#and the source post is right in the corner of the gif

[johannesviii]

Nearly every time I've rewatched Infinity Train Book 3 since I first saw it in February, I saw more parallels and narrative echos, and infodumping my friends about them isn't enough anymore

I figured I should do a post about this one because I don't think I've seen a post about that specific thing yet, and I love this show's writing, and. idk. I just need to praise it I guess

So, the most obvious part first:

Grace became everything she hated about her parents

When Grace mentions her mother in the Debutante Ball Car, it's made pretty clear she's trying to distance herself from her mother as much as possible, and at this point, we realise retrospectively that Grace's room in the Mall Car in episode one was full of sports clothes - it seems she tries to avoid things reminding her of her life before the train. And of her mother. And yet-

She tries to control everyone and everything around her, and makes people do what she doesn't want to do

And she decides what's cool and what isn't

She makes people kneel in her presence, like her mother towers over her in her mind's eye

Obviously she constantly lies to get what she wants, and her dad does that in her tape

When her younger self looks up, she looks right through adult Grace, and it's actually her parents she's looking at! Her younger self is metaphorically seeing her parents where her adult self is standing!! I still can't get over this shot

Also I feel the need to mention her mother has the same voice actor as her in her tape and even if it might be to cut corners in the budget, that feels significant (and to be fair, sometimes you can cut corners while making meaningful choices at the same time)

Now you might think I'd have nothing to say about Simon on that matter, since we don't see any flashback of his life before the Train, and we know next to nothing about his parents. But I think it's very telling that the only actual backstory we get for him is his backstory with The Cat.

Because-

Simon became everything he hated about The Cat

Ok I never see anyone mentioning this, but hear me out

First, we have no idea if Simon knew The Cat was routinely invading people's privacy through their memory tapes, but he sure has no issue doing the exact same thing

But that doesn't stop there. He also collects things obsessively

And makes kids collect things for him as well, by the way

He thinks he's above others, but he immediately switches to victim mode when it comes back to bite him

HE. ABANDONS. A CHILD. WHO WAS UNDER HIS CARE!!

And. Uh. They both dig their heels instead of trying to change, too

Don't get me wrong, on some level I would have liked to know what Simon's parents were like too. I would have liked that a lot. But there's a good chance it wouldn't change anything, because everything we need to know about his background to understand why he's Like That™ is already in the show

But yeah, Grace and Simon both pretend they found freedom on the Train, and both distance themselves from parental figures who are at the source of their trauma, claiming they're different and better than them - and yet they are both subconsciously repeating patterns that caused at least part of their problems and/or trauma in the first place

And since they decided that making numbers go up was good, as long as they stick to that idea, they are bound to never escape from that self-perpetuating loop of harm and trauma

And I love it

And I hate it

[heyitstam]

dr. robert chase x reader - the chase itself (smut)

hi guys :D i know i haven't posted in a while, but i recently asked a VERY good friend of mine to cook me a fanfic of this very beautiful man, and HE DELIVERED. like all out jaws on the floor type delivered. i love this man fr, so i'm posting it here with his permission. it's his first fanfic ever, and in my humble professional opinion he overdelivered - so have fun reading this beautiful smut fic of reader and dr. chase <3

I. Humble Beginnings

Taking place in Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, New Jersey, you are a fairly new nurse who pursued a medical career in quite a common way. The way being that it was more so your parents’ wish for you to go to medical school than your own, but you don’t necessarily hate that fact; at least it gave you a direction, so to speak.

It’s early in the morning, so there’s not a whole lot going on. You went around doing your usual checkups already and what not, therefore you decide to go on your well deserved coffee break. However, right as you are are on that, and you step out of the cubicle you are in, you glance over to an unfamiliar face through an operating room.

Some would call it love at first sight, but it really is more than that. It’s the kind of tingly sensation no one could forget. It’s almost shameful, but you can’t be bothered by that feeling right now. As if you physically couldn’t take your eyes off of them, you lose all sense of purpose, standing there, unable to think. Suddenly, someone bumps into you, which wakes you up from your total amusement. You feel the need to know more, so as you squint your eyes, you can read their name off of the shirt they are wearing.

“Dr. Robert Chase..?  I need to.. have a talk with him. I just need to.” – you think to yourself, ponderingly.

You go back to working with a saturated mind, unable to concentrate.

II. The Chase Itself

As days go by, you’re quite hesitant to reach out to him, but you seriously feel the need to. Why is that, really, you ask yourself. You ache to even have a talk with him at this point, but you long for more. Way more. You can’t think of anything else.

After contemplating for a good while, you decide to ask around to know what time he gets off from work, since you want to surprise him at the last minute. That’s the only way you see that you could have a one-on-one with him anytime soon.

With that out the way, you now know everything you needed to know. The only thing that divides you from your desire is to actually act up on it, so you gather all your courage. You look at the time, and you’re actually pretty shocked how caught up you were thinking about him. If you don’t hurry then you’re going to miss him that day entirely, so you start sprinting.

You notice him as he is turning around the corner, all dressed up, ready to leave, and you stumble right into him.

“I need to tell you something inside, it’s.. it’s important, alright. And it might just take a while” – you tell him, struggling with your words. “Great. I was just about to leave, you know. Whatever, show me, I don’t have much time for this. Is it really that important?” – he answers abruptly, being quite impatient.

You suddenly catch a rush of excitement. This is all that you were planning for the past few days or so, to get close to him, and it looks like you’re on track.

III. An Uneasy Start

Chase swings open the door of the office he’s just been in, ushering you in and closing the door behind him, since there’s quite the commotion even late into the night, it’s a hospital after all. It’s dark inside, the only light sources being a dim lamp he accidentally left on and the Moon seeping through the closed blinds faintly. The room has a surgical bed, a cabinet behind it with all kinds of training supplies, a desk with an office chair and a hanger stand. He puts his white coat on the stand, then undoes his tie, putting it into his pants pocket in a really apathetic way, with most of it hanging out.

Seemingly being quite contempt with the situation, he sits down onto the office chair, facing you, and he seriously doesn’t look like he wants to be there.

As a last effort at trying to ease up the situation, you grab the glass of water that is sitting on the desk and you splash it at him, in a playful way.  Not surprisingly, this backfires, since he doesn’t seem too happy about, not in the slightest. He stands up from his desk and goes on to wipe off his shirt to make it slightly less messy, all without even muttering a word. You do feel pretty stupid for that.

With another attempt at getting his attention, you arousingly start to cut the strings off of a few upper buttons on your blouse with a surgical knife, as he turns back to you, giving him a snarky look.

“Was that really necessary? What was so important about any of this? Can we get to the damn point?” – he asks you with a loss of temper. “I might have lied about that important thing.” – you answer him not so bravely.

He's visibly frustrated at you, and with a change of demeanor, he stands up and is now closing distance between you in a rush, as you are backing up. He halts as he catches up to you, towering over you.

With both hands on your shoulders, clenching them hard, he asks you, in an almost belittling tone: “Is this what you wanted? “ “I don’t know, is it?” – you answer him in a pretty similar way.

Like the kind of tease you tend to be, you start gliding around your fingertip on his chest, which he.. seems to enjoy, and lets you do for a short while, for then to push you to the nearest wall.

IV. Lust

Fueled by lust, you immediately grab his chin and assertively start kissing him, which absolutely catches him off-guard. In reaction to the advancement on him, he forces your body onto his as he caresses your back. After this goes on for a bit, he grabs you by the thighs, lifts you up and tosses you onto the surgical table.

With your arms behind you, you’re sitting halfway up as your legs are pulled up. You lock eyes while he is still holding you by your thighs. He leans over, drags you closer and is now standing between your legs.

You clumsily unbutton Robert’s shirt, one by one. In contrast, he carelessly tears off a few more of your buttons, making the blouse slide off your shoulders, which then falls onto your lap, flustering you in the process.

He then puts a hand on your lower abdomen, which feels surprisingly soft, even though his hands are quite firm. Most notably, it’s warm. So warm in fact, you feel like you could melt into him, and you are all about that feeling. Starting from your thighs, continuing to your hips, he brushes his both his hands across all the way up to your chest in a painstakingly soft and throughout way, but at the same it’s quite the calm moment.

An intrigued nervousness starts to pile in you as he suddenly starts to unbuckle his belt, which was undoubtedly the loudest noise in the room so far. In the meantime, like the obedient girl you feel like you are, with each rattle, you can't wait to obey. As if you were a household maid, you’re more than ready to satisfy the head of the house, as if he shook a bell around.

He tosses aside his pants and boxers and you feel like you can’t catch up with your heavy heartbeats as he rests his rigid cock on your stomach. It all just feels so sudden, and it’s starting to grow on you in a pleasurable way. He goes onto removing your bra, while you’re simultaneously stroking him slowly and briefly, before he goes down on you again.

You can feel it throb against you, and it’s just as, if not hotter than his hand is, which he has below your stomach again. He needily grinds against you over and over, lifting your skirt up with it every time, and rubbing against your inner thighs.

He doesn’t wait around before removing your panties, which are drenched by this point, and neither does he wait to penetrate you, as he is inside you now.

“Maybe I did need this.. “ - you hear him talk out loud quietly.

At once, as he is slowly, but forcefully thrusting into you, you see him pulling out the tie out his pocket, which he puts around your neck now, instead of his own.

It’s tightened real well, and he’s gripping it by the base, close to your neck. In the meantime he’s constantly pulling on it upwards, as it’s digging into the back of your neck, scraping your chin against it’s band, making your head tilt backwards considerably. With every moan you make, he tightens more on it, leaving your neck all bruised up. As he is fucking you, you’re nails deep in the sheets. You can’t help yourself but feel pleasured.

As he’s starting to get rougher on you, you begin to develop second thoughts and try to resist him, but as you’re doing that, he immediately tugs you closer, rendering your attempt futile. As you look at him, he seems to be way too into this, as his eyes lose all focus and glare, and you can only watch as his control over himself fades, railing you without a care in the world. This creates even more neediness in you, as you cross your legs behind his back, clinging onto him.

You can barely even keep your eyes on him, and you’re not even resisting his pull on your neck anymore, so you fully commit into tilting you head back in joy. All this sexual fulfillment demands you to do so, as you are slipping out of control more by the second. You feel like you could finish at any time, and as he’s also getting close, he’s painfully grazing your stiff walls more and more, with your moans sounding pitifully more helpless.

Ejaculating with a quiet grunt, he blasts the majority into you, leaving two strings across all the way up your body, all for you to feel ecstatic about. You really do feel like you owned up to it with your services, as if it was his way of rewarding you. Not to forget about you, he pushes you over the edge too, as you’re desperately gripping his shoulders. No matter you could barely take a break after your climax, he leans closer over your stimulation filled shivering body, and goes for a deep passionate kiss. Not even bothered by the fact you are still desperately panting and gasping for air along with him.

V. Not So Aftercare

After standing up from the bed, he comfortably hugs you by your hips, to which you endearingly put your hands onto his. After romantically rocking you slightly around with his hug, he leaves his hands off of you to start dressing up. It’s getting quite late.

As he is about to button back his shirt, he looks at you still standing there, still looking a bit shocked from everything that happened so far. Deciding to help out, he steps besides you, getting your bra back from your bed, and putting it on you. He’s slowly buckling the back together, and you are simply just unable to look him in the eyes, since you're becoming increasingly shy in a sudden way, blushing like you never have before.

"You.. didn't have to, you know.." - you tell him in a higher pitch voice.

You really enjoy his care, it does fill you with joy. Then you reach out for your panties, but as you are pulling them up, he slides his hands under yours, taking the lead again, which surprises you even more. You are so overwhelmed with emotions at this point, you shake right into his hand as he pulls it all the way up, giving you a slight friendly chuckle, and blowing you a kiss right above the lining of your briefs, gaining him an immediate gasp from you. You're truly mesmerized by him.

He continues dressing himself, and as you calm down, you rush into his arms, facing his chest. He caresses and pets your face and head with one arm, for him to go onto groping your ass, and going down to your thighs. His hand lifts your skirt away from time to time, letting colder air in. After he finishes clothing up, he swings you to his other side and pushes you right to the desk.

“I need more of you. I need to feel you in more ways.” – he tells you with a shaky voice.

You almost even stumble, and with an utterly scared look on your face, you glance at him. Without precaution, he pushes you down onto the floor. You look down onto your legs. Your knees are together and your feet are far apart, completely side-tracking you. You even put your hands on your knees in a cute way, but as you lift your head, his cock gets into view, poking through his pants fly, which takes you aback.

Your first and immediate reaction is to press your lips all around him, kissing and licking his shaft as it pumps against your mouth. After growing tired and wanting more, he puts his thumb in your mouth, and with a few fingers latching onto your chin, he pushes downwards on your jaw. With closed eyes, you stick out your tongue, waiting for him to enter. He lets go off of his fingers from your face, following up with exactly what you expected. It feels way bigger than what you anticipated, leaving your mouth sore in the first minute, already. He’s being frantic with you, mouth fucking you without relent. You’re huffing for air as you whimper, but you aren’t getting any. You start to sob as he goes deeper down your throat. As you move your tongue in a swing like motion, from side to side, you circle the bottom of his shaft as he shoves himself in an out. You soak his cock with your saliva, blending with his precum. No matter how much of it you gulp down, It’s flowing out your mouth.

Resting his elbows and head above you on the desk, he looks down at the top of your head, as you suck him off. From the table, as he rocks you around, all kinds of documents fly off. Not that he cares, really.

Without even telling, he comes into your mouth, throbbing against your lips. You stomach it all as you look up to him, initiating eye contact, and smiling. After spewing out his cock, you grab it by the base and gently rub it off with a napkin. He pulls his zipper up, and kneels down. He parts your hair slightly and greets your forehead with a last smooch.

Looking back at you for the final time, he waves at you, winks in a mocking, yet sweet way and leaves though the door. You can only wish to meet soon in a similar fashion.

VI. Reflection

You’re at a loss of thoughts. He’s been so careful, yet so careless with you at the same time, and that’s just messing with your brain right now, so you lean your head against the desk, you close your eyes and give into the bliss once again.

Even after he left, you’re sitting in the dark, in the same position he left you in, with his tie still around your neck. You feel embarrassed, but you can’t help yourself as you take in the scent of his tie, pleasuring yourself through your clothes, while thinking about him. He has a hold on you, and you know that well.

[zalayni]

🌆 LOVE U 3000┊˚ ͙۪۪̥◌

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ pairing: earth 42!miles morales x reader

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ summary: your life is always interesting now that you're dating the one and only miles morales.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ author's note: the discord server for atsv fans between 13-16 is still open so hmu if you wanna join 😝😝

he cups his hand under your mouth whenever he feeds you food so it won't fall on your clothes.

“here Mami try this” miles cupped his hand under her chin and gently blew in the soup that he had in a spoon so it wouldn't burn your mouth.

your his shadowboxing victim whenever his friends aren't around

he doesn't mind being his nerdy self around you

miles punched the air and faked dodge a nonexistent punch before turning towards you as you sat on his bed with your phone in your hand. “do you think I can defeat batman?” you rolled your eyes and chuckled at him. “Miles he's like twice your size.”

you two obviously play fight for fun. he never once hurt you for real

he gets too lazy to type out his messages sometimes so he resorts into sending you voicenotes instead

deadly ass side eye whenever you jokingly insult him

“that purple hoodie you have on makes you look like grimace” you said with a hand on your mouth to stop the laughter that was about to burst out of her. Miles stopped in his tracks slowly turning his eyes towards you, side eyeing your laughing figure. “you play too much.”

he has the receipt tucked into his wallet from your guy's first date which was at the arcade.

has his lockscreen and wallpaper saved as a picture of you two. he changes it atleast once a month because he adores taking pictures of you.

a bright flash disturbed you from doing your skin care routine. you turned your vanity chair towards the source only to find Miles smiling down at his phone. “did you just take a picture of me?” “um maybe."

you two love to post eachother on your instagrams

bro does not know how to swim 😭😭 if you're able to swim then he'll ask you to teach him but if you can't that still won't stop the two of you from going swimming especially when it's summer

stares at you whenever you're doing your makeup, hair, or even your skincare.

“Morales you're staring.” you joked seeing him stare at you from the corner of your eye. this made Miles scoff “so what?”

he wears a chain with your initial as the pendant and he wears matching bracelets with you.

whenever he sleeps with a bonnet on he wakes up with the end of it hiding one of his eyes.

“what are you laughing at?” he croaked still obviously half asleep. “did you turn emo miles?” you asked before pointing at his bonnet that slipped down, hiding his left eye.

really wanted to get his ears pierced and when he finally got them he was squeezing the blood out of your hands once they held the needle against his hear

you winced at how tight Miles's grip on your hand got. You saw him shut his eyes tightly when the needle went through making the hole for the piercing. Once it was all done he looked down at your hand noticing how red it is which made him laugh. “sorry Mami.”

“five more minutes” warrior. that man refuses to get up early even if you two need to be somewhere on time.

he has a habit of turning towards you with the "did you just see that?" look whenever he sees someone doing something embarrassing.

he'll ask you to come over just so you two can bake together. his mom thinks the two of you are adorable

he has a PC set up with a his gaming chair and right next to it is your set up and chair that he had bought so you two can play together

“do you like it?" Miles said while uncovering your eyes to show you his hard work on setting everything up. the whole setup was based on your favorite colors. “how much did this cost?” you asked making Miles shut you up with a kiss. “don't even worry about it.”

you two danced in the rain once thinking it was a good idea but the both of you ended up sick afterwards

he gifts you a promise ring since you two are too young to get married just yet

has a habit of turning his head so his lips could reach your hand whenever you cup his face

has a whole board filled with pictures of you two either from a polaroid or photobooths

over all gentleman towards you (and his mom ofc)

actually loves physical touch

you were standing up making yourself a sandwich for a late night snack until you felt someone snake their arms around your waist and rest their head against your shoulder. you didn't have to look over your shoulder to figure out who it was. “hey, you hungry?” miles hummed against your shoulder, tightening his grip on your waist. “yeah.”

when you two take the subway he has his arm wrapped around your waist while resting his hand on your hip as his free hand was holding onto one of the poles. he does this no creep comes your way and so you won't fall as the subway can be pretty rough at times.

pulls out his phone whenever you two aren't together in person.

“miss you :(”

“miles I literally just left like a couple minutes ago”

he knows whenever you feel down even if you don't say anything about it

“hermosa, look at me.” he lifted your chin with his hand making you stare up at him. “what's wrong? you're not your usual self.”

respects your boundaries and leaves you alone/drops the subject if you don't feel comfortable talking about it at the moment

“sorry, I just. I just don't wanna talk about it right now.” Miles smiled at you before kissing the top of your hand that he was holding. “it's okay mi niña hermosa, talk to me when you're ready."

