#and especially shit at telling us early enough that we can actually make it in time

[ifeelfreewithoutmyshoes]

Ohhh my professor just managed to hit my anxiety about my exam in a way that just made me fucking pissed

[sim-berry]

I'm Tired.

I totally get why many simblrs don't want to name and shame and want to avoid drama, but I'm not one of those simblrs. If I see some bs I'm going to call it out. I only have a few followers (who are lovely and sweet) anyway, so it's not like I'll get a crusade against me. So that's exactly what I'm gonna do, because I'm pissed right now.

I know I don't have a big blog so it's unlikely many will see this, but if you do, please reblog it. Spread the word about creators who have stolen content so that people can stop downloading their cc and supporting them.

One of my favorite creators, Toys of Dukeness, has just deleted all their poses from Patreon and stated that they are leaving the Sims community. Their poses have been STOLEN by other "creators" who have locked them behind paywalls. Keep in mind Toys gives their poses out FOR FREE and they've been STOLEN and put behind paywalls! They're making money off of shit that isn't even theirs! How disgusting is that?? And now they don't even feel welcome in the community that they've given so much to.

And it's funny because I just saw a post from the amazing @simmireen (who makes many of my favorite poses) calling out THE SAME CREATOR for stealing their poses!! Simmireen's poses are stunning and she is kind enough to give them out for free, and she's had her hard work ripped off by an early access paywaller. The same one who drove Toys out of this community: simsulani.

This is a screenshot taken from Toys of Dukeness's post (read the whole thing here) that specifically calls out two of the thieves:

If this keeps happening, more of our wonderful cc creators are going to leave simblr. And I don't blame them one bit. Why put hours, sometimes days, of work into creating content when it's just going to be stolen and profited off of by someone else?

And when those creators do eventually leave, do you know what we'll be left with? Scummy perma-paywallers and early access creators who use minority groups to make money. (As a member of the LGBT I can't tell you how fucking sick I am of seeing "Pride Month Collection- Available to the public on June 30th🥰")

We can't let that happen. We need to support and show love to the creators who allow us to have beautiful cc and amazing poses in our games. I can tell you right now my stories would be nothing without simmireen's and Toys' poses. And they aren't the only creators who have had their cc stolen. We're on here about AI stealing art all the time (which is a totally valid argument, don't get me wrong), meanwhile actual humans, fellow simmers, are stealing content right under our noses, right this moment.

I am TIRED of this. Our content creators are being driven off this site and out of the community entirely because their work is being stolen. Storytellers, including myself, have also had their storylines stolen. I once saw someone take my entire NSB Gen 2 storyline, with even the quotes being copied and pasted! If you don't have creativity, then don't make content, that's okay. What's not okay is STEALING from people who have worked hard on their craft, ESPECIALLY if you're making money off of the stuff you stole.

Again, please reblog if you can. And feel free to share some REPUTABLE creators so simmers know who to download from rather than the thieves. They're the ones who need to be driven out, not the hardworking creators. And anyone who is afraid to vent about this on main can come into my anon and rant all they want. We as a community need to stop this.

-Coco xoxo

[theinfinitedivides]

wi papa look a thing there for me. awa.

prefacing this with a PSA that i'm going to try and keep short but basically regardless of anything i say here let me make it known that i do believe he should apologize. whether or not he's still actively saying that word in 2024 it is something he's used in the past even if he isn't performing said play anymore/saying things like that so flippantly. granted if he does apologize there's always going to be a section of fandom that's like 'he only apologized bc he got caught' yes?????????? that's what always happens????????? lbr you're not going to get on IG and announce you killed your ex two decades ago and you'll be turning yourself in when there's an entire true crime community in the depths of the internet who will dig up the cold case + the suspiciously convenient alibi anyway without you lifting a finger. politicians who get called out for blackface in college do not go around telling people they did blackface in college. celebrities who were homophobic on this hellsite in high school back in the early 10s before they realized they were gay are not going to let you know what their handle was. this is how the world works.

that being said i must confess i caught wind of the stirrings of this a bit early bc during the clusterfuck that was the Jam vs Zamasian RPF poll (i did not go in the notes. rancid ass shit) someone had taken a screenshot of a reblog made as a 'gotcha' to Zamasian voters by implying that they were anti-Black for voting for a ship featuring an actor that said the n-word in a play he hasn't performed for several decades since, with a short taped example that the general public was not going to know how to find unless they were on a mission. i poked around, saw a couple hints here and there that implied that the clip actually existed, marked that down for future ref and went about my business. disappointing? sure. run of the mill especially among people his age in the industry from that time period who are perceived to benefit from white privilege? absolutely. the former bird identified app dragging all of this back into the light (including the interview with Chris Rock. which i have not seen though there's no way it was within the last few years for AMC to still hire Eric if they had seen it. correct me if i'm wrong pls) is unexpected but tracks for the fandom on there.

generally i don't believe in cancelling someone for things they said or did more than ten years ago if they are no longer the same person they were back then. i don't believe Jacob or Assad or any one of the staff of color who may have been working behind the scenes would have agreed to continue interacting with Eric if he had the same attitude as he did when he first wrote and performed the play. i don't believe his Black comedian niece would continue to talk about him and share photos with him if he was calling her or the Black side of her family the n-word. i am willing to give the 'Eric Bogosian n-word' reply tweet he reportedly made before deleting it shortly after the brief benefit of the doubt bc it was 1. supposedly under someone else's tweet talking about the play incident and 2. i cannot count how many times i have accidently commented/almost posted something on here or YouTube or Reddit or ao3 bc i was on mobile and once the keyboard's open the app/browser flips the fuck out and puts the search bar and the comment box too close together. now if his ass shows up and shows out and stands ten toes down while he's currently on time-out or doesn't address any of this we're dealing with a different story. if more examples of him acting like this come out i'll drop him faster than you can call the election it will be that serious.

anyway for now i'm choosing to keep an eye on this while acknowledging that us Black folks do have the right to be upset and pissed as fuck. we deal with enough racism/microaggressions in fandom spaces as it is we definitely don't need new ones, and we don't need them from the past career choice of the main cast of a show a lot of us enjoy. amen

[sophie-frm-mars]

I just wanna gush about DBT for a second

DBT saved my life so I'm gonna spend a moment telling everyone how helpful it can be because I know there are a lot of people with BPD out there who need to hear it.

so cluster B personality disorders are characterised by, among other things "unrelenting crisis" - this is the combination of the feeling that every small problem you encounter is just yet more insurmountable bullshit and the reality that you have a lot of bad shit going on in your life, some of caused by the wider world beyond your control and inevitably some of it self-inflicted. The problem is, to someone who is constantly activated and feels life as this kind of non stop catastrophe, it's really hard to practice skills learned in therapy to do anything about it AND it feels impossible to judge what is an appropriate thing to spend your energy on, where to even begin tackling your problems.

The group component of DBT is explicitly justified in the therapists' manual as tackling this, which I think is genius. A borderline patient will bring new problems to their therapist every week and not focusing on them will trigger feelings of abandonment but the patient will definitely have forgotten all about this problem and moved onto a new one by next session or the one after so you have two therapies, one talk therapy one-on-one and the other a group setting like a class where you learn the DBT skills, and then in the group setting no patient feels like they're being especially ignored by the therapist because they're all there to learn the skills as peers. I just think that's really clever

The bit that really whips though is the skills around Accumulating positive experiences and Building mastery. Okay so your life feels like shit, right? Like one shit thing after another? Your therapy is to have a nice time and get better at something in a way that makes you proud. There's a whole acronym for the skills you need to use to keep yourself well, ABC PLEASE, but C and PLEASE are all essentially preventative skills to stop you having an actively bad time or worsening your mental health, and A and B (Accumulate positive experiences, Build mastery) are the ones where you're proactively creating your life worth living and I love it so much.

Accumulating Positive Experiences really does just mean having a nice time in an intentional way. It can literally be watching TV, it can be whatever you want, but you approach it thinking about what will make good experiences that will actively make you feel like you are leading a life worth living. My girlfriend and I went to the planetarium and took edibles last month and it owns so hard that according to DBT that's therapy

Building Mastery is all about helping you get a sense of momentum and direction by improving at something, ideally something that isn't also what you do for work. I know "get a hobby" seems like such basic advice for helping someone out of a rough time but like I've been bouldering since early last year and seeing myself get better at it has been impossibly good for me.

I've been getting into cooking this year as one of my Building mastery practices, at first just regularish like "how can I feed myself in a way that feels like I'm showing myself care at all" like finally learning how to make some of the comfort foods I had in childhood like beef stew, or trying out new things on my very basic salmon, potatoes and broccolli, like teriyaki glaze on broccolli or making hasselback potatoes. Then after a while it became a thing where I felt confident enough to actually thing about a little project and do it like around when my gf and I started officially dating I made her roast lamb and dauphinoise potatoes (nothing photographs well, sorry in advance lol), or we started rewatching Twin Peaks and I really wanted cherry pie so I made my own, which I had never done before!

and at the same time as improving at that stuff I felt like I was good enough at it that cooking for other people was a way I could show them care, which was something I had always wanted but never put in the time to making a reality.

In The Endings Machine: Technology & Teleology I talked about how cooking vegan food in groups is more effective in several ways that going vegan yourself and afterwards my sister (who helped with recording) said to me and a friend "I've been thinking about this ever since filming, we should do this!" and we've been holding a rotating vegan group meal at other's places fortnightly since then, and it's been really good! (This idea btw was partly inspired by my time on the ZAD where communal living leads to group cooking on a rotation, mostly vegan) For the first one I made a spicy mushroom pasta, then I had to bring the dessert to one and I made a vegan chocolate tart with coconut milk instead of dairy making a coconut chocolate filling and it was SOOO good

Last week the vegan meal was at mine again and it fell on halloween so we invited more people and arranged a little spooky movie screening and I made SOOO much food and it was all fucking fantastic. My gf and I made dhal makhani, aubergine rice, parathas, vegan raita and onion bhajis and served them with some mango chutney and some oven-cook samosas that were just from big tesco. I'm so fucking proud of myself, I've never cooked this much before and it went so well! I guess what I really want to get across is how looking at this from the DBT perspective I gotta get across how good this shit is for your mental health and how absurdly well it dovetails with building community.

There are all sorts of other ways Accumulating positive experiences and Building mastery help, because DBT is a very holistic approach to helping people get better - like if you know what things you like doing and you plan them to be available to you, you know that you're going to be happy with your own company, which means if you're having a shit time around someone else you're happy saying "I would be having a better time being alone right now" and just leaving. That makes it easier to live up to your self-respect goals, which are a big part of the DBT interpersonal effectiveness skills, as well as helping to tackle every cluster B girlie's deep seated fear of abandonment.

I could go on an on, but the salient thing right now is that there are a lot of people struggling with stuff I relate to as someone who has had my shit rocked by Borderline Personality Disorder for years and years, and I know that the biggest feeling at core is like "what is this all for? what is the thing that we are all trying to do in the space we are chaotically scrabbling to try to clear all the time?" and this is the answer: you want to accumulate positive experiences and build mastery, and when you get to doing it you have such a profoundly more grounded sense of being in the world, of what it is that's worth being here for and what stands in the way of life just being like that for everyone and a more meaningful drive to try and make it be that way for everyone.

I also wanna go on and on about how Interpersonal Effectiveness makes everyone better at organising too, but I think the Life Worth Living is the better sales pitch for DBT. idk in short a close friend pitched it to me a little while ago that all leftists should learn DBT and it would make the revolution way easier and the more I live of my life worth living the more I agree.

[ghoulfuckersincorporated]

Do you have any headcanons about the Ghoul's cum? Is it an unusual color, taste, or texture? Is it radioactive? If you look at it under a microscope, do the sperm cells look mutated? Can he get someone pregnant? If he cums inside someone, are there any side effects?

I feel like my answer to this shouldn't start with "I have actually given much thought to what ghoul cum would be like", and it shouldn't be as long as it is, Anon, but here we go:

I headcanon that being a ghoul does make you infertile, especially as a man...early on. Radiation is a massive sperm-killer so I think all the human sperm would be wiped out pretty damn quick. But I think if you manage to stay alive long enough into the ghoulification process (which can be instantaneous or can be drawn out over years and years), your boys could possibly adjust and "heal" from being so damaged by the radiation and start producing sperm again. In the lore of the games, there are records of ghouls reproducing with one another (though it is not elaborated on at all and is apparently rare), so why would it be out of the realm of possibility (in the Fallout universe) that they could reproduce with healthy humans?

I think it would take the right human, the right ghoul, and the right conditions (my heart says 'radstorm', but I know how deeply corny that is), but I do think it's possible for some ghouls to get women pregnant.

I don't think their sperm themselves would necessarily be remarkable under a microscope; sperm having multiple heads/tails, no head/tail, and other malformations already exists in human men, and the number of them visible in a sample is used as an indicator of sperm quality. I think, that close, a sample from a ghoul would just look like a sample from a regular man with poor quality sperm.

The semen would be very radioactive after a few years, especially if you had sexual contact with an older ghoul or a still-sentient glowing one like Jason Bright or Oswald the Outrageous. I think it has a bit of a strangely-colored hue and I think it's thicker in consistency than before. You will absolutely get sick from it (especially if you swallow it) if you don't properly prep with Rad-X. Expect all the traditional symptoms of radiation sickness (fever, fatigue/fainting, confusion, vomiting, red inflammation and burns in the places you had direct physical contact, bleeding from the nose/mouth, unusual bruising) if you don't, and have Radaway ready for afterwards. What's the stuff for if not saving us from ourselves?

When a ghoul cums inside you, you can absolutely taste it, like you rested a nickle on the back of your tongue. You'll really hate it at first, but eventually you'll come to tolerate, even like it. Try not to let them "shoot up the club" every single time, though, since it'll probably leave you incredibly raw and sore. It's also long-accepted ghoul-fucker canon that your sentient ghoul lover cumming inside of/all over you can hide your scent from feral ghouls.

When I tell you that shit would taste so bad, I'm not even sure I have the proper words for what I think it would be like. Sort of like licking a battery combined with the bitter, acidic flavor of bile (and also the taste of semen, which doesn't exactly taste great anyway). You'll probably try to be sexy and brave and at least let your ghoul lover cum on your tongue once, but trust me when I say you'll never offer again. Especially since their regenerative abilities make them cum buckets every single time.

Godspeed, ghoul fuckers. We wouldn't do it if we weren't willing to risk a little rad exposure, right?

[acesofspadess]

Rewind

I definitely published this a bit out of order but bare with me

“Hello Team Niall.” Niall introduced as they all waved and greeted him back. “Well, I've got a bit of news for you. Because of my concert schedule, I actually won't be in town for knockout rehearsals.” Everyone was shocked… and rightfully so. “Because I won't be there, I've chosen another coach to come in and mentor you guys for rehearsal.” Everyone started to freak out wondering who on earth it might be. 

“And they have been in your place before so I think they’ve got exactly what you need.”

The scene changed to the all too familiar practice room with an empty directors chairs. The sounds of steps progressively got louder until the special person appeared. 

“I'M BACK!” 

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's rewind a bit.

~~~~~~

A day or two after The Voice Finale

“Hi I’m Maia Quinn, and I'm the Season 23 winner of The Voice, and we're hanging out with Rob on Front Row Live.”

“Go with me.” Niall moaned into your mouth as you straddled him. “Where?” you question kissing down his neck. “Boston. I know it's last minute and we’d leave in the morning-” you shut him up with a kiss and a roll of your hips, his hands tightening against your thighs. “Just wake me up an hour before we leave.”

Sitting at the desk of you and Niall’s shared hotel room the morning of May 26th  you had early interviews to get through before you were meant to go to the festival. You looked over the camera to see Niall already looking at you.

“Maia congratulations. What a night you had a few nights ago.” Rob praised and you smiled adjusting your airpod. “I am super excited for you and your career and your future. Especially because you're starting so young. You have enough time to kind of like, continue to evolve, and understand your voice; learn a lot more about yourself throughout this process. Talk to me about this process of your experience here on the voice and how you've evolved as a vocalist and a performer.” The interview was more than you could ever imagine. 

“Now your relationship with Niall this season has had fans going crazy. From the after performance hugs to the duet, and the after party, what can you tell us about that?”

You saw Nialls face peak over the laptop screen and stayed neutral. “Niall has been the most supportive and very encouraging. He has become one of my best friends through this whole journey. I lost a lot of my confidence during the pandemic unfortunately. It made me think that I would never be able to do things that I certainly could do and Niall- all these years later- has been there to remind me that I probably can do them, and then make me do it. So our friendship and relationship has been so important to me. He is my best friend across the charts and he’d hate me for saying this, but I wouldn't be here without him.” 

“Last question before we go. Is there anything we can look forward to seeing soon? Maybe another EP?”

You smiled glad you were able to share some information on what was coming next. “All I'll say now is, look for me on stage back home.” you winked dramatically knowing those who would get it would get it.”

“That's amazing, I'll definitely keep my eyes peeled. It was so great having you on. I hope to see you in person soon.”

“Bye!” 

``````````````

View comments

User10 i'm actually really happy she won

User2 wait…Slane is in Ireland…..

User6 I just learned she had an EP…. what?!?!?!?

