#at the same time i want to let her know i appreciate this

[love-of-the-red-star]

That time I got reincarnated as an Aeon

(Series)

Chapter eight: In which the Express celebrates the Day of the Dead with you

Dan Heng’s room was nothing short of simple and surprisingly comfortable.

You’ve been digging around the archives again after your short trip to your favorite desert planet, ready to contribute to the logs that made up Dan Heng’s archive.

He’d allowed you to touch the monitors and type in what you wanted, surprising even Himeko as he was usually rather cautious to let other people(usually March, bless her heart) roam around and touch his things unless they only wanted to read up on things.

You thanked him for that, of course. It was rather sweet of him to allow you to do this.

And so you typed away— made little personal notes on what the culture was like, and people that you also knew as yourself and not Delia. While Dan Heng’s records of Sigonia IV already existed, you were compelled to make your own as well, as a thank you to the people that had been so far hospitable to you.

You haven’t seen little Kakavasha in your visit, so you too wondered how he is now. He’s probably an adult— not so little anymore, growing into the familiar visage of “Aventurine” that you knew in your past life, but you hope it’s not the same horribly tortured man you know.

There was still discrimination, even a bit more than a decade since the freedom of this clan— they still warred with the Katicans here and there, but the disputes were more manageable, less genocidal as the Avgin were more protected by humanitarian groups.

But there wasn’t really any real interest for the cultures of people that had been long discriminated even with your intervention, and if no one was going to do the job of helping them at least preserve a certain view of it, you’d do the job yourself.

Sigonia IV would not be the only place that would stay in the archives for the other future Nameless to find, maybe one day you’d ask for Boothill’s planet, because while it no longer existed, you believed it wasn’t fair for it to die along with him.

You’ve made notes of it, here and there from what little you could get from some books that made mention of it and Boothill’s ramblings. While you could always consult Fuli for the rest of the things, it felt disrespectful towards your friend. You may be an Aeon now, but you knew honor— prying without your friend’s permission felt invasive, you weren’t a human anymore, but you know that kind of stunt wouldn’t be something he would appreciate.

Suddenly, you wondered about the planets you’ve accidentally destroyed, about the lives you had taken without meaning to, and the ones you drove mad beyond your control. Your typing still continued, undeterred by your silent grief as information flowed into the data bank without even a slight inaccuracy despite the difference in how you felt.

You should grieve for the ones who were lost, you thought to yourself. Glancing at the date present in your monitor, you found it was the best time too.

The Day of the Dead.

You’re not even sure if people even celebrated that holiday in this world. Maybe Halloween, but you doubt Dia de los Muertos, as the Latinos would call it, or Araw ng mga patay, as the Filipinos would say, is something widely celebrated in an expanded universe such as this.

Maybe you’d find a world that does celebrate it someday, but for now, maybe you’re going to be alone in giving acknowledgment and silent grief to the ones that had been lost.

You weren’t very close to a religion in your previous life as a human, but now that you thought of the holidays that gave people solace and something to celebrate, you began to feel a little strange that there was no god you could pray to as you were now technically one yourself.

Worshippers weren’t so bad now when you think of it as people laying their problems to a willing ear they can’t see or hear to give them the peace of mind they desired.

You finished up the logs, determined to plant the Avgin’s language inside of it next on the next time you’d touch the monitor. But for now, you had a goal in mind.

——————————————

Some researchers knew you as a grieving Aeon, with your cries reaching the far ends of the cosmos for reasons they sometimes don’t understand.

They observed you once again, mindful to keep their distance from hundreds of light years away as the telescope that found your distant visage caught on the fact that you were crying yet again. But this time, you’re quiet. There was no horrible song of lament that fried wires and caused damage, this one was silent, this one was red.

The liquid that flowed from what seemed to be your eyes was crimson, your lips pressed together as your expression looked forlorn. The telescope saw your hands move, then suddenly, nothing.

You did not want it to see you.

——————————

Setting up an altar was relatively easy, decorated with flowers you’d grabbed from a world away in the expanse of a mountain and a lot of candles you’ve carefully lit.

Lives lost in the fight of freedom, and the lives you took without meaning to. There were too many to count, and you doubt Pompom would like to have the train set on fire.

There were no pictures, no relics, there was simply you, the flowers, the altar, the candles.

Welt had passed by your room and seemingly recognized the decor, quietly joining your side as you started to kneel in front of the altar and mumbled something along the lines of a familiar prayer that he vaguely recognized.

Sometimes Welt forgot you were a human in your previous life. You’ve told him before, when you disclosed things about yourself to him and Himeko.

There was no god that you knew to pray to here, and to make it stranger, you were one yourself. Maybe you were trying to emulate it— old habits maybe, old bits and pieces of your human personality, and reliving specific memories. Or maybe you’re just trying to commemorate those you’ve lost in the way you knew a distant life away.

Welt joined you in your prayer. There is no god to direct his thoughts to, but there’s a strange sense of peace there regardless.

Welt stood up after a few moments while you stayed, lingering before eventually leaving the room.

“Why does it smell like candles burning?” March asked as she encountered him in the hallway.

“It’s for a celebration.” He said. “A day to remember and honor the dead.”

She looked a little confused. “Day to honor the dead?”

“Yes, you can join [Name] in their room if you’d like. It’s not a bad thing, although I can understand why you’d be confused— it’s not widely celebrated after all.” Welt smiled as March slowly nodded.

————————

You weren’t in the room for much longer, opting to head to the kitchen so you could make something to eat. You were there for at least two hours, and everyone seemed to leave you alone to your devices as you made some dishes you remembered from a past life.

Some comfort food, and fluffy bread.

You brought it to the dinner table with a smile as Pompom trailed after you to arrange the bowls and plates for everyone.

Once you were done, you made do of calling everyone in to eat. They don’t really ask why there’s a different feast of savory and sweet food on the table that was clearly not Pompom’s cooking.

Welt looked at you in a certain way that you know that he knew things, and you sent him an appreciative nod as you gestured for everyone to sit down and eat.

“These are some.. recipes that I know from my homeworld.” You began. “These typically aren’t stuff you would get when you’re celebrating the holiday in a very traditional way, but sadly my knowledge of cooking is… kinda limited.” You scratched your temple awkwardly.

“You don’t have to apologize for it.” Himeko said. “It’s the intent that counts.” She smiled, then placed some bread on her plate and stew in her bowl.

“You’re right.” You gave her a small smile of your own.

You failed to spot Dan Heng at the corner of your eye, looking at the bowl of stew in contemplation as Welt’s words sprang up memories of old friends lost in a life he didn’t want to remember.

Maybe he’d allow himself to grieve losses just this once, even if that person who’s lost those people in a distant life away wasn’t him anymore. Maybe for those that Blade had taken from him too in this life.

“Are you okay?” March nudged him gently, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m alright.” He said, blinking and snapping out of his thoughts before sinking his spoon into the stew.

Dan Heng found comfort in its flavor.

—————————————

March had taken photos of your room with the altar after dinner, plastering it into her wall with the label “Day of the Dead” in earth colored frames that contrasted the aesthetics of her room. She didn’t mind as much, surprising even herself as she was rather picky about her own decorations.

However, this was something that you shared with them, and that mattered to her. She couldn’t remember her past, and so to have a small piece of someone she knew that saved her was a nice feeling because she didn’t really quite know you. She doubt she ever would actually know you in the way the older crew members do, but that’s okay, that meant she could know you through the new memories she’d create.

She thought of you for a moment and what you’d lost, and she also wondered about the past self she can’t remember. Did she have people that she lost too? Were there people that lost her? Were there people that missed her?

She remembered her conversation with you, a strangely solemn topic for a girl so bubbly like her.

“What do you usually do?” She asked, clearly referring to the little holiday.

“People usually prayed, then offered food and flowers to their dead and all that.” You replied. “I thought it’d be a little nice to honor the people lost along the way. It’s a thing in my old world to not forget the dead.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She found herself saying. “I shouldn’t have pushed.”

“You don’t have to worry, it’s not offensive at all.” You smiled and patted the spot next to you. “It’s a pretty big celebration in my world, and in some countries it’d be a lot livelier than this.” You said as she went to sit next to you.

“They’d wear costumes and make up and bring out live music and everything. The food’s a lot better too I think— there’s too many for me to remember, so the ones I made weren’t the traditional ones people ate during that day.” You explained as she listened attentively.

“That’s okay, it was delicious anyways.” She giggled, shifting slightly to adjust herself before settling in comfortably in a few moments of silence.

“Do you…. Miss your old world? Ah— you don’t have to answer that.” March sputtered, realizing her mistake.

“It’s okay. And yeah… maybe just a bit. I’m not sure how to feel about it to be honest.” You said, glancing at the windows of your room.

She couldn’t see what kind of expression you were making, and so she found herself hugging you. There was something inherently sad about you despite your antics, like you’ve lost too many things.

You returned that embrace.

————————-

Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX(HERE), Part X……

Interludes: one, two…

Special chapter: link

Yeeeeee hello y’all!!! Pushing this chapter out in celebration of All Souls Day! :DD

I hope all of you are well! Also I’ll be happy to answer any of your questions regarding the series, so drop any thoughts, don’t be shy <333

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Death Wish 3

Warnings: non/dubcon, mentions of crime, violence/abuse and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

Character: mob!Bucky Barnes

Part of the mob drabbles au

Summary: you’re desperate for a way out of your life and you ask a powerful man for help (plus!reader)

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging ❤️

Photo Inspo

The time when your father is out of the house is always the most peaceful. All the same, the anticipation of his return keeps you on edge. You never really know when he’ll be back. He could be gone for days at a time or only a few hours. With news of his new out-of-town assignment, you can at least breathe for a moment. 

He leaves without a goodbye. The word sentimental has never been used in the same vicinity as your father. You and your sisters watch him go, less forlorn than you may appear. Relief washes over you as the door closes. 

“Can we go shopping now?” Adrienne asks. She’s the youngest at eighteen. 

“We should,” you say. “Kitty, you have the money?” 

“In my purse,” the eldest assures you. Kitty, thought your mother always insisted on her full name, Katherine, is almost thirty and wears it plainly. “More than enough.” 

“We should try to buy extra in case he waits again,” you say. 

“Yeah, you always are the most practical.” 

“Can we go to the bakery?” Adrienne asks. Mr. Mulano gave me some money the other day for helping her air out her townhouse. You wouldn’t imagine the dust. I still have a rash.” 

“If you have the money,” Kitty resigns. 

“I do and I want to spend it on us. We’ll get canolis. They were always ma’s favourite.” 

You give a glum smile. Kitty is the most like your mother. The sweetest. Always thinking of others. And she looks like her too. It’s probably why you and Adrienne get in front of her when the storm starts or even why your father doesn’t tend to go after her as much as you. 

And she took your mother’s death the hardest. You grieve more for the life she lived than the life that she lost. She had a monstrous husband and three helpless daughters. She spent her days scrounging despite having a made man and was battered to the bone in trying to protect what little she had. When she died, there was no shield left between you and your father’s temper. 

“Yes, let’s go to the bakery,” you agree. “I’ll pay for coffee. I have some change in my purse.” 

You get dressed in a carefully picked outfit. It’s warm out but you wear a long-sleeved white blouse. You balance it with a tea-length beige skirt. The shirt covers the bruises mostly, though you have to blend a bit of makeup around your neck and your face as always is painted to hide the darker spots. Not much can be done for the split in your lip. 

You go out and the sunshine feels warmer than usual. That shadow still looms. His shadow. No, not your father’s. Barnes’. You’re as embarrassed as you are terrified. Why did you do that? Your father? Dead? You must have seemed so naive. That’s not how it works. 

You shrug it off and go about your day. It’s a rare occasion that you can just enjoy being with your sisters. You do the shopping first. You fill the cart with all you need, and a few extra staples just in case, then go to the bakery. 

Nova is always busy and for good reason. They have more than just coffee cakes and pastries. They have a full sit-in deli and coffee roasted in Sicily. 

You offer to sit with the cart as Kitty and Adrienne stand in line. Kitty wants to look at the delicately iced specials through the glass and Adrienne wants to be sure she only gets decaf. You’re all too happy to have a seat. 

You sit with one hand on the cart and the other on your purse. You look down at the worn leather. The brown bag was your mothers. You didn’t get a lot of what she left behind. Your father threw most of it out, though you know he hawked her jewelry when he got his new car. As much as he proclaims his love for her, he doesn’t show it otherwise. 

The bell above the door rings amidst the buzz of the closed space. They’ll have to open the windows soon to let the heat escape. You glance over carelessly at the new entrance. You snap up straight as your eyes meet the bright blue ones. As if looking for you, the boss finds you, a calm, unreadable expression beneath his dark beard. 

You stare back at him and squeeze the strap of the purse. He fixes his tie and nods his head at you. Your lashes flick in surprise. Then, he faces the horde as they start to quiet. Those ahead of him take notice nd hush, stepping aside to let him through. 

Kitty gasps as Adrienne grabs her arm and moves her away from the front of the line, giving up their turn for the mafioso strutting toward them. He stops before he reaches the counter. The entire place watches. 

“Go on, ladies,” he insists, “it’s on me.” 

You blink and shrink back against the metal frame of the chair. Your sisters don’t move at first and when they do, they use the same caution as when your dad’s huffing and puffing in the corner. They speak to the cashier in low tones and turn to Barnes. They thank him with their hands clutched. 

He placidly puts in his own order and digs out his wallet. The cashier tries to wave him off but he insists. You only catch a few words from your vantage. 

He gets his coffee first and box of pastries. You never imagined him having much of a sweet tooth. The sight of this deadly man in his dark suit in this place is absurd. He doesn’t come to collect the protection fee, men like your father do. No, he’s there for a coffee and dessert. At least, you can’t believe that it would be for any other reason. Especially not you 

It can’t be. 

