#again ER is not my forte but I needed to get this all out

[katyahina]

Ranni's two sisters (if not cousins?)

It is not just my thoughts, but more like three people discussing the ideas hahah. So, @swallowtail-ageha brought to me the idea that the name of the towers deeper in Caria Manor, The Three Sisters, could be not quite a fancy architecture name, but refer to actual sisters, given the description of Carian Filigreed Crest that we get from Iji:

The way it is specified here that Ranni is Rennala's daughter makes it feel as though other princesses were not, so they could have instead been daughters of Rennala's siblings! I will get to the possible interpretations, but I just want to bring up something interesting that I think makes it even more likely that specifically TWO other princesses existed! When I heard the suggestion about there having BEEN three sisters, I instantly remembered this bit:

Besides a 'normal' Mausoleum, in Liurnia, there are interesting two Mausoleums pretty close to each other geographically, that are unique compared to others! You probably remember them - they do not have a bell underneath but they can leap like frogs, they do not have any spirits around, and they can ONLY duplicate the ashes of the bosses that aren't shard-bearing demigods:

^ Like that, same character (thanks @val-of-the-north for all these screenshots). And there are no other Mausoleums like that.

So, yeah, Ranni once having had two sisters would likely mean that they were not contenders for the throne, as there were no extra sits resorted for them in Leyendell. But this could be more than same fate as those demigods / shard bearers who "failed" Marika. Like, think about it! There are two Mausoleums in Liurnia, that still was a domain of Carians at some point, which behave "downgraded" compared to others, whereas normally Mausoleums are where fallen/failed demigods got buried:

With how these Mausoleums are, it seems like people that are buried in them are not demigods / had no shard, yet still were important enough to earn a burial of this type? And like... would not that make sense if 'being important enough' was being related to the royal family?

I am not entirely sure why they would have no shards themselves? This is where variants really start to split! @swallowtail-ageha suggested that merely being Radagon's child was not all yet to be one, and I can see that! This is actually the full idea:

^ These are ALSO very good points! These Mausoleums are for those who died during Night of the Black Knives, so I agree that whatever the reason for them to (very likely) lack shards is, they died that night too.

And back to the reasoning, me and @val-of-the-north were also discussing the potential ideas of either 'sisters' being actually cousins or Rennala being divorced twice, hah..

The cousins idea would defeat the purpose of the name Three Sisters, sort of, unless you could say it meant 'sisterhood' of princesses. The Japanese name is スリーシスターズ (Surīshisutāzu), like... you can already see that it is English name, simply English 'three sisters' written in Japanese with syllables, rather than Japanese words used. And in English language, sisters could mean not just literal! (Japanese script found in this ( x ) document). What works with it is not just description of Carian Filigreed Crest refering to Ranni being Rennala's daughter as the unique thing, but also Renalla herself showing unambigiously special feelings towards her! It is harder to say a lot about the idea that Rennala had someone before Radagon, it could have happened under pressure of having had a heir, and so the first divorce (or maybe even more likely, loss) did not break Rennala like Radagon leaving did, since she didn't love that previous person? It just leaves even more things to work with- not exactly a bad thing if you love writing many headcanons!

And as for these variants, it made both me and Val think of a guy that might have been relevant:

On the portraits we see Rennala, Azur, Lusat, the conjoined twins guys, (very likely) Sellen and... this guy. Honestly? Could have been not actually a simp really devoted scholar in Raya Lucaria that delved deep into Moon stuff, but Rennala's brother! The royal family basically took over Raya Lucaria, and considering Moon worthy as much as the Stars was specifically what they brought into it! But Azur and Lusat, teachers of Sellen, have been very important already, since the former direction of the academy is connected to them. At the same time, their associated colors are turquoise and blue, whereas Twinsage crown features the same colors both, and Sellen... well, she knew Azur and Lusat, and has been around long enough to deeply resent how much academia has changed. All things considered, she was equally important to the twins before getting banished. The remaining guy behind Lazuli Conspectus sticks out in comparison... unless he tagged along WITH Rennala when she took over the academy!

And yeah, alternatively, he could have just been her previous husband, that was more just a tool under pressure of having heirs; she took over Raya Lucaria before marrying Radagon, and maybe something just happened with that guy, which did not effect her very much since she didn't feel anything for him. A little bad look though.. unless there was a plot twist of Radagon murdering the guy but it was one of the things wiped from collective consciousness with Celestial Dew, and that's why nobody seems to mind? Perception filter! I am not sure with which idea I agree more myself 🤔 But yeah, if the third person is involved, I'd say it had to be this guy - father of the other two "sisters"... Whether they'd be actually cousins or actually half-sisters.

___________________________

So yeah, these are the thoughts! Sorry that was probably a little chaotic, Elden Ring theories are totally not my forte compared with BB ones! It is just that Swallowtail activated my brainrot with that suggestion and I instantly had something to add to that, hahah;

[1427]

When the Levee Breaks (pt. 4)

Daryl Dixon x OFC

The one in which a stripper that used to know Merle and Daryl shows up at the Atlanta camp. Daryl’s feelings are complicated but mostly he hates her, right?

Chapt. Setting: Highway outside of Atlanta. 

Chapt. Warnings: degrading and sexist language, degrading behavior, season 2 Daryl, smut, oral (m receiving)(kind of) weird. Just weirdo perv (out of desperation) Daryl. 

Word Count: 3200

A/N; Daryl’s POV 😩🤷‍♀️ 17+ mdni

masterlist

Been keepin’ Merle’s stuff pretty well hidden. Guess I should probably just get rid of it, right? But I can’t. S’not mine to get rid of. So I just hide it. Separate bag from the rest of his meds, all the way at the bottom of a backpack, stuffed under the seat of my truck. 

Beatle says she’s been sober off spazz shit for three years. Pretty sure three years ago s’when I met her though, so I’unno how she figures that. 

But now we’re ditchin’ the truck and I gotta find a way to carry it without Beatle finding it. Don’t even have time to be upset about my truck. Had it for at least the last ten years. Loved this thing like it was the only thing I had. Basically was for a while. 

Takin’ Merles bike. It’s got some dumbass Nazi shit on it, but ‘m not complainin’. That shit don’t matter anymore. Neither does bein’ upset over a truck that’s not gonna do me any good without gas. 

Pack myself two bags. One goes with Beatle in Dale’s RV, the other is the pack I’d had stuffed under the seat. Spazz gets hidden underneath a few shirts, smokes, the couple sips left of girlwhiskey, and the rest of Merle’s scripts. Stuff I don’t trust Beatle with.  

I think she knows, too. She doesn’t say it but she gives me a look when I tell her ‘m holdin’ onto it. I offer her a whole cigarette. All for herself. And it shuts her up enough not to push it. 

Don’t know if I like when she’s happy or not. Kinda makes me feel sick so I try not to think about it. Dunno. Whatever. Don’t got time to think about that shit anyway. S’always somethin’. 

Don’t really even got the time to think about what a shit show the CDC was. Just gotta keep movin’. Guess the plan is Fort Bennet? Don’t know. Don’t care. ‘m just goin’. 

It’s nice to be back on a bike again. Can’t feel nothin’ but the vibrating underneath me and the air in my face. Can’t hear nothin’ but the engine. By myself. Like all this shit hasn’t happened…

No use in thinkin’ ‘bout it that way, though. Has happened. And I ain’t gonna be one of those sorry sacks that wants to pretend shit ain’t the way it is. That’s one thing I like Beatle for. She don’t pretend shits gonna go back. Don’t miss nothin’, ain’t lookin’ for no one. Far as I see it, she’s happy mostly. Guess it’s easy when someone’s takin’ care of everything for ya. Me. Giving her my smokes and buildin’ fires for my damn self, thinkin’ everything tha’s mine is hers. It ain’t. 

Other people makin’ plans. Other people findin’ shelter. Other peoples food. 

Too many people in this group ain’t pullin’ their own weight. It’s gonna catch up sooner or later. Beatle’s a weak player. Can’t decide if I should help her out or not. Can’t decide if I should protect her or not. Cuz she don’t want it, she don’t think she needs it. But she’s gonna need it. Sooner or later. 

Cuz I know I hate her and all that. Dumb fuckin’ bitch for sure. But after what happened at the CDC? Thought we were gonna die. Thought she was gonna die. Fuck. I’unno. Guess I felt somethin’. 

I’m in between knowin’ it and hatin’ it. It can be both right? Cuz it’s definitely both. One more thing I gotta care about. Real fuckin’ stupid. 

We’re only on the road a few hours before shit blows. Literally. Dales radiator. Good ‘n done. Then more bullshit happens but ain’t that the way shit is now?

A whole herd of ‘em come through and everyone’s fine. Andrea’s havin’ a panic attack ‘bout the geek that almost ate ‘er, Carol’s kid run off into the woods, and T-Dog’s all but bled out. But to me? Basically fine. No one’s dead or nothin’. 

Don’t know where Beatle was when the herd came. But she’s fine too, and any worryin’ I’d been doin was a waste of fuckin’ time. Not gonna waste any more of it bein’ mad I was worried in the first place. That I couldn’t think ‘bout anything else. Just images of her stupid happy face gettin’ ripped apart. Guess I care now. At least ‘bout her not bein’ dead. ‘Bout her bein’ here.

She’s standin’ outside the RV with me, sharing a cigarette cuz I don’t know how else to tell her I’m glad she’s alive. Can’t stop lookin’ at her. She’s either ignoring my staring or pretendin’ I ain’t doin’ it, and ‘m grateful. Don’t wanna talk ‘bout that shit. Just wanna look at her, and fix all those images in my head. Her face still happy and perfect and smilin’ at me like it wasn’t bein’ eaten by monsters a few minutes ago. 

I feel sick. Somethin’… different. 

“Can I just hug you, please?” She asks like she’s been waitin’ to say it. 

“Why?” I squint at her, dragging the smoke. Kinda want to - kinda mad she asked instead of just doin’ it, “Since when do you ask permi-“ I’m cut off by her body wrapped around mine. All four limbs holdin’ on like I’m keepin’ her anchored to the world. 

I hug her back, arms pulled tight around her. Why am I doing this? What the fuck is this? Goin’ fuckin’ soft for some dumb little girl. I can hear Merle laughin’ at me from inside my head, and I drop Beatle back down to the pavement. 

“I’m glad you’re alive.” She says, and I look down at her. Now she’s all covered in the gross shit I’m covered in. She doesn’t seem to care. Doesn’t even seem to notice. 

“Yeah?” I say at her, cuz I don’t know what else to say. Can’t tell her Im glad she’s alive. Can’t give her that. I hugged her back, that’s enough. She should know. 

She nods, smiling that stupid fuckin’ smile that I’m startin’ to like. ‘Fore her face starts wrinklin’ up somethin’ nasty. There it is. She looks at me, then down at herself. “What the fuck, Daryl?” 

Me?! “‘Pleeeease can I hug you, Daryl?’” I mock her. 

“I was worried!! And then you’re alive and okay and I  didn’t have time to look at you covered in guts and shit!” She squeals. I swear she knows it irritates me. I can see her goin’ to punch me in the arm so I let her, then pull her into another hug. 

Grabbin’ at her head to bring it close to my chest, covered in week old decaying monster meat, “C’mon, Beatle. Gimme a hug!” She’s tryin’ to fight it but ‘m stronger. 

She bends her knees and slips down and out of my arms. The blood on my hands making her too slippery to hold onto. She starts runnin’. I run after her til we get to the side of the road and she tries to hide underneath the trunk of a car crashed into the rail. 

Maybe this ain’t the time for fuckin’ around, but it don’t matter. Not when I finally got her cornered. The look of fear in her eyes does somethin’ to me. Not real fear.  Naw, cuz she’s smilin’. Cuz she’s laughin’. Just excited that we’re both still breathing. Still, smile on her face and laugh in her throat, she’s cowering beneath a cars trunk, beggin’ me to stop. The beggin’s doin’ somethin’ to me too. Fuck. 

I pick her up, slingin’ her over my shoulder, she yelps. Don’t she know how this shit works yet? “Fuckin’ quiet, Beatle. Dumb bitch.” I slap her ass once and she fuckin’ yelps again. “Wha’ did I just say?” And I slap her ass again. This time she’s quiet. 

Shit, that worked? Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. My dicks hard. 

I’unno if it’s cuz I never carried a girl over my shoulder like this, cuz I spanked her couple times, or cuz she listened. My dick gets even harder and I realize it’s definitely fuckin’ all of it. But mostly that she listened when I told her what to do. Maybe I should tell her what to do more often. Fuck. ‘m not helpin’ myself, or my problem, at all. 

I dip my head down to smell the sick I’m covered in to make it go away. It works. Even with her ass next to my face. So close I could bite it. For fucks sake. I put her down but she doesn’t run away this time. We walk slowly back to the group. Not sayin’ nothin’. Me, cuz I’m trying to focus on the smell of rotten flesh and definitely not Beatle beggin’ me to stop. Definitely not about what her face looked like when she felt my hand on her ass.  

Wonder if she’s quiet cuz she’s thinkin’ about it too.

 Wondering what she’s thinkin’ about and tryin’ to will away a stiffy. Fuck this fuckin’ high school bullshit. Like she reads my mind, I feel her needy little fingers snake into my hand. For a second I think maybe I’m smokin’ a cigarette I don’t remember havin’ but ‘m not. She’s just tryin’ to hold my hand. 

At first it feels nice, and then I feel sick again. Too many questions unanswered. Too much shit that’s already happened. Can’t trust her. So I shake her hand off, “Stop.” 

“Fine. Fuck you.” She stomps away and back into the RV. I’unno what the fuck’s wrong with me that it makes me smile. Do I like when she’s happy? Shit, I dunno. If I did, wouldn’t I not like it when she’s upset? So why does her being mad at me do it for me too? 

✨🏹

Whatever. 

She comes with me to go look for Sophia. Andrea stood up like she was gonna come too, but once Beatle and I are standin’ next to the RV Andrea doesn’t follow us out.

 We don’t stray too far from the road. It’s dark, and mostly just came out here to help ease Carol’s mind. ‘m definitely goin’ soft. But I’unno. Hurts to watch people lose stuff. Their families. Hurts to watch people hurt. 

Gonna hurt Beatle in a fuckin’ second if she doesn’t shut the fuck up. We’re walkin’ through the woods. At night. She’s gotta know this shit by now. “Beatle, keep your fuckin’ voice down. Please.” Did I just say please? Fuck me. 

“Did you just say ‘please’?” Fuck. Me. 

“Shut up.” 

“Don’t think I know how.” 

“Yeah, no shit.” She laughs, and it makes me smile. And that makes me feel sick to my stomach. Again. 

Her voice cuts through while I’m makin’ myself even sicker thinkin’ about it, “You wanna play another game?”

My eyebrows raise in her direction, “Yeah, that went real well for ya last time.” 

“Nevermind.” Her face falters and she crosses her arms across her chest. 

“What, you don’t wanna get half naked and cry again?” And for fuckin’ once I wish Beatle had somethin’ to say back. Some smartass shit that isn’t even funny but she definitely means it to be. But she doesn’t. She doesn’t say anything. She just lets my question hang in the fuckin’ air and suffocate me. Cuz now I’m thinkin’ about her half naked and crying and my fuckin dicks hard again. What is this shit? Rock hard cock every time I pick on her now? ‘m not gonna be able to do this. She’s gonna notice. Where the fuck is a guy supposed to jerk off and relieve some of this shit? 

On her fuckin’ face.

Shit.

She’s been quiet for too long and my brain won’t stop. It’s just getting worse. Images of her now, her face covered in my cum, her lips humming together making little bubbles with it, smiling. Shit. 

Beatle, say something. Anything.

“How big’s your dick?” Not. Fucking. That. 

She listens… right? She wants it, right? Why else would she ask that? Now, when it’s just the two of us out in the woods in the dark. She wants me to show her. 

So show her.

“Beatle.” My voice is low, barely there. Just a rasp of a word. 

She turns around, ready to explain herself before she even looks at me, “I-“ 

“C’mere.” If I don’t cut her off she’s gonna say she was just jokin’ but we both know she ain’t jokin’. She wants ta know. So she’s gonna know. 

Feel like I can see her blushin’ in the moonlight as she walks toward me, even though I can’t. Just know she is. Smile on her face like I ain’t about to wipe it off with my cock. Shit, hard as a fuckin’ rock right now. I rub my palm over the length of it, and I watch her eyes follow my arm down. Watch ‘em get bigger, wide and nervous, and it makes my dick twitch against my jeans. I pull out a smoke and light one, for a second I see a disappointment in her face, thinkin’ maybe I’d just called her over to share a smoke. Naw. “Down on your knees.” 

And Jesus Christ, does she kneel so fuckin’ fast. She stares straight ahead, and somethin’ comes over me. Can’t wait. Don’t want to. Don’t need to. Beatle does what I ask, at least when it comes to this. Like a good little slut would. That is what she’s good at, ain’t it? 

So maybe it’s a little fucked up that I grab her head and force her against the rough fabric of my jeans. Pushing my cock into her cheek as hard as I fuckin’ can. Holding her by the hair and rubbing her face on me. 

But this little bitch moans. At first I wasn’t sure, but she keeps fuckin’ moaning. She likes this. Somethin’ close to a laugh escapes my throat, past the cigarette between my lips. I take it with my fingers, letting one hand go from her head, the other hand pulls her back to look up at me. Her expression absolutely blown. She just looks at me for a second, before putting her face back on my cock on her own. It’s not the same amount of pressure but it still feels fuckin’ good. And somethin’ about her doin’ it on her own. Like she can’t fuckin’ help it. Like she needs it. 

She’s starts to lick at the fabric right where my head is and my dick spasms again at the sight of it. This time she can feel it underneath her mouth. She smiles up at me, smirkin’ down at her. Putting the cigarette in my mouth, I drag it, before bringing it down to her lips. A little reward for listening. 

She drags it once and I drop it on the ground. Beatle says “Thank you.” In the smallest voice I ever heard come out of her mouth. Fuck. I could fall in love with this Beatle. It’s just your dick talkin’ Dar, don’t get crazy. 

I grunt a laugh and start to unbuckle my belt. Unbutton my pants. Barely have my cock in my hand ‘fore her mouths around it. I pull her back by her hair, sharply. She winces in pain and reaches up to her head where I’m holdin’ on. Her eyes shoot up to look at me. 

God, fuck, what I wouldn’t give to have that image burned in my brain for the rest of my life. Her face, all discomfort and contempt because I won’t let her touch me. Like she’s fuckin’ dying for it. “Nah, keep your mouth shut Beatle. Gotta learn ta do what yer told.” 

She nods, and closes her lips. Looking from my eyes back down my body again. I lean back, takin’ myself in my hand and pressing my cock into her face. 

For a while I just rub myself all over, letting her feel the weight of it. Letting her know just how big it really fuckin’ is. Lifting it off her face and smackin’ her cheeks. Makin’ her flinch, her eyes squish closed but I press my hard cock against her eye and push up forcing her eyelid open. Fuck. I do the same thing with her lips. Smushing and rubbing the head of it into her lips to open them, I fuck against her mouth for a second. Beatles groaning and moaning but she doesn’t open her mouth. Somethin’ about it makes me need to cum. Now. No more fuckin’ around. “Open up.” 

She does. I spit into her open mouth, and she moans again, without swallowing it. Like a good slut. “Fuck, Beatle. Shit. Now stick your tongue out.” 

She does. I can see my spit falling off her tongue and I quickly catch it with my cock, before smearing as much of the slick spit from her mouth onto me. Taking myself from the base, holding hard to cut off the circulation. Always feels better when I do that. Rubbin her tongue with my cock til I can’t fuckin take it anymore. I’m about to fuckin’  cum. I pull away for only a second, my breathings all fucked and I can barely speak, “Close yer mouth.” She looks confused for a second but closes her mouth. Good. Was about to smack her. 

