#but then she??? completely rejects him?????????

[raincitygirl76]

My friend is noticing that with her 17 year old. A female friend of his has a fairly obvious crush on him, and she’s a sweetheart who shares his nerdy interests (they’re in a robotics club together, and play video games together). But he’s busy chasing (and getting brutally rejected by) the popular girls at their school.

My friend showed me a picture of her from a robotics competition and she’s actually quite pretty. But she’s a smidge chubby (just a smidge, no more chubby than he is). And she doesn’t wear short skirts, low-cut shirts, and tons of makeup, so he’s not interested. Hasn’t even registered her as a possibility.

I’m hoping (and so are his parents) that he gets over this incel phase before too long and asks out the robotics club girl who’s been pining for him all the while he complains no girls want him. She won’t wait for him forever.

I’m not saying he HAS to develop an attraction to this particular girl. Sometimes the chemistry just isn’t there. But she (and other girls like her) is a realistic option for him that he’s completely ignoring.

Meanwhile he’s eaten up with anger that the popular girls keep rejecting him. And thinks they’re shallow bitches who don’t appreciate his many good qualities. The irony of him accusing girls of being shallow is not lost on his parents. But he’s 17, enough said. They’re just hoping he gets over this phase soon. Because while he hasn’t gone full incel yet, he could get there from where he is now. And he tunes out his parents when they try to talk to him.

Incels accuse women of being shallow and then refuse to date anywhere close to within their league. Like no, of course the millionaire supermodel does not want you. You might have had a chance with the sweet girl who works as a cashier at the 7/11 if you didn’t call her a ‘butterface’ and a ‘roastie’ but your personality is so repulsive that you ruined that as well.

[strayingawayy]

midnight melodies

...where a droopy eyed jisung lulls his crying baby girl to sleep

it was 3 am, and han jisung was starting to lose his grip on reality. in his arms, their newborn daughter was wailing at the top of her tiny lungs, and he, half-asleep, was desperate for anything to calm her down.

“okay... okay,” he muttered, bouncing her gently. “you’re just... hungry, right? yeah, that’s it.”

she screamed louder in protest.

“alright, alright,” he said, rocking back and forth. “no food. no bottle. what do you want, sweet girl?”

she stared up at him, her tiny fists clenched, as if mocking him.

jisung took a deep breath, glancing around the nursery like it held all the answers. he spotted her han quokka plushie on the shelf and grabbed it. “okay, quokka, let’s try you.”

he held it up to her, but she screamed even louder.

"aish. so you're rejecting daddy and daddy in animal form too huh?," he said with a tired laugh. "huh ...maybe something... softer."

his mind was a blur. but then, it hit him. a song. he could sing her to sleep. he was han jisung, after all. how hard could it be?

taking a deep breath, he started softly, his voice still a little hoarse from lack of sleep.

“you are my sunshine, my only sunshine…” he sang, his tone gentle and shaky and accent prominent but soft.

the baby hiccupped mid-cry and paused for a brief moment, staring up at him with wide eyes.

“you make me happy when skies are grey,” he continued, growing more confident.

her cries had slowed down, and her tiny hand reached up as if to feel the vibrations of his voice.

“you’ll never know dear, how much i love you...” jisung crooned, his voice growing softer as his exhaustion began to catch up to him.

the baby’s eyes fluttered, her little face calming.

jisung grinned, his sleepiness fading as he realized his voice was finally working. "see? told you i was a pro," he whispered to her, though he could barely keep his eyes open.

just then, you walked in, rubbing your eyes and stifling a yawn. "you’re still at it?" you asked, glancing at your daughter, who was now dozing peacefully in jisung’s arms.

jisung, eyes half-closed, smiled triumphantly. “i’m basically a lullaby legend.”

you raised an eyebrow. “uh-huh. you sure it wasn’t just that song?”

jisung blinked, the reality of the situation sinking in. “i mean... yeah. probably.”

you chuckled softly and, feeling the need for a quick snack, went to the kitchen. but when you returned a few minutes later, the sight you saw made you pause in the doorway.

there was jisung, curled up in the crib with their baby girl, both fast asleep. he’d somehow managed to fit himself in the small space, one arm around her, his head resting gently on the edge of the crib. his breathing was slow and peaceful, a contented smile on his face. the baby, snug in his arms, had the faintest of smiles on her face as well.

you stepped closer, careful not to wake them, and stood there for a moment, completely taken by the warmth of the scene. the man you loved, the one who had been so anxious earlier, was now completely at ease, his little girl in his arms as if they’d been doing this forever.

you couldn’t help but smile. "well, i guess you are her sunshine too, sweetheart," you whispered to yourself, a soft laugh escaping your lips.

you carefully adjusted the blanket over them and kissed both jisung and your daughter’s foreheads, your heart full of love. then, you whispered, "sleep tight, you two."

and as you left the room, the soft glow of the night and the gentle hum of peace filled the air, your little family finally at rest.

[aceospadesart]

Out of all the things in Mouthwashing that stuck to me, it’s the fact that Anya kept trying to enter medical school eight times but keeps failing.

You’d think that after two or three times, hell, maybe even four, she would have given up. Maybe she would have used her bachelor’s degree for something else. Accepted the fact that she was just going to be another cog in the machine and get a job she doesn’t enjoy. But she didn’t. As of the time Mouthwashing starts, she tried a total of eight times.

I’m not even sure what’s worse. The fact that, after every rejection, she applied to a new one every year for eight years, or the fact that she applied to eight schools within a shorter timeframe and all eight of them rejected her. How brave and strong must one be to continue trying. That she never gave up on your dreams to try eight times. And how devastated must she be when Pony Express recruited her just to cut corners because they didn’t want to pay for a licensed and “qualified doctor”. And even when, in the eyes of most people she’s an unqualified nurse, she still continued to do her job with joy and never slacked off on her duties.

