#also yes trophy is indeed a trophy

[burgycreeper405-blog]

someone’s not happy to see him

what a way to welcome someone back am i right?

[quarterlifekitty]

Hi! could you possibly write something about a fuckboy!soap and shy!reader that he uses for sex, and she keeps letting him? im craving angsty angst ANGST that just keeps hurting…you don’t have to if you don’t want to and thank you if you do! Have a great day!

Okay, one thing you all should know about me? Is that I’m a weenie lol so I can’t help but make things a little hopeful most of the time. Also— gonna make this like a college type AU

Soap clocks you from a mile away when he sees you at a party. There’s a cup of beer in your hand that you’ve been nursing, just sipping to have something to do while you cling to the side of the friend who forced you to come.

He’s seen you in his classes before. You’re good. Not the type to be seen in a place like this. And that kinda whets his appetite. He wants to fuck you, break you, make you fall apart for his own amusement.

He nudges Gaz— they have the routine down to a science— splitting up the birdies that are a little too huddled together so they can have their way with them. Gaz runs interference this time, Johnny mouthing an “I owe ye” his way— chatting up and pulling your friend away to talk a bit more. You’re alone now, and Johnny swoops in, weaving through people on a warpath.

He corners you expertly, and you’re a pathetically easy read. Easy to tease, to coax, to push. He just has to throw in a few lines about how pretty you look, peppered between him saying he’s always wanted to talk with you, always admired you in class— he gives just enough detail to lull you into thinking this is courting. That he’s going to fuck you because he likes you.

Works like a charm. Always does. You clumsily follow him to his room—“Ye didnae ken? This is my fraternity’s house, bonnie,”— as he pulls you along by the hand.

He enjoys pulling you apart. Like the birds taking Prometheus’s liver. He’s not a complete animal, he makes you cum, but he doesn’t give you kisses the way you’d probably hoped he would. He’ll tell his mates later— it was kinda cute how fucking bad you were at giving head, too.

He lets you stay the night even though your clinging is a bit annoying. Pushing you out would burn this bridge, and he’s not ready to do that just yet. Not when he could keep having fun.

Come morning your clothes are tossed your way (sans panties, those are going in his trophy collection), and he has the decency to drop you off at your place with the promise of further contact.

Come your next class, he’s back to acting like he doesn’t know you. You’re shy, but you’re not stupid. It’s easy to see that you were played, and you curse yourself for falling into it.

So why do you show up when he texts you, asking you to come over?

Promethean indeed.

And it keeps happening.

It’s not like he treats you badly— that’s what you tell yourself. You’re just the idiot for expecting more than orgasms. It’s nice to feel wanted. It’s not nice to put your clothes on and get out right after, but you’re willing to ignore that. You shouldn’t be. But you are.

You’re not the kind of girl who gets asked out. So why refuse the one source of attention you have? He makes you cum, right? That’s more than a lot of guys do, so it would be unfair to expect more. High maintenance. Right?

If Johnny can see the hurt behind your eyes when you turn to check behind you when you leave, as if he’ll suddenly change his mind and call you back into bed to hold you, he doesn’t do anything about it. He’s content to tug on his jeans and brush past you with a cigarette in his mouth.

You steel yourself as usual, double checking the straightness of your clothes as if it’ll make you feel like less of a cheap whore when his housemates glance your way as you leave.

The door across from Johnny’s is almost always open, despite how closed off its occupant seems. You’ve never met Simon. Well, you really haven’t met anyone in Soap’s life. That’s not what he keeps you for, is it? Fucktoys don’t get introduced to the friend group. Doesn’t stop Simon from staring holes in your back every time you leave. Must think you’re easy. Must wonder if Johnny’ll mind if he has a go. Or maybe he just thinks you’re pathetic. You certainly do.

But it’s happened one too many times. Apparently, even a worm will turn. His stare itches and crawls up your skin when you already feel like such a piece of meat— chewed up and spit out. And you must be losing flavor. Before long you won’t even have this. You turn to look at him instead of walking on as usual.

“What the fuck are you looking at?” You spit in a tone that surprises you. You’ve never said anything like that to someone, not in earnest, anyway.

“Lemme take y’out somewhere.”

What?

What?

[galedekarios]

down among the dead men

i finally finished reading sylvia feketekuty's short story in tevinter nights. sylvia feketekuty is also emmrich's writer in dragon age: the veilguard.

i wanted to compile what we learn about emmrich in sylvia's short story.

emmrich likes tea

"What happened then?" the older mage tilted a pot of tea encouragingly toward Audric.

his study is described in detail

Audric shook his head--he didn't feel like tea, particularly--while his eyes soaked in the room. He'd never been in a necromancer's study before. Ornately decorated skulls hung from hooks in the high, dark ceiling. One wall was made up of shelves with books and tiny labeled drawers. The other was fronted by tables full of bubbling flasks, scales, alembics, and tortured-looking glass. A smartly attired servant ground away with a pestle and mortar.

"Excellent question!" Emmrich swirled the tea in his mug, looking entirely too cheerful, Audric thought, for a man framed by so many racks of skulls.

the description of his study in down among the dead men is very, very reminiscent of his room in the lighthouse that bioware revealed a few days ago:

emmrich may have recreated the comforts of his study in nevarra within the lighthouse.

emmrich lets manfred mix tinctures

"Please, don't mind Manfred." The older mage refilled his own cup. "He'll finish mixing that tincture before you know it." Manfred, a clean-boned skeleton, held up a bowl. Audric read something helpful in the cant of its skull. The younger mage looked critical. "It needs half a cup more elfroot." The corpse pulled out one of the drawers on the side of the room, took out a withered root, and shook it inquiringly. "The royal elfroot, please." Manfred moaned and fumbled at more drawers.

emmrich compliments manfred's successes and is proud of him

"Yes! That's the one." The older mage beamed. "Very good indeed, Manfred!"

emmrich's appearance is described as well by audric

Audric dragged his gaze to the older Watcher across from him, with his silvered hair, tidy mustache, and long face full of concern. His expression reminded Audric of the Chantry scholars when they'd caught him reading by candlelight in the library. The good brothers and sisters had kindly tried to dissuade Audric from living in pages for so long he couldn't think straight in the morning.

i think they a phenomenal job bringing emmrich to life (no pun intended).

emmrich is quite informal, cares about putting someone else at ease, he treats audric as he would a living person, never forcing him to arrive at a conclusion or pressuring him

"Is there anything else you can recall about Lord Karn's funeral?" the mage asked gently. "No? I think... not much, sir. Another guard, she, well... Dellah even had to peel him off me, sir." The necromancer waved a hand. "Emmrich will do, please."

macabre sense of humour

"It's... sorry, it's a blur of screams, sir." "Some of it your own, I'd bet," the necromancer joked, but looked so sympathetic Audric relaxed by a degree.

he is indeed a professor/very scholarly

"Myra picked up the curved rib bone. One end was jagged from where Audric's boot had connected with Karn's rib cage. She handed it to Emmrich. "Excellent. Emmrich? This is your remit." "I'll have it ready before sunset." He sighed. "It would be faster if we'd managed to replace the librarian by now. The students have naturally left the books a mess."

this all fits so well with the blurb we were given about him not so long:

"Emmrich is as serious about his duty to protect innocents from the occult as he is about his studies and his interest in the mysteries of the fade."

don't leave the books in disorder, please.

emmrich is renowned to be good at what he does by other mourn watchers

"Myrna seemed content to leave things there, and took something out of a velvet purse. A rib bone. "Emmrich's prepared your trophy for us. His cathexis is very reliable." Audric felt the ground tilt downslope. "Madam?" "His magic." She tapped the rib bone. "This will now guide us to where Lord Karn's fled. Emmrich would join us, but he's been called to other matters."

i had to look up what cathexis means exactly and it's defined as follows:

In psychoanalysis, cathexis (or emotional investment) is defined as the process of allocation of mental or emotional energy to a person, object, or idea. [...] Cathexis comes to us by way of New Latin from the Greek word kathexis, meaning "holding."

myrna uses a skeleton to send a message to emmrich, presumably he might employ similar methods of communication if available

"Good." Myrna sent a mote of light into a nook in the wall. A moment later, a skeleton fell out, hissing and snapping. Myrna snagged it with a collar of green fire, tugged it like a leash. "Does that... hurt it?" Audric asked, more sympathetic to the shambling thing than he'd been a minute ago. "The sensations differ. With some of the dead, one must exert direct control." The skeleton subsided, making a strange whine. "A message," the Mourn Watcher told it. "Find Professor Emmrich Volkahrin. Tell him after some last business in the Winged Halls, we'll be joining him above without delay."

this description reminded me a bit of the brief glimpses we got of emmrich in the very first companion trailer:

emmrich appreciates punctuality & holding oneself to prior commitments

"You heard my message to Emmrich." She crooked a finger, gesturing to Audric. "We'll be expected. It won't be difficult to return from here. Audric looked around. "I can... I'm allowed to come back with you?" "Of course. Myrna lifted her skirts and stepped over a chunk of stone from the fight. "Emmrich will be put out if we don't show up for tea."

emmrich is incredibly kind when dealing with spirits and undead, no matter their rank or standing in life

"They were back in Emmrich's den. Audric had been astonished to see familiar tomes in a neat stack on the necromaner's desk. "Those... are those...?" "Yours, yes. From your home." Emmrich shook his head. "Forgive the liberty, guardsman. After you and Myrna left for the Necropolis, I had to search for a reason you might have returned so unexpectedly." "I believe we found it," Mysrna said, from where she was overseeing Emmrich's manservant transfer the contents of a bubbling beaker into a bowl. Emmrich handed the top book to Audric. It was a gazetteer of Nevarra City, stamped with a crowned skull surrounded by flowers. Audric flipped it open and read the blocky inscription. To our Son with Love. May you be Blessed in your Studied with the Chantry. "All this effort... for me? I'm just a guardsman, sir." Am? Was? Audric pushed doubt aside and held the gazetteer to his chest. He existed, knew what he loved, and that he had been loved, and that seemed enough in the moment. "The great leveler has no favourites." Emmrich smiled. "Neither does the Mourn Watch."

i found this reaction to myrna and audric quite interesting, and i'm not completely sure what to make of it yet:

"You are faced with a choice," Myrna said, coming over. "You have confronted your killer, and recognised your driving passion. You may rest now, guardsman." "Or?" "Or you may work under the auspices of a Watcher," Myrna said. "Under a modicum of magical control. To avoid anomie, the bond must be given freely." "To you, madam?" "If it's satisfactory." The guardsman ducked his head, and because that felt inadequate, knelt on a knee and held out a hand. Myrna, smiling slightly, took it. Emmrich coughed, looking away. "Please, let the poor fellow up. What position were you thinking?" "I thought it was obvious." Audric felt a slow excitement as he heard Myrna say: "We have a great need for someone to take charge of the library."

overall, i really liked this short story.

i loved how audric wasn't aware that he is, in fact, dead and has died a while ago. i loved how both emmrich and myrna didn't correct his assumption, but led him to the realisation. i love all the little insights we got into emmrich as a character, but also nevarra's culture, necromancy and the mourn watch.

it's definitely one of the best in the book. 🖤

[gezelligs-world]

Crawling Back To You

(Bada Lee x Fem!OC)

Summary: After break up, Sara tried to move on by attempting to have another relationship with a guy. But Sara still can’t forget about a certain girl that always haunts her mind like a ghost.

Reminder: This work is purely based on the author’s imagination.

Warning: slight NSFW

“Hey Sara, you’re getting off early?” Sara looked towards her coworker, Min-ju who is still busy typing on her desktop. She replied politely as she put her belongings inside her bag.

“Yes, I’m afraid so…” Sara contemplates whether or not she will tell the truth. Min-ju has been an acquaintance of hers for several months now, she’s sure she heard her reason from others several times already considering how long Min-ju has been working here in this company.

“I have a date today.” Min-ju stopped typing and turned towards Sara with a smile.

“Really? That’s amazing. You finally told yourself to have a date with someone. A guy or a gal?” Sara looked down and back to Min-ju.

“A guy. A really nice one.” Sara smiled as she zipped her handbag and put it over her shoulder. She stood up and was about to turn and walk away but Min-ju’s words stopped her from making any further movements.

“I’m glad you finally got over her. Separating in good terms is one of the worst breakups out there. I understand why it took you so long to try and be with someone else.” If only emotions can speak, it’s already speaking gibberish out of Sara’s body. Sara turned to Min-ju’s direction and smiled politely.

“Thank you, Min-ju. You’re such a great… friend.” Sara bowed lightly and walked away. Not bothering to see what was Min-ju’s expression behind her pause.

Sara walked outside her company building, not forgetting to smile politely at her colleagues. She walked at the parking lot and saw a gray Honda car with a decent guy leaning towards the side. Kang-ho.

She met him when she is drinking herself out at a bar. They talked and it somehow led to exchanging socials, with Sara drunk. Kang-ho is a proof that they indeed live in a small world because she found out that he is a friend of a friend. A magna cum laude, an engineer, handsome, masculine— who wouldn’t want him?

“Ready to go?” Sara smiled at his question and nodded. Kang-ho smiled back and opened the door for her.

“So— where are we going?” Sara asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

“Don’t worry. You’re going to love it.” Kang-ho reassured, checking on her if she had already buckled her seatbelt. Once secured, Kang-ho started the engine.

Sara looked through the window as she admired the busy streets of Seoul. Seoul is a noisy city but she once loved it. Once loved it.

Cities like this can be her comfort but also her hell. It’s a small world after all. Millions of people walk around the busy streets and sidewalks every day. You can either walk past them or perhaps bump into them that will somehow turn to a good friend in the near future— maybe even a lover.

Flashback

“I know! I know! I’m on my way!” Sara exclaimed through the phone as she jogged over the busy streets of Seoul. People don’t even care when she went past through them. This is probably a common scenario to them. Her steps paused when the pedestrian signal is in red mode.

“Come on… come on…” She bit her lips with her heels continuously making a stepping sound on the ground. Once the signal turned green, Sara immediately jogged to cross the pedestrian line.

Sara smiled in satisfaction when she finally got over to the other side as if she won the first place trophy.

“Not so bad—” Sara gasped when she felt a hard body bumped into her.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” Sara exclaimed when she saw the stranger’s coffee got splashed all over the stranger’s clothes.

“Nah, it’s fi… ne” The stranger looked up to Sara’s face and her mouth suddenly shut. A foreigner.

“Ma’am?” Sara asked which made the stranger went out of her mind’s floatiness. Thank goodness— she speaks korean.

“Yes yes— sorry. You just speak korean so well despite you being a foreigner.” The stranger complimented Sara which made her chuckled.

“I’ve been here for five years now. Learned the language in a hard way.” Sara half jokingly said.

“Can I give you money for your laundry? I felt bad for your clothes.” Sara looked at the stranger’s white button up shirt that is stained with coffee.

“Oh no. It’s alright—” The stranger shook her hands in disagreement but got cut off by Sara.

“I insist. Please. Just give me your name and number, I’ll send the money.” The stranger thought for a moment and finally agreed.

“The name���s Bada. Bada Lee.”

“Sara?” Sara’s eyes opened when she felt Kang-ho’s hand shaking her shoulder. She sat up and looked through the window.

“Are we here? Sorry I fell asleep.” Sara rubbed her eyes as her surroundings went clear. They are in a fine dining restaurant that overlooks the entire Seoul.

“Do you like it here? You once mentioned you like city lights.” Sara turned to Kang-ho and smiled appreciatively.

“I like it. Thank you for bringing me here.” Sara smiled politely which made Kang-ho nod in satisfaction. He got out of the car before opening Sara’s door. They then went inside with Kang-ho’s hand supporting Sara’s lower back.

They went inside the restaurant and the waiter guides them to their designated seats.

“The interior is amazing.” Sara complimented as she looked around the place.

“Yeah? I’m one of the engineers that participated on the process of building this restaurant.” Kang-ho boasted naturally. Sara looked at him in slight awe.

“Truly? No wonder.” Both of them chuckled. The waiter approached them and handed two menus for each of them.

“Ladies first.” Kang-ho proposed making Sara hum.

“I’ll have a risotto for the appetizer. For the main course, I’ll have the grilled fish. For desserts— blueberry cheesecake. Wine also for the drink.” Kang-ho smiled when Sara finished and also ordered his food. The waiter bowed and went to inform the cooks.

Even after ordering, Sara still looked at the menu to check some possible dishes she would like you to try next time. Perhaps even try making it at home if possible.

Sara noticed that Kang-ho is quiet and not talkative as usual. She looked up and saw him anxiously looking around— did she just saw a hint of annoyance in his eyes?

“Is something wrong?” Sara asked which made Kang-ho turn his head to her.

“Sorry— it’s just… a lot men are staring at you.” Sara looked around and he was right. Majority of the men inside keep on glancing their way. Perhaps it’s because she’s a foreigner. Sara turned her head back to Kang-ho.

“Does it bother you?” Sara asked, her eyes narrowing as she waited for his response. His response will change her perspective of him.

“A-A little. Yeah. A little. I just don’t like them staring at what’s mine, you know?” Sara’s lips formed a thin line but quickly hid it with a hum.

Flashback

“Baby! How do I look?” Sara asked as she fixed her earrings. She then heard footsteps approaching her bedroom. Sara turned and saw Bada leaning towards the door frame with a smile of adoration plastered on her face.

