#They looks like a lion from the way I drew them X''D

[yore-donatsu]

Training sketches to know to draw the Omnic “Moses” and... I had fun giving it more human expressions (the ironyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy !🤣)

[wooahaes]

the (not-so-subtle) doting kind

pairing: non-idol!mark lee x fem!reader

genre: fluff. established relationship au.

warnings: food mentions. mark being a very doting bf on his gf's bday.

word count: 2.4k~ dont look at me when u compare this one to all the other bday fics

daisy's notes: what if i want him :(

For whatever reason, your birthday wasn’t a happy day for you… So Mark resolved to treat you normally. And if “normally” involves him doting on you the way he does when you have bad days, then so be it.

He tucked stray strands of hair away from your face when he saw you begin to stir. He’d say one thing to you, just to show you that he remembered. So he leaned in, lips pressing against your own. “Good morning. Happy birthday, baby,” he said, voice still a little hoarse from sleep. “Are we still going to get breakfast?”

“Mmhm.” You drew him back in for another sleepy kiss, only to draw him closer. You snuggled in, eyes fluttering shut as you dropped your head into his shoulder. “Morning…”

He giggled. Most mornings, he’d tease you a little with some sort of “my sleepy girl,” but he settled in instead. He peppered your skin with kisses, just to hear that slightly-annoyed groan as you finally opened your eyes. His lips pressed against yours one final time before drawing back. 

“Good morning,” he said again, thumb grazing the apple of your cheek.

Despite the slight annoyance at being woken up fully now, you sat up and stifled a yawn. The moment you went to move out of bed, you felt Mark’s fingers poke into your sides. You let out a strangled grunt, playfully shoving away at his hands as he giggled. He came up behind you, pressing a long kiss against your neck before moving to search through the closet. It became obvious soon enough what he was doing, always trying to find a way to tease you to make you smile. Eventually you swatted him away from you, and he laughed that goofy laugh before getting dressed, too. He kept waiting around, watching you as you looked through your options before settling on something. Of course, it was one of the things you owned that Mark didn’t have something he could use to match with you… But he could improvise. He stood back, watching you (half-admiring, half-studying) before going into his side of your shared closet. 

When he stepped out in a patterned shirt that mainly featured the same color as the shirt you were wearing, he saw the way you gave him a little once over before going back to packing your things into a bag. “You look cute.”

Mission accomplished. Mentally, he put a little sunglasses emoji guy right next to the thought. 

After a quick breakfast out, the two of you ended up wandering around the mall for the day. He held your hand the entire time, always pointing out something cool or something he thought you’d look good in. Today was your day, which meant he couldn’t play. You wanted something? He was already getting his card out. He’d been saving specifically so that he could spoil you on your birthday, and he was intent on carrying that out.

“Don’t worry, baby,” he said with this cute smile, “I got you.” 

It always earned some sort of playful eye roll or snort as you thanked him, always drawing out the words to tease him. He was obvious, but that was fine with him. What was the point of days like birthdays and holidays if he couldn’t spoil you a little? He carried your bags for you, too, ever the gentleman. Yet he was the one who slowed down, hand holding yours tight enough to tug you back, when the two of you were outside of a toy store. He pointed out two little lion plushies right next to one another.

“Babe. Baby.” He didn’t take his eyes off of them. “It’s us.” 

You’d giggled a little over it. “Pretty sure those are two male lions, Mark.” 

He turned back to you. “What?” Then he looked at them again, fully registering the bright orange manes that both of them wore. “Right. Still… We could still find a lioness. C’mon.” He tugged you toward the entrance, only to stop. “Unless you don’t wanna—”

“We can go places you wanna go, Mark,” you said, already making your way into the store. “Let’s go find a lioness.” 

You’d been insistent on paying for and carrying that bag, and Mark let the issue drop. Gentlemanly as he was, his hand was getting a little tired carrying all your bags… and it’d be rude to turn it into an issue when it wasn’t. You did end up taking the bags from him when you stopped to get lunch, saying you would go get the table while he grabbed the food. When he asked you to pick a place, you’d just shrugged it off.

“You know what I’ll eat,” you said. “Just pick somewhere.” 

Again, he’d almost pushed back on that. Today was your day, even though you weren’t treating it like anything special. But he knew how you felt, and he bit back any disagreement. He looked around the food court, picked two places, and asked you to pick from those under the guise of him being indecisive. You hummed to yourself, genuinely considering the two options before picking, and then left him standing there as you went to snag a table for the two of you. He went off to order your food, and soon enough he was sitting across from you, listening as you rambled on about something that happened at work the other day. Eventually, you pushed the conversation onto him as you nodded along to his own stories… all while sneaking little pictures of him. He smiled for them, and eventually got you to squeeze into frame so he could snap a picture of the two of you together.

The rest of the day was scaled toward him. You would push for him to pick places to go, things to do. The bookstore the two of you frequented became one of your stops, and he saw the quiet way you bought a book he put back alongside with another bookmark for him (sometimes he lost them, but he’d always take extra care when someone gave him one) without saying a word. A few other stores, too: you’d ended up buying him a few things, insistent on carrying his bags for him with this knowing smile that told him you knew exactly what he’d been doing all day. 

Then when you were leaving, Mark saw it. The way you’d been walking a step ahead of him for a minute, talking about finding a place to sit for a few minutes before you actually went back to the car. You’d slowed to a stop outside this chocolate place the two of you had sampled forever ago, watching in the window as a tall, handsome man was making them in view of anyone passing by. The guy looked up, flashed you a smile, and then went back to his work. Mark slowly made his way over to you, watching the magic happen for himself.

“We should get a box,” he said after a moment. He looked at you, practically glowing with excitement. “We can split it, if you want?”

For a few seconds longer, you just watched the man on the other side of the glass continue to work. Then you met Mark’s gaze, genuinely smiling that same smile he fell in love with years ago, and nodded. “I’d love that.” 

The two of you went into the shop, picking out flavors for your big box of chocolates. When Mark paid this time, you didn’t push back or question or tease him. You just leaned against him, still smiling that pretty smile, and thanked him in a soft voice that felt so genuine this time around. He tucked the box into one of the bags he was carrying, pressed a kiss against your cheek, and took your hand again as you left.

By the time the two of you got home and started sorting through everything you’d bought, it was late. When Mark looked up, asking if you felt like going back out for dinner, you’d shaken your head. You had sprawled out along the couch at that point, visibly sleepy from the long day as you abandoned the work of sorting out new clothes to be washed. He just crawled over to you, pressing his lips against yours.

“You wanna go take a bath? I’ll order dinner when we get out.” He pressed another kiss against your lips. “We can watch movies,” another kiss, “and then bust into those chocolates,” and another, “and it’ll be fuckin’ great, baby.” 

You agreed to it all too easily. The two of you ended up snuggling in the hot water for a while, talking about whatever came to mind. By the time the two of you were cuddled up on the couch again, dressed in matching pajamas (“Because we’re cheesy like that, you know?” was what Mark said to you when he bought them forever ago), he’d decided to apparently kill you with a thousand more soft kisses. The jerk was giggling the entire time, too, squeezing you in his arms and he peppered said kisses alongside the side of your neck—right where you were tickling, he’d learned back when the two of you were first dating.

“Mark!” You’d squealed at one point, nose crinkling as he mumbled something about how cute he found you. “You can stop. I know what you were doing today.” 

“What?” He played dumb. “Appreciated you? I’m always appreciating you, baby,” he giggled, kissing the spot where your neck met your jaw. “I’m lucky to have you, y’know?”

With a sigh, you pulled away from him. Ah. Shit. You’d been planning for a serious talk, then. “I mean it,” you said, taking one of his hands within your own. “I know what you were doing. And… I think it was really sweet.”

Wait, what? His voice grew softer now, heart racing in his chest. “So you aren’t mad?”

“I…”  You trailed off, turning away. “I thought I would have been. But… I dunno. I think when you walked up to me and said something about buying that box of chocolates, it just kinda hit me that you weren’t just spoiling me today because it’s my birthday. You were doing it because you love me.” For a moment, you tried to blink back tears. “I mean… I know you love me. And I knew that on the birthdays before—but I always kinda pushed people away because I felt like I wasn’t worth it.”

“You are, though.” The words fell from his lips before he could even think twice. Maybe if he did, he would have apologized for interrupting you, but some things were just too vital to hold back. “You’ll always be worth it, y’know?”

The tears you’d been fighting finally ran down your cheeks, and you nodded. “You made me feel special,” you said. “And not just because it’s my birthday, but because you actually care.” 

Something ached deep within his chest at that. Did that mean you had people who didn’t…? Yet he left the question unsaid. How long had he been dating you, and he still didn’t know everything he thought he should? Not because you were supposed to bare your soul to him—never that. But because he was your boyfriend, he felt that he should have noticed sooner. You told him that your birthday hadn’t been a happy day for you in a long time, and he’d accepted it at face value without pushing. If you wanted to tell him, you would, and he would listen the same way you always cared and listened to his problems. The same way you did today when you pushed him to open up, to talk, to share the day with you so it wasn’t just him doting on you endlessly. 

“Hey…” He reached up, wiping your tears away. “I’m sorry I went behind your back to try and spoil you today.”

You stared at him. “Mark, it’s okay—”

He shook his head. “I should have asked you first,” he said. “But I like celebrating you. You know I was kind of a mess when we first met, but I wanted to be better for you. Chenle can tell you how bad this place used to be,” he chuckled, hoping that you would laugh or giggle or something too. “So I like getting the chance to celebrate how much I love you. You still make me wanna be a better guy, y’know?”

Sniffling, you dove forward to hide your face in his shoulder. He just laughed softly, rubbing circles onto your back as you cried. He loved you, and he knew how easily you could get emotional in vulnerable moments like this. Always diving forward and hiding your face because no matter how many times he told you it was okay, you’d be embarrassed that you were crying on him when you were supposed to be happy. 

“We can have more days out like this, if you want,” he said, hand cradling the back of your head. He drew you back, just so he could see your face, watery eyes and all. “Today just needed to be perfect because I think you’re perfect, even with all the imperfections we both know we have, we’re kinda perfect together.” He paused, wondering if he’d talked himself in a circle again before settling on something simpler: “I just think you’re really cool.”

That had finally earned a laugh out of you, so endeared to him and the way he spoke. “Yeah?”

He nodded eagerly. “Yeah!” He smiled at you. “You’re pretty sick. I love being your boyfriend, y’know?”

You just drew him in for a quick kiss after wiping your face with your sleeve. When you pulled back, you just smiled at him. “You’re pretty cool, too, y’know.” With a clumsy kiss against the side of his mouth, you finally drew back and out of his lap. “Thank you for a really fun day, by the way.” Snuggling a little closer to him, you rested your head against his shoulder. “I had fun. I always do when I’m with you, but you know what I mean.”

He just chuckled, turning his head so that he could kiss the top of yours. “Yeah, of course. Happy birthday, baby.” He snuggled in for a cozy night with you, head resting against your own. “I love you a lot. Let’s do something cool next year, alright?”

You just let out a soft chuckle, too. “Alright.” You shut your eyes. “If it’s with you… I’ll always be happy.”

taglist: @twancingyunhao

[fate-inspiration]

Back with a few questions, if that's okay ^^ "some fools think that Gilart fans like violins" do you mean that they think we don't know it's actually not a super wholesome, uwu sorta ship (lol)? Also I'm very intrigued by your concept of a GilAlter- if I were to accept one (I think it's contrary to the essence of Gil's character for a GilAlter to exist,but.), I think I'd like your version best- "he turned to his divine blood and not his human side.".

Super last thing, if you still feel like answering questions. I'm curious: would you feel comfortable sharing your shipper story? Like why drew you to GilArt, which of these 2 characters do you resonate with more, etc? And what do you think of CasGil and Lion King Arturia (personally, I love that ship -so grateful for zoro's art- and any and all combos, like Casgil x default Arturia)? Thanks!

I just realized the mistake, but it's even worse than the violins, I was talking about the rape. They think that Gilart's fans like rapes because in fsn route fate, Gil plans to rape Arturia.

(Of course, for the connoisseurs, we all know Gilgamesh's state of mind in this route).

Thanks for choosing my version of Gilalter. I had already thought about him a long time ago and I can say that he will be horrible. But I didn't really think about if he will be interested in Arturia, maybe he will.

Aaaah, I fell in love with this ship. I already knew the name of the Fate license, but I never managed to watch the 2004 (2006?) anime version because it was ugly XD (I was a teenager at that time)

So I was convinced to watch Fate/Zero very late, in 2018. And I was not disappointed, it's a good way to discover the license. I fell in love with the ship at the end of the series when Gil proposes Arturia. It came out of nowhere and Gil didn't really put his best side forward and I didn't notice the moments where he praised Saber. Since I didn't know the stories of the fsn, I guess it was like an arrow in the heart XD. I think the most important thing was the sincerity of Gil in that moment. It seemed like a whim, but when you think about it, not at all and he was making the effort to force her to accept, when in principle, if it was insignificant, he wouldn't have even asked her.

So after that, I did some research and research. I never watched fsn, because I didn't want to see a SaberxShirou and I didn't have the opportunity to play the game yet, but I watched almost everything related to the license, just to have a little official moment between Gil and Arturia. (I was unfortunately very disappointed XD Arturia became a worldwide waifu, same for Gil, because even if he's an asshole, everybody loves him. So I concluded that they couldn't put them together to mix them. Probably because it would break the fantasy, I'm not sure). Then I turned to Fanfictions, I found my little happiness, even reading the most horrible stories XD, it was not serious, I had my dose. And I started to draw humans again just to be able to draw them, and I was very happy.

For the other versions... Arturia Lancer is a problem for me because of the Fanservice. It goes from a small flat woman to a big disproportionate woman, I don't like it at all. I mean, it's impossible XD. And she is presented as someone more mature and rational than Saber when Saber is this King Arthur at the end of his life in the license. So to see Lancer made my heart ache because it's like denying her true self.

After other people will probably not agree with me XD.

I have less of a problem with Gilcaster because it's just an older version of Archer, but technically they're still the same. It's just a shame that he references Lion King more than Saber. But I like that he loves Saber Lily in Carnival XD.

I love Saber Alter. But I modified it for myself and I think others like my version.

And Lily is cute. (With Ko-Gil it's the little extra)

I don't look too much at the other versions, for example the Caster version, I haven't had the chance to know it yet. But I don't think I like her, I think she's a distorted version of Saber, but I'll wait until I get a chance to read her story to be sure.

(but I'll gladly ship Arturia saber with all the Gil XD)

[the-ninjago-historian]

ALALAKDKDLALAKSKDLSLALA okay. :D

I might have to redact a couple things because SPOILERS!!! HERE WE GO!!!!

So I was trying to figure out what my evil army should be. I felt it should fit the with fantasy theme, since the main villain is Vangelis. And the season he debuted in was high fantasy based. So I considered a bunch of different options. Including trolls, clockwork robots, and I think even wendigos. None of these quite fit. Finally I settled on Gargoyles. And here I have a scrapped piece of concept art of one of them I drew.

I say scrapped because some happened that COMPLETELY rewrote this thing for the better. After reading the short story Amber Spiral, (Which I'll give to link to in case you're curious.)

I decided Vangelis would be using an Ancient Amber Tree and Amber Elemental power to steal the Element of {REDACTED} from {REDACTED} And as time went on, I realized that the Gargoyles mythical-ness and the Ambers prehistory vibes did not mesh well. So I got back to the drawing board. I don't remember how, but it suddenly hit me. What you mostly likely to find in Amber?

BUGS.

Creepy scary bugs. 😈🦗🪲🦟 Enter THE INSECTOIDS! A bug based race that live deep under ground, in the roots of the Amber Tree. Now I don't have any concept art yet. But I do have some descriptions from my notes on them. And one named character named King Torrlax. Here! Take a peek! (There might be spelling mistakes. I apologize.😅)

Anyhoo, as you can see, they would be formidable fighters, being faster and more agile in the air then the Shintarians. A could cool facts about them is that they would look a bit like the big tribes from Chima. Albeit taller, scarier and more grotesque.

And also there was a line of the toys a long time ago from Lego called Insectoids. So it's a neat call back to a part of Lego's history.

So now with a new army and a dark vibe, the villains had taken on a more Dark Fantasy vibes, which perfectly contrasted the Deep Lands mystical and wonderous look. And I am LIVING for it baby! :DDD

There's so much nuances, references, and a parallels I can't even explain with some more concept art. I can't wait for that. One fun reference is the Amber chunks set in the tree's roots and branches kinda allude to insect eggs. So that's kinda creepy and fun. And can't wait to show that off.

I also designed a concept Ninja armor for one of the Ninja. Who? That is {REDACTED} lol.

OH YEAH! As for my Ninjago x Rottmnt AU, I figured out what Yokai Nya and Kai will be! Tigons! (Male Tiger x Female Lion) Ray is a Bengal Tiger and Maya is an Asiatic Lion. Also, I made Nya a White Tigon, since I thought it would contrast her blue color scheme nicely. And Kai of course is just regular Tiger colors, since they're so fiery. I'm still working out some other stuff,, but that was one of the most exciting things I came up with.😁

So that's all I got right now. Thank you for hearing me ramble!!! I feel a lot better now! - ✒️🐉

Tag List: @shatteredhope123 @nocturnal-nexu @dexter-the-dog @aroninshonour 😁👋)

Want to be added to the tag list? Just ask! That way you can stay updated on Ninjago: Into The Deep all the time!😁

I'm having SO DANG MANY ideas and plot points for my Ninjago AUs and Fanseasons right now!

SO

MANY

IDEAS.

And like no one to talk to about it right now...😭 Anyone want to hear me ramble about it? If I don't get this out of my system, I might explode.🤣 - ✒️🐉

[sombreboy]

the alpha⇢hybrid!pjm

⤍18+ ⤍pairing: wolf!hybrid Jimin x human!female reader ⤍genre: pwp smut, hybrid, stranger fuck ⤍word count: 8.5k ⤍warnings: sub!y/n, dom!pjm, profanity, drinking, blowjob, jimin’s compliment kink knows no bounds, he calls you little lamb a lot, degdrading names, unprotected sex, creampie/knotting, light impreg kink, mating, rough fucking, licking, torrential downpour of cum.

A/N: Co-written with lovely @ppersonna​ as an rp. ♡

So why were you dressed up like a bitch in heat, entering the exact club you tried so hard to avoid? Because, deep down, it’s all you wanted. You knew that deep down you desired someone strong and powerful, someone superior to you, to take and claim you as their own—their plaything.

The city never sleeps. A saying that has been true for the past century, and it remains true til this day, where humans and hybrids now coexist as equals. Well, as equal as it gets. Hybrids were a superior species with their mixed genetics, gaining attributes from said animals that they have in them. Whether it be stronger bodies, beautiful patterns and physical alterations– they were seen as the greater species. But yet humans managed to keep up, somewhat. It wasn’t that much different. Park Jimin is one of those hybrids. His genetics were intertwined with that of a white wolf, giving his hair a bright blonde color. However, he had it dyed not too long ago, so the color was instead a washed out purple mixed into his blonde curls. His irises were a bright orange, pupils as black as the leather jacket and pants he wore. One wouldn’t think he looked terribly intimidating at a first glance, but his stare could make anybody feel a shiver run down their spine from the sheer intensity of it.

He was the alpha, after all.

Jimin spent every single night at a nightclub that was famous specifically for being dominated by the predatory hybrids. Lions, tigers, snakes, foxes… Wolves. Jimin’s pack was the hybrids that people came for most of the time.For what, you may ask? To get thoroughly fucked without mercy, of course. But that was only possible if you caught their interest, or you’d have to settle for the snake.

Jimin’s pack consisted of three other wolf hybrids… Hoseok, the beta. Which practically means he’s one rank below Jimin, who is the leader. The other two hybrids are Namjoon and Yoongi, who are one rank below Hoseok, making them the deltas. They don’t care, they are content to just follow along with what their leader says, but are often given their own choice to do however they please either way. Together, they form quite the diverse group, and they were notorious and alluring for newcomers and common faces.

Jimin loved it, the dark, crowded underground venue, flashing lights, alcohol… And humans. More often than not, only hybrid women came by. Rich ones. Easy to spot. But what truly had the wolf riled up, was when a human would stumble in. Their scent was an entirely different game. He allowed his pack to separate, but never going too far as they headed to find their own prey for the night, while Jimin himself remained still, leaning against the bar counter with a pink, sugary drink in his hand, straw tightly pressed between his plushy, glossy lips.

It was time to hunt.

~

You weren’t sure what came over you—what drew you to the idea of leaving your cozy and safe, structured life and entering the dark unknown. The nightclub was somewhere you previously steered clear of, even crossed the street to avoid being next to it when walking by. It was decidedly not your scene, and the idea of the strong, intuitive hybrids sent a chill down your spine.

So why were you dressed up like a bitch in heat, entering the exact club you tried so hard to avoid? Because, deep down, it’s all you wanted. You stayed away from it like a drug. You knew the moment you gave in, you’d sink down the black hole into utter depravity. You knew that deep down you desired someone strong and powerful, someone superior to you, to take and claim you as their own—their plaything. It was hard to be confident in such a stifling environment. Your tight little crop top covered only the barest of your modesty, and the tight skirt accentuated your curves. The confidence you felt in the mirror of your apartment soon dissipated as you walked into the loud club. You could feel the hungry stares, the intense eyes of all the men and women in the place.

You didn’t know who or what you were looking for—rather, hoping they would find you instead. You craved the idea of giving up your power, your control to someone who could hold it over you and force you into submission. The thought made your core burn with need. The bartender slid your simple cocktail towards you with a wink as you settled into the stool awkwardly, trying to appear much stronger than the scared little human you were. You knew they all could smell it on you—the mixture of fear and arousal. So many of them approached you, attempted to charm their way inside you, but none of them felt right. Maybe this was a bad idea, maybe you should have stayed home. You can’t help but feel a burn of shame and disappointment as you chug your drink as quickly as you can to make a desperate dash towards the door.

Your nervous eyes skittered around the room, watched as each ravenous alpha eye-fucked you. It was terrifying, intimidating. It cemented just how wrong you were to come here, until— he came into view. Your breath nearly collapsed in your lungs as you took in the vision of the lavender haired man. He was gorgeous. Not just attractive but ethereal in his visage. Your pupils dilated, heart rate increased as you stared at him. You were blatant in your gaze, unable to wrench your eyes elsewhere. He was simply the most captivating man you’ve ever seen in your life, and your body burned with desperate need for him. After moments of desperate staring, you finally shake yourself off and peer down at your empty drink. Was it him? What was so magnetic about the lithe man? Could he be the one to finally claim what you needed to give up? Your cheeks burned with a mixture of shame and need, hoping that he didn’t notice your blatant ogling. Fuck.

