#If this gets enough alternate answers I'll run it again

[farming-for-affection]

It's a page from someone's diary...

[disneyprincemuke]

in the late night, in a disguise

alternatively: of course people recognise her at 3am

in which logan has to dress entirely differently to run some late-night errands with her in the uk

(series masterlist)

"are you sure this is discreet enough for me to be seen holding your hand in public?" was what logan had asked her about an hour ago before they stepped out of their apartment.

discreet enough meant an oversized puffer jacket that covered nothing, and a simple cap to sort of shield himself away from being recognised too quick. though, the argument he tried to race was that he's not worried it would be him that would be spotted; it's her after the year she just had.

she simply answered him with a: "it's three in the morning, nobody's out on the streets at this time of the hour."

what she failed to factor in was that there's a local club that will close during the time they arrive at the convenience store about two blocks from their apartment.

logan's eyes widen at the crowd that's spilling out from the doors up ahead and drops his head low, pulling the hat further down his head as if it would help him shield himself from the reality of being found.

his oblivious girlfriend, however, keeps her lingering stare on the half-tipsy and stumbling bouts of clubgoers. she taps her fingers against the back of his, swinging their hands gently as he pushes the door open to reel her away from being recognised with his hand in hers.

"hm, what were we planning on getting again?" she asks softly, scanning the empty convenience store. "i want orange juice. could you help me find orange juice?"

"absolutely. meet at the cashier in 5 minutes?" logan asks, squeezing her hand very quickly as she tears herself away from him.

"okay. don't get anything stupid, logan."

"what makes you say that?"

"just don't," she sighs, flashing him one last smile before she disappears into the aisle right by the fridge.

five minutes pass by quicker than logan expected because he's still staring at the shelves of instant noodles. he just can't simply figure out which exactly he wants to get and eat once they make their way back.

perhaps meeting her a minute or so late wouldn't hurt. so he takes his time contemplating a list in his head, comparing flavours and brands before he settles for a pack of noodles that she would also very much enjoy.

while he walks the aisle leading towards the cashiers, he catches a glimpse of the pink jacket she's decided to wear out tonight. a smile stretches his lips as he calls out to her, "babe, sorry i'm late. i was- oh no."

when he steps out from the corner, catching a glimpse of the area, there's a group of three girls with beaming grins and their phones out. their eyes quickly shift over to him, their eyes widening even more as they slowly process the word that's just been said.

one girl, who had been in the middle of retouching her lipstick for a picture with the (y/n), drops her hand in shock as she looks at logan. then she looks at the driver in pink. "you guys are-"

"i'll pay you good money not to tell anybody," his girlfriend quickly says, hands darting out to gently touch her shoulder with pleading eyes. "can you guys keep a secret?"

"depends, how much are you willing to give to keep it a secret?" one of the girls giggles, a hand covering her lips. though, she straightens her back and her smile disappears when the driver's eyes start to tear up. "wait, i'm joking. of course, we can keep a secret!"

his girlfriend sniffles, wiping her nose on the cuff of her jacket. "are you sure? i can pay you something, i swear!"

"(y/n), no," logan says softly, pulling her back a couple of steps into his body. with a hand protectively on her shoulder, he smiles at the girls, tilting his head. "yeah, we are, but like... in secret."

one of the girls giggles, grabbing her friend's shoulder. "see, i told you they're dating."

the girl with her lipstick in hand, smiles before she puts it away into her bag once more. "that's cool," she admits with a nod. "can i take a picture with your girlfriend, though? meeting her is cooler than finding out something everybody speculates every other week."

"oh," the driver whispers, patting her eyes to dry the tears that had formed. "you think i'm cool?" she turns to logan and tugs at his jacket. "she thinks i'm cool."

"are you kidding?" another girl snorts. "you easily beat those guys on the track - you're amazing."

logan steps forward and puts his things down in the same place she'd momentarily put her stuff. he takes her phone from her jacket pocket and steps out. "absolutely. she's pretty cool, right?"

— bonus

"i can't believe they thought i was cool," she squeaks, tapping her card against the reader. "can you believe that? i'm getting recognised outside the paddocks."

"you're pretty cool, babe," logan grins giddily, holding the door for her as she walks in. "i think i lucked out asking you to be my girlfriend."

she rolls her eyes, waving away his statement. she presses the button to call for an elevator, then takes a step towards him. she tugs at the hem of his shirt as she leans into him and she looks up. "sorry someone saw us. you were right - we should have just stayed in."

"it's okay as long as you're okay with it," logan smiles, leaning down to chastely kiss her. "but this will happen more. you're growing to be quite the household name. i'm convinced i'm retiring as a wag rather than an f1 driver."

she frowns. "don't say that! next season will be much better for you."

"for us."

taglist: @myxticmoon

[tojisrealwifey]

Just One Chance

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ Synopsis: Senju makes a promise to wait for [name] before [name] moves. She's back after 10 years but loving Senju seemed to have backfired on her. Now, as she wallows in self-pity she is reunited with her ex, Mikey.

note: this is an alternate ending for my senju fic. you don't need to know the story but if you're interested you can find it here.

・❥・requests : rules

WARNINGS: MDNI, 18+, Smut, Oral Sex (f.receiving), Fingering, Squirting, Masturbation, Slight Somnophillia, Dacryphilia, Slightly OOC Mikey, Cringe Arguments, Manipulative Reader [she is very selfish], Non-Canon Couples, Drinking, Mentions Of A Foursome.

・❥・wc: 7.8k

・❥・masterlist

"Hey, [name]!" Hearing a faint shout from behind her, she turns around whilst taking off her earphones. She is met by Takeomi and a woman who were making their way through the airport crowd.

She also starts to walk towards them, her black suitcase dragging behind her. 

As soon as she was an arm's distance from them, Takeomi pulled her into a hug. Despite cringing slightly, [name] couldn't stop her lips from perking up into a soft smile. 

"How are ya, [name]?" Takeomi asks her, pulling away. She replies with a faint 'good' before Takeomi is pushed away by the woman who was beside him.

"Hello [name]-chan, it's so nice to meet you." The red-head woman offers a handshake which [name] accepts. 

"Hello, Rika-san, and likewise. Again, I'm really sorry for not attending the wedding, I had crucial exams that week." [name] replies, maintaining her professional tone.

"Awhh, that's no problem honey, also relax, you sound so stiff!" Rika chuckles. 

"I don't- this is how I talk." [name] says, tilting her head slightly. 

"Damn, I'm still not used to you talking so politely, architecture uni really killed your attitude, didn't it?" Takeomi laughs out.

"Or maybe it's cause I'm no longer 17." [name] rolls her eyes. 

"I definitely spoke too soon, the attitude is still there! Anyways, give me your luggage so we can leave already, I hate airports." Takeomi shudders and takes the suitcase from her.

"Honestly, you and your dislike for airports." Rika scolds jokingly but nonetheless follows her husband.

The ride home was quite enjoyable in [name]'s opinion. Rika and she kept chatting away, especially the former, but she did get questions about her job thrown at her which she answered happily. 

[name] had worked extremely hard to get into this profession so, of course, she'll speak proudly of it.

After some time, they finally reached home. When Takeomi was pulling up the car, she noticed her brother, Wakasa, walking out the front door. 

As the car halts, she immediately jumps out and goes to hug her brother, and he does so without any complaints. 

"I missed you..." He smiles into the embrace. 

"Obviously not enough to come pick me up." [name] rolls her eyes playfully. He grunts at her comment but smiles when he notices that she has started to become comfortable showing more emotions.

"Okay, come on, let's go inside. Freshen up, I'll prepare some food."

It had been a day since she arrived back in Japan, 24 hours yet she still hadn't seen the person she longed for the most. 

Right now she sat at the dining table across from Takeomi and his wife, as Wakasa cooked dinner.

She was wearing a pair of comfortable shorts but was wearing a white formal dress shirt since she had just gotten off an online meeting a few minutes ago.

Not being able to contain her thoughts of the pink-haired girl, she confronts Takeomi about it.

"Takeomi-nii, where's Senju?" [name] finally let the question spill. Takeomi freezes. She also didn't miss how Wakasa momentarily paused his cooking. 

"What..?" she asks hesitantly, her mind filled with awful thoughts.

"[name], Senju...she uh.." Takeomi lets out some incoherent babble not knowing what to say. 

"Nii-san?" she turns to her brother this time who also froze up, not giving a proper explanation.

[name] immediately stands up and runs out ignoring her brother's calls from behind her. The cold air hit bare legs. 

She doesn't pay mind to her shorts that keep riding up with every speeding step. She took in heavy breaths but didn't stop till she reached Senju's apartment building. 

Finally halting, takes a moment to recover her breath. Entering the building she first checks the nameplates. 

If [name] remembered correctly, the Akashis' flat was 703. And she was correct, except that instead of Takeomi's name, the apartment seemed to be owned by Akashi Senju.

PING!

She heard the elevator open from behind her. She turns to see a few people emptying out of the elevator, when it is finally clear of people she enters the elevator. 

Pressing the 7th floor she secretly admires the interior of the elevator. She couldn't believe how much this building had changed over 10 years.

The elevator door opens up as it reaches the 7th floor and instantly walks out of it. Walking along the corridors she searched for the door with the number '703'.

Her eyes finally catch the said number and her feet move her towards it. Her vision slightly darkened due to her nervousness but still found the strength to ring the doorbell.

Immediately, she hears a few shuffles as a few footsteps grew closer to the door.

The door swung open as [name]'s face brightened at the thought of finally seeing Senju again.

Except, it wasn't.

Instead of seeing Senju's light pink hair, she was greeted by light brown hair. 

"Yes..?" The shorter woman in front of her spoke. 

"Oh-um...is Senju here?" [name] asks in a faint whisper, suddenly losing her voice, her head instinctively lowers to face her feet.

"[name]?" The other questions in a shocked tone. [name] snaps her head back up, taking a moment to realize who she is speaking to.

"Yuzuha?" She questions, her heart beginning to pound. 

"Ugh, who is it love?" [name] hears a familiar voice, noticing how it had grown slightly mature. 

The girl that she loved walked into the frame, her eyes widening at the sight of [name]. 

Senju sucked in a breath, shock embedded on her face as she stared at [name] with guilt in her eyes.

"Um, [name] please come in..." Yuzuha moves out of the way. [name] mindlessly agrees, taking off her shoes and walking in. 

She was so stunned she failed to notice her actions.

"You both should talk, I'll be inside if you need me." Yuzaha gives a sad smile and walks further into the apartment.

Their lips were sealed shut, both were unable to start the conversation, that was until [name] noticed a shiny rock on Senju's ring finger.

"You're married?" [name] asks. Following her gaze, Senju lifts her hand and fidgets with the ring.

"No, just engaged." Senju replies with a quiet voice.

"Since when?"

"Just now actually..." Senju answers.

[name] closes her eyes, her head tilting back slightly as she accepts the reality of the situation. Her roughed-up appearance made sense now.

They were going to have sex.

[name] felt her throat close up, her heart frantically beating in an unpleasant way. 

Oh, it hurts...

It hurts so much. 

She only now realized how much pain Senju had been put through during their teenage years.

"[name]...I-" 

"Don't." [name] interrupts her.

"It doesn't matter." She continues, releasing a heavy breath. 

"[name] please-"

"Stop Sen-"

"NO, LET ME SPEAK!" The shorter female says raising her voice. [name] stills.

"I- I'm sorry, [name]." Senju's voice wavers as she apologizes.

"Sorry about what?" [name] snaps, her question coming out more stern than she intended.

"I- I-" Senju starts but is cut off when [name] sighs sadly.

"You're sorry that you moved on from me? You're sorry that you broke your promise that you'd wait for me? You're sorry that you're engaged?" [name] asks her.

Senju says nothing except look at the floor guiltily. [name] lets out another sigh.

"You found someone you love and makes you happy. You have nothing to be sorry about Senju." [name] says. 

"Then why are you looking at me like that?" Senju asks, finally meeting eyes with [name]. Her vision blurred with tears noticing the [name]'s countenance.

"Like what?" 

"Like you're disappointed in me..." Senju replies in a whisper.

"I am disappointed, but not at you. I am disappointed in myself because I let you down for so long. So if it's anyone that should be sorry, it's me." [name] says but Senju denies shaking her head, tears rolling down her face.

"Please Senju, you just got engaged. Please don't ruin such a happy occasion crying over someone like me..." [name] turns and walks closer to the door.

When she finished wearing shoes, a broken sob reached her ears. 

[name] refused to turn around, because she was aware that if she did, she would break completely.

As much as she wanted to comfort her, [name] knew...

Senju was no longer hers to comfort.

"Goodbye, Senju." [name] says and walks out, pulling the door shut behind her.

[name] walked into the convince store hoping to buy some ice cream. As much as she hated sweets, she wanted something extremely cold.

She hoped to get a brain freeze while eating it, that might help to cool her raging thoughts. 

Once reaching the ice cream section, she gets distracted by the alcohol refrigerator right next to it. Against her better judgment, her hand reaches for the sake bottle.

Five minutes later she was sitting on the pavement with two beers and a pack of cigarettes. 

After realizing she didn't have enough money on her to pay for sake she decided to settle for a can of beer and a cigarette pack. The second beer came with the buy one got one free offer, a total steal honestly.

Although she was never a fan of drinking or smoking, the night called for it. She stands up and decides to savor the commodities in her hands at her favorite spot. 

Reaching the rooftop of the abandoned building, she reminisces about the moments spent at the bowling area that was just a floor beneath her. 

It was her and Mikey's favorite spot.

Oh my god, Mikey...

She hadn't seen him since that day, and honestly, she was glad. She certainly didn't have the courage to face him.

She sat down near the door, knowing she'll be drunk off her ass in the next few minutes, and wanted to avoid any accidents just because she couldn't cope with a stupid heartbreak. 

She took out a single cigarette and placed it between her lips going to light it a bit then realized, she didn't have a lighter...

Letting out a grunt of frustration at her foolishness she places the stick back into the box. She clenched her teeth in anger knowing she just spent 500 yen on cigarettes that couldn't even use.

Despite wanting to chuck the pack away, she didn't. Instead, she held it close.

They were of Benson & Hedges, Shinichiro's favorite brand. 

[name] sighs. This is why she left, just a day back in Japan and she's already depressed. She wished she had never come back, she was happy in the Philippines, but again, she couldn't just leave her brother behind.

She opens one of the beer cans and starts sipping from it. 

Knowing that her alcohol tolerance was non-existent she only decided to drink just a bit, making sure to stay coherent enough to walk down multiple stairs and go back home.

But of course, God has never been on her side, has he?

Sips turned into gulps and within the next minute, she had already started sipping on the second can. 

She didn't know if it was the slight anger towards Senju, or because she was here on the rooftop, but she found her thoughts slipping from Senju to Mikey.

She smiles fondly remembering how much this place meant to her, to them.

They had shared many firsts here. Actually, except for their first kiss, every other first happened here.

The first time they drank, the first time they tried to smoke, first proper confessions, first date, first 'I love you's, the first time they--

[name] cringed at the memory, she couldn't believe how reckless they both were at the time, but what did two 14-year-olds know at that time?

That's what love did, it made them feel like they were the only ones here, and it truly made them feel invincible.

Love is such a dangerous emotion for someone so young, but they both fell into its captivity without realizing it.

They say that an average person falls in love three times.

The first love. The type of love that happens at a young age which is frequently referred to as puppy love. 

It feels euphoric at that time and being young and inexperienced doesn't make you understand what you truly feel.

As you get older, you think back to it and try to figure out if it was really love.

Mikey was her first love.

Then comes the second love.

It is said to be the painful one, it's the one that helps you grow. 

It's said to come with a lot of pain, lies, betrayal, drama, and so on...

And although she was grateful Senju never put her through all this, she wouldn't deny that Senju was her second love.

Lastly, it's the third love.

It's usually the one.

[name] could only wonder when she'll find her third love. 

It's said to come blindly; when your soulmate just walks into your life unexpectedly--

"[name]...?" A soft yet stern speaks from behind her.

[name] felt her heart drop and her breath got stuck in her throat. 

Just when she was having an inner monologue about love he just had to walk into her life again, didn't he?!

"M-Mikeyy...~" [name] slurs turning to face him. 

"What are you doing?!" Mikey raises his voice in shock seeing how drunk she is. 

