#and he’s giving away free books TT

[panlight]

I feel there's just so much wrong with the entire imprinting concept in the Twilight books.

The concept of never being able to say no or essentially make your own decisions because of the girl/whoever you imprinted almost sounds like a romanticized version of domestic abuse. Google describes it as "pattern incidents of controlling, coercive, degrading and violent behavior, etc". Now the threatening wouldn't be necessary because they literally don't have any choice or say in the matter. The entire idea of obsession and doing whatever pleases the person I've imprinted on sounds degrading, that you're now longer you're own person capable of making you're own choices. I find this ironic because SM literally tells us the underlying theme of these books is about choice. None of the wolves have a choice. They didn't choose to be wolves (shape shifters), they don't choose who they imprint on and they definitely don't choose what they get to do after imprinting. Did SM find it all romantic? Because everytime it's mentioned it just gives me the ick. The wolves are my favorite characters in the books and seeing them being forced into all this is so annoyinggg! They deserved SO much better.

Also, it shocks me that after all the success SM gained from tts that she didn't donate a penny to the Quileute tribe. It's super disappointing.

Oh, yeah, with you 100% on imprinting. I've never found it romantic. It reads as straight-up horror to me. Who even ARE you if you don't have free will? If you have to be whatever someone else needs? And beyond that it just feels fake and empty to me. Sam loved Leah. When he had a choice, he chose Leah. Magic overruled him and picked Emily instead. Why am I supposed to think his love for Emily is the 'real' love?

I get that the fantasy is supposed to be from the imprintee's POV, the fantasy of having this guy who is 100000% devoted to you, will never leave you, you never have to worry about cheating, he is there for you and will do whatever you want or need him to do. But that's not . . . that's not like a person who loves you, that's like a robot programmed to fulfill your wishes. For me, there's no real love without choice. This dude isn't choosing to show up for you every day if he has no other choice. It feels fake and arbitrary. Like a love potion, like Cupid's arrow.

And hell yes, the lack of choice with the wolves is a pattern and a really unsettling one given that she chose to make these characters Indigenous and tie their wolf-ness to that identity. They don't get to choose to be wolves, they don't get to choose who they love, within those relationships they have no agency and have to be/do whatever their partner wants, and then there's also the Alpha Order! They can literally be forced to obey, no choice there either. Again, this is straight up horror stuff. Loss of free will, loss of identity. That whole passage when Jacob imprints on Nessie is the stuff of nightmares to me. Everything that Jacob cared about, everything that made him who he was, is cut away and he is bound to a half-vampire baby instead. And now he has to keep phasing forever to stay immortal with her. To paraphrase Rosalie: this isn't the life he would have chosen for himself.

There are ways in which Twilight vampires get a raw deal too (when I'm sick and have a sore throat it's like, the Worst, so dealing with that forever and on a supernatural scale sounds horrific) but they still have CHOICES. Carlisle had the free will and agency to run to the forest and starve himself as a newborn. Rosalie had the will to kill her attackers without drinking their blood. Edward chose to leave Bella for a time when we're told Jacob spending any real time away from Nessie would be impossible because of the imprint. The vampires may have to FIGHT their nature sometimes, but SM lets them win more often than not. Carlisle can be a doctor; the Denali sisters can sleep with humans; Edward can resist Bella's blood; Bella can be the best newborn ever and not kill her dad. But the only time a shifter character is allowed to fight his nature is when Jacob defies Sam to break off and form his own pack, and that's only because of the loophole that Jacob was himself the rightful alpha. No one else has that option. Leah has to choose between allowing Sam or Jake to have alpha power over her.

Which is all why I thought Jacob's whole thing would be fighting an imprint. It would be so in character for him and such a good parallel to the vegetarian vampires fighting their thirst. I wanted to see Jacob say 'no, I don't care what destiny says, I will make my own path.' And you know if SM had had him imprint on literally anyone BUT Nessie or Bella she would have written about him fighting it! It would have been so cool! But no, because ultimately this is Bella's fantasy life, and part of her happily ever after is keeping Jacob around literally forever even though HE wouldn't have chosen an immortal life with the Cullens like Bella did.

[emmitaaa4]

"As if the city view held some answer." On visions, heartbeats through stone, and the Dusk Court.

I'm but a procrastinating engineering student so this is going to be a bit of a messy post/theory, but here we go.

HOFAS spoilers:

Others have probably already theorized about this, but we know that Bryce ended up giving back TT and handing the Starsword (Gwydion) to the acotar folks... could it be that the Gwydion is destined to be Elain's? Or used by Elain, perhaps in the revival of the Dusk court? After all, as @bright-side20 and others have pointed out we already know that she likely accessed TT's powers in acowar (stepping out of a shadow to kill Hybern; if I am not mistaken TT leaked a darkness that even Az was surprised to witness in HOFAS).

sidenote: if you are curious about the link between Avallen & the Dusk court, I encourage everyone to go read this theory/breakdown!

Could this also be why the fact that Elain returned TT (which was an obvious action) was emphasized in ACOFAS, where SJM said she planted seeds for future bookS? Cause I find it interesting that it is Mor of all people that hums pensively as she points out that Elain gave TT back to Azriel: does she know/sense something with that power of hers? Does Elain perhaps See something too, given that she supposedly moved away from it very assuredly? After all, Mor was the one to say that "there is a reason that Elain is seeing these things" (acowar).

ALSO... I believe it's been pointed out already that the heartbeat through the stone that elain famously heard in acowar could have been a literal "beating, vibrant heart locked away far beneath"; i.e. the heart of the Dusk court (hofas). I find it all the more interesting, then, that Gwydion is described to have its light like a heartbeat (paraphrased from hofas, I dont remember the exact quote).

After all, it is looking away from Lucien, towards the windows, that she tells him--or rather, appears to be telling him:

“When I sleep,” she murmured, “I can hear your heart beating through the stone.” She angled her head, as if the city view held some answer. “Can you hear mine?” “He wasn’t sure if she truly meant to address him, but he said, “No, lady. I cannot.”

I repeat:

as if the CITY VIEW held some answer.

What if it did? And what if that answer is found in Gwydion's light and/or the Dusk court's beating heart?

In fact, what else do we know happens (or happened in acowar at least) when she sleeps? Visions, most likely: before she gained the understanding she needed to free herself from the murky-realm she was trapped in (thanks to my man Az), she was lost in a dream-like state. And those dreams often including the trashing sea...

"I can see so very far now. All the way to the sea." Indeed, the sea beyond the Sydra was a distant sparkle. (...) “I can hear your heartbeat—if I listen carefully. I can hear her heartbeat, too.” (who is her? is she hearing her sisters' literal heartbeats, or someone/something else's?)

“I can hear the sea. Even at night. Even in my dreams. The crashing sea—and the screams of a bird made of fire.”

These quotes have been dissected countless times already, but what I'd really like to add to the conversation is that there is something interesting from a passage from HOFAS I referenced earlier:

“And in that moment, the mountain—the island—spoke to her. Alone. It was so alone—it had been waiting all this time. Cold and adrift in this trashing grey sea. If she could reach out, if she could open her heart to it… it might sing again. Awaken. There was a beating, vibrant heart locked away, far beneath them. If she freed it, the land would rise from its slumber, and such wonders would spring again from its earth (…)”

I am about to make the mother of all reaches (call me delulu idc idc), but all this talk about Elain being “blooming spring” and “a promise of spring”… and here we have a slumbering, barren Island (not unlike the way she herself has been forgotten, has been lost in dreams) in the trashing sea (crashing sea, anyone?) which could spring anew.

Just to wrap this up, you cant tell me that this passage isn't extremely Elain "gentle-grower-of-life" Archeron coded:

Dusk, twilight—that’s what the island was in its long-buried heart, what her power bloom into, the lands rising with it. It was, as she said, as if the island had a soul that now blossomed under her care, nurtured by the court she built here.

-------

Voila :) Hopefully I didnt get things mixed up and this made at least a little bit of sense. Ok so done with my procrastination and now back to thermodynamics (send help)(please).

[janovavalen]

—goddamn! ㆍ୨୧ㆍ

aegon II targaryen x niece!reader

ㆍ୨୧ㆍshort story au

—part one — two — three — coming soon

ㆍ୨୧ㆍ summary: the two of aegon and y/n never got along. never—all until aegon catches the oh so wonderful, sweetheart y/n targaryen at a club.

ㆍ୨୧ㆍword count! 4138

ㆍ୨୧ㆍ warnings! drugs (cocaine, alcohol, weed) typical targaryen incest, small obsessive/obsession if you squint, smut, arranged marriage

fix idea from this tt edit <3

this fic will not follow the story line/plot of HOD! although i made up this au, i do not own house of dragon nor do i own the series, books, and characters! all rights go to HBO.

the night was brisk, dark and foggy. but the club was warm, stuffy and loud. aegon and aemond who had been dragged along to a environment he would have never stepped foot into was crowded by the large crowd of drunk and high dancers.

this, this was aegons environment. the fact nobody gave a fuck about what they did and who saw. openly doing drugs, openly fucking in the darkened corners of the room.

drug dealers and their buyers trading in the dance floor or even at the bar itself which wa not shunned upon. here, everyone was who they wanted to be from their shitty roles and life and jobs. free to be openly horny, high and drunk.

‘i wish to leave…desperately.’ aemond tightens his hands around each other as he looked at the the people as he groaned in disgust.

‘loosen up little brother we’ve just arrived. go fuck a whore maybe you’ll loosen up a bit in the body and mind’ aegon smirked while he walked to the bar and made his eyes dance over the females who smiled and blushed at him. flattering their way not only to his pockets but what’s behind his pants.

licking his bottom lips as he perched his forearms along the dark black counter of the bar. the bartender behind it was a woman who wore a skintight red dress and dark makeup with blonde hair that's curly and messy.

‘hi darling what would you like?’ she asked. her voice is smooth and sweet.

‘give me the strongest you got baby, make it cold, okay?’ he tilted his head a bit with a pinned up eyebrow and a small smile. she smiled back and nodded slowly while turning around, making sure she pressed her butt.

he noticed of course. he was a man who noticed any and everything a female tried and would offer him. their body, their mind, their purity. he wasn’t one to ask for it more of received it when they put forth into it. giving up everything they believed to fulfill the overbearing lust.

he did the same. with lust, alcohol, sometimes drugs even but he never gave a second thought about it because who really would when they’re happy with what they’re doing.

happy, to get away from possibilities, family, emotions that they don’t even understand.

a little later, the woman placed down the drink, the coldness of it dripping from her hands that extracted from the cup being gripped behind her pale hands and colorful fingernails painted the rainbow.

‘thanks love—what’s your name by the way?’ he asked as she blushed and pushed herself against the bar she stood behind with a smile.

‘amy, what about yours handsome?’

‘aegon…what you doing working in a place like this, huh? a beautiful woman like you should be in the most fine establishment, taking the orders of high class woman and men and getting tipped fabulously not by lowlifes who only seem to have money for drugs and beer’

her smile started to show more prominent as the brush on her face rose. tucking the hair behind her pierced ear—‘is that what you are then? huh?’

he simple shrugged before going jack to his brother who was suffering the sweet talks of a drunken woman with dark hair.

‘ah look my brother is growing up, speaking to your first woman huh?’ aegon wrapped his arm around aemond’s shoulder who stiffened his stature and suppressed the urge to roll his eyes in our torture.

‘i’m leaving—‘

‘no no no! don’t leave, stay here. be present, have fun. get drunk—forget about the family for a while—‘

‘if that’s what you do and if my outcome of this will lead to how you are now i don’t want that. sorry but i want to leave with or without you.’

aegon felt his jaw clutch at the fact aemond wasn’t giving up at all. his grip on his brothers neck tightened—‘shut the fuck up and sit here like a little pussy then. leave and you’ll regret it terribly.’ aegon let go of aemond who looked at his brother with frowned eyebrows.

aegon felt slight anger take over him and he rolled his eyes before taking a long sip of his cold drink that began to melt from the heat of the room.

the song of the night changed as his danced his eyes to focus on the dancing crowd of the room who held people freely dancing rather it was shirtless, pantless or even naked—the very moment the music got louder was the exact moment he saw the pure white hair in the crowd.

the white hair only shared in his family—her hair could have been dyed but…nobody would want the hair color of a targaryen.

his eyes stayed glued to the female who let her arms rise just above her head as if she were touching the clouds above, her waist moving slowly as he looked up and down her frame.

the back of her was slowly turning to reveal herself and her face to him. she was wearing a short black skirt with torn stockings, heeled boots and white bottom down work shirt that a man would wear that was dressed over with a long oversized leather jacket.

when her face, he immediately recognized her. the daughter of his eldest sister. y/n targaryen.

almost letting his jaw drop to the dusted floor he slowly walked over to aemond who was sitting there against his will—‘isn’t that our niece? y/n targaryen?’ aegon pointed with his pointer finger that held a thick gold ring around it as he let half of his face hide behind the glass cup.

aemond immediately looked up and went to search for the self claimed y/n. nonetheless he found her and was immediately transfixed. how could she even be here? why was she here? especially dressed like that. if their sister saw her like this she would have a heart attack.

aemond nodded his head and aegon laughed as if the most ground breaking joke had been told in the history of forever.

‘but how? how is she even here right now? i thought daemon had the house guarded and locked down just for her to stay in and never leave’ aegon asked once he was able to or speak properly.

‘i’ve…heard they let her have a home for herself since she requested more privacy. more guards but not as many lock devices as they thought. she must have been able to break some.’ aemond still watched her as she smoked the center of the dance floor with the smoke coming from her glossy, plumped lips.

aegon felt his pants harden. he was never going to admit this fact as of right now but he was going to go over. there was no way in hell he would get cover this image of y/n over in his mind like he did with the whores he fucked recklessly.

sipping the rest of his drink with a large gulp and slapping it down onto the table next to aemond who was shaken out of his trance, aegon ruffled his hair with his thin fingers and fixed himself up.

aemond seeing him as he did this looked him up and down in pure fright—‘what…where are you going? what are you doing?’

‘making my way over to the lady. what else am i to do?’

aemond stood up and made sure his height peeked now.

‘you can’t. deamon and rhaenyra have permanently permitted and even mother have forbid you to ever speak to her…if you talk to her and anything happens you could ruin everything—‘

‘that’s why it’s exciting. and that’s exactly why i’m going to do it right now.’ pushing his shoulder against aemond who closed his eye and inhaled sharply he was readying himself for the future as he turned around to watch the scene itself unfold.

as argon made his way over to y/n who was completely on a different planet in her mind, he took a long drag of someone’s blunt as they didn’t mind. holding it in then breathing out he finally spelled into her world.

her eyes were softly shut. the black makeup around her eyes being prominent and her scent of weed, booz and perfume filled his lungs.

looking down at her body as she turned around she felt the hard chest of a man and opened her eyes to see aegon looking down at her with darkened eyes.

though they were blue, she was still able to see the darkness they held behind them.

her eyebrows frowned as if the her in her mind was leaving the planet she was once on and back to earth. aegon softly smiled at this and she let her jaw slightly open after slightly gulping.

‘my beautiful, beautiful, niece. what a surprise’ he joked as she looked up at him in sheer fright.

ㆍ୨୧ㆍ

walking into the bathroom as she stumbled over the invisible strings in front of her, y/n forced her way around the woman who were hurryingly getting ready, smoking and taking up their last drugs of the night. she pushed open the stall door and gripped the walls as her breath quickened.

she felt her head pounding at the image of aegon even being here at the same time as she was. this wouldn’t mean anything but to her this was so dangerous. her uncle—her moms brother seeing her here of all places on earth, especially somewhere she wasn’t even supposed to know about.

her stomach started to bubble as she felt her spit grow warm. groaning and throwing her head back to calm herself down with deep breaths she felt the feeling slowly subtracting and drafting away. the acid in her stomach going back calm.

‘fuck…fuck! anybody got a fucking cigarette?’ she yelled as a girl next to her in the stall swiftly slid her hand under the wall—‘here baby!’ she yelled.

looking down, y/n grabbed it in a hurry and took a long drag of it. the feeling rushing over the anxiety and pressure she was once feeling with calmness. breathing it out she smiled a bit with closed eyes as she lowered her legs to give it back.

‘thank you’ she said while the girl voiced back—‘no problem. hey you okay? i heard you cursing at the toilet’ she joked while smoking the cigarette she was given back.

‘uh, kinda. someone who isn’t supposed too even know im here just fucking made himself known. my parents are going to strip me of my hair and skin and hang it on the wall…fuck.’ y/n felt the nervousness wash back over.

y/n was now sitting on the bathroom floor with her legs pulled against her chest as she gripped her head from the headache that was building up.

as if the woman knew what she needed she passed the cigarette back over from under the stall as y/n took it.