Jimin’s fiery gaze flickered to meet yours the very second he felt your eyes on him, straw still tightly sucked between his lips. He crooked a coy eyebrow at you as he pushed himself up from his leaning position to stand upright, no hesitation in his bones in the way he slowly sauntered over to you. His hips swayed in a light strut, mesmerizing in every sense of the word; the predatory genes within giving him these very traits to be alluring for it’s prey. And it seemed to be working, with the way your eyes were glued on him. He stopped when he was right in front of you, giving just enough space for him to be able to observe your fit from top to bottom, but close enough for you to smell his distinct scent. Sweet, calming– arousing. His natural pheromones didn’t leave anybody unaffected, even turning heads on his way, eyes wide with both surprise and envy that the alpha had approached… well, you. “How refreshing with a new face.” Jimin’s canary voice was sweet, yet it had an undertone of a light growl. His canines poked out as he smiled, plush upper lip curling up to showcase his pearly whites further.

Your blush furthered a deeper shade of rose as he approached. Fuck. He definitely saw you staring. The power in his gaze and strut over to you screamed alpha. Hopefully he wasn’t the kind to bite and then ask questions. You’d unfortunately run into that type before.

The blood in your veins pulsed hard, skyrocketing your nerves. He looked so good. It was almost unfair that someone so fucking beautiful existed. You felt small and plain in comparison to the gorgeous man. His whole being exuded sultry command. You nibbled at your bottom lip as he sauntered up to you. Your body was reacting already to his presence, his voice. The entire club was staring at you, curious of the exchange that would happen between the exquisite man and you, the nervous little human. “I-,” you struggled to answer. If he wasn’t aware of how nervous you were before, he would be now—surely. “I don’t really come to these types of places.”

Try as you might, you couldn’t stop staring at the man’s gorgeous pout and terrifyingly attractive teeth. Your heart beat pounded hard in your head, overpowering the loud beat of music.

“D-do you come here often?” You asked, hoping to be polite despite the pooling arousal and growing fear.

Jimin’s smile slowly morphed into a wolfish grin, the apple of his cheeks puffing up until his eyes were shaped like small crescent moons. He almost looked harmless and inviting. “Cute…” he mused under his breath before he took a daring step closer to you, his hand reaching out to gently run his fingers through the piece of stray hair that had fallen forward over your face. He brought the locks to his nose, inhaling deeply. A low rumble vibrated in his chest.. You smelled divine. Even through the shampoo and possible product, he could smell your scent behind it all. “Yeah, I come here, every. single. night…” Jimin winked before withdrawing his hand to let it settle on his hip, his stance powerful and graceful. His dark pupils quivered when he raked down your body for a second time, the wolf ears sticking out from his hair flickering with curiosity. “Why are you here, little lamb?” He cooes at you, licking his upper teeth as he steps closer. He had no problem hearing you through the booming music, but how would you know? It gave him more of an excuse to get closer. “Looking like that?” Of course he knew why. He could smell why. But it was of no news that Jimin loved to play with his prey, ramp up the anxiety until he could practically taste it on his tongue.

Your heart thumped so loud in your chest you were sure all of the club could hear it. If they couldn’t, they definitely could smell the thrum of anxiety pulsing through you. His voice sizzled in your veins, erupting into flames as it enveloped you. Then, he touched you. The simple act of moving your hair had your mind reeling. You could smell him—he was so close you wanted to bury your face in his chest and breathe deeply. His question caught you off guard. Why were you here? Did you even know the answer to that? Your cherry cheeks flushed and you ducked your head, trying to avoid his sultry and tempting gaze. He continued to get closer and it made you tremble with a mix of fright and need. His power was overwhelming, and all you wanted to do was kneel for him.

“I’m—…not quite sure,” you spoke truthfully as you took another sip of your rapidly melting drink. “I’ve never been here before. I think I wanted something… scary.” Your big doe eyes sought out his, so mystifying with their exotic color and shape. He was truly so gorgeous it made your mouth salivate. You squirmed in your seat, suddenly feeling self conscious of your outfit. “My friend told me I should wear something sexy.” Your cheeks were so hot, so embarrassed by how easily you wanted to give into the terrifyingly attractive alpha. “I’m wondering if maybe this was a bad idea…”

 Although the music around them was blaring, it felt like a long moment of silence dragged on between the two when Jimin didn’t answer for a hot second. He kept his stare fixed on your face, the small expressions of embarrassment, curiosity, and purity drew him in. He’s truly never encountered a human like you before. One that dared to come here despite being so… weak. It was like you were begging to be eaten, dangling like a fresh piece of the finest meat in front of all these hungry predators. Jimin could hear it, the rumbling growls and groans of men in the room, hoping that the alpha wolf would lose interest and leave a piece for them to get a taste.

“Scary?” He suddenly chirped, his smile more of a smirk at this point as he placed his drink on the bar counter, ice jumping in the glass from the harsh clonk. He bent forward to shamelessly brush his cheek against yours, a subtle way of rubbing his scent off on your skin, knowing it’d avert some of the attention around him– he’s already begun to claim you for himself. His hot breath fanned your ear as he spoke.

“I can smell your lust for fear, little lamb… Do I scare you?” Jimin’s hand softly snaked down the curve of your hip, smoothing his ring-clad fingers down your thigh until he was greeted by your scorching skin. He squeezed the flesh between his digits, cold rings digging into your thigh as he exhaled another hot, quivering breath against your neck, loving the way your scent was slowly mixing with his own.

The man’s simple action of brushing his cheek against your own had your body seizing up. You could smell him as he rubbed his soft skin on yours—a heady mix of something fruity and something naturally luscious. It embarrassed you to know how arousing his simple act had been. You chided yourself internally for feeling your body heat at his gentle action. You licked your lips as he whispered hot words into your ear, making a tingle travel down your spine.

“Y-yes,” you murmured. “You scare me more than anyone h-here.” His hands gripping your thigh made a quiet moan escape your lips. It was desperate. You felt overstimulated and yet so desperate to be touched by the terrifying alpha. Suddenly feeling emboldened, your hands gripped at his sides, slipping under his expensive shirt to touch at the toned skin of his obliques and anchoring yourself to him there.

Jimin’s hand flew down to wrap his fingers around your small wrist, blunt nails digging into your soft skin. His hand on your thigh swiftly withdrew, and the loss of his warmth had you internally whining for more. “Did I say you could touch me?” His voice wasn’t hostile, yet it oozed with the asserting of his dominance. “You’re a daring girl.” He smiles at you, the contrast between his hungry gaze and his softly curved lips was confusing to say the least– but there was no doubt that he was not the kind to simply allow anything without permission.

The alpha’s sudden movement and grip on your hand made you squeal with fright—eyes widening and heart stopping its beat in your chest. Your mouth ran dry. Your terror coursed through you with the distinct tang of need. His dominance made you even more desperate. “I’m sorry,” you peeped quietly, itching to move your fingers away in case it angered him further but also needing to feel his tender skin underneath you once more. “I didn’t mean—..” you stuttered as you felt brave enough to peer up in his enchanting eyes. His smile was comforting but the hungry gaze in his stare had you trembling. Jimin cupped your cheek, hushing you with reassurance– although he seemed way too amused with the way you were practically shaking underneath his touch.

“Breathe. We’re all here to have a good time.” He smoothed the pad of his thumb across your lower lip, noting just how dry it had become. He decided to order another set of drinks, handing one to you that was the same pink shade as the one he got for himself. “Drink.” He didn’t ask, but he commanded you to accept his offer.

You were powerless to deny any demand the man made. Even if he had asked, you’d still be eating out of the palm of his hand like a terrified and starved pet. His thumb on your lips made you ache to open and accept his digit in your mouth, swirl your tongue around it teasingly. Your eyes sought his—hoping you could portray some of the arousal you felt over your innocent fright. You took a sip—a large one in hopes of lowering your frightened inhibitions to open up more to the beautiful man. “Mmm—,” you hummed as your eyes fluttered to close. “This is delicious.” It was sweet on your tongue, but not cloyingly. It warmed you and made your body loose.

“It’s my favorite.” Jimin agreed, already half way through his own. The entire time he kept his eyes trained on your lips, the darkening color on your cheeks from the heat that both alcohol and his proximity provided. When finished, he stretched his back with a light pop, the shirt he’s wearing underneath the jacket lifting just enough for the prominent V-line that snaked down his pants teasingly on display. His visuals were unmatched. He took off his jacket, leaving it unattended by the counter. No one would dare to touch it anyway, the leather oozing of his distinct scent. Only somebody with a death wish would. He combed his fingers through his hair, licking his lower lip clean form the residue sugar from this drink. His ears perked up when the lights dimmed further, and a new song came into play, booming through the speakers that caused a pleasant vibration to pulse through the building.

“I love this song.” Jimin reached for your arm to tug you out of the chair with him towards the crowded dance floor. As per usual, there was no question of whether you wanted to or not, but with a few drinks, and his intoxicating presence, it didn’t seem too bad. For Jimin, this was just part of his foreplay. He brought you into the crowd, tightly packed with all kinds of scents and musks. But the only one he could smell was yours, slowly morphing with his own as he placed his hands on your hips from behind, nose brushing against your neck as he inhaled. “Feel that? The beat?” He growled into your ear, swaying his hips along with the way he moved yours back and forth.

The music, once quiet and unassuming to you, now became loud and matched the beat of your heart. The alpha was dragging you towards the dance floor and in the midst of the hungry crowd, staring at you from where they rubbed up against each other. Just as you were trying to understand where to move, how to adjust your body to the dance, he pressed himself up behind you and gripped your hips. You could feel your pulse running through your veins and the way his touch electrified your skin. “Y-yeah,” you murmured as your hips began to move without thought. They easily swayed with the man’s guidance and you shivered as his nose pressed into your neck. It was like he couldn’t get enough of your scent, your being. The man’s hyper fixation on you had your core drenched—and you knew he could likely smell just how aroused for him you were. You let your eyes close and follow his guiding hold on your body, your ass pressing back against him to rub and grind along his length. It seemed the alphas drink was bringing you ever so gently out of your shell. “Mmm, I feel the beat right here.”

“Fuck, you smell good…” Jimin growled into your ear, his claw-like grip on your hips tightening to keep you in place as he pressed his hips right back against your ass, his cock prominent through the thin layer of his leather pants. It pulsed with every beat of his heart, it was driving him near insanity to practically taste your arousal on his tongue along with the overwhelming smell. “You’re dripping, aren’t you?” He huffed, tastefully biting your earlobe as one hand smoothed down your thigh to tug at the hem of your dress, unbothered to the fact that other hybrids were spying on them. He wanted them to see the way he got to have you, and they don’t. The way you were oozing with lust for the alpha, the pungent arousal of yours surely drove not just Jimin feral, but every single hybrid in the venue. And no one could say a fucking thing.

It was hard to hold back the peeps of surprise and arousal as you felt the alpha’s growing cock against you. Your body instinctively continued to rub and further agitate the hardening length to fully erect. When you felt his hands on you, your body reacted. You knew your cunt was oozing, likely soaking the satin panties underneath your tight skirt and soon to drip down your leg in a sign of utter submission and need to the alpha behind you. “Y-yes,” you whined. “I n-need you.” The admittance was shameless–the alcohol and lowered inhibitions making it easier for you to admit your desires to the man without regret. You could sense that he was showing you off and you complied, allowed the man to present you to everyone in the club who stared with bloodlust for you. “Please,” you gasped, not quite sure of what you were asking for other than him–more him. “Please, take me.”

Jimins wolfish grin grew against your skin before he swiftly grabbed you by your wrist to pull you with him, guiding the two of you towards privacy. Normally, he’d take his prey to the back, or even home… but there was an urgency within him that was too strong to ignore, there was no time– he needed to claim you now. So he pulled you into the bathroom close by, slamming your back against the wall with a thud the moment the door closed behind you. His heavy breaths were laced with small grunts as he crashed his pillowy lips against yours, hands greedily peeling the skirt of your dress up to expose your ass for him to harshly grab onto, squeezing the soft flesh between his ring clad fingers until it protruded between his digits, sharp nails digging into your delicate skin. “Fuck, you drive me crazy, little lamb.” Jimin hisses between hot kisses, the vibrating growl in his chest growing louder as he bites down on your lower lip to draw more innocent whines from your sweet throat. “Every single male in there wishes they could mate with you, shit… the male pheromones were off the roof, they’re all gonna jerk off to the memory of this–” one of his hands cupped your pussy through your soaked panties, dragging his palm to feel the damp fabric stain his skin. “Of how delicious your cunt smells… it’s like a fucking drug.”

Your eyes widened as the strong and sensual man dragged you from the dance floor to the bathroom. The same terror that once pulled through you now flooded every sense. Had you done something wrong? Was he going to harm you? Your worries were sucked up the second he pressed his lips to yours hungrily. Kissing him was like standing too close to a fire. He was hot, so hot, and before you knew it, you’d be engulfed in his hot, licking flames. His hands felt like palpable sin in your flesh and you needed more. “Please,” you whimpered as his hands cupped at your core. You knew you were a mess—dripping with shameless need for the alpha. The kisses turned deeper as you allowed his tongue entrance into your mouth and sought purchase in his own. Your hands stayed by your sides, itching to touch him but remembering his previous warning. “Please, let me touch you. Anywhere.” It felt like you were dying and the only cure was him—any bit of him on you and underneath your fingertips. “Ahh—,” you whined as his hand continued his assault on your cunt. “It’s a-all for you. I don’t want anyone else, only you.”

Jimin’s auburn gaze glowed as he pulled back from the kiss, his pointy canines poking out as he smiled. “You want to touch me?” He purred as he pressed your body harder back against the wall with his own, gliding the pads of his fingers up and down your clothed slit until he feels the swell of your clit through your panties, only to give it extra attention by circling his digits with just enough pressure. Not enough to satisfy, but not enough to not drive you crazy. “You don’t get to touch me until I say so… But don’t worry, good behavior will be rewarded.” Jimin added with his lighter tone of voice, leaning in to nudge your chin to the side with his nose– like a dog would. He softly grazes the skin of your neck with his nose, lips; a deep inhale through his nostrils triggered a vibrating rumble in his throat, and a prominent, heavy throb in his pants. “We’re not in a rush.” He whispered against your neck before placing open mouthed kisses down your skin until he reached the slope of your neck, feeling as his cock grew harder– the more aggressive his kisses became. From soft pecks, to messy sucking, surely painting your delicate skin with splashes of purple.

Feeling the man all over your body and being denied to touch was maddening, but deliciously so. His fingers dipped into your slit and teased so delicately that you thought you might cry if he didn’t give you something soon. Your moans turned into desperate whines and gasps as you allowed him to continue his thorough torture of your clit. Kissing him felt like sin, like heaven and hell. He was everything you wanted—everything you sought after when you stepped foot into the very club you now were being thoroughly debauched in. His cock felt heavy and thick against you and it made you whisper against his lips in arousal and desperation. He trailed down your body and you let out a shaky moan as you felt his sharp incisors suckle and nip at the delicate skin. “Use me,” you begged gently. “P-Please, make me yours.”

Your hips ground against his, rubbing against his hardened length as much as you could to alleviate the burn between your thighs. “Fuck, I want you so bad, please sir.”

“Such a good girl, asking so nicely.” Jimin’s low voice resembled a mix between his natural voice and a growl, the raspyness of it forcing a chill running down your spine, reminding you that he was indeed not human, but a hungry predator. Which is exactly what he was– well, it’s a part of him he only indulges in on nights like these, in a place like this. Who he was outside of these walls, nobody truly knew. His fingers curled around the fabrics of your panties to swiftly rip them off, carelessly discarding them to the dirty floor. Now exposed, your scent was stronger than ever. He shamelessly inhaled through his nose, eyes fluttering in pleasure, feeling the droplets of precum staining his swollen tip underneath the restraining pants.

“Still reconsidering whether coming here was a good or bad idea?” He asks through his breathy voice as he pulled back to look at your needy expression, all while his hands casually reach down to undo his pants, slowly peeling the leather down his hips. His cock sprung up proudly, drooling with arousal down his glistening skin, a content sigh pushing past his plushy lips. “Hm? You like it?” Jimin’s piercing gaze flickered between his cock and your face, grabbing the shaft with his hand. “Want a taste? All you have to do is drop to your knees on the filthy floor…”

Everything about the man radiated power. He mystified you. He even looked beautiful, gorgeous rather, under the harsh fluorescent lights. You were sure you would follow him off the edge of a cliff if he told you to. You didn’t know his name but you didn’t need to, he had you between his delicate fingers. Your breath hitched as he ripped your soaked panties off your body. The cool air of the bathroom was startling against your heated cunt. It made you gasp out loud. “I-I think it was a good idea,” you gulped. Your eyes were big, pleading and needy as you peered into his own. He had you completely under his spell.

Your mouth watered as the man pushed his skintight pants down and exposed his length to you. It was perfect. Thick and long and curved just right that made your core ache for him. You dropped to your knees without hesitation, ignoring the way the wet floor felt against your body. The floor was disgusting but nothing would stop you from pleasing the alpha. You shimmied your skirt up your body, allowing your bare ass and cunt to be exposed to the open air as you knelt before him.

“Please.” The word was becoming your prayer, repeated to the god above you to grant you your blessings. You opened your mouth and stuck out your tongue—an obedient little dog in heat. You wanted nothing more than to take him in your mouth without warning but you knew now to wait. You wanted to please the alpha so badly.

Jimin’s eyes darkened immensely at the gorgeous view beneath him, the fiery color of his irises barely visible for they were practically blackened out. If there was something the alpha adored, it was to look down on his prey, being begged to use them as he pleased. You were the perfect plaything for him. “So pretty.” He cooed, a small smile curling up on his upper lip to expose his pointy teeth. He gave his cock a few lazy strokes, his other hand gently combing through your hair before he abruptly curls his fingers to tug at it. He drew you in closer to his red, dripping length as he kept stroking it, eyes not even blinking once as he stared down at you. “Can’t wait to pump you full of my cum… Fuck, such a slut for my cock already.” His words grew filthier the more aroused he became. His patience ran low, so he guided the tip of his drooling cock to your lips, tugging your hair to draw you even closer to take his length down your throat. “Only good girls can take it all. You’re a good girl, aren’t you? Come on…”

The intensity of the alphas gaze made you shiver on the sodden ground and you could tell your cunt was dripping, likely even dripping down onto the very same floor. The bite of pain in your hair stung as he gripped you, but it sizzled and burned until it added to the overall sensation and made your nipples harden in delight. You breathed in deep, steeling yourself as his length came closer. His salacious words made you tremble and ooze with excitement. You wanted nothing more than to be a vessel, a hole for him to wrench pleasure from. His length was warm and dripping with precum. It felt so thick and heavy on your tongue as he continued to push it in. You audibly moaned as you felt it push past your uvula. He was so thick and tasted like salt and sweetness. You let your lips close and wrap around him as you took him to the hilt. You flicked your eyes up to him, shining with tears of strain from the thickness choking your throat. You wanted to prove how good you were, how well you could take him.

After a moment of holding his length as deep as it could go, you pulled back slightly to begin a bobbing motion as you sucked greedily on his cock. Saliva pooled around your lips as you drew him in and out, and the sounds you made sucking could be heard over the thumping of the bar music. You wanted to prove yourself to the alpha, show him you could be more than just a one time type of girl. You wanted him to claim you forever.

“Oh, fuck yes…” Jimin’s pillowy lips parted in initial surprise, but quickly he bit back his low groan as it rumbled in his chest. He knew you were needy, but he didn’t expect you to be so greedy to suck him off. And being so good at it on top of being eager to please– it was oddly new. Normally, every past experience of his was not like this, but more like him doing every piece of the work for a ragdoll, so watching you work his cock so willingly, attentive to his own reactions and pleasure in a different way…. It hit something in him that only riled him up further than anybody had ever done previously.

“Deeper. Gag on it, make it messy.” His chest heaved up and down heavily, deep huffs through his nose displaying just how good he feels in between the low moans, no shame in showcasing how good it feels. He presses his back against the wall, craning his neck to get a good look of the way your lips stretched around his thick shaft. “I can hear your cunt dripping… Can scent it, god, it smells divine. Your insides must be aching for me.” He murmurs as he drives his hips forward a bit rougher to meet your movements, eager to feel your throat constrict around him when he hits too far down your throat. “Coat your fingers in your juices, little lamb. Show me.”

The praise made you preen, and even more desperate to prove your worth to the man. His cock was so big inside your mouth it was hard to keep yourself from gagging, but you worked against it and continued to suck and slurp down his length. You obeyed every order, and slicked him up until your mouth was squelching with saliva around him and it dripped from your face like a tap. You whined around his length as you obeyed, keeping up a pace as you buried a hand down to your exposed core. You nearly gasped at the feeling. You were absolutely soaked and dripping with anticipation. Your fingers swirled in the wetness and coated you easily. You desperately wanted to touch your clit and play with yourself to bring you to your own end but you knew now it was better to wait for his instruction.

While maintaining your eager pace and swirling tongue, you lifted your dripping fingers from your cunt and presented them to the man above you, eyes still trained on his own in utter submission.

Jimin’s eyes quivered at the sight, pupils shrinking as he zeroes in on the glossy sheen on your fingers. His cock twitched in your mouth once, twice before he decided that he’d been patient enough… He could not wait any longer to claim you as his own. He pushed his palm against your forehead until his length was ripped from your throat, drool and precum dribbling down your chin. A long string of the juices seeped down his cock, another piece of it connected to your lips. It was an absolute mess, just the way he liked it.

“Up.” He growled, but before you were even able to obey his orders on your own, he pulled you up by your wrist, bringing the very coated fingers of yours into his mouth. All while maintaining eye contact, his swollen, pink lips eagerly sucked your arousal clean from your digits, swirling his skillful, rough tongue. Around, in between… He refused to let a single drop go to waste. “Mm..” he hummed when he let go of your fingers with a pop of his lips, the small smirk in the corners of his mouth widening. A light thudding sound caught your attention from behind him, his fluffy, white tail wagging in excitement, hitting the wall with every whip. “It’s a bit hot… Take my jacket off.” He suddenly asks, but his sweet tone was deceptive with the underlying command luring in his predatory gaze. He turns around, lowering his shoulders to allow you to easily slide the leather off, his tail playfully brushing against your thighs.