And let’s not forget that she kept Curly alive for at least six months with paper tape and glue. And you guys have seen Curly. He should have been burnt to death. And if the burns didn’t kill him, infections would have because he doesn’t have skin. But Anya kept him alive. His bandages don’t look completely soaked in blood. Anya regularly changed his bandages to the point that, when they’re most likely out of it, Curly’s bandages aren’t as soaked or bloody as one would expect.

So if there’s a reason why she wasn’t qualified for medical school, its definitely not because of her lack of knowledge or perseverance. Maybe it’s financial reasons. Maybe she’s just unlucky and she’s always the one who was just below the cut of passing. Medical schools definitely have limited slots. So there’s a possibility that Anya either is always just either one point or one roll of the dice away from being chosen, or that’s what she tells herself to continue pursuing her dream as a doctor.

Anya Mouthwashing, they can never make me hate you.

[loverboysturn]

˖ . ݁𝜗𝜚. ݁₊ popular!chris and the football team take a visit to the diner when cinderella!reader is on shift !

find all popular!chris and cinderella!reader writings here and everything else here!

note: you might want to read this first before reading the below so some things make more sense :) my au’s are always open for this au! come yap or ask me questions about them!

you normally hated working the late shift.

but for a friday night, it was quiet. the diner was empty, a few regulars sat in their usual seats and some families scattered about but all in all, your shift had been peaceful so far. the constant hum of the kitchen, the clatter of pots and pans, and the sizzling sounds of the chefs at work was comforting to you, you wipe down the counter in front of you for the third time since you started work tonight, pretending to not notice how time was dragging on. it was boring but you were grateful for the calmness of it all, especially after the last week.

the world outside the diner seemed to be moving slowly too, the streets outside empty apart from the occasional cars driving by, it was one of those rare nights where it was quiet enough that you could find the time to think, your mind always going back to the same thing, same person.

but, the peace didn’t last long.

the door swings open, and the group swarm in, instantly filling the diner with their energy. their voices louder than usual, bouncing off the walls as they joked and laughed. the football team walking in first, followed not long after by a cluster of cheerleaders, all of them still hyped up from practice.

you barely have any time to adjust to the sudden change in the atmosphere before they were all over the place. completely taking over the booths at the back of the diner, making themselves known to everyone else already in here. their noise filling every corner of the diner, and the chatter between them growing with every passing second. the peace and quiet you had only just been enjoying was suddenly replaced with noise, and lots of it.

your colleague pops her head from behind the counter quietly calling your name. “honey, can you take the booths in the back for me? i’ll take the tables after, i just need to wrap up what i’m doing”

you didn’t need to look over to know to known which booths she was talking about.

you hesitate for a second, trying to scramble up an excuse as to why you can’t, feeling a familiar knot of dread tighten in your stomach.

“but, i—i” you stutter, brain working overdrive to find an excuse.

“please?” she asks again, giving you a small smile.

you sigh, accepting your fate. “yeah, of course.” you really, really didn’t want to serve them. the teasing, the jokes—it was always the same when they were around, and you weren’t in the mood for it all tonight, but you couldn’t say no to her.

taking a deep breath, you straightened out your apron and forced yourself to look unbothered by them all, the last thing you needed was for them to start making more of a scene, but you knew the moment you walked over, they’d find something to laugh at.

as you make your way to the table, your eyes immediately land on chris sturniolo, and for a second, your stomach flips. the memory of bumping into him in the hallway earlier this week flashes in your mind—your books flying out of your arms, the way your cheeks went a deep red after falling to the floor, rejecting his offer to help you up, you quickly look away, trying to shake the feeling of being in his line of vision for the first time since, even though he hadn’t so much as even looked at you once.

“here she is, diner girl” one of the football team says as he sees you, loud enough for them all to hear. you recognise him as the guy who was rude to you you the other day when you bumped into chris. “don’t forget your service with a smile today.”

you bite your lip, forcing a smile as you click your pen and pull out your notepad to take their order.

it was hard to not feel the weight of all their eyes on you, you had enough going on at the minute, you’d been juggling assignments at school, your stepmother signing you up for shift after shift, and on top of it all, there were the late night texts you shared with someone you still didn’t know the identity of but for you it was easier that way, completely anonymous. there were no expectations, no judgement. just words on a screen, but they were words that were starting to mean a lot to you.

“what can i get you guys today?” you ask, trying to keep your tone professional. you wasn’t in the mood for the teasing from them tonight, but you’d try to just ignore it.

“milkshakes” one of the cheerleaders looks up at you with a fake smile, “the usual, don’t fuck it up.”

as she finishes speaking, another cheerleader giggles at her friends’ rudeness, a sharp, laugh that rings in your ears after, you recognise her as the head cheerleader—always the loudest, the first to join in with the diner girl jokes. your eyes briefly look over to where she has her arm casually draped over chris’s, trying to gain his attention, but he wasn’t paying any interest in her, not even looking up from his phone, clearly more interested in what was on the screen than the girl bedside him.

they were the stereotypical on-and-off couple—chris, the school’s golden boy and captain of the football team and her, the head cheerleader and the girl all her friends wanted to be. everyone knew their drama, how they’d broken up and gotten back together more times than you could count on both hands. the last you’d heard, they’d broken up for good just before the summer break started but you’d never paid much attention to it, the gossip of the popular crowd had never really interested you—it was always the same boring stories.

