#but assuming it's genuine i couldn't tell you what being a woman ''feels'' like

[watermelinoe]

do you feel as though you are a woman?

well, i am a woman, factually speaking. do i have feelings about being a woman? of course i do. being a woman has physical and social consequences and you do tend to notice lol. it's not so much a matter of feeling as it is a basic observation about myself, the same way my eyes are objectively brown, my sex is objectively female. so i can feel any way at all and still be a woman.

[too-much-tma-stuff]

This idea sort of burst out of me like Alien so it's unedited. There will probably be more.

In short, Cas picks up on the fact that Danny is pregnant at a Wayne Gala and have the right idea but the wrong context.

Masterpost

------

Danny was barely holding it together and really he had been for a long time. It had sort of been fun and games at first when he became a hero. Sure his accident had hurt like hell but he'd sort of repressed that and for real? Lunch Lady? Box Ghost? Even Skulker was sort of a joke and he hasn't actually felt threatened. Sneaking around behind his parents backs and sneaking out with his friends had been fun. It had all felt like a game at first, and then somewhere in there things had gotten very real.

He'd known he couldn't count on his family to protect him but they couldn't even see Vlad was a threat. And he felt like he had lost the last of his innocence when he saw the clone Vlad had made of him melt. He hasn't been in time, he had panicked and he had only managed to save a couple by taking them into his own body to shield their still forming cores. Ellie and... should Danny name the other one or would he name himself when he was ready?

He kept touching his stomach over where he could feel the little balls of his mirror children hovering just below his own core. He was so tired all the time as they relied on his energy, he was eating more then ever and he knew his family was worried. He didn't think he could hide this and he couldn't predict when they would emerge. What if they did in front of his parents? They definitely wouldn't react well. And Vlad kept trying to use this against Danny. Promising to look after him and the babies if he was really insisting on carrying them, as if Danny could rip those tiny 'lives' out of himself now.

And no matter how many times he tried to tell his parents that Vlad was bad news, that he creeped Danny out and made him feel unsafe they wouldn't listen! Dad didn't even hear him and mom made sympathetic noises and then told him to bear with it for Jack's sake because he didn't have many friends.

So of course when Vlad had asked if 'Daniel' could accompany him to a gala in Gotham his father had agreed! Even his mother had agreed when Vlad promised it would be educational and safe! And here Danny was, hanging on by a fucking thread in a suit that felt uncomfortably tight around his middle, having just escaped being paraded around as Vlad heir like a particularly expensive watch. He was behind the snack table having piled a plate as high as he could and scarfing it down before Vlad could find him again and scold him for being rude. He hadn't noticed yet that a family of dark haired socialites kept giving him worried looks. A young woman with dark eyes signing frantically to a man with blue eyes and a dimpled frown.

It was the man who slid up carefully next to Danny trying not to startle since he seemed to have genuine food aggression.

"Yeesh kid you seem like you're starving! All those fancy Hors d'oeuvres are fun but not very cooling and I feel like I'd be a poor host if I didn't offer you something more filling! If you'll come me to the kitchen I'm sure our family butler would be happy to whip something up for you?" The man said with an inviting some that did nothing to sooth the way Danny's hackles raised instinctively.

He was about to say no on reflex when he spotted Vlad heading towards them with an expression like a thunder cloud. Danny's back went ridged and the other man followed his gaze with a frown. "You know what ya that sounds great let's go now!" Danny said dropping his half full plate on a nearby tray and dragged the stranger away with him as Vlad shouted after him.

"Daniel come back this instant! Unhand mister Wayne! Daniel this is unacceptable!"

'Mr. Wayne' took over leading them and spirited Danny through a back door as a bubbly blonde intercepted Vlad and a small woman slid in behind them like a shadow.

"So, Danial I assume?" The man asked, amusement crinkling around his eyes as Danny grimaced.

"Mr. Wayne I assume?" Danny returned, unaware of the way one arm was protectively wrapped around his stomach, but the girl noticed. It was Dicks turn to grimace.

"Okay ya, I go by Dick. What about you?"

"Danny," he said not reacting to the name, he'd heard far stranger. "And what about you?" He asked Cas, startling Dick a little because she was doing her 'shadow thing' and not many people would have noticed her.

"That's Cas, she has a hard time talking sometimes," Dick explained as Cas materialized and gave Danny a reassuring smile and wave.

The teen harrumphed but he did follow them down to the kitchen where Alfred was drinking a cup of tea, staying well clear of the foolishness upstairs. "Ah, hello young masters," Alfred he said, glancing between the three with a raised brow. Though the two who knew him could see the way his expression softened when Danny shrunk in on himself. "What can I do for you?"

"Hey Alfred do we have any leftovers from dinner or something filling we can whip up fast? Danny here is too hungry for just the fancy font for upstairs." Dick asked cheerfully.

Alfred raised his eyebrows again and looked at Cas who was standing behind Danny. Glancing at Danny to make sure he wasn't looking she grimaced then touched her stomach and mimed holding an infant.

Alfred's expression turned stormy for just a moment then smoothed. "Of course we do, Why don't you make our guest comfortable and I'll see what I can do. Do you have any allergies young man?" Alfred asked and Danny shook his head mutely.

"You're the best Alfie!" Dick said, hovering a hand over Danny's shoulder rather then actually touching him as he leas him towards the comfortable breakfast nook.

The boy seemed tight lipped and gaunt, his eyes flicking around them as if he expected a threat to pop up at any time. Dick slipped into the booth across from him. Trying to think of the best way to ask this kid how... why, and who hurt him.

Cas has stayed in the kitchen, but not for long. She came to them with a tray of mugs moments later and slipped into the booth next to Danny. Gently she took his hands and pressed the warm mug unto them. He blinked and focused of it, as if on autopilot he lifted it to his lips, Cas keeping a hand on his elbow to steady him as he drank.

The warm comforting drink, and hand on his arm, presence by his side as Cas slid imperceptibly closet and closer till she was pressed against Danny's shoulder, felt like they were taking him apart from the inside. Thawing out the cold numbness he shielded himself behind. Half way through his tea he glanced up, at the worried blue eyes so like Jazz, so worried and warm.

He put down the mug suddenly as a sob shook his body. Cas wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close, cooing comforting wordless little sounds as she let him bury his face into her chest and just sob heaving, exhausting outbursts of repressed emotion.

"Are the babies okay?" She asked and he froze, his breath catching in his throat. She clicked her tongue and rocked him gently. "Okay, okay, not in trouble," she promised.

"They- I don't know, they were so weak, I’m trying, but I don't know if I can keep them alive." Danny sobbed lifting his hands to cover his face.

"The stress can't be helping," Dick pointed out, climbing across the table like it was nothing to sit next to them and rub Danny's back. Danny gave a little hiccupping hysterical laugh. "Do you have support, or like, do you know your options?" He asked awkwardly.

"I'm not getting rid of my babies! I don't care if the man who made them is an obsessive creep who drugged me! I love them they're MINE!" The feral protectiveness seemed to startle Dick even as Cas continued to make soothing sounds.

"Your choice, only yours," she promised. "Have help?"

Danny sniffled and shook his head. "Safe?" Another shake of the head.

"The man who... did this?" Dick asked as delicately as he could. Another hysterical laugh.

"I've tried! I've tried to tell my parents he's a creep, he's dangerous but they don't listen! My dad thinks he hung the fucking stars, mom says he's harmless. They don't believe me! I-I can't tell them about the babies. They'd make me get rid of them or worse! I can't." Danny sobbed and Cas soothed.

"Okay, okay, you don't have to." She promised. "You stay with us, you and babies safe, never have to see him again."

"Ya right. Wait, your serious? What" Danny asked, pulling back and looking at her with wide bloodshot eyes.

"She's very serious young master," Alfred said as he approached making Danny jump. there was a hard set to the old man's jaw and steal in his eyes that left no room for questions as he set a plate of eggs, sausage, and fruit in front of Danny. "Master Bruce has a foster license and is a mandatory reporter. I'm sure once he hears even a fraction of this he will insist you stay. I will prepare a room for you. Am I to assume the man who's shouting demanding your return upstairs is the source of this distress?"

Danny swallowed and nodded, Alfred nodded back and paused to rest a gloved hand gently on Danny's hair before walking away briskly.

"Eat," Cas said, nudging him gently to let go of her. "As much as you want. Still hungry? We raid Tim's secret cereal stash."

"Gasp! You know where it is? You've been holding out on me?!" Dick demanded with exaggerated betrayal and as the two started to banter Danny ate. He was glad of the distraction, of not having the attention on him as he devoured the healthy, and nutritious meal the butler had made for him. It had been a while since he'd had a good home cooked meal, it made his core feel warm and he could feel the two little echoes as his hummed.

The babies were happy too, he didn't believe these people could keep him safe from Vlad really, but this was nice. Maybe he would let them try, get a few more good meals, a respite, and maybe... maybe his parents would finally notice that something was wrong and actually stand up for him?

That was probably wishful thinking but he could hope right? there was no harm in that.

Part 2

[genderqueerdykes]

apologies if this is not the place to do so, but I need to talk about being biracial. I deal with a sort of anti-whiteness where I feel genuinely disgusting for not being just black. I feel like a traitor to the black community for having white heritage too and have thought about darkening my skin to hide the traces of a part of me I wish wasn't there. It's like. A sort of racial dysphoria and I don't feel like an adequate black person. It gets really distressing sometimes when I remember my skintone is caused by partial whiteness. Have you ever dealt with this too? I know it isn't an experience unique to me to feel not POC 'enough', but it gets so intense for me that I resent the people responsible for my birth.

i do get where you're coming from, and this is an okay thing to vent about

the unfortunate thing about being mixed race is that there will be people on both sides that will be upset with you- you will encounter white folk who find you too black, and black folk who find you too white. colorism is a big problem and comes from both ends of the spectrum. unfortunately, for whatever reason, interracial relationships and biracial children can really set people off and it's not exclusive to white people. i have unfortunately seen other black folk absolutely tear into mixed black people, especially if they're light skinned. i think what happens is folks start seeing you as a white person masquerading as something you're not, when it couldn't be farther from the truth.

one of my friends for the longest time was white and afro-latino (honduran), and his own family and friends would tell him that he was basically only a white person, despite the fact that his skin was light brown, he had an afro, black facial features, and a black dad who had no white relatives. he himself literally told me that he viewed himself as entirely white because he wasn't "black enough". i felt so sad and angry for him but i didn't know how to word it at the time. i wanted him to be able to be proud of all of the parts of himself, but instead, literally his own friends and family were berating him telling him he wasn't black enough to be proud of that part of himself. every time he told me that he was "too white" to consider himself black, i just wanted to cry. he used to ask me to massage his scalp and help trim his hair. i remember how beautiful his afro was, he took very good care of his hair. he had so much to be proud of and people guilted him out of it.

i feel this as well, i have a hard time wanting to consider myself a person of color at all because folks focus so hard on skin tone. the thing is, when people are biracial, they can look like ANY possible combination of traits from their parents and relatives. sometimes, an interracial black and white couple will have children that look entirely black or entirely white. my neighbor is an older white woman whose current partner is black, and they have a black son. if i didn't know she was white, i wouldve assumed her son had 2 black parents. he doesn't look mixed in the slightest

i have more white in me than i do black, as my father was also mixed, so its hard for me to speak with confidence about this part of myself without feeling like i'll be judged, especially considering that i have not been in the same room as my father in over a decade, and before that, i was not allowed to see him for years due to my parents having a nasty divorce. it took until i was going through a photo album at my sister's house that i saw my dad again for the first time in years and realized he was not white. when i had asked my mom if my dad was black as a child, she told me no and that he "just has a white guy afro".

i went through a lot of gaslighting about being mixed, and i still do. people focus only on my skin tone, and especially how light my face is. it makes me super hesitant to speak about this part of myself, even though i've met other extremely light skinned mixed people. another friend of mine is mixed white/Mexican and he was even more pale than me. he was constantly profiled as just white, but when he would go home at night, his Mexican mother only spoke spanish to him, and he spoke it back just fine. whenever people looked at him they assumed he was 100% white and it really opened my eyes to how diverse mixed people can and do look.

sorry for such a long response, but i just wanted to say that i feel you. it's hard. there's pressure on all sides. there will be white people and black people alike that will feel like you're a "traitor", as if you controlled the people who made you. you had no hand in who gave life to you- these are factors beyond your control, and you don't deserve to feel like an outcast and like you're doing something wrong

you can't control your genetics, nor can you predict what genetics someone has just by looking at them. i'm sorry youve been made to feel this way, but i hope it gets easier for you. i know it's tough to feel like an outcast or a bother on all sides. you shouldn't have to feel like you're stepping on someone's toes just because you were born mixed. you deserve to live a life where you are proud of who you are. i hope things get a bit easier for you soon

[jermer10]

yo, if you’re not open for rqs now feel free to ignore/delete but i’m begging you to expand more on Scouts fake relationship in order to make ms pauling jealous yk. I’m stuck between the reader already having feelings for him and feeling bad during the relationship or the reader also developing feelings for scout when they realize that he’s not so bad… sometimes

TF2 fake dating - gone wrong not clickbait | scout x reader

suggestive, gn reader | anon i want you reveal yourself /j

tw: violence, sliiiiight angst but not really teehee, swearing

drabbles under the cut :P

You sometimes regret ever taking this fucking job. You could prepare for a fight, being blown up, being shot at. There was no way to prepare yourself for Scout. He was simply always there, causing this feeling of disgust mixed with...lust? As dirty as that felt, you couldn't say you denied it. He paid you the time of day that no man ever really had, flirting with you relentlessly, defending you against anyone who opposed you, confiding in his struggles to you. And yet he still wanted Pauling? Any merc in their right mind could tell that Pauling was gay. As a matter of fact she had confided this in you months ago, gushing about her feelings for her boss. So when the offer to be his partner in order to make her jealous arose, she wanted you to take it.

