#but he disobeyed those orders on purpose to begin with????

[gotyouanyway]

still trying to figure out not only what the hell annos was talking about here but why he was talking about it like that

[hannieehaee]

SERENDIPITY

18+ / mdi

summary: jungkook, god of love and son of venus is given the task by his mother herself to rid the world of you, known as psyche, as your beauty begins to rival her own. unfortunately for all parties involved, jungkook becomes enamored by you upon accidentally pinching himself with his own arrow.

content: cupid!jungkook, psyche!reader, an extremely simplified and smutty version of the og story, afab reader, everyone here is a god/goddess of some sort, side character deaths, the dialogue is very much modern and not fitting of the times, angst(?), fluff, smut, they have sex where she doesnt know who he is multiple times but its consensual, penetrative sex, etc.

wc: 8.6k

a/n: for immersion purposes, psyche will be a reader insert and wont be referred to as psyche throughout the story (but jk will be referred interchangeably as cupid). anyways i read this last week during one of the lit courses i decided to take to improve my writing and really enjoyed it!! i hope u guys enjoy it too<3

masterlist | kofi/patreon

support me through a one time tip<3

"Why did you call for me, again?"

"Jungkook, pay attention!", hissed his mother, holding her fingers to her temples in stress as one of her many servants walked in with the fruit she'd requested, "I need you to use your arrows on someone."

"What? Why? I thought you didn't like me meddling with people's love lives."

"This is different. This one needs a little help," Venus frowned in sheer annoyance, "She is known as Psyche by many, Y/N by her loved ones. She has become quite a figure among the Roman population. Some have begun to worship her beauty. They pray to her, they bring her offerings, they kiss at her feet, completely disregarding the true Goddess of Beauty."

"And where does this concern me?", Jungkook was beyond bored by his mother's ramblings. On a usual day, he would be out and entertaining himself with the many mortal maidens found around Rome, always guaranteeing himself a partner for the day.

Venus shot Cupid a look as her servants fed her by mouth, making him straighten his back and begin paying better attention. Even as the Goddess of Beauty, Venus was known as one of the most menacing Goddesses to exist, holding far too much power among all Gods and Goddesses. Jungkook couldn't help but feel intimidated by her, even as carefree as he was known to be.

"She has far too many admirers. Even Gods are beginning to show interest in her, yet she is lacking in suitors thus far. I need you to shoot your arrow and tie her off to the most hideous creature you can muster. She may seize from being a disturbance this way."

"Okay, so you want me to doom her to an eternity with a monster?", Jungkook tilted his head in curiosity.

Despite being considered the most beautiful entity, Jungkook knew Venus to be one of the least amicable creatures in all of the land. Mortals were blissfully unaware of her cruelty, thinking her to be the most perfect among all Goddesses. However, Cupid, as her son, knew of the misery that awaited anyone who crossed the Goddess of Beauty.

Venus halted her movements in frustration, scaring the servants nearby before turning to Jungkook in annoyance, "Cupid, my son, you will obey my order without question. I gave you those wings, I gave you that bow, and I gave you that arrow. I don't care how cruel you may think me to be, this is an order. You shall not utilize your powers for your own endeavors until you finish your task," she demanded, "Now, go rid me of that wench before I find someone else to do the job."

With a sigh, Jungkook nodded in defeat, fully aware of the type of punishments his mother could deliver should he disobey her orders. Walking over to the window through which he had originally entered, he pulled his bow and arrow from his back, beginning to fly off with his wings as he embarked on a journey to seek out the mighty Psyche that had his mother so worried.

"Y/N, there's another letter from one of your admirers," announced Psyche's mother, placing the letter on the huge pile of gifts provided by the many civilians who came visit their castle with the hope of getting a glimpse of the beautiful girl.

"Mother, what shall I do with all these? There's so many letters yet not a single suitor," you sighed, frustrated at the lack of prospects you'd had so far, "My sisters have both married, yet I am left alone with no one to seek my heart."

"Child, you should be grateful," said your mother, "You are admired through all the land, vied for as if you were a true Goddess. Someone will come for you one day, rest assured," affirmed your mother, petting your hair as she landed a soft kiss on your forehead and took her leave once more.

It was easy for your parents to grow used to the love and admiration you received. Endless people would come and dedicate themselves to their servitude if it meant as much as receiving your blessing – which was absolutely worthless as a mere princess in a land filled with mystical deities.

Your elder sisters had both been married off months back, finding old yet respectable husbands to take them away and care for them as any and all husbands should. You, however, remained alone with your parents, always hoping that a man would be brave enough to court you.

It was unfortunate, really; the way in which your beauty prevented you from receiving any suitors. You had not chosen to be blessed by Venus herself, nor did you ever hope to become her contender in the title of the most beautiful entity in all of creation. Unlike you, she had found a God to sweep her off her feet, gifting her with the fruit of love himself – her son Cupid. Oh, how you wished he'd shoot his arrow and allow you some rest from this endless search for a husband.

~

As weeks passed by, your parents became more and more worried with your state. You were unconsolable, finding misery in every letter your sisters would send in regard to their new lives with their new families. One of your sisters was already awaiting an heir. Despite your endless happiness for your loving sister, your misery at your own situation prevented you from feeling genuine excitement for a new heir in your family. You wanted your own. You needed your own.

Your constant distress caused your parents to seek out a esteemed Oracle in your city, hoping that she would be able to give some insight about your predicament. She would be able to answer the question as though who and when you would find a suitor.

Visiting her was easy enough, feeling intense excitement at the prospect of an insight into who your beloved would be. Your parents seemed indifferent, but simply hoped to ease your endless concerns.

The Oracle took the form of an old woman, one who was known to assert people's future entirely correctly. Thus far, she was yet to be erroneous in her readings. Such magic was impressive to you, leaving you worried for any bad outcome she could possibly see in your future. If she were to find something unfortunate, there would likely be no way to remedy it. However, your parents assured you that the preventive knowledge would allow you to act accordingly and fix your destiny should you need to.

"The great Psyche," smiled the old woman sitting across from you, "I have heard lots about you."

Bowing your head in respect, you introduced yourself despite her knowing you by the popular name of Psyche, "I have heard of you too. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Oracle. I hope to find a favorable end with you."

"I hope for the same."

Taking your hands, the Oracle felt them, closing her eyes in concentration as she went through every crease and contour of your hands, furrowing her eyebrows every so often. Her emotions translated onto you somehow, making your heartbeat speed up and your own eyebrows furrow in worry.

Suddenly her eyes opened, a clear distress showing through them.

"Your destiny is muddled," she began, "I cannot see too well, but your future is grand and ... it will lead to misfortune to those around you."

Your mother stepped in at such words, inquiring for more information, "What do you mean by this? What is it that you saw?"

"Your child may wed a powerful being. One among the strongest to ever be seen. She shall marry a being stronger than a God, one capable of immeasurable destruction should he choose to engage in such acts."

"A God?", asked your father.

"It is uncertain as per what I see," she responded, "All I can see is his aura radiating stronger than the sun. He shall take her and make her his own, not allowing anything to stand in his way," she reaffirmed.

"I-", you began, unable to finish your sentence as your parents quickly stood up and dragged you onto your feet.

"We shall take our leave," your mother said frantically, "We thank you for your service."

No more questions were asked as your parents dragged you by your hand, leading you out of the cursed place.

The Oracle's words had never been wrong, which meant that your future was sealed. You were to wed something that was not a man. Was he a God? There was just no way of knowing. It could've been a demon or monster seeking the most beautiful woman in the land. It could've been a God seeking a mortal to keep in his chambers as he wed a Goddess. Whatever it may have been, you were terrified.

~

"You shall leave," were your mother's first words upon arriving back to the castle.

"W-what?"

"We cannot keep you here. If a being is to come and rip you away, we cannot allow it to destroy our kingdom. Your fate is sealed, but ours remains," said your mother, your father nodding in agreement beside her.

"Where am I to go?" you whispered in disbelief.

"We will take you to the mountains. Maybe the monster shall not find you there."

"Monster? How can you be so certain?"

"Gods mustn't marry mortals, you foolish child. A God would never have to drag you away, as you would go willingly. It must be an evil creature attempting to attain your beauty."

"But-"

"No 'but's, child. It has been decided," your father gave the final verdict, thus sealing your fate even further.

To have hoped for protection from your parents had been foolish. These were the same royalty who had given away their two eldest daughters to the highest bidders, not caring for proper marriages as long as they meant protection for their kingdom. You were equally worthless to them. Should you pose any danger to their kingdom and you would simply be thrown aside, just as now.

The following days proved as a goodbye as your parents prepared your departure. They assured themselves they shall never see you again, so they made arrangements with that idea in mind. Without a care for your wellbeing, they assured themselves this was the best course of action. Your fate was sealed, after all. There was nothing they could do to protect you any longer.

It was only a few days after your visit to the Oracle that your parents made the long and extraneous walk to the lone mountains neighboring the kingdom. Climbing the highest and most lonesome peak, they bid their goodbyes to you, with your mother letting out a few worthless tears as she looked at you one last time.

Your first few days on the mountain had been miserable. You only had enough food to realistically survive a few days, but your parents had reassured you that your husband would come for you soon, likely aware that you were there for his taking. The constant fear of the most odious taking you away made you feel terror you had never experienced. Jumping into the peaks below you crossed your mind a few times, but you knew you'd survive the fall. Your fate did not predict a tragic death, which meant that any fall would not result in demise. Your metaphorical demise would only come in the form of your husband.

All you could do now was wait for him to come, hoping against all hope that he would not be as monstrous as you dared imagine.

Jungkook was beyond annoyed at his current task.

Despite being a God, he did not hold the same almighty powers many other Gods did. His skill was the intertwining of souls, shooting his arrow any time he knew two people were meant to be tied for life.

In all honesty, he did not care for such a task. The thought of tying Psyche's fate to that of a monstrous being did not bother him in the slightest. He felt quite indifferent about it, not knowing nor caring who Psyche was. He doubted Psyche's beauty could possibly be as menacing as his mother had described, but he still felt some sort of intrigue about her appearance.

Fortunately, his curiosity was soon satiated.

After days of looking for Psyche, he finally encountered her, watching from afar as he spotted a lone woman standing on the cliff of a mountain, completely bare as her clothes laid ripped on the small surface of the mountain. It appeared that she had been there for days, likely having ripped off her own clothes in frustration.

Had you been left here for his taking? Destiny worked in mysterious ways, after all.

As of now, Cupid had only been able to see your backside, as you were facing opposite of him. Even from afar, Jungkook could not deny the beauty of your body. Every curve and contour of it had been sculpted to perfection, making the God salivate at the sight. But Jungkook had come here with a task. He needed to take care of his mother's request. There was no time to thirst after the heavenly body before him.

Reaching behind him, Jungkook grabbed onto his bow and arrow, bringing both to the front as he began to aim at you, prepared to shoot when he got the angle just right. After shooting you, he would aim his arrow at the first creature he encountered, let it be a deer or an actual monster. It did not matter much at the moment.

But as Jungkook had said, destiny worked in mysterious ways.

Jungkook had been entirely unprepared for the moment you turned around, facing him yet not seeing him from his hiding spot in the distance.

Your beauty took his breath away instantly, making him falter in his movements as his focus shifted from his arrow and onto you. Your body was the image of perfection itself, shaped perfectly for his hands to drag themselves across every inch of skin. Your curves were begging to be marked by his lips, being just the perfect size for any God to lose himself in them. And your face? Gods, it was the prettiest sight in all of Rome.

Jungkook understood now why his mother had felt threatened by your mere existence. He understood why you had so many admirers, yet no suitors brave enough to make you theirs.

Without realizing, Jungkook's hand had slipped during his daydreaming, making him misplace his hand and causing his arrow to grace him across the chest, creating a gash right by his accelerated heart.

Oh.

Oh.

Fuck.

You ...

Gods, you beautiful thing. You gorgeous, beautiful thing.

The effects of the arrow were quick in turning Jungkook into a mess of himself. His breathing accelerated, his eyes became hooded, his skin rose in goosebumps, his cock stood tall and proud. His entire body betrayed him as he rapidly fell in love with you.

His mission had failed, but he could not care for such things in this moment. Not when he felt such strong emotions of love towards you.

This was rare. His arrows caused people to fall in love, but never had they produced such a strong effect. Never had he seen a man become so immensely enamored so quickly after a shot of his arrow. Perhaps your beauty had bewitched him before his arrow struck? The details didn't really matter much to him. At least not as much as his sheer need to have you did.

But it could not be done so easily.

Gods were not meant to fall in love with humans. Should his mother ever find out and you would both meet your ruin. No, he needed to think this through. He needed to get to you, but not allow you to know of him. If you were ever to see him, you'd fall in love with him instantly.

He did not want to force such a situation onto you, so despite the sheer effort it took, Jungkook took his leave, opting to plan for an appropriate way to rescue you and make you his.

It took a few days for your misery to come to an end.

After endless hours of agony stranded and alone on the peak of that mountain as you awaited your inevitable demise, you finally came to find some peace.

It was a voice, an unknown one, calling to you. It had been during one of the many instances in which you had found yourself wailing at your misery, completely defeated at your situation.

Suddenly a voice called out to you, reassuring words in their tongue.

"Do not fear, Psyche, nor be sorrowful beyond measure... I have come to aid you, for it is impossible that Love should go unrewarded."

Despite the words, there was no heavenly body attached to them. They had simply come from the wind.

"Who are you?", you asked.

"I am Zephyrus, the West Wind. You may never see me, but I am here to rescue you."

"Rescue me? Where shall you take me?"

"I shall take you to my master's castle. He shall care for you there."

"Your master?", was this meant to be the monster who would wed you?

"Yes. His immeasurable love for you shall be proved as he cares for you."

"Is he ... Is he a monster?"

"On the contrary. He is a heavenly body; the most heavenly of them all," reassured the West Wind.

A heavenly body? Could it really be a God?

You needed no time to consider it. You decided to you must go and meet the man who would save you from your misery.

"Take me, Zephyrus. Please."

"With pleasure."

~

You were unsure how you had arrived here, but that was the last of your concerns upon seeing your surroundings.

Currently, you found yourself in the most beautiful of palaces. Everything was made of expensive marble and tailored just to your tastes. As you explored the gorgeous abode, Zephyrus explained your current situation to you.

"You shall be cared for here, by the most competent of servants," the West Wind began, "They will rid you of all the misery you suffered on that mountain. Every bit of suffering your family brought to you shall be undone within this palace.

"Oh, thank you, Zephyrus! You don't understand how grateful I am."

"You shall not thank me. This is all your beloved's doing."

"When shall I meet him?"

"You will meet him tonight, as you lay to sleep," he began, "However, you shall not see him."

That confused you.

"What do you mean?"

"He wishes not to be seen. He will come to you in your barest of forms to reveal his undying affections, but you shall respect his wishes of not being seen. He will show up in the dark as your back faces him. This is his one and only condition," revealed Zephyrus.

"Oh."

It was disheartening, to say the least. But you owed your eternal gratitude to your future husband, so if he requested not to be seen, you would obey such order.

"I understand. Anything for my savior."

~

The next few hours were spent in luxury you had yet to familiarize yourself with.

You were bathed and fed, healed from all trace of injury during your time stranded. You were treated as a Goddess, served by invisible, voiceless servants as the wind aided you in all your needs.

It proved quite lonely, but you were still content at the knowledge that your beloved would come to you tonight.

They dressed you up as beautiful as you could imagine. Your beauty shone through the care you were given, making you appear entirely irresistible to any man who should come your way.

Oh, you were beyond excited to see your future husband. Would he allow passion to take over him when he saw you?

You had not met him yet, but you were already in love. All things Zephyrus had told you about him only made you more excited.

He detailed his feelings for you, telling you the mountains he'd move just for a single glance at you. He told you of the creation of this palace, rushed to be made to your liking just so he could care for you away from all harm.

Oh, your husband just sounded so lovely. Yet you wanted to cause his ruin upon meeting him.

You laid in bed, your natural beauty shining through the care your invisible servants had given you. Your sleeping gown allowed any to see the perfect contour of your curves as you laid in bed awaiting your beloved's arrival, back facing the window as Zephyrus had instructed.

You were not to face towards the window, allowing the dark atmosphere of the room to hide your beloved's identity. However, according to Zephyrus, your beloved would be able to see you through his magic, allowing him to get his fill of your beauty.

It only took a few hours for a voice to emerge through the window.

"Oh, my beloved," sighed the voice, approaching.

"Husband?", you asked, still lying on your side, facing away from him.

"Yes, it's me. I have not wed you yet, but you are correct. You are my wife from now on, beautiful," his steps got closer, stopping at the edge of the bed opposite your own.

"Oh, husband, how long I've waited for you!", you wailed.

He took a shaky breath, climbing the bed as his hands laid softly on your hip. Your hip had been sticking out due to your sideways position, ready for him to grab at it however he desired.

"My beautiful Psyche ... You cannot understand how badly I want you ..." he breathed, hands hesitant as they caressed the curves presented to him, "I've had to hold back from ravaging you for days. Your touch is the only cure to this madness I feel."

Never in your life had you felt such an immediate fire within you. Oh, how badly you wanted to see him and express the same sentiment.

"You shall touch me however you wish, my dear husband. Please touch me ... I am yours," you pleaded.

"Yes? You are mine? Even if you shall never see me, you wish to be mine?"

You winced at such words, sad at the implications behind never facing your husband. But his voice and touch were enough to render you powerless against him, wanting him more than you thought possible.

You whimpered when his hands went to lift up your gown, revealing your nude bottom as he continued to caress at you.

"Yes! I am yours in every way. Please ... please take me. I need your touch more than anything," you pleaded.

With a groan, he positioned you so he could kneel behind you, placing you on all fours for him. It truly did not matter if you faced him or not, as the room was far too dark for you to ever make out his mere silhouette.

His hands were greedy as he felt you up, throwing off the useless gown so he could have his fill of your body. With endless groans and puffs of breath, he touched every inch, kissing his favorite parts as he explored your body.

"You beautiful thing ... No one shall ever have this body ever again. It is mine forever. Do you understand?"

You sighed in pleasure due to his mere touch, "Yes, husband. My body is for you only."

"I am going to officially wed you as I find my rightful place inside you. This will serve as our wedding night. Okay, gorgeous?"

You nodded wordlessly, pushing up against him to encourage his touch further.