He turns and struts out without a look back. You stare after him as a low murmur crawls through the bakery. You peek through the window as he passes. His blue eyes glint in your direction and his cheek dimples. Your world is small, too small for coincidences. You’re starting to think there’s more going on than just a job out of town. 

[emjayewrites]

fouled by fate • aurelien tchouameni (8/10)

SYNOPSIS: Aurélien Tchouaméni, one of football’s rising stars, is used to navigating the pressures of the pitch—but nothing could prepare him for an arranged marriage. With his family’s legacy and cultural traditions at stake, Aurélien reluctantly agrees to marry a woman he barely knows. But as they’re thrust into the public eye, sparks fly in unexpected ways. The two must navigate the complexities of love, duty, and fame, all while figuring out if they’re playing on the same team—or if their hearts are destined for different paths.

PAIRINGS: Aurélien Tchouaméni x Zuri Awanto Nchang (faceclaim Samira Ahmed @/iamsamiira)

WARNINGS: cursing, football b.s., dry humor/wit, slight arguing, friends to lovers, instant attraction, angst, eventual smut (18+/minors dni)

TAGLIST: @trenterprise @f1-football-fiend @lettersofgold @hopefulromantic1 @deonn-jaelle @vile-harlot @perfecttrashface @queenshikongo3 @2serenity0 @essaysbyciara @saturnville @trentswrld @planetmimi @muglermami @shepgurl @sucredreamer @julescpu @tchouathon @greyishbach @shelovesfootie @certifiedlesbianbaddie @trinitoldyouso @bbgkoo @lottins-only @pepfectionary

A/N: Please let me know if you want to be removed from the tag list Thank you again for your love and appreciation!

Aurélien sat in his living room in Madrid, the familiar hum of clippers buzzing as his barber worked carefully on his taper fade. The sharp scent of aftershave filled the air, and he leaned back, trying to ease the tension that had been building since his father’s call. His foot, still recovering from the sprain, rested on an ottoman. It was healing, but the slow process frustrated him.

Zuri’s dad, meanwhile, still hadn’t returned her calls. Days had passed, and Aurélien could see the frustration bubbling just beneath the surface. Her father had always been tough, but this silence? It felt like a new low.

His barber finished up, brushing off the stray hairs before stepping back to admire his work. "Looking fresh, my guy," he said with a grin, handing Aurélien a mirror.

Aurélien checked out the cut, nodding his approval. "Appreciate it, bro. Always on point."

As the barber packed up his tools, the smell of Zuri’s cooking started wafting through the house, drawing him toward the kitchen. He limped over, leaning against the counter to watch her work. She moved with a natural rhythm, dicing vegetables with ease. The scent of fried plantains and chicken filled the space, reminding him of the comforting meals his mother often cooked.

"What’s on the menu today, chef?" Aurélien asked, half-teasing, though genuinely curious.

Zuri glanced over her shoulder, smiling softly. "Poulet DG. One of my mom's quick meals—chicken, veggies, and fried plantains. Easy and satisfying."

Aurélien chuckled. "You know how much I love plantains.”

"You better behave, or I’ll eat it all myself," Zuri joked, stirring the pot.

He watched her for a moment, then stepped closer, his voice soft. “How you holding up? Your dad still hasn’t called back.”

Zuri sighed, her hand pausing on the spoon. “Yeah. It’s exhausting, waiting for him to get over himself.”

Aurélien wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. “We’ll figure it out. Together. You don’t have to do this alone.”

Zuri leaned into him briefly, the tension in her shoulders easing just a bit. “I know. Thanks, Aurél.”

"Need any help in here?" he asked, though they both knew he was a disaster in the kitchen.

Zuri laughed softly, shaking her head. “You can help by staying right where you are and letting me work.”

Aurélien raised his hands in surrender, stepping back to lean against the counter again, content to watch her. “Fine. But if I burn anything next time, it’s on you for not teaching me.”

Zuri snorted. “Trust me, I’m doing us both a favor by keeping you away from the stove.”

As the smell of the food intensified, Aurélien couldn't help but appreciate the moment—the calm before any potential storms. Zuri was here, cooking in their space, and despite everything with her dad, they had this. And that was something worth savoring.

"So, what do you think?" Zuri asked, glancing over at him. "Think your mom would approve of my cooking?"

Aurélien grinned, shaking his head. "Oh, she’s gonna love you even more. Especially with this dish." He paused for a beat, then added, "Speaking of which, she called earlier. Said she and Dad want to have dinner with us soon."

Zuri raised an eyebrow, a playful glint in her eyes. "That sounds serious."

"Nothing we can’t handle," he said, his voice low and confident. "But maybe don’t tell them I almost set the kitchen on fire last time I helped you cook.”

Zuri laughed, the sound light and easy, setting the finished plate down in front of him. "Don’t worry, that’s our little secret."

He reached out to pull her closer by the waist, his eyes warm as he looked up at her. "It better be."

Zuri leaned in, brushing a kiss to his lips. "You’re a mess."

"Your mess, bébé," Aurélien murmured against her lips, his hand resting at the small of her back. He savored the moment before pulling back, eyes glancing down at the plate she’d set in front of him. “Now, let me taste this masterpiece.”

Zuri laughed, handing him a fork. “Masterpiece might be a stretch. But I’m proud of it.”

Aurélien dug in, taking a bite of the sautéed chicken and plantains. His eyes widened, and he nodded in appreciation. “Damn, Zuri. This is really good.”

“Better than your UberEats orders?” she teased, leaning against the counter as she watched him eat.

Aurélien’s grin turned mischievous as he finished chewing, his gaze flicking up to meet Zuri’s. “Way better. You’re gonna spoil me at this rate," he said, then added in a low voice, "But don’t worry, I’ll find ways to return the favor. Just like I did in Paris.”

Zuri raised an eyebrow, her lips curving into a playful smirk as she leaned against the counter. “Oh, is that so? You mean how you couldn’t keep your hands off me all weekend?”

“Exactly.” Aurélien’s eyes darkened with desire as he set down his fork, leaning back in his chair. “You know you started something, right? Ever since that weekend, I’ve been counting the days until I could have you like that again. Paris changed everything.”

Zuri’s breath caught as she remembered that weekend—how they’d explored the city by day, but as soon as the sun set, the rest of the world faded away. The way Aurélien had looked at her like he couldn’t get enough, like each touch only made him crave her more.

“Changed everything?” she asked, her voice softening, though her heartbeat quickened as his words settled in.

He stood up slowly, his foot still tender but his hunger for her more apparent than ever as he walked toward her. “Yeah. Now I can’t stop thinking about how good you feel, how perfect you are.” His hands found her waist, pulling her gently against him as he murmured into her ear, “Every time I look at you, all I want to do is have you, Zuri. Like in Paris, like every damn night since.”

Zuri’s pulse raced, and she bit her lip, trying to keep her cool, but the heat in his gaze was undeniable. “Is that right?” she asked, her tone teasing but her body already responding to the closeness between them. “You can’t get enough of me, huh?”

Aurélien’s hands slid down her sides, squeezing her hips as he leaned in, his lips grazing her neck. “Not even close. Paris was just the beginning.”

The weekend had started with stolen glances and innocent touches, but by the end, it was clear—they’d crossed a line neither of them wanted to go back from. Late nights in their hotel room, tangled in sheets, every moment only intensifying the connection between them.

Zuri laughed softly, her hands running up his chest. “You’ve been insatiable ever since,” she teased, but her voice was breathy, her body remembering how he had taken his time with her, learning every inch of her.

He kissed the side of her neck, his voice low and husky. “You bring it out of me. I’m not gonna apologize for that.”

Zuri shivered, her fingers curling into his shirt. "Good, because I don’t want you to.”

Aurélien’s hands roamed down her back, fingers slipping beneath the hem of her shorts. His touch was warm, deliberate, and full of promise. Zuri’s breath hitched when his hands found her ass, squeezing firmly as he pulled her closer to him. "Maybe I should get a little taste of dessert," he murmured against her ear, his lips barely brushing her skin.

Zuri’s heart raced at his words, a teasing smile playing on her lips. “Greedy,” she shot back, her voice breathy as his hands slid further down.

His chuckle was low, vibrating against her neck as his fingertips teased the waistband of her shorts. “Can you blame me?” he whispered, his voice rough with desire. “Especially when you walk around like this, knowing what it does to me.”

Before she could respond, Aurélien lifted her effortlessly, setting her down on the kitchen counter. The cool marble beneath her thighs made her shiver, contrasting sharply with the heat between them. He spread her legs with ease, positioning himself between them as his hands gripped her hips.

“You know I can’t resist you in these tiny shorts,” he murmured, his eyes dark as he slowly peeled them down, revealing the edge of her lace underwear.

Zuri felt the tension rise between them as Aurélien’s gaze raked over her body. “You wear this just to torture me,” he continued, his voice playful, but there was an edge to it—something darker, more primal.

“Maybe I did,” she whispered, her breath catching when his fingers traced the edge of her panties.

Aurélien smirked, his fingers now gliding over the fabric, brushing her inner thighs. “Is that so?” His voice was low, rough, as he leaned forward, kissing her slowly, teasingly. But he didn’t linger long on her lips. Instead, he pulled back, his hands slipping under her shirt, fingertips grazing her skin.

He lifted her shirt just enough to reveal her bra, his eyes flicking up to meet hers as he pushed the fabric aside, exposing her pierced nipples. His gaze darkened, a low groan escaping his throat as his thumb brushed over the cool metal. “These piercings… they drive me crazy,” he said, his voice thick with lust. “You know that, right?”

Zuri bit her lip, her chest rising and falling with anticipation. “You’ve mentioned it a few times,” she teased, her voice wavering as his thumb circled one of her nipples, the combination of his touch and the piercing sending a sharp jolt of pleasure through her body.

“Can’t get enough of them,” he murmured, dipping his head down, his mouth closing over her nipple, tugging lightly on the barbell with his teeth. The sensation was electric, and Zuri arched her back, her hands tangling in his hair as he lavished attention on her sensitive skin.

His other hand slid beneath her panties, fingers slipping between her folds, finding her already wet and ready for him. Aurélien groaned against her breast, his fingers moving slowly, teasingly, as his thumb pressed against her clit in slow circles. "You’re soaked for me, ma belle," he whispered against her skin, his voice hoarse.

Zuri moaned softly, her hips bucking toward his hand, but Aurélien kept his movements slow, torturous. "Patience, ZuZu."

His mouth traveled from one pierced nipple to the other, his tongue flicking over the metal and sending waves of pleasure coursing through her. At the same time, his fingers moved deeper inside her, curling in just the right spot that made her toes curl.

Zuri’s breath was coming in short, ragged gasps as her body responded to his every touch. "Aurélien," she gasped, her hands gripping the counter behind her for support. "I need you…"

He pulled back just enough to look at her, his fingers still working their magic between her legs. “Tell me what you need,” he said, his voice dark and commanding. “I want to hear you say it.”

Her head fell back as pleasure coiled tightly in her core, her body teetering on the edge. “I need you… faster,” she whispered, her voice barely audible but filled with desperation.

Aurélien’s eyes lit up with satisfaction, a wicked smile tugging at his lips. “That’s all you had to say.” His fingers moved faster, his thumb pressing harder against her clit as he kissed her again, this time deeper, more urgent.

Zuri’s body trembled, her orgasm building as Aurélien’s fingers pushed her closer to the edge. His mouth returned to her nipples, sucking and teasing, and it was too much—her body tensed, and with one final stroke of his fingers, she came hard, crying out his name as waves of pleasure crashed over her.

Aurélien didn’t stop, his fingers still moving, drawing out her release as she trembled beneath him. When she finally came down from her high, he kissed her softly, his hands gently stroking her thighs as she caught her breath.

“How’s that for a little taste of dessert?” he teased, his lips brushing hers in a soft, lingering kiss.

Zuri laughed breathlessly, still tingling from his touch. “You’re impossible.”

He grinned, his eyes full of mischief. “And you love it.”

There was a sudden, sharp knock on the front door. Zuri and Aurélien froze for a moment, both of them still caught in the haze of their recent passion. A second knock came, louder this time, followed by a heavy banging that rattled the frame.

"What the…?" Zuri muttered, straightening herself on the counter. Aurélien raised an eyebrow, his hands still resting on her thighs as he glanced toward the door.

"Probably one of the guys," Aurélien shrugged casually, though his brow furrowed slightly at the intensity of the banging. "They've been wanting to check in, see how things are going since we got back from Paris."

Zuri nodded, quickly pulling her shorts back on and adjusting her shirt. She made sure her nipple piercings were covered, still feeling the warmth from Aurélien's mouth lingering on her skin. "I'll go fix myself up a bit," she said, smoothing her hair before she turned to head down the hallway.

"Yeah, better look somewhat decent if it's them," Aurélien smirked, giving her a quick wink as he stepped over to the sink to wash his hands, the water running as he scrubbed away the remnants of their intimate moment.

He limped slightly as he walked toward the door, his body still relaxed from what they'd just shared. His fingers tightened around the doorknob, twisting it open with a slight wince. He expected to see Hugo or Manuel on the other side, maybe even Julio, with some lighthearted banter.

But instead, standing there was Zuri's father, Ernest Awanto Nchang.

Aurélien blinked, his hand still gripping the doorknob, his expression quickly shifting from casual to guarded. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and he instinctively straightened up, despite the slight limp in his leg.

"Monsieur Awanto Nchang?" Aurélien asked, bewildered. "Que faites-vous ici?" ("What are you doing here?")