Being at Boston Calling with him

“Boston, Massachusetts, how you doing?” he asked the crowd after he finished ‘Heaven’. The loud response made him smile excitedly. “Holy shit! This is crazy.” you face palmed knowing he was going to slip up sooner or later. “Thank you all so much for coming out to see me. I really appreciate it.” they cheered again as he sipped his water. You watched as he looked at the amount of people and a smile formed on your face.

 “This is uhm- this is actually my first ever Festival.” he let out a breath at the realisation. “I've definitely been drunk at a few.” you laughed at him with the rest of the crowd. “But I've never played at any and for that reason I'm absolutely shitting myself.” he said looking at you knowing you would calm him, and him seeing you laugh did just the trick. 

“But thank you for being here. I know some of you guys have been queuing for years.” he looked around at the signs “My girlfriend showed me this earlier ‘i travelled four thousand miles to be here from Brazil’ your eyes went wide at the declaration and the deafening screams were present. He subtly looked in your direction and saw your reaction, his worry diminished as he saw you smiling making him smile. “Makes you feel bad from coming just down the road doesn't it? ‘I came from round New York’.” he mocked, “awe who cares.” he laughed with them and you hid a big smile behind your hands. 

~~~~

You walked the same route you came flashing your pass when you reached the gate and made your way in to see Niall. When you saw him you squealed and ran over to him. He turned when he heard you and caught you in his arms as you wrapped your legs around his waist and he spun you both around hands on the swell of your bum.

“I'm so proud of you!” you screamed and he laughed before he was kissing you passionately. It was quick as many more pecks through giggles followed. “I can not explain to you how happy i am.” he whispered in shock as you were sitting in the trailer behind the stage and he was getting changed. “You should be so happy, my love. That was incredible, and I am so so proud of you.” he smiled at you before grabbing your hand and kissing the ring on it. “You make me so happy, baby girl.” you melted at his words and stood up to kiss him softly. “And you make me the happiest girl, Ni.”

You surprising Niall at his Zane Lowe interview and him outing you 

You knew Niall was disappointed when you told him you wouldn't be able to make it to his Zane Lowe interview today. He was really excited for this one and wanted you to be there. It was only a few days later that you flew from Boston down to LA for the interview. You were working on last minute stuff for the announcement today and you were nowhere close to done when he was getting ready to leave.

“I'm sorry love.” you kissed his pout away as you both stood by the door of his  LA house. “I know, it’s okay. I know why you can’t make it, and for that I am so very proud.” he melted his lips against yours as your hands went to the curls on the back of his neck and he wrapped his went straight to your bum.

~~~

Niall was watching Zane play his songs and the guitar with a big smile a few hours after he left. “There are some pretty songs on this record bro.” Zane complimented as he switched playing from ‘The Show’ to ‘You could start a cult’. You who had just made it into the studio to surprise Niall were standing behind the glass watching him, waiting for him to notice. 

