#as it's someone scathing toward them

[steviebbboi]

Good For It

Pairing: Ari Levinson x F!Reader

Word Count: 8.1k~ (no idea how this happened) 🫣

Summary: Ari was deeply misunderstood by everyone except you. What happens when someone tries to hurt the one person he cares about the most?

Disclaimer: This is my submission for @stargazingfangirl18 writing challenge, "Siri's Birthday Bonenanza"~ Thank you to Siri for hosting this, and hoping that you all enjoy this as much I loved writing it :)

***I don't give any permission for this to be reposted anywhere! Pls do not steal work, plagiarism isn't demureeee~~~~

Warnings/Triggers: 18+ Minors DNI; Mentions/threats of violence, mentions of drugging reader (not by Ari), mentions of sexual harassment (again, not by Ari), explicit language, explicit smut, oral sex (f. receiving), p in v, angst, fluff, mentions of trauma, PTSD-like symptoms, Lumberjack!Ari, Veteran!Ari.

Prompts: Ari Levinson x F!Reader feat. Bryce Langley (not involved with Reader at all) + "The moment you or babe realize you’re in love with the other" + "Scary!babe is in love and a simp for you" + "Playful trolling/banter"

Quote Prompts: “Why can’t you just let yourself be loved?!” + “Goddamnit, will you just fucking let me do this for you?” + “You move an inch, and you’ll be sorry. + “Can you just…hold me, please?”

Trope Prompt: Scary, dangerous!babe who is only soft with you

Kink(s) Prompt: Size kink + Praise kink + Squirting + Manhandling +soft!dom (ish) + Possessive!babe + breeding (ish?)

Other kinks: mild choking, spanking, overstimulation (if I missed any TW, feel free to lmk)~

Rowdy laughter and the clinking of glasses came into earshot as you pushed the bar doors open. You greeted the bouncer as you usually did and gave a quick scan of the back of the bar. Once you found who you were looking for, you felt your lips quirk into a small smile as you headed toward the back.

Ari Levinson, the local town recluse with only four friends (including yourself and the bouncer-ish). He’s a retired military veteran and is known as “that weird, scary dude who lives alone up in the mountains.” To be fair, the town’s whispered descriptions of him were not entirely inaccurate.

You could feel the regular, daily stares coming in hot as you continued walking toward the back booths. Although you were used to it at this point, you could feel yourself becoming more tense as the whispers started to creep through.

A tired sigh escaped your lips as you passed by one woman in particular who seemed to always let out a muttered comment under her breath—all synonymous with criticism that you never took lightly.

“Poor girl doesn’t know what she’s doing. She’ll end up in the morgue someday.”

“He just has her wrapped around his finger, huh? Someone should say something.”

“You know he almost beat a guy to death a year ago. What is a sweet girl like her doing with a guy like him?”

“Nobody told her to leave the undesirables alone.”

Any and all comments surrounding Ari’s character felt crushing every time you heard them. In the beginning of your relationship with Ari, you used to cry yourself to sleep every night because some of the comments were so scathing. All these people were just judging you because you were with a person that you deeply cared about.

Ari would be there every night to soothe you (he didn’t care as much about what others said). He would wipe your tears by holding your face in his big hands and kiss you until you couldn’t remember what you were crying about in the first place.

See, there are things that people don’t know about Ari. They judged him based on his background and one incident at the mill. He was hulking over everyone at 6'5", his stature and demeanor a bit more closed off and quiet. When people tried to say hi to him, he would give them a small grunt and continue on his way. He wasn’t a small man by any means, emotionally or physically (of which, your size difference is something you both indulge in, in many ways).

The problem was that they only saw and perceived things from the surface. They didn’t see all of the qualities underneath that make him so desirable, wanted, and valuable to you. With Ari, you felt protected, safe, and secure in ways that you had never experienced before. You never felt disrespected by him in the slightest. People didn’t see that, even through his dark aimless stares or quiet mumbles and grumbles, he still cared and was incredibly kind.

One day, you were working furiously on your laptop as you sat on Ari’s couch. Your work was demanding, and more often than not, you would work your remote 9-to-5 job straight through without taking care of yourself. Ari only ever gazed at you with curiosity and never said anything about it. Although you could tell from his stare that he disapproved of your self-negligence. The next time you sat working, Ari placed some dinner on the coffee table in front of you. The smell of the hot, homemade food made your tummy rumble as you stopped typing after four hours of working nonstop to look up at him with surprise.

“Eat,” Ari said simply and reached out to stroke the exposed skin peeking out from underneath the blanket on top of you before heading back to the kitchen. You usually wouldn’t let anything get in the way of your work, but his act of care was so wholesome and precious that you stopped and ate the whole thing.

Ari came back once you were finished to sit down next to you under the blanket with a book. He made an effort to get comfortable by placing his large, calloused hand on your inner thigh underneath your now-shared afghan before getting back to his reading. You could only stare at him, astonished by how this beefy, quiet giant of a man managed to not only get you to pause your work but also make you eat (disrupting your chain of focus and habits was not an easy feat, just ask your ex-partners). He let out another deep grumble when you kissed his bearded cheek with a soft thank you as you put away your laptop and leaned into his shoulder to read with him.

It was then that you realized Ari, depicted as this scary, violent, tainted, isolated person, was deeply misunderstood.

It was also the moment that you realized you were deeply in love with him.

Coming out of your reverie, you let out the tension that had been carried in your chest as you saw your man start to turn as you finally approached the booth. Your soft smile turned into a genuine grin when your eyes met his. You greeted Sammy (his third friend) as you went to scoot next to Ari. You put an arm around him to give a gentle rub on his large back while giving him a quick kiss on his cheek. As usual, he gave you a quiet, deep mumble of acknowledgement but proceeded to put his muscular arm around you protectively, giving you the opportunity to place the hand that had been shoved to your side around his thick, jean-clad thigh.

“What are we talking about?” You engaged Sammy first, knowing that Ari would likely be more of an active listener, as he usually was.

Sammy and Ari were in service together, along with Rachel (the bartender and the fourth friend, completing the group). Ari was noticeably relaxed with them, as he was with you, but you had no idea how they got the man to talk. You heard stories of their time in active duty, but they never went beyond surface-level details. You knew Ari had done some dangerous work during his time in the military; he never really talked about it, but you could surmise that he was still recovering from it, especially since that incident a year ago.

“Oh, you know, same old, same old. Rachel threw beer on a guy who was trying to score free drinks by hitting on her,” Sammy said with a smirk.

You laughed freely. “Man, I wish I had been there to see it! Some newbie at the office messed something up, and who has to fix it? Me, of course.” You rolled your eyes and put a hand to your forehead to rub away the fatigue.

“Did you eat, baby?” Ari cut in quietly. You turned to meet his concerned gaze and gave him a soft smile with a rub to his knee. “Yes, honey. I was able to have my assistant run out to grab some grub. Don’t worry.”

He gave another affirmative grunt with a nod and shifted to hand you a beer that was hidden at the end of the table. You huffed out a quiet laugh before giving him one last squeeze on the knee before reaching for the drink gratefully. Of course, Ari had already gotten you a drink but only gave it to you after you gave your daily report. He was always looking after you.

“When are they going to gear up and give you that promotion?” Sammy asked, shaking his head.

You gave a despondent shake before sighing. “You know, they’re a small company. I think we’re understaffed as it is right now. That’s why these new hires keep making these small mistakes.”

“Aaaand that’s why they need to promote you to manager, to teach some sense into ‘em! Ari’s always sayin’ you’d be a great supervisor.” He replied with an encouraging smile.

Now you were the one letting out a small questioning mumble while looking down at your drink bashfully. You felt Ari stroke the back of your arm with a firm gentleness, and you knew it really meant, “Yes, you do deserve more.” 

This kind of touch was often a reminder for you to believe in yourself and that you deserved better things (a tough job for your ex-partners, you might add). Ari had seemingly broken a cycle for you, helping you genuinely care about yourself in a way you hadn’t before. (All the ways he protects you are just sickeningly cute, aren’t they?)

Bringing yourself back to the present, you gave Sammy a stronger “hm” in response and said, “I know. I mean, when will these bastards just wake up?”

Sammy gave a shout of laughter and a “hell yeah”  before giving you another supportive response. You turned to Ari briefly to give him another smile of appreciation, only to notice that he was already looking at you. But the glint in his eyes… you hadn’t seen that before. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you registered Sammy announcing he was going back to the bar for another drink.

The two of you were now alone, just observing each other. A shiver ran down your spine at his piercing gaze as you asked quietly, “Everything okay, honey?”

At your reserved tone, Ari gave you a subtle, tilted smile. “I love you,” he said simply.

Your breath hitched, and you felt your eyes widen at his surprise revelation. You knew that you loved Ari, maybe even before you realized it yourself. There were many ways the two of you showed your love and care for each other—from cooking food for each other to gentle caresses during more intimate moments. However, this was the first time either of you had ever said it out loud.

Now you were the one stumbling over your words, struggling to respond, swallowing thickly as you tried to say it back. It’s not that you felt you couldn’t, but the man had just revealed that he loved you, in a bar no less! The guy was usually full of grumbles, deep hums, and mumbles. You never would have expected him to reveal something so vulnerable and intimate in an environment like this. You figured your actions would be proof enough, and that was okay with you. You accepted that about Ari—you never expected him to actually say it.

At your floundering, Ari had a full-on smirk on his handsome face. He seemed to appreciate how the tables had turned. You stopped your mumbles once you saw his reaction to your shock and squinted your eyes in fake indignation. His smirk only grew wider, the glint you noticed earlier now turning into an affectionate mirth that you knew Ari reserved just for you.

“Damn him and his sexy, lumberjack hotness,” you thought to yourself. You and Ari both knew you loved it when he teased you like this. You pretended to be upset, but it was all part of how well the two of you bantered throughout your relationship.

Most of your relationship involved speaking in a language your friends couldn’t quite understand, which only played into the image of how polar opposites you two were. But you and Ari reveled in it, just like Ari was now. You were more embarrassed at being caught stumbling on your words, and felt the need to beat him in your little game. The man hadn’t even said anything in the past minute, and he was already winning. He knew how you felt about him; it was just fun for him to see you all flustered.

“HA– alright, Mr. Grumbles. I’m going to get us some more drinks. Did you want anything else?” you said begrudgingly while gathering your glasses to bring back to the bar.

“No, baby. Sammy said he was going to get us some, though.” Ari conceded his smirk (and victory). Speak of the devil, and he shall appear—Sammy came up behind you to slide back into the booth, but with only one drink in his hand. You and Ari stared at him and then looked back at the beer with questioning eyes.

Sammy got comfortable and noticed both of your stares only when he realized that nobody was talking. Glancing down at his own drink, then toward your empty glasses, and back to your amused stares again, he muttered abashedly, “You didn’t say I had to get you another drink too.”

You let out a small giggle and looked back at Ari again to repeat, “Did you want anything else, baby?”

Ari responded with the same amusement in his tone. “No, love.” He grinned back at you as he said the endearment, which only furthered your fake ire. You pouted your lips in playful anger and met his beguiled stare with your own before standing up from the booth.

As you gathered the empty glasses again, you saw Ari attempting to grab them from you as he also stood up from his seat.

“No– don’t worry, Ari. I’ve got it,” you reassured him, but he ignored you and responded only with a grunt. He proceeded to scoot out of the small booth, hunched over the table.

Letting the glasses go, you pressed down on Ari’s shoulders hard to shove him back into his seat. His eyes widened in surprise at the forceful touch as he sat back down, but you knew you hadn’t hurt him. If anything, he lurched back from you since he didn’t want to bump into you while attempting to get out.

“Goddammit, will you just fucking let me do this for you?” you scolded him in feigned anger. You grabbed the glasses quickly and scurried away before he could respond. You only heard him and Sammy laughing at your retreat before the chatter from the other end of the bar became more prominent as you approached.

Setting the two glasses down on an empty section of the bar top, you leaned over slightly to catch Rachel’s perceptive gaze. She nodded with a smile on her face as she made you two new drinks. Glancing around the rest of the bar with mild interest, you couldn’t help but reflect on Ari’s intimate reveal.

A smile spread onto your lips, and you let out a small laugh to yourself. You were in love with a man who communicated with short hums and grunts, and with only three words—he had unraveled you. You felt so happy in that moment to be with someone who could meet you where you were, for once.

At first, you were intimidated by the looming lumberjack, but as you got to know each other, you grew to understand that he didn’t need big, fancy words to connect with you. Ari was the kind of partner who was straightforward with you and never hid anything maliciously while still respecting the integrity of your relationship. You felt grateful to be a part of each other’s lives.

Floating mindlessly in your thoughts, you didn’t notice the man staring at you across the bar. You also didn’t notice him approaching until you heard him say, “Hey there, what are you smiling about, sweetheart?”

Glancing over, the giddiness you felt thinking about your relationship with Ari was now interrupted by feelings of annoyance and suspicion. “I’m good, thanks,” you responded dismissively, not even bothering to answer his question.

“Aw, c’mon—just wanna talk a bit. Hey, are you with anyone right now?” the guy persisted.

Looking at the intrusive person, you could tell he was a bit younger than you. His polo shirt was disheveled, and his demeanor seemed careless. If his side-swept hair wasn’t an indication of his immaturity, it was the way he reeked of alcohol and weed. A smug smile lifted on his face as he assumed you were checking him out, when in reality, you were trying to piece together how to shut this down and walk around him on your way back to the booth.

“Uh, I am. Just waiting for our drinks,” you answered shortly, hoping your dismissiveness would be enough to make him go away. Heckling men never seem to take the hint when you’re not interested, and it seems like telling them off only riles them up more.

“Well, if I were your friend, I certainly wouldn’t have let you come up here by yourself. There are some weirdos out here, y’know?” He leaned onto the bar and into you, his body too close for comfort. You leaned back and crossed your arms defensively.

“I’m sorry—let me? Listen, kid—you got one thing right: there are weirdos out here. Almost like some weirdos just don’t seem to get the hint when they’re harassing women who only want to be left alone by the bar.” You couldn’t hold in your snark as this misogynistic asshole seemed to only smile wider at your reactions.

“Right! That’s why you’re lucky I’m here, sweetheart. Considering that I’m being so helpful by giving you this piece of advice, I think that now makes us friends.” He laughed, ignoring your irritation.

“Everything okay here?” You looked up to find Rachel putting down the newly made beers while looking the stranger dead in the eyes. You could see him squirm a bit, and you stifled a giggle—you were always amused to see her put men in their place.

“It’s okay, Rach. I’m heading back to those two dummies, anyway.” You left some bills on the counter. Rachel gave you a look since she always insisted drinks were on the house for you, but you never really listened. She took the money anyway, gave the guy one last daggered look, and made a small dismissive sound before leaving to attend to other customers.

Ignoring Rachel’s reaction, he turned to you and said, “Well, where are these two dummies you speak of? Are they cute like you?” He looked over at the general crowd of women lingering behind you.

You cleared your throat at his blatant ignorance. “Actually, my two dummies are over there.” You pointed to the back where Sammy and Ari’s profiles could be briefly seen.

He followed your hand to see the two men sitting there and let out a surprised “ah.” He looked back at you after seeing the men but couldn’t help but do a double take once he recognized one of them.

“Wait, you’re that guy’s friend?” he asked incredulously, looking at you expectantly.

You gave him a warning look and made an affronted sound. “Careful. ‘Friends’ don’t talk to their friends like that. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” You gestured to take your drinks, which seemed to snap him out of his shock.

“Hey, hey—wait! Relax, relax. That just took me off guard, but… I mean, you do know what he did, right?” He gave you the same look others would give you, almost disgusted, as if he couldn’t believe a ‘girl like you’ would be with a ‘guy like him.’

Your eyes narrowed and you huffed an exasperated breath, preparing to retort, but were interrupted by a voice yelling, “Yo, Bryce, hurry up!” You looked to the end of the bar to see another young man in a polo (god, these entitled kids are a dime a dozen) looking over at you. They wore the same cocky, smug smiles, and you were immediately done with this interaction.

Letting out a scoff, you replied, “Well, Bryce, it’s been real. Now, please, leave me alone.” Not mincing words nor your mocking tone, you started to grab your drinks when you froze in place, frowning as you noticed one of your drinks had an abnormal fizz on top.

“Are you kidding me? Did he just…?” Your thoughts felt scattered as you realized that your drink had been spiked. Your frown persisted as you looked back at Bryce in disbelief. “Did you really just do that?”

Bryce looked nonchalant at your question and, almost innocently, responded, “What are you talking about, sweetheart?” He had a dopey look on his face, but he couldn’t even hide his rising grin at your growing outrage. You knew you weren’t overreacting and you knew what you saw in your drink.

“You just spiked my drink—what the fuck is wrong with you?!” You accused and turned to catch Rachel’s attention. A strong grip twisted your arm back to Bryce as he looked at you with something completely vile in his eyes. He leaned in close to whisper in your ear with venom as you leaned back and attempted to get his hand off you. “Stuck-up bitch. You know you would’ve been asking for it if you didn’t have your killer boyfriend to cover you.”

Feeling his hot breath in your ear made you panic even more, his unrelenting grip getting tighter by the second. You shouted while trying to push him off you, “Get the fuck off of me! LET GO!”

You flailed your limbs more in your attempts to make a scene. You heard a barstool crash to the ground loudly, and all of a sudden Bryce’s fingers were no longer around your arm. The only thing in your vision was a person’s vast back.

Ari.