‘ah that’s why i always move from place to place. i know how that feels. i moved a while ago. trust me honey, the best decision i've ever made, my parents don’t tell me what to do anymore.’ she explained while y/n took a drag of the cigarette and passed it back.

‘damn…how’d you even leave? i’m so scared of leaving i don’t even know anymore.’ looking up at the colorful ceiling, y/n thought of her parents the the life she was born into.

‘just…up and left i guess. stole a couple of bucks, packed what i had in my closet in one suitcase and a bag on my shoulder and made my way here. grew up on the streets but got money from working here.’ she told while y/n listened.

humming back the girl finished the cigarette and looked over at the stall all then down at the floor to see y/n’s half body sitting down.

‘hey come out i might have something you need, to loosen up’

y/n looked over and heard the heels of the girl walking out of the stall. getting up herself and opening the door to see a brown haired girl with red lipstick, black crop top and glittery skirt with black heels.

y/n nervously looked down before smiling a bit.

the girl moved over to y/n and soothed her hair as y/n looked herself in the mirror.

‘your a targaryen huh?’ the woman asked. y/n grew nervous at the fact she new what last name she shared be the woman eased her tension with a simple smile.

reaching into her bag and pulling out bag that held white powder, y/n immediately knew what it was and walked next to the woman who evened it out on the counter with her card.

‘it’ll make you see shit, laugh and get a little horny but it’s so worth it i promise’ she told while leaving y/n face to face with three evened out lines of powder in her face.

‘okay…okay fuck it’ y/n shook her hands and immediately grabbed the rolled dollar from the woman who went with the line on her finger.

closing her eyes and sniffing the line straight—first, second then third.

whipping herself back up with closed eyes she breathed out—‘i said goddamn!…goddamn.’ she sniffed as the substance went further up into her mind. breathing out a bit as she reached forward to press on the water a bit, she placed some on her finger and whipped the remnant off her nose.

sniffing once more before rubbing her nose with her hand she looked herself into the mirror and smiled a bit at the pure fact that she didn’t recognize herself.

fixing her hair and tossing it behind her back. the woman looked at her with admiration before giving her a kiss on the cheek—‘good luck babe, see you soon i hope?’ she said, while walking out.

y/n smiled and looked back into the mirror to let the drug itself take over.

ㆍ୨୧ㆍ

just outside the bathroom stood aegon who was looking all over the club for y/n who had stumbled her way through the crowd and away from him before he could even stop her.

finally her white hair peeked through the crowd that huddled near the bathroom. fixing his once hunched stature he straightened as she walked to him. her face looked much more different than before. more, pleasured. not as horrified.

when’s she made toe to toe with him through their shoes, she looked him up with her eyes but not her full face, giving the white part of her eyes more room than its actual color.

‘why are you here?’ she simple asked, pushing the conversation to its start. the forwardness definitely coming from daemon.

‘same as you just want to run and forgetting’ he simply and truthfully answered. a little taken back at her boldness but nevertheless replied.

‘hm. so you weren’t sent by one of my parents nor one of your own?’

‘fuck no. if i were to you think id be holding this drink whilst talking to you? i’d be cut in half before i would be able to speak hello as before’ aegon told as she looked him up and down.

‘if your so as lying to me i will have you killed in your sleep—‘

‘oh i know princess…don’t let my presence ruin your night of fun. i just hoped to be able to enjoy it with you’

to put it simply he wanted to stay by her side the whole time. even if she weren’t to speak to him or so even look at him he would be satisfied enough to stand in her atmosphere.

‘oh so you want to follow me around like a lost puppy with your tail between your legs, huh? is that it?’ she asked while pushing her body against his own.

his jeans becoming more tight around his practically choking cock. he grinned down at her while letting his hand travel up her face and to her jaw. his fingers then inching it to her bottom lip and letting his thumb press its way into her mouth which she allowed.

he let himself groan a bit as she suckled it like a babe on its mothers tit. his hips now flushed against her own she rubbed herself against him as he closed his eyes. she knew the fact that his lust was overcoming him.

which was why it prompted her to push herself away and let her lips slowly retract from his thumb. he opens his eyes in a slight haze as she smiled up at him.

he finger going over his lips—‘you a bad little boy huh? letting your niece, the daughter of your sister…betrothed to another, suckle your thumb in the middle of a club surrounded by drugs, sex and drunks. how would your mother think of you as of now—‘

‘i don’t give a fuck how she thinks of me…how about you be a good niece and let your uncle fuck you behind this club and take you come to force my cock into your pussy…how dose that sound? huh?’ he forced his hand around her neck while their lips were inches apart from touching each other as she let them slowly open.

her heat below becoming wet and practically soaking her panties.

‘fuck…’ she whispered as he smiled against her lips. she looked between his eyes and lips before pressing her own against his. the lust controlling her every fiber in her body.

aegon grabbed the sides of her face as her own half his wrists. his lips hungrily kissed her own as she moaned into his mouth. he’s kissed plenty of women, but never has any of them held just as much hunger in their kisses as he did and been able to match and mold against his own.

he groaned and sloppily kissed her as she let her body press against his once more before he forced himself to pull away.

‘we have to go—we go to my house, where i’ll fuck you’

‘yes…please’ she begged as he kissed her once more.

ㆍ୨୧ㆍ

when they arrived into his large home—they were complete strangers keeping their hands off one another. his hands roamed over her body, face, waist and ass as her own pushed themselves against his stomach, neck and chest.

she moaned and he did too as she ripped his silk shirt open and let it down to the floor, the buttons on it clicking against the marble floors. he let her slip off her own shirt as

he picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist as she was holding his shoulders and neck with her arms that were completely bare.

his hands placed under her thighs as he gripped them. walking the both of them over to his bedroom and kicking the door open.

he slowly placed her onto the bed where her back touched the top of his dark green silk sheets her legs stayed wrapped around his own.

lucky for him this was his home where aemond definitely did not want to share. aemond stated the fact he didn’t want whores in the house every other night and or a party going on. he stayed with their parents and sister, helaena.

y/n thrusted her hips up into aegons growing cock as he groaned into her mouth and stuck his tongue into her mouth to flush against her own. when he slowly retracted she suckled down onto his bottom lip letting it slowly stretch before she let go.

‘you know how to please a man…my sweet, innocent y/n’ he whispered as she whined. her hips moving to his to try and ease the pressure that was threatening to spill from her.

‘sh…don’t worry—i’ll give you exactly what you need. what you thirst for.’ kissing her lips as he then kissed her chip, breast and slowly making his way down to her heat she watched him as his eyes kept trace to her own.

‘soaking’ he was in sheer awe as we was face to her pussy that clutched around nothing.

placing his lips upon it, he kissed her pearl before letting his mouth completely consume her.

‘ah—fuck’ y/n moaned as he stuck his tounge into her. making her hands down to grip his white messy hair, he moaned as she pulled it, his eyes watched her and threatening to close of pleasure.

he hated to admit the fact that only this would be able to make him soak his pants with cum without even being touched. her body, taste and noises were enough to get him off. her hands that gripped his hair and would occasionally sooth it.

y/n’s thighs were now wrapped around his head as he let his eyes roll back along with her own as she felt her peak rising to the surface.

‘i’m cumming…i’m going to cum all over your fucking face’ she mumbled while thrusting her hips into him.

he let one of his fingers enter her body as she moaned out loudly, causing him to almost cum right then and there.

‘cum for me baby…cum for me please’ he practically was dying for it. she gave him what he wished for and her legs shook as they released his head.

‘fuck!’ she yelled while he let his mouth suckle her throbbing pussy.

‘shit—you soaked me’ he smiled as he looked up at her as he looked back down at him and weakly smiled. he kissed her sensitive bud making her jump a bit as he kissed his way back to her lips.

she completely enclosed his moths and kissed him hungrily, tasting herself on his lips.

‘i want you to fuck me—please? please…i need it’ she begged. her legs wrapping back around his waist to push him forward to where his hard cock was pushed against her.

‘you really want that?’

‘yes—‘

‘are you able to keep up?’

‘fuck yes’ she smiled as he kissed her. she kissed him back and let him work his way down to his pants to unbuckle himself and let his aching cock pull out of its enclosure.

‘i’m going to go slow…okay?’ she nodded her head as she looked down at his cock that he lined up to her entrance.

the slowness was killing the both of them but was needed for the comfort of the moment. once it was in, y/n closed her eyes and let her upper body press itself against his chest. husband making its way under her to hold it there as he kept his eyes trained in her face.

his eyebrows frowning from pure pleasure as she opened her eyes and focused on him.

he moved painfully slow. but the more he molded his way around her walls the rougher and harder he got.

‘shit’ he groaned while she frowned her own eyebrows.

‘faster…go faster—‘ as she said this; he did just that.

his hips becoming in contact with her own as he becomes more messy and sloppy in his movements. her nails scratching at his back to create her own mark. he loved this. he loved the fact he could practically feel blood dripping down his back from her sharpened nails digging into his back.

he loved that her hair was messily stuck to her face as it’s long locks spread around his bed.

he loved her legs that crossed around his back as her ankles locked to make sure that she wouldn’t lose grip.

his arms almost giving out as he feels himself coming to his release, he let his thrust become harder as aegon placed his head against her shoulder and neck, biting down onto her shoulder.

‘i’m cumming—where do you—‘

‘in me! fuck…fucking come in me—treat me like a whore you find the street and breed me with your children’

his mouth opened as he felt pure euphoria with her words—‘you want my babies? to be swol and filled with my seed, as you grow—‘

‘yes! yes! please—‘ he then gave one last thrust before spilling into her with his body falling against her own as she held him tightly, the both of them finishing their moments.

she soothed her nails up and down his back as he felt himself grow drowsy.

after a bit he finally pushed himself off and and layed next to her as she turned her body, placing a leg over his lower second and massaging her hand up and down his chest.

the both of them forgetting the fact that this every moment could cause either war, or new blood for their family and themselves.

lost in the moment and completely forgetting who they are and what their families can and will do.

[acourtofthought]

"If Elain had wanted to train she would not have returned Az's dagger and walked away without looking back." A gwynriel or Elain hater saying that to win an argument is understandable but why someone who claims to like Elain continuously misinterpret this scene is beyond me. There are many many similar scenes in a lot of movies where no one thinks a certain character is capable of violence, where that character themselves never thought they are capable of physically hurting someone does something violent and then as a way of trying to process what they just did they remove themselves from that place/surrounding as quickly as possible by handling their weapon to someone else and leaving without looking back. Elain shoving the dagger in Az's hand and then walking away is simply her trying to process what she's just done. It has nothing to do with Az, truth-teller or not wanting to train.

"Az says nothing. He hadn't hadn't gotten that far with his planning, certainly not beyond the fantasies he pleasured himself to"

Personally, why those who say they like Elain yet continuously misinterpret this scene and still think Az is right for her is beyond me.

I'm curious why you're so certain your interpretation of the TT scene is more accurate? Is your IQ in reading comprehension higher than mine? Did your mother teach this in school? Do your brain waves function in more similar patterns to Sarah J Mass? It's kind of a bold statement for you to come into my anons and tell me I'm wrong and you're right with nothing to support it.

You know why I don't believe I'm misinterpreting the scene you mentioned? Because an entire book later we're told cruelty still troubles Elain.

Elain is processing what she's done because she doesn't feel comfortable with what she's done and most likely doesn't want to have to do it again meaning she's got no interest in approaching Az for dagger handling lessons ever. Especially not with a blade he uses to methodically torture others in a symphony of pain. Just like Yrenes character was about healing rather than her using a sword, Elain's arc will most likely be similar. Life, not death. Not shadows blocking out her light.

Sarah didn't write the line as "Elain returned it, thanking Az for lending it to her but but not being ready to talk about what she'd done"

Sarah didn't write "Elain returned it and said that maybe she'd ask for advice on how to better use it sometime in the future" just like she wrote Gwyn returning to the library after the Rite and would maybe go to Nesta's mating ceremony.

She wrote that Elain pressed it into his hands as he had pressed it into hers and "walked away without looking back". Sarah full circled the event, where Elain's actions perfectly mirrored that of Az's - and then had her "walk away without looking back". There no hints of something open ended, no clues left that there's more to come. It reads as a very final statement, no?

Just like she had Elain return the necklace on Solstice that he first gave to her and we're given no examples that she looks to Az ever again. Sarah left nothing open ended for Elain and Az in either example, the door has been closed for Elain's character. Az being pissy at Rhys isn't more important than Elain's actions, right? How she chose to return the gift and walk away? Az is free to try to apologize to Elain at a later point but there's no way to damn Rhys without also damning himself and 6 months later Elain is not going to give a shit. She's not sitting there pining for a guy who avoided her for a year because his poor wittle nose couldn't handle a bond that will always exist and then told her she was a mistake before even speaking with Rhys.

In SF Elain is all settled according to you right? Happy? Has friends and purpose and was willing to help with the Trove? Yet we still got no hints on Elain asking Az for help with anything. She was willing to start reacquainting herself with her powers.....she didn't ask Az for his assistance though. However.... we were given a scene where we're told Gwyn asked Az for extra help. Interesting how easy it was to insert a line like that.

They were worried about protecting Elain if she did search for the Trove. Wouldn't that have been the time for Az to suggest Elain take a few self defense courses from him? But as always, Az has never actually offered Elain any help when it comes to her powers and protecting herself. Not when she said she didn't know how to use TT, not when she said she'd try to figure her powers out in SF. And if Elain is still processing what she did with TT, it's pretty weird Az preferred getting his dick wet in the bonus rather than asking her how she was doing with all that processing.

[tagedeszorns]

I can't believe I'm doing this ...

I found this neat nugget on my doorstep.

Edit: At this post, to be precise. Just for context.

Well, @beril66. Okay. Normally I'm the nice explainer-bear in this part of the woods, answering even the strangest questions in a friendly and detailed way. Normally I'm the damned Credible Hulk who even feeds trolls with lore until they are round and peaceful or at least waddle away into the wilderness again after the winter feeding to survive the frost period …

But this … this is beyond my boiling point!

Listen, you clown - you come traipsing into my blog, obviously didn't even bother to look at the last three posts, obviously don't even know who Saqqara is and therefore don't see the irony behind letting a diabolist explain the world - and instead of just keeping yourself nice and closed, you throw up something like your comments on my living room carpet? What went wrong in your childhood?

But you know what? I just can't help it. I should end this text here, block you back under your bridge and go back to drawing naked Astartes. But instead, once again, I can't get out of my skin and feel the urge to reply.

I can't say now that you give me much to work with. Nothing but "No, it's not like that, I think it's great and you're stupid". That's not exactly the level at which I usually discuss Warhammer - but I'll make it work.

So: If you had looked at my blog even superficially you would know that I like TTS. I am therefore looking at it with a very friendly eye. The fact that I'm not upset about the portrayal of my absolute favourite characters Lucius and Fabius should give you the additional hint that I have no problem at all with something I like being made fun of. But I am not wearing the ultimate fanboy-blinders and am able to keep my distance and can therefore say that I do not find both Magnus and Dorn portrayed "in character". Extensively readable in the Heresy novels (for Dorn and Magnus, by the way, many of the characterisation gems here can be found in the later anthologies. Which explains a lot of the mistakes in TTS, as not much of it had been released yet when they started their project and set the characters. So the creators couldn't know any better. The fact that angry fans are now shitting their incendiary speeches at my feet here is of course then rather unreflective. But I can't blame Alfabusa and the team for that. You don't choose your fans). That you conclude from this that I think the Emperor is great and am humourless is in itself extremely amusing. But you're probably right.

He's the best. I aspire to be like him. Also, please educate yourself about the difference between "well written" and "being a good guy". Because the Emperor is well written in a lot of cases, he just isn't a good guy.

For me, TTS is not the problem. It's people like you who obviously don't want to delve further into the subject matter, but turn memes into canon. No one needs to have read every scrap of lore. I myself am very selective in what I read and I know far too little. Learning new things, changing my mind accordingly - that's a big part of the fun I have in fandom. I allow myself the luxury of challenging my fan-ness with books and opinions that don't line up with mine. At best, I'm even wrong and can add something new to my private Warhammer treasure chest.

I recommend you do the same. Don't stop where you are, read the books. Realise that, contrary to what you seem to believe at the moment, they are not humourless and unreflective, but on the contrary have wit and irony in many shades (quite a few of those shades are called "sledgehammer", but that counts too!).

Now that was severely abbreviated, but I'm tired of it.

Run, little troll! Run, you are free!