My left hand finds a place on the back of her head again, gripping into her hair to hold her in place. I push my hips forward and put the whole length across her face. My other hand pressing myself down into her from above her. And I fuck myself on her face. Grunting and sloppy and desperate to cum. Never done this before, shit, does anyone do this? But fuck, it’s so fuckin’ hot. Her lips and her cheeks and her eyelids and her nose all squished and being fuckin’ ruined by my cock. Shit.  Fuck. 

Right as I’m about to cum I put both hands around her head and hump her face like… I don’t even know. I feel fuckin’ insane, but she’s still moaning at the feeling of being used. Not even in a way that should be enjoyable to her. 

I don’t think I’ve ever cum that much in my whole fuckin’ life. Most of it ends up in Beatle’s hair, but there’s still a whole lot of it on her face. I mess with it for a second. Swirling my puffy post-nut dick in it before I get oversensitive. 

I put myself away, and sit down on the ground next to Beatle. Still in the exact same position. I let her kneel there, don’t tell her she can move or nothin’. Guess that’s why she doesn’t. Don’t think she can open her eyes either. S’funny. 

Relighting the short I’d dropped to the ground, I pull a bandana from my pocket. “Is it big, Beatle?” I ask her while I wipe only her mouth off, and put the cigarette between her lips. 

She sucks on the filter, and smiles. “Yep.”

Eventually I wipe off her eyes too. Can’t do anything about her hair though, so I promise to find her a hat from one of the cars on the walk back. 

And I don’t let myself think about what this might mean. Who cares? I don’t. Don’t think Beatle does neither. We’re just goin’. 

pt 5

A/N: Yeah okay,  I know. Daryl’s all back and forth. Does he not give a shit about Merle and Beatle? Does he know deep down they never did anything together? Or maybe he just wasn’t thinking about it at the time? He’s confused, guys. He also really doesn’t have all the information (Eventually he’s gonna ask but first we have to deal with Sophia. Sorry. I don’t want to either.)

[shotimus]

I wish you would write a fic where... Starscream and Soundwave spend some quality time with their little family <3

Got the perfect idea that I've had in my head for awhile~.

How Soundwave had talked Starscream into a movie night, he would never know.

Actually, it had been Frenzy's idea. The femme wouldn't shut up about having some sort of family night. The idea nearly repulsed Starscream, reminding him of Hashtag and how she would go on and on about the 'Malto Family Game Nights' she would participate in every single Friday.

She'd only invited him 27 times now, and to each request he promptly said no.

It had taken Soundwave butting in to get Starscream to give into this movie night idea, but he still wasn't thrilled about it. Human media was so primitive and boorish. In fact, they couldn't come up with a single original idea without rehashing something else. He left the decision making to Soundwave and his cassettes, grumbling as he walked back toward his makeshift berthroom - the one he shared with adopted sparkling, Nightshroud.

Soundwave might not have directly invited her erring on the side of caution given the femme's distrust of him and his cassettes, but that didn't mean Starscream was going to just leave her out of the 'grand family event'. She might not actually be a sparkling, but she was certainly old enough to decide for herself what she did and did not want to do. Just as he was, Nightshroud wasn't entirely certain if she wanted to attend.

"I'll leave that decision up to you, little dove. I won't force you to spend time with them if you do not wish to, but you can always just sit with me if you decide to."

"Maybe.."

Before he knew it, it was time for the movie night. Soundwave and his cassettes had built a makeshift pillow fort with what they could make do with around the abandoned military instillation they'd made camp in. Starscream, in his reluctance to contribute to the setup, had at the very least brought along spare energon cubes, rust sticks and jelly cubes for their consumption.

"Pray tell, what are you forcing me to watch," demanded the seeker.

"Like I'm just gonna tell you, Screamy! You've gotta have the need. The need fo-"

"TOP GUN," interrupted Soundwave, causing Frenzy to pout angrily.

"Soundwave, you ruined my joke!"

Starscream sat down on the floor with a growl next to the Spymaster as the cassettes all climbed onto the blue mech. He knew not what this 'Top Gun' was or why it was the toppest of guns, and truthfully he didn't care. He was just going to be cranky while they enjoyed this family.

Most of the family, anyway.

It was roughly 15 minutes into the movie that the seeker caught movement from around the corner, spotting a glimpse of the crimson femme peeking out. It was enough to get him out of his sour mood, smiling in her direction as he quietly patted the floor beside himself; silently telling Nightshroud it was okay to sit with him. Hesitantly she came over, but she made it quick to make her presence less noticeable. She curled up against her adoptive sire while he wrapped an arm around her, offering her jelly cubes as a sweet reward for doing her best.

Within half the runtime Soundwave and Starscream were the only ones still awake. The cassettes had passed out within mere minutes, and Nightshroud had managed to stay awake the longest. Starscream carefully stroked the femme's helm with his servo, glancing to Soundwave.

"Should we do this again, I pick the film. This film bored the young ones to recharge."

"AFFIRMATIVE."

[burtonbabygirlguster]

a collection of funny things that should have been in Supernatural because i said so;

At least three episodes of all the hunters that have the whole system with Sam at the bunker but it’s like a police show comedy [i’ve only seen like three total episodes of Brooklyn 99 and four seasons of Psych but i think it’d be great]

Dean gets to follow his dream (like what Michael trapped him in) and take after Ellen and the roadhouse, whether it be by using that giant ass bunker as a bar or he just buys one, or even builds one [with magic or his hands]

Hunter doctors- like official, legal doctors. basically so that way if anything possibly supernatural is going on- you can see a doctor who knows about that type of stuff and can hopefully help it [like a witches curse, or how Bobby Dean and Sam had the carvings on their ribs] and they don’t make you pay if your a hunter for obvious hunters-don’t-get-payed-reasons

and obviously garth and some other people starts a whole monster healing underground medical aid/er (also probably at the bunker or smth)

a section of the bunker turns into this child-teen room where anybody under like 20 goes and can stay permanently. so like if a parent was killed on a hunt, they show up and are taken care of, they can learn more stuff, practice, and maybe have a shot at a semi-normal, at least no hunting, life [Jody and Donna help out there a lot]

there’s also adult rooms, obviously, same gig

game night at the Dean-Cave, lots of tournaments and anger

movie nights [for any hunter that wants to come] with a huge projector screen that they bring out to the main area with the stairs and whatnot, they’ll move tables, build a whole ass fort and watch shit

jack defeats god but instead of him disappearing it’s a complex jack-sorta-splits-in-two thing where his current conscious still runs things as ‘god’ but the ‘other half’ is essentially him but physically and mentally a four year old (like completely- not what Jack had before as a mix of 4 years old and 20 years old, just pure 4 year old) and it’s pure chaos

dean tries to redo everything with Jack (because he was a dick majority of the time) and obviously Cas and Sam were alrwady Dad Material TM

Dean, Sam, Castiel, Jody, Donna, Eileen, Charlie [both worlds because she didn’t die in my mind] Kevin [also not dead] and some others will hold classes for different things

Dean: Cooking (and lots of fighting) Occasionally does cool ‘home-made’ things, like his EMF that was made out of a Walkman, stuff like that. Teaches Latin and the different warding stuff

Sam: Healthy balance in life- both mentally and food wise. Also teaches lore and how to defend yourself, but mainly tries to get people to know how to lead a normal life, to enjoy things. Also teachers Latin [and backwards exorcisms if you need the demon]

Castiel: Lots of fighting techniques, but he also does a lot of history [not hunter-history, just like. normal history, but parts that have never been recorded since he’s seen a looooot] Teaches about free will and choosing your own path- not one that you were raised into or something of the sort [like hunting] he’s one of those teachers who get way off topic and he starts talking about Dean and everything [the ‘students’ place bets on when he’ll confess]

Jody & Donna + The Kids: [Jody & Donna] Teach how to stay out of trouble, fighting methods, but mainly how to lead a good, death-less life and be happy. they also teach you about police-loopholes and such so if they do stick with hunting they don’t get thrown in jail and such. Teaches healing and first aid. [The Kids] teach, again, fighting techniques, tracking stuff, running away from stuff, lots of medical stuff, Patience and Kaia teach others how to control their ability’s [with Gabriel]

Eileen: Teaches ASL and teaches how to use your other senses if you couldn’t use one [or technically how to sorta focus and zone in on the other senses] Also lots of lore and fighting techniques.

Charlie: Teacher how to hack into ‘un-hackable’ things, create fake credit or debit cards, fake IDs, etc. She holds role play and games like DnD all the time

Kevin: Teaches confidence and such, how to not let people take advantage of you [cough cough Dean was not so nice to him whilst translating] How to stand up for yourself and not be a doormat. Also teaches school stuff if anybody was interested

Rowena: Witchcraft, obviously. She does a lot of the warding stuff than the others because she knows a lot more about everything. Occasionally teaches how to seduce your way into information (or magic

Gabriel: How to trick people and such into getting them to do what you want them to. Probably some tips on going underground/undercover. If a kid has powers he helps them entirely

[softquietsteadylove]

How about jealous Thena in the Doctor au?

Let’s say a small group of 4 doctors 2 females 2 males in different expertises are visiting the ER to gather some information on something medical. And these 2 females would not stop flirting with Gil

"I have to say, I'm really quite impressed."

Thena offers a genial smile. Making nice with other people has never been a forte of hers, but the visiting doctors from a nearby hospital have been perfectly civil. "Our staff is quite impressive."

"You run a tight ship, Doctor," the other male doctor comments, also making light talk as they tour through the hospital. The ER is the last stop on their trip, releasing them back on the ground floor after touring through the rest of the hospital.

Thena gives Ajak a wink on their way to the main door, "believe me, it's all her."

Ajak winks right back at her and then nods at the visitors, "she's my favourite kid here."

Ajak is an odd handful of years older than Thena at most.

"We've heard such wonderful things about your triage centre," one of the female doctors offers a bright and lovely smile. She's a pediatric specialist, if Thena remembers correctly. "It doesn't surprise me--wow."

The other female doctor also cranes her neck to look down the hall. "Wow is right--those are...?"

Thena's eyes bounce between the women, a strange and uncomfortable feeling welling up in her chest. "Those are two of our paramedics, Gil and Kingo."

The visiting women grasp at each other, not even attempting to hide their interest as the muscle of the ER make their way over to them. They grin at each other before looking back at Thena, "who's the one waving at us?"

Thena bristles. "Gil."

"Hey," he greets them with a smile, because of course he does. Kingo doesn't even bother to say anything, continuing on to the nurse's station without him (as is a regular thing, with Gil).

"Gil, these are the visiting doctors here to look at our facilities," Thena introduces (somewhat). "Ortho, Cardiovascular, Peds and Neuro."

The doctors might be a little surprised at her choice to list their specialties and not their actual names. But Gil isn't surprised in the least, giving them a friendly smile and a tilt of his head. "Thena's been showing you around, huh? Well, you won't find a better run ER."

"Yes, we were just remarking upon that."

"Are you just getting back?"

Thena watches as Pediatrics drifts closer to Gil, her hand raising up as if to touch his arm before drifting down again. She instead clasps her hands in front of her, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Yep," Gil answers blithely, totally unaware that he's being ogled.

"The paramedics at our hospital are never in on time after a run," Neuro sighs, landing herself at Gil's other side, even closer than Pediatrics did.

Gil skips over both of them, though, looking at Thena, "I try not to stay out too long. Just in case I'm needed here, y'know?"

She smiles at him, able to forget about the intruding doctors for this one, tender, fraction of a second.

"You help out here, too?" Pediatrics gasps, now actually laying her hand on Gil's arm. "A real jack of all trades, aren't you?"

Thena taps her toe on the floor, although it's silent, given they're all wearing running shoes.

"Well, Thena and Ajak are the real captains of the ship, down here," Gil shrugs. The only awareness he even has of the hand on his arm is his confusion over it. "If we're not out on a run I just kind of float around. Some of our interns are real airheads."

Both women let out a loud and exaggerated laugh. Neuro takes the opportunity to pat the back of her hand against Gil's shoulder, although it's a little too close to his chest.

"You're funny!"

Gil is funny--everyone knows that. Thena crosses her arms. "It might be funny if it weren't such a headache."

The Orthopaedic specialist at least gives her a sympathetic smile, "some of ours are terrible too."

"Wait you just got in!" Pediatrics gasps and beams at Gil, "so you can show us one of the ambulances!"

Thena rolls her eyes, muttering just to herself, "it's an ambulance, it should look just like yours."

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Gil shrugs, though. He looks at Thena, asking her to come with them so he's not stuck hosting three strangers by himself.

If it were anyone but him; Thena sighs but follows behind them. Ortho and Cardio are talking to each other from either side of her but she's not listening. She can't possibly; Neuro is walking so close her elbow keeps knocking together with Gil's, while Pediatrics is all but hanging off his arm as they walk.

Not that it bothers her, but they could have a little professionalism. A modicum, even--one fluid ounce of professional integrity!

"Here we are," Gil announces as they exit into the ambulance bay, his particular bus parked right outside. "We have the usual stock of stuff. Although Thena had the idea for us to add an inventory specifically of fast working anaesthetics."

"Really?"

Gil is beaming with pride. "Well, we're always advised to be so stingy with them. But patients can describe what they're feeling better when they can think straight. Plus, women in particular are used to downplaying their pain, even when it's really serious. So we always try to give them just a little bit more than the recommended amount."

"That's so forward thinking!" Pediatrics gasps up at him.

Gil seems like he's barely heard her, "it was all Thena's idea."

"And Ajak," she mutters, not that anyone is listening to her. Pediatrics and Neuro are still chattering away at Gil's sides while Ortho and Cardio have climbed into the bus to examine the extra supply Gil was describing. She looks down at her hip. She's being paged, "Gil."

He leaves the sides of the visitors in a second, pulling his hands out of his hoodie pockets to touch his palm to her elbow. All she does is look at him to tell him that it's not something she can ignore. He nods, "you go."

She nods back at him, offering a smile before trotting back inside, her ponytail swinging behind her.

Thena's ass looks great even in the unflattering scrub pants. The two male doctors have obviously noticed this over the course of their tour, leaning out of the ambulance just for the privilege and indulgence of watching her go.

Gil clears his throat loudly.

The two doctors scramble out of the back of the ambulance - Gil's ambulance - and tug at their white coats. "I-It's quite a fine piece of equipment you're running."

"Hm," Gil glares at them as he tosses the massive doors closed with one hand. His hands are back in his hoodie pockets, mostly so they won't see the fists he's making. He leans down slightly to the shorter men, "I know my wife is beautiful, but do you mind keeping your eyes to yourselves, Doctor Dumb and Doctor Dumber?"

"Y-Your-"

"We didn't-"

Gil just shrugs, heading back into the ER without waiting for their distinguished and invited guests. "Honest mistake. Just don't let it happen again."

[safyresky]

Hello, it me!

I'm dropping in to DEMAND CONTENT!!

Put the Content In the bag!!

I've come here requesting Diteline stuff! Specifically bed sharing/sleep habits. Domestic ass married Diteline stuff!

I've had such ideas pin balling around in my head for my own terrible gays (that I hope to post about at some point) and then I remembered that you have your own far less terrible gays!

Just tiny little bed sharing things and sleep habits have been on my MIND. Was hoping you could fuel the fire here 😈

Funny you should mention content lmao, I've been feeling the last little while that I have been VERY quiet and have had the need to POST CONTENT, BUT HAVE HAD NO CONTENT!! I WILL HAPPILY FUEL THIS FIRE BC I DO HAVE SOME THOUGHTS ON THIS SUBJECT IN PARTICULAR!!

Not a lot, BUT SOME

Mkay. So. Diteline sleep habits!!

Idk if gods NEED sleep?? It's either way in most mythologies, if it's specified (and if you're Hypnos god OF sleep lol). I think Dite can sleep but also can do without?? I'm on the fence about that tbh! Part of me thinks maybe she's like dnd elves and just needs a brief rest for four hours to function. Again, on the fence! SO. THAT BEING SAID. HERE'S SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT DITELINE SLEEPS:

Dite either sleeps on her belly or on her sides! Otherwise her wings get agitated if they don't have space to furl

I think they idle animate if/when she sleeps, lol. They'll occasionally swish or twitch, like a horse tail or cat ear or smth

Jacqueline is a side sleeper and she curls UP. When she's sleeping with Dite she is ALWAYS the little spoon and like, BURROWS into her side if she's facing her

Jacqueline also sleeps with many blankets; she makes herself colder on purpose to sleep cozier with more blankets 🤣🤣

Jacqueline is your friend who sleeps with the window open ALWAYS. She got that from me and I am not ashamed to admit it bc the BEST sleeps are when it's FREEZING COLD but you're bundled in blankets and NOT overheating about it :3

Dite doesn't mind the chill much at all bc Jacquie's already frozen the bed (figuratively), and she can regulate temperature easily enough so she's chill with the blanket fort bed

And she runs warm ANYWAY. It's bc she's partially made of love. Keeps her WARM.

Especially since her preferred way to sleep with Jacqueline is facing her and hugging her nice and close

Which is v easy bc that sprite can make herself SUCH a tiny lil ball

Her wings also tend to hug Jacqueline too when they sleep!! No matter what, when they're cuddling or sleeping, Dite always has at least one arm and one wing draped over Jacqueline

Jacqueline has the blankets right up to her neck; Dite likes to stick her arms out

This causes problems SOMETIMES. Not always, tho! They make it work :)

Jacqueline is a sometimes snor-er and Dite thinks her snores are cute

She may be biased

Sometimes when she's deep asleep Dite glows a bit, and Jacqueline is like awed by it 🤣🤣

Dite doesn't snore, I don't think!

If Jacqueline is awake and Dite isn't, Jacquie tends to trace Dite's facial features (nose, bridge of said nose, eyebrows) until she peeks open a sleepy eye :3

Jacqueline is very annoying when she is bored and one of these occasions involves Dite being asleep while she's awake

This stops being a problem when they have kids as one of those three gremlins is always awake!

Dite is an early riser! Jacqueline likes to lounge in bed. We call it the "coze and doze". You're awake, and cozy, but still dozing in bed. This is one of her favourite things to do with Dite!

She gets very pouty if she gets pulled out of bed before cozing and dozing to her heart's content :)

They get a King sized bed bc all three kids like to cuddle puddle/jump on them and Dite's wings can be very persnickety, so it's the best for all parties involved lol

Here is a lil' snippet from what I HOPE to be this coming year's Valentine's Day post for you all! It's called "Bedtime Stories" and here's the opening, bc it has some v good Diteline bed related fluff >:)

The alarm didn’t even get a chance to chirp before a feathery wing unfurled, whacking it right off the side table and into the wall.

The one note it had started to belt was cut as the clock hit the wall and fell to the floor with a crack, just a little bit broken.

“Whoops,” Donnie said, sitting upright. Both wings unfurled, stretching out behind her. Biting back a grin, she waved her arm, the clock reassembling and popping right back up to the bedside table, the lampshade only jostling a little bit. Letting out an honest to god(dess) teehee, she flew off the bed and right into the ensuite, the blankets lifting up a good few inches.

They fluttered briefly, before a pale hand snatched them back down with a grumble.

“What are you doinggggggggg,” the pale hand pantomimed, the only body part peeking out from the blanket.

“Getting ready for work!” Donnie said excitedly, giggling as the hand puppet drooped, its thumb just askew enough to give the impression of a disgruntled Muppet’s face. “It’s the BEST day of the year, after all!”

Dressed in her Cupid’s best, Donnie flew back to the bed, grabbing the hand puppet and pulling the rest of her wife out from the blankets. She did a little meep as she was pulled out, her hair half thawed until Donnie wrapped her up in a big, tight, squishy, winged hug, kissing her right on the lips. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Jacqueline!”