Catching your breath from your panic, the sounds of the bar that had seemed to mute during your thrashing suddenly tuned back in. You registered pained groans and the utter silence, yet concerned murmurs scattered across the room. Looking over from behind Ari’s back, you saw Sammy putting a hand in between Ari and Bryce, who was now on the floor, clutching his nose with blood spilling out rapidly.

“You fucking prick! I’ll press charges!” Bryce shouted from the ground as his friends crowded around him, trying to get him up.

Rachel raised her voice to be heard amidst the chaos and said, “I saw what happened, asshole. I’d be happy to call the cops and let them know about you and your buddies’ attempts to sexually harass my customers.”

Bryce, now being held up by his friends, looked over at Rachel menacingly. Rachel didn’t back down and walked towards the phone on the wall. “Shall we?”

Bryce hissed in pain from his new injury and looked back to meet Ari’s stone-cold eyes. Sammy turned to face Bryce and his friends with a look of caution, almost ready to get into a fight if it came to that.

Bryce took a heavy gulp, attempting to stare Ari down with bravado. He then locked his jaw and scoffed, “Whatever, I’m out of here.”

The bouncer suddenly appeared behind you, making you startle slightly, and pushed the group toward the exit. As they got closer, you hid yourself behind Ari’s back and gripped his shirt tightly for comfort. You could feel Ari’s hand reach for your waist, and you assumed he could sense your shaking and wanted to offer you more protection and ease.

In your peripheral vision, you could see and feel Bryce’s eyes staring at you, almost as if he wanted to say one last thing. But Ari’s grip on your waist tightened as he turned to face Bryce directly, orienting you with him and blocking his gaze from you. Though you couldn’t see it, Ari looked deadly in that moment, removing any access Bryce had to your presence.

“If you ever come back in here, and if I ever see you near her again, I will hurt you,” Ari said quietly, but his warning reverberated across the large space. “And you know that I’m good for it.”

Bryce, still clutching his nose, averted his gaze and continued moving toward the exit.

As the group exited, people still looked over but gradually returned to their tables and muttered conversations. The jukebox came back on at a lower volume, and people eventually resumed their activities.

You were still clutching Ari’s back as you released a sigh of relief. You leaned into him, your forehead resting between his shoulders. The adrenaline had left you with residual energy, and it was noticeably hard for you to regulate your emotions. Ari heard you release one more exhale in an attempt to calm down before he turned to meet your tight grip with his strong hands.

“Hey, hey, you’re okay, baby.” He released your hands with one last squeeze and cupped your face sweetly. He whispered more reassurances as he pulled your face close to his and leaned down to give you a soft kiss on your forehead.

“Sammy, we’re gonna get going.” Ari glanced at the teary-eyed look on your face and knew you couldn’t stay. He wouldn’t have expected you to, either—he was accustomed to chaotic and loud environments, able to regulate during scary situations. Ari knew this was exceptionally jarring for you, and he desperately wanted to protect you from any feelings of unsafety. His priority since you entered his life was to preserve your softness, and if his hard exterior could help do that, he would go to any length to ensure you felt secure with him.

“Of course, check in and get home safe.” You also turned to give Sammy and Rachel a soft smile and a quiet ‘thank you.’ If there was any effort to expend, it would be that.

They returned your smile with reminders to be safe while driving home, and Ari took your small hand in his to lead you to the exit. You both passed by the bouncer, who returned Ari’s thanks for earlier with an affirmative nod and also gave you a parting “feel better.” You muttered your appreciation and clutched Ari’s forearm with your other hand still in his. You felt that if you weren’t right by his side, if he weren’t touching you, the panic would rush back in.

On the car ride back to Ari’s place, you kept yourself as close to him as possible. The truck’s seats facilitated closeness; Ari wrapped his right arm around you protectively while driving with his left.

Ari appreciated that you felt safe with him. Unbeknownst to you, his own panic about losing you crept in whenever you weren’t by his side.

His arm wrapped around you tighter, and his caress provided comfort for him as well during the rest of the ride home.

Later that night, after Ari got out of the shower, you noticed cuts on his knuckles from his punch earlier.

“Ari, why didn’t you say anything earlier? Come here.” You scolded him as you led the giant of a man (a very half-naked, still wet giant of a man—okay, focus) to sit on the toilet seat.

“Baby, it’s fine—” Ari began to say, but you interrupted him, “Honey, let me do this—why can’t you just let yourself be loved?!” Ari let out a rare scoffed smile at ​​your dramatic flair before acknowledging you with his usual grunt. You returned his smile and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

Ari watched you as you ventured over to the bathroom counter to gather the first aid kit. You were already in your sleep clothes—simple camisole and shorts. Though he remained silent, you could feel his eyes roaming over your newly exposed skin. You glanced up at the wide mirror and caught him in the act as his gaze lingered a bit too long on your ass. You stifled a small laugh, and his eyes met yours unashamedly.

You turned to walk back over to him, and his eyes never left yours as you took his palm gently between your hands. As you cleaned the small wound, you could feel his gaze burning on your skin. You took your time patching him up, and with the last bandage, you brought his burly hand to your lips, planting a meaningful kiss on his knuckles. Continuing to brush your lips against the back of his hand, you left more kisses until you reached the underside of his wrist.

Ari’s gaze darkened with every peck of affection you left on his clean skin. As you raised his hand to rest it on your cheek, Ari’s other arm wrapped around the low of your waist, pulling you in closer. Deciding you weren’t close enough, you straddled his towel-clad waist. Enjoying the intimacy, you both savored the simplicity of feeling safe in each other’s embrace. Your arms wrapped around his neck as you softly caressed his wet strands of hair away from his face. Tucking your face into the crevice of his neck, you closed your eyes and hummed contentedly, feeling his large hands rub up and down your back. You felt so small enveloped in his arms.

“Look at me, baby,” Ari whispered softly. He laid a calloused hand on your cheek and stroked it gently with his thumb. His other arm remained wrapped around you to support you, and he said, “I know that we don’t talk about this often enough, but I want you to know that I would never hurt you. Ever.”

You gave Ari a confused look. “I know that, Ari. I trust you. I always feel safe with you.” His eyes were full of concern as you rushed to reassure him. Your own hand rested on his bearded cheek. “I know that what happened at the mill last year has lingered a bit.”

He turned his gaze downward until you cooed at him, making him look back at you. “Hey, I know you. I know that you were only doing what you thought was right. At that moment, it was about protecting Sammy. The guy was making threats against you both. It made sense that you went to defend yourself.”

Ari was quiet for a minute. You continued stroking his cheek to let him process. This was a vulnerable conversation for Ari that his usual grunts couldn’t explain.

He broke the silence by saying, “I lied to you.”

Your heart froze, and you felt even more confused. Your hand dropped back down to grip his bulky shoulder. “What do you mean?” you asked tentatively.

Ari met your curious gaze with an ashamed look. “He wasn’t making threats against Sammy… he was saying things about you. Us. How a woman like you shouldn’t be with someone like me—‘damaged goods.’”

Lines formed between your eyebrows as you tried to register what Ari was saying. Leaning into your silence, he continued, “Then he started saying that he would be a better fit for you. He talked about all the ways he would treat you better, and then he shoved me and… I just lost it.” Ari’s mouth twisted grimly, and his eyes held a weighted look. “I just… didn’t want to lose you.”

Swallowing thickly, you reflected on that time in your relationship when you heard about Ari being involved in an accident at the mill. It wasn’t until you saw him that you realized there had been no accident, and that Ari had put his co-worker in the hospital. Of course, you worried about the implications of his actions and what it would mean for the two of you. At a certain point, you did question your safety with Ari.

But you remembered meeting him at the station when the police let him go due to it being self-defense (and many of Ari’s co-workers, including Sammy, vouching for the incident). He had the same look that he had now—fear.

In that moment, despite what he had done, you knew there was something so strong and willed behind his reaction. He was so protective and gentle with you, and you believed him. You believed that that was the man that you were falling in love with. You just never would have guessed it came from the fear of losing you.

Realizing you had been quiet for a while as you processed your feelings and what you wanted to say, Ari didn’t move from his position. He licked his lips nervously, waiting for your response.

Releasing a slow breath, you cupped Ari’s face in your hands and looked him in the eye. “You protect, Ari, that’s just what you do.”

Ari exhaled in relief and felt a dark weight lift off of his shoulders, his stomach no longer churning, while putting his forehead to your chest. He moved his arms under your butt and lifted you slightly to do this but you embraced him openly. You stroked his hair again as he started kissing your exposed skin above your breast until he was laying a series of soft kisses up your neck. You both knew what his kisses really meant: “I’m sorry, I love you.”

You hummed out a soft moan as his lips found that spot under your ear that felt extra sensitive to his touch. Turning his face to meet your cheek, he tilted his head slightly so that he could finally reach your mouth. You allowed Ari to control the pace of the kiss and moaned when you felt his tongue softly caress yours. 

The tension in the air quickly thickened into something more primal and electric from Ari’s confession. There was something about this huge, strong man protecting only you that made you feel so worshiped and desired. These feelings start to overcome you and you move to sit on top of Ari’s towel-covered erection only to grind yourself down on him. Ari groaned sensually into the kiss at the feeling of delicious pressure sitting on his hard cock. Your mouths continue languidly meeting each other when you let out a squeak from Ari suddenly gripping your thighs tightly to carry you back into the bedroom. 

You released a squeal as Ari threw you on top of the bed before dropping his towel on the floor. Breathing heavier, you backed up on the bed to get a better look at his glorious sculpted figure and Ari only smirked at your hooded eyes gazing all over his body. Standing at the edge of the bed, Ari decided that you were too far away and he gripped your ankle to roughly tug you back towards him. Letting out another brief squeal and giggle, you quickly sought into his rhythm as he kneeled onto the bed. 

His bulking mass overshadowed you as he leaned forward to place more deceivingly gentle kisses upon the exposed skin of your stomach where your tank top rode up. Your stomach fluttered as you could feel his kisses getting wetter, and were leading down towards your cotton-clad pussy. You whined in anticipation as Ari gently tugged off your shorts to reveal your soaking core. 

Ari let out a deep groan at the sight of your pussy weeping for his touch. Using his hands to spread your legs open to make space for his massive stature, you gasped for air even though he has barely touched you. You stroke the hands holding you down and beg, “Ari, please. Please do something.” 

At your begging, Ari released a louder groan this time. “God, baby. Look at you just creaming for me, and I haven’t even touched you yet. You want me to take care of you, sweet girl?” 

He used his forearms to hold your already squirming legs down as he used his thumb to cut through a string of wet and reveal your thrumming pink clit. Not being able to resist his own yearning, he gave a firm lick up your cunt and released a deep groan at the first taste of you on his tongue. “Oh fuck, you taste so fucking sweet.” He groaned and went back into your cunt for more. 

You sobbed your pleasure at the feeling of his tongue caressing your wet folds, “Yes, please, Ari– please!” His tongue continued licking all over your pussy while he released his own small moans at the taste of you. He made sure to thrust his tongue into your soaked opening before licking his way back towards your now puffy clit. 

Your moans steadily increased in volume and small, short-bursts of whimpers fell out of your mouth as Ari devoured you. Feeling his lips suction at your clit, you mewl and feel his thick finger start to breach your entrance. Your head fell back on the bed, your mouth agape at the sheer pleasure you were receiving from your man. One hand tightly gripping the sheet next to you and the other wrapped in Ari’s hair as you kept him in place, your hips started to thrust back into his mouth and fingers. Not expecting for you to turn so wildly, Ari’s mouth left your clit unwillingly. Letting out a whine at the loss of warmth, you press down on the back of Ari’s head to get him back into position. 

But all of a sudden, you felt a sharp smack on your ass and you let out a yelp. Ari was still thrusting his finger, and inserting a second one, at a slower pace when he looked up at you. His lips and beard glistened with your wetness when he said darkly, “You move an inch, and you’ll be sorry. Do you understand me, baby?”

You could only respond with a soft whimper before letting out another cry as he slapped your ass again. “I said, do you understand me?” 

“Yes, Ari, I understand.” You responded with a glazed look in your eye at the combination of pain from his smacks and pleasure from his domineering words. 

“There’s my sweet girl, so good for me.” Ari said before he kissed his way back to your sopping cunt, his fingers thrusting faster now as his mouth created a suction on your clit again. Releasing out a louder cry at the transition, you could feel Ari’s fingers start to push deeper and curve inside of you to find your g-spot. You let out a sharp gasp once you felt him start to stroke that spongy spot over and over again while his tongue started to softly create a rhythmic pattern on your throbbing bud. 

The other thing about your relationship with Ari is that he was the most vocal when you were fucking. He always let you know how you felt around him and freely praised you as you gave each other the most visceral and intense experience. Anticipating more from him, your body rolled with his fingers to get him even deeper inside of you.

Only squeaking out sounds now, your high-pitched tones of pleasure were music to Ari’s ears. Your wet starting to squelch around his fingers and spurt out of you, Ari knew you were almost there. His fingers thrusted faster into you and curved in deeper with each thrust. He groaned, “Hmm, yeah baby? Is this the spot right here?”

You couldn’t conjure up a response as you were only experiencing the immense pleasure that he was giving to you and almost animalistic groans started leaving your throat. Ari looked up to see your head thrown back on the bed and your upper body contorting, your tanktop having ridden up and was now showing your beautiful perky, round breasts. Nipples peaked in heightened pleasure. Witnessing you like this was a privilege for Ari and he never thought you looked more beautiful than when you were writhing for him in the bedroom. 

A deep desire to witness more of you, Ari increased his efforts by pushing down on your tummy just above your mount. “Yeah, that’s the spot. Be a good girl for me, and let me have it. Let go for me.” He breathes against your slit while giving you one last intentional suck and rapid licking at your clit. 

Inhaling sharply, his words were your undoing as you felt that tight knot inside of you tear in ecstasy. Your head tossed back in euphoria as you cum hard, your pussy clenched around his fingers. Though, Ari didn’t stop thrusting his fingers deep inside of you. Whispering good girl and so sweet against your thrumming folds as he continued to coach you through your release. 

You let out a satiated whimper at experiencing your orgasm but Ari wasn’t stopping. If anything, his fingers curved into your g-spot faster and his tongue licked harder at your humming, swollen clit. You did thrash at the overstimulation. Your disobedience resulted in Ari slapping your ass once more. Even though it was served as a punishment, it seemed to only end up heightening your yearning for a second release. Noticing that your juices were spurting out excessively now, Ari kept slapping your ass as your pussy gripped tighter onto his large fingers. 

Letting out a myriad of whimpers and desperate moans, you sobbed out, “Ari please, please…I can’t do it, please!”

“Yes, you can baby, you can. Don’t you want to be good for me?”

You couldn’t answer him other than your random babblings– you couldn’t even think as you felt so consumed by the pleasure that he was giving you. You felt like you were being consumed by him and adored at the same time. 

A cry left your lips as he slapped your ass harder. “I asked you a question, are you my good girl?”

“Yes, yes, please, let me cum, please!” You sobbed out. 

Ari grunted deeply, “Your pussy is begging for it– you hear that?” He quieted only for the sounds of your own wetness slopping out of you to fill the space. “Mmm, see, I know you can do it, just one more, love.” Ari went back to suckling on your clit while he rubbed and grabbed at your now pink-colored flesh. 

Hearing him use this endearment again as his lips never left your body made your eyes roll up and you inadvertently held your breath as you let go for the second time. You register Ari’s moans and praise against your clit as you squirt your cum into his awaiting mouth. 

All you could let out were quiet mumbles of satisfaction as Ari’s fingers slowed. Your body was still jerking as it carried out aftershocks of your release, and you let out another sharp breath as Ari left one last kiss on your velvety folds. 

You were attempting to catch your breath as Ari kissed his way up your body, spending some time on your nipples by taking one in his mouth while his hand caressed your other breast. Ari brought up his fingers that were just inside of you to stroke your nipple and groaned as you glistened with your own cum. Leaning down, he took your nipple in his mouth again to suck it clean. You moaned softly and arched your back to give him more access as your hands stroked affectionately through his hair.  

Working his way back towards your bite-ridden lips, Ari slanted his wet mouth over yours as you taste yourself on his tongue. The both of you moaned as you continued making out leisurely. Ari pulled back to lick your lips sensually before dipping into your open mouth one more time for his tongue to meet yours in a passionate, sloppy dance.

Ari stroked your hair away from your face. “You ready for my cock, baby?” 

You whined and nodded as he leaned down to give you another wet kiss. You feel him reaching for his cock, hard and resting on your clit heavily. You mewled at him again as he slapped your clit with the wide mushroom head of his cock and he pushed in slowly. 

Groaning together at the feel of his thick cock bottoming in you, Ari lets out a strained moan. “Fuuuck baby, your pretty pussy is just sucking me in. Agh, so tight.” 

He withdrew until he was almost out of you before thrusting back into you deeply. Your eyes rolled back in your head and your mouth fell open as you could feel the veins on his girthy cock graze your inner walls. 

Ari leaned his head back in ecstasy at the feel of you clenching around him. He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned out your name, “Yes, take it, baby. Take my fat cock.” 

You felt like you could barely breathe as his thrusts became faster and harder. He was sinking in so deep and you were gasping for air at all of the sensations your body was experiencing. Besides your mutual groans and moans, the sounds of your union could be heard as you only became wetter at the stimulation. 

“I’m so full, so full…so big, Ari.” You mumbled out, your eyes crossed in ecstasy. Ari let out a condescending laugh, “Aww, look at you. Can’t even speak, can you? Just continue taking my cock, honey, you’re so good at it.” 

