#It took a lot of persuasion to keep her from leaving after that

[leahrintarou]

✩₊˚.⋆ THREE MINUTES ! - rindou haitani / 10.08 / kinktober

CW: public "sex", fingering, teasing, they're best friends, female anatomy, she/her used, one-sided pleasure, that's all lol

Word Count: 1.7k

Author's Note: welcome to the fifth post of my kinktober series! i hope you enjoy. leave a like or reblog to show support. (updates this week might be off or posted on a diff day since i'll be traveling somewhere with family. if not posted on the designated day, it will be posted eventually when i get back home.)

it took a lot of pleading, a lot of pouting, and quite a bit of persuasion for y/n to finally get rindou to agree to see a horror movie with her. he’d been reluctant, as always, keeping his usual stoic expression as she begged, a faint sigh escaping him after she tugged at his sleeve one too many times.

“alright, fine,” he finally said, rolling his eyes with a small, barely-there smile. “but you’re paying for the popcorn.”

y/n’s face lit up instantly, and she practically bounced in excitement. “deal! you won’t regret it, i promise!”

now, sitting side by side in the dim theater, rindou was starting to question his decision. as soon as the movie began, he leaned back in his seat, trying to relax as the ominous music set the tone. y/n was fully immersed, her eyes wide as she clutched his arm during each jump scare, gasping and gripping his hand tighter with every loud noise and flickering shadow on the screen.

rindou, on the other hand, sat unbothered, his expression unfazed by the attempts to frighten him. he shot her a sidelong glance, noting the way she reacted to the tension, a small, amused smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. she was so easily scared, and he found it endearing, though he’d never say so.

about halfway through, he noticed something different. y/n’s grip had loosened, and her eyes, while still on the screen, had a faraway look in them. she seemed to be shifting in her seat, her legs rubbing together subtly, her face flushed in a way that had nothing to do with the horror unfolding onscreen.

rindou quirked an eyebrow, leaning over to whisper, “something more interesting than the movie going on?”

y/n’s head snapped toward him, caught off guard, and she felt a deep wave of embarrassment. “what? no, i was just... i’m watching, i swear.”

he gave her a knowing look, one that made her squirm under his gaze. “right. because from where i’m sitting, it looks like you’re a little too distracted to be paying attention to what’s going on,” he murmured, his voice low, a faint smirk ghosting across his face. “did you really just waste our money on tickets just to get yourself all worked up over nothing?”

she huffed, crossing her arms in defense. “it’s not my fault! the movie got kind of... you know, intense, and you’re here, and...” her voice trailed off, and she glanced away, clearly embarrassed.

rindou chuckled softly, his usual calm demeanor breaking just enough for her to catch it. “oh, i see. so, you dragged me out here, begged me to watch this horror movie, and now you’re not even paying attention. that’s what i’m hearing.”

y/n pouted, tugging on his arm. “rindou, come on. i can’t help it...”

he leaned closer, his face only inches from hers, his voice a whisper that sent a shiver down her spine. “can’t help it, huh?” he murmured, his tone teasing. “guess i’ll have to find a way to keep you entertained, since the movie isn’t cutting it.”

her eyes widened as he settled back in his seat, his hand casually resting on her thigh, his thumb tracing lazy circles over her skin. she shot him a look, torn between shock and excitement, but he just kept that same indifferent expression, his gaze focused forward as if nothing unusual was happening.

“rindou,” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the movie’s background noise. “people are around...”

he raised an eyebrow, not bothering to look at her, his thumb continuing its slow, deliberate movement. “you’re the one who couldn’t keep it together,” he said with a smirk. “don’t blame me for distracting you when you’re the one getting ideas.”

y/n’s heart raced, the weight of their friendship hanging heavy in the silence between them. she knew they were toeing a line, crossing into something unspoken and uncertain, yet she didn’t pull away. instead, she found herself leaning into his touch, the thrill of it mixing with a quiet fear that they couldn’t just come back from this.

she looked up at him, a small, hesitant smile tugging at her lips. “you know we probably shouldn’t...”

“probably,” he murmured, his voice steady, but his hand never moved. he glanced down at her, his usual calm exterior cracking just enough for her to see something else behind it—a question, a hesitation that matched her own. “but we’re already here, aren’t we?”

they held each other’s gaze, neither of them willing to break the moment, knowing they were treading dangerous ground. but in the dim glow of the theater, with his hand on her thigh and her fingers inching toward his, it felt like a risk they were both willing to take, consequences be damned.

"if you don’t want this, tell me now."

y/n remained quiet and rindou glanced at her, seeing that her gaze was already on him. she reached for his hand, her impatience making her guide him up her thigh a bit more. rindou's eyes widened immediately when we wasn't met with any sort of fabric at all, but the immediate warmth of her sex.

"what the hell, n/n?" he questioned, not moving his hand, but the flustered expression on his face said enough. a shiver coursed through her body as he pressed his digits against her. "please don't question it." she sighed trying to keep her voice low.

"was this your plan this whole time?" he asked and she let out an embarassed groan and rindou felt some pity at that. they'd been bestfriend's since forever and despite his attitude, rindou would drop anything in a second if y/n ever asked. she always came first in every situation, and she knew that. "so you didn't wanna watch this movie afterall?"

she looked at him, nodding her head. "i did, but..." she trailed off. "but you're too focused on this, huh?" just then, his fingers used her slick to slip his middle digit into her sex. she bit down on her inner cheek and her legs tightened around his hand. "what got you all worked up?"

y/n remained silent, avoiding the question. this piqued rindou's interest, making him slide his digits in deeper. y/n let out a shaky breath, trying to not bring attention to themselves, but the more rindou pleasured her, the more she squirmed in her seat. "are you dodging the question, y/n? if you are, I'll stop."

"no, no. don't stop." she pled, looking at rindou with glazed eyes. "then tell me. i have a feeling i know what it is." he shifted himself in his seat. trying to ignore his current situation as well. he thanked the dark lightning in the theater that caused her to not see his growing erection. "i was just wondering how you would feel inside me." she managed to get out.

"it's not very nice to have those kinds of thoughts about your bestfriend, y/n."

"can't help-" she was cut off when his in and out motions quickened. y/n lifted her lips to lean back a bit to slouch in the seat. this newfound position allowed rindou to reach deeper, caressing that sensetive spot that would drive her insane. "you're not being as discreet as you probably should, n/n." a smile appeard on his lips.

"so hurry up." she managed to glare at him and rindou rolled his eyes, focusing back on the movie in front of them. his fingers held no mercy on y/n despite the occasional whimpers that she would try to hide in her palm, the fidgeting of her legs closing around him, and the way her hand gripped his wrist with all the strength in her body. "quicker you come, the quicker you can be quiet." he muttered, tone sounding unbothered.

"i couldn’t care less if anyone figured out what we were doing, but that's all you're worried about, huh, y/n?" he taunted. "too focused on them to come?"

he reached over to y/n, using his freehand to turn her head to him. "you have three minutes. if you can't come before then, I'm stopping."

"what the fuck, rindou?" she shot him a harsh glare and a smile barely made it way to his lips but it was filled with anything but purity. he was the biggest tease ever and y/n knew this but hated that fact that she put it past him especially in situations like these. "come on, n/n. your time is wasting."

he sped his fingers up and y/n held his wrist steady before she grinded down onto his digits. he caressed that pleasure-filled spot once again and she shut her eyes, trying to turn off the rest of her senses.

she heard rindou speaking, but it all sounded muffled to her. if she listened to him, it'll feel all too real and that would throw her in for a loop all over again. his digits felt just right and she thought that if she focused on them enough, she could reach her high in no time.

that was proven to be true when she noticed that he sped up his motions even more, helping her as she continued to ride them, not caring about the other eyes around her. "rindou." she muttered through a whisper. she heard him hum, but she couldn't trust herself to speak at the moment.

instead, she tightly held onto his wrist as she balanced on that familiar edge of pure bliss. "come, n/n." that was all ot took for her to tip over. she tightened her already shut eyes, hoping that she wasn't being too loud. her sounds of pleasure came out as a moan, but it was muffled by a hand that wasn't her own. she felt the cool touch of metal agaisnt her lip and she realized it was from a ring that rindou always wore on his right hand.

"two minutes?" he smiled, watching as she carefully opened her eyes, her chest heaving with a fast pace. "i'm never doing this with you again." she muttered, looking around for a gaze that met her own.

"of course not. that would be crossing the line, right?"

y/n didn’t miss the pure sarcasm in his tone and she hated how she only clenched around his fingers once more so no matter what she would say next, he knew what she felt deep down.

♤ likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated!

Taglist: @eclecticfirewitxh @nemoo888 @ririkavitanitraxova02 @beckxisxinxlovexwithxjin @yourefavsakura @karebear5118 @jays-adventure3 @flowerpjimin @thiisisntlovely @kawaiiisis @viviennevianna @slvttics @elmtree12 @ivydoesit23 @jellibean2018 @peehall @pestlaege @junabuggy @hyesworld @hime-honne @kuroaka @kimmi-iii @elssero @lxst-in-mxrdxrlxnd @littlemissfix-itfic @mythraendir @mapletress @todobrosky @amajikisbabygirl @sanriovin @daydreamteardrop @tsukishimasslut @tenwt @meowmeowmau @icyhottodo178 @lightaflaem @insaneclown0408 @raggedypansexual @riririntaro @gojosclassifiedslut @staygoldsquatchling02 @beckxisxinxlovexwithxjin @luvvmae @anastasiatheloveofyourlife @satoruyes

[drurrito]

Are You The One? - One

A/N: I've been sitting on this idea for a minute. Some quick background on AYTO: it's a gameshow -- there's usually 9 or 10 couples that are matched based on compatibility. They have about 10 weeks to figure it out by playing games and going on dates. They pair off at "matching ceremonies" to see how many light beams they get to clue them in on who might be a perfect match. Anyway, here goes nothing--all mistakes are mine of course.

Pairings: Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Warnings: Alcohol, cursing, Jerk!Vision lol

------------

No match!

Wanda stares at the screen, mouth agape and mind racing. Vis squeezes her hand.

"Wanda-"

"You're not my match," Wanda whispered, "you're not my match and we only have two matching ceremonies to figure everything out."

"That doesn't change what we have," he turns to her, taking both her hands into his.

"It changes everything," Wanda bites, "I wasted so much time with you," she runs a frustrated hand through her hair. Vis just stands there, arms stupidly hanging by his sides. Wanda thought she was winning this game by sticking with him. She ignored everyone's pleads for her to pick someone else the last few matching ceremonies. That one beam of light was her and Vis without a doubt.

Until now.

"My match is still here," she's quiet again. Vis looks like he's still processing. He's been extremely persuasive up until this point. Vis would just talk Wanda out of actually playing the game every time she mentioned talking with anyone else. To the rest of the house, he sounded like a broken record, but to Wanda--he sounded like her favorite song.

"So, that's it?" Vis mumbles, his face contorts into something like disbelief, he looks foolish.

"That's the point, Vis," Wanda doesn't spare a second glance at him as she leaves.

----------------

The house buzzes with conversation. Wanda is sitting on the patio alone, twirling her glass in her hand.

"Hey," Shuri slowly approaches the seat across from Wanda. After the Truth Booth, everyone gave Wanda some kind of sympathy. A hug, some words, tight smiles and other gestures that did nothing to stop Wanda's stomach from churning something awful. The guilt has been making her shoulders sag heavily since coming back.

"We've been crunching the numbers," Shuri starts again, Wanda keeps her eyes on the dancing glass in her hand.

"We think your match could be y/n."

That gets a side glance and cocked eyebrow from Wanda, "she barely talks."

"Because she makes you do all the talking," Shuri shoots Wanda a knowing look who only rolls her eyes in response. You were good at getting Wanda to talk on your group dates. It only took a few questions to spark a conversation among the whole group, actually. Sometimes you just shared a comfortable silence, it threw Wanda off so bad. How can you connect with someone without a conversation?

