#also i haven't found anything like this in book of hours *yet*

[aeolianasio]

reads like warning text in cultist simulator/book of hours that i would simply ignore

[urlocalmultigroupfan]

ꜱᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇʀꜱ 𐙚˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 (양정인)

pairing: yang jeongin x fem!reader

summary: loosely based off of strangers by kenya grace

tags/warnings: suggestive (kissing in car) kinda angsty, no good ending

a/n: hihi guys!! i think yall have noticed that i haven't been as active on here anymore sigh. atp its basically js bc i used to write based off of what i wanted to happen, but now its more like im actually experiencing it with my gf, so its kinda different for me!! its also bc ive js been talking to my friends mostly recently 😭😭 so yep!! (on discord tho add so_dxnbi if u want to talk 😋! also i might not be active during the summer so this will be one of the many oneshots and stories i have prepped to come out over the summer <3 tysm for patience!! love you guys <3

also sorry for the kinda bad ending sigh 😓

credits to @hyuneskkami for the dividers

masterlist!

You never thought you’d end up here. In the backseat of his car, the world outside reduced to a blur of neon lights and rain streaking across the windows. His hands are everywhere, touching your skin, pulling you closer, leaving a trail of heat that’s impossible to ignore. Your breaths are shallow, uneven, caught somewhere between urgency and uncertainty. It’s messy, fast, and you know it’s never going to last. But in that moment, it doesn’t matter.

You had been strangers once. You never imagined it would go this far. But here you are, both lost in the feeling of each other, and yet… it feels like you’re miles apart.

ᡣ𐭩

It all started when you didn’t expect it.

You remember the night you first met him. It was one of those nights where you had no plans, no real intentions. The party was loud, a blur of faces and music that pulsed through the walls. You didn’t even know why you were there. Maybe it was because your friends had dragged you along, or maybe it was because you were just looking for something—something to fill the quiet spaces inside of you.

The first time you saw him, he wasn’t anything special—just another guy among many. Tall, dark hair, a smile that you couldn’t quite place. But when you bumped into him, spilling your drink all over his shirt, you immediately froze, mortified.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” you blurted out, fumbling for your words, trying to wipe the spill from his chest.

He laughed. Softly. “It’s fine, really. No harm done.”

His eyes were warm, and for a brief moment, you felt like he was the only person in the room. You barely noticed the music anymore. There was something about the way he looked at you that made everything else fade into the background.

“I’m Jeongin,” he said, offering you a hand.

You introduced yourself, and that was it. A simple exchange of names. But there was something about him, a kind of energy that lingered after the conversation ended. You didn’t think much of it at the time, just another stranger in a sea of faces.

ᡣ𐭩

But things have a way of changing, don’t they?

The first few weeks after the party, you didn’t think much about Jeongin. He was just another person in your life. You’d pass by him in the hallways, maybe exchange a quick smile, but that was it. But then, one evening, you ran into him in the library. He was sitting alone, flipping through a book, looking more relaxed than you had ever seen him before.

“Hey,” you said, trying to sound casual. “What’s up?”

He glanced up, his eyes lighting up when he saw you. “Hey! Just studying. Want to join?”

You hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do, but you nodded. “Sure. Why not?”

You sat beside him, the quiet of the library settling around you as the minutes stretched into hours. At first, it was just small talk—talking about assignments, the classes you shared. But before long, the conversation shifted. You found yourself laughing at his jokes, talking about things you’d never shared with anyone elseyour hopes, your fears, your childhood memories.

It was easy. Too easy.

And that’s when you started noticing him more. Not just his smile or the way he made you laugh, but the way he made you feel—like you mattered. Like you weren’t just a passing thought in his life. You started texting him more, meeting up for coffee after class, spending your weekends together in a way that felt so natural, so right.

You didn’t think much about it at first. He was just a friend, right? But even then, you could feel something shifting between you both, something you couldn’t name, something that made your heart beat a little faster every time he looked at you.

ᡣ𐭩

The moment it happened, you didn’t even see it coming.

One evening, it was just the two of you—sitting on the balcony at his apartment, the city lights flickering in the distance. You’d just finished dinner, and the conversation had slowly shifted to more personal things, things you had never dared to say aloud before.

“I think you’re one of the few people who actually listens when I talk,” Jeongin had said, his voice quieter than usual, his eyes soft.

You couldn’t help but smile. “I’m always listening.”

He was looking at you differently now, his gaze more intense, more focused. The space between you seemed to shrink, and your chest tightened. You wanted to say something, anything, but your words caught in your throat.

You felt his hand brush yours, and it was like the world stopped. Your breath hitched as he leaned in slowly, hesitating just a moment before his lips met yours.

The kiss was everything you didn’t know you needed. There was no hesitation, no second-guessing, just the overwhelming rush of wanting and being wanted. His hand cupped your cheek, pulling you closer, and you responded eagerly, the taste of him lingering on your lips.

But even in that kiss, you could sense something shifting inside of you—this wasn’t just a fleeting moment. You were both crossing a line, one you weren’t sure you could come back from.

The next few days passed in a haze, the thrill of being with him clouding your thoughts. You were officially more than friends, but neither of you spoke about it. It felt like an unspoken agreement between the two of you—no labels, no expectations, just the feelings that both of you kept buried deep down.

But it wasn’t long before the cracks began to show.

ᡣ𐭩

It was one of those nights when everything felt a little too much. The air was thick with tension, and the heavy weight of unspoken words hung between you both. You were both drunk, but there was a certain clarity in the way you looked at him.

You’d been out with friends at a club, and now you were in his car, parked in an empty lot, the sound of the rain tapping against the windows. His hand was on your leg, drawing lazy circles on your skin. He was leaning close, his breath warm against your neck, and you couldn’t deny that you wanted him. You needed him.

You let him kiss you again, this time deeper, more desperate. His hands were everywhere—on your waist, your back, your thigh. You could feel the heat building between you both, the need, the desperation, as if this moment was the only thing that mattered.

In the backseat, it was all about chasing that feeling—the feeling of being wanted, of being seen. His lips were on your neck, his body pressed against yours, and you could feel every inch of him.

It was reckless. It was messy. But it was you both searching for something—something you couldn't name, something you couldn’t hold onto.

But even in that moment, you knew it wouldn’t last.

ᡣ𐭩

Things between you both became complicated after that night. The chemistry, the passion—it was always intense, but it wasn’t enough to keep the distance from growing. Jeongin pulled away more and more, his texts shorter, his responses slower. You tried to ignore it, but the cracks were undeniable.

You wanted to talk about it, to ask him where you stood, but every time you tried, he’d shut you down with a simple excuse—“I’m busy,” or “I’ve got a lot going on right now.”

But you knew. You knew what was happening.

One evening, you sat in his apartment, the silence between you unbearable. You couldn’t ignore the distance anymore.

“I can’t do this anymore, Jeongin,” you said, your voice trembling despite yourself. “I’m tired of pretending everything’s fine.”

He looked at you, his expression unreadable. “What do you mean?”

“I mean this,” you gestured between you both, your hands shaking. “This… whatever this is. I can’t keep doing this if you’re not here with me. You’re not really here, Jeongin. Not anymore.”

There was a long pause. You didn’t look at him. You couldn’t.

Finally, he spoke, his voice quiet. “Maybe I’m not, then.”

That was it. No apology, no fight. Just a simple acknowledgment that you both knew things weren’t working. You both had been drifting for so long, it was only a matter of time before it ended.

ᡣ𐭩

After the breakup, you tried to move on. You went to class, you hung out with friends, you kept yourself busy. But every time you saw him—whether on campus or in passing—there was a part of you that ached.

He didn’t reach out, and neither did you. The silence between you was louder than anything you could say.

Months passed. You both moved in different circles, but every once in a while, you’d catch a glimpse of him. He never looked at you the same way again. He never even looked at you at all.

You were strangers again.

And somehow, that hurt more than anything else.

You never saw him again after that day at the coffee shop. He was just another face in the crowd, another memory.

A stranger.

hope yall enjoyed <33

todays playlist....

bills by enhypen, dadada by mad tsai, like by bts, feelings by lauv, love scenario by ikon, voices by stray kids, banana shake by hus, busy woman by sabrina carpenter, bed chem by sabrina carpenter, feels like summer by childish gambino, butterflies by stray kids, run bts by bts, mama said by kickflip, ssick by stray kids, drama by aespa, deer hunter by &team, like that by doja cat and gucci mane, start a war by jennie, fall in love again by p1harmony

*bold is explicit*

taglist: @rockstarkkami @sirloncelot-of-bananas @jisunggy @me-on-a-archive @hyunjiiza @hyuneskkami @hvseunq143 (im pretty sure i missed somebody 😭😭)

taglist is open! please comment if you would like to be added <3

[theamberfist]

Despite Everything | Vox + Reader + Alastor

Familial! Alastor is reader's dad, Vox is the dad that stepped up

Description: Tension is still high now that Alastor and Vox are fighting over you; can you and your father(s) come to an understanding despite all that has happened?

(Notes: CW Alastor, angst) (gender neutral reader) (Reader Alastor's kid from life) (Could be biological or adopted) (Teen Reader)

❀ This is part 2 of Hell's Second Greatest Dad! ❀

❀ This one will have a song! It's a rewrite of More than Anything, but with Alastor and reader instead of Lucifer and Charlie ❀

Words: 3,180

You weren't sure how long you'd been asleep for, but you woke up completely disoriented and tangled in your blankets. Since you had light-blocking curtains on your windows, you couldn't even tell what time it was as you sat up, rubbed your eyes, and looked around. A now-empty box of tissues rested on your bedside table, and one glance at your full trash can told you that was probably where they'd all gone.

Your eyes still stung like you'd been crying recently too, but at the moment, you couldn't remember what had caused you to do so. Finally untangling yourself from the blankets entrapping you, you rolled over and grabbed your phone. There were several missed calls and texts from Vox, which startled you. had you done something to upset or worry him? You were too sleepy to recall right now. 

Your most recent message, though, was a text from Velvette promising she would keep your dads from killing each other until you were ready to come out of your room. 

Wait, dads? Plural?

Now it all came crashing back to you. How you'd been about to go book shopping with Vox, how your father had shown up, how they'd fought over you, and how you'd eventually had enough; storming off to your room to cry until you fell asleep. 

You weren't sure you ever wanted to leave this room now that you recalled the full extent of what had happened, but you also knew Vox would never allow you to rot away over this. 

With a sigh, you pushed yourself out of bed and went into the bathroom that was connected to your room to clean yourself up. When you'd checked the time, you'd found that there was only an hour before your reader's segment was scheduled, meaning you had to pull yourself together anyway. Another text came from Velvette now, saying Valentino was coming up to check on you since you hadn't answered her all day. Great. 

After washing your face and changing your clothes, you exited the bathroom. The second you opened your bedroom door, you were met with the sight of Valentino, holding a fist up as if he'd been about to knock. He retracted his hand now, a smile spreading across his face. 

"There you are, little one!" He exclaimed, stepping out of the way as you closed the door to your room behind you. "I brought tissues." He held up a box of tissues, but it did little to comfort you.

"Thanks, Val." You sighed, running a hand through your hair. You'd never been particularly close with the moth sinner, even after living in the V's tower for the last seven years. With his line of work and reputation, you tended to stay clear of him, and Vox had never pushed you to do otherwise. In fact, you suspected he was secretly glad for it after he'd become so protective of you over time. 

"Where are Vox and my dad?" You asked, though, calling Alastor your dad felt like a bit of a stretch at this point. He was closer to an estranged relative you hadn't seen in years than anything. 

"Velvette has them waiting downstairs." Valentino replied with a shrug, letting out a puff from his cigarette. Nevermind that he wasn't supposed to smoke on this floor. 

"And they haven't killed each other yet? That's impressive." You said with a sigh, heading for the elevator now, rather than putting the confrontation off any longer. 

"She has a way with these things." Val shrugged, stepping into the space with you. You suspected Velvette's 'way' came from lots of practice she'd gotten handling his and Vox's disagreements, but you didn't bring that up. Instead, you awkwardly and nervously waited for the elevator to reach your desired floor, rocking back and forth on your feet. What would happen when you arrived? Would Vox and Alastor start fighting again? You were sure Velvette would get between them if they did, but it wouldn't make things any easier for you in the long run.

They were going to want you to choose.

The doors opened now and you took a deep breath before stepping out. "Good luck~" Valentino sang before pressing the button to close them behind you. No going back now.

You turned, seeing a familiar lounge area to your right. After all, this was the floor where your studio was located, so you'd been here plenty of times before. You never used this area, though; reserving it for whoever might need to wait outside as you did your segment. 

There were two couches set up so that they made a sort of 'L' shape. Alastor sat on the one that faced in your direction; his legs crossed and a teacup in his hand as if he had not a care in the world. Music faintly played from his microphone, which rested against the couch next to him. Meanwhile, Vox sat hunched over on the other couch, as far away from the Radio Demon as possible as he attempted to avoid contact with him. 

And finally, Velvette was in a chair facing them both like a teacher supervising detention. She had her phone in hand but looked up when she heard you approaching. 

"There you are," she exclaimed, setting her phone down. Vox shot up from his seat and Alastor's teacup disappeared into thin air as he calmly stood too. You could tell they both wanted to come over to you but Velvette shot them a warning look. You weren't sure how she'd managed to get both Vox and Alastor to listen to her like this, but you were grateful for it. 

"Hey..." You said awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Vox was the first to reply. 

"How are you feeling, kid?" He asked, seeming genuinely concerned. You shrugged. 

"I don't know." It was all you could say, "But it's almost time for my segment, isn't it?" At this, the tech demon stiffened. 