Ari leaned up and thrust out of you, despite your desperate whining, only to turn you on your stomach. You feel him kneel outside of your thighs that were clenched together, and only had time to hold onto the pillow in front of you as he thrust back in. You gasped out a high pitched moan and small, repeated sounds of pleasure came out of your mouth as you felt his long shaft pit up against your g-spot with every thrust. 

“There she is, yesss. You’re so fucking tight when I take you like this, baby. Your pussy is gripping me like a vice, goddamn.” Ari groaned louder as your warmth enveloped him. Tension started brewing again deep inside your belly as he thrust faster into you. 

Leaning down, his chest was damp and his hair grazed your smooth skin as it met your back. He lifted you slightly to wrap his right hand around your neck and squeezed. He whispered harshly in your ear, “Don’t ever forget that you’re mine. This pussy is mine, your body. I’ll always protect you, you hear me, love?”

Gripping onto the pillow in front of you fiercely, you couldn’t contain your moans that were now resonating in the room. His possessiveness, his fingers gripping your throat so protectively, and the passion in his words made you feel so hot, you felt that coil in your belly about to snap. The sensation pulling at that area inside of you that felt so full and relieving when released. “Ari, yes, I’m yours! You’re gonna make me cum again!” 

“Yeah, I am, love. Soak my cock, make a mess with my pussy.” He released the grip on your throat to lean back up and take your hips in his hands for full control. His thrusts were consistently hard and deep. It twisted that coil inside of you so delightfully that you finally snapped and cried out your orgasm. 

Ari’s thrusts became sloppier as your juices squirted around his cock. He bellowed out a deep and low groan from his strained throat and followed you as you rode out your orgasm against him. You moan at the feeling of his dick throbbing inside of you and feeling him cum so deep in your pussy made you feel like you were being claimed. His dick was still buried deep inside as you gyrated against him. At the overstimulation, Ari thrust out of you with a sharp hiss and a mixture of your cum with his started to spurt out of you. 

“Fuck, so pretty, baby. Here, let me help you.” He breathed out heavily while his hand left your hip to use his finger to push your combined cum back into your quivering pussy. You moaned out at the sensation of his thick finger thrusting his warm spend further into you and mewled in content. 

Ari kneaded and squeezed your ass one last time before attempting to get off the bed to get a towel to clean you up but you clutched his hand before he could fully leave and pleaded, “Wait baby, stay. Can you just…hold me, please?”

He picked up the hand that you were holding to kiss the back of yours softly and collapsed on the bed next to you as you leaned into his outstretched arms. Cuddling him as your head rested over his chest, you felt him graze his fingers soothingly on your arm. You both were satiated in your passionate release, and after the day that you had, you both were starting to feel the effects of it. 

Embracing you in his arms, the warmth of your body and the softness of your skin felt like heaven against him. Before his sleepy eyes shut completely, you gave him a gentle tap above his heart to get his attention one last time. He peered down at you and gave you a relaxed grin. With his familiar grunt, his eyes questioned your touch. 

You gazed into his blue eyes that were filled with such affection, the same glint that you saw earlier at the bar. A familiar burning in your eyes started to come on at his stare, but you blinked them away to smile back fondly at him. 

“I love you too, Ari.” 

A/N: Welp! We made it -- I'm hoping ya'll enjoyed Ari and reader on this one. Something about Lumberjack!Ari being protective and only having eyes for you makes me feral and that can be the only explanation as to why this is so long lol. I would love to know what ya'll thought! Speak soon, lads~

Main Masterlist

Ari Levinson Masterlist

Join My Tag List!

****if you wanna be notified on my work (and next updates)!

[meowzfordayz]

how they speak up for you — mitsuri, shinobu, kyojuro, sanemi, muichiro

Author’s Note: short and sweet, and hopefully a lil funny too. 😆

how they speak up for you — mitsuri, shinobu, kyojuro, sanemi, muichiro

Kanroji Mitsuri x Reader, Kocho Shinobu x Reader, Rengoku Kyojuro x Reader, Shinazugawa Sanemi x Reader, Tokito Muichiro x Reader

Word Count: ~800

CW: explicit language, mild sexual content

Emergency Request Fulfilled: could you write comfort for when Their S/o like absolutely hates speaking up for themselves, like someone could be walking all over them and they'd be like "Oh, its fine" bc conflict= worst enemy? I would like to request Muichiro (love him sm) and Sanemi if that's okay, and the rest you can decide (-if you want to add more.)

~faqs~

Mitsuri will be all over the situation (in a good way, ofc 😌)

“Baby, didn’t you want your drink hot?” —> she’s already staring daggers at the barista who made your drink 😒

“Hm?”

You do your best to conceal the pinch of your eyebrows, as well as the goosebumps raising on your arms 🥶

“I thought cold drinks made you cold, and you don’t like being cold?”

… “Hm?”

She’s not buying your nonchalance 🙃

“That’s it.” Uh oh. “I’m getting you your drink made right.”

😳🫣🫠

“Nonono, Mitsuri, it’s fiiine.” 😭

Arms crossed, her lips purse, eyes narrowed as you weakly grin and take a big sip 😄

“If you won’t let me get you another one, then at least wear my sweater?”

🤯 “Okay!” 🤭

So maybe she’s wearing a cropped tank top underneath — you’re only a mere mortal after all 

— #oops my thirst made an appearance 😅

Short girlfriend = scary girlfriend

And that’s a compliment 😎

Shinobu doesn’t need height, bulk, or a dick to defend you

Her scathing tongue and unnerving stare are plenty

Not to mention, she’ll go full Karen if need be, but the more eloquent, calculating, deceptively sweet version 😌

She can make anyone feel like a complete idiot in 2-3 sentences, give or take 

Which does include you, but you don’t argue too often 😅

Basically:

It’s highkey hot when she speaks up for you 🤭

But it may or may not make you cry when her sharpness is directed toward you 🥲

Fortunately, you in distress is also one of few things that immediately softens her — at least, when she’s the reason for it 🥺

Kyojuro always tries to solve your problems for you

Not bc he thinks you’re incapable, and not w/o your expressed consent/prior communication

But he just hates seeing you unhappy, uncomfortable, unsafe — really anything that isn’t grinning and laughing

He understands there’s a time and place for more difficult and painful emotions, but why on earth wouldn’t he go out of his way to ensure those times and places are as few and far between as possible????? 🤨

So, obvi, he more than willingly goes out of his way ☺️

“Do you want me to say something?” his quiet breath warms your ear, softening the frustration growing in your chest

“I dunno,” you sigh, gesturing hopelessly at the person who’d just cut you in line, “We’re all going to the same place anyway.”

“True,” he shrugs, “But that was quite rude and noticeable of them.”

“Do you want to say something?” you tease, elbowing his side with amused fondness

“Not if it discomforts you.”

“It wouldn’t discomfort me,” you mumble, cheeks darkening nonetheless, “You’re so cute.”

Albeit, you aren’t sure whether to feel proud or embarrassed when he somehow intimidates the person who cut you into leaving altogether 😅

On one hand, you know Sanemi has your back ☺️

On the other hand, you aren’t 100% positive that that’s a good thing 😬

“I swear, does that bitch even know I exist?!” 😤

… 🫣

“I bet she doesn’t! Otherwise she wouldn’t dare treat you like-” 😤

“And this is why she doesn’t know you exist.” 🥲

“Pardon?” 😐

“Sanemi, I love you, and I so appreciate how ready to go to war you are for me, but-”

“Ooh darling, you have no idea. Go to war? I will be the war for you.” 😤

“So sweet,” your eyes roll, “How about you just let me handle it?”

“And how are you handling it?” he scoffs, “With smiley face emojis?” 🙄

…

“You deserve kindness and honesty. Not her manipulative bitch shit.”

“I’ll block her.”

“You what?!” 😳

“Would that suffice?” 😅

“Actually… yeah.” Sanemi is very surprised. Gushing now, “I’m so fucking proud of you.” 🥰

It’s kind of alarming when Muichiro speaks up for you

Bc you get a faint taste of what he was like before he’d really opened up to love 😕

And that Tokito Muichiro is sharp and cold as steel w/ a -139% tolerance for bullshit

Impossible to impress 😬

But your Muichiro hugs you when you’re feeling low, rests his chin on your shoulder while you do your best to draft a stern, confident text msg to your asshole “friend”, and is more than happy to tell you what he would do were he in your shoes

… you usually ignore his advice 😅

Buuut sometimes he reaches over and hits SEND before you can stop him 🫠

“MUI! I was going to delete some of that!” 😭

“Nah, it’s great as is.” 😎

[harmonysanreads]

hello <3

wishing you freedom and happiness from academic hell before diving in. you opened requests so 👉👈

forgive me if this counts as idea stealing since you posted about it but yan! neuvillette with a darling who wants to file for divorce would be such a messy situation. court proceedings go to him now that the oratrice is no longer functioning. how do you expect to win against the law of the land?

filing divorce in a different land also isn't an option, because it is written in your marriage contract that you cannot leave fontaine without your husband and he sure as hell isn't going to come with you for something like this

oh well.

Jeux de Vagues

ᯓᡣ𐭩 Neuvillette x [ Gender Neutral ] Reader

Warnings: Yandere, Implications of forced marriage, Captivity, Slight dehumanization, Coercion, Fontaine archon quest act one spoilers, Old married couple bickering (literally)

「 Words : 3k 」 「 Trivia for Jeux de Vagues 」 「 Read on AO3 」

· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Hiii Zuri!! I have been brainrotting this fic since version 4.0 so thank you so much for just giving me the opportunity to unleash it lol. For plot reasons this takes place between act 1 and 2. I dedicate this fic to all the anons who brain-rotted with me and kept me motivated to think about neuvillette with their creative asks<3

“Husband, I wish for a divorce.”

In Spring, the snow of the bygone winter thaws and raises the tides. They twirl to the edges of the shores ; push and pull, back and forth, mesmerizing the nation of Hydro with their temptatious dance.

You wonder what it'd take to entice the waves to your direction, to have the power to make them rage and placate. When one desires to control something great, they see its reflection upon mundane things — just as you envision yourself dictating the tides upon cups of dainty porcelain, noon to evening and midnight to dawn — your spoon conducts its rhythm.

In Summer, the waters boil and vaporize upon the touch of sunlight to reach the heavens and complete the cycle. Just as wisps of steaming tea tantalize their way upwards from cups and tea pots. Beyond that translucent veil stares back a pair of watchful eyes, undecipherable are their emotions and primordial their age.

“The tides of time heed no one's orders or pleas. Very well, mon trésor, let us begin this trial.”

You're quick to catch the hint and slow to react, deliberate and relaxed as you bring the rim of the cup to your lips. The tea scathes your lips and paints your tongue bitter, bitter, bitter — a smile stretches across your tingling lips, deeming the liquid's taste adequate to your present temperament.

You are bitter, not because of the contents of this ‘trial’ but, due to the delay of it. You've been crossing days after days from heaps of calendars, preparing all your accusations and aligning evidence to back up your claims for this chance only comes once every fin de siècle.

“I heard your justice machine broke?” a ‘clang’ accompanies the tea cup meeting the saucer. You focus on the chirping of birds and the noises of crystal flies buzzing past instead of the possible damage done by your words.

You hear it, the swell of rising waves before they pacify with a purposeful cough. You don't let the event’s lamentable duration plunder your motivation, more precisely, you take it as a good start.

“Calling it broken is quite the stretch. You and I both know that the Oratrice Mechanique d’Analyse Cardinale—”

You swat a hand and the waves placate completely, sans any questions or any other brewing feelings. “I'm quite aware of what it's called, husband.” ‘I just could not care less’ goes unsaid.

You point your finger towards the Iudex of Fontaine, “You,” then return it back to yourself, “and I, both know the purpose of me bringing that incident up in our private trial.”

No amount of sensory loss would render someone ignorant of the mockery of your words. You bite the inside of your cheek in a lazy attempt to suppress a smirk, times like this really make you regret not having the privilege to face off against Neuvillette in the Court of this land ; you're quite sure your most recent stunt would earn you many bewildered gasps. If only the gates of your husband's manor crashed down, perhaps incapacitating him in the process for good measure.

“...Yes, we do. Your intention is to insinuate the impending prophecy and learn how we plan to prevent or battle it.”

Neuvillette's words resemble velvet in the manner they roll off his tongue, you catch his gaze drifting towards the chalice to his left, from where his reflection returns his stare. There are many tales passed among melusines of the equanimity practiced by your husband in even the most dire situations. But you have seen the depths of the ocean, where its secrets are forever concealed by an ever stretching darkness.

“Correct,” you affirm.

“Unfortunately, mon trésor, our investigations have not yet reached a decisive conclusion. While I can guarantee you that we'll do our utmost in the face of the prophecy, I cannot yet give you the specific details. Besides, this information is quite... arbitrary to our ‘trial’.”

The ocean returns your scrutiny, threatening to yank your breath away to that unknown darkness. You watch the ripples along its surface, wondering and devising plots to uproot the ocean's schemes from your safe space.

You want to tear through that ataraxia and illuminate those depths for all to see its hideous secrets — so that your claims will no longer be deemed senseless.

“Well, you could try acting the part of the Iudex first.” you exhibit great interest in your nails.

“Apologies, mon trésor. The trial is now in session.”

The most preposterous trial there ever was, in fact ; spectated by cups of tea and plates of desserts, overlooked by the jury of birds and bees under the naked skies and one stubborn ‘judge’ to lay down the final verdict — who was also the accused in question.

It'd be more fitting to call this some courtroom version of playing house and you wonder if Neuvillette sees it as exactly this ; since the notion of normal matrimonial life flies past his head.

You swallow your profound irritation at his nonchalance and that prickling soft gaze, the calm of the ocean surface is just a facade, you remind yourself.

“O honorable Chief Justice of Fontaine, riddle me of what I must do with my husband. He sees fit to cage me down while preaching justice simultaneously and allows me not to indulge in ‘rudimentary interactions’ with any other life forms. Do you not think that such hypocrisy is utterly ridiculous?”

Your hand cradles your heart, fully embracing the spirit of a mistreated spouse. Neuvillette regards it with an almost comical graveness, nodding as though he understands. Had it not been for the situation, you would've marveled at how willingly he's playing along with this fiasco.

A gloved hand stretches out to you in suggestion, “Perhaps it's because your husband just worries too much for your well-being?”

Your right eye twitches, “I’ve made it acutely obvious to him that I'm far from a toddler in need of constant supervision.”

The Iudex smiles succinctly, “I’m sure that he's not ignorant of that fact. But if, as you say, your husband guards you with such determination that you're not allowed to interact with any other forms of living organisms besides himself, it means that you hold great value to him.”

You cross your arms petulantly, it's not that you're forbidden from talking with everyone, many of Neuvillette's most trusted melusines do come to add flickers of color to your otherwise bleak existence sporadically.

You're grateful for their kindness and brief companionship but, this small leeway does not outweigh the rest of your husband's misdeeds. Your eyes flicker to the patient eyes of the man separated by one small oak table, barely suppressing a scowl at his serene composure.

You despise it when he acts like the raw image of propriety, of an ideal husband ; so withdrawn from the covetous creature that he actually is — because it poses you as a lunatic, a lunatic who demands separation from what the rest of society perceives as perfection and debilitates all of your claims.

The more you think about it, the more frustrated you get — you don't want to let frustration consume you, you don't want to lose this one opportunity for freedom. Your nails dig into the sleeves of your apparel as your mind scrambles to search for more accusations.

Why did you want a divorce again?

You control your erratic breaths forcefully, “Well, I don't feel safe in Fontaine anymore. A deadly prophecy is at our door and with no solution in sight. I'd much prefer to relocate to someplace with less volatile weather, like Liyue or Mondstadt.”

Neuvillette tilts his head, “Ah, you want to go on a vacation, am I correct? To be honest, I've been entertaining the thought of traveling to the other nations with you by my side for quite a while. Though, things being the way as they're now, that is not possible. I can promise you that after everything has been settled, we will go on a journey together, mon trésor.”

This time you don't bother to conceal your disbelief, of course he focuses on the part that most serves him and twists the narrative to further enrich his fantasies! You bite your tongue back from yelling that you don't want a vacation, you want freedom from these suffocating high walls of marble. You don't just want freedom from Neuvillette, you want freedom from this cursed nation and it's solely Neuvillette's fault you were unable to do so with your kin five hundred years ago.

“Fontaine will face diplomatic and political consequences soon. Because you threw that Harbinger of Sumeru—”

“Sneznaya, mon trésor.”

“—I know that. My point is that we might face backlash from the Fatui in our vulnerable state and who knows? Fontaine might just collapse as a nation! I don't want to stay in a city like this.”

You freeze at the sigh that escapes Neuvillette's lips, you've been probing and digging for a normal human reaction from this man for a while, but at the instance that he actually gives it, you cannot help but find it jarring.

“Fontaine will not collapse from something as trivial as diplomatic pressure from the Fatui. Even though the prophecy looms above our heads, there are many factions that are actively working towards prevention. And even if Fontaine were to be drowned tomorrow, I have faith that not all of the citizens will be dissolved and you would always be my first priority. As for that Sneznayan Harbinger… we've merely followed the Court's protocols. If we did indeed convict him of crimes he did not commit, we'll most certainly compensate him to the fullest extent allowed by the law.”