It seemed as if he was already nude, as you felt his hardness behind you when he pushed up against you in retaliation.

Oh, it was so big and warm. He would surely be your ruin.

With a groan, he entered you, making your back arch deliciously at such stretch.

"Oh ... My angel ... My beautiful Psyche. You are everything a man could want, fuck. Feel so perfect around me," the God groaned upon entering you, hands digging into your hips as he began canting his hips against yours.

He caressed you like a man in love, whimpering any time you'd get just a little too tight for him. For the first time in your life, you felt like a true Goddess, experiencing worship from a God himself.

"It's so warm and perfect ...", he sighed, "Made for me, yeah? Just for me ... My Psyche, my ruin, my perfect ruin," he murmured as he pressed kisses against your back, a new confession of love behind each one.

Meanwhile, you were rendered wordless. Nothing made sense when you felt such otherworldly pleasure. Were mere mortals meant to experience such bliss? How could you ever outlive such an experience when your beloved was giving you everything and more than you ever hoped from a husband?

Your whines filled up the room, making your husband speed up out of sheer desire for more. He encouraged your sounds, dipping a hand between your legs to play with you with his skilled fingers, drawing cry after cry out of you as his hips refused to slow down.

"You are so beautiful, fuck ..." he groaned, "Men should worship the ground you walk on. I will worship you ... Every day for the rest of our lives I will worship this beautiful body."

Nothing but love flowed between you. Your new husband's obsession with you was more than clear. The God worshiped your body with low cries of your name, hips becoming less and less coordinated by the minute. His godly stamina was no match for the feelings flowing through his body, rendering him weaker than a human man at the sight of his beloved losing herself under his touch.

Your high triggered his own, making him slump against your back as his hips attempted to hump against you throughout the entirety of his orgasm. He whimpered pathetically at the tightening of your walls, crying expletives far too explicit for a God to recite.

You did not fare any better. From the moment your husband laid his hands on you, you became a shell of your former self, your body now a vessel dedicated to pleasure. You had yet to even ask his name, too immersed in the love between you to even remember.

"My beautiful girl," he whispered as he recovered his breath, kissing along the length your back, "I will protect you for the rest of eternity," his lips went down your back, reaching your ass, "going to take care of you in any and every way," his lips eventually reached your cunt, still swollen and leaking out his own essence. He remained quiet for a few moments, likely hypnotized by the sight.

"Oh ...," he groaned upon a tentative lick against your sensitive cunt, "Need you again ... Need this cunt again," he cried, losing himself between your folds.

Losing his train of thought entirely, he held you up on your hands and knees, feasting on your cunt shamelessly. He kissed and licked at you, groaning any time your ass would push back against him, silently begging for more.

"F-feels so good ... Need y-you. Please ...", you whimpered, begging for nothing in particular. Such pleasure had you lacking any critical thought. You were likely the most mindless creature in all of the land as your husband took away all your ability to reason.

"Gonna get you there, gorgeous. Gonna make you cum and make you mine over and over again," he growled against your cunt.

With just a few more moments, you came undone once more, this time falling against the bed in sheer exhaustion. You wished to turn around and seek solace in your husband, but you knew better and opted to allow him to initiate the next contact.

Once more, he spent a few moments worshiping your limp body, kissing and sucking at every corner he enjoyed. Every so often he would mutter low praises to your person, claiming worship towards you. Unfortunately, this ended far too soon, quickly leaving you cold and alone on the bed as be suddenly got up.

"I apologize if that was too much," he chuckled, now from a small distance. You wanted to turn to confirm, but you did not dare disobey his prior order, "I, uh, I must take my leave now, my love."

That was when you truly wished to break his rule and turn to him, pleading at him to stay with you through the night. One night and you were already infatuated with him.

"You're leaving?"

The disappointment must've been clear in your voice, as he instructed you to close your eyes before he turned you around to face him, caressing your cheeks in a loving manner before landing a soft peck on your lips.

"I cannot stay the night with you, beautiful. If you wake up and find out my identity ... I don't know how I shall protect you from that."

"But-"

"It's okay, angel. I will be back night after night, giving you all the love a God can muster. Now I bid you goodnight, my love. I love you," he kissed the back of your palm, quickly disappearing from your vicinity before you could say goodbye.

When you opened your eyes he was gone, window still open and marking his sudden exit. As deflated as you felt at his departure, you also felt immense excitement for the next morning in which you'd see him, promising yourself to be prepared for him every single night to deliver your love to him.

After weeks of becoming your husband's wife, you continued to live a life of pure bliss every night as he made love to you. It was still incomprehensible to you how he would deliver his sentiments in such a carnal way, but you were yet to have any complaints. The two of you would create the embodiment of love together every night, and you looked forward to it day after day.

But it was only the nighttime that brought you such happiness. You'd spend your days waiting for your husband to arrive, hoping for the moment in which he'd be with you and love you. He'd make conversation with you every night after making love to you, making you feel less lonely in those moments. However, you'd remain completely alone the rest of your days.

It wasn't after many pleas that your husband finally agreed to allow you some company in your new palace. Being accessible only through the flowing of Zephyrus' wind, you were completely alone at all times. It had taken vast begging from your part, but your husband eventually agreed to command Zephyrus to fly your sisters out to you, somehow managing to get into contact with them.

The last time you had seen them had been before finding out about your wretched fate through that Oracle. They remained unaware that you had been left stranded at the mountain, likely entering a panic when the news were delivered to them.

Before allowing your sisters access to his palace, your husband had warned you to stray away from their persuasion. Confused, you asked him to elaborate. He then informed you of the way in which they'd likely envy your newfound fortune and somehow wish to cause a rift between you and your husband. As one last warning, he told you to not listen to them should they tell you to unmask his identity. He loved you far too much to be ripped away from you in such a way, he had said.

You did not believe your sisters capable of attempting to sabotage the immense love you had found in the arms of your husband, but you had unfortunately been wrong.

Upon their arrival, they had showed little concern for your sudden disappearance, simply making quips about how much less their husbands provided for them, claiming they deserved more than yourself. They, of course, did not say such things to your face but rather to each other. But the winds of Zephyrus informed you of it all upon their departure. Even during their stay, they demanded you unmask your husband, claiming he must be a hideous creature if he was so insistent in hiding himself from his beloved wife.

You, unfortunately, fell for their trap. The seed of doubt had been instilled within you, making your curiosity for your husband grow more rapidly than ever. As soon as they left, you began pondering on ways to see your husband in a way that would not reveal your betrayal.

The outcome did not matter in the end. Regardless of your husband's appearance, you would fall for him time and time again just from his mere presence. Should he be the most wretched of monsters and you would still love him. His love and tenderness for you had rendered you a woman in love, and nothing would take that away.

But you needed to know. You needed to see him. You had gone far too long without seeing your soul's other half.

~

It occurred just a few nights later. The fated night in which you would finally see your husband.

By an act of the Gods above, your husband had fallen asleep right after a night of rigorous love making, holding you in his arms with the most love a man could hold for his woman.

In the sheer darkness, you managed to make your way out of your husband's hold, sneaking your way to the other side of the room with difficulty due to the complete lack of illumination in the room. After some struggle in the dark, you found a lamp, which you managed to light up with some oil.

Due to the small size of the lamp, you had to come close to your husband in order to properly see him. With hesitation, you walked over to him, holding the lamp right above his sleeping form to get the perfect view of him.

He was ...

He was the embodiment of love itself.

Before you laid Cupid, the most beautiful of all Gods.

Jungkook, as some knew him, slept under the light of your lamp, beautiful wings nowhere to be seen as he retracted them in his sleep.

You became instantly hypnotized by the sight of your beautiful husband. Your heart sped up and your eyes became heavy. His nude form was nothing short of art, and his gorgeous features were some that could never be replicated by neither man nor God.

If you hadn't already been insanely head over heels over your husband, you would've fallen for Jungkook upon a single sight. It had been the most beautiful God who had been making love to you night after night, praying to you as if you had been the deity.

Unconsciously, you grew too distracted by the sight of your beloved, not realizing you had tilted your lamp enough for some of the scorching oil to slip and trickle onto Jungkook's chest, immediately rendering him awake.

With shock in his eyes, he got up in a frantic hurry, clearly not having realized he had fallen asleep next time you. His hands went straight to soothing the burnt skin right by his chest. It didn't take long for betrayal to appear in his eyes, realizing that you had deliberately sought out a way in which to see him while he was fully unaware of your intentions.

"Psyche ...", he muttered, eyebrows furrowed as he avoided your eyes in disdain. You caught sight of tears growing in his eyes, causing pain to gnaw at your chest.

"Jungkook, I-"

He chuckled bitterly at the situation, "I warned you against this time and time again, but you became poisoned by the words of mere mortals who do not hold the love for you I so highly esteem," he took a breath, "I foolishly wounded myself with my own arrow and took the role of your lover. I feared that you'd want to cut off the head that carries these eyes that love you, so I remained a mystery to you. Yet your own love for me did not respect me enough to halt this betrayal. I- I shall take my leave. Goodbye, Y/N," he said before retracting his wings and making his way out through the window once more, hands rubbing at the growing wound on his chest due to the oil that had burnt him.

You stood there wordless, tears in your eyes as you watched your husband fly away.

Your cursed endlessly throughout the rest of your sleepless night, hoping that maybe he would come back tomorrow so you could make amends.

Tomorrow never came, and neither did the next day. From your perspective, time stood still as Jungkook continued not to show up day after day for a week. On the seventh day, your heart grew too sore to continue waiting for him without taking action.

Although you blamed your own greed for him for your betrayal to him, you also blamed the instigators – your sisters.

But they were your sisters no more. They were simply obstacles to overcome in the journey to gain Jungkook's trust back. And nothing would stop you.

A new sense of vengeance took over you astonishingly fast. Without a second thought, you managed to contact each of your sisters individually, making claims of your husband, Cupid himself, becoming unforgiving of your betrayal and demanding your departure, announcing that he would wed your sister instead. Each of your greedy sisters fell for the lie and one by one fell to their death as they attempted to make their way to Cupid's castle.

As for you, you managed to convince the West Wind to fly you off the mountains so you could begin your journey to your beloved. Hurt and disheartened, you spent weeks in search of him, not mindful at all of how battered you became with the passing of time. Any pain would be worth Jungkook's forgiveness.

However, your state of mind and exhaustion led you to multiple attempts at ending your own life, attempting to drown yourself or jump off cliffs, always surviving almost unscathed by some cruel act of the Gods. Without Jungkook's forgiveness life was simply not worth living.

In the meantime, Jungkook found himself in his mother's chambers, healing from the wound you had caused as his mother let out her fury at the discovery of her son's new lover.

"So you decided to wed your mother's nemesis? You decided that you shall bring this wench upon me and tie her to me for eternity?", she seethed as Jungkook disregarded her, too exhausted to respond.

"I shall find that hideous wench and rid the world of her myself," she decided, calling over a few servants to direct them to deliver you to them, "And you," she turned to Cupid once more, "You useless child. I shall birth another one just to spite you for your disrespect."

Those were her last words as she exit the chambers, leaving Jungkook to his rest once more. He wanted to worry for you, but his wound of the heart needed more healing before he could allow himself to go find you for himself. Within him, he thought of you fondly, hoping you'd survive his mother's wrath.

~

It did not take long for Venus to find you and bring you to your knees before her, expressing every foul thought she had of you with no shame.

"You believe to be worthy of Cupid, the prettiest God to lay foot on this world? Fine. Should you complete my tasks and I shall stay out of your way. Should you fail, I will do with you as I please."

Having spent weeks alone in the wilderness, injured in every way imaginable, you could not see a better outcome to such a situation. You agreed without thinking twice, knowing that no fate was worse than your current one.

You were assigned impossible tasks, one by one, as Venus sat back and awaited for your inevitable demise.

Much to her surprise, the divine forces had helped you in the completion of each one.

The first task had been to sort an immense amount of grains before morning. The grains amounted to an innumerable quantity, which proved the task to be impossible. Upon your defeat, you fell asleep halfway through the task, somehow waking up to find ants assisting you in its completion. By the time Venus arrived, she had a frown on her face at the sight of the achievement.

Her anger did not last, as she assigned you the next impossible task with ease.

Upon being ordered to gather golden fleece from magic sheep, you knew that this time you'd truly meet your demise. The sheep were extremely aggressive and known to kill a man in mere seconds. However, by another act of the Gods above, the reeds by the riverbank suddenly advised you to await til morning in order to freely gather the fleece that the sheep had shed.

The completion of this task also brought anger to Venus' demeanor, causing her to provide you with yet another impossible task. The completion of the final task finally led to the hardest of them all; one that would finally render you no longer.

Your final task had been to travel to the underworld and bring Venus a box of beauty. There were far too many intricate steps to be followed, but your love for Jungkook was enough to lead your journey.

Finally, upon your arrival, you held the box of beauty in your hands, ready to deliver it to Venus and finally receive her blessing in wedding her son. But once more, your curiosity grew too big.

Before arriving to the mighty Goddess, your hands took a mind of their own, forcing you to take a peak at the box. If you were to officially wed your beloved Cupid, a little extra beauty would surely be helpful.

Your naïveté finally led you to your final moments, causing you to enter eternal sleep upon a small peek of the box's contents. Still slightly conscious, you laid in your lonesome, unable to move nor think.

In your final moments, all you could think of was your beautiful Cupid and how badly you had hoped to live for him. To live to love him once more.

It took Jungkook a few days after his mother's final warning to him to fully recover from his injury.

Being aware of his mother's anger towards you, his immediate thought upon gaining his energy back was to seek you out and rescue you from whatever threat his mother must've been holding over you. He was unsure if she had managed to find you, but he could not take the risk of waiting to find out, knowing your life was likely in danger.

It took interrogating a few servants in order to track you down, now making it his mission to save you from his mother's disdain.

When he had been informed of the endless grueling tasks you had taken on just for a chance to see him again, Jungkook's heart melted. His love for you had never gone away, but his hurt had blinded him as his wound debilitated him. Now fully recovered, he was able to realize that his endless adoration for you was mutual. Your stubborn desire to see him had not been born out of malice, but out of love for him. He understood now. Had he been denied of your beauty for a single day, he would've lost all sense of sanity.

You were currently on your final task, Jungkook had been informed. Worried about your safety, he set out to take the same journey, traveling to retrieve the box himself in case you had somehow not made it on your own. He grew impressed when he reached the end of the journey and found that you had already retrieved it and were currently on your way back.

Jungkook continued to travel in search of you, growing more worried by the second as he did not find you. The moment he finally encountered you, his wings gave out in him, causing him to fall due to the sudden worry the sight caused him.

You were lying on the ground, vulnerable and alone as you held the box against your chest. You must've opened it, he assumed, knowing your curiosity could easily get the best of you.

Running to you, he held you to his arms, throwing the box aside as he caressed your limp body in his arms.

"Oh, Psyche ... My beautiful, curious girl," he tsk'd, "Your curiosity became your undoing once more," he scolded lightheartedly, tears in his eyes at being able to hold you again.

Leaning down, he pressed a lone kiss to your lips, whispering against them as he did so, "Come back to me, my love. Let me make you mine again."

Within seconds your body regained its consciousness, leaving you disoriented for a few moments. Upon realizing Jungkook was holding you, a look of awe in his eyes, you wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him as close as humanly possible to you as you cried into his chest.

"Oh, my beautiful girl," he wrapped himself around you, retracting his wings so they'd shield you both from the outside world, "Don't cry for me, my love. I'm here. I adore you more than I can possibly describe."

You wailed apologies into his chest, weaved with many confessions of your love for him. He took them all in with a smile on his face, refusing to let go of you as he memorized the shape of your body against his own.

"Love you so much, my sweet ruin. No one can ever harm you again," he assured, leaving endless kissed against your hair. He finally pulled away, wiping your tears with his thumbs as he looked into your eyes, "Let me take you home, my love."

~

"My beautiful girl ... How I missed you, fuck," groaned the pretty angel as he laid kisses down your neck.

He pushed you up against the wall the moment he flew you back to his recluse palace, rendering you speechless with just a few kisses. Jungkook wasted no time in showing you his love through words and touches, finally able to face you while he loved on you.

Sighing as he kissed down your neck, you molded yourself to his liking, willing to let him do whatever he wanted to you. You were far too enamored by the God, feeling nothing but inhuman addiction to his touch.

"I adore you more than you could ever understand," he breathed out as his hand ripped apart your worn out gown, wanting to finally see you bare face to face. With a shuddering breath, he got his fill of your body, caressing at every inch his eyes went over, feeling the carnal need to memorize every curve.

Turning you around, he pressed you up to his front, grinding against you as he felt you up, groaning breathily into your ear.

"I have wanted your body since I first laid eyes on you," he whispered, hips slow and sensual in their grinding, "I can finally have you however I want. Oh, my angel, I'm going to render you useless by the time I'm done with you."

Your Cupid then grabbed you and led you to the bed, where you positioned yourself on your hands as knees as you usually did. Shaking his head, Jungkook stops you before you settle on the bed, instructing you to turn around and lay face up for him.

"No, beautiful. Turn to me. Want to see you. Want to make love to you while you look at me with those pretty eyes," Jungkook moaned against your lips.

There was not much warning before Jungkook slipped inside you. But it did not matter. Your body welcomed him with no struggle, having become far too thirsty for his touch in the weeks of your separation.

Out of all the times you'd made love, this was by far the most intimate. Jungkook love and caressed you with an inhuman infatuation in his eye, groaning any time you'd so much as look into his eyes as he pounded into you.

"Oh, my Psyche ... Love you so much ... Always loved you. Always needed y-you, oh fuck ..." his eyes closed in pleasure, pressing his face into your neck to breathe you in. His hips were incorrigible, with Jungkook being far too drunk with lust to have any finesse in his movements.

"My Jungkook ... My Cupid ... You pretty angel, I missed you so much, so- oh, so much!", you cried, your eyes becoming clouded with tears all while your nails dug into his back. You could feel the scars from which his wings would retract, caressing them softly.

"Oh ... Oh, angel, d-don't do that- My wings are too sensitive, my Psyche, d-don't ..."

This only encouraged you to do it more, caressing his erogenous zone softly and sensually, causing him to cry against your ear, whimpering in an ungodly way that had your eyes rolling back at just the sound.