The sprite flushed, the rest of the snow in her hair practically evaporating. Donnie giggled.

“And you’re up this early?”

“Of course! There’s love to spread!”

“Right here in this bed,” the sprite said. Throwing all her weight at the goddess, Jacqueline managed to pin her wife back down on the mattress, latching onto her like a koala and nuzzling into her neck.

Donnie laughed, flushed. “Jacqueline,” she chided gently.

The sprite grumbled, latching on to her tighter. “Blankets,” she said, and the sheet and comforter slid right back up the bed, tucking the pair in.

Donnie laughed. “Sweetheart. I’ve gotta work today!”

“Play hooky! I’m off all day and it’s so so cold outside. And it’s only gonna get colder, you know. I have it on good authority.”

“You’d really abuse your power to make it colder to try and stay here with me all day?”

“DUH,” Jacqueline said, pecking Donnie’s chin. “The bed’s gonna get cold the moment you leave and how else am I supposed to be warm and snuggly on this snowy ol’ Valentine’s?!” Jacqueline peeked up, making sure Donnie could see her huge pout.

Donnie laughed. “The sooner I go, the sooner I can come home and snuggle you all day,” she said, kissing her forehead. Her face dropped down, nose to nose with Jacqueline, foreheads touching as she gazed into her sleepy blue eyes. “And all night,” she said, low and breathy, making sure to blow air right towards Jacqueline’s neck.

She made a little choke sound and flushed darker. Her grip loosened; with a grin, Donnie took the opportunity to roll over, pinning Jacqueline down now.

The sprite blinked up, flustered. “Oh dear,” she said.

Donnie laughed, kissing her full on the lips one long-lasting time before gently breaking it off. “Think that will hold you over? Keep you nice and toasty?”

“So toasty,” she replied, recovered. Well, mostly. But Donnie knew her wife very well, and could tell she was about half an octave higher than she normally was. She laughed, sliding off of the bed and straightening her chiton, righting the laurel that had been passed down to her and rolling her shoulders.

“How do I look?”

“Stunning, jaw-dropping, gorgeous—ready to kick ass, even,” Jacqueline replied.

“Oh, stop it,” she said, playfully waving a hand.

“Never,” Jacqueline replied, her head hitting the pillow again. “Check on the kids on your way out? Bianca was still awake when I got in.”

“Still?!”

“One more chapter, she said. You know. Like a liar,” Jacqueline said, snuggling into the covers. “Oh, boo. It’s already cold.”

Donnie laughed, clipping her bracelet on her wrist. “It’ll warm up,” she said, leaving the room, keeping the door slightly ajar.

[zenigatakeibu]

@dnangelic said: ' happy halloween, zeni-san! ' daisuke wasn't one to usually go out trick or treating, which is why there's no plastic tin or bag in his hands, but the fact won't stop him from still waving and flashing a bright, energetic smile at the inspector. ' i hope nobody's causing you any trouble or anything. it might be a night of tricks and pranks and stuff, but even if only a little bit, i still hope you get to relax and soak up some of the fun. everyone seems like they're really enjoying themselves! '

❝ 'Fun'... Right. ❞

It's never been his forte, as if that weren't already painfully obvious... Still, he can't help but match Daisuke's smile with one of his own. That sparkling enthusiasm is rather infectious, after all.

❝ Happy Halloween to you too, Daisuke. Surprised to see you aren't all dressed up, though, kids like you are supposed to be cashing in on the holiday! ❞ A beat as Zenigata chuckles, suddenly sheepish. ❝ Er... Then again, I was never one for costumes or sweets either... Not that Halloween had even made its way to Japan yet, when I was still young. Guess it's a little after my time, hm? ❞ Way to really show your age, keibu...

❝ AHEM. A-anyway, you don't need to worry. I'm tough, I can handle whatever the night decides to throw at me. Stay safe out there, alright? And let me know if you'd like an escort home! ❞

[strawberrystreamfields]

Carolina's Journal Log Day 1:

I went to visit Moorland last night and ended up staying the night. Unfortunately for me, I didn't check the weather. Rosedawn and I are headed back to Fort Pinta right now to check on the others. Jorvik hasn't seen snow like this in years unless you count The Valley. Rosedawn's adorably small in this snow. Oak isn't too pleased about the weather, so he looks like he'll just be staying in the saddlebag. Here's hoping I don't need this journal again soon, it doesn't look like he's planning on leaving that bag anytime soon. On a better note, Moorland looks ethereal in the winter snow. Silverglade Castle in the distance, and here I am, on my little Haflinger pony trudging through the snow.

We made it to Fort Pinta without any snags, and thankfully, all of the others were alright. Nyx and Arcticwind were practically being used as equine(?) heaters by the others, and, who can blame them? I checked with Maya that everything was well and good before leaving the stable. Rosedawn and I were about to head off to Valedale to see how the Soul Riders were doing, (I bet Alex already tried to lightning-blast some logs to get some warm(er) fire), and as per usual, something odd just had to happen. We heard a bleating from behind us and stopped, turning to find a straw yule goat. And it was.. alive?! This was new. The goat seems to want us to follow it. We'll see how well this ends.

The goat led us back to Moorland, taking us to Mrs. Holdsworth. She told us about the Jorvegian tradition of making straw yule goats, before asking the goat to lead us somewhere. Rosedawn and I followed it to find a sleigh being pulled by an Icelandic covered in snow and a Capran seated inside. The Capran asked us if we wanted to go to the 'Winter Village', and we accepted. After all, what's the worst that could happen? (Alex, you get my saxophone if I go missing)

The Capran finally landed the sleigh. Thankfully, we're still alive and well, though I'm not exactly sure how much Rosedawn enjoyed the whole experience. We briefly talked with another Capran, and that was when I looked down the hill to see it. The Winter Village. A village that even from a distance looked like warmth in the cold surrounding it. I could clearly see a massive tree in what could have been a town square of sorts, all decorated for the holidays. As long as this doesn't turn into a 'you've seen our home and now you may never leave' situation, this should be fun!

Our first order of business ended up being sliding down the massive ice ramp. We're both alright, though we ended up crashing straight into a snow bank. After exploring the village itself, we took a lap around the frozen lake. As we were doing so, we passed what appeared to be a family of deer with a fawn! (Sketch below)

We've finished our canter around the lake, and now we're just taking a walk. The lights above us are magnificent, casting everything in a magical sort of glow. It looks like Big Bonny might have a story to tell, so we'll take a quick break there.

She told us a story about the Ice Witch. Hmm... the Ice Witch kind of reminds me of Katja. Nevertheless, we headed back up the path to the ice ramp to talk with another of the Caprans. They sent us to try out a race, which, to put it mildly, was absolutely exhilarating. The final part was crazy, with a shining magic bridge appearing beneath Rosedawn's hooves. We could see the whole village as we ran! Though, it was definitely nerve-wracking, my fear of heights practically hyperventilating.

It was getting a bit too chilly to stay in the village, so Rosedawn and I headed back to Moorland. Rosedawn liked the sleigh ride about as much as she did the first time, which wasn't very much. It turned out that maybe it would've been wiser to stay at the Winter Village, seeing as we walked right into a blizzard. We headed up to Nilmer's Highland, following a beam of light that could be messing with the weather and causing this blizzard. The snow was up to Rosedawn's chest, and it was safe to say that Oak definitely wasn't enjoying himself. We found Rowan stuck in the snow and helped them recover their supplies. The snow was dying down by that time, and Rowan was able to continue on their way. Perhaps now we finally ought to check on the Soul Riders in Valedale.

Everything looks so serene when covered in snow. We headed through Silverglade Village, passing the castle, which had had its' towers dusted in snow. The pastures were filled with snow, though many of the horses looked, for the most part, quite unbothered with the whole situation. Next stop, the Hollow Woods!

We traveled through the Hollow Woods, and everything but Rosedawn's hoofbeats and our breathing were nearly silent. The old, burned summer house was a dark scar on the otherwise light-colored surrounding. Though, it didn't look out of place. We didn't see anyone on our way to Valedale, though with how cold it was, it wasn't a great surprise.

Finally, after quite a few detours, we made it to Valedale Village. There were a few horses in the stables, all with blankets on, most of them eating or sleeping. We walked to Elizabeth's old house, and sadness filled me for a brief moment. I still missed her sometimes. On a happier note, I found all four Soul Riders, Concorde, and Misty all inside, and recalled seeing the Soul Horses alongside Blondie in the stable. As we walked past, Farah offered me some herbal tea which I gratefully accepted, and volunteered to take another order of herbal tea over to Avalon's, where I was already headed. I headed inside to find Avalon's house overrun with quite a few people I knew. I should've brought more tea.

We left a couple hours later, and just as I was thinking that this day couldn't get much crazier, I found myself talking to a penguin. He challenged Rosedawn and me to a race, which of course neither of us could refuse. Racing with/against penguins was an... interesting experience to say the least.

The sun would be going down soon, so we headed to Redwood Point. I ensured that I didn't have anything that I needed to do today before taking Rosedawn down into the stables and heading to the cabin. They weren't going to believe the stuff I was about to drop on them.

[phytochorion]

How the Forest Finds the Island

Chapter Thirteen - Growing Apart

"Hubae, look! Your lichens are growing great!", Si-woo announced, spreading his hands dramatically over a cluster of moist, green thalli.

"What? We’ve been over this, yaar! Liverworts and lichens ain’t the same, for souls’ sakes!", Askarya shouted at him across a gap between two boulders that, to them, might as well have been the Grand Canyon.

"What?", Si-woo hollered back.

"THATS. A. LIVERWORT. I GROW LICHEN! LICHEN!" Askarya cupped their hands to their mouth, generating an impressive echo but no recognition from Si-woo.

"Isn't that the same thing?!"

The progymnosperm fairy watched as Askarya erupted into a stream of curses. He turned away with a shake of his head, calling, "Anyway, I wouldn't stay there if I were you, unless you fancy a soaking!"

"It's a perfectly blue sky!" Askarya folded their arms, returning their attention to the fungi. "Unbelievable."

Sen fluttered softly down beside Si-woo.

"What are you two, er, discussing now?"

"Just trying to figure out what this is," his friend replied, pointing out the liverwort.

"Oh, not one of ours anyway! That's a good sign!", sang Sen, his face flushed with pride. "We’ve been seeing more and more of these saxicolous plants establishing themselves. If they’re arriving and thriving under their own power, we've done our job!"

He examined the bryophyte quizzically.

"If you want to know what it is, I suggest talking to Nathair, he’s written the book on nigh-everything."

"Yeah, I used to wonder why he was so fascinated by plants besides his own, but his interests have helped me out a few times. Let's head to the fort."

Thunder rumbled, and Askarya screamed in frustration as they were drenched by a sudden downpour.

"Odd, I saw no hint of that on the way here." Sen twisted the hem of his robes. "I'd best go and fetch them."

⸙ ⸙ ⸙

The fort was suspended in a dense stand of young trees. Their growth had slowed since their initial, magical spurt, but they had still reached maturity quite rapidly. Jess, busy as ever on the fort's upkeep, took a break from hauling new planks up to the canopy and waved at them. Askarya shook off the last drops of rainwater and waved back.

With Askarya off his back, Sen was about to launch into the air again when, leaning nonchalantly against a shoot, another fairy spoke.

"Gongsun."

Sen's spine stiffened. "Schuppenbaumer."

"So ya finally made it, huh? Took ya long enough."

"I've been here years."

"What? Well, so have we. Longer, in fact. Reckon we were the first ones here after the mosses."

"Came with your family?", inquired Sen.

"Well, my old man's counting on me, yeah? Gotta put others first, y'know."

"Naturally."

"Why didn't you stop by before, Phonso, didn't you hear us singing?", interjected Si-woo.

"There's nothing we needed here," came the reply. "We have our own fort."

"Pragmatic as ever," Askarya mouthed to Si-woo.

"Really, better than this one?", teased Sen.

Phonso's crown quivered. "You should drop by and see it sometime. Built it in an old scale-tree trunk, my Pa did, the first one uncle grew here. Two metres wide, impenetrable to anyone we don't want getting in, and furnished with all we could wish for." His eyes shone reverently.

"What are you preparing for, an invasion?!", Si-woo wondered out loud. "There's barely anyone on the island!"

"Times change," hummed Phonso knowingly. "We stand on the conception of a new biome, neither Epiphyllia nor Laurelland. Where new opportunities arise, new challengers arrive to exploit them. I, for one, shan't be caught off guard."

Askarya muttered, "if this is something your parents have been telling you, they're more paranoid than a-"

They were cut off as Phonso shrugged the spiked club he habitually carried from his back and pointed it right at them in one fluid motion. "Not another word, fungus," he growled, an almost amused look dancing across his face. Askarya had the sense to keep quiet.

Si-woo coughed and quickly asked Phonso, "So, er, if you have everything you need at your fort, what brings you here?"

"Oh, our librarian's been wanting to expand his repertoire, and he heard there's someone here who might help."

Sen's momentary confusion morphed into clarity. "You're not talking about-"

"Be right with you, Mr Schuppenbaumer!", a voice overhead announced.

All of them looked up as Nathair somersaulted off a high branch and parachuted gently down on his single wing. He nodded to Sen & friends in greeting before turning to Phonso.

"Ready to set off?"

"Yep. You… can actually fly, right?"

Nathair gave him a wink. "What you just witnessed represents the extent of my aerial aptitude."

"You're kidding. Blast… fine, hop on, I guess."

"Much obliged, my good chap."

"Whoa whoa, hang on," Si-woo spoke up again. "You can't just take off with young master Quacey here, he's ours!"

Nathair smoothed back his pale hair. "I'm deeply touched, master Byun, but I already have a boyfriend."

Si-woo glared. "Not what I mean and you know it."

"Anyhow," continued the fern fairy, "Mam gave it the all clear and sure I'll only be gone a wee while."

"If we're done with goodbyes," prompted Phonso, and Nathair climbed smartly onto his back.

"Take care, dear friends!", he called, as they disappeared in a flap of Phonso's bristly wings.

"Fucking toff," fumed Askarya, fists balled up. "What, does he think we're all his servants?"

"Schuppenbaumer had no right to treat you like that. I should have spoken up for you," admitted Si-woo. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, I would've hit him if you didn't step in when you did." Askarya let out a long, shaky breath. "Next time that swanky asshole shows his face here he won't find me so easy to push around."

⸙ ⸙ ⸙

Sen left Si-woo and Askarya to catch up with the others at the fort and flew back to his longest-established ginkgo grove. On his approach, he saw something that made his little heart race.

The trees were coming into bloom!

He had made a few trips to this grove while he and his friends had been cultivating the granite fields. The first two trees, gifted with magic, were still vigorous, but their growth was beginning to slow. The smaller trees had yet to catch up, but were now large enough that Sen was confident he could leave them to fend for themselves. Normally it took two decades or more for ginkgos to begin producing fruit, but the two largest had hit this milestone a little early.

Sen landed softly in the upper branches, savouring the smell of ginkgo blossoms. He passed beneath one, reaching up to touch it gently, moving on to the next, and the next.

He relaxed in the treetops for a while, thinking. Even though these trees were maturing, there was little chance of them being fertilised without other adult trees nearby. Unless he could somehow get fresh pollen from an unrelated population, he'd just have to wait until the trees in Con and Wilbur's gulley reached this stage.

Something moved in the next tree. Sen sat up slowly, eyes widening in recognition. A jimmylegs, just like the one he'd seen years ago. Perhaps even the same individual, he had no idea how long they lived. The reptile was pecking at insect grubs beneath the bark, and Sen silently thanked it for its unintentional stewardship of his trees. Not noticing him, it opened the impressive wings on its legs and used its forelimbs to launch up and away.

Thinking back on their first encounter, Sen noted that he was still wearing the robes his friends had helped him weave that day. The silk had held up well, despite the unprofessional couture. Dust, water and sap had failed to destroy it, though it now barely even resembled clothing. Perhaps it was time for a change.

Sen snooped around for a few minutes, managing to snatch some silk from the insects and spiders disturbed by the jimmylegs before leaving the grove behind.

⸙ ⸙ ⸙

Phonso didn't return with Nathair for months. Some of those at the fort worried about him, but Cullodena assured them her son was quite capable of fending for himself. So long as he had a secluded writing space, he really didn't care where he was.

Plants continued to propagate, more slowly away from the fort's magical nourishment, but steadily transforming the landscape nonetheless. The plains of rock and sand had all but disappeared as larger and larger species began to establish.

One day, Sen bade farewell to his friends, who were ogling some of the new additions to Kai's chemical lab, and flew south. He wanted to check on the ginkgos he had planted more recently. As he, Si-woo and Askarya had been breaking rocks, he had felt his power slowly increasing as the trees rose ever higher. He had only paid them one or two visits in person since they were planted, to hang out with Wilbur and Con, and was excited to see their progress since.

The land was harsher here, on the cusp of being tamed, but still dominated by jutting stones and bare gravel. As Sen floated quietly into the gully, the atmosphere changed. The shape of the surrounding rock walls, and the plants growing within, had created their own microclimate.

Mosses coated the ground in a lush carpet. Ferns and lycophytes burst from every available crevice. Tree ferns, their spores probably drifting from those Aliwen had planted at the fort, were scrambling to spread above their neighbours. And above it all rose the ginkgos.

A golden grove, the first leaves falling, stood reflecting in the clear pool beneath. Sen landed at the water's edge and breathed deep of the cool, moist air. This proud stand of trees was young, yet it felt ancient, primordial. It felt like home.

Sen's breath rushed from his lungs in a joyous laugh and he took off running. His baggy robes billowed about his waist as he dashed straight for the water, his negligible weight allowing him to skip across the surface a few steps before diving under, and shooting up again in a shimmer of droplets, grinning from ear to ear. He glided back to shore and squeezed his clothes dry.

His heart at ease, he flitted from trunk to trunk, satisfied that they were all healthy. Their bark had been colonised by multifarious encrusting organisms, from fungi, to algae, to hornworts, to slime moulds, to things he couldn't even name.

Sen was stepping towards a patch of particularly interesting looking moss when he stopped short. Did it just move?

He stepped back abruptly as the moss peeled itself from the tree and revealed itself as the wings of a fairy even shorter than him. Barely more than a little boy, really, he blinked in surprise.

"Oh! Hi sir! Who are you!"

"Um," was all Sen could say for a second. He was unsure whether he should bow, and opted instead for ruffling the short, spiky moss that covered the kid's head. "Hey there. Sir, huh? My, what good manners you have! I'm Sen." He gave the boy a slightly awkward smile.

"I'm Gregor!", the moss boy replied. He looked about. "Are you here to see Con?"

"Oh! Well, if he's here, then yes!"

"He's with the others," chirped Gregor. "I just got tired and went for a lie down."

"The others?", wondered Sen, turning in the direction Gregor pointed. "Do you want to stay here or…"

"I'll show you!", offered Gregor, hopping on the spot before taking Sen's hand and leading him briskly across the forest floor.

Passing under a fern and into a hollow on the forest floor, Sen came face to face with a much larger group than he'd been expecting. His knees suddenly felt weak as they turned in unison to scrutinise him.

Inhaling through his nose, he calmed himself and stepped forth.

"Sen!", Wilbur called, spying him quickly. "Been a while, mon."

"Sorry. Work and all," mumbled Sen, but the other fairy wasn't put out.

"No problem, none at all, I know how it is," Wilbur reassured him, and gestured to the crowd. "I'm sure you know everyone here?"

Sen flushed in panic. "If-if-if I have to be honest, I'm having trouble putting names to faces."

"Big tree fairy thinks he's too high and mighty for us little cryptogams?", tutted Wilbur, nudging Sen, who rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Nah mon, I'm just messing, come here and I'll introduce you."

