#Insert horn-y joke here

[jeeaark]

I make silly reason for team split up So I don't have to draw so many people at the battle

Shadowheart gets an honorary mounted combat feat with Armored Owlbear

Karlach gets a horn-orary mounted combat feat with Strange Ox

Astarion. Has a blast with Ulma

I couldn't think of a silly for the Jaheira and Halsin though. Probably the most professional in these kinds of situations, doing leaderly things with the harpers. Somebody has to be the serious ones around here!

But then there's last-minute-silly-scribble Minsc. I like to think he's helping Nine-Fingers out in the sewers. Putting the fear of Minsc in the hearts of nearby mindflayers. For various reasons.

[inky-splotch]

Being cringe on main by drawing my various undertale ocs bless I’m cringe but I’m free 🫡🫡🫡

[stuff abt the characters below lol]

Ok cuz I can’t stand not explaining these characters I’m gonna do it under the cut heehee ok so

Stressed dude in the corner is Overseer, he’s got a room in the void and from his room he stabilizes aus and makes sure they’re not going to shit or anything lmao.

Then Jezter is supposed to be like if Lust got the fresh parasite or whatever he’s my silly guy my weirdo animal.

Then Mercy is technically all the girls with the purple color in their hair, Mercy abt to enforce peace is her current design and the other 3 are her past designs, the cyan gloves was the first one I made and is the protag of my self insert sans fanfic I wrote when I was like 10 💔 then the one with the little horns above her head was her 2nd design then the one who looks normal was her 3rd design and they allllll technically co-exist together I guess cause Overseer actually made Mercy (in the story in my head) but he’s not supposed to do that and the first 3 times were how the first 3 Mercies were made and current Mercy was the best one out of all the ones he made.

They all have plot armor special self insert y/n powers and it’s actually a curse 🥰🥰🥰 liek Mercy 1 can will things into existence like a god and can’t die no matter if she says she does, Mercy 2 and 4 are both inflicted with the same demon (technically Mercy 4 IS the demon but like whatever I do what I want) and Mercy 3 is like average girl main character core(tm).

Then Estelle and Milky are gay (Milky was a joke sans fangirl I made back in da day here’s her old design)

Ain’t she pretty 😍😍 LMFAO and Estelle is her gf they’re gay skeletons bless.

[absolutepokemontrash]

MC is Half-Demon and They Look Awfully Familiar Part 2!

Part 1 Lessons 1-5 Lessons 5-6 Group Retreat Lessons 10-12 Lessons 13-15 Part 3 Part 4

Okay, They’re Your Cousins but You’re Not Sure How They’re Related to You...

(Barbatos, Simeon, Solomon, and Luke)

(It’s mostly Luke)

Barbs likes smol Lucifer. Smol Lucifer likes Barbs. They bake together with Luke. MC nearly set the kitchen on fire. MC needed to learn to cook.

MC is forever delegated to mixing duty because they refuse to admit that they don’t know how to work the oven.

Simeon is the one telling MC embarrassing stories about Lucifer and the rest of the Student Council from when they were all angels. Lucifer never hated Simeon more than when he found out that Simeon told MC about how hard Lucifer cried when he got to hold baby Mammon for the first time. MC was sworn to secrecy.

Well... sworn to secrecy, but if Uncle Mammon just happened to find out through a series of coincidences it wouldn’t be MC’s fault, right?

Simeon also tried to help teach MC to fly... but he kept distracting them with stories about Lucifer and Michael learning to fly.

“So my father was even WORSE than he told me he was?!”

“Yes, he actually challenged Michael and Raphael to a race at one point. Lucifer ended up slamming directly into a wall because he didn’t know how to stop.”

“SIMEON!”

Solomon was absolutely fascinated with MC. How did their half demon half human nature affect their reaction to certain spells and potions? Do half demons have more or less magical strength than normal demons? Can half demons make pacts with humans? Wait- Lucifer why are you taking MC away they were talking- Lucifer!

Immortal troll needs to troll. MC is the unwitting victim of many of Solomon’s shenanigans.

“Why must I speak in rhymes?! This is the end of times!”

“MC, just stop talking.”

“Father, I don’t mean to be a bother but-”

“So the rhyming spell works the same on half demons... interesting...”

“Solomon...”

“I’m leaving, Lucifer. I’m leaving!”

Aw! Two kids in the Devildom! They were fast friends. Sure, Luke was a little annoying and MC was a bit of a dick, but their mutual smallness and desire to impress their parental figures brought them together.

“Michael’s just so cool and amazing! The way he flies, the way he commands everyone... I want to be just like him someday!”

“Is that why you’re making a cake?”

“Michael has a sweet tooth, and I want to impress him.”

“I wonder if Lucifer likes sweets...”

“Why would you want to give HIM sweets?”

MC just gave Luke a toothy grin and started making the dough for the cake.

Remember back in Lucifer’s section where I said MC would keep their lineage a secret to freak people out? Yeah... they kept it from Luke. At first it was a joke! They were going to tell him! They just uh... it got really awkward. They planned on revealing it to Luke right after they learned how to properly fly so they could swoop in, pick their angel buddy up and zip the two of them to school. It’d freak Luke out at first, but it was meant to be funny! MC would have even sung the song from Aladdin! It um... didn’t turn out that way.

“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” MC growled at the lesser demons that were crowding Luke.

“O-oh... uh... nuh-nothing...” a few of the demons backed off, mumbling a few harried apologies to MC as they scurried away. The remaining demons seemed a tad more... hmm... they say there’s a fine line between bravery and stupidity.

“M-MC! You can’t fight demons! I’m an angel I-I c-can...” Luke sniffled, but tried his best to step in front of MC.

“Oh please, the little half-breed and the lowest ranked angel are going to put up a fight?” One of the demons jeered, a few of the remaining demons joined in.

MC’s eyes narrowed, their glare as cold as the worst winter storm. “I’m going to tell you once, and once only,”

Their wings sprouted from their back, horns now fully grown and on display, teeth sharper and glistening in the light. Hm, it seemed half demons could make their eyes glow too, how delightful.

MC gave the other demons a sweet smile, it would have been comforting if it weren’t for the amount of teeth they were showing off. They lazily placed their hand on Luke’s head and lightly moved him out of the way.

“Leave, or I will make you regret ever crossing us exchange students.” MC’s carefree smile couldn’t mask the malice that coated every single word that left their lips. “Run along now, you’re not needed here.”

The demon that had started the taunts stiffened, he looked from MC, to Luke, to the other demons, before scoffing and shaking his head. “Whatever, the two of them aren’t worth it anyway...”

When the offending demons weren’t leaving fast enough for MC’s liking, they snapped their fingers and shot a fireball right behind the fleeing demons’ feet. They cleared out pretty quickly after that.

“Luke?” MC turned to look at their friend. “Are you...”

Luke was backing away. That look in his eyes, he was... scared. Scared of MC...

“Y-you’re a d-demon?” He whimpered, taking another step back.

“Half demon, actually.” MC let their demonic elements disappear. “I meant to tell you, I really did! It just was never the right time-”

“You lied to me! You said you were human! But you’re a demon like the rest of them!” Luke shouted, he wiped at his eye with his sleeve and sniffled. “I tried to help you, but you just..! I thought you were my friend!”

“Luke- hang on!” MC took a few steps forward, but Luke was already running away. MC felt something twist in their gut, something awful. That ball of innate pride twisted and practically screamed, filling MC’s head.

“He’s not worth it!”

“You’re above him anyway...”

“If he can’t understand how perfect you are, he doesn’t deserve your kindness.”

“Don’t grovel for his forgiveness. He’s beneath you.”

“Your help was rejected. Let him hate you. You’re the child of one of the most powerful demons in the Devildom, who is he to make you upset?”

The thoughts filled MC’s head as they desperately tried to shut them up. They were their father’s child, their pride wouldn’t be easily combated.

“Just be quiet!” MC clawed at their head.

“You’re better than this. You’re better than this. You’re better than this-”

“Luke!” MC called out again. “I’m sorry!”

It truly was a shame that their friend didn’t understand how much an apology from MC really meant.

They guessed Luke was right, wasn’t he? Demons were nasty awful liars. MC was no different...

That hurt.

Lucifer noticed his kid was moping around, not even Detective Toe Beans could cheer them up. Mammon even came home covered in mud from a failed money-making scheme and it didn’t even make MC crack a smile! He needed to get to the bottom of this.

Upon hearing the reason for his child’s woes, he was fully ready to break down the door of Purgatory Hall and throttle the little chihuahua, but Lucifer came to his senses and realized that MC probably didn’t want that.

He teamed up with Simeon and Solomon the things he did for MC... And managed to get both Luke and MC to the Demon Lord’s Castle to hang out with Barbatos.

It didn’t take a genius to realize that Luke missed his friend too. Sure they called him a chihuahua sometimes, but they were still the bestest friend he had made during his time in the exchange program... maybe ever...

Maybe... just maybe... he overreacted. MC did protect him after all, and they never tried to hurt him...

Barbatos was fully ready to fulfill his role as Luke’s second dad and help his angel-son make up with his friend.

It may have been awkward at first, but the two had to join forces to stop Solomon from getting within a hundred metres of the kitchen. Nothing brings two people back together more than fear for your tastebuds.

Mission success. Lucifer could relax knowing that his kid and the chihuahua were back to being friends. Maybe MC could convince Luke to quiet his infernal yapping... Lucifer was trying to work here!

For some extra fluff, after many days of asking and asking, Lucifer and Simeon agree to take Luke and MC up to the human world for Halloween. They got to go trick or treating, and everyone complimented MC and Luke on their ‘costumes’.

*insert sitcom laugh track here*

Sure, it may have been a little immoral for MC to use their powers to manipulate the humans into giving Luke and MC more candy but... candy...

Oh shit would you look at the time- they had to get back to the Devildom for Diavolo’s birthday party- MC STOP WITH THE CHOCOLATE! THE SIGN SAYS TAKE ONE! DON’T BE LIKE MAMMON.

The exchange year had been a success. Well... sort of. MC wasn’t exactly the average Joe human the Student Council expected, which is why after a lengthy break where MC went back to the human world to visit their other parent and human friends, the seven rulers of Hell (+MC) were sitting and waiting for the new exchange students to arrive.

Unlike the previous year, the entire student council was present. That included Levi who they had to physically drag there, Belphie who was carried there and had to be placed in his seat because he was completely passed out, and finally Mammon, he just had to be threatened.

“Father,” MC pouted from their seat next to Lucifer. “Why isn’t my chair as big as yours?”

Lucifer sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Because you’re much shorter than me. You can have a bigger chair when you grow a few more inches.”

“Mmm...” MC murmured, crossing their arms. “Are the students going to get here, or what?”

“Can you be patient?” Lucifer asked. “They’ll be here any moment now. I can trust that you’ll behave, right?”

MC looked scandalized, placing a hand over their heart and gasping. “Father! Of course! I’ll be the most polite person these humans have ever met!”

Not so deep down, Lucifer severely doubted that.

“Come now, Lucifer and MC!” Diavolo said from his elevated seat. “It’s almost eight am!”

Right on schedule the portal opened, two sets of screams followed.

“The next big priority should be making the trip more comfortable.” MC huffed. “It’s demeaning getting dropped straight down like that and just slamming into the floor.”

“Hm.” Lucifer rolled his eyes. “Perhaps instead we can just teleport them up to the Celestial Realm, start a war, and have them crash through not one, not two, but all three barriers between the realms with no portal.”

“Father...” MC matched Lucifer’s eye roll. “That has the same energy as ‘when I was your age I walked to school 100 miles through a blizzard!’ The polite thing to do for the exchange students is to not let them hit the floor at 100 mph and possibly give them a concussion.”

And slam straight onto the floor the two other exchange students did. Well, one of them slammed right into the marble, the other had tried in vain to use their wings to slow their decent or fly back up.

Wait...

WINGS?!

WAIT THE OTHER HAD HORNS?!

THEY BOTH HAD-

Oh and would you look at that... one looked like... and the other looked like-

Shitballs.

Lucifer had to keep himself from actually shouting in frustration. One normal day... one day of no exchange student issues was all he asked for...

“Out of over ten million candidates out of over eight billion humans...” Lucifer grumbled. “How in my father’s name did this happen again?”

(OOOOOOOOOO SEQUEL BAIT!)

[theartofdreaming1]

Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch are slowly becoming a proper team! No more secrets! (for the most part)

As usual, my thoughts regarding this week’s prompts and (many) random thoughts on chapters 4-6 are below the cut.

heart

Losing that comfort of sleeping in each other’s arms after the Victory Tour must have been hard for Katniss and Peeta! Up until Katniss hurts her ankle, they probably didn’t really do much about it, just trying to make it through on their own... After she hurt her ankle and Peeta’s spending more time over at her place, I can easily imagine him staying over, at least until she’s fallen asleep, which might help a little... Since they are living only three houses apart from each other, I like to imagine that they can see each other’s bedroom windows from their bedroom (how else would Katniss know that Peeta sleeps with the windows open? I can’t really imagine that they would be able to open the windows of the train they were on - y’know, for “safety reasons” (i.e. making sure nobody can escape)); maybe they’d both light a candle and put it by their window, as a signal they are going to sleep... It’s not the same, but it helps a little 

mind

I mean, aside from the systemic rigging of the reaping system (i.e. poorer people generally having more entries, so they can have some food), I can easily imagine there being a manipulation of the “odds” when someone becomes too vocal or troublesome for the local authorities, such as someone trying to unionize a district’s workforce, for example

soul

In the districts, their impact has to be big - their win alone was a huge defiance of the Games as they used to be... sticking together and sticking up for each other ultimately led to them defeating the Capitol’s rules! In-between the Games and the Victory Tour I don’t think there was much noteworthy going on (although maybe the fact that, so far, none of the new victors’ loved ones had been hurt - Prim, Mrs. E., but also Gale and his family would be visible during the celebrations, I’m sure, same probably goes for the Mellark’s - might tell the people in the district that Snow and his cronies were aware of the attention any assassination attempt would gather and that this, in turn, might actually could become the last straw that would spark a revolution. In a way, that was proof that the people on top were at least a little afraid of what the people in the districts would do...) And then, especially during the visit of D11, with Katniss expressing her thanks and Peeta reaching out to share their winnings with the people from D11, another district than their own - it must have provided a lot of inspiration, I’m sure. 

As for the Capitolites, maybe some of them would notice for once how unhappy/riled up the people in some of the districts were... or at least stop to think about how this time, a show of love and companionship actually provided more “entertainment” and intrigue than the brutal gore and bloodshed from previous Games (also, longer lasting - there is actually much more “story” to be had from the star-crossed lovers from D12 than from any individual winner of previous Games, if you think about it... Their “love story” is still on-going, with an upcoming wedding and the promise of a family... it’s still creepy and voyeuristic as hell, though)

Chapter 4

Everything he [Haymitch] said was true about the Capitol’s expectations, my future with Peeta, even his last comment. Of course, I could do a lot worse than Peeta. That isn’t really the point, though, is it? One of the few freedoms we have in District 12 is the right to marry who we want or not marry at all. And now even that has been taken away from me. - God, this sucks so much! As Katniss rightly points out, her misery isn’t about Peeta at all - it’s about her (and also his, just pointing that out) agency being taken away! She’s being stripped even of that little sliver of agency that inhabitants of D12 usually have (choice of whom to marry, or whether to marry at all)

I wonder if President Snow will insist we have children. - Eugh, just the idea of Snow being the one to have the last word on that subject... 🤢 The invasion of privacy here... - The only person who should get to decide whether Katniss should have children or not is Katniss herself! Period!

My mind searches frantically for a way out. I can’t let President Snow condemn me to this. Even if it means taking my own life. Before that, though, I’d try to run away. - Boy, Katniss is even contemplating taking her own life, rather than to submit to the life the Capitol wants to force on her; it’s not her first choice (she’d rather run away), but it shows the desperation she’s feeling

Could I even manage to take everyone I love with me, start a new life deep in the wild? Highly unlikely but not impossible. - Later we will see that Peeta and Haymitch also belong into the category of “people Katniss loves” 😊(as well as her family, Gale, and his fam, of course)

“And Peeta’s team is probably still asleep.” “Doesn’t he need prepping?” I ask. “Not the way you do,” Effie replies. What does this mean? It means I get to spend the morning having the hair ripped off my body while Peeta sleeps in. I hadn’t thought about it much, but in the arena at least some of the boys got to keep their body hair whereas none of the girls did. - Gotta love that everlasting sexism that, even far into the future, still won’t allow women to have frickin’ body hair (y’know, like most humans do 🙄)

I can remember Peeta’s now, as I bathed him by the stream. Very blond in the sunlight, once the mud and blood had been washed away. Only his face remained completely smooth. Not one of the boys grew a beard, and many were old enough to. I wonder what they did to them. - Katniss seems to have committed every single detail about Peeta to her memory, including how his body hair looked when she cleaned him in the last Games... okay 👀😏 On a more somber note, what is it that the Capitol is doing to these poor kids?! The boys couldn’t grow beards and - I’m assuming - the girls wouldn’t get their periods while in the arena (since the Games can last for weeks, it would be a huge disadvantage if any of the girls also had to content with cramps + periods  - aside from worrying about getting murdered, I mean); it’s such a violation of one’s autonomy over one’s own body, yikes

Flavius tilts up my chin and sighs. “It’s a shame Cinna said no alterations on you.” “Yes, we could really make you something special,” says Octavia. “When she’s older,” says Venia almost grimly. “Then he’ll have to let us.” - Eeek, no thanks!😦 And frankly, it really shouldn’t be Cinna’s call to make but, y’know, Katniss’s!!! I don’t know, I get real panick-y just reading this exchange (I have never even gotten my ears pierced - my mom wouldn’t let them be pierced until I could make my own decision on that subject matter and as someone with skin issues and bad experiences with needles, I really don’t feel the need to have any unnecessary metal inserted into my body, so... I’m good)

His [Peeta’s] apology takes me by surprise. It’s true that Peeta froze me out after I confessed that my love for him during the Game was something of an act. But I don’t hold it against him. [...] “I’m sorry, too,” I say. [...] “There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. You were keeping us alive.” - That apology of Peeta’s... *chef’s kiss*; it was totally understandable that Peeta was upset and needed some time apart from Katniss after her confession, which had caught him completely by surprise, not even Katniss blames him for that... But his apology shows that he really made use of their time apart to work out his emotions and to reflect on both their situations - that’s some emotional maturity to be envious of! Plus, his apology is a good move to get their communication channel opened up again

It would be nice if he’d come to me with this earlier, before I knew that President Snow had other plans and just being friends was not an option for us anymore. But either way, I’m glad we’re speaking again. - Come on, Katniss, cut this boy some slack! He can’t read minds - how is he supposed to know about these things if you don’t tell him anything? It’s nice that you’re glad that you guys are on speaking terms again, but communication isn’t a one-way street, y’know?

I remember the tiger lily cookie and, now that Peeta is talking to me again, it’s all I can do not to recount the whole story about President Snow. But I know Haymitch wouldn’t want me to. I’d better stick to small talk. - Katniss really should have listened to her instincts here - Haymitch might have a better idea of how the Games/Capitol works, but he knows little about teamwork, which is an important factor in their specific (and unprecedented!) situation; I’m not blaming Katniss for relying on her mentor here, but this entire approach is going to crash and burn in the next chapter

It’s good to feel his fingers entwined with mine again, not for show but in actual friendship. We walk back to the train hand in hand. - Not to say that you can’t have friendships where you frequently hold hands - you totally can - but it is noteworthy that I don’t think I can recall Katniss holding hands with any of her other friends... (somehow, I can’t really picture Katniss holding hands with Gale casually like that... nor with Madge or Finnick later on) 

At the door, I remember, “I’ve got to apologize to Effie first.” “Don’t be afraid to lay it on thick,” Peeta tells me.- There is something about this exchange that speaks to me... maybe because it reads like some sort of an inside joke between them? Or because it shows that, despite being on good terms with Effie, Peeta’s totally aware of how high-maintenance/over the top Effie is... I dunno ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Peeta has painted the Games. Some you wouldn’t get right away, if you hadn’t been with him in the arena yourself. Water dripping through the cracks in our cave. The dry pond bed. [...] Others any viewer would recognize. The golden horn called the Cornucopia. [...] And me. I am everywhere. [...] “What do you think?” he asks. “I hate them,” I say. I can almost smell the blood, the dirt, the unnatural breath of the mutt. - These are the pieces Peeta meant to exhibit in the Capitol, right? I wonder if he hoped that these paintings of his impressions/memories of the Games might actually connect with some Capitolites and might even move them to feel some empathy for the Tributes? Maybe he hoped that they would be more receptive for that kind of thing if he packaged it in art?

“All I do is go around trying to forget the arena and you’ve brought it back to life. How do you remember these things so exactly?” “I see them every night,” he says. [...] “Me too. Does it help? To paint them out?” “I don’t know. I think I’m a little less afraid of going to sleep at night, or I tell myself I am,” he says. “But they haven’t gone anywhere.” - I do wonder, whether and how painting out these moments could have therapeutic value for Peeta - on the one hand, the act of painting out specific intrusions/flashbacks might be helpful because he’d end up focusing on the more technical side of painting, y’know? Focussing on mixing the right shade of a certain color might help create some emotional distance from the moment itself... also, since painting usually takes some time, Peeta would actually spend a considerable amount of time facing these moments head on, rather than trying to avoid them (avoidance tends to increase the frequency of flashback/intrusions) and maybe spending so much time on them could also help him contextualize them within the broader narrative of his life, which is the basic principle behind Narrative Exposure Therapy, which is said to be pretty effective at treating PTSD... just my two cents

I can’t believe the size of District 11. “How many people do you think live here?” Peeta asks. I shake my head. In school they refer to it as a large district, that’s all. No actual figures on the population. - Perfect example of how tightly the Capitol controls the information the people in the districts have about the other districts... which is basically nothing. Let’s keep them in the dark so they are less likely to connect with each other and band together...

Cinna comes in with a pretty orange frock patterned with autumn leaves. I think how much Peeta will like the color. - Lol, Katniss bringing everything back to Peeta because she definitely hasn’t a crush on the guy, I see 😉

And then he [Peeta] hesitates before adding something that wasn’t written on the card. Maybe because he thought Effie might make him remove it. “It can in no way replace your losses, but as a token of our thanks we’d like for each of the tributes’ families from District Eleven to receive one month of our winnings every year for the duration of our lives.” - Peeta, the rebel! Talk about an act of radical kindness! I’m so proud of him. But also, I think this is another excellent example of how he and Katniss are on the same wavelength (this took me some time to find, but here you go): I silently say good-bye to Thresh and thank him for my life. I promise to remember him and, if I can, do something to help his family and Rue’s, if I win. (Ch. 23, THG)

I look at Peeta and he gives me a sad smile. I hear Haymitch’s voice. “You could do a lot worse.” At this moment, it’s impossible to imagine how I could do any better. The gift... it is perfect. So when I rise up on tiptoe to kiss him, it doesn’t seem forced at all. - Peeta: does anything that exemplifies his sense of morality; Katniss: *swoons* - but honestly, it is so beautiful how Katniss is so attracted to Peeta’s goodness and kind heart - it also tells us a lot about her (she is quite pure, as Peeta will point out later in this book) and what she values

“Wait, please.” I don’t know how to start, but once I do, the words rush from my lips as if they’ve been forming in the back of my mind for a long time. - And then Katniss launches into one of her spontaneous, heart-felt, and inspiring speeches/acts, expressing her thanks, sympathy, and a sense of kinship with people beyond the borders of her district, beyond the superficial barriers the Capitol has been trying to maintain in order to weaken the ‘common folk‘ and keep the exploitation going

The full impact of what I’ve done hits me. It was not intentional - I only meant to express my thanks - but I have elicited something dangerous. An act of dissent from the people of District 11. - Again, Katniss has done something that will solidify her as a symbol of the revolution without intending to do so and that’s the point, I think - she inspires people through her genuine displays of caring for others (which, in Panem, is already rebellious on its own)

Chapter 5

“We’re going!” says Peeta, shoving the Peacekeeper who’s pressing on me. “We get it, all right? Come on, Katniss.” His arm encircles me and guides me back into the Justice Building. - Protective Peeta! Also, I think it’s interesting to note the wording of Peeta’s arms “encircling” Katniss and then “guiding” her - his arms surround her, and he’s leading her away from harm (at least to the extent that is in his power - can’t really be safe from harm in Panem, can you?), but it doesn’t seem smothering or oppressive  to Katniss in any way -”guide” has more of a connotation of giving direction without force, imo; in contrast, when Katniss talked about her kiss with Gale she mentions she’d never imagined how those hands [...] could as easily entrap me. (Ch. 2, CF); granted, these are two very different situations - the phrasing just stood out to me

“What happened?” Effie hurries over. “We lost the feed just after Katniss’s beautiful speech, and then Haymitch said he thought he heard gun fire, and I said it was ridiculous, but who knows? There are lunatics everywhere!” - Very telling how a clueless Capitolite like Effie wouldn’t register the rebellious aspect of Katniss’s speech; by keeping the Capitolites in the depths of sweet, sweet ignorance while simultaneously harshly trying to curb any spark of rebellion by cutting off the feed, the government is actually drawing the attention of the ignorant Capitolites to the act of rebellion itself (and also letting the people in the districts know that there was something censor-worthy going on); kind of shooting themselves in the foot here

As far as I know, Haymitch has only been here once, when he was on his Victory Tour decades ago. But he must have a remarkable memory or reliable instincts, because he leads us up through a maze of twisting staricases and increasingly narrow halls. [...] Eventually we climb a ladder to a trapdoor. When Haymitch pushes it aside, we find ourselves in the dome of the Justice Building. - I wonder how Haymitch has come to know this part of the Justice Building? Has he been to District 11 more often than Katniss supposes (he is friends with Chaff, after all), did his mentor take him there for some private conversation, or was there a moment during Haymitch’s Victory Tour where he felt so overwhelmed by feelings of guilt and powerlessness that he fled to the most desolate, solitary place he could find?

“I was supposed to fix things on this tour. [...] Calm things down. But obviously, all I’ve done today is get three people killed, and now everyone in the square will be punished.” I feel so sick that I have to sit down on a couch, despite the exposed springs and stuffing. - Obviously, all of this is awful and no one - especially a traumatized, 16-year old girl - should have to suffer carrying such a burden... But also, here we see one of the downsides of Katniss taking sole responsibility for everything - she totally forgot that Peeta might feel responsible too, only that he didn’t even know what’s at stake - which leads us to-

“Then I made things worse, too. By giving the money,” says Peeta. Suddenly he strikes out at a lamp that sits precariously on a crate and knocks it across the room, where it shatters against the floor. “This has to stop. Right now. This - this - game you two play, where you tell each other secrets but keep them from me like I’m too inconsequential or stupid or weak to handle them.”"It's not like that, Peeta-" I begin. "It's exactly like that!" he yells at me. - When kind, gentle Peeta’s mad, you know shit has hit the fan 😳 But also, being passed over/kept out of the loop seems to hit pretty close to home for Peeta (while I would like to know what his home life looked like before the Games, I have to admit that at this point, I’m somewhat afraid I might not be able to handle the truth...). I just think this scene is an important moment that leads to an end of (most of) their detrimental secrecy (hello end-of-CF-Haymitch!) and establishes their little team as such (hence the drawing)

“You’re always so reliably good, Peeta,” says Haymitch. “So smart about how you present yourself before the cameras. I didn’t want to disrupt that.” “Well, you overestimated me. Because I really screwed up today.” - Remember the last time someone overestimated Peeta (Foxface and the berries)? That ended in someone’s death as well... And, Haymitch? ‘Never assume’ applies to you, too!

“Do you think I gave them [Rue’s and Thresh’s families] a bright future? Because I think they’ll be lucky if they survive the day!” Peeta sends something else flying, a statue. I’ve never seen him like this. - Considering that his rebellious act of kindness is now threatening to become a sword of Damocles, hanging over those towards which he wanted to extend his kindness - simply because he’s been kept out of the loop (again)- Peeta’s anger is quite understandable

“Look, boy-” Haymitch begins. “Don’t bother, Haymitch. I know you had to choose one of us. And I’d have wanted it to be her. But this is something different. People are dead out there. More will follow unless we’re very good.” - Peeta doesn’t really care if it’s just his life on the line, but if other people’s lives are at risk? He takes no shit (it’s admirable in one way and deeply concerning in another); also, Peeta is right - while there still is a game to play, it’s not the Games, so different circumstances and rules apply

“From now on, you’ll be fully informed,” Haymitch promises. “I better be,” says Peeta. - Peeta generally is a very cooperative fellow, but don’t ever think he can’t be forceful and stand his ground when it matters!

“Did you choose me, Haymitch?” I ask. “Yeah,” he says. “Why? You like him better,” I say. “That’s true. But remember, until they changed the rules, I could only hope to get one of you out of there alive,” he says. “I thought since he was determined to protect you, well, between the three of us, we might be able to bring you home.” “Oh,” is all I can think to say. - This is such a quiet, sweet moment and also shows that Katniss, Haymitch and Peeta have been some sort of team from the start (also, in their team effort they actually managed to get the both of them back home!)

Everything is happening too fast for me to process it. The warning, the shootings, the recognition that I may have set something of great consequence in motion. The whole thing is so improbable. And it would be one thing if I had planned to stir things up, but given the circumstances... how on earth did I cause so much trouble? - Lol, you’re giving yourself a little too much credit here, Katniss ;) Frankly, the Capitol has been the one to create this powder-keg they are sitting on in the first place - all it needed was a little spark... All these injustices, the humilitation, the pain inflicted... it’s like an elastic rubber band that’s been stretched and stretched - until it snaps

“I’m something of an expert in architectural design, you know?” “Oh yes, I’ve heard that,” says Portia before the pause gets too long. - Bless Portia’s heart, making sure they avoid that awkward silence 😂

Effie looks so distressed that I spontaneously give her a hug. “That’s awful, Effie. Maybe we shouldn’t go to the dinner at all. At least until they’ve apologized.” - Aww, Katniss doing something nice for Effie!😊

Peeta and I join hands. “Haymitch says I was wrong to yell at you. You were only operating under his instructions,” says Peeta. “And it isn’t as if I haven’t kept things from you in the past.” - Peeta sorta apologizing, even acknowledging that he also had kept secrets from Katniss? We love to see it👍 - [...] “I think I broke a few things myself after that interview.” “Just an urn,” he says. - Peetaaa... stop diminishing your own physical injuries! Good thing that Katniss won’t let him: - “And your hands. There’s no point to it anymore though, is there? Not being straight with each other?” I say. “No point,” says Peeta. - Gasp! Honest, open communication as a good basis for a successful relationship? It’s more likely than you think!

“Was that really the only time you kissed Gale?” I’m so startled I answer. “Yes.” With all that has happened today, has that question actually been preying on him? - Peeta, you sly dog! Your priorities 😂

Some crowds have the weary-cattle feel that I know District 12 usually projects at the victors’ ceremonies. But in others - particularly 8, 4, and 3 - there is genuine elation in the faces of the people at the sight of us, and under the elation, fury. - I do think that it’s interesting how D4 is one of the districts being elated to see Peeta + Katniss and displaying such fury, despite being a Career district; just goes to show that, just because their odds are better at winning the Games, doesn’t have to make them more simpatico with the Capitol’s cruelty... (Considering how Finnick knows how to perform CPR, it’s highly likely that people in D4 are also used to awful and precarious working + living situations... maybe that’s exactly why they generally are so robust and do well in the Games; and maybe they are simply not that above joining the other Careers as long as it improves their chances of survival, like Katniss or Thresh had been... worked for a while for Peeta, too)

Effie starts giving me pills to sleep, but they don’t work. [...] Peeta, who spends much of the night roaming the train, hears me screaming as I struggle to break out of the haze of drugs that merely prolong the horrible dreams. He manages to wake me and calm me down. Then he climbs into bed to hold me until I fall back to sleep. After that, I refuse the pills. But every night I let him into my bed. We manage the darkness as we did in the arena, wrapped in each other’s arms. - 😭 Also: Very telling how Capitolite Effie just throws pills at the problem (with the best of intentions, I’m sure), which is an immediate, unpersonal, and superficial solution at best, whereas Peeta holding Katniss, offering comfort, understanding, a sense of safety, and human connection is so much more personal, intimate, and effective (for both of them!)

I personally killed the girl, Glimmer, and the boy from District 1. As I try to avoid looking at his family, I learn that his name was Marvel. How did I never know that? - You know why, Katniss -  I suppose that before the Games I didn’t pay attention and afterward I didn’t want to know. - Still, not knowing his name didn’t stop you from humanizing him, Katniss, and that’s important, too

Whatever we do seems too little, too late. Back in our old quarters in the Training Center, I’m the one who suggests the public marriage proposal. Peeta agrees to do it but then disappears to his room for a long time. Haymitch tells me to leave him alone. “I thought he wanted it, anyway,” I say. “Not like this,” Haymitch says. “He wanted it to be real.” - Come on, Katniss, don’t be so callous; Peeta’s just as much of a prisoner here as you! Also, it’s all about being real or not real with these two, isn’t it?

Chapter 6

... you would think that at this moment, I would be in utter despair. Here’s what’s strange. The main thing I feel is a sense of relief. That I can give up this game. [...] That if desperate times call for desperate measures, then I am free to act as desperately as I wish. - Honestly, I think it was pretty short-sighted of Snow to let Katniss know so clearly that she didn’t succeed in her task; she did her utmost and it wasn’t enough - might as well fling caution to the wind now. All bets are off. If there had been still some small chance she could have ‘made things right’, she probably would have been trying harder to comply to his expectations. (I’m sure Snow thought the upcoming implementations of his stricter regime would be enough to keep Katniss in check, but pride comes before a fall ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

It’s essential to get back to District 12, because the main part of any plan will include my mother and sister, Gale and his family. And Peeta, If I can get him to come with us. I add Haymitch to the list. - For such a ‘loner’, Katniss sure has a lot of people that are important to her... And how ironic that Peeta, who she isn’t sure she’ll be able to convince in following her will be a much more willing participant that Gale, who Katniss is pretty much banking on joining her

“You’ll probably have to pass a new law,” I say with a giggle. “If that’s what it takes,” says the president with conspiratorial good humor. Oh the fun we two have together. - The dynamic between Snow and Katniss is so strange; despite the obvious antagonism there is definitely some vibe of interacting with each other at eye level and it’s weird (Sidenote: Is there any law in Panem preventing minors from marrying?)

“I want to taste everything in the room, “ I tell Peeta. [...] “Then you’d better pace yourself,” he says. “Okay, not more than one bite of each dish,” I say. My resolve is almost immediately broken at the first table, which has twenty or so soups - couldn’t have happened to me; I hate soup (like, thick soups I maaaybe can get behind, but clear soup/broth is just flavored water to me, no thanks - then again, I’m a picky eater)

Peeta and I make no effort to find company but are constantly sought out. We are what no one wants to miss at the party. I act delighted, but I have zero interest in these Capitol people. They are only distractions from the food. - Well isn’t that a mood for every social gathering ever (one person I enjoy talking to and lots of food I like? Perfect.)

I pick up a small roasted bird, bite into it, and my tongue floods with orange sauce. Delicious. But I make Peeta eat the remainder because I want to keep tasting things - Katniss seems to like the combination of meat and fruit, huh? (the lamb and plums, now bird and orange sauce) Personally, it’s a combination that’s on thin ice for me; there are only a few dishes with that component I actually like and it took me forever to tolerate them (I don’t know if it’s the texture or the taste, but something makes me apprehensive about it); anyway, Katniss making Peeta eat the rest is such a casual, couple-y thing to do (or at least something you do with someone you feel very comfortable with, I think)

Peeta looks at the glass again and puts it together. “You mean this will make me puke?” My prep team laughs hysterically. “Of course, so you can keep eating,” says Octavia. “I’ve been in there twice already. Everyone does it, or else how would you have any fun at a feast?” I’m speechless, staring at the pretty little glasses and all they imply. - Oh boy, I have a lot of thoughts on this part: A) I just noticed how this is the second delicate/fancy glass/drink that’s bringing about a jarring revelation: first that orange juice with the frilly straw in THG, now these tiny wine-stemmed glasses, B) “Everyone does it” + “how else would you have fun?” are the shittiest reasons I’ve ever heard at a party for doing something stupid you probably don’t want to do (I’m having flashbacks to all the times I had people trying to pressure me into drinking alcohol as a teen - it was even legal, btw - although I insisted that I didn’t like the taste (which I still don’t, to this day); it was tiresome 😑), C) “everyone does it” - the people in the Capitol must have some messed up teeth if that’s a regular occurence (sure, they probably bleach their teeth all the time, but also... they’d really need to, D) the obvious: how effed up that they just puke to stuff in more food when in the districts people literally are dying from starvation?! (and yeah, unequal distribution of resources sadly isn’t just a thing in Panem, I know... but there is something about actively purging yourself just for funsies that’s just extra, well, sick)

All I can think of is the emaciated bodies of the children on our kitchen table as my mother prescribes what the parents cannot give. More food. - God, how awful! How powerless they must feel 😟

And here in the Capitol they’re vomiting for the pleasure of filling their bellies again and again. Not from some illness of body or mind, not from spoiled food. - Ooh, I’ve never noticed before how this passage not only recognizes physical reasons for purging, but also mental reasons! Wouldn’t have necessarily expected Katniss to acknowledge eating disorders like that, tbh... She has become a lot more cognizant and sensitive when mental health issues are concerned

One day when I dropped by to give Hazelle the game, Vick was home sick with a bad cough [...] he still spent about fifteen minutes talking about how they’d opened a can of corn syrup from Parcel Day and each had a spoonful on bread and were going to maybe have more later in the week. How Hazelle had said he could have a bit in a cup of tea to soothe his cough, but he wouldln’t feel right unless the others had some, too. - Aww, Vick is such a sweetheart! Hazelle is raising her kids right!