You nearly whined as Jimin forced you away from his cock—not wanting to remove yourself from the thick length that fit so perfectly in your drooling mouth. But the whine is cut short by his demand to stand and as he sucks your fingers into his mouth you nearly forget everything else around you. “A-ah, fuck,” you breathed—pupils dilating at the sight of the gorgeous man sucking your juices off your delicate fingers. Your cunt pulsated around nothing, so desperate for his thick cock now that the arousal has dripped down the insides of your thighs. “Yes sir,” you whispered as your fingers found the edges of his jacket and pulled it off his body. His tail makes your eyes widen as the soft fur brushes against your legs. You’ve never been with a hybrid before, never been with an alpha hybrid at that, and you’re eager to learn just how he differs in other ways. You couldn’t help but marvel at the muscles on the lithe man. He’s thin, but built and you found you’re desperate to lick up the defined lines of his abs. “You’re so p-pretty,” you whispered without knowing it escaped you, marveling at the gorgeous man.

Jimin’s tail trembled with more excitement at the praise, oddly enough. He’s been called many things. Sexy, scary, hot, alluring… Pretty? He liked it.

“Yeah?” he breathes out a small chuckle through his nose, pressing his lips together in thought. He shook his head to get rid of his mind wandering too far, instead back to indulging in the moment– focused on the aching throb between his legs. Jimin pulls his shirt over his head to expose his full torso, the tattoo on his ribs on clear display along with the faded, scattered scars adorning his skin in the form of striped, claw like patterns. Now with his body freed from the cage that is fabrics, he didn’t waste another second to grab you by the hips, turn you around to face away from him, and immediately push you forward to force you to use the sink as leverage. The large, dirty mirror on the wall stared back at you, clear enough for you to see the two of you in this sinful moment.

“You’re pretty too. A pretty slut, about to get her pretty little cunt stretched so bad you’ll be ruined for any other male.” Jimin’s canine adorned smile grew as he stared you down through the reflection in the mirror, grasp on your hips moving to the flesh of your ass. His foot kicks your feet apart, forcing you to stand wider and spread for him. A quick glance down and he already sees just how wet and dripping your cunt was. He pushed the head of his cock against your slit, coating it with your juices before gently rocking forward, not going inside, instead just rubbing between your swollen lips.

“So pretty,” you murmured as your eyes washed over him. Your mouth ran dry as he pulled his shirt off and exposed himself to the hard light of the bathroom. He looked like sin incarnate and your body ached to touch. Your fingertips lightly trailed the skin of his abs, grazing over the tattoo with the faintest touch. The cold sink countertop felt like ice against your chest, still heaving with need as the man prepped your body for his entrance. “Please ruin me, alpha,” you begged, peering into his own gaze through the reflection of the mirror. Your knees and legs trembled as he teased his cock against your desperate slit. “Mark me as yours, please. I only want you.” His cock felt so thick even at the entrance, prodding and poking through your sodden folds. A moan wrenched through your lips as it pushed against your clit and slicked with your own arousal.

“Fuck me, please!” The teasing was near torture and you were desperate, pushing your hips back lightly to encourage the man to slip in and ruin you completely.

With lips closed, he smiled, eyebrows raising your desperation. It was almost mocking, yet pleased with just how desperate you were for him. Your initial fear seemed replaced with utter submission and desire to be his. “We’ve only been in here for minutes and you’re already pathetically wet.” As he spoke, his hips snapped forward to grant your one and only wish, filling your soppy hole with his fleshy, rigid cock. He had no desire to ease you into the stretch from his generous girth, immediately pulling back until merely the tip was engulfed by your cunt before drilling back into you with another squelching thrust. “Tight… no other cock must have ever stretched you this well, huh? Fuck..” He bites down his abused lower lip, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he had to gather himself. The scent you emitted was incredibly strong, intoxicating to his mind. It was like a high he’s never experienced before, and he knew he was already a lost cause to the addiction that is you.

The feeling of the alpha’s cock filling you completely was unparalleled. You’d never felt something within you so deep, never been stretched so far past your breaking point—and unable to care about the tearing pain. The pleasure outweighed the sizzling burn of pain. He was merciless and your whimpering moans echoed around the damp bathroom. “I—ohhhh fuck,” you gasped as he pushed into you yet again, spearing you nearly in half. It was as if you could feel him deep in your stomach, and you never wanted him to leave your soaked cunt. He was claiming his territory with each torturous thrust inside you that made your throat burn for more. “Only you,” you whimpered as his thrusts became merciless and powerful. “All y-yours now. Oh, god, so good,” you praised. You learned the beautiful man thrived on praise as much as you did on the dominant commands. Your hips moved in time with his powerful purses and the sound of skin slapping on skin filled the small room. “Oh my god, sir,” you cried as fat tears of pleasure rolled down your cheeks. “You make me feel so good. I only want your c-cock inside me forever.” You knew now you would be hopelessly tied to the man, and you desperately ached for him to claim you as his own. “P-please, mark me as yours, alpha.”

The low, vibrating growl that rumbled throughout Jimin’s body would have anybody’s fight or flight instincts kicking in– the latter the most logical response from anyone within their right mind. His powerful thrusts were beyond that of what a human was capable of, the skin on your ass bruising with every loud, harsh collision of your bodies. “Only me?” he snarled through a wolfish grin, lips parting in a moan when your cunt clenched around his length. His sharp, claw like nails drew blood as they dug deep into the fleshy part of your waistline, moving your body like a ragdoll to meet his thrusts, your own attempts at doing so barely noticeable. “You want to be my little cockwhore?” Jimin leaned forward, hovering above you as he pressed his chest against your back, the grip on your waist moving to wrap around your torso with one arm, the other clawing at your jaw, forcing you to stare into the reflection in front of you. He keeps you tightly in place, feeling the way your body jiggles and jolts while he fucked into you with insatiable greed. “The alpha’s bitch?” His fiery eyes meet yours through the reflection, his toothy smile growing. He inches closer to drag his flattened tongue up your cheek, a coating of messy saliva dripping down your sweaty skin. Claiming you in every sense of the word.

The man claimed you roughly, making your throat rip with a desperate and wanton moan. His cock was pushing into your cunt deeper than anyone’s ever gone before, harder and with purpose. It was as if the man wanted to fuse your bodies together, become one. You certainly wanted it. His hands on your skin felt hot, feverish. You wanted him to touch you everywhere, at any time he could. You were hopeless addicted now. “Please,” you cried as the tears of pleasure poured from your face. “Claim this cunt as yours. I’m only yours!” You could feel your bliss piquing, building up to the impossible precipice. You whined as you watched your reflection. Your makeup smeared down your face with your sweat and tears. His fingers held your jaw tightly and your cunt pulsed around his heavy cock at the sight. You could see his heavy and thick length spearing into you and retracting smeared in your juices. Something inside you tells you it’s what you want to see for the rest of your life—only his cock ruining you and coaxing torrential orgasms out of you. “Yes! Breed me like the bitch in heat I am!” You cried out loud, no longer caring about your volume. Everyone in the bar could hear your desperate screams for the alpha and it only made you wetter, more aching for the man. “Fill me up with your seed, alpha! I need it, please! Cum inside me!”

The perked wolf ears adorning Jimin’s head flickered with his excitement, pointed forward to make sure he soaks up every little sound you make for him. You were so loud, shamelessly letting every hybrid in the building know just how good the alpha makes you feel. ‘Breed me.’ The words stuck to him, replaying in his mind whilst stuffing you with his cock over and over, the mix of your arousal and his precum dripping down into a puddle at the filthy bathroom floor. He wrapped his arms around your torso, holding you close as his thrusts changed pace. Still filled with greed and force, but no longer pulling back as much, instead keeping his cock lodged deep inside of you whilst prodding as deep inside of you as he possibly can. Jimin’s cock was on the verge of bursting inside of you, and instinctively he possessively sunk his teeth into the tender skin of your shoulder, shutting his eyes harshly. But just as quickly, his eyes opened back up, staring with wide eyes into the mirror when something he did not expect happened. He knew this was it, there was no going back. With one last, harsh thrust, he stilled his movements abruptly, heavy breathing down your neck as he kept you tightly in place– in case you would panic. “Gonna fill you up with my cum.. Put my little pups inside of you- fuck…” He growled into your skin, gnashing his teeth together. His cock grew inside of you, and he was physically unable to remove himself.

Whether it was intentional or not.. His body had chosen to breed you– to mate with you. “Mine.” He whined, and with that, his cock began to desperately pulsate inside of you as he disposed of his warm cum in heavy, pattern-like gushes. Like a volcano erupting, it didn’t stop, but he kept cumming, holding his hands on your stomach as he felt it start to lightly bulge from the amounts he was able to offer. “Gah…. shit… Look at you.” He could barely hold his voice stable, legs quivering, body twitching with every throb of his rigid length, still snugly wrapped by your cum-stuffed flesh.

Nothing in the world, in your life, has ever felt better than the way the alpha felt as he fucked into you. You barely knew the man, and yet you wanted nothing more than to give yourself over to him for as long as he wanted. You found yourself wanting to surrender your life to him. You felt safe in the security of his arms. As if you were always meant to find him, to be here with him. It didn’t matter that he had you in a damp bathroom, you would have him anyway and place. Your orgasm quickly approached, winding up and throttling you over the edge as your cunt convulsed around him. Your channels tightened and milked him, and you sobbed at the wave of pleasure creating over you.

“Yours,” you whined as your bodies stilled. His cock enlarged inside you, making your eyes widen and whimper as your hands clutched at his arms wrapped around you. You needed to touch him, stabilize yourself as your core widens to accept him and your tummy bulges from the amount of cum he pulses into you. It’s hot, and warm and you can feel it coating your walls thick. Your breathing was rapid, coming down from your high and the minor fright from having his cock widen and remain locked within you as he came.

“So big,” you whispered as a tear rolled down your cheek. “H-hurts… But I can take it. I’ll take it for you.” Your head lolls back and rests on his shoulder, allowing your body to relax around the feeling of his swollen knot. “Anything for you,” you murmured, as if you were in a daze. Your hands held on to his slender arms for support and reassurance, hoping desperately you pleased the alpha enough to keep you forever. “D-did I do okay?” You asked once, quiet as a mouse. Your confidence was quickly diminishing now that your orgasm subsided and your anxieties returned.

Jimin takes a long moment to catch his breath and collect himself, still holding you in his arms as if he never wanted to let you go in the first place. And truthfully, he doesn’t want to. Doesn’t have to…

“You did so well, little lamb.” He purrs as he places a, surprisingly, gentle kiss with his pillowy lips against your clammy temple. His hands roam down to smooth his palms over the swell of your stomach, reassuring you that this indeed did please him to the max.

After another few minutes, his length finally went back to its original size, immediately feeling his cum seep out your hole. He pulls out, and the flood of his cum splattered against the floor. But it didn’t seem to faze him at all, instead his attention was set on you, feeling your stomach deflate with each passing second. He turned you around to face him, brushing the damp strand of hair away from your eyes as his features seemed to display nothing but gentle affection, his eyes almost disappearing into thin slits as he smiled. His tail wagged happily, and he decided to bring you in for a chaste kiss on the lips.

“My mate.” he breathes out as if it was a relief to finally have you. And it was, he’d been looking for somebody that would be his true mate for life, but believed he would simply be a lone wolf for eternity. But then you came along, as if destiny had thrown you (or rather, your friend threw you) into this place at this time, like a piece of meat for the alpha to claim.

© sombreboy 2020. Do not repost, edit or translate.

[frobin]

Okey serious question here. How much do you actually believe that Oda ships Frobin? Like do you think he actually have like doodles/sketchs of them in a pairing kind of way? like for the strong world film riding the motorbug? (Personally i would love it to be true but he has stated one piece isn't about romance in that way)

Hey there anon! Thank you so much for your question and I hope I can answer it seriously enough. Also once more sorry for the late response. I felt like a question like that needs some research and that is what I did these last few days.

So... I think I'll start with the tl;dr because that way people can read that and ignore the rest.

So, long answer short: I 100% believe that Oda has one or more sketchbooks with drawings of his characters that are absolutely self-indulgent. I am 98% sure that he has drawn Franky and Robin in a romantic way at least once (and supported the ship). I am 80% sure he still is shipping FRobin.

Little disclaimer: I actually have no idea if any of this is true. I pull everything in my arguments out of my own experiences and knowledge and since I'm not a 46 year old Japanese Mangaka my perspective might be WAY OFF.

argument - reason- example - conclusion... behind the cut (or in the google doc)

So, why do I think that Oda has a secret sketchbook?

Simple answer is that he is an artist. He is drawing a lot and no artist will publish everything. That can have multiple reasons like imposter syndrome or because the artist thinks it’s not good or interesting enough or they just forget. There are even more reasons I forget and every person has their own.

For Oda I can imagine two big reasons as to why he would keep secret sketchbooks.

First: He is a horndog. You can skip this part if you don’t want to read about it, to the second reason.

Anyway, we know thanks to answers in the SBS, the way he likes to draw big-breasted women and how some of his characters are classified as perverts that he can be considered one too.

Let me show you a few of a few lewd SBS questions he likes to answer in a funny way:

Chapter 228, Page 46

D: How are ya, Odacchi? I know how much you like getting butt-naked, so this must be a favourite season for you. <3

O: Yes, yes. I just LOVE getting completely naked. In the summertime, after I take a bath I just run STRAIGHT OUTSIDE!! And when the girls' softball team running on the sidewalk looks over at me, they say, "Yup, it's really summer now!!" ... AS IF!! I'D GET ARRESTED!!!

(x)

Chapter 433, Page 68

D: If Lady Robin can use her Hana Hana Powers to make any part of her body sprout somewhere else, does that mean she can do it with her ample bosom as well? "Nyurin-zaki" (Breast Sprout) Boy, I'd like to take a hit from that sometime... P.N. Ero Ero no Mi Devil Fruit User.

O: "Ichirin-zaki" (Single Sprout) "Nirin-zaki" (Double Sprout) "Nyurin-zaki" (Breast Sprout) Very clever!! NO IT'S NOT!! STOP THAT!! I'm sure she CAN do it though ♡

(x)

Chapter 798, Page 64

D: Oddachi, I'll give you a pornographic book, so please answer my question. Sanji won't allow anyone to waste food, but what will he do if a woman does so? P.N. Smoker's Cigar

O: I think he would grab the plate and eat it up. Now please give me the pornographic book.

(x)

Nowadays I’m sure there is a focus on those lewder questions compared to the beginning because that is what 13 year old boys laugh about and we all know that is Oda's main demographic (of course).

I think a very good picture of that is given by Tekking101 in his breakdown video of SBS Volume 100.

“Let’s get diving into these questions (...) now, this is a huge moment. I mean, not many Manga manage to reach 100 Volumes, Okay? Now I know Oda usually starts these off with questions relating to boobs and things that don’t really… you know, aren’t really relevant but you know, this is a big celebration so we’re gonna dive right into it. I bet the most important things that we need to know about the One Piece Story are right here in these pages, okay? I printed them out. That is how important this is. So let’s start off, shall we? Epic voice, Barry!

‘Mister Oda, there is a UFO over there with huge big-breasted beauties on it. That memorable 100 Volume of the SBS is about to begin.’

[pause] Yeah, like the first five of these are all related to boobs in some way. You know what Oda? Sticking true to your guns! Godspeed, Sir Oda. Godspeed.”

(end at around 2:30)

So, Oda is a man who likes beautiful women and who draws.

Coming to the conclusion that he will draw his own characters in suggestive poses, naked and even doing adult stuff is not hard.

Obviously he would not show these sketches just around. He would probably keep them in a secret sketchbook that he keeps at a safe location. Maybe his wife and some close friends know about it? Maybe it is his and only his little secret.

I don’t think it would be unlikely to learn about this years into the future, maybe the next generation of Anime Fans will hear about this.

And it would not be the first time that something like this happened.

Not that long ago the daughter of Osamu Tezuka - groundbreaking Mangaka, known for his works of “Astro Boy”, “Kimba the white lion” and many more - found his adult Furry art. Source; Japanese article;

It’s a fact that many Mangaka did indeed start their career with art of the more risque kind and/or as doujinshi artists.

So again, I have no doubt that Oda, a known pervert, has one or more secret sketchbooks with „the p0rnography“ in it. Is there only hot stuff in there? Not necessarily.

The second reason to keep a secret sketchbook would be to collect information in there, that could be considered canon but he is not willing to use it in the Manga. Maybe they are not important enough or will be used later.

What am I imagining here? Anything that could be considered too weird for the normal sketchbook but isn‘t too risque. Funny things that might still not be „appropriate.“

Like a sketch of the male Strawhat ding-dongs with the sizes beside it. All the lewd jokes the fans did about Luffy's stretching qualities? I’m sure Oda thought about them too and drew that in the past if he had the time and it made him laugh enough.

But also maybe there are scenes in there that never made it in the Manga. The Strawhats interacting with each other in their daily lives, ideas for colorspreads and maybe chapter-titles. Oda probably has noted/sketched down a lot of unofficial stuff somewhere.

Another example, even an artist like Oda himself would have needed to exercise drawing two people kissing. Why not use Characters he thinks that might work out together?

Why not Franky and Robin? I would imagine he sketched up a few panels of Franky and Robin having a romantic date, going shopping together in Dressrosa, having a conversation that we never got to see because it was too on the nose.

Which brings us to the second point of me being very sure that Oda had drawn FrankyXRobin at one point.

I’m sure in those sketchbooks there is at least one drawing of them doing anything couple-related together. Again it does not have to be downright nasty but it could be them holding hands, kissing or even just Robin leaning onto Franky while reading, like all those fanarts that exist out there.

It’s not hard to imagine. Even for other Characters I think that is possible

And there might even be proof for that idea. The sketch of the Strong World movie you also mentioned, anon. The one movie that can be considered canon is Strong World. It was basically written/directed by Oda. Shiki the antagonist had an appearance in the Manga.

This sketch is drawn by Oda. Robin is holding onto Franky.

Can it be read as romantic? Yes. Can it be read as Robin holding onto Franky because there is nothing else to hold onto? Also Yes. But couldn't she just have used her power to keep herself secured on the bike without holding onto Franky? WELL YES. Could Oda never have thought in these circles like I do right now? I hope he did not because I hate it and I don’t wish it upon him.

In the movie Robin is NOT holding onto Franky. Now the really interesting thing - that is neither proof pro nor anti FRobin - is that we can see the sketch provided by Oda as a “between the scenes”.

In the movie Strong World the old trio is collecting information at the Pirate assembly. The next time we see them they use the Batta GT-7000 to slowly approach the destroyed village, which had been ravaged by the animals, and start to look for their friends. No need to hold onto Franky and no need for Brook to lean back. They are looking around.

The sketch is clearly not the same scene as the one we see in the movie.

In conclusion the drawing is indeed a between the scenes drawing. And yes if there exists one, who is to say there aren’t more?

Talking about Animal-Bikes...

Is there any meaning about the fact that in the opening scene (that is part of the talked intro after the opening ‘We Go’ - a huge thanks to antiherofangirl, ccb0nnet, JFL_Estudios and Maems, over at twitter!) Franky and Robin build another grasshopper-based vehicle? Maybe not but I still feel like it’s quite a callback.

Where did the idea to put this in the beginning come from? a) an editor had the idea inspired by Strong World; b) maybe it’s another sketch that Oda provided.

Neither seems very far-fetched in my opinion.

So yes, I am very sure that Oda has drawn things that we would consider FRobin.

Now to the last point (the first being Oda having a secret sketchbook, the second me arguing that Oda might have drawn FRobin).

As I said in the beginning I’m very sure that at one point Oda did and kinda that he still does ship Franky and Robin. Because even though every Interaction of two characters can be depicted as romantic or platonic, Oda used ROMANTIC TROPES with Franky and Robin.

They have never kissed on screen but we had

finishing each other's sentences

coordinated clothes

one using the others lap as pillow

hand on cheek caressing

and we can’t forget that Robin had answered Franky's invitation to ride on another animal-themed bike with a heart.

Edit: I didn‘t say anything about „no romance in OP“ so ask again if you want me to talk a bit about that. Sorry!

Those are things an author of Oda's level would not write or draw without being aware about how teasing this is. He has to be aware that every single line he draws will be analyzed to the end of the universe and back. People earn money by saying their opinion and interpretations about the Manga on Youtube.

These interactions are not something outlandish like “There was once an Anime Scene in which Robin was wearing something blue and exactly 28 episodes later Franky was wearing something violet and then 39 episodes later they both stood beside each other for exactly 69 seconds.”

Whenever I think about these facts, things that are not about interpreting but are factual, black ink on white paper but also about the little things, about how Frank and Robin help each other to become better, how they support each other… I want to say YES! ODA IS 100% on board! While in reality I’m 80% sure and 20% of me is wondering if I’m not actually analyzing too much into it. If maybe he really is abandoning ship. Maybe I will become the person who will curse his name and throw my Mangas and fanfictions in an active volcano?

I don’t know and it’s impossible to say what is going to happen.

And with that I've concluded this answer, and it only took me around 2k words and four days.

[stardust-walker]

WORLD ON FIRE: CHAPTER 3 {LOKI X SIGYN)

Summary: Sigyn was supposed to have died almost 100 years ago. A peace mission to Migard gone wrong and she had never returned. Everyone had thought she was dead until Loki is shown someone who looks too familiar when he comes to Earth on a mission. Sharon Odell. Shannon Orwell. Sidney Orwell. No matter what name she goes by, it’s all the same. Now that Gods and heroes are real, there’s no use hiding who she really is anymore.

Chapter Summary: Loki arrives on the Helicarrier.

Masterlist

Chapter 3: Icarus

Thin fingers tapped nervously on the metal railing as Sidney listened to the men begin to plan to go after Loki. He was in Germany. What the hell was he doing there? He wasn’t hiding either. It was almost like he wanted to be found.

She was just grateful she would be staying behind. “Steve,” she called out as she jogged down the hallway after the man.

The solider turned his head as he continued on his way to the jet with Natasha beside him. “Sidney,” he nodded. “Did you need something?”