"I mean, clearly this can segue into some sort of relationship, right? Like, guy realizes he has what he wants the whole time kind of thing." She spoke matter-of-factly, typing away on her computer as you leaned onto the space next to her desk, arms crossed over your chest. She didn't look up at you while she spoke, but you could tell this was more for her than you, I mean, finally having this guy off of her back? A dream for her, even if she had to put up with the 'I'm sorry Miss Paulin'! I found someone else, but don't let me break ya heart, plenty o' fish in the sea!' speech. "Yeah, I'm sure you know what being second best feels like." You rolled your eyes, pushing yourself off of the table and walking towards the exit. "Oh- come on y/n! Don't be like that!" Pauling turned, yelling out to you as you left her office. Maybe you were a bit harsh?

You knew why he had asked you of all mercs. You noticed the way he had become more flirtatious, more physical when Pauling was around. He had been trying this for months- to elicit some sort of reaction from the young woman, but to no avail. This was just his way of taking it all to the next step. But would it really be that bad to pursue something? Having at least a chance is better than not trying at all. You entered the dining room, gently shutting your eyes and running your hands through your hair, breathing in the stale air of the base's living quarters. This was home for you, a place where you could relax from all of it. "Sooooo, have ya thought about it?" You heard a voice come from the couch and jumped slightly. There he was, laying back into the corner of the lounge, legs spread and hair messy. He wasn't wearing his usual uniform, opting for some pale red basketball shorts and a plain white tee. How could someone so annoying be so attractive? "Yeah, fuck it. Couldn't hurt."

It wasn't long before your dynamic had shifted. During movie nights he had started cuddling up to you, wrapping his arm around your shoulders and allowing you to fall asleep on him. Throughout battles he would tourniquet your wounds, appearing genuinely upset when you had gotten hurt. You had even started sleeping over in eachother's rooms, passing out whilst reading his comics. The other mercs noticed this shift in behaviour, and without telling them, they had assumed you were a couple. Making kissy noises when you were seen together, patting him on the shoulder and complimenting his ability to bag you. He never refuted it. Never once looked disgusted. Never laughed it off.

You started to wonder whether he was doing this for Pauling at all? Or whether he was just trying to make this whole thing seem realistic to the others enough that she would believe it too. It didn't really matter to you, you figured you could enjoy the attention while it lasted, and eventually move on. That part stung. The moving on portion of the fake dating. The aftermath. The inevitable rejection- "Hey, Pauling here," The crackling of your radio knocked you out of your contemplation. "I have a job for you and Scout. Meet me at..." You could barely listen to her, the only thought running through your mind was the fact you would have to sit there knowing any and all affection he showed you would be for her. If only they had put this in the job description, maybe you never would have applied.

Scout was already there when you arrived, yapping as usual. You were out of earshot, but could only assume he was flirting with the poor girl. Only this time Pauling was...smiling? You felt like you had been punched in the gut. "I have a job to do." You mumbled to yourself. Knowing Pauling didn't like him didn't help with the deep rooted feelings of insecurity you had around the topic. Scout noticed you walking towards them and grinned, "There they are! My partner in crime." He chuckled, slinging his arm around your shoulder. "Hey, Pauling." You forced a smile. She noticed, giving you a look you couldn't place. Did she know something that you didn't?

"Shall we?" Scout opened the side of the van door for you, allowing you to climb inside. You smiled genuinely, even if it was all fake, he still had you charmed. The ride to wherever Pauling had wanted you to work was long, and Scout was nowhere near as chatty as you had assumed he would be. He sat opposite from you, bouncing a baseball off of your side of the van. You made light conversation with Pauling, asking about work and the Assistant's conference she attended with Bidwell. You were particularly interested in Bidwell, being close with him before joining the mercenaries, and were surprised he was even still working for Hale. Scout's once peaceful expression twisted into something that resembled annoyance every time you spoke of Bidwell, and a part of you liked it. You feigned ignorance as you gushed over your friendship with the man, Pauling doing nothing to downplay your praise. Eventually you had stopped at a cave, several warning signs littered the entrance. "I need you to go in there and kill a couple of nosy tourists."

"You coming?" She peered up from her clipboard at you, eyes flickering between the brooding boy off in the distance and you. "Do you need my answer to that?" You laughed. "I'll see you when we get out." She hummed, engrossed in whatever paperwork she had been doing. Scout was definitely mad, silence was a telltale sign of his upset. You wanted to ask, to hear him say it with his own words that he was jealous of Bidwell, but you knew better than to pry. You were good at reading him, and now wasn't the time to cause an argument. The cave was deep, and even with the expertly drawn map that Pauling had given you, you felt lost. It felt like an hour had passed until you found the tourists, they were horrified, staring down at the bodies of hundreds of high ranking officials, other mercenaries, and assassins. Even regular people like them were scattered among the pile. This was clearly where she had been dumping the remains of people, and suddenly the deterring signs out front made sense.

You tried to make their deaths quick, but life doesn't really work out that way. There were three of them, two of which you and Scout had taken out at the same time using your guns. That left the third person, a man, likely in his late 20s? His large hiking backpack, boots, and layered clothing made it clear he wasn't from here. His face resembled Bidwell's in a way? You felt dizzy looking at him. He ran, traversing deeper into the cave. You were aggravated, but it was nowhere near the level of anger that radiated off of Scout. He tackled the man, beating him repeatedly. By the time Scout got off of him, you couldn't even recognize the man. He swore, wiping the spray of blood off of his face.

You tried to be scared, you really did, but the way he stood there, bat in hand, covered in gore, eyes boring into yours? It was a huge turn-on. "Let's go." He commanded, pushing past you. You obliged, and followed him silently. Eventually you had to ask, it was eating away at you, and you figured he had released most of his rage onto the poor man lying deep in the cave. "Are you okay?" It came out a lot meeker than you had expected. "What do ya think? Ya think, 'Oh Scouty is gonna love hearin' me gush about that Bidwell fucker!' when you're supposed to be my partner?" You didn't expect him to be so blunt, let alone so rude about it. Other times you had seen him jealous over Pauling he had been whiny and pathetic. This time was completely different. "Yeah, your fake partner. To make Pauling jealous. I'm not your second fucking option, Scout! You don't like me! Do you know how hard it is for me? I have to see you sit there flirting with a girl who will never like you back when I'm right here!" He stopped walking, and turned to face you. He looked hurt, and you knew you had messed up.

You kept walking, neither of you needed the map or torch any longer as the light from the entrance lit your surroundings. The afternoon sky was a watercolour mixture of purple and orange, the sun set fast behind the mountainous terrain you found yourself standing in front of. Had you really been in the cave for that long? It would have been beautiful if not for the shitty mood you had found yourself in. "Hey! How did you gooo....." Pauling stopped herself. You gave her a look. That's all she needed to know before offering you the passenger seat. The ride back to base was uncomfortably quiet, the baseball that Scout had been using to bounce off of the wall rested in his palm. The future had never felt so uncertain in that moment.

You sat awkwardly at the right end of the couch. Scout on the left. The room was dark and movie night was coming to an end, mercs slowly filing out of the room until the two of you remained. He put on some random romantic comedy and relaxed into the lounge. Your whole body was tense. The events from earlier in the night had still weighed heavy on you both. And surprisingly, Scout was the first to speak. "So....you like me?" He grinned slightly. You were taken aback, that's what he got from your fight? "Yeah, don't let it get to your head, asshole." You mumbled, staring straight at the tv screen.

"I like you too. Have for a while now." You turned to him, wide eyed. "What?" He seemed embarrassed. "Yeah, I guess that's why I was actin' so weird about the Bidwell shit," He fidgeted with his dogtags. "I started the whole fake datin' thing to make Paulin' jealous, but it stopped feelin' like that the moment I actually started to spend time with ya...." Scout stumbled over his words. He wasn't very good with expressing himself verbally, despite his flirtatious nature. "I'm....sorry.." He mumbled. You scooted closer to him on the couch, resting your head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry too." He leaned down to kiss you. It was long, sweet, and everything you had ever dreamed of. "Be my partner for real?" You laughed. "After all of that? Would be crazy if I said no." Maybe he wasn't all that bad.

[ganxiously]

With a bit of distance, I can actually see one consistent flaw in Tommy's character that we as fans completely missed out on and that is him being a very self-centred person. I'm not saying he's selfish because we have clearly seen in both s7 and s8 that he does turn up for other people - at the very beginning with the cruise ship, then for Buck (especially in 8.05) and he is definitely not in firefighting for the clout.

What I mean is that from the very beginning, he seems incapable or should I say, unwilling to go past his own experiences and hurts. We could take the first date into account (not a lot because he was a bit valid there) where he wrote off Buck, immediately assuming he was not ready. I don't think they say it clearly and I don't have the energy to go and check but it is implied that he has experienced this, whether in himself or in a previous partner.

We see this flaw come back again in the dinner scene where while Buck is talking about Bobby and his issues with his father, he falls back on his own experience again. I don't think he was doing it out of malice or in order to take away Buck's moment, but he genuinely couldn't seem to empathise with it without looking through the lens of his own relationship with his father and with Gerard.

The grand climax of this flaw came out this episode where in the beginning, he is extremely flippant towards what he did to Abby. He is focused entirely on how hard living the lie was for him, so much so, it doesn't seem to even clock for him that his self-preservation tactics hurt a woman so much. This again comes back in the break-up scene where the moment he considers himself under threat, he pulls back completely. He again writes off Buck, telling him basically there is no way you aren't breaking my heart because that is what my experiences tell me is about to happen. He doesn't even really wait to see where Buck is coming from or have a conversation about it. He puts words in Buck's mouth, says of course this is the only way it goes and then practically runs away from there.

I'm not saying all this to portray Tommy as a bad person but more as a flawed person which actually makes me like him more because I can't help but wonder why he is like the way he is. Is it innate? Has he always been like this but has never had anyone call him out on his bullshit? Is it something he made a conscious decision to do because he felt like no one else was putting his feelings first? is he not over his past the way he pretends to be? it also makes me sad because if played out differently, we could have had so much fun with it because Buck is completely opposite to him in this regard and down the line, if they couldn't make it work, it would have been a great moment of personal growth for Buck (again) as well where he would learn to put his hurts first.