“got it” you say, your voice flat as you force a smile. you turn on your heel, rolling your eyes when they could no longer see you, the feeling of frustration brewing in your chest at the way they treated anyone not in their group but you’d gotten good at pretending they didn’t bother you at work, even when they did. you knew they’d leave a terrible tip anyway, that’s if they even left one at all.

you make sure the milkshakes come out exactly as they ordered to prevent any more rude comments from them—a few vanilla, a few chocolate and some strawberry flavoured. you place them carefully on the table, trying your best to avoid eye contact with anyone but as you set the last one in front of chris, he looks up at you, eyes locking with yours.

“you know, diner girl” one of his teammates interrupts the eye contact, a smirk forming on his lips. “i think we shouldn’t have to pay for these tonight, they’re on the house, right? you know.. ‘cause of your little accident running into chris this week.”

the whole table erupts into laughter, a few other comments muttered and fake giggles, a cheerleader chimes in “yeah, maybe you should stay out the way next time and you’d earn your tips.”

you still don’t let your frustrations show, just nodding at them. “enjoy your drinks guys.” you sigh, quickly walking away before any more comments can be thrown your way.

an hour or so later, the group finish their drinks and you notice them all start to make their way to the exit, their noise and laughter still echoing all around the diner. you stand behind the counter, cleaning a coffee mug, hoping they’ll just hurry up and leave.

“thanks for the free milkshakes, diner girl” one of the football team shouts. “you’ll have to bump into our golden boy more often.”

you don’t respond, just waiting for them all to finally leave, bringing the diner back to the quiet you were enjoying earlier.

you turn to grab a rag from under the counter, already bracing yourself for their mess that you’ll now have to clean, but as you’re about to head over, you feel someone standing on the other side of the counter infront of you.

you glance up, half expecting it to be one of the football team or a cheerleader, waiting to throw one last comment at you before they leave for good, but when you look up and your eyes land on chris, you’re taken aback. he’s standing there, his posture is calm, but you can sense the tension in his shoulders and for a second, you freeze, waiting for him to make some kind of snide remark.

but he doesn’t.

“i just wanted to say” he begins, voice softer than you expected. “i’m sorry for how they all treated you tonight. i didn’t like that they spoke to you like that” he looks down, eyes on the counter infront of him. “the thing in the hallway the other day with me and you, that was completely my fault. i wasn’t looking where i was going.”

you blink in surprise, a look of confusion taking over your face. you wasn’t expecting this, you open your mouth to say something, but the words are stuck in your throat.

“i—“ you start, unsure of how to respond. “it’s fine, i—I’m kinda used to it now.”

he shakes his head, finally looking up at you now. “no,” his voice firm, “you shouldn’t have to be used to it, that’s not fair on you but i’m sorry if my stupid clumsiness made it all worse tonight.”

when you saw him stood there just now, you expected the same attitude you receive off his friends, the same dismissive tone in his voice but instead, he’s apologising for them and you can’t quite figure out why.

“honestly, chris” you say, forcing a smile. “it’s fine, you don’t have to apologise.”

his gaze lingers on you, then without warning, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a crumpled bill, sliding it over to you. “here,” he says, “for the milkshakes.”

“thank you,” you murmur, voice softer with him now, you take the money, fingers brushing against his making the awkward tension in the air between you become thick enough that you feel yourself becoming flustered.

chris gives you a half-smile, a rare one that feels a lot more genuine than the usual one you see him throw about at football games and in the hallways. “it’s nothing,” he says, his tone softening. “and, uh…you really know how to make a great strawberry milkshake, guess i owe you one now for that too.”

you blink, completely caught off guard but before you can say anything else, chris turns and heads for the door, slipping out with his friends, door swinging shut behind him. you watch him go, still feeling confused by him being nice to you but you can’t shake the feeling that maybe he is still like the rest of them, charming when he wants something, but just as rude as his friends when it doesn’t matter to him.

you push your thoughts aside, just wanting to forget about the whole scene and pretend your shift tonight didn’t happen, you focus on the task waiting for you, heading over to the now messy booth where they’d been sitting that needed cleaning.

as you wipe the table, your mind drifts to your mystery guy and you can’t help but wonder what he’s doing right now. is he thinking about you too? you glance at the clock, a sense of relief running through you when you see there’s only an hour left of your shift.

sixty more minutes, and you’ll be able to talk to him again, the only thing that had been on your mind all night, the only thing that makes the chaos of your life all fade into the background.

little did you know, the guy who was keeping you up at night and consuming your thoughts, was standing just a few feet from you earlier, complimenting you on your strawberry milkshakes and you had no idea.

[lemonlover1110]

𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐚

Toji Fushiguro

[Chapter 1] Indecent Proposal

Story Masterlist

Pairing: Knight!Toji Fushiguro x Princess!Reader

Chapter Warnings: Suggestive Content, Minor Sex Talk

Story Summary: This is what'll get Toji killed... But how can he reject her when she looks up at him with such beautiful eyes? A man that's been to war won't be killed by the edge of a sword but rather the lips of a woman.

He shouldn’t lay a finger on her, but he’ll do anything that she asks him to. She’s his princess, he has to follow her every word.

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Discord +18 - Twitter - Ko-Fi - Bluesky

“Toji!” You yell from the top of your lungs, and the man that stands outside your door can’t help but sigh. He knocks on the door of your room, only for you to yell some obscenities. He rolls his eyes before opening the door. 

What a kind and proper princess. He’s won wars only to deal with this. The scars on his body mean nothing. Protecting the princess should be of the highest honor– If only she weren’t such a brat.

“What, princess?” He questions as his eyes widen. It should be no shocker to find you underdressed, but he can’t help but be surprised each and every time. You truly don’t view him as a man.

