#Who needs to play hard mode when you can challenge yourself by fighting with nothing but a boon and whatever is in your pants pocket | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

kaashiboo · 4 years ago

Note

ahah heeeey!!!!! can i request kenma, akaashi and sugawara as best friends with gender neutral reader?

thank you for your hard work i really enjoy reading your headcannons (灬º‿º灬)♡

haikyuu boys as your best friend

┇ kenma, akaashi, and suga

gn!reader

【warnings: none】

➢ general note: ohoho this is a very long one so buckle up!

✎ a/n: aaww this is request is cute! thank you for appreciating my work and i'm so glad you enjoy reading them! take care of yourself!<3

kenma

you've been friends with kenma and kuroo ever since you were a child but you're more close with kenma due to his chill personality.

but that doesn't mean that you're less chaotic

kenma honestly questions himself as to why he's best friends with you

but you're a bit more tolerable than kuroo he guesses.

"say, if i hypothetically and accidentally broke your swi— kenma, you're gonna kill me with your stare." you laugh nervously.

"give it to me." you removed your hand behind your back and gave him his switch with a pout.

"are you mad at me?" you asked, rubbing your nape. awkwardly.

kenma sighed loudly, "yeah."

"oh" your shoulders dropped.

"but it's fine since i already bought a new one. i'm mad because i was planning to give you this one but i guess we have to make someone check it out if it's still repairable." he replied and your eyes lit up in excitement.

"really?"

"yeah."

"but i don't have the money for it."

"we'll make kuroo pay." he shrugged and you tilted your head in confusion.

"eh? do you really think he would agree to that?"

"i don't know. maybe. just do all his work or compliment him everyday, that might work."

"are you two planning on how to murder me?" kuroo appears out of nowhere, ruffling kenma's and your hair.

"yes." the setter and you answered in unison.

people also wonder how you can keep up with kenma but you're honestly one of the people that can see through him and could tell whether something is bothering him.

and he never hesitated to show you what he really feels. if he's mad then you'd let him vent and let out all his frustrations.

and there were times as well where he just wanted to be away from anyone so you gave him space.

but because he finds you tolerable, he begged you to not distance yourself from him.

now, in terms of YOU being sad, we all know he's not the greatest when it comes to comforting people but he would always find a way to cheer you up like offering you to play games with him.

he would even let you do the interior design of his house in minecraft as long as he can see you're enjoying.

just like what others do, he would typically protect you from mobs while you pick up flowers.

but most of the time, you would have a competition on which person could kill as many mobs as they can.

you also would do stupid challenges that you see on youtube.

and late night walks with him are the best since you never had to worry about bothering him when he rarely sleeps early.

let me rephrase that real quick, it's mostly you walking around while kenma sits on a bench,,, still playing.

but he would occasionally look for you to make sure you weren't lost or kidnapped.

you would eventually get tired so you just... lay on the grass and roll around.

kenma puts down his switch, "what are you doing, y/n?"

"i'm bored. you're not even paying attention." you whispered the last part but he still caught it.

"alright, sorry. stand up now. let's go to the convenience store and crash at kuroo's house." he offered and you immediately agreed.

because the two of you never failed to be in the same class every year, your classmates would be confused since you two would verbally fight and give each other a silent treatment and then one second later, you would give him food and he tries to help you beat the level you're currently on with the game you're playing.

and in the timeskip, the three of you have stable jobs like, rich rich rich very rich.

"at this point, we can be your sugar daddies." kuroo jokes but you paid no attention to him as you were still busy processing with what kenma gave you as a present.

literally everything you need for streaming— heck, you're not even sure if you would use all of them.

but kenma still wanted to drag you along with him to do things that he loves

not that you'd complain about it anyway.

"you're helping me set everything up." you finally recovered from your state of shock and pulled kenma up from your couch.

akaashi

and the best 'best friend' award goes to akaashi keiji!

look, just because he's a laid-back person, doesn't mean he's unaware of how to push your buttons.

he would subtly annoy you. so subtle that not everyone could notice that you wanted to murder him on the spot.

"akaashi keiji, i will seriously ki—"

"it's settled then! y/n, please come to my office now." the teacher spoke, making you groan in frustration before standing up but you made sure to purposely step on his foot and he silently winced in pain.

the chat with the teacher didn't take long and when you exited the office, you saw your best friend standing outside, waiting for you with a barely noticeable smirk.

yeah, we might have to take back his award.

you rolled your eyes and walked past him but he grabbed your bag and pulled you back.

"sorry, do i know you?" you scoffed.

"look, i'm sorry. i already told you that you shouldn't sleep in class." he reminded, implying that him dragging you into doing something was a sort of consequence from sleeping in class.

"i know! but you decided to be annoying again and volunteered that i would help with some activity." you complained. he still hasn't let go of your bag but you continued walking which may or may not made it look like you were his pet.

akaashi knows you're not actually mad at him and so he didn't have to bother to apologize again.

"if it makes you feel better, i volunteered first before you. at least we're now both busy."

you didn't respond and continued walking, "where are you going?" he asks.

"home."

"no."

"no?"

"i have practice," he said.

"what does that have to do with me?!" you wailed.

"nothing." you facepalmed and let him pull you to the gym.

the first time you met was during middle school. you were crying because you lost a competition and unfortunately for you, akaashi was the one who won.

he tried comforting you but you pushed him away.

akaashi was persistent though. he didn't want you to stay mad at him and so he bothered you everyday until you finally started to warm up to him.

you sighed for the ninth time. deciding to make a paper plane and throw it to akaashi's way.

it fortunately hit his forehead and he 'tsk-ed' at your action but he continued reading the book anyway.

you reached for the plane, crumpling it until it's round.

"i thought you were gonna teach me?" you question and threw the paper at him, again but lucky for him, he caught it.

he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, "how am i supposed to teach you if you keep throwing things at me?"

you see, you're smart but there are certain subjects that you really hate and you coincidentally got sick during a discussion and now you and akaashi are currently studying in the library.

he knows he could have just lent you his notes and you can just take a photo of it but he wouldn't let you do that because his reasoning was, "you'll learn better if you write it down." you've complained to him about it many times and he'll eventually get tired and not give you anything so now you've learned your lesson,

don't annoy keiji.

but sometimes, he's kind enough to cover for you when you're asleep during class and would lie to the teachers by saying you're sick.

which rarely happens since he doesn't always tolerate you so being friends with him feels like having a parent watch you all the time.

"maybe if i befriended konoha then i'm already done with this." you huffed.

"he doesn't have the patience to deal with you, y/n." you let out an offended gasp before throwing your pencil case at him.

honestly speaking, the two of you get along really well. you're more talkative and he tends to listen to your rants a lot.

and of course, he would also share to you how his day went and how he found a new way to get bokuto out of his emo mode.

hanging out with him outside of school can be chaotic at times.

especially if you decide to go to the arcade because expect him to tease you a lot when you couldn't get the prize you wanted.

he would help you though:)

and since you two are a popular duo, you would often get a lot of confessions from boys and akaashi would ramble about how it's a waste of time and that you should focus on your studies.

but he would also reassure you that he'll support you no matter what decision you make.

in conclusion, he's a bit confusing and indecisive but he just wants the best for you but then he would also start thinking that he's being controlling of your own life.

akaashi also can't keep his cool sometimes,

"i can't believe they cheated on me." you hugged your legs closer to your chest as you sob.

his practice was already over but he insisted that the two of you stay at the gym so that you could talk to him about your problems.

"they’re an asshole, y/n." he replied.

usually, he would rub circles on your back when you're crying but this time, he stayed still on his seat so you glanced at him and frowned.

"you weren't even paying attention," you said.

"i was," he stopped typing on his phone to look at you.

"i was just searching up ways how to murder someone without getting caught." he joked and you chuckled.

"just kidding. i was ordering your favorite food. now stand up and wipe your tears. don't let that asshole see you vulnerable. show him that you don't even need him in the first place because you don't need anyone, 'kay?" he pulled you up and nodded at his advice.

"except for me, of course. how else would you be alive if it weren't for me?"

"i have my own parents." you rolled your eyes playfully.

"they don't love you— they prefer me." he teased once again. earning a punch from you.

suga

aDMIT IT, SUGA IS SO FUN TO BE WITH.

like sureeee he would help you most of the time

but he's also the same person that would get you in trouble.

"vice principal, i am so sorry! i didn't mean to knock off your wig! please don't suspend me—"

"it's fine, l/n. just go and don't tell anyone." the old man sighed.

you bowed and left, running to where suga was standing.

you saw your friend biting his lower lip to stifle a laugh.

you glared at him but you couldn't help but to cackle at what happened and now you two are being noisy in the hallway that made others look at you weirdly.

"i told you, he's bald!" he exclaimed and your laugh couldn't get any louder until you start coughing from the lack of oxygen.

"oH MY GOD— DON'T DIE ON ME Y/N," he said dramatically before offering you a bottle of water.

"you're so dramatic, please shut up." you rolled your eyes after drinking.

you and suga have been arguing for a week about how he witnessed himself how the vice principal's wig flew off and it was too good to be true so you didn't believe him.

not until your beloved best friend pushed you to the vp's direction accidentally.

you were taller than the old man so when you bumped into him, you wanted to grab onto something for support but instead, you knocked off his hairpiece.

and suga ran away instead of helping you.

we love a supportive friend.

"well at least he was kind enough to not give you a punishment." suga shrugged and you just nodded your head in agreement.

when you transferred to karasuno during second year, you luckily met suga when you asked for directions.

you two were in the same class so he accompanied you the whole day.

he was very talkative and you loved hearing him talk about volleyball.

at first, you admired him for how approachable and kind he is

but now you just want to kick him.

"i said he wasn't my crush!" you convinced him but suga ony hummed in response.

"but you were staring at him with heart eyes." he quirked a brow.

"i wasn't!"

"you were!"

"i wasn't!"

"you we—"

"suga and y/n, that's enough." daichi sighed. pushing the two of you apart from each other.

"daichi! your vice captain is being annoying again."

"daichi, did you know that y/n has a crush on y—" his words were cut off when you covered his mouth with your hand and he had no choice but to bite your palm and you backed away in disgust.

"i don't like you anymore." you huffed and he just ruffled your hair.

"ah really now?" he smiled but you knew that behind that smile was an evil intention.

"nevermind." you muttered. not trusting your own friend.

oh and your parents adore suga.

like, they know you have other friends as well but suga is the only person they trust to be with you all the time.

and honestly, you agree with them. no words or numbers could describe how much you trust the setter.

despite his naughty and chaotic attitude, he always takes care of you.

kind of like akaashi but he's a bit more loose.

he's very good at giving you advice.

he's also the type of friend that sulks when you miss a game.

like, he would literally ignore you.

and now you're struggling how to make him forgive you.

"kōshi, enough. you've been ignoring me for a week! it was just one game, come on." you persuaded, poking his side but he didn't budge and continued writing down notes.

"i'm sorry for missing your game. i swear, it was an accident! i would never miss your next match again!"

he shifted in his seat and your eyes were filled with hope.

he looks at you with a slight hint of disappointment, "even if i'm not a regular anymore?" the question caught you off guard.

"what do you mean?" he remained quiet and you took that as a sign that he didn't wanna talk and so you impatiently waited for classes to be over.

as soon as you were dismissed, you pulled him out of the classroom to take him to your favorite spot just near the gym.

"i don't like how you're doubting my ability to support you. it doesn't matter what you do— heck, you could even commit a crime and i might bail you out of jail." you uttered. finally breaking the silence that engulfed the two of you the past few minutes.

you struggle with expressing how you feel sometimes and being able to decipher your analogies is one of suga's skills.

"your comforting skill is top tier." he replied.

you know how he would playfully hit his teammates? he'd do the same to you but he would only give you head pats, not wanting to hurt you physically.

and you unexpectedly just learned how to love it.

it somehow inspires you to work harder since he only gives you head pats when you achieve something and it's his way of congratulating you!

he also likes to drag you along with him. he wants to watch a movie? he would buy an extra ticket just for you!

but sometimes, he would whine about being broke when he's with you🤡

would also be ready to make a presentation as to why you are his platonic soulmate.

please just agree with him so he won't be sad</3

last but not the least, gossiping.

literally, the two of you will not call it a day if you haven't talked about any issues at all.

so even if you were sleepy, he would call or text you in the middle of the night and be like, 'tea time?'

aaahh imagine how shock i was when i saw that this was about 2k words overall AHAHA. i know that akaashi's part seems a bit off but honestly i just imagine him being a bit mischevious and more open to people he's genuinely close with so yeah! i had so much fun writing but i feel bad becaue it was so long- anyway, thank you for reading!<3

#kaashiboowrites #haikyū!!#haikyu x reader #kenma x reader #akaashi x reader #sugawara x reader #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu scenarios #akaashi headcanons #akaashi imagines #akaashi fluff #kenma headcanons #kenma imagines #kenma fluff #suga headcanons #suga imagines #suga fluff

141 notes · View notes

rainofaugustsith · 3 years ago

Text

Rain Talks SWTOR: What I'd Like to Say

One more essay on 7.0, an official Rain Talks SWTOR thing. One of the things that is making me sad about 7.0 is how completely they are abandoning "play your way" in favor of "Group or GTFO." The devs are removing agency from so many aspects of the game. They plan to decide the weeklies and dailies players get, give them static gear they can't modify, remove choice from every class by removing abilities. and even decide how and when they group by forcing everything through group finder. In other words they seem to want to dictate how, where and when you play to an extreme level. In the process they're making regular content harder, which I'm sure they expect will lead to more grouping, but will likely just lead to players quitting. It's raised a lot of ire in the community, and I'll admit that I have slammed "dudebro NiM raiders" more than once. I'm talking about the players who very loudly say the things below and seem interested in nothing more than an elitist status quo. And I'd like to address some of the things they've said around the internet.

Solo players just want to faceroll everything. Really? Hang on to that thought, but here's a question: what does it matter if someone does want to one-shot or "faceroll" everything? What impact does that have on you? Why do you give two fucks how someone else plays their personal game when it has nothing to do with you? Because then they don't know how to play group content. Here's some simple logic. Do you really honestly think the same players who want a very simple class story/RPG experience are going to be in your queue for NiM content? Think hard about that for a second. Of course they might end up there even if they don't want to be - if the game's forcing them to play that content to finish a story arc or get gear they need. In which case, if you don't want to deal with those players, you should be completely against any efforts to force that content on people who don't want to play it. You're on board with that, right? But I want a harder experience. Cool. Thumbs-up. No sarcasm. I respect what you want here. YOU want a more difficult or challenging experience for YOURSELF as an INDIVIDUAL and you should have it. So don't get the datacrons, under-gear, send your companion away, get a White Acute module, don't buy the legacy leveling perks. Go play NiM content. Go do ranked PvP. There are a lot of ways you can arrange it for yourself. I meant in the regular content, dumbass. I get you and I agree. You should have that option. YOU. As an INDIVIDUAL player.

I'm all for difficulty toggles. I'm all for giving all content easy, medium and NiM modes, the same way games like Mass Effect do, the same way KOTFE/KOTET did. The thing with a difficulty toggle is that you choose for yourself and it's of no concern what someone else chooses. So someone else isn't playing the way you are? That's life, child. If you want the content to be harder overall for every single player I have to ask, again, why you're fussing so much over other people's gaming experience that is not all about you. If you aren't doing NiM content you don't need good gear. One more time: why are you concerning yourself with what other characters wear or do? Why should you? I very routinely overlevel and overgear my characters because when I'm doing the class story, SoR and KOTFE/ET I want to be able to focus on the story. My hand issues and slow internet have also influenced this decision. I don't want to sit there clicking and clicking for ten minutes to kill one mob. It affects no one but me. Having said that, I also like overgearing because it allows me to tackle harder content when I feel like it. I've soloed the Dread Seeds to completion on four different characters. I've soloed the Macrobinoculars to the end of the solo chain, including the Maki'voro fight. I've soloed more Veteran Star Fortresses than I can count. I've completed the solo Eternal Championships. I've soloed every single Uprising and many of the Veteran flashpoints. I did most of these things with really shitty internet and a ping of about 150 -200 and the gear made a difference.

All of those things have been challenging - although I'm sure there's someone in the audience who is currently scoffing as they boast that they did all of those things blindfolded while they had a 103 degree fever while dealing with a tornado and a ping of 400.

Point being, as a solo player I don't necessarily eschew challenge. I just want it on my terms. None of the things I just mentioned are critical to the story. Most of them didn't have great rewards (although the Covert speeders from the Uprisings and some of the Star Fortress companions, titles and decos are notable exceptions. How can you not love 'Fallen Knight' for your ex-Jedi, I ask?). I did them because I wanted to. Other players choose not to do them. We have no bearing on each other's decisions. We can both gear and complete the story as we wish.

In my opinion that is how everything in the game should be: you play because you want to. You play what you want. You're not pushed into content you really do not want to do, just for the sake of rewards or story progression you need to continue the game. Gear isn't held hostage to unpalatable grinds of old content. It's a game. One more time: It's. A. Game. It's not supposed to be homework or a job. But see, you can solo that stuff. You shouldn't be able to solo it. You should need to group. Mhmmm. See, here's what will happen with that. You won't force me to group by making it harder. You'll get me to walk away. The devs are trying to reward risk. Ops are risk. Okay. Let's take that at face value. So why aren't they also rewarding the solo players who take risks by going through group content, or the duos who are tackling NiM flashpoints, or the slightly larger groups tackling SM and VM Ops with fewer players, or those in PvP? Those things are risky too. Unlike an Op, some don't have lockouts so you have to go from the beginning if you take a break. If my hands hurt too much halfway through Athiss and I have to sign off for a few days , I'm SOL, I'll have to redo the whole thing. Every time my character died trying to get through the terrible barrier room with all the zombies in the Ilum H4 for Dread Seeds, she had to kill every mob in the damned thing again to get back to the point she was at. The devs aren't rewarding "risk" as much as they are rewarding the content they desperately want people to play, in the process alienating anyone who likes something different. That's not just solo players. It's also SM and VM raiders. It's NiM raiders who don't like this system. It's PvPers because from what I've heard the gear being offered to them seriously sucks, plus certain classes are getting really nerfed and therefore less viable in PvP. It's people who love running SM and VM flashpoints they choose with the friends they choose - not doing something random from group finder. But you don't need the better gear if you're not doing Ops. Better gear can compensate for shitty internet, which a lot of us have. It can assist players such as myself who have physical disabilities that make it hard or painful to play the same way other players do. It can allow solo players or duos to take on new challenges. They can make the story content easier - not everyone wants to spend ten minutes killing each mob. There's no challenge in that- it's just repeated button mashing to the point of mind-numbing boredom. If having 306 gear means I can get through an atrocity like Spirit of Vengeance in 40 minutes instead of 75, yes, I fucking need the gear. It's an MMO. People should group. We're not going to go into the fact that MMO has a lot of different meanings. I'm just going to say that it's a story-based MMO that has had solo players for its entire history. The entire original game was structured around class stories, not raids. The flashpoints could be soloed by anyone who was overleveled.

