#The kill wasn't pretty and clean. It was awful. She didn't want this. It wasn't heroic

[bonefall]

Does leopard still have 3 lives in her final battle? Or was that changed?

Yep. I think she drowned her once, then Leopardstar lunges up refreshed, and she gets the upper paw on Mistyfoot with 2 lives to go.

(MAYBE tw gore, but I really did try to be tasteful about a head being smashed on a rock.)

On her back, splashing and thrashing furiously against Leopardstar's claws dunking her head under, Mistyfoot glimpses a wave breaking just over the tip of a stone-blue rock. Her only chance.

With a surge of power, her claws sink into her leader's golden shoulder and they tumble and roll to the right. Before the tyrant even realizes what's happening, she's yanked up, and then whipped backwards with a wet CRUNCH

And then again

And again

And again, until Mistyfoot can't even make out what's left of her leader anymore. All she can see is that it's a red, brown, and yellow blur, because her eyes burning with salty tears and her whole body is trembling.

She drops the corpse onto the stone and it slides into the water, lifelessly. After a moment it spasms aimlessly one last time, like an insect does after its head is bitten off, unlike the deliberate, agonized throes of Tigerstar suffering through his doomed lives. And then it's still.

There's only the tranquil sound of bubbling water, and Mistyfoot's frenzied panting. Her pounding heart makes it hard to hear either.

The blood is carried off by the shallow water in scarlet swirls, but the lake runs pale red as if it's washing it away. Some were aware of this prophecy, but Mistyfoot was not.

It isn't closure to her, or a fulfillment of divine decree. It's just blood that should be on her paws, slicked away by the complicit river. She wished it could feel like it's over, but she's smart enough to know the truth. Has been through enough terrible events like this to understand what comes next.

Her body will move foward. Her mind will need to consider her deputy. Her paw will come down on code-defying cats like Blackclaw and Greenflower. But her heart will stay here, next to the remains of Leopardstar, the same way another piece of it remains at Stonefur's side across space and time.

[writteninlunarlight-years]

How about the "there is only one bed" trope with our lovely Hazbin Boys; Alastor, Husk, Angel Dust, and Lucifer? <3

Scenarios

I made these two parts because I love all the Hazbin boys, and I am a sucker for this trope. I didn't add pentious because I am not confident writing for him. Val is well, Val. Pt1 Pt2

Adam

It was a fucking shit show trying to find an excellent place to stay on this side of heaven. The big man upstairs decides to pay a visit, and Adam just has to see him in person, as if he hadn't seen him twelve million times before. Originally Lute was going to go with him however a situation occurred with the exorcists, you personally think that is a lie but so be it. Being Lute's little sister and third in command over the executioners, you got the job of babysitting Adam.

It wasn't that you disliked Adam for any reason towards you; Lute made it very clear when you joined the battalion that you were off limits; he could flirt, sleep with, and kill anyone he wanted to. Just not her baby sister. So Adam never really got to hang around you much, probably cause he was so afraid of your older sister. However, unbeknownst to you, Adam had a thing for you; though he knew you were not some innocent flower by any means, he knew that touching the forbidden had its perks; I mean, hell, Eve did it.

Sighing, you found one hotel still with a vacant sign; you thought traveling with the first man meant you had ease of access everywhere fucking wrong. Still, you walked in and managed to book the room. The poor elderly angel, though, was so difficult to speak to; you were glad that you went in, not Adam; otherwise, he would have been a dick. Grabbing your bag and motioning him to follow you two heads up to the room. "Yeah, she said it was pretty big, I mean, it should be for two beds." Adam pouted, "Aw babe, you don't want to share a bed with me? Now is your chance to get in my pants while Lute is gone." You scoffed and opened the door to your hotel for the night. "Yeah no not only do I not wan't in your pants I also don't....wan't..........death......Fuck me."

Adam laughed and walked in behind you, "What? You just told me not to fuck you, babe can't be acting all coy with me." He finally looked up and saw why you stalled. He is so dead when they get home; he should have listened to Lute and booked a room in advance. You sighed and walked all the way in. There was a couch. At least you could take it. You were smaller.

Carefully, you started to make the couch into a makeshift bed. "Hey toots, no, none of that. You get the bed bitch. I am not going to be the first dick that made a woman sleep on a fucking couch."

You looked at him, surprised at the offer. You nodded your head and went to clean up for bed. As you slid into the sheets, you saw Adam in his PJs, trying to get comfy. You sighed softly and rolled over, trying to ignore him, yet something pulled at your heartstrings. Lute didn't have to know. You rolled back over and saw the uncomfortable man, "Um, hey, Adam, come get in bed with me." You could have worded that better, but you were tired. You managed to miss the blush on Adam's face as he heard you.

"Yeah, can't get enough of the dickmaster, huh," He dodged a pillow attack from you as he made his way over. Gently, he placed the pillow between you two and climbed in. Lute didn't have to know.

Come morning, no pillow was between you two, your head resting gently in the crook of his neck, his arm wrapped around your waist while his other above his head. You wrapped one arm around him while the other pulled to your chest. You both had slept through the numerous phone calls from Lute and the meeting with God. Adam didn't mind; you deserved the break, and it felt so nice to finally hold you close to him.

Alastor

Charlie sent you and Alastor on a mission to help gain more sinners. Why it had to be on the other side of Pentagram City near Vox's tower was beyond you. You loved Charlie like a sister, though, so you wouldn't fight, and you may have some underlying feelings for a Radio Host that may have swayed your decision to go along with him.

After a hard day of recruiting and passing out flyers, Alastor was some help. Seeing as all of Vox's cronies tried to fight you both on each street corner, it was finally time to call it a night. You were eagerly waiting for Charlie's call, looking at your phone; she was supposed to book your room for you guys out here. After the extermination, Alastor was still recovering, so his shadow teleports weren't the best idea, lest you both be stranded in the shadow realm.

Your phone finally rang to a cheerful Charlie on the other end. She directed you two to the hotel and asked you questions about the recruitment process. As you two talked, the hotel came into view; you sat off in the lobby, talking with Charlie about the hotel as Alastor got your room key. Soon, he stood before you and motioned you to follow. "Do tell Charlie that if she was going to talk to you all night on the phone, she should have been the one to come, not me." You pouted at that. Had Alastor had a bad time with you? That was far from the truth, though. Alastor had a great time showing off his impressive powers to you even though he was still injured, yet he was jealous that Charlie was taking all your time. "S-Sorry, Al. I think Charlie was just concerned. She wanted to make sure we got to the room safely." All you got in return was a slight hum and static. You sighed, and Charlie tried to cheer you up on the phone.

Alastor entered the room first and halted, eyes wide, "Fuck." You had only ever heard him cuss a handful of times, and without static, too, it must have been horrible. Yet, as you hear Charlie's slightly high-pitched laughter, you know she is up to something. Quickly, your phone was snatched from your hand, static buzzing. "CHARLIE WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING THERE IS ONLY ONE BED."

As Alastor yelled at her, you winced. Damn, was it that bad to be stuck with you? You pushed your way into the room and looked around. It was cozy, that was for sure, only one bed. As you finished, Alastor hovered over you, and you started to make a pallet on the floor to sleep on. "And what do you by chance think you are doing my little doe?"

You blushed at the pet name and shrugged. You made your way to the bathroom to change and take a quick shower, not wanting to ruin Alastor's night any more than you had. Once you were done and walking out, however, Alastor was in red PJs, and your pallet was gone. "Hey, where did my bed go, Al? I worked hard on that!"

Static buzzed softer as he sighed, "You are not sleeping on the floor, my dear. Now come get in bed. I made a pillow wall; it is safe."

He sounded sad about it, but you didn't want to trick yourself into thinking there was anything more between you two. You nodded softly and curled on your side, gently drifting to sleep. You could have sworn that as the dreams started coming, the pillow wall behind you disappeared.

Come morning, you were safely held against Alastor, your back against his firm chest, and one arm caged you protectively against him. His other arm lay under the pillow, probing his head up as he slept soundly, inhaling your scent. As for you, the blissfully unaware dreamer, your hands were cradled against you, and you slowly pushed yourself closer into the radiating warmth behind you. Alastor smiled a genuine smile softly; he could definitely get used to this for you.

Angel Dust

Val had sent Angel to a bad part of town for a shoot. You, being the caring, adoring friend you are, decided to go with him just to help make sure no fans or crazies attack him. You had gone to plenty of Angels shoots and even was propositioned by Val many times. Yet you always turned him down and showed your distaste for the moth. He always said that you would come around. How about not. Instead, you were in love with your best friend... cliche, but he was terrific.

Angel put on his robe and walked up to you. You had been spaced out watching the shoot, thinking about the handsome spider before you. As he snapped his fingers in front of your face, you finally reconnected with the world and looked up at him. "What? Sorry, Angel. What is going on?"

He laughs softly and helps you stand, your legs feeling like jelly from sitting on the sound box for hours. Falling into him, he laughed and helped you right again, a soft dusting of pink across his cheeks. "Ya fine toots, shoots ova' let's head out to the hotel."

You nodded, grabbed your bags, and followed him to the limo that would take you to the hotel. Val hadn't known you would come on this trip, but Val always had Vox book double rooms for the whole crew on far-off shoots. The only person who got a single room was Val himself. Sighing you looked out the window as the ritzy hotel came in to view. "20$ when Val sees me, he will ask me to go to his room again."

Angel laughed and shook his head, "Oh no, Val isn't here; this was an exclusive shoot for a customer. So it's just the cast and crew and you."

You blushed. How did you not notice Val wasn't there? You were so stupid. You followed the crew into the building, staying close to Angel as the key cards were passed out. Your room number was in the 9's; it was one of the lovely posh rooms. Okay, Vox, you did something good for a change. You rode the elevator up and talked with the others as they reached their floors. A comfortable silence filled the small space when it was just you and Angel.

At the ding, you two walked to the room, entering though you both found the problem....it was a sweetheart's room. This was Val's standard room. "Damn toots, there's only one bed. I will go ask for another room, don't worry,"

You grabbed his arm, not even thinking, "No, it's okay. It would come out of your pay, too. We have been best friends forever, Angel. We can share the bed." You gulped saliva building in your mouth. He gave you a soft smile and a nod.

"Alright, no funny business," he leaned down close to your ear. "Unless you want there to be." You scoffed and smacked his arm, heading to the bathroom first to clean up. Angel smirked; he was excited to finally have this chance. He got the bed situated to try and make it more comfortable for you.

As you exited, you thanked him for the consideration and let him shower and clean up. You got comfy on the bed and closed your eyes. You slowly drifted off to sleep, exhausted from all the running around. When Angel returned, he smiled softly and climbed into bed next to you. Gently, to not wake you, he placed his head on your chest, listening to your heart.

When morning came, Angel clung to you with both sets of arms, holding on to you, his head nuzzling your chest and neck. You had one arm protectively around him and the other in his hair. The rest of the crew left hours ago, but you two stayed tangled in the sheets, having a sweet, cuddly morning.

[indecenthoney]

"The Munchies"

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

Have you ever had that one friend who acts like a completely different person after consuming alcohol? I sort of do. She's a tad bit on the shy side. Up until you present her with some candy. Her eyes would literally glow up at the sight. Not to mention, she becomes the clingiest, most loveable thing. I may be to blame for encouraging such behaviors, but how could I not? I could never ever get another reaction out of her if I wanted to. Completely deadpan, with a cold demeanor. It's enough to break a man's heart. Which brings me to my current situation. I may have a little crush on her. Or well a relatively big one. I've been meaning to ask her out in a good mood, but as I mentioned I could never really get that reaction. I wanted to find some way to help her relax a bit without needing the candies. I don't know. I wanted her to like me for me, you know?

"Hey... How long are you going to be working on that? It wouldn't kill you to take a break, you know? Uhuh... Dude! Let's hang out... This project isn't due till what... Two weeks from now... We can totally take our time... We're already halfway through... So let's go play something! Me? What does it look like I'm doing? I'm hugging you... I'm not going to stop hugging you until you follow me to play video games... I know you hate it... That's why I'm hugging you, silly... Either way, it's a win-win for me... Aw... and here I thought I'd get to hug you for an hour or two? Good choice... C'mon, I'll show you to my room..."

On my way to my room, I found her eye-ing out my kitchen. It was pretty obvious what her intentions were. I wasn't really sure either what snacks I had lying around in there, but I sent her off to my room to choose a game while I scrounged around for something for her to eat.