[irritablepoe]

WAIT IM ALSO CURIOUS is there any poetry or maybe a poetry collection you really like??? IT JUST ENTERED MY MIND WHILE I WAS USING MY LIT BLOG PLS FEEL FREE TO IGNORE HSUWHSUWHS

THANK YOU FOR ASKING TOBI AND I'M SO SORRY I TOOK SO LONG! i was thinking which i would pick as favs and then i went to reread them all and then i forgot about this and then i reread them again💀 anyways, i made a short list and wrote a lil bit of why i like it ig?

sooooo, i only have 5 collections:

rachel oates: reflections on healing

the poems of nakahara chuuya

kurt tucholsky: zwischen gestern und morgen (verbatim translation: between yesterday and tomorrow)

berklie novak-stolz: lazarus rises (amongst other things) (idk if you know her from tt maybe, she's really cool and does fandom stuff!)

the poems of edgar allan poe

i have other online books as well but these are like collected works from multiple mostly german poets yk :3

ok i'm probably forgetting so many poems but i'll try to list as many as i can that i really like (a few will be german tho and idk how to translate them really but i'll try if i use direct quotes)

Herr von Ribbeck auf Ribbeck im Havelland - Fontane: someone will hit me for this bc it's such a silly poem about a dude that has a pear tree and on his death bed he says to lay a pear into his grave and ofc a pear tree grows out of it and continues his tradition of giving away pears. and idk it's such a nice thing to think about like your good actions can be carried on after death? it's very nice

The Haunted palace - Poe: reminds me so much of that one short story i wrote in which i personify the house, otherwise i just love poe's flowiness in his poems so so much

continuing with Poe - The city in the sea: oof such feeling of doom, it cannot be compared

A dream within a dream -Poe: there's a reason this is my header, idk why it scratches my brain so much

The Raven - Poe: i don't think i have to explain that one it's just a classic

just like Annabel Lee -Poe, god i'm in love with this poem

Zum Lazarus - Heine: reminds me of Ivan Karamazov, i don't think i can explain it well but it's kind of a criticism of guessing and hypothesizing in regards to god when we don't know what he's up to?

Sonnet 112 - Shakespeare: i'm sorry, but i might as well be frothing at the mouth at "you are so strongly in my purpose bred, that all the world besides methinks are dead"

same with sonnet 139 - Shakespeare

shakespeare in general ig?

(in the collection:) XXIII - Berklie novak-stolz: i mean "hope is a feathered thing i thought to be lost" COME ON!!

III - Berklie novak-stolz: "these words must be pried from my teeth" again. i have no words.

shame - nakahara chuuya: "why, oh why, this shame?" sfskdfhksdhk at this point i can't be coherent anymore i suppose; i've not read many of his works yet but i'm excited to read them

Loreley - Heine: captain is so mesmerized by a woman he sends his ship into the ocean; a classic, very nice, very enjoyable read

der spinnerin nachtlied - brentano (translation: the spinners (?) lullaby)

goethe and schiller are ofc very good poets but idk i haven't been hit in the face by them yk (at least not yet? or maybe school has made me immune to their writings idk, i did like faust a lot tho)

die brück' am tay - fontane

fontane in general has made some nice poems but i'm a bit traumatized by john maynard, like yeah good hero man and stuff but i can't take this serious anymore when i still hear my classmates and me singing that poem

elizabeth barrett browning!! probably especially "my heart and i", i've not read much of hers tho

okay that's like a good overview of what i like :3 again, sorry it took so long and this isn't nearly as long as i'd hoped it to be, but maybe i remember a poem or two later on that i've forgot to mention?

now i wanna know what yours are tho, if you have any👀

[chrryjin]

my school had jason evert come and speak !!!!

[continentalblue]

oh my god ok so i juuust started watching tts and when i tell you im obsessed with varian…

anyway, could i request varian x gn or fem reader where he tries to be super flirty and make reader blush? but in the end reader ends up making him blush instead :)

have a nice day! make sure to take care of yourself and drink water! <33

Blue's note: feel free to request Tangled headcanons through my askbox! They can be character or ship hc, I don't really care. I won't do adult/nonadult ships, nsfw, or ships between family.

______________________________________________ I hope you have a great day as well! I've decided to make this a fic instead of headcanons so that it flows better. I've never flirted with anyone so bear with me haha

Wordcount: 222 words

Varian sat next to you. “Oh, hey,” he said, as if he just noticed you.

You, already used to Varian’s attempts at flirting, smiled slightly. “Hey, Varian.” You turned back to your book.

He read the title out loud. “How to Be An Alchemy Assistant: Ten Easy & Fun Tips and Tricks to Not Look Like a Fool.” Varian chuckled, smacking your arm gently. “Oh, you. You’re so cute.”

Your arm tingled from where he touched it. “It’s rude to talk about yourself.”

He waved off your compliment.

You returned to your book, though you couldn’t focus with Varian around. He was intoxicating in all the best ways. After a few minutes, you were aware of him looking at you.

You looked up.

He looked away then looked back. After a few moments, he winked at you.

You finally broke, laughing softly. You set your book down. “So, Varian, what’re you up to tonight?”

“Oh, not much. Just a few alchemy experiments here, brushing Ruddiger there, and thinking about you everywhere.”

You leaned in a brushed your lips against his cheek. “Guess I’ll give you something to think about, then.” His cheeks were warm under your lips.

You patted him on the shoulder and got up to leave, aware of his shocked eyes on your back.

“Guess you will,” he called after you.

[j3ssisam3ss]

Childhood Friends - Fluff

For @animebookworm16

It got kind of long and I’m not really sure it still counts as fluff, but here’s my piece for @maribat-angst-fluff-april, prompt 25, Childhood Friends.

Damian Al Ghul-Wayne was five years old the first time he met a girl his age. And in typical League of Assassins style, he went for efficiency by meeting ten at once.

“These are your betrothed,” Talia told him. “All but one will be dead by your twelfth birthday. You will marry the sole survivor on your eighteenth birthday and produce an Heir to carry on the great legacy of the League of Assassins.”

Nine of the girls heard the words without so much as a flinch. The last stared in shock at Talia, then broke into tears.

“Quiet, Marinette,” Talia hissed.

“No,” she yelled defiantly, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I want my mama!”

Talia backhanded her and she fell to the floor with a yelp.

Damian surveyed the girl – Marinette – with distaste.

“Mother, surely you don’t consider this sniveling coward worthy to compete for my hand?”

“Her mother, Sabine Cheng, was our best assassin for years before she turned traitor. I suppose she’s lost her touch if she raised such a weak daughter.” Talia shrugged elegantly. “No matter, if she turns out to be useless, we’ll ship her mutilated corpse back to Sabine as a reminder of what happens when you cross the League.”

She waved the girls away. “To your training now.”

Damian watched as Marinette sniffled and followed the other girls out the door.

She won’t last a week.

He had no idea how wrong he was.

.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was five years old the first time she won a fight. And in typical Dupain-Cheng fashion, she did so in the most unpredictable way possible.

“You’re going down, pigtails,” shouted a pretty brunette, charging at Marinette with a sword that was as tall as she was.

With a startled shriek, Marinette darted away. She hated how behind she was here. Back home, she was good at everything – reading circle, art class, tussles when the teacher’s back was turned. Here, it felt like she was constantly playing catch-up.

Not to mention, the constant threat of death was not fun.

Skidding around a corner of the labyrinth arena, she tripped over a protruding stone and fell to the ground. The brunette grinned viciously, advancing towards her.

Marinette smiled nervously. “Can’t we talk this out?”

“Not a chance, shortie,” said the brunette.

Marinette glanced around frantically.

I don’t want to die!

She reached for a rock, a stick, anything that could help her fight, but came up with only a handful of sand. With a pleading glance heavenward, she flung it into the brunette’s face and lurched to her feet, grinning when the girl had to stop to get the grit out of her eyes.

Taking off into the labyrinth of passages, she nearly stumbled again, this time over a nearly buried metal object.

She shifted away the dirt surrounding it and smirked. “Finally, a weapon I know how to use.”

Ten minutes later, the watching League members straightened in surprise as the smallest and weakest of Damian’s betrotheds utterly decimated her opponent.

With a frying pan.

.

“What are you doing here?”

The two children spoke in unison, glaring daggers at one another.

“I always come here,” Marinette said. “It’s my drawing spot.”

“The vents are my domain, Dupain-Cheng,” Damian said. “Get out.”

Two years’ worth of resentment and anger simmered beneath Marinette’s skin.

 Drawing is the last thing I have of home. I won’t let him take it from me.

“No.”

Damian looked thunderstruck and Marinette couldn’t keep the smirk off her face.

“I am Heir to the Demon! You will obey me!”

“You may be Heir to the Demon, but right now you’re also a kid skipping classes,” Marinette argued. “And if you make me leave, I’ll tell Talia exactly where you go when you’re not in class.”

Ha, take that, you tyrant!

Damian froze. Marinette watched as emotions overtook his face – anger, resentment, then acceptance.

“Fine,” he grumbled.

Marinette smiled and returned to her sketchbook – which wasn’t really a sketchbook, just some loose papers she’d tucked into her history book.

A few minutes later, Damian peered over her shoulder. “What are you doing?”

“Drawing,” she said, holding out a few of her older sketches, the ones she wouldn’t mind losing if Damian decided to rip them. “There’s your mother fighting, cook making soup, the sunset from this other spot in the vents – actually, that one’s pretty bad because I didn’t have any colors.”

Damian stared at the drawing of his mother.

“I’m keeping this,” he announced.

Well, at least he didn’t tear it up.

The next week, when Marinette arrived at her drawing spot, Damian was already there. With an annoyed grunt, he shoved a sketchbook and colored pencils into her hands.

Marinette looked between him and the supplies in confusion. “What’s this for?”

“Teach me how to draw.”

Marinette bit her lip, looking longingly at the colored pencils. Then, she pushed them back towards Damian.

“I want you to give me weapons training. As often as I teach you drawing.”

I may be naturally talented at combat, but the other girls have been training their entire lives. I need to catch up.

Damian eyed her suspiciously. “That’s against the rules.”

“So? Are you scared?”

“Never.”

“Then it’s a deal?”

“It’s a deal.”

.

Damian lunged, making a displeased noise when his quarry danced out of his reach.

“You’re slow today, Dami,” Marinette teased. “Losing your touch?”

Marinette was no longer the scared little girl she’d been at five, or even at seven. She’d thrown herself into her training with single-minded determination and two years of training with Talia by day and Damian by night had made her a formidable – and snarky – combatant.

“Never,” Damian replied. His next attack nearly threw her off-balance.

With a grunt, Marinette recovered her footing and countered with a flurry of blows that would have left a lesser opponent dizzy.

Damian smirked, parrying each attack easily. “Completely mediocre. Should I tell my mother that her protégé is slipping?”

Although he’d never admit it, Damian was proud of her. She’d gone from being the worst of the League’s trainees to the only one able to keep up with him in a fight.

“Me? Slipping? Not a chance.” Marinette flipped backwards, knocking his weapon away. “Hey, Damian?”

“Yes, Marinette?” He scooped up his katana, readying himself for her next move.

“The floor is lava.”

With a startled intake of air, he leaped onto the nearest table.

“Really?” he asked, half annoyed, half amused.

Marinette giggled, peering down at him from her spot in the ceiling rafters. “I thought we could use an extra challenge.”

Damian glanced up at her. “You just like having the high ground.”

“Technically speaking, it’s the high rafter,” she pointed out.

“Either way, it won’t prevent me from defeating you,” Damian said, pulling himself into the rafters.

At that moment, the door opened and they both immediately went still.

“Damian? Are you here?”

Marinette raised an eyebrow at him. “Skipping again?” she mouthed.

Damian shrugged in response.

Rolling her eyes, Marinette gestured to the vents behind him. “I’ll meet you in the lower training rooms to finish our bout.”

“Marinette!” The teacher startled as she caught a glimpse of the pigtailed girl. “What are you doing up there?”

Effortlessly, the girl swung down from the ceiling, drawing the teacher’s attention away from Damian’s hiding place.

“Just improving my arm strength, Mistress Eva.” As she distracted his teacher with false information about his whereabouts, Damian climbed into the vents.

Marinette makes a surprisingly tolerable ally.

.

It didn’t seem to matter how many people Marinette killed; it never got easier. Surrounded by the bodies of Deathstroke’s traitors, she retched.

She was alone. Somehow, in the midst of the fight, she’d gotten separated from the rest of the League’s loyalists.

I need to get moving. I’m an easy target right now.

With a shuddering breath, she climbed to her feet and made her way out of the compound and into the shadows. It was there, staring at the ruins of the League’s strongest base, that the realization hit her.

“I’m free,” Marinette whispered, tears trickling down her face.

The Head of the Demon was dead, his followers scattered.

“I can finally go home.”

She ignored the voice in her mind that said her home was here, with the League, with Damian. She ignored the tightness in her chest at the thought of never seeing Damian again. She ignored the fear that he might already be dead.

The League kidnapped me. Talia abused me. Even if I managed to be happy here, I owe the Al Ghuls nothing. A vow of loyalty made under duress is no vow at all.

Her hands curled into fists.

And if they come for me again, I’ll be ready.

.

Damian scowled as their plane descended into Gotham.

“This is imbecilic. I should be assisting you in decimating our enemies, not hiding like a frightened child.”

“Damian,” his mother’s voice was cold. “This is not up for negotiation. You will stay here and train with your father.”

“Yes, Mother,” he replied bitterly. A moment passed, then he tilted his head in thought. “But what of my betrothed? If she is to be my equal, should she not train with me?”

Talia studied him carefully. “You use the singular of betrothed,” she noted. “Despite the fact that three remain alive. I don’t suppose you’d care to tell me which one you consider your wife-to-be?”

“Tt. Your protégé, the Cheng girl, is the only one that even approaches competent. You know this.”

“I also know that you trained her separately – against my orders,” Talia said.

Damian nearly flinched. “And yet you didn’t stop me.”

“I wonder if that was a mistake,” his mother said. “You feel more for her than you should.”

“She is an effective ally. That is all.”

“Then you won’t mind being separated from her for a while.”

“Not at all, Mother,” Damian lied.

.

“Marinette? Is that you?” Her mother looked as if she’d seen a ghost.

Marinette smiled. “Hello, Mama.”

Sabine reached out a shaking hand to cup her face. “How are you here? We saw you die.”

“Sabine, do you know where – ” Tom dropped the pan of croissants. “Marinette?”

He jumped over the counter and raced to her. Marinette took a step back before her mind caught up with her body.

This is Papa, you idiot. He’s not a threat.

She threw herself into his arms, shoving away her fears.

Twisting to face her mother, she said, “I don’t know how my death was faked, but I never died. The League kidnapped me.”

Tom’s arms tightened around her.

“The League?” Sabine’s face went pale. “What did they want with you?”

“The usual,” Marinette said with a shrug. “Revenge on you for leaving and a capable assassin and potential wife for Damian if I turned out to be any good.”

“Who’s Damian?” Tom asked with a frown.

Marinette grinned. “Oh, Damian’s great! He’s the Heir to the League, but he’s actually pretty okay for an assassin. He helped me get good enough to survive. You know, after I blackmailed and bribed him.”

“What?”

.

Meeting his father did not go the way Damian had imagined.

Talia always spoke of Bruce Wayne’s great intellect, his strength in combat, his determination in all things. She never mentioned his brainless playboy act, his absurd prohibition of killing, or his habit of taking in strays. Damian wasn’t sure which one was most offensive, but he was incredibly disappointed in his father regardless.

He had to reassess after he saw Batman at work. When not purposely acting like a buffoon, Bruce Wayne was everything his mother had described and more, entirely deserving of Damian’s respect.

He set out to prove himself in his father’s eyes. It didn’t go well. Whatever he did, it was the wrong thing. In any fight with the imposter sons, Damian was punished – even if he won. Assisting his father with Wayne Enterprises was met with an eye-roll and a request to stay away from Bruce’s office.

It should have made Damian angry but instead it hurt and Damian did not understand why.

And then his father was gone. Richard Grayson became Batman.

Damian became Robin. Finally.

And yet the triumph felt hollow.

Not to mention, it came with strings attached: ‘Murder is bad.’ ‘Justice, not vengeance.’ ‘Robin doesn’t kill.’ ‘Protect rather than avenge.’

Grayson’s teachings were imbecilic. And yet he had to follow them. His mother had yet to finish with the traitors.

He wondered where Marinette was, if she was undergoing similar training, if she fought the way he did to reign in the bloodlust. Considering how she had to hide her dislike of killing, how she helped heal her competitors, he thought probably not.