Sidney frowned as she walked up on his other side, her nose wrinkled in concentration. “Just be careful, alright? We don’t know what we’re dealing with here.” Lie. “He can be-”

“Dangerous, we know. Which is why you’re staying here.” Natasha interrupted with a look that was somehow both reassuring and slightly threatening. “Steve can handle himself.” The man took longer strides now as the two women fell behind. “Or he should be able to.”

“Fingers crossed,” Sidney smiled weakly.

A while had passed and Sidney still couldn’t shake the worry from her mind. As much as she tried to focus in the lab, she couldn’t. They didn’t even have the Tesseract yet. She should be preparing but she couldn’t stop thinking about that was happening out there in Germany. A sharp pain behind her eye made her lurch forward with a yelp. 

“Whoa hey!” Banner set down the tablet he held and hurried over. He held a hand close to her arm as the blonde straightened up; a hand still pressed over her eye. “Are you alright? What was that?”

“I’m fine,” she assured the man as she waved him off. “I think…I think something just got in my eye.”

“The lab seems pretty clean to me. Everything should be pretty sterile.”

Banner sounded worried. Shit she had to come up with something else. “Cluster migraines,” she hissed through gritted teeth. “I-I get them all the time, unfortunately. I’m gonna step outside.” She hurried from the lab before the man could protest.

Bruce was too nice of a person to bring up the fact that he’d seen the fact that SHIELD had deemed her a threat. There would be more time for that, he thought. Unless whatever made her a threat showed itself before anyone had a chance to push her to whatever her breaking point was. He shook the thought off as he went back to his own work. Fury didn’t seem like someone he would want to piss off.

Sidney pushed her way past armored soldiers as she stumbled through the hallway. The pain had spread from behind her eye to the back of her head and was slowly making its way around to the other side. She hadn’t been able to focus over the past day or so, she was away from the wards she had placed around her house, and that only meant one thing.

“Excuse me,” she practically grunted as she finally pushed her way out onto the deck. It was a lot cooler out now even as she started to feel more and more over-heated. A quick glance over her shoulder told her that some soldiers definitely had their eye on her as she slipped further towards some of the strapped down jets. Something in the air felt different too but she didn’t have time to think as the splitting headache finally made its way full circle. 

Sidney dropped to her knees with a whimper as the few jets that surrounded her shook. Then just as suddenly as it had begun, it was over. A breath that she didn’t even realize she was holding escaped her lips as she finally opened her eyes. Everything felt a little bit lighter but it didn’t take long for the dread to creep in.

“You’ll be happy to hear that Captain America has successfully apprehended Loki. With an assist from Tony Stark. Wasn’t expecting it to happen that easy. Would you happen to know anything about it?” Phil Coulson’s voice cut through the silence. Sidney turned as she lowered herself into a sitting position.

She raised an eyebrow. “He came quietly?”

Coulson nodded. At least it sounded like no one had gotten hurt. Still, it didn’t sit right with her that he had come so quietly. He could probably guess that she was there but she wasn’t foolish enough to think that she would be the only reason that Loki would want onto this plane. Or was it a ship?

“I’m sorry that you had to see that.” Coulson spoke again. She didn’t even have to ask; of course they already knew she’d seen her file. Sidney’s face softened as she looked up and met the man’s eye. “I’m guessing that you can be considered a little less neutralized now. Just judging by the whole-” He tapped the jet beside him.

Sidney gritted her teeth and shrugged. “I can only work with what I have, Philip. I had to run away from home. I didn’t have much of a chance to grab the necessities,” she rolled her eyes. A heavy sigh left her lips as Coulson held out his hand.

“I apologize,” Coulson smiled as Sidney took his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet. “Can we still count on you?” 

“He tried to kidnap me. Do you really expect this to be like those news stories of the families crying after being reunited when one of them was off to war,” she questioned him bitterly.

The older man clapped a hand on her shoulder, his smile turned a little more sad as he did. “I’m truly sorry. I-” A loud crack of thunder interrupted him. The attention of both of them turned skyward. 

“Uh-oh,” Sidney whispered under her breath as a bright streak of lightning lit up the sky.

“Is that what I think it is?” Coulson sounded exhausted.

The hair on Sidney’s arms began to stand up from a mix of the electricity and anticipation. “I do believe it is.”

“Damn it,” Coulson huffed as he hooked his arm with Sidney’s to lead her back inside the helicarrier. “Hill, alert the others. We’re gonna have more company once they land. Yeah I know. Well figure it out, please! Thank you!”

Sidney reached up and absentmindedly stroked the pendant around her neck as the door closed behind her. Maybe she should go lay down for a bit. Bruce didn’t seem like he would mind. Besides, she could always make up a story about having some lady problems; that usually stopped any questions. She had too much to think about.

The room that she was in was brighter than the one she’d fallen asleep in that was for sure. Someone’s shoes clicked on the hard ground as the blonde stood and chewed on her thumb-nail nervously. 

“Calm down,” a female voice spoke from behind her.

She whipped around and narrowed her eyes slightly as she placed her hands on her hips. “Oh how easy that must be! Forgive me, Lady Sif. I’m in awe of your wisdom.” She didn’t mean to snap, but sometimes she still felt a bit of jealousy towards the other woman. How she used to dream of being able to be a woman warrior like the Valkyrie or even like Sif . She had no such luck.

“Many are,” Sif smirked as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. She felt herself relax a little bit as her friend stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Just as they will be in awe of you.”

Sidney’s eyes popped open as a beeping sound invaded her ears. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep, truly. Maybe the incident outside had taken more out of her than she thought it would. The blonde raised a hand to touch her shoulder. Her dream had felt real. She’d half expected to open her eyes and find her friend before her.

She could never be so lucky. The beeping sounded again. With some semblance of grace, she lowered herself down from the top bunk where she had slept and grabbed the source of the beeping off of the small counter.

“You should know better than to interrupt my beauty sleep,” she sighed as she turned and looked at herself in the small mirror. 

“They’ve landed. Come to the bridge whenever is convenient for you, sleeping beauty.”

She gritted her teeth as she snapped the phone shut. Damn Fury right to Hel.

Sidney leaned over and splashed cool water on her face. Her hands shook as she straightened out her shirt. She couldn’t put this off for ever. Still, she was in no hurry to throw herself right into the lion’s den.

It felt like controlled chaos as she exited her quarters and stepped into the hallway. The once bustling area was quiet but the tensions still seemed higher than they had before. The blonde woman took a deep breath and fixed her dark eyes on a spot on the wall ahead of her as she started on her trek. Every step she took, it felt like something in her gut tried to warn her. Pull her backwards as she felt the urge to run back and curl up on her bed.

No. She couldn’t give any of them the satisfaction. 

Plus, Bruce would probably need her help now and at least the lab could keep her occupied. 

Any semblance of rational thought left her as she rounded the corner. Her heart skipped a beat. Her palms grew sweaty as she clenched them into fists. Time seemed to stand still as her brain processed who walked towards her now. Loki stood in the middle of an entourage of armed guards. 

Just as her ability to move kicked back in, she drew in a deep breath. Her shoulders shook as she tried to hold her stoic expression. It became even harder as Loki’s eyes finally drifted from the window of the lab towards her. 

Their eyes locked. The smile on his face grew even bigger as he was led closer still. Where the hell were they taking him?

Despite the group he walked with, he seemed close enough to reach out and touch if he wanted to. The cat had got the canary right where he wanted her.

“Son of a bitch,” she hissed as he drifted out of sight.

“Hey.”

Sidney nearly jumped out of her skin as she spun around to meet the curious eyes of Bruce Banner. “Jesus Christ, Bruce. You always that quiet?”

He raised an eyebrow at her as he shook his head slowly. “No…I think we should go though. You know, safety in numbers.” He smiled nervously, “Besides, that Loki guy gives me the creeps. How about you?”

“I wouldn’t say that’s the word for it,” she mumbled under her breath as she looked over her shoulder one last time.

“Fury does have a way with words,” Sidney observed as she listened to the conversation from her spot on the bridge with the others. She was careful to keep her eyes off of the new arrival though she could feel his gaze on her every few moments. 

“A mindless beast,” Loki sounded too happy as he said that. Sidney glanced at Bruce and placed a hand on his arm. “Makes play he’s still a man.”

He’s just playing games with all of us.

“How desperate are you? You call on such lost creatures to defend you!” 

Sidney could barely even listen anymore. How could this be the same Loki that she had known? He was a trickster, sure. But killing for fun? Thor had always been more one to go off and start a war because he was bored. Something was very wrong…

“It burns you to have come so close,” Loki taunted. Now that piqued her interest. He knew something that none of them did and it bothered her almost more than anything else that he’d said. 

“He really grows on ya, doesn’t he,” Bruce spoke up as the video feed cut off. Sidney let out a snort of laughter. At least Bruce didn’t seem so bothered by the jabs that Loki had surely meant to unleash the beast. He was really a genius.

“Loki’s gonna drag this out,” Steve frowned. “Thor. What’s his play?”

Thor furrowed his brow as he turned to face the group. “He has an army called the Chitauri. They’re not of Asgard or any known world. He means to lead them against your people.” Thor glanced over at her for a moment; she didn’t avert her eyes this time. “They will win him Earth in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract.”

“An army from outer space,” Steve dead-panned.

“He’s building another portal. That’s what he needs Erik Selvig for.” Bruce sighed.

Sidney’s jaw clenched as she sucked in a deep breath. “That’s what he needed me for.” At least one of the things he probably wanted her for anyway.

“Selvig? He’s a friend.” Thor explained. Maybe his time on Earth had changed him. It had sure changed Erik but maybe not so much for the better.

Sidney kept quiet as the rest of the group continued to talk. She didn’t want a part in this discussion about Loki. At least not yet. Something didn’t sit right with her about the whole thing. Something was wrong about everything.

“I don’t think we should be focusing on Loki,” Bruce interrupted. “That guy’s brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell the crazy on him.”

Sidney’s nostrils flared as she bit down on her tongue. Now was not the time to argue.

“Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother.” For a moment, Sidney’s heart swelled with appreciation for the blond man. At least it seemed like he still held some loyalty to the caged man.

“He killed 80 people in 2 days.” 

Sidney let out a low whistle as she glanced from Natasha back to the God of thunder. 

“He’s adopted.”

What?!

She could barely focus on what happened in front of her anymore. As Stark took center stage, a plan popped into her head. Thank god Tony loved the spot light, she thought as she took the opportunity to quietly slip out of view of the others. 

Once she was in the hallway, she kept her eyes down. If anyone asked, she would say that she was on her way back to her room. Hopefully, no one would question her since she’d been…sick before.

Her shoulders tensed as she passed the window to the lab. She was closer now. Sidney lifted her gaze as she passed by her room. Just a little further. Footsteps were coming towards her now. 

“Shit,” she hissed through gritted teeth. As the guard stepped into view, Sidney furrowed her brow and made a show of looking around. 

“Miss Orwell,” the guard called out. “I’m afraid that this part of the ship is restricted.” He sounded pleasant enough but there was definitely a hint of a threat in his voice.

Her brown eyes widened. “Oh! I thought I’d gone too far. You know once you get far enough in, everything starts to look the same,” she let out a high pitched laugh. The guard raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll show you back to your quarters.” 

Sidney held her head up higher as she allowed the guard to lead her back to her room. She didn’t have much of a choice.

Despite her set-back, she didn’t let that hold her back. The blonde woman waited a few minutes before she decided to venture out again. A better plan on her mind this time. 

Her fingers clutched her key card tight as she walked close enough to the wall that she could hopefully hide if anyone noticed her. Some God out there must have wanted her to get answers as she made it without much of an issue. Sure, she’d run into a guard or two, but she’d managed to dodge them this time.

It felt like her feet were rooted to the ground as she stood outside of the locked room. Her brown eyes closed as she focused on the keycard in her hand. If she was right, then she should be able to at least do this. With her eyes still closed, she raised the card to the scanner and a satisfying noise echoed around her.

Sidney opened her eyes and swallowed hard before she took a step inside. She spotted the camera from across the room. From what she could see, there was no light on. Hopefully that meant that no one was watching. 

Her shoes tapped quietly on the grates as she walked up the small set of stairs. Sidney’s heart felt heavy as she stepped onto the landing and turned to face down the aisle. The cage was almost not even noticeable the glass was so clear. If she didn’t think too much about it, the man inside looked like a sick version of someone as they waited at the end of the aisle in a church.

Her arms folded in front of her chest as she took a defensive stance. Loki stared her down as he rose from his seat and stepped closer to the glass. Despite herself, Sidney mirrored him as she too took a few steps closer.

The hair on the back of her neck stood up as Loki observed her. Even though he was the one in the cage, she felt a bit like a rare animal in a zoo as his eyes seemed to take in all of her features one by one. Finally, his blue eyes met her brown ones. They were too blue.

“So you do live,” Loki’s voice was quiet even as a grin stretched across his face. Sidney held her head up high as she kept quiet. “Where have you been hiding?”

Sidney squeezed her eyes shut. In spite of the thought that she’d put into it since she’d seen him in the hallway, she hadn’t prepared for this. She had prepared for death threats and questions about the attempted kidnapping. Now she just didn’t have it in her.

As her eyes fluttered open, a small smile formed on her face. “Hello to you too, Loki. I’ve missed you, love.”

Taglist: @mysticunicorn7​ @lunamyangel @moncheriemoony @heyarely16​

Let me know if you would want to be added to a taglist! Hope you continue to enjoy! Reblogs are appreciated!

[juuls]

Juulna’s ‘Hold Onto Your Sanity’ Fic, Book, and Music Recs for the 2020 Dumpster Fire... Part 3!

So you just crash-landed behind enemy lines in a war you know barely anything about except that your role seems infinitesimal and insignificant, and dumped into a year, 2020, that already seems fifteen years too long.

Before you drown your sorrows in some fantastic scotch or wine coolers for days (or weeks)… I have a proposal.

That you step back from the flames, tune things out for a bit, and try to forget about the outside world for a while (but don’t forget to vote or I will be very sad at you!).

These fics are meant to take you out of your head (I’m including more plot/story-minded fics than PWP) for the next few weeks or months as the world goes to hell (even more) but of course there are some bits of solid angst in these as there is wont to be in many a fic. Check the tags, read responsibly, don’t like-don’t read, ship and let ship, and please do leave a kudos and maybe even a comment! :)

This is PART THREE.

Check out here for Part One and most of the Marvel fic recs, along with a selection of book recs too. :)

And here’s Part Two, which has the bulk of my Star Wars and Game of Thrones recs, along with Spotify playlists!

Part Three is this one here, all about the Potterverse.

(Not yet complete) Here’s Part Four, filled with even more shippy goodness from all over the Star Trek universe. So. Many. Ships. :D

(Not yet complete) Part Five is Witcher, Man From UNCLE, Stargate: Atlantis and SG-1, Sherlock, Hannibal, and Doctor Who.

(Not yet complete) Part Six will probably be all for my newfound love of Supergirl, along with some Game of Thrones and Marvel ships I skipped, because I gotta stop somewhere with all these recommendations or I’ll be at it forever. Seriously, how much of this stuff have I read!?

But I think we all need some distractions from the world these days, eh? Or something to console us other than internet rage and a barrel of ice cream and/or hard alcohol.

Potterverse

I’ve chosen to pick fics (mostly) off of AO3 for their easy reading access, though HP fics’ golden years were on sites like fanfiction.net and other independent archives like Sycophanthex and others which have closed their doors over the years, sadly. Some of these fics date back to almost 20 years old, or more, amazingly!

For fics on fanfiction.net, I highly recommend using this link (FicSave) to epub/mobi converter rather than dealing with the frustrating app. It functions like AO3′s built-in download button.

SSHG/Sevmione

Rec assistance by @perrydowning​

Second Life by Lariope

Phantom of Hogwarts by Good_Witch

Romancing the War by Pubella

The Poison Garden by turtle_wexler @turtlewexlerwrites

A Light in the Fog by turtle_wexler

Pride of Time by AnubisAnkh

The Savage by MagdatheMagpie

Snape’s Story by Tbird1965

Recognition by jezzie (krith)

Tedium of Time by oneredshoe

Tango by Desert_Sea

Sense and Insensibility by Desert_Sea

Time Mutable Immutable by Grooot

The Twenty by Leyna Rountree

For the Only Hope by ausland @run-with-me-to-the-sea

Bundle of Joy by LadyTuesday

Our Hands Tied by multilingualism

Choose Something Like A Star by TeddyRadiator

Mistress of the Stacks by Ms_Anthrop

A Derailed Train of Thought by Ms_Anthrop

Antiquities by stormcorona

Watch Over Me by @snapeslittleblackbuttons​

Dropped Down into the Unknown by @q-drew​

Delicate Transitions by @morbidmuch​

Lay Me Low by TeddyRadiator

The Savage by MagdatheMagpie

Another Dream by @dragoon811​

A Chance For Happiness by @corvusdraconis​

Breath of the Nundu by corvusdraconis, Dragon_and_the_Rose

Just to Be by Amarti @amarti-writes-stuff​

Hinge of Fate by Ramos

Forged in Flames by @mswhich​

Days in the Sun by bluespring864

Making sure the boy who lived, actually does by Hold_en @hold-enwrites​

The Problem With Purity by Phoenix.Writing

One Step Forward, Two Decades Back by corvusdraconis

The Headmaster’s Wife by Mrs_HH @propertyofseverustsnape

The Master, the Warden, the Headmaster, and the Deputy by mak5258

Cloak of Courage by Wendynat

Hermione Granger and the Intended Vessels by ShawnaCanon

Augury and Ardor by SnapeySnax

Before the Dawn by snarkyroxy

The Love You Take by Subversa

His Draught of Delicate Poison by Subversa

and sooooo many more if you want them just ask, this is both mine and Perry’s oldest ship lol

Gramander (Original Graves x Newt)

A Gilded Cage is Still a Cage by Anonymous

take a deep breath (and let it go) by lincesque @tumbloncat

Roar by @elenothar

Matchmaker, Matchmaker by @prosodiical

Dearly Beloved by prosodiical

Basic Instincts by @manic-intent

Promised by Miss_Lv

Plan G by Aate

Heat of the Chase by argentoswan @wannahearaboutmycats

Newt Scamander’s Guide to Getting Things Done by arthureameslove

Against all Odds by Maril

Where I Belong by Mishafied

He Wants To Say, “I Love You, Nothing Can Hurt You”  by @obsidionwingsofmidnight

Arranged by Miss_Lv

death of a bachelor by gudetama (elementary)

The Graves Identity by Mishafied

you make me feel this way somehow by gudetama (elementary)

The Nature of the Beast by AntiGravitas @absolutelynogravitaswhatsoever

The Knights, the Newt, and the Rose by @yinyangswings

The Wizard’s Cat by @natecchi

The Color of Boom by gypsiangel

Signalling Theory: Blue Coat by @obaewankenope​

Flame by @esamastation​

And The Tag Read Simply: “Pretty” by @funkzpiel​

Aren’t You Gonna Arrest Me, Officer? by JoyBurd

a little bit lost by shortbread @shortbread-fanfiction​

Dramione

Rec assistance by @cuthian​

Seven Times by kerri240879

Her Beauty and the Moonlight by BrilliantLady

The Fallout by everythursday (orphaned and only available on AO3 now, but complete)

The Eagle’s Nest by HeartOfAspen

Turncoat by elizaye @imnotleavinherewithoutyou

The Virgin Conundrum by AkashaTheKitty @akashathekitty

Bad Faith by Morrighan256

Isolation by bexchan @bex-chan-blog

The Serpent, the Witch, and the Broom Closet by bitchywitchy

Silencio by AkashaTheKitty

All You Want by senlinyu @senlinyu

Static by galfoy @heymanticore

What the Room Requires by Alydia Rackham

And We All Fall Down by @rumaan

Ambition’s End by Hanako A

Wait and Hope by mightbewriting @mightbewriting

Rewriting Destiny by mayawrites95 (mayarox95)

Chronos Historia by In_Dreams @indreamsink

A Muggle-born Magic by Musyc @willhavetheirtrinkets

Hunted by Bex-chan

A Second Look by @riverwriter

The Nietzsche Classes by Beringae

This Too, Is Sacred by HeartOfAspen

Bite First, Ask Questions Later by Daredevilsinthedetails, Kaylessi

Nocturnus by In_Dreams @indreamsink

Broken by @inadaze22​

The Green Girl by Colubrina

Lady of the Lake by Colubrina

Rebuilding by Colubrina (really just anything written by @colubrina)

Presque Toujours Pur by @shayalonnie

Can’t Change the Way I Am by @nauticalparamour

Law and Marriage by DragonGrin (formerly TeenTypist)

The Tower Window by @xodramaqueenox​

Unexpected by Emara88

Something Old, Something New by Kate Dessi

Suppressed Emotions by hopelesslydevoted.xx 

Silver Blood by @freyaishtar

When the Day Met the Night by @bex-la-get

Harmony

A Marauder’s Plan by CatsAreCool (Rachel500)

A Step to the Right by CatsAreCool (Rachel500)

Eighth by lorien829

The Catalyst by lorien829

Harry Potter and the Isle of Mists by lorien829

Knife’s Edge by Celtic55

The Black Book by mosteveryonesmad

Awakening by SweetShireen

The Sword and the Snake by bartonfink1974

Dispelling the Silence by Indygodusk

One Year Later: Return to Hogwarts by Twilight’s Inferno

DraHarmony

Fourteen Thousand Galleons by @frumpologist

The Invitation by hot_elf @hot-elf

Love Love Love by MissELY @misselylux​

Changing Scenery by aethling

East of Eden by msmerlin @ms-merlinblack

Turn Back Time by Dazeventura6

Foxfire by @setissma

Come Together by @nuclearnik

The Soul of the Wolves by LR_Earl @fanficbylrearl

Running From Lions by tryslora @tryslora

An Unexpected Family by ladyroxanne21

The Prophecies by jamcreynolds

Drarhinny

Reconstruction by @aldersprig​

Fell From the Sky by BrandonStrayne @brandonstrayne​ (I really love this one, and not just as a Canadian.)