For a transient eternity, all that echoed throughout the garden of the Chief Justice were the chirping of birds. Your mind carefully assesses the words from moments ago, searching for even a modicum of dishonesty.

You watch the Iudex's unfettered gaze, at last giving a glimpse of the tumults raging beneath the pretentious still surface. You can hear the swelling of waves again, albeit not for the purpose to engulf but, with the determination to protect.

You'd recognize that look on Neuvillette's face even in your (unlikely) deathbed, the causation of your bafflement though is that, this is the first time you've seen it appear in correlation to something other than yourself.

Your right hand idly smoothes your garbs and your left grips the wooden handle of your seat, you find both of your palms drenched in sweat upon contact.

“You’ve gone soft, ______”

You blankly admit in your semi-dazed state and it's Neuvillette's turn to take a deep breath. It's been a while since you've spoken that name aloud, the one that is only permitted to be uttered by you in private ambiances such as this and which serves as the origin for this clandestine marriage.

For some reason you cannot quite comprehend — especially since your husband does not seem to suffer from it — your memory enjoys having a love-hate relationship with you. From what you recall at this instance, the last time you called the Iudex by his true name was when he gifted you this garden. Its utterance is so rare that even the bearer is rendered speechless each time.

Neuvillette copies your previous antics and pastes it onto the current situation with a prolonged look-over of your person, “Your apparel today suits you most exquisitely, mon trésor.”

You answer with a gracious eye-roll, “Don’t change the subject.”

The Chief Justice of Fontaine straightens his posture with a somewhat bashful chuckle, the afternoon sun's soft hues make the ivory strands of his hair sparkle. “Apologies, I've been meaning to compliment your appearance, not that it is ever short of radiant — I just could not find a suitable opening.”

You submit to the urge to slouch ever so slightly with a sigh, “You don't have to apologize for every little thing, you know?”

“Apologi—” Neuvillette corrects himself with a cough concealed by his fist, you watch with intrigue as soft coral dusts his pale cheeks.

“As for your ‘question’, I will admit that throughout my coexistence with humans as Fontaine's Iudex, I've come to appreciate their ideals, characteristics and interpersonal relationships. In a way, I've understood myself to a great extent through observing them. Just as you wished I would.”

You furrow your brows in genuine confusion, “What do you mean?”

Your husband seems to steel himself for something, hands intertwined atop the oak table and eyes drained from his earlier playful light all too quickly. “You’ve always wished to become human. To view this world through the eyes of a mortal, to be able to have a taste of their myriad and complex relationships and... to die alongside someone you truly love.”

Somewhere in the crevices of your archaic mind, there's a vacuum hidden beneath the symphony of sea waves. Unchanging, uncharted and unperturbed by your attempts to identify what used to occupy that space.

Neuvillette's cryptic admission creates a crack on what you assumed to be an empty spot occupied by white noise, the cleft dents your memories and spreads, a raucous scream threatens to rupture your eardrums.

“Are you, perhaps,” your fingers clasp onto the silk of your garb, “insinuating that you've granted me my ‘wish’?”

If you had gathered the strength to look up, you would've been blessed with the sight of the Iudex thrown off-guard. But the lapse in composure is short lived, “Of course.”

Something about his easy confirmation annihilates your decorum and replaces it with a rage of unknown origin, “So you think imprisoning me has made me happy? That it's made me feel human? That your kindness and preachings of justice have bewitched me so much that I've considered you as a lover for even a second? No, no and no! I have never and will never stop hating you, ______!”

But why do you hate him? Your thoughts echo back to you ; he's ensured you never have to ask for a meal, he's clothed you, he's provided a solid roof above your head and he's given you his heart — or at least that's what he says.

For not once does a memory that he's mistreated you arise in your head but, what does bubble in your heart is an inexplicable hatred. A hatred so grave that it motivates you to not surrender to this unfair trial, contemptuous waves swell, rise to heights unseen, crash down—

“Do not forget that abandoned property belongs to whoever finds it first.”

And drag everything to the ocean's dark depths.

A jolt shakes your whole body, your eyes rise to meet the tempest in disbelief and suddenly, the dam shatters. Now you can see the serpent leering behind the charming flower, an unrestricted view of what the fair and ideal Iudex is inside those glimmering garbs of honor — a dragon with manicured claws and perfumed scales, seated to a chair of judgement yet, forever guilty of a sin he refuses to purge.

Only you remember that Neuvillette wasn't always like this ; in days not noted down in history he'd been an enigma, unsure of the significance of his existence, burning with contempt for the so-called Usurpers and sometimes cruel. But at least, he wasn't a hypocrite.

He'd dug his talons deep into your heart and skin and engraved his name within your soul, he'd defiled the waters that construct your being with hatred and malice but at least, he hadn't refused to acknowledge that it was him who shackled you to this godforsaken nation, separated from the rest of your kin.

Neuvillette takes a deep breath upon noticing your erratic trembling, the tsunami recedes. “It always ends like this,”

It does. This excuse of a trial with your freedom as the wager, born of your husband's ironic belief of justice, that you should still be given a chance to speak up against iniquity. He'll take great note of any other issues that might cause you distress, but the actual concern will never be addressed — that's how it's been for five centuries.

It is the kind of judge that Neuvillette has become in matters that concern you, finding loopholes to keep you attached to his name yet hidden from prying eyes ; all because of his principle that having a public personal relationship will bring the impartiality of the judiciary system to question.

“However, it must be done to ensure your safety.” you tense as he rises from his seat, gloved fingers trace the silk table cloth.

The grass crunches beneath his heel, “For who knows what the public's reaction would be if it was to be leaked, that the Iudex Neuvillette's spouse was the progenitor of the prophecy?”

You feel the familiar texture of Neuvillette's glove supporting your face, wiping the cascading tears that escaped without your notice. “Do you not remember, mon trésor, that you need me?”

Your vision blurs and all you see is blue, his blue or yours, your mind refuses to confirm. But what it does corroborate are Neuvillette's words, that you would not survive without his care, that you are the first who had wished to become human and that you are the first sinner.

You feel his touch more firmly this time, it's not warm like all the other times ; but soothing and sedating. As though, a cavity within your soul was given meaning and a portion of your memories hidden away. Your eyes are defeated against the temptation of slumber, but before the darkness engulfs you, you vividly hear the rumbling of an ensuing storm, the first of many tears of the sky hitting your skin.

“I suppose this must be my punishment. But, I would rather prefer being the recipient of your scorn and contempt than to not have you at all.”

But why go through such lengths? Neuvillette's conscience asks as he takes your limp body in his arms, the sound of heavy rain follows his footsteps back towards your shared ‘home’.

To this, he consoles himself : the words unspoken are the flower.

[justaz]

this got longer than i meant it to so im putting it under the cut

merlin and morgana watching arthur and gwen be The Couple in camelot. they are heartbroken, jealous, and tired- no, exhausted. they've arthur and gwen for years and fell madly and hopelessly in love with them (respectively). however, they care for the both of them and if they’re happy together then merlin and morgana will simply bite their tongue. besides, its not like their feelings are reciprocated so there’s no use in stirring up trouble.

but the pain eats away at them until they are shadows of their previous selves. merlin is quiet and demure while morgana’s lighthearted snark is growing harsher and harsher. it comes to a head when morgana makes a scathing remark to merlin about his feelings. before, her comments had been directed at others, arthur more often than not, but never toward merlin. they were in the same boat so why would morgana target him?

but she did and things get a little tense. then merlin finds a spell and shows morgana and the two of them, utterly exhausted and desperate for an end to their agony, agree to take part in the spell together. merlin concocts the potion and they both down it. the next day, merlin and morgana are as happy as can be. it was a startling 180° from the morose and downtrodden duo they had been not even twelve hours before to the happy, on cloud nine, nothing is wrong with the world people that hummed as they danced around the castle

merlin and morgana exclaim to one another how freeing it is to not feel such a heavy burden of unrequited love. they mention how easy it is to breath. how they haven’t been this happy and carefree in years. of course, like everything else, there comes a price

to be rid of feelings like love, the opposite feeling would take it’s place. a lot of people believe the opposite of love to be hate, but it is in fact indifference. it starts off slow where gwen makes inside jokes that morgana cant remember. then it moves to them having trouble remembering arthur and gwen’s names. then their memories begin to rewrite themselves to remove arthur and gwen from their minds. eventually, they roam the halls, arm in arm, without even a glance at either arthur or gwen bc they cant find it in themselves to care about these two random strangers. who would?

arthur and gwen go to gaius who has already noted their odd behaviors and has been looking into it. the rest of the knights join them in gaius’s chambers bc they had also noticed how weird they were acting. lancelot is quiet and brooding until arthur pushes him to confess what he knows.

lancelot tells them how he fell for gwen the first time he had come to camelot. she flushes and arthur seems upset but lancelot continues. he tells them all how despite, or maybe because of, his love for gwen, he let her go to be with arthur bc she was happy with him. he hesitates and gwen encourages him. lancelot mentally apologizes to his two magical friends and spills the beans. he explains how morgana has loved gwen for years and how merlin has loved arthur for years. the three of them had bonded after arthur and gwen were engaged about how much it hurt watching the person you love be happy with someone else.

slowly, he pulls out a vial filled with glittering, dark red liquid - dark like blood. he hands it to gaius and explains how they had come to him a few days ago with that and said how it would cure his pain. it would wash away his love for gwen so he wasn’t crushed under the weight of it. he says he never took it bc he didn’t think it was right but merlin and morgana had already taken it. he wasn’t sure what the side effects were going to be until he saw them that afternoon.

gaius finds what the potion is and explains how it did in fact wash away their feelings of love for arthur and gwen and with the absence of love, indifference took hold. he wasn’t sure if their missing memories could be attributed to the indifference or if the spell took to wiping the memories to prevent the love from regrowing.

arthur and gwen are quiet, guilty and upset that their closest friends were going thru such turmoil and they weren’t aware at all. leon clears his throat and asks how to cure them. gaius grimaces and read the book a bit more before responding that a counter potion would do the trick, it would neutralize the previous potion by bringing back their memories and feelings. arthur is quick to agree but gaius interrupts that once the counter potion has been administered, everything will come back at once. everything.

they question him and he explains that every memory, every word spoken, every touch, and every feeling from the past 7+ years will run through them at the same time. considering they’ve been dealing with unreciprocated love and watching the one they love be with someone else for the past couple of years, it wouldn’t be that farfetched to assume that they would look and sound like dying animals. suffice to say, it wouldn’t be pretty.

in spite of the guilt and fear in arthur, he insists that they have to bring merlin and morgana back. he doesn’t want to put them in pain but he cant just let them wipe themselves away and continue on with his life as if he didn’t just lose his best friend and sister. they spike merlin and morgana’s wine with the potion and, as gaius predicted, merlin and morgana both drop to the floor, screaming and crying in pain, pleading with anyone to make it stop and take the pain away.

gwen hides her tears in elyan’s shoulder, arthur uses his long taught skill of being an Emotionless Prick of a Prince his father taught him to not cry. the tears stay in his eyes and do not fall. a few minutes later, merlin and morgana are both catatonic on the ground, limp and staring at nothing. their breathing is slow, so slow they almost appeared dead.

lancelot and gwaine help merlin up and take him to his chambers while leon and percival do the same for morgana. no one mentions what happened and merlin and morgana stay locked in their rooms for two days before being able to get up out of bed. they aren’t back to their shadow selves from two weeks prior, nor are they the happy go lucky duo from the past few days. instead, they are slow and quiet and barely even there. they’re barely even people anymore. simply going through the motions.

[hello-from-nrc-infirmary]

Vern's Hometown: Centennial Celebration

Book 1: A Founding Fiasco

Chapter 1: A Tiny Dilemma

"Oh! And umm... anyone who needs their refill while I'm gone-"

"-has to present their student ID and we check the chart... We know! Just go," Pam snaps as they tap their roots on the desk.

Vern nods, more to himself than the plants, "o-okay.... umm... r-right. Okay. Call if you ummm... need anything!"

The crocuses start prodding him to move towards the door. All of them start talking slightly over each other, "don't worry! Bennet is coming in to help!!!!"

He hesitantly lets them push him out while trying to not step on any of their thin roots. Not even a moment after the little flowers shove him into the hall, the infirmary door slamming shut echoes off the stone walls. He blinks, adjusting his satchel before starting off towards the mirror hall. Each footstep disturbs the silence of the school.

It was too early to leave, and yet... his amber gaze drops to the basket in his grip. The lavender cloth covering it slightly rustles as he walks. He hadn't found someone to watch his bunnies. The centennial will keep him busy and his stomach twists at the thought of not having enough time for them. He considers asking one of Uncle's... no, they would also be busy.

As he arrives at the mirror chamber, Koa lifts his head from where he's laying. Vern let the elk out of the stables earlier. His familiar had sent him out of the room several times in the past few hours. The elk's ear twitches, watching Vern carefully as he stares at the mirrors.

"Patience... you-"

"-I know," he sighs, grip tightening as he turns to Koa, "I'm umm... my stomach is all um... knotted a-and ummm... my hands are umm... shaky, too..."

"That is your nerves and anxiety. He will-"

"-and if he doesn't? What if no one-"

"-Vern," Koa stands, taking a few strides towards him. The elk bends its head down to press against Vern's forehead, "everything will be alright."

Chapter 2: The Sleepiest Solution

“Hey~“

Vern jumps a little at the familiar voice. Smiling as he turns, he takes care to not jostle the basket of bunnies too much. His nerves are somewhat eased to see Steel finally join him. Part of him wanted to ask about the lack of any visible blot, but the memory of Pam’s scathing remarks tie his tongue.

“G-good morning, I’m umm… thank you, again for um…” he pauses, noticing Nightshade attempting to nose his way out of the basket. Vern frowns a little as he carefully tries to nudge the rabbit’s head back under the blanket.

“Eh, no problem..” he earns a shrug and a raised brow, “you brought the bunnies?”

Vern lifts the basket higher to let Steel pet Nightshade, “I umm… couldn’t find someone to um… watch them…”

“Hm...” a playful grin slowly crosses Steel’s features, “I know someone~”

He looks up at him, “r-really? Are you umm…. sure they won’t mind?”

“Sure...” Steel only winks “it’ll be fun~”

“O-okay…” Vern fidgets slightly, but quickly follows him. He’s hesitates before stepping through the Diasomnia mirror. The ever-looming storm causes his nerves to spike as lightning flashes. Walking faster, he does his best to stay close to Steel while his amber gaze continuously darts to the sky. His muscles lose some tension as they enter the dorm. Every window they pass, he unconsciously checks the sky. Vern briefly draws Steel’s attention as he accidentally bumps into his arm.

“… right. I can take them for you, if you want,” he offers, his voice a bit softer than normal.

Vern stiffens at a distant rumble of thunder, “I-I would umm… rather um… s-stay…”

“… alright..”

They eventually reach a familiar door, giving Vern pause as Steel steps into the dorm. Despite his initial hesitation, he follows and looks around. It’s probably a good thing that Silver has not woken up, or perhaps it’s the opposite?

“You can set them over there.”

Nodding, Vern places the basket in the corner. Smiling to himself, he whispers a small farewell as he casts for some vines to create a nice enclosure for them.

“A-and you’re umm… sure he won’t mind?”

Shrugging, Steel leads Vern back into the hall, “animals like him, no worries~”

Vern nods as they head back towards the mirror chamber. He barely notices Steel quickly sending a text and quietly hopes he tells Silver about the bunnies.

Chapter 3: A Land Called Paradise

Vern looks around as they return to the mirror chamber. Koa seems to have stretched his legs a bit while waiting. The elk's ear twitches as the pair returns, aware of more footsteps heading towards the chamber.

"You found a suitable place for the small ones?"

Vern glances at Steel, a bit of humor lighting his own eyes after a moment, "I ummm... think so, yeah..."

"Good," Koa nods, "it's almost time for the others to be arriving..."

[jarofstyles]

Jealousy - Reaper extra

Hello angels! This is a blurb for reaper while yall wait for the update. It’s before they left for their trip and before the stalker started acting up again. 

Enjoy! 

Check out our Patreon for early access and 180+ exclusive writings

WC-3k

Warnings- Jealous H, kinda toxic tbh but we love him, mention of murder and stalking (brief), smut, unprotected sex, restraining, possessive H, etc

—-

Harry could feel her before he saw her. Arriving back to the clubhouse after work, his body sought her out even if it wasn’t voluntary, eyes pulled in her direction. 

Sitting pretty at the bar, she had a Shirley temple in hand and was chatting to Wiz, legs kicking off the stool as she talked about something. Anything, really. It was irritational to feel jealousy, but he did. It festered in his gut as his boots stomped over to her, watching her eyes light up as he approached but he was quick to shut her up. Gripping her jaw, he tilted her head up and gave her a scathing kiss, not at all appropriate for the situation but… this was the clubhouse. There’d been orgies on the couches. They could handle a kiss. 

He exhaled through his nose, nudging her knee to splay open so he could step between them. Like the good girl she was, or maybe it was the pure shock of it, she did as asked and he was quick to haul her up against him. Palms pressed against his black tee shirt, fingers curling in the fabric as a surprised hum left her mouth. He’d stolen her attention. 

In reality he knew that no one here would go for his girl. They knew that underneath it all, Harry would quite literally kill any single person who put a hand on her- but that didn’t mean he liked to share. The man wasn’t blind to his faults. Jealous, possessive beyond belief, he didn’t like sharing her in the slightest. That smile Wiz had gotten should be his. 

Especially after the day he had. 