Slowly, things got easier. Grayson became tolerable. Damian learned to suppress the instinct, the muscle memory that said ‘kill or be killed.’ He found an adoration for animals and learned to deal with his classmates. He finally began to understand why Grayson and his father valued life so highly. His father came back and he chose to deny the League. Wayne Manor became home.

On days when he struggled, he retreated to his room and the comfort of his sketchbook. And if a certain blue-eyed girl made an appearance every few pages, well, who would know but him?

.

Returning home did not go the way Marinette had imagined.

She knew it wouldn’t be sunshine and roses, of course. But she hadn’t expected the magnitude of the changes in her home, or in herself.

School was laughably easy. Marinette had the equivalent of several college degrees. Finding x and learning how to spell ‘earthquake’ was a waste of her time. Instead, she spent class drawing and coming up with increasingly complex plans for fighting off the League should they try to kidnap her again.

She kept herself closed off from her classmates – she didn’t know how she’d ever called them friends. They were neutral parties at best – not one ever stood up for her against Chloe. Her parents encouraged them to give her classmates a chance, but the League had trained her well. Misplaced trust could kill. And Marinette had fought long enough for survival to know that dropping your guard was a death knell.

She hated hurting her parents though.

Though they tried to hide it, she saw the pain cross their faces when she flinched away from hugs. When she moved like an assassin rather than a child. When she gave away her stuffed animals. When she skipped family game night and spent her time training.

She hated hurting her parents. So she changed.

Marinette locked away her lethal grace, faking clumsiness and turning it into an art form. She hid her weapons, training only when her parents were asleep. She returned to family game nights; she initiated hugs. At school, she became bubbly and friendly again, though she trusted no one.

More than anything, she tried to atone. She sought out those in need and tried to help – whether by providing food, babysitting, or making them warm clothing. She discovered an interest in fashion design, but mostly stuck to making the essentials for those in need. She met a tiny floating bug named Tikki and became a superhero.

On days when she struggled, she retreated to her room and the comfort of her sketchbook. And if green eyes and a cocky smirk featured prominently in the book, well, who would know but her?

.

Damian frowned as he followed his brother into Wayne Enterprises.

"I don't understand why it's so important for me to be here."

"C'mon, Baby Bird!" Dick said. "You said you wanted to be more involved in the company!"

"I meant the business side of things," Damian said. "I have no interest in showing around a gaggle of unruly teenagers."

"You're a teenager too," Dick pointed out. "It'll be fun!"

Damian sniffed. "I'm an adult. And fun, really? Surely you don't truly believe that?"

Dick sighed. "Just give it a chance, okay? They seem like really great kids."

They walked into the lobby and Damian stopped short, eyes catching on long black hair and brilliant blue eyes.

"Marinette?"

.

In truth, Marinette wasn't all that excited about the Wayne Enterprises tour. The architecture was interesting, sure, but her class had a habit of making themselves a target and Bruce Wayne's patronage was not helping.

She gave it three days, at most, before they got in trouble with Gotham's Rouges.

Which meant she was on 'keep the class from dying' duty. Joy.

She kept her eyes and ears peeled, which meant that she heard the faint whisper of her name from an unfamiliar voice.

"Marinette?"

Forest-green eyes filled with far too much emotion had her breath catching in her throat.

"Damian?"

With obvious effort, the League's Heir pulled himself together. "Fancy meeting you here, Dupain-Cheng."

His voice. Oh, kwami, it should be illegal to look AND sound that good. Nope. Nope. Not doing this. He's an assassin, get your act together, Marinette.

"Al-Ghul." She was proud that her voice betrayed nothing. "I have to admit, I'm surprised to see you here. This doesn't seem like your scene."

She reached out for a handshake and was taken off guard when Damian kissed her hand instead. She blushed.

"It's Wayne now," Damian said. "I'm... no longer associated with the Al-Ghuls. Or their business."

He's not an assassin anymore? Yes! I knew you were a good person deep, deep down, Dami!

"Really? I broke ties with them several years ago myself."

See that, Damian? We're both good people. Good people that would be great toget - no! Bad Marinette!

Damian grinned. "In that case, I look forward to reconnecting. Perhaps after the tour?"

Oh, kwami, I'm doomed.

"I'd like that."

.

"What was that?" Dick asked in a low voice. "I've never seen you open up to someone so quickly."

With difficulty, Damian tore his gaze from Marinette.

Stars, she grew up gorgeous.

Damian smirked. "Don't be ridiculous, Grayson. I met Marinette over a decade ago."

I wonder, does she still consider our betrothal valid?

"Wait, so she's an assassin?" Grayson blanched. "Who is she here to kill? Who do I have to protect? Ugh! Why can't you ever have normal friends?"

"Relax," Damian chided. "She's an ex-assassin. Like me."

"That does not make me feel better. Who is she to you?"

Damian hummed in thought, running through years of teasing, fighting, and spending time together. "She was my first friend."

And maybe now something more.

[glamoureddreamer]

Hiya ♡⸝⸝

Im here to request two matchups!

I would like to request a matchup from Spooky Month and Eddsworld

Sorry if I have to much information in this I kinda got carried away ^^’

Here’s the rundown of me:

- Starting with the basics I prefer to go by she/her pronouns and I am a bisexual who is open to being in poly relationships

- My personality type is infp and I’m a capricorn sagittarius cusp

- Im Hispanic and I have some chub and am also smaller then average (I’m 4’11)

- I smell like strawberry pound cake 24/7 because I am in love with it (this is not sponsored by bath and body works I swear TT)

-I like pink an unhealthy amount

More in-depth look into my personality:

An introvert who has the skills to socialize but doesn’t use them cause they have a low battery when it comes to interacting with others. I’m rather dramatic or eccentric when speaking to those I feel more comfortable around but to others I look like I’m constantly annoyed due to my natural resting bitch face- if anyone does desire to talk to me though I am rather nice and lively in conversations! (Might just be confused why you’re talking to me though)

I am very in tune with others around me or someone that I know and can tell most of the time how they feel just by looking at them.

Affectionate (in my own way) and talkative are two words I would describe myself in any relationship (platonic or romantic)

Side note; I do struggle with clinic depression, anxiety, along with ADHD as well

Small quirks about me:

- I curse often

- Mainly active at night

- I am generally louder then most others

- I like to give people nicknames so I can remember them easier

- I mostly talk in all caps over text most of the time

- I threaten and be mean to people in a loving way/ out of love (goes for friendship and probably a relationship if I know they can handle it)

- I like my alone time

The bad about me:

I self isolate myself a lot from others and am generally bad at keeping communication with someone even if I like them or consider them a friend.

Low self esteem is something I struggle with and the biggest factor behind it being I don’t consider myself good enough.

Even though I am rather ambitious in life and want to do a lot of things but my depression drags me down for having any motivation to do them- which just leads to me doing nothing.

I tend to overthinking a lot

I have a very pessimistic and cynical way of thinking but it doesn’t come out much

Interest and hobbies:

There isn’t a lot I do in terms of hobbies but I do like to draw! Small doodles are usually my go to but I am trying to get better at anatomy so I am practicing that

I like to read aswell (manga, comics, and books in general) but I don’t think that’s a really interesting hobby

Singing is another thing I enjoy doing and I’m hoping to do something more with my voice in the future!

I really want to take on more hobbies in the future so I can actually do something in my free time TT

My interests are harajuku fashion, Sanrio, animation, stationary, picrew, baking, anything cute, nail art, plushies, cats, anything pink, calming video games, selfcare, dresses, singing, abandoned places, coloring, anime, makeup, history, witchcraft, learning more about myself, dark media, magical girls, writing, cafes, shopping, and flowers

Here are some of my kins if that can help you! ˊᗜˋ

Toast (Bee and Puppycat)

Sayaka Miki (Madoka Magica)

Vanellope Von Schweetz (Wreck it Ralph)

Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls)

Karen (Mean Girls)

I hope you still enjoy despite the minor inconvenience this was really fun to write! Thank you for the request

For Eddsworld I match you with EDD!

Edd is the type of man to love you no matter what shape/size you are he thinks you are perfect just the way you are. He doesn’t mind that you are bisexual he’s definitely not straight himself (e.g. him calling Tom hot). He will joke with you about your height though- in a playful way. If you are insecure or you start to get upset he will stop it immediately with lots of apologies.

While doesn’t completely understand why you run out of social battery he does know that it’s emotionally overwhelming so he would take you to your comfort place and make sure you have everything you need to recharge- if you want him to stay there he would be more than willing to cuddle you and just hang out doing whatever you want, but if you want alone time he also completely understands and leaves you alone (of course checking in on you every 10 minutes). Edd would be extremely happy and honored when you are dramatic around him, the thought of you being yourself around him because you trust him makes him very happy. Edd fully understands that just because you have an RBF doesn’t always mean you are mad (thanks to Tom).

Edd is also the time of man to hold you tightly during the days when everything is too much, he’d whisper sweet nothings into your ear and words of affirmation as a way of comfort. He’d also get you anything you’d like! You need candies? You bet. Need another drink? He’s already on it! He cares a lot for you and your mental health. Edd is a kind individual and definitely has his own type of humor and form of love (both platonic and romantic) Edd is rude to his friends but always cares about them in the end.

Prepare for a lot of teasing if you pick on him he’s going to do it back, but like stated before if you actually get upset he apologizes and stops. Edd wouldn’t understand at first why you are not talking to him and so you’ll probably have to explain it to him.

At that point, he’d tell you that it’s okay and that you don’t have to talk if you don’t want to. He will totally! And I mean totally draw you often, especially if you have low self-esteem about your body, and if it’s about you and your personality he’ll leave sticky notes all over the place with small words of affirmation or sweet little reminders like “you are more than good enough” “there’s always a bright side” “I love you more than anything” living with him will totally help with your motivation. He won’t allow you to sit around all day if you wanted to do something the day before he’s taking you to do it. But he does understand that sometimes you need a day off and will take that day off with you to cuddle and relax.

I think you two would totally bond over drawing and if you want to get better he will be more than happy to help you! He will totally listen to you sing! If you love it he’ll take interest in it, even if it’s just you talking about it. The same with reading he’ll constantly ask what you are reading and what it’s about.

Yes- you two will totally bond over animation, baking, cats, and coloring he loves and lives for anything to do art and crafts. If you bake he totally is trying everything or asking you to make him things. If you don’t bake he finds a baking book and plans dates where you to can try together.

Will let you try makeup and nail art on him but nothing too over the top. Will love to take you shopping for clothes, he loves to watch you come out of the changing rooms with a big smile on your face when you find something you love!

Overall I think he would be your perfect match because he is very kind and caring but is also playful/childish and loud. You two will never run out of things to do with each other. Edd will always take joy in the things you do and will always be willing to try things for or with you!

[sodadrabbles]

hear me out- one more littleboo but like if they were crying or like going through smt and ranboo just helps//comforts them if that makes sense? GEHDDH okay have a good day :]

THE PEOPLE DEMAND HURT/COMFORT. I SHALL FEED YOU, MY PEOPLE

Also, I wanted to address why I use ‘Ranboo’ in these fics, when referring to the actual CC- We don’t know Ranboo’s real name. I want to respect his wishes and not speculate, because that’s creepy. So, I just use Ranboo. A couple people were asking in my inbox. I know Tubbo said his name was Mark, but that was never confirmed, and, again, I don’t want to speculate on his personal information, that’s WEIRD.

LIttleboo IV: Hurt/comfort or bust.

Pairing: Ranboo x sibling!Reader (gender-neutral)!

Rating: Soft. Bad ending, I’m so sorry (NOT ANGST, IM JUST BAD AT WRITING)

Summary: Being a freshman sucks ass, but Ranboo bought taco bell, it’s all good.

To say today was a bad day would be an understatement. It was probably the most terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day of your 14-year-old life. The whole day the universe would launch bad thing after bad thing at you, as if it was somehow testing you in your will to deal with bullshit. Like it was asking you ‘What are you willing to put up with today?’

Your answer was ‘Not fucking this.’

You woke up to your brother shaking you softly, telling you the power had gone out and you were both late. For an upperclassman this wasn’t a big deal- But you were a freshman. Your teachers were going to give you absolute hell for being late, and knowing Ranboo was going to get off scot-free made you a little salty. You had to skip breakfast and had to leave with your hair still a bit messy, barely able to comb through it with your fingers while Ranboo drove you both to school.

Then there was a pop quiz first period- English. You were never terrible at english, but being on the topic of the last three chapters of the book you were reading for class- Chapters which you had not read yet- The test had been a little difficult. Not to mention the hunger clawing at your stomach, and the strange fog that was settled about your thoughts.

You thought you could catch a break through second period and lunch, knowing Chemistry would be an easy day and you could grab something good with your brother, but fate had other plans in mind.

During Chemistry, you were tasked with picking a partner and completing an experiment afterthought worksheet, going over the experiment you had done in class the day before. You were paired with the nice girl sat next to you- At least you thought she was nice. As the teacher dismissed the class to begin talking amongst themselves, you turned to start asking her how her experiment went yesterday. You didn’t have a chance to ask, however, as the girl snapped at you harshly. “Don’t even bother! I’m not doing this assignment. Do it on your own.”

Her voice was pitched and loud, and it caused you to wince back. You tilt your head and try to ask her, but she cuts you off by flicking the paper in your direction. It sends both your papers flying, and you try to catch them, but fail miserably and fall out of your chair unceremoniously. As you fall, your foot comes up to counter balance and you nearly kick the girl in the head- Keyword being nearly. You were sure you were able to stop yourself, and hadn’t touched it, but still the girl screeches and begins screaming bloody murder. The teacher comes over to check what’s going on, the girl sobbing and holding her head.

And then she lies through her teeth.

“Sir, she just kicked me! I was just asking about her experiment and she kicks me!”

She’s sobbing dramatically, and though you’re clearly not at fault, considering it was clear you had fallen out of your chair. Even still the teacher sides with her, giving you a short and disappointing talk about violent behaviour in the classroom, ending with “I have no choice but to give you lunch detention and a zero on the assignment.”

You don’t try to argue- Exhaustion was already settling on your body and you didn’t want to just make the situation worse than it already was. The rest of second period dragged on like a snail. You sat awkwardly at your table, twiddling your thumbs and staring at the walls. You could feel eyes boring into the back of your skull with each passing glance at the students. A few whispers that seemed much too loud yet indecipherable hitting your ears, somehow knowing deep in your soul that the other students were whispering about you. By the time the lunch bell rang you were starting to feel tears prick at your eyes as your own thoughts betrayed you.

During lunch detention, you were at the very least allowed your phone. You texted your brother, alerting him that you had lunch detention. He promised to bring you food before your third period began- The gesture brought a smile to your face. Your third period was your favorite, because Ranboo was also taking that class. US History. You were able to push through detention with Philza’s stream, starting a TTS war with Wilbur in the time you were able to watch. Of course, mentioning you were in detention earned you a little rant from Phil, not doing much to better your mood.

When third period came down to bless you, you could feel the tears welling in your eyes at the happy sight of your tall older brother holding a taco bell bag in his hand. You basically tackled him, nearly knocking him to the ground. His arms flew around you for stability, and you gripped the back of his shirt as an involuntary sob came out of your mouth. 

Ranboo stared down at you with his brows furrowed with concern, his mouth pulled into a tight frown. He pushed you to the side to allow other students to get into the classroom, and released you from the hug to look you in the face. Your eyes were puffy and your cheeks and nose were red, stray tears still rolling down your cheeks. He wiped one away.

“(Y/N), what happened? Why are you crying?” He asked, your eyes avoiding him. You hated to cry in front of people- But the stress of the day weighed heavy on your shoulders. You had just gotten too excited. When you explained this, Ranboo shook his head. “(Y/N) it’s perfectly okay, you don’t have to apologize.”

He hugged you again, and you hugged him back. After standing there for a moment, the annoying ring of the school bell sounded overheard, alerting you that class was starting.

“Tell you what,” Ranboo beamed at you, picking up the bag of food. “We’re gonna go in there, annoy Mr. Anderson, and eat chalupas until we explode. Sound good?”

You smile and nod your head. God, your older brother is so cool.

---

The rest of the day was smooth as it could be. You spent all of third period messing around with Ranboo- The assignment given for the day forgotten as homework that you would sit down and do together before Ranboo had to stream. You feared that your fourth period, Algebra, would once again break you down into a ball of anxiety and terror. But to your pleasant surprise, you would be watching a movie with a substitute for that class.

Your mood had been significantly raised by the time the bell had rung, releasing you from the confines of the building. You packed your things quietly, the hustle and bustle of an emptying school occupying your senses. You had rushed down through the hallways towards to doors leading to student parking. Ranboo was supposed to be waiting for you at the car.