"Do you want something sweet? I thought so... I'll see what I can do... Uhuh... Just head down the hall, to the right... Make yourself comfortable!"

It was inevitable. Then again, I guess I'd rather give her what she wanted rather than see her disappointed. You should have seen me. I was a man on a mission trying to find those snacks. Eventually, I realized that there wasn't any lying around and I had to bear seeing her sad. Is it a reaction? Yes. Is it a good one? No. I took my time cleaning up and figuring out what to tell her. On my way down, I found myself stopping at the door after hearing some "noises". At first, I assumed it was something coming from the television. With my curiosity piqued, I barged in without a second thought. Unfortunately, this put me in a compromising situation. Okay, I know it's my house. But I should know better than to walk in without a warning. My friend was there. Of course, she was. Where else would she be? You know, I just didn't expect her to be on my pillow. Rubbing herself against it. I stood in shock as she mindlessly grinded herself not paying any mind to me. it was like she was in a sort of trance.

"Hey! W-woah... Uhm... What the fuck are you doing? Hahaha... uhm... F-fuck..."

I wasn't entirely sure what to do especially since there wasn't anything to play off on. She was grinding away. No response. But upon closer inspection, there were wrappers scattered on the floor and bed. The shy little thing got herself high from consuming the edibles placed on the tableside near my bed. I quickly rushed over to stop her. Placing my hands around her hips to keep her down. Only whimpers and tears were replaced with the sudden stop.

"H-hey... Shhh... Shhhh it's okay... I'm sorry... Ugh fuck... What am I supposed to do with you? Uhm... Let's see... H-hey! C'mon... It's okay... Why are you still crying? You can rub... It's okay... Stop crying, okay? I'm sorry for stopping you... "

After consuming this many brownies, I doubt she'd be able to speak. I'm surprised she was still even functioning at this point. I didn't expect her to have such a drastic personality change after a few brownies. She wouldn't stop crying. I soon realized her trying to move her hips faster. I guess the stimulation wasn't enough to satisfy her. Luckily, I had an idea. Not to fulfill my own selfish desires, but to help a friend out. I mean, what was I supposed to do? Leave her a whimpering sobby mess?

"I-it's okay... Just for a moment... Sit here... I know... I know it hurts... But we'll get it settled in a bit... You just have to be a good girl and listen, okay? That's it... Such a good girl... Does it feel good when I rub you there? Hm? I know it's hard to talk... Just nod your head... Yeah? Ah no... No moving your hips... If you wanna feel good then you'll have to listen, don't you? That's it... Nice and easy... Keep those legs spread for me, hun... Such a pretty lady... So needy... So wet... I'm only rubbing your clit and you're just leaking... Why don't we take these off, huh? We wouldn't want to ruin your panties more than we already have... Shhh... It's okay I'm just taking these off and we'll continue... I'll give a little more than just rubbing... I promise... Oh fuck... A literal bitch in heat... Gonna slide a finger in, okay? Oh? Well, don't you fit perfectly around my fingers... So tight... Mm... What pretty little noises you have... There's no need to be shy... It's okay to feel good..."

Slowly digging away into her deepest parts causing her to spasm. Choking on her moans as the pleasure increases. Her hands clasped around my forearm. A sign informing me that she's close to the edge. Slowing down my pace even more to keep from finishing too quickly. Soft slow strokes. My middle finger moving in and along her slit. A flick at her clit once at the top. Sending a shockwave of spasms throughout her body. I knew it was about time to give her a break. Running my fingers along her body; lifting her shirt. My hands finding their way up her bra. Running circles around her perky breasts. Pinching. Poking. Tugging.

"Hm? You're going to have to use your words... I'm not going to be able to understand you if all you do is moan and whimper... Please? You wanna cum? What's the magic word? Fine... In a bit... I'm still having my fun... Oh? Sensitive there, are we? Be good and I'll give you your reward... Pretty little thing... Does it feel good? Uhuh yeah? Sound so fucking stupid when I touch you here... Are you going to cum just from your nipples being played with? No cuz that would be pathetic, wouldn't it? Almost there, hun... Keep it up... You're doing such a good job for me..."

Hands appreciating every nook and cranny of her body. Tempting her but never really touching the place that needs it the most. Lips pressed. Tongues rolled. A dance of oral pleasure. The taste of brownies lingered on my tongue. How many wrappers were there? I wouldn't be surprised if I got high from tasting her lips. If it were my choice, I would spend an eternity in this bliss. However, she quickly made her needs known. Whimpers and tears once flood the room. Her inability to stay still grew restless as I toyed with her body. One final kiss and I was on my knees. Pulling her hips to the edge of the bed. The softness of her thighs welcomed my cheeks with each kiss. I start to salivate; eager to run my tongue along the drippy mess I've made. In my own trance, I started eating away at her. A different type of hunger had filled me. Something that couldn't be satiated so easily. I wanted her to quake my touch. Moan at the very thought of me. Get wet at every little word I mutter as I adore her perfection.

"Mmph... Fuck... you taste so good, hun... Mmm... I know... I know... I shouldn't talk with my mouth full... I can't help it... You're just too damn pretty right now..."

Her grip tightens; pulling my head into her. Her morality leaking between her legs as I lapped my tongue into her depths. A wave after wave of orgasms causes her to shake. Even with my tongue gently finding its way around her clit, it brings her to the edge over and over. I found pleasure in serving her. With cock in hand, I stroked myself to completion. Even then it was barely enough to fill that hunger. Grabbing her wrists I stood above her; pinning down her arms before placing my cock against the opening of her pussy. Feeling her squirm on the tip. Watching her eyes roll back as the length of cock disappears into her.

"Hey hey... Shush... You're doing such a great job... Mhm... I know you came... I'm sorry, sweetie... Just a little longer, you can take it... All you have to do is stay still and be pretty, okay? Can you do that for me, hun? Mhm... Good girl... Not a single thought behind those pretty eyes, huh? That's it... Cum as you please... I'm not stopping you..."

Hands pinned above her head as I rut into her in the most animalistic, primal way. Enjoying every bit of her reactions as I pump my cum back into her. Even as she drifts off to sleep, I found myself using her and using her. Satiating my hunger. I was unsure of how things would play out tomorrow, so I wanted to enjoy myself while it lasted. Making my mark. Filling her to the brim. I wore myself out. But even then, I wanted to use her. Finger the very holes I came in. Fucking her with my fingers to keep the cum from leaking. Never wanting this happiness to end.

"Oh! You're awake... What happened? Well... You kinda nodded off while I was looking for snacks... You okay? A dream? You were moving a lot during it... but I didn't wanna wake you from your nap... Sore? Hm... You're probably just hungry... Here... I found some brownies... It's really good... You should try some!"

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Take a bite,

Honey

[uceyliyahh]

Summary; After her difficult breakup, Tiana wanted to start anew with her life. That's when she realized her life would be better when she met him.

This fanfic is 18+! NO MINORS ALLOWED

word count: 3783

Smut warning; it’ll come in the story randomly so PLEASE PLEASE look out for it I’m not really good at writing ✍🏽 smuts but I’m improving at the moment.

Jey Uso X Tiana

AWFUL GRAMMAR IM GETTING BETTER I SWEAR LOL.

comments, likes, repost are appreciated I would love the constructive feedback in what area I need to approve in. 🤍

ALSO! I don’t not want nobody stealing my fanfics or take it as theirs that will be an issue fasho so keep it cute respectfully.

I only own my OC along with the make up scenarios

But I’ll be writing along the way since this story is in my drafts on Wattpad right now so yuh 💁🏽‍♀️

TAGS⬇️ lmk if you wanna be tagged 🏷️

@paigereeder @pinkwithhearts @jstarr86

1.

Have you ever thought about running away? And starting somewhere new? Having a fresh start with things, especially having a promising career?

Tiana was doing that, starting somewhere fresh, living with her best friend Bianca in Cali after her messy breakup with Malakai when she saw him cheat on her with someone she knew.

But she wasn't worried about that man. She stood her ground while focusing on her career as a Nail Tech, getting her money's worth so she could have a place of her own.

She did the dumbest thing ever: She got this man tatted on the side of her right ear. Bianca convinced her to cover it with something pretty.

But she didn't know any tattoos around here; only Bianca did. She contacted a tattoo shop near them and scheduled an appointment.

OMNISCIENT

Tiana was finishing up with her last client of the day before shutting down the shop. She had a tattoo appointment afterward, so she wanted to get this done before she was late.

She focused on her clients' nails as she applied the last few bits of gems to their nails while turning on the curing light and placing their hands under the light.

Her phone beeped as she saw Bianca texting her, probably about her appointment at the tattoo shop.

Breezy💁🏽‍♀️: Tianaaaaa wyd girrrl?

Tiana: I'm finishing up my last client before heading to my appointment today.

Tiana: are you sure they're like legit? Bc if I get a fucked up cover-up, I'm going to kill you. 😀

Breezy: yesssss lele they're legit like this man owns the business chile. 😐

Tiana: oh fr?

Breezy: yes T

Tiana: do they have an Instagram page showing their artwork?

Breezy: yeah, I'll send it to you on Instagram.

Tiana: okay, girly, I'll text you later.

Breezy: bye, girl.

She turned off the curing light as her client looked at her nails with a smile on her face; she was satisfied with her results. Her client knew that Tiana was the shit when It came to doing nails.

Tiana instructed her to take a pose with her hands to show off her nails so she could post it on her IG story. She started doing nails when she was sixteen years old. Her mom and stepdad helped her with everything, and she was very grateful for that because look at her now.

biancabelairwwe replied to your story: ouuuuu girl them are honestly cute asf.

sheloveemma replied to your story: BOOK ME NEXT NOW!

ughitsstacy replied to your story: girl, I LOVE THEM! PERIOD!

shelovekai replied to your story: damn, mama, you snapped.

She looked at Malakai's reply to her story as she just rolled her eyes; she could've sworn she had blocked that man she didn't want nun' to do with his toxic ass; her client paid her with an extra tip due to how much she loved the nails as she told her goodbye.

Tiana smiled at the woman as she went to lock the door, getting ready to sanitize everything before her appointment. She was wiping down her equipment and the table with a warm rag, making sure that everything was cleaned and that she wasn't missing any spots.

She checked the time on her Apple Watch, seeing that she had to leave for her appointment to get this nigga name covered up due to the simple fact that she got tired of seeing it every single time she took pictures.

Tiana did one last check around the place, making sure that everything was back to where it was, before grabbing her purse and turning off the lights as she headed back towards her 2017 BMW.

She entered her car by shutting the door behind her, grabbing her keys as she put them in the ignition, and pressing the button to start it up.

She applied lip gloss on her lips and began pulling out the driveway towards the tattoo shop.

✧.*

Tiana pulled up towards the tattoo shop, turning off her car while grabbing her purse. As she entered the place, she looked around the area. She saw the shop's very cultured aesthetic, and the smell of the place seemed so refreshing to her.

She noticed that two other people were sitting at the reception table on their phones. Since it wasn't that busy today, she walked up to them, and they both looked at her.

"Hello, ma'am. I'm Kiara. What can I help you with?" Kiara asked.

"Hi, I'm here for an appointment at 3:50," Tiana said as she pulled out her phone to show them her appointment.

"Ah, you're Miss Tiana?"

She nodded her head yes as she patiently waited while clinging onto her purse.

"And you're here for a cover-up?" She asked.

"Yes, I am." She saw the woman nod her head as she looked up at her.

"Okay, you're set, ma'am. Please have a seat. He will be right with you."

"Thank you," Tiana said as she sat down in the chair.

She was scrolling through her IG, seeing people had liked her story that she had posted an hour ago. Replying to people who responded to her story, she saw a text pop up, so she scrolled down to see who it was. It was Malakai from an unknown number since Tiana blocked him.

Weirdo: mamas, can you unblock me, please? I promise I've changed.

Tiana: Kai you finna get blocked again leave me aloneeee

Weirdo: you know that you're mines forever.

Tiana: tuh in your dreams nigga bye.

Tiana rolled her eyes while proceeding to block his new number. She was thinking, 'nigga probably using WhatsApp or TextNow to get new numbers.' While she was doing that, her eye caught something as she saw a man getting his equipment out.

She tried to make out his features but couldn't due to the door being closed. She would have to wait until she got in that chair, but she went back to scrolling through her Instagram.