"Oh just thinking about all the times we fucked here, why else would I be here?" [name] smiles although in her mind she cringes, not believing she some something like that.

'I am never drinking again.' [name] promises herself.

"Come on, I'll take you home..." Mikey walks towards her and takes hold of her wrist. 

"No! Come sit and d-drink with m-*hic* me~" She tugs him closer but he doesn't budge.

"[name], lets go." He says sternly once again, but she only shakes her head.

"No- come on just a drink, just like old times~" [name] pushes her half-empty can of beer into his face. 

He sighs in defeat and takes it from her.

"If you insist." but instead of drinking, he chucks the can over his shoulder obviously not realizing how much force he used because it ended up falling over the roof and landing on the road with a soft clatter.

[name] gaped at him in shock.

"No! Why did you do that?!" She stands up immediately and goes to push him, only to miss and trip over her own feet.

Luckily, he stopped her fall. [name] looks back at him, only to realize she was seeing two of him, her vision suddenly blurred as she felt herself sobering up at the sight of him.

She finally got a good look at his face, and for a second the same feeling of love filled her stomach. 

"Manjiro..." Her vision clears up and her eyes fall on the dragon tattoo on his neck. 

Lifting her hand she traces the ink on his neck, slowly striding closer, and instinctively places her lips on his. 

But to her disappointment, he doesn't respond and pulls away within the very second. 

They both stand in silence trying to understand the situation. She was surprised by her own actions, the shock sobering her up completely.

She takes a few steps back and starts apologizing.

"I'm sorry, that was very out of line...that was definitely not fair to your girlfriend." [name] says, the words spilling out before she can stop them.

"Oh? So it's fair to me?" Mikey replies haughtily. [name] shakes her head.

"It's unfair to you too..." She looks away, unable to muster up to courage to look at him.

"Hmm, don't worry about it. Plus, I don't have a girlfriend." He replies.

"Oh, boyfriend...?" She asks.

"No boyfriend either, [name]." Mikey says.

"Then...why did you pull away?" She asks nervously looking down at her feet.

"Maybe because we're not together? Also, the fact that you're drunk?" He replies with a soft voice.

"R-right...also, I'm not drunk. I just got a bit tipsy and wasn't thinking straight, so sorry for that..." 

[name] felt emotionally distraught, and Mikey didn't fail to notice that.

"Come on, I'll take you home." Mikey says but [name] just shakes her head.

"No, I don't want to go there right now..." She wraps her hands around herself to provide some sort of warmth.

"Then where do you wanna go?" Mikey asks; taking off his jacket and wrapping it around her figure. 

Such gestures, it all felt so natural.

"You place...?" [name] asks hesitantly. Mikey sighs in disapproval.

"[name]..." Although he couldn't imagine leaving her so he agreed silently.

He took her to the Sano Residence on his CB250T. She was impressed to see how well he managed to maintain the bike even after so many years.

"I see you still live here." [name] smiles softly.

"This place has too many memories, I couldn't leave." Mikey smiles back.

"Is Grandpa in? I figure he's sleeping right now?" [name] asks.

"[name], he passed away years ago..." Mikey replies, his voice wavering. She looked at him in shock as this was the first she ever heard of it.

"What? When?!"

"A year after you left..."

"So, you've been living here all by yourself...?" She questions with a small frown.

"Pretty much." He replies and starts to guide her into the house.

It wasn't fair. He had been through so much, he had lost so many people.

His Mother, Father, Shinichiro, Baji, Draken, Emma, Izana, and His Grandfather.

And [name] left him as well...

"Why the long face?" Mikey brings his index fingers to the side of her lips and slightly pulls them up into a smile.

[name] giggles like every other time he did this gesture when they were young.

"Nothing..."

"Come on, tell me." he insists.

"I just- I'm not saying this is an insensitive way but, I feel like this house holds so many sad memories. I couldn't imagine being strong enough to put up with everything...does that make sense?" [name] rambles on.

"It's true, this place has seen such sad moments but at the end of the day, this house is a part of me. I couldn't imagine leaving this place. Hopefully, I'll find someone to make new memories here with..." Mikey trails off.

"O-oh...do you have someone in mind already?" [name] tries to keep her voice strong but a stutter manages to slip in.

"Honestly, I always thought of it being you..." he says with a sad smile. 

"Do you still love me, Manjiro?" She brings up the courage to ask the question.

"Yeah...I do." 

"Then why did you pull away?!" 

"Because you don't love me back, [name]! You know what?! I am so sick of this! Even when we were broken up 10 years ago, every time you found yourself frustrated with Senju, you came to me. Ever since then you always kept me as your second option, and I hate that!" Mikey snaps at her.

[name] goes to defend herself but gets interrupted.

"Don't think I'm stupid [name]! I know exactly why you were drunk and crying just now, it's because you found out about Senju and Yuzuha didn't you? I was just trying to be a decent person and comfort you but then you went and kissed me, trying to distract yourself like you always do!

You did that before you left too! And I was so blinded by what I felt for you that I agreed with everything you did, not even considering the fact you were just using me as a goddamn stress reliever! Can't you see that what you did hurt me as well!" 

Mikey's eyes filled with regret, he hadn't meant to snap at her but he had a limit as well.

"Manjiro I- I'm sorry that I made you feel that way...I didn't realize it I swear! At that time, running away always seemed to be the best option, but I never realized how many people I ended up hurting in the process..." [name] trailed off, her eyes welled up tears that she instantly blinked away. 

After all, she had no right to cry.

"It's alright...I'm also at fault for leaving you like that." Mikey reasons.

"But you did that to protect me, to protect everyone. It's not the same. Fuck, I am the worst, aren't I?" [name] covers her face, tears burning her eyes.

"To be honest, yeah." Mikey's lips form a thin line. [name] scoffs at his reply but agrees cause it's the truth.

"But that's the past. Now that you're back, you can start over." [name] uncovers her face and gives Mikey a grateful smile. She appreciated his attempt to reassure her.

"Do you still sleep in your garage room?" 

"No, I shifted to aneki's room, although it's still there. Here, the guest room is right here, you can stay here for the night." Mikey leads to the second-last room.

"Thanks..." 

"No problem, you can take a shower if you'd like, although I don't think you need one. You smell quite nice." Mikey says before his lips seal shut. 

[name] stares at him blankly trying to process what he said.

"Fuck, that was weird. I'm sorry, I just didn't think I'll ever see you again so my mind isn't working properly..." he explains trying to subdue his embarrassment. [name] stifles her giggles.

"It's alright, Manjiro. Good night." She smiles softly.

"Yeah, night. I'm just in the next room so shout if you need help." 

[name] just nods and closes the door behind her.

It was around 2 AM when [name] found herself awake on the bed. Her mind was plagued by the thoughts of Senju.

Despite what her selfish heart asked for she knew Senju was just a star that she could never reach. A love that will never be hers.

She is distracted by the sound of glass clinking coming from elsewhere, so she gets out of bed and ventures out of the room. 

Letting the sound of running water be her guide she traverses through the house and comes face to face with Mikey who had just finished rinsing a glass.

"Sorry, did that wake you?" Mikey gives her an apologetic look under the moonlight that seeps through the windows.

"Ah no, I was awake." Was all she said.

"Thirsty?"

"No...Manjiro?" [name] calls out to him.

"Hm?" 

"Was it real for you...?" [name]'s voice comes out weak but her gaze does not falter.

"I don't understand." Mikey replies, confused by her question.

"Everything that happens between us. Was it real for you as it was for me?" [name] asks with a sad gaze, slowly coaxing him to answer.

"I think I made my feelings clear every single time, [name]." Mikey sighs, but then flinches at the sight in front of him.

[name]'s cheeks slowly got covered in tears as she finally succumbed to the events of today. Unable to stop herself she strides closer to Mikey and hugs him, words of gratitude falling from her lips.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for loving me back then. For loving me now. Thank you."

Mikey holds her close while responding to her words with comforting pats on the back. Minutes go by and they remain the same. The flow of her tears were far from slowing down and so were her words of gratitude.

She very slowly pulls her head away from the side of his neck and moves her face close to his.

"Thank you." As the gratitude is whispered into the night, [name] connects her lips to her first love's.

This time Mikey does not withdraw, and only pushes closer, indulging in her taste.

Slowly, they guide their bodies to Mikey's room. Once the back of [name]'s legs hit the bed, she gently falls back before letting her back rest on the bed.

Her legs were spread apart for Mikey to move with ease as his lips continued their ministrations on her collarbone. 

Pulling back to start undressing her, he halts to admire the love of his life.

Her lips were wet, small trails of moisture on her cheeks and neck glistened under the moonlight, the sight itself made him weak.

His hands work to get rid of her shorts so she's bare from the waist down spare for her underwear.

He doesn't remove the white dress shirt she adorned, instead, he unbuttons the first few buttons just enough to reveal the simple black bra that held her weight.

His right hand smoothly slid her bra up enough to expose her chest and the way he did so made it seem as though her breasts were trapped.

[name] lets a weak whimper escape her lips as Mikey's tongue slithered on the valley between her breasts. 

His thumbs teased her nipples as his mouth trailed her collarbone. Slowly moving his mouth to one of her breasts he wrapped his lips around her nipple, using his tongue to add to the pleasure.

His tongue kept rolling around her nipple, saliva leaked from his mouth to the sides of her breast leaving prominent trails. 

He couldn't get enough, feeling how her nipple slowly but surely turned hard. He continues to do the same to her other breast before placing his hands around her waist to flip her over.

[name] balanced herself on her hands and knees, letting out faux moans as Mikey's thumb rubbed her clit through the fabric.

Slowly pulling her underwear down yet not completely off, his fingers brush through her folds smoothly.

Mikey stares at her cunt with a blank stare. Somehow he wasn't surprised at the the lack of arousal. 

His eyes grew pained yet a sad smile took over his lips.

He had yet again fallen prey to [name]'s false words.

Gathering some saliva on his tongue he slides it over her clit and her folds finally plunging into her waiting hole.

[name] lets out a loud hoarse moan, not trying to muffle her sounds like she usually does. 

"Ahhh- There!" 

[name] occasionally lets out words of affirmation as Mikey's tongue fucks her now-sopping cunt. 

His teeth would sometimes nip at her clit painfully as a form of revenge yet [name] only found pleasure in it.

[name] continuously lets out moans unable to stop her approaching orgasm.

She couldn't deny that this was the best tongue to have touched her. The title would change every now and then while she was a student at uni.

Her best experience was during a foursome with fellow female students.

Her cunt clenches around Mikey's tongue at the thought, mind becoming hazy as she feels her clit throb.

She remembers how amazing it was. She was in the same position as she is now but her mouth was on an older's classmate's cunt, licking away at her folds.

She herself was getting her pussy kitten licked by two other classmates. One had her tongue constantly sucking on her clit to the point it was red and puffy. 

The other would use her tongue to assault her insides, switching between her fingers as her tongue would kitten-lick her asshole despite [name]'s protests or she would engage in a sloppy kiss with the other girl, their tongues still coated in [name]'s arousal.

That was the last time she had a shaking orgasm, that was until tonight.

[name] had unconsciously started to push against Mikey's tongue, his wet muscle was long enough to somehow brush against her g-spot. His nose rested dangerously close to her other entrance, and she would moan every time it lightly touched her.

She pushes back harder as she slowly feels her orgasm fade, so she thinks of the only thing that could release all the tension.

[name] plants her face against the mattress and moans into it as she thinks of Senju in every position imaginable.

She did the same in all her years at uni as she would fuck anyone who remotely resembled Senju or sometimes Mikey.

She thought of how Senju's tongue would feel on her cunt. She imagined her cunt against hers, hands tied as [name] would ride her face.

Tears prick her eyes as the thoughts overwhelm her.

"SE—AGH AHH! THERE! PLEASE! PLEA- AHH! MIKEY!" 

[name] squirts for the first time in 4 months. Her arousal coated her thighs, tainting the bedsheet below her.

Trying to ride out her high, she grinds her soaked cunt across his face in hopes of more stimulation, making sure to rub her clit on his nose and completely drench his face.

Mikey lets her move as she pleases, aiding her by softly licking up all her arousal. 

As he finished, he places a small kiss on her clit before standing up to walk away.

Before he could get too far, [name] shifts to sit on her knees and stops him by holding his hand. 

"Where are you going...?" [name] asks in a slight panic. Mikey only smiled down at her.

"Get some sleep, [name]." He replies trying to free his hand from her grasp.

"What...do you- why did you stop? What about you-?"

"This is enough [name]." Mikey loses smile.

"No, it's not- I need more! More than her- Mikey, please! Please..." [name] sobs guiding Mikey's hand between her thighs, coaxing two of his fingers to slide inside her.

Once they were settled in she moved her hips to mimic riding his fingers as she once did him, trying to lure him in. Her back was arched, pushing out her chest so they would move along with her hips. Her head tilted back to expose her neck, making it look so kissable.

Mikey was slightly caught off guard by her actions, never having seen her so desperate and submissive. He clenches his teeth in anger but keeps his mouth shut, only replying by driving his fingers deeper.

"Ahh! Just like that!" 

[name]'s moans were music to his ears yet it made them bleed, knowing nothing was directed towards him.

"You're so fucking selfish." 

Those were Mikey's last words before he rips his hand away from [name], completely distributing her orgasm.

"Manjiro what are you-?!" [name] exclaims but gets interrupted by the shutting of the door.

As a few minutes go by she hears rustling around the house she can see from the window how Mikey leaves the house looking fresh as if she hadn't just drenched his face.

He soon leaves on his bike, driving into the lonely night.

Tears now stained her face. 

How could he just leave her? Who should she go to next? How else could she stop the throbbing between her legs that had yet to subside?

[name] falls back on her back, her head on the pillows. 

She spreads her legs and immediately plunges two of her fingers into her weeping cunt. As she did so she was brought some relief, but her clit still pulsated against her palm. 

She sits up slightly, her right hand still in her cunt and she leans against the head of the bed using her left hand to support herself. 

Her left hand then moved to her breasts which were still trapped between her bra and her shirt. Her fingers stimulate her nipple as she continued to finger fuck herself, her mind filled with images of an engaged woman. 

She imagined fucking Senju in her favorite position. 

When she was at uni and became intimate with anyone who was similarly submissive to Senju she would fuck them in this position, hoping to do the same to her love one day.

Her room had a thin and long mirror on the side of her bed and there was enough distance between them to fit two people.

So as she would get eaten out by her partner for the night, she would make sure the girl would have her bare cunt pressed against the mirror.

She wouldn't stop the girl's actions until she was sure that the part of the mirror and everything below was covered in her arousal. 

When it was, she would shift the both of them so that [name] was sitting on her knees and the girl was lying flat on the floor, her legs over [name]'s shoulder would rest on her bed and the girl would have a complete view of her arousal and her dripping cunt as it got fucked by [name].

[name] would then tease the girl with her tongue all night and she forced her to lick up her own arousal on the mirror.

The girls who had experienced this would cry and cry, the filthy actions would embarrass them but they would only grow closer to their release.

Sadly for them, even during these intimate moments, [name]'s mind would only replace them with a certain pink-haired girl.

[name] felt herself growing close to her orgasm when thinking of Senju in the same position.

But suddenly her mind replaces herself with the image and Yuzuha and it breaks [name]. Shaking her head in defiance she continues her actions nonetheless.

Her fingers started to numb and her arm started to hurt, but she didn't stop until she had released all over her fingers.

Letting her breathing slow down she brings up her hand close to her face to look at her arousal.

After she cooled down she let her forearm rest over her eyes, letting her tears flow.

Mikey hadn't felt such disappointed in years. As ashamed as he was to admit it, he was disappointed in [name] more so than he was in himself. 

He had noticed how she had called him 'Mikey' as opposed to 'Manjiro' like she usually does.

It's something that she had started doing somewhere in between his Kantou Manji days. It had started when Senju had officially entered the picture.

Without even realizing it, he had played right into her hands. She would lure him with her sweet 'Manjiro's and her lips would only spill 'Mikey's as she would fuck him.

It was already too late when he came to the realization.

Everything was different when she loved him, and only him. It was sweet. And a part of him believes it all went to shit when he left, yet he atoned for his actions. 

He was truly happy when [name] found love but when years later he heard of Senju and Yuzuha a part of him felt guilty, even though he hadn't done anything wrong.