Your pretty angel babbled against you, letting out nonsensical rambles about how much he loved you and how he could never let you go again. How he would breed you and give you an heir and bring you both to the land of the Gods with him.

Practically sobbing against each other, still grinding like mindless animals, the two of you found your highs together, continuing to stimulate each other throughout the entirety of your orgasms. Your mutual whimpers filled up the room, making the experience all the more erotic.

Finally, you two laid against each other, breathing heavily as you refused to let go of one another.

You were still beat and battered from your weeks in search of your Cupid, but that was the last thing on your mind. All you cared about was holding onto Jungkook and never letting go.

Holding you even closer against him, Jungkook wrapped himself around you, pulling out with a groan as he spooned you in his arms, breathing in your hair and humming against you. He reassured you about any worry you may have had in regards to your future together, assuring you that your injury to him had fully head and that he could never hold any type of negative feeling towards you for long.

You no longer would have to worry about his mother's schemes, Jungkook assured, as he would go to Zeus himself to grant you immunity amongst all Gods. He'd convert you into a Goddess yourself, he promised, so that he could give you a heavenly heir and grow old with you until eternity. Nothing in this world could ever separate Cupid from his beloved Psyche. Jungkook would never let anything keep him away from his one and only beloved.

"I adore you, my Psyche, my beautiful ruin. I will always protect you," he sighed one last time, eyes growing heavy as you turned around in his arms and cuddled against his warm chest.

"I love you my Cupid," you kissed at the small burn mark the oil of your lamp had left, humming against his chest.

You fell asleep calmly in each other's arms, knowing you'd wake up to an eternity of love between one another.

a/n: im sorry if the pacing seems all over the place but i promise this is how the original story goes 😭

to read short 3.3k word continuation (+ all other previously written bonus content) you can go join my jk monthly tier on kofi or patreon!

content: afab reader, continuation and conclusion of the cupid and psyche lore/story (this is kinda like a pt. 2 honestly oops), impregnation, mentions of oral, jungkook is obsessed with reader its insane, pregnancy sex implied (but not really bc its after one day of the insemination lol), jungkook is a god so yk endless sex, smut, penetrative sex (like three times lol), etc.

wc: 639 (teaser); 3313 (full drabble)

sneak peak:

"Hmm, my beautiful Psyche," hummed Jungkook against you, stretching his body before cuddling further into you, absolute bliss in his voice.

After a night of extraneous love-making, Jungkook finally awoke in your arms, a smile instantly making its way onto his face at the remembrance of the previous night.

After having brought you back to the palace he built for you, he made love to you, finally able to look into your eyes as you both lost yourselves to the pleasure found in each other's touch. The thought of your gorgeous whines for him still made him shudder, having to will his boner away at the memory.

Then he thought about everything else that had happened since your separation.

He recalled all the trials you had gone through this past week, all to gain access to his heart, a heart that had belonged to you from the moment he laid eyes on you. It was hard not to feel immense guilt at knowing how badly you had struggled from the moment he left you alone in that palace, too hurt and stubborn to realize that your love for him would have you risking your life just for one more chance. In hindsight, he should've understood, specially considering that his own heart burned for you harshly enough for him to want to give up his Godly powers for you if he so had to.

Then he remembered the worst part of it all.

His mother was still seething with vengeance for you, not having found satisfaction in your death while completing her useless tasks. Jungkook knew that she never meant to even consider giving her blessing for the two of you to be together. It had all been a ruse to make you find your demise under the false pretense that you would somehow earn Jungkook's forgiveness by the end of it all.

What you didn't know was that Jungkook didn't need to forgive you. His love for you overpowered every other fleeting thought in his brain. One look from your remorseful eyes and he would be on his knees, begging you for forgiveness.

He pondered as he watched you sleep in his arms, blissful yet still wounded by your weeks of pain.

How shall he make up for all the suffering you endured while he recovered from his wound? How could he make amends for making you think for even one second that he'd dare try and live without you by his side?

His experience as a carnal lover had not prepared him for such feelings. There had been no training or preparation for him to understand the way you made his heart rush, the way you altered every aspect of his being.

All he could think about was how you were his beautiful Psyche and how ... how badly he wanted to put an heir in you.

The thought had seemed been sudden, but he had actually thought of it from the moment he found you waiting for him in bed that first night. You, full for him, manifesting the greatest form of love as you grew his seed inside you.

An heir would be the solution to all problems.

An heir would bring you an instant pass to the land of the Gods, forcing Zeus to turn you into a Goddess in order for you to birth a Godly child. It would also make his mother accept the gift he'd bring upon her, unable to deny a child created by the God of love himself. Lastly, this heir would also be his own gift to you – a showcase of his endless love for you and the future he was to create with you.

But most of all, it would quench the thirst Jungkook was currently feeling at the mere thought of marking you as his as humanly possible.

...

find the 18+ continuation on kofi or patreon!

if you have trouble finding it on there, just let me know!!<3

[verdantcrimson]

Kanna Natsu Idol Story - 2

Written by: Akira

Season: Spring

TL: verdantcrimson

Proofread: @revuestarlight

[Two years since ES was established. In the ES building infirmary.]

Kanna: ……

Hinata: Goood morning!

Yuta: Today, we’re thinking of playing a hidden camera prank on the talk of the town, child prodigy, Kanna Natsu, when he wakes up!

Hinata: Because both of us in 2wink love pranks!

Yuta: —and since we've been in the business for the while, the agency was like, “C'mon, show your junior how things work around here. You guys love that sort of stuff, right?” 

Hinata: There's a difference between playing a prank and bullying, though!

Yuta: But we can't disobey the agency. That's just life, y'know? We've gotta work hard and pull this off in order to maintain our character image.

Hinata: Why do you seem weirdly pumped about this, Yuta-kun?

Yuta: This guy is Kanna Natsu, y'know…… Everyone's making a fuss about what a genius he is, but he's still just a brat, and seeing him get more attention than us pisses me off.

Yuta: We've gotta punish this ill-mannered newbie, don't we?

Hinata: Whoops, it's getting hard to keep my brother's wickedness in check these days, yknow~?

Hinata: Ah, but he's acting like this on purpose because that's the kind of image he's decided on! Yuta-kun is actually a good kid!

Hinata: All of you watching at home, please don't misunderstand!

Yuta: Hell yeah, that's the perfect excuse. Now, no matter how cruel and inhumane I behave, I can just say it's because my agency or my producer told me to play that sort of character.

Yuta: I can use that to justify my bullying. Hehehe. 

Hinata: How wicked… Looking at you these days makes your big brother worry, Yuta-kun.

Hinata: …..Hm?

Kanna: ……

Kanna: ……?

Hinata: I knew this would happen. Look, look, Yuta-kun! Natsu-kun is awake already! 

Yuta: Huh, No way. He looked like he was fast asleep— Maybe we made too much of a racket?

Hinata: What should we do? Should we abort mission? I didn't really want to do an unfunny and old-school prank like that anyways, so I'm fine with it.

Yuta: It sounds like you were making a fuss on purpose so that the plan would fail.

Kanna: Good morning.

Hinata: Ah, yup. Morning. You sure slept well.

Kanna: Yes, thank you. Though sleeping isn't something I do for leisure.

Kanna: I don't get the opportunity to sleep when I'm occupied with research, so I try to sleep as much as I can whenever I find time.

Kanna: Also, if I pretend to be asleep, everyone will leave me alone.

Hinata: Oh, so you were just pretending to be asleep? Then, did you realize we were trying to prank you?

Kanna: Yes. Though, even when I'm asleep, one half of my brain stays awake.

Yuta: Are you a dolphin?

Hinata: That's so genius-core.

Kanna: I think anyone could do it with enough training. 

Yuta: Tsk tsk tsk. It's exactly because all that training is so tedious that nobody would ever be able to make a name for themselves as a genius.

Kanna: I see. I understand now.

Kanna: I think that if anyone focused all their efforts on a single thing for approximately a year, they could become an expert in that field. 

Kanna: Only a child like myself would be able to concentrate on a single thing for as long as they want to, correct?

Kanna: Any adult, I mean, essentially everyone, requires time to eat, play, socialize, and maintain their physical and mental health.

Kanna: It is quite difficult to concentrate on a single thing.

Kanna: That is why they fall short of success. Yes, people who are able to do that to some extent from the very beginning— Only they are successful and lauded as geniuses.

Kanna: If everyone is limited to only being able to spend a fraction of their time on their efforts, then only those who are privileged are able to succeed and win.

Kanna: That is the reason, correct? It's logical. I can understand this.

Hinata: I've been wondering, what on earth is this kid going on about…?

Yuta: You like making theories about other people based on their behavior and then feeling like you've understood them, don't you?

Kanna: Yes. Because I'm around that age. That's adolescence, I suppose.

Hinata: Yeah, well I don't believe that! If you treated any older kid like a ‘teenage brat’ they'd get angry and rebel. They'd never admit that they're going through puberty!

Kanna: Maybe that was just the case for you, Yuta Aoi.

Hinata: … Oh? Huh? Ermm?

Kanna: It's easier to live when you believe that your ‘normal’ and the world's ‘normal’ aren't congruent.

Kanna: I've long since given up on that sort of premise.

Kanna: I'm different from everyone else. I'm certain, nothing can be done about this.

Hinata: Ummm… I'm terribly sorry if we're boring you or something, but I think there's been a misunderstanding, so let me clear it up.

Hinata: I'm Hinata.

Yuta: And I'm Yuta.

Kanna: No.

Kanna: I know about you two. The twin idols from Cosmic Productions, 2wink.

Kanna: The two of you have changed your marketing strategy as of late, with the older brother Hinata continuing to present as a cheerful a good kid—

Kanna: —While the younger brother, Yuta, differentiates himself from his older brother by growing out his hair and selling a ‘bad kid’ image.

Kanna: That is what the established theory is.

Hinata: The established ‘theory’?

Yuta: Those are just facts.

Kanna: What are illusions?

Hinata: Huh, why'd you bring that up suddenly? What are you talking about?

Kanna: An illusion, or ‘sleight of hand’, is something that takes advantage of people's imagination.

Kanna: You make the world think that ‘the twins have differentiated their appearances and begun walking separate paths.’

Kanna: That way, you can do as much deception as you please.

Kanna: The twins that are supposedly never interchangeable, swap places in secret. Older brother becomes younger brother. Younger brother becomes older brother.

Kanna: Characteristic differences in hair length can also be accounted for using wigs and such.

Kanna: People tend to assume based on their prior knowledge, that ‘the one with longer hair must be the younger brother,’ since both brothers have similar facial features and so on.

Hinata: … Even if all of that were true, what good would it do for us to impersonate each other?

Kanna: Simply put, you two probably just enjoy those sorts of tricks.

Kanna: Furthermore, there are countless merits to being able to switch places. That is probably why having twins swap places is considered taboo, even in the most hard-core of detective novels.

Kanna: It's simply too convenient. It'd be used to forge alibis to no end, because now, anything goes.

Kanna: Additionally, if you succeed at your trivial ‘swapping places’ prank, you'd be able to make a fool of the child prodigy brat that everyone is making a fuss about, correct?¹

Kanna: You'd be able to say “That kid acts like he's a genius, but he's an oblivious idiot who couldn't even notice we switched places.”

Hinata & Yuta: ……

Kanna: 2wink is a unit comprised of a ‘good kid’ older brother and a ‘bad kid’ younger brother.

Kanna: Recently, it seems as though the two of them have truly diverged and are trying to pursue their own paths.

Kanna: That is why. Even if the younger brother was specifically requisitioned for work that would earn him points or experience as a ‘good kid’— The older brother would swap in and take his place. The reverse applies as well.

Kanna: So the two of you steadily gain experience and continue growing, correct?

Kanna: You're each trying to specialize in being a ‘good kid’ and ‘bad kid’.

Kanna: Waiting for an opportunity, with nobody any wiser.

Yuta: ……

Kanna: I don't have much interest in anything. However, I find your impressive tactics very interesting. 

Kanna: I'm not trying to get in your way. However, by exposing your actions like this, I can render your footage unfit for broadcast.

Kanna: Even if what I said just now might be untrue.

Kanna: If the world's people begin to doubt you, you'll have a hard time operating. They might begin to think things like “Maybe they've swapped places?” or “Are they playing tricks?”

Kanna: All the earnest and serious people of the world will begin to view you poorly.

Kanna: That probably would not be desirable for you.

Kanna: I apologize. Being filmed and broadcasted in my sleep is quite embarrassing.

Kanna: That is why I have taken these preventative measures to keep it from occurring. Please understand that I bear no ill-will towards the two of you.

Kanna: That is all. I'm going to go back to bed now. Goodnight.

Kanna: Zzz, zzz.

Yuta: ……

Hinata: … He ended up being the real deal.

Yuta: Yeah. I figured it was just the usual hype you see on TV and magazines.

Hinata: (But really, I never thought he'd notice we ‘switched’.)

Yuta: (Yup. I thought nobody could tell. But this kid saw through us, probably just through a glimpse of our activities on the news or on the internet.)

Hinata: (To top it all off, just in case— He made sure we wouldn't get in trouble even if we did air it, by following it up with “what I said might be untrue.”)

Yuta: (He didn't want to inconvenience us, so he acted considerately.)

Hinata: (This brat sure acts full of himself. I ought to scribble on his face while he sleeps.)

Yuta: (Give it a rest already... Let sleeping gods lie, Yuta-kun.)²

Hinata: (You're such a good kid, Hinata-kun.)

Yuta: (And you’re a bad kid, right, Yuta-kun?)

Kanna: Zzz, zzz…♪

Hinata: (This kid might be incredible— more than anyone could imagine.)

Yuta: (But his sleeping face is adorable, just like any other normal kid's would be, y’know)

Translation notes

He's repeating back the same phrases that Hinata and Yuta used to describe him while he was 'sleeping'..

The original saying is '触らぬ神に祟りなし' which is means the same thing as 'let sleeping dogs lie', but I retained the 神 portion because I figured it might be a fun play on Kanna's first name '神無'

[bestworstcase]

the only purpose of the shock collar was to subjugate, enforce cinder’s status as an object the madame owned. she neither chose it nor wanted it—and in the end, it was just a necklace. cinder breaks it with ease, with one hand. anyone might have set her free at any time with, literally, no more effort than it would take to lift a finger.

(do not try the bullshit nonsense about cinder’s enslavement being legal with me. slavery was abolished after the great war, and when the madame is displeased she brings cinder into the kitchen to torture her behind closed doors. adopting an impoverished orphan from a foreign country and using a collar made to look like a pretty necklace is how she gets away with it, enabled by the complete indifference of her wealthy patrons to the plight of the "adopted child."

the thematic point of rhodes is that he enforces the law only when it’s convenient for him to do so: he knows cinder is being abused, but he’s a regular patron of the hotel and he chooses not to say or do anything to intervene until he recognizes cinder as a threat to the madame. “hurting them won’t make your life any easier.”

we see this pattern reoccur again and again in atlas, that those who hold political or economic power flout the law without consequence or contort it to work for them while those beneath are subjected to strict, unforgiving enforcement. everything robyn does before the election is legal and above-board but the ace-ops openly treat her like a criminal and hound her about obeying the law, while ironwood misappropriates construction materials earmarked for mantle. this is the idea that rhodes embodies.)

so the greatest injustice of the collar is that it had no real power, by itself, over cinder. she could take it off whenever she wanted, except that she was not allowed to; no one willing to help her, no safe haven where she could find refuge after, and when she becomes desperate enough to resort to violence to free herself she is immediately prevented from doing so by a huntsmen—exemplars of moral virtue as they are intended to be—who tells her that in order to be good she must endure seven more years before she is allowed to leave without her guardian’s permission.

as an instrument of control, the collar can exist only through the willingness of the hotel’s patrons to participate in the fiction that cinder, having been lifted out of poverty by the madame’s generosity (look, she even gave the girl a lovely necklace!), is now earning her keep, learning the value of hard work. pay the scars no mind. rhodes intervenes to keep protect the madame, and his fondness for cinder is circumscribed by that motive.

the first time he leaves after he begins to train her, rhodes says goodbye by placing his hand on top of her head; cinder flinches—

—and the scene cuts right to the collar:

in the same mode, the madame electrocutes cinder in a panic as cinder strangles her, and rhodes’ final act is to place his hand on cinder’s head, scaring her—

—after which she cuts him down and stands upright to remove her collar:

the collar and the gentle (unwanted) hand are one and the same, two faces of a single instrument. carrot, stick. neither figures cinder as a human being. rhodes is only gentle until she disobeys him, whereupon the covert violence of their first meeting is reified: he enters her only ‘safe’ place to catch her in an unlawful act; his first action is to pass judgment; his second, to draw his weapons.

now, that’s not yours, is it?—huntsmen are called to embody a heroic ideal, to protect others who cannot protect themselves. rhodes places his own weapons into cinder’s hands and declares that he will train her as a huntress on the condition that she agrees not to protect herself; he releases himself from his duty to protect her by moving her into the category of people who do not need to be protected, and thereby makes her both guardian and grimm: as a child who will become a huntress it falls to her to protect her family from the monster of herself.

thus she’s forced to become an active participant in her own abuse; before she can break free of the collar, she has to bite the hand that held it in place.

now to the grimm. during the montage of cinder’s training-and-abuse, there is a particular sequence that goes like this: rhodes and cinder spar with wasters late one night, he disengages and gives her an approving nod; we cut to cinder kneeling before the madame in the empty lobby, dusting a glass statuette of a sabyr for inspection. her work is found inadequate, and the madame finds quiet satisfaction in reminding cinder of the power she has over cinder:

then the madame walks away, and although cinder strives to maintain the performance of being unaffected—indifferent—she can’t:

in contrast to the scenes preceding cinder’s bargain with rhodes—wherein the larger-than-life glass statues looming over the lobby alternate between prominently visible or just protruding into frame and cinder’s face is an open book of angry resentment—this is the only instance of a grimm figurine being clearly visible and in focus during the montage, and also the one time cinder’s mask slips to reveal her anger.

similarly, in the time-skip at the end of the montage, the glass sphinx sitting on the coffee table in the mid-left is removed to signal the passage of time, with no other changes made to the decor:

but guess who’s back as soon as the situation reaches critical mass?

glass wolf. glass dragon. glass shoes.

the point is, throughout the flashback midnight leverages these glass-grimm to symbolize cinder’s true self, her anger which protects her and which the gentle hand demands she extinguish. the fantastical gilded opulence of the glass unicorn depends on cinder staying quietly in her cage. no, it isn’t fair—the gentle hand admits this—but it is her moral imperative to serve others. in this distorted unreality the defenseless and the indefensible become commingled. a huntress, as salem would have it, is a defender who lives and dies to protect a lifestyle. or she is, as ozpin defines it, one who guards the peace by killing monsters.

cinder’s instinctive understanding that this is not fair—that she is not nothing—that she has been wronged—is the monster she must slay to become the hero of this story, the story of the glass unicorn and madame and rhodes and all of atlas. and in the end she can’t.

rwby has never been precious about depicting blood, but there is no blood in this scene: not not on the floor, not on the bodies, not on her weapons, not a single drop upon her white shirt. her hands are clean. in shadow, the monster snaps the chain around her throat and turns to looks up at the moon—and its light reveals what is true. her tears, her scars. a child who deserved better than she was given. a child who did nothing wrong.

ahem.