Wilbur led Sen, with Gregor trailing behind, rapidly through the crowd, telling him the names of the diverse bryophytes assembled there. Sen had trouble keeping up, and the names began to blur into each other. Yuval, Shane, Friso, Theodore, Viktor, Phoebe, Gaius, Elmer, Roy, Claude…

They finally reached Con, who was looking mildly harassed and attempting to separate two kids, a boy and girl.

"How's the babysitting going?", inquired Wilbur, chipper as ever.

"Think your turn is overdue," grumbled Con, picking up the little boy and seating him on one broad shoulder.

"Ah, my friend, I still have to attend to our guests!" Wilbur produced a bowl of his moss punch as if from nowhere. "I'll take over as soon as I'm done!"

"I can do that for you," smiled Sen, receiving a grateful look from Con and a cup of punch from Wilbur. The fern fairy high-fived Gregor as he left. "Keep an eye on your cousins for me, bwoy."

As the crowd drank, laughed and held forth on their propagation successes, Sen and Con sat down on a flat-topped toadstool with the kids.

"Wanna say hi?", Con gently prompted. The pair were silent for a while, avoiding eye contact with Sen, but with an encouraging nod from Con they spoke up.

"I'm Shannon," mumbled the girl, even tinier than Gregor.

"My name's Lee," said the boy, who appeared to be the eldest.

"Good to meet you, Shannon and Lee," answered Sen, shaking Lee's hand as the kid extended his arm in an exaggeratedly formal way that got a grin from Con.

As the siblings hopped off the mushroom and dashed through the leaf litter, Sen raised an eyebrow.

"Any idea who they're related to?"

"They appear to have no family beyond each other," mused Con. "I  believe there to be an adaptive radiation of mosses going on. A few young ones I've never before seen have been showing up in the last few million years."

Sen pondered this. "Could it be climate driven? This island is changing everything, we could all feel it even in Epiphyllia."

"And not only Epiphyllia. This will reach worldwide, to Laurelland too."

Sen went misty eyed. Laurelland. Terra recessa. The last time he or anyone he knew had walked that continent was over one hundred million years ago. An unfathomably long time, even by fairy standards. The ever-restless earth had split their beloved Pangaea in twain. One drifted east and one west. At first it was so easy to fly between the departing continents that nobody had thought twice about it. But in a geological heartbeat, Laurelland was so far behind the horizon that even the strongest fliers would not dare a crossing.

There were fairies there, of course there were. Wherever plants grew, fairies arose to tend them. But who or what they might be like was anyone's guess. Most had opted to stay on what was now Epiphyllia. Only a few had departed with Laurelland, and what became of them, who could say? Belek had nearly been among them, but at the last moment had decided that being with their family was the most important thing of all. Sen would remember that day forever.

[holdmytesseract]

Finally got to read this - and aaaaaahhhhh, bestiiiiie! I fucking loved it! 🥹😭😍

"I'll make a note to cover up a little more tomorrow," you murmured, absentmindedly tracing the curls of his chest hairs with your fingertips, silently stewing in your own irrational jealous annoyance because of the comments so carelessly thrown his way. "Sorry, sweetie."

Aaaaaand I am already a mess. 🫠 Bestie. I knew that this was coming, but B E S T I E, I... Chest hair is my undoing. 🥴🫡

"Because I'm yours," you finished for him, placing a soft kiss on the mark on his shoulder from your wakeup call shenanigans this morning that became quite prominent. "And that same subject of their stupid little daydreams gave you that."

I melted. I straight up MELTED. 🫠

"Answer the door, then, my love."

Oh.Ho.Hoooo! Someone's gonna be in SERIOUS trouble. 😈

I know you're not ready yet, but I want you to know that I am. I've always been.

I need an inhaler. Right now. 😮‍💨😍

"Yeah, no…fuck that. If we're painting a picture, I'm making sure she doesn't have any room for misinterpretation," you told him with a cheeky little wink as you slipped the jersey over your head, indulging yourself of the view of your boyfriend walking into the bathroom without a stitch of clothing on him before you answered the door to a visibly irritated and bewildered Brynne.

YESS! YOU GO GIRL! Show this bitch that Tommy belongs to us! 🔥

Maybe not close enough. "Wow, your brain must be extra smooth," you scoffed, cutting her off again. "You really wanna know what my boyfriend would think? Why don't we go ask him." You turned away from her to call out in the direction of the bathroom. "Hey sweetie, you know I'm wearing your jersey, right?"

I love Y/N. Omg. 😂 Give 'er hell, girl!

The second she stepped back from the doorway, you closed the door on her, not even giving her a chance to let out a snarky comment in return. That didn't stop her from yelling out in the hallway, however. "He'll get tired of you! You don't deserve him, you snobby little bitch!"

SHUT UP, BRYNNE! 😡

All the words you had stopped in a lump at the back of your throat. The only thing you could do was throw your arms around his neck and pull him into a kiss that you tried to pour your heart into. Words were never your forte. "I love you," you breathed out, letting out a little squeal when you felt his hands grasp the backs of your thighs to lift you into his arms and make you wrap your legs around him.

😩😩😍😍 HE IS SO PERFECT, I CAAAAN'T. 🫠 I want that, too. Where can I get my very own Tomathy? 🥺

Bestie, that was perfect. Just perfect. I can't wait to read more! 😍 Until then... ✨️sprays more delulu perfume✨️

after hours visits

'one look and they'll know' collection masterlist See my full list of works here!

Placement: hours after 'a tale of ice baths and hot sauce'

Summary: An unwelcome visitor knocks at the door of Tom's hotel room while you two were trying to enjoy your evening together

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: 18+ | smuttish steamy moments (minors & pearl clutchers please exit the chat…like right now); coitus interruptus; language; insecure reader moment towards the end; mentions of cheating (not Tom, our precious meow meow would never); Brynne (yeah she's a warning now) [let me know if i missed anything!]

Things to be aware of: established relationship

"I think we should break the facade," Tom exhaled softly, his breathing already evened out while he held you to his naked body in a blissful post-coital haze, fingers aimlessly stroking your hair. "There were far too many comments today that had me fuming, it physically hurt me to hold back my tongue. Those immature, disrespectful--" He let out a sigh, chest muscles tensing under your touch telling you he was getting worked up over just the memory of how you were undoubtedly the topic of immature locker room chatter. What with your flowy little outfit earlier today and the hickeys your boyfriend so generously placed throughout your neck last night and early this morning.

"I'll make a note to cover up a little more tomorrow," you murmured, absentmindedly tracing the curls of his chest hairs with your fingertips, silently stewing in your own irrational jealous annoyance because of the comments so carelessly thrown his way. "Sorry, sweetie."

"Why are you apologizing for their disrespect, goddess?"

"Force of habit," you sighed. "And I know it gets to you that these guys are just flat out disgusting because they think they can be, so if I can ease that a bit I can just--"

"I don't want you to prioritize anyone's comfort but your own, and they'll make those comments even if you're wearing sweats. What ticked me off wasn't that your clothes made them let out those revolting comments, but that they said those things and I couldn't say anything to get them to stop. That the subject of their sexual daydreams was already unavailable because--"

"Because I'm yours," you finished for him, placing a soft kiss on the mark on his shoulder from your wakeup call shenanigans this morning that became quite prominent. "And that same subject of their stupid little daydreams gave you that."

He tilted your chin upwards, pressing his lips to yours and letting out a sound of contentment when you let him deepen the kiss and his tongue began to gently tangle with yours. "Yes you did, sweetheart," he mumbled against your lips, stealing another kiss as he wrapped his free arm around you to pull you on top of him, pressing your chests together. "I didn't like having to bite my tongue when they were being so vile about you, talking about how you were probably a hellcat followed by bitter retorts of you probably being a lousy lay. They shouldn't be so bold to talk about you. They're unworthy to even be saying your name let alone thinking such lewd thoughts that should only be mine."

"Then tell them exactly that," you told him, kissing along his jawline until you felt the tension in him start to subside. "We said we would keep things private, not secret. And if our privacy comes at a price that one of us isn't willing to pay anymore, then we start making it…less private." You began to smirk against his skin when you heard the most minute whimpers once you started kissing his neck. "Besides, just because we're not super quiet about it doesn't mean we're suddenly gonna start fucking in the middle of the field because I for one do not want to have to wash the grass off of me," you finished with a little giggle, letting out a squeal when his hands grasped your waist and began to maneuver you again, sliding you easily down his body until your hips were nearly aligned with his.

"Sometimes I'm convinced there's still sand on me from Ibiza," he chuckled, playfully nipping at your shoulder when you started laughing along. The memory played in your head so vividly of the day you made a mental note that while 'sex on the beach' made for a naughty bucket list item and the occasional indulgent drink, it wasn't meant to be more than that.

"Impossible," you murmured, letting out a soft moan when your lips met his again in a delicate kiss. "We've checked. More than twice. It's been years." You both laughed into your kiss, the sound quickly turning into breathy moans when you felt him lining himself up at your entrance. "Again?" you asked him breathlessly, fighting back the urge to make a quip about his stamina knowing full well that if you did, you'd be feeling the consequences of that comment until well after the match was done on Sunday.

"You should know by now that I'm nowhere near finished with you for--"

Knock knock knock

"What in the world--We didn't order anything!" Tom called out toward the direction of the door, the lust quickly returning to his expression as if you two were never interrupted to begin with when he turned back to face you, his hands moving your hips so that they started rolling against his and making you delirious for him again. "Now, before we were so rudely interrupted--"

Knock knock knock

"Fucking dammit," you hissed out, your voice dropping an octave into your more 'boss lady domineering' tone and making you feel the tip of his length twitching against you in response. "Really?"

"You know the effect you have on me, goddess. After all this time are you honestly surprised?" he quipped back, nipping at your skin again as he started to move you again, only this time it was on to your side of the bed. No doubt so he could make himself somewhat decent and address whoever was on the other side of the door.

That was until you heard the person in question speak.

"Mr. Hiddleston? It's uhm…I'm from staff and I was wondering if you needed anything from me—I mean us before we all locked up for the night?"

"Fucking hell, it's Brynne," you spat out, the dislike even more pronounced when you said her name. "The fuck is she doing here?"

"And does committee staff really go door to door asking if players need anything or…?" he trailed off, hand immediately wrapping around yours when you sat up from the bed, your shoulders squared as if you were readying yourself for a face off.

"We had no more duties for the night. And I was the one that locked up. Hours ago." Your blood began to boil when her words from this morning about 'shooting her shot' came barreling back to you. "This bitch is here to try her chances with you. Again," you seethed, the gesture of his thumb stroking the back of your hand doing nothing to soothe you.

"Answer the door, then, my love."

His words broke through your raging thoughts, your gaze finding his like you were looking for confirmation that you understood exactly what he was saying. "You're sure?"

He brought your hand to his lips, kissing your knuckles as he kept your gaze with those unfairly beautiful eyes like there was a star that paid rent just behind them. "You're clearly distressed with how brazen she's become. Don't get me wrong, I adore how insatiable we get when either of us becomes a touch possessive." He scooted a bit closer to you, eyebrows scrunching together in a second's irritation when Brynne started talking again outside, wrapping his arm around you and pressing a line of delicate kisses from your shoulder across your collarbone. "But your prolonged discomfort is too high a price to pay for our privacy. I refuse to endure you paying it for the rest of this week."

"You're sure you want this?" you choked out, whimpering against his lips when he sought yours out. You mentally smacked yourself for even asking it. You knew exactly where he stood when it came to your relationship. His words from a few years ago echoed tauntingly in your head.

I know you're not ready yet, but I want you to know that I am. I've always been.

"Completely," he murmured against your lips, pressing one last kiss before stepping off the bed and starting to make his way to the closet. "I'll get you a robe--What are you up to, sweetheart?"

He began to smirk as you shook your head, standing from the bed yourself and walking over to his discarded jersey on the floor. "Yeah, no…fuck that. If we're painting a picture, I'm making sure she doesn't have any room for misinterpretation," you told him with a cheeky little wink as you slipped the jersey over your head, indulging yourself of the view of your boyfriend walking into the bathroom without a stitch of clothing on him before you answered the door to a visibly irritated and bewildered Brynne.

"Mister Hi--Oh, Y/N. I'm so sorry, I must've gotten the wrong room." She plastered on a wide smile as her gaze nearly felt like nails on a board the second she clocked Tom's jersey looking like an oversized t-shirt dress on you.

"Well hey Brynne," you greeted her with an equally fake wide smile, taking note of the lacy navy blue silk camisole and shorts she was wearing. "You look all dolled up. Are you looking for someone?"

She started to pull at the hem of her shorts, suddenly seemingly self-conscious at how scantily dressed she really was. "Uhh…yeah. I could've sworn this was Player 6's room, but I must've remembered wrong do you rem--"

"No no, you're in the right place," you answered simply, practically seeing the gears turning in her head as she put the bigger picture together. Come on you're so close. Figure it out and get the fuck out of here, you sneered in your head.

Her expression quickly became haughty, looking like a kid that just caught their classmate stealing the answer key to a major test. "And what exactly would your boyfriend have to say about you being here? Wearing Hiddleston's jersey and probably nothing else? Or maybe…he's on your list and now your boyfriend that you claimed earlier today you were so happy and in love with is back in your room trying to pretend that he's okay with--"

Maybe not close enough. "Wow, your brain must be extra smooth," you scoffed, cutting her off again. "You really wanna know what my boyfriend would think? Why don't we go ask him." You turned away from her to call out in the direction of the bathroom. "Hey sweetie, you know I'm wearing your jersey, right?"

"Hold on, he's--"

Tom's answer, echoed by the bathroom tiles, stopped her words short. "Yes and it's an outright crime that you're not letting me see you wearing my jersey. So if you could please do away with our visitor, that would be great, my love."

You turned back to face your visitor who was now visibly seething at you, her face contorted into an expression of pure indignation. "You can go now," you told her as calmly as you could manage, clearing your throat and letting your voice drop an octave lower before you continued. "There's nothing you could offer him that he couldn't get from me."

The second she stepped back from the doorway, you closed the door on her, not even giving her a chance to let out a snarky comment in return. That didn't stop her from yelling out in the hallway, however. "He'll get tired of you! You don't deserve him, you snobby little bitch!"

Much as you tried to let the words just roll off your back like you'd done for the better part of the last decade, on nights like this they still stung. They still got to you. Just thinking about how easy it was before to have a relationship slip through your fingers over someone just like Brynne that so audaciously made her way to your then boyfriend's hotel room while he was on a business trip.

The half-hour sobbing phone call where he managed to blubber up a guilt trip of how you shouldn't "just throw away a year long relationship over something that meant nothing".

"You think I don't know that?" you mumbled, deadpanned, trying to block out her sardonic yelling muffled by the door.

You'd gotten so lost in your unwelcome trip down memory lane to your time before Tom that you didn't hear your boyfriend's footsteps padding toward you until his hands gently grasped your shoulders, coaxing you to turn and face him.

"It seems she refuses to receive the message that she's not welcome," he commented, looking intently at your expression and gauging where your thoughts were. "Y/N?" When he called your name, you tried to shake all the haunting memories from your head, giving him a bright smile. "Don't do that, sweetheart. Don't wear your mask around me." He shook his head at you, framing your face with his hands before kissing your fake smile away.

"I can't not hear her," you admitted. You could actually feel your ears straining from your efforts to block out her bitterness from the other side of the door.

The feel of Tom pressing tender kisses to your temple had you letting out the breath you realized you were holding, feeling as if he was lifting away a weight at your chest. "Just focus on me, goddess. Her words mean nothing to us." He kissed his way down to your lips, murmuring against your skin, "If she insists on trying to make us listen to her childish remarks, then it's only right for us to return the favor."

He wrapped his arm around your waist to pull you flush against him, holding you steady when your knees went weak as he licked into your mouth. You felt his smirk when you let out a muffled moan from him tracing along the roof of your mouth. You could barely gasp out any words when he pulled away. "What--"

"If she won't leave then she'll simply have to stay out there and hear us." He moved you until you felt your back against the door, his fingers skimming the sides of your body over his shirt. "Hear how much I love you…" He pressed a trail of soft kisses down the side of your face and along your jawline, just like you had minutes earlier. "How devoted I am to you…"

He proceeded to suck another bruise into a spot behind your ear, nipping at your skin when you let out an indecent moan that you were sure was heard by your neighboring rooms. You vaguely wondered if it was loud enough that you two were practically goading someone to call security with a noise complaint against you, but as you felt Tom's lips latch on to the base of your throat and proceed to give it the same treatment, you realized that you honestly couldn't bring yourself to care that much.

"And most importantly," he mumbled as he kissed at a spot above your heart, wrapping his arms around you in a gentle yet firm embrace. "How no matter how hard anyone tries, there is no one that will ever succeed in taking me from you." He pressed his forehead to yours, brushing his nose across yours. "My body, my heart, they're yours, goddess. They've always been."

All the words you had stopped in a lump at the back of your throat. The only thing you could do was throw your arms around his neck and pull him into a kiss that you tried to pour your heart into. Words were never your forte. "I love you," you breathed out, letting out a little squeal when you felt his hands grasp the backs of your thighs to lift you into his arms and make you wrap your legs around him.

"And I love you." His lips never left yours as he leveraged you against the door, grinding his hips against yours while he slowly lifted the hem of his jersey up to your stomach, only pulling away when he playfully swatted your hands away when you made a motion to take the garment off. "No no, sweetheart. You know how I adore you in my clothes. The jersey stays on."

A/N: Aight it took me a while and honestly I've been on a slump the last few weeks but it's here and I hope y'all are still enjoying where I"m taking the story because…there's a reason I've turned this into an entire collection and lemme just tell you all right now: There's more coming from this couple 🥹🥹

Not right now though because I'm working on 'relinquish the crown' next. 😅🫡

everything taglist: @simplyholl @loopsisloops @imalovernotahater @coldnique @loz-3 @huntress-artemiss @salempoe @vickie5446 @athalialaufeyson @lokiprompts @kats72 @kikster606 @evelyn-kingsley @lokixryss @thomase1 @mischief2sarawr @peaches1958 @lovingchoices14 @lunarnights95 @goblingirlsarah @iamlokisgloriouspurpose @creationsbyme @maple-seed @mjsthrillernp @ladyofthestayingpower @mygfloki @sititran @glitterylokislut @ozymdias @fictive-sl0th @lokidbadguy @mochie85 @silverfire475 @joyful-enchantress @elizabethmidnight2017 @holdmytesseract @smolvenger @lokidokieokie @lunarnights95 @superficialdomina @gigglingtiggerv2

[helloalycia]

first impressions [one] // lena luthor

summary: you aren't entirely aware of who owns L-Corp, making for an awkward first impression

warning/s: none.

author's note: this was posted literally 2 years ago on my wattpad with the intention of writing 3 parts and i never finished it until recently so thought i’d post it here too! enjoy <3

two / three / four / masterlist / wattpad

"L-Corp," I mumbled, looking up at the tall building before me. "Huh."

I felt a little out of place as I walked through the front doors of the place I'd never been to in my life. I was supposed to be meeting my sister, Y/S/N, here as her shift finished, and we were going to go out for lunch.

Upon entry, I immediately noticed the plethora of security guards standing around, armed and surveilling the area. I wondered why a company would need so much security, but then again, I remembered I didn't know much about the company in general.

As of a few days ago, I was a new National City resident, having moved from England to be with my sister. She was the only one of the four Y/L/N kids to move to America and away from the family. We were still pretty close despite the distance, and after we talked about me wanting a new environment to work in, she invited me to move in with her. Many legalities and suitcases later, I came to National City with the excitement of learning about the strange city.

