#and a possessed lady w jokes!?!?!?!

[wyllzel]

also i tried playing dos2 (a little over 3hrs logged) but i'm so confused 😭 things are mostly the same as bg3 except the magic is a bit more complicated which is CRAZY bc i used to think the bg3 magic was complicated, but idk... my brain feels too fuzzy for this haha

[svmjaeyvn]

love maze, s.jy.

chapter six pairing: jake x afab!reader word count: tbd (series)

masterlist

add yourself to the taglist here!

genre: college!au, mutual friends, fake dating, smut.

synopsis: an unfortunate encounter, drunken mistakes, and a sort of (definitely) stalker leads jake sim ‘dating’ his best friend’s childhood crush.

or, your life gets intertwined with a rich boy’s in attempt to not get sued by his crazy personal fangirl and like with all good cliches, sex overcomplicates things.

contents: smut, sort of strangers to fuck buddies to lovers pipeline, childhood best friend!jay, mentions of best friend! yunjin, curly haired & mixed reader, uni!au, rich nepo baby!jake, enha frat boys, lots of kissing, fake dating turning into fwb real quick, totally way too into it for it to be fake early on, big booty reader that’s jake’s obsessed with, partying and alcohol use, slight violence, he fell first and harder trope, stem bf & writer gf, (kinda overly) possessive jake, some angst to spice things up, daddy issues, hyper independent reader who struggles with her feelings, fluff and happy ending!!

a/n: hello~ i’ve never been a tumblr girly but i have went through my w*ttpad era back in 2018 so bare with me y’all. this will be a series but not that long (i hope) so pls look forward to it. warning tags will be placed before each “chapter” to specify what to expect. pls pls reblog and interact, i’d love to have feedback and see what your thoughts are. okay! yay, for now enjoy and thank you sm :D

MDNI, 18+

tap below to continue

CHAPTER SIX: EXS

previous masterlist next

word count: 3.3k

warnings: swearing, kisses, calling minjun a stalker, protective jay and ni-ki

a/n: not a lot of jake in this one i know but i have to make a plot and conflict yall 😩 adding in bbg riki and some more best friend!jay pls enjoy

           "HOW MANY TIMES have I told you to wear the gloves when you do the dishes?" You tsk, delicately wrapping the small gash that ran along Ni-ki's, the newest trainee at your work, hand. He sheepishly smiled, tilting his head in the smallest of ways.

"Sorry noona," He mumbled out, embarrassed by his third time sitting like a kid being scolded due to his clumsiness. "I needed the steaming pitcher so I just reached in the sink and didn't see realize the tongs were so sharp,"

You shake your head with mock disappointment though a small smile perked at your lips nonetheless. With the middle of the semester rolling around, most freshmen had found themselves finding a rhythm with balancing their school lives enough to find a part time job. You've seen numerous come and go, Cho— your generous manager who was the sweetest old lady that ran the cafe, always took them in for at least a short amount of time.

Ni-ki was your favorite thus far, always listening intently (to everything aside from the dishwashing) and picked up the skills relatively fast. Respectful but also comfortable enough to joke around with, the two of you had become a dynamic duo in closing four days out of the week together.

Of course he was still a boy, a young and partially annoying one at that but he reminded you of your younger brother, weaseling his way in having a soft spot in your heart even though it had only been two weeks.

"Okay now we switch, you run the front I'll clean up back here," Satisfied with your makeshift bandaging, you shoo the younger boy along who rolled his eyes but nonetheless disappeared from the back of the house. Cleaning up the medical kit and barely managing to slip on your gloves to handle the load of piling dishes, you noticed his head poke in around the corner.

"Someone would like to talk to you," He hums before disappearing once more, not giving you enough time to determine whether it was a good talk or bad one in having to handle the customers. With a small sigh, you make your way to the front, prepped for the worst but your tension dissolves seeing your bright smiled best friend leaning over the pastry case.

"Off the glass," You warn, making your way to the register where Ni-ki stood with a goofy smile. Jay reluctantly stands himself up straight, pouting seeing as you didn't greet him with the same warmth he was expecting.

"That's not very good customer service, where's ajumma Cho? I'd like to file a complaint," Jay tuts, peering around the store though he knew well enough it was only you and Ni-ki in the building. The younger boy lets out a small snort, used to his antics in the past two weeks of running into each other and forming a budding friendship through their mutual teasing over you.

Rolling your eyes, you lean against the counter expectantly. "What'd you need Jay?"

"I can't just come say hi?" He pouts, seemingly offended by your words while he shakes his head. "I haven't seen you in days teeny, you've been too busy with your boyfriend to give me any attention now,"

"I saw you when we had lunch," You deadpan, finding his dramatics amusing though you knew the mess that occupied the back room needed tending to before you were forced to stay late. "Seriously, I actually have work to do today so I can't talk—"

"I'll help!" Jay volunteers, the same boxy smile on his lips while you shake your head. "What? I've done stuff before! I'm bored and want to hang out, let me help. It'll show me what you broke college students do everyday to survive and stuff,"

"Let rich boy do the dishes," Ni-ki interjects, rolling his eyes at his ladder sentence though it was all in playful manner.

"As long as I get to wear an apron," Jay agrees, pointing a finger at the coffee brown colored uniform piece you had to wear.

It was a temping offer, and he wasn't wrong. Typically you had him clean the menus or refill caramel bottles whenever he wanted to be like a kid and help out but you really did dread washing dishes. With a reluctant sigh, you nodded your head and not even a split second later, Jay had made his way around the counter to the employees side.

"This is exciting," He hums, following you to the back while you reach into the locker cubbies, pulling out one of the spare aprons left just in case anyone needed it. Jay slips it over his head, securing the strings behind his waist while you point toward the far end of the room. His excitement visibly deflates seeing the mountain of items waiting to be cleaned, the cherry on top being the empty dishes Ni-ki waltzed in with a genuine smile of content as he added to it.

"Have fun princess," You laugh, patting his shoulder as you walked by and with some reluctance, Jay made his way to begin without a word of protest much to your surprise. Having far more time to do your tasks, you began with the inventory. Going through the store and marking down the amounts had while Ni-ki continued to clean and restock due to the end of the night approaching, it was peaceful with the younger boy taking hold of the aux to play his own music now opposed to the cafe playlist.

A few minutes passed without any words, finding comfortable silence and both of you working on your own things before the jingle from the front door indicated someone coming inside. "Welcome in," You called out, not bothering to look up from the fridge you were bent down beside while Ni-ki headed for the register to attend the guest.

"Hey," You stiffen at the familiar voice. Pausing in your count, you stare at the half empty milk carton in the fridge, waiting for the person to speak again, praying it wasn't what you thought. "Sorry man, is ___ here?" With a deep sigh, your head falls down. Ni-ki peers to the side, giving you a questionable glance noticing your reaction and unaware of what to respond with.

Sending him a half smile, you stand up properly, exposing your hidden figure behind the counter. You make eye contact with Minjun, void of emotion and placing the fakest of smiles onto your lips as you spoke. "How can I help you?" Decidedly going with the faux customer service route, you place the book down you were previously using to record while his eyes trail over your figure.

"Hi," Was all he spoke, almost hesitant and you had to hold everything in you to not roll your eyes. "You're a manager here now?"

"Yeah stuff changes over a year," You respond dryly, not particularly seeing the point in his attempt in a conversation. Ni-ki lingered, seemingly wiping at the warming station but he listened carefully, aware of how unenthusiastic you seemed and found it best to stay close just in case with how stiff the air seemed. "Something you need from me?"

Minjun opens his mouth only to close it twice over. Not having the proper words to say, he purses his lips. "I've been wanting to see you," Was all he could come up with, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck. "Heard you still worked here and figured it'd be the best place to find you,"

"Yunjin told you to leave me alone and that I didn't want to talk," You reiterate, sending him a pointed look while he nods along. "So you came to my place of work knowing I didn't want to see you," Another nod. "Yeah, think that's called stalking,"

Ni-ki stiffens up at your words. "Noona," He mumbles, coming up significantly closer to your side while you shake your head. Ni-ki was tall, significantly more than you and a majority of the male population was shorter than him but he was still a kid. Besides, you didn't need any protection, Minjun wasn't a dangerous guy, just an idiot.

You hold up your hand, silently telling him that everything was fine. Reluctantly, he backed away, though he still lingered and his eyes stayed glued to Minjun who stood on the opposite side of the counter.

"I just wanted to talk," Minjun starts, voice seemingly sincere but you shake your head.

"There's nothing to talk about,"

"No means no dipshit, did you forget kindergarten rules already?" Jays' loud voice interrupted the stiff air, the attention brought to him as he emerged from the back room, a drying towel being throw over his shoulder and his apron slightly damp at the waist. He makes his way beside you, arms folded across his chest and puffing out the muscle and veins that peaked out from his rolled up sleeves. You nearly let out a laugh seeing the tough guy act your best friend pulled, almost wanting to take out your phone and take a picture but you had to admit, Jay was intimidating when he wanted to be.

"Lovely to see you again too Jongseong," Minjun sighs, plastering on a more than fake smile at the man who always expressed his distaste over him even when you were together. "Didn't think you'd be a part-time cafe guy,"

"You gonna order or not?" Jay cuts to the point, his patience thin enough as it was and especially with people he didn't like. You made a mental note to applaud him for being mean for once.

"If I order will you go away so I can talk to ___?"

"She has a boyfriend," Ni-ki interjects, standing beside Jay who nods along. "Plus she doesn't like you, so I can either take your order or you can leave,"

Minjun's eyes flicker to you once more. "A boyfriend," He repeats. "Thought you told Yunjin to tell me that just to get rid of me,"

"Not everything's about you man," Jay rolls his eyes, quick to answer for you. "Being desperate doesn't really work for you,"

"How long?" He ignores Jays jabs, eyes focused on you while you shrug. "Recent right, considering you haven't posted anything about him,"

"You really are a stalker," Ni-ki grimaces, not knowing the full details but hearing enough to make his judgements.

Sending the two behind you pointed looks, silently telling them that you'd handle it, you look back at Minjun with a small sigh. "It's not really any of your business, is it?"

"Well with me you were all about posting stories and making sure I posted you so it's just surprising,"

Narrowing your eyes, you pick at the skin of your nails at your side, something that Jay took note of in your old habits whenever you grew irritated. "Things change. Being with a guy who provides reassurance and treats you well does wonders," You hum, no longer bothering with decorum. "I don't have time to go back and forth with you. If you want to order they'll help you, if not, leave,"

Without giving him time to protest, you made your way to the back of the building ensuring he wouldn't be able to follow. Jay was quick to tag along leaving Ni-ki to fend for himself but knowing the young boy would be fine.

"He's fucking insane," Jay rambles as soon as the two of you were out of sight and behind the door that separated the front from the back. "To think that after all the shit he put you through you'd just, welcome him back? Delusional ass who doesn't know how to take no for an answer apparently—"

You nod along, taking a seat in the plush chair that was tucked away in the corner of the room beside the desk. You stared at the ground, focusing on counting the tile patterns allowing for Jay to ramble as he paced around the room. Taking note of your unusual silence, he stops mid step to look at you, a small sigh leaving his lips seeing how your bottom lip was tucked between your teeth and how you continued to pick at your hands.

Leaning down in front of you, Jay squats as his hands find way to your knees, leaning against you and forcing your line of vision to be filled by him. "You okay teeny?" He asks softly, the look of pity one you remember all too well and not what you wanted.

"I'm fine," You respond. And you were, for the most part. You just couldn't deal with your own emotions and Jay going back to treating you like a fragile piece of glass, it was exhausting enough having him be as attentive as he was in general. "Seriously, I'm fine. He's not worth my time anymore J, I just hope he got the hint and won't come back,"

Jay nods along, giving your knee a small squeeze in reassurance while you click your tongue. The door swings open, Ni-ki poking his head in the frame. "He left," The younger boy reassures, a small smile sent your way. "Am I allowed to ask noona?"

He looked concerned, an expression you had yet to see from Ni-ki and it emphasized just how young he seemed in your eyes with the innocent gleam. Gesturing for him to take a seat, you lean back in the chair while Jay settles himself on the ground. Peering up at the security cameras, ensuring to have a clear view of anyone were to walk in, you begin your story.

"Buckle up kid, you're getting a whole new level of lore from me tonight,"

           "THIS IS SUCH bullshit," Jay huffs, eyes focused behind you as he takes a rather large bite of the apple he had been holding for the past ten minutes. "I can't believe he transferred back,"

"You know, it's kind of heartwarming how upset you are for me," You tease, significantly less worked up over the situation although it was less than ideal.

"No I agree, he's a fucking asshole," Yunjin adds, shooting daggers with looks that could kill causing you to raise a brow. "What? I hate him. We're not even really related, my aunt is divorcing his uncle and I only hung out with him cause of her so now it's free range since he's being a weird idiot,"

"Are we talking shit?" Sunoo draws the attention to himself, placing his bag down and smiling brightly as he clasped his hands under his chin. "Who about?" He sing-songs, voice dripping like honey and a grin that seemed so innocent but the content behind it was entirely different.

"Her stalker,"

"Whose stalker?" Heeseung interjects, Sunghoon trailing behind him to join the ever growing table. Jay and Yunjin's fingers immediately point toward you, silently answering his question causing the older boys brows to frown. "What happened now?"

As you opened your mouth to explain, a rather loud one cut you off once again. "Noona!" Ni-ki calls out, voice booming as he made his way toward you with Jungwon leading. Rather obviously pointing in the direction you spoke of, his eyes were wide seeing Minjun on the other end of the plaza with his own group of friends. "What the hell is he doing here?" The youngest asks as they reached the table, now having all curiosity peaked of those out of loop.

"Who?" With the last member of the group joining, Jake smiled widely as he weaseled his way beside you, placing a quick peck to your cheek as he sat.

"Everyone here now so I can talk?" You ask aloud, glancing over the group and doing a quick headcount. Over the past week, with the concept of you and Jake being together, your friend group had merged with his. Well your two friends, one of which you shared already, had joined in with Jake's while Ni-ki had been recently adopted in after finding Jungwon and him shared a general ed class. You had to admit, it was nice having more people to talk to, your life had certainly become more interesting in the best of ways.

"Do tell," Sunoo urges, far too excited to know more as the certified gossip of the group, though he was always the best at giving advice so it was two sides of the same coin.

"My ex transferred back here," You finally say with a small shrug. Jake tensed up from beside you, his brows pinching together as he leaned in closer to listen to your explanation. "He came by my work the other day trying to talk and I told him to get lost and then now he's here,”

"He's weird," Ni-ki adds in, his face pinched with disgust as he shook his head. "Desperate stalker behavior,"

"Who is it?" Sunghoon asked, looking in the general direction Jay pointed in but not particularly locking in on anyone.

"Kang Minjun," Yunjin answered without missing a beat.

Jake lets out a scoff, leaning closer into your side. "He's a fucking prick. Came into class today and wouldn't shut up during the lecture," Taking hold of the unpeeled orange you had left since it seemed like far too much work at the time, he peeled the skin off without a word, holding out the first piece to you before popping one into his mouth. "Professor Choi loved it, annoying as fuck when most of us just come since attendance is mandatory even though it's a gen-ed class,"

"We're the same year, he had always been popular," Heeseung shrugged. "Definitely annoying considering he used his looks for basically everything and acted cocky all the time,"

"The pretty one?" Sunoo asks, glancing around while he gained a few pointed looks for the comment. "What? My bad I've never seen him before," He pouts, hands up to show his lack of defense.

"Stalker," Ni-ki reminds, entirely ambient on making it knowing for everyone how uncomfortable he was to be around. "Doesn't matter what he looks like, he's still a weirdo,"

Jungwon lets out a small snort at his comments while Heeseung suddenly changes the subject. The conversation topic switching over to plans of a staycation in the near future while Jake absentmindedly holds out the last slice of orange for you to take.

“He comes over here and I’m throwing this apple at his head,” Jay warns, holding up the partially bitten fruit causing you to grimace.

“I don’t think he’s that dumb,” Sunghoon snickers. “And that’s gross, you can see all your teeth marks,”

“Who cares?” Jay retorts, beginning to bicker as the two change the topic for the second time in a near minute. Everyone else following along, paying no mind and rather comfortable in one another’s company.

You felt Jake’s arm wrap around your shoulders, pulling you closer to his side as he leans down to your ear. “You alright?” He mumbles, breath fanning against your skin causing you to shiver but nonetheless nod along.

You pull away slightly, enough to see his face while a small smile peaked at the corners of your lips. You had to admit, it wasn’t ideal and made you exhausted having to deal with your past. You put on a brave face, one enough for the others but for some reason, Jake could see through it more than you knew.

He let out a small sigh, a lingering kiss placed to the crown of your head as he did so. “You’re alright,” Jake spoke, the words intended to reassure you, fully certain of it for your sake and that seemed to be more than enough to help your nerves for the time being.

Letting out a puff of air, you allow yourself to melt into his side, settling in comfortably as your head tucked itself below his chin, leaned into his chest and arms caged around you for extra support. Your attention was brought back to the rest of your friends, eyes meeting with Yunjin who sat with an amused expression being one of the ones who knew everything while Heeseung had his nose scrunched up with disgust.

“I hate couples,”

my tags!! @slutforsjy @jaklvbub @whowantshota @addictedtohobi @coolwitu @simjyunnie @kgneptun @graythecoffeebean @143ikeu @zyvlxqht @tesywesy @nxzz-skz @aishisgrey @missmischief1408

( pls make sure your settings make you applicable to tag )

[pristine-rose]

sooo Columbina and Arlecchino with a female darling they are possessive of and has long hair? maybe like a new harbinger darling and childe just won't stop challenging her and something that gets on arlecchino's nerves more than columbinas even pantalone talks to the new harbinger sometimes with gifts in hand just to piss off arlecchino

hnnggg y’all know the harbingers are my fav in this game <3 this’ll keep a similar theme to the hair-brushing-doll fic for arlecchino that i wrote previously, just bc i thought it fit :]

arlecchino and columbina — devil take the hindmost

warnings : sfw, female reader, mentioned to have long hair ( enough to brush ), feat. childe and pantalone, themes of possession / jealousy / and “jokes” of capivity , columbina has ‘truth’ powers similar to aponia

“that’s lady signora’s melody, isn’t it?”

“indeed.” arlecchino smiled a bit when she answered you, lips curling up in a moment of slight tranquility at the mention of the late harbinger—one could almost believe she was kind. and with the same grievance, the third harbinger continued to hum such sweet notes from behind you, amidst her fingers threading through the strands of your hair. “columbina knows it by heart.”

the third harbinger made no response, instead choosing to continue humming behind you, dainty fingers threading through your locks. the vocals parting via sealed lips were gentle-sounding, very much like her own appearance. gentle… you’ve come to learn that columbina succeeded in deception.

“where did these come from?”

arlecchino knew no boundaries as she lifted up your wrist with undeniable force. those keen eyes of hers bore only a battlefield, and it was no different when the slashes on pupils matched the faint lines and scratches on the underside of your wrist.

looks like hiding them was no use.

“so unsightly…” columbina mumbled. and it was the first and only thing she’s said to you all day—choosing to only comment in distaste when her play-doll was marked up.

arlecchino glared. “they looked stiched.” the room almost felt colder. “expertly, so. as if a certain doctor did them.” the silence already bit at your stomach. they don’t like it when other people make modifications to what they claim as their own. “it seems like someone here got them in a rush.”

those wretched eyes were settled on you now. and you would’ve avoided them, had not columbina so gracefully clenched her fist at your hair, forcing you to look up. “tell me, who gave these to you?”

you would’ve lied under a guise of self-infliction, you really would’ve. but it was almost as if the mental, twisted powers of the angel behind you hammered nails down your tongue, forcing you to spit out the bloody truth of your comrade.