Keeping [grimm] in captivity has proved to be an understandably difficult task, as the creatures tend to either die, or kill those who imprisoned them in the first place.

hm! anyway. the narrative function of this flashback is to provide context and contrast with the scenes that follow.

to review:

the collar’s power is enforced by communal indifference and complicity.

the madame, though unaware of him, depends on rhodes to keep cinder under her control; rhodes intervenes to protect the madame from cinder.

the gentle hand is an equal to the collar, a mechanism of control by which cinder is made to participate in her own abuse, and when she disobeys, it turns to iron and inflicts violent punishment. even when he is gentle, cinder flinches under his touch.

by training cinder to fight but forbidding her to defend herself, rhodes casts her into the role of both guardian and grimm: she is expected to protect the madame by slaying her anger and turning the other cheek.

the glass grimm figurines symbolize cinder’s anger, which protects her. when she defends herself, cinder metaphorically becomes grimm: the monster of the glass unicorn is destined to be hated and hunted for the rest of her life, and the monster of the glass unicorn is a blameless child who refused to let herself be hurt. grimm, in this story, are good.

also note

the similar framing here.

now!—from the moment cinder wakes up, it is abundantly clear that she expects to be met with brutal punishment for her failure. “you—you brought me back here… we failed.” she’s horror-stricken at finding herself in this place and that hardens into terror as the reality sinks in that she is within salem’s reach.

later, on the bridge, she affects calm until salem pauses in front of her; her eyes snap open. she shrinks into herself at the sound of salem’s voice but hangs on every word. when salem mentions the winter maiden, cinder grits her teeth and braces herself.

cinder associates salem with the madame: that is why without you, i am nothing falls out of her mouth so easily when salem tears her down in 8.1 and again when salem threatens her in 8.4—those are the words to make the pain stop, to appease, to demonstrate that she is contrite and repentant and grateful. she believes that this is what salem wants to hear when cinder has displeased her. and she is, at the top of the bridge scene, waiting for the torture to begin so that she can choke it out again and survive this humiliating ordeal.

except that is not what salem wants to hear.

by now salem knows beyond any doubt that “without you, i am nothing” is what cinder believes she wants to hear, and it is obvious to anyone with eyes that cinder expects to be tortured. whether salem knows cinder’s history or not—i don’t think she does, not in any great detail—she knows people well enough to put two and two together. salem knows, then, that cinder expects to be tortured into groveling self-denigration.

she doesn’t want cinder to expect that from her. there’s no other reason for salem to be so thorough in dismantling the expectation.

if she wanted to make cinder afraid, the more effective way is to decline to torture her at all: cinder is so certain that salem will hurt her that withholding punishment entirely will only convince her that salem intends to wait until the moment she lets her guard down, or some other form of deferred retribution all the worse for being delayed.

whereas the most efficient way to puncture cinder’s terror of being tortured is—somewhat perversely—to actually torture her a little bit. because cinder does not BELIEVE there is any possible outcome in which salem spares her, if salem wants to introduce the possibility of mercy she first needs to enter cinder’s reality, where mercy doesn’t exist, by proving she can and will inflict pain to answer both defiance (“you chose to disobey my specific instructions”) and failure (“just to fail again…”)

a brief burst of pain to express displeasure instead of holding cinder under torture until she breaks isn’t really merciful, but it’s the lower bound of what cinder will be able to trust and it eases her into the idea that salem is lenient.

then, “and i’ve realized it’s all my fault. you’ve fought your whole life unwaveringly for what you want, and here i am holding you back, instead of lifting you up; you deserve so much more than i’ve given you.”

aside from being a straightforward subversion of cinder’s clear expectation—cinder thinks she will be abused without mercy until she breaks, salem stops and absolves cinder by reframing cinder’s disobedience as a natural consequence of her own failures—salem has a few specific things in mind here.

the most obvious is the reversal of what she said to cinder in 4.11: “i thought you were the girl who wanted power. did you lie to me? then stop holding back.” and she’s also pointedly walking back things she said yesterday, in 8.1 and 8.4: “all you need concern yourself with is your ability to act when i tell you to” and the “she thinks; she wants…” bit are here flipped into implicit praise for cinder’s tenacity in pursuing what she wants and implicit apology for standing in her way.

but the most interesting angle to consider is that this is salem’s response to “without you, i am nothing.” salem does not verbally respond either of the times cinder says that to her in 8.1 and 8.4; the first time, she dismisses everyone with a gesture, and the second time she just walks away. both reactions are in line with what cinder expects—after all, the point is to remind cinder that she is nothing.

however, cinder has—from what we’ve seen—never spoken to salem this way before, and given she seems genuinely taken aback when salem shuts her down in 8.1 i do think it’s likelier than not that salem has never demeaned her like this before, and that together with having been in atlas for months is what surfaces the trauma association with the madame and thence the appeasing behavior.

so consider how this looks to salem.

the last time she spoke to cinder, she said “you’re free to speak your mind,” and cinder whipped around from the window without hesitation, outraged: “i don’t understand! working with bandits? leaving ruby alive? what’s the point? we’re strong enough to take what we want by force!”—not even a ma’am in there. cinder addressed her like she saw herself and salem as equals, notwithstanding that salem had final say, and salem clearly didn’t have a problem with that.

several months pass. salem is displeased about the loss at haven but trusts that cinder will make an effort to recover the lamp; she is also worried enough for cinder to toss her plans and divert nearly everything to atlas, not that she’s willing to admit that’s why.

cinder walks onto the bridge and the first words out of her mouth are “my queen.” a few minutes in salem curtly informs her that no she will not go rampaging after the winter maiden and cinder’s answer is a demure, “of course; without you, i am nothing.” and then a few hours later they quarrel about it and cinder repeats those exact words in exactly the same tone again.

unless salem knows cinder’s history in far more granular detail than i believe cinder would be willing to divulge, that’s… a really strange shift in behavior with no clear reason; yes, she had to make up the loss at haven (and she did), and yes, salem was unusually mean to her, but neither of those things add up to this plainly well-practiced self-abasement from the girl who only a few months ago did not appear to have a humble bone in her body. once might have been sarcasm; but twice within a few hours?

whereafter cinder ran off to attack the winter maiden and almost died again and salem had six hours to pick all of this apart in her head while cinder lay unconscious.

why didn’t she respond to cinder saying “without you, i am nothing,” if that is not what she wants from cinder? well,

“you disobeyed my specific instructions, just to fail again, and i’ve realized it’s all my fault.” both times cinder said that, it was in response to the specific instructions that cinder disobeyed when she went after penny: you will act when i tell you to, and you will remain here. six hours, salem had to think about this. “you’ve fought your whole life unwaveringly for what you want, and here i am holding you back, instead of lifting you up; you deserve so much more than i’ve given you.”

salem does not think of cinder as nothing. even when she is deliberately being mean, she makes a point to say that she values cinder (“just because you’re more valuable to me than a pawn–”). cinder holds the key to her victory and cinder is also important to her in ways she cannot bring herself to admit except that she keeps bending her plans further and further for cinder’s sake. the first time cinder says “without you, i am nothing” to her, she seems bemused (brows up) and then wry. the second time, she doesn’t react at all.

then because she left it there, cinder nearly dies and is unconscious for hours. and once she wakes up salem hits her with:

this is my fault

what you want matters

i should be lifting you up

you deserve better

i will help you

IN A CLASSIC SALEM MOVE she does not actually say what she means, which is “you are not nothing,” but she finds an impressive number of ways to say it without saying it in just a handful of lines. and:

she doesn’t touch cinder, but instead she offers, gives cinder a choice to take her hand or not, and this matters because no other character has ever given cinder that.

in 2.1 cinder touches roman’s face to assert her power over him; she does the same to pyrrha in 3.12 right before killing her; she slaps emerald in 3.7.

in 5.9, cinder reacts to watts grabbing her wrist like this—

—and then sets his hand on fire. in 8.1, emerald starts to run over to embrace her, cinder snaps her head around and snarls “quiet.,” stopping her in her tracks. and after she wakes up in midnight, when emerald rushes into the room and grabs her, cinder tenses and verbally lashes out before jerking her hand away.

cinder really does not like to be touched and that all traces back to:

rhodes patting her head. which is what he’s reaching down for when cinder kills him, because this time she senses him moving to touch her and can’t take it.

cinder bristles and retaliates whenever anyone touches her, and outside of grappling during fights the only times cinder ever touches other people is to hurt them or to remind them of her power to hurt them, because that is what touch means to her; it’s something those with power do to those beneath them, and something the weak must endure.

for salem to offer her hand to help cinder up is strange and unsettling; it breaks the rules. and cinder is very hesitant to take it—her fingers shake—but she does, and it isn’t a trick, salem pulls her to her feet without hurting her.

whereupon cinder’s whole demeanor transforms from terrified incredulity to calculation. she doesn’t understand what just happened, but she knows touch is an instrument of coercion and a way to inflict pain. if salem were like the madame, she would not have done any of that; if salem didn’t touch her with the intent to harm her, then there are only two possibilities:

one, that salem’s resemblance to the madame is superficial and she is actually much more like rhodes; or two, that salem is the weak one and cinder holds some unknown degree of power over her.

the instant this thought enters cinder’s head, it becomes urgently important to figure out which it is, hence the murdering of colleagues and stepsisters and lying to salem’s face that cinder gets up to immediately afterward. BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT THIS POST IS ABOUT THIS IS A POST ABOUT THE GRIMM ARM. AND THEMES.

wheeze. okay

in the glass unicorn, cinder has two parental figures—the madame and rhodes—who act in synchronicity to keep her in her place. shock collar, pat on the head. stick, carrot. she is tortured and made to refract this violence inwards, against herself, by turning the other cheek. within this narrative, the symbolic purpose of the grimm is to protect cinder and cinder herself is symbolically identified as grimm; just as black glass is her signature in in the present, the white glass of the hotel’s grimm figurines reflects cinder’s starkly white-and-grey uniform.

glass, cinder. glass grimm, glass shoes.

unicorns, classically, are said to be ferociously wild and dangerous beasts tamable only by the touch of a maiden. those who hunt unicorns, then, should solicit a maiden’s assistance. she goes out into the woods alone; the unicorn finds her and docilely, fearlessly lays its head upon her lap and goes to sleep; and thus the hunters take it. this manner of hunting unicorns is called entrapment, and among medieval and renaissance depictions of unicorns it is by far the most common motif.

in the world of remnant, if unicorns are real then they are undoubtedly a kind of grimm.

gestures at cinder, the fall maiden, who can tame the grimm. who feels for them. maiden. unicorn. maiden. unicorn.

the story of the glass unicorn is a story about a maiden-monster whom a huntsman instructs to tame herself lest she be hunted forever; an entrapment of the self; in the end she hears the baying of hunting dogs in the distance and awakens to the truth that she too will be killed, in spirit if not in body, if she obeys the huntsman. the unicorn is not to blame, and the maiden is right to protect it, and the unicorn is, has always been, grimm.

bearing all of this in mind,

is the grimm arm another collar?

i don’t think it…is, actually, in any sense except that cinder forms an association between the madame and salem in 8.1—the collar and the arm are diametric opposites, mirror-images of each other:

where the collar was fragile and easily removed, the grimm arm is part of cinder’s body. where the collar derived all its power from pretense (it’s only a pretty necklace!), the grimm arm is impossible to mistake for something other than what it is. where the collar’s sole purpose was to inflict pain and remind cinder of her place, the foremost purpose of the arm is to replace cinder’s missing limb. where the collar was forced upon her and she hated it, cinder trained hard to master her new arm and has grown more comfortable with it in every new volume.

paired with the way grimm function symbolically within the glass unicorn narrative, as representations of cinder’s justified anger and desire to protect herself… well. maiden, unicorn. lol

is it then an iteration of the gentle hand? that’s a more interesting question, because salem’s abuse of cinder is really quite a lot more like rhodes than the madame, but then there’s also… the reversal. rhodes’ affection for cinder is restricted by his interest in protecting the madame, and when cinder disobeys him he attacks her presumably with the intent to arrest her for murder. whereas salem has repeatedly and increasingly rearranged her plans for cinder’s benefit, and when cinder disobeys her, she reconsiders her treatment of cinder and offers an apology.

and obviously—

—we have the way rhodes touches cinder’s head, which at best makes her tense up in discomfort and at worst scares her so much she kills him to make him stop, mirrored in the same episode by salem offering her hand and cinder choosing to take it.

salem is not by any stretch of the imagination good to cinder, but midnight places her in juxtaposition with the madame and rhodes in order to clarify the difference between salem and the parent-figures of cinder’s childhood. it’s salem who tells cinder that she isn’t nothing, that she deserves better, that she was right to become defiant when salem was cruel to her. it’s salem who gives cinder a choice to let salem touch her or not.

everyone who gets where the wind is blowing with cinder understands, because it is obvious, that her turnaround is going to be incited by someone showing her mercy, which will shatter her view of the world and open a door for her to change. but… that “someone” is salem. it is literally already happening.

the first crack is salem telling her you deserve so much more than i’ve given you, as she pulls cinder to her feet.

and cinder doesn’t know how to parse that, she has no frame of reference except the madame and rhodes and she’s superimposed them both onto salem; the discrepancies, the pieces that don’t fit, are small right now. they will get larger, and the cracks will keep widening until the looking glass breaks.

which is why the grimm arm is related to the collar in the specific way that it is, with cinder flashing back to her childhood and the pain salem inflicts ending when cinder shifts emotionally from helpless fear to defiance and salem then explicitly affirming the rightness of cinder’s anger. the moral of the glass unicorn narrative according to rhodes is that what cinder did is unforgivable, and she will never escape it; the moral according to salem is that cinder did the right thing, and deserves better. the symbolic function of the grimm figurines in the glass unicorn narrative is to represent cinder’s self-protective anger. salem, grimm, uses cinder’s grimm arm to make a point that cinder should get angry when salem mistreats her, and then rewards her for being defiant.

is that a really fucked up way for salem to make that point YES OBVIOUSLY but no one else is even trying. lol

little steps.

(whispers into a cup) the grimm arm is also a metaphor for learning to be vulnerable and trust others not to harm you

cinder feels its pain. when it’s severed, it hurts, but also grows back. it’s both powerful (superbly strong, inhuman flexibility) and vulnerable (aura can’t protect it). salem can use it to hurt her; it connects them both together, so salem knows she’s alive and cinder knows when she’s back. it refused to bond with cinder until she let go of her fear and welcomed it.

the shattering trauma that made her what she is now was rhodes telling her that defending herself made her an irredeemable monster. the grimm figurines in her childhood story symbolize cinder’s desire to defend herself. the grimm arm is part of her body that connects her to salem in a way that salem can abuse to hurt her, but salem is also the first character to look cinder in the eye and tell her that she is right to defend herself. both cinder and salem are in the early stages of developing villain -> hero arcs.

your newfound strength brings with it a crippling weakness, salem says. remember that it comes with a cost. take care to protect yourself; there is only so much i can do to aid you. cinder wants to be strong, but she is terrified of weakness, and it is the terror of weakness that drives her, that must be faced, that must be resolved before she can find peace. her story isn’t about “learning to be satisfied with the power she already has” it’s about learning to be okay with being vulnerable. with having weaknesses.

like an arm she can’t shield with aura, that grows back when it’s severed, which she feared and then hid in discomfort and now accepts as a part of herself. just because salem can hurt her doesn’t mean that salem is incapable of choosing not to. salem could also, like, smash cinder into a gory pancake with a snap of her fingers.

it’s a story. about trust.

[misslovasstuff]

[Shatter your heart]

《pairing: mafia! Dazai x reader》

“Tell me one thing, why are you even here?”- Dazai suddenly snaps at you for disobeying his orders.

Of course, you remain silent. He is not shouting or yelling, but this calmness of his scares you the most.

“You don’t even know your place and purpose. - he continues, - how many times do I need to tell you not to act emotionally?”

“Dazai, that kid would have died-

“Was it your problem? - he interrupts, looking at you dead in the eye as he approaches. - was it?”

You shake your head, trying to avoid his gaze.

“Look at me, - he grabs your chin and raises your lowered head, - I’m your problem, you deal with me, you give importance to me.”

You spend a few seconds looking at each other’s eyes, letting them do the most important talking.

“It won’t happen again, Dazai.”- you claim with furrowed eyebrows as you distance yourself from his touch. He notices that you got upset, more than usual.

“Bullshit, you say that all the time. - he sighs as he gulps hard before speaking, rubbing his temple. - Do you even understand why I am mad at you?”

“I didn’t follow the rules.” - your expression becomes dull, gazing at Dazai like you had nothing to lose either way.

“Not only that. - he pushes his hair back as he begins explaining. - You’re my subordinate, you’re my eyes and ears. What you do is what I do. I put my trust that you’ll do the right thing and you keep disappointing me.

And that, is making me mad.”

Once he gazes in your eyes and understands the frustration you’re with holding, he gets a rush of pleasure.

“Do you enjoy making me mad, huh?”- he raises an eyebrow, forming a smirk. He just wants to soften you now with his charming ways.

He knows you love playing this game: “You secretly like it more than I do.” - you reply coldly.

“If you think you know me that well, then you must know what I seek from you.”- he pauses for a bit, waiting for an answer. Dazai bites his lip as he stares at you. That view was slowly yet steadily driving you to madness.

“You want me to obey, sir.”- you could have sworn something snapped in him when you said that.