"Look, y/n has won two dates in a row with you, that's two more dates than Vis ever won. Plus, you guys haven't sat together at a matching ceremony yet. If it's not you, then it has to be Carol--but we don't have any more time left to figure this out. If some of our guesses end up being correct this week, then we can figure out the rest of the matches from there."

"So you want me to sit with someone that I have no chemistry with?" Wanda asks, trying not to sound less than amused with the plan.

"Technically, you don't have chemistry with anyone," Shuri says without missing a beat, it makes Wanda flinch.

"But," Shuri drawls, "now that Vis isn't helicoptering over you, there are a few days to see if something sparks between you and y/n before the ceremony."

Wanda shifts in her seat with a heavy sigh that all but burns her nose. Outside the island, finding love is hardly ever a team effort. But in this game, teamwork is key. While getting a blackout would have costed money from the prize fund, it would have crossed off a lot of potential couples. That one beam belongs to someone, just not to Wanda and Vis.

"Have you talked to y/n about this?"

"Told her before your Truth Booth," Shuri flashes a nervous smile, "if it's any consolation, she was also hesitant at first."

Wanda can't help but look puzzled. She chews on her bottom lip for a few moments before nodding slowly.

"Alright, I'm in."

------------

Wanda walks back into the house with Shuri. Everyone is sitting around in the living room, half of the group is gossiping about Bruce and Natasha sneaking off into the boom boom room for one last time. Shuri gives Wanda a parting glance before sitting down next to Namor. Half the room has paired off into new couples, Wanda realizes. Vis is nursing a bottle between Tony and Steve, Wanda doesn't look at him as she makes her way over to you. You're busy nodding along to whatever Thor is talking about, while Carol is leaning against you as she talks to Maria. Your eyes are on Wanda as soon as she fills in the space between you and Thor.

"Hey," you give a warm smile that Wanda barely notices over the burn of the alcohol in her throat.

"Hey," she rasps back to you.

"I'm sorry about today," you look frustratingly genuine as Wanda searches your eyes for a few beats, looking for a reason to be mad at you. She gives up, turning back to her glass to down the rest in one gulp.

"Yeah, me too."

---------

As it turns out, you're also good at having conversations. It only took one "and what about you?" from Wanda to get you to actually participate. Vis was seething from his spot on the couch until Tony tugged him away to talk with another group. Maria had to do the same against Carol's protests when she realized you and Wanda were trying to hit it off. Your housemates continued to leave until it was just the both of you sitting on the couch. Wanda never noticed. She figured the two of you were alone this whole time with the way you looked at her.

Wanda is listening to you talk about your favorite movie when she fails to stifle a yawn.

"Shit, it's late," you watch the clock in the kitchen, realizing that you can hear it's ticking now. The rest of the house is dead silent. Wanda thumbs at the ring on her index finger. Shit, where is she supposed to sleep now? All the beds are likely taken.

Except for one.

"Hey," your voice is gentle, "I can sleep on the couch, you take the bed."

"I'm not going to ask you to do that-"

"You don't have to," you take a breath, "I just want to give you space, if you want it."

Wanda's brows furrow, space? She thinks back to the night when Vis made out with Hope and insisted on sleeping splayed on top of Wanda afterward. Space was never an option with Vis, that's why she's looking at you like you just grew a second head. You wordlessly grab Wanda's glass to wash, your way of giving her some time to think it over. You're drying off your hands when Wanda walks up to the bar.

"What side of the bed do you sleep on?"

-------------

Wanda tries not to think about the fact that you like to sleep on the left side while she tries to fall asleep on the right, the side she prefers.

[hoetao]

sooo sort of a masterpost of info about Wriothesley.

about his character:

hes basically incorruptible, is said to be "low profile and dependable"

‌mostly just cares about the peace and tranquility of the inmates (he's a protector at heart!!)

treats everyone equally and generally prefers to be "reasonable" rather than use more forceful methods

‌doesn't really like cruelty and violence but if the need comes, he will use it

‌he thinks of himself as "neither a good person or a villain, just another soul still living on in this world"

‌hes basically just interested in every bit of knowledge any person shares and in their unique talents

he says that he himself doesn't have many abilities, but he "knows how to find people who do and get them to work for him"

his past:

‌wanted to be convicted and spilled everything about how he killed his adopted parents (cough cough child traffickers), even though some wanted to treat him with leniency

‌learned to lockpick and create small gadgets as a child

gained Coupons in the arena of the Fortress (while injuring himself considerably)

‌when he got his vision after going to prison he just. hid it between the fabric of his clothes so that no one would know and/or steal it. and then he kinda just hid it some more, for years, until he went to the Palais to receive his title.

‌how he actually became the Administrator:

accumulated a fuckton of Coupons

got everyone's respect by being so rich, "observant, persuasive, humble and reasonable"

got his account emptied in retribution by the former administrator

‌convinced other ppl to protest and challenged the previous administrator to a duel

the former administrator run away from the fight, leaving Wriothesley on the last day of his sentence without anyone to sign his exit papers

‌"so he walked into the office and took over all relevant duties"

about his role as a Fortress Administrator:

‌has a private information network and many connections

‌rejected having a ceremony for his title of the Duke. no spotlight for good old duke.

‌basically his management style just helps the Fortress make money (with one of its main clients being the Palais); he even jokes that his title was basically bought because he's a leading tax contributor

‌after dealing with the Fatui spies he went for a swim. near primordial water. and he didn't say shit after realizing that the prophecy may be coming to pass, he just started preparing his funky ship.

relationships with others:

‌Clorinde actually admits that no one really knows all of the methods he uses to keep the Fortress up and running; it is stated that "very few people know him in his entirety"

he seems to think of Neuvillette as some sort of a. higher power that cannot show concern (BUT HE DOES OH HE DOES)

‌he indeed held out the umbrella for Neuvillette in the rain. the Iudex was polite, but distressed.

‌gifts a lot of tea to Furina.

‌got Neuvillettes trust (i think what he implies is that he got it by his actions, not words?) and the Iudex "fought hard for the title and reputation he now has"

‌when he went to prison Neuvillette told Sigewinne to take care of him and they frequently exchanged letters about his progress (and Wriothesley called her Neuvillettes spy…)

info that i find especially funky:

he's a big softie when it comes to animals and kids

‌may or may not go outside the Fortress incognito to buy snacks sometimes. he's actually too incognito to know really

‌doesnt treat boxing like a hobby, "more like a necessity"

‌melusines put stickers on him and he rarely notices them do so. they are just too good. and besides, it doesn't bother him. they also have bets on who will pit more stickers on him.

‌he would like to have a happy childhood and maybe the ability to trust people (i am BAWLING)

‌might be "a bit taller than Neuvillette"

drinks coffee with milk and tea with two cubes of sugar

‌he thinks Sigewinnes milkshakes taste of desolation

Sigewinne spiked his tea with anaesthetics when he was younger because he always refused them out of fear that they would fog his brain

[swanimagines]

Please can I ask for an once upon a time gif imagine: trying to go on a nice normal date with Regina, but some trouble or another always interrupts? Thank you!

WORTH IT

Once upon a time, you managed to do the impossible: manage to capture the heart of Regina Mills herself. It took a lot of persuasion (and maybe a little bit of Henry acting as your cheerleader), but eventually, she agreed.

Your first official date was supposed to be simple and ordinary — a dinner at Granny's, followed by a walk in the park. Regina had even promised to keep her Mayor voice at bay for the evening.

“I’ll leave my work behind at the office for once,” she had promised and smirked when you were fetching her from her door.

But of course, this was Storybrooke, and something was always up. And it felt like even more was up just for your date, whatever you did, whenever you arranged it.

So the first time, you sat at the diner with your meals, chatting and you were just about to cut into your burger, when the door clinked and you could tell by Regina’s expression that it was someone she did not want to see right now.

And sure enough, when you turned around, you met Emma’s eyes. Regina and her were friends nowadays, sure, but situations like these visibly reminded Regina of when she couldn’t stand the blonde.

“Regina!” Emma called, making a beeline for your table. “We’ve got a situation.”

Regina didn’t even look at her when she crossed her hands, placing her chin on top of them. “Of course we do,” she muttered.

You looked at Emma. “Can it wait? We’re kind of in the middle of something here.”

Emma hesitated,glancing at Regina again and then back at you. “I hate to break up… your date, or whatever this is, but there’s a rogue dragon in the forest. Looks like Maleficent’s hatchling got loose.”

Regina was quiet, visibly clenching her jaw before she glared at Emma. “A rogue dragon? And it just so happened to emerge now?”

Emma grimaced. “Well, not exactly. I thought I could handle it because I know you’re… busy, but it’s, uh… bigger than I expected.”

Regina pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a long sigh, and you could basically hear her thoughts about regretting she ever left her Evil Queen days behind on that moment. She raised her gaze to you.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “But you know how this town is.”

You gave her a small smile. “It’s okay, go save Storybrooke. We can go on a date another time.”

Regina’s lips twitched upward, before she stood up. “You’re lucky I don’t still have a dungeon, Swan. Let’s go.”

—

It took a week before you were able to schedule another date with Regina after the dragon episode. This time you made a plan you thought was smart: no public places, and no telling anyone where you are going, only that you’re on a date. If some major trouble would come up, you’d likely hear it. But Regina didn’t want to be bothered by something that others would be able to handle — well, the dragon episode was something she actually needed to handle, but she said anything less than that wasn’t worth her time while she was with you.

So you set up a picnic by a beautiful pond Regina had found some years ago. She had used to come here with Henry back when Henry was a toddler, and for a while you honestly believed that the second time did the charm this time.

But then, rustling. You both turned to look at the direction, but the rustling stopped the moment you did.

“It’s probably a squirrel,” you suggested, and Regina sighed.

“It’d better be.”

More rustling, now much louder, along with some big branches moving. You turned to look at the sight again, and you thought for a moment. “A swarm of squirrels?”

Regina gave you a flat look. "A swarm of squirrels? Really?"

Before you could retort, a few curses were heard and Leroy emerged, who was covered in leaves, dirt, and something sticky.

"Regina!" he hollered as he almost tripped over his feet. "We’ve got a big problem!"

Regina stood abruptly, her hand already raised as if she were seconds away from turning the dwarf into something she would be able to squish. "Leroy," she grumbled. "This had better be life or death."

"It is! There’s a–" He paused, glancing at you with a sheepish expression. "Uh, sorry to interrupt your little picnic thingy, but there’s a bear loose in the woods. And it’s angry."

You blinked. “A bear? Why would a bear be–”

“It’s been enchanted!” Leroy cut in. “Probably by one of them leftover cursed objects. It’s tearing through everything! We need Regina before it smashes up the tavern!”

Regina groaned, turning to look at you before she muttered, “How did he even find us?”

You shrugged, but then some of Leroy’s brothers emerged from the bushes as well. “Well, dwarves are generally good at tracking, even when Leroy isn’t.”

“Your Majesty, please,” Doc mumbled. “Some of the townsfolk want to shoot the bear, but Snow believes it may be one of us.”

Regina finally nodded, standing up and you shrugged before starting to gather the food back into the basket. “I guess that third time will do the charm.”

—

The third attempt at a date was the result of careful planning, and there would be no chance of distractions. Or so Regina vowed, anyway.

“Absolutely no one knows where we’re going this time,” she had promised you as she fixed her coat. “The whole town should be asleep, and there hasn’t been major problems where I'd bee needed at nighttime in years."

This time, she suggested something you thought was genius, a late evening stargazing trip to a hilltop outside of town. She even made a few magical barriers to ensure privacy. There was absolutely no way you could be interrupted by anyone. Just you, her, and the stars.

It was magical. You brought a plush blanket to sit on and that same basket you had last time around. Even the sky was clear for stargazing.

“This might actually work,” you sighed contentedly as you took a bite of your muffin, leaning against her shoulder.

Regina chuckled, carefully taking your hand. “It better. If we’re interrupted again, I may just turn the entire town into frogs.”