“Thank you very much.'' He cut through Zanes music. “This one kills me.” Zane admitted as Niall caught on to what he was playing. “Yeah.” he cheered Zane on softly, finally noticing you. You saw his smile widened and you waved softly. “You Could Start A Cult.” he named distractedly, still looking at you as if he looked away you would disappear. 

~~~

“Kingdoms fighting over you,” Niall continued. “I think that like they’re the ones- that could have very easily been, ‘ i like waking up beside you and you're my favourite person.” he joked easily. “But ‘you could start a war’.” you shook your head at his lyrical genius. “Do you ever crack yourself up with it?”

‘Yeah it was something silly at first but now everyone's obsessed with it. It started with me and my girlfriend now, when we met we would watch crime shows together over facetime,” he exposed and you chuckled at his laugh.

‘You say girlfriend now, sorry if i'm over stepping but..” zane trailed off

“No,” he shrugged off looking at you, who nodded, “she was not my girlfriend at the time, she is now, is what that meant.”

“So did she not know the song was for her?”

“She didn't know any song was for her- or about her I should say. The road from when we met to now has been a very dark windy tunnel, but we made it to the other end.”

“That's beautiful Niall, truly.” You smiled at him agreeing with Zane.

“This was the last song on the record that we wrote.” Niall confessed, and you wondered why. “Why, what was missing?” and without hesitation he pointed to you, “her.” Zane looked to where he was pointing and you waved happily at him. He waved back to you just as happy before turning to Niall with a face of shock. “No?” he gasped and Niall laughed, throwing his head back. “Yeah, I know. Way out of my league.” he watched you shake your head with an eye roll and he couldn't stop the smile from gracing his face.

“I could’ve gone and did what I did with the rest of the record and put BV’s all over it and strings and that was my plan - and John just said to me- because we we were not talking at the time…” he pointed between you and him, “...this is your message to,” he paused, ‘“ her’ keep it that way. Just you and your guitar and your feelings.”

And while there's much much more… you’ll see that soon

[jarofstyles]

Reaper 13

This is SUPER LONG and dirty but enjoyyy it for as long as it lasts hehe.

Check out our Patreon for early access and exclusive writing

Warnings- possessive behavior, aggression, threats, mention of murder, stalking, illegal acts  we do not Condone, knife play, impact play (slapping x spanking), daddy kink if you squint, breeding kink mention, degradation, dom/sub dynamic, dumbification if you squint, choking, bondage w belt, hair pulling.... you get the gist everything is filthy as per usual 

WC- 11.3k

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

Tourist attractions really weren’t Harry’s thing, especially in his own city. He thought it was all a bit underwhelming, he’d rather look at a photo and be over it. He never thought he’d ever step foot in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Kensington was no place for someone like him. Yet there he was, watching his own work of art, Bunny, read the plaques by each painting.

The way her eyes lit up this morning when he told her they’d do whatever she wanted, he didn’t have it in himself to say no. So he let her drag him along to all the sites, even going as far as taking photos with her. If she were anyone else, he would tell her to stuff it- but that smile made it worth every moment of internal suffering.

“I’m getting hungry,” Bunny whispered to him, wanting to be respectful of the environment. Her arm had snaked its way under his, her hand curling around his bicep for comfort.

Harry chuckled when he felt her squeeze at the muscle, mindlessly going to place a kiss on the top of her head. The mindless affection had become more and more common. “You okay to head back towards the hotel? The options around here are a bit shit.” Harry continued in a hushed tone, guiding the two of them towards the stairs to begin exiting. “Plus, there are a bunch of pubs back that way… can get you some of that authentic food to try.”

“Authentic food?” She raised a brow. “You mean beans on toast? Egg in the hole?” There was teasing in her tone, a giant grin on her face as he looked down at her. She was taunting him, but it was good to see her really fucking smile after these last few weeks.

A scoff sounded from his throat, eyes rolling as they continued. “Lucky you’re cute. Or I’d toss your ass into the Thames, and that is particularly unpleasant.” He retorted, lightly pinching her side to make her squeak.

“Oi! Precious cargo here.” Her hip bumped into his as they walked, looking at her fake wedding ring. Although it wasn’t real, seeing it and what it represented made her stomach flutter. Would that be a possibility? Would he ever actually propose? What ring would he actually choose? He’d probably do it somewhere very private and secret, just the two of them. Shaking herself out of that thought, she continued. “What I was saying was, yes. I’m happy to head back. Your arm must be tired from holding all of my stuff.”

It wasn’t too bad. A few bags with the very tacky and overpriced London swag, things he knew she would probably stick on a shelf and not use- but part of him felt some sort of happiness that she liked it enough to buy souvenirs. “S’fine, darling. Snow globes and tee shirts and magnets are surprisingly lightweight.”

“Right, so you don’t mind if I drag us into the gift shop?” Bunny teased and squeezed his arm, tripping over her feet a bit as she leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek.

Harry had never thought he’d experience this type of relationship. It almost felt juvenile with how they clung to one another and got shy at each other's teasing ocassionally. It felt so out of character for him, but then again, it came naturally with her. He thought, if his life had been different, that maybe that’s how he was meant to be.

“Thought you said you were hungry?”

———

Pubs were a quintessential part of the British experience. You could go just about anywhere in the UK and there would always be a pub to welcome you in. Sure, the decor was a bit outdated, but Harry always thought it made them more charming. No two pubs were exactly alike. Some had different stools.

“What do you fancy? Fish and chips? Bangers and Mash? Gonna take you for a roast at the weekend.” Harry’s speech had already adjusted, his accent thicker than she’d ever heard it before. It made Bunny smile fondly, she’d never seen him in a mood like this and she was cherishing every second.

“Fancy, huh? You’re sounding incredibly British today, Mr.Davidson.” She winked, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and looping them as they settled at the end of the bar. The mood was just so good today, and she was relishing it.

“Fancy, yes. Like I fancy you.” His voice was quiet, a tiny smirk on the corner of his lips as she felt her heart stutter in her chest. His hands came to hold her hips, cuffing them with his cool skin and making her shiver. Her outfit wasn’t particularly thick- which was why she had stopped to buy the coat she’d hung up when they walked in. If someone stole it, oh well. It was pretty cheap.

“You do?” She peered at him through her lashes, toying with the hair at the nape of his neck. “Gonna make me blush. Look at you, flirty man.” Harry had been exceptionally affectionate today and it had almost taken her off guard. Like he could finally let go a bit and give her the proper boyfriend treatment, loved treatment, whatever it was called. It made her all fuzzy and hot in her stomach.

“Good. Like making y’shy.” He tugged at the ends of her hair. “Soon as a table opens up we can sit down and properly eat.” But he didn’t mind standing here. He soaked in every second of her leaning into him, playing like a proper couple on a ‘honeymoon’. He liked the feeling of the ring on that finger.

Bunny nodded along, letting her eyes wander around the dimly lit space. The place wasn’t too packed, though as the clouds drew in it seemed everyone was looking for shelter.

“Y/N? No fucking way.” A familiar voice interrupted Bunny from her train of thought. Her head snapped in the direction the voice was coming from, swallowing thickly. Fuck. Not here- not now.

“Ian?” She hadn’t seen him in years, not since he moved away for college. She had been so devastated back then. Sterling’s departure had taken a toll on her and well, Ian wasn’t man enough to tell her he too would be leaving her.

“Are you stalking me?” He joked, taking a step towards her. It seemed as though he hadn’t noticed just who she was there with.

Harry was quick to place himself between them.

Who the fuck is this? And why the fuck did he know Bunny? His jaw clenched so hard he was surprised his teeth didn’t crack, feeling fingers gently pressing against his arm as he looked down at the shorter man.

Was this some sort of sick joke?

“Who the fuck are you?” His words were cold, his molten relaxed nature from before cooling quickly before shattering like glass on the pavement. His eyes were sharp and hard as he looked down, feeling her peek over his arm and try and move closer but he extended it to keep her behind him.

Whoever the fuck this Ian was, he was in London. A place where she knew no one. The world couldn’t possibly be that small, and he was on edge all over again. “Are you following her?”

Oh god. Bunny stepped forward, clutching Harry’s arm in her grasp to try and chill him out. It looked bad, it definitely looked bad and she could understand his irritation, but-

“H, it’s okay-“

“No. It isn’t.” His harsh tone stung his own ears as he approached further, eyes zeroed in on him. “I’ll ask again, How the fuck did you find her here?”

“Find her?” Ian looked like he had seen a ghost. He had remembered Reaper, very very well. How could he forget all the times he’d come over and he’d be outside working on his bike? The death stare he gave was enough to have him rushing inside without turning back. He was aware of the reputation Reaper held, to say Ian was scared was an understatement.

“Dude, I swear I wasn’t trying to make any moves, just surprised she’s here— I live here man.” Ian was in a rush to finish his sentences, attempting to clear the lump forming his throat.

“Baby, you know that, remember? I was dating him before Sterling left.” Bunny peeped up from behind him, her heart beating out of her chest. The last thing she needed was for Harry to cause a scene when they were trying to lay low. While the coincidence was shocking, she knew full well Ian was too stupid to pull off what her stalker was pulling.

“Where?” Harry barked, preparing to grill the man for all he was worth. If he couldn’t tell him a way a Londoner would understand, he was worried he would do his head in right here on the bar. His stomach had already been turning at the mere mention of him dating her before, but the thought of being face to face with someone who could possibly be part of this ongoing torture of his girl? He was seething.

“Canary Wharf, a few stops on the DLR. I’m not giving you my address, sicko.”

“Sicko?” He laughed without humor. “I’m not the one following girls around. How’d you know she’d be here?” He took a step closer, the hair on the back of his neck prickled as he tried to scan the man’s face for any hint of lying.

He was scared shitless, as he should be, but Harry was thrown right back into the paranoia that he usually felt back home. The hesitation and distrust of anyone who got around her. How perfect would it be for her obsessive ex to be the one following her around?

“I didn’t! I swear I didn’t, bro. I’m just as surprised as she is- t-tell him, Y/N. Please!” He was backing up slightly as Harry took another step forward, making her grab his arm and try and tug him back.

“H- Hey.” She gently dragged her fingers down his arm. “Please. It’s okay. He’s been here for a while, he left a while back. I didn’t know where he was moving to.” Trying to diffuse the situation was unnerving. She’d seen Harry get like this a few times, but she didn’t want to make a scene here. “Look at me, please. He’s not the person you think.” Meaning her stalker. She could see the cogs turning in his mind, the nervousness from how he worked his jaw, how his other hand had slipped behind him to have a hand on his gun if he needed it. They couldn’t afford to have that happen in such a public place, but it was well known that Harry, when he was Reaper mindset, didn’t care. He would take out a threat and deal with the consequences. As much as it warmed her that he was that dedicated to her safety, it wasn’t any good if he went down for taking out the wrong guy.

“Babe.” Her stern tone cut through the tension, her hand moving to squeeze over his hand tightly. This couldn’t happen. Bunny’s heart was beating out of her chest, looking between the two of them as she tried to figure out what her next move was. “Ian, you remember Harry yeah?” She began, her fingers rubbing gentle circles over the wedding band on her boyfriend’s hand. It would be hard to explain it to Ian, so she figured it was best to keep them hidden. “He brought me here to London to show me around, we’ve been together for a while now so it felt like a good time to see where he came from.”

Harry was still sizing Ian up, chest heaving slightly. Focusing on the sound of Bunny’s voice, he could still hear the faint sound of blood pumping in his ears. This guy was harmless, she had ruled him out but Harry’s brain was still on high alert.

“Anyways, we were just leaving,” Harry interjected, no longer wishing to be in this idiot's presence. He needed to be back in a safe space with his Bunny.

“We don’t have to-“

“I just remembered our reservation. Let’s go.”  The tone of his voice had taken her off guard, unfamiliar with the sweet one he usually held specifically for her, but she would let it go despite how it stung under her skin. He was wound up and nervous, and he had just had a scare in the one place he had seemed to key his guard down. She had to remember that. He had just been knocked over, metaphorically speaking.

“You don’t have to run off,” Ian said with a laugh, feeling a bit bolder and wanting to reclaim that stupid masculinity he had felt was stripped of him from the interaction. “I’m not going to try and steal her-“

Before he could finish, his shirt was fisted in Harry’s hand, his body whipped around and pressed to the bar as the cocky look on his face faded to fear. His eyes were dark and cold, though the anger was simmering under the surface of his skin.

“You can’t have her. She isn’t an item to be stolen. I’ve heard about your puny cock and the lack of care you’ve given my girl. Bold of you to assume she’s mentioned more than her dissatisfaction over you.” He did indeed remember this dickhead. It made him want to drag him to the back alley and use the silencer on his gun to take him out. But he was in public. So threats would have to do. “If you breathe a word of her being here, if you try to contact her, if you even look at her again tonight, I will end you. Make your life a living hell, and end it with your body sunk in the Thames.” His words were quiet, but so matter of fact that Bunny’s eyes widened. The pub noises would filter out anyone else hearing, but she could.

“I know the people from the deepest depths of the underground here. One fucking call and I’ll have your entire flat ruined, your bank account drained, and your body strung up in an abandoned building before they dispose of you. So heed this warning very, very carefully.” He got closer. “You’ll stay here, order a pint, and forget that this night and my woman has ever existed. If I hear a word of this breathed out -and I will- I’ll make good on my phone call.” Eyes traced him in disgust. “And you won’t make very good fish food, either.”

Finally, he dropped the guy and pulled Bunny with him, trying to be mindful of how hard he pulled so her shorter legs wouldn’t make her fall. But he was livid. Angry, his face blank and nostrils flared as he grits his teeth.

She decided to stay silent, following him and wrapping her arm around his, their connected fingers an anchor for the both of them. “I’m sorry.” Her voice peeped, looking up at him. “I-didn’t know he would be there. I swear I haven’t known anything since he moved.”

He froze. Why was she apologizing?

Harry could hear the sound of his teeth grinding, though it seemed he felt no pain. His focus was purely on getting her back to the hotel as safely and quietly as possible. Stupid fucking idiot had to choose this pub of all pubs in London to walk into and ruin the perfect end to the day for his perfect girl.

“S’ fine, Bun.” Harry tried his best to reassure her, though his breathing was still heavy and his mind was still racing. He was on high alert as he guided the two of them through the busy crowd of Leicester Square, no one paid much attention to them there. Only one more turn and they’d be safe in the street right by their hotel.

Bunny wasn’t sure what she was expecting as they entered the hotel and made their way up. She chose to stay quiet, her arms wiggling their way around his waist as her head rested against his chest in an attempt to soothe them both. His heart was pounding, though his muscles were noticeably less tense than they had been at the pub.

She didn’t think she’d be able to eat much now, her main concern was tending to Harry. It’d been a good while since he’d snapped back into his protective state, they’d worked so hard to get him to actually relax on this trip. She had been worried it was all for nothing.

“Talk to me.” She murmured as they entered the safety of their room, the sound of Harry double-checking the locks behind them had her eyes squeezing shut. She wished he didn’t have to go through this. If only they didn’t go to that pub.

His throat bobbed as he scanned the room again, only broken out of the trance when her hands gently grabbed his face, cradling his jaw. All she did was gentle. She treated him with a softness no one else ever had, one that he had never even thought of himself being able to have.

There was a moment he stood without a word, looking down at him as he tried to gather himself. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her or make her feel neglected like he had the time before, but it was really fucking hard to do that. His body was taught, tense and he held back tremors of both rage and fear. It was a false alarm, sure, but he had felt all the feelings he imagined surfacing from finding the son of a bitch stalker. His uneven breathing filled the room as she continued to try and soothe him, her soft and concerned gaze killing him. How the fuck was she being so good with him even after what he had done? How he had shut down?

“I was terrified.” He admitted into the silence of the room. “That it was him. I’m still not convinced he isn’t involved.  I was letting myself get too relaxed. You’re in danger.” He stressed, head tilting back as he ran his hands over his face. There was obvious regret and self anger in his tone, breaking her heart just a bit more. “I was selfish for not letting my head be on a swivel.  I could never forgive myself if I let you get hurt. Ever.” Hs hands peeled off his cheeks so he could look at her, the seriousness of his words bleeding through.

“I promised to protect you. Not only to your father, to your brother- but to myself. This whole thing, you and I? It isn't just sex to me, Bunny. You’re- you’re mine. In every fucking sense of the word. The one person that means anything to me and if I fuck up because I want to- I want to be selfish and just let go? I’d die. If you hurt, I hurt. I can’t ever let it happen.” He felt the intensity in his stomach rise, the feelings he had been trying to keep in check boiling over in the pot. Frothing over the edges, he couldn’t stop himself from falling for her, no matter how many times he had stirred and tried to keep the overflow at bay.

“You mean the most to me. I’ve never cared this much about a person. I felt so much rage… not only at him but at myself. I’m so angry.” He growled. “He looked at you. He touched your arm. How much fucking clearer does it have to be?” Slowly backing her up, Bunny trusting him as her back bumped against the door and her head tipped up to look up at him. Her angry knight. So passionate about protecting her. “Do I have to get you a sign to tell people you’re mine? That I’m yours and I will rip their hearts from their chest, I will slice off any finger that touches you?” His eyes blazed, Harry’s discomfort obvious. He meant every word. AS gruesome as he could be, she hadn’t seen the whole of it yet. This girl got to see the good parts of him and he was convinced that she would be the only one they were reserved for.

Bunny’s eyes searched his, trying to find some kind of sign. Sure, his emotions were on high, but he meant each word he was saying. She could feel it— never once did his words falter, his gaze never leaving hers as his fingertips delicately began to push her jacket off of her shoulders.

“Say something.” Harry breathed, his eyes too scanning hers in an attempt to anchor himself in the moment. When he was with her nothing else mattered, he didn’t have to be anyone he wasn’t. With her he was free. “I mean every word—“

“I know.” Bunny’s voice had been so quiet she wasn’t even sure if he heard it. The words she had wanted to say were hiding just under her breath, if only she felt brave she would tell him. Profess that she loved him and that she trusted him more than anyone else in this world. “I keep thinking,” She started, her sentence interrupted by the thump of her jacket falling on the floor. “You’re the only one I’d want to be here with. The only one I want…” Her words trailed off with a soft moan. God, she was sick.

Cold fingertips dragged up along her arm, Harry’s other hand finding the warmth of her lower back just under her top. He really couldn’t help himself, she was the only thing that could get him to relax.

His stomach heated with a different sort of passion. A flick of a candle, a switch of a blade, a single moan. Her soft body melted into his own as her eyes bore into his own, that calming energy sinking into his skin and melding into arousal that he couldn’t help. She was aroused by this?

Yes. She was. The woman was affected by his words, by his protective nature. Even as deprived and awful, inhumane as his version of justice could be perceived as, she was excited by it. Flattered. His face got closer to hers, bracing with his arm against the door.

“I mean it.” His words were a shaky exhale. “I mean every fucking word.” His hands slipped further under the fabric, her hot skin melting his icy interiors yet again. “Anyone touches you… anyone even thinks about stroking this perfect skin… tasting your mouth…. Harming a single hair on your head. I’d end them.” He pressed closer, fingers finding the nape of her neck. “I’d kill for you, baby. D’you know that?” Harry doubted that she would ever actually know the full extent of what he would do for her. How close she had him to being on his knees at her wish.