Solo players are not just going to line up to group because you think they should. It's a game. Not a job. The fact that the devs are making such strenuous efforts to force people to group kind of proves that most people don't actually want to do it and don't want that out of their game. Bioware's single player games like Fallen Order have thrived. Bioware's multiplayer games like Battlefront and Anthem have gone into maintenance mode. People still play single player titles that are over a decade old like the Mass Effect series, Dragon Age and KOTOR I and II. Dragon Age 4 was switched from MMO to single player. Assassin's Creed's series is single player and really popular. The writing is on the wall and they just choose to ignore it.

Those who want to group DO group. It's that simple. I know people who run Ops several times a week just for fun. It's fun for them so they do it. Why would anyone want you to play Ops if they are not fun for you? In addition the devs aren't just trying to encourage grouping - they are trying to push grouping HOW they want for the content they want players to engage with every week. That really goes against what many social players do when they group, as far as I've observed. Case in point, trying to force people into group finder. Most players I know who are social don't need group finder. They've usually got guilds and they've also got friends or family outside guilds, and if they want to do something they organize it and off they go. Some of my characters are in guilds. If I really wanted to group for something I'd ask the people I actually know, not go off to group finder. Forcing players to abandon their existing social groups and play with complete strangers instead is odd. In my mind that does not foster socialization and community in any way. It also fails to address a large reason why people avoid group finder in the first place: in addition to the fact that they'd rather be with friends, group finder has a reputation for being pretty toxic. They're also trying to force people to group by shoveling them all into the same daily and weekly areas. Newsflash: those maps are so small that groups won't help make it pleasant. CZ-198 is miserable when there are more than 15 players there. Now, since gear is tied to doing those areas to earn currency, it's going to be far worse all the time. The devs seem to think we will all enjoy experiencing Black Friday sales rushes every day. Players have generally asked for more instances, not less -it seems to be the polar opposite of what players want. At the end of the day it's a done deal. December 14 isn't too far away. We'll all get to see if this grand experiment of the devs will work out or fail spectacularly. I think it will be the latter. It's sad that SWTOR's devs have decided to throw away so much of their playerbase. But they have and it is what it is.

#rain talks swtor #swtor critical #ea critical #bioware critical

35 notes · View notes

nad-zeta · 3 years ago

Text

Game Night

Fandom: Ikevamp

Pairings: Arthot x Reader

Genre: Fluffffff plus mentions of Alcohol

Words: 1500+

Comments: Eeeeep and the birthday bash week continues! Hehehe I wonder who this is for hehehe ❤❤ ❤😳🥺Zeta can be sneaky tooo! 🥺😳❤🌈

.*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ:。’ .*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ:。’･ﾟ｡.*:・’ﾟ: ｡.*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ:。

“Yahtzee!”

“Nooo! Wait! How! Gaah, next game!” you exclaimed from the leather seat opposite Arthur, sending him a death glare with crossed over arms.

“Not had enough yet, Luv? My, how you must enjoy defeat so,” the cocky words were spoken belonging to the British author who now wore a wide triumphant smile at yet another victory claimed.

Ooh, you wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug smirk right from his face; the only problem was Arthur Conan Doyle was a master at all games and puzzle alike— and you had absolutely no chance at winning. No matter the challenge, he would rise to the occasion and steal victory from right from beneath your nose— even if you were the goddess of luck herself, you doubted you would be able to secure victory.

“I’ll show you defeat,” you sneered, taking a sip of your whiskey mix and watching him set up the next board with hawk eyes. He must be cheating? Right? There was simply no other explanation as to how this man would be able to win at games he had never even heard of before, much less played.

Or perhaps he— “it is not luck. I assure you, my darling bird,” his blue eyes lifted to meet yours, cunning smile on his lips, cutting your thoughts short.

How did he do that? You glared at the man wearing a mix of shock and horror. Infuriating, you thought, especially when he all so amusingly seemed to chuckle at the expressions you made. “Would you believe me if I said it was magic,” he asked with enthusiasm, leaning forward with bright eyes.

Again he seemed to read your mind, answering your inner thoughts out loud. You narrowed your eyes at him apprehensively; you knew vampires existed, yes? But magic? There was no way. “Prove it,’ the words left your mouth as you found that despite the side-eye delt, you inched closer in curiosity.

“Abracadabra,” Arthur spoke the familiar words of an old friend and produced a small box from his sleeve.

“That’s not magic, you big ol cheat! That’s just a trick!” you huffed, rolling your eyes at him— but mostly at yourself for almost believing such a thing to be possible.

“Poppycock! It’s not just a trick! It’s magic! After all, how else would you explain the appearance of this magical box out of thin air,” he hummed, holding the dainty blue velvet box out towards you. With another roll of the eyes, you reached out to take the box from his hands.

“Most definitely not with science, that’s for sure,” you spoke with hints of sarcasm behind your teasing grin, fingers pulling at the ribbon atop the box. You carefully opened the lid, not entirely sure what to expect— after all, it would not be the first time you had opened a gift from the man only for it to be some or other good-natured jest.

You held the box away from you, opening it cautiously while closing one eye, the other eye barely peeking open to a squint to catch a glimpse of the box’s contents carefully.

You half expected a flurry of glitter to shoot out from the inside and puff straight into your face— you know, as a way to prove fairies existed or whatnot.

Arthur sat back in his chair with crossed legs and a fond smirk over his lips, “I do hope you like it Luv, the fairies worked awfully hard to construct it,” he quipped with a snort, only adding to your suspicion.

Finally, you opened the lid to reveal two pairs of dazzling red dice, shimmering gently, as the light from the fireplace reflected off the smooth crystal surface. You had to smile— of course, Arthur would cutely attribute the glitter within to the magical pixie dust of the fairies he loved so much.

“Now that I have passed on some of my wizard powers, highest roll starts,” he spoke, getting back into the game mode as he placed on his polka dot glasses while sending you a flirty wink.

He leaned forward, resting his chin on his folded hands, waiting for you to roll the dice; only instead of rolling your new set of crimson, you mimicked his movements. No way you were going to roll first, for all you knew, these dice might be just as cursed as the previous ones.

“After you,” you spoke, sliding your new dice towards the man.

His blue eyes met yours challengingly as he picked up the dice, giving them a gentle shake in a mock roll before placing them before you once more, “ladies first’ he winked with a smug smile.

Ah, if he thought you were going to back down from the mental challenge so soon, he was sorely mistaken. You fixed him with a determined glare of your own, “Age before beauty, I insist,” you said with a wicked smile, once more pushing the dice towards him.

He rose to the challenge, letting go of an amused snort, not making any effort to move, as blue eyes met yours with a lifted chin, “Beauty before the beast,” he spoke full of confidence. No matter the game, or challenge, Arthur never liked to be bested. Be it by his friends, family or lover, losing was not an option.

“Men before hens,” you spoke again smugly, crossing your arms, leaving the dice right where they were on his side of the table. “I could do this allllll night long, dearie, so you best hurry up and roll,” you added for good measure.

With a chuckle and shake of the head, Arthur relented, swiping the dice of the table and shaking them in his hands, “very well hen, since it’s your birthday, I suppose I shall back down just this once.”

He blew on the dice, a good luck ritual of sorts, before throwing them down on the table.

The game was now afoot!

You could tell by the glimmer in his eyes he was already planning, strategising, plotting, if you will. Was this his plan all along, to go first? You shook the thought from your head, focusing your attention on the snakes and ladders board. You needed to keep your wits about you if you wanted to win this game. 50% luck, 20% skill and 30% pure divine intervention— thus, you started to pray. The stakes were high, and the reward even higher.

“Twelve,” you practically squealed out in excitement at the outcome of the first roll, looks like the prayer worked, now to keep up the momentum. Taking a swig of your drink, it was finally your turn to roll the dice.

Somewhere between the smack talk and fun, you and Arthur had upped the stakes, adding a rule to include a shot taken for each snake you were to descend down. Needless to say, you had lost count of the number of shots that had passed your lips as you were very much past well-toasted at this point.

Dimming and brightening, you struggled to keep your eyes open, determined to finish—determined to win.

“Yes! Take that, Arty, down the snake you go! Ha! Drink up sunshine,” you chanted, filling Arthur’s glass to the rim with gin while getting up to do a little premature victory dance. However, your victory celebration seemed to end all too soon, with the next roll sending your straight down the very same snake.

”For Fudge sake!” you yelled, throwing yourself back into the chair— the image of yourself flipping the table in frustration playing in your mind’s eye— bringing a smile to your lips as you took another sip.

The night continued on.

It wasn’t before long Arthur was officially declared the winner— albeit he had to announce himself the winner as you were now ‘resting your eyes’ busy fighting yet another losing battle.

“Ah, I believe I win, now for my prize,” he sang out, downing the remnants of his glass and towering over your resting form.

“You ought to be more careful, Luv. What if I were to pounce on you, honestly, bird? What am I going to do with you.”

He crouched down, sitting on his heels as he slowly reached out to gently pull his fingers through your silken hair. Suddenly you shifted, falling forward—forehead landing on his shoulder, you murmured a little, snuggling closer to his warmth before breaths softly evened out once more. “You really are quite a troublesome drunk, aren’t you, dove, “he cooed, hand moving from your hair to tenderly stroke your cheek.

In one swift motion, Arthur picked you up, “upsy daisy, there we are, now off to bed with you, my darling.” You shifted again in his arms, nose nuzzling further into the cook of his neck. He smiled down at you, blue eyes filled with nothing but pure love and affection, before carrying you off to bed.

He gently laid you down, tucking you beneath the sheets before dropping one final adoring kiss on your forehead. “Happy birthday, my darling bird,” was all he spoke in a soft whisper before extinguishing the light and tucking you in his arms, drifting off into a blissful sleep of his own.

.*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ:。’ .*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ:。’･ﾟ｡.*:・’ﾟ: ｡.*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ:。

#arthur conan doyle ikevamp #arthur conan doyle #arthur ikevamp #arthur ikevam #ikevamp arthur #ikemen vampire arthur #arthur x reader #Birthday Bash

99 notes · View notes

synoxshots · 4 years ago

Text

The Master KOTET Adventure

Well at last, my journey is complete. This was some of the most frustrating, and at times hilariously so, content I’ve ever done - but at the same time there were some parts that felt really rewarding and, dare I say it, even enjoyable.

So as with my Master KOTFE adventure, I’ve written it all up in case you should ever find yourself wanting a go. As with before, I play a Rage Jugg, 306 gear, Descent of the Fearless set, fully augmented but not min-maxed. Here’s how it went, and warning, it gets long:

Chapter I

I was hopeful about this chapter as it's the only one I'd completed on veteran, and I was already much more prepared. On master though, it still caused me problems. The first death was an unexpected attack from a Knight that dealt like 140,000 damage, which, ouch... The first boss was the main cause of difficulty in this chapter for me, which was the PA-717 droid. The best tactic was basically just stay as close as possible to it, stay out of its blue conal and hope you don't get shoved into mines, and just hit it as hard as you can. Took a few attempts and the successful one was itself a close call, with Lana dying with probably around 15% health left (didn't get to check exactly because, you know, fighting for my life). After that there's quite a few mobs already engaged in battles with Mandos, I just ran through them, also ignored the bonus objectives which I don't think made any difference.

You have a cutscene where you catch up with Theron and then face swarms of Skytroopers in a building. It is probably beneficial to have range here as there are kolto stations which I didn't manage to use a lot because I was always chasing after the droids. It does give you a checkpoint before the Knights come along, and even if you die then the battle carries on around you (and I had to file a bug report as my heroic moment wasn't working properly, so actually kind of cheesed the boss a bit by letting others deal with it ha). Once revived though, it wasn't so bad.

The walker is everyone's nightmare in this chapter. I follow this guide every time now and it does save a lot of hassle. The final walker fight actually went the best it's ever gone for me, I found the mobs a lot harder than the Big Droid at the end which didn't really touch me that much. No real difficulties after that.

Chapter II

This is the one I'd been fearing from the start, as it's regarded as one of the most difficult things to do in the game solo. I remember trying it on vet mode with my PT and not even being able to get past the jungle creatures, i.e. the very first mob. The only slice of hope was that I've heard the difference between vet mode and master mode isn't massive, but. It was still horrible. Died once on the jungle creatures but it wasn't a big problem really, and that was a fight that didn't reset progress so I got it on the second attempt. Not easy, but manageable. The first big challenge is the Genoharadan Scout camp, and honestly several attempts with a few different tactics didn't seem to get me anywhere (though on one I did get reasonably close) - so I called in a friend and we got through it quickly. No problems from then onwards until we got to the last boss, the Genoharadan Leader plus two hunters. And that was a Time.

As 2 dps with 2 healing companions, we went for targeting the hunters first, and generally we managed to get both of them down, but our companions would either be dead or very close to it. I'm not great at micromanaging companions anyway, and that was something that was definitely needed with Acina to pull her out of the fire and on the ground and all that. So we called in a tank to join us, and we made progress but still struggled. We did discover that with the people you call in, if they die it's alright to go to the med centre and then run back to the room and rejoin the fight without it resetting - but for the phase owner if they die, they can't leave the room (leaving the room will exit the battle, and on this fight it does reset progress). So we decided the best course of action was to get a Real Person Healer to join us rather than Acina, who will stand in everything. Funnily enough, having an actual person proved much more effective and we got it first time! It's a very chaotic fight overall, you get chucked around a lot, there's lots of ridiculously high damage abilities, lots of things to stand in and die, and so on. I definitely wouldn't recommend going alone. Acina will stay with you, doesn't seem to matter what the group size is - she stayed with us when we had a group of four - her influence level is also at the start of the chapter though I raised it to 50 (she's another who likes delicacy gifts which is always good). It was brutal, but it's done.

Chapter III

A nice breather, no deaths at all. I even managed the mouse droid on the first attempt! Stealth squads of troopers bring health down a bit but nothing to worry about, was always in control. Vaylin fight doesn't matter so much as it cuts out early. No real boss fight.

Chapter IV

This one caused me more problems than I thought it would, as though there's no real boss fight there is a swarm near the end and after many attempts on my own, trying to raise Vette's influence further to see if it would help (it did, but not enough), I had to call in a friend. Still took a few attempts with the two of us. Initially we went for having both comps on heals, then we found it was better to have one healing and one dps to nuke it a bit, and eventually we got through it - though I only had 6% health left. It was another of those fights where it resets completely on dying, though your friend can go to medcenter and jump back into the fight. Jugg just wasn't the ideal class for that one I think. After that there were no problems, beforehand it was just the odd Compactor Droid causing me issues, though as long as I used my defensives efficiently it was fine as they lose health quickly too.

Chapter V

This one wasn't too bad. Quite a lot of waves of droid mobs again, they do take your health down quite a bit, but by this stage I'm used to that! It's just a chapter where staying out of red things is key really. When you face the giant droid you don't get hit too much, just watch out when it's the time the repair droids come along because being caught in the big attacks will hurt. The droid does lose health at a good pace though. When you go in the droid it's a pretty simple fight, just have to make sure you regen your health regularly (one time I did not and guess what happened?).

I didn't die on the fight against ARIES. From what I'd read, the key seemed to be staying out of melee range...not ideal for a Jugg. So I decided on keeping mobile and utilising my attacks that did have a bit of range as much as possible. (ARIES also tells you to stand still if you want to die, a good reminder if you still needed one!). It was a bit grindy but my health was never really a concern, I ran around a lot and stayed out of the red and all was well.

Chapter VI

So this one was another Experience. Half of it is a puzzle which is a nice change of pace, and no different from story. I would recommend at this stage doing the Bergola bonus mission - I'd never actually done it before, but it does mean you don't need to fight the extra pups when the beast pit starts, and instead have them on your side. Which is definitely a help of sorts, but that fight in the beast pit is definitely something. The best tactic seemed to be getting as many stuns in as possible, as he can be stunned and interrupted - I put Theron onto damage as well to use his stun, used heroic moments for the extra stuns as well. The beast casts a big circle around itself that takes out nearly all of your health, and he has a habit of hitting you as soon as you get out of it and killing you as well, in short it wasn't fun on melee and involved lots of screaming and running away. The other thing is kite him away from Indo Zal, just take him the opposite direction to keep him alive.

And then the very interesting thing. Because it was Hell I invited a friend to come along. HOWEVER, they were stuck in the Zakuulan Knight armour that you wear at the start of the chapter and couldn't do any abilities apart from a bit of companion micromanagement and a lot of emotional support. They also put their companion onto attack for the extra stun, then heal later in the chapter to try and throw some heals at me during the Arcann fight.

That Arcann fight...I chose the light side options in chapter II so I had him on my side, but that didn't make the chapter easier. You're not able to heal Arcann so I just tried to taunt things off him if his health was getting low. I focused on the Captain and tried to ignore the adds as much as possible, used Arcann's reflect to take them out, starting the fight with his taunt and then praying I hit the guard break in time so I could do damage...I had Theron on damage here as well as the plan was basically burn as quickly as possible. It may be better on a character that has some ability to heal Arcann as companions won't...or it may be better to take the dark side option earlier in the story so you're fighting against him rather than with him (though that's a trade-off with the final chapter fights).