"You don't have to do it today, you know." He told you, "We could just rerun an old one; no one would mind." You could tell Alastor preferred the idea too, considering he likely didn't approve of you being on TV in the first place, but you shook your head. 

"I think it would be good for me." You admitted, "Help me calm down." Vox nodded at that. 

"Alright." He sighed, "but if you're not feeling up for it, we can cancel any time. Just signal me." You nodded, feeling a small smile appear on your face. 

"Okay." 

"In that case, would you mind if I tag along?" Alastor asked, looking to you and no one else for permission, "I'd love to see what my little one has been up lately." You tensed.

Technically, the reader segment wasn't all that different from what you'd done before. When you both were alive, he would sometimes have you on his radio show in the evenings, where you would do exactly that; read your favorite books to the listeners at home. Everyone thought it was adorable, even if your features weren't very consistent at the time.

After you'd both ended up in hell, that had continued. You and Alastor were always close; after all, he'd been the only family you had for most of your life and afterlife. So when he kept up his radio show, you kept appearing on it to read your stories as a way of bonding more with your father. Plus, you could tell he reveled in the confusion your appearances brought; one moment he would be broadcasting the screams of those he tortured for all to hear, and then the next his child would be reading bedtime stories. It kept everyone on their toes, just the way he liked it. 

You weren't sure how Alastor would react to finding out you'd continued that same tradition on TV; the very thing he hated. Though, considering who your father was, he likely already knew. He had a way of finding out things like that. 

"I guess that's okay..." You decided after a moment, making Alastor's smile widen even more, "We have a lot of lost time to catch up on, anyway." The comment was meant to make him feel guilty but it seemed to bounce right off him instead.

"I couldn't agree more, darling!" He exclaimed, "Then, lead the way! I'd love to see your studio." You couldn't help feeling a little more nervous now but motioned for him to follow you towards the door anyway. Vox, however, wasn't giving up just yet. 

"I'll come too." He decided, crossing his arms over his chest. "In case we need to cancel the segment suddenly." He knew you weren't going to back out at the last minute like that but it didn't matter; the excuse gave him a reason to follow both you and Alastor to your recording studio.

There you gave the Radio Demon a brief tour before taking your place on the plush pink couch and letting Vox's makeup team give you a final check-over.

Another couch was brought in for Vox and Alastor to sit on as they watched you record your segment; each of them sitting as far away from the other on the thing as they possibly could. Finally, the cameraman cued you in, and you bit back your nervousness as you began reading; picking up where you'd left off in the book. 

The whole time you did your segment, you were extremely aware of the two extra pairs of eyes watching you. Vox, while still being extremely cautious of Alastor and glancing at him every so often, practically beamed with pride as he listened to you read. Alastor's eye kept twitching, likely in annoyance that you'd replaced yet another thing you used to do with him with Vox, but his smile still had genuine elements to it as he watched you.

Finally, you finished off the reader segment and the cameraman signaled to you that you were good to go. Once again feeling tired from the segment, but not as much so as you'd been the night before, you wrapped the lilac blanket around yourself and went over to where Vox and Alastor were sitting.

"Well done as always, kid." Vox grinned, patting your head. The Radio Demon's eyes narrowed at the sight and he cleared his throat.

"Yes, it was a wonderful performance, indeed." He added, "Though, I must admit a show of such format may have been better over radio." He'd considered corrupting the footage so Vox wouldn't be able to use it, but since this seemed to mean so much to you for whatever reason, decided to inconvenience him some other way later. 

You couldn't argue with the comment. After all, the idea had initially started in a radio format. You could, however, try again to make him feel guilty for leaving you.

"Yeah, well, I didn't really have access to a radio broadcast for the last seven years," you replied, "So Vox offered to give me a TV show instead." The tech demon beamed as Alastor came close to a scowl, or what would have been a scowl, if not for his permanent smile. 

There was nothing but silence after that. If not for the shuffling of your cameraman packing things up, you could have heard a pin drop. Feeling uncomfortable, you tugged the purple blanket more tightly around your shoulders. You knew the three of you needed to talk about things, but you still weren't sure where you even stood in the situation to be able to do so. 

"Are you tired?" Vox finally asked, "You can go up to your room and sleep if you want. We can always go shopping another day."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Alastor cut in, standing from the couch now, "They're still my child, so there's no need for them to live here anymore." He wrapped an arm around your shoulders, "I appreciate you looking out for them in my absence, but now that I've returned, there's no need for you to be involved in their life any longer." Something seemed to snap in Vox at that and he shot up.

"Oh, no you don't!" He exclaimed, walking over and pointing a finger at the Radio Demon, "You're not taking them. You may have been their father, but you've been gone seven years. You have no claim to them anymore." 

You were afraid to speak up, unsure of what you would say. You didn't even know what you wanted anymore. 

"You've no more right to them than I do," Alastor shot back, glaring at Vox through his smile, "Who are you to tell me where I can or cannot take my child? Even if you think you've adopted them, I see no legal documents to prove it."

"Am I even your child anymore?" You asked suddenly, before you could stop yourself. Both overlords froze as you pushed Alastor's hand off your shoulders and took a step back. 

"Of course, my dear." Your father replied, taking a step towards you, only for you to back away more, "Nothing so fleeting as time could ever change that." Something in you told you he really believed that, and that was the worst part.

"Can't it?" You asked, feeling tears begin to well up in your eyes. You weren't ready to have this conversation, even after so long. "I thought you'd abandoned me. I thought you didn't want me anymore." Before he could reply, you turned and started walking away, pushing open the door to your studio as you wiped at your eyes. Alastor, however, went after you. 

You paused when he called out your name; already halfway to the elevator. "You didn't know that when I left you on your own, I made a deal I wouldn't condone." You were frozen in shock. Alastor make a deal? "And in the end, I had to leave you all alone," this time you didn't flinch as he came forward, placing a hand on your head, "Now you're the only thing worth fighting for." 

Your mouth went dry. For years, all you'd wanted was to know your dad really did care, but somehow, it didn't bring you as much comfort as you'd expected. 

"Despite everything," he went on, taking one of your hands from under the blanket you still had pulled around you, "Despite everything, I want to be there for you despite everything!" 

"But you didn't even tell me where you'd gone," You said softly.

"If I could have, I would," Alastor replied, "It was the only way to keep you out of it." You frowned, pulling your hand out of his. 

"Papa," you began, feeling a bit of comfort from the reassuring nod Vox gave you behind him, "When I was young, I always thought you stood so tall." You looked down, recalling the days when he'd let you sit on his lap as a child while he recorded his radio broadcasts, "It made me feel so small," you went on, "But you assured me that I was worth it all." You could recall countless nights in life when your father had made that very promise, but it felt as if it meant nothing now. 

"You said you would never leave me," you recalled, "That we were family." A tear slid down your face but you pushed it away, "And yet you left with no warning!" Vox placed a hand on your shoulder, which only seemed to make Alastor more irritated, but he listened as you went on. "So in the end, when I thought I had lost you," you took a deep breath, "They showed me I could have a family once more!" 

Vox smiled softly at you, encouraging you to go on. "Despite everything," you sang, echoing Alastor, "Despite everything, I wish I could believe you despite everything!" 

You turned to walk away, ready to be escorted by the tech demon, only for Alastor to speak up once again. "I've never forgot you all this time."

"Neither could I," you replied, not liking what he was insinuating, "How ever would I?"

"Seems I'll have to make up for this crime," he decided, finally giving up on trying to explain what he'd done. Nothing would ever excuse his leaving you; he knew that. 

"It'll take a while," you admitted, though a tiny grin tugged at your lips that didn't go unnoticed by the Radio Demon.

"I've missed that smile!" He said, taking your hands. You just wanted to feel like a family again; the way you had before his disappearance. And though it would take time, that might be able to come true if he could prove he'd never leave again. 

"All that I'm hopin' now that my eyes are open," The two of your chorused, "Is that we can start again; not be pulled apart again!" 

Vox wasn't sure who'd given you both the lyrics to this impromptu song and not told him, but even he had to admit the scene in front of him was quite sweet as he watched you and Alastor finally hug.

"Cause in the end, you are part of who I am!" You both sang.

"I'll be there for you even if he must too!" Alastor told you, pointing microphone towards Vox with only a slightly disgusted expression on his face. 

"Though, this is overdue," you added before letting your dad join back in.

"Despite everything!" He waved his cane, changing the lighting of the room so that it felt warmer.

"Despite everything!" You repeated, now watching as some of the furniture shifted so that it resembled the living room of your house when you were alive. it seemed Alastor was already adding a personal touch to this place if he was going to be around more because of you.

"Despite everything!"

"Despite everything!" You sang, "You're meant to be my father, despite everything!" You glanced at Vox, who only nodded at you with both pride and pain in his eyes. 

"Despite everything..." Both you and Alastor finished as you hugged him again, wishing he'd never disappeared in the first place but so glad he'd returned anyway. 

Finally, you pulled away from the embrace and looked up at the Radio Demon. "Alright," you said, "...We can try to fix things, but it's going to take time." You glanced back at the tech demon, who quickly came over to support you. "And for now, I want to keep staying here with the V's. While you were gone, Vox was the only father figure I had." 

Alastor's eye twitched at that but he slowly nodded, ignoring the look of victory his old friend was wearing. "I suppose I can agree to that." He decided at last, "Though, I hope eventually there will come a day when you only need the one father." He was referring to himself, making Vox's eyes narrow. 

"And I hope one day I won't have to be afraid of you leaving out of nowhere." You replied carefully before sighing, "But it's a start."

Right, Alastor nodded, a start. It would hardly be enough for him in the long run, but for now, he supposed he could tolerate the tech demon's presence around you. 

……….

Tags for those who requested them: @avitute

[sassyqueeny]

Top 10 Sad Captive Prince –Moments

I haven't found something like that yet, so I just did it:

In the Captive Prince trilogy there can found many moments that make the readers just feel bad for some of the characters and arouse pure hatred for other characters. It wasn’t easy to rank the situations and maybe, reading this list in a time, I would change a few things myself. Or maybe I missed some moments. But I tried my best to consider everything. So that’s just my personal opinion and everyone can feel free to have another one. If you haven’t read all three books to the end, this is probably full of spoilers.

10. Who was stronger

I really couldn’t decide if No 10 goes to the girl in the attacked village who wished someone would have been stronger than Damen or to one moment Damen talked about about Auguste. But somehow, these scenes are related and so I put them both here.

The first moment I’m talking about:

After the attack of a village that should not just blame Damianos but also separate Makedon and his men from Damens troop, Damen went to see one girl of the village to tell her that he would get revenge for what happened to her people.

The girl didn’t like it though, she still blames Akielos and doesn’t want to hear anything Damen had to say.

“It wasn’t fair what happened to your village,” Damen said to her. “No fight is ever fair. Someone’s always stronger. But I’ll give you justice. That I swear.”

“I wish Akielos had never come to Delfeur,” said the girl. “I wish someone had been stronger that you” (KR 171)

Think about it. Who could that someone probably have been? Auguste. But what would that have meant?

Then, there is the other moment I was talking about. After Damen had beaten Laurent in a fight. At this particular moment, I really hate Damen. Actually I don’t, but hearing Damen talk like that was just unfair.

“I know,” said Laurent, “that I was never good enough.”

Damen said, “And neither was your brother” (KR 137)

Later Damen admitted that he really wasn’t fair to be like that and that Laurent didn’t deserve this. But what makes me really mad was that Damensaid that even if he wasn’t stronger than Auguste. Just in that particular moment. And for a good reason. We don’t know who’d have been stronger, if Auguste hadn’t been fighting for hours already.

And here we go again. Maybe Auguste would have been stronger. We can't say for sure. But that in return would have meant Damens death (we clearly don't want that, either). And all of that just because their kingdoms are at war.

Laurent once said, they’d liked each other.

9. Laurent’s realisation

Laurent is a very smart character. So, when he admitted when he finally realised that the Regent really wanted him death, it’s kinda sad. I’m sure one part of Laurent already knew, but it also shows that Laurent still had a blind spot for the Regent until he poisoned Laurent’s horse and sent killers for him.

Of cause Laurent actually must have known that his uncle would go that far. Otherwise he wouldn’t have ditched his dutys at the border or suspected his uncle in the first place. But part of him just didn’t want to believe it until this moment... Pretty late, especially for Laurent, who doesn’t trust anyone in the first place.

“I didn’t think he’s really try to kill me,” Laurent said. “After everything... Even after everything.”

And the end of that quote even gives something else away. And that blind spot for the Regent is also seen in the other of the Regents boys. Even stronger.

8. Aimeric’s Betrayal

Aimeric, soldier in Laurents army and son of one of the most loyal of the Regent’s councillors, was thought of someone loyal to Laurent. He took more than one beating protecting the prince’s name from the Regent’s men. Even bigger hit the shock when Aimeric finally revealed why he actually joined the Princes guard. To cause trouble, maybe get some information and betray Laurent in the best possible moment.

“I can deny anything I like,” said Laurent, “in the absence of proof.”

“He has proof. He has my testimony. I saw everything.” (PG 257)

This isn’t quiet it, because this puts Jords (probably most trusted member of the princes guard) loyalty and feelings to the test. He was the one who fell for Aimeric and even covered his absence right before the boys betrayal.

Another effect of Aimeric’s betrayal is that Orlant (killed by Aimeric for being a traitor) really was the one who tried to protect the prince and his guard. Oh, he was a good friend of Jord, by the way.

“Orlant,” said Laurent, “didn’t deserve to die alone on the sword of a self-serving aristocrat he thought was a friend.”

“I know that,” said Jord. (PG 311)

7. Nicaise’s Farewell

Nicaise already knew he wouldn’t see Laurent again and and that this goodbye was for good. He knew the Regent wanted to kill Laurent, he just made the mistake to believe the Regent wouldn’t kill Nicaise himself.