She nodded, their noses brushing together. Harry smiled, not a normal one but what she could consider almost feral. Hot. Her thighs trembled as she couldn’t recall anyone else who had been able to gain such a reaction from her body. Their interactions were always something she felt fully, but his intensity was ringing in her ears, throbbing through her body. There wasn’t a shadow of a doubt that he would.

“I almost did tonight. I meant every word. And I’ll do the same back in Vegas. I’ll find who is tracking you… I’ll send them to meet Hades myself. And then… then I’m going to take you on a proper vacation. I’m going to take you to a beach and fuck you on the sand, I’m going to fuck you on my bike, I’m going to do everything you deserve.  I know I don’t deserve you. But I’m a selfish son of a bitch, Bunny. I’m mean, I fight, I do illegal shit, I’ve got blood on my hands and targets on my back, but I’m keeping you anyway.” Their breathing mingled as he tried to control himself but it was slipping.

His lips pressed against hers hard, feeling her fists on his shirt to pull him closer. It was no use.

“I will burn the entire fucking city down to make sure you’re safe. I’ve never been afraid of anything. Death, fire, pain. But I’m fucking terrified of losing you.”

Time stood still as the two of them stood barely a step into their hotel room. Harry cradled her with his arm, unable to get enough of his skin on her own. Her shivers only drove him all the more insane, he was hypnotized by the feeling she brought him, the comfort of her existence was something he felt himself continuously getting drunk on. He didn’t want to stop himself, he couldn’t. Not when every moment felt like it could be their very last.

“I’m not going anywhere, Harry. I’ll always find you.” Bunny knew there was very little could do, but on the off chance that this fucker managed to find her she would leave as many clues for Harry as she possibly could. No way would she let some monster get in the way of this beautiful blossoming relationship. “Even if it hurts me.” She whispered, eyes flickering down to his lips. She was hungry to taste them again, it was the perfect remedy for the comedown of shock. What if she wanted it to hurt?

“Please let go just for tonight… just take me how you want to.” She would do just about anything to get him back to a relaxed state again. This feral look on his face awakened something in her, he’d previously mentioned he’d been holding back. There was something about the dark breathy chuckle he let out that had her mind reeling.  “I’m serious.” Bunny felt her heart rate picking up as he toyed with the delicate skin of her neck. “Please.”

“You don’t know what you’re asking.” He whispered, trying to keep that curated delicacy he had reserved for her at hand- but failing. Failing miserably.

“I do.” She whispered back, arching into him. “You’re upset. You want to prove that I’m yours?” There was danger in taunting him. The girl knew that. But she wanted him to break down, to give in to those urges again. The last time had been so, so good. She could still feel the slight ache but she wanted more. Greedy. She was so incredibly greedy for every lick and drop of affection, his real self she could get. Her hand reached for his, pulling it towards the front of her throat to collar it.

“Fuck me, Harry. Own me. Use my body, mark me, make everyone know.” She bleated, eyes wide for him. “Please?” Her lips pressed against his. “Please, please, please. Just for tonight- make me ache. You know my limits. Push them.”

“Baby, I don’t want to hurt you.” Harry breathed through his nose, trying so hard not to give in to her even though she was offering herself up on a silver platter. The feeling of his hand around her throat was something that’d felt natural, her kiss tempting him even more. She knew just how to get him to succumb to her desires but there was still that bit of fear.

Sure, the other night they dabbled into the territory. A few good slaps, her slipping into subspace. This, however, was a whole other beast. Harry could be truly sadistic, relentless in the way he fucked women. While his girl had proven to be the perfect slut for him, he still worried that he would lose himself. There would always be more caution in this because he cared about her, he adored her, her life meant something to him. It just made him worry a little about self control when she taunted him. Especially when he was in a mood like this. Where he knew he wouldn’t stop himself from absolutely ruining her.

“I want you to.” Bunny was confident that she could take it. The slaps yesterday were manageable, hot, even and with the right aftercare, she was positive there was nothing he could do that would truly hurt her. Harry in his feral state was terrifying, yes, but a thrill that made her sopping wet. She was the object of his desire, surely the aggression he would lay upon her would translate differently than it had with anyone before her.

“Want you to show me the real you… want to know what it’s like, I can handle it.” She had opened up for him so nicely, let him see her slip into the softest of spaces. She had hoped to see him enter his own headspace, one where they could interact together.

“God….” Harry rolled his head back on his shoulders, his erratic breathing amplified by her fingers pressing over his own, making him squeeze. It got his attention right away. Damn it all to hell. The woman had a road map to the paths to drive him wild the quickest, the buttons installed in the tips of her little fingers.

She moaned. The vibration of it stung his palm. She was serious. Her head rolling back on the door as she hated herself to him with her eyes fluttering at the feeling. She was showing him, taunting him, and Harry could feel the tether to his rational being fraying.

“You… can handle it?” His lips curled up in one of the most cruel little smirks she had ever seen. “The soft, sweet little slut can handle it? Just a bit of slapping has you slipping. You really think you can manage it? When I make a mess out of you?”

Her nod made him narrow his eyes, watching as she blinked up at him. Did she?

He tested the waters, gathering saliva under his tongue and spitting it right on her closed lips, getting a surprised gasp from her. A flinch. “Lick your lips. Clean it up.” He stood straighter, seeming to loom over her. She stood with wide eyes, looking like she was going to speak before he took his fingers from behind her and lightly smacked her cheek.

���I didn’t fucking ask you to speak.  Did I?” Her head shook, a tiny whimper making him laugh before continuing on. “No, I didn’t. I know you get a little brainless when I touch you, all you can think about is cock… but I gave you instruction. Try again.” He hissed, feeling his cock throb at how quickly she let her tongue rub over her lips. Pink brushing over the glistening pair of lips wet with his spit, she slowly dragged the muscle over the pout.

“There we are. Pretty little pet does have some sense floating up there.” He cooed, thumbing the rest she couldn’t get over the rest of her chin and rubbing it into the skin.

There was a pause, his eyes softening for a moment as he checked in. “My messy baby. Are you sure you can handle it? Y’know I adore you.” He pressed a soft kiss to her wet mouth, a direct contrast to his previous actions. “You’re my girl but… I’m gonna be mean to you. You know how to get me to stop, yeah?” It had to be abundantly clear. There wouldn't be unnecessary risks of losing her trust.

Bunny nodded her head, not wanting to risk speaking and making him unnecessarily angry. Just one word, that’s all it would take for him to stop. She decided to take his word for it and behave while she was still grounded in reality, god knows what she’s getting herself into when she was drunk on him and his cock. He’d given her a taste of it last time, blown her expectations out of the water, but she was his greedy girl after all.

His actions had shaken her up just enough for wetness to start pooling in her panties. She loved seeing him in this state, it was so animalistic. He was only focused on one thing and that was pleasure— in this case, his own. She would happily give herself to him a million times over if this meant he could get it out of his system. If it was anything like before she knew she’d enjoy it.

He’d never been mean to her before, it would definitely be a new feeling. However, it was all in the name of sex. Sex makes you say all sorts of things, it’s part of its nature. It’s a connection people can’t properly put into words. Bunny was eager to explore their connection even further and prove their trust.

“That’s a good girl.” He sighed, stroking over her hair before wrapping it around his fist. “Come.”

There was no other option- but Y/N didn’t mind. She followed, relishing in the slight prickling pain on her scalp as he stayed true to his word and led her like a naughty pup over to the bed.

“You’re such a nice girl. It really is such a shock to me that you love acting like a depraved whore.” He said with a chuckle. “Y’know, I thought… the first time we saw each other again, you were so sweet looking. Grown up, not a little girl, but sweet. That big smile and sparkling pretty eyes, bouncing on your feet. And then, later in the night… you crawled up on my lap. Tried to tempt me, with your brother just feet away. That’s when I knew there had to be something with you. Something that made you dirty, just like me.”

He undid his belt with his free hand, the sound of the leather snapping out of the belt loops making her whimper. His start was intense, intently on her eyes as he released her hair. “Wrists in front of you.”

There was no second request. She did it quickly, letting herself feel the warm leather wrap snugly around her wrists and through them. There was a shot of jealousy when she realized she was not the only one he had done this to. No- Harry must have done this dozens of times because of how well he did it, but she kept her mouth shut as he secured her.

“There.” One last tug and she was secure enough to not escape, but easy enough for Harry to be able to undo it quickly. “What a fucking vision you are, darling. Look at you.” His voice aired out, walking in a circle around her. Reaching into his pocket, he steadied himself behind her. His nose brushed her neck, inhaling the scent of her. This was enough to get him drunk. The perfume, her soap, the scent that could only be her…. Biting down on the flesh in a nip to make her yelp.

“Too good. Too fucking good for me, and yet…. You let me do such filthy things to you. I wonder what everyone would think if they knew how eager you were to get my cock in your mouth. So quickly after we agreed I’d be your boyfriend… taunting me. Almost crying because I didn’t give you my cum. And now? Now you want it dripping down your thighs.”

There was a metallic slice in the air, Bunny stiffening as she felt cool metal brush her chest. The flag of his pocket knife. “If they knew you shivered in anticipation while having a knife held to you. You know how nasty you’ve got to be, darling?” He laughed, the heat of it making her shiver again. “Oh, that’s why you’re so perfect for me, little Bunny.”

She gasped as he sliced through the upper part of her top in a swift motion, using his hands to rip the rest off. “But what good is having a beautiful slut at my beck and call if she’s clothed?”

The anticipation was killing her, all her senses heightened. She’d been waiting for him to bring the knife out again, but the unexpected action had her feeling warm. There was something that washed over her, a feeling reminiscent of embarrassment but was much more pleasurable. Sitting there exposed to him, clothes cut, unable to move her hands. The danger of it all was too appealing, Harry played the part well. Though, he wasn’t playing at all.

Harry noticed her breathing pick up, the way her chest was heaving made his cock stir in his jeans. He let the blade of the knife trace down her denim-clad leg, teasing her with the sensation before the tip met the zipper. “I bet you’re soaked under these, my perfect whore. Always ready for me to stuff you.” He was debating cutting the jeans off of her but decided against it, using one hand to unbutton them and pull them down.

Harry wasted no time in slicing her panties off, a dark laugh leaving his lips at her gasp. “Always liked that move, hm? Filthy slut. Open.” He commanded, waiting for her jaw to drop down before stuffing her mouth full of her panties. “Don’t trust you to stay quiet so I think this will do.”

It was degrading, absolutely, but there was just something about the way Harry could make it feel good. The humiliation swam in her stomach pooling down to her cunt, the damp spot on the fabric pressed against her tongue.

“Tastes good, doesn’t it?” He ran the cold metal over her thighs, over her mound ever so carefully to get it wet before moving in front of her. His eyes were dark, tongue licking up the flat of the blade and groaning at the taste. “Yeah. You can see why I love being parked right between these gorgeous thighs. If you weren’t such a baby, you’d stop complaining about being over-sensitive and let me lick you up. But…” he tossed the knife to the side. “I think….” His hand pushed her to fall on the bed. “It’s time for a proper taste. I’ve got you gagged, bound… I can lick you up, and prepare you for my cock. How does that sound?” He turned his back towards her to the drawer beside the bed, where he had left the cleaned and unpackaged toys. “Oh, that’s right. Y’can’t reply.” The snarky reply somehow left her feeling a bit more hot. How did he manage that?

“Gonna make you so sensitive, and you’re just going to lay there and take it. You loved being my fucktoy last time, so let’s see.” Standing between her legs, he tugged her by the ankles toward the end of the bed while he ignored her muffled squeak.  “Three kicks with your foot if it’s too much. Otherwise? Don’t complain.” Establishing a safe system was imperative regardless of verbal ability.

Bunny felt her cunt throbbing but resisted the urge to squeeze her thighs together. It wouldn’t do her any good, not when Harry was standing there looking down at her cunt as if it was his first and last meal all at once. He took his sweet time, picking up one of her legs so he could kiss and bite his way down to her core.  He loved the way she reacted to him, her sensitivity made him crave her that much more. Her scent had him forgetting what he had initially planned to do, eyes zeroing in on her puffy slick folds. Harry’s hands gripped around her thighs, lowering himself till he was kneeling on the floor.

With the panties gagging her, Bunny assumed her moans would be silenced. Instead, she was met with muffled sounds that only elevated the feeling of Harry’s tongue lapping her up. It was an erotic blend, the sound of slurping and sucking making her legs twitch. He was so good at this. Creating environments built to break her down little by little.

He was relentless.

Of course that was a given, but it seemed he was even more desperate tonight to get her, to get every bit of her slick on his tongue and she couldn’t keep quiet, even with her gag. He wasn’t holding back, licking up from her entrance to her clit before spitting back down and using his hand to gently smack over her.

When she squealed, Harry’s wet mouth grinned, filthy promise written in his eyes as he smacked harder over her clit and watched her hips buck up. “Slut for pain. Like when I do that to you?” He shook his head, picking up the toy and dragging up her wet folds. “I hope that extends to some overstimulation. I want you to cry for me today. Good tears. Tears only I can ever get out of you.”

Turning it on he felt her jump, the lower setting making her squirm as he situated it right on her clit whilst his finger slipped into her cunt. “Drooling little hole you’ve got… you’re lucky you love this so much. It’s going to make it far easier for us when I’m fucking you.”

The woman’s breathing was staggered, her stomach clenching at the tension he was creating. It hurt so good, the burn paired with a deep lull of pleasure creeping throughout her body. The gentle vibration of the toy was tormenting her, if only he had turned it up even just one degree she swore it wouldn’t be as agonizing as this.

Whimpers managed to push through the fabric lodged in her mouth, her thighs twitching in his grasp. She was trying her best not to squirm, breathing heavily through her nose as she mentally coached herself through the pleasure. Her cunt squeezed around his fingers, desperate to be filled by his cock once again. He said he was being mean, there would be no point begging. She did tell him he could do what he wanted. Bunny would be good.

“What a perfect fucking whore, I can feel you squeezing me. Want more?” Harry mocked, rubbing the pads of his fingers over her precious g-spot. He was slow with the movements, coaxing more of those delicious little moans out of her. “Should’ve known you could take it— don’t you dare cum before I say so.” He didn’t want to stop touching her, he intended to flood her senses for a good while before giving her her first of many orgasms.

Harry clicked the toy up a speed, chuckling darkly at the way her body jolted. “So sensitive, so greedy…” He just about growled into her thigh, teeth sinking into the skin enough to satisfy him. The man could tell she was gone, but he didn’t want to stop it. Not when she was taking it so well, not when she so clearly wanted more.

She yelped against the fabric, body jerking as his teeth marked her. He hadn’t been joking when he had said he was going to go for it. While he’s bitten her before, this one was a claiming one. Dark and hard and a promise of more, making her drip for him.

“So-ee.” The poor attempt of ‘Sorry’ was muffled through a gag, apologizing from her jolt. His eyes glazed up at her, shaking his head but continuing his slight torture.

Harry loved to see her wet like this. To see the wet juices of her cunt coat his fingers and drip down her folds, all the way down to her ass. Soon enough it would mark the bedcover, and he couldn’t wait for that. His cock was aching, pulsing in his briefs but he was satisfying a different urge.

“Sorry? Mm… Slutty thing is sorry she can’t take a bite. What are we going to do with you?” Adding another finger, her legs twitched as her toes curled, the sloshing, wet sound of them fucking into her the music he needed to hear to his ears. “Don’t fucking cum.” He warned, pressing the vibrator harder against her clit. “Don’t do it. I know you’ve got a filthy set of holes back here, but have some self control.” He could feel it, the beginnings of clenches around his fingers and her thighs trembling as she began to protest behind the gag.

She almost did it. The pain had buzzed on to pleasure as his joined fingers curled right against a spot that had her stomach jumping, but he could tell. Immediately, her muddled moans were disrupted by a screech. His hand yanked away the toy, his fingers pulling out and the wet palm of his hand coming rough roughly onto her cunt.

“What did I say? Did I not just fucking tell you to hold it? You were going to do it anyway.” Again, his hand came down right over her clit, the sharp sting making her writhe under him.  Again. And again. The stringing of slaps to her most intimate area hurt, but they felt good. So good, and Bunny could feel tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

With a glare, Harry’s fingers pulled her spit soaked panties from her mouth and held her jaw roughly, speaking to her through a cruel smile. “Does it hurt too bad?” He cooed, shaking her head back and forth before he narrowed his eyes. “Or…Did you like that? Did my pretty little pain slut like having her cunt smacked around?” He asked, wiping his wet fingers on her cheek. Y/N was stupified, eyes wide and wet and mouth open as she tried to find the words. “Yes or no, Bunny. Use those words. Or did Daddy take them away from you so quickly?”

“Yes, I liked it, Daddy.” Bunny could feel her face heating up as she breathed out her answer. Admitting it to him always made her feel so shy, even more so than being spread out like this. Her body belonged to him, she never wanted to hide from him after the first time. But saying she liked his twisted methods of domination was another story.  She used all the strength she had to hold herself up, using this opportunity to take in his expression. His face was wet—covered in her arousal, and his eyes were dark with pure lust. Primal desire, he couldn’t help himself. Every bit of her struggle to manage the immense pleasure sent him further into the headspace. He swore he could swallow her whole if she’d let him.

“Yeah? You like it, gorgeous?” Harry cooed, noticing the floaty look in her eyes. She was just as far gone as he was, he was glad she had convinced him to give in. His perfect girl, she really could take it.

“I do... I do, I love it.” She mewled, seeking his approval as she looked at him with glassy eyes and pouty lips. “Love e-everything you do to me. I want to make you happy.”

Harry felt that tiny bit of softness leak through the primitive layer, making him pet over her face softly before it melted away. She was dazed, looking like a baby deer- his helpless little Bunny. “I know you do. I could do anything I wanted and you’d thank me for it.” He sighed, shaking his head before pressing his lips to hers. A hint of softness before he had her.

“I could take this little toy….” He took the vibrator, switching it back on to a higher setting and placing it on her clit as he loomed over her shivering body, her mouth open and wet as she took uneven inhales. “And I could tape it to you. I could keep this little thing connected to your poor little clit and make you cum over and over for me until you can’t take it. And you’d thank me.”

A tear dripped down her cheek as she tried to hold back, the orgasm quickly rising as he had found the perfect spot, the perfect pace. “H-sir, sir- please let me cum, please, please, please.” She wrung her hands in the belt, the bite of the leather making her moan. “I can’t hold it, I can’t hold it, I wanna be good-“

And then, it was gone. A sob left her throat, frustration raising as Harry’s smirking face was her only vision.

“That was a cute beg. I liked it.” His smile resembled a wolf. Hunting her down, playing with his food. “Let’s try it again.”

Edging.

“No, no, no— Please!” Bunny cried, thrashing slightly in disapproval. “Please, please, please, please—“

Smack.

“Quiet,” Harry commanded, his voice stern as his hand roughly gripped her face. With furrowed brows he stared down at her, daring her to look away. “You were doing so well, what happened?” He kissed his teeth, dropping her from his grip. “If you want to cum you have to listen to me, brat.” He was testing his own patience. Hearing her beg was a weakness of his, but he wanted to prove a point.

Bunny simply nodded, bottom lip quivering for a moment. She wanted to cum so bad she could cry, the smack he placed across her cheek only fueling the fire in her core. “I’m sorry, sir.” She squeaked, blinking away her needy tears in hopes that he would touch her.

“Can I have a kiss? Please.” Her voice changed momentarily, needing him to ground her and remind her that she was doing well despite his harshness.