This chapter was certainly a trial but we got there in the end. It's best to keep a level head and not panic, skills that I did not pick up from my class trainer and instead ran around in fear and at times forgot how to swtor.

Chapter VII

This is an interesting chapter without masses of fighting, there's 3 boss fights but not masses of trash in-between. First up is the Horizon Guard, which took three or four attempts but really the best strategy for me was nuke him with a heroic moment, stuns, and interrupts. The main challenge I had on this chapter was the two Twisted Experiments. They cast corrosive goo, which you see as a green circle. It can be interrupted, they can be stunned, so it was just a matter of managing that. It was difficult with the two of them there - with a Jugg I used intimidating roar to give me some time to blast just one, it may help to use a stealth class that can stun better, or a sorc/sage that can whirlwind. The good thing is that it was finally a fight in KotET that doesn't reset your progress, so if you take one down you don't have to restart the whole thing. It does bug when you die though - you end up behind a locked door and have to leave and re-enter the phase. That was only the case on the first death though. Or else I would have done it a lot.

Last up is the Corrupted Vault Guardian. Didn't die on this fight, though I did on the two elites before - mostly because I lost Lana early and couldn't use a heroic moment. I ran around the room, stunning/slowing and interrupting as I could, nearly got through without dying anyway and again it's not a fight that resets. The Guardian boss covers the floor in red stuff called morass, it doesn't go away, so manoeuvre him well or blast him fast. Or don't, like me. I just kind of kited him round the room, he doesn't move fast. Lost Lana at the end because she couldn't avoid the morass but I could, and by then he was nearly dead. Because I didn't die on this I didn't really read up on the mechanics, because on reading my go-to guide it looks like there's more - so er, that's probably a good thing to do if you have trouble! Overall though, this was a chapter with challenges but I found it had a better balance between being challenging and enjoyable.

Chapter VIII

One of the easiest chapters of the bunch. There's lots of trash, and quite a bit of it skippable - either as it is already in combat, or my manoeuvring around it. The walker is a pain but was never at risk of dying. Some interesting bits though. You face a guy called Tyrall Jerikko where the Gravestone is dry-docked, he has two droids with him so I yeeted one off - it disappeared but didn't die, I got through the fight...Tyrall and the droids then respawned so I had to do it again. Hmm. I still yeeted the droid again though, it also didn't die but the fight mostly worked properly at least, I lost Lana (not sure why) but I was never in much danger. The other minor issue I had was in the fight with the Knight just before rescuing Vette, not entirely sure what happened, the adds just seemed to overwhelm me. Used a heroic moment and the cannon you're given on my second go and it took a matter of seconds.

Vaylin is actually an easy fight, though it took 3 attempts - the first I didn't plan for her adds properly, the second I was yeeted. Having Arcann with me meant I got his abilities from chapter 6 again - the taunt and reflect - which took the adds out. Heroic moment also does the trick, though I didn't have it on my successful run. Stay at melee range - in her purple circle she keeps close and you're fine. If you're wiser than me, look for when she's about to do the explosion with the knockback and get yourself against a wall so you don't get thrown off. Or be like me, and don't.

Chapter IX

So the final chapter. It's in two halves basically - with the first there's no boss, buy there is a lot of trash. I had Arcann and Senya has my companions, which meant I had Arcann's abilities again which are brilliant for dealing with trash, and I was getting better at managing them as well. Use his taunt and reflect, it speeds things up. There's two major waves that end with two Knights coming along and it was on those where I had the trouble - it just got a bit too much at the end and with things on cooldown. But the fights don't reset, I put heroic moment on just in case, the Knights were blasted in seconds. It may be more tricky if you have Lana and Theron, but I think these are fights more of annoyance rather than being impossible.

The second half, then. First you fight Vaylin, it's the same mechanics from the previous chapter and not too difficult to deal with. I had Dramath with me so I had the healing, it may be a bit more difficult if you take the light sided decision in chapter 7. He's auto-boosted up to level 45. Again, watch out for the knockbacks.

If you saved Arcann, he's your companion in the final fight. After a quick death I ran to fleet and gave him a compendium so he went up to level 50 influence. Fighting Valkorion is very challenging, and involves lots of running around to get out of line of sight of his attacks - things like Project and Force Storm that will take two thirds or so of your health and leave you desperate to find a memory of healing, at which point you'll inevitably get slowed down by his Dark Ritual and not make it and die (this can be interrupted, but I was rarely within range to do so because...kiting).

The basic idea on this one is when he shifts to the light/dark, you follow suit - it seems to be random as to which one he goes to. When you're shifting make sure you hide behind rocks or something (under the stairs is the best bet I found) - so none of those nasty abilities wipe chunks of your health again. It became a bit of a game of hide and seek from there. The light side abilities seem to have faster cast times than the dark, where often he'd get me with a dark ritual whilst I was trying to hit him. You need to survive one of these phases, switch back to normal, use the holocron ability again, and on the second light/dark phase is when he dies. This took many attempts, though it doesn't seem to affect your repair bills too badly which is a plus.

Some final notes:

Going Commando once again proved a valuable resource, with plenty of tips and general experiences of doing it. My experience didn't always match up to theirs, in part due to the classes we used, but there's a wealth of information there.

I think experiences will vary depending on your choice with Arcann in the first chapter. He was a pain to use in chapter 6, but his abilities were very useful in chapters 8 and 9.

On average I'd say it's more difficult than KotFE - the hardest chapters are very hard, and I brought a friend along three times (well, two and a half, given the chapter 6 experience) because I was just not making progress - whereas I only had help once in KotFE.

As with KotFE, different classes are probably better suited to different chapters, and if you’re just seeking the achievement and have the options available - you might want to try different things accordingly. I think Jugg/Guardian is a decent all-round bet though, plus I made myself a Grit Teeth which gives me even more survivability.

I think this has made me a better player! That may be up for debate, and I’m still prone to wild panic a lot of the time, but there were also lots of times I really found myself better at studying mechanics and finding the best strategies for me to beat them.

Completing a master chapter completes the achievement for veteran (and story) as well, so it’s a great way to rack up cheevos - and now my KotET completion is at 100% which is incredibly satisfying. But it doesn’t grant a title, sadly.

Another shoutout to @sparkles-and-rust as my go to when I needed a helping hand or just some emotional support!

#swtor #kotet #master kotet adventures #ro goes achievement hunting

10 notes · View notes

redstainedsocks · 4 years ago

Text

Let You Down

Warnings: torture, injuries and wound cleaning, panic attack, crying, guilt, self depreciating thoughts, survival mode, detached feelings, long term captivity, sadistic whumper, intimate whumper, lady whumper

Part three of the result of Alex’s escape attempt, Jasper’s POV, sorry for the wait, this one fought me all the way.

[Previous]

Jasper lays on the floor for a long time. As the screams start he covers his head with his arms, cowering on the flagstones as Alex’s pain echoes down the corridor and around the cavern. He lays there until the screams crack, and Alex’s voice dies out to something quieter.

He crawls to the kitchen eventually and gets something to drink, and then he curls up beside the cupboards and traces patterns on the wood. His heart beats in fits and bursts as adrenaline keeps trying to make him get up and run, or hide, or help. His heart breaks over and over again as the memories go round and around.

The now memories, from this morning; Alex holding him at knife point, Mistress reminding him how disposable he is, the wounds inflicted so thoughtlessly.

The then memories; his own pitiful cries and gut wrenching screams echoing through the halls in his early days. His deal with Mistress, his slide into life as her pet, losing pieces of himself as she kept him in line so easily with the promise of freedom later. All the things he’s done to keep her happy, all the ways he’s been used, and hurt, and terrified, and all the ways it is not over—the ways it will happen again.

He lays there and he cries for himself, and how unwanted he feels, and then he cries over the guilt of being glad he’s not the one being punished, and then he cries for Alex. Alex who he hoped he could befriend, Alex who would gladly hurt him just to get away. Mistress, who only likes him for his usefulness, but would gladly dispose of him if it suited her.

No matter how much he kids himself, he knows she doesn’t love him. He wants her to, in his weak moments, wants to believe that his time here has made her fond, affectionate. He wants to be wanted. He needs it. He needs someone to care what happens, and how he feels, and look out for him. And the only people he can see in all the world…. don’t. Or can’t. Or won’t. He is alone. He is trapped with them and they are all cursed to suffer alone, together. Alex is not a friend, he’s just a fellow prisoner; Mistress is not a lover, she just uses his body for her own ends. And the other… he… he isn’t anything but a phantom that comes knocking every time Jasper thinks his world can’t get any worse.

He realises belatedly that he’s mumbling along to himself in Czech, and stuffs his fist in his mouth to stop it. Mistress hates him talking in a language she hasn’t bothered to learn and he can’t anger her any more today. It’s been so long since he spoke it regularly, it comes out now with unconscious thought, or in his dreams, or not at all.

His wounds have closed but there’s blood dried on his skin, he shakily gets up to clean off. Scrubbing too harshly until he’s red and irritated all over again. His hair is sweaty, his blond streaks sticking to his forehead, and he’s shivering half naked and tired.

Alex’s screams have died down to almost nothing, and Jasper can hear Mistress talking, and he knows that means Alex is likely to be left alone soon. Which means he is about to face her and he knows how wretched he must look. Even so, he can’t make himself move, can’t bring himself to leave the kitchen where always feels a little safer.

So there she finds him, sitting on the floor, floppy limbed and glassy eyed. She tilts his head up with careful fingers and he lets himself be moved. She kisses his forehead, and his lips, and tightens her fingers into his hair.

“Sweet boy.”

“Mistress?”

“You did well today, a perfect demonstration. I’m sorry your friend tried to hurt you,” she says it while gripping his hair so hard it tugs painfully.

“I don’t think he’s my friend,” Jasper whispers.

“Nonsense. I brought him here for you, just because he hasn’t learned to play nicely yet, he will. I’ve softened him up, and he’d like to apologise to you, but I think a little time alone first will do him good.”

Jasper leans into her touch, wanting to feel like there’s a point of steadiness--even if it hurts. “I don’t need him,” he offers. “I can be okay without him.” and he hopes that he could go back to the lonely life he had before, and finally be glad for it, now that he knows it can be worse.

“I think we both know that’s a lie. I got him for us, to fill a gap in our arrangement. To fulfill a need that you can’t sate yourself. He’ll learn his place, and you’ll help him.”

“But, but I can be enough. I could be enough for you. You could send him back.” Mistress releases him and he falls forward, on his hands and knees before her. “Please let me be enough, like I was before.” If Alex were gone, he’d have so much less to worry about. It would be easier without someone else’s pain to measure against the aching cracks inside himself.

“Get up pet.”

He does, of course he does. She dusts off his hands and smooths her palm across the claiming mark on his chest. “I have never kept anyone for as long as I plan to keep you, or for as long as your predecessor.”

“I know,” he whispers, trying not to flinch from her burning fingertips.

“I made such a deal with you because I was tired of breaking in new people, tired of training them to my needs and desires. Of teaching them how to be good.”

He nods, swallows. Closes his eyes and wills away images of torture and terror.

“It’s been good, you’re good for me, we’ve had our fun and I made you as near to perfect as was possible, and it’s been years since I had to worry about what I would come home to. Years since I got to do what I’m doing now.”

He looks up, his mind trying to grasp what she’s saying, and she grins as she idly traces the mark of her curse.

“I find I’m rather enjoying it again, the challenge, the drama.” she presses down with her thumb until Jasper wails, hunching over while her skin makes contact and doesn’t stop. “Alex is a different kind of fun, it’s invigorating.”

A lone tear drips from Jasper’s nose. Not wanted, not enough, not even good enough to hurt the way that she likes. He is boring, and dull, and hardly useful, easily discarded. He’s hardly even been able to work for the other purpose he’s here for since Alex arrived. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

“So no,” she grabs his chin and turns his face. “We won’t be letting him go. You need the company, and I relish the fight, knowing I’ll crush him bit by little bit, just like I always have before.”

“Why--why him?” Jasper croaks. He wants to know if there’s anything else that could absolve him of this guilt. If Alex is here for a reason Jasper would be less to blame, if his loneliness wasn’t the only cause for her choosing a friend for him. Maybe it will hurt less, if he knows why Alex is so interesting to her.

Mistress shrugs. “He was just there, alone, pretty. Feisty. I watched him and he cared and he worried for his friends, and he laughed so beautifully. I thought of you side by side, and it seemed pleasing, so I chose him.”

So, it could have been anyone. Jasper sighs, as the guilt doesn’t go away, as it drags him a little bit deeper beneath waves of pain.

She hauls Jasper upright, steadying him when his knees wobble and his legs want to give out. “Make us something to eat, we both need our strength. You can put some aside for Alex for later.”

He doesn’t question it, doesn’t complain, he fumbles his way through making a noodle soup, and eats woodenly as Adria gobbles up the food, praising him all the while.

He’s good because he’s useful, he’s wanted because he is a willing and ready body for her to use. He’s here because she wants him to be, and nothing else matters. He is nothing else. She’ll put him to work again before long, and he’ll learn to be good at that again too, because it pleases her.

He can do that. He can be what she wants, and he can let himself be hurt, and he can learn to forgive Alex because it’s what she expects. What Mistress wants keeps him safe. What she wants is the sun, and he will orbit it until she releases him, and everything else... he can bury. He is a sacrifice and a sacrament, her blank canvas and her tool. He will be whatever she wants; he will survive, just as he always has.

——-

She takes the rest of his clothes and wraps him naked in satin sheets to rest. He sleeps like the dead, gone to the world for a couple of hours, letting the pain settle like sediment in the bottom of a lake. It sinks down into black depths, lost under the weight of everything that waits for him in the waking world. He’s still and silent and calm when he opens his eyes, and she finally tells him he can go to Alex.

“Mistress, what—what am I allowed to tell him?”

“Whatever you like pet, this is your life too.” She barely looks up from the jewellery she is examining with her looking glass.

“I can tell him about… about the agreement we have?” If he was wearing anything, Jasper would be twisting his hands in his clothes now.

“You haven’t already?” She laughs, delighted. “Well, that explains why he’s being quite so unreasonable. If you would like him to know, you can my Treasure.”

“And… and, about my… what it means to be part of the curse. Because that applies to Alex too, doesn’t it? Now that he’s here?”

Adria comes over to him, lifts his aching, tired hands, and kisses them. “That is the only free gift he gets just for being here. The gift of time. So yes, you may tell him.”

She dresses him in nothing but underwear and fresh red hand marks, and sends him off with a plate of food to the room he never, ever wants to go to.

What he finds inside is both expected and horrifying. He shudders as he steps over the threshold into the bare, dungeon room. There are two square pillars and Alex is strung up between them, each arm stretched out and manacled to either side. He is limp, his head hanging down to his chest, his clothes torn and bloody, while fresh splatters decorate the pillars and the floor around him. The whip, cane, and hot poker that she must have used are dumped in a heap at Alex’s feet. Jasper guesses he’ll be in charge of cleaning those, too.

He pushes them aside with his foot, out of sight, and places the tray of food and medical supplies down instead. He hates it in here; the memories that crowd, the things the room dredges up. His emotions churn beneath his calm exterior.

“Alex?” He doesn’t want to touch Alex without warning, and he’s not sure where he could touch that wouldn’t hurt.

Alex raises his head, shifting slowly. It must hurt, he must be exhausted. He flinches when he sees Jasper, pulls away and is jerked back in place by the chains. There are tears tracks down his cheeks between caked on blood but his eyes are dry now. “Please, no more. Please.”

“I’m here to look after you,” Jasper says woodenly. “She finally said I could.”

“Are you going to let me down?” Alex rasps, his words a little slurred.

Jasper shakes his head. “Haven’t been told to do that.”

Alex moans, lets his head swing back and loll on his neck, staring at the ceiling. “‘M gonna die, gonna die here.”

Jasper closes his eyes and pushes down the swell of annoyance. Alex was happy to kill him earlier and he thought he wasn’t bothered by it, but it rears an ugly head now. Alex fearing for his life sets something inside Jasper on edge, like his teeth hurt or his blood itches, some distant part of him vindictive about it after having a knife held over his heart—even if he was fairly sure he wouldn’t be hurt in a way that lasted, Alex hadn’t known that.

“You’re not going to die, Mistress doesn't want you to.”

“It hurts, so much. Can’t do this much longer, Jasper, won’t be able to breathe if my legs give out.”

Jasper looks at his strained shoulders and pulled taut chest and very simply says: “So don’t fall.”

Alex nods, as Jasper submerges a cloth and wrings it out, before starting to clean and sterilise the wounds littering Alex’s torso. Alex winces, hisses in pain, but doesn’t complain. In fact he says thank you, and that makes Jasper pause.

“I’m just doing what I’m told,” he replies as he gets back to work.

“I know, I see why, I get it. I… I get it. I thought the stuff she had out there was torturous, all those restraints and the… other things she’s used.”

“Shh,” Jasper says, seeing the effort it takes Alex to speak.

“No, no, I’m tired of being alone. Need—talking helps. To focus on other things?”

“Okay?” Jasper continues his work, eyes flicking up to check Alex’s face for signs he’s pressing too hard.

“I see now, those things out there are the humane things.” Alex laughs, a bitter, strained sort of chuckle. “These are the torture implements.” He twists his wrist in one of the heavy metal shackles and Jasper nods.

“I’m going to bandage these now, okay?” He asks.

Alex moans, something that sounds like yes, and Jasper quickly covers the worst of the whip marks with gauze and sticks it all down over sweat streaked skin. Then he lifts up the bowl of soup, and Alex’s eyes track it warily.

“I can feed you, if you’ll let me.”

“Why?”