But before you could reach the door, you felt a hand grip your bag, pulling you backwards. Your feet flew out from under you as you fell to the ground, your bag being ripped from your shoulders. You felt you back collide with the cold, tiled ground, pain shooting through spine. 

Shrill giggling sounds from above you. You groan and roll onto your front, staring up at a group of three girls laughing at you. You recognized the one holding your bag from your chemistry class. By the looks of the other two, they were also freshmen. You try to get on your feet, but the girl swings her leg, knocking your hands out from under you. You feel something press against your back. 

The girl from your class laughs as she bends down to look at you. “You thought you could get away with that little stunt?” She sneers, her hand grabbing your face. Not able to think of anything else to do, you snap your jaws, nearly biting her. She screeches and backs away.

“DID YOU JUST TRY TO BITE ME?” She screams, her face twisted in disgust. You feel the presume on your back worsen, and you strain your neck to see who was standing on your back. You recognized the guy as a junior on the soccer team. You vaguely recalled the girl mentioned she was dating a guy on the soccer team. 

You squirm, freeing your hands from underneath you. Just as you were about to grab the guy’s leg, you hear a familiar voice shout. The three girls in front of you scatter like rats- But the soccer player stays. He turns to look at whoever shouted, his chest puffing out as if he’s prepared for a fight. However the color seems to drain from his face when he sees the mystery person- And he runs away like a dog with its tail between its legs.

As you start to stand, someone grabs you by the shoulders and helps you up. You’re met with the mop of brown hair and concerned gray eyes of your older brother. He helps you to your feet, handing you your bag. You thank him as you throw the bag over your shoulders, giving your older brother a tight hug.

You don’t even realize there were tears in your eyes again, until Ranboo tells you to dry your eyes. “Sorry…” You whisper, hand wiping away the water. “I don’t know why I’m crying.

Ranboo smiles at you again, his hand patting the top of your head. You smile at him too, and he leads you out of the school, asking if you’re alright or if anything hurts. You spend the walk to the car feeling grateful you have someone to help you out like that. It has you smiling to entire ride home.

[murdersquazh]

I AM OFFICIALLY BACK ON TUMBLR AFTER A SHORT BREAK AND I'VE READ:

1. The Folk of Air trilogy by Holly Black

(YA Fantasy, slow burn romance, enemies to lovers, royalty etc)

2. Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

(LGBT romance, enemies to lovers, squad, family, royalty, etc)

3. The Shades of Magic trilogy by V.E. Schwab

(Adult Fantasy, royalty, friends to lovers, etc)

4. The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

(Romance🌶, enemies to lovers *a recurring trope in my reading list at this point*, fake dating, slow burn, etc)

As much as I would like to give my opinions on these, I kinda read through them pretty quickly so I'm afraid I couldn't give a proper review and rating for every book. All I'm going to say is that I loved them all one way or another, more so for some, a little less for others. BUT I WILL GIVE YOU SOMETHING AS A LITTLE TREAT.

AND THESE ARE MY VIEWS ON SOME OF THE CHARACTERS FROM THESE BOOKS:

The Folk of Air:

CARDAN- I cant with Book 1 Cardan even after reading the spin-off. BUT THEN. ACT II BOOK 1 AND BEYOND HAPPENED and now I love his whole drunken ass, pitch black, worm-eaten heart.

JUDE-GURL, THE POWER. That's it. That's Jude.

TARYN- *eye rolls*

LOCKE- saw it coming from a mile away. Just read how he's described in book 1

NICASIA- ngl, I honestly wanted more from her

MADOCK- if the Hulk decided to foster his dead mortal wife's kids, sure.

COURT OF SHADOWS- I 💚 Yall

VIVI- I need her energy. Or lack thereof

MOVING ON

Red, White and Royal Blue:

ALEX- MY SPIRIT ANIMAL. LOVE HIM.

HENRY- one half of my dream nerd bffs. LOVE HIM TOO.

JUNE- If I were gay, I'd have you. If I wasnt, I probably still would.

NORA- *Lowkey ships with June* other half of my dream nerd bffs.

BEA- Probably my favorite in the gang aside from the main couple

PEZ- I need him in my life. ASAP

MOMS= Q U E E N S

ZAHRA- MOOD

SHAAN- 👀

NEXT

The Shades of Magic:

KELL- very magical grumpy cat. A bit whiny but the story makes up for it.

LILA- I LOVE YOUUUU

RHY- I love the concept of his character sm and he kinda gave me inspiration for a story I'd like to write sometime.

ALUCARD- let's make it spicy. Minus spice. If u know what I mean *wiggles eyebrows*

HOLLAND- YOU FCKIN PLAYERRRR. I THOUGH YOU WERE 27 OR SMTH TT-TT. Overgrown emo boy. Love him. Pls.

AND LASTLY

The Spanish Love Deception:

AARON- Wanted Man. Like. Severely wanted. SOS.

CATALINA- I GOTCHU GIRL. STAY STRONG. SENDING HUGS TO ALL THE LINAS OUT THERE.

ISABEL- very true to life sisterhood *nods solemnly*

ROSIE- I needed more of herrrr :((

DANIEL- fuck you

GERALD- fuck you a thousand times over (a sequel)

ABUELA- the whole fandom

THAT'S IT. I HOPE YOU GUYS READ THESE BOOKS AND LOVE THEM AS MUCH AS I DID. FEEL FREE TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. These are just my humble opinions btw :)) please dont take them too seriously. Also sharing that I will finally read Tokyo Revengers next after riding a KnY high.

HAVE A GOOD DAY EVERYONE!!! HAPPY READING❣!!

[thr-333]

Drastic Measures- Part 6

@daminette-december2019-2020

~Comfort~

Damian! for your own health and safety stop trying to KILL Marinette!!!

Ao3

First <Previous > Next

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

“Marinette you need to call them,”

Marinette buries her head deeper in the pillow, Adrien tries to pull it away from her.

“Marinette you need to call them,”

Adrien starts leaning his weight into taking it away, Marinette holds tight getting dragged across and half off the bed.

“Marinette if you don't call them I’m going to call them myself,” Adrien threatens, letting go of the pillow and leaving her half hanging off.

“Nooooo,” Marinette moans nose smooshed into the floor.

“Your parents are nice,” Adrien pats her on the back.

“You’ve never seen them angry,”

“They aren’t going to be angry, they're going to be angry if you don't call,”

“Nooooo,”

“... Ops too late I dialed,”

“What?!” Marinette leaps up catching the phone as Adrien drops it.

“You’ll thank me later~” Adrien dances out of the room followed by the Kwamis leaving her all on her lonesome.

“Hello?” Tom’s voice cuts through Marinette's panicking.

“Hi Papa,” Marinette cringes shifting herself back onto the bed.

“Marinette? Marinette! Are you ok sweetie? what's wrong, are you safe, where are you, how can we-”

“I’m ok Papa, I promise,” She relaxes a bit, Adrien was right, for now.

“Oh sweetie, what happened can we talk about- Sabine! Sabine! It’s Marinette! Marinette called!”

“Marinette? Are you safe honey,” Marinette lets go of the breath she was holding at her Maman's concern.

“I’m safe Maman, I’m staying with the Waynes,” She'd ask how exactly Sabine managed to set that up another time.

“Darling, why did you leave?”

“Uhhhhhhhh,” Saying shes on a top-secret mission or can't tell them because it will put them in danger is useless, it’ll just make them ask more she has to completely shut them do- “The sunsets where it rises,”

“... What ,” Marinette cringes at the sharp tone.

“You used to tell me that when there was something you couldn't tell me, for good reason, well now it’s my turn,” Marinette had long suspected what exactly that code meant, but knew enough it meant you didn't ask questions, and you didn't use it lightly, “The sunsets where it rises,”

“Alright, alright I get it please don't repeat that,” Sabine shushes her, “Marinette it can not be used lightly, in fact, you shouldn't be using it,”

“I need to Maman, and I'm not using it lightly, I just need you to trust me, I can handle this but I need to do it without you,” Marinette sighs, she wished she could tell them everything, “I promise when I can I will explain everything, for now, I can’t come back to Paris,”

“Alright Marinette, if you're sure about this,” Tom agrees, Sabine still mulling over it.

“I am,”

“And your smart about it,” Sabine stresses, “Honey even if you can't come back to Paris we can come to you,”

“That's alright Maman, I’ll work better knowing your both safe in Paris,” Marinette relaxes back into the bed, waves of exhaustion washing over her, “Please stay in Paris for me,”

“Alright sweetie we will, just make sure to call us,” Tom soothes her, Marinette could almost fall asleep like this.

“I will,”

“Everyday,”

“I’ll try,” Marinette smiles at his demand.

“Get some sleep darling,” Sabine comfort, Marinette seconds away from doing just that, “I’m sure you’ve earned it,”

“Night guys,”

“Good night sweetie,” Marinette lets the call drop, eyes drooping low.

The door slams open and she jumps up into a defensive position getting tangled in the sheets. She doesn't have a second to steady herself as she is tackled. Marinette kicks the attacker in the stomach using the distraction to roll them over so she’s on top. She miscalculates sending them both off the bed. Marinette's side hits the ground, she groans opening her eyes to see who attacke-

“Damian?!”

“You’re an assassin!” He lunges, Marinette dosages out the way, going again for his stomach but he catches her leg this time.

“What the?” He tries to pin her but she twists her leg to get free and rolls away into a couched position, “I’m not an assassin!”

“You’re here to kill them,” Damian sends a kick her way she dodges, using the momentum to stand up and get on even ground.

“I’m not going to kill anyone!” Marinette snaps, striking first, taking the element of surprise and managing to get him in a hold, “Never have never will,”

“You were raised by one,” Damian tries to get out of her hold, she pulls tighter on his arm in warning, “You can’t be as good as you act,”

“Maybe my Maman was an assassin,” There was certainly no way a baker should know her skills, “But she changed and certainly never wanted me to be one,”

“Tt,” Damian scoffs, trying to break out of the hold with raw strength, little did he know she had him soundly beat in that department, “There's no way, no matter how hard she tries it doesn't change who she is; a killer,”

Marinette is filled with a white-hot rage before dousing it with years of practice. Damian gives up on strength starting a more covert way of getting out, if he finds the right angle he can dislocate his wrist then get the leverage he needs to get free. It was a move her Maman had shown her when teaching her this move, getting out of Marinette's hold by dislocating her wrist without flinching. It had made Marinette think that dislocation wasn't painful, even less so when her Mana had reset it herself without flinching. Then years later while they were still little Kim had fallen in the playground and cried his eyes out when his wrist was dislocated, then had screamed when it was reset. After that Marinette had figured her Maman wasn't all she had seemed.

“Damian, are you an assassin?”

“...”

“Don’t hurt your wrist, I’m going to let you out just don't attack me again,” Marinette relaxes enough so if he wanted to Damian could break out and if she wanted to she could pull him back into the hold, it was a test of trust on both sides, “Damian I’m not an assassin and I wasn't sent here to hurt anyone, I didn’t even intend to be here that just how the cards fell,”

“You expect me to believe that?” He doesn't try to break out but he certainly doesn't relax, "You show up in Gotham then your Mother threatens us to take you in,"

Threatens huh? yeah, that made more sense.

“No, of course I don’t expect you to trust me,” Marinette says gently, “Your families safety is on the line, I expect you to do whatever it takes to keep them safe,”

“...”

“You can change who you are you know,” she did it every day when she became Ladybug, and overtime the line between Ladybug and Marinette had blurred, “My Maman is the kindest person I know, she’s full of compassion and joy no matter what she did in the past, and above all, she cares about me, she cares about her family, just like you,”

“That doesn't change anything,”

“It doesn't change what you did, but it can change what you choose to do,” Marinette rubs her thumb comfortingly over where its clasped on his wrist, “And that can mean a whole lot more that what you were forced to do,”

“... let me go,” Marinette obliges and they both sit up, neither starting a conversation.

Marinette studies Damian, a severe contemplative look on his face. She's sure to others it would look like a scowl, but Kagami isn't very good at expressing herself outwardly so Marinette had learned to read between the lines, and the lines say a lot. Then there's the little fact that Bruce Wayne's son is an assassin and maybe she should be slightly more worried about Bruce himself. She rethinks all their other interactions, framing it with the new information his attitude suddenly makes a lot more sense, and is even admirable in a way.

Something catches the corner of her eye and she spots a camera peaking from the edge of the still-open door.

“Adrien!” She shouts, making Damian jump a bit which she silently finds funny in an endearing way. The phone disappears and Marinette runs to the door where Adrien is already booking it down the hall, “Adrien get back here!”

Marinette gives chase, intent on making him delete whatever picture he took no matter how cute he thinks they are. In her haste, she leaves Damian alone to his thoughts. Yet still, he's more at peace than he has ever been.

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

No taglist :P

[artxyra]

What if Damian and the miraculous class are friends and they have movie nights, but since Damian is in Gotham he sneaks out of the manor and portal via Max & Kalki to participate. The Fam get suspicious and try to figure out where Damian is going every week. When they find out he goes to Paris they try to follow him but the portal closes and they use the tubes instead. They end up crashing in on them watching a horror movie which freaks the class out. Insert yelling and things being thrown.

To: Demon From: Angel

Are we still on for movie night?

To: Angel From: Demon

Yes. Just need to get away from the family.

To: Demon From: Angel

😀

Marinette looks over smiling from her phone. Today is a good day. There were no akuma that needed Ladybug’s attention, nor had she broken up a fight between Max and Kim about the latest game. So yes, she was ecstatic to know this is how her day is going.

“Hey Mars, is Damian coming tonight?” Adrien asks seating next to her playing with a strand of his hair. Ever since he came out to her, their relationship has blossomed beyond a crush to a blooming brother-sister relationship. That and Luka were more than willing to take on the blonde without a second thought. She kind of feels bad for Juleka having to see Adrien on a near-daily basis and with her brother no doubt.

“Yup,” Marinette continues to smile, “I just received word that he’s good to go. All we need is for Kaalki and Max to open up a portal at the designated time.”

“Sweet, I hear that Kim was the one picking out this week’s movie. I hope it’s nothing horror-related.” Adrien pouts causing Marinette to laugh that the poor kitty’s face.

“I’m sure it’s nothing too crazy.” Marinette hopes that it was something simple to follow and an action pack rather than horror. She may love horror games but kwami be damn if she watches a horror movie in the dark that wasn’t comedic.

“It looks like break is almost over, we’ll continue you this later.” Adrien sends Marinette a comforting smile before jumping down into his assigned seat next to Nino. Alya and Nino just walked in holding hands.

“Hey, lovebirds, who’s ready for a night full of fun?” Alya greets the two causing them to roll their eyes at the nickname that no longer pertains to them.

“Hey Als, I should be asking you that instead.” Marinette lifts an eyebrow that accompanies her smirk. Nino and Alya’s faces turn red and they side glance each other. Marinette and Adrien laugh at the couple.

“After class, I’ll be giving a quick speech regarding tonight’s plans,” Marinette states pulling out her classwork and books for class. They all nod in understanding. Just then the rest of the class filed in with matching smiles and asking pertaining to tonight’s activities.

To: Angel From: Demon

Save me from the idiots that I call my brothers?

To: Demon From: Angel

Can’t love, I’m sure it not that bad.

To: Angel From: Demon

For some idiotic reason, they are watching me like a hawk today. I’m currently in the bathroom with the doors locked listening to them bicker outside.

To: Demon From: Angel

Yikes 😬. I’m sure it will die down before you’re required to leave.

To: Angel From: Demon

I doubt that.

To: Demon From: Angel

About that, why did we move our weekly movie night from Saturday to Friday?

To: Angel From: Demon

It’s a half-day at school.

Shit. Talk to you later.

Marinette places her phone down and slowly turns her attention to Mme. Bustier. The red-haired teacher tried to keep her students engaged with the content, but she was losing them faster than on average. Marinette turns to her classmates. Alix and Kim were trying to out strength each other, Juleka and Rose was trying to pay attention but the drooping in Rose’s eyes say otherwise, Sabrina and Chloe—well doing what they usually do—living in their own bubble, Nathaniel was sketching something down in his notebook while Max was pretending to take notes as Markov does it for him. Finally, Mylene and Ivan were also in their own world.

Hours seemed to past in Marinette’s mind before Mme. Bustier concluded today’s lesson. She was so caught up in watching the time that she didn’t realize that was sketching an outfit in her own notebook. Whoops.

“Marinette is there something you would like to add?” Mme. Bustier prompts sending the class’s designated designer a smile.

“Yes,” Marinette gets up from her seat and walks down to the podium. “Tonight is our weekly movie night instead of tomorrow. Do you remember what to bring? If not, please message me before the event. Remember that we are having this event at Chloe’s family’s hotel as it a makeshift theatre room.”