Breezy: bestieee are you at your appointment?

Tiana: yeah, I'm here.

Breezy: good cuz Ik your ass would've forgot I'm so glad you're getting that shit covered.

Tiana: yeah, me too tired of seeing that shit.

Breezy: do you like the shop?

Tiana: yeah, I love the aesthetic of it, and it smells good.

Breezy: seee I told you I got'chu girl.

As she was texting away, she pulled her head up and saw the same man standing at the door, waiting patiently for her until Kiara said something to her.

"Excuse me, miss, but you can come in now," Kiara said.

Tiana nodded her head yes, grabbed her purse, and walked past the specimen while sitting on the chair. She placed her bag on the table next to her.

She looked up at the fine specimen, finally making out his features, and boy, was he fine as hell. He was wearing some sweats with a black graphic shirt, and his shoe game was on point. Of course, he had a mullet and ear piercings on both sides of his ears.

His toned muscular body, along with his Tanned skin and salt/pepper beard, it wouldn't be rude to her if she kept eye fucking him while he was getting ready.

"You getting a cover-up?" Josh spoke, breaking the silence.

'Damn, his voice was deep as hell.'

"U-um, yeah, I am around my ear, " she said, noticing that she was stumbling on her words.

It caused him to chuckled a little bit while looking at her face, "You ain't gotta be nervous around me, Princess Ion' bite." She was taken aback for a second. 'Princess?' Well, she hadn't heard that nickname before. Is he always like this with his clients?

Tiana shook off the feeling as he pulled out some designs to show her, to see which one she liked better. She looked at his designs and was amazed at his artwork; it was perfect.

But one design caught her eye. It just looked so beautiful: two butterflies with a cross between them.

"I like this one; it caught my eye," Tiana said as she smiled.

He nodded his head as he took the design that she wanted behind her cover-up.

He pulled the chair towards her and reclined it back a bit so that she could be comfortable. He put on some black gloves while grabbing the tattoo pen.

"Can you turn your head for me, mama? " he asked. She nodded yes and turned her head to the side.

He started working on the cover-up behind her ear. He noticed that a male's name was tatted behind her ear. He had a smug expression on his face.

"So you got a name tattooed on you?"

Not trying to be in her business, but was trying to be in her business.

"Yeah, I got this lame ass nigga tatted on me that I was with for a while until he did some messed up shit, so my bestie decided to hook me up." She said while being still.

"Hm, how long was yall together?" He asked while focusing on the tattoo.

"We were together for like two, almost three years, maybe?"

He smacked his teeth and shook his head in disappointment. " That's a horrible mistake to get someone's name tatted on you. I heard it was bad luck." She wanted to smack him upside the head but couldn't.

"Don't put that on me, sir. I want no back luck," Tiana said as Josh snickered at her.

"It's not funny, you bozo." He rolled his eyes at her while continuing to do his work behind her ear.

They were back into complete silence again, and she kept hearing the needle buzzing in her ear like some type of fly buzzing around her.

She kept thinking about her relationship with Malakai. It became so toxic for her that she couldn't even deal with his ass anymore after she found out he cheated on her.

Tiana felt like she wasn't going to find love again because she was afraid of the outcome, so she kept her guard up around men, especially the ones who tried to holla at her.

"Who's your best friend?" Josh asked her.

"Her name is Bianca. She told me she comes here often, " she replied while continuing to talk on her phone.

"Ohhhh yeah I know her, I did some designs on her not too long ago."

Tiana nodded her head, listening to him talk. His voice seemed to soothe her because it was so deep and raspy, almost making her sleepy, as she yawned a bit while rubbing her eyes.

He took notice of that, "Long day, I'm assuming?"

"Yeah, I'm just hella tired. I'm not going to lie to you." She said.

He just hummed in agreement as he was finishing up her tattoo while turning off his tattoo pen; Jey had sprayed some alcohol on wet paper towel as he wiped behind her ear, causing her to hiss in pain.

Jey snickered at her reaction as she glared at him, throwing his hands up in defense.

"Aye, you wanted this, not me." He said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. How much do I owe you?" Tiana responded as she pulled her wallet out of her purse.

"It's on me, ma; don't worry about it." She looked up at him with a confused expression, which had her thinking to herself, 'What does he mean about that?' Tiana put her wallet back inside her purse as Jey gave her a mirror to check out her new tattoo.

She turned her head a bit to see it, moving her ear to the side to see its design.

"Omg, this is really bomb as fuck." Tiana said.

"Thank you. I mean, they say I'm the best, better than my cousin, no shade or nun." She snickered at his comment as he reclined her chair upwards while she stood up to fix herself.

"Lemme get a quick pic so I can post it on my story." He said.

Tiana knew she was good with poses, so she turned her head to the side, showing off her cover-up tattoo. Jey took a quick picture of it before putting his phone down.

"Thank you; I appreciate it. I never got your name; my fault," Tiana said while monitoring his face.

"My name is Joshua, but people close to me call me Jey or Josh for short—whatever floats your boat, mama." Jey replied.

"I'm Tiana, by the way."

Jey thought to himself for a second while looking at her features deeply. she was a pretty girl that's fahso, and her personality seemed bubbly almost?'Whoever fumbled her cute ass is so unlucky now I'm finna be all up in that.'

"Tiana, huh? That's a cute name for a pretty girl like you; lemme me get your number, lil' mama," He said bluntly as she rolled her eyes at him while he gave her his phone.

He watched her type her phone number in while she gave him back his phone. They stood there in silence as they looked at each other until her gaze shifted towards her buzzing phone.

He watched her walk out his suite as he kept stealing glances at her ass; he knew that thang was thang in that one piece that she had on.

It was almost like he was fascinated with her in some way when they literally just met each other today; maybe it was her features that got him feeling like this with her.

But he had shaken them thoughts outta his head cleaning his equipment up.

✧.*

TIANA

I finally made it home. I parked my car in the driveway right next to Bianca's, turned off the ignition, grabbed my purse, and closed the car door behind me.

As I was walking in the house, I heard moaning and groaning upstairs, which made me realize that Montez was taking Bianca to Pound Town, which I personally did not want to hear.

I went upstairs towards my bedroom while shutting the door behind me as I took off my shoes throwing them on my shoe rack sighing in relief I really did hate being on my feet especially sitting on my ass too.

I fumbled onto my nice, comfortable bed and hugged the pillows until I felt my phone buzz. I thought it was Kai texting me again from a different number, so I went to see who was texting me.

'An unknown number ofc.'

Unknown number: did you make it home safe, princess?

Tiana: who dis?

Unknown number: Did you forget already? You were just here a couple of hours ago, girl.

I had to think about it for a minute since I tend to forget sometimes. The caller ID wanted to FaceTime me, of course. I hung up quickly because I didn't know who this person was until that person called again.

I rolled my eyes. While answering the FaceTime call, she saw a familiar face. That's when it clicked to her: It was Joshua from the tattoo shop.

FACETIME

Jey: now, do you remember?

Tiana: yeah, yeah boy now what'chu want?

Jey: I just wanted to make sure you drove home safe. That's all, princess.

Him and these damn puppy names was going to be the death of me; never had I experienced being called princess like I'm some princess from England or sum.

I placed my phone down on top of my dresser while unzipping my one-piece. This shit was killing me today felt like I couldn't breathe. As I was doing that, I proceeded to wobble my ass outta the one piece hearing Josh snickering.

Tiana: The fuck is funny nigga?

Jey: you, you is funny as hell wobbling like that shawty.

Tiana: Man fuck you, it was really tight.

Jey: mhm

I just rolled my eyes at him and gave him the middle finger. Finally, I got out of one piece and threw it in the dirt bin next to my bookshelf. 'Yes, I read, yes, I'm a nerd.' I was in my underwear while digging through my drawer for some comfortable clothing.

I felt his gaze through the phone, but I didn't speak on it, not understanding why I was getting comfortable with being half-naked on FaceTime with this man I barely knew.

Jey: damn, mama, you got a dump trunk back there.

Tiana: are you flirting with me right now sir?

Jey: maybe, maybe not. I'm just calling it what it is, princess.

Tiana: call me that again imma

Jey: or what?

I ignored him while getting fully naked in front of him and grabbing my towel that was nearby so that I could cover my body until I headed to the bathroom.

Tiana: I'm going to go shower, so I'm going to hang up now.

Jey: nooo, take me with'chu

Tiana: why so? Can you look at my ass or what?

Jey: nah I just wanted to stay on the phone with'chu.

Tiana: sigh ight then whatever you want dawg.

I took my phone with me to the bathroom. As I sat down on the counter table, making it look up at the ceiling, I heard him smack his teeth.

Jey: aye, yo ass betta get me up from looking at this ceiling.

Tiana: my fault, dawg. Lemme fix that for ya.

He seemed pretty annoyed when I did that, but I found it amusingly funny seeing him annoyed at my actions. Meanwhile, I unraveled my towel from my body as I headed inside the shower.

Jey: what do you do?

Tiana: I own my nail tech shop, so I do people's nails and get good tips.

Jey: Fr shawty? shi imma have to pull up to get a manicure from you.

Tiana: I can definitely send you the address to the place.

Jey: Bet that up fasho

✧.*

After taking a nice long shower, I was downstairs cooking me something to eat for dinner while still being on Facetime with Joshua. He was playing the game with his brothers, hollering and screaming at each other like some dogs. I noticed that Bianca came downstairs and came towards me to see what I was cooking.

"Ouuu girl what'chu cooking?" She asked.

"I'm cooking me some chicken in the air fryer along with some rice. I made extra for you and Montez, so y'all can eat after that session y'all had." I said while letting the rice sit.

"Omg, I love you so much, bestie, but who's that on the phone?"

"Oh, that's Joshua."

Her face looked perplexed for a minute, then it clicked, so she put a smirk on her face as I gave her a stern expression, thinking, 'I know this girl isn't going to try to hook me up with this man.'

"B, no, I'm not doing this with'chu tonight, chile." I said.

"C'monn, lele Joshua is a really cool ass person, bro, and then he'll be the first Samoan man you dated." She commented.

Jey: I know that's right, what's up Bianca!

Tiana: Shut the hell up sir

Jey: No need to be rude lil' mama

Bianca covered her mouth after he called me that. This girl is so dramatic. I swear. After finishing cooking the food, I sat down at the table while setting up my phone, and I began eating while watching Joshua play the game.

It looked like he was playing Call Of Duty. He seemed pretty good at the game, but his attention was now on me as his eyebrows furrowed a bit.

Jey: What'chu eating, pretty girl?

Tiana: I made some chicken and rice.

Jey: you ain't gon' share it?

'tf he mean was I going to share it?'

Tiana: Um, no, I wasn't planning on it. Also, how the hell am I supposed to share this with' chu, sir?

Jey: never heard of pretending?

'ight he don't gotta be smart about it.'

Tiana: I guess I can share with'chu then you look like you've been starving sir so here boy.

He smiled like a cute puppy as I pretended to give him some of my food while he pretended to eat it. It was kind of cute and funny, and we both chuckled at each other while gazing into each other's eyes. For a second, I could read his facial expression well until Bianca said something.

"Aww, y'all two look cute, girl. Honestly, y'all would be the cutest couple." Bianca said as I rolled my eyes at her.

"Girl, please don't start" I said while continuing to eat.

"Don't be denying it now, lele; you two will end up fucking each other sooner or later and then be a happy couple." I almost choked on my food when she said that, especially while I was on the phone with this man.

I could sense him smirking through the phone as he continued to play the game, and I knew he had just heard what she had said. I'm not going to lie. He was fine as hell, but I don't know where his energy is at right now.

After eating dinner, I made sure I washed my plate and put it in the dishwasher before going upstairs to my bedroom, closing the door behind me and yawning.

Jey: you finna go to sleep?

Tiana: yeah, I'm tired

Jey: What'chu doing tomorrow?

Tiana: I have like four clients tomorrow, then after that, I should be free. Why?

Jey: You wanna go out for lunch or sum

'I don't know where he's getting at with this but I like it.'

Tiana: yeah, sure, that sounds good.

Jey: Ight bet I'll see you tomorrow then.

Tiana: Goodnight Josh.

Jey: Night, mamas.