Jasper shrugs. “You’ve suffered enough, this will keep your strength up until she decides you’ve... atoned.”

Alex struggles to swallow, wincing with each mouthful. Jasper is patient, feeding him in small increments, staring at the bowl in between so he doesn’t have to think about where they are. This whole room triggers his need to fall to his knees and beg for forgiveness, to say he’s sorry. His eyes flicker across the other wall—the one he knows hides more awful truths. He almost gags on his own saliva.

“I get it, I do get it, now. More than before—but I got it then too,” Alex says, interrupting his train of thought.

“Get what?” Jasper replies, whispering like it's a secret. Dirty, bad, wrong. No misbehaving.

Alex shifts in the chains holding him upright, swinging forward slightly onto his toes before he settles back and tries to keep his head up and look Jasper in the eye. “Why you do what she says, why it helps to make it hurt less. I—I’m just bad at that I guess, don’t know when to stop. I just thought we had a chance, you know?”

Everything in Jasper comes to a sudden halt. His heart pauses and then beats faster and harder. “We?”

Alex nods, slowly, painfully. “Could’ve got out, if—I thought I could make her let us go. Dumb, really. Should've guessed why you never tried it.”

“Us?” Jasper repeats, the almost empty bowl trembling in his hands. He puts it down so not to drop it.

“Well, yeah. Was gonna take you with me. Couldn’t leave you here in this hell.”

“But you said—”

“I only needed her to think that, and I didn’t think you’d play along if you knew. ‘M’sorry I scared you though. I know we’re not friends, not like she says, but, but I didn’t want it to go that far. I’m sorry.”

“Y-you, it wasn’t real? The things you said? Didn’t want to hurt me?” Something in Jasper swirls upwards, heading for the surface.

“Feel bad that I did, when I cut her. Please don’t hate me, I didn’t know.” Alex’s eyes are wide, his face twitching with held back pain. Jasper’s heart clenches.

“I don’t hate—I just, I thought you…”

“I know, I know. I fucked up. This is all so fucked up.” Alex sobs, his eyes watering and it looks like he can barely breathe like this.

Whatever Jasper had forced to the bottom of the depths inside himself surges upward. Sediment in a lake that drifts up into the light, up where it’s warm again. He’s not alone. He doesn’t have to face them both alone. Alex cares.

“Shh, shh,” he rests a soothing hand on Alex’s twisted shoulder and for the first time it isn’t shrugged away. Alex leans his face toward it and Jasper hesitantly wipes at a stray tear.

“I think I owe you some explanations. I... I think you’re ready to know why I’m here, like this?”

“Will it help? I just want to--for things to make sense.”

Jasper looks at his feet, curling his toes against the cold floor. He is warmed by Alex’s confession, and chilled to the bone with the confessions that live in his own past, and the truths he’s about to share. “I can try to explain.”

Alex nods, half-smiles. Jasper likes the smile, mirrors it even as his lips wobble. “Don’t have anything else to do right now…” Alex says, huffing what sounds like a laugh, but is tinged with pain.

Jasper wraps his arms around his own waist. “The-the first thing you should know, if you want to understand everything about her, and me and...and this place, is that she isn’t the only of her kind.”

Alex’s breath pauses, stutters, his eyes grow wider.

“She’s just the one who made it out of her prison first.”

Alex looks around, like something—someone—might materialise out of the walls. And he’s not far wrong about how that goes, and it’s enough to twist Jasper’s mouth into a wry smile. He feels a sob building in his throat and swallows to smother it.

“She is both our best hope of getting out of here unscathed and whole, and the worst danger we could possibly be in, at the same time.”

“I don’t…?” Alex mutters, taking pained breaths and frowning at Jasper. He looks so tired, and it reminds Jasper of his worst time in this room in a way that makes him want to bolt. But he doesn’t, he stays, and he tries to explain.

“If we stay on her good side, she’ll let us be. And-and we’ll have her protection, too.”

“Wait, wait. I’m lost, I’m too tired for this.” Alex groans.

But Jasper can’t stop, even if he has to explain it all again to Alex when he’s recovered and can take it in. He hasn’t had anyone to talk to beside Adria for far too long and the deep waters he has sunken into have been disturbed now, and everything is swirling towards the surface. His life, his story, his reason for being here so long, he wants someone else to know so that he isn’t carrying it alone.

“I tried to, tried not to be what she wanted… but she won and, and I made a deal with her...” he begins.

[Taglist: @lonesome--hunter, @whumpthisway, @slaintetowhump @untilthepainstarts @sneeze-queen @muddy-swamp-princess @i-contain-multitud-s @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @yet-another-heathen let me know if you would like to be added or removed]

33 notes · View notes

cowboisadness · 4 years ago

Text

Hang ‘Em High {Arthur Morgan x F!OC} Chapter 15

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x FemOC

Summery: Belle Hawthorne is high society looking to escape her mean husband. A robbery by the Van Der Linde gang could be her chance. Can she escape his cluches and possibly discover what love should feel like?

Warnings: Canon typical violence but we finally get to see some action!!

.....

The parlour wasn’t as busy as I expected. The tables and booths accommodating a few men each, all of them drinking and chatting amongst themselves after a day of hard work. I had a feeling that was soon about to change.

Hosea called out for the attention of the room, introducing himself as Melvin and Arthur, who was behind the bar at this point still looking sour, as his brother.

The whole space erupted into cheers at the mention of free drinks for the next thirty minutes. Every man and his dog now making their way to the bar at the mention of something too good to be true.

“Don’t get him mad, though. His momma made him mad and we buried her. Poor thing.”

I stood beside the bar, welcoming men over with a smile and hoped no one wondered why these strangers are just giving away shine. Not suspicious at all.

Hosea called for the music to continue loud and clear and Arthur began pouring for the punters.

Hosea made his rounds, encouraging them to drink more with his cheery smile and rousing words.

Shot after shot was poured. The reserved chatter now nothing but a memory to be replaced by blaring laughter and men slowly but surely losing their feet.

These folks will regret this by morning, that’s if they even remember what happened but it sure was easy money for us.

“You make this fine shine, Miss?” A man sneaked up beside me at the bar, his words starting to slur.

“It’s our pleasure, sir. Would you like another glass?”

Might as well go along with it “I had a hand in it for sure.” I smiled at him, leaning against the bar with one arm propped up upon it.

“Well, it is mighty kind of you to give it out like this.”

“Hmm, I sure would like a taste. Ain’t nothing better than a workin’ woman that likes to g-get her hands dirty.” He shot a toothy grin and leaned in towards me placing a hand on my arm that was at my side. I shook him off and moved back slightly but he wouldn’t give up, taking a step forward and replacing his hand, this time on my hip trying in his drunken state to pull me towards him.

Grabbing onto his arm I pulled him off, staring straight into his bloodshot eyes.

“I see you have met our dear Alice. Ain’t she something?” Hosea smiled at the man

“Touch me again and that glass will be imbedded into your face,” His brows furrowed in confusion but with the sudden crinkle around his eyes, he took it as a challenge.

Before either of us could say another word, Hosea came up beside us, replacing my hand with his and dropping the man’s arm to his side.

“S-she sure is. She your sister?”

“Sister-in-Law.” Hosea kept his smile but turned his gaze to behind the bar, me and the stranger following his eye-line. The three of us looking towards Arthur, now ceased his pouring and glaring daggers right at our new friend. I felt my cheeks begin to heat up but couldn’t stop the grin from seeing the man's reaction to this new information. His head snapped back to Hosea with a dumbfounded look. Hosea just nodded slowly.

“I’d be careful if I was you. She’s the only one he listens to and she just needs to give the word.” Hosea gave a beaming smile with his threat. Mess with her and you will have a man twice your size and with a willing thirst for violence that would do anything for his wife to deal with.

The drunkard was definitely uneasy on his feet now, his head bowed down with a quiet nod he took himself and his empty glass away from the bar.

Thirty minutes had been and gone, the quietness of the night now upon us but the parlour was as lively as it has probably ever been. Men dancing with each other like lovers weaving through tables and fallen chairs. The piano man with one leg perched upon the stool playing like it was the only thing keeping him breathing. One man passed out at the bar, another on the stairs up to the second level. Laughter and shouts bordering on deafening that you couldn’t hear yourself think. A fight was breaking out on the upper floor, one man being tossed by the other. It was chaos.

The merriment amongst these men was soon halted at the opening of the doors. The men entering with their weapons drawn brought silence. All eyes on them, some putting their hands in the air.

Hosea began speaking from his spot on the stairs looking down at the unwelcome visitors.

“It’s the Lemoyne Raiders.” I heard one man say.

Never heard of them. This another gang we are enemies with? I looked over to Arthur, he ushering me to get behind the bar with him.

“Good evening, gentlemen. Quiet libation?”

“You,” the frontman said, pointing his pistol at Hosea.

“Me?”

“You’re the bastards who stole the liquor we was gonna buy.”

“Gentlemen, we’re in advertising, come on in have a drink.”

“That’s our goddamn liquor!” The man shouted, anger brewing.

“An honest mistake”

“Boys, get ‘em!”

With that everyone began running for cover or an exit. Arthur pulled me down to cover behind the bar, hat and pipe now nowhere to be seen and both his weapons in hand. Telling me to get my gun, stay at his side and shoot if I have too.

I just nodded wildly and fumbled at my side. Bringing the gun up level with my chest with a shaky finger hovering over the trigger and watching ahead of me.

Upstairs was a bombardment of bullets, glass and broken wood. Keeping my gun in front of me ready to pull the trigger if anyone got insight.

Shots ran out between the raiders and Arthur and Hosea. Bottles shattering above the bar and glass raining down as shots thankfully missed their mark.

I realised I had a tightening grip around Arthurs’s leg when he pulled away, pulling me up beside him and over the bar towards the stairs. Keeping me behind him as he shot anyone coming through the door.

He kept me behind him, shielding me from the onslaught, men dropping all around us.

Arthurs steady hand on my back pulls me out of my sudden hesitation, prompting me to climb over and jump down. Landing with a thud in the back of the wagon and my knees throbbing with the hard contact.

“Arthur help!” Hosea calls out from the other side, in battle with another man. I raised my pistol without thinking but before I could think of my aim the man dropped, his head nothing but a spray of blood and tissue.

We made our way towards Hosea who was calling us out to follow. Arthur with his back turned facing the doors now behind us. The doors ahead, beyond the poker table, opened to a man aiming straight at Hosea.

I didn't hesitate, I couldn’t. My body in flight mode but my brain decided on fight. I shot. Two rounds hitting the mark causing him to falter and stagger back. Hosea turned at that, finishing him off with a shot to the head.

Arthur pushed me forward from where I was rooted, urging me to keep moving no matter what.

We make it out onto the balcony, Hosea already down and on the wagon.

Arthur followed right behind me not even pausing before climbing up to the front.

We were maybe a few steps into the safety of the woods when he broke the silence.

Hosea spurred the horses to move as fast as possible to get out of there as more raiders came out of the shadows. Hosea passing me one of the rifles that were at his side.

Arthur didn't hesitate, aiming and taking down three men within seconds like he was in some kind of trance.

My heart was in my throat, trying to steady my breathing as I aimed over the side of the wagon to shoot at those getting closer. Not like I was doing a grand job of it but I was able to hold them off while Arthur finished them off.

They kept coming as we travelled further out of the shitty little town. One bullet hit the few bottles of shine left at my side erupting them into flames. The intense heat meeting my skin had me pushing myself up and away but I was being dragged back too. We couldn’t stop for a moment so I quickly reloaded with whatever ammo I had left in my shirt pocket and started shooting again. A few men falling off their horses at my doing.

It began to quiet, the last few stragglers being dealt with swiftly before we turned off the road. My and Arthur left Hosea to take whatever was left of the liquor back to Mrs Baraithwaite as a peace offering, leaving me and Arthur to walk back to camp through the cover of the trees.

“You alright? Sorry about that whole mess, I shouldn’t have let you come with us.”

“I’m fine. Wasn’t like I wasn’t expecting something to happen, but almost being on fire was a surprise.” I giggled sheepishly. He stopped me then pulling on my arm “Shit i - you sure you’re not hurt?” He checked my arm and down my side, looking for any signs of burns.

“Yes, I’m fine. I’d say if I wasn’t.” I smiled at his concern, looking at him then. His eyes met mine with one of concern but that soon melted away once he realised I was truly okay.

After a few moments, he looked down, his trusty hat now covering his face. His hand still on my arm.

“Good shootin’ by the way.”

“Well, I had a good teacher. Could do with a few more lessons I believe.”

“Give me a time and place darling,” he said as he lifted his gaze from his feet and back to me

I beamed up at him then, seeing something in his eyes I couldn’t quite place. I thought back to our last shooting lesson. His hand on me, his breath fanning over the back of my neck. What almost happened as we sat under the shade of the tree. I could feel the relentless wings of the butterflies in my stomach as I looked up at him then, his hand still on me that seemed to burn my skin more than fire.

Might as well take my chance.

“I don’t say it enough but...thank you...for what you have done for me. I don’t know where I would be without you and - you and your kindness means the world to me.” I stood up on my toes then, reaching to place a kiss on his cheek, lingering longer than necessary. My hand now gripping his arm holding me and my free hand coming up to cup his other cheek before letting go.

I was ready to let that be that and to walk back to camp. But the look in his eyes when I didn’t move away had me frozen in place. My breath becoming shallow and my heart threatening to beat out of my chest. Calculating our next move.

My breath hitching as I felt his free hand on my waist.

Then his lips were on mine. Kissing with such hunger that our grip tightening on each other, like we were running out of time. But time was nothing but a distant idea at that moment.

@kashasenpai

#hang em high #hang em high fic #arthur morgan x oc #arthur morgan x fem oc #arthur morgan fic #rdr2 #rdr2 fic #arthur morgan

12 notes · View notes

azbagans · 5 years ago

Text

Stuck With You

Pairing: Zak Bagans x Reader

Summary: Stuck in quarantine with Zak is slowly driving you both insane, but a minor argument brings things back into perspective. (Inspired heavily by “Stuck with U” By Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber.)

Warnings: None (basically fluff central with minor hints of angst.)

Lately you and Zak had been bumping heads, and honestly you couldn’t pin point why. Problems were a rare occurrence in your relationship, and in the case you were to argue it would be because you were upset at how careless he could be when taunting spirits or whatever it might have been. You only argued because sometimes he wouldn’t even tell you about it, so you’d find out when you watched the episode air, which was the frustrating part.

However, that wasn’t the case this time, because he had to postpone any planned investigation for the time being since the coronavirus forced states to lockdown, urge citizens to stay home, and social distance. Truly, the first few weeks weren’t all that bad. You both had missed spending time together, so you both enjoyed spending time together. Learning new meals to cook, having him assist any baking you wanted to try, cuddling up and watching movies and TV shows, or playing with Gracie out in the backyard. This was the soft domestic side you missed Zak showing, and it was comforting for you both.

Of course Zak was often FaceTiming Aaron, Billy, and Jay as they did their best to work from home either on editing old footage or planning for future renovations for Zak’s Haunted Museum. Honestly, sometimes they were simply just joking around with each other as they talked about everything and nothing all at once.

“Babe, you forgot to refill Gracie’s bowl.” You sighed as you refilled both Gracie’s water bowl and food bowl while you were at it. He was recently deep into who knew what, typing away on his laptop, calling the crew, and obliviously to you some producers too. “I’m sorry y/n, I’m a bit busy.” Zak sighed from the living room, where he sat with his laptop being used to arrange certain things, as well as his cellphone pressed to his ear thanks to his shoulder.

You had noticed he stopped putting calls on speaker, and spoke softer when you were around, which grew to annoy you. Of course you trusted him, the annoying part was that he clearly didn’t trust you. A soft sigh left your lips as you rolled your eyes and entered the kitchen, making sure all the dirty dishes were around, if not in the sink, before starting to wash the dishes. How there was such a pile of dirty dishes in a household of two was absolutely beyond you. If you didn’t know any better, you’d even suggest a spirit had been helping make the mess.

The sound of your phone ringing drew you from your thoughts, sighing as you dried one hand quickly to pick up the phone. Using your shoulder to keep the phone in place as you returned to washing the dishes. “Hello?” You responded, setting a now clean plate on the dish rack. “Hello y/n, I hope I didn’t call at a bad time.” Nancy’s voice came through, smiling at the sound of Zak’s mother’s voice.

“No! Not at all Nancy, just washing a few dishes. How are you doing?” You responded softly as your hands became a soapy mess. “I’m doing just fine honey, thank you. I hope being locked up hasn’t caused Gracie a problem,” Nancy responded with a soft laugh. “No, not at all! We play with her in the backyard often, she still enjoys the outdoors at least.” You laughed, relaxing slightly at the news that she was indeed healthy and well.

Meanwhile, Zak had been typing away on his laptop to put together a rough draft for their investigation. “No, that won’t be necessary. We’ll handle all the filming. The security cameras will help us make sure we get absolutely everything, so we won’t need anyone else but us four.” Zak finalized with their producer. He, Aaron, Jay, and Billy had agreed to quarantine themselves within his haunted museum for two weeks. It took them some convincing before Zak was able to get everyone on board with the investigation. Zak had grown restless, and he couldn’t just stay home.

Of course the investigator loved being home with y/n and Gracie, it was relaxing and peaceful, definitely something he had needed. However, he was now ready to get back into work mode, which was challenging considering their ‘stay at home’ order had just been made longer. He was yet to tell y/n, not that he meant to hide it from her, but they had enough with their petty arguments lately. Surely, this would only be the cherry on top.

“So what can I do for you, Nancy?” You asked with a small smile as you were drying your hands, having finished washing the dishes during your small talk. “Well, I was hoping to get in touch with Zak? He hasn’t been answering my calls and I had some questions for the new investigation.” Nancy responded, you grew confused as you let Gracie outside, following her into the backyard. “I’m sorry, he’s been rather busy on the phone lately. He’s on the phone as we speak.” You explained, a small frown on your face as you sat down on the grass. “New investigation?” You questioned.