Demons From the Past by pottermum

Drarry

Rec assistance by @newtypeshadow​

Rarely Pure and Never Simple by birdsofshore

Aural Gratification by birdsofshore

Lost Among and Falling by @bafflinghaze

The Corruption Sequence series by beren @berenwrites

Sentinel ‘verse series by elyssblair @elyssblair-blog

Date Blindness by dysonrules

Starts With a Spin by Maxine @serasarahhhh​

Temptation on the Warfront by alizarincrimson

Paradigm by dysonrules

Here’s The Pencil, Make It Happen by ignatiustrout

Draco Sodding Malfoy by Shewhxmustnxtbenamed @shewhomustnotbenamed

Pieces of What by Jadwiga

Found, Not Lost by inspiration_assaulted

Shared Detention by DadIWriteGayPorn

Dirty Little Secret by Writcraft @writcraft​

19 Years by shilo1364 @whimsicaldragonette​

Morning Suns & Coffee Runs by laugh_a_latte @queer-coffee​

Reus Una by purplepen76

Between Ink and Blood by Candamira

Ginmione

Distractions by @morningsound15​ 

Cissamione

(This seems like it’s a bit cracky, but there’s some good ones, I promise! I sorta stumbled ass-backwards into this ship but really enjoy some of them.)

One Step Left by Cysteine @cysteine

Extinction by @rubikanon​

Blinding Light by @16-pennies​

Somebody Loved by beforeyouspeak

...

..

There. This is much better, isn’t it?

So my challenge to you, if your world is falling, burning down around you in flames... is this:

...if you feel yourself getting anxious or depressed, whether from the news or being cooped up in isolation or bored or on the verge of tearing your hair out or jumping off that roof or grabbing something to go after the dictator-of-the-week.... pause, take a breath, open up this rec list, close your eyes and pick something, and let chance take you somewhere hopefully far away. Let yourself be transported.

Oh, and don’t click on this Google Drive link. Really, there’s not 30+ GB of data on that Drive I’m sharing. Shame. There totally aren’t tens of thousands of books, as many audiobooks as could fit, and a large collection of fanfiction downloaded from AO3 in there. (Also, not all fics have been shared to that folder yet; I’m working on it a little at a time as I download more.)

[megan-is-mia]

Hello! I started to read your fics a while ago and I´m in Love!!. Thank you for sharing with us your amazing writting skills :D If it´s possible I would like to request #23 “I love you, and I’ll do anything to prove it.” of Manipulative Yandere with Leona, female reader and NSFW if you can please! Thank you again and have a lovely week! :)

(Hope you have a lovely week too!) 23. “I love you, and I’ll do anything to prove it.”

(Yandere! Leona Kingscholar x Fem! S/o) (WARNING NSFW AND NON-CON AHEAD)

Let it be known (Y/n) did not walk into the lion’s den that day, she had to be dragged across campus kicking and screaming by Leona as he glared murderously at anyone who stared at them. He’d been in love with this feisty girl since the moment he’d laid eyes on her all those months ago. So it was only natural he’d want to make their relationship official, except for some reason (Y/n) wanted to act like there wasn't anything between them. Hence the current situation with the dragging, kicking, and screaming as they finally made it back to Savanaclaw and the beastman got her into his room and onto his bed

Leona kneeled on (Y/n)’s thighs as he tore open her uniform top, the buttons of her jacket and blouse flying everywhere as her bra became exposed. He licked his lip and gazed approvingly before hooking a clawed finger under the front of the undergarment so it ripped in half to causing the girl’s bosom to spring free. (Y/n) tried to cover herself only to have both of her hands grabbed by the beastman and pinned above her head on the bed. He only needed one hand to keep her hands occupied, so with the other he pawed hungrily at her breasts. 

He did this for what felt like forever before finally pulling back and easing off (Y/n)’s legs and letting go of her wrists before flipping (Y/n) onto her stomach, pulling the sleeves of her jacket and blouse off her arms in the same motion. The next thing Leona did was finish tearing her bra to shreds as he gave her breasts another appreciative squeeze. He then fumbled with the yellow bandana hooked to his belt, undoing it and using it to tie (Y/n)’s hands together with the headboard of his bed. 

With her hands no longer a possible hindrance to him, Leona took his time removing his darling’s skirt and panties. The potent scent of her fear was like a drug to him, and he was almost inclined to let out a purr as he ran his tongue down her spine enjoying the way she shook under his affections. His dear herbivore looked so cute like this, unable to deny his advances on her. He sat up for a moment, just long enough to rid himself of his top and toss it aside on the floor before grabbing hold of (Y/n)’s legs to spread them and slot himself between her thighs. Leona let his fingers trail over (Y/n)’s hip and down between her legs where her cunt was hidden. He was displeased to find her dry as a bone and let out an irritated growl before pinching her clit between his thumb and index finger to tease it roughly. With the other he fumbled with the zipper of his pants so he could get some relief before the main event. (Y/n) tried to dig her heels into the mattress and get away from the beastman’s touch even a little. Of course, it was no use and soon her cunt was dripping onto the sheets below and Leona had slipped a finger inside her. The first finger was soon joined by another and another as the beastman continued to also tease the girl’s clit. “You smell delicious, I almost want to eat you instead of mate you herbivore” Leona groaned having successfully freed his cock from its confinement and was jerking himself off at the same pace he was fingering his girl. “Almost. But I think devouring you like this is much better. Means I’ll get to do it again and again” he added letting go of his erection and pulling his fingers free of the girl’s dripping pussy with a wet noise. He licked his fingers clean with a soft purr before taking hold of (Y/n)’s hips and lining himself up with her hole. “Relax herbivore, it will hurt less going in if you don't tense up so damn much” Leona said, those words being the only warning (Y/n) got before her senses were assaulted by the sensation of something big being forced into her. To her credit the girl kept her voice down, barely a whimper made it past her lips and even those were mostly muffled by her pressing her face into the pillows on the bed. The beastman stilled once he was completely sheathed in her, and nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck, purring softly as his hands dropped from her hips only to loop around her waist. “That's my girl, breathe for me. Just breathe” Leona said softly, a good portion of the irritation he’d felt at the start of this endeavor having faded now that he was seated so deeply inside his darling. He continued to purr and nuzzle at (Y/n)’s neck as he pulled out a little bit before thrusting back in, drawing a small gasp from his herbivore’s lips at the motion. He repeated the action and drew another small sound from his girl’s mouth. Despite how nice this felt, Leona needed more from his darling’s oh so receptive form. His thrusts began to speed up and his hands unlooped from her waist to find new vantage points. One hand toying with (Y/n)’s chest, the other landing on top of one of the girl’s hands and entwining their fingers as he moved roughly inside her and made the bed rock. “Fuck you feel so good around my cock” the beastman growled out his teeth catching onto the nap of (Y/n)’s neck to mark her. The girl could hardly do anything else except squirm and plead for him to stop. “I love you” Leona said in a low tone, angling his thrusts up a bit to nail (Y/n)’s sweet spot. “And I’ll do anything to prove it” he added after a moment, too caught up in the passion of the moment to care about how cheesy the words were. “You really bring out the beast in me, just the sight of you normally is enough to drive me wild” Leona said almost accusatory as he continued to fuck (Y/n)’s brains out. It didn't take long until the girl’s body tensed up around his cock and she came with a high pitch scream which triggered the beastman’s own ejucation only a few thrusts later. Leona didn't bother trying to pull out, nor did he even try to give (Y/n) a warning about it either. He simply filled her up with his seed, sinking his teeth into her neck as he did. They remained in that position for what felt like forever after they’d both cum. Leona slumped over (Y/n), careful to not crush her under his weight even as he panted softly from the exertion of their lovemaking session. Eventually, the beastman pulled out, watching approvingly as his cum dripped out of the girl’s cunt onto the bed. Leona pulled his pants the rest of the way down before kicking them off onto the floor and untying (Y/n)’s wrists from the headboard. (Y/n) wanted to make a run for it right there and then, but her legs felt like jelly and she was so tired. Tired enough that she let herself be rolled onto her side by the beastman and pulled under the covers of his bed to sleep with him. Normally the girl would have never been able to fall asleep naked but the body heat radiating off Leona as he held her against his chest was enough to lull her into unconsciousness. Tomorrow she could try to escape from the beast’s territory and report what had befallen her, but for now, she’d sleep… THE END

[jackoshadows]

The case for JonSa and why it will happen in the books.

This post looks at all the foreshadowing, text and hints in the books to make the case that GRRM is heading towards a Jon Snow x Satin Flowers or JonSa ship/endgame in the books.

Now it’s very likely that this relationship would have been the endgame in the show as well considering Jon ended up single and exiled to the NW and extrapolating this to the books would mean that he would have met up with Satin Flowers. It’s possible that Emilia Clarke disapproved of this because it disrupted the Jon/Dany ship and she convinced D&D to not write in the character of Satin Flowers.

Now before we start, remember that the Night’s Watch brothers can take no wives. But there is no clause in there that says that they cannot take husbands.

So let’s take a look at Jon and Satin and the love story between the lord commander and his steward.

First, we have had no confirmation one way or other of Jon’s sexuality. Cersei is written as being bi-curious and so is Dany. So Jon could be as well.  We get the hints right off the bat in the first AGoT Jon chapter when he is unimpressed by Cersei while at the same time being quite taken by Jaime.

This was his description of Cersei:

She was as beautiful as men said. A jeweled tiara gleamed amidst her long golden hair, its emeralds a perfect match for the green of her eyes.

This was his description of Jaime:

Ser Jaime Lannister was twin to Queen Cersei; tall and golden, with flashing green eyes and a smile that cut like a knife. He wore crimson silk, high black boots, a black satin cloak. On the breast of his tunic, the lion of his House was embroidered in gold thread, roaring its defiance. They called him the Lion of Lannister to his face and whispered “Kingslayer” behind his back. Jon found it hard to look away from him. This is what a king should look like, he thought to himself as the man passed.

Out of the two, it’s clear who he is more enamored with...

This then leads into Jon’s strong canon crush on Satin and attraction to him. Every time Jon mentions Satin, he always makes it a point to comment on Satin’s appearance, smell, beauty and youth. That can only mean one thing.

“It was the priestess we were laughing at,” said Satin, a lithe and pretty youth.

It shall not end until my death.” … He could smell the sweet scent Satin combed into his beard

Satin’s voice was sweet as song.

The word ‘sweet’ appearing in Jon Snow chapters is strong foreshadowing for his romance with characters where the word ‘sweet’ appears in their chapters as well. Why you may ask? Because fandom decrees it so. And ‘sweet’ makes an appearance several times with Satin.

Jon also thinks that Satin’s voice is like a sweet song. This connects to his father being a bard who sang pretty songs. This is foreshadowing Jon falling for Satin like Lyanna falling for Rhaegar.

What’s in a name?

Jon Snow has a strong association with flowers. The blue roses that his mother loved is often mentioned. Remember this from Eddard:

“I bring her flowers when I can,” he said. “Lyanna was... fond of flowers.”

And what’s Satin’s last name? That’s right, Flowers! The foreshadowing here could not be any stronger. GRRM is basically shouting it right to our faces – and anyone who cannot read this truth are just fools at this point.

The connection with flowers combined with Jon using the word ‘sweet’ to describe Satin’s smell and voice indicates that Dany’s vision in the house of undying about  – ‘A blue flower grew from a chink in a wall of ice, and filled the air with sweetness’ is about Jon and Satin’s love for each other at the wall. The blue flower growing from the wall is Satin Flowers and that sweet smell is the sweet scent of Satin that Jon often mentions.

Here is Jon’s feelings for Satin peeking through once again…

The boy claimed to be eighteen, older than Jon, but he was green as summer grass for all that. Satin, they called him, even in the wool and mail and boiled leather of the Night’s Watch; the name he’d gotten in the brothel where he’d been born and raised. He was pretty as a girl with his dark eyes, soft skin, and raven’s ringlets. Half a year at Castle Black had toughened up his hands, however, and Noye said he was passable with a crossbow. Whether he had the courage to face what was coming, though

Jon is often thinking of how pretty Satin is and his description of Satin here borders on the sensuous. By the way, how does Jon know about Satin’s soft hands? Hmm? Has he mayhaps held them at some point? There’s things that GRRM is hinting at here.

Here is Satin busy warding off attacks and in the midst of all this, Jon is still captivated by his appearance:

“Satin was loosing quarrels at the wildlings on the steps, then ducking down behind a merlon to cock the crossbow. He may be pretty, but he’s quick.”

Notice the choice of words that GRRM uses here? ‘Cock the crossbow’? Crude, but GRRM is an expert at using words to connect characters and tell us something.

When his top men at the Watch object to Satin being appointed as Jon’s Steward, Jon’s ardent love for Satin makes him object vociferously.

Septon Cellador spoke up. “This boy Satin. It’s said you mean to make him your steward and squire, in Tollett’s place. My lord, the boy’s a whore … a … dare I say … a painted catamite from the brothels of Old-town.”

And you are a drunk. “What he was in Oldtown is none of our concern. He’s quick to learn and very clever. The other recruits started out despising him, but he won them over and made friends of them all. He’s fearless in a fight and can even read and write after a fashion. He should be capable of fetching me my meals and saddling my horse, don’t you think?”

“Most like,” said Bowen Marsh, stony-faced, “but the men do not like it. Traditionally the lord commander’s squires are lads of good birth being groomed for command. Does my lord believe the men of the Night’s Watch would ever follow a whore into battle?”

Jon’s temper flashed. “They have followed worse. Whatever Satin may have done in Oldtown, he is our brother now, and he will be my squire.”

Look at how angry Jon gets at Satin being insulted by these fellows. Compare his reaction here to when Stannis dissed Sansa as Lady Lannister and vowed that she would never get Winterfell. He could not care less there. But here? He gets emotional and defends Satin’s right to that position. This is not about doing the right thing, oh no. This is all about Jon’s romantic feelings and love for Satin.

Here is Jon once again itching to jump to Satin’s defense in case, Selyse’ knight dared speak wrongly about him:

“Satin, show Her Grace to her place,” said Jon.

Ser Malegorn stepped forward. “I will escort Her Grace to the feast. We shall not require your … steward.” The way the man drew out the last word told Jon that he had been considering saying something else. Boy? Pet? Whore?

And while Jon is openly appreciating Satin’s ‘grace’ we can clearly see his jealousy and protectiveness over Satin peeking through:

Satin was all grace, dancing with three serving girls in turn but never presuming to approach a highborn lady. Jon judged that wise. He did not like the way some of the queen’s knights were looking at the steward, particularly Ser Patrek of King’s Mountain. That one wants to shed a bit of blood, he thought. He is looking for some provocation.”

He is already so possessive of Satin, that he dislikes the queen’s knights even looking at him.

In conclusion I think there is some pretty strong foreshadowing for this relationship and we could see it moving forward at full speed in the next book after Jon is resurrected and Satin is going to be around to help. If we align Jon Snow’s show and book ending, then he ends up at the wall or beyond and is no ruler, leader or king. The reason he ends up single could be because Satin Flowers was not present on the show. But looking at all the strong foreshadowing in the books for these two, there’s no way this is not happening in the books. All the foreshadowing is right there.

[radramblog]

A handful of hot cardboard takes

So due to having assignment work to do and a relatively busy day tomorrow, I’m going to be writing both today and tomorrow’s blog articles tonight. Unnnnfortunately, it’s approaching 11PM, and I haven’t even figured out what I’m writing this one about- it has to be relatively short, since I don’t have that much time, and I want the tomorrow one to be an album, and that always takes time, and ehhhh…

I guess it’s been a hot second (read: a week exactly) since I talked about Magic, so that’ll do. But what specifically?

I mean, I guess there’s these new spoilers to go on about. I guess I’m hotting some takes.

First of all, we have the D&D set, Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. I feel like this set’s creation was inevitable. WoTC has had D&D and Magic for decades now, and the only crossover we got was the Un-Card Sword of Dungeons and Dragons? And yet fucking Walking Dead got a whole-ass secret lair? Yeah no way this wasn’t happening. So far we only have 5 cards, so one by one I suppose.

Tiamat was obviously going to be a thing, but she feels exceptionally underwhelming. Admittedly, cramming her massive list of abilities and flavour into one 2.5 by 3.5 inch card was going to be difficult, but this is just meh. She finds five dragons, whoop de fucking do. This is never going to see any play outside of Commander, and I can’t imagine picking her to lead your 5-colour Dragons deck above The Ur-Dragon, it’s Scion, or even Morophon. And, I’m all for underrated jank commanders, but I also don’t like tutors, and if you’ve ever resolved Conflux (which this kinda feels like) you know it can be a huge pain. A solid Meh/10. I do like that they didn’t give her an epithet, though.

The Vorpal Sword is actually pretty sick. Not only is it a cheap coloured equipment that slots great into Black/X Voltron Commander lists, not only is it an alternative wincon that isn’t complete shit but also requires going all in and is very interactable, but I actually think this has a slot in cubes interested in Black Aggro, Black Artifacts, or both. The arts for this card look sick aas hell, and I’m extremely interested in seeing in snicker-snack someone to death.

I was wondering whether or not Halfling was going to be a creature type, and that question got answered fairly quick. Citizen on the typeline is interesting considering it’s only been seen on 4 token producers so far (and also Mobilized District becomes one), and the recent Edgewall Innkeeper being a peasant. I guess this guy is too prosperous for the peasantry.

Oh, the card itself? Well, I was never a fan of Wily Goblin, but I don’t really think that’s why we’re here. This charming fellow is a second Green Soul Sister, supporting the Witherbloom lifegain archetype from Strixhaven, and it’s nice to see colours other than White (and occasionally, Black) get to do life things. It’s always been secondary (tertiary? They don’t get lifelink) in green, or only on shite cards, so it getting pushed is an interesting twist.

It is an utter tragedy that you can put a Bag of Holding in a Portable Hole in Magic now, and it doesn’t even do anything. I get the feeling this is going to be either everywhere or nowhere, though I’m leaning towards the latter. Any permanent type is really nice, but 2 or less is restrictive enough that this misses way more often than you’d like. But, if it ends up being good, you’re going to see a lot of Portable Holes exiling Portable Holes, and that’s just kinda funny.

Isn’t there supposed to be a colon in there? This is just a more splashable, flavour-twisted variant of Victim of Night- though that card ends up being one of the best Terrors Mono-Black gets to run, out of a long long list. This, unfortunately, is a bit worse than that is in competitive formats, and considerably worse in EDH where giant Angels, Demons, and Dragons are often the targets you want to tell to die. I’m just going to stick with Doom Blade. And Go for the Throat. And Snuff Out and Hero’s Downfall and Victim of Night and Heartless Act and

So, I actually really like these basics, but specifically for this set. Box text is an essential part of D&D, and putting it on the basics is just a lovely bit of flavour. I don’t know if they’ve said whether every basic variant is going to have this, but I kinda hope they do. The art for these is top fucking notch, too. I’m not convinced this should be a permanent thing though.

 But of course, that’s not the only set we have spoilers for, because Magic Spoiler Season is a sine wave of hype now and it will never end. Modern Horizons 2: because the first one didn’t fuck enough formats up. That’s not very fair, that set was cool as fuck, but in my eyes that’s for the kookier designs rather than the bonkers powerful shit. More Throes of Chaos, less Hogaak. Anyway, we’ve got 3 new cards and some reprints, so let’s get into them.

I’m really not sure how to feel about this art, but hey, that’s just my opinion. Brainstone is a solid role-player in all sorts of artifacty, eggsy decks, probably the best Egg we’ve seen in a while. It’s going right in my Radha deck, I’ll tell you that much. Considering how expensive the worst card ever made, Sensei’s Divining Top, is getting, having a colourless topdeck manipulation option that’s likely not too spenno is nice, even if it’s a oneshot. I like it.

Oh, haha, it’s Lion’s Eye Diamond but they drew the rest of the fucking Lion. While this looks absolutely gorgeous, it doesn’t go into Cat tribal, and I’m not that much of a degenerate, so meh. For real though, this doesn’t actually look broken to me- LED is powerful because it’s a lotus, whereas this takes that and makes it a slow, multi-turn Pyretic Ritual. I also don’t think having an LED effect in Modern does much for the format, so. Eh?

Ok, here’s the one everyone’s talking about. Urza’s Saga is such a slam-dunk on a meta level. It’s a card named after a set, a fun reversal of Time Spiral block all being named after cards, and considering Modern Horizons was basically Time Spiral 2 I wouldn’t be surprised if MH2 was TSP3. It’s also an Enchantment Land but doesn’t look like it, referencing the fact that Urza’s block was actually Enchantment Matters but no-one remembers that because basically none of those cards were the good ones. This card is blatantly powerful, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see it pop up in a loooot of decks in various formats. In commander, this is a land for 3 turns that then turns into a Sol Ring, while also maybe making you a token or two and maybe even finding a weird hate piece or combo machine (…or Top) instead. In Modern or Legacy, it tutors for all sorts of nonsense, while making potential threats for artifact decks in the land slots. This card, while slow, has potential to be patently absurd, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it was banned in at least one format by the end of the year. We’ll see which ones.

Counterspell in modern is something a very specific group of people were counting for. Personally, it’s not the vintage spell I would have been hyped for, I was wanting Swords, but here we are. I almost feel, however, that Counterspell’s potential in Modern has been wasted at this point. Like, how many decks are even running Mana Leak these days? And how many of those decks want to be holding up UU on turn 2? Because in a fast format like this, Mana Leak might as well be Counterspell most of the time. The new art is baller, ill give it that.

I…don’t know enough about how this card is in Legacy Death and Taxes to know how well it would be in Modern Death and Taxes. It seems pretty good? I like that they’re doing old-border reprints again, though, that was like the only good thing behind Time Spiral Remastered.

Fucking Finally. With that said, I’m not convinced that finally reprinting these fetches is going to keep the price down much, and for long- the Horizon lands from MH1 see a fair bit less play, and they are creeping up to $20 a pop for some of them at this point. I guess if you need them, buy them now, because they aren’t going to stay low. It’s going to take more than a single reprint in a premium product before I’m satisfied in the reprint quality.

 Anyway, that’s the lot of them. My takes on these cards was probably a bit chiller than what you’d see from someone who’s actually in the know of competitive formats these days, but if you came here for serious analysis, then I’m not sure what to tell you. More well-thought-out Magic talk, uhh, next time I talk about Magic.

[bakusoftie]

Could you do a barbarian bakugou and his s/o with "strangers like me" the Tarzan song, like how the reader show him things from her village like her costumes and how different they are from his, idk like super cute overall interaction well as cute as one can be with explosion boy over here...

did i hear Fantasy Au? 🏃🏻‍♀️💨

y’all I’m a thirsty bitch for Tarzan

🥴 I guess feral is my type

this kinda ventured off from the request but i hope you liked it because I might make another part to this🤭

Strangers Like Me | Dragon!Bakugou x Reader | Fantasy AU

Your village was widely known as the most technologically advanced in the land.