“Daddy says we can have the popcorn maker also.” Chloe interrupts. The class cheers at the thought of the infamous popcorn maker that was usually locked behind the hotel kitchen doors.

“Thank you, Bee, for that tidbit. Now, Max, you are to arrive at the bakery no later than six o’clock. The demon is having a half-day today and I’m ninety-nine percent sure that he’ll want to be here no later than that. Everyone else, you are free to do.” With that and a pretend gavel, Marinette dismisses the class to their next class for the day. 

For Damian, being at school felt like a blessing even if it was a half-day. His brothers have been hounding him all morning. It’s like they are looking for something that isn’t there. Damian’s emotions? Yeah right, they all know he only shows emotions to his beloved animals or animals in general. Damian had to double, triple check the security on his phones because who knows what Drake would find if he had access inside it.

For over six months, he had been going to Paris for movie nights with his beloved and her classmates. At first, he had done it through the zeta tubes but after gaining their trust just enough to be in on the Miraculous Team of Paris, his trips became a lot more frequent. He would make up an excuse about going to a classmate, or Jon’s, house for the night, or to work on a school project. He had gotten away with it for a while, but Tim was the first to notice the lie.

Tim and Conner were having their usually meet up when the Damian had told his family that he was spending time at Jon’s, something that was no unusual. All was fine and dandy until Jon came home with a Damian Wayne. Tim, well it was mainly Dick, had grilled into the young hero about Damian’s whereabouts. Jon either lied or literally had no idea. Which prompted the Batbros to start the search on Damian's weekly disappearance.

Everyone took the day off to “spend time” with Damian. They wanted to trap the teen inside the manor and watch his every movement. Like that isn’t an invasion of privacy or trust.

Alfred brought Damian to the manor around noon. This gives them enough time to hide any open-source of weaponry they could find or items that Damian could use against them in battle. That was a lot of items on the list. Dick inquired for Bruce to hold off on the tracking device as a last resort. He wanted to start everything out with a discussion, but Jason laughs that idea out the window as he cleans his guns.

“The young master is residing in his bedroom,” Alfred speaks walking down into the Batcave.

The Wayne family knew this was it.

To: Angel From: Demon

I’m ready.

To: Demon From: Angel

ETA in 5

Damian smirks at his phone. He loves his girlfriend and how quickly she can manage an entire group of classmates and plan a weekly movie night event.

He had packed his belonging that he usually brings with him when he does to Paris. Which isn’t much.

Four minutes.

Damian thought his ears were playing tricks on him, but they weren’t. He could hear the stampede of footsteps that were no doubt from his family members aside from Alfred. Alfred’s footsteps are like a ghost, you never hear them.

Three minutes.

“Hey little D, since you had a half-day today, why don’t you spend it with us,” Grayson asks the second his bedroom door swings open. Alfred the cat sends a glare to his owner’s family.

“Yeah, Demon spawn, we all took the day off to spend time with you,” Jason adds gas to the fire that was already burning intensely.

“Damian…” Not his father too.

Two minutes.

Damian doesn’t say a word. His eyes bounce from one person to the next and repeat. He didn’t know who to answer them. “Tt.” Was the only word? Sound? That had escaped his lips.

“You need to leave like now.” Damian refuses to have his family find out the very secret he had kept hidden for so long. His quick need for them leaving only pushes them to stay. Worried about various reasons from teen problems to joining the League of Assassins again. They didn’t want to take any chances.

One minute.

Damian could sense the user of the horse kwami becoming active. Soon a blue swirling portal opens up behind Damian. Damian looks at his family and side glances at the portal. The portal wins. The family of vigilantes runs to the portal only for it to close.

“Am I hallucinating or did that just happen?” Tim asks wiping the sleep away from his eyes.

“No, replacement, that really just happened.” Jason states. Tim nods in understanding.

“I’ll do track him down.” Dick sulks at the thought that Bruce was right.

It didn’t take long for the results to come in.

“Uh…so how the hell is the Demon in Paris, France of all places?” Jason shouts from behind his older brother and Bruce.

“The swirling portal thingy?” Tim states the obvious, but it sounded more like a question as he sits down and drinks a cup of coffee.

“Boys we’re going to Paris.”  Bruce states over his sons. From afar, Alfred sighs and goes to prepare the zeta tubes with the destination in mind.

“Uh, civvies or uniform?” Dick asks as they all start to make their way to the zeta tube. This was one of those questions that they linger on for a hot minute.

Before they knew it, Damian had gained an hour over his family.

“It doesn’t matter, we need to know where the little demon has been hiding all this time.” Jason screeches talking over to the zeta tube and teleporting to the location.

Bruce turns to the remainder of his sons who shrugged and follow suit.

Entering Paris, they were further from Damian’s location than anticipated. They follow the tracker with some interruptions. Dick wanted to buy something for Kori, Jason wanted food and Tim needed for coffee. After all that was done, they officially made it to the supposed location of Damian’s whereabouts.

“Why would the little demon at a hotel?”

“Hum, this coffee is really good,” Tim says before taking another sip.

“Boys, focus on the mission.”

“I am focus, Bruce.”

“I didn’t say you were, Dick.”

“Touché.” Dick rubs the back of his arm.  

They enter Le Grand Paris with tensions high and were surprised by how calm and relax the employees were. Jason swears this was just a hoax and they were torturing Damian behind one of these doors. An employee asks them if they are in need of anything. Bruce states that they were looking for his son.

“Is he friends with Chloe and her classmates?” The employee asks.

“Who?” Dick and Bruce ask simultaneously. Jason had dragged Tim off somewhere to look at some things.

The employee eyes the family skeptically.

“Well if he’s not friends with Mlle. Bourgeois, then I suggest heading to the police department and report a missing child.” The employee states before walking away. Bruce sighs and pulls out the tracking device. Damian is so close to them.

“We’re going to find him, right?”

“And drag the brat back to Gotham?”

Bruce in the direction that would be location, he gestures for his children to follow.

Damian was having a blast. In his arms, Marinette sat on his arm clinging to his shirt cursing Kim’s name throughout the film. Kim had chosen a horror movie for tonight’s showing and by kwami it was fantastic. There was no comedic relief, actual horror storytelling leaving the class on the edge of their seats.

Adrien was curled next to Marinette in Luka’s arms. He was also clinging to a body, a certain musician as if he was a frightened kitten.

Just as the MC was about to open the door to the attic, a series of figures jump from the ceiling. Screams in real-life match those within the movie. Popcorn, empty cartons of candy, soda drinks are thrown at the figures. A string of curses follows not long after that.

“Damian, tell your friends to stop.” He knows that voice from anywhere, it was Grayson’s voice. Marinette slides herself off himself.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” He screeches in English. Most of the class didn’t have a clue what was being said.

“We wanted to see where you were?”

“We thought you were kidnapped?”

“I just came for the scenery.”

Damian’s eyes twitch.

“That’s nice and all, but can you move? We’re trying to watch a movie here and you’re ruining it.” Chloe stands up demanding the bat-family to move. They all look to one another before subtly moving away from the screen.

Damian places a quick kiss on Marinette’s cheek and guides his family out of the room. He was not happy that they came in ruining his night with Marinette. Now he has to make up for it with something romantic, not that he’ll do it anyway.

“What made you believe that I was kidnapped?” He asks, the second they were out of the room.

“The portal thingy.”

“You not answering any of our questions.”

Damian breathes through his nose. “You’re all idiots.”

“Well movie night is a bust, but we all agree to stay here to continue rather than going home.” Marinette walks into the hall after a moment of them talking—well it was more of a screaming match between Bruce and Damian with some input from Dick. “Will your family be fine without you for a couple more hours?”

“Habibti, these dunces are my family,” Damian states gesturing to his family,

Marinette nods, “Well then, hello, and can we keep Damian for the night?”

Damian walks over to Marinette and wraps his arms around her. “I’ll return from before it’s nightfall in Gotham, father.”

“Uh, sure. Boys lets go.” Bruce accepts the came and walks down the hall. Before either of the brothers could pester Damian about this newfound relationship, Bruce gave them all the bat-glare and demanded that they follow.

“You know you’re going to get pestered, right.” Marinette laughs.

“Don’t remind me.”

“Come on, we have a movie to finish.”

With that, Damian takes Marinette’s hand and walks back into the room.  

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[fixing-bad-comic-art]

fun asks for boredom: do you read books? have you been to the LIBRARY lately now that it’s open again? do you want book recs? (bc im full of them PLS) - if not books, what are you doing with your free time? tv video games movies? what’s occupying your thoughts, what are you obsessed with right now? wanna infodump on anything? or vent? i want to listen :D

ive been a few times! i love the work area at my local library bc its always quiet and its got really nice views, so i visit it a lot. but im not a big reader tbh. im dyslexic and a lot of books are just too hard to get through unless theyre digital and i can change the font to something thats easier to parse which not all books/apps/websites let you do. and anybody who says the built in tts systems that these apps have are good enough, are lying to themselves. so most of the time when i buy/burrow a book its usually just a reference book of some kind.

and on that note, this is a Big reason i dont read a lot of comics, that crowded faux handwritten font a lot of them use is hellish for me to try and parse.

and its a bit of a joke amongst my friends that if im not actively making something im probably yakking on deaths doormat, lmao. right now im mostly into writting and doing digital paintings, but spinning and crochet are old favorites

and like, right now my biggest obsession is dnd, i love dming and the more role play focused sand box campaigns. and before anyone points out that theres better systems for role play focused games, i know, i actually like how janky dnd is on this front because it gives both sides of the table way more freedom to do what feels right.

like This is my rant, letting the players Genuinely argue through their character to try and get something done is Way more interesting than just making them role 1 die and do some math.

like, theres this one moment in the first campaign i ran for my best friend that i keep coming back too.

she had accidentally (on her part, this was my plan all along) traded away a mcguffin to the absolute last person she would want to have that.

when Summer(the npc) came to collect the mcguffin from Shiana(the pc) i Could have had zen(my bff) role 1 d20 and add shiana's persuasion modifier to it. and just on a role of the dice i could have decided where this litteraly game ending mcguffin would land.

if Summer gets it an eternal summer would ravenge the world. but her brother in law would be given more time with his family and a chance at survival.

if he didn't Shiana's brother in law and close friend was more likely to... not die, but also not exist anymore. but her holding onto it gave her time to maybe save both him and the world.

by not basing this on a dice role shiana got to Argue with this fairy to try and get her way out of this deal. zen got the experience of him arguing right back and trying just as hard as she was to get the damn thing.

and because she couldn't just role to persuade him they ended up having one of the most intense fights while she was Running For Her Life because she, Zen and shiana, not a trick of luck, royally pissed off the embodiment of Summer. she got to call on the power of both gods she had a connection to and nearly died from overwhelming herself with their power in a desperate bid to buy herself some time.

because we weren't using any strict rules for this, or really Any rules, we were able to tell a story that was much more engaging than one dice roll ever could be.

like, tldr, dnd Is good for role play because its Very easy to just ignore the clunky/underdeveloped rp rules when needed.

also dnd has tieflings. i like tieflings. think theyre Real Neat.

[mostlycompetentwriter]

Congratulations

F/M Pairing: Fem!Reader x Kim Seungmin

Warnings: minor smut scene; language; lots of alcohol (the reader and Seungmin are wine aficionados)

Word Count: 8K

Genre: Married AU!!

Summary: It’s with great reluctance that you leave behind the tropical paradise that you had been sharing with Seungmin for your honeymoon of pure bliss. It’s time to return to the real world with your husband and finally finish renovating your new home. Unfortunately, the real world is never ideal, and you can’t help but feel immensely jealous when Seungmin’s secretary (and ex-girlfriend) temporarily shares your apartment after a break-up with her previous boyfriend. 

A/N: I've done it, everyone! So, like, happy Seungmin day! As you can probably tell, the title was inspired by Seungmin and Han’s Day6 cover!

For two luxurious weeks, you were allowed to partake in a celebration of perfection. 

It all started with your grand arrival, checking in to a Five-Star hotel that included access to an enormous wave pool, complimentary refreshments, and an alcohol selection that sent your liver into a frenzy. But neither you nor Seungmin were that interested in the hotel amenities because you had both resigned yourselves to the comfort of a glorious king-sized bed. Of course, the prospect of a bed had never restricted Seungmin from testing the limits of your coupling, and you were certain that he had bent you over every piece of furniture in the hotel room at this point.

There was even one occasion when he pressed your body up against the cool glass of the sliding door that lead out to the balcony - allowing anyone who was so inclined to simply look up and discover the unforgettable image of your new husband fucking you in plain sight. But you were both insatiable - taking advantage of your ample free time to thoroughly map out each other’s bodies. Testing your desire to experiment with new things while taking full advantage of Seungmin’s rather impressive recovery time.

But in between passionate rounds of lovemaking, you also found the time to eat gourmet dinners at the finest restaurants while also pulling away from one another long enough to explore the warm beaches downtown. Your vacation resort was a total dream, and it was the greatest 336 hours of your life. Everything had been perfect, and maybe that’s why you were feeling rather downcast on the final morning of your honeymoon together, glancing at the alarm clock which informed you that it was already mid-afternoon.

But you struggled to move your sore limbs, wincing at the dull ache between your thighs. Last night had been the culmination of Seungmin’s uncanny ability to leave you thoroughly shaken after sex. And tt had involved an entire bottle of whipped cream that was brought with your room service request and a messy combination of fruit and chocolate. 

You shivered just thinking about it, stretching out your legs beneath the sheets, and you looked over at Seungmin who was still lying face-down in the pillows while snoring softly. His appearance was entirely innocent (unlike the previous evening), and it reflected the youthful features that had drawn you to him in the first place. 

Seungmin was several years younger than you - a recent college graduate who had attained his veterinary license. He worked as an assistant at the same place where you had once been forced to interview because of an assignment from your company - a piece your head writer was working on that involved pet safety and the 10 warning signs that your dog might be suffering from an allergic itch. 

But since the actual vet refused to meet with you (time constraints or whatever), the office secretary called out Seungmin who answered all of your questions with admirable patience and an attitude that immediately attracted your attention. He was just so good, hands folded neatly in his lap, and his smile was nothing short of professional as he spoke with you about anything your heart desired. Of course, you were intrigued - curious because you wondered if someone could really be that sweet and naive, or maybe it was just his general work attitude which he had learned to perfect during his residency.

Regardless, you were incredibly grateful that he had agreed to go on a date with you since the circumstances surrounding your meeting were entirely coincidental. From there, your relational was inevitable, and you learned that Seungmin was the epitome of the perfect student who never drank on the weekends and spent any free time with a book in hand. And it was around your third or fourth date when he had shyly admitted to you that he was very inexperienced when it came to dating. 

“Seungmin,” you remembered saying to him. “Are you trying to tell me that you’re a virgin?”

His entire face turned as red as a tomato, spluttering around his words as he tried to justify his status, but you quickly assured him that it was perfectly fine. After all, one of the things that you liked best about Seungmin was his lack of a exhaustive dating profile. Because it told you that he was responsible, and he knew when to prioritize what really mattered to him. You also had a very small corruption kink, and the idea of teaching Seungmin everything that you knew about sex was exhilarating.  

Of course, not everyone in your lives agreed with your relationship. For example, when you met his parents for the first time, you could tell that they disapproved of you and your work habits. Despite your attempts at conversation, you were met with short replies or dismissive rebuttals. But maybe it was because, at least according to Seungmin, they had initially tried to set him up with the daughter of one of their friends who Seungmin had met in grade school. And you were as far from that idealized persona as one could get.

But you also knew that his parents could never send you away because you had slowly fallen in love with Seungmin. Likewise, you were certain that nothing would ever pull the two of you apart, especially after he asked you to marry him - eager to start your new life together. Of course, you never expected for someone like Seungmin (normally patient to a fault) to immediately jump into wedding planning and do his very best to fast-track your ceremony date. He even put down a deposit on a new house in the suburbs. Plus, you knew that things had gotten serious when you both adopted a dog together....

You chuckled at the memory, rising from the comfortable bed in your hotel room to walk into the adjoining en-suite and assess last night’s damage. In the full-length mirror, you winced at the scattered bruises on your neck and shoulders (courtesy of a very eager Seungmin), and hissed when you pressed down too hard against a rather scandalous love-bite on your collarbone. It was safe to say that Seungmin was certainly no longer the innocent virgin you had met almost an entire year ago - he probably loved sex just as much as you did. Plus, his alcohol tolerance was almost as good as your own. 

Still, it was almost amusing to watch him learn during your time together - like you were the hot teacher that he lusted after - listening with wide eye when you described some of your more explicit fantasies to him. After a while, Seungmin was no longer hesitant to reveal his own desires to you - including the food disaster from the previous evening. 