“Peeta, they bring us here to fight to the death for their entertainment,”I say. “Really, this is nothing by comparison.” “I know. I know that. It’s just sometimes I can’t stand it anymore. To the point where... I’m not sure what I’ll do.” He pauses, then whispers, “Maybe we were wrong, Katniss.” “About what?” I ask. “About trying to subdue things in the districts,” he says. - Peeta’s rebellious nature coming through again!

“Sorry,” he says. He should be. This is no place to be voicing such thoughts. “Save it for home,” I tell him. - I know Katniss means D12, but her phrasing of “home” evokes a more domestic, couple-y connotation again 😊

I don’t want to dance with Plutarch Heavensbee. I don’t want to feel his hands, one resting against mine, one on my hip. I’m not used to being touched, except by Peeta or my family, and I rank Gamemakers somewhere below maggots in terms of creatures I want in contact with my skin. - It’s telling that, while Katniss is not big on being touched aside from her family (does that include Gale? probably? although they hadn’t even really hugged until Katniss had been reaped, so... I dunno), she’s totally fine with Peeta touching her (more than that: remember how good she felt holding his hand again in Ch.4 and how she’s feeling safe in his arms when they are sharing a bed), it says a lot about how comfortable she feels around him

Plutarch steps back and pulls out a gold watch on a chain from a vest pocket. He flips open the lid, sees the time, and frowns. “I’ll have to be going soon.” He turns the watch so I can see the face. “It starts at midnight.” - Honestly, this very subtle hint/foreshadowing of the clock setup of the Quarter Quell arena is simply brilliant! And also, midnight is going to become an important point in time as well from here on out (lightning tree, in the hanging tree song, saving Peeta and the others from the Training Center in the Capitol)

It’s another mockingjay. Exactly like the pin on my dress. Only this one disappears. He snaps the watch closed. “That’s very pretty,” I say. “Oh, it’s more than pretty. It’s one of a kind,” he says. - The disappearing mockingjay on the clock is interesting because A) Plutarch can’t really be flaunting the symbol of rebellion as Head Gamemaker, duh, but also B) the clock arena will be the place where the Mockingjay will disappear (until the rebellion will be able to use her for their cause); and that last comment by Plutarch clearly is aimed at the Mockingjay (Katniss) herself

When I open my eyes, it’s early afternoon. My head rests on Peeta’s arm. I don’t remember him coming in last night. - Okay, Katniss must feel hella safe and used to Peeta joining her in her bed, because apparently she didn’t even wake up when he did, like... I’m a fairly heavy sleeper, but I can’t imagine sleeping so deeply that I wouldn’t jerk awake if someone crawled into my bed while I was snoozing

“No nightmare,” he says. “What?” I ask. “You didn’t have any nightmares last night,” he says. He’s right. For the first time in ages I’ve slept through the night. - Telling how the first time Katniss sleeps through the night is after Snow let her know her performance wasn’t enough; she’s must have been so tense and on edge, desperately trying to calm down the districts and convince Snow, that she hadn’t been able to sleep properly, aside from the obvious sleeping issues she’d have from the PTSD (I’m often that way before an important exam - especially if it’s an oral exam; I get tense just thinking about it 😓)

“I had a dream, though,” I say, thinking back. “I was following a mockingjay though the woods. For a long time. It was Rue, really. I mean, when it sang, it had her voice.” “Where did she take you?” he says, brushing my hair off my forehead. “I don’t know. We never arrived,” I say. “But I felt happy.” - Interesting how in Katniss’s dream, the mockingjay is Rue - lending further credence to the hypothesis that maybe Rue was originally meant to be the Mockingjay (would make Plutarch’s comment of the mockingjay being “one of a kind” a bit more hypocritical/exaggerated/dramatized, which still fits with his flair for propaganda/showmanship... and ultimately, Katniss as the Mockingjay was unique, but that doesn’t mean that the rebellion couldn’t have made someone else their symbol if they needed to); also, Peeta brushing Katniss’s hair off her forehead is so sweet and intimate 😊

After I got home, we [Madge and I] started spending time together. [...] It was a little awkward at first because we didn’t know what to do. Other girls our age, I’ve heard them talking about boys, or other girls, or clothes. Madge and I aren’t gossipy and clothes bore me to tears. But after a few false starts, I realized she was dying to go into the woods, so I’ve taken her a couple of times and showed her how to shoot. She’s trying to teach me the piano, but mostly I like to listen to her play. - Honestly? I’d love to read a fanfic about Katniss and Madge figuring out their friendship (let me know if there already are some!); it’s cute how they end up including each other in their hobbies 😊 Ah, the classic “I’m/We’re not like other girls”, which often is especially prevalent during your teen years (I’d be lying if I said that I haven’t been gulty of this in my past 😅)... Katniss might actually would have benefited from talking with Madge about her boys’ troubles, though... And it’s so funny how Katniss admits that she has no interest in clothes, despite it being her supposed “talent”, while she also admits that she does admire Cinna’s work

... there’s a mob scene. The square’s packed with screaming people, their faces hidden with rags and homemade masks, throwing bricks. Building burn. Peacekeepers shoot into the crowd, killing at random. I’ve never seen anything like it - I... I have. At least on tv... In different places, at different times, but... yeah...

[chaninfused]

Danse Macabre | Lee Minho

◤“One must always polish a heart made of stone. Until one’s fingers hurt, and no more polishing cleavers remain usable. Until one grows tired of the weight of a stone heart.”

In an attempt to win his fiancée’s heart, a prince journeys across the desert, where lifelong secrets come unraveled and nothing is quite what it seems.

◤Disclaimers: Female reader insert. This story is inspired by Arabian mythology. Descriptive images of violence, killing, and blood are included, please be careful. This is fantasy, with a fair mix of fluff and angst. All places and events are fictional and do not reference real life nations. Find a glossary with all the terms used here. Make sure to read this blurb before proceeding to avoid heavy confusion. Also, view the map and the tale of the lost prince of Tajilmalek to gain a better understanding of this universe (optional, but strongly suggested!).

◤Word count: 26.6K

◤Note: This idea is a 100% mine and any case of similarity with someone else’s is purely coincidental. Events are pure fiction. Please do not take my content without my consent. masterlist.

◤Dedicated to my friends and readers. Thank you for bearing with me, I love you all. Happy reading!

١

"Big day tomorrow, eh?"

Minho looked up from the papers strewn over his desk to find his cousin leaning casually on the embellished wall, an unmistakable gleam of mischief bright in his foxlike eyes. He ignored the flutter erupting in his heart, it seemed to make an appearance whenever his wedding was mentioned, and smiled, "Indeed."

"Don't you find it strange?" Jeongin picked himself off the wall and sauntered toward the desk of dark wood when Minho frowned, "What?"

"Jisung was telling me about this earlier," the younger royal started, "Think of it; all Tallilmalekan princesses married to foreign princes bear no children. It's always a second wife or a concubine."

"Where is this conversation heading?" distaste distorted Minho's features. The nobleman's son, Jisung, had a mouth for spreading rumors and speculations. He wasn't sure why Jeongin continued to sit in his presence.

The latter slumped uncharacteristically on one of the desk's adjacent seats, crossing one leg over the other. "Possible conspiracy?" he shrugged. "It's not as though you don't find the family's stiff behavior odd. Apparently, they've always been like that. Cold, stone-faced, and haughty."

Minho rolled his eyes, "And?"

"And," Jeongin's lips stretched into a knowing smile, "there are rumors.

"I mean, how would you explain the reoccurring cases of princesses unable to conceive, or the peculiar, nonchalant behavior of Tallilmalekan royals? Y/n is not the first one to not smile upon her betrothed."

"What are you implying, Jeongin?" the crown prince sighed, having grown tired of the discussion already. His weariness only seemed to amuse his cousin, who lowered his voice and leaned forward as if he had a secret to whisper. "Well, people say that there is only one reasonable explanation."

Perhaps to add suspense, Jeongin paused, making Minho's brow arch questioningly. "Which is?"

"Jinn."

Silence draped over the two like a velvet curtain, heavy, as the word settled into the air. Demons. Jeongin — or Jisung — was accusing you and your family of dealing with demons.

A loud, ebullient laugh had to escape Minho's lips.

"This isn't funny!" Jeongin exclaimed between held back giggles. "Don't come crying to me when your wife turns out to be a Sahira of some sort!"

"I'd be damned then!" Minho cleared his throat after his laughter died out, shaking his head. You were reserved, some would say too reserved, but Jisung was going overboard by bringing Jinn into the picture. "I should ban Han Jisung from entering the palace, right?"

"Maybe." Jeongin scrunched his nose then stood up, regarding the uninteresting mounds of work before his cousin. He was once more reminded to thank the Aliha he wasn't born an heir to the throne.

"Well, I will be leaving you to your work." He clasped his hands and a brotherly smile found home on his lips, "And let me be the first to congratulate you, cousin. I hope this marriage brings you happiness. May the Aliha grant you their blessings."

Minho grinned, giddiness twinkling in his eyes, "Shukran. Will we see you with a ceremony of your own one day?"

"Hopefully not anytime soon," Jeongin joked before bowing his head lightly. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Minho gave him an acknowledging nod but before Jeongin could turn and leave the study, the first scream shook the walls of the palace.

“What was that?” Jeongin’s eyes widened as a hand instinctively latched onto the hilt of his saif. Minho sprung from his seat, alarm wrinkling his forehead. “I don’t know, but whatever it is, it isn’t good.”

The two royals rushed out of the study, finding several guards running across the corridor and shouting orders to each other. Joining them, Minho asked above the ruckus, “What is happening?”

“Unsure, your highness, but the scream of a monster was heard coming from the Amira’s chamber,” a guard responded, and the prince’s heart dropped. Your rooms. Whatever made that sound, it didn’t promise well.

Rounding a corner, Minho finally spotted the group of guards assigned to your chamber clustered together as one of them knocked on the door repeatedly. He wanted to claw his flesh out. If a beast of some sort had managed to slip into your room, you’d be long dead with these foolish guards waiting for permission to enter. Perhaps it was time to re-examine the royal force.

Sheathing his saif, Minho stormed through the group of men, catching them off guard when he swung the door open and barged in. Manners were to be ignored in a life-threatening situation.

His grip was steady, courtesy of his many years of rigorous sword training, as his gaze fell upon the back of a monster twice his size, red skin glistening in the faint moonlight.

The guards grew silent.

The creature seemed to have the build of a man — two arms, two legs, and a head — but it was far from one. Tied hair as black as the eyes of a gazelle cascaded down its back and a pair of ivory horns poked through its head. That was all Minho could make out from the beast giving him its back.

It stood still, which should’ve raised suspicious brows, but the only thoughts on Minho’s mind were getting rid of the creature and finding you safe and sound.

So, without a second thought, he brought his sword down across the beast’s back, slicing it in half as the nauseating sound of metal cutting through wet flesh filled the room. It made no noise of pain as it toppled to the ground, facedown, splattering blood on its way. It was as if its soul were gone and all the Amir did was tear the body down.

You stood on the other side, unharmed, and Minho’s heart lurched in relief before he noticed the dagger between your bloodied fingers. Concern paired with obvious confusion creased his forehead as he sheathed his saif and stepped around the lifeless body toward you. He could hear the guards’ whispers rise in volume and Jeongin shushing them all. What in the name of the Aliha did I just kill and how did it get here?

“Y/n,” he began, voice taking on a softer tone. Your appearance showed no signs of struggle. The circlet holding the silk that fell over your hair was perfectly placed and you looked...indifferent as you regarded him wordlessly. The fact that a monster was lying on the floor of your bedchamber seemed to bother you none.

Minho was at a loss for words. “What...” his gaze gravitated back to the creature before moving to you. “What just happened?”

•؏•

If Minho arrived a moment earlier, he would’ve seen something that would change the course of your life forever. You were silently bursting with relief, for he couldn’t see the gaping hole where the Ifrit’s heart would’ve been before you clawed it out with a single hand.

The dagger in your grip was still pulsing.

You’d let your fiancé claim the kill for now.

“What just happened?” You could see, behind the mask Minho wore, all his bewilderment. How could you explain this without drawing the entire kingdom’s attention? A lie brewed at the tip of your tongue and you opened your mouth to speak, “It’s-”

You were interrupted by a deep wail that seemed to come from the ground beneath you. It shook the walls, making the guards look around in fear, and your eyes widened. There’s more.

You felt them before they crashed into the room and you dropped the dagger, grabbing Minho’s arm instead and running toward the door. “Watch out!”

The last syllable had barely left your lips when five smaller Afarit broke through the ground, sending debris everywhere and making the guards shout in panic. You forced your way through the chaos. The Afarit must not see you whatsoever. You might’ve been able to take down one on your own, but you weren’t very sure about a group of them.

Fortunately, Minho sensed the urgency in your steps and his legs moved faster, becoming the one to guide you through the grand corridors.

A blast of fire missed your head by a breath, and you turned around to find an Ifrit close behind. Seems like one caught up anyway.

The flaming creature of fire was in its natural form, which only you could see, and it was heading toward the two of you at an alarming speed. Minho tugged at your hand, confused as to why you stopped.

When he dared to glance at the other end of the corridor, color drained from his face like a wash of water on ink. It was burning, guards were fleeing, and smoke was slowly spreading through the air. Creatures he didn’t know the name of were pouncing upon the walls, leaving bright flames behind. They didn’t attack — they looked like they were looking for someone.

Which you knew. They were looking for you, or to be precise, they were looking for something you obtained.

Minho turned to face you, frantic, “What are you doing? What is happening— what are they?!”

You avoided his question, keeping your eyes on the Ifrit invisible to him. “Give me your saif.”

“What? This is not the time—”

“Give me your saif or we’ll both die.”

This time, he gave in and handed you his sword, unease dancing on his brows. A surge of energy left your fingertips when they came in contact with the leathered hilt, binding and fusing into the saif.

To Minho, you appeared to be glaring at air, but you were waiting for the moment the Ifrit shifted forms to attack. Not that you couldn’t strike it in its real form, but you’d rather not expose your identity so soon.

Just as you expected, the form of pure fire sprouted discernible legs and arms, a horned head, and snarling teeth. You didn’t miss the noise of panic that came from the prince. You almost felt bad for him. He was supposed to have a peaceful night before the next day’s festivities, not have his palace attacked by Afarit.

More guards streamed into the corridor as you raised the saif, just in time to slice it across the Ifrit’s middle. Normal weapons don’t kill them, but one infused with Jinn powers did.

The Ifrit crumpled to the ground with a spasm and a howl of agony, and the sword glowed red with an energy only you could see.

You turned to Minho, handing him his sword back and disregarding the way his eyes seemed close to popping out. “There you go. You can kill with it now.”

He only stared at you, and you were sure it’d be funny to know what went on his mind at that moment. “K-Kill?”

“Yes, well,” you inhaled, looking at the Afarit that noticed the commotion and were rushing to join the party, “We’ve attracted everyone’s attention. There’s no point in running now.”

٢

Minho took three seconds to snap back into reality and fix his stance into something more appropriate for a skilled swordsman like himself. “Stay back!”

You did what you were told, not to raise suspicions, and stepped behind him. Bringing a hand to rest on your chest, you felt the large emerald hanging from a thin chain around your neck. The Zumurruda. This is what the Afarit were after, and you’d die fighting to keep it in your hands, in one piece.

You’d seen Minho in duels before, you trusted his skills. He was renown across the three kingdoms for one thing besides his looks, and it was his swordsmanship. Yet, you couldn’t help but worry. What if all went astray and you had to brandish claws and horns to get out alive?

The shriek of an Ifrit pulled you out of your thoughts. It seemed to be leading the other three toward the two of you, finally sensing the presence of the Zumurruda. The prince was quick to slash his sword through its chest, but this gave another Ifrit the chance to pounce on him. You couldn’t see Minho’s struggle to fight it off because you had a problem to deal with on your own.

While he was distracted, the remaining two Afarit decided to go for the Zumurruda. For you.

You looked around, hastily making sure no one was watching before stabbing a hand forward and watching your fingers grow into blackened, sharp claws. They plunged straight into the first Ifrit’s chest, now that you let your magic take over, and grasped its heart. You pulled it out unthinkingly, making blood vessels stretch and snap violently, spilling blood where the two of you stood. The beating heart in your clutch should’ve repulsed you, but you couldn’t quite feel anything in that state. Evil Jinn didn’t feel.

The other Ifrit didn’t seem to see what happened to its companion and lunged at you with a snarl. As one toppled to the ground lifelessly, you felt the heart transform into a small blade and prepared to bury it in the next Ifrit’s guts, ignoring the faint pulse of the makeshift weapon. You raised the dagger, claws gone, but didn’t get to use it when a flash of metal cut through the approaching monster and brought it down. Temporarily.

Jeongin’s familiar face came into your vision. Half of the young royal’s face was covered in blood, and his once fine attire had lost a sleeve to the flames. He asked with a heaving breath, “Are you okay?”

You eyed the Ifrit that began to stand back up, answering him dismissively, “I’m fine.”

You crouched, letting your dagger cut through the Ifrit’s throat and feeling a rush of energy flow from your fingers and through the blade into its body. Simply, to kill it.

“These things,” Jeongin paused to stare at the dead Afarit, “they don’t die. How did you—”

“What are they to begin with?” Minho’s question came through labored breaths and you turned your gaze in his direction, seeing him push a lifeless Ifrit off. You convinced yourself that the flutter of relief your heart made was for the Zumurruda.

The prince sheathed his bloodied sword, eyes trailing across the corridor littered with blood, Ifrit corpses, and injured soldiers before resting on your face, as if you were the answer to a riddle he’d longed to solve. His features trembled with distress. “What’s happening, y/n? Why are there monsters in the palace— What brought them here? What kind of sorcery is this?!”

A cohort of guards ran into the corridor, stopping short in sight of the monstrous creatures, dying fire, and blood. You could feel a different kind of tension permeate the air and you sighed, glancing at your fiancé then at his cousin. They deserve an explanation.

You gulped, lowering your voice just so the conversation remained between the three of you, “Do you believe in Jinn?”

•؏•

“So, let me get this straight,” Minho ran a hand through his hair, disheveling it as he tried to take in all what you’d explained. “Someone is sending these monsters called Afarit to obtain the emerald you have, and you can’t let them have it whatsoever. No one can know about this.”

“Na’am,” you nodded for the millionth time, bored. The three of you were now at the library. Jeongin had wiped the blood off his face with a wet cloth, but Minho didn’t seem to bother with the patch of red blooming on his shoulder as he bombarded you with questions.

You never thought this was going to be easy, but it was becoming tiresome.

“Then why...didn’t this attack happen in Tallilmalek? Why here?” Jeongin frowned and you suppressed a sigh. “Tallilmalek is protected by a spell that prevents supernatural creatures like Afarit or Jinn from sensing the Zumurruda’s presence. Now that it’s out of Tallilmalek, everyone can feel it, everyone wants it for themselves.”

“You know this,” the prince shook his head, “You know this... Why would you take the Zumurruda out of the kingdom? What’s so special about it that it attracts creatures from the fires of hell?”

“I didn’t know they would detect it so soon, I’ve arrived here two days ago. Besides, I need the Zumurruda with me,” you stated, dreading the following question.

A pause.

“Why?”

You fell silent. Why? To find the Sahira’s Heart and free myself from the Jinni in me. To break the damned curse that has been ruining my family’s life for the last century. “I need it to...” but you couldn’t tell the truth yet, could you? “I need to return it to where it really belongs. The Zumurruda is a gemstone of great magic. It can’t fall in the hands of bandits or Jinn because it will grant them a power they shouldn’t have. This is my only chance.”

Half the truth will do for now.

Minho slumped on a seat with an exasperated sigh. “But it was safe in Tallilmalek!”

“Safe from Sahara and Jinn but not from humans! What do you think people would do with a gemstone of unimaginable power?” You snapped and Jeongin’s eyes widened. He looked at Minho then at you and felt as though he shouldn’t be witnessing this argument.

“Does Tallilmalek know?”

“No! This is why I don’t have much time to return it.”

“And when were you planning to do this?”

“I don’t know, tomorrow, perhaps?”

“What? You can’t do that!”

“What do you suggest then? Stay here and let more monsters have their go—”

“Tomorrow’s our wedding day!”

Minho’s voice rang through the air, bouncing off the walls to slam into your face and make you inhale sharply. The wedding.

You didn’t forget, but it was the perfect chance for you to sneak out and find the Sahira’s Heart. An arranged marriage ceremony wasn’t going to stand in your way.

Minho had stood now, glaring before he realized what he’d done. His eyes widened and waters of panic rippled in them. “Asif, I didn’t mean to—”

You shook your head. An argument was the last thing you needed in your brittle, dry relationship and you turned around to exit the library, leaving a troubled prince behind.

Perhaps you were being selfish, but there was no place for giving in, not when you’d gotten this close to fixing everything. Fiancé or not, Minho could do nothing to stop you.

•؏•

“Your Highness!” a guard barged into the king’s study, where he was discussing the previous night’s strange attack with his only son. “I apologize, Your Highness, but we have an emergency!”

The king raised his gaze to look at the uneasy guard. “What is it?”

Minho regarded the man curiously. What could it be at this early hour, and on this day?

He’d woken up with memories of the argument he had with you at the library. The image of you walking out wordlessly seemed to taunt him whenever he let his thoughts stray, and a feeling of dread settled in his heart ever since.

The guard bowed then straightened his posture, inhaling deeply before letting the terrible news hail on the royals. “The Amira cannot be found in her bedchamber.”

٣

If you are reading this, one of two things must’ve happened. I’ve died and a guard managed to return my journal home, or I’ve managed to do what the rest couldn’t and find the Sahira’s Heart.

I’m writing this on the first evening of our journey, and I suppose this is where it starts: reaching Al Mamsha.

The Zumurruda is pulling me toward it, a thin strip of land crossing Al Shaqq in Darilmalek. According to previous journals, it is guarded by Zarqa’a Al Yamama, an all-knowing woman with sharp sight and intuition. I am unsure about the encounter, but I’ve read al Amir Jinyoung’s report on crossing Al Mamsha which states that the traveler will be given a riddle to solve. Three wrong guesses and one will be forever trapped in the waters of Al Shaqq. All the past princes who chose to follow the Zumurruda took this path, so it seems that there is no other option. We’ll see how it plays out.

Al Amir Chan of Tallilmalek.

You closed the journal with a sigh. One of two things happened for sure. Prince Chan, who would’ve been a distant cousin, died in a thunderstorm while crossing Arrimal Azzarqa’a. Few crewmen survived the shipwreck, but his body was never found. He, too, sought the Sahira’s Heart.

Perhaps this was the fate of those who wished to the lift the curse and live freely. All the princes who dared to dream failed in the end, and the Zumurruda returned to Tallilmalek along with a story of their short journeys.

Perhaps it was a threat. A warning to force your parents, siblings, and all who came before them into accepting a life where love only brought misery. A curse that did nothing but make them fear what their sentiments could do.

You were raised to suppress the demon in you, a Jinni of pure evil, just like how the former royals did. For once upon a time, the most powerful Sahira known to the Alliance cursed your family with demon kids who murdered their beloved ones in cold blood.

Mages from across the land tried to break the curse, but none succeeded.

The only solution was to not have loved ones. One must not love, smile, or allow the tiniest affection to seep into their heart. Mother, father, sister, brother, husband, wife, friend — it didn’t matter. One must always polish a heart made of stone.

Until one’s fingers hurt, and no more polishing cleavers remain useable. Until one grows tired of the weight of a stone heart.

The pounding of hooves caught your attention and you looked in the direction of the noise, spotting a royal regiment cutting through the town. Leading them, you were quick to note, was the crown prince, Minho, your unfortunate fiancé.

Right, they would’ve noticed your disappearance by now.

Slipping out of the palace was easy, considering that the walls weren’t enchanted to repel Jinni powers like those back in Tallilmalek. You were gone by sunrise.

You felt the whisper of the Zumurruda, a foreign urge to travel east, and pulled your hood lower. The sooner you left the crown city, the sooner you’ll be able to use your powers freely.

As you made your way through the crowded streets of the city, you heard a shout coming from the soldiers, an order to put the city on lockdown. No one leaves. No one enters.

They’re taking the search seriously, you thought with a grimace. That would make things harder. You didn’t blame them, however. Relations between the kingdoms of the Arshilmalek Alliance had become shaky in the past years. A lost princess was a reason valid enough for Tallilmalek to wage war. A younger kingdom like Darilmalek would not survive.

You could almost sympathize with Minho. He seemed to truly care about the engagement, had always seemed to, yet you couldn’t show the smallest regard. For his safety, more than anything else.

He was another reason you wanted to break the curse.

Your steps quickened, hoping to reach the city’s borders before the guards did, but also trying to raise no suspicions. For a fleeting moment, you considered using your powers, but that thought was quickly thrown out of the window. There were too many witnesses. The last thing you’d want is to get accused of practicing forbidden magic and recreating the tale of the Lost Prince.

You could see the barren sahra’a ahead, just a few houses far, and hope blossomed in your heart. There it is, just an arm’s length away.

Then a shout accompanied by the terrible sound of hooves pounding the ground filled your ears and people began to clear the road in a panicked rush. You found yourself roughly shoved and uncomfortably squeezed between the people who moved to make way for the group of guards on horseback. You could barely move through them, and just like that, your chance slipped away right in front of you.

They’d reached the borders.

You muttered a curse under your breath and made your way through the people rather aggressively, earning a few strange looks that didn’t concern you. When you neared the set of guards, who were immersed in discussion, you pretended to be a foreign traveler and wandered off to the other, emptier side of the border.

Your first few steps went unnoticed, but soon enough, you heard a familiar voice command, “Qif!”

Too familiar. You halted but refused to turn around. The odds were all against you, you came to conclude when Minho arrived at your side, pulling the reins of his horse.

“You are not allowed to leave the city,” he said in a tone you never heard him use before, one that seemed to say my word is law.

You didn’t move or respond, which prompted the prince to speak once more, “Show your face. State your name, tribe, and your business leaving the city at this time.”

You bit your lip, although it couldn’t be seen under the shade of your hood, and thought to yourself, why did I not work on my disguise earlier today?

You wanted to slap yourself for being so foolish. Perhaps you were too...excited.

No guards joined the two of you, and after a few beats of silence, you decided to run for it. You might not be able to outrun a trained warhorse, but that would force Minho away from the rest, giving you a better chance at reasoning with him.

So, you did. You picked up your skirts and ran as fast as you could, past a startled prince and into the endless sahra’a. You heard Minho shout behind you, followed by a neigh of a horse, and you knew they were following you.

Running on sand was hard, and you were sure you were going to trip at some point. Although your lungs burned with each breath, you kept pushing yourself forward. Perhaps you weren’t made for such physical activity, you thought.

It felt like forever until Minho caught up to you — you guessed you had your powers to thank for that. His saif glinted under the harsh sun, and you were lucky to stop a few inches from the edge of the blade aimed at your neck. A chilling warning fell on your ears. “One more step, and I’ll chop your head off.”

You inhaled, waiting for someone to follow and letting your heart relax before shaking your head with a breath of a chuckle. “Chop my head off, eh?”

You didn’t see the way Minho’s grip stiffened, but you didn’t need to. You knew he recognized your voice.

Stepping away from the blade, you raised a hand to push your hood back and meet his surprised gaze. “I’d like to see you try.”

•؏•

Minho knew he’d made a terrible mistake when you were nowhere to be found in the palace. He thought it was his fault, and reasonably, he led the search the king ordered.

Although he hated to admit it, maybe the wedding wasn’t at all important in comparison to your mission. If you could prioritize it over an event that had been in planning for months, he could do the same.

After all, all the prince wanted was to show you that he cared. Just another meager attempt to try and make you dislike him less.

So, it seemed to be a complete strike of luck when you pushed off your hood to hold his gaze firmly. “I’d like to see you try.”

“I— La, I wouldn’t—” Minho stammered, quickly retracting his blade and dismounting the horse. He came to stand before you, silent as his gaze roamed over your features. Truth to be said, the prince didn’t know what he’d do if any harm befell you. When the guard shared the dismaying news, his heart dropped once more.

You seemed to like giving him a scare.

It was a relief to find you safe and unscathed, but unease still nagged at his chest. With an exhale, he muttered, “Asif. Forgive me.”

Your expression didn’t change, and he didn’t know what to take it as so he continued, “I realize now that the Zumurruda must be of high importance, considering that you were ready to escape the city to return it.

“I-I suppose the wedding ceremony pales in comparison,” he concluded and considered rambling on had you not nodded with a quiet exhale, “I apologize, as well.”

Oh? His brows shot up.

“It was selfish of me to disregard everyone’s work for my personal endeavors. But I hope you know that I cannot wait any longer now that the attack happened.”

“Of course—”

The prince was interrupted by a shout of his name, coming from an approaching figure behind you. “Minho!”

Not a guard, he remarked, noting the informality. Only then did he notice how far the two of you were from the city. He could see it, but it was a fair distance away.

You were a fast runner, he mused.

“There you are!” Jeongin’s voice became more discernible as he neared. “Someone saw you running off after a traveler. You were taking long.”

The younger royal didn’t notice you, almost trampling you over when he pulled the reins of his horse. He didn’t seem to notice Minho’s glare either. “Some claim that they spotted the Amira somewhere along the center of the city— What’s with the glare?” he frowned in confusion and looked around, finally spotting you, arms crossed and brow raised. You could practically hear his thoughts as his eyes expanded. “Oh.”

“Oh!” he repeated, this time surer, and lowered his head in embarrassment, realizing what he’d almost done. “My deepest apologies, y/n. I didn’t see you there.”

You bit back a retort and moved your head in the merest nod, “All’s fine.”

“You have to be more careful,” Minho tutted and Jeongin chewed on his bottom lip sheepishly, “Na’am.” His gaze ricocheted between the two of you before lighting up, “I suppose I should tell the soldiers to stop the search, then?”

“La,” the prince raised a hand, making his cousin look at him strangely, and turned to face you. You rarely showed interest in anything. The Zumurruda was something new. Perhaps this was his chance to improve things between the two of you. By taking interest in what mattered to you and joining you on this journey, he might be able to step a little closer to your heart. Or so he thought.

He might’ve anticipated the wedding, but he wanted to help you return the Zumurruda to where it belonged. “Let me join you.”

“What?” the question came from you and Jeongin, although he was a little louder with it. Minho only gave you a small smile, “I want to help you deliver the Zumurruda, if you’d allow me.”

You were careful not to gape at him. What changed over a night? You couldn’t help but ask, mindlessly, “But…what about the wedding?”

“If you can put other things before it, then so can I. The Zumurruda is more important, no?” a part of Minho was bursting with happiness. This is the most the two of you have talked away from the eyes of the court, without unnecessary formalities and stiff words. What seemed like a nightmare in a suit of flame was turning to be a blessing in disguise.

You nodded slowly, “You’re right.” You’d be lying to say you didn’t like the sound of Minho’s request. The princes that took this journey before you had all traveled with scouts, you didn’t expect to have the smoothest adventure alone.

Minho’s heart seemed to hammer in his chest as you thought over his suggestion. It wasn’t a decision he made in the spur of the moment – it was rather something he’d been contemplating all morning. There was no guarantee you’d agree, and he wouldn’t object if that were your choice, but he prayed to the Aliha for the opposite response.

He hoped he didn’t look too giddy when you finally made up your mind, letting out a breath as if the decision were a task that had worn you out. “I suppose I would appreciate some company along the way.”

A genuine smile broke on the prince’s face, and he looked at his cousin, “You have to come with us as well.”

“What– why?” the younger male did a terrible job of hiding his astonishment, but that didn’t seem to affect Minho. “I’m sure we need as many people on this journey as possible. Besides, I can’t have you returning to the palace now that you know about this ordeal.

Jeongin sighed, with undertones of a groan, “So, I have no choice.”

“Somewhat.”

You watched the two, slightly amused, before clearing your throat, “It’s the three of us, then?”

“Yes,” Minho nodded firmly then clasped his hands, “Where are we heading?”

You guessed if a citizen of the crown city looked far enough, they’d spot the three of you gathered in the middle of the desert and think it was an oddity of the current times. Silly or not, you began explaining the details of your journey. The details you knew of, that is, excluding the parts about the Sahira’s Heart and the curse. “We will be following the Zumurruda.”

“The gemstone makes its bearer feel a pull toward its home. No one has managed to reach it yet, but some have been remarkably close,” you pulled out the Zumurruda from beneath your tunic, laying it on your open palm for them to see. “As of now, it’s telling me to travel east, toward Al Mamsha.”

“Then east we shall go,” Minho announced. “Do we have all we need?”

“Do you have money with you?” you remembered to grab a heavy pouch of coins before escaping the palace, you wouldn’t need more with your powers anyway. Now that you had two more people with you, the money might not be enough.

“We do,” the Amir glanced at Jeongin, as if to make sure. “But is that all?”

“It should be enough. It’s better to travel light and stay the night in villages along the way.”

Your answer didn’t seem to convince the two, and you added with an awkward cough, “Either way, we cannot return to the palace to bring tents and food without raising questions. No one can know about this.”

Even if Minho wanted to let his hesitancy take over, you were the one who knew the most about the journey, not him. If you’d left the palace with the merest belongings for the trip, he would trust to do the same.

A beat of silence allowed your words to sink in the sand. That’s when Minho realized the kind of adventure he was sauntering into. Unpredictable. Perilous. Secret. Something that would challenge the very skills he’d spent all his years honing. It would either make him or break him.

He was oddly excited.

“We should get going, then. Day is only too long.”

You didn’t respond — you didn’t have to. The hood now pulled over your head was enough to say, “follow me,” and Minho thought he’d imagined the ghost of a smile on your lips.

•؏•

You began seeing the shimmering blue of Al Shaqq when the sun became hazy and low. The trip was exhausting at best, in the blazing heat and the dry air, and you quickly sympathized with the many messengers and trade caravans cutting through these sands for a living. You were beyond relieved when the thin strip of land became visible.

Although, if you thought you were tired, you couldn’t imagine the tiredness Minho was going through. Before you began your trek, he offered you his horse to ride and he continued on foot from there. Sometimes, he’d switch places with Jeongin, never for too long, however, and never with you. You supposed it was only expected. He was a prince, after all, and what was a prince without shining manners?

That didn’t stop you from offering your place repeatedly.

The three of you stopped at a small village some hours prior to satisfy your hunger and buy any necessities for what’s left of the journey. You were grateful no one outside the crown city recognized royals without their grand escorts.

This allowed Minho and Jeongin to trade their rich silks for less distinctive and more appropriate attire, as well as an additional handful of coins and two camels in exchange for their fine breed stallions with the promise to return them.

No one asked when you loaded your small caravan with food and water and resumed trudging through the golden grains.

Along the way, you’d explained to the two Darilmalekan royals why you decided to go on this journey without your family knowing. The repetitive pattern of princes trying to find the Sahira’s Heart wasn’t a coincidence. Only princes seemed strong enough to handle such a task and your parents would never let you, a princess, dirty your delicate hands with such an atrocious feat.

You’d explored your Jinni powers enough to know you wouldn’t have to dirty your hands, at least not until they became clawed and monster-like. And in that case, it would be your assailant’s concern, not yours.

Al Mamsha was a curious strip of land, one cursed with many legends by heat-struck travelers. It stretched across a rip in the desert filled with seawater, as though it were a bridge to the mountainous province of Darilmalek. Not many villagers settled nearby, as there was no use to be made of seawater and a land haunted by myths.

Only few dared to cross Al Mamsha. Only those few knew what really inhabited that piece of land.

You were about to become one of them, but you knew what, or who, guarded Al Mamsha. And you dreaded your meeting.

“Is that it?” Jeongin squinted at the enormous body of water before you. It was almost intimidating. It didn’t look this big on the maps.

On the dune where you observed, you could see the sandy line called Al Mamsha. It was empty, to your surprise. Your answer came coarse with nervousness, “Yes.”

“Should we cross it?” Minho seemed dubious, almost afraid when he asked, and you gulped. You will cross it, just like Chan and the other princes did before you. “The Zumurruda is urging us forward.”

Yet none of you moved for some moments of quiet anxiousness. Al Shaqq looked unreal, and its infamous Al Mamsha only reminded you of the many wonders you were yet to see, the many giants you were insignificant in comparison to.

Glancing west, Minho exhaled and patted the neck of the camel that carried you, “We must continue.”