Yet, you never felt like it was enough.

You had a dream of traveling to other places and experiencing other cultures unlike your own.

Everyone wanted to live in King Toshinori’s realm but you wanted to leave.

“Wanderlust. That’s what you have!” Your best friend, Izuku Midoriya told you as you confided in your feelings to him.

Great. You know the word but what exactly do you do with a word?

Well, you started with working your ass off to make some more money so you can afford to travel.

You had a business as a merchant selling antiques and homemade jewelry.

That’s how you met Izuku.

His mother was a baker for King Toshinori but his father was an traveling merchant. (Although you thought it was just an excuse to abandon them for 8 years)

It took a couple of months to gather enough funds but you finally did it.

Most people thought you were crazy for wanting to venture in the unknown but for some reason, your heart was telling you to go find something.

A purpose?

An adventure?

Maybe even a soulmate?

Whatever it might be, you were prepared to face it.

You made sure to pack some products you could sell on your way. You packed a couple of hand-carved figures, a necklace you made of dragon’s teeth, and some other random junk.

You rushed over to the castle to say your goodbyes to your dearest friend, who was getting unusually close to the king but you thought it could’ve been because his mother worked for Toshinori.

“D-do you ever know where you’re going though?” Izuku stammered as he tried to get you to stay.

“Nope.”

Izuku was baffled at your nonchalant response.

“U-uh...H-how about I come with you? I’ve been training so hard lately and I’m really good with a sword now!”

“Izuku, I have to do this alone. I appreciate everything you have done for me and the years of friendship we’ve had together” you pulled the small green-haired boy in for a warm hug.

You didn’t know when you’d see him again and the thought pierced through your heart.

“I promise when I find what I’m looking for that I’ll send you a letter about what exactly it is” you swore to every god in the sky and earth.

Izuku tried to get you to back out but he knew how stubborn and prideful you could be. It reminded him of another childhood friend of his. One that nobody dares talk about in this kingdom.

You took a last glance at the only place you’ve know all your life and walked right through the gates with no regrets and watched as the castle grew smaller and smaller from your view.

The dirt road you were traveling on was rough and gravelly and there were trees surrounding both sides of the road. You had to be cautious of dangerous animals and people.

You were walking for quite a while when the sun started going down and the night sky shoned with stars and constellations. You were so mesmerized and distracted that you didn’t even hear the rustling of trees or feel the burning stare of crimson eyes peaking out from the trees.

You snapped out of your headspace when you saw a blur of white from the corner of your eyes and reached down to your belt to grab the small knife that Izuku gifted you for protection.

“Who the fuck are you and why are you trespassing in my land,dumbass” said a loud gruff voice that echoed throughout the forest.

You turn around to meet the man the voice was attached to and you were starstruck once again.

He had spiky ash-blonde hair that looked so ironically soft and these sharp, glaring eyes that looked like rubies. He wore a fluffy white fur cape with nothing underneath, displaying his athletic build and ripped abdomen. He looked so feral and majestic. He reminded you of a lion or an angry hedgehog.

He spoke with an accent you were not very familiar of but came to realize it was a Dragonborn accent. You knew because Izuku once told you of when his father took him to the land of the dragons while they were there for business and him meeting some rambunctious boy named ‘Kacchan’.

The Dragonborns were rumored to be an entire land full of people who were cursed by a goddess and now have the blood of dragons flowing through their veins. They transform into scaled beasts and lay waste to villages.

You were hopeing that those were only rumors but with how those vermilion eyes are staring into you with malice and hatred, you weren’t very sure.

“U-uh I’m just a traveling merchant! I didn’t know these lands belonged to you so please don’t hurt me” you raised your hands in surrender thinking it would calm the man down but your words seem to pierce his heart.

“You people always think dragons are always so violent and evil. You’re so quick to assume so maybe I should just prove the rumors right,huh?!”

The savage man took a step towards you and before you could make a move to protect yourself, you tripped on a rock making you fall back onto the jagged path. In the process, you managed to cut yourself with the dagger in your hand.

The ash-blonde just stopped in his tracks and busted out laughing until his voice was raspy while let out a few ’fucking dumbass’s and ’clumsy bitch’

You deadpanned at his crude behavior and wondered if he was still going to hurt you. You could feel your mind getting dizzy and woozy as the blood flowed through your arm.

’Damn I must have hit an artery’ you thought to yourself as you began to see black spots fill your vision.

The dragonborn looked at the dumbass who passed out on the ground and decided he was about to make a big mistake but it wasn’t like he could just leave you there to die. He had morals even if he was the savage King of Dragons.

You felt yourself waking up on a bed that wasn't your own and realized that you were not, in fact, dreaming and the barbarian must have kidnapped you so he could kill you slowly or eat the flesh off of your bones or whatever the hell dragons do.

What you didn’t expect was to open your eyes to see the gremlin dragon boy who kidnapped you, looking through your shit with a confused and lowkey adorable face.

“Hey! That’s mine, you feral thot!”

“What the fuck even is this shit?” he yelled back as he stuck the utensil in his spiky hair; you tried so hard to stifle your laughter.

T-this boy didn’t know what a fork was?

‘Wow. He’s really sheltered,isn’t he?’ Your curiosity got the best of you. Dragons probably lived so different than humans but still...he put a fork in his fucking hair.

You got up from the creaky bed and over to where he was crouched on the ground with your stuff splayed around him. You reached over to his ash-blonde hair and took the fork out and for some reason, he let out a choked sound like a mewl from his throat.

“Let me teach you!,” you excitedly said as you grabbed a wooden statue of King Toshinori and placed it in his hands.

You were expected his confused expression to come back but the only look you could read off his ever-scowling face was sadness and regret.

“A-are you okay, dragon boy?” Your concern drew him out of his sorrow and a look of false strength and intimidation spread across his features.

“Bakugou Katsuki.” He stated.

“Huh? I don’t speak your reptilian language.”

“ITS MY NAME YOU DUMBFUCK!”

Oh. Bakugou Katsuki. That name certainly fit him well.

It was also so familiar to you.

“Well, my name is Y/N L/N.”

He muttered something under his breath but you couldn’t understand it.

You remembered that you were supposed to be showing him what everything you had was and grabbed on to the wooden figure you made of your best friend, you even colored in his green hair using fabric paint.

“This right here is one of my prize possessions; He’s my best friend and his name is-“.

“Deku?!” Bakugou growled and snarled at the sight of the person he hates the most in this world in your arms and he wonders if you were sent by that freckled idiot to kill him or worse; make him go back home.

“Who’s Deku? W-Wait....do you recognize him? But that means that you must be...Kacchan?!”

Oh shit.

If what Izuku said was true; you were going to die.

[heykillmongerluhme]

G H O S T: Onto Me

I N S P O: Haunted x Beyoncé (Listen to if you want to height experience); Also the whole BEYONCÉ album just for a different feel

N O T E: Soo, this is my first Erik Stevens installation and I will probably do many more. I love to write, just period. This is short, it may end up to be something more, I really don’t know. I am just following my Muse Juice lol. Comments, Feedbacks, and any other things please give me! I appreciate it all. Please, enjoy.

W A R N: I am an adult and everything is 21+. I write angst, fluff, and smut. I will try everything to be as real as possible. If there are any deep triggers, it will be stated after this disclaimer. Some chapters may have lyrics, others may not. It will all depend on the chapter.

T R I G G E R: Alcohol; Anxiety

W O R D: 3.1k

G H O S T: Onto Me

I'm climbing up the walls 'cause all the shit I hear is boring. All the shit I do is boring.

“Do you trust me?” the warm breath brushed on her exposed stomach. 

Flat in its natural state, it churned to anything but. Soft, rhythmic breathing filled her bedroom as she watched the figure beneath her. Her eyes must have been filled with dark lust because the only thing that she felt was the heaviness on her bottom half. Only a silhouette in her view. She wanted to moan their name but she was interrupted by a sting from a bite.

“Ow..” Soliyah giggled softly, eyes fluttered down to the dominating figure that drove her up the wall. The question still not answered by Soliyah was the reason for her punishment of the love bite against her belly. 

“I asked, do you trust me?” the figure questioned along her stomach with a short growl intertwining with their words. Trust receiving the lowest octave. Soliyah’s eyes finally flutter open, but slightly. Her eyes landed on what seemed to be an amber-like hue pair back at her. Breathlessly, she nodded.

“Say it” the eyes growled back to her, consuming her body in their hands. Lips planted on her stomach, hands trailing to her love spot.

Her bottom falling limply as she cried out “I trust..you⎼” 

EGH!EGH!EGH!EGH!EGH!

“Hmm..” Soliyah whined as her face plastered in her ivory and periwinkle Egyptian Cotton bedsheet. She wasn’t frustrated because she had to go to her dead-end job, but because this was the 2nd time that she has had that exact dream. It would always stop right there, though. She could never see who the mystery figure who had invaded her dreams for the past 3 weeks. Soli did attend a bachelorette party around that same time, but she couldn’t be that deprived could she? Her brown slit of eyes watched as her iPhone clock changed from 6:55 AM to 6:56 AM. Planning for her day ahead she managed to swing her relaxed thighs from under the covers.

Soliyah was always curious as to why that quote-on quote wet dream, felt more like a real-life simulation. She made a note to herself that only two glasses of wine should suffice for her daily nightcaps after work. The 27-year-old, Soliyah Burnett was fortunate enough to become an adjunct professor for Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. She was looking forward to a promotion to become a permanent professor. Also, she is waiting to be placed with a hospital for her residency. 

She did not always want to be a doctor, it sort of just became her destiny. Soli, as everyone would call her, always knew that her job was always going to be to heal people. Though she would like to become a permanent professor, she wanted to be a doctor more. Her thoughts of her future - the one she would have daily - clouded her mind before she became alerted of a Facetime call from her long-time friend, Nala. Yes, like The Lion King. Let’s just say, moms was obsessed. She flicked the excess water from her fingers from the sink, sliding the call waiting to the right. 

“Yuurp” she bellowed through brushed gums.

“Ew, girl answer the phone like a regular person” a wrinkle formed over Nala’s nose as a goofy glance of disdain fell. “Good Morning!!” her words changed to her frequently up-so-happy attitude.

“You are too loud this morning, I don’t be gettin’ it” Soli mumbled before spitting out the froth of the minty toothpaste into the sink of running water. It was true, Nala was definitely a morning person and it didn’t help that they worked at the same place. Matter of fact, Nala put in a good word for her, seeing as though that she is on the Board of Directors at the school. 

“How can you not be up in the morning? When you have your own practice, and you will” she affirmed to her always doubting friend “You gon’ have to be gettin’ that ass up around, like,  4:00 AM at least” 

Her eyebrows raised as the echo of the ridiculous time ranged in Soli apartment bathroom. “L-O-L” she actually spelled out, she was corny like that sometimes. “You are funny, I’ma see how I can finesse that to be ‘Nah’”. 

With her laidback slur that ran from her bewitching face, one would be confused. A delicate woman that looks like she, but had the heart and brute strength of confident language. You would not know that she was a professor to over 400 students - not simultaneously -  and may obtain her residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Everything was going to be set.

x x

“Tonight’s the big night!” Nala cheered through the speakers of Soliyah’s Onyx 2018 BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo. She let out a sigh that was becoming well needed by the hour. Tonight she was going to find out where she was going to be placed. It was Sinai or nothing else, it was going to be that.

“Yeees, I am so nervous” she confessed to her best friend. They were those type of friends, talked on the way to work and at work and on the way home. They practically grew up attached at the umbilical cord. Unbeknownst to the mothers, they delivered them both at the hospital a day apart and turned out to be new neighbors to one another, as both families were of newlyweds. Small world would be an understatement. Soliyah never questioned the universe and its decisions, but she always was thankful. 

“Don’t be, after work we are going out to find out this information. Cannot have the repeat of acceptance of Doctrine night, mm mm” Nala’s head shook as if Soli could see before they both let out a peal of uniformed laughter.

Her eyes focusing in on her designated parking spot as her lip tucked beneath her teeth, she parked in her spot. “I’ma see you inside” she confirmed with her waiting friend as they said their ‘Okay’s’ before hanging up. Soliyah opened up her front face camera on her phone to do any last-minute checks of her appearance before facing the day. She fluffed her blowout before feeling a heavy, energy-sucking feeling from behind. She definitely felt eyes on her, snapping her head back around to her backseat she looked for what could be a perpetrator. Adrenaline running down quickly as she saw nothing, she snorted at herself for even thinking that anyone would be able to get into the back of her car without notice.

Shaking off the level of spook that she felt, Soli, retrieve her well needed essentially for this 8:00 AM Tuesday morning. Laptop, Tea, Phone, and Lesson Plans. The list is checked off, she made her way up the walkway as some students she was familiar with gave small greetings. A hard tingle went over her ass running up her back. There it was again and this time goosebumps decorated the nape of her neck. Trying, now, not to look paranoid she turned around quickly, but not to alert anyone as she looked for any person who may look strange or who is just having a hard time not staring at her ass. Again, she saw nothing out of the ordinary.

x x

“Okay, you gave me two old historical natural medicines that have helped the human race. Does anyone know of the other?” Soli’s eyes danced across the confused students' faces. She wasn’t disappointed that they didn’t know the answer, quite frankly she was surprised that the class was able to muster up two answers. This class was a drag to the student, imagine how Soli felt teaching and trying to make it fun. Her eyes scanned against the auditorium filled the room as she saw a hand from the way in the back raise. She couldn’t see their face but the gleam of what seemed to be their gold watch shone like an SOS light enough for her to see.

“Yes?” she inquired while calling on them, some eyes turning, some eyes focused on Ms. Soli as the students like to call her.

“Marijuana” the student answered truthfully as the class erupted into laughter. Some ‘Oo’s’ and name-calling rounded up the room. Soli laughed at the reaction of the students, knowing that the joke was on them. Hearing the fade of the class settling down, Soli projected “He is not completely off, it was not specifically Marijuana but the chemical named ‘CBD’ aka Cannabidiol. So, thank you for that” 

“What about Vibranium? That’s been around for thousands of years and it’s mined naturally, IN Africa? We don’t talk about that” a female’s voice crowded the room as others asked confused about what Vibranium and its purpose. Others agreed with the protesting young woman. Soli had minimal knowledge to other forms of resources other than Western ones, she sort of felt like an airhead for the brief moment. However, she was never the type of person to say she knows something when that is furthest from the truth. 

“Honestly, Chey, I have no clue. They don’t have it in the curriculum and that sucks.” Soli's throat began to create a dry patch as she spoke in her truth, something she often did in front of her students “Myself included, I do not know too much about the resource and its effects. I would love to become educated by anyone who has the information, privately, of course, can’t be disrupting my class” laughter erupted through the class before quieting down just as quickly the wave came  

“But” she continued “I will try my best for us to incorporate more history of us and our people and their contribution to medicine more often. Please bring in your information”

“Aye! You a real one, Ms. Soli” one her comedic students bellowed out in the classroom and others agreed with their laughter. 

“Don’t gas me” she laughed along with the student, looking to the clock seeing that the class still had 20 minutes worth of lecture left. “Aight, aight settle down. Now, what is the purpose of each of the three medicines?” her commanded attention on the class reigned as hands shot up waiting to be chosen.

x x

“Soliyah! Hurry up before all the good seats are gone!” Nala squeaked in the low-breeze of the California wind. 

“Waddaminute child!” Soli beckoned back as she ran across the semi-busy street from her parallel parked car. “Tryna get me smooshed out here” she breathed out a chuckle, half from catching her breath and the other half from being caught off guard from the wind that hit her. “Come on” she shooed her friend inside to the lounge.

This was definitely Soliyah’s kind of scene. Quaint but enough individuals in the vicinity to capture a story or two. The lights dim and powdered like as the hue of black and brown furniture decorated the place. Sounds of the long loc’d fellow, spit out his spoken word through the worn brown leather book. She smiled to herself and to Nala as her best friend truly knew her. If she was to find out if she got into Sinai or not, she would have wanted to celebrate (or wallow) in a place like this. 

Once they found their seats, the night started to drift on pretty quickly. However, to Soli, it seemed that every millisecond within the 60 seconds was dragging. She wanted to rip the band-aid off but she couldn’t find the strength to even peek at her phone. 

“I’m going to do it for you if you don’t open up that damn phone” a tortilla chip bounced in Nala’s open mouth as she spoke once more, picking up another chip “It’s way past 6 o’clock, they have sent it. You got into Sinai and we are going to turn up. So, let’s get it!”

Half wanting to kick her under the table and half wanted to thank her for getting her out her thoughts, she picked up her phone slowly off the table and waited for the Face ID to recognize her. Her trembling thumb danced to her email icon, keeping breath in she searched through pointless emails only looking for the one that stated “Congratulations! You have been Placed!”.

Behold as she manifests it, there the subject was staring at her. This was it, her residency at one of the most popular hospitals in this area was all she wanted once she started her program at UCLA. Pressing the button, she read the letter stating her congratulations but a frown quickly found her lips as she read what could be some of the grammatical error. Or Los Angeles and Oakland look a lot alike in the dictionary.

“What does it say? What’s it say?!” Nala eagerness broke Soli from her dumbfounded look. If anyone told her that her face could stay like that if she made it, she would just keep it for the rest of her life. Not speaking quick enough, Nala snatched the phone sighing out, rolled eyes to follow at her apprehensive best friend. Soliyah looked up her almond-colored friend as she read through the email with a wide-spread smile then just like clockwork, down to frown.

“Oakland?” she questioned

“Oakland,” Soli answered, unenthusiastically to add. 

“I mean...at least you got placed?” her friends' natural switch to optimism charged up but Soli sour mood climbed it down with a single look.

x x 

“An-nd you want to know what else?” Soliyah was completed drained at this point, three shots of Henny in and a Long Island. It was almost time for her to go home. Soli was not much of hard liquor drinker but she felt that need for the occasion.

“Listenn..” an internal burp bumped into her chest as her glossy brown orbs watched Nala. Nala had stopped a drink and a half ago, knowing that her friend needed this moment. “It’s not that I don’t like Oakland, my fuckin’ family is from there!” her volume raising an octave causing Nala’s eyes to fly open after they sleezed overhearing the story of how she put herself through all schools, she made it out of her neighborhood, and being the youngest to do what she is doing in her social and work circle.

“It’s just that I l-left” she pointed to the right indication moving forward “so that I don’t have to go back” her fingers fling opposite direction almost spilling her drink “until I had my own practice, learning fromm these wealthy ass people over here! Infiltrate and then invest in our community!” Soli began to channel her inner Chey. 

“Alright, Angela Davis, I think that we had enough for the night. So much for no repeats” Nala said more to herself but Soli caught the joke and bellowed out a burst of laughter, though it was a  bit more extra needed than the statement.

“I will be right back” Nala got the idea of grabbing napkins and speaking to the bartender about having plastic bags and water, they were going to need it. But, before Nala could depart from Soli, like lightening her left fingertips wrapped around her medium wrist “Waait, no no, don’t go. I’ve been feeling like some has been watching me like just been watching me” she repeated to her friend before the fear didn’t resonate with her but with liquor being her catalyst. The real emotions were surfacing.

Nala’s eyebrows knitted together watching her frantic friend, watching as her face is flushing colors of red and green indicating that they needed to go home right away. So, to oblige and get out of there quicker, she nodded in hopes to have Soli follow “Okay, baby, and if he comes around here we gon’ fuck ‘em up okay?” her mother like tone soothed Soliyah at best for right now.

“Okay,” she mimicked before sitting back and watch her friend disappear into what was the growing crowd. Her eyes scanned the bar as she tried her best to maintain her composure in this public establishment. She definitely went over her limit and was using a sick day the next day, it was needed. She felt that feeling again. Someone was watching her and she was trying to raise up to notice the creep but only did it with her eyes. Peeking through her small fingers, her eyes lashed tickled inside her palms searching for whatever stranger was staring at her.

Then, an instant lock or connect had formed. Sober or intoxicated, Soli had never felt another like it before. It was like when you knew that you were in the right place, at the right time, with the right person. Eager now, her eyes shot up to now catch this culprit she has been playing with what felt like all day. 

Maybe it’s all in my head? She thought foolishly to herself, she knew someone was watching her. The next 3 seconds felt like a lifetime as in the search for what she thought the culprit would look like, her eyes passed a stranger that her brain made sure to mentally to take a snapshot of. The figure stood still by himself with the crowd around him, eyes set on Soliyah and only her. The familiar amber-hue she sought after the first dream came into view. Her body froze but the heart was hot as the California week with no rain or sign of a cloud. Mind you, this was all in a matter of 3 seconds. 

She thought of how when you look around and other people look around too, you catch each other’s gaze. This shit wasn’t like that for real, it was like the figure was waiting for her eyes to meet his. Sobered up slightly, scared to scanned her 180 degrees way back, she did it despite the fear of the man still staring at her. Remember, this was a matter of 3 seconds of how long their eyes met. Disappointed that the figure that once stood out to her in the crowd was now gone. 

“What’s wrong with you?’ Nala appeared looking in the direction that Soliyah had her eyes set on before looking to her. Soli didn’t notice the apparent frown that crowded her face as she stared that the very spot sacred like he was going to magically appear back.

Eyes drawing from the spot, she faced her friend “Nothing, I think it is time for me to go” the rummage in her stomach signaling on cue.

“Ya think?” Nala laughed as she grabbed her drunken friend, leading her to her car, being the designated driver for the there 5-minute ride home.

x x x

I hope you guys like this! Sorry if this was so slow but I really just wanted to set the scene and the tone for you guys! I hope that this story can go far, I may want to be short but it’s really long. Idk, just going to keep writing. Cause the ideas chile! But anyways, please read and review! I would love it!

- KD

[rumbelleshowdown]

Colours in the Fire

Author: The Lunch Lion Prompt: autumn, get away Group: D

Autumn had always been Belle’s favourite season in the Dark Castle.

Of course, spring brought with it light and green and fresh flowers; the hope of new beginnings and the promise of new life and bright futures.

Summer brought fruit and hot sunshine, the lake in the grounds glistening with a thousand diamonds on its surface; so much brightness that the place could hardly be called the Dark Castle for those glorious summer months.