“I remember the offer you made me. Everything you said then was a lie. I knew it was,” said Nicaise. “You’re leaving.”

“I’m coming back,” said Laurent.

“Is that what you think?” (CP 242)

6. Laurent’s internal struggle

Of cause we know that Laurent hated Damen for killing his brother, and probably blaming Damianos of Akielos for anything elsoe that he’d been trough. Who could blame him for that? But the more time Laurent spends with Damen, the more he noticed that Damianos isn’t the man Laurent thought he was.

And that made everything worse. But let Laurent explain it himself:

“I hated you. I hated you so badly I thought I’d choke on it. If my uncle hadn’t stopped me, I would have killed you. And then, you saved my life, and every time I needed you, you were there, and I hated you for that, too.” (KR)

This probably happens when you want to give in and trust a person, but on the other hand you hate the person for a very good reason.

5. Aimerics Death

Here we finally learn why Aimeric did what he did in the first place. What makes his whole betrayal even worse. It’s not, how Jord thought, that Aimeric was loyal to his family. Laurent confronted Aimeric with the fact that Aimeric was one of the Regent’s lovers, too, and manipulated by him.

“Why do you think my uncle asked you to whore yourself out to a common armsman before he’d deign to touch you? That’s what he thought you were good for. Screwing my soldiers. And you couldn’t even do that right.” (PG 318)

That’s why he finally killed himself. Of cause, Aimeric made a big mistake, but he clearly didn’t deserve death. And he clearly didn’t deserve to kill himself just because he could neither make it up to the Regent nor to Jord.

“I’m sorry, Jord”

They were the last words anyone would have from him. He had killed himself. (PG 361)

We’d like to have seen how Aimeric could have made amends, helped Laurent fight the Regent and Jord forgiving him. But he didn’t get the chance.

4. Marlas at night

When they were at Marlas, of cause Laurent had to visit the place where Auguste dies. Augustes death is the reason everything happened to Laurent the way it did and for Laurent, everything had been about Auguste. As a child he was his hero and growing up the one thing he wanted most was taking revenge for his brother’s death. And being where Auguste took his last breath must wake every bad memory in Laurent.

Auguste’s death itself just doesn’t belong to this list because it happened six years earlier and wasn’t in the book (only in Damens memories). “Here was the place where he had killed the last of the Prince’s guard, and came face to face with Auguste” (KR 113) Otherwise it would have been going straight up to the top of the list.

But seeing Laurent standing at the place where his brother died really is a heartbreaking moment that belongs here. Even more when Damen (Augustes killer) showed up and offered Laurent, to be there, as a friend.

Damen said, “I thought you might want—“

“Want?”

“A friend” said Damen. (KR 114) How must that feel for Laurent?

And that’s still not enough, because Damen (just meaning well) started talking about his fight with Auguste and how Laurents brother died. Maybe not a good timing but it gives the moment it’s heavy impact.

“He died well,” Damen made himself say. “He fought better than any man I’ve known. It was a fair fight, and he felt no pain. The end was quick.” (KR 115). And you can’t really argue about Laurents response to this:

“A fair fight?” said Laurent, turning back to him. “No fight’s ever fair. Someone’s always stronger” (KR 117) It was a well chosen statement because Laurent brought it up a little while after that conversation. But he is right. The fight wasn’t fair. Auguste was fighting for hours already while Damen came fresh from the Akielon tents and just made his way through the Prince’s guard straight to Auguste. Who knows if Damen would have won under other circumstances. And don’t take me wrong, I wouldn’t have liked that, either. But it’s something to think about.

But as if this isn’t sad enough, there is so much more in this moment. Damen and Laurent kinda talking about their night together. And this conversation, especially Damens statement, is a huge clue to another sad fate Laurent has to deal with.

“No. You fucked like a virgin,” said Damen, “half the time. The rest of the time—“

“Like I knew what to do?”

“Like you knew what you were used to” (KR 115)

Of cause it’s Damen and he doesn’t have a clue what he was talking about, but still, all of that happened because Laurent was mourning Ausguste’s death, wasn’t it? Well chosen place for this conversation and to make it even harder to read.

3. Nicaises Death

With Nicaises death, Laurent lost his little brother (Yes, not by blood, but still), too. The herold, who told Laurent that he commited treason and should stay trial in PG, just brought Nicaises head along and told Laurent this was a message from the Regent. “The soldier pulled the bag away from the severed head. [...] But it’s tumbled brown hair was dressed with star like pearls, and from the shape of his face, you could see that he has been beautiful” (PG 356) This hurts in many ways.

First of all, Nicaise is death. A character who shows us Laurents past and (even if he would never say so) cared for Laurent in a way. “Don’t tell him I came” he’d said. They’d had always, from the beginning, had a strange affinity. “This one pleaded for you” (PG 357)

Then the way Laurent acts and the things he said. Of cause Laurent never showed his real emotion and it’s hard to know what is on his mind. But those cold words hurt, even if you know that Laurent really liked Nicaise.

“You can tell my uncle boykiller, he can cut off the head off every child from here to the capital. It won’t make him into a king, it will simply mean he has no one left to fuck” (PG 358)

Other words Laurent used were “my uncle’s catamite” or “my uncle’s whore”. I can’t remember him using Nicaises name in that situation. Probably he doesn’t even know what to do with his feelings. But he finally showed what was really on his heart when he was alone with Damen.

“I’m sorry, I know what Nicaise meant to you.”

“He was my uncle’s whore” said Laurent.

“He was more than that. You thought of him as—“

“A brother?” said Laurent. “But I do not have terrible good luck with those.” (PG 366)

In my opinion this quote alone is pretty dark and sad, isn’t it?

Other hints that Laurent was mourning Nicaises death were released when Damen saw Nicaises earring after the boys death, that Laurent had held in his hand (PG 372) and that Laurent still thinks about Nicaise later (KR 276).

Another sad fact about Nicaises death is how Laurent blamed himself for it. There was nothing he could have done about it. He couldn’t have taken him along, but he still feels responsible.

“You’re right. I killed Nicaise when I left it half done. I should have either stayed away from him, or broken his faith in my uncle. I didn’t plan out. I left it to chance.” (PG 373)

And finally, think about that: Nicaise died alone “But in the end, the only person on his side was him” (PG 374), not knowing that the Regent got what he deservend and Laurent won. Probably he was even convinced that Laurent would lose this war and die in the first place. Pretty heavy knowledge for a 13 year old boy.

2. Kingsmeet- Damen realises

Even if Damen could have known sooner, because there were many hints (some even from Damen himself), he finally saw what the Regent did to Laurent (Another sad fact that happened before the book). The Regent told him on purpose, and Damens reaction was planned. He drew a sword in Kingsmeet, the place in Akielos where violence is punished with death imeadeatly. Damen kinda knows that he killing Auguste set that whole butterfly-effect in motion. And in this situation it goes even further because the Regent used Damens realisation to get his will and Laurent sacrificed himself for Damens life.  So even because of his own crimes the Regent gets his way again. This is really hard to believe because we really understand Damens anger right there. And even worse, there was a point Laurent knew exactly it would happen that way.

“Damen, get out,”said Laurent.

“No” said Damen. “He’s just a man.”

“Damen” said Laurent.

“No” (KR 285)

“He wants you to leave,” said the Regent. “Aren’t you curious why?”

“Damen” said Laurent.

“He has knelt for me”

The Regent said it in a calm, matter-of-fact voice, so that it didn’t penedrate at first. It was just a collection of words. Even when Damen turned, to see crimson on Laurents cheeks like a stain. And then the meaning of those words began forcing all other thoughts.  (KR 286)

So Laurent knew what was going to happen and tried to prevent it by sending Damen out, but of cause Damen wouldn’t be Damen if he just left Laurent alone with the Regent. And the Regent pushed it even further.

“I probably should have turned him away, but who can resist when a boy with a face like that asks you to stay with him? He was so lonely after his brothers died.” (KR 389)

So, we really can understand Damens reaction and that he didn’t even thought about his attack against the Regent. To be fair, it was the only reaction that made sense for Damen and his loyal and caring character. And of cause, his shock of the guards just letting that happen is understandable, too. Even if this is Kingsmeet.

“You all heard him, are you going to let him do this?” (KR 389)

1.Laurent actually believes he is worthless

The Regent does everything to ruin Laurent’s reputation over and over again. He cuts him off his supporters and makes the council and the Regent’s men believe that Laurent is a traitor to Vere and the crown and that the only thing his nephew deserves is execution.

But that’s not the worst thing about it. Laurent comes to the point where he really believes that he failed his brother and is worthless and alone. And of cause that plays in the Regent’s hand.

“I didn’t understand that he was fighting alone, and that he had been fighting alone for a very long time” (KR 307) was what Damen said at Laurent’s trial. This shows how much the Regent had cut Laurent off everyone he could trust.

“It was clear from the open look of horrified recognition on Laurents face that he hadn’t expected Damen— that he had not expected anyone” (KR 303) Another proof that Laurent really believed he was alone. And who could blame him? He had to ecpect treason even from his own men. Who wouldn’t feel lonely in this situation.

Laurent didn’t believe in himself, that’s shown when he sacrafices his own life first for Damen’s (not Damen’s) kid “Laurent was expecting me. He is here to give himself up for the child” (KR 284) and then for Damen “Laurent hadn’t brought Loyse to clear his own name, but to clear Damens” (KR 317). He had given up on himself and just tries to get the best out of it for Damen.

“Seeing Laurent’s shocked face, Damen realised that something had happened that Laurent hadn’t imagined.” (KR 323) when the Council finally showed Laurent loyalty. That’s proof that he had given up already.  And he did this probably a long time ago.

When the herald blamed Laurent for treason and told him to stand trial in KR, his reaction showed this, too. “Laurent said nothing, an uncharacteristic silence, and Damen saw the subtle signs, the tension across his shoulders [...]” (KR 184)

But I’d push that even further. There’s another quote that probably shows us that Laurent thinks he’s worthless:

“´You’re not good enough. You would have come for revenge, and I would have killed you. That’s how it would have been between us. Is that what you would have wanted? `

´Yes,` said Laurent.”(KR 137)

So Laurent just wanted revenge for Auguste, we knew that. What’s new there is that he knew that he’d probably die trying. And this is exactly what nearly happened at the end of the triology. Just that he changed the enemy. It wasn’t Damen’s death anymore that he wanted. He wanted to protect Damen and give his life for that. Because that was the only thing he considered his life worth for. And this is in my opinion the saddest moment or better parted into moments in the books.

[alltoolewis]

Timeless- Mason Mount

I'm finally off for the summer & finally back writing! This one is super special and is inspired by timeless by Taylor swift, if you haven't heard the vault track please listen to it while reading this! This has to be one of my favourite things I have ever wrote... Hope you all enjoy & I can't wait to write more! Hope this apologies for my absence Love you guys x

P.S I will not comment on him leaving to united btw... as Liverpool fan I am devasted 😒

Summary- When you and Mason are cleaning your nan's attic you discover a book of your grandparents love story... helping Mason think of the perfect anniversary present for you...

Words- 2.6k

"Mase please.." you squealed as he wrapped his arms around you from behind, taking you by surprise as you continued to search through the old dusty boxes "This really needs doing and I never would of agreed to let you help if I knew you'd be messing around like this!" You didn't realise that agreeing to clean you nan's old attic would result in your clingy boyfriend of almost 5 years joining you. What was suppose to be a solo task, turned into a duo one the minute his brown eyes grew wide at your claim that you were leaving him for a couple of hours alone.

"I didn't know showing my beautiful girlfriend of 5 years love was classed as messing around..." he pouted, loosening his grip of you but of course not fully as his arm still hovered your waist. "It's not 5 years yet loser" You smirked, throwing something you believed was an old sock that was hiding in the box at him "We're still 3 weeks of that title!"  You still couldn't believe that it had already been that long. It felt like just yesterday that he caught your attention in the dimmed lightened room, his laugh being the loudest noise as the speakers blaring out the music you had always hated silenced, allowing you to hear what has since been your favourite sound. Since that night you had been by each others side, through the ups and downs, the spot next to him was always yours and vice versa... there was no Mason without (y/n) and he prayed there'd never have to be!

Silence filled the room once more, however the smiles never faded as you sorted through all your nans precious things. Growing up you never thought of your nan as a hoarder, her house was also tidy barely anything on display except the odd pictures of core memories but little did she know that she kept the purest things locked up here. From her old ballet shoes to her old school books, her old prom dress to a rock she found on her secret dates with your late grandfather... she kept everything.

"What's this?" Mason asked curiously, lifting up a book covered in dust and cobwebs. Being nosy of his new finding, you quickly went to where he was sitting next to him on the old fragile footstool, floor creaking as you did so. Your eyes hovered over the brown book in his hands, that it was safe to say that  time has took its toll on. Crouching down in front of him, your hand swept across the front cover, tears immediately filling your eyes as you read the words...

'THE STORY OF ANNIE & JOHN'

The words were followed by a photo of them together, smiles brighter than the stars as the look of love was written in there eyes. You had already heard the story of your grandparents many times from your nan... but seeing it in hidden pictures made your whole world freeze.

Noticing the sudden emotion in your face, Mason sighed "You okay, darling?" wiping away the fallen tears as they fell down your cheek, letting his hand hover there as a guard. Nodding, you gulped "Yeah... yeah I'm good.." Smiling he patted his knee, silencing telling you to come over which of course you obeyed. 