Under Your Touch.

biancabelairwwe, shelovesemma, shelovekai and 58,999 people liked your post.

tianasworld: he fixed me up quick i love it so much. 😍

biancabelairwwe: that's so cuteee I didn't even notice it I'm so happy you got it covered.

shelovesemma: 🫢 you got his name covered?

tianasworld: @ shelovesemma yeah girl I did got tired of seeing it.

shelovekai: wtf tiana 😠

tianasworld: @ shelovekai don't wtf to me nigga you might as well do the same thing. 🙎🏽‍♀️

A/N: welcome to a new storyyyy I honestly wanted to try something different and I got some inspiration from a story I read on tumblr so I hope yall enjoy this one.

Lmk in the comments below ⬇️ love yall.

Stay Ucey.

[daintyys]

somethin' stupid

fem!reader x ex!james potter, 2k words, swearing, angst, smut

second chance romance and make up sex!!! no hate towards lily in this AT ALL! i adore her i j really felt like writing james x reader🩷🩷

3 months ago, James Potter had broken up with you. You appreciated him coming clean, you really did, but it still broke you when the words "I think I'm starting to like Lily Evans" left his mouth. He hadn't cheated, or even flirted, so there was no reason for you to hate him, yet you were furious.

You tried to avoid him in the halls at all costs, even if it meant shoving someone out of your way in order to hide yourself from him. He sometimes said hi to you, and you caught him staring at you in class, but you ignored him. You knew you shouldn't hold anything against him, but still you did. You hated him. James Potter was public enemy number 1.

"Y/N! Quit studying and start getting ready, yeah?" Marlene McKinnon shouted at you. She was getting ready with Mary McDonald, and the two of them stood staring at you with crossed arms. Lily was sitting on her bed silently, not feeling particularly welcome. You hadn't spoken to her since you and James broke up, and you felt awful for ditching her. You would make that up to her tonight.

"Alright, alright, Marls. Give me a second." You shut your potions textbook, using your wand as a bookmark for the page you were reading. You stood, giving Lily a weak smile. You were so incredibly guilty.

Once you were ready, you looked at yourself in the mirror. You thought you looked pretty damn good. You had on a plaid skirt, black cardigan, and a shiny new pair of boots. You applied a layer of red lipstick, and braided your hair as you and your friends left the dormitory.

You walked beside Lily, ready to start your little apology spiel. Things hadn't even ended up working out between her and James, so you should have spoken to her 2 months ago when they decided they weren't right for each other. "Hey, Lily." You mumbled, turning to her. Her head perked up instantly. "Hi Y/N." She replied, a hurt expression on her face. "I've missed you. So much." You whispered, not wanting to get Marlene and Mary involved.

Lily took a moment to respond. When she finally did, she had tears in her eyes. "I missed you too, oh my God. I am so sorry about you and James." She hugged you tightly, and you held her close. "It wasn't your fault, Lily. It's my fault I didn't even try to get an explanation from you." She giggled into your shoulder. "Yeah, that was pretty fucking stupid."

You and Lily were fine now, and that made your night incredible. You stayed by her side all night, laughing and catching up. You and the girls were just leaving Madam Puddifoot's when you heard a loud sound behind you. Turning around, there you saw them: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and, of course, James Potter.

You then noticed a trail of light coming straight for you. "Y/N! Watch out!" James screamed. He was too late.

Bang!

Next thing you knew, you were on the ground, feeling particularly nauseous and cold. You looked around frantically as you saw your friends and the boys run over to you. You almost screamed as James Potter bent down and effortlessly picked you up.

"You won't be able to walk for a little bit, that was a leg-freezing charm." He stammered, a guilty expression on his face. "You're a real goddamn genius, Potter. Were you trying to kill us?" Marlene shouted, just about to knock all 4 of the boys out. "I didn't know it was you guys!" James boomed, holding you slightly closer to him.

You could feel his heart racing as he carried you back up to the castle. He was extremely flustered, his cheeks bright red and breathing heavily. Marlene was still going back and forth with the boys, to your dismay. You weren't surprised by their stupidity, as you had put up with it for almost 5 months when you dated James.

Once inside the castle, you were shivering profusely. "Y/N, I am so bloody sorry." James whispered in your ear, gently rubbing your arm to keep you warm. "I-It's okay, not surprised a-at all." You chattered, avoiding eye contact. He scoffed, grinning down at you. "If you don't mind, I can help you out while this wears off." He almost mouthed to you. You nodded hesitantly, not wanting to admit to yourself you still had feelings for him.

You reassured your friends that you would be just fine before you were carried off to the boy's dorm. Lily gave you a knowing smile as you disappeared up the stairs, and you tried not to laugh.

James laid you gently on his bed. You had missed it there. "Still smells like shit in here." You cringed, pulling his comforter around yourself. "Yea, guess it does." You could tell he was nervous. "What's the real reason you wanted to help me out?" You asked, an annoyed tone in your voice. James sat on the edge of the bed and looked at you briefly before turning away. "I guess I missed you." He muttered, staring down at the floor.

Your heart skipped a beat, and then your throat began to burn. Don't cry, oh fuck, don't cry. And then the tears started to stream down your face. "Oh god, oh no- Y/N, please don't cry." He scooted closer to you, putting an arm around your shoulders, which just made you cry harder. "Shhh, I'm so sorry." James comforted.

"I fucking hate you, James!" You wailed, attempting to shove him away from you. He knew better than anyone that what you needed when you were upset was comfort, so he continued holding you. "I know you do, sweetheart, and I deserve that. I hurt you." You sobbed hard, and then finally gave in. He was trying to make it up to you.

You burrowed your face in his chest, taking in his scent. You missed this. You missed his scent, and you missed how safe you felt with him. "I should have gotten you back earlier, Y/N." James cooed, stroking your hair. "Yeah, you should have." You mumbled into his chest. "It broke my heart not being able to talk to you for so long." James confessed. You calmed down, and looked up at him sadly. "I hate seeing you cry, honey. I'm not going anywhere, okay?" He promised.

"These last 3 months have been hell, James." You admitted, still letting him hold you. "Oh I know, they've been awful for me too. I should have never let you go." He said, wiping a tear from your cheek. "I was confused about my feelings for Lily and didn't know what else to do other than let you down easy." You nodded, you truly did undersand, it was just hard to accept you hadn't been the only girl on his mind. "I know, James. I also shouldn't have ignored you."

"The charm isn't going to wear off for a while, so I would maybe suggest a hot shower..." James sighed, running his hands up and down your freezing legs. "Don't try and get in my pants, James." You scowled at him. His mouth formed a wide grin. "You know that's not what I meant!" You couldn't help but giggle at him. "Yeah, I know, you just want to help me." You said as you slowly pulled off your cardigan.

You heard James' breath hitch, and he looked away from you quickly. "I'll help you to the bathroom, but I don't want to invade your privacy." He whispered, face turning beet-red. "It's nothing you haven't already seen, Jamie." You cooed.

He slowly turned back to you as you were unhooking your bra. You knew how nervous James got when you were alone together, so it felt good to get to tempt him again. His tongue flicked out of his mouth and licked his lips, now staring at you shamelessly.

You both missed this feeling, hardly being able to keep your hands off of each other. "C-Can I?" James faltered, eyeing your tits. You nodded, and without another word his mouth was sloppily kissing one of your breasts. You opened your mouth slightly and shut your eyes. This was it. This had to be the best feeling ever.

He nipped at your boob and sucked your nipple, and you felt him smile as you let out a moan. "Shit- this is really great, James, but my legs..." You trailed off. His mouth disconnected from your breath and he looked up at you with a dazed expression. "Shower then?" He suggested. You nodded, and were instantly picked up.

His hands cupped your ass and he kissed your neck desperately. James needed to be as close to you as possible. You were breathing hard, anticipating what was to come.

Once in the bathroom, you were placed temporarily on the ground while James turned on the shower. You finished undressing yourself, and waited for James to do the same. He looked down at you, a smile forming on his lips. "You're so gorgeous, Y/N." He spluttered, eyeing the bulge in his trousers.

You were one step ahead of him, and sat up straighter to unbutton his pants. He gasped quietly as you pulled his pants down, revealing his hard. "Can I, Jamie?" You said, looking up at him enticingly. He could have finished right then and there. "Yes, fuck, yes please." James whimpered.

You pulled his boxers down and immediately began to fist his cock. He held onto the counter, knuckles turning white. "Dammit, Y/N." He hissed through his teeth. "That good, hm?" You mocked, running your thumb over his tip. James breathed in sharply, and quickly took off his shirt. "Need you." He mumbled as he picked you up again, bringing you into the shower with him.

Your body relaxed as the hot water hit you. Your legs were beginning to have feeling in them, but that wouldn't matter in a few minutes. James kissed you hard, cupping your ass once more. He slipped his tongue into your mouth desperately, and you moaned in approval.

"Merlin, you're so great." He panted as he took himself into his hand. "Why do that when I'm right here, Jamie?" You asked innocently. His cock shuddered as you spoke. "You're right, love." He lined himself up at your entrance, pressing your body against the wall of the shower. "You ready?" James asked, leaning his forehead against yours. "Yes, I am." And with that he was gently pushing into you, coaxing moans from your throat.

"So good, oh shit." He whined, tickling your neck with his hot breath. He began to buck against your hips, slowly and gently. You unravled as he thrusted inside you, and clawed at his back. "Oh God, baby." You squeaked, moans falling out of your mouth.

James fucked you harder, sucking on your neck with skill comparable to a vampire. "Doing so good, love." James breathed as he noticed your legs begin to shake. "Got feeling back in your legs, hm?" He laughed. You found it so attractive how he could still joke like that while fucking you.

James started to get sloppy, his thrusts becoming offbeat and lazy. Your legs began to clench around his hips, and the walls of your pussy tightened around his cock. "Shit- gonna cum-" James pulled out of you, cumming on your stomach. You released as well, letting out a shrill moan.

You leaned your forehead against James' again, and smiled. He looked into your eyes, pupils wide and longing. "You're amazing, Y/N." He whispered, peppering your face with kisses. You giggled, and held his face in your hands. "I really missed you." You proclaimed, rubbing his cheeks with your thumbs. James nodded and set you on your feet lightly. "I'm sure I missed you more."

He cleaned his mess off of you, kissing your stomach as he did so. "Pretty girl," He cooed as he began to wash your hair. "Can we try again? At us?" You spun to face him quickly, a grin across your face. "You think I would let you shag me if I didn't still want to be in a relationship with you?" You said laughing. James went red, embarrassed. "Well, I dunno, you can be confusing." He placed his hands on your hips and pulled you closer to him, hugging you to his body, not wanting to ever let go.

[defire]

Chapter 29: Fun Times

Content: Dissociation, slavery, suicidal, caught/threats, slapping, knife cut

Next morning, Nife was forced to go back to work, despite her awful physical condition. Every step was pain as Nife limped in. She leaned into the sink and supported her weight with her elbows, picking up another plate and focusing on the scalding water.

It was better than the pain inside that reminded her of yesterday's hour of shame and agony.

Every movement sent a fresh streak of humiliation down her spine. The sense of self she'd had inside had been stripped down. It hurt to think. It hurt to imagine fighting anymore. There was the cuff, the whip, the cane, the humiliation, the chores, there was nothing left of her in her life anymore.

She was starting to slowly realize that at some point, there was only one way left to fight. The thing you're never supposed to consider.

Nife had snuck some of the pastries from the table for Iridiss, and she made herself focus on the smell as her friend slipped little bites of sweets into her mouth, careful that the servants didn't see her. Nife had planned on splitting the pastry with Iridiss, but realized when she looked at it that she wasn't hungry at all. It was slightly comforting to see Iridiss enjoying it, though. It was better than throwing it away, which is what they were supposed to do–pastries were too good for slaves, apparently. They said they didn't want the slaves getting any ideas.

Right, because slave brains only run on sweets.

The kitchen was steamy and damp as a small crowd of servants and slaves cleaned up after an uneventful breakfast. The environment reminded Nife of her nanny's stories about the tropical feeling Gapp used to have, crowded with trees and rained on generously, until the rot had begun. At some point the city was going to crumble completely, but of course the population insisted on being there when it did.

Nife had been unusually quiet, since her voice was still gravelly when she talked, and it hurt to use her throat. She hated hearing it because it reminded her of how much she'd screamed, and why.

"Sorry about yesterday," Iridiss said, rinsing off the food next to her. "I tried to keep you outta there. Cause I know y'used to hang with them."