Winter was cold and crisp and cleared the air ready for the warmth of spring again, the snow casting a clean blanket of quiet contemplation over the world.

Autumn, though… Autumn was full of colour as the leaves changed and fell, and full of sound as they crunched and slipped underfoot. Autumn was a playful season; unlike its more serene cousins it was full of character, and it brought out Belle’s own playful streak. She had fond memories of catching Rumplestiltskin unawares in a shower of leaves. He’d threatened to turn her into a toad on more than one occasion when that happened, but Belle had never let that put her off. She still suspected that he’d actually rather enjoyed those surprises, and that they probably weren’t quite as surprising as she’d thought they were at the time.

Naturally, when summer left Storybrooke and the weather began to worsen as the nights drew in, Belle was very much looking forward to experiencing her first autumn in the Land without Magic. She recalled the long evenings she’d spent in the Dark Castle’s main hall with Rumple, his spinning wheel providing a humming, creaking music as she read, and the ceremony of lighting the first fire of the season when the cold air set in. She’d already been half in love with him then, and she was looking forward to re-enacting those moments with him now that they had admitted that love and were both on the same page when it came to their relationship.

Autumn in Storybrooke, however, proved to be far less romantic than Belle had anticipated. There was no colour anywhere; the rains came heavily and turned the leaves on the ground to brown sludge, and the misty damp hung in the air, clinging to her like an unwelcome second skin. Everything that was once vibrant in the town now just seemed grey, and the welcoming autumns of the Dark Castle seemed like a lifetime away.

Despite the falling temperature outside, Belle had never noticed the chill back in the Enchanted Forest. The colours of the leaves were like flames, and they had always made her feel warm even when she had been outside, her breath curling into smoky tendrils in the air. She looked outside the library at the steady rain that had been sheeting down for the entire day, and she shivered, pulling her thick cardigan in closer around her. She had abandoned her high heels and short skirts in favour of dressing in a manner that resembled the way that the incessant weather made her feel – shapeless and drab.

Rumple didn’t seem to mind the change in her attire; he always maintained that she could wear a potato sack and she would still be the most beautiful woman that he had ever laid eyes on, but Belle could tell that he was concerned about the change in her mood. There was a little frown line between his brows whenever he looked at her, hunched over her book and trying to block out the autumn physically.

It was the same little frown line that he was wearing now as he entered the library, folding up his umbrella and placing it in the bucket that Belle had put next to the door for that express purpose. As he came towards her, however, his expression changed, and he began to smile.

“I’ve had an idea,” he said, striding up to the issue desk where Belle was curled up in her chair. She looked up at him, taking in the raindrops soaking into the thick wool fabric of his coat, and for a moment, the heavy greyness that had settled around her felt like it was lifted. Rumple reached out to cup her cheek, gently tilting her face up towards his so that he could steal a kiss, one that Belle gave readily. Being with Rumple could always make her feel better.

“I think I know how you can enjoy the autumn here a little more,” Rumple continued. “You always used to love it in the Dark Castle.”

“The seasons in the Dark Castle were different,” Belle protested. “The autumns were colder, but they never felt as cold as they do here. There always seemed to be more life, more vibrancy. Here there’s just nothing. Everything feels as dead as winter, or worse.”

“I can’t change the weather, but I can try to bring a little of the Dark Castle to Storybrooke. We can get away from all the miserable grey and create a little corner of vibrant autumn just for us.”

“Really, Rumple? Oh, that would be wonderful.”

“I’ll see what I can do. Pack a bag when you get home tonight. We’re going on a little adventure.”

If Belle didn’t know better then she’d say that he left the library with a distinct spring in his step. Although she wasn’t quite that far herself, she certainly felt much more positive about the season than she had done in days.

X

“I thought you said that we were going to have a vibrant autumn getaway.” Belle looked through the rain-soaked windscreen at the cabin. They’d spent several happy weekends there during the summer, but she’d never really thought that it would be all that appealing in any other season. It certainly didn’t look like a pleasant retreat now, under the dark clouds, mud pooling in the driveway under the unending deluge.

“Well, I know it doesn’t look like much from the outside in this light but have a little faith in me. Have I ever let you down before? Actually, don’t answer that.”

“No, you haven’t let me down yet,” Belle agreed. She peered out of the window and up at the sky. “I don’t think that the rain’s going to ease up; we’re going to have to make a run for it.”

They dashed up the path, cuddled tightly together under Rumple’s huge umbrella, and Belle didn’t mind at all that he was using some surreptitious magic to keep their feet and their bags dry until they made it into the cabin.

As soon as they were inside, any doubts that Belle might have had as to the vibrancy of their autumn getaway were completely dispelled. The cabin had become a waterfall of crisp leaves in their flaming fall colours, cascading down the walls and piling on the floor. She couldn’t help herself, and she ran across the main room to dive into a pile, throwing them up in the air over her head and giggling with glee at the sheer silliness of it all. Rumple watched her from the doorway with a soft smile on his face, happy to see her so happy for the first time in many days, since the change in the weather had come.

“Oh Rumple, this is beautiful, thank you. It must have taken you ages.”

“Well, I did have some assistance.” He waggled his fingers, a wisp of purple magic coming off them. “There really wasn’t much chance of finding dry and colourful leaves in Storybrooke in the current circumstances. Still, I’m glad that you like it.”

“I love it, no matter how it was achieved.” She looked over to the fireplace, with kindling and logs stacked beside it. “Can we light the fire? Then it would truly be like it was back in the Dark Castle.”

Rumple took a box of matches out of his pocket and presented it to her with a flourish and a bow.

“The first fire of the autumn has always been yours, and I see no reason to break with tradition here in Storybrooke.”

Belle extricated herself from her pile of leaves and they knelt in front of the fire together, setting it with practised hands. She felt a little frisson of excitement as she struck the match and the kindling took alight, soon bathing the room in a warm amber glow, the heat from the flickering flames chasing away the chill that had settled into her bones.

She leaned in against Rumple’s side and gave a happy little sigh.

“Thank you. This feels like a proper autumn, now.”

“It does remind me of the castle. I think that was when I first fell in love with you, actually.” Rumple chuckled. “It was the glee that you always had for autumn. It was so pure and genuine. It still is. Of course, there are many, many other things that I love about you as well.” He pulled her in close and kissed her deeply, and Belle let herself give in to it, wrapping her arms around his neck and closing her eyes.

“There are many, many things that I love about you, too,” she whispered once they finally parted. “And bringing an enchanted autumn to me is just one of them.”

The fire crackled, and the bed of leaves mirroring its colours rustled softly as Belle moved on them. Something in the back of her mind told her that it would be a nightmare to clean up when they eventually left the cabin again, but at the same time, something else was telling her that they didn’t need to leave the cabin for a good long while yet, and that she should enjoy her autumn here whilst she could.

She pulled Rumple in for another kiss. She was certainly going to do just that.

[buttsonthebeach]

Quick, Bright, Easy

@wardsarefunctioning is the nicest ever and commissioned me to write about Ashara and Lucius, in an AU in which they are secretly sleeping together! Thank you friend <3 <3 <3 It was fun taking these characters into a modern space and playing around with this scenario.

My Ko-Fi || My Commissions (Slots currently CLOSED as of 7/29/19)

Pairing: Ashara Lavellan x Lucius Talvas

Rating: Mature. There is smut but it is not overly explicit. Read at your own discretion!

*****************

As usual, when Ashara made it to Lucius’s dorm room, she was already going a mile a minute. Already kissing him, one hand already on his belt. She smelled like soap and the leave-in conditioner she used religiously on her thick curly hair, and before he was really processing anything, his hands were already tangled in that hair, pulling her closer, breathing harshly against her lips.

“Careful,” she murmured. “I have class in half an hour. Can’t mess up the hair. But also hurry. I have class in half an hour.”

He laughed, and her cheeks pinked with embarrassment.

“Don’t laugh at me,” she said, pushing him a step or two back. “We have an exam today and I’m all wound up and I -”

Lucius silenced her with another kiss, with his hands on her ass now, pulling her tight against him. The sundress she was wearing was thin and he could feel the heat of her skin through the fabric and Maker he was already hard, and minutes ago he had been studying for his own exams and now he’d forgotten everything he’d ever learned about property law and the nature of limited liability corporations (not that he had ever really cared that much about them in the first place). All that mattered now was that Ash was here, and in his arms, her hand already snaking down the front of his jeans, gripping him tight.

Things were always fast with her, it seemed. She thought fast, talked fast, learned fast. She was quick to push him backwards towards his bedroom, to pull the sundress over her head, baring all that perfect brown freckled skin beneath it, the simple brown cotton bra and underwear beneath that. She’d been fast to befriend him after that first day they met in the campus library six months before, at the start of the fall term. She was a firstyear student at the University of Kirkwall but she was already fast knocking out the classes for her degree (Physics of the Fade with a minor in Elvhen Cultural Studies).

And when they’d first kissed, four months ago, she’d been quick to deepen it. They were at a Wintersend party at their friend Laurence’s fraternity, in a quiet corner, and Lucius was tall but so was she and she was on tiptoe and he wanted nothing more than to keep kissing her. But he’d had to pull back, tell her the truth that had been knotted around his heart ever since he realized he was falling for her.

“My work-study program - they have very strict rules about dating. I can’t - we can’t - unless it’s a secret.”

And she’d been fast to accept that. Sure, whatever, it’s fine, we don’t need to be that serious anyway.

And now here she was, in his dorm, fast removing his clothes, kissing his collarbone, grinding against his thigh. And she was, as always, a wonder in his arms, and he feared, as always, that it would be over as fast as it had begun. This secret between them. The sweet sound she made when he slipped a hand between them, played with her over her underwear, pushed the underwear aside so he could feel how wet she was.

“Fenedhis,” she swore, her palms slapping against his headboard, and then she whimpered when he entered her, and he wanted to hear that sound every day, he wanted to hold her hand when they walked to and from class, he wanted to take her to one of the nice restaurants off campus, but he was a poor Tevene student from a poor family and this work-study program was the only thing keeping him in school, paying his tuition and putting food on his plate, and so this had to stay a secret.

But all of that fell away as he watched her, all but riding his hand as he fingered her, her own fingernails digging into the headboard. As she pulled away, fumbled through the drawer in his nightstand and found a condom, took him out of his briefs, rolled the condom down, and then sank down on him. Then there was nothing but how good it felt to be in her, close to her. She bent down and rested her forehead against his and it filled him with a tenderness that overwhelmed all of his senses, that forced helpless sounds up from his throat as he kissed her, bucked up into her, everything forgotten but the present moment -

And then, of course, his phone rang.

He had every single contact in there set to vibrate, except for one - Magister Corix, president of the Kirkwall chapter of the Nicon Estoris Center. His boss, and the reason his feelings for the beautiful woman above him had to stay secret.

"Shit. Sorry. Hang on. I have to take this."

Just as she'd been fast with everything, Ash was fast to listen. She pulled away from him, scrambled to the end of the bed, panting, apologizing. Lucius took a second to catch his breath, cleared his throat, and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Lucius. You sound out of breath."

Lucius closed his eyes, tempted to pray to the Maker he didn't believe in. "Sorry. I'm at the gym."

"I see. Go ahead and wrap up there - I have another mailing I'd like to get out before close of business today and I'll need you to come in as soon as you can."

"Understood. I'll be there in forty-five minutes."

"Sooner if you can. There are at least one hundred envelopes to be stuffed."

Corix hung up. Lucius had been working for him since he was a first year himself, and in those five years he still had not seemed to grasp that Lucius did not have a car, that forty-five minutes was the absolute fastest he could get from the University's Lowtown campus to the Center's Hightown office if he took the bus. Nor did he understand that most voters weren't going to open the mailings that Lucius would painstakingly assemble all afternoon. That was probably a good thing, though. The Nicon Estoris Center was focused primarily on so-called traditional Thedosian politics, and promoting the interests of the Chantry, and Lucius didn't particularly want anyone to open their mailings. He didn't particularly want to work there at all. But it was the only nonprofit that would pay the lion's share of his tuition, and his parents were so proud of him for going to college, and it wasn't like they were as reactionary as the Venatori faction that had been trying to influence Tevene politics and Thedosian politics at large -

And to be frank it hadn't really mattered all that much to him until this year. Until he met the woman sitting nervous and cross-legged at the foot of his bed, chewing her lower lip. The delicate points of her elven ears just visible through the cloud of her curls. Exactly the sort of person that the stewards of the Nicon-Estoris Center would never approve of.

All participants in the work-study will uphold the values of the Center in all aspects of their daily lives. This extends to their romantic involvements. Failure to uphold these values will result in termination of participants' work-study benefits.

They didn't say it explicitly, but Lucius had stuffed enough envelopes and edited enough promotional material to know what they meant. First, no sex outside of marriage, period. Second, that eventual marriage was to be with a Tevene woman. There was no room for any of the things he had ever felt towards other men. Or for what he felt for Ashara Lavellan, an elf, and the brightest and kindest person he knew.

"I should go," she said awkwardly, rising, looking around for the sundress she had discarded.

"Yeah. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I've got that exam. Do you think you'll still make it to D&D tonight?"

"I think so. I'll probably be late though."

"That's okay. I'll let the others know. See you then."

She stood looking down at him, dressed but still flushed with desire, pink along the hollow of her throat and the rise of her breasts, the pupils of her big blue eyes still dilated. Before Lucius could say anything else she bent down and kissed his cheek. She drew back but her hand was still cupping his face, her thumb drawing a pattern across his cheekbone. She looked at him another moment, something like fear in her eyes, and then she was gone as fast as she arrived.

*

Lucius had never put that much energy into love and relationships. He'd been shy and awkward since the day he was born if you listened to his mother. He'd attended an integrated school in Vyrantium, in an era when the Tevene school system was trying to prove that mages and non-mages could have the exact same education, right down to their classes in practical magical applications. The end result as far as his social life was concerned was that he was isolated from the non-mage students who resented those who still had magic, an increasingly rare skill in modern Thedas, and one the teachers still fussed over despite being told to treat all students as equal. And yet his relative poverty isolated him from the wealthy mage students, of whom there were far more than non-wealthy mage students.

And, of course, the elven students, regardless of the other categories they might fit into - mage or non-mage - tended to stick to themselves as well.

Some students were brave enough, gregarious enough, to overcome those divides. Lucius barely had the desire or energy to talk to the students he most closely resembled, no matter how many pep talks his parents gave him. That did not change as he got older, as he became aware of certain girls at his school, and then occasionally of certain boys. He wanted the things he saw other people having - dates and presents and holding hands in the hall - but he wanted them distantly. The same way he wanted to be able to cast a fireball, the way mages had in the past, before magic became so rare and so weakened.

That had changed a little in college, with the introduction of alcohol. His work-study situation had been the perfect excuse to keep things casual. To dip his toes in, see what it was like, and then withdraw before any lines were crossed. 

Until Ashara.

Lucius sat in one of the oak-paneled conference rooms at the Nicon Estoris Center, mindlessly filling envelopes, thinking only of her. About how she'd kissed his cheek before leaving. It hadn't been like that when their secret first started. There'd been plenty of kissing of course but it was the hot and heavy kind that happened when you came over to "watch a movie." It had progressed from there. She was frank about her inexperience and he was frank about his and so they learned together, all the way until they'd finally had sex. A first for both of them. But even then she had not clung to him or made professions of love. And she had not kissed him on the cheek before she left.

“Ridiculous,” he muttered to himself, trying to refocus on the task at hand. He was obsessing over nothing. 

Ash was comfortable with their situation. He would know if she wasn’t. She wasn’t particularly good at hiding what she was feeling. And though no one was forbidding her from dating, or from dating someone who wasn’t an elf, she had plenty of reason to only want something casual. She’d come to the University of Kirkwall from the Republic of Enasan, an elf majority country in the far south. She was the daughter of two well known politicians down there - Solas and Ellana Lavellan - and she was a gifted mage and a gifted student. She was enjoying her first freedom from her parents and their relative fame (though she did always speak of them with great fondness). She was undoubtedly going to go on to great things. She didn’t need to fall in love.

She certainly didn’t need to fall in love with a twenty-three-year-old Business major who still had another semester to go after this one because he’d had to take time off part way through his degree to help out back at home in Vyrantium, who wasn’t even a particularly good or enthusiastic Business major, who had no idea what he was going to do with the degree when he was done with it.

So that was what Lucius reminded himself of over and over again. Not of the way she’d rested her forehead against his while they were having sex, or of the way she’d kissed his cheek or looked down at him with something like fear, something like hope, in her eyes. Of how impossible all of it was. Of how he’d never counted on falling in love anyway.

*

“Are we expecting more food?”

Laurence’s question cut through the fog of Ashara’s thoughts. She turned away from the door to the hallway, which she must have been watching more intently than she thought she had been.

“No.”

“Oh. Too bad.” Laurence didn’t seem too put out though. He had a plate full of pizza in front of him after all. Their other friend, Haleir, was the one who started laughing.

“Wait - did you actually ask that just because Lavellan was staring at the door?”

“Yes. She usually does that when we’re waiting for the food to arrive,” Laurence said simply, and Ashara could already feel the heat rising in her cheeks. Haleir laughed even harder at that.

“I’m not sure what’s funnier - the fact that she does stare at the door when we’re waiting for food, or the fact that you noticed and got excited.”

“Oh, shut up,” Ashara groused finally, kicking at Haleir’s chair.

“Please no destruction of furniture,” Claudia said, emerging from her room with her mountain of D&D books in her arms. “Where’s Lucius?”

Ashara pretended that the name didn’t make her sit up a little straighter.

“Running late. He had to go to work on short notice.”

“Oh. He didn’t text that, did he?” Claudia reached for her phone, frowning as she swiped through the notifications.

Ashara realized her error at once.

“No - ah - I saw him earlier today on my way to class. He told me then.”

Claudia gave Ashara one long, searching look, and then she dropped it. Haleir and Laurence were busy laughing about something else by that point, which was a relief. Ashara was no good at keeping secrets, if she was honest with herself. She was amazed this one had lasted as long as it had. Four whole months. Four great months. Free to explore and learn and enjoy college and more importantly to enjoy Lucius, the secret world between the two of them - the soft little quirk of his lips when he found something funny about a movie they were watching, because he very rarely laughed out loud - the way he melted whenever she ran her fingers up and down the back of his neck as they kissed - his ticklish spots and the tone his voice only ever took on when it was the two of them -

“Ashara.”

Haleir’s singsonging voice jerked her back. He was the only one who ever called her by her full name, since he was the only other elf in the little group they’d cobbled together over the school year. 

“What?”

“What time is he getting here?”

“Oh. He didn’t say. Let me text him.”

She sent the text and then drifted on the tide of conversation as she waited for his reply, observing her friends. She and Haleir were the youngest, still in their first year at the university, and had met in their orientation; Ashara had already known Claudia through their parents’ friendship, which was why they were roommates, even though she was a year ahead of Ashara in school; Laurence, also in his second year in college, had shown up (already high on elfroot) to a party Claudia was hosting, thinking it was a dorm belonging to one of his frat brothers, and had stuck around since. And then there was Lucius, the oldest of them by a good three years, still working on finishing the last credits he needed for his degree, and painfully aware of that fact. She wanted to soothe his feelings about it, to remind him that none of them cared, that probably no one cared. She hoped he was doing okay at work. She wondered why he hadn’t texted back yet.

Claudia got to work arranging miniatures and reviewing her notes for the evening’s session, and then they were all complaining about their midterms when Lucius texted back.

Should be on my way soon. Maybe 30 minutes but then I have to take the bus. You can start without me.

A dart of disappointment hit her chest. He sounded disappointed too. Hopefully he wasn’t too tired to come after all.

“What’s wrong?” Claudia asked.

“Lucius isn’t leaving work for another 30 minutes and then he has to take the bus to get here. He said we should start without him.”

“I can roll for him,” Laurence offered.

“Nope,” Claudia said. “Same rule as always. You miss a session, you don’t get any of the XP or loot. You guys are all back in town right now, anyway. He can let us know what his wizard has been up to.”

Normally D&D was one of Ashara’s favorite parts of the week. A chance to escape from the mundane every day into a world more magical than their own - a world similar to the one her father described in every one of her childhood bedtime stories. A Thedas where magic was not a trickle but a deluge, where the beings whose skulls she saw in museums were real - dragons and varterrals and broodmothers. A world she got to study now that she was finally in college. But that evening her eyes kept drifting back to her phone, over and over and over again.

Things were casual with Lucius. Casual and secret. Both of those things were good. She was too busy for anything else. Too young for anything else.

Right?

But she hadn’t felt casual about him that afternoon, standing there looking down at him in his bed as she got ready to go to class. She hadn’t felt casual when she kissed his cheek on her way out the door.

Well, whatever her feelings were they didn’t matter. He had to protect his work-study benefits. He had no other choice. He was the first person in his family to go to college and even if she did have feelings for him it would still have to be a secret and that would probably hurt worse, and he probably didn’t even want that, and it wouldn’t be fair to put that on him, but she didn’t have feelings anyway so -

“Ash!” Laurence sounded uncharacteristically frustrated.

“Nope,” Claudia said. “Too late. She wasn’t listening and didn’t react quickly enough to help you flirt with the barkeep. He has already moved on in horror and, quite frankly, disgust.”

“What? Sorry, what did I miss?”

“Laurence has failed in his quest to successfully hit on every barkeep in town. He was hoping you would step in and roll to assist him,” Haleir snorted.

“Oh, gods, I’m sorry.”

“Ah, it’s no problem. Perhaps your character wanted to see mine fail, anyway. He is quite handsome in his new set of armor,” he said with a dramatic waggle of his eyebrows.

“If her character is anything like her, I don’t think she dates,” Haleir chimed in, a sly grin on his face.

Ashara felt the urge to argue, and then stopped herself. A secret was a secret, and they weren’t really dating, and there was no reason for that fact to make her feel sad.

“A pity in both universes, then,” Laurence sighed.

Ashara’s cheeks filled with heat.

“You would be correct. My character is a dedicated cleric of Mythal and doesn’t need any distractions.”

“And her real life counterpart?” Haleir asked.

“Not everyone is as obsessed with sex as you two,” Claudia quipped, shooting a glare at both of them.

“Thank you, Claudia.”

By the time Lucius arrived they had moved on from the subject and were heading through a tunnel they’d found in the basement of one of the bars in town, trying to see if it did in fact connect to the Deep Roads, and someone had pulled out a pack of cheap hard ciders, and Ashara was buzzy with laughter, totally removed from the confusion of the earlier part of the day. But then he was there, tall and dark-haired and quiet, and nothing else mattered other than the fact that she wanted to see him smile.