“Help me with the corset.” You order as his eyes land on your maid. The woman has stepped aside to let him take charge. 

“Isn’t it tight enough?” He questions, seeing how tight it looks. It looks proper enough, but it seems that you want it to suffocate you. Your request alone tells him where you’re going tonight.

“Get to work.” You tell him, not answering his question. He’s right, it is tight enough, but it could be tighter. Toji grabs the strings on the back and you hold your breath as he pulls. Tonight is going to be long, but it’ll all be worth it.

“Where are we going?” He foolishly asks, as if he didn’t know. You’re trying to see those who you call friends. The ones that snicker when you turn your back to them. 

“Did you forget, Toji?” You ask as he pulls some more. He furrows his eyebrows, trying to recall what’s happening tonight. There’s no response from him, letting you know that he’s completely forgotten. “My engagement party.”

“Of course, finally.” He responds. “You’re finally meeting the prince that I’ve been hearing nonstop about for–” 

“He isn’t here.” You cut him off, leaving the man at a loss for words. An engagement party with no groom, what else did Toji expect from royalty? “He couldn’t make it tonight so we’re moving on without him.”

“Will this happen at the wedding too?” Toji mutters, something that your keen hearing picks up on. And you just can’t keep your mouth quiet about it, you have to say something. 

“Shut up, Toji. What do peasants even know about weddings?” You roll your eyes before they fall on your maid. You mouth an apology to her for your comment; it’s meant to offend Toji, not her. 

The old woman laughs, finding the bickering as a great source of entertainment. She got annoyed with it at first, but after two years of watching it happen before her eyes, she’s grown fond of it. It’s nice to see you get along with someone that’s just not her. Maybe getting along isn’t the right phrase to describe your relationship with Toji, but she’s not sure how else to put it.

“Do you think we get married in a pig’s sty or what?” Toji questions as he lets you go, patting your back twice to let you know that he’s done. 

“Yes. In a place full of shit and with loud animals.” You add, making Toji scoff. In a way, Toji should be honored. You don’t speak to anyone else like this.

“Just shout my name if you need anything else.” He responds, something that he shouldn’t even bother saying since that’s what’ll happen anyway. Your voice stops him before he can walk out the door.

“Emerald uniform tonight.” You remind him, and he hums in response. An improper response, but proper for an improper princess.

“Toji.” The man hears from a sweet familiar voice. He’s hiding in the kitchen, filling his stomach up before the engagement party tonight. He already feels it in his veins, tonight will be interminable.

“Hanako, can I help you?” Toji asks as he stuffs his mouth with a crab cake. Kitchen staff have slapped his hand one too many times tonight, but he still manages to sneak some food in. “Does the princess need me?” 

“The kitchen staff told me to come here to drag you away.” Your old maid tells him, making him click his tongue. He can’t even enjoy a proper meal in the damned castle. 

“I’m just having a short meal before watching over the brat and her friends tonight.” Toji’s words are barely comprehensible with all the food in his mouth.

“Do not refer to the princess as a brat.” Hanako slaps the back of his head, making the man whine. Who thought that such an old woman could have such a firm hand? “She is a very kind woman, do not speak like that about her.”

“Why does the princess hate me then?” He questions, his hand rubbing the spot that Hanako hit.

“The princess does not hate you.” She responds, and he rolls his eyes.

Right, is that why you insult him so much? Toji doesn’t care enough about it, but he does notice how you treat him differently from everyone else. You’re kind to everyone in your surroundings— Whether they’re royalty or the help. But Toji? He’s a whole different story.

“Then why does she act the way she does?” He asks, and the old woman can’t help but chuckle. She should keep her mouth quiet about it, but there’s no harm in it. You’ll be getting married soon.

“Well, dear, don’t tell anyone else this but…” She begins, looking around the kitchen. Everyone is too worried about making a feast, that they aren’t paying attention. She still does lower her voice before confessing to him, “The princess has a tiny crush on you, and she isn’t a woman that’s in touch with her feelings.”

His eyes widen as his lips turn into a straight line. The old woman is messing with him… He didn’t expect it from Hanako of all people, but he’s been proven wrong. 

“A crush, huh? Don’t lie to me, old woman.” Toji’s words earn him another slap, this time on his forehead. He whines again, rubbing that spot as he tells her, “You have such a firm hand…”

“Respect your elders.” She tells him, hand wrapping around his wrist to drag him out of the kitchen. He should fight it, but he knows better than to argue with the elderly.

“Toji…” Toji’s sick of hearing his name, and the night is far from over… How could he forget that the engagement party is tonight?

His eyes fall on Mayu, a maid that works closely with him in the castle. She smiles brightly at Toji, a man that can’t return the sentiment. He’s exhausted to say the least.

“Hi, Mayu.” He greets her, not caring to look twice at her. She’s a nice girl that keeps Toji company whenever he’s not watching after a certain someone that makes him want to rip his hair out. However, whenever he’s working he’s not all that interested in her.

“The emerald uniform tonight, huh? The princess insisted that everyone wears this awful color.” The woman laughs, hoping that Toji joins in, but his mind is elsewhere. Toji ponders on the old woman’s comment– A crush on him? She’s turning senile.

“The princess gets what she wants.” He replies, making Mayu hum in response. She keeps trying to make conversation with him, but it’s obvious that the man doesn’t care enough. He zones out for a minute, in which he realizes that she’s still talking. 