[and wow, I think I just played myself because I am a little more obsessed with Tommy than I was before writing this out]

[rius-cave]

Most of the headcanons I've seen about Adamsapple in Eden were portraying them having a good relationship, like Lucifer being sweet and kind to Adam, overly interested in him, liking him etc. while Adam being way more innocent back then and of course very curious. While I like the idea of them being in love even back then and having this cute relationship between them, I also like to play with the thought that Lucifer didn't always like Adam (and vice versa). What I mean is, Lilith and Adam never really got along well, they had their constant conflicts and such, mainly rooting from their different personalities, as in I imagine Adam being this kinda obnoxious person who's full of himself, stubborn and doesn't like when things don't go as he wants (not exactly in a toxic way, like I don't think of him as an actual bad person, rather like a big child lol). While I see Lilith as a way more mature and collected person who's had enough of Adam's "childish bullshit". (I know it sounds kinda stereotypical but my goal isn't that lol I can just genuinely see it, also canon!Adam is a walking stereotype so it's hard to ignore it haha)

So, assuming that both of them were created at the same time, when Lucifer started visiting the garden he warmed up to Lilith first, they started spending time together. Lilith regularly complained about Adam, how he acted so childish/talked too much about insignificant things/followed her etc. (again, I don't think she was cruel, she was literally the first woman, had so much to learn and expressed how she couldn't get along with Adam). Lucifer listening to her all the time, and also being fond of her, involuntarily started to develop doubtful feelings about Adam. Of course Lucifer was sweet and kind, he didn't hate the man, but all of Lilith's talk had an effect on him, and Adam's behavior when they interacted just deepened it further (although Lucifer himself didn't exactly find him annoying, Lilith's talk just caused him to focus on Adam's "problematic" behavior more and he subconsciously confirmed Lilith's words).

Meanwhile Adam obviously noticed that Lucifer was spending way more time with Lilith and didn't seem to feel too pleasant about him, he was kinda offended about that and started to dislike Lucifer.

However, I can imagine them interacting at one point, cause like, Adam obviously felt bad about feeling excluded and that neither of them liked him, so once when it was just the two of them with Luci, he kinda snapped and confronted him about it. (I can't really imagine him as a person who keeps it in, I rather see it as he was offended which led to him becoming frustrated and telling it straight into Lucifer's face angrily.) So he told him that he doesn't understand why they both dislike him but it's not fair and he's so much better than them anyway yada yada but it was clear that he was upset and hurt. That would be the point when Lucifer realizes the situation and it would become a turning point in their relationship??

It got kinda long lol sorry

My dear friend, this? This is what I strive for.

I'll be the first person to admit that my characterization of their Eden personas is allllll over the fucking place. My apologies, I try to be better 😂 but I agree with you almost a 100%

I love depicting them as friends in Eden, but if I had to be realistic? In canon he probably didn't care much for him LOL or at least not as much as the fandom likes to believe. I also want to see more of this scenario with an adamsapple endgame, I'd like to do it myself, but to be truthful I wouldn't really be sure how to do it.

I like to think of Eden!Adam as, yes, more innocent, but he was still a bit of a shit, sarcastic and sassy (not an outright asshole, but his personality had a bit of a spice to it ya know?) I try to let this part of him show as much as I can in my newer depictions of Eden, but well I'm not sure if I've succeeded lol

I think that, if he's a brat now, he'd be even MORE SO in Eden. Basically, exactly what you said that he'd be obnoxious, full of himself and childish, just more out of a place of immaturity rather than malice.

I also really like this characterization of early Lilith. Yes, I absolutely see her as more mature and independent, more thoughtful and observant than Adam ever was, and of course those personalities clashed.

I absolutely love the idea of Lilith planting seeds of doubt in other people. In fact, that's a personal theory I have about the current Lilith and why Charlie's and Lucifer's relationship is so stranded. I think there must have been a lot of miscommunication and Lilith, whether on purpose or not, fed a lot of ideas about Lucifer to Charlie. She isolated her and fed her ideas about who her father was and what he thought of her, creating this wall between them that is now only starting to crumble down. So, the idea of her doing the same thing between Adam and Lucifer? Fuck yes. I want Lilith to be a manipulative bitch, whether she's doing that with malice or not LOL.

Adam immediately going head first into confrontation sounds very likely to me too! I'd absolutely agree, except I don't think this would make Lucifer actually realize the situation. Depending on how bad the argument was, I could see Lucifer thinking that oh Adam really is just that toxic or whatever other misunderstanding comes up. They're both idiots and unless Adam expresses his feelings with something other than anger, I think Lucifer would be more prone to bite back, or just simply not understand the deeper issues.

Overall I'm in LOVE with this description though!

[suckerforcate]

My Cure

Pairing: Larissa Weems x teacher!Reader

Word Count: 1440

Warning: hurt/comfort, none really

Prompt: "You're in love. There is no cure for that."

A/n: So in the past time I have written a lot of Brienne fanfics, but I also really wanted to try out Larissa. You can also request her if you want!

You had wanted to be alone. That's why you had sat down by the lake. On your own. But Larissa didn't seem to care about that. You had felt her even before she had sat down. With everyone else you would have sent them away, but with her, it was ok. You didn't mind as much.

"I have heard from some colleagues that you aren't feeling so well. You don't have to tell me anything, but I still wanted to check on you." She warmly smiled at you.

You hesitated for a second. You weren't sure if you really wanted to tell someone, mainly because you were scared of the answer. Scared of what could be wrong with you. Not having a diagnosis made it easier to ignore it, but you were sick of hurting. And Larissa warm and genuine smile made you feel so comfortable that you knew you could trust her. So you told her.

"It's- I don't know, I think I might be sick. I often feel very uncomfortable, like my whole body aches. It feels like my heart hurts, sometimes I think I might have a heart attack. But I don't always feel like this. Sometimes everything is fine, and I think it's gone, and then it's there again. No matter what I do, there seems to be no cure." A tear was falling down your cheek and Larissa pulled you into her side for a hug.

"Oh, Darling. I'm so sorry, but could it be that you always feel ok, when around a certain person. And the heartache starts as soon as you're alone again?" You pulled away to look at her.

You thought about that for a second. "Yes, I think you're right." At that Larissa chuckled and gave you a light kiss on the hair.

"Darling, you're in love. There is no cure for that." Your eyes widened at her statement. Could that be? You had never been in love, ever before. That would at least explain your obliviousness.

"I-... Are you sure?"

"Well, I'm not you and I don't exactly know what you feel. But it sounds a lot like it. Yes." You blushed and Larissa just couldn't hold the laugh. You looked too adorable.

"I assume you've never been in love, right?" You looked to the ground and slightly shook your head. You were embarrassed, there was no hiding that. You were 26 years old and had never been in love. You had always felt like something was wrong with you.

Larissa took your chin between her fingers and gently directed your face up, you were forced to look at her.

"There is nothing to be embarrassed about, love." The nickname made your eyes flutter and your cheeks probably grew even redder.

"Everyone evolves in their own timing. And it doesn't matter if you fall in love with 15 or with 26." You slowly nodded your head at that. Honestly this woman was an angel sent from heaven. You slightly opened your arms and looked at her with a questioning face.

"Of course you can have a hug." She laughed at you being so adorable and laid her head on top of yours. She was happy to have helped you, but still she felt a kind of sting in her heart, knowing that you were in love. Most definitely not with her.

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

After your conversation with Larissa you laid awake for nearly the whole night. You were in love. With Larissa Weems. There was no mistaking that it had to be her. Knowing this it all made sense. How could you have been so blind and not realize that what you felt was love?

Every time you talked to her or even just saw her, all your problems felt unimportant. You just felt comfortable, warm and calm. Her nicknames for you always made your heart flutter and whenever she was towering over you, you felt like your knees would give in. For the longest time you thought that was respect, that you were even a little scared of her power.

You had never denied that she was a beautiful woman, sexy even. But was that really something appropriate thinking about your boss? Would she ever agree to date you, could she even like you?

You were sure she would reject you. But you had to try your luck. Is this heartache was just cured by her present, then it was worth a shot.

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

You gently knocked at Larissa's office door. A soft Come in was heard from inside, so you opened the door and stepped in.

"Oh, (Y/n). How can I help you?" You approached her and sat down in front of the desk. You pulled the flowers from behind your back and held them in front of her.

"I have brought you flowers, I hope you like them." You didn't miss the blush that washed over her face. She gently smiled at you taking the flowers and standing up to put them in a vase.

"I wanted to thank you for our little talk. You were so very kind to me." She turned her head to smile at you.

"No problem, I'm always happy to help. Students as well as staff and colleagues." She filled the vase with water, and you decided this was the perfect moment to ask. If she looked at you, you probably wouldn't get a word out.

"I also wanted to ask you something. Would-... Wouldyougoonadatewithme?" You nearly stumbled over the words, because you wanted them out as fast as possible. Larissa stopped in her tracks and looked at the wall in front of her. Shit, you should have known this was a stupid idea. Who asks their boss out on a date?!

"I'm really happy that I was able to help you, but I don't think it is my task to help you get over whoever you are in love with. I'm very sorry that they aren't interested in you, but this is not the right way to work through heartbreak. I'd rather not be a distraction." While saying that she still looked at the wall in front of her. Not daring to turn around, she didn't want you to see the tears.

"If you could leave now. Thank you." You didn't leave. You stood up and approached her.

"I asked you to leave." Her voice broke away at the end and your heart broke with it. You took the vase out of her hand and placed it down. You closed the water tap and gently grabbed her wrist. You slowly guided her to her desk chair. She sat down, and you placed yourself between her and the desk. She looked at the floor, so you guided her face to look at you. But her eyes still avoided yours.

"Please, look at me." She got goosebumps at the gentleness in your voice. A silent tear fell down her cheek as she looked you in the eye. You softly washed it away and took her hands in yours.

"Larissa, dear, I would never use you as a distraction. Whoever did that to you, was an idiot." Larissa's mind directly wandered to Morticia and how she just wanted Larissa when she fought with Gomez.

"When you told me that I am in love, you assumed that my heartache leaves when I'm with a certain someone. That someone is you. When I'm with you I feel whole, like all is well, like no one can ever hurt me. I've never felt something like that ever before. You said there was no cure for my aching. But you are mistaken. You are my cure. You're my medicine. Larissa, I know this is so wrong because you're my boss, and you probably don't even reciprocate my feelings. But I've fallen in love with you. I am so deeply in love with you. I don't know how to make you believe me." Larissa's eyes closed, maybe out of shame for what she was about to ask. She felt so needy and pathetic.

"Kiss me." That was answer enough for you. So you did. And you hoped that your kiss was sincere enough for her to understand.

"I hope that was good enough. It was my first." Larissa's eyes opened in shock.

"I- You used your first kiss on me." You smiled at her and kissed her again.

"Of course, have you listened to one word I just said. I will hopefully spend all the kisses I have on you." Larissa grabbed your waist and pulled you between her legs into a deep hug. She embraced you completely.

"Thank you."

[dinums]

Secrets and Broken Hearts

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

Chapter 4

Thomas Shelby x (Writer) Reader

"I am a woman in love, I wear my heart on my sleeve and smile with not a single thought. I am a woman in love, happily content to where I shall be and where I shall go, as long as I am with him."

Authors Note: I made this story with not much thought, but I wanted to portray the reader and Tommy living their separate lives to have you, readers, have a gist on what its like, to make the character, Ms. Bennett feels real. I don't really know if that makes sense or if I'm doing it correctly, but please enjoy :)))

Two days and six hours, it's been exactly two days and six hours since I've started this investigation that I burdened myself with. All I've been getting are bits of information from the men and women. Women loved to gossip, so much so that they became one of the sources of said information. These missing wives, they had nothing in common with one another. They were just normal working women before they got married and settled down. What would society even do with them? I feel like a jester, juggling my social life together with this secret double life. I never really got used to such taxing activities mentally. This whole investigation, could it be some murderer? Human Traffickers? Surely, this culprit had a motive, a reason, something these women had that they wanted, something these women can give, choice or not.

"Why does everyone call you by your last name?" Andrew suddenly asked, which made me look over at the small child playing by the racks of clothes in William's shop.

Tilting my head, I seem to not know the reason behind it either. Andrew is the son of the man I visited to get close to have more information about the missing wives rather than relying on gossip alone. The child himself was quite entertaining to be around. He spoke so freely about his mother, telling stories of how loving the woman can be.

"Well, if you want, you can call me by my first name," I said with a smile. Walking over to crouch down to his eye level, I gave him a pat on the head, which earned me a smile in return

"Isn't this a sight, hm?" I heard the familiar voice of William from behind. He was at the back with Catherine earlier, presumably sorting out fabrics and dresses.

"C'mon, I've only offered to let this little guy stay here while his father worked, for the assurance that nothing will happen," I said softly though assuming from their reactions, it wasnt taken quite kindly. The statement itself was considered a lie. I lied. Lying straight to the face of the man I love, like how I would every day to everyone, including this child.

"So you don't want me here... Ms. (Y/N)?" Andrew asked me, his face looked sad, eyes like melting glaciers about to fall.