You laughed, imagining frogs somehow looking like Leroy and Ruby hopping around Storybrooke. “I’d pay to see that.”

But of course, everything was too perfect, and you both sensed it, something was going to happen. But you still tried to brush it off as nervousness, and nudged Regina who seemed to sense the air shifting too. “Relax. You put up those magical barriers for a reason, right? Nothing’s going to–”

And at that moment, the ground shook and the muffin tumbled from your hand, rolling down the hill. Footsteps of something big, you realised, and were almost scared to look behind you when Regina stood up.

Regina scoffed as a large shadow neared you from behind the trees. “You were saying?”

“Is this town cursed or something?” you muttered under your breath. “Why is there always a crisis?”

Regina watched as the ogre pounded on the barrier. “I wouldn’t rule it out, a curse that always flares up when it sees us on a date.”

You looked at the ogre, roaring and pushing on the barrier. “It can’t make its way through, right?”

“Well, I’m forced to let it get through because it’s either me taking it down or it will make its way to Storybrooke. But it can’t see us yet, so I have an upper hand on it. This won’t take long.”

And sure enough, the ogre was soon subdued and knocked out on the ground, and Regina wiped her forehead. “I swear, the universe is against us.”

You smiled, resting your chin on her shoulder as you hugged her from behind. “Well, we just need to prove the universe wrong, then.”

Regina glanced at you, and then took a look at your picnic spread that had toppled over from the fight and the ground shaking. “This picnic seems to be ruined at least.

“Fourth time says the charm?” you chuckled, but you both knew it most likely would end up like all the others up to now.

“You still want to keep trying?” she asked.

You shrugged. “Well, even if it’s just ten minutes, it’s still a date, somewhat. And every moment spent with you is worth it.”

Regina’s cheeks tinted pink at that, and you grinned, kissing her cheek before you started cleaning the mess of what used to be your picnic.

---

Requests are open! FANDOM LIST | PROMPT LIST(S) | RULES (READ!!!)

[dayseternal-blog]

Fanfic you ve been reading recently? Love your tastes btw!

:) You sent this months ago, but here are the fics that I've been reading recently, like this August/September:

"The Mission" by Lunawrayth - Rated M, Canon-Divergent AU, Multi-chapter, Ongoing. It wasn't that Hinata never expected to work with Naruto, just never on a mission quite like this.

-I check this one for updates so often. at least once a week, but more like multiple times a week.

"thus a silenced memory" by @keroppri - Rated T, Modern AU, Multi-chapter, Ongoing. Eight years flown on by and Naruto makes his return to the city where he once fell in love, only for him to leave hollow and broken after she was persuaded to leave him. Plagued by her memory at every corner, a chance meeting changes fates, minds, and hearts. Thus he tries to silence the memories. Inspired and based on Jane Austen's Persuasion.

-ahhh loving the yearning angst of unrequited love (but it's actually requited) in this fic.

"Amaranthine" by @opttagoyeo - Rated T, Various AU, Series of unrelated one-shots. A few drabbles/ideas ranging from fluff, confusing, humor, and angst regarding the most iconic and popular canon couple of Konohagakure, Naruhina.

-just started reading this! Full of cuteness.

"After Office Hours" by Pandora_Imperatrix - Rated M, Canon-Divergent AU, Multi-chapter, Complete. Naruto is lonely after Sakura and Sasuke left the village to travel together, he keeps leaving the office later and later, things start to change after one night when his secretary Hinata and him share a couple of vending machine beers. In this AU Naruto becomes Hokage a lot earlier than in the manga and The Last never happened.

-It's been years since this was updated, and recently Pandora updated and just finished it!!!!!!

"Friends with benefits" by @pastillesch - Rated T, Modern AU, Multi-chapter, Ongoing. "I'm dumping you" --Naruto blinked once. Twice. "But we're not even together". It was more a stress relief than anything romantic, really. A hobby one would say. And now it was time to search for a new hobby. Or at least a new partner for this kind of hobby.

-Another one that I was super excited to see updated again!!!!

"Casual Touches" by Lunawrayth - Rated M, Canon-Divergent AU, Multi-chapter, Ongoing. It's the casual touches that do it.

-Since I'm really feeling Luna's style, I checked out this story, too, and it's super cute. Love it.

"Fairy Tale" from "NaruHina Erotica Oneshots" by @makuro767 - Rated E, Fantasy AU, Two-shot. Naruto moved to an old family home to start anew and found an unlikely existence in his backyard...

-I am a total sucker for this type of size difference au. Like, it's just such a weird trope. It's just so weird. I love it. Makuro767 does a wonderful job with it!

"Love Is Not A Cage" by @nightowl27-writer - Rated E, Canon-Divergent AU, Multi-chapter, Ongoing. When Naruto comes back to his senses after the battle with Pein, the first thing he remembers are those baffling words she said just before she nearly died for him, and he NEEDS to hear them again. Will the truth set them free? Or are some confessions too much for the soul?

-that recent update killed me. In a good way. but oh man.

"Hinata (Mirror, Mirror)" from "Chicken Ramen for the Pervert's Soul" by @wickermayne - Rated E, Canon-Compliant, One-shot. Naruto rolled his eyes at the purchase asking why she needed it and complained about how much room it took up, but Hinata enjoyed modeling different dresses in front of it, loved how it let her see all the many different angles. And that seemed to keep Naruto quiet enough about the mirror.

-🙊🙈🔥

So, I guess it's been months since I worked on this list. Because it's nearing the end of March 2024 now. And up at the top, apparently I was last working on this list in September 2023. And at that time, it had been "months" since the asker sent this. Well, here's the ones I've been reading recently:

"clash of possession - naruhina" by @powerful-niya - Rated E, Yakuza AU, Multi-chapter, Ongoing. In the heart of the yakuza underworld of Tokyo, the passing of Hiashi, the leader of the Hyūga clan, does more than just break Hinata's heart, but it exposes her to vulnerability. Seizing the opportunity, the ruthless Naruto, Uzumaki clan leader, targets not only the conquest of the Hyūga clan but also wishes to claim Hinata as his most prized possession, no matter the cost.

-It's been awhile since I read an irredeemable Naruto, and Niya's not lying when she calls the characterization ruthless!!

"Prey" by @sessakag - Rated E, Modern/Gangs AU, Multi-chapter, Ongoing. Following a midnight chance encounter with Hinata Hyuuga, a smitten sociopath, Naruto Uzumaki, tries his hand at romance, determined to make her fall in love with him the only way he knows how.

-it's the mystery of Hinata's background that really fuels this piece for me. Icing on the cake is Naruto as a wonderfully sexy and dangerous stranger and the sexual tension between them that is absolutely exquisite.

"Paper Rings" by Its_Levioooosaa - Rated E, College/Soulmates AU, Multi-chapter, Ongoing. In a world where soulmates are found after a touch and after a brief moment of pain, resulting in a red loop circling the first knuckle of each person's pinky finger. Fating the two people together and leaving it up to them to decide what their relationship will be. Hinata had just stopped at her friends for a piece of pizza, little did she know that she'd be leaving with a soulmate.

-It's a cute premise and I can't wait to see what happens next! I love a good soulmate AU!

"Wanting More Than A Poolside View" by @bunny-hoodlum - Rated E, High School AU, Multi-chapter, Ongoing. Just a Sukumizu fetish scenario where Hinata is the target of a panty thief and recruits Naruto to investigate himself.

-I've been loving all of Bunny's updates this year, but I'm really hoping for an update on this one....or Narutoland haha, but I dunno what it is about High School NaruHina and their immaturity, it's just so fun!

Kay, that's all. If I don't post this now, I never will lol.

[slay00ryu]

Taking care of your overworked angel.

_____________________________________________

Trigger warnings!

- Nothing but sweet fluff to find here >:3

- Fear of disappointing someone

_____________________________________________

For as long as you know Angel, you always knew that this woman was overworked, mostly because of her trashy manager. But even with him gone, Angel was still putting a lot on her plate. A new video idea here, a new asshole to kill there, and it all summed up with her staying up at nights.

You and Ronin were both worried about her and her health, after all no human being was able to stay healthy like this. Both of you tried your hardest to get her to stop working as much on the channel and take a short break. But Angel can really be a stubborn woman.

Unfortunately the worries you and Ronin both expressed became true. You were sitting on the edge of Angel's bed as she was whimpering from the fever she caught. She was coughing, sneezing and shivering.

You had to use some serious strength and persuasion to have her stay in bed, and call off the photoshoot that she was supposed to give for one of the big clothing companies.

User: Angel, for gods sake. Why couldn't you just move some things around in your schedule? If it wasn't for me you could end up in the hospital!

You weren't the type of person to hide your feelings, so it was only natural for you to show just how worried you felt in that moment.

User: And it's not just me who's worried, Ronin is spamming my DMs to keep him updated on how you're doing. Seriously he almost came here, but I told him that you have to rest and he wouldn't really help.

You sighed. Angel moved her hand to cup your cheek and you hold onto it, nuzzling you cheek against her hot palm..

Angel: ... I'm sorry, I... I just don't want to disappoint my fans with the lack of updates.

She said and your gaze softened.

User: Angel, your fans would want you to stay healthy and not basically kill yourself with the amount of work you put into your channel and modelling.

Your lip trembled at the thought of Angel possibly ending up in the hospital because of her perfectionist nature. Angel seemed to notice just how worried her stubbornness made you, her lover, her partner, the person who was there for her in her worst time.

She still had a hard time when it came to realising that someone genuinely cared about her (someone else than Ronin at least) and it broke her heart to see you at the verge of tears.

You felt Angel's arms wrap around you, her face snuggled against the crook of your neck, her whole face was hot against your skin, so was her whole body.

Angel: I'm so sorry, mi corazon. I also wish that I wouldn't be so used to putting so much on my plate.

User: It's not your fault Angel. It's hard to get rid of something like this.

You took a long as deep breath, taking in the pleasant scent that always came off of your wonderful girlfriend. You calmed up and broke the embrace. Even if hugging with her felt like heaven, Angel had to lay down and rest.

User: I already went out and bought some medicine for you while you were asleep. But before we can cool your fever down, you have to eat.

You got up from the bed. Angel wanted to protest and reach out for your hand to stop you from leaving her. But you still went to the kitchen to prepare some food for her (even when snuggling up with your angel was one of your favourite things).

You returned to the bedroom, a tray in your hands. On the tray there was, a cup of tea, some fever cooling medicine, and a chicken soup that you had ordered some time ago.

User: I brought you some food. I'll help you sit up.

You put the tray on the night stand and moved to Angel's side. You helped her sit and placed some pillows behind her back to keep her seated. You sat on the edge of the bed and took a hold of the soup bowl and a spoon.

Angel: Will you feed me now?

She asked with a giggle. Even when sick, Angel was the most adorable woman you ever knew.

User: You can't really expect me to do everything on your own in this state.

You replied and moved the soup filled spoon up to her mouth.

Angel: Maybe getting sick is not that bad, if I can get this special treatment.

You just rolled her eyes.

User: You don't have to be sick for me to care for you Angel.

You knew that Angel had a hard time understanding that she too deserves love and gentleness. You wanted to be the one to help her and be there for her. You wanted to show this oh so, sweet, sweet woman, just how much love she deserves. She was your angel, your girlfriend. Sometimes you wished that you could be the one to end her manager, but you knew that Angel would never agree to it and her murdering him on her own was the only option for her to be freed.

After eating the soup Angel took the medicine you gave to her. You laid her down on the bed again, tucking her in so she'd be comfortable.

Angel: Can you stay with me, Mi Vida?

The pleading look in her eyes, combined with her sickness, made your heart throb. You gave in very reluctantly, you were worried that Angel's condition could become worse than it already is. But you loved this woman way too much.

Now you two were snuggled up, Angel was keeping her head buried into your shirt, and you gently rubbed her back.

Angel: Um... User... What would you say for a short trip after I get better? Just the two of us. It can be wherever you want, but I want to spend time with you...