“So I was wondering…” She begins, and he raises his eyebrow. “Will you–”

“Toji!” She’s interrupted before she can ask her question. She rolls her eyes, realizing that it’s by none other than the woman herself. Her eyebrows furrow when she sees the man’s reaction. His jaw nearly drops as he realizes why you’ve chosen emerald of all colors for tonight, luckily, he manages to remain his composure.

“What is it, princess?” Toji responds, while Mayu begins to walk away. You walk over to him, looking both ways to see if you spot the old woman.

“Have you seen Hanako? She’s supposed to help me get ready.” You ask him as he looks you up and down. He’s almost checking you out– But oh, your father would tear him to shreds. 

“You look ready to me. Certainly not how I found you earlier.” He answers, and a frown comes to your face. That wasn’t the question you asked, so why is he answering like that? 

“Answer my question, Toji.” You tell him, which ends up with him shrugging.

“Don’t know. Last time we talked, she was dragging me out of the kitchen.” He informs you, making you laugh as you shake your head disappointedly. 

“When do you not think about eating?” You point out, and he puts his hands up defensively.

“I wouldn’t be this hungry if you fed me.” He argues, making you click your tongue.

“You’re a big boy, you can feed yourself.” You argue back, and he gives you a peculiar look before clearing his throat.

“Touché, princess. Next time I’ll leave my post to get myself some food.” He replies, speaking to you as if he’s won the argument. However, there’s no way to win an argument if you’re involved. 

“You know you can leave without an issue.” You tell him, which makes him cross his arms. You stare at each other for a minute before he reminds you,

“Your father would kill me.”

“I don’t need protection all day every day.” You respond.

“Your father would kill me.” He emphasizes, making you scoff. He’s won, but you’d never admit it.

“I’ll feed you, just help me put on my necklace.” You say, and he has no other option but to follow behind you. He’s no longer hungry, but it’s not like he has the option to refuse to help you.

Toji stands in the doorway, watching as you rummage to find the necklace you’re wearing tonight. Knowing you, you probably lost it in a matter of hours. It’s funny, you have so much that you hold little regard to a piece of jewelry that could secure the stability and wellbeing of a village.

Luck is really a hilarious concept. You have everything while so many struggle to survive. Not only wealth, but the looks and intelligence that many people lack. Your only downside is that you’re a damned brat, but even poor people can act like you do. Maybe that’s why you annoy Toji so easily, you have nearly everything a person could ask for, yet you fail to realize it.

“Bingo!” You exclaim, proudly holding up the velvety black box. You walk over towards Toji, and hand it to him. He scoffs, when you fail to open the box, which is the simplest task that he can think of. 

His eyes glimmer when he opens the box, admiring the beautiful stones that will adorn your neck tonight. No farmer will ever see this much money in their lifetime, let alone hold it in their hands like Toji is right now. He can’t ponder on that thought though, there’s nothing he can do about it. 

That’s just the way life is.

He takes the necklace and puts it on your neck, his big fingers struggling with the small clasp. He mutters a few curses under his breath, causing you to laugh. Toji rarely struggles on a task, and apparently, this is one of them.

“You know, I can save you a dance if you’d like.” You say out of the blue, trying to make conversation to fill in the gaps of silence. You know Toji enough to know that he’ll reject it, but maybe just maybe, tonight he’ll change his mind.

“I have two left feet.” He answers, making you chuckle. You should’ve expected as much– At least this time around he didn’t bring up how inappropriate it’d be, and how he’s just the protection. Toji finally gets the necklace on. 

“Luckily for you, I have two right feet so I balance it out.” You respond, turning around and grabbing his hands. He’s quick to retract them from your grasp. Toji likes to play it safe. Once upon a time, he was completely different but once upon a time he didn’t work in the castle. 

“A proper princess such as yourself shall not dance with a peasant.” He’s using the various arguments he’s heard throughout the years against you, and he can tell that you’re not exactly pleased with it. You puff out a breath, crossing your arms.

“Suit yourself.” You say, walking out of the room to which he’s forced to follow. “Just so you know, that was a once in a lifetime offer. I’ll never ask you to dance with me again.”

“I won’t be missing out.” He comments, making you momentarily glare at him. At that moment he thinks of the old woman’s words again… A crush? Maybe she isn’t as senile as he thought.

“Toji.” The same soft voice from earlier calls out his name, and he rolls his eyes. It’s nothing against Mayu, she’s a sweet girl, Toji is just sick of hearing the stupid name over and over again. He doesn’t even like it, so why do people love to say it?

He looks around the ballroom, excessively decorated just for one night. The palace is always clean, and decorated but never this pristine. There’s flowers in every corner and he swears he sees his reflection on the floor. There’s a massive orchestra performing for the guests, playing music that can bore him to death. 

The castle almost looks lively. Almost.

“What is it?” He sounds annoyed. He’s just standing in the corner, waiting for the princess to make her grand entrance before he’s allowed to take a break. The place is going to be filled with guards, he’s not needed until you decide to leave.

“I was wondering if you’d… Like to dance with me after all of these guests leave?” She looks down at the ground in shame, quickly regretting the question. He should be the one to ask, but she knows that he’d never step up and do it. She just assumes that it just isn’t the type of guy Toji is.

“After the orchestra leaves? With what music?” Toji responds, and she bites down her lip. She never really thought about that.

“Perhaps the princess will give us a chance to dance. It is courting season.” She says, making Toji chuckle. It’s not for the reason she thinks though.

“Courting season is for noblewomen.” He reminds her, a rather harsh reminder. Maybe in another life she’ll be born as the princess, but she certainly doesn’t have that sort of luck this time around.

“Right.” She subtly nods, disappointed by the answer. She bites down her lip, looking around the place. She tries to change the topic to something that Toji would be more willing to talk about, “Is the princess being insufferable today?”