Ernest's face was unreadable, but there was a coldness in his eyes that made Aurélien's stomach knot up. He had always felt tension with Zuri's father, but this… this was different.

"Je suis ici pour emmener Zuri," Ernest said bluntly, his voice hard as steel. ("I'm here to take Zuri.")

Aurélien's confusion deepened, his eyes narrowing as he tried to understand what was going on. "L'emmener? Que voulez-vous dire?" ("Take her? What do you mean?") His hand tightened slightly on the door, instinctively protective.

Before Ernest could respond, Zuri appeared at the end of the hallway, her eyes widening as she took in the sight of her father standing in the doorway.

"Papa?" she said, her voice filled with surprise and concern. She quickly walked over, glancing between Aurélien and Ernest. "What's going on?"

Ernest's gaze shifted from Aurélien to Zuri, his expression softening just a bit as he looked at his daughter, but the tension remained. "It's time to come home, Zuri. Enough of this arrangement." His words were clipped, authoritative, as if he had already made the decision for her.

Zuri's face fell, confusion and frustration warring in her expression. She hadn't expected this.

Aurélien, still standing in the doorway, felt his pulse quicken. His protective instincts kicked in, and his hand gently reached out to rest on the small of Zuri's back, offering silent support. "Mr. Awanto Nchang, with all due respect, Zuri's staying here."

Ernest's eyes flickered toward Aurélien's hand, and then back to his face, his expression darkening. "This isn't about you, Aurélien. This is about what's best for my daughter."

Aurélien's jaw clenched, his frustration mounting. "Monsieur, notre fiançailles est finale," he said, his voice tight with barely controlled anger. "Elle a été bénie par les anciens et nos familles." ("Sir, our engagement is final. It has been blessed by the elders and our families.")

Ernest's eyes flashed dangerously. "Jusqu'à ce que Zuri soit mariée avec toi, j'ai le droit de rompre cet arrangement. Ce que je fais maintenant." ("Until Zuri is married to you, I have the right to break this arrangement. Which I am doing now.")

Zuri, who had been following the exchange with growing alarm, suddenly burst out, "Are you fucking kidding me? Papa, are you really doing all this crazy shit?"

Ernest's face contorted with rage. He raised his hand, moving it towards Zuri's face in a threatening gesture. "How dare you speak to me like that—"

In an instant, Aurélien stepped between them, his body a solid wall protecting Zuri. His eyes blazed with fury as he stared down Ernest. "Don't you dare touch her," he growled, his accent thickening with emotion. "Step away now, or I'll call the police. You're on my property, uninvited and unwelcome."

Ernest's nostrils flared, his hand still raised. The tension in the air was palpable, thick enough to cut with a knife. Just then, the sound of car doors slamming broke through the standoff. Aurélien's friends - Hugo, Manuel, and Julio - were approaching, their expressions shifting from casual to concerned as they took in the scene before them.

Seeing he was now outnumbered, Ernest lowered his hand slowly, his eyes never leaving Aurélien's face. "This isn't over," he spat. "I'll be back for Zuri. You can't keep her from her family."

With that, he turned on his heel and stormed away, brushing past the bewildered group of friends.

Aurélien's body remained tense, his arm still protectively around Zuri as they watched Ernest drive away. He turned to her, his eyes softening with concern. "Are you okay?" he asked gently, his thumb brushing away a tear she hadn't realized had fallen.

Zuri nodded, her body trembling slightly as the adrenaline began to ebb. "I can't believe he… I never thought he'd…"

"Shh," Aurélien soothed, pulling her close. "It's okay."

As Hugo, Manuel, and Julio approached, their faces etched with worry and confusion, Aurélien knew that this was far from over. But as he held Zuri in his arms, feeling her heartbeat against his chest, he made a silent vow. No matter what came next, he would protect her. Their love, their engagement, their future - he would fight for it all.

Zuri found herself perched on the edge of her bed, the muffled sounds of male laughter and the soft clack of pool balls drifting up from the basement. She stared at her phone, her father's unexpected visit replaying in her mind like a bad movie on loop.

The audacity of it all made her head spin. Her father had flown all the way from New York City to Madrid on some misguided rescue mission. The same man who, just a week ago, had coldly informed her she no longer had a home in NYC. The irony wasn't lost on her.

"He's lost his damn mind," Zuri muttered to herself, her fingers hovering over her mother's contact. With a deep breath, she hit the call button.

Her mother answered on the third ring, her voice a mixture of concern and fatigue. "Zuri? Are you alright?"

"Mom, you've got to talk some sense into Papa," Zuri said, cutting straight to the chase. "He showed up here, and tried to drag me back to New York. It's insane."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, filled only by her mother's soft sigh. "Your father is... concerned, Zuri. He says Aurélien is hurting you."

Zuri's eyes widened in disbelief. "Hurting me? Mom, that's ridiculous. The only thing Aurélien's hurting is my—" She bit her tongue, the words 'vagina' dying on her lips. That's neither here nor there, she thought, shaking her head. "Look, Mom," Zuri continued, her voice taking on a pleading tone. "You can't be complacent in this. Papa's behavior is beyond strange. It's destructive."

"I understand you're upset, sweetheart, but your father—"

"No, Mom," Zuri interrupted, frustration coloring her words. "You need to call him out on this. Tell him to go back to New York."

Her mother's silence spoke volumes. Zuri could almost see her, standing in their Brooklyn home, torn between her husband's delusions and her daughter's pleas.

A beep in Zuri's ear signaled another incoming call. She glanced at the screen – it was her brother, Malik.

"Mom, I've got to go. Malik's calling," Zuri said, her voice softening slightly. "Please, talk to Papa. Make him see reason. If he doesn't go back to New York soon, I'll... I'll have to take drastic measures to handle this."

She ended the call before her mother could respond, quickly switching over to Malik's call.

"Hey, big brother," she said, trying to inject some lightness into her voice.

"Zuri," Malik's deep voice came through, laced with concern. "I just heard about Papa's little Spanish vacation. You okay?"

Zuri let out a humorless laugh. "Oh, you know, just another day in the Awanto Nchang family drama."

"Want me on the next flight out? I can be there by tomorrow."

The offer warmed Zuri's heart, reminding her that not all of her family had lost their minds. "Thanks, Malik. But I think I need to handle this one on my own. Just... keep an eye on things back home, yeah?"

After a few more minutes of reassurances and sibling banter, Zuri hung up. She sat there for a moment, letting the weight of everything settle on her shoulders. Then, with a determined set to her jaw, she stood up.

The basement beckoned, promising the comfort of Aurélien's presence and the distraction of his friends' camaraderie. As she made her way down the stairs, the sounds of laughter and clinking glasses grew louder.

Zuri paused at the bottom of the stairs, taking in the scene before her. Aurélien was bent over the pool table, his brow furrowed in concentration as he lined up a shot. Hugo and Manuel stood nearby while Julio lounged on a worn leather couch, idly scrolling through his phone.

The normalcy of it all hit Zuri like a punch to the gut. Here, in this basement, life went on. Pool balls clacked, jokes were shared, and the world kept spinning. Yet upstairs, her world felt like it was teetering on the edge of chaos.

Aurélien looked up then, his eyes finding hers across the room. His face softened immediately, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Without a word, he straightened up, abandoning his shot to cross the room towards her.

As he reached her, his hand found the small of her back, a gesture so familiar now it felt like coming home. "Everything okay?" he murmured, his voice low enough that only she could hear.

Zuri leaned into him, drawing strength from his solid presence. "Not really," she admitted. "But it will be."

Aurélien's arm tightened around her, a silent promise of support. Zuri felt the eyes of his friends on them, a mixture of concern and curiosity evident in their gazes.

Great, now I'm the damsel in distress. Just what I needed.

"Come on," Aurélien murmured, his breath warm against her ear. "Let's go upstairs."

They climbed the stairs, leaving the muffled sounds of pool and conversation behind. As they passed through the living room, they spotted Zeus sprawled on his back on the couch, legs akimbo, snoring softly. The sight of the massive dog looking so undignified brought a smile to Zuri's face.

Aurélien chuckled, shaking his head. "Look at that lazy bum. You'd think he was the one dealing with family drama."

"Maybe he's stress-sleeping for us," Zuri quipped, grateful for the moment of levity.

They began their ascent, Aurélien's hand never leaving the small of her back. Zuri found herself hyper-aware of his touch, of the soft grunt he made with each step as he favored his injured foot.

What now? her mind raced as they reached the loft. Do we talk about my crazy father? Pretend nothing happened? Is there a protocol for dealing with your fiancé after your dad tries to kidnap you?

But as they entered the bedroom and Aurélien turned to her, his eyes warm and understanding, some of her anxiety melted away. His gaze trailed over her, taking in the tension in her shoulders, the worry lines creasing her forehead.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked softly, his hand coming up to cup her cheek.

Zuri leaned into his touch, closing her eyes for a moment. "Not really," she admitted. "Can we just... be normal for a bit?"

"Normal, huh? I can do normal," Aurélien nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips. "But hey," he said softly, tilting her chin up to meet his gaze. "I just want you to know that this is about us now. You and me."

Zuri's breath caught in her throat at the intensity in his eyes. "Us," she repeated, the word feeling both foreign and right on her tongue.

"Yeah, us," Aurélien affirmed. "Whatever your father tries, whatever anyone tries, we face it together. Okay?"

Zuri nodded, feeling a lump form in her throat. She hadn't realized how much she needed to hear those words until this moment.

As Aurélien leaned in, his lips meeting hers in a soft, reassuring kiss, Zuri felt some of her worries melt away. His mouth was warm against hers, gentle yet insistent. She sighed into the kiss, her hand coming up to cup the nape of his neck.

Aurélien deepened the kiss, his tongue tracing the seam of her lips before slipping inside. Zuri met him eagerly, tasting the faint hint of the beer he'd been drinking earlier. His hand slid down her side, coming to rest on her hip, his thumb tracing lazy circles there.

Just as Zuri was losing herself in the sensation, a loud knock on the bedroom door startled them apart.

"Yo, Aurélien!" Hugo's voice called from the other side. "There's a pot of something delicious-smelling in the kitchen. Mind if we have some?"

Aurélien groaned, dropping his forehead to Zuri's shoulder for a moment before calling back, "Sure, help yourselves!"

Zuri couldn't help but giggle at the frustration in his voice. Aurélien lifted his head, rolling his eyes, though there was no real annoyance in the gesture.

"Sorry about that," he murmured, his thumb caressing her cheek. "Where were we?"

Before Zuri could respond, he captured her lips again in a brief, searing kiss that left her breathless.

When they parted, Aurélien's eyes were dark with desire. "Are you sleeping in my bed tonight?" he asked, his voice low and husky.

Zuri arched an eyebrow. "Haven't I for the past couple of days?"

"Yes," Aurélien nodded, "but I thought maybe after your father showing up, you would want to be alone."

The concern in his voice touched her. "No," Zuri said softly, running her hand down his chest. "I'll stay with you."

A slow, wicked grin spread across Aurélien's face. He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Perfect. So I can finish having my dessert later?"

Zuri rolled her eyes, even as a warmth bloomed in her belly at his words. "You're horny as hell," she said, unable to keep the amusement out of her voice.

Aurélien's grin widened. "I'm always horny when you're involved," he said, his hand sliding down to squeeze her ass playfully.

Zuri yelped in surprise, then dissolved into laughter. As Aurélien joined in, his deep chuckles rumbling through his chest, Zuri felt the last of the day's tension drain away.

Later that evening, the house was much quieter. Aurélien’s friends had crashed in the guest rooms, their boisterous energy finally simmered down after a night of joking, catching up, and reminiscing about the past few weeks. But Aurélien’s mind wasn’t at ease.

He stood in the living room, staring at the security panel on the wall. After Ernest’s unexpected visit, Aurélien had immediately changed the code, his frustration still simmering beneath the surface. He wasn’t sure if Ernest had found out the old code somehow, but it didn’t sit well with him. Zuri’s father had crossed a line, and the thought of him showing up unannounced made Aurélien’s protective instincts flare. He even debated calling someone to upgrade the entire security system.

He clenched his jaw, running a hand over his face. The anger he felt toward Ernest hadn’t completely faded. But it wasn’t just anger—it was the pressure he felt to prove to Zuri that he wasn’t just another phase in her life. He wanted to show her he was serious. That he needed her, craved her in ways that he hadn't even anticipated. The deeper they got into this relationship—whatever it was—the more he found himself falling for her. And not just physically.

It was the way she made him laugh, the way she challenged him, the way she didn’t back down, even when he knew she had her own fears and uncertainties. Aurélien had never expected to feel like this, but now that he did, there was no going back. He wanted Zuri to know. Maybe he hadn’t told her outright yet, but he hoped that his actions had shown her.

His thoughts drifted to the woman waiting for him upstairs. She was all he could think about. Ernest’s sudden intrusion had shaken things, but now he needed to refocus—on her, on them.

Aurélien limped up the stairs, his foot still aching from the injury, but the dull pain did nothing to deter his desire for her. The moment he entered the bedroom, he saw Zuri sitting on the bed, her back against the headboard, flipping through her phone. She looked up as he approached, a soft smile on her lips.

"Hey," she said, her voice calm but still laced with the exhaustion of the evening’s events.

Aurélien didn’t say anything, just crossed the room to her, his eyes locked on hers. He climbed onto the bed, his movements steady and calculated, his hands finding her thighs as he gently pulled her down onto the mattress. Zuri raised an eyebrow but didn’t protest, letting him take control.

"Finishing my dessert," Aurélien murmured, his voice low, almost a growl, as he settled between her legs. His hands roamed over her body, tracing the curve of her waist, and the smoothness of her skin. His lips followed, leaving heated kisses along her neck, down to her chest. The way her breath hitched as he took his time, tasting her, only made him want her more.