“Ah, I figured. I just wanted to check in and make sure things were sorted for their new quarantine location. I can’t believe they are going to stay in the museum for the next two weeks.” Nancy sighed, oblivious to the fact that her son hadn’t told you yet. “But anyway, please have him call me as soon as he can? It was nice talking to you, y/n.” Nancy bedded her goodbye. “Of course Nancy, take care.” You responded, hanging up shortly after.

Zak was going to stay at the museum? You weren’t sure what bothered you the most. The fact that Zak hadn’t even told you yet, the fact that none of the boys had told you either, or how stupid that idea even was. You knew the paranormal was Zak’s life, and you respected that, but you worried for him endlessly. He tended to be a little too ambitious when taunting, or exploring dangerous grounds with demonic or poltergeist activity. “Hey, my favorite girls are hanging out without me?” You heard Zak approach you, as you were torn from your thoughts while watching Gracie bark and chase after a squirrel.

“Hard to tell,” you muttered as you crossed your arms over your chest. Zak sighed as he took a seat beside you, the outdoor scene of the backyard would have been peaceful and relaxing, had it not been for the tension between the pair. “Babe, we can’t go on this way.” Zak frowned as he glanced your way, though you hadn’t met his gaze. “I agree. You know, I was wondering what I did to make you avoid me so much. When were you going to tell me?” You responded, your voice a bit hoarse as you fought back a few tears.

Zak wasn’t sure how you’d found out, but he figured it hadn’t mattered much. A sigh leaving his lips as he watched you with a soft gaze, “I’m sorry y/n. Honestly I wasn’t sure the others would even agree, and working with production to approve has been a nightmare. I didn’t want to spark another argument in case it wasn’t even approved.” Zak explained, knowing he should have told her sooner. Zak knew you’d be worried and upset, angry even, but he wasn’t expecting your response at all.

“I don’t get it.. Do you not want to be around me anymore? Am I not making you happy? I just don’t.. understand..” You frowned as your eyes began to water, blurring your vision slightly. “What? No! Where did you even get that from?” Zak frowned as he gently reached for your hands, taking them into his. This wasn’t at all the response he had imagined, and some how, it hurt ten times worse. Seeing you cry was something he never wanted to see.

“Why else would you want to lock yourself in your museum? For two weeks? Surrounded by the most deadliest and cursed objects on Earth, Zak why are you doing this?!” You asked, the hurt in your voice audible as some tears slid down your cheeks, doing your best to blink away any others. “Y/n, sweetheart…” Zak sighed as he gently let your hands go, to instead cup your face gently, his thumbs wiping your tears away. “I’m so sorry, that’s not at all why we decided to do this. I figured it would give us something to do and considering the fights we’ve been having, it would give you some space. I know I haven’t been the best boyfriend lately,” Zak explained with a frown on his face as he gazed into your eyes. “But I love you, y/n. I love being around you, even when you run that smart pretty mouth of yours.” Zak reassured with a small smile, before pressing a soft yet sweet kiss to your lips.

The tension slowly began to ease away, as you relaxed under his touch, kissing back. The contact being something you had missed the last few days after petty disputes. “I love you too Zak. I’m sorry I’ve been so petty lately.” You sighed softly before pouting, “What on Earth am I supposed to do without you the next two weeks?” You selfishly asked, though of course you were only teasing.

“Don’t worry babe, you’re stuck with me the rest of this quarantine after that. Whether you want to be or not,” He joked towards the end, a soft laugh leaving your lips as he wrapped his arms around you. He brought you into his chest as you now sat on his lap, your head resting on his shoulder.

“I’m stuck with you, Bagans. Go ahead and drive me insane, its just you and me.” You responded with a small smile, an arm around his neck as you leaned upward a bit and pressing a soft kiss to his lips, Gracie soon running onto your lap as you both shared a laugh.

There’s no where else you’d rather be.

#zakbagans #GAC #ghost adventures #zak bagans x reader #x reader #imagines #quarentinelife #quarantine #zak bagans imagine #aaron goodwin #billy tolley #jay wasley #paranormal #stuck with u #one shot

225 notes · View notes

talesofstyles · 5 years ago

Text

On S’envoie en L’air?*

*Shall we have a shag?

So, here we go again ladies. We can never have too many husband!harry and dad!harry on holiday mode, can’t we? Enjoy this 6.5k of Harry dealing with a wriggly baby on the plane who couldn’t sit still, to him teaching his little one how to swim. Followed by a quickie at nap time and a little cockwarming on the balcony to end the day. Yes, you read it right, on the balcony. But no, they didn’t get arrested for indecent exposure. Let me know what you think!

With Harry’s break aligned with your eldest son’s half term, you both figured it would be nice to squeeze in a little early summer holiday where you got a few days of much-needed quality time with your little family. Harry had been away for four weeks and it was the first time you had to handle your two children on your own. Normally, you wouldn’t think twice before packing your stuff and your kids’ to tag along with him wherever he goes, but your three year old just started nursery back in January, and your days of being able to drag him around the world whenever you want were finally over.

However, that wasn’t entirely a bad thing. Both of you knew right from the start that you wanted to give your son as much stability as he could get, and although the circumstances wouldn’t allow it sometimes, you and Harry knew you would fight for your children to have a normal childhood just like what both of you had. Juggling a three year old—which however sweet he could be, he still has his moments just like any three year olds would—and a one year old who just got the hang of walking—on your own wasn’t easy. Thankfully though you had the most amazing support system. Both yours and Harry’s parents and siblings, even some of your close friends were happy to help you to keep two children alive. Harry called about a hundred times a day—thank goodness for FaceTime because otherwise, you might need to dip into your children’s school fund to pay for the phone bill. You knew that both of you had your own challenges; for you were to stay home and hold the fort and for him was to be away from his family. There was no point on arguing whose position was more difficult because you knew both of you had your own struggles, but that didn’t stop the nosey comments saying that you were basically a single parent although you knew were the furthest thing from it. Comments like that pissed you off because even though sometimes they said it with a good intention to praise you, you hated hearing it because to you it felt like you were dishonouring your husband and all the work he had to do to provide for your family. Before Harry went away, he made sure that all the bills were paid and your cars tuned up so you wouldn’t have any problems whilst he was away. He made sure that your home was good and that there were no leaks. Even though he wasn’t physically with you, it felt as if he was through phone calls and video calls and all that. He was always present.

Still, though, nothing beats his actual presence. The kids were over the moon to have him back home. He slipped back into his role perfectly, effortlessly. Whenever he’s home, you’re reminded again of how much of a husband and a dad he is.

If it was a holiday for just the two of you, Harry would definitely take you on his private yacht to cruise around the Mediterranean. But you both learnt your lesson the hard way last time you went yachting, that toddlers do NOT belong there. There was almost no safe space for your oldest to play outside so you saw less of the sea and spent most of your time inside the cabin making sure that those curious grubby fingers didn’t touch anything and that he didn’t crawl around the area that he wasn’t supposed to. With two toddlers now, you knew that wasn’t an option.

So you settled in a hotel in the French Riviera, or Côte d’Azur, with a private beach where you could let your kids run around without having to worry about the paps lurking around. Amalfi Coast has always been your favourite destination, but this time you wanted to take your children to the Mediterranean coast of France for a change. A cot and an extra bed were placed in the separated living room area for your babies, which was perfect because it wasn't far from your bed yet it wasn’t that close should you and Harry needed some privacy.

It was your second day at the hotel. You’d arrived in the evening the day before and didn’t get to do much besides ordering room service and putting the kids to bed straight away. The flight from London to Nice was only two hours, but there was a two hours delay, which ruined your plan because you’d planned your flight around the time your youngest’s nap time but the delay making her slept at the airport instead of on the plane. Having just recently discovered her feet and got the hang of walking, she could barely sit still, making Harry walk up and down the aisles the whole time holding his baby girl’s hands above her head. You were lying if you said you didn’t enjoy the sight of Harry being on full dad mode as you sat down through a whole movie.

You put your excited three year old to bed with a promise that you’d take him swimming when he woke up. Something that both you and Harry immediately regret the next morning when your little boy woke you up at six am sharp.

“Mummy! Daddy!” a bright voice piped up waking you up from your slumber. “Wakey, wakey!”

Harry groaned from beside you. “Too early, mate.”

“But daddy,” the three year old whined as he walked to Harry’s side of the bed. “You promised we could swim when I woke up!”

“After breakfast, yeah? We’ll swim then,” Harry tried to convince him again, reaching out his hand to ran his fingers through the blond mop that had a curly end now that it was humid. “Now get in ‘ere and give yer old man a cuddle,”

“No!” he scowled, crossing his arms across his chest to make a point of how annoyed he was. His eyebrows knitted, and Harry had to bite his lower lip to keep him from laughing at your little chap.

“No?” Harry repeated his answer before letting out a yawn, as he sat up to lean against the plush pillow before he growled playfully. “How dare you?!”

“Ssh,” you shushed him. “Pipe down, you’re gonna wake the baby.”

“Sure you don’t want to give me a cuddle?” He asked the angry toddler again, his voice lower this time after your warning, and he shook his head firmly. A deep frown visible on his little face. “Right then, I’ll get m’cuddles from mummy.”

You groaned as Harry dropped his body weight dead on top of yours. “Oi! Get off me you fatso!” you protested, trying to push him away and failing miserably. Harry just hummed as he locked you in a bear hug.

You were about to let out another groan when you heard a babbling sound from the living room. The sound made Harry climbed off you and made his way to the living room to get your littlest love. With Harry away, you tapped Harry’s empty side of the bed, trying to convince your oldest again to climb up so you could have at least a few more minutes in bed before you had to get up. “C’mere, yeah? Five minutes. Then we’ll get ready and head downstairs for breakfast. How does that sound?”

“Then we’ll swim?”

“Then we’ll swim,” you nodded as he ran to your side of the bed so you could pick him up. The bed was way too high for him to climb.

Harry reappeared with your fourteen months old on his hip. Her hair, much darker from her older brother, was sticking out and the humidity also made it curly at the end. “Good morning sunshine,” you greeted her and she flashed a huge grin as Harry placed her on the bed so she could crawl to you.

“One of these days we need to get you two to sleep in,” Harry joked as he sat back down on his side of the bed, another yawn escaped from his mouth. “We’re on holiday.”

“M’hungry,” your three year old mumbled.

“Are yeh?” Harry simpered. “Think you’re just saying that so we can go and get breakfast and you can swim.”

George wasn’t quick enough to fight a cheeky smile that was creeping onto his face, realising that his father had cracked his code. “Tha’ a smile I see?” Harry cocked his head, smirking at your smart three year old.

“Alright, come on let’s get ready.”

***

It took nearly an hour just to get everyone out of the door and go downstairs to the buffet area to get breakfast, which didn’t surprise you anymore since you had kids. The weather was lush so you decided to sit on the terrace, taking in the amazing view of the blue sky meeting the blue water of the Mediterranean sea. From where you were sat, you could also see the large outdoor pool and the rows of sun loungers by the pool. There were also several cabanas a little tucked away to the side, and you already had your eyes on one on the left where you could already see yourself chilling when your baby girl naps and Harry takes your little lad swimming.

“Oh, look, there’s crêpes au nutella. Would you like that, George?” you asked your little boy and he nodded eagerly at the mention of his favourite food. You were pretty sure that he could live on crêpes if you would let him.

Harry cleared his throat before he decided to be the party pooper. “No chocolate for breakfast please.”

“Oh come on, we’re on holiday,” you stood up for your little boy. Although that mainly just because you wanted to get the same thing and you knew you wouldn’t be able to if Harry didn’t let him have it. Harry had always been a pretty laid back parent, but when it came to food it was a whole nother story. He was—and still is—the health freak one in your family. “What’s the harm in that?”

“Fine,” he finally sighed. “You better enjoy that mate, none of that when we get back.”

Your little boy squealed happily and Harry knew he made the right decision when he saw how happy he made him just for saying yes.

“Should we head to the beach or the pool after this?” you turned your head at Harry as you fed your littlest her fromage frais.

“Think the beach first would be nice,” Harry said, looking over at the sea in front of you. “Look at the water, s’unreal,”

“Gorgeous innit,” you agreed.

“Are there sharks in the water?” your three year old asked, and both you and Harry laughed. “I don’t wanna go to the beach, they’re gonna bite me!”

“That depends,” Harry deadpanned. “Are you a good boy? Sharks don’t like good boys, they don’t taste as nice. So if you be a good boy and listen to mummy and daddy, sharks won’t bite you.”

“I want to listen to mummy and daddy,”

“Good boy.” Harry praised him, winking at you as you rolled your lips inwards to keep yourself from laughing.

***

“It’s sticky,” George grimaced, twisting his face as you applied the sun cream all over him properly. Getting Harry’s porcelain-like skin mixed with your sensitive skin, your wee bairn burns like he’s ginger so it required proper care under the sun. With his sunnies resting loosely on top of his button nose, he looked beyond adorable with his Finding Nemo swim shorts, the one that you caved in to buy because he didn’t want to let it go even when you were already paying for it at the till.

“I know my love, I’m sorry,” you scrunched up your face in empathy. “But I’m almost done, just a sec- there you go. All done. Harry!”

“Yeah?” Harry replied from the living room, bouncing your baby girl on his hip as he walked to where you were sat on the bed. “S’my turn?”

You hummed in response. “I’ve put it on the kids, now sit here so I can rub it on your back.”

“Oooh back rub!” He exclaimed excitedly. “Been ages since the last time I got a back rub.” He smirked at you before he made his way to the bed and sat down, your baby girl babbling happily on his lap, playing with the cross on his chest.

“Last time this happened, that happened,” you tilted your head to your baby girl and Harry snorted. “All done.”

“Thank you,” Harry stood up, his hand reaching out to take the bottle of sun cream from your hand and tapping the space at the end of the bed so you could crawl forward and he could apply the sun cream on you. “Back’s done. Now turn around.”

“I can do the rest, thanks,” you turned around, reaching out your hand for the bottle of the sun cream and huffed when your husband cheekily shook his head.

“Nonsense, I’ve still got some on my hands here. Don’t wanna waste it, love,” he said as he began to apply it on your arms, shoulders, before his hands creeping down and sneak into your bikini top.

“Hey!” You scolded him. Your tone chastising, stopping him from applying the cream in inappropriate places right in front of your fourteen months old.

“Wha’? S’for the girls!” He defended himself, smiling cheekily as you rolled your eyes. “We don’t want ‘em to burn, do we?”

“Your daughter is right there!” You tilted your head to your baby who was sat on the floor. “Gimme the bottle,”

Harry jutted out his lips in protest but he handed the bottle to you. To make himself useful he double checked the beach bag that you were going to take with you downstairs. “Got everything we need?”

“Think so,” you mumbled. “M’also thinking about bringing the pushchair so your daughter can nap in it.”

“Good idea,” he agreed, before scooping the baby up into his arms and brought her back to the living room area where the pushchair was, and buckled the baby on it. “George, you ready mate?”

“Daddy, can I take this?” He looked at Harry with puppy dog eyes as he showed Harry his Schleich figurines that he took with him. “Please?”

“Yes but not all,” Harry nodded and George beamed with such joy. “Two should be enough, shouldn’t it?”

“Mhm,” the little boy nodded eagerly as he took a blue whale and a dolphin. “We don’t want it to get lost.”

“Alright, let’s go,” you said as you walked into the living room with the beach bag.

“Let’s go to the beach, each, let’s go get a wave~” Harry started singing as he pushed the pushchair out the door and you shook your head as you laughed at your dork of a husband, which you weren’t surprised, really. He had always been such a dork, but what surprised you, it was when your darling three year old started to sing along with his dad as you walked down the hall to the lift.

“They say, what they gonna say? Have a drink, clink, found the bud light,” he sung proudly and you knew if there was any social worker nearby who heard him singing that song they would probably take him away. “Bad bridges like me is hard to come by.”

“Bad what?” Harry stopped and asked him, trying his best to stifle his laughter.

“For the love of God, Harry, don’t correct it,” you lowered your voice so Harry could hear but not your smart little boy because otherwise, he would definitely ask for the correct word. You rolled your lips inwards to keep yourself from laughing.

The private beach was right behind the hotel, so it only took you about five minutes from your room to get to the beach. At just a little after nine, it was still so quiet and empty and the four of you were the first there besides the lifeguard who was already on duty. It was a little chilly, but luckily still warm enough for a dip in the sea. You put all your belongings in one of the empty cabanas and took your baby out of her pushchair so she could walk around on the sand.

Harry was wearing his black swim shorts. His current state of hair that was similar to the one he had back in 2015, shoulder length with the front casually flipped to one side, was put up in a man bun. His tattoos were on display and it took everything in you to keep your hands to yourself and not to run your fingertips along the ink out in public and in front of your children.

Although on the other hand, Harry clearly couldn’t keep his hands off you. You had to keep yourself together when Harry’s cold palm lingered on your bare stomach as he stood behind you, looking at the lush view of the intense blue sea in front of you.

“Come on, mate,” Harry reached out his hand for your little boy to hold. “Let’s get in the water, shall we?”

“No, daddy,” he shook his head and hid behind Harry’s legs. “S’too big. Can we just go to the pool?”

“You’re right, it’s very big,” Harry agreed, nodding at the little boy who was still holding his leg. “But daddy will hold your hand. Can we try to walk there first? You’ll love it when the waves hit your legs. But if you still don’t like it we can go to the pool and try again tomorrow.”

“Y’won’t let go?” He looked up at his daddy as Harry took one of his hand, his other hand clutching the blue whale figurine.

“Never.”

George was hesitant at first, but Harry looked over his shoulder at you and you smiled at each other proudly when your first born walked alongside his daddy to where the small waves can hit their legs. You held your baby girl’s hands above her head and walked with her. You knew then which one you had to keep an eye on as they grow, realising that your little girl was much braver than her older brother. She was wriggling away trying to let go of your hands so she could crawl freely.