“Beautiful as always, dove.” Bada approached Sara and kissed her cheek with Bada’s hands around her waist. Sara chuckled and turned to the mirror again.

“Don’t you think the skirt is too short?” Bada hummed and looked down at Sara’s skirt.

“Wear whatever you want, pretty. I wanna show the world how gorgeous my lover is.” Bada turned her around and nuzzled her nose against Sara’s.

“Don’t let other people’s opinion stop you from expressing yourself. Doll yourself up and look pretty. Leave the fighting to me.” Bada leaned in and kissed Sara’s soft lips. Sara smiled through the kiss and wrapped her arms around Bada’s neck.

The night had progressed smoothly. Sara and Kang-ho had a great time inside the fine dining restaurant. Lots of laughing, hum of approvals because of how delicious the food was, and maybe a hint of getting to know more about each other.

Sara and Kang-ho went out of the restaurant with Kang-ho talking about his work as an engineer in different companies. Sara just nod in approval trying to understand the unfamiliar words only used in his field.

“It must be exhausting, working at a well-known company.” Sara commented as they went down the stairs since the restaurant is elevated from the ground.

“A little bit, but it’s all I have dreamed of since I was a child. Working at a company known for its quality.” Sara smiled at how Kang-ho seemed so committed in his work

It certainly reminded her of someone.

“You should visit my workplace soon. My colleagues will surely like you.” Kang-ho suggested as they went to the parking lot where his car is parked.

“Soon.” Sara replied.

Flashback

Sara sat on the floor of Bada’s studio as she admired the way her girlfriend moves as she dance. At that moment, her world revolves around Bada. She fully understands why so many people admires Bada for who she was.

She looked down the floor and chuckled at the things around her. A blanket to warm her incase the ac gets too cold, a plushie for comfort, her favorite snacks and drinks, Bada’s phone where her favorite movie is playing, Bada’s Ipad incase her phone ran out of battery, and Bada’s jacket incase the blanket is not much of a use.

Bada glanced at Sara when she heard her girlfriend’s chuckle. She smiled and raised her brows. Bada lowered down the volume of the speaker and adjusted her cap.

“Yes?” Sara looked up and saw Bada walking towards where she’s sitting. She chuckled in response when Bada pulled her up for her to straddle her lap.

“Isn’t this too much? Your dance studio is not even that cold.” Bada tilted her head and chuckled.

“That’s because I adjusted the temperature to your liking. Don’t want this pretty girl to catch a cold, right? I will be a bad girlfriend if I let that happen.” Bada replied while caressing Sara’s waist in up and down motion. Sara tried her hardest to not satisfy Bada’s pride by showing not too much reaction. Damn, this girl got her wrapped around her finger.

“But you like it cooler— and you’re sweating after dance. Goodness sake! Look! You’re still sweating—” Sara’s ramble got cut off by Bada’s soft lips against hers. She immediately melted through the kiss as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend’s neck with Bada’s hands gripping on her waist.

Bada’s hands gripped on Sara’s waist harder to pull her up, pulling her closer than the previous contact. Sara whined through the kiss, asking for more— no— demanding for more.

The kiss ended, followed by two woman who were breathing heavily— they didn’t regret falling out of breath though.

“My place?” Bada’s question echoed around the four walls of the dance studio but Sara shortly nodded with a lustful emotion present in her eyes.

Bada smiled and placed a short kiss on her girlfriend’s lips. Before scooping her up to go to the parking lot and drive to her apartment.

They didn’t waste time when both of them arrived inside Bada’s apartment. Their makeout session continued behind the four walls surrounding them.

Sara is pinned to the bed with Bada’s soft lips distracting her from the outside world. Bada’s kisses never failed to take her to heaven.

Others might send them a judgmental stare and throw words portraying their action as a sin but Sara never cared. Bada is too good to be a sin. No human goes up to heaven without making many sins. If there’s no such place where she’s allowed to rest peacefully once she died— Sara will gladly stand in hell with her heaven in her arms.

Sara’s thoughts got cut off when she felt Bada sucking on her sweet spot that made her mind go blank. Her hands quickly made its way to her blouse but Bada’s hand stopped hers from doing so.

“A beautiful girl like you should only be lying pretty as her clothes got removed one by one. Be the pillow princess as you should be.” Sara whimpered from just hearing Bada’s words. It definitely made her wet down there.

Her whimpers only got louder as Bada indeed removed her clothes, she let Bada do all the work— it’s not like she will let Sara do any minimal work, she always treated her like a princess after all. After the last remaining clothing, Bada’s kisses went from her neck to her chest and to her stomach. Sara felt Bada’s movements suddenly stop as she met Bada’s eyes.

“Thank you for the meal…” Sara gasped and moaned loudly as Bada’s tongue went to where it belonged to.

Intimate moments with Bada has always been a romantic feeling. Not like the others who use other people’s body for pleasure. Bada is more of a man than any other guy who walked into Sara’s life.

It made her realize that loving someone is not so bad at all. Especially if you have someone who loves you and treats you as if it’s as easy as breathing air.

Sara was busy admiring the city lights but looked down and smiled at the sleeping Bada beside her. Their clothes are scattered around the bedroom including Bada’s cap which was in the doorknob. All of what’s left are their naked bodies with their markings of each other left as a sign of their commitment and their love.

She leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Bada’s lips which causes Bada to stir and to tightened her grip around Sara’s waist.

Sara smiled at the action that it almost made her heart swell with affection.

“I love you, Bada… so much.” Sara mumbled through Bada’s ear and kissed her cheek once more.

Sara sipped her wine as she admired the city lights below her. After Kang-ho dropped her off the apartment building, she immediately grab her leftover wine and sat at the edge of her bed to look at the view of Seoul.

She glanced at the frame placed on her bedside table that was facing the wall. Sara turned it to face her revealing a photo of her and Bada. The only evidence of their love left in her bedroom.

“We look so happy here…” Sara smiled sadly as she grabbed the frame. She wonders where it all went wrong. Is it there busy schedules? Bada’s dreams? Her dreams? Their time? The disappearance of physical affection? Sara never knows.

Both of them knew that their relationship was slowly falling apart. There is no one to blame. They’re in their 20s— still figuring out life and nowhere in place to be considered a grownup.

She somehow wonders if she ever crosses Bada’s mind. Probably yes, but she will never know what emotions Bada were feeling whenever she got reminded of their love.

Their breakup resulted in good terms, with communications, and with clarifications. Sara hoped it wasn’t the case. She hated that it ended in good terms. The four walls surrounding her knew the cries of pain she let out every night just by merely a memory they shared. The touches. The smiles. The laughters. The kisses. The I love yous. She hated them all.

Sara didn’t even notice a tear running down her cheeks as she thought about those moments that continuously lingered her mind.

Without further to do, she grabbed her phone and messages Kang-ho.

‘I believe our relationship will never work out. I apologize if I ever let you think that this will lead into something serious. I’m sorry.’

Sara sighed and put down her phone. She stared at the ceiling, the pressure on her chest was finally free.

Maybe she was too busy being hers to fall for somebody new.

Might do a part two :)

[mariwritess]

friend ⋆·˚ ༘ * Itoshi Rin x Reader

Hiya! This is my first ever fic, so I'm sorry if it's written in a weird format... I'm also not used to writing, so please cut me some slack

૮ ․ ․ ྀིა. I probably won't post regularly, but please enjoy!

warnings: none, apart from the fact that I haven't checked my spelling

trope: fluff, friends(ish?) to lovers?, past/present rin

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

To say you and Rin were friends would be an odd statement indeed– and yet, there wasn’t exactly any other term to define what you two were. Yes, you’d known him since nappies and drool-covered plastic dinosaurs. Yes, you’d known him when he lost his first tooth– the tiny, wailing boy rushing over to his brother for comfort. Yes, you’d known him when you’d started school– big, toothy grins plastered onto both your faces (your mother never really would get rid of that embarrassing photo). And yes, you’d known him when his world came crashing down into pieces after his brother– the very one who'd always make sure to ruffle his hair and soothe his endless worries– disregarded him entirely upon returning from Spain. You never really knew what happened for Sae to undergo such a transformation in such little time, and you had a hunch that you never really would. 

It had all happened so suddenly. You had chosen to stay behind– opting to give the brothers some much-needed time to reunite. Rin's room had never been anything spectacular; the deep, navy walls were scarcely ever decorated, save for a framed photo of his first football game with his brother– perched carefully upon his desk beside his monitor, and several trophies accumulated over years of playing alongside Sae. 

The gentle click of the front door was what had caught your attention, pausing whatever horror film you had found amidst Rin's extended collection. Your head swivelled towards the bedroom door, neck  rained and ears strained as you frowned; it was too quiet. No voices, no shuffling feet against the carpet, nothing. Something's off, you thought to yourself as you rose from Rin's desk chair and moved towards his bedroom door. Rin was never silent around Sae. 

Before you could even call out to him, the door had swung open– missing your face by mere centimeters. You had jumped back, startled by Rin's sudden entrance.

“Oh, Rinnie! You're back alread—”

Your words fell on deaf ears as he brushed past you, heading straight for his desk. Your frown lifted and your eyes widened, a cold wave of realisation washing down your spine as you had watched him grab the very frame he had insisted on keeping for years– and hurl it against a wall. The glass had shattered with ease, cutting through your screams as you had crouched in an attempt to dodge any shards. A sickening wail had torn through your throat in a desperate attempt to ground yourself. Fortunately for you– Rin had come to his senses reasonably quick, squatting down to your level as he mumbled incoherent apologies, trembling hands raised to gently stroke your hair. It was only once you had raised your head to look at him that you’d realised something had gone wrong– terribly wrong.

“Rin, what…”

The words had seemed, at the time, to shrivel up and turn to dust in your mouth, leaving a bitter taste on your tongue as you swallowed down the torrent of questions buzzing through your veins. Rin had let escape a small, shaky breath before glancing at you– his teal eyes now reflecting anything but the boy you knew.

“Nii-chan, he— he said he— I don’t—”

At last, your senses had returned to you as you hushed him gently and had coaxed him into your arms, your initial shock wearing off and leaving you numb as he had broken down the minute you’d held him, tears streaming down his face and soaking into your shoulder.

“Oi. Are you even listening to me?”

The low grumble of Rin’s voice snapped you out of your thoughts– a rather rude awakening from memory lane, if you will. You smile, giving him a (hopefully) innocent smile and a nod of your head– which soon turned into a sheepish mumble of an apology when faced with his ever-so-stoic stare.

“How on Earth did you pass the entrance exam with such a mediocre attention span?” Rin deadpans, looking at you as if you’d suddenly grown a second pair of arms.

“Hey! Who do you take me for?!” You laugh in disbelief, tossing your rubber in his direction (which he caught without much effort). You frown, sticking out your tongue in defiance before looking at him— really looking at him. When had he gotten so tall? Where’d the adorable pudge in his face go? And yet, despite the radical changes in his appearance, he was still here, with you, by your side. His hand no longer smacked yours away whenever you reached out for it, his knee no longer shifted away from yours when the two of you had mindlessly ended a little closer to each other than planned, and his eyes no longer avoided yours after being caught staring at your lips. 

Rin was your friend. You’d do everything friends would do, and sometimes more. Rin was your friend. Until he wasn’t.

[educatedsimps]

Ahh I'm so in love with the idea of timeskip!Kenma as a dad 🥺 You've really made me even more in love with your blog 😘 Can I please request timeskip!Kenma x fem reader where he introduces our son to his followers on his stream? Baby Kodzuken ❤️ I'd love it if his followers were a gushing in the comments about how cute the baby is and how happy Kenma is when he talks about his baby boy and us (his wife)? I love Kenma and the thought of him as a dad is just the cutest to me. Thank you so much! Take care 🫶🏻

≪ back to fics masterlist

kozume kenma x f!reader

a/n: OH MY GODSHKKAFYSYVUDNGUSYRGUKSYKS THIS IS LITERALLY THE CUTEST IDEA EVERRR OMG thanku for requesting my dear kenma anon ❤️ i'm so sorry this took WAY longer to publish than expected so THANK YOU for having the patience of an angel 😭 i really hope this was worth the wait so pls enjoy! lots of love and u take care too <33

cw: TIMESKIP SPOILERS, parenting au, domestic fluff, slice of life kinda thing, chat gg crazy bc kenma is an amazing dad. GREEN FLAG DAD KENMA

"Hey guys, welcome back. I've got a very special announcement to make today, so here we are," Kenma adjusted his camera, smiling slightly.

It was a regular Tuesday evening and you were taking the time to do some self-care, which left Kenma with his second favourite thing in the world - his son.

As a YouTuber, professional gamer, stock trader, streamer and CEO of his own company, Kenma's work schedule was extremely flexible, and both of you were grateful for that. Not only did he have various sources of income, but he could be home as much as he wanted. And being home meant being able to spend time with his precious son, Kozume Kaito.

Kaito was your six month old bundle of joy - literally. If you had told Kenma a decade ago that he'd be a dad one day, he would have never believed you. Until, that is, you had Kaito.

Even before Kaito's birth, Kenma had no idea how he was supposed to take care of and raise a whole child. He just knew that he wanted to be the best father you and Kaito could've ever asked for. And so, you saw how stressed he could got about even the tiniest of things.

"What size clothes do we buy for him? Will S or M be better? What if he's a huge baby? Let's just get one of each size... Wait, what about pacifiers? A-and bottle hoods? What shape will he prefer? Longer ones? Shorter ones? Softer or slightly tougher ones? Ugh forget it, we'll get one of each type too."

However, all his worries disappeared the moment he held little baby Kaito in his arms. Kenma had never really been a crier, but the second he laid eyes on your beautiful son, he couldn't help but let it all out in the hospital ward.

"Can you guys see me clearly?" Kenma asked. The excited responses of "YESSS" "what's the surprise??" "OMG YOU'RE SO PRETTY" "yes i can see your handsome face" confirmed that his camera was indeed working just fine. Amused, he chuckled lightly. "Great. I'll be right back."

As he left the frame, his viewers were left staring at the background screen in his office, a big logo of Bouncing Ball Corp. After a few seconds of silence, some shuffling could be heard as Kenma returned with a chubby ball of energy in his arms. The moment he stepped back into frame with his beloved son in hand, the chat exploded.

kodzukenner: NO WAY IS THAT YOUR BABY??? riceballzzz: CUTIEEEEEEEEE AHHHH nek0mab1tch: omg he has a kid ?? ADORABLE miyamiya07: hawajhjchdjvhhfjhfrsjkhfdhasjhjchjfhjvhkrh lookattheclouds: since when?! vballer1208: HE HAS A CHILD??????????????

Kenma proudly held up his son like he had won an Olympic trophy - he simply adored Kaito. Meanwhile, Kaito watched, enamoured, as comments flooded the chat. Among those comments were also questions about Kaito and even you.

He knew the news of his son would be a major surprise to his online community, especially since the two of you had very successfully hidden your pregnancy from the public. Neither of you wanted to deal with all the pressure from netizens, media and the public.

"'He has Y/n's smile'," Kenma read one comment aloud. Chuckling, he agreed, "He does, doesn't he? He's lucky to inherit the most beautiful smile on earth."

Another comment asked where you were, and when Kenma simply replied with "Doing her own stuff." some commenters gushed about how cute it was that Kenma was on "babysitting duties".

With a scrunch of his face, Kenma retorted, "It's not babysitting. He's literally my child. Y/n's just doing her own stuff, what's the big deal? Come on, y'all gotta delete those gender role stereotypes from your heads, that's so 1950s." He huffed.

"'What's his name?'" Kenma read. "Hm. Y/n and I have actually decided not to reveal his name, so we hope you'll respect our decision."

kodzukenner: omg i wonder what his name is he's so cute i'm sure his name is as cute as him! nek0mab1tch: what if they named him kodzuken bouncingballer: baby kodzuken HAHA miyamiya07: OMG BABY KODZUKEN ??

Kenma chuckled as he read the comments guessing his child's name.

"'Is he joining today's stream?'" Kenma read aloud. Turning to his son with a gentle smile on his face, he replied, "You bet. Aren'tcha, big guy?"

In response, Kaito burst into a fit of giggles, excitedly babbling and pointing at the big screen in front of him.

The comments once again exploded into cheers of happiness as Kenma sat down in his usual gaming position, but this time, with his beloved son in his lap.

a/n: i'm so sorry this is really short 😭😭 but i hope it's okay :,) tysm for requestingg! hope you liked it bae <3

© educatedsimps 2024. do not repost, copy, translate or plagiarise any work from this blog on tumblr or any other platforms. if you do, the simps will hunt you down. likes and reblogs are appreciated!

[evolutionsvoid]

A common joke that comes with freshwater lakes is that they are superior to the saltwater because they are "shark-free." While indeed many ponds and rivers can rest easy knowing they don't have razor-toothed flesh eating fish within them, that comfort cannot be given to all freshwater bodies. One must remember that every ecosystem has its predators, with issues only arising when they get too big or aggressive. Yes, the lakes don't have sharks, but they have other fish that some would consider even worse...