Dazai coughs a bit, and then explains:

“To be trustworthy is more important than to be obedient. - he’s now standing centimetres apart from your face, wearing a devious smirk. - You’re not a dog, are you?”

“I think the message got across, boss. - you don’t move at all, instead you focus on his deadly eyes as those scan your face. - This is the first time I’ve heard you talk so much, I’m beginning to think that I must be important to you.”

A smirk of yours doesn’t go unnoticed from Dazai, who scoffs and walks away.

“Keep believing that and you’ll break your own heart before I do.”

He shuts the door behind him. Finally, you sit down, letting go of all the tension you were gathering inside yourself.

He confuses you so much. One hand you want to strangle him to death, on the other you want him to say something nice for once, or maybe do something nice, like….

ANYWAY-

A sigh escapes your mouth as you remind yourself to get ready for your next mission tomorrow. You can’t disappoint him again.

Next day.

“FUCK FUCK FUCK - you keep running for your life once the enemy detects you in their base.

Sure, you completed the mission successfully this time but the thing is, you gotta save yourself now from your doom otherwise you won’t be able to shove the success to your boss’s bandaged face.

“Ha wait till that son of a bitch sees what I’ve do-

A gunshot is heard and you almost fell unconsciousness.

“What’s going on?”- there is confusion in your head as you observe your surroundings, only to see blood falling down the floor.

“Am I …. am I shot?”- you put your hand behind your right shoulder, only for it to drown in blood.

Once the realisation hits you, your hand tries to get a hold of your phone. As soon as possible, you call Dazai.

After a ring or two, he answers:

“What?”- he answers as bluntly as always.

“I need you.” - you say, trying to catch your breath from running. However, a bullet hits right through your phone, almost hitting your skull.

“Nice aim loser! I used to have better aim than you when I was 12!”- you say with a smirk, still trying to find a way out of this mess.

Once you find a dark alley, you rest there for a bit, hardly breathing.

“They’re gonna find me sooner or later. - you sigh, resting your head against the wall. - I don’t think Dazai is coming, not after the fight we had yesterday. I bet he’d rather see me dead than alive.”

A bitter smile wears across your face as you hear footsteps approaching.

“Damn it.”

You cuss and get up, trying your best to keep running but fail to maintain balance. Seeing yourself about to fall, your body lets you down and finally surrenders.

After a few seconds of black out, you find yourself in somebody’s arms.

It feels nice, it’s a gentle touch and a warm feeling. You want to feel it for a little more. Just a little more…

“After them! Go, what are you waiting for?! - you shut your eyes and furrow your eyebrows as a response to the loud shouting coming from the person holding you close to their chest. - I want those people’s heads right now!”

You can’t see very well because of your blurry vision, but you reach your hand to touch that person’s face.

“Dazai?”- your voice came out as a whisper, followed by moans of painful agony. Genuinely, you can’t believe your eyes. Was Dazai really there for you?

“Get the car, now!”- he orders his man, his voice reflected the nerves he had in that moment. You could feel his arms shaking as he’s holding you so carefully.

This must mean something.

“You should follow your advice and not involve emotionally.”- you scoff, shifting your head to face him but immediately moan as a terrible pain hits your back.

“What can I say? - Dazai removes strands of hair from your face, cupping your cheek. - You’re my problem, and you’re important to me.”

You widen your eyes, not believing what you just heard.

“Dazai, - you smile for the first time so gently at him, - you came for me.”

“You called.”- he mirrors your smile, brushing his fingers through your hair.

“I might be dead already if I’m hearing these stuff.”- you say, taking a deep breath as you hold onto Dazai’s arm, pinching it a bit.

“You did well. I’m proud of you. - Dazai claims as he notices the car coming by. He raises you up and carries you to the backseat. - I’m gonna get you back at your feet, don’t worry.”

As you both get in, he closes the door and orders the driver to drive as fast as he can. He’s taking you to Mori.

You have already lost consciousness, which is making Dazai feel even more nervous.

“Can’t you drive any faster?!”- he snaps at the driver, trying to calm himself as he’s holding you in his arms again, not letting go.

Dazai scans at your face for a bit. How he adored those lips of yours that would always say something that would piss the hell out of him. Your cheeks always blushed, giving him the wrong idea of you having some sort of feelings. When your hand touches his, he feels complete and calm.

“You’re gonna be ok.”- he whispers as his forehead meets yours, where he leaves a small kiss after.

“Don’t break my heart, Dazai.”- you say unconsciously, which makes him raise his eyebrows.

“Break your heart?? I wouldn’t stand a single tear falling of from those eyes of yours, let alone let your heart break.” - Dazai claims with a soft smile, shaking his head.

“She’s gonna make so fun of me after this.”

Later on.

After a surgery under Moris’s care, you were able to recover soon enough. Although most of it seemed like a weird fever dream, you did remember something that has repeatedly played over in your head:

I wouldn’t stand a single tear falling of from those eyes of yours, let alone let your heart break.”

You cover your eyes with your forearm, hiding your blush.

You had the feeling that things would be more complicated from now onwards than they were before, mostly because you realised something important.

There were feelings who were being reciprocated and that terrified you to death.

But it was Dazai the object of your affection, so how bad can it be?

[envihellbender]

Assign a Fear to each Dragon Age 2 companion.

Aveline: the Hunt

The Kirkwall City Guard has been apart of the Hunt since its conception. Its purpose to begin with was for the Viscount to have an army he could use, they were his dogs to hunt down whatever rabbit he picked out. The crime part was circumstantial, and it was only with great efforts from many sources that the guard had to separate themselves from the wealthy. Of course, as is the case with many versions of the Hunt, that was only on the surface. No one dared to go against the Viscount’s orders, if a member of the Hunt tried to disobey the man, then they would become the Hunted.

Aveline didn’t intend to become apart of the Hunt, she certainly didn’t realise she was facilitating it for the longest time. It never even occurred to her that she could have possibly been on the side of anything but justice. She made excuses for those under her command, ones who encouraged racist hate and abuses of power. She made excuses for Wesley, and for Donnic, both of who are probably more dedicated to the Hunt than she is. In her mind she can fix all of the problems with both the city guard and the Templars. In a sense that is what the Hunt is doing, it’s convincing her that her side isn’t the problem. It’s the false guards, the immoral ones she needs to weed out, and of course she gets to decide who they are. They are her quarry.

Carver: the Lonely

The Hawke family have always been particularly close to the Lonely, never would they find belonging or peace no matter where they were. Perhaps it was a curse their father gave them, when he eloped with their mother - causing her to never see her parents again. They live an isolated life in Fereldan, they are constantly on the move until they have a small hut out of the way near Lothering, it is important they never allow anyone to get too close to them lest their magic be discovered. Inside of the family things were not much better, their father always being closed off and distant - a great deal the Hawke children didn’t find out about him until after his death. The Lonely doesn’t truly strike them however until they reach Kirkwall, perhaps taking the cramped boat across the sea meant the Lonely can finally dig its claws into them.

Wherever Carver goes he is never accepted, he never fits in and is always cast aside. For example, when he tries to join the City Guard Aveline told them not to accept him, when he joined the Templars it essentially cuts him from what is left off his family. If he joins the Wardens he is unable to even say goodbye to his mother, he is thrown to them scared and dying. He watched his twin sister die, and wasn’t even there to see his mother before she died. Everything about his life had led up to him being truly isolated and alone, trying to do what’s best for his family and always being hated for it.

Fenris: the Desolation

Blood magic is strongly connected to the Desolation. The ritual Fenris was victim to feels as if it is a tool for the Desolation to create Avatars and Agents for them. The ritual involves stripping Fenris of his memories and identity, it carves burning lyrium into his skin, and causes a significant amount of pain which lingers even years later. The ritual is used to create weapons that can cause destruction on larger scales than regular people are capable of. The complete lack of a future or hope for the elven population in Tevinter is what makes them become attracted to Desolation alongside the more traditions

Being touched causes Fenris pain, and if he allows it touching his skin can cause significant pain to the one initiating physical contact between the two. The ritual engraved into his skin involved destroying his memories and identity, in order to create the perfect weapon. He has been ordered to wipe out massive groups (such as the Fog Warriors), and he has the ability to completely decimate a person by ripping their heart from their chest. His skin burns him constantly, and he uses that as a weapon.

Isabela: the Vast

Rivain is not associated with the Vast but it is a Fear which often preys upon the coast. There is no loneliness there, with the rich culture and people surrounding you… but there is a mass of emptiness. An infinite view of blue from the sea and sky, so warm and enticing, that you can’t help but want to sail upon it. The fear does not start to fully sink in until you are on your way from it, for some reason ships have a tendency to lose their way, disappear even. The ships can no longer be seen from the coast, and where the crew has ended up there’s no warmth anymore. Infinity isn’t warm, the deep ocean beneath them and the cold empty clouds and air wraps around them. The people who are truly to be feared, are the ones who experience this and live, the ones who find they can no longer live else where. They need to be on the sea, it’s almost like when a Templar has not had his fix of lyrium when they don’t have their ship for long enough. It’s not their fear that the Vast is consuming, it’s the fear they collect from others.

Isabela’s time in Kirkwall is almost like a punishment for her from the Vast. She was supposed to have the relic lead a thousand of the Antaam into the ocean to be swallowed whole, a mass of fear from those who don’t understand magic let alone the eldritch beings themselves. Only it went wrong. Now the Vast hungers, and only Isabela can feed it.

Varric: the Web

Varric is the Dragon Age 2 version of a bard in some ways, unlike Leliana he does not hold that title but there are some similarities. They are both storytellers, Leliana of legends of ages past and Varric of legends he’s created of the present. They are both rogues and archers, they are also both spies. Leliana spied herself as shown in Leliana’s Song, and she runs a spy network in Dragon Age Inquisition. Varric states he has a spy network regularly in DA2, he uses it to keep an eye on the group and even bribes criminals to leave certain members alone. He is a more business orientated version of a bard, but he is a cousin of them at the very least. Bards are intrinsically linked to the Web.

Varric is the one spinning the tale of Dragon Age 2 to Cassandra, every single lie he tells is now true. It becomes the canon of the series even if technically we have no idea if what he has much basis in reality… Except it does now. That is the story everyone knows, it is accepted into lore. This fits with a being of the Web, one who tells stories and spies on those around him, one who uses all of this information to create more outlandish tales than the last. The best part is, any lie he tells… the Spider, the Mother of Puppets, she can make it true now.

Sebastian: the Slaughter

Both the Vael family and The Chantry have connections to the Slaughter. The first were victims of the Slaughter when they were all killed by bandits, at the behest of a possessed woman who had all of her servants meaninglessly slaughtered. The Chantry connects to the Slaughter historically with the Exalted Marches which was essentially a religious genocide, and in the timeline or the game itself. Within Dragon Age 2, the Chantry is shown to use the Rite of Tranquility freely, torturing and killing mages as if they are prisoners of war. The Chantry also triggered the Qunari invasion, deliberately killing and tormenting them for years to start a war and attempt to drive them from the city.

Sebastian shows himself to have been fully taken in by the Slaughter when he brings an army to Kirkwall to find one apostate (who has already fled the city).

Anders: the Spiral & the Lonely

The Fade is the realm of the Spiral. It’s a world of madness and disjointed, confusing, nonsensical architecture that seems to change with every corner. For Spirits, denizens of the Spiral’s realm this world makes sense, they are made for it, the waking world however is static and confusing. It’s full of half truths, falsehoods, and it is not a place people can live in because of this without being distorted. The Circle of Magi, especially in Fereldan, is a realm of the Lonely, it’s a tower in the middle of the lake, causing the fog and isolation that the Lonely works best with. The children, teenagers, and later adults are all treated like cattle, isolated from each other and anyone else there age, with no freedom or family. Just each other.

Anders is a young man who was ripped from his family, who’s entire identity has been reduced to his country of origin, and who was placed in solitary confinement for almost two years. The only true freedom he had was to become a Grey Warden, and the way he was being sucked in to the Flesh was too much for him. So he ran away from his home country to live in the sewer of Kirkwall, a port city filled with fog and isolation. He had always been the perfect fit for an Avatar of the Lonely. Justice, and later Vengeance, seems erratic - but he’s stuck in a world he doesn’t understand. He’s being given a human body, one that belongs to the Lonely, nothing functions as it’s supposed to anymore. This makes Justice more connected to the Lonely, and the anger inside him plus the contrast and fusion of two identities makes Anders more connected to the Spiral.

Merrill: the Flesh

The Blight is a poison that is of the Flesh, something which can corrupt all living things and magical inanimate ones. The Eluvian that Tamlen and Mahariel found was filled with it, and whilst mirrors are not the standard manifestation of the Flesh… Well, it was locked inside of the vessel and it couldn’t escape until two foolish elves touched the glass and slipped their fingers into it like it was water. It was the first living thing the Flesh inside of it had touched in centuries, it felt a rush of warmth and joy, it began to pulse, swell and glow again, and it grabbed the both of them. It grabbed Tamlen’s hand and its claws pierced through him ensuring it would never let go. When the Flesh attached to Mahariel it was happy contorting to work alongside a Warden.

The mirror was cleansed of the Blight, at least they thought it had been. However when the glass was repaired and the gateway to the Fade was slowly opening the Blight bled through the cracks. Of course, it wasn’t strong enough to corrupt Merrill… but the Flesh was just as strong as ever. That wrapped its tendrils around Merrill’s chest and refused to let go. It hummed in delight and whisper its approval whenever she practiced blood magic. It had found the perfect night.

Bethany: the Buried

Bethany never liked cremation. She wasn’t afraid of death exactly, but when she saw her father’s body burn it felt even sadder than it needed to be. She much preferred the idea of her body decaying into the earth, she wanted to return to where her body originated and her magic to join the mana in the stone and plants beneath her feet. Her magic was always physical, fire and ice were two elements that worked alongside earth and air. It was natural, pure, of the world around them rather than strange mystical scraps of the Fade.

Bethany often kept to herself, keeping hidden with her twin Carver back in Lothering, and she often preferred to be in the dark. If she is killed by the ogre, she is left as an Avatar of the buried, haunting the earth of the Wilds, a home beneath the corruption and tangled branches and animal nests. She was still alive, but not quite in the way she had been before. If she becomes a Grey Warden, the fact she was turned in the Deep Roads means the Buried was sinking into her corrupted veins long before the Flesh could. If she becomes a Circle mage, her tomb is the Circle of Magi, a place of the Lonely where she can keep herself locked away and but by using the Buried she could remain safe and coddled. Far away from the rest of the world.

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

Batfamily AU: Second World War

For any curious fanfic writers either on here for AO3, I present to you this prompt and the following scenarios to inspire some ideas. Ages of the characters involved will be played around with for the purposes of the prompt. So without further ado;

Bruce Wayne is a decorated Colonel within the US Marine Corps, haunted still by his experiences as an expeditionary force Medic during both the First World War and the Russian Civil War. He knows firsthand the damage and carnage that lies in the battlefields and it does upon the men who fight in them. As such, he drills and trains his troops with precision and bluntness out of a deep desire to ensure their security and survival as he’ll be leading them into combat. Among his ranks though would be one particular recruit who lied about his age, being actually a mere 15 years old, who goes by the name of Jason Peter Todd .

With Jason by his side, Bruce and his platoon would be deployed to the Pacific Islands as part of the US’ island hopping campaign against the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. He will fight tooth and nail to protect his men and Jason especially and nothing would stop him from any means necessary to do so, maybe even disobeying orders from his superiors and attacking the enemy garrison at nighttime with a certain black and grey cowl, cape and mask. A living shadow that sows terror and fear in the Hearst of even the strongest men.

Then, there’s Dick Grayson, or at least that’s what how he’ll be called had he lived in the US. In this AU, the 10 1/2 year old acrobat lives with his parents within their traveling circus, having performances across what are to day the modern day boundaries of Ukraine. Unfortunately though, during a long string performances at the city of Kyiv, Operation Barbarossa had begun. The German Wermacht quickly made their way to occupy the city and in the chaos of the takeover, Dick’s parents were captured, taken away no doubt to labor camps. After making a run for his own safety on his Mother’s order and reaching the outskirts of the city, Dick was shortly picked up by a small detachment of the Soviet Red Army.

During the first few weeks of fending off the German advance into their lands, Dick’s platoon would stumble across one of the many other cities decimated by their Axis foes, reduced to a smoldering rubble with any to all citizens who resisted or caught in the crossfire summarily executed. Within the ruins was one particular small 6 year old child whom was actually among those who watched Dick’s family perform once prior to the invasion. Had he been raised in America, he would be named Timothy Drake. As of the time Dick finds him, Tim has only a mother left as his father was among those executed by the Germans and his Mother was also captured as a war prize. With Tim by his side, his acrobatics, his desire for justice and hoping to find their mothers by the time this war finally ends, Dick begins his long, strange and painful journey with one single mission in his mind, the common mission for all who resist these invaders to their Motherland: Not One Step Backwards.

Now then Fanfic Writers, This prompt is yours. The ball is in your court

[nephies-creative-world]

Of The Many Lies and The One Truth Ch1

Summary:

Aziraphale has had to tell many lies over the millennia. It was the only way to keep him and Crowley safe. Five of the lies Aziraphale had had to tell over the Millennia and the one time he was free to tell the full truth.

__________________

First Lie: 4004 B.C., Just after the beginning. __________________

It was over. Eden was ruined. The humans fell to temptation, angered the Lord, and were gone. Banished.

It was over.

Satan had gotten what he wanted, doomed humanity to a life of pain and misery.

It was over. 

Aziraphale stood by himself in what once was heaven on earth, blanketed by a feeling he didn’t know or understand yet.

Crawley had already left, and with no Eve or Adam to talk to anymore either, Aziraphale couldn’t help but feel… 

He didn't know what it was that he felt. 

Now that there were no humans left in Eden, Aziraphale was in the middle of closing the gate in the eastern wall as he was tasked to do, feeling melancholic and wondering if he would be seeing Adam and Eve ever again.

While he hadn’t known them for long, not really, he had grown quite fond of the two. It was unfortunate that they had chosen to disobey the one order they had been given and to take a bite of the apple, but alas, it is what it is, no amount of lamenting and grieving could change the past.

Eve was pregnant when she left, and Aziraphale couldn’t help but worry for her. 

He had given them his sword with the hope that it would keep them safe while he couldn’t. 

He couldn’t help but wonder about that demon as well, his mind still hung on him and how familiar he had looked. That demon… Wasn’t he…?