“childe.” his name felt dry against your throat. “he wanted to spar, and i got hurt.”

arlecchino’s eyes shifted darkly. and somehow—in some sick, decaying way—you wished the bore a look of sympathy. but she would never give anything of the sort, no. only anger fueled from selfishness that someone else would make their mark.

“o, dearest of knights,” columbina sweetly muttered against your hair, calling out the attention of her other harbinger companion. “you haven’t noticed yet another grotesque addition to our darling.”

as arlecchino’s eyes dipped downwards towards your neck, the air in your lungs suddenly restricted.

“a golden accessory dangling from her neck,” columbina whispered so ghastly disapprovingly. “there’s only one man i know who would gift such an expensive, yet tasteless piece of jewelry…”

arlecchino scoffed, “so shes flocking along with the men of our ranks now, is that what is happening?” she seemed enraged. to witness this demented side of her was no matter to take lightly with a temper like hers; it would actually make you thankful of the kind hand that was still choking your airflow,—for if it was arlecchino’s torn, inked monstrous of a hand, your skin would be in shreds by now.

“w…wait…” you croaked out through shallow, constricted breaths. the thin fingers of the third harbinger felt like sharp spider webs at your skin. “please… let me explain…”

“explain well, foolish one,” said the harbinger behind you.

“they’re… just my friends…”

—which was truly, a completely idiotic thing to say. but you were exasperated as it was not even a lie. childe just wanted a friendly spar, simple as that. he would get dottore to stitch your wounds to avoid this exact occurrence from happening. and, pantalone really just gave you this necklace as a welcoming gift for joining the harbinger ranks.

and yet, the chain of that same gold necklace was being clawed at by the knave. she did not care whether she tore at the skin of your collarbone, or at the pout of columbina—all she cared was to tear that accessory to crumbling chains on the hard floor.

“my knight,” columbina frowned, and you took a gasp of breath as her hand suddenly loosened. “you’ve shaken her up. look, our darling is trembling, and her blood is dripping to the new clothes i just dressed her in…”

shaking? were you really trembling so much in the third harbinger’s arms?

“to hell with it,” arlecchino scowled. “if she thinks she can be oh-so good friends with the others, then she better learn to take a scar that damned doctor cannot stitch.”

“but i want her to all clean and pretty for us,” columbina whined. “so mean… i can’t play with a doll that’s covered in her blood…”

a doll… that’s all you were to them. not a fellow member of the fatui, or even a harbinger.

it was times like these you missed lady signora—these cold, chilling nights when columbina returned to humming the late harbinger’s tune and cleaning you up.

but not for kindness, no. just for display.

hi hi i’m still here !! i just left tumblr for a little bit because honestly it did not feel rewarding or worth it to post when no one—like not even my friends—can see my fics since they get labeled so fast… 😭

but we’ll work on it, or i’ll just give up and make a new blog LOLOLOL

[bratphilia]

HI HII

plspls tiny lil blurb abt alcina dimitrescu being possessive n slightly jealous of u bc karl hit on u ... now ur in the bedroom n she's mad n wants to make sure u remember who treats n fucks u the best ...

imagining the things she'd say n how she'd touch/tease u until ur begging n frantically promising her u want nothing to do w karl is making me 😵‍💫

i'm actually losing my mind iwantherteethonmyneckNOW

ZEE MY DARLING!!!! ANYTHING FOR YOU!!  cw ; jealousy, fingering, pussy eating, size kink

ALCINA DIMITRESCU who absolutely seethes as she watches her rat of a brother kiss your hand upon entrance to the castle. he has the audacity to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear in the foyer, ruminates in the way that you blush with a flash of his incisions. she hates it. she hates him. but in that moment, the thing she hates the most is the way you flush and laugh a little too hard at his crude attempts of a joke. it frankly makes her blood boil. at dinner, heisenberg takes a seat next to you, and alcina, at the head of the table, watched with her height to her advantage as his hand wandered up your thigh. she couldn't take it anymore — the disrespect she had to endure from a stupid man flirting with her property in her own home was too fucking much. she cleared her throat, loud enough to snap both of your attentions towards her. she says your name sternly, her face conveying her point clearly, "a word after our guests have left," she says, it's not a question.

"yes," you say in a small voice, heat rising to your cheeks.

it's after dinner, after heisenberg has taken his leave, that you're on your stomach on your lady's giant bed, ass sticking up and she tuts. "since you wanted to act like one, i see it fit you're taken like a common whore," she explains.

one of alcina's giant fingers, reaching the size of a dainty, thin cock, slips in and out of you. you writhe and squirm onto the bed. you hate to admit it but if this were the "punishment" for a certain way heisenberg so much as looked at you, you would indulge in allowing him to do so more often. you buck your hips backwards to match her pace of pumping in her fingers but she simply removes them quietly. "remember your place," she tells you disappointedly. before you know it, her face is smothered in her cunt, and the stimulation is almost too much. her giant appendage fucking into you, just like her fingers, is an adequate replacement for a dick inside of you as it fucks in and out of you. it's delicious, the way her large lips wrap around your much tinier clit and her tongue methodically laves it in circles. when she feels you come close is when she pulls away. an appropriate punishment for a slut.

"if you actually want to come," she says, uncharacteristically using the crude word, "i would suggest conducting yourself in a more refined way."

[kckt88]

Drowning Inside You VI

Summary:

Aemond and Valaera set boundaries, and live a fruitful life on Driftmark.

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!!

Warning(s): 5 Year Time Skip, Inner thoughts, Language, Kissing, Smut, P in V, Breeding Kink, Knotting, Mild Angst, Possessive Behaviour, Child Birth. Epilogue

Word Count: 7850

Author Note: An Alpha/Omega Story.

P.S - Some Scenes/Dialogue from Dynasty has been reused.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the House of The Dragon or Fire & Blood characters nor do I claim to own them. I do not own any of the images used.

Comments, likes, and reblogs are very much appreciated.

“So, as it stands the potential agreement is when the children reach the appropriate age, they will enter a period of courtship and if at the end they do not wish to marry for whatever reason then the betrothal will be broken and Vaella will be free to pursue her own match,” said Valaera.

“Not to mention we have their presentations to consider, it’s not going to work if both Jaehaerys and Vaella present as Alpha’s or Omega’s” replied Aemond.

“As for Vhalarr, the same conditions apply” muttered Valaera.

“I’m fairly certain he will be an Alpha” said Aemond.

“How can you be sure?” asked Valaera.

“It’s very subtle but he already has a scent, similar to that of my own. Vaella smells sweet, like you” exclaimed Aemond.

“So, your saying she might be an Omega?”

“It’s possible but we would have to wait until presentation age to be sure” said Aemond.

Valaera knew in part that Aemond was right, Vhalarr did smell similar to his Alpha father and Vaella sometimes smelled like freshly baked cakes.

“Are we doing the right thing?” mused Valaera.

“Politically a match between Jaehaerys and Vaella makes sense. Our daughter would be the Queen and our grandchild would be heir, but I must admit that I wish to wait until our pups are older. Let them be children first” muttered Aemond.

“Then we wait” replied Valaera firmly.

“Are you sure about that?” asked Aemond.

“Our pups, our choice. My mother might not like it, but your right. Our pups should grow free of expectations”.

“So, it’s decided then” said Aemond.

“Yes, we are declining the betrothal until the children are older” replied Valaera sternly.

When they first moved to Driftmark, Valaera was shy and unsure of her abilities as future Lady of the Tides, but now she was really coming into her own. When she wasn’t looking after the children she was pouring over documents and checking trade routes, she would accompany Lord Corlys to Spice Town and oversee the ships and she even managed to broker a deal with silk merchants in Lys.

Aemond was insanely proud of his Omega.

That day she sat on the Driftwood Throne in the Hall of Nine called out the Queen for her poor decision making was something Aemond would never forget.

Despite all the ‘Strong’ jokes, Valaera was where she truly belonged and if truth be told, Aemond thoroughly enjoyed it when his Omega would become stern and serious. It made him incredibly hard, and he loved fucking Valaera on every available surface.

When he was younger, Aemond admittedly never had an interest in sex. He would often think that there was something wrong with him. He had that one experience on the street of silk on his thirteenth name day and wasn’t keen to repeat it.

But when it came to Valaera, it was all she could think about. Never had he known such desire before; his cock would get hard at the mere thought of his sweet Omega.

Every night he would lay with Valaera, sometimes more than once. His hunger for his mate was insatiable.

Just this morning, Aemond had thoroughly enjoyed himself as Valaera climbed on top of him and rode him like an unclaimed dragon.

“There. Finished” declared Valaera proudly breaking Aemond about of his reverie.

“W-What?” asked Aemond trying to ignore his cock growing hard in his breeches.

“Our official response to the Queen regarding the betrothal,” said Valaera.

“Y-You’ve included me” muttered Aemond as he quickly scanned the letter.

“Of course, your my future consort Lord and the father of our pups. Your opinion matters”

Was it possible to fall in love with the same person over and over again?

Aemond leaned towards his Omega and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

Yes. Yes, it was.

“I guess she didn’t take it well?” asked Aemond.

“No, she thinks you’re to blame” replied Aegon.

“I thought as much” muttered Aemond.

“Apparently you have too much influence over Valaera”

“Oh, piss off. Valaera is more than capable of making her own decisions” retorted Aemond.

“Of course, she is, but you know what our sister’s like. There’s always someone else to blame for her failings” exclaimed Aegon.

“I just want my pups to have a better upbringing than I did. Is that so wrong?”

“Not at all brother. Nothing will ever change unless we’re the ones that make those changes, I’m just glad someone finally has the balls to stand up and do it” said Aegon.

“How’s things with you and your Lord Strong?” asked Aemond.

“Good actually, he agreed with your reasons for refusing the betrothal” admitted Aegon.

“That is surprising. I assumed he would have agreed with his mother”.

“You’re not the only one. Should have seen Rhaenyra’s face when Jace told her that he accepted your reasons for declining” laughed Aegon.

“Maybe next time she’ll think before she opens her mouth”.

“Oh, she definitely knows she made a mistake. Jace has only just started talking to her again” said Aegon smiling.

“Did she apologise?”

“Yes, she did. It was glorious” said Aegon laughing.

“What about Daemon?” mused Aemond.

“Nothing to tell. The cuntstruck dog doesn’t really do much, which I must admit does disappoint me. There was everyone thinking that he’d be a second Maegor and yet he’s so boring. No drama, nothing” said Aegon shrugging.

“How’s mother?”

“As well as expected, she’s currently visiting Daeron in Old Town” replied Aegon.

“I keep meaning to invite him for a visit, but he’s spent so long in Old Town that he feels like a stranger” muttered Aemond.

“He’s our brother and yet it’s almost like he doesn’t exist”.

“So, are you going to tell me why you made an unannounced visit, or shall I guess?” asked Aemond.

“I just fancied seeing my little brother” replied Aegon sheepishly.

“Now I know that’s a lie” muttered Aemond.

“Actually, it isn’t. I just wanted to talk to someone other than Jace” admitted Aegon.

“Is he really that bad?” laughed Aemond.

“No, but since you and Helaena left the Red Keep there isn’t really anyone to keep me company. Joffrey is a total bore. Aegon and Viserys are too young, and my own children are not exactly great at conversation. I just miss you brother” muttered Aegon quietly.

“You know you’re welcome here anytime, right?”

“I appreciate that. Now can I see Valaera sitting on the Driftwood Throne?” asked Aegon.

“Why?”

“I want to see what Rhaenyra meant when she said Valaera looked like a totally different person sitting on her throne with her loyal consort by her side” said Aegon brightly.

“Now I see what Rhaenyra meant. She does look different” said Aegon as he stared at Valaera sitting on the Driftwood Throne.

“Not that different surely?” muttered Aemond feeling absolutely ridiculous at fulfilling Aegon’s request.

“Trust me brother, she looks positively delicious. I can see why your so obsessed with her”.

“You’re not serious?” gasped Aemond.

“Those Strong genes are really something aren’t they”.

“Don’t you dare” growled Aemond.

“I mean we could always figure something out; I could always lend you Jace granted he’s an Alpha but there are other pleasures to be had”.

That lecher. That vile fiend. Lusting after my Omega. I’m going to kill him.

“I bet you’ve fucked her on it haven’t you?”

“Halt your vulgarity” snarled Aemond.

“Oh, you have. You really are a whore” laughed Aegon as he turned on his heel and ran out of the Hall of Nine.

“I’m going to kill you” shouted Aemond as he ran after his older brother, leaving Valaera sitting on the Driftwood Throne looking utterly confused at what had just happened.

-Five Years Later-

“A son my Prince”

“I-Is he ok?” asked Valaera as Maester Selkin placed the crying pup in her arms.

“Perfectly healthy” replied the Maester smiling.

“A-Aemond look at him, he’s perfect” cooed Valaera.

“He is beautiful. Well done Issa dōna” replied Aemond proudly. (My sweet)

My pup has his mother’s face. But he has my silver hair.

“W-What shall we call him?” asked Valaera.

“Aerion” replied Aemond the tears streaming down his face.

I am so proud of my Omega. Our pup. Our beautiful little boy.

“Oh, Alpha it’s a wonderful name for our pup” gasped Valaera.

“Aerion Targaryen” exclaimed Aemond happily.

“S-Should you like to hold him?

“I would love to” muttered Aemond as his newborn pup was placed in his arms.

Valaera would never get tired of the look on her Alpha’s face as he cradled their tiny pup in his arms.

Such love and devotion.

As Aemond held their newly born son, Valaera was cleaned up and checked over by the Maester who declared her healthy, and once she was settled back into bed the Omega requested their other pups be brought so they could meet their new brother.

After a few moments, the door slowly opened, and four small faces peered in.

“Children, come and meet Aerion” urged Valaera softly.

Vhalarr was the first to approach, his amethyst eyes wide with wonder.

“He looks like Mother” whispered Vhalarr.

“But has father’s hair” gasped Vaella.

“Aemon my Issa byka zaldrīzes. Have a look” offered Aemond as he crouched down (My little dragon).

Aemon stared at his baby brother for a moment, and then he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Aerion’s head.

“Ryn, be careful” urged Aemond as his three-year-old pup began clambering up the bed.

“She’s ok, aren’t you Dōna hāedar” muttered Valaera as she drew their daughter into her embrace and held her tight (Sweet girl).

It must be overwhelming for Ryn; she is no longer the youngest of our pups. We must make sure she does not feel pushed out.

As the older pups surrounded Aemond and their new brother. Valaera thought back to when Ryn was born and how stubborn she was.

I was in labour for hours, far longer than any of the other pups. As worried as he was, Aemond had remained steadfast at his side, holding his hand the entire time. But she came, all pink and healthy.

They had named her Saeryna, but when Aemon had first met her, he could not properly say her name, so he kept calling her Ryn and the nickname eventually stuck. Admittedly at first Aemond did not like it, but he eventually gave in when he realised that Ryn was all she responded too.

Their second daughter looked a lot like Vhalarr, dark hair and amethyst eyes. She was so beautiful as was Vaella and Aemond was already sharpening his swords in preparation for any attention they would receive. The Alpha was weak for both of his daughters, and he was not ashamed to admit it either, which made Valaera smile.

“Muña. Avy jorrāelan” whispered Ryn (Mother, I love you).

“I love you too my darling” replied Valaera pressing a kiss to her daughters curly hair.

“I think someone wants feeding” exclaimed Aemond as he passed Aerion to Valaera.

“W-What is Aerion doing?” asked Ryn.

“He’s having his milk” replied Aemond.

“From Muña?”

“Yes, my sweet girl, all of you had milk from your mother” muttered Aemond.

“Do you have milk Kepa?”

“No, I do not, only those who birth pups have milk” said Aemond.

“How do mother’s even get pups?” asked Aemon.

This conversation is not happening. No. I refuse to acknowledge its existence.

“Do they just appear one day?”

“An Alpha puts them there” exclaimed Vhalarr.

“Wait. How did you know that?” asked Valaera.

“I heard you ask father to give you a pup and then one day you had Aerion in your tummy.”

Oh my god. I cannot believe he just said that.

“Yes, well mayhaps this conversation should take place when your older” muttered Aemond.

“Why?” asked Vaella tilting her head to the side.

“Because you’re a little young at the moment” said Aemond closing his eye and taking a deep breath.

“But I am almost seven name days old” retorted Vaella.

“Add another fifty million name days onto that and then I might think about telling you.”

“Oh, Kepa your being very silly” laughed Vaella (Father).

“You know what else is silly?” asked Aemond smiling.

“No what?”

“The tickle monster” exclaimed Aemond as he grabbed hold of Vaella and began tickling her.

Vaella’s delighted squeals of laughter echoed around the chamber and soon all of the children were set upon by the dangerous tickle monster.

Valaera loved watching her Alpha with their pups. The Alpha’s love for their family was boundless, and every day Valaera was thankful to have been blessed in such a manner.

Suddenly a knock at the door broke the tickle monsters reign of terror and Aegon appeared.

“UNCLE AEGON”

“Oh, my so many children at once” gasped Aegon as he was set upon by Vhalarr, Vaella, Aemon and Ryn.

“Good to see you brother” said Aemond as he resumed his seat on the bed next to Valaera.

“Looks like I arrived just in time” replied Aegon.

“Come, meet your nephew Aerion” said Valaera proudly.

“I thought you was naming him Aegon.”

“Since when was that ever an option” groused Aemond.

“Well, I am your favourite brother” replied Aegon.

“Your my only-“

Wait, hang on that isn’t right. Oh, yeah Daeron. I forgot about him.

“Is Jace here?” asked Valaera.

“Yeah, he’s with Baela and Helaena. There’s lots of children there too” said Aegon.

“Some of those children are yours” exclaimed Valaera.

“I know but don’t tell anyone” joked Aegon.

Aemond shook his head slightly and then sent for Tarla to collect the children.

The children’s nanny soon appeared and took the excited pups to see their cousins.

“Do you want to hold Aerion?”

“Oh, go on then, been a while since I’ve held a babe” replied Aegon happily as he took hold of Aerion and rocked him gently.

“Jace has brought an egg for your pup. Rhaenar chose it. I hope that’s ok?”

“It’s fine we’ll have it placed with Aerion later” said Aemond.

“Are you ok Aegon?” asked Valaera.

“I’m fine, just things can be a bit full on at times” muttered Aegon.

“You know your more than welcome to stay here whenever you like” offered Aemond.

“I know, thank you brother” replied Aegon.

Aemond knew that his brother was easily overwhelmed by the demands of being a mother and whilst he knew that Aegon loved his pups, he also knew that his brother sometimes needed a break.

“Word of warning though brother. If any of my pups start asking where pups come from, don’t you dare tell them” warned Aemond.

“Would I?” laughed Aegon.

Aemond and Valaera exchanged a knowing glance before quickly changing the subject.

A few days later, Valaera was back on her feet after the birth of Aerion and happily celebrating with her family.

“Welcome to the world, Prince Aerion Targaryen” declared Lord Corlys proudly.

Valaera smiled as cups were raised to her grandsire’s toast.

“Is the Queen not joining us?” asked Rhaenys curiously.

“No, important matters at court, but she did invite us to Kings Landing to celebrate when I’m capable of travel” replied Valaera.

“Just make sure you give yourself sufficient time to heal” said Rhaenys.

Valaera smiled and spied Aemond out of the corner of her eye nodding in agreement.

After their quarrel with her mother regarding the betrothal of Jaehaerys to Vaella, her Alpha mostly avoided having contact with the Queen unless he absolutely had to speak to her.

Valaera usually did most of the talking anyway, but even her relationship with his mother had noticeable cooled, especially when she dared to make a back hand request that both him and Aemond should apologise for openly disrespecting her in front of the noble lords.

Valaera outright refused and Aemond promptly told the Queen to stuff her request where the sun doesn’t shine and never in his life will he apologise for defending his own rights as a parent.

It had taken almost five years for Aemond to stop growling every time the Queen was mentioned.