Zuri gasped as his hands moved lower, his fingers slipping beneath the waistband of her shorts, pulling them down with ease. There was a slow, deliberate pace, a continuation of their earlier intimacy. He wanted her to feel everything.

Aurélien's gaze darkened with desire as his hands gripped the hem of Zuri’s panties, tugging them down with the same slow, deliberate motion he’d used on her shorts. She bit her lip, watching him, feeling the anticipation build as he undressed her piece by piece. He knelt back, his fingers curling around the elastic band of his basketball shorts, shimmying them down his hips in one swift motion. Without boxers beneath, his cock sprang free, hitting lightly against his lower stomach. The swollen head glistened with evidence of his arousal, the slick sheen of pre-cum catching the low light of the room. He was hard and ready, and the sight alone made Zuri’s breath catch.

He wasted no time, his shirt following the rest of his clothes as he tossed it aside. His lean, muscular body hovered over her, pressing her deeper into the mattress. His foot throbbed, but it was nothing compared to his need for her. He wanted her to feel good, to forget everything else and focus on them. On this.

Aurélien's lips found hers, kissing her deeply as he entered her, their bodies falling into an easy, familiar rhythm. Zuri moaned softly beneath him, her hands clutching at his back, her nails digging into his skin as he moved.

"Just like that, bébé," Aurélien whispered, his voice rough as he rocked into her. He loved the way she responded to him, the soft gasps, the way her hips rose to meet his thrusts. For the first time, there was no barrier, no thin layer separating their skin, and it drove Aurélien wild. He could feel everything—every tight pulse of her walls as she gripped him, every slick movement as he slid deeper. Every sensation was heightened, more raw, and he couldn’t help but groan as the pleasure washed over him in waves. “You feel so good,” he continued, his forehead pressed against hers, his eyes watching the way her face contorted in pleasure.

He talked her through it, his words a steady stream of praise and encouragement, his deep voice grounding her even as her body trembled beneath him. Zuri’s mouth fell open, but no words escaped, and her eyes fluttered shut – yet her expressive face told him everything he needed to know.

"Yeah, just like that… fuck….ma chérie," he murmured, his pace quickening slightly. The way she responded to him—so open, so uninhibited—made him want to give her everything. He could feel her tightening around him, her breaths coming faster, her fingers gripping his arms as she climbed higher and higher.

His hands roamed over her body, one sliding up to her chest, cupping her breast, his thumb brushing over the piercing that adorned her nipple. He could feel her body trembling beneath him, her moans filling the room as he continued to move inside her.

"Let go for me, bébé," he whispered, his voice hoarse with need. “I want to feel you. Come on my dick.”

And when she did, her body arching beneath his, her moans turning into cries of ecstasy, Aurélien knew without a doubt that he was falling in love with her. He hadn’t said the words yet, but he hoped she could feel it in every touch, in every kiss, in the way he held her like she was the most precious thing in his world.

Because she was.

His jaw clenched, and with a few more deep thrusts, he reached his peak, releasing a guttural moan. He pulled out just in time, his hand wrapping around his length as he spilled onto her stomach, his breath coming in harsh gasps. For a moment, they both stayed there, panting, their bodies buzzing with the aftershocks of pleasure.

Aurélien leaned down, kissing all over her face—her cheeks, her nose, her forehead—before pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "That was a one-time thing," he murmured, his tone playful, but his eyes still dark with lingering desire. "Going in raw like that."

Zuri's chest rose and fell as she caught her breath, a small smirk tugging at her lips. "It’s okay. I’m on birth control," she said, her voice soft but teasing.

Aurélien’s wicked grin returned, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "You should’ve never told me that," he teased, his hand gently brushing her hair from her face. "Now I’m going to want to ruin you every chance I get."

She laughed, rolling her eyes, but the warmth in her gaze told him that she didn’t mind one bit.

He kissed her again, slow and tender this time, before carefully getting up. He grabbed a towel, returning to her side to clean her up, his touches gentle and reverent. After making sure she was comfortable, he tossed the towel aside and slid back into bed, pulling her close against his chest.

"I got you, ZuZu."

She sighed contentedly, snuggling deeper into his embrace, and for a moment, everything felt perfect.

_______________________________________________

The next morning, Aurélien stood outside a quiet café, his eyes scanning the street as he adjusted the collar of his Nike tracksuit. The pain in his foot was a dull throb, but he ignored it. He had something more pressing on his mind—meeting with Zuri’s father, Ernest.

Aurélien had gotten Ernest’s number from his own father, Fernand. He hadn’t told Zuri. She didn’t need the stress, not when things were already so complicated with their relationship.

His mind flashed back to the night before—how connected he’d felt to Zuri, how sure he was that he was falling for her. But Ernest? Ernest was the opposite of reassuring. He had doubts, reservations, and Aurélien was determined to put them to rest.

A sleek black car pulled up, and Ernest stepped out, his expression neutral but his eyes sharp. He was a tall man, with an air of authority that had clearly served him well in business. As he approached, his gaze dropped to Aurélien’s limp, and he raised an eyebrow.

"What happened to your foot?" Ernest asked, not bothering with a greeting, his tone cool and dismissive.

Aurélien’s jaw tightened. He wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries, but he kept his voice calm. "Just a sprain from training. Nothing serious."

Ernest looked unimpressed, his eyes lingering on the bandage peeking out from Aurélien’s shoe. "Doesn’t look like ‘nothing serious.’ You’re limping like a man twice your age."

"It’ll heal," he said, holding back the urge to roll his eyes. "Let’s cut to the chase."

Ernest crossed his arms, eyes narrowing. “I’ve been wondering why I haven’t received what was promised during the bride price negotiation.”

Aurélien frowned, confused for a second. “What are you talking about?”

Ernest’s jaw tightened. “The car. The one that was supposed to be mine, as part of the agreement.”

Aurélien’s stomach turned. The car? That’s what this was about? Still? “You’re upset about a car? Is that why you’re acting like this? Why you're trying to take Zuri away?”

Ernest’s lips curled into a bitter smile. “That’s not the only reason. You’re young, Aurélien. What did you think this arrangement is about? Zuri was never meant for you. She’s just... a tool, a way to ensure what I wanted. A pawn.” His tone sharpened. “She couldn’t even be a good daughter and help her family, especially with all the money and access you have.”

Aurélien’s blood boiled. “That’s not her job,” he shot back, his voice rising. “She’s your daughter, not your business venture. You’re a poor excuse for a father, using her like that.”

Ernest sucked his teeth, unimpressed. “So sensitive. Just like your father.” He sneered, leaning in closer. “Fernand never knew the real reason behind this arrangement. He thought it was about family ties, but I had my own plans. And now, here you are, getting all worked up.”

Aurélien clenched his fists, anger pulsing through his veins. He wanted to knock Ernest flat, but he caught himself, aware of their surroundings. Losing his cool wouldn’t help Zuri or himself. Instead, he straightened up, forcing a cold smile. “Fuck you,” Aurélien said quietly, his voice full of contempt as he turned to limp away.

But before he could reach his car, Ernest’s hand gripped his arm tightly, yanking him back. “I want Zuri,” Ernest growled, “or what was promised to me.”

Aurélien yanked his arm free, glaring at him. “The only thing promised to you is my fist in your mouth.” He shrugged off Ernest’s hold, turning away as his pulse hammered in his ears.

He got into his car, gripping the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white as he pulled out of the parking lot. By the time he hit the first red light, the anger surged through him like a tidal wave. He slammed his fists into the steering wheel, cursing under his breath. The whole situation was a mess, and he felt trapped in it. But one thing was clear—Ernest had underestimated him, and Aurélien wasn’t going to back down. Not for Zuri, not for anyone.

Later that day, Zuri found herself walking through the bustling market with Zeus trotting beside her, his leash loosely draped around her wrist. The air was filled with the mingling scents of fresh bread, ripe produce, and street food sizzling on nearby grills. The clamor of vendors calling out to customers blended with the hum of conversations. Normally, this kind of atmosphere would excite her, giving her plenty of inspiration for her social media posts. But today, her mind was elsewhere.

Aurélien walked a few paces ahead, carrying a grocery basket. He hadn’t said much since they left the house, and his usual ease seemed replaced by a distant, brooding energy. His broad shoulders were tense, and even his usual attentive glances at Zeus seemed off. It was as if something heavy was weighing on him.

Zuri watched him out of the corner of her eye, chewing on her lip as they stopped at a stand selling fresh vegetables. She picked up a tomato and examined it absently, her mind still on him. She could tell something was wrong, but she wasn’t sure how to bring it up. Their relationship—if she could even call it that—was still too new, too strange for her to navigate easily. Sure, they'd shared moments here and there, but she hadn’t figured out how to deal with the emotional side of him yet. And from the look of things, he wasn't making it easy.

“You okay?” she asked, trying to sound casual as she placed the tomato in the basket.

Aurélien gave a slight shrug, his eyes scanning the rows of produce. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he muttered, though his voice lacked its usual confidence.

Zuri frowned. He wasn’t fine. She’d been around enough people trying to hide their feelings to know when someone was lying, and right now, Aurélien was practically broadcasting it. His jaw was clenched, and there was a certain stiffness to his movements, like he was holding something back.

"You sure?" she pressed, her voice soft but firm.

This time, Aurélien sighed, rubbing a hand over his face before meeting her gaze. “It’s nothing for you to worry about,” he said, his tone gentler, though still guarded.

Zuri wasn’t buying it, but she didn’t push. Instead, she picked up a bunch of cilantro, handing it to him. "Alright," she said, trying to keep things light. "But you know, bottling things up isn’t healthy. Trust me, I’ve tried."

Aurélien huffed a small laugh but said nothing, taking the cilantro and placing it in the basket. They moved to the next stall, and Zuri fell into step beside him, Zeus trotting happily along. She was trying to think of something else to say, anything to break through the thick cloud of tension that seemed to hang over them.

When they reached a stall filled with various fish, Aurélien finally spoke, his voice low and heavy. "Your dad and I met."

Zuri blinked, taken aback. She hadn’t expected him to bring up Ernest, especially not like this. "When?" she asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"Earlier today," he said, his gaze trained on a bunch of bananas he pretended to consider. "He wanted to talk. About you. About the marriage."

Zuri's stomach dropped. "What did he say?"

"Merde," Aurélien let out a slow breath, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. "For real, ZuZu, he sees you as a pawn in a bigger game—something to help build the family up. And he’s still fixated on that fucking car."

Zuri felt a wave of anger wash over her. "What the hell? He told you that?"

"Not in so many words, but it was clear," Aurélien replied, shifting his weight.

Zuri’s heart raced. Hearing that her father had confronted Aurélien made her chest tighten. "And what did you tell him?"

Aurélien turned to face her fully now, his expression serious. "I told him to fuck off. And that I wasn’t planning on backing out of this."

Zuri searched his face, trying to gauge his sincerity. "Is that what’s bothering you? What my dad said?"

Aurélien shifted uncomfortably, his gaze dropping to the ground. "It’s not just that," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "This whole situation—it’s a lot. I’m trying to figure it out, just like you are. But having your dad show up… it put more pressure on me. Made everything feel more real."

Zuri swallowed, feeling a mix of emotions swirl in her chest. She understood his frustration; it wasn’t like either of them had asked for this situation. "I didn’t know he was going to do that," she said softly. "I’m sorry if it made things worse."

"It didn’t make things worse," Aurélien said, shaking his head. "It just put things in perspective, like I really have to punch your dad in the mouth."

A small giggle escaped her despite the threat. "We don’t have to have all the answers right now," she said after a moment, her voice gentle. "I’m still figuring this out too, you know? It’s okay if we take it one step at a time."

Aurélien gave her a small, appreciative smile. "I know," he said quietly. "I just don’t want you to feel like you’re alone in this."

Zuri's heart softened at that. "And I thank you for that."

"Y'know what would be better?"

She immediately rolled her eyes at him. Of course, his mind was always focused on one thing. "What?"

"A kiss," he replied smoothly, puckering up his full lips into an exaggerated duck face that was both charming and ridiculous.

She scoffed, her annoyance instantly melting away, and stood on her tiptoes to place a teasingly brief kiss on his lips. But when they pulled apart, Aurélien wore a slight frown, and her brows knitted together in confusion. "Are you ever satisfied?"

Kissing his teeth, he shook his head disapprovingly. "No, seriously, what was that? Next time, you have to really lay one on me."

"Aurélien!" she chastised, swatting his chest playfully, though her heart raced at his boldness.

"I’m serious," he insisted, his voice dropping an octave, "especially after my tongue has been all up inside—"

Before he could finish that thought, Zuri surged forward, capturing his lips with hers once more. This time, it was anything but chaste. Their mouths melded together with heat and desire, perfectly in sync as Aurélien's hands tightened around her waist, pulling her closer. He growled softly, deepening their kiss, his teeth grazing her bottom lip as they parted.

"Good girl," he murmured, his voice low and playful as he leaned in close, his breath warm against her ear. "Now we can have make-up sex at home."

Zuri laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. "You’re truly a mess."

"Your mess," he countered with a playful wink, squeezing her waist affectionately, the mischief in his eyes igniting something thrilling within her.

TO BE CONTINUED....