Everyone else who was aware of [name] and Senju was also a bit distraught, but they were happy for Senju and Yuzuha nonetheless.

Mikey himself was happy for Senju for finding her happiness and hoped that [name] would be too but, by last night's events it was pretty clear how she had taken the news.

Because if she was happy, she wouldn't have kissed him. It had become second nature for her, if Senju does something wrong, go to Mikey. It had been drilled into her bones. 

Mikey walks into his house at around 9 AM. He looked to see if [name] was still here and sure enough, her shoes were right there.

He goes to check his room and finds [name] fast asleep on his bed. Her back was on the mattress, her head leaned up due to it resting on multiple pillows. Her hands were on each side of her head, and her legs were slightly pressed together and folded up.  

When he saw her face, he noticed how her lips were parted with small gasps escaping them, her face contorting as if there was some sort of tension building.

"Senju...Senju...~" 

Hearing this Mikey's eyes unconsciously drift to [name]'s slightly exposed cunt, there was a prominent trail of her arousal leaking from her hole.

Against his better judgment, he finds himself yet again at the mercy of [name], hands on her knees to spread them apart.

He uses his finger to see how wet she is and is utterly surprised to see her completely soaked as he spreads her folds. 

[name] lets out a pitiful whimper at his action.

Without another second being wasted, he sticks out his tongue and licks up from her asshole to her hole, gathering all of her arousal and pushing it back inside her.

[name] moans but doesn't wake, her lips forming the phonetics of Senju's name.

Removing his tongue from inside her, Mikey just licks her all over her cunt, trying to build her orgasm.

[name]'s eyes open but her vision is blurry, she just feels extremely wet all over and can only make out how her thighs felt to be trembling.

When she leans up and looks down to see Mikey eating her out, her head falls back and her cunt pushes forward on his tongue. Noticing her to be awake now Mikey goes back to driving his tongue inside her.

The loud squelching sounds slowly brought her out of her sleepy state, her hips starting to push against him making a few squirts spurt out of her cunt and onto Mikey's tongue.

"Ah~ Ah~ Mikey...what are you-?"

"Shhhhh..."

Feeling him speak against her clit just brings her orgasm closer. This all felt like a fever dream to her. 

Mikey pulls away from making her whine but her mouth is agape when Mikey moves to her side and up to suck on her nipple, his fingers stimulating her soaking folds.

His tongue moved around her nipple along with his fingers and these actions were too blinding for her, falling into complete submission for the first time.

Two of his fingers suddenly plunge into her just as he softly bites her nipple, her head is thrown back as she moans out.

"Ahh! Senju!"

[name]'s eyes widened in horror, instantly looking at Mikey's face but his eyes remained closed, but she noticed how thin tears spilled from the corners of his eyes and fell onto her body, getting camouflaged within her sweat.

His mouth was still sucking on her mounds and the movement of his fingers hadn't faltered for a second. 

In fact, his thrusting had sped up, hitting her g-spot repeatedly, she was sure her cunt would be puffed up due to the sheer force of his fingers. 

"Mikey I—" 

"Just finish, [name]." 

And she does.

Her release coats his hand up to his wrists as his fingers reach knuckles deep in her cunt to coax out every drop.

This continued for a few minutes till their breathing was no longer erratic. 

Mikey shifts once again to place himself between her legs to lick up all of her arousal, [name] remains silent ignoring how her cunt clenches around nothing as Mikey smoothes his tongue all over her folds licking her clean.

Once he is done, he places a kiss on her clit like he always does before getting out of the bed.

"Manjiro-"

"Take a bath. I have some clothes for you, freshen up." Mikey interrupts her before walking away from her for the second time.

"Where did you get my clothes from? Did you visit Waka-nii when you left?" [name] questions as she stands at the door wearing her shoes.

"Yes, I didn't think you had informed them so I knew they would be worried. I told them I found you drunk so you're sleeping at my house."

—————————

09:34 AM

"She's at your house?" Wakasa asks in a worried tone.

"Yes, I found her drunk and felt uncomfortable leaving her alone. I tried to bring her here but she kept fighting so I just brought her back to my house." 

"Drunk?...*sigh* I see, thanks for informing me. You said you needed some clothes? Wait I'll get some for you." Wakasa replies massaging his head.

He returns a few minutes later, a paper bag in hand.

"I'm sorry about [name], Mikey. I wasn't too worried knowing she wouldn't do anything reckless, but just before you came here Takeomi called me and said that Senju and Yuzuha had gotten engaged last night." 

Wakasa sighs out as Mikey's eyes widen in surprise as he thinks back to a few hours ago.

"This is enough [name]." Mikey loses smile.

"No, it's not- I need more! More than her- Mikey please! Please..." [name] sobs guiding Mikey's hand between her thighs, coaxing two of his fingers to slide inside her.

Once they were settled in she moved her hips to mimic riding his fingers as she once did him, trying to lure him in. Her back was arched, pushing out her chest so they would move along with her hips. Her head tilted back to expose her neck, making it look so kissable.

Mikey was slightly caught off guard by her actions, never having seen her so desperate and submissive. He clenches his teeth in anger but keeps his mouth shut, only replying by driving his fingers deeper.

He thinks back to how desperate and broken her mind seemed to work, and suddenly everything made sense.

He realized she had probably met them right after the proposal. He felt pity for [name] yet it was still not an excuse for her behavior.

"She didn't do anything drastic right?" Wakasa asks Mikey to make sure [name] wasn't too disruptive.

"Don't worry Wakasa-san, she fell asleep as soon as she hit the bed." Mikey replies with an uncertain smile.

"I see...Please ask her to come home soon. Thanks for doing this Mikey." Wakasa pats him on the shoulder walking back into his house.

—————————

"You told him I was drunk?" [name] asked shocked by the revelation. Mikey gives her a nod.

"He's going to murder me... You- ...You didn't say anything else right?"

[name] averts her gaze as she questions him.

"No, I just said you fell asleep as soon as you got to the bed." He explains.

"But..." He continues making [name] look at him in a slight panic.

"I don't take your brother for an idiot." 

That was all he said.

[name] nods at him before finally saying everything she had decided to say while taking a shower.

"Manjiro, I'm sorry. I truly am. I was sorry all those years ago, I was sorry last night, and I will continue to remain sorry for what I have done. I have no excuse for—"

"[name] you don't need to do this-" Mikey's words interrupt her but it only makes [name] lash out.

"No! I have to. You deserve an apology, okay?!" His lips seal shut and [name] takes it as a sign to continue.

"I was really sad when I found out that Senju and Yuzuha had gotten engaged. Over the years Senju had started growing distant towards me to the point that we had completely stopped talking. 

A part of me knew that she slowly realized that it wasn't worth loving someone like me, she didn't need to stay with someone who tormented her at every turn. 

I was so depressed by the silent rejection that I would sleep with anyone who slightly resembled her in looks, personality, submission, or anything that reminded me of her. I would project her onto my partners and I unconsciously did the same to you.

I would try to stop myself by telling myself that Senju and I just got too busy, friends drift apart but when they meet it's left they never left. I would tell myself that it would be the same with us. That Senju would love me again when she saw me, yet it didn't go as planned.

Manjiro, It wasn't a lie when I said I loved you. I love you! I really really love you! But when Senju came into the picture I started loving her even though I never forgot you. I...

Manjiro, I'll be better! I'll go to therapy, anything! Anything to better myself. Just give me a chance... I'll be better so you won't ever regret having loved me. I'll make myself better so you don't have to be ashamed of me. Just give me a chance..." 

[name]'s heart felt light as soon as all the words spilled out of her, but immediately a brick was stacked on her heart once again and she dreaded his response.

She told herself that no matter his response, no matter what he said she would accept. 

"Okay."

[name] looks at him in disbelief. Did he just agree?

"Okay?" 

"Okay. I'll give you a chance. But only when you can accept the true relationship between Senju and Yuzuha. Can you do that?" Mikey asks her.

[name] nods trying to compose herself.

"Yes, I can do that!" [name] assures.

"Are you sure, [name]? Are you ready to accept the fact that Senju no longer loves you? Are you ready to accept the fact that as we speak Senju is probably getting filled and fucked by someone who will never be you?" 

By the end of the sentence, Mikey had pulled [name] close to him by her shoulders, making sure that her eyes stared back at his. 

He knew his words were brutally honest, the last part might have been unnecessary but he could no longer ignore just how hurt he was by her.

[name]'s heart ached at his words but she kept staring back, not moving her gaze for even a second.

"Yes. For you, I will accept it." Was [name]'s response. Hearing this Mikey lets go of [name] and steps back. A few seconds go by as neither of them says anything, yet they don't break their stare.

"Very well. I will wait for you." Mikey finally lets out a smile, his heart grows heavy when [name] smiles back and bows as a thank you.

He watches as she turns around and leaves the house, closing the door behind her.

He already knew how fate works, and what it will do to him since god was never on his side.

He always wondered if he was being watched by the devil, and he wondered if he would keep looking upon him till he had taken everyone from his life.

[name] too wondered if she had a devil in her.

Being loved by [name] was truly a beautiful thing. But it would become dangerous if it isn't reciprocated. She would never directly hurt anyone, but everyone around her would end up in the crossfire and would get used by her to ease her.

Then she would think of ways revenge, payback in ways that would have her love come crawling back.

Even now, as she makes her way home the devil persuades her to forget about Mikey. He tells [name] to go find Senju and make her forget all about her fiance.

He coaxes [name] to find her and fuck her into oblivion. Make sure that [name] will always be the best tongue to fuck her, the best fingers to stuff her full, the best pussy she'll ever taste, the best sex she'll ever experience. The most loved she'll ever feel.

This was tempting for [name], but for now, she'll ignore the devil and only listen to Mikey. She will make him take the place of an angel or rather...

Make him a devil to kill her own.

[cantsayidont]

Despite its protestations of progressive values, STAR TREK media has always explicitly presented (and, with only fleeting exceptions, consistently celebrated) the Federation as an expansionist imperial power, engaged in a large-scale project of colonialism.

The usual apologia/rationalization for this, both from the franchise itself and from its fans, is that the Federation is also a post-scarcity socialist utopia. However, that is expressly not the case in TOS, despite the attempts of the later series to insist otherwise.

Indeed, the plots of some of the most famous and acclaimed episodes of TOS are specifically about resource extraction and ensuring the Federation's access to crucial resources, including lithium (in "Mudd's Women"), pergium (in "The Devil in the Dark"), and dilithium (in "Mirror, Mirror," et al). We are told repeatedly that the Enterprise has a mandate to use force to secure these resources if gentler methods fail. Moreover, while the Federation has a strategic interest in these resources, it's clear at various points in TOS that their extraction and exploitation are, to a significant extent if not exclusively, overseen by private interests for profit. For instance, in "Mudd's Women," Harry Mudd remarks:

Well, girls, lithium miners. Don't you understand? Lonely, isolated, overworked, rich lithium miners! Girls, do you still want husbands, hmm? Evie, you won't be satisfied with a mere ship's captain. I'll get you a man who can buy you a whole planet. Maggie, you're going to be a countess. Ruth, I'll make you a duchess. And I, I'll be running this starship. Captain James Kirk, the next orders you're taking will be given by Harcourt Fenton Mudd!

In "The Devil in the Dark," Kirk ultimately takes a regulatory position — he will not permit the pergium miners to kill the Horta or continue to destroy her eggs — but at no point does he suggest that stopping the pergium production that threatens the Horta is a viable or even acceptable alternative. The accord he proposes is contingent on the Horta's agreement that she and her children will support the mining efforts on her planet, since Kirk emphasizes that "a dozen planets" are depending on the miners to supply needed pergium. (What would have happened to her if she hadn't agreed is not stated, but the episode strongly suggests that she would have been severely punished for noncompliance with Kirk's mediated solution: forcibly relocated to some kind of Horta reservation away from the main mining operations, perhaps.) When the Horta does agree to this proposal, Kirk assures Vanderberg, "you people are going to be embarrassingly rich," which once again suggests that while the miners may have contractual agreements to delivery pergium to Federation worlds, they are still a private, for-profit business, not a Federation department or nationalized entity.

Profit is also Ron Tracey's motivation for breaking the Prime Directive in "The Omega Glory": He believes that he's discovered a "fountain of youth" that he can own, monopolize, and exploit, and that the value of that resource will be enough to buy his way out of legal trouble for his regulatory violations.

We mostly don't see the Enterprise crew handle money except on away missions in other cultures or times, but there are a number of indications that the Federation in this era has not abandoned money: For instance, Harry Mudd's list of past offenses includes purchasing a space vessel "with counterfeit currency," while in "The Apple," Kirk rhetorically asks if Spock knows how much Starfleet has invested in him, which Spock begins to answer, "One hundred twenty-two thousand two hundred …" before Kirk cuts him off. More tellingly, in "I, Mudd," we have the following exchange:

KIRK: All right, Harry, explain. How did you get here? We left you in custody after that affair on the Rigel mining planet. MUDD: Yes, well, I organized a technical information service bringing modern industrial techniques to backward planets, making available certain valuable patents to struggling young civilizations throughout the galaxy. KIRK: Did you pay royalties to the owners of those patents? MUDD: Well, actually, Kirk, as a defender of the free enterprise system, I found myself in a rather ambiguous conflict as a matter of principle. SPOCK: He did not pay royalties. MUDD: Knowledge, sir, should be free to all. KIRK: Who caught you? MUDD: That, sir, is an outrageous assumption. KIRK: Yes. Who caught you? MUDD: I sold the Denebians all the rights to a Vulcan fuel synthesizer. KIRK: And the Denebians contacted the Vulcans.

Whether Deneb is a member of the Federation at this time is unclear, but Vulcan certainly is, and so we may assume that Vulcan and presumably the Federation itself are also part of "the free enterprise system."

The first indication that the Federation does not use money is in STAR TREK IV, and it's not obvious there if Kirk's remark that "They're still using money" is talking about money more broadly or just physical currency, which the Federation may have phased out even if it still uses credit or electronic transfers of monetary value. (Certainly, McCoy's attempt in STAR TREK III to charter a starship indicates that he had some means of paying for passage, since the captain of the ship specifically demands more money upon learning of the intended destination.)

If we accept at face value the assertion of TNG and DS9 that the Federation has genuinely abandoned the use of money, rather than simply going cashless, the most reasonable Watsonian explanation is that this has been a relatively recent development during the 70–80 years between the TOS cast movies and TNG, most likely related to the development of replication technology (which the Federation did not yet have in Kirk's time).

Of course, from a Doylist standpoint, we could chalk up some of this incidental dialogue to the franchise's evolving construction of its own setting, in the same manner as anomalous references to Vulcans as "Vulcanians." Roddenberry and his apologists might also insist that he always meant to depict a socialist utopia, but was prevented by the nattering nabobs of negativity (i.e., the network's BS&P); I'm very skeptical of such claims, but the writers were acutely aware that depicting what Earth is like in Kirk's time would be opening a can of worms, which is why we didn't actually see 23rd century Earth (even briefly) until the movies.

However, the focus on resource extraction and its ramifications is such a load-bearing story element in TOS that the revisionist assertion that the Federation was already a post-scarcity socialist utopia in Kirk's time (as both DISCOVERY and STRANGE NEW WORLDS have attempted to claim) would require really substantial retcons of the original show, perhaps to the extent of insisting that some of those events never took place at all, or happened radically differently than what's in the TOS episodes most STAR TREK fans have seen. For me, anyway, that crosses a line from willing suspension of disbelief to "don't trust your lying eyes," and suggests a frustrating and somewhat disturbing determination to insist that TOS is something much purer and nobler than it is rather than grapple with its actual conceptual flaws and ideological shortcomings.

[ramblingoak]

The Sexy Cardigan

Mushy May in Lucifer's Hollow: Day 6 - Blushing

Copia x Aether

This fic is set in an alternate universe in a town called Lucifer's Hollow. For Mushy May I'll be using the prompts to post little snippets of life for the humans and ghouls that live there 💙 Thank you to @forlorn-crows for putting Mushy May together!

~ In Lucifer's Hollow Copia teaches history at the high school and Aether is a firefighter. ~

Warnings: Copia being awkward and cute, flirty texts idk, nsfw 18+ mdni, 600 words (thank you to @ghuleh-recs for the dividers!)

Aether:  What are you wearing?