The native Americans knew quite well where log gars could be found. It was in waters where their canoes were chewed into splinters. This is because log gars possess a nasty set of serrated teeth and an incredible aggression towards wooden objects. Log gars are carnivorous fish, using their long toothy jaws to shred prey. While they will happily eat whatever they come across, it should be noted that their primary prey are beavers. This is where their saw-like teeth come into play, as these weapons help rip through beaver dens and dams so that they can get at the morsels behind the wooden walls. A lifestyle of devouring beavers has led to the species developing a link between food and wood, where chewing through wooden objects inevitably leads to meat. While this does lead to them attacking fallen branches, their beliefs were validated when man and his wooden boats came to their waters.

The natives of these regions learned this lesson, and so would others who came. Canoes of wood and birch bark were seen as targets, and the log gar's teeth sawed through them with ease. Torn open by these eager fish, the boats would sink and leave the floating men inside at the mercy of these gar. To no surprise, quite a few folk were devoured by the log gar. Even loggers who floated their products down the river fell to these nasty fish, who detected the presence of meat atop it all. Many attempts were made to be rid of these terrors, but the log gar is no easy foe. Their bodies are covered with hard scales coated in dentine, which can repel spear and hook. Attempts to stab them often fail, and their razor teeth mean hook and line is easily severed. Nets are torn to ribbons and any more extreme efforts would jeopardize the rest of the aquatic life within. Even if someone were to master a way to catch them, their populations are high enough that it would be impossible to deplete them by hand.

Even as nasty as they are, natives did occasionally succeed in catching these fish or finding dead ones. Those that they could harvest would have their scales used as arrowheads and shielding, while their jaws made fine makeshift saws. Log gar meat is seen as disgusting, due to its composition and their propensity to swallow a whole lot of sawdust during their feeding frenzies. Their hard scales also make them a pain to fillet, though they may help make your knife sharper!

Log gars proved to be a menace in many lakes, causing quite a few to be marked off limits for water sports and other recreational activities. When man started to switch from wood to fiberglass, the attacks on these vessels lessened. The few log gar that made the mistake of attacking these ships often perished after swallowing chunks of fiberglass, leading to a painful demise. While this does make water travel safer against these fish, it still isn't recommended in some areas due to the possibility of someone falling in. Even if your boat doesn't sink, an accidental tumble into the water can end in a bloody demise.

Though hated and feared by many, often considered pests and menaces, the log gar does get its rare times to shine. Their scales make for neat jewelry, and one renowned power tool company has one as their mascot. They are also highly valued as fishing trophies, due to the extreme difficulty to catch one and the fact that many older larger specimens remain around today. And who could forget the charming children's safety scissors made to look just like them?

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

"Log Gar"

[iloveoutlinesiswear]

This is a bit of fluff and angst between Karroleen von Valancius and Abelard. Features Marazhai and Heinrix also. I'm still climbing out of a writing funk so have mercy.

(Mentions of torture and stalking)

Intentions

Karroleen flinched as if struck. For a long moment, they all froze as Marazhai's words hung in the air. Abelard gripped his chainsword, ready to finally behead the xenos.

Just give me the word, ladyship. Please.

"Broodmale," Karroleen repeated, her voice high and thin.

Abelard's thirst for vengeance died in an instant, killed by her distress.

Shaking from some deep emotional wound reopened, she took a step back. Her golden earrings tinkled, discordant and harsh. Green eyes wide, she looked around her as if expecting a rebuke. Then she spun around and fled.

"Karroleen, wait!" Heinrix called to her retreating back.

Marazhai seemed just as surprised by her reaction as any of them, though the expression on the vile creature's face most closely resembled intrigued triumph, his lips skinning back from his teeth in a vicious grin.

"Interesting, apparently, you hurt her more than I ever could," Marazhai hissed at Heinrix. "Isn't that typical for you?"

Abelard watched the color drain from the Interrogator's face.

"Bastard!" Heinrix spat with all the venom he could summon.

Anyone else would have been groveling in terror but the xenos simply cocked his head and inhaled as if savoring the scent of some fine drink.

"Enough, viper!" Abelard barked.

Marazhai shied but the smirk remained on his pale face. After a mocking bow, the xenos meandered from the chamber, chuckling evilly to himself.

As soon as the beast was gone, Heinrix slumped, seemingly exhausted. Rubbing his mustache, Abelard regarded him.

Karroleen awakened the father in him, being a shy and proper young lady of a noble house, even if her lineage was dubious. Theodora had been hard on her, mistaking her reserved nature for weakness. Abelard knew better.

Then Heinrix had arrived on the ship and Abelard had distrusted him to the utmost. Somehow, the Interrogator had weaseled his way into her confidence and her chambers. Indeed, she took him everywhere, consulting him on things she really ought not to.

Abelard still didn't trust him. Not completely. Even after Commoragh. Especially after Commoragh. There was something of the seducer about Heinrix and having a Rogue Trader in their pocket was too advantageous to the Inquisition. It would be something they would do. Had done in fact.

And Karroleen being of a certain age and temperament was vulnerable to that approach.

"I should talk to her," Heinrix said, almost to himself.

Abelard coughed, broken out of his reverie.

"No," Abelard said firmly, "I will."

A flicker of anger flickered over Heinrix's face but then he bowed. As always, Heinrix turned inscrutable on a geld piece. Another reason that Abelard suspected him.

"As you wish," the man said curtly.

Without pausing, Abelard strode back through the bridge to his mistress's chambers. Cassia hovered near the elevator, wringing her clawed hands. Thick as thieves, those two were, similar in many ways but different than others.

"What happened?" She asked. "Did the beast hurt someone? Why did Karroleen...?"

"Yes, it's a mess down there," he said. "But in her ladyship's case, it's cutting words." He paused, gripping the handle of his chain-axe. "God-Emperor I hate that creature."

Without explaing further, he descended on the elevator. Walking past the trophies that lined her foyer, he caught sight of the Drukhari war engine suspended from the ceiling. A gift from somewhere. He suspect the Kasballicans. The sight of it made his soul ache.

He continued on.

A sniffle came from Karroleen's office.

Her office, not Theodora's. Slowly but surely they had become her chambers. Blue carpeting covered the floor. The ork skull was gone, replaced by an ornate brass music box. Pleasant sea scapes and romantic scenes dominated, the martial paintings quietly disappeared into storage. Slowly, the books changed out from treatise on astro-phenomenon and void warfare to poetry and trade strategy.

He paused outside the entrance and coughed. The girl gasped and her skirts rustled. Knowing how she prized decorum far more than her predecessor, a warning of his presence was warranted.

"Mistress?" he said as he walked in. "Are you well?"

She stood, shivering like some prey animal, her exquisite make up streaked from tears. Even her hair was mussed, usually piled up in perfect curls and decorated with jewels, now loose and lopsided.

"Forgive me, I should be...I should have better control of myself," she said, smoothing her skirts.

"Mistress," he said. "That...thing knows how to get at anyone. You should not take its words seriously."

"I know," she said. "I just can't help but wonder if...."

She swallowed what she was about to say like it was poison, bitter and glutinous.

"Young mistress," he said, softly as he had to his own children and grand children. "I am your Seneschal. I do not manage just your ship and your staff but also your secrets."

With a choked gasp, she sat back into the couch. She wrung her gloved hands, the kid leather rubbing together. Then a shuddering breath escaped her.

"I suppose you think less of me now," she said. "I'm guessing the entire crew knows. And-" she sucked in a breath "they talk."

"I've never heard any of them breathe a word," he said, sitting down on the couch next to her. "I might not be a master of whispers, but I do know that they adore you. Besides, you've been nothing less than discrete, though you don't need to be."

"It's different when you're a bastard," she said.

He stayed silent. He couldn't argue with that. Being on a Rogue Trader ship, he'd long had his fill of noble intrigue. Bastards were fodder for the gossip circles, whether they were dissolute wastrels or paragons of virtue.

For a few long moments, she kept silent. Until he thought that she might not elaborate. Then in a quiet voice, she started.

"When I was younger, I was caught alone with a boy," she said, pulling her knees up under her skirts. "My step-mother was furious and cruel, she never had any affection for me. She threatened me with a convent but I managed to convince her otherwise. Then the boy bragged that he had taken my virtue to his friends. Which was a lie but that did not matter. And I became a pariah. And worse, prey."

She smiled then and it was the most caustic smile he had ever seen. It distorted her face into a hideous mask, pale and bitter as ash. With a deep breath, she pulled one of the jeweled combs from her hair.

Holding out his hand, he listened in silence.

She placed the comb in his palm. Butterflies in sapphire and purple initrian glittered at him.

"Men propositioned me for liaisons," she said, pulling free the other comb and placing it with its twin. "Married men. Older men. Mothers condemned me as a whore, even as their sons hunted me through the corridors of the palace. eager to take what I would not give freely. The convent would not take me since it was assumed I was no longer virtuous. And marriage became impossible for the same reason."

As she talked, she unwound the great mass of brown curls, plucking out hair pins with expert grace. These too she placed in his hand, as if each one were weighted with a small measure of the hate she received.

Abelard said nothing and she continued, staring into the middle distance.

"What friends I had deserted me and worse added more lurid tales about my alleged appetites to the mills. People believed them, thinking they had my confidence. In reaction, my governess became cruel to me also and watched me day and night, blaming me for the attention I received."

"When Theodora's missive arrived, it was like the God-Emperor himself reaching down to me. As horrible as everything I have seen since is, it's nothing compared to that hell. I know that seems strange. I've fought literal deamons, chaos space marines, the most vile creatures. But I'm no longer alone when I do so."

She let out a deep breath and leaned against his heavy shoulder.

"That was the worst thing about Commoragh," she said. "It was not the torture. It was the loneliness that followed."

"You found us all," Abelard said. "None of us walked away without scars. But we did walk away." He sucked in a breath. "Even that creature, because of you. There is more to you, and always was than simple romantic inexperience."

She pulled away from him, and for a heart stopping moment he thought that he had mortally offended her. Turning to apologize, he stopped once he saw the look of confusion on her face.

"Inexperience?" she said, tasting the word. "I've never heard it framed in such a detached way. Not that I am any more."

She blushed, pink dusting her pale cheeks.

"Madam, you are a Rogue Trader," he said with a twisted smile. "Your social mores are what you make them, nothing more, nothing less. Believe me, the tales I could tell you of Theodora are both lurid and plentiful. I mean, to put it another way. Why do you think your...bath attendants are all men of a certain age?"

Her delicate blush intensified. "Oh," she squeaked. "I, um. Oh."

"Though even she might have stopped short of Master van Calox," he said.

It was a soft probe, just to see. Just to sense how she felt about the man. Van Calox was a hard man to read, stony and dutiful. And not likely to reveal anything about himself. Though his behavior seemed obvious enough, he also had incentive to lie, to obfuscate.

She coughed with finality, her face turning crimson. A smile tugged at her lips, a soft look he knew well from decades of herding young people to their proper places. Then remembering herself, she stood and took the plie of pins and combs from his palm.

"Thank you for listening to me ramble," she said. "But speaking of baths, I really must clean the filth off."

"Of course," he said, even as his attention turned elsewhere.

She disappeared deeper into her chambers and he sat for a long moment, looking around at the office. One of the pins remained in his hand and he rolled it between his finger tips. He licked his lips, tapping a hard heel on the floor.

It was time to find out precisely what Heinrix van Calox's intentions really were.

[sirianasims]

The Don Diaries

Ah yes, the morning after the first time. I am not letting this absolute lunatic propose to Julie, but that doesn't quite stop him from acting unhinged.

Love of your life, Don? You're 18, maybe... maybe cool it a little?

I mean, sure, she's cute and all, but you don't have to marry the first person you sleep mess around with.

DON

I JUST SAID

Even good-natured Julie thinks that might be a bit soon. It's the first time Don has had a social interaction fail with Julie and their romance takes a small hit, but Don is undeterred and immediately asks her about children too.

Thankfully, Nicolo and Adriana join breakfast and save Don from himself and Julie from her somewhat clingy boyfriend.

In school, Don decides that everyone needs to know that he lost his virginity, apparently.

Don, a true gentleman doesn't woohoo and tell!

Poor Sidney is not impressed either.

I feel for Sidney, it's gotta be rough when the straight friend you have a crush on won't stop boasting about the shower handy he got from someone else.

Don also got himself a nifty trophy for making cheer captain. Honestly, as a teenager, he has pretty much peaked. Straight A's, cheer captain, shower handy. What else could he possibly aspire to?

Seeing as Don was being the perfect kid, I was actually wondering what to do for the next week or so until he ages up. Adriana has a talent for writing, so I decided to make her a food critic so she could get out of the house more.

At this point, however, the game was like "hold my juice" and threw this at me.

"Eventful" indeed.

Things were tense. Would his parents notice? Don threw himself into homework in an attempt to avoid suspicion.

So far, Adriana is oblivious and not at all questioning Don's sudden desire for multiple bagels.

Finally, daddy Nicolo is lured back into the kitchen by the smell of bagels, and...

Dad is not impressed.

Nicolo is really not happy about this. He grounds Don for a day, and then he just keeps yelling at him furiously.

I try to make Don beg forgiveness - even though he's still high af.

It sort of works, but then Don decides to yell at his dad. I decide to send him to bed before he utterly destroys his relationship with this dad - their friendship bar is down to half!

Adriana tries to calm Nicolo down - she's still oblivious to Don being high.

Nicolo enlightens her.

In typical Lothario fashion, they try to cheer themselves up the best way they know how, but Nicolo is seriously upset about this.

… Adriana is not taking it well either. 8 days?!

Let's hope Don straightens up after this!

[healingfairy000000001]

The day that changed the sea.

Roger pirates x Reader

Type: arranged marriage, running away, controlling parents/fiancé, female reader, body dismorfia, eating disorder.

I suck at writing "Romance" (more like writing assholes).

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

"your highness it's time for your scheduled tea time with your fiance" a maid no older than 20 said bowing down, "yes tell him I will be down soon" the Nobel woman said having her other servants help out with her clothes and hair.

Downstairs in the luxuries living room was duke Fredrik wasser was talking to Count L/N about wedding arrangment, "We promise you she is very pretty and wouldn't throw a fit about anything" Mr.L/N said rubbing his hands together his wife jumping in "and is a great house madam managing budgets and staff since she was 12!" Mrs.L/N told the potentian suiter, "I see" fredrik was familiar with this and knew not to trust the parents opinion since they will gloss up their kid.

"I salut Duke Fredrik wasser" he heard the door opening and the.....voice of an angel? Her parents weren't lying about one thing at least, "and you must be my bride to be? Doll face?" Fredrick stepped closer examening her bow and eteqite before taking her hand and kissing the back of it.

"It's a wedding!" Seemingly satisfied with his bride the parents and new fianceè shoo Y/N out of the room to decide the wedding and the money, Y/N happy that this went according to plan decided to go out with her maid and have some fun on the port.

"Isn't this beutifull martha?" Asked Y/N while strooling close to the port, "indeed your highness, but if you don't mind me intruding-"the maid wanting to question her lady's choice in accepting the marrige with a man she met for less than a minute got inturupted, "look! Martha new commers! Let's go say hi!" With a childish joy Y/N grabbed her maids hand and lead her to the small ship where they found two men, the first wearing a straw hat and the other reaking of alchool, the maid understandebly was worried of their identity, "my lady this is a bad idea" warned the maid but the lady ignored the warning walking up close in her heavy dress, "h-Hello there! My name is Y/N L/N and this is my friend martha, you must be new here!"said the young lady, "that's true! My name is Roger and this is my first mate Raylight!" The man in the straw hat intruduced himself getting on the port to give her a hand shake, the woman confused looked at her maid, "Martha why is he giving me his hand?" She whispered, "My lady that's a hand shake give him your right hand" whispered the maid back.

With excitment the woman shook his hand before looming at martha for confirmation nodding slightly, Y/N turned back to Roger, "so you guys are a crew? Where is the main boat? Since this is small", "bahaha! You must be curious, huh?" Asked roger, "If you wish you can tell me over lunch! My treat" invited the young noble.

"......And then Raylight attacked it with his sword killing it instantly!" Roger retold the story while eating his meal, "That's amazing! Sir Raylight that's incralable of you!" Complimented Y/N eating a small bowl of salad with a cup of tea while her maid helped herself to a fatty meal; "is that all your going to eat?" Asked Raylight, "oh! Please don't mind me, I need to watch my weight for my up-coming weding"she said it as if it was normal but her maid looked a bit upset by her lady's hunger strike, "my it seems you two love each other, huh?" Pointed Raylight sarcasticly, "Love? It's meerly political like an ass like him could Lov-", "-Martha, no it's beneficial to every one in this town" seemingly forgetting that they had guests the woman in question continued "so becoming a trophy wife to that assholes is also benefiting the tow-", before she finishes that sentence Y/N stand up turning to her guests, "I apologize for this ungodly appearance, please consider your food and shelter paid for, Martha take them to ST.moubt hotel" and with that she leaves.

Guiding the two towards the hotel Martha began regretting her words, "do you think I went too far?" deciding to ask the new fellas she went ahead "you'you've seen her! She doesn't even know what a 'hand shake' is and she wants to throw her life away so is pesky peasant can have lesser taxes!", Raylight feeling like this is none of their business but Roger felt otherwise, "sorry, but here use this to pay for the hotel and food" giving them a silver bendit with a flying bird on it she waved goodbye and left.

"your awfully quite today captain" drinking and looking out the window Raylight turned to his third bottle, "I can't let that happen" said Roger sitting on his bed, "you can't just let your life be thrown away like that" gripping his hand tightly he looked at his first mate, "you plan on objecting in the alter or what?" knowing he won't back down he chimed in, "no, running away sounds better" with saying that Raylight looked puzzled but won't get an answer till the morning after.