Now the book was on your knee as Mase held you tightly on his lap, head leaning over your shoulder as he traced comforting shapes on your arm. "Are you going to have a look honey?" He could see your clear hesitation to open it, as your hands strummed over the outskirts of the pages. Apart of you wanted to open the book, see the love of your grandparents everybody talked so dearly about, the love that was always compared to yours and Masons, however the other part of you couldn't help but think you were invading the privacy... you knew there story like the back of your hand. A secret romance that was forbidden by there families, your grandmother being in a privileged family who had a tradition to pick other privileged people for there children to fall in love with. While your grandad was the son of the maid, 2 years older than her but fell head over the heels the second he caught eyes with in his word 'a princess' They hidden what they had for years, scared that there families would tear them apart... but faith took its role and 12 years later they were happily married as a runaway couple, ready to start there new lives together.

As your mind wondered away, you felt his hand lace over yours, squeezing it tightly "It's okay (y/nn)? She would want you to see this??" You knew he was right... she'd be screaming for you to open it if she was there. Listening to him, you squeezed his hand back before opening it up. 

The pages looked just as battered as the front cover, but the love was still clear as rain. The book had different chapters, just like a fairy tale. It began with there first year, where your pop's mum first got the job and he was allowed to be involved in the staff picture where your grandmother stood just 5 people away. 

"I didn't know your grandad was in the war.." Mason whispered, scared to ruin the moment as you were flicking through there years together. It was there 7th year 'together'... the year your dad got drafted to fight in the war. "He didn't want to go" You mumbled back, hand touching the envelopes your nan had clearly stuck in the book "He wanted to stay with her although no one knew about them... he wrote her love letters, signed them off as Dave so no one knew it was from him"

"Didn't she call him Dave all the time..." Mason chuckled, squeezing your hip gently. He only had a few years with your nan, while with your pops he only had 1 short one & for the longest time he was convinced he was called 'Dave' "Yep!" You giggled back "Even after all those years together she still called him it. It was there secret code word..."

For the next couple of hours you flipped through the rest of the book, pausing to read the letters, see the small details of the grainy images. From there wedding to the birth of your mum, from the day they ran away together to the day your grandad came back to find your nan had been set up to marry someone else... it had all be recorded in the book.

Your heart broke when you flipped to the last filled page in the book, your grandads order of service leaflet from his funeral. Your heart broke even more when it came clear that your nan had placed it in by herself... ending there story together...

Noticing the tears falling faster down your face, Mason closed the book placing it gently down as he wrapped his arms tighter than ever around you, allowing you to sob in his chest. He didn't say much as you cried, just rubbed your back and whispered a few words of comfort, knowing what you needed most was time to absorb what you just saw.

Once you calmed down, you lifted your head back up to look at his warm brown eyes, his hand instantly going to your cheek "They we're amazing (y/n).." He smiled, causing you to mirror it back "They would been so happy you got to witness it through there eyes..."

"They were timeless..." You breathed out, looking down to the book on the floor that was bound to come home with the two of you.

"Just like we will be.."

Your head shot up to look at him with blood shot eyes "You think?"

"Oh I know we will!" He smiled, causing you to cuddle deeper into him "I hope so Mase..."

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

3 weeks later.....

"Mase stop!" You laughed as he picked you as you went to put the key in your new shared home in manchester  "Please stop we need to get in before it rains... stop messing around!"

"I didn't know showing my girlfriend of 5 years of affection was classed as messing around..." He sulked as your laugh continued to echo around the house, taking the heels that had killed your feet all night "and before you start I can call you that now!!"

"I know..." You smiled, turning around to wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss, one of many that day "and I couldn't be prouder to now say it.." Mason returned the kiss as he muttered I love you, which of course you mumbled back. Somehow you two ended up in your bedroom, his jacket through on the floor as the zipper on your dress began to be pulled down.

Just as it was about to get even more heated, he pulled back causing you to sigh dramatically. "Don't be dramatic lovie, we have all night to do that.." He laughed, dragging you to the end of the bed "But first I want to give you your final present of the night.."

"but mase you've already given me loads today.." You groaned, hating how much he had already spoiled you today. Giving you far to many presents, making you bed in breakfast and then taking you to the fanciest restaurant in Manchester. You honestly didn't know how he'd make the day even better before he pulled out a box placing it gently on your knee... "Now this one is kind of for the both of us..." He smiled wrapping his arm around you "But I think you'll appreciate it.."

Carefully, you untied the little red bow on the box lifting the box up with the expectation of finding more personalised jewellery. However your heart dropped to the floor as you saw something you'd never thought you'd see...

A book... Similar to the one of your grandparents but instead of there names it read...

'THE STORY OF (Y/N) & MASON'

And just like the other one, a picture displayed below it. One of you and him at the champions league final, your smiles brighter than stars and the same look of love they had.

"Oh my god M-Mase..." You speechlessly gasped, covering your mouth as tears escaped your eyes "I c-can't believe it.."

His eyes mirrored yours with tears as he placed his hand on top of yours "Open it darling.." He whispered, voice full of love "Don't be scared to read this one... it's ours only"

Listening to him like always, you opened the book, smile immediately spreading across your face as you flipped through to see the many filled pages of your story so far.  The first day you met at that party, the first selfie you took together, your first chelsea game, the day you moved together... every memory shared together was captured in perfect unison to the orginal.

"I didn't even know this exsisted!" You laughed messily, as you looked at the picture of you drunkenly asleep on Mason's lap at his Chelsea leaving party. You couldn't remember much of that day, other than you drunk the night away in hope that it took the sting away from living the beloved club and city... 

"Ben took..." Mason smirked "He sent it me the next day along with the video of you doing my celebration on top of the table..."  "Please say that's a joke.." You muttered as you hid your head in embarrassment, hoping that he  was lying..

"Nope!" He chuckled "I'll show you that later darling, first you have to finish this book!"

So you did. There wasn't much after that, other than his first day at united and your new home in Manchester... little did you know there was one final page to your story you were yet to experience...

"What's this?" You questioned as you flipped the page to see a brown envelope stuck to the page, similar to love letters your grandad use to write. Unable to say much, Mason whispered "Open it and see..."

With shaking hands you pulled out letter which was folded in half, his scruffy handwriting evident. You shot him one last look, nervousness written all over his face as you began to read the love letter addressed to only you....

My dear (y/n),

I've never been good at doing speeches or expressing how I feel, but with you by my side I feel as though I can do anything, so here I am... Ever since I saw you my whole world changed for the better. You fixed the hole in my life like a puzzle piece and ever since then I knew I'd never want to lose you.

The other week when I held you in your nan's attic made me think of if we met in another life, would be the same as we are right now... and the truth is sweetheart we would of have! Even if we met on a crowded street in the 40's or if I was sent to war and you were forced to marry another man... my head would of still turned for you just like it did at that party...

you still would have been mine, I'd of make sure of it!

I'm going to love you for the rest of our lives, till we have grey hair, mini mounts running around the place, a cardboard box stored of memories we made, we'll have it all! 

Our story starts now Angel... 

we're going to be timeless...

look forward...

Mase x

Tears poured down your face as you followed the letters instructions, showing him down on one knee, a small box with the most gorgeous diamond ring displayed in it, one that coincidently resembled the one your nan had...

"Mase..."

"(y/n)... will you please make me the happies man alive & spend the rest of your life with me??"

Unable to speak you nodded your head, falling to your knees as you wrapped your arms around him. "I love you so much.." You sobbed into his neck.

"I love you so much more..." He cried back, pulling back from you for a brief second to slip the gorgeous ring on your finger "This is your nans ring" He smiled "I asked your parents if it was okay if I gave it you... I want us to be a timeless classic like your grandparents, I want to fill that book up with you till the day we are torn apart by fate..."

Once more you were speechless as his arm wrapped around you, your head lay on his chest listening to the heart which had loved you for 5 years... there was no (y/n) without Mason and you prayed every minute of the day that you'd be the couple your grandparents were. A love so strong it could be seen from miles away, a love everyone dreamed of but only a rare few could experience... one that even time couldn't forget... Your going to be... 

TIMELESS

[moonmaiden1996]

Beneath the Surface

So I have been wanting to watch this for the longest time after seeing clips of this man and David Tennet. I mean yum! I haven't quite got around to watching it yet but I have been reading the book/s and this thought has been rattling around my head for ages that I needed to get out of my head.

Rupert x Curvy Reader- Some suggestiveness

The garden party at the Harborough estate was in full swing, all crisp linens, chilled champagne, and laughter floating through the balmy afternoon air. Rupert Campbell-Black, sprawled lazily in a wicker chair with a drink in hand, barely feigned interest in the polite chatter buzzing around him. He was here out of obligation—a necessary appearance alongside Declan O’Hara, his insufferable rival, and the rest of the local television circus. He had expected the usual tedium, but then he noticed the shift in atmosphere.

A ripple of attention moved through the party. Heads turned, conversations briefly faltered, and a few men subtly adjusted their postures as they took in the presence of someone new—or rather, newly transformed. Snatches of murmured conversation drifted towards him.

“Did you see O’Hara’s stepdaughter? Christ, she’s changed. The arse on her, no wonder Maud sent her away—don’t want her husband around a stepdaughter like that.”

“Always thought she was a little mouse. Who knew she had that hiding under all those books?”

“Spent time abroad, didn’t she? Some scandal, if you believe the whispers.”

“I heard she turned down some prince, left him at their own engagement party.”

Rupert followed their gazes, eyes narrowing as he finally landed on you.

At first, he didn’t recognize you. Declan O’Hara’s stepdaughter had been spoken of, but never seen. Rupert had vaguely registered Maud O’Hara’s fond but exasperated descriptions—a bookish, serious girl, forever with her nose in a novel, lost to academia. Dull, he’d thought. Dull and unimportant.

The woman standing across the lawn, laughing with her half-sisters, was anything but.

You were curvy and glowing from your time abroad, and exuded a confidence that made his sharp blue eyes narrow with interest. Your hair gleamed in the afternoon sun, and your laugh—a rich, uninhibited sound—carried over the party, drawing more than just his attention. The moment you threw your head back, grinning at something young Caitlin had said, Rupert had the unwelcome realization that he was staring.

“Oh, bloody hell,” he muttered to himself, taking a slow sip of his drink, eyes traveling down your body. What he wouldn't do to get a chance to get behind that figure and bunch those skirts up...

His mind, never particularly noble, immediately assessed the situation. Declan’s stepdaughter—off-limits, complicated. But also tempting, clearly underestimated, and possibly trouble. Christ, she’s a proper handful, he thought, gaze lingering on the swell of your hips. A woman like that didn’t just slip unnoticed through life. He wondered how many men had already tried and failed to claim her. Maybe even had claimed her.

He imagined what that soft, curvy body would feel like beneath his hands, how you’d react if he pushed, if he tested, if he whispered something wicked in your ear. He had a sudden, vivid image of you sprawled on a bed, eyes flashing defiance even as your lips parted beneath his. Oh, now wouldn’t that be interesting? He pictured those plush thighs wrapping around him, the way your breath might hitch if he bit at that delicate spot on your neck.

He spent the next half-hour mooching about the party, gathering snippets of conversation, watching you from a comfortable distance. You weren’t at the center of the social fray but hovered at the edges, observing with an amused detachment, sipping your drink with the air of someone who found all this social posturing vaguely entertaining. Not shy, exactly, but aware. Selective.

More whispers followed him as he drifted through the crowd.

“She had some torrid affair while she was away, you know.”

“No, no, she turned down some lord or diplomat. Broke his heart. Ice-cold, that one.”

Rupert filtered the exaggerations from the truths. The woman people spoke of was bold, confident—but something about you, something in the way you stayed just outside the party’s thrumming heart, suggested a wariness, a careful distance. Bold, but vulnerable, he thought. There was something in your eyes—a fire but a fear—and the realization intrigued him even more.

Rupert wasn’t a man who liked mysteries left unsolved. He liked his women obvious, uncomplicated, and preferably already in his bed. You, however, were none of those things. And that, annoyingly, made him want to know more. Perhaps he could get you into his bed, being sprawled across crisp white seats would suit you.

It was only when he lingered near the buffet table, pretending to be interested in the uninspired selection of canapés, that Taggie caught him.

“You’re watching her,” she said, tilting her head curiously.

Rupert didn’t look at Taggie immediately, instead swirling the drink in his hand with studied nonchalance. “I watch many things, darling.”

Taggie frowned slightly. “Well, yes, I suppose you do.” She brightened. “Isn’t it wonderful she’s back? Caitlin’s thrilled. I think she’s missed her terribly. I know I have.”

Rupert finally turned to face her, the faintest smirk on his lips. “Tell me, when exactly did your sister become the most interesting woman in the room?”

Taggie blinked at him, momentarily thrown. “Oh, I suppose she’s always been, really. You lot just weren’t paying attention.”

He exhaled a short laugh. “And what brings her back to this charming little patch of England?”

“For Caitlin’s eighteenth birthday, of course,” Taggie said earnestly, completely unaware of the sharp interest in Rupert’s gaze. “And, well, she wants Caitlin and me to move to London with her. Or maybe even go abroad. Away from Daddy and Mummy.”

Rupert raised an eyebrow. “Ambitious.”

Taggie nodded. “Oh yes, but she’s always been determined when she sets her mind to something.”

Rupert hummed thoughtfully, gaze flicking back toward you. As if on cue, you turned slightly, speaking to someone just within earshot, your voice carrying just enough for him to catch Maud’s sharp reply.

“You should have worn that dress—it makes you look full, round, and plump. You’ve gotten fat. Why couldn’t you just wear the dress I got you?”

There was a pause, and then, to his utter astonishment, your voice, clear and cool: “Because it was at least two sizes too big and shapeless. I think I look rather bangable. My tits have never looked better. I thought this is what you wanted rather than your bookish daughter?” you snapped, swinging back a gulp of champagne, eyes burning.

Rupert nearly choked on his drink.

Taggie gave a small, horrified gasp at the family squabble, face burning in embarrassment “Oh, God.”