[st4rrzynight]

𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 — 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 – 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬/𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭– 𝐧𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭, 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞, 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲/𝐧

𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

five years. five years since i lost the love of my life. the woman i promised i was going to marry. the only woman who was there through thick and thin.

i lost her. i lost her to a man who buys her roses when her favorite flowers are tulips. a man who takes her out on dates to the bar when her ideal date is a restaurant.

a man who doesn't appreciate her worth, a man who will never know her the way i knew her. she was the love of my life and i refuse to let her go. he is not worthy enough of her beauty.

but i have to let her go. i have to accept that she is not the woman she once was back in high school. the woman who completed me.

it's my 5th year at uconn and i have promised myself to let her go, yet i can never seem to get her out of my mind. the way her brown hair frames her face so exquisitely, the way her brown eyes light up once the sun shines on her face so delicately enhancing her already beautiful features into something more.

all that travels through my mind when i see her with her boyfriend is 18 year old me back in high school. the day after she got sent away to god knows where, it was tragic. i tried calling her every second of the day, i went to her house only to be reprimanded by her parents.

i was told that i was the devil, i was satans spawn for implanting these sinful ideas into their perfect angels head. they never wanted to see me around their daughter again.

now five years later at 23 years old, i still feel everything i felt when i was eighteen. no distractions could ever tear away the pain and weight i feel in my heart from not being able to be with her.

i look in the mirror and all i see staring back at me is my eighteen year old self with the same look in her eyes.

its time, its time to move on and find someone new. speaking of someone new, i have started talking to a girl named gianna. she was beautiful. she has brown hair, brown eyes, beautiful inside and out.

but nothing can capture the sting of how y/n made me feel. she made me feel out of this world, and i don't think anyone will ever compare to her.

speaking of her, here she comes now, walking through campus hand in hand with her boyfriend, i stared in envy knowing i should be the one holding her hand. she looked happy, but i know deep down even if she doesn't realize it herself, that shes miserable.

she's not truly happy with him and i know it. the way she always distances herself from him, the most physical affection shes ever had with him out in public is holding his hand, and a mere hug, side hug at most.

but i could never blame her, no this is her parents fault. they sent her away and she came back a completely different person. she broke up with me, dropped all friends we had in common and acted as if i had never been in her life.

i'm tired of living life day by day without a proper explanation of why she did what she did, why she broke my heart, and why shes acting as if i don't even exist.

the moment i saw her alone and not with her boyfriend i took the opportunity to talk to her. i built up the courage to walk over to her and i tapped her on the shoulder.

the moment she turned around i could see shock and confusion spread through her face, she looked around for a second and she looked like she was about to walk away.

"wait, i know i'm probably the last person you want to talk to right now, but please y/n i at least want to know why, why so suddenly. i mean jesus i know it's been five years, but i loved you, so much." i rambled trying to keep her attention, tears forming in my eyes as i confessed my love for her once again.

i could see she looked conflicted, not knowing whether she should brush me off like she had always done or actually spare me a minute of her time to talk to me.

"i– i just– look, its nothing personal. five years ago we were still practically children. i didn't know what was best for me, my parents did they assured me of it." hearing her actually speak to me lifted a weight off my chest for a split second before it felt like it got dropped back on me 30 pounds heavier.

"what are you talking about? what do you mean 'your parents assured you of it?' what did they do?" i was scared, scared of what they did to her, what they said to her that made her go down this rabbit hole of forced heterosexuality.

"they wanted me to go down the right path and sent me to blue fire wilderness church camp. they fixed what was wrong with me, they made me realize that what we were doing immoral and wrong, so please stop chasing after me, stop waiting for me because i got led down the right path and found my beautiful boyfriend, and you should try and go down the right path as well." hearing her tell me what happened, getting an explanation for the first time in years was a mix of emotions.

i felt refreshed for finally getting an explanation, then again i wanted to throw up right then and there for what the explanation was.

"conversion therapy, they sent you to conversion therapy y/n. can't you see that deep down if you never had any feelings for women you wouldn't have had to get sent to conversion therapy? they corrupted you and you don't even know it! i mean come on, i see the way you don't truly feel comfortable with your boyfriend, your body knows what you like and theres no changing that." i pleaded with her trying to get her to understand, wanting her to come to a realization that everything that was said to her was a lie.

she took a deep sigh frustration evident in her voice as she spoke to me, possibly for the last time ever.

"look, i need you to understand that i'm not a lesbian, i'm straight. i have a loving boyfriend that i'm going to marry, and you need to move on from whatever happened in high school. i was a dumb teenager who didn't know better and needed my parents to knock some sense into me. i don't know what you think you "see" but i love my boyfriend. please just leave me alone paige."

her words stabbed at my heart a thousand times over and over again as she kept speaking, my heart shattering even more with every sentence.

hearing her say my name for the first time in five years, and for the last time forever was emotional for me.

she walked away from me reuniting with her boyfriend as they walked away hand in hand once again.

i had lost her, forever.

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬 —

@mrsarnold @sweetluna20 @patscorner @tndaqlifwy @jadasogay

𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭! 𝐢𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠

[lovelygirlwithablog]

Heart on Trial | part 1

pairing: Harvey Specter x f!lawyer!reader

summary: Harvey Specter doesn’t let anyone in. But when his trusted associate starts slipping past his defenses, he’s forced to confront the feelings he’s tried to ignore. Torn between pride and desire, Harvey finally faces the truth—and this time, he’s willing to risk everything for you.

warnings: angst, mild language, slow burn, explicit content, smut, dirty talk, extra fluff, use of Y/N

word count: 2399 (bruh)

A/N: i came up with this idea after the first episode with Scottie; i kinda hate but love her at the same time (pls don't kill me) and i already feel Christmas coming so i wanted to make something winter themed ❄️ requests are open!

You always knew Harvey Specter was dangerous. Not in the obvious ways—the smug smirk, the razor-sharp suit, the ego big enough to fill his corner office. No, what made him truly dangerous was the way he could make you feel with just a look.

As his associate, you’d gotten used to being his confidante, his sparring partner, and sometimes the one person he could depend on when things got messy. But lately, it’s been different. There’s a spark simmering under every exchange, a tension that neither of you wants to name. And yet, every day, you find yourself pulled back into his orbit, craving the thrill of his attention while knowing it can never go further.

Until it does.

The stack of case files on your desk seemed to grow every hour. Between prepping depositions, reviewing contracts, and tackling the endless demands of high-profile clients, you barely had time to breathe. Pearson Specter was always high stakes, but today felt like a marathon. You glanced at the clock—already well past the time any sane person would have left the office.

In the quiet lull of the late evening, you caught sight of Harvey’s empty office across the hall, lights off, door slightly ajar. It was rare to see his space unoccupied; his presence filled the floor even when he wasn’t around. You tried to shake off the thought.

Tonight, though, you pushed those thoughts aside. You had your own cases to handle, and letting Harvey Specter occupy any more space in your mind was a risk you couldn’t afford—especially when your work was demanding every last bit of focus you had left.

You were deep in thought, lost in a mountain of documents, when you heard the familiar sound of footsteps approaching. Glancing up, you saw Mike Ross heading your way, a lopsided grin on his face that made it impossible not to smile back.

“Hey, do you have a second?” he asked, leaning casually against your desk, his eyes sparkling with that hint of mischief you’d come to love.

“Always for you,” you replied, raising an eyebrow playfully. “What’s going on?”

“I need your genius brain for a minute,” he said, feigning seriousness but unable to hide the smile tugging at his lips. “I’m trying to figure out the Thompson case, and I think I might be missing something important. Can you help me out?”

You leaned back in your chair, crossing your arms as you regarded him with mock suspicion. “You mean you just want to avoid doing all the hard work yourself?”

“Hey, I thought we were friends!” he laughed, rolling his eyes dramatically. “But seriously, I’d really appreciate your input. You always see things I miss.”

“Alright, alright,” you said with a chuckle, pushing aside the files in front of you. “Let’s take a look."

Time passed away fast. The soft hum of the office lights felt more pronounced in the quiet, and you could sense that it was time to wrap things up.

"Alright, I think we’ve gone through enough for tonight," Mike said, stretching his arms above his head and yawning.

You chuckled, glancing at the scattered files on your desk. "Yeah, I guess we’ve done enough detective work for one evening."

Mike stood up, pushing his chair back with a grin. "I’ll race you to the elevator. Loser buys the first round of drinks next time we go out."

"Oh, you’re on!" you replied, jumping to your feet. You both made a break for the door, laughter hearing in the empty office as you raced down the hallway.

As you walked toward the exit, you could feel the chill in the air creeping in through the glass doors. When you pushed the door open and stepped outside, you were greeted by a breathtaking sight. Snowflakes were falling gently from the sky, blanketing the city in a soft, white layer. The streetlights cast a warm glow on the freshly fallen snow, making it sparkle like diamonds.

“Wow, it’s snowing!” you exclaimed, momentarily mesmerized by the beauty of it.

“Looks like we’re in for a winter wonderland,” Mike said, a grin spreading across his face. He pulled his scarf tighter around his neck. “Well, I should get going before the roads get too bad. You’ll be okay getting home?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” you assured him, though you were aware of the distance you still had to walk.

“Alright, see you tomorrow!” he called, giving you a quick wave as he turned and started down the sidewalk, his figure slowly disappearing into the snowy haze.

You watched him go, the thrill of the snowfall filling the air around you. Just as you were about to head in the opposite direction, you heard a familiar voice call out.

"Hey, Y/N!"

Turning, you saw Harvey striding toward you. He looked effortlessly handsome, even in the cold, wearing his tailored coat with a purposeful air.

“Harvey!” you replied, a smile breaking across your face. “What are you doing here?”

“I was just heading out and thought I’d check in,” he said, his gaze flickering to the snowfall around you. “I see you’re still working. You shouldn’t be out here alone in this weather.”

“I was just about to head home,” you said, brushing off the concern. “Mike just left.”

“Let me give you a ride,” he offered, the warmth in his voice making you feel at ease despite the cold. “It’s not safe to be out in this.”

You hesitated for a moment, glancing at the snow piling up on the sidewalk, then nodded. “Okay, that would be great. Thanks.”

With a slight nod, Harvey led you back toward his car.

Harvey opened the car door for you, his hand brushing against yours as you slid into the passenger seat. The warmth inside was a welcome contrast to the cold outside.

As he drove, the soft glow of the streetlights illuminated his profile, highlighting the sharp angles of his jaw and his gaze.

“Here we are," he said as he pulled up in front of your building. The snow continued to fall.

“Thanks for the ride, Harvey,” you said softly.

He just nodded and looked at you with those beautiful, brown eyes.

As you stepped out of Harvey’s car, the chilly air hit you, but you still felt a bit warm from the ride. You wrapped your scarf tighter and waved goodbye.

Once inside your apartment, you kicked off your shoes and tossed your coat over a chair. You wandered into the kitchen and made a cup of tea, breathing in the warm, cozy smell.

You plopped down on the sofa with your tea in hand, feeling finally relaxed.

The next morning, you arrived at the office. As you settled into your desk, you barely had time to open your laptop before Jessica’s voice rang out.

"Y/N L/N. Come in my office. Now."

You felt a jolt of nerves and quickly made your way to her office, knocking lightly on the door before stepping inside. Jessica was already on the phone, concentrated. She ended the call and gestured for you to sit.

“I need you to take on a case,” she said, her voice firm. “It’s time-sensitive.”

You blinked, processing her words. “What kind of case?”

“It’s against Harvey’s client,” she replied, locking eyes with you.

You felt your stomach drop. “But… that means I’m going to work against Harvey.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Jessica said, her tone unyielding. “I need someone I can trust, and you’re the best fit for this. Here’s the situation: the client is being accused of fraud in a high-profile deal, and the evidence is stacked against them. We need to prove their innocence quickly, or they could face serious consequences.”

You blinked, trying to process the implications. “What exactly do I need to do?”

Jessica leaned forward, her expression serious. “I need you to gather evidence, interview key witnesses, and build a defense strategy. You’ll have to dig deep, and it may involve getting information that’s tightly held. It’s going to be challenging, but I believe you can handle it.”

Your heart raced as you considered the weight of the task ahead. “But working against Harvey—”

“I know it’s complicated,” she interrupted, her tone softening slightly. “But this isn’t personal. It’s about doing what’s right for our client. And if anyone can do it, it’s you.”

You took a deep breath, feeling the weight of her words. “Okay, I’ll do it,” you said, though uncertainty hung in your throat.

"Good. I’ll brief you on the details and put you in touch with our investigators,” Jessica said, already pulling up the case files on her computer.

You nodded, steeling yourself for what was to come, knowing you were about to step into a conflict that could change everything.

You returned to your desk, feeling a mix of determination and anxiety swirling within you.

You opened the case files Jessica had given you and immersed yourself in the details, focusing on the accusations of fraud and the evidence against the client. With each page you turned, the weight of the situation pressed down harder, but you pushed through, reminding yourself that you had a job to do.

As the hours passed, you stole glances at Harvey’s office, half-expecting him to come out and greet you with his usual confidence. But he was deeply engrossed in his own work, the door mostly closed, leaving you to your thoughts. You didn’t have the courage to approach him, not when you were about to undermine everything he was working on.

You were on opposite sides now, and that realization stung more than you expected.

Lunchtime came and went, and you barely noticed as you powered through your research. The few times you encountered Mike, he greeted you.

By the time the clock struck six, you had gathered a solid amount of information but felt drained from the emotional toll. You stood up, stretching and rubbing your neck, ready to head out for the day. Just as you were about to grab your things, you looked over to Harvey’s office one last time.

He was still there, leaning over his desk, completely focused on his work. A small part of you wanted to go in, to say something, but you hesitated, knowing you couldn’t. Instead, you sighed softly and walked toward the exit, the weight of your decision settling heavily on your shoulders.

As you left the office, the snowy streets greeted you once again, but this time, it felt different. The magic of the snowflakes didn’t reach you the way it had the night before.