“I just want to say thank you to Rhaenar for choosing Aerion’s dragon egg, I’m sure it will hatch into a fine dragon” said Valaera brightly.

“Your welcome Auntie Valaera” muttered Rhaenar shyly.

“Jaehaerys, will you stop winding your sister up” chided Jace sternly.

“Sorry father” exclaimed Jaehaerys as Maela stuck her tongue out.

“Speaking of dragon’s have your pups named theirs yet?” asked Jace.

“Yes, they have. But I’ll let them tell you" replied Valaera.

“My dragon is called Sapphyre” said Vaella proudly.

“Unusual name for a dragon” muttered Baela.

“Says the one who called her dragon Moondancer” retorted Aemond smirking.

“Oh, shut up” exclaimed Baela.

“I called my dragon Melarx, in honour of Meleys and Arrax” said Vhalarr.

"Silver" declared Ryn proudly.

“Vhagon, in honour of my father’s dragon,” said Aemon.

“Shocking, not one of you in the bunch thought to honour my Sunfyre, the most beautiful dragon to ever grace the skies” gasped Aegon.

“My father rides the largest dragon in the world. Vhagar is the Queen of the sky she flew alongside Balerion and Meraxes” said Aemon proudly.

“Why am I not surprised that your son knows that” said Aegon.

“My pups education is important, as is their knowledge of our family history” replied Aemond.

“Is Aerion named after Aegon the conquerors father?” asked Vhalarr.

“Yes, he is” exclaimed Aemond.

“The next pup better be named after me” declared Aegon.

“Who says were having anymore? We already have five” asked Valaera.

“Piss off, I’m betting you’ll have more. My brother can’t keep his knot out of your cunny”

“AEGON” shouted Valaera.

“Mother what’s a cunny?” asked Vaella.

Valaera didn’t have the chance to respond as Aemond had launched himself out of his chair and chased Aegon out of the dining room.

“You want to what?” asked Valaera.

“Renew our wedding vows” replied Aemond.

“A-Aemond. Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been surer of anything in my life. Ao issi se jorrāelagon hen issa glaeson, and it would please me greatly to marry you all over again with our pups by our side” said Aemond (You are the love of my life).

“C-Could we have the ceremony here on Driftmark?”

“We can have it wherever you like my love” said Aemond as he wrapped his arms around his Omega and held him close.

“I would like to have Valyrian ceremony on the beach” whispered Valaera.

“Sounds perfect” muttered Aemond.

My Alpha. My love. He wants to marry me again. I am truly blessed to have him by my side.

“Shall we arrange for it to take place in two moons time, that way people have plenty of notice” suggested Valaera.

“Good idea. I’m fairly certain Helaena will help you with any arrangements and formalities, we’ll obviously need the traditional Valyrian robes, I might ask Rhaenys to acquire those”.

“We can ask the cooks to prepare the same food we had at our first wedding” exclaimed Valaera positively gleeful.

“As long as we have decent wine this time, not that piss we had before” retorted Aemond.

“I didn’t take you for much of a wine drinker” mused Valaera.

“I’m not, but if I’m going to have to deal with Aegon and your mother there’s no way I’m doing that totally sober” muttered Aemond.

Valaera let out a little giggle and buried her face in her Alpha’s chest.

“Come let us tell the pups,” said Valaera.

“I thought you were already married?” asked Vhalarr.

“We are, but sometimes when two people love one another they can get married again”.

“-And this time, you’ll be there with us,” said Valaera.

“You pups mean everything to us and we want to share this with you” said Aemond.

“Can we help you to plan it mother?” asked Vaella.

“Of course, you can, I’m counting on my sweet girls to walk with me on the day,” said Valaera.

“What about us?” asked Aemon.

“I’d like you to stand with your father if that’s ok, we might have to get Aunt Helaena to hold Aerion, but I want all my pups close” replied Valaera.

“Help mama” said Ryn in a sing song voice.

“That’s my girl” said Valaera as he gently stroked Ryn’s hair.

“Let’s get started on the list of people to invite. I wonder if there’s anyone around here that can help” mused Aemond as he pretended to look around the room.

“We can help” shrieked Vaella.

“Oh, I don’t know are you sure?” replied Aemond smiling as he tapped his chin.

“Yes” yelled Vaella.

“Well, I guess I’ve found all of my helpers” said Aemond brightly.

As Valaera fed Aerion, she happily watched as their remaining pups crowded around their Alpha father and began reeling off a list of names.

“Uncle Aegon” bellowed Ryn.

“Are you sure?” asked Aemond.

“Yes, love Uncle Aegon” said Ryn brightly.

As much as Aemond loathed his brother’s lack of morals and decency, he had a very close relationship with his children, particularly Ryn. She adored Aegon and would always seek his company when he came to visit Driftmark.

“Don’t forget my mother” muttered Valaera.

“Are you sure?” asked Aemond.

“We have to invite her; I don’t wish for any more arguments” said Valaera quietly.

“There’s also my mother and Daeron” replied Aemond.

“Don’t forget about my brothers and Rhaena” mused Valaera.

“Hm”

After almost an hour the list was finished, it also included the names of all the pups dragons at the insistence of Ryn who smiled with delight when Aemond gave into her request.

Aemond wrapped his arms around Ryn and lifted her into his arms, her tiny fingers fiddled with the straps of his eyepatch before she slipped it off his head.

“Gevie” whispered Ryn as she placed a gentle kiss on the scared cheek of her father.

Aemond had previously been reluctant to show any of his pups what lurked under the eyepatch, but after Vaella had accidently pulled it off when she was a babe, there was no hiding the sapphire. Aemond had always believed people were terrified of his scar and he waited for his pups to react in terror but neither Vhalarr nor Vaella turned away. Sure, they were curious, but they never looked at their Alpha father with anything but love.

So, with every pup that was born after, Aemond made sure to keep the eyepatch off as much as he could, and he was beyond touched the day Vaella had announced that she was naming her dragon Sapphyre in his honour.

When he was younger Aemond never envisioned himself as a father. The thought of having pups terrified him. But now as he was surrounded by his pups, he knew there was no other place he’d rather be.

“Issa dōna hāedar” whispered Aemond (My sweet girl).

“Avy jorrāelan kepa” muttered Ryn as she snuggled into Aemond and closed her eyes (I love you father).

“I think it’s the pups bedtime” said Valaera as she placed Aerion in his crib.

“But mother I’m not tired” moaned Aemon.

“Right, come on. Bedtime” said Aemond sternly.

“Yes father” muttered Aemon quietly.

Tarla soon appeared to help see the children to bed and rather than disturb Ryn, Aemond insisted on putting her to bed himself.

Valaera called for bath to be prepared and by the time Aemond returned to their chambers, she was already sinking into the hot lavender water.

“Care to join me, Alpha?”

Aemond didn’t need asking twice as he quickly pulled off his breeches and tunic and slid into the water behind Valaera.

Valaera relaxed against Aemond and closed her eyes.

“Do you know how much I love you” whispered Aemond.

“I’m not sure. Perhaps you should remind me” giggled Valaera as her Alpha lathered soap on her body.

“My sweet mate. My Laera” muttered Aemond as he began peppering kisses on the back of Valaera’s neck whilst he continued to run his soapy hands all over his mates body.

“My Alpha. My love” gasped Valaera.

“Your mine. Forever” said Aemond.

Valaera lifted her hips and reached behind him to take hold of Aemond’s already hard cock.

My perfect mate. My one love. My Everything.

After teasing her Alpha with a few slow strokes, Valaera lowered herself onto his cock.

Aemond groaned loudly when Valaera was fully seated in his lap, his hands grasping his Omega’s hips tightly as she began to move.

My mate is beautiful. All wet and slick.

Valaera gripped the sides of the bathtub for support as Aemond began thrusting into her.

That’s it my sweet, take me. Take all of me.

The water splashed over the edge as the force of Aemond’s thrusts increased.

I love fucking my Omega from behind. So perfect.

Valaera rocked her hips backwards in time with Aemond’s thrusts.

Gods, I will never tire of feeling my Omega’s tight wet heat wrapped around me.

Valaera’s loud moans echoed around their bed chambers as she felt Aemond’s knot tugging on her.

“A-Aemond. Yes. Yes. A-Alpha” whined Valaera as Aemond shifted slightly and began thrusting deeper inside her.

“I want to stuff my knot deep inside your cunny and never leave” moaned Aemond.

“Aemond. P-Please” cried Valaera as she felt his Alpha sucking on her mating mark.

“Take it. Take all of me” groaned Aemond.

Valaera began convulsing around him, making the sweetest noises as Aemond began fucking her harder.

Aemond held Valaera tight to him as he stuffed his knot inside his Omega.

That’s it. Take my knot.

Valaera shuddered and sagged against Aemond as they were locked together by his knot.

“My love. My sweet” exclaimed Aemond as Valaera began to purr softly.

Valaera felt like he’d barely blinked, and their second wedding was upon them.

Aemond and Rhaenys had successfully acquired the traditional Valyrian robes, the invitations had been sent out and now Driftmark was packed with people and dragons alike.

True to his word, Aemon and Vhalarr were with Aemond.

Aerion was with Helaena and Baela.

Her sweet girls Vaella and Ryn were with her, wearing pretty cream and red dresses, with decorative flowers fastened in their hair.

“You look very beautiful mother” exclaimed Vaella.

“Thank you, my sweet girl,” replied Valaera blushing slightly.

A soft knock sounded on the door and then Rhaenyra appeared clutching something covered by a thin cloth.

“Your Grace” whispered Valaera as she bowed respectfully.

“I might be the Queen, but I am still your mother” replied Rhaenyra.

“Apologise mother,” said Valaera.

“Grandma. Mother pretty” cooed Ryn.

“I agree, your mother is very pretty” said Rhaenyra smiling brightly.

“W-What do you have there?” asked Valaera.

“It’s the traditional headdress for a Valyrian ceremony, I wore it on my wedding to Daemon and now you shall wear it” said Rhaenyra as she removed the cloth and began placing the ornate circlet on Valaera’s head.

“I remember you looked so beautiful that day” whispered Valaera.

“Thank you my sweet one, and you look just as beautiful today” exclaimed Rhaenyra.

After her mother had finished attaching the headdress, Valaera turned to the looking glass and gasped. Shee truly looked like a vision of old Valyria.

I wonder what Aemond looks like in his traditional robes.

“I-I wish to apologise Valaera”.

“Mother?” questioned Valaera.

“It was wrong of me to betroth Vaella and Jaehaerys without talking to you and Aemond first. I did not wish for this rift to grow between us. I love you my darling and I just want you to be happy, I want my grandchildren to be happy,” said Rhaenyra.

“I am happy mother. Immeasurably so” replied Valaera.

“I know that me and my brother will not always get on. But I am thankful that he loves you as fiercely as he does. He is a devoted husband and a loving father” muttered Rhaenyra.

“Aemond means the world to me mother. He is my twin flame-“

“-And you were always meant to burn together” said Rhaenyra smiling.

“I love you mother. Never forget that”.

“I love you too sweet girl. Now, let’s get you married. Again” replied Rhaenyra.

Valaera took a deep shuddering breath and then held both of her daughters hands.

“I-I’m ready” said Valaera firmly.

This time there was no fear.

There was only love.

Valaera’s heart leaped with joy at the sight of Aemond and their sons standing at the altar.

“īlon jorrāelan muña” whispered Vaella (We love you mother).

“Avy jorrāelan tolī issa dōna hāedari” replied Valaera (I love you too my sweet girls).

“Kepa iksos gevie” said Ryn (Father is beautiful).

“I agree my darling he truly is” exclaimed Valaera happily.

Aemond of course was dressed in the matching traditional robes, but his long silver hair was unbound and hung loosely around his shoulders. He’d also removed his eyepatch, his sapphire on full display, twinkling in the sunlight.

Vhalarr and Aemon were standing proud next to their father wearing matching outfits of red, cream and gold, their hair braided and tidy.

“Y-You look beautiful” whispered Aemond as Valaera approached.

“As do you my love” replied Valaera.

“Are you ready?” asked Lord Corlys.

“Yes. Yes, we are” said Valaera as she took Aemond’s hand in hers.

Lord Corlys smiled and after a few moments of silence, the ceremony began.

“Hen lanoti ānogar, Va sȳndroti vaedroma, Mēro perzot gīhoti, Elēdroma āirza sīr, Izulī amapā perzi, Prumī lanti sēteksi, Hen jenȳ māzīlarion, Qēlossa ozundesi, Syndroro ono jēdo, Rȳ kīvia mazvestraksi”

(Blood of two, Joined as one, Ghostly flame and song of shadows, Two hearts as embers, Forged in fourteen fires, A future promised in glass, The stars stand witness, The vow spoken through time, Of darkness and light)

Aemond and Valaera each took turns in cutting the other’s lip with a dragon glass blade and marking each other’s forehead with the symbols of fire and blood.

Aemond cuts his hand and then offers the blade to Valaera who does the same.

As they face each other once more, both Alpha and Omega join hands allowing their blood to flow into one another.

Once the vows are complete, they allow their blood to mix with a kiss.

A loud booming roar echoes across the sky as Vhagar and Arrax fly overhead, the other dragons soon join in and Driftmark is alight with sounds of a dragons song, unlike anybody has ever heard before.

As they part, Valaera and Aemond gaze upon one another.

“Will you love me Aemond, until the day I die?” asked Valaera.

“No. Much longer than that Valaera. Much longer” replied Aemond as he took his Omega’s face in his hands and kissed him once more.

-Epilogue -

“You won’t let me fall, will you?”

“Never” replied Aemond as he held his daughter’s hand tight.

Today was the day that his little girl was getting married.

He must admit it came as quite a surprise when Ryn presented as an Alpha. He felt for sure that she would either be an Omega or Beta.

But nothing was more of a shock than his son Aemon presenting as an Omega.

Valaera of course was delighted, another Omega in the family.

Aemon however found it difficult, he had spent years training with the sword, dedicating himself to his education and becoming the best dragon rider he could in order to emulate his Alpha father. Only to present as an Omega.

Aemon was convinced that the gods were playing a cruel joke on him. Omega’s were supposed to be soft and delicate; he was sharp and lean. His presentation had changed his entire future and he hated it.

He didn’t want to think of being married or mated to an Alpha. The thought of taking a knot sounded so foreign to him.

He was meant to be an Alpha not an Omega. Nothing his mother or father could say would ever make him feel any better.

The only thing that gave him any kind of reprieve was his dragon Vhagon.

Until his younger sister Ryn presented as an Alpha.

It was a strange feeling; sure, they’d always been close when they were children. But now it was like there was something else. A voice inside him, calling out for her.

He tried to ignore it first, but the more time he spent around his Alpha sister, the louder the voice became.

He started to touch himself at the thought of her, which made him ashamed.

Aemon wasn’t even sure that his sister felt the same way, until one day she’d cornered him after he’d been trying to avoid her, and she kissed him.

It was unlike anything he’d ever felt before.

The voice inside him was singing.

Whilst he was initially worried what his sister expected of him, he soon realised that he had nothing to worry about.

Ryn accepted him for who he was. She never once tried to change him.

Omega’s were supposed to be submissive, yet Aemon was defiant and strong willed.

Ryn seemed to like that about him.

She was his Alpha, and he was her Omega.

Revealing their relationship to their family had actually been easy. As their parents exchanged knowing glances, it seemed as though their relationship wasn’t much of a surprise after all and as soon as Ryn turned six and ten, they were to be married.

When Aemond placed his daughters hand into Aemon’s he smiled.

“Now I know I don’t have to threaten you like I did Jaehaerys” muttered Aemond.

“I’m fully aware of my duties father and I’m well aware of what will happen should I hurt Ryn”.

“Good lad. Just got to be sure of these things” whispered Aemond as he turned on his heel and took a seat next to Valaera.

“That wasn’t you threatening our son, was it?” asked Valaera smiling.

“No, I was just giving him a friendly warning that’s all” replied Aemond.

“That better be all it was. Jaehaerys is still terrified of you”.

“Good” said Aemond proudly.

I did what any father would do. I regret nothing. Jaehaerys will remember to take care of Vaella or they’ll never find his body.

The wedding between Ryn and Aemon went off without a hitch, despite Aegon trying his best to stir things up a bit by coughing loudly during the vows. But a glare from Valaera put a stop to any other shenanigans.

“I still can’t believe it. Our children are married” exclaimed Valaera.

“We still have others that are not yet married my sweet” replied Aemond.

“Aerion is nearing his presentation age-” said Valaera.

“- And there’s still Aegar, and Corla to keep us occupied” exclaimed Aemond.

Valaera smiled at the mention of their younger pups.

Aegar who was named after his uncle, was an energetic little boy who loved to draw and train with his father.

Corla was the pup that took them by surprise. Both Aemond and Valaera thought that they were done having children, especially after Aegar’s difficult birth which nearly killed Valaera.

But after a late-night dragon flight and incredible sex on the beach, Valaera forgot to drink moontea and nine moons later Corla was born, she had of course been named in honour of Lord Corlys who had passed away some months before her birth.

Not to mention they had recently become grandparents, Vhalarr and his wife Daena had been blessed with a son who they named Lucerys.

Jaehaerys and Vaella had twins named Aerys and Aeraea.

After the wedding was complete, it was time for the celebration, which due to the amount of guests had to be held outside.

Aemond watched silently as Ryn danced with Aemon. He was so proud of all his pups, but Ryn definitely had a special place in his heart, due to her acceptance of Aemon after his surprise presentation as an Omega and her declaration that she loved him exactly as he is.

“A wonderful day” said Aegon smiling.

“If you’re going to cause trouble you can bog off” replied Aemond.

“Would I ever do such a thing?” laughed Aegon as he took a sip of wine.

“Is that a trick question?” asked Aemond.

“He’s so much like you isn’t he, especially with the hair and the weird fixation with every item of clothing needing to be black or leather” mused Aegon smirking.

“Indeed” muttered Aemond choosing to ignore his brother's sarcastic dig.

“How’s he coping with being an Omega”.

“It took some adjustment, but he’s getting there. Ryn really helped” said Aemond.

“She’s a good girl. Reminds me a lot of Valaera”.

“I know you hoped that Aemon would be for Maela but-“

“-They weren’t compatible and I’m not talking about their presentations” said Aegon.

“I don’t think there was anyone else for Aemon if I’m honest. I can say with absolute certainty that if he didn’t marry Ryn then he wouldn’t have married anyone” replied Aemond.

“Is he prepared for the consummation?”

“I hope so, considering they’ve already bedded one another” whispered Aemond.

“What! When?” asked Aegon quietly.

“A few weeks before Ryn’s name day. Aemon confessed when I caught them both harassing the maester for moontea” said Aemond.

“Does Valaera know?”

“Of course, she does. I think Aemon had been asking questions about male Omega’s coupling with Alpha’s” mumbled Aemond.

“I’m surprised your so calm about it”.

“Initially I wasn’t very happy but there was not a lot I could do once the deed had already been done and they were due to marry anyway” replied Aemond.

“Well, you had sex before marriage” said Aegon.

“Only because you dragged me to the street of silk on my thirteenth name day and claimed it was your duty to ensure that I was as educated as you were” snapped Aemond.

“You learnt much and more from that did you not?” asked Aegon.

“From one visit? All I learnt that day was not to listen to my wastrel of a brother”.

“You seem to please your Omega enough, all the children you have” retorted Aegon.

“That’s because I devoted myself to worshipping Valaera and learning through our bond how we could please one another”

“You sure it’s got nothing to do with her sweet tasting cunny?” laughed Aegon.

“This is neither the time nor the place for your vulgarity” growled Aemond.

“Not denying it though are you. Say what you want brother but your cuntstruck for your ‘strong’ bastard” giggled Aegon.

“You have ten seconds to leave my presence otherwise I’m going to slam your head into the fucking table and then I will beat you death with that cup your holding” snarled Aemond.

“Ooooo, so violent and you kiss Valaera with that mouth” laughed Aegon.

