like he can just throw you out—actually, he can. It’s just that he doesn’t want to because now he’s curious, and he wants to see how things turn out.

“He can go,” Yoongi says a brief silence, immediately noticing the small smile creeping onto your lips. “But take him to see the physician and let him check him out,” and then it dropped.

“N-No, your Majesty,” you spoke up, lips parted. “You don’t have to do that—”

“You’re feeling unwell, right?” Yoongi then asks, smirking at the silence he got in reply. “Well, you should let my physician diagnose you then. Don’t worry though, you’re in great hands.”

One of his guards that stood by his side approached you and started to guide you to the physician’s office. And while you were leaving, Yoongi could see the glare coming from you and aimed right at him.

If you wanted to play games with him, he’ll play.

Wandering through the palace halls at night was something Yoongi usually does whenever he can’t sleep.

And apparently you had the same tendency too.

While mindlessly strolling through his palace’s hallways, Yoongi’s eyes suddenly landed on your approaching figure, the first thing catching his attention was your choice of clothing. You were dressed in golden inner robes, your sleep-wear, and the material was so thin and transparent that every feature about you was visible to him. The sight of your clear, smooth skin and every curve of your body and muscles made his mouth water. It was like you were purposely dressed like that to seduce him.

Another thing that caught his eye was the small, slightly torn grayish book that was in your grasp, which was where your complete attention was on because you still haven’t noticed his presence despite the two of you walking towards the other.

“Hello, your Highness,” you jumped out of fear, eyes wide and closing your book when your gaze landed on him. “May I ask why you are wandering around my palace this late at night?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” you simply answered, fingers tight around the cover the book, which only made Yoongi even more curious as to what you were exactly reading. “And it seems you are having the same problem as well, am I correct?”

Yoongi only hummed in reply, taking another small step towards you until you two now stood only inchest apart, him towering over you and staring down right at you. “Is there something wrong with your chambers? I can tell my servants to move you and your husband into a more comfortable place for you—”

“No no, your Majesty,” you were quick to interject. “Everything is perfect. It’s just that I’ve always had trouble sleeping at another royal’s residence, that’s all.”

Yoongi couldn’t help but find your reason funny, because he has always had trouble sleeping when there were other people staying in his palace.

A brief silence came between you two before Yoongi spoke up once again, “I’ll be taking a quick walk around my garden, you can accompany me if you like.” He didn’t wait for your reply before leaving, but when hearing the sound of your footsteps behind him right after, a smirk grew on his lips.

“You know, you never really introduced yourself when we first met,” Yoongi then brought up while the two of you made your way to the gardens.

“Forgive me, your Majesty,” you bowed your head apologetically before replying, “My name is ___, Kim ___.”

“It’s a great pleasure to meet you, Kim ___,” Yoongi reached down and took your hand into his, pressing a soft, yet tender kiss on the back of your palm, smirking at the evident blush forming on your cheeks. “And I’ve got to say, you are looking quite well for someone that claimed to be feeling sick not even three hours ago,” and that is when your smile dropped.

“Must’ve been my anxiety,” you were quick to reply back, your eyes never leaving his. “After all, I am staying at the Emperor’s palace for the first time.”

Yoongi was impressed honestly, he had to admit. For everything he had to say against you, you had something say right back at him. There isn’t a lot of people who have that type of skill to think of words—believeable words right on the spot. Anybody would believe what you were saying—too bad he isn’t just anybody.

“Must be...,” Yoongi just says, eyeing you slightly. His gaze then shifted onto the book in your hand. “What are you reading there?”

“Oh this,” you held the book up, “It’s called Flowers of the Region—a guide to every type of flower that is grown and can be found in both the South and the North. It’s my favorite book.”

“Well, that’s fortunate,” Yoongi points out, “you like flowers, and we so happen to be going to my garden. What’s your favorite flower?”

“Lily of the Valley,” you answer with a smile. “Have you heard of it?”

“I have,” Yoongi replied, his interest towards you growing even more. Lily of the Valley, despite the beautiful features of the white flower, it is proven to be quite deadly when digested. “They are only found on top of the Southern mountains—but lucky for you, I happen to grow them right here in my garden.”

Your smile grew even wider. “That’s great.”

The rest of the walk to the gardens was in silence with you trailing forward while Yoongi stood back. And with your eyes focused on the path in front of you, Yoongi couldn’t help but send glances at you every once in a while, his eyes burning into your back, admiring at the clear view your smooth skin through the thin, transparent material of your inner robes.

He surely needs to give whoever crafted your sleepwear a raise—and a big one too.

When the two of you finally got to the gardens, you were left instantly speechless at the sight of the many plots of different flowers, ranging from beautiful, vibrant ones that were quite common to dark, mysterious ones that you’ve never even seen before.

Yoongi couldn’t deny how adorable you looked though when seeing his garden for the first time, eyes wide, shining with admiration and your mouth gaped open.

“This is beautiful,” you gasped, leaning down and running your fingers delicately over some flowers.

“Thank you,” Yoongi stood beside you, “I make sure my gardeners take good care of this place.”

Silenced filled the atmosphere as Yoongi stood back and silently watched you admiring the many flowers. Normally he’d be annoyed for someone touching his property, but for some odd reason when it came to you he didn’t mind so much. Perhaps it’s because this might be the only way for him to get close to you and learn about your true intentions—or maybe he just really wants to fuck you.

Yoongi found himself once again staring at you, watching as you bent over to get a closer look at one of the flowers, giving him a perfect view of your ass and hips, both in which he wants to grab and caress with his large hands.

“So,” Yoongi spoke up after some silence, “how exactly did you become the new Lady Kim?”

Yoongi instantly noticed the way your body tensed from his question. “I was his Highness’s personal servant. When his wife suddenly passed away, he was a complete mess and I was the only one that stayed by his side through the entire mourning process. I was the one that comforted him whenever he was feeling down, I made sure he was taking care of himself and helped him with his royal duties.”

Yoongi then noticed your shoulder slumping. “After about a month or so, he started seeking me for a...different kind of comfort.” Sex. “Soon later he decided to make his new wife—the new Lady Kim.”

“You don’t seem so happy about the change in position,” Yoongi commented, “I’m sure this is much better than being a simple servant. You’re a royal now.”

“Oh, I am,” you quickly corrected him, “But being a man and having a feminine title can sometimes make things complicated.”

“Well then, don’t make them complicated.” Yoongi suggested, “You’re not a servant anymore, you’re a royal. They may not respect you now, but you have the power to make them do so.”

“Don’t worry, I know,” you told him sternly. “They’ll learn to respect me. Whether that be the hard way or the easy way—it’s their choice. So you better watch out, your Majesty, or something bad might happen to you,” you laughed softly.

Yoongi released a forceful chuckle, eyes briefly squinting at you suspiciously. It may have sound like a harmless joke, but to him, he could hear the small hints of truth behind them. “Oh trust me, I will. I wouldn’t want you as an enemy.”

“And you as well,” you replied, eyeing him back.

Silence came between you two again, Yoongi leaving you to inspect his garden in peace while he stood back and watched you. It wasn’t until an hour has passed you spoke up again, yawning, “we should head back to bed, your Majesty. We have that conference in the morning with the other royals and we need the energy.”

“You’re right,” Yoongi agreed, nodding and stepping aside so that you could walk ahead of him and back inside the place with him following right beside you. “Let me walk you back to your room.”

You didn’t say anything, only held your head low to hide the small grin on your face as the both of you made your back to the chambers. And as you two got closer to your destination, you both were froze at the sound of moaning.

Yoongi was confused at first as who it could be, but when turning to you and seeing the hardened expression on your face, he knew.

“O-Oh, Taehyung—f-faster, please!”

Yoongi was speechless. He knew many royals took on concubines while being married, but he didn’t know someone could so shameless as to bringing them to another person’s residence alongside their spouse. “Your Highness—”

“Don’t bother, your Majesty,” you spoke calmly, eyes hard and emotionless. “I’m use to it by now and it doesn’t really bother me anymore.”

“Really, it doesn’t?”

You shook your head. “At first it did, but after sleeping with my husband so many times I have learned that the only person he cares to satisfy is himself.”

Yoongi couldn’t help but chuckle. What kind of husband doesn’t have the desire to satisfy is own wife? Maybe he should take you to his chambers and show you exactly what you’re missing. “Well, I-I’m still sorry for you.”

You simply shrugged your shoulders, “it doesn’t matter, your Majesty. Have a good night.”

Yoongi watched as you then opened the door went inside the chamber, causing your husband and the woman to stop and look at you with wide eyes.

“Don’t mind me,” you said to them, not even bothering to glance at them, shocking Yoongi. “I’ll be on the balcony reading my book. Just let me when you two are done.”

Taehyung’s attention instantly went back to the woman that was straddling his lap when hearing your words, hands kneading her breasts and hips and started thrusting back up into her, causing moans to erupt from both of them. Yoongi didn’t why, but the sight of them made his blood boil.

Maybe he should go in there and fuck you in front of your husband? That’ll show him what he is missing out.

Yoongi continued to watch through the crack in the door as you walked past the couple and went onto the balcony. And once you were out of his sight, that’s when he finally got a clear view of the woman on your husband’s lap, and he instantly recognized her. She was one of the servants that accompanied you and Taehyung here. Yoongi distinctly remembered seeing her earlier today, serving you tea after you got back from seeing the physician.

Yoongi glared at the couple, scoffing at the sight. What did that Kim Taehyung see in that whore of a servant that you don’t have?

You are far more enticing than she is.

Taking one last glance at the shameless couple, Yoongi retreated back to his chambers. And while he did so, his mind suddenly went back to you. How did someone so...unique end up with a man like Kim Taehyung? He’s a weak person, a shame to royal blood. You deserve to be with someone with real power, someone who would never leave you unsatisfied, both physically and emotionally. Someone like me.

Yoongi could feel himself harden just from the thought of you.

Damn you for having this type of power over me, his mind cursed. Yoongi has slept with countless of other royals before, both men and women, and he has never encountered someone like you.

You are truly something else.

“Damn,” Yoongi mumbled out to nobody in particular, palming himself through his robes. “How the hell am I going to get rid of this?”

And right on queue, a young servant boy just happened to be walking right by Yoongi when the question ran through his head.

“Stop,” was all he said, making the servant boy freeze in his place.

“Y-Yes, your Majesty?”

Yoongi took slow, intimidating steps towards him until he was towering over him, using his hands to cup his chin and forcing the servant boy to meet his eyes. “How would you feel having the honor of spending the night with your Emperor?”

The servant boy couldn’t stop the small smile from forcing on his face. “I-I would love that, your Majesty.”

That was Yoongi needed to hear before leaning down capturing the servant’s boys lips with his, hands moving to his thighs and hoisting him up in his arms and carrying him into his chambers, lips never separating.

“You’re a eager one, are you?” Yoongi chuckled against the servant boy’s mouth, moving his lips down his neck and forcing a whimpering moan from him.

“I-It’s my duty to serve y-you, your Majesty.”

That brought a smile on Yoongi’s lips.

Yoongi couldn’t find you anywhere the next day.

He couldn’t find at you breakfast, he couldn’t find you during the conference with the other royals and their wives, and he couldn’t find you at lunch. Now as dinner was approaching, there still wasn’t any sign of you anywhere.

But he had no problem finding your husband. Wherever he saw Taehyung, he saw that whore of a servant trailing behind him like a pet—but you no where to be seen.