But even the animal’s steps seemed reluctant.

As the three of you approached Al Mamsha, you kept an eye out for something to appear and stop you from advancing on to the sandy road. There was nothing but a clear, lifeless path, and you continued forward.

The camels halted to a stop at the mouth of Al Mamsha, making you frown in confusion as you patted the animal, “Why did you stop?”

It didn’t answer you, but your answer came from beneath the sand.

You wouldn’t believe it if you hadn’t seen it with your own eyes. A woman emerged from the sand, fair and young, dressed in a fine white kaftan with a matching turban crowning her head. Perhaps what stunned you the most was the bright, striking blue of her eyes, a shade you’ve only seen in sketches of her. Her aura was eerie, and she was looking right at you.

When she spoke, her voice seemed to come from the depths of the earth. “You shall not pass.”

You weren’t afraid, but rather in mute awe. This was her. This was—

“Zarqa’a Al Yamama,” you breathed, ignoring the petrified stares Minho and Jeongin were giving you and making the woman shake her head solemnly. “That would be my great grandmother. I am Lia, the Guardian of Al Mamsha.”

Strange, that was not mentioned in the journals. You cleared your throat, pushing your thoughts back. “Pardon me, Sayeda Lia, but we need to move forward.”

She did not miss a beat. “You shall not pass.”

The prince then swallowed his shock and stepped forward, finding his best regal voice, “As the Crown Prince of Darilmalek, I ask of you to grant us passage.”

“You shall not pass.” Lia did not spare him a glance, her crystal blue eyes fixed on you.

You saw Minho’s hand reach for the hilt of his saif from your peripheral vision and you asked again with urgency, “Please. Is there anything we can give you in exchange for our clear passage?”

“I need not your mortal gifts.” Her voice boomed around you, despite being in the open, wide sahra’a.

At that, Minho grabbed his sword and you held your breath, waiting for those words to fall out of her dainty lips like in every journal.

Lia crossed her arms, and her eyes blazed like blue flames. “You shall only pass if you solve my riddle.”

There is it, you hoped your satisfaction didn’t take form on your face. “We will solve your riddle.”

Beyond what you thought was possible, her eyes glowed brighter, almost white in their brilliance. You had to squint and look away.

For a short while, there was silence, then her words came out grim and haunting, “Solve my riddle and you shall pass. Fail thrice and you shall perish.”

You held your breath, rummaging through all the riddles you’ve read or heard and kept for this critical moment.

“I can only be kept once I have been given. What am I?”

You haven’t heard that one before.

Inhaling stilly, you turned your head to look at Minho, meeting his worried gaze just as it fell on you. He rubbed the camel’s neck, making it sit for you to dismount.

Off the mammal’s back, you swallowed a lump of anxiousness and asked, “Any ideas?”

The prince shook his head and his cousin mimicked, finally dismounting to stand with the two of you. It seemed as though they were too afraid to speak.

Your gaze wandered to the sand beneath you as a whirlwind of thought took over your mind. Something that can only be kept if given…but that’s contradictive!

The paradox helped you rule out all material things, since things like coin cannot be kept after being given away. That left all things abstract — emotions, thoughts, bonds.  

“Give…” you muttered then a guess sparked in your mind and you blurted, “Kindness?”

Lia frowned, and you could’ve sworn the ground trembled. “Incorrect.”

Foolish move, you scolded yourself mentally and avoided the concerned looks coming from the Darilmalekan royals. Think, y/n!

Something to be kept. Something to keep…keep your…keep my— your eyes widened when it struck you. It only makes sense!

“I think…I think I know the answer,” you whispered, and Minho questioned carefully, “What is it?”

Jeongin stepped closer and you made sure to keep your voice low. “One’s word.”

You knew you were right when realization lightened their expressions. An encouraging look from your fiancé made you step forward and speak, this time confidently. “The answer is one’s word. One can only keep their word once they’ve given it.”

When the blue-eyed woman remained silent, you waited for the ground to rumble and her to declare your second failure. Yet, nothing happened.

Lia nodded after several moments of silence, and you thought you imagined her subtle smile, “Very well. You have succeeded and therefor, you shall pass. But be warned, brave travelers, for the journey ahead is perilous, and the Isle of the Damned is no place for those of weak will.”

“Shukran.” You didn’t try to hide your relief, turning to mount your ride before she spoke again, “Your animals cannot move any farther into the Isle of the Damned. You are to travel on foot.”

You didn’t question her, recalling a statement you’ve read in a journal some months ago. The Sahira’s Heart left corruption in its wake, breathed chaos into its air, and spread malice in the land it rested in. Animals from the pure land will never venture near.

“Without them we travel, then,” you adjusted the clasp of your cloak as Minho shook his head, “We can’t leave them behind. We promised to return them.”

“Worry not, ya Amir, the animals will return on their own,” Lia informed. “Go on, travelers, before night awakens the beast resting in Al Shaqq.”

The beast resting in Al Shaqq. Many legends were told about the unnatural body of water, most known was the myth of the Falak, the great serpent that carries the world. It has been said that its child sleeps at the bottom of Al Shaqq. Any travelers crossing Al Mamsha at night would be its next live toy. Although, no travelers have dared to approach that land during the night yet.

You didn’t want to be the first.

A wordless exchange of glances darted between the three of you, and with a long exhale, you took your first step unto Al Mamsha.

•؏•

“This is absolutely preposterous!” the Tallilmalekan Crown Prince threw his arms in the air, frustrated. Changbin had been enjoying a Finjan of coffee when he overheard the news of your disappearance from a pair of oblivious guards, and it riled up the Jinni in him instantly.

Your brother stormed into the Darilmalekan King’s study, forcing the panicked advisors to leave when they noticed the frown etched on his handsome face. But before he could voice out his anger, a guard barged in, carrying news of Minho’s and Jeongin’s disappearance as well.

It made perfect sense in his mind. The had prince taken you and run away.

Changbin disliked your fiancé, but now, he seethed with aversion toward him.

“I am sure you know what this means for both kingdoms,” he said through gritted teeth. This marriage was your parents’ last hope at mending the deteriorating ties between Darilmalek and Tallilmalek. It seemed like Minho had other plans, however.

“If they are not found soon, I am afraid Darilmalek’s end would be two hundred years of independence.”

The king stood from his seat abruptly, recognizing the threat but being unable to acknowledge it. The fate of his people’s freedom relied on his meager words, and his hands were tied on the matter. The old king kept his tone firm and regal, “I trust my son, and I am sure no harm will befall the Amira with him. He will return, or we will find them.”

Changbin wanted to scoff but he settled with muttering spitefully before exiting the study. “Well, I don’t trust him.”

When he left, the king fell back on his chair, helpless. Oh, ya waladi, what have you done?

•؏•

They call it the Isle of the Damned, yet I believe it is unfair to the villagers settled between its mountains and dunes. We have crossed Al Mamsha and spared an hour of sunlight to find a place and raise camp for the night.

To my utter surprise, we found an unmarked village a little over an hour’s walk away. Its villagers offered to house us in their homes and serve us dinner. Such is the fine hospitality of the people of these sandy lands.

When the sun rises, we will be continuing east. I am unsure of the journey’s path after this step. No surviving journals clearly state where the Zumurruda leads after Al Mamsha.

Nevertheless, some speculate we are heading toward—

You quickly shut the journal when you heard a rustle from the other side of the partition. It was almost as though you were performing a play and Chan’s journal was the script. You crossed Al Mamsha safely and found a small village not too far away. Seeing that the three of you were travelers, the villagers welcomed you into their homes unhesitatingly. They sat you for a hearty feast then showed you to a place they’d prepared.

Their generosity wasn’t surprising. The three kingdoms maintained strict traditions in hospitality, no matter the guest’s origins or story. This was your first time experiencing it firsthand.

A partition was placed for your comfort between your bed and Minho’s and Jeongin’s beds. It was helpful when you wanted to read without them asking questions, but you could never be too carefree.

The rustling stopped, and you thought it simply was one of them shifting in bed before a faint sound caught your attention. “Y/n?”

You held your breath. Why is he not asleep?

For a couple of beats, you said nothing, thinking that if you remained silent, the prince would return to sleep and you to reading in the dark — one of the gifts you were born with. Perhaps it was guilt that made you finally whisper back, you owed him at least that. “Yes?”

“Oh…you’re still awake.” he was muttering, but you were sure you heard a hint of relief in his words. Hope. You couldn’t pinpoint the reason, but it made your heart clench uncomfortably.

There was silence again before he murmured, sounding almost defeated, “You should try to sleep.”

“You should, too,” you said after hesitating. “Who knows what awaits us tomorrow.”

Minho hummed then, and with a few rustles, he said nothing more. You assumed he’d fallen asleep.

A silent sigh left your lips and you looked at the journal between your hands. What am I doing?

This journey was one you’d wanted to take for a while. You’d barely begun, but unease was quickly creeping into your heart.

If this were a play and you were following a script, would it end with the same tragedy that befell Chan and the many princes before him? Were you only inching closer to your doom?

La. You forced the voice in your head silent and tucked the journal away. You were not going to fail because you had one thing these princes were too scared to use. You had a Jinni inside you, and you were not afraid to use your powers when needed.

This journey will not end up in failure.

Finally lying down, you let your eyelids drop, exhaustion taking over easily. But just when you were ready to surrender to sleep, another sound startled you awake. Not a whisper or a rustle of sheets, but the unmistakable unsheathing of a sword.

٤

Hyunjin could feel it in his bones. He could smell it in the air, that sickeningly sweet scent of power. The Zumurruda was close.

He’d been alerted a few days ago when the Isle breathed with life once more. Someone had taken the Zumurruda out of Tallilmalek, again.

This time, he was getting his hands on it.

Finding the bearers of the gemstone wasn’t hard. They didn’t travel with an enormous escort like those ridiculous princes. Just that mere trio of them, with little baggage and a mysterious aura.

One of them caught his attention. A young lady whom his spies of Afarit reported to have a strange energy surrounding her. He’d assumed it was a spell of protection casted on her by a relative’s request, or that she was a magic meddler. Only now, as he stood in a room of sleeping people, did he realize what that restless energy was.

Jinn.

She was half Jinni, and her companions knew no better.

She carried the Zumurruda.

What a short, sad tale, he wanted to chuckle as he unsheathed his sword and prepared to strike her sleeping figure.

What he didn’t prepare for, however, was for her to spring up at the sound and shout, “Qif!”

This successfully awakened the rest and before Hyunjin could react, the edge of a saif was pressed under his chin.

“How did you get in here?”

A male’s voice, but it sounded nothing like a sleeping man’s. A terrible realization dawned on him. None of them were asleep.

Did she feel his presence like he felt hers? Was he walking right into a trap?

La, Hyunjin was far too powerful a Sahir to fall into mundane traps.

“You shouldn’t be asking me this question,” he answered and tossed his saif to the ground. There will be no need for it anymore.

In the dark, he could see her expression change as realization dawned on her too. A faint smirk drew itself on his lips when she whispered urgently, “Be careful. He’s a Sahir.”

“Be careful indeed,” he mused, “Spill a single droplet of my blood and your family shall be damned for eternity.”

“What brought you here?” even if he had understood the warning, the young man did not retract his sword.

Hyunjin could see things a regular human couldn’t see, and he could clearly make out his assailant’s features. Sharp yet dainty and undeniably handsome. He could pass as an Amir. Once upon a time, he would’ve been someone Hyunjin rivaled against.

The Sahir shrugged. “I’m here for the Zumurruda.”

A hush of silence befell the room and Hyunjin knew they knew.

When the young lady spoke, the red aura around her shook angrily. “We do not have what you seek.”

“Is that so?” he raised a brow. “That’s odd because I–”

“Kafa! You will leave or I’ll cut you down where you stand,” the young man holding the saif threatened. Hyunjin wanted to laugh. “And risk centuries of bad luck and misery on you and those who succeed you? You’re one brave young man.”

“We don’t have the Zumurruda,” the girl repeated, this time with more emphasis, “but we know where to find it.”

At this, the two other individuals in the room seemed taken aback. The saif even lowered a little bit.

Foolish humans, Hyunjin mocked inwardly. That was a lie and he knew it. “Oh, really?”

“Na’am.”

He would play along, that was more fun.

“Then take me to it.”

He saw how her pupils trembled. She felt something, he was sure. She knew that he spotted the lie, but she continued with it. Foolish, foolish human.

“You can join us.” Her proposal was met with a sound of protest from the back of the room, but it was not acknowledged. “Whatever your intentions are for seeking the Zumurruda, we can settle them when we find it.”

“But, y–”

Perhaps it was for his personal entertainment did Hyunjin agree. The young man’s almost-objection was a bonus. “I’ll join you.”

•؏•

“Dead? All six of them?!” The man glared at his subordinates angrily. A lord of thieves like him shouldn’t be facing such adversities, he believed, yet his good for nothing underlings couldn’t even retrieve a simple gemstone.

He let out an exaggerated sigh and rolled his eyes, “I shouldn’t be surprised. If one wants anything done around here, one must do it themselves.”

He reached for the lower compartment in his desk and pulled out a book as old as the world. A cloud of dust rose in the air when he placed it on the surface before him. “This one’s tough, huh?”

“Very much, sir–”

“What are you two imbeciles doing still standing here? Move!” his outburst made his two henchmen scurry out of the study, barely avoiding tripping over their own feet on their way.

He rolled his eyes after them for the nth time, wondering why he couldn’t find better minions. Right, these two idiots are the only ones who remained alive.

Flipping through the worn-out pages of the book, his eyes scanned the titles until he found what he needed. “There.”

His lips stretched into an ugly grin as he read over the lines of the summoning spell. “You might’ve been able to defeat the Afarit, but let’s see how well you can handle this one, bearer of the Zumurruda.”

•؏•

“Well, then, I’ll see the three of you by sunrise,” the strange Sahir remarked and before you could say anything, strong wind broke through your temporary home. You turned your face away from the harsh winds but when you looked back up, he was gone. As though he never stood there.

What...was that?

“What just happened?” you heard Jeongin whisper-exclaim and you reached up for the nearby mishkah, lighting it up and watching as its brilliance washed over the room.

You had no idea yourself.

“I don’t know.”

“Y/n— were you not in your right mind? How can you offer to let a stranger, and a dangerous one at that, accompany us?” Minho was baffled, to say the least. Didn’t you say this journey was extremely dangerous and secretive? When did you start letting strangers unto your plans?

The partition that stood in between hid the distressed look on your face. How would you explain it to them? That stranger had a bizarre aura, something was off with him. Too much power, something similar to the energy that radiates off your siblings and off you. Something not entirely human.

“He’s dangerous, Minho,” you resorted to saying, failing to realize how his name rolled off your tongue easily, almost naturally. “He knows we have the Zumurruda. Sharing it is the only solution that doesn’t include bloodshed or eternal damnation.”

“But you can’t trust him, can you? Can we?”

“That’s why we have you.”

Perhaps it was exhaustion that made you say something so…unguarded. For a fleeting moment, the real you peeked at the world. No Jinn to be concerned with, no curses, just what you really wished to say.

You knew you appeared to dislike the prince, it was a façade made to fool your Jinni half. You tried to ingrain that in your mind through your actions and speech, everything you did was planned and calculated to keep the monster at bay.

But some rare times, the closed off bit of your heart would speak. You didn’t trust the Sahir, but you trusted Minho. That would be enough.

When you received no response, you lay back down, clutching the Zumurruda as you murmured goodnight. You’d rather not hear an answer to that.

On the other side of the partition, Jeongin looked at his cousin with a raised brow. This is new.

If he knew no better, he’d assume the prince had forgotten how to speak. The saif in his hand hung limply at his side as he stared at the makeshift wall made of palm tree fronds. An unexplainable expression illuminated his features.

What did you mean? He didn’t want to believe what his mind told him. Why would he give himself such hope?

Sighing, he shook his head and dropped his sword on the side of the bed. It was too late in the night and his thoughts had been strained enough. “Goodnight, Jeongin.”

“Goodnight.” The younger royal continued to watch him, curious but also sympathetic. In a way, he didn’t understand the manner in which his cousin thought; why he kept trying to make you see him as someone other than an unlikable betrothed. But in another way, he understood completely.

Minho loved you, and it was something almost magical. No matter what you did, the feelings he’d garnered over the years only burned brighter. And although Jeongin complained about how hopeless your case was, he was almost sorry for the prince.

Hundreds were ready to dedicate their lives for him, yet the only life he cared about was one with you.

•؏•

The sun brought a new day with it despite your weary limbs’ complaints. You rose with an unusual sense of unease in your heart. You dreaded what this day held for you.

The Sahir was indeed there when the sun rose, looking as though he didn’t plan an ambush at the dead of night. He introduced himself as Hyunjin, and you ignored the uncanny familiarity of the name.

That morning, the Zumurruda’s pull directed you south, away from the mountains. It came as a surprise, considering that in Chan’s journal, he mentioned moving east. You don’t remember reading about the Zumurruda changing routes…

“Do we know where we’re heading?” you felt his presence before you heard his voice, dark, corrupt. It made all your senses perk up.

Hyunjin fell in step beside you, and you didn’t have to steal a glance at Minho to know that a scowl was beginning to form on his face. The three of you were walking side by side while the Sahir trailed a few steps behind. What made him join, you guessed, was to bother you.

The orb of light in the sky was lathering the golden grains of sand with formidable heat, and the blows of wind were doing very little to help any of you cool off. You were not in a state to be bothered.

“Shamal.” Your response should’ve showed that you didn’t want to talk, but it seemed that Hyunjin couldn’t take the hint. “Yes, but to where? We can’t just be traveling south blindly.”

“To a place, that’s for sure.” You let out an exasperated breath.

“Your vagueness is quite–”

“You should learn to understand people’s tones,” Minho cut him off, sounding uncharacteristically hostile, not unreasonably though.

“Ah, it’s the angry saif man,” a sickeningly sweet smile drew itself on Hyunjin’s lips. “I haven’t forgiven you yet for threatening to kill me.”

The Amir only glared in response and you began to regret the moment you offered to let the Sahir join you on this trek.

“It honestly baffles me. What is someone like you doing with them?” he reminded you of some ladies at court. Those who only yapped gossip and rumors. Maybe you should’ve let Minho kill him when he had the chance.

Your silence only prompted him to continue, enjoying the way his words made the energy around you crackle angrily. “Really, what need do you have of two common swordsmen? Are they guards of some sort? Or are you perhaps…” his gaze traveled between the three of you before a knowing smirk made an appearance, “Ah, I see now.”

At that point, you were sure he was purposely riling you up. Stopping short, you turned to glare at him and for a blink, his eyes glowed red. You thought you’d imagined the face of the Devil in his, a terrifying sneer and evil eyes.

Hallucinations, you pushed your worrying thoughts back. “I don’t appreciate you speaking that way– What in the…” you trailed away when a shadow fell over the four of you, blocking out sunlight completely. Even Hyunjin grew silent.

Daring to look up, you were met with the silhouette of an enormous bird, circling over you like a predator.

“Um...what is that?”

You were too scared to answer Jeongin’s question, you weren’t even sure you wanted to know the answer. “I-I don’t know but it doesn’t—”

The ginormous bird stopped circling the air, and with heart-stopping realization on your behalf, dived headfirst toward you. A shout was leaving your lips before you could process what was happening. “Run!”

A Rokh. You’ve read about the mystical bird in ancient books. It lived in the highest mountains, at the very peak, and summoning it required a forgotten and forbidden spell. Fear, for a reason other than the beast trying to have you for lunch, flooded your heart.

Someone was trying to stop you.

The squawk that rang at your ears was deafening, and you found yourself falling to your knees while pressing the palms of your hands against them in pain. A violent blow of sandy wind resulting from the Rokh swooping in was almost enough to push you off the ground. You would’ve lost all sense of the world had that unsettling feeling not made an appearance. The same warning that came from the depths of the earth before the Afarit attacked at the palace.

You stood with a start, wobbling a little as you tried to blink the sand out of your eyes. Something was coming.

The Rokh was back in the sky, putting you in the inconvenience of darkness. Alone. You tried to find the rest, tried to find Minho, but the sand obscuring your vision made it an impossible feat. Panic quickened your breaths. Where are they?

You thought you saw a figure approach you and you called hopefully, “Minho? Is that you?”

The howling wind responded instead. You tried to walk closer. “Jeongin?”

Then you began noticing something weird about the figure’s walk. It wasn’t a walk, you realized when you squinted at it. It was a hop. And at that, you noticed that no matter how close the figure got, only one half of its body was visible. One leg, one arm, half a head, and half a torso.

That was when you became convinced you were living a nightmare.

Before you could attempt to run away from the Nasnas, it pounced on you, sinking its single clawed hand through the layers of cloth and into your shoulder. The scream that left your lips wasn’t entirely yours, but of the other soul sharing your body. Feral, as it tore through the bonds you’ve trapped it with.

Pain had blanked your mind out, so you didn’t quite understand what you were doing when you reached for the monster’s only shoulder with a clawed hand. The Nasnas let out a terrible shriek when your claws sunk into its skin, making it lose hold of you and reel back. You didn’t stop there.

Power came in immense amounts when you let your Jinni half make an appearance, but so was the hunger for bloodshed. You pulled, dislodging the arm and tearing it from the body. The spray of blood that fell over you sizzled, but that was the least of your concerns. The limb turned itself into a sword in your grip and you spun to slash it through the agonized Nasnas. Its tortured screams came to a choked stop.

Your heart should’ve hurt you from the strength and frequency of its beats, but you were instead staring at the mutilated body of the monster that attacked you. Its pale skin was splattered with gruesome red, the same shade dirtying the precious yellow of the sand. A strange sign on its forehead caught your attention and you leaned closer to examine it before a shout came from the distance. “Y/n!”

Cold dread prickled your skin as you straightened up instantly, praying no one saw you kill the Nasnas.

You were quickly assured that no one saw you, simply because they were all being attacked too. The wind had settled, and you were able to find your companions each stuck in a throng of bloodthirsty Nasanees. The sight made the Jinni inside you feverish. More to kill.

La, this wasn’t you. You weren’t a cruel killer, the secret sword training sessions you’d have with your brother didn’t make you one. But it only made sense to curse a family with the most violent Jinn there was, no?

You spotted a few monsters hopping toward you and Minho not too far away, who was cutting through the beasts as he ran to you. This is going to be an ugly fight, you thought with a grimace when you noticed the bleeding scratch on Minho’s cheek. You forgot you were almost completely covered in blood, both yours and the Nasnas’.

Just don’t get too carried away, you reminded yourself, looking up to find the Rokh still flying above you. Or just get out of this alive.

The Nasanees reached you first, but you were ready this time. Fighting wasn’t something you did regularly beyond the quiet training court, but it was almost second nature when you let your powers take over.

Your saif stabbed through the first Nasnas’ middle and you pulled it sideways, cutting a clean line through. This seemed to be a distraction because the second monster decided to lunge at you while the former one toppled to the ground. The force of the impact drove you to the ground, making it a struggle to push the Nasnas off you. A struggle, but it was not impossible.

You managed to roll out of its grip, sparing no time to plunge your sword into its back to kill it. Standing back up, you expected another monster to attack, but the one that was reaching for you had the bloodied tip of a saif poking through its chest.

It crumpled to the ground when the sword was aggressively retracted to reveal Minho standing on the other side. The erratic rise and fall of his chest was very visible as his gaze trailed over the lifeless bodies sprawled between the two of you. A delirious grin stretched his lips when he looked back at you. “Where did you learn to fight so impeccably?”

“Changbin taught me.” that small smile was yours. “Are you okay?”

You didn’t miss the way he faltered for a moment at your question before answering, “I’m okay. Are you?”

It was an ironic question, considering the blood that tinted your skin and filled the air with that nauseating stench. “I’m good.” The wounds on your shoulder would heal in no time.

Your gaze moved to where you thought you saw Jeongin, skillfully countering all the attacks aimed at him. It seemed to be a Darilmalekan thing. “We should help him.”

Minho nodded and immediately rushed to where his cousin fought. You followed, gaze gravitating back to the Rokh in the sky. You had enough trouble on the ground, the threat up above was only adding to the tension.

Some Nasanees came in your way but taking them down was easy. You’d never found yourself in a fight until recently, and you realized how different it felt to fight alongside someone. There was a wordless, mutual understanding between you and Minho; protect each other’s backs, simply.

Maybe you liked the way it felt.

From the corner of your eye, you could see Hyunjin, standing with his hands clasped before him and eyes a hellish red. Any Nasnas that approached him would either drive its claws into its own guts, chew off its hand, or attack one of its kind. He was controlling them, manipulating them, and an angry thought crossed your mind. He could help the three of you, but he had chosen to stand aside and watch you get killed.

Because he knows we have the Zumurruda. What good does he gain from saving us?

You gripped your sword tighter, slashing it across a snarling monster. We’ll survive just to spite him, then.

“What are these creatures?” Jeongin asked with a shout when he spotted the two of you near. Your saif sliced through a Nasnas’s throat and you came to stand beside him, heaving a breath, “These are the kind of offspring you get when a Jinni and a human are the parents.”

“They keep coming!” Minho’s desperate exclamation made your stomach flip. They kept coming, indeed. No matter how many you killed, there was always more to surround you. You doubted any of you would be able to last long enough.

You can finish them all, a voice in your head suggested, wicked and sinister. Just let go. Let me in. Let your true self show.

La! You pushed the voice back, but it was of no use. You saw blood wherever you looked, pale corpses wherever you stepped, cries of aggression wherever you listened. Next to you, Jeongin’s left sleeve was torn away, exposing an ugly gash across his upper arm. Minho, a few monsters away, was suffering more than a single scratch. Your shoulder pulsed with a numbing ache.

Too much.

It was too much.

You could no longer keep track of the swings of your saif or the creatures falling lifeless at your feet. This ambush was bound to destroy you.

And perhaps what finally snapped the cord was the ear-splitting squawk coming from above. Daring to look up and finding the Rokh heading straight toward you, you lost all awareness of the world.

It felt as though something was tearing through your guts, burning, boiling. Your voice was no longer yours as a wrangled scream left your lips. It might’ve been pain from the Nasanees that pounced on your doubled over body or what was rising within you, but when you opened your eyes again, you only saw red.

Standing up, you felt almost weightless. The monsters that came in your way were like sticks to snap with your clawed hands. Your sword flashed between the masses until you were standing alone. They’d all been killed or had escaped; you didn’t care. Your attention was fixed on the Rokh.

To any onlooker, you supposed you looked deranged, standing in the way of the giant bird. But maybe that mattered little compared to your appearance. Red, blazing eyes, dark, horrifying horns, and bloodied, blackened fists. You were still human, but not quite.

In the background, someone called your name. The voice made your head pound with pain, but you ignored it, raising your saif and flinging it right at the approaching Rokh. The action took no effort, but the sword swiveled through the air with unhuman force, landing in the narrow joint between the bird’s wing and body. Any regular weapon would do it no harm, but this was a cursed sword, surging with Jinni powers.

The Rokh’s wings flailed with a thunderous squawk as you felt your powers bleed into its body, leaving a trail of havoc and corruption. You watched as it thrashed in the air, hurtling toward the ground at an alarming speed, but you didn’t run away. The giant bird fought against the venomous magic, you felt it, but it was losing the fight, easily. It wasn’t long before it crashed into the ground, limbs folded in awkward positions, sending a great puff of sand into the air and forcing you to shield your eyes.

Finally, there was silence.

The wind was quiet as the enormous creature spent its last, excruciating moments. It was as though the universe had held its breath, and only the untamed beating of your heart was apathetic enough to make any noise.

The nightmare was over.

A tingle ran across your skin as you eyed the destruction around you, the chilling bloodshed. Repulsion, disgust, or horror were nowhere to be found in your heart, and you knew why. The sight only made the little voice in your head quiver in exhilaration.

But then, even that voice went silent. “Y-Y/n?”

You spun around in a beat, and a crushing realization struck when your gaze fell upon the Darilmalekan prince, his cousin, and the Sahir. Oh, no.

The reality of the situation dawned on you as your conscious rushed back in. You’ve made a terrible, horrible mistake. The flames in your eyes died out as you returned to your normal form, horns and claws disappearing like illusions.

Hyunjin looked oddly amused, Jeongin was blatantly petrified, but what hurt you was the expression of pure fear distorting Minho’s features. Great going, a voice in your head mocked, you’ve crushed whatever crumbling bond the two of you had.

No, what hurt you the most was the fact that his fear was directed at you, caused by you.

A demon in human skin.

٥

“I-I can explain— I—” the stutter in your voice made you feel small and vulnerable. It felt foreign, wrong. You weren’t a weakling, never were.

Yet, you had never been more helpless.

Minho’s expression changed very little, but he managed to blink once, twice, and thrice before forcing his gaze to the sandy ground. The pulsing ache on his cheek was long forgotten as he inhaled shakily. What he had seen couldn’t be real. It didn’t make sense at all. Yet it happened. Horns erupted from your forehead and claws extended from your fingers, he saw it happen right before his eyes.

For a moment, the monsters were pouncing on you, but in the next moment, you were cutting your way through them with utter ease and terrible violence. Killing, you made it seem easy and simple. There was no remorse on your face.

That wasn’t you.

But...it was.

Daring to look back at your distraught face, he felt his throat run dry. He didn’t know what to say.

Sensing the awkward, still tension, Hyunjin sighed, “Are we waiting for another attack? We should get going and leave explanations for later.”

“R-Right,” you mumbled, letting your gaze fall to the ground and turning southward to resume your long trek wordlessly. Hyunjin followed you instantly, disregarding the bodies scattered across the ground and the large, lifeless bird lying nearby.

You avoided looking at the carcasses as you trudged ahead, finding that one worry was more than enough to keep your mind occupied. The two royals soon followed, but they stayed back — not that you were paying attention, of course.

The wound on your shoulder was almost healed, courtesy of your Jinni powers, but Minho and Jeongin had injuries that should be tended to. They were slightly deep scratches which they cleaned along the way, unwilling to interrupt the walk. Their silence hurt you more than it should’ve.

You’re being sensitive. Get ahold of yourself! A voice scolded inwardly.

The journey was appropriately silent this time, even the Sahir remained quiet as you crossed the sands. You stopped a few times to rest and reenergize, but no words were exchanged. At least not between you and anyone else. You thought you heard Jeongin mutter something to the prince a few times.

That was better. You had more time to think about the reasonable explanation you’d give them later. But even the slow hours of sunlight didn’t seem to be enough, and night befell the desert sooner than you liked.

You reached another village by then, just as you calculated earlier that day, and seeing your bloodied attire and terrible states, the villagers ushered you into their homes quickly.

They offered your group the change of clothing you needed, a place to wash up, and some medical supplies — you didn’t have to pretend to clean your healed wound.

Then, you were sat for dinner in the isolated guest house of the village. The suffocating tension only increased then, and none of you found the will to satisfy your pleading stomachs.

Seated in a small circle around the food, quiet much like the previous hours of the day had been, you dared to be the first one to break the unbearable silence with a sigh. “I think it’s time for an explanation.”

At your hushed words, Minho’s head snapped up, and a similar look of hesitant curiosity illuminated his cousin’s face. Hyunjin, however, smiled, eyes twinkling red when you thought you were hallucinating. “Ah, finally. Go on, demon girl, tell us.”

You caught the dark look Minho threw his way but decided to ignore his words, collecting your thoughts with a deep inhale. The food will be getting cold. “This story is a long one.”

“My family,” you paused, remembering that Hyunjin didn’t know of your royal status, “has been cursed for around a century.”

The prince’s eyebrow arched at this and you took that as a sign to continue your tale. “During the first century of the Arshilmalek Alliance, internal conflict was wreaking havoc across Tallilmalek. The royal forces were in a state of war with the citizens of the kingdom, many were lost due to those attacks. One...of my ancestors fought in a minor battle against the citizen-made forces. The fight took them near the mountains, where the house of one of the most powerful Sahirat was built. The fight was brutal and violent, and it unfortunately killed many innocent children and women. The Sahira’s child was one of them.

“The child and his mother were heading toward their home when they got caught up midst the fight. The mother tried to escape and protect him, but one soldier suspected her of being a threat and shot an arrow in her direction. The soldier...was my ancestor, and his arrow went into the child’s heart.”

Deadly silence settled in the room when you stopped talking. Your story wasn’t over, it had barely begun, but you gave a moment of silence for the innocent soul lost to the raging fires of war. Not a breath was heard, even the wind outside seemed to hush down and listen to your dark secret. An echo of the Sahira’s cry of agony many, many years ago.

“The Sahira caught the bleeding child in her arms with a cry of distress,” you gulped, hating how vivid the scene seemed in your head, “When her eyes landed on the culprit she screamed at him, a curse that would haunt him and his successors forever. May you never forget the pain of loss.

“The soldier thought nothing of her shouts, and while he felt a pang of guilt in his heart, he returned to the fight. Some weeks later, the war ended with the victory of the crown. The soldier went back to his wife, who was pregnant with his son at the time and nearing labor. It wasn’t long before the couple welcomed a new member to their family.

“At first, their son seemed like the other kids. He played with his cousins, he studied with his elders, and he loved his parents very much. But on his sixth birthday, the first incident took place. His mother had gone to tuck him into bed, but never returned to her room. When...the husband went to look for her, he found her in his son’s room, lying in a pool of her own blood. The hole where her heart had been gaped at him, while his son cried over his mother’s body, hands bloody.

“When asked, the son would say he didn’t know what had happened. His mother was there, then she was dying on the floor of his room. It made no sense for a child, only six years of age, to commit such a heartless crime! So, the man decided that an assassin had slipped into his house and murdered his wife, and the boy was put back to bed.

“Some weeks later, in the darkest hour of the night, a scream was heard in the man’s house. He woke with a start and rushed to the source of the sound, which led him to the stables. There, he found his son hunched over the disfigured body of a pony. His pony, he realized, but that didn’t matter as much as the horns erupting from the boy’s forehead and the claws stretching from his fingers.

“His eyes glowed like fire when he snapped his head to look at his father. Something pulsed in the child’s grip, but the man was too terrified to try to know what it was. His son looked like an Ifrit.

“Luckily then, the little boy snapped out of it and dropped to the ground with a sob when he saw his dead pony. The terrible truth had revealed itself to the man, and he found himself remembering the Sahira’s words that day. The first Jinni child had been born.

“Devastated, the man installed extra protection in his house, sent his son to all the Atiba’a and Sahara in the city, and tried to find a way to reverse the curse. But it was all in vain. Many tried to exorcise the Jinni inside the little boy, but none succeeded. No spell nor medication helped. The man gave up then, but the nightmare didn’t end there.

“News reached him that his niece, a few years younger than his son, had murdered her sleeping father and attempted to kill her mother too. The curse had spread to the entirety of the family. Every child born after the war had a Jinni inside them, thirsty for their loved ones’ blood.

“The family denied the curse in the beginning, but when the attacks increased in frequency, they knew they had to find a way to live with it. The parents began to treat their children coldly, to spark dislike and detest in their hearts and protect themselves. When the new generation of half-Jinn took over, they took the liberty to understand the Jinn inside them and develop ways to keep them in check.

“My family became known for their lack of emotions. Generation after generation was taught to carry no feelings to avoid waking the Jinn up. But to replace that hole in their hearts, they began to discover what having a Jinni inside oneself gives from power.”

You dared to tear your gaze from the carpet, sighing as though telling that story was a wearying effort. Quite literally, it was. “What you’ve seen earlier was only some of it.”

“Some of it? There’s— there’s more?” Jeongin’s disbelief didn’t mask the fear in his tone. You couldn’t blame him. You’d be scared of yourself too. “Na’am.”

“And you have full control of the Jinni?” the Sahir seemed intrigued, which didn’t soothe the unease you felt near him. You avoided his eyes when you answered, “Most of the time. It would awaken on its own due to the curse if I’m not careful with my feelings.”

“So, we are all in danger of your Jinni waking up and slaughtering us in our sleep?”

The question shouldn’t have made your chest tighten, especially coming from Hyunjin, but you could feel Minho’s intense gaze on you. Somehow, it made the words coming out of your mouth hurt.

“La, I have no feelings for any of you.”

At this, the prince stood up, excusing himself in an incoherent whisper before rushing out of the room. His cousin soon followed after giving you a confused look, which left you alone with the Sahir.

You knew it would be impolite to leave the food untouched, but you had no will to eat. If anything, you wanted to throw up. Perhaps it was how exposed you felt. No one outside the Tallilmalekan palaces knew of the curse, and no one should.

You’d just broken that, and to none other than your betrothed.

Why were you frustrated?

“You know,” Hyunjin sighed and you looked at him with your lips pressed in a straight line. The Darilmalekan royals were no longer around, you could finally confront him freely. You had much to say. “What?”

“You and I...we’re the same.” You noticed that his hand was closed over a charm he wore around his neck. It wasn’t there before.

“How so?”

“You felt it, didn’t you? That strange energy.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” you denied. What did this stranger know?

When his eyes began to glow red, you wanted to look away, but it was as though something in them pulled you in. The other soul in you stirred, almost in recognition. Or repulsion.

Something was wrong with the Sahir.