It was a moment of clarity, her shaky voice bleeding into a slightly unsure tone that had him softening up nearly immediately. It was good to know that his body truly could tell a difference. His fingers stroked her cheek where he had smacked, eyes gentle as he tipped her chin up and pressed their lips together for a loving kiss. “Doing so well for me. Can’t believe how well you’re taking this.” He murmured against her lips. “You’re okay?” The last thing he wanted to do was upset her seriously.

Thankfully she nodded, puckering her lips for a few more kisses which he readily gave to her before he could sense her melting back into position. “There. Good girl. Just tell me if you need me to stop, you know the safe word.” He gently tapped the tip of her nose before he let that dark mask take back over.

She was in awe of how he could do it. How he could be so loving and tender to her and then call her all the names in the book- and even more so because she loved it. Ate up every single piece of it

Without a word, he slipped his hand under her jaw to keep her eyes on him while the other flipped the vibrator back on. “You can cum this time. Then I think you’ll be nice and open for my dick. I want to see you be the pretty, needy little brat. Talk to me. Because as soon as I’m inside you, you’re not going to be able to.” He nudged their noses together. “Because you get so dumb on my cock. I love every bit of it. But someone’s got to remind you who you belong to.”

She belonged to him.

Everyone in this hotel would know that by the end of the night, Harry would make sure of it. Granting her permission to make noise, he knew there was no reason for her to hold back. He himself was tired of the muffled sounds, he wanted to hear her loud and clear.

“Thank you, sir, I-aH” Bunny’s breath hitched, relaxing into the feeling with a low whine. He had started it off deliciously slow again, though the pain from his previous torment had built up. She was sensitive.

“Just wanna cum, wanna show you how good you make me feel.” Bunny’s hands instinctually went to cup her tits but forgot about her bound wrists. She cursed him in her head, quickly losing herself in the pleasure as he turned the toy up another speed.

“Please slap my tits, want you to bite me again— I wanna cum for you over and over and over like you said, sir.” She was gone, far gone.  “I’m your good girl, I promise.”

Harry loved this. He loved every bit of it.

This woman called to every single part of him, making him feel slightly feral as she spoke. This was his best friend’s little sister, the woman he was supposed to protect, and yet she was here telling him to slap her tits, bite her, to make her cum. It was wrong in many senses of the word but Harry had found that part of that made it feel even better.

He growled under his breath, doing exactly as he wanted. “That’s what I wanted.” He chuckled, slapping her bare breast before pinching her nipple. The noise that came from her swollen mouth was unlike what he’d heard before, but it continued when he pulled on it. It was visible in her face, she was wrecked already and he wanted to get her there. Make her babble again, her shaking legs struggling to stay open as he leaned down to bite right on the swell of her breast.

Bunny let out another desperate mewl, the bite hurting so fucking good she was close to seeing stars. “Please, please, I’m a good girl. I’m a good girl for you, I’m yours, keep biting me- M’gonna cum, gonna cum, gonna….” Her frantic squeaks were paired with a dark noise from Harry’s throat, moving to her neck to bite down on the soft curve of her shoulder. As soon as his teeth dug in, she lost it.

The vibrations, the pain of them, his fingers twisting and pinching her breast, the perfect mixture to make her cum. A wail left her plushy mouth as Harry rutted slightly against her thigh, pulling his teeth away to watch her face scrunch in pleasure.

She could feel pins and needles in her legs, crying as she came. The work up to the orgasm, the restraint, his closeness, she was greedy and got one of her wishes.

Bunny sighed in satisfaction, her body convulsing as she rode out the orgasm. “Fuck! Ah-“ She hissed, finally feeling the buzzing of the vibrator on her clit. It seemed that Harry wasn’t satisfied with just the one. “It hurts, Daddy.” She couldn’t bring herself to tell him to turn it off though.

“Shh, give it a few moments, pet…” Harry mumbled against her skin, knowing if she waited long enough the pain would turn to pleasure. It took a few more moments and whines from her till he felt her hips buck up against the toy. “That’s it, give me another one like the greedy little whore you are.” He let his mouth move back down to her chest, sucking at the skin before finding another perfect patch to bite.

Her skin was so warm and smooth against him, though he was starting to get annoyed at the layers he still had on. He hadn’t even bothered to rid himself of his clothes, getting carried away in the moment. He couldn’t bring himself to let go of her either.

“Can I? Fuck— can I cum again? It feels so good, can I, can I, can I—“ Bunny’s breathing was picking up again, eyes squeezing shut as if that would stop the quickly building climax from ripping through her. “I can’t hold it, please say yes, please—”

Pulling off her nipple, his hand smacked against her breast before he barked out the order.

“Cum.”

She felt like she wasn’t in her own body, on her way out. Halfway in. She was hot, sweat on her brow as she shuddered under him. It was fuzzy, her eyes clenching shut as her mouth opened in a silent screech.

Harry loved watching her cum. How her body arched, how she shook, her jaw clenching and her chest heaving. He was going to make sure he could keep this vision exclusively his for the rest of his life.

“That’s it, that’s my fucking girl.” He praised, laughing in disbelief as he felt her gush a little on his hand that held the toy. Messy, wet, everything he had been going for. He knew when it was starting to get too much, her squirm and whine signaling him for the right moment to stop. Pulling it off, he tossed it to the side and pressed their lips together, peppering filthy praises between the kisses.

“My fucking girl. So pretty when you cum for me. You drive me crazy. I’m so obsessed with you.” He panted, pulling back and taking her bound hands, and untying the belt off of her wrists.  They looked a little irritated, making him take a second to stroke over them and bring them together to kiss the irritated skin. “M’not sorry, precious. You loved it.”

He was quick to dispose of the rest of his clothes, kicking them whenever they landed. He just wanted her. She was boneless on the bed, his gorgeous woman, panting as she looked at him with wet cheeks and clenched thighs he had to pry back open.

“C’mon,Baby. Up.” He lifted her towards the top of the bed. settling her onto the pillows, her hair haloed across the linen pillowcases, her bitten lips plump and dark, cheeks wet with her tears from the pleasure. His angelic picture with a frame sent from hell.

“You can touch me now, but I need to be inside of you.”

“I want you,“ Bunny’s hands immediately flew up to his hair, tugging at the roots with vigor. She had been itching to do it since the minute his tongue swiped over her clit, her grip so tight she swore her knuckles were white. “Inside. Right now.” She was still breathless, lifting her head to connect their lips once again.

She loved to kiss him. She would be happy just kissing him forever, but why would she want to when he could fuck her like this? “You’re so hot,” She whined against him, “please put your cock in me. I can’t stop thinking about it.”

Bunny let one of her hands trail down his back, nails digging into the skin to inflict a bit of pain and emphasize her words. She needed his cock. “Call me greedy, I don’t care, I want it so bad— I wanna make a mess all over you. Want to feel you,” She trailed off, her eyes glazed over with desire. Her hand moved to grab his, placing it over the softest part of her belly. “Here.”

He had definitely broken her a bit. That shy, soft spoken spirit with a hint of tease had gone full blown need, showing her hand as she broke,  egging him for it. Whining. She liked to be manhandled, she liked how regardless of his rough actions he took time to praise and check in and it drove her mad.

His hand flexed on her stomach, a fire flaring through his body.  His Bunny begging him for it, not a hint of hesitation- it did something for him. A new wick lit inside, engulfing the rest of him in flames.  It triggered a thought. One that would have repulsed him had it been quite literally anyone else…but the girl under him had a way of making him completely and utterly ruin any walls he had up. Rubble on the pavement.

He obliged, settling between her legs and brushing the dripping, ruddy tip of his engorged cock through her slick and puffy lips. It was so easy to get wet enough, wasting little time as he began to push in.

“Then take it.” He whispered, sliding his hand under her neck to hold her there. Right at the nape, eyes watching as hers watered at the stretch. “You want me in your belly, baby? Want to be full of me?” Lips brushed hers. “You are such a needy, desperate little bitch. Y’know that? I adore every part of it. Makes me even more glad that you’re mine… but…” he hissed as she welcomed him in, finding his home deep seated in her cunt with his balls up against her ass. “When you do things like that, makes me want to breed you.” Their mingled breathing paused as Bunny’s caught in her throat. “Ought t’knock you up. Keep you full….. because you’re mine. You know it… but the world should know too, shouldn’t it? Should know *exactly* who you belong to.”

Y/N whined, wide eyed looking at him as her body reacted to the ultra possessive claim. He’s always been a domineering man, but something about such a permanent claim had them both hot. It would be the worst timing, but her legs tightened around him to keep him close.

“Please.” The bleated word hit his lips. “I- yes. Yes. I want it, I want you in my belly. Please do it.”

Harry snickered at her pleading, feeling his cock grow impossibly heavy inside her. She was begging for his load, to have his child. Part of him knew she was just spacey, but he decided he’d let himself imagine she truly meant it for the moment. Would hurt right?

“Asking so nicely, like a good little slut.” He purred, the same feral smile returning to his face. His hips pulled back only to snap back inside her with a guttural moan leaving his throat. “Fucking love your cunt,” He set a slow pace for himself, wanting to meld his cock into every part of her walls. “Think I could spend days inside of you and still never get enough…. And you’re squeezing me so tight, you still aren’t satisfied?”

“No, too slow.” Bunny breathed, at her wit's end. Feeling full of him wasn’t cutting it in this state, she was feigning. Her hips bucked up on her own, her back arching to lean further into him. Her bratty self wasn’t taking too well to this position. He was still going easy on her. “Don’t tease me anymore, know you want to fuck me stupid. Make me hurt. Show me how you want it.”

What she hadn’t expected, though, was the sting in her scalp as he gripped her hair and kept her face still as he filled her to the brim, stopping the thrusts.

No. No, she needed more.

“I think you forget who’s in charge here.” He snarled. “No matter how good your cunt is, I’m the one who owns it. Making demands?” He laughed through his nose. “I’ll do as I damn well please.” His cock pulled back out to the tip before slamming back in, making the bed lurch and hit the wall.

She swore she saw stars, a scream leaving her lips as he repeated it again. Deep, so fucking deep that she didn’t know what to do with herself.

“Where did my good whore go? I love that beg but-“ he gave another devastating thrust, making her pant, nails digging into his back roughly. “You turned into a brat. Lucky I need to empty my balls and you’ve got a perfect hole for it, or I’d take it away from you.”

Her grip was strong enough to break skin, nails clawing down the length of his back with primal need.

Harry groaned at the feeling, the burn adding to his arousal. He liked the pain she was inflicting upon him but needed to be closer, deeper.

Without much of a warning, he pulled out and flipped her around, slamming back into her with such force the bed frame smacked against the wall again.

“No more words, Princess? Already gone dumb on my cock?” Harry couldn’t stop his hips from pistoning in and out of her with force. The feeling of her milking him was far too good, he’d teased himself enough and it was time to give in. “Take it. Every, last, bit.” His voice grew dark, pushing himself up off of her so he could take in his view.

Beautiful supple skin ready to be marked in any way he pleased. Her ass was something he couldn’t resist. “Wanted to plug you up today, make you squirm till you begged for me to fill both of your holes.” Thwack. Harry paused to admire the trace left over on her skin. “I couldn’t wait. I knew you couldn’t either— filthy little slut. You’re dripping f’me.” He smirked, placing another heavy handed smack on the opposite cheek.

She didn’t know how good it would feel.

There had been a feeling. With how he had smacked her before, how he had held her a bit rough. She knew that she liked pain and liked to see him in a darker, dominant headspace- but she hadn’t expected to feel the stinging prickles on her cheek and have it travel down to her cunt, showing clearly now as he fucked into her. His smacks had made her moan, the garbled noise fueling him further. His fingers brushed over her hot skin gently and massaged the flesh as his cock pounded into her. A contrast to the heavy thrusts stealing her breath and the slamming of the headboard into the wall behind them.

“Fu-uck. I can’t- I….” She choked on her words as he shifted, one leg over her hip while he stayed between his thighs with the other one. Her ass was spread open with his hand, thumb pressing into her hole as she squealed and thrashed under him.

It was too much. Both her holes being filled, the jostling of her body, being tossed around with her face in the sheets, she came without permission. Screaming muffled into the fabric as her face was stained with sweat and tears, noises punched out of her as he didn’t let up.

If anything? It spurred him on.

The steady sound of the headboard smacking against the wall kept the two of them anchored in reality. They paid no mind to the slow cracking in the bed frame, instead, Harry found himself sinking deeper into a new headspace.

“Greedy girl,“ He growled lowly, his voice settling in the thick air of the room. The smell of sin was enough for him to feel high. “Can’t wait for permission?” Another smack reverberated throughout the room. “You‘ll give me another.” He demanded.

Bunny opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Unable to form a single sentence, she screamed while writhing beneath him. Everything felt fuzzy, her vision blurry, her body completely open. His words made her cunt clench, surprising herself with how much she could take. Her body was begging for more. Her head turned so she could catch her breath, attempting to stabilize herself with her grip on the sheets and mattress. It was no use.

“Knew you’d shut up.” Harry was feral. “Keep screaming, slut. This is exactly what you wanted wasn’t it?”

It was, it was exactly what the both of them wanted- and they wouldn’t be stopping.

Not until it was 3 in the morning, the bed had broken, and their muscles ached.

And a hole in the wall from the bed frame- but that would be a problem for when they woke up. So would Harry’s raised and bleeding scratch marks, the bruising on Y/N’s hips and wrists, the lack of voice she was going to have from screaming when he hit it just right- but that was tomorrow’s problem. Right now, it was time to relish in their unfiltered, unadulterated passion.

Who knew when they’d get this opportunity again?

[storm-angel989]

Valentino x daughter reader how would he react to reader sneaking out then coming home in the middle of the night drunk and how would the rest of the vees react. Also don't forget to drink water love!

Hi!

I actually think I have a double of this request, so I'm writing two different stories so I can answer both requests <3

Here is the first one! Enjoy!

<3 Mandy

Being Valentino’s daughter wasn’t easy.

Sure, my Aunt and Uncle were Velvette and Vox- and together the three of them made up the most powerful overlords in all of the Pride ring. 

But being Valentino’s daughter meant that everywhere I went, I had an escort. Which meant misbehaving as a general rule was greatly frowned up, if not proactively prevented. It meant wearing a VoxTech watch and clothes that were almost certainly bugged and tracked- just in case.

Many demons want to hurt us, mi amore, my father explained to me when I was little. We just want to make sure you’re safe.

At age five, those safety features came in handy. All my teachers bent over backwards to be nice to me- especially after I hit Vox’s face on my watch for the first time and he came raging into the school. At age ten, it meant birthday parties under the watchful eye of either one of them, or a body guard. At age thirteen, it meant my friends group kept secrets to include me in the latest parties. And by sixteen, I had perfected the art of sneaking out of the tower at night.

But maybe not the art of sneaking back in. 

Somehow, I found myself in the lobby of the V tower, the room spinning. Sure, I had been drinking, but not enough to get drunk. Never enough to get drunk. My Daddy had warned me early on to say no to drugs and to watch my drink. 

Carefully, out of view of my Uncle Vox’s cameras, I slipped into the elevator and hit the sixth floor button. Our flat was on the seventh floor, but if I entered on the sixth floor and climbed the staircase, I could sneak in a hellofalot easier. I leaned back against the elevator and sank to the floor as the lurch of the elevator knocked me off balance. As I heard each floor ding past, I giggled to myself. 

The door opened and I slowly made my way towards the back of the dark flat. I wasn’t technically allowed in here but I wasn’t…disallowed either. Was that the right word? Not like my Daddy’s studio where I wasn’t allowed, ever.

Slowly, I climbed up the stairs, pausing to catch my breath every few steps. The feeling of vibration, of the room spinning was getting worse. Wait! I had just the thing! I sank to the floor just outside the door that led into our flat and dug around in my purse until I found it. A shot of vodka, given to me by a boy at the party. What did they call it? Hair of the dog? What a silly name. 

I swallowed the contents of the bottle and pulled myself back to my feet as I pushed open the door. My stomach churned and I couldn’t tell if I was hungry or if I needed to be sick. Tiptoeing down the hallway, I made my way towards the living room. I just needed to get to my room, just a few more steps….

All at once, the lights came flooding on. I groaned and sank down to the floor for the third time. Shit. Had Uncle Vox installed motion sensor lights since the last time I went out?

“What are you doing Ninita?” my father’s voice growled from the elevator. 

“Daddy? Wh, why’re you awake?” I slurred. 

The feeling of the room spinning was worse now. I laid on my back and pointed my knees to the ceiling. 

“I’m just coming home from work. The better question is, why are you up? And what the fuck are you wearing?” He demanded.

He knelt down next to me and leaned his face down next to mine. I stared at the ceiling and swore I saw my Uncle Vox and Auntie Velvette looking down at me. But that would be silly, right?

“Daddy, why are you working so late?” I mumbled. 

“Have you been drinking?” Vox’s voice demanded.

“Sure looks like it,” Velvette’s voice chimed in.

“And smells like it. Alright, let’s get you to bed little girl,” my father’s voice said firmly. “Or at the very least on your side.”

“I haven’t been out, I swear!” I half yelled as my father pulled me to my feet. I felt myself pitch forward and his arms caught my waist.

“We don’t care where you’ve been, can you tell me what’s in your system at least?” Valentino asked as he half carried me to the bedroom. “Vel, I need you to…get her into pjamas or something.”

“Vodka! Oops. I mean, soda. Rum! Coke?” I answered with a giggle. “The good stuff.”

“The drug or the drink?” He asked as he sat me on the bed. 

I felt his fingers under my chin and I giggled as I fell to the side. 

“I’m going to assume the drink,” he mumbled. 

I watched him step back and turn away. Velvette stepped forward and the next thing I knew I was in my pajamas on my side. All the sudden, the joy I felt went away, replaced by an ache in my belly. 

“Who wants to babysit?” I heard Valentino ask.

“Daddy? I don’t feel good,” I mumbled.

I felt hands lift me upright and my head rested against the plastic of the garbage can. 

“That’s right ninita, get it all out,” I heard my father mutter. “Vel, can you braid back her hair? And Vox, go downstairs, grab an IV kit so she doesn’t wake up with…”

“No, Valentino. Don’t baby her. I mean, don’t let her die but let her suffer the consequences of a hangover,” Vox replied. “Let her wake up feeling shitty.”

“Vox is right, you know, maybe it will make her less likely to do it again,” Velvette added. 

“I think I’m good! Gimmie the…gimmie the IV Daddy,” I lifted my head up.

Valentino gently wiped my mouth. “I think it’s time for bed, ninita. We can talk about this in the morning.”

“Daddy I’m fine! I’m…” I leaned over the garbage can as more liquid came up. “Ugh…my tummy hurts.”

“Yeah, it’s going to,” he muttered. “Just get it out of your belly.” 

The next thing I knew the sunlight streamed through the window. Every part of my body ached and I groaned at the aching in my head. 

“Good morning sunshine! Nice to see you’ve finally joined the world of the living!” Vox’s too loud voice echoed in my bedroom.

I cringed. “Ow, Uncle Vox turn the sun off.”

“Aw, baby does your head hurt? How’s that tummy feel? A little nauseous?” He asked. “Here, I’ve got two pills and a red gatorade for you. Down they go. When you’re ready, I’ll make you toast.”

“What happened? Where’s dad?” I muttered as I took the proffered medicine. “Ugh, my head. I feel like I got hit by a truck.”

“You’re the one who decided to drink last night,” Vox said lightly. 

“I need a shower,” I grumbled as I swung my legs off the bed. I stood up and the room spun. I felt Vox’s hands hold me for support. 

“Let’s get you hydrated before you go solo, com’on. Out to the living room,” he said.

I flopped on the couch and closed my eyes. Fucking hell, was this what a true hangover felt like? God, I never wanted to drink again. 

“Not feeling too good, hm mi amore?” My Dad’s voice floated across the livingroom. 

I felt his hand on my forehead. “No, Daddy, I don’t.”

“Maybe next time you’ll think twice before trying to sneak out,” he said lightly as he pushed back my hair. 

I felt a cool cloth cover my forehead and eyes and let out an exhale. “Ah, Daddy that feels good. You don’t have to worry about me sneaking out, I’m never drinking again, I swear.”

“If you change your mind, I promise getting out will be a lot harder next time,” Vox’s voice added. 

“Just make the pain go away,” I begged.

“Sorry sweetheart, time is the only cure. But we can discuss your consequence when you’re feeling better,” Valentino replied. “Until then, might as well close your eyes.” 