Copia’s brain whited out when he read the text and he quickly slapped his phone screen down onto his desk.  He winced when the sharp noise made a few of his students look up from their tests but after he gave them an awkward smile they went back to work.  Unholy hell, what was Aether doing?  His phone vibrated again and Copia took a deep breath before turning it back over.

Aether:  Is it sexy?

He couldn’t help but look down at himself, seeing his usual button up and cardigan.  His pants had felt a little tight this morning but he blamed that on Swiss continuing to show up with pies from his new boyfriend.  Copia nibbled on his bottom lip before slowly typing out his reply.

Copia:  Are cardigans sexy?

The response was immediate and Copia could feel his cheeks heating up violently.

Aether:  On you?  Hell yes.

He bit down on his lip to prevent a delirious laugh from escaping.  Oh this was not an appropriate conversation to have right now.  Copia looked up at the clock on the wall, disappointed to see that there was still an hour left before lunch.  Maybe playing along just a bit longer wouldn’t hurt?  He slouched down in his chair while he responded.

“Mr. Emeritus?”

“Shit!”  Copia fumbled with his phone, cursing again under his breath when it fell to the floor.  With a sigh he looked up to see one of his students standing on the other side of his desk.  “Sì?”

“Can I go to the bathroom?”

He nodded and waved the student away, managing an awkward thumbs up when they gave him a funny look.  Copia looked down at his phone before bending over to pick it up.  This was ridiculous, he was terrible at flirting in person so continuing this on the phone would just be even more embarrassing.  Determined to delete the text he had typed out he was horrified to see that while fumbling with his phone he had accidentally sent it.

Copia:  What about off?  

“Merda.”  Was there a way to delete sent texts?  Copia stayed frozen in place, trying to decide if it was worth googling.  An alert from Terzo popped up but he ignored it.  He did not have time for whatever the fuck Terzo was up to.  “Uh, class?”

Obediently all their heads popped up from their work.  Copia began to make mental notes of who had been on their phones but decided today would be a good day to let that go.  He started to ask if anyone knew an answer to his problem but his phone vibrated again and the message had his heart speeding up dangerously.

Aether:  Even better.     

“I have to go to the bathroom!”  He jumped up from his desk, banging his knees in the process.  His chair shot out from behind him, hitting the wall and making one of his bulletin boards fall to the floor.  Lucifer, what was wrong with him?  Limping, he made his way over to the door, flinging it open and turning back to his class with as stern a look as he could manage.  “No phones!”

He barely avoided breaking out into a run, rushing into the teacher’s lounge and then into the private bathroom inside.  The students would be ok on their own for a bit.  Probably.  Long enough for him to get the nerve to suggest to Aether they continue this conversation that night at his house.  In person and hopefully naked.

Terzo would be so proud of him. 

If you'd like to be added/removed from the tag list (or if I accidentally left your name off) of this fic or any of my others please leave a comment or send me a dm! Thank you 💙

My Masterlist ~ My Archive of our Own ~ My Ko-Fi Tip Jar

More fics in the Tales From Lucifer's Hollow masterpost

[drpeppertummy]

[hunger, stuffing, sunny has a cold]

"Poor Sunny honey," Marianne cooed, holding him tight against her chest. "How on Earth did you get so sick?"

"Probably the kids," he said with a sniffle. It didn't take much to get Sunny sick--he'd been a very sickly boy growing up, and even as an adult his immune system still left something to be desired--and babysitting his germ-riddled army of nieces and nephews was an easy road to the awful cold he had now. He snuggled up against her, laying his head on her shoulder.

"Poor sweetheart," she said, running her fingers through his dark curls. "I can't even kiss you better." As if to offer an alternative, his belly rumbled, and a sly smile crept onto her face. Gently, she tipped his chin up to face her.

"When's the last time you ate something, pumpkin?"

"Hm? Oh, I don't know." That was true; Sunny had been feeling too awful to do much of anything the past few days, and that included cooking. Had he really tried his memory, the answer he would've found was early last night, about seventeen hours ago, and it hadn't been much. Marianne pressed a hand against his sunken middle, and his stomach growled again, whining impatiently against her palm.

"That little tummy feels awfully empty," she said, a sympathetic pout on her face. "Why don't I make you some soup, hm?"

"Aw, you don't have to do that," he started, but she only shushed him.

"You won't get any better on an empty stomach," she said, standing up and wrapping the quilt from the back of the couch around his shoulders. "Besides, a nice hot bowl of soup will do you good. You look awfully chilly." Sunny couldn't argue with that. In fact, despite the quilt, he felt freezing without Marianne's warm arms around him. He looked up at her, shivering and puppy-eyed, and she gently ruffled his hair.

"Oh, I wish I could give you a big kiss on the cheek," she sighed, "but I guess that wouldn't be the brightest move, would it? You wait right there, sweetpea, get a little rest. I'll be back before you even miss me."

"But I already miss you," he called after her as she left for the kitchen. Hugging the quilt tightly around himself, he curled up against the arm of the couch, shivering and sniffling and feeling very sleepy. Ordinarily, he'd have trailed right along behind Marianne to cook with her, but there was no chance of that happening today. He got himself cozy, then, with a big yawn, he closed his eyes and tried to rest.

Sunny woke up from a dream about food to the sound of his belly rumbling and the uncomfortable feeling of snot on his lip. Groaning, he reached out for a tissue and blew his nose, then sat up, trying to clear his airways. His head ached, his nose was sore, and the pangs of his empty stomach were beginning to bother him almost as much as everything else. Yawning, he sluggishly swung his legs over the edge of the couch, then, with a soft groan, he pushed himself up. Still holding the quilt around his shoulders, he trudged sleepily into the kitchen.

"Aren't you supposed to be resting?" Marianne scolded playfully.

"I got lonely," said Sunny, coming to stand beside her and softly bumping his head against her shoulder.

"Aww, poor thing," she chuckled. She set the wooden spoon down and wrapped him up tight in a warm embrace. "Well, you got here just in time--the soup's just about ready."

"You're the best."

The two were once more snuggled up on the couch, Marianne sitting sideways against the arm and Sunny leaning back against her, nestled comfortably between her legs. It was her personal favorite position, simply because she could hold him from behind and feel his tummy expand beneath her hands as he ate. She'd ladled him out a nice big bowl, knowing perfectly well it was likely more than his belly could hold, but that was alright; he'd have plenty of leftovers to tide him over and warm him up until he felt well enough to cook again.

Sunny ate the soup carefully--ordinarily, especially being as hungry as he was, he'd have inhaled the bowl in a moment, but it was far too hot for that. He was glad it was too hot to inhale; it was a delicious soup, fragrant and flavorful and filled with hearty vegetables and noodles and chicken. It warmed him up from the inside out, and the cozy feeling blooming in his belly made him feel pleasantly relaxed. The gentle weight of Marianne's hands resting on his tummy was equally soothing, and he almost had to fight to stay conscious enough to keep eating.

As his stomach slowly filled up, Sunny began to feel a little bit better. He hadn't realized just how much his hunger had been affecting him until Marianne pointed it out. He wasn't the best at keeping on top of his body's needs, particularly on his off days, and the soup was the first real food he'd eaten all week. He ate a little bit faster as it cooled down, and Marianne smiled.

"Glad to see being so sick hasn't hurt your appetite," she said, patting his belly. It was beginning to round out a little, much to her enjoyment.

"You're a great cook," he said with his mouth full.

"Oh, you are such a little sweetheart," she grinned, pinching his cheek, and he blushed.

Sunny's pace remained steady for a little bit, but it wasn't long before he began to slow back down. It was a lot of soup, especially for somebody who hadn't eaten much in the past few days, and he was beginning to feel full. He knew Marianne would want him to put forth his best effort, though, so despite the snug feeling in his tummy, he kept going. It wasn't hard, anyhow; Marianne's cooking really was excellent. She rubbed his belly gently, enjoying the warm curve pushing out against her palms.

"Feeling full yet?" She rested her chin atop his head. While he hadn't been taking the best care of himself, he'd clearly still been showering; his hair was soft and clean as ever, and she nuzzled her chin against it.

"No," he fibbed, and a small burp escaped him. She smiled, patting his belly. She knew he was fibbing, and he knew she knew. He was still eating, though, partially because the soup was so good and partially for her. He badly wanted to tip his head back and kiss her, and though that wasn't an option right now, he knew her well enough to know that a well-stuffed tummy was just as good. He felt her hands press against it, the pressure toeing the line between comforting and uncomfortable, and he arched his back slightly, a subtle plea for rubs which she gladly answered.

Marianne peered down over Sunny's shoulder. His belly stuck out visibly now, not that she needed to see it to know that; she could feel how stuffed he was just by touch. His stomach grumbled softly against her hands, shifting air bubbles around in an attempt to find new space, but there was nearly none left. She felt his belly tense up as he brought up another burp, then rumble gently as it settled again. He sighed, laying his head back against her shoulder for a moment. He wasn't sure how much more he could eat. The bowl was still about a quarter of the way full, but there was no way he was fitting that much into his tightly-stuffed tummy. After taking a moment to settle, though, he determined that he could squeeze in a few more bites.

"Don't go making yourself any sicker than you already are," she warned as he scooped up another bite, her tone both teasing and sincere.

"I won't." He felt confident in that. As full as he was, he didn't feel bad--just very, very bloated. He could feel his belly pushing out as though he was doing it on purpose, stomach stretched nearly to its limit, but the warm weight filling him was pleasant. Finally, though, after a couple slow, strained bites, he couldn't hold any more.

"My sweet little turkey," she purred, rubbing his bulging tummy. The only response he could muster was a soft, sleepy sigh of contentment.

[starrycassi]

Ambrosius's (indirect) champion.

Find part one here

"It's oficial. You've gone crazy"

Ambrosius, who feels thrilled with his idea, scoffs. In a quick move, he drags Ballister down to the bed, pulling him by the wrists, making the boy's head fall directly in his own chest. Had this been practice, he knows he probably would've gotten a punch to the ribs in retaliation. But they are in private, they are just teens, and Ballister allows his boyfriend to drag him down.

"Don't call me that, babe" Ambrosius whines, while Ballister tries to regain some of his dignity by lifting himself up with his arms to establish some sort of distance. "I'll cry"

"Ambrosius, this is not funny" finally managing to get on his hand and knees, Ballister stares down at his boyfriend, frowning. "This is incredibly concerning and serious"

Ambrosius pouts for a second, and giggles to himself after giving Ballister a quick kiss on the lips. He is scared, oh, so scared. He wants to cry and run and scream and punch and the best alternative he has right now is to be pretend to be charming with his boyfriend, but every good thing must come to an end, and he has to face reality.

They sit down, again, in the bed, face to face. Ambrosius's sudden burst of energy leaves as fast it came, leaving him with a dull sense of... confusion. Nothingness.

"You haven't heard my plan" he tries to grin at his boyfriend, hoping that his eyebags aren't nearly as big as he feels them be. "Come on. Let me tell you, and then you can say no"

They look at each other for some seconds, and Ballister gives in, the second Ambrosius brings out his best card on the whole deck: tears.

Crying on command is a pretty useful skill to have, Ambrosius's come to find out. He doesn't go all the way out with it, no this time, but he knows his eyes are watery and his nose is red. Ballister looks away, groaning.

"Fine!" He resigns, throwing his hands up to the heavens. "But if your plan is "something, something, we win" again, I'm out. I'm so out. You're going to have to ask Todd for help"

Ambrosius gasps, offended at the barbarity his boyfriend just said. How dares he? The old "fuck it, we ball" plan has never let them down, but this isn't the moment to bask in the glory of all of their past accomplishments.

"Okay, so..." he starts, taking in a big breath of air. This is going to be long, and troublesome. Sometimes he's sorry for Ballister, who has to learn all of this things as they go, unlike him, who's been memorizing the rules ever since he learned to read. "The duels, right. Not all noble families train their kids to be knigths. Not all knights are heirs, either. If you have an older sibling or just aren't the favor, then you're probably not a heir. Follow me?"

Ballister, who loves learning about new stuff, even if it's nobility rubbish, nods along, "Follow you"

"I am the sole heir of the family, so I have obligations. You already know this. One of those is to keep up alliances and all that stuff"

Nodding again, Ballister chuckles a bit. Of course he knows. He's been there to witness every single event that's happened ever since Ambrosius finally turned old enough to go to balls and shit as an actual member of the upper society, or whatever it is they call themselves.

"We have many allies made by old marriages, debts, whatever. If one of them asks something of me, then it usually really just falls on me to say no. Unless they put up conditions"

Ambrosius licks his lips, grabbing his boyfriend's hands and looking at him straight in the eyes. How wonderful they are, Ballister's eyes.

"Now is when it gets kinda hard, so bear with me. Mom's been saying no to everyone who wants to form an alliance by marriage. Don't make that face, Bal. It's not really a lovely affair as much as it is legal papers, for a lot of people. But if all of my allies get along and decide to put conditions on me, then we're obligated to answer"

"That's so, so bullshit"

"It really is. Specially because, since we have so many allies, they usually never get along for long enough to actually make and write a demand, but I guess I'm just that hot and everyone wants to bed me. Too bad I'm already in love with what my allies would probably qualify as a disgraceful street rat"

Ballister blushes, playfully shoving Ambrosius on the chest.

"They would get a heart attack, don't you think? If they knew about me and you"

"They would get a heart attack if they knew I'm gay. They would get a heart attack if they knew I'm a tube baby because my mom loathes my dad. They would get a heart attack if they knew I eat chocolate cake sometimes. Don't feel special" shrugging, Ambrosius continues, "So, they are threatening to call off a lot of agreements and stuff if I don't answer their demands, which, like, mature much? Not my fault all of their heirs look like horror creatures.

So, Mom, being Mom, decided to have me answer with a tournament, because apparently she believes I'm Hercules or something. I would traditionally have to fight with every single person who asked for my hand in a stupid sword duel and bla bla bla, but that would take forever, Bal. So, they came to an agreement. People fight each other, and whoever wins, figths with me"

"That sounds... extremely complicated" cringing a bit at the lengths people would go for a chance to figth with his boyfriend, Ballister grimaces. Bunch of weirdos.

"I'm not some easy harlot, Ballister. You offend me. Of course trying to marry me is complicated. But, wait, now's where it gets interesting"

"Now? Just now? This whole thing is nuts"

Ignoring him, Ambrosius takes two pillows and places one if front of the other. "There are people who can fight me and expect to win" he says, pointing to one of them. "And people who can't but want the marriage"

"So, a lot of families don't have knights. A lot of knigths aren't heirs. Even if a family has a heir that would marry me, they could just be a scholar or something. All knights are nobles..."

"Except me, clearly"

"Yeah, well. Most knigths are nobles, but a bunch of nobles aren't knigths. Like the Queen and such."

"And this is important because...?"

"Because families are going to choose champions, now. Wich means, they can just find a random good figther who's willing to commit to life to me and make them fight. Mom tried to make it so only noble heirs could enter, but they said no. You only have to represent a noble family, and there can only be one fighter per family. Wich means, you can simply sign up and beat everyone up!"

He throws his hands up in the air, a pinched smile on his face.

"You forget a very small but important detail, Amber" Ballister sighs, rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hands. "I'm neither noble nor a heir, and no family is going to choose me as a champion. You might actually need help from Todd on this one"

Ambrosius suddenly comes to a stop, blinking.

"I would sooner kill myself than marry Todd Disgusting Sureblade. Never. Nuh-uh. Not even if we were the last two men left in the planet. You know how some girls swear they can switch gays guys to the other team? I'm throughly convinced that Todd actually has the power to do so. Leave me alone with him in a room and I come out both a killer and ready to settle down with a woman. Hell, we'll have kids, even. Don't ever joke about that, Ballister. I'm going to have nightmares, tonight"

Cackling, Ballister pretends to apologize, while his boyfriend rambles about how horrifying it would be, to be around Todd every day of his life, and how death would be mercy if anyone ever was to ever be on that situation.

Ambrosius finally stops, clearing his throat to stop Ballister from dying of asphyxiation, "With that settled, I would like to point out that my family can't choose you because I have to represent the Goldenloins. Not because I don't want. But there's still someone, Bal. Someone who's childless, a noble, and probably would love to help us out in this"

Ambrosius's next words convince Ballister of the fact that, yes, Captain Gloria surely drank too much whiskey while she was pregnant, because there's something deeply wrong with this man's brain.

"We're going to ask formal help from the Queen. And we're going to do it right now"

He should've stayed at that orphanage. Things would've been easier.