“You felt my presence that night, that’s why you warned Minho, right?” when you didn’t respond, he pressed, “You felt the Nasanees before they came. Don’t you see? Our souls speak the same language.”

You had to get away. This Sahir wasn’t a normal one, something was very wrong. “Pardon me—”

“It’s the whisper of corruption, bloodlust, hell. Like calls to like—”

“Kafa! What do you know about the curse?” you snapped, letting your eyes blaze red threateningly. It only made Hyunjin smile, slow and cryptic. “Oh, I know more than you could imagine, demon girl.”

•؏•

“It seems that Han Jisung was right, for once in his life,” Minho remarked when he sensed his cousin’s presence nearby. He’d left the guest house for a breath of fresh air; it was becoming suffocating inside.

The moon had hidden that night, as if it knew of the events that would unfold and preferred to not witness them. The prince wished he could hide too, return to his palace and his normal life, and forget everything. No magic gemstones, no hellish monsters, and no half-Jinni princesses.

Was he frightened by what you had confessed? Not much. Overwhelmed could be a better word. He didn’t know what to make of this new information. You, who he thought he’d known throughout his life, turned out to be someone else.

Or not.

It conflicted him. You were still you, still his Amira, right? That had always been you, claws and horns, even if he’d never seen them before.

Then why did his heart hurt so much?

“I have no feelings for any of you,” Jeongin repeated your words with a shake of his head. He could almost sense the moment his cousin’s heart collapsed. “I’m sorry, Minho.”

Right, that.

It made perfect sense to the Amir, and he despised it. Your never-changing indifference toward him, your stiff behavior, his useless efforts — you were protecting him from yourself.

No matter what he did, you’d never open your heart to him. You couldn’t risk it.

What did you mean the previous night, then?

It was...unfair, and Minho knew it was silly of him to say. What were the odds of helplessly falling in love with a half-Jinni princess?

The prince sighed, letting his shoulders sag dejectedly, “La ba’as. I suppose we...were never meant to be.”

“Don’t say that...” Jeongin pursed his lips while giving him a sharp look. His cousin was never one to give up, not after a hundred dry smiles and nonchalant words. Something had always pushed him to return those smiles sincerely, to not let rejection bring his spirits down. But the light in his eyes dimmed, and for the first time ever, he looked truly defeated. He knew how much this certain defeat affected him.

“I’m sure there’s a way to fix this.”

Minho gave him a small, sad smile. It was visible despite the darkness of the night. “I’m not sure anymore, Jeongin.”

“But—”

“I think...I need some time to think about it.”

“Alright. I’ll give you some space then.” Jeongin gave in, biting his bottom lip as if keeping in anything he wanted to add. With one last look at Minho, he turned around to return to the guest house. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” the prince mumbled after him. He wasn’t sure if space was what he needed because it seemed to make his thoughts double in loudness.

Not meant for each other, the voice in his mocked. Should’ve lost hope long ago.

Perhaps it was time to lose hope and move on. Better now than wait for his heart to be crushed further.

Minho didn’t want to, but he would try to disregard his feelings.

You seemed to do a great job of that. It shouldn’t be too hard, right?

•؏•

It was impossible.

When Minho awakened the next day and caught sight of you, none of the previous night’s sentiments mattered. He knew he was being a fool, but he couldn’t leave his heart behind. At least, not so soon.

Who was he without loving you?

So, Minho carried his saif and resumed the journey, following you to wherever the Zumurruda guided you.

The sun wasn’t any kinder that day, but no enormous birds were to be seen and for that, you were grateful. You led your companions south, as the Zumurruda continued to compel you. It was a little worrying, as there were no marked villages along your way. You might have to spend the night in the open desert if no solutions came across your minds.

“Can’t you use your...powers to set camp when it’s time?” Jeongin wondered and you shook your head, “La. I can’t transform sand into a house.” It wasn’t a body part you could make weapons out of...

“Oh, well.” He puffed out his cheeks, slightly disappointed. You suppressed a smile. The tension from the previous day had lessened, which was a great relief. You weren’t sure you would be able to handle another suffocatingly silent walk. Although, Minho still didn’t say much.

“What’s the worst that could happen? Have none of you slept under the moon before?” Hyunjin rolled his eyes, missing the look exchanged between you and Jeongin. Royals don’t sleep in the open.

“No, we haven’t. But I suppose there’s nothing to worry about,” the younger royal said. “Y/n, you’ve got Minho, and I have my pouch to sleep on... It wouldn’t be so bad.”

You glared, and an embarrassed cough came from where Minho walked. It only made a mischievous grin grow on Jeongin’s lips.

Rolling your eyes dismissively, you shut your thoughts out before they became dangerous. “We might find a Waha along the way. There’s still a long day ahead of us.”

“Pray to the Aliha we do,” Jeongin muttered, raising his head to squint at the sun, “It’s formidably cold during the night.”

And you did. You wished in your heart for somewhere safe to spend the night at before lapsing into comfortable silence. The four of you traveled undisturbed for several hours, stopping to rest before continuing your seemingly endless route.

No signs of life crossed your path as the sun inched westward. No villages or caravans, not even a tree or a well. You’d begun to worry when the sky’s blue poured into a light purple, until a dark bush in the distance caught your attention. “There’s something ahead!”

It was too late for a mirage to fool you, and the closer you got, the clearer it became. The dark bush rose to become the tips of a cluster of palm trees. You’d found an oasis.

You found yourself rushing toward it as if it would slip away like a fragment of your imagination. Your prayers were answered after all. You wouldn’t have to sleep the night in the cruel cold.

The oasis wasn’t big, but neither was it small. You walked through several rows of trees before reaching the heart keeping them alive, a spring of water. It was more than you could’ve asked for.

Running to the water, Jeongin was the first to plunge his hands in and splash his face with it. Hyunjin disregarded him and found a palm tree to lean on while Minho stayed back, looking around before announcing, “I’ll gather tinder to light a fire.”

“I’ll join you.” Jeongin stood and unsheathed his saif. If Minho had given him a discouraging look, he didn’t see it before following him deeper into the oasis.

You were once more left alone with Hyunjin.

You decided to sit at the base of a tree a little away from the Sahir, still unsettled by his presence. Bringing out a bundle of tamir, you chewed on a piece to recharge when Hyunjin asked, “What kind of tinder are those two planning to collect with their suyoof?”

You took your time before swallowing your food and answering him nonchalantly, “I suppose they’ll be cutting some fronds from a low nakhla.”

The Sahir nodded wistfully before shaking his head as if in disbelief. “It still strikes me as a wonder why the two of them are accompanying you on this journey. You clearly don’t depend on them.”

You ignored him, instead taking notice of the thin crescent moon smiling at you from its reflection on the water. There’s some light tonight, you thought, mind wandering off to Minho’s and Jeongin’s whereabouts. You could hear the sound of branches being chopped off not too far away.

“Ignoring my questions only confirms my assumptions, y/n. You’re using them, aren’t you? What else would a half-Jinni want with useless humans?” Hyunjin pressed, almost as if desperately trying to dig out an evil plan from you. It was beginning to become annoying.

A ‘tsk’ left your lips as you rolled your eyes at him, knowing that he could clearly see you. “I am not using them, Hyunjin. They are my companions.”

“Companions? Pathetic,” the Sahir chuckled dryly. “Jeongin, I think I can understand, but the other one? What company does he provide exactly? All he does is brandish his saif around and glare. Or is it the face you’re keeping him around for?”

You didn’t understand it completely, but something about Hyunjin speaking about Minho that way bothered you. What did the Sahir know about him to talk like that?

You knew you were letting your emotions have the best of you when you replied bitterly, “He has a name, you know. And he’s my fiancé.”

You didn’t have to look at him to know he was lifting an eyebrow. His uncanny interest sent a chill up your spine.

The conversation was fortunately cut short when Minho arrived along with Jeongin, each carrying a few branches. They set on kindling the fire in no time, and a bright flame soon lit up the area. The shadows that danced on the palm trees were almost eerie, but that didn’t bother Jeongin as he plopped on the sand wearily, dropping his bag and sighing tiredly. He didn’t care to eat something before wishing you all a good night and dozing off almost immediately. You didn’t question his behavior, finding yourself eager to do just the same. If only the ever so faint ache in your heart would quiet down.

The cause of that ache, you knew, but found no courage to confront.

You weren’t a fool to deny that Minho’s silence bothered you more than it should’ve. It was as if he were purposely avoiding you, and if you were to be honest, you missed the meager talk you’d share with him.

You might never be able to talk to him normally again, just when things began to better. With that thought, you gave up on trying to fall asleep and took on gazing at the dotted sky. It had become so beguilingly silent that you would’ve missed the faint rustle of a sword running through sand. Almost.

You snapped your head in the direction of the sound, and that was when you noticed that on the other side of the spring, someone was awake.

Perhaps just as conflicted with thought as you were, Minho had chosen to lean on a tree away from the three of you. He, too, had trouble falling asleep.

He couldn’t see you like you’d seen him, clear and beautiful despite the dark. As he’d always been.

Looking around, you found that the Sahir was asleep, or at least seemed to be. You held your breath. That was your chance.

Gulping anxiously, you pushed yourself to your feet and walked carefully through the sand and around the glimmering eye of the spring. It didn’t take long for the prince to notice you, for he stopped playing with his saif and laid it on the ground gently. Something flashed in his eyes, unexplainable, when they rose to regard your approaching figure.

For a moment there, you hesitated. What if I’m doing the wrong thing? But that thought was shoved away by the words that fell out of your lips thoughtlessly. “May I sit?”

Minho’s response came in a whisper after a few beats of silence, as though he was in disbelief. “Of course.”

You mustered a weak smile, which went unseen, before sitting beside him on the hardened sand. You could see the fire flicker and wave at you from across the spring as if it were wishing you good luck. You needed it.

“Have you eaten?”

Your question was met with a shrug. “La... I’m not hungry.”

You hummed in acknowledgement before letting silence take you into its suffocating embrace. You’d run out of things to say, and you dreaded delving into the topic. But you knew that there was no escaping it, that this might be the only chance you’d get to talk in privacy, so you inhaled deeply and pushed down your worries.

What’s the worst that could happen anyway? You’d tried all what the universe had to offer.

“Do you remember Changmin?”

Minho was slightly taken aback by your question, but he nodded nonetheless, “Na’am. Why?”

He remembered your little brother. He was only a few months old when he was announced dead in an assassination. It was said that mourning over his death killed the Tallilmalekan Queen.

Your gaze was trained on the crescent in the sky as you spoke, letting yet another family secret free. “Ummi had done a great job with raising the three of us. She’d repressed her Jinni excellently. But with his birth...her biggest fear lived.”

The air stopped in Minho’s lungs when a ghastly realization struck about what you were telling him. Your little brother was not assassinated but rather—

“Perhaps she’d thought she was safe, so she let her heart loose,” you paused with a heavy sigh, “It was only a few months before we found her wailing over his lifeless body, covered in his blood. It...killed her.”

The Amir couldn’t speak. His tongue felt too heavy to lift. When you’d first explained the curse, he thought he’d encompassed the horror of it. He was wrong.

You sighed again, knowing that your story must’ve been unpleasant to hear. “I-I suppose what I’m trying to say is...asifa. I owe you an explanation for all that’s happening.”

When he remained quiet, you continued, “I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors, and there is some truth to them. We’ve kept the curse in our family for as long as we can remember and as a result, people began to take notice of our outside relations and political marriages. We can’t afford to torment more innocent people with the crimes of our ancestors. I-I know I can’t ask this of you, but I hope you would keep some understanding in your heart. I don’t want you to be hurt— I don’t want to hurt you.”

Minho would’ve thought he imagined the last few words had they not repeated in his head like a prayer. Suddenly, he felt like the most selfish prince to walk upon the land. There you were, worried that you’d hurt him, while he was letting his own heartbreak blind him. You didn’t choose to live that way, why was he putting the blame on you?

“You don’t have to apologize,” he spoke, startled by the strange rawness in his voice. “It’s not— it’s not your fault.”

You wanted to laugh as you brought your gaze down, but a shiny object caught your attention instead. The ring encircling the prince’s fourth finger reflected the thin moonlight elegantly, almost mocking in its pride. You didn’t recall seeing him without it ever since your engagement ceremony a couple of years ago. It made your heart lurch weirdly.

Looking back at your bare fingers, guilt crumbled like a brittle statue in your chest. La, you had a lot to apologize for. “It’s not that.

“Ever throughout our lives, I’ve made you feel unwanted for no apparent reason. You deserve much better than that, had fate not been so cruel. Asifa, for despite all my efforts, you are still in danger.”

“What do you mean?” Minho gulped, making you chuckle sardonically, “Have you tried fighting your heart before?”

You didn’t expect an answer, but you still paused before continuing, “It’s not easy... You don’t make it any easier either.”

When you’d spent your life cutting your conversations as short as can be, it felt almost liberating to speak with the prince for that long. You decided that maybe, you’d let your guard down for the night. Just this once.

But while you savored the sweetness of that momentary freedom, Minho felt as though he was running out of air. Was that a slight confession, or was exhaustion finally getting into his mind? He was glad you didn’t push for any responses from him, or else he might’ve said something undeniably foolish.

You had too much power over him, and he doubted you even knew.

“S-So,” the prince cleared his throat. He shouldn’t get too happy, not with the curse still holding you down. “that’s how it’ll stay?”

You didn’t have to ask to know that he meant the odd relationship the two of you had; hidden feelings and unrequited love. You smiled weakly, “La. There’s something...you should know.”

At that, Minho hummed, prompting you to proceed. And you did, with an undertone of excitement. “There is a way to break the curse.”

“The Sahira who created the curse had enchanted a stone heart to absorb all her magic when she dies. It is called the Sahira’s Heart, and it is hidden somewhere in the Isle of the damned.

“Shattering the Sahira’s Heart would destroy all the curses she’d laid. To find it, the Sahira created the Zumurruda.”

Minho was quick to put the pieces together and he concluded with newfound hope, “And the Zumurruda actually leads to the Sahira’s Heart.”

“Correct,” you nodded. “Many princes have tried finding it before me, but as you can see, none succeeded.”

“Why?”

“It’s a dangerous journey.”

“Why are you taking it then? Aren’t you...afraid?”

His question caught you off guard. Following the Zumurruda had always been a purpose you ran after. Never had you stopped to think about fear. Sure, you knew that the journey wasn’t a passing breeze, but were you afraid?

You shrugged, “La.”

“And I know you might be thinking that if the princes before me failed, I should know better than to follow the same route. But you must know that unlike those princes, I am willing to use my powers,” you exhaled, voice dropping to a murmur, “even if it costs me dearly.”

It was at that moment Minho knew that he would follow you to hell and back unhesitatingly. He was bound to you until the sky falls, and a curse won’t be changing that anytime. “I’ll be with you then, Amirati.”

You smiled, swiftly calming the ripple of flutters in your heart. “Shukran—”

The word stuck in your throat like pebbles in mud when a gust of unease slammed into you. Something was wrong.

No, something was approaching.

You stood with a start, eyes darting from one side to another in suffocating anticipation. This was different. Unlike the Afarit or the Nasanees, it felt big, and far more dangerous. Untamed.

Like calls to like, Hyunjin had said. That thing wasn’t your like.

It felt more like the complete opposite. The Jinni in you seemed almost...afraid.

Your sudden actions made Minho frown in concern, “Is something wrong—” he didn’t get to ask because right then, the ground rumbled, and you reached for him with an exclamation, “Look out!”

٦

The onyx horn appeared to glow in the night. You would’ve been in awe had it not been connected to a terrifying creature, and had it not made you feel lightheaded. This is not good.

The Mi’raj. None of the sketches you’d seen of it prepared you for the sheer horror of the monster. What seemed like an enormous rabbit had fur the color of Qahwa, claws that ripped from darkened paws, eyes that pulsed red, and a magnificent horn that crowned its head. It had an appearance that was so abominable that the Jinni in you repulsed in disgust...or fear.

The beast grunted as it lunged at the two of you, not sparing a moment for you to catch your breath. Pushing Minho out of the way, you threw yourself to the other side and scrambled to your feet when the Mi’raj halted to a stop.

You tasted sand, and Minho shouted above the commotion, “What’s happening?”

“I don’t know. Wake the rest!” You cried as you avoided a stab from the beast’s horn by a hair. You tried calling on to your powers, but it was like lighting a fire midst heartless wind.

It was of no use.

You resorted to running for your life when it caught the bottom of your cloak and ripped it apart. It followed you relentlessly as you stumbled along your way through the palm trees. But you could only run away for so long, and you knew that eventually, it would catch you. Desperation was beginning to savage your heart as helplessness closed in on you.

Why can’t you summon your powers? You opened the doors for your Jinni to take over, but it stayed hidden. It refused to make an appearance.

You were to deal with that monster alone.

That was the first time you’d felt genuine, raw fear, and you never wanted to experience it again. How ironic.

You thought you heard shouts coming from behind, but you couldn’t distinguish them from those in your mind. The Mi’raj seemed to target you alone, and you didn’t have to guess to know why. It, too, came for the Zumurruda.

The Zumurruda.

Oh.

An idea struck you like a splash of water under the blazing sun and you fidgeted to pull the gemstone out of your tunic. You made an abrupt turn, which resulted in the Mi’raj crashing into a few trees. This bought you a few seconds to hold the Zumurruda and call on to your powers again.

The Zumurruda was a relic of great power, and you thought that if you could pull its magic into yourself, you might be able to defeat the Mi’raj. You only had to figure out how to do that.

Your muscles burned from running in the sand, but you couldn’t give in to the pain. The Mi’raj was back on your trail sooner than you wished, but that didn’t matter because you found an opening in the Zumurruda’s pull. A loose thread, and you pulled at it eagerly.

You opened your soul to it, much like you did to welcome your Jinni powers. The Zumurruda’s magic felt cold, corrupt, and it would’ve made you shy away had you not been desperate for anything to save yourself.

You didn’t know if your hands had gotten cold, but the gemstone was suddenly too warm. Magic, so corrupted and viscous, seeped into your system. For a beat there, you realized the mistake you’d committed.

This was the same magic that cursed you and your family. The same magic that damned this land. It was evil. What had you taken in?

A terrible squeak behind you snapped you out of your thoughts and you lost your footing, tripping and twisting your ankle as you came face to face with the sand. But you had no time to dwell over the sharp pain, for the Mi’raj pounced on you with a haunting growl and you were plunged into numbness.

The Zumurruda was still in your hand when you shielded your face with your arms, ready to surrender to your cruel fate with closed eyes. Right then, you thought of home, of your mother and father, of your brother and sister.

You’d tried. You’d tried to end their misery once and for all, for them and for yourself. But that was the end of it all. You thought of Minho, and how heartless fate had been toward the two of you.

Perhaps that was it. That was the last act in the play of your fates.

It felt like an incomplete ending.

A ring of white light exploded from the Zumurruda upon contact with the tip of the Mi’raj’s horn, engulfing you in pure brilliance. For a moment there, you felt light, weightless, as though you were floating amid the clouds before falling back to the hard ground. You felt heavy then. Something pressed on your chest, narrowing your breaths to choked gasps.

Alive or dead, you couldn’t tell, but you caught the shouts that surrounded you before losing yourself to the forbidding darkness.

•؏•

Minho was sure his soul had left his body when he found you lying still under the lifeless body of the Mi’raj. He dropped the torch in his hand and fell to your side, helplessly trying to push off the monster and pull you out. Jeongin rushed to his aid instantly, while Hyunjin observed apathetically.

The three had been following you when a flash of light caught their attention. To the two royals, it was a clear indicator of your whereabouts, but to the Sahir, it was different news. A familiar energy was released with that light, and he was dreadfully aware of its source.

The Zumurruda.

You did something and it cost great magic.

After much struggling, Minho and Jeongin managed to drag your body away from the beast. That’s when Minho noticed something horribly wrong. A curse left his lips as his hands rested on your face in worried pats. “She’s cold— too cold. Bring the torch or anything, we need fire!”

Jeongin stood and hurried to the torch Minho had dropped earlier. It was dying out quickly, but he supposed that was better than nothing.

He brought it back to Minho, who had a hand placed on the side of your neck. There was a pulse, and he released a breath he’d been holding for too long. You’re alive.

Taking the torch from Jeongin, the prince noticed that the flame was getting smaller. It was barely enough to warm you up.

“What are you doing?” Jeongin eyed his cousin weirdly when he unraveled his litham, piled it on the ground, and dropped the flaming torch over it. The fire rose, and Minho responded casually, “We don’t have time to collect more tinder.”

“But what about your head—”

“I’ll be okay. Bring some water and bandages,” Minho dismissed his worries and knelt beside you again, pushing you to lie a little closer to the small fire. He checked for any obvious injuries and noticed that your left hand was bleeding profusely from a wound across your palm.

When he examined it closely, he noticed the shards of a green gemstone poking through the cut and with a grimace, he carefully removed them. The pieces were covered in blood, but they weren’t hard to recognize. They were pieces of—

“The Zumurruda.”

Minho snapped his head in the direction of the voice to find Hyunjin standing behind him, an unsettling expression illuminating his face as he peered at the broken pieces of the gemstone. Gripping the hilt of his sword, the prince stood to face him threateningly, “Stand back.”

“Oh, look who’s becoming angry,” Hyunjin raised a brow, “You know, you are in no place to pretend as though I am the villain here. You lied to me about the Zumurruda and now your fiancée broke it.”

The Sahir’s eyes began to glow red as his voice grew in depth. “If anyone were to be angry here it should be me, and you should’ve known better than to meddle around in—”

A sharp gasp followed by a coarse cough interrupted him, and Minho spent no time to return to your side and help you into a sitting position.

“It’s okay, you’re safe now,” he muttered, although it sounded as though he was reassuring himself instead. He had an arm wrapped around your shoulders to support you, while gently massaging your shoulders to encourage your body to relax. It was a method he’d learned from the royal medic.

Jeongin arrived right then, carrying a waterskin and the necessary supplies. The Sahir watched, silently seething, as the prince offered you water and his cousin tended to your wounded hand. You were mumbling incoherently, refusing water and treatment, but Minho was not giving in. “Y/n, please, you need to drink water.”

“B-But...” your words were slurred, as though the mere act of speech was a grueling effort you weren’t capable of. The prince’s tone was gentle, and it made Hyunjin’s skin crawl in disgust. Or envy. “You can say all you want, just have a sip of water first.”

You remained still for a moment, limply leaning on Minho for support, before weakly reaching out for the waterskin. Quickly noticing your efforts, your fiancé helped you lift the pouch to your lips.

The world slowly blinked into clarity after you took a long sip of water. It took you several moments to realize that Minho was almost holding you in an embrace, and while it made the Jinni inside you recoil, you didn’t wish to move. It was comfortable in ways you forbade yourself from indulging in.

Jeongin had finished bandaging your hand when you noticed shiny, green bits in the ground. Your weariness didn’t hinder you from recognizing it and you whispered, almost in disbelief, “The Zumurruda...”

“Yes, the Zumurruda,” came a voice, so dark and beguiling. The Sahir picked a shard from the ground and let it rest in the palm of his hand. “You broke it.”

At his words, you took in a breath that felt like doom. You’d broken the Zumurruda.

What had you done?

“I knew you had it, but I didn’t expect you to break it. If I’d known, I would’ve taken it from you, you foolish human!” Hyunjin’s fist curled over the green shard and the air began to crackle dangerously. The prince didn’t seem to notice that as he scowled. “Be quiet.”

“No, h-he’s right,” you managed to murmur. “I...broke it.”

“I’m sure there’s another explanation.”

“No, there is not!” Hyunjin advanced threateningly, eyes blazing red as though he was going to lay a deadly curse on the three of you. At that moment, Jeongin swiftly unsheathed his saif and held it against the Sahir’s neck. “I presume we told you to be quiet.”

Hyunjin glared at the young royal before rolling his eyes, “I suppose there is no point in arguing now, is there?”

A weak whisper came from you. “But how...will we find the Sahira’s Heart now?”

Jeongin frowned in confusion, “What?”

“See! It is truly a dilemma,” Hyunjin stepped away from the edge of the sword and clasped his hands behind his back. “How will we find the Sahira’s Heart?”

“Why do you care?” Minho scoffed, to which Hyunjin tutted, “We’ve been in this perilous journey together, I suppose I feel an obligation to finish it with you.”

You would’ve laughed at the prince’s exaggerated eye roll had you not been half conscious. “There’s...no point in resuming this journey...there is no Zumurruda t-to guide us...”

“Right, right,” the Sahir paused, pondering, before he smiled knowingly, “I might know of a way...”

“There’s a cave on the Isle of the Damned fabled to hide riches beyond one’s imagination.” Hyunjin’s tone was that of wonder as he spoke. “It is said that a Marid is trapped there, and it could grant its freer three wishes.”

Jeongin raised an eyebrow, “Isn’t that a mere legend?”

“Yes, but so are the Nasanees and the Rokh. It might as well be true.”

“Are we going to resume this journey relying on a legend?” Minho interjected, skepticism clear in his voice. “Are we sure this wouldn’t be a great waste of time?”

“Do you want to find the Sahira’s Heart or not?” Hyunjin argued. “You’ve already wasted time coming here then breaking the Zumurruda.”

“I don’t like repeating myself, ya Sahir,” the prince narrowed his eyes when Hyunjin brought up the broken gemstone once more. The latter ignored him, and you found it would be better to speak before an argument broke out. “The Sahir might be right. If we can...find this cave, then we might be able to wish for the Sahira’s Heart...”

“I suppose there’s something I am unaware of,” Jeongin cleared his throat, “What is this ‘Sahira’s Heart’?”

“I’ll explain to you later,” Minho answered him before turning his attention to you, “Are you sure you want to do this? We can also return home...”

You took in a quiet breath. After all that had happened in the past few days, you knew you weren’t ready to give up yet. “I still want...to try.”

“It is set then!” Hyunjin clasped his hands, appearing a tad bit too enthusiastic in comparison to his outburst a short while ago. “I’ll be seeing you by sunrise.”

The three of you gave him no response as he strode away, back to the heart of the oasis. Jeongin soon followed, after asking if his help was needed and gathering the supplies he brought. You found yourself alone with Minho again, much like you were an hour ago. Silence had finally settled around the two of you.

Your soul was at peace, which you thought was odd, considering the disaster dawning on you. You didn’t know what happened after you blacked out. The Zumurruda was broken, and months of planning were gone in a blink.

All you had left was faith in Hyunjin’s plan. Who would’ve thought you’d be trusting the Sahir after all?

Close to you, Minho found himself at peace too. Concern still nagged at the back of his mind, but with you alive and breathing in his arms, it became a hushed whisper. His heart didn’t hammer in his chest, as he’d expected it to if he were to ever hold you. Instead, it was calm, blissful. And selfishly, he wished that moment would last.

It wouldn’t, he knew.

A sigh left your lips, “Minho, I have to tell you...something.”

A hum encouraged you to continue. “I think...I absorbed the Zumurruda’s power.”

“What do you mean?” the prince sounded almost afraid.

“The Mi’raj, I couldn’t use my powers near it,” you recalled, “I...thought that if I could use the Zumurruda’s power I might be able to defeat it somehow. I-I don’t know what happened next but that broke it.”

You finally turned your gaze to where the Mi’raj lay. Only then did you take a good look at it and notice the substance of which its horn was made.

Abarmout Stone.

Things began to make sense suddenly. The precious stone was used to ward off evil, and it could only be found in the depths of Bahr Abarmout. Evils, such as your Jinni powers, were useless against it.

But not the Zumurruda. The Sahira’s powers were beyond hell and its devilry.

“I’ve made a big...mistake.”

“That was not a mistake,” Minho asserted. “You had to do anything to save yourself and if a meager rock was the cost, then so be it.”

“Well, whatever was in that meager rock is in my blood now.” A ghost of a laugh danced in your voice, though you hadn’t the heart to laugh. “I don’t know what this might mean but...you have the right to know what happened to the Zumurruda.”

“It’s alright. It doesn’t matter to me as it matters to others. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“Asifa,” that was the only response you could utter, and it seemed to confuse the prince just as much. “Why?”

“For dragging you along this...aimless, perilous trek. I should’ve been doing this alone.”

At that moment, Minho was convinced you were rambling off due to exhaustion. Why else would you say something like that?

“Y/n,” he sighed, “I suggested to join you, and I wouldn’t take back my words for anything.”

“But—”

“I promise.”

You fell silent at that. There was no changing his mind.

“Can you walk?” Minho asked after a beat, and you brought your knees close to your body with a whisper, “I think so.”

Your shoulders felt cold when Minho removed his arm from around you to stand. He held a hand out for you, and you grabbed it reluctantly as you pushed yourself to your feet. The fire near you was dying out, but that didn’t explain the formidable cold you felt at your fingertips.

Nor the chill that pumped out of your heart.

•؏•

You reached Kahif Al Ghareeb after two days of wearying travel. The cave was situated at the base of one of the Isle’s great mountains, and Hyunjin claimed it was the fabled place.

You couldn’t deny the eeriness of the cave. There was magic inside, indeed. Perhaps, your journey won’t end in vain after all...

“This is the entrance?” Jeongin remarked loudly, raising an eyebrow at the enormous rock blocking the cave’s opening.

“Na’am. Does it not look like an entrance to you?” Hyunjin retorted, stepping toward the rocky barrier.

The three of you followed him. “Well, you can’t enter through it.”

“Not unless you say the magic words.”

“The what?”

“The magic words— have none of you heard the tale of Ali Baba?” the Sahir was both baffled and disappointed. You caught his low murmur of ‘people of this age’ and decided not to comment on it. “It’s a tale for a reason.”

“You, out of all people, shouldn’t be saying this,” Hyunjin shook his head. “You breathe magic.”

You disregarded him as Jeongin frowned, “So you’re implying that if we simply say ‘Iftah ya simsim’ the rock would miraculously mo—”

A rumble coming from within the mountain cut him off, and you wanted to laugh when the entrance cleared slowly as though the rock were a simple door. You’ve seen enough magic in the past days, a moving boulder shouldn’t have been a surprise.

Hyunjin’s expression was strangely smug as he strode into the dark cave. From your place, you could see mounds of what seemed to be gold and jewelry, strewn across the cave. It was unreal, even for a royal like you.

The Sahir stopped short and clasped his hands, muttering something before throwing them outward and illuminating the cave in the light of a thousand flames. You could hear Minho’s slow inhale of wonder when his gaze fell upon the treasures inside. “It’s real.”

“Everything is real,” Hyunjin shrugged. “Now will you continue to stand there like fools, or will you step in?”

“Right,” the prince muttered before walking toward the Sahir. You and Jeongin followed.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” you hid your awe as you came to stand beside Hyunjin. The unnerving energy around him had become less unsettling in the past couple of days. He gave you a cryptic smile, “You could do anything if you stop trying to be so human.”

Before you could respond to that, Minho questioned, “What do we do now?”

“We look for the Marid’s lamp,” the Sahir answered matter-of-factly.

“Amid all this? That would be impossible.”

“Well, not impossible per se,” Hyunjin crossed his arms, pondering for a short while before announcing, “My instincts tell me we should look in the far left corner of the cave.”

Minho rolled his eyes sarcastically and directed his attention toward you, “What do you say?”

“I don’t know. I suppose we look wherever Hyunjin says to begin,” you shrugged, and so the four of you began the long search.

It was almost impossible, as the prince complained, for there was much to sift through and you had no map to guide you.

Almost.

You noticed the strange pull the closer you neared the corner at which Hyunjin pointed. Magic. And you could feel it like you felt the approach of the Afarit and the Nasanees. You relied on that inner compass.

Your search was approaching no advancements when you heard commotion by the entrance of the cave. You noticed it first, the sound of loud conversation and the thumping of hooves.

You weren’t alone.

Soon enough, Minho and Jeongin noticed it too and shared alarmed looks. The Sahir seemed unbothered.

“What do you mean the Zumurruda is gone too? First the Rokh, then the Mi’raj, and now this?!” you could make out an angry exclamation and your heart dropped in realization. They must be the people who sent all those monsters to attack you and retrieve the Zumurruda. They jeopardized your life, Minho’s, and Jeongin’s throughout the past days.

The coincidence was perturbing, and you truly weren’t prepared for another fight.

“Wait!” the shout was closer. “The entrance is open— someone’s here!”

Minho unsheathed his saif, “I’ll go settle this—”

You placed a hand on his arm to keep him from moving. “Stay here. I don’t know what they are capable of.”

“Oh, stop worrying. It’s probably a band of harmless thieves,” Hyunjin said with a dismissive wave of his hand, to which you scowled, whispering, “These “thieves” are the same people who sent that Rokh to attack us! Didn’t you hear?”

He spared you a second-long glance and shrugged, continuing to look through a treasure chest.

You wished you could smack him.

“Quick! Search the cave!” a command from who you assumed was the leader sounded across the cave and Minho gave you a desperate look, “I can’t just sit here, they’ll find us eventually!”

When you didn’t budge, he reasoned, “Let me and Jeongin distract them while you search for the lamp. Them finding the two of us is better than finding us all.”

“He’s right,” Jeongin interjected and you had to sigh in exasperation. “What if they outnumber you and your distraction doesn’t help us? These people are dangerous.”

“More dangerous than the Nasanees?” the prince suggested.

“I don’t know, maybe!”

“Trust us, y/n,” he paused, as if contemplating his next words before sighing, “Just focus on finding the lamp, and we’ll get out of here.”

Your heart screamed at you to deny his request, but your mind propelled you otherwise. Minho’s plan did seem like the best thing to do. Though, you had a feeling you would regret the words that fell from your mouth. “Fine. Be safe.”

٧

It wasn’t long after Minho and Jeongin snuck away did you hear a stranger shout, “I’ve found them!”

You forced yourself to focus on the task at hand and find the lamp, but it proved to be impossible. With the shouts and the clashing of swords invading every comprehensible thought of yours, you couldn’t keep your mind off the prince and his cousin. If those thieves had the means to summon a Rokh, then you were justifiably concerned for the safety of your companions.

Concerned enough to miss the growing pull of magic that was tugging at your soul.

“I think— y/n!” the Sahir brought you out of your thoughts and you blinked at him distractedly, “Na’am?”

“Focus, will you? Can’t you feel where the lamp lies?”

“I think so,” you drawled.

“Then what is it telling you? Why aren’t you doing anything?!”

“I—” you turned to face him, eyes wide in fear. “Asifa. I have to help them.”

“La! We need to find the lamp!” Hyunjin called after you, but you couldn’t hear him as you made your way toward the commotion. You found them, a large group of bandits teamed against the two Darilmalekan royals. It wasn’t an ordinary fight, for they appeared to want to kill with each swing of their swords. They were like a pack of wild hounds.

A familiar presence within you awakened at the scene, bloodthirsty.

From the corner of your eye, you caught a man wrapped in black advance on a distracted Jeongin with his saif raised. To your sheer horror, he brought his sword down on the unsuspecting royal’s head, eliciting a chilling cry from him. It reverberated within your bones, numbing your limbs, stealing your voice, and throwing your world into mayhem. In a moment of weakness, Minho turned toward his fallen cousin. His assailants were quick to take advantage of his distraction.

The flash of swords was the last you saw before your vision dipped into blood and you found yourself tearing through the bandits in a haze.

Your clawed hands burned with bright flames as they ravaged anything and everything within their reach. You couldn’t discern your enemies from your friends, all were the same in the eyes of your Jinni. Prey.

You didn’t feel it, but the cave shook with the fury that pulsed in your heart. Your blind carnage didn’t last long, for many escaped or hid. Most, but one.

He stood, saif in hand, as he called on his bandits, “You fools! You’ve seen worse monsters!”

A flicker of thought crossed your mind. He must be their leader.

A new spark of rage ignited in your soul, and in a beat, you were grabbing his neck and throwing him into a pile of gold. Blisters were appearing on his neck in place of your blazing grip, but you felt no remorse as you proceeded toward him again.

His scream of horror went unheard when your clawed hand covered his face, digging into the skin mercilessly. When you spoke, it wasn’t your voice. “Y-You.”

You dragged your hand downward, slow and torturous. This time, his screams were loud enough to pierce the veil of bloodlust clouding your mind, but what stopped you was the arm that swung against your neck and pulled you backward. Instinctively, you pushed your attacker off, sending him hurtling across the clearing. You’d let go of the bandits’ leader and turned around to look at who you pushed, locking gazes.

You saw it then.

Fear.

And your senses crashed back into you with a horrified gasp. Blood had lathered your arms and tinted your clothes, but you only cared to rush to his side. “Minho!”

He didn’t struggle to sit upright, although you noticed he clutched his right arm with a grimace. His eyes were glazed over when you dropped to your knees beside him, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t—”

Minho shook his head, seemingly elsewhere, “Where’s Jeongin?”

Jeongin. You stood with a start, looking around frantically and praying to all the Aliha he didn’t fall victim to your Jinni’s violence. You spotted him lying on the ground, limbs sprawled lifelessly, resting on a blanket of his own blood. Minho trailed behind you, and when he saw his dear cousin, he fell to his side with a choked sob. His hands roamed his face, trying, searching for some hope.