Rupert, however, was utterly fascinated. His keen gaze traced the curves that Maud had so carelessly dismissed. You were lush—undeniably so. And you carried it like a woman who knew exactly what kind of attention you could command if you chose to.

Well, well.

He’d assumed you were a bookish little nobody, a person that he didn’t even register, a faceless name, but now? You were something else entirely. A challenge. A contradiction. A woman who knew her own worth but still carried something guarded in her expression. He felt the sharp tug of interest low in his gut, imagining what it would be like to make you gasp, to hear that cool, composed voice turn breathless under him. To push and see how much you could take, to watch you unravel, inch by inch, under the right hands. His, of course.

Taggie groaned again, oblivious to the meaning behind his expression. “Please don’t be you about this.”

Rupert shot her a wicked grin. “Oh, darling, I wouldn’t dream of it.”

But that wasn’t exactly true, was it?

SOOOOO what do you think?

LIKE. COMMENT. REQUEST

[webco-dawnn]

Karasuno Third Years Hcs !!

These are some hcs about how I think the Karasuno third years would react to you being tired/overworked. this is just part one so there will be more parts with more teams and more years in the next few days!! but I hope you enjoy these hcs :) (also this post includes hcs with: Daichi Sawamura, Sugawara Koushi, Kiyoko Shimizu, & Asahi Azumane)

Daichi Sawamura

He walks into the gym, ready to set up for the early morning practice they had. He expected to find the gym quiet and dark like it usually is when he first gets there, but then he sees you, spiking a ball against the wall over and over again. just you. by yourself. at 6 in the morning, practicing.

Concern fills his eyes as he stares at you, eyebrows furrowed. You haven't seem to have noticed him yet through the sounds of the ball smacking against the wall repeatedly.

When he walks over, he asks you how long you've been here practicing. you come up with some excuse, saying you've only been here for about thirty minutes, but from the eye bags, Daichi could tell you were lying through your teeth.

he sighed and brought you over to one of the benches near the side of the gym, sitting you down and sitting down next to you. he hands you a bottle full of cold water, watching you gulp it down before insisting that you need to take better care of yourself. he tells you that you're working just as hard, if not harder, than everyone else on the team, and by spending more time in the gym won't do anything other than burn you out.

after his fatherly-like rant, he offers to take you home. when you tell him he'd be late for practice if he did, he said it didn't mind as long as it meant you were safe at home and resting.

Sugawara Koushi

The setter was staying over at your house for the night, as it was Friday, after all. he'd probably be staying for the whole weekend like usual. Ever since you two got together, he's basically been attached to your side.

He sat on your bed, scrolling on his phone while you worked on some group project on your floor. Originally, he had tried to tell you that it was the weekend and you shouldn't have to worry about this project, but you just replied back saying it was fine and that you were almost done anyway.

You had to paint a picture that went along with this group project of studying around the world. the group had to pick a country and do a little bit of research on it as well as draw a picture of a landmark there.

But after about an hour in, Sugawara started to notice that, not only were you painting, but while you were finishing for the paint to dry to add more layers on top, you were typing up a paper on your laptop. Concerned, he decided to ask about it.

And you had no other choice but to explain to him that you were basically doing this group project alone.. none of your other group members had done anything to contribute to the project whatsoever, so you were also typing up the paper of information.

Sugawara frowned and got down from your bed, closing your laptop and placing it on your desk. then he carefully picked up your painting supplies and also put it on your desk, alongside with your painting.

Then he got you a cup of water and reassured you that you didn't have to do all this by yourself. he'd help you tell your teacher that nobody was helping you if you needed him too. he rubbed your back softly before placing a gentle kiss on your temple.

Kiyoko Shimizu

You had recently joined an after school club, mostly just to please your parents/guardian, but also because you enjoyed the main activity in this club. Writing. You had found a passion for writing at a young age and carried that passion with you all the way to high school. Now, here you are, in the club room by yourself. The club's meeting ended about an hour ago, but you insisted on staying afterwards to continue working on your project which was writing the draft for your book.

You had been staying after meetings more and more often, overworking yourself to the bone. Thankfully, though, nobody noticed. Even if the people in the club started to get suspicious of you, you always insisted that you were fine, making up an excuse that you liked to stay longer because your parents/guardian worked late and weren't home by the time the club ended.

One person didn't fall for your tricks, though. Kiyoko. She was currently your girlfriedn and didn't fall for this trick.

When you exited the club room to use the bathroom for a quick minute, you spotted Kiyoko, who just so happened to be walking near you. She froze as she saw you, looking you up, head to toe, before letting out a soft sigh. She knew you were overworking yourself.

She approached you and pulled you into a warm hug, pressing a kiss to your cheek and telling you, "You should stop doing this. You're tired." The two of you stayed like that for a minute. Afterwards, she walked you home and talked to you.

Asahi Azumane

Due to your parents/guardian losing their job, you decided to step in and get one yourself. It was only a part-time job after school so you didn't earn too much money, but it was still money, right?

But, soon that part-time job turned into basically a full-time job. You picking up other people's shifts if they couldn't make it, purposely working overtime to get more money to support your family. It was hard and you were struggling. Though you tried to put up a happy facade, smiling through your exhaustion and continued to keep the smile on your face even if you felt lots of pain, both mentally and physically. Working these long hours put a lot of strain on your body.

You worked at a gas station, sitting behind the counter and tiredly scanning people's items and having to deal with angry customers. Though, you spot one familiar face as he approaches you with a few items in hand. Asahi.

Asahi's expression turned surprised, eyes widening slightly. "Oh, you work here?" he asked, as he set down his items on the counter. You responded with just a sheepish smile and a nod. "Yep. Been working here for a bit now." Asahi caught onto the tired tone in your voice.

As he took a closer look at you, he noticed the eye bags underneath your eyes, the way your eyes were dull instead of the light that filled them. He frowned. "Hey, it's kinda late, isn't it? How long have you been working today?"

As if on autopilot, you respond, "six hours." You didn't even realize your mistake until after you looked up at Asahi to see his expression, which was now twisted into more of a surprised and kind of horrified look.

"hey, i'll drive you home. don't worry," Asahi said, picking up his bags of items after they had been scanned by you. A soft smile made its way onto Asahi's lips. "Try not to overwork yourself in the future, okay?"

[auroreliis]

Introduction!!!

Hiii :D I'm Aurora, but most people call me Rorii!! I use she/her pronouns!!!

First of all, I recommend staying away from my page if you're under 16. Perhaps not all of my posts include 18+ topics, but some do and I really, REALLY don't want anyone under 16 interracting with my content (I'm also quitte iffy about people under 18 viewing my content, but I suppose I can't really stop you if you think that you can handle it...).

I need to clarify that English is not my mother tongue, so please forgive any errors :')

I mainly use this blog to share my thoughts and ideas!!! BUT I am veryyyy insistent on making sure that my posts are correct (okayyyy I may not always succeed, but still), so I might take a bit longer to post simply because I'm making sure that everything makes sense ;D

Other times, I will be offline for weeks at a time, because I have no inspiration :'(

That being said, I try my best, but my schedule is all over the place...sorry <3

Some more info about me!! My favourite band ever are Arctic Monkeys <3 Also, I am a bit of a yapper, so hopefully I will be forgiven if I ever go on and on about something <3 Also also, purple and red are my favourite colours!!!

I easily hyperfixate on things (and I bet you can't guess what it is now...)

I often play video games when I am free and my favourite ones EVER are Little Nightmares and Hitman!! Though Fields of Mistria and Stardew Valley might as well be on the list too.

When I am not playing video games, then I am watching hour-long video essays <3

I often read books before going to bed, mostly classics, but not exclusively <3

Oh also! Sleeping is my favourite way to pass time :)

My Ask-Box is always open!!! (And I swear, I try my best to answer everything :')...)

If you did send an ask and haven't recieved a reply yet, it's likely because I have not enough inspiration to make a good post about your ask. However, as soon as inspiration strikes me, I will write and write and write!!!

Frequently asked Questions!!!!

Q: What fandoms do you write for? A: Any fandom that I am currently interested in, so feel free to request and recommend me various media that you would like to see from me...however, DC has had a lot of power over me lately...

Q: Is there any topic you won't write about? A: A few come to mind, like extreme kinks and fetishes (age play, scat/pee/vomit play, non-con, etc.). However, if it is anything super niche or specific, feel free to ask me!

Q: Do you have any side blogs or other socials? A: For now, I have no side blogs, however, I have a secret AO3 account!! Let me know if you think you've found it ;D

Masterlist!!!

Yes, I finally have a masterlist. I've tried to compile EVERYTHING on here and will try to update regularly:

Masterlist

That would be all for now :)

Thanks for reading this <3

[tams-writeblr]

Love in a hopeless Place 21

Synopsis: She was barely grown up, when she stepped into the bar that was the center of Zaun's resistance. The people she met there would forever change her life, and one of them especially. Silco x reader/OC; first-person POV; overall rating: E for Explicit; canon-compliant (though I might make a stretch on the timeline here and there to make things fit my symbolism); age gap! (younger female, older male); 9 chapters; 45k; cis female reader/POV; no beta-reader; completed Chapter ratings/warnings: E for Explicit, smut! oral (male receiving) unprotected intercourse, a teeny tiny praise kink, but don't we all have that? strong language Wordcount: <1k Author's note: I swear all the smut has a meaning, it's not just being horny, okay? xD No of course I try to keep everyone entertained but it all serves a purpose, really. But I recommend fasteing your seat belts before the grand finale of Act II. Comments would be appreciated!

Today's music recommendation: Freya Ridings - I can't hear it now

<- previous | next ->

Act II

Chapter III

Part 8/9

Vander soon found out, that Silco was still alive, and from what I was told, he seemed relieved about it. He still came to our store to tell me he would get a new vendor if I decided to stay with Silco.

My father, who didn't know the full story, told him, that he wouldn't tell me, who I saw and that he had enough private customers to make do.

Vander didn't lay an eye on me before storming off again.

I tried explaining, but my father didn't want to know.

"I told you, Silco is trouble. But you need to know what you do."

Honestly? I had trouble getting used to Silco's new face. The way his left eye stared at you, even when he was asleep, was unsettling, to put it carefully.

It didn't help, that he pulled away from me more and more and didn't even show me his face anymore, let alone let me touch it. We did see the doc again, but he also told us that the nerve damage would be permanent. The contaminated water had basically poisoned all the edges of all the wounds and a lot of skin, muscle and tissue had died and was still dying. Silco just left the office without saying a word, and I yet again had to run after him like a little dog.

I knew he felt desperate, but I didn't have the right words to give him the reassurance that he might have needed. I could just let him know that I was at his side, that I would not leave him about superficial things. That we'd go through the hardships the world threw at us together. But I wasn't sure if he even listened to me.

At night, he often got out of bed, covered in a sweat, but he wouldn't tell me, what he had dreamed about.

I again found myself in the position to be sent back to sleep. And when I got up, he was hunched over his desk, reading his chemistry books and making cryptic notes that he hid from me carefully. I begged him to not touch explosives anymore, and he promised me it wasn't anything like that.

"I miss you," I whispered into his ear one evening, as he had been working for hours already again. "Come to bed with me. You haven't touched me in weeks." I felt him stiffen under my arms, which were wrapped around his shoulders.

"I'm sorry," he murmured and neatly closed his books. "I've been very in my own head after everything that happened."

"I get that," I murmured. "It's understandable. So let me make you feel better, will you?"

He pushed his chair away from the desk as I swayed around it to stand between his legs.

I kissed him, slowly at first, but he quickly wrapped his arms around me, engulfing me in his embrace.

"I missed you too," he admitted and looked at me carefully, as I slowly got on my knees. His head fell on the backrest in anticipation. "Kid, you don't have to - I know you don't like-"

I shushed him by unbuttoning his pants. "As long as your hands stay on these fucking hand rests, we won't have a problem." I took his half-erected dick out of his restriction and gave him a few strokes so he reached his full size, receiving a moan as rewards.

"So, you tell me, I can't touch you?"

"Hm-hmm," I hummed with my lips against his tip.

"Unfair," he wailed, but quickly shut up as I took him to the mouth.

I loved hearing the armrests creak over how hard he clutched them, and I mimicked the gesture with his thighs.

"You drive me insane," he moaned.

I grabbed his thighs harder, as he moved his hips against my mouth.

"I'm sorry, I can't," he panted. "Up with you. It's my turn."

I would have preferred if he just threw me on the desk to do the deed, but he carefully carried me to the bed to get down in me. Luckily, I was allowed to touch him, even if I painfully missed playing with his lush hair. I still scratched his scalp as he sucked me over the edge. I got not much time to recover as he quickly pushed inside my core, still kneeling between my legs.

It felt like he was finally coming home to me.

I played with my sensitive tits as he placed sloppy kisses down my abdomen and fucked me slowly.

"Look at you, kid," he growled, his eyes fixed on the show my hands were giving him. "Such a good girl, going so bad for someone like me. Despite all, I must be a lucky man."

I grinned slyly, dragging my underlip between my teeth. "I don't wanna be a good girl. I wanna be your bad girl, a bad, bad bitch."

He smiled, speeding up his pace. "No, you're a good girl. That's what I love about you."

The praise sent a shiver down my spine. 

He fucked me until my eyes rolled to the back of my head, then pulled out to jerk on my belly. While he cleaned me up and then placed his head on my chest, I almost felt like the night he first loved me.

[tearsonmarz]

Scarian Flirting and Fishing pt. 2

(I know I said I wasn’t going to be adding onto the one-shot-- but that was before Grian’s latest episode came out, so here we are. Don’t hold your breath for another part. Also, I decided that it wasn’t going to be a modern setting, but I’m also too lazy to make either of these historically accurate. I wrote these for fun, they weren’t meant to be anything too thought out. Here's part one if you haven't read it yet. I was also too tired to edit it, but I need it out of my docs because it'll consume my thought otherwise.)