Yoongi thought about approaching him to ask about your whereabouts, but he couldn’t help but think of the consequences that would happen afterwards. But that still didn’t stop him from sending glares at the younger royal and the servant every now and then, which didn’t go unnotice by either of them.

“Is there something wrong, your Majesty,” Taehyung finally asks, breaking the tensed silence between the two of them. “You’ve been staring at me all day today and haven’t said a single word.”

“Oh nothing,” Yoongi simply replies, eyes still trained on him while twirling his glass of wine. “Just wondering where your wife is at right now, since everyone else is here. Is he still not feeling well from last night?”

For a very very brief moment, Yoongi could see panic glinting in his eyes before answering, “o-oh yes, your Majesty, he told me that he’s still feeling unwell so I allowed him stay back in the room.”

Liar, was Yoongi’s first thought, eyes glaring even more at the long, black-haired royal.

Everyone at the table could feel the tension between their Emperor and the young royal, and still no one chose to speak up about it.

Yoongi had a reputation. He is the first ever Emperor to achieve the throne through combat rather than family bloodline—and he is also the youngest ruler to ever be placed higher than a simple king. But that weren’t the only things he was known for. He was also generally known for being intelligent and quite reserved, and cruel if absolutely necessary, and also able to hold a grudge. It may sound simple, but everybody knew that if their Emperor had something against you, your days were limited.

So that’s why nobody chose to speak up when seeing the menancing glares their Emperor were sending at the youngest and only surviving Kim. Because they knew if they intervened, they’d only anger him and get on his list, and that’s the exact opposite of what they want to do.

“Your Majesty,” his advisor suddenly whispered right beside him. “I think it would be a good idea to continue the meeting. Some of your guests has some things to say about the...improvements you’re doing to the North.”

Yoongi clenched his jaw, eyes scanning over Taehyung once more before turning his attention to the other royals. “Sure,” he then says, “which one of you want to speak first?”

Not even a second later, Park Jimin, ruler of the Park Kingdom stood up from his seat and spoke. “Your Majesty, my council and I believe that the border that you have placed around my region is completely unnecessary.”

“How so?” Yoongi asks, leaning back against his chair with an amused look on his face. He had to admit that he was impressed that the blonde man was the first to speak up. He may not be the youngest royal out of everyone, but he certainly is the one with the least experience when it came politics.

“For starters your border cuts right through my kingdom’s river, slicing our water supply in half,” he starts, voice slightly raising. “And the amount of wood you required for the construction of the wall resulted in about ninety percent of the forests in my region to be completely cut down, forcing most of my workers into unemployment.”

Yoongi continued to listen closely with his hands laced together and resting on top of his chest, rocking back and forth in his chair with an intent glint in his eyes.

“I also find it completely unfair how your border only crosses over my kingdom but no one else’s.” Jimin continued to rant, jamming his finger repeatedly angerly against the table while keeping his eye contact with him. “I think it’s not for protection like you have claimed many of times, but as a prison, to keep my people in check. You’re nothing but a—”

Yoongi slammed his hand heavily onto the table, instantly silencing the young royal and causing everyone to gulp nervously. He may at times find it amusing when someone fights back, but he will never allow anyone to talk down against him, not in his own residence.

“You think I built that wall as a prison?” Yoongi asks, chuckling when the blonde man didn’t reply. “Are you forgetting what happened before I built that wall? Spies from the South would come right into our territories and would gather information on us, murder our people in their sleep—that’s how your parents died, am I correct? Some spy that sneaked into their palace assassinated them when they were asleep? It would such a shame if the same thing happens to you—after I take down the wall, of course.”

Yoongi smirked when noticing the seeing Jimin’s jaw clenching and hands angrily balling into fists. “So don’t you ever accuse me again? Because everything I do is for the best of my people, not just yours. The wall is only bordering your land because your land is the only one that connects with the South.”

Jimin’s head hung low, hands unclenching and lips dropping into the frown.

“So before you come at me, you should make sure that you have all the information, do you understand me?” Jimin nodded and sat down.

Everybody tensed when Yoongi then stood up from his seat and slowly, intimidatingly made his way to Jimin’s chair. And when placing his hands on the younger man’s shoulders, Yoongi couldn’t help but chuckle when feeling him jump slightly underneath his touch. “Normally I’d kill anyone who spoke to me that way,” leaning down, he whispered into Jimin’s ear, sending chills along his pale skin, “but I’ll let it slide for once since you’re new to this whole thing.”

“T-Thank you, your Majesty.”

With one last pat on the shaking man’s shoulder, Yoongi pulled away, and he was standing straight again, his eyes suddenly fell on your figure who stood near the entrance of the conference hall. But you weren’t alone, no, three servants that he couldn’t recognize was with you. The four of you seemed to be in a deep conversation, and with everybody focused on him, nobody noticed you.

Yoongi’s eyes slightly squinted out of suspicion when seeing you then bow your head at the three servants, a smile on your face before each of you went your separate ways.

Yoongi is definitely going to look into that.

“Now,” returning his attention back to his guests, Yoongi leaned himself against the table, keeping close to the blonde man that was still trembling. “Does anyone else have anything to say to me?”

“N-No no, your Majesty,” Jung Hoseok, another royal spoke up, gulping anxiously as he tightened his hand around his wife’s who sat beside him. “We have no complaints whatsoever, you’re doing an amazing job—the perfect ruler.”

Kiss ass, Yoongi rolled his eyes, pushing himself away from the table. He then shifted his attention towards your husband and asks, “what about you, your Highness? Anything to say?”

Taehyung shook his head. “No, your Majesty.”

“What a bunch spineless people,” Yoongi’s mind scoffed, and he couldn’t agree more.

His advisor then rose from his chair and spoke up, “okay everyone, thank you all for attending his Majesty’s annual end of conference feast this year. You may all now return to your rooms and get some rest before heading back to your own residences in the morning.”

Yoongi stayed back and bid farewell to everyone, and once everyone was gone he left the conference hall with only one thing on his mind—you. He was determined to find out what exactly were you and those three servants were discussing about. Yoongi was so rapt on you that he didn’t even hear his advisor calling out of him to come back.

He practically jogged to the chambers hall, heading straight to your room and when he got there, just as he was about barge right through the door he was then stopped by a sudden sound. Moans could be heard on the other side of the door—female moans. Yoongi’s hands were already hovering over the door handle before he opened it slightly to where there was only a crack, giving him the view of seeing your husband with same servant girl from the night before.

Yoongi watches as she claws his back, legs wrapped tightly around his waist as he place open mouth kisses along her bare chest and thrusted deep into her, causing loud, pleasurable moans to erupt from both of their mouths.

“T-Tae,” the young servant girl gasped, hands running up and down his sweaty back and fingers digging into his marked, glistening skin. “I’m close.”

“Me too, love,” he groaned back, leaning down and capturing her lips into a passionate kiss. “Together, okay...?”

Utterly shameless, Yoongi shook his head and pushed away from the door with disgust. Just as he was about to continue searching for you, he froze at the sound a voice behind him—a female voice.

“Are you looking for Lady Kim, your Majesty?”

Yoongi turned around and was greeted by one of your servants, hands laced together and hanging in front of her with a wide smile on her face. “No, I’m not,” he quickly replied, shaking his head. He expected her to just nod her head and leave, but instead she released a small chuckle and turned around, saying in a soft tone, “follow me.”

Yoongi was hesitant, eyes burning suspiciously into the servant girl’s back as she began to walk away. But he soon decided to follow her despite the constant warnings that were running through his head at the moment.

The servant’s gaze was trained on the path in front of her, not even bothering to acknowledge the glare she was receiving by platinum-haired man that was trailing right behind her.

The warnings that were consuming Yoongi’s head started to get louder as he continued to follow her deeper into his residence, parts of his home that he hasn’t even been in.

Yoongi stopped in his place when the servant led him to a room with dark, double doors. “What is this,” he asks with a cold expression, causing the young girl to chuckle and open the door without saying a word to him. He was about to question her even more but when he got to see what was behind the door, leaving him speechless.

Standing right in front him was you, along with over a dozen guards and servants that were from many different kingdoms. Some of the guards and servants were part of the Park Kingdom, some were from the Jung Kingdom, and others were from your own home.

“What’s going on here?” Yoongi asks, his eyes glancing across the many different pairs that were staring right back at him.

“They work for me,” came out of your mouth. “We are all part of movement that believes that the North needs a change in leadership—which is you. You’re the only that deserves to rule the North, not these cowards.”

Yoongi was speechless. For once in his life he didn’t know to say. For the first time he wasn’t the one that was planning in the shadows, plotting against somebody—but instead it was people who he has never even met before. “Why,” was the only thing that came out of his mouth.

“Because war is coming your Majesty,” you stepped towards him to where you stood only inches away from his face, staring up to meet his eyes. “My agents told me that the South is planning an invasion into our territory, and the way the other kingdoms are ruling their land—we won’t survive this war. You are the only one that is capable of leading us to victory.”

Yoongi turned towards your followers. “Do you all agree with him?”

“Yes, your Majesty,” one of the guards spoke up. Each and every person then stepped forward and began to speak loudly on their opinions of their leaders.

“Park Jimin is too young to be King—he doesn’t know how to rule.”

“He can’t even hold a sword properly.”

“Jung Hoseok is a spineless man!”

“Damn right he is! The moment the South comes barging intl his palace, he’ll do whatever it takes to save his own skin and not his people.”

“Kim Taehyung is shameless bastard who would rather spend his time fucking his servants than leading his own Kingdom.”

Yoongi could see you snicker at that comment.

“He spends our taxes buying whores instead of using it to improve our home.”

“None of them belong on the throne!”

“They are right, your Majesty,” you stared at him with a small smirk on your lips. “Out of everyone, you’re the only that deserves to rule us. You are the one who will lead us to glory.”

Yoongi stared down at you with such desire. He may have found you attractive before, but now he couldn’t help but find you utterly irresistible. “So this isn’t just some power trip? Doing all this just to get to the top?”

Yoongi had his suspicions already about the war. He has heard from his own agents that the South were planning on some sort of invasion, but there wasn’t any evidence that confirmed that. So sadly he hasn’t been able to do any preparations—at least, none without the other royals knowledge of it.

You shook your head. “I don’t care about power, your Majesty—only survival, and you’re the best way to achieve that.”

“I see,” Yoongi reached up and stroked his chin, “how would you all do this anyway? Kill the rulers of each Kingdom can be tricky, and what about their heirs?”

“It’s quite easy,” you answered with a small grin. “They all have their jobs,” you nodded at your followers, “once they are home and unguarded, that is when they’ll strike. And as for their heirs, well, that’s not really a problem.”

Yoongi raised a brow. “Jung Hoseok’s wife is unable to bare a child, and he also doesn’t have any younger siblings to take over. So once he passes, rulership of his Kingdom immediately goes over to you. Same goes for my husband and Park Jimin.”

“I see,” Yoongi hums, biting inside of his cheek. “So what’s my job then?”

You smirk. “The only thing you have to do is have your succession speech ready, your Majesty.”

“But I have another problem,” Yoongi added. “Many people already disagree with our war with the South. How will we manage to persuade them that this is necessary? It’ll be difficult since three of the four leaders of the North are dead.”

“Trust me, your Majesty,” you spoke with such clarity and a smile on your face. “Everything is planned out and you don’t have to worry.”

Yoongi didn’t replay, eyes briefly glancing at the people that surrounded him. You must’ve noticed his still cautious state because next thing he knew you were signaling everybody out, telling them to “get some rest and prepare for your departure in the morning.”