I groaned. “You’re the overlord of lust and depravity, don’t you have a magic cure or something?”

I heard him laugh. “Oh sweetheart. This is one lesson you have to learn on your own.”

[tirfpikachu]

this screenshot from another post actually really hit me hard

it's so true... they always do this. trying to make body dysphoria seem inherently worse than body dysmorphia is actually cruel. as someone who developed extremely severe body dysmorphia before dysphoria, i can tell you it's the #1 reason i started hating and harming myself and wanting to die at a young age. i would've 1000% gotten extreme facial plastic surgery to "fix" myself. and while for some it's their road to happiness, if i had it... it personally would've locked me into this fake version of myself, forever wearing a mask. and whenever i'd see someone looking like my past self, a haunting feeling would've come over me. and yet society was encouraging me to "fix" my perceived flaws. it was insanely normalized. it was seen as almost self-care, and a way to better my chances in life as a "prettier" woman. it really fucked me up. you CANNOT look me in the eyes and say shit like "women just want to xyz bc of beauty standards, it's not the same as my much worse severely debilitating dysphoria" without telling my younger self and other young girls that her life-threatening suffering wasn't bad enough, wasn't painful enough, wasn't as bad as anything a trans person goes through. it assumes so fucking much about dysmorphic people. don't brush us off so easily. don't put yourself as inherently in a worse situation when societal misogyny costs real lives. especially since for me, it came from initial bullying at a young age, like many other girls who hate their own bodies & faces. stop belittling our pain.

my dysphoria was very debilitating too, and made me a trans activist for life. but it did come with risks. i developed reverse dysphoria quite quickly after i started growing stubble, and now i'm stuck with that painful dysphoria until i can get expensive laser hair removal. if this is how transfems feel like about their own stubble, holy shit... i'm so fucking sorry. that's a truly horrible feeling. what i can tell you though, is that this is actually a cousin sensation to dysmorphia. dysmorphia & dysphoria aren't as separated as y'all might want them to be, which would make things must simpler ofc. but it's the feeling of visceral disgust, of your body not being good enough, not being you enough. that sucks to think about; we don't want to empower the transphobic crowd into thinking they can magically fix us all. and so, many activists and dysphoric people try to compensate by portraying them as experiences that are completely foreign to one another. as never being related or feeling similar at all, ever. but the thing is, as a previously chronically dysphoric & dysmorphic detrans chick, i can tell you first-hand that it doesn't help anyone to pretend that these aren't often comorbid disorders, and that they actually really do feel similar. and that's okay! no one should take all your treatment options away just because of that. that would be shitty, transphobic, and honestly ableist. but we gotta encourage ppl & their doctors to do due diligence (which my doctor and trans community didn't) and be open to everybody about the risk of regret, of reverse dysphoria, of things not working out the way we think they will. because all that at the very least makes detransitions less painful, even if you personally never detransition. detransitions can lead to very extreme self-hatred, and all the unfortunate consequences of self-hatred. it is a very vulnerable place to be in, and we want to prevent harm. more and more folks are detransitioning because of a lack of information and a focus on celebrating someone's transition early instead of giving proper information. the same should be done with dysmorphic folks - i am both a post-dysphoric and post-dysmorphic person. but many dysmorphic people cannot function without getting surgeries.

and while this is honestly tragic, as anyone needing to go under the knife at all is tragic in a sense... sometimes it is the only life-saving treatment option for the person. for me, i feel so fucking proud of my survival despite years of debilitating disgust at myself, my body and my face. both in a dysphoric and dysmorphic way. but i do not look down on anyone who did have to go through surgeries. i'm just happy to see them smile and feel good about themselves, honestly. but it is a bit bittersweet. how was it, before surgeries, to be dysphoric? to be dysmorphic? i want to read more stories from those eras. how did people find inner peace? did they, in the end? how many didn't survive? what did they have to say? i feel a strange sense of yearning, sometimes. heteropatriarchal society is really weird. it triggers dysmorphia in so many young girls & transmascs. it can also trigger temporary dysphoria in some people, and even permanent dysphoria. and just because certain societal things are a factor in your dysphoria doesn't mean you're lesser for it either - your suffering matters. just like dysmorphic suffering. hating yourself at all is so fucking painful. i wouldn't wish it on my worse enemy, or i'd at least strongly hesitate and they'd need to be an actual monster to deserve it. i love dysphoric & dysmorphic people so fucking much. i don't want us to fight eachother, or shame eachother for seeking treatments when things become too much for us to bear. we need to uplift one another. do everything we can to lessen these feelings in ourselves, of course, as a community of people who hate their bodies and place in society. but if someone chooses to cross over, to take hormones, to have surgeries... i just don't want them to regret it, that's all. and if they don't? if they're happy? i would hug them and breathe a sigh of relief as well. i'd feel bittersweet, almost nostalgic, because i've been there. people who haven't been severely dysphoric or dysmorphic don't fucking understand. hopefully they never will.

[howlsofbloodhounds]

Thinking about the papyrus that makes the puzzles in nightmares castle

Also yes he IS the papyrus of something new, though from another timeline

Like he was there in like..the early days when they castle was done but not like, fully.

So like he must know nightmare VERY well, better then he knows his own brother at this point. Though he doesn't even know where his brother is, but from what he was told he may be dead?

Anyways, i think it'd be a relationship akin to whatever it is with flowey and papyrus. Papyrus still believes nightmare can be a good person.

Also i think nightmare would've tried the "hurting them as discipline" method once, when he was really angry. Only to be surprised that the papyrus got out his hold and went and hid in the library. Yeah he didn't realize that the occasional sparring and just watching him fight was enough for papyrus to get a rough idea of what to do, along with knowing him enough personally to know nightmare hates hurting his books and avoids it as much as he can.

Even more surprised when after he calmed down papyrus asked if he was alright, the reason why he did it, straight up just forced him to talk about it, and gave him a pat on the head and praised him for talking about his feelings

Yes this man forced an immortal being to say why he did what he did and even scolded him since "he could just tell him if he wanted something changed."

I truly think papyrus could fight god and win but ok

(Nightmare avoided papyrus for a while after that just...confused.)

More abt papyrus :3

being close to nightmare for a while i think he might've gone slightly off the rails mentally, just witnessing the insane shit nightmare does and maybe even because of his aura?

He is still very much papyrus, but he is a little closer to being like HT papyrus mentally.

Also i think he'd wear other clothing, actual armor instead of his battle body. Maybe something like a cloak too, thats like hanging off the side of his shoulder (that has a name, no idea what it is, just bear with me because i dont know how this shit works ✊️)

He's technically a guard in title, though he doesn't really do much guarding. Atleast he fulfilled his wish of being a royal guard?

He probably also learned proper etiquette, dancing and swordfighting. He doesn't really need it he just saw nightmare doing it and he thought if was cool, and well, nightmare doesnt have much to do after all of his friends dying- so he teached papyrus

He also knows piano! He is mostly self taught, and a little of when undyne taught him the basics. He learned because he missed undyne 😔

Actually, i think he'd pick up hobbies or have items to remind him of his friends. Snagging a random sanses hoodie because it looked like his brothers (and leaving some g and an apology note after.), learning piano(undyne), making his own hot chocolate recipe(grillby), ACTUALLY learning how to cook(undyne again), learning how to play the trombone(sans)

Also, just imagining nightmare wanting to fuck with killer so while killer is in the office he calls the papyrus over (and says to find his battle body) without telling killer. And just...killer being met with a papyrus that looks so eerily close to his. (I think every papyrus's body is slightly different, you dont notice it unless you'd be his brother or something)

Nightmare got scolded by papyrus afterwards but he wasn't really listening

Also papyrus spars with others frequently :3, he got permission to go out to AUs and spar with the people there (its mostly papyruses, undynes and alphyses but sometimes others too!) And he's done it for a long time aswell, he got really good at it! And he got even BETTER control of his magic then he already had

If you were to ever fight this papyrus it'd be one hell of a challenge for a shit ton of people, so thats fun

I love making papyri really strong and cool 💃

Anyways that was my papyrus rant

We could always use more Papyrus aus, especially something new papyrus.

{ @brokenramunebottle }

[sentientcave]

Let's Riot!

When the Reader St arena gets bought out from under them by Morgan’s vengeful ex, Pippa Graves, The Reader St Riots suddenly find themselves without a practice space. Pippa may say she’ll play nice, but Morgan knows that she’ll either have to get back under Pippa’s manicured thumb or the whole team will be out on their ass in no time. Problem is, the only other practice space around that’s not booked up to the tits belongs to Jo Price, captain of the Femme41, and well… Morgan has a bit of ugly history with her too.

Still, Jo’s at least a little more reasonable than Pippa, and Morgan may hate to beg, but she’d hate to see the Riots disbanded more. And well, maybe there’s room for a little cooperation, especially when their teams get along so well.

Contains: Lesbians! Almost everyone is a woman (Alex is NB and there are like. A few men mentioned.) and most of them are gay, OCs: Readers and OCs from a bunch of my projects and also Bambi and Bricks who belong to the esteemed @dragonnarrative-writes , Roller Derby!, complicated dating histories, this is just a fun little palette cleanser because I got sad working on one of my other projects lmao, alcohol consumption, cannabis consumption

~3k - 18+ MDNI

“Frank, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”

“Come on, sweetheart, calm down—”

“I am calm!” Morgan snapped.

Chelsea quickly put an arm in front of Morgan and dragged her back a step. Calling Morgan sweetheart was a great shortcut to her blowing her top. “You are definitely not calm.” She looked back at Frank. He stood between them and the doors to the arena, a short, balding man that looked a bit sweaty and nervous in the low light. “You couldn’t give us any notice?”

“Look, I’ll return your deposits for the month—”

“That’s not the issue!” Morgan's brown eyes flashed with fury, her jaw tight, like she wanted to bite the man, which would be distinctly unhelpful.

Chelsea dragged her back another step. “It is a little the issue. What happened? We’ve never had any trouble, we’ve always paid on time, there’s no reason why you’d drop us like this.”

“New owners,” he said weakly. “I’m sorry, they cancelled everyone. You were just at the bottom of the call list, and you got here before I could.”

“New owners! Since when was it for sale?”

“Hell if I know. They don’t tell me shit either. All I know is that Gerry came in here with some blond bi—" He thought twice about his wording, giving Morgan another nervous glance. "--Woman and she’s the boss now.”

Morgan walked in a tight circle, looking up at the sky, hands on her hips. This wasn’t happening. It didn’t have to be her. Maybe it was some other blond woman with money to burn. “Fuck.”

The doors behind Frank opened. “Oh, hey sugar,” a too-familiar voice rang out, southern accent distinctive. “Fancy meetin' you here.”

Morgan turned around sharply. “Pippa.”

Chelsea groaned. “Oh here we go.”

“Go back to your office, Frank. I think I’ve got this from here.” Phillipa Graves patted Frank on the shoulder and walked past him. “Morgan, I’ve missed you. You never return my calls anymore.”

“Is that what this is about?” Morgan shifted her grip on her bag, glancing toward the parking lot. Bricks and Doll were lingering at the edge, talking to each other and looking back with worried expressions. They knew the history between Morgan and Pippa well enough to be wary of what might happen next. “You’re gonna steal our practice space because I won’t call you back?”

“Aw, honey, don’t be like that. We’re all big girls. I figure we can learn to share. Why don’t you join us tonight? And early next week we can grab dinner and make a new schedule. I’m sure there’s a way to make sure we’re all… satisfied.” Pippa twisted one of Morgan’s curls around her finger, leaning in close. Even ready for practice, she looked perfect as always, more like she was about to model for a roller skate advertisement than actually practice. Sleek blonde hair swept back in a low braid, a tight pink tank top, leggings that clung to her thighs, pads on, skates off, preparation interrupted by all the fuss she was certainly expecting.

“I’m the one that does the scheduling, usually,” Chelsea interjected. “Maybe it’s us that should get dinner.”

“If you like,” Pippa said smoothly, barely sparing Chelsea a glance. “The more the merrier, of course. Though I do have some personal business to talk over with Morgan too. Suppose it can wait.” She tapped Morgan under the chin with her first knuckle. “Come on, sugar, practice with us. We’re not so bad. And you’re all already here, ain’t you?”

“We’ll have to talk it over.”

“Course. Y’all come on in when you’re done talkin’.” Pippa winked at Morgan and sauntered back inside.

Chelsea sighed, elbowing Morgan as they walked over to the others. The rest of the team had gathered around Bricks, her height marked among the group of shorter women. “You’re gonna have to sleep with her.”

Morgan rolled her eyes. “I’d really rather not.”

“She’s not going to be reasonable,” Billie pointed out. “She’s pure evil. She’s the head of the PTA at Ellie’s school, and she runs that shit like the navy. She’s gonna bend us over a barrel to get what she wants.”

“Have you ever tried not having antagonistic relationships with your exes?” Bricks asked. “Because that’s what I do, and no one has bought a whole arena just to fuck with me.”

“Yet,” Doll said reassuringly. “It could still happen.”

“The whole team is awful,” Bambi said. “One of them works in my office, and she’s a real— Well, I don’t like her.”

“Harsh words, DB.” Bricks propped her hands on her hips. “We can suck it up for one night, a free practice is a free practice. And if you have to flutter your eyelashes at her the whole time, you’re gonna do it.” She pointed at Morgan accusingly. “This is your fault.”

“It is not!”

“It is,” Chelsea said solemnly, fixing her pink bun from on top of her head to low on the nape of her neck to fit under her helmet. “Pussy game is clearly too strong. Maybe try being a worse fuck.”

“She can’t.” Bricks gently turned Morgan around so that she was facing the doors, and nudged her forward a step. “She doesn’t know how.”

Chelsea turned fully toward the others, walking backward. “Alright, drills only, we’re not going to let them goad us into a scrimmage, they’re gonna play dirty as hell with no refs, and we can’t afford an injury this close to a game. Keep it loose, and if anyone hassles you, come to me, or come to Bricks. Do not tell Morgan or she’s gonna punch someone and we’re gonna lose our space for good.”

“I’m not!”

Bricks laughed and caught Chelsea’s arm, spinning her before she hit the edge of the door. “Yes you are, Morgan. Stay on your best behaviour. Maybe even try being charming.”

Bunny nudged Dancer, grinning. “If you’d joined up last year, like I told you to, you could have been here for the whole explosion. It was great.”

“Great?” Billie asked, raising her eyebrows. “Were we watching the same breakup?”

Bricks glanced over her shoulder warningly. “Save it for drinks, ladies, or Morgan’s gonna make us skate line drills till we drop.”

They dropped their bags along the benches and geared up, watching the Shadows zip around the track. The Shadows were mean, not just on the track, but off too, in that sugar sweet way that left you wondering if you were just reading into it. They were a pretty well-rounded team, and coordinated, thanks to Pippa. She did nothing in half-measures. It seemed impossible that she’d be able to raise children, run school events, coach a junior team as well as an adult one, somehow have a job on top, and still have time to run around keeping two relationships secret from each other for nearly eight months, but Pippa was the kind of woman who really could have it all.

The Riots were… A good team. Pippa had poached two of their players during the breakup drama, and Pepper had moved back home to take care of her grandmother, and they were still trying to get back to where they had been a year ago. Kitten Caboodle and Break Dancer were pretty solid for fresh meat, but with a small team and only four of them with more than a few years experience, it was rough going out there. Hard not to get demoralized when Kortac had beaten them 240 to 60 during their last game. No one’s fault really— Bunny and Sweetpea had been out sick and neither Kitty or Dancer were prepared to jam more than a few rounds with players that rough. They’d gotten shaken, so Morgan and Billie had done most of the jams. Nobody and Freddie Kruger had just torn right through their weakened pack while Morgan and Bill tried to wrestle their way past Queenie.

Once Dancer and Kitty got more confident, they’d be hard to catch. Kitty was tiny, and Dancer was agile, but they both needed more time. Doll and Bambi, who had joined a little over a year ago had turned out to be a highly effective set of blockers— Small, but sturdy and hard to knock down. When they were out on the track with Bricks or Chelsea, they were nigh impossible to get past, which would leave their fourth blocker free to assist the jammer, in an ideal world.

The ideal world simply had five more players in it. Maybe more, since no one but Morgan and Bricks made it to every game.

Later on, worn out and sweaty from practice, crammed into the biggest booth at a diner that was roughly equidistant between everyone’s homes and the arena (and the young man that worked the fryers had a massive crush on Sweetpea, which meant everyone got more fries), they debriefed.

“That’s gonna be tricky for me to stomach long term,” Morgan admitted. “I’m gonna sleep with Pip if I have to be too nice.”

“You don’t actually have to sleep with her, you know,” Bricks said.

“No… I’m gonna.”

“We can find somewhere else,” Billie suggested. “I don’t want Morgan and Pip to get back together, it was so annoying when they were. All in favour of Morgan not fucking Pippa, say aye.” She raised her hand to note the measure.

“Aye,” they intoned together, all raising their hands as well.

“Simone says the Femme41 practice out of Jo’s warehouse now. Pippa did the same thing to them eight months ago. I bet they’d let us skate there.” Bricks tossed another fry into her mouth. “If someone behaves herself.”

Morgan scoffed. “It’s impossible for me to date another one of her girlfriends, her relationships hardly last the weekends now.”

Bunny mouthed the word Pippa at Kitty and Dancer.

“Then you won’t have a problem asking her,” Chelsea said. “Maybe bake her something nice as an overture. A pie or something. You make good pies.”

Morgan winced. “We have a game against them this weekend. We could ask her all together.”

Billie shook her head. “No, this one’s on you. Captain to captain conversation. You have Chelsea’s schedule key, you can negotiate for a time that works.”

“And if she says no? She hates my guts.”

“Wear something low cut and bake her a pie,” Bricks suggested. “Maybe just go wearing nothing but an apron.”

“I’ve got one that says Born To Be A Lesbian Housewife,” Doll said. “You can borrow it. It’s very frilly.”

Bambi giggled. “I’ve got one that says Vagitarian.”

Doll laughed too, knocking her head against Bambi’s shoulder. “That’s way better, Morgan, borrow that one.”

"I'm not going to-- Did you people hear me when I said she hates my guts?"

"She still has eyes, Morgan," Bricks said. "And you have nice tits."

"If you don't sort this out, we might have to disband to other teams. And I don't want to. I like you guys." Chelsea looped an arm around Kitty. "We started this team because we wanted to get together and have fun and challenge ourselves without it getting so damn competitive or mean. Bill and I are not going back to the Shadows, and there's no way Bricks wants to go back to Kortac. So put on your big girl panties and a cute dress, and charm Jo into sharing the warehouse with us. Got it?"

"Got it." Morgan sank back into her seat with a groan. I'll talk to her after work tomorrow."

"Good," Billie said, a note of finality in her voice. "Now, did anyone else watch Game of Dragons last night? I have opinions."

By the time Morgan got home, walked Laika, showered, ate cold leftovers out of the fridge and stepped out on her balcony with a joint, it was well past dark, and she was bone tired. Jo was out on her own balcony, feet up, smoking a cigar. She was a thick, barrel chested woman, wearing a tank top and jeans, cigar in one hand, glass of whiskey in the other. Her hair was longer than usual, tucked behind her ears, like she'd been growing it out. It had been a while since Morgan saw her without a hat on.

They acknowledged each other with a curt nod, and Morgan settled into her swing chair, tucking her feet up underneath her. Laika went to the railing to give Jo the biggest, saddest eyes she could.

Jo maybe didn't like Morgan much, but it was hard not to like Laika. The big goofy rottweiler loved almost everyone, and knew exactly how to get what she wanted (big sad eyes, a few pathetic whines, a raised paw, if need be). It was only a minute before Jo was up and leaning over the railing to give Laika a pet.

Usually they didn't speak. The smallest things seemed to spark up into fights between them, and Morgan found it was easier just to keep their interactions to a minimum.

So it was a surprise when Jo spoke first. "Rough night?"

"Yeah. You could say that."