She’s met by a cold gaze, and she just wants to dig a hole and crawl in it. Nothing she says or does impresses him. She should know better than to try.

“Hey, Toji…” She mutters again, just as you make your grand entrance. The way his pupils dilate as he watches you come down the stairs. There’s no change in facial expression, but his eyes are a dead giveaway.

She’s ignored, but she doesn’t try again. She won’t compete with a princess. Toji will eventually crawl to her. One morning he’ll wake up and realize that he’ll never be accepted into royalty.

His eyes are dead set on you, as you begin to dance with your father. The first dance should be for your fiancé… Yet, the man isn’t here. Toji wonders what the point of an engagement party is if your fiancé isn’t here. You’ll just stand in a corner, and watch everyone dance whilst the jealous nobles speak ill of you.

He’s noticed that everything the royals do is for show. Otherwise, this engagement party would’ve been canceled.

“I’m taking my break.” Mayu comments, something that falls on deaf ears again. Toji should leave behind Mayu, but he keeps staring at you. He’s watching as you walk over to the group of women that you call your friends. 

Toji rolls his eyes before following Mayu, deciding that he won’t watch you make a fool of yourself tonight. 

“Toji.” He’s nearly drooling on the kitchen table, his drowsiness getting the best of him. He doesn’t know whether he wants to kill them or thank them for waking him up; he guesses it’s the latter since he’s still on duty. He doesn’t want to be caught slacking off, especially not by–

“Princess?! What are you doing back here?” His eyes snap wide open at the realization that it’s you. At least it’s not the king. You won’t get him in trouble for sleeping. A big yawn escapes his lips before he asks, “Aren’t you supposed to be dancing the night away?”

“You know…” You begin, taking a seat with him on the table. He notices the spark in your eyes is gone, knowing that it’s all because of your friends. They said something and now you’re here, instead of enjoying your engagement party. “An engagement party isn’t all that fun when your fiancée isn’t there.”

“Well, I’m sure he had a great reason.” Another yawn escapes Toji’s lips as he tries to reassure you. It’s not late or anything, the day just tires you out when all you hear is your name being called over and over again. 

“I wouldn’t know myself.” You awkwardly chuckle, and now he knows the talking point of the evening. He doesn’t know how, but the women manage to get under your skin. You just seek approval from everyone, perhaps it’s because you don’t have many friends.

“If it helps, I have a huge sword that can take care of the problem.” Toji jokes, but you furrow your eyebrows. You have no idea what he’s talking about, and he won’t explain himself either. He clears his throat before asking, “Do you want to take a walk?”

“Yeah.” You end up agreeing, standing up from your chair. He walks behind you as you look for an exit, which ends up on him grabbing your hand and leading you to the outside. You’ve lived in this castle for over twenty years, yet he knows the place better than you. It’s good that he’s by your side, because you’d be lost otherwise.

You can still hear the music from the orchestra inside, the sound becoming faint as you walk further away. You might not know your way inside, but you know the walk straight to the garden from anywhere.

Toji won’t speak unless he’s spoken to, that’s his role.

“Do you think it’s dumb to marry someone you don’t know?” You suddenly ask him, walking to the fountain that ties together the garden. Toji bites down his tongue. Being honest isn’t the best policy here. He knows how to pick his battles, and frankly, this isn’t one that’s worth fighting. 

Sure, you tend to bicker a lot but he says stuff that is harmless. He never plans to hurt your feelings, it’s not something he intends to face the consequences for. 

“Toji, answer.” You insist, hating the silence that you’re met with. “Staying silent is an answer either way.”

“Well…” He sighs. You take a seat on the edge of the fountain, looking up at the man. He looks hesitant, telling you all you need to know. “I’ve always thought that you’re supposed to marry for love.”

“Yeah…” You look down at the ground, almost in shame. Toji doesn’t understand why, because you have everything a human could ask for– He married for love once, and it was stripped from his hands. Love doesn’t secure anything; the power and money in your hands is a guarantee to a good life.

“It’s not worth it anyway.” Toji reassures you, something that he rarely does. He doesn’t have to, you’re never self conscious. Unless you bump into your friends, then your mind completely changes.

“Right! You were married once, how was that?” You look back up at him, curiosity brimming your eyes. Toji shakes his head, deciding not to speak. You end up sighing before talking again, “They know more about him than I do… And it feels weird.”

“What do they know?” He asks, and he watches you bite down your lip. Your face ends up going into your hands as you tell him,

“They say he’s a sex freak.” Your words come muffled, and he blames what he hears on that. Those words did not just come out of your mouth.

He frowns before asking, “What did you say, princess? I didn’t quite catch that.”

“He’s known to be promiscuous.” He hears you loud and clear this time around, and his eyes go wide. He’s perplexed by the response, but he shouldn’t be. Royalty or not, a man is still a man. He’s not sure how to answer, leaving you to speak by yourself. “What if I’m not enough for him? I mean I know nothing and–”

“I’m sure you’ll be more than enough.” Toji ends up cutting you off before you can ramble. You furrow your eyebrows, crossing your arms like the damned brat that you are.

“For you, maybe.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He quickly asks, and you click your tongue.

“You’re a peasant. Peasants are satisfied with anything they pick from a brothel– But he’s royalty.” You explain, making Toji scoff. He mimics you, crossing his arms while staring you down.

“Where do you think your royal prince is going to be promiscuous?” He leans down, getting into your face. If the king saw him, his head would roll off for being too close to the precious princess. “Maybe you’re right. I wouldn’t be satisfied with you either.”

“Good thing you’ll never be the prince.” You stick out your tongue at him, and Toji rolls his eyes. 