“Talvas!” Haleir crowed. “You’ve really got to quit that job.”

“I wish,” Lucius said, sitting heavily in a chair beside Laurence, accepting the cider he passed over. “What did I miss?”

They launched back into the game. All the while, Ashara wished that Lucius had come and said hi to her, that he had sat in the empty seat to her right and not next to Laurence, and most of all she wished that she didn’t wish those things.

* Lucius was surprised how many levels there were to intimacy. How many shades of difference there were in sex alone, even ignoring the other kinds of intimacy - the emotional kind, the intimacy of holding someone’s hand.

When he and Ashara had first slept together, it had been an awkward, half-drunk thing, and of course it was intimate by default because they were naked and he was inside her but that was a blunt, de facto kind of intimacy, wasn’t it?

It was nothing like the next time they slept together, two weeks after the time they’d been interrupted by the phone call from Corix.

He and Ash had been texting all day, venting their frustrations over schoolwork and parents and high expectations. He could tell even through those words that she wasn’t having a good day. She was an anxious person, and had gone to a therapist for it back in Enasan, but hadn’t found someone she liked in Kirkwall yet. He’d heard her talk about the strategies she had learned over the years to cope, and had watched how she could get so overwhelmed that she forgot to use them. So he texted her again:

Do you want to come over?

Not sure I’ll be good company.

You’re always good company.

:) omw

He was nervous the way he always was when she came over. Excited, happy nervous. But it didn’t unfold the way it usually did. There was no awkward pretense of something else before they dove eagerly into sex. There was nothing awkward about seeing her look so tired, so defeated, and wanting to soothe that away. They sat and they talked about her fears that she was in the wrong major even though it was the only thing she’d ever wanted to study, ever since she was a little girl and her magic first became apparent. How she was wondering now if it was selfish, the height of her privilege to study something so esoteric and theoretical when so many people all around Thedas needed help.

“I don’t see you that way. You went on that volunteer trip to Par Vollen for spring break, right? And you went to that protest against the gentrification of Lowtown’s historic alienage district last week.”

“Yes, but is that enough? Am I enough?”

It was natural to tilt her face back up, to look her in the eye, to say softly:

“Of course you are.”

It was natural to kiss her then, sweet and soft, and it was also the most intimate thing he’d ever done with another person. To hold her close, to hear her breath hitch not in desire but against the rush of tears. To kiss her eyelids and her nose, and then to feel her bury herself against his chest. He leaned back against the couch cushions and they lay there like that, and it was a rush as strong as that first time they’d slept together.

“Do you want to watch something?” he asked eventually. “Or get something to eat?”

“Whatever you want,” she murmured. “I’m happy like this.”

He turned on the TV for the sound of low voices but barely paid attention to what was on it, trying instead to commit to memory what it felt like to be so close to someone. So trusted. Anxiousness bubbled in the back of his own mind - this was too close, too intimate, and the closer and more intimate things got the more it would hurt to keep it secret, the harder it would be - but he kept silencing it over and over again. He wanted not to care. He wanted to be someone who didn’t have to care about these things. So he would be, at least for now.

Ash sat up eventually, bleary-eyed, her cheek creased by his shirt. She’d been sleeping and that realization filled him with a rush of emotion. They had never stayed over with one another. Had never even taken a nap together. And to see her now, when she was slowed down, yawning, vulnerable, not a whirling rush of feeling and thought -

Lucius leaned over and kissed her before he could feel or think anything else. She responded at once, soft sounds dropping from her lips, and he deepened it, and she followed suit, opening her mouth against his, threading her fingers into his hair. He pulled her closer, onto his lap. He could feel himself getting hard between them but he focused only on the way it felt to kiss her, on the present moment, because nothing else was guaranteed for them. Ashara started grinding against his leg. Everything felt slower than usual as she reached for the hem of his t-shirt, helped him pull it over his head, as she ran her hands along his shoulders and chest, still kissing him, still grinding against him. She pulled back, made long and steady eye contact with him, and suddenly there was no rush; they could make the present last forever.

“Do you want to go to my room?” he asked.

She nodded, and they went together, undressed slowly, came together on the bed naked and quiet, covered themselves up beneath the blankets, making a perfect warm secret place where there was only the two of them, and Lucius knew - knew - as he moved in her that this was too close, too intimate, that they hadn’t talked about this, that it could never go anywhere. But looking down at her beneath him, feeling her body so close to his, he could not imagine letting her go.

“Closer,” Ash said, tugging on his shoulders, and he laid down on top of her and she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight and he moved in her until all the pleasure coiled white hot in his core and he came, shuddering, not embarrassed of the sounds he made for the first time, because she was holding him, whispering something in her native tongue.

When it was over he lay beside her, not quite touching, and this time his mind was the one that was fast. Maybe - maybe this could work - it could stay a secret but it didn’t have to be meaningless anymore - maybe -

“I - I should go,” Ashara said suddenly, softly. 

Lucius rolled over, saw her lying there stiff, looking up at the ceiling.

“There’s no rush,” he ventured, but Ashara was already standing up, collecting her clothes, not meeting his eyes.

“I, um - I forgot I had plans with Claudia tonight. I’m sorry. I’ll text you later?”

She was gone, and there was no good-bye kiss, and slowly but surely all the maybes in his mind drifted away.

*

Ashara had known Claudia on and off again, like a distant cousin, since she was young, but Claudia didn’t even need to know someone all that well to be able to read them like a book. And considering that people who didn’t even know Ashara could read her like a book, she probably didn’t stand a chance of hiding what she was feeling from her friend, but that didn’t stop her from trying as she unlocked the door to their dorm and slipped inside.

“There you are,” Claudia said from the couch. And then, about twenty seconds afterwards, before Ashara had a chance to get to her room. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” Ashara said, even though she felt like she hadn’t been able to breathe all day, her anxiety a vice that had started the day with its grip on her throat and had been tightening it one notch at a time ever since. It hadn’t been bad like this in a while. Was it just that the flush of excitement of starting college had worn off? Leftover stress from midterms? Why was her brain once again focused on nitpicking every last moment of every day, like a song she couldn’t turn off or ignore?

Was it because of Lucius? Because of how good he’d been at breaking down that panic in her, and how she wanted that in her life every day and couldn’t have it?

“Ash,” Claudia said, her tone equal parts warming and warning.

“No, it’s fine, really. I’ll be fine. I’m just going to go lie down for a bit.”

Except lying down made her think of Lucius again, about how she’d wanted to stay in his arms forever, about how that frightened her. About how she had no reason to be so anxious and how she really shouldn’t feel bad about anything, ever, because she was so lucky in comparison to so many others, including him. She didn’t have to work for a place she hated and disagreed with, didn’t have to give up on living her life in any particular way, just to get her degree. So really all of her self-pitying moments, all of her fear were stupid, self-indulgent, and she was a piece of shit for ever feeling bad in the first place -

And now she had let all of that fear drive her straight out of Lucius’s arms, right when things had been good, and she hadn’t even explained herself, and she’d probably hurt him, and if there was ever any chance of anything happening, she’d ruined it. And she could not just lie there with that thought sitting on her chest for hours.

So she went back out to the living room, where Claudia was watching one of her favorite fashion shows or another - probably Queer Eye for the Fereldan Guy judging by the group of well-coiffed men on screen - and sat down beside her.

“Are you going to talk about how not fine you are now?” Claudia asked, muting the TV.

“It’s just the same shit,” Ashara mumbled. “I haven’t been feeling like myself. My anxiety is getting really bad and I have no idea why. And I - did something stupid today, and now I feel even worse.”

Claudia frowned.

“What did you do?”

“Nothing - just something stupid. It doesn’t matter what. I just feel awful.”

“That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. If it’s nothing, why feel awful about it? Where were you today, anyway?”

Claudia was one of the most trustworthy people Ashara knew. She would never breathe a word of this to anyone. And suddenly the secret was heavy and awful, as if one of the moons was crushing her windpipe.

“I was with Lucius. Like - with Lucius.”

“Ah, so you are dating him.”

“What - no - but how did you know?”

“Well, I didn’t know know, but I was pretty sure. You two always seemed to have a bit of a thing for each other. I just wasn’t sure why you weren’t shouting it from the rooftops if you were dating.”

Ashara was queasy with shame. Of course it had been obvious. Lucius should have chosen someone else - anyone else - to share this secret with. She was useless when it came to this sort of thing.

“Well, we aren’t dating. We’re just sleeping together. Because of his work-study. They have some stupid clause about upholding Estoris’s morals and values in public and private life.”

Claudia’s eyes widened with understanding. “Shit. Estoris was pretty conservative. So I’m guessing being romantically involved with an elf is completely off the table?”

“It’s actually being romantically involved with anyone you aren’t married to. But I doubt he would have considered an elf marriage material.”

“Lucius is totally against all of this, right?” Claudia asked, eyes narrowing.

“Yes, of course! He hates how conservative the politics are there. You should see him when he gets off of a shift. He spends hours proofreading things he doesn’t believe in and taking meeting minutes for meetings that he wishes didn’t have to happen. But you know what his family’s situation is. He has no other way to afford school, and he’s so close to finishing. So - we decided to keep it a secret. And keep it casual."

"So the stupid thing you did earlier today has something to do with all of this?"

"Yes. I was having a really rough day and he asked me to come over and we talked and cuddled and when we had sex it was - different than before. And I was so happy and then I just panicked and left and barely gave him a chance to say anything and gods I am so stupid, Claudia."

Ashara felt embarrassingly close to tears. Claudia was simply sitting there in front of her, one eyebrow delicately raised, a look of blank confusion on her face.

"So - you were having a good time, connecting with him more than usual, and then you left?"

"Yes. I mean, what other choice did I have?"

"Tell him that your feelings have changed?"

"It won't change the fact that the Center could deny his benefits."

Claudia looked off into the distance, nodding once or twice to herself.

"Let me figure that out. You just need to find out if he feels the same way."

Ashara thought back to earlier that afternoon - how Lucius had kissed her, the gentleness in his tone, the warm cozy closeness as they had sex, so different from excited experimentation or blowing off steam. And yet she still felt afraid.

"Maybe," she said. "We'll see."

Claudia put a hand on Ashara's arms.

"You could always talk to my dads, you know. They lived through some pretty shitty times in Tevinter as far as keeping love secret went."

Lying in her own bed that night, digging her nails into her palms, feeling like the whole world was spinning out from beneath her, like she was helpless and powerless no matter what she did, Ashara came back to that word. Love. She imagined the safety she felt in his arms that afternoon, and that was what pulled her into sleep, what caused her to wake up the next morning, knowing what she had to do.

*

Lucius already knew that Ashara Lavellan was fast - quick to learn, quick to laugh, quick to feel fear. In the end he shouldn't have been surprised that she would be quick to leave as well.

He'd played the moment she left the day before over and over again in his mind - how she had not even looked over her shoulder as she went. He had to remind himself that she had her own reasons for being okay with their arrangement. For wanting something easy and casual that did not tie her down or alter the dynamic with their friends. He'd panicked her with the intensity of his intimacy.

But then his mind spooled back to the softness of her voice, her words, when they had sex. How she'd held him. He hadn't imagined that.

He'd checked his phone repeatedly that morning but she hadn't texted. He tried to force himself to focus on the textbook in front of him but all he could think was how profoundly little he cared about his degree in business, about the Center and its politics, how he was barely into his twenties and already somehow totally trapped -

There was a knock at his door.

And when he opened it, Ashara was on the other side.

"Hi."

"Hi," he said, heart already in his throat.

"I'm sorry for not texting or calling I just - can I come in? It's okay if you say no."

"Of course."

She was already talking as she crossed the threshold, because Ashara Lavellan was nothing if she was not fast, quick and lively as a flash of sun on the surface of water. About how she was an idiot, and a mess, and she probably wasn't worth the trouble of dealing with what an idiot mess she was, and how she knew things had to stay secret but how Claudia had some type of plan about the Center, and Lucius was caught in the current, happy to see her, not sure he was following, unwilling to interrupt.

"The entire point is," she said, taking both his hands suddenly. "That I like you, Lucius. I don't want this to just be casual. I care about you too much for that. And I don't know if you feel the same way and it's okay if you don't -"

Lucius kissed her, not to silence her but because he didn't have any words of his own for the swelling, buoyant feeling in his chest. Because he would never have half her skill with words anyway. Because he wanted to be quick, too, to show her how he felt.

"I'd like that a lot," he said. "Figuring this out with you."

"Good," Ashara said, beaming. "Then we will."

Lucius had never felt more sure of anything in his life.

[wildfaeworld]

Okay how about "Take me Instead" with Keith! and with platonic Klance or Kidge. :3

Administrative stuff: this is for the @badthingshappenbingo, in the Voltron: Legendary Defender fandom.

For reference, red X has been done, blue circles requested. not that y’all couldn’t figure that out, sheesh

Alright, here goes!! “Take Me Instead”, with platonic Kidge (good one, I live for Kidge friendship) :D This monstrosity is about 1800 words, beware. It was just too much fun.

*PSST*: you can also read this on AO3

——————

“I don’t understand.” Keithscowled over Pidge’s shoulder at the device on the counter before them. “Whatdoes it do?”

Pidge, unwilling to let suchmundane things as purpose dim the stars in her eyes, dug out her pouch of GAC.“It’s a robot, Keith, it doesn’t needto do anything now, I’m gonna upgradeit! How much?”

“Three thousand GAC.” The way thealien shopkeeper’s assessing gaze roamed over Pidge gave Keith theheebie-jeebies. He stepped closer, looming behind her.

“Pidge. You don’t need this robot.”

“Keith.” Pidge did not look upfrom her wallet. “I need this robot.” Now she did look up at him, and somehowher eyes were bigger, wider, and her face was doing something that made it hardto remember why he had thought the robot was a stupid idea. Oh.

“Are you… using puppy-dog eyes onme?”

Her eyes got bigger (was thatpossible? Apparently so), and now he felt guilty for accusing her.

“Is it working? I’m short a couplehundred GAC.”

And just like that, whatever magicwas in the puppy eyes was gone. “We’re supposed to be looking for supplies forthe castle.”

“With your money! I brought myown. I just need a couple hundred, you know Coran gave you way more than we’llneed. Please, Keith, I need this robot. Look at it! It’s socute! How can you say no to such a cute-” “Pile of metal?” “Keeeiiiith,” she whined, whacking him inthe arm. “Pleeeeeeeaaase, Keith?”

Matt probably would have beenable to say no. Shiro too, maybe even Lance. They all had experience withyounger siblings. But no, they sent Keith, who had no idea how to handle hugeeyes and a face full of desperate need for something frankly trivial. He wasnot prepared for this at all.

Sometimes surrender was the onlyoption. Keith yanked out his wallet and began flipping out GAC. “I’m nothelping you fix it.”

“But Keith, you’re my best labassistant! C’mon, it’ll be fun!” Pidge tucked the robot lovingly under her armand turned a blindingly bright smile up at Keith.

Keith sighed and shook his head.He had a feeling that he was going to end up helping fix the robot. “C’mon, weneed to look for that component-thingy.”

“Flux modulator,” Pidge correctedabsently, engrossed in fiddling with the robot. Keith dropped a hand onto hershoulder to steer her through the teeming masses, scowling out from under hisbangs at the scurrying aliens who hurried this way, that, and always across thepath he was trying to steer Pidge through. Crowds had always been hard for him,but since bonding with Red his instincts tended to go haywire whenever he feltsurrounded or not in control.

“Woah,” Pidge muttered, peeringup over her glasses as Keith yanked her to a stop just before a horde of tinyorange aliens screeched across the end of the aisle. “Keith, you okay, man?”

“I’m fine,” Keith said tightly.Something was wrong; his instincts were screaming – he needed to fight, run,fly – anything to calm the fire burning down his spine. “Let’s just get the frackmandala” “Flux modulator-” “-and get back to the lions.”

“You got it.” Perhaps picking upon whatever had Keith’s senses firing, Pidge put the robot into her satchel andpeered around at the stalls. “Ooh, maybe over there.” She wriggled out from underhis hand and darted over to the corner stall.

Something was coming – he couldn’ttake it anymore. Keith drew his bayard, glad he had ignored Allura when she orderedthem to leave all paladin-identifying gear behind. Screw the flip-flop macerator,he was getting Pidge out of here. They could find it somewhere else.

“Pidge, let’s- PIDGE!” Keithpelted for the alley, heart in his throat. A large green arm had snaked out ofthe shadows and latched onto the littlest paladin, yanking her out of sightbefore she could so much as startle at the unexpected contact.

Keith activated his bayard, arrivingin a whirl of violence. Five huge aliens blocked his way, while a sixth hauleda struggling Pidge down the alley, heading for a pod parked at the other end. Ithad her tucked under its arm like a ragdoll, one three-clawed hand wrappedentirely around her head, and though Pidge was one of the fiercest people heknew, without her bayard the size disparity was simply too great for her to domore than annoy the hulking alien with her struggles. 

Keith charged, cutting down oneof the aliens with a swift slash across its throat before the rest swarmed him.He raised his blade to block an overhead strike, letting the angle of his sworddeflect his opponent’s blade down and off to one side, before whirling hissword about to parry the next attack. Shoving the blade off of his own, Keithyanked his knife out of its sheath at his back and stabbed blindly to his left,where he could feel a third alien approaching from behind. The alien gurgledand screamed, but kept coming, and the other two were swiftly recovering aswell. And all the while Pidge was being hauled toward the pod. Keithglanced about the narrow alley frantically. He needed some sort ofadvantage; between their size and their numbers, there was no way he was goingto take all three down on his own. 

A pile of crates stackedhaphazardly against the wall protruded from a mounded pile of discarded trash.Keith yelled and ducked under the rightmost alien’s scythe-like weapon andjumped up the mound. His footing was precarious at best, but his back wasagainst a wall now and he was nearly at eye level with his opponents. One swungat him with a heavy-handed overhead strike – really, again? Clearly these guyswere not used to actual opposition – and Keith blocked it easily, twisting theblade aside and lunging in to take out the alien’s eyes. Three down, two to go.

The one he had just blindedstaggered into one of his remaining opponents, keening loudly, and Keith tookthe opportunity to leap atop the other one, wrapping his thighs around its’ neckand stabbing downwards through the alien’s skull. He rode the enormous body tothe ground, cleaving the last alien from neck to navel on the way down. Thatleft only the blind one, staggering across the alley in futile search of itscomrades. Keith took a running start and leapt up its back, using his momentumto bring the disoriented alien crashing to the ground. Stunned, the alien frozeas it felt Keith’s blade against its’ neck, cold metal warring with hot bloodagainst its scaly flesh.

“Let her go!” Keith shouted, proudthat his voice projected only his anger and not the crippling fear underneath. Not Pidge, please not Pidge. “Let hergo, or you lose the last of your team!”

The alien halted, its reptilianeyes skittering over the carnage Keith had wrought. Over its clawed hand, Pidge’senormous brown eyes locked onto Keith’s.

“You have brought blood-debt uponyourself, stranger,” the alien snarled.

“Let her go, and I’ll give you achance to collect,” Keith retorted. Beneath him, the blinded alien shifted, andhe ground his heel harder into its spine until it stilled.

“This small one is a lawful prize,taken fairly. She will bring good price to me.” The alien shook Pidge slightly,and Keith’s gut twisted at the strangled whimper that emerged past the thickscaly claws wrapped around her head. “What have you to offer, stranger? Your blood-debtis already greater than you can pay.”

Everything was speeding up,unlike in battle when time seemed to slow; this was too fast, too much, and allKeith could think was not Pidge, notPidge in endless, frantic loop.

“Me,” he said, ignoring Pidge’ssudden muffled cy. “Take me.”

The alien snarled. “I havealready said your debt is greater than you can pay. I tire of this. Flee, whileyou still can, before the debt-hunters are given your scent.”

“I’m a paladin!” Keith blurted. “I’ma paladin of Voltron, heard of them?”

The alien’s sudden stillness wasanswer enough.

“Take me, and I’ll pay yourblood-debt. But you have to let her go.”

The alien watched him, reptilianeyes unblinking and hard as stone. Keith stepped off the blinded alien,shifting his sword back into bayard form and sheathing his knife. “Take me,” herepeated. “But let her go.”

“What is she to you?”

“No one,” Keith said quickly –too quickly, damnit. “A messenger,” he tried again, locking eyes with Pidge’s furioushoney-gold orbs and hoping that just this once he could communicate what he wanted.“She’s just a messenger. I hired her to carry my stuff while I shopped. She’s aninnocent.”

The alien lifted Pidge, eyeingher satchel dubiously. With a single claw, it ripped the satchel down thecenter, sending the robot and various other wires and connectors they had alreadypurchased clattering to the ground. It glanced back at Keith, gaze lingering onhis bayard. Keith thanked whatever gods held sway out here for its distinctivered-and-white coloring. Thanks to Coran’s Voltron shows, most of the galaxy nowrecognized the paladin colors and bayards. Beside him, the blinded alien rolledover, scrambling to its feet, and Keith stiffened, but kept his bayarddisarmed. “Take me,” he repeated. “But let her go.”

Slowly, the alien lowered Pidgeto the ground. “Go, child,” it said harshly. “Offer thanks at your hearth thisnight for the foolish ideals of this paladin.”

“Keith,” Pidge whisperedhoarsely. Bruising was already darkening her pale skin, crossing her face inmottled hues that didn’t belong.

“Go on,” Keith said, his mindstill circling madly, stuck in its loop ofnot Pidge, not Pidge. “You’ve got a job to get back to.”

“No, I-”

The alien shoved her towards theentrance to the alley when she stayed rooted to the spot. “Run, child. Deliveryour messages.”

The giant claws descended on him,then, wrapping around Keith’s torso and pinning his arms painfully to hissides. His bayard clattered on the ground, but the alien’s sinuous tail snakeddown to seize it as well.

“Get out of here!” Keith snarledas it began to drag him away. He couldn’t try to escape until Pidge was safelyaway. She couldn’t start tracking him until she was back at her lion, she wasn’tsafe until she was back with Green.

Finally, Pidge fled, dashingtears out of her eyes, and finally, Keith’s panic over her began to subside,even as his own spiked. But Pidge was safe. He could handle whatever came next,as long as it was him and not her.