But in the meantime, you tried to run a wet cloth along your exposed chest where there was a suspicious chocolate stain, catching sight of Seungmin in the mirror when the bathroom door reopened. “There you are,” you said, turning around to savor the image of a sleepy Seungmin walking inside wearing nothing but boxer shorts and a tired smile. You immediately walked up to him, quietly attempting to make some sort of style out of his messy bed-hair. “Hmmm, maybe we should just shower instead,” you suggested, taking his hand to guide him closer to the luxurious walk-in bath. “Would you like that, baby? I can wash your hair for you.”

Seungmin nodded eagerly, and you were perfectly endeared as the two of you enjoyed your final day together away from the real world.

Consequently, it was both a jarring, and deeply unappreciated, wake-up call to return to work the following Monday morning. You could barely pull yourself out of bed, and the only reason you managed to retain some semblance of sanity was because of the breakfast that Seungmin had prepared for you. But you were also slightly envious that he was handling everything in stride while you could barely lift your fork.

“Don’t forget that you’re meeting with the architect after work,” Seungmin reminded you as he sipped at his coffee.

“Oh, right,” you muttered. “Him.”

“Yes, him,” Seungmin concurred with a touch of amusement.

But who could blame you for harboring those feelings of resentment towards the arrogant and conceited man in charge of planning the infrastructure for your new house? He was constantly bothering you on the phone with the most trivial of details, and you were tired of hearing him describe the reasons why all of your ideas could never work with his grand scheme.

Sadly, it was tragically much too late to change your plans, and you and Seungmin were stuck with the pretentious prick until everything was done. Which might be next year if you’re lucky at the pace in which the whole project was progressing. It was slow-motion at best, like these men were trying to drain your savings account for the outrageous hourly rate they expected you to pay for them to stand around outside your house and joke about their wives.

It was one of the things that you hated the most about returning from your honeymoon, but the prospect of your office job was just as unappealing. Especially when you walked inside the newspaper’s main building and greeted your boss as he hovered near your desk - ready to hand out your first assignment without even giving you a moment to breathe.

“Good morning, Y/N,” Chan said. 

“Yeah, yeah,” you grumbled while moving around Chan to sit down behind your desk. “What do you want?”

“Is that the way to greet your boss?” Chan asked. “You’ve been gone for two weeks!”

“I know,” you retorted. “And I wish it had lasted even longer.”

“Well,” Chan huffed. “I need you to have a better attitude.”

“I’ll do my best, sir,” you snarked, and Chan rolled his eyes.

“I’ve prepared several assignments,” Chan said. “But you need to go out with Minho and Hyunjin this afternoon because the mayor’s delivering a speech today concerning his resignation.”

“I have to go to City Hall!” you complained because you knew that there would be thousands of journalists and reporters waiting to hear from the mayor, and you hated dealing with crowds. 

“You can handle it,” Chan said, and he was already slinking away to bother your neighbor in the next cubicle.

Honestly speaking, it shouldn’t have been surprising because Chan often entrusted you with these more important pieces since you had worked at the paper for a long time, but since he already had Hyunjin and Minho working on the assignment, why was it also necessary to include you? Because maybe Chan had forgotten that this year marked your 10th anniversary with the newspaper, and perhaps you deserved a bit more leniency in regard to the assignments you chose for yourself. Especially after returning from a two-week vacation! 

Unfortunately, your brain wasn’t quite in work-mode, and it had taken you half an hour just to remember all of your passwords!

“This isn’t fair,” you muttered to yourself as you smashed the elevator button.

Hyunjin had already sent you an email detailing information regarding the Uber that he had reserved to drive the three of you down to City Hall. Of course, why you couldn’t just use one of your cars was a mystery for another time, but Hyunjin often went above and beyond when he thought too deeply about a situation.

“There you are!” Minho said when you found them waiting together in the main lobby.

“Let’s get this over with,” you said. “Don’t forget your camera!”

“We’ve organized everything, Y/N,” Hyunjin reassured you as he threw a casual arm over your shoulders before you stepped outside together.

“What’s the big deal with this story?” you griped. “The mayor cheated on his wife with an intern and he’s being forced to resign. It’s not like he’s gonna come out and talk about it in front of the whole city!”

“But we’re still prepared for that!” Hyunjin said, and he waited until you were situated in the backseat of the Uber, squashed between him and Minho, before revealing his tape recorder. “Isn’t it great?”

“You could just whip out your cell phone,” you said, and Hyunjin paused for a moment as he considered your response.

“But this is a throwback, Y/N!”

“Save it for your Instagram stories, Hyunjin,” you said while scrolling through the home feed of your Twitter account. “Look at these videos! There’s already like a whole mob outside the building.”

“It won’t last very long, Y/N,” Minho said. “I’ll even treat everyone to some coffee when we’re finished.”

You tried to find some solace from Minho’s words, but your mind was wiped clean when the Uber paused at the edge of the sidewalk because the entire road was blocked by traffic. “Great, we’ll have to walk,” you said, and you should’ve known better than to expect anything less than optimal.

But it was still unnecessarily difficult to find a good spot when it seemed like the entire population had showed up to this press conference. “I’ll get some shots from the side,” Minho said, and you nodded while glancing back at Hyunjin.

“You’re tall enough to see over everybody,” you said. “Can you tell what’s happening?”

Hyunjin shrugged, and he attempted to balance himself on the very edge of his toes as he perused the crowd of onlookers. “I’m not sure...”

You sighed in frustration.

But what else should you expect?

“Welcome back to the real world, Y/N,” you grumbled, wincing when someone’s elbow connected with the back of your head.

It was already 6:00 by the time you arrived at the construction site of your future home, and you groaned when you realized that the front lawn was still nothing but mud and several piles of dirt. 

For whatever reason, the project continued to encounter numerous and unanticipated obstacles that constantly delayed everything. You had seen setbacks from natural disasters to plumbing issues that forced you to reconsider the idea of renovating a dream home. But the biggest issue was definitely the architect in charge of the renovations, and he barely glanced up at you from over his stupid clipboard when you found him in the backyard.

“Mr. Park,” you greeted him, grimacing because you could’ve never imagined that the genteel man you had met several months ago, who seemed to understand everything you wanted, could be this foul person screaming at the workers. “Do you have an update?”

“Oh, Y/N,” Mr. Park grumbled. “How was your vacation?”

“Fine,” you said. “So nice of you to ask, but what about my house?”

“There’s been some issues with the foundation,” Mr. Park replied, and you could feel your patience thinning. “You might want to consider another delay in the schedule.”

“We’re supposed to move in at the end of the month,” you growled.

“Yeah, I know,” Mr. Park responded while scrolling through his phone - not even bothering to look at you. “But I think we need to check on some things, and the extra time would help..”

“Again!” you exclaimed because this would make the third instance of having to deal with another push-back.

“These things happen,” Mr. Park replied - like it wasn’t a big deal and you were the one who was overreacting!

But you didn’t quite see it as a minor inconvenience that everyone might face now and then. What you saw was a blatant misuse of the budget that you had set for the project, and you were certain that nobody else on the planet had ever suffered this much over simple renovations.

“We gave you several extensions,” you pointed out. “What’s wrong with the foundation?”

“It needs an inspection,” Mr. Park replied.

“We have someone coming over tomorrow,” you said.

“Good! They can see exactly what I’m talking about,” Mr. Park said. “But if you;ll excuse me for one moment...”

You groaned when Mr. Park walked around you to speak with the same electrician who had refused to return your greeting when you first walked onto the premises. 

But maybe there was some kind of conspiracy against you?

In the meantime, you were relieved when your phone started ringing and you instantly recognized Seungmin’s number. “Hey,” you said into the receiver, turning around to glare at one of the construction workers.

“Y/N,” Seungmin said from the other end. “How's it going?”

“Horrible,” you muttered, and you took another step away when you realized that someone was actually working for once, but making far too much noise.

“Why?” Seungmin asked.

“They said we’ll need to expect another delay,” you said. “But I’m about to lose my mind, Seungmin. These guys are clearly taking advantage of us!”

“Y/N,” Seungmin said. “I need you to take a deep breath for me, okay? I’ll come by in the morning and talk to everyone.”

“It’s not enough,” you retorted. “We’re obviously dealing with amateurs!”

“Y/N, darling,” Seungmin chuckled. “Can you just come home for me? I bought us a bottle of wine.”

You paused for a second, looking around before clearing your throat. “What kind?”

“The kind where you can get shitfaced if you want and forget about the project,” Seungmin said. “I’ll deal with everything from now on.”

It was too good of an offer to pass up, and you found yourself nodding enthusiastically even though holograms hadn’t been invented yet and Seungmin couldn’t possibly see you. 

But those rude construction workers were observing every motion, and you resisted the urge to throw up your hands at them while you returned to your car. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

There were no feelings to describe your relief upon shaking off your heels and skipping into the kitchen where you found Seungmin attempting to balance two of your finest wine glasses and a bottle of pinot-noir between his hands.

“Let me help,” you said, taking the glasses from him as he shot you a grateful smile. “We can sit in the living room.

It was a fairly modest space, but you liked how cozy it felt during the winter - snuggling up next to Seungmin as the faux fireplace provided some semblance of the real thing. The decorations were also to your taste, and the deceiving simplicity served as a reminder of your personality itself. Someone who looked like an average reporter, but was full of surprises and ample fondness for her husband and alcohol. 

You removed the cork on the bottle with care before pouring both yourself and Seungmin a glass. “Here,” you said, and he took it from you as your fingers brushed together.

“It had a good year on it,” Seungmin remarked, and you brought the rim of your own glass to your lips as you observed him from the corner of your eye. “Tell me about the renovations? What’s causing us so much trouble?”

“It’s not so much the problems, but the ones who need to fix them,” you said, and you grimaced at the reminder of the electrician’s attitude and Mr. Park’s dismissive tone.

“The inspector should be checking on things soon,” Seungmin said, and he quietly moved closer to you on the couch. “Are you excited?”

“Of course I am,” you said, and it was a true statement in spite of the issues you had with the construction men.

“I can’t wait to end our lease with his place,” Seungmin said, and you were amused when he finished off the remainder of his glass. “Lyric will be happier in a bigger space.”

You glanced over at your Pomeranian as she raised her head at the sound of her name. “Can we get a cat too?”

Seungmin grinned as he poured himself another glass of wine - he was well on his way to becoming the version of Seungmin who was extremely affectionate after a few too many glasses. “Whatever you want.”

“I’m holding you accountable for what you just said,” you remarked - noting how his eyes had grown glossy from the wine. “You look like you’re having a good time, darling.”

Seungmin grinned, and you reached out to take his glass before setting it aside on the coffee table. Because there was something else that you wanted, and it was far sweeter than your alcoholic selection. “Y/N,” Seungmin groaned once you settled in his lap - thighs spreading on either side of his own. His hands instantly found your waist, and you shivered at his touch before connecting your lips in a sloppy kiss.

But this was more than acceptable to you - settled on Seungmin’s lap as you made-out and savored the feeling of his tongue wrestling with yours as you exchanged heavy breaths. And in-between long, sensual kisses, the two of you took enough breaks to recover your lungs while finishing he entire bottle of wine. 

The atmosphere between you was much more relaxed, but there was a slight tension that only heightened when Seungmin started brazenly touching every inch of bare skin that his fingers could find. But you didn’t mind his touchiness, and you welcomed an easy conversation as you leaned your head against his shoulder.

“You know my secretary at work?” Seungmin asked, holding you close as he fingered the edges of your shorts.

“Hmmm,” you acknowledged him vacantly, but you were far too busy marking colorful bruises along his collarbones.

“She broke up with her boyfriend,” Seungmin said, and he moaned when you rolled your tongue across a sensitive spot. 

“Oh? Weren’t they together for a while?” you asked.

“Three years,” Seungmin confirmed. “They had even moved in together, but now she doesn’t have anywhere to stay.”

“Really?” you questioned, and Seungmin chuckled because it was obvious that you weren’t really listening to him.

“Y/N, I thought she could stay with us for a while,” Seungmin continued, and this time you did freeze in the middle of grazing your teeth along his collarbone - jerking back away from him in alarm.

“You want her to stay with us?”

“Just until she finds a new place,” Seungmin said, and he tried to pull you back closer to him, but you had been effectively pulled out of your prior ministrations. 

“This is the same secretary that your parents tried to hook you up with, right?” you asked him, and Seungmin rolled his eyes.

“Claire’s always been a good friend,” Seungmin said. “My parents weren’t expecting us to get together.”

“Uh-huh, sure,” you said, and you frowned at the empty bottle of wine because you could really use some more alcohol for this conversation. “Were you ever going to talk to me about this?”

Seungmin narrowed his eyes, clearly taking offense at the accusation. “Aren’t we talking right now?”

“Yeah,” you said with a firm nod. “I guess we are talking about it, and I’m not comfortable with the idea of Claire staying with us.”

“She’s my friend, Y/N,” Seungmin insisted, and you knew that you had already lost this fight because Seungmin could never turn down someone in need. It’s why he made such an empathetic caregiver while you were sometimes considered the cold and abrasive type who fought large crowds at press conferences and wrote scolding reviews in the newspaper.

“Fine,” you huffed, and you stood up from Seungmin’s lap. “She can stay here since you insist.”

“Y/N-” Seungmin sighed, but you were already marching towards the bedroom where you intended to sleep off your hangover headache.

Nevertheless, you still woke-up with a start the following Saturday morning while a feeling of dread settled into the pit of your empty stomach. 

There was every opportunity for you to throw the world’s biggest tantrum and refuse to leave your bed, but you were nearly 30-years-old and that sort of behavior was reprehensible. But you allowed yourself another moment or two while stewing over the argument that you had with Seungmin before you forced yourself to confront the inevitable.

Because Claire was moving in today, and she was lucky that you had a soft spot for Seungmin and hated to fight with him. Otherwise, she would still be in-between places, and you would still be staring at your husband’s back while he refused to cuddle with you in bed. It was nightmarish concept, and you shivered at the mere idea of furthering any sort of argument with Seungmin to the point where intimacy and affection were thrown out the back door.

But you also had to remind yourself that it was a good thing to be the bigger person when your husband felt like he was doing something nice for someone else, and you were still older and more mature than him under most circumstances. Even if you both agreed that the age-gap separating the two of you was nothing insurmountable.

You sighed as you dressed yourself in jeans and a t-shirt before following the familiar smell of coffee into the kitchen where Seungmin was already sitting at the table while reading the newspaper. He watched you carefully as you moved around the kitchen to fill up your coffee mug with the delicious-smelling beverage. It was a necessity when you first woke-up, and if you were going to get through this day, then plenty of coffee would need to remain in your system.

“You don’t have to stare,” you said after taking your first sip. “I’m not going to argue with you anymore.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to argue with me,” Seungmin said, and you heard the sound of his chair scraping against the floor as he moved it back.

And his arms felt nice around your waist, fitting his face between your neck and shoulder. “She’s your friend,” you said. “And it’s only temporary.”

“Thank you, Y/N,” Seungmin said, and he pressed a gentle kiss to the side of your temple.

“Should I keep Lyric in our room?” you asked while finishing the remainder of your coffee.

“Claire won’t mind,” Seungmin said as he stepped away from you to check his phone. “She’ll be here soon.”

“Is the guestroom ready?”

“I made sure there were fresh linens last night,” Seungmin said. “She’ll be comfortable.”

“Well,” you chirped while placing your empty mug in the sink. “This should be interesting.”

“Claire is really grateful,” Seungmin said. “And she’s glad that you agreed.”

“After some convincing,” you murmured, but Seungmin hadn’t heard your unnecessary comment. Instead, he was busy talking about some of his next appointments, perching himself on the edge of the counter to talk while you cleaned the rest of the dishes. 

These were the moments that you cherished the most, but extraneous circumstances were against you on this particular day, and you couldn’t help the way your heart sunk when the doorbell rang. “Oh?” Seungmin said, hopping down from the counter. “She’s early.”

“I noticed,” you remarked, and you followed Seungmin into the next room as he opened the door and smiled when Claire popped her head inside.

“Minnie!” she squealed, and you held your tongue when Claire pulled Seungmin into a close embrace.

Weren’t her arms just a little too low around his waist?

“How are you, Claire?” Seungmin asked as they pulled apart.

“Oh, I’m better with you here,” Claire said, and her smile wavered when she spotted you standing off to the side. “It’s great to see you, Y/N.”

“You too, Claire,” you said with a forced smile as Seungmin reached down to take her bags like the gentleman that he insisted on being.