She looked up, her glassy eyes from the fever were scanning your face. You were smiling softly, already imagining the time the two of you could spend together. You placed a small kiss on her forehead.

User: Of course Angel, anything for you. But you have to get better soon, or we'll have to wait a while.

You said the last sentence jokingly.

User: How about a quick nap? You should rest, and I'm tired after writing for a long time.

Angel: Writing? Please tell me the plot. It'll help me sleep, listening to your voice I mean.

She didn't have to ask twice. You were telling her about the book you wanted to write about Misaki, she was your second favourite person in the server so they deserved their own book.

You felt how Angel's body relaxed, her breath getting steadier. You pressed her closer to yourself, whispering a quick goodnight into her ear and falling asleep too.

_____________________________________________

So this one is short, short. But I felt like making it longer would destroy it and it sits in my draft for a while anyway :d (Ronin stop stealing the spotlight!!!)

I hope you enjoyed it and that Angel is herself in here :3

Bye bye <3

[bellatrixobsessed1]

I Am Blackened Bones (Part 26)

Spirit Azula isn’t exactly one to be convincing or persuasive. But she is stubborn and she does refuse to leave even when Katara asks her nicely to do so, just for the duration of the council meeting. Katara imagines that Azula has some choice words for the spirit. She also imagines that the spirit has gotten used to Azula’s prickly demeanor and blunt harsh words. Accustomed enough to ignore them entirely. And so, with the declaration, that she let Azula be there for the sky curtains, so she will be staying at the forefront for as long as she pleases. But it does have its perks to take her to the meeting instead; it puts the council members at ease to speak with a softer version of Azula. To look into those innocent, curious eyes rather than to meet human Azula’s fiery, intense gaze. To watch a terribly bored spirit Azula fidget and count the icicles on the ceiling instead of seeing human Azula sit stiffly and imposingly.

Katara imagines that Azula’s natural overall demeanor wouldn’t do her any favors on this particular endeavor. She supposes that Azula, with enough effort, could threaten and intimidate her way to the Spirit Oasis. But that would be nowhere near as efficient and effective as spirit Azula just being herself with Azula’s sweet, silky voice, soft face, and tiny stature.

Afterall, what harm could a precious thing like her do?

Provide a good disguise. 

Act as a vessel to conceal a bomb.

The spirit, innocent and unassuming, could walk into the Oasis and human Azula could force her way out and do whatever she pleases with Tui and La. But she wouldn’t do that…would she? Katara furrows her brows at the realization that she doesn’t think Azula would take advantage of them letting her into the Spirit Oasis.

Maybe she is letting her guard too far down. Being too trusting. Maybe the spirit has instilled exactly the kind of trust that can pave the way to Azula doing something horrible. Something to usurp Zuko and take back what she thinks is hers. 

But no. She had seen the way Azula looked at her. The things that Azula had confessed to. She can fake a lot of things, but love has a certain look and feel to it. One that Katara has come to recognize very well. And Azula, both versions of her been very sincere. And so she concludes that Azula only wants what truly does belong to her; her firebending. She can only imagine just how much Azula misses it, Katara had been so lost when TyLee had chiblocked her for the first time. 

The council members continue to chatter amongst themselves after Aang finishes his recount of everything that he has observed of both Azulas. That the spirit is friendly and playful and quite fun to be around and that Azula herself is cooperative. Snarky and standoffish but not particularly combative. She mostly keeps to herself. 

“Regardless of how we feel about her, I think that we can all agree that it’s cruel to let someone suffer like that. A bender’s bending should never be taken from them, let alone become a source of suffering to them.” He concludes.

“You took Ozai’s bending from him, did you not?” A council woman asks, she studies Azula’s face for a reaction. Whatever Azula’s might have been, the spirit takes with indifference. 

“Former Fire Lord Ozai was an active threat who could be stopped in any other way.”

“Any other way that you were willing to perform.” Says the man next to her.

“Either which way, taking someone’s bending is a last resort and it’s not necessary with Azula.”

“If the spirits choose to keep her from her bending then there is probably a reason for it.” Chief Arnook counters. 

Katara has a feeling that this is the exact back and forth that has been keeping this meeting in session for so long.

“The spirits have their own biases. And they aren’t always right.” Sokka points out. “That Wan Shi Tong guy, he sunk a library with us inside of us because we were trying to use his books to try to keep the Fire Nation from conquering everything. An angry spirit terrorized Senlin Village because it thought that they destroyed its forest.”

This gives the council pause. 

It gives Azula pause. 

Azula who studies him with a look of confusion.

“He did say that he was going to try to get along with you.” Katara whispers to her. 

And the conversation carries on with a brand new debate. Should they trust the spirit’s judgment? If they can’t trust the spirits then why seek out their help? It goes on and on until Katara feels like they are talking in circles and the spirit seems to nod off. 

It is in the spirit’s exhaustion that Azula works her way back in and Katara’s stomach flutters. But Azula keeps quiet, a silent observer until they ask her why she thinks that she should be granted access to the Spirit Oasis.

Azula holds her silence for a moment before answering with a question of her own. “What have I done, specifically, that makes you think that I shouldn’t be granted access?” She pauses. “My brother did more to warrant distrust than I have but you welcome him into your city with open arms.” 

“And he will never see the Spirit Oasis again.” Chief Arnook assures. 

“I don’t need to be awake when I go there.” Azula shrugs. 

“But the spirit will be and you can harness from her, any information that might be useful to you.” 

“In any capacity.” She clarifies. “I don’t need to be awake in any capacity. Someone can carry me, unconscious to the Oasis and out of it.” Katara is certain that she is terribly uncomfortable with her own idea. It would leave her terribly prone and vulnerable. 

There is a murmur around the table.

Katara wonders how the spirit would have answered. 

.oOo.

It has been some time since she and the spirit have been together in this dark place, listening to the raging of the fire beyond it. Azula wonders if the crackle will fade and the walls of that flaming labyrinth will finally extinguish.

The spirit sits across from her, her posture is lax but it bears a much closer resemblance to her own than it had before. She, in fact, recognizes more of herself in the spirit than she has ever been able to.

There is an intelligence in her eyes, a knowingness. A very particular kind of knowingness. The kind that Azula herself often possesses. And that is the knowledge that she knows something that someone else doesn't. Or something that many people don’t. To be on the other end of that is unsettling. Worse still in that she can’t possibly fathom what that little spirit version of her can know that she doesn’t. But the look suits the spirit so well. It suits the spirit because it suits her. 

The spirit is starting to talk like her too; with the same inflections in the same places and the same tones. Her word choice is growing increasingly eloquent. 

And somehow that terrifies Azula. 

“We’re going to get our bending back.” She says as though it isn’t still possible for Tui and La to reject them. Or for the Oasis water to simply be ineffective. “We could go back to the Fire Nation.”

“That is the goal, yes.”

“Is it?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

And the spirit shrugs. “I quite like it here. The sights are extraordinary. It’s something new.”

“And what would you know about that? You’ve never been to Caldera City for yourself.”

Her mirror image extends an arm. Her fingers touch Azula’s forehead. “I have.”

“That’s not the same.”  

“It is.” The spirit insists. 

“How so?”

“I can feel the things that you do if I want to.” She pauses. “I can push you out if I want to.” She draws out another longer silence. “You aren’t stronger than me. You can’t ‘snuff me out’ as easily as you think you can.” 

Azula’s stomach churns and she begins to wonder just how innocent the spirit truly is. And just when it had stopped being ignorant and goofy and started playing the part. 

Or maybe she is looking too much into it. Projecting what she would have done onto a spirit that truly is kind and goofy. 

She hadn’t even considered that the spirit can be intelligent and playful at once; a new, evolve version of her.

A superior version of her.

She hadn’t even considered that the spirit might just be able to take over her life. Azula would lose her firebending for good if she exorcises her spirit self. The spirit, now that she has gotten re-acquitted with her vocabulary and the human world, has nothing to lose but baggage and hurt.

Maybe this whole time she was the one who was meant to fade. She almost certainly was. She was the one left behind in the maze. Perhaps it is time to let go. She can’t achieve what the spirit can earn for her. Affection, comfort, friends…

It wouldn’t be so bad to just let go. Aside from these brief, fleeting moments she only suffers anyways. 

There is a flicker of satisfaction the eyes of her spirit self. The thrill of a conquest. A bold sparkle that comes with knowing that she has the upper hand. Triumph, complete and total. And, Agni, she wears that look so well. Well enough that even she has trouble distinguishing the two of them apart. The spirit tilts her head and that look fades. “I don’t want to push you out though. You hate me so much, but I don’t hate you.” 

Azula swallows hard. It has been a good while since she has made herself cry. 

She can’t watch herself be happy without feeling embarrassed to the point of anger. Being carefree and happy, she realizes feels like making a fool of herself.

She hates the part of her that is happy because that part of her is everything that she wishes she could be. She can’t even look at the good parts of herself without feeling resentment and dissatisfaction. 

The spirit regards her with what can only be pity. She sits down next to her other half and when Azula doesn’t push her away, she takes her into her arms. She is so broken, so very broken that she can’t stand to see herself happy, can’t stand to imagine what that might be like. “Go ahead.” She murmurs. “You can have Katara for yourself.” 

“When you asked her, Katara said that she didn’t want that.” 

“She’d never know.” 

“I don’t want that. And you don’t want that.” The spirit informs her. 

She doesn’t want that. 

She doesn’t want to fade. 

But she doesn’t want to hurt either. 

Beyond their little dark place, where the spirit holds her close, a wall of flames fades into ember and smoke.

[kame-writes]

Another AU that's up for adoption, because I like the idea, but don't have the brainpower to do anything but a couple of doodles for it.

Amnesia!Exorcists

Basically: Exorcists were members of Lillith's rebellion against heaven, but with their memories wiped.

Lilith WAS indeed staging an uprising against Heaven, with an army of demon's under her.

To prevent them from attacking a deal was made with Adam, which Lucifer agreed to to, to Allow Lillith and all her followers into heaven.

Lillith agreed, but some of her followers were secretly planning to take down heaven from the inside.

However, heaven had anticipated that, and once they arrived in heaven, all of Lilith's followers had their memories wiped, and became the exorsists.

Not being winners, their appearances changed once in heaven. Sera was surprised when they gained halos, but the halos were black, signalling that they were still damned by their sins.

Everyone's memories of the exorcist's past lives also are affected. People do not remember them, and are unable to recognise them when meeting them again. However, day ja vu and confusion is very common for people who interact with them and used to know them. When trying to think of of past, others remember things they did, but not the person they did it with, or what happened to them.

Technically the angels hands are clean, since it would be demon's killing demon's, using power gifted by the Angel's. Meaning that Sera and heaven don't technically have blood on their holy hands

Lucifer was tricked by the wording of the deal. Being naive, and already upset that Lillith was leaving him, he didn't think of the repercussions. The contract stated that he wasn't to intervene against Heaven doing whatever they chose to stop another rebellion from happening

Heaven's method to prevent another uprising from happening involved killing Sinners every year so they couldn't make another united front against them.

Since he'd already made the deal, Lucifer was powerless to stop it, and too ashamed to tell Charlie what really happened that day. That he was tricked, and her mother who she admired so much, had left them for a chance at a better life in heaven.

Which is part of why he spirals into depression. Guilt, hurt, and being ashamed. Then after some time, he felt too awkward, and convinced himself that Charlie must hate him for leaving her to deal with her mother's disappearance alone.

Character information:

Vaggie was an Overlord known for helping sinners ruthlessly take over territory in a very war-like manner. She often was involved with collaborations and deals with Camillia Carmine.

Lute was a hellborn from wrath, who ran a league of assassins. She idealized Lilith, and the way she controlled and inspired so many sinners into action, so jumped at the chance to work with her and help mobilise an army against Heaven. However, she was often too ruthless and violent for Liliths tastes.

Alastor was a sinner who took the opportunity to side with Lillith shortly after his death, to get power as quickly as possible. Possibly even making a soul contract with her.