“Why are you doing this exactly?” Yoongi asks the moment you two were alone in the room. “Because there is no damn way you’re doing this just for survival. I mean,” he suddenly chuckles, “you are giving complete control of the North. What is your angle here? Are you going to kill me after all this is so that you become Emperor?” Yoongi was starting to get frustrated. He has never had trouble understanding someone before until he met you. And now because of you, his mind was a complete mess.

“That’s not my intention at all, your Majesty,” smiling up at him, you placed your hand on his shoulder, smirking at the feeling of him tensing underneath your fingertips. “All I want is for the North, my home—your home to finally come out of its shadow that it has been forced to hide in for centuries.”

“And you think I’m the one that can do that?”

“Yes,” you nod, fingers dancing across his chest. “I’ve read records of previous Emperors and you’re the only that deserves that title. Unlike the other ones, you are resilient, intelligent, ruthless if necessary, and you even fight alongside your men which no other Emperor has done before.”

As each compliment came out of your mouth, Yoongi couldn’t help but feel himself starting to get hard underneath his lower robes, and you running your hands seductively over his chest definitely wasn’t helping.

“How should I repay you for your kindness then,” Yoongi found himself melting against your touch, his hands finding their way into your waist. “Because someone like you definitely deserves an reward for their loyalty.” Yoongi then turns you around in one quick motion, causing you to gasp at the sudden action and feeling his strong chest pressed up against your back and lips brushing against your ear.

A tiny moan escaped from your lips when feeling his hard length suddenly rub against your ass, you yourself starting to get hard as well. “Should I buy you plenty of jewelry, or maybe a large palace just for you?” Yoongi then pushed you up against the wall, smirking at the small gasp that came from you. “Or perhaps,” another moan came out of your mouth when one of his hands slipped underneath your robes and caressed the soft flesh of your behind, “make you wife?”

Yoongi chuckled when feeling shiver against him. “Yeah, you would like that, huh? Being my wife, an Empress, ruling right beside me?”

“Y-Yes, your Majesty,” you stuttered out, tilting your head back from the sensation, giving Yoongi the opportunity to lean down and leaving wet, tender kisses along your neck and bare shoulder, leaving dark bruises that’ll be near impossible to cover up tomorrow morning.

“Good,” Yoongi left another mark on your skin, dragging his finger across your ass, teasing your clenching hole with his fingertip. “Then how about we—secure our deal, then? And when you nodded, that was all Yoongi needed before turning you around to face him and crashing his lips down forcefully onto yours. The kiss was rough, yet tender and filled with lust. With your hands around his neck, Yoongi’s slid down to your thighs and hoisted you up into his arms, deepening the kiss with his lips moving in perfect sync against yours.

The kiss was like a drug that neither of you couldn’t get enough of.

“Please, your Majesty,” you whimpered against his lips, which made Yoongi want you even more than he already did. “Can you please h-hurry?”

Yoongi smirked against your lips, pulling away. “Don’t worry, my love, just be patient.”

It was quite ironic though, because Yoongi was everything but patient when it came to you. He couldn’t wait any longer. Instead of carrying you all the way to his chamber, he laid you on the closest flat surface which happened to be a table and tore your robes completely off of you, leaving you bare and them in ruins.

Yoongi decided to take his sweet time with you, dragging his lips across your ankles, up your legs to your meaty thighs. He then began to leave open mouth kisses over your abdomen and up your chest, teasing your nipples with his tongue and grazing the wet muscle over your collarbone. Yoongi continued his assault on your body until he reached back up your lips, capturing them this time into a soft, passionate kiss which you gladly returned without a second thought, hands sliding up to his shoulders and helping him strip from his own robes, revealing his pale and toned body.

Your mouth watered at the sight of him, eyeing his define muscles, the way his abs clenched as he climbed onto the table and hovered over you, and the way his biceps bulged as he held himself above you. “Y-Your Majesty—”

“Yoongi,” he cut you off, pulling away and moving his lips to your throat. “Call me, Yoongi, my love.”

“Y-Yoongi,” you tried out, heart warming in both of your chests once hearing his name come out of your mouth. It sounded right coming from you. “Please—”

“Don’t worry, my love,” Yoongi reassured you, moving his lips back up to yours. “I’m here, I’m here. Let me show you how it feels to be loved by a real man, yeah?”

The night was then soon filled with nothing but the sound your combined moans, skin slapping and the shared whispers of sweet words between one another.

This was the start of something new.

“T-Taehyung, faster, faster please!”

The sound of the woman’s moans and the bed’s headboard banging against the connecting wall to your room made your blood boil. Your hands clenched into fists and teeth biting angrily down onto your lips.

“Be patient, my love,” you could hear your husband say through the thin wall, making the rage that flowed through your veins grow more. “Let me cherish you, beautiful...”

“Your Highness,” the sound of a man’s voice tore you out of your thoughts, “I’ve done what you’ve asked me to do.”

“Everything’s prepared and ready?”

The guard nodded his head once you turned around, “yes, your Highness. The only people remaining in the palace are your loyal followers. Everyone else has been sent home.”

“Good,” only came out of your mouth before leaving your chambers with the guard following closely behind you. You walked over next door and didn’t bother knocking before barging right in, your husband and the girl instantly jumping to cover themselves with the thin bedsheets.

“What the fuck?!” Taehyung curses loudly, staring at you with wide eyes and wrapping his arms around the girl’s waist, pulling her close. “What are you doing here? I told already you that I’m staying here tonight.”

“I know,” you replied with not even a single ounce of emotion heard in your voice.

Taehyung’s eyes then shifted towards the guard that stood beside you. “What’s going on here?”

You didn’t say anything, only smiled, and that caused fear to form in the pit of Taehyung’s gut. With just the simple nod of your head, the guard walked over to the servant girl and snatched her by her hair, tearing her away from his grasp and yanking her off the bed and onto the ground.

“Stop—” Taehyung tried to reach for her but stopped when the guard pulled out a dagger and held the sharp blade against her neck, tears shining in her eyes. He then turned towards you, eyes glistening as well, “why are you doing this?”

“Change,” was all you said before nodding your head again, giving the guard the order to slide his blade across the girl’s throat, killing her instantly and letting her limp body collapse into the ground.

“N-No no,” Taehyung didn’t hesitate this time to jump out of the bed, despite being completely nude and taking her now lifeless body into his arms, blood staining the ground and his skin, and tears spilling uncontrollably from his eyes. “She was pregnant...”

“Oh well.”

Taehyung’s head shot up from your heartless comment, his teary eyes shining with a newfound rage. Before he had the chance to say anything the guard approached him from behind and wrapped his arms tightly around his neck. He immediately began clawing at his arms, trying to gasp for air that was becoming harder and harder to obtain, eyes bright red and nearly bulging out, tears slipping from them and sliding down his cheeks.

The last thing he saw before he took his last breath and eyes slowly closed was you standing in front of him with a sinister grin on your lips.

“Your Majesty.”

Yoongi glanced up from his book to see his personal advisor standing right in front of him by his library’s entrance. He hummed in reply, signaling for the young man to continue. We’ve gotten word from Lady Kim—” Yoongi glared at him, causing his advisor to pause and correct his words, “—I mean, ____’s agents that they have completed their duties.”

“They have?” Yoongi asked with a raised brow. He knew you were more than capable of doing this, but he thought something this major would take at least a week to accomplish. He didn’t expect to hear about any success a day later.

“Yes, your Majesty,” his advisor nodded. “The Jung palace is flames at this moment and there is word that Jung Hoseok himself and his wife were in their chambers when the fire happened. And as for Park Jimin, he was found murdered in his bed with a dagger in his chest. Some say it was one of his concubines that done it.”

“What about Kim Taehyung?” Yoongi found himself asking, his mind instantly thinking of you. “Was ___ successful?”

“Yes, your Majesty he was,” his advisor answered. “I was informed about Kim Taehyung’s death by ___ himself.”

Yoongi couldn’t stop the smile forming on his lips. “Good.”

“Would you like to start writing your succession speech now, your Majesty?”

“Yes,” Yoongi answered. “We’ll have the succession conference next week, and make sure every minor clan leader comes so that they know who is in charge now.”

“Yes, your Majesty,” his advisor nodded his head, and before leaving he turned back and said to him in a teasing tone, “oh, and someone is here to see you.”

Yoongi was about to ask him who it was, but he stopped himself when his eyes suddenly landed on you standing in his library’s entrance, his heart stopping in his chest at the sight of you. “H-Hey,” he stuttered out, cringing at the sound of himself. In all his years of living, nobody has ever had this type of power over him—but he wasn’t complaining either.

“Hello, your Majesty,” your reply sent tingles all over his body—and he loved it.

There was nothing but silence afterwards between you two because there wasn’t any need for words. The only thing you two needed to express the feelings you have for each other was your eyes—the passion, the lust, the want that shined in them.

This is just the beginning for you two.

would you guys like to see a drabble series of these two in the future maybe? emperor yoongi and his male wife.

TAGLIST:

@ben-c0c, @sombreboy, @theclawofsa, @joongtoons, @xavi-in-kpopland, @ephemeralkookie, @yoshiure, @illbeyournightmare, @sonderkook, @spaceisbigger, @catboygyu, @justqueerandhereforthetea, @xxminilah​

[restlessfandoming]

“family holiday” (pt. 1) (chilumi fic)

[SPOILERS FROM 1.1 STORY QUESTS]

Lumine finally arrives in Snezhnaya and takes Childe’s offer of visiting his home (mansion). 

(some domestic fluff uwu) 

lots of ppl have been asking for more and i love that! tysm for the encouragement and support <3 sorry this took so long to upload, i am trying very hard for all you lovelies ;__; 

also this is being split into two parts bc it is a bit longer than my other fics...but i swear im writing part 2 as fast as i can!! i just wanted to post this now so i wouldn’t keep you lovelies waiting <3

[Fic Masterlist]

“family holiday” (pt 1)

“Lumineeeeee!” Teucer shouted as she walked through the door of Childe’s home. He tackled her into a hug. 

“Well hello to you too, Teucer,” Lumine greeted back. Just as energetic as I remembered… 

“Hey! Paimon’s here too!” Paimon crossed her arms. 

Teucer broke his hug and waved energetically at Paimon. “Hi, Lumine’s toy!”

Paimon’s jaw dropped, ready to go on a rant, but Teucer already turned his attention away. 

“Big brother!” he cheered, tackling Childe into a hug as well. 

“Teucer!” Childe said enthusiastically, picking him up and slinging the little boy over his shoulder before swinging him around. Teucer erupted into gleeful giggles. 

“Big brother? Is that you?” a soft voice called. Coming down the grand stairs was a little girl who looked exactly like Childe and Teucer, her long brown hair tied in a half-up crown braid, her large blue eyes like innocent doe eyes. She looked about eight. Behind her, another sibling came trudging down the stairs, scowling, his hair appearing more ginger than the rest of the family; his face had a splattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks, more prominent than Teucer’s. He was a bit older, around 11. 

Childe set Teucer down, and smiled. “Tonia,” he greeted her, gentler. He got down on one knee, and Tonia ran down the steps—her white dress flowing behind her—and jumped into his open arms. 

“It’s been too long!” she said, her voice muffled by Childe’s shoulder. 

He laughed. “It certainly has, princess.” He looked to the last sibling still standing by the stairs. “Come on, Anthon. Come here.”

Anthon let out an exasperate huff, but still made his way to his older brother, and joined Tonia in their embrace. “We don’t have to make such a big deal out of this,” he grumbled, though his arms tightening around his brother betrayed his attitude. 

“Looks like we’ve been sidelined,” Paimon muttered. 