"And nearly earned yourself a beating." Nife played along. Iridiss was making it sound like she didn’t know about everything they did to Nife before she found her broken and alone last night.

Iridiss laughed. She knew Nife well enough at this point to know she was pretty much always joking. Nife no longer had to smile to get people to laugh, which was good, because she couldn't force the corners of her mouth up any more, let alone take the dead, wet look out of her eyes. She'd passed a mirror in the hallway on the way back to work that morning, and her eyes had looked like two pits of darkness. Truly, the eyes were the windows of the soul.

"Instead, you got that lil lordling in trouble." Bud said with blissful stupidity.

"Alright, that's the last straw," Nife said. "I'm killing myself."

Bud and Iridiss laughed, and a natural smirk came to her mouth unbidden as she heard chuckles from the other slaves in the area. Her stomach ground against her.

It was starting to just get hilarious, the way nobody believed her when she was telling the truth.

A genuine, silly little chuckle shook through her body, and when she looked up at Iridiss with that smile, the other girl's shoulders relaxed.

"Oh, Life, seein ya smile." She shook her head.

Nife's shoulders lightened too, like a big load was taken off them. She began to feel a slow, but overwhelming wave of relief filling her.

"Maybe it's time to be selfish." She said out loud.

"Yeah!" Iridiss jabbed her playfully with an elbow, piling another dish into Nife's sink, which was emptying faster as her forehead relaxed and all the pain seemed to disappear from her body, which was gradually filling with both relief and adrenaline.

"If ya don't take care of yaself, nobody'll do it for ya." She said. "I'm so happy–started to really love you, ya know."

"Thanks." Nife said. She elbowed Iridiss back, who laughed again.

The laughter of the others poured joy into her heart as she felt that the end of her pain was getting closer, one way or another. A spark of light like a star shone at the end of the darkness in her mind.

At the same time, she felt a sinking in her stomach. She didn’t want to give up on what she'd had with the Souls. But it was slipping away.

A couple weeks of drudgery passed like a dreadful blur as things began to smooth into a routine for Nife. If she tried to think about how much time had passed, the despair would turn into panic. That was two more weeks of her bond with her friends dying.

It was Thursday. Nife wore herself down to exhaustion through that day, forced to do her normal allotment of work despite her injured state. Her rib had stopped hurting when she breathed, but her knee still forced her to walk with a limp, and it seemed to be stuck in a permanent state of healing and reinjury from the work she was forced to do.

Iridiss went to their quarters a little sooner than the rest of them–she was always getting on Enimee's bad side, so Nife offered to finish up in the kitchen so that she could get some extra rest. 

"Wantcha hang out after?" Iridiss said.

Nife had learned that "wantcha" was a mixture of the words "why don't you" and she loved it. She agreed to spend some time with Iridiss, knowing the girl would want someone to sit beside her on her bed, lean against, and show letters from her brother. She hurried to finish cleaning.

As Nife was on her way, she heard a word that made her hesitate and listen. The word was "evidence".

She paused in the hall just past the sitting room, slowing down and softening her steps as she did, so that they didn't hear her suddenly stop. Her pausing wouldn't be noticed, especially not by the two Banes in the living room–Striker and Creack.

"She'll give her to me if I have that evidence." Striker said. "Think about it. Me on top, you with perfect freedom to pursue every line of research you want. Wouldn't you prefer me to her?"

"Yes." Creack said.

Nife knew that Lady Wry would hurt Creack if he didn't show up to her social functions, and Creack hated socializing when he could be researching in his chambers.

"So where are they?" Striker urged. 

He wasn't audible at this point, but Nife was reading his mouth through heat, as she did so often now. She'd begun to be so good at it, she didn't always even need to hear bits of the conversation, as long as she was close enough to see them clearly. The key was to follow the tongue in their mouth, which was always much warmer than the teeth.

"But... she'll know it was me."

Striker leaned toward Creack, who flinched back, protecting his personal space.

"I'll protect you." He said. 

Creack rubbed his hand over the back of his neck, turning his head away, as he often did when he was nervous.

"Besides..." Striker said. "I can hurt you a lot worse than she ever could."

"I know." Creack said quickly, leaning back further into his seat away from Striker. "I know. It's–" He swallowed. "–I left it in his room. Second drawer. I didn't want anyone to know I'd ever found it. Everything is there exactly as it always was."

A servant came down the hall and Nife lowered her head, keeping her eyes down as the servant passed her, shoving her out of the way unnecessarily as she passed.

"Damn middle management." Nife muttered.

The minute she was out of earshot, Nife broke into a run for Keerenn's quarters. As long as Striker hadn't heard her stop, and as long as he didn't outright run to catch her, she should be able to find the evidence, hide it somewhere else, and have something she could use against Lady Wry to get her freedom.

No need to kill myself if I can get free, Nife thought.

Creack and Striker had rooms in this hall, and after passing those rooms and a large guest bedroom, Nife reached the dead man's room. She reached for the doorknob, then flinched as she realized Striker was striding up to her, impossibly fast on those long legs, looking as if it was the easiest thing in the world to walk as fast as she could jog.

[I'm not sure if I shared this drawing yet, but this is my rendition of Nife, younger, I'm not really good at consistency in my art but you get the idea]

"What are you doing, Nife?" He said. "Aren't you going to run from me?"

Nife froze. She lowered her eyes and retreated from the door, biting her lips in consternation.

"As if I could run." She said, wishing she could curse at him. "Where would I run, your lordship? The lavatory? The window?"

He just smiled and kept coming closer, those silent steps squishing in the plush hall rug.

"Well, don't go anywhere," He said. "I want you for something. You going to do as you're told this time?"

"I would never disobey your magnificence." Nife bowed slightly to conceal the deep eye-roll. "What could your lordship possibly want from me today? I am profoundly at your service."

His smile deepened slightly.

Fuck.

He'd nearly reached her. 

She found herself unconsciously retreating.

"Trying to get another step ahead of me, aren't you?" He said, grabbing her hand across the knuckles.

"Not possible, your lordship." She nodded at his long legs.

He chuckled.

"Sometimes I like you, Nife." He said.

"I'm so flattered." She said dully. "But wonderful as your company is, I have duties to attend to..."

Striker didn't let her leave, gripping tighter onto her hand until it hurt. The touch gave her a feeling of spiders down her stomach.

"By the way, what did they do to you after that dinner when you threatened Glen?" He said, pulling a key out of his pocket as he spoke. He was clumsy with his left hand. "You acted like you'd broken every bone in your body." He chuckled.

Nife shrugged.

"They respectfully asked me not to do it again, lordship," She said. "What do you think?"

Striker tilted his head back and let out a short laugh, then released her hand and trailed his fingers down her back, which was still bumpy with swelling. She hissed in breath at the touch and flinched away.

"Don't go anywhere." Striker said, unlocking the door.

He took her by the wrist and pulled her in after him, then closed the door. The first thing she noticed was the smell of rotting flesh. It nearly took her off her feet, and her eyes watered with disgust and nausea.

She looked around, eyes widening as she saw the state of the place.

When they said she'd preserved it exactly as it had been, they meant exactly. A massive brown bloodstain had colored the whole side of the rug brown, and splatters of it were all over the room and on the blanket, the wall, some on the desk. Also on the desk was a paper, clean and old, with slightly fading ink and an unusually sloppy signature on it. 

The smell of death was coming from the bed, which was messed up like someone had slept in it over and over without ever fixing it or washing the sheets.

Her eyes wandered over to the window, as they often did, and she noticed that the lock was broken and the window sill was scuffed like it had been climbed through many times. While she was making judgments on the late Keerenn Wry's habits, Striker was opening the drawer and pulling out a paper.

"It's funny," He said, eyes roving over the paper. He smiled victoriously and slid it inside his coat, then turned to her again. "Every time I'm in this room, I notice how clean that piece of paper is. Even though the desk is splattered with blood. And see the creases? It was folded into someone's pocket before being set here."

"Oh wow, the rumors are true!" Nife said.

Striker glanced at her to see if she was actually that excited, and she burst into resentful laughter at his expense.

"Everybody knows." She said.

He turned on her, moving much too close into her space–for a Bane. Time among the slaves had gotten her much more accustomed to this. She met the man’s gaze bitterly.

"What the hell do you think you know?" Striker said.

She shrugged. Then, realizing that wasn't going to be enough for him, she added,

"Even you admitted it... She killed him."

"But there's proof." He said. "Do you not understand how valuable this is to me?"

It was even more valuable to her, and the fact that he had it meant that she needed to make her move as soon as possible. But he was holding the evidence. She'd have to steal it.

"You're part of this now," He added.

"And whose fault is that?"

Striker tilted his head at her, nodding, stepped back to put the paper on the desk, and then turned back to her.

"I'm going to slap you now."

Nife couldn't suppress a small wince. Of course he was. His fingers twitched, half-raised. 

"I'm going to slap you, and then I'm going to explain why you're so important to this plan, and you're going to listen to me." He said, grabbing her by the earrings and yanking her face-to-face with him. She was close enough to see how well he took care of his skin, which was clean and well-shaven.

Then he let go and slapped her.

She kept her eyes down, clutching at her stinging cheek. It wasn't the first time she'd been slapped today for "mouthing off". 

"Getting off yet?" She murmured.

He bristled.

"Sorry." She cringed back. "I didn't mean to say it. Look, I–I'm still here. I'm not running. I'm in your plan. I’m not trying to provoke you."

He had raised a fist, but at that, he lowered it, holding his breath for a moment as if to control himself. He shook his head hard at her.

"No one can provoke me." He released his breath. "I forget you're only fifteen. You don't know anything." He sighed. “I’m not a villain, Nife; I’m trying to restore our city.”

"Well, that makes me feel better about being slapped." Nife said.

He let out a short laugh.

"I may be vicious, but at least I appreciate your humor, unlike my sister." He said. "Now, if she is convicted of murder, the estate would go to me. You'd rather have me as your master. Wouldn't you?" He added.

"...I think I'd rather die, actually."

She jumped back as Striker drew a dagger and stepped toward her, blocking the door as she was opening it, by pressing his knee against it. He came up close enough that their thighs touched and Nife felt her lip curl in resentment. He pressed the point of the dagger to the base of her throat, where it dipped in under the adam's apple.

She found a tiny chuckle of anxiety release from her as she leaned back instinctively away from the blade, chest and throat tightening so much that her voice cracked. Her shoulders and head pressed against the door. He placed a hand on her neck, thumb gently pressed against the underside of her jaw, tilting it back.

"You'd rather die?" He said.

"You only just figured out you can't control me?" She smirked bitterly. "You're slow."

He didn't answer. The ornate dagger stung as he twisted the tip, drawing blood.

"Ouch–hell." She said through gritted teeth. "Go all the way or not at all, asshole."

"I don't trust your word, so, I'll have to do this." He said. Then he spoke, and his words echoed in her mind like an undefeatable compulsion. "Don't talk about this until I tell you to."

Then he let her go. She found herself panting for breath as he wiped the dagger on the bottom of his shirt.

"Well this has been fun," She said.

"Go." He said.

She left.

She didn't talk about it, and found herself unable to. An unearthly compulsion to shut her mouth came over her when she tried. There was some twisted magic about that.

First chapter: next chapter:

Taglist: @tildeathiwillwrite @mimostic @fleur-a-whump @a-n-j-a-maria per Tumblr's content policy, this is the non-nsfw version, but you can find the canon Dance of Death on Amazon and ao3 (which I'm updating shabbily as fast as I can). Also if you want, it would mean so much to me if you leave a review or comment while you're there.

[woodsfae]

B5 s04e04 Falling Towards Apotheosis previous episode - table of contents 

I had to look up what Apotheosis meant, having only been able to draw up the vague idea of one of itstwo definitions: the highest point smething can reach. And the other, glorifying something, or someone, to the point of godhood. 

Hm, god Sheridan or god Valen?? Surely Valen became a sort of demi-god to the Minbari. Probably Sheridan? But it would be cool to see Sinclair one more time. 

Ivanova updates us on the situation via an emergency broadcast to B5. That's clever, I like that as a method of exposition/don't forget where the plot is. 

Wow, Sheridan parting the stampeding masses just by walking through. Also lol at the 90s fear of trampling. Looks like some early stage apotheosis alright. 

the credits: "The year is 2261 [...]" Partner: "If this doesn't actually happen in 2261 I'm going to be so pissed." 

Personally, I would not.