He was still caught up in his thoughts when a bright light shone down upon him from above, and Aziraphale gasped, dropping the brick he had been holding.

“Aziraphale, Guardian of the Eastern Gate,” A disembodied yet familiar voice called.

“Yes, Lord?” Aziraphale replied meekly, his hand shielding his eyes from the bright light.

“Well done, Aziraphale, you’ve done well.” The voice praised.

“T- Thank you, Lord,” Aziraphale stammered, fidgeting with his sleeve, not used to being praised, and feeling guilty and concerned about a certain lost object being mentioned.

“Keep up the good work, Aziraphale,” 

“Yes, Lord,” Aziraphale mentally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Wait,” The voice suddenly said. “Where is the flaming sword I gave you?” The voice asked. “To protect the Eden?” It added, as if needed elaboration as to which sword it spoke of. 

Despite the fact that Angels didn’t sweat, having turned the glands for it on their assigned corporations off a long time ago, finding it gross and assigning it as something only humans and those who were damned should have to experience, Aziraphale found himself sweating, his heart, which is for all intents and purposes merely decorative, squeezed in his chest. 

Here it was, the question he had been fearing. 

The Fall he had been fearing.

“Sword? Right,” He twisted the fabric of his tunic nervously. "Um... Uh… Big, sharp, cutty thing.

Yes.” Aziraphale laughed nervously. “Uh… Oh, must have, uh… Must have put it down here somewhere.” He glanced off to his right as if the swords were somewhere around there. “Um… Forget my own head next."

The voice merely hummed before the light disappeared.

Aziraphale slid down until he knelt on the ground, trembling, his fingers dug in the sand. 

“Oh, dear…” He croaked, breathing a sigh of relief.

First Crawley and no the Almighty...

He groaned, hoping that the sword would never be brought up again. He didn’t think he could handle that level of anxiety ever again.

Probably discorporate on the spot from fretting alone, knowing how capable of a fretter he was, he would probably discorporate from the fretting before anyone even got to punishing him for foolishly giving the gift the Lord had gifted him away.

He released a shaky breath and forced himself to relax. 

He had been spared.

At least for now.

Now, he had to make sure that no one asked him about it again.

Somehow.

[arisenreborn]

∞ Arisen & Pawn Character Introductions

Part 3 (of 3)!!! The long Q&A stuff for Emrys. Got pulled into telling stories instead of just answering the question again oops. (Part 1 || Part 2) [template]

1. What was their life like prior to being summoned by their Arisen?

Olivia is not 'his Arisen'. His Arisen was a man named Nikolai, who had lost his brother to the dragon - Emrys was named after that brother whom he resembled. This was the beginning of his life, and it was... decent. He traveled with Nikolai and his beloved, Lorraine, who was a skilled sorceress and childhood friend to both brothers. As it was, the relationship between the three was sometimes strained. They projected and deluded themselves at times into hoping Emrys was truly back, and other times resented him for not being what they deceived themselves into believing. One day he would be a cherished and beloved brother, others an accursed, empty vessel. On top of this, Nikolai had mixed feelings about his brother in life as well, often jealous of the other man. So he sometimes took his frustrations out on Emrys, never beating him or anything quite so extreme, but often making him their pack mule or asking him to do demeaning tasks, as if reaffirming to both of them that this was not his brother - or perhaps seeking to see his brother in misery. Other times, however, Nikolai would sit and talk with Emrys by the campfire, sharing the journey like a true comrade and brother. He'd tell him of his plans once they finally defeated the dragon; to wed Lorraine and have a dozen sons and daughters. "And you..." he would falter in his words, "you'll be an uncle to them." Emrys himself didn't always understand, but it was in those moments he felt a stirring in his breast, a hope that those days Nikolai spoke of would come to pass. Yet all things said and done, after some many months of traveling and preparing, they seemed close to finally confronting the dragon. Emrys, however, had begun to act very strangely. He began snapping back at Nikolai's cruelties, insulting them both and disobeying orders. He doesn't remember much about those days. They're caught between dream and nightmare for him; it was his first taste of freedom though, he remembers that. And he remembers coming at some point after; their campsite a ruin, bits and pieces of Nikolai and Lorraine spread to the winds, himself covered in blood and wounds. Thereafter he was changed. Between an incomplete (and uncertain) Bestowal of Spirit and the ravages of whatever precisely the dragonsplague did to him, he did indeed possess a spark of his own will - tainted, however, and far from being worth anything more than the discomfort of his soul. Not enough to act on with any real purpose, but enough to make him well aware of his own lacking and wrongness. For hundreds of years he roamed the world and the Rift, working alongside Arisen, mercenaries, bandits and soldiers. He came to see them all to be as lacking as he was. Selfish, self-serving, desiring only their own pleasures. He watched Arisen in other worlds die vain, useless deaths, or sacrifice their beloveds. Saw nobles sell daughters and wives, saw men trade men as slaves. Such a worthless, pitiful world it was. Still he found some pleasure in 'freedom'. In traveling, more or less, wheresoever he pleased so long as no damnable Arisen called upon him. In the comfort of ale or lovers, in finding treasure and having gold to call his own, in living, even a little. And then, one rueful day, he was caught under the power of the Godsway, and shipped off to the Battahli excavation site. And then, one damnable day there while working himself to the bone, the Arisen came along.

2. What is their opinion on the Arisen? How do they view their relationship?

He has a grudge against all Arisen, and any who would become the Arisen of his world most of all. He deeply resents the idea of being beholden to anyone or anything, and yet... He cannot deny a wretched part of him longs for it. Like a dog waiting for it's master, that part of his nature as a Pawn cannot be wholly denied. Which only makes him hate it all the more. As for Olivia? He put on the same act with her he would anyone else, of a simple pawn of simple joys. That's not entirely false after all, it is however just the surface layer. He resented her, but treated her fairly enough - though wherever possible he'd leave looking after her to other Pawns. It's only after Olivia comes to learn of his 'broken' nature that his opinion of her is given enough wiggle room to begin to grow. She is, in some ways similar to him; placed in positions she begrudges, wanting to do things others won't allow her - doing them anyway. (And he loathes her for that, too: the fact that she can.) It's a messy relationship, not helped by his contrary nature and reluctance to yield: because his contrariness is proof of his will, after all. Proof he's not entirely a lapdog wagging its tail for the good master. Unfortunately she's also a lot of fun to be around, indulges him in his pleasures, and is beautiful and great in bed and encourages his pursuit of freedom and self-hood to boot. He never really had a chance.

3. Is there anything about the Arisen they find troublesome? Be it a small quirk or bad habit? (Or are they obviously flawless?)

...So much. But mostly just the fact that she IS the Arisen. The 'trust' in their relationship goes through quite a few ups and downs; she has to learn to trust he won't lie to her, and he has to trust she won't abuse her power as Arisen over him. But sometimes she does; while it's not her first inclination, she will absolutely order him if the situation demands it, and he despises it, no matter how smart a call it may have been. (Her quirks and habits are largely things he shares like drinking too much and fucking around so alas those are [unfortunately for him] plus points for her they get to bond over.) ...And he supposes he thinks she should get more rest. And stop trying to 'prove herself' by putting herself in terrible danger all the time. And getting hurt. He supposes.

4. What is their specialization and is there any story behind how they cultivated that skill set?

He's a Logistician, which initially comes from being his former masters pack mule most of the time. Later, however, he served similar roles for soldiers and brigands alike, and it proved useful for various Arisen, so, it's just a skill that grew over time out of necessity and usefulness mostly. He does secretly take pride in a well-assembled and organized pack though.

5. Do they have any thoughts on the politics of the world and their place in it as a Pawn - or how Pawns are treated?

Oh, ample thoughts. More thoughts perhaps than your average pawn, though surely he's far from the only one (at least he desperately hopes so). The only reason Pawns are favored in Vermund after all is because the Arisen is favored in Vermund, and that is far from the case throughout the rest of the world. Thus, again, his 'status' depends entirely on the Arisen. He feels slightly 'apart' from his fellow pawns, which is uncomfortable for him, but doesn't see himself as above them at all, certainly not. He's a 'broken' pawn, after all, if anything he's beneath them. But he absolutely loathes how pawns are treated throughout much of the world and for the life of him avoided regions like Battahl as much as reasonably possible. There may be some part of him that 'hopes' for better, but it's so deeply buried beneath the mud of understanding how the world works and eagerly crushes people underfoot, he hasn't considered that in ages... Not until Olivia comes along, damn her.

6. Does their journey with the Arisen change them in any significant way and how?

Unfortunately. He finally starts to get a chance to be more honest, and as the bitterness and years of loathing and spite gradually begin to wash away, he... well, beneath all that he's still really depressed. He's broken, incomplete - a mess of a Pawn who murdered his former master, who still feels the ravages of the Dragonsplague and whatever it 'left' festering and rotting inside of him. He begins to fear the Dragonsplague as whispers of it begin to circulate again, which never happened before - it was a huge unknown back then, so that makes it somehow even more frightening now. And he has to come to terms with what that fear means, what freedom and losing control of himself means, what 'himself' means. It's easier some days to just lay in bed with Olivia and pretend there isn't a dragon looming over them. Bitterly ironic though, that: that his source of solace becomes the one person he (thought he) loathed the most. Eventually, he does start to grow though it though, beginning to trust and accept Olivia more - though he still absolutely has to throw some snark her way sometimes when he's feeling too sappy. (She can totally see through him and just teases him about it.)

7. Is there a reason they chose their preferred vocation?

Archery is just a great vocation for a guy who likes to travel around and be self-sufficient: he can forage for his own food, sell what he doesn't need, hire himself out with those skills. As for thieving, there's some allure to being able to disappear into the shadows and move about quickly and quietly. (Especially when he's working with thieves and brigands). For both he also likes the 'control' and 'freedom' of being able to maneuver around the battlefield as the situation and his assessment dictate, unlike being front-and-center all the time as a fighter might require, and he just has a slight aversion/difficulty with magic so that's not really for him.

8. Do they have any hobbies or preferred past-times?

Hunting, foraging, camping - pretty good for a pawn, huh? :'''D Yeah, he tries not to think about that too much. He genuinely enjoys being out in nature and seeing the world live and breath around him. On the flip side, despite whatever he may claim about disliking humans and their ilk, he enjoys the bustle of cities and the way they live and breath around him - and ideally, the way he can be apart of that. From drinking in taverns, laughing and telling jokes or even occasionally getting into a drunken brawl, it's nice to live in the moment and not have to think too deeply about anything. To forget who he is for a little bit. (Also visiting the bordelrie but he stays classy about it.) When Olivia tells him he needs to get better hobbies he takes offense, (especially when she's not much better) but eventually lands on bird watching. It's soothing, and asks him to stop and take his time, pay attention, and it gives him a sense of peace.

[seiya-starsniper]

Smapril Day 10 - Hair pulling | "Wouldn't you like to know?"

I do love branching out my ship repertoire, and I feel like Corintheus is a rather underrated ship, so today's drabble is for them (with a little bit of background Hobrinthian because I can't resist temptation) @staroftheendless @smutoftheendless

Tags: Light D/S and rope play

“Where have you been?” 

The Corinthian pauses mid step and lets out a huff. The question is hypothetical, of course. Dream had known he’d snuck out into the Waking, and he knew exactly where, and, with whom he’d been with. The nightmare straightens his back, smooths out his jacket and then turns to his creator and grins.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

It’s the wrong answer. 

In between one breath and the next, Dream moves from about fifty paces away to directly in front of the Corinthian. He tangles a hand into the nightmare’s hair and pulls so hard the Corinthian thinks he’s about to be scalped.

Oh. Dream’s taller than him today. That means he’s extra mad about his excursion. The Corinthian licks his lips despite himself and meets Dream’s gaze head on.

He’s used to Dream being upset with him, but today there is a supernova in those eyes. They pin him in place, and his limbs lock still, paralyzed. The heat of anger in Dream’s gaze is so fierce, so intense the Corinthian thinks he must have been banished to Hell itself.

But they are still in the Dreaming. And they are alone. 

“You have disobeyed me,” Dream growls. The Corinthian barely represses the shiver that traverses down his spine. “You were to leave Hob Gadling alone.”

The Corinthian shrugs. “And what makes that human so special, Dream?”

“That,” Dream replies, “is none of your concern. You were given explicit orders. No unsupervised visits to the Waking World. And to leave the dreams of Hob Gadling alone.”

“Technically, I obeyed the second-”

“Enough,” Dream interrupts him. “I should unmake you for your insolence.”

The Corinthian grins. He knows this song and dance by now. 

“Will you now?” The nightmare taunts. “Will you remake your masterpiece as you’ve so often called me? Over a little dalliance with your human friend?”

The hand in the Corinthian’s hair tightens, and he gasps as Dream almost snaps his neck. No. If they were in the Waking Word, his neck would have snapped. 

“No,” Dream says, evenly. “But I will have you punished for this offense.

Long black ropes suddenly appear from the fabric of the Dreaming. They begin to wind themselves around the Corinthian’s body, tightening painfully over his arms and legs. When Dream determines they will hold the nightmare properly, he releases his hold on the Corinthian’s hair. The ropes twist him into a kneeling position, arms behind his back, thighs spread apart. 

“Rope play?” The Corinthian asks, flexing his hands behind his back. “And pretty tight too.”

“It would be advisable if you do not struggle much,” Dream says from above him. This time, when his hand touches the Corinthian’s head, it is gentle, almost indulgent. The Corinthian leans into the touch far too eagerly, but he doesn’t care. He’s too keyed up to care about his dignity, and he knows Dream can tell by the very obvious tent in his slacks.  

“What’s wrong, Dream?” the Corinthian taunts, and he purposely struggles against the ropes. They squeeze at his muscles and the burn of them makes him want to disobey more. 

“Are you,” the blond gasps as one of the ropes wraps itself around his neck. “Are you jealous I got to your pretty human first? Are you curious about what he tastes like? How his cock feels when it’s rammed down - hnngh!” The rope squeezes violently on his windpipe, and it hurts so good.  

“You,” Dream growls, gripping his hair once more, “are a child. You dislike the boundaries and laws I have set forth for you, and for too long I have indulged your misbehavior. It is time to discipline you.” 

The Corinthian takes a shallow breath underneath the pull of the rope. “Do your worst.”

Dream tuts and then suddenly, without disturbing the rope, the Corinthian’s clothes are no more.

The Corinthian loses himself to Dream’s fingers and teeth after. 

Dream is not gentle with him. He bites down hard at the column of the nightmare’s throat, and the Corinthian swears what he feels against his neck are fangs and not teeth. When Dream discovers Hob had come inside him, the Corinthian is thrown face first into the floor, legs and cheeks spread wide.  

“You are still full of his seed,” Dream murmurs against his hole. “Slut.”

Then Dream is fucking into him with abandon. 

The Corinthian can feel Dream’s cock pushing the cum out of his hole, and feels the cool wetness of it dripping down his thighs. It makes him feel sloppy, being debased like this. He shoves his hips back into Dream’s cock, but Dream pulls back further from him and slaps his ass instead.

“You,” Dream growls. “Are not in control here, my little nightmare.” 

Dream sets a relentless pace after that, snapping their hips hard and fast. He brings the Corinthian to the edge over and over again, angling his cock against the nightmare’s prostate just so. Each time the Corithian feels the crest of his orgasm, Dream knows it too and viciously pinches the base of his cock to drive it away. 

“Now tell me, little nightmare,” Dream groans in between thrusts.  “Tell me who it is you belong to.”

“Ah ah, it’s you,” the Corinthian moans. Fuck he’s so close. “Dream fuck, please I need to come.”

“Hmm,” Dream says, “I think not. You will not come until I am fully satisfied.”

Oh, the Corinthian thinks as he realizes the implications. Dream can hold his pleasure back for hours, or even days, if he’s determined enough. 

He is so fucked.

[hannibalismycannibro]

I've seen some people be confused by Job flashback and stating how "ooc" they believe Aziraphale is in it, and as your local S2 Flashback Defender, I think some of you are missing the significance of this story? This specific flashback is very early in Aziraphale's life on earth; other than Eden, we've only seen him during The Flood, which he (albeit poorly) defends to Crowley. The Flood is Gods plan, he cannot question or disobey it, he MUST follow Heaven's orders regardless of how heinous those orders may be; Heaven is the side of light, of truth, of GOOD. Aziraphale is on the GOOD side, so there must be legitimate reasoning behind these orders.

*It's important to know the real biblical context of The Flood, which is when God believed the earth was so filled with evil that He destroyed it, sparring only Noah and his family due to them being the only righteous people left. While we obviously know The Flood was a horrific act regardless of who or what was dying, Aziraphale can very much rationalize this as being necessary for "the greater" good of humanity and The Plan, despite how obviously flawed it is.* Now, let's look at the Job flashback. Job is a righteous man, he lives his life devoted to God and is "one of the nicest men in the world!", yet he's subjected to a senseless bet between sides. This throws Aziraphale for a loop because... what purpose does this hold? You're torturing an innocent man, killing his children, and for what? For the first time, Aziraphale consciously acknowledges that Heaven is WRONG. There is no "greater good" in this act, it's cruel and senseless and he cannot go along with it. Aziraphale outright disobeys God’s plan and attempts to stop Crowley from killing Job’s children. Aziraphale puts his faith not in God's goodness and mercy, but in Crowley's. He KNOWS Crowley would never do such a cruel, senseless act. Up until this point, Aziraphale has been playing his part. He follows his orders, gives his obedience, and doesn't concern himself with human aspects; Food is gross matter, and wine is a source of drunkenness! It's what the other angels live by, he should too! It's what's right! But the cracks in this façade have formed. The obedience is shaken, the faith in his institution is shaken, and in this blasphemous clusterfuck, he lets himself discover one of his most human aspects - eating. Something he probably has been curious about but denied himself, going by his downright gluttonous reaction (I mean, what’s a little gluttony at this point?). The fact it's Crowley - a demon - who introduces him to one of his most human characteristics, not heaven, the side Aziraphale so desperately tries to please and obey, makes it all the more bittersweet. Crowley and the earth gave him more humanity, Heaven denied him of it. This portion of the story is EXTREMELY important to Aziraphale's character. Aziraphale may seem "ooc" (I don't personally believe he is, but I digress) bc he's NOT the Aziraphale we know yet. This is Aziraphale in one of his earliest forms, at the beginning of his journey. This is Aziraphale at the start of his tumultuous relationship w/ Heaven. This is Aziraphale's worldview changing forever, his views on his home & peers changing forever. This is him realizing something is WRONG. Heaven is not what he thought it was, and he can't always go along. It's why we see him battling himself throughout the flashback + having a breakdown at the end, assuming he's going straight to hell for lying, despite making the right decision. We are watching one of the most important moments of Aziraphale's character, of his mindset. Maybe I'm going overboard (probably), maybe it's the religious trauma speaking (also probably), but I will die on the hill when it comes to the quality/significance of this flashback.