"Want to talk about it?"

“Thank you for pretending to care, but not really.” She grimaced. It really was the perfect opportunity to ask, but it was hard to shake the habit of brushing Jo off.

Jo snorted. “You know, I really preferred fightin’ to this cold shoulder treatment.”

“That’s because you’re a disagreeable sort of woman.”

“That’s the spirit, pet. But you can do better than that. C’mere.”

Morgan glared at her. “No. I’m good where I am actually.” She looked the other way, puffing on the joint. She could ask tomorrow. She wasn’t in a mood to deal with anyone else tonight. Having to smile and play nice with Pippa had been bad enough. She needed a good sleep before she could even pretend to be friendly to anyone else.

She startled when Jo’s thick fingers plucked the joint out of her hand. “Hey! I didn’t invite you over here.”

“Your weed’s better than mine.”

“Probably because I grow it myself. What do you want?”

Jo sat down on the solid little coffee table in front of Morgan, holding her cigar and whiskey glass in one hand. She leaned forward, glass resting lightly on her knee, bleeding condensation into the denim. Mixed drink, then, not straight whiskey. Jo drank the better stuff neat. “Pip called me today.”

“Oh yeah?”

Jo hummed, offering the joint back, blue eyes stern. “Don’t be coy, if you’re fuckin’ her again I’d rather know than get blindsided bumpin’ into her in the hallway.”

“Did she tell you we were?”

Jo’s jaw clenched tight. “She said she was lookin’ forward to seein’ you tonight.”

“Well I’m sure it was super nice for her. She bought my team’s arena. I am gonna have to start fucking her if I want to keep our usual practice slots. She made that… Well about as clear as she ever makes anything.” Morgan handed the joint over again. “So not very, but I still got the gist of it.” She scrunched up Laika’s ears, humming. Laika’s tail solidly thumped against Jo’s shin, bridging the space between them.

“Extortionist,” Jo scoffed.

“Yeah. Pretty much. Bricks said you might take pity on us if I asked nicely. I know you practice out of your warehouse.” Morgan lifted her eyes back up to Jo’s face.

“Is this you askin’ nicely?” Jo leaned forward slightly, her soft stomach spilling over her belt a bit, biceps flexing as she leaned more weight on her arms. “You can do better than that. Not so much as a please.”

“It was not me asking nicely. I had no intention of talking to you until tomorrow, and I’m still not asking until I’ve had at least four hours of uninterrupted sleep.”

“Surprised you’d come to me.”

Morgan looked away first, just like she always did. Jo had an intensity to her that was hard to match, blue eyes drilling into her own like she was looking for faults she could use to crack her open entirely. It was much easier to study the freckles on the top of her shoulder, just above the pinup girl sitting on the curve of a crescent moon that looked rather a lot like her ex wife, Sadie. “I wouldn’t if I had literally any other option. But I have to admit that you are slightly more tolerable than Pippa. Even if you do park half in my spot and fuck squealing college girls at all hours of the night.”

“You don’t need the space. You have a bike.”

“So that gives you the right to park your big-dick pickup truck wherever you please?”

“Sure does, sweetheart.”

“Don’t call me sweetheart! We have one conversation that doesn’t make me want to punch you, and you have to ruin it.”

She grinned, shifting back again. “Not being very nice to someone you want to ask a favour from.”

“I’m not asking the favour until tomorrow. I’m too grumpy to be nice tonight. You invited yourself over and plopped yourself down in front of me and started smoking my weed.” This was not helpful. Why did Jo always manage to get her this worked up? She drew in a centring breath. “No, you’re right, I should be nicer.”

"I did bogart your joint," Jo conceded. "That's on me." Rather than hand it back, she took a long drag, the cherry burning bright all the way down to the folded cardboard filter, and dropped the remains in the ashtray. She leaned forward again, cupping the back of Morgan's neck with a strong hand, and blew smoke directly into Morgan's face. She grinned wickedly when Morgan spluttered a bit. "What's wrong, pet? Thought you wanted me to share better."

"Maybe I am better off negotiating with Pippa," Morgan grumbled, swatting Jo's hand away.

"Hm. Maybe. Why don't you think about how you'll ask me about practice space tomorrow, and I'll get out of your hair." Jo stood up, gave Laika another pat, and climbed back over to her side of the balcony without another word.

Morgan ushered Laika inside, fuming again, and furiously got ready for bed.

She was sure of one thing; Jo Price was going to make a truce between them nigh impossible.

Title card made on Canva - Image Credits: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 (Stickers are Canva assets) Dividers by @/cafekitsune

[trekmupf]

Trapped in a Car With Someone You Don’t Want to Be Trapped in a Car With

Pro

Kirk being torn between his "duties" in the military structure of Starfleet and the duty to his crew / his friends

McCoy waking up and immediately doctoring

The way McCoy sits in the chair; Once again I'm stating the obvious: McCoy is very beautiful in this episode and his winged eyeliner is everything

We're getting to know Spock better: his problems connecting with the human crew and understanding them (something he learns later on, which is great character development), a new side to his logic, the fact that he's not driven by power (getting command)

Also the fact that the McCoy / Spock dynamic this early on the show is different from later on: the disagreements are less friendly banter and more actual fights, McCoy doesn't know Spock that well (thinking he's interested in power / command is wrong) and they don't work together as well, which is a great way to mark their development in later episodes

there's also a clear separation between Spock and the others, Spock's alone and doesn't have someone to confide in; later on Spock and McCoy are a duo

especially the scene where they're fighting over the funeral service highlights why McCoy, Spock and Kirk work best together and what can happen when one of them isn't around to balance them out

Spock is genuinely so irritated by his logic not working, he's so visibly annoyed several times

"Strange. Step by step I have made the the correct and logical decisions, and yet two men have died"

Spock's failures as a commander also highlights what makes Kirk such a great captain, as he manages to use logic and command while also balancing the human and empathetic side of it

Spock learning so much and growing during this, technically a great leader but he learns his own limits

Scotty best repair boy, the way he crouches and crawls into spaces to repair the shuttle and then engineer magic!

Also Scotty's attitude in the face of death is so great and telling about him. He realizes first what's going to happen and accepts it calmly, smiles and compliments Spock, having an air of comfort and peace around him

@ Kirk and McCoy in the last scene, how close do you guys need to be to have a conversation?

Kirk pointing out that Spock's action was based on hope and was therefore human and Spock trying to explain it away as a non emotional and therefore Vulcan action and the others just like him so much while he does so; it's not mean spirited but just lovely and such a great contrast to the tension earlier in the episode

So many of the shots inside the shuttle are accidently funny due to the camera angles they had use because of the tight space

Direct and straightforward episode set up: We have limited time (medicine needs to be brought to another planet) and the shuttle with two of our main characters gets lost in a phenomenon

Kirks desperation rising during his scenes the longer his crew is lost

great tension by the double plot: the immediate threat on the planet and the time pressure on the ship

I absolutely prefer the original special effects over the CGI remake. Look at how good the shuttle craft looks in comparison – taken from this youtube video which I recommend

Con

even for Trek the monsters are sort of shit

very minor but I'm annoyed at the uniform inconsistency, its yellow shirts not red shirt dying, the travesty

I know the commissioner is there to remind us of the time frame but his constant repeating starts to be annoying. I'm Kirk, just done with this guy (even though yes, he's right)

everyone but the yellow shirts who die have shit to do and opinions to have except the women who is just scared and doesn't wanna die

Counter: none

Quote "Did I? I may have been mistaken" - Spock "Well, at least I lived long enough to hear that" - McCoy

Moment: When the group sits in the doomed transporter together, knowing they're about to die but they seem collected

Free Bones because you can see his great make up in this one

Summary: Not quite bottle episode (even though it feels like it) that focusses on Spock and his struggles as a (half-) vulcan working with humans and his disconnect with them using a gripping and tense narrative; Over the course of the episode Spock learns a lot about humans, his connection to them and himself and he and his companions gather more respect for each other Previous Episode - Next Episode - All TOS Reviews

[uluvjay]

from last 2 prompt 33 and 69 with mark estapa where him and reader have been arguing back and forth so it’s angsty with tensionnn

Mark Estapa x fem reader!

warnings?; Cursing, light arguing, small fist fight, party scene, underage drinking, frat house, yelling

i figured this meant list 2 so thats what i went with! hope you enjoyed anon

33. "your not going out dressed like that"

69. "if you interrupt me one more time-so help me god"

You and Mark had been arguing all day and it had been over the smallest things but it was enough to have both of you in pissy moods hours later. Everyone was currently getting ready to go to some frat party, Mark had been downstairs with the guys for a little now while you finished getting ready.

as you made it down the stairs mark turned around and the content look on his face was immediately replaced by a pissed off one.

"you're not going out like that" he told you while looking you up and down.

"um yes i am" you laughed at him, you knew your corset top would piss him off and that was your reason you decided to wear it but you had to act annoyed.

"No your not, your not wearing something that your tits ar-" he started but got cut off by Ethan

"Guys! we are going to be late so you can either stand here and yell at one another again, like you have been all day or get your asses out the door" he told both of you, giving you both a dad look.

"Dude! her boobs are almost out, I'm not trying to have some dude be weird towards her" Mark tried but all of the guys were over both of you at this point.

"You have ninety penalty minuets i think you can handle someone if they're weird to her, now get the fuck out of the house" Ethan said and you could hear the annoyance in his voice so you decided to be the bigger person and walk past Mark and out the front door.

-

Unlike himself to usually do Mark had left you early into the party and because of it you were throwing shot after shot back in the kitchen with some random girl. You felt like shit that your boyfriend was so upset with you that he wouldn't stay and party with you like he usually did, so you used vodka shots to cover the guilt.

"What's your reasoning for getting wasted?" she asked after you both finished your third shot.

"My boyfriend's mad at me and won't even hang out with me" you told her with a pitiful shrug.

"is that his jersey number?" she asked pointing to your neck where you had a '94' pendant necklace that mark had gotten you for your one year.

"yeah he plays hockey" you told her with a smile, you loved talking about Mark especially when drunk.

"ohh a hockey player, good luck with that" she laughed before telling you bye and leaving the kitchen.

you couldn't help but stand there in your thoughts for a moment, you knew Mark would never, he loved you and he showed you on a daily basis how much he loved you. He actually walked around with a shirt that said "i love my girlfriend" that he'd bought for himself and was extremely happy to show you when it came in the mail, but your alcohol influenced made you think he hated you in the moment

You looked all over the first floor of the house and didn't see him and right as you began to panic you saw a concerned Dylan walking towards you. "Y/n! you need to come outside right now" he told you grabbing your arm and pulling you with him. You had to have asked him a million questions but he ignored them all just pulling you to a growing crowd outside.

As you got to the front you seen Nolan, Jay, and Ethan all pulling Mark away from some dude that was holding a bleeding nose. "What the fuck happened Dylan!?" you asked the boy next to you.

"we were playing pong when that guy and his friend asked for a round against us and then the one that's bleeding asked mark that if they won could he get a night with you and told Mark how good he thought you look in that top and Mark just went crazy" he explained causing you to shake your head and make your way over to where the guys were calming Mark down.

Hearing footsteps approaching Mackie turned around and his face immediately dropped before he made his way to you, "No I'm sorry, i love you Y/n but i don't want him lashing out on you, he needs to calm down" he told you, not letting you any closer.

"Is that Y/n?" you heard your boyfriend ask and watched Mackie take a frustrated deep breath before telling him yes.

"Let her over here I'm fine and we need a second alone" you watched as all the boys looked at each other before Nolan gave the nod okay and everyone started walking away from Mark.

You made your way to him but he stopped you before you could throw your arms around him and ask if he was okay, "I'm upset with you right now" he told you.

"I know and I-" you started but he cut you off

"No let me talk and if you interrupt me one more time i-" but before he could finish you did interrupt him

"Mark just listen for one second"

"So help me god! Y/n I am trying to talk so just shut the fuck up for a damn minuet and let me get my words out" he exclaimed and for once you did listen.

He was waiting for a braty reply but didn't get one and as he looked down at you to begin talking he noticed the new look in your eyes and how you were rubbing your thighs together.

"Are you turned on right now?" he asked with a smirk on his face

you looked down at your feet before answering him, "A little, I'm drunk and then duker said you stood up for me and then putting me in my place kinda got me going" you shrugged.

He didn't reply you just felt him pull on your wrist and looked up to see that you were heading towards the back gate to get out of the yard.

"Where are we going?" you asked

"Home so i can fuck you and then when we wake up tomorrow we can talk about what happened today"

-

[pareidoliasys]

I love ZZZ and I love Hi3, Part 1 and Part 2, can we please stop comparing them and also stop shitting on Part 2 I'm so tired, I have so many thoughts and I'm tired and sleepy and might! Delete this in the morning who knows, maybe my thoughts will change by then. I'm just. So exhausted of this

Positivity at the end regardless. It's not all hurt and doom and gloom

- A story that is life changing and completely stunning with some of my favourite characters of all time

Things Honkai Impact 3rd is:

- An 8 year old game with a structure originally built to run on the mobile devices of the time which does make it stiff to play at times but still makes it an absolute wonder

- Doing it's best building off the clunky original code base of the game

- Continuing to make great stories with Part 2 while trying to make it's own identity as a new Era of Honkai Impact

Things Honkai Impact 3rd is not:

- Failing to live up to its past with the new part, there's been 3 chapters and most of the people I see complaining about it haven't played more than the first chapter and even if they have they look at it with such a clouded and negative lense, the part 2 story is WONDERFUL and it just gets better with each chapter

- The Worse ZZZ, Honkai Impact is and always has been its own thing in comparison to EVERY Hoyoverse game to come after it, even Honkai Star Rail is not like Honkai Impact at all.

- Deserving of being completely shit on constantly, criticism is fine but I've not seen any good cases of that in months, I actually do have my own criticisms of hi3 part two even if it's been my entire life since it came out but nobody approaches it critically nowadays because they're too stuck in part 1

Things Zenless Zone Zero is:

- The best combat I've played in a while for a gacha game

- Full of really fun characters and designs with amazing and fluid character animation

- A game that came out around two days ago and barely has given us enough to make a proper judgement on the quality of the story.

Things Zenless Zone Zero is not:

- A HONKAI IMPACT 3RD REPLACEMENT

- A GAME THAT SHOULD BE COMPARED TO AN 8 YEAR OLD GAME CONSTANTLY JUST TO CLOWN ON THE OLD GAME

Can we please. Judge ZZZ on its own merits without making people feel shit for enjoying Honkai Impact 3rd and especially for liking Part 2. I don't even want ZZZ to be in the same category of games as the other Hoyoverse games, please, let it be it's own thing so we can just enjoy it for what it is, super ultra fun.

I hate continually seeing people I Look Up To in the Honkai Impact 3rd community using part 2 as a punching bag for not immediately having the most engaging first chapter ever when we ALL know how bad Hi3 was before Chapter 9, so many people go out of their way just to explain to newcomers that it gets good by chapter 9 and how the early chapters suck and you have to read several Manga just for anything to make sense.

Give Part 2 the love it deserves, stick with it for longer that one or two chapters, play through the third chapter and wait with the rest of us for chapter 4 through 6 and beyond, if it continues to disappoint you that's fair but please stop thinking of it like Part 1. It's not Part 1, it's not Part 1.5 and definitely not something like Part 1.5 the second, it's a new story that has its own characters and its own dynamics and its own story to tell with characters who have an incredible amount of depth to them, like Thelema and Songque.

I love Honkai Impact Part 1, I love Honkai Impact Part 2 and I love Zenless Zone Zero. Can we just enjoy our own things without constant negativity with all the comparisons. It's so so so tiring. These are amazing worlds that touch the hearts of so many and that.. Is what should be focused on.

We should focus on the lives that these stories change, the people who were made better by the experiences these games gave them. Focus on the amazing artists in these communities that feed everyone amazing works of all kinds and focus on the passion behind both the people working behind the games and the passion of the people playing them. That's what deserves the focus here, not lashing out with negativity when there's good in the world like this.

I wouldn't be where I am in life without Honkai Impact 3rd. And I am forever grateful that I now get to be here to experience ZZZ with the people I love who I met because of Hi3.

That's what's most important to me in the end.

[fanficforlife]

Chapter Four

The early morning sun warmed your face while you sat on the porch enjoying a leisurely cup of coffee. You had gotten all of your work done and had the whole weekend off. No plans except relaxing with a book, going for a walk in the woods behind the house and finally calling your adopted grandparents. You had been so busy you only had time to text back and forth. Needing to stay safe and secretive meant not being able to tell them about where you were in case Nick found their cell phone. 

"Good morning, Violet." Lee grinned as he walked up the steps, carrying his mug from his house. 

"Good morning."

"Do you mind?"

"No, sit."

He sunk onto the empty chair next to yours. "Everything's still going good? Here and back there?"

"Yeah. Things here are going great. I was texting with my neighbors yesterday and they said Nick told them I hadn't been around the past couple of months because I had cancer and needed to go away for treatments."

"He doesn't want people to know you left him."

You nodded and looked out over the expansive yard. "Appearance is everything to their family. Can't have everyone knowing his fiancé ran away a week before their wedding."

"Well, he can let everyone think you're sick. Meanwhile, you will be here living your best life." You giggled as Rip walked around the corner. "Especially when my lovesick little brother musters up enough courage to finally ask you out." Pink stained your cheeks causing him to grin before focusing on the rugged cowboy who just walked up. "Morning, Rip."

"Morning. Morning, Violet."

"Good morning. The coffee pot inside is full and there are muffins on the counter that Tate and I made yesterday."

A crooked smile formed on his face. "I might just take you up on that."

You smiled back as the door next to Lee opened and Kayce and John walked out.  "Good morning, Violet. It doesn't look like you are having much luck reading with these two hanging around." John chuckled, glancing down at the closed book on your lap that you had yet to start. 

"Good morning. I have all day so I'm not worried." 

"Well, we have some things to discuss. We'll be in my office." He informed before going back inside with Rip and Lee, leaving just you and Kayce. 

Something feels off. Your brow furrowed. "Is everything okay? Everyone seems a little tense this morning."

"There's just an issue with some of our cattle and we have to figure out how to handle it. Everything's gonna be okay though."

"Good. Well, not good that there's a problem but good that it will all work out in the end." 

A warm smile pulled at his lips at your ramble. "I know you don't have to work today and I feel like shit for asking but would you be able to watch Tate. I don't know how long this is going to take."

"Of course, I will. I was actually thinking of going for a walk behind the house so he can make sure I don't get lost." 

He chuckled. "He would love to take you out there. My brothers and I built a treehouse when we were kids on top of a hill that overlooks a valley."

"Maybe I'll pack us a picnic." You smiled as you stood up. 

"He would love that. So would I."

"Next time you can come too."

"I'm gonna hold you to that." His perfect, crooked smile donned his face and you couldn't help but smile back. "I should go. Tate's still upstairs asleep. Gator's busy in the kitchen and said he would let Tate know you're out here."

"Okay."

"Thank you. I owe you."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"Well, if you insist, I like chocolate." You teased. 

He smirked but before he could say anything Lee stuck his head out the door. "You can talk to your girlfriend all you want after we get this figured out." Kayce's cheeks went red and Lee chuckled before placing his hands on Kayce's shoulders and guiding him inside. "See you later, Vi."