"Of course not, I just meant that I couldn't risk you being alone without your father, even though -"

"So you care for me.. right?" The little child said, hopeful, which made me think, how can he care about my feelings towards him in such a small amount of time we've been together? Children truly are innocent, things to be kept safe from the world we live in. Furthermore, care. To care is to help, a genuine action done out of the kindness of one's own heart. I do that, correct? I think for a moment, my actions, words, and emotions all contradict one another. Both men in the room seemed to take notice of my silence, which in turn made me aware. Aware that they can never know these thoughts, to Bury it, to hide. Breaking from my thoughts, I smiled at the child.

"Of course I do, but later your father will pick you up, I'll have William stay with you since I need to go for a bit, yeah?" Standing back up, I walked over to William. He then wrapped his arms around my waist, leaning against him while I looked back at Andrew. Understandingly, the child nodded, which made me smile.

"Eh? Where will my heart go? Guess she'll leave me alone once again..." William joked, kissing me on the cheek, which made me chuckle.

Seeing the display of affection, the child grimaced and then ran off to play somewhere else, which made me and William laugh.

"I promised you a date. Therefore, you must let me go for a while to prepare," I giggled. Going to dates on Friday was kind of like our tradition, a simple act to show love and to feel it radiate from each other. Feeling his lips on mine for a brief moment, I smiled.

"Alright, I'll pick you up at our place," William smiled. He's always such a loving man, doing more than beyond.

"See you later, love," I said, parting with a kiss before I headed out. Love was something I wasn't familiar with, which sometimes led me to be confused on how to act around William, though lucky enough that he guided me through it.

Walking down the street, I'm greeted with familiar faces. Some I can't remember the names. The smoke filled air, and the mud on my shoes did little to dampen my mood. Suddenly, people started to run about, screaming and shouting.

Confused, I slowed my footsteps. There, on a shop, a lifeless man was dead with Danny holding a bloody knife. My eyes widened, I tried to move, but nothing came out, I held my breath, and though I investigated crimes like this, I never saw a man dead right in front of me. From this day, I'm sure I'll never get used to this.

Someone passes by me, but it can be considered more like shoved. It was Thomas Shelby. He went over, took the knife from the man's hand, and calmed him down. The scene deescalated just as quickly as it happened. Once Thomas got Danny to go away, coming with some surge of confidence, I began to walk towards him with his hack turned to me.

"Mr. Shelby..?" I said softly as to not startle the man, whipping his head back, he looked at me without uttering a word, he simply raised a brow which I took as a cue to keep going.

"What will happen to Danny now..? He just -" stopping myself to look at the dead body in front of us, he followed my gaze and just shook his head. Taking a cigarette, he lit one up and placed it on his mouth, blowing the smoke in the corpses' direction. "Mr. Shelby, I worry for him and his family.."

"Don't stick your nose into others' business, saves you the trouble, eh?" He said, as he was about to walk past me. He took my hand and gave me a few quids, which caused me confusion. Was this for my silence? Though that seems rather odd since a quarter of the town already saw what happened, or was it so I'd stop with being so nosy?

"For the bread."

"Bread? What bread?" I asked, my brows furrowed as I looked up at the man. The more he acted, the more he perplexed me. Seeing his face, he tilted his head as if he should be confused

"You dont remember, again?" I shook my head, remembering what he gave me moments ago, i tried to have him take the money back, but he refused, saying he already gave them, so it'll be no use. In the end, he walked away and left me be, confused, I placed the coins inside my coat pocket before walking home. What did i forget again? No matter what I have other things to do at the moment, I need to get the memory of the dead body out my head.

After preparing for my date, at eight o'clock sharp there was a knock on the door, I smiled and opened it. William appeared with a bouquet and fresh smile, I'm taken back to memories when he was still courting me.

"Flowers for the beautiful lady?" He asked, which I gladly took. Holding up his hand, I held them. I locked the door, and we began to walk towards the pathway to a small restaurant.

"Thank you for this, for everything, Will," I said while we kept walking hand in hand.

"Then I should thank you too"

"For what?"

"For letting me love you"

"Then, you're welcome."

With that, we spent the rest of the day together, I told him about what happened earlier, and he's told me of stories he heard and so on. Everything feels nice. It feels like home as we both made it out to be.

...

That night, Ms. Bennett was content with her lover. Everything played out perfectly. She lived a good life and was happily in love. Maybe fate can say the same for the man she bumped into earlier as he's inside the Garrison, enthralled by the singing Barmaid before him. Surely both Ms. Bennett and Mr. Shelby will live their lives with love found in someone else's eyes.

[captain-mj]

I want this to be Price&Graves, idk how but yeah. What if Graves didn't want to betray the 141 but Shepherd was holding something over his head. Like what if Graves had a daughter and Shepherd was holding her as leverage. You don't gotta write the kid, I know you ain't interested in that, im far more interested in how you'd write the 141 finding it out from Graves and maybe possibly how they'd want to help when they learn (specifically Price)

I decided to do this for one reason and one reason only which you will find out at the end.

Graves survived.

Barely.

But he survived. And now he was tied up in front of the majority of the 141, in almost a mockery of what they had one previously to Valeria. The only real difference being that he kneeled in front of them.

Those had been fun times.

There was a click of a gun, pressed right at his left temple. Internally, he hummed to himself, though he didn't make a noise out loud. He didn't want to agitate them.

Price sat in front of him. "You betrayed us."

''I had no choice." Graves responded. "Absolutely none."

"And why is that?" Price used his boot to force Graves to look up.

"He had her." Graves saw Price's expression flicker. He had no clue what it meant, but it was there. "I call her Dumpling. She's only 2... He told me he'd kill her if I didn't do what he said..."

Price didn't soften, but Gaz did. "Dumpling?"

"I have a photo in my wallet."

Price looked at him for a moment before glancing at Soap, the one not holding the gun. "Grab it."

Soap rifled through his pockets and eventually did find the wallet. He flipped it open.

Graves knew the photo well.

Price took it and looked at the three people in the photo. Graves, a beautiful blond woman, and the small child she held. It must be recent as the child looked... approximately what he assumed a two year old to be. She was reaching for the dog in Graves's arms. The two adults in the picture were so close to each other.

Price swallowed down his feelings over that. The two men had slept together a few days before the betrayal, so seeing that he was married, or at least in a committed enough of a relationship to have a daughter, threw him for a loop.

He could add cheater to the list of his crimes.

"I see."

"She's my whole world. I couldn't let her die. You have to understand."

"You killed so many people."

"I know. I was told my orders."

"Shepherd called you a dog with a bone." Price leaned down. "That all you are? A fucking dog? You could've thought for yourself."

"He had her. He threatened her. I was scared of what he would do to her." Graves sounded so genuine, it was hard to not believe him.

Price stood up. He motioned to one of the soldiers. "Keep an eye on him."

Alejandro looked angry but slightly more understanding than he had been before. "Think he's telling the truth? Cute little kid."

Rodolfo did not seem as easily convinced, but he wasn't arguing. His jaw was clenched hard.

Ghost glared. "Soap. You're the one that got shot. What do you think?"

"It's his daughter. Might not like kids, but I can get that."

Gaz nodded. "Don't like him, but its his kid... I can't... imagine having something like that hanging over me."

Price noticed Ghost and Rodolfo exchanging glances, both clearly judging all of them. They stood down though and that's all he could ask for.

"Alright. Colonel. If you're willing to work with us again, I say we rescue his daughter and put all of this behind us."

Price ended up sitting with Graves that night. He didn't want to make someone from his team lose sleep over watching him. They would take over in the morning and he'd get some sleep.

Graves just... sat there. His face had tear tracks down the soot on his face. After a while, Price got something to clean his face. There was some burns on his shoulders and along his throat. Luckily nothing on his face so he didn't have to worry about any infections.

"Where did you get the cut on your face?"

"Cartel. Fighting against them after being paid. Slipped up. They slashed me and told me to go back to my leader and never return."

"Looks recent."

"It was. They didn't know I was the leader." He grinned a little. "Let me go because I look younger I guess."

"How... old are you?" Price sat with him, getting more comfortable. He left Graves on his knees though.

"35."

"Huh... Makes me feel better about sleeping with you."

"Worried you were robbing the cradle huh?" Graves did the half smile and Price noticed now that it was because it tugged the least at the wound across his cheek.

"A little. Good to know you're only two years younger." Price hummed. "Comfy?"

"Oh, I haven't felt me feet for hours. I'm pretty sure this is a stress position, ya know."

Price shook his head. "Maybe you deserve it."

"Yeah. Probably do." Graves hung his head, though it was clearly to get more comfortable, not out of shame.

Price ended up cutting him free. He didn't know why. It didn't like it was from empathy.

Graves's wrists were torn. The fresh burns had been rubbed against until they were bloody. Price cleaned those too.

"We're going to help you. We're going to get her back for you."

-two weeks later-

They received a call from Shepherd. Even through the phone, Price could feel the evil, the distain, rolling off of him.

"Hello."

"So I heard the Commander survived." Fuck. Must be a leak.

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"Tell him he tells you one goddamn word and I'm sending him the bitch's ears still bleeding."

Price froze, not expecting such out right hostility. Yes, Shepherd was evil, but cutting off a child's ear to prove a point... Jesus.

"This is cruel. Even for you."

There was a moment of silence before laughter. Almost hysterical. "You think this is cruel? After everything you've done?"

Price growled. "I did what I've done for the safety of all, not to start a war. And I've never held something like this over someone's head." He couldn't believe this.

Yes. Price had done cruel things. But to hang someone's child? Their daughter?? over their head? That was nothing like what he had done. He couldn't believe the hurt he had conflicted was being compared to wanting to harm an innocent child. A toddler.

Shepherd hung up but Price told Graves the threat. He thought for just a moment, from how pale Graves went, that he'd faint. Luckily, he did not. He just nodded solemnly.

"I'll tell you everything as long as you promise we can move fast."

-two more weeks-

They had done it. They were in the safehouse where Shepherd was keeping Graves's daughter.

In that time, Price would admit that the man had wriggled back into his good side. Along with most people's. It made sense. A man doesn't become Commander for no reason. He had charm. Charisma.

But that was not important. What was important was that they had not found Dumpling. He had wanted to ask for her real name, but honestly just hadn't gotten to it. No one else had seemed curious enough to ask.

Price searched every room, but he found no sign of a child. There was a child's bedroom but no sign of her. Or anyone really, besides the two dead hostiles that had been guarding it.

They all started to search and eventually, Alejandro let one of them people 'detaining' (it was babysitting, the man mostly read horror novels and watched football until they asked him questions) bring him along.

"Why?" Soap asked, genuinely curious.

"Sometimes kids tuck themselves into weird places. Thinking as her dad, he might be able to find her."

"You know a lot about kids?"

"I know almost nothing, but I'm pretty sure this is how they work."

Graves arrived after about thirty minutes, Price had been keeping him close by for... reasons. Totally not to admire him while pretending to interrogate him.

Price knew he shouldn't. Graves was married. With a kid. he still did it.

Graves didn't immediately go searching, which caused some alarms. Ghost already tightening his grip on his gun. Then, Graves whistled.

And there was Dumpling.

The DOG from the photo.

She yipped and spun in little circles despite having a clear and pronounced limp.

Graves scooped her up and started... fussing over her. It would've been endearing if Price wasn't so fucking mad that Dumpling was a FUCKING DOG.

"What the fuck." Ghost said, staring at the tiny squirming ball of fur.

"Dumpling!" Graves said happily, grinning from ear to ear. Maybe it was endearing even though he was mad. He touched her hurt leg. "Looks like the bastard may have dragged her around. Don't know why, she's a good dog."

"She's a dog."

"Yeah? I showed you guys a photo, how did none of you know she was a dog?"

"The child in the photos??" Alejandro spoke up.

"Is my niece and she's clearly 8 years old in those photos??" Graves frowned at them.

They all exchanged glances and Soap was the first to admit it. "Yeah I have no clue what children are supposed to look like."

"John. Seriously." Graves looked at Price.

"So that woman in the photos is...." Price completely ignored the kid thing. He had thought she looked a bit big for two, but maybe she was just in a higher percentile. How was he supposed to know?

"My sister. I'm gay. You all know I'm gay right??"

"I assumed you were bitchless honestly." Gaz quipped.

Graves stared directly into his eyes for a few minutes. Dumpling seemed to finally relax in his arms. "I fucked Price two days before betraying you guys." He turned around and left.

Everyone, very slowly, looked at Price.

"I also don't know what children look like."