“Piss off” groused Aemond.

Aegon refilled his cup and then returned to his seat next to Jacaerys who immediately began questioning the Omega.

“When are you going to learn not to let him get to you?”

“Mother” whispered Aemond.

“How are you doing?”

“Honestly. I think I’m still in shock that Ryn is actually married” replied Aemond.

“I felt the same on your wedding day” said Alicent.

“I’ve missed you” muttered Aemond as he wrapped his arms around his mother.

“Oh, my love, I’ve missed you too” replied Alicent.

“A-Are you proud of me?” asked Aemond.

“Of course, I am. You are the consort Lord to Driftmark, you’re an honourable husband and a loving father. I’m so proud that I get to call you my son” said Alicent smiling.

Aemond smiled and breathed in his mother’s flowery scent.

Valaera meanwhile had managed to snatch a few moments alone with Aemon.

“Does the bite hurt?” asked Aemon.

“For a moment, but it’s best to do it during the act” replied Valaera.

“I overheard some lords talking about a bedding ceremony-“

“You don’t have to worry; I will not subject you or Ryn to that” replied Valaera.

“Do we need to present the sheets”.

“Yes, but all you need to do is cut yourself in a place that no one will notice and a few drops on the sheets will do” whispered Valaera.

“I-I-“ stuttered Aemon nervously.

Valaera observed her son and she knew there was something bothering him. He had the same look on his face that Aemond always had when he was nervous.

“What is it my sweet boy?”

“I’m already with child mother” confessed Aemon lowering his head.

“Are you sure?” asked Valaera quietly.

“Yes. I missed my monthly bleeding and I feel sick” replied Aemon.

“It sounds as though you’re not very far into the pregnancy as your scent hasn’t changed yet, so just a few drops of blood on the sheets and we can say you got with child on your wedding night,” said Valaera.

“I’m sorry for getting with child before marrying Ryn”.

“I can’t exactly judge my darling” muttered Valaera.

“W-What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on sweet boy, I’m sure you’ve heard the rumours,” said Valaera.

“A-About Harwin Strong and Grandma” asked Aemon looking over at Rhaenyra who was deep in conversation with Daemon.

“Yes. I’m a Velaryon in name only” whispered Valaera.

“B-But your Lady of the Tides”

“Your great grandsire once told me that history remembers names not blood,” said Valaera.

“He was a good man,” said Aemon.

“That he was” replied Valaera.

“I hope you’re not disappointed in me mother” exclaimed Aemon solemnly.

“I know presenting as an Omega was difficult for you, but I will never be disappointed in you. All of my pups are my greatest joy. But you are the one most like your father and you are something special”.

“Mother” gasped Aemon blushing.

“When you were born. The cord was wrapped around your neck and for the briefest of moments we thought that we had lost you”.

“Father said that was the reason why he’s so protective over us” replied Aemon.

“Your father has always that protective streak in him, but yes almost losing you caused him to become rather more focused on the safety of his pups” smiled Valaera.

“I love you mama” whispered Aemon.

“Y-You haven’t called me that since you were a small boy” uttered Valaera.

“I just want you to know that you will always be my mama,” said Aemon.

“Is everything ok?” asked Ryn curiously.

“Everything is fine my darling” replied Valaera as she wiped away her tears.

“Are you sure?”

Valaera nodded and placed a quick kiss on Ryn’s cheek.

“Take care of him sweet girl” whispered Valaera.

“I will. I promise” replied Ryn.

“That’s my girl”.

“Do you think we could slip away?” asked Aemon as he took Ryn’s hand.

“You can leave whenever you like, the celebrations will continue in your absence”.

Aemon looked at Ryn who nodded her head, and soon the newly married couple left the party in favour of a more private venue.

“Do you think he’s really ok?” asked Vhalarr.

“He will be, you worry too much”.

“He’s my little brother. Of course, I worry” replied Vhalarr.

“Where’s my grandson?” asked Valaera.

“He’s with Rhaena, something about seahorses” said Vhalarr.

“How are you doing anyway?”

“I’m good, the trade deal with Pentos is proving difficult but I don’t really want to talk business today” muttered Vhalarr.

“It’ll work out, try not to stress too much,” said Valaera.

“He can’t help it” laughed Vaella.

“Oh, shut it you” retorted Vhalarr.

“Why don’t you make me”.

“Honestly you two” exclaimed Valaera.

“What’s wrong with my good brother?” asked Vhalarr.

“The twins were awake most of the night”.

“I don’t miss those days” said Valaera smiling.

“Mother. Corla is eating sand again” shouted Aegar.

“Oh for the love of-“ exclaimed Valaera as she snatched her youngest daughter from the ground and began scooping the sand from her mouth.

“I’ll get her cleaned up my Lady” offered Tarla.

“Thank you, Tarla. I’m sure I’ll find a seashell in there one day” replied Valaera.

“I’m sure it could be much worse” laughed Tarla as she took Corla.

“Ahh how’s my namesake doing?” asked Aegon loudly.

“You stink uncle Aegon” said Aegar wrinkling his nose.

“Of what?”

“Piss wine” retorted Aegar.

“AEGAR” exclaimed Valaera as Vhalarr and Vaella began laughing.

“That’s what father calls it” muttered Aegar.

“Well, I will be having words with your father” said Valaera sternly.

“About what?” asked Aemond.

“Me saying piss wine, when that’s what you called it” replied Aegar.

“I never meant for you to repeat it boy” gasped Aemond.

“Well he did and now-“ gasped Valaera as Aemond surged forward and pressed a kiss to her lips.

“Ewww gross” exclaimed Aegar.

“You won’t be saying that when your older” yelled Aegon.

“Aegon that’s enough” warned Jace.

“Oh, come on love, it’s just a bit of fun”.

“Yeah, and you’ve had too much wine. Now come and sit down” said Jace as he pulled his Omega back to his seat.

“I best go and rescue Jaehaerys” said Vaella.

“I’ll come and help” offered Vhalarr.

“Don’t think that gets you off the hook, Alpha” whispered Valaera feeling dazed.

“Maybe later when I stuff my knot into your cunny?”

“I-I think that will be sufficient” mumbled Valaera blushing.

“If you’re a good girl, I might even use my tongue first” whispered Aemond.

Valaera shook her head in disbelief at her Alpha before she pressed another kiss to his lips.

“Where’s Aerion?” asked Valaera.

“Speaking to Rhaenar” replied Aemond as he nuzzled Valaera’s mating mark.

“Is that such a good idea, considering he’s so close to his presentation?”

“You have a point” replied Aemond as he nodded his head at one of the guards, who understood the wordless command and went to stand next to Aerion who rolled his eyes.

“Everything ok with your mother?” asked Valaera.

“It’s fine, now can we retire for the night or is it too early?

“We can’t leave just yet. But soon” whispered Valaera.

“Don’t make me wait too much longer, I’ve been dying to get you alone all day”.

“Well, I need to see to the children first and judging from the state of your brother, he’s going to need escorting to his room” said Valaera nodding towards Aegon who was slumped in his seat.

“Let Jacaerys see to that, he’s my brother’s Alpha. Meanwhile we have people that can help with the children”.

“But Alpha” whined Valaera.

“No Valaera. You’ve been on your feet practically all day. Let us retire for the night”.

Valaera wanted to disobey on principle, but she loved it when her Alpha asserted his natural authority and dominance.

“Ok. Let me just ask the guards and Tarla to watch out for the children”.

“Hurry up my Omega, otherwise I will ravish you right here” muttered Aemond.

“You promise” challenged Valaera.

“Hm”

After leaving instructions with the guards and Tarla. Valaera found herself being whisked away from the celebrations and dragged back to the chambers she shared with her husband.

“Now my sweet. Take off your clothes” ordered Aemond.

“A-Aemond” gasped Valaera.

“I won’t ask you again” growled Aemond as he pulled off his own clothes and then sat on a chaise lounge.

After a few moments of stunned silence, Valaera began pulling off her clothes quickly, and soon she was standing in front of her Alpha as naked as her name day.

“Good girl. Now come here” said Aemond as he patted his naked thigh.

Valaera took a deep breath and sat on her Alpha’s lap; her legs spread open.

“I hope you have the energy my sweet, because I plan to have you many times this night”.

[ilove-masked-men]

Due to the lack of codwomen content on this app, here are some....

My fav cod women head canons ~ ♡

Valeria, Laswell, Farah

Gen-Neu!reader

K. L-A-S-W-E-L-L

• She's dominant but not possessive. She's like a kinda "Do this for me, baby please." And "You're gonna be good for me."

But WILL NOT take no for an answer in these scenarios. She will give you a look until you give in.

• Your laugh makes her MELT, purposefully cracking jokes so she can hear it. Multiple people have pointed out how she looks so content when you're laughing.

• She's probably still in the honeymoon stage. Always calling you wife/wifey husband/hubby and showing off any achievement you've done to her team.

V. G-A-R-C-I-A

• Very, very, extremely possessive. Eyeing anyone who tries to do anything to you, especially at a bar, she won't leave you alone.

• Rarely calls you your name, always has a nickname for you, or is calling you something in Spanish.

• Her love language is definitely acts of service, tieing your shoelaces, doing your shopping early and studd like that, small things that really help you, she never admits to doing it tho.

F. K-A-R-I-M

• She's always smiling when you're in the same room. Somehow, you make her instantly happier, and she's so thankful.

She could be having the worst day. E.G

She failed a mission and she's got bad cramps, bur all of a sudden you enter the room and she's happy, you didn't do anything, you just came up to her all happy.

• Absolute cuddler, she loves it, anyway/anywhere, she loves it, she prefers when she's in your arms because she feels so safe after fighting for so long.

• She's loves it when you rant about your special interests. It makes her so happy and actually listens to your rant, asks questions about it, and does her own research.

I thank @cariadlovescodwomen for reminding me these lovely ladies exist <3

[deuxcherise]

Operation Otterly-In-Love

C/w: Possibly OOC Neuvillette, cooking soup, suggestive behavior, dramatic!Reader, male!Reader

A/n: So… is he an otter or is he a dragon? It has been answered in the game, but as with many, many others, I suspect otherwise! Hehehe. Anyway, I realized I haven’t really written a story with a male!Reader so I decided to for a romance with our favorite Hydro Otter— I mean Hydro Dragon!

Masterlist

Everyone knows that there are many rules in the illustrious region of Fontaine, where wonderful engineering meets sophisticated art. There are some odd ones such as it being illegal to eat ketchup on its own, or that it is forbidden to release anything flying during the first three days of the month. But there is one particular rule, among the normal ones, that almost all prolific families follow, lest they allow any accumulated wealth and property to fall through their fingers… like some unscrupulous members of society unfortunately ailed by gambling or overindulgence of spirits or— may their souls find peace— illegal activities.

When it comes to inheritance, the rule states that the heir shall be the eldest child of the previous title holder.

Quite simple, is it not? And quite modern in some books, seeing as potential female heirs were often looked over for the benefit of a male heir historically, even when said ladies proved more capable than their gender counterparts. Nowadays, all that it requires is that one of  your parents possesses the particular title and that you are the eldest child (and of good health) to inherit it.

In this time and age, there are more and more families who have allowed the tides to turn and accepted this rule as is. However, there are still some who find it better to continue the traditional way. Such as the Vernon Family, whose older members have firmly stated that they would rather die than bypass a proper male heir.

You, on the other hand, couldn’t care less. If it were possible, you’d rather let your sister inherit the Vernon Viscountcy. Except that you are not only the eldest child of the eldest child but the only son of the Vernons, among cousins who are all daughters, thus you fit all of the qualifications to inherit everything. And so will your first son, should you ever consider settling down and finding a decent wife to make pregnant, as your parents constantly feel the need to remind you ever since you turned the adult age of 21.

Luckily for your despairing mama and papa, after much, much, much consideration for a handful of years, you have decided that now is that time.

You give an elegant twirl before you hold your hand out and dramatically declare, “Marry me, Neuvillette.”

It is less of a question, and more a command… or a suggestion if you’d like to put in gentler terms. However, you are confidently assured that he would say—

“No,” Neuvillette objects. Your sudden proposal did nothing to sway his attention from the ever growing stacks of paperwork on his desk he has yet to tackle, thanks to Furina. He didn’t so much as look up at all, much to your slight disappointment.

Quite understandable, really. Who in their sane mind would say yes to a sudden proposal when you haven’t courted each other yet? Even you would answer the same, though not as coldly as he did, especially to someone he’s known for a while. That being said, all part of the plan.

You place your hand over your heart and act as if he had shot you in the chest. “Augh, you wound me, Neuvi… But I understand, which is why I have come here to propose that we–”

“No.”

Cut off, you take a moment to process. “No? I haven’t even asked the question yet,” you pout.

Neuvillette puts down his pen and pinches his nose bridge, letting out a heavy sigh that weighs on you more than expected. He finally makes eye contact with you, his dark blue slit eyes daring you to annoy him further than you already have. “(Y/n), as much as I entertain many of your jokes, I do not believe courting and marriage are topics one should play around with.”

You gasp, offended. “Pardon? I should have you know that I am being very serious. More serious than I have ever been in my life, in fact. I am asking to court you. I. (Y/n) Vernon. Want. To. Court. You. Neuvillette. I'm serious.”

You almost grin once you see a certain light enter his widening eyes, a signal of understanding. However, it suddenly goes away just as quickly as it had arrived, before he exhales a tired sigh and picks up his pen again. “My sincerest apologies,” he says, returning to concentrating and scribbling on his current paper. “I apologize if I have ever possibly led you to believe that I am interested in any sort of courting with anyone. I do not ever wish to court you or be courted by you.”

It is one thing for your intended person to forsake romance of any sort, but to add words specifically mentioning that he would never be interested in you… Well, it certainly makes your heart bleed a bit.

Oh ho, but not nearly enough to dissuade someone like you!

Although pained, your face doesn’t fail to turn that melting frown right side up, a new determination traveling through your veins. If he is not interested in courting you or being courted by you, then isn’t this simply a challenge you must face in order to win his heart? All good romances have to start somewhere, yours will just have to start from zero.

Your silence piques Nevillette’s attention once more, prompting him to look up and take notice of your expression. He has witnessed that mischievous smile and those glittering eyes before whenever a fresh new idea pops into your head. The kind that tends to cause chaos.

He begrudgingly stands up from his chair intending to prepare for whatever your head has concocted, when he is stunned at a thrown white glove to his face. You place your hands on your hips and declare with a pointed finger, “Neuvillette, I will capture your heart one way or another! Prepare yourself, good sir!”

And so begins, Operation Otterly-in-Love.

The target: Neuvillette. The challenger: You.

-----🦦-----

The setting? A picnic table by one of Fontaine's many beautiful lakes under the shade of a large tree.

The objective? Culinary seduction.

Anyone who is anyone in Fontaine knows the stoic and righteous Neuvillette as the Chief Justice, the Iudex of Fontaine, and a man of unknown origins. With how long he has held the position throughout generations, if not a god or divine being then he was most definitely blessed by divinity at some point.

You, among a select few others, are fortunate enough to be privy to the fact that the subject of your heart is none other than the blue-haired, stone-faced judge. Despite that truth, you cannot help but have a strong belief that he is something else entirely. The edges of your lips instantly curl upward at the sight of those lovely, fluffy creatures swimming about in the sparkling waters of Fontaine.

Otters.

Their blue coats and their darker blue markings, their love for water, and cuteness are extremely reminiscent of your Neuvillette. In your humble opinion, of course, which he does not share.

Speaking of which, the subject in question exhales audibly, miffed at your distracted form. “(Y/n), I believe you said that there was something in dire need of my attention?”

“Dire” is certainly a polite description that severely downplayed how thickly you had laid upon the supposed details of a possible disaster should he not allow you the opportunity to drag the hard worker away from his work and out of his stuffy office.

You direct your brilliant smile towards him and place your hand on top of the cloche’s handle, and lift it up to reveal one of your lover-to-be’s favorite dishes in a simple yet very elegant bowl: Soup. 

Not just any plain old soup, mind you! It is a painstakingly and lovingly homemade Consomme Purete, made with only the finest fowls, eggs, and vegetables in only the purest, chilliest waters from the highest mountains that you could get your hands on.

The method by which you somehow acquired these ingredients, well… you have already sent many prayers towards a dear friend of yours who at the moment might be busy occupying the capable hands of a certain Lord of the Fortress of Meropide. You'll have to find a suitable gift worth a million thanks for the noble sacrifice.

“Consomme Purete,” you cheekily introduce the dish as you place the cloche to the side and rest your elbows on the table, your chin on top of intertwined fingers. “A fine day to have it, don't you think?”

His narrow eyes widen just a tad at the sight of the soup. He hasn't eaten yet, and his stomach is already taken by a whiff of the savory scent. The dew of the soup reflects the gentle sun shining in the sky accompanied by a few fluffy clouds. A fine day indeed.

“And whatever is the occasion for your efforts? You know that I do not accept bribes,” he says, elegantly taking a spoonful of soup but not yet a taste.

You bat your eyes. “Should I need any occasion to feed you, my dear?”

He lowers the spoon. “If you are still going on about your ridiculous proposal, I should have you know, once again, that is a meaningless endeavor.”

You hold back a click of your tongue. “Again with that…” you wave a hand. “Well, at least have a taste. I put in my blood, sweat, and tears just to make this.”

He raises an eyebrow.

Your eyes bug out at his silent implication. “Not literally! That's gross!”

“If you say so,” he says, but still decides to take a sip.

“How is it~?”

You watch intensively as the spoonful of soup disappears behind those lips of his. The lack of wrinkles on his face seems to indicate acceptance. You spy the tip of tongue peek out for just a split second to lick whatever glistening essence hadn't made it into his mouth. This tiny seductive display sends sends a bit of blood down to your—

“It is… adequate.”

Instead of heading downwards, your blood shoots upwards. “WHAT?? Adequate!?” You shriek. You place a hand over your heart and the back of your other hand on your forehead. “Neuvillette, please. I'll allow you to step on my heart, but do not jest when it comes to my cooking.”

“Unfortunately, you and I both know I do not jest when it comes to a dish like this. I applaud you for your efforts, but you may have over-steeped the vegetables a little too long for this to be called Consomme Purete.”

Your jaw drops.

You knew it! You turned your back on the stove a little too long when you were arguing with your parents. Stupid, stupid, stupid. To think you had presented this special dish to your love interest with such confidence! Augh, you wish you could go die in a hole right now.

Plan - Culinary seduction: Failure.

Will you give up?

…..

HA! FAT CHANCE! COMMENCE THE NEXT OPERATION!

-----🦦-----

[Extra]

You give out a disheartened sigh and reach towards the dish. “In that case, allow me to clear–”

Neuvillette blocks you from reaching his bowl with his arm. “I didn't say I was done, did I?”

You tilt your head in confusion. “Huh? But– Oi!”

The Iudex lifts the bowl and gulps it down in one sitting before delicately placing the bowl down and wiping the corners of his lips with a napkin with as much sophistication as a gentleman could muster. He then gets up and leaves the table with only a simple, “thank you for the meal”.

You sit there, dumbfounded as you watch him head back towards his office.

Plan - Culinary seduction: Failure Success…?

[moseslikellamas]

♱𖣂 Redfork Menace ♱𖣂 pt.8

Benjicot Blackwood x Bracken!OC

Summary - Benjicot continues making plans and Shanda lives through her first “trial”.

Warnings - fem!reader, suspense, mentions of injuries, adult language, period typical misogyny, condescension, adult language, complicated family dynamics, feud behavior, misplaced rage, feelings of guilt, manipulation, benjicot brainrot, Kieran Burton fancast.

Word count - 2.2k

I do believe in women’s rights I swear. I’m just willing to let one (1) man talk about women’s wrongs for a moment. Whatever you say, gorgeous.

!MINORS DNI!