In another part of town a maid is knocking on her lady's door with a cup of tea, "My lady can I come in?" asked the maid, "Martha you know your always welcomed" chuckling she went in finding her friend looking at her mother's music box, "Y/N are you okay?" sitting down and pouring the hot beverage she answered "of course why won't I be?" she answered while taking the cup and smelling it, "well you only take out mom's music box when your sad", "Nana would've known what to do in this situation" though shaking a bit she sipped her tea, "and probably scolded me for my public outburst" said the maid with a smirk, looking at each other and bursting out laughing the two shared a moment of tranquility, "my lady you ought to run away" getting the subject serious again, "Martha, no I can't leave you or anyone here or else..." again her voice shatered and seemingly flooding with past memories her friend spoke again "what happened to mom won't happen to me" trying to comfort her shaken friend she continued, "Don't you want to see the sea again?" And with that Y/N finally broke down into tears.

The next morning Y/N decided to take a walk outside to check up on her guests and think about what martha said, "Roger good morning! How was the stay?" Seeing him in front of the hotel she waved at him, "well that thing you gave us worked like a charm!"he said enthusiacly, silent fell on them again, "why did you become a pirate?" She asked avoiding eye contact with him, Roger though puzeled answered with one of his famous grins "I want to turn the world upside down!" He said with a hart filled laugh; Raylight came out to see what's going on, "Roger please let me join your crew! Let me go live in the sea with you!" She yelled finally letting out what she belives the riskiest and propably the dumbist thing she did but roger only looked at her brifly before laughing out loud, "Sure I don't see why not" Roger agreed but Raylight seemed hesitant, but he can't defy Roger when he get's like this, celebrating this news she couldn't wait to tell martha the news......only if her parent's don't find out.

Sitting in her office she was thinking about what to do for this adventure, 'with my jewlery and saved up money I can help out with supplies, plus I can manage the finances, but I need to tell martha first and say goodbuy to Nana's husband, plus pack some clothes' she was excited day dreaming about similar adventures to the ones she heard, until, SLAM! her father barged in "you ungratful whore! Who was that man!" Yelled her father as her mother closed the door, "Father wha-" she tried to understand what's happening, "Not another word, you think this is a game? Go and hang around that ugly man? How could you do this to your father! Look at your poor mother" he started berating her before pointing at her crying mother, usualy she would cave in but not this time, "so how could this father sell his daughter out because he can't close his wallet to anyone!" She snapped back at a price.

The sound of a loud thud and glass breaking was the last thing the pirate to be heard before losing concesnous.

Someone came in...who is it? "My lady! Your awake!" Screamed the maid hugging her close, but the lady had other things in mind, "the wedding it's tomorrow! What do we do!" Letting out the grim reality expecting her to react in some way, but she remaind calm, "Martha it's time to crash a wedding".

(Wow your still here DAMN you found this intresting enough to read till here, I am honored, here have a GIF as a gift)

Running to the churche where the wedding was being held felt Roger a rage he hadn't felt in a while, Raylight was preparing the small ship to leave while he had the task of getting the new member back.

'Where is he!' She thought standing in front of her soon to be husband, "I OBJECT!!" yelled Roger as he slamed the door open, loud gasps filled the room as well as more guards, "you came!" She said some tears at the corner of her eyes still holding the bouquet she ran towards him but was stoped by her fiancee. (A fight scene Roger beating the shit out of the guards and scaring the fiancee enough for him to let go of Y/N)

Running in a torn apart wedding dress being chased by her parents and guards was never a thing not even in her wildest dreams but here she is clutching the music box previously held in her bouquet towards the boat, "GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANCE!" Was among the many lines that drowned by the sound of laughter among Y/N and Roger, waving goodbuy to the chef and Martha she ched a few tears as before looking forward towards a brighter future.

.

.

.

.

Anticipating a reaction all there is was two faces full of disappointment, "that's it?" Said shanks, "this is lame, I thought you'd do something cool!" Added buggy, "well I told you the music box and how I joind this crew were not exiting stories" she shook her shoulders before standing up from the cafe table and starting to walk away, "so who was the chef anyway?" Asked shanks, "Nana's husband, he would sneak me snacks through Martha sometimes"........ though this seemed like a ditante memory now her joyfull rant's and their teasing was something he didn't expect to miss yet here he is drinking it away..........~~~~

[guerrerajaguar]

Are you ever going to finish the CEO rengoku x reader story?

Hey there! I felt really happy that you asked for this <3 and the answer is absolutely yes! I hope you like it

CeoKyojuro x fem!reader (part 4)

Tags: @lalachanya, @aijlin @misslili265

CeoKyojuro x fem!reader part 1

CeoKyojuro x fem!reader part 2

CeoKyojuro x fem!reader part 3

One Step Ahead

Kyojuro Rengoku has never been so abashed in his life before, his mind keept playing tricks on him as he mentally tried to recreate the scene that had just happened.

“Good bye, Rengoku-san”

Why? 

Why was it so hard to get close to you? His hair was a complete mess by now as his hands desperately tried to look for an outlet to his growing exasperation. 

All of this and for nothing.

This was also the first time he could not get whatever he wanted. This feeling of failure was a completely strange to him. 

And all due to someone that up until a couple of weeks ago, was an absolute nobody.

This was certainly a growing obsession and for strangely as it could sound, he loved every single minute of it. The growing deception of you slipping through his fingers will only make his victory more delightful. Although, by that point, he wasn’t sure there could be any chance of triumph at all. 

Was there a way for him to slip into your heart?

He sighed deeply and soundly, right in the middle of his solitary CEO office. His jacket messily resting over his expensive brown oak imported desk, his tie loosen all the way up to his chest and his heart beating painfully. He was surprised by the fact of all the things he had to go through for realizing that he had fallen in love with you.

“I just hope that I didn't humiliate myself more than what I already have…”- He said, thinking out loud, not aware that there was someone listening to him.

“And why would you do that, brother?” - Almost laughing, replied Senjuro, the youngest member of the Rengoku dynasty. He was the entire opposite of his older brother. He was kind and respectful, everyone in the office enjoyed his presence, and even though he was still in college, it was not uncommon to see Senjuro working along with some multidisciplinary teams. He was really committed to help his older brother with the family company management, even if he did not agreed with some of Kyojuro’s ways.

“Ah Senjuro, what are you doing here at this time? Should you not be out with your friends on a Friday evening?”

“Mother sent me to look for you, as it seems you forgot our family gathering.”

“Was it today?” - He immediately checked his phone calendar and dropped himself deeper into his chair as he saw with disappointment that he had, indeed, completely forgotten about his family responsibilities. Pinching the bridge of his nose he continued:

“I am on my way now, I will apologize to our mother’s family…”

“What is with that expression, Kyo-ni? You look terrible!”- Senjuro said with a very affable expression, having a very good guess what the cause of it might be.

“To be honest with you Senjuro, I really don’t know anymore…”- He gave his brother a bitter side smile as he gently massaged his temples.

“Let me guess, this problem has a first and last name, pretty smile, beautiful hair, dazzling eyes and more important of all; she hates you.” - Said the younger blond while sitting over the elegant CEO desk.

“Senjuro, how could you possibly know that…?” - He was completely shocked to learn that at that point, he was so down bad that it was completely obvious.

“Well, I am not a kid anymore Kyo-ni! I can clearly tell when a man is suffering for love. But honestly, I thought you were a bit more charming. Because, I can assure you, that treating a girl so badly to make her quit is not the easiest way to get into her heart.” - He chuckled softly as he picked up one of the small crystal trophies that Kyojuro had given to himself, and that he so pridefully showed off.

“That is nothing like that, at all.” - He said while staring at the glass triangle statuette and he couldn’t help but to feel ashamed of the ridiculous idea of awarding himself.

“You see Kyo-ni, that is exactly the attitude that put you in THIS situation” - he returned the award back to its rightful place- “ You love to make things more complicated than what they should be, oh, and that horrendous pride of yours!” - Senjuro was smiling widely.

“By this time, it's pointless Senjuro, she really doesn’t want to know anything about me.” - His expression was serious but full of deception.

“That is because she doesn’t know the other side of you. We just need her to give you a chance to get to know you and I am sure that her perception of you, will change.” - Senjuro took out his phone and after he typed something on it, he showed Kyojuro his search results.

“Senjuro, I appreciate your help but I honestly don't think that this will make any difference”. - The CEO said as he took his younger brother’s phone.

“No offense Kyo-ni, but you need all the help you can get and as I see how you have failed so miserably, I will suggest that you take my advice.” - He smiled triumphantly as Kyojuro took a couple of minutes to weigh out his options.

“I guess it won’t hurt to try, and indeed, you are so grown up now that I never realized the time you stopped being a kid… ” - He chuckled loudly as he playfully hit one of Senjuro’s shoulders with his fist.

“This is owned by a friend of mine, so I will make sure that everything goes out perfectly, alright? I think this will be either a hit or a miss.”- Senjuro kept texting while Kyojuro and him walked out from the CEO’s office.”

“I really hope that Y/N likes it�� “ - Kyojuro concluded as he reached the elevator as a secret bystander caught a significant amount of that conversation. 

Friday had finally arrived and you could not believe how suddenly you stopped desperately waiting for the weekend to arrive. You still had to go to work but you were finally enjoying it and living your best work life. The Uber driver left you at your friend’s front door. This was barely the second time he invited you over, so you contributed with a small peach cake and a your favorite chilled beer.

Your friend opened the door as soon as you knocked. A very manly and profound scent escaped through the entrance, it smelled just like his jacket, so deeply of him. This situation, unconsciously made you feel safe, so you stepped in as if that home was yours. He was wearing a very tight black shirt with washed-off denim jeans and his hair was entirely placed back in a low pony tail, exposing his face completely.

“Made it just in time and brought these goodies with me.” - You said with a soft smile, while Giyuu picked up your coat from his hands.

“I was wondering if you were going to come at all” - Giyuu said with a playful sarcastic tone.

“Ha! You wish! You promised me movies and popcorn and I wont leave until I get both.” - you said as you walked into Giyuu’s living room while he placed the cake and the beer inside the fridge. He was a very neat and organized man, and that of course, was not a surprise at all. His apartment had a minimalistic style, everything had a dedicated place, not a lot of decor, but colors were perfectly balanced to make the place look very sophisticated.

Everything seemed to be in its righteous place, except for the living room. And oh boy. Your blue eyed friend had definitely gone over the top with this improvised “home theater”. The space in front of you was filled with fluffy over-sized pillows on top of a cream-colored rug, every single blank space was filled with equally soft blankets, it was a dreamy invitation to throw yourself to sink into that overwhelming comfiness.

Without a second thought, you sunk yourself into that pillow fortress, fitting your body in the middle of all those blankets, just like a little girl. As you scanned the place, you noticed a gray cabinet that had some pictures on top of them. Your eyes observed them from left to right. 

The first, you assumed, was one of his family; you recognized his sister and two other people that looked just like Giyuu and Tsukako respectively. The second picture was him with his best friend Sabito, you have met his friend the first year you both became close at Giyuu’s improvised birthday party. He was a very vivacious guy, a bit too loud for your liking but a good person after all. And the third picture was you and him during the last company Christmas party. 

Something settled in your stomach when you looked at that picture, as usual, Giyuu had barely smiled at all, and if you remembered correctly, you almost had to forcefully drag him into the photo booth. Naturally, you made sure to pick the most ridiculous attire to make you both look even more ridiculous. You politely gave him a copy of that picture, being sure that if he did not threw it away, then it will never see the light of day ever again, to say the least.

But no, there it was, the picture was beautifully placed inside a golden frame, decorated with very delicate flowers. You could not recall where your copy was. Maybe you left it at your old desk? You probably would never know.

As if he had received a silent cue, Giyuu reappeared into the living room and beamed softly as he saw you already cuddled into the pillow nest that took him almost 3 hours to set up.

“It’s not that I don’t like it, but I believe we should get another picture together, don’t you think? A photo where I don’t make you feel miserable.” - You chuckled as Giyuu’s puzzled expression made you yank your face into the picture direction. Your friend’s face flushed instantaneously, he had totally forgotten about that picture, what was he thinking leaving it laying around just like that? 

He walked towards you, popcorn in hand, not really knowing what to say, so he tried his best to calm himself.

“I- I was not miserable. I had fun.” - He offered you the bowl without staring at you, you grabbed a fist-full and continued:

“I still think it’s a good idea to get another picture, I am afraid I left my copy at the office… Let’s take it the next time we go to the movies!” - you concluded before munching the little buttery softies.

Giyuu’s heart was racing wildly, he suddenly remembered the conversation he heard between Rengoku and his younger brother earlier that day. Because of that and various other reasons he had to make that day, THE DAY. He did and could not wait any longer. Will he summon enough courage to speak about it?

It was his turn to pick the movie, The Conjuring was within the repository of your favorite ones. You inadvertently drank a bit too much beer and end up finding the movie scarier than what you remembered. As nervous as Giyuu was, he mustered enough courage to speak softly to your ear:

“If you are scared, you can always look comfort in me, you know?”- he said it in such a velvety but inviting tone, that your body felt an electrical discharge that ran through your body, directly to your toes. You were sure that your heart was going to break loose from your chest any moment now. Your attention was directly driven into your blue-eyed friend. In which moment did you placed yourself under his shoulder, innocently resting on his chest?

He stared at you for a moment as well, his eyes slipped to your lips, you swore you could listen Giyuu’s wild heart beating as well. You both started to lean over, reducing the distance between the two of you, did Giyuu closed his eyes already? You quickly wondered what would Giyuu’s lips taste like, but instead of leaning over, you stood upso quickly that you stumbled and fell back into the pillow-free sofa.

“Oh wow! Look at the hour? Is that late already? I am so sorry Tomioka-sa… I meant, Giyuu, haha!”- You spoke broken words intertwined with nervous giggles, desperately looking for your shoes and phone. You were clearly impaired by the booze you drank.

Giyuu was still in shock, paralyzed with amazement trying to recollect what had just happened. That was not the way he wanted things to happen.

“Found them!” - you said with your phone in your hands while desperately requesting the first Uber driver you could get.

“Hold on Y/N, I-I…, please let me explain…”- he said as he watched you, hopelessly, getting ready to leave any moment now.

“Oh no, you are good! I was the one that took advantage of your hospitality, I better take my leave now. You probably have very important things to do tomorrow morning and I am here, keeping you busy very late at night!” - your head was a mess, but your heart was even more confused. You have never wished that someone responded to your Uber request as fast as in that moment.

“I-I, understand. I-I… at least let me take you home, I do not want you to take a cab by yourself with all the beer that you drank.”- he muttered sadly as we picked his keys and his jacket.

“Oh no, no need, there is an Uber driver already waiting for me outside!” - You lied, smiling at him, walking quickly through the door, but as your hand reached the door knob, you briskly returned, kissed your friend’s cheek and said to him:

“Can we talk about this another day?” - Giyuu Tomioka had never understood the out of body experiences until that moment. His hand automatically traveled to the cheek where your lips had rested an instant ago. You took that moment of shock from your friend to walk away quickly to meet your in-existent Uber driver. Maybe it was fate or the power of your thoughts, but a car was waiting right in front of you and after confirming the vehicle identity information you opened the door and rapidly entered.

“Good night, thank you for taking my request!” - you said without looking at your driver, as you were still staring through the rear mirror with the hope of catching a glimpse of Giyuu. Make up your mind already, you spoke to yourself.

“Y/N…?” - Your driver responded and as you identified that voice, you snapped your entire attention to the driver now.

“Akaza-senpai?!?”-

Ok so, I took forever to write this part but believe or not, I had this in my drafts for a long time now. So I still have not decided what is going to happen between Akaza and Y/N but I have 2 different possible outcomes with these too.

I felt really bad for Giyuu baby :c, but we all love a good dose of drama, don’t we? I wont promise to update soon because I don’t know if I would be able to but I will certainly try my best. Adulting takes most of my time since I became a functional adult lol.

I for sure will be updating my devoted husbands next, I JUST LOVE this self insert story hahaha.

If you have read the other CEO Kyojuro parts I thank you from the bottom of my heart, if you are a fellow fiction writer you might know how some days we can feel like our writing is not good enough and that’s ok! I do this for fun and will try to be a bit less harsh on myself.

If you are reading this story for the first time, I wanna welcome you to my writing blog and want to thank you deeply for taking the time to read my lil story, I hope that you like it and you have the chance to read my other writings. Until next time- Disturbia. 

[inquisitornocturn]

◇─ 𝕯𝖆𝖒𝖓𝖆𝖙𝖚𝖘 𝕬𝖉 𝕾𝖊𝖗𝖛𝖎𝖙𝖚𝖙𝖊𝖒 ─◇

⚜ 𝖕𝖆𝖎𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌: Nazrakhei/f!reader/Asdrubael Vect

⚜ 𝖙𝖆𝖌𝖘: Overall story rating - E. No beta we die like Nazrakhei's dignity, Abduction, Smut, Sexual Coercio, Enthusiastic Consent, Oral Sex, Blowjob, Face-Fucking, dildo, Collars, Threesome - F/M/M, PIV, Begging, Rough Sex, Spitroasting, Choking, Double Vaginal Penetration, Biting, Creampie, no Y/N used

⚜ 𝖘𝖚𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖞: You thought yourself clever. Clever indeed. And luring the drukhari into a trap seemed easy enough. That was until Nazrakhei outsmarted you and quite easily too. Thinking you're worth more to him than you actually are, the Archon decides to abduct you and bring you to his overlord, one Asdrubael Vect.