“Down boy. We were talking about you.” He laughed, hands up as the kiss disconnected and he turned his head to look at him. The grip on her jaw was released and transferred to the back of her head, pulling her cheek to lay against his chest instead while he gave him a look. She was the only one who could get away with talking to him like that.

“S’fine. Fuck off now, I’ve got it from here..” He wasn’t a man of many words. Considering how fast Harry used to run through women, it was amusing to the lot of them to see Harry be so jealous. From kicking girls out to dragging this girl around with him anywhere he could, it was a massive change. 

Wiz knew better than to poke the bear, wandering off like the smart man he was. 

“That was quite a greeting.” He could feel her smile against his shirt. Fighting his own, he looked down to see her chin tilted up at him and those soft, pretty eyes gazing up at him. It was hard to ignore how that made his chest feel tight. Her cheeks were fuller when she smiled and there was a glimmer in her gaze that he’d only ever seen when she looked at him. If only he could photograph it properly and keep it tucked in his wallet.

“Yeah.” A simple nod followed. “C’mon. Upstairs.” He patted her back, giving her a hand off of the stool. With her hand in his own he walked quickly towards their room, ignoring how his stomach twisted as she giggled behind him. “Let’s go.”

“What's the hurry?” She laughed, jogging slightly to keep up with him. If he could, she knew he’d take two stairs at a time but she didn’t know what the urgency was. It didn’t have to do with the stalking situation considering he didn’t look as murderous as usual, but he’d had a glint in his eye. 

No response was granted on the way up, making her slightly confused until they were in the room and- she was suddenly pinned to the door. 

“The hurry?” He asked lowly. “The hurry is because someone was a goddamn tease today, and I’ve been horny all fuckin’ day.” He ground out, wrists captured above her, her face lit up in recognition. She’d sent him a slew of texts this morning about how much of a shame it was that he’d left her alone when they could have had ‘fun’. 

“Oh…. That.” Bunny smirked. “Wasn’t trying to tease. I was just letting you know my thoughts.” Her delivery was less than innocent, making him scoff as he pressed his cock against her. 

“Yeah, sure. Whatever you want t’say, but now it’s your job to take care of what you started.” He released her arms, reprising his role of his hand holding her jaw as he kissed it brutally. “Get my belt off.” Spoken between kisses, he could feel her urgency growing again. 

He’d been worked up all day, slipping his phone back out to read the texts more than he’d admit. There had been a pouty selfie sent by her that he’d saved to his own photos, only furthering his regret for waking up and leaving. Then walking in and seeing her smiling at another man- he was feeling cagey. He knew that they weren’t an official couple but fuck, she was his. She knew that too. 

Her fingers worked quickly to take it off, the leather hitting the ground with a thud. “Good. Now take me out. I want to feel your throat.” He released her from the kissing, lowering her to her knees. It seemed she knew better this time than to test him. 

Bunny knew how he’d be and that’s why she sent the texts. Of course the jealousy had been a bit of a curveball but maybe the toxic bit of her was surfacing again, making her panties damp as she popped the button of his jeans. It was a weirdly powerful feeling despite being on the floor. She held the power and the pleasure for him, she’d make him moan. 

He was hard in her hand, hot to the touch as she gently tugged him from his pants. Never had she seen a cock quite this pretty, making her mouth water as she licked from his balls all the way up to his tip. “Anything you want.” She purred, laying her tongue flat before tapping it against it. Bunny knew he was the most expressive during sex and it sent a thrill up her spine as she watched his eyes hood, hand wrapping around the base to feed her his prick. 

“What I want is to feel this nasty mouth you like to run so much before I peel those leggings off of your body and fuck your cunt sore.” He said through gritted teeth. “Mmm… thatta’ girl. C’mon.” A handful of hair was in his fist, pulling her closer on him until he felt her nose brush his stomach and felt her throat choke on him a little bit. “Fuck- yeah, that’s what I want.” He only left himself there for a few seconds before pulling back and letting her cough a little before rubbing the tip over her lips. “Give me a smile, since you’re so fond of handing ‘em out to everyone here.” His eyes darkened. 

Bunny knew that was a bright red flag, but she had lots of her own considering she liked how he was getting with her. Curling her lips in a smile, she ignored the string of spit on her chin as he rubbed over her lips. It was filthy, really, a little fucked but isn’t that what they were? 

“Gorgeous. Y’look so pretty with my cock, Little Bunny. Think you should be on it all the time.” He commented, watching her purse her lips to give his tip a kiss. Fuck- why was that so fucking cute? 

“Could have done it sooner if you’d have given in.” She batted her lashes at him. As if he didn’t know and slightly regretted waiting. It had been hard for him to keep the boundary of his best friend's sister, but it was gloves off now. 

“Yeah, know you were gagging for it when you plopped yourself in my lap at that party… should’ve given it to you then. But we can make up for lost time, can’t we?” He cooed. “Open.” 

Bunny followed the order, letting him push back in and giving him suction as he thrust into her mouth. He really was worked up and she could feel it with his cock pulsing against her tongue. His eyes were glued on her, watching himself slip in and out of her willing mouth. “Broke lots of speed limits coming back here. Knew you’d be willing to take me.” He rubbed her cheek with his thumb as he pressed the tip up against it, feeling himself in her mouth. Fuck, it was nasty but it was hot. He watched her eyes close as he did it, groaning deep in his throat before he pushed her back down on him, letting her nose hit the thatch of hair at his groin for a few moments before pulling up. 

“I can’t wait. I need to fuck you.” He grunted, pulling her back up and kissing her again. “What are y’doing t’me, hm? Making me go crazy, drive insane jus’ go get back here to sink right back into the pussy that took me so good last night…” fingers grabbed her leggings and tugged at the waistband and panties combined. Usually he’d take more time peeling her out of things but he needed to be inside of her now. 

He took charge, bending her over the bed and letting out a whistle as he tugged the fabric down further. She had a light bruise on her ass and it sure as fuck was from him. “Fuck me… got my bruises on a gorgeous girl. You do so well for me, Bun.” He ran his hand over it in appreciation before kicking his pants off, letting them crumple on the floor. 

“Good.” She whispered, pressing her face into a pillow she’d tugged down. “Fuck me, Harry. I deserve it.” She wiggled her hips to try and entice him- as if he wasn’t hard as nails. 

“No, I don’t think you do for teasing me. You’re lucky m’not in the mood to properly punish you.” Maybe he’d deal with that later, but he was far too gone to worry about anything than feeling her wrapped around his prick. He could see she was a little sensitive, puffy from last night’s activities, but that only made it better. “Poor baby had a pounding last night, didn’t she?” He cooed, condescending as he clicked his tongue. “M’not going easy on you. Want you to yell my name.” 

So maybe he was still bothered about seeing her smiling at someone else. Maybe it reminded him that he wasn’t her only option and plenty of people would be better for her- but he was a selfish bastard and was going to use up every single morsel of her time that he could get. 

There was no warning as he began to fill her, making her mouth fall open. Harry wasn’t easy to take, but she was lucky that she loved the stretch. Toes curled and eyes fluttering shut, Bunny knew that no one else would ever fill her this good. No one else could possibly compare to this feeling. “Go on. Let them hear who’s fucking you.” 

Bunny had known he’d be a bit irritated when he got home, but she hadn’t anticipated the jealousy. Sure, he was a possessive person but getting worked up over her smiles? It was a new thing, something she was definitely going to explore when he wasn’t so cagey. His cock knocked the breath out of her as her throat expelled a keening noise, eyes rolling back as he did it again. 

“Perfect fuckin’ pussy, baby. M’not sharing this.” He growled into her ear, caging her in with his body as he fucked her. His hands planted on either side of her head, heat from his body radiating on her body as he filled her. “They can look all they want… But this cunt belongs t’me. Doesn’t it, Bunny girl?” His breath washed over her ear as his thrusts jostled her, the deep filling of her cunt making it hard to think straight. Harry may have his flaws, he may be known as Reaper, but he knew how to fuck. How to make a girl feel like nothing mattered but his dick filling her up. 

He wasn’t going fast, but it was hard. Deep punches inside of her as she whimpered into the pillow, nodding at his claim. No part of her was regretting taunting him now, not with the feeling of him claiming her in this way making her eyes water from the pleasure. It felt satisfying not only in the fact that she was full, but because of the claim he was laying.

For a second her mind blazed at the idea of it flipped. How she’d feel murderous if someone else had made Harry smile- though it was a much, much harder feat than getting one from her- and her amusement in it faded. “It’s yours b-but…” She gasped as he tilted her head to the side “Your cock is mine.” 

Harry’s thrust stopped for a moment, instead grinding into her cunt as he was fully seated inside of her. He couldn’t stop the groan that erupted from him, cock pulsing inside of her as the possessive growl from the girl underneath him got to him in an unexpected way. Of course it was hers. He hadn’t even been able to think of anything else since she’d begun teasing him at his place all those weeks ago, but fuck. He loved hearing her stake a claim on him.

Where it would have made him break out in hives and get the fuck out of there if it ws quite literally anyone else, it only made him need to pause to hold off blowing his load inside of her too early. 

“Yeah? S’that what my pretty slut wants? Want exclusive rights to my prick shoved up your sweet little holes?” He crooned, grinning as she scowled at him the best she could. “Don’t worry, baby…” Grinding into her, he knew he was against a good spot as she got him more wet by the second. “It can be yours if you’re a good girl for me and stop tryin’ to make me jealous.” It may make his head explode if she did shit like that regularly. 

“I wasn’t trying- Ah!” She yelped as he slammed into her again, sighing in pleasure as she pushed her ass back onto him. “I promise. I promise I won’t do it, jus’ don’t make me share. Please.” 

Harry had to wonder if she had even the slightest clue. If she knew how far gone his brain was for her, how long he’d considered her to be his in his fucked up brain, if she knew how many times he’d have to change the subject in his fantasy when he was beating off. For far longer than she’d realized, she’d been the one he was thinking about while cumming into his fist or the mouth of someone he ditched soon after. There’d been no one but her since this started. Bunny was his focus, his goal, and he had a feeling that would never change. Regardless if she left him in the dust after this was all over and he watched the life drain from her stalker’s eyes. Harry would always be watching, always be pining, always be caring for her. 

“Never, baby.” His voice softened as he kissed the exposed skin of her shoulder. “I don’t share, not you or myself. You feel too good to go and fuck around, yeah? You’re my girl.” Balancing on one hand, he slipped the other between them so he could get her clit, rubbing circles into the puffy, swollen button. The perfect girl under him lets out the sweetest moan of his name, burying her face into the pillow as she arched her back and fucked herself on his cock, as she begged for more. “There you go. M’gonna take care of you, even if you share those sunny smiles with someone else.” 

Her cunt had been his place of escape for a bit now but it never ceased to amaze him how perfect it was for him. Clenched up around his cock, drippy and wet, like it was made to milk each drop of cum from his dick as he slipped in and out of her and his own vision got fuzzy. “Only want to sm-smile at you.” She confirmed, stuttering while he felt her soaking him. Balls and thighs were sticky and wet with her, but there was no other feeling he craved more. 

“That’s my fuckin’ girl, baby. Jus’ lay here and let me fuck you nice and deep, keep saying my name.” He watched as her face turned back to the side, eyes glazed as they did their best to look at him. Her face was the prettiest he’d seen, the one he’d write poems about if he was good at any of that shit. All he wanted was to be the one who got her to smile for him, to get her giggles and her playful digs. It was all supposed to be his, even if he knew he wasn’t good enough for her. No one was. “Give me one of those pretty smiles while you cum on me cock, baby. Let me see it.”

[amuseoffyre]

One thing I've enjoyed throughout both seasons of OFMD is that Stede tends to always maintain manners and politeness with everyone around him except for one Israel Hands.

Yes, at their first encounter, he's polite and civil, but Izzy is blunt and scathing back at him. From that day forward, a glorious bitch-off was born, where Stede realised that is one person he doesn't have to mask up and keep his manners with.

If Izzy is blunt and abrasive with him? Well, then, he'll be blunt and abrasive back and in spades. This is the only character Stede consistently exposes his real feelings with/towards.

And what I love even more is that in S2 is that despite now being on the same side and both working for the good of their crew, they haven't lost the snarky bitchiness that was always there.

The shift in their relationship is so well done as well. The blinkers are taken off and Izzy realises that Stede does actually know Ed in a way he didn't and likewise, Stede realises that Izzy had actually saved the crew and the ship at the cost of Ed's life, the very thing he'd tried to save in the past.

They will still rip it out of each other, but affectionately. They will still scoff in each other's faces. Stede will scream "fuck off!" at him like a highly-strung diva. Izzy will slap his arse and tell him to fuck off. Nothing is below the belt for them with Stede even making pointed jabs at Izzy's wooden leg.

Stede needs that outlet, just like Izzy needs to have someone who actually listens to him and acknowledges what he's recommending. They've reached an amicable agreement that "you're a dick, but you're my dick" and it's lovely.

[cottonlemonade]

Hello,

May I please order a small cherry lemonade with extra ice for 'samu, please?

Archnemesis

word count: 1066 || avg. reading time: 4 mins.

pairing: 3rd year rival!Osamu x chubby!Reader

genre: angst, fluff, pining

warnings: swearing, mentions of insecurities, hurtful comments about your weight (but it’s quick and not done by Osamu)

request: angsty, rival Osamu protects you

Osamu groaned when he saw the pitiful little bus pull up and people in black training suits jump out. Trying not to be too obvious he kept throwing glances over to the fast growing group assembling in front of the blond coach. When he spotted you amongst them, easily identified since you were fuller than everyone else, he felt excited but turned away and went back into the building.

Sure, he would be the first to admit that you initially caught his eye while you were blissfully munching on an onigiri and he may or may not have wanted to ask you out so badly that he choked on his water but that was besides the point. You were from Karasuno and therefore automatically the enemy.

Last year, when he first came across the crows it was hard to explain to his captain why he seemed to have beef with a member of the women‘s team of all people but Kita had graduated and wasn‘t their captain anymore, soooo… now he could be petty to his heart‘s content. He enjoyed your little rivalry, because although you may look cute enough to eat you could really dish it out.

While he waited in the lobby for his brother to come back from the bathroom, the Karasuno teams entered and walked stoically towards the changing rooms, ignoring the whispers of admiration and awe. Apparently you decided to become even prettier since the last time he saw you. So that’s how you were gonna play it, huh? Well, fuck you.

Wait, why did they all stop next to him? Why did they stare? You were grinning, so you probably just said something scathing, right? Osamu hadn’t paid attention. Okay, there was a 50/50 chance this would work. “Oh, we‘re gonna see about that.“, he said, attempting and … and failing to return the trash talk.

You looked at him in confusion and the team captains ushered you along.

To no surprise of absolutely anyone Inarizaki won their first rounds with ease and after a victory shower Osamu decided to break your concentration by watching your last match of the day quietly from the sidelines. Menacing. Lurking. You’d get the message. Much like with the little number 10 he enjoyed people‘s reaction to seeing you play for the first time. Initially, they would wonder if someone was grievously injured that they sent „that chubby girl“ onto the field, not knowing what was coming. A grimly satisfied smile played on his lips when he heard the surprised whispers from the crowd when you served four aces in a row. Of course his (completely baseless) archnemesis was strong, what did they expect?

Atsumu and Aran appeared next to him towards the end of the game, his brother holding out a bag of snacks to him, watching with genuine disinterest as the opposing team missed a fake spike.

The next ball seemed to last forever, your receives however stayed clean and precise. But then the roaring cheers changed to a murmur. During a particularly harrowing rally you had jumped over the barricade, just managing to lop the ball back onto the field but crashed into the wall after a harsh stumble, your foot having gotten caught in a chair. You somehow made it back onto the court, receiving the next spike with one hand, giving your setter the opportunity to play to your team‘s ace - but then you didn‘t get back up.

Osamu had grabbed his brother‘s sleeve, knuckles turning white when the medic made their way to you.

He saw you being asked a few questions and then your manager pulled you up, slowly leading you towards the exit.

“Figures that the fatty got injured. Can‘t stop a charging rhino.“

“I‘m just impressed she didn‘t take anyone else down with her.“

Osamu‘s head snapped around to see three guys snickering. His shoulders began to shake with anger. No one - no one - was allowed to talk about you like this. Aran followed his gaze, equally disgusted by the comments, and muttered, “Ugh. We‘re playin’ these jerks tomorrow.“

The older twin‘s eyes went blank - murderous. Good, Osamu thought, together they would make these bastards regret ever choosing this sport.

Osamu turned on his heel and jogged out into the corridor, looking around. He turned pale when he found you leaning against a wall, breathing hard, and a small trickle of blood coming from just beyond your hairline.

Your team‘s manager quickly said something, then ran off, probably to get some help.

As if in trance Osamu walked over to you and without a word knelt down with his back towards you.

“What are you doing?“, you asked in a small voice.

“Get on.“, he said tonelessly, and when you didn‘t move, added, “Come on, the floor is gettin‘ uncomfortable.“

Your answer was barely above a whisper. “No, it‘s fine. Honoka will be back in a second with the doctor. And… and I don‘t want you to get hurt, too.“

Osamu let out a huff, turning his head, “Are ya calling me weak?“

“No, I‘m calling me heavy.“, you mumbled.

“Stop it!“ He hadn‘t meant to shout, he looked to the ground, “Just… shut up and get on.“

Glad you understood that he wasn‘t going to stop pushing, he heard you hobble a step forward and carefully leaned on him.