You didn’t find it in you to stand any closer. Death was looming around you, and you refused to let it take Jeongin away. There must be a way to fix this. There must be something—

“Well, at least some of us did something useful while you hooligans wasted your time brawling with bandits,” came Hyunjin’s voice from behind. You snapped around to face him, noticing the golden lamp he tossed between his hands. Hope burst through your heart. “You found it.”

Minho let his attention wander to the Sahir at your words. He, too, recognized the shiny artifact.

Hyunjin shrugged, tossing it toward an attentive Minho, “Of course I did. Now do with it what you please, we haven’t gotten all day.”

You were too elated by the discovery to question the Sahir’s words or intentions, urging the prince to summon the Marid instead, “Go on, we can save him!”

Minho didn’t think twice before rubbing the side of the lamp, desperate for anything to save his cousin. You watched as smoke swirled out of the mouth of the lamp, circling the air until it formed the torso and the head of a man. Tinged purple, the Marid with great dark hair and golden cuffs bowed to its freer. “Shubbaek Lubbaek. You, who has summoned me, are granted three wishes of your heart’s true desire.”

There was no time to marvel at the magnificence of the magical being, not when Jeongin was dying before the prince’s eyes. He cried to the Marid, “Please, save him! Bring him back to us!”

“Is that your first wish?” The Marid’s voice boomed throughout the cave as though it came from the depths of the ground.

“Yes!”

“Your wish is my command.”

When you looked back at Jeongin, the bleeding cut across his head had disappeared, almost like it never was there. His wounds, gone, and instead of lifeless, he seemed to be peacefully asleep.

You didn’t miss the tears brimming Minho’s eyes as a sigh tangled with a chuckle left his lips, “I-It’s real he’s—!”

Minho halted mid-sentence, letting out a strangled noise as his eyes widened in shock and his world lapsed into eerie silence. His gaze drifted downward slowly until it met the tip of the saif poking out of his chest, scarlet with his blood.

٨

“It has been five days!” Changbin slammed a hand on the table, where many advisors and the Darilmalekan King sat. They were feeding him more empty promises, he knew, and the Tallilmalekan Crown Prince had had quite enough. “Five days and there’s not a single trace of them!”

The King narrowed his eyes. He, too, had enough of your brother’s stubbornness. “We are aware. Our scouts—”

“Your scouts are doing an unsatisfactory job,” Changbin remarked. “They shouldn’t be taking this long to find them.”

“Pardon us, then. This is the most we can do.”

“Fine,” the prince threw his hands in the air, “we’ll be bringing our own forces to search for them.”

The Darilmalekan King sighed, “Please, be reasonable.”

“Reasonable? After your Crown Prince ran away with the Amira? That’s quite ambitious of you to request—”

“Your Highness!” a guard barged into the meeting room, gasping for air. “Apologies, but we’ve received important news.”

“Proceed,” the king nodded to him.

“A traveler claimed to have spotted the crown prince, along with prince Jeongin and the princess in a village in the Isle of the Damned,” he informed, and Changbin hoped he masked his surprise well.

“The Isle of the Damned? Whatever brought them there?” the King questioned. Changbin knew just why.

You were seeking the Sahira’s Heart. He shook his head inwardly, though he couldn’t suppress the faint pride he felt. Never knew you had it in you, little sister.

•؏•

“I’ll take that.” Hyunjin leaned to grab the lamp in Minho’s loose grip before pulling out the saif forcefully and tossing it to the side. That action made the prince double over and almost collapse on Jeongin’s body, had you not caught him in time. It all happened too quickly, and you found yourself lost amid confusion, betrayal, and anger.

Your breaths shook as you felt Minho become weaker in your arms. He tried to push himself up, but his efforts were to no avail. The blood gushing out of the wound was enough to determine his cruel fate.

Your gaze snapped toward the Sahir and you cried in a blur of emotions, “Why would you do that?!”

He gave you a scornful glance, “For what reasons beyond the obvious?”

“You gave him the lamp!”

“You really aren’t as smart as you appear,” he turned to fully face you, and you thought you imagined the sneer of a demon in his face. “Good magic doesn’t respond to us, spawns of the Devil.”

“You—” you paused when you caught Minho’s frail murmur, “Let...me down.”

You could only oblige, even though you didn’t want to let him go. Helping him rest his head on the rocky ground, anger began to invade your heart, stronger than ever.

You stood to face Hyunjin again, and he shook his head at your appearance, “Would you look at yourself...lathered in blood and desperate to kill. When will you learn to stop chasing human desires?”

“What do you want with the lamp? You said it wouldn’t respond to your magic, and the Marid will only listen to its master,” you ignored his question, having grown tired of his cryptic speech. Human desires?

“It wouldn’t respond to my magic if I were to summon the Marid. Fortunately, your fiancé did the job. Manipulation is an easy feat after that.” Hyunjin was apathetic, you’d noticed that days ago, and you’d finally decided you’d had enough of the Sahir. “And?”

“And,” he scowled, “since you’ve broken the Zumurruda, this is my only means of getting what I truly want! Revenge on all those who killed her!”

You raised a brow, “Revenge?”

He seemed to have said something you weren’t supposed to know, but he dismissed it quickly, “It matters not. I was planning to kill the three of you anyway. It’s too bad you had to save the meddling one, but it shouldn’t be too hard to undo your wish.”

“You will not lay a single finger on them,” you warned, eyes beginning to blaze red. The Sahir noticed and shook his head once more, “I truly don’t understand what you want with them. Why are you doing this? Love? You’ve got more power than to care about something so human and weak.”

You didn’t miss the scorn in his tone. He seemed offended, hurt, and you couldn’t tell why. Why would a powerful Sahir have a personal grudge against...love?

Then you remembered his previous remarks. People of this age. It’s the whisper of corruption, bloodlust, hell. Like calls to like...

It seemed like a stray guess, but you blurted, “You’ve lost a lover, haven’t you?”

Hyunjin froze at your words, then his expression darkened as he spat, “I didn’t lose her, they took her from me! They killed her. But I’ve sought the Sahira’s Heart for too long. Nothing you can do will stop me, demon girl. I know all your tricks.”

Too long, his words echoed in your head, and various instances came rushing to you, forming one, big, clue. I know more than you could imagine.

A killed lover, magic, the Devil, and unsettling energy. The strange feeling you’ve had about him. His presence had always felt wrong, off.

Then it clicked.

The charm.

As though responding to your thoughts, a surge of cold magic rushed to your fingertips and you dared to meet the Sahir’s gaze. “You don’t know all my tricks.”

You thrust a hand forward and pulled the precious pendant to yourself. You didn’t know where that power came from, cold in comparison to the burning wrath of your Jinni, but it flowed through your blood with ease. As though it was yours, and you were always meant to have it.

The necklace moved at your will, and with a tug, it snapped from around Hyunjin’s neck and flew into your open hand.

This drew an immediate gasp from the Sahir, who wasted no time to shout, “Give it back!”

You examined the heavy pendant in your hand. It was made of glass, and a strand of hair was trapped inside. You shook your head in disbelief at the discovery. Hyunjin... Prince Hyunjin. The Lost Prince of Tajilmalek…

You looked back at him, “Two hundred years...”

“Return the pendant, or else I’ll have to retrieve it myself,” he threatened, but it didn’t faze you. “You, too, are doing this for love. You’ve been so for two long centuries.”

If the tales were true, then what you held encompassed the Sahir’s soul. It seemed to be, for he was adamant on having it back. You felt some sympathy for him. “You shouldn’t be alive.”

“Drop the pendant,” he enunciated, though his desperation was clawing its way through his words.

Two hundred years of nurturing his anger and despair, of living with the pain of loss. No, you felt great sympathy for him. “You should rest, now.”

“La—!” Hyunjin’s face morphed into an expression of horror and distress, but it was too late. You’d closed your fist on the pendant, and with newfound power, crushed it in your grasp.

A cry that shook the ground left the Sahir as he visibly crumbled before you, delicate features deepening into age worn wrinkles, an elegant figure declining to crookedness, until all what remained of him was a pile of rubble.

You mustered a weak smile, stepping toward the mass and dropping the broken pieces of the pendant over it. “May you find peace.”

Perhaps you should’ve felt some guilt for defeating the Sahir, but any guilt in your heart was not regarding him. You picked up the lamp that fell beside the rubble and shook it, calling, “Ya Marid!”

The Marid materialized before you. “Shubbaek Lubbaek.”

You didn’t spare a moment to plead, gesturing toward the dying prince, “You have to save him!”

“Apologies, for I only grant my master’s wishes.”

“Well, he is your master, and he is dying. If you don’t save him, the wishes will never be said, and you will never be freed!”

The Marid contemplated your words, but it didn’t take long for him to nod in approval, “Very well. You make an excellent plea.”

You assumed that meant the prince was saved, so you rushed to his side. The tinge of blood remained on your hands and you didn’t dare to touch him, resorting to examining his face and asking the Marid, “Is he okay now?”

“He is asleep, as is your friend. They must rest, so do you,” the Marid responded and you shook your head, “I cannot rest. Not now.”

How could you rest after what had happened?

The Marid seemed to think otherwise. He rose in the air, basking the cave in dim violet light. When he spoke, your eyelids began to droop dangerously. “Rest, troubled soul. No harm shall reach you.”

You wanted to argue, but your head felt heavy, and the doors of slumber were wide open for you to give in. A strange sense of peace washed over you, and you knew it was the Marid’s work. Too weak to fight it, you lowered your head to the ground, bloodied attire and limbs, and allowed yourself a short retirement from the chaos of your world. Just that once.

•؏•

You woke to the incessant scratch of metal against rock and low murmuring. You cracked an eye open to spot a figure sitting some distance away, fiddling with a sword. When you pushed yourself up, your muscles cried in excruciation. Only when you felt the stickiness of blood on your hands did you remember the happenings before your slumber. Finding the cave, searching for a magical lamp, fighting bandits, defeating Hyunjin, Minho almost—

“You’re up.”

His voice snapped you out of your thoughts and you looked up to meet his eyes, sighing in relief when you found him unharmed. A presence within you wasn’t as appreciative of the news. “You’re alive.”

“I am,” the prince looked away, and you didn’t have to follow his gaze to know that it was trailing over the dismembered, disfigured bodies of the victims of your blind rage. Your Jinni’s rage.

The word left your lips before you could process it, “Asifa. I-I lost control.”

“They wanted to kill us,” the prince shook his head, repulsed by the events of the past hours. It felt like a nightmare, from Jeongin’s fatal injury, to you ripping apart anyone within your range, to the sword that stabbed him through the chest, he was unsure how he remained alive. He remembered falling into your arms, and Hyunjin’s voice as he took the lamp from him, but that was all.

He was reluctant to know what happened to the Sahir, but he couldn’t find his body wherever he looked. “What happened to Hyunjin?”

You took moments to answer him, and he knew that was a story you didn’t want to tell. “He’s gone.”

Truth to be said, Minho was not appalled by your actions, for he knew that it wasn’t you. It was yet another day you’d saved him and his cousin with your powers. He couldn’t bring himself to show aversion to the decisions you had to make.

After all, there was no heart in war.

“Where’s Jeongin?” you asked when you noticed that the young royal wasn’t nearby. Minho responded almost immediately, “He went outside for a breath of fresh air.”

A breath of fresh air, of course. Why would anyone in their right mind stay in a cave that felt like death? You sighed, “You should return to the palace.”

“What?” the prince snapped his gaze toward you, both shocked and confused. You took a deep breath and shook your head in dismay, “After what happened, I think...I think it’s best for you and Jeongin to return to the palace.”

“We can’t do that...”

“You were almost killed, Minho!” you couldn’t help your outburst. “I can’t do this knowing that the two of you are in constant danger of death for the sake of breaking a curse.”

“What about you, then?” the prince argued, “You’re in constant danger too.”

“La. You and I are different. I can do this alone.”

“But— we’ve come this far together! We survived all those attacks and we even have the lamp with us!”

“I just don’t want this to happen again,” you gestured at your surroundings, and Minho was quick to assure you, “It won’t happen again.”

He picked up the lamp and placed it before you, holding your gaze firmly when you gave him a dubious look. “We have two wishes left. We finish this now. Together.”

٩

“This is the closest I can take you to the Sahira’s Heart,” the Marid announced after the smoke surrounding the three of you cleared up. You found yourselves standing before an ancient temple, surrounded by the sea on all sides. “The temple is guarded by magic I cannot surpass.”

“Where are we?” Jeongin wondered out loud to be answered by the Marid, “You are on an island south of the Isle of the Damned known as Al Qa’a.”

“This is the place, then,” Minho let out a breath and turned to look at you, taking notice of your silence. His tone dropped many levels gentler. “Ready?”

You took in a breath. This was the place many have died to reach. This was where you would finally regain freedom from your curse. Truthfully, you didn’t know if you were ready. “I think so.”

“You have one wish remaining,” the Marid reminded before slipping back into the lamp Minho had looped through his sheath belt.

The three of you stood still, perhaps waiting, or preparing, to make the first step toward the end of this journey. The prince dared to move forward, but once he did, the ground rumbled and quaked, and you sensed the arrival of something dangerous.

From the sand, two magnificent Afarit emerged. They were unlike the ones you encountered in the palace. Their skin glistened grey, and they were fairly larger in size, but not too tough of a match.

The Darilmalekan royals unsheathed their swords instantly, and a plan had formed in Minho’s head as he examined the monsters. “We’ll hold them back. You slip past them and find the Sahira’s Heart.”

“But don’t you think I should help you instead—” your suggestion was interrupted by a shake of his head, “La. You have to find the Sahira’s Heart and break the curse, not me nor Jeongin. This is your part—”

A howl from one of the Afarit pierced your ears as it brought its axe down on the two of you. You were lucky to dodge the attack, but it was clear the Afarit were not planning to be patient with the three of you. You caught Minho’s shout above the commotion, “Go on! We’ll distract them!”

You knew that every second of hesitation was crucial time wasted, so you ran past the occupied Afarit toward the open doors of the temple. You dared to glance back one last time, finding your fiancé and his cousin true to their promise of holding the Afarit back. You wouldn’t let their efforts fall in vain.

With newfound will, you ran through the open doors into a dark corridor. You saw light on the other side, and you took off running toward it. Exhilaration mixed with hope and pinch of anxiety overwhelmed your mind. Will you find the Sahira’s Heart by the end of the corridor? The end to it all was terrifyingly close.

You reached a roofless clearing where the corridor led. It was empty, and moss had overrun its walls, but all you could see was the stone plinth, and the stone heart resting atop it.

Sounds of the fight outside drowned out as you stepped toward the artifact cautiously. This was the fabled Sahira’s Heart. This held all the corruption on the Isle. This held your family’s curse.

Finally.

You placed your palms on either side of the heart and lifted it, bracing yourself for whatever might happen in the following moments. You’d prepared to do it for countless hours, but breaking the Sahira’s Heart felt unreal when you stood there.

Shutting your thoughts out, you closed your eyes and focused on channeling all your power into the stone, just as you’d practiced under the gaze of the nonchalant moon. You forced it to flow through your fingertips and into the rock heart, then expand and push against the walls of the stone.

It seemed like forever until you heard the first crack, followed by a second and a third, and suddenly, your world exploded into blinding brilliance.

•؏•

Minho knew, he felt it in his heart, when white light exploded from the temple. You’d done it.

The Afarit halted, axes raised, and dropped to the ground lifelessly before disappearing into grains of sand. As though they’d never been there.

The prince sheathed his saif while attempting to calm his erratic breaths. Not too far, his cousin was doubled over a wound on his side, trying to tighten a piece of his attire over it. Minho called over to him, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine!” came his response. “We should go see y/n!”

And so, the two walked up to the temple and through its long corridor to reach the sunlit chamber, where they found you lying on the ground. Still. Pieces of broken stone lay scattered around you.

Panic rose in Minho’s heart, but it was quickly erased when he noticed the steady rise and fall of your chest. You were alive.

He came to sit beside you, smiling to himself as he murmured, “You’ve done it, Amirati. You really did.”

Jeongin rested a hand on his cousin’s shoulder, “Let’s go home.”

“Right.” Minho reached for the lamp, patting it and watching as the purple smoke swirled in the air to form the Marid’s body. “Shubbaek Lubbaek. Are you ready to make your last wish?”

The prince smiled, “Yes. Take us to the Darilmalekan palace...and let everyone there but us forget we were ever gone.”

“Is that your wish?”

He did not hesitate. “Na’am.”

The Marid bowed his head, and with a wave of his hands, the three of you were engulfed in the same purple smoke. “Your wish is my command.”

After.

“Big day today, eh?” Jeongin stepped up from behind his cousin, who gave him a small grin, “It sure is.”

It was a big day, indeed, for it was the day your caravan from Tallilmalek arrives, after two long months of absence.

When the Marid transported the three of you into the royal garden, you quickly parted ways. With the curse broken, you had to return to Tallilmalek along with your brother. Royals, nobles, and palace staff were confused about your sudden departure, but a scroll from the Tallilmalekan palace was enough justification.

While you were gone, you made sure to keep Minho updated on your state of wellbeing. It was an obligation neither asserted, but both of you committed to. The journey had undoubtedly brought you closer, and being finally free, you thought you must make up for the lost time.

Healing and learning to live without the curse was tough, as you’d written to the prince. Old habits were hard to kill, especially when they’d been the basis of life for your family for decades. But you were getting there, a small step at a time.

Two months later, the Tallilmalekan royal family sent a messenger carrying news that brought life to the palace once more. You were ready to carry on with the wedding.

It was a big day. The kind that made Minho’s heart flutter in excitement and dance in joy. It felt like a Deja Vu, standing in the throne room to welcome you to Darilmalek. Only this time, your arrival carried true promises to be kept.

“Still haughty as ever,” Jeongin commented once the Tallilmalekan King stepped in, followed by you and your brother. Minho rolled his eyes in response, masking a smile, “Shut up.”

Jeongin might’ve been right, your family loved to display their riches, but it wasn’t the jewelry nor the pearls that shone with your entrance. It was the little smile adorning your lips. As gentle as the night breeze, but as breathtaking as a starry sky.

When you came to stand before him, offering your hand, that smile grew, ever so faintly. And that was enough for the prince, who mirrored your expression, only many times brighter. “Welcome back, Amirati.”

•؏•

People do strange things for love...

You stared at your journal, unsure of what to conclude with, when a voice came from behind. “Thought I’d find you here.”

“Minho,” you shut your journal carefully, turning your head to watch as he stepped toward the balustrade, “what are you doing here, up this late?”

“The same question goes to you,” his lips stretched into a soft smile when you came to stand beside him. It was the only time you’d had for yourself that day. Preparations for the wedding were consuming every moment of daylight, from the very second you woke until the blanket of night covered the land. You were lucky to be able to enjoy one last night in the palace garden before the ceremony. “I’m finishing my journal.”

Minho hummed in acknowledgement. You were documenting your journey to the Sahira’s Heart, and all that came after. It was a very confidential journal, as you’d told him, and the prince had long given up on trying to have a peek at it.

A gentle breeze blew past the two of you, complementing the tranquility of the night. A few moments of peace prompted you to speak, “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Right,” the prince exhaled quietly as though preparing himself for a speech or an important event of such sort. He turned to face you fully, and only then did you notice the small golden box in his hands. Under the timid shine of the moon, he appeared almost shy. “I have something for you.”

When you gave him a curious look, he placed the case on the balustrade and opened it, clearing his throat, “I know our beginning wasn’t exactly...ideal, and for the longest time, uncontrollable circumstances stood between us.”

“But tomorrow,” he met your gaze, “things...change.”

Your gaze followed his movements attentively, every anxious bite of his lip and fidgety gesture of his hand. A quiet part of you wanted to ease his nervousness, but you were yet to learn how. All you could do was give him an encouraging smile.

But your smile did wonders, as Minho had come to discover, and a bigger smile found home on his lips in turn. The thin thread between nervousness and excitement snapped, and he dared to present to you a gift he’d longed to give. “I just wanted you to know this before our wedding...”

He held a delicate diadem made of gracefully laced strands of gold encircling dainty pearls. Even in the dark of night, its beauty glowed. It brought the stars above to shame.

Your gaze was fixed on him when he placed the circlet on your head and smiled to himself. La, you thought it was his beauty that brought the stars to shame. There, in that fleeting moment, you spotted the gleam of pure joy and adoration in his eyes. It was the most stunning thing you’d ever seen. 

His hands found yours, and with a gentle squeeze, he spoke his promise for the heavens above to hear. “No matter how long it takes you to adjust to this life, I’ll wait for you, my queen. Always.”

People did strange things for love, though I can’t blame them.

In the end, it proved to be worth it.

Al Amira y/n of Tallilmalek.

If you have read this far then you are contractually obligated to tell me your thoughts! Well, not really, but do drop by sometime! Thank you for reading and I hope you have a lovely day! ♡

[nattikay]

So I saw this post while browsing toa tags the other day. While I don’t think being obsessed with the school mascot automatically makes Toby a furry (though it is funny to joke about lol) since “being a furry” actually just means “being a fan of anthropomorphic animals” and doesn’t necessarily require any form of costuming or interest in such, it did get me thinking, hmmm...if he was a furry, what would his fursona be? 🤔 And from there I started wondering what Jim’s and Claire’s would be as well because y not ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  

BUT WAIT, I hear you say--haven’t you already drawn the trio as werewolves and wolfwalkers etc.? Wouldn’t those be their fursonas??

Well yes....but actually no.

I guess it’s a little hard to explain, but there’s a nuance between “[person] but as an animal” and a proper “fursona”. While a fursona is an animal character used to represent its person, it doesn’t have to physically resemble them at all as you would expect [person]-but-as-[animal] to. For example, if you were to design me but as a cat, you’d probably give it light brown fur and green eyes like I have irl. But my fursona, unlike my human self, actually has blue fur and purple eyes. You can give your fursona matching physical traits to your own if you want to, and some people do, but most use only a pinch of their irl appearance, if any at all.

The choices people make when designing their fursonas vary wildly from “it looks like me irl” to “it looks like who I want to be”  to “I just really like this color scheme” to “this particular color/marking holds deep personal meaning to me” to “this particular pattern represents a particular defining moment in my life” to “idk it looks cool and i vibe with it” etc. etc. etc. Everyone has different reasons of varying depth for the decisions they make in designing their fursona.

Therefore, to design a fursona for Toby etc., it’s less a question of “what would this character look like as [insert species here]?” and more of “how would this character choose to present himself with his own [animal] character?”

And that’s a much trickier game than just transferring a character aesthetic to a new species. ^^; We have to kinda dive into the characters and makes some guesses about how they, if given infinite creative freedom to design an animal avatar with no rules or limits, would choose to present themselves.

So all that said, here’s what I came up with:

Starting with Toby because he’s the one who inspired the post. I think Toby might choose a wolfdog fursona. A lot of people who choose wolves as fursonas consider themselves to be overwhelmingly loyal to their friends, a trait that fits Toby very well. However, while Toby likes to be “cool”, I don’t think he really thinks of himself as much of an “alpha” type--he’s more of a sidekick, and he knows that, and he’s ok with that. He’s the wingman. So what better way to incorporate that than to add dog into the mix? Man’s best friend=Jim’s best friend. Sociable, humorous, and unwaveringly loyal. Wolfdog it is!

With the species decided, we can move on to the design itself.

I can’t imagine any form of Toby in anything other than warm colors. This is extra emphasized by the flamelike patterns on his legs and tail, which both speaks to his desire to be totally awesome-sauce as well as acts as an allusion to his flaming warhammer. It’s fairly common (not universal, but common) for people to give their fursonas a more “ideal” physique than the person actually has as a sort of way to live by proxy physical goals or fantasies they’ve been unable to attain irl for whatever reason. Given that we’ve seen Toby struggle with fitness from time to time, it wouldn’t shock me to see him take this route. His wolfdog self is still relatively short and stocky, but it’s all muscle, babey. 

This fursona is strong, fun, boisterous, and generally just kicks butt. Concentrated awesomesauce flows through his veins. Just don't mess with his friends, or you’ll feel the flames!

.

Moving on to Jim. Jim was the hardest to nail down, and most definitely the hardest to keep my personal biases out of oof. Which I may have failed to do anways because yes, ok, I made my favorite character a blue feline, sue me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  But hear me out first!

For Jim I ultimately settling on a cheetah/lion hybrid.

Cheetahs, in a way, are sort of the underdogs (er...cats?) of the feline world--at least, in their local ecosystems. They are built wholly for speed, not strength--and as such, just about every other large predator in their environment has them beat when it comes to raw strength. Remind you of a certain Trollhunter? plus the long lanky legs. don’t forget those lol

However, because of this disadvantage, cheetahs...usually surrender. They know it’s not worth it to defend their kill from larger, stronger opponents, so they’ll give it up and just catch something else. This aspect doesn’t quite fit our protective, selfless protagonist all too eager to risk everything to save his loved ones--so a pure cheetah may not be the right choice.

So what animal is brave and protective? That’s where the lion part comes in, of course!

Why not just make him a pure lion? Well, a little similar to making Toby a wolfdog instead of a pure wolf. A straight-up lion feels a little too “chad” for our sweet Jimbo. Too much of a jock. 

Jim has the humble underdog nature of a cheetah as well as the bravery and fierce protective drive of a lion. Cheelion? Leetah? idk, but let’s design it!

Like Toby and warm colors, I don’t think I can possibly associate Jim with any color but blue. While it’s never directly stated, given that we’ve never really seen him wear any other color (with the exception of the Eclipse armor), I think it’s pretty safe to assume that that’s his favorite. Blue sweater, blue jeans, blue shoes, even his backpack and bedsheets are blue. So naturally, his fursona would be predominantly blue as well! Plus some yellowish accents to (somewhat) match the natural colors of his chosen species(s).

I imagine he originally designed the character without horns, but then added them after becoming the Trollhunter, since it became such a major and impactful aspect of his life.

His lion’s mane also continues down his back in imitation of the “mantle” found on baby cheetahs. This youthful feature could subtly represent the fact that he’s been forced to grow up too fast and take on so much responsibility so young--so his fursona can still be young and carefree as long as he likes even while his real self struggles with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

This fursona is relaxed, calm, and confident. He’s not just cool--he’s crispy!

.

Lastly but not leastly, we have Claire. Out of the three, I think Claire was actually the easiest to choose--or at least, I had the clearest idea of what I thought she might go for.

Claire is a bit of an interesting duck, because while she’s shown to be fairly popular at school, she’s definitely far from the stereotype of The Popular Girl™. Yes she’s smart and pretty, but she’s also a little spunky or even a bit quirky--she’s a theatre kid, she’s a huge fan of hard rock band Papa Skull, and while I wouldn’t quite call her “rebellious” per se, she’s certainly willing to bend some rules if she feels the situation calls for it (not telling her parents that she was going to the concert with Steve, literally sneaking into Jim’s basement to try to find out what was up with him, etc).

That said, I think Claire might go for a hyena fursona--something a little out of the box, but not totally out of left field. (she also shows a slight Gurl Power™ streak here and there “the staff was not meant to be wielded by man--” “I am not a man!!!”) and if you know anything about hyenas...well, yeah lol)

I think Claire would lean into her punk-rock “rebellious” side with her fursona design. This character is completely free of the pressure of being the councilwoman’s daughter and having to maintain her mother’s public reputation, and thus allows Claire to express a less restrained side of herself. She has a bold semi-edgy color scheme with bright accents (and some earrings to match her person’s hair clips) while still remaining feminine and (her own brand of) fashionable. 

This fursona is spunky and sassy; she’s spicy and sweet all rolled up into one. She knows what she wants and she’s not afraid to chase it down. She lives her own life and she’s dang proud of it.

.

....sooooo yeah there’s my take on what Toby’s, Jim’s, and Claire’s fursonas could hypothetically be. And I guess since this post was inspired by a joke about Toby’s infatuation with the school mascot, here’s just some quick thoughts on how they might approach fursuiting to end us off:

Jim I don’t see as much of a suiter. He might try it once or twice if given the opportunity, but at the end of the day it’s not really his cup of tea--he’d rather act as the “handler” for his friends, if anything.

Toby and Claire, on the other hand, I could definitely see as suiters. In fact, with her interest in acting, Claire would probably particularly enjoy it--she’d be one of those suiters who really gets into character, absolutely refuses to break the magic publicly (outside of any actual medical emergency), and popular at cons because she just performs so well. 

Toby, meanwhile, would be the more chill type--uses his normal voice in-suit, isn’t really too stressed about “breaking the magic”, just kinda hanging around like he would normally except “look I’m a talking dog, cool right?”. 

also while I was typing this it occurred to be that since Eli is canonically a cosplayer then he could be a fursuiter as well; in his case i imagine he actually made his own suit it’s a protogen and it’s full of little LEDs and other electric gadgets, it’s not the prettiest thing ever as sewing is not his forte but boy did he try!! good for him. good for him

[wornoutmouse]

Tatsumi

Welcome back to mommy dearest writing for a character she doesn’t know. I present to you…..Adult Gumball from The Amazing World of Gumball

(I’m joking)

We are going for the mating cycle trope cause it never fails.

Breeding kink, of course, literal impregnation, poison le peepee, mommy kink, daddy kink, everybody a switch

This dude looks lactose intolerant

Left-right, up-down, and 2 sides of the same damn coin are the most accurate descriptions of Tatsumi. So in the end you never know what he’s truly thinking and perhaps that’s for the best. What never is hard to decipher is when his heat comes. The passive aggressiveness was forever present as you went about everyday tasks. His playful nature dwindled as time went by until you were too scared to even joke around with him. “Tats, your fur is a lot softer than normal, are you using a different shampoo?”

The bluenette grumbled as he glared down at a book that he was never even reading in the first place, “You know what’s in the bathroom so you know I’m not using anything different. You don’t blame his attitude one bit, he had told you that sharing his cycle was something precious to him and even though you were his girlfriend even platonically helping him through it was a big thing. This however didn’t mean he didn’t want to fuck you against the stove every time he saw you making some nasty ass quesadilla’s. That didn’t prevent him from dry humping everything in your shared bedroom to spread his scent around. Didn’t even stop him from dry humping you as soon as you came home.

“Tatsumi, I know your thing is like tomorrow, but you can’t stop me from enjoying my bath.” The blunette stood menacingly over your bathtub as you soaked. Your brown skin caressed by sparkling white bubbles as a creamy scent wafted from the water was almost like presenting a duck on a platter for Tatsumi. It was moments like these when he understood your hurt look when he said he didn’t want to share his heat with you. “I’m not stopping you, I’m just watching..” You rest your arm outside the bath, having a long staring contest with the man. “Your braids are getting wet.” You sighed before pulling out the stopper.

The next day his rut was in full sweep, you woke up this morning to him in the shower so you opted to make breakfast. By the time you finished and came to alert him, the bedroom door was locked and you could hear heavy grunts on the other side. “K Tats, just remember I’m here for you if you need anything.” You finished your breakfast alone and kicked a couple of grain bars underneath the door.

You walked back into the kitchen and groaned when you saw the corner of your kitchen floor bare from the lack of water. “He’s going to dehydrate himself at the the rate he is going at it.” Your skin prickled from the thought of going outside into the cool fall air with only a pair of shorts but nonetheless, you head out to visit the nearest Walmart, “We’ll need more food anyways.”

Inside the bedroom

The heat was unbearable, Tatsumi had shredded most of his clothes the moment he woke up. The naive would say that the heat in his groin would be the hardest part to deal with, but the physical warmth that had his skin visibly boiling made him want to claw his skin off where he stood. He rested his head against the bed, eyes closed with unbridled rage. All he wanted to do is let you inside this room and never let you out until he had fucked a baby in you. Alas, it was not a baby he wanted so that is why he made up the lie about how his rut was special to him. In reality, he had shared his cycle with many others, some friends, some colleagues, a commonplace whore would even due during this time of crisis.

The only difference between you and them is that they never saw the next day. The point of his cycle is to mate, and more importantly, if the mating isn’t successful his cum becomes poisonous to the person it was inserted in. Even Muroi would make jokes about how he has “deadly dick” much to his dismay. So even if him sharing his heat with you would be pleasurable and end it quicker, if you do not get pregnant, you will die and that was the only thing keeping him from leaving this room.

His ears twitched to pick up on where you were in the house, they twitched, twitched a little bit more. Where the hell were you? Shakily he stands, screwing his face up when his dick hit his stomach shamelessly. He creaked the door open, mumbling your name into the open air. No response, “Y/n where the hell are you?” Even though it was a dangerous chance to take, Tatsumi didn’t feel comfortable not feeling your presence somewhere throughout the house. He walked around the apartment growing angrier than when he left when he saw your keys were missing. “What the hell, she couldn’t at least stay to make sure I didn’t die?” Your absence hurt a little bit, but his prideful heart just turned any pain into horn-filled anger.

Meanwhile, your dumbass was looping around for the 3rd time to get samples of imitation crab on a saltine cracker. “Miss, this is your 4th time..” “What do you mean, I’ve never been here before?” You of course, as any good customer would, didn’t buy a single package of imitation crab nor cracker. You went home with your belly full and a car filled with water and packaged ham because Thanksgiving was 6 months away and you’ll be damned if you get caught having to buy 6 chickens to replace the turkey again.

When you get home you carried the ham in your arms while you kicked a water bottle pack into the kitchen. During your excruciating workout, you failed to notice that the bedroom door was wide open, and an overbearing warmth filled the home spreading Tatsumi’s anger pheromones that you couldn’t even smell to save your life. And your life was indeed endangered. “Tats do you need some more water!” You whistle throughout the house, tossing your keys on the couch before gaping at the wide-open door. “Tatsumi!?”

“I’m glad you knew well enough to wear damn near nothing when you came back.” Tatsumi looked completely worse for wear, eyes blown wide and blue hair tousled. “What the hell are you doing outside our room, aren’t you the one that wanted for us to stay away from each other?” “Mmhm.” Tatsumi was completely naked from the waist down. From the neck up his skin was flushed red and sweaty, "Yes that was the plan until you decided to leave. "

Tatsuya was in you in an instant, teeth clashing together when he kissed you, your hands rested on clammy skin slowing Tatsumi's process of undressing you. "I'm going to fuck you so well Y/n. Breed your pretty little pussy for all to see." The brazen words of affirmation made your movements stutter in the slightest bit. "If this dirty talk or are you serious?!"

Tatsumi's hands slap down on your ass, gripping the soft flesh in-between his fingers. "I've never been more serious, this is life and death. " Using his hold on your buttocks, he lifts you up with a slight heave before placing you on the two-way countertop. Buttons pop off your shorts hitting the floor as they’re ripped off. Your panties soon join as well, falling to the floor in a graceful heap. Goosebumps plagued your skin at the act of aggression. "So pretty and perfect for me. There isn't any doubt in my mind that this'll work."

You couldn't help but twitch at the praise, making Tatsumi laugh. Slender fingers rub your clit building your pleasure to make you slick. The soft treatment was stopped when Tatsumi pinched the nerve. "Play with yourself while I go get some lube." It seemed almost like a challenge for Tatsumi to pull away from you but he did nonetheless. You hurriedly remove your tank top leaving your black sports bra on, unwilling to wrestle with it. Carefully balancing on the edge of the counter, you resume torturing your clit until sweat begins to build on your own body.

"Tatsumi!" You stuttered, rolling your body enticingly when he came back into your line of sight. "You're so damn sexy." You grab his neck and pull him in between your legs wrapping them around him. "I want to make you feel good, baby come on." You reach in-between your legs, squeezing the tip is cock, biting your lip when it twitches in your hand. "You're so big Tat's, do you want me that badly?"

His hair was dripping with sweat and his face was dusted a pretty red color, one you longed to make bloom. "Fuck yes! I need to feel you squeeze around me, fuck I'm so desperate right now, I'll do anything!" You caress his face cooing as he thrust into your palm like a hormonal teenager. "You ain't got to do nothing for me but put your pretty little cock in me baby!" You take the lube from him and squeeze the cool liquid on his dick making it twitch even more.

Tatsumi gripped the counter with one hand while pumping his lubed cock with the other. "Fuck fuck fuck!" Without warning, Tatsumi cums from his hands, shooting the warm liquid on your pussy lips making the perfect contrast of black and white. This detail went straight to Tatsumi's dick. So while his cock continued to shoot cum he thrust forward till he bottomed out, stretching your pussy to the shape of him. "Tell me when I can move, if it's good, tell me when!"

Tatsumi was teary-eyed staring at the ceiling so he could refrain from moving and possibly hurting you. "You're so warm Y/n, feel so good, all stretched out for me." When you finally relaxed, you lowered your legs, pushing his hips deeper. "Come on daddy, you said you wanted to be me hmm?" Tatsumi caged you against the counter with both hands on the sides, dripping the fake tile as if his life depended on it.

"Oh, don't call that. You know how I feel about that." You planted in his ear, dead-set on dirty talking him to completion. "Oh, you don't feel like being daddy right now baby? You want to be my pretty lil boy?" Tatsumi nodded nibbling in your collarbone. You squeezed your eyes shut as his cock began to move faster.