Lumine tilted her head. “It’s kind of nice to see though…” 

Anthon’s eyes flickered to her. “Who are you?”

Tonia broke from the hug, ducking under Childe’s arms to look at Lumine, while still gripping tightly to his jacket. 

Teucer bounced over to the traveler, and placed his hands proudly on his hips. “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Lumine!”

Tonia gasped and skipped over to her, her eyes bright. “Lumine?! Like from the letters?” Teucer nodded enthusiastically. 

Childe stood and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yup, the one and only. This is her first time in Snezhnaya, so everyone be on your best behavior.” He gave Anthon a look, to which Anthon crossed his arms. 

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Tonia and Anthon,” Lumine said. “Your brothers have told me a lot about you two.”

Tonia smiled shyly and peered at Lumine’s face. “Woooow,” she whispered in wonderment. “You really are just as pretty as he said!” 

Lumine felt a shock to her system. Childe told them I was pretty?

Childe let out a nervous laugh, quickly scooping Tonia off the ground and ruffling her hair. “Very funny, Tonia! Why don’t we decide on dinner plans, hmm?” 

Paimon, after grumbling in the corner about being ignored, perked straight up. “Food?”

“Let’s celebrate brother and Lumine coming home! We should go to the bestest restaurant in the city!” Teucer suggested. 

“You don’t want to eat brother’s cooking?” Tonia asked, a bit of sadness tinged in her voice. 

“I think that’s a great idea, Teucer,” Childe said. He patted Tonia’s head. “How about we eat dinner at the restaurant, then we can come home and I’ll make you your favorite cake?” 

“Yay!” Tonia cheered, jumping from Childe’s arms, and joining Teucer in celebration. 

“Anthon? What would you like to do?” Childe asked. 

He shrugged. “Whatever sounds good to me.” 

“Then it’s settled! Let’s all go get ready then, okay?” Childe said. The children all ran up the stairs, and soon the foyer was quiet once more. The Harbinger let out a heavy sigh. 

“Whew! They’re a handful!” Paimon said. 

Lumine nodded. “How do they even survive while you’re away?”

Childe chuckled. “Year round I have a dedicated staff of servants and maids to look after them and the house.” (Mansion, Lumine thought.) “I gave them the weekend off while I’m back.”

“You can handle all three of them?” Lumine asked. 

“Oh? You don’t think I’m capable?” 

“I just can’t imagine you as a child raising type,” she said, recalling their various battles together. How bloodthirsty he could get. 

“The battlefield is different,” he said, as if reading her thoughts. He glanced at the stairs. “I’ve been raising my siblings since we were little.” 

No parents? She thought of her and Aether. On their own for as long as she could remember, having to explore and learn alone. Except she and Aether were twins; she never had to look after a younger sibling—let alone three. 

“Ready!” Teucer announced, bouncing down the stairs. 

Childe crossed his arms. “Just your hat? Where are your gloves? Coat? Boots?” 

Teucer giggled. “Oops! I forgot!” He raced back up the stairs. 

“And you?” he asked, turning to Lumine. “You don’t look ready either.”

“I was okay on the journey here,” she answered. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

He shook his head. “It’s almost dark now. Snezhnayan nights are freezing, even more so during this time.”

“Ahh...well...we didn’t really pack...anything…,” Paimon said sheepishly. 

“Paimon I expected, but you, Lumine?” 

The traveler crossed her arms. “I’ve been a bit busy.” 

He scoffed. “Right, right. Well, we can’t have you freezing to death in the street. I’m sure there’s extra coats around here,” he said, heading up the stairs. “Come with me.”

“Oooo, Lumine, they’re probably super expensive and fluffy! Let’s go!” Paimon said, flying after Childe. Lumine rolled her eyes and followed. 

The three passed by the children’s rooms, all clothes being thrown around and excited chatter, before coming to a large door at the end of the hall. Childe’s room. He opened the door and they entered. 

It was a grand room—octangular in shape with huge windows and a tall ceiling—large, spacious, and empty save for a large bed, standing wardrobe, and side tables. There was a fine film of dusting covering all the surfaces, and the bed looked like it hadn’t been slept in for a long time. The colors were sparse, only grays, whites, blacks, and the occasional red accent. 

Childe opened the doors to the wardrobe, revealing an assortment of heavy winter coats. He pulled one out and held it out for Lumine. “I think this coat is a little older—probably the smallest one I have.” 

She put it on, the sleeves running a bit long to her fingertips, the feathered hood obscuring her face up to her nose. Childe laughed, and she stuck her tongue out at him after pulling the hood down. Despite it being old, she could still pick up a faint scent of Childe: a smell remnant of ocean waves and sandy beaches. Unexpectedly pleasant...

“If that’s too big, she can have one of my coats!” Tonia said from the doorway.  

“That is very nice of you to offer, Tonia,” Childe said. “But I think your coats might be too small.”

“Oh,” she said. “Well, we’re all ready now, brother!”

The family—plus Lumine and Paimon—gathered back in the foyer with everyone bundled in their coats, hats, and gloves. And then they were on the way to the restaurant. 

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

“Lumine, look!” Teucer said, pointing at a large pond. “There are so many fishes!”

They were waiting to be seated in the restaurant lobby. A large, grandiose building, with marbled floors, vaulted ceilings, and gold furniture. There was a large pond in the middle—a miniature waterfall flowed into it. 

Too extravagant, Lumine thought. And I thought Liyue was expensive...

“Do you think we could take some fish home to eat?” Paimon asked, peering into the pond. 

Lumine gave her a deadpan expression. “Go ahead. I’ve always wanted to see how Snezhnayans deal out punishment.”

“On second thought, nevermind…”

Tonia pulled on Childe’s jacket. “Can we go to the toy store after this?”

“Toy store! Toy store! Toy store!” Teucer chanted. 

“Yes, yes, of course,” Childe said. The two children cheered. 

“They’re always so loud,” Anthon grumbled from his seat next to Lumine. 

“They’re just excited your brother is back,” Lumine said. “Aren’t you excited also?”

“I guess…” He looked at her. “Why are you here anyways?”

How do I explain that I’m on a quest to find my brother after we were banished from our journeys by an unknown god? “I want to meet all the gods of Teyvat.”

He scoffed. “Yeah, right. That’s impossible.”

“Actually I’ve been quite successful,” she told him. “I’ve already met a few.”

“Really?” His brows were furrowed. “What’re they like?”

Venti: drunk. Zhongli: broke. “They’re...interesting. Very powerful.”

Childe walked over to them. “Is he bothering you?” he asked Lumine. 

“She was just telling me she’s met some of the gods of Teyvat. Is that true?” he asked, scrutinizing. 

“Very much so. She’s quite strong, so don’t get on her bad side.” He gave Anthon a wink. 

“Strong enough to beat you, brother?” 

“Of course,” Lumine said, standing up. “I’ve beat your brother before.” 

“Paimon can confirm that! We kicked his butt!” 

For the first time, Anthon’s eyes seemed to light up. “You did? How?”

Childe chuckled through gritted teeth, disguised as a strained smile. “Now, now, Anthon; you seem like you want me to be beaten.”

Anthon frowned. “No, I didn’t mean that.”

“Sir? Your table is ready,” a waiter said, approaching the family. 

As Childe went to wrangle up the younger kids, Lumine stayed behind and tapped on Anthon’s shoulder. 

“Hey,” she whispered. “Why do you want to beat your brother so bad?”

Anthon shook his head. “You guys have it wrong. I don’t want to beat my brother…” His pale face flushed a bit red. “I just...I want to be stronger than him. So he doesn’t have to work so hard to protect us…” He stopped and watched his siblings sit around the table in the distance. “He shouldn’t be the only one protecting us. I can see it’s really hard work for just him. I want to be strong enough to protect him, Tonia, and Teucer also.”

Lumine’s heart warmed at Anthon’s love for his family. She missed Aether a little more. “I’ll help you.” She put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I know what it’s like, wanting to protect a sibling.” She then gave him a teasing smile. “Plus, I’ve already beaten your brother, right?” 

“Right!” He had a little smile as well. “And he’s the strongest person I know! Well...I guess that person would be you now, right?”

Tonia came marching up to the two. “Come onnnnn, let’s go eat!” She grabbed both Lumine and Anthon’s hands and dragged them to the table. 

Afterwards, the family enjoyed an exquisite meal, and were all stuffed full of expensive foods and cheerful laughter. (The children were amazed at how much both Lumine and Paimon could scarf down.) 

The children, very quickly after finishing their meal, practically teleported to the toy store. As the children ran through the store, Lumine and Childe took the moment of rest, silently watching over them. (Paimon had retreated back into her world to recover from the feast.)

“I don’t know how you do it,” Lumine said. “I had a hard enough time with just Teucer in Liyue.”

“It’s not easy,” Childe confessed. He looked at his siblings softly. “But when I see them smiling and happy...despite everything bad in the world? I think it’s all worth it.”

How nice… His love for his family definitely matched her love for Aether. Something we have in common. She found herself enjoying this time with Childe, and his family, more enjoyable than any time she had been adventuring. It was almost like...she was...back home…

Soon enough, everyone was lined up, toys all selected and ready for purchase. Teucer tiredly tugged on Lumine’s coat, then silently held his hands up. At first, Lumine blinked, not understanding. 

“Teucer, just ask her to pick you up,” Anthon said. 

“That’s okay,” she said, pulling Teucer up off the ground—now understanding—and placing him on her hip. I think this is how you carry a kid? She didn’t have much experience with kids, save for the few she had met while in Teyvat. And those kids are far from normal... She let out a little sigh of relief when Teucer relaxed, laying his head on her shoulder. 

“Are you tired too, Tonia?” Childe asked. She shook her head, tightening her grip on his hand, clutching a doll in the other. Teucer was hugging a hilichurl stuffed animal, and Anthon held an action figure of a Lawachurl.

Upon reaching the toy seller, the old woman at the counter smiled at Childe and Lumine. “You two have such beautiful children,” she said. 

Lumine almost dropped Teucer. What?! 

“Though I have to say, they do take after their father quite a bit,” she remarked. “A shame, seeing as the mother is so beautiful.” 

Before Lumine could explain, Childe spoke. “Yes, what a shame indeed—I completely agree,” he said while smiling. 

...WHAT?!

[part two]

[stumpyjoepete]

[lightly edited]

The story here, for those who may have forgotten 2015 (it was a long time ago!) is that the NSA inserted a backdoor into a major encryption standard and then leaned on manufacturers to install it. The backdoor was in a pseudorandom number generator called Dual EC. It wasn’t terribly subtle but it was *deniable*. You could say to yourself “well, that could be horribly exploitable but nobody would do that.” Lots of serious people said that, in fact. But they did.

Not only did the NSA insert this backdoor into encryption standards, but they allegedly paid and pressured firms to implement it in their products. This includes major US security firms like RSA Security and Juniper. (That we know of!) In 2013, compelling evidence confirming the existence of this backdoor leaked out in the Snowden documents. We didn’t know quite how widely it had been implemented yet, but even then it was shocking.

It would be such a terribly embarrassing story if it ended there. But it gets even worse. One of the products that the US Intel agencies allegedly convinced to use the backdoor was Juniper, whose NetScreen line of firewalls are widely deployed globally and in the US government. We didn’t know about this because the company hid it in their certification documents. Even if we’d known about this, I’m sure “serious” folks would have vociferously argued that it’s no big deal because only the NSA could possibly exploit this vulnerability (it used a special secret only they could know), so (from a very US-centric PoV) why be a big downer?