He recruited powerful demon's into Lilliths army, by persuasion, force, or deals made. Some were killed, by him or by Lillith, but a lot were recruited for her army.

Niffty was a sinner who worked at Lillith's Palace before the Queen disappeared, who Alastor adopted into the group of sinners he had collected. He doesn't own her soul, they just have a mutually beneficial agreement between them.

Husk was supposed to be recruited for Lilith's army, but Alastor instead decided to keep him as a thrall instead, since he was very useful, being able to read people so accurately.

[thefalseapp]

Wraith Wrath - Chapter II

It took Kaz’s every bit of strength to conceal the rush of emotions that surged within him when Anika told him about the return of The Wraith. His heart was pounding. Too fast for his liking. Way too fast. He hadn’t planned this. Or maybe he did. He couldn’t tell between the moments he dreamed of her coming back and those where he wished for her to stay away from this city and him so he wouldn’t have to deal with the feelings that came along with her company. 

I can help you. Those were the very first words she ever addressed to him. And she did help him. In more ways than one. But he was certain he couldn’t live up to the expectations she had for him. He couldn’t be the boy he was before Jordie. That boy wouldn’t survive in a city like this. And he didn’t want to be that boy again. He had let him sink at the bottom of the sea along his brother’s body for a reason. Kaz Brekker was the only way to survive and thrive. Even if all the broken pieces couldn’t be put back together anymore. Even if he was only half a man. Kaz Brekker had been who he needed to be. 

All those years, working together, side by side, he had done everything to make sure Inej wouldn’t believe he would become something he was not. But she was headstrong. Way more than he was. She made him yield quite a few times. He never quite understood the hold she had on him. But the only thing he was certain of was that they had saved each other. Again and again. 

The sharp pain in his leg warned him of his fastened pace. Patience was not on his side today so he shifted his weight to rely more on his cane. He needed to slow down if he wanted to arrive at the Slat standing. 

Those two last years have been pretty time-consuming. Pekka Rollins vanished into thin air. The Dime Lions left behind became stray cats. Roaming the city to find a place. All the gangs wanted to put their head in Pekka Rollins’s old crown and their feet on his desk, claiming the title of King of the Barrel high and loud. After all the trouble Kaz brought in the Barrel, he wasn’t going to leave any crumbs behind to pick after. He was going to make sure that nobody would become the next Pekka Rollins, the next Jakob Hertzoon. And it took a lot of work. A lot of bruised shoulders, a lot of persuasions, and a lot of transactions. Diplomacy wasn’t his forte. He preferred to leave that to what was left of the Merchant Council. By the end of last year, a lot of the members had been replaced by new ones. Roeder was still helping him keep tabs on all of them. Even if they were barely adult enough to take some serious missions, their youth, their desire to please, and their recklessness could become serious threats. 

But right now, all of this could wait. He turned right in an alley and took the main one leading to the Slat. Kaz flexed his gloved fingers. Saying that he was nervous would be an understatement. He was completely frightened. Like a boy. Suddenly, fighting a Grisha drugged with Jurda parem didn’t seem so terrifying after all. 

He crossed the hall and started climbing the stairs. He knew where she was. He composed himself before opening the door but when he did, the tiny bit of confidence he built after each step suddenly left him. He was right. She was there. He had forgotten how enchanting she could be, sitting on that window ledge, her legs dangling in the air, with strands of her soft hair around her face. Her beautiful dark eyes were closed and her long lashes were caressing her cheeks.

For how long had he stood there looking at her? Turn around. He turned his back to her and went towards the sink. He set aside his cane, took good care at removing his gloves, and put his hands under cold water. This simple routine helped him recover a sense of control. 

“Hello, Inej”. His voice had been deeper than anticipated. 

He could sense her presence getting closer. He finally dared himself to look in the mirror and his eyes met hers. Her gaze on him was so timid yet tender that, once again, he completely lost the ability to command his own body. How absurd it was of him to think that observing her through the mirror would be more reassuring than meeting her eyes directly.

His hands were freezing, still in the faucet. Neither of them were sure what to expect from the other. He could tell. But she will always have her place in Ketterdam. And she will always have her place near him. 

“Hello, Kaz”. Her voice was like honey and he was ready to feed on every drop of it.  

“You and your crew have a place to stay?”, Kaz said in a tone that he sincerely hoped seemed detached. 

“I was hoping you could help with that.” 

“I cleared the two top floors of the tavern that replace the Kaelish Prince across the street from the club. One for your crew, and one for you.” 

“Are you hoping that after two years at sea, my men will fill the coffers of the Crow Club?” Her eyes were playful and so intense that he had to look away for a minute. Coward.

“I don’t need your men to fill the coffers. Plenty of pigeons have already taken that task very seriously. But who am I to refuse honest workers a seat in my establishment? What they do after is up to them. And you, Captain Ghafa.” 

An honest smile captured her face while she looked down at her feet. He missed this. But mostly he missed her. Her presence. They could be talking or staying silent, it was her company that he cherished the most. 

“I don’t need an entire floor, Kaz.” 

“You can sleep in the broom closet if you like, but the top floor is yours”, Kaz said firmly. 

No need to argue this one out. The two top floors have always been vacant. Many of the Dregs were curious about that. Kaz Brekker doesn’t do something for nothing. Especially when it can mean financial gain. The thing is, he didn’t owe any of them an explanation. 

The truth, however, is that Kaz had always hoped Inej would come back to Ketterdam, to him, and he wanted her to have something more than what he was able to offer her before. That something was Sanktum.

[brynnterpretations]

hello!! long time no see!! i've been a bit away from this blog but saw you were back and ooooh i 🫶 your writing so ofc i'm back for a little ask — another oc ship if it's not a problem, i just really liked the first one!!

her name is susanna malloy, "the librarian", she's in her early 30s (fc is elizabeth debicki). she's a supe as in has powers, but not a superhero in terms of branding; her powers are that she can read the history of any object (only objects, not people) by touching it. she never actually tried getting into supe life, instead she had an antique bookshop in the city through her 20s, but after going through a messy divorce like five years ago she decided to pivot and live in a cabin in the middle of the woods.

personality-wise she's a pretty methodical person, but very chaotic in her method; will fixate on organizing something instead of actually getting her shit together. she took all the antique books with her and has them neatly catalogued, the collection taking over her entire house. that's a bit on her power — it drives her crazy to have constant, unknown, random flashbacks by touching random objects, so everything in her house is nearly catalogued and she knows exactly what she's dealing with. she's actually somewhat afraid to leave the house. she also constantly wears gloves she's sewn herself — constant object in her hands, constant story she already knows on the foreground.

her divorce from her ex husband, julian, was for a series of reasons, but if you ask her, she knows she was the problem. she feels incredibly irresponsible if she's not in control, which is most of the time; the books are mainly an outlet for that control and for her to not go crazy. she feels like she's going crazy. all the time. incredibly impulsive, actually, so a lot of her isolation comes from the fact that she feels like it's best for her to not be able to affect anyone else.

so that's where she's at, at the moment: smoking weed and drinking wine in her porch, listening to her massive collection of old records (mostly jazz and 40s-60s pop), obsessively cataloguing her old books, hoarding figurines, and trying to have a little peace and feeling like the world is ending as she obsessively keeps up with the news. the main way i could see someone going after her is if they're searching for information on something (much like the boys went to mesmer for kimiko).

i currently do not have a ship nor any dynamics already thought out for her, so you can go crazy go bonkers!! thanks in advance and i'm glad you're feeling better <3

Thank you so much for your kind words and the request! I hope you like this. ♡

I ship Susanna Malloy with...

Marvin T. Milk ♡

Boyfriend

GIF Source: @amazingmaeve ★ (link)

Susanna and M.M. meet on a whim. The coup needs to identify the bloodied suit of a deceased Supe, which they believe ties to a Vought conspiracy: especially since nobody can figure out who the Supe is in the first place, even with Annie's snooping around Vought Tower's files. With Susanna's seeming rejection to a "Supe" lifestyle, and her powers, Annie — who'd heard about her on a podcast about small businesses in NYC — suggests they go to her.

M.M. and Annie — the calmest and most persuasive of the coup — visit Susanna's cabin. It starts out very, very awkward. Considering Susanna is a recluse, and was never really entrenched in anything Supe-related, she's hesitant to get involved with Vought drama, especially when the coup's faces have been broadcasted everywhere on T.V. and the Internet. Still, though, M.M. and Annie's gentle nature convince her to open her door.

They all get comfortable in her living room, with M.M. and Annie both keeping their tones professional. They tell her of a major Vought cover-up concerning a dead Supe, bringing out the suit, and asking Susanna if she can help them.

When she is overwhelmed by the brutal last memories of the Supe, both M.M. and Annie comfort her. While Annie is an A-plus comforter, M.M. — who has long since been tortured by his memories — is able to connect with her in a way no one has been able to in a long, long time.

After she's calmed down, they thank her for her help and M.M. offers her a business card (yes, the coup has those, they keep things professional) and the two tell her that if she ever needs anything, she can come to them, and that they will keep the entire meeting confidential outside the coup.

It's not the end, though; the coup and Susanna keep in touch in the following weeks regarding the investigation, and eventually, he invites her to the safe-house to get their ducks in a row. Through this, M.M. begins to get to know Susanna a lot more, and like her quite a lot. However...

M.M. does not want to make things unprofessional, and tries his best to hide his feelings. It isn't until Susanna invites him to her cabin for a glass of wine and some music after they have a heart-to-heart about their rituals and obsessions that he starts getting to know her on a personal level.

It's nice; really, really nice. When they're there, they're able to talk about everything and everyone, and it's like a weight has been lifted off of M.M.'s chest. They talk about their interests, their hobbies, their loved ones, their former marriages.

After that, they continue seeing each other, and M.M. becomes visibly happier as their relationships progress (queue a crude comment from Butcher, though he isn't up-to-date on who exactly "the missus" is). M.M. doesn't want to rush things, so they keep it casual: dinner at each other's places, smoke sessions on her porch (though M.M. abstains, as he can green out from one hit), and enjoying wine together.

By the fourth month of doing this, M.M. decides he wants to give a relationship with her a shot; he's legit head-over-heels for her, so when he's leaving her cabin after a smoke session (to make it less awkward if he says no), he asks if she'd like to go with him on a date.

So, when Susanna says yes: they have a romantic evening over Susanna's favorite meal that M.M. cooks, and get to know each other even more. After about a month of dating, M.M. gets her flowers and asks if she'd like to be his partner.

This turns into one of the purest relationships ever, 100%. Due to M.M.'s struggles with OCD, he is able to immediately empathize with Susanna, and does everything he can to help alleviate any symptoms of her powers: not touching her stuff, helping her organize if she ever needs help, and calming her down.

Also, M.M. loves her music taste. While he typically listens to '90s hip-hop and indie rock, he has a soft spot for jazz and doo-wop, since his family played it when he was young. Though, as mentioned, he doesn't smoke, he enjoys sitting with Susanna on her porch, listening with her to her records while enjoying wine with her.

He would 100% gift her wine and records that are along her tasting when he goes out. He's a gentleman.

The two would also have a lot of nice dates in secluded spaces, just to make sure that Susanna isn’t exposed to too many stressors: canoeing, perusing small bookstores and record stores in rural New York, etc.

There would be issues, of course, considering Susanna’s tendency to isolate, but I believe the two would have enough maturity to work through the problems, with M.M. even suggesting therapy for the both of them with a 100% confidential therapist to deal with their respective issues. I can’t see either of them going to bed angry at each other.

Susanna's complicated relationship would be something M.M. relates to, and is able to get her to open up about. M.M. sees his separation with Monique as his fault; after all, it was him who kept running back to Billy Butcher only to land her in a safe-house fearing for her and her child's life, and he takes responsibility for the harm he's caused. Susanna feeling the same way gives him a bit of comfort.

But, because of that, he tries his best to keep her as separated from his work life as possible, not wanting to hurt her. While he knows she's strong and already a Supe, he fears hurting her in the same way as he hurt Monique, and he tries to avoid that as much as he can.