⚜ 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖙: 8,368 | AO3

⚜ 𝖆/𝖓: A fic for @squiddyshroomies who won my giveaway. Thank you for participating and thank you for giving me an opportunity to write something entirely new!

To the rest of my readers: is this extremely lore-friendly? No, not really. Is this "realistically" possible? Well, probably not. Is this hot as fuck? Yes, indeed. Enjoy♡~ P.S. Although I never have a beta and generally don't see the reason to mention that, the "no beta" tag on this fic just didn't leave my brain so I decided to put it there🤭

Complete silence, complete darkness.

Before this there was a grin, half hidden behind a golden mask, dividing a face in two. One side flesh, the other – metal. There were also eyes, almost black in the darkness of a docking bay. The creature leaned to you, where you lay at his feet, stepped upon like a bug that’s trying to scurry away. You did, in fact, try to scurry away. Playing with drukhari in a way you tried was always bound to carry risks. One such risk didn’t pay off.

The smell of oil and vaporized flesh filled your nostrils when you stared at the xenos above you, his heavy boot on the side of your face, grinding your cheek against the steel floor. And that grin, somehow more menacing than less, with that mask hiding half of it. The fact that the mask itself didn’t match his grin made it more eerie and you grinned in return.

The drukhari paused, one Archon Nazrakhei that you tried to lure into a trap and clearly failed. He leaned even lower, putting more weight into the foot on your face. It made your bones grind with the strain not to break and your eyes watered. You hoped he won’t think you’re about to cry.

“Clever little game you had there. Not clever enough. But you will be a fitting trophy, mon-keigh.”

Leaning back and looking around to soldiers that accompanied him, Nazrakhei nodded to them, giving a silent order. Only then, the darkness came.

You don’t know how long you’ve been unconscious and when you actually have been conscious. When your primary senses are isolated, together with your hands tied behind your back, you can do little but lie where the drukhari dropped you and wait for what’s next.

Which is the situation you are still in. Lying on your side, you take comfort in the shakes of the vessel. Not that much different from the one you have, the degree of familiarity lulled you into sleep many a time. But how much actual time passed already, night and days that people of the Imperium simulate on their vessels, you can’t be sure of.

You are being fed, you are being allowed to use the bathroom. Just not too often. Strangely, while you expected one of them, or even all of them, to descend upon you with their torture tools, none of the drukhari so much as laid a finger on you. Must be the orders, you think when trying to turn on your other side.

Deprived of hearing, of sight and from the ability to feel your way around wherever you are being held, is it a cell or a room you are not even sure of that much, you pray. You pray to the Chaos God that called to you in a dream once. He promised you relief, promised you delights beyond your imagination. He found you where the Emperor’s light couldn’t: in the slums of a hive world you would rather forget entirely if you could.

Slaanesh answered when you prayed then, not the Emperor, and so you turned away from the icons clad in gold, hoping that you will be rewarded. And you have been rewarded. Through other worshippers just like yourself, you have been given your own vessel. Not the best or a biggest one, but it motivated you to try harder, do more and go out of your way to gain more of Slaanesh’s favors. And thus you forged a plan. It seemed sensible enough and just brave enough to possibly grant more gifts from your Unholy Patron. Will he answer you now or abandon you like the Corpse Emperor?

A shake of the spacecraft and a familiar howl of void parting makes you stiffen. You can swear that you hear the roil of the Immaterium, opening wide to swallow the drukhari ship. The Warp, more dangerous than the tales of old, the ones about uncontrollable seas and treacherous oceans of Terra. Where you even picked up these stories is not clear anymore, but you thought of them during your very first Warp translation and you think of them now too.

Was it worth it? To go out of your way, to leave breadcrumbs in form of information, fractured in pieces that drukhari were meant to follow. And they did follow. They chased the path you laid out for them so well that they got ahead of you. Little human trying to gain favors of her God clad in excess and promises.

Yes, the drukhari chased you around and you thought yourself so clever until that moment when Nazrakhei’s boot nearly broke your face. You’re here now, knowing that you are being take somewhere. You heard of Commorragh, the Dark City. The everchanging place drenched in blood and screams. You pray to Slaanesh that they are not taking you there. Why would they, when they could’ve flayed you there on your very own spacecraft? You don’t know and you realize you can’t even begin to guess what the drukhari who captured you are thinking. Impossibilities upon impossibilities start seeming more and more possible the longer you lay here and then – a psionic boom of sorts before everything suddenly goes still.

You sigh and roll onto your back. The position makes your bound wrists hurt, but you ignore it for the time being. You could sit up but your ass is sore too. Could be a day that you’ve spent here, could be a month, you have no way of knowing. In the silence and with company of only your thoughts, you wonder again what might await you. Do they even know who you worship? Probably not. While the drukhari did shake you down for any hidden weapons, they never undressed you. And even if they have, looking for a Chaos mark that most worshippers have, they would not have found one on you.

This fact makes you smile bitterly. The men and women who greeted you with open arms into their cult when you first appeared on their doorstep, led by that dream of the Chaos God himself, refused to make you one of their own. Not so soon, you have to prove yourself first, they told you in soothing voices and with smiles that were sweeter than candy you once lucked out in trying. It set your teeth on edge with irritation, but you swallowed your pride and impatience, promising to serve well. You were supposed to capture one of the drukhari, offer them on the altar of Slaanesh. Were you too stupid to realize that it won’t work? Or were you simply hoping that your God’s favors will remain with you? You may never get your brand now, your loyalty cut down before it could truly manifest.

But maybe there’s still hope. Wherever they are taking you, maybe you can escape from there. You do not fear pain or torture. In fact, you almost hoped that the xenos that kidnapped you would come into whatever holding cell they tossed you in, rip your clothes off, try to interrogate you. Something, anything would be better than this isolation they have sentenced you with. You chew on your bottom lip, imagining long fingers kneading your skin, probing you, feeling you out and every single crevice. Your breath quickens, your heart begins to beat fast and the more you think of yourself at the mercy of these knife-ears, the warmer you feel.

With a groan that you do not even hear yourself, you arch your back just enough to relieve pressure from your wrists and sigh. Getting all hot and bothered here won’t do you any good and will only leave you frustrated in more ways than you already are. Above all, you’re beginning to feel trapped in your own head. If only something happened to stop this sensory deprivation. And so you pray.

You only know that you have fallen asleep when a tug on your arm snaps you out of slumber. Not that you would’ve heard the footsteps in the first place, but you would’ve sensed vibration of the floor and this time you haven’t. You try to ask questions and the words feel weird on your tongue when you cannot even hear them. If you are answered or not, you can’t know that either. But you are lifted to your feet and with a strong grip on your upper arm, marched forwards.

During your trip to whatever destination, you are not touched in any way besides the guiding grip, not hackled in any way, nobody attempts to trip you over. It’s just silence and darkness. At least you are somewhere even if you don’t know where. And from just walking and the changing textures beneath your shoes, you at least know that you have left the drukhari vessel only to be seated in some sort of skimmercraft. You know this because when it rises and begins moving, wind caresses your face and ruffles your clothes.

The trip doesn’t take long, you’re on your feet again, guided just like before. Stairs, five at the time, then so many you lose count. A lift of sort, you feel it rattle as it rises you and the company you’re with higher and higher. Pushed in the back, you stumble forwards without the security of the grip, but manage to stay on your feet nonetheless.

Then, a hand grabbing at your shoulder stops you and pushes you to your knees. You drop down with a huff, for a second expecting pain but your fall is softened by a carpet of sorts. Before you can even begin to wonder if it’s actually a carpet or some animal skin, maybe even human, your hearing returns and you are greeted with… silence.

Tilting your head, you are aware that it’s not a complete, encompassing silence as before. You hear breathing, a shuffle of fabrics, movement of armor behind you. After a second longer your eyesight returns and you squeeze your eyelids shut when even the semi-dim light makes your retinas ache and scream. Trying to blink the discomfort away, you wince and grimace, almost forcing your eyes to open and as you struggle – now a voice behind you begins to speak.

“Supreme Lord Asdrubael Vect, Archon of the Kabal of Black Heart, Overlord of Commo-“

“What is this creature doing here?” First voice is interrupted and cut off by another one. First one you recognize as Nazrakhei. After all, it was his voice that you heard last before the strange sensory prison fell upon you. Second voice sounds more confident somehow, arrogant, and slightly disgusted.

“I have brought this mon-keigh here because I think you might find use of her. I-“

“You have thought.” The second voice scoffs and you can almost, almost make out what is before you. The shades and shadows start gaining shapes and while your eyes water with strain to see, you blink a few times like you’re trying to hurry them. “That is more to say than most that serve me.” You hear an inhale behind you, but Vect cuts off whatever sentence was about to leave Nazrakhei. “However, even this pathetic attempt of thought is disappointing. Why is this creature before me?”

“Overlord Vect, this creature has been leaving us invitational messages.” Nazrakhei begins and even you can hear the nervousness in his voice. It makes you grin just a little. He’s afraid, it’s not hard to deduct that. “We have been watching her movements and progression in realspace. It’s clear that this mon-keigh had some sort of plan.”

“A plan? And why is she not questioned then, Nazrakhei?” Vect almost purrs the name, but there’s nothing inviting or soft in how he says it. Rather it’s like a predator trying to lure prey closer and your skin breaks out in goosebumps.

“I thought that you might like do it yourself, Supreme-“

“Myself? Have you gotten mad and think me a mere interrogator of beasts now?” Poison in Vect’s voice makes even you freeze for a moment. Still blinking and trying to see, you feel like Nazrakhei’s plan wasn’t as smart as he thought. “You bring this filth to my palace, to my chambers, interrupt me and expect me to do the questioning for you? I should cut out your tongue and toss you to the haemonculi!”

“Lord Asdrubael, if you would only heard me out-!”

“Silence!” You flinch even though this wasn’t aimed at you and at last you can see the alien. You can see where you have been brought and it makes you quickly realize why Nazrakhei’s little plan is not panning out how he most likely expected it to.

You are kneeling in a big room but very obviously a bedroom, because in front of you there’s a massive bed, black sheets cover it and multiple skulls, both human and alien. On the bed, leaning against the pillows sits the one Nazrakhei addressed as Asdrubael Vect. Clad in skin-tight pants and sharp-nosed boots only, the drukhari overlord is leaning against the pillows, chest bare and littered with scars, connection points and even fresh lines that are either scratches or marks of something else. One leg is bent and over it Vect rests an arm, sharp nails adorn the tips of his fingers.

Then your eyes return to his face. Sharp features, ghostly pale skin, dark eyes. So dark they look entirely black. Pointy ears have multiple piercings and Vect’s long black hair is loose, draping both over his shoulders and the pillows he’s leaning again. Yes, even you have to admit that interrupting your leader during his leisure time with a catch as insignificant as you must be akin to pure insanity.

However, Vect is not looking at you but at Nazrakhei behind you, yet you do not dare to look back, eyeing the overlord of Commorragh slowly, taking in every single detail of his form. They truly brough you here. How many humans have seen Asdrubael this close? Or this vulnerable? If he even is vulnerable in this moment. You don’t know much about drukhari and even less about Vect but you’re not stupid enough to think that he is as defenseless as he looks, even like this.

Suddenly there’s a hand on your shoulder, squeezing painfully tightly and you huff with a grin quickly emerging upon your face. Nazrakhei failed. Maybe that was Slaanesh’s plan all along. To get you here, in front of Vect. Maybe there is still something you can do. Spy on him? Gather information? You just need to stay alive for that and this is the trickiest ambition, you have no doubt about this.

“She knows something that might be of great import, Supreme Overlord. I assure you-“

“You assure me?” Vect cuts off Nazrakhei again and you raise an eyebrow. The smirk is still on your face, however small, but it disappears immediately when Vect turns his dark eyes to you. “This creature has information of great import? Truly?” Mockingly, Asdrubael moves a hand from his knee and gestures to the entirety of you. “She looks like she barely knows her name.” He scoffs, a cruel grin stretching his already sharp features into razorblade edges.

“Speak!” Nazrakhei barks behind you and releases your shoulder, gripping the back of your neck, forcing you to look at Vect in case you decide to avoid that.

“I know my name!” You say without hesitation and Vect snarls quietly. His lips curl away from his teeth, sharp edges of his incisors making the drukhari himself appear more animalistic than what he accuses you of being. You grin to him in turn. “And I know more than just my name.”

“You think you have anything of value to offer me, mon-keigh?” Vect tilts his head ever so slightly as if measuring you, assessing the aforementioned value of you and whatever you might hide. Yes, the truth is you have nothing of such grandiose to give, but if you can lie…

All of a sudden, you feel like a gust of wind or rather… something like energy of the Warp itself reach out to you, as if tendrils of the Immaterium have just found you here, kneeling and bound. The sensation makes you shiver but that is ignored by Nazrakhei. Yet you feel it with your entire being – Slaanesh’s comforting touch over your mind and soul. If you weren’t here, in the Dark City and in the presence of Asdrubael Vect himself, you might dismiss this feeling as wishful thinking. A desperate manifestation of a mind that’s yet to comprehend the horror your situation. But now… Now you believe. And your faith blossoms in your chest like a most beautiful flower on this side of the Warp and the next.

With soothing reassurance, perceived or not, you lick your bottom lip, measuring your words. But even if you were worried before, aware of it or not, now even the flecks of fear are gone. “Supreme Overlord Vect.” You begin and the sneer on his face falters, a flicker of mild surprise and curiosity showing themselves on his features for a briefest of moments. “I don’t think a mere human like me can offer you anything of worth.”

This time, Vect looks actually surprised. Not shocked, never that, but he frowns at your words. “You could’ve lied, creature. In attempt to save your life or at the very least prolong it for a while longer.”

“I could’ve.” You agree with a small nod, despite Nazrakhei’s hand squeezing the back of your neck even stronger. You don’t need to look at him to know he’s pissed. “But why should I lie on behalf of your soldier who failed.”

Emphasis on the last word rings loud in the otherwise quiet room and Nazrakhei snaps, throwing you down and stepping towards Vect. You don’t see what he does because your face drops into the carpet of some beast that still smells like blood. With a silent goran you try to pull yourself up to your knees again while Nazrakhei begs his case.

“Lord Asdrubael, she is lying. She is hiding something but I can make her tell the truth of why she was-“

“Silence.” Vect’s order is less sharp than what it was first time when he commanded the very same thing and is that a note of interest that you hear in his voice? Maybe you’re imagining it?

While you struggle to get yourself upright, there’s only comforting quietness of private chambers that surrounds the three of you.

“Copulate with this creature.”

“What?!”

“Huh?” You lift your head from the carpet to look at the two xenos that have their eyes trained on each other. You can’t see well from this angle, but Nazrakhei looks like he blanched and you have to put all the effort you have to swallow a chuckle.

“It might be unexpected to you, but I believe this human to be telling the truth. She has nothing to tell us and more importantly – she has nothing to tell me.” A pause and Vect’s eyes move to you again, sending a shiver down your spine. “Since you have wasted my time and resources by chasing this pathetic animal, your punishment is to copulate with it. Now.”

There it is, that sadistic gleam in Vect’s eyes that replaces both annoyance and boredom that were reflected in them before. Nazrakhei stands still for a moment, then snaps his head in your direction, looking at you where you lie, face down and rear in the air, caught in a middle of your efforts to get up. Yours and his eyes meet and you grin to him. The kind of shit-eating grin that makes Nazrakhei’s jaw tighten and fingers clench into fists. “You cannot be possibly-“

“I can and I am. Do as I say or you will lose your life by her side.” Vect smirks, seemingly unbothered that you don’t look terrified or that you don’t plead for this not to happen. You spent enough time on your own, with your senses stripped from you to grow not only familiar with the idea of fucking a xenos, but getting excited by it.

Nazrakhei is clearly not willing to disobey Vect and so he spends only couple seconds more before making a strained step towards you, unsheathing a blade. You glance at it but you have no fear in your heart. You doubt that the drukhari will kill you, his order, after all, was quite the opposite. “You will pay for this.” He hisses at you before grabbing a fistful of your jacket at your back and yanking you to your feet with no effort whatsoever.

Once you’re standing, Nazrakhei eyes your form with disgust and anger, but after flipping the dagger in his fingers once, he moves it so fast you fail to even see the movement of the blade. Next thing you feel is your clothes loosening as they split at the front and you rise your eyebrows with an amused surprise. The fabric parts. Pants, shirt and the jacket, your undergarments underneath as well. But before you are unclothed by mere gravity, Nazrakhei makes two more cuts, parting your sleeves from the rest.

As you stand, with a chuckle about to erupt from your throat, the Archon impatiently moves behind you, like he has finally made up his mind to be done with this quickly, and rips off what remains of your clothes. First the top, then the bottom and your pants give some resistance but Nazrakhei impatiently tears them off, making you yelp when the seams cut into your skin before giving up under tension.

Blood pebbles on the skin of your thighs and you rise your eyes not to Vect, but to Nazrakhei behind you, standing tall and menacing, clearly wanting to just kill you. But you both know that you are just two toys for Vect’s amusement now. He sneers at you, full of malice and hatred and looks at his overlord.