More importantly, Graves was single. And came with a cute dog.

[azurlily]

Isn't physiological horror and like thriller a really good genre? Okay maybe that's just me(and the others), but I love the idea of someone being genuinely crazy. Not the "oh I'm in love crazy" or the "oh I'm this horrible bad serial killer crazy". No, I want to be afraid every second that some fucked up shits going to happen.

So now were in our yandere phase and today I'm giving you something I think a lot of people with family issues will want and hate. Please read warnings. This is part 1 so it's pretty tame compared to what I have in store for the others. You'll get to see other perspectives next chapter. No smut until reader is 16+.

WARNING: this work contains mentions of past mental and physical abuse towards minors, the drugging of minors, the forcing of a minor to undress in front of adults, and reader gets kissed on the back while naked and drugged.

The men are platonic and only SOME (the daughters) women/non-binary characters will be romantic.

Have fun and dont hate us for this.

Our Unparalleled Love for You

"These are the Smith's, they're good people. They will also be your knew foster family for the time being."

A man in jeans and a nice dress shirt stood in front of two charming adults, he wasn't old. He definitely wasnt young either, you'd decided over time that you didn't like him. Mainly because every foster family he put you in was worse that the last, it might've not been his fault but you were going to blame him anyway.

You stood next to the man, slightly behind him. You weren't afraid of these people, you just didn't want to meet them. You stared at both the man and woman for a few minutes, taking in their features. The woman stood slightly in front of the man, she held a cane in one hand and the other was behind her. Holding the man's hand.

The woman was quite tall compared to you, about 5'9 maybe 5'10. The man was taller though, he looked over 6'0. You couldn't pinpoint exactly how tall, but he was definitely tall. You stared at the couple a bit longer, noticing a few concealed pins in the mans shaggy, blonde hair. You assumed his hair was a bit long, but maybe he preferred to hide it.

The womans hair wasn't short by any means, although you might not be able to tell how short because of the bun it was in. Her hair was tied in a beautiful and intricate bun, that you wouldn't understand how to do for the life of you. The lady had midnight dark hair, and it almost looked like it had a blue-ish hue to it.

They're were both elegance defined. The womans eyes were a bright and beautiful brown, her eyes were on you. Like you were the only thing that she wanted in that very moment. The man has a a small smile, or maybe he's not smiling and you're just imagining it. The man has bright blue eyes, they look like the ocean.

You remember one of the families you used to live with, they lived in Florida and went to the beach often. Not that you ever got to go with them, but you remember the house being close to the ocean.

"Mr and Mrs Smith, this is Y/N. She's a good behaved girl, and I promise that she'll only be with you for a few months."

The man next to you gets closer and whispers into your ear, "You better not fuck this up. These people have good money, and they're wasting it on you."

You looked up at the man and woman and watched their small smiles turn into disapproving frowns. The woman grips her cane harder than before looking between you and the man for a moment.

"I think we'll bring her home now, thank you for the meeting. We'll see you in a week."

The womans voice is silly smooth. You shiver slightly at hearing her cane drag on the ground just before she begins walking. The woman grabbed your shoulder and roughly pulled you to her. For a moment this felt like some sort of transaction, and you were feeling more than uncomfortable.

You began walking to the car with the two new people. The woman had her hand on your shoulder the entire time, meanwhile the man strode in front of you. You all stop in front of a large black car, it looked sleek and brand new. The man opens up the passenger door, and the backseat door.

You look at the two, slowly getting in car. You sit down and immediately notice that the seats warm, actually the entire back seat is warm. It feels sort of weird, and kind of cozy. You weren't against it, but you've never had this luxury before so it isn't something your used to.

You buckly yourself up and the Smiths make start the car. You hear your voice repeated a few times, your head snapped up. How many times had they called your name before you knew it? Were they going to yell at you now that you were in private?

". . .Y/N? Are you listening?"

You shook your head yes, apologizing for not hearing them. Your head goes up,but your eyes stay glued to the ground. You didn't want to get yelled at for making eye contact with them.

"Well sweetie, we were asking if you were hungry. Are you? If you want to eat something, we can get some food on the way home."

You heard the womans voice again, you noticed her husband didn't seem too inclined to speak with you. That was okay, as long as he wasn't mad. "No, I'm not-"

Your stomach growled loudly in protest to your words, you'd been caught. You blush and close your eyes. You were somewhat embarrassed, but also a little bit afraid. You hear the woman laugh, and the man chuckle. It sounded genuine, like they found it cute.

The woman speaks again, and you notice the man is turning into your favorite fast food restaurant. Lucky you. "Well honey, were here anyways so why dont we get some grub? What would you like? If you want a little something sweet, that's fine too. In fact I want a shake!"

You laugh, she was trying to make you feel comfortable. You've seen it before, and you enjoyed it every time. You tell her your order and the man finally speaks, ordering all of yalls food. His voice was deep and sounded mean, you didn't know how to describe it. He just sounded mean.

Once your handed your food and drink you sit and wait. You didn't want to get yelled at for eating in the car. The woman noticed and stared at you oddly. "You can eat. I really dont mind, I mean I'd be a bit of a hypocrite if I ate but didn't let you."

She continued eating, and you began eating yourself. You were quite happy, these people seemed nice. Although generally, the people that were nice didn't have nice kids. You groaned internally, hoping these people taught their kids right.

"Ah, I completely forgot- you can call me Ophelia and my husband is Arthur. We understand that calling us mom and dad isn't something you're ready for."

Mom and dad? These people are fostering you, not adopting you. You looked up for a moment to say something, but the look on Arthur and Ophelias faces said it all. She knew what she said, and she didn't stutter. They both wanted you to say something, they wanted to put you in your place.

Your eyes went back down, you looked at your food for a moment and then continued eating.

The car comes to a stop and your door is once again opened. You get your food and step out of the car, you look around and see a large mansion. Just how rich were these people? You're ushered into the house, standing in a large open space. After a bit of walking, you noticed two large and winding staircases. Standing on the sides of them were about 10 butler's and maids(per staircase).

You freeze up at seeing so many people, all with their heads bowed down and in such a large place. Arthur takes the eaten food and hands it to one of maids, you assume she was going to throw it away. You could've done it yourself, you didn't see the point of having her doing.

Your feel a hand against your back, it runs you gently; Ophelia. As if trying to comfort you, but instead you felt uncomfortable as hell. You tried to move away, just move around a bit so she got the idea. Instead she pulls you closer, you were now in a sort of side hug. She had her arms wrapped around your side, and she had you pressed into her side.

You squirm a bit more until Ophelia looks down at you. She didn't look annoyed or mad, simply disappointed. You hated that, this woman was holding you and all you could think about was how good it felt to be held. Fighting back was admittedly out of the question, and you definitely dont trust these people. You decide to indulge yourself, just this time, never again.

You give up fighting her and go limp in her arms, Ophelia looks more than pleased. You want to kick her, but you're afraid she'll do it back.

This woman was freakishly strong.

After a moment Arthur begins looking around the room, he speaks up. His voice had chilled, did he normally speak that way to his servants? "Where are the kids? I want them to meet their new sister."

You almost rolled your eyes, not this shit again. Unless they planned to adopt you, which you knee they wouldn't. They shouldn't be calling you their daughter, they dont even know you well enough!

One of the maids, her outfit was different from the rest, it had a large crest on both shoulders bowed her head a bit farther and walked closer to us. "I'm sorry sir, they're still at school. They shall be home in a few hours, we can pick them up early if you wish."

This woman sounded like she came out of a movie from the 1990's. You thought it was funny and laughed just slightly. You knew it was heard, but honestly that's their fault. If Ophelia didn't want to hear you laugh, she shouldn't have you practically on top of her.

Arthur shakes his head and huffs a bit. You thought it was stupid, how did he not know when his own kids were getting home? "Fine, I want her upstairs and in a room. I've gone over the procedure; bathing, skincare, all of that. Get it done."

With that Arthur walks out of the room, muttering something about poor planning. Ophelia lets you go, not before kissing your forehead and walking off. You would have found that sweet if that woman didn't give you the heebie jeebies.

The maid, whose name is Mary(her nametag) began to usher you upstairs. You thought she was bringing you into a bedroom, until you find yourself in a lavish bathroom with a large bath and shower. The shower was one of those glass boxes, and it look over 20 feet wide with multiple showerheads. Each looked different from the other.

The bath was ten times bigger, it was a large oval and there was a large shelf with soaps, hair washes, and skincare products. The large door to the room closes, and you're left with three maids. They all just stand and stare at you. Mary puts both her hands on your shoulders, pulling your arms up. "Take your clothes off or we'll do it for you."

Mary didn't sound like she was trying to threaten you, instead she talking as if she was nicely asking you to move. Although her words still properly registered in your head and you jumped away. "No, I can bathe myself! Just tell me how to turn on the shower and I'll be fine!"

Mary tuts loudly at you, she shakes her head and begins walking closer the two maids behind you doing the same. "Please take your clothes off or we will do it for you. Your parents instructed us to bathe you, and very clearly stated to not let you give yourself a shower."

You struggled and tried pushing them ladies away, it was five long minutes and you could feel yourself beginning to cry. Your fight or flight instincts had kicked in and you lost the fight. These people are freakishly strong. "Fine! Just please let me undress myself."

The three ladies all back away and you undress. You watcher as one of the maids was pouring Epsom salts into the water, you didn't even notice the water had turned on. You watched her pour a massive bag of the salts into the tub(didn't feel like a tub more liek a public bath) and it wasn't enough to cover even half of the bath.

You're guided into the water while the maids get some soaps and hair washes. You move around a bit in the water, it's a little under 5' feet deep. There are stairs and you just swim around trying to think. The water does feel nice, you feel almost protected by it. In a way you feel safer in the water, even if you are naked.

Your eyes were feeling puffy and felt like you wanted to cry again; you didn't. You didn't want to show these creeps how much power they held over you. You hear a beckoning voice and you walk back to the maids. You're sat on the steps, luckily the maids are willing to let you wash yourself but they're still doing your hair.

The maids turn around and start look at the shelves as you wash your body. You dont know what kind of body wash it was, but it felt amazing and you were smelling really good. After about ten minutes, the maids told you to sit and let them do your hair. You sat down on the steps, the warm water covered most of your body and it felt great. You could almost forget the warms tears that began to run down your face.

You sighed loudly, the sound echoing off the walls of the bedroom you were placed in. The room was so big it could fit 12 elephants, and apparently it was now your room. When the maids had washed your hair it took them almost an hour and surprisingly the water stayed warm the whole time. Your hair had multiple products put it in and you were given a bonnet to keep you hair looking nice if you took a nap.

(Sorry I have curly hair and I wasn't thinking when I wrote this part. Yes, anyone(in my opinion)can wear a bonnet.)

The room looked bland, the bedsheets were a cream color and the walls were white. You get up and open a door, finding a bathroom. There is another big bathtub and shower, but no where near as big as the one from before. The color pattern matches; white. You close the door only to open another and find a walk-in closet. The closer was about a 1/4 of the rooms size. Your eyes bulged in surprise, goddamn these people are rich.

You notice a mirror in the closet and look at yourself. Despite wearing the bonnet, you're in pretty normal clothing. Just a shirt and some pants, you refused to wear the shorts. When asked why. . .you didn't reply. The maids had given in quickly to your ask for pants instead.

You see a clock in the normal part of the bedroom and notice its already been three hours. You hear a knock on the door and vocie calls out, it's Arthur.

"Y/N? The kids are here, please come downstairs."

You hear the sound of him walk away, and as much as you want to stay in the bedroom where its "safe", you're not taking chances. You open the door, expecting to see no one and instead are greeted by Arthur in front of the door. He smiles, he looks quite nice when he smiles. Unlike how he normally looks like an ass, he looks almost nervous now.

"Come now, downstairs."

Arthur puts his hand out, presumably for you to take it but you don't. Instead you just begin to walk, you hear a quiet hug behind you but choose to ignore it. You dont want to touch any of them, no matter how touch starved you are. These people have not show you, even slightly, that they can be trusted.

You walk down the winding stairs and see Ophelia with three kids standing next to her. Kids isn't the right descriptor, they look your age(15) and older. Two girls and one boy, all three are standing next to their mother like little guard dogs. It almost made you laugh at how protective they look.

You walk until you in front of them, they all look at you with somewhat indifference. You're something new and shiny, yet foreign and mysterious. Whether they liked you or not though, they'd put up an act in from of their parents. They each step up individually, as if everything they said and did in that moment was planned. It fucking was.