You giggled. After settling back in your chair, you sent your neighbour's a text letting them know you might not be able to call today because you were watching Tate. It was too early to call them or you would have so instead, you opened your book. 

*

Gator was busy pouring stew into a serving bowl while you and Tate put biscuits in a basket for dinner when they finally emerged from the office. 

"Grandpa, guess what me and Violet did today?!"

"Why don't you go sit at the table so you can tell your dad and uncles too?" 

"Good idea." He answered you before jumping down and running into the dining room. 

"Thanks for watching him." 

"How many times do I have to tell you and Kayce that you don't have to thank me." 

John smiled as Tate yelled for him. "I'm comin', grandson." He heeded the call and went to the dining room. 

"Dish up. I can carry these in there." Gator said, not waiting for a reply and taking both bowls. 

You put some in a bowl and grabbed a biscuit, carrying them onto the porch. 

*

"Hey," Kayce said after stepping outside an hour later wearing dark clothes, his cowboy hat nowhere in sight. 

"Hi."

He leaned against the railing in front of your chair. "Thanks for watching Tate today."

"Kayce."

"I know but babysitting isn't part of your job description, especially when everyone is home." His eyes went to his hands which were holding a black baseball cap. 

"Is everything okay? You don't have to answer, I know It's none of my business. I just-"

He smiled seeing the concern on your face. "I know, we're all okay."

The worry that had been building throughout the day lessened. You stood up and leaned against the railing next to him.

"Broken Rock has some of our cattle."

"The reservation?"

"Yeah, some of our property borders theirs, and our cows ended up on their land. They won't give 'em back."

"You're going to get them back?" You had a feeling you already knew the answer. When he confirmed it the worry started trickling back in. 

"Would you be able to watch Tate tonight? I don't know when we'll be back. He's not in the best mood cause I told him roasting marshmallows will have to wait until tomorrow. He's been looking forward to it since you guys went shopping and he picked out those different flavored chocolate bars to use for s'mores."

"Of course, I'll watch him." The trickle of fear turned into a full-blown rushing river when Lee came out of the house and handed Kayce a bulletproof vest. 

Lee gave your shoulder a squeeze when he saw the fear in your eyes. "Don't worry, Vi. I'll get him back in one piece so he can finally ask you out. I'll even babysit little man so he can take you somewhere nice." He chuckled when you both blushed. "Well, my work here is done." His eyes sparkled mischievously as gave you a quick peck on the cheek before heading for the barn. "Five minutes, lover boy."

The red hue on Kayce's cheeks darkened. "Sorry about him."

"It's okay." You said as you picked at the wood railing, your mind still stuck on the bulletproof vest. 

"Hey," his hand covered yours, drawing you back, "we're gonna be okay. It's just a precaution." The sound of a helicopter approaching made you both look out over the lawn and watched it land. 

"Ready son?" John asked as he rounded the corner. 

"Yeah," he put the vest on while John looked up at you from the bottom of the steps. 

"Thanks for watching him. He's inside picking out a movie for you two to watch."

You smiled at him before he turned and ran towards the helicopter. Your eyes went back to the man who was starting to mean more to you than you thought...or hoped, in some ways. 

"I'll be fine."

"I'm not worried about you." You lied. "From what I've heard you did great in the navy. Take care of the rest of them."

"I will." He smiled, squeezing your hand. 

"Kayce, let's go!" Lee called out from the driver's seat of a truck with a horse trailer hooked up to the back of it. 

"And, don't worry about us. I'm just gonna pump your kid full of sugar while we have a Jurassic Park marathon."

He chuckled. "I'll let you two sleep when we get back and you're both passed out on the couch."

You smiled up at him but worry tinged your eyes. "Be safe."

"Always." After giving your hand another squeeze, he jumped off the porch and ran to the truck. Lee blew you a kiss before they sped off. The helicopter followed. 

You watched the taillights disappear behind a hill before going inside. Tate held up the three Jurassic Park movies you had predicted he would pick. After gathering snacks, he cuddled up with you under a blanket. While the first movie played, your mind kept drifting to Kayce. Keep them safe. Please, keep them all safe. You prayed for the family who was quickly filling up your once-broken heart.

*****

A creak of the floorboards drew your attention away from the mountain view out the window. The suns first rays were filtering through the windows, illuminating the cause of the creak. "John?" You gently lifted Tate's head off your lap so you could stand up. John motioned towards the kitchen. "How did it go? Is everyone okay?" You asked after following him. 

"Not good. Are Kayce and Lee here?"

The color drained from your face. "N-no." Gator froze, the egg he was about to crack hovering over the pan.  

"Damn it. They don't have their phones on them. They probably couldn't get back to the truck so they're just riding back." He said, trying to convince himself in the process. "They're fine."

You gave him the best fake smile you could muster and nodded. 

"You don't need to make me anything, not hungry. If they aren't back in fifteen minutes, I'm gonna go look for them."

"Yes, sir. Violet?"

"I...I'm not hungry either."

Gator nodded as Tate came bounding into the room. "Grandpa!"

"Good morning, grandson." John hid his worry and grinned down at him. 

"Violet and I had a sleepover in the living room last night. We made ice cream sundaes with a bunch of toppings and chocolate sauce. And, we watched all three Jurassic Park movies! I fell asleep during the third one though so we have to watch it again. Can we watch it today?"

"Uh, yeah. But, you have something to do first."

"Clean my room. And, we were going to make cookies today. We should do that before the movie so we can eat them while we're watching."

John suddenly left, running outside. Your eyes shot to the window and your breath caught in your throat. 

Gator noticed and turned to Tate. "I think that I should be the one who makes cookies with you. You're an expert now. I'll tell you what, I'll help you clean your room and you can help me make cookies."

"Yeah!"

"Do you want to know something? I've never seen Jurassic Park."

"What?! Violet, he's never watched it!"

You kept your tears at bay as you tore your eyes away from Kayce sitting on his horse with Lee's body draped across. "What? That's crazy!"

"I know! After we make cookies we could watch them. Oh wait, you probably will be busy cooking."

"I think sandwiches for lunch today and for dinner, ordering pizza. What do you think?"

"Yes!"

"And, cereal for breakfast."

"Yay! We should spend the day together more often. I'll get the cereal!" He disappeared into the pantry.

"Don't worry about him, I got 'em."

"I'm not family. I should stay here."

"I don't know what happened but Kayce will need someone to help him get through this. And, I know without a doubt that Lee would want you to be that person." He gave you a gentle push towards the door. "Go."

You walked out onto the porch just as Rip started coming up the steps. "I was just coming to get you."

"How?" Was all you could get out while you watched John sitting on the ground holding his dead son. 

"Kayce said Lee wanted to get a few cows that strayed off. He told him not to go but Lee's stubborn. He raced off and didn't realize one of their guys was watching them. He shot Lee. Kayce got there just as it was happening. He made him pay, killed him." Rip surveyed your face after the last piece of information but it didn't phase you. 

"Where is he?"

"He's blaming himself. He won't listen to anyone so John sent me to get you. He took off into the trees." Rip motioned to the woods passed the hill behind the house. "Are you going to be good?"

"Mhm, I know where he went." Rip nodded and you started making your way toward the trees. 

*

After ten minutes of walking, you found him right where you thought he would be, by the treehouse. You went over to where he was sitting in the grass with his knees up and face buried in his arms. 

He heard you coming and knew it was you by your soft footsteps so he wasn't startled when you knelt next to him. 

All of the nervousness that you would normally feel being this close to him didn't show up. The only thing going through your head was how much he must be hurting. Your hand came up and gently pulled on his arm, making him sit up and flatten his legs. You didn't say anything, just climbed onto his lap. The second you did his arms wrapped around you and pulled you against him, crushing your body against his. You hugged him back. Your hand slid into his hair so you could hold him closer as he sobbed into your neck. Tears streamed from your own eyes from seeing him like this, from knowing what he went through. And, for Lee.

When his shoulders stopped shaking his grip eased and he lifted his head from the crook of your neck. One of your hands left his shoulders and rested on his damp cheek, he leaned into your touch and closed his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Kayce."

"I should have gone with him right away." He opened his eyes, anger flashed through them. "Instead of calling after him to come back, I should have gone with him. He would still be alive."

"You don't know that. There's a good chance that you wouldn't be here either. It's not your fault."

He lowered his gaze. "Yes-yes it is. I-"

"No." Your hands rested against his jaw, forcing him to look at you. "Kayce, I know you did everything you could. It's not your fault." His eyes left yours. "Look at me." You ordered softly and he did. "You tried to stop him but Lee is-was the most stubborn person I knew. Once he made his mind up about something, that was it. You did everything you could. Please," Your voice cracked as tears threatened to fall, "please, don't blame yourself."

He nodded. His hand slid across your cheek and into your hair, pulling you into a hug. "I'll try."

"Promise me." You wrapped your arms around his neck and hugged him back.

"I promise, Letty. I'd promise you anything." He added, his voice barely audible and not meant for you to hear. But, you did and hugged him a little tighter. 

*

"Tate?" He asked after the hug ended ten minutes later. 

"Gator's watching him. Tate was so excited. They were going to clean his room and make cookies before watching Jurassic Park."

A small smile pulled at his lips. "Thank you...for taking such good care of him, for everything you do for my family, and me."

"You don't have to thank me for any of that, Kayce. I want to do it. Your family has been nothing but welcoming and Tate is an amazing kid. Whatever you need, I'm here." His watery eyes held yours while the breeze made waves in the grass around you. "Lee was beyond proud of you. He always talked about how great of a dad you are, how loyal you are to your family...he loved you so much." A few tears started sliding down your cheeks.

"He was the one I went to when I needed to talk, he could calm me down when my anger got the best of me. He's gone. What am I supposed to do without him?"

"He will always be with you. He will still be watching from the sidelines when you're spending time with Tate. His hand will be on your shoulder when you want to deck someone."

A chuckle left his lips. "Deck someone?"

"I don't know what cowboys call it. Slug? Clock? Punch seems too formal." You giggled and he smiled, you shyly smiled back. "When Tate and I came out here yesterday he was making a list of things that needed to be fixed on the treehouse. And, what he wants to add." You went on since you could tell he didn't want to go back to the house yet. 

"I knew there'd be a few things that need to be fixed from the times I brought him out here. A couple of floorboards. The ladder." He cocked an eyebrow. "He wants to add what exactly?"

You grinned. "Well, he wants a roof because he wants to sleep out here with you but you need a roof in case it starts raining."

"Okay." Kayce nodded. 

"A fireman's pole so you can get down in 1.5 seconds." He laughed and you couldn't help but smile whenever you heard it. "Oh, and a barn so you can both ride out here when you spend the night. On separate horses. His own horse which you have yet to buy him." 

His laugh filled your ears. "Ah, yes. The horse. He's a bit young yet for taking care of his own."

"Maybe you should just give him yours since he still doesn't have a name yet." 

"You think so?" He teased back.

"Yes." 

After a few seconds of quiet, he spoke up. "Stay here with me for a while?" You nodded. He shifted so you were sitting between his legs both looking out at the view, his arms wrapped around you. A bald eagle flew overhead before slowly gliding around the valley. Kayce's arms held you tightly while you watched the giant bird floating gracefully on the air currents. 

Knowing he was thinking about Lee, you leaned back against him and rested your arms along his, hugging him as much as you could while being in front of him. 

*

The eagle had long since flown off, leaving you watching the clouds drifting along, your fingers mindlessly trailing up and down his arm. Little did you know, a spider was making its way up the back of your leg. His little legs were undetectable through the denim of the jeans you were wearing. It started climbing around, coming up onto your knee. "Ah!" You screamed, frantically brushing it away while scrambling backward. 

The sound of Kayce's laugh filled your ears as you climbed onto his lap, getting as much of your body as you could off the ground. 

"It's not funny." You said, your chest heaving. He didn't stop. "Stop." It came out with a laugh from hearing his but you gave his shoulder a gentle push. 

"It's just a little bug." He let out another laugh. 

"Bumble bees and caterpillars are bugs. Spiders are the work of the devil."

"Satan made the spiders?" A chuckle left his lips when you glared at him. His arms wrapped around you, keeping you in place so you wouldn't get up. "Okay. I'm sorry."

You let out a small huff. "No, you're not." 

"You're right. I'm not." Your jaw dropped causing him to laugh again. "I'm just buggin' you. Come here." He hugged you and you put your arms around him, hugging him back. "Are you okay or do you need an exorcism? Should I call a priest?" 

"You're hilarious." 

"Okay, I'm done. I promise." He chuckled. His arms squeezed you while you giggled. 

Silence settled between you and you knew his thoughts were back on his oldest brother. You hugged him a little tighter. 

*

"I guess we should probably head back," Kayce said quietly after fifteen minutes went by of holding each other. "It's been a few hours."

"Yeah, we can if you want." 

"Not really. I just want to hug Tate."

You smiled softly and stood up. "Let's go find Tate." 

He got up and you both started walking back. When you came over the hill and the house came into view, his hand wrapped around yours. As you walked onto the porch, his grip tightened. 

"Hey." Before he could open the door, you gave his hand a gentle tug, turning him to face you. "Remember what you promised me." Tears pricked the back of your eyes. 

"I remember: it's not my fault. I know you'll kick my ass if I break it." He chuckled as his eyes became watery. 

"If you ever start to break it, come find me. You don't have to talk about it. We can just sit and-and stare at the sky or go for a walk. Whatever." 

"I will." A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and you gave him a small one back before you both walked inside. 

*

There was a knock on your bedroom door so you put your bookmark in your book. Not that you had read a single line because your thoughts were on John's oldest and youngest sons. "Come in."

Kayce stood in the doorway wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt. "Hi." He said softly. 

"Hi," you set your book on the bedside table and slide over. 

He walked over and sat down on the edge of your bed. "I uh, I couldn't sleep and saw the light coming under the door. You...you told me this morning to come find you if..."

"We can't look at the stars but you can lie down with me." 

He pulled the extra blanket that was lying on the end of the bed over him before he lay down. His arms wrapped around your waist, his head rested on your chest. The sound of your steady heartbeat quickly lulled him to sleep. 

You reached down and pulled the blanket up over his shoulders. He cuddled up closer causing a small, content smile to pull at your lips. Soon you were sleeping soundly, just like the cowboy lying in your arms.

*****

Five days later you walked into the living room wearing a simple black sundress and black cardigan. 

"Hi, hun." Beth gave you a small smile before she hugged you. 

"Hi."

John came over, holding his cowboy hat in his hands. "Hello, Violet. How is my son doing?" 

"I think once today is over it will help a bit."

"I think it will help all of us." Beth agreed as Kayce followed Tate downstairs, coming over to your little group. 

You hugged Tate, who had wrapped his arms around your waist. "Hey, bud."

"Why do we all have to wear black?"

"Because that's what people do at funerals," John told his grandson. "Speaking of which, we should head out." Beth linked her dad's arm before they made their way to the front door. Tate followed along behind with Jamie, who reached over and squeezed your forearm as he walked passed. 

"Hey." Your voice was quiet as you looked up at the cowboy who had spent every night in your room since Lee's death. He had fallen asleep in your arms but always slept on top of your blanket like a gentleman. 

He just nodded, keeping his head down. 

You closed the distance and rested your hands on the sides of his neck. "Kayce?" Your voice cracked. 

His watery blue eyes finally met yours. "I don't think I can do this." 

"Nobody blames you for what happened. It's not your fault."

"I know. You keep reminding me." A small smile graced his lips for a few seconds until it faded. "I just...I need to do this on my own...to say...say goodbye on my own."

"Okay."

"I'm okay." He assured when he saw concern in your eyes. "I'll be okay."

You nodded as Tate stuck his head inside. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah." Your hands left Kayce's face and slid down his arms to his hands. After holding them for a few seconds, you gave him a small smile and went outside. "Let's go." 

Tate's hand slipped into yours as you headed towards the spot of the ranch were they holding the service. "What about dad?" 

"He wants to say goodbye to your Uncle Lee by himself." Kayce's son just squeezed your hand and you continued. 

When you walked up, John looked down the road behind you. You shook your head. "He said he needs to do this alone."

John nodded and told the preacher to start.

*

The setting sun cast the most amazing sunset you had ever witnessed over the mountainous horizon. You pulled your phone out of the pocket of your cardigan and took a photo. While you were putting it away, the door opened behind you.

"Can I join you?" You looked up to see Kayce standing there and you nodded so he sat down next to you. "Thank you for helping with Tate today. And, thank you for helping me this past week."

A soft smile formed as your eyes met his. "You're welcome, even though you don't have to thank me. Whatever you need I'm here." 

"Sit with me for a bit." When you nodded, he slid closer before leaning over and resting his elbows on his knees. Not long after an eagle slowly drifted into view. 

Memories of sitting with him by the treehouse five days ago and seeing an eagle made you think of one person. Lee. Tears pricked your eyes as you rested your head on Kayce's shoulder. His hand immediately wrapped around yours. You both sat there in silence watching the bird float above the ranch until it disappeared into the mountains, along with the setting sun.

[dumbpupy]

OK SO:

It's hard to pin down my full feelings about War of the Rohirrim because like, there is a lot.

Am I more charitable to it for my love of Rohan, or more critical for greater feelings towards the whole legendarium?

Do I point and squeal at all the references, or feel let down that it's full of cheap callbacks?

And in the end, I think it depends on what War of the Rohirrim is meant to be.

Is it meant to be a true addition to the stories of middle earth? If so... it kinda falls *very* flat to me. The pacing of the story is off, many of the characters have very little character and nothing really draws me in the way the movies, especially The Two Towers with so much of it's time spent in Rohan, did 20 years ago.

BUT

And I kinda watched most of the movie with this as my framing;

If it's meant to be, with Miranda Otto narrating. With it's choice to have a (previously) literally unnamed character as our main focus. With even just the fact that it is an animated movie. If with all those things it's Eowyn just sorta making shit up to Elboron in Gondor after the war of the ring?

Well then I think it would be really cool, actually. It would make up for how self-indulgent it feels.

Of *course* Eowyn is going to idolise the idea of a princess of Rohan who was at all granted more freedom than her.

Of course she's going to sprinkle in silly little references to important people or events from her own time, if they've been around long enough.

Of course she bigs up the whole idea of the Shieldmaidens of Rohan.

Of course she isn't actually all that good at actually explaining why many of the early events happen, those things don't really matter to the story she *actually* wants to tell.

Of course there's going to be little moments where it's not really clear if this is about a woman who lived 200 years ago, or a way to tell a part of her story, through the safety of it happening to 'someone else'.

I can kinda imagine her telling the parts where Gondor is mentioned at the start as Faramir wanders in. Having her teasingly joke about a princess of Rohan being married off in Gondor. Having her use it as a little way to try and keep feeling a connection to a home she isn't at, whilst acknowledging the reality of where she is.

Adding Mumaks to the story because that's both more of a spectacle than the corsairs we know to have actually been the dunlendings allies and a way to try and deal with her experiences at Pelennor facing them herself.

Sprinkling in words spoken to her by Aragorn directly. A way to remember them.

Doing a little wish fulfillment with the Eagles. The eagles are in the stories of the war of the ring. The eagles are at the battle of five armies. So the eagles should be here to, in a story for her people. Maybe because, and feel free to correct me if there's direct evidence otherwise, she never personally got to see any eagles.

Well, if it is all of this? If that's why it's the way it is? Well then, I think it's a pretty cool and good movie.

I'm also very sleepy and this might not make much sense.

But my tl;dr for really enjoying this film is to think of it as a "based on true events" children's story that Eowyn is telling her son.