"Oh, your-fuck! Such a good boy for mommy you know that? I couldn't ask for a better...a better!" Your eyes rolled to the back of your head as Tatsumi pulled you off the counter, bouncing you on his cock while he stood. Tatsumi growled at the vibration your ass caused when it slammed down on his toned thighs. He was exerting himself in a display of primal strength. Your pussy clenched down on him as he held you still. Opting to jackhammer into your body, making you shake.

As ridiculous as you probably looked, the pleasure made up for it. "I'm going to fuck you so damn well, you're not leaving this damn house again!"

And leaving was something you could not do. You were fucked in all sorts of positions in all locations of the house. The only break you got was when you could shower and even that wasn't a break as Tatsumi soon joined you, and fucked you haphazardly against the shower wall. Both of you came in and out of consciousness throughout the days, only having enough time to eat and drink.

On the final day, Tatsumi was the one to wake first. His sleepy eyes blinked at the open window, the same window he made you deep throat him in front of hours ago. "Y/n?" His voice was scratchy and in desperate need of water as he held it gingerly. "Y/n?" You lay next to him, body partially covered in a white sheet that probably only sin if he were to guess from the scratch marks and bites littering both his and your backs.

Tatsumi’s heart raced at your stillness, time armed to slowdown as a shaking hand reached out for you flinching at your cold skin. "N-No!"

It didn't work, he had worked so hard to make it work and his efforts were fruitless. The bed shook with his sobs, he couldn't even look at your still form. What was he going to tell your family? Fuck that, how would he even be able to live with himself. "What do I do, oh God Y/n. I'm so sorry! I-"

"Dawg shut the FUCK UP!"

His crying was interrupted as he was hit full swing with his own pillow. Your almond eyes were swollen most likely from tears of overtime as you squinted at Tatsumi. Pointing an accusing finger at him. "You fucked me for 3 days straight, I deserve sleep. Now be quiet or go somewhere else!" With that, you turned back over, covering yourself with your sheet.

Despite your scolding, Tatsumi felt joy filling his being. When he quieted, he stiffens… if you were alive..that meant you were pregnant…… now how the hell is he supposed to break the news to you?

[talkfastromance4]

Forever & a Night//michael clifford

Second NYE chronicles! This is some sweet and fluffy Michael with maybe a pinch of smut who knows🤷🏻‍♀️ I also got very carried away. Oops. reader insert but written as fem!reader

warnings: casual drinking, champagne, first time having sex, reminiscent memories

Masterlist

NYE Chronicles masterlist

Enjoy! feedback is always welcomed :)

• • • •

Michael’s holding your hand as he weaves through the New Year’s Eve traffic. The leftover snow glitters from the neon signs of bars and restaurants that are already flooded with New Year’s Eve celebrators. The radio station is playing the top forty song of the past year, Michael’s thumb rubs over your knuckles and circles the diamond ring that hasn’t left your finger since last New Year’s Eve.

“Remember our first kiss?” he asks you, his voice soft and soothing. 

His voice was one of the many things you love about Michael. The soft timber was the only thing that can calm you down if you’re frantic over a busy schedule, and the scratch of it tickled your ears in the early mornings. 

“Of course I do, it was also the first time we met,” you giggle resting your head on your seat to gaze lovingly at him. The lights on the street flickered over his face, accenting his pretty green eyes and perfectly pink lips. Lips you’ve kissed since you were fourteen years old. 

“You missed my lips the first time,” he chuckles, eyes sliding over to you as he rolls to a stop at a light. 

“I was nervous! You were my first kiss ever.”

**

It happened in the basement of your (at the time) best friend’s house, she was having a New Year’s Eve party and it was your first boy/girl party to attend. It was mainly kids from school so you knew everyone but stayed on the outskirts of the party taking it all in. You were at the snack table when a call for a game of Truth or Dare aroused and you scampered away as fast as you could. 

On the other side of the stairs was the tv where Michael and his best friend Calum were playing video games. Michael had on his signature dark gray beanie, making his face appear more round but you could see his boyish charms were fading into a teenager. At first, you thought he was annoying because he was loud and interrupted the teachers. Then he made a joke that you laughed at during math class and you realized how funny he was. His humor is what attracted you to him in the first place. 

“You got me with a blue turtle? Fuck you,” Michael shoved Calum with his shoulder and your ears rang at the cuss. 

It’s weird hearing people you’ve known since you were six use swear words now. Growing up is weird. 

“Hey, Y/N, you wanna play?” Michael asked and you stared dumbfounded that he asked and that he knew your name. 

“I’m fine watching,” you shrugged, moving to the floor in front of him. You sit cross legged placing your plate of snacks in front of you and start to munch. Knowing your manners, you hold up the plate of goodies. “Want some?”

“Thanks,” he smiled and took a few pieces of popcorn. 

“Is the pizza here yet?” Calum asked, his eyes focused on his character. 

“I don’t think so. I think Casey’s mom just went to pick it up.” 

So there you sat, watching them play Mario Kart ‘64 laughing at their banter and even shouting at Michael to pull away from the wall or to watch out for a banana that’s in his path. The pizza arrived and the three of you remained in the back corner of the basement enjoying your smaller party. 

When midnight neared, Casey shut the lights off so you could watch the ball drop. Michael pulled you to the back away from everyone else and for some reason you had butterflies in your stomach. 

Ten minutes until midnight and Michael moved closer to you so his bicep touched the top of your shoulder. He was very tall and your arm zinged from the contact. 

Five minutes until midnight and he leaned down to your ear.

“Would you maybe wanna be my kiss at midnight?” goosebumps formed on your ear and you never knew that was even possible. You nodded your head, too scared to look at him because you’ve never kissed someone before. “Cool.”

Your nerves were heightened as it ticked closer and closer to midnight. The other kids were becoming louder in anticipation of the new year but you were worried about where to put your hands and how to turn your head so your noses don’t bump. 

The twenty second countdown began and Michael took hold of your hands. His were cool and soft compared to your warm clammy ones. He moved you in front of him, holding you close as his thumbs ran over your skin. It calmed you down a little. 

You stared at each other as it became ten seconds. Your heart was about to beat out of your chest but you were hypnotized by his eyes. 

“FIVE! FOUR! THREE! TWO! ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

Party horns and silly string exploded behind you as you leaned up on your toes to give him a quick kiss. You ended up kissing below his lips a little and on his chin but you still felt a shock from the contact. Embarrassed, you buried your face in his hoodie, your face hot.

Michael hugged you back with his cheek resting on the top of your head. 

“Could we try that again, maybe?” he asked politely. 

“Now?!” you squeaked in shock. 

“Or later,” he chuckled. “How about we go back and play video games?”

“Okay.”

He held your hand as he led you back to the tv area and you both sat a little closer to each other on the couch. 

“Hey Y/N?”

“Yeah?” you’re concentrating really hard on the tv screen and your fingers on the controller. Then you feel Michael’s lips smoosh on your cheek in a kiss. You’re frozen. Frozen in shock and heightened senses. 

“Happy New Year.”

**

Michael’s thumb is still rubbing your hand as you both walk into the lobby of the hotel. It’s still decorated from Christmas with a few blue and silver baubles for New Year’s. At the concierge desk stood Calum and his girlfriend who were dressed to the nines for a party they would be attending after the ceremony. Calum was in all black with a gold tie and a top hat to complete the look while his girlfriend had on a pretty silver dress that sparkled in the light. 

“How did we beat you here when it’s your day?” Calum asks.

“Got stuck in party traffic,” Michale laughs. “Love the hat, man. Is the officiant here?”

“Yup, he’s all set. We just have to get you in your dress,” Calum’s girlfriend beams at you. 

“Everything is in the room, right?” you ask, your voice shaking slightly from excitement and nerves. 

“Yes, but you can’t see what it looks like until after the ceremony. Come on, time to primp and pamper you!”

“I’ll see you in about an hour,” Michael says, tugging you against his chest. His long finger pokes your nose before he leans in to give you a soft kiss. “Breathe, baby. This is our day.”

“What are you and Cal gonna do?”

“I’m going to buy him a drink while we wait for you ladies,” Calum grins.

“Okay,” you sigh heavily. “I’ll see you soon.”

You hold each other’s hand until the last possible second, until it’s just your pinkies linked together and then you’re walking towards the elevator and he’s headed to the bar. 

Calum’s girlfriend covered your eyes as you entered the honeymoon suite you and Michael reserved for after the ceremony. You’re sat in a glam chair as someone works on your hair, two other people work on your nails and toes and another does your make-up. They’re all a well oiled machine and you close your eyes, seeing past New Year’s with Michael behind your lids.

On another New Year’s Eve when you were nineteen, you were with Michael at a cabin his parents rented out for the two of you. It became a tradition of yours to order pizza and play video games. But this year...this year was going to be special. When he picked you up in his old car and he kissed you hello, you felt different. 

The whole journey to the cabin was full of this energy you couldn’t quite place. It left you buzzing and in anticipation of what the night would bring. Sensing your feelings, Michael reached over and took your hand bringing it to his lips. You felt a surge of affection as you felt the shakiness of his breath on your knuckles. He was nervous too.

While you played video games and ate, you also had a drink or two as the night progressed. And as the night progressed, you became warm and filled with a burning you’ve never felt before. Michael was in the kitchen opening a bottle of champagne he brought and walked in with two gold flukes.

“For you my lady,” he handed you a glass then poured the bubbly in your glass. It simmered and fizzled the bubbles away while he poured his own. “This is called ‘34+35.’’

“What does that mean?” you asked while taking a sip then smack your lips together at the sweet taste.

“Probably the year? I don’t know,” he shrugged. “Hey! We need to toast first before you drink!”

“Sorry!” 

“To our five year tradition and anniversary,” he smiled looping his arm around yours. “I love you, kitty.”

“I love you, too,” you smiled then you both took a drink.

Two glasses later, you were both laid out on the large couch with Michael nestled between your legs, your lips connected in drunken kisses. Both of you are in your underwear and Michael’s fingers are dipping under the strap of your bra. He pulled it off your shoulder and his lips moved to the free space above your breast. 

The scruff of his beard tickled your skin, his lips so soft on your skin as he kissed it lower, lower, and lower until he pulled the cup of your bra down. Being exposed to the air and his hot breath made your nipple harden. Michael sucked it between his teeth and you gasped at the newfound sensation. His lips puckered around your mound while his tongue flicked and circled your nipple. 

“Does this feel okay?” he asked, his voice a little raspy.

“Good...good,” you nodded squeezing his shoulders, “really good, Mikey.”

After a few more light suckles, he pulled your other cup down and used his mouth in the same fashion. You closed your eyes at the care he was taking with his mouth on you. He palmed your other breast, rolling your peaked nipple between his fingers and you rolled your hips against his trying to tame the heat between your legs. 

Soon after, the rest of your clothes were discarded and you stared a little wide-eyed as he rolled a condom on his hardened dick. He pumped himself twice to make sure it was on properly, his lower lip caught between his teeth. 

“You’re sure?” he asked and you shifted your eyes to his face. 

There was so much love and care in those sea glass eyes. In answer to his question, you dragged him by his neck so he was on top of you. 

“It’s you, Michael. I want you,” you mumbled on his lips. 

It took some time because it was the first time for the both of you. Tears pricked in your eyes as he nudged himself inside you, even with the lube he brought it was forgein to your anatomy but each inch felt better. 

You were both breathing heavily as he adjusted, he was very patient and his careful care made sweat form on his skin. 

“You feel amazing,” he panted closing his eyes. His head drooped to your neck, hot breath fanning your skin and he began to rock. 

Each pull and thrust the burn between your legs lessened and was replaced with a new sensation that made your toes curl. It was special, it was hot, it was all brand new but you loved every minute of it because you and Michael were perfect for each other. 

Afterwards, he poured you both another glass of champagne as you snuggled under the large blanket watching the New Year’s celebration on tv. You hadn’t even realized it was the new year because you were so involved with each other. 

“New Year’s Eve is my favorite holiday,” Michael said.

“You’re just saying that because you got lucky,” you teased taking the bottle from him. 

“Yeah I got lucky. Lucky to have you as my best friend, my girlfriend, and now my lover. New Year’s Eve is our day, babe.”

“Forever?” you asked, holding out your pinky. 

“Forever and a night,” he grinned, linking his pinky with yours.

**

You’re adjusting the flowers in your hand as you walk towards the small party room where Michael is waiting for you. About a year after that first time, Michael started off on his music career and with timing and being on different continents, that was the last New Year’s you spent with him until two years ago. You still were in each other’s orbits silently cheering the other on on social media. 

You met up again on New Year’s Eve at a mutual friend’s party. You stuck by each other like glue, reminiscing and catching up on new adventures you’ve both had. Discussions of break-ups, stupid moments, and other memories occurred and when the ball dropped you were already kissing. 

“It’s just you and him,” Calum’s girlfriend tells you quietly. 

The music starts inside, the doors open and she walks down the small aisle laden with glitter paper and flowers. You adjusted your dress, a pretty champagne color and took a deep breath as you made your way to your best friend. Michael couldn’t keep his eyes off you.

The ceremony was short and simple since it was just the four of you. Michael’s vows made you cry because he brought up past New Year’s Eve moments. He held your pinky the whole time then when you were declared husband and wife, he cradled your face in his hands pressing a soft kiss to your lips. 

Your first kiss as husband and wife.

Photos were taken shortly after, then Calum and his girlfriend were off to finish the rest of the evening at a party. They offered their congratulations and happiness before you and Michael were finally alone. When the elevator doors open, he lifts you in his arms and walks across the threshold into your honeymoon suite.

“I’ll do this again when we’re back home,” he says nuzzling your cheek. 

The room is decorated with roses and candles. Near the window overlooking the city is a table with steak, shrimp, fruit, champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. The meal is delectable, the champagne is your favorite ‘34+35’ brand. Michael snapped pictures of you and you took some of him. Then you took one with your hands over the other capturing your wedding bands. 

“How about we take a bath?” he asks, already scooting his chair from the table. 

The bubbles are warm and so is the bubbly in your flukes. You share kisses that leave your lips tingling and soon you’re in his lap. 

“I’m having deja vu here,” he mumbles moving his lips over your jaw. 

“I hope that’s a good thing.”

“It’s a very good thing.” he sucks on your neck and you gasp. 

Shortly after, you shift back into the suite and fall on top of the dark gold bedspread. Michael rocks into you and you’re filled with overwhelming sensations. He drags his tongue between the valley of your breasts and you gasp out his name when he hits a certain spot. 

Your fingers link and your wedding bands clink together just as fireworks explode outside. It must be midnight. 

“Happy New Year, wife,” he pants, his eyes glazed over as he looks down at you. He gives you a kiss. 

“Happy New Year, husband,” you smile lazily then bite your lip as your toes curl. 

“New Year’s Eve, it’s always been you,” he sighs, knocking his forehead to yours. His hips move at a slower pace. “My best friend, my girlfriend, my lover, my fiancé, and now my wife.”

“New Year’s is ours,” you smile stretching your lips to his in a gentle kiss. “Forever…”

“Forever and a night.”

He lifts your arms over your head, starting the new year the way you know best, connected.

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[refriedweeb]

CAUGHT ME BY SURPRISE JUST LIKE THE FIRST TIME (SHINSOU + READER DAYS AT UA)

A/N: don’t mind me, just self-inserting myself into UA’s days as a student bc I love Shinsou and Hawks and I love the quirk I’ve given to myself in the UA universe and honestly I’m just a simp. (I might make this a part of a series just like I am for the Hawks one bc I have problems)

Prompt: Y/N is a transfer student to 1-A’s Hero Course from an American school and known for the power behind her quirk. Shinsou is yet again the subject of some annoying trolls at school. What happens when the two cross paths?

Word Count: 1,683

He was beyond used to the subjected brutality of teenagers since he had transferred into UA’s General Studies course. All of his life, Shinsou had been told that he couldn’t be a hero because of his quirk. That he was a danger and had the makings of being a villain rather than a hero. The one thing he was so determined to be, according to his peers, was one thing he could never be. It was easy for the lot of them to say when they had much more heroic quirks that could make their climb to heroism much easier than his. But after his fight with Izuku Midoriya at the sport’s event, Shinsou was more determined than ever to make sure he became a hero.

The general negative attitude towards he and his quirk had lessened since then, but hadn’t ceased to exist. There were still a couple of other students who always thought it was an opportune time to ask him how the League of Villains were, if he’d picked his villain name, and so on. None of this was new to him, and Shinsou had basically come to blur it out of his mind. At one point it had bothered him, had really almost made the indigo haired boy lean into the idea of being a villain. After all, if they wanted him to be one so bad, then who was he to deny them that privilege? It’d been his fight with Izuku that had shifted some of Shinsou’s thinking, reigniting a passion to get into the hero course because it was one he deserved to be in. Because he deserved to be a hero. Wanted desperately to be a hero. 

Shinsou craned his neck from side to side and rolled sunken eyes. “Yeah man, maybe you’re the one who is telling the League where class 1-A is going to be all the time.” One of the boys who had made it his mission to make Shinsou’s life miserable for the day spoke. He was from the business course, the black haired kid egging him on from the support course. “You’re just as responsible for All Might’s retirement as Bakugou is!” Came the snickering. 

His upper lip curled, his attention redirected. “How long did it take you to come up with that one? A couple hours?” How easy it would be to just use his quirk right then and there. Brainwash the assholes who tried to make him the butt of their miserable attempts at insults and jokes. But that was what they wanted. It was what they expected of him because they already had it made up in their minds what type of person he was. Shinsou had been about to continue, but it was the black haired student who shoved his friend.

“Dude, look, there she is!”

“Shit,” the other student exclaimed, taking a step back from Shinsou. 

Curious, his eyes followed to where the students were looking. And there you were. Your legs looked like they ran on for miles in the UA uniform, though you weren't any taller or shorter than most of the other girls in the school. It was obvious to anyone that you were new at the school, your uniform still too nicely pressed and wrinkle-free to have been well worn like the rest of theirs were. Shinsou had never seen you before, it was a face and definitely a body he would have remembered. Were you an older student? Had the reason he’d never seen you before been the simplest fact that he hadn’t ever paid attention or felt the need to? Shinsou wracked his brain for where he had seen you before, if at all. But no. He didn’t know you. Yet, the mysterious pull of your aura was something that had drawn in him almost immediately. It wasn’t that your aura was dark, or spoke of evil. It spoke of mystery and misunderstanding, a set of cased emotions he understood very well. Indigo eyes remained fixated on you as you came closer, and he tried to get his heart under control when you looked his way.

Locked eyes with him. Most of the time people who did that with him looked away immediately after. But not you. You...kept your eyes on him until you were standing in front of the trio of boys. Only then you looked around, from the person you assumed was Shinsou Hitoshi, to the other boys you didn’t know. Didn’t care to get to know because their reputations hadn’t proceeded them for any various reasons. “Hi,” you said, head tipped to the side. You introduced yourself, shared your name with them though you were really only speaking to Shinsou. “Am I...interrupting something? I’m supposed to be in the 1-A Hero course but I can’t seem to find the classroom.”

“You? In the hero course? We know...” the black haired kid started out, and your eyebrows pulled together as he fumbled his words. “We know what your quirk is! No wonder you’re looking for him!”

Quirk? Shinsou stood up a little straight, his interest caught (and not because he wanted to feel like he was much taller than you and could defend you if you needed, though he wasn’t sure that was the case here) as you rolled your eyes. Not everyone got their quirk villainized right off the bat. That was a trophy that only Shinsou had held for some time. 

“Then, if you know how bad my quirk is,” you continued, arms crossed, hip jutted out, seething attitude. “Wouldn’t it be smart to not catch lip with me?”

Shinsou thought he was in love. 

The other two boys grimaced, looked you up and down with disdain. “Not our business to help the freaks. Ask the only other freak here in the school to help you get around.” They looked at Shinsou, their grimaces only growing. You narrowed your eyes at them. Shinsou stared at you. 

With one last hateful look, the two boys split and left you and Shinsou alone. He didn’t know how words worked anymore. There wasn’t a thought in Shinsou’s head that made coherent sense and suddenly he felt very out of his league. You, however, played it as cool as a cucumber. Confident and seemingly dangerous? The sea of mystery surrounded you still as you turned back to look at him. From the get go you thought he had the prettiest lilac eyes you had ever seen. But that wasn’t the reason Aizawa Sensei had told you to keep an eye out for Shinsou Hitoshi, no. Easy on the eyes was your own assessment. Aizawa Sensei had told you about Shinsou for the reason that you shared a similar quirk. That people looked down on you for something you hadn’t even been able to pick. And while you could give off that air of confidence and nonchalance, it was terrifying to be in a new school, in a new country, where your reputation did proceed you and people had already started rumors about what type of person they thought you were. From what Aizawa had told you...Shinsou was someone that you could lean into for support like that.

Rough around the edges, not someone who was the easiest to talk to...in Aizawa’s own words...but someone who would understand what you’d been through. And while you wanted to play it cool, you were terrified of being in a place so foreign where you were out of your depth with people who had known each other for so long already.

You turned your gaze to Shinsou, who stared at you still. “Freaks, huh?” You swallowed back any sound of uncertainty or doubt.

“Freaks.” Shinsou said, crooked smile softening his hard glare. “Let me guess, Aizawa sent you to come find me to give you a grand old tour.” His voice was dry, grating. 

“Something like that. More along the lines of make sure Hitoshi doesn’t get bullied by people and just take it.” You lifted a brow, hoping he’d take the joke you’d just made as that: a joke. 

His eyes narrowed, and you were sure you’d misstepped in assuming he’d think it was funny. You braced yourself from snarky comment, but he only looked you up and down, his tongue tucked into the corner of his mouth like he was deep in thought. And to be honest, he was. Here you’d come with a trumpet horn of an announcement by the two punks who’d scampered off. Apparently, Aizawa thought he had something to gain by knowing you and vice versa. You weren’t afraid of him, or of speaking to him at that matter, and it was a sense of relief Shinsou didn’t know he’d gone his entire school career without. It only made him more curious about what quirk you were hiding, but he figured that wasn’t exactly introductory protocol. He let out a low breath through his nostrils, tipping a head of thick indigo hair towards the classrooms. 

What Shinsou wouldn’t admit was that you’d had him enraptured so easily. Maybe your quirk was just like his, only better. He felt brainwashed, enthralled by the mystery that was you and all he didn’t know about you. When Aizawa would ask him about it later, he’d deny any interest in you outside of fleeting curiosity. It’d be an answer that would earn him a sidelong glance from his mentor, but it’d be one that he’d insist was true. So he looked you up and down once more, did his best to hide his blush. “Well then, freak, come on.” The books he had in his hands rested against his hip, and you had to admit he looked rather...handsome. If handsome was something a teenager could think about another teenager without being too vulgar. “Class 1-A is going to have a field day with you. Get ready, all they want to do is make friends.”

The way you crinkled your nose, and the way he couldn’t help but do the same told him all he needed to know about the relationship that was bound to bloom between you. 

[katsukisbimbo]

Bokuto Koutaro x Reader

✯pairing: Bokuto Koutaro x Reader

✯genre: strangers-to-lovers au!! with fluff, cRack aND!! smut!! slight angst too. uhh the several uses of the term “fat c0ck” because bokuto has a big dick

✯summary: meeting bokuto was a roller coaster you weren’t ready for, but you knew that if you had the chance you’d ride on it over and over again just to experience everything all over again

✯wordcount: 3.7k

✯note: hey guys i’m slowly pushing requests out so i hope you guys can bare with me!! this is for @gulfwanq​ who’s writing i absolutely love!! keep making great content love, muAh

you first met bokutou when you went to the local convenience store near your school

you really wanted some onigiri plus you didn’t have lunch

aNd onigiri miya was closed today

sigh

rUmbLe RuMbLe

gosh you were hungry

when you went to grab the last onigiri on the shelf you were surprised to see another person grab it before you

like huh

do i have to bite this stupid persons hand of-

you turn your head to look at the culprit and

your jaw DROPS

this man is gorgeous

and he looks like an owl

a really cute owl

owo

“if you could kindly take your hands off of my lunch i’d greatly appreciate it >.

and that’s the nicest way you could tell someone to fuck off really

but he just smiles and pulls the onigiri towards him and turns to walk away

oH NO YOU DONT BEEFY BOY

you jump on his back and try to choke him?? and steal the onigiri back??

and this dude is just laughing

what part of this is a JOKE to you HUH

this is LUNCH

LUNCH IS NOT A JOKE

you were not here to play games with cute boys

but you would make an exception if he played with your-

ANYWAYS!!!

the store owner sees the two of you fooling around and just kicks you both out

in the end neither of you ended up with the onigiri

“did you see what you did horn head? now i’m hungry”

and he just grabs your arm and pulls you into a different direction

“hEY- wHere are you tAking mE” you yelled exasperatedly at the random boy who was pulling you

“we’re going to get ramen”

oh ok

but like,, was he going to treat u or,,,

“i’m paying, come on”

wEll

who were you to turn down free food??

especially from a beefy looking dad-

aNYWAYS

“wait a minute,,, who aRe you?”

“hEY HEY HEY!!! dOnt you know me y/n??? i’m bokuto koUtaro!! i’m in the top 5 ranking of japan’s aces!!! i’m the best!!!”

his name,, did not ring a bell

nothing at all

“uhh,, ok,, how’d you know my name?”

ruh roh

bokuto started sweating profusely when you asked him that question

siri how do you tell your kouhai that you’ve noticed her ever since she was a first year but you were too pussy to actually talk to her or ask her out until you saw her trying to get the last onigiri at a convenience store so u say ‘hey why not steal her onigiri and make her fall in love with me’ so that’s exactly what u do

siri: here are the search results for “adult diapers”

sIRI THATS NOT WHAT I SAID

“ahh i’ve noticed you around before n i kinda thought you were cute”

take in bokuto didn’t even care that you didn’t acknowledge him before like he just cares that you’re talking to him now

n he was just avoiding your gaze but all u could think about was how cUTE!! he looked

wow

babie

and that was how you met bokuto koutaro

now he was almost leaving you

and through the months, bokuto had weaseled his way into life as your best friend, and in your heart, but as something more

it was easy to catch feelings for him

i mean,, who wouldn’t

you were currently in his bed, waiting for him while he showered

bokuto had graduated just today and you were gonna miss him so much :((

while you were thinking about bokuto, you didn’t realize that he had already exited the bathroom, sHIRTLESS

his grey sweatpants were hanging low on his hips, giving you a show of his v-line and delicious looking abs

wow

he turned to you and gave you a heartwarming smile

unfAir

he was too cute for his own good

“kouuuu come lay with me”

he dried his hair a little bit more before hanging the towel back into the washroom, then made his way to your spread out figure on his bed

he crawled on top of you and wrapped his arms around your waist while his head rested on your chest

your hands automatically made their way to bokuto’s head, massaging his salt n pepper locks just the way he liked it

he looked too pure right now

“kou?” “mm?” hummed bokuto

“i’m gonna miss you. so so much.” you forced out, feeling your tears starting to drip down your cheeks

bokuto immediately noticed the quiver in your voice and looked up, only to see his precious girl crying

“oh no bAby please don’t cry, please don’t cry i’m so sorry pretty girl come here” he cooed as he sat up and scooped you up into his arms, sticking you back in forth as you buried your face in his neck

but this only made you sob harder

“whyre you crying pretty girl? i’m not leaving tokyo, and i’m still gonna live here. you’re still gonna see me” he reasoned

he didn’t gEt it

he was going to go to a different school, meaning he wasn’t going to be with you all the time

and going to a new school means meeting other people

what if he meets someone and falls in love with them

and what if he just leaves you behind

you wouldn’t know how to deal with all that pain if that ever happened

you knew that bokuto was a busy man but you weren’t ready for him to leave you completely

like yeah you coUld come to his house to see him but you wouldn’t want to distract him from doing work or anything

you just weren’t read to let your kou go and that was okay

“i-i don’t want to be left behind” you sniffled

instead of comforting you even more, bokuto just tightened his hold on you and started laughing, letting you head the deep timbre of his voice

his laugh was so cute

“what do you mean pretty? im not going anywhere so how can i leave you?”

gOSH

did u rEALLY have to spell it out

bokuto looked at you expectantly as he lifted your chin to make you face him

you shifted your gaze to the suddenly interesting pillow at the foot of bokuto’s bed

“i’m scared that you’ll find someone better than me” bokuto’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and opened his mouth as he was about to interject-“i’m not the prettiest, or the smartest, or the coolest or the most athletic, but yet you chose me to be your best friend kou” you mumbled

all bokuto could do was watch as his love broke down in front of him, spewing all these lies about herself, degrading herself in front of him

honestly bokuto was pissed

who inserted all these negative thoughts into your pretty little head?

who made his special girl feel like she wasn’t enough for him, when it was him who didn’t deserve her?

she is kind, understanding, and loving. she is also vEry smart. which is why he couldn’t figure out why you thought you were less than what you were

he didn’t understand how you couldn’t see how wonderful you are

“i’m scared that you won’t return my feelings”

ah

there it was

bokuto pushed you by your shoulders, far enough to let you see his beautiful face, but not too far to the point where it seems like he’s doing it out of disgust

“oh y/n. my sweet girl, my special girl, you have absolutely nothing to worry about! y/n, i’m in love with you, i’ve been in love with you since you were a second-year. and i never doubted oNce that you were the one for me.” he stroked your cheek

“im so sorry if i didn’t reassure you, pretty. i just thought that you already knew these things. i’m kinda stupid, even for one of the top 5 aces in japan!!” he joked, causing you to let out a few giggles

you looked into his bright eyes, and cupped his soft, warm cheek, and slowly leaned towards his pink lips

“kOu!!! y/N!!! dinners ready!!”

goodamnit

you immediately placed your hands on his chest, planning to push him away and coax him to going down for dinner

until

he leans down and captures your lips with a heated kiss

your hands made their way into his still damp hair and tugged, making him groan into your mouth

your body involuntarily arched at his touch, letting you feel his bulge as he pressed into you

you started to rock your hips against his, wanting to feel the friction between your clothed groins

“k-kou— kou please‘ you whimpered into his mouth, not knowing what exactly you were begging him for

“shit babe i gotta stop or else i won’t be able to hold myself back,, and i want our first time to be special” he mumbled against your kiss bitten lips

gOsh

he was so cute :(( he wanted your guys’ first time to be special :((

mom :( i’m :( in :( love :(

“okay kou, lets go downstairs then” you suggested as you tried to push him off of you

“bUt pretty giRL—“ “no whining kou, lets go big boy, you must be hungry” you said as you finally got him off of you and sitting on the edge of his bed as you tried to pull his arm

“yeah i’m hungry just not for food tho” he mumbled lowly, not letting you catch it”

“what was that?” “nOTHING i’m starving haha let’s eat” “oh okay”

after the both of you made your way downstairs, bokuto i’d mom had immediately noticed your interlocked hands and started cheering

“I KNEW IT!! Y/N WAS GONNA BE OUR DAUGHTER-IN-LAW” she yelled in her husbands face as the both cheered while you and bokuto just stood there

“i’m so proud of you son, you finally grew a pair and asked her out after what? months and months of pining after her? ‘dAd how do i ask a pretty girl out?’ and ‘daD she’s so beautiFul i feel like i’m gonna pEe myseLf’”

“dAAD STOP EMBARRASSING ME”

any time spent with bokuto was never boring

after that day, bokuto had taken you on several dates, until he formally asked you out

and he was the best boyfriend you could ever ask for

he always had snacks ready

he always made sure to text you and call you to tell you whenever he was busy so that you wouldn’t worry

he always made you one of his top priorities which felt nice

and bokuto just gives you so much love

but one thing is that,,, bokuto is very jealous

he would get all mopey and dejected whenever a guy or girl would come up to you and ask you for your number, or if you wanted to hang out with them sometime

obviously you declined, informing them that you had a boyfriend

but the fact that people still wouldn’t leave you alone pissed him off to no end

he voiced his thoughts to kuroo, who just thought that he was being stupid

there was no way you are gonna leave him for anyone else

bokuto was stupid to not see how utterly and completely in love you were with him

all you had in your heart was bokuto and nobody else was needed

but there was this one incident, where someone had groped you in public, right in front of him

and he went ballistic

if it wasn’t for his friends and you who held him back, he would’ve certainly gotten arrested for assault

even though it would’ve been fair

sexual assault is a big no no

after that day, you made sure that whenever you sensed bokuto feeling down or jealous, you would insure him that he was the only one and will only be the only one

which usually got him feeling better in a span of 2 minutes

when bokuto had gotten into the MSBY Black Jackals, you were so proud of him

you were happy that he was able to do what he loved and made it into his career

he was really an excellent volleyball player

you would try your best to make it to all of his games and he honestly really appreciated it

he was so thankful for you for being as loving and supporting as you were to him, he honestly didn’t think that he deserved you

but let’s be honest

bokuto deserves the world

meeting some of his teammates for the first time was hEctic

they had all come over for a small get together at yours and bokuto’s condo

hinata wa stour favourite, just because he was cute and you saw how much he admired bokuto

and sakusa was very nice?? surprisingly you got along with him just fine?? which surprised everybody else

but miya atsumu

whew

this boy was something else

you lOved him!! honestly!!!

but he was just a little shit sometimes it made you want to rip out your large intestine and eat it

he would sometimes crash at your shared condo with bokuto, after a night of drinking with their team

and he’d let you clean up after him AND your boyfriend, as they were both drunk out of their minds

there was one night where you had to sleep in the guest bedroom because koutaro and atsumu had fallen asleep in your bed

while cuddling each other

wow

but all in all he was a great guy, and someone you loved as your brother

sometimes

phew

the first time you had sex with bokuto

you were afraid

bc of the fact that you were a virgin n it was your first time

but luckily it was kou’s first time too!!

which put you at ease a little

but you were still afraid that you might not be able to satisfy him?? like what if he says that it doesn’t feel good?? or if he says that you sucked at sucking dick??

that would be so sad

so you did what you had to do

you contacted all your female friends and asked them to teach you how to uh sex

which was a very awkward conversation between your friend group, since most of them were virgins too

they suggested to take it slow and not spring it on him all at once, especially since most days he’d be too tired from practice

so after practice, you made your move

bokuto had just gotten home and had gone straight into the shower after giving you a little peck while you were cooking in the kitchen

you decided that you were going to let him eat to gain some strength before you sucked him dry

after his shower, he excited the room with black sweatpants hanging low on his hips

kinda like deja vu

this was a scene that would never get old

you say him down and fed him, knowing that he liked being babied on some days

and you honestly didn’t mind, you liked taking care of your boyfriend

he was just too cute

after dinner, you washed the dishes and pushed him on your shared bed, face first

you sat on his bum and started lather his back with lavender oil, knowing that he loved the smell and how warm it made his back feel

you started to massage his back, slowly starting to press your thumbs into the knots in his back, making him groan at the feeling

it went like that for at least 45 minutes, you finished up after tending to each knot in his back, making you feel very accomplished

you flipped him over, only to see his blissed out face. his eyelids were drooping and he had a little dopey smile on his face

you put your hands on his chest and slowly made your way down until they reached the hem of his sweats, which you slowly pulled down

releasing his semi hard cock from its confinements

you felt yourself start to drool at the thought of gagging and slobbering all over his fat cock

he was barely conscious until you licked a fat strip from the base to the tip

which woke him up pretty well

“s-shit babe“

his large calloused hands tangled themselves into your hair and started slowly pushing your head back onto his awaiting dick

which you gladly took into your mouth

he stared with a slow place as you caressed his cock with your warm tongue as he pushed your head down, and suckled on his tip when he pulled back

you loved the feeling of his fat cock going down your tight throat

the feeling of your drool and his precum mixing made you clench your thighs, which didn’t go unnoticed by your boyfriend

“fuck, thats it pretty girl, take it down your throat. you’re such a good girl. baby’s gonna take my load right? you’re gonna be a good girl and swallow it all for me right?” he teased as he pulled you off of his dick

you coughed and nodded your head, moving your face near his crotch again, wanting to keep it in your mouth

he chuckled at the desperate look you had given him when he didn’t give you what you wanted

luckily, you had only been wearing your panties and one of bokuto’s oversized shirts

you loved wearing his clothing especially because you liked having yourself covered in his scent

he just smelled so nice

he pulled you up and pushed your hips to turn you around

which made your hips over over his awaiting mouth while your were faced with his dripping cock

you started to slowly give the head kitten licks, until those licks turned into long and hard sucks

he pushed your panties to the side and grabbed your hips, pushing your pussy into his waiting mouth

his tongue was relentless

alternating from roughly licking your clit to dipping his tongue in your slit, moving his tongue with vigour

his manhandling had made you work even harder, getting him closer to his euphoria

cuz you are the cause of bo’s euphoria🥺

yEah yEAh yEah yEah yEah yeAhhhh

anyways

once hit started to stroke your clit with his thumb

it was over.

you were done and creaming on his face while bokuto was releasing on your face as well

shiT

bokuto really do be hitting different

he gently pushed your body off of his and reached for a towel, gently wiping your face while whispering apologies

after he was done he gently kissed your lips and got on top of you once more, using both his hands to spread your legs to reveal your glistening slit

(psa sex isn’t really like this irl LOL i’m exaggerating it,, but if u find someone who cares enough about u then it might just be like how i describe it👁👄👁 my first time having sex was with a skinny weeb gamer boy who sold marijuana to the crazy people downtown so,,)

anyways

bokuto shoved two meaty fingers into your hole, spreading you out even more and scissoring you

making you arch your back off of the bed

shit bokuto felt like he was about to bust just looking at you

“i’m gonna make you feel so good pretty girl, you won’t even remember anything but my name.”