It was my first time in America, let alone National City, so I was still adjusting to a lot of things. I also had no idea what Y/S/N's job actually was. I knew she was a scientist at L-Corp, but that's about it. She would begin to tell me whenever I asked, and then her explanation would turn into excited rambling about science and I'd lose interest. Art and graphic design was more my forte.

All I knew was that she worked at L-Corp and did science-y stuff that she loved. It didn't explain the extra security in the building though.

I approached the giant reception desk and smiled at the receptionist politely.

"Hi, can I help you with anything?" she asked, forcing a smile and making me feel mildly uncomfortable.

"Er, yes," I answered, clearing my throat. "I'm waiting for my sister, Y/S/N? She works here and I'm meeting her for lunch."

The woman did some typing on her computer before nodding and meeting my gaze with her tired one. "You can wait here for her, but you'll need a visitor's pass."

I glanced at my watch and tried to make the woman's job easier by saying, "She'll be out any minute, there's no need for the badge if it's easier for you."

The receptionist was already motioning to the tablet on her desk. "Everybody in this building has to wear a badge, even if they work here. It's protocol."

"I–"

"If you look into the camera and take a picture, then write your full name, I can have your pass made."

I pressed my lips together, deciding to just listen to her as she seemed adamant and was losing her patience. I nodded and followed the instructions on the tablet, whilst wondering why it was necessary if Y/S/N would be here any minute. It's not like I was going inside the actual building, I was still in the entrance.

After a moment passed, she handed me a laminated card that had my photo and name on one side, and a boldly printed 'VISITOR' on the other side.

"Thanks," I said awkwardly, pinning it to my jacket.

I backed up and decided to head to the water tank, grabbing a cup of water. It was literally pointless to wear the badge, but clearly this place was a lot stricter than they let on. I mean, they had metal detectors to get further in the building – it was super secure.

I leaned against the wall next to the water tank and checked my watch again. I was getting hungry and Y/S/N was taking forever.

As I was sipping from my cup, I people-watched subtly, noticing the many people walking around the place. Some wore suits, majority wore lab coats, and they all wore badges which made me suppress a smile of amusement. One of the said people walking about approached the water tank beside me. She was a young, dark-haired woman wearing a white blouse tucked into jeans, and I noticed her lack of badge instantly.

"You might want to put your badge on or the receptionist might rugby tackle you if she sees you without it," I said to the woman, making her look up with confusion. Admittedly, her bright green eyes startled me a little, and her confusion transformed into one of amusement.

"I'm sorry?" she asked gently, filling her cup with water.

"Do you work here?" I asked, tossing my empty cup in the bin.

She suppressed a laugh. "Are you new here?"

I smiled. "Yeah, how d'you know?"

She raised her eyebrows, humour dancing in her eyes as she glanced at her shoes. "Lucky guess."

I was wondering what she meant, but my phone buzzed and I saw I had a text from my sister. She was asking where I was, and after telling her, I looked up to the stranger, simply making conversation to pass the time.

"This place is pretty cool, but the people seem a bit uptight," I explained. "That's why I was warning you about your badge."

My phone buzzed again and I saw it was my sister, letting me know she was already outside. I sighed and let her know I was coming before looking up to the humoured woman.

"It doesn't matter, I'm off now," I said, straightening up. I took my badge off and held it out to her with a smile. "You can have mine. Just maybe don't turn it the way with my face on it."

She quirked an eyebrow, chuckling a little as she accepted the badge. "Thank you..."

I gave her one last smile before leaving the building, hoping the receptionist wouldn't notice my lack of badge. I soon spotted Y/S/N outside, waiting by a taxi. I joined her and gave her a hug.

"Hey, I thought we were meeting inside," I said with a confused smile, sliding in the backseat beside her. "I had to deal with the receptionist who looked like she'd rather be anywhere else but there."

"I'm pretty sure I told you to meet me outside," she said, thinking to herself, before shaking her head. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'm starving."

"Same," I agreed. "To a food establishment we go!"

She rolled her eyes at my stupidity, but I saw the smile on her face, making me grin.

"I'll be sure to give you a proper tour of the place soon," she said, facing me slightly, "but what do you think of it so far?"

I nodded, impressed. "It's pretty cool. A bit too serious for my liking–"

"Anything is too serious for your liking," she cut me off knowingly.

I chuckled. "True, but I like it. I'm proud of you, Y/S/N." She smiled to herself as I added, "What does the 'L' in L-Corp even stand for anyway?"

She raised an eyebrow judgementally. "Seriously?"

"What?" I said defensively, shrugging. "I was never into all this stuff, you know that."

She sighed, staring at me disappointingly. "L for Luthor?"

I widened my eyes with realisation. "Oh! Like Superman's arch nemesis Luthor?" I furrowed my eyebrows. "Wait, you work for Lex Luthor? I thought he was, like, in prison."

She massaged the bridge of her nose, fed up already, making me think I was wrong. "His sibling, Y/N."

I was surprised, once again. "Lex Luthor has a sibling?!"

She pursed her lips, breathing out through her nose. "Never mind, Y/N."

I shrugged, getting comfortable in my seat. I was too hungry to follow up with any more questions.

————————

My next visit to the apparently well-known L-Corp was about a few days later when Y/S/N was giving me a tour of the labs where she worked. She signed me up for an official visitation badge, a permanent one as I was her sister, which I was accepting from the same grumpy receptionist as last time.

When I pinned it to my shirt, I looked to Y/S/N with a cheesy smile. "I feel so fancy."

"Oh, Y/N." Y/S/N sighed and led me to the metal detectors and security guards.

After getting checked and confirmed we were good to go, the guards waved us off and I followed her away.

"Why is it so strict around here?" I asked curiously, glancing behind me as the security checked more employees before letting them through. "D'you have to do that every time you come in?"

"This place has a lot of sectors," she explained. "A lot of those sectors deal with sensitive stuff, so security have to be careful who they let in. You'd be surprised how many rival companies try to look around and steal stuff from us."

I raised my eyebrows. "Wow, it's kinda like you're a secret agent."

She gave me a knowing look. "Hilarious."

I smiled widely, trailing after her like a lost puppy. She showed me around on the way to her labs – a few of the many they had – and let me look around at some cool gadgets. The whole place looked like it was from the future, using technology that didn't even exist outside this building. Apparently it was all patented by L-Corp, designed by the big man (or woman, apparently) herself.

"And these are the labs!" Y/S/N said, motioning to a lab we stepped inside of.

There were a few technicians around, along with some scientists, and everyone looked extremely focused on whatever they were doing.

"This is pretty cool," I admitted, eyes flickering around between everything with amazement. "I understand none of it, but it's pretty cool."

She smiled and motioned for me to follow her. "This is my desk, c'mon."

There was a fancy, white sleek raised desk in the corner of the lab, overlooking the stretch of the room. It had a monitor on it, with some work bits and bobs, and a framed family photograph in the corner.

"Hey, there's us," I said with a grin, grabbing the photo. It was a photo from over a year ago, with our parents in the centre, surrounded by all four kids.

"Gotta remember what your stupid faces look like everyday," Y/S/N said jokingly, sitting on the stool at her desk.

"It's cute," I said, setting the frame back, before looking around. "So, you're in charge of these people? They have to do what you tell them?"

"I mean, when you put it like that, yes," she said, before giving me a knowing look. "You make me sound like a dictator."

"I don't see anyone else with their own desk in here...," I trailed off teasingly, making her roll her eyes. I laughed and added, "I'm kidding."

"You're such a pain in my arse," she mumbled, though her lips were twitching into a smile. "Why did I invite you here?"

"Because I'm your favourite sister, duh," I said knowingly, jumping up to sit on the lab table.

"Get down, Y/N," she sighed, and I frowned but jumped off the table.

I heard squealing and furrowed my eyebrows, looking around until my eyes settled on two cages.

"Oh my god, look how cute they are!" I exclaimed, running to the mice. "Can I pick them up?"

"Y/N..."

"Doctor Y/L/N, I'm so sorry to interrupt..."

We both spun around and I saw one of Y/S/N's colleagues stood there with an apologetic smile. I returned the smile before looking to Y/S/N, refraining from laughing.

"Doctor, huh?" I teased her, and she pinched my arm subtly, making me jump.

"What is it, Tia?" Y/S/N asked as I rubbed my sore arm.

I barely listened as the two talked about something or the other, until this Tia woman walked away and Y/S/N called my name.

"Huh?" I asked, looking up.

"I've gotta check on something," she said, before smiling apologetically. "I won't be long. You think you can stay put for five minutes?"

"That depends, can I pet the mice?"

"Wear gloves," she insisted, grabbing some rubber gloves from behind me and holding them out. "Please don't cause trouble."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm an adult, too, you know."

She raised an eyebrow. "I sometimes question that fact."

I put the gloves on and waved goodbye to her before turning around to face the two mice cages. A smile fell upon my lips as I opened one of them up and pulled out the fluffy white mouse.

"Hey, little guy," I cooed, grinning at the mouse as I stroked him with my other hand. "What's your name, huh?"

I scrunched my face at how cute he was and looked at his cage, hoping to find a name.

"Oh, little guy is a little girl, huh?" I said when I saw the name tag. "I'm sorry for assuming you were a male mouse, Julie. That's what twenty-five years of living in a patriarchal society does to you, yes it does."

I stroked Julie's cute fur and found it adorable how her little feet would tap against the palm of my hand.

"You know, I always wanted a pet mouse, but mum was allergic," I said to her. "I guess I could get one now, but I don't think Y/S/N would be happy with that since she just let me move into her place."

I continued to coo over the mouse for a few more minutes before I heard someone say something, earning my attention.

"Excuse me, are you lost?"

"Oh, no, I'm–" I looked up to explain myself, then stopped when I recognised the woman. "Hey, you're the girl from the other day!"

She seemed to recognise me as well, as she raised her eyebrows with surprise, looking at me closely.

"I'm not lost," I clarified with a surprised but welcoming smile. "I'm here with my sister. She's showing me around the place and– oh, here she comes now!"

I looked over the green-eyed girl's shoulder when I saw Y/S/N approaching us, though she seemed a little shaken up as she looked between the stranger and I.

I knew her well enough to know she was forcing a nervous smile as she stopped by us both.

"Er, can I help you, Miss Luthor?" she greeted the stranger, and it took a moment for me to catch on.

I lost my smile when I realised aloud, "Wait, Miss Luthor as in L-Corp as in owner of this building as in your boss Miss Luthor?"

My sister was glaring at me behind her smile as she nodded. "That's the one, Y/N."

I looked to Miss Luthor and swallowed hard before smiling with embarrassment. She seemed to find this whole thing amusing as she met my gaze, holding back a smile.

Holding out her hand, she introduced herself. "It's Lena Luthor." She glanced at the badge on my shirt, adding, "Y/N Y/L/N. Nice to meet you."

I could feel Y/S/N's eyes urging me to make a good impression, so I outstretched my hand to return Lena's handshake, but realised I was still holding Julie.

"Oh, shit," I mumbled, before giving her an apologetic look and quickly returning the mouse to her cage. Yanking my gloves off and throwing them in the nearby bin, I finally returned Lena's handshake. "You, too. Er, your building is very nice. It's big and, er, science-y."

I cringed inwardly as I saw Y/S/N facepalm.

"Thank you, I think," Lena says slowly, unsure whether it was a compliment.

When pulling my hand away, I added with a sheepish smile, "Do you think it would be possible to forget all that stuff I said yesterday about the badge... and the receptionist... and everyone being uptight...?"

Once again, Y/S/N looked like she wanted to kill me whilst simultaneously trying to stop herself from passing out. Thankfully, Lena didn't seem like the type to get offended so easily, as she glanced down with a suppressed smile.

"Sure, why not?" she finally answered, making me breathe out with relief. I hadn't totally screwed up Y/S/N's future career, phew.

"Awesome," I mumbled, chewing on my lower lip awkwardly.

"I hope you enjoy the rest of your tour, Y/N," she said, eyes meeting mine again and making me freeze in place. She looked to my sister, adding, "And you with the rest of your day, Y/S/N."

"Thank you, Miss Luthor," Y/S/N mumbled with embarrassment, smiling as the CEO walked away.

When she was out of sight, I breathed out with relief, only to get smacked on the arm by Y/S/N.

"Hey, what was that for?" I asked with a pout, yet again rubbing my sore arm. "She's totally cool!"

"What did you say to her?!" she whisper-shouted nervously. "When did you even bloody meet her?!"

I gave her a knowing look. "If you must know, I met her when I was waiting by the reception desk the other day. She was getting some water and I gave her my visitor's badge because I thought she'd lost hers... then I kind of proceeded to talk about how uptight everyone was..." She slapped me again, making me say, "Ow! Look, in my defence, she wasn't exactly dressed like she worked here. She wasn't wearing a uniform or anything, and she looked way too hot to be a lab rat."

"Y/N!" Cue another slap here. "She might hear you, you plonker!"

I couldn't help but laugh, despite my sore arm aching now. "She's long gone and I'll literally never see her again, okay? It's not that big a deal."

"God, I hate you..."

————————

It had been a few weeks since my first (and last, at least for the time being) visit to L-Corp. I'd been settling into National City as best as I could, but that mostly meant staying in and finishing off some technical stuff with the move. Y/S/N was at work during the day, leaving me to move myself in, quite literally, and hang out with her in the evenings.

It was a sunny Tuesday afternoon when she was at work and I was working from home, when I decided to get some fresh air and a bite to eat. Y/S/N always talked about how delicious the food from Noonan's was, so I figured I'd give it a try and pick up some food from there.

That's where I found myself, sat at the bar as I waited for the server to finish packaging the food I'd ordered for takeaway. As I distracted myself with my phone, I felt a presence beside me as I vaguely heard someone paying for a meal. A minute passed when I heard said person calling my name.

Certainly surprised, since I knew literally no one in National City, I looked up and was definitely not expecting Lena Luthor to be smiling at me.

"Miss Luthor?" I said, eyebrows raised.

"Please, call me Lena," she insisted, a friendly smile on her lips as she rested her bag on the stool beside me.

I returned her smile. "Okay, hi, Lena. It's a small world, eh?"

"I guess so," she agreed, and I was mildly distracted by her red lipstick that complimented her eyes. "How are you?"

"I'm good," I said, doing that awkward nod when you knew the conversation would dry up after the initial greetings. "And you?"

"Same here," she agreed, and I readied myself for the awkward silence until she asked, "Are you waiting for someone?"

I shook my head politely. "No, I'm actually just waiting for my order. My sister recommended the place and I thought I'd treat myself. See what the fuss is."

Lena nodded, like she was listening to my every word and was genuinely interested rather than just being polite. "Your sister has good taste. I have a lot of my meetings here just for the food."

I couldn't help but smile as she chuckled to herself.

"I just finished one actually," she continued.

"Well I hope it went well," I said, whilst accepting the takeout bag from the bartender who had returned. I gave him a grateful smile before looking to Lena again, joking, "The only meetings I have nowadays are over video call, so there's no need to worry about what the client likes to eat. Or about wearing pants, now that I think about it."

Lena laughed and admittedly, I felt butterflies in my stomach at the sound. I wasn't blind, she was clearly a beautiful woman, okay?

"What is it that you do exactly?" she asked curiously, taking a seat on the stool.

"I'm a graphic designer. Freelance for about half a year. That's why I decided to move up here with my sister," I answered with a nod. "Wanted something different."

She nodded, genuinely intrigued, to my surprise. "That sounds fun."

"I mean, it doesn't change the world, but it gets me by," I said playfully, knowing enough to know L-Corp had a huge impact on National City and beyond.

She rolled her eyes dismissively, clearly not knowing how to accept the compliment, and I smiled widely at how cute she looked doing so.

"I've only been here a few weeks," I continued, knowing she'd prefer the attention off her. "It's not too bad. National City is vastly different to Manchester. For starters, you have flying superheroes."

She cracked a smile. "Well I hope that you're settling in well."

"Thank you," I said, tilting my head appreciatively. "I haven't had the chance to sightsee or get around much, since I've been busy unpacking and sorting out some things, but I'm hoping to do that soon. Maybe I can finally make some friends who aren't my sister."

Her green eyes sparkled with amusement as she said, "I'm sure that you'll make a lot of new friends here. The people of National City are very welcoming."

"Clearly," I said, motioning to her with a smile. "You must know first-hand."

She lets out a quiet, breathy laugh to herself. "That's not exactly the case."

I raised an eyebrow. "You're the CEO of a massive company and you expect me to believe you don't have a giant social circle?"

Clearly entertained with my obliviousness, she pressed her lips together and looked to me curiously. "What do you know about the Luthor name, Y/N?"

I furrowed my eyebrows with mild confusion, a small smile on my lips. "I mean, I know my sister works at L-Corp, which I now know is owned by you. And, erm..."

I knew about her brother as well, but I didn't think it would be best to bring up the cute girl's criminal family when we were getting on well. She seemed to notice my reluctance and reassured me with a knowing smile.

"It's alright, you can say it," she said gently.

Reluctantly, I said, "I know that Lex Luthor is your brother and he tried to kill Superman..."

"There you go," she quipped with a slight grimace. "That's the Luthor name. People don't really want to be friends with the sister of the egomaniac who tried to kill one of Earth's beloved heroes. They'd rather exploit her."

Trying to lighten the mood, I offered a small smile. "I doubt you're a criminal genius like your brother. I mean, you totally could be if you wanted to, I'm sure. You've got the genius thing down. But criminal? Clearly not."

She began to laugh, running a hand through her curly hair. "That's nice of you to say, Y/N."

I shrugged, suddenly intrigued by the woman before me. "The way I see it is, I have a brother who is awesome at sports, another sister who loves teaching, and, of course, Y/S/N who is a literal doctor. But that doesn't make me a football-playing science teacher, does it?"

"I guess you're right," she agreed, lips pressed together in a shy smile.

"If people don't see that, then they're kinda stupid," I said, half-joking as I smiled at her brightly. "Also, aren't evil masterminds supposed to be super scary-looking and ugly? No offence to your brother an' all. You're kinda the opposite, Lena."

She breathed out, eyes avoiding mine as her cheeks dusted pink and a flustered smile played on her lips.

I realised I went a little too far, saying, "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. My sister says I have a tendency to say literally everything that comes to mind, even when I'm not supposed to..."

"It's fine," she assured me, finally meeting my eyes. "I kind of picked up on that."

I relaxed my shoulders and mirrored her smile, glad I hadn't offended her or overstepped.

"I feel like I've kept you," I suddenly said, realising we had been talking for longer than a polite greeting. "You've probably got a busy day ahead."

"I think it's my fault, sorry," she said, a little embarrassed. "I enjoyed the conversation though."

The longer I stared at her, the more I was beginning to really like her smile. "Me, too."

Her eyes flickered down to the takeout bag in my hand and she frowned. "Gosh, your food must be cold by now."

I looked down and realised. "Oh, don't worry. I'll just reheat it when I get home."

"Now that's not a good first impression of this place," she said, before calling over the bartender.

"No, wait, Lena–"

"Hi, please can I get–" she grabbed the bag from my hand before I could stop her, and held it out to the bartender, "–this order again but fresh?"

"Of course, Miss Luthor," the man replied, taking the bag from her and leaving us.

I stared at her, partially surprised and partially impressed.

"I tip generously and they appreciate it," she said dismissively, shrugging.

"You didn't have to do that, I seriously would've been okay reheating it," I said, feeling a little bad.

"It's my fault, I kept you," she said, standing up.

I stood up, too, accepting the new bag of food from the bartender when he returned.

"How are you getting back, if you don't mind me asking?" she said when we walked outside together.

"I was just gonna walk it, it's not that far," I said with a shrug.

"I don't mind giving you a ride," she said generously. "I've got the car." She pointed to a black jeep parked ahead and honestly, at this point, I was beginning to realise just how important and rich she was.