“So, why do you want this book so badly?” Scar was curious since he hadn’t seen Grian before. He had never imagined what would stem from a simple encounter with the sandy haired man.

He’d been following Grian for about a month now. They’d go to nearby streams, scrounge around for the book, spend hours getting excited only to be disappointed once again.

After the first two days, Scar bought a fishing rod to help out. But Grian had insisted that he wanted to be the one to find it, nevertheless Scar fished because it bothered Grian.

“I need it for something important that I’m working on. You know you can leave whenever you want.”

“Still trying to get rid of me, don’t you get tired of it?”

“Don’t you get tired of following me?” He shot Scar a look that only caused him to burst out laughing.

“You just aren’t going to give up.”

“I should be the one saying that.”

Why was he staying this long? There was no reason for him to continue bothering Grian. It’s simply something that had integrated into his daily routine. Every day without fail they would link up, take a walk down to the river and start fishing. They’d eat together, talk together, and enjoy each other’s company. It mainly consisted of Scar ranting to his hearts content, while Grian pretended not to listen. Every now again Grian would forget and chime into the conversation to Scar’s surprise.

Through it all they continued to hang around each other. The other’s presence because comforting and routine. Though Grian would never admit it, he was happy that Scar stuck around. Even if he wasn’t ecstatic about Scar in the beginning, each fishing trip felt a little more fulfilling even without a mending book. He hadn’t wanted to spend this month any other way.

“I don’t think this is the spot.” He dejectedly spoke as he reeled in another fish.

“Are you sure? It’s barely been an hour.”

“No, I’m not sure, but I’m just so sick of getting nothing every single day. It’s so infuriating.” A sigh left his lips as he tossed it onto the pile and put down his fishing rod.

“Why don’t we just take a break. Let’s head into town to eat for a change.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right. Finish up while I start packing up our stuff.”

‘Our.’ Just that simple word stuck in Scar’s head, enough to distract him from the pulling on his line. Snapping out of it, he reeled in is line. Much to his dismay it was a book. He walked over to his pile, but before he could inspect it, Grian called out to him.

“Ready to get going yet?”

He hid the book in the pile of items he had acquired pretending to sift through it. “Yeah, just let me finish putting everything away and I’ll be good to go.”

“Oh… Alright, I’ll just wait for you then.” Without another word Grian started towards the fishery.

Scar brought the book back out. It had a royal purple coloured cover decorated with golden trim, and an ominous aura to it. Besides, he already knew it was what Grian was looking for. Just in case, he was going to allow it to dry. Once he had gathered himself, he made his way to where Grian was.

“What are you in the mood for?”

“Anything as long as it’s delicious and filling.” Grian sulked as they strolled.

Scar just smiled, leading the way to the nearby tavern. They grabbed something quick to eat, not paying much mind to the time. Scar’s priority was to cheer Grian up after all. Well, that was before he had found what they had been searching for. It felt like it was looming over his head. He knew he had to tell Grian eventually.

“So, G. What are you going to do when you do find that book?” That question earned a coughing fit from Grian. “Oh, sorry I didn’t mean to startle you. Here-” He passed Grian his handkerchief, urging him to drink water as he tried to calm down.

“Why… Why do you ask?” Grian replied in between coughs. He cleared his throat, quietly thanking Scar and beckoning him to continue.

“Well, I just got to thinking. We’ve been fishing for a month, and it has to come to an end. I was just wondering what would happen to us when it does… End I mean.”

“Oh. I hadn’t really thought about what we would do. I guess, we’d probably go our separate ways.”

They sat there in silence for a moment. Wondering what the other was thinking. The thought of this coming to end was bittersweet and heartbreaking. Scar didn’t want it to end, but he’d be lying if the thought didn’t cross his mind. What was he to do after this? What was his life lie before hanging around Grian? That thought has only caused him more grief.

Scar never stayed in one place for very long. There was never anything keeping him tied to a single area. He was free to do as he pleased without a care in the world. For the first time, he had something to look forward to. Casual conversation, playful pranks, and a type of warmth he hadn’t experienced before. He liked the sense of security he began to associate with Grian. His home.

The thought of something changing, or Grian leaving him was devastating. And the fear began to set in. If he were to show Grian what he had found there was a large possibility that he’d leave him. He couldn’t take that chance. Maybe, if he held onto it for a little longer, he could find another reason for Grian to stay. Just maybe.

[gmariam321]

And here is the beginning of the 'plus one' for The Purpose of Magic. I haven't included it all as it's quite long already and not completely finished. I have posted the first five questions on AO3 if anyone would like to read them all again. I hope to finish and post the second part this weekend. Thank you so much!

The Purpose of Magic (Link to AO3)

I.

The sickness hits Gwen hard, and Arthur doesn’t know what to do or feel. He sits by her beside for hours, lets Gaius show him how to wipe her brow when her fever grows too high. He helps feed her liquids and broth, and even combs her hair once, when it looks too tangled for her liking.

Merlin has spent two days attending Arthur while he sits with Gwen, as well as helping Gaius research her condition and prepare draughts to keep her comfortable. He is clearly as worried as Arthur and has done his best to support them both. He appears on the morning of the third day looking more tired than ever.

“We’ve found the cause of her sickness,” Merlin tells him, resting a hand on his shoulder. Arthur looks up with desperate hope.

“You have? What is it?”

Merlin gestures to the table, where he’s set breakfast for Arthur. He hadn’t even heard his servant enter with the tray.  “You should eat,” he says gently. “Keep your strength up.”

Arthur stands and sees how exhausted his servant looks—shoulders slumped, hands hanging loose, shadows under tired eyes. He takes Merlin’s arm to bring him to the table as well. “Only if you sit and eat with me,” he says. “You look as if you’ve been up all night.”              

Merlin sighs as he runs a hand over his face. “I was,” he admits. “It’s how we know what’s wrong with Gwen.”

Arthur sits down and motions at the chair beside him, but Merlin pours him a goblet first. “Sit,” Arthur says. “Or I will tell Gaius to give you a sleeping draught.”

Merlin joins him, clearly still reluctant and he glances back at Gwen with worry in his eyes. Arthur pours a second goblet for Merlin and slides it over, moving his breakfast in between them so they can share it.

“Eat something,” he says. “And then tell me, what have you discovered? And what is the cure?”

Merlin swallows, though he hasn’t touched any food or drink. “We believe she’s been poisoned,” he says, his voice steady. “But there is no antidote.”

“Poison?” Arthur asks sharply. “How?”

“I don’t know,” Merlin replies, shaking his head miserably. “I only know that poison is almost certainly the cause. It most likely happened at dinner two days ago given her symptoms. I’ve already talked to Leon, and he’s questioning the kitchen staff now.”

Of course Merlin not only found the cause of his wife’s illness but has set about finding it’s source and making sure it happens to no others. “Eat,” he says again, not knowing what else to say. He wants to both thank Merlin for discovering why Gwen is ill but also rail at him to find the antidote, to save her. “Please.”

Merlin shakes his head. “I can’t,” he says, his voice breaking. “Arthur, did you hear what I said? There is no cure. It is one of the most deadly and rare forms of poison in any of Gaius’s books. And none of them speak of an antidote...” He trails off, the implication clear.

“No,” Arthur says, his voice flat. “That is unacceptable. I braved giant spiders and a sorceress to find the antidote when you were poisoned once. Surely, I can do the same again. Does the mortaeus flower hold such properties for this poison?”

“No, the mortaeus  flower only counteracts the poison from the leaves of its own plant,” Merlin tells him. “I’m sorry. There is no cure.”

“No!” Arthur says again, louder this time, angry. This isn’t right, that Gwen is dying yet he can do nothing to save her. He stands and starts pacing, his hands waving with agitation. “There must be something. Anything. She cannot die. Merlin…” He turns to his servant. “Could you heal her with magic?”

He has asked many questions of Merlin in regards to his magic, most of them trivial, impractical, even nonsensical. In truth, his questions were not serious because magic still frightens him. Knowing whether Merlin can fly or talk to animals is much easier to accept than knowing his servant, his friend, can fell entire armies and bring down castles and kingdoms.

This is his most serious question yet. Merlin claims magic can be used for good, and that his magic is only for the good of Arthur and of Camelot. The kingdom stands to lose its queen, and Arthur hopes that Merlin is right, that magic can do good and save her. He did not think to ask about healing through all his frivolous questions, and he can only pray it is possible, that Merlin knows the spell and has the power. It is a lot to ask of his servant, but he must.

[kissorkill16]

We Met Again: A Hello Neighbor Fanfic

By JJ

Summary: 2 friends meet again after years of separation.

21 year old Trinity Bales was sitting down at a table at Starbucks, reading a book, eating her chocolate chip cookie and waiting on her coffee.

About half an hour later, a man in an apron came to her, holding her latte.

"Here's your drink. I'll bring you the bill when you're finished.", he said. "Also, it's a company policy to ask customers to remember to throw away your trash."

Trinity looked up, "Thank you, sir."

She was about to take her coffee, but then she took a closer look at the man that served her drink.

He looked different, but almost familiar.

"Nicky?", she whispered.

The man stilled in surprise, but then he took a closer look at the woman.

"Trinity?!", he almost shouted.

Trinity stood up, and she had such a strong urge to just hug the pale man, or shake him.

It's been years since they've last seen each other. Nicky moved away from Raven Brooks when he was 13, and Trinity was left with the rest of the squad to investigate other mysteries of this messed up town.

"Oh my God, I haven't seen you in so long!", said Nicky. "Also, not to be rude, but I go by Nick now. Nicky was a childish boy.", he pointed to his name tag. "See?"

Trinity put her hands on her hips and tilted her head to the side, "Okay then, Nick. How have you been?"

"I've been okay. Just trying to get by in life like every other human being. I work here during the day and I work at a liquor store by night.", Nick let out a dry laugh. "Sometimes I get free drinks."

Trinity took Nicky's hand and held it in hers. "Do you want to come back to my place after work?"

Nick felt a wave of emotions as Trinity held her hand. It reminded him of the time where she and her friends saved him from the basement of Mr. Peterson's house. Her warm hands on his, covering them like a warm blanket.

"My shift ends at 3:00."

Trinity came back an hour later, ready to pick her friend up. Nick walked over to her car and got in once he saw her wave.

Trinity took Nick to a nice, freshly painted house in Newtown. Nick found it to be beautiful, compared to his old, boarded up, rotting house.

"Wow, Trinity. You really treated yourself.", he said.

"Thanks, Nick."

They got out of the car, and Trinity unlocked the door, and they walked in. They were greeted by a nice, warm feeling of air.

"Woah, sure is toasty in here.", said Nick.

"Yeah.", said Trinity.

They took off their shoes, went to the living room and sat down on the couch. It was silent for a moment before Trinity spoke up.

"Where'd you move to after Raven Brooks?", she asked.

"I don't know, some place in New York. I think it was either Brooklyn or Queens or some shit. Either way, it was New York.", replied Nick. "My parents were able to find a good therapist that wasn't a total creep, or part of a secret cult."

Trinity hummed.

"What about you? Raven Brooks been treating you right?"

"Somewhat.", said Trinity. "Things slowly got rocky in Raven Brooks. We haven't seen anything or heard anything yet, but I still have a weird feeling that there's still something lurking about in this messed up town."

"Trinity, there's always something lurking about in this messed up town."

"I know."

Another moment of silence.

"How's the rest of the gang? You and Enzo together yet?"

Trinity shook her head. "Me and Enzo didn't really work out. He loves me, but I only like him as a friend, so I broke up with him. He's still pretty salty about it, but we're on good terms."

"Damn, that sucks.", said Nick. "I haven't really had much interest in anyone. I've been more focused on work and not having nightmares."

Trinity looked at her friend in worry, "Speaking of which, how've you been...coping with it lately?"

Nicky didn't answer, at least not until he coughed, and a little bit of smoke came out.

"Yeah, I developed a little bit of unhealthy habits before therapy. I'm already paying for that, groceries, and bills, so I don't really have much left over for rehab."

Trinity grew more worried. "You started smoking to cope with your trauma?", she asked. "Nick, that's not healthy."

"It's not just smoking, sometimes it's drinking.", said Nick. As if that made it any better. "And that's only part of the reason why I started."

Trinity crossed her arms. "What's the other reason?", she asked.

Nick sat in silence for a minute, before he flopped into the couch, looking at Trinity. "Because I missed you."

Trinity couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her friend who was a social pariah since the day she met him, the boy who got kidnapped by her crazy neighbor, turned to smoking and drinking to cope with the thoughts of her. "You missed me?"

"It was kinda hard for me not to.", he said. "You were the only one who believed in me, the only one who didn't think I was crazy. When I moved away, all I could think about was you. I know it sounds weird, but it's the truth."

Trinity felt her face grow red.

"But I think I might've had feelings for you before I moved away. I didn't want to say anything since I knew Enzo had a massive crush on you. But every time you hold my hand, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.", he said.

Trinity smiled, her face growing more red.

"I missed you too, Nicky. You're one of the best people I've ever met.", she said.

Nick smiled at her, but wasn't prepared for what she did next.

Trinity pounced on the man, and shoved her mouth onto his, but quickly pulled away once she tasted him.

"EWW! You taste disgusting.", she said.

"Well, yeah. What did you expect?", Nick sassed at her.

"I'll pay for your rehab and get you some help.", said Trinity. "But first..."

She continued to devour the man, and Nick didn't even mind one bit that this happened.

Boy, was he happy to be back.