“You’ll be fine, princess.” He ends up telling you, but that’s not enough to soothe the sudden wave of nerves. “You need to stop listening to those women. They’re jealous of your status.”

“Toji…” Your breath hitches, thinking if you really want to ask him the question. No, you shouldn’t. It’s not appropriate– You still spit it out, “How do you have sex?”

“Princess, I was there when they taught you this. I don’t have to explain this to you.” Toji quickly answers, trying to look unphased by the rather odd question. It’s a good thing someone else is raising his son because he doesn’t know how to handle it. “Which was quite weird, considering you were well into your twenties.”

“No, I mean how is it enjoyable? How do you make a man enjoy it?” You’re practically interrogating him, and while Toji isn’t one to get nervous, this isn’t sitting well with him.  

“It’s just something that…” He begins, and he can’t bring himself to say it. Instead he extends his hand for you to take, insisting, “Let’s go back inside.”

“What?” You’re quite annoyed that he doesn’t give you the answer to your question.

“Look, princess. There’s no explanation. It just feels good when it’s with the right person, that’s that.” He ends up giving in, very clearly sharing your sentiment of annoyance. “Now, let’s go back inside before your father kills me.”

“Fine.” You roll your eyes, taking his hand and standing up. He guides you back inside, where you’re everyone’s prey once again. Your eyes keep wandering back to him, but before you know it, Toji’s out of sight.

“Hmm… Toji.” She knew that this is how she’d end up tonight. No matter how much Toji tries to ignore her, he ends up coming back to her in the darkest moments of the night. 

Toji marks Mayu’s neck, knowing that she had no way of hiding it tomorrow. She likes to think that it’s because he’s possessive, rather than him just being reckless. It doesn’t matter the reason, she’s still digging her nails into his back as his kisses get lower and riskier.

“Toji!” They both hear, making the man freeze. She puts her index finger over his lips. If he doesn’t make a sound, they’ll go away. “I need your help!”

“She’ll leave if you don’t say anything.” Mayu whispers, and Toji’s too in the moment so he agrees. It’s his job as your assigned knight, but it’s after hours. 

He thinks he’s safe after a minute, but the man often forgets how invasive you can be.

“Toji–” The door opens, and he looks back at you. Your eyes go wide and you immediately cover your face, protecting yourself from the compromising situation. He stares back at you with guilty eyes, as if he’s tainted your innocence in any manner. 

“What is it, princess?” He asks, getting himself off Mayu and grabbing a shirt. It’s after hours, you’re assigned a different guard until the morning. What can he do that your guard possibly can’t?

“It’s fine, after further thought, I can handle it.” You respond, taking baby steps as you back out. Toji sighs, looking back at Mayu.

“Leave.” He mouths to her, and he watches as the woman gets upset. Toji doesn’t have the energy to deal with her, instead, he walks over to you. His hand goes to your shoulder and he turns you around.

“Are you decent?” You question, and Toji almost smirks. You can really crack him up even when it’s not your intention.

“I’m walking you back to your room, am I not?” Toji answers, and he watches you uncover your face. It’s clear that you’re embarrassed about the situation you found him in. He ends up chuckling before saying, “I guess you can say that I’m one of the peasants you described earlier.”

“What do you– Oh! No. No no. You like that girl and–” Your brain is unable to find the right words. It’s as if the system is overheated after finding your knight in that situation. “You know I just say things to tease you.”

“I don’t really like her.” He confesses, and you raise your brow. You don’t respond to that, you’re not sure how to.

He clears his throat, “What did you need help with?”

“I needed help with something and I didn’t want to ask Hanako.” You answer, and he shakes his head disapprovingly.

“So you chose to bother me instead?” He’s mostly teasing, but you can’t look him in the eye. “You know, that still doesn’t answer my question. What could I do that your night guard can’t?”

“Nothing. It’s trifling.” You reply. You’re nearing the room, and you both notice how your night guard is missing. He’s most definitely looking for you.

“Here you are, princess.” Toji opens the door to your room. He has to make sure that you enter your room safe and sound, and that you don’t try to escape– Oh, what a headache that would be. 

Your gaze falls on his massive arm, one that is usually covered by the long sleeves of his uniform. Right now he wears a simple white undershirt, one that gives you the view of the many scars on his arms. Scars that he’s gotten throughout the years of many battles. You know better than anyone that Toji has been through a lot, otherwise he wouldn’t have the position as your knight. 

You don’t know why you keep staring at it, or why you like it. Your face begins to get warm, and you almost have to pinch yourself to get out of the trance that you suddenly have found yourself in.

“Goodnight, princess.” Toji tells you, knocking you back into reality. You step into the room, muttering a barely audible goodnight. Your hand goes to the door knob, and just as you’re about to shut the door in his face, he asks you, “Are you sure you don’t need any help with anything? What you needed sounded urgent.”

“I’m fine.” You nod as you begin to shut the door in his face. But you stop yourself when there’s a crack in the door. What’s the worst that can happen?

“Is everything–” Toji begins when you open the door wide once again. Nothing can possibly prepare him for the question that leaves your lips. The help that you needed just a few minutes ago– It wasn’t just anything that anyone could fulfill.

There’s a reason you sought him.

“Toji, will you have sex with me?” 

[yparkwrites]

MR. DETECTIVE S.JY FF

Pairing: Detective Jake x Female reader (Y/N)

Content warnings: explicit content (smut), blood, murder, killing and more to be added

Word count: 27.6k

Synopsis: Jake is a known detective, as they transfered the case to his unit of a serial killer, Y/n a police rookie will arrive to find the truth about her brother's death and unbeknownst to them, the serial killer has been with them from the start.