Still, considering their relationship was borne from a relationship with the coup, M.M. doesn’t hide it as much as he would with a civilian; he would just try to keep her out of any trouble, and always puts a full-stop, foot-down to Butcher trying to use her as a tool for information.

Whenever it’s fine for her to come over, he’d have her there, and would definitely be happy when she gets along with them.

And that brings us to…

The Boys ☻

GIF Source: @cleastrnge ★ (link)

As a whole, The Boys would all like Susanna a lot; they wouldn’t be super close, excluding one member in particular, but they’d all enjoy her company and personality. It’s pretty refreshing; Susanna is a bit like a chiller version of M.M. when she stops by, and is able to complement him extremely well.

Despite Butcher's hatred of Supes, he actually really likes Susanna — something very, very rare. Not only is she useful, but her lack of interest in Supedom and her chaotic nature really pulls him to her.

And... he would probably develop some feelings for her, but would never recognize them as such; partially because of his lack of emotional intelligence, partially because he does not see himself as capable of loving a Supe.

So, with that in mind, all their interactions are purely platonic; he tries getting her out to pubs and other night scenes, but if she's uncomfortable with that (let's be real, even if she's wearing gloves, there's a lot of shit that's stressful about being in those environments) he'd be happy to just sit and banter with her over drinks (Susanna's wine, Butcher's hard whiskey on the rocks).

Annie and her would be friends; not best friends by any means, but Annie would adore Susanna's personality and how disconnected she was from Vought and general Supedom. As we know, Annie's been paraded around supes her whole life, and meeting someone who's also powered yet was able to avoid the pain, narcissism, and trauma that comes from that would be special for her.

She’d invite her to her apartment to just hang out and watch corny movies whenever they had a bad day over wine and crackers. Susanna got some bad memories? Do not fear, Annie is here, and she has an extensive catalogue of ‘90s B-side comedies.

Kimiko would be her closest friend in the groups, 100%, hand on my chest, honest to God. It was actually a tie between her and M.M. and it was so, so hard for me to choose. It might take a bit for them to start communicating, but once they did, they'd become very good friends. Kimiko is tortured by her past as what is essentially a weaponized Supe, and is haunted by the unwanted memories that come with that; considering Susanna is plagued with constant flashes whenever she touches an object, Kimiko would sympathize with her and have sweet conversations with her.

She'd regularly seek Susanna out whenever she comes to the safehouse, and once they are able to form a way of communicating with each other steadily, she’d invite her to hang out with her often; watching movies and cartoons (Kimiko, an artist, loves old cartoons where you can tell it was drawn frame-by-frame), painting, and even smoking. Kimiko hadn’t smoked until Susanna, but likes it a lot as a social activity.

Frenchie and Hughie would probably be the ones she is least closest to, but not in a bad way. Frenchie would love her relationship with Kimiko and would talk with her on-and-off, but wouldn’t have an immediate “click” with her unless he heard her records or joined her for a smoke session.

Hughie, on the other hand, likes Susanna a lot, and actually hangs out every so often with her and Annie. However, as we know, he’s an awkward guy, so he’d occasionally struggle to find a rhythm in their conversations without a buffer.

All-in-all: M.M. loves her, and The Boys love her. I could definitely see her getting more involved with the coup if she ever felt the drive to. That’s an A+ in my book, friend.

[krikeymate]

What is/are your favourite Sam/Tara moments?

You sent me this a while ago, and it's not the only one I've gotten asking me this. It took so long because I used it as an excuse to rewatch 5 and 6, multiple times.

This was so so so hard because like, all of them, obviously. So, I've tried to narrow it down. I've picked one little/subtle moment and 1 big moment in each movie for both characters and then for them together.

5 Tara: The end of the confession scene in the hospital: the way Tara watches Sam leave, the way she looks slightly shocked that she does and the way she takes a deep breath once the door closes. / The entire hospital 'anti-chase' scene. It was just incredible. I really really love it. The way Tara is in so much pain but she keeps trying anyway, she's determined, and even once Ghostface pulls the wheelchair away she keeps crawling. And we get the "I'll make sure to hit all the organs I missed last time." "Fuck you." This is actually my favourite scene in the whole movie. / Also honourable mention clotheslining Amber with the crutch.

5 Sam: The way when Tara tells Sam she wants her to stay and Sam immediately starts nodding. / Cocky Sam "Guess you're not as persuasive as you thought" and the phone ringing "That's for you." / And of course, her Richie stabathon.

5 Sam & Tara: Idk if this counts or if it's individual but the way when Sam goes "No, we're leaving. That's the only way I can protect Tara." and we pan to Tara's face and it's like she's realising something and it has to be directly linked to her heavy breathing in the next scene and her looking for her inhaler. / ALSO the way they stumble into each other's arms after Tara shoots Amber, the way they're both crying and shaky (also the way Tara side-eyes Amber's body while they hug 👀 before closing her eyes and hiding her face in Sam's shoulder). / "You're not going anywhere without me. Don't worry, I'm gonna hold your hand all the way there."

6 was actually so much harder to narrow down scenes for because we get so much more.

6 Tara: Tara is constantly looking towards Sam the entire movie. I've seen a lot of jokes about her side-eying her, but she's doing it because she's looking for cues on how to respond or what to do from Sam. / The Kirby conversation. I've mentioned it so much, you all know how much I love it. / Honourable mention, obviously, the Gale punch, and how she's feeling protective of Sam and lashing out, physically and verbally (and also, notice how the reporters are mostly calling out at Tara, and the "Tara, do you feel safe around your sister").

6 Sam: The way Sam sees the police lights and presence and it instantly fills her with anxiety and so she calls Tara - because Tara calms her down - and we get the "You know you're supposed to pick up when I call", and Sam goes on to try and make plans with Tara because she's had a bad therapy session and being with her sister will help her feel better. / ALSO this is just such a small thing but the number of locks on their apartment door. / The way whenever things feel hopeless or dark, she lets Tara pull her away from it.

6 Sam & Tara: The way Tara refuses to let Sam go alone to the police station even though she blew up at her TWICE in like the past hour, and then the way she bumps into Sam as she's trying to listen to the phone call, as they're on the way to the police station. / The whole stealing a police car thing, Sam winding the window up and going "shall we use the sirens?" and Tara being like of course. (side note were the keys just like just in the car? that's not very safe.)

Obviously just... the entire third act. The way they protect each other while they're being circled by the Ghostfaces, the "you have to let me go", Tara stabbing Ethan, Sam's "looks like you're down another brother", the whole Ghostfacing Bailey, the way Tara gives Sam permission to end it and the way she watches, the conversation on the stage.

Also there's such a comparison to be drawn between the soft way Sam whispers "here it comes" to Richie before she slices his throat, and Tara's "now die a fucking virgin" after stabbing him in the mouth.

[sasuhinasno1fan]

Good luck bracelet - Adrien AUGreste Day 28

It took a bit of thinking to come up with an idea but I decided to go with this. I also love how Adrien as Bast Luck would gossip about his boyfriend in the middle of fights, leaving a certain spotted hero a blushing mess. I'll admit, I'm not in love with the chapter, but hopefully you guys like it. This was also supposed to be up yesterday technically, whoops. Lucky Charm

“Why not get him a spa day? You can afford that right? Or maybe do it at home?” Vixen said as she and Bast Luck dodged an attack from an Akuma.

“Guys? Really?” Scarlet Bug called, face flushed, probably from the battle and Tigresse laughing at something. “Focus!”

Bast Luck didn’t really know why he was yelling that to them, they were all basically acting as bait while Venom and Tarasq got the Mouse holder from wherever she was. He and Vixen were the only ones who didn’t know her identity, which was kind of helpful in a way. They were also waiting for Ryuko to show up. She was a semi-permanent addition, just because the 3-element thing was useful in fights.

Adrien would of rathered Pegasus be involved but apparently, he wasn’t going to be available for the month, which, rude. Adrien had his own things to deal with. Exams were coming up and his own boyfriend had an upcoming audition for a prestigious university with an amazing music program. Since he’d been homeschooled all throughout lycée, his audition was late, which made him nervous.

Adrien was also happy that whatever had been making Luka really worried seemed to be taken care of. All he knew was that his grandfather’s uncle came and was helping him with whatever it was, actually teaching him and Juleka what to do and giving him chances to be a normal teenager. Luka had more stuff to deal with that, but he seemed lighter and less stressed, so that was all Adrien cared about. It was the audition that worried him now though.

“Anyway, spa? You said you want him to relax right?” Vixen continued, putting her flute to her lips to create an illusion of the rest of the temporary holders seeming to fall from the sky. The current Akuma was a little kid who had been wanting to be a hero, so the appearance of the rest of Team Paris kept them distracted while they waited. The akuma was hiding in an item that was hard to get so they needed Venom to use Persuasion and Multimouse to get the item so Bast Luck could use Cataclysm. It sounded like a heavily involved plan for what sounded like a simple thing but it was actually incredibly hard to get. All six of them had been struggling and the Lucky Charm basically spelled it out for them, hence the involved plan.

“Yeah, but I don’t know. feels like something to do after it’s over, to keep him from overthinking about the audition.”

With the audition coming up, Adrien wanted to do something to help Luka so when realising how long the battle was going to take, he just asked the others for advice. Well, not Scarlet Bug. He’d immediately gone red for some reason and honestly, Tigresse hadn’t stopped laughing since. Venom and Tarasq had suggested movie night before heading out before Vixen gave her suggestion.

“Well, do you think he’ll be ok?”

Bast Luck nodded. “he’s an amazing performer, so I know he’ll do well there. He’s just been dealing with a lot and I know he feels like he hasn’t practised enough or that he’s ready. I just-”

He was interrupted by a wave of water jumping over them, tossing the Akuma in the air, just as Venom appeared over them. after that it was a mess of catching the controlled akuma, getting said item and destroying it. with a captured and purified butterfly and ladybugs cleaning up the mess they’d made, they all watched Scarlet Bug create a magical charm from his yoyo and hand it to the little kid. That’s when it clicked.

“Oh my god. Scarlet, you’re a genius!” Scarlet Bug looked very confused as Bast started to back away. “I have to go. I need supplies and call my friend. Bye!” he said, taking off.

“The fu-?”

The little child gasped and pointed at Scarlet Bug. “You said a bad word!”

“And I will buy you ice cream if you don’t tell your parents about that ok?”

Pictures of a very guilty looking Scarlet Bug would be online later, all while he watched the kid devour their ice cream, but Adrien wouldn’t see that for hours. He had supplies to get and he needed Marinette to answer her phone. Or Nathaniel, since he was good at picking colours too, but someone, anyone, pick up their phone!

_____________

Nino thankfully was available, though he had to bring Noel. Noel was being his normal picky self, wanting to go home, but Adrien managed to distract him by telling him about flower crowns and how difficult it was to make. He didn’t believe him and stuck to the flower wall to pull flowers out while they checked out the bead aisle not too far.

“A charm bracelet?” Nino asked, looking over his shoulder to check on his brother.

“Well, I’m trying to make a copy of the lucky charm Marinette has. The one she hangs from her bag during exam days?”

“Oh, the one with the different beads. Why not just ask her to make one?” Nino suggested.

Adrien shook his head. “I want to do this for him. Issue is, Luka’s not the type to wear something that dangles very far on his person, so it doesn’t get caught in his bike. So, it’ll definitely be more bracelet.”

“He wears so many of them. do they have good luck charms in Italy you could give him?”

“Yeah. It’s called cornetto, or the horn. It’s kinda the most popular one, other than ladybugs. I already have an extra one my nonna gave me, and she loves Luka, so she’d be happy to know he has it.” Adrien pulled up a picture on his phone to show Nino.

“It looks like tiger tooth. They bring joy, which I guess also works. Horseshoe and four leave clover mainly bring luck.”

Adrien hummed, looking over his shoulder at Noel who was making his way back with his large bundle of flowers. “Is blue too predictable?”