One after the other they performed their little parts, each looking up just slightly for their parents approval every so often.

"My name is Ezekiel, I'm 17. Lovely to meet you, Y/N."

Ezekiel has strawberry blonde hair, cut to find nicely around his head. No short, but not long. You're beginning to notice a pattern with the men in the family. His hair is a bit curly, but unlike his sisters his hair is more wavy. Ezekiel has- and you almost hate to admit this because you can tell this guys a prick- beautiful blue eyes. The look exactly like his fathers, except brighter. Ezekiel is only a bit shorter than his mom(5'9) and still taller than you.

Ezekiel bows his head in an almost exaggerated manner, he takes a few steps forward and holds out his hand to shake. You didn't want to cause any problems with him(you knew the kids could cause more problems than the adults sometimes) and going along with his show was the best way to do that. You shake his hand in a firm grip, you two make eye contact and he looks away as soon as you do.

You notice he stares at the ground then looks at his sisters, then his parents, then you. Where they like a weird hivemind and you didn't know? Would make sense...

The second one stepped up, you assume they were doing oldest to youngest. The girl has hair much like her mother; midnight black. She's gorgeous, and you can't help but blush a bit at how long you've stared at her. She's pretty and she knows it too. Her hair is a lot curlier than her brother and she has bouncy curls that go well with her back length hair. Her eyes are dark brown, they look like a murkier version of her moms.

She walks forward and makes a big show of hugging you. She laughs(and it sounded like it would be better described as a giggle) and presses her head into your neck for a moment. You pull away as soon as her grip lets up; the fuck was that?

Now she stands in front of you with an award winning smile, one that might've fooled you if not for how she grabbed you. When you hugged, her nails dug deeply into your back and you could practically feel your skin coming off. The girl towered over you, she's taller than Ezekiel; bitch got her dads genes.

Creepy bitch.

"Oh it's just great to meet you, our parents have been talking about you for the past few months! My names Rosette, and I'm just so happy to meet my new baby sister! I'm 16- turning 17 in a few months, uh- oh, my favorite color pallet are pastels! It's just so hard to choose a color. . ."

Rosette babbles on for another minute, and you're not sure if she's a great actor or an airhead. For now lets try to assume the best about people. Also was the baby sister necessary? You're only a year or two younger than her!

As you turn your head to the youngest- a loud bell rings across the house. You hear Arthur clap his hands in delight, and watch all the maids and butlers appear. Not this shit again...

"Ah, it's time for dinner, Lucille, you can be introduced to Charlotte later." Ophelia says while pulling you out of the room and into a one about the same size. The only difference is the decor, instead on an open space theres a large table that can seat at least 100 people. There's multiple plates full of food, some foods you don't think you've ever seen before.

Ophelia pulls out a chair, it's the on to the left of Arthur, who is sitting at the head of the table. On the right of him is Ophelia next to her is Ezekiel. Next to you is Charlotte and Rosette(in that order), the seating doesn't feel right. Not in the damn slightest. You feel uncomfortable with how close Charlotte is to you. Unlike how the seat are spaced out, Charlotte moved her chair closer to yours.

You look over at her and she just stares down at her food. You dont say anything, maybe these people do prayer? You waited for Arthur or Ophelia to start, instead Arthur looks over at you. He looks down at your food and then nods at you.

"Try it."

This felt culty.

You do as asked and take a bite of the food that was on your plate. It was good, not bland and honestly very flavorful. You chewed it for a few moments and swallowed. It was hot, a bit too hot but good nonetheless. It wasn't a favorite of yours, but it tasted a lot better than food you've had before.

As you swallow your bite everyone else starts eating. You chose not to notice the pair of eyes searing into your head from the side. Charlotte was staring, and it wasn't in a "just looking" sort of way. She took a bite of her food and then stared at your while she ate it.

At some point you turn and Charlotte smiles. She moves her head a bit closer and quietly introduces herself.

"I'm Charlotte." Charlotte doesn't say a word after that, you now take note of how creepy her smile is. It looks forced, and from the resting bitch face she had earlier, it might be.

You just smile thinly, you keep your eyes on her for a minute until you the food starts to call your name again. It was good, like really fucking good.

You kept eating until your stomach started to hurt, not from overeating. Instead you felt sick, like you were going to throw up and pass out. You can feel you skin vibrating, or maybe you're shaking? You look around and no one is looking at you, instead they're all look away. You try to get a few words out, but your throat hurts like your have strep throat.

You begin to sway and finally hear a voice, although it's much closer to you than it should be. "Oh dear! Arthur! I told you, you put too much in her food. Now she's gonna be sick as a dog!"

What? What was going on? What is Ophelia saying? Better question- is it true?

"Shh, shh, shh it's okay, Mommy's here. Rosette, help me pick her up and take her to her room. I'm glad we had the maids clean her ahead of time."

You're shaking violently now, you start to tear up wondering if your going to die today. Wondering if they were just giving you a good last day, a day better than the one you lived with before. Without being beaten into the ground, or slapped by a hand with rings.

. . .

You're laying in a large bed, your large bed. You look around the room and see it's the room you were given earlier. You move around, but feel sick the moment you do. You run to the bathroom and barely make it, throwing up on the ground a bit. You shaking and crying, your body feels horrible. You feel yourself sweating and you're hot, but at the same time your feet and hands are cold.

You begin to cry, you cant stop the vomit that's destroying your throat and burning your insides. You feel weak and all you want is to sleep, to just close your eyes.

You jump when you feel a hand on your back. "It's just me-"

Rosette.

The sound if you puking overshadows her voice, she stays quiet and instead just rubs your back. Rosette places her head on your back and presses a firm kiss to what you realise is bare skin. You're naked. Who the fuck undressed you?!

Finally the vomiting stops, and now you realize the situation. You're head is pressed against the toilet seat and your naked down to your underwear. Rosette, who is fully clothed by the way. Is holding you from behind, she is rubbing your back and she kissed it a few times. You feel fucking disgusted.

"It'll be okay. Mom was right about you, she said you'd make a perfect bri- sister. A perfect adopted little sister. You'll remember some of this tomorrow, but not the creepy parts. That's all that matters, now let's get you to bed."

More to come soon. Rosette and Charlotte are the main love interests. Yes, this is something we dont usually write and I understand if you find this creepy or uncomfortable. I on the other hand am getting into writing darker stuff, my rules for the blog will not change and we will not end them.

[notsosilentsister]

Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet, 2023)

I find myself wanting to talk about this film like the characters in it are real people, which can be the mark of a story that has accomplished its aims. So the question is, did she do it? What do I think, what are we supposed to think?

I think we're supposed to think it's ambiguous. The climax is all about the son making a choice - it's clearly not an easy one for him. He isn't just telling the truth. He's - if not inventing entirely - embellishing, at least. The testimony might not provide much admissible evidence, but emotionally, it's too neat of a resolution, fits too well with the lawyer's characterisation of the husband. So well that at first I thought, sure, this has to be true, how could a kid have come up with this? But of course this is the kid of two writers. He cannot know if his mother is innocent, but he decides to save her anyway.

Sandra herself doesn't agree with her lawyer's characterization of her husband. She tells him right in court, where others might hear, when that's the pillar of his defense, undermining her own best shot at being exculpated. (Are we supposed to think she is at a real risk of being found guilty? I don't know enough about French courts to evaluate that, but I would normally assume there's not much of a case, the accusation is based on too much conjecture. But that's not truly what's at stake here, isn't it, the real stakes are about losing her child's trust and love. The suspense of the court's verdict might be taking artistic licence to dramatize the suspense of the child's verdict.)

Sandra has enough of a self preservation instinct to lie about the bruise, but she hesitates to support the suicide theory. She still doesn't seem to be entirely on board even after she herself has disclosed her husband's first suicide attempt. She's muddling her own story, and it does seem like a mark of counter-productive honesty. It could be manipulation - maybe making her lawyer think she's innocent is just as, if not more, important to her as proving her innocence in court? But it does seem genuine to me. Sandra is presented as someone who almost can't help her honesty. She's straightforward, blunt, she won't smile at her husband's friends, when she's not feeling it, she's showing her true colours, even if it costs her.

I declared Sandra innocent in my mind pretty early in the proceedings, I just couldn't buy the motive. A fit of rage? I kinda never buy that as an explanation, killing seems often like a fairly drawn-out-affair, where you have to commit to see it through, and it certainly does seem so in the scenario presented, where she would have to lift his legs over the windowsill. Like, I could sometimes see someone inadvertently killing a victim they just intended to scare, because they misjudged their power, but it's also hard to see that as a strategy Sandra would use in this scenario. My guess is that fatal domestic violence (without financial motive) is usually either habitual intimidation with miscalculated impact, a honor killing, or the last resort of a cornered animal. And those other options also don't seem to fit Sandra, whose honor doesn't rely on controlling her husband and who always seems to have plenty of agency - if she's unhappy in her marriage, she speaks her mind, she takes a lover; if she's unhappy enough, why wouldn't she just get a divorce?

But isn't that just the textbook mistake? To believe that a strong woman like Sandra would not get trapped in an abusive relationship? (She always seems to have plenty of agency - except when he's ruining her interview with his awful music, and she can't just tell him to shut it off..). Because that husband sure is a piece of work. I'm immediately predisposed against him, before he's even shown on the scene, with his first aural emantion. I grieve for him, when I see the grief of his child. And then he's on my eternal shitlist again, when he accuses his wife of always forcing others to meet her on her own territory, when he's just roped her into moving to his home-town. Because he has to speak English with her instead of his native tongue French, when she doesn't get to speak her native tongue German to him either! The gall of it! Shit's so transparent, it's adding insult to injury.

So the husand certainly _tries_to trap her, in isolation, in guilt, but doesn't she see through it, when she reads him for filth in that climactic altercation? Shouldn't that be enough to break the spell? Would she have to resort to violence to escape?

For what it's worth, I think the laywer's theory is much more likely. Husband tries it, and fails, and sees that his guilt trips won't work on her much longer. He's the one who's cornered. And I wouldn't put it past him to pull a Gone Girl and choose his exit in a way that frames the wife he blames for all his miseries. Vindictive self-destruction. Also fits well with the injuries to his knuckles and the holes in the walls, for which we do, after all, see objective evidence. But maybe I would believe any theory presented by Swann Arlaud (who, since we're talking about imagining animals' heads on people's bodies, obviously looks like a stoat. A beautiful stoat. I've been keenly waiting for Sandra Hüller to say it in that last scene they have together, when she cradles his head and looks deep into his eyes. But this film is really all about witholding resolution.)

[destiny-fics]

Robbery-Preview

Genre: Smut, Fluff, Mafia/Organised Crime!au, Non-idol!au

Pairing: Kim Seungmin x Fem!reader

Summary: Seungmin isn't one to hyperfixate on trivial things, to fill his head with unnecessary information which does not aid him or his job in anyway. So why is it that he's so focussed on the woman he met a few weeks ago at the speakeasy Red Lights? Seungmin doesn't know, but he's determined to find out.

Warnings: Mafia Seungmin and Mafia SKZ, smut in the full story, swearing, mentions of cheating, mentions of murder and beating someone up.

A/N: Hi friends! Here is a little sneak peak to a Seungmin piece I have coming up eventually. This might end up being part of a skz series, it might not, but I'm excited to eventually post this anyway. Hope you all enjoy this preview 😉

Who were you and what did you want with him?

The question had been puzzling Seungmin for weeks now. He was usually not one for agonising over such trivial things, but something about you that night had stunned him, left him in a whirlwind where the only chance of escape was finding you again. And finding out what you wanted with him.

The night you had met had been the first time Seungmin had ever seen you at 'Red Lights.' The rundown bar turned upscale speakeasy was a hit amongst rich college students and businessmen alike, making it an almost perfect cover for the true, and much less savoury business Seungmin and his friends took part in.

Was that why you had been there that night? Did you somehow know what Red Lights really was? What he really was? 

You hadn't seemed to, in fact, you looked rather confused and lost, like you weren't exactly sure how you had ended up at the bar sipping on something which looked very sweet. 

Usually, Seungmin would have just left you, assuming that you were waiting for a date or your friends. Perhaps it was your first time here and you just weren't sure about the club.

But he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was different about you, nor could he prevent his feet from walking him over to where you sat at the bar, signaling the bartender to get him another one of whatever you were having as well as a drink of his own. 