But the field is called computer security; not computer optimism. We think about worst case outcomes because if we don’t do that, our opponents absolutely will. In fact, they already had. What nobody had considered was that *even if the backdoor required a special secret key* only the NSA knows, a system with such a backdoor could be easily “rekeyed.” In practice this would simply mean hacking into a major firewall manufacturer’s poorly-secured source code repository, changing 32 bytes of data, and then waiting for the windfall when a huge number of VPN connections suddenly became easy to decrypt. And that’s what happened.

The company was Juniper, the hack was in 2012. It is alleged (in this new reporting) to have been a Chinese group called APT 5. Untold numbers of corporate firewalls received the new backdoor, making both US and overseas systems vulnerable. The new, rekeyed backdoor remained in the NetScreen code for over *three years*, which is a shockingly long time. Eventually it was revealed around Christmas 2015.

Fortunately we learned a lot from this. Everyone involved was fired and no longer works in the field of consumer-facing cryptography. ... I’m kidding! Nobody was fired, it was hushed up, and everyone involved got a big promotion or lateral transfer to lucrative jobs in industry.

The outcome of the Juniper hack remains hushed-up today. We don’t know who the target is. (My pet theory based on timelines is that it was OPM, but I’m just throwing darts.) Presumably the FBI has an idea, and it’s bad enough that they’re keeping it quiet.

The lesson to current events is simple: bad things happen. Don’t put backdoors in your system no matter how cryptographically clever they look, and how smart you think you are. They are vulnerabilities waiting for exploitation, and if the NSA wasn’t ready for it, you aren’t. The second lesson is that “serious” people are always inclined away from worst-case predictions. In bridge building and politics you can listen to those people. But computer security is adversarial: the conscious goal of attackers is to bring about worst-case outcomes. It is very hard for people to learn this lesson, by the way. We humans aren’t equipped for it.

I want to say only two more slightly “inside baseball” things about Juniper and this reporting: - First, the inclusion of Dual EC into Juniper-NetScreen wasn’t as simple as the NSA calling the company up and asking them to implement “a NIST standard.” [image] - Juniper’s public certification documents don’t mention Dual EC was even used in NetScreen products. It lists another algorithm. The NetScreen Dual EC implementation is included *in addition* to the certified one, and without documentation. That stinks like cheese. - And of course there is a very coincidental “oops” software vulnerability in the NetScreen code that allows the raw output of Dual EC to ooze out onto the wire, bypassing their official, documented algorithm. For more see: [link]

I’ve told this story eight million times and it never ceases to amaze me that all this really happened, and all we’ve done about it is try to build more encryption backdoors. It makes me very, very tired.

Addendum: the White House Press Secretary was asked about this story, and their answer is “please stop asking about this story.” h/t @jonathanmayer

[jadedxrealityw]

-Rivals- Hermione Granger x Female Reader

    ☼-☪-☼

    Kody: I’m using the owls grading system for the story so if that’s not right, sue me i guess idk. 

    Movie/Show: Harry Potter, ignoring the storyline

    House/Year: Ravenclaw / 7th year

    Request:  Can I request a bold ravenclaw reader (her attitude almost could pass as a slytherin ngl) she's been Hermione's rival when it comes to grades and they DON'T get along very well. Reader is the opposite of mione's reserved personality. But rivals don't kiss and make out with each other secretly in the lavatory 😭 pls enemies to lovers (with some tension;) ykyk and then one day, they walk the great hall hand in hand and everyone is like don't they find each other insufferable?

    Possible Triggers/Warnings: if you don’t like lesbians get the hell off my page, sexual tension, enemies to lovers trope, cursing

    ☼-☪-☼

    love came unexpectedly at times, you learned that at young age from fairy tales and such. Well all kids did, but kids eventually grew up and came to the realization that fairy tales were exactly what they were, fairy tales. Fiction. Not real. 

    people could call you cold hearted or rude, but you would describe yourself as blunt or brutally honest. Never afraid to speak your mind or point out injustice when you saw fit. To put it simpler terms, professors at Hogwarts preferred you didn’t speak at times. 

    “Your too outspoken Ms. L/n” 

    “Stick to your academics Ms. L/n”

    “You wouldn’t be in detention so much so if kept your mouth shut Ms. L/n”

    merlin, you were exhausted of hearing your own last name. You guessed the only reason you weren’t reprimanded as worse as the Weasley Twins was because you were one of Hogwarts brightest witches, always excelled in academics, in every subject. 

    you couldn’t explain it to others even if you tried other then it just came naturally. Your parents, when they were attended Hogwarts were both just as naturally skilled in there studies as you were. So you must have inherited there ‘big brain’ as your mother said many times before.

    you were never one to gloat though, it was never your style. You were more humble about what you could accomplish. That was until she got involved. That egoistical, hypocritical, Gryffindor girl. Hermione Granger became the bane of your existence early into your fifth year. 

   until then Ms. Granger had been the top of all her classes, no one even came close to her intelligence, naming her ‘The Brightest Witch At Hogwarts’ and Hermione wore that title with pride. Being a Muggle born put a target on her head as well as stereotypes.

    most students and some staff almost immediately came to the conclusion she wasn’t capable of achieving goals that regular half or pure bloods could. It was a terrible way to think, but it was unfortunately the reality of being involved with the wizarding world. 

   Hermione was lucky to have friends like she did that cared about her no matter who she was or what she became, but it didn’t stop her need to feel validated in her academics. It was the one thing no one could giver her shit for, because she was the best at it and no one else was. 

   until that fateful fifth year that was mentioned earlier. It was the time when you finally got your mind and heart into your studie. You blew past most of the student body rather quickly, earning the title of the fastest turn around at Hogwarts.

    it was nice

    then it wasn’t, for Hermione of course 

    ☼-☪-☼

    fifth year / past

    “It seems we have two students with an Outstanding this time around” Professor Flitwick spoke as the exams from the previous week had landed neatly onto the wooden desk in front of you. “congratulations Ms. Granger and Ms. L/n”

    Hermione’s head perked up like a cat who had heard a bag of hard food shake from the nest room over, eager. She had never heard that name before, it didn’t come as much as an surprise though considering how big Hogwarts was. She leant to the left where Harry Potter sat. 

    “Who’s L/n? Do you know her?” she asked, casually though Harry knew her better then most. He gave her a half hearted shrug “No clue, try Ron” he suggests. Hermione nods once before leaning over to the right, where the Weasley sat, scowling at his exam. 

    “Mum’s going to kill me” he muttered, bringing no reaction to Granger’s face. He never studied. “Ron, do you know who this L/n is?” she repeated the question she gave to Harry. Ron turns his head away from the parchment and to Hermione. 

   his brows furrowed as he searches the corners of his mind for where he had heard the name from, until the visible light bulb popped over his head- well not so visible actually. “Oh um- Y/n L/n. she’s a Ravenclaw, her parents are certified geniuses. They work at the ministry. Department of magical education”

   his words did not soothe the wracking thought in the young Granger’s mind. “Certified geniuses?” Hermione echos. “If that’s so how come she’s only getting Outstandings now? she must have cheated somehow” she thought aloud. 

    “I surely didn’t cheat”

   like an owl Hermione’s head turned over her shoulder, her two Gryffindor pals doing the same. In her sight was a girl, her age, in a Ravenclaw robe. She had S/C skin with H/L H/C hair and E/C eyes that were staring back at her. Hermione was almost stunned into silence- keyword being almost. 

    “the explain the good grade all of the sudden, L/n?”

   you looked rather confused. You had never met the girl and she was accusing you of cheating because you had never gotten an Outstanding before? Was this a prank of some sort or fever dream? “I studied for once. You have no right accusing me, i don’t even know you that well”

    Harry placed a hand upon Hermione’s shoulder, signaling for her to stop before she caused a scene. Looking back, she should have listened “No right? I have a right to point out people who are just trying to cheat their way through school while people like us actually care about our grades”

    what the Gryffindor girl wasn’t expecting was for you to start laughing. Her friend, Cho Chang joining in, finding it just as equally hilarious. Hermione’s face turned just as bright as Ron’s hair. “What is so funny?” you and Cho slowly come to a stop, breathing in and out. 

    “what’s funny is that your ego is so incredibly large, so much so that it can’t comprehend that someone, not a Gryffindor either was able to match your intelligence. Now shove off ” you said it all with a grin on your face, because you certainly knew you were right. 

    and from that day, you both despised each other

    ☼-☪-☼

    seventh year / present

    and with every exam, every questioned called on by a teacher, you fastly became Hermione’s rival. It was a term Cho used, but you didn’t really see it that way since you weren’t competing with her. You never studied harder to make sure you got the same grade, never tried to sabotage her in any way. 

    you didn’t care much about it actually

    but you did quite enjoy her face, the way her nostrils flared up an her cheeks turned a bright red in anger. It was cute seeing her so mad. Sending er a wink or sly grin when she glared at you became a daily routine as well. When at first you ignored her you now loved annoying her.

    never having to say a word was probably your favorite part. 

    that’s probably when feelings began to mix into it, but you either didn’t notice or refuse to acknowledge them at all. You genuinely thought you hated this girl, so why in the world would you ever think you liked her? Makes sense, right? Were not even going to mention the questioning your sexuality.

    “Sit still while i pass out your exams from yesterday. Once you recieve your paper you may get up and leave” 

    “You think if Snape got laid he wouldn’t be such a prick?” the Slytherin boy spoke, leaning towards you. turning your head ever so slightly, you lock eyes with Draco “Why are you even sitting here?” you whisper back, giving him a mock astonished look.

   he rolls his grey eyes, shrugging his shoulders “You never talk to me outside of class anymore��� he grumbles. Is he- Is this- What is happening? “That’s because your a little shit and pushed Neville in the hallway yesterday” yeh, you caught his dumbass. 

    Draco’s eyes widen a bit, not knowing you had been in the hallway during the crime. “You saw that?- what are you his protector?” he says, clearly as an insult, but oh little did he know that you were indeed exactly what he just said and would say it with pride.

    “Yes-”

    “Ms. L/n, Outstanding as usual as well Mr. Malfoy. Good work, the both of you” Snape places the exams in front of each of you, but you were both to busy staring in shock. This bitter, old, mean, crude man just compliment you. Merlin, you had finally gotten fathers approval

    (what in the fuck am i writing)

    “Is this heaven?” Draco questioned, staring bug eyed forward. 

    “No”

    “How do you know?”