👁👄👁 ok den

one thing bokuto loved to do was go on late night drives with you??

it was surprising that bokuto had a license in the first place but after he had graduated you had forced him to get one, because obviously it was necessary smh

he had taken you to your guys’ favourite spot 

which was just on top of a hill that had a beautiful view of all the city lights 

his car always had extra pillows and blankets just in case you guys had a last minute trip to your spot

he immediately set up the pillows in the trunk and beckoned you to come over and sit next to him 

““i love being here with you kou, it’s like just yesterday i was still tackling you in the convenience market for the last onigiri” you reminisced 

he laughed and buried his nose into your hair, loving the smell of your fragrant shampoo

his large hands rubbed your sides, making you snuggle into his side even more than you were 

he was just so warm  and cuddly 

it was hard not to just bury yourself in him 

“i love you y/n. you know i’d give you the world if i could right?” ““i know kou, i love you too. you don’t need to give me the world because i have you, you are my world”

damn 

you never failed to fluster him, after years of being with each other 

you were so in love with this boy 

all you knew was bokuto 

he was your first everything, and hopefully your last 

he slipped out of your hold and stood up, admiring the view of the city as he walked a little, until he suddenly turned to face a confused you 

like y was he suddenly standing up 

until he wasn’t 

this was bokuto koutaro, the love of your life, down on one knee, as he held a white velvet box, which contained the prettiest diamond ring you could ever get 

you immediately felt tears starting to stream down your face, even though he hasn’t said anything yet 

“y/n,, i’m so in love with you. i don’t wanna be with anyone else but you. you give me happiness, love, faith, and courage. i want to be by your side until we grow old together. i have loved you since you tried to choke the shit outta me in that convenience store. you loved me at my worst, and my best, you are the cause of all good things in my life. you are the cause of my euphoria. no, you are my euphoria. pretty girl,, will you continue being my euphoria?”

you couldn’t help yourself as you jumped into his arms and started peppering kisses around his face while mumbling yes with each kiss 

he took your hand and gently slid the ring on your finger 

now he could show people that you were his, as he was yours

“i love you kou”

““i love you more, pretty girl” he mumbled as he kissed the top of your head 

“kou,,” “mm?” 

“i’m pregnant”

“wha”

[tellmealovestory]

I’m Okay

Summary: Four times you lied and told Bucky you were okay and the one time you admitted you weren’t.

Notes: I posted this originally on ao3 and now I’m posting it here. This is my first Bucky story and also my first ever reader insert story so I’m a little nervous posting this! I wrote this a couple weeks of ago when I was going through a rough time so this is my way of dealing with stuff. 

Warnings: depressed reader, angst, implied smut

The first time Bucky asked if you’re okay you’re standing outside on the balcony holding a half empty glass of champagne. If you concentrate hard enough you swear you can almost hear the faint notes of music and the tinkling laughter of happy party goers over the sound of horns honking and people shouting below. The sounds are not so gentle reminders that you should be inside mingling and laughing with the rest of the guests instead of standing outside by yourself.

You tried, you really did. You spent an hour inside dancing with Natasha and Wanda and Steve and Sam and Bucky. But there were too many people in there, too much noise. It was a struggle to paste on a smile and pretend that everything was okay. It was fucking exhausting. So when you were sure everybody was busy you had snuck out to the balcony for some peace and fresh air. You had been so sure that a couple minutes by yourself in the chilly air would clear your head and you’d be better. It hadn’t worked like that though. The longer you stayed outside the more guilt you felt gnawing at your insides and you aren’t sure why you felt guilty.

“Was wonderin’ where you disappeared to, doll.”

Sighing, you turned around, pasting a smile on your face as you see your boyfriend Bucky walking towards you. Your heart skipped a beat as your eyes take him in. He looked so fucking handsome in that suit it's easy for you to push the negative thoughts to the back of your mind and pretend you’re okay.

Placing your glass of champagne down on the ledge you walked towards him, meeting him in the middle of the balcony.

“Hi,” you breathed, your arms looping around his neck as you pulled him close to you. He was warm and he smelled so good. Being this close to him felt like being home and you wanted nothing more to stay wrapped in his arms for the rest of the night.

“How long you been out here? You’re freezing, Y/N,” he chided, his large hands running up and down your goosebump covered arms.

His touch was electric against your bare arms and it wasn’t until he touched you that you realized you probably should have brought a sweater or a jacket out with you. All you had on was a sleeveless floor length dark green dress. It had been fine when you were inside, but outside it was hardly weather appropriate.

“Not that long. Maybe ten minutes?” You lied, hating yourself for how easy it rolled off your tongue.

Bucky didn’t say anything as he removed his suit jacket and helped you into it. It was too big, the sleeves too long, but it smelled like him and it was warm and you weren’t going to complain.

“Better?” He asked, his lips brushing against your cheek and forehead before ghosting over your own.

“Much,” you whispered against his lips tasting the champagne you both had.

His large hands rested on your hips, his blue grey eyes twinkling as they traveled down your body. “Have I told you tonight how beautiful you look, sweetheart?”

Your teeth tugged at your lower lip and it was moments like this that you thought about confiding in him. He was so sweet, so gentle with you and you wanted nothing more than to tell him what was going on with you, but the words wouldn’t come. They were stuck in the back of your throat. Instead you threaded your fingers through the soft dark locks that rested at the back of his neck humming. 

“Mmm you may have mentioned it once or twice tonight, but I’m not opposed to hearing it again,” you teased. 

Maybe you should have been concerned about how easy the lies were spilling from your lips, but you weren’t. Not right now.

“Oh, I plan on telling you all night how beautiful you look,” he murmured, his lips moving to press a soft kiss against the crook of your neck. His grip on your hips tightened when he heard you gasp.

“Bucky,” you giggled. “Stop, we’re gonna caught.”

“I don’t care.”

“Bucky...”

“Fine.”

Silence fell, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It never was with him and you loved how you two could be content with it.

“You never told me what you were doing out here,” he murmured, breaking the silence.

Your body stiffened and you prayed he wouldn’t say anything about it. He noticed it, of course he did. He was a trained ex assassin who was an expert at reading people.

“I needed a breather. There were a lot of people in there and I just... felt a little overwhelmed I guess,” you admitted, with a shrug of your shoulders. It wasn’t a total lie. You were feeling overwhelmed, but you left out the part about how you were also feeling... off and you didn’t want to ruin his night by telling him that.

“Why didn’t you come and get me? We could have left, doll.”

You felt another wave of guilt crash over you. It was an unspoken rule between you that when either of you were feeling overwhelmed by crowds or situations you would tell each other and you’d leave - no questions asked. You didn’t have a good reason for not telling him.

Shrugging your shoulders you pressed your body closer to his, your head resting on his chest. 

“I don’t know,” you sighed. “You were having fun and I liked seeing you laughing and smiling and I figured if I left for some air and came back I’d be okay.”

Bucky frowned at your explanation. He had been having fun, but he swore you had been too. He watched you most of the night laughing and joking with your friends, dancing, drinking. Had he missed something?

“Are you okay, Y/N?” He asked softly.

“I’m okay,” you lied as you lifted your head up from his chest to look him in the eyes. You saw concern reflected back at you and once again you felt so guilty. Sealing your words with a gentle kiss to his lips you sighed in content when you felt him kiss you back.

The second time Bucky asked if you’re okay you’re wandering aimlessly through a crowded bookstore. The musty smell of old books fills your nostrils as you inhale. It’s a strange smell, but one that you find familiar and relaxing. Your fingertips dance over the spines of colorful books as you wander up and down the aisles. You aren’t sure where Bucky wandered off to, but you’re not too worried. You’ll find each other again, you’re sure of that.

The tinkle of the bell over the door rings out into the store as you glanced up. The girl who enters looks happy, she’s laughing and smiling with her friend and for some reason you can’t take your eyes off of them. Maybe because they both look so happy and you miss that feeling. It’s not that you’re not happy because you are. For the most part. It’s just lately you’ve been feeling... off. And you aren’t sure why and you aren’t sure how to fix it. And it’s frustrating and you know that you should open up to someone, but you can’t.

Sighing in frustration you tear your gaze away from the girls. The last thing you need is them catching you staring and thinking you’re some creepy weirdo. Just the thought has heat flooding your cheeks. Turning around you collide into a hard chest.

“Oof sorry!” You apologized, before realizing it’s Bucky.

“You okay?” He asked, grabbing hold of your upper arms to steady you.

“Yeah, sorry I just uh got a little distracted I guess,” you murmured, getting lost in his eyes.

Bucky lets go of your arms, glancing down to your empty hands he frowns. It’s not like you to walk into a bookstore and not leave without at least five books. You guys had been in here close to an hour and as his eyes wander around looking for a stack sitting close by his frown only deepens.

“Where are your books?”

Shit. You should have grabbed a couple. Even one book would have worked. Why hadn’t you thought this through better? You never left a bookstore without getting something. Your eyes darted past Bucky and for a second you thought about grabbing a book, any book, but you didn’t want to lie him. Even though that’s exactly what you had been doing for how many weeks?

“Oh, uh I didn’t find anything,” you replied with a shrug of your shoulders like it was normal.

“Seriously? You always find something, Y/N.”

“Not this time.”

The two of you are silent, staring each other down. You think he knows you’re lying, but you’ve always had trouble reading him. The longer the silence drags on the more anxious you become. Your weight shifts from foot to foot, your teeth pull on your lower lip, you can feel your palms start to sweat and you’re just waiting for him to bring it up, for him to ask what’s wrong. He doesn’t and you’re feeling surprised and relieved, but also guilty. Why is it so hard to talk to him about this? A couple more minutes stretch by with neither of you saying anything and you can’t take it anymore.

“Did you find anything?” You asked, your voice soft as you break the silence.

“Nah.”

A couple more minutes of silence stretches on.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. Just a little bummed that I couldn’t find anything.” It’s only half a lie this time.

The third time Bucky asked if you’re okay you’re standing in the kitchen wearing only his shirt and a pair of underwear, a forgotten cup of cold tea on the counter next to the sink. You’re watching lightning light up the sky in quick bursts as thunder rattles the windows and the rain comes pouring down. You’re not sure what time it is or how long you’ve been standing by the window watching it storm. You know you should be back in bed laying next to Bucky’s warm body, but you hadn’t been able to sleep. It was becoming a bit of a problem for you lately.

“Sweetheart, it’s two in the mornin’ what are you doin’ out here?” Bucky grumbled, nuzzling his head in the crook of your neck. His voice is low and scratchy and it’s ridiculous given the circumstances, but you find yourself arching into his touch as his arms wrap around your waist, his hands dipping underneath the tee shirt you’re wearing to glide over your stomach.

“I-I... couldn’t sleep,” you gasped, struggling to get the words out. He’s barely touched you and you’re already a mess.

“Yeah?” His lips dip to the crook of your neck pressing open mouthed kisses against your skin. “I didn’t tire you out enough earlier?”

Your eyes flutter shut at his words as memories of what had taken place hours earlier flood your mind. Everything had been rough and fast, hands moving against one another, nails raking down backs and necks, fingers digging bruises into hips. Hot, needy kisses full of tongue and teeth clashing together. Sweaty bodies moving together as one. His heavy breaths mixing with your gasps and whines and moans leaving each of you a mess by the end.

“Well?” His teeth graze against the skin of your neck and you whine, arching your back. Clad only in his boxers you can feel him pressing against you. God, after what he had done to you earlier you should have been exhausted, yet here you were standing in your kitchen half naked and ready for another round. Maybe, just maybe another round is exactly what you need to help you get to sleep, to help you clear your mind, to help you feel more like you.

The windows rattle with the loud clap of thunder and you jump taking Bucky by surprise as his arms tighten around you and his teeth sink into your neck. You let out a quiet whimper. Partly from the thunder catching you off guard and pulling you from your thoughts and partly because fuck that kind of hurt.

“Shh, it’s okay, I’ve got you, Y/N,” Bucky mumbled and you’re not sure if he’s referring to you being startled from the thunder or from his teeth sinking into your neck. You realize it’s the latter when you feel his tongue swiping against your skin before he peppers light kisses against you. Your head tilts to the side granting him more access and for the moment you don’t care about the bruise you know will be there.

You’re more prepared when the next clap of thunder hits. Instead of jumping your body flinches and much like before Bucky’s hold on you tightens. His hands slip out from underneath your shirt and before you can ask him what he’s doing he’s leading you to the living room, over to the couch where he sits down, pulling your body with him so you’re left straddling his hips. Your hands go to his shoulders, your fingers toying with the hair at the back of his neck as you glance down at him curiously.

“The storm sounds like it’s getting worse. You shouldn’t have been standin’ so close to the window, doll,” he murmured, his hands sliding once again to your hips.

“I was about to go back to bed, but  somebody got up and distracted me.”

“Oh, so it’s my fault, sweetheart?”

“Mhm.”

“Didn’t hear you complain’ earlier.”

“It’s hard to complain when someone is pretending they’re a vampire and they have their teeth in your neck.”

“Again, didn’t hear you complain’ about that. In fact I think you kinda liked it, Y/N.” His voice is low, a wolffish grin on his face and you can feel heat flooding your cheeks as you squirm on his lap. Okay, maybe you did kind of enjoy it, but you’re not going to give him the satisfaction of admitting to it out loud. “That’s what I thought.” Comes his reply when you don’t say anything.

“Yeah... well... I’m not the only one who enjoyed it,” you shot back, hating the way your voice sounds so stuttered.

Bucky chuckled earning him a small smile from you.

“Can you blame me? I get up and see you standing in the kitchen in nothin’, but my shirt. Jesus, doll you have no idea how good you looked. No idea what you do to me.”

“Oh, I think I have some idea.” Your words are punctuated by a roll of your hips against him. The delicious moan you’re able to pull from his plump lips makes the not being able to sleep a little more bearable. You can feel his hands gripping tighter onto your hips and much like your neck you know you’ll be bruised later, but you don’t care.

Leaning down you press a gentle kiss to his lips, pulling away you smile as you feel Bucky’s hand tangling in your hair, bringing your lips back to his. You can hear him murmur I love you in between kisses, his voice soft and not quite as scratchy as it was earlier in the kitchen. Allowing yourself to get lost in the taste of him and the motion of the soft, lazy movement of your lips against each other you wish for a moment it could always be like this. That you would be able to always feel so peaceful and comfortable wrapped in his arms as if nothing bad could ever touch you. But, like most good things in your life the feeling doesn’t last and as the storm rages on outside and inside your head you pull your lips away slowly, resting you forehead against his, your warm breath mingles and you let out a quiet sigh.

“You never told me why you got up.”  

“The thunder woke me up and when I saw you were gone I got worried and went lookin’ for you when you didn’t come back after a couple minutes.”

You nodded your head unsure what to say. You’re relieved you hadn’t woken him up when you left. The floorboards closest to your side of the bed squeak and ever since you started getting up in the middle of the night you’ve been terrified you’re going to wake him and you’ll have to explain yourself. Deep down you know it’s not a big deal. Bucky has his own problems sleeping at times and if anyone would understand it’d be him. But it’s not just about the sleep for you. It’s all these little pieces that add up to a bigger puzzle and no matter how much you want to tell him you can’t. 

Not yet.

“Are you okay, Y/N?” Bucky asked, a sigh falling from his perfect lips. He’s not dumb and he knows there’s something going on with you, but he chalks it up to the early morning and the storm leaving you rattled.

“I’m okay,” you lie and each time you do it kills you a little bit more inside, but you don’t stop. “Just tired. Come on let’s go back to bed.”

The fourth time Bucky asked if you’re okay you’re sitting in a booth in the back of a retro themed ice cream parlor. He had surprised you after work by picking you up, the smile on his face when he caught your eye making you forget how rough the past few days had been for you. He and Steve had been on a mission and you hadn’t been expecting him back for a couple more days.

“Enjoy your dessert,” the waitress said, placing your treats down in front of you. Her words are directed at Bucky and she stares at him for a beat too long before leaving. He doesn’t notice though, his blue grey eyes focused so intently on you you’re worried he’s going to ask about the dark circles under your eyes. You know he knows you haven’t been sleeping, but it’s still not a conversation you’re wanting to delve into.

“Hey!” You yelled as Bucky takes his spoon dipping it into the whip cream and hot fudge that cover your sundae.

“Wha? You snooze you lose,” he stated, his mouth full.

It’s such a childish retort, but it has you cracking a small smile and it feels so good. You can’t remember the last time you smiled and meant it. Sure, you’ve been spending the past few weeks smiling, but they had been fake, for show. It was easy to do it, easy to convince everyone around you that you were okay. 

So easy in fact sometimes you even had yourself convinced.

“I missed you,” you sighed, your voice soft and it’s so stupid, but you find yourself avoiding his gaze for a minute. You’re not embarrassed by your declaration, it’s not as if it’s the first time you’ve told him that. But for some reason you’re feeling shy... feeling off. It’s a feeling you should be used to by now, but you’re not. It would be so easy for you to open your mouth and spill everything to him right now, but you can’t and you hate yourself for that. You feel like a ticking time bomb as you wait for him to ask what’s wrong, ask how you’ve been sleeping, ask how you’ve been, but he doesn’t and you don’t know if you’re relieved or frustrated.

“I missed you too, doll,” he replied, voice as soft as yours. His blue grey eyes lingered on you, he can see the bags that hang heavy under your eyes and he knows you’re not sleeping again. He wants to say something, wants to slide into the seat next to you and wrap his arms around you. Wants to take you back home and curl up with you, holding you until you fall asleep. He wants to demand you tell him what’s going on.

Bucky Barnes isn’t oblivious, he knows when there’s something wrong, especially when it involves someone he loves. It started out like most things do he thought. It was little things at first. Such as you spending more time by yourself during get togethers to you not sleeping to you being quieter than usual. It broke his heart when you don’t talk to him, but he doesn’t push you, he knows better than most that you’ll talk when you’re ready, but he’d be lying if he said it doesn’t hurt. He wants to reach inside you and take all your sadness and pain and carry it on his shoulders.

“Ready?” He’s the first to break the silence that had settled over you.. The ice cream is finished, the bill paid, a tip left on the table. You nod your head yes as you slide out of the booth waiting for him. Once he’s out your hand automatically reaches for his flesh one and you intertwine your fingers and head outside. 

It’s a beautiful summer night, the sky that perfect mix of dark oranges and golden yellows and you sighed as you leaned into Bucky. The pace the two of you set is slow and easy and you think you’d be more than happy to spend the rest of the night like this.

The silence stretches on, but it’s not uncomfortable and you wonder what he’s thinking as you glance over to look at him. He senses you staring because he turns his head to look at you, a soft smile gracing his face as he pressed a quick kiss to your temple.

“You’ve been quiet tonight. Something on your mind?” It's not an accusation, but a statement and you know this is it, an opportunity to speak up and let him in. Now or never.

“Hm? No. Works just been... stressful and I guess it’s been taking a toll on me,” you said with a shrug of your shoulders as you near your apartment.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“No. It’s nothing. It’s boring and this is the first time I’ve seen you in weeks and honestly the last l thing I wanna think or talk about is work.” There, not a total lie this time, but you still feel guilty.

Once at your apartment Bucky stops and turns to you. You can feel your heart racing beneath your chest and this is it you think, he’s finally going to demand you talk to him. Instead of saying anything he untangles your hands as he reaches up to cup your face. Concern is reflected back in his eyes and you feel so fucking guilty, but it doesn’t stop you from pushing those feelings down. Now isn’t the right time to talk about it anyways you tell yourself.

“Are you okay, sweetheart?”

“I’m okay, Bucky. I promise.” The lie rolls off your tongue too easily and all you think about is how you don’t deserve him.

The fifth time Bucky asked if you’re okay you’re curled up in his bed, the sheets and blankets pulled up tight to your chin. You can faintly hear voices through the bedroom door though you can’t discern who they belong to. You want to push the covers up, to get up, to open the door and convince Bucky and whoever else is on the other side that you’re okay, really, you’re just tired, just having a bad day, but you can’t. You’ve been laying in bed for hours and with each passing minute Bucky has grown more and more worried and you don’t blame him. There’s been nothing he could do to coax you out.

At the sound of the door creaking open you take a shaky breath. Footsteps move across the floor and as the bed dips with the weight of a new body you know it’s Bucky right away. He doesn’t say anything, but you can hear him breathing next to you. Wiping away the tears that had fallen down your cheeks you roll over so you’re facing him. The look on his face breaks your heart. He’s wearing a frown, his eyes cloudy with concern. Because of you. Because you didn’t open up to him sooner. Because you’ve been laying in his bed refusing to say more than a couple words at a time. God, you’re a horrible person. A horrible girlfriend. The guilt is eating you alive and you don’t know what to do.

“I’m s-sorry,” you choked out. The tears fall faster down your cheeks and there’s so much more that you want to say, but the words won’t come.

Bucky doesn’t say anything as he takes in your puffy, tear stained eyes and messy hair. His heart is breaking as you try to apologize and for a moment he’s confused about why you’re apologizing. Opening up his arms he relaxes slightly when he feels you move in, your head resting on his chest, your fingers curling around his tee shirt as his hands move to rub soft circles on your back.

“It’s okay, shhh, I’ve got you, you’re okay,” he murmured, his voice soft and soothing as he kisses the top of your head.

Focusing on the sound of Bucky’s voice anchoring you and the feeling of him rubbing your back you let everything out. All the tears and guilt and fear and worry and anxiety and depression and emptiness. Everything you’ve been keeping inside of you for too long.

You aren’t sure how long you lay curled up against him crying, but slowly your tears start to lessen until all that’s left of you is a sniffling mess.

“Are you okay?”

“No.”

And there it is. One word. Two letters. But god does it feel good to say. Finally! After weeks of lying the truth is out there. You’re not cured, far from it. You still feel like shit, but fuck does it feel good to be honest with him. Why had you waited so long? You’re finding it difficult to look at him so you close your eyes, breathing deeply as you focus on the steady and calming sound of his heart beating.

“You up to talking about it?” He whispered. He’s being so gentle and sweet and you feel like you don’t deserve him.

“I don’t even know where to start,” you mumbled. It’s an excuse, a poor one, but after not talking about it for so long it feels strange to start now.

Taking a deep breath you open your eyes though you still don’t look at him.

“I don’t know what happened. I thought I was doing okay. A-and then I had a bad day, but I didn’t think anything of it b-because everyone has bad days. But then... I don’t know. Things just stared to spiral and I wanted to tell you, but... I couldn’t because I-I didn’t want to burden you,” you rambled, choking as the tears you thought you were done crying stream down your face. “And it’s stupid and I should have been honest with you and I’m sorry.”

Bucky frowned, confusion crossing his features as he listened to you talk. “Y/N,” he sighed with a shake of his head. “Why would you ever think you’d be a burden?” 

“I don’t know.”

“Y/N.”

“What?”

“Talk to me. Please.”

And it’s the sound of his voice, broken and needy and... hurt that makes you understand that by keeping everything inside you weren’t only hurting yourself, but Bucky too and that was the last thing you had ever wanted to do.

“B-because you have enough stuff to worry about and I... I didn’t want to add to that,” you muttered, wiping away the tears.

“Listen to me. You could never be a burden, Y/N.” His voice is low, commanding and though you don’t want to you find yourself looking up at him, a few tears still falling. Bucky cupped your cheek, wiping your tears away with his thumb. “We all have bad days, doll, but I can’t help you if you don’t let me in.”

He’s right. You know he’s right. 

Letting people in has been a struggle for both of you. A couple months after you had started dating you had your first serious fight over him not letting you in. He’d come back from missions or have a bad day and instead of talking to you he’d push you away. You had tried to understand given all he had been through, but it had still hurt. A fight had blown out between you, your first major fight as a couple and it has been awful, but you had worked through it with Bucky agreeing to try and open up to you more. 

It hadn’t happened overnight. In fact it took a couple months before he finally started to feel comfortable letting you in, but once he did your relationship grew stronger. 

Until of course the roles were reversed and you were the one shutting him out.

“But... what if you can’t help me?” You mumbled, averting your gaze. “Sometimes.... sometimes I don’t know what’s wrong and if I don’t know how to fix it how can I expect someone else to?”

Bucky doesn’t say anything for a couple of minutes. He knows what you’re going through, knows what’s it like when there’s something wrong, but you don’t know how to fix it. Knows what it’s like when you’re worried about being a burden. He wished he had a better answer to your question, wished he knew how to fix this for you. But he doesn’t and he can’t so he simply pulls your body closer to his, holding you tighter as he pressed soft kisses to the top of your head and murmured over and over that he loves you.

It’s not enough to fill or fix the emptiness and sadness inside of you. Not even close. But you do feel better having opened up to him and you do feel a little better being wrapped in his arms. You’re not going to get cured overnight, you know that, but for now, laying next to Bucky Barnes and having him understand is a start.

“I’m always going to be here for you, doll. I may not be able to fix it, but I’ll always be here,” he promised.

You don’t say anything, there’s nothing you can say and though you barely talked today you’re exhausted. You pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek and whisper a soft thank you as you lay your head back down on his chest.

[leahxx129]

Feels Like Home: The Truth (pt.5/final part) (Hvitserk x Reader)

Alright, so this is the final part to the Feels Like Home series. I know this was promised like 2 months ago but as I explained in a previous post - a break from Tumblr was essential for me. I hope you like the finale. :) Also, I inserted a ‘Keep Reading’ line, hopefully it’ll be visible to all of you.

Summary for pt.5: The raid was a roaring success and finally it’s time for you to explain everything to Hvitserk. The question is - will he be able to forgive you?

Warnings: description of homicide, cursing

Word count: 2.030-ish

Read PART1, PART2, PART3 and PART4.

* Moodboard is mine, images used are not. *

In the end, the raid turned out to be a roaring success. You made it out alive and as far as Ivar was concerned, the treasury’s content lived up to the stories he had heard, and he drained the place to the last coin.

Now, on your way back to Kattegat, you have some newly acquired thralls heat up two kegs of drinking water and fill the wooden tub in your cabin with it. Usually you can wait with the post-battle bath until you get home but this time you wish to cleanse yourself as soon as possible. The hot water makes your muscles relax and you catch yourself falling asleep when a soft knock on your door brings you back to consciousness.

“Come on in!” you signal your visitor to enter after stepping out of the tub and wrapping a cloth around your body.

Hvitserk’s face lights up at your sight.

“You are the only person I know who can conquer a land and still look breathtaking afterwards.” he says, earning a shy smile from you.

“Haven’t your father taught you that it is not decent to lie?”

“He has and I am not lying! Are you questioning my honesty yet again?”

“I would never dare do such a thing!”

You both chuckle and he pulls you into a tight hug. A familiar scent fills his nostrils – could he be imagining it, or your hair does smell like the wildflowers from the meadow?

“Ready to tell me everything?” he whispers sometime later, and you lean away to look into his eyes.

“No. But I made a promise and I always keep my word. Are you ready?”

He nods, then sits down on a chair next to the table and draws you into his laps. Looking into his eyes and knowing what you are about to say makes your chest ache, but you clear your throat and begin anyway.

“Do you remember the feast you had thrown for Ubbe’s birthday, just one full moon’s time before I left?”

“I do.”

“And do you remember how sick I felt during the feast?”

“Yes, I do. You had too much cherry wine so consequently I escorted you home to rest.”

You place a hand on the side of his face and caress his cheek with your thumb affectionately.

“It was not the cherry wine that made me feel sick, my love.” Your voice is laced with emotion, barely above whisper.

He knits his eyebrows in confusion, but it is only a matter of seconds and the wrinkles start relenting as he realizes the meaning behind your words.

“Were you… were you with child?”

You nod and an excited, breathy laughter escapes his mouth. You try to memorize the sound of it as you are uncertain you will ever hear it again once you tell him the rest of the story.

Seeing you don’t share his joy, his happiness vanishes just as fast as it came.

“What is it, Y/N? What happened to my child?”

You get up from his lap, fill your cup and empty its content within seconds. Then repeat the whole procedure all over again, not minding the peculiar look you get from Hvitserk. There is no way you can get through this sober. Once you are done with your second round, you wipe your mouth and continue.

“My father found out I was carrying your child and I have never seen him more furious than that. He respected Ragnar, but he also believed that by making so many enemies, Ragnar created an environment not fit for a child, especially not fit for his grandchild. So he pulled some strings - granted a wish here, asked for a favor there – and ended up shipping me to England in order to marry an ambitious Saxon king.”

“King Willelmus?”

“Yes, him. At first, he was the perfect gentlemen a young girl in trouble such as myself could wish for. But then time passed and he began to reveal his true colors… Remember the strikes in the cell? I carved those with my nails after he’d imprisoned me there. He visited me every day and laughed in my face for believing he would welcome the bastard son of a pagan whore.”

Hvitserk’s face grows more somber with every word that leaves your lips and you can barely resist the urge to throw back another drink.

“Not very long after the imprisonment I delivered the baby, our son, and King Wil-“ your voice cracks and that’s when you realize you’ve been crying. After a few deep breaths you continue “… and King Willelmus strangled him in front of my eyes. A nun witnessed this and when I recovered, she gave me some gold and some silver, and she helped me escape. I travelled all around the world, came to know different cultures and different fighting styles – all in order to seek vengeance one day. And that’s what I did today.”

The silence that ensues screams louder than anyone you have ever heard dying in battle.

“Why?” Hvitserk finally speaks up, not looking at you.

“Why what?”

He elevates his gaze slowly and you can see he’s like a volcano, seconds away from erupting.

“Why did you not come back to Kattegat and tell me whAT HAPPENED?!” he roars the last word, making you flinch. “Was I unworthy of the truth, huh?! Did I do something to deserve being left out of avenging mY OWN SON?! We could have done it years ago and we could have brought many more sons into this world ever since!”

“Hvitserk, calm down and let me expl-“

Before you can finish, he jumps to his feet, knocking back the chair he’s been sitting on and grabs you by the throat.

“Hvitserk… I-I can’t… breathe…” you try to plead with him to no avail. His grip is firm and strong.

“You know, here I thought I was favored by the Gods since they gave me a second chance with you… but it turns out they are just taunting me…” he whispers, his mind still visibly clouded by rage. “Tell me, why did you come back to Kattegat now, really? Was it honestly your father’s death or did you know about the raid?”

Though you don’t say – you can’t say – anything, your eyes give away the answer.

“Just what I assumed.”

Suddenly he lets go of you and you fall to the ground. He is about to storm out the door when you call after him with a hoarse voice.

“Hvitserk! You promised you would take good care of my heart, but now you are breaking it…”

He takes a quick, pitiful glance at you.

“I don’t believe there is anything I am breaking right now. In fact, I doubt there ever was anything I could have taken good care of!”

He slams the door shut so hard it almost falls off.

You just lie there on the ground at the exact spot you fell on and stare into the void, trying to comprehend what just happened. Then a scream makes its way out of your lungs and you begin banging one of your palms against the wooden floor until you feel no pain, just see the blood.

A huge hand covers yours to stop you from doing any more harm.

Bjorn.

You just look at him for a while, not knowing what to say.

“Have you been eavesdropping, Bjorn?” you finally decide on something and a sad, lopsided smile forms on his face.

“No. You and Hvitserk were so loud I believe the whole crew heard it – except maybe for the warriors that were deafened in the fight.”

“I’m not in the mood for jesting, Bjorn.” You try to sound menacing but the tears streaming down your face undermine your plan.

“I know. I’m not here for the jokes, I’m here for the tears.”

He pulls you into his chest, muffling your cries and sobs.

Hvitserk is sitting in the Great Hall, looking at the plate in front of him with no appetite. What is wrong with him? The music is too loud, the cheerful people annoy him and not even the food or the mead interest him at the slightest.

“What is wrong, big brother? Why aren’t you enjoying the celebration? We came back richer than ever. You could at least drink to that!” Ivar’s words shake him back from his own thoughts.

He pulls a face at his little brother, raises his horn and starts drinking from it.

“See? That wasn’t so hard, now was it? The more you do that the less you’ll feel upset about Y/N leaving Kattegat.”

Hvitserk almost chokes on the ale.

“What did you just say?” he questions Ivar while wiping his mouth.

“I said Y/N is leaving. She said she had no business here anymore, so she intends to sail away.”

“It’s true.” Bjorn chips in. “But I think that if you hurry, you might be able to stop her from doing so.”

Hvitserk’s heart has never beaten faster than now, not even when he went on his first raid ever.

What should he do? Should he go after you? Or let you go? What do the Gods want?

Suddenly, Ubbe’s words start echoing in his ears ‘Let me tell you what I see! I see a miserable man drenching in his own self-pity and insecurities and only the Gods know how tired I am of it! Gods, Hvit, do you even understand what is going on here? She was taken away from you, but fate is offering a second chance! Do you know how rare that is?’.

He stands up abruptly and runs out of the Great Hall.

Hvitserk considers himself fit but by the time he gets to the docks there is almost no air in his lungs. And even that little what remained gets knocked out by an invisible force once he discovers that your ship is gone.

“No... no, no, no!” he whispers frantically to himself as his eyes start watering.

This must be a deception. You cannot be gone. Not again.

He feels like the rug has been pulled out from under his feet and he almost tumbles.

What is he to do now? He can’t go back to the feast.

His legs start working before his brain does. After a considerable amount of walking they stop and Hvitserk finds himself in the meadow of wildflowers. 

In the middle there’s you, illuminated by the moonlight, resembling a goddess now more than ever.

“Y/N? Is that you? I-I thought you sailed away.”

You turn around at the sound of your name and your eyes go wide.

“Hvitserk? I-I intended to but I just simply could not. I felt like I needed to be here. But what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at the feast?”

He rushes to you wordlessly, cups your face and presses his lips to yours forcefully.

“I am so sorry for not hearing you out, min elskede!” he says, gasping for air once you break the kiss. “And for all the things I said! I did not mean any of it!”

“No, no, no! Do not apologize! I should be the one begging for your forgiveness because of all the things I have done and all the things I haven’t… I believed for the longest time that a feeble woman like me who couldn’t even protect her own son would never be a worthy wife to you in the eyes of the Gods, and-”

He places his index finger on your lips to prevent you from completing your sentence.

“You were always worthy of me and I was always worthy of you. We were fated to be together. Do you know why I’m certain?” he pulls you closer so that your figure melts into his. “Because this feels like home. It always has and always will.”

You stand there like that, embracing each other in the moonlight for only the Gods know how long.

But time does not really matter, now does it?

You have a lifetime ahead of you and even after that, you will spend an eternity together in Valhalla.

[jungshookz]

demons and angels and nurses, oh my!; myg

😈 pairing: min yoongi x reader

😈 genre: spooktober day (2/7); demon!yoongiverse because it wouldn’t be halloween wiThout everyone’s favourite demon; costume shopping is always cute!!

😈 wordcount: 2.1k

😈 note: demon!yoongi told me that if i didn’t write a spooktober drabble for him he would stand in the corner of my room at night and watch me so here he is!!!! i’m trying to keep these drabbles short n sweet but i apologize if it seems like there isn’t much substance to this one but pouty yoongi and costume shopping is CUTE suE ME 

(picture source here! again, having some trouble finding the original-original source of the picture because it’s literally on everyone’s pinterest page lol) 

                                      ◢▅◣Ξ◥▅◤Ξ◢▅◣Ξ◥▅◤

this is supposed to be the most beautiful time of the year for yoongi

the leaves are dying

the rain is falling

the pumpkins are spicing

so he doesn’t understand whY he isn’t out in the world wreaking havoc on everyone and is instead stuck shopping with you!!!

(for the record he loves you and cherishes this relationship but PLEASE for the love of satan he needs to get the hell out of here before he falls asleep)

not to be a grump or anything but you guys have been at the costume store for a solid 2 hours and yoongi’s ass is getting sO sore from sitting on the bench for so long

“you know, the key word in couple’s costume is ‘couple’. and so far, this has been a very one-sided couple.”

yoongi glances up from his phone and snorts when he sees you dressed up as a bottle of mustard

“look, i even took mustard so you could have ketchup! ketchup is red and red is the colour of your eyes when you get upset!!”