It didn’t take too long for George to finally cast out his fear. You laughed as you ran around after your littlest who had been crawling around and trying to eat the sand all morning, looking at Harry and your oldest who were playing with the waves.

“One… two… three… RUUUN!” Harry shrieked as the waves were coming, taking your little boy’s hand to ran away from it. “Fun, innit? Now should we go to the pool so daddy can teach you how to swim?”

“Yeah! But wait,” George cheered as he ran to the loungers to get the dolphin figurine and ran back to where Harry was, now holding both of his figurines on each of his hand. “They need to say goodbye to their friends!”

***

“Y’alright, mate?” Harry asked your little boy as he held him just above his waist. They’d just got into the pool so Harry wanted to make George as comfortable as possible with the water before he started. He was wearing a swim vest so he knew his little boy was safe, but Harry still wanted to take the opportunity to teach him how to swim properly. Harry glided him around, keeping his little body on top of the water.

“Mhm,” he hummed. He had gained a little more confidence in the pool rather than when he was still at the beach.

“First, daddy will teach you how to hold your breath. Can you do ‘aah!’” Harry demonstrated, inhaling as much air as possible before closing his mouth and blowing his cheek. “Then make big giant cheeks! Can you make big giant cheeks?”

The three year old giggled at his daddy as he nodded. “I can!”

“Great! Should we do it together? On the count of three, one… two… three… go!” They both inhaled and blew their cheeks, holding their breath for three seconds before they opened their mouth. “You did so good, mate! I’m so proud of you! Now should we try holding our breath under the water? Can you do it?”

“Yes!” He nodded excitedly, inhaling as much air as possible when Harry said ‘go’ and blowing his cheeks as Harry took him under the water and popped him back up after a few seconds. “Mummy, I can hold my breath under the water!”

“You really did! I saw that,” you praised him as you swam closer to them, holding your baby girl’s pool school floaties so she wouldn’t swim away. “That was really good!”

“Now should we show mummy how to blow bubbles? We’ll go ahead and put our mouths just at the top of the water, alright? Can you do that?” Harry asked him again and he nodded eagerly, mimicking what Harry did.

“S’fun, daddy!” He beamed as he blew more bubbles around the water, making his baby sister threw her head back in laughter.

“I’m glad you’re having fun, mate!” Harry said as he held the toddler on his arms, his little back leaning against his chest. “Now can you show me your soldier toes, sir? Can you point your toes? Good job! Keep them nice and pointing.”

“Soldier toes!” He giggled as he pointed his toes.

“Now can you keep your legs absolutely straight? Not bended knees, but straight legs,” Harry instructed and George listened to him, and began singing a random tune to help George to remember. “Nice straight legs, pointed toes, don’t bend your?”

“Knees!” George cheered excitedly.

“Exactly! Now daddy will sing a song, it goes like this; ring around the rosy, pocket full of posies, splashes, splashes, we all blow bubbles,” Harry sung. “First I will glide you around, and when I do, I want you to kick with your soldier toes. Then when I say splashes, I want you to splash with your hands,”

“Like nemo flipping his fins?”

“Yes! Then you remember how to blow bubbles, don’t you? Now can we start?” George nodded eagerly and Harry began singing. “Ring around the rosy, pocket full of posies, splashes, splashes, we all blow bubbles!”

***

“I feel bad he’s at the kids club,” you mumbled as you entered your hotel room. You’d spent all morning at the beach and at the outdoor pool with your husband and kids and even had lunch by the pool. But before you came back to your room, George wanted to see the playroom so Harry took him there and signed him up at the kids club and came back alone. “How did you drop him? Did he cry? You didn’t force him, did you?”

“Cry? He’d cry if I try to take him here,” Harry laughed. “The place looks sick, it’s huge. ‘Sides, I’ve got this pager and they could just ring if he wanted us to pick him up or if something happened.” Harry held the numbered pager for you to see. “Relax, love, he’s fine.”

“How long is the program?”

“Two hours. But he could stay afterwards and play there until five,” Harry explained as he walked towards the end of the bed where you were sat, fingers intertwined. “He’s fine, yeah? We’ve got nothing t’be worried about,”

“You’re right,” you finally admitted, taking your intertwining fingers closer to your mouth before placing a subtle kiss on his knuckles.

“Give me a proper kiss, darlin’,” he pleaded, holding your chin so you looked up at him. “Haven’t got a proper’un.”

“If you could move the baby to her cot without waking her up, I’ll give you more than that,” you smirked, the tip of your thumb running over his knuckles lightly, moving in circles.

“I’ve got a better idea,” he murmured, leaning down to kiss your hair before walking towards the entrance where your baby girl was fast asleep in her pushchair. You thought he was going to move her into the cot, but you were surprised when he appeared in your bedroom a few seconds later with her pushchair.

“What are you doing?!” you hissed, your eyes narrowed, looking at him in disbelief.

“Sssh,” he took his index finger onto his lips, motioning for you to be quiet as he opened the door to the huge balcony that was connected from the bedroom. He pushed the pushchair to the balcony, making sure your baby girl was tucked underneath a blanket incase it got too chilly for her, before coming back into the room with a cheeky grin that matched your three year old’s as he closed the door to the balcony. “How smart is your husband?”

“More like how terrible is the father of my children,” you joked. “Are you seriously leaving our baby daughter out there in the balcony?”

“Hey!” He complained. “She’s living her best life, y’know. The weather’s glorious outside.”

“Doesn’t mean you can just put her outside. She’s not your mum’s cat, y’know,” you deadpanned. Trying your best to keep your facial expression firm and not to smile at your husband.

“Course not, she’s way cuter,” Harry agreed, the corner of his mouth quirked up. He interlocked his fingers back with yours as soon as you were within his arm’s reach again. “We make pretty cute babies.”

“Did we?” You mused, smirking at him. You knew for sure what he was up to, but you decided to tease him a little. “Let me pluck your brows while we’ve got time.”

He looked at you in disbelief, his brows knitted and you rolled your lips inwards so you wouldn’t burst in laughter looking at his expression. “Are you joking? We’ve got time just for us for God knows how long and that’s what you want to do?”

“Could always take a nap if you don’t want that,” you shrugged. “I could use a nap.”

“Absolutely not,” he insisted, taking your chin and leaning down to press a long kiss to your lips whilst he’s got the chance. “We’re,” he paused to press another kiss, this time shorter than before, before he continued. “Not," he took another pause to peck you on the lips. “Taking,” you smiled on his lips as he gave you another kiss. “A,” this time, he didn’t even bother leaving your lips as he spoke. “Bloody,” the pause was far longer this time as he sucked on your lower lip. “Nap.”

“George could page us anyt-” you sucked in a harsh breath as Harry left a trail of kisses down your jawline to your neck and bare shoulders. “Anytime. And Eleanor could-”

“Could what?” Harry smiled smugly, knowing he had already won all along. “It’s gonna be fine, darlin’. She’s just right there, yeah?”

You looked at him, then to the floor to ceiling windows that separated the bedroom and the balcony where your baby girl was snoozing in her pushchair. She was knackered after swimming all morning, and her belly was full as well after you fed her lunch so you knew she wouldn’t wake up anytime soon. Harry knew it was just a matter of minutes before you gave in, knowing you wanted it just as much as he did. Hell, you needed it. Both of you.

“On s’envoie en l’air?” Harry whispered, still standing between your legs as you sat on the edge of the tall bed. You let out a little chuckle. “Wha’?”

“Nothing. S’just your three year old speaks better French than you,” you teased him and he tickled your sides, earning a burst of giggles from you. “It’s true! I swear you only know three sentences; going to the cinema with your family and friends, how to make a coffee this delicious and sh-”

“Shall we ‘ave a shag?” He cut you off, finishing your sentence. A boyish grin plastered across his face as he continued. “Think we shall, hmm?”

“Alright,” you gave in, scooting your body further up to the pillows so Harry could climb on the bed, his body hovering over you. “But we better be quick.”

He smiled smugly as his hand crept down to the waistband of your shorts. Humming as he left his palm lingered a few seconds too long on the particular spot on your knickers where it was far from dry. “Made me went through all those troubles of trying to persuade you yet you’ve been ready all along.”

“Harry,” you choked out his name as he applied more pressure right where you needed him the most. “Don’t tease. The kids-”

“Love, you’re the hottest bird I’ve ever laid my eyes on but if you keep talking about ‘em, m’afraid I won’t be able to do my job,” he shook his head and smiled, purposely licking his lips for a second just to wind you up. “Just lay there and enjoy, yeah? I’ve got you.”

“Where else am I gonna g-” your scoff was cut and turned into a whimper as he thrust himself into you without so much as a warning. “Harry,” his name came out of your mouth in a breathless voice repeatedly.

You knew it had been a while and that’s why you weren’t surprised when the first thrust only allowed you to take a few inches of him. You gasped when Harry pulled out, ready to scold him for doing so and leaving you empty before you felt the tip running up and down collecting your wetness.

On his second attempt, you felt more of him was inside you although not fully just yet. He let out a guttural groan as he lifted up your bum and rolled his hips to try and encourage you to take the last inch.

Dragging back, he repeated his attempt and slid himself into you again, this time completely filling you up to the brink and making you sob into the pillow. His thrusts were sharp and perfectly aimed and he didn’t stop when he felt you spasm beneath him. His lips almost never leave yours, kissing you deeper and longer and more passionate after each time.

You were glad he didn’t take his time. You loved it when it was slow, creating deeper intimacy that you certainly never really shared with anybody else before him. But you knew this time was called for a different kind of intimacy, which you were more than okay with because that was exactly what you both needed in that moment. There was this rush. There was this desperate need. Both of you not arsed to drag it longer than you needed to.

“Harry!” You scolded him as he sucked on your neck a little too hard, really not wanting him to leave any kind of visible mark because you didn’t plan to walk around the beach and chill by the pool in your turtleneck.

“Sorry, sorry,” he apologised, beaming cheekily, not looking sorry even just in the slightest bit.

“You’re inveterate,” you chuckled lightly.

“Such a big word,” he murmured as he slowed down his pace, aiming for a deeper and harder thrust each time. “M’not fucking you hard enough then if you can still think properly.”

“You’re all mouth and no trousers, Styles,” you teased him before you let out a gasp when he went even deeper as a response to your teasing remark.

“Better shut that pretty little mouth before I put it to work, doll.”

***

There was nothing like watching the sunset from one of the loungers on the huge enclosed balcony with medium-high walls in your hotel room. Sure, watching the sunset from the beach sounded like a dream, but you knew it was just not possible since it was past your littles’ bedtime, and the view from your balcony was more than enough. The sound of the waves crashing was like music to your ears, beyond peaceful and relaxing, and the sky was a perfect mix of violet, pink and still with a hint of orange.

Both you and Harry had just finished your last parental duty for the day that was tucking your babies in for the night. Bringing your children on holiday means you knew that you wouldn’t be able to go anywhere after their bedtime, so you were stuck with in-room dining for dinner which wasn’t bad at all since you didn’t need the fuss to get ready and could just eat in your bathrobe.

“It’ll be here in half an hour,” Harry announced as he opened the door to the balcony and stepped outside to join you watch the sunset. He had just called the room service to order your dinner, making sure to remind them not once but twice that when the food got there they should knock and not ring the bell because you had sleeping babies. You didn’t think about that on the night before and it took you about an hour to put your babies back to sleep. “Got you some gin and tonic as well.”

“Well, aren’t I the luckiest,” you smirked.

“Wanna sit behind yeh,” he mumbled, his fingers running through your hair. You loved it whenever he played with your hair, and you still do.

“Hmm,” you hummed in response. “Wanna rub my shoulders?”

“Well, I was thinking your cl-” Harry said nonchalantly and your eyes widened, you felt like they were about to pop out.

“Harry!” You scolded him, your tone chastising. You swore sometimes he sounded more like a sex-obsessed seventeen year old rather than a thirty something father of two. “I’m pretty sure that is considered as indecent exposure.”

Harry snorted in laughter. “Fine, we’ll just do something less risqué then.” He took your hand and helped you to stand up before sitting on the lounger and tapping his lap, motioning for you to sit on it, which you obliged. “Can I?”

“Can you what?” You asked him, tilting your head so you could meet his eyes.

“Slip it in,” He whispered. “Please?”

“Harry we’re not doing that out here,” you breathed, shaking your head. “’Sides I’m knackered and we literally just did it a couple hours ago.”

“I’m knackered too, we don’t have to do it. Just sit on it love, please? Nobody would see anything,” Harry begged desperately, his voice low and deep. “Wanna be inside yeh. Don’t have to move. I’m just- fuck, how am I supposed to keep my hands to myself after seeing you walking around basically half naked all day. Darlin’ pl-”

“Alright, alright,” you caved in and cut him off when he started rambling. The word just barely left your mouth when you felt his finger tugged at the hem of your white nightdress, feeling his fingertips ran further up your inside thigh before pushing them apart to spread you a little bit open for him. He let out a pleased hum when he realised that you weren’t wearing anything beneath your nightdress, knowing it would just make it easier for him.

“Fuck me,” he groaned. “No knickers, huh?”

“Eh, can’t be arsed,” you giggled. “You’re welcome, I guess?”

“Gonna be the death of me, y’know that,” he murmured as he pulled down his boxers just enough to let it free, before lifting up your bum to roll up your dress and nestled himself between your folds. You lifted yourself up just slightly higher, feeling the tip settle right where you need it to, and you slowly sank onto his length. You held onto his arm as you felt him disappeared inside you, slowly engulfing him in the warmest, wettest, and tightest spot he’s ever had the pleasure of being in. You threw your head back and he took the chance to pepper kisses down your neck, a small part of your throat, your shoulder. Your body accepted him with not even a slight resistance.

If someone asked you to choose your favourite sound in the world, right in that moment, you would probably say it was the sound that was currently filling your senses. The ocean waves crashing mixed with low hums and quiet gasps and soft, breathless “I love you”s. It was perfect in every way.

You could feel him getting harder inside you. His fingers played with the bow on top of the low V cut of your nightdress, untying it, exposing even more skin. Luckily it was completely dark outside now, so nobody would be able to see anything, not that anyone could even in broad daylight because your balcony was secluded. The feeling of him being inside of you, unmoving, was overwhelming yet somehow calming all at the same time. He was all bare and warm inside you, and you could feel his veins throbbing against your walls as he started to get worked up.

And as if it wasn’t enough for him, you had to sneeze, causing you to squeeze him even more and he moaned rather loudly at the sensation. “Fuck,” he growled, bucking up his hips to thrust into you despite your previous agreement, but he just couldn’t help it.

You whimpered as you felt him nudge a particular spot, and you decided to sit up straight to take more of him as deep as you could. But right just as you were about to start moving on him, you heard the doorbell rang and you jumped off your husband. Harry groaned in annoyance.

“Guess who’s just lost their tip?”

#harry styles #harry styles imagines #harry styles fic #harry styles ff #harry styles one shot #harry x reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles smut #harry styles fluff #dad!harry #dad harry imagines #dad harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles concepts #harry styles drabbles #the styles gang #husband!harry

3K notes · View notes

mystery-salad · 4 years ago

Text

Reposting this since legit somehow Zero of the tags or bolding carried through holy shit

30 questions: GW2 edition I was tagged by @where-is-caithe and @just-eyris-things

This can be done in many different ways: get asks by your followers, pick some questions for yourself, answer the whole damn thing at once, etc! You can draw, write (to explain in details or not) or just post screenshots! If you miss one it’s totally okay, whether it’s by lack of answer or time. Have fun!

1. Favorite living world season?

As much as some of the fights feel really badly balanced, I enjoy LS2 for the close knit new family feel. The whole little group is still figuring their dynamics out and finding their independence, and it’s a real good found family sorta feel as you Go Through A Lot.

2. Favorite expansion?

Heart of Thorns holds a special place in my heart (lol) just for being the first new story since I’d started playing. It’s got many flaws looking back, but nothing has actually hit me harder since. Maybe because anet overuses the punch of tragedy and death an I’m numb to their attempt to low blow us after several years *shrugs*

3. Favorite soundtrack?

The music in Caledon forest was my first step into gw2, and it will forever hold the top spot for me, alongside the original character select screen music.

4. First profession you played?

Ranger! Still one of my absolute favorites.

5. First race you played?

Sylvari, go figure

6. Favorite Destiny’s Edge character?

It’s a tough choice for me! Eir and Caithe rank highest though due to their unconventional character arcs for women. They’ve both got a lot of nuance and challenges and I respect that.

7. Favorite Dragon’s Watch character?

Again gotta pick two, Braham and Rox have a unique feel too and are amazing foils to each other’s characters. I’d like to see more of them together again.

8. Favorite Elder Dragon?

I love the potential held in Bubbles. Deep sea dragon, whose awakening scared even the krait off? Give me those deep sea horrors.

9. Best boss fight (story)?

I honestly really love the final fight against Zhaitan. It really managed to encapsulate the feeling of fighting a larger than life powerful enemy with an army at your back. No big fight since for me has had the same grandeur to it. We did a lot of fighting dragons in “smaller” ways or with “smaller” teams that just feel more...compact, ya know? I want that grandeur back.

10. Best boss fight (fractal)?

Jade maw is fucking wild! And it’s not the boss of its fractal but the giant living statue.

11. Best boss fight (raid)?

Never been in one, would love to one day when I’m in a guild who does them when I’m awake...

12. PvE or PvP or RP?

PvE by far, and RP is fun when you can find the right people.

13. Favorite canon couple?

In one map, there’s a seraph soldier and a bandit having a secret date. They’re so fucking extra and sappy and unnecessary and I love fining them and reading their cheesy star-crossed dialogue.

14. Favorite fanon/self made couple?

With another player, my favorite currently is Matthias with @ascalonianpicnic‘s Aildyn. The two have a very good dynamic.

Solo, I really love my new commander, Kai, with Caithe. I’ve built up a back-an forth for the two that I’m a lot more compelled by than I thought I’d be! I’m excited to share more on these two.