Days passed, each one feeling heavier than the last. You worked diligently on the case Jessica assigned you, but every time you passed Harvey’s office, your stomach twisted with guilt. He was busy with his own cases, and you were careful to avoid him.

Finally, one evening, the office was quiet. Most of the staff had gone home, and you were focused on your work, buried in documents, when you heard the familiar sound of footsteps approaching. You looked up just in time to see Harvey standing in front of your desk, arms crossed, his expression a mix of frustration and concern.

“Can we talk?” he asked, his voice low and tense.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” you replied, feeling your heart race as you tried to maintain your composure. You stand up and look at him.

"You’ve been avoiding me for days,” he said, his tone sharper than usual. “What’s going on?”

You hesitated, searching for the right words. “I’ve just been busy with my new case,” you said, hoping it would suffice.

“Busy? That’s it?” He stepped closer, his gaze piercing. “You don’t just ignore someone like this without a reason. What’s really going on?”

You took a deep breath, knowing you couldn’t keep avoiding it. “I… I’m working against your client, Harvey. Jessica put me on the fraud case,” you admitted, your voice barely above a whisper.

His expression shifted, the anger giving way to disbelief. “What do you mean? You’re working against me?”

“I didn’t want to!” you exclaimed, frustration bubbling over. “Jessica needed someone to take the case, and she thought I could handle it. I didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“By completely avoiding me?” he shot back, his voice rising. “That’s not how this works! We’re supposed to be a team, and you’ve turned your back on me.”

You felt your heart race, anger flaring in response to his accusation. “I didn’t turn my back on you! I was trying to protect you! I thought it would be easier if I just stayed away.”

He ran a hand through his hair, pacing a step away before turning back to you, frustration etched across his face. “Easier for who? Because it’s not easier for me, standing here wondering why the hell you won’t talk to me. I thought we had each other’s backs, no matter what.”

“We do!” you argued, your voice rising as the tension crackled in the air. “But this situation is complicated. I didn’t want to create conflict between us. I thought if I just kept my head down, it would be less messy.”

His eyes softened slightly, but the anger still simmered beneath the surface. “Less messy? This is a mess. You should have come to me, talked to me. Instead, you chose to shut me out. Do you even understand how that feels?”

Your chest tightened at his words, the weight of guilt crashing over you. “I’m sorry. I thought I could handle it on my own. I didn’t want to drag you into this.”

He stepped closer again, his voice low and heated. “You think this is just business for me? You think I can separate this from everything else? I care about you, and it hurts when you act like I don’t matter.”

“Maybe we both need some space,” you finally said, your voice barely a whisper, feeling the weight of those words settle between you.

“Yeah, maybe,” he replied, his eyes searching yours as if looking for an answer neither of you could find.

As he stepped back, the moment fractured, leaving a lingering ache in the air. You knew this was far from over, and the unspoken feelings hung like a storm cloud, threatening to burst at any moment.

To be continued ...

[mymanyfandomramblings]

Any headcanons for toh?

Oooooh. I have several, including an entire section dedicated to my love of the terrible Blight family dynamics. Here we go:

Luz and Gus both love Hamilton. Amity does not love Hamilton, but she tolerates it.

Amity's music taste is either 'the softest, lightest, saddest pop music' or 'heavy metal'. all happy songs on her playlist were added because she associates them with Luz or her friends, not because she listens to them.

Luz is convinced that Elvis is alive somewhere on the Boiling Isles.

All of the Hexsquad are the type to call each other in the middle of the night because an idea occurred to them. it's usually Willow who ends up being called.

Willow has tried--and failed--to understand the hype with either The Good Witch Azura or Cosmic Frontier. She however does know so much lore about both, and is so good at pretending, that her friends have yet to figure out that she doesn't care about their fandoms beyond 'you're really happy talking about it'.

Edric and Emira see Gus as their unofficial little brother

Darius makes Willow's wedding dress, when she gets married.

When Hunter and Willow get married, Gus is a combination of best man/man of honour and Luz is a combination maid of honour/best woman. Amity's just a bridesmaid, but her feelings are unhurt by this.

Hooty writes terrible RPF

Lilith likes Raine just fine but she will not let them know this.

Luz and Gus will corner Hunter at some stage and be like 'listen, we know you like Willow. If you're going to date her you have to treat her like a princess. Spare no expense, leave no stone unturned. when you ask her to Grom you must do a big romantic gesture."

Willow does not like big romantic gestures nearly as much as Luz and Gus do.

Gus helps Luz and Amity plan their big dramatic Gromposals, so that they both ask at the same time, with equally massive fanfare.

Amity is not naturally a big romantic gestures person, but Luz is, so she has adapted to a big romantic gestures person.

Eventually Gus and Luz will figure out that neither Hunter or Willow are 'big romantic gestures' people. it will take too long for them to figure this out.

Camila and Darius are appreciative of each other for raising Hunter. Beyond that, they don't actually mesh all that well. She doesn't understand his dramatics.

Darius is occasionally prone to calling Raine and Eberwolf in the middle of the night to drag them on sidequests.

Back when Lilith was head of the Emperor's Coven, Eda used to go to wherever the coven heads would meet, and she'd sit under the window with a boombox and blast the Boiling Isles equivalent of 'You May Be Right' and 'Everybody Loves Me Baby'. This stopped after Lilith left the Emperor's Coven, but a little while later, Scooter Crane resigned, Raine Whispers ascended to head of the bard coven, and Eda and her boombox returned.

When Hunter starts attending Hexside, he isn't sure what he wants to study, and with the track system being far more flexible--and him being very traumatized and not very well-socialised--Principal Bump lets him have a blank schedule and go to whichever classes whenever. This often ends up with him spending much of the day in Plants, where it's peaceful. or at least he says it's because it's peaceful.

Grimwalker physiology is pretty similar to witch and human physiology, however it has some strange and inexplicable quirks. One of these things is a complete and utter lack of a detectable heartbeat.

Eda and co. would not all have survived high school without Raine there to keep the peace, and rein in the more stupid ideas.

Also, my incessant headcanons about the Blight family:

Odalia's family used to be one of Bonesborough's richest and most eminent families, however either thanks to a bad business deal or a scandal they lost most of their fortune and repute while Odalia was a child, and by the time she started Hexside, she's been living in genteel poverty for years. This has given her high-class trappings, memories of having wealth, and a desperation to regain it.

Darius was the one to originally introduce Odalia and Alador. he eventually regretted this.

Odalia wasn't always a terrible person. She was always unscrupulous, sharp-tongued and a social climber, but she is also capable of genuine pleasantness.

Odalia and Alador once did like each other--or at the very least were attracted to each other originally. This soured over years of an unsuccessful marriage.

They got married very young. Odalia was keen to lock down the last heir to the Blight fortune as soon as possible, and Alador thought she was pretty, and a good business woman.

Everything started falling apart when the twins were born, and properly fell apart when Amity was born.

Odalia's pregnancies have never been easy on her, and she experienced bad bouts of post-partum depression after both.

Alador is most definitely autistic. and also undiagnosed. among the things he finds overstimulating are a) children and b) Odalia when she's in a bad mood.

so when Amity was born and suddenly there was a crying baby, two chaos twins, and a very irritable post-partum Odalia, Alador's response was 'spend as little time in the house as possible.'

This is about when any last love between Odalia and Alador left the marriage.

Back to general headcanons, Edric gets bad asthma attacks

Emira is like a very immature mother to her siblings. they'd be lost without her.

Amity is unambiguously the favourite child. not that this gets her preferential treatment from her parents, but it does foster resentment among her siblings.

it took the twins much too long to figure out that Mittens has other emotional needs beyond 'an ego check'.

Alador just...gives them their inheritance when they asked for it. Amity put hers into saving, Emira uses it to be the hot rich single aunty to her nieces and nephews, and Edric spent his all at once on something like a waterslide for his house.

Edric needs budgeting lessons ASAP. he's not very good at it.

Post-divorce the twins joke incessantly about the fact that their mother is in jail.

That's all I can think of right now.

[scrapingby]

There's one character trait from Rhun that we have seen more than any other and it just breaks my heart.

Like sure, they are abrasive (Wer? Wer gefragt hat?!) and they are/used to be snarky (that scene when they were kids about the monster under the bed). And there is a whole lot to be said about Dark and White and Grey respectively.

But mostly they are just so very soft.

Roughly by point of order:

They worry about the kids that are being affected by the sweets that Klaus and Fips are giving to them. They also appear to feel strongly about people being influenced for the worse and being taken advantage of. (Weil ihr sie eh nur benutzt. Ihr Unwissenden habt schon genug Seelen beschmutzt!)

They make sure Ray knows that his efforts are known and appreciated (even though they immediately follow this up by telling him about the mean things that are being said about him, but even that is said to declare that those people are wrong).

While searching for Dark they take the time to make sure LurkyGirl is okay.

They make sure not to hurt the streamer (Papaplatte I think?) that Dark is using to hold Rhun off.

Yeah, they go along with Oskars plan to capture Dark. They were desperate (and I would guess not for themselves but for what it would mean for the world if they couldn't continue to due their job) getting weaker by the minute and all other attempts had failed. And the moment they realized that the chains were hurting Dark they stopped. Stopped and freed Dark and the telling Dark that they wanted it to be on both of their terms to merge again.

They worry about Oskar, some guy they have only known for a short time. When confronted with his betrayal and real plan, they don't react with hate or declarations of revenge but with concern about what their actions will cause.

When Pete, Joon and Ju find them, their first reaction is neither happiness nor relief. Instead they see Fips and all they can wonder sadly what happened to him.

They don't even rush Joon at first, even though they are currently living through the worst pain possible because they are still chained. Only when Joon is finished with his tale do they (Rhun and Dark) tell him to finally free him. And the best part? They listened. Because when they tried to send them home, they opened a door to North Korea. Because Joon told them that this is where he was born.

They make sure to save both Rainer and Joon, because they can actually do something for them.

Once they are at the hotel their first action is to return all their workers to normal and send them to safety.

They try to do the same with Joon and Rainer and then they loose their cool (and who wouldn't? They have guarded Eos face for hundreds of years. They were only just betrayed and had to spend the past whoever-knows-how-many days in unimaginable pain. And then such an obvious lie? -> side note: I hc that Rhun tries to be cautious but they are still very naive and always end up believing in the good of the people. This often ends badly for them and is one of the reasons they hate when others are being taken advantage of. It's too close to home). But then they let Joon and Rainer stay (Joon did say that they came in the hope of being safe at the hotel) and even take them to their most closely guarded secret.

Also, when Eos takes over and that energy blast sent Rhun flying? I think the only reason Joon wasn't also hurt was because Rhun was somehow protecting him with their magic.

I also need to mention that that scene where Eos is about to kill Rhun and Rhun doesn't say anything? Just bares their teeth and braces for it? That scene hurts on a different level.

And finally: Rhun not only saving Julia but also taking the time to (bluntly) explain that she has to be more careful. They even try to comfort her and help her deal with her fear! And then they make sure that Julia will never get lost again by giving her the Zahnseide (which going by the old Zahnfee song is probably not the first time this has happened. They did sing that the Zahnseide was being used in very unvonential ways).

Just.

I love Rhun so much.

[peachdues]

Hi hello yes I’m here to hear about Tengen’s FOUR kids!!!!!!! Was it one pregnancy for each wife and one of them got twins??? Tell me about themmmm (please if you want and have the energy to do so)

lmaooo so actually, your headcanon matches Sam’s — one kid with all three wives except one of them ends up with twins.

I think that’s viable — but I’m also imagining Tengen having one with each wife, but accidentally getting another one pregnant at the same time as the mother of the third child. So two wives being pregnant at the same time — which would be fucking hilarious because can you imagine the amount of stress that man would feel??

For their sake, I hope the two pregnant at the same time would be Makio and Suma, since Hinatsuru would provide the much needed calm and collectedness to the absolute hormone and stress-fueled anxious mess that would be Tengen x Makio x Suma. At the same time, Makio and Suma’s heightened hormones might lead to a house-wide emotional nuclear meltdown on more than one occasion.

Tbh, I see Tengen as someone who becomes even more high maintenance than his pregnant wives. Don’t get me wrong — he’s incredibly attentive and considerate during the pregnancies. But he’s also a fainting goat; he’s so stressed out trying to manage not one but two pregnancies while also dealing with two other kids (who are likely close in age and at that rambunctious stage where they think stressing Dad out is hilarious). He’s a hovering, nervous mother hen, and it doesn’t help that his wives are strong willed. I imagine him being beside himself because Suma has decided to climb up onto some taller surface to reach something she KNOWS Tengen will get for her, but she doesn’t want to be an inconvenience. So here he is, trying to help Hina with dinner, only to see Suma atop some tall, mildly rickety ladder and he has a fucking heart attack. Already her sense of balance is thrown off by the size of her stomach, but add an unstable ladder into the mix?? Poor man nearly drops dead.

Of course, while he’s rushing to help her down, Makio decides it’s the perfect time to get into a fight with the neighbor’s dog — you know, the one who keeps sneaking into the garden and trying to steal bites of food cooking atop the the outdoor fire pit as Hinatsuru has her back turned? Yeah. That one. Well, unfortunately for the dog, Hina happens to be making Makio’s favorite variation of grilled beef, and she is not about to let this mangy mutt steal from her. Too bad the dog also knows how to fight.

So imagine poor Tengen’s nerves when, just as he’s guiding Suma back down to steady ground, he hears screaming and snarling and barking while Hinatsuru is shouting Makio’s name. The former Sound Hashira doesn’t have time to appreciate the way his stomach falls out of his ass — he’s hightailing it out into the gardens, grabbing whatever makeshift weapon he can — an errant pan, an old training stick from his days in the Corps, anything.