˗ˋ ♡  ˊ˗

Ballister fixes his shirt, and then does so again. Next to him, Ambrosius is doing a pretty good job at pretending to be calm, but his lips are going to start bleeding in any second if he keeps munching on them like that, and his hands shake ever so slightly.

"If the speech doesn't work out" he whispers to Ballister, while they walk down the marble corridors of the palace, "then you put on your best puppy eyes. Pout and all. I'm bringing out the waterworks. Ugly crying, if needed. Gloreth, I'll fake-faint if it comes to that"

Ballister's pretty sure that the speech they wrote and tried to memorize on the two hours it took to get here (asking for permissions at the institute, getting into a carriage, arriving at the palace, getting the secretary to make them the next meeting using Ambrosius's status) isn't nearly good enough to convince the Queen to get involved in this mess, so he tries to remember the saddest moments in his life. There's a lot. He definitely feels ready to cry and beg.

They reach the Queen's office (because, apparently, queen's do have offices) and are welcomed by two palace guards that open up the wood doors for them to come in.

The place is wonderful. Not rich-people wonderful, it's soul-crushing, life-changing beautiful, instead. Everything is so white and golden and blue and shiny and ethereal.

In the middle of it, the Queen is seated, smiling softly at them. They both kneel down, knigth training and actual admiration manifesting in the gesture.

"Gentlemen" she greets, placing her joined hands on her desk, and they stand up straight, standing still, waiting for orders, her orders, always ready to obey to her, "you may sit down"

They do so.

Ballister's bones are trying to crawl out of his skin, and his whole face itches with nerves.

"Thank you, for receiving us in such short notice, Your Majesty" says Ambrosius, voice full with feeling. He's better at the whole "being social" thing.

"It is refreshing to see young faces on the palace grounds every once in a while" she responds, in that weird way formal people talk when they're trying to say something without saying it. "And I am honored to have two of my best cadets in here today. I have to ask, though, as to what situation do I owe the pleasure of such a distinguished visit? Specially a dual one"

"The honor is all ours" adds Ballister, who doesn't want to feel useless in the conversation, even if he feels incredibly out of place in the dances the nobility follows when they talk, when they breath, when they live.

"We come here with a plead," explains Ambrosius, and he suddenly looks older. Serious, worried, solemn. His voice is deep, calm, "One that would benefit both of us, and for which we require your help."

The Queen hums softly, slightly rising an eyebrow. "What sort of plea my I aid you both in?"

"I don't want to get married" blurts out Ambrosius, straight to the point. Ballister asked him, on the carriage, to be honest with this. He knows how... creative the Goldenloins can get when they want something, and he feels like the Queen deserves the truth. Even if it's a slightly dramatized version of it. Plus, being bold will surely add to the element of surprise.

"Excuse me?" The Queen looks clearly put off at the words, loosing her elegant demeanor for a second, "Come again?"

Seeing her eyebrows frown and her vocabulary change so abruptly, Ambrosius clears his throat, hiding a smile. Their plan seems to be going well.

"I don't want to get married" he repeats, enunciating every word, "And I'm being forced to engage in an obligated tournament for those purposes, Your Majesty"

He gives her a second to understand the words, to take the information in. In those seconds, Ambrosius remembers that one time he thought Ballister hated him, back when they were twelve, and tries to pour all the sadness he felt on his voice.

"Of course, I presume Your Majesty is aware of how vicious and outdated some traditions are" quickly, he glances down at Ballister, who's also putting on his best kicked lost helpless puppy performance, "but I am still subjected to them, as a heir."

The Queen is the Queen, but even her can't change the rules that noble families uphold each other to. That's not what they want, anyway. She nods, looking worried. Bingo.

"That's why I want to help him" cutting in, Ballister stammers a bit, like Ambrosius instructed him to; for extra empathy points, he said, "We've come up with a plan. It's not perfect, but..."

"... it's the best we can do" Ambrosius finishes, following his cue.

Now, they both stare at her, identical sad smiles plastered on their faces. If Ambrosius is as good with people as he claims to be, then they already have her heart in the bag. They just need to get her brain on it.

"And how can I help?" She asks, and both knigths know they've kit the jackpot in the instant her voice comes out. She sounds so much like a preocuppied mother. Ballister feels slightly guilty, slightly wishful. "How may I aid you both, on this quest?"

"We need someone to sign me in" Puppy eyes. Puppy eyes. Think sad thoughts. "No one else but you can do it, Your Majesty. I am a commoner, and the families despise me"

They're not even lying. Most nobles do despise Ballister. They're just... putting some heart onto the delivery of the news.

"He's my last resource" Ambrosius is about to cry. Teary eyes, red cheeks, trembling words. Such an actor. "My mommy can't do it because she's my own family, and I am so scared, Your Majesty. Marriage is the least of my concerns..."

He leans in to her, even if it's only the three of them in the room.

"Just... just, you know, thinking about what someone with control over me could ask for, gives me chills," and, to spice some politics in, he whispers to her, "there's so many things my mom would give over for me. Money, land, jews... Gloreth, even alliances, or debts. There's a lot of power tied into the family, and if I'm allowed to be honest, I fear for what would happen if all that rested in the hand of someone evil. Some villain. Some monster.

It's a well known secret that the Goldenloins could match the royal family in influence, in power. They're probably a bit over them, if one were to actually measure the impact they have on the people, on the kingdom. Ambrosius couldn't care less about this knowledge, but the Queen should be able to recognize a threat when it's in front of her.

She blinks once, twice. Ballister makes a show of giving Ambrosius a handkerchief for his tears, and he takes it with an apology for his horrible demeanor.

"I see why you've come to me," she finally speaks up, eyes fixed on them, "and I am glad that you did. This is an urgent matter. I am deeply troubled to see you in this state, Goldenloin"

Ambrosius mutters a quick thank you, still "too emotional" to talk.

"And I am glad to learn that the bond between my star knights is as strong as the walls that protect this kingdom. You both are what keep my people safe, after all"

Ballister's never been so proud to be compared to a wall as he is right now. It's wonderful.

"To show you my gratitude for your hard work, I will agree. Ballister, you can fight in representation of the noble house of Elpis, as my champion. Any armor or other supplies needed will be provided, too"

Thank Gloreth and every single saint ever for Ambrosius's manipulative ass. He's so in love with this dramatic wreck of a man. Thank Gloreth and every single saint ever for Queen Valentin's tendency to go against tradition. He's so grateful to have been born under her regency.

They both thank her, deeply, multiple times, bowing their heads. Ambrosius even sheds some more tears and wipes them off with urgency.

Then, the Queen stands up, and they follow suit, ready to leave with their victory. Before they can go, however, she shoots them a question, one that they didn't come prepared for

"You both are aware, I pressume, of how the nature of your... bond, could affect this tournament?"

Stop. Pause. What did she say? Whatdidshesay?

They look at each other, completely out of track. This time, she is the one with the upper hand. And they're so fucked. Seeing as how their silence continues, she speaks, again

"Your romance" she clarifies, and Ambrosius's choke on his own saliva isn't fake. Ballister goes so red his face burns, and, out of instinct, he hits his boyfriend on the back to try and stop his death. He hits a little too hard, but it works.

"Excuse us?" Screeches Ambrosius, high pitched, "Our what?"

"You must be confused" says Ballister at the same time, feeling like a very dumb caged animal. They didn't plan this. He's got no idea what to do next. "Ambrosius and I don't-"

"We would never-"

"We couldn't even be together! I'm just some commoner and he is..."

"Don't talk about yourself like that"

"Amber, this is not the moment to-"

"I won't let you be mean to yourself in front of the Queen"

The woman in front of them chuckles, amazed at their idiocy. They both blush even more, if that's possible. They suck at this whole "pretending to be single" thing.

"You're adorable" she coos, and Ambrosius is ready to change his name and move towns, "You remind me so much of Derek and me, back when we were young"

She brings up dead husband, as if this isn't weird enough already.

"Surely, you know that if people take notice of this, and Ballister does end up winning — like I have faith he will — they could argue that the tournament has been rigged by the Goldenloins"

They look at each other, bewildered. They never even considered that possibility. The Queen chuckles some more.

"I trust you would come up with a way to deal with that problem, Mister Goldenloin. Your mother's always had her way with schemes and theatrical dramas, and I am fairly sure that I just witnessed one of your plans in action, didn't I? Was any of what you said true, cadets?"

Of course. Of course. Of curse that, The Actual Queen, who's probably been working alongside Captain Gloria her whole life, would notice. Perhaps they didn't plan this as neatly as they could've. But they had less than a day to come up with the whole thing, so.

"I really, really don't wanna get married or have to obey to someone" argues Ambrosius, pouting. "Specially to some older weirdo"

"And I really, really don't want him to marry or have to obey to someone" agrees Ballister, apologetic. "Specially some older weirdo"

After considering them for some seconds, she nods again, agreeing to keep her word. Seeing no point on subtlety, they hug each other quickly, to celebrate.

"We're going to give back every penny you spend on Bal in this whole thing, swear to Gloreth" promises Ambrosius, one hand drapped along his boyfriend's back, "when he wins, I'm throwing a party, and you are so invited", quickly, he adds, "uh, Your Majesty, ma'am"

She lets them go after discussing some minor details, and they beam all the way out of the palace.

"I told you my plan would work" Ambrosius puffs out his chest like a proud peacock once they're on the carriage back to the institute, texting Gloreth knows who on his phone, "We're irresistible"

"She only agreed because you asked her. No one says no to a Goldenloin, Amber"

Ballister stretches, already tired. This whole thing has been draining. He's so ready to go back to the institute and join classes again. If this carriages hurries up, they might get there in time for sword training before lunch, his favorite part of the day.

"Talking 'bout Goldenloins..." trails off Ambrosius, playful smile painted on his lips, playing with the phone on his hands, "what you say we go talk to my mom now?"

"Absolutely no way-"

"Too bad" he interrupts him, placing his hand over Ballister's lips, "already told her we're on our way. She asked to chefs to prepare us something tasty"

Fuck this kid and his lack of self control.

[freyyzu]

request of an mc flirting with Mammon. Figure they do it while he's upside down which gives him the excuse of oh I'm not blushing that's from being upside down. mc probably pretends to leave before mammon pulls a wait on them.

UPSIDE DOWN FLIRTING

Mammon has gotten himself in trouble again and you've decided to make the best out of his worst situation.

a/n; this is so mean just let the poor boy down askjdh

an alternative ending; here

RAD has been tiring today. Assignments have been piling up left and right, and whilst you may claim to be able to handle everything without a problem—that was quickly becoming a lie.

All you wanted to do when returning home today was relax in your room with some snacks for a good couple hours before finally tackling all your homework.

Instead, what you find as you're on your way to the kitchen is Mammon once again hanging upside down trying his best to break himself free.

You don't dare ask what it is he's done this time, you're sure it's nothing good, but he'll tell you anyways, don't worry.

So what if he tried to skip out on school today to make a little bit of extra grimm? He was one of the seven rulers of the Devildom! He doesn't have to follow any rules!

"You know, Mammon, I'm pretty sure being one of the seven rulers means you're the ones that have to follow the rules the most."

He huffs defiantly, turning his head away from you. Still, you're used to this.

"You know, maybe Lucifer should string you up more, you're cuter this way."

"Cu—?!" He nearly chokes on his spit, and given the fact that he's hanging by his feet you're sure if he wasn't carefully he actually would. "What part about this is cute t' ya?! I'm suffering here I tell you, sufferin'!"

You give him a sly smile, "you might be, but this is fun for me. I can do this," your fingers go to poke and stretch at his cheeks lightly, pulling up and down in all sorts of directions. "And this," you boop his nose. "And you can't do anything about it."

Your actions earn a very, very loud complaint from him and despite all his insisting that you stop, his reddened cheeks tell you otherwise.

"It's like all my stress is melting away," you chime. "Just look at how red you're getting! My own personal hand warmer."

Mammon shakes in his restraints, "argh! If you're not gonna help me down then shoo!"

You blink at him once, and then smile, letting go without a fight. "Alright."

You've barely taken a step backwards when he shouts at you again to hold up. "You're seriously gonna go? Just like that?"

"You told me to."

"W-well, yeah—" You were definitely having too much fun with this. Still, you're sure no one could blame you, it was just a little bit of fun! (Mammon disagrees). "Well before ya leave let me down!"

"I already told you, no can do. Lucifer would yell at me next if I did." He grumbles out incoherent murmurs, no doubt denying that Lucifer would ever yell at you of all people. "Buuut, maybe if you tell me how much you love me I'll pretend I 'didn't see you escape'?"

"You demon!"

"The best one yet!" You huff proudly, putting your hands on your hips. "So, what'll it be?"

You're just about wondering how red on the colorwheel his face can go before a soft mumble parts through his lips. "... 'ya."

"Hm...?" You lean in closer, noses almost touching. "I couldn't hear you."

His voice raises in volume for just a bit, "I said...!" Then once again reverts back to just barely a whisper. "I said, that I love you, alright?! Now let me down already I've had enough of this!"

"Hehe, now was that so hard?" He doesn't answer, but the glare he's giving you is a resounding 'Yes!'.

Within just a couple seconds you've managed to get him down from his restraints and he runs away without so much as a 'thank you' the moment his feet touch the ground. And then within the next hour you're standing in front of Lucifer's desk trying to talk your way out of a three hour scholding session.

[analogwriting]

It Comes in Waves

Chapter 1: Tsunami

Trafalgar Law x gn!reader tw; ace's death. i know, we're starting off strong as shit. word count: 3k prev|next

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

Portgas D. Ace. Also known as ‘Fire Fist Ace’ or even the commander of the second division for the Whitebeard Pirates. Also…a great friend of yours. A friend you had run into several times over your years at sea. A friend that let you cry on his shoulder and who had cried on yours. The memory of you meeting flashes in your mind. A simpler time. Before he had all his alternate titles. Before he was even his own captain. 

You were on a tropical island. It was small and reminded you of your home island, but it was just a pitstop for you to get rest and something to eat. You had hunted down some small wildlife and gathered some fruit that seemed to be edible before beginning to roast it over a fire you created. 

While it was cooking, you worked on setting up a place to sleep. However, you heard something from behind you. Pulling a knife from your belt, you threw it as you turned around. 

“Whoa! I come in peace!” An alarmed, male voice chimed. You turned to see a man standing there. He couldn't have been older than eighteen. So, more of a boy. You noticed that he dodged your attack well, so he wasn't a complete idiot. There was a small cut on his cheek. Not quite quick enough but still impressive. He was lucky it was a warning shot anyway.

“Well, maybe you shouldn't sneak up on someone.” You folded your arms, taking in the boy before you. Disheveled black hair, tanned skin, dressed like a punk. You could tell easily that he was a pirate, perhaps at the beginning of his adventure.

“I didn't really mean to. I was just following the delicious smell of food.” A wistful look crossed his face before he frowned. “A bird flew away with my food.” He looked at you with puppy dog eyes and you sighed, shaking your head. 

“Fine. I'll share. Consider it my apology for attacking you. I'm a bit on edge.” After all, you had just narrowly escaped the navy on your most recent heist. You wouldn’t have been surprised if they had somehow found you, even if they were pretty dense.

The man's face lit up, wasting no time as he plopped down next to the fire you had going. “I have some sake I can share.” You shake your head. You couldn't risk letting your guard down right now. “I'm fine. Help yourself.”

You moved to your food, beginning to divvy it up for the two of you. You handed him his share before settling with your own. “I'm Ace, by the way,” he said, a mouthful of food. 

You told your eyes at his lack of manners. “Y/N,” you said simply, beginning to eat. 

He asks you a couple more questions, but notices you guard some of your answers, so he maneuvers to more simple questions and talks about his own journey. He eventually brings up his little brother - a kid named Luffy. From the sounds of it, he seems quite the handful. He mentions how he's the world's biggest crybaby, but he wants to become King of the Pirates. 

You can't help but feel admiration for the kid who has yet to set sail.

You knew just about everything there was to know about one another. He is your best friend.  And now, it looked like everything was going belly up for him. You were about to lose one of the few people you held close. Again. Why did you have to keep losing people you cared about?

You stared at the video that was being casted from a transponder snail in Sabaody. You were there taking care of a few loose ends from your most recent mission. It dawned on you just how long it had been since you'd seen Ace. You'd been cracking down on your own agenda, not exactly keeping up with current events. It had easily been…at least six months? 