“Put yer arms around my shoulders, go on.“, Osamu encouraged quietly, his voice much gentler now. You seemed to hesitate again. “Don‘t worry, y/n-san. You won‘t hurt me.“

He froze when he felt something wet seeping through the back of his shirt and realized that you were crying, “I… I can‘t lift my left arm.“ So that‘s why you only received the last ball one handed…

Thinking quickly he pressed out, “Alright, just hold on tight with yer right, then. I‘ll make sure ya won‘t fall.“

Bonus: The next day

Two sharp whistle blows signalled the end of the game and the crowd erupted into cheers. The Inarizaki orchestra began playing their well practised victory song and Osamu used his shoulder to wipe the sweat from his brow.

“Wh-what-what happened?“, he heard a guy from the other team stammer.

The foxes had won in two sets, the score telling the story of complete and utter humiliation. The twins grinned.

With a shaking finger, the opposing libero pointed towards Osamu, “This guy is a beast.“

a/n: this was such a juicy prompt! Ugh! I’m sorry it got a bit away from me and I ended up adding fluff and mixed in some taking care of you, too. I hope you like it nonetheless, though 🫠

[part 2]

[sweetchildcloud]

Polyamorous headcannon with Geto and Gojo ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

contain s#lf h#rm,sex (not explit) hope you like this ^•ﻌ•^ฅ♡

@kiwicopia @muzansslxt @candy69gurl

(i choose this two pics c'ause it represent they're personality in the reletionship)

i totally didn't create this for my thirtsy needy b#tch a*s

Geto and Satoru are in a closeted poly relationship with you. You three are a team not only in work, but in life as well. When you are with them they never want to let you go even in your apartment. Even when you are sleeping the two are always making out or cuddling next to you.

Satoru and Geto often have cooking contests to see who can cook the better dish. It’s all in good taste though as they always share the dish they make with you. Geto takes great pride in his cooking, while Satoru is more so passionate about it. Both are great cooks nonetheless. Both are very protective of you, and you’re the one with final say in who wins and who loses. They won't get too overcompetitive because they can’t risk you being angry with them or losing you.

The three of you are out grocery shopping. Geto and Satoru usually have disagreements on what to get and what not to get, they’re like night and day. Geto is more reserved and is fine with eating any old food whereas Satoru really puts effort into his cooking and wants to take his time buying the freshest ingredients for the meal he is planning to make. You on the other hand are in the middle and keep everything from becoming too heated between the two. Satoru is also more flirty and playful with you than Geto is.

Geto and Satoru are constantly trying to win you over with affection. They’ll sneak off with you to find a quiet corner away from others and kiss you fiercely while hugging you close to them. The two are always competing to see who can make you the most flustered by their gestures of affection. If you decide to take a break from the shopping and sit down to rest, they’ll both try to sit as close to your as possible. Satoru is more affectionate out in public whereas Geto tends to dial it down in public.

You, Geto and Satoru are just hanging out in the living room, the two are busy playing video games to which you couldn’t care less. Geto is a bit of a sore loser and so Satoru purposefully loses to him so Geto can have the satisfaction of beating his friend. As a prize Geto asks for a kiss from you, and Satoru can’t help but pout because Geto beat him to showing affection towards you this time.

Satoru and Geto have gotten comfortable with being openly affectionate around you. The two of them will make out in front of you whether you’re in your apartment or theirs, or out and about. Satoru is also very clingy and has a habit of latching onto you whenever you are within his reach. Geto also wants to get a chance to show his affection to you and will do so through hugs and kisses, both are very clingy and like you to cling to them as well. Satoru loves calling you “baby” and will call you that often.

When you’re feeling down or like you just want a day to relax, the two of them are always willing to cuddle you and let you lay your head down on their lap. Satoru, being the more affectionate of the two, is always looking for a chance to hug and cuddle you, whereas Geto is more reserved and less of a cuddly type he will still happily hold you in his arms. The two of them always make sure to pamper you and show their affection towards you whenever you need it, and they never hesitate to give you comfort.

Geto gets extremely protective if someone dares to intentionally hurt you in any way. He would most likely fight them and give them a black eye or a busted lip. Satoru is more likely to confront the person verbally rather than physically he would either chew them out or give them a scathing look that’s enough to shame them. Both are protective of you but in different ways, Geto physically and Satoru verbally. However both wouldn’t hesitate to jump at the chance to protect you from any kind of harm regardless of the method.

Geto is very protective of you and does not react fondly whenever someone hurts you. He would get very angry and hostile towards the individual who’s hurting you and threaten them to stay away from you. Satoru is the same but slightly more reserved than Geto. When the two are around and someone hurts you they would try to both comfort and console you. They would stay by your side until they see you smile again or see you happy. They would also get a bit jealous of whoever is hurting you, thinking that they are taking you away from them.

Geto and Satoru are constantly bickering about something small, it doesn’t take much to set them off. While they are always at constant verbal war over petty things, when it comes to actual important issues that could possibly hurt you their petty rivalries immediately take a backseat. They never let the petty arguments affect the way they feel about you and always make sure you don’t get involved in the arguments. They both are equally worried about your safety and wellbeing, and they would never let a petty argument get in the way of you being happy and healthy.

Geto and Satoru are not afraid to show their passion or affection in the bedroom. They are both equal in their desire for you and love exploring your body and trying out new things. They both can get quite possessive of you. They have both agreed that sharing you three has been one of the best things to happen to them. Geto and Satoru may have fights and be completely opposite of one another. But when it comes to you, all pettiness is out of the window.

As the three of you are hanging out, things inevitably lead to the bedroom. Geto and Satoru start making out while they are pushing you to the bed. The two are extremely eager, and are pushing each other away to get to you first. Once Geto and Satoru finally manage to get[you in the bed, things get even more heated as they each try to make you flustered. They’re both flirting with you and using their words to try and seduce you. Geto and Satoru are both equally eager and both want to be the one to give you more pleasure in bed. While they are both equally eager, they do have a bit of a competitive streak in them still. Each one wants to please you more than the other.

Geto and Satoru’s competitive streak in the bedroom doesn’t just apply to who can please you better. Geto and Satoru are both very fit due to their training, but they still like to challenge each other’s strength. Both will be equally determined to pin the other down to the bed and be the dominant one during the session, but they won't get too rough unless you want them to. The two love using their bodies to prove their dominance while making sure to do it in a way that pleases you.

If you ask the two to switch, they will without hesitation. They aren’t too proud to switch positions if you ask them to. Despite their competitive streak, they respect your wishes as well as your boundaries. Neither will cross a boundary unless you have given them permission beforehand. Geto and Satoru are both passionate and determined in the bedroom, but they aren’t too prideful to admit when they’re at a loss, and they always try to please you. They make the best of your love making sessions, and they always have a good time with you.

When you’re feeling down or like you just want a day to relax, the two of them are always willing to cuddle you and let you lay your head down on their lap. Satoru, being the more affectionate of the two, is always looking for a chance to hug and cuddle you, whereas Geto is more reserved and less of a cuddly type he will still happily hold you in his arms. The two of them always make sure to pamper you and show their affection towards you whenever you need it, and they never hesitate to give you comfort. Despite the differences in how they are after sex, both of them are equally affectionate towards you. As Satoru showers, Geto will stay by your side cuddling you after the intense session you three just had. Satoru will get out of the shower and join you two in bed with a smug playfully teasing expression on his face teasing Geto for being clingy in front of you. Satoru is a bit more playful after the session than Geto is, which you find amusing as you’re cuddled between the two.

Satoru and Geto are always keeping an eye on your mental state. They always pay attention to when you get anxious or if you’re feeling down. They don’t pester you with incessant questions asking if you’re okay because they don’t want to annoy you with such, however they do occasionally check in on your feelings by giving hugs, kisses and letting you relax while they’re next to you. You never have to fake a smile or pretend to be happy around them, the two always know when you’re not okay.

When you feel sad and are having a hard time coping, Satoru is the one who would cook you a comforting meal and give you a long warm hug. Geto on the other hand, is the one who wants to comfort you by simply laying down next to you and holding you as you vent to him about what is causing you to be so sad. They want to take the burden off of your shoulders and take your mind off of whatever is bothering you with comfort.

As you’re feeling down and are close to tears, the two of them are both trying to comfort you in their own ways. Geto wraps his arms around you and pulls you close to him while gently rubbing your back in a soothing manner. Satoru walks up to you and stands behind you before wrapping his arms over your shoulders and kissing the back of your neck. He holds you as tight as he can and speaks softly to you. Both of them are trying their best to distract you from the source of your sadness, so you can have a calm mind.

When you’re feeling overwhelmed or depressed and have self harmed, Geto and Satoru would immediately check in on you. They’re aware of your past and understand that self harm is something you do to cope with your emotions. Instead of getting concerned and pestering you with questions about why you self harm and if you’re okay, the two sit next to you to comfort you and let you calm down. Satoru rubs and holds your hand to soothe you. Geto just sits by you calmly letting you lean and cuddle into his chest.

The two are highly attentive and notice that while you may not want to speak about why you have self harmed, they both know that it is something you do. Neither really presses the issue or pries at you for more information. Instead, they both choose to let you lean and cuddle with them while doing small things to comfort you. Neither of them are going to get mad at you or yell at you for self harming, instead they both try to be as supportive as possible. Geto might also take you over to a store and buy you your favorite candies as a little treat.

[upsidedownwithsteve]

Bad For Business: Level One

Steve Harrington x fem!reader [1.3K] An enemies to lovers au. Arcade coworkers, who love to hate each other, get too competitive about Dig Dug and share a mutal annoyance for the kids that like to pester them. Choose your own adventure by picking an option at the end of the chapter.

“You’re late.”

“No I’m not.”

You were. Twenty five minutes, in fact, and your stomach was still swirling from the night before, remnants of cheap beer and cheaper vodka mixing unhappily with the cold, strawberry pop-tart you’d force fed yourself on the way to work. 

Steve Harrington leant against the wall with a grin as he watched you struggle to clock in, the old machine chewing up your employee card before it finally stamped it. You pushed past him, shoulder into his in a way that was awfully familiar now. The blunt words, the eye rolls, the semi serious acts of violence all part of your work day and they had been since last summer. He didn’t give in to you, arms colliding, the smell of his cologne now on your T-shirt too. 

“Hungover?” Steve asked, enjoying the way you squinted against the harsh, fluorescent strip lights. 

The office was much quieter than the arcade outside of the staff doors and you were trying your best to stay away from the sounds of Super Mario and Pac-Man for as long as you could. Except Steve wasn’t making it easy. 

“No,” you lied again. You were so hungover, stupidly hungover. And tired. You’d barely managed to crawl back through your bedroom window when the sun was beginning to rise, the summer outside starting back up as the sky turned apricot and the birds sang. Eddie had walked you home, both of you sharing the last dregs from a lukewarm beer before he bent at the waist and let you use his back as a footstool, groaning and swearing at you as you took too long to grab the end of the broken trellis. “What’s with the fucking interrogation, Harrington? Did Murray die and leave you in charge?”

Outside the office, the arcade machines jingled, beeping and ringing with each win and loss, the constant clinkclinkclink of quarters being dropped into the coin slots, the yells of sugared up kids making your head pound. 

“Nah,” Steve’s grin only widened, an almost smirk that made you grit your teeth together. You busied yourself at your locker, shoving your bag into the too small space, the rattle of the metal hurting your very being. “Seeing you each morning is just the best part of my day.” 

You rolled your eyes at Steve’s blatant lie, snorting at the possibility you could both be anything close to friends. Steve Harrington lived to annoy you, and had done since middle school. He spent the first couple of grades annoying you at recess, pulling your hair and snickering with his friends when you yelled, all pink cheeked and shocked looking when you stomped towards him, indignant, shoving the heel of your buttercup yellow shoe into his toes. 

It went on like that, spitballs launched from each end of the classroom, backs of chairs kicked and faces pulled at the other during presentations. Then you both got older and the words got colder, scathing remarks made in the hallway, lockers defaced with semi serious insults and potential dates ruined by mocking comments said in front of crushes. 

Then high school was over, Hawkins seemed to get smaller and the only job available to get you enough cash to leave the tiny, backwater town was a position beside Steve at Upside Down Arcade. Run by someone who everyone only knew as Murray - a man who had absolutely no time for anyone under the age of twenty five and was utterly inept with technology - the arcade was a staple in Hawkins. As permanent a feature as the community pool, the town hall and the library; the brown brick building looked bland from the street outside, but stepping in the doors led kids into a maze of gaming machines, air hockey tables and neon lights. 

The carpets had seen better days, the Space Invaders themed pattern a headache of dulled yellows, purples reds and greens, the painted black walls barely seen behind the rows and rows of games, all brightly light and beeping, illuminations flashing pink and blue, leaderboard charts mocking on the screens. 

It smelled like burnt sugar and stale popcorn, despite the machine not having worked for over a decade. A heavy mix of all things bad for you: sour candy, old hotdogs, cherry slush stains and pre-teen hormones. 

“If I’m somehow even bringing you the slightest bit of joy with my presence, Harrington,” you deadpanned, “then I’m doing it wrong.” You slammed the locker door shut and smirked when Steve had to yank his hand back, fingers narrowly avoided. 

He narrowed his eyes at you, moving only to grab his name badge from the board, making sure he knocked yours onto the floor when he shoved the bundle of keys into his pocket that opened up all the coin slots. 

“Murray’s not in until later, Donkey Kong is fried and oh,” he clicked his fingers and pointed a digit at you, all faux sympathy making his face soften. “I knocked you off the top spot on Dig Dug. Again.”

You glared. Steve grinned. 

 You wanted to say something sharp, something witty and mean, but your head was still pounding and your throat felt like the Sahara Desert. “Bite me, Steven,” you muttered instead, shoving past the boy so you could get out the door first, for no other reason than simply to feel like you’d won something. 

Steve was too close behind you when he answered, all charm and flirt, the cadence of his voice dropped to the level he used when he flirted with the older girls that brought in their baby siblings. 

“Bend over then, Princess Peach,” he cooed, “at least lemme see what I’m working with.” His voice was at your ear, his stupid hair tickling at your cheek. 

The stupid nickname made your nostrils flare, but the suggestive comment before it had your toes curling. You scoffed, shocked, because as the summer crawled by and the heat got higher, you and Steve’s snipes were getting more and more below the belt.

But that was his bravest yet. 

You didn’t bother turning round, you didn’t want to give him the satisfaction, and Jesus, you were sure your cheeks were flushed - but if he dared comment on it, you would’ve blamed it on the hangover you told him you didn’t have. 

“You’re a pig,” you bit out, ignoring how he kept close behind you as you finally braved opening the door. 

The arcade was already full to the brim, bursting with kids, a line of them at the desk, ticket stubs clutched in sticky hands, dollar bills ready to be exchanged for bags full of coins. The door almost hit Steve when you let it go behind you, his hands barely catching it as he scowled at your retreating figure. You planned to lurk in the darkest corner of the arcade for your entire shift, maybe sipping on a stolen slurpee, biding your time and waiting for your headache to soften enough in order to conjure a formulated attack on the Dig Dug machine. 

You turned around just before Steve served the first customer, narrowing your eyes at him in suspicion. He was already behind the cash register, Erica Sinclairs bundle of tickets in his hands as the girl pointed at a toy sword in the cabinet. 

“And don’t even try and pretend you haven’t looked before,” you called back to him, smug and referring to his lewd comment before. “Oh, ‘lemme see what I’m working with’,” you mimicked. “You’re not sly, asshole.”

A few kids tittered at the insult, Dustin Henderson snorting especially loud, but some gasped at how you cursed in front of them, a sure fire way to know there’d be a hand written complaint about on Murray’s desk tomorrow. You’d hoped your jab would make Steve shrink, maybe blush like he used to when you got all brave and bold with him. Shit, maybe he’d even had the right to look ashamed. 

But he simply shrugged, tongue pushed to the inside of his cheek to stop himself from smirking at you but his expression was still the same. 

Pleased. Too cocky. Challenging. 

You went straight to Dig Dug. 

[vecnuthy]

Day 3 of @steddielovemonth: Love is wanting to do everything with someone, even if its nothing special | wc: 722 | G | established relationship, language

"Who....decided...to put....ugh, to put the toilet....so close....TO THE TUB?!"

Steve followed the smell of vinegar and Dawn to the bathroom and looked down at Eddie's form hunched over the side of the tub, obviously was struggling as he tried his absolute best to stretch to the far corner of the tub, even going so far as to brace one gloved hand on the tub's side and throw out his right leg.

"God, this fucking sucks," he seethed to himself, practically punching the sponge into the corner with each strained lunge.

Steve leaned against the door and watched, taking in the view of his partner's butt in the air and the slew of creative curses his other end was rattling off. He bit back a grin, warmth spreading through his chest.

"What are you in here complaining about?" he finally asked between Eddie's grunts a jab that included something about a wart and a garden hoe.

Eddie huffed and straighted up, his hair pushed back by a gloved wrist, then he twisted around to where Steve stood in the door, showing off his very flushed, very annoyed, very cute face. "It's hard to reach that corner because of this thing," he said with a shove of his hands toward the toilet.

"Get up, I'll get it."

"I mean, I can get it," Eddie scoffed, but already pushing himself up. "It's just hard." He pulled the rubber gloves off and handed them to Steve with a small smile. "Knock yourself out, though."