I suppressed a laugh and shook my head. "It's fine, Lena, thank you anyway. That's... that's too much."

Something flashed across her expression, making her lose her smile, as she nodded immediately. "Right, of course, of course, sorry, I didn't mean to overstep."

"Hey, you didn't," I reassured her, hoping she wasn't offended. "I could use the exercise anyway."

She smiled. "Right. Well, thank you for the lovely chat. Maybe I'll see you around."

"Yeah, maybe," I agreed with a similar smile. "It was cool talking to you. Definitely a better second impression than first. At least, that's what I hope."

A playful smile fell upon her lips as she said, "Both impressions were endearing, Y/N." I tried to ignore the heat on my cheeks as she continued, "Whatever you do, just don't Google me or anything. You'll definitely change your perspective of me."

I raised my eyebrows, laughter slipping from my lips. "Oh, really? How about this. I promise not to Google you if you do the opposite."

She smiled with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I promise not to Google you if, upon our next meeting, if it ever happens, you tell me the strangest thing you can find when Googling my name. I'm not famous like you, so there's no doubt it'll be hilarious."

She began to laugh when she understood. "You're the strangest person I've ever met, Y/N."

"But...?"

She settled on a beautiful smile, eyes meeting mine, and outstretched her hand. "But you've got yourself a deal."

"Great," I said with a grin, shaking her hand to seal the deal. "Until next time, if there is a next time."

"I hope there is at this point," she admitted, pulling her hand away.

I couldn't rid my grin as I took in her kind smile and sparkling eyes once more.

[themoontoyourshine]

Let me begin with a HUGE shoutout to Lin @ssahotchswife for all of her support. She is a big inspiration for me. She has been so patient and kind in answering all of my questions. Run (don’t walk) go follow her if you don’t already.

SUMMARY: What happens when Aaron’s neighbor has a bad dream? Will he see just how much she cares about him and his son?

PAIRING: Aaron Hotchner x Neighbor(fem)! Reader

WARNINGS: Some content may be triggering so please read before continuing. 18+ Minors DNI

INCLUDES: This chapter includes the reader having a nightmare and describing it to Aaron. In the dream her and Aaron had been taken and were being physically and mentally abused (not graphic). The reader did not know where Jack was but he is FINE! Please let me know if I miss anything.

WORD COUNT: 1,342

A/N: This was supposed to be a quick one shot but it got away from me. I currently have over 10,000 words and I’m still writing. This is chapter 1 and I plan on updating weekly. This story has a little bit of everything. Hopefully you laugh, get a little turned on, and believe in love again by the time it’s over lol. This story will eventually contain SMUT. If you are not comfortable reading smut, you may not want to start this story. This story will have between 4-6 chapters. I’ve never done anything like this so please be patient with me. Feedback is always appreciated. AGAIN, I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT I’M DOING!!! This has been on my computer for MONTHS. This new year I am officially uploading it. Please let me know if I’m tagging something wrong or if it should be somewhere else. I’m trying to give everyone a heads up as to what to expect out of this story. The last thing I want to do is trigger someone. Send me an ask if I need to make adjustments in the next chapters. Also, the only thing I own, is this work on fiction. NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED. Hopefully this starts off 2022 the right way. (with the motivation I need to finish this lol) I love all of you guys. 😘

Daydreams and Nightmares

You’d moved to DC about 4 months ago. The first people you met were your neighbors across the hall. Jack, the sweetest 8 year old on planet Earth and Aaron, his handsome FBI father. They were the only ones to officially welcome you to the building. Jack knocked on your door with a plate of cookies he decorated himself and Aaron was behind him with a bottle of wine. You invited Jack in to help you eat the cookies and Aaron in to help you with the wine. You told them that you were 21 and had just graduated college. You were supposed to start your job Monday as an ER Nurse at the local level 1 Trauma Center. Aaron had told you all about his job as Unit Chief of the BAU, his colleagues, and even about Jack’s mother. Jack told you about school, his friends, soccer, and scouts. They quickly became your very best friends. You would even watch Jack when Jessica wasn’t available. She was a doll too. You would cook dinner for Jack and Aaron when you would babysit. You would also tidy up too even though Aaron told you not to. It wasn’t like it was difficult. Aaron was a neat freak. It was mainly putting away Jack’s toys that y’all played with. He loved Lego’s. You’d put the room back together after building a blanket fort. You’d wash clothes if it needed doing and run the dishwasher after cooking. Once, when Aaron was in a bind, you’d picked up his dry cleaning. You thought he was going to have a fit. Truth be told, you loved taking care of the two of them. One of the first nights you watched Jack, he told you about his mom. He didn’t remember much but you loved the fact that he felt like he could talk to you. There were several pictures of her throughout the house. She was breathtakingly gorgeous. It didn’t take you long to develop a crush on the 41 year old agent. He was handsome, kind, funny, smart, everything you could ever want in a man.  You would flirt with him from time to time. Usually he would just cock his eyebrow and tilt his head but sometimes he would flirt back. You know he only did it to be nice but it still made your heart flutter none the less.

11:47 PM  To Aaron: Goodnight handsome

11:51 PM From Aaron: Sweet dreams neighbor ;)

11:56 PM To Aaron: Only if you’re in them, xoxo <3

You bolted upright out of a dead sleep panting and trying to catch your breath. You went to wipe the sleep from your eyes when you realized your cheeks were wet. You’d been crying in your sleep. Sure enough, your pillow was wet too. Glancing at your alarm clock, you noticed it was 2:47 AM. You hadn’t had a nightmare in years. You were shaking. This felt real. It was about Aaron. He was in trouble. Rationally, you knew he was ok but you had to see for yourself. Throwing the blankets to the foot of the bed, you walked out of your room, down the hall, through the living room and into the kitchen. You grabbed your keys out of the bowl and locked the door behind you. You and Aaron had exchanged keys in case of emergencies. It wasn’t until you were in the hall that you realized you weren’t wearing shoes, a bra, or pants for that matter. You didn’t care. You just needed to make sure Jack and Aaron were ok. After that, you could just sneak back to your apartment. You locked Aaron’s door after you entered. You slowly walked down the familiar hall and opened the first door on the left. Everything looked in perfect order except for one crucial thing, Jack wasn’t in his bed. Your heart started to speed up. You quickly scampered to the end of the hall to open the door to Aaron’s room. You slowly and quietly opened Aaron’s door as fast as humanly possible. You learned early on to be careful when waking Aaron. As soon as you were in his room you began whisper shouting his name.

“Aaron, Aaron please wake up. Aaron it’s important” you say walking towards his bed, panic in your voice and tears in your eyes.

“Y/N?” Aaron said sleepily, “What’s wrong? What are you doing here?”  

“It’s Jack, he’s not in his bed. Where is he?”

“He’s camping this weekend with the scouts. I pick him up Sunday afternoon. Come here and sit down” he says pulling the sheets back on the other side of the bed. “Why are you crying?”

“I had a bad dream. You were in trouble. When I woke up, I knew you were probably fine but I just had to see for myself” you admit, sitting with you back against the headboard and legs under the covers like Aaron. He reached over and turned on his lamp by the bed.

“I’m right here and I’m fine” he said, placing your hand on his chest so you could feel his heartbeat. You could feel its perfect rhythm under his muscles chest. It really did help. “Do you want to talk about it?” You nodded, taking your hand off of his bare chest and opting to hold his hand instead.

“I think in my dream we were a couple. I didn’t recognize the room we were in. It looked like an abandoned warehouse or something. I was handcuffed to something metal in the corner of the room. A faceless man with a hood on was hurting you and he made me watch. Even without a face, he had a vicious laugh. It was awful, Aaron” you say, crying uncontrollably at this point. “Jack wasn’t in my dream and I didn’t know if that meant he was safe or if something awful had already happened to him.” Aaron handed you a couple of tissues from his nightstand which you happily accepted.

“I’m fine and so is Jack. He called to tell me goodnight at around 8:00 PM. They go to sleep at 8:30.” You took your first deep breath then, knowing Jack was safe and sound.

“I’m sorry I barged in here at 3:00 AM and disturbed you.”

“Don’t worry about it. If anyone understands bad dreams, it’s me. I get them too. So do the people that I work with. We are all there for each other. They know they can always call me and I know I can always call them.” Your heart broke to think of Aaron having nightmares but it made sense with what he did for a living, you had just never thought of it before. Just then you let out a yawn and rested your head on Aaron’s shoulder.

“I’m just glad you’re ok.”

“Do you want to stay here a little longer? It’s fine with me if you do.” You nodded giving him a half smile. He slid back down in bed, laying his head on his pillow. You did the same, neither of you letting the others hand go.

You don’t know how long you laid next to Aaron while holding his hand and looking at his perfect face. You just remember waking up in his bed. You didn’t have to open your eyes to know the sun was up. You felt it warming your skin. Aaron’s scent on your pillow made you smile. Aaron’s arm had made its way around your waist at some point in the night. You wanted to wake up every morning like this. Deciding coffee was in your near future, you opened your eyes. At the foot of the bed stood 6 people with eyes locked on you. You started patting Aaron’s arm around your waist.

“Uh, Aaron…”

“Hmm?” he grunted against your neck.

“Aaron, we’re not alone.” That got his attention. He opened his eyes and quickly untangled himself from you to sit up straight.

[venenatd]

just friends; eren jaegar x reader

summary: you and eren are best pals and have both recently be dumped. so, a plan to get over your exes is needed! what’s better than going out on the town trying to find quick fucks >:) also eren is a smug bastard but kinda has a heart of gold??

content: smut / nsfw 18+. minors dni. (choking, unprotected sex, creampie drinking, drunk sex, possessiveness ig? dirty talk, both of them want to be dominant tbh. slight size kink, oral both m and f receiving. female bodied reader) 

i am new to this pls let me know if i should add anything!!

word count: 5.8k words of unedited content 

a/n: uh so i never thought i’d be back on my tumblr bullshit at 23 but hey after years without the app i’m back. i needed to get out the h-word and this is what happened. enjoy and i’m sorry if it’s terrible lmao

“You look different” 

Frowning at the man waiting ever so patiently for you on the sofa, you look a little defeated. “Is that meant to be a compliment, Eren?”. He sighed, raising his eyebrows at you. To be fair, maybe you did. Wearing a figure hugging black dress, that definitely just hid your ass cheeks, hair styled and sprayed in place, dark lipstick and makeup on your face. Usually Eren would have seen you in sweats, always running a little late for class, snack in hand. 

“Different isn’t bad,” he offered, checking the watch that lay on his wrist, “are we ever going to get to the bar? Your plan will fall through if you’re not careful.”

Ah, the plan. Both you and Eren were newly single. In your final year at university, having managed to keep each relationship going until almost the end. Ironic. Weren’t most meant to fail in the first year? But alas, your partners had decided it was the end within a couple of weeks each other, and as you and Eren had been close since you met on orientation day, you each took to the other for comfort. You had done the crying first, going to him the minute your call with the ex had ended. Leaving wet splotches on his shirt, he had calmed you, only for you to do the same to him later. Now the crying was done, it was time to move on, and what better advice to follow than getting under someone to get over another?

“I just need to look hot enough for a guy to fuck me.”

“What a romantic you are.”

“Shut up Er-”

Eren shifted from the couch, interrupting your usual sass, “and what about me, y/n? Do I look beautiful?”. He threw in a wink with his comment, his aura of cockiness always radiating. You rolled your eyes, before studying his figure. His dark hair half pulled back into a bun, the rest draping his neck and onto a deep emerald green silk shirt, with the top few buttons loose, tucked into dark pants. A ring on each hand, fingers with chipping black nail polish, and to top it off, a thin chain on his neck. You hated to admit it and add to his smug demeanour but... the man did look good. 

“Gorgeous as always Eren,” you said sarcastically, even if it was truthful, “I’m sure there will be a queue of women who are wanting to jump on you.”

“Not if they aren’t all taken already,” he taps at his watch. Whilst the two of you had already been drinking as he waited for you to get ready, it was definitely on the later side.

“Order the uber, and we can go.”

Walking over to him and adding shoes to your outfit, you present yourself before him, a cute little smile playing on your lips. He’s staring down at his phone, quickly going through the motions for the ride. Finally, he looks up to catch your eyes. His jade pupils flick down slightly, and he hopes you miss that they land at the cleavage you’re sporting in your current get up. He flicks your nose, earning a scowl from you and a smile from him.

“You look perfect”

The club is far fuller than you both expected, dance floor and tables taken up and crowded round. Luckily, you had managed to secure you and Eren a pair of seats at the bar, and you were currently on your third..? Fourth drink of the evening. Green eyes watch your lips carefully, as you finish the vodka and lemonade. 

“So, anyone take your fancy?” he prompts, looking around at the mess of people.

Humming, you scan the area. There’s some people you recognise from class, but plenty more you don’t know. Fucking friends seems like a bad move, even in your tipsy state, so you look to the strangers faces. They don’t look like him. Ugh. 

There’s a few options though, and as you point them out to Eren they come with brief descriptors: dark hair and stubble, wide set blonde. He tuts at the options, sarcastically letting out a “sure sure, I see the appeal”. 

“And how about you, anyone you like the look of?” you ask with a sigh.

Christ, Eren thinks to himself. It’s been long enough that he hasn’t had to look for someone else. Sure there were attractive people in the world, but with her around, he hadn’t needed to give anyone else a second look. His palm moves to the back of his neck, stretching out behind him with a huff. “Let’s look on the dance floor?” he offers, clearly not as eager as you were tonight. Moving his hand back down, he holds it out for you, pulling towards the throng of people.

He looks effervescently cool like this. Shirt open, hair starting to fall from his bun. Eren is looking around at the people surrounding the two of you. The two of you had been working in circles, allowing each other an eyeful as the club goers move around the space. As a group of guys push their way from the dance floor to the bar, you get shoved towards Eren. Heels were never quite your forte, and you stumble against him, hands on either side of his chest. Grinning down at you with that smug little smile that annoyed you so much, Eren brought large hands to your waist, pushing you away a little. But his hands stay there as he continues to sway to the music, making no effort to break the contact. And so you bring your arms up to his neck, allowing his movements to carry you on time to the song. For the first time in the past couple of weeks, you feel light. Your chest isn’t constricted by some foreign weight. It’s just you and your best friend, buzzed and free.

Colours change above you, as you look up to Eren, him down to you. A playful grin takes his lips as he pulls you a little closer, you so easily accepting the narrowing distance. Your black silk meets his deep green, chest pushing into his. You carefully analyse his features, seeing if he attempts to check you out like earlier. 

Was it the alcohol making your cheeks so warm? Lit up by a purple hue, you watch his eyes return to exploring the crowd, his hand still holding on to you. His smirk falters, his eyebrows creasing together. You’re not moving in circles anymore, Eren pausing in his movements as he thinks about what to do next. He shouldn’t lie to you, but seeing your ex at the bar would really harsh the night. Under his fingers, he can feel your body tense, suddenly unsure at how close the contact between you was. 

But Eren doesn’t want you to know, he doesn’t want you to be distracted by your ex tonight. He doesn’t want to see your hurt little face anymore. The way your eyes would be red and puffy the next day. The way he would feel your shoulders heaving under his arms. You don’t deserve that. Hell, you didn’t deserve the huge amount of shit your ex had put you through over the years he’d known you. Eren would sit back and listen to you rant, support you where he could. But fuck that guy. And he wasn’t sure what sparked in his chest, but Eren’s jade orbs are trained straight back on you. His eyebrows calm, tension releasing from them. As you can turn to scope out whatever had changed his body language so suddenly, he catches your jaw. 

Beginning to slowly move again, his eyes have narrowed, taking in the way the dress hugs you, the shine on your skin from the hot dance floor. Eren couldn’t quite figure out what was intoxicating him right now. Definitely a lot of alcohol, but also a sudden… possessiveness. He didn’t want you in pain anymore. Eren wanted you in pleasure. His breath is suddenly on your neck, making your hair raise. 

“I’ve only seen one person I’m interested in tonight.” 

“Oh?” you squeak, before clearing your throat a little. The new deep notes in his voice catch you off guard. It almost sounds like he’s… No. He’s your best friend. The little looks you’d been giving each other all night were just two people looking out for one another, two people seeing each other happy for the first time in a while. Your voice is calmer as you ask light-heartedly, “and who would that be?” 

His lips are so close to your ear. 

“You.” 

“Eren-” your hands move from behind his neck, resting on his shoulders. You need to see your best friend's face, you need to know if he’s joking right now. If he’s mocking you. When you draw back, you see his face. Smug, as always. Fuck you’ve always wanted to knock that cockiness down a peg. Cheshire smile showing his teeth and his eyes looking down at you. Half lidded eyes, pupils blown. He’s not joking. Fuck.

“Can I kiss you?” 

Your breath is caught in your throat. All too aware suddenly of each of his finger pads pressing into your skin, the contact feeling like fire with the added alcohol. But, you find yourself nodding, the yes just escaping your lips before he’s pressed into them.

Large hands travel to your hip, and up your back, pressing you into him. You can feel his body, tense in exhilaration against you, hands back around his neck. One travels up to the nape of his back, tangling into his hair and pulling him deeper into you. The music is all consuming, you can feel the bass in your body, you can feel Eren against you, you can feel the adrenaline coursing through your veins. 

Eren’s hand on your back travels up, echoing your placement on him, to hold the back of your neck. He doesn’t want you to go, you feel too good. The heat between your bodies could suffocate him. His thumb puts pressure under your jaw, he isn’t even sure you can feel it. But he can, measuring your pulse racing underneath the pad. He’s smiling into this kiss, this all consuming kiss.

His tongue swipes at your bottom lip, and you’re all too eager to allow him into your mouth. Tasting the whisky from your home, tasting the coke from the club. His teeth take your lip nipping slightly, before sucking the plump of it into his mouth. You both come up for air, eyes meeting in acknowledgment of the situation.

“Wanna get out of here?”

The drive home had only served to heap tension between you. As clearly that it was that you wanted each other, you would have to wait a while longer. Your thighs pressed together, slowly inhaling and exhaling. Going through your mind was whether this was a good idea, staring out at the city passing by you. Eren was your friend. You were dating another man two weeks ago. The same man that had previously asked you if he needed to be worried about Eren. You’d laughed it off, because it was Eren. You were brought out of your thoughts when you felt him grip your leg, a little too harshly at first, before settling, leaving a gentle pattern of circles and lines on your inner thigh. It was Eren.

Just one hallway. You had to make it one hallway to get into your apartment. One hallway left to come to your senses. And just like he read your mind, Eren is once again touching you, just his hand on yours pulling you backwards. You twist just in time, his hands instantly cupping your cheeks as he kisses you, deeply and intensely. Pushing you back into the wall, you pray a neighbour doesn’t walk out now. His knee is pressing gently between your legs, and you allow it. Your fingers sink into Eren’s arms, lightly covered by the fabric yet you can still feel the muscle underneath, relaxing and tensing as he pulls you closer. 

His lips are making their way to your jaw, lifting your chin upwards, tentatively licking the bone before moving downwards still, sucking and nipping and licking your neck. A whimper breaks through. You really need to get inside. Gripping his hair, you sharply pull backwards.

“Not going to play nice, huh?” 

When did he speak like this? The playful and shit-eating grin your friend Eren always wore was replaced by something darker, his words laced with intent. 

“Don’t challenge me.” 

You were off, finally at your door, making quick work with the lock, moving in first before he followed. The door shut as you pushed Eren against it, usual doe eyes being taken over with a deep lust. Your hands are instantly at his belt, as his hands find your face once again. This time he’s grabbing your hair, making you look up at him as he glares down at you. You’re constantly challenging one another in conversation, and it’s translating to the bedroom far too easily. 