Come to find his other equally pregnant wife in what can only be described as a tug of war with the neighbor’s poor dog. Said dog managed to snag a strip of meat off the cooking plate but not before Makio lunged for it, toppling the makeshift grill in the process and sending all of the family’s meal into the coals and dirt. But this last piece of beef is all she’s craved all day, and she’ll be damned if she loses to a stupid, flea-ridden bag of fur.

She loses anyway because both Hinatsuru and Tengen force her to drop her grip on the meat, and poor Makio has to watch as the dog scampers off, rapidly devouring her meal.

Anyways. That night, it’s Makio who is boo-hoo sobbing with big, fat tears because she feels terrible about having ruined dinner (and she didn’t get the meat she wanted, poor thing). Suma, as equally hormonal and a known sympathy crier, also bursts into tears the moment she witnesses Makio wailing, which in turn, awakens the two sleeping kids. Naturally, they don’t know why their moms are crying, so of course, they join in.

And you know what? It’s at that point Tengen joins in on the sob fest, because fuck it.

In conclusion: poor Hinatsuru.

[austinslounge]

Okay, this is pure speculation and I’m just basically talking out of my ass, but IF the PR relationship theory is true, then Presley may be an indicator. I do believe that all Kaia’s public relationships were/ are PR stunts. So, let me fantasize a little. First, this whole Pete Davidson thing. After dating Ariana Pete was HOT(He still is tbh, I think that he is like cheap hype and publicity for celebs at this point). Cindy and Rande wanted Kaia to be famous since she was 10. I’m convinced that they paid for the articles before she was even legal. Then, as soon as Kaia turned 18, BOOM, Pete Davidson, dating, “candid photos” etc, etc. But then they probably had to break the contract, because Pete was indeed dealing with mental health/drug issues and our favorite helicopter parents finally realized it was a bad idea. I remember these photos of Kaia’s parents outside her apartment, when Pete was “freaking out”. It was late at night and I think it’s strange that the paps were there to witness this whole Kaia/Rande/Cindy/Pete drama. Gives me stages vibes too, tbh.

After Pete, there was this whole Cara thing going on. Presley’s meltdowns, tattooed face. If you read Daily Mails articles about this family in 2020, you can see that there was a lot of strange things going on and their reputation was not good, to put it nicely. Also, around this time Kaia got interested in acting. During this year, there were a lot of rumors and speculations about Kaia’s sexuality, what she has to do with Cara/Ashley etc. And then….surprisingly….she started dating Jacob Elordi! Yeah, right amid sexuality speculations, Presley’s meltdowns and starting her acting career. Her relationship with Jacob looks absolutely the same to me as her relationship with Austin. Stupid staged pap walks, zero chemistry, “happy and in love” articles. The only difference is that she posted something with him rarely on social media, unlike with Austin(Because making even a simple “Happy Birthday” is strictly forbidden, it seems). They date for a year and then suddenly break up. Maybe, this contract was just for one year, as Kaia was only 20 at that time. Besides, Euphoria hype was dying down slowly and there was another star raising on the radar. Austin is actually a very logical target for Kaia’s PR, especially since her family’s obsession with Elvis is creepy at this point.

So, yeah, a month after Elordi split, we have Kaia and Austin. Where did they meet? How? When? No one knows. I’m finally getting to the point why I think Presley might be an indicator of their relationship status. I hate this whole Gerber family, it gives me major Kartrashian vibes, BUT Presley is the only one I like and can tolerate. He seems the most real and genuine. I genuinely appreciate his idgaf attitude, so I think whatever PR campaign Gerbers have for Kaia, Presley is either not engaging at all or doing bare minimum. You mentioned that Presley unfollowed Austin for the first time in 2022. Looking back at her relationship with Elordi. Let’s say the contract was just for a year, maybe at first the contract with Austin was also just for one year, but then they saw how much publicity it brings Kaia and renewed it. Probably they went from one year contract to three. This may actually explain why Presley unfollowed Austin so suddenly this year.

But anyway, this is just my wild imagination. Also, sorry if my grammar sucks, English is not my first language, but I hope you got my point.

Hey girlie! Fantasize away! 😄 I don't mind lol.

But yea, your theory is actually a good one. All we (and even the general public) have picked up on with this couple is that something seems off.

I honestly wouldn't be shocked at all of Kaia and Austin's relationship has always been just PR. I actually think it started as PR. Maybe it grew into something more "real" as time went on, but as of right now, the love seems to have fizzled out in this ship long time ago.

It also seems like she sought him out, and imo, that's always the kiss of death for most relationships with guys. I always kind of feel like the guy should be a little more into you than vice versa if you want a guy who gives you the best relationship.

Another thing, maybe I'm in the minority, but I actually feel like her relationship with Elordi seemed more genuine. He was always hanging around her and her friends even while he was dating Zendaya 😵‍💫, and I think that he and Kaia genuinely had things in common. They're also both kind of weird with weird tastes for things.

I kind of think Jacob had his eye on Kaia even while dating Zendaya. I think she had all the power in that relationship. She even told Elordi early on in the relationship to shave his mullet off. You're only doing stuff like that when the man went after you and you know that the man likes you a bit more than you like him.

With the Kaustin relationship, it seems pretty clear to me that Austin is pretty much running that show. Kaia seems needy, clingy (remember the Taylor Swift concert video? The perfume video?🤭), she changes her personality and habits to fit his, copies what he says in interviews, her family has supposedly been putting pressure on Austin to settle down with Kaia, etc. To me, Austin is clearly wearing the pants in that relationship. This might also be slightly different from the Aunessa relationship, where Vanessa (being older) may have been more of the one to control things. To me, Vanessa seemed way more secure in her relationship with Austin.... maybe because she was older? Or, maybe she just knew that he actually really loved her.

I kind of feel like if Kaia were actually the one who was in control in the Kaustin relationship, she wouldn't feel the need to do half the stuff she's been doing. She'd be perfectly secure in the relationship.

Your thoughts about Presley are pretty spot on. He seems like the least likely to try to keep up a fake rosy-colored view of the family.

He definitely unfollowed Austin again from social media, and hasn't re-followed him like he did Ayo. Make of that what you will.

Btw -- Your English is perfect! 🥰

[dylanisdazed]

Hi! I'm a follower on the other side, as you put it. I just wanted to say that, despite the difference in who we would support for President, I still care deeply about your family and children and right to live your life exactly as you want it. I'm gay and although I don't have children myself, many of my gay friends and family members do. Some are voting one way and some the other. I think we simply have a different understanding of what one candidate means and represents and would do to/for us and the people we love. It's fine if you think I'm wrong or misinformed or stupid. That doesn't really matter. Most of us want the same things, and I and many others just see a different path to getting them. Anyway, the point is, I think it's important to know that even some of the people who disagree with you can still be on your side. I hope you're wrong about what my candidate represents. If I'm the one who's wrong, I'll feel guilty for the rest of my life. But no matter who's right or wrong, just know that not all opposition is a matter of hate. I'm on the other side but I'm also on your side, and I hope we all live to see a world where that distinction can come into the light. I wish you nothing but the best. Thanks for all the laughs and fun and warmth you share here.

Hi! I appreciate the kind message! I agree with you on many points; people can have different perspectives, be on opposite sides of the aisle, get along, etc.

Let me stop here and admit I’m a bit drunk, so my response will not be as elegant. 🤭

Anyway, I agree that having republican friends and disagreements are a part of society, but not with this candidate. While I disagree with Mitt Romney or the late John McCain, they were decent human beings. They were not eternal bullies. They were not felons. They were not found guilty of rape. They did not praise dictators.

Do you believe Donald Trump or his cronies have your best interest as a gay American at heart? They voted to strip away women’s rights, and they will come for ours.

Do you support Russia over Ukraine?

Do you not think a woman should be able to choose what happens to her own body?

Do you think African Americans will like him more because he has a mugshot, as he claimed?

I live in Alabama, a state run by Republicans. It’s ranked at the bottom of almost every category there is, as is most of the South, which Republicans predominately run.

I appreciate your message, but I do feel like you are wrong. It’s not a question because Donald Trump has proven who he is, time and time again.

I appreciate YOU and that you seem to be understanding, but I hope that you can think of the millions of Americans that Donald Trump demonizes daily and have a change of heart.

💙 Dylie

[s-awturn]

Just For Today || FC43

summary: They only needed one day. Nothing more.

cw: anguish, comfort, silly enmity, hidden feelings, emotional support. It follows the same timeline as “Natural Enemies”.

a/n: yes, another drabble with Franco, does anyone think it's bad?

“I don't have the patience for your silly jokes, Y/N,” he said, his drawl heavy on every word. The girl rolled her eyes and sat down next to him, taking a chocolate bar out of his raincoat pocket.

“Shut up and eat, no one gets sad over chocolate, idiot,” she said, pushing a small piece of the candy against his lips. Franco swallowed the chocolate in surprise, it wasn't exactly what he was expecting when she invaded his room; They both ate in silence, watching the rest of the race on the TV attached to the wall. “You know it would have been fine if it hadn’t been raining, right?” she muttered, still chewing on the chocolate. Franco shrugged, taking another bite of the treat.

“It doesn’t matter anymore, I’m already out,” he retorted.

“Oh, shut up, Colapinto,” she said, hitting his shoulder with a stinging slap. “It’s your first season in Formula One, and you already have points, something your predecessor didn’t manage to do... Not that I want to compare you and Logan, but do you see what you did? You're great, even if you're Argentinian.”

“Why are you doing this? you hate me”

“Uh yeah, I hate you and only I can bring you down... You're going to have a lot of bad races, you're going to quit in the middle of the race or you're not even going to participate, and it's okay, these things happen, you can't weaken now” she squeezed his thigh, emphasizing her words “look where you've come, you're racing in the highest category of racing, you overtook Lewis Hamilton today, Franco, stop with this impostor syndrome, you have many races ahead of you, this is just one of many others”

“Why are you really doing this, Y/N?” he finally turned around, facing the girl. The Brazilian girl appreciated the lines the balaclava had made on his face and how beautifully messy his curls looked.

“Because you deserve to be here, Franco,” she was sincere, watching him swallow noisily, “As much as any other idiot out there and I won’t allow you to think about giving up.”

“You are strange”

“It’s my best quality,” she assured. “For today, I don't hate you, let's pretend we don't hate each other... Just for today”

“Just for today,” he said, even though he knew he hadn’t hated her for a long time. Y/N made him lay his head on her lap and absentmindedly, she slid her fingers through his hair, recording every detail of his profile, or how his expensive perfume seemed more intense there in that little room. For just one day, she allowed herself to show what she really felt, just for today.

[waterfae]

A Good Pillow [Part 2]

Summary: A glimpse of your budding friendship with Ominis and your growing feelings after the events in the Scriptorium.

Pairings: Ominis Gaunt x Reader, Sebastian Sallow x Reader

Warnings: canon-typical violence, mild language, angst, comfort, fluff, friends-to-lovers, unhinged Slytherins, complicated relationships, house-neutral reader, no use of Y/N, no beta

Word Count: 1.3+ K

Part: 1 | 2

“I’ve noticed that you’ve been spending a lot more time with Ominis Gaunt these days.” You turned your attention towards Natty after she made the remark and said nothing in response. There was no need for one; her statement was an undeniable truth. As the school year progressed, you indeed had been spending an increasing amount of time with Ominis – much to the concern of some, which was baffling; you had yet to meet a finer gentleman!

“Ominis Gaunt?” Poppy chimed, suddenly appearing and occupying the empty seat beside you, “Hello girls.” She added quickly with nods to the both of you, “Are we talking about Ominis? Do you know him?”

You smiled brightly at the Huffplepuff in greeting and took a swig of butterbeer before bringing the glass back down onto the table with a light thud, licking away the foam from your lips that the drink had left behind.

“You could say that.” You answered with a slight warmth rising to your cheeks at the thought of him, “He really is quite kind and a very good, dependable friend once you get to know him better.”

“You should have invited him then!” Poppy piped as her own glass of butterbeer arrived and was placed in front of her. You smiled, glad to know there was someone within your growing group of friends that was open to having Ominis around. Natty, however, continued to look warily.

“I’d still be cautious if I were you.” Her voice lowered to a whisper and she bent forward towards the center of the table so only the three of you could hear, “I heard he’s interested in dark magic.”

You let out a snort and straightened yourself back up in your seat before taking another sip of your drink. Poppy did the same, tutting and waving her finger, “I’m disappointed in you, Natty. Why would you entertain such gossip?”

“Amit and Everett were talking about it just the other day!” Natty explained, “Many others say it too. He is a descendant of Salazar Slytherin after all.” She turned to you and added, “You might have fared better sticking with Sebastian. He may be a bit of a troublemaker at times, but you don’t hear anything about him getting mixed up with the dark arts.”

No longer able to hold back after her last few words, you let out an obnoxiously loud laugh as the two other girls looked on questioningly.

Oh, if she only knew.

The remainder of the Hogsmeade trip was spent arm-in-arm with your two friends; happily strolling along the cobblestone streets, appreciating your time out of the castle, listening to a street musician, and hopping from Zonko’s to Honeydukes whilst sampling treats and chatting with other familiar faces that you happened to encounter. By the time you stepped back onto the grounds, the sun had already set, the temperature had grown more chilly, and some of the students were slowly inching their way back towards the castle. You spotted a familiar figure sitting upon one of the benches near the entrance and – once you were near enough – gently pulled away from your companions with a cordial goodnight and jogged over to the young man.

“Ominis.” You took the seat beside him, wrapping your cloak tighter around yourself as you did so, “What are you still doing out here by yourself? It’s cold.”

He turned to the direction of your voice with a smile, “Waiting for you.”