“Do it.”

Turning your eyes to Vect, you notice that he’s watching as if this some casual spectacle. Who knows, maybe to him it actually is. And you chuckle but immediately stop when you feel gauntleted fingers wrap around your throat from behind and Nazrakhei lean to the side of your face. His split golden mask feels cold against your skin and you inhale briefly. “You will regret this, mon-keigh. I will make sure of it.” He whispers and the flash of searing heat that washes over you at this makes your head spin.

You chuckle, unable to help yourself, but keep your eyes on Vect for the time being. You notice him eyeing your form, your chest, your stomach, sweeping lower and your body clenches with need to be filled. With growing arousal you exhale slowly, biting your bottom lip briefly. “Get it on with, xenos. You had your order.”

“You little-“

“Nazrakhei! Teach this pathetic mortal that while it is your punishment, it is hers as well.” Casual boredom in Vect’s voice is slowly beginning to be replaced by irritation, but you can’t help it, you chuckle again.

At your insolence and your lack of fear, Nazrakhei growls unlike an animal himself and he almost bites at your jaw but restrains himself, releasing your neck just to step back. A noise behind you, several of them. You don’t even need to look back to know that he’s preparing to copulate, as Asdrubael so succinctly put, and your eagerness to experience this grows. Your body responds to the need, preparing you, making you wet and your skin feel hot.

The next moment you’re harshly spun around and are greeted by the sight of Nazrakhei’s erection, jutting up proudly. Your eyes widen at the size of it but mainly at the variety of piercings. Some of them look like barbs and for a moment a worry flickers in your eyes, but then you exhale with a smirk when you notice that those piercings have been honed to bluntness.

He’s still holding the knife and with it Nazrakhei points down. “On your knees.” He orders and you swallow dryly right before your mouth begins to salivate. You already imagine how those piercings will feel against your tongue, the taste of metal enticing you rather than repulsing you. So you do as you’re told and drop to your knees onto the carpet, your eyes not leaving the cock that wavers ever so slightly with Nazrakhei’s brief movement when he reaches out, grabs the top of your head and slams your face right against his shaft.

You quietly yelp at first, then giggle and stick out your tongue, immediately seeking for contact. When it’s made, when you feel the first stud against your bottom lip and then beneath your tongue, you close your eyes with satisfaction and begin exploring. There’s a sound that’s hard to identify from above. Either one of bemusement or disgust, but you couldn’t care less. Fingers on your skull twitch and then tighten, but the pressure relents and you can move your head now, taking this chance to drag a wet stripe over Nazrakhei’s piercings from the base of his cock to the tip.

“She’s eager.” Vect says from the bed behind you and Nazrakhei grunts with either agreement or disapproval of said eagerness but you don’t want to play scared, you have no reason to. You will make it out alive, this much you know, so why not take this chance and experience something new. You know your Patron God is proud of you.

With this reassurance in your head, you double your effort as you lick and kiss Nazrakhei’s erection, steadily coating it in your saliva. You even try to reach for the tip but it’s too high and at last you open your eyes, looking up at the xenos towering above you. “Pleading already?” he asks with a grimace only partially covered by his mask and you give the side of his cock a gentle kiss.

“More. Give me more of it.” You whisper before dragging your tongue against closest studs and Archon’s eyes widen for a moment, then flick to Vect as if he’s unsure of what to do next. He clearly was expecting a quite different answer and that makes you giddy.

“She wants more? Give it to her then.” A rustling sound behind you, a drawer opened and closed? You can’t be sure and neither do you care. With your eyes dropping to the imposing length in front of your face, you barely pay attention to what is happening around you.

Then, suddenly, Nazrakhei releases your head and moves away, making you gasp. “Hey, where are you going?” Following the drukhari with your eyes as he walks away and behind you, you strain to look over your shoulder and see him pick up something from the floor. Not until Nazrakhei turns back to you that you see what it is that he picked up and it’s a sizable dildo. You blink couple times, wondering what will happen, but first you notice the grooves and ridges on the metal. And yes, it is made from dark metal that looks closely, but not exact, to the armor Archon is wearing.

He sneers at you, obviously irritated for needing to do extra work and you only catch a glimpse of Vect’s partial frown. He doesn’t seem any happier than Nazrakhei about your unwillingness to show fear and plead for mercy. You smile at that.

With a slap on your ass Nazrakhei makes you snap out of your gloating and pay attention when he places the dildo beneath you, right between your slightly parted thighs, then moves away. “Are you not going to order me to sit on it?” You ask with glee in your voice. The type of dark joy that nearly makes him pause, but he just gives you a furious glare before taking his place before you once more and pointing with the same dagger he’s holding to his cock, still glistening from your ministrations.

“Resume.” He orders and you laugh a little before meeting his eyes with yours.

“As you wish.”

Without a second of delay you lean forwards and drag your tongue against his rigid cock with enthusiasm that you can barely believe yourself. The threat of the dildo beneath you only makes this more interesting and you forget yourself completely, kissing, licking, sucking on Nazrakhei’s balls until they tighten with pleasure. You know you’re good and despite his unwillingness to do this, you know he’s enjoying this. Or you guess, at the very least. But not even that matters.

You don’t care if he’s having the worst time of his dark life, you are enjoying this, and that’s the most important thing to you. Even if they kill you afterwards, which you don’t believe they will because you know your Patron is with you, but even if they wanted that, you somehow know that no harm will come to you. With reassurance of the faithful, you smile as you explore the piercings with your tongue again right before Nazrakhei grabs the back of your throat and suddenly thrusts forwards so powerfully that your jaw is forced open.

You gag and make a briefest of sounds before even that is cut off by his cock sliding deep into your throat. Your eyes water, your mouth does too and you feel your own saliva drip on your naked chest as you struggle to accommodate the inhuman size of Nazrakhei’s cock in your mouth. And when you look up at him, wanting to see xenos’ expression, he smirks with cruelty of a tormentor and pulls back just enough to thrust into your mouth again with such force that this time you are pushed down and right into the dildo that was eagerly awaiting for your body.

You would yelp if you could. The side of the metal instrument that forces itself into you is huge, cold and stretches you around it. The only saving grace you have is that you have already been wet for a while and so the invasion is much less unpleasant than what it could’ve been. The sadistic glee on Nazrakhei’s face tells you everything you need to know – he was looking forwards to your distress.

But he doesn’t get what he wants because despite the searing discomfort in your throat, the ridges and studs on the dildo feel incredible. You’ve been part of the acts in the cult even if they have not accepted you fully, but nothing felt like this. No human dick felt this good and your eyelids flicker with a wonderful thought just how the real thing must feel. Even with it lodged deep in your mouth the desire to feel it more and deeper only intensifies.

Nazrakhei’s eye widens a little more, the other one hidden by the shadow of the mask, and fury twists his features when you have the audacity to begin moving your hips. Slowly drawing yourself up and then sliding down, trying to moan around his cock and only squeezing it tighter with your throat. He swears then, something in drukhari language that you can’t understand, and with a furious growl pulls back only to slam his shaft deeply again.

You keep your eyes on his face and fuck yourself on the dildo while he fucks your throat. It makes your head spin, it makes you pleasantly dizzy. Saliva keeps dripping on your chest, coating your skin and slipping in streaks over your breasts and over your hard nipples. The back of your throat is quickly becoming bruised but you welcome the pain, the stretch, and each time he pulls back you quickly inhale before the air is cut off for you again.

After ten or so such thrusts, to which you synch your own movements over the dildo, Nazrakhei looks at Vect with anger. “She’s enjoying herself.” He states the obvious and you’d laugh if you could. Thankfully, you can catch your breath somewhat because before he speaks to his overlord, Nazrakhei pulls back just enough to let you inhale.

“Is that so? Insolent little whore.” Vect responds out of your sight and then there’s more rustling. “Teach her the lesson then. And do not fail me. If you can’t even make this puny human fear you, then your punishment will be much harsher than hers, Nazrakhei.”

With a furious grunt, Archon pushes you away from his cock and you sit down, forcing the dildo fully into you, which makes you moan out loud since your mouth is no longer occupied. You see Nazrakhei’s cock, drenched in saliva and you grin to yourself a little, licking your lips. Your body tenses around the intrusion but you relax and just follow the journey that the drukhari makes around you once more, picking up something else.

When you look back at where Vect is, you notice his angry face and something else. In Asdrubael’s outstretched fingers there’s a collar with a chain attached. Both look brand new, with only couple visible scuffs upon the dark metal, seemingly made from same material as the dildo that makes you gently moan again from the sheer size of it.

Nazrakhei takes the collar and looks at you as if trying to tell you that the worst is yet to come, but you only wink at him, making the Archon pause in his tracks then storm up to you and snap the collar around your throat, then yank the chain upwards until the dildo pops out of you with a wet sound. You exhale and look up at him, your desire written all over your face and then you’re pulled to your feet again.

“You’re going to regret this.” He snarls to your face and kicks the dildo to the side, but when you chuckle he leans so close that you can almost kiss him. Yet before Nazrakhei can say anything else, there’s a movement behind you that you sense rather than hear.

“Did she just laugh at you?” Vect asks and it’s like the time itself freezes. Nazrakhei slowly turns his face from you to look at his lord and this close you can see him swallow nervously.

“She’s delusional, that’s what she is.”

“Or she doesn’t believe that you will do anything to her worth fearing.” Footsteps now, slow, confident and then a sigh of disappointment. “Prepare her for me. It appears I have to show you how it’s done.”

“Oh?”

“Shut up.” Nazrakhei immediately snaps at you and you bite your tongue with a grin, pissing him off even more.

“Hm. You sure you didn’t damage her brain in your attempt to get her to me?” this time it’s Vect who mocks and the chain exchanges hands. Then, to your surprise, Nazrakhei knees on one knee before you and rising your eyebrows you can barely hide your excitement.

When you turn to look over your shoulder, you at last see Vect up-close. His tall and lean figure is nothing but pure sinew and muscle. But his face is painted in obvious colors of displeasure. He runs a thumb over a couple of links of the chain and while keeping his dark eyes on you, orders Nazrakhei. “Do it.”

The next moment you only yelp when you are grabbed by the Archon and thrown over his shoulder. The chain makes you arch your neck but it’s not taunt enough, not yet, to choke you. You have a suspicion that it will come sooner or later. You try to look behind you, eyes widening slightly at how you’re being handled and with left hand Asdrubael grabs your ankle while Nazrakhei holds onto your right thigh. Then Vect pulls at your leg, exposing you to his inspecting gaze.

“Wet like a breeding whore.” He scoffs with more than just mere annoyance. Slowly wrapping the chain of your collar around his hand, Vect suddenly smirks and squeezes your ankle harder. “You like it rough, mon-keigh? I’ll show you rough.”

Without a moment of delay and with Nazrakhei not only holding your thigh but also your hip to keep you stable over his shoulder, Vect thrusts into you with such force that even his disappointing soldier skids backwards on the floor. You cry out, suddenly filled so deeply that your eyes open wide with shock of sensations. Not even the dildo prepared you for this. For the size, for the ridges, for the piercings and metal bars of which you feel each and every one.

You wail your pleasure and feel Asdrubael pull back slowly, letting you feel everything that he has on his cock, every single stud and barb, until he slams into you again, making you scream with both discomfort and pleasure while your body tries to adjust and accommodate the new invasion.

“Go ahead, pet, scream for me.” Behind you Vect laughs and you can feel it through his cock that slams into you again. Your eyes water and you stiffen, entirely forgetting Nazrakhei who’s gripping so tightly it will surely leave bruises on your flesh once all of this is over.

“Please…” You manage to breathe out. Needing a moment, just a short moment to adjust to Vect, you don’t even notice how you plead for him to slow down. Yet you’re only greeted with a deep, menacing chuckle.

“Beg again, little pet. Because that’s what you are, a plaything, a mere toy.” Vect mocks and slams into you again, making you cry out.

“Please! Just-! Just a mome-!”

Another deep thrust cuts you off and now both Asdrubael and Nazrakhei laugh, finally getting the reaction out of you that they were looking for. Tears of struggle wet your face as they slip down your skin and you inhale a fractured breath then moan. He’s so deep, so deep in a way that you never imagined yourself fucked. When Vect pulls back to deliver another brutal slam against and into your body, you mewl with need. It cuts the laughter short and while gasping you feel the chain being pulled until you can crane your neck and look at the drukhari with his cock still inside you.

“Please, again.” You manage with barely a whisper and Vect hesitates, then scowls in a way that would make even the mightiest drukhari warrior tremble. But you’re not a warrior, not his at least, and so you repeat it. “Please, again. Deeper.”

Beneath your body Nazrakhei says something that sounds like a swear and Vect suddenly pulls put, leaving you achingly empty. Your chain is yanked again and you are torn from the Archon’s shoulder, stumbling on your trembling feet before Asdrubael orders his underling. “Shut her up.” He barks the order and grips your hip.

Nazrakhei obeys immediately and grabs the top of your head again with one hand, using the other to grip the underside of your jaw. His eyes meet yours before he issues a curt command. “Open your mouth.” And you immediately obey.

No longer surprised by your willingness, Nazrakhei unceremoniously slams his cock into your mouth, filling it, and you swallow it eagerly, moaning around it before it slips down your throat again. Then it gets forced into you even deeper when Vect slams his own throbbing length back inside of you, making you stiffen at the assault on your senses.

Your eyes roll to the back of your head when they begin to move in tandem, their movements in perfect debauched harmony. Pull back, let you inhale, then slam back together. Vect’s hand kneads your hip and then pulls on your chain. You know this because the metal presses tightly against your throat and Nazrakhei can feel it each time he forces his erection down your mouth.

“Overlord Vect…” The Archon huffs with strain, not stopping his thrusts even for a second. “I don’t… I don’t believe she’s…”

“What?” Vect snaps from behind you and he does stop. You can already imagine his eyes, affixed on Nazrakhei with anger and you smile around the length that pulls back slightly. “You tell me that this creature is still enjoying herself?”

A harsh yank and your mouth is ripped away from Nazrakhei. You can’t even inhale, choked by the force of the collar around your throat. Then a hand, cupping your jaw almost gently right before your face is turned to the ruler of Commorragh. His face is strained, eyes burning and he’s about to say something when without thinking you try and kiss him.

Caught by surprise, Asdrubael doesn’t stop you and closing your eyes you lose yourself in the kiss for just a moment, lapping at his closed lips as if asking for entry. It’s not granted and after a second he pulls your face away, grim determination to teach you your place etching itself in his features.

“Resilient little pet you are.” He commends without mirth in his words and then glances at Nazrakhei, saying something to him in drukhari speech. Then he looks back at you. “I’m not sure if you’re plain stupid or actually into this.”

“How about you find out?” You whisper with your throat sore and your voice coarse but you smile too and a flicker of danger momentarily appears in Vect’s eyes as you say this. Yet he sneers, so close to a smirk. It’s almost like he’s impressed by how reckless you are.

Not deeming you worthy of a reply, his eyes meet with Nazrakhei’s and just a moment later you feel your right thigh gripped, lifted in an attempt to hook it around the Archon’s hip. But he’s too tall so he stoops and does it anyway, pressing tightly against you. His cock, hot and slick from your mouth, smears wetness across your stomach and you look at him, inhaling slowly in anticipation.

“Insolent.” Nazrakhei hisses and leans into you even more, pressing your back against Vect’s chest. The chain clinks when he wraps it couple more times around his fist and pulls upwards, to keep your back straight and your chin lifted. “Disrespectful.” He spits as you moan and Asdrubael’s hand finds its place right under your left breast, keeping you firmly against him. Your cunt clenches around his cock and you let out an involuntary moan against Nazrakhei’s lips. “Unworthy.”

You want to respond, to show your defiance again, but your eyes widen and then droop when you smile at the sensation of Archon’s tip pressing into you alongside Vect. Nazrakhei snarls with fury at your open anticipation and with clenched teeth he begins pushing his cock inside of you.

Moaning with the strain to accommodate them both, you tense and breathe slowly, glancing down and watching the entirety of Nazrakhei’s length beginning to disappear inside of you. Your voice becomes louder and louder the deeper he inches himself and you have never felt this full in your life. Gasping and whining, you tremble between them, your sore bound wrists forgotten, your collar is barely an afterthought and you suddenly throw your head back when Nazrakhei is finally, fully seated inside of you.

“She’s taking it so well.” Vect comments by your ear and pulls back, nearly forcing Nazrakhei to slip out entirely but you gasp in fear and protest of the possibility and Vect chuckles. “Listen to her, so whiny. Maybe the real punishment would be not to fuck her.”

“No! Please, please…” You gasp and look first at the Archon then at Asdrubael behind you, as much as your position allows. “Please, don’t stop.” Pleading in earnest, you mean every single word and Vect seems to believe you. He scoffs and without a word leans to your neck and sinks his teeth in, drawing blood with same sharp incisors you noticed at the beginning of this whole situation.

Without needing to be commanded just to follow the Overload of Commorragh, Nazrakhei moves when Vect moves. In unison at first. Pulling out, letting you feel almost painfully clearly every single stud, bar and dull barb embedded throughout their lengths, then push back in, stretch you further and further around them until there’s nothing more to take.