Garibaldi is suspicious of and investigating a god. Lorien is pretty strange and a very random, new element without much explanation. 

And he's having a weird time. As he says, the captain disappeared for even longer, and just says he's back from the dead and everyone's fine with him running things. But Garibaldi comes back and gets closely monitored and not allowed to return to work without multiple medical examinations despite being seemingly fine.

Well. He's wrong because he is compromised, but yeah, they also have no way of knowing that the captain isn't. More of that being venerated by the people, clearly. 

Sheridan better not get a swelled head over it, is all I'm saying. If he doesn't take his ascension with an aw shucks then is he really a wholesome side of corn-fed Iowa beef? 

Morden's still fucked up. And he's dictating defense policy on Centauri, while Cartagia blithely agrees. 

Cartagia has another secret room which I assume witll be as fucked up as his secret torture-murder chamber.  

Aaaand it is. He has a secret council where he sits in a room with the corpses of deceased members of court. Lovely. A very sane sort of thing to do, to keep oneself grounded. 

A very sane plan, Cartagia. I commend you on the whole "become a god by being the person who caused the end of Centauri while dying too" is a normal thing to want and possible to achieve.  Very unfortunately possible to achieve. And lowkey destined. 

Living the trainwreck he willfully set into motion would be satisfying if it wasn't so horrible and tragic and wide-reaching in scope and loss of life. 

Garibaldi is most likely clean of Vorlon technology impanted in him. But sadly he cannot, or does not, test if he has a secret personality implanted in him by psicorps. 

The Vorlons are going fucking murder-serious, wiping out planets, colonies, and ships. 

I suddenly wish I paid more attention to the types of clothes and colors of clothes that Delenn wears. Her red and blue outfit is vivid, and I feel like I recognize it, and she's worn it before. 

Cute Delenn and John. The sweeping romance feels well earned, and solidly set up, and the actors have really good chemistry. 

Ah! They finally mentions not-Kosh. He's still here. Sheridan wants him gone. 

Lyta! And she's here to help carry out Sheridan's plan to kill not-Kosh! Presumably while Garibaldi is off trying to kick him out without knowing about his plan as not to betray it telepathically. 

Another planet down. With all this destruction the Shadows have certainly won ideologically already. 

Y'know, I don't remember Sheridan saying "force him to leave," but Garibaldi apparently heard "fire guns at him a lot till he kicks your asses." Like, I didn't get the sense that was Sheridan's order. Luckily, no-Kosh didn't kill any of them. 

Sheridan shares information about when the Vorlons might arrive at Centauri Prime freely when Londo asks. 

Operation: Kill A God is underway. Lyta lures him out, with the fragment of Kosh that is/was in Sheridan. I don't know if the fragment of Kosh passed on when Sheridan died or not. 

not-Kosh walks into a trap of an electrical field and a couple dozen soldiers firing plasma guns. 

Although they succeed in discorporating the Vorlon, it still isn't down! 

Ah, it seems that the Kosh fragment survived! It, and a bit of Lorien, join the discorporated Vorlon, and reverberate outwards like ripples on water till they joined the Vorlon ship and exploded. Wow, Kosh literally turning on the Vorlons that are massacring in his name. At least we know Kosh didn't approve of it! Not all Vorlons :P

Londo's assassination plan is to lure Cartagia out to Narn, to have a trial for and "execute" G'Kar on his homeworld. 

John Sheridan is going to die young becase he died already, and Lorien could only give him so much biochemical energy, Yeah, younger death, but like the mildest of death sentences. That would be pretty rough as a member of a long-lived species! Counting on sixty years or more with John and already knowing you'll outlive him by a lot would make the loss of that sixty years pretty heartbreaking. 

Awwww they're being cute again. Sheridan and Delenn are engaged. I wonder what the Minbari custom is - or was that the three nights of sleeping that was interupted by puppet!Anna?

Cartagia is having G'Kar's eye "plucked out" fuck man. That's so augh. C'mon. If he must lose an eye have it be in a fight, it's just overwhelmingly negative. No one else is getting this. 

Also a bummer point to have the episode end on! It does build a sort of dread fascination though. What horrible thing is going to happen to G'Kar next episode. 

onwards!

[whumpsmith-participates]

AI-less Whumptober 2024

Day 23 - Fever

Tags/CW: emmper, fever, bedrest, sickee left alone

Jasper wasn't sure what to expect when he moved in with his boyfriend, Emmett. They'd spend plenty of sleepovers together to mostly know what to expect. Yet they both forgot to expect the unexpected.

The first morning after Jasper definitively moved in...he woke up with a fever.

"Yeesh, a hundred and two," Emmett said, showing Jasper the result on the thermometer's display.

Jasper could only manage a groan. He couldn't read the display at all without his glasses, but he felt miserable enough to believe Emmett that his fever was beginning to get close to a severe grade.

"I don't think mom will let me stay home from school unless I had the fever," Emmett said, "but I can call Evan to ask if I can stay home tonight?"

Jasper nodded. He could probably sleep through most of the day in his state, but he did not want to be alone during the night as well.

"You won't be completely alone," Emmett said, evoking suspicions of being a mind-reader, "mom doesn't leave for work until noon, and my sister usually has the afternoon off today. So if you need anything, just shout, okay? Oh! And otherwise Cream can keep you company!"

He picked up his cat, not seeing the death-stare she gave Jasper. Emmett just thought Jasper was being dramatic when he said he felt like his cat was plotting to kill him. He chalked it up to the fact that Jasper didn't have any pets growing up, so he didn't know how to interpret a cat's body language and expressions yet.

Jasper thought he was absolutely justified in his suspicions. Ever since he began visiting Emmett's house, the cat had always managed to attack him and get away with it every single time. She hissed at him, clawed at him, would walk up to him just to smack him, and she only did it when Emmett had his back turned, or wasn't in the room.

If Jasper didn't know any better he would almost suspect her of poisoning him, though he had to admit she had been warming up a bit more to him. Or at least she began tolerating his presence, only attacking him if he invaded her personal space, and otherwise just plain ignoring him.

And sure enough, when Emmett placed Cream on the bed so she could keep Jasper company, she pretty much immediately hopped off and went to lay down on the windowsill instead.

"Well," Emmett said, "at least you can look at her?"

"Emmett...you're gonna be late for school," Jasper said, pulling the covers up a bit as he began shivering.

"One time won't hurt!" Emmett insisted, "let me grab you an extra blanket!"

Jasper just rolled onto his side and got comfortable, vaguely registering Emmett tucking him in with an extra blanket, a soft kiss being pressed on the top of his head, and then...silence. Peace and quiet.

He did end up sleeping through most of the day. Emmett's mom occasionally checked in on him, leaving him cups of tea and crackers. When Emmett's sister came home she popped her head in to give him some orange juice, and even Emmett's little brother stopped by for a visit, giving him one of his plushies before being shooed out the room when Emmett finally arrived home.

"I'm sorry about him, he means well," he said, closing the door behind his brother.

"He said I can borrow his Creeper until I feel better," Jasper said, showing the green plushie Emmett's brother had left behind.

"That's nice," Emmett said, "I hope he didn't wake you up for it though."

"I-it's fine," Jasper quickly said, "can you...c-can you take my temperature again?"

"Do you feel worse than this morning?" Emmett asked, gently putting his hand on Jasper's forehead, before comparing with his own temperature.

"K-kinda," Jasper admitted, "I feel...weak."

"Aw, Jaspie..." Emmett said, giving him a sympathetic look, before trying to find the thermometer between the half-finished cups of tea and underneath a pack of opened yet seemingly untouched crackers.

After getting Jasper settled with the thermometer, he cleaned up the nightstand. Taking all the half-finished cups and taking them downstairs, before returning with some soup that his mom had left on the stove, which his father had been heating up for Jasper.

"Lookie what I found~" he said, putting the bowl on the nightstand, and taking the thermometer from Jasper after it beeped.

"....how bad is it?" Jasper asked.

"A hundred and three," Emmett said, "I'm gonna call Evan."

He stepped out to take his call, not wanting to bother Jasper too much, and honestly? Jasper felt like he fell asleep again while Emmett was out. Feeling like he'd only just left when he already returned with a disappointed expression on his face.

"The good news," he started, "I only have to stay for half a shift. The bad news is I do have to come in to work after dinner."

Jasper nodded in understanding. He didn't want Emmett to leave him alone again, but he also knew his work was pretty important, and it'd be unfair to demand his full attention.

Besides, it was especially hard to complain when Emmett went through the trouble of spoon-feeding him his soup. He also grabbed him extra water, another extra blanket, and gave him lots of kisses.

"I wish I didn't have to go." he said with a sigh, "Just try and get some rest while I'm out, okay? Do you want me to bring you anything back on the way home?"

Jasper tiredly shook his head.

"Just...get home safe," he said, weakly squeezing his hand a bit.

"Of course I will," Emmett promised, pressing a kiss on his hand, "and at least at work you can call me whenever. Or just shout if it's urgent, okay?"

Jasper nodded, before reluctantly letting go as Emmett got up to leave for work.

This time 'round, Jasper didn't have an easy time falling asleep. He was either sweating profusely or shivering as if he was severely hypothermic. He didn't have the energy to remove or add any blankets, so he just suffered through each stage, knowing things would flip around soon.

He used his limited energy to toss and turn, occasionally managing to sit up enough to take a few sips of water, before tiredly collapsing back on his pillow. He tried checking the time on his phone, but everything was so blurry and his brain refused to process any useful information.

He put his phone away again, sniffling quietly. Rationally, he knew crying was a normal sickness behaviour. It always happened at least once or twice whenever he ran a fever, but it always deeply upset him in the moment itself. He worried about overreacting, then he worried about overreacting about possible overreacting, and before he knew it his thoughts spiralled.

He felt lonely, and he felt guilty for feeling lonely. He wanted company, but he didn't want to inconvenience anyone. He wanted to call Emmett, but he didn't want to distract him from work by making him worry. He wanted to stop shivering, but he didn't want to start sweating as a result. He just wanted this stupid fever to be over.

"Meow..."

Jasper wiped the tears out of his eyes with a sob, peering at the foot of the bed, just as Cream hopped onto the mattress. She sniffed the blanket near his feet first, before stalking towards him. Jasper was immediately alert, wondering if she was going to take this chance to randomly attack him again, but to his surprise she didn't pounce at his hand.

She stopped briefly, sniffing at his fingers, before stepping over his arm and curling up beside him. Jasper nearly started crying all over again, shakily reaching out and gently petting her back. She didn't ambush him with an attack, she didn't even give him a disgruntled meow or a death stare.

No.

She started purring.

When Emmett finally got home, he had to sneak into his own bedroom. Jasper had finally fallen asleep again, and he didn't want to wake him up. The dried-up tear tracks on his cheeks weren't lost on him, but Emmett wasn't going to wake him up just for that.

Besides, he was quite tired himself. So he just kicked off his shoes, and took off the rest of his clothes, deciding he didn't need pyjamas with so many blankets on the bed. Just his underwear would probably be warm enough at this rate.

He carefully got into bed, trying his hardest not to wake Jasper, when he noticed something...was off. As he carefully got comfortable, he could hear a pleading little meow coming from...under the covers?

He carefully lifted the blankets, tucking his head in and using his phone screen to be able to see, and he nearly squealed in delight when he saw what had happened. Jasper was cuddling with Cream. He had an arm wrapped around her, trapping her underneath the blanket, much to her chagrin. She only accepted to be held by Emmett, but it seemed Jasper, in his sleepy and feverish state, hadn't given her a choice.

"Thank you for looking after him," Emmett whispered, before gently lifting Jasper's arm a bit so Cream could finally squirm free.

However, instead of running away entirely, Cream stubbornly curled up between their pillows, yawning before tucking her head in and continuing to purr softly.

@ailesswhumptober

Emmett, Her Majesty Creamsicle Sherbet Sorbet III, and Evan (mentioned) belong to @illustriousshadow

Masterlist Main account

In which Jasper moves in for real for real when Cream finally accepts him.