15. Favorite quote?

“sneaky mode engaged”

16. Most emotional cinematic?

The end of Heart of Thorns. A victory, a tragedy, and a clear sign that it’s set off another disaster just by you winning. There’s so many layers to that *boom*

17. Favorite VA?

I’m so bad at naming VAs but whoever voiced the asura female MC knows what she’s about

18. Post a fun screenshot!

Still love this one~

19. Post a landscape screenshot!

20. Most used mount(s)?

I spend most time on raptor still, followed by griffon!

21. Favorite mount skin (for every mount you have)?

Raptor: crested plainsrunner

Springer: kourna jackrabbit

Skimmer: river mothwing

Jackal: lucent sands

Griffon: clouded corvus

Roller Beetle: deep desert scarab

Warclaw: vigilant saberclaw

Skyscale: axejaw skyscale

22. Favorite weapon?

Longbow is my favorite kind of weapon, I like it on every single class that uses it. Favorite overall weapon? Idk man too many to pick from at this point.

23. Favorite gear set?

I’m always a sucker for the sunspear armors

24. Favorite title?

Killer Queen

25. Something you worked really hard to get?

Astralarias is my only legendary so far and it’s pretty rad. Really like Mawdrey too.

26. Favorite GW2 Youtuber / GW2 related video?

Daelin Dwin

27. Most used miniature?

Mini Quail!!! The feather bouncing on the head is an adorable little feature.

28. Most used novelty?

Embiggening tonic!

29. Number of achievments points?

Little over 18,000 now

30. Something you’d love to see in GW2?

Norns getting the same revamp humans got on african american faces and hairs since they’re also based on humans :) Where is it anet? Where’s the fairness? And asura and charr both have some afro-inspired hairs that need better textures now. When anet.

I tag anyone who hasn’t done this yet! Idk who has or hasn’t been tagged in these couple of weeks, but if you haven’t done this yet I’d love to see it via tag 💕

#ask memes

5 notes · View notes

kolhearted-archived · 5 years ago

Text

FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY STUFF

This wouldn’t be me if it had some sort of fancy banner, so you’re just gonna get my wall of text, lol.

So when I decided to create a blog for Kol, I didn’t have any idea — ANY IDEA — what I was getting myself into. I was happily RPing in the Disney rpc with my Toy Story muse, and had amazing friends over there, lots of muse, and was really happy with where I was, RP-wise.

But I’d just gotten back into The Originals, and had seen Kol’s comeback, and his story began to click for me. I needed that extra backstory — of seeing him, narratively, from the storyteller role and not just as an antagonist — to be able to really understand the potential of his character. We had a character who was introduced as a dark force, unpredictable, who was willing to get his hands dirty to achieve his goals. Originals fleshed out what he looks like from the other side of the story: his motivations, his relationship with his family, and what he is ultimately searching for.

So I decided to make a Kol blog, but I was expecting it to be, like, not a big thing, you know? I was going to make him my “weekend blog” and I was going to have fun on him, but he wasn’t going to be my main muse. But as soon as I started digging into him, and realized how much room I had to grow and develop with a character who had SO MUCH untold story?? I fell really hard, and really fast. Soon, Kol was the only blog I was logging into. And faster than I realized it could happen, there were people who were responding to my version of him! I was being validated and galvanized to just keep going.

I found this weird middle ground where I wasn’t apologizing for the horrific things Kol had done, but I wasn’t focusing on them, either. I was worried about making this blog because I don’t write viciousness that well. I don’t want a character who is in CONSTANT fight mode. I didn’t want every single interaction to be Kol hunting someone, Kol hurting someone.

The last four years has been a series of ups and downs, character-wise. There have been things I’ve tried that have worked really well, and stayed with my portrayal of Kol! And there have been things that really needed to be brought back to the drawing board. Everything has been important and it’s definitely made me a stronger writer.

I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who’s stuck it out, through huge changes on my blog, through me backing away from Kol for times when my inspiration was low, through personal ups and downs which played with my strength as a writer. The opportunities I have are because I have people willing to try things out with me. I appreciate you all so much.

lots of thank you notes under the cut

@seesgood: I want to make this long but I’m going to try to make everyone’s short and sweet. Thank you for taking a chance on a really new blog and being down to figure out what a Caroline/Kol interaction should look like. Thank you for being my Grove sister and I wouldn’t be half the Kol I am without you.

@herstolenson: Thank you so much for finding a way to work Matty into Kol’s life so flawlessly, and thank you for giving our muses the time they needed to figure out what they wanted from this dynamic. Thank you for always being there when I’m having a rough day and just need to whine, and thank you for making Matty <3

@outlawiism: Thank you for always following me no matter where my muse takes me. Thank you for being there almost from the very beginning of my indie career, and thank you so much for the genuine support I’ve always felt whenever I talk to you! Thank you for being the Glitter Queen™ and giving so many people reasons to smile. I am always so humbled to be your friend.

@hauntedgilbert: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to explore the Kol/Jeremy dynamic the way I had so desperately wanted to! Thank you for talking me through Jeremy’s side of things so we could figure out what was happening in any situation. Thank you for always being down to make something crazy, just because it’d be fun. Thank you for all of the AUs and angst that you brought along the way!

@fiercerebekah: Thank you for being there from like the VERY beginning! Thank you for showing me what an “established” blog looks like, and the real fun that can come from sitting with a muse for an extended amount of time. Thank you for the shenanigans you’re always willing to offer up, and for always letting me know what Rebekah’s thoughts are about what Kol does.

@ladamedemartel: Thank you for bringing different aspects to a character who did not originally have that many layers. Thank you for introducing us all to Aurora and allowing us to interact with her! Thank you for always being so fun to talk to, to debate with, and to bounce ideas back and forth.

@hardcoreproved: Thank you for creating the bizarre and delightful ship that is Kol/Bubbles. Thanks for figuring out what that would look like with me, and the why and the how! Thank you for always being one of the single most patient partners, and always know that even when I’m elsewhere and just bobbin along, I see what you’re making with Bubbles and I’m just like “that’s my girl!!!”

@portectorisms: Thank you for bringing some consistency to my blog!! We’ve been following each other forever, and the times we interact are always so much FUN and honestly, I want to make it more of a thing. Whether we have one thread or one hundred, though: thank you so much for your constant encouragement and support.

@grawpiish: Thank you for being so encouraging, and for reminding me how long it’s been that we’ve been in each other’s orbit! Thank you for writing an amazing character, creating depth where there wasn’t any in his canon. Thank you for giving me chances to practice my graphics skills, and thank you for reaching out again so we could reconnect!

@hiddensteel: Thank you SO MUCH for the moments I see you popping in to interact with my posts, to offer advice or support or encouragement. Thank you for writing with my smaller muses, even though I neglect them for so, so long. Thank you for writing an amazing Sansa and giving her the love she so deserves.

@asundrop: Thank you for being one of the first people to really challenge how soft a character could be with Kol. Thank you for dealing with him with a more tender touch, for seeing the scars that are around him and what his potential really is. Thank you for being a rock and a pillar in my RP life, because you, Polli, are a constant for me.

@anditsxsorrows: Thank you for crreating such a wonderful portrayal of Nik, and sharing it with us. Thank you for the sheer amount of time we’ve been in each other’s orbits, and the ups and downs, character wise, we’ve seen each other’s blogs through. Thank you for sticking with Nik so long and providing such a wonderful pathos to his character. You are an inspiration!

@predictableisnotbad: No matter how much time has passed since we’ve last spoken, you’re always so ready to jump back in and have fun. Thank you for your dedication to Alice, and the depth you’ve brought out in her. Thank you even more for being a constant source of support for me, even and especially when I feel like I don’t deserve it. You are a special and kind light and I am so grateful that you are around.

@oliverqxeen: Thank you for your friendship, because it means way more to me than I can ever really say. Thank you for being a source of constancy and support when my anxiety gets bad, or when I back off because my nerves and my thoughts are telling me things that aren’t real. Thank you for always being funny, and for really giving so many people the permission to push against canon if it doesn’t make sense. Thank you for being such an amazing writer and a friend that I don’t deserve.

@yovrstruely: Thank you for always being there, in one form or another! Thank you for always showing how much fun it can be to RP, and for always being true to your muses. Thank you for dancing back into my life, and for offering advice whenever I ask for it. You make the dash feel a little less like I’m yelling into a void sometimes!

@prlman: Thank you for not taking the fact that I know virtually and literally nothing about your muse as a reason why we shouldn’t interact. Thank you so much for sitting down with me and figuring out a way for our muses to meet, for their universes to collide and crossover, and for making Elio one of the very first baby vamps in Kol’s new sire line. I’ve gotten to know Elio a bit better over time — though I still haven’t read or watched his source material, oops — but you’ve provided so many opportunities for us over the years and I so desperately appreciate it.

@relishingvampirism: Thank you for always supporting my blog. You like and comment on so many of my posts, and really make it feel like someone’s watching and gives a care. Honestly, I constantly feel like I don’t deserve it. You make me feel so seen and I appreciate it so damn much. I see it.

@crimscnmalice: Thank you for every moment I’ve run to you to ask for help and you’ve been there. Thank you even more for the times when I didn’t need something and we were able to just talk about life, about our geography, about our characters and what it’s like to find yourself and your creative well in a muse. Thank you for everything you do for the RPC, and a little more selfishly, everything you’ve done for me. You are an amazing person and I am so grateful when you turn your attention to me.

@zcldrizes: Thank you for your constant support, no matter what blog I’m on! Thank you for your enthusiastic encouragement with my portrayal, because getting that “stamp of approval” from a blog I admired so much felt like the sun was shining on me. Thank you for all you’ve done for the GOT RPC and the RPC in general. Every muse I’ve seen you pick up is done with such depth and care. Thank you for letting me be a small part of the world you’ve built for your muses.

@tocxmply / @killthebxy: Thank you so. damn. much. And I can’t even begin to count the reasons why. Thank you for showing me just how far a crossover could handle going while still being IC with the brotp that is Kol and Jon. Thank you for humoring me on Becky ( but I want to talk more about Kol rn ) and everything you do. But beyond all of that, thank you so much for always being someone so willing and ready to be a source of positivity in the RPC. Your cloak of protection is something I will always remember. Your messages to people are always thoughtful and personal and I feel so humbled being in a place with someone as light and good as you.

@atomiism: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to explore Kol as a sire. Thank you for your amazing Ray, and giving me even the littlest chance of writing with him, because as soon as we started plotting, I couldn’t contain my excitement. Thank you for the moments together that we’ve gotten, and please know that I cherish each and every reply we get done.

@fire-hoes: Tagging you over here, but honestly this counts for any blog. Thank you for your enthusiastic support and encouragement you’ve offered me over the years. You made me feel like I was a part of something real and really special and I always felt so honored and grateful whenever we talked. Thank you for your support that spans muses for both of us, and always being up to trying something new. You are one of my true constants around here, and I am so, so, so, so grateful for you.

@itsgclden: Thank you for all of the time you’ve put into Rapunzel, because every time I see your posts, I just get so excited and sit down and read. Thank you for being willing to find ways for Kol and Rapunzel to interact. Thank you for the light you spread on the dash. Thank you for caring so much about someone who is so special to me, because I always feel like they’re in good hands. Thank you for being a real-life Rapunzel and spreading light and happiness.

@livevl: Thank you for encouraging me no matter what blogs we’re currently on. Thank you for always being one of the first people to remind me that there’s someone in my corner always, and that you like what I’m dong here. Thank you for being that special kind of person who reaches out and says a kind word, because there aren’t a lot of people who think to do that, and it really matters. You make it feel less isolating on here. You are so damn good, so damn special, and so damn talented. I always feel a great pressure of gratitude when I think that I have the support of someone as amazing as you.

#i. ( ooc ) — blogaversary 2020

27 notes · View notes

skizzlers · 5 years ago

Text

A list of every Sonic game I've played in the order I like them because I couldn't sleep at 3am. (Didn't include Sonic Advance 1-3 because it's been too long since I've played it. Also 90% of these have good soundtracks so I didn't really touch on it.)

1. Sonic Mania

All time favorite because I'm a very nostalgic person and this game feels like a love-letter to my childhood. Every detail is thought of, it feels like you're playing every side-scrolling Sonic game at once!

2. Sonic the Hedgehog 3

First Sonic game I really remember playing. I adored Tails (still do!) And I used to fly around all the levels to see what Sonic couldn't reach. Also the save feature and ability to re-visit levels was super sweet!

3. Sonic Adventure 2

My favorite 3d Sonic game. I love the different gameplay styles that come with the different characters, and THE CHAO GARDEN!!! The bosses are a little weird, considering you're kinda beating yourself when you switch sides? (Knuckles vs Rouge, Shadow vs Sonic) Also this game has a sick soundtrack!

4. Sonic the Hedgehog 2

This game was much easier for me to get the hang of as a kid compared to the original. Took me years to beat because of the lack of a save feature though, and I never got past the third special stage. Overall just generally fun to play! You really feel like a speedy blue hedgehog, and the stages are memorable.

5. Sonic CD

Never really got to play this one until my teens. Haven't beat it yet, haven't had the time. I like the added challenge of making good futures too instead of just g o f a s t. The levels are a bit more complex and more puzzling than your other 2d Sonic games, but not frustratingly so like in the original.

6. Sonic Generations

Ironicly enough this was my first introduction to the modern boost mechanic. I liked how the stages worked in both styles, and the hub-world is fun to jump around in and isn't confusing at all. Also, I like collecting things in videogames, and there is a bit of that required to progress, although Cream beating my ass in the chao levels is frustrating to say the least.

7. Sonic Adventure

I understand this is an old videogame but the graphics make it a little hard to take seriously. When I know where I am supposed to go the stages are fun but who the fuck thought fishing would be fun in a Sonic game? Big's entire character is like someone sat down and said, "do you know what Sonic isn't? Slow and tedious! Let's add that to the game!" Also I like the variety in character options and story perspectives. (Not to mention classic memes like Knuckles' oh no)

8. Sonic Spinball

Another classic! Few but interesting levels. Not much else to say really, I liked the text commentary.

9. Sonic 3d Blast

I've noticed a lot of people say this is one of the worst Sonic games but I enjoy it! Like I said earlier, I like collecting things though.

10. Sonic Riders

I always kinda sucked at this game. Might've been more fun if I wasn't a solo gamer however. I liked the battle royale mode better than the main game to be honest. I like the character variety and the differing skill sets, and the stages themselves are fun to ride through and mess around with but the cpus are t o u g h. I would like this game a bit better if you could adjust the difficulty.

11. Sonic & Knuckles

I loved Mushroom Hill Zone and how it phases through the seasons, but I always died in Flying Battery Zone, and if I didn't Sandopolis zone would usually drain my will to go on with it's looping segments and light gimmik. I really enjoy being able to climb walls and access different spaces with Knuckles though! And the special stages were pretty fun.

12. Sonic the Hedgehog

Ah, the game that started it all. Classic. Green Hill Zone is fun as can be even without the spindash, but Marble Zone really takes all of that speedy fun to a halt with its small spaces and lava pits. Don't even get me started on goddamn Labrinth Zone... nothing kills my drive to continue the game than that zone. Aside from the two afformentioned zones, the rest are pretty fun!

13. Shadow the Hedgehog

I feel like this game is a bit underrated because it stars Sir Edgelord, but I enjoyed it a lot! The style and feel reminded me a lot of Sa2, and I like how your actions can affect your alignment and your ending. Unfortunantly my copy was badly scratched and I could only achieve a handful of the endings.

14. Sonic Unleashed

I only recently got this game. It's ok. I liked playing the normal stages as Sonic, but I wasn't a huge fan of the werehog stages, they just don't feel like Sonic to me. They're growing on me a little but that goddamn fight music is annoying as fuck. Sonic games are known for good music, but what do we get anytime you touch an enemy at night? Bland generic fight music that sounds like it belongs in the Incredibles or James Bond. It doesn't fit sonic at all. If something as simple as the battle music was better, I'd like this game a lot more. The werehog stages in general just don't feel like Sonic. They're slow and focus on brute strength. They could have just had Knuckles fill that role. I like a little-bit of the puzzle solving but again - Tails. Sonic doesn't need to do everything.

15. Sonic Heroes

Wow, Heroes at the bottom of my list? Shocker! I know this is a more popular one but I'm just not a fan. In theory it sounds like a good idea to handle teams of characters with different abilities, but I prefer to control these characters one at a time. I don't like constantly needing to shift between characters just to progress in one stage. I must confess, the game is growing on me however.

13 notes · View notes

halfwayinlight · 4 years ago

Text

cross-posting it to AO3. For @nothingeverlost , picks up at the beginning of TNG’s season 3 Menage a Troi. These two are dorks, especially when it comes to flirting

Title: Precious Commodities Chapter: 1 The Set Up Pairing: Deanna Troi/Will Riker Rating: PG Other: this is the first chapter, there will be at least one but possibly two more

Shore leave was a precious commodity, and after a long diplomatic conference followed by her mother nearly starting hostilities with the Ferengi… well, Deanna knew she needed a break more than ever. The captain usually gave her a break after intense diplomatic endeavors, anyway, since he knew how it could drain her to balance so many emotions and beings in such intensity for days at a time.

Under normal circumstances, she might have enjoyed going to the Fifth House. Yes, her mother was in perpetual motion, but Lwaxana did keep a quiet mind like all Betazoids. And Deanna had some semblance of rest and privacy in her childhood home. She missed waking to diffused blue and purple light coming through the sheer curtains, the tropical breezes, and a tub the size of a small pool with all of her favorite bath salts and oils. But she simply couldn’t bear the thought of hearing about her status as single, nor be called ‘Little One’ one more time at present.

The counselor part of her brain was reminding her that some of her frustration and anger was simply because she was worn out from holding herself together and managing so much over the last week. She was teetering on burn out if she wasn’t careful. So she’d asked for leave, and she planned to stay with one of her dearest friends.