Eyes shutting, you moan and tremble, tiptoeing to grant them even more access inside of you and that doesn’t go unnoticed because Nazrakhei grips the undersides of your knees and lifts you until both drukhari can stand straight and thrust into you deeper than ever before. With a cry you mark their claim upon you and choke on your own voice when this time they don’t proceed to move together, but change the rhythm.

When you look down again, you only see Nazrakhei’s cock sliding into you, drenched in your arousal every time it pulls back, but behind you, thrusting into your cunt at the same time as the Archon pulls back is Vect, still with his teeth at your neck. You swear once, twice and the chain pulls, making the collar silence your words but not your voice. But you wouldn’t be able to speak anymore even if wished for it. The xenos increase their pace, thrusting in and out of your welcoming heat, dripping your wetness onto the floor beneath you.

“How sweetly my pet whines.” Vect finally breathes after releasing your neck and you try again to glance at him only to receive another bite onto your shoulder. It’s temporary because he chuckles and leans to your ear. “Louder, pet. Let me hear you.” He whispers and this time sinks his teeth into the shell of your ear, making you wince with pain and them moan with pleasure.

“H-harder!” You hear yourself pleading and you get what you want. Their thrusts increase to the speed that’s almost inhuman. Your body struggles to keep pace with them both and you are so close to your orgasm that you begin to see stars.

Bounced between them, your cunt full and overfilled, you only hear your own voice and see Nazrakhei’s mask, the strain on the uncovered part of his face clear and obvious. He looks down, watching himself fuck into you and sweat beads over his brow from his own exertion.

Everything is just too much, the piercings, the size of them, both of them grinding against each other while inside of you at the same time. The collar that bites into your neck and Vect’s teeth still embedded in your ear. With your eyes rolling back once more, you cannot hold back. Not anymore, not for a second longer.

With a loud cry, with a scream, you come undone and tremble, shaking in their arms and between them. Your cunt spasms and contracts around their cocks, urging the two drukhari to spill themselves into you. But not yet, not so soon. They fuck you fast, hard and rough throughout your climax, watching you shiver and twitch every time they hit deep inside, bringing another prolonged wave of pleasure. And when you start to come down, you begin to feel sore. Bliss beginning to get replaced with a familiar ache and they are still moving, thrusting, relentlessly.

“Just a moment… Please…” You gasp for air, almost incapable of coherent speech and with growing alarm that they won’t stop, that they will fuck you until you’re shouting with pain.

“Take it without complaining.” Nazrakhei says with a strained growl. “You wanted this.”

He tries to sound merciless but despite your dizziness and your still lingering bliss, you know he’s close. Is Vect? You have no way of telling because he’s breathing fast against your ear that is still clamped between his teeth. Then, without a warning, Nazrakhei swears, or at least you think it’s a swear, and bows his head, giving you few deep, hard thrusts that already have lost their pace. With a gasp you feel him spill inside of you and you shiver with a soft moan. And when you think that Vect will keep going despite all of this, when you begin to actually worry about the pain and the exertion of your body, he growls straight into your ear and then follows Nazrakhei, coming deep inside of you and making you overflow with their cum until it seeps around their cocks and drips down onto the floor.

Yet you don’t hear the wet drops landing on the ground through the mix of heavy breathing between the three of you. Even Vect stills now, panting and not saying a word. He releases your ear that throbs from his bite and you let yourself rest.

With your mind blank and your body exhausted, you only think that if they decided to kill you right now, right here – you would die without any regrets.

But that’s not what happens. Instead you feel Nazrakhei pull out harshly and you look downwards, almost expecting to see blood from how harshly they fucked you, but what comes out of you is only a gush of cum mixed with your own wetness. It splashes onto the floor and then even more when Vect pulls out as well, with a cruel laughter fawning against your ear. “You’ve been a better pet than I expected. Perhaps I shall keep you.”

You see Nazrakhei’s eyes snap to his lord and he drops you onto the ground, stepping backwards. Just in time, Vect releases most of the chain from around his fist and so when you land on the floor, at least you’re not chocked by the collar. Panting, exhausted and used, you lift your head and look at Vect, instead of Nazrakhei.

“You think of questioning my decision, Nazrakhei?” Vect asks and then looks down on you, eyes gleaming with something you can’t quite put your finger on.

“No, Supreme Overlord, I would never-“

“Then don’t make the mistake now.” He pauses and leans over you, black long hair slipping from his back like silky curtains and framing Asdrubael’s face in a way that it makes him almost handsome. He grins then, widely, and you can see your own blood painting his lips and tips of his sharp teeth before he speaks again.

“Considering this your lucky day. I was looking for a new toy.”

[moonspirit]

Hi Moon, I hope you are well! I wanted to drop in and say OH MY GOD THE NEW CHAPTER?!?!?!?!?!!?!!?

First of all, remember you made a poll/question asking what readers want to see more of and I said REINER POV and YOU MADE IT HAPPEN. It was heartbreaking but also SO SO GOOD AND AAAAA I can't believe how well you wrote him and his thoughts. Also fuck Karina man, I hope she falls in the lake and freezes over 🌚 maybe she can take Mrs Leonhart with her too👀

Then, CONNIE??? HE'S THE STAR HERE OMG I fucking love the way he's so serious about this ginger bread project. But also, how did Connie of all people become the serious, responsible and grounded one of the group🫢

Then, JEANPIKU AAAAAAAAAA I can't believe they're acting so flustered and they didn't even kiss yet like HELLOOO how will you guys react after that??? Terrible at hiding emotions fr!

I also want to take a moment to appreciate LEVI IN THIS CHAPTER BECAUSE THIS MAN HAS MISSING FINGERS AND IS STILL DOING HIS VERY BEST. Him sulking?? Him agreeing with Connie on the Annie crystalizing moment (which btw made me snort), him going along with this "plan" to help Armin and Jean?? Yes!!!

Below I added my favorite passages from this chapter. What a delightful read! I can't wait to do some drawing in the future of my favorite moments! Absolutely want to capture some of these!

Hellllooo stella!! T_____T Thank you so much for reading, I'm so happy to know you enjoyed the chapter aaaaaaaaa T^T

Yeeesss the poll-not-poll thingy xD This chapter has been in the works for months now, so it wasn't a sudden thing! But you actually guessed right under that post and it was a struggle to not tell you "Bingo!" XD

I'm very glad to know you liked the Reiner POV tho T_T I admit it was quite difficult to actually put into words; severe depression, especially the physical manifestation of it, is tricky to actually explain seriously without it sounding silly. Imo a lot of the ways depression shows up in daily life are very quiet and "tiny" - for example, Reiner's struggle to get out of bed and the sudden confusion that envelopes him as he stands in the middle of his room and doesn't know what to do next.

Also fuck Karina man, I hope she falls in the lake and freezes over 🌚 maybe she can take Mrs Leonhart with her too👀

I laughed SO hard xD Glad to know you all hate her! Horrible reptile indeed.

On a serious note, I think... the warrior parents (with the exception of Pieck's father who seems, for the lack of more information, quite nice actually) might've actually had their eyes opened to the cruelty they dealt their children, but such realizations imo aren't total 180s. Both Mr. Leonhart and Karina are different now, yes, they no doubt value Annie and Reiner as actual people more than just as tools, but... it's highly likely they both also continue to hurt their children, probably unwittingly. Parents who view their children as trophies do not easily come down to a level where they are content with just the happiness of said children. I won't get into Mr. Leonhardt right now (to be discussed at a later point), but while Karina might really love Reiner, his status as Hero and Ambassador is still valuable to her. He is still a trophy son, someone she can show off to others. I don't say Karina does this intentionally, but it is incredibly harmful behaviour, especially to a vulnerable son like Reiner.

Okay wait I rambled, sorry xD

CONNIE BTW, IS THE ONLY ONE WITH THE SINGLE VALUABLE BRAINCELL AT THE MOMENT (among the six). I hc he'd really love community projects - hence gingerbread town, it's kinda funny he'd be the only one so fired up about it xD That said poor guy has his work cut out for him now, so RIP Connie Boy.

I also want to take a moment to appreciate LEVI IN THIS CHAPTER

T_____T Father of several adoptive children humouring his idiot son's excitement over gingerbread-town - ISN'T IT A NICE PICTURE TO HAVE?!! Aaaahhhh I really loved writing him doing such a silly activity, it was very heartwarming. But where Levi is, there are also sarcastic one-liners and maybe I enjoyed those a little too much xD So glad to know you enjoyed them too, Stella, thank you T_T!

These passages... yeah xD Things have been too sad lately, it was time for the sillies! I'm incredibly glad this chapter made you laugh.

Thank you so much for the lovely words, you're too kind T^Tb

[stay-forever-sunday]

Drop of Starlight

Summary: Feyre is obsessing over seating charts, Rhysand comes for the rescue.

Rating: G

Word count: 960

AO3

Feysand Week 2023 Day One: ✨Night Triumphant and Stars Eternal ✨

@officialfeysandweek2023

Seven days. That was how long she had until her precious little boy turned one year old. Seven days. And she had a feeling that her sanity would be completely drained by the time next Sunday rolled around.

Feyre hated planning parties. It was one of the things that kept nagging at her when becoming The Spring High Lord’s wife was still very much a possibility. Back then, she had an immortal future of pretty dresses, polite smiles, and fake conversations and had hated the prospect of being that trophy wife with every fiber of her being.

But she had come a long way from the fragile-minded and weak, underweight creature she had been then. This celebration was special – and she had probably set herself up for failure, but she was adamant about planning every single detail of Nyx’s first birthday party. 

They would have it at the House of Wind, as close to the night sky as they possibly could. Velaris itself would also be celebrating down below, for that little boy was hope impersonated, and there was yet to exist a faerie in the city that didn’t love and dote on Nyx. A few of them had been personally asked to attend the festivities, the invitations made of starlight.

With the help of Elain and the twins, she had mapped out all the foods and drinks that would be available as snacks for the party itself, but also for the formal sit-down dinner that was not only for their family but also for a few of the other high lords as well. Tamlin was, by default, not invited; she refrained from wondering if he would have said yes if had indeed mailed that particular letter. 

The cake and decorations would be of the night sky and stars. It might be bordering on cliche, but Nyx was the first baby to be born to a Night Court High Lord in centuries and Feyre hoped to be forgiven for the commonplace thought, but that baby was their tiny star. 

“You need to relax for a little bit, darling”. Rhysand’s voice reached her like a soft caress, her tiredness showing as she rubbed the sting from her eyes. 

He was fully behind her a second later, her back suddenly flush with his chest. Feyre sighed and let herself sink into the comfort and darkness of her love. 

“I know, but I still need to figure out the seating chart for the dinner. I don’t want to risk Beron actually coming and the only place he has to sit is beside Lucien. Or Helion.” Her mumble sounded too much like a whine to her own ears. “Why did we even send an invitation to the Autumn Court? It is bad decorum to retract it, isn’t it?”

The nameplates she was writing down had the sketch of a sitting chart beside them, crossed over many times as she played with who would sit next to whom. Sure they had some semblance of peace, for now; and Spring had been the only court not to get an invitation at all. Feyre had decided she liked Lucien’s mother and if this was an opportunity for her to see her son –and maybe Helion– then so be it. 

“I hope you know you don’t have to babysit our guests”. He murmured, picking up her hand and tugging her from the stool she sat at. 

She instantly wrapped her arms around him and hid her face in his neck. “Then who is going to babysit them?” 

Rhys chuckled at her grumble and held her close, his warm hand soothing her by traveling the expanse of her back, up and down and back again. 

“Let the others take care of anyone who might misbehave. It’s our son’s first birthday. The only person we should worry about is him and pray to the Cauldron that Mor doesn’t sneak him chocolate all day long.”

“Great. Now I’ll have to add that to my list of worries.” She laid her forehead on his shoulder and pinched his side, a comeback for mocking her. And damn him for adding to her ever-growing anxiety.

“Try not to worry about it, darling. Here, let me help you with this chart.” Rhysand let go of Feyre and peered over her work. He took three of the blank, black nameplates and the silver pen she used to write their guests’ names with. “These are the only nameplates we’re bothering with.” He spoke with a finality that made her shiver the slightest bit. She loved it when her mate made decisions and took care of her worries, in a way that was entirely welcome. 

The nameplates read Drop of Starlight and Stars Eternal. Lifting them up, he looked at her with a face-splitting grin. Feyre matched his smile with a bright one of her own. Incorrigible. But she’d be damned if she didn’t adore his playfulness. 

“You seem to be forgetting another very, very important guest.” She took the pen from his hand and leaned down to write on the remaining plate. With a flourish, she added two stars beside the name, one of them very, very small. 

Night Triumphant. 

Rhys smiled, pulling her back into his arms, cuddling her impossibly closer, and chanced a look at their baby, silently playing on the floor, surrounded by Illyrian dolls. He held one tightly in his chubby little fist, the other hand yanking at the doll’s wings. He was obsessed with anything that had wings. 

“I can’t believe he is turning one. I can’t believe we survived this.” He chuckled; Nyx had progressed to holding one doll in each hand and was munching on their heads, one at a time. 

“Are you kidding? I can’t believe he survived us.”

[dr-futbol-blog]

Inferno, Pt. 1

The episode Inferno (S02E19) completes the miniature arc within the season begun in Trinity (S02E06) and followed up in Aurora (S02E09). Many people have noted the throughline connecting the episodes and we even get intentional call-backs to the events of the previous stories. In fact, Inferno builds on the previous episodes and they also give it context -- we can understand what happens here only in light of what had come before. And so the episode begins on an Ancient outpost inhabited by a native population, not unlike what Doranda might have been like if its native population had not been destroyed by the catastrophic failure of Project Arcturus.

There are a few things we need to note at the offset. It is important to pay attention to the fact that we join the team in medias res, in the middle of a scene, and that things have already happened that we never got to witness. We do not start the story with a blank slate but the current dispositions of our characters result from exchanges and interactions we did not get to witness, starting from when the natives, the Taranans, had first contacted Atlantis and asked for their help. And who ever had been their first contact to these people, it is now a beautiful tall blonde woman that is acting as their host, trying to make them feel welcome.

Before we dive in, let us make record of the following: Sheppard is not interested in this woman. He may find her attractive but if you were to ask him her name a week hence, he might not even remember it. She is inconsequential to him -- but she is important for the episode. The second thing that we need to keep in mind while watching the episode is that although this woman is explicitly described as "hot," the inferno of the title is McKay, and he is this particularly to Sheppard. I will return to this by the end of the episode.

Sheppard: Impressive! McKay: Hmm! Norina: This is our central Control Room. And this... is our shield generator control.

Norina, who seems to be the local chief scientist, has apparently brought the team by the window overlooking a courtyard housing the gate, a breath-taking view of an Ancient settlement. The view truly is impressive, as pointed out by Sheppard, which is why there is a comedic beat in both Sheppard and McKay looking at her rather than at the view. The implication is that she is even more breath-taking to look at than what is outside, and that because both Sheppard and McKay are looking at her, they both must be interested in her, attracted to her. Sheppard is being rather obvious about his interest, his body turned toward her, maintaining eye contact to the point of staring, even having that slightly drugged look about him that people have when they find someone very attractive. He also has his hand on his holster, tapping his fingers on his gun as though he were nervous or excited. And indeed she is attractive, and not in a trashy way, seeming like a classy lady dressed in the way the women of Sheppard's social class might dress for a semi-formal function. So you might think that Sheppard is indeed attracted to her -- if you had never seen him before and knew nothing about him.

McKay is another story. He is watching her, yes, but with a curious expression, as though trying to figure her out. His body is slightly angled toward her (or Sheppard) but not fully turned, and as she turns to return to the control room and Sheppard follows her lead, McKay is slower to turn around and follow them. The mainstream interpretation of the episode seems to be that our boys are engaged in a friendly bout of "competitive flirting," that the tall blonde is some kind of a trophy that they both want to get for themselves. The problem with that reading is that McKay does not actually seem to be trying to get her at all. If anything, she seems to be pursuing him for that "big old brain" of his, and none too subtly. Where Sheppard's first word for her is "Impressive!" and that is certainly how he behaves toward her for the duration of the episode, McKay's reaction is "Hmm...," testament to the fact that he finds her mildly curious. He seems puzzled more than anything else, possibly wondering how this woman had wound up being their chief scientist and whether what she is wearing is actually their lab attire or she had just dressed up for the visitors. He may also be puzzled by Sheppard's behaviour which seems almost comically out of character unless one recognizes where he is coming from with this.

Norina is a beautiful tall blonde woman, and this fact has everything to do with Sheppard's disposition. Not because McKay is interested in beautiful tall blonde women (he says that he is, it is not what he thinks) but because Sheppard is projecting on an industrial scale here. McKay has said that he has a weakness for "dumb blondes," he had mentioned Samantha Carter with an "Oy-yoy-yoy!" the first time her name had come up between them in Childhood's End (S01E06), he had claimed in his video message meant for the SGC (and never to leave the USAF, every part of it in violation of the confidentiality clause) that his "torch was still burning" for her in Letters from Pegasus (S01E17), which we know that Sheppard has seen for himself. Add to this the fact that Sheppard likely knows that Carter has kissed McKay and probably had made it much worse in his mind than it had been, and he might even know about McKay's recent hallucination of her at the bottom of the ocean.