“Oh, Ominis.” You felt your cheeks grow warm for the second time that day, “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I am well aware of that; I simply wanted to.” He scooted closer as you pushed a small package into his hands, “What’s this?”

“Sugar quills.” You replied beaming, “Thought I’d replenish your supply since I ate the last one when you helped me with my essay the other day.”

Ominis’s smile widened as he pocketed the gift into his robes and recalled that particular session in the library.

“Try this one.” Ominis returned to his seat bedside you and placed a book down on the table.

You were absentmindedly sucking on the sugar quill he had offered earlier, your chin supported by your free hand and eyes drowsily fixed upon a random portrait. A sigh escaped from your lips when you felt him push the book towards you.

“I am sick of this Potions essay. My brain feels like mush!”

He chuckled, “Come now. You’ve almost completed it.”

You pouted, opening the book that had been placed before you to a random page. Ominis pulled his chair closer, brushing against you in the process, and flipped through the pages using his wand, mumbling about how he had noticed something previously that might be useful. You left him to his task, grateful for the assistance, but exhausted having spent the last few days researching and attempting to complete the accursed essay.

Ominis continued to urge you on, stating that you only had a few more inches of parchment to go and that today was going to be the day you finished. He would make sure of it. And so he eagerly poured over the texts of the book he had picked out for you while you moved onto another set that you had been combing through earlier.

It did not take long for your eyelids to fall closed. Despite the hands you had placed at your chin for support – sugar quill long forgotten – your head had already been sleepily bobbing up and down before you even began to read.

Ominis could feel the movement beside him; your body slowly swaying where you sat, bumping your shoulder into his repeatedly. This tore his attention away from the book and back onto you. Quickly, he dropped his wand, anticipating the next motion as your head finally slipped from your hands. He reached out with his own, catching you before your head could land harshly against the wooden table.

He let out a sigh, relieved that he had been able to catch you in time and equally surprised that none of it had woken you up.

“You really must be tired then.” He whispered, thumb gently caressing the side of your cheek that had fallen into his hand.

Instead of waking you, he gently adjusted himself and guided your head towards his shoulder; allowing you to continue with your sleep while he quietly recited notes and page numbers for his enchanted quill to jot down.

A gust of chill air quickly shook Ominis out of his reverie and he felt you shiver beside him.

“We should get you inside.” He stood up and offered you a hand, his other brandishing his wand.

You accepted it and allowed him to lead you towards the castle, “Probably for the best.”

“Shall I walk with you to your common room?” He asked as the pair of you walked through the doors.

You smiled brightly, happy to take any chance you could to spend more time with him, “That would be lovely.”

He gave your hand a quick squeeze and began your trip through the various corridors and stairs. As you made your way, you chatted about your afternoon: he asked how your Hogsmeade trip went, you in turn asked what he had done opting to stay within the castle, he spoke of Sebastian's latest musings, you told him of Garreth’s antics that nearly got him kicked out of Honeydukes. The number of students you passed dwindled and the halls grew quiet as you neared your house.

“Here we are.” He released your hand upon reaching the entrance, turned towards you and softly said, “Good night.”

A pause.

You stared at him for a moment.

“Good night.”

Another pause.

He seemed to linger.

“Sleep well.”

You blushed.

“Perhaps if I can find a good enough pillow.”

He scoffed.

“Good luck with that.”

You shuffled your feet.

He shoved his hands into his pockets.

Another moment of silence passed.

“I’ll see you in class tomorrow, Ominis.” You said, breaking through the quiet, and quickly turned on your heel to disappear into your common room – heat rising to your face.

“Right.” He slumped as he sensed you go, “Tomorrow.”

Dissatisfied with the clumsy conclusion to the evening, he mentally kicked himself as he walked off to return to his own common room.

a/n: I initially intended for this to only be a one-shot, but these two wouldn't leave me alone! So here we are. Likes, comments, and reblogs are always greatly appreciated and my askbox is always open. ♡ 

After all this time - while reformatting and cross-posting this fic to tumblr - I just realized that even though I did say reader is house-neutral, the way things are written makes it clear that she is not in Slytherin. I apologize! I hope you are able to look past this transgression.

[lullabyalikpoptarot]

Enhypen Group Dynamics

I will now look into the overall group dynamics of this group. I mostly get messy energy from them as a group, but let's see what I get here. This doesn't look too bad from what I see here.

Overall Energy (6 of Pentacles) It is a nice balance of give and take when it comes to the members. There are a lot of exchanges that come with this group. They enjoy being of service and help for each other, more on the practical end of things, not so emotional here, but that is okay. They all seem to be really generous with each other overall. There is this energy of wanting to have the upper hand though. I sense undertones of that. The powerplay keyword is sticking out to me as well. But there is this overall energy of being supportive to each other. It seems they have each other's back.

Heeseung (5 of Cups rv) In the group dynamic he tries not to be too negative or dwell on things too much. He tries to find the positive and look at the bright side, so he may try to help lift up the other members when they are feeling down. I feel he has a way of words to help the members feel better. I hear cheer up, also he may invite members for some drinks, or give them a drink to help release stress. I just see a hand offering a drink in the card and made me think of that. He might also remind them of the good things they may have, so they don't focus on the negative. This is cute.

Jay (8 of Pentacles) I say, he is the one who keeps them on task. He helps keep them focused and reels them in. It seems he is very hard-working and diligent, so he may inspire the other members to do the same. The ace of wands also popped out, so he does inspire them with his skills and work ethic. I feel they really like his work ethic and try to emulate that. Sometimes he can be way too focused on work and may not focus on the members and what is going on with them with this energy.

Jake (7 of Cups) This does not surprise me, he is the dreamer of the group. The one who struggles to actualize and make his plans or dreams come to life. I see this being a struggle with him a lot. There is a lot of confusion with him, procrastination is a thing with him. It is like he is the one that may tell them he wants to do something, but never actually gets to it. He struggles to take action. It is also hard for him to stay focused. He is like the opposite of Jay lol I am not sure what this has to do with the dynamics though. It is like within the dynamic he is the dreamy one. I also just got filled with illusions. I don't know he may confuse the members, like he may say one thing and do another. He is confusing to be honest.

Sunghoon (6 of Pentacles) Okay, this one is not giving me the best vibe, so the 6 of Pentacles, which did represent their overall energy, can be a good exchange between parties, but the card image makes me feel a bit bad for him. It is giving me he puts his all, gives his effort to the others, but may not get much in return. In the card, there is this one person giving to all these people, but they don't seem to be giving much to her. I see that as him. I feel they may not appreciate his efforts as much as maybe they should. Anyway, he does give to them members as much as he can when they need it, more of being of service, not so emotional on his end.

Sunoo (2 of Cups) It seems he is the one that likes to connect on an emotional level with the members. He may enjoy one on one time with them, since he represents the 2 of cups, which is an emotional connection. I feel emotional connections is important to him, but I feel this group could struggle to be more emotional, so that could be a struggle for him. There could be a specific member at the moment that he feels very connected to as well. It seems he enjoys the intimate connections he could have with the members. I do feel this is specific to one member, not sure who though.

Jungwon (Page of Pentacles) This card loves to pop up in these readings. The third time this came out in all three readings I have done so far. He is the studious. The one who gathers information. If you read his perspective reading this will make sense. He does the work and puts in the time. I swear he gathers information on the members and observes what they do, it is like keeping tabs or taking notes on them. I got this in other readings I have done for him in the past. He studies a lot and maybe tries to help the others with the information he has learned. I just see him as an observer, like that is what I see from this card. Like these boys better not slip up in front of him, because he seems to know everything about them, or tries to, now what he uses that on, I don't know. I just see all those books and it is like him gathering all that information. It is like yup, I got information on all of you lol

Ni-Ki (2 of Swords) I feel this boy tries to keep his distance from the others. Can be pretty standoffish and stubborn. He seems to oppose them a lot or stay neutral. He may struggle to make decisions within the group, or just does not give af There is a phrase on the card that states, pretending there is no problem, I see that with him. Like if members inquire, he doesn't let them in or let them help him. He has a defensive energy and doesn't like the others to get too close. He just kind of does his own thing most of the time. Also, if there are disagreements between members, I see him not picking sides and staying neutral, not getting involved, which is fair to be honest.

Okay, going through this, yeah, a bit of messiness with this group. I wouldn't say messy, but they don't give me close besties vibe with this energy. But I do find their dynamics interesting though, so I will take it.

[pruskita]

I appreciate the existence of this

For me, Ribbon is going into a crisis knowing that Kirby is a product of Void just like the dark materials.

Ribbon hates dark matter by itself, she sees them as horrible monsters and grotesque parasites, so from the beginning you can tell that Ribbon will not treat Gooey well and neither Magolor for being she rejects them and feels that they are just pretending to be good or kind while studying how to attack people without being seen.

Now that she knows that Kirby is something of Void, it's more than just Kirby, Meta knight and the others puff, she will be in complete nervousness or panic screaming that all of them are there to kill them, That all Void products pretend to be good things to kill them all for the revenge of the goddess, not only the dark matters that they don't even pretend they attack and kill, but the puff they trick you into trusting them

And well Kirby is in the middle of a great existential crisis and panic attacks, which are going to get worse because of the things Ribbon is yelling, even Kirby is going to think that she can become Bad, and if Ribbon is right and she really isn't helping and is only making things worse What happens if even if they don't want the puffs, they hurt others?

To make matters worse, Ribbon in her panic points the crystal gun at Kirby, the fairy screaming that if all this time he has lied to everyone, that if that is why Kirby tries to be a hero, Not because he wants to do it, but to hide his true intentions and about to shoot Kirby, Ribbon stops her, leaving her immobile.

Let's just say that Kirby and Ribbon's relationship is never the same again.

post-ksa kirby is stressed out bc What if my friends see me differently now bc i’m an incarnation of void. after all the horrible things that dark matter did to them. would they ever be able to look at me the same way again :( and ribbon is like Hey do you want to see me do a kickflip off the sacred crystal. cmon come watch me. are you watching

[mitamicah]

This is random but Salena has my sticker and even wilder: she noticed me 😱

Sdgkljfsgjutfsvjtd

Context under the line

So back in October I went to käärijä Berlin gig giving out some Bojere stickers I made. Five of those went to Mikke (another story but I had sort of promised to give him some xD).

This was however also the same gig where Salena joined Jere on stage. I didnt meet her in person but had a blast seeing her perform with the boy 🥹💚

Fast forward three months later (here's to me feeling old 🫠) and Salena had an IG live performance yesterday. One friend in that live (hi Niini :3) noticed others speaking about a sticker and got curious: lo and behold Salena had decorated her laptop with the exact sticker I had given people at the Berlin gig 😳😱

My theory is that Mikke must have given one of his five stickers to Salena as a thank you for her coming. And now I have to live with the blessed knowledge that Salena has Bojere art I made on her laptop 😭

But that is not all - when I realised that yesterday I made a story about it and today I got a message that Salena has replied 😱:

This may not seem as huge news to most of you but to me this is wild 😭

I have just gotten used to never being noticed (JO boys seems to look anywhere but at my fanart and the same with Jere *I have had häärijä and Mikke react a few times and dont get me wrong i love that too yet since it was back in November I start to wonder if it was a fluke*) and then she does this 🥺 how am I supposed to react now without coming off as awkward or creepy :'D

[uniiiquehecrt]

Voice actors are NOT the same as actors.

It takes a specific kind of skill-set and training to be able to warp and meld the voice. It takes a certain kind of talent and dedication to hone that talent into the ability to meld the voice and invoke emotion with one's voice alone. Actors are used to using their voice secondarily to their body language and their facial expressions. It's all mirrored back on camera. They do have nuance. But it's a different kind of nuance and a different kind of training to produce that nuance.

Voice actors might get their likeness transposed on their character's design, and maybe their mannerisms might seep into the character's animation. But when it's all said and done: their presence is in their voice. They are bringing a character to life, showing that emotion in their voice, trying to keep a specific accent, drawl, pitch, tone in that voice and keep it consistent for their recording sessions.

The voice actor is like a classically trained musician who can play first chair in a competitive, world-renown orchestra. The actor (who fills the voice actor's role) is like a moot who played violin in beginner and intermediate high school orchestra and thinks they can get into Juilliard with that 2-4 years of experience.

This doesn't mean that the HS orchestra moot can't play. They can even be really good at it. Maybe they won competitions and sat first chair. But they are not in the same league as the person who's been training their whole lives and lives and breathes to hone their craft using the instrument and all of the training they've ever acquired to perfect it. They are not meant for the same roles. They are not in the same caliber. You do not hire the HS equivalent when you want to play complex music in a competitive orchestra.

Actors are not the same as voice actors.

And furthermore, actors - especially big name actors - taking the roles of animated characters for big budget films or TV pilots makes no sense anyways when - at least in the case of TV pilots - there's not a point to hiring a big budget actors anyways. That money could be used elsewhere (like paying your animators), and the talent that is brought onto the screen for X character could then be hired on to voice said character no recasting required.

I wouldn't say voice acting as a profession is in danger exactly, but it's certainly being disrespected and overlooked for celebrity clout, and this has ALWAYS been an issue. Shoot, even Robin Williams knew that much - which is why he tried so hard not to be used as a marketing chess piece for Aladdin and got royally pissed off when it happened anyways. People shouldn't go to any movie (but especially not animated films) because "oh famous actor is in it". People should go because it's a good movie and the voice acting is good.

People who honest to god think that voice actors are replaceable because "oh well anyone can voice act" or "I like xyz celebrity so naturally it'll be good" ... Honestly I just wish you'd reassess your priorities because you're missing the point and are part of the problem.

Voice Actors ≠ Actors.