[kenjiro-kun]

My intake of Gwen Dislike: Spider-Verse

Note: Just thought to write it out from the many videos that just hate on Gwen (which I get), but lack to grasp certain points the movie implemented on purpose. Just don't like to very big hate on her while being on the Spider-verse side of Tiktok. It was cool to write out my thoughts.

People were hyped about the newest Spider-verse movie. The first one being made in 2018, having a five year gap of the most recent release. The critical and normal viewer audience received this movie in a positive light. Many Spider-Man variant lovers came together, and picked out their favorite background character that made a scene during any part (mostly the chase scene, and movie posters). Though, the majority have come to understand this movie has mostly every character in a complicated situation, but the hate on Gwen is emphasized way too much without any concentration of the overall plot points that the movie showed on Gwen’s behalf.

The movie has two point of views of the main cast from the previous movie: Gwen and Miles. It showcased their relationship throughout the movie in small chapters. Both missed each other (The picture Gwen has of the two of them. Miles drawing Gwen in his sketchbook), Gwen even stating her feelings by being fearful of the many outcomes that did not end well (which doubles down that she does like him, but her own fears keep those feelings in check. Probably with the canon events she learned while being with the other Spider-People and the loss of her Peter Parker), and the ‘betrayal’ between the conflicting Gwen and the confused Miles at the end. She learned from being there (at the base in Nueva City) for months that Miles was considered an anomaly (she did not know that in the first movie), knowing that Miles' father will die due to ‘canon events’ that all the Spider-People go through. Now, glancing back at the many big plot points that may have scared Gwen into not telling Miles, it is, although heartbreaking, was the only way she saw to do things. 

In the beginning (Gwen’s World), Gwen saw her Peter die at her own hands (she was not aware Peter was the giant lizard that was wanting to hurt/kill his bully. She only saw the lizard as just a lizard that was going on a rampage). Her own father, after seeing her as Spiderwoman, was on the hunt for the hero for legibly killing Peter. With the grief of her own Peter dying, she still considered finding a way to still help out the city by having a police radio. Fighting off a vulture from a different universe, she encounters Miguel and Jess (Spider-Man 2099 and Spiderwoman) coming after the sudden anomaly in Gwen’s universe. At the end, having been exhausted and roughed up, her father comes and finds her, pulling a gun on her without knowing her identity, and threatening to shoot her if she did not comply (his warning shot in the air). The second she showed her father that she was the person under the mask, he still held the gun to her. She was afraid. Miguel trapped her father, and Jess persuaded him into letting her come with them. Even subtly, throughout the film, if she did not do her job right, she would be sent home. With her own grief, and fear that her own father would see her as the girl that killed her best friend, she did not want to return home. So, disobeying Miguel, was not something she wanted to do (and by the many glimpses of him in rage, it would seem that it was justified). And even so, when an anomaly was in Miles’ world, she still went to him, even if she was on the job. She cannot have told him, in worry that she would disobey Miguel’s orders, and accidentally hurt the Spider-verse that Miguel is desperately trying to keep in order. Even in Pav’s universe, her worry was still raw and true, even if there was a small amount of her trying to keep Miles from disrupting the ‘canon event’ in Pav’s story. 

Having two teenagers with two different stories, two different fears, with either guilt or remorse, they are still young, naive, and learning the world they have no idea would be beyond their own. Whether Gwen held an important fact about Miles' life, or told him to his face, the outcome of him trying to change that reality would still be present. Gwen, in the plotline, learned from her mistake, her fear over her father disappeared, her demons that caused her to lie, and act odd with Miles were gone, so she made a squad that were with Miles to go save him. The outcome of the next movie is up to the creator, but the dislike/hate for Gwen is too much when the people only hate her and not the others that were in the first movie. All relationships have their ups and downs. Do not hate Gwen, when Peter B. Parker, Penni, and the others, all the same could have, too, told him (though Penni probably has gone through so much—‘canon event’ some assume). But in the end, Miguel and his fear, along with their own, has made them choose to protect the Spider-verse in the beginning, and in the end, they realize their mistake in following Miguel (or the cause) if it meant going against the boy they came to care about so much. 

To hate a character, a person must have a reason surrounding them all, if a person can only state flaws without considering the whole story, reason, whether it is justified (ex: a villain), or not, a person cannot look at a story one-sided. A person cannot pick and choose to hate a character, if more than one of the characters would/has done the same. It is an art, the movie characters, plot, and animation style are all complicated, such as the story. Let the story end, before jumping on a hatred train towards one character because of an action that has a reason for it. Miles is not the only character, whether a person has him as their favorite, Gwen is a big part of the story as well, and simplifying her as someone that has betrayed Miles is a stupid way of looking at things. And if a person only dislikes Gwen for her relationship with Miles (romantic relationship outcome that may or may not happen) then it’s not a very bright look at the movie as a whole. The moment with Spiderbyte was a nice gesture of hers, but she would not have faced repercussions (or none at all) like Gwen would have (she was sent home anyway). She never implied her and Hobie were ever a thing, and Hobie likes to be a menace on purpose and was probably messing with Miles (whether it’s true or not it’s not like Gwen could have visited Miles whenever she wanted to, nor do we have a reason she has stuff at Hobie’s house—not like people could blame her anyway).

At the end of the day, the story, Miles and Gwen’s, is too complicated to hate on a character for what they’ve done, especially in a “to be continued” movie. There were moments where Gwen could have done better (meeting Miles’ parents and walking out of Miles’ room), but in the end, Gwen makes mistakes just like any other character. These are young teenagers trying to hold the world on their shoulders, having empathy is a better way to understand the tragic lives of Spider-People than hating on them for something they could not have done due to their own reasons. 

[1rsoldiersince2012]

Bound by Law (Matt Murdock x reader)

Words: 3466 (chapter 16)

Summary:

You and Matt met in the courtroom. Now, you may think that Matt was a knight in shining armour and defended you in the name of all United States laws, but that was not the case. Matt was totally destroying your client, and you wanted to tear him into pieces right then and right there, because with Murdock as your rival, your head is on the firm's plate with each case. Did Matt care? No, he only cared about bringing justice, he was a human-machine, driven by the need to bring righteousness no matter the cost. Or was he just that? What happens when you get involved in Fisk's business and Daredevil's lies against your will?

UPDATES EVERY FRIDAY

Find my other accounts on ao3 and wattpad! <3

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1rSoldierSince2012

wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/1rsoldierSince2012

16. Breaking rules is fun (and dangerous)

The drive to Matt's apartment is silent, but he knows you want to say something, as your heart is beating fast. Or maybe you still haven't recovered from the run of your life. Truth to be told, you lived off the thrill, blood pumping through your veins has become pure adrenaline, because you don't remember yourself driving so recklessly.

Yet you feel like words failed you now like never before, but the storm is brewing inside of you, and words gonna flood Matt's apartment in no time. But before all hell breaks loose, Matt interrupts the heavy silence. "Thank you."

Simple words, used every day so much that they lost their true meaning, but now you feel like Matt pulled those straight from the depths of his heart.

"I just hope this helps you win the case," you throw so simply, as if the whole thing was purely work-related.

He knows... He feels, that it's way more than that, way more than just a way to keep him and Foggy in business, and way more than just proving that Melissa is guilty. You had nothing to do with his case, to his knowledge, and he felt eternal gratitude for this risk you've taken. And what's all of this for if not justice?

You stop the car and turn the ignition off, taking a deep breath, "Well, this is you."

"Yeah..." He pauses, contemplating his next words. "Wanna come? Tea? Beer?" Matt hears his pulse pick up and suddenly feels like a high-schooler again, asking a girl to dance with him, and immediately begins to feel disappointment rising, like the said high-schooler, when the girl refuses to go with him. He's nervous, feels his palms sweating and grabs the door handle for support, secretly plotting his looser's escape plan. 

"Tea, I'm driving." Your lips twitch into a small smile. "Can't disobey the law when I'm supposed to represent it." You both chuckle at the same time, and you get out, helping Matt to get upstairs, silently cursing the many stairs to his flat but enjoying the closeness, especially when his neighbour walks downstairs, and you get squeezed next to Matt, in order to let her pass. The way his hands snaked on your waist, took your breath away for a mere moment, but the little voice in your head brought you back into reality - a reality where you couldn't let your feelings control you.

Matt fumbled with the keys for a second, but that was more than enough time for you to snatch them from him and unlock his door.

"Ah, that's how you're treating blind people?" 

"Yes, you, Murdock, especially." You say and wait for him to come inside, but he doesn't move. "Are you seriously being a gentleman right now?" You laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole evening.

"Yes, now get your ass inside."

"What, afraid that your neighbour might see you bringing a girl into your flat, when she probably thinks that you're a good, religious guy, who has never, ever kissed a girl before marriage?" You tease, purposely stalling in the corridor until, fed up, Matt gently pushes in you into his apartment, and locks the door after himself. "Oh, exciting," you murmur, and boldly walk further, failing to notice Matt's grin.

You plop on one of the armchairs and look around, Matt gets behind the counter and starts making tea. "Nice apartment you got there, Murdock."

"Well, too bad I can't see how exactly nice it is." He shoots one of the many blind jokes from his arsenal.

"Ha-ha, you know, you're already running out of the jokes." You stand up again and walk around, particularly interested in the view outside the window. 

"What jokes?"

"Your jokes. Cheesy, corny, blind jokes." You reach the counter and sit on it, purposely getting on Matt's nerves, not even justifying your own childish behavior.

"My jokes are corny? I didn't even hear you say one at all in the time of our friendship." He puts on a kettle and leans on the counter opposite of you, crossing his arms, and just now you noticed that he dropped his jacket, and now stood just in his white-collar shirt.

"Friendship? Oh, that's a bold statement, Murdock. I would probably call it a partnership. Just don't get used to it." 

"Well, in this case, it was a very beneficial partnership then, y/l/n." He says, rolling his sleeves up, and probably for the first time you really notice him as a man, muscular and fit, maybe even too much for a lawyer, but only God knows what he does when he needs to let out the steam. After all, he said he was hitting the gym.

"I'm sure Foggy was becoming suspicious of where his dear friend was spending his evening."

"Don't worry about it, Foggy knows I'm a grown boy."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. And what about your grand partners in the firm? I thought you had a case to get ready for." The kettle starts boiling, and Matt swiftly pours the tea in the cups, forgetting that he was initially going to ask for your help. He's blind after all, and this evening managed to raise enough suspicious for you, he was absolutely sure about that, although you kept silent, and this was making him even more nervous.

"Eh, if I were busy, who you would've called to break into Melissa's house?" You smile to yourself, disregarding the fact that you haven't told them your position in company, and curiously watch Matt put the kettle in its previous spot and come next to the counter, invading your personal space a little.

"True, what would I do without my partner in crime?" He leans on the counter, in an awkward way, his elbow almost touches your thigh.

"Probably lose the case." You count on your fingers, "get totally destroyed by Benowitz, get thrown out of business probably once and for all, and then Benowitz would walk around the office, thinking that he's a fucking God." You roll your eyes, and look at your hand, "so, four bad things at the same time." 

Matt hums in thought. The sound is throaty, and somehow turns your insides upside down. "I still have to use that picture-"

"Smartly." You both finish his sentence at the same time. Matt finally dares to risk it all - he cautiously puts his palm on your thigh and affectionately squeezes a little. "Thank you, y/n, truly. I don't think I would've got anyone else to be this stupid to risk their careers for that."

"Is that a compliment, Murdock?" You laugh, eyes running from his gorgeous smile to his palm, still placed on your leg. You look closely and notice that his knuckles are bruised again, this time, without thinking, you put your hand on his, and gently rub his knuckle. "Matt, what are you truly getting yourself into?"

His eyebrows twitch and in the heat of the moment, he pulls his hand away, "Nothing, what do you mean?"

"Murdock, I'm not blind-" you stop and mentally slap yourself for the choice of the words but continue nonetheless, "I keep seeing you bruised and just walking around, hiding your blue eyes under your shades, but I'm not stupid, no man can walk into walls all the time, especially the one who's been living like that for most of his life, and no gym 'buddy' is hitting you on purpose."

He begins walking towards the window, but you're not letting him out of the argument, "Matt-"

"It's none of your business, it's mine, and I think you should drop it." He turns his back on you, pretending that his invisible wall of silence can save him.

"You know damn well that I can't." You put your hand on his shoulder, and he tenses immediately.

"You should learn to back away in time-"

"Too bad they didn't teach that in law school, I'm sure you know that it's impossible for people like us to do so." He doesn't push you away, instead, he finally turns to look at you. Physically, he can't do it, but his senses allow him to see your outline, and a flood of feelings falls upon him.

"People like us? We're not the same, y/n, you just don't understand-"

"How would I understand when you're not telling me shit?" You whisper, feeling like you were going to cry any moment. Arguments in the courtroom were your strength, but the ones behind the closed door brought the most vulnerable version of you.

"I can't, I really can't" he says, and before you can open your mouth for another argument, he grabs your head and kisses you.

Stunned, surprised, flabbergasted, shocked - all those words perfectly described how you felt about the situation you were currently in. His lips, so soft for a man, gently pressed against yours, he tastes your lip gloss, feels you sighing into his lips and uses the moment to test the waters and gently pushes the tip of his tongue against yours. The feeling makes you shiver, and lost in the kiss, you grab his face as well, slowly poking your tongue into his mouth. Matt gets even bolder, and you feel like your legs float above the ground, but in reality, you stand glued to the place, relishing the moment, until Matt pulls away, breathing rather heavily.

"I'm... So sorry..." He whispers against your lips, his face still close to yours.

"I-" You open your eyes, and suddenly it hits you just how wrong everything is, and you gently push him away, already turning towards the exit, "I have to go, sorry, Murdock, thanks for the tea." You stop for a second and look at the cup of the tea, sitting on the counter, and shaking your head, quickly leave his place, perhaps beating the fastest getting down the stairs record.

Matt sighs and punches the armchair, feeling the fury rising inside of him, for no one other than himself.

*** 

You couldn't wrap your mind on what the fuck happened at Matt's. When did you let your guard down? When did he? You surf through the rather empty road to your house, surprised that you didn't hit anyone yet.

You couldn't remember how did you park your car, or climbed upstairs, or unlocked the door of your flat... Or how did you find yourself lying in your bed, already in pajamas, hiding from your thoughts under the covers. Everything was good, perfect even, until today. You couldn't let yourself get lost in the love game again, not after the last time. You just couldn't hurt yourself, and Matt for that matter, again. Maybe it wasn't anything close to love, maybe it was suppressed anger that you were holding for each other after every clash in the courtroom, that burst out in a very strange form. Maybe.

You couldn't get that image out of your head, as much as you tried to forget, the way Matt held your head, so firmly in his big, bruised hands, but yet so tenderly, as if you were a fragile thing. The way his lips were glued to yours, as if he waited to kiss you since forever, as if that was his only purpose in life, the only thing he had to do before dying. You snuggled under the blanket even more, hiding from the world, but unfortunately, it didn't disappear. Your stomach, hours later after the accident, still felt terribly light and full of what the poets usually called butterflies.

You weren't alone in this pit of overthinking. Matt found himself sitting in the darkest corner of the church, a place where he was always welcomed, a place that sheltered him from the world when he didn't realize he needed that shelter.

Was he too bold? Did he overstep the line? Matt laughs under his breath. Of course, he did. It was stupid to let feelings get the best of him, but he didn't have anyone to care about him the way you did. Perhaps since Elektra. But she was pushed away and left far in the past, he was a changed man, he wanted a fresh start, and here you came. All confident in the court, but so vulnerable in real life, so fragile, so soft... Matt lowered his head and slowly tried to shake the thoughts of you out, but even God himself, hiding in the walls of this sacred place, knew that it wasn't possible. Matt couldn't forget how you succumbed to his touch, how willingly you kissed him back, how your tongues met in the middle, and how gentle your touch was on his cheek.

He thought that God has already accepted the fact that Matt came here mostly not to look for forgiveness, but to think of you. The whole building was soaked with irony that Matt Murdock came to the church to think of the unholiest thoughts in the world. And he wanted to beat himself up for that. Maybe he will. He was contemplating of finding another criminal right now, and just let him punch Matt as hard as he could. Just so he could not think of you, at least for a moment.

Father saw him. He didn't see his face, but he recognized the crunched figure in the late hours, and knew that only Matt came here at this time. Father didn't say a word, he didn't even think of going near Matt. After years of keeping him under his wing, he knew Matt perhaps even better than Matt knew himself. And he knew that right now, he wished to not be disturbed.

Matt felt tired, exhausted, but Hell's Kitchen never sleeps, and neither does the Devil.

When one went on to bring justice and peace to the dark streets of Hell's Kitchen, the city he called his home, the other fell into a restless sleep. You kept tossing and turning, getting hot and cold in the span of minutes, cursing the world in your sleep, and murmuring something incoherent. While your dreams were full of shameful thoughts, that during the day would've made you blush, Matt was beating the crap out of a mugger, feeling satisfaction with every punch, every sound of his fist connecting with the man's face. The man drops to his knees, finally losing to the Devil, and Matt breathes heavily, suddenly feeling empty again. He turns and quickly leaves the alley, already hearing the sirens of the police, leaving the easy catch for the cops. On the roof of his apartment, he sits on the edge, listening for any troubled screams, but secretly hoping to hear a sign of you.

Life was harsh, and it certainly didn't like to award either of you, especially not now, with Matt's big case coming up.

*** 

Foggy was on the cloud nine after receiving the photo of the document. This was their breakthrough, their chance of winning and proving that Melissa was the one who hired the sniper for her husband, using his own money. They had yet to prove that the company written on the paper did not exist, but that was the easiest part of the whole thing.