    “Cormac is here”

    “Yeah your right, feelings over” both you and Draco sighed, turning to look at each other before laughing quietly. He was a pretty chill dude sometimes. “What!?” the loud screech filled your ears. All heads turned behind you, so you followed that and saw the one and only Hermione Granger. 

    she was huffing and puffing. You feared for the stick and straw houses in the world for a moment. Harry quickly stood up and pushed her shoulders down, forcing her back into her seat “I've never gotten an Exceeds Expectations before” Hermione sputters out. 

    she

    got

    what

    now?

    oh this was rich, absolutely hilarious, so much so that Draco had already began to laugh. “Poor Granger, guess you really aren’t the brightest witch” he taunted. Hermione looked up, glaring daggers at the Slytherin. Merlin, he had such a big mouth.

    then her brown eyes strayed to you, but you only pursed your lips together, providing her no emotion to work off of. In a haste, she collected her things, leaving the cursed exam on the table nd rushing out the door, both Ron and Harry calling out for her. 

    fuck

    standing up, you grab your bag and look down at Draco. His laughter comes to an end and he looks up at you “What?” he asked. You copied his dementor singers from third year, making him look at your hands. You took that time to reach down and flick his forehead. 

    he pulls away, his palm rubbing his head in circles “Bloody hell, what was that for?!” he exclaimed. What an idiot. “This is why we don’t hang out” you deadpan before finally going to exit the classroom, leaving a grumbling, mumbling Draco. Something about you being  ‘mean friend’

    ☼-☪-☼

    only having ten minutes until Charms class you began to search the halls. Merlin where had she run off too? The school wasn’t THAT big- okay maybe it was. You had almost called quits, making a mental note to check up on her during lunch when you passed the restroom.

    sniffling and crys were heard. You’ll admit, it kind off hurt to hear. Taking a few steps backwards, you use the palm off your hand to slowly push the door open so it wouldn’t creak like the old shit it was. When it was open just enough for you to fit through, you slip in. 

    gazing around, you see Hermione bent over the sink, sobbing. You could hear her voice becoming rougher by the second as she destroyed her vocal cords. “Granger?” you say, staying a few feet behind her. Hermione looks up in the mirror, spotting you behind her. 

    her distraught expression quickly shifted to anger “You” she seethed. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion “Me?” you say back, crossing your arms. “Leave me the hell alone L/n!” she shouts, angry tears flooding down her cheeks. Raising your hands, you offer your surrender.

    “Shit, sorry. I was just trying to see if you were okay” you admit. Hermione turns on her heels, facing you directly this time before speaking “Oh so now your my friend, your a bully! All you do is step on my toes and try to make me look like a fool!”

    “Are you on fucking drugs Granger? Not once have i ever gone out my way to harm you of any sort. Your the one who is obsessed with trying to be better then me and i never gave a shit. I never wanted to be your rival for three years and i certainly never bullied you!”

    the words you spoke went out one of Hermione’s ears and out the other. For someone as smart as her, she could be quite dense when angry “You don’t get to play the saint, L/n! I have spent those three years studying as hard as i can and you don’t even have to try!” 

   throwing your hands up in the air a crazy person because she was honestly starting to make your brain hurt quite a bit, you laugh loudly “Oh my- no one asked you too! What is so wrong with us being the same?! ” you shouted, finally raising your voice as much as she had.

    “Because your not a Muggle! You don’t know what it’s like to have everyone you meet already assume your not worth their time just because your parents aren’t witches or wizards!” she crept towards you and which each step she took you took a step right the fuck back.

    this chick wasn’t going to hit you, right?

    “I have never judged you for your blood status Granger, i frankly could care less. What i do judge you for is you know, the giant ego thing” you spat back only causing her to gasp in offense “I do not have an ego!” she yells, stepping into your boundaries basically.

   you had tried to back up like before, but you were pressed up against a wall at this point. “Yes you do and it’s as big as Hagrid!” you reply. Hermione grabs the collar of your white uniform shirt, pulling you down a bit so her face was inches from yours, trying to intimidate you.

    “Take it back!” she threatens. In that moment your eyes scanned her face, noting her almost perfect skin, her brown eyes that looked more hazel up close then far away, and her lips. They looked so soft and inviting. You couldn’t quite understand why you were thinking like this all of the sudden.

    but it felt right, so right

    in a swift motion you place your lips on Hermione’s. You had thought she’d pull away, but only half a second later her arms were wrapped around your neck, pulling you as close as possible to her. You tangled one of your hands into her light brown wavy mess and the other pushed on the small of her back. 

    the kiss was messy and sloppy, not amount of anything really could make it appropriate. How did you two go from fighting to almost ripping each others uniforms off? A question no one could really answer but yourself as well Hermione. 

    it was over as soon as it began with Hermione pulling away, leaning her forehead against yours. You could make out the small smile on her face, it made you smile as well. “That was-” she started to speak, but was stopped by her own laughter. 

    “Yeah” you breathed out. What had just happened?

        ☼-☪-☼

    four months later

    ever since that day you and Hermione would casually meet up in the lavatory to kiss and feel up on each other after, btween, during classes. Anything really. You both had also not interacted at all outside of these visits. Just stayed away from each other as much as possible.

    most people thought you two had either made up after three years of rivalry or had decided to no longer interact with each other at all. Little did they know right? Speaking of that, you pull away from Hermione, panting for air “We have divination in three minutes” you spoke. 

   her face turned to worry instantly making you grin to yourself “Godric, i have to get out of here. Wait a couple minutes” she gathered her belongings and rushed out the restroom not even leaving you with an goodbye kiss. How rude. After about five minutes or so you leave as well

    once you get to class you look around the room and spot Hermione already sat with Harry and Ron on one side of the arch like sitting area for the students. “Y/n!” oh not again. Turning your head to the right, you spt the Slytherin boy with his mates.

   this guy just doesn’t quit. You plop yourself next to Draco Malfoy “I thought you were going to ignore me again” he admits. Ignoring his statement, you gaze around the people at your table “Where’s Parkinson? If i’m going to be stuck with you gits and Theo i rather it be with her” 

   Theo cracks a smile while Draco rolls his eyes “She’s sick, stuck in her dorms” he explains. You nod mindlessly and look over at Hermione. She was brushing through her hair with her fingers, trying to make it look like you weren’t tugging on it just minutes ago. 

    “What’s that on your neck?” Harry asks, moving the top part of Hermione’s robe with his finger, causing her to swat his hand away “It’s just a bug bite” she says with haste. quick thinking, that’s kinda cute. For some odd reason you liked seeing her explain her way out of a hickey that you gave her. 

    class soon started, but you kept your inventive gaze on her. It was adorable how she would catch you staring and turn a nice shade of red. It brought a smug smile to your face each time. Professor Trelawney had called upon Hermione to ask a question, but she seemed to be too busy avoiding your gaze. 

    “My dear, Ms. Granger” Trelawney said for maybe the third time until Hermione finally fell back down to reality. She looked at the Professor who gave her a kind smile “Oh um-” the Gryffindor put on a nervous smile, her eyes looking to you. You sent her a wink.

    merlin you were such an asshole

    Hermione looked at her lap, trying to muster up the words, any words actually. Her savior wore glasses “Hermione isn’t feeling to well. Can Ron and i take her to the hospital wing?” Harry asked. What a buzzkill. Trelawney nods, waving her hand to the direction of the door. 

    Harry tapped Hermione’s shoulder while Ron grabbed her things and off they went. 

        ☼-☪-☼

    a week later

    “I have to head to dinner, you should too. I saw that you didn’t eat during lunch” Hermione spoke, buttoning her uniform shirt. You smile, looking into the mirror so you could fix your hair “Watching me Granger?” you ask, turning away from your reflection.

    “You know i worry about your health” she said, which only made your smile wider “What is that stupid smile for?’ Hermione questions, an amused laugh in her tone. Shrugging, you lean against the sink counter “Stupid? I thought you liked my quote on quote ‘Goofy smile’” 

    Hermione shakes her head, grabbing her bag from the floor “I better see you at dinner or i’ll drag you there myself” she said playfully. An idea popped into your mind. “Then drag me” you smirk, tilting your head to the left. Hermione looks at you, shaking her head again. “You know i can’t”

    “Why not? It’s been four months. I would like to be your-” you stopped mid sentence. You both had never really gave each other labels before. It was always just the casual make out and flirting, but now you were much more. Fuck it “I would like to be your girlfriend in public”

    Hermione’s brow eyes went wide as she heard those words. It becoming a little too real. You saw her conflicted face and immediately felt some sort of shame. Averting your gaze to the ground, you take a deep breath. “Forget i said anything” 

    “No!- i mean. I’m ready. Plus i’m tired of being distracted by you during class” Hermione lightened the mood just a tad. You look back up at her, cracking a half smile “I’m most likely still going to distract you” you point out, making her chuckle. Cute.

    she inhales sharply “Let’s do this” she states confidently, letting out the breath. She reached out, opening her hand for you to grab. In that small gesture, you knew you would be with this woman for as long as you lived. Grabbing her hand, you intertwined your fingers with hers. 

    ☼-☪-☼

    hand in hand, you walk into the great hall. Heads turned and pupils dialated at the sight of you and Hermione walking in together. You honestly felt a little self conscious until you saw the bright smile of Cho and Luna as well as Draco who gave you a hidden thumbs up.

    both you and Hermione took  seat at the Gryffindor table. “So Hermione, how long as this been going on?” Harry asked. Hermione glances at you before her best friend “Four months, one week.” she said, gleaming with pride at her memory. 

    Harry looked taken aback at the time, but gave you both a smile “Well at least you both are getting along finally” he says, Ron nodding beside “Yeah- getting along” the Weasley jokes. You laugh a bit before leaning over to kiss the temple of Hermione's head. 

    rivals am i right?

        ☼-☪-☼

    Click here to join my Taglist so you never miss a new story from me!

    @the--queen-of-hell @sonbelleame @dracosathenaeum @queeriacs @marrymetheonott

    ☼-☪-☼

    Kody- Aye look its 10 am and i haven’t slept. Good night, my requests are open blah blah. Anyways, peace. 

[cottoncandyjester]

I haven’t really wrote anything for luis and his alters, I talked about iago so let’s talk about a different one✨

I love writing about luis and his alters, they are hella fun to think about

You and luis usually don’t do a lot of public dates but this was one of the few times you two decided to hit up the mall and maybe have lunch. You were supposed to meet with Luis but when you got there luis was clearly not fronting.

There stood outside the mall was a person who looked like luis but wore an oversized pastel blue sweater with clouds on it and baggy black cargo pants. That style was quite different from luis and his more formal clothing. As you walked up to the male he looked up from his phone, smiling as he slid his phone in his pocket hunching over slightly to appear shorter than he actually was..even his posture was different.

“Hi there..?” You cooed out feeling a shyness overtake you for some odd reason, before you could even blink the male took your hand and kissed it “I’ve been waiting to meet you since forever, I’m azul. Is it okay that you’ll be going on this date with me? I promise I’ll make it fun” He asked out, his voice a lot softer and sweeter than luis.

“Oh no it’s fine, though I hope you won’t be bored” you said nervously which made him smile pressing sweet kisses against your palms causing you to heat up, face burning red at how affectionate he was.

“I’m so excited to spend time with you, Nothing you do is boring to me mi estrella. I’m being pushy though huh? I suppose from your view we are strangers.” He said softly, glancing away as he let go of your hands.

You immediately grabbed his hand holding it tightly “ that’s not it at all, I’m actually excited to learn about you so come on okay?” You reassured him your kind words making him smile before he kissed the back of your hand “if you only knew how much we all adore you” he whispers softly now pulling you along.

Azul was different from iago and luis, he was sensitive and never spoke in a loud voice, his voice was a lot higher than someone like iago who was gruff. “Hey, look..” azul chimed out as you two were walking around the store that sold various band merch along with other things.

You focused your attention on the thing azul was pointing to feeing him let your hand go only to pick up the frilly collar and hold it in his hands, softly messing with the bell to hear the jingle. “It’s pretty no? I’m sure it will be prettier around your neck” he teased out, laughing at your flustered expression before sticking his tongue out playfully. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it. Your face turns this beautiful shade of pinkish red that makes me want to tease you” he said softly before going to pay for the collar.

“You’re buying it?!” You said in a shocked tone, your surprise making him tilt his head to the side “of course. I’ll even put a star charm on it just for you, mi Estrella” he cooed out. After the teasing was over you two decided to grab some food.

“What’s it like being in a system?” You asked bluntly, causing him to nearly spit out his drink but he gulped and shyly laughed before his behavior grew sad. “It’s…difficult” He said softly as he stared down at the smoothie he was drinking.