You noticed another familiar face on screen. Monkey D. Luffy. Captain of the Strawhat Pirates and Ace’s baby brother. The one he had told you about and the one you had eventually met on your own. One that you ran into often just like you had Ace.

You had just seen Luffy and his crew not too long ago. It was right here on Sabaody. They helped you take down a human auction house. They were saving a friend of theirs and this was something you did on the regular. Freeing slaves and making slaveholders suffer. Celestial Dragons hated you, and you hated them.

You had been doing this for about a decade, so you had a pretty high bounty - close to a billion. However, you have always been extremely careful to cover your identity. You had a whole disguise set up. A special cloak that covered all of your features. That’s all they had photo evidence of. Your first and last name donned the poster, but you went by your middle name on your average day. You lived a double life that no one knew about.

No one except Ace that is.

You're pulled out of your thoughts as you hear voices begin to raise. You blinked, coming back to earth and looking around. That’s when you realize the videofeed had been cut off. Everyone was starting to raise their questions and concerns. What the hell was going on now? What happened to Ace? To Luffy? You heard those questions being asked around you, so you knew the feed cut before anything happened.

“I need to get out of here,” you mumbled to yourself. You needed to get to Marineford and fast. Unfortunately, your boat that was akin to Ace’s striker, your ‘navis’ as you called it, was much too slow to get there in time. “Even if I call to the sea…” No, still too slow. Time was against you. You cursed silently to yourself, feeling yourself beginning to unravel. This couldn’t be happening. You couldn’t be losing him.

That's when you felt a hand on your shoulder. You tensed. Knife in hand, you turned around quickly, pressing it to the throat of whomever was dumb enough to lay their hands on you. It didn’t matter if all around was chaos. You didn’t even care if this had been any other day. You weren’t a fan of being touched by strangers. Who was?

The owner of the heavily tattooed hand was tall. You were face to face with his chest. A logo of some smiling jolly roger. You looked up, glaring at the man only to find him glaring right back at you. Who did he think he was? He was the one that touched you. Not the other way around.

You took note of the long sword he carried and his lanky frame. Did he even know how to wield this sword correctly? Or use it in general? Your eyes trailed to his at before resting once more on his face. Something…felt familiar. Had you seen him before?

“You greet everyone like this?” There was a hint of a smirk that was just enough to make you want to punch him. His calm demeanor he had whilst you had your knife to his throat also drove you mad.

“Just those that touch me without permission.”

He took his hand away, putting them both up in a surrender motion. “Apologies.” He looked at you once more, taking you in. There was a hint of recognition in his eye and he looked like he wanted to ask something before deciding against it. He looked up to where the video feed had been.

“You know him?” Then he glanced back at you.

You stared at him, blinking several times as you processed his question. You tried to form words but nothing was coming to you. Too many questions were trying to pour out all at once. All that came out was, “What?”

“Well, I'm heading that way and you seemed pretty distraught about it so I figured I'd offer a ride in my submarine.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. Who the hell just did something like that? “You don't seem like the kind of person who does things out of the kindness of his heart.” There had to be some hidden motive. Some other reason that he wanted to offer a ride. Was this some kind of human trafficking ploy? They sure were getting creative these days. It was disgusting.

“Suit yourself,” he said, turning away. What if he was just offering out of the kindness of his heart? Or maybe there was some hidden motive but…you couldn’t risk it. You had to save Ace. You had to save Luffy. Or die trying. “Okay, fine.” He turned, looking as you spoke, smirking. “That’s what I thought.”

Oh, this was going to be a nightmare. Your fist just might up in his jaw. Why would someone just offer a stranger a ride into a war just on a whim? And why were you accepting it? You had to be just as crazy.

“Let's go then,” he said, once more pulling you out of your thoughts. 

Silence fell over the two of you as you walked, delving once more into your own mind. Would you make it on time? Could you save your friends? Why was this man helping you? Why were you trusting him? Is it because you had nothing left to lose? If you lost Ace and Luffy…you’re not sure what you’d do. They were the closest thing you had to family since…

“We’re here.” You were yanked back to the present as the man in front of you spoke. Your eyes landed on the yellow submarine. You blinked. That’s right…he had said that. It was just registering that he had mentioned it earlier. You were such a mess, you didn’t even question it. What the hell was a pirate doing with a submarine?

“Last chance to turn around. You’re stuck once the door closes.” The man smirked at you and you felt the need to punch him in the nose. You didn’t even bother saying anything as you headed inside. There was no turning back now. This was your only chance to reach your friends in time. 

You were told to keep close to the man, which you didn’t argue. You assumed he didn’t trust you…though he invited you on his ship? This whole situation was weird.

You found yourself thinking of Ace again. It was only natural. Currently, you had no idea if he was alive or dead. You hoped for the best but expected the worst. God, it was like that theory about a cat in a box. Without seeing him, you had no idea if he was alive or dead.

Memories flashed in your brain as if they happened yesterday. When you met Ace’s crew for the first time. When you met his second crew. All the nights you stayed up drinking with him. (You had eventually given in and trusted him enough to let your guard down.) You remembered when you told him that you finally met his brother on the sea. Man, he was so excited and positively radiant after hearing that news. He had immediately set out to go find him shortly after that. 

All of those memories passed through your mind, each one of them hurting you more and more. It was almost too much to handle. You had already lost so much and you thought that you were done feeling this way but…here it was again. It hurt…so much. It was never easier. No matter how many people you saw that you cared about die before you…it never got easier. You tried your best to keep your distance from people but Ace was warm both inside and out and it slipped past your defenses faster than you could blink. He introduced you to a new family. 

Many times he asked you to join the Whitebeard Pirates and you told him the same thing each time.

“I still have too many things to take care of on my own.”

The man scoffed. “C'mon! You say that every time, y/n! If you join us, we could help you!” You looked at him, shaking your head. “You know this is something I have to do on my own. The less people involved, the better. Besides, you promised me you wouldn't tell anyone or try to get involved in any way.”

Ace whined, folding his arms. “Yeah, but that was before you told me what you were up to!” He rolled his eyes, clearly unhappy with you. You frowned, sighing. It was the same argument every time you parted ways. He wanted you to join his crew so that he could help you wish your mission, but you couldn’t bear to see anyone else you care about die.

He looked at you again and sighed. “I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't push you.” He looked down to his feet, unfolding his arms. 

Your own face softened and you shook your head. “Don't say sorry, it's not your mistake.” He looked at you as you said those words, chuckling softly. You said them every time he apologized. It was your way of saying that it was okay. That the feelings he was feeling were valid. That his emotions and actions caused by them were valid. It was something that your father had always said to you when your emotions were too much and you were apologizing for things that were out of your control.

“I may join one day…” You paused. 

“It's just not the right time yet, I know,” Ace finished for you. You offered an apologetic grin and he returned with his own, warm one. 

“We're here.” A voice pulled you out of your thoughts once more and you looked at the man who you boarded this vessel with. It was then that you realized that you didn't know his name. You opened your mouth to ask when he interrupted. 

“There's a war going on out there. Be vigilant.”

You nodded, closing your mouth. Now wasn't the time for formalities. You felt a sinking feeling in your chest - something wasn’t right. 

As you headed to the top deck, you felt your chest growing heavier and heavier. This was bad. You could hear all the pain from outside already. You could feel the anguish. It was almost too much to bear. It was enough to make your head spin, to make you want to lose the lunch you didn’t have.

When the door opened and you stepped outside, you were taken back. Taken back to when your own people were taken from you. The sounds of fighting, the smell of blood and metal in the air. The screaming, the anguish. You wanted to scream yourself. It was almost too much to bear. Even though it was over a decade ago, it still had an iron grip on you.

From the corner of your eye, you saw a flash of blue. You looked over slowly, noticing blue flames. Marco. He was Ace’s crewmate. He caught your eye, a dark look of guilt passing over his face before looking away. It was a moment, but that was all you needed to confirm your suspicions.

You suddenly felt like you couldn't breathe, like something just sucked all the air out of your lungs. Your legs felt shaky and you felt sick. The world was spinning. Ace was gone. A man you loved like a little brother. Gone. And there was nothing you could do to bring him back. You were going to be sick.

“Y/n!” You blinked, looking up and seeing the man you had traveled with. “Get it together!” He motioned across the battlefield and that's where you saw Luffy. It was like something sparked inside of you. You were suddenly able to move again. He was your lifeline right now. You needed to focus on saving him. He wasn’t gone yet. 

You nodded at the man before you before turning back to look at your friend. You could tell he was completely shut down. It reminded you of yourself all those years ago. You’d lost everyone you loved and completely shut down. You don’t remember what happened while you were shut down. You were on autopilot for so long. Barely living.

You noticed he was in the arms of a fishman. Ally? You had to hope so or this was going to be difficult. Seeing how he was heading straight towards the submarine and the man waving them down, it seemed safe to assume an ally. Then you saw an admiral attack them. You ran towards the edge of the deck, pressing a hand to your necklace and withdrawing a long spear. You outstretched your free arm, taking aim right over the fishman’s shoulder and throwing it.

It flew through the air, hitting the admiral in the shoulder. Not near enough to kill him but at least enough to deter him for a few moments so the fishman and Luffy could make it safely on board. The next thing you knew, you were ushering the wounded into the submarine and to the infirmary.

“You look like you know about basic medicine,” the man said, laying the two men on operating tables. 

You nodded, unable to really speak. “I can't hear your head rattle,” he said. 

“Y-Yes,” you stammered, taking a deep breath. Your father was a doctor, after all. You studied under him and read many of his textbooks. You’d also been on your own with no doctor all this time, so you had plenty of time to study and put your skills to use.

“Good. Then you're going to help me.”

And with that, the operation began.

[xaniyuu]

Thought I'd share my Golden Kamuy OC here!

Private Fukuoka Yuuzou, a new recruit that joined post Russo-Japanese War, 1907, when Golden Kamuy starts. His role does not matter much to the main plot point, in fact he was made for me to ship with Koito (more to explain below).

Yuuzou's hometown is left unknown, but he used to travel on foot since he was 12y.o for 2 years until him and his parents ended up in Kagoshima. He struggled to blend in and make friends because of their differences and his tendency to steal from people for the fun of it.

Yuuzou's first interaction with Koito would be somewhere when Koito first met with Tsurumi, except Yuuzou (16) never had the courage to walk up or even speak to Koito (14) until now. Ever since then Yuuzou would bother Koito with every chances he got, Yuuzou began viewing what they had as friendship. On the other hand Koito never liked Yuuzou from the start, the rumors of him stealing things from people turned out to be true; because he would often steal Koito's belongings and hide them for Koito to find, like a hide and seek.

Years has passed and Koito (18) went for the Military Academy without Yuuzou's knowledge, he waited for one full year until he heard the neighbors talk about Koito following his father's steps. From that moment on, Yuuzou's entire life goal is to follow Koito's path and to find him wherever he is.

Yuuzou (21) spent about a full year traveling by himself from Kagoshima to Tokyo, where Koito (19) is currently trained for the military (Only God knows how he managed to get there). Unfortunately though by the time he arrives, Koito would probably still be trained in there with very low chances of Yuuzou seeing him. And so, Yuuzou took an alternative.

He'll join the military! That way, he can see Koito for sure this time right?

Shaved: Yuuzou (23) freshly joined the military in 1907.

Undercut, man bun, and hair down: Yuuzou (25) waiting for Koito to come back from his missions.

Yuuzou spent 2 years at the training camp, why? Because he failed the first test which caused him to go over from the very beginning. (For this part I'm still unsure how long it takes for one to go through the training camp, but the main point I want to highlight is the fact that Yuuzou failed his test either once or multiple times but insisted to try again).

*(UPDATE: I just found out that apparently once you fail you get expelled? I'm not sure if this is accurate but it's definitely not gonna stop Yuuzou from trying again LOL. I'll think of a way!)

(How Yuuzou got his scar is still a huge draft of mine, but my initial idea was that it's related to Usami. In this unfinished comic especially, shows their dynamic and how Yuuzou talks back to Usami far more often compared to the other superiors.)

Yuuzou doesn't get along very well with Usami from the very beginning because he tends to talk back to his superiors. Nothing crazy, he's just a kid full of questions. Most of the time the superiors would answer him with a stern look on their faces, and Yuuzou wouldn't mind a little harsh treatment. When it comes to Usami, however, something about him makes Yuuzou uneasy.

From here on out, everything between Yuuzou (23) and Koito (21) is gonna be 8 years worth of slow burn, with Yuuzou watching over Koito from afar most of the time and trying to get Koito's attention in the most inconvenient way as possible like bumping into him or spilling his drink.

Their ship name goes by KoiFuku/FukuKoi! This is the first ever sketch I've drawn of them.

If you've read this far all the way down, thank you very much 💜 They're just another silly little hyperfixation of mine, hopefully I get to draw enough of them before my interest runs out lol

[sluttysnowangel666]

The Song of Blackwoods and Brackens - finale

Thank you so much to those who read and loved this story, I originally intended for it to be much shorter and with a way sadder ending( title was inspired by the song of achilles so i felt a tragic end was fitting) but i got carried away, and i couldn't find the strength to break everyone's hearts. This fanfic is the first time i've gotten back to writing since i was like 12 years old, usually these stories play in my head and i just leave them there but for some reason this one took a life of its own. if people would like to read the alternate ending, let me know and perhaps ill post it. until then, i hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as i enjoyed writing it. thank you all my delulu bloody ben baddies, i love you more than you know.

masterlist

𐂃 𐂃 𐂃 𐂃

I didn't know how I got there. All I knew was that these moments were about to be my last.

Everything had happened so quickly. The situation spiraled out of control before I even realized it was occurring.

Smoke was everywhere, bodies were everywhere. I couldn't walk without stepping on someone. I knew I was going to die. I could barely walk, could barely see.

I could live with dying. I made my bed, I'm ready to lie in it.

He and I were doomed from the start. I loved him; It ruined my life.

My ears were ringing, my eye was in excruciating pain, as well as my leg.

"Ben." I mumble out, disoriented. "Benny..."

I scan the area. Nothing but bodies. Oh, Gods. What if he was one of them?

There's cries of men in the distance, and the sound of fire crackling the burning mill.

I manage to push myself up, leaning on my sword. I cry out at the pain.

Gods... This was all my fault. I'd destroyed everything I touched. My brother was dead,  I couldn't find my lover, I had no idea how long I'd been knocked unconscious.

"Benjicot!" I cried out. "Ben!"

An arrow whips past my head, nailing the wood post behind me. I do a full turn, and see a woman.

She's not much older than me, her hair is long and dark. Alysanne Blackwood.

"Black Aly." I say.

"Who are you?" She asks, an arrow aimed at me.

"I... don't know anymore."

"Judging by your clothes, you're a Bracken. My only concern is... you're a woman. Why is a Bracken woman fighting here instead of cowering in her chambers?"

I don't answer. "I've slain your uncle." She says.

I growl with anger. "You bitch!"

"Too slow." She teases.

I raise my sword, she pulls back on her bow.

"Stop this now!"

I turn, and he's there. Alive. He was greatly wounded, covered in blood as was I, but he was alive.

I can't hold back anymore. Gods, I was so angry with him, but I didn't even care. I limp towards him, bursting into tears the second I fall into his arms.

"Oh, my sweet." He cries, pulling us to the ground. He kisses my bloody head, sobbing into my hair. "We need to get you a maester, now."

I pull away, landing a hard slap across his face. "That's for knocking me unconscious, you craven."

"You left me no choice." He says, hardly phased.

"I know. I'm sorry." I say. He kisses me again.

"Nephew," Alysanne interrupts. "who is this woman dressed as a man?"

"My betrothed." He says.

"This battle... was all because you loved a Bracken?" She asks, incredulous.

"No." I answer. "It was my fault. My family started it... It was because I loved a Blackwood."

"What's the difference?"

"Fuck you, Alysanne."

"Tread lightly, Bracken scum. I'll still fly this arrow through your good eye-"

"Gods sakes, enough! The both of you." Benji demands. "Aly, please, she needs a maester."

Alysanne hesitates, but nods. She turns and runs, happy to be as far from my destructiveness as possible.

Benji helps me begin walking back to Raventree Hall, letting me lean on him for support.