Deanna had expected plenty of others to take some time on Betazed. They had a few days, and the planet was a widely respected place to spend one’s free time. It was sophisticated, warm, offered plenty of recreation, but was far more family friendly and well-rounded in its offering than, say, Risa. For her it would always be home.

When she walked into the transporter room with her modest suitcase in tow, she had been surprised to find Will Riker about to step on the platform. His simple overnight bag made her feel as though she’d over-packed. Like her, he had already changed in civilian clothes suited for the warmer climate, and of course he would be wearing his blue shirt that always brought out his eyes. She could sense in him a jauntiness, ready for diversions of… well all sorts. It made her flush slightly, and Deanna felt a smidge guilty for intruding on his emotions.

“Commander,” she murmured, giving him a nod as he reached for her suitcase and set it on the platform for her and his hand to assist her in the single step. To be fair, she was wearing heels and the platform wasn’t as textured as she would like.

“Counselor,” he returned drolly, his eyes glittering in amusement. “O’Brien, are we waiting for anyone else?”

The engineer shook his head, and seemed to be enjoying the moment before Will gave the command to beam them to the planet.

When they re-materialized at the embassy, Deanna was already firmly aware that she was home. It was so serene, and the woman who welcomed them was relaxed. It was like soaking into a warm bath at the end of a long day. Soothing. Soul soothing.

Will still had his bag slung over his shoulder by its strap and was already reaching for her suitcase. “May I escort you, Miss Troi?”

Her eyes were rolling, but she couldn’t help but return his infectious smile. “Alright,” she caved. “I supposed it’s mere coincidence that you decided to take shore leave as well?”

“More like conspiracy,” he intoned. “The Captain happened to notice that you, quote, had the good sense to request shore leave but he could see I needed orders. And who am I to defy orders and to resist visiting my favorite posting?” He was immensely proud of himself, and she could tell he thought himself clever. Which he was. He was also incredibly charming, and somehow within minutes of arriving in her home world, she felt it tipping slightly and all of the best moments they had shared were rushing to meet her.

The gentleman at the door gave her a flickering question of wellbeing as she passed. Deanna nodded, reassuring him as she was reminded what an odd thing it was to have so many people sharing your thoughts and feelings when you were out of practice in keeping them to yourself so neatly. She was rusty, and it was drawing notice albeit with some grace.

When she first joined the Enterprise, controlling her thoughts and feelings was a habit. But as time passed, there was less need to do it. Data was curious about all of her emotions. She and Will still had something of their link, and they often were more attuned to one another. Truly, she was out of practice. “The captain is setting us up?” she asked in surprise.

He shrugged as he hailed a shuttle. “I… think it might be a little payback.”

“For what, exactly?” she asked in umbrage.

Will’s eyebrows lifted as though he couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen the strategy play out. He sometimes forgot that not everyone was quite as swift in seeing the end game as he was. “I’m remembering a certain vacation we tricked him into taking.”

“You tricked,” she countered primly, basking in the warm sun as they waited for the shuttle to meet them. “And you sent him to Risa. I’m merely an innocent—”

He had set down her suitcase and was lifting a hand in protest, his palm up. “Whoa, now… I seem to remember a certain someone flat out lying about an impending visit from a certain Betazoid diplomat that more than upped his vacation time table.”

She huffed and then her shoulders dropped in yield. “If this is his idea of revenge, I supposed I should be grateful it involves my favorite places and nothing much worse than a co-conspirator.”

“Thanks,” Will answered dryly. “It’s good to spend time with you, too. I’m so glad we’re friends.”

Deanna winced slightly. It was light and playful, and very much Will. But she knew him too well. Knew about those years he’d raised himself. Had no one for a while except who he won over with charm and bravado. Somewhere in the exchange he’d let go of her hand, so she found his now and enclosed in her smaller ones. “I’m glad you’re here… It… it brings back a lot of memories. Good memories.”

It was there again, that spark between them. So easy to lean into, and she didn’t want to fight it. Not when it was such a stunning day. And they were so long overdue for any shore leave or vacation. Will worked hard, and she always admired that about him. When they first met, it was pure drive and ambition. Now it hadn’t mellowed but it had shifted focus to the ship and the crew. Picard was driven by exploration and had the heart of an anthropologist, but Will’s drive was to protect and serve. He went long stretches between shore leave or full vacations.

“Deanna?” came his voice.

She blinked and looked up to see their minimal luggage was already stowed away, and the shuttle door was open and waiting for her. “Thank you,” she murmured, taking his offered hand and ducking slightly to step in and take a seat.

The first few kilometers were in silence, and she relaxed further into the seat as they began to pass familiar buildings and parks. She’d forgotten how much she missed seeing plants in their natural environment. Yes, she and so many others on board had all sorts of plants and flowers. The arboretum was an oasis for her, and the holodeck could bring up anything she missed. But it wasn’t the same.

“Deanna,” Will began, “I know you’re going to say it’s only Betazed being… Betazed. But I’d like to spend some time with you on leave.” The nervousness dripping from his normally carefully held together bravado was endearing. He was only like this in the rarest of moments with her. “I thought it would be nice to take a walk in the Narissian Gardens and then we could find a small café for lunch…”

Her smile spread slowly, and she shifted in her seat to face him as her hands found his. “I’d like that very much,” she replied thickly. “I’ll send Xandra a message when we stop. She glanced behind them to the hold. “What about…?”

Will stretched his legs as much as he could in the confined space and let his head come to rest against the cushion behind him. “We can drop it off at my hotel and ask them to hold it until I check in later.” It didn’t escape her notice that he said I check in. There was no pressure in his expectations. “Maybe I can finally teach you how to relax and enjoy a vacation properly.”

“Well, I am a good student,” she countered artfully. “I’ll trust you’ll skip the lecture, though, Commander I-Had-To-Be-Ordered-To-Take-Shore-Leave.”

He leaned down now, moving slowly, giving her to protest or shift away before he dropped a warm but chaste kiss to her lips. “Now who’s lecturing whom?” A dark eyebrow lifted in challenge.

Her fingers lifted to toy with that one lock that always seemed to fall out of place, exploring its texture. “I trust your techniques have been peer reviewed?”

Blue eyes gleamed and he dropped a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m hoping this is a longitudinal study, but it’s going to require a good deal of qualitative research and might involve a hand-on approach.”

Her laugh filled the shuttle, and she let herself relax beside him, her head dropping to his shoulder and letting its steady thrum lull her into vacation mode.

#star trek tng #imzadi #otp: imzadi #deanna troi #will riker #counselor troi #commander riker #will riker x deanna troi #verse: precious commodities

2 notes · View notes

creator-zee · 5 years ago

Text

184

I apologized to my soulmate, wherever they were, as I slammed into the ground. I knew my entire back would be bruised from that. I grit my teeth as I struggled to fill my empty lungs, pushing myself back up into a fighting stance. The dragon continued stalking towards me. Teeth bared, but it had run out of fire hours ago. I dodged another swipe of its claws, rolling underneath it. I dodged the tail swipe, by leaping up and grabbing onto the spikes. The sharp edges, cutting into my hands slightly.

Sorry. I thought again.

I held on though, even as the dragon trashed. I climbed steadily up it’s back, until I was seated on it’s back. Well, seated was a generous word, I was crouched on it’s back, between it’s wings and hovering over the spines on its back. I stayed on though, until he calmed.

He was our newest rescue, a dragon from an abusive farm. He didn’t trust anyone and wouldn’t let anyone near him. The problem was that dragons weren’t like horses. There was no option for slowly building trust. Dragons only trusted though that they could trust to protect them. It was how they worked in society. Dragons would mate, based off fighting. The challenger would have to win to gain the dragon’s trust.

The main problem us humans faced when trying to train them was that we couldn’t fly, didn’t have claws, or sharp teeth, and we weren’t as strong. So, beating them and gaining their trust, so that we could train them was a challenge. We had found that if we used tools to aid us, the dragons didn’t accept it as a fair win.

That’s why despite dragons being common for travel, entertainment, and companions, trainers were far and few between. It also meant I was constantly apologizing to my unknown soulmate for the bruises and injuries I gained each day that they had to share as well.

The dragon, a red spine back, had finally calmed under me. I jumped off his back, landing on the ground next to him. He lowered his head in submission to me. I rubbed his muzzle gentle, some of my blood getting on him. A deep throaty sound escaped his throat, similar to a cat’s purr.

I smiled. The bruises and cuts were always worth it, hopefully my soulmate would understand that someday too.

I turned away from the dragon, I really needed to give him a name, and headed to the stables. He followed me, nudging my shoulder lightly with his head.

I chuckled. “Oh, now look who wants to follow me.”

He just snorted.

I laughed. “Yes, yes, I’ll get you a treat. We reached the stable and I climbed into the loft. Red spine backs, what did they like again. They were carnivores, and particular to fish. Right. I moved to the far end, and opened up a cooler, pulling out a raw salmon.

I heard the sound of flapping wings as he tried to get up into the loft, but it was far to small for a dragon to fit, except the small little terrors.

I held the fish away from him as I climbed down the ladder and he pranced slightly in place, waiting for me to give it to him. I tossed it to him, and he caught it in midair, scarfing it down, whole. I shook my head.

“Come on, you have to head back out to the pasture, I have chores to do.” I told him, I really needed to think of a name. The naming responsibilities had fallen on my shoulders after I took over most of the brunt work for my father when he broke his arm in a rodeo. It wasn’t even dragons, but a plain old horse. I shouldn’t insult horses, they were great too, but they couldn’t fly or breath fire.

He nudged my shoulder again playfully, and I couldn’t help but wonder yet again at the stark difference in dragons once they gained their trust. The bond formed ran deep. That’s partially why I hated my job, having to sell my dragons away to people who hadn’t earned their trust like I had. They would behave, I would make sure of that, but they might not ever truly trust their new owners.

I sighed, as I rubbed his snout, as I opened the gate to the pasture. “I think I’ll call you Slammer. If only, because I’m going to be feeling that slam for a few days, if not weeks.”

He just blinked in response and I smiled. “Go on, run, fly, just don’t go too far.”

That was another challenge with dragons. They had wings, so stopping them from escaping was difficult. That’s why you had to gain their trust first, or get them trained. Otherwise, unless you had a giant bird cage they would just fly away immediately.

Slammer ran away from me, breaking into a gallop before taking off and circling above, stretching his wings.

I smiled up at him, before heading back to the stable. I had training for Tea and Spine and I was giving lessons to a new person this afternoon. I should probably clean the blood and dirt off myself before then.

I lost track of time unfortunately, and while I was rubbing down Spine’s scales, cleaning them of dirt, I heard the rumble of a truck approaching.

“Dammit.” I cursed softly, causing Spine to ruffle his wings nervously. “It’s fine.” I quickly reassured him as I led him outside the stable. I rubbed his shoulder.

“Go home.” I said softly, and he responded to the commanded, taking off and flying towards the paddock.

I wiped my hands off on my pants but it didn’t make much difference since they were just as dirty.

“Sorry.” I apologized to the woman currently walking up my driveway, “It’s been a busy day, I haven’t had a chance to get cleaned up since training. Z, by the way.”

She just smiled. “Gwyn, and I don’t mind. It is a farm. I didn’t expect for everything to be pristine.”

I laughed. “Good. Now, come on, let’s find you a dragon to ride. What experience do you have?”

I had my suspicions, Justine from the clean state of her clothes, but I’d let her confirm them or prove me wrong.

“I rode as a kid, but dropped it in high school in a failed attempt to fit in. So I’d say ‘so rusty that I’m practically a beginner.’”

I nodded. “Got it. I know just who you can ride, Ripper.”

“R-ripper?” She repeated, terrified.

I laughed. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist. She’s actually a very sweet common ridgeback. She earned that name after ripping my favorite shirt when I was gaining her trust.”

“Ohhh.” She muttered.

“Come on, let’s go get her, she’s out in the fields, so just stay close to me. I have some newbies in the field, and I don’t know how they’d react to a stranger if you got too far from me.” I warned her.

She nodded, stepping closer to me.

I saw Ripper soaring high in the distance.

“Cover your ears.” I warned Gwyn, before I called for Ripper, a loud shrieking call, that mimicked a ridgeback’s call. Ripper responded in kind, before circling back and landing a little ways away from us and walking up to us, lowering her head. I rubbed it gently, before grabbing Gwyn’s hand and urging her to do the same.

“Woah...” She muttered quietly. “It’s been so long. Also, damn that was an impressive call.”

I removed my hand from hers, smiling softly, but that smile faded when I realized I had left blood on the back of her hand.

”Ah, crap, sorry.” I apologized quickly. “I haven't bandaged my hands since I dealt with Slammer this morning.”

She looked at me slightly concerned, wiping her hand off on her shirt. “Slammer?”

”A red spine back.” I explained, as I led Ripper to the stables to be tacked up. “He’s a new rescue. His spines cut my hands.”

“A the name? Is he a jail bird?” She asked, and I chuckled at her joke.

“No, he didn’t go in the slammer. He slammed be in the ground. Left my back completely riddled with bruises.”

She froze mid step. Her face was shocked, but otherwise unreadable.

“Your entire back...?” She muttered.

“Uh, yeah.” I shrugged. “Don’t worry it happens all the time, jsut one of the risks of being a trainer.”

“No, I know.” She muttered. “That just means...” She trailed off and showed me her own palms in explanation. They had bruises right where mine were cut.

“Ohhhhh....” I muttered, knowing what she was getting at. “You’re my... I’m your....”

She nodded. “Soulmate, we’re soulmates.”

“I - I don’t, this is, I don’t know what to say. This is so unexpected.” I stammered, caught completely off guard. Ripper sensed my anxiety and gently butted her head against my shoulder. I rubbed it welcomingly.

“Well... I’m relieved that the reason I’m always covered in bruises is not because you are abused or something.” She admitted.

I chuckled slightly at that. “I swear some of these guys do abuse me.”

“Do you run this whole place by yourself?” She asked, surprised.

I shook my head. “My dad does the paperwork stuff, you probably talked to him on the phone. But I do all the manual labor, since he broke his arms, it’s never been the same since. Dragons can be pretty easy to handle after you gain their trust -“ I rubbed Ripper’s snout affectionately “- but, it’s the gaining their trust that’s hard. You have to be in top shape for that.”

She murmured, nodding. “I can see that.”

“What?” I asked, head snapping to face her.

A blush spread on her face, and I was sure my own wasn’t much better.

“It’s just - you’re...” She gestured oddly to me. “Um, fit.” She settled on, before pointedly looking away from me.

“Thanks?” I muttered, unsure. “Let’s just focus on this lesson, okay? We can talk after, maybe after I’ve had a shower.”

She nodded. “Yes, okay. So, what’s first?”

I settled into teacher mode, an easy mold, one that I didn’t have to worry about. Nothing was off, until after the lesson ended.

I had decided to let Gwyn ride Ripper around on her down, to cool her down, while I checked on the dragons, farther out in the fields. I needed to make sure that they still had water and give them their food.

It was all going well until Tide, one of my few amphibian dragons, decided to play in the water... while I was filling it. I ended up completely soaked. I sighed, as I stared at the goofy face of the dragon, her frills around her face raised in excitement. I couldn’t be made at that face. I smiled and rubbed her snout.

“Tide, go soak someone else.” I chastised, but with no malice in my tone. “Maybe someone with scales that won’t get soaked to the bone.”

She chattered, flapping her wings a few times, spraying me yet again with more water before taking off. I shook my head, as I trudged back up to the barn, Gwyn and Ripper catching me by surprise. I had forgotten about them because of Tide’s distraction.

“What happened to you?” Gwyn asked, slightly horrified.

“Tide happened.” I muttered. “She’s an amphibious dragon, and likes to play in the water. It was my misfortune to try and fill it when she was in a playful mood.”

Gwyn slid slightly awkwardly off Rippers back. I noticed she had a slight blush on her cheeks, and I didn’t realize why, until I remembered I was wearing a white shirt, dammit Tide.

“Sorry...” I apologized. “I can change...?” I offered.

“I’d - um - I’d like that.” She muttered.

“Think you can untack her?” I asked, as I climbed up into the loft.

Gwyn shook her head. “No.”

“No worries.” I called back down. “I should have some spare clothes stashed up here, I can be down in a sec to help you.”

“Okay.” Gwyn called back up.

I rummaged around in the loft in a bin, managing to only find a spare bra and tank top. Hopefully, that was at least a little better.

I climbed back down the loft, and by Gwyn’s beet red face and small gasp. It wasn’t better. A small part of me was happy, but most was just apologetic for making my soulmate so flustered.

“Sorry.” I apologized, again. “Let me just get this off, and then I can grab more clothes from inside.”

“No need to hurry.” Gwyn muttered, and I turned to her surprised.

“What was that?” I asked, confused.

“Uh, nothing.” She stammered.

I ignored it, quickly taking Ripper’s saddle and bridle off, and hanging them in the take room, before giving her the simple command, go home. She left after nuzzling me one more time.

“I think we are due for a conversation.” I said, as I led Gwyn back up towards the house.

“Uh, yeah.” She agreed. “What do you want this to mean?” She asked, gesturing broadly between us.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe we can just continue meeting up and see where it goes?”

She nodded, smiling. “That sounds good. Besides I do want more lessons.”

“Of course.” I answered, slightly flushed myself. “Here, let me give you my number. I can’t promise I’ll be responsive though. I tend to leave my phone in the safety of the indoors so it doesn’t get smashed or waterlogged.”

Gwyn nodded. “Understandable.”

“Let me just run inside real quick to grab it.” I told her before sucking inside my house to grab my phone off the table in the entryway. I had several missed texts from a friend.

I ignored them for now and opened up my contacts, offering it to Gwyn. She quickly put her number in. I sent her a quick text, hi, so that she would have mine.

“Just text me for your next lesson.” I said.

She nodded. “I will, see you later Z.”

I waved goodbye as she pulled out in her truck.

#soulmates #injuries on one show up as bruises on the other #dragons #water misshaps #writing #not edited

3 notes · View notes