[dol1isa]

but then i just:

What is wrong with me? Please just tell me so I can get better. I don't wanna end up like Mama I wanna be dancing up on the screen like the pretty girls in the pictures. I want what they have so badly... to be perfect... to be loved by as many people as possible to make up for all my time spent suffering. Sometimes I wake in the middle of the night and a fear washes over me 'cause what if this is it? What if this is right where I belong? I'm a failure. I'm not pretty, or naturally pleasant, or friendly. I'm not smart, or funny, or confident. I'm exactly what Mama said I was: weak. But I don't know why. What did I do? Why wasn't my family like yours? I hate what it feels like to be me and not you. I'm so scared that when you finally come home you'll see me and be frightened like everyone else is. I know what I've done. Bad things. Terrible, awful, murderous things. I regret them now, but I liked how they felt. I wish I didn't, but I did. At first, it was only animals smaller than myself. Nothing with feelings, nothing that could hurt me back. Felt good. Killing's easier than you'd think. 'Til recently; with Mama and the boy from the picture house - they were different. They were more meaningful. I hurt them so they too might know what it feels like to suffer, but poor Daddy didn't deserve that. I wish I hadn't done what I did. Mama meant well. She had a hard life. She only wanted a home to feel safe in, I can see that. I thought I hated her, but I just wanted to feel safe too. My Lord. I made such a mess of things. I don't know how much more I can take. I need to clean this up. All of it. I need to make things right before you see me again. Maybe if I could turn this farm into a home just like you wanted, things will finally be different. I can forgive. I can be who you want me to be. If you'll just stay with me. Would you do that, please? I can't be all by myself anymore. It's too hard.

[psycho-king]

Howard... I hate you so much for leaving me here, sometimes I hope you die. I'm sorry. I feel awful admitting that, but it's the truth. I was curious about other men. I'm sure you don't want to hear about a stranger satisfying your wife, and I swear it was only once. It was a mistake. It wasn't him that I wanted. I know that now. And I wish things could just go back to the way they were before, but I don't see how they could, not after the things I've done. Honestly, there was a time I was flattered to have someone as handsome as you pine over me. You're such a good person. I made sure to always be mindful with your heart. I never wanted you to feel jealous. It's an awful feeling like a rot, the way it just twists and turns at your insides. I know that aching so well. I feel it whenever I see others whose lives come easy because the truth is, I'm not really a good person. All my life, I've wanted off this farm and you were my ticket out. So... I made sure to never let you see who I really was. It worked like a charm. Then when you finally brought me to your home to meet your family, it was just as I hoped. A life straight out of the pictures. And you didn't want it. You just wanted to stay here on our farm, and that made me so angry. How could you? I'm certain you knew I hated it, you must've. How could you be so selfish and cruel after all I've done to make you happy? I was even pregnant with your baby. I never wanted to be a mother. I loathed the feeling of it growing inside me. It felt like sickness. Pulling and sucking on me like some needy animal in a barn. How could I be responsible for another life? Life terrifies me. It's harsh, and bleak, and draining. I was so relieved when it died. It was one less weight keeping me trapped here, but then the war came and you left me, too. Why did you leave me, Howard? I hate feeling like this. So pathetic. Do people like you ever feel this way? I figure you don't. You seem so perfect all the time. Lord must've been generous to you. He never answers any of my prayers. I don't know why. What did I do? What is wrong with me? Please, just tell me so maybe I can get better. I don't want to end up like Mama. I want to be dancing up on the screen like the pretty gals in the pictures. I want what they have so badly, to be perfect, to be loved from as many people as possible to make up for all my time spent suffering. Sometimes I wake in the middle of the night and the fear washes over me, 'cause what if this is it? What if this is right where I belong? I'm a failure. I'm not pretty or naturally pleasant, or friendly. I'm not smart, or funny, or confident. I'm exactly what Mama said I was, weak. I don't know why. What did I do? Why wasn't my family like yours? I hate what it feels like to be me and not you. I'm so scared that when you finally come home, you'll see me and be frightened like everyone else is. I know what I've done, the bad things, terrible, awful, murderous things. I regret them now, but I liked how they felt. I wish I didn't, but I did. At first, it was only animals smaller than myself. It felt good. Killing's easier than you think, till recently with Mama and the boy from the picture house. They were different. They were more meaningful. I hurt them so they too might know what it feels like to suffer, but poor Daddy didn't deserve that. I wish I hadn't done what I did. Mama meant well. She had a hard life. She only wanted a home to feel safe in. I thought I hated her, but I just want to feel safe, too. Lord... I made such a mess of things. I don't know how much more I can take. I need to clean this up. I need to make things right before you see me again. Maybe if I can turn this farm into a home for us like you wanted, things will finally be different. I can forgive. I can be who you want me to be if you'll just stay with me. Would you do that, please? I can't be all by myself anymore. It's too hard. We can love each other. I'll do that for you if you really meant all that "till death do us part." It'd be enough, just you and me here. All I really want is to be loved.

[fanofspooky]

365 horror movies day 302:

PEARL

“Oh, Howard. I realize how this all must sound. Honestly, there was a time I was flattered to have someone as handsome as you pine over me. You're such a good person, I know that. I made sure to always be mindful with your heart. I never wanted you to feel jealous. It's an awful feeling like a rot the way it just twists and turns at your insides. I know that aching so well. I feel it.. whenever I see others whose lives come easy because.. the truth is I'm not really a good person. I was pregnant with your baby. I never wanted to be a mother. I loathed the feeling of it growing inside me. Felt that sickness. Pulling, sucking on me like some needy animal in a barn. How could I be responsible for another life? Life terrifies me. It's harsh, and bleak, and draining. I was so relieved when it died. It was one less weight keeping me here but then the war came and you left me too. Why did you leave me, Howard? I hate feeling like this. It's so pathetic. Do people like you ever feel this way? Figure you don't... you seem so perfect all the time. Lord must have been generous to you. He never answers any of my prayers. I don't know why. What did I do? What is wrong with me? Please just tell me so I can get better. I don't wanna end up like Mama I wanna be dancing up on the screen like the pretty girls in the pictures. I want what they have so badly... to be perfect... to be loved by as many people as possible to make up for all my time spent suffering. Sometimes I wake in the middle of the night and a fear washes over me 'cause what if this is it? What if this is right where I belong? I'm a failure. I'm not pretty, or naturally pleasant, or friendly. I'm not smart, or funny, or confident. I'm exactly what Mama said I was: weak. But I don't know why. What did I do? Why wasn't my family like yours? I hate what it feels like to be me and not you. I'm so scared that when you finally come home you'll see me and be frightened like everyone else is. I know what I've done. Bad things. Terrible, awful, murderous things. I regret them now, but I liked how they felt. I wish I didn't, but I did. At first, it was only animals smaller than myself. Nothing with feelings, nothing that could hurt me back. Felt good. Killing's easier than you'd think. 'Til recently; with Mama and the boy from the picture house - they were different. They were more meaningful. I hurt them so they too might know what it feels like to suffer, but poor Daddy didn't deserve that. I wish I hadn't done what I did. Mama meant well. She had a hard life. She only wanted a home to feel safe in, I can see that. I thought I hated her, but I just wanted to feel safe too. My Lord. I made such a mess of things. I don't know how much more I can take. I need to clean this up. All of it. I need to make things right before you see me again. Maybe if I could turn this farm into a home just like you wanted, things will finally be different. I can forgive. I can be who you want me to be. If you'll just stay with me. Would you do that, please? I can't be all by myself anymore. It's too hard.”

[dyslexicandakeyboard]

Very unpopular opinions about Gone Girl (the film because it's very different from the book).

Nick didn't feel remorse for cheating on Amy. The shit he said in the interview was a ploy to get her out of hiding to clear his name. He was manipulating her. Nothing he said in that interview was truthful (like I'm pretty sure he later admits)

Amy was a ticking time bomb. There were already hints that Amy was dropping her Cool Girl persona since they moved to Missouri. Even if Nick didn't cheat, sooner or later, she would have gone-girl-ed his ass.

Nick also had the equivalent of a Cool Girl persona. The recession led him to drop it.

Amy telling Nick she got her parents out of debt with her trust fund mirrors when Nick moved them to Missouri. With out consulting the other party and not letting them voice their opinion. It showed that they both contributed to the unhealthiness of the relationship.

Amy was always in control of the relationship, especially when things were going to shit. She owned his job, probably the house and controlled all the finances. Pretty sure Nick's whole upset with the prenup thing is that Amy does control the finances.

Desi Collings is just like Amy just in a different font.

Nick was not as bad as Amy IN THE MOVIE. I know, crucify me. He's a cheat, lazy, has no ambitions, slightly misogynistic, sleeps with his student who is half his age. But, none of these are crimes (Andie was over the age of consent but's it's immoral. He's a pig). Amy commits crimes and wastes police resources. She kills a man not in self-defence, fakes a rape accusation, (tries to) frames Nick for kidnapping and murdering her, stole his sperm and impregnated herself. Plus, she's also slightly misogynistic and classist. Movie!Nick and Movie!Amy are not comparable. Yes, they are both awful people but Amy defiantly is the worst. Book Nick seems to be just as bad. Again book doesn't equal movie.

Amy was always a psychopath saying Nick drove her to psychopathy or any other version of this is quite dumb ngl and ignores Tommy O'Hara. Hell, her actions with Tommy makes me even more sure even if Nick didn't cheat she still would have punished him.

I truly believe Nick did want to leave her. It is said by Amy herself that she knew he wanted a divorce. Nick was shown to want to leave during the end of the movie. Literally, the only reason he stayed was because of the child, the whole outrage that would follow (Interestingly, this could be seen as Nick's own preoccupation of controlling his image).

Amy is the more unreliable narrator compared to Nick mainly due to Nick having a voice of reason, Margo, while Amy doesn't. (Unless I'm under his spell. But I don't think so because I hate Ben in the DCEU and that colors my perception across franchises. Came into this movie full expected to hate Nick as much as Amy or more so but left surprised.)

While I understand uprooting one's life and moving across the country with out the other partners input is quite upsetting and can make you feel like shit. A person was dying. Amy's feelings are valid but like. Cancer? Taking care of dying mother? Amy expected Nick to be OK with a huge financial decision to help her parents, make some allowance. Rubbed me the wrong way. I'm a family gal.

Amy may have loved Nick at one point, kinda like Nick loved Amy at one point, but she ultimately sees relationships and love as a form of winning. This seems to stem from her childhood as she was always one step behind Amazing Amy. All her mistakes were washed away clean in Amazing Amy and sold to the masses. Everyone could see just would Amy couldn't do. Because of this, Amy doesn't see herself as a person as much as a character in a story, expect this time she controls it. She's going to have a picture perfect marriage and thus life. Thus she wins at life. This is also very half-baked and formed by one watch of the movie.

Amy wasn't abused by Nick. Amy fictionalized most of their life in Missouri(She's an unreliable narrator). Like it was revealed that Nick hated Amy and that he wanted kids while Amy didn't. The whole "Let's have kids" fight seems very improbably with this information. Unless I'm under Nick's influence. Plus, Amy doesn't seem that afraid of Nick even when he is violent with her.

The Cool Girl monologue while hits some true points to the idea that society values woman to change themselves to be picked by a man. But it also implies a heteronormative society, implies that woman absolutely cannot like shit like football on their own as they are only doing it for men, acts as if liking things are unnatural for woman, makes sexist judgment of random woman she literally passes who are hopefully living their best life, and is sex negative.

preemptive warning because fandoms can be really toxic for some reason. Don't interact if you don't like.

[theworldvsyoshiko]

Finally, the ship launches.

I love that it lists them in boarding order. Obviously Terror Bird 1 is the most important here. Augustus, of course, is Lewis's pet rhino.

Altogether, it took five years and 12 days for Umeko to make her way off the planet. I think it's safe to say that wherever they end up will be better than this shithole.

The final state of affairs:

First off, research:

There is none.

Throughout the entire trip, they managed to research Pemmican and Noble Attire (for the stupid beret that the religious leader would want, if they'd gotten enough people to need one.) They spent a long time trying to research Microelectronics before I realized that it wasn't going to be finished in time to matter, then switched them to Firefoam. They got about halfway through by the end.

There just isn't a lot of time for research with such a small group of nomads. There are other priorities, like 'sleeping under a roof' and 'not being killed by bandits.'

Umeko Keith

Umeko's pretty overall competent now, at a 6+ in every skill but art, intellectual, and mining. That's pretty damn solid for only five years and considering all the crap she had to deal with. She's old enough to drink now, in some theoretical society where it isn't normal for 13 year olds to have a beer after work. And... still wearing that alpaca leather backpack she made in like her first week.