“You can just take the guest room,” Seungmin said, and you watched as they retreated further into the house as you shut the door behind them, breathing out a sigh as you prayed for the strength to endure whatever might happen next.

It was hardly tolerable, watching Claire move about the house as if she had been living here for her entire life. 

She never asked permission to take food from the kitchen, and she deleted several episodes of your favorite show to make rooms for hers. Plus, she was unusually messy, and Seungmin insisted that the two of you should become glorified maids and pick up after her. But you could not afford to argue over this girl again, and you tried so hard to be on your best behavior, even when Claire insisted in sitting next to Seungmin when the three of you ate dinner or watched Netflix.

But the last thing in the world that you needed to add to your existing pressures was a phone call from Seungmin’s mother (who hated you with unprecedented distaste) telling you that she and Seungmin’s father would be joining you for dinner. “You should think about letting Claire take over in the kitchen,” she had said. “The potatoes last time were atrocious.”

In return, you gritted your teeth together and promised to do better before hanging up the phone. Then, you stormed off into your bedroom for the rest of the afternoon, burying your face against the pillows and trying your hardest not to scream. And it was where Seungmin found you when he got home from an emergency appointment - sprawled across the bed like you had given up on the world.

“Y/N,” Seungmin said, and he sat down at the edge of the bed. “Are you okay?”

“Stressed,” you muttered. “And I have a deadline tomorrow night for the stupid mayor article.”

“Darling,” Seungmin said, and you felt his fingers smooth across the bare skin of your thigh. “Isn’t it too early to start planning another vacation?”

“I wish we had never left the hotel,” you groaned. “Tropical paradise is a lot better than whatever the hell is going on in this apartment.”

Seungmin chuckled at your complaints. “I��m sorry,” he said. “Now I feel bad for inviting my parents over for dinner. Because I know that you and my mother have your...disagreements.”

“That’s an understatement,” you said, lifting your head from the pillow to look back over your shoulder at Seungmin. “Tell her I'm sick, and I have strict orders to stay in here all night.”

Seungmin scoffed at my appeal. “It’s only one dinner, Y/N,” Seungmin said. “I won’t even make you cook. Claire and I can take care of everything.”

But despite his polite sentiment, you recoiled at the idea of Seungmin and Claire cooking together - like a domestic scene out of a Hallmark film. That was supposed to be your job! Cooking with Seungmin while singing his favorite Day6 songs was a privilege that was only reserved for you!

“Okay,” you reluctantly agreed because you hated to sound petty.

But Seungmin still made you greet his parents at the door after nearly two hours of listening to him and Claire giggling together in the kitchen while making so much noise that your headache only worsened.

“Coming,” you shouted, and you reached over to take another Advil before forcing yourself to answer the insistent knocking.

Seungmin met you at the door with a smile, offering you a gentle kiss and a reassuring squeeze to your shoulder before you allowed the devil incarnate herself to walk inside with an exaggerated scream.

“SEUNGMIN!” his mother exploded, and you smirked when Seungmin ducked his head in embarrassment while his mother made a whole ordeal about fixing his hair and squeezing the plump arches of his cheekbones. “You look too skinny,” she said, frowning as she gave her son a quick once-over.

“Mom, I’m fine,” Seungmin said, and he gently pushed her hands away. “Was the traffic bad on the way over?”

“Oh, the usual,” his mother said, glancing back over her shoulder. “Your father is being unusually slow!”

Mr. Kim rolled his eyes, releasing a grunt as some kind of greeting before pushing his way inside the apartment. “Dad’s in a good mood,” Seungmin remarked, taking a step back while his mother made a big show of removing her outrageously enormous coat.

“Y/N, you can handle this right?” his mother asked while shoving her coat in your direction.

“Yeah, sure,” you muttered, watching as Seungmin’s mother squealed when she saw Claire coming out of the kitchen.

“What a delight!” Mrs. Kim said, and she embraced Claire like she was her long-lost daughter who had finally returned home. “You look ravishing, dear!”

“Thank you, Mrs. Kim,” Claire said with a smile. “Dinner should be ready soon.”

You swallowed hard around the bitter taste of jealousy as you hung up the coat in your hands. 

“How are you, Claire?” Mr. Kim asked as he offered an affectionate squeeze to Claire’s arm - a complete 180 from his earlier attitude. “Seungmin told us you were having problems.”

“Oh, yeah,” Claire said with a sigh. “Boyfriend troubles.”

“Again?” Mrs. Kim asked with a sympathetic frown. “Poor dear.”

Yeah, she just has the worst life! Feeling up your husband all the time while taking advantage of your hospitality!

“We’ll have lots of time to talk over dinner,” Mrs. Kim said, and she followed Claire into the kitchen while chatting away about something that probably wasn’t even that important.

“I’m sorry,” Seungmin whispered to you, but you simply shook your head.

“I know how to handle your mother,” you said. “I’ve had lots of practice.”

Seungmin chuckled as he brushed his nose against yours. “I told them we have plans after dinner, so hopefully they won’t stay long.”

“It’s fine,” you assured him. “Let me set the table.”

Seungmin nodded and allowed you to leave the safety of his arms for the perilous Lion’s Den of the kitchen. Thankfully, both Claire and Mrs. Kim were far too occupied with themselves to notice while you gathered a stack of plates and silverware for the table. But it wasn’t necessarily Mrs. Kim’s dismissal that bothered you because the woman had been your biggest detractor ever since you had first met. 

Instead, you were bothered by her seemingly endless affection for Claire. Especially when you remembered an occasion where you had overheard a conversation between Seungmin and his mother that wasn’t meant for your ears. Because the older woman had the audacity to ask her son why he couldn’t have settled for Claire. “She’d be so much better for you, Seungmin,” Mrs. Kim had said, and somehow you managed to hold it together because the last thing you had wanted was to have some kind of breakdown and expose yourself.

But you had never forgotten the encounter, and you could feel yourself growing more and more irritated as you watched Mrs. Kim stumble into the dining room with Claire who dropped down an enormous pot at the center of the table. “Enjoy!” Claire said. “I made Seungmin’s favorite”

And despite the presence of your husband’s hand on your thigh, you couldn’t help the stirrings of genuine anger ruining whatever appetite you might’ve had. “It looks amazing!” Mrs. Kim said. “What do you think, honey?”

Mr. Kim nodded while loading his plate with enough food to feed everyone sitting around the table. “Eat as much as you want!” Claire said.

“Especially you, Seungmin,” Mrs. Kim said. “Why, you’re just skin and bones these days! Is Y/N not taking care of my son?”

“Mom!” Seungmin grimaced, and he shot me a worried look. “It’s my fault! I’ve been really busy with work.”

“Well, Y/N should make sure that you don’t overwork yourself,” Mrs. Kim remarked. “Claire was just telling me how she had to drag Seungmin out of his office for lunch the other day.”

Your fingers tightened around your fork, and there was a sharp retort waiting on the edge of your tongue, but marriage must’ve taught you a great deal about patience because you managed to exhale and smile. “I’m glad someone can look out for Seungmin while I’m not around,” you said, and there was subtle twitch in Mrs. Kim’s eye that told you she wasn’t happy that you were still in control.

“Y/N always takes care of me,” Seungmin said, and you practically preened under his touch as his fingers started to lightly massage the back of your neck.

“Well, I’m very glad to hear that,” Mrs. Kim said. “What do you think, Mr. Kim?”

But Seungmins’ father merely grunted around his food again, clearly disinterested in the conversation, and your husband leaned in to press a sweet kiss to your lips that you returned with as much passion as possible to remind everyone at the table that you weren’t going anywhere.

But once Seungmin’s parents had left, you trudged into your bathroom to take a much-needed shower, savoring the scalding water on your skin.

It was everything you needed, and you were so lost in your own mind that you barely heard the sound of the door opening. In fact, the husk trill of Seungmin’s voice startled you when he raised his voice to be heard over the noise: “Do you mind if I join?”

“Like, without your clothes on?!”

“That’s the idea,” Seungmin said with a laugh, and you were groaning because your husband always had an uncanny ability to discombobulate you.

“Okay,” you eventually said, and you could hear him shuffling around from behind the curtain before he was moving himself in behind you while running his fingers against your sides.

“This is better,” Seungmin said, and his lips mimicked the effects of the water droplets as he pressed dozens of kisses against your shoulder. “I’m sorry about my parents.”

“Well, I’m used to it,” you said, moaning around the words when his teeth dug into the flesh of your neck.

“You’re so good to me,” Seungmin said. “Should I reward you?”

“I don’t know... you trailed off, turning around in his arms to press your lips together. “I kinda feel like rewarding you instead.”

Seungmin’s cock hardened in interest against your thigh, and you reached down between your bodies to give his erection several strokes of your hand. “What kind of reward?” Seungmin asked, and you took your lower lip between your teeth as you concentrated on digging your thumb into the sensitive slit of his cock.

“I really want this in my mouth,” you said, and Seungmin groaned while his gaze grew darker.

“What are you waiting for?”

His voice was several octaves deeper, and you felt the heavy rumbles against your chest as you lowered yourself onto your knees. Your hands reached out to grab his thighs as support, leaning in close to leave a gentle kiss to the base of his cock. “Is this what you want?”

“Do it before I lose my patience,” Seungmin said, and his fingers quickly tangled themselves in your hair.

“Oh, really?” you smirked - leaning in close to run your tongue along the prominent vein of his erection. 

“Please,” Seungmin added, almost as an afterthought when the warm cavern of your mouth enveloped his cock, taking in as much as you could until you felt him at the back of your throat.

“Shit, Y/N,” Seungmin gasped, and his fingers kept a harsh hold in your hair as you bobbed your head up and down his length.

For the most part, you allowed him to control the pace, letting him take over your movements and roughly thrust his hips while forcing his cock down further into the back of your throat. Thankfully, you never had much of a gag reflex, and Seungmin took full advantage of this as he all but fucked your mouth with barely restrained grinds of his hips.

You were on cloud nine, lost in a submissive head-space, until the sudden entrance of an unexpected visitor had you choking around his erection. “Excuse, me!” Claire said, and she was shameless as she strolled inside. “Don’t mind my intrusion!” Claire exclaimed, and you sat back on your ass with a disgruntled sigh. “I didn’t have enough shampoo in the other bathroom.”

“You’re fine,” Seungmin said, and he gave you an apologetic stare that you ignored with a frown.

“Oh, Seungmin!” Claire giggled. “I thought Y/N was in here?”

“Did you find what you needed?” Seungmin grimaced, and Claire had enough decency to respond with an affirmative before closing the door again. “Y/N,” Seungmin said, and he looked mortified even though his cock was still hard. “Darling, I-”

“Save it,” you snapped, standing up from the shower while slapping away his outstretched hand. “You can take care of that yourself!”

“Y/N,” Seungmin tried again, but you were fed up with this entire night, wrapping a towel around your body as you left him behind for the familiar darkness of your bedroom.

You could barely concentrate the next day at work, and you were starting to grow annoyed with your colleagues. For whatever reason, everyone needed your help, and you were beyond annoyed with the situation. But you reached your tipping point in the middle of the afternoon, and you surrendered the metaphorical white flag to leave work early after experiencing one of the worst headaches known to mankind.

“You’re leaving?” Chan had exclaimed while messing around with a bunch of files on his desk. “But the deadlines-”

“Chan,” you interrupted him with a scowl. “Everything’s taken care of, okay? Please let me go before I fall over in the middle of your office.”

“Fine, but it’s coming out of your paycheck,” Chan grumbled, and you shook your head because he was an asshole sometimes.

Originally, you thought to have lunch with Seungmin in your newfound spare time, but when you arrived at the vet’s office, you were informed that Seungmin was in the middle of an emergency surgery. 

“Do you want have lunch together instead?” Claire asked with a pleasant smile.

“Uh, sure,” you said, even though you weren’t exactly thrilled by the idea.

But you were trying to be nice for the sake of your husband, and it was with great reluctance that you trailed after Claire into a small diner near the main office where you perused the menu with a disinterested sigh.

“Everything is fresh here,” Claire informed you.

“Oh, good,” you said in a half-hearted effort at conversation. 

But Claire must’ve caught on to your bad mood because she suddenly put down her menu and regarded you with a curious look. “Is something wrong?”

“Not really,” you said. “I actually have no reason to be unhappy.”

“It’s because of me, isn’t it?”

You froze when she posed the question, refusing to look up from the table. “What do you mean?”

“Y/N, I’m not blind,” Claire said. “I know you aren’t entirely accepting of me barging in your domestic life with Seungmin and ruining everything.”

“T-that’s not true,” you spluttered.

“I’m not offended,” Claire assured you. “But after what Mrs. Kim said last night, you deserve to feel pissed off or upset or whatever you want because that woman is a lot to handle.”

You were stunned by her casual words because this was the last thing you expected to hear from Claire. “I guess all mothers are overbearing.”

“But Seungmin’s is the worst,” Claire said. “When we were in college, Seungmin’s mother forced him to come home every weekend just to make sure he wasn’t involved with any parties.”

“Really?”

“But she’s done much worse,” Claire said, and her gaze shifted. “It must make you uncomfortable to hear her talking about me and Seungmin, but I want you to know that you have no reason to worry.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, there was a time when I did have a crush on Seungmin, and his parents were always encouraging me to take him out,” Claire said. “But then he told me about this mystery girl he met at the office...”

Claire broke off with a sigh, and you swallowed hard. “Claire...”

But she fixed you a meaningful look. “Y/N, I knew I was a goner when I took Seungmin out for lunch and all he talked about was you.”

It was a powerful statement, even if you hadn’t been expecting the confession, and there was a lightness somewhere inside of you that was comparable to the delicate feeling of butterflies in one’s stomach. “I didn’t know about that.”

“Yeah, well, I was the only one treating it like a date,” Claire said. “But, seriously, Y/N, you make Seungmin incredibly happy, and I support you guys 100% because he’ll always be the friend I want to protect.”

She offered your hand a reassuring squeeze. “Thank you, Claire.”

“I meant every word,” she said. “And please don’t trouble yourself anymore because I have plans to move out with some friends in the near future. You and Seungmin can have as much shower sex as you want after I’m gone.”

You immediately started choking on the very oxygen that you needed to breath, and Claire laughed at the predicament before flagging down your waiter for a necessary glass of water.

It was late when Seungmin came home from work, and Claire had already slipped out to be with some friends for the evening.

“Y/N?”

“Bathroom,” you called back to him, checking over your surprise with a satisfied nod.

“Y/N,” Seungmin said, and he smiled at you as he walked inside before widening his eyes in surprise. “Did you do this?”

“Of course,” you said, and you walked over to close the door before cornering him against the sink, fingers working rapidly over his buttons. “It’s necessary for your clothes to be off, darling.”

It was a cheeky call-back to his comment from your intimate moment the night before, and Seungmin smirked before taking over from you. “Handle yourself,” he said, and you reached down for the hem of your t-shirt while the both of you worked to remove all your layers.  

“Better,” you said, leaning against him as you allowed one hand to trail all the way down from his chest before skimming his cock which twitched in interest at your familiar touch. “So handsome,” you assured him, connecting your lips in a passionate kiss while reaching around to give his ass a little squeeze. “Get in the water,” you said, and he obeyed while a trail of saliva fell between your swollen lips.

And once Seungmin was settled beneath the steaming surface, you lowered yourself down in front of him, leaning back against his chest with a pleasant sigh. “This is perfect, Y/N,” Seungmin said while his arms wrapped around you.

“We have wine as well,” you said, reaching over for the bottle. 

“God, you’re amazing,” Seungmin said, and he took a glass from you once you managed to pour the sparkling alcohol without spilling it all over the floor.

“But what’s this all about?” Seungmin asked, tipping back his wine glass while his other hand trailed across your stomach.

“I thought I would spoil you.”

“Well, I’m not complaining,” Seungmin said. “I love doing these things with you.”

“Mhmm,” you agreed while drinking your wine. “It’s been a hectic week.”

“It’ll be over soon,” Seungmin said, and he set aside his wine glass to free his hands so that his fingers could massage across your breasts. “I also spoke to Mr. Park about the house, and I think I convinced him to see reason with our original deadline.”

“Really?” you questioned. “How did you manage that?”

“I may have raised my voice,” Seungmin said. “There were also some unpleasant words exchanged.”

“Seungmin!” you gasped, and he scoffed at your mock sarcasm.

“Not even a thank you?” Seungmin pouted, and you made sure to whisper one against his lips.

“I’m gonna treat you in return later on, darling,” Seungmin said, and you shivered when one of his fingers delicately penetrated the tight walls of your cunt while his erection dug into your lower back.

“I love you so much,” you moaned, leaning your head back even further to accept another passionate kiss.