"You don't need to do that." You looked up at him as the new drink was pushed in front of you, dipping your straw in it to take a sip of the drink regardless of your words. "I was going to head home anyway." 

"Friends ditch you?" He hummed as he sipped his own drink, eyes trailing discreetly over your figure in the pretty sky blue dress you were wearing.

Seungmin fucking loved sky blue.

You shook your head a sad, hollow little laugh bubbling up and out of your mouth. "Boyfriend actually. It's our anniversary." 

"Bastard," Seungmin snapped, immediately apologising afterwards. "Sorry, I didn't mean that. I don't know him." 

This time when you laughed Seungmin could tell that it was genuine and the thought that he had made you laugh when you were so clearly upset made him smile over the rim of his glass.

"You're fine, he is a bastard…" you trailed off, eyeing Seungmin as if trying to decide whether to air all your dirty laundry out to a total stranger. You must have decided it was okay, because you sighed before tacking on a quiet "and a cheat too," to the end of your sentence.

At the first sight of tears in your eyes, Seungmin’s eyebrows shot up and in his head he was immediately planning a way to ask Chan whether it would be possible to find your boyfriend and make his death as slow and painful as possible, or at least to rough him up a bit. On the outside however, Seungmin immediately slid onto the barstool in front of yours, taking your hands in his. "Hey hey, any guy who will cheat on someone like you is not worth your time, your money and certainly not worth your tears." He brought a hand up to thumb the tears on your cheek away, marveling to himself at how soft your skin was underneath his touch. 

"That's sweet," you sniffled softly, leaning into the touch. "But you don't know anything about me." 

"You're right. But I'm sure I'd like to know everything about you." 

[dracarialove]

📄 F it, I'm posting my finished fics here, too 📄

*Check the 'rouge's heart' tag if you haven't read previous chapters

[Chapter 8: Relaxation]

Rouge and Shadow kept in touch for a few weeks after their night at the club. Their feelings for each other grew over texts and phone calls; the bat accepted that she would just be waiting until he was ready to ask her for a commitment, and the hedgehog wrestled with his own pessimism regarding their potential relationship. Shadow laid awake some nights, his conscience jumping back and forth between giving it a shot and worrying that she may still not be over Knuckles.

Not knowing where Rouge's thoughts and feelings truly lay made him anxious, the reserved man hesitant to ask her outright. He continued looking for new work, though nothing was panning out, as he didn't do very well during interviews. The repeated failures began to wear down the hedgehog.

Meanwhile, the treasure hunter used her time being single to work through the broken engagement the way Shadow had suggested. She first ran through the good memories in her mind, mourning each one and crying when she needed to – though, she found it was much easier to keep her eyes dry this time around. Then, she went through the bad memories, mentally pinpointing what made them bad and which ones stemmed from something she could've controlled.

In the process of uncovering her own flaws, Rouge also began to associate Knuckles' face with how the bad memories made her feel. The method caused her feeling of sorrow towards him to steadily evaporate, being replaced with a sense of confidence that she deserved better.

At the tail end of those three weeks, after Shadow had been denied another job opportunity, he called Rouge in a stressed state. Sitting at the dining room table of his apartment, he ran his fingers through his dark quills while letting out an exhausted sigh. The charming woman's voice on the other end of the line was like an angel whispering to him that everything would be alright.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Rouge," he started, trying not to sound defeated. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm fine," she responded casually. Shadow could hear the smile in her tone. "And yourself?"

He almost instinctively replied that he was also fine, something he'd been doing with many strangers multiple times a week. But he caught himself, instead telling her the truth. "Not that well. I still haven't found a new job."

Then he heard the smile drop from her voice, relieved that she wouldn't instantly try to hype him up. "I'm sorry to hear that... are you holding up okay?"

The hedgehog paused, staring at the ring-like patterns on his wooden table. "Not as well as I normally do. Truthfully, it's probably the first time in my life that the stress of searching is starting to get to me."

There was a pause from her side, Shadow assuming she was thinking. So far, the only time she seemed to not have an immediate reply was when she was contemplating something, and he was content to wait for an inevitable bright idea from the clever lady.

"I know," she finally uttered, her tone lifting again. He smirked as she did exactly what he'd anticipated. "Let's go to the beach – just you and me. Some surf and sun might put you in a better mood."

"Sure," was his unhesitant response. "As soon as possible?"

Rouge's perky tone heightened. "Absolutely. It's supposed to be clear and sunny tomorrow. Is that soon enough?"

The hedgehog chuckled, his smile becoming more genuine. "Yeah, that works."

"Great! Come by around noon and we'll go together."

"Alright – see you then."

The bat said goodbye just before they hung up, Shadow then standing from the table and pacing a bit around his living room. Staring down at the plain black cell phone in his hand, he couldn't stop himself from feeling a tinge of excitement tugging at his heart. It was unusual after the aloofness he'd become accustomed to over years of living alone.

Befriending Rouge was the first step to finally opening up to someone; she made it feel surprisingly effortless, like she was genuinely on his side and cared about his well-being. The new, positive emotion remained while he rested on the couch and filled his evening with television.

***

The next day, Shadow drove his motorcycle to Rouge's house, for once appreciating the sunlight as he never had before. The bag of beach supplies he'd packed thumped against his back with every bump in the road. When he arrived, the hedgehog rang the doorbell and stood with one fist against his hip, gazing around her front lawn at the tiny violets sprinkling lush green grass.

The bat answered a moment later, wearing a flowy white sundress with a sunflower pattern lining the skirt. He was less shy about admiring her outfit, realizing that she would want to be complimented on her fashion choices.

"You look great," he said, walking in as she stepped aside.

Rouge smiled while closing the door behind him. "Thanks. I've got to pack a couple more things and I'll be ready to go."

He watched silently as the treasure hunter trotted a few feet towards her staircase, the dress bouncing around her thighs. She pushed off the ground and flew the rest of the way up the stairs, disappearing from Shadow's line of sight, and he slowly meandered around her living room to soak in Rouge's preferred aesthetic. Sleek white and silver were the main color scheme of her walls, furniture, and floors; splashes of color accenting designer pieces to complement the framed art on her walls.

The eager woman floated back down the stairs, a sky blue bag hanging off her shoulder and brown sandals on her feet. "I'm ready! Hope you don't mind me driving."

"Not at all," replied Shadow, turning to meet her at the door.

Walking towards the driveway, she reached out to him and said, "I can store your bag."

He handed it over and she strolled towards the back of her vehicle, using the button on her key to unlock it. The sun reflected off the pure white exterior of Rouge's car, gleaming bright enough to make the hedgehog raise his hand over his eyes.

The young woman seemed not to notice him walking over to the driver's side as she stuffed their bags into the trunk. When she looked back up, pushing the trunk closed, she saw the gentleman opening the door for her – a coy blush crossed the bat's cheeks and she thanked him before climbing in.

The ride to the beach was serene, an expansive blue sky stretching out above the city while upbeat music played from the radio. It wasn't the kind of tunes Shadow would've been playing had he taken control of the stereo, but he was feeling more open-minded towards interests other than his own.

It wasn't so bad, all things considered – not as heavy or serious as the genres he typically enjoyed, but rather carrying an optimistic tone that admittedly fit better with their plans. Rouge tapped her fingers on the steering wheel as they listened. The quiet hedgehog tired of gazing out the window, looking over at his friend and cracking another smile at how happy she seemed.

The sunshine ahead of them enhanced the glow on her glossy lips, tanned skin contrasting beautifully with her snowy white hair. She caught him staring, and flashed a tantalizing grin before returning her turquoise eyes to the road.

It wasn't long before they made it to the beach, Rouge parking in a convenient spot with a view of the shore. She opened her door before Shadow had a chance to do so for her, but he concerned himself more with getting their bags out of the trunk.

The hedgehog immediately put on his sunglasses, then threw both packs over his shoulders and walked with Rouge towards the sand; he noted that she was eyeing his figure, the woman either unsure or uncaring of his awareness behind the dark shades.

After walking along the border of grass and sand for a moment, the jewel hunter pointed at a smooth patch of turf jutting farther out than the rest. "That looks like a good place to rest our things."

Shadow agreed, letting her grab a blanket from her bag and setting the supplies down on the grassy patch. A light gust rushed by just as Rouge whipped up the blanket to spread it out, the pastel sundress pressing against the back of her thighs and flowing in front of her – it was a short moment of beauty that Shadow was glad to have seen, admiring the thin line of illumination around her silhouette.

He looked away quickly, not wanting to be caught staring again, and checked the grass around them for garbage or ant hills. Once the blanket was flat on the ground, he joined the bat and sat with her a while; she kicked off her sandals and leaned back to support her weight on outstretched arms. The pair looked out at the sea, relatively alone save for a family playing along another side of the beach.

"I love it out here," Rouge said, breaking the silence. "Especially during the week, there's hardly anyone around."

"It's quiet," remarked Shadow, throwing one arm over his bent knee. "I've never known such a bright place to be so still."

It was the treasure hunter's turn to look over at him, noting the way he stared out at the horizon through dim lenses and under lowered lids. His dark aesthetic looked a bit out of place among the light blues, yellows, and greens of the beachy area; but he gave off a slightly different vibe than at the night club.

It was more relaxed, more comfortable, and Rouge enjoyed seeing a new demeanor from the gloomy hedgehog she'd met at the coffee shop. Starting to feel the heat of the blazing sun, she repositioned to grab the bottom of her dress, pulling it up over her head and revealing her swimsuit.

The bat was wearing a one-piece colored the same faded purple as her everyday bodysuit, the chest forming a heart over her bust as one side of the thick fabric crossed over the other. She didn't notice him covertly eyeing her as she shifted to sit closer while making her next move.

"You know, I could take you out to do things more often. I don't know how familiar you are with the city, but I know pretty much every place that's worth visiting."

He turned, his head cocking forward slightly in a natural gesture that radiated coolness. The bat continued, "I could show you around, introduce you to new experiences..."

Trailing off, she shrugged in a questioning fashion. For a moment, his expression didn't change, leading her to believe he would decline the offer. But instead, he replied, "It would probably serve me well to get out more often. I'd have no reason to go on my own, but... you make things more enjoyable."

Her cheeks flushed, Rouge overcome with esteem and feeling valued from being spoken of so respectfully. Unfortunately, the moment didn't last long, the jewel thief suddenly hearing her name being called from the parking lot. Her heart leapt in her chest, gleaming eyes darting past Shadow to pinpoint the voice.

In the distance, she spotted a blue figure quickly swaggering towards them, one white glove raised high and waving. The woman nearly jumped up, subtle panic on her face as she sped towards him; Shadow turned to watch with a bewildered expression.

Rouge met the approaching hedgehog halfway, both of them standing in the grass. "Sonic, how nice to see you! What brings you here?"

He shrugged, both hands on his hips. "Was just running by and saw your car. Figured I'd say hi! It's been a while, huh?"

"Yeah, it has been," replied the bat, clenching one palm around her arm nervously. "Did Knuckles tell you...?"

"That you guys broke up?" His lip pulled into a slight sympathetic frown. "Yeah... sorry to hear. Not much to say, I guess – he's always been a knucklehead."

She let out a chuckling exhale as the corner of her own lip curled. "You're right about that."

"Who's your friend?" Sonic asked, motioning with an upward nod towards Shadow.

Rouge sighed, crossing her arms as her eyebrows stressed together. "Someone I met the night I dumped Knuckles. I've been trying to make new friends since the breakup."

"Well, Rouge, you still have me!" the spunky young man blurted, his arms spreading to his sides. "Just because you're not with him doesn't mean we can't be friends!"

At that point, Shadow decided to stand up, approaching the pair to decipher the reason for Sonic's energetic gestures. Meanwhile, Rouge explained, "It wouldn't have felt right, you're too close with him. Besides, it's not like we know each other that well."

"How could you say that?" the blue hedgehog asked, raising one hand to his heart and feigning hurt. "We've known each other for a long time! I helped you find the perfect place for your wedding, didn't I?"

Rouge rolled her eyes while Shadow finally reached them and gained Sonic's attention.

The blue blur grinned and shoved his open hand toward Shadow, who leaned back. "Hey there, friend-of-Rouge! Nice to meet you, I'm Sonic."

"An acquaintance of yours?" the dark hedgehog asked Rouge, rejecting Sonic's handshake.

She nodded, but the beginning of her attempted sentence was interrupted by the speedster. "Hey, you look familiar, actually. I think I know you from somewhere."