Shanda was awake before dawn. The weather had taken a turn for the worse during the night and she had awakened to the rumbling sound of thunder. The very ground beneath her had shook in its wake and she had lied there, listening. She probably should’ve spent the extra time on preparing a defense against the crimes raised against her but she didn’t. Instead she allowed herself a rare luxury and thought of her mother. Her mother had been larger than life, eclipsing her in the best way possible.

Her mother was always telling jokes, crafting them in such a way that they landed only for who she intended. She would make jokes about Shanda’s father with him in the room and none the wiser. She had been a master at solving arguments, a skill Shanda was sorely lacking. Her own internal fuse seemed permanently set to dangerously short. She needed distance from the problem and time to map it out. She was afforded neither at the present time and so she didn’t try. Whatever mockery of a trial they decided to conduct wouldn’t satisfy her father, of that she was sure. But she still yearned for her mother’s jokes. She hadn’t had a good laugh in ages.

A girl had been sent in eventually to help her dress. She had allowed it once she saw the dress lent to her. It was spun gold, so beautiful it made her want to cry. The fabric wasn’t fancy by any means, the pattern simple but it was gold. She briefly wondered why they’d possess such a color but dismissed it from her mind. Surely not everyone’s mind was so poisoned by the feud that even certain colors were off limits. Once dressed, she’d simply stared out the window waiting. The storm raged on, still swirling out of control. Not a far cry from how she felt inside, a bizarre twisting horror of emotions.

A knock on the door turned her attention outwardly. The door opened to reveal the heir once again. Today he wore a dark colored tunic and for once, no sword. Upon closer inspection of the shirt, she found it looked the color of dried blood. So he wanted them to contrast.

“Good morning, my lady. You look well. I trust you slept well?”

She stared at him, dumbfounded.

“How did I sleep?”

“That is what I asked, my lady.”

His expression was serious and unwavering as she stared at him, her mouth near agape.

“I slept horrible, my not so good sir. I’ll thank you for naught.”

Then he looked genuinely concerned, confusing her even further.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Was it the storm? This has been an unprecedented season. Might be we’ll have an early autumn this year. No way to tell just yet, I’m afraid.”

He blabbered on about gods know what and she let him, still trying to restart her brain. What was with the lady bit? And since when did he speak to her like a normal person? She wondered if Alysanne had knocked him over the head in his sleep, changing his brain chemistry. That seemed like a viable option. Or maybe the change in air pressure was messing with her head.

“-en the limbs are on the ground, tangled in the roots. Not a good time at all. But no worse than an errant leaf in the eye while you’re trying to swin…”

Maybe she had died when she fell in the river and this was some weird vision from the gods. This could be an atonement for ripping her family apart in a war over her death.

“Anyway your trial awaits, my lady.”

She looked up from her clasped hands to him at that. “Uh huh, for sure. Tell me, what exactly are you hoping to achieve at this trial?”

She walked up beside him and he grabbed her arm without her permission, as if to guide her out.

“That’s easy, my lady. Justice.”

***

Benjicot did not sleep a wink that night. He lay awake dreaming of the woman just a room away. He’d made sure to place her in his personal wing of the castle. There was no chance, he was letting her out of his sight. Not with her propensity to jump up and start running. He couldn’t throw her in a jail cell, she was a lady. So he posted a guard and slept next door.

He had spent the entire night planning his arguments for the trial. Not so much for the one following in the morning, but the inevitable one at Riverrun. The majority of his plan relied upon wooing her before then. He was not very concerned about that aspect. He was more concerned with how to frame the situation in a way Lord Elmo Tully wouldn’t be able to refuse. That meant lots of wooing. How would he look proposing a marriage if all she had were stories of him being a brute? He stood by knocking her in the mud, and desperately yearned for a chance to do it again, but it didn’t exactly scream ‘suitor’. If he played his cards right, she’d have more positive thoughts than negative.

Phase one of this was finding ways to drag out the conflict. He needed to spend time around her, get to know her. Allow her see that life was definitely better outside of Bracken walls and maybe give her the sense of purpose she was obviously looking for. That’s why he had called for the trial at dawn. It was unusual to hold a trial this quickly but when he heard the storm raging, he escalated it. His father had grumbled at him, something about ‘young idiot men’ and then said he’d be in the main hall. He called for it because the storm was raging. Every brother she had would be itching to get over here and represent her in a trial. He wanted to deny them that privilege, the gods were not going to decide this trial. She would have no representation if she called for a trial by combat and he would break any Blackwood who volunteered knees.

His mind drifted back to her, lying in bed. She had looked softer, more relaxed despite him barging in on her sleep. Most of all he thought of how soft her skin was and the way she had leaned into his touch. He knew she had an unholy amount of siblings, an emotionally unavailable father and a recently passed mother. There was no doubt she wasn’t getting enough attention at home, he doubted she got any at all. But that was fine, because he had plenty of free time to share and more than enough affection. He wondered how he might next get his arms around her.

***

Shanda stood accused, her face pinched in a sour expression. She was right in her assessment of the trial being a farce. In the main hall was Lord Samwell Blackwood, herself, the accuser, Alysanne and a Maester for recording purposes. She had burst out laughing upon seeing the ink and parchment the Maester was holding. Unable to help herself, she had nearly doubled over before she had recovered.

“I beg your pardon my lord. I suppose every circus must have an audience even if it’s false advertising. For who’d read this script and call it a court? Have we no witnesses?”

Lord Blackwood had simply stared at her his face unamused but his eyes holding a familiar sparkle.

“Right. Well, Benji read the charges.”

“Excuse you, do I have no rights here? Do I not get my own council or perhaps a trial by combat?”

In a bored tone, he’d replied, “Have a look outside dear, no soul is coming in this. Not even one from the village, let alone your neck of the woods. Benji, read the charges.”

She quit listening then, not even bothering to try to hear the case being made against her.

“Your defense?”

“I’ve committed no crimes. Lord Grover Tully ruled the river to be the middle of the borderlands which is shared land. It's not my problem your guards cluck like hens the second they're left alone. I protest these charges and I protest whatever half-cocked sentence you see fit to bestow.”

“Right well. If that’s all we’ll move to sentencing.”

She nodded her assent.

“For the crimes of trespassing, spying, and attempting to cause grievous harm upon the heir of Raventree, I Lord Samwell Blackwood, do hereby sentence you to death. Court adjourned.”

She stood frozen to the spot as the disinterested lord left his seat, the door echoing closed behind him. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

“I did tell you not to protest.” Alysanne said, before exiting herself.

She stood there seething with rage before spinning around to face the evil that had signed her death sentence. He stood behind her looking grim.

“You. You absolute buffoon!” She accentuated every word with a shove into his chest. But he never budged an inch.

“Oh I hope Lord Elmo turns you into a toad with the help of a Crannogman. Of all the stupid things to start a war over, you know my brothers might die for this? For this gossiping guards trial? Oh let the Stranger take us all, Blackwood and Bracken both. It’s become clear to me we do not possess the mental faculties needed even to take in air.”

She wasn’t even really talking to him in the end. She was talking to herself. Martyn bloodied on the borderlands grass, Royce scattered about the Redfork, that was not a future she could bear to live in.

“Ah you worry too much, my lady. Your father has probably already written to Riverrun. You’ll be out of this in n-“

“Call me lady one more fucking time, you piece of utter garbage, and I’ll scale the walls out of a window. I swear it on the gods and the memory of my mother. I don’t want to go to Riverrun, I’ve been to Riverrun. We go there, have a stupid argument that sullies the mind of anyone who hears it, receive a ruling no one likes and then go home and ignore it! Ugh, men. No accountability, just whatever happens doesn’t matter because you’ll take it as it comes. Well here’s a shocking concept, not everyone is as privileged as you. What do you think happens to me when we hash out the finer details of this matter?”

She’d continued to shove him throughout the tirade and it was helping her mood exponentially.

“Something bad happens to me. Because I don’t get to carry a sword and say what I want.”

She ran out of steam at that. Her hands dropping back to her sides and her head slumping. Looking down at her feet she was taken by surprise when his arms wrapped around her. For a moment she thought the worst of him, thinking she’d said too much. Maybe she’d finally pissed him off. But his arms remained soft and he pulled her gently against his chest. He was hugging her. She stayed there, stiff as a board for a moment before relaxing. When was the last time someone had hugged her?

His chest rumbled as he spoke into her hair. “Don’t worry baby, I wouldn’t let anyone harm you.”

She felt cold and hot at the same time as his words registered. His hand spanned most of her back and was holding her firmly, rubbing back and forth.

“We won’t put you to death. And I think we will find a good resolution this time at Riverrun. It’ll be your trial and I promise not to advocate for war. That sounds better right? I promise not to call you my lady again.”

Shanda stood there in the arms of her enemy while he pledged to make her happy. It was laughable, it was preposterous. It was… an addictive rush. It was wrong, fucked up in the purest sense. It gave her the same feeling as sneaking out of the castle had. Alive, lit up like lightning striking.

“Come on, doesn’t that sound better. Answer me baby.”

She couldn’t breathe as he nuzzled into her neck, breathing lightly against her ear.

“I… I, um. Yes.” she managed in a strangled whisper as he wound his hand through her hair to cradle the back of her head.

“Mm. I think so too.” He pulled them apart, still holding her head, so they could look at each other.

The hand that wasn’t holding her, came up to rub her bottom lip. “I’m full of good ideas. You should listen to me more often.”

“I would not care to hear what you have to say.” She lied.

He leaned in closer, causing her breath to hitch involuntarily.

“Are you sure about that?”

“I’m…”

Incapable of communicating human thought. Her logical brain was gone. It was off somewhere trying to triangulate how she could sneak a letter off to Martyn. A letter that screamed for him to come now, come today. Better yet come yesterday and save her from this moment. Because she did want to hear more of his ideas. It was antithetical to what she should want, what she had convinced herself she wanted.

“That’s okay, pretty baby. Let me do the thinking for both of us.”

[no-where-new-hero]

Time for another Lantern Hill Book club catchup post! I wish I didn't have time to read and gather my thoughts only once a week at this point, but oh well ;(

CH. 9: (I'm pretty sure this is where I left off?)

LMM gets so much mileage out of personifying 60 Gay Street in this chapter, fully appraising us of its unfriendliness and hostility. Absolutely the most vicious house of her canon, I think--a pure extension of Grandmother's personality.

Jane felt that it might help the ache a little if she could only have a talk with mother, but when she tried mother's door it was locked. Jane felt that mother didn't want to talk to her about this and that hurt worse than anything else.

I've already bitched about this paragraph, but I'm going to bitch again. Robin's inability to put herself in her daughter's shoes for 10 seconds and at least TRY not to make this sudden summons seem so scary or overwhelming is so frustrating. If Jane has told her mother how much she likes their frivolous little chats and things and it causes Robin enough pain for Jane to stop confessing this kind of thing to her, Robin SHOULD have the awareness to realize what Jane needs most is an emotional connection with her. Earlier on, Jane is prevented from talking to Robin by Grandmother, but this paragraph kind of explicitly lays out how it isn't just Grandmother's heavy-handedness preventing Robin from being a good mother but Robin's own short-sightedness. Even comforting lies would have been better for Jane at this point.

CH. 10:

Love how LMM has so many jokes about PEI being too small to live on so that people must live in perpetual danger of falling into the sea.

CH. 11:

I don't think we'll actually lose Jody to the orphanage before the end of the book but goodness LMM knows how to pile on the tragedies.

...they drove along over the elfish underground city that comes into view under the black street on a rainy night.

A rare case of LMM being an urban writer. Of course she makes it as magical as she makes her natural landscapes.

She thought Jane quite the dumbest child she had ever encountered.

This constant harping on Jane's purported idiocy feels like such an implicit Maud judgment to me. Like. I feel like the average adult wouldn't be so immediately blunt about an 11-year-old's intellect or lack thereof? Unless it's just different mores since I feel like nowadays an adult would take silence as shyness. But Maud's own ferocious intelligence gives me the impression that she would be very capable of cataloguing people as dumb. (Okay I also just realized that during this time, "dumb" might have been used for people without speech but both Phyllis and Grandmother freely mock Jane for not being very bright which still reinforces my point a bit).

CH. 12:

Getting a lot of echoes of other LMM books in here:

She drew herself away and took in the lady with one of her straight, deliberate glances. (such an Emily Starr gesture) …but that dreadful old car of his broke down half-way." (Andrew appears to have bought his car from the same place as Barney Snaith) Perhaps the "Janie" was the last straw. Jane was not going to be "Janied." (Aunt Irene is giving a weird combination of Aunt Laura and Aunt Ruth.)

Aunt Irene is intensely creepy in a way I can't quite put a finger on. Well, I can--she's as possessive and judgmental as Grandmother, just more sugary. But their appraising and judging qualities are the same. Also the obsession with love meaning jealousy is really coming through as a motif here: Grandmother's jealous posessiveness of Robin, Robin thinking Andrew was jealous of Jane, Irene thinking Robin was jealous of her and Andrew's closeness, Irene's unnecessary attachment to Andrew. She seems to be twisting everyone's emotions around and then blaming them for things that don't seem to be there.

And I was always so fond of your mother…but…well, I don't quite think she ever really liked me.

This is the first sign of sense in Robin that I've seen so far.

CH. 13:

...in which Jane continues to have traumatic mealtimes with gaslighting adults.

More parallels to other LMM media! First we have Andrew "Kenneth Howard" Stuart to rival Barney "John Foster" Snaith, because beloved writers being your very close kin abound in the LMMverse as much as forgotten heirs to wealthy corporations being your neighbors abound in kdramas, apparently. Second, we have familial phrenology to catalogue the features inherited a la Emily Starr, as well as a lot of bald-faced commentary on appearances, and the Douglas Starr energy in Andrew is intensifying. I have to say Jane's acceptance and love of him feels a bit sudden--and I'm not entirely sure how much I approve of this bit:

Would he be disappointed because she was not pretty? Would he think her mouth too big?

immediately after her resolution not to be "bright and fresh for anybody." Will need to keep mulling over this.

CH. 14:

Aunt Irene made a fuss over dad. She purred over him...actually purred. And dad liked her purring and her honey-sweet phrases just as well as he had liked her cake. Jane saw that clearly.

For all that LMM adores and elevates cats, she manages to infuse untold amounts of disgust into describing people as purring in a way I find fascinating. I will never move on from how she describes Teddy "purring and scintillating" for Ilse, and here she's using it to illustrate Irene's corrosive sucking-up to Andrew. Jane again knows her onions about human psychology.

"She's got a secretive strain in her, Andrew, that I confess I don't like." "Knows how to keep her own counsel, eh?" said dad. "It's more than that, Andrew. She's deep...take my word for it, she's deep. Old Lady Kennedy will never be dead while she is alive.

More Aunt Ruth and Aunt Elizabeth type lines: "sly and deep" and "your grandfather Archibald won't be dead as long as you're live" make a comeback here.

And the rest of the chapter feels so much like Barney and Valancy heading to Mistawis: the way Andrew talks about his life (their tones are very similar), Jane's feeling of peace and freedom at Brookview. A small spotted dog in place of Good Luck and Banjo.

I also now have a strong craving to try wild-strawberry jam.

CH. 15:

This happens to be one of the days when I like myself reasonably well.

What a mood? This line suddenly made me like Andrew way more.

Once I took you down and dipped you in it, to the horror of…of several people. You were properly baptized before that in the Anglican church in Charlottetown…but that was your real baptism. You are the sea's child and you have come home."

Okay, I REALLY like Andrew in this chapter. I think in a paragraph like this I can kind of catch the glimpse of why he seems similar to Dean Priest. This is such a Dean thing to do and a Dean thing to talk about. Ditto with finding a magic house. Andrew lacks the cynicism of the Barney/Dean type, but he has their whimsy--possibly closer to Dean with it than Barney.

It's also very peculiar because Barney/Valancy, Emily/Dean, and Jane/Andrew all feel like they work around similar conversations and emotional connections despite being different relationships. One is romantic, one is romantic/platonic but also slightly familial, one is entirely familial, and yet they all cling to similar themes. Emily and Jane talk about who they resemble to Dean and Andrew. Setting up a domestic space becomes a plot point. Valancy and Jane are entirely happy with their author beloveds, yet feel a little insecure about how much that happiness and love is reciprocated. They travel by car to escape the peering judgments of society.

I will do my best to keep up with the book club from here, since things have gotten very interesting very quickly.

[mysticstrawberryphantom]

Nightmarish Infatuation Part 6, END.

A/N: Hello! IT HAS BEEN AGES. Writer's block, tendonitis, and new jobs will do wonders on you ): Terrible ones lol But! I'm working on old requests and some new ideas too, so hopefully y'all like it. This was fun for me since this is my first fleshed-out yandere story. I really only write fluff. If y'all liked it, I think I'm getting the hang of it! Please do!

Warnings: Gaslighting, manipulation, creepy yandere behavior (It is only for entertainment purposes, I do not condone this behavior), bloody images, light violence, possessiveness.  

Word Count: 6.2k

Part 5:

Hide? Hide?! What did the Joker mean by hide? 

This place essentially an open prison where most rooms were made to be transparent to a large degree. It was all a cruel joke. As if hiding could do much to prevent a gruesome death from Arkahm’s criminally disturbed jester. You knew for a fact that the threat wasn’t just those few high security patients, but all those mafiosos that had been collected with time. 

You were currently in the common room returning a patient after a session with you and Dr Crane. He had gone to his office right after the session while you escorted this patient. As if by clockwork, the moment the other nurse took the patient into the large room, the Joker’s shrill voice rang throughout. The instant he had finished, all the nurses and patients nervously glanced at each other first, and then at the mafiosos. Their response to the nervous gazes was to smirk and run towards the door you were next to. The nurse and patient near you were shoved, but you were gripped and dragged with a group of them for a few seconds.

-”N-no! What are you doing!!” Your voice croaked. 

-”Taking ya ta safety.” One began while opening the door to the stairs. 

-” Boss’ll kill us if some ting would happen ta ya.” The other ended. 

-” Boss?” Your curiosity and concern arouse. -” Then take the patients and nurses with us too!”

The broken off group of five men chuckled as the all made their way down the asylum. 

-”We only gettin paid ta babysit one person.” 

-”Well don’t! Just tell me where you’re taking me, and I’ll take them with me.” 

-”No can do, miss.” They shrugged while switching hands so they could open the door to a new hall. 

You were being carried by two men grasping your forearms and lifting you above the ground, like a toddler. 

-”Let me go!!” You howled dramatically while kicking around. 

-”Geez, lady! We’re saving you, stop it!” One of the grunts grabbed your feet. 

-”Oh, taking me to your ‘boss’ is saving me?? Yeah, right!”

-” Who said we-”

-”Where else would you-” You glared. -”Tell Joker I’d rather die out here than in there.”

-”He isn’t-

Bullets rang through out the hall. The massacre had begun. 

The mafiosos instantly dropped to the ground, loosening their grip on you. So you did the insensible thing and kicked one in the head before sprinting away while the sound of bullets hitting thick glass and concrete could still be heard. The grunts didn’t go after you. It wasn’t the sharp thing to do while bullets ricocheted. Not to mention you were running towards the sound of the deadly machine. You were probably going to die soon and there wasn’t much they could do about it. 

As you ran down the hall, ducking your head and picking up a metal trash bin as protection, your eyes scanned to check which floor you were on. 

Seven.

Two below where you were originally, six below the offices, and three above the high-level security criminals. 

Two floors away from the patients and nurses, six away from Dr Crane, and three away from the Joker and crew. This speculation was in all likelihood mostly wrong. Who knew if Jonathan had actually made it into his office before the chaos, and if he still had headed that way after the announcement. Who knew if the Joker had already gotten out of his cell when he made that announcement, or if the other criminals had as well. 

The pouring of bullets had ceased as you had paused to think. With shaky breath, you crept close to the wall and continued in the same direction. Not because you were stupid, but because floor seven housed patients as well. The type that are on their way to being criminally disturbed, but hadn’t quite reached that milestone yet. In part, you didn’t want them getting guns and figuring out if that lifestyle was for them. 