[partyanimal167]

Stubborn as a Bull- Doflamingo x F!Reader

I have so many ideas for Doffy. It's crazy I haven't really written anything about him in almost a year. (I want to explore my dilfs more this year lol) I also want more chef/restaurant related fics because I have no concept of work-life balance and will indulge in my career-related fantasies. This will be a quickie

cw: modern au(?), fem reader, stubborn reader, rich af Doflamingo, mdni

You had never met a many so annoying yet tempting as the one before you. However, your stubbornness was a strength, so you knew you could play that game.

You had received an array of gifts and praises for your culinary feats. You had awards, interviews, glowing reviews in multiple restaurants. You were sent wines, knives, and books.

You stayed humble as you knew some celebs and politicians on a first-name basis since they were regulars and knew that the attention could bring both good and bad.

You had expected your ego to come and slap you in the face. All people tried to lure you in and trap you. It'd be a normal descent from success.

Instead, after service that you thought was normal, one Doflamingo Donquixote was asking for your number offering a job in the private sector as well as inviting you on a date. You graciously declined. You thought that'd be it.

It was not.

Because even though there was a three month wait list for your restaurant, you went out to a nearly-deserted dining room where only Doflamingo sat glancing at the menu and sipping the priciest wine.

"I thought that work had been your excuse. I can take you somewhere far from this, and you won't have to worry about the finances of your business." He was a mad man. A rich one, your business partner corrected, but you ignored him again.

Doflamingo bought the restaurant out for a week, and when you stopped going to the dining room after day three, he was shocked at where he found you.

You were all smiles and rainbows serving the less-fortunate at a local soup kitchen. You laughed when you saw the filthy rich man decked out in suits and jewelry standing in the less than stellar facilities. When you were done, he asked you why you were there instead of resting at home or something. "I live to feed people." was all you said.

Doflamingo stopped buying out the restaurant, but still floated in and around before and after business hours. You ignored him while you directed your cooks and tested recipes. Doflamingo admired the structure silently and wondered how far you would have ended up if you were in the corporate world. The skills were definitely transferrable.

You nearly lost it when the man bumped into your china--shattering it again--and brushed it off with a check. You knew replacements would be there by morning, but that wasn't the point. "Stop being so wasteful." So to get him out of your space, you let him take you out. You could hold up against fancy meals and shopping sprees.

You were not expecting an intimate setting in one of his homes where he cooked you his mother's favorite meal--the only thing he could make. You knew about the man's harshness, how he ran businesses. And while the food was delicious, you would never admit it.

"Too much salt." was all you said even after you cleaned your plate. You were stubborn to say things like him, but if he noticed that you stopped by his place to cook and gave him basic lessons, then he never said anything either.

You just ended up with a rich man ready for your call--a partner--but he wouldn't exactly say his feelings either.