Shadow looked back to Sonic, his expression unflinchingly dull. "Most likely from the coffee shop where I used to work."

"Oh, that's right!" One palm clonked against the side of his head, his eyes rolling upward in an exaggerated motion. The grin remained as he pointed at Shadow. "You were the sour barista!"

"And you were the obnoxious one who asked if we had chilidogs and then didn't buy anything," the monotone man replied, his eyes narrowing a bit behind his sunglasses.

"Such is life, my friend. Say-"

Rouge then cut him off, stepping forward to obtain his gaze. "Sonic, listen – we were really just trying to have a relaxing afternoon on the beach. It was nice to see you again, but I think we'd like to get back to that."

She looked to Shadow for confirmation, who gave her a nod. She continued, "I'll stay in touch. But, if you could, don't talk to Knuckles about any of this. He caused trouble before and I just don't want any more of that."

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, no problem. Won't run my mouth on this one."

He started to back away from them, casually swinging his arms as he moved. "And hey, don't forget about the rest of us when you move on from Knuckles."

Before she could respond, the blue hedgehog sped away, dust kicking up into the air as a strong breeze blew past. Rouge looked at Shadow, crossing her arms behind her back and anxiously fidgeting with her pinky finger.

"Sorry about that... I had no idea he would show up here, of all places," she said. "We were friends when I was with my ex."

Shadow turned towards the shore, taking the bat's hand in his and leading her. "Let's not talk about that now. It's not what we came for, right?"

She eased up, a heartfelt smile creeping across her muzzle. "Right."

They walked into the water together, clear blue waves sinking away to then rush forth over Rouge's feet. The hedgehog was more concerned with his company's enjoyment, not finding much comfort in the cool sea but liking the soft smile on her face.

They stood for a while in thigh-deep saltwater, the treasure hunter running her hands along the surface while Shadow ignored the tiny fish brushing against his legs. He got a bit bored, just gazing around, leaving himself vulnerable to a sudden splash from the mischievous woman.

"Gotcha," Rouge chuckled when he turned to her with a surprised expression.

The innocence of her teasing brought an involuntary smile to his face as Shadow flashed her a playfully vengeful look. He splashed her back, more forcefully and causing her to let out a giggly exclamation. When she moved to retaliate, the bat took a step toward him and her leg waded into a bushel of seaweed; the spindly plant instantly tangled around her calf, the momentum sending her toppling further than she intended. The hedgehog was quick to catch her, but his loose footing slipped forward and made him fall on his behind.

The relatively shallow pool of water splashed around them as they both crashed to the wet sandy ground. Rouge was mortified, her cheeks red with embarrassment from tripping so awkwardly; Shadow was simply stunned by the fall, his hands pressed against her shoulders in an attempt to prevent her from hitting the water.

When she managed to prop herself up on outstretched arms, the bat's gaze ran up to his. His glasses were askew, one side laying higher than the other and leaving a single eye unshielded. He took them off once she was stable, the lenses dripping with water droplets, and they shared a long moment of starry-eyed staring.

A faint voice nagged in Rouge's ear, 'Kiss him.'

[darlinggeorgiedear]

George was an empathic King, while in his private life, had a personality that could be compared to a bull in a china shop

as someone whose first language isn't english, reading that idiom makes me laugh especially when it used to describe george lol any story about his chaotic private life?

Hi! George was rumored to be a drunk for a period. Many assume the rumor began in result of his indigestion that caused his skin to be blotchy and his general noisy manner. I always thought the drunk rumor perfectly illustrates how he acted sometimes, because he 100% didn't have a drinking problem, he acted the way he did, sober.

His normal speaking voice was comparable to the average person's screaming voice, and his laugh carried through rooms. He also never hid his moods. He was definitely the type where if he was in a bad mood, everyone was going to be in a bad mood. In contrast, his good moods were just as contagious, and he could be extremely jolly and talkative. Mary referred to his two moods as "Devil Georgie" and "Angel Georgie."

He definitely was "chaotic" and brought a lot of drama into his otherwise peaceful life. I was trying to compare Nicholas and George, and it has always stood out to me that Nicholas, seemingly feeling the fragility of his private life (severely sick son and unbalanced wife), was incredibly passive and never wanted to rock the boat. George definitely felt secure in his family situation (maybe a little secure at times).

Also, many in his circle thought his antics were funny. His maid would later laugh with him about how he yelled at her for not arranging his things right. His son, George, also enjoyed poking fun at his dad and telling him things to specifically get him into a rage. One of my favorite "chaotic" George stories is when he caught Mary reading "Lady Chatterley's Lover," and went into a rage (saying it was immoral and disgusting), snatching the book and storming out of the room. Later, his son, George, walked into his dad's study, and to his utter shock and amusement, found his dad reading the infamous book. George, being George, went into a rage about the book again, and dramatically threw it in the fire in front of his son. Knowing what I do about George, he was genuinely disgusted by "Lady Chatterley's Lover" (adultery, description of women's sexuality, etc), which makes the whole situation even funnier since I can just imagine the flustered state he was in trying to explain himself when his son caught him reading it.

George, according to the Queen Mother, also had the habit of pinching your arm at the peak of his jokes. She said once, when you left him, your arm was purple and blue.

The ultimate "chaotic" George story (or stories, because this happened a lot) was him chastising women who dressed in the 1920s fashion. On one occasion, he was caught by Mary shouting down from Windsor Castle at a woman. Mary told him to stop at once, he obeyed, with a guilty smile. He also would speak about a woman's bobbed hair or short skirt, when the woman in question was around 5 feet away, yet would speak like she couldn't hear him.

His behavior was very uncommon for upper class British men. I think his naval training was probably the source of his slightly unrefined personality. He reminds me of Prince Philip, who was also in the Navy, and was simiarly unpredictable, blunt, and at times rude. George also, like Philip, had a very aggressive style of banter, but we love both of them anyway💛.

[iron-bullogna]

I'm going to vent a bit about it here then. I'm a bit flustered so hopefully it isn't all over the place. Over my life I've experienced a lot of cruelty, primarily at the hands of white cis women and men. I grew up in a town of 1,000 people and my graduating class was 32. I went to the same school my entire life. The area was predominantly white and I mean that in a "I can count on my fingers and toes the amount of POC I encountered in my life before 18" way. I was also born AFAB. It was very clear from a young age I wasn't "normal". I have preschool paperwork highlighting my very obvious autistic traits (playing alone, organization, and at one point I could see from one quarterly report to the other how I taught myself to mask a behavior the aids noted as an issue, etc). My first "best friend" was a boy from the Ukraine who no one wanted to befriend because everyone assumed his English wasn't good. I can't even tell you how his English was because I don't remember that. I just remember he didn't care that I was a little weird and liked "boy" stuff and wore boys clothes when I could cause he liked "girl" stuff.

The boy and girl stuff mentioned here are literally as simple as Pokemon and Britney Spears. We were bullied by our peers, family, and parents for just being children. The only female friend I had growing up that I chose myself was bullied for being indigenous, looking masculine, (I believe Shoshone/Cherokee but I was 9 and I can't recall now apologies) and liking "boy" stuff. She moved only a few years later. I did not have another female friend until my senior year in high school and big shocker that a few years ago she was diagnosed with autism alongside her son. I knew from age 12-14 roughly that I was trans. I thought I was a transman back then. This was pre-internet btw folks. I had NO IDEA wtf a trans person was or that it was even a real thing. I just felt like I wasn't a girl and I couldn't possibly be a girl, all because of how those around me treated me. I'm not saying every transman is just a traumatized cis woman, but I know for a fact for me and my personal situation, being told I looked like a boy, all the stuff I liked was for boys, just literally everything about me = well that is what boys do, not girls. I genuinely think in my case, that it impacted me psychologically in a way so deep it gave me a lot of mental health issues surrounding gender. I would go through phases of hyper performing femininity and hypersexuality to try and fit in. I developed a huge complex around my self worth and being desirable that still persists to this day. This is the part Twitter was angry about and wouldn't let anyone interact with. I'm now 34 and it's manifested in a new way since quarantine since I didn't have interaction with people outside of close friends for that entire time. I find myself with an intense fear of pretty cis women, particularly white women. It's a genuine uncontrollable fear response where my entire body starts trembling because I can't stand the thought of being perceived by them. I feel so lacking. I don't even fucking identify as a woman anymore either but I can't even describe the dread I feel about being near them. It isn't even their fault either. They can be the nicest in the world to me but societal pressure and the treatment of women, cis and trans alike, has caused me so much harm I'm actually actively searching for a new therapist to help with this issue. TERFS out here literally causing the issues they say are "plaguing women from being women". Like HUH? You're literally reinforcing stereotypes babes!!! The same stereotypes you say are misogynistic! You're the problem!!! I actually have surgery on Monday and I told my husband I'm more afraid at being perceived by the beautiful women in the clinic (it has an attached MedSpa, trust me, they're all flawless goddesses in there) than I am being awake for the actual surgery. I don't doubt I would still come out as trans (rn I identify vaguely as non-binary/transmasc) because I just don't really vibe with the concept of gender as a whole. I would have just probably figured out that those feelings weren't necessarily me wanting to be or actually being a man a lot sooner. My heart just hurts for Imane Khelif because I can't imagine if she legit is just a normal ass cis woman with higher testosterone how it must feel right now to be attacked like that. And if she is intersex, how much she probably faced a lot of similar treatment that I did growing up. At this point I'm just rambling, but it has all made me very very sad and just brought up a lot of trauma from my own life.

[darkmasterofcupcakes]

Since you sent me an ask, I'll send you one too: 20 for our blorbos?

20. Confessions

For the longest time, he'd been in denial. He wasn't even fond of the woman who just happened to live in this house with him and their old Students (and the one who taught dreams and always seemed inebriated, or the one who lived in the fuse box when she wasn't tinkering with this electrical contraption or that, but they were easy enough to ignore), he told himself for weeks. Once that had passed, he admitted there was some fondness, but a begrudging sort; the kind you feel towards one you admit is a worthy rival.

Until the day she didn't return to the house when he assumed she would after he'd won their latest "game". At first, Tony had assumed she was playing with him, waiting for him to let his guard down in order to get back at him for a surprise attack. So he'd stayed alert, albeit doing his best to act as though he wasn't concerned in the slightest. He didn't want to give her any sort of satisfaction of making her believe he was nervous, much less afraid. But then hours passed and she never returned, and Tony found himself genuinely....afraid. He didn't know what had happened to Paige, and started to consider the possibility that she may not return. His heart had raced, ticking in his ears so quickly and with so much force he was almost expecting it to pound through his ribs like a jackhammer.

Tony didn't remember much of what happened between the second the fear of never seeing Paige again set in, and her stepping through the front door, complaining about bodybags and autopsy tables and the rudeness of the examiner to just cut up her favorite dress. He only remembered the rush of relief he felt upon hearing her voice again.

And it was that memory that brought him to this moment, standing over the body of the Concept of Creativity and holding a single rose, blood-red in color, in his hand. It had taken some time to reach this point, but eventually he had accepted what his desperation and (though he was loathe to admit it) terror at the possibility of being parted from Paige for eternity truly meant; he had fallen in love with her (he made a note to keep this fact from Shrignold until he was ready to deal with the constant gushing over the fact...which would likely be never).

Once Tony had admitted how he felt to himself, there came another issue - telling Paige. Of course he had considered the obvious: simply telling her how he felt. Despite what some might assume they were perfectly capable of simply talking when they felt like it; the chases and battles and various "games" weren't the only aspects of their relationship, after all. He quickly dismissed the notion. Confessing how he felt to Paige couldn't be done in such a simple manner. Even if she reciprocated, she'd no doubt still mock him for his lack of creativity, and Tony was not in the mood for mockery; not that he ever was. And thus he came up with the solution he was currently implementing.

"I shall see you in a few hours, my dear," he said, knowing she couldn't hear him, using words that he'd used before, in a tone that was quite different from past utterances. He got to his knees beside her, carefully placing the rose in her hand while simultaneously placing a gentle kiss upon her lips, savoring both the feel and the slight coppery taste. Being careful not to disturb the rose, Tony got to his feet and went to his workshop, knowing that only time would give him the answer he was looking for.

Unfortunately for him, he instead received a death of his own at the hands of his love....but when he awoke, he found a piece of wet paper folded into his hand. Unfolding it revealed a heart - somewhat mishappened and smeared, but a heart no doubt - painted in blood. Perhaps not so unfortunate, then....