[belovedivies]

the ending season (soft! makima x f!reader)

summary: In your shared bedroom one early rainy morning, Makima reflected on her feelings for you.

tags: fluff, possessive behaviors, soft makima, implied sexual content, implied breeding kink, dom makima, established relationship, minor character study, minor spoiler for makima's character (??), violent thoughts (cuz it's makima :3), one shot.

word count: 1,321 title is inspired by a mamerico song called kirari futari <3 also cross-posted on my ao3.

For all centuries of her existence, Makima was far from perfection.

She's not the strongest devil. She's still at beck and call of Japan's government. Even in a rare moment where her carefully crafted façade slipped by just a fraction to reveal a lonely, love-starved woman behind it all... that disgusted her too.

Makima had many pets. Human, to be exact, though none of their rights or feelings mattered the second she wrapped a collar around their necks and put them on a leash. Promises of sweet rewards were never fulfilled; none of them ever made it out alive at the end anyway. The redhead grew bored of her man playthings as time passed, so she spiced things up for her enjoyment by adding a girl to the mix.

A girl who happened to be you.

And for centuries of her existence, never once had Makima thought you would have this much effect on her. The way you walked, the way you talked, the way you carried yourself. All laced with incredible warmth and gentleness—feelings that she thought a monster like her wasn’t privy to. Yet, at this moment, lying underneath the soft blanket with you curled up on her chest as a storm rages outside the window, some part of Makima grappled with this strange fuzzy feeling inside her long-dead heart.

The almighty Control Devil couldn't be soft; her so-called benevolence towards humanity didn't extend that direction. Makima played her part well for many years, being the compliant subordinate whom the higher-ups called for and the unfeeling leader whose presence most devil hunters deliberately avoided. Then why? Why did it only take for one simple girl to—

"Makima..."

You stirred in your sleep and the redhead's train of thoughts came to an abrupt halt.

Outside, lightning flashes, thunder crashing loud enough to shake the windows. Your place was small and cozy, but ultimately not a very ideal home for the upcoming stormy September. Makima made a mental note to contact the movers soon—you'd be better off at her villa, with her by your side.

(Where we both belonged.)

Possessiveness was a part of the woman's nature, a selfish desire to obtain what was rightfully hers. She knew this well during her intense search for Chainsaw Man. Lies, manipulation, and violence became somewhat of a routine she wouldn't shake off.

She couldn't.

But she wanted to, for you.

Makima looked at you. Like really, really looked at you and took in everything. In the near pitch blackness of your bedroom with the faint, flicking lamp on the nightstand as the only source of light, you were all she saw. You and your messy bedhead, with little locks of hair that spread out over the pillow like a halo. You and that little bit of drool that was pooling at the corner of your mouth. Your breath, so shallow it was also non-existent with the storm raging in the background. Vulnerability never looked so good on anyone as it did you.

You were warm, you were perfect. She wanted to kill you sometimes.

You were lying two centimeters away from the redhead at most, so what's stopping her from reaching over and wrapping her hands around your neck? Human was a fragile kind with an even more fragile lifespan. No matter how much they tried to squeal with grand, over-the-top gestures, it wouldn't change the fact that they were just... that. A forgettable and insignificant existence in the scheme of things. 

Her hands shifted underneath the blanket from where they were resting over the curve of your waist.

You were really warm.

And suddenly, she didn't want to move a single muscle anymore.

(This could wait until tomorrow.)

She said that yesterday too. And the day before that, and before that, and way before she could be bothered to recall. You were a threat to her authority from the day Makima let you stay in her bed and embrace her a second longer. Maybe she only had herself to blame for letting her guard down and allowing things to go this far. It’s not just a bad movie that the Control Devil could simply turn off and walk away from. No, you were now a constant presence in her life. A presence she didn’t want to get rid of. Why, she asked herself again.

Maybe it’s because you’re cute, and definitely too naive for your own good. Makima was amused at the number of times she walked home, covered in blood and you would still run up to the door to kiss her cheek and tell her dinner was ready. There’s a warm bath too, and that tiramisu she liked so much for dessert. You added a small twist of cinnamon to her recipe; she didn’t dislike it. 

A silly girl, but a good girl nonetheless. 

Her good girl.

Makima’s arms tightened themselves around your waist at the thought. Not quite pushing you closer, just… securing her hold on you. This blanket wasn’t thick enough, and the cold might make you squirm away from her touch. Or just her in general.

After all, these hands weren’t built to be gentle. 

They choked, they killed, they settled fates, and destroyed lives in a flash. She could wash the gore off in a public bathroom later, paying no attention to the lingering stench of alcohol and cigarettes in the surroundings. Makima’s thoughts would trail back to your smiling face as she dried her hands off and readjusted her trenchcoat. She wondered if you knew about her job, her identity, and the things she had done for a better world. It was always those same adoring eyes that greeted her once she got back like she hung the moon and stars. She would catch Chainsaw Man eventually. One fight, then a lifetime of utopian. 

It would be a picture-perfect future that the woman knew you fit in just fine. 

An eternity to come with you beside her. Maybe even under, on top, in the bedroom, the kitchen, and the couch. You would moan her sweet name so sweetly as she pounded away at your sweet little cunt. Oh, she would definitely get you pregnant, heavy with her powerful children. It was a family Makima had dreamt of for so long, and she would make it a reality. Soon, when you were ready for her.

Another flash of thunder ripped through the gloomy early sky. This time, it was you who snuggled further into her chest and let out a mewl that did that weird thing to her heart. You finally woke up, it seemed. 

“Morning~” her little angel yawned with a smile, pulling away just enough as the bruising grip she still had on your waist allowed you to stretch your shoulders. It never really occurred to Makima how readily you basked in her borderline suffocating attention. “How did you sleep, my love?”

Love.

The corner of your girlfriend’s lips curled up into a half-smile. One of her hands left your midriff to bring yours to her face, pressing soft, worshipful kisses on your knuckles. Oh, she’s in love with you alright, and whatever the fuck you were doing to Makima, it was genuinely changing her life. “Best sleep I’ve ever had.”

The redhead hummed against the soft skin of your palm, nuzzling her cheek into it. You did this. You and your gentle loving melted down the walls surrounding her heart. A foreign territory that terrified just as much as it captivated Makima. But for you…

Yes, you. 

She was loved, and she wanted to learn how to love you in return. Even if the attempt was clumsy, even if her bad habits were sure to resurface and become an obstacle.

Even if she got hurt.

“Say, baby girl…” Makima’s voice dropped to a low whisper. “Since the storm doesn’t seem to let up anytime soon…

care for some breakfast in bed?” 

[0yuri-chan0]

Silent treatment

Hey guys! It’s been awhile since I’ve last posted 😭 But I’m back and ready to write more! This is from the game love and deepspace and it’s based off of Rafayel’s branch in the story ‘Land of the secret flame. Hope you enjoy!

Paring - Rafayel x F!reader

Warnings - Fingering, Creampies, Ect.

Genre - Smut.

Normally you’d carry out a mission from the Hunters Association flawlessly or as close to flawless as you could. Five minutes earlier you asked Rafayel to be your partner in crime, fitting because he’s wanted in the N109 Zone. Now you and Rafayel are pressed against the wall as the guards turn corners.

“Take a left at 3594, go up the stairs, and then take another left before walking to 4136. Go through the side door and cross the terrance that’s how’ll we’ll get to the security room.”

You mumbled to Rafayel as you got ready to run down the ships hallway. His hand pressed against the small of your back behind you.

“And you’re sure we won’t get caught by the guards patrolling?”

“Positive, besides I’m not doing this by myself.”

Suddenly footsteps could be heard walking towards you and Rafayel with familiar voices. Getting closer and about the round the corner you can tell who one of the voices belonged to. Maxwell. ‘What’s he doing here.’ You thought as Rafayle pulled a hatch open from the ships floor and pulled you in.

“Hurry in here.”

The space below the deck and cramped and small the only light illuminating the small room is the red led emergency light. You and Rafayel having to stay close together is a safer option as to not make noise to alert the others and honestly there wasn’t any room to even move around, let alone get any space between the two of you.

You’re body stiffened as you felt Rafayel hard on press against your lower abdomen. You clear your throat and tried to focus on the conversation that’s happening above you but you couldn’t. His breath heavy as you shifted to get comfortable.

“Is the passcode about to change?”

Rafayel said as he moved his left arm to rest it behind you in the clutter of boxes.

“It’s alright we have maybe seven, eight minutes.”

You replied back in a small whisper. Your legs are have started to feel numb. Pushing yourself against Rafayel’s cock. Hearing him groan in your ear makes your body shiver and pause in your track. Pressing your legs together you suddenly feel the need to have something fill you up.

“Sorry, I’ve been trying to hold back.”

His hand slowly moved to grab your waist. His head dipped down to your shoulder. Sucking in a deep breath you nodded.

“I… do you need help?”

You whispered against the shell off his ear. Feeling him nods against your shoulder make you instantly wet. Your eyes look up to the hatch door still voices. ‘Damn it. Still there.’ You thought as you felt his slender fingers slip up your dress and pressed against your panties. The fabric absorbing your slick as he rubbed his fingers against it.

“Can’t they talk about their everyday lives somewhere else?”

He whispered annoyed as your mind started to fail you. The situation was so lewd and wrong in so many different ways.

“R-Rafayel.”

Bucking your hips into his fingers. Knowing what you want he pushes aside your underwear and slips a finger inside.

“Like that?”

Your head leaned back as I bit your lip to silence your moans. Slipping another finger in and curling them in just the right place. God. he really did know how to work you open. Moving your hips with the thrusted of his fingers muddled your thoughts. Forgetting why you were even down there in the first place. Though it wasn’t exactly enough your hand rose to tangle your fingers in his hair as you choked on a moan.

“I need you. God please.”

“Fuck, I know.”

He said as you heard the click of his belt and the rustling of his pants falling. Your eyes look down the red glow being your only source of light. You let out a nervous laugh as you see his cock.

“You think that’s going to fit?”

“Better in this form than my Lemurian one.”

You watched as he stroked his cock. It was big and girthy with a curve. You would’ve got on your knees in a heartbeat if there was room to do so. As he lines himself up with your entrance you hand grabbed his forearm preparing yourself. Slowly he breaches your entrance and pushes himself all way in. Leaning forward Rafayel leaves kisses against your neck nipping and biting at your soft skin.

You nodded singling that he could move. Slowly he pulls himself leaving the tip in then thrust back inside making you groan. Bitting his shoulder to control yourself.

“You’re tight, and warm.”

He says drowning in pleasure as he continues to thrust inside of you. His hips snapping forward then back in a repeating motion. The knot in your stomach was getting to be to much to handle.

“Raf..Rafayel!”

You choked out to warn him how you were so so close. His grunts filled your ears as his thumb circles your clit. ‘Fuck it’s to much.’ You name flows out his mouth like a mantra as his other hand wrapps around your waist finally the knot in your stomach releases as he fill you up with is cum.

Basking in the after glow he laughed gently. As sweat beaded on his forehead.

“Well.. that’s- something.”

You rolled your eyes as you finally realized that you missed the opening to get to the safe. Groaning as you had one change to get to the necklace. Rafayel pulled you closer and breathed into your dress.

“Don’t worry you’ll have another chance to get your readings or whatever. Just relax.”

Anywho! You can also find this in AO3!!

[moonlightpetalz6]

Kinktober Day 6 (Electrostimulation)

Character: Sekido x Reader

Reader: Fem reader!

Warnings: NSFW, MDNI, Smut, unprotected sex, degradation, Pet names, rough sex, harsh language, blood

Electrostimulation: The sexual practice involving the application of electrical stimulation to the nerves of the body, with particular emphasis on the genitals, using a power source for purposes of sexual stimulation.

Wc: 3,608

A/n: I feel like I might have written Sekido a bit ooc but that's okay! I hope you all enjoy this as I plan on making 2 more posts tonight for days 7&8. I tried my best to get all the warnings written down! I apologize if I missed any!

______________________________________________________________

"Soooo? Ya gonna tell him or not, Y/n?!" Karaku laughed while rocking back and forth next to you as the two of you stayed guard outside the hideout. Your eye twitched in annoyance as you shot the demon a dark glare, causing the sly grin on his face to grow as he licked his lips. "Ya know I could always help fill out this secret pleasure of yours~" He teased, leaning closer to your form. "You do that and Sekido will torture you for days." You warned, your arms crossed as you sat on the porch. The demon of pleasure just laughs, plopping down next to you with amusement as he rests his chin in his palm. "It's pretty convenient that your lover has the ability to produce lightning whenever he wants with that staff of his~" You growl as you roughly hit Karaku in the gut causing him to whine but laugh as he falls backward.

"It's not funny Karaku! Ever since that day, we haven't been able to look each other in the eye!" You yelled, a giant huff leaving your chest. About two weeks ago, you all had been assigned a mission to take care of some demon slayers, which wasn't hard as you all destroyed them within minutes. No, the problem happened when your boyfriend Sekido forgot that you were right in the way of his attack, causing you to get electrocuted along with the humans surrounding you. When Sekido noticed, he ran towards you, scolding you for being so careless, and of course, he was concerned that he had hurt you. However, he would never say that to your face. So, imagine his surprise when he saw you on your knees, body twitching as you looked up at the sky with glossy eyes, a deep red dusting your cheeks as drool slipped from your mouth. Since then, neither of you has talked or made eye contact with each other. You were so embarrassed that you decided to sleep in Aizetsu's room.

Your cheeks burn red at the memory, tears pricking the corner of your eyes from embarrassment as Karaku continues to laugh at you, wrapping an arm around your shoulder to tug you closer to him. "Hey! Hey! It's okay, Y/n no need to become so shy~" He teased, poking your cheek while you whined and covered your face with your hands. "What is going on out here?" A gruff and angry voice called from behind the two of you, causing both of your bodies to freeze. Slowly, the two of you looked back to see your boyfriend Sekido standing just inches behind you, his face one of pure anger as he grits his teeth, jaw clenching as his eyes glared daggers at his fellow clone's arm that had been wrapped around you for way too long. Karaku, getting the message, quickly removes his arm from your shoulders, putting his hands up in self-defense as he tries to excuse his actions.

"Easy Sekido! I was just trying to comfort Y/n is all!" The demon cries innocently, not wanting to deal with Sekido's wrath. Your boyfriend doesn't seem to like his clone's answer as his staff starts sparking, his jaw tightening even more as a vein starts to pop from the side of his neck. You panic, not wanting Karaku to suffer for trying to help you through your embarrassing predicament. "W-wait Sekido!" You cry, reaching a hand out towards the demon whose rage-filled eyes quickly lock with yours, causing you to stiffen. Having not seen him for two weeks, you glance away nervously. "H-He had no bad intentions, honest! It's my fault…" You whispered the last part, a bit defeated as your shoulder slumped, an action that did not go unnoticed by piercing red eyes. Sekido was silent for a moment before growling as he went and grabbed your wrist, catching you by surprise as he roughly lifted you from the porch, dragging you inside the hideout.

"S-Sekido?!" You tried to call, but he ignored you, the grip on his staff tightening as he made his way to the room you both shared or at least were supposed to share, considering you haven't come to bed for two weeks now, and it only fueled the demon's anger. Once he reached the room, you watched as he kicked the door open, practically breaking it as he brought you inside, tossing you onto the bed before slamming the door shut behind him. You quickly sat up as you carefully massaged your wrist while looking at him with a pout. "That really hurt, you know!" You whined, listening as his response was just an annoyed tongue-click. "How much longer?" He seethed, his eyes locked on your smaller form, the intensity causing you to shiver as you stared down at the blanket, still refusing to meet his eyes. "What do you mean?" You question trying to play innocent. This backfires as Sekido angrily slams his staff to the ground, causing waves of electricity to run through the floor.

"Don't play dumb with me dammit! You haven't come to bed in two weeks and I catch you allowing that filth to touch what belongs to me?!" He yelled, the atmosphere becoming too thick for you to breathe as you brought a hand up to your chest, heart going wild. "I-I just thought it was for the best! I mean since…the incident…” You trailed off, growing flustered once again. Sekido went silent for a minute, causing you to get curious as you slowly lifted your head. To your surprise, your boyfriend was right in front of you, his body looming over your own menacingly, an angry expression still on his face as he went and gripped your chin, making sure you couldn't avoid his gaze anymore. "Look at me dammit." He growled, red eyes locking with your e/c orbs. You felt your body shiver, having not looked into those angry eyes that always seemed to make your legs weak. Sekido didn't say anything as he slowly dragged his thumb along your bottom lip, repeating the action a few times as his eyes trailed all over your body as if trying to find any signs of injury or markings.

"Sekido I-!" Your words stop as you feel a sudden shock coming from your thighs, causing you to flinch away, failing due to your boyfriend's grasp. Sekido watches as your cheeks become flushed, more veins appearing on his temples and neck as he keeps his staff hovering above your skin, tiny sparks coming from it. "Did you truly feel good from my attack, Y/n?" He questions the image of your aroused face flashing through his mind as he bites his lip, a bit of blood leaking from having pierced the tender flesh with his sharp teeth. You look away, not answering his question, causing his rage to rise as he presses the staff to your thighs again, holding it there longer. Your body jolts as you cover your mouth, thighs shaking from the pleasurable feeling as you press your legs together. "Answer me." He demands, not finding your shyness amusing as he liked when you immediately told him the truth.

"Y-Yes!" You cried between breaths as you tried to push him away from you. "So instead of coming to me the one who shares a bed with you, the one who treats you well, the one who has caused you to scream so many times in this bed. You go to that annoying perverted piece of trash who gets to see that expression only I am allowed to see." You can tell that he was pissed as he went and released your face taking a few steps back from the bed. "Not to mention you've been sharing a room with that whiny brat." He added with detest, his mind running with all sorts of ways to punish his clones along with his lover. You, the only one who can handle his burst of rage, the one who gave her all to him. Sekido grits his teeth, fists clenching tighter as his nails start to dig into his palms, causing blood to drip onto the floor. The smell instantly gets your attention as you go to touch him. "Don't." He warns, causing you to flinch.

"Strip right now." He demands dark eyes, looking down at you. You shiver hesitating for a second but do as told not wanting him to get angry at you more than he already was. Sekido says nothing as he watches you slowly expose yourself to him, your flushed skin causing a tingle in his body as he watches your breasts bounce from being freed of their confinements. The shy expression on your face causes the tent forming in his robes to twitch as a low growl forms in his throat. "Did you show either of them your body like this? Karaku would have loved seeing your filthy body exposed to him." He speaks, watching as you discard the last piece of clothing you wore, arms coming up to shyly cover your chest and pussy, having not shown yourself to the demon in weeks. "I-I didn't show them anything!" You defend. Sekido hums as he goes and points the staff at your chest. "Move your arm. Stop acting like you're such an innocent girl. I know the truth." He barks, not liking how coy you were with him after seeing your naked body multiple times now. He found himself desiring the sight and touch of it more and more. You were just too intoxicating for him, and it angered the demon.

He watches you obediently do as you're told, causing his eyes to lighten slightly as if praising you for knowing your place. Sekido teasingly grazed both your nipples with the tip of his staff, the jingling of the metal echoing inside the room. "That you're a filthy slut." Sekido finishes his sentence as his staff sparks up, sending jolts of electricity through your squishy mounds. You toss your head back, arms falling behind you for stability as you arch your back, a loud moan of pleasure and pain sliding past your lips as your body jumps and twitches. Sekido watches as your nipples grow harder from his staff as he goes and gives the other mound equal attention, the staff showing no mercy as you start to squirm and back away. Sekido growls at this as he quickly grabs at one of your ankles, forcefully dragging your body back towards his, causing you to fall back on the bed.

His eyes darted down to the shining puddle you had left behind on the shared blanket, his heart racing as he processed what had happened. "You must enjoy this if you came from just having your nipples zapped." He muses to himself, his grip still tight on your ankle. You let out a pathetic whine as you looked up at him, tears slipping down your cheeks. Sekido loved it when you were a crying mess for him. It made him feel powerful and in control, and he loved it. "Such a filthy slut I chose as my mate." He growls, pulling your legs apart to see the sticky mess between your thighs. Sekido hums, trailing his staff slowly down your stomach, watching your eyes follow with curiosity at his next move.

"I believe you deserve some fucking punishment for avoiding me, don't you?" He Growls, the staff stopping on your clit. Your eyes went wide as you opened your mouth to protest. However, the demon did not care as he sent jolts of electricity through the sensitive bundle of nerves, causing your eyes to roll into the back of your head and mouth to open in a perfect O just for him. "Y-you avoided me too…" You managed to get out, though it was barely above a whisper. Sekido frowns at your words before upping the intensity you to release a scream as you clench the sheets, your body struggling to escape his grasp. He was angry because you were right. However, he had been avoiding you, not for the reasons you think. Something inside him had gone feral since he saw that dazed expression and how your body twitched from his attack.

For the past two weeks, Sekido had been aggressively fucking himself into his hand while picturing the scene repeatedly. He wanted to bring it up to you for so long, but every time he saw you, he felt like he would take you there on the spot, and he couldn't allow that. He would never let his clones see you so beautifully displayed the way he likes, nor would they hear the intoxicating voice that always made him cum deep inside you. "You're right…I guess I have been ignoring my filthy pet." He muttered, causing your eyes to widen from the sudden words. Usually, he never admitted when he was wrong, and for some reason, you found your pussy clenching at the sudden confession. Sekido looks at you with narrowed eyes, his dark red hues filled with anger and lust as he grits his teeth. "We'll just make it up to each other though…right Whore?" He growled his staff, sending more pleasure throughout your body. Sekido watched your pussy shake and gush as he held one of your legs in the air, his tongue sliding against his bottom lip as he watched your juices coat the sheets.

"That's the second time you've cum now…it pisses me off." He admits, tossing his staff onto the bed as he pulls his robes down, exposing his bare chest to you, eyes making sure to take it all in as saliva fills your mouth. "Fuck Sekido… you're so handsome." You whispered honestly, loving how angry he looked as he exposed himself. You watched as his eye twitched, signaling he was embarrassed by your sudden comment. "Tch shut the hell up, damn woman." He growled, tossing one of your legs over his shoulder as he pumped at his aching cock that had been dying to be inside your needy pussy. Sekido roars as he slides his cock up and down your folds, ensuring it is soaked in your pretty juices. "You're so wet now; you can take my cock, right, Y/n? Or has it been too long for a needy whore like you?" He curses as he slowly presses the tip inside, watching how your body reacts to the sudden intrusion. "Fuuuuuuck~" You cry, tossing your head back in bliss. It had been about four weeks since the two of you could fuck, and boy, did you miss the feeling of his cock.

"Tch. You're too damn tight." Your boyfriend growls as he struggles to push himself all the way in. Your walls clenched around him so hard that he almost forgot you weren't a virgin. "Sekido, I can't! It's too much right now." You whined, not thinking you could handle any more of him. Your words caused Sekido's brows to knit together, a deep frown on his face as he processed your words. 'Can't take him? Too much? Tch, fuck that.' His free hand travels back to his staff as he goes and zaps at one of your perked buds, watching your body jump from shock. He tries to push in as deep as he can, once again, this time succeeding as he lets out a deep growl, his cock twitching from how good you felt wrapped around him. "Filthy slut…your pussy just took me in so easily once I zapped your dirty body." He pants through his gritted teeth, eyes glaring down at you.

"Do you like this better than me?" He questioned, feeling himself grow jealous of his power, not liking that it affected your body more than he did. You try to form a sentence but fail as your mind starts to spin from how much pleasure you receive. Sekido scoffs at this as he begins aggressively thrusting into you, his hips meeting yours each time as he grips your hip with his free hand, his sharp teeth sinking into the plush skin as he tastes your blood. Sekido was always rough in bed, so it wasn't something you were not a stranger to; however, this time, things seemed different with the use of his powers. You whined and cried each time Sekido's hips met yours, the tip of his cock painfully pressing against your cervix.

However, whenever you tried to get away from him or cried for him to slow down, he would press his staff against your swollen clit. The pain mixing with pleasure soon consumed you as your face contorted into a fucked out expression, causing Sekido to beam internally with pride, the faintest hue rising to his cheeks as he went and pressed rough kisses to your lips, each one becoming sloppier than the last, a mix your saliva courting your lips as he went and bit down into your neck making sure to leave as many marks as he could. "I won't let you leave this room again, Y/n." He growled possessively as he pictured you sleeping cuddled up to his whiny clone, anger fueling his thrusts. Bruises lay across your chest as the demon grips at your breasts, his staff tossed once more.

"Sekido…feels so fucking good." You moaned, too fucked out to process any of the words he said. "Tch. Too fucked out on my cock and staff that you can't even hear me. Pathetic slut." He growls, feeling your walls clench at his harsh words. He knew your body like the back of his hand, having fucked you so many times, especially when he was furious. You were such a good little demon for him, so obedient, the perfect stress reliever. "Why didn't you tell me you wanted me to electrocute you? Do you think I'm a fool? A fucking idiot who you can avoid and toy around with as you please?" he doesn't let up as he feels you reach your third orgasm, your body too sensitive to handle anymore. "S-Sekido…honey," You start swallowing a giant ball of saliva as you try to get your following words out. "It's too much! Mm~ I'm too sensitive no more~" Your words reach him however they sound so pathetic that it just makes him want to ruin you even more.

"Tch, who the hell do you think you are bossing me around like that?" He growled; however, he knew that he wouldn't hold on much longer as his cock began twitching. The feeling of your pussy was too good after not having it for weeks. You made him pathetic, and he hated it. With a growl, Sekido spread your legs as far as he could, his thrusts getting sloppier as he looked down at you with hazy eyes, his mouth slightly open as he watched your eyes roll to the back of your head. "Tch. My spark," Your eyes shoot back open at the diminutive nickname he had given you a few months into your relationship. He never used it much, but you knew it was because he saved it for special times, especially when he felt so much love for you but never knew how to express it due to his angry nature.

Your eyes take a moment to focus on his features as you lock eyes with your mate. Sekido looked at you, his eyes straining with anger as he bared his teeth, your abused pussy still being pounded into as he went and grabbed your chin. "Look at me. Keep looking at only me, dammit!" He cursed as he sloppily went and circled his thumb over your clit. "I'll do every dirty thing your whore mind comes up with. Just stay here, dammit…fucking stupid woman." He whimpered out the last part before shakily reaching for his staff again as he felt his release approaching.

"Do I make myself clear?" He growled, looking at you with such possessive eyes as his staff hovered over your clit again, waiting for your response. You whimpered, nodding your head as the words refused to come out. Sekido saw how weak and fucked out you were, so he let the nonverbal response slide this time as he went and pressed the staff down, watching as his electricity flew out, causing your body immense pleasure. "Good girl…my spark." He panted, his voice waving as he gave one last deep thrust into your abused hole, his eyes rolling back as he felt his seed spray into your walls. "Dammit!" He cursed, tossing his head around from how incense the feeling was. You did the same, except this time, you felt something much more significant than any other time you had orgasmed. Sekido noticed this as he looked down at you, his eyes widening slightly as he watched your pussy spray all over his cock your juices going everywhere, as your body tensed from the sudden pleasure, mouth open but no noise coming out.

Sekido stood there staring down at your weak body, his cock growing hard again inside you, causing a hiss to leave your lips. Sekido grunts as he slowly pulls out, watching his cum leak from your twitching hole. He scoffs, pressing it back inside with one of his fingers, listening to you whine. "Tch, I know dammit." He growls as he goes and tucks you under the covers, watching your heavy eyes start to close from exhaustion. Sekido stands near the bed, a hand pressed on his cock as he curses, glaring down at you.

"I'll give you an hour dammit…after that, I'll make you do that thing again my spark."

[csolarstorm]

N's Void Cube - Animated Model

For too long, The Pokemon Company has been portraying N's iconic Void Cube with simple gold sides, erasing the beautiful quadrangular symmetry of the gold lines it was designed with. Today, I am stepping up to give N Harmonia's most prized possession the proper representation it deserves.

Here's the design I started with in Blender. I started by tracing the cube in N's official BW art, but making a new one made things so much easier.

If you don't count the center, N's Void Cube is only made of two distinct blocks, just rotated in different directions. The designs on these blocks are pretty cool, and there's actually some symbolism to them!

The first block, the ring/sun, fittingly resembles the classical symbol for the sun ☉ which is also the alchemical symbol for gold. A lot of classical Sun and gold symbols often correspond with symbols for "God", considering our history of solar deities.

This symbol is also known as the circumpunct. It also resembles evil eye protection talismans like the nazar. (I figured this was relevant because of the scary eyes on Ghetsis' cloak!)

The second block, the circle symbol with the floret pointing toward the corner definitely resembles another alchemical symbol for sun, gold, and "God":

Source: utf8icons

So there's definitely a theme here! Documents from the Teraleak suggest that N is the descendant of the ancient king buried in the Abyssal Ruins. Motifs like the sun, gold, and "God" all correlate with kings and the idea of divine right.

In my post "The Original Dragon of Unova and Wuxing" I theorized that the Original Dragon of Unova is based on the Yellow Dragon of the Center, who would be a golden dragon that glows like the sun. And the machine translation for the Abyssal Ruins glyphs depicts a creature with a very Reshiram/Zekrom type body that is "known as God". This glyph is supposed to refer to the ancient king.

Source: Pokeleaks, via ImmaculateOne-Browne on Reddit

Long story short: I think N has the ancient king's Void Cube.

[willalove75]

Alcina's New Maid Pt. 26 Lady Dimitrescu x Reader

Summary: he party has officially begun! Filled with laughter, love, fun and a little angst! Also Alexi may or may not have been inspired by David from Schitts Creek

Warnings: 18+ minors DNI.

Tags: Some fluff, a little angst and things start to heat up at the end!

Notes: Part 26! WOAH! TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY?! Hell yeah! I did a poll here since I pretty much wrote these last two chapters together as one and broke them up and the winning vote on the poll was to post them together so here we are! Also I forgot to say in my last chapter - Happy New Year everyone!!

Click here for the rest of the series

Gif source

Alcina leads you into the ballroom and you are taken back by its beauty. This room is normally stunning as it is, but with all of the decorations it’s even moreso. The music rings throughout the room and all of the guests are mingling and dancing. Bela, Cassandra and Daniela are dancing off to the side along with Angie while the rest of the Lords, and Mother Miranda, are all seated at one of the tables. Villagers approach the table and bow, giving thanks to their Holy Mother and showing their respect to the Lords. From what you can see, Miranda seems uninterested in the villagers approaching her as her eyes continue to scan the crowd. A shiver runs down your spine and you turn your attention away from her and follow Alcina further into the room. Servants weave in and out of the crowd with trays of appetizers and more champagne.

One server walks up to you with a tray of some of your favorite appetizers and you happily take a couple, exchanging the food with your now empty champagne glass. Almost immediately another server approaches with more champagne and both you and Alcina take a glass.

“To a marvelous night, and to you, draga mea.” She says.

“And to you for putting together such a beautiful party. Thank you, Alci. Everything is so beautiful.”

“Anything for you, iubirea mea.”

The two of you clink your glasses and take a sip of the champagne. A few girls you knew from school sheepishly approach you and wish you a happy birthday. Alcina proudly rests her hand around your waist as you introduce them and engage in some small talk.

As your conversation winds down, so does the music and you hear Zina’s voice over the intercom.

“Will everyone please take their seats? Your main course is going to be served momentarily.”

Everyone shuffles to their seats and Alcina directs you to a long table parallel to the dancefloor. In the center is a large chair for Alcina and two chairs on either side for you and the girls.

Taking the seat to her right, Cassandra sits next to you and Bela takes the chair to Alcina’s left with Daniela next to her. It was a little surprising to see the girls walk to their seats and not swarm. Now that you think of it, you haven’t seen them swarm at all since the party started. Leaning over to Cassandra, you whisper to her.

“Is there a reason you guys aren’t swarming?”

“Mother doesn’t like us to do that in public, especially during formal events. She says it's ‘unbecoming.’ Plus, I don’t think she wants the whole village to know we can. It’s one of those things that most people can’t confirm or deny, if that makes sense. And it keeps us safer if they don’t know.”

“Oh, gotcha. That makes sense.”

Out of the corner of your eye you see one of the doors open and you see Alexi and the stablehand sneak in. You catch his gaze and raise an eyebrow at him and the stablehand. He shoots you a wink and blows you a kiss and you roll your eyes at him. Alcina grumbles beside you and you look over to see her looking at Alexi too. Giving her a little nudge with your elbow, you give her a knowing look and she playfully rolls her eyes at you before a hush falls over the room. 

Alcina stands from her chair and the girls clink their silverware against their glasses to signal a toast.

“Ladies, gentlemen, and honored guests, we gather together this evening to celebrate a truly special occasion. We gather here tonight to celebrate a remarkable person whose presence has enriched our lives the moment she stepped foot into Castle Dimitrescu.” Alcina turns towards you. “Y/N, your kindness, warmth, and unwavering presence have touched each of us in House Dimitrescu in such profound ways. Tonight, we raise our glasses to you. May this year bring you endless joy, happiness and love. Because of you, this castle feels more like a home than it has in many, many years. I hope this year and every year following you know how truly cherished you are. Te iubesc cu tot ce am și cu tot ce sunt, draga mea. Happy birthday.”

(I love you with everything I have and with everything I am, my darling).

The guests applaud Alcina’s toast as they clink their glasses together and Alcina clinks hers against yours.

“Te iubesc, draga mea.” She whispers before sipping from her drink.

“I love you too, Alci.” You respond before sipping yours.

Alcina reclaims her seat and looks over at Zina, who is waiting for the cue to begin serving dinner, and gives her a nod.

The doors open and dozens of servers come out in near perfect lines and disperse throughout the room. Plates with cloches are placed in front of you and each server goes down the line, perfectly rehearsed, removing the cloches revealing one of the most beautiful meals you’ve ever seen.

Everyone begins to eat and you actually freeze in place when you look around to see Cassandra and Daniela eating like civilized people. At nearly every meal they make a mess, use their hands (or other objects, like daggers) and end up covered in blood and food. Bela is the only one that consistently eats like a “normal” person. But both Cassandra and Daniela are using forks and knives and taking bites from their silverware instead of shoveling the food in their mouths. Of course their steaks are raw and bloody, but the lack of mess is distracting you from your own meal.

Cassandra struggles to cut into a piece and begins to growl in frustration. Alcina hears her and clears her throat, staring at Cassandra out of the corner of her eye. Cassandra looks over at her mother before letting out a huff and relaxing her shoulders. Alcina is poised as always, with perfect posture, she eats her meal as if she’s been trained to do this her entire life. Which honestly, she probably was. Even though it’s been decades since such an event was held, the training that she went through throughout her entire childhood for these formal events will forever be ingrained in her.

The meal was absolutely delicious, which was not a surprise to you given how talented the chefs are, and you were so full that you were worried the seam on your dress might pop.

Light chatter fills the room as the guests finish their meals and the room grows louder when the music picks back up, inviting the guests back to the dancefloor.

“Come on! Let's dance!” Daniela says as she grabs your hand.

“Ugh, Dani, I’m so full!” You whine.

“Less complaining! More dancing!”

Daniela pulls you away from the table and you pout at Alcina, who just smiles and winks at you, having zero intentions on helping out get out of Daniela’s grasp. Bela, Cassandra, and Angie follow you to the dancefloor and you all dance to the upbeat music. The drinks flow as you dance and the moment your glass is empty, a new, full glass appears in your hand. You’ve lost count of how many drinks you’ve had but from the nice buzz you have going you can tell you’ve had a few. A few friends and acquaintances from the village bounce around the dancefloor and you manage to laugh and dance with most of the people you had on your guest list. At one point the kids find you on the dancefloor and you get to dance with them as well. As soon as you see your uncle staring daggers at you and the kids you send them back off to their parents, doing your best to avoid any more conflicts with your aunt and uncle for the night. Alexi finds you soon after and twirls you around a few times before you have to cling to him to get him to stop before you get too dizzy and fall over.

The music slows and some people leave the dance floor while others pair off into couples. Alexi extends his hand and bows and you laugh while taking his hand, accepting his dance. Bela and Cassandra dance together and Dani dances with Angie.

Alexi leads the dance and the two of you sway to the music. It feels so good to be back with your best friend. Guilt eats at you knowing that you neglected him for the last few months, but the way he smiles down at you eases you.

“So, how was helping the stablehand?” You ask.

A light blush dusts his cheeks and he clears his throat.

“It was, uh, fine. Tons of horses, but nothing we couldn’t handle.”

“Oh, so you’re suddenly a ‘we’?”

“No! That’s not what I - I didn’t mean -” He stutters.

“I’m just joking!” You say with a laugh. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about your new crush.” You tease.

“I do not -”

“Don’t even give me that. The moment you laid eyes on him everyone else around you disappeared. I’m not surprised though, he’s very cute and absolutely your type.”

Alexi rolls his eyes and they land on the stablehand once more. He bites his lip as his eyes roam over him.

“He is really cute, isn’t he?”

“Very.”

The stablehand catches Alexi staring at him and smiles back but Alexi panics and his gaze shoots back to you and you laugh at his flustered state.

“Don’t laugh! Plus, don’t think I forgot that you owe me a ton of answers.” He says as he spins you.

“I haven’t forgotten, don’t worry.” You say as you spin back into his arms.

As your twirl ends the hair draped over your shoulder falls to your back, exposing the scar on your neck to Alexi. His gaze wanders down to it and he stops, his eyes growing wide.

“What the - oh my god what the hell happened?” He asks with concern in his voice.

Alexi goes to brush his fingers over your scar and you quickly cover it up again with your hair.

“It’s nothing.”

“That is not nothing. What the hell happened? Who did that to you?” Looking around the room, you try to come up with an answer but Alexi knows you better. “Oh my god,” he says, dropping his voice. “She did that to you, didn’t she?”

“Alexi, it’s not - it’s not what you think.” You say as you start dancing again to keep from gaining unwanted attention from the guests.

“What did she do to you? Are you actually safe here?”

“It wasn’t her fault, please, I need you to trust me, to believe me. It wasn’t her fault.”

“How? How can it not possibly be her fault if she’s the one who did that to you?”

“I can’t explain it right now, but please, I need you to believe me. I’ll tell you everything I can later, I promise. But I am safe here. I am safe with her.” Your voice drops to a whisper. “I love her.”

“Please tell me this isn’t some Stockholm syndrome shit. Because right now, that's what it looks and sounds like.”

“I know it looks and sounds bad. I get it, I do. But that’s not it. I love her so much. Like real, actual love. Not some ‘she kidnapped me and I’ve fallen in love with my captor’ fairytale shit. I’m safe with her, it’s other people that are the problem.”

“Like who?”

“I can’t tell you right now, I want to but I really, really can’t. I promise when things wind down you and I will find someplace quiet and talk.”

“Are you sure you’re okay here?”

“I am, I promise.”

“Okay. But I still want answers.”

“And you’ll get them, I promise.”

The song comes to an end and a second slow song begins. Alcina walks up behind Alexi and taps him on the shoulder. He turns around and Alcina extends her hand to you.

“May I interrupt and have this dance?”

“Of course.” Alexi says with a nervous bow as he places your hand in hers.

Alcina nods her head at him and Alexi shoots you a concerned look before disappearing into the crowd.

“Is everything alright?” Alcina asks after catching a glimpse of the look he shot you.

“Yeah, it’s fine. He saw my scar and freaked out a little, but I promised I’d talk to him later.”

Alcina’s look softens and her gaze travels down to your neck where your hair covers your scar. You can see the guilt in her eyes and you take her hand, placing a kiss across her gloved knuckles. Her eyes meet yours once more and you give her a reassuring smile. She smiles back at you and tucks a stray hair behind your ear.

“May I have this dance, M’lady?”

“You may, draga mea.”

The height difference between you and Alcina makes dancing incredibly difficult and awkward so Alcina leans down to whisper in your ear.

“May I lift you, draga?”

“You may.”

Wrapping an arm around your waist, Alcina lifts you to her height and you have to fight the instinctive urge to wrap your legs around her. She holds you comfortably against her and takes your other hand in hers as she leads the dance. Even though your legs are dangling in the air, it doesn’t feel nearly as ridiculous as you thought it might and you’re still able to sway your body along with hers.

With her forehead pressed against your temple, Alcina whispers in your ear “you look so beautiful tonight, draga. Every time I look at you I feel the need to pinch myself so I know that you are real and not just a figment of my imagination. I know I have said this thousands of times, but I will continue to say it until my very last breath. I am so blessed to have you in my life. As much as you are mine, I am yours. My heart, my soul, everything I am, belongs to you, my love. I love you endlessly. Tu ești luna mea, stelele mele, întregul meu cer de noapte. Însemni mai mult pentru mine decât lumea. Te iubesc.”

(You are my moon, my stars, my entire night sky. You mean more to me than the world. I love you.).

Your heart flutters in your chest and you press yourself into Alcina more, nuzzling into her neck.

“Thank you for putting together such a beautiful night, Alci. I know I didn’t really want a party, but I’ve had so much fun tonight. Thank you so much for doing all of this. You look so beautiful. When I first did my entrance, the first person I saw was Miranda and I was so scared, but I felt you looking at me and the second my eyes met yours, everything and everyone else disappeared. It was just you, and I felt so happy, so safe knowing you were there waiting for me. You’re my protector, my love, my whole heart. If I’m your moon, stars and night sky then you are my sun, my clouds, my beautiful blue sky. I love you Alcina, with all that I have.”

“My darling girl.” Alcina whispers.

Pulling back, you look into her eyes and see the glassiness in them and you’re sure she sees the glassiness in your eyes too. A smile graces her features and you mirror the action. As you look around you see Alexi dancing with the stablehand. Nodding your head, Alcina looks in the direction and sees the two men. She huffs out a laugh and you look at her giving her a “see? Nothing to worry about” look. In response, she rolls her eyes at you and you both laugh as you nuzzle your noses together. As the music ends Alcina presses a kiss to your knuckles and lowers you to the ground.

Dessert is served shortly after and thankfully, the entire crowd doesn’t sing “Happy Birthday.” You’re pretty sure you would pass out if they all did.

The party starts to wind down a bit, some guests leave soon after dessert, your aunt, uncle, and cousins included. As the crowd thins you take the opportunity to grab a bottle of wine and find Alexi.

You’re able to catch him on his way back from the bathroom and you take him by the hand and lead him out of the ballroom, down one of the halls. Finding an outcove that once held a statue, you and Alexi settle yourselves on the ground facing each other as you pass the wine bottle back and forth.

“Holy shit this is good wine.” Alexi says as he takes a swig from the bottle.

“It is world renowned!” You say with a giggle. “She does run a legitimate business, you know.” You reply, taking the bottle back and drinking from it.

“Part of me is actually surprised by that. I always assumed it was a cover.”

“Cover for what?”

“Oh, come on, you know. You knew the rumors that surrounded this place before you got here.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” You say, taking a sip and passing it back.

“So your uncle really just sold you?”

“Pretty much.” You say as you recall the day you first met Alcina. It’s so crazy to you how terrified you were then and where you are now. It almost feels like you’re recalling a memory from someone else. In a way, you are. So much has changed since that day, you’ve changed so much since that day.

“God, he’s such an asshole.” Alexi says as you finish the story.

“Yeah. And he was just as pleasant today.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, he basically called me a whore and said it’s a good thing my parents were dead because being with Alcina would have killed them.” You say, playing with the hem of your dress.

“Are you fucking kidding me? He seriously said that to you?”

“Yup.”

“I could kill that asshole.”

“I think Alcina may be in line before you on that one.” You say with a half-hearted chuckle.

“Speaking of, you owe me a ton of answers.”

“I know I do. What do you want to know?”

“Literally everything?”

“I can’t tell you everything.”

“And why the hell not?”

“Because I can’t, there’s some things that are kept secret because it keeps them safe. And honestly, I don’t even know everything. But I’ll tell you as much as I can.”

Alexi rolls his eyes as he takes the bottle from you and drinks.

“Fine.”

You could tell he wasn’t super happy with the fact that you weren’t going to tell him everything so you decided to play a game. For every question you would answer, he would drink. For every question you didn’t answer, you drink. The idea of turning it into a game definitely piqued his interest and he happily agreed. He was also hoping that you would end up drinking enough to spill a few juicy secrets.

The game started out innocently enough, Alexi asked you about how you and Alcina got together, what working at the castle was like. He asks you about your first kiss with Alcina and you tell him how she teased you for a few weeks before finally kissing you. The next question he asked was what your first time in bed together was like and a blush dusts your cheeks.

“Well, it was actually the same night as the kiss.” You say, looking away from him.

“Wait.” He says, pausing as he brings the bottle to his lips. “You kissed her for the first time and let her fuck you for the first time in the same night?”

“Yeah. In my defense she was being a huge tease for weeks! She could have kissed me long before that but she’s like that sometimes.”

“Slut.” He gasps before taking a sip and passing it back to you.

“Shut up.”

“You love me.”

“That I do.” You reply with a laugh.

The wine starts to hit Alexi faster since you’re answering more of his questions than he anticipated and he leans forward.

“So, are the rumors true?”

“Which ones?”

“That she hires virgins and then kills them and drinks their blood. Because virgin blood is better - or something like that.”

You think for a second before responding with a half-honest response. “Not true.”

“Okay, and what’s the real answer?”

“Ugh. Fine. It’s not entirely true. Happy?”

“Then what does she do?”

“She told me ‘virgin blood’ isn’t a real thing.”

“But she kills maids and drinks their blood?”

“Um -”

“OH MY GOD.” He shouts.

“Shut up!” You say as you smack his arm.

-

In the ballroom, Alcina is saying goodbye to some of the guests when Karl comes up to her.

“Enjoy the party, Gigantor?”

She rolls her eyes at him and crosses her arms.

“I did enjoy myself this evening. I would ask you the same, but solely based on how much of my alcohol you drank, I very well know the answer.”

Karl laughs and the noise grates on Alcina’s nerves.

“I gotta admit, you do know how to throw one hell of a party, even if the formal shit was stuffy.”

“What do you need, Heisenberg?”

“I wanted to wish the birthday girl a happy birthday before I left but I can’t seem to find her anywhere. I thought maybe you already locked her up in your room for the night. With that gown she’s wearing, I’m surprised the two of you made it this far into the night. Unless you two snuck off earlier and -”

“Enough.” Alcina hisses. “I do not know where she is. But she should be seeing her guests out, so I suppose I should go find her.”

“Not like it’ll take you long. You can sniff her out like a bloodhound.”

“Goodnight, Heisenberg.” She says through her teeth before turning away to look for you.

Alcina exits the ballroom and listens for you. Within a few seconds she’s able to hear your voice and a male’s voice. She follows the sound and silently makes her way through the halls of the castle. When your voice gets closer, she recognizes the other voice as Alexi’s. As she nearly reaches the outcove, Alcina hears Alexi ask you if the rumors are real and she freezes. She hears you say “not true” and lets out a breath of relief. The relief she feels doesn’t last long when she hears Alexi call you out on not being entirely truthful and decides to hide in the shadows nearby to listen to the rest of the conversation.

“This is one of those questions that I don’t know the entire answer to, at least I haven’t witnessed it myself.” You say.

Alcina notices the slight uptick in your heartbeat, which means you’re only telling a half-truth, but she lets you continue and keeps her presence hidden.

“But she does drink blood?”

“Yes.”

“Is she a vampire?”

“No.”

“Then why the fuck does she drink blood?”

“I don’t know if I can answer that.” You say, finally taking a sip from the bottle.

“Okay. Have you seen her kill anyone?”

“Uh-”

“Oh my god, you have. Haven’t you?”

“Once.”

“Y/n! She’s a murderer!”

“It’s not what you think!”

“I think she enjoys killing people because she’s a psychopath.”

Alcina clenches her jaw as her anger rises.

“She’s not! And the only time I saw it was because the girl she killed literally almost killed me.”

“Hold the phone, what the fuck?”

“There was this maid, she had worked here for a few years and was Alcina’s handmaiden but Alcina replaced her with me when I got here. She was pissed, like really, really pissed and tried to hurt me a few times. Alcina punished her, gave her warnings, but she didn’t stop. She hurt me a few times and then the final straw was when she pushed me down the stairs. I got really, really hurt. I broke my arm, cracked my head open, it was bad. Alcina saw me at the bottom of the stairs right after it happened and the girl kicked me in the stomach. The maid went to kick me again and well, Alcina stopped her.”

“By killing her?”

“She wasn’t going to stop attacking me. She made it clear that she wanted me dead.” You say with a pleading in your voice for Alexi to understand the gravity of the situation.

“Why kill her? Why not just fire her?”

“I don’t know, probably because she would be dangerous to Alcina and her daughters if she was fired. She knew too much, she was too much of a liability I guess.”

“How many times did she hurt you before?”

“Twice. The first time she cut me with a knife and the second, she tripped me in the dining hall and I hit my head on one of the benches.” You move your hair away to reveal the barely-noticeable scar the accident left. “And she stood over me with a knife and was definitely going to stab me if Alcina didn’t stop her.”

“Holy shit. She really wanted you dead that bad?”

“Yes. She was an actual psychopath. Alcina isn’t.”

“Okay, you haven’t convinced me that she isn’t a bloodthirsty killer, but I guess I get it.” Alexi says as he drinks from the bottle again. “So why is she so gigantic?”

Alcina clenches her jaw at Alexi’s question but stays hidden.

“That ties into why she drinks blood, actually.”

“Come on, can you give me anything?”

You finish taking a sip and take a moment to think.

“Okay, what I can tell you is that she became a Lord because Mother Miranda used her powers from the Black God and gave her and the other Lords a -” You pause to think of the right way to explain it. “Let's call it a gift.”

“And that gift made her nine feet tall and drink blood?”

“Basically.”

“Why aren’t the other Lords that big? Do they drink blood too?”

“They each got different gifts, more or less. And no, at least I don’t think so. The gift affected each one differently. Alcina drinks blood because before she was given it, she was really sick with some kind of blood disease and the gift combined with that created this need for blood and for some reason made her really tall. Why that happened I have no idea.”

“What happens if she doesn’t drink it?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

“Can she control her bloodlust? Or does she lose control?”

Without realizing it, your fingers go to the scar on your neck.

“She can control it.”

Alcina knows you're lying and she closes her eyes, drawing in a deep breath, she tries to ground herself from the shame bubbling up inside her.

“Holy shit.” Alexi says. “You’re lying. She can’t control herself, can she? Is that what happened? She lost control and did that to you?” He says, gesturing to the scar on your neck. His anger and fear starts to show in his voice and you try to calm him.

“No, that’s not - that’s not what happened. It wasn’t her fault!”

“How can you even say that? She did that to you, didn’t she?”

Staring into your lap, you take a breath before answering.

“Yes. She did.”

Alcina clenches and unclenches her fists at her sides. She can feel her shame bubbling into anger and she tries her best to keep herself grounded.

“Then what? It was an accident? She promised that she’d never do it again? You know what that sounds like, don’t you?”

“I know how it sounds!” You yell, startling Alexi. “I know. This is one of those things where I don’t know if I can tell you the whole story.”

“You better tell me everything you can or I’m dragging you out of this castle.”

Alcina growls low in her throat and is about to make herself known until she hears you begin to speak again.

“It’s hard to explain without putting them in danger. But Alexi, it wasn’t her fault. She didn’t lose control on her own. She was pushed past her breaking point. Never for a moment did she ever want to hurt me.” You say as your eyes begin to fill with tears. “Alcina loves me. I know you have a hard time believing it, but she does. I’ve seen a side of her that I don’t know if she’s ever shown anyone else. Yes, she’s this tall, imposing, intimidating, scary woman to some people. But I don’t see that when I look at her. When I look at her, I see the woman who cradled me every time I was hurt. The flirt who teased me for weeks before taking me to bed. The one who knows me better than I know myself some days. Yes, she’s hurt me. More than just physically. But she’s beaten herself up so many times and has gone above and beyond to make it up to me. When I look at her, I see the woman who lets me see the most vulnerable parts of herself. After I got this scar, she took care of me. She sobbed over me for hours. Alexi, she hated herself for what she did. She still hasn’t forgiven herself.”

“Have you forgiven her?”

“Yes.”

“Why did she get pushed past her breaking point? You make it sound like someone else did it.”

“Because someone else did.”

“Who? Was it the person that’s a problem you wouldn’t tell me about earlier?”

“Yes.”

“You need to tell me who.”

You look down at your lap. This is one of those questions you’re not sure if you’re putting Alexi, yourself, or anyone else in danger by answering truthfully. But you also know that your best friend will never trust you again if you don’t tell him. Taking a deep inhale, you exhale the answer in a quiet breath.

“Mother Miranda.”

Alcina clenches her jaw. She was not happy that you told Alexi that Mother Miranda was the cause of the events that day. It’s her gut-instinct to protect Mother Miranda’s image, to praise her and pledge loyalty to her, always. This gut instinct was something that never quite sat right with Alcina deep down, but until you came along she was able to shove those feelings aside so effortlessly she forgot they once existed. Now, it stares her in the face every day. Even though she’s not able to completely admit it to herself, each interaction with the Holy Mother is worse and worse. For now, she lets your conversation continue as the war inside of her rages on.

The silence that followed was not something you were expecting from Alexi, so you raise your eyes to see him staring at you wide-eyed and in shock.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“What did she do?”

“I can’t tell you. But please, trust me. Do not underestimate her. She is powerful, insanely powerful and I don’t know if anything could really ever stop her. But Alexi, you can’t tell anyone that she is dangerous. If she finds out that you are going against her she will have you killed or worse. I can’t lose you. So please, just keep doing what you’ve been doing. Go to the weekly mass, say the prayers, don’t make yourself a target, please.”

“I won’t. I promise.” He says as he takes a sip from the bottle and hands it back to you.

“Thank you.”

“So you really love her?”

Alcina’s ears perk up, the internal battle being set aside once again for now.

“Yes. I love her so much.”

“You think you’ll marry her?”

“I honestly don’t know. I have no idea how that would work, or if we would even be able to. But even if we didn’t, I would be happy spending the rest of my life with her in any way I could.”

Laying her hand over her heart, Alcina smiles at your response. She wants nothing more than to spend the rest of your mortal life with you. It fills her with such warmth and happiness knowing that you feel the same way.

“Will you ever get the gift?”

“Oh god no.”

“Why not?”

“Well, Mother Miranda is the one who gives them and first, she doesn’t like me nearly enough for me to become a Lord or something. Secondly, it doesn’t always work.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sometimes people are given the ‘gift’ and bad things happen. They die, or worse.”

“What’s worse?”

“Something worse than death.”

“The only thing that’s worse than death would be becoming a lycan and -” Alexi stops and his jaw drops. “Oh my god. Is that what’s been happening to the villagers that become lycans? She does that to them?”

“I can’t tell you.” You say, but the look you give him lets him know the truth. He goes to speak and you cut him off. “Alexi none of this can ever be repeated. Okay?”

“Alright, I promise, I won’t tell anyone.” He says, taking a sip of the bottle.

At this point, the two of you are just passing the bottle back and forth. The game you started out playing has long been abandoned.

“I can’t believe you really love her.” Alexi says.

“I know, I never expected it, but I do. I really, really do.”

Alexi goes to speak but is interrupted by the bells ringing, signaling the new hour. Alcina takes this as the perfect opportunity to make her presence known. The sound of her heels on the marble floors reaches the two of you and you both freeze. When she stands in front of the alcove, you and Alexi stare up at her like a pair of kids who were caught doing something they shouldn’t. Your cheeks burn with the slight embarrassment of being caught and Alexi looks terrified.

“Well, well. What do we have here?” She asks as she eyes the two of you.

“H-hey.” You say with a sheepish smile. “Nothing, we were just catching up.”

“Mhm. Catching up with a bottle of my wine?” Alcina asks as she grabs the bottle and inspects the label. Noticing it’s one of her better wines, she rolls her eyes and shakes her head at you. “As if Heisenberg hasn’t gone through enough of my good wine and liquor tonight. Where did you even get this from?”

“I’ll tell you but you promise you won’t get mad?”

Rolling her eyes at you, she reluctantly agrees. “Yes, I will not get mad.”

“I took it from a servant who was about to start passing out wine.”

“What a bad girl you are, draga.” Alcina says with a hint of teasing in her tone. Your heartbeat picks up when she calls you ‘bad girl’ and she smirks when she hears it. “Some of your guests are leaving and are requesting your presence.”

“Oh okay.” You say, shooting Alexi an apologetic look.

As you go to stand you stumble. The moment you stand up the wine decides to hit you all at once. Alcina moves to grab you and keep you steady with a firm grasp around your waist. Holding onto her arm for dear life, you can’t help but giggle.

“I think I might be a little too drunk to say goodbye right now.” You say as your giggling fit continues.

“Yes, it does seem that way.” Alcina says with a smile.

Alexi goes to stand and you offer him your hand. He’s a little wobbly when he stands, but still more stable than you are. Alcina gives him a look to leave and once he’s steady on his feet, he clears his throat.

“I should probably head back down to the party.”

“Okay.” You say with a smile.

Alexi gives you a hug before he leaves but Alcina’s hand stays firm at your side.

“So,” You begin to say, turning towards Alcina. “How much of that conversation did you hear?”

“Enough.”

“Are you mad at me?”

“No, draga. I am not.”

“Well that’s go-”

Alcina lifts you in her arms and pins you against the wall. Before you know it, her lips crash into yours and she kisses you fiercely. Your head spins, and not from the wine, and you moan into her mouth.

Once you need to breathe, Alcina pulls away but stays close enough so her nose nuzzles against yours.

“You look so incredibly beautiful tonight, draga. I’ve been waiting to do this since the moment I laid eyes on you.”

Before you can even respond, her lips are on yours again and her tongue is parting your lips, dancing with yours. One of her hands rests on the back of your head and you wrap your arms around her neck.

Her lips leave yours again and Alcina keeps you close.

“I love you so much, iubirea mea. I will never let any harm come to you ever again.” She begins to kiss down your jaw. “I will never let anyone hurt you. No one will ever harm you again.”

“I’m guessing you heard -”

“Yes.” She breaths, her hot breath ghosting across your flush skin. “You are mine.” Alcina’s kisses travel down your neck. “Mine. Mine and no one else’s. No one will ever lay a hand on you again.”

Arching your neck to give her more access, the dizziness from the wine evaporates into love and lust for the woman pressed against you.

“I’m yours, Alcina. Only yours. Forever.”

A growl rips through Alcina’s throat and she holds you tighter, even more possessively. Her purring grows louder and you can tell that your words are stirring up a lot of feelings in both Alcina and her dragon.

“Mine.” She growls.

“Yours.”

Pulling back from your skin, Alcina’s eyes are a bright golden yellow. They capture your attention, unable to look away from the molten gold in her irises. Alcina begins to pull you away from the wall and you notice she takes off in the opposite direction of the ballroom.

“But the guests -”

“To hell with them.” She growls low. “I am taking you to bed. Right this instant before I rip that beautiful dress off of your body in this hallway.” Your cheeks redden more, and not from the alcohol. “Unless you would prefer for me to take you right here.”

“N-no.” You stutter, caught off guard by her statement. “The bedroom sounds lovely.”

Alcina raises an eyebrow at you and smirks. Her golden eyes are swirling with love, lust, and a pure desire, a nearly animalistic need to be close to you in every way possible. The look in her eye stirs up a heat in your belly and you cling to her tighter, eager with anticipation as the two of you reach her chamber doors.

[lurkingshan]

Japanese QL Corner

Another show just wrapped up, but a new one takes its place next week. Takara and Mitsuya have really become the bright spots for me in this current run of shows; they make excellent bookends for the week in jql. Of the five shows airing now, four are streaming weekly on Gaga and the other is available via fansub.

Takara's Treasure

What a fantastic episode of a show that continues to get better and better. The way this story has slowly built our understanding of these characters, and their understanding of each other, is masterful and so rewarding. I really loved the direct conversation they had about Takara's post-graduation plans and what it means for them, as well as Taishin getting to the heart of things and reassuring Takara that his desire is welcome. I'm excited to get a peek at Taishin's family next week and see how they navigate whatever challenges they bring.

Cosmetic Playlover

Farewell to this very pretty show whose story did not make much of an impression on me in the end. It never found a coherent relationship arc or gave us any foundation for this romance to hang onto, and it didn't live up to the dark and sexy tone of its original promotion. But it gave us a lot of beautiful visuals!

I Hear the Sunspot

We've now spent an entire month on repetitive side plots designed to separate and cause insecurity for Kohei and Taichi, and I am over it. I understand that the show is faithfully adapting the manga, but this is the thing about adaptations: when you switch to a new medium you have to adapt the work to fit the new format. When you read a manga you can speed through side plots designed to stretch out the story, but you can't do that in a weekly airing drama. And yes, I have seen the arguments that this is primarily a coming of age story about finding yourself, but it's not doing that well, either. This job falling out of the sky for Taichi and his boss—who we are meant to read as someone with good intentions—encouraging him to drop out of school immediately to work full-time is a strange development. That it once again set off a spiral of Kohei and Taichi feeling insecure about their friendship and misunderstanding each other only makes it worse. I understand the intention: we are supposed to be getting that Taichi is embarrassed about this job because it's tied to his still ill-defined feelings for Kohei. But they haven’t unpacked his hang ups with admitting (or understanding?) that he likes Kohei back enough for that to land. We've spent so much time sitting with Taichi's broody confusion without gaining any deeper insight into its source or seeing him grow, which makes all of this just feel like stalling instead of important character work.

Mr. Mitsuya's Planned Feeding

gif by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

*sobs* Welp, the penultimate angst has definitely arrived. They distracted me with the possibility of dog death (Frito lives! THANK GOD) before sucker punching me with Mitsuya pre-emptively rejecting Ishida before their relationship could go further. And while I often roll my eyes at this kind of noble idiocy in the penultimate chapter of a romance, I think it's well-grounded in this story. Mitsuya has been worried about whether a relationship between them is right since he learned about Ishida's feelings, and on the heels of this blow about Frito's health and his sense that he burdened Ishida with this problem, he is feeling his age and his melancholy more than ever. He sees Ishida as a bright and beautiful young person that he would only drag down, and he does not yet understand that it was meeting him that brought this out in Ishida in the first place. The way he apologized and berated himself for asking Ishida to stay then hugged himself for that whole horrible conversation said it all. This also sets us up nicely for Ishida to finally make himself clear and do a classic jbl run next week (this show is ending too soon, I'm going to miss it so much). Thanks as always to @isaksbestpillow for providing her wonderful subs so we can all enjoy this beautiful drama. You can find the ep here.

Tagging @bengiyo to add this week's anime update.

[wileys-russo]

Could you maybe write something where alessia is dating leahs sister or something? Like alessia and reader fight and leah overhears and trys to protect y/n going straight into overprotective big sister mode.

miscommunication II a.russo x williamson!reader

miscommunication II a.russo

“hey, baby you played brilliantly.” you sat down beside your girlfriend and murmured, placing a hand on your leg. “get off.” the taller blonde warned quietly, shoving your hand off her leg and shuffling away from you further down the bench.

most of the team had filtered out by now, no one really wanting to sit around and reflect on the 4-0 flogging they’d just taken from chelsea which had cost them precious points at this stage of the season.

you however had been absolutely no help to them.

picking up a concussion after you’d not been paying attention in training and ran right into the goal post when trying to go in for a tackle had meant you’d been benched this week for monitoring.

much as you had protested the decision there wasn't a chance your sister would let you risk any sort of injury, the blonde captain of your national team simply fixing you with her infamously stern glare any time you tried.

“lessi-“ you tried again, moving back closer to your girlfriend as she started to take off her boots and socks. “don’t.” was all she mumbled before you could even say a word, again shuffling away from you and shoving her shoes and socks into the kit bag at her feet.

“love please you’re being way too hard on yourself it’s a team sport and you-“ you reached out toward her, flinching as she shoved your hand away and stood suddenly.

“can’t you take a hint? just stay away from me.” your girlfriend snapped, a move incredibly out of character for the normally kind and well mannered blonde you’d fallen in love with, slinging her bag over her shoulder and storming out of the change rooms, drawing the attention and concern of several of your team mates who watched on.

"hey maybe just let her cool-" you heard jen start to warn but never one to believe in leaving things unresolved you ignored her.

chasing after the striker and grabbing her shoulder you tensed as she she spun around and advanced on you instead, having you stumbling backwards.

“i don’t want to hear the same shit you spew every week about how it’s a team sport and no one has a bad game and we can pick ourselves up-“ the taller girl started, practically chest to chest with you now backed up against the wall as a frown etched itself into your eyebrows at her aggressive demeanour.

“you didn’t even play! not that you’d have been any help anyway with how reckless and careless you are half the time which is how you ended up concussed in the first place. you’d have probably cost us a fifth goal!” your stomach dropped at the harsh words, coming from anyone else your skin was thick enough to brush it off, but coming from her? it hurt.

unknown to both you and alessia you weren’t the only one who overheard, your older sister hearing the blondes harsh words and immediately following the source of the noise.

“less baby if this is about what you asked me before please just can we sit down and talk about it? you ran off before you even gave me a chance to-” you grabbed her hands hoping to try and bring her back to baseline but it was no use as she snatched them away.

the girl had caught you off guard during warm ups and had asked you an extraordinarily important question. but not expecting it you'd panicked and blurted out the first thing that came to mind, though before you had time to explain your reasoning she was called back onto the pitch.

“no actually we can’t. you made yourself very clear and if i’m honest it’s got me thinking about it we even have a future if you can’t even consider something like that.” she snapped pushing at your chest as you tried to hug her, clearly frustrated from a shit game and your earlier argument as you felt tears prick at the corner of your eyes at the thought of losing her.

“oh and here come the waterworks! that’s convenient isn’t it? the moment something doesn’t go your way you just cry about it. you made me feel about two centimeters tall before and you didn't seem to care then, you’re pathetic.” with that she shoved your chest one last time and turned to leave, only to be met with the burning glare of your very infuriated and incredibly overprotective older sister who’d heard everything as she raced down the hallway.

“what the fuck did you just say to her?” leah growled, balling alessia’s shirt in her fists and harshly pushing her against the wall as a few more of the girls poked their heads out of the change rooms at the commotion.

“get off me leah you haven’t got a clue so why don’t you just keep your nose out of it for once!” alessia snapped as she struggled to break out of the older girls grip, who may have been shorter but sure as hell wasn’t letting her go that easy.

a brief shock flickered across the captains face at the tone and harsh words from the normally soft spoken girl, but all of that disappeared the moment her eyes glanced right and she saw the tear tracks down your cheeks.

“i don’t care if we lose ten to nothing you do not ever speak to her like that you hear me? as her girlfriend, as her friend, as her team mate as anything. far as i can see alessia you’re the pathetic one!" leah shouted as alessia's face paled.

"she did nothing but cheer for you that entire game less, she has always been your biggest fan. and then you’re gonna come here after a piss poor performance by the entire team and take your frustration with that out to rip her down? think again.” your sister growled as alessia struggled to push her off to no success at all.

"lee just get off her, it's a misunderstanding please let her go!" you tried to pry your sisters hands off but she elbowed you away with a shake of her head.

“what did i say to you when you both started dating hm? what did i say alessia? what did you promise me?” leah spat, pushing her against the wall with a loud thump as she saw red and her jaw clenched. “to treat her with respect.” alessia mumbled, wincing as leahs grip tightened, her hand moving to tug on her collar now restricting her airway.

“does that look like she’s been treated with some fucking respect alessia? does it?” leah growled, forcing the blonde to look at you as jen and beth stepped in to try and pull the older girl away. “leah just let her go please it’s fine.” you finally spoke, your voice cracking as you looked at her pleadingly.

“leah thats enough now. let her go!” kim warned seriously as leah’s eyes looked to you, softening at the pleading look on your face as she released the taller striker who immediately bent over coughing and spluttering trying to catch her breath.

“i have never been so disappointed in someone i trust and call a close friend alessia, never.” leah bent down to deliver one final blow, ignoring everyone else who shoved her away.

“we’re going, come.” leah ordered firmly, slinging an arm over your shoulder and dragging you off, your eyes meeting your girlfriends for a fleeting moment as she sat on the ground drinking water before you turned the corner and she was gone.

~

“would you like to tell me what that was about now please?” your sister asked much more calmly as she pulled into the driveway of your shared flat, the drive home being filled with a suffocating and uncomfortable silence as leah tried to calm herself down.

"you shouldn't have done that." was all you responded with a shake of your head, unbuckling yourself and hastily exiting her car. with a sigh leah did the same, unlocking the car after her and following you inside your shared home.

"shouldn't have stuck up for you? tough luck kid, that's my job." leah warned, following you to your bedroom and sticking her foot in the door as you tried to close it. "just leave me alone." you mumbled into your pillow as you belly flopped into your bed.

"come on. we both know alessia and no matter how much i want to go back and yell at her some more that was out of character for her even after a loss. so what happened?" leah sat down on the edge of your bed, poking at you until you smacked her hands away with a huff and rolled onto your back, covering your face with your arms.

"she asked me to move in with her before the game and i said no." you mumbled quietly, leah pausing for a second to make sure she heard you correctly.

"right, i see." leah nodded slowly. "it doesn't at all excuse how she treated you and i'm still angry with her. but why did you say no?" your sister finished more softly, tapping your leg as you shuffled over and she laid down beside you.

"well cause you need me here, that's the whole reason i moved out of my place and in with you anyway when my lease ended." you quickly excused as leahs head swiveled sideways with a raised eyebrow. "you do! you can't cook, you don't clean, you never go shopping, you-" you started to list things off.

"okay okay no. i can cook, i can clean, i can go shopping. and as for what i know is coming next i don't need you like that anymore. you've been there for me through all of this and through rehab and my surgery but i'm coming out the other side now, i can do things for myself and i've missed that independance." leah smiled sadly, knowing that wasn't the real reason you'd said no.

"plus you hate living with me we argue like twenty two hours of the day." your sister playfully shoved your head making you roll your eyes. "i don't hate it." you mumbled with a sigh. "what's the real reason? no bullshit. you know i can see through you when you lie anyway!" leah pointed out truthfully as you again shrugged and stated it was nothing.

"right, you leave me no choice then." leah grunted as she pulled herself into a sitting position and you gave her a weird look. "what?" you questioned.

"if you won't tell me the truth then i guess we have to do the lie detector like when we were little." leah sighed as your eyes widened and you tried to roll off the bed but your sister was too fast.

"leah no!" you grunted as she sat on top of you and pinned your arms under her knees. "you want to live with me instead of your girlfriend? lie!" leah yelled, poking her bony fingers into your ribs and making you wheeze and struggle to shove her off.

"you told her no because of me? lie!" she yelled again and continued as you furiously tried to push her away. "okay okay fine! get off me and get those bony little sausages away from me." you huffed as she finally let you up, collapsing back down beside you.

"god you're the worst." you groaned, bruises more than likely already forming from the assault. "that sounds like a lie?" leah half sat up as you hurriedly pushed her away making her laugh.

"so, why'd you tell her no then? the truth."

"i'm scared." you admitted, burying your face in your hands in embarrassment. "of what? that girl looks at you like you hung the moon and the stars in the sky, its quite sickening really." leah sighed wrenching your hands away.

"well we obviously got together during the euros, then she went back to manchester and i came back to london. we made that work, didn't see each other every day of course but still stayed strong and together." you started as leah hummed.

"then we went to the world cup together, that was fine, things were good. again, with training schedules and room assignments we still had time together and separate." you continued.

"then she moved to arsenal, and of course to london. we see each other all the time, we actually get to have date nights and our time together is just as meaningful as when we were doing distance only this time its so much easier." you sighed, leah still nodding along.

"but we're still able to have time apart. if we move in together we'll see each other at training and at games and then we'll come home and be together like all day every day. i don't want her to get sick of me or for us to fight more or well you know..." you trailed off again burying your face in your hands.

"break up?" leah winced, knowing exactly why this was a fear of yours given its exactly what had happened to her and jordan, something she had seemingly been a little too honest with you about.

"yeah." you sighed, dragging your hands down your face with a huff. "but all i said was no and then she got called away for the game and then we lost and well you already know the rest." leah nodded, a silence falling between the two of you.

before either of you could break it there was a few knocks at the door. "i'll get it." your sister stood up, leaving you behind to wallow in your pity as she pulled open the door, eyebrows shooting up in surprise at the blonde before her.

"hi leah." alessia mumbled, nervously playing with her hands as the older blondes features hardened. "is she here?" your girlfriend asked quietly, leah just staring her down silently. "leah i am so sorry for what i said, i didn't mean a word of it but i need to let her know that please." alessia begged, leah's jaw clenching.

"wait here." and with that the door closed right back into the strikers face.

"it's less." leah leaned in the door frame of your bedroom with her arms crossed as you sat right up. "wait! are you sure? you don't want to give it a little bit of time?" your sister hinted blocking your door. "no i don't. leah i love you and i know you mean well and you will always be my big bad scary sister. but you owe her an apology as well, think it over." you patted her shoulder and ducked under her arm.

your sister giving you your space headed to her own room, though not before giving alessia a very stern glare as you took a deep breath and opened the door.

"hey." "hi." "could i please come in?" you moved aside to let her in, the two of you moving to the living room and taking a seat on the lounge, leaving a fair space between you both.

"i'm really sorry- "i am so sorry-"

you both stopped and shared a small smile, faces both flushed bright red as you nodded for alessia to start.

"so i very obviously owe you an apology. i-look it's not an excuse by any means but i was so confused and frustrated with you saying no and then we lost and i played terribly. i was just...angry and hurt and i lashed out at you which was so unfair." alessia sighed, rubbing her cheeks with her hands.

"but none of what i said was true or right or okay. please i promise you that's not at all how i look at you or how i want you to think of yourself." she pleaded, shuffling a little closer and when you didn't move away she gently placed a hand on your knee.

"it's not. i'm not saying that what you said or how you reacted is okay but i understand you weren't thinking right. i should have recognized you needed some space to cool off before trying to push you into a conversation, and i'm sorry for that." alessia's shoulder visibly sagged in relief as your hand came to rest atop hers.

"so can i ask why you said no to moving in with me?" alessia asked, and you could easily see the disappointment she was trying to hide behind her bright blue eyes.

"when we were doing distance it was hard but it made me appreciate what time we did have together so much, and the same went during tournaments when we'd get the fleeting moments off together just the two of us to go and explore or have a coffee or even just sit and talk." you started to explain, the blonde following your every word.

"then you joined arsenal and moved to london and please i'm not saying i'm not grateful for having you so much closer and being able to see you every single day because i really am. and i know that you moving clubs was not just because of me by any means." you clarified quickly, squeezing her hand which laid dormant on your knee still.

"but i started to panic that if we already played together, trained together, did national camps together and then lived together that, well that we could fight more or you could get sick of me and we might break up and i really don't want that to happen!" you rushed out your final few sentences, afraid of what her reaction might be.

"oh love." alessia gave you a pained smile, moving her hand so that your fingers interlocked. "i could never ever get sick of you, we could spend every minute of every day together for the rest of my life and i would die a very happy woman." she pressed a few soft kisses to your knuckles.

"i can see why you panicked i probably could have started the conversation in a better way and a better time. i do really want us to move in together, but if you're not ready that's okay too." the striker promised as you nodded.

"i'm ready. i love you, but we have to make sure we work on our communication and our trust so that things like this don't happen again." you answered gently as your girlfriend eagerly agreed.

"and if you ever speak to me like that again i won't need leah because i'll knock you out myself." you warned, a smile curling onto the italians lips. "no you wouldn't." she teased lightly. "no i wouldn't, but it doesn't matter because leah would have done it already for me." you added on, alessia's face paling at the thought.

"you're not wrong there." both your heads turned to see the girl in question had returned, stern look on her face. "leah." you sent her a look of your own as she sighed.

"less i'm sorry for getting physical with you but i'm not sorry for standing up for my little sister. i meant it you need to treat her with respect and i'll always be here to remind you if you forget again." your sister warned as alessia nodded furtively and you sighed with a shake of your head.

"you say little as if i'm not only two years younger lee." you groaned as the blonde shrugged, sending alessia one last look and a nod before wandering off to the kitchen. "so we're okay?" your girlfriend asked nervously, taking your hands back into hers.

"yeah we are. i love you." you smiled softly, leaning in to kiss her sweetly, pulling away too soon for the blondes liking as she used your intertwined hands to tug your mouth back to meet hers. until a pillow smacked both of you in the side of the head.

"nah there is to be no making out on my sofa!"

[mikiruie]

𓈒⠀⠀⠀⠀︵︵ ⠀◟ † ◞ ⠀︵︵ㅤ⠀⠀⠀⠀𓈒 ⠀

｡ﾟﾟ･｡･ﾟﾟ｡ ♫₊ ⊹ 𝓼𝓱𝓸𝔀 𝓶𝓮 𝓱𝓸𝔀 : 𝓂𝑒𝓃 𝒾 𝓉𝓇𝓊𝓈𝓉 ﾟ。ꪆ୧. 𝓹𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻 𝓸𝓾𝓽𝓪𝓰𝓮 𓂃 ˖ ˚◞✧

── TETSURŌ KUROO ﹕ 黒尾 鉄朗 ┊͙ HAIKYUU!! ◝✩

𓋜 hq. masterlist // general masterlist.

premise. thunderstorms scare you greatly. but thanks to your cute neighbour, you know you’ll be okay after all.

content. tetsurou kuroo / f!reader. fluff — sfw. reader is a scared of storms, mainly thunder. power outage. set ambiguously post highschool / in a university au setting. some angst if you squint + comfort. neighbours -> lovers.

word count. 4k-ish.

soundtrack. show me how : men i trust.

dedicated to beloved @tetsuskei , happy birthday ! ‹𝟹

écoute chérie! ᰔ updated repost from old bloggie , i haven’t beta it fully and sorry it’s nothing that is quite new but i hope that this one’s still a worthwhile read for you ^_^

03:24

You barely manage to catch the flickering lights of your dining room's lamp glitch out repeatedly from the corner of your eye, the lights inside your dingy apartment appearing to go haywire as constant streams of raindrops pound against the glass of your windows.

With each passing second they seem to multiply tenfold of the previous, their impact upon crashing into each other sometimes merging with one another in sync to form a continuous stream of running water trickling down the brick walls of your complex instead of the constant buzz of millions of tiny water droplets.

The soft glow from your lamp dims momentarily before stalling to a staggering halt. Your hopes of it reigniting by itself are quickly dashed when you see it attempt to start back up again for a few seconds before going completely dead. And after a few seconds of the darkness swallowing your apartment whole a disgruntled sigh escapes your lips as you close your textbook.

“Ah, damn it . . .” You bemoan into the blanketing sea of black ahead of you. “Not again . . .”

Slowly you stand up from your seat at the dining table, cautiously pushing your chair back just a little as to not hit the rest of your furniture before carefully maneuvering your way through the dark of your living room.

“Where the hell did I put that flashlight . . . ?”

You really should've thought to charge your phone and powerbank ahead of time when you heard a thunderstorm was making it's way to your city on the news earlier. Now with a dead cellphone battery and an empty powerbank, you're left to fend for yourself amist the unknown layout of your apartment without a light source.

Scuffling around in the dark, you take a step forward, miscalculating how much distance there is infront of you as you find yourself accidentally ramming your shin against the side of your unusually hard bookshelf, sending you reeling in agonizing pain stomach first and flopping right onto your couch.

Ouch.

Your teeth grind against each other as you hold your shin, wincing while rocking slightly in an attempt to alleviate the pain. “God, that did not sound good . . .” You can't see through the near pitch black lowlight of your apartment, but you're almost certain a nasty bruise may have begun to form on your skin from that.

A few more minutes of stumbling finally merits you to where you had originally intended to end up in the first place— the supply closet.

Feeling around for the door's surface your hand manages to find it's grip onto the smooth metal handle, twisting it open and carefully reaching out into the darkness.

“It should be on the second shelf . . . or was it the third? Fuck, I really can't see anything right now . . .”

Your fingers brush up against the elastic wrist tie of the flashlight (it was on the third shelf after all, go figure) and you impatiently snatch it from off the pile of other assorted junk you've haphazardly thrown in there throughout the years.

All you hear is a soft click within the suffocating silence as you turn on the device before your eyes are bombarded by a bright white flash, the sudden overload causing you to stumble back a bit into the wall of your apartment, blinking repeatedly to soothe the burn in the back of your retinas.

Maybe it's not the best idea to hold a flashlight so close to your face while it's aiming (or pointed) directly into your eyes.

Using your newly gained lightsource you make your way to the fuse box in your kitchen, now being able to easily navigate your way through the dark you give yourself a moment to stop and glare at the corner of your bookshelf that you'd run into earlier.

“Asshole,” you mutter underneath your breath through gritted teeth as you pass it by, as if you’re expecting the sharp piece of oak furniture to respond to you with a mind and voice of it’s own conscience. Though you suppose that’d might be just a little bit creepy considering your current situation.

Opening the fuse box, you shine the glow from your flashlight onto the many circuits housed within, eyes trailing down and scanning each one for the labels of what light they control.

Experimentally switching the one for the living room on, you glance outside your kitchen and into the hallway to check, only to be met with shockingly apparent disappointment as you greet the nothingness of the night that stares right back at you.

Just as a confirmation (and because you're stubborn), you switch a couple more of the circuits on and off repeatedly, disappointment maring your features yet again when they yield no results. “No power at all . . .” You deduce, closing the fuse box’s lid with a begrudging huff.

A deep crackle of thunder booms from the sky outside, startling you as you nearly drop the flashlight in your hands if not for the wrist tie securing it. A few seconds of heaving and checking outside your kitchen's windows— only to see more rain than you could ever possibly need in three lifetimes —causes you to ease up a little.

You feel a chill run down your bare arms, goosebumps rising all over the backs of your legs. The short sleeves and pajama shorts combo you chose to wear tonight probably was not doing much to keep you warm with the raging rain thumping down and the strong winds howling just outside of your apartment.

The sudden sounds of gentle knocking at your door cuts through the silence of your empty apartment, the hairs on your back shooting straight up in surprise. The flashlight in your hand falls and clanks onto the ground, the beam of light switching off on impact.

Cautiously, you make your way over to the door, uneasy as your hands hesitate to lay on the knob. Who else could be up at this late hour?

Your eyes squint through the tiny peephole of your door, zoning in on a familiar head of unruly black hair, donned in a worn out old highschool volleyball hoodie, red and white and matching cat motif logo on the front and back to top it all off. With noticeable bags underneath his eyes matching your own, you can tell that whoever it is has been staying up as late as you have these days.

You can't quite see much or well for that matter through the tiny peephole's space, but he patiently waits outside with an uneasy look on his face, hands shoved into the frayed pockets of his sweater and pacing around anxiously across the small space of your apartment’s door mat.

With your heart rate spiking back down to normal levels, you pick up the dropped flashlight and place it onto your dining table hastily before slowly opening the door to him. Startled, he jumps back a little once he actually sees you in front of him, as if he wasn't expecting you to be awake at this time.

You give him a polite smile, tired eyes lifting with all the glee you can muster up for him.

"Hey, Kuroo. Nice night, isn’t it?”

He chuckles a little at that, bringing his hands out of his pockets when he does, force of habit. You notice the pearly whites of his canines poking out from his lips when he grins. It suits him well.

“Yeah, it is. And you know I told you that it's okay to call me Tetsurou.”

"Right, right. My bad.” You jest, and his smile then melts away slightly, molding itself into a more worried expression that soon dawns his handsome face. “You doing alright?” He asks you worriedly, craning his head aside to check the dark of your apartment.

His voice has a low timber to it, quiet to not disturb the neighbours you presume, but you also like to think it’s to soothe your own jittery nerves. “Heard the entire building's power just got wiped by the storm.” He informs. “Was told by the front desk that it won't be back for another few hours.”

Of course it won't be back for awhile, the electricians can't really do much while the thunderstorm rages outside. You doubt anyone in the building who was asleep by now would even notice there had been a power outage tonight, most people aren't awake at the acceptable hours of 3AM working on their overly procrastinated capstone projects anyways to even care about the torrential rain pouring just outside their windows.

“Can I come inside?” Tetsurou asks you without a second thought on his mind before stopping himself, hurriedly backtracking himself and tripping over his own words whilst making funny hand gestures to explain his intentions.

What was that sign he just made? It might've meant Apple in JSL, his skittishness makes you giggle into your fist. “I mean, if it's okay with you. I know it's late and all, and that you probably want to sleep but I—”

You cut him off with a giggle of your own. “Tetsurou,” you interrupt, his cheeks dusting a light shade of pink in the darkness when you do.

Your laughter. It sounds just like bells to him, akin to the raindrops that hit your windows with a light tinkle each time they fall from the clouds above. Wind chimes in the raging storm that falls around you two and lighting crackles behind him, illuminating your bright face for him. And despite your groggy disposition, he can still make out the tired pleasure you have in chatting with him through your features.

“I don't mind, you can come inside. You must be cold standing out here,” You offer with a lighthearted chuckle. “I know I am and l'm just in the doorway.”

You take him by the hand, his skin is cold and dry, just as you expected from the frigid air as you guide him into your barely lit apartment.

He stumbles a bit through the front door “H— hey!”trying to remove his shoes by the entrance and laying them by the door mat, bringing with him two large blankets tucked securely under his arms you hadn't noticed him carrying in the darkness.

Tetsurou's eyes take a moment to adjust to the darkness, squinting and zoning in on the little stack of books piled up at your desk, the flashlight you were using placed just beside an open notebook.

“You're still trying to work on that assignment?” He asks, setting the blankets down on a chair as you slide into your own, clicking the flashlight on and shining it down on your pages.

Most of what’s written down in the beginning of the pages is legible albeit a bit messily rushed, soon devolving into unintelligible scribbles that he realized must’ve happened once the power went down.

“Yeah, it's due soon.”

“There's a storm outside.” He states matter of factly, chin folded into the crook of his hands as he leans on the backside of the chair. You resist the urge to roll your eyes at the obviousness of the situation.

“And?”

“Just, come here.” You feel his hand reach out into the darkness, standing you up from the table with mild disagreement from you as he reels you into his side. “Relax with me a little, let's go sit on your couch together. I brought blankets for a reason.”

“I can use one while working at the dinner table.”

The frown that tugs at Tetsurou's lips is barely noticeable in the absence of any light, but he whines audibly to let you know his stance on that statement as he squeezes his arm around you a bit tighter. “That sounds uncomfortable, though.”

“It's fine.”

“But isn't it better to huddle together for warmth?” He suggests playfully, “Y’know, no power n’ heat.”

You think his compromise over for a moment, and he senses the hesitation brewing inside your mind because he adds onto his previous offer with a convincing. “I promise it'll be good.”

Lighting flashes outside your window for a split second, followed by the loud seismic boom of thunder that takes you out of your thoughts and causes you to flinch in his hold. Instinctively he jumps in sync, pulling you into a hug as your heavy breathing fills the silence of your apartment.

Seconds tick by on the clock hanging on your wall, as it seems like the heartbeats of both you and Tetsurou meld into one beat. Your heart thrums in your chest in an uneven marimba of beats, loud and reverberating with the near silent ringing that’s paired with it in your ear.

Tetsurou hesitates to say anything for a moment, unease wracking him before he speaks. “Are you . . .” He looks out the window, his voice drawling on low and quiet even though the only two people here are you and him, as if he's about to ask something he shouldn't. “Are you scared of thunder?”

". . . No."

He pauses with what you can only imagine to be an unconvinced look on his face. “That sounds like a yes to me.”

“I'm an adult.” You huff, trying to break out of his hold and back to your pile of due papers. “I don't get scared by thunder like a little kid.” Tetsurou barely catches the “anymore” you mutter underneath your breath over the screech of you pulling out your chair again. His hold on you not only tightens but he drags you to the couch, much to your protests and complaints.

“Y’know, you're not a very good liar,” he grins cheerfully, plopping you down beside him before reaching over you to drape a thick blanket over your shivering body. Were you always this cold?

You try to move your hands to lift the blanket off, to stand up— but it's unusually heavy.

It traps your arms underneath it, feeling like a net he prepared and used to condemn you to the couch with it’s plush softness and cozy knit material. But in a surprisingly nice and caring way.

“Is this blanket weighted?” You ask and he agrees with a hum, draping the other one he bought over himself with a relaxed sigh before shifting his body closer to yours. Heat radiates off of him, seeping into the couch and warming your chilly figure.

“Yeah, I got them on sale luckily. I've found they're really good for rainy nights.” You can't deny that now that you've gotten a taste of what it’s like to be underneath one of these usually pricy blankets and to have this as almost like a barrier from the cold rain and air outside, you're already warmer than you were just a few moments ago.

You wrap the heavy woolen blanket tighter around your body, inhaling the scent it carries with it in it’s fibres. The fabric smells like him. “Thanks, Tetsurou.”

Another crackle of lighting blasts inside your living room through the window, peeking through the gap of your curtains as thunder follows closely in suit. It's louder this time, and seemed to be a lot closer to your apartment than the other ones from before.

Your hands slam over the cups of your ears to shield them from the thunderous booms, they feel weighed down by the heavy blanket as you bury your head into the thick material, closing them as like an extra precaution from the storm outside.

You don't even realize you're shaking until you feel a hand smooth over you back. Tetsurou's.

You can barely make out his voice with your hands blocking your hearing, only the worried asks of “Are you okay?” It's muffled and quiet, and his hand rubs soothing circles into your back as you barely manage to move your head to a nod. More thunder comes and Tetsurou's eyebrows knit together as you frantically switch to shaking your head no, feeling it drop further into the blanket in shame. Your heart falling out of your ribcage in sync with it as the storm outside won’t stop taunting your shivering self.

The small raindrops that crash against your window feel like they're right up against your ears, the bright lighting that races across the sky's edge stings your eyes to look at it, even if you shut them as tight as can be. And that god awful thunder, the thunder that makes you feel like your dingy apartment might crumble underneath it's roar, crashing to the floors below as the trees outside cave in on you from above.

“This is so embarrassing . . .” Tetsurou hears you mutter as you lift your head off of your lap to face him, fear written all over your features and you look like you're about to cry in the presence of your next-door neighbour.

Your voice cracks, and you think you'd prefer if the floor underneath you did fall through after all. “I just really hate storms . . .”

A weak chuckle escapes your lips as you wipe away the tears that prick at the corners of your eyes, attempting to lighten up the situation for Tetsurou. You don't want to make him feel uncomfortable by crying in front of him when you were the one who invited him in, so you laugh off the uncomfortable twinge in your chest for his sake.

“I guess I really am like a little kid,” You joke lightly, a whine trailing off the tail end of your sentence. “Look at me, afeaid of thunder and lighting like I'm still four.”

Tetsurou doesn't laugh at your self deprecating jab, and you feel your stomach drop at the suffocating lack of a response.

Would you have preferred if he laughed? No, not really— but it felt awkward to have only silence between the two of you in the heat of the moment. His eyes seem to twinkle in the darkness when he blinks and he wraps an arm around you before pulling you into his chest, you let out an alarmed squeak involuntarily from his actions, and the heartbeat in your chest magnifies to the sound of the thunder that you're so scared of outside.

His own heartbeat is loud too, now that he has you leaning on his chest like this. The wild thumping and beating, is that from you? You feel stupid for getting excited over that possibility, but as you look up from your spot you catch his eyes, tired and still beautiful as both his arms envelope you in a deep hug.

He covers your ears with the palms of his hands, splotches of red blush and heat crawls up the skin of his neck and ears in the darkness, and he leans into the crook of your neck with a ticklish sigh.

“It's okay,” he reassures you quietly, flinching when you snuggle deeper into his chest, the scent of his home shirt being the same as the one on the blanket he brought over but much stronger.

The refreshing smell of clean linen from his laundry detergent sticks to the thin cotton material of his shirt, and you can't stop yourself from blurting out “Did you just do the laundry before coming over?” out of nowhere.

This time it's his turn to laugh nervously. “Yeah . . .” He reveals, his head resting atop yours, taking in the scent of your shampoo. It fills his senses, it's not overpowering or overwhelming at all.

Maybe because it's you.

“I didn't want to smell bad when I came over . . . Is that— is that bad?”

“. . . No,” you decide, a content smile tugging at your lips as you let your head lay on his chest. “It’s not.”

Suddenly the loud sounds of the storm that had you once afraid and cowering in fear seem to become drowned out from Tetsurou's cupped hands over your ears, but you know they're just as strong now than they were earlier— and perhaps even stronger as the night drags on. But in Tetsurou's embrace, underneath the blankets he brought from home that smell just like him, wrapped up in his arms and snuggled up against his chest; you think you'll be okay.

“Please stay with me,” you eke out without thinking, and a part of you hopes he didn't hear because you're worried you'll ruin the tranquility of whatever you have now— reminding you that this moment is only temporary.

That all will be over by tomorrow morning when the technicians come to fix the apartment's power outage at 6AM, and you'll both go back to treating each other as just kindly neighbours like before.

That you'll pretend you never snuggled together when you had no power and no heat, and you never said the words you're about to say to him now.

"Please, don't go . . .”

To your surprise, a soft kiss is pressed to the crown of your forehead as Tetsurou's wild hair tickles at your skin, the erratic beat of his heart thumping wildly in your eardrums. He looks just as nervous as you do, lips suddenly dry and throat closed up when he tries to speak.

After a disgruntled groan, the two of you laugh as once more does lightning flash across the sky, with thunder coming in it's place moments later, hand in hand as always. Just as you expected.

But this time you're not scared, not when he next whispers out the words you've longed to hear since you were a little kid during these storms, not when he cuddles you closer to his chest and brings his lips close to yours before tilting your chin up and capturing you in the sweetest of kisses, his lips perfectly molding to fit yours as he mutters in between the short breaths of air with a smile that rivals the brightness of the lighting you were so scared to gaze into from outside the windows.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he assures you, and you believe him wholeheartedly. “Don't worry.”

Raindrops continue to fall from outside, thunder and lightning work as a terrifying duo in sync as they torment the nature. But it all seems significantly less scary now.

Underneath the onslaught of rain, with the continuous lightning and thunder you've feared since childhood, and the annoying lack of power— you found something able to strike against even the worst of thunderstorms. Something much better to indulge your night in than your assignments that lay long forgotten beside your flashlight on the dining table far away from you and Tetsurou on the couch, warm underneath the blankets together bundled up to escape the cold air.

You found Tetsurou Kuroo.

reblogs ++ comments are greatly appreciated !! ꒰ ˆ ᗜ ˆ ˶ ꒱

© property of mikiruie 2024. all rights reserved.

[djarins-cyare]

Held Is The Seed for the fic asks game, please! <3

Hi lovely Caroline! ❤️ Thanks for the ask and sorry it’s taken me a while to get to it. I’m offering a snippet further down as compensation 😇

The title Held Is The Seed comes from a quote by John Harrigan: “Happiness held is the seed, happiness shared is the flower”. There’s no specific line in the fic that refers to it (at least, not yet), but it seemed appropriate because Din has always hunted his bounties alone, whereas in this fic, he’s teamed up with someone else. Still, he keeps himself relatively closed off from her, essentially holding the seed of his happiness close to his chest. It’s only when he fully opens up and shares himself with her (in traditional smutty fanfic fashion 😏) that his happiness has a chance to bloom.

It’s basically a four-part smut-fest. The concept is that they’re in a cantina (separately so as not to appear conspicuous or too threatening) to locate a potential source and get some intel. Reader is bored and drinking, and she gets chatted up by a random guy. He notices that she keeps glancing at the Mandalorian in the corner, assumes he’s got competition, and claims Mandos make poor lovers. Reader vaguely thinks Din is attractive but assumes he’s kind of sexless, but she defends his honour nonetheless and invents a few stories about him to shut her would-be suitor up…

“How would you know?” you challenge. “Maybe there are loopholes. Maybe he can take it off in the dark or if his partner wears a blindfold. Maybe he’s the best damn lay in this bar, and women tell stories about his legendary talent with his tongue. Did you consider that?” With your attention now entirely on Zabrak(ish), you can’t see Mando’s reaction to your somewhat lewd suggestions, but you can imagine he’s probably shocked. The two of you banter occasionally, but you know him to be a sweet guy when he hasn’t got his gruff hunter guise on, and you bet this kind of talk makes him blush. The one time you’d mentioned anything carnal in front of him, he had awkwardly slunk off to the cockpit and hidden for a few hours. You, however, are enjoying the expression on Zabrak(ish)’s face. It’s equal parts annoyed that you’re defending his rival and worried that you might be right and he’s lost the game. Hilarious. You need to press more. Swishing the whiskey in your glass, you take a swig and raise an eyebrow. “You wondered why I was looking at him. Maybe I’ve heard rumours. A Mandalorian in silver armour, the best in the parsec at licking and dicking. Fights well, fucks well.” You risk a glance at Mando and see he has his back to you now and is with a shifty-looking guy who is speaking furtively. The informant. You’re glad he’s distracted, to be honest. Maybe it’s better he doesn’t hear what you’re saying about him. It might reveal your desires, and since you work and live with this man, you shouldn’t complicate things. Zabrak(ish) now seems torn between erupting in anger or collapsing in tears. But emboldened by your success so far and the knowledge that Mando can’t hear, you decide to weave another false scenario to illustrate to this guy why he shouldn’t make assumptions about your partner. “And even if the helmet never comes off, maybe he’s got other talents. Knows exactly how and where to use his fingers to make a woman come in seconds. Talks so deliciously dirty through the modulator that he can get her off without even touching her. Has a huge cock and knows how to use it. And by the way, the whole mysterious armoured warrior thing is seriously attractive. So sorry, pal, you’re outmatched on this one.”

I’m sure you can see where this is going!

Din has, in fact, overheard, and he later offers to prove Reader’s speculations correct one by one. First with just his voice (dirty talk ahoy!), next with his fingers, then with his tongue, and lastly with his dick.

There’s a tiny snippet here from an old WIP challenge post taken from a paragraph near the end of the dirty talk scene. Depending on whether this gets much interest (which I doubt because I’m not tagging anyone), I may post something a little spicier later, but let’s just say Din finds an innovative use for that ridge along his shoulder pauldron… 😳

[kinopio-writes]

A/N: Decided to answer these two in one go. Screenshotted, lol. 3rd POV and the reader is referred to as they/it like last time. Also, I’m gonna be honest with you, after the last Adam post, I started to find his relationship with Sera and Lute intriguing. They both make an appearance (separately).

I just found out. Apparently, Sera and Emily are sisters (just with huge age gaps)? Well, I never viewed them as actual mother and daughter, but I was leaning more towards motherly-figure Sera. Kept it vague.

Words: 1,404 (not including the bullet points)

Warnings: Swearing (surprisingly not as vulgar as pt.1)

———

More Adam w/ a Child!Reader

• to solidify my statement that Adam wouldn’t just give the child away to someone else—along with the points I said in the previous Adam post—is because he didn’t want to seem incapable and, God forbid, ask for help?

• uh-uh. No way

• also, I don’t really see their first word being “papa”

• because of Adam, the kid cursing as their first word seems pretty on-brand

• not to mention that I don’t think they were with many people other than Adam, Lute, possibly Sera, and maybe his friends, too

• if he even has any

• and this isn’t even slander (when Charlie said, haven’t you had a night of drinking with friends after a rough night, he neither confirmed nor denied it. Not exactly the most reliable proof, but I take whatever I get)

• so, yeah, they were stuck with Adam’s vocabulary, unfortunately

• but for the sake of it, I’ll do “papa” as their first word (“fafa”, actually. You’ll get it when you read it)

Also, uh, heavily focused on Adam. Again. I mean, you can’t really do much with a child!reader in regards to personality, so.

———

Adam sat comfortably on his chair outside his balcony, his hand carrying Adam Jr. while the other was mindlessly plucking at his wings’ loose feathers. He would let them fall onto the floor after collecting a pile of them on his lap, finding that to be the only source of entertainment he could do without his kid crying.

Before he was going to push his feathers off his lap, a gust of wind blew them off for him and they flew over the edge of his balcony. All of his previous feathers slipped through the railing’s gaps as well.

His hand lingered mid-air as he looked up to see Sera land next to him. “Holy shit.” He instantly became more animated, a grin forming on his face as he stood up. “Y’know, I keep forgetting that anyone can just waltz in here.”

“Good evening to you, too, Adam.”

He bit back from replying rudely, instead choosing to place his hand on his hip while he held Adam Jr. closer to him. “Yeah, whatever.”

Sera then went on to dramatically stare down at the scenery above the city of Heaven, hands folded in front of her as Adam waited for her to say something. He got impatient after a few seconds.

“What’s up your ass?”

She turned her head to face him and furrowed her brows. He only rolled his eyes, the corner of his mouth twitching downward into a grimace as he slightly turned his head away from the head seraphim. Her attention was instantly directed to the baby in his arms. “Do you mind if I hold it?”

Adam jerked back at the sudden ask. “Uh, weird request…but you do you.” When he didn’t attempt to move, Sera leaned down and took the sleeping child from his secured arms, standing back to her height as she observed their peaceful slumber.

Quite a surprise, frankly. She didn’t think Adam was capable of handling something so fragile as life for more than a day, let alone a whole year.

The feeling of a baby in her arms made her reminisce about the time when Emily was just as little.

“The concept of birth is astonishing…”

“ʼKay…?”

“Having a child is one of God’s greatest blessings...”

“Uh-huh.”

“You must be very proud…”

“Uh, yeah…sure…”

“It even has your wings.”

“Y’know, this is starting to feel a little one-sided right now.”

“What I’m trying to say is—” Sera seemed to have gotten out of her sentimental trance and narrowed her eyes at the man below her, “—you are fortunate to have this child, Adam.” She slowly returned the child to its father and watched as Adam held them back securely in his arms. “Children grow up faster than you think. Spend your time wisely. It’s not as if you’ll get any older yourself.”

“Mhm, yeah, got it.” The seraphim only hardened her gaze. “Okay! Fatherhood is the best thing ever, time is faster than the speed of light blah blah blah.” He swayed his head from side to side to emphasize each word, shoulders slumped. “Sheesh. Don’t have to be so sensitive over a kid that isn’t yours.”

Sera tightly shut her already parted lips and deeply breathed out through her nose, turning her back on the man and pushing the hair that strayed on her face. She didn’t say anything more and simply stared at the view on his balcony again.

Adam only raised a brow at her unusual behavior.

“So, not that I care or anything, or about your weird touchy-feely icky vibes, but you never told me why you’re here, so, if you could just tell me what I need to know and leave, that’ll be really great—”

“Adam.”

“Okay. Fine.” He held up a hand and lifted his shoulders. “Wallow in your melancholic—whatever this is. It totes ruined my vibes. I’mma dip.” Adam flapped his wings to get himself on the railings as the head seraphim watched him gently fly down with his child.

Sera speculated he would most likely come back after ten minutes. That would hopefully be enough time for her to have a composed mind to have a discussion with the first man.

———

“Say, ‘fuck’.”

He was told that it was smart to teach his kid how to start speaking at this age with pictures and shit. Adam, however, went with his method and sat Adam Jr. and himself on the carpet floor, repeatedly saying what he wanted it to say. He’d been like this for half an hour.

“Fafa!”

He blinked.

“That’s not what I fucking wanted you to say, but, close enough.” He shrugged. “Now say, ‘di—”

•••

It was only after Lute came over that he realized what his kid just said.

“Yeah, so my kid just called me his dad. First words,” Adam spoke with drawled-out speech, inspecting his lack of nails. “Pretty dope,” he accentuated the ‘p’ in ‘dope’

“That’s not what we were talking about, Sir.” Lute had her hands on the edge of the table as they both sat on the carpet floor.

“Uh, does it look like I care?” He had his kid on his lap, playing with it by holding its hands in his and making them punch thin air. “ʼSides, we still have a week to finish this shit.”

Lute only deadpanned at her leader going off-topic to talk about his kid but said nothing more, deciding it was best to let him run out of things to say so they could get some work done without interruption.

———

“Yeah, you little piece of shit, slash ʼem!” Adam’s maniacal and obnoxious laughter bounced around his living room space as Adam Jr. punctured the heads of hand-made figures of sinners with their fake angelic spear (he couldn’t get a real one, unfortunately. They’re only obtainable during the extermination).

Lute happened to walk in on the scene. Adam always left his balcony door open. His neighbors, despite being come-and-goers, continually complained about his loud guitar sequences. He always responded with something about how he was being generous and that they should be happy—heck, blessed that they were getting a free concert without having to pay.

He hasn’t had those arguments lately, though.

She observed him sitting on the cardboard-littered floor with his HolyPhone in hand, assumably recording his child slaughtering the wretched sinners.

He had the biggest smile she’d ever seen on his mask.

“Sir, what are you doing?”

“AH!” he released a guttural yell as he snapped his head over to the source of the voice. “Jeez, Lute—what does it look like I’m doing?”

The lieutenant immediately answered, “Playing with your offspring, Sir.”

“I’m not playing! I had tons of cardboard lying around from my fan mail, and throwing them all away’s a bother.” he defensively retorted. “And, ew, don’t call it offspring. It’s Adam Jr. now. Check it.” Adam clumsily messed with his phone, muttering curses until he found the video he was looking for in his endless album of blurry photos. He showed the screen to Lute, not realizing it wasn’t even playing. “This kid will grow up to be such a badass!”

“But it isn’t meant to be an exterminator, Sir.”

“Uh, so what?” He placed his hands on his hips.

Lute missed a beat when countering, “Sera won’t allow it.”

“Pftt, what? No.” Adam refuted with a wave of his hand. “She so would. I have the proof.” He lifted his phone and shook it for emphasis. “And it’s my extermination, so I do whatever the fuck I want.”

Lute turned her head away momentarily before perking back up. “When it grows up eventually, it’s a possibility.”

“Ah, what? I can’t wait that loooong,” he whined, slumping onto the floor. “Bummer. I mean, imagine a tiny cunt-born exorcist! How cool is that? The first in history!”

She nodded. “With it under your wing, I know that it can learn our ways just as quickly as we slaughter those wretched sinners.”

Adam tapped a finger on his chin, face scrunched in thought before he placed his hands on his hips as he kneeled on the floor. “Hmm, yeah.” He spread out his wings, too lazy to stand up on his own two feet. He then plucked Adam Jr. from the floor by their armpits, deciding to bring them along without much thought. “Let’s go pitch the idea to Sera. And let’s get takeout on the way.”

“Right beside you, Sir.”

[eat-limes-bitches]

Love After War

PAIRING: Female Reader x FATWS! Bucky Barnes

SUMMARY: The mind has a way of playing tricks on you, images you thought to be real are just a figment of your past. But how to get back to the present?

WARNINGS: Angst, nightmares, PTSD, panic attack, cannon-level violence, torture, smidgen of fluff at the end

Word Count: 1239

A/N: soooooo this was supposed to be the start of my Febuwhump challenge but with the way my life is going right now I won't be able to finish all the prompts by the end of the month, BUT I will post the ones I have done, and I will keep working on some prompts as well but don't expect them to be in order at all.

Prompt: Helpless

Enjoy! <3

Divider by Rookthorne

The first thing Bucky realized as he came to was how incredibly cold he was. A shiver wracked his body, causing him to try and pull the flimsy material covering him closer to his skin as water poured down on him. Wait- water? He looked to find the source and realized he was in a shower. The cold water turned red as it ran across his body from all the blood there. Was it his or someone else's? Bucky couldn’t tell. 

“SOLDAT.” A voice boomed from behind, causing him to flinch aggressively. He knew that voice, it was one of his handlers, and by the sound of the rapidly approaching footsteps, he wasn’t happy.

“Poydem s nami, soldat. Dok khochet tebya videt'” The voice growled and Bucky froze. 

His frazzled mind still trying to work out where he was and what was going on. His hesitance must have been seen as resistance because the next thing he knew, a rifle butt was flying towards him. 

Confused, Bucky blocked it with his arm, the clash of metal reverberated around the room causing more handlers to pour in, each one with a gun all pointing in the same direction. His pulse was starting to quicken, and every muscle in his body tensed. 

He was so focused on what was going on in front of him that he didn’t notice the guard coming up behind him with a stun baton. The guard struck, causing Bucky to fall to his knees as he hissed in pain, the electric shock causing his arm to fall limp at his side he clutched the useless appendage in his right hand as he looked on in terror as they all started moving in on him. Two of the guards grabbed him and began to drag him out of the room. He knew where they were taking him and as those rusted double doors came into view he began thrashing as wildly as he could to get away but it was no use.

“Bucky?”

They flung open the doors, his senses on hyperdrive as the blinding lights of the room burned his eyes. Noise. There was so much noise, nurses scrambling around, guards shouting, and doctors preparing for whatever horrible things they had planned for him that day. 

“Bucky!”

He tried to fight against them as they strapped him into the chair, but it was no use, he felt utterly helpless as they began tying him down. His metal arm, although useless, was cuffed in 4 different steel brackets to keep him from moving, the rest of his body bolted into place as the panels of the machine began to lower over his face and just as they were about to connect to his skin-

“JAMES!” 

He sucked in a large breath bolting upright in bed and scrambling far away from where he was until he managed to situate himself in the corner of the room. His chest, slick with sweat heaved up and down as he tried to get oxygen to fill his lungs, but his heart was beating too fast for him to do anything but hyperventilate. There was a quiet sound from the other side of the room that made him realize he wasn’t alone, and he let out a whimper as their footsteps got closer, curling in on himself to appear as small as possible. 

“Bucky?” This voice was soft and full of concern, a complete contrast to the voice he heard just moments ago. This intrigued him slightly, but not enough to make him uncurl himself to see who was speaking to him. There was a sigh from the other person and the floorboards squeaked as they moved their entire weight to the floor, sitting on the ground near him.

“Bucky? It’s me, baby.” The voice cooed gently, and with the next breath he took, the familiar smell of cedar and lavender invaded his senses. He peaked his head out from behind his knees and saw Y/n sitting on the floor looking at him with concern coloring her features and sorrow clouding her eyes. She noticed the small movement and smiled gently as her eyes caught his.

“There he is. Hello, my love.” She whispered, a gentle smile decorating her face. Bucky blinked owlishly at her, still not realizing who he was looking at, but still Y/n smiled. 

Progress she thought before she started speaking again, “It’s just me, love. You are safe. We are in our bedroom, in our apartment, no one is going to hurt you.” 

This made him cock his head to the side before looking around the room. There was no one else besides the two of them. Instead of the gurneys, there was a dresser. Instead of blood-stained floors, there was a soft, grey plush carpet. Instead of that chair, there was a bed, and her. Bucky took a deep breath, finally able to fill his lungs and when he did, his body began to shake. He would shake violently for a moment before his muscles would give out and relax before contracting all over again. Y/n watched him carefully and scooted a little closer. 

“Can I sit next to you?” It was a simple question, and it might seem trivial to ask someone you were just sleeping next to if you could be in their space but it was important for Bucky to feel in control of his situation, if he was in control, he was no longer there.  Bucky looked at her and gave a small nod and Y/n moved to sit next to him, her back plastered against the wall. Although she wasn’t touching him, Bucky could feel the warmth radiation from her body, another piece of proof that he wasn’t in the basement of a bunker in the Siberian mountains. The pair sat in silence for a moment, Y/n watching Bucky, and Bucky staring straight ahead at the wall. Y/n shifted, causing Bucky's eyes to leave the spot on the wall and look at her. 

“Can I touch you?” She asked softly. Buckys hesitated for a moment, before nodding again. Y/n scootched closer to Bucky so that their bodies were pressed against each other and she reached over with a hand and ran her fingers through his shortened chestnut locks. That simple action seemed to bring new life back to Bucky and he began to uncurl, leaning into her touch. Y/n began humming a soft melody as she continued to massage Bucky’s scalp. His tremors became less and less until they were all but gone. 

After some more time passed, Bucky wasn’t sure how much, Y/n stopped and gently stood up, offering her hand to him. 

“‘C'mon love, let’s get back in bed. Your back isn’t going to thank you if I let you sleep in the corner.” 

Bucky placed his hand in hers and allowed her to lead him back to bed. Y/n folded back the covers in a more orderly fashion before sliding under the soft grey sheets, motioning for Bucky to do the same. He did so, snuggling back into Y/n’s side listening to her steady heartbeat, reassuring him that he was safe.  She began humming that soft melody again. Feeling warm and safe, his eyes grew heavy and he fell into a dreamless sleep. The last thing he remembered was the whisper of an “I love you,” in his ear.

[blackexcellence]

Welcome to Black Excellence 365, where we celebrate all things Black and Excellent every day of the year. This month, for March, we will be taking a look at a new theme and source of pride & expression: Hair ✂️.

This month is all about hair, and its importance to Black style, culture, music, history, politics, and, most of all, Black Excellence. Black hair is an essential part of the Black experience. You name it, we’ll look at, explore, and celebrate it: cornrows, box braids, natural coils, knotless braids, goddess braids, twists, pixie crops, locks, wavy hair, crochet braids, and everything in between. Black hair goes hand-in-hand with every aspect of Black life and touches every corner of the world. Care for Black hair is a labor of love ❤️and a long, long process that involves washing, detangling, combing, oiling, braiding, twisting, and decorating the hair, which creates not just a sense of beauty but honors its spiritual power. And this legacy lives on today across Black life. In the 60s, the Afro was a big expression of Black power, pride, connection, and revolution popular with artists, performers, youth, and activists. Some artists would use their hair as an expression of art, as they do today, while young Black Americans would ‘fro their hair to emulate the style of the civil rights heroes like the Black Panthers and convey Black pride, as pioneered by the Queen, Angela Davis. Since that time, Black hair has become a symbol of celebration, a reminder of our roots, and a call to embrace heritage while politically rejecting Eurocentric ideals. Today, the Natural Hair Movement is carried with pride and power. Black hair has always been political — in the same vein, in 2019, The Crown Act (sign the petition|email your legislator) was passed as a starting point to support Black Folx in their appreciation of their hair — their CROWN 👑. Whatever the period, whatever the style, It is all Black Excellence and is here to be celebrated 24/7. 

But BE365 is nothing without you: so POST your favorite hairstyles, iconic Black cuts, shapes, and styles, and your cutting-edge hairdressers and stylists who turn Black hair into art, and Black Excellence. And don’t forget to tag your content with #blackexcellence365 for the chance to be featured. And last but not least, join us for our celebration and of the very best in Black hair of every shape and every style. Make sure you join in, follow, and smash that share button using the tag #BlackExcellence365. 

Welcome to March in #BlackExcellence365 ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽!

[x3nx]

BEEET!!!!! HERE IT IS...

um also this was finished back in october or smth AND its my first writing thing so prepare for it bc it might be bad... also idk its also a bit corny and cliche and cringe so!!! yeahhaahAANAYSWAYS CLICK THE CUT FOR IT

hater and wander are stuck in a room together. the lightning horned being had been banging on the locked door for atleast 3 minutes now, yelling for somebody to get him out of the dimmed secluded room with the fuzzy small nomad. wander had been sitting there, watching silently as hater tried to get into contact with literally anyone on the other side of the door.

"GROP DARN IT SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF HEEEEEREEE..."

finally giving up on banging on the door, he put his forehead against it, sliding down onto his knees in defeat. wander took this chance to be able to talk to the large boney being. he walked up to be positioned behind him, the nomads hands clasped behind his back and looking over haters shoulder.

"it'll be okay hatey... eventually some fella will come wanderin' around here and let us out..."

the small spoon-shaped figure smiled softly after pausing.

"plus that gives us time to be with each other! you know, like play games, get to know each other, talk about our feelings..."

"SHUT UP I DONT WANT TO BE IN HERE WITH YOU!!!!!"

he turned around and sat on the floor with a grumpy slump, his back against the door. hater crossed his arms and puffed his cheeks in a pouty demeanor as he saw wander standing in front of him.

the good doers smile increased at the sight of the tantrum.

"aww, come on! it wont be so bad!! cheer up a bit!!!"

he nudged the other living being with his elbow, poking hater softly.

the villian growled a bit, wanders actions getting annoying to him like always.

"no."

he scooted himself to face a corner, moving away from wander.

"i dont want to talk to you."

the nomad obviously followed him to the spot he was in. once again he was behind him.

"yet you're talking to me right now, silly!"

wander lightheartedly chuckled at hater as the latter growled quietly.

"come on just talk to me or play a little game with me and ill stop botherin' you..."

now beginning to poke at the side of the annoyed beings body, he waited until hater gave a response to him. the prodding furthered haters anger after a minute, him yelling in frustration.

"RAAGHG FINE!!! ILL PLAY YOUR DUMB GAME... OR..WHATEVER!!!!!"

wander grinned in response as hater swiftly turned around from the corner with an irritated expression.

"so! how was your day hater?!!"

he stared at the taller figure with curiosity and innocence as he patiently waited for a response.

"ruined because of being forced in here with you."

"it was good before right now? what made it good??"

"...well i dont know. it was the same..."

"how exactly was your day 'the same'?"

".....urhm... yeah. im not doing this anymore. you're too annoying and weird..."

hater turned back around as wanders expression faltered. he sighed with a bit of sadness.

"what do i gotta do to be able to talk to you?"

"nothing. i thought you were gonna stop annoying me after i did something with you..."

there was a small pause between the two.

"...well okay, if thats what you want hater!"

wander walked away from him, unfazed. he sat down nearby the skeleton as his space was limited and looked at hater for a while before sighing. he then looked at a random spot on the empty white wall in boredom.

hater, still having the front of his body turned towards the corner, sat still. he sat still and silently, his thoughts and the eerie silence of the room the only company around since he pushed wander away.

not too soon after their last interaction, the both of them heard soft buzzing coming from an unknown source in the space. hater coughed quietly in uncomfortableness due to the prolonged quietness, though he'd rather it be like this than talk to the nomad.

. . . . .

some time had passed by. the exact time? none of them knew. and none of them had made a sound. not talking to each other. it was like it was illegal to speak to one another, atleast on haters side it was. wander would gladly chat with the guy.

the silence that went on for forever was cut by the horned figure moving to lay on the ground on his side. hater sighed with boredom evident in it, feeling the coldness of the floor on his smooshed face. he closed his eyes for a bit as he began to get a bit groggy from being tired due to boredom.

wander on the other hand was knitting something while he hummed a soft tune, not loud enough for lord hater to be annoyed by it. he had his signature starred green hat on the floor as yarn came out of it. his head suddenly moved upwards, hearing shuffling from the occupied corner. he viewed hater as he did the action then exhaled softly. it looked like hater was tired. wander continued watching the resting figure, the latter beginning to move again after a minute or two.

hater went to laying on his stomach as he couldn't sleep due to the hard uncomfortable floor and began to play with his fingers. he extended his arms and put his hands in front of his face, propping them up with two fingers on each hand. he pretended one hand was him, the other being wander and began to quietly mumble to himself.

"raaah, ima destroy you wander!"

his right hand 'pointed' at his left hand, aka wander.

"oh no! please dont destroy me all mighty hater!!"

hater changed his voice to be higher as he bent his left hands fingers, pretending it was wander cowering in fear and begging for mercy.

"no! i give no mercy to those who are pesky and irritating!! muahahaha!!!"

his right hand began to glow a neon green, green electricity forming.

"now say your goodbyes to your dumb horse and your dumb friends and your dumb everything, you wandering weir- OW!!!!!"

hater suddenly yelled loudly and jumped as he accidentally shocked his hand with his own powers somehow. he frowned slightly as he held his own hand before he heard a soft but faint chuckle nearby, turning his head to the source of the sound.

wander was the one laughing with fondness, covering his smile a bit as he looked at hater admiringly.

embarrassment creeping onto his face, the reddening individual stared at the giggly soul. he stared at the soft and carefree expression plastered on his face for a few seconds before shaking his head and spoke up, finally breaking the silence of their voices not speaking.

"...what?"

he unexpectedly found himself heating up more as he asked that.

"oh, nothing..."

wander held back his giggles of amusement as he started voicing his thoughts. he spoke up again.

"it just you..you playing with your fingers is pretty charming..and a bit silly..."

he put his head in his palm, propping it up as he gazed at hater with a lovingly expression.

hater, still laying on his stomach, began to lift himself up to sit down as wander spoke. while he stared at wanders expression, he tried to turn his embarrassment into anger, it only mixing together.

"SHUT UP!!!!!"

with his heart beginning to beat fast his face just continued growing hotter and redder.

the smiling fuzzy being took notice this obviously, beginning to scoot closer to him. as wander did so hater grew nervous for an unknown reason. the latter backed himself up more into the corner with his knees curling up into his chest. wander gazed at him continuously once he got in front of him.

hater did the opposite of wander, looking everywhere but him. he sweat in nervousness as an anxious expression crept up into his face, furrowing his eyebrows.

the infatuated nomad softly continued gazing into the embarrassed and nervous skeletons eyes, sometimes taking his eyes off of his to look at other details on his face. the smile on his face grew the more he looked.

this only made haters heart beat faster. he didnt know what he was so nervous for anymore, having the weird strange feeling in his stomach rise up in him again. a feeling he practically never felt before he met wander and can never describe. using the sole of his shoe he pushed wander away, only for him to come back again.

he tried to wipe off the newfound anxious smile growing on his face with his arm, rubbing it afterwards.

"um-"

the lightning horned figure turned to face the corner, holding his heated face with both hands in hopes the other being in the room would go away. a few minutes passed and he slowly started to relax, his muscles untensing and the warmth in his face barely there. he wondered where the nomad was before he jumped from him beginning to embrace him suddenly with no reason.

feeling the warmth from wanders body on him, he immediately frowned hard as the blush stuck back on his face and his heart quickly began to pump adrenaline through him again. a war started in his head, one side wanting to be let go, the other wanting to stay like this. it made him angry and confused on why he wanted wander to continue when he knew he wanted him to stop.

with little strength, he used his elbow and tried pushing him away. wander, instead of letting go, tightened his hug and laid his head on his shoulder. hater grumbled softly, moving as close as he can to the corner, only moving atleast a centimeter closer. the two stayed like that for a few, it slowly creeping its way up to being the record for the longest hug without hater pushing wander away angrily.

hater, during the prolonged embrace from the small cuddly nomad, began to feel more comfortable by the touch, usually being uncomfortable with it. though he did start to wonder why wander hasnt let go and stopped the hug. he wasnt complaining either. it actually felt a bit nice to be hugged by him, he always thought this before the current sitch. he would never admit that out loud verbally, his actions took care of that. he relaxed his body and leaned against the wall as a not too noticeable smile appeared on haters face. he closed his eyes and quietly hummed with content, filling the silence.

wander, who was resting on haters shoulder felt the latter move, opening his eyes and seeing the other being smile softly. it wasnt until hater began humming which made wanders heart explode from how cute he thought hater was being. it hit him that hater actually stayed in his embrace and liked it, which practically told him that he really didnt hate him after all and made him smirk widely. he made a 'hm' sound.

hearing the small noise from the nomad, he snapped back to reality, stopped smiling and opened his eyes, looking to his side where wander was staring, smirking widely at him.

"you do like me, dont you hater?"

confidently teased with a low 'i knew it' tone, he persisted with his facial expression.

the skeletons face heat up a smidgen. he then scoffed and rolled his eyes, trying to cover everything up as he turned his head away from the nomad.

"pshh- no... saying i like you is a bit muuu..n-NOOOT THAT I LIKETHEHUGORANYTHINGGETOFFOFME!!!!!!!!!!"

realizing what he just said, the lord whined loudly at wander, his voice getting high pitched as he yelled, prying the furry fellow off himself. he grabbed wander and threw him across the room and grabbed his hood with both hands, hitting himself with his fists.

wander landed perfectly on his feet like a cat, staring at lord hater who was berating himself.

"hatey, its okay..."

he walked back to him cautiously.

"its okay to like hugs..."

"SHUT UP OR YOURE GONNA MAKE ME FEEL WEIRD AGAI-"

he covered his mouth before he finished his sentence, though it didnt erase what he just blurted out.

"AAAAGHHGH!!!!!!!!!! JUST SHUT UP!!!"

hater gripped his horns, his face heating up furiously as he scrunched up more in the corner he was facing.

wander, now right behind him, blinked a few times after he said that, processing what he said.

"hater..?"

he lightly touched haters shoulder, the latter jumping slightly.

"...what exactly do you feel??.."

the distressed being didnt respond, hugging his knees and turning his head a bit as he had his face faced downwards.

wander looked at hater as he waited for a response. once he knew the latter wasnt gonna respond he sighed and sat down next to him against the wall.

he continued staring at the curled up lord who hid himself and began thinking about what he meant by what he just said. wander felt it was what he thought it was, now just thinking deeply about it. that was until hater unexpectedly spoke up.

"...u-uh..."

he looked up a bit, staring at the wall in front of him. wander can see how red he was. hater tried to voice something, making small noises. he wanted to tell wander about his feelings from earlier. unfortunately for him, he lost the second war in his head that fought about telling him or not, but he wasnt able to put it in words that made it make sense. he growled and then furrowed his eyebrows.

"i-i cant..."

"cant what?"

wander put his hand on haters arm, hater looking down at it and staring at the skull ring on his finger, getting flustered a bit more.

"put it into words i-"

sighing, he laid his head down again before picking it up again.

"i dont know... your fuzzy dumbass makes me so..angry and confused."

he inhaled softly

"...and strange. i hate this weird feeling. i hate you."

his eyebrows furrowed more as he felt himself get warmer than before when he glanced at wander for a single second.

a small smile appeared when hater finally began to tell wander about his feelings, he also saw the reddening of the other being as he glanced at him.

he hummed as he began to figure out how to help hater realize his new feelings without getting him to freak out about it, already knowing what was going on with him, something he fully understood. wanders face heat up a bit as he thought about it; hater having a possible crush on him.

"well..what exactly do you feel hater?? i want to understand what you feel so i can help you."

"AGWHHG LIKE THIS I DONT KNOW!!!"

he moved his hands up and down, pointing to his anxious demeanor as he raised his voice.

"nervous, warm, sweaty- i-i dont know okay??!"

"...uh huh... so..you only felt this today, right now? any other times with similar feelings or no?? how long???"

"...uh-um. i-i guess there are a few other times..a while ago..or something. atleast a few months after meeting you. why am i even..."

hater shook his head. he sighed as he pushed wanders hand off him, criss crossing as he held his head up with his hand, looking down.

"stupid..obsession with you... i cant resist wanting to chase you and destroy you. it makes me so angry. i cant stop thinking about you either... yo-you make me..just... m-my heart beats fast and i get all warm inside."

now covering his face in embarrassment of admitting that, he turned his back to wander.

wanders face slowly heat up, smiling brightly at hater.

"you said you dont know what this feeling is..right?"

"mm"

"well..."

the nomad took a small portion of air and put it into his lungs.

"do you know what being in love is hater?"

wander eyed hater from behind, awaiting his answer. he knew he was oblivious to these type of things so he helped him with realizing, doubting he figure it out right then and there.

"yeah. its when you look at someone and think their pretty and want to kiss them..."

the happy-go-lucky fellow softly chuckled at the response, pretty much expecting it from someone like him.

"its a lot more than that hatey... its when..the person youre in love with makes you feel happy, making you feel all warm and fuzzy inside when youre around them. youd also get nervous when their around. you have an emotional connection with them..."

he spat out meanings and examples as lord hater began to process what he said. it took about a great 5-10 minutes before hater finally realized he loved wander.

wander was sitting there with his hands clasped together before he heard shuffling from the lord besides him, now looking at him. hater had his head up and was staring at the wall for a while before he got up suddenly. he inhaled sharply.

"...sooo... i uh- i forgot to c-captain tim the dishwash an-and thats impetulant..so i-i-iiiIIIII GOTTAGOBYE!!!!!!!!!"

dashing to the locked door in fear and panic he tried to open it, fumbling with the knob.

"LET ME OOOOOUUUTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!"

wander immediately got up and went to hater in alarm.

"hater??!"

"NO."

hater fell dramatically on the floor with a thump, holding his hands up in front of him, shielding himself.

"G-GET AWAY FROM ME. YOURE WANDERIZING ME, YOURE WANDERIZING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

wander took a few steps back.

"its okay to be in love!!! i-im not mad or judging you!!!!"

hater went into another corner, curling back up and banging his head on his knees. he wanted so bad to be in denial with his newfound feelings but it became increasingly hard to do so.

the worried nomad studied hater, trying to come up with something to calm him down. he then took atleast a step closer and sat in front of him.

"hater, look. its okay. im not 'wanderizing' you or anything... you feel this way all on your own."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW??!"

"...well im not sure what wanderizing exactly is but uh..youd be acting different if i did do that?"

wander shrugged in confusion.

thinking for a few seconds, what wander told hater actually helped him. hater sighed in defeat as he thought that that made 'logical sense' and slumped against the corner. he crossed his arms and looked at the floor, trying to avoid eye contact with the nomad.

sighing, he laid his hands on haters knees, looking over them and beginning to gaze at the skeletons ashamed and embarrassed expression smeared on his face.

he continued staring, before breaking the silence by speaking up in a soft, gentle tone.

"...you know, im not gonna think any less of you for feeling this way..about me... i wouldnt ever think any less."

wander stayed silent for a second. he then began to smile softly.

"im actually proud of you."

hater widened his eyes and turned his head swiftly to look at wander as his heart skipped a beat from the compliment, the first he finally accepted from the latter and acknowledged as genuine. wander was beaming with euphoria as his eyes began to get watery, beginning to shakily speak to him.

"so, so proud of you..."

he began to shed tears of joy, putting his arms criss cross on top haters knees and laid on them, the side of wanders face smooshing.

"i-i... you... youve gotten so far from when i first met you a few years back..."

wander sniffled and wiped his tears on his arms, suddenly jumping onto hater and laid on his chest as he tightly hugged him.

"im genuinely very proud of you hater..."

he spat out shakily as his voice got higher while he cried on hater.

hater jumped and raised his arms. his eyes widened more at the sudden quick action from the nomad, his heart beating once again right after. he really didnt know how to feel about the current situation; he was utterly confused, lost. he never experienced these type of things before he met wander. though the only difference now is that he accepted wanders sincere affection, which he kinda didnt know how to react to still.

hater, with a befuddled expression; furrowing his eyebrows and his mouth almost agape, looked down at the nomad, who laid on haters chest with a small smile as there were still a bit of tears in his eyes, not running.

before he knew it, he found himself getting a bit teary from the compliment, it being a late reaction as he began smiling softly with wander. his face heat up as the warm fuzzy feeling spread across his body, his smile growing bigger by the second. he looked away and slowly let his arms down, letting them rest against wander as he leisurely pat wanders head, it being a non verbal thanks and a way to comfort him aswell.

wander tightened his hug as his smile got bigger, curling up and nuzzling against haters chest. he laid there, listening to his heart beat furiously beneath his red and black outfit as his head got pat.

the two laid there for a while, it seeming like it was forever, starting to cuddle as hater wrapped his arms around wander aswell and laid his head on top of him, them falling asleep on eachother with eachother.

---

ASGHH THATS ALL anyways if u made it this far, CONGRATS HERES UR PRIZE (silly thing made by me)