I hear a cough, a familiar, raspy cough. I turn, shocked to see my uncle leaned against a post, an arrow in his left chest plate.

"Uncle." I say.

"You're still alive?" He coughs, blood spewing out of his mouth.

"I am." I say. I push off Benji to stand on my own.

"Get it over with." He sighs.

"Do you have any last words?" I ask.

"You're a disgrace to the Bracken name." He says.

"Well then," I pause. "it's a good thing I'm a Blackwood."

I turn to Benji, whose face reads nothing but pride in me.

"My betrothed," I start.

"Yes, my lady?"

"I believe I know what I want for our wedding."

"Whatever pleases, my lady. Ask and it is done."

I smirk, "I want his head."

One clean swipe was all it took.

Bloody Ben, gets on one knee, and holds up my uncle's head as a gesture of love to our union.

"Put it on a spike. Remind those what happens when you challenge a Blackwood."

———

The maester did what he could to stop the infection, but my right eye could not be saved.

"I look like a monster." I say, trying not to cry.

"The scar will be quite attractive." Ben says. I roll my good eye. "You can cover it, my love, if you so wish. Or perhaps a ruby, or obsidian to take its place."

My leg would fortunately recover. The scar ran from my thigh down to my calf. I have no idea how the maester was able to save it, but he did, and I was forever in his debt.

It would take me years to fully recover, but I had time. We had time.

It took days to clean up the land of bodies. Rain came, cleaning the grass of the blood that stained. After that, it was as if the battle never happened.

Each time I laid my eyes upon Stone Hedge, I sobbed. I would never forgive myself for my brother's death. While time would heal my wounds, they would never heal my grief.

———

Some years later

Benjicot and I married on the 20th day of the 7th moon of 129 AC. The union was approved by the queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, and her son Jacaerys had come to celebrate in her name.

I had become Lady Blackwood of Raventree Hall, and I was finally loved. I was loved deeply and greatly by my lord husband, Benjicot.

I had found a family in ones who were once considered my enemies. Alysanne and I set our differences aside and became sisters, Willem Blackwood accepted me as his new daughter.

The war however, was not so kind. It had been called The Dance of Dragons. My husband and I had gone off to fight for our kingdom numerous times, no matter how much he begged for me to stay back.

Nowhere felt more familiar to us than the battlefield. We fought side by side, protecting each other always. We had earned the nickname Bloody Ravens in time.

When the war finally ended, my husband and I returned home for good. Scars covered our bodies and we embraced them. They were reminders of who we were, and what we had endured together. Reminders that no matter what we faced, we would always be there to protect the other.

One day, my husband came to me.

"My little Bracken." He said, kissing my neck and wrapping his arms around me as we stood on the balcony, overlooking the land.

"Lord Husband." I greeted him. He hummed in my neck.

"I believe it's time we produced some heirs for House Blackwood." He says, planting gentle kisses along my neck.

"Is the babe in my belly not enough?" I ask, a playful smirk on my lips. He moves his hand down to my swollen belly, rubbing gentle circles.

"I want these halls running with Blackwood children." He continues to kiss me.

"Oh, my dear husband." I turn and cup his cheeks in my hand. "When I push this babe out within the next few days, you can fill me with another."

He smiles, planting a gentle kiss on my lips. Our daughter was born on the 3rd moon of 132 AC. Her name was Alyssa Blackwood. Benji held true to his word because after that pregnancy, we had 4 more; a boy and girl, the heir to Raventree Hall Aeron and his twin sister Aly Blackwood, another son, Benjamin Blackwood, another daughter, Nyra Blackwood, and another son Willem Blackwood.

"My little ravens." Benjicot called them.

And we lived in domestic bliss. Indeed, we had never felt peace again. But, who does after you have children? Our ravens roamed our halls, spreading chaos as Benjicot and I had when we were younger, but it was all we wanted. One day, my children would know the doomed song of their father and I's love. They would learn the history of our houses, the feud between them, the loss of their uncle. They were Bracken and Blackwood, through and through.

Bloody Ben died, and in his place was Benjicot Blackwood... Until the time always inevitably came where my husband and I went back out to fight. You can take the man out of the war, but you can never take the war out of the man.

Sometimes, we still snuck away at night, going back to that weirwood where it all began. We played, we swam, we fought, we fucked, we loved. It would always be our place, for just us. No matter what happened, no matter where we started, no matter who we were, who we became... we would always return to where we were meant to be.

And in years and years when Benji and I grew old and gray, ready to meet the Gods, we knew we would come back here again.

Together.

Where we began... Where we end.

𐂃 🐦‍⬛

[fractualized]

Zdarsky’s run on Batman ends soon, thoughts? 🎤

lmao I feel like I could either toss out a dismissive one-liner or rant for like a dozen paragraphs. Guess I'll go with the latter.

We'll, I'm certainly not going to miss him at the helm. I read Batman: The Knight, and even though I agree with the criticism of the end, it showed competent storytelling with a good emotional core, which is the most basic of standards, but let's be real, this is comics, I'll take competent any day. And when his Batman run started, I had caught up on Snyder-King-Tynion Batman and was excited to follow a run in real time.

I'd say I stopped having a good time when Bruce got sent to the alternate universe. Penguin faking his death was fun. Bruce being pursued by a dramatic robot version of himself was fun. Bruce again fretting about protecting the family was… par for the course. Calling back to Zur-En-Arrh didn't bug me because I hadn't read that full storyline yet, so it felt like a gateway to digging back into lore. Bruce surviving a fall through the Earth's atmosphere was too fucking ridiculous but the kind I can look past. (Imagine you're a DC writer. You have the idea: lol what if Batman got out of this by surviving a fall from the moon. You have opened that door in your mind. Do you have the will close it or would you be like FUCK IT LET'S DO IT?)

The Red Mask universe, however, dragged any momentum at that point to a stop, and I honestly don't care enough to dig deep into all the reasons why, which I guess gets at the core of what was wrong with the Red Mask universe. (Skeleton Jim Gordon was the most interesting thing but he was just a temporary side effect or something? Whatever.)

But, of course, since I'm a Joker fan, Darwin Halliday was a major sticking point as the most boring Joker to never joke. Nearly everything Zdarsky did with Joker was a major sticking point.

It still drives me crazy that from Snyder to the Zdarsky run, we had a Joker who tried to force Bruce both away from the batfam and Selina and back to basics multiple times, so their battle could be one-on-one again. We had a Joker who, after Bruce left him to die, was notably depressed and suicidal at the end of Joker 2021. He is still that way at the start of The Man Who Stopped Laughing.

And you could follow from that with the basic beats of what Zdarsky did. You could say Joker is disillusioned with his relationship with Batman, and that's why he turns to Zur-En-Arrh, a real Batman. But no, everything has to be too fucking complicated. We have do yet another retcon of so much other stuff and say that Joker always was looking for Zur. And we have to a weird take on Three Jokers because people were really biting at the bit to get a real answer within canon like a decade after Johns wrote that nonsense?? I don't know, I don't do marketing research, but I'm pretty sure if they just quietly never addressed it, it would be fine.

And the freaking Captio stuff. Ugh. UGH. I really just. I feel like this is a product of overthinking. "Well, Batman is so thoroughly trained, it only makes sense that Joker had at least some of the same training to beat him." No. Fuck that. We don't need that. Joker rivals Batman out of sheer audacity. I like that it doesn't really make sense that a clown pushes him to the limit. I like the juxtaposition of Bruce having to do so much training and learning to survive, but Joker is a cockroach revived by the narrative. I like Joker being a plague and a mystery that Batman cannot resolve. I like Joker being essentially absurd. No, it doesn't make sense, but he's here to stab you out of love and you better know how to dodge.

So much of Batman comics now are not about telling a fun Batman story. They're stories about Batman stories, just circling back and cannibalizing each other into a total fucking mess, and putting the city on the brink of destruction so much that those stakes no longer have meaning. There has to be a writer out there who wants to get back to just telling a smaller action/detective story that makes the reader give a shit about what's happening instead of feeling like maybe they're just not getting it, like they missed homework.

And I say that as someone who started reading Morrison's full run when Zdarsky's started so I could have the Zur background. I had to pause when Morrison's writing got to be too much (for the bad reasons!). I intended to jump back in again, but then Zdarsky's run nosedived and the effort no longer seemed worth it.

Especially when everything paused for Gotham War. Jesus Christ. The only good thing to come out of that was Rosenberg's second Red Hood issue. But speaking of Gotham War, I do wonder if there'll be an article years from now that will reveal Zdarsky had to deal with too much editorial fiat. He had to interrupt his Zur story not only with the badly executed Catwoman plot and the Knight Terrors, but cram in a Three Jokers explanation.

And speaking of Rosenberg, I can't end without mentioning that because he started TMWSL around the same time Zdarsky started on Batman, and they both had their protagonists dealing with other versions of themselves, man, there was such potential for a crossover event. Me and my pals had lots of fun theories about how these series would converge, because the idea that they wouldn't seemed ridiculous. There were two Jokers in TMWSL, and at the same time in Batman #131, Halliday seemed to have created three of them. I didn't like Halliday, but still, what did that mean? It would be ridiculous for those developments to be unrelated, right? RIGHT?

Joke's on us, as usual. 🤪

[mythicamagic]

Two Black Sheep Entwined (Scar x Frover fic) Chapter One

Summary: “I'm here to offer you a deal. Everyone in Jinzhou is running around like frightened lambs, fretting for their lives because the big bad Fracsidus member is free from jail and on the prowl, right? Well the solution is simple. I'll sit nice and pretty, unable to commit crimes or mischief- but I'll only behave if you're under the same roof, Rover.”

“What?” She croaked, staring. Surely she'd misheard. Rover cleared her throat and tried again. “You want to…live with me?”

Aka: forced cohabitation with Scar x Female Rover

------

Rating: E (eventually)

Read on Ao3

------

The news came in the form of her beacon blaring at her, flashing an angry red. Rover paused in her hike in the Desorock Highlands, wiping salty sweat from her brow and unhooking her beacon from her belt with a frown. The alarm died down, but only a brief moment of silence punctuated the air before a sharp pinging noise echoed off the cliffs. Accepting the incoming call from Yangyang, Rover faced her projection as it was cast upon the rock face. 

“What’s wrong? Was that a distress signal?” she asked, catching her breath from the climb.

“I’m afraid so,” Yangyang’s flickering image clasped her hands worriedly. “I don’t know how else to say this but…not too long ago- Scar escaped from Jinzhou prison.”

Rover felt her stomach drop. A strange rush climbed up her spine in tandem with her heart thundering; sending pulsing waves through her body. Something inside her clenched. She suddenly felt exposed. Too out of breath, feverish. Too high on the mountainside like a lost lamb that had strayed too far from its shepherd. She could be seen from leagues away if someone had the right equipment. 

He could find her easily. 

Muffled words caught her distracted attention, and she fought to refocus on Yangyang’s worried gaze. 

“Sorry- what was that?” 

“I was just suggesting you hurry back to Jinzhou. The magistrate seems to be too busy with the commotion to summon you herself, but I feel she’d agree. You’re better protected here until we either catch that madman or frighten him off from the area.”

Rover took a breath, a frown marring her brow. “Logically speaking…even Scar wouldn’t be desperate or stupid enough to try anything with me right now. He just escaped. He’ll probably want to hide and flee, as a first priority.”

Concerned blue eyes wavered. “Still…” Yangyang squeezed her hands tighter in the projection, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. 

Knowing nothing would stop her from fretting, Rover gave a smile. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious though. I’ll head back. Besides, Chixia will get angry with me if I make you worry unnecessarily.”

Her friend visibly brightened. Her shoulders dropped in relief. “Y-yes!” she forced a light laugh. “And she won’t treat you to any free meals at Panhua’s either!”

Rover gave a soft noise that could pass for a chuckle, “the horror.”

 Waving at the projection with what she hoped was a reassuring smile, she waited until the transmission ended and the projection vanished completely. She then sighed, sinking back against the mountain face. She took a moment to just breathe, resting a hand over her chest and feeling the responding ‘thump, thump, thump’ of her thundering heart. Even her legs were shaking, from the strenuous climb or the news, she couldn’t say.

She wasn’t afraid of Scar. Many people thought she was, and inadvertently encouraged her to be. Maybe it would've been smarter to give in to their suggestions and let fear take over. Scar was dangerous. He had a reputation for a reason, and he'd been a force to be reckoned with as an opponent. 

No, what frightened her more than anything was the alternate reason her body was filled with adrenaline, high on the thrill. The prospect of just seeing him again. He wasn’t an ordinary person to navigate around, and their encounters often left her with more questions than answers. Even when she’d visited him in Jinzhou’s underground prison and he’d been powerless to harm her- that thrill, that anticipation had been there, strung tight in her lower stomach.

No force on earth would make her ever examine that reaction too closely though. She had expectations to fulfil, a duty to uphold; protect the people at all costs. She had no reason to entertain any thoughts about him, and wouldn’t join his ridiculous cause. 

Rover fixed her gaze on the distant spec of white in the distance; Jinzhou city laying quiet and peaceful.

She wouldn’t be swayed. Even by the likes of a confusing, conniving Black Sheep.

It only took a little while to reach a resonance beacon that teleported her back to the main city, but from the moment Yangyang and Chixia saw her they sprang into Protect Rover Mode. She’d been practically frogmarched back to Yangyang’s residence; a quaint little apartment opposite Shifang Pharmacy. Baizhi had soon joined them, sighing and rolling her eyes at their dramatics. Chixia sat next to the window the entire time they chatted, looking outside with the trained eye of a sniper rather than a goofy patroller. 

Nothing of note happened though. No news came through about Scar’s capture, but neither were there any sightings. It was like he’d just vanished into thin air. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for the night?” Yangyang asked again for the umpteenth time as they all lingered outside City Hall together. 

Chixia nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, or you can even crash in my bunk? Or better yet, take one of us with you back to your apartment! We don’t want you to feel scared or alone while that creep is roaming arou- ow!”

Baizhi straightened after elbowing her friend, resting a calm gaze on Rover. “Just tell us honestly and put the matter to rest; will you be alright by yourself tonight?”

She couldn’t help but grin at her friends. “In City Hall? The place with the highest security in all of Jinzhou? Yes,” she giggled softly. “Yes I’ll be just fine. Besides, if it comes down to it, I’ve fought Scar a few times in the past. I like my chances,” she lifted a shoulder, backing away with a short wave. “Please stop worrying, everyone. I’ll sleep like a rock, I promise.”

“Message us once you’re home! A-and again before you go to bed! Just in case!” Yangyang called, voice growing fainter as Rover jogged away, smiling a carefree smile. 

The moment she stood inside City Hall however, Rover let the painful upturn of her mouth drop. She sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly. Her friends were wonderful, but honestly their worry had burned through her energy quickly. Tension could only be sustained so long before fatigue set in, and Rover felt herself crashing. 

Swiping the wall, she stepped into the offered elevator and took it up to a higher floor.

Bed. I just need my bed.

Guards were the first thing she noticed as she stepped off onto her floor. They flanked the elevator entrance, and gave her a short nod when she passed by. 

"We did a sweep of your apartment miss, under the Magistrates orders. Nothing of note was found," the shorter one spoke up. 

I suppose security will be even tighter the next few days. 

She thanked them and continued on, confidence bolstered. Fishing out her apartment key card, Rover stopped at her door, looking back at the distant figure of the guards down the pure, cream coloured hallway. She then leaned in and swiped her card, letting the door scan her eye for identification. 

“Identification failed. Please present an alternate method of sign-in” the door’s security screen uttered stiffly. 

Rover frowned. That had never happened before. Usually she’d be let in so easily. Maybe the security features had been updated because of Scar’s breakout. 

Remembering what Sanhua had said about alternate security measures, Rover presented her hair, swiping her longer strands over one shoulder and pressing the stands to the screen, allowing them to be scanned. The door clicked open. 

Stepping inside her familiar, and fairly bare-bones in décor apartment, she immediately sensed something amiss. The faint sound of water trickling.

If she were smarter, she would’ve instantly turned on her heel and alerted the guards in the hallway. She would’ve called someone, anyone to investigate. 

But she wasn’t afraid, and therein lay the problem. Rover shifted her weight carefully, moving to press her back against the wall of her little hallway. Gradually slinking furthering into her apartment, she bypassed the living room, giving it a courtesy glance and finding nothing amiss. As she moved with all the grace of a jungle cat, her fingers wrapped around the hilt of her sword, sliding it gently free from its scabbard. 