As you continued to cautiously creep, you could hear some mumbling and shuffling. The voice sounded frustrated. The shuffling tellingly sounded like bodies being dragged around with a large object following suit.

Gulping, you reached the corner where you could easily peek since it was now the resident hall. The thick glass windows for the rooms reflected the other thick glass, so thankfully you didn’t need to stick your whole neck out there.

-”Fit…. Hats… Go in… No?... ” 

You could pick up a few words from the mumbling, short man that was trying so hard to place top hats on all the now knocked-out mafiosos on the floor. It seemed like the heavy gun in his right hand was made to expel a gas and not bullets, which explained the lack of blood for all the downed bodies. Although, the bodies did exhibit huge cists in their faces and overall skin above their abdomen. 

-” It’s worked before!” The mumbling became audible whining. -” Oh, why, oh why won’t this work!? I finally found guests for my tea party but their brains won’t respond. That Cheshire Cat lied to me!” It seethed. -” This isn’t sleeping gas, it’s killing gas!” 

The inmate the small man was handling was suddenly flung to the ground with force, knocking off a frilly, drastically colored top hat off of its now severely bruised skull. 

-” No, no, no. This is all wrong, all wrong! It’s inside out, and outside in, and upside down- all wrong, wrong, wrong!” This voice became more manic as its owner surveyed all the men laying around him. His shoulders tensed up, both fists curled up fiercely before he stomped on a hand to see if there was a reaction. 

There was none. 

-” Dr. Tetch!” You intervened before it got any more violent. -” Dr. Tetch.” You called in a softer voice with a shaky smile. 

The short man twirled around with a spring in his step, dropping the gun he had. 

-” Why, if it isn’t you! .. … .. Alice?” His face scrunched at the end in confusion. 

It had been many months since you had seen each other. Last time he had seen you, he had asked if you were Alice, and if you weren’t, if you could become Alice. The Warden soon banned you and you two never spoke again until today.

Breathing in heavily, you shook your head, carefully of your next response. -” My name is Y/N L/N, remember? I’m not Alice. I don’t look like her.” You smiled kindly. 

The previously accredited Doctor hummed while he thought about your statement, tapping his right foot sometimes on the ground and other times on the previously stomped hand. 

-” So.. … you’re, Not Alice? Peculiar choice, but who am I to judge. We are all mad here anyways!” He beamed. -” Do you perhaps know where Alice went?” 

Shaking your head you motioned for him to come to you. -” Not yet. Let’s look around together. There’s a lot of chaos right now, like when the Red Queen first released the Jabberwock.” 

-”Nasty creature.” He shook his head as he listened. 

-”So we need to help all the people to safety from the cards with guns.” 

He nodded knowingly. -”I see. My tea party must wait. I should help Not Alice with her people while looking for Alice before the next party.” His eyes then trailed back to the large gun he had dropped. 

-"Uhm, how about we leave Cheshire Cat's gun behind? It sounds like he pranked you."  You cautiously patted his arm, motioning him to move away from it. "W-what does Cheshire look like?" You asked as you both walked away slowly. 

-"He always smirks with his long smile. Laughs even if the joke isn't funny. His green hair makes him look awful." 

Dr. Tetch seemed to become perturbed as before, fists clenched, shoulder shaking as he spoke about who you assumed was the Joker. 

-"What other creatures from Wonderland have you met here?" Was the attempt you gave to deviate the conversation.

-"Not many." He pouted. -"Only the undesirable cretins. For example, did you know the caterpillar lives here?"

-"No way!" You encouraged.

-"Yes, Not Alice, yes! He wears a burlap sack as a mask and attempts to scare all those who look at him."

-"That. …. Doesn't sound very like the caterpillar. You sure that's him?"

-"Nooo, no. It is him. He's always exuding smoke, so much smoke he looks different after it."

-"I see... …" Your nose scrunched up while your mind shifted gears. You had no idea who he was talking about. There was no criminal that matched that description in the asylum.

As both of you made it to the stairs you looked around to find the hallway empty. That seemed wrong. How could you two not have seen anyone? These patients were usually in their rooms during this time of day, but all the rooms were empty. You pondered for a second before opening the door to the staircase.

-"Let's go upstairs, Dr Tetch. We didn't find anyone that needs help here, so let's see if they're up there."

-"But I'm not allowed there." He smiled mischievously at you.

You snorted out a chuckle; as if the Hatter cared about following the rules. 

-"It's okay, you're with me." Your head nodded forward and the two of you trekked two flights of stairs before stopping at the sound of voices speaking. 

Shushing the small man, you opened the door and motioned for him to follow you carefully. Crawling on your knees you could hear some of the mafiosos sharing good laughter and not-so-good drinks. 

Pausing, you decided that your unlikely pair should go around them.

And so you did.

Which was a mistake. 

Clown-masked gunmen roared with laughter when they saw your pathetic attempts to creep around the asylum. While they laughed, you yanked Jervis Tetch off the crouching position and ran towards the staircase, knocking over hallway furniture in hopes it would do something. 

It did.

It caused more laughter.

 Which brought more attention towards the two of you. As you two ran, you could hear the heavy footsteps from the mafiosos closing in from the other side.

A few bullets were shot as a warning from the left, the direction of the clowns. 

Another round was shot from the right, from the mafiosos, this time sounding closer. 

Cursing under your breath, you harshly pulled the short Doctor to your side, hoping he'd run faster. 

And then, you tripped.

It wasn't because you were clumsy. It was because they had caught up to you and had shot at your feet. The trash bin next to your feet was now disfigured. 

-"Where you going, honey?" The tallest clown purred as a group of them closed in in you two.

-"Wit us, ya nasty clown." A mafioso spat as another shot at their feet. 

-"Don't think so." The same clown spoke with animosity as they all raised their guns. 

Your head jerked around. You two were about to be caught in the crossfire. It was almost like those scenes in those Western movies, where the gun was the law. 

They were about to settle these disagreements for good. 

All you could do would hope that the small corner that dipped around a column to your right was a big enough shield for the two of you. 

Eyes squeezing shut, you threw your body weight on Jervis, hoping it pushed him far into the corner enough with you away from the gun fire. He yelped when his back hit the corner wall, bewildered by your sudden violent action towards him. 

-"Stay down!" You yell, hoping your voice could be heard over the bullets hitting the walls around the two of you. Your eyes shot open to see a scared Mad Hatter, his glistening eyes resembling a child's. 

Suddenly, long shadows formed over his face. You felt something was suddenly growing behind you. 

-"Cacti!" Dr Tetch exclaimed softly, with an innocent, yet confused smile. 

You didn't move until the gunfire finished and the thugs' footsteps sounded far away. Slowly, you twisted your body to face the thick wall of succulents. 

-"Dr. Isley." You breathed out with relief and gratitude.  

-"Who else, Y/N." Her voice softly trailed into your ears as the succulents receded and bullets fell on the floor. You could hear her smiling coyly. 

-"Thank you so much." Your voice choked up at the end. In turn, the woman in green blushed a little while dismissing your gratitude.

-"Why are you being so reckless, Y/N??" She demanded. -"You should be hiding like the rest of the staff."

-"Uhm, I just wanted to hide with the patients.. … make sure they were hidden well before I did so." Your eyes evaded hers. -"I was also hoping to find Dr. Crane."

Ivy snorted in response. -"You do love to multitask." She helped both of you up while avoiding all the downed bodies at her feet. -"Well, I don't think you'll find him in this wing or building." Ivy offered almost sarcastically, almost insinuating something you didn't understand. -"He's most certainly somewhere else at a time like this. So!" She clapped her hands. -"You need to hide. Now."

Suddenly, Jervis and yourself were shoved into the nearest room.

-"Either I or someone from the law will come to get you when this mess is finished." She placed her hands on her hips in a powerful way. -"And don't even think of leaving this room, my lovelies will let me know if you so much as open the door. And if you do, I'll kick your-"

-"Oh! The flower princess!" Mad Hatter exclaimed while grabbing one of Ivy's vines. 

You gently took his hand away from the plant and smiled. -"We won't." You now smiled at her. -"Thank you so much again for taking care of us, Doctor Isley." 

Dr Tetch gripped your hand after you lowered his away, and happily swung it around lightly. 

Your free arm went around Ivy's right shoulder as it pulled her into a hug. 

-"Thank you." You whispered shakily with many different emotions. -"I owe you my life, thank you for being so kind." 

Ivy hesitantly patted your back, embarrassed by all of this show of gratitude and love. In her mind, she didn't understand why she had even bothered to help you before reaching the greenhouse to see how her plants were doing. I mean, you were on the way there and the plants were telling her they were fine at the moment. … …

And yet, the moment Ivy had seen you throw yourself over the Hatter to protect a disturbed serial killer who had almost no chance of coming back to reality- her heart wrenched in compassion. 

Pamela Isley realized that there truly were very few people that were genuine. 

Intentions as transparent as a plant's need for sun. 

So she stayed. 

She protected the both of you, even if she didn't care for the Mad Hatter. She saved your life because she knew you'd do the same for her without a second thought, but unlike her, you wouldn't wonder why you did it. 

Ivy broke the hug while giving a smile you had never seen adorn her face. She didn't say anything but kept that smile as she closed the door and walked away. 

Sighing in relief, you surveyed the room quickly until you saw a place to hide. You gently moved the Hatter towards the said area, motioning him onto the floor next to you so he could rest, which he obediently did enthusiastically. 

Your eyes delicately studied Jervis, who calmly but happily sat next to you, grasping your hand still. The two are hidden in a medium security therapy room, behind a sofa, the only protection the room could offer you two. The Mad Hatter was practically snuggled up to you- leaving you to wonder what was the difference between him and a child at that moment. 

As you sat together in silence, your mind wandered. Although you knew he was harmless at the moment, how long would that moment last? Despite your empathetic, platonic feelings of almost love for the patient, you worried you had made a mistake. 

Had you made the correct decision of staying by his side? Why couldn't you just leave him in the room alone? 

Why?

Because he wouldn't stay put and get hurt. Or worse-

He'd hurt many of the other helpless patients. 

Perhaps that's why you stubbornly stayed with him, for the sake of others. 

You held his hand tightly so he wouldn't leave your side, because by your side you had a higher chance of controlling him.  

-"Ms. Not Alice?" Jervis called out to you, a pout formulated in his voice. 

-"Yes, Dr. Tetch?"

-"Th - thank you for staying with me. The Cheshire Cat truly made a mess of things.. ..  He ruined my tea party!! Oh, what an awful wench." He seethed. -"But at least you're here with me, Not Alice. You know, you're just as nice as my Alice. You help me miss her less."  

-"I'm. … . I'm glad to hear that." You softly smiled. -"Why don't you rest? You'll need all of your energy before the next tea party." 

-"You most certainly are correct, Not Alice. I will sleep now for the sake of my next party. You should do the same. The princess of the flowers said she would keep us safe, so don't worry." 

You fell asleep against better judgment. 

That mistake cost you greatly. 

Not soon after you had begun dreaming the door was busted open with an almost deafening slam. A tall, almost languid man stood in the center of a few mafiosos who were wearing haze masks. He wore a burlap mask that resembled a scarecrow over his entire face and neck, looking out of place with his grey suit. 

-"Take her, leave him to me." The voice growled and gurgled. He had made his way over to Dr. Tetch who was losing any composure he had gained while with you. 

-"No! Don't take, Not Alice! You can't, you can't!!" He jumped up, stomping. 

The lean man slapped him across the face with the back of his hand. Before the Mad Hatter could fall, his collar was clasped with both hands of his assailant, and gas was dispensed from one of the wrists. 

Jervis was then let go, and he fell to the ground coughing, despair written all over his face. 

-"What did you do to him?!" You squealed as the mafiosos dragged your squirming body towards the door. -"Leave him alone!!" You barked. 

That seemed to hit a nerve with the burlap man. His right hand twitched while his shoulders tensed up. His eyes narrowed on you and then glared at the Hatter. Scoffing with distaste, he kicked the downed criminal in the stomach. 

-"Worry only about yourself." He spat as he sped towards you. -"Worry only about those who actually matter." He said softly while stopping and inspecting your face. A hand then lightly rested on your chin while another on the nape of your neck. 

And then a clicking sound resonated by your ears right before a hiss. A small cloud of smoke appeared in your vision momentarily before you became dizzy. 

-"I'll keep you safe." A distorted, rumbling voice said near your right ear before you felt yourself begin to slip from consciousness.

You shook your head, you didn't want to let him win at whatever game he was playing at. However, the worst images began to plague your mind. Your body began to quiver, your breath refusing to stay rhythmic and constant. Even the room seemed to tremble. Empathetically it shook every time you heard your mother call out your name, or whenever her voice called out your sibling's names. 

You swore the men who were once beside you were now two young kids. Two young kids who looked like you.

The only difference was that you didn't have blood oozing out of your mouth like them. 

You wanted to vomit. 

And then you heard a different voice. 

"Is the world falling apart or just your mind? Are you scared? Embrace it." The distorted words taunted you. 

You closed your eyes. You had seen enough. 

"Open those eyes." This voice seethes. - "Look around you. These are the broken fragments of your mind!" 

You threw your head around and squeezed your eyes shut even harder. 

"You're fighting back? Interesting. Well, that's quite fine. That means your resolve will end up being destroyed in the end when you see you cannot escape this." 

A hand traced your features tenderly. Confused, you stopped wriggly around. 

"You've always buried your fears, locked them away deep in your subconscious. Hidden. But something is gnawing away in the darkness of your mind, isn't it? Something even you can't control." 

The tracing stopped. The world, though it continued to hammer fear into your head, seemed to calm down. 

-"You're healing." The distorted voice breathed happily into your ear. -"You're evolving, and I'll be here to help you through it." 

A kiss.

A tender kiss was placed behind your ear. 

Your eyes shot open while your head jerked to the side. It was met with an index finger that waved centimeters from your nose. 

Tutting, the burlap man took out a black feather from his suit pocket and traced it along your jawline. 

-"Time for you to rest."

You woke up in a cold, large room. It resembled a lab, like the makeshift ones you had in high school. Little to no light poured through the two windows that resided to the right. You realized it was a basement room upon closer inspection of the windows which were locked and shielded with metal bars. 

You also realized that your hair was being loosely stroked while your head rested on a lap. You turned your head so it faced the ceiling, and later Jonathan Crane's peeking face. 

-"I'm so glad you're finally awake, Y/N." He affectionately hummed. -"I was worried they had been too rough with you."

-"They?" You huffed as you sat up slowly. 

-"The Scarecrow's goons, and Scarecrow himself. That gas knocked you out for hours, he used too much. I think the Hatter upset him."

-"How do you know all that?"

He cocked his head gently to the left while nudging yours to follow. You then saw a whole wall of screens that led to many of the halls and rooms of the asylum. 

-"Oh. .. .. how long have you been here?" 

-"Not sure, all I know is longer than you. But I'm glad, I was so worried about you, Y/N." Crane's face nuzzled into your neck as he spoke. 

You flinched.

Not as his touch, but at how calm he was. 

-"Jonathan, I don't think this is the time- We don't know if we're safe here or why we're even here." Your hands gently pushed him away. 

Almost pouting, Crane sighed heavily. -"We're safe here. I don't think Scarecrow will come back any time soon. He .. … is probably out there experimenting on goons or patients or staff."

Your eyebrows furled, taken aback that your boyfriend seemed to be close to such a creep. 

-"Why or how do you know this?" You asked, almost accusingly. 

-"He used to be a patient of mine here at the asylum. He, of course, continues to escape and go rampant in Gotham." Jonathan carefully placed his hand over yours and caressed your knuckles with his thumb.

-"I didn't know he was institutionalized here.. … then again, I really haven't heard of him at all." 

Dr Crane's hand twitched. 

He was bothered. Not only that, offended by your comment. 

-"Anyhow, we should be safe here. The Scarecrow went to fetch you at my behest; my pleading. He threw me in here, thinking it would be a waste if I died. Thankfully, I convinced him that it would be the same if we left you out there."

-"Why didn't he save Dr Tetch as well?" 

This time his hand squeezed yours for a second, reacting to your words. 

-"T-the real question is why were you out there taking care of him? That was incredibly reckless and, forgive me, stupid. He- He could've killed you!" 

-"Dr. Tetch wouldn't, not even a fly!"

-"Oh, like those mafiosos? Please."

-"Those were on accident."

The psychiatrist scoffed, completely annoyed. 

-"Look, he's not a bad person, just disturbed. And I knew the risks perfectly well, but I couldn't just leave him there, someone had to take care of him! He's like a child, he needed me."

-"Hah." The lean man scoffed again while letting go of your hand. -"He's not worth your time, affection, or worry." Crane reprimanded you, his voice practically whining. 

-"What do you mean? Everyone deserves to be cared for. I don't see why-"

-"Why?" He chuckled dryly, no hint of actual humor seen. -"Because you have me."

-"I don't understand."

-"I give you all my care. Only you. You only need to care for me too, sweetheart."

-"Are you- .. … jealous of Jervis Tetch right now??" 

Doctor Crane slowly reached for his glasses, as if hesitant about the consequences. Once he removed them, his eyes ardently pierced through your soul and mental barriers. His icy blue eyes intensely read your eyes before his lips parted. 

-"You're mine, Y/N, and I don't want to share." He stated cooly. 

Your brain pulsated. It felt too big for your skull the moment it heard Jonathan speak. It received and knew the words he had freely given you, but it did not understand. Your first instinct was to fight back and contradict those awful words. Part of you hoped that you'd find holes in that sentence and he'd take it back. Clarify and change. 

You just didn't want them to be true. 

-"And you're okay with what happened with Scarecrow? All the touching and kissing??"

That caught him off guard. Dr. Crane pondered for a moment, he looked so uncharacteristically calm. 

-"He was helping you." Was all he commented in a matter of fact manner. 

-"What?!?" 

Nodding, he gently took your hand again, caressing it as he spoke. 

-"Yes. I've noticed it for a while Y/N, but you're afraid of intimacy, and I don't mean just the romantic kind. You're afraid of letting people in too deep, of mutual attachment. The Scarecrow, he… … he's an expert in fear. He knows how to cure you!" 

His eyes slowly became more and more expressive, to the point of mania. You tried yanking your hand away, he didn't let you. 

-"I know this is out of your comfort zone, scary even."

-"You think??! Jonathan, you-"

You couldn't finish your sentence due to the feeling of hard pressure around your upper body. Arms squeezed the nape of your neck and mid-back. 

-"I promised I'd protect you, Y/N. Your well-being is my top priority. Please know I'm doing all of this for you because you matter so much to me." 

And then a kiss behind your ear.

Pressed tenderly near the lobe.  

It became hard to gulp, your stomach dropped faster than a rock being flung, and your chest felt heavy.

Was this feeling Deja Vu?

 Or realization.

-"I'll always take care of you, Y/N. You won't need anyone else anymore, ever. No one will hurt you or leave you. We'll even die together someday, so neither of us need to mourn for the other."

It was realization. 

-"Jonathan?" Your voice came out icy and heavy. -"Let me go." 

-"What do you m-mean?" His voice had a mixture of confusion, offense, and funny enough, some fear. 

-"I said let go." You pushed this time. 

He reluctantly did as you ordered. 

-"Y/N, you know that I love you so much, right?" He pleaded with his voice, but his eyes exhibited vexation. 

-"You don't love me, Jonathan. Not you nor 'Scarecrow'."

-"What are you saying." He spat, cocking his neck to the left.  

-"You, Jonathan Crane, also known as Scarecrow, do not love me." You stood up, fists curled, eyes starting to sting.

-” DON’T. D-don’t! … … Don’t say that, Y/N.” His whole body quivered in anger, eyes wide open full of a crazed emotion. His body slowly got up, hands using his knees as an aid to stand straight. -”I-I love you, I do.” 