“Is it bad saying it’s hard to see him in other colours? I mean, other than black and white. Red seems overly bright for him. Unless it’s how Scarlet Bug wears his costume, that I think Luka can pull off. Though…I don’t know, I can also see him in pink oddly enough, or that might just be me seeing Rose dress Juleka up in pink a lot.”

Nino wasn’t wrong. There was a bit of overlap in colours having meaning between France and Italy, so honestly, he couldn’t go wrong. He grabbed a few choices before looking at the charms. He found ones that matched the style or colour of the horn his nonna gave him when Marinette finally called him back.

“You have to watch Noel later right?” he asked, kicking Noel off at the news of being left behind. He knew already, he was just being difficult. “I have him and can bring him if you let me use your jewellery making stuff. I need someone to tell me if it looks ok.”

“Why are we making jewellery?”

“Because I want to give Luka a good luck charm. And I bought stuff for flower crowns for Noel so he can be distracted.”

“In that case, sure. but if it looks really nice, I want you to help me make a mock up to sell on my store after vacation starts.”

Luka wiped his violin down. he’d been practising all afternoon, the callous on his fingers were aching. He took a big breath as he glanced at the calendar hanging between his and Juleka’s rooms. Auditions were soon. He had the grades and everything else, he just had to nail this audition and he’d be getting into his dream university. He’d be doing in person school for the first time in nearly 8 years, but he was hooping all the time spent with Juleka’s class and just his general life would make it an easy transition. Thankfully, the school also offered online classes, it would just take longer to graduate, but the option was still there. He just wanted this audition to go well. Su-Han had been doing his job as Guardian, working at Fu’s old message parlour, so he was allowed to focus on the audition.

“I wonder what Adrien decided to do.” Tikki teased, letting out a squeak as Luka closed the compartment where he kept his supplies and the small weighted stuffed cow he always kept in there, where Tikki had been resting. “Hey!”

He got red remembering how Adrien had been gossiping with the other holders for ideas, in the middle of a battle. Sure, it was just to play keep away while Nathaniel and Marc went to go get Marinette but still. Juleka had been no help, truly taking Plagg’s teaching and just stood there, laughing. He almost wanted to ring her neck, but he was too busy trying not to get overly red and give himself away. While Adrien was a good Cat Holder, having his boyfriend on the team had its drawbacks. He just hoped Juleka got the same when they eventually called in Rose to become a holder.

He let go so Tikki could get out when he heard footsteps. Tikki darted up his jacket, making him squirm as Adrien came in.

“Hi!”

“Hey.” He said, sticking a hand down his jacket to make more room for Tikki. Thankfully it wasn’t one of the weirder positions Adrien had found him in. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to give you something, as a good luck charm for the audition.” Adrien pulled out a box from his bomber jacket and Luka was brought back to the day Adrien gave him their matching rings. “I hope you like it.”

Bast Luck had never finished the conversation and the nosy part of him had been curious what Adrien decided to give him. He opened the box and sitting on cotton fluff was a bracelet. It had blue and green beads that changed and meeting in the middle was a row of white beads. Separating them where 5 charms. The one in the middle was a red tiger’s tooth and on either side was a ladybug, a horse shoe, a four-leaf clover and a black cat.

“I didn’t choose green for me. On the Italian flag, it represents hope and freedom. Blue for intelligence and calm and white for purity. Can’t have enough of that with Hawkmoth around. Oh, also, this is called cornetto, it’s the most well know good luck charm in Italy. Nino says it means hope in France.”

“Tiger’s tooth, yeah. Why Ladybug and Bast Luck, unless it’s supposed to be Catseye?”

“No,” Adrien shook his head. “Ladybugs are also a symbol of good luck and unlike most western ideologies, black cats are also good luck. But if it helps to think of it as extra protection against Hawkmoth, then by all means.

Luka smiled and rested his violin in its case so he could put the bracelet on. it mixed in with the others he wore and he knew when he had to remove them for the audition, Adrien’s, plus the ones his mother and sister gave him on other occasions would be the only ones sitting under his button up.

“It’s perfect. Thank you. but you didn’t have to give me this.” he got up, took Adrien’s face and kissed him, smiling down at the dazed look he got. “I’ve got you.”

After Adrien had made him red all afternoon, watching the diplomate’s son flush red so quickly felt like retribution.

“Why are you like this?” he whined as he hide his face in Luka’s neck, Luka wrapping his arms around Adrien’s waist.

“What could you possibly mean?” he joked. “Hey, thank you though. I do love it. our rings would have reminded me of your support too.”

“I know, I just wanted you to have a dedicated good luck charm, like the one Marinette has. I thought the bracelet would also work for any charms your mom might have. You can’t tell me the Captain has brought out a few.”

“She has. My sweet boyfriend, thinking of all the things. What am I going to give you as a good luck charm?”

Adrien pulled away and tugged Luka down to kiss him. “I’ve got you.”

Ok, he deserved that.

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Great Hunt! Chapter 20: Saidin

Welcome back to my reread folks! It's almost Christmas so let's tell a story about the big man himself (pictured above). He might just have a present for you! I also have one: the usual warning that this reread has spoilers for the whole of the series. Don't keep reading if you don't like that.

Once again we have a painfully obvious chapter icon. This chapter is called saidin. It's got the Dragon's Fang. I literally don't know what to say.

Rand kept them moving through the night, allowing only a brief stop at dawn, to rest the horses. And to allow Loial rest. With the Horn of Valere in its gold-and-silver chest occupying his saddle, the Ogier walked or trotted ahead of his big horse, never complaining, never slowing them.

Poor Loial. We have been drawing a lot of attention to his horse-free shenanigans at this point. I wonder if he's wondering why he even brought the damn horse.

Rand was sure she was no older than he, but at that moment she suddenly seemed as old and as cold as the mountains, and more regal than Queen Morgase at her haughtiest.

She is in fact older than most extant mountains.

“All I want is to see it in the light of day. I won’t even touch it. You hold it. It would be something for me to remember, you holding the Horn of Valere in your hands.”

I'm honestly not fully sure what she's up to here. Is it part of a plan, a way to try and establish her control over Rand, or is she just so power-hungry that she can't control herself?

He had never seen an Aes Sedai act the way she did, and she looked young, not ageless.

Considering that Jordan doesn't seem to have decided that the ageless look is the result of the Oath Rod yet (we'll cover that more next book I think), I can only assume that his intent was either becoming a Darkfriend interfered with that look or that the Mask of Mirrors weave's main purpose in bygone days would have been to hide channeling ability at all.

It was a kind of smile that always put his back up—but at least it was a smile.

Really there's a great deal of emotionally abusive tactics in Lanfear's arsenal, though frankly Jordan doesn't seem to fully recognize them as such considering how so many women act in the same ways. There's a lot that we could break down there but I think l'll leave it be.

“A village inn,” Selene sniffed. “Dirty, no doubt, and full of unwashed men swilling ale. Why can’t we sleep under the stars again? I find I enjoy sleeping under the stars.”

It's a common topic in the fandom about the hilarity of the Forsaken finding themselves in the current conditions, but I don't think it gets highlighted enough that Lanfear finds the modern era so repugnant given the choice between it and outright camping, she prefers camping.

Selene met his sally with silence and an unreadable look. After a moment, they started on again.

Lanfear suffers from the same affliction of many smart people in that she's very clever but not the least bit persuasive, nor good at figuring out how others will respond to her persuasion. She's probably so used to just using Compulsion and brute force to get what she wants at this point that it's hard to tell if she was always like this or if she was a better people person in the AoL.

Out of the clay at the bottom of the pit slanted a gigantic stone hand holding a crystal sphere, and it was this that shone with the last sunlight.

Ozymandias eat your heart out. Getting completely buried until now probably helped the male Choedan Kal a great deal; considering that the female one has spent the last three and a half thousand years partially exposed. We know that Portal Stones can be worn down too, so honestly I wonder if that exposure is what made the female statue much less reliable than the male.

Selene rode close and took hold of his arm. “Please, Rand, you must come away.” He looked at her hand, puzzled, then followed her arm up to her face. She seemed genuinely worried, perhaps even afraid.

Honestly this situation has got to be completely terrifying. The Choedan Kal could absolutely obliterate Rand if he tried to use it directly and Lanfear wouldn't even have enough warning that he was doing it so she'd get fried too. And of course, she can't just tell him because there's too many lies between both of them already.

“Till shade is gone,” he mumbled, “till water is gone . . .” Power filled him. He was one with the sphere. “. . . into the Shadow with teeth bared . . .” The power was his. The Power was his. “. . . to spit in Sightblinder’s eye . . .” Power to Break the World. “. . . on the last day!”

If you don't agree that this is one of the most badass sayings in this series, please unfollow me immediately.

“Did I . . . do something?” He frowned, trying to remember.

Something happened Rand, but honestly even I'm not quite sure what. Genetic memories gave you the willpower necessary to survive? Lanfear did some kind of trick to separate you from the sa'angreal? A safety mechanism within managed to still function after all this time and rejected your connection without a key? The Wheel realized there was literally no logical way to prevent your demise and so just kinda skimmed over what should have happened next?

I seriously have no idea what happened. Makes it hard to talk about this chapter to be honest because even the Wiki only gives me a "he breaks free" explanation and while obviously Rand does get better I'm not sure that "breaks free" is the correct description. I even checked Leigh Butler's reread since that's pretty on-point. Nada.

What the fuck happened here?

The people eyed the newcomers curiously, with no sign of hostility. A few stared a moment longer at Loial, an Ogier walking alongside a horse as big as a Dhurran stallion, but never more than a moment longer.

I doubt very much that there'd be much traffic through here (the Hunters for the Horn mentioned next chapter are clearly exceptional), since there's not really any civilization for miles past this point, but maybe the stories of Ogier hold on a little stronger in these parts since they're such a big part of Cairhien?

“The Nine Rings” had been one of his favorite adventure stories when he was a boy; he supposed it still was.

Now what could that be a reference to?

“I can’t, Selene. The Horn. . . .” He looked around. A man looked out his window across the way, then twitched the curtains closed; evening darkened the street, and there was no one else in sight now except Loial and Hurin. “The Horn is not mine. I told you that.”

Another temptation rejected, I suppose. Poor boy's gotta be doing a lot of that lately, and he's really only going to get worse at it for awhile.

Next time: Light-hearted inn shenanigans.

[flowerprincesscherryblossom]

marionette

pairing: OT7 x Female Reader word count: 1558 warnings: angst, character death, lot of suggestive themes left for interpretation AO3 A/N: i don't know why i wrote this Hope you like it and that you have a wonderful day wherever you are💜

From the moment she was made there had always been expectations from her.

She needed to be perfect, beautiful, and willing to do whatever it was required of her. Hair shinning as bright as the Sun, skin clear and without a single flaw, bodice tight enough with barely any room to breathe, skirt short and showing her collants covered legs until it reached her ballet shoes.

Her creator made sure her lips were as red as blood but they always used to say that her eyes were her best feature - dark as the night sky but big and wide as the most innocent child. Strings resembling piano wire attached tightly to her wrists and ankles - the creator saying that they were needed so she wouldn't run away from them.

Once finished they put her on a shelf, wanting her to be exposed for everyone's eyes - telling her each and every single day how beautiful she was and that it would only be a matter of time until someone took her from them.

And so she waited and waited.

Always watching the world move and people pass by her but nobody ever stopping. The creator didn't help in the situation, forbidding anyone from touching her unless they had the intention of keeping her and loving her in the same way that they did.

The day she had lost hope was also the day everything in her life changed.

The first master was the owner of a restaurant.

Incredibly handsome with broad shoulders he stared at her a moment too long before deciding that he wanted her. The creator was reluctant of parting with her but after most persuasion, she belonged to him.

"A beautiful girl for a beautiful man." he used to say, wanting to show her off in his establishment. Everyone saw her and she loved every second of attention, especially when it came from her master.