“Sharing a body isn’t easy, I know when you look at me you see luis, I wish you could see how I really look. I wish..” he paused and leaned in close pressing a kiss on your cheek “I wish I could block everyone else out forever so I can be the only one you interact with, but that’s selfish Hmm?” He whispers lowly.

“You have such strong feelings, but we’ve never met have we?” You asked out curiously, his smile growing as he suddenly cupped your cheeks “oh mi Estrella, I think Everyone agrees when I say we love you very much..I was tired of just gazing through memories. I wanted to form my own memories with you.” He cooed out, now pressing a quick kiss on your lips before pulling back.

“For our next date I’ll take you to the planetarium, okay? Though I’m sure the others will be a little jealous that I stolen so much of your time, but it’s okay if I’m your favorite” he said happily with a chuckle. “I love you all equally, I have no favorites ” you said stubbornly only to see the sly smile on his face.

“No favorites Hmm? Just wait til the adult alters get you alone in the bedroom..then you’ll be screaming about how I’m your favorite, along with other things” he purred out covering his mouth with his hand laughing at your surprised expression.

“A-azul!” You stammered out, finding his quiet yet joyful laughter to be quite adorable. This date was interesting to say the least, as you two parted ways you couldn’t help but smile to yourself as you looked at the bag he gave you with the collar in it. You hoped for a chance to meet and accept all the alters.

Azul you bastard, blocking us from fronting!

Not nice

It was supposed to be my date, not yours

Selfish.

I’ll make you pay for that.

Sure azul was a little selfish but couldn’t help it, you were the type of person that made all of them possessive..it was only natural that they would fight over who got to spend time with you.

[theeasternempress]

A Little Red Handprint

Summary - Echo is still learning how to adapt to having a child on board and struggles with deciding to treat her like a soldier or like a child. With a simple question from Omega, Echo finally makes his decision. 

Word count - 2.7k

AO3

Echo had spent his entire life being trained to become the perfect soldier for the Republic. He could use every weapon imaginable, formulate a battle plan on the spot, follow orders to a T, and take down a droid with a single perfectly-aimed shot. He was proud to say that with time, he had learned to be exactly the type of soldier that the Republic wanted. 

But if there was one thing he was never taught, it was how to handle a child. 

Echo was completely clueless with how to care for Omega. Despite constantly watching Hunter, Wrecker, and Tech from the sidelines as they interacted with Omega, he was unsure of how to interact with her even after a few days.  

At most, he’d dealt with a couple of cadets as an ARC trooper, but he treated them as soldiers instead of the children they truly were. He regretted his past actions the moment he saw Omega’s eyes flood with awe the first time she went into hyperspace as he learned how children appreciate the little things. There was a time and place for being a soldier but for now, Omega deserved to have the childhood no other clone could have.

Echo was fighting a constant but silent battle in his head over this matter. He wanted her to learn how to protect herself as a soldier could, especially after the events of Pantora, but he also didn’t want her to be in constant fear for her life. Echo was sure that their team would do everything in their power to keep her safe, but a thousand “what ifs?” still circled around in his mind. 

He was so lost in thought that he didn’t hear Omega’s soft footsteps approaching. She could tell he was deep in thought and almost hesitated to interrupt him, but she eventually spoke, “Echo, can you help me with something?”

It was only thanks to years of training that Echo didn’t jump out of his skin at Omega’s sudden presence. He’d always had a bad habit of getting lost in his thoughts, something Fives loved to relentlessly tease him for. 

Burying his surprise, Echo turned to meet Omega’s soft brown eyes and replied, “Sure kiddo, what do you need help with?” 

“My trooper’s head is loose, and I don’t know how to fix it,” Omega said, revealing her trooper doll from behind her back and holding it up to Echo. 

It still made Echo’s heart skip a beat to see that Omega had painted her doll to match the Bad Batch’s armor. Even though it was clearly the work of a child, he could tell that she put her entire heart into her work. 

Taking the doll from Omega’s outstretched hand, Echo set the doll in his palm to get a good look at it. It was clear to him that the head had just been unscrewed from the neck a few times so with a couple twists, the head was back on as normal. 

It was an easy fix, so easy that he was sure Omega would have known how to do it herself. Tech had been teaching her how to make all different kinds of repairs and she clearly had background knowledge as well. There had to be some other reason why she asked for his help. 

Just as Echo was about to question Omega, she hesitantly spoke, “Echo, I’ve been meaning to ask, why do you wear leather armor on your belt when no one else does?” 

Echo smiled softly as he realized that Omega just wanted an excuse to talk to him for a bit. The thought warmed his heart as he replied, “It’s called a kama, it’s a piece of armor I got after I became an ARC trooper. My captain used to say that it acted as extra protection, but my brother Fives always said it was just to make us look cool.” 

Ever-curious, Omega propped herself up to mimic his position and asked, “So the reason you’re the only one who wears a kama is because you’re the only ARC trooper?”

“Yes, but the Mandalorians wore them before ARC troopers did. Once Jango Fett introduced kamas to the clones, ARC troopers began wearing them too,” he answered, preparing himself for more questions from the small girl. 

Echo continued to answer her never-ending questions with a never-ending amount of patience. He told her countless stories about Fives and Domino Squad, a fond yet nostalgic smile on his lips the entire time. 

Even without being told, Omega seemed to understand that the members of his previous squad were all dead and didn’t ask a single question about how they died. Instead, she asked questions about things like their favorite colors and Echo’s favorite memories with them. 

Just when Echo thought Omega was running out of steam, she asked, “Can I try on your kama, please?”

Her question surprised both Echo and Omega, the shocked look on Omega’s face showing that the question had just slipped from her mouth.

Without hesitation, Echo reached behind him to unclip the kama and let it slip into his hands. Omega, seeming to understand what he was doing, broke out into one of her bright smiles and stepped forward to allow Echo to tie the kama around her waist. Even on the tightest setting it was too big on Omega, but she didn’t seem to care as she ran her fingertips over the rough leather. 

Echo contently watched as Omega jumped around, giggling when the kama whacked against her legs. Even though she had to hold the kama in place with one hand, she seemed to be enjoying herself. 

Seeing Omega so happy to be wearing a piece of his armor, Echo decided he would let her try on all of his gear. Echo was never more grateful for the prosthetic hand Tech had built him than when he was removing his armor. He was able to remove his armor and leave himself in his blacks in record time, Omega too distracted with Echo’s kama to notice what he was doing. 

Echo called Omega over to him with a quick call of her name. She strolled to his side, still smiling about the way the kama was flapping against her legs. 

Echo held his helmet up with one hand and asked, “Can’t let you just wear the kama, soldier. How about we get you into full gear?”

Omega gasped as her face lit up, nodding furiously. Echo returned the smile and helped her get his helmet over her head. The helmet was so big on her that she could spin it all the way around her head, which led to heavy laughter from them both. 

The rest of his armor was also far too big on the small girl, but he managed to at least fasten it enough so it wouldn’t fall off of her petite frame. 

Echo could hear her giggles echoing in his helmet and couldn’t help but laugh along with her. If his armor was big on her, he could only imagine how easily she would be swallowed up by Wrecker’s gear. 

Omega quickly cleared her throat and stood at attention like she’d seen him do countless times. Even though Omega mimicked Hunter the most, it always brought warmth to Echo’s heart to see the small girl copying his actions. 

Echo stood at attention as well, giving the girl a firm salute and smiling as she returned it with a little more force than needed and whacked her hand against his helmet. 

“Hi soldier, I’m Echo and I’m an ARC trooper,” Omega’s voice rang out, clearly trying to copy the authoritative tone she’d heard from commanding officers. A quick laugh escaped from Echo as Omega dropped her voice several octaves to try to sound more like him.  

Echo heard a quiet snort come from Omega before she said, “What are you laughing at, soldier? Drop and give me twenty!”

Echo replied with a quick, “Sir, yes, sir!” before getting to the ground to begin doing push ups. He felt Omega crawl on his back to sit on him just as she sat on Wrecker when he did his daily push ups. The armor dug uncomfortably into his cybernetics, but he kept his complaint to himself.

Omega jumped off his back after a minute and said, “I’m gonna go show everyone what I look like in your armor!” 

Echo didn’t even have time to respond as she marched to the cockpit to greet Tech, armor clanging together as she moved. Echo slowly followed behind her, walking in just in time to hear Omega say, “Look Tech, I’m Echo!”

Tech looked up from the small project in his hands to see Omega with her arms spread wide and a smile undoubtedly spread across her face under Echo’s helmet. Echo didn’t miss the twitch of Tech’s lips as he fought back a smile at the sight of the young girl swallowed in Echo’s armor. 

Omega put on her Echo-voice again and said, “Tech, did you finish your work on repairing the communications system? Hunter wanted that done by the end of the day.” 

This time Tech allowed himself to smile at the child and responded, “Yes, communications are up and running, though I doubt we’ll need to use them. Everything else is as it should be.”  

Echo quietly stood off to the side, doing his best to give the two of them some space as they no doubt spoke of the projects Tech was currently working on. Tech always enjoyed getting to speak to someone about his various interests, and Echo didn’t miss how Omega was eager to soak up every bit of information he gave. 

A moment later, Omega sped past him and made a beeline for Hunter’s bunk. Before Echo could leave to go after her, Tech spoke, “We’ll be landing in precisely 30 minutes. You might want to get your armor back in that time.”

Echo nodded and ran off to catch up with Omega. Just as she was about to poke Hunter awake, Echo grabbed her wrist and softly said, “Sorry kiddo, but Tech says we’re landing soon and I’ll need my armor back.” 

Echo could sense that she was pouting, but nonetheless let Echo lead her away from a snoring Hunter to a quiet area on the ship. Omega lifted her arms out and let Echo unclasp his armor from around her frame. 

As Echo was helping Omega take off his armor, his thoughts drifted to Rex and Fives. Even though the events on the Rishi moon cost him three of his beloved brothers, it strengthened his bond with Fives and introduced him to Rex. Their armor tied them together and while he wasn’t wearing 501st colors anymore, his armor would always remind him of his brothers. 

An idea popped into Echo’s head as he removed the final piece of armor from Omega and began, “You know Omega, there’s something from my armor that’s been missing for a long time. I used to have a handprint from my Captain on the chest plate of my old armor. Since I’m part of a new team, I’ve been thinking of getting a new handprint too.”

Omega tilted her head in confusion, so Echo continued, “Would you put your handprint on my kama for me?”

Omega beamed from ear to ear and exclaimed, “Of course! I’ll go grab the paint!” 

While Omega ran off to grab the spare paint they kept on board, Echo began putting on his armor, leaving his kama to the side. 

The pitter patter of Omega’s quick footsteps alerted Echo to her presence as she returned with a canister of red paint and a paintbrush in her hand.

“I thought the red paint would look best on it, but I can get black if you want!” Omega said, clearly happy to be doing this with Echo. 

“I think red is perfect. You ready?” Echo asked as he plucked the paintbrush from between Omega’s small fingers. In response, Omega stuck out her left hand and smiled brightly.

Echo kneeled to the ground, bringing Omega down with him, and brought the paint and his kama to his side. Echo plopped a splat of paint against Omega’s hand, which led her into a fit of giggles as she said, “That’s cold!” 

Echo smiled at her laughter and began brushing the paint across her hand, which led to even more giggles as she exclaimed, “Now it’s cold and it tickles!” Echo laughed as she squirmed about, but continued applying an even coat of paint against Omega’s small palm. 