Publish date: January 6, 2025

Comment for tags.

NOTE: LONG WAIT IS OVER IT IS FINALLY HERE. CHAPTER 1 -9 ARE NOW OUT ON WATTPAD. TUMBLR UPDATE WILL BE ONCE A WEEK.

Son of the mob P.SH FF Completed

MR. DETECTIVE S.JY FF COMPLETED

Chapter 4 & 5 will be published on monday

Chapter 6 on tuesday

© 2025 Y. PARK WRITES. All Rights Reserved.

tags: @strxwbloody @dreamiestay @fancypeacepersona @heeaxvhhoon @jakeswife @evjirvninvitnvrnvirivn @candypopinluv

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

1

“You’re an early bird.” Jake said, seeing Y/n cooking breakfast for them. 

“I’m not, I’m just thankful that you took me.” Y/n replied, serving him his plate full of food. Eggs, bacon, toast and potato fritter. “You know you need to go grocery shopping, your fridge is empty.” She added, taking a seat in front of him. 

“I don’t really cook,” Jake said. “Jay was the one who usually cooks for us,” he uttered quietly.

“Jay is a good cook, a great one. I don’t know why he chose this path, maybe if he didn’t he would still be by my side.” Y/n stated, eating the bacon she had cooked earlier.  “Tell me about my brother, when he was working with you.” Y/n said, looking up at him.

“Hmm, what can I say about him? Jay is a hardworking guy, he’s good at everything, he never rejected any job offers despite their dangers, he doesn’t care, if he’s receiving a nice amount of money he takes it, without any doubt, no second thoughts he takes it, that’s why everyone envies him, until now, the department just simply can’t find someone as good as him. Whenever someone asks him why he takes dangerous jobs, no questions asked, he’ll always tell them he wants to give you a nice life, that he wants you to have nice clothes, nice foods, nice places, everything.” Jake shared. 

“I told him I don’t want any of that.” Y/n replied to him, sighing. 

“When he was offered the job, the job that took his life, he told the chief he’s not taking it. He told him that if  he doesn’t come back to you, no one will take care of you, but that same day he found out you’re sick, you needed treatment for your surgery. I could’ve told him I’ll pay for your surgery expenses and hospital bills but instead I told him I’ll take care of you.” Jake added on his story.

“It’s not your fault, he would’ve taken it anyways, it was my fault, I got sick.” Y/n uttered quietly, finishing the last toast on her plate, as she took her empty plate on the sink, with Jake watching her. 

2

Entering the office together, silent murmurs can be heard throughout the hallways, as the news of Jake taking a rookie spreaded like a virus, it was a big deal, as he never liked the idea of taking a rookie. 

“Why’d you never take a rookie?” Y/n asked, entering the elevator with Jake. “Are you nervous?” Y/n asked, seeing Jake being uneasy.

“Y/n, if they mention Jay, don’t react, if you react I don’t know what they’ll do. And to answer your question, your brother was my first rookie. After his death I told myself I’m not taking more rookies again.” Jake replied at Y/n.

Y/n followed behind Jake, who’s leading her to the meeting office to talk about the serial murder case that’s been happening for almost 3 years now. 

“Mr. Sim Jaeyun, it’s been awhile, and well what do we have here, a rookie after 3 years a rookie.” The leader of the investigation greeted them, as soon they entered the room.

“This is Y/n, she’s my rookie and she’ll be helping us with the case.” Jake said, looking at the man in front of him, who has been looking at him with a smug look on his face. 

“Well Y/n, I’m Lee Eunyeok, call me Mr. Lee or just simply Eunyeok.” He said, introducing himself to Y/n. 

“Shall we start?” A guy asked, as they all nodded in response. 

“I’m Park Sunghoon, Jake’s partner.” Sunghoon said, introducing himself to Y/n as he sat beside Jake.

“I’m Y/n, he didn’t mention he has a partner.” Y/n replied at him, grinning softly.

“Not that type of partner, little one.” Jake whispered in her ears. 

“I didn’t say anything.” Y/n whispered back.

“Okay, so latest murder happened a few nights ago, victim is 40 years old male, arrested for rape but charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence, no murder weapons were retrived  nor any fingerprints were detected.” Eunyeok said, showing everyone the slideshow to show them the stab wounds of the victim. “Our theory is that the serial killer used a kitchen knife to stab the victim,” he continued.

“That’s not a kitchen knife stab wound,” Y/n said, interrupting Eunyeok from speaking.

“Excuse me?” Eunyeok asked, while Jake signaled her not to say anything more. 

“That’s a pocket knife stab wound, you can see it from the tissue damage, it’s not a clean cut from a single stab of a kitchen knife, but a cut created by multiple stabs from a pocket knife.” Y/n explained.

“And who taught you that? Cause that doesn’t make sense, it’s bullshit.” Eunyeok said, chuckling as everyone in the room started laughing.

“That’s an absurd theory.” One of them said as they continued to laugh until they shut them off.

“Jay taught me about it.” Y/n said, making the laughter die down.

“Y/n, stop it.” Jake said, as he signaled her not to say anything more than that.

“You know Jay?” Eunyeok asked.

“Yeah, the officer you got killed 3 years ago. The job was offered to you but because it’s dangerous you offered it to my brother knowing he won’t decline the offer.” Y/n disclosed. 

“Let’s continue the meeting tomorrow, Y/n let’s go.” Jake said, but he was stopped.

“Why don’t you send her with Sunghoon, stay here for awhile,” Eunyeok said.

“That girl, that’s Jay’s sister?” Eunyeok asked.

“Yes, but please, leave her out of it, she doesn’