Lips are on one another again, as you leave the belt and start towards his shirt. You bite down on his bottom lip, earning a hiss from him, and you feel his hand being brought around your throat. He doesn’t add too much pressure, checking if this turn is indeed okay with you. When you push against the weight, he takes the gleam in your eye as a yes, and uses the force to push you against the next wall, finally moving off the front door. 

It’s a constant battle to get to the bedroom, both of you taking control for short bursts. Eren pulling the thin straps of your dress down, you untucking his shirt. His muscular torso is on full display, and you had never viewed it in this light before. 

Finally he pushes you onto the bed, situating himself between your legs. Your kisses are sloppy and infused with alcohol. Hands are desperate with one another, both of you needing to be closer. Are you scared if the contact ends your thoughts will return to sanity? 

Eren’s hot and heavy over you, his hands seem everywhere at once. Smoothing up your thigh, digging in slightly to the flesh when you grind against one another. His hands rest at your hips for a moment, and he’s looking down at you, still fucking smiling. All at once, he’s flipped you over his prominent hard on pressing into your ass. He’s whispering in your ear, leaving wet kisses along your neck, to your shoulder blades. Fingers take the zip at the back of your dress, slowly and carefully pulling it down, leaving licks and pecks as he goes. It’s torturous. 

You attempt to speed things up by rutting your ass against his crotch, and you think you hear a quiet moan, before his hand is brought down to the fabric, smacking your cheek. You gasp, turning your head to look at him. Eren is too occupied in taking in all of your body, his green eyes are darkened with authority and lust. His nimble fingers play with the short hem of your dress, thumb dipping beneath, before he pushes the silk up. 

You both let out soft fuck’s, as his hands grab at the plump of your ass. It’s like he’s testing the softness, the way your flesh responds to his touch so easily. He slaps at you again, earning a sharp moan from you. Eren’s leaning down, his mouth once again trailing across the apex of your behind, leaving trails of saliva as he goes. Before you can even register the new sensations you can feel a soft pressure against your clothed cunt, just enough to let you know the presence of his hand, but not enough for you to get off on. You’re mewling, once again trying to get closer to him. This time he allows it, eagerly pressing his ring and middle finger to your clit, allowing you to grind upon them. 

Seeing you underneath him like this… it’s new and strange and so fucking hot. He’s watching you desperately try and fill the need building in your core, and he can only feel his cock twitch in his pants as he sees you coming undone. If you wanted more, he could definitely give it to you. Bringing his large hands away, to the flimsy fabric that was covering you, he pulls it down, exposing you to him. His heart and dick fucking jump. His hands return to your ass, watching the jiggle as you move and whimper. Spreading you, he brings his face down, breath tingling on your most sensitive areas.

Your breath catches in your throat as his tongue, gentle at first, licks between your folds. He’s tasting you, he’s moaning into your pussy, as you write beneath him. Eren’s hands are squeezing your ass cheeks, holding you still as you try to grind against his face. 

“Patience, y/n”, he says, with a slap on your behind again. 

“Fuck you,” you hiss. 

“You will be in a minute, baby girl, don’t worry.”

You go to make a retort but he’s instantly back, licking up your slit and a deep moan escapes you. Jesus you can feel the smile on his lips as he’s back on your pussy. Eren is so proud of the sounds he can draw from you. He wonders if your ex could make you come undone so easily. 

You taste sweet and saccharine on him, and he doesn’t hold back the groan as he further works his way into you. Hardened tongue moving it’s way from your entrance down to your clit. He swipes at it, before moving away again. Kissing your thighs, kissing the skin between your holes. Every now and then he’ll move back to your clit, allowing you a moment of pleasure before he’s teasing again. “Fuck, please”. Your whines are being smothered by the sheets, and Eren wants nothing more than to hear them, loud and clear.

Eren’s ringed fingers make their way to your hair, his face lifting from between your legs. He pulls you back round, and holy shit you can see how wet you are on his face. There’s a sheen to his lips and chin, and instinctively you reach up to his neck, pulling him back on top of you. Your tongue meets his, tasting your tartness on his mouth. A hand makes it way back down in between your thighs, playing and parting your folds. Your hand in turn reaches up his neck, pulling sharply at his hair once again. “Eren. More- please” you get out in between staggered breaths. 

“Aw, since you asked so nicely” his eyes watch your expression closely as his thumb rests on your clit, his finger swiftly moving inside you. Your eyebrows raise and knot, eyes wide and lips parted. But he keeps it still as your legs shaked around his arm. “Eren, move” you demand this time. 

“Oh, that’s not so nice. I liked it when you were polite.” He starts to retract his finger, thumb gently swabbing your clit so you’ll know what you miss.

“Please, please, please, Eren, please” you speak before he even gets the first knuckle out. All the teasing was creating a tightness in your lower stomach. 

“Much better.”

You whine as he continues to pull his finger from you, until he pushes it back in, curling his solitary finger up. Your fingernails are pressing deep into the muscle of his bicep, feeling how it moves as he finger fucks you. He’s hitting that perfect spot inside you again and again, and his thumb is swiping eagerly on your clit. 

Eren can feel you fluttering around his finger, desperate for more, desperate to release on him. He adds another finger, your wetness allowing him entrance easily. He wants to fuck you so bad, his cock so hard it felt like it was about to burst. 

He pushes your hands off him, leaving crescent moon indents deep in his skin, he works his way back down. He brings the black silk with him this time, fully being able to take in your body as you’re left naked before him. Holy shit you’re beautiful. He doesn’t want to stare too long and make you shy. But he still kisses his way down, before he’s back at your pussy. 

This time he allows you more movement, letting your fingers work their way back into his hair, letting you roll your hips against his tongue and stubble. 

With his spare hand he pulls out his cock, slowly pulling at it, before he realises he can’t do that for too long without cumming before the main event. Instead he reaches up, rolling your perked nipples in between his fingers. There are so many sensations on your body, and Eren can feel your cunt beginning to tighten around his fingers. You hold your breath before letting out little moans, building towards reaching your height.

“You want to cum on my fingers?

Your back is arching, whispering “yes, yes, yes, please” as your walls are tightening around him. He quickens the pace, making sure to hit that spot inside you over and over. Thighs around his face, he can feel your slick pooling in his mouth, and coating his chin once again. 

Your gummy walls are so tight around his thick fingers, he needs you to finish, watch you fully unravel below him. Sucking and licking at your clit, he’s pushing you towards the edge. 

“Eren-” his name is strangled coming out of you, and then your moaning, undulating your cunt against his mouth, riding out your orgasm. 

His jade eyes look up at you, watching as you pull your head up to look at him, before another wave of pleasure hits you and you have to arch your neck and look back up. He waits for you to come down, letting you fuck his face and fingers. Grinding against his stubble and tongue as you let out pitiful and beautiful moans. You’re so fucking wet, the sounds coming from between the two of you should be forbidden, as you release onto him. 

Finally he withdraws, using his forearm to wipe his face. He lies next to you, allowing you a moment as he draws little circles on your stomach. Eren has never quite looked at you in this light. Sure, you were pretty, and the two of you were obviously close. But now you’d walked a line that couldn’t be undone. You weren’t over your ex, and as okay as Eren was with what had happened between you, he didn’t want you to run. He’s overcome with thoughts, looking down to your chest and the heavy breaths you were taking. All he could pray was that you weren’t pretending he was someone else. 

But as Eren is getting caught up in his own mind, you’re twisting, hand reaching to his crotch, cock having been recaptured by his boxers. Palming him, you feel how big he really is for the first time. Fingers trace the edge of his pants and underwear, and he lifts his hips, allowing you to pull them down. Shit. His dick slapped back to his stomach, precum leaking from the top of his pink head. He was bigger than you’d imagined, because of course you’d imagined it a couple of times.

Your hand looks so small around his cock, but you slowly tease him, his deep green orbs following your movements. Bringing your head down to him, you kitten lick the precum from the top of his dick. He hisses gently, and you look up at him with these big doe eyes, so fucking eager to please.

You push your lips around him, hollowing your cheeks and flattening your tongue as you begin working along his shaft. He moans just at the sight of you, your eyes peeking up through dark lashes. His hand goes through your hair, eagerly pushing you deeper around him. 

He lets out a hoarse, “is this okay?” before you put your own hand on his pushing it for the both of you. You don’t even want to come up for air, you just want him close to you, inside you. 

You were learning far more about each other than you had expected, as Eren takes back over. He pushes himself further into you, muttering a good girl that has you whining. The vibrations around his cock make his hips buck, and now you’re gagging as his length hits the back of your throat. He holds you there instead of letting you off, and your nails are sharp against his thighs.

His head lolls back as he starts to move his hips under you, moving you in turn with your hair. He picks up the pace quickly, allowing saliva to drool from you and straight to his cock. 

Your eyes prick, big fat tears forming at the corners. But you’re enjoying this way too much, the moans and gasps he gives make you moan, pressing your thighs together for some kind of friction. 

He takes your jaw in his grasp, allowing you a moment to catch your breath. Your tongue sits out your mouth, him smacking the head of his dick on it. He notices your tears then, the mascara that’s running a little. He swipes at the corner of your eyes, leaning down to press a kiss into your forehead. 

Bringing you up to him, your dripping folds sliding across his length. His lips are on your cheeks, across your jaw, licking up your neck before reclaiming your plush lips once again. You continue grinding against one another, tongues slipping in and out of each other's mouths. Eventually Eren brings his hands to your hips, lifting you up as you hold his shaft up.

Your foreheads are pressed together as he slowly pushes inside you. The stretch is burning and all-consuming, eyes pricking up again as you feel him hit your furthest wall. Eren breathes out heavily, “So fucking tight”

You roll your hips, allowing some friction from him on your clit. It helps your muscles relax a little, and balancing your hands on his shoulders you push yourself up and down, using his length for your own pleasure. Eren’s eyes don’t leave your form, watching your breasts bounce and how your eyes flutter close as he fills you entirely.

“You really did want to be fucked, huh? Look at you” he teases you, watching as you go to talk back before he thrusts his hips up. It leaves the words caught in your throat.

His pace maintains, holding you in place as he fucks up into you, feeling your cunt clench around him. There are long moments where you hold your breath, holding his cock tight within you. Then you’ll release and moan, before holding it in again. Well, Eren is all too happy to help you with that. 

One hand grabbing the flesh of your hip, the other wrapping around your throat, he pushes into you at a punishing rate. Your eyes go wide at the sudden restriction of your throat, feeling the cold metal of his ring against your pulse. 

“Who knew this about you? That you were such a slut?”

As much as he knows you want to deny it, you want to smack the smugness from his voice, he can feel your pussy tighten around him. He sees your eyes roll back a little. 

“You’re getting tighter.” 

The hand on your hip moves down, attempting to hold you in place whilst letting his thumb press over your clit. The sounds of him slapping against your wetness is obscene, and he’s only distracted from it as you whimper out pathetic yes’s and please’s. 

“You wanna cum?” he’s grunting, trying to keep the pace going until you can reach your peak.

You nod against his wide hand, still tight around your neck. “Oh you can do better than that. I already know how bad you want it, slut.”

“Please Eren, please make me cum. I want to cum, please, please, please” you can barely make out the words, your head going light and body tightening.

“Cum for me.” 

You release, and as he can feel the fluttering of your walls around him, he lets go of your throat. The sudden oxygen as you cum leaves you overwhelmed. Burying yourself in his shoulder, he fucks you through it. Cock slapping up into your cunt over and over, somehow being sucked deeper in as you coat his length with more of your own slick. He can feel your nails breaking the flesh of his back as you’re holding on for dear life, moaning his name and even a fucking thank you into his ear.

As you begin to slow, legs shake as you stay straddled over him. He flips you, Eren now firmly on top, slowly moving in and out of you. The stimulation is intense, your cunt sparking at any sensation. 

Caged between his forearms, his hair is a mess thanks to you. You push tendrils back past his ears as he leans down to kiss you once again. This kiss is different. It feels… less desperate. It feels deep and meaningful, caring even.

Your eyes meet in acknowledgment, both of you too worried to speak about the shift in tone. 

He reaches down instead, pulling your leg up and splitting you on his cock. A tongue swipes at your nipple, biting and playing with each as he gradually picks up pace again. You’re still so fucking wet it’s easy for him to thrust into you at a dizzying pace. You can feel all of him against your gummy walls. Each time he passes that special spot inside you, you moan and gasp, and it’s the best sound he’s ever heard.

His thrusts were becoming more primal, holding your thighs close around his hips. Letting your sweaty bodies collide again and again, his balls slapping against you. The grunts and moans coming from his lips were so infuriatingly erotic. Eren just wanted one more from you, and then he’d let himself finish. If this was to be a drunken mistake, so be it, but he would at least make it memorable. 

Those jade eyes were on you once again, the power and dominance radiating from the immeasurable. He can see you barely being able to hold on, completely fucked out beneath him. You’re moaning and whining, hands moving over the swell of your breasts and playing with your nipples as if it’s going to keep you grounded. 

He sits up, eyes flicking down to where you were conjoined. It took so much restraint not to cum inside you right then and there. Your glistening sex was so tight around him, the wet slapping noises echo again and again. You’re pulling and sucking him in, cream pooling around his length. 

“Give me one more, y/n. I want to feel you cum on my cock.”  

You try to look up at him through heavy lids. Your friend Eren saying this is so taboo. The words he’s said tonight so far from normal for the both of you. You flutter around him, somehow your pussy still wants to be fucked, still wants to push you off the edge one more time. You can feel the coil inside your stomach tightening. 

Eyes rolling back, you can barely keep it together anymore. He’s pounding into you at a startling rate, fingers flicking over your clit again and again and again. 

“P - please, it’s s-so good.” 

Your breaths between words were quick, “you’re so big-”

“Yeah you like that? You like being so full of my cock? Such a pretty face you make when you’re all fucked out.” 

Holy shit.

Eren could tell how much words affected you, your back arching and legs pulling him somehow closer into you.

“Come on, baby. I wanna hear those moans.” he’s grunting, getting so fucking close to losing himself in your cunt. He knows what he wants to hear most though, “say my name. Tell me who’s treating you how you should be”

With that, you’re losing yourself around him again. Writing on the bed, gripping sheets in tightly balled fists. White light taking over your sight as you clench around Eren. This orgasm was the most intense, taking your body by surprise in its overstimulated state. You weren’t even making a noise, just holding on to the high for as long as possible. 

And then you shattered, whining and moaning, whispering his name over and over again. 

As you moved underneath him, Eren kept his punishing pace up until he watched you expel the last of your energy. Name forming on your lips over and over again he falters, releasing inside you. You can feel the stickiness inside you, the sensation of being filled up. Eren watches for a moment as he sees the white pearls forming around your stretched out pussy.

His chest is back on yours as he kisses your neck, shoulders, whatever skin he can. Thrusting back into you a couple of times, he finally pulls out. You feel his cum dripping out of you, but you’re too spent to do anything about it.

Eren lies next to you, both of your bodies attempting to regulate from that. 

“You okay?” 

He’s checking in, making sure he didn’t go too far with someone he genuinely cares for. 

You nod, turning to meet his stare. Giving him a drowsy smile, you’re not sure what comes next. But for now, you’re happy. Curling into his side, he puts an arm round you and lets you rest for a while. As he notices your breathing become deeper, he nestles into you, muttering something about clean up. 

Moving away from you, you can make out some noises of a tap, drawers opening and closing. In your sleepy state you feel him gently wiping at you, two glasses of water being put on the bedside table. Finally he makes his way back to you, and Eren notes how cute you look. Hot and completely fucked out, yes. But also gentle and at peace, allowing the heaviness of sleep taking over.

He rests behind you, wanting to be back in your warmth. He pulls you in closer, wrapping an arm around your waist. The fragrance of you takes over his nostrils, and he’s all too eager to move closer to your hair, pressing one last kiss at the nape of your neck. Whatever tomorrow brings, he hopes it’s not the last time he gets to be this close to you.

[animeomegas]

Imagine that Sasuke is having problems with his 'future alpha', he doesn't understand some dating methods and ends up 'reluctantly' going to ask Itachi's alpha.He just blushed saying 'I can't believe I'm doing this but I need some advice'.Itachi's alpha comes home late looking happy and Itachi holding his dog asking where he's been.

Anon: I think Sasuke would only start liking Itachi's alpha after they help him stand up to a bigger, stronger, more trained betas and/or Alphas. Because I don't see him as someone who might ask for help from anyone, and his brother's alpha somehow saw them bully him and push him around, so they tell him how to one up those annoying people. (Maybe buy him ice cream or something after). This young Sasuke vs Itachi's alpha thing should be a show, because I'd sell everything I own to watch it.

(Anon 1: This is a big brain idea, anon, thank you for your service 🤭 I changed it a little, how that's okay!)

(Anon 2: I think you're absolutely right that Itachi's alpha does something big for Sasuke when he's at a low point, and it ends up changing their relationship for the better in a lot of ways. I decided not to go with bullying though, because Sasuke seemed to fit this scenario moreso. Also, ahhh, I'm so happy you're liking this mini series!!!!! I'm having so much fun writing it and it fills me with joy that other people are enjoying it just as much!!!)

...

Okay, so, Sasuke has never been the most intuitive when it comes to emotions. And he’s also never been great at acknowledging or learning about culture surround a/b/o dynamics because he’s always been adamant that he doesn’t care for it or need it.

But now Sasuke is starting to think that may have been a mistake. Because things are going wrong with this whole courting situation (that Sasuke still can’t believe is happening to him.)

Things were fine! But now the alpha courting him is getting colder and not wanting to train as much, and Sasuke doesn’t know what’s changed! He’s angry and upset about it.

He’s been brooding for about a week about the whole situation, but now he’s decided to ask someone for advice.

His friends are useless. His mother just laughed and told him it would work out if it was supposed to. Shisui is on a mission. He’d rather die than ask Kakashi sensei. So, unfortunately, he had to ask his brother, even though he was sure to get some embarrassing and invasive questioning from him. The sadist.

So, he goes to see his brother.

Who isn’t there.

His brother’s alpha tells him that Itachi is out with their pup all day running errands and taking him for his bi yearly check-ups. But Sasuke needs to know what’s going wrong and how to fix this now! He doesn't have time to wait for Itachi to be done with his stupid errands!

His brother’s alpha notices how tense he is and asks if he would like to stay for some tea, and Sasuke accepts before he thinks about what he's doing. Their relationship is much better nowadays but Sasuke can’t help but feel a little awkward around them still.

…

“Here,” they say, sliding two teacups onto the table. “You like green tea, right? It’s the only type we have in, you know what Itachi’s like with tea.”

“Green tea is fine,” Sasuke says politely if a little stiff.

His brother’s alpha sits down at the other side of the couch with their own tea, and the two sit in silence for a bit, each sipping their own tea

“Sasuke,” they say, shooting him a concerned look. “If you need me to go and get Itachi, I can. You don’t look well, he’ll come back in an instant if you ask him to.”

“No,” Sasuke answers quickly. “It’s fine… I…”

Here goes nothing.

“I’m just having a bit of trouble at the moments, is all, and…”

Itachi’s alpha nods, obviously listening intently with a look of concern on his face that is making this both harder and easier for Sasuke at the same time.

“Go on, Sasuke, I’m listening.”

“I’m sure Itachi told you about my… my er situation,” Sasuke starts, wishing he could punch himself in the face for phrasing it like that.

“That someone’s courting you?” they ask gently.

Sasuke only nods, face burning. He can’t count the number of times he’s told Itachi’s alpha to their face that he’d rather die than enter a courtship. This is so awkward, why is he doing this?

“Did they do something to make you uncomfortable, Sasuke?” they ask immediately after seeing his hesitance. “Because if they did, we can sort it out together okay? It’s not your fault.”