When he was finished, Echo set the paintbrush down and lifted the kama in front of Omega. He didn’t have a preference for where she put the handprint and knew she was smart enough to pick the best place for it. 

“I’ll let you pick a good spot, just make sure to keep your hand steady,” Echo instructed. Omega nodded, her eyes flicking over Echo’s kama. Eventually, she lifted her palm up on the left flap of his kama, just above his knee. It was about an inch or so on either side of the red border, and Echo thought it would look perfect.

As Omega pulled her hand back to reveal the mark she’d made, Echo felt tears flood his eyes. Even if the handprint belonged to someone else, it would always remind him of Rex. Echo was more than happy to be part of this team, but he couldn’t deny that there were some nights when he longed for the company of his brothers in the 501st. His happiest memories were with them and after all he’d been through, he still craved the simple joy that came from something as trivial as a pillow fight or deep conversations over a cup of caf. 

Sensing his sadness, Omega silently laid her unpainted hand over one of Echo’s. Tears began to pour down Echo’s cheeks, but Omega stayed silent and kept her warm hand over Echo’s. He hadn’t cried like this in ages, and he felt years of suppressed moments bubbling up. 

(Rex would love Omega, wouldn’t he? And by the Maker, he just knew Fives would be able to make Omega laugh for hours.)

Echo smiled at the thought, squeezing Omega’s hand before using his sleeve to dry his tears. Echo finished cleaning himself up just as Hunter emerged from his bunk with sleep in his eyes and a fond smile on his face at the sight of Echo and Omega. 

Omega ran over to Hunter with her painted palm held out and exclaimed, “Hunter, look! Echo let me put my handprint on his kama!”

Hunter chuckled, ruffling her hair and replying, “It looks great, kiddo. You’ve got some skills as an artist. Let’s get you cleaned up now, okay?”

She nodded in response, but ran back to Echo to throw her arms around him first. Still kneeling on the ground, Echo was almost knocked over by the force of the small girl’s hug. Echo returned the hug, placing one hand on her back and threading his fingers through her hair with the other. 

She contently sighed against him before mumbling, “Thank you, Echo.”

Echo hugged her tighter and replied, “No Omega, it should be me thanking you. You have no idea how much this means to me.” 

Omega stayed latched onto Echo, only releasing him from her hold when Hunter cleared his throat. She pulled away from him and stepped over to Hunter, but not before giving Echo one of her smiles that could rival the brightness of the sun. He smiled in return, watching as Hunter guided her to the refresher. 

Staring fondly at the little red handprint adorning his kama, Echo knew that Omega may not be a soldier like them, but she was definitely a member of their team and he’d protect her just as he’d protect any of his brothers. The hole in his heart left by the parting of Rex and death of Fives may never be filled, but he had a feeling that their newest member would be bringing a new kind of joy to his heart.

-- Dedicated to my wonderful friend @eternalqueenofthemyscira --

[moontheoretist]

When she and Tony Stark meet it is very clear that he was not expecting her there, “Jesus Christ, who the hell are you?” he asks, hand pressed to the space over his heart. His right arm is in a sling and that does not look good. “Is there something wrong with your arm?” she asks. It did not appear to be in a cast and she saw no bruising. His breathing was restricted though and that did not bode well either. She narrows her eyes at the thought of someone harming her King’s soul mate but she blinks, letting the anger go. Now was not the time or place. “None of your business, and you are?” he snaps, glaring at her suspiciously. “Dora Milaje,” she responds vaguely, “and I am here on the behalf of King T’Challa.” “T’Challa can fuck off,” Tony snarls viciously and her eyebrows shoot up. “Excuse me,” she says in a dangerous tone. Soul mate or not she would not allow him to insult her King. “Anyone who is involved with Steve Rogers is no use to me,” he snaps. Her eyebrows remain raised, “I understand that Steve Rogers has caused you pain, but I do not understand how that extends to King T’Challa,” she says calmly. Perhaps too calmly but Stark either does not understand the danger or he does not care. Stark rolls his eyes, “I’ve spent the last five years dealing with people who blindly follow Steve Rogers around like a bunch of fucking lap dogs, I don’t need to have one more person tell me that I can never compare. I know that. No need to have anyone else remind me,” he says bitterly, his lip curling up in disgust. That changed things. “I here because the King is not sure what to believe about you. He and the Dora Milaje agree that the information about you is too conflicting to draw a reasonable conclusion. So I am here to try and find the truth, to see what you’re really like. I must admit that I do not like you,” she says honestly. Perhaps the man would take the honesty well. He does not, instead he flinches hard but the expression is gone very quickly. “Great, then you’re just like everyone else. Go report back to your king, tell him I’m as worthless as everyone says I am,” Tony says, turning and walking towards his kitchen. “I do not like many people, that does not mean that you are not a good person. And my personal opinion of you means little when you are not meant for me,” she says. Tony’s shoulders tense at that but he turns slowly to face her. “What do you want to know?” He looks exhausted, like he hasn’t slept in days and she supposes that it is very likely that he has not. The man had chronic insomnia and she suspected it made his very obvious PTSD worse. The dismissals from everyone else around him, including his closest friends, probably did not help the situation. “Why did you support the Accords?” she asks bluntly. Cutting to the heart of the issue was what she was good at, and it saved her time and effort beating around the bush. “Steve told me that I needed to trust people, to listen to them. He was right, so when the opportunity came to listen I did, or at least I tired but apparently that wasn’t right either,” he snaps bitterly, that disgusted look back on his face. “You feel guilty for Ultron,” she says and it is not a question. He flinches at the bot’s name, he certainly felt guilty for being the creator of such chaos. “Of course I do, who the fuck wouldn’t? I nearly ended the world when I ran that program and I should have said something to someone,” he says. She finds that curious, his anger at Steve and his acceptance that Steve was right in his conclusions about his communication skills or lack thereof. “But you did talk to someone, Dr. Banner. I know that he is currently missing but surely you count your communication with him as something,” she says. Banner appeared to be the only Avenger who was not adverse to Tony. The two bonded over science and Tony’s lack of fear of him. “Lot of good that did,” Tony mumbles. “But you spoke to him and he agreed that it was a good enough idea to try,” she says. “So what if I did? Everyone blamed me for it anyways, might as well take the blame. Bruce said it could go wrong and I didn’t listen, I should have.” He leans against the counter and sighs heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Just because your team blamed only you does not mean it was fair. It is not like they are lacking in recklessness and stupidity themselves. What kind of moron releases a brainwashed assassin onto the world? Steve Rogers is very lucky that seems to have had no consequences. And his taking the word of Bucky Barnes as proof of five other Winter Soldiers was not wise either, the man hardly knows what is real and what is not, he is still partially under the control of HYDRA conditioning. Only a fool would take the man’s word at face value. I believe that your holding off until you found real proof of the Winter Soldiers’ existence made you the most intelligent and clear headed of the group, at least in that moment. The rest of the team has far too much faith in a man who is living in nostalgia. Bucky Barnes does not, nor will he ever, exist again as Rogers knew him. He should accept that,” she says bluntly. It was a harsh truth, yes, but a man would never be the same after a trauma like that. Rogers himself was more than likely not the same man he used to be so he should not expect Bucky to be. He should also accept the reality of that trauma on his friend because living in his memories was not going to help Bucky Barnes. Accepting reality, no matter how harsh, was the only way to help Barnes heal from his wounds. It would not be easy for anyone but it was the most beneficial. “You… think I’m the smartest and most clear headed of the group?” Tony asks, looking beyond shocked. “In that moment, yes. You are not without your mistakes but that was not one of them. Tell me more about why you chose to support the Accords,” she says. This time Tony pauses for a long time and she lets him gather himself. It was important to make an accurate judgment. Finally Tony looks up, “Steve was right about listening to people. Sometimes I go too fast and I don’t think things through right, I’ve done it time and time again, even when I was supporting the Accords. I’ll make a snap decision that looks good at the time but I don’t talk to the people I’m supposed to be helping, I just make a decision and assume it’s for the best when it isn’t. I had one hundred and seventeen countries telling me to slow down and stop and I didn’t think that was something I should ignore. They weren’t making unreasonable requests, they just wanted a say in how we ran things and you can’t help people if you aren’t willing to listen to what they need you to do. I’ve learned that now,” he says. “Rogers thinks the best hands are still your own, you do not agree?” she asks, curious. Tony rolls his eyes, “no, he thinks the best hands are still his own, not our own regardless of what he says. You saw what happened when someone said no, it didn’t line up with his beliefs and instead of reaching out and asking to change things, or asking why things looked the way thy did he threw the whole damn thing out. Besides, if we’re talking histories here I have a near one hundred percent fail rate. The best hands aren’t my own so I thought maybe if I had someone else vetting my decisions they might be better but if that person isn’t Steve Rogers Steve doesn’t think it’s good enough.” Harsh words, but they were mostly true. She, too, found the Captain too rigid in his values. “And the agendas he spoke of?” she asks. He was not wrong for being suspicious of the government. They were corrupt, as near all systems were outside of Wakanda and even there they had their issues. At this Tony looks down, “I put too much faith in a system I know doesn’t really work that well. But we aren’t apolitical people, we know what the UN’s agendas were, they were clearly written on paper and we could have worked with that, used it to our advantage. But the fuck if I know what their agendas are. Natasha flip-flops more than a fucking fish out of water, so does Clint, I have no idea what Wanda’s thinking, you already know what I think of Steve, and Sam… well he’s an alright guy. I think he’s an idiot for following Steve around like a lost bird but he’s a good man. I know I made mistakes but that bullshit letter Steve sent me proves he doesn’t care.” She did not read the letter so she is unsure what he is talking about, “would you care to explain?” she asks, trying to be gentle. The man was raw, in pain, and it was bound to end badly for him. She was sure she had her answers but she was curious about the letter and more information would not hurt. “Oh he’s glad I’m back on the compound, obviously I moved back out, but he doesn’t like to think of me being alone because the Avengers were more mine than his. Pretty sure the fact that they’ve all always hated me minus maybe Bruce indicates that that’s a bunch of shit but whatever. And he has faith in people, in individuals? Really? Because I didn’t see any of that faith when people, individuals, were reaching out to us to talk to them and he slapped them down because what they wanted wasn’t what he wanted. And he’s never had faith in me. Never. I find it really hard to accept that he gives a damn about hurting my feelings, especially when he’s always assumed that I didn’t have any. And his stupid ‘I wish we agreed on the Accords but we didn’t so fuck you’ at the end was a real nice touch. He might as well have wrote ‘lol everything before this was a joke because I don’t really care what you think was right, it wasn’t what I think is right so you’re wrong’. At least we can both agree that he was a selfish prick keeping my parents’ deaths to himself,” he mumbles. So Tony Stark fell somewhere in between his public image and someone she did not know. He was clearly emotional, in pain, and that was not going to go well for him but he was not a bad person. He was not what the Avengers thought he was either. “You’re parents’ deaths?” she asks. “Yeah, I mean I can’t keep secrets or so he reminded me about a million times with that Ultron bullshit, but he can keep the fact that Barnes killed my parents to himself. Guess all the shit I do is totally fine if he does the same damn thing. I don’t listen and accidentally create Ultron I’m a problem, and that’s fair, but he can ignore the whole fucking world and that’s totally A-Okay with him. I can’t keep secrets, but it’s fine if he does. I can’t be suspicious of government structures without being labeled ‘insubordinate’ and ‘arrogant’ but when he does it it’s fine!”

The Truth Never Set Me Free (I Did It Myself) by TenSpencerRiedPlease