Of course, Melissa chose the best law firm in the city, and one of the best lawyers, although Matt himself thought that Hogarth was way better and more experienced than Benowitz. Secretly, Matt put you in the first place, he thought you were the best in town, mainly because you were not corrupted by fame and money, but he also liked facing you in the courtroom. Was this the moment when he felt something other than competition for you? He was not sure. He should be preparing for the case, but his thoughts kept coming back to you, no matter how hard he tried to delete you from his memory after last night's failure.

"Dude, are you even listening?" Foggy says louder, feeling like he was ignored by Matt since he opened his mouth.

"Yeah, what?"

"Where'd you go? I just listed the whole argument for you. I also said that it's perfect that you managed to get a picture of those payments, we have that bitch Melissa right now!" Foggy says, cheering with his fist in the air.

"Yeah, great." But there was something else bothering him.

"How did you convince y/n to do it? You always fight like two cats in a bag." Foggy takes a sip of his lukewarm coffee and grimaces, raising his eyebrows at Matt.

"She owed me a favour, that's it." Matt shrugs, hoping that Foggy drops the subject, but he knows Foggy too well to be this optimistic.

"A favour? Now I'm even more interested to know what kind of favour she owed that she agreed to break into someone's house."

"Break into?"

"Matt, I'm not stupid, I know that she didn't pull a thing like this from the archive, because no person in his right mind would put this in the archive." Foggy falls silent, hinting that he's waiting for Matt's response, but Matt pretends to be interested in his argument again, purposely sipping his coffee.

Foggy sighs loudly and repeats his previous statement, and this time, Matt puts his whole focus, pushing the thoughts of your skin on his into the farthest corner of his mind.

Meanwhile, you, reach your office late for the first time in your career, cursing yourself and the enormous traffic you got yourself into. You pull out your keys and try to unlock the door a couple of times, before simply pushing the handle. They open, and you see no one other than Benowitz himself sitting in your chair, rather comfortably, his head resting on his folded hands. A wave of worry and fear washes over you, but you collect yourself as quickly as possible, trying to blink as fast as possible, so that he doesn't see your wide eyes.

"Mr Benowitz, what a surprise! I'm sorry I'm late, the traffic was a tragedy." You cautiously walk toward your wardrobe, taking off your coat and putting your purse in there as well.

"Don't apologize, I heard about it on the news, someone drove into a fire hydrant, apparently. That's not why I'm here." He cracks a smile, but it's nowhere near a pleasant one.

You sit in the chair in front of him, nervously turning the ring on your middle finger in your lap, waiting for him to speak again.

"You remember my case against Murdock, right?" He asks, leaning back on the chair, and it creaks loudly.

"Our case?" You say humbly.

"Yeah, so, my client was attacked last night." He stresses the fact that it is his case again.

"What? Is she okay?" You put on a mask of surprise, hoping to fool him.

"Yes, yes, Mrs Dale is well, just shocked. I think it was a failed attempt to collect evidence for sabotage. I have a feeling that Murdock's client had something to do with the quite failed attempt to attack my client. The poor woman is already in mourning, and if the accusations from Mr Dale's bastard daughter weren't enough, some idiots break into her house and brutally attack her." He huffs and squirms in your chair again.

"That's terrible." You furrow your eyebrows, indicating that you can't possibly believe all the bad things that happened to Mrs Dale.

"Yeah, I know. That's why I came to you."

You discreetly take a deep breath.

"I want you to be my partner tomorrow in court. Murdock always brings his puppy Nelson, and I need you to be able to step in if anything happens not our way. I'm sure the jury will believe such a beautiful woman more than me, but don't worry, I-, sorry, we" he shakes his head and quickly fixes himself, "we already have our victory in the pocket."

"Oh?"

"I know it comes as a surprise to you, but I would really appreciate you being there for me... For poor Melissa Dale. It will benefit your career record, maybe even more than you think." Benowitz stands up, walking next to you and leans, his breath hitting your face, "Of course, if you choose to bail, then perhaps you will follow the footsteps of Mr Murdock. Out of the law world." He stands straight again, fixing his jacket, "Have a good day, Miss Y/l/n, I'll send you all my documents, and please, don't ever be late again." Benowitz quickly walks out, leaving your office, and you, still sitting there in shock.

You wanted to call Matt, to tell him everything, but something kept you from doing so. Was it the last night's kiss or loyalty for your job? Perhaps both. You knew that Matt will win, the evidence was strong enough to put Melissa in jail, and stain your career record at the same time. That fucker Benowitz didn't want to go down alone, of course, he had to bring you as well. Probably this will be the opportunity to leave this firm and find a job in another city. Or state. Or even country. You always wanted to live in Canada, so this would be the perfect outcome. Perfectly terrible outcome.

[wenellyb]

Random thoughts about Avatar: Way of Water

So I watched Avatar: Way of Water and I don't really know what to think about the movie...

There will be major spoilers so don't read if you are avoiding those.

I really enjoyed the cinematogeaphy, the special effects and the world builing. For me the Avatar movies are the only movies for which watching them in 3D makes sense and actually makes a difference. The visuals were just breath-taking. I also liked the scenes where we see the colonizers getting destroyed and having their ships destroyed (even though I could have done without those characters altogether but I'll come back to that later)

I also liked the characters. They were all interesting in their own way.

What I disliked was everything else.... I don't know who wrote that script but most of the storyline made absolutely no sense. Just a few examples: I don't get how Jake and his family would flee to protect their people but don't mind putting in danger Tonowari's people. I also don't get why they kept showing Lo'ak disobeying his father's orders over and over again... If that's really how Lo'ak behaves all the time, why would Jake even bother giving him instructions in the first place? Showing Lo'ak being reckless twice would have been more than enough for us to get the message, but it got old really quickly ,(no offense to cinnamon Roll Lo'ak, this is against the writers).

I also don't understand how you can make a 2'40 hour movie and show us absolutely nothing about some of the characters' personality. I feel like we got to know more of who Jake and Neytiri were in the 1st movie but not in the second. I've seen some people argue that Jake was a bad father, but honestly I wouldn't even know. I haven't seen enough of him with his sons to draw conclusions. Now let's talk about his sons: I feel like we got to know Lo'ak a little bit and that we saw that he was a hothead like his father but that's it. He says that he feels like he's a disappointment to his father and can't be perfect like his big brother, but I as a member of the audience fail to see what that feeling is coming from. I just saw a teenager who sometimes doesn't listen to his father, but didn't see the scenes where Lo'ak was "left aside". Also Lo'ak is really weird towards his brother, what Lo'ak told Neteyam in that scene where Lo'ak wanted to go save Payakan surprised me because Netayam has been nothing but supportive of Lo'ak and even covering for him or taking the blame for him when needed, so I can understand Lo'ak's mixed feelings towards his father but not towards his brother. Now let's talk about Neteyam...I know absolutely nothing about that kid expect that he's the oldest son and always tries to do what's right and yes sirs his father.

Tuk was the cutest and I think that Kiri was one of the most interesting character in the movie, I kept wondering what Big secret we were going to find out about her.

And where was Neytiri ??? I mean she was there, but also she wasn't? I didn't see much development for her character, maybe it was just me but I was disappointed by that. I won't talk about Jake's locs otherwise I'll get angry but WHY????

I also liked Tonowari's family, except maybe Aonung who was a little brat at the beginning but came around. Tonowari and his wife were really interesting but I wish we had seen more about their day-to-day lives (not only the montages with music). Tsireya was a perfect character and really refreshing to watch.

I don't understand how you can have 2 hours and 40 minutes and tell us so little about the main characters.

The writers and directors rather chose to focus on the disgusting and traumatic story of colonizers invading their planet and destroying everything in their way. And for what? It's the same story as in the first movie but even more disgusting.

One scene I hated was when Quaritch burned down that town and the houses while searching for Jake... Was it really needed? What was the purpose? We already know he's a monster no need to add additional traumatic scenes like that ones.

I would have preferred if they had ditched the story about the invaders altogether and told a story where Jake and his family had to move for another reason and we got to see them going through the challenges of adapting to another culture with a side of High school drama with all the story with the kids. I would have enjoyed the movie more if we had the same stories but without the colonizers and this would have freed some time to explore all the characters a little more. Any scene with Quaritch was such a waste of Time and screentime and either got me bored or made me really really angry.

Another thing I didn't like about the plot was Neteyam's death... I hate death scenes that are just there for shock values and bring nothing to the story. A scene like that would maybe have made sense in the 3rd movie but I don't understand this choice. Neteyam dying or not would have changed absolutely nothing to the story so to me it felt unecessary and a waste of a character we didn't even get to know.

Thoughts on the Way of Water fandom, one thing I noticed going through the tags was how many people were thirsting over Quaritch...Yikes. I get thirsting over villains, but he's not a villain he's evil. I'm not one to judge you over your thoughts about a fictional character but anyone I see simping over him gets an immediate block from me (that scene where he burns down that town???).

Something else that surprised me a lot was the most popular ship from the movie after Jake and Neytiri? I would have thought the next couple would have been Lo'ak and Tsireya but color me surprised when I went into the Way of Water tags and most people were shipping Neteyam and Aonung😂 I was like :" what???" I didn't even remember seeing them interact with each other but I guess that's Tumblr for you, any male characters interacting for more than 3 seconds is a potential ship. But now that I think about it, the ship actually makes sense. Neteyam is someone who keeps a lot to himself and never let's his true feelings surface and liking boys might ne one of the reasons why he's so closed off?

Moreover, the relationship between Neteyam and Anoung perfectly parrallels the relationship between Neteyam's parents before they got together : Neyteri hated Jake's guts but had to show him the way of her people and fell in love somewhere along the way. Same setup as Aonung and Neteyam I guess. We have Tsireya who has the same mission but she and Lo'ak already like each other or are at least friendly and with them spending most of their time together, that leaves Neteyam and Aonung being the ones spending the most time together. At some point during the movie the both of them just stopped hating each other but we didn't see how it happened.

TL:DR: Meh.

What are your thoughts about the movie?

[classicsubliminalbo]

Fleur-de-lis 6: Disobedience

Originally published Nov 30, 2013 This series has been retconned

Though Adriana had left Lindsay with zero orders, she was happy to find a new life's purpose in service. And serving felt great. For the first time in her life, Lindsay didn't have to worry about silly life things, because she wasn't the one controlling her life anymore. When an important decision came along down the road, Lindsay knew that Fleur-de-lis would take care of it for her. Now she was free to enjoy the simple things in life, like pleasure. And there were some interesting changes in that part of her life too. Lindsay had never questioned her sexuality before, but after that day in the dressing room, she began losing herself in these strange fantasies. Fucking other women, taking their will the same way Adriana had taken hers. This was a problem, because Lindsay was a Victoria's Secret Angel, and she worked with some of the most beautiful women in the world. Now deep into shooting for the fall catalog, Lindsay was finding it hard to focus on her work.

Backstage at the studio, Lindsay could only watch in repressed sexual frustration at the sight of Candice slipping into her tight lingerie.

"Your face is so red," Candice observed. "Are you okay?" Lindsay looked into Candice's eyes, and she saw all of that life. The same bright eyes she'd had before Adriana had enslaved her. Lindsay wanted nothing more than to take Candice right there. To brainwash her just like Adriana had done to Doutzen and herself. That thought made her so horny. But Adriana had given her an order, and she couldn't disobey.

"Lindsay?" Candice repeated. "Lindsay, you're drooling..." "Fuck me," Lindsay blurted. "Excuse me...?"

She wasn't allowed to enslave Candice, but Adriana had never said anything about fucking. "I need it, Candice," she moaned, stumbling toward her coworker. Candice struggled as Lindsay pulled a nipple free from her bra and started to suck. "You taste so good." "Let go of me!" Candice cried, pushing Lindsay away. "What the fuck!"

This could be Lindsay's only chance. If she made the move now, she could have Candice on her knees, willfully eating her out within the next hour. But those weren't her orders, so she only watched as Candice pulled her bra up and stormed away.

Everything was boring now. Adriana had given Lindsay a preview of this new life, but then she slammed the door. Now her new world as a mindless thrall was beginning to feel an awful lot like her modeling career. She wanted to do something, she wanted to brainwash people too!

And that was when Lindsay's hairdresser came in. "Where's Candice?" he asked. "Isn't she shooting today too?" "She left," Lindsay whispered. "Got sick."

"Fuck," the hairdresser whispered. "I swear to god if she's pregnant it'll throw the whole season in a tailspin." "Mikey," Lindsay said. "I want to show you something."

A few days later, Lindsay received an unexpected visit from Adriana. It was the first time Adriana had visited Lindsay's apartment in New York, and she was shocked to be greeted by one of the secretaries at work, a young brunette of so little consequence Adriana couldn't even remember her name. She did know, however, that it was unusual for the young woman to greet her at Lindsay's apartment in her underwear. "Mistress Lindsay does not want to be disturbed," the girl said. "Mistress?" Adriana frowned. "It's okay," Lindsay's voice echoed from behind the secretary. "You can let her in." As the secretary ushered Adriana in, she was surprised to recognize four people from work. Two women sat naked and motionless on her couch, staring blankly forward at her wall, while a man who looked an awful lot like one of Victoria's Secret's hairdressers was eating Lindsay out on the love seat.

"Lindsay!" Adriana gasped. "Is that Mikey? You know he's gay, right?"

"Not anymore," Lindsay breathed. "He's terrible in bed. It makes him pretty happy to eat me, but he's pretty useless." "What did you do to all of these people?" Adriana asked. "The same thing you did to me. I didn't have the technology you had so I, ah..." Lindsay tensed up as she started to cum. "Improvised." "You hypnotized these people?" "I Googled it," Lindsay shrugged. Adriana's frown sunk lower. "You can't do this, Lindsay. Fleur-de-lis is not happy." "Why?" Lindsay asked. "Don't you see? I'm a natural. All of these people worship me! For the first time in my life people are actually doing things for me, and I think the company should see the advantage in that." "They don't, Lindsay. You were never part of the plan." "Then why does it matter? You only want models, you don't care about these people."

"You need to stop." Adriana said. "Maxwell knows about this. She thinks you're out of control and if I can't talk you down, I've been ordered to stop you."

With a frown, Lindsay pushed Mikey away from her pussy and stood up to look her mistress in the eyes. "So that's an order?" "Yes. I command you to stop this." "Your will is my command, Mistress." Lindsay droned.

Adriana breathed a relieved sigh and said, "You need to release these people. People will start asking questions and Fleur-de-lis can't be exposed." "Yes, Mistress," Lindsay repeated.

"Good," Adriana nodded, and she turned around to find the secretary blocking her path to the door. "Don't let her go, Abigail," Lindsay commanded. "I cannot let you leave," the secretary said. "My Mistress commands it." "Lindsay," Adriana sighed. "You're making a mistake." "You're making a mistake. You betrayed me, Adriana. And now you must be punished. Slaves," Lindsay snapped her fingers and all four of her servants rose to attention. "Restrain her." "Yes, Mistress Lindsay..." they droned in monotone unison.

[ashenwinds]

     anonymous sailor sent a message in a bottle. . .

send BLINDSIDED for a scene from my muse's past in which they were betrayed or shocked by what someone did

                ↪   GLIMPSES OF THE PAST

     “ What? ” Chi tries their best not to sound too stunned by what was spoken to them. They had devoted their entire existence to their Master those years ago ; vowed to follow him no matter what happened. He gave them everything, including a new position in life -- a beast of the Sea that none had seen before. Unstoppable because of him. Yet, hearing such a thing out of their captain leaves them uncertain for a moment.      Crystalized fingers twitch a bit, looking away a moment to process the words over and over again. They are one of four that could question Flameheart's orders without deadly repercussions, but this one is. . . baffling.       “ I must know, why? ” Chi turns back to face Flameheart, their gaze matching his even as they take a knee to bow before their King, “ Our loyalty is never questioned, that is something I can back without a doubt. I don't find it. . . ”       “ You will do as your are commanded, Warden. ” Flameheart responds, his tone cryptic, “ It is your purpose to learn the weaknesses of everyone, to be able to break whoever crosses your path and make sure they do not die and suffer unimaginably. ”       “ Of course, my Master. . . ” They lower their head, exhaling a warm huff of ash. Never once had they even thought about turning their skills upon the others. . . they would never betray Flameheart, so why would there be a need to learn their companion's weaknesses unless he has plans to remove such things when learned? “ Are you concerned they may turn? ” Is he concerned they themself may turn against him? The thought would never dare cross their mind. They could never betray him.       “ I want no risks, not after that fool got the advantage on me. . . ” The anger is apparent in Flameheart's voice, still enraged by Slate's tactic back on the island. The Pirate King had learned something as he clawed his way through rock and those skeletons unfortunate enough to be nearby when he got free, “ I need you to know their weaknesses inside and out, so you can counter them and they can counter yours. ”      Flameheart himself sighs, before slamming a fist against the chair he sits upon. A moment of silence before he growls out, “ My time may very well be coming, Warden. ”

      “ Master? ” His time? He cannot be thinking --       “ You and the others will not be accompanying me on the Burning Blade when the battle begins. ” The words strike them hard, like a blast from a trident of dark tides. They must be there to protect their King, to ensure he survives! “ You will return to the Stronghold, and ensure all prisoners are eliminated permanently if failure happens. ”       “ Failure will not be an option! ” Chi snarls, having to calm themself before continuing, “ I will study my fellow Lords, but I will not leave the fight. The four of us can easily take down that weapon! That whelp will fail as he did before. You have been training and enhancing us to be unstoppable for something exactly like this! We alone could kill all these pathetic legendary pirates! Let us -- ”       “ That is an order, Chi! ” His words get them to look away again especially when only using their name, teeth clenching as the pure white fire turns their crystals pale, crawling across their body. They cannot disobey an order. . . even if it sounds like the stupidest thing they have ever heard, and it is coming from their king.       “ I will follow your orders. . . Master. ” Even if it means they may be unable to stop what is to come. He knows what he is doing, even if it means his fire burns out.      They will not understand this decision -- to study their own companions is one thing, but to not allow any of them to join him is what feels like a deep wound. He knows something they don't, like fate has set in stone this would be the day of his fall. And they can't do anything to stop it. . .      And they despise it. All the power that the Ancients tried to lock away, to command the Devil's Fire and being able to manipulate the Shroud, and they are not allowed to stop these fools from winning against their captain. If he falls. . .       “ Find the others, I have one last thing that must be done. ”