“No!” Sasuke immediately protests far louder than he intended too. “They didn’t… They didn’t do anything, I just… I think I did something wrong…”

Sasuke pretends to drink his tea to avoid having to elaborate any more, despite the fact that it’s still too hot.

“What did you do that was wrong?” they ask, voice still quiet and soothing and Sasuke hates how comforting he finds it. Like it or not, his instincts had branded Itachi’s alpha as ‘safe’ many years ago.

“I don’t know,” Sasuke admits, fiddling with the rim of his cup. “They seemed sad one day and I just thought they had a bad day or something, but now they’re… cold.”

“They aren’t behaving how they were behaving before?”

Sasuke shakes his head.

“Is it possible they have an issue at home or with some of their friends? It might be something in their personal life that's upsetting them.”

Sasuke shakes his head again.

“They seem fine when they’re with everyone else…” he admits. “It’s just me.”

Sasuke forces back the burn of tears he can feel behind his eyes. He will not cry. He won’t do it.

His brother’s alpha hums sadly.

“And you want to figure out what happened?” Sasuke nods. “Okay, why don’t you walk me through what happened on the days leading up to the mood change.”

And so Sasuke does.

He tells them all about how they would meet for training every day and Sasuke would bring two bento boxes for lunch, and then they would sometimes go shopping or go out to eat. Things he hasn’t told anyone about yet. And as he's talking, he really can't see what the problem is, everything seems fine! But maybe Itachi’s alpha might know some alpha thing that he doesn't. Sasuke can easily admit that it’s not his forte.

“I see,” Itachi’s alpha says after Sasuke had finished his story. Sasuke’s tea sits cold on the table next to his brother’s mate’s empty cup. “I think I know what happened.”

Sasuke looks up immediately. No way they’ve already figured it out that easily!

“They thought you were rejecting them,” Itachi’s alpha says simply.

“Wha- But…we spent everyday together! How could that be a rejection?!”

“When an alpha is courting an omega,” they start to explain. “They’re trying as hard as they can to prove to that omega that they can be a good mate.”

“I know that,” Sasuke snaps.

“Listen to me for a second, Sasuke," they softly reprimand. "So, when an alpha, particularly a younger one, is courting an omega, they are very sensitive to rejection, they look for it everywhere.”

“Why?” Sasuke asks, dumbfounded.

“Well, when I was courting your brother, we weren’t that much older than you are now, and I remember thinking that he was the most perfect person in the whole world,” their eyes take on a faraway look as they reminisce. “I was so sure that he must have had hundreds of alphas clawing for his attention every day, and so I was desperate to prove to him that I could be a good mate.

“With every gift, on every date, I would watch his reaction to everything, overanalysing every laugh and smile and frown. I loved him so much, but I couldn’t help but think that he would reject me at any moment. He was too good for me, and I knew that. It always felt like he was humouring me, especially at first.”

“That’s stupid.”

“Yeah,” they laugh, unoffended by Sasuke’s harsh tone. “Looking back, I guess it was, but what I’m trying to tell you, is that I can see how some of your actions could have been taken as rejection by a young alpha who was expecting to be rejected.”

“But…” Sasuke says, looking lost. “I didn’t want to reject them, I don’t understand.”

“Here,” they continue patiently. “Let me explain it to you like this. When you went out to eat, you paid for yourself even though they offered, right? Because you didn't want to burden them?"

“Yeah,” Sasuke trails off, unsure what that has to do with anything.

“But to a young, hormonal alpha, you’re basically telling them that you don’t trust them to provide for you, the one thing they are trying most to convince you."

“But I wasn’t-“ Sasuke protests.

“I know you weren’t,” they reassure him. “But that’s the sort of thing that will run through an alpha’s head at that age when courting. Also, you told them you wanted to train with them because you thought they were strong because you wanted to compliment them, right?”

Sasuke blushes but nods.

“And that’s great to start with, but eventually they would probably start to wonder why you wouldn’t want to train just to spend time with them. And you also told them that you had plenty of leftovers to make their lunch with so that they wouldn’t feel like they were burdening you, right? But that just made them feel like you weren’t going out of your way to do something special for them, even though you were. Do you see what I mean now?”

Sasuke blinks, rapidly trying to wrap his head around all this new information.

“And I also have a guess as to what pushed them over the edge into thinking you were rejecting them.”

“What is it?” Sasuke demands. “Tell me.”

“Did they make that scarf for you by hand, Sasuke?”

“Yes,” says Sasuke hesitantly.

“And they scented it?”

Sasuke nods affirmative.

“Did you give anything back?”

“I… Just said thank you… is that not right?”

Itachi’s alpha shakes their head with a patient smile.

“A handmade and scented gift is the most important and meaningful courting gift that there is, Sasuke,” they explain. “It’s what you give to someone to ask them if they want to move from courting to something more serious, to intended mates.”

Sasuke blushes and feels some panic rising in his chest.

“I didn’t know!” he blurts, feeling the need to explain himself.

“I know,” they rush to reassure him. “But the etiquette dictates that the omega, if they wish to move onto that stage, gives the alpha a handmade and scented gift in return, no later than a week after the original gift was given. They must have been very nervous waiting for you, and very upset when you didn’t even let them down softly.”

“It’s been two weeks,” Sasuke whispers, mortified that he had missed something he should have known. This makes so much sense. The sudden depression, the awkwardness at training, the nerves after they had given him the scarf. He’s such an idiot. Against his will, Sasuke starts to feel tears burning at his eyes again. He messed everything up!

“Oh, Sasuke,” they say, scooting closer to him. They hesitantly lay a hand on his leg, and Sasuke makes no move to push them off. “It’s alright, you can fix it.”

“How?” he sniffs, furiously wiping away any tears that manage to escape. “They probably hate me now.”

“Come here,” they say, pulling him into a hug. And for the first time ever, Sasuke accepts a hug from his brother’s alpha.

“It’s alright,” they soothe. “We can fix this, I’ll help you.”

“What can I do?” he questions, feeling miserable.

“You need to make them something and scent it. Then you can explain what happened afterwards, but the gift should go a long way in smoothing over any ruffled feathers. I can help you make something, what do you want to make?”

Sasuke shrugs, still resting his head on his brother’s alpha’s shoulder.

“How about some cupcakes? Itachi and I were planning on doing some baking with the pup tomorrow, so I have all the supplies. And I’m sure we have some ribbon lying around, you can scent the ribbon and use it to tie up the box, how does that sound?”

“But what will you use tomorrow?” Sasuke asks, feeling a little better, but still red in the face.

“I can buy more, Sasuke, don’t worry, but this is a courting emergency, so we have to do it now, okay?”

“Okay.”

…

Itachi comes back from his errands just in time to watch his mate helping his little brother tie a ribbon around a box of cupcakes. The kitchen is covered in baking supplies and empty bowls of batter.

Did they bake cupcakes together?

Itachi can’t believe it. He had been trying to get them to get along better for years.

When Sasuke sees him standing in the door, he blushes and, holding the box of cupcakes to his chest, pushes past him and out the door with a quick nothing more than a quick and murmured greeting.

His pup wiggles in his arms and demands to be put down. He obliges and they immediately run to his alpha for a hug.

“Hey there, buddy, have a good day?”

“It was boring,” they complain. “And the mednin had cold fingers.”

Itachi’s alpha laughs.

“Well, I know something that might make you feel better,” they tease.

“What?! What?!”

“Uncle Sasuke made you something very special,” they say, bringing down a spare cupcake from on top of the counter, iced in his pup's favourite colour. The way his pup’s eyes widen at the sight of it, makes Itachi smile. “You can have it after dinner, okay, and next time we see uncle Sasuke we have to remember to say thank you.”

Itachi watches in amusement as his pup nods furiously and immediately runs off to go wash up for dinner, despite the fact that Itachi hasn’t even started cooking it yet.

“Did you and Sasuke bake together?” Itachi asks, still unbelieving of what he had seen.

You smile, understanding how crazy that must have been for Itachi to walk in on.

“Yes, we… had a little bonding session,” they say. “I’ll tell you about it later, I promise.”

Itachi accepts the answer despite his curiosity and joins his alpha is cleaning the kitchen so that he can start cooking dinner.

And if both of them were smiling too much, well, neither of them brought it up.

[tercessketchfield]

Marianne Dashwood is an amazing character, and we need to stop being ashamed of appreciating her.

We need to stop over-judging her for falling in love with not-so-very-worthy man; and, again, cease dismissing her for marrying a man she never really liked (but finally came to quite suddenly), just because the plotline required the worthy Colonel Brandon to be (at last!) rewarded with mutual love. And because Marianne had to marry someone. Yes, needless to say, they both deserved better than that.  We need also stop comparing Marianne with the always wise and patient Elinor, just because the latter is our love at first sight, for she from the first seems the character one wants to resemble. While Elinor is generally right and reasonable, Marianne is, from the start, too eccentric to follow as a role model. 

All in all, I think, it is a romantic plotline which makes the worst impact on our perception of Marianne, and which is, at the same time, the easiest thing to attract our attention. On the surface she might seem a silly, hysterical and rather selfish person who first feels, and then does, and only then thinks; who is easy to get into trouble, and who makes other, infinitely more deserving characters, look after her and endure trouble for her and instead of her. But it is only on surface. Austen balances this impression with many deserving, humane, intersting, and original qualities of Marianne's in the way which many authors before and after her failed to do. That is, by the way, why the above description (at least in my opinion) is very much a portrait of an average heroine of a victorian novel. 

In my opinion, Sense and Sensibility is very underrated novel, and one may even dismiss it as an unsuccessful first work, as it brings in somewhat frustrating love story for the main characters (when it comes to Marianne and Brandon, it is veeery questionable love story imo). I agree with this, as S&S stands nowhere near in the terms of fascinating Austen’s love stories with those of Elizabeth/Mr Darcy, Emma/Mr Knightley, or even Anne/ Wentworth. Yet, even if S&S generally fails with romantic storyline, it shows, nevertheless, how important it is to depict a really interesting character (that is Marianne, of course)) independently on any love story in the novel. Pardon me, but Elinor and Edward are boring as a couple, and if we had, for intrigue, originality and pleasure of reading, to rely on them alone, this novel would indeed have been a failure. It would not have been Jane Austen we all love, after all.

But, happily, considering these things, we can put romance aside. As a result, Marianne emerges as a strong and interesting character in her own right, and here are some reasons why: 

She has her own opinion and is not afraid to speak her mind. She is sincere, even to a fault, and does not care about formalities. 

“is this fair? is this just? are my ideas so scanty? But I see what you mean. I have been too much at my ease, too happy, too frank. I have erred against every common-place notion of decorum; I have been open and sincere where I ought to have been reserved, spiritless, dull, and deceitful”

“I detest jargon of every kind, and sometimes I have kept my feelings to myself, because I could find no language to describe them in but what was worn and hackneyed out of all sense and meaning”

“Marianne was silent; it was impossible for her to say what she did not feel, however trivial the occasion; and upon Elinor therefore the whole task of telling lies when politeness required it, always fell.”

“ ‘I shall go to the piano-forte; I have not touched it since it was tuned.’ And without farther ceremony, she turned away and walked to the instrument. Lady Middleton looked as if she thanked heaven that SHE had never made so rude a speech.”

“Marianne, when called on for her’s, offended them all, by declaring that she had no opinion to give, as she had never thought about it.”

It is admirable how, in times where every step should go by the book, Marianne, with her keen sense of justice, gladly and gracefully throws formalities of etiquette away as soon as she feels they might even mildly inconvenience her freedom or her sense of truth. She is a misfit, in some sense, and she prides herself on it. And though such behavior is not always advisable (and indeed sometimes does much harm to herself and her beloved family), in Marianne’s performance it is at least fun, if not amiable. To a modern reader, it is hard to fail to catch the comedy of it all, given what was acceptable two centuries back, and Austen’s creating a very modern-behaving heroine even then. Austen tricks very wittily with the contrast, or rather, striking difference between Elinor’s and Marianne’s social behavior. It is because of Elinor’s patience and Marianne’s impatience that they complement each other so brilliantly. It is because of Marianne’s laziness or obstinacy (or egotism if you like) that we say “Poor Elinor is made to say polite lies to save face of them both”. But it is thanks to Marianne’s obstinacy and nonconformity that Elinor is, e.g., enabled to carry out an important secret conversation with Lucy unheard by the others – Marianne is too incivil to do what she does not want to and, instead, luckily, shelters Elinor and Lucy with her “magnificent concerto”.

She is genuinely devoted to and fiercely protective of her sister. 

“Marianne could not bear this.— She was already greatly displeased with Mrs. Ferrars; and such ill-timed praise of another, at Elinor’s expense, though she had not any notion of what was principally meant by it, provoked her immediately to say with warmth, ‘This is admiration of a very particular kind!— what is Miss Morton to us?—who knows, or who cares, for her?— it is Elinor of whom WE think and speak.’ And so saying, she took the screens out of her sisterin-law’s hands, to admire them herself as they ought to be admired.”

“Marianne’s feelings did not stop here. The cold insolence of Mrs. Ferrars’s general behaviour to her sister, seemed, to her, to foretell such difficulties and distresses to Elinor, as her own wounded heart taught her to think of with horror; and urged by a strong impulse of affectionate sensibility, she moved after a moment, to her sister’s chair, and putting one arm round her neck, and one cheek close to hers, said in a low, but eager, voice,’Dear, dear Elinor, don’t mind them. Don’t let them make you unhappy.’ “

For me, Marianne and Elinor are the best example of sisterly love in literature, leaving even Elizabeth and Jane from P&P behind. Though Marianne is real troublemaker, especially to  Elinor (though the latter would not own it), it is hard to hate her, especially in the view of their devoted sisterly love. How she protected Elinor’s talents against Mrs Ferrars’s and Fanny’s subtle insults; how amusingly she struggled to keep Elinor and Edward together during his visit, while despising Lucy outright for her burdensome presence. Though her active support is sometimes a false start, it cannot be denied that her intentions are too good and actions too sincere to be really severely judged. Marianne is definitely too absorbed with her own thoughts and sometimes too socially awkward (we can all relate to that, I think) to notice what will be more appropriate to her more reserved sister, but it cannot be denied that she y wishes Elinor the best happiness she deserves. When Marianne is too self-centred during Wickham’s courtship and her illness, she comes to realise her mistakes and later makes amends for it with warm sisterly affection towards Elinor.

She has her faults, but there are already makings of a “ faultless in spite of all her faults”.  

Plainly speaking, can a character be interesting without faults? Or can it be a human? Marianne has those faults in plenty. But, her character, though not conventionally in the right, is strong and charismatic, and it brings some sparking originality and fair share of fun into what otherwise is very sober and rather gloomy environment.

She learns. 

“I cannot express my own abhorrence of myself. Whenever I looked towards the past, I saw some duty neglected, or some failing indulged. Every body seemed injured by me.”

One of the things I like so much about Marianne is that she goes through real and clear character development. Though she is very opinionated and sticks to her principles with spirit, she is not ungenerous or obdurate. Yes, her ideas (at first at least) may seem, to a modern reader, wild, overly romantic, maximalist and unrealistic, but it is small wonder considering the amount of romantic (and yes, overly romantic) literature she was consuming. But again, she was but sixteen at the start. Yes, she might be teasing and even mocking Elinor’s and Brandon’s reserve and sobriety at first, but it hardly out of any real malice. After all, most of her life experience was built on books, not all heavy realistic, and she did not then yet learn to question the practicality of theoretic notions, printed in romantic books. And when she finally did learn, after suffering, there was repentance, and sincerity, and wish to improve incarnate. Marianne is able to own her every fault and is most eager to put things right. Again, it was so amusing to read of her plans of improvements, which were only little less maximalist than her original ideas, and only little more realistic to carry out, considering her temper. But there was sincerity in it. And ability to recognize one’s faults as faults and to know what exactly should be done to set things right deserves respect. I would even say that one likes Marianne in the end because one did not like her so much (or not at all) at first – and it takes a really good charater and a masterful writer to produce such an admirable metamorphose.

Finally, she is a bookworm :) This does not require explanation, does it?;) 

“Marianne, who had the knack of finding her way in every house to the library, however it might be avoided by the family in general, soon procured herself a book.”

Conclusion? I believe there must be some, so let it be this: Marianne Dashwood is the best asset of Sense and Sensibility; and if anyone was (like me, to some extent) disappointed with the love story, one may safely let it go at that, and regard this novel as wonderful story of character development and remarkable sisterly affection.

[phoenix-is-the-hottest-thing]

from one möbius simp to another, do you sometimes feel like sim möbius lacks a little bit of PE möbius' complexity? why or why not?

don't get me wrong, i love love love my unhinged batshit insane sim möbius. but, especially after that lab short, i feel like PE möbius' deep grief and hints of kindness makes her so much more alluring as a character. i want sim möbius to stay a villain, but i'd also like to see what she is aside from that more often: misunderstood, deep down sensitive and lowkey repressed. i hope we get more of that in ER's future chapters!

Oh I completely agree with you! That’s why I always tend to make the distinction between the sim and the original Mobius. They’re characterized differently!

As for why there’s a difference I attribute mainly to two things.

1. Sim Mobius is in a very different situation from the original.

Talking to people has never been her forte, but now all her closest friends are dead one way or another (except for her very busy children) and the only way anything she does can matter is by talking to strangers, who usually are wary of her right away. The other sims are either annoying to her (Elysia), hate her (most of them), stay in seclusion (Griseo), or… is Eden, I guess, but they don’t seem to hang out that often. (perhaps they’re just private, or the grief is too much to take… or she never got to that final point the original did, who acknowledged her respect for Eden)

2. Sim Mobius is not as mature as/more closed off than the original was

The immaturity interpretation is based off of how thoroughly the hologram played her and her denial, Elysia saying she’s missing memories, and general lack of social intelligence (“I don’t know why they hate me, I did nothing wrong” vs the original’s acknowledgment that she’s crossed the line, and doesn’t care about it.) but overall what’s observed is her being closed off.

The sim is petty (insults and mocks Mei a lot and tries to trick her numerous times, which we don’t see the original do, when she mocks people it’s usually because they did something hypocritical, and as pushy as she can get she respects consent in her experiments), she’s very prone to putting up (obvious) fronts and denying she has any attachment or feeling at all (claims she made Klein because the assistant had turned into the 10th, contrast that with the original being a little sheepish because of the obvious but didn’t even try to cook up a ridiculous explanation like that). She also blatantly lies a lot (her reasons for joining cocoon, multiple times pretending she doesn’t know what Mei refers to, etc) and never does the little kindnesses/mindful acts we saw the original do (the milk tea is an obvious example: even if she’s not direct about it Mobius CAN be affectionate, but the main way we see her care about her ELF is getting mad at Kalpas when he claims to have dismembered her, and when she needs to change the topic because Mei walked in she starts criticizing Klein. We also don’t see her doing nice or silly things together with someone like drawing animals with the graph tool. Is she too cynical or is it that she finds it childish? The original didn’t mind being childish, it made her happy. It’s a sign of maturity to be able to let yourself be silly. Then again, she grew sadder and sadder over time… by the end of Mobius Lab, it seems she’s mostly stopped doing that altogether… but damn, the sim’s had 50k years, come on). The sim also isn’t shown showing empathy for her comrades beyond wanting to save them via sentience transfer, unlike the original who grieves and grieves and makes us cry doing it.

tldr she’s constantly maintaining a facade to protect herself, while the original was more rarely shown to do so. It ties back to point one, she has fewer allies than in life, and Mei is very antagonistic towards her so we see her being defensive or offensive more, but there’s also that she just can’t seem to lower her damn guard and do something nice, even around Klein.

might not completely make sense i have a bad bee phobia and one just got into my room aaaaaa i lost my train of thought freaking out