Guess he was stubborn too.

~~~

Cheesy, yes but I will indulge! I was thinking about how chef people cook to feed others because we definitely don't get a luxurious paycheck from it. I wondered how Doffy would go about that difficultness.

I will write him more! Thanks for stopping by!

[sachirobabe]

Chapter 15

Gojo Satoru x reader

Wc: 3643

Curseless au

Summary: Amidst the zombie apocalypse, your courage shines as you not only saves lives but capture the heart of Gojo Satoru. Together with his first-year students, you all embark on a perilous journey, not only for survival but in a quest for a cure that adds a poignant layer to the unfolding romance.

<— Previous | Masterlist | Next —>

Taglist: @spindyl

You've never been happier than right now. You spent every waking second with this man, not that that's out of the ordinary, only now is you're sure of his feelings towards you. And it makes it that much better.

Nobody even batted an eye at the enhanced affection, Satoru had been like this since almost the beginning with you. If anything, it took away their suffering from seeing the painfully obvious crush he had on you.

It's been quiet around the base, nothing abnormal has happened, and with each passing day it made you worry just a little more.

But now that another month has passed, you're starting to let your guard down a little and work with Shoko on potential ways to counter the zombie apocalypse.

You wonder what happens if you're able to get a cure, how would humanity come back together? Would you live off the base forever? Was there any plans that you guys didn't know about?

Your mind spirals sometimes, and each time it does, Satoru never fails to comfort you and bring you back to the present. He doesn't want you to stress about the future and the what ifs. He knows you'll all be able to work through it.

Satoru frowns as he sees you in the lab again, it was getting late and he knows you haven't eaten in hours. "I just watered the plants again." He says and his voice startles you a little.

The book you're nose deep in is temporarily forgotten, "Thanks." You smile and stretch in your seat.

"Let's take a break, yeah?" Satoru stands behind your chair and wraps his arms around you from behind. "Even smart pretty girls need to eat."

You smile at his words, "I'm almost finished." You say and resume reading the last couple of pages.

"Microbiology?" Satoru reads the title of the book. "Sounds boring. I think dinner with me would be a lot more interesting." He tries to convince you.

You chuckle, "Depends. Where are we going for dinner?" You play along.

He hums thinking before answering, "I heard that little place down the hall is real good. They're serving soup and crackers, a real fine meal."

Your laugh is everything to him, he loves making you smile. "I think it definitely sounds more fun than my boring old book, huh?"

"Oh, absolutely." He nods, his hair tickling your face. "Cmon, let's go eat."

You sigh, "I guess you're right." You say and stand up from your seat and face him.

He grins and wraps his hands around your waist. "Good." He leans down and is centimeters away from your lips. Before you're able to whine about what he's doing, his lips are already on yours. Softly kissing you.

This is how it's been for a month with him. Shared kisses and heated make outs, but neither of you were able to go further yet. You wanted nothing more than to, though, it just hasn't been very good timing.

Sometimes you'd be on watch, other times it was him, his students also seemed to know the perfect time to bother you guys when things were getting heated. Don't even get him started on Nanami, that man was the biggest cock block of all, Satoru is convinced he has a sixth sense.

He finally pulls away reluctantly, "Let's go eat, sweetheart." He holds your hand as he brings you to the table.

You softly gasp as you see the table, there was some kind of sheet laid over the table. Two candles were lit—where he found them? You have no idea. He made a nice candlelit dinner for the two of you, you think you could cry at the gesture.

"Satoru, this is so cute. Thank you." You giggle happily. "You did this all yourself?"

He nods, "Yeah, for you." He smiles warmly. "You've been working hard all day."

"Why don't I get a special reward for my hard work, too?" Shoko teases as she walks by, seeing the cute table made.

"Go ask Nanami, not me." Satoru glares at her and he turns his attention to you again. "Do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it." You smile widely, "Thank you so much." You wrap your arms around him and give him a nice long hug. Everything was so romantic, he pulled your chair for you, made sure you were comfortable, and he swooned you the rest of the night.

You couldn't help but wonder if the world was different if you would've had the opportunity of meeting him. You're finally relaxing and taking a much needed shower after being cooped up in the lab all day.

Shoko and you have been working hard at making plans, and it's going great, only thing is that you'll need to start applying those plans to learn more. Which means getting blood samples from infected and not infected. You obviously know which one is harder.

You let the water cascade down your body as you get lost in thought about how you're going to do this without costing anyone or injuring somebody. It was going to be extremely risky.

Nanami and Satoru wouldn't be very happy, it was an insane idea, but without it, you and Shoko can't proceed. You think Satoru would be the easier one to convince, but you'd be getting those blood samples no matter what.

"Sweetheart, did you die in there?" Satoru's knock on the door brings you back to reality, you're suddenly aware that the water has turned cold now.

You quickly shut it off and shiver, "No, I'm okay." You say, "Just finished." You step out and dry yourself, putting on your clothes for bed.

"Hurry. I miss you." He says and you already know he's pressed up against the door.

You chuckle lightly and clean up a little before opening the door. He stumbled forward a little, but was able to catch himself this time. "Hi." He smiled widely, but it immediately fades, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." You lie and put your towel in the small laundry bin.

Satoru shakes his head, "I can tell you're thinking about something." He says and brings you over to the bed, "Talk to me." His fingers tuck a piece of your hair behind your ear.

You sigh softly, "With all the research Shoko and I are doing, you know what we'll have to do eventually, right?"

He nods, "You're referring to the blood samples, right?"

You can see in his face he already knows what's bothering you about it, "I just don't know how we're going to do it."

"I've talked to Nanami about it already, so if that's what's worrying your pretty little head you can stop now." He softly smiles. "He agrees that we'll need them and we'll get them."

You let out a breath of relief, "That's what I was most worried about."

"We'll get them, sweetheart. I promise." He presses his lips to your forehead in hopes to comfort you.

You nod softly, "Thank you."

"Don't worry, princess." He whispers and lays on the bed, he pats the spot next to him and you cuddle up to him. Your sweet smile made his heart do flips in his chest. "There we go." He hums and wraps his arms around you tightly.

"What even happens after all this?" You say a little helpless. The thought plaguing your mind.

"Hey—hey, we're not doing this. No worrying, okay? We'll figure it out. Just like we always do." Satoru kisses your neck affectionately. You're quiet as you lay there, still thinking. "Look at me, sweetheart."

You gently turn to face him and look into his gorgeous blue eyes. "We will figure it out. I promise you." He holds your chin with his fingers, softly moving them to caress your cheek. "Let's take it one step at a time, yeah?" His eyes frantically search yours for anything sighs of panic.

You close your eyes and take a few deep breaths, effectively calming yourself down. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me, sweetheart." Satoru shakes his head, "I'll always be here for you. Always." He softly kisses your forehead. "You're not alone in this."

"I know." You nod softly, "I have you and everyone else to rely on." Your small smile creeping onto your face, making Satoru's heart rate go down.

"That's my girl." He grins, "Hi, beautiful." You shyly look away and he forces your head forward to look at him again. "You still wanna talk about how you're feeling?" He asks quietly and brings you into his bare chest, his fingers playing with your hair.

"I just want to lay here with you...and hold you." You voice softly and Satoru's heart swells at you only wanting him.

"Okay." He quietly says. His hands going from your hair, to your arms; drawing small shapes that you recognize as hearts after he draws it for the 10th time, the gesture making you smile. He's been good at getting you to do that.

You feel your eyes grow heavy with sleep, finding it harder and harder to keep them open. His rise and fall of his breathing, along with the combination of his heart beating slowly and his soft humming, it's no surprise when you're out like a light.

"I'm so happy with you." He says quietly, when you don't respond he frowns a little and looks down at you, his frown was replaced with a softer one as he looked down at the sight of you. "Your brain was working overtime." He chuckles lightly and kisses your forehead, he fell asleep not too long after.

The next morning you're eating breakfast with Shoko, leaving Satoru as he was still sleeping. "In these next few days I wanted try and get the blood samples." Shoko says.

You stop eating and slowly nod. "We'll need to make a plan, one with the least amount of damage."

She nods in agreement, "Ideally, we'd need about 20 to 30 samples." Your eyes widen, there was no way you'd be able to manage getting that many in one go.

"That's too big of a risk, I already know Nanami and Satoru will freak." You say, already imagining how that conversation would go.

"But I think as long as we get 5-10, we can manage with small samples and make assumptions, then we can work our way up." Shoko sighs.

"Even 5-10 sounds rough." Your worry is evident in your tone. You watch as Nanami comes down the steps, he can see he's interrupting an important conversation.

"Perfect." Shoko smiles at Nanami and waves for him to sit down with the two of you, "Y/n actually had a question for you."

You look at her in betrayal, she avoids your eyes as Nanami takes a seat. "Everything alright, Y/n?" He asks.

"Uh..yeah! Actually—what Shoko meant, was we have a question." You rephrase and Shoko looks at you in betrayal.

Her eyes silently say, 'If I ask he'll definitely say no.' As she glared at you.

"Are you two..well?" Nanami asks very confused, looking between the two of you.

"No." Shoko says

"Yes." You say at the same time as her.

You both look at each other. Nanami chuckles lightly, "Go ahead. Ask away." The two of you take a deep breath before explaining the situation.

He listens attentively, asking questions and voicing his concerns often to get on the same page. "We need Satoru awake and the others so we can prepare a plan." Nanami says. "I'm sure none of us are excited for this part of the research."

"Yeah." You sigh, "This is definitely the hardest part."

A few hours pass and a plan was devised that would cause the least amount of damage and keep everyone safe. The plan was recited multiple times per day leading up to the actual event.

You grew more nervous each day, hoping that nothing horrible would happen while trying to get these samples.

Some nights you weren't able to sleep properly, waking up in cold sweats from nightmares that felt way too real. You pant heavily as you sit up again, holding your heart and working on trying to calm your heart rate down.

Satoru stirs awake, "Sweetheart, what's wrong? Was it another nightmare?"

You breathe heavily and simply nod, not able to find your voice at the moment. He settles himself behind you, rubbing small circles on your back. "Everything's okay." He repeats, "Breathe with me, baby."

You squeeze your eyes shut, working on calming your anxiety. You breathe along with Satoru, along with listening to his soft reassurances. Slowly, you stopped shaking from fear.

Soft tufts of air hit your neck, cooling you down. Satoru blows lightly on you, knowing you'd be able to focus on the sensation instead of feeding into your anxiety.

A few more minutes go by and you feel your body crash from the intense sensation, your eyes hurt from trying to keep yourself awake.

Satoru silently wraps his arms around you, noticing the subtle changes to your body language. "You're okay." He whispers. "It's just you and I."

"Thank you." You fall back into his chest, your breathing finally going back to normal. "I wouldn't have been able to do this without you." You quietly say.

Satoru gently shakes his head behind you, "No, sweetheart. Don't say that. You're the bravest girl I know." He kisses your temple, resting his head in the crook of your neck. "You make all of us brave."

"That nightmare was awful." Your voice breaks, tears welling up in your eyes.

"Oh, no, sweetheart. Please don't cry, it's okay. We're okay." Satoru holds you impossibly closer to his body. He hears your soft cries and forces you to sit facing him so he could see your face.

Tears slowly stream down your face, Satoru's strong arms pulled you closer to him, he rubbed your back slowly, whispering sweet nothings and reassurances in your ear.

He pulls away slowly, wiping your tears. "Please don't cry, you're breaking my heart." His eyes worriedly look into yours. "Do you want to talk about it? I'm all ears, baby."

You shake your head, "It's been the same every night." Satoru's eyes soften at your broken voice, he doesn't think he can handle you being so upset, it's killing him.

"We will all be okay tomorrow." Satoru firmly says, "Nobody will get hurt. I promise."

"But—"

"Nope. Not doing that." Satoru says and holds your face gently, "Breathe with me, sweetheart. Don't think about it anymore." You follow the slow rise and fall of his chest.

After a few deep breaths, you're feeling normal again. Satoru continues to hold you, making sure you're comfortable. "Better now?" He whispers in your ear affectionately.

You nod, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me, sweetheart. I'll always be here for you." He says softly, laying the two of you back down on the bed. He looks around the room, trying to find something to distract you with and make you smile.

"Look," He says and your eyes train on his finger, he was pointing to the moon; it was full and shining brightly. "Doesn't the moon look beautiful?"

"Yeah." You smile, "It does." His eyes went from looking at the moon, to being trained onto you. "We should invest in some curtains, it's too bright." You say and turn to face him.

His hand instinctively goes to your hair to play with a strand, he simply nodded his head. You feel your faces get closer, and soon enough his soft lips meet yours in a slow, tender kiss.

He can feel his heart beating quickly against his chest, his feelings growing more and more each day for you. 'This is the best.' He thinks, his lips gently moving against yours, he reluctantly pulls away. If it were up to him, he'd be kissing you every second of the day; he can never get enough.

"Hi." He whispers and smiles.

"Hi." You chuckle and say back, mirroring his smile.

"Think you're up for a few more hours of sleep before our big mission?" He asks quietly, kissing your forehead tenderly and bringing you closer to his chest.

You nod against him, his hand held the back of your head comfortingly.

"I won't fall asleep." He gently says, "I want you to feel safe. I'll be here for you in case anything happens."

"Thank you." You mumble sleepily, not having enough strength to tell him to also get some rest. He'd be having one of the hardest jobs tomorrow.

You softly close your eyes and fall back asleep, this time though, you dream about Satoru. A world without this horrible apocalypse, a normal life. He taught at his school and excitedly came back home to you, doing the most mundane things seemed to be the most exciting with him. Everything with Satoru was exciting.

Satoru gently wakes you up, knowing it was still early, but a job needed to get done. "Sweetheart." He mumbles, kissing your face softly, trying to get you to wake up.

Your eyes flutter open and you quickly shut them, the light being too much. "Is it time?" You ask.

He hums, "It's time, baby. Everything will be okay." Satoru caresses your face.

Your anxiousness had faded for the most part, Satoru did a good job at calming you down. You sit up and stretch and got ready in silence, mostly preparing yourself and running the plan over and over in your head.

Satoru pressed a firm kiss on your forehead and silently left. Knowing you were in the zone and he needed to help Nanami set up the trap for the zombies.

You slipped on your hazmat suit and other protective gear, then walking off to find Shoko, she was also wearing her suit and gear, she gave you a small smile as you both nodded at each other.

"I have all the equipment in here." She held up a bag and handed you a smaller one.

"This is for extracting, right?" You ask and peek inside, she hums, confirming your question.

"The others are ready." She says and pats your shoulder as she walks out. You follow behind her and meet up with the rest of the group, your nerves settled a little more after seeing Satoru.

You frown, noticing Panda and Inumaki aren't present, but before you could ask, Satoru answered. "They're in the control room. We need someone to open and close it."

"And walkie us." Nanami says and zips up his hazmat suit, "Ready?" He asks the group and he gets a series of nods.

There were zombies walking by, some in groups, and some by themselves. There was a small group scavenging, hovered over something dead and eating its flesh.

You hold back a gag and Satoru walkies Panda to open the gate, he grabs the zombies attention, successfully luring one into the field and the gate closes. A heavy net is thrown by Megumi and Itadori, Nobara and Maki hold their guns firmly in case of anything.

The zombie falls down and begins to screech and make all sorts of noises that leave your ears ringing. Nanami and Satoru use heavy chains to bind the zombies limbs and anchor them to fixed points in the ground, ensuring it wouldn't break free or cause any damage.

"All set." Nanami says.

You used a long hand syringe to extract the blood, it quickly fills up and you withdraw the syringe and hand it to Shoko and she places it in a sterile container. You got two more samples off of the one zombie and after you're done, Satoru shoots the zombie.

"We'll take care of the bodies later." Satoru says and once he confirms the zombie is completely dead, he and Nanami undo the bindings.

Shoko labeled the containers and kept them organized, not wanting to mix the samples up. This was repeated with four more zombies, you were able to extract three tubes from each.

As you finished up with the last one, you look to the gate and see that you've all gained some more attention. There was a group of zombies weakly banging on the gate, but every time they did, they got electrocuted.

"I think this one's our last." You say and pull the syringe out.

"Agreed." Satoru says. "We're all done." He walkies Panda and Inumaki. Satoru and Nanami took care of the bodies and everyone else made their way back inside.

Clean up was a crucial task, you all were careful and diligent. Making sure nothing suspicious touched you directly. As you finished up your shower, you felt an immense amount of relief.

Your eyes felt heavy, in need of sleep despite it still being fairly early in the afternoon. You opened the door and Satoru smiled as he saw you, his wet hair sticking to his forehead.

"See? Told you everything would be okay." Satoru smiles and opens his arms up for you to cuddle him. You almost collapse on him, feeling extremely fatigued. "Woah." He chuckles.

"I'm very tired." You mumble.

"I see that, sweetheart." He presses a soft kiss to your forehead, twirling a piece of your hair with his finger. "It's too early for a nap." He frowns lightly.

“I think I exhausted myself leading up to today.” You say, your voice laced with tiredness.

He hums and holds you close to his body, he notices your eyes were shut and your breathing began to slow down, he smiles at the sight. “I guess I’ll let you take a quick nap, I’ll wake you in an hour.”

You nod against his chest and let yourself relax in his embrace, the constant worries of ‘what ifs’ leaving your mind now that the extraction was over.

[meatball-headache]

Our little sprout is doing well! Haven't found the Great Tree yet, but here he is with all his friends! It takes 3 seconds to move one square. Send help, my computer is on fire.

He's level 25—not in this screenshot, though—so he's tied with my highest-ever level, Urdru. I don't think he has as many turns, though, and I have no idea what his score is until it's game over. Urdru had about 117,000 turns and some 200k points. Urdru never went to Bethesda, though, so I'm ahead there. In fact, I think I've passed the Great Tree progress-wise—I haven't achieved anything in Bethesda, technically, but I think I've gone deeper. I got to I think 12 strata deep, then I wanted to take a break so I left. Presumably, the way will stay clear for me when I return, I've never seen anything respawn, so.

Needless to say, our little weed man is my favorite character so far. He's adorable, for one, but he's also been very successful and is suspiciously powerful. Everything I've done has been a combination of hiding in my Force Bubble, and spamming Burgeoning until everything dies. I picked up Domination in case I could use it for shenanigans, but I also had the choice of Flaming Ray... kinda think I should've grabbed that so I could carve a path through the jungle... but, oh well.

Speaking of jungle, I guess it's time I got out of the kiddie pool. So far, all I've done besides the main quests is explore ruins in the nice, "safe" salt dunes and marshes. Very low-level stuff, obviously dangerous when you're a bab, but at my level, largely trivial—yet nonetheless occasionally full of scrap, cells, and books! That's how I play games, I fiddle around at the beginning until it's completely trivial and pointless... then I hang around some more before getting bored and starting over. Meatball "Calm Lands" Headache, they call me. (They don't.)

That's just how I roll? And, really, it's an idiotic and bizarre way to play. You know aversion to ever doing the story in any game—XIV, as always, the exception. Take No Man's Sky. Big new update just came out, right? There's a new class of stars, and you have to do a new quest to get to them. The new quest depends on you having finished the regular story quests. Y'know, the quests they added like six years ago. The quests I... never even started? Hell, my character doesn't even have the hazmat gauntlet, I only play the expeditions, really. Or, GTA 6 is on the horizon, whereas I have a thousand hours in GTA 5... Online. Never touched the actual story in the actual game, which is wild, because even in the regular game, there's a zillion non-MSQ things to do to keep you occupied forever. The best example, though, is Greedfall. As soon as I got through the opening, I ran off to explore the open world and searched every zone top to bottom, visiting all these places where I couldn't do anything, empty villages—presumably it'll be populated by NPCs when I get the story this far—and places with too-high-level enemies that I tried to beat anyway. By the time I had completely explored the entire world, overleveled myself a bunch, and seen what the game had to offer... I was bored, and didn't bother to do the story.

My point being about Qud, of course. I've got over 300 hours in the game now—I remember seeing a review that said it took them 80 hours to beat the game, and their phrasing suggested this was a long time. I remember reading reviews for FF6 back in the day, where they gave it a perfect score, but docked it for replay value—because how many times can you replay a game that takes 60 hours? Meanwhile, I'm seeing that and thinking, oh man, a nice big thick juicy game! Xenogears and Bloodborne took me 90 hours; Dark Souls III took me 120; Elden Ring took 350. And that's to say nothing of FFXIV, LOTRO, Warframe, GTAO, and more, and more...

So... am I going to push forward in Bethesda and finally advance the game? Am I going to begin exploring the jungle and start finding out what kind of interesting, exotic things are out there? Or am I going to continue acting like the sprout that I am, and fiddle around in the lowest-level starting areas, and tell myself something like "I want to find all the ruins before moving on!" or something stupid like that?

What it is, is, I think, I want to find one game that will satisfy me permanently. Impossible, I know, but still—I want a game that I can play forever. When I find something I like, I want to just go in circles with it, keep it and hold it, I want everything to be the same forever. Moving forward would change things. If I beat the game, then I won't have it anymore. If I go to the next dungeon, then the myriad possibilities that represents, the wondering and fascination and curiosity at what lies ahead, that all evaporates and becomes known, and done. Then I'd need a new game.

...which is of course healthier. Just sitting in the dark and playing one game forever isn't going to benefit me any. But, I'm really liking this game. So why not indulge? If I like it, I'd like anything I do, whether puttering around at the beginning, or pressing onward and finding new things. And boredom happens on its own regardless of what I do. So, does it matter what I do, how I play? I don't know. Feelings are as complicated as it gets, and I've mulled over this nonsense since I was no years old.

Meh. I'm having fun.

[pinkypromisepascal]

get to know your moots!

thank you @almostempty for tagging me! I love this!

what's the origin of your blog title?: I suck at coming up with cool sounding usernames and mostly come up with super weird shit, but for this one I had some friends help me out! And I LOVE the vibe of it.

favorite fandoms: atm I guess the Pedro fandom, Stranger Things- now that I think about it I'm not even sure how many fandoms I'm really in?

OTP(s) + shipname: think the only real ship that isn't self insert fan fiction is Jopper lol. Omg I love them so much.

favorite color: blue, but also black when it's about clothing

favorite game: my ALL time favorite: Destiny, because it's been living in my head ever since it came in 2014 and I got to try it on a friend's ps4, this game is my Roman Empire

song stuck in your head: omg there's always a rotation of like 5 stuck in my head, but currently it's All I Need by Radiohead

weirdest habit/trait?: telling people where they might know actors from, and recognizing one specific dub actor in several productions

hobbies: drawing, writing, video games, music, going to concerts, yapping

if you work, what's your profession?: I'm a student!

if you could have any job you wish what would it be?: working in video game development! Like as a character designer

something you're good at: procrastinating, making a funny comment here and there, seeming like I have no interest in anything that is happening around me

something you're bad at: responding to people in time, time management, standing up for myself

something you love: my pookies, cats, dogs, warm sunny days

something you could talk about for hours off the cuff: odd niche fan fictions that I randomly read about people I never expected there to be fan fiction off

something you hate: overly extrovert people that you can't take anywhere without them knowing every second person they see and being besties with everyone

something you collect: stickers, Pokémon cards, merchandise bought at concerts

something you forget: time, texting people back and then it turns into months of them being left on delivered

what's your love language?: touch and buying stuff that I think they will giggle about

favorite movie/show: movies I grew up with like Spirit or Blues Brothers, but newer stuff?? Don't know. Maybe the Joker movie. Friends and The Last of Us if talking about shows

favorite food: pasta and pizza, pretty basic

favorite animal: CATS. Also love dogs and horses, but omg, cats.

are you musical?: I like to imagine I could make some ambient music if I had the equipment for it. And

favorite subject at school?: English, specifically the high school years because my teacher was the weirdest and funniest dude and every book he read with us left a permanent mark on my soul (1984 is one of them!)

least favorite subject?: probably Chemistry and Physics. My teachers were good, I just didn't understand shit at some point.

what's your best character trait?: I like to think I'm easy to talk to and I'm not high maintenance. Like we don't talk in weeks because we were busy? No hard feelings.

what's your worst character trait?: ghosting people if I feel like I don't vibe with them anymore and easily forgetting about them

if you could change any detail of your day right now what would it be?: changing the time from pm to am

if you could travel in time who would you like to meet?: my past self

recommend one of your favorite fanfics (spread the love!): there's so many fics by people I love that I just haven't found the time to read yet :(( but some old classics for me are Cup of Sugar and For Science by @strang3lov3 (listen, I know these are on your shame master list, but I love them so much) and Fixed Up by @the-ginger-hedge-witch

no pressure tags: @strang3lov3 @umnitsa @bitchesuntitled @beefrobeefcal @noxturnalnymph @heartfairy