Her bathroom door was ajar. Steam curled out of it lazily. Rover’s eyes flashed. 

You’ve got some nerve. 

Undaunted, she pressed her fingers to the polished wood and pushed. Steam enveloped her immediately, a figure immediately appearing in her line of sight. He seemed to have purposefully neglected to use the shower curtain. 

Scar’s hair was a splash of white and red strands in the haze, his lithe yet muscular build sharpening into focus the closer she moved. His back was turned to her, because of course it was. Out of arrogance or confidence she wouldn't play dirty perhaps. Broad shoulders shifted as he raised his arms, sweeping sharp nails through wet hair as he dipped his face back into the shower's gentle spray. She couldn’t help but notice how water droplets ran down the pale column of his neck, dipping down between his shoulder blades to rest at the base of his spine. 

His ass was surprisingly cute, perky even. Rover scowled harder. She did not need to know that. 

Looking past the well-toned muscle of her enemy however, the more obvious details of his body painted a picture of his life; that of painful, seemingly endless scars criss-crossing over one another in places, licking broad burns across his flesh. Old and new- the faded ones covered by fresher, angrier bruising pepping his ribs and flank.

Rover rested the cool metal of her blade against his neck from behind, shower water hitting it softly.

Scar shifted, his usual spiked hair slick and hugging his face. Mismatched eyes found her instantly. He brightened, grinning at her as though seeing each other in her apartment was the most natural thing in the world.

“Ah, welcome home!~”

He then fully turned to face her, delighted grin melting into a smile of pure satisfaction as her eyes widened in horror, flicking downwards just once- before mentally kicking herself and refocusing firmly on his laughing eyes. 

“I must say, thoughts of you certainly kept me company during the past few weeks of confinement- but nothing compares to the real thing standing before you in the flesh, now does it?” he purred. Letting out a faint sigh that was almost lost in the fall of humid spray, Scar leaned affectionately into the side of her blade. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, my dear Rover.”

-----

[moonstruckme]

In a Week - send a character + au and I'll write a blurb for it (like vampire!Eddie, bodyguard!Sirius, etc.)

Pirate!Steddie🤭 (or just eddie, your choice)

-🔮

Thanks for requesting gorgeous!

join the party

pirate!Eddie Munson x fem!reader ♡ 897 words

You keep your eyes steadfastly on the horizon, scanning for any sign of land. The water gleams blue-black in the moonlight, and you’re not sure if you could make out a landmass even if there was one, but you don’t have anything better to do. 

“You gonna stay there the whole time?” The boy drawls from his hammock. It’s the same one who’d helped you onto the ship earlier with long-fingered, calloused hands. “You sea sick or something?” 

“No,” you huff. “Just thinking of making a swim for it.” 

The pirate snorts. “How far are you thinking you can swim, sweetheart? The closest land is the island we picked you up on.” You turn to him, and you must look as ferocious as you feel, because he raises his hands in a lazy don’t-shoot gesture. “Hey, you’re welcome to go back if that’s what you want. Since apparently being rescued doesn’t suit you.” 

“But rescued by whom?” you spit. “Being stuck with pirates doesn't seem like a very good alternative to being stranded.” 

His mouth curls up on the right side. “You make us sound so nefarious, gorgeous. We’re trying to make ends meet, just like everyone else.” 

“Everyone else seems capable of staying within the law.” 

“But whose law?” You make no answer, and after a minute, he climbs out of his hammock. You stiffen as he comes towards you but don’t allow yourself to move away, even when he leans against the edge of the ship, barely a foot from you. “I think we got off on the wrong foot,” he says, and the gentleness of his tone surprises you. “What’s your name?” 

You narrow your eyes. Isn’t that sort of thing valuable information to a pirate? What if they think to hold you for ransom?

If he’s put out by your silence, he doesn’t show it. “Fair enough. Mine’s Eddie.” 

He sticks out a hand, and you shake it warily, eyeing the knife at his belt all the while. 

“Listen,” he goes on, undeterred by your hostility. “I know you probably have lots of ideas about pirates, and how we’re all wild, evil brutes, but no one here is going to hurt you.” He looks you in the eye, raising his eyebrows imploringly. “I promise, okay? We’re hoping to make land by the end of the week, and then you can run if you want, or I can help you figure out how to get wherever you wanna go. Sound good?” 

You look at him, the contrast between the warm brown of his eyes and the cold steel of his knife confusing you. You don’t know if you can trust him, but you suppose you don’t have much choice. 

“Okay,” you say finally. “Why would you do that, though? Why even bother taking me with you?” 

Eddie shrugs, relaxing a bit now that you no longer look like you’re going to take a dive over the edge of the ship. “Why not? We’ve got enough food to feed an extra mouth, and we’re still making money whether we help people out or not.” 

Making money…”Through robbery, you mean.” 

Eddie doesn’t bristle like you expect him to. “Depends on who you ask. If one group of people takes money from another and we intercept it somewhere in the middle, is it any more stolen than it already was?” 

You go quiet again, and Eddie gives you a soft sort of smile. “I’m not trying to lecture you, sweetheart, I just want you to understand that we’re not bad guys. At least,” he allows, “we don’t see ourselves that way. You’re safe here.” 

“Alright,” you say quietly, finding yourself closer and closer to believing him. “Thank you.” 

Eddie’s grin looks almost goofy. “No thanks necessary,” he assures you. “Think you might be able to sleep now, though? I find being stuck on a ship with the same people every day does not mix well with sleep deprivation. Don’t need you getting snappy with the Captain tomorrow.” 

You gnaw on your lip, looking warily around the ship for a safe corner to curl up in. You don’t want to go below deck with the rest of the men, but you don’t like the idea of one of them stumbling upon you up here in the morning either. 

Eddie seems to wisen to your dilemma, nodding pensively. “You can have my hammock, if you want. I’ve got an extra few blankets, I could make myself a bed right next to it so nobody bothers you.” 

You look at him hopefully, too exhausted and on edge to feel guilty. “Really?”

He chuckles, nudging you in the direction of the hammock. “Sure, sweetheart. We’ll figure out something better in the morning.” 

You climb into the hammock, shifting around awkwardly until you find a comfortable position. You watch over the edge as Eddie folds the blankets he’s stored nearby, making a little sleeping pad for himself. You try to imagine this boy holding his knife to a sailor’s throat, laughing at bloodshed, burning villages to the ground. He looks up at you as he gets settled, flashing you a smile and a dorky thumbs-up. You can’t picture it. 

“Goodnight,” you say quietly, letting your body relax into its fabric cradle. 

“Sleep tight,” Eddie sing-songs, and with that last reassurance, you let the shushing of the waves lull you to sleep.

[catierambles]

Alternate Instincts Ch.8

Pairing: The Rogue’s Gallery (Geralt, Syverson, Mike, August Walker, Walter Marshall) x Stephanie Daniels (OFC)

WC 1147

Warning: Smutty smutty smut smut smut

It was Who Knows o’clock when she woke up, disentangling herself from Walter who only tried to pull her closer again.

“I gotta go to the bathroom.” She said and he grumbled but released her, letting her get out of bed. Leaving the bedroom, she walked down the hall to the bathroom. After doing her business and washing her hands, she left and nearly jumped out of her skin as August was standing in the hallway as if waiting for her. “You have got to stop doing that.”

“Geralt told me the Council said you're staying put.” He said and she nodded.

“You'll have to deal with me until Jordan is taken care of.” She said, “I'll stay out of your way, you won't even notice I'm here.”

“I doubt that.” He said and she stared at him a moment before sighing, going to move around him in the hall, but stopped.

“August, I get that me being your Mate isn't your ideal, but don't be a dick about it. You think I chose this? You think I did this on purpose? I had about as much control over it as you did, less so, even. I'll tell you what I told the others: I'm not holding you to the whole Mate thing. You can do whatever you want to whoever you want. None of my business or concern. You don't like that I'm your Mate? Okay, fine. When this is all over, you never have to see me again. In the meantime, stop being a raging asshole to me over something I had no control over. Fuckhead.” He didn't say anything the entire time she spoke, just stared down at her. “Whatever. Goodnight.” She went to leave but he grabbed her arm, pulling her back. “What?”

“I don't want anyone else.”

“Well you sure as shit don't want me.” Stephanie said, pulling her arm out of his grasp, “So I guess be okay with being alone.”

“I never said that.”

“You didn't have to.”

“Do you want me?”

“What?” She asked and he backed her against the wall quickly, making her gasp.

“Do. You. Want. Me.” He asked, looking down at her.

“August, I--”

“Answer the question, Stephanie.” He said and she stared up at him for a moment.

“Yes.” She said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. Holding the back of her neck, he kissed her, hard, pushing his tongue into her mouth and pulling her closer. Sliding his hand under shirt, he palmed her breast, his thumb moving over the peak and making her whimper into his mouth.

“Are you taking birth control?” He asked when he pulled away.

“Something like that.” She said and he gave her a questioning look, “I'll explain later, but the short answer is I can't have kids.”

“Okay.” He said and picked her up, her legs wrapping around his waist and he carried her into his room. August nearly threw her down on the bed, pulling his shirt over his head and throwing it aside before he laid over her, taking her mouth again in a dominating kiss. Her hands held his cheeks, nails moving through the heavy stubble covering his jaw and they broke apart only long enough for him to pull her shirt over her head, throwing it aside as well before his mouth went to her chest, taking the tip of one breast between his lips, a shiver racing down his spine as her fingers moved through his hair. “So sweet.” He whispered before he kissed her again, barely noticing as her hand wrapped around his bicep, her leg sliding over his thigh. With a push, he was on his back and she sat up on his hips and his hands went to her thighs as she leaned over him, kissing him and running her fingers through his hair.

Sliding his hands to her back, he pushed them over her skin, easing her shorts down and taking handfuls of her ass, squeezing and making her whimper again.

“Fucking love that sound.” He said and she giggled, her head darting under his jaw to run her tongue along his neck. August hissed as she bit down, his eyes rolling back as she sucked on his skin, marking him as hers. Rolling, she was under him again and he pulled her shorts down and off along with her small clothes, standing from the bed to look down at her nude on his blankets, the sight making his lips part. Pushing his sleep pants down, he kicked them away, taking himself in his hand and stroking slowly at the way her eyes moved over him. Wrapping his hands around her waist, he flipped her onto her stomach easily, grabbing one of his pillows and putting it under her hips.

His palms moving over her thighs and back made her gasp, and she pushed back against him as he eased two fingers into her, pumping them slowly, moving them inside her.

“Fuck, August, yes.” Stephanie whispered and his tongue took the place of his fingers as he buried his mouth in her, lapping at her slowly.

“So fucking sweet.” He said, sealing his lips around her clit and sucking, a short sound leaving her lips. Her arousal coated his tongue, the taste of her need for him filling his mouth and he stood, leaning over her, bracing himself with a hand pressed next to her shoulder. Aligning them briefly, he pushed into her slowly, a groan shaking his chest as he was enveloped in tight, wet heat. His knees kept hers together as he started to move, rocking into her, every sound she made with every push of his hips driving him further and faster.

Her fingers curled in his blankets in a white knuckle grip and he grabbed her chin with one hand, turning her face to him and kissing her, pressing his forehead to her temple, watching as her eyes rolled back behind her lids.

“Do I feel good, Mate?” He asked and she nodded. “Say it.”

“You feel good.”

“Be specific. What feels good?”

“Your cock feels so good.”

“That's my good girl.” He held her hip, his snapping her into ass, “That's my good fucking girl. My perfect Mate. Fuck you feel so good. Like this pussy was made for me.” She started rocking back against him, chasing her release and he pressed a hand between her shoulders, keeping her against the blankets as he drove them higher and higher. She came suddenly with a cry, pushing back flush against him, taking him fully as she pulsed around him. His hips slowed, easing her through her orgasm before they stopped buried deep inside her.

“You--you didn't--”

“Oh, Stephanie,” August said, leaning over and pressing his lips to her shoulder, “I'm going to show you what it means to be the Mate of a wolf.”

[shiicheol]

silent converstions ~ 2

‣ pairing: jeon wonwoo x oc 

‣ summary: Maxine found comfort in regularly sending messages to the number of her deceased ex, seeing no harm in it—until she received a response from a persistent stranger named Wonwoo. What are the chances of forming a connection with this unexpected stranger? How will their story unfold?

‣ genre: strangers to lovers. angst.

‣ chapters:

one

‣ disclaimer: The ideas and personalities depicted in this Alternate Universe (AU) do not reflect the actual views or characteristics of the artists. Their names are used purely as placeholders. Please remember that these stories are fictional and do not represent reality. Thank you!

NOTE: Text messages are in italics, while non-italicized text represents thoughts and narration

Wonwoo's POV

Texting Stranger

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry for being a bother. I'm sorry because you have to put up with a stranger persistent enough to message a person who is no longer here.

What life do you live that makes it feel like you should apologize for grieving?

Texting Stranger

Please, don't respond anymore. You will never hear from me again. Thank you for your time.

There's so much I want to say but in respect to you, I will hold back.

No messages from you? I said to myself, as I observed the lockscreen of my device.

I'll assume that you're in the process of moving on. I hope you're doing well wherever and whoever you may be. 

However, as if one cue, the name of the Unknown sender had flashed on my screen again.

Texting Stranger

Hi, love. I told myself that I'll stop messaging you but here I am with a bottle of alcohol and a million emotions running through my heart.

I remember you used to commend me for having exceptionally good typing skills despite being drunk. It once used to be a memory I hold dear to my heart but now the thought of it wrecks me in unimaginable ways.

I was fine. I've been fine. Or maybe I thought I was.

How can I ever be fine, right? How is it possible for me to move on? You've managed to move on but why can't I do the same?

Fuck.

I'm rambling again, aren't I? I remember every time I would be in talkative mode, you would interrupt me and it would lead to an argument. Believe it or not, I miss it so much.

Please, love, stop me from rambling again. I promise I won't get mad at you. Just, please.

I don't know you personally but why do I feel your pain? 

Texting Stranger

Can I call? Please?

Her message had been surprising, yet my response was beyond me. The next thing I knew, I was waiting for the call, not hesitating to click the answer button, as if the panic i had felt previously had been abandoned.

As soon as I picked up the phone, a sense of regret flashed through me as I was met with mere silence at the end of the line.

I thought that maybe she had fallen asleep.

Seconds passed. 

Minutes passed.

Nothing.

I released a breath of relief I didn't know I was holding upon realizing the possibility of her being in a drunken state.

"Hmmm," I heard a soft groan from my device just as I was about to click the end button.

I looked at it with wide eyes, waiting for her to speak again.

"Love... I miss you, love," the voice slurred out.

"P-please, come back," said the soft voice again.

I couldn't seem to do anything but listen.

That was until I heard a whimper.

"Shhhhh," I tried soothing her.

What could I do, right? What can I say?

For a time, it became a cycle. She would repeat words such as "Love." "I miss you." "Please, come back." Then I would try to calm her down.

Until she asked a question that caught me off guard.

"C-can you please sing me a song like before?" She said with a voice that showed zero signs of sobriety.

Me? Sing? That was something kept private between me and the confines of my own space.

"Please."

But declining would be too selfish when I know the state she was already in.

I sigh.

With no second thought, I started humming a lullaby.

"I can't hear you." she slurred.

With another sigh, I made my voice louder but not too much for it to disturb next-door neighbors.

Just when I was about to finish singing the 3rd song, I heard silent snores from the other end of the line.

I released another breath of relief I realize I was holding.

I looked at the clock and it read, 4:30 am.

We've been on call for 2 hours.

I considered ending the call but it didn't feel right. I thought of staying the entire time but it didn't feel right either.

So after much contemplation, I decided to wait 20 minutes before hanging up.

That way, I'll know that she's in the middle of her deep sleep.

As I waited for time to pass by, I wondered why I was doing this in the first place.

I'm not one to do favors for others.

I'm not one to do phone calls late at night.

I'm not one to sing a song.

I'm not one to empathize.

But why?

I would say out of pity but is it really?

If it was simply out of pity, I would feel nothing but sorry for her.

So, why?

Why do I care so much?

Why do I feel the need to be there for her?

Why do I want her to feel happy?

Why does it hurt when I hear her cry even though I don't know who she is?

Why?

Why do I see myself in her?