Steve watched Eddie watching him as he slid the gloves on, gave a cheeky wink that made Eddie shake his head with a smile, then leaned over the side of the tub on his knees. From there, he saw that Eddie had cleaned the walls of the tub except in the far corner, and most of the floor still needed to be scrubbed. He got to work, kind of hating how tricky it really was to reach the corner, but he got it done. It might've given him a bruised sternum, but he got it done.

"You're so much better at that than I am," Eddie complemented as he wiped "his" toothpaste splatter from the mirror. Eddie had seen Steve do those, though.

Steve snorted, his voice a little muffled and strained as it echoed slightly in the cavernous tub when he said, "You're just glad that you're on mirror duty now." He moved on to the floor, scrubbing tight circles over the textured surface.

Eddie couldn't deny it because the mirror was obviously the better of the two, but he was distracted now. His polishing came to a slow halt as he watched Steve scrub away from behind. An overwhelming sense of fondness washed over him and he felt a blush creep up his face. He couldn't help the hooded gaze and grin he cast at his unsuspecting partner, because, yeah, Steve was being an absolute sweetheart and doing a great job of cleaning the tub, but he was also doing great job of cleaning the tub. Really putting his back into it. The tight circular scrubbing rotation of his arm made his whole torso carry the motion like a conduit straight to his plump rear that swayed rhythmically under Steve's loose, short gym shorts.

"I think your ass his hypnotizing me."

Steve stuttered his scrubbing and his body shook as he laughed. "You will do the dishes," he compelled with a low, dramatic voice after he collected himself.

"You dare use your power for evil!" Eddie gasped.

Steve threw a look over his shoulder that would have been a lot more scathing had he not been biting back a grin.

He used to hate doing chores. He still hated doing the dishes and pretty much hated cleaning the tub too, but those typically mundane tasks were so much better when the man he loves was in the throws of it with him. It may be crappy work, and the side of the tub may give them a pair of bruised sternums, but was rarely dull work. He even looked forward to it. Steve even embellished the scrubbing just for Eddie.

"I will do the dishes," Eddie droned behind him, jokingly caught in the hypnotic pull of Steve's swaying butt.

Steve's chuckle earned him a pop from Eddie's mirror rag.

[qierxing]

Oh, Woe is Me...

A/N: Once again splitting up the story bc of how things go...It is certainly Going Down. I swear I don't have a bias for Pomefiore, I just had to fit so much significant plot points in here

Yan! Twst Isekai AU CW/TW: Spoilers for Chapter 5, suicidal thoughts and ideation + attempt, poisoning, reader is Not Having a Good Time

Pt.1 Peservere, My Player! | Pt.2 Be Still, My Heart! | Pt.3 | Pt. 4 Farewell to Thee?

—

When you finally are somewhat well enough to return to classes, there’s a shift in the air. You don’t even need to hear the murmurs to know that the cultural fair has started, and subsequently, the VDC auditions. 

Ace and Grim are already raring to go, but you and Deuce hang back, hesitant, but for different reasons. It was probably because of what happened over winter break, but you’re now reconsidering whether you should continue following the story. But if you don’t, will the game have a bad ending? 

Will you not be able to return home?

Epel. Pretty and soft-spoken Epel. You can only extend your pity in silence as the Heartslabyul duo introduce him to you. There’s something off though, because you swear this is your first meeting with the mysterious first year, but he gazes at you as if he’s known you for years.

It’s a great contrast with Vil, whose careless survey turns sharp once they land on you. You can only step back as Grim, Ace and Deuce start the fight you know they will lose. He scoffs and leaves his scathing words for the rest of you, but what you’re not prepared for is the very last venomous stab he has for you.

“To even be hanging out with such a dirty, magicless nobody…Epel, you should know better.”

The insult burns into your skin and it takes everything within you to not tear up. Although you came from another world, no one really said anything bad about you for being magicless—after all, there were plenty of people in Twisted Wonderland who also were just like you. But to be singled out and judged for just that…it stings, especially coming from someone like Vil. For once you feel very self conscious about your existence within Twisted Wonderland.

Ace and Deuce are enraged to the max; both at Vil’s words toward them, but most of all, how dare he speak to you like that? A stare burns into the back of your head(right, in this scene you were not alone). Your pained grimace only spurs them on to practice more rigorously for the contest. 

You expected the prickle of unease when Rook makes his appearance behind Leona. Afterall in the game, it’s implied that his senses were beyond a normal human's. What you don't expect is that his eyes are trained on you, and you alone, throughout his whole exchange with the others. No amount of hiding behind Leona stops his piercing gaze. If anything, you would even say his face turned more amused.

Soon enough, the audition day arrives and you only can trail in reluctantly after the excited trio in front of you. Did you really need to be present? Grim was the one doing all the dancing and you don't think you could stomach meeting Vil's judgmental gaze picking you apart again. But it's too late to ditch once the ballroom doors slam open, and the Pomefiore trio struts in with all their sparkling glory.

The audition goes as expected. They dance, Vil sends them out. You don’t even blink when the arrow that carries the acceptance message barely misses the tip of your nose. And then, of course, the pivotal scene of Crowley asking you to give up Ramshackle to be the training grounds for VDC.

The player had no options. In the grand machination of things, Yuu's choices had no sway in the plot, just as how the developers wanted it. You’ve thought about keeping your head down. Don’t deviate, just let the story roll past you. 

But you can change that.

No more. For once, you’re going to make a choice for yourself in this godforsaken game. So when you state with a hard grimace that you did not want them at your dorm, there’s only a round of surprised looks and exclamations. Grim side eyes you silently in concern. Vil only raises a skeptical eyebrow. You stand firm. Even if Crowley was offering to improve the Ramshackle dorm, you know what awaits if you agree.

You pray to the Seven that’s the end of it. Then your phone rings and when you pick up, you get a near heart attack when it’s Neige on the other line, asking if he could come over for a visit. By the time you stutter something out, it’s too late, as the bright prince chirps out a ‘thanks! see you soon!’ followed by the beep of the tone. 

You can only let out a sigh as you stare at your blank phone screen. Thank goodness the training camp wasn’t at Ramshackle. You can only imagine what Vil’s face would look like if he saw his rival on campus. All this over Neige Leblanche. 

But it’s not really him, you think, as you scroll aimlessly through Magicam. It’s about what he threatens for Vil. Is he coming over because you made a choice that changed the course of the story?

Grim scolds you for being so nice for no reason when you end up plodding to let in Neige. He only beams at you cheerily, presses a soft kiss to your knuckles, and floats past your speechless form. You follow after in a daze, going through the motions as you offer him tea and whatever measly snacks you can graze up from your dusty pantry.

It’s embarrassing to sit at your coffee table that still wobbles with its broken leg with someone who is practically the next hot celebrity to Vil. Neige doesn’t seem to mind, only happily asking how you’re doing and what you’ve been up to as he nibbles on half stale crackers and cookies. 

“Neige, aren’t you busy? I heard that you’re going to be participating in VDC…” His eyes twinkle at your cautious question you put forward. 

“Mmm, yes, but I wanted to see you before I really get busy rehearsing!” His smile is genuine and makes your heart flutter.

The knock on your door turns both of your heads and when you excuse yourself to get it, a foreboding feeling washes over you as you reach for the doorknob.

“Ah, good, you’re here.”

Cold sweat runs down your back and neck as you’re face to face with Vil’s indifferent face. The absolute worst timing ever. As you try to stealthily close the door behind you, he starts to lean in with furrowed eyebrows.

“Why do you look nervous, spudling?” 

You’re so terrified that you’re utterly mute and trembling. You’ve remembered when Vil gets angry in the game. You do not want to be the target of his poisonous wrath.

“[First], what’s the matter?” Vil’s eyes immediately narrow at the light voice behind you.

Neige peers over your shoulder curiously, and you think of how this game must loath you at this moment. 

"Oh! Vi!" Neige's eyes brighten at seeing his former classmate. On the other hand, a shadow falls over Vil's face.

“So, this is why you refused to have Ramshackle be the training camp so adamantly.” Vil’s frosty voice sends even more tremors down your spine. Before you can open your mouth to retort, he grabs your wrist harshly, tugging you along with no mercy, disregarding Neige's calls to you both.

“Clearly, if you have time to fraternize with the enemy,” Vil’s nose scrunches in distaste as he drags your uncooperative body with your crying protests, “you can scrounge up some time to help us out.”

This must be what they call hell. In the end, it didn’t even matter that you refused to be involved in the VDC preparations. The others are surprised as Vil drags you crying into Pomefiore's ballroom, throwing you onto the floor, before ordering you to 'stop that humiliating display and start the music'. And yet, despite the fact you're clearly here against your will, the rest of them don't do anything, content and even more motivated that you're there to watch them.

Vil's target that originally was on Epel swivels onto you. Your phone confiscated, you and Grim are forced to stay at Pomefiore's dorms with the others, under Vil's (and Rook's, albeit he was more discreet about it) sharp eyes. Even though you're not even a performer, he nitpicks your outfit, your posture, your diet, all with a condescending look upon his face that leaves you feeling like dirt at the end of the day. And Epel, sweet and nice Epel, the one you hoped would use his fiery determination to help you out of the situation…doesn't. You thought that Epel would surely share some sympathy, or Ace and Deuce, maybe even Kalim…but no, they merely chide you for causing trouble and saying that they need you, their manager, to help cheer them on. Weren't they your friends?

Is the game forcing you back on its original path? When you and Grim try to escape the dorms, Rook just somehow manages to catch you both and drag you back to a displeased Vil, who then makes you sleep paralyzed next to him while forcing Grim out to sleep on the cold floor. You're not even free during the day, as you're forcefully escorted straight to Vil by Rook, who somehow manages to appear at the end of your classes. 

It’s finally one painful night left alone with Grim in a guest room that a thought creeps into your mind.

Escape doesn't have to be achieved fulfilling a game's story. Doesn't a game also end when the player loses?

It's a terrible thought, you know. Even you are terrified of it. You've already experienced what it's like to be on the brink of death. Smashed by thorns. Crumbled into sand. Drowned under the sea. Choked out of air. What you're planning honestly might be the most merciful way to go.

You're just…so tired. This world that started out fun and exciting has slowly descended to madness. With each chapter, each overblot, you can feel your tether home disintegrating, bit by bit. Memories of home dissipating like ink in water, gone even as you try so hard to catch the trails they leave. And now, more than ever, you're fearful of the time when you will forget why you were fighting so hard to leave Twisted Wonderland. Of who you are.

It's been so long that you felt the night breeze. It's only a matter of time, though, before Rook catches you and places you back within Vil's gilded cage.

"You're inviting me?" You nod as Hornton thoughtfully reads the embossed VDC ticket. He smiles at you, and guilt runs through you, as you know you're using him as a means to end.

Please be there to help them. You pray as he leaves with a spontaneous burst of emerald lights and smoke. Although Vil was your torturer, even you have qualms about leaving him to die in his overblot.

The day of the VDC has you sick and exhausted with no sleep. Thankfully the others don't notice, except for a certain hunter, who only coos at you quietly and slips you a coffee and a pat on the head. But that all changes as Neige makes his appearance with other RSA students and leaps towards you with shining eyes, bypassing Vil completely and hugging you. The warmth in his hug is genuine, but so is the darkness that falls over Vil's eyes on the two of you. Vil's lips curl even more into a distasteful scowl when Neige gives you a parting peck on the cheek. Your coffee slips out of your hands and splashes all over your shoes, but that doesn't matter because Neige Leblanche kissed you, oh my Seven–

"Look at you, you filthy spudling. What are you just standing there gawking for? Close your mouth, you look unsightly." The bitter scolding snaps you back to the present as you register Vil moving you forcefully backstage. Although you're sure he was just trying to save his own reputation and get you out of the way, he doesn't leave. In fact, he takes your shoes and orders Epel to get some new ones. This time, Epel has no problem obeying his housewarden. 

The two of them strangely fret over you, before Vil orders you to stay backstage to not embarrass yourself further, as he put it. Suits you just fine. You know exactly what happens next.

It doesn't make it any less horrific to think about as you watch Vil smirk down at Neige.

Just as Vil tempts the idol with the apple juice, you usurp Rook's role of the interloper.

"Vil, you're needed backstage." His face flickers ever so slightly but your face doesn't change. The drink is already in Neige's hands. You wait as he clicks his tongue and leaves to assure his reputation. 

It doesn't take much to get the drink into your hands. Neige is too kind. He hands over the drink as soon as you mention you're a little thirsty yourself. The juice inside looks normal, but you know full well what Vil's capability is. You look up into Neige's eyes and sigh.

"Thank you." Pathetic last words. Maybe you should've said something else. But it doesn't matter anymore. Nothing does, really.

That's not true. There's Grim, who's been by your side through thick and thin. And Hornton, your strange friend–what would he say when he saw your collapsed body?

You throw your head back and chug.

It hurts. Seven above, it hurts so much! Your guts feel like it's melting and freezing all at once. The blood in your veins slows to lead and your heart is stabbed with multiple painful needle pinpricks. Your throat swells, and blood dribbles slowly out of your lips. The bottle slips out of your hands and shatters glass fragments everywhere. Neige's panicked and frantic scream echoes and you swear the ground underneath you rumbles. 

How lovely, you think, as you stare into Neige's tearful eyes, that such a poison exists…

You close your eyes to Twisted Wonderland to what you hoped to be the last time.

[Game Over]

◇ Continue?

◇ Exit

[gentrychild]

Hawks is forced to give a talk at Izuku's school. His class would like to know why he knows the number 3 hero

1 - Ah yes, the AU where Izuku ends Hawks' whole career.

2 - So, Hawks goes to UA and gives a conference about how to manage one's brand and interacting with the public, in one of Midnight's classes. He greets Shouto, Katsuki and Izuku, that he saw when they were interning with Endeavor, and 1-A is very surprised to see how cold Izuku is towards Hawks. Midoriya, is after all, someone who gets exceptionally giddy every time he sees a pro hero.

3 - Izuku isn't cold, he is fuming. He is hanging on to his composure by his finger nails. Sadly, Hawks does not realize that. Hawls thinks Izuku is shy and he makes the mistake of making eye contact with him asking him his opinion about what he just said.

4 - It turned out that when Hawks met the kids, he gave MLA books about Destro's philosophy to Endeavor and them. Izuku read those books. Books that were filled with anti quirkless propaganda and the kind of thing Izuku kept hearing at Aldera.

5 - Izuku verbally obliterates Hawks. At the end of his stream of scathing remarks, Hawks is so burned that he is wondering if Dabi hasn't used his quirk on him. An investigation is immediately launched to investigate about the number 3's hero radical ideas.

+1 - Hawks uses it as a vacation and once he recovers from the shock, he is kinda chuckling to himself.

[nanaminokanojo]

THAWING ICE QUEEN (part 107)

–one night of fooling around with the annoying campus king gojo satoru (he thinks so), turns into...well, something else more long term

CHARACTERS: gojo satoru x you | geto suguru | jjk characters

GENRE: college au | smut | smau | smau + prose | everything in between | ons | fubus to lovers | aged-up characters | idk where this is going

⚠️ TW/CW: strong/mature language | 🔞 | mentions of alcohol, smoking, etc. | this has narrations | god-awful pet names | will add more if something arises

MASTERLIST | CHAPTER INDEX

<<prev part 107 next>>

A/N: This has prose.

“What?”

Nothing was making sense. You don’t even know if you’ve heard right as you watched everything suddenly slow into a snail’s pace and blur out into nothing but colors. It was as if you were submerged in a transparent water tank where nothing was exactly clear, not sight or sound, although you were somehow aware of what was going on. You knew your father stood up from his seat, looking deathly pale as he looked towards the stage. You followed the direction of his eyes, that, too, seeming to take an eternity to accomplish as you turned your head and saw none other than Gojo Satoru standing behind the podium, smiling bright as he addressed the applauding crowd, dazzling under the ambient lights and seemingly not existing in the same realm as everyone was.

You whirled around to look at Kento, having to steady yourself on one of the chairs as questions, one after the other started to flood your mind, except you couldn’t voice them out, not knowing which one to ask first. Why was Satoru suddenly named the head of a company his maternal grandfather owns? Does he know the real reason why you were leaving? Did he do just that for you? What the hell was your father telling you to ask your friends what he was doing there? You held onto Kento’s arm, your eyes conveying every single one of the things you couldn’t say. His expression told you everything you needed to know.

“What?” you asked again, but your voice came out weak, drowned out by another round of applause that was addling your thought process, making you incoherent and unable to do anything. What did you want to do anyway? There wasn’t one thing that came to mind, not even the scathing smirk your father shot your way when your eyes met his again. You just wanted it to be over, but then again, in what way?

You swallowed, thick and hard, wishing you could say something. You knew what it meant, that same accusing look he threw your way all those years ago when your mother died, a core memory that hardened at the back of your mind. He might not have said it out loud, but it spoke volumes of how he wished you were gone instead of her, how he blames you for the loss of the only woman he ever cared about. He looked at you the same way now as if you wounded him the same way again, as if you were making him go through the pain again.

He held you frozen with his cold gaze, making you hold your breath until it hurt, when suddenly, he turned away to address someone else behind you. “I believe congratulations are in order,” he stated in a tone that was anything but congratulatory, “Mr. Gojo.”

“Hardly, but I believe thanks are in order,” Satoru responded, repeating your father’s words and returning it to him. “I have yet to fulfill the purpose of it all.”

You heard the smirk in his voice as opposed to seeing it, unable to move on your spot as Kento kept you steady, merely looking down on the floor. You wanted to do something, anything, take him away from there perhaps. Your father wasn’t worth the time, not Satoru’s anyway. Mustering all the wits you had left, you finally managed to turn around, looking at Satoru to ground yourself. He was there. Everything will be okay…right?