As a fairly well-augmented cyborg with 19 Shooting, Umeko's actually really good at this. Over the final year or so, she's handled some raids by herself while everyone else slept. If it weren't for her mediocre gear and lack of psychic powers, she'd be a near-Yoshiko-tier combat monster. My little girl's all grown up...

Umeko's crush on Choco has rebounded to full power, so perhaps she'll talk Choco into giving girls a chance some day. Out there. Among the stars. She's still super close with Lewis, too, although they've been too busy to hang out over the past half-year or so, and their relationship has suffered a bit as a result.

Lewis McLaughlin

I've downplayed Lewis's contributions a bit thanks to his horrible childhood education, but he hasn't turned out awful or anything. He's good with guns, animals, research, and plants, and that's not a bad spread. The fact that he's not good at construction or medicine been a bit of an advantage in its own right, because it left him as the one hauling corpses and cleaning while everybody else was dealing with necessities. It's not glamorous work, but it desperately needed to be done.

And I'll be honest, not sure this would have gone well if the group didn't have his trained rhinos to use as bullet sponges. The fact that they managed to save the one he bonded with is a miracle.

Lewis likes everyone! Even Vaov, whom Umeko and Choco are still suspicious of. Lewis is also straight and old enough that he considers them all valid romantic partners, so he's spent a lot of time asking girls out only to get turned down. He'll find somebody some day, I'm sure.

Curca Choco

Choco has practically been the main character for this last segment. I don't know if it's the fact that she has slightly better armor than the others or if she's just been lucky, but either way, she's walked out of almost every fight unharmed, often when everybody else is at risk of bleeding out or outright collapsed on the ground. Shooting/Medical is a good combination for the raid onslaught. Plus, the thing about Psychopath letting her drag corpses around with fewer penalties.

Because of that, though, she's pretty neutral on the others. Her opinion of literally everybody is between -5 and 0... the -5s being for people she had to turn down for dates recently, of course. Like I said before, everyone wants Choco.

Jedtchvozz Vaov

Vaov's by far the newest member, but she's gotten good at stuff in a hurry... partially because Umeko bought a pile of skilltrainers on that last shopping trip. Impid fire breath would usually be a great trump card for hard fights, but since this group never figured out firefoam and was usually living in wooden bases, I was saving it for an emergency.

Vaov likes everyone else decently enough, but only Lewis likes her back. She's crushing on both Umeko and Choco, but it wasn't meant to be.

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

The kids leave behind an, uh, interesting

and colorful

base for some future group of scavengers to find.

It's basically move-in ready. 38 kg of leftover pemmican, a bunch of guns, four bedrooms, a rec room that... isn't as good as it used to be, but hardly has any rhino blood now.

Looking back, I like how you can see the cycle of colonies... and the way that the last colony's value constantly climbed, rather more steeply than the others, thanks to the influx of raider loot.

That big dip in the next-to-last colony is when Umeko stepped out to give all of the colony's money and leftover trade goods away. That got them two allies, by the way. You'll notice that it didn't help a fucking bit in the final raids.

[kariachi]

I've said before that if they wanted to do the whole 'will they won't they' from the start with Kevin and Gwen, they already had a perfectly good reason for him to have not asked her out by the start of All That Glitters- she already shut him down.

From Kevin's pov, he flirted with her, she made it clear she wasn't interested (not surprising, he did try to kill her cousin), and then a few days later she's coming up to him going 'why haven't you asked me out yet, you like me, I like you, so why haven't you asked me out'.

And I just think it'd be cool to see a version of their story that utilizes that. Where Kevin says 'because you weren't interested before' and then continues to not ask her out, openly because 'what happens in another few days when you change your mind again'.

Because her opinion changed pretty damn fast, and from the start she puts it on him to intuit that and change course appropriately, and do it immediately.

Think it would be an interesting shift in the situation, becoming less an 'Kevin still hasn't asked Gwen out, we mean really-' and more 'is Gwen really that interested in Kevin, why, and how does she communicate that before expecting him to act accordingly'.

Fuck, you could even bring whatever's going on with Kevin that he didn't ask her out in canon, actually have an episode where the issue comes up and gives us that shit being acknowledged. Gwen can be respectful and supportive, something that can soothe some of Kevin's concerns. Put it a few episodes before they actually get together, make it so Kevin actually does ask her out. Could go with the old classic 'guy runs himself ragged trying to fix problems without his date knowing about them because he wants her to have The Best Time', as long as everything's come clean in the end it always makes for a nice little plot and would serve as a bit of a counterbalance for the work Gwen had to put in prior, a bit of proof that Kevin is worth it, though really the show should have been showing that over the course of the subplot anyway. Not just 'Gwen's going to the effort because she likes him' but 'Gwen's putting in the effort because he keeps showcasing traits that she thinks are worth the effort'.

Show me why she's so damn intent on getting him for herself, despite everything. Fuck, show me why Kevin is so interested besides 'pretty girl' prior to the next series. But especially show that shit for Gwen because even in canon she's gunning hard for a guy who kidnapped her and tried to murder her cousin. And in canon he's throwing out misogynist shit too that doesn't seem to do anything but fuel her fire.

Like, this would be the perfect opening to add in some shit to show that she doesn't just have awful taste.

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for preventing a student of mine from receiving malware meant to manipulate him?

I (40sM) am a lieutenant in the US military, and a programming instructor. I teach future combatants to program the computers in their brains. I also have one of those computers.

Now there's this kid T (M16-17). We've had a rocky relationship, but we're connected by my complete hatred of V (M60s) and his special ability.

See T can interface with any technology at will as long as he can connect to it. This kind of ability seems to be relegated to him, and a friend of his. I know T very well at this point, he's arrogant, and gets himself into situations that require me to clean up after him.

I do this because I dont want V getting to him. (I also want to use this ability for my own purposes). The kid wants that too after V locked him outside in Antarctica. Long story.

I thought if V got to him, he would simply figure out how to replicate the ability so he could use it through someone more trustworthy. T isn't trustworthy. He doesn't listen to people. But V could always just program the computer in T's head to force T to do what he says. He wouldn't even need to capture the kid to do that.

So a while ago. I decided to prevent that. If any reprogramming software entered T's processor, it would delete it, and then lock any incoming code until I personally unlocked it. If V tried to hack T again. It would kill him. The only thing i couldn't lock was memories. I couldn't just kill the kids long term memory just for this.

I thought this would help T.

But it didn't.

V got a hold of T, using his father against him- and he went missing. At the beginning I managed to reach him through a connection in our computers. And explained to him the situation. T just had to make sure that V would never be able to give T's processor commands. It's a pretty complicated concept. But it could lead to V being able to direct anything that processor did. Including interfacing. I told him to hold out. And we would find him.

A year and a half pass.

During this time. V managed to get less secure versions of our computers out to the entire populace. Now they all are compelled to follow the law. V has complete control over the populace, and I know he will do worse.

We finally managed to get T back, with his friend M(F???) Who also could interface. We knew T and V were in the system so she managed to get into their processors and speak to T for a few seconds.

I didn't get filled in on this. But a few hours later. T escaped. And we repossessed him. And well. He wasn't the same. Of course he wasn't.

The things that happened to T were unacceptable. V groomed the kid over that year and a half into an entirely different person, forcing T to develop an alter, and instilling helplessness, using isolation and memory tampering to do so.

The kid is very obviously traumatized. And he won't be getting over it very soon. Which is bad. Because we have a world to save.

I've done a lot of awful things. But I feel. So deeply in the core of my being. That this is my fault. That T would have been better off dead, or reprogrammed. That my own countermeasures lead to T going through this horrible horrible thing.

AITA? I think i am.

[thesevenwondersofawitch]

Chucky s1e8, An Affair to Dismember

I feel so bad for Tiffany when both Chucky's are ignoring her, but it's hilarious how she mentions Chucky(as Nica) gets dick too

I love how Tiffany tells both of them that neither of them know how to treat a lady and that they're no man😂😂

HOW DARE YOU SAY SHE ISN'T A LADY? SHE IS THE LADY YOU ASSHOLE

Junior is me tho (watching as Tiffany slaps Chucky) LIKE GET IT GIRL!!

The way Tiffany knows it's Nica immediately 🥺

And tells Chucky Nica at least respects her (respect/fear, same thing)

Oh no, the way Tiffany's face changes as Chucky apologizes, she knows that he's up to something 🥺🥺

Oh no, the way Tiffany realizes what Chucky's asking her to do and she tries to come up for a reason he'll understand to get him to let Nica live🥺

Her face looks so heartbroken when she starts to get her file and is crying saying she'll do it for him but she doesn't want to do it🥺😭

Her sobbing as she apologizes to Chucky that she can't go through with it and kill Nica🥺

NOOOOO she moved out of the way so Junior could do it😭😭

Tiffany just immediately jumping into action to kill Chucky just before Junior can kill Nica🥺😂

Nah dude, you're upside down😂

I'm cackling right with her 😂😂

Yeah dude, trust the blood covered nail file welding lady over the doll, she's honestly wayyyyyy more scary (and I love that for her)

OOOOO CHUCKY'S FACE WHEN SHE SAID HE HAD A LITTLE DICK😂😂😂😂😂

Ooooooooo she's the one who called the cops on him the night he died?! (Idk why I'm shocked

One of me's gonna get

Tiffany *dropping Chucky's head*: Mic drop

^ a true queen

Poor Nica 🥺

'Aunty Nica' honestly I wish I was in Junior's position rn with Tiffany/Jennifer telling me what to do

Oh my god I love how she lights up when talking about Glenda🥺❤️

I wonder if her weapons are in the suitcase 🤔

Welp, it is a weapon

Junior is traumatized

Oh no, he's just staring at his very own Chucky doll😂

Tiffany has definitely dealt with the twins adopting/taking random things with how she's just like yes, Junior you can keep him but you gotta clean up after him

I want a makeup container that shoots lasers, that's so cool

Oh god, poor kid is still in the house damn🥺

Well he's gonna need a lot of therapy (a headless doll body going to kill him)

Oh Andy you and your head collection 👀🙄😂

Nooooooooooo Kyle🥺🥺🥺

Well, at least there'll be a blank slate for Tiffany to rebuild a house, she's pretty smart about saving money that way

I forgot that Lexy and Jake were drugged and was wondering how they could sleep while their friend/boyfriend was in trouble

Oh noooo they think Devon died😭😭😭

Aw the way Jake was crying and then Devon appeared and they ran to each other 😭😭

Oh no, Poor Andy and Kyle 😭(I hope they're as hard to kill as Chucky)

Tiffany is so iconic I wanna hug her sm

Junior don't hurt Lexy😭

I totally wouldn't put it past Jennifer Tilly to have a whole collection of Good Guy dolls in addition to her Belle one😂

Oh Tiffany is totally the one who'd teach children to do crime

What Frankenstein

The way that Lexy's mom is finally appreciative of her husband 🥺 good for them

Oh noooooooo! Lexy's dad is dead😭😭😭

SHE DIDN'T CHECK THE POPCORN BEFORE SHE ATE IT? ( I am so glad I always do that)

Welp, thanks Chucky, now I gotta check under the seat in movie theaters

Poor Caroline doesn't know her dad is dead😭😭 her little voice asking what about her daddy (to come with them)😭

The way Lexy is telling Junior why she's loved him😭

Nooooooo Junior 😭😭😭

Poor guy is just another victim of his circumstances 😭(he made a choice, but still it was sad to see him die)

Damn Jake, you can kill him with your bare hands🥺

Oof, Chucky may not be a homophobic monster, but he still is from a time when they liked to say that something was so gay

Wait, so is Lexy's mom also dead? I thought she died at Christmas time?

Oh ok so she's alive gotcha

Tiffany saying she'll kill the driver if he's late, laughing and then more quietly saying she wasn't kidding as she walks away is hilarious 😂

Andy is out here doing good work with what his trauma gave him

I lowkey thought he was gonna drive the car into Tiffany's car😂😂

TIFFANY THE DOLL NOT THR PERSON 😂😂😂 I love it😂

Oh nooo, Nica🥺

Tiffany's right that girls have gotta advocate for themselves

Tiffany babe, I love you, but that was cruel even for you to subject Nica to more pain, even though Chucky is terrifying 🥺😭

Well it's good the science teacher is free again, she seemed cool

Those poor kids😭

Oh they're being watched, 💯

Chucky chilling in front of the fire is fabulous 😂 the kill count😂 poor kitty tho, Binxy deserved better 😭