-”You’re delusional, this isn’t love and you don’t actually love me! You're just obsessed with fear and- and I probably was just another experiment to you!” Towards the end of your now yelling, tears were pouring down your face. A heavy chest heaved as it began to gasp for air through hiccups. 

-”I said stop!!” Jonathan launched himself at you, his right hand clenching your jaw, while the other held your arm fast, his body weight and grip pushing you against the window seal. 

-"I did all of this to help you," The madman cried. -"You faced your fears with me, because of me. I spent hours studying you and why you didn't want to let anyone in. Helped you become vulnerable again, let you feel fear again. Actual fear. You'd never be a complete person without me."

His warm breath fell radically on your face. Both of you waited while tears dried on both of your eyes. 

And yet you felt no sympathy for the crazed psychiatrist. Just loathing. Hurt of every variety. You wanted to continue crying, mourn for the heartbreak, but it wasn't the time. 

-"Y-you're .. … uh, you're crying?" You almost silently croaked.

-"Because I love you and you're hurting me." Jonathan calmly explained, eyeing your jaw. 

Looking away, you saw that if you sprinted, you could most certainly beat him to the door if he was incapacitated well enough. 

-"I'm sorry. .. . Maybe I misjudged you." You looked back with a forced smile. -"Either way, what choice do I have? We're bonded together. I… … am yours." 

-"Yes." He hummed as he closed onto your lips harshly. -"Mine." He breathed in between kisses. 

You move my hands to his chest and slowly make my way to his shirt pocket. Your fingers steadily grip a pen and slip it out, hoping he mistook your movements for simple caressing. Once it’s safely out, you lift you right hand up aggressively and stab his left leg ruthlessly. 

Jonathan bellows in pain and stumbles away, eyes wide as pain shot through his leg. By the time he caught his footing, it was too late; you were already slamming the door shut behind you. You hear him scream expletives and slam his fist against the walls as he struggles to run after you with his hindered balance. 

Luckily the elevator was on your side. The doors closed as you saw Jonathan and his raving expression come close, he was figuring out how to run with his handicap quickly. 

You lean against the walls as they took you to an unknown floor. You couldn’t decide what was worse. Dealing with Joker and his goons, or Scarecrow and his goons. You knew you had momentarily evaded both, but for how long could you do it? How sure were you that help would be on their way right now or soon? You thought about going to Ivy at the Greenhouse, but there was no guarantee that traversing the open courtyard would be safe, but it was your best bet regardless. 

The elevator finally stopped, and while the doors steadily parted, so did your breathing. 

No one was there.

Sighing, you made your way through the coffin-like corridors of the mental hospital. So plain, rigid, and echo-y. Your mind was a foggy, scrambled mess, but regardless you pressed on. Unfortunately, the further you traversed, the more the walls seemed to close in, figuratively. It was all in your mind. 

-” You know, Y/N~” A distant growl rolled throughout the hall. -” True fear is the absence of hope.” It taunted from afar.  -” And when I get to you… oh, by the time I get done with you... you'll understand what fear is all about.” He cackled as the sounds of beating footsteps got closer. 

That was your cue to start running again. 

-”Y/N?~ You weren’t running before? I’m flattered, you were waiting for me to catch up!” Another manic cackle ricocheted off the walls. 

Knowing it was harder to hear socks on tile flooring, you take your shoes off and throw them onto a nearby electric industrial mop, hoping it might make him think you ran off to a different direction. 

And it seemed like he did take the bait. 

It seemed like. 

Until you loudly threw the doors open to the courtyard and took three steps outside before getting tackled to the ground. 

- "Fear makes you predictable." Scarecrow’s raspy, glottal sounds covered your ears. You couldn’t see much with his mask on, but you could still tell he was smilingly wickedly. "I am in complete control, Y/N. Stop resisting. You're mine. You can’t deny this love I have for you!"

As you struggle to kick him, your resolve weakens as your vision becomes blurry. Images from your past family come flooding in once again. You shake your head, desperate for them to leave. You then see Jonathan join them in a similar bloody near death state, Scarecrow next to him laughing. Both your mother and he revel in their crimes. 

You can tell you’re crying, but at the same time your mind is in so many different places, it can’t truly tell what’s going on. 

And then Scarecrow motions you to grab his hand and your mother’s. It’s as if he wants you to face your fears. He wants you to embrace those who killed your happy realities. At first, you try to curl yourself in a ball, but then… … you feel someone close.

The two perpetrators are inches away from you, still offering their hands to you. But this time you take it. 

-” Embrace the fear of loss, Y/N. Fear isn’t the enemy.” You hear whispered all over your mind. 

You look down and realize that your hands are covered in blood, leaving your past hands almost unrecognizable, but at least they aren’t alone. They feel warmth. 

You suddenly feel fear in its entirety. It’s crippling.

Overwhelming. 

But also safe. Trustworthy. 

-” Jonathan.” You call out weakly, your vision starting to fade completely. 

That was until a dark figure appeared in front of you. You heard some heavy punches being thrown around and you just sat on the floor of the courtyard, not knowing what was real and what wasn't. Your hands are clasping each other as you lightly rock back and forth, smiling with tears streaming down your face. 

-”Mom… I miss you.” 

It has been eight years since you left Arkham Asylum. A country life is what surrounds you now. A country life with two kids and a loving husband. You all live a simple life. He’s an equestrian coach. He trains the young and old at the field next to your house. You are the veterinarian that tends to his horses. The two of you make a great pair. Not to mention, you have very smart, popular children. Your family is well respected and loved in your town. One would’ve never guessed what ordeals you had gone through to achieve such peace. 

Thankfully, no one ever would. The whole Arkham asylum insurrection incident never gave specific deails on what happened. Some say the deceased list that appeared in the papers a few days later was incorrect. Like always, Batman had saved the day, and he had saved you. 

A week later you found yourself in this dusty town, taking care of a gerriatic man with a handsome grandson that was too busy with the family horse business to take care of him. After several rejections throughout the years on your part, you were happily married. The old man had died by then and the grandson had inherited the ranch. He sold part of it to finance your studies, saying that’s what his grandfather would’ve wanted. 

Just only two years ago had your family grown by fraternal twins. They were loved very much. It was rare for you to have flashbacks to your past family and their fate. Only once had you wondered if your children would share the same fate as your siblings. One could say you were over your traumas.

But not all of them. 

Everyone in town knew how much you hated the month of October. All of the fall, really, but mostly just October. Just the sight of burlap would cause you to start sweating profusely. Soon the town learned to place scarecrows in a less visible place for your sake. They all learned to be patient and kind with you when you saw kids running in masks and your legs gave in in the middle of the street. 

You barely spoke of the incident other than to your husband. He knew everything. He did his best to support you. On those nights where it was hard to breathe, he held you close. His love remedied your symptoms. 

It was almost poetic how Scarecrow had succeeded in unlocking your feelings. You could feel fear again, but you could also love without reservation. Without him, you wouldn’t have your wonderful family, life, and dream career. 

Despite knowing, with a heavy heart, that this nightmare you had found yourself in would never end- 

That you’d never stop looking over your shoulder, yelping at burlap, imagining tall, stalking shadows, and having sleepless nights for a while month. 

You were in peace, content. You were human again.

[wardenannie]

jealous tess showing joel he's hers ??? 👀

NS*W under the cut :)

-

She stares at him from across the bar. She's coming back from the ladies room. He's engaged in conversation. Smiling small and cocksure like he is wont to do around women. A young woman, blonde hair, blue eyes, cleavage... adequate. She's looking at Joel with big, moony eyes. Talking to him in a high, playful tone that is shrill on Tess's ear. Her smile is too wide, too white to exist in the post-apocalypse.

"Fuckin' playboy bunny ass bitch," Tess mutters under her breath as she crosses the floor towards the flirting pair.

Joel is a fine looking man, especially for his age. His fifties have been kind to him. And, even though Jackson has softened his angles some, he's still all planes and broad shoulders and obvious strength beneath his flannel.

There is an obvious hickey on his neck, just beneath his stubble. Tess left it there last night, a stark statement of mine. Apparently it isn't clear enough, because the blonde extends a hand to brush Joel's bare forearm, laughing, twirling her pretty golden hair.

Tess rolls her eyes, but the liquor is like fire in her gut, and it emboldens her to close the distance between them. She doesn't have the patience for Joel's games tonight.

She knows the game he's playing. Sometimes she plays it, too. But its never not infuriating to watch him with another, younger, prettier woman.

Gritting her teeth she butts into their quiet conversation. She sidles up against Joel's big body, pressing into his side, "Hey, baby," grabs his jaw and angles him in a slow, languid kiss that tastes of rum and homebrew.

Joel grunts into her lips, surprised initially, but then he kisses her back with enthusiasm. The young woman makes a sound of mingled disgust and confusion.

When Tess reaches for the crotch of his jeans he does not shy away. The alcohol has done away with most of their social inhibition. He's hard, of course. He's always hard for his Tess.

"Excuse me," the blonde says, snide. Her lip is curled, hands clutching at her purse. Cleavage puffed in offense.

With a long sigh, Tess breaks the kiss. Joel nuzzles into her throat, kissing and sucking the tender skin there as she combs her fingers through his silvery hair. Her responding laughter is light and confident.

"Can I help you, sweetheart?" They've earned themselves some attention now. Eyes on them. Joel and Tess never fail to make some sort of a scene on a Friday night. Tess, tipsy, is happy to give the town gossips a bit of a show.

"Um," The blonde stares at her incredulously. "We were talking, bitch."

Tess chuckles and forces Joel off of her neck. Her skin is a mottle of red from his lips and teeth and stubble. He keeps an arm wrapped firmly around her waist, thumb circling possessively on her hip. He gives the woman an apologetic smile. He was only using her to rile his woman up, after all.

"Honey I'm guessing you're new around here. Because everyone in the state of Wyoming knows who this man belongs to. And it isn't you, bitch."

The woman balks with a high-pitched noise of disbelief, she opens her mouth to escalate but Tess silences her with another throaty laugh.

"Nah, we're done here. You couldn't handle a man like him anyways, sweetheart." Tess slaps the counter, calls for another two shots of whiskey. Joel is on her again, murmuring incoherently against the shell of her ear. Tess shivers, leaning into him.

"Excuse me but-

"Get lost," Tess replies without sparing the woman so much as a glance. She kisses Joel again, lazy and hungry.

The bartender places two shot glasses on the counter and fills them with amber liquid. He grins at the pair as the blonde scoffs and stalks off back to the group she arrived with.

"Take it outside you two," the bartender says, only half-joking.

"Yeah, yeah," Tess mutters, and she knocks back the shot. Joel takes his as well.

"You wanna go home, big guy?" she murmurs against this jaw, palms flat on his broad chest.

"Nnng," he rumbles, "Can't make it home, Tessa."

She smirks, "You're gonna have to, the shit I got planned for you, Texas."

She leads him outside, around the back of the Tipsy Bison. A floodlight flickers over a dumpster. Fresh fallen snow crunches under their feet.

Abruptly, once she is certain they are alone. Tess seizes him by the front of his shirt and slams him up against the wooden siding of the building. It rattles, and above them a few small icicles are shaken loose from the eaves.

"Tess?" He breathes, eyes darkening.

She bites her lower lip as she contemplates just what to do with him. He's been bad, and that cannot stand.

She palms him through the front of his jeans. The line of him is thick, full, pressing into his fly in a manner which must be painful.

"You need to come?" She rasps, kisses his throat, his jaw, nibbles the shell of his ear.

Joel swallows thickly, hands cupping under her ass, threatening to lift her and flip her around so he can rut into her clothed core.

"Nope," she swats his hands away, and they settle on her waist. "C'mon. Home. Now."

"Yes, ma'am," She drags him home by his hand, her nails biting into his wrist the whole way so he knows exactly who is in charge on this night.

He was flirting with some blonde bimbo with the express purpose of getting her mad, and Tess has happily taken the bait.

They barely make it through the door before she has thrown herself bodily towards him. Crushing him against the kitchen counter in a firey kiss. Arms wound around the back of his strong neck. He laughs into her mouth, giddy and excited for what is inevitably going to be a wild night.

Tess slaps his chest when she pulls back, dizzy from kissing him, from the taste and scent of her man. "You."

"Me?" He feigns innocence. Eyes all big and puppyish. Not a thought in his pretty head.

"You think you're hot shit, Texas?" She scolds, dragging him back towards their bedroom. Their shoes are gone, and then their thick woolen winter socks. Tess is unbuttoning his flannel with flying fingers, and when she shrugs it off her hands are on him in a heartbeat. Caressing over his hairy pecs, then tugging slightly, punishingly. "Hot shit talking up that fuckin' bimbo out where everyone can see?"

"We were just chattin'," he argues, big fingers fumbling with the buttons of her shirt. "It didn't mean nothin', Tessa."

"Sure, sure," she shrugs off the shirt, undoes the clasp on her bra. But when he goes to cup her full breasts she swats his hands away. "Pants off. On the fuckin' bed."

He obeys. Stripping down to his skin. His dick is hard and thick at this thigh. Tess eyes it with open, predatory hunger.

He lays down flat on his back, hands behind his head on the pillows. Tess, now just as bare as he, climbs up his big body. She poises herself over his abdomen, crouching over him. Her fingers rake through his chest hair, up to his face which she takes in a single, small hand. Forcing his gaze to meet her own.

"You belong to me, Joel," she says, plain and simple and cool as ice. "Seems like you need to be reminded."

"Maybe I do," he gives a smirk.

She slaps him hard across the face.

He blinks, reeling and groaning in erotic pain simultaneously.

"You don't get to touch me," Tess orders. "You're gonna lay here and take it until I come. If you're good maybe I'll let you jerk yourself off when I'm done with you."

Joel moans, "So mean to me."

Tess has his cock in hand, thick, hard, velvet over steel against her palm, an instrument for her pleasure and nothing else, "Shoulda thought about that before you looked at another woman."

"I didn- oh fuckin' christ

She sinks down onto him. Letting him spread her wide. Her eyelids flutter and she breathes deep to keep all of her hunger under control as she settles a hand on his abdomen and rides him with slow, languid pulls of her hips. Joel reaches up instinctively to cup her waist, to guide her along his cock. She slaps his hands away.

"No touching," she scolds, breathlessly. He's big inside of her, stretching her wide and pressing against every secret, sensitive place she has hidden.

"Tessa," Joel groans, head rolling against the pillows as their flesh begins to slap with her increased pace. "Baby, I wanna kiss you."

Grinding her teeth, she rolls her eyes, fucks down onto him harder, more insistently, she begins playing with her clit in frantic, tight circles. Joel groans at the sight. "Don't fuckin' call me 'baby'."

"Baby, baby, baby, baby," Joel croons at her as the tension in her abdomen begins to mount, the heat intensifying.

She slaps him again, then she buckles forward onto his chest, groping at his pecs as she gasps and finishes with a rush of wet on his dick.

"Holy fuck," she gasps. She can feel Joel's hips moving now, lifting off of the bed, fucking into the tight post-orgasmic squeeze of her pussy like he might find salvation within.

"No sir," Tess sighs, and she slides off of him. It is pathetic how his hips rise, following the wet heat before she has fully slipped away and he falls wet and heavy against his thigh.

"Tessa," Joel moans, desperately horny. "Please."

"Fraid not, big guy," she chuckles, darkly. She's already settling in on her side of the bed.

Joel groans, and she can hear the wet glide of his hand on his cock as he sprints desperately towards a pathetic release. She doesn't stop him, just smiles at how desperate and needy she makes him. No other woman could do that, this, to him. He simply wouldn't allow it.

"Love you, idiot," she mumbles into her pillow. Booze settling nice and sleepy in her belly.

She's half asleep when he comes with a grunt, the collapses onto the sheets beside her. He kisses her neck, her shoudler, her cheek.

"Love you," he grouses, lazy and satisfied.

Tess smiles.

They sleep.

[hidingoutbackstage]

How would you change code Veronica for the remake?

Wow thanks y’all for these definitely unprompted asks

Okay basically I want them to choose either one of two angles with the Ashfords: Either they are firmly condemned bad people, or they are firmly sympathetic. The og and the Darkside Chronicles remake skirt the line a LOT and don’t really make up their minds, and while blah blah morally gray characters, how og CV did it kinda sucked.

So for the firmly condemned bad people angle: They’re terrible, corrupted monarchs, they’re nazis, while Alexia and Alfred’s desire to be reunited is still there, Alexia is an entirely selfish person and betrays her brother, the one who saved her, to try and destroy Wesker and the Redfields. I’m not pulling the nazi shit out of nothing btw, Claire and Steve were literally held in a concentration camp on Rockfort Island. I’ve also seen some people talk about a remake drawing parallels to the Ashfords trying to reunite and the Redfields trying to reunite, and I really like that, it could go for both versions, evil Ashfords and sympathetic Ashfords, and for the latter it could be similar to the Dimitrescu family in 8. Ethan was fighting to protect and save his daughter, who he raised and loved, while Lady D cares about her daughters in a manipulative and possessive way (which no one understood because they wanted to fuck her but w/e) I think it could work with the Ashfords and Redfields

For the sympathetic angle, draw attention to the fact that the twins were Alexander’s vanity project, the stress Alfred was put under at 12 years old when he became the head of the family, no father or sister to support this child, just “business partners,” the stress Alexia was under to live up to the standards set by Veronica. Make us feel a little glad Alexia and Alfred take revenge on their father, make us think “hell yeah, he deserved it.” Make Alexia look like a child when she comes out of cryosleep (she was 12 when she went in) make Claire realize how much resemblance Alexia has to Sherry, make T-Veronica seem like something freeing to Alexia, so her infecting Steve feels motivated (she’s trying to share her gift with other young, lost and lonely people like her) make her devastated when her first sight coming out of decades of cryosleep is her brother’s dead body, who did everything he could to bring her back.

Aside from the two angles are stuff that literally everyone agrees with and doesn’t rlly need to be repeated but I’ll rapid fire it anyway

No transphobic stuff

No Steve staring at Claire’s ass or trying to kiss her while she sleeps

Regardless of the angle taken, no incest jokes or implied incest with the Ashford twins, it just feels unnecessary. Alexander can still lust after his dead ancestor I don’t give a shit he sucks either way

[sleevesareforlosers]

hey danny how was succession?? i would love to hear ur thoughts

also i’ve never seen a single ep of the show i just know there’s a beautiful lady and i am not worried abt spoilers. what went down i wish to know all ur thoughts

OH IT WAS REALLY GOOD. uhhh brief summary shiv (the beautiful lady) has been working with matsson who is attempting to buy the company against the wishes of roman and kendall (brothers) so at the beginning of the ep her and kendall were trying to amass votes from the board members for their respectives sides of the deal. THEN their mom called them and said roman was "delicate" and with her so they went to her like resort house. bunch of sibling fighting and then kendall found out and told the siblings that matsoon WASNT planning on giving shiv any power if the deal went through and was looking for replacements for her so shiv decided to go in with the boys and try to tank the deal. they swam together and made kendall drink a NASTY smoothie to "crown" him as the new ceo and it was like heartbreakingly sweet which was followed by a DIFFERENTLY heartbreaking scene where they went to divvy up logans remaining possessions with connor (oldest brother, different mother, not involved in the business) and he was playing a "virtual dinner party with dad" where he was like. reciting poems with his buddies and singing and well everyone onscreen was crying and so was i because it was SO WEIRD to see logan in such a different setting and behaviour than the literal entire rest of the show

THEN THE BOARD MET and it was a 6-6 split for wether or not the company sells. shiv was the tiebreaker and she hesitated and ran out and then kendall came after her and started YELLING at her and like attacked roman and her and then shiv went back and voted against kendall which just DECIMATED him. business stuff blah blah tom (shivs husband, tenuous relationship there) is going to be the puppet CEO for matsson and the episode ends with kendall looking like hes abt to drown himself in the ocean, roman at a bar smirking to himself, and tom and shiv in the backseat of their chauffered car limply holidng hand and both looking SO dead inside.