The happiness didn't last long however for the master was the type of person that loved attention as much as her, always surrounded by various women.

It worsen the night she saw him with one of them, after closing hours and using one of the tables for their indiscretions.

The first master and his mistress were found dead the next morning, a gas leak leading to the burning down of the restaurant.

She was found near the dumpster, a burn on the back of her right leg.

The second master was a music producer.

A shut-in that would only leave his house to buy food and to walk his dog. It had been said dog that had found her, forcing the master to take her back with him since the animal refused to leave her.

The master resembled a cat in many ways, something she found adoring about him.

Days passed and both of them fell into a routine - he worked day and night on his computer while she remained on his bed, being the only spectator to his creations.

He didn't treat her nicely, ignoring her for the most part and taking out his anger and frustration on her whenever inspiration couldn't be found.

The second master was found dead weeks later after the landlord broke into the apartment due to a smell complaint, exhaustion being labeled as the cause.

She was found near a corner of the room while the apartment was being cleared, bruise-like marks filling both her arms.

The third master was a dancer.

Excited like a puppy, he found her when clearing the previous one's apartment.

He kept her to which she guessed was a way of keeping a memory from a lost friend.

He danced like his life depended on it, always showing her his moves and talking with her. He even took her to bed with him, where he would wrap himself around her, not letting her escape from his grasp.

He took her everywhere with him, never letting her out of his sight.

The third master died at the hospital after succumbing to the injuries he suffered after being run over hours before.

She was found near him, her left arm bent and broken. She was brought into a public library, left in the lost and found.

The fourth master was a poet.

Tall like a tree but caring and loving like a koala.

He found her and took her with him, taking care of her as best he could, changing her hair to his liking, and making her feel beautiful once again.

He wrote the most amazing and wise words she had ever heard. Other times he would read to her, telling her the most wonderful stories.

Although clumsy and destructive whenever his hands were on her, he was the most careful person in the world.

But there was a darkness to him, something she always saw cracks no matter how much he tried to keep hidden from her, pushing her way too many times and seeking her for comfort on dark and lonely nights, taking her multiple times as the night turned into day.

The freedom of the night and the moon no longer brought her comfort.

The fourth master was found mere minutes after the sound of a gunshot was heard. Assumption was that he couldn't take to life anymore and put a never before seen gun to his head.

She was thrown out into the streets once more, a darkness impossible to clean escaping from between her thighs.

The fifth master was a photographer.

His face resembling what angels must've been.

He found her when she was laying in the grass of a local park, loving the view so much that he took a picture of her, saying that "Everything is a picture waiting to be taken."

He adored taking her to many places and taking her picture. A bright light in his life he said.

His favorite pictures however were the ones where he made her do many positions in his bed, many of them while he was with her. Those pictures he would put online, wanting everyone from around the globe to see her.

The fifth master had his house ransacked, a crazed fan of his taken into police custody on the charges of homicide.

She was given to somebody else, the mark of a handprint on her neck.

The sixth master was a painter.

Quite professional in his work but with the innocence of a child, always giving her a boxy smile.

A friend of his brought them together. Much like before he would put her in various positions for long periods of time while he painted her.

Whenever he painted soft music filled the studio, a stern and concentrated look on his features as he did art that could rival those of Van Gogh.

He had many lovers, always getting rid of them before the final touches of his next piece, using a special that only they could offer for it.

He didn't care much for her, taking what he wanted and then leaving her by her lonesome. She didn't know why he kept her around.

The sixth master was caught in the middle of a police shooting. The men in blue invading into the studio after anonymously receiving evidence of his indiscretions. He cursed her with his last breath.

She simply took her surroundings while everything was happening, a bruise of a shackle on her now broken right foot.

She was left forgotten in there until a new person occupied the space, who then abandoned her at a gym.

The seventh master was a professional boxer.

He resembled a tiny rabbit, tattoos completely filling his arms and piercings adorning his face.

He was very competitive and loved to show off his strength to her. Leaving her in the locker room and treating her as a good luck charm, always touching her before and after his matches, going on an unbeatable streak.

He had a lot of violence in his heart, using his adversaries as a way to take out his anger.

Sometimes she got caught in the crossfire. Violence and sex were his way of living.

The seventh master fell during one of his matches, never getting back after receiving many punches in the head.

She was in the locker room seeing her reflection, her face showing a black eye and a busted lip.

The creator found her there and took her back with them, putting her on a shelf once again, but this time on the back where no one would see her except for them.

They constantly demonized her. It all broke when she saw that they had replaced her with a new one, who was as pretty as she had once been, showing her off to anything who would pass.

She had been broken, used, and abused and now, she was no better than a doll who belonged in the trash.

The creator's house burned down that night, no indication of how it had started. The fire took everything, leaving nothing in its place.

She was once beautiful and willing to love whoever would take her, the world made her into something nobody would ever want.

As the flames surrounded her she still had hope that maybe one day she would find someone.

But for now, she was alone and miserable, only someone as ugly as she was could love her.

[fictionadventurer]

For the Cinderella asks, I want to hear more about Paper Wings!

This was a Cinderella story set in my Lost Library universe, where humanity exists on the shattered remains of continents that float in the sky and have only recently developed flight technology to travel between different lands. It's a mix of Edwardian aesthetic and technology (we have early electricity and planes) with Age of Exploration swashbuckling.

Except that this story ignored most of that in favor of a small domestic tale that came from combining Cinderella with Mansfield Park and Persuasion. The premise was that Cinderella's father was an airship captain undertaking dangerous exploration to faraway lands. He left her in the care of an aunt and provided money for her upkeep, but he doesn't come back when promised, the money runs out, and the relative resents having to house Cinderella on her own dime, so she makes Cinderella do menial labor to earn her keep. It's now been years and everyone assumes he's dead, but Cinderella feels she can't leave for another place, because if her father does come back, how would he find her?

Meanwhile, an irresponsible flirt of a prince comes into the neighborhood. (Cinderella's aunt cares for a library connected to a university, and he came there to study). Cinderella's cousins try to charm him, but he becomes intrigued by Cinderella, who heavily disapproves of him. True to Mansfield Park form, it becomes a matter of honor for him to charm her into falling in love with him, until he unexpectedly falls in love with her instead.

The "paper" part of the title comes from Cinderella having a genius for crafting things out of paper, and (in some versions of the idea) befriending people who run a stationary shop that also sells things like paper decorations and adornments and toys that are very popular in this land. The ball is a festival that features lots of these paper ornaments and Cinderella wants to attend, until her aunt forbids it, and then a godmother character (and/or the friends at the paper shop) arrange for her to attend with a dress decked out in lots of paper flowers.

But to get back to the point--at the ball, to Cinderella's consternation, she catches the attention of the prince, who insists on dancing with her, and who publicly proposes to her at midnight. Cinderella, horrified, flees just as a rainstorm comes up that wrecks most of the adornments on her dress. The prince comes to her the next morning to return her lost slipper and to push his suit again, and despite strong urging both from him and her aunt, Cinderella absolutely refuses to marry him. Things get much worse for Cinderella after that, because her aunt think her even more of a burden now that she turned down a marriage proposal from the most eligible possible man. I wavered on whether she'd stay with this family and continue to endure poor treatment from them, or if this turn of events helps her to find her strength to head out on her own and get a job elsewhere.

Well, anyway, this story was supposed to explore whether the prince ever could reform in a believable way. So years later, he comes back into Cinderella's life. After his disappointment in marriage, he took the other path his father demanded in his quest to make him to take up responsibility, and he got a job. As a mail pilot. Which is prestigious and glamorous enough for someone of his rank, thanks to the danger involved. Getting into a lifestyle where your hard work and skill is all that gains you respect--and where you're in constant danger of death--has a way of rearranging your priorities, and he comes back as a much more honorable and noble person. Cinderella doesn't believe it, but his work with the mail intersects with her work at the library (or the mail job she took after leaving the library), and so they have to interact. And since he doesn't renew his attempts to win her, she gets to have lots of little Pemberley moments showing that he has truly reformed.

Eventually there's another much more informal dance at the airfield, where Cinderella finds herself actually falling in love with him--only for some disaster to interrupt the festivities and her prince having to run off into danger to save the day, and Cinderella helping him somehow. And then Cinderella does fully fall in love with him and she accepts his proposal and they live happily ever after.

There's a lot in this story, and it felt like at least two separate Cinderella retellings. I couldn't choose between the possible paths, or figure out where to start the story or what elements to cut, so it fell into the background. It's more a loose collection of possibilities than a story. But I'm fond of some of those possibilities, and so it lingers in my brain despite the small chance that it'll ever come together.

[lanternlightss]

for the fake fic title game- my first thought was "the brave and the stupid" for some reason?

(ask game)

OH HELLO…. the brave and the stupid, that’s so good….

immediate thought of: oh, some kind of royalty au. but 🤔.

hmm… thinking about nameless bard, who is so determined and yet reckless. nameless bard, who is probably very smart but is also very likely to execute plans in a way that makes you wanna grab him by the shoulders and shake.

a fic about exploring and studying nameless bard’s character, perhaps!! how he was essential to setting the rebellion on track to win (he probably recruited a lot of people, imagining he’s almost as subtly persuasive as venti is. also, like, he more than likely took out more than a couple of decarabian’s guards and knights—)

something like……. (fic under the cut, a little long XD)

“That was very brave of you,” Amos says.

The Bard wipes at his nose, wincing at the red that streaks across the white fabric. This will be, say, the fourth time that week he has to wash the blood from his clothes?

“Brave?” He rolls his shoulders. Ouch, that fall hurt more than he thought. “Lady Amos, I only caused a distraction by shoving one of the knights away. I do believe that title of “brave” should go to you and Sir Ragnvindr for standing on your own against so many of them.”

She turns, sharply, and he nearly jumps out of his skin when a hand lays itself on his shoulders, and a face appears right in front of him!

“Little bird,” Amos begins. He has to suppress a smile at the nickname—they thought it would be rather funny, and fitting. “You should have seen yourself. You got us out of there, making sure to keep us unharmed in the retreat.”

“That?” A snort. “That was nothing, see; they had all gathered together, leaving three, to four, if we were backed into an even tighter corner and wished to be risky, exits for us.”

Tilting his head back, and desperately trying to keep any more blood from spilling, he continues. “The one that we went with—the one I made a distraction for? They were quite moronic, thinking that they could overwhelm us. It made them clumsy, made them spread out their forces more than they should have, made us a path out. It left that knight as the only one in our way, the others we had to weave past.”

He chances a glance at her, a little surprised to see the expression on her face. Warm, and… fond.

“What?” The Bard asks. He wipes at his nose again when something warm trails down. “Was I wrong? Ah, do not tell me there was an another potential exit, I knew those bricks looked—”

She laughs, soft, airy, almost as fond as her eyes were.

“Only you,” she says. A second of hesitation, before her hand lightly squeezes his shoulder. Light enough, that it doesn’t aggravate the bruises likely to be there. “I do mean it, though. It was very brave.”

Amos goes to grab—he is not sure, perhaps one of the candles from the table?—when a voice echoes through the room.

“Do not forget,” it says, “that it was godawful reckless, too.”

Amos rolls her eyes at the sound, and the Bard huffs at it—the both of them a little amused.

Ragnvindr appears besides them a moment after, a wisp trailing after him. He kneels down, and presses a pile of papers into the Bard’s chest. Then, (and Bard knows this was Ragnvindr being cheeky, the little—) a quill is dangled in front of his face.

There is a squeak of protest, and the quill is blown away. A very, very indignant wisp rustles Ragnvindr’s hair, before flying up and placing themselves in front of the Bard.

Luckily, the quill is snatched out of the air, at the same time a handkerchief is offered to him. The Bard accepts it graciously, pressing it to his nose.

“What is this?” Amos says, pointing the feathered tips of the quill at the warrior.

“Adjustments.” There’s a grunt as Ragnvindr stands. “Gunnhildr and I went over a few of the maps, a few of the other lists and to-do’s. Thought you might want to see them.”