“well, that’s very thoughtful of you.”

here’s the thing

jungkook’s throwing his annual halloween party (this is the first time he’s throwing it at an actual venue and not his musty dusty cruSty apartment)

would it be so vEry wrong of you to show up there with yoongi? your boyfriend? your devilishly (hA) attractive boyfriend who you would very much like to rub in everyone’s faces?

also there’s literally a 2 for 1 deal on couple’s costume so it would be crazy for you noT to take advantage of that

here’s a list of the couple’s costumes that yoongi has rejected so far:

salt and pepper

milk and cookies

peanut butter and jelly

(you skipped lunch today so maybe that’s why you’ve been choosing a lot of food-themed costumes)

pennywise and georgie!!!!! yoU thought yoongi looked so cute in that yellow raincoat

plus you were kinda feeling that pennywise wig on yourself

a bar of soap and a loOFah

eggs and bacon (again, ya didn’t eat lunch)

you tried to make this experience more fun for yoongi by letting him choose some costumes for you guys but he ended up just choosing costumes for yoU which meant a lot of sexy [insert literally any kind of person/place/thing here]

surprisingly enough he wasn’t a fan of the demon one

in all honesty it was kinda taCky

the cheap red paper horns

the flimsy pitchfork

the pointy, scrawny little taiL

humans really need to be more open minded when it comes to how demons look nowadays

“i am burning up for you, nurse y/l/n…“ yoongi whistles lowly as you step out of the changing room wearing yet another one of his tasteful selections

you don’t understand why there are sexy nurses but there aren’t any sexy doctors

but that’s a conversation for another time

for now you’re trying to figure out how to walk properly without having the dress rise up and expose your enTire ass to this store

you’re not even sure if this costume is in your size considering how tight it is

you feel like if you cough weirdly you’re going to pOp a button and everyone’s going to get a nice look at your boobs

“you’re not taking this seriously anymore.” you grumble as yoongi leans forward to grab your wrists and pull you closer to him

“what do you mean?” he hums as he begins to slide his hand up from the back of your thigh to your- “oW-“ yoongi pushes his bottom lip out in a pout when you swAt his hand away before he can get to the motherland

“i wanna win the costume party and we’re not going to win if i show up wearing a sexy nurse’s outfit and you show up wearing- well, normal clothes!”

yoongi lets out a sigh and props his chin up against your torso and you instinctively reach down to push his hair back “we can go as like, a professor and a student or something.”

“…we’re dressing up for halloween, we’re not shooting a porno film-“

“it’s just- halloween is the one night of the year that i’m free from my demon duties and i get to do whatever i want and i- i don’t know, i guess i think it’d be a little siLLy using that time to put on some silly costumes and hang out at jungkook’s place with a bunch of people i barely know. plus - a couple months back when we were talking about halloween you said that you’d be okay with me disappearing for 24 hours!” yoongi pouts up at you and bats his lashes

okay

he has a good point

you dO remember having that conversation with him

and it’s true, the fact that he only gets 1 day out of 365 days off

if he wants to spend that one day hanging out with his demon friends then he can do that

it’s just.,,.

u don’t want to sound like a brAt or anything but

!!!!

halloween is so much moRe fun when you get to dress up with your significant other!!!!!

and u don’t like that he’s calling it silly because now yoU feel silly for enjoying the dress-up aspect of halloween

and now you’re going to have to show up to this party aLone which is not ideal because you already told like 8 people that you were bringing your boYfriEnd

>:-(

u know what

it’s whatever

it’s not worth getting into an argument over

you’re fine!

it’s fine

it’s whatever

“that’s fair…” you murmur and purse your lips in thought

now you have to come up with a clever single person halloween costume

you still have a couple of days left to decide so you’re sure it’ll be fine

“alright, i suppose you’re right.” you let out a sigh and yoongi grins happily up at you

“thank u, baby”

“mm”

yoongi gives your bum a swat as soon as you turn around and you resiSt the urge to tackle him in the middle of this costume store

“y/n, you are noT going to believe the things that i have planned out for-“ yoongi’s sneakers squeak against the wooden floor when he spots a familiar face in the apartment “…what the hell are you doing here?”

“good afternoon, yoongi!” jimin smiles brightly and yoongi raises a brow

he sweArs his perfect, pearly teeth are going to blind him one day

“why are you in my apartment?”

“y/n and i are going to jungkook’s party together and she wanted me to come over to try some outfits on!” jimin states as if that’s the most oBvious thing in the entire world and yoongi snorts

“…you guys aren’t going to the party together.”

“ya we are”

“no, you’re not-“

“mmmm i’m pRetty sure we are”

“okay but it’s like- it’s a couple’s costume and you’re not a couple-“

“we don’t have to be a couple! she just needed someone to go with-“

“okay but you’re noT a couple so you can’t say you’re a couple otherwise people are going to think that you guys are like, together-together-“

“you know what the funny part is? we’re actually going to go as-“

“yoongi!” the little quarrel is interrupted when you emerge from the guest bathroom “i thought you were going to be out all day doing… demony things!”

“i was but i finished ea-“ yoongi doesn’t get a chance to finish his sentence because he’s pretty sure his tongue rolls out of his mouth and giGantic red hearts start pumping out of his eyes

you-

well he thouGHt he wasn’t a fan of the demon costume but this one definitely doesn’t look like the one you tried on at the store

you’re wearing some kind of a red latex leotard (and it’s taking a loT of effort to not check out your boobs right now)

complete with a pair of thigh high boots and arm sleeves that make it look like your forearms are engULfed in flames aNd of course there’s a long, pointed tail attached to the back that kind of just drags behind you on the floor

a pair of little red horns sit on the top of your head and that,.,,. shouldn’t affect him as much as it is

“you’re going as a demon?” yoongi swallows thickly and reaches up to tuck at the collar of his shirt when he catches sight of some fiery-red garters around your thighs

“uh-huh! you like it? i figured that since you’re not coming with me, i’ll just dress up as you-“ you joke and twist slightly to make sure the tail is still in place “jimin actually made the whole outfit for me-“

“jimin helped you with this outfit??” yoongi raises a brow and

“yep! i thought the puny little tail was kinda pathetic so i made a longer one and that definitely amped up the look aNd the horns are nice and sturdy now-“ jimin leans back against the couch and crosses his arms “i suggested fishnet stockings but y/n thought that would be too much-“

“wait, if you guys are going together, and you’re dressing up as a demon, then what are you dressing up as?” yoongi’s brows knit together as he looks towards jimin

“y/n suggested that i just go as myself - get it, because a demon and an angel - but thEN i was like what if i aLso dress up as a demon and we can do a matchy-matchy thing- pLus, i don’t think i��m breaking any rules because it’s just for halloween so we’re goo-“

“you’re going as a demon?!” yoongi interrupts him and if you looked any closer you’d probably be able to see the steam shooTing out from his ears

what the hell!!!!!!!!!!!

ok u know what to be fair you’re letting him off the hook for the night which is what he wanted

but he didn’t know that you were going to be wearing that

and he aLso wasn’t aware that jimin was apparently going to be your demon boyfriend for the night

and knowing how ditzy jimin is he’s probably going to lose track of you and then you’re just going to be prey in the eyes of the many, mAny other demons who are out on the prowl on halloween

you walking around wearing that with your aura as pUre as gold (even though half of it belongs to yoongi but still your aura is like 78% pure) is equivalent to serving a piece of fresh salmon on a silver platter to a pack of wild bears and yoongi suddenly has a vERy strong urge to taint your aura again and again and again so that people know exactly who you’re with-

hm.

interesting.

“jimin.” yoongi clears his throat calmly, “you have five seconds to leave before i kick you out.”

jimin’s lips part in a gawk

“wha- what did i do-“

“four- three- twO-“

“alright, i’m going, jesus-“ jimin grumbles and lets out a huff before he disintegrates into a beam of golden sparkles

a moment of silence goes by after jimin leaves where you and yoongi are kind of just staring at each other

the air in the room feels different and you feel your heart sKip a beat when you notice yoongi’s eyes flicker to black for a millisecond

if you had blinked you probably would’ve missed it

“what’s the matter with you?” you cross your arms and tilt your head slightly and yoongi scoffs before poking his tongue into his cheek

“what do you think is the matter with me?”

you don’t miss the way his eyes trail over your figure and you don’t have to be a roCKet science to figure out what thoughts are running through your boyfriend’s head

“…you want me to keep the horns-“

you don’t even get a chance to finiSh asking before yoongi’s grabbing you and practically dragging you to the bedroom

(yoongi makes a mental note to apologise to jimin later for shRedding up your handmade costume.)

help me help you make your wishes come tru (aka send me a spooky request)

spooktober masterlist // main masterlist

[thatrandomcatoverthere]

She Devil Part 3

Author: I’ll be honest I wrote this same night as part 2 way too early in the morning. This chapter shows a bit more of the readers true personality, there is a timeskip in it to try and make more progress with the reader. I apologize if that annoys anyone but it was hard for me to find another idea to do so. As always my taglist is open and I will gladly take requests currently. Thank you and remember to live a little ❤️

Summary: Still wary of the others and scared of the same rejection she faced as a teenager, Y/n attempts to keep her distance. She trains in the mornings with everyone making it hard to keep to herself now. Bucky starts to take more and more of a liking to the little devil, then he faces something terrifying. 

Warnings: Cursing, Blood, Lots of blood, Implied burned bodies, worried Bucky, injured reader, and pretty canon violence and fighting. 

Steve stood on the sidelines with some of the other avengers watching Bucky and y/n spar. She was quick and agile, he was big and strong but slower than her. Steve could tell the girl wasn’t giving it her all and was about to say something until Tony stopped beating his punching bag and spoke. 

“Don’t tell me the scary little devil can't fight better than that. He’s barely broke a sweat fighting you. Those punches are cute.” He teased at her, his goal to piss her off enough to try harder without thinking about it. He just wanted to see Bucky get his ass kicked by a girl. 

This was more effective than any of them could’ve hoped, Y/n immediately started to move faster. Dodging punches thrown at her before sweeping the bulky man off his feet. He jumped up quickly and caught her ankle when she went to kick. 

“Too slow.” He sent a smirk her way but failed to realize her next move would be to drop to the ground and pull him with her. She rolled over and pinned him. 

“Alright that’s enough.” Steve called out to them, but Bucky had different plans. He overpowered her and flipped the position so he was straddling her waist and pinned her with his metal arm. Then he saw why Steve called it, The girl had gotten worked up enough from Tonys words that her horns were out. 

He took a second to take in her appearance. Her black horns, her h/c stands that came loose from her ponytail were stuck to her face from sweat, her e/c orbs staring up at him. He could see a canine slightly poking out from the pouty face she was giving him. 

“Bucky do you mind getting off?” Y/n said attempting not to sound nervous but failing slightly due to the slight waver in her voice. That pulled him away from staring as he quickly got off of her, “Oh I'm sorry... You fought really well today though.” 

“Thank you, you as well Buck.” She shot him a smile and took his hand to stand up. “Well done Y/n, but why did you hold back in the beginning?” Steve inquired. 

“Just didn’t feel fully up to it until Stark decided to open his damn mouth.” 

Before Steve could scold her for cursing Tony spoke first again, “Well I wanted to see what we actually have on our team, plus I'm sure it intrigued Brucy boy over that you got mad and your horns came out.” 

“Indeed it did, I would like to see that again sometime maybe find out what causes it. Looked like maybe annoyance this time.” Banner interjected rolling his eyes at Tonys nick name for him. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Unable to sleep from her thoughts swirling down the rabbit hole. Trying to figure out if the team truly did accept her, or if they were studying her for more information before kicking her out. Y/n decided it was best to just go workout, maybe tire herself out enough to actually fall asleep. 

So right now she was busy beating the life out of the punching bag in front of her. It had been too long since she had worked out alone, so she gladly embraced her true appearance to work on her skills. Dancing around the bag her tail looked much like a cats, acting as her main source of balance. After an hour she had started to focus directly on her target, causing her vision to tunnel in on only that.

Imagining a real enemy fighting her she was dodging attacks, attacking where sensitive spots would be. A kick to the midsection, dodge a punch, throw her own punch, dance around. The poor bag was in tatters within two hours of her work out. Finally she gave one kick with more force than intended, the 200lb punching bag flew across the room hitting the wall then the floor with two thuds. 

She had been so focused she didn't notice there was someone watching her. Then she heard clapping behind her. Spinning around and getting into a defensive position, her eyes locked onto Steve. 

He put his hands up in surrender, “Woah I didn’t mean to scare you. I really do not want to end up like that poor bag over there.” 

She relaxed forgetting that she wasn’t in her human appearance, “How long were you there?” 

“Long enough to see you trip over your own tail earlier and get mad at it.” He smiled trying not to laugh. He knew that there was a sweet girl in there somewhere she just needed to warm up to everyone first. 

“Oh. Thats embarrassing.” She gave a small smile but it vanished just as fast as it appeared. “Anyways, did you need something?” 

“No I actually got up for a drink of water, but I heard someone down here so I came to check it out instead. You’re a good fighter ya know, I hope one day you’ll fight like that during morning training.” Steve complimented her. “I only fight like that when I’m alone or against a real enemy Cap. Though I’m not as fast in human form, so it’s rare to see. I’m gunna go shower and try to sleep though. Thank you for the compliment, Goodnight.” She scurried out before the conversation continued. Leaving a confused Steve, he couldn’t understand why she was always so scared and nervous. 

What the little devil didn’t know, was that Steve hadn’t been the only one that saw her that night. 

About 30 minutes into her work out Bucky went down there to do the same thing as the girl. His nightmares kept him awake and he wanted to let off some steam. Between the nightmares and the self doubt he was feeling, he was growing increasingly irritated. 

That irritation left as soon as he looked into the training room and saw her. She was wearing black shorts and a sports bra. Her hair pulled up into a ponytail, horns peaking through, and the unmistakable tail behind her. She hadn’t noticed him at the doorway so he stood there and watched. He hadn't got to see her fight like this since the day Nat was in trouble. She was gorgeous. The way she dodged things he couldn’t see, the way her face was full of pure focus and adrenaline. The way her tail swiveled with each move and turn she made. It was done with grace that only a devil could have. 

When he finally decided to leave her alone, he ran into Steve in the hallway, “Oh hey Steve, what’re you doing up?” 

“I heard someone in the training room I wanted to check it out. I see that it wasn’t you since you’re not all sweaty and I can still hear whoever it is in there.” Steve replied and cocked an eyebrow at him. 

“It’s Y/n, I was gunna go in there but decided to leave her be. I don’t even think Natasha could beat her she fights so well. I’m heading to bed though, I wouldn’t interrupt her out of no where though Cap she’s pretty focused.” Bucky answered him. 

“Got it, I’m just going to go check it out, I want to see what she is capable of. Oh and I see the way you look at her ya’know. She only talks to you openly, I'd say maybe you should go for it. Goodnight buddy.” Steve ended the conversation and continued to his destination. Bucky stood there for a second, was it really THAT obvious? 

------(I’m sorry I usually do not do timeskips but I wanna progress a little)-------

A month later Y/n had started to open up more. She started to joke around with Tony more, even started to open up to Steve some after their conversation. She still didn't like the idea of being in her devil form around them. The team was currently on a mission, it was simple. Get into the base, take the necessary information, get everyone out. 

Y/n, Bucky, and Steve were inside the base, the rest of the team already back to the jet. So far no one had suffered more than a few scratches. Steve was at the computer inserting the flash drive and the bug while the other two were guarding the room. A guard was sneaking up on the window to the room when an arrow wizzed through their chest and through the window. “Thank you Hawkeye.” Y/n thanked him. 

When Steve was done and they were on their way out guards surrounded them. She was quick to transform so she could fight as well as possible. A few of them men froze up for a second but went into action quickly. The three of them managed to take them all out, but they were out of sight from Clint. 

A sniper from the treelines took aim at who seemed to be the most dangerous. Y/N. 

No one had anytime to register what happened before a bullet lodged itself in her left shoulder. Both of the super soldiers turned their heads to the source of the pained cry she gave out. 

Before they knew it flames erupted from her hands, she was pissed. 

“Fuck.” The boys said in unison. 

Then she shot a flame directly at the sniper. She was happy when she saw him fall from the tree he was in. Quick to get back to work, it looked like a massacre. She was moving too fast for the Hydra guards to keep up with.

Within minutes after they took all of them out, Bucky looked around them. The bodies covered copious amounts of blood or were charred in various areas leading to Y/n. Who looked completely drained before she locked eyes with Bucky. Then dropped. He was quick to catch her before she hit the ground.

She was completely limp, and wasn’t breathing at all. 

[80s-roger]

road trip: 80s!roger taylor x fem!reader

summary: you recently got your drivers licence and you decide to spend your whole day on a road trip with your fiance Roger in the countryside with the car he bought you, a Nissan 200SX. But things turned out different since you ran out of gas.

words: 2,236

portray: early 80s!Rog, 30yrs!FemR

warnings: fluff, oral sex, fingering, riding, cumshot

masterlist

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

You were getting ready for a road trip Roger had promised to you if only you got your drivers licence. You finally got your licence two days ago and now you’re eventually driving the car Roger bought for you, a beautiful Nissan 200SX.

You weren’t married yet, close enough at church’s stairs but your diamond ring at your finger promised a wedding coming soon. You were his fiance for three years. You’ve had a really good time with Roger. A really good time. In everything. And you’re still happy with your relationship and the love you feel for him.

“Love, are you ready?” You heard his voice when he entered the house. He’d be here to pick you up.

“In a minute!” You replied from the bathroom, in where you were still making up yourself. You heard his footsteps approaching because he knows what in a minute means. You’re not ready.

“Can I come in?” He politely asked before coming inside the bathroom.

“Yes of course.” You said and covered your lips with some lip gloss.

“Oh there you are, love. You’re not ready yet?” He asked and came closer to you, wrapping his arms around your waist and leaving you a gentle kiss at your neck.

“Just some tiny details and we’re leaving!” You tried to keep him entertained by moving your hips left and right over his bulge area.

“Oh love, you better not do that right now. It’s not the time.” He appealed to you trying not to sound horny.

“I’m sorry baby, I was trying to distract you from me being late!” You said in a rush trying to look completely fine with your make up look.

“It’s fine y/n, just don’t take long… Your new car is waiting outside.” He smirked at you and left the bathroom, leaving you to fix the last details.

You were ready, wearing a simple blue dress up your knees and flat white shoes. You were this cute wife Roger wasn’t used to but still, he loved very much. Your hair was laying down your shoulders casually and the red lip gloss on your lips, gave another vibe to you.

“You’re amazing!” He gasped while looking at you and opened the door for you to walk outside.

“Aww, thank you Rog!” You smiled at him and you both entered the car. “I am driving!” You said excited, rushing to the driver’s seat.

“Of course you do…” he looked at you proudly. He knew how much excited you were for your driver license. You wanted to drive so bad. You didn’t want Roger driving you off wherever you wanted. You wanted to do it on your own.

“So you know how to start the engine, don’t you?” He laughed at you, making soft jokes.

“No, I don’t!” You said back to his joke, laughing. You inserted the key to the starter and the car made the characteristic noise. The engine began working and you pulled first.

As you were driving to the ring road there was that traffic light that turned red and you slowed down. You looked Roger, who was enjoying the speed you were going with. It was all smooth and enjoyable. He gently rubbed your knee and smiled. “You’re such a pro, already!” He supported you.

“Ah, thank you!” You were in awe as he said that to you and kissed your cheek. The light turned green and some other car behind you horned. “Oops, someone’s in a rush!” You checked the mirror as you saw an old man rushing to move.

“Grumpy old man… You’ll get used to it.” he rolled his eyes as you pulled second by now and that man crossed you, disappearing from your eyesight.

You were driving for five hours now. You didn’t know where exactly where you going but since there were huge signs upon you, you must have been close to Lancaster.

“Do you think we should stop somewhere to rest?” Roger asked, wishing you’d both find a takeaway restaurant-cafe. He was right, you started getting tired. You wanted him to drive by then but you wanted him to prove how good you really are. He wouldn’t bother but this trip was all about you.

“Of course, we’ll stop at the first one we’ll spot.” you agreed with him and you were impatient to find one.

Half an hour passed and you saw not a single soul. It was also getting dark. You planned to stay in a motel but there’s literally nothing out there. You began feeling insecure about the way you’d spend the night.

“We’re surely inside the UK, aren’t we?” You asked your fiance, with your voice full of insecure.

“Of course we are, love.” he caressed your unmoved and uncovered leg, sending you shivers.

The car started making weird noises. That worried both you and Roger. He looked at you and the gas meter, worried. You also looked in the same direction as him. “Oh fuck.” You gasped and he was at the same mood as you. You instantly pulled over, having a decent distance from the road. “Please tell me we have some gas, in the trunk…” You leaned in the seat, finally relaxing your back.

“Let me check…” He got out of the car. “Open.” you heard him say and pulled the trunk��s valve.

You heard him murmuring words under his breath such as “fuck my life”, “this can’t be happening” and so on. You could tell he was irritated and there was no fallback. You got out of the car, checking both on him and the trunk. You exhaled and looked at him tenuously due to lack of brightness at the area. Just a huge lamp a few meters away.

“It’s okay, we’ll manage. Someone may drop by…” You chilled him out by rubbing his shoulders and his eyes stared at the ground. He slightly nodded and gently pulled your hands from him. “I am sorry, we shouldn’t have gone this far…” You apologised and turned his gaze at you again. “I guess you have to go to work tomorrow morning…” you said, feeling sad for the current situation.

“Baby, we’re together on this, it wasn’t your fault. We just didn’t consider stopping at a petrol station.” he gently grabbed your hand, leading you inside the car, at the back seat.

You were inside his arms, silent. You could feel his heartbeat pounding steadily. He didn’t say a word. You were really going to spend the night at bleakness. However, you had to stay optimistic. You had to do your duty as a woman, as a partner, as a fiance.

“Hey, you alright?” You asked him placing your hand at his knee. He looked at you with affection. “Yes, as long as I am with you.” He leaned in to kiss you. “It’s just a night…” he added.

“Do you think we should…” You started and your hand moved closer to his bulge. You had noticed it was erected, minutes ago. You and him, alone, in the middle of nowhere, there’s nothing better. His eyes moved at the direction your hand was travelling.

“Should we what?” he smirked and helped with your hand. He had his hand on top of yours, leading it on top of his bulge.

“You know…” You bit your lip. You felt his heartbeat rising.

“I want to hear it from this innocent mouth of yours.” he placed his finger at your chin, pulling you closer for a kiss. He knew how innocent you were when you both met each other. You still act innocent around him when it comes to sex. You let him take control as he always does so you just let him make the first move. “I know how dirty your thoughts are.” he moved his hand between your thighs, going below your dress, close to your panties.  "Say it.“ he whispered at your ear, giving you chills. You just moaned at his hands close at your panties. He gently rubbed your labia without taking off the cotton fabric. “What do you want me to do on your body?” He softly whispered in your ear and now his hand went under your panties, rubbing you entirely.

“A lot of things…” You moaned and grabbed his arm, helping him move faster down there.

“Such as?” He teased, inserting a finger inside you. “You’re not really helping me… I need some guidance.” he bit your neck and rubbed your sensitive clit with his thumb. At that touch, you softly moved your thighs and accidentally sat at his one left leg.

“Am I not wet enough for you?” You whimpered below his head. His smell was so masculine at you. He smelled like heaven.

“You are baby… But I want to be hard for you.” he bit your lobe and you knew you had to say something dirty. He wouldn’t stop rubbing and fingering you. You couldn’t stop moaning. “So tell me… What do you want me to do?” He asked again and placed you at his lap, between his legs.

“Fuck me…” You whispered and felt his bulge at your lower back getting hard as you said these two words. “Fuck me hard in here…” You whispered and with his help, you took off your panties.

“How hard do you want me to fuck you?” He gently pulled your body, facing his chest. You unbuttoned his shirt, leaving him shirtless and somehow you began kissing his chest area. You heard him moaning as your hands, unzipped his jeans. “How… F-fuck…” he tried to say but you bit his neck, leaving him marks. “How hard…” he attempted asking when his hands, left your waist and went through his panties, taking out his horny hard dick.

“Make me unable to walk.” You eagerly said in his ear and a few seconds later you felt his top touching your wet pussy. He got inside you slowly so you could adapt to him. You let out a big breath until he checked on you, caressing your neck and kissing it.

“If you say so…” He kissed your lips and then his dick got inside you with no warning. “Ride me…” he obliged and you harmonically moved your body on top of him as you finally felt comfortable with bouncing up and down, giving him a pleasant view.

“Fuck…” You whimpered as his hands touched your hips, helping you move fast, in the way you wanted him you fuck you.

“Take it inside like a slut…” he moaned and spanked your butt cheeks multiple times, leading you to the end of your orgasm. His thrusts as you rode him, filled you up entirely. You knew you were close but you wanted him to end you.

“Baby, I’ll cum…” You whined as you were bouncing up and down his dick.

“I’ll have to take good care of this sensitive clit of yours…” He spanked your butt and his other hand moved at your clit, rubbing it aggressively and on circles. You can’t handle that, you were almost screaming and he loved that. He loved the effect he had on you. “Scream, Y/N…” he bit his lip and later your neck. “There are no neighbours here. They won’t hear you this time. It’s just us.” his voice was so deep and his eyes mirrored yours and then everything went all-stars and black background as you screamed his name while his hair was inside your palms. Your legs were shaking and he knew you came as you cummed around him. “Suck me, baby, taste your cum.” he pulled you out of him and a small cry of yours was echoed as his dick wasn’t inside you anymore.

You sat below his feet, where space wasn’t really big but whatever. You wanted to please your man. You grabbed his cock on your hand and began sucking it like a whore. You were so thirsty to suck him. “Jesus-” he loudly moaned and placed his hands around your head, pulling you closer to his base. You were tasting your cum around him and you couldn’t get enough of him. “Shit, I’m gonna cum…” he warned at you like he was going to shout you or something.

“Cum, baby…” You looked at him as you jerked him off and placed his dick on your mouth again, swallowing his cum. He was heavily moaning as you cleaned him up.

“Ah fuck…” he exhaled when it was over, zipping his jeans again and helped you wear your panties. “You’re not so innocent as you look and it shows.” he teased your nose and he made some space for you to la.

“I’m flattered, you get the dessert.” You winked and he smiled at you, his eyes were glowing.

“Oh I don’t only get the dessert. You’re an unholy meal.” he laughed and you laid next to him. It was uncomfortable but as his arms pulled you closer to him it was all so much better.

“I love you Roger. And I’m sorry about our situation.” You apologised again and he kissed your back, sending you shivers.

“Don’t even apologise babe. We had so much fun at your new car.” he laughed. “And I love you too.” he played with your hair and by then, you close your eyes sleeping in the middle of nowhere with your fiance who just banged you good.

[startrek-writings-for-the-soul]

(Y/N) the Red Shirt. | Reader insert

Words: 2,570

Female!reader adventure, a lil bit of reader x kirk later on.

You watched the ceremony from the door of the servants entrance. They bustled by you, serving the dignitaries and representatives of different regions. The room was incredible. High beams of polished wood and granite held up the tall roof and sheltered the rows and rows of dining tables. Every seat was occupied by citizens who more or less appeared from the same species, that is, not including the members of the Enterprise that resided at the High Table.

Among the fleet's representatives were Captain Kirk, Spock, and a very enthusiastic Uhura. She was chatting the planet's officials ears off and Kirk definitely found it hilarious.  It charming too, very much like her, to try and get everything she can out of this meeting. You weren't supposed to be at the table, but you were supposed to be nearby. So you stayed in the background, where you could observe and obstruct.

You grabbed your comm, feeling comfortable enough to use it here, and asked, "All units report."

Crackling met you as, one by one, the security team reported a clear and safe evening. A sigh escaped your lips as you leaned back against the wall, crossing your arms and waiting for the night to end. 

Diplomatic missions could go one of two ways; exciting and tense or boring and peaceful. This one was boring and peaceful, since you landed two days ago till now. And when time passed by slower and slower, you even checked up on the ship. Everyone was safe, everyone was enjoying their brief days of rest, and nothing was wrong.

A figure had approached while you were caught up in the ship's well being. A tall, male looking member of the species. They themselves weren't naturally that tall, closer to the human average, but you had spotted a few that surpasses anyone on your ship. His face, like all the others, had distinct black eyes and long horns that curled in on themselves, on the top of his head. Unlike the officials here, he was younger and wore his black hair in a long ponytail.

"Good evening, Miss." He addressed you, offering their version of a bow, a simple tilt of the head.

You returned it, "Good evening, Sir."

He flushed. "Would you be willing to accompany me at my table? We have an extra seat, and would love to have you join us."

You figured he must've thought you were standing back here because there wasn't room for you with the others. But you didn't see the point in explaining that you were a security officer, when they had plenty of guards all over the place, themselves. A moment of hesitation, and then you smiled and nodded.

"I'd be honoured to join you." 

He smiled back, as if unsure what a smile meant, and then began leading me through the rows and rows of tables. As we walked, I kept an eye on the group and reached for my comm.

"Heads up, I need two of you to take over my watch. Don't ask, just do it. Thank you." You whispered, so as not to disturb the people enjoying their feast and having discussions.

You were sat at a table on the far side of the room. There was no way of seeing your team from here, but you rested easy knowing two people had come to replace you. The food was delicious, to say the least. You had never had such delicacies before.

According to Ora, the dignitary that invited you to the table, every member at our table was either a foreign dignitary or some sort of international official. The whole meeting earlier, which has been paused to have this banquet, was a renewing of an ancient peace treaty between every nation in attendance.

"There are only two nations who do not participate in this treaty, but they are peaceful and not a threat." He explained. You found it bizarre that they required a renewal of this peace treaty if they hadn't had conflict in centuries. Or perhaps that was thanks to this treaty.

"Why don't they sign it?" You asked.

A few people started to eye you around the table. Specifically a short male with large horns and a permanent scowl, and a tall female that more or less looked like Ora's twin.

Ora shook his head and went back to eating. The female gave you the traditional greeting, which you returned, and then started to answer your question.

"They would bleed us of our resources if we let them sign."

"Oh. Does the treaty require you to share your resources?"

The man answered this time, and completely forgoed the greeting. You didn't like the sound of his voice.

"Our planet has many different types of resources that we depend on to live. Years ago, and I'm talking centuries, they started this peace treaty and offered up an alliance to Caja. Caja is Maki's home country," He nodded to Ora's twin. "But those two nations simply took whatever they could, and offered up none of their own resources."

"I see. But that was so long ago... I can't imagine they would do that again."

"We don't invite them because that is what they always try. You would too, if your home was filled with useless resources." He scowled.

You nodded, "I understand." You didn't want to push them any further. They already seemed so tense.

"Don't be mistaken, we are grateful to have our first interplanetary alliance with your Federation." Maki said, feigning a smile.

"Thank you, we are excited by this partnership too." But you weren't interested at all. This was just one of many that the Federation had procured.

A hum of silence fell between you and the others at the table, who quietly ate their food and observed the other tables. You got the sense that you should return to your post. A quick thank you to those you spoke with, you excused yourself and starting to make your way by all the tables. Ora was strangely quiet when you left. as if your talk about the other two nations had upset him. You hoped that wasn't the case, he was very kind to you.

You headed for the servants entrance at the back wall again, but noticed there was no one there on lookout. At first, it was irritation you felt. How could your team ignore this command?

"Units. Report." No one answered you. 

"Hello? Team, report." Nothing.

You called the ship. "Anyone have eyes on the security team?"

But there was still no answer. And now your heart was pounding and your palms got all sweaty. If you left the dining hall to go find them, you risked losing sight of the three people you were stationed to protect, but how else would you check on the others?

More servants moved past you and through the entrance with empty platters in hand. No one else was concerned, not even the Captain who had just told a joke and made the whole table laugh.

You stopped a servant. "I'm sorry to bother you, could you do me a favour?"

The servant agreed to check outside the hall to see if your officers were still there. You thanked him and went back to standing against the wall.

You tried your comm again, and again, and again! You hoped it was just broken, but the servant came back and said she hadn't seen them. And then she grabbed you by the wrist and pushed you through the entrance and into the servants kitchen.

"What the hell-"

You twisted your arm out of her grip, but two more hands grabbed you from the back and pulled. Your hands went for your phaser, which was set on stun, and shot at whoever was behind you. The hands dropped you and yelped. The female servant tried to wrestle the phaser from you, but you managed to kick her right in the abdomen. She doubled over in pain and you turned around to see your other attacker, a small female servant, rubbing her leg.

You jumped to your feet and put some distance between you, pointing the phaser at the first servant. "Care to explain why you did that?"

"Quiet!" She roared. Eyes going to the entrance, which was wide open.

More servants were starting to head back this way. They eyed your phaser as they warily entered.

"What's this? Should we call a guard?" They murmured to each other.

"Do any of you know why these two just attacked me?"

"We didn't do anything!" Cried the little one, "She attacked us for no reason! Call the guards!"

Shit.

"That's a bold fucking lie. You got cameras in here?"

The servants started to chatter nervously, one shook their head to your question and another began backing away.

"Look, I'm a security officer with the Federation." You put your phaser away and lifted your hands. "I'm here to protect you just as much as I am to protect my people."

There was a confused silence, until one said, "But Miss, they've already left."

"What." You pushed past them to step out into the hall. They were right, all three had left.

You whipped around and stomped up to the one who spilled the news, "Where did they go?!"

"Um, sorry Miss, we don't..." She trailed off as your eyes went to the two that attacked you trying to flee.

"Don't let them leave!" You bolted after them but they had already disappeared through another door in the kitchen. Following them, you found yourself in a long hallway with storage freezers and pantries. The little servant was limping, and you took advantage of this to pounce on her. She yelped as she fell to the ground. You put your phaser to her head and watch her partner stop.

"Please, just-"

"Tell me where they went." You gritted out.

She hesitated. "Let her go and I'll bring you to them."

You force the little one to stand, moving your phaser on the back of her head.

"Take me to them first."

Another hesitation, but when the little servant whimpered, the other servant nodded and swallowed her pride. 

She brought them through the hall to a fire escape door and deactivated the alarm. As you walked through the door, you heard footsteps running up behind you. You turned around too late, getting forced up against the wall. 

Ora's voice whispered in your ear, "Drop the weapon, Miss." You let it fall to the floor.

"What's going on, Ora?" You seathed.

"Just don't resist." The little servant came over to you and started to blindfold you. You didn't bother resisting, you were way overpowered at this point. Then your wrists were bound and the Ora started to lead you away.

"Where are you taking me? To my Captain? Ora. Tell me what's going on, please."

"I was hoping you wouldn't put up such a fight." He sounded genuinely sincere when, but it didn't answer your questions.

He was silent the rest of the way, gently you guiding through corridors and down stairs, to a cold room. The atmosphere felt wrong, and you could tell that, were it not for your comm not working, you wouldn't have been able to get any signal this far down in the ground anyways.

Ora started to speak in a tongue you didn't know, and another pair of hands pulled you away, with much more force. The hands pulled off your blindfold and shoved you into a cell, locking the door behind you. Ora gave you a final look, and you could see that, despite his betrayal, he was not an evil person. Something else was going on, and you were just a side character in the mix.

The cell was nice. Plain, beige walls and a cement floor. There was a cot in the corner and a large window on the metal door. Your wrists were still bound, but they were easy enough to break. You wondered if the others were also in a cell, wrists bound because they hadn't been trained on how to break them.

The second person stuck around and paced outside your cell. He was murmuring something in the language you didn't understand. You also didn't recognize it, you realized, and you had been grilled by Uhura on knowing all the different languages that would be spoken at this meeting. You wondered if Ora and this man were from one of the two nations not allowed at this meeting.

A man's voice piped up from the cell to your right.

"Hey, Mr. Chatterbox, got any water? I'm fucking parched." 

The alien growled, understandably annoyed by the distinct voice of Kirk.

"Captain!" You cried out, lunging at the door, as if you could possibly see him from here.

"(Y/L/N)!?" His voice echoed against the walls of your cell.

Relief had flooded your senses and you broke out into a smile. 

"Captain, is Spock and Uhura there, too?"

"No, they're on the ship, getting the hell out of dodge -" 

A slam, and then silence. The growl of the alien neared your cell. Out of fear, you took a step back. His face appeared in the window. He looked nothing like Ora and the others. His face large and flat, his eyes pierced at you with animalistic intent. But from the horns protruding rudely from his head, you knew he was from this planet. Maybe this is how the other nations looked.

"You… Will… Quiet!" He spat, his teeth bared. Clearly this male wasn't a dignitary, because all dignitaries spoke some variation of the universal language. This alien knew only fragmented pieces.

"Did you… hurt him?" You breathed, voice wavering.

The male shook his head, and then began laughing at your pale face.

"It… Lives…" He said.

You nodded and went to your cot, taking a tentative seat, eyes trained on the window. He smiled to himself and walked away, heading to Kirk's cell.

"You… Wake… Now!" The alien roared.

You heard some shuffling and a groan. The Captain was alive.

"Fuck… Let's talk this out, I am from the Federation and I want nothing to do with your nation's affairs, if you won't release me than release my colleague-"

"...No!.." His word was final. The Captain dropped it. You wanted to applaud his efforts at meeting a diplomatic solution.

You spent the next hour sitting on your cot, too scared to try and reach out to Kirk. It calmed you to know that Uhura and Spock had made it away unharmed, but you wanted to know more. To know what happened to them and what was going on and why it had to be you. Not that it made a difference to you. Your goal stayed the same. Escape, get Kirk, and fucking leave.

You were sure that Kirk was going over the diplomatic ramifications this will have and what they're going to have to do to fix this. But you just wanted to leave. After enough time in silence, your thoughts turned to guilt.

You were intentionally led away from your position and as a result, you were now a captive. The security team you worked with all year was now missing, at least to your knowledge, and you had no way of communicating with the crew on the Enterprise. 

This is it, you thought. This time, I die.

End of Part One