SO OVERALL I REALLY LIKED IT. i think the ep did a good job of showing like. the places where siblinghood and the business stuff intersect and interfere with each other and how logans abuse has and will affect all the kids in different ways. the cycles stay cycling, as they say. AND ALSO how even the relationship logan had with connor vs the "old guard" of people who work for him vs the other three kids was all different and like. idk. the last few eps especially have been driving home how no one knew logan for a variety of reasons and so seeing him laughing and joking at a dinner party was especially jarring.

the acting and direction and camerawork was MASTERFUL as always but especially kieran culkin (roman) was just. annihilating to watch. i think that no one really got a happy ending as is realistic for this kind of situation but (ive been talking w nico abt this all day) it seems like roman has the most of a chance to get out of it bc he like. very much accepted by the end that all of the siblings were kind of hollow nothing people who shouldnt have been running the business whereas kendall cant accept that at all and even if shiv did, shes now just a powerful mans pregnant wife. good closure overall without wrapping everything up unrealistically neatly

THANK YOU FOR ASKING MATT sorry for the essay askdjfh

[mlobsters]

supernatural s9e13 the purge (w. eric charmelo, nicole snyder)

this episode should come with an ED trigger warning

THIN MAN Like hell you did, Jabba! I saw you slip a hot dog in your pocket! LARGE MAN Well, I hate to break it to you, pal, but that's no hot dog.

i don't know what the appropriate emoji is for the face i made.

jackles doing the sleep deprived thing well. even his voice sounds scratchier than normal when he starts talking

SAM You sure you're okay, Dean? DEAN Why wouldn't I be? SAM 'Cause -- I don't know you... This isn't about what I said the other day, is it? DEAN Oh, about that we're not supposed to be brothers? No, don't flatter yourself. I don't break that easy. SAM Oh, good, 'cause I was just being honest. DEAN Oh, yeah. No, I got that loud and clear.

💔ouch.

gettin a little over the top with the minnesota thing here (and cute at the michigan mug). stillwater is part of the twin cities metro :p i never heard that accent when i was living there. some accent! but not the fargo accent :P and what's up with trying to make this lovely lady look bigger than she is

deep breaths through this powdered donut gag. at least the cop and dean are enjoying them. jackles sounds congested again

MALA Yes. Okay? We were having an affair -- for years, actually. DEAN I don't mean to be rude, uh... But how is it that Wayne McNut is your type? I mean, you're married to a man who's barely a buck -- wet. MALA What can I say? Sometimes it's nice to feel a little give... DEAN Oh. Yeah, I get that -- a little extra cushion for the, uh...

probably about as fat positive as we'll get but otherwise wtf

sigh. so the fat thing is like. the plot. listen. i'm not gonna comment on it going forward

SAM Wait, you told that waitress the other day you were 29.

at least doing the math on dean's age is easy because he's one year older than i am. so he'd be 35? since this aired in 2014

DEAN Because you're weird around girls. SAM What does that mean, weird? DEAN You're awkward. You know, weird -- Sam Weird. Sorry, man. I'm just... being honest.

petty but understandably so

what is going on with the set dressing. the bedding is clashing with everything, there's a full sized vintage mint colored fridge in this rando motel?? what

(be honest with you i'm fast forwarding through some of this weight related conversation)

been a hot minute since we had one of these (ah but this one didn't make the cut apparently)

DEAN Nice shorts. SAM Nice hairnet. DEAN Yeah, why do I got to be the lunch lady? SAM Since when have you ever complained about being around food? DEAN Okay, this is not food. ALONSO Hey, new guy. Quit flirtin' with the trainer and keep scoopin', huh?

DEAN How the hell do you know anything about yoga? SAM You're not the only one who's ever dated someone bendy.

okay

again with the weird tonal mix of awkward jokes and earnest serious feelings and normal banter

DEAN These aren't "supplements", they're roofies. SAM What? How do you know what roofies look like? DEAN How do you not know? You think I want to end up in a hotel bathtub with my kidney carved out? In Chechnya?

but do you ever actually see the roofies in pill form if someone is roofying you? also not the typical concern of rohypnol-related crime.

dean's cute with the rumpled hair

like the exit lighting made extra dramatic and the silhouettes

DEAN You said that you wanted to keep things strictly business. Well, last I checked, we were in the business of killing monsters. SAM I wanted to keep things strictly business between us. But I still have a heart. What if I had crossed paths with a hunter back when I was possessed by Gadreel? I could've ended up dead, too. Would I have deserved that? Would I have deserved to die?

didn't we just have this dilemma literally the last episode lol

DEAN About what you said the other day. SAM I thought it didn't bother you. DEAN You know, Sam, I saved your hide back there. And I saved your hide at that church... And the hospital. I may not think things all the way through. Okay? But what I do, I do because it's the right thing. I'd do it again. SAM And that... is the problem. You think you're my savior, my brother, the hero. You swoop in, and even when you mess up, you think what you're doing is worth it because you've convinced yourself you're doing more good than bad... But you're not. I mean, Kevin's dead, Crowley's in the wind. We're no closer to beating this angel thing. Please tell me, what is the upside of me being alive? DEAN You kidding me? You and me -- fighting the good fight together. SAM Okay. Just once, be honest with me. You didn't save me for me. You did it for you.

well that hurts because it's true. but sam, what about you, when dean died? or nearly died? was that purely altruistic, just to have dean exist? in their grief after one of them has died, they are willing to trade places, both of them. but ultimately surely they both want both things, existence and to be together

DEAN What are you talkin' about? SAM I was ready to die. I was ready. I should have died, but you... You didn't want to be alone, and that's what all this boils down to. You can't stand the thought of being alone. DEAN All right. SAM I'll give you this much. You are certainly willing to do the sacrificing as long as you're not the one being hurt.

he did go to hell so you specifically could live though, sammy, come on. 40 hell years, no less. that's a lot of being hurt. just to be fair

DEAN All right, you want to be honest? If the situation were reversed and I was dying, you'd do the same thing. SAM No, Dean. I wouldn't. Same circumstances...I wouldn't. I'm gonna get to bed.

welp. that hurts more. imagining the potential hurt of him saying that combined with the "you didn't look for me while i was in purgatory for a year" thing, like it makes it more believable in that context. this has shades to me of when sam is still mad about something and saying shit he doesn't mean, but maybe that's just me hoping

dean really blew everything up. i guess that's the only logical tv response to their little handfasting ceremony, immediately set fire to their relationship

[vole-mon-amour]

1x07.

Madeline senses what's up, but her brother is still in denial, so she has to go with it. And may I say, Pym! The dude listens the most insane stories and not once he says that they're crazy and stays loyal to them until (I presume) the very end.

You're too obsessed with immortality, babe, and I think it might actually kill you.

Frederick with his obsession and his self pity is so. fucking. boring. I've had enough of that guy, give me back my fun show! I've never wanted to see anyone die as much as I want to see Frederick. Jfc, the guy in so insecure and insane. Why would Mike give him such a huge role. :( I mean, yeah, Freddie is his first kid ever, but why make his story in the adulthood so boring?

Oh wow, Roderick fully went with betraying Angie. W o w. And Madeline... w o w.

"You are so small, Madeline." No, she isn't? Playing the housewife is way simpler at some point than come up with a lying cheating terrifying empire? She's not a good person in any way, but she's INTERESTING.

How about powerful murderous wives? No?

Dude literally married some hooker as a long-term PR company. Rich people are truly something else. But hey, the way he holds her chin. The perfect cruelty.

Hey, Mike, how about giving the playground to these two lovely ladies (that aren't ladies, or at least one of them is not a woman but rather takes the form of one) instead of to two men?

Me af. When I read TFOTHOU, fucking TWICE, I barely understood what that was about. The writing style is just gibberish to me.

Yeah, that's you. A joke without a punchline, therefore I'm bored with you.

A queen!! She should've done it way earlier. Show me her red eyes up close pls.

HE DID!!

So she IS death?

!!! "Cool motive. Still murder." Except that the motive isn't cool this time. It's just torture.

I don't know what I want to believe more: that it's Varna possessed Madeline so she can convince her brother to take the pills or that Madeline realised something after the talk with Varna and convinced Roderick to take the pills.

But apparently it was Madeline herself? And apparently she tried to make it easier on Roderick bc Varna could resurrect him with "Can't let you that easy"? Varna's so cooool.

[uisforuraniumbombs]

Percy and Hana c-b-a support for Gay Fates mod

C support

Percy: Mom, can I ask you something important?

Hana: Sure! What is it Percy?

Percy: Who’s stronger… a knight or a samurai?

Hana: W-Wha? What kind of question was that? You know I'm a samurai right? My opinion is going to be very obvious!

Percy: W-well… I'm trying to figure out which class fits best when against fighting evil doers!

Hana: Huh…Go on.

Percy: Sir Niles is very acrobatic and skilled with the bow. But… he's also very sneaky. And weird. Not very heroic.

Hana: True.

Percy: Then there's Lady Oboro. She's so graceful in combat with her spear! But the face she makes is kind of… I’ve seen thugs with prettier smiles.

Hana:…. Also true.

Percy: After a lot of thinking… I narrowed it down to Knights and Samurai!

Percy: Knights are strong and sturdy, versatile with every weapon. While samurai have full mastery over the sword.

Percy: Its so hard to choose!

Hana: Mmm… If you think about it. Knights and samurai are closer than you think.

Percy: Nu-uh! They’re totally different!

Hana: That’s because you’re only focusing on what's in front of you. Knights and samurai both serve under a lord. Lords vary from prattling old men to strong and honorable warriors like Lord Ryoma and Prince Xander.

Hana: Your father and I serve two different lords: Lady Sakura and Princess Elise. They’re naive… but possess sensible hearts that only wish for peace amongst our nations.

Percy: Thats true! How come I didn't think of that! I guess they really aren't so different! But wait…

Percy:… Was father ever truly knighted?… and he doesn't look like a samurai.

Hana: That's because your father's different. He's… very special.

Percy: Huh?

Hana: But that’s a tale for another time! It's getting late, someone has to make dinner. Why don't you finish up your training so we can all eat together?

Percy: Wait! you can't just leave me hanging like this! I need to know!

Hana: And you will! But time waits for no one! I just finished some important errands for Lady Sakura which took me longer than expected.

Hana:… and I want to spend some time with your father!

Hana: Ace is always with you so you must know how it feels to be separated from each other.

Wvyern scream

Percy: Yeah, Ace and I are practically inseparable. It’d feel terrible if we split apart even a couple of minutes…

Hana: Exactly, adulthood is built on sacrifice Percy. My job as a retainer may be important, but your father is the only man that makes my heart go boom boom!

Hana: So I have to balance my love, my child and my work all in one go! Just another day in the life of a Hoshidan housewife.

Percy: Gee, when you put it like that, you're nothing short of incredible mom!

Hana: You bet I am! Why do you think your father picked me?

Percy: That's true! Dad is no dummy!

Hana: Hee hee!

Percy: But wait…

Hana: Yes Percy?

Percy: Did you just compare yourself to a wyvern a minute ago.

Hana: …..

Percy: Oh man, I guess Ace and I really take after you two more than we thought! It's like looking in a mirror! hahaha!

Hana: …..

angry hana

Hana:… I'M GOING TO GROUND YOU PERCY.

Percy: I-it was just a j-joke! Ace run!!! Or… I MEAN… FLY!!!

Wyvern scream

B support

Percy: I'm here mom! Are you gonna finish that story you’ve been telling me?

Hana: Of course! Well mmm… where did I leave off?

Percy: That dad was different from the warriors of Nohr and Hoshido.

Hana: Oh… right! Yes. Your father. He's very special.

Percy: In what way?

Hana: Remember when we talked about weapons? Your father's weapon of choice was the axe. A tool mirroring the working man. But as he grew more skilled, he picked up the sword.

Hana: It's like a coin. Your father has two sides. Each one reflects a part of himself. The hard working villager, and the soldier. It's something your father taught me when we were courting. That's what makes him special!

Hana: If you ask me, he could be the strongest in the entire realm. People just overlook him because he’s such a goofball.

Percy: Incredible… Dad never ceases to amaze.

Percy: So its very similar like Sir Laslow and Lady Selena?

Hana: Yes exactly like…

Hana: WAIT WHAT!?

Percy: Before I came here I ran into Lord Ryoma and Prince Xander on accident…I was kinda nervous, but both were kind enough to grace me with their opinions!

Percy: They really liked my dad. They liked him so much, they compared him with Sir Laslow and Lady Selena! And Sir Laslow isn't just any retainer. He's the retainer of the Nohrian prince himself!

Percy: Although I admit… Sir Laslow seems to only care about women.

Percy: And Lady Selena is definitely strong! but, she's also kinda mean and yells a lot. I think the company of wild animals might be better than hers…

Percy: Mom. Is dad a womanizer? and is he mean and loud like Lady-…?

Hana: NO HE'S NOT! Youre father is mine and MINE ALONE! He doesn't have eyes for anyone but ME! He’s no philandering pig!

Hana: Aaaaaaaand He's the most adorable, loving, caring, bear with the best hugs in the world! And his kisses are to die for!

Percy: Great. Now I'm even more confused.

Hana: Percy! Listen to only what your mother says! FORGET what Lord Ryoma and Prince Xander said.

Percy: But…

Hana: NO BUTS! Now go fly out there and swing your axe or sword or whatever and become the best hero in this side of the outrealms!

Percy: Y-yes ma'am! Let's go Ace! Dad set a new height for us to reach… let's do this!

Wyvern scream

Hana: Lord Ryoma. Prince Xander. You should know better than comparing my Arthur to those clowns.

Arthur appears

Arthur: If you keep praising me like that I may actually be reckless enough to try it just to impress you.

Hana:… I meant every word. If you sparred with any of the royal family they could easily see your skills.

Arthur: My dear Hana. The riches of the nobles and the powers of politicians hold almost no value to me! I'm but a humble man.

Arthur: There is an old saying in Nohr, '' A man's home is his castle''. And I have my beautiful brave queen whom I would bend my knee and my heroic little prince whom I’d fight barehanded for!

Arthur: Waking up every morning right next to my wife's lovely smile, listening to the voices of our son and his loyal scaly friend. Why…That's all the strength I need to move even the tallest of mountains.

Hana blush smile

Hana: Oh Arthur…

Hana: Well then, now you've seen how much our son looks up to you. How about some training?

Arthur: An early dance with my darling wife? How could I refuse!

Hana: And when the sun sets down… let's go for a picnic! Only the three of us… well… Four. Hee hee.

Arthur: A family outing! I could not have said it any better!

Hana: And later tonight… when Percy and Ace are fast asleep.

Arthur:… yes?

Hana smile blush

Hana: I believe you owe me… some private quality time Sir Hero.

Arthur: For my princess. Anything.

A support

Percy: Mooom! Here you are!

Hana: What is Percy? You seem in quite a rush.

Percy: I overheard some Hoshidan soldiers talking about Nohr and… did I get it right? Did King Garon really kidnap Prince/Lady Corrin?

Hana: …

Percy: Why would dad work for such a man? I-I thought he was a hero!

Hana: It's not that simple.

Percy: W-what do you mean mom?

Hana: …

Hana: You know Percy. Back when the alliance was made between Hoshido and Nohr. Everyone was still very much hostile with each other.

Percy: …

Hana: I was no better. I was very simple minded. Hoshido was right, Nohr was wrong. They were the villains. So why should I ever trust them?

Hana: But there was one person in both armies that felt differently. He was very happy that the conflict was put to a halt.

Percy: Was it…dad?

Hana: The one and only. Your father's sense of righteousness was only matched by his compassion. He holds no love for war but will always fight for what he believes in his heart is the right thing to do.

Hana: He was the only Nohrian that welcomed us Hoshidans with open arms. Everyone was skeptical, but your father didn't see two different countries at war. He only saw the sons and daughters of worried parents. Scared and confused. Scared from the horrors of war, and confused about who or what we were fighting against.

Hana: Your father's humble approach won us little by little… even Lord Ryoma.

Percy: L-Lord Ryoma…!?

Hana: As a retainer for most of my life, I only swung my blade for Lady Sakura. I didn't think much about what's right or wrong, that was Lady Sakura's call. And my job was to always answer that call regardless of my feelings.

Percy: ….

Hana: But your father… he made me understand the value of human life. Deep down, no one wants to fight. Violence only leads to pain or death. When someone dies, you break apart families and rob them of their future.

Hana: It's true that the country of Nohr is in a state of disarray I could barely begin to understand. Some of the Nohrian family members are also rather… peculiar. But Your father put his faith in Lady Elise, and through his actions, he proved his way of life was just in the eyes of at least one person.

Hana: A person with the power to change a country.

Hana: Just like an impressionable child learning strong values from a parent. I believe Lady Elise will take your father's lessons to heart and change Nohr for the better.

Hana: In turn, I also want to believe in your father. So it is my duty to keep Lady Sakura from ever straying from the right path. If she ever does, I must make a stand for what's right! I can no longer blindly follow orders that may cause harm to the innocent.

Hana winks

Hana: Your father doesn't just win fights with his hunky physique. Your father fights with his sharp mind and strong heart. That's what makes him a hero.

Percy: W-wow! I never looked at it that way! Dad’s story is so… incredible. You guys really are something else… Do you think I have what it takes? To be a hero?

Hana: You bet, you're gonna surpass BOTH of us as long as you don't slouch around kiddo! Hoshido and Nohr weren’t built in a single day after all!

Percy: O-Of Course! But wait…won't dad feel neglected after I make a name for myself? I don't want people to forget how great he is…

Hana: Don't you worry, it's every parents dream for their children to succeed them, besides…

Percy: ?

Hana blush and wink

Hana: Your father will always be MY Hero.

Percy: All right! You heard mom, partner! We gotta go train like there's no tomorrow to make legends of ourselves!

Wyvern screams

Percy: The sky's the limit! See ya mom, You're the best!

Percy leaves

Arthur appears

Arthur: And there he goes. That boy is going to turn the world upside down.

Hana: Hee hee! Were you waiting long for me?

Arthur: I just didn't want to interrupt… A growing boy sometimes needs life advice from his doting mother. I guess the apple doesn't fall from the tree.

Arthur: I think my only regret is I won't be able to see our son's entire odyssey. Even when he sprouts gray hairs, I guess a parent never stops worrying about their kid…Hah!

Hana: Oh I wouldn't worry too much about that. The power of love will see him through!

Arthur: H-how so?

Hana: I'm fully convinced Percy's unnatural luck is the power of our love. And he will pass that love to his children, and so on. That ''luck'' will carry him through thick and thin towards the future.

Arthur: By the Gods you're right! What a relief my misfortune wasn't passed on to our boy…

Arthur: Though I have to admit…

Hana: What is it?

Arthur: It may be a bit tragic my parents couldn't save me from being brought to this world with such horrid luck. Perhaps a family curse that skips some generations? Who can say?

Hana: I have a different way of looking at that.

Arthur: What do you mean?

Hana: The misfortunes you faced were trials. Trials that made you the man you are today!

Hana: Your strength of character, your empathy towards the people around you, your samurai-like unwavering spirit!

Arthur: D-Do you truly think so?

Hana: Not just that, you don't have to worry about your so-called “bad luck” anymore… because you have me!

Arthur: Hana…

Hana: Your bad luck is no match against my love for you! The Hoshidan Razor Wind… Kazahana! Just like my skill with the blade grows stronger every single day… so does my fiery love for my hero… The Nohrian Blade of Justice, Sir Arthur!

Hana: I will repel any cursed luck that befalls on my beloved with a single swipe from my mighty blade!

Arthur:… I think I'm going to cry. I really am the luckiest man alive.

Hana: Hee hee!

Credit: Jose_Juanstar, doesn't use tumblr dm me for contact if needed!