McKay had further called the tall blonde avatar of the wraith infiltrator hot in Aurora, admitting to Sheppard that he disgusts himself sometimes. Before they had been captured by Ford's men in The Lost Boys (S02E10), he had also suggested that Sheppard might enjoy a beach planet with tall blonde women more than the jungle they were in which Sheppard seemed to interpret as McKay wanting that for himself, and he had further spent a lot of time with a tall cute blonde fixing up the dart. While none of this means that McKay has a preference for blondes (he clearly has a preference for dark-haired men), because that was all either McKay performing heteronormative masculinity toward the military or him trying to get back at Sheppard for his affairs with women, trying to get Sheppard to understand how he feels, it is easy to see how Sheppard might think that he does. It is something that McKay very loudly and intentionally projects out into the world and if he has never taken the time to explain to Sheppard why he does it, it is easy to see how Sheppard might come to the wrong conclusion. It is a conclusion toward which McKay is trying to draw most people, after all.

McKay is trying to protect homosexual and bisexual servicemen by performing interest in women. He has been forced into the closet by the institution he contracts for, and this is all a defensive strategy. Furthermore, we may note again that when McKay had told Carter that he has a weakness for dumb blondes, his intention was to put her down, not to open up about his taste in sexual partners. That was not even in the neighbourhood of why he had said that to Carter. He finds it safe to perform crass and loud interest toward Carter because he knows that it will never be reciprocated. He does not have to fear that she would ever take what he says to her seriously. He admires Carter for her brain but he would never say as much out loud, not even to himself. McKay has no interest in blonde women or women of any colouration. Rodney McKay is gay-gay.

However, Sheppard himself has had more than a few encounters with women, some of which are fairly recent. Although many or even most of them had taken place without his consent, he does not seem to understand that his consent is both important and necessary for relations of any kind. Back when he and McKay had only just started hooking up he had been seduced by a beautiful Ancient against his will. He had kissed his best friend in a predatory manner when he had been turning into a bug. A wraith worshipper had tried to seduce him for information, a young princess had tried to seduce him for his seed, and he had actually had sex with a good enough woman when he had been feeling lonely and lost, when he had been missing McKay something terrible and thinking that he would never be able to get back to him -- who had also seduced him. He had also been kissed against his will by an alien riding his boss, and this had happened right in front of McKay.

Even though all of this had happened without Sheppard's express consent and without him meaning to partake in these things, he is nonetheless feeling might guilty about all of it. He has been trying to rebuild his connection with McKay ever since their return from Earth, and this shit just keeps happening. And this is why Sheppard is projecting so hard. He feels guilt for his encounters with women and projects it on McKay, as though McKay is the one who has women basically tripping on his dick accidentally on purpose. As though McKay is somehow seeking connections with women. John Sheppard is a jealous man, and he does not even begin to know how to deal with his jealousy. And like McKay, he is petty, arrogant and bad with people. He is not good with "I don't know what you'd call it, feelings." That is why he is behaving the way we see here.

McKay: The austerity of the facility suggests that it was built during the height of war. Norina: It is well beyond our science. My skills are rudimentary at best. Sheppard: Don't be so hard on yourself. It took Doctor McKay years to figure out all things Ancient and he still doesn't completely understand.

So, Norina leads them back to the room and we may note that McKay stays back, he has no need to be near her. He further comments in a perfectly neutral tone, on his best behaviour, which seems to be expressing mild interest in the facility. Norina, on the other hand, seems to like McKay, and how ever long they have known each other, has come to appreciate his expertise. While she may want nothing more than to learn from him, she is nonetheless flirting with McKay: the smile, the head tilt, flicking the hair, her "My, what a big brain you have there" schtick is flirtation, and while we do not know what she wants from him, she seems genuine in her interest and liking of McKay. And that is a problem for Sheppard. Let us note that Sheppard's strategy is not to actually compete with McKay, to let Norina know what he has going on for himself in order that he might seduce her. He is instead trying to put McKay down, to make him seem less desirable to Norina. That is an underhanded strategy. If they were in competition for this woman it would mean that Sheppard is coming from a weaker power position, that he is the underdog, and that just flies in the face of everything we have been led to believe about them.

It seems obvious that Sheppard is not trying to get Norina to be interested in him, he is trying to get her to not be interested in McKay, and that makes all the difference. That is literally what is happening here. And what is more, Sheppard does not even actually mean what he is saying here. Only in the previous episode he had told Ronon that he thought McKay was the only one who could figure out Ancient technology -- the DHD -- "Trust me, he's the only one." Sheppard is not trying to make Norina feel better about herself here, he is trying to make her less impressed with McKay even though he feels exactly like that about McKay himself. He knows where this woman is coming from. Also, even though Sheppard is pretending that the woman has his entire attention, just as soon as he is talking about McKay he has to look at the man, and he is just as quickly sucked into an exchange with McKay that leaves everyone else on the outside. He is not facing her, he is facing McKay, his body is turned toward him.

McKay: I have a very firm grasp of Ancient technology. Sheppard: You've blow up entire planets, Rodney. McKay: That wasn't my fault! Sheppard: Well, it didn't do it by itself!

This is a direct call-back to the events of Trinity, and Sheppard seems to be using what had happened then in the same vein, to try to make Norina think less of McKay. McKay is trying to defend his expertise because he does not understand why Sheppard is undermining him in front of people they have only just met and are trying to forge good relations with, and while he is trying to be the grown-up here, he cannot not engage with Sheppard. Sheppard very casually throws one of the worst mistakes in McKay's career -- his life -- into his face like he had failed at flipping pancakes while making breakfast or had misplaced his house keys, not unlike a frustrated spouse.

What had happened on the Ancient weapons platform and everything that had led them there had left deep scars in both of them and here Sheppard is using it to one-up McKay, is using it in an attempt at making McKay look worse, to undermine his expertise, to make him less desirable to Norina. And again, he is not trying to make himself interesting to Norina, he is trying to make McKay less interesting -- although talking about his ability to blow up planets probably has the opposite effect, all things considered. Also, McKay's mention of his "firm grasp" is something that Sheppard ordinarily would very much have interpreted as innuendo, as McKay's particular brand of unintentional double entendre. But we can tell that McKay has no clue why Sheppard is behaving in this way by how he sputters, at a complete loss of words. He is clearly looking for some kind of a rejoinder but is coming up empty, baffled at Sheppard's behaviour. And he is not the only one -- Teyla and Ronon seem to be watching their exchange like it was a tennis match.

But what I want to highlight here is this: because he is now able to make light of what had happened then it means that Sheppard is over it by this time. This is lampshaded later on in Harmony (S04E14), as the eponymous Harmony tells Sheppard, thinking that the two of them are in a romantic relationship: "You're mad at me. Our first fight! I knew it would happen eventually. We'll laugh about this one day." What had happened on Doranda had been Sheppard and McKay's "first fight," the first time they truly came to clash since beginning their intimate relationship. The "first fight" is a milestone in any relationship, and the important thing is how a couple manages to overcome it. And this here tells us that Sheppard has now reached the "We'll laugh about it one day" stage, able to quip and jest about McKay blowing up five sixths of a solar system and themselves nearly with it. This tells us that their relationship is maturing which is ironic because Sheppard is displaying it by acting like a child.

Lycus: Are these our guests? Norina: Yes, Chancellor. Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, Doctor Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan and Ronon Dex. Chancellor Lycus. Lycus: Welcome to Taranis. Sheppard: Thank you!

Their back and forth is interrupted by the local ruler, and Norina seems glad to introduce the newcomers to her leader. She starts with Sheppard and mentions everyone by their full names which indicates that this is how they had been introduced to her some time earlier. Note that as Norina walks past Sheppard to get to the Chancellor, Sheppard is slow in turning his body away from McKay and toward their host. Also, while this is probably residual effect of his attempt at pretending to be infatuated with Norina, note the dopey smile he gives the Chancellor here. He is trying to be charming, although his attempt at being charming seems to have very little to do with securing good relations with these people. McKay, on the other hand, only gives him a wave, which is him on his best behaviour.

Lycus: And thank you for finally answering our calls for assistance. We tried several addresses from the database but were beginning to wonder if anyone could hear us. Sheppard: Sorry about that. We like to keep a low profile. Teyla: So as not to attract the attention of the wraith. Lycus: I see. Well, hopefully you can help us. Our shield generator has been giving us trouble for some time now. Our knowledge of the technology is limited, and the Ancestors regrettably neglected to leave behind instruction manuals.

We get some exposition here, find out what had transpired to lead the team on this planet. Sheppard's line "We like to keep a low profile" is interesting here because in this episode, the writers seem to be talking to the audience, they are finally giving us an explanation for why the blue jello had suddenly been off the menu. Atlantis may like to keep a low profile, but Sheppard and McKay also like to keep a low profile, and this is lampshaded by McKay momentarily pointing out what we have already noted many times in the past -- when Sheppard is talking about "we," he is usually talking about himself and McKay. Obviously he does not mean to say anything about the two of them to the strangers here but it is nonetheless true of the two of them, they like to keep a low profile. Note how Sheppard even glances at McKay when he says "we" here. Atlantis is his home but McKay is also his home.

McKay: Actually, they did. You probably just couldn't understand-- Sheppard: The good news is you found our address. I'm sure we can fix whatever needs fixing. McKay: And by "we", he means me, so... shall we get started?

As he is facing the Chancellor and Norina, Sheppard has folded his arms and effectively forms a barrier between himself and the locals, seeming to feel defensive for some reason. It could be caused by Teyla's mention of the wraith, reminding him of the trouble they are in due to recent events. And here we see Sheppard speaking for McKay, which McKay himself seems to recognize. Sheppard makes promises to them that McKay has to deliver, and McKay uses sarcasm in pointing out that Sheppard's "we" means him in particular. It is significant that they textualize the way Sheppard frequently uses "we," which is something that has been implied but is now confirmed. When he is talking about we, he means himself and McKay, as though they were one person, and he especially uses "we" to mean McKay. Sheppard is speaking for McKay here.

McKay seems to feel put upon and we see it throughout this episode. A lot is being put on his shoulders regarding their wraith problem when he had been the only one of them not involved with experimenting on one in their own home, and he seems to feel frustrated that he is now asked to clean up the mess. The irony here is that although Sheppard had been trying to make McKay look less desirable to Norina, he actually managed to make him look rather cool as he now removes his laptop from his back like a weapon, like he is some kind of science action hero, always ready to fix something up. And McKay is not trying to be cool, he is merely frustrated and just about done with what ever had crawled up Sheppard's rear end, which makes him look even more cool.

Norina: I'm sure I could learn a lot from you, Doctor. McKay: Oh! Well, I'm sure I can learn... Let's start here, shall we?

Although McKay had not even implied that he wanted anything to do with her, Norina volunteers to work with him, offering herself up as his assistant or apprentice. And note the immediate change in McKay's demeanour here. With science he was confident, ready to get right on it. But he does not know what to do with Norina and her interest in him which is so unsubtle that even he seems to be able to pick up on it, even though he is generally oblivious to women being interested in him. And the mainstream audience is going to interpret McKay's self-conscious behaviour here resulting from him being so unaccustomed to beautiful women seeking his company that he does not know what to do with it. He is so bad with women that even when one is clearly coming on to him he does not know what to do and instead of the crass woman chaser that he purports to be, this is the real him, shy and nervous around women. He is just so attracted to her that he becomes a stuttering little boy, stumbles over his own words.

Norina gives McKay a compliment, and he is not actually used to receiving praise. He is more accustomed to having to fight for his place in the world and for people to underestimate his skills, not recognizing his genius. In spite of everything he has done and achieved in his life, McKay feels a constant need to prove himself to people, and he tries to earn their affection and respect through performing tasks. And so, he does not quite know how to respond to someone so openly praising him and he is trying to be polite here. He was clearly going to say "I'm sure I can learn a lot from you, too" which would have been a meaningless pleasantry. Even if he thought that he had nothing whatsoever to learn from these people that are technologically less advanced than they are, it is just a nice thing to say, it does not mean he has to believe it. But McKay is incapable of this kind of subterfuge, he cannot pretend to respect someone that he does not respect, and so he is unable to finish the thought. And that is just the thing: McKay does not think he has anything to learn from these people, and he does not respect this woman. Her whole society is inconsequential to him. McKay is not attracted to this woman. McKay does not like women, and he does not respect women.

It is not that McKay does not have "game." He does not have interest. We should recall what had happened on Dagan in The Brotherhood (S01E16) with Allina, someone that had been very similarly infatuated with McKay, at least as long as she believed he represented the Ancestors. She was a very beautiful and smart woman that had wanted McKay and had been none too subtle about it, basically spelling it out for him, and he still had not caught on to it, he had to be told by Ford that she was after him. And because that was something that he very much did not want, McKay had then tried to let her down easy, had similarly tried to compliment her intelligence without really managing it because he did not actually believe it. He had told Allina: "Just because you originally thought it was a map doesn't make your initial assumption bad or incorrect. Well, incorrect, yes, but it was a good guess."

The situation was similar to what we find here. A woman expressed interest in McKay and Sheppard was upset about it. He had zero interest toward the woman himself, and McKay seemed completely oblivious and unresponsive, and yet Sheppard seemed bitter and was in a foul mood, and it had everything to do with the woman being able and allowed to do something publicly when he had no means of shutting it down that would not have given the game away, would not have resulted in what they were forced to keep hidden coming into light. Sheppard had no choice but to just watch it going down, someone making advances on his lover, helpless to check them. When McKay had asked Sheppard what he wanted him to do about it, Sheppard had bitterly asked him "You don't know what to do?" because it was obvious to him what McKay was supposed to do, he was supposed to shut her down and stop leading her on.

Sheppard and McKay are not in the same place in their relationship as they were then, which explains Sheppard's different strategy here. Back then, the two of them were newly in love and had been living together, sharing quarters. Between their two visits to Dagan is one of the places where Sheppard and McKay seem to have almost certainly had sex. They were entirely cut off from Earth, the two of them clinging to each other for a sense of belonging, of home. While we ended Coup d'État (S02E17) with Sheppard turning in for the night when it was not yet dark outside and never saying whose bed he was heading to, this had been followed by an undetermined time -- but at least two weeks -- of a wraith living among them which had caused Sheppard to withdraw from everyone. Throughout the experiment, Sheppard was keeping watch of their captive, expecting the experiment to blow up in their faces sooner or later.

We found McKay eating alone in the commissary, burying himself in busy work, Sheppard refusing to even look at him as he kept vigil of the wraith, keeping Atlantis secure. He wanted to keep McKay off the project which meant that he needed to keep McKay away from himself because he was not letting the wraith out of his sight. That was not something Sheppard wanted to do, it was something that he felt like he needed to do. Furthermore, McKay does not understand that Sheppard was doing it for a very large part for him, to keep him safe. McKay seems to motivate most of his decisions but he does not understand this himself. From McKay's point of view, Sheppard had been giving him the cold shoulder for some unfathomable reason, and now was picking on him in front of company, and he does not understand why. He does not understand that Sheppard feels awful about all of that which is causing him to project it on the source of his hurt extra hard. It is entirely possible that Sheppard does not understand why he feels like he needs to behave like this himself. Both of them being bad with people is no joke.

Lycus: In the meantime, perhaps you'd like a tour of the facility. Sheppard: Lead the way.

And so Norina joins McKay who we may note turns his back on her as the first thing he does, one in a long line of locals interested in his work that have wanted to be his apprentices, have wanted to watch him work to pick his brain -- Allina, Eldon, Jace, Baldric -- all exceptionally bright and more than a little infatuated with him because of the knowledge and expertise he possesses, all of them seeming to be willing to repay his teaching with affection and maybe more. For McKay, they have been like college students, only even less informed and educated, making him feel like he was running a special ed programme for the Pegasus natives. McKay is basically indulging them for the sake of good relations, trying to be on his best behaviour like Sheppard had instructed him so long ago, but them hanging around him was a burden, not something he enjoys. And that is not what Sheppard sees. Take a look at the smile he has plastered on his face here, at the end. It is very clearly a fake smile disguising his discomfort with leaving McKay alone with Norina, looking almost like a grimace. He hates this but in order to be polite, he has to leave with their leader, do his duty representing Atlantis to these potential new allies. And it is not that he does not want to leave Norina alone with McKay. He does not want to leave McKay alone with Norina. You have to put actual blinders on to not see this for what it is.

Continued in Pt. 2

[elysian-chaos]

bless your heart😭

virat has not gotten sucky (i don't really like him but a peak player is a peak player), it's just somedays he delivers and some days, he doesn't - chase master indeed

the other guys is gautam gambhir, now he is the current coach of indian team, he's very very very grumpy (that isn't the word for what he is but yes); him and virat have an aggressive past to say the least

now - here, india is almost winning the champion's trophy, earlier this year, and virat didn't even perform but he gets very excited lol (especially when some other team player has done smn); and gambhir shows no emotions usually (winning - losing - ties, same expressions lmao); now him and virat are on good terms

i sent it because of my amazing would you rather questions and your amazing responses aria, you are the sitting guy, you are gambhir

no but if the variance has increased that means the mean has also decreased (matbe considering the fact that both are independent but in some cases it is true bit i also don't now the ipl stats so) so one could argue that he has gotten worse because it's degradation from being pretty decent almost always to being good sometimes and being bad sometimes (which also might not be statistically true because i am arguing for just the sake of arguing)

but also virat looks less excited and more like he's having a breakdown while ghambhir is actually clapping so i guess I don't really mind being called emotionless/expressionless