Satoru smiled at you and winked as if to answer your unspoken question. He stepped towards your father, and in a low tone, said, “If you think you can use me to hurt your own daughter, you couldn’t have been more mistaken.” Although he kept a pleasant look on his face, the playfulness was gone, replaced by a threat instead.

Your father scoffed. “Very valiant of you then, young man. All this for my daughter.” He chuckled. “But you said it yourself. She is my daughter, and what goes in our family neither involves you nor does it change things because you suddenly decided you’d want to go this far for her. Commendable, I must say –”

“I’ll take that as a compliment without the catch, if you don’t mind.” He leveled his expression with your father. “Of course, you are right. It changes nothing if you still want Y/N to leave, but she can decide on that without you threatening to tear me down should she disagree.”

You merely blinked slowly as your thoughts were confirmed, but before you could even wrap your head around it, Satoru was suddenly beside you, taking your hand in his, boldly displaying it in front of your father.

“Satoru –”

“I love your daughter, Atty. L/N. And yes, I’m willing to go through lengths to make her happy. I may not decide on that, but I’m giving her the freedom to do just that without anyone, not even you, interfering in it.”

The older male glared at Satoru. “This was all in vain, but you knew that.”

“We’ll see,” the blue-eyed menace beside you stated in that happy-go-lucky tone of his, even having the gall to grin at your father. “Now, if you don’t mind…” He shifted his gaze to you, a love-struck smile replacing his earlier expression. “I have a date with your daughter, father-in-law.”

With that, he turned around, dragging you away, but not before you saw your father fall onto his seat, evidently seething as he watched the pair of you go. But before you could dwell on that thought, you heard Satoru’s laughter ringing through the hallway as he looked back at you with nothing but that tender, adoring look he always has for you, enough to convince you to join in as you both ran towards your own fairy tale albeit momentary.

A/N: Hi, everyone! Just gonna leave this here for now and will update this over the next days one or two at a time, depending on how much I can create per day. Again, thank you for the love. We're almost to the end! Thanks for staying.

TAGS LIST: @arxliana @neeneee @charlie-xo @aelynaneedsalottathing @cloudxp @justpuddinglol @mikkies @nyfwyeonjun @whats-humanity-lol @letthewindlead @whore-of-many-hot-men @localgaytrainwreck @pikibee @bloombb @mr-underhills-things @lysaray @chocoyanchan @poemzcheng @bookswillfindyouaway @dreamxiing @koutaroo @taelattecookie @kazuhasmaid @weebbuscuit @moonmalice @taengkatsu @reagan707 @to0ruu @shirabane @yell0wdreams @r0ckst4rjk @megtheebimbo @tmvll9 @kibananya @ti-mame @niko-ash @minzxec

© ORIGINAL WORK BY nanaminokanojo. CHARACTERS ARE INSPIRED BY GEGE AKUTAMI’S JUJUTSU KAISEN. [20240415]

PHOTO/IMAGE/GIF/FANART/ANY MEDIA CREDITS TO THE RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

[azu1as]

—a tangcheong reincarnation ficlet set during the shaolin tournament arc 👍

»—————————–✄

Part 1 2 3

baek cheon didn't think much of the loud commotion being made in the audience stands as a large family entered the arena.

"huh? what's all that noise over there?" yoon jong voiced out.

the rest of the mount hua disciples turned their heads in the direction yoon jong was pointing at and they watched as people unabashedly stared at the person in the center of the group.

"you missing a cousin or something, samae?" one of the disciples joked.

the man in question looked closer to a tang than he did his own family members who walked beside him. whereas their hair were varying shades of light brown, his was dark and closer to tang soso's own color.

tang soso frowned, narrowing her eyes as she tried to peer at his features which were slightly too far to distinguish properly.

"I don't recall having any cousins in shaolin..." she mutters as yu iseol also tilted her head in question.

the man's gaze sweeped lazily across the arena. even from afar, baek cheon could tell that the man's gaze was contemptuous.

he didn't need to use his qi to enhance his eyesight to know that the gaze that was thrown towards the sect leaders' stand was absolutely scathing.

jo gul scratched his cheek. "he must be the rumored son of the zheng merchant family. see the crest on his robes?"

"what do you know of him?" baek cheon asked. he doesn't really understand why but a part of him felt like he had to be on-guard towards the strange man.

"not much," jo gul winced, "just that he's a bit older than us and that he...mildly poisoned one of the daughters of another family in sichuan."

"..."

they all turned towards tang soso.

"are you sure he's not part-tang or something?" yoon jong asked.

their conversation is abruptly interrupted by loud shouts cheering for shaolin.

the disciples of mount hua shared resolute nods as they began marching forward, letting the praises pouring out from the audience straighten their spines and walk more resolutely.

chung myung seamlessly slipped back into their fold, the money pouches he brought with him noticably emptier than when he had arrived.

it felt as if the cheers for them rang louder than those for shaolin. it was a very ovewhelming feeling and all of them could feel the pressure on their shoulders.

once again, they watch the reliable back of their sajil as chung myung finally sets foot on the stage, gazing up.

the current head of the zheng family was not influenced by the excitement that seemed to radiate from his fellow tournament-goers. rather, his eyes were locked on the face of his elder brother who he had never seen look as emotional as he did now.

there was disbelief on his face. he wore a strange expression which wavered between hope and doubt. unfathomable emotions swam in his eyes.

"ge, is everything alright?" he worriedly asked. "if you wish to leave, we don't have to—"

"no." zheng bo cut him off. "we're staying."

he shared concerned looks with his other siblings, but they silently agreed to let it be.

their eldest brother had always been distant, but he was never unkind to them.

they could never understand where the weight zheng bo seemed to always carry on his shoulders came from, but he never lashed at them.

they had never known zheng bo to be anything other than melancholic, so seeing the way the beginnings of a lively spark enter his eyes...

it was as if they were watching him transform into someone else for a moment.

"hyung...?" zheng bo murmured as he practically threw himself over the railing to get a closer look.

luckily, their youngest sibling, about the same age as the youngest second class disciple of mount hua, managed to pull their eldest brother back by the robe.

"zheng bo, what's gotten into you?" their mother worriedly clutched at him.

a string of incomprehensible muttering escaped zheng bo's lips. "...a descendant? no, he—a wife? no, as if..."

questioning stares were thrown their way from other audience members, but they were quickly distracted by the start of the deciding battle between the two finalists.

it was a battle that no one could have ever expected.

it felt too one-sided and the zheng family, as with the rest of the spectators, found themselves at a complete loss over the practically one-sided battle between shaolin's hye yeon and mount hua's chung myung.

there was heavy and glooming feeling charging the atmosphere. the previous racuous and excited cheers turned into silent feelings of apprehension and confusion.

“this is nothing compared to what mount hua has been through.”

zheng bo let out a pained, heartaching noise.

"ge," the second zheng son started, still lost. "do you know what he's talking about?"

it seemed to him that chung myung was talking about something beyond the prior slow decline of their sect.

zheng bo seemed to be too overcome with his own emotions to answer.

they all turned back their heads to the stage and were graced with the sight of a soft curve of a blade that arched beautifully, tearing apart all the golden winds thrown towards its weilder's way by hye yeon.

"beautiful..." someone in the audience behind them mumbled.

and it truly was a mesmerizing sight to see.

and it became all the more so when plum blossoms pink, an unstoppable multitude, bloomed from chung myung's sword.

tang bo crumpled where he had was standing.

happiness, guilt, and, most of all, /relief/ wrapped themselves around his heart—his heart which, for the longest time, for over three decades, had been hollowed and emptied out of any possible feelings.

"you're here too."

tang bo didn't have to be alone anymore.

[awkwardauthorwrites]

Do It Like A Girl

Word Count: 2k

Themes: duelling, Leander slander, pining (in that order)

Summary: Y/N takes part in Lucan’s Last Man Standing tournament 

Warnings: Potential spoilers for HL. All characters 18+ and in seventh year. (ambiguous house, so feel free to pick your own)

(Edit; in typical me fashion, I forgot to add the song that I listened to on repeat while writing this. I hope you enjoy!)

Y/N squeezed through the crowd with Sebastian by her side, his hand gently gripping the back of her school robes so that he wouldn’t lose her. Considering the Crossed Wands was meant to be a secret club, the tournament that Lucan had organised this time had the largest turn out she had ever seen. Dubbed ‘The Last Man Standing’ (a name which grated Y/N just the tiniest bit), anyone could jump in and take part, with the only rule being that the winner stayed on until everyone decided they had had enough. Lucan had approached Y/N and Sebastian as soon as he had the idea, extending them an invitation to come and take part. Sebastian had nodded his head enthusiastically, but Y/N simply shrugged and said she would see how she felt on the day.

They finally made their way to the front of the group (being a seventh year had its perks) and watched through the bars that separated the clock tower from its courtyard. Leander Prewett was currently duelling a fifth year and showing no mercy as he shot a barrage of spells at the boy. The Ravenclaw could barely keep his shield charm up as Leander fired any and every spell he could think of at the younger student in an attempt to break through the hastily cast protego.

“This is brutal,” Sebastian muttered from next to her. Y/N hummed in agreement, a frown forming on her face as she watched Leander scowl and cast a particularly vicious bombarda at the Ravenclaw and finally shattered through his shield. The younger boy went flying, his wand leaving his hand, and Leander grinned and let out a victorious woop as he faced the audience that had gathered. The gate started to break open and Y/N quickly ducked underneath and made her way to the fallen student, a Wiggenweld potion in her hand as she knelt by his side.

“Are you alright?” she asked him gently, watching with a careful eye as he groaned and slowly sat up. His face flushed in embarrassment from the defeat, but he still nodded slowly and took the potion from Y/N. Lucan looked over worriedly, but Y/N gave him a thumbs up and helped the younger student stand up and walk towards the exit.

“Looks like Leander wins again!” Lucan called out. “Who wants to go next and see if they can beat him?” Y/N could see Sebastian grin wickedly and start to roll his sleeves up as he stepped forward.

“An actual challenge, please,” Leander drawled. “Not someone who fights like a girl.” Y/N shot the Gryffindor a scathing glare and was slipping her robe off before she could even process the decision.

“I’ll duel you.” Sebastian stilled in his spot, his hands still trying to roll his right sleeve up. His jaw was clenched in annoyance at Leander’s words, but the look on Y/N’s face was downright seething. He didn’t pity the man. Lucan looked at Sebastian, silently asking if he wanted to claim the spot, but he shook his head and took a step back, sticking his hands into his pockets. Leander sneered at her, twirling his wand in his hand. 

“Fine. Just don’t expect me to say sorry and wipe away your tears when I beat you.”

“I would rather skin myself alive,” Y/N hissed at him. “I’m not a fifth year you can push around, Leander - let’s make this interesting. How about a wandless duel?” She held her smile back as she watched Leander’s smug attitude falter for the briefest of seconds - his wandless magic was subpar at best, despite all their professors hounding them to pick the trait up in their final year. “You can always use your wand if you feel more…comfortable?” she asked innocently. Sebastian watched from the sidelines, a large grin of pride on his face as Y/N toyed with Leander. Y/N began to roll her sleeves up the way she had seen Sebastian do, a small smirk on her face as she waited for Leander to respond. If anything, that seemed to aggravate the Gryffindor even more, and he forcefully stuck his wand in his pocket as he glared at her.

“Let’s get this over with.” Leander held his hand out of him, bracing himself to cast the first spell as the gate slid shut once more. 

“With pleasure.” Y/N’s smile was near feral as she stood there, her hands casually hanging by her side. Leander cast the first spell, a poor excuse of confringo that sputtered out before it could even reach her. Y/N laughed at the shoddy cast and tilted her head to the side slightly, looking very much like a predator who was stalking their prey. “My turn.” Sebastian was too enraptured with her demeanour to focus as she (in startling quick precision) cast levioso, accio and confringo on Leander and blasted him backwards. The man barely had the chance to sit up before she was summoning him forward again and levitated him in front of her. 

“Put me down!” Leander snapped, flailing his legs. Sebastian couldn’t help but laugh, along with the rest of the gathered crowd, as Y/N left him floating for a few more seconds before she cast a descendo that was so powerful Leander winced as his rear hit the ground.

“Anything that you can do, I can do better,” Y/N leaned down to hiss in his face, yanking at his tie so that he would meet her eye. “You wish you could do it like a girl.” Water appeared underneath Leander as Y/N silently cast aguamenti before freezing it over with a glacius charm. She stood up and took a step back before casting depulso without using her words, wand, or even a gesture. Leander went sliding back along the ice and crashed into the wall behind him. “Come on, Leander, do you really want to say you lost to a girl in heels?” she mocked, her shoes clicking against the stone floor as she walked towards him slowly. “I’d love to see you try to fight like a girl - to do anything like a girl.” She summoned him once more, and he flinched slightly as his knees dragged across the floor until he was kneeling in front of Y/N. “Yield.”

“Never!” He tried to stand, but Y/N managed to keep him down with an unknown spell, as she refused to say her incantations aloud.

“Yield.” She repeated, a ball of energy forming in the palm of her hand. Sebastian couldn’t tell which spell she was holding from this distance but he could see the occasional swirl of fire, as well as Leander’s terrified look. 

“I yield! I yield!” He scrambled to get away from her spell and quickly got to his feet and took a couple of steps away from her. Y/N closed the palm of her hand, extinguishing the spell that had been sitting there and tilted her head to the side ever so slightly.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that? Did you just lose to a girl?” Her eyes flashed dangerously and she raised an eyebrow at him. “Admit that you wish you could fight like a girl, Prewett. Admit I’m better than you.”

“You’re - ” Leander grimaced as the words caught on his tongue, and Sebastian could have sworn he stopped breathing as he leaned against the bars to watch as Y/N took an intimidating step in his direction. 

“I’m waiting.”

“You’re better than me!” He all but spat the words out, his face twisting in anger. 

“...and?”

“And - ” he growled in frustration before giving her the deadliest glare he could muster (not that it fazed Y/N in the slightest), “and I wish I could fight like a girl.”

“Good boy.” The smile she gave Leander thrilled Sebastian down to his very core, and he was left absolutely breathless as she turned to give him a wink. “I’m pretty sure that makes me the winner, Lucan.”

“Y-yes!” Lucan swallowed heavily and looked out to the crowd. “Our new winner, Y/N Y/L/N! Does anyone want to challenge her?” The crowd was silent as the gate slowly opened and Y/N watched in amusement as a few people took a step away from her. “Sebastian?”

“Oh, absolutely not,” Sebastian kept his gaze trained on Y/N as he spoke to Lucan. “I didn’t particularly like my chances against Y/N to start with, I think witnessing her brutalise Prewett may have just cemented that.” Y/N laughed quietly at his words, the anger that had been directed at Leander leaving her body as she grinned at Sebastian’s answer. “In fact, it doesn’t look like anyone fancies their odds against her. I think we’ve found your winner, Brattleby.” Y/N looked over at Lucan, her eyebrow raised in a silent question. The younger Gryffindor looked out over the crowd again before nodding slowly.

“Well, it looks like we have! Y/N Y/L/N, everyone! The first winner of our Last Man Standing tournament!” Y/N clicked her tongue in annoyance and let out a quiet sigh.

“I think it might be time to reconsider the name of your tournament, Lucan. Lest anyone else gets the same idea as Prewett and thinks that women can’t fight.”

“O-of course!” Lucan’s face flushed and with a wave of his wand the blackboard that held the name of the tournament amended itself to read ‘Last Person Standing’. Y/N nodded in approval and made her way to Lucan to collect her winnings, only partially aware of Sebastian sliding up to her, his arm pressed against her back gently.

“You’re breathtaking.”

“I know,” she smiled coyly up at him. He laughed quietly and placed a hand on her waist, tugging her towards him.

“I’m a little terrified to get on your bad side after witnessing that.”

“As you should be.” Sebastian laughed at this and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, his heart pounding in his chest. “Darling, save it for when we’re in private,” Y/N teased, swatting his chest playfully. He grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on the back, barely paying attention to Lucan as he handed Y/N her winnings. She turned her attention back to Sebastian, her arms slipping over his shoulders as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?” The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, his eyes sparkling with absolute adoration for the girl in his arms.

“Like I’ve hung all the stars in the sky and you’re dying to kiss me.”

“Maybe that’s just how I always look at you and you’ve only just noticed,” Sebastian lowered his voice considerably and slowly leaned in to press his forehead against hers. “I think I fell in love with you during that duel.”

“Oh? That’s nice.” He opened his eyes (when did he close them?) to see Y/N giving him a sly smile. “You should come back with that admission when you know and we’ll see how I respond then.” She tilted her head up slowly and watched in satisfaction as Sebastian’s eyes fluttered closed again in anticipation, as his grip on her waist tightened fractionally. She pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose, a wicked grin falling on her lips as she pulled away and watched as his eyes flew open. “Shall we go to Hogsmeade? First round is on me,” she patted the pocket where she had stored her winnings and started to walk away, only stopping to pick up her discarded robe.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” he said, his voice slightly hoarse as he watched the sway of her hips as she walked away.

“Probably,” she gave him a disarming smile over her shoulder and held her hand out to him. “Are you coming?” Sebastian didn’t even need to think twice before he took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together before playing a kiss on her knuckles. Merlin, the effect she had on him. He would follow her to the ends of the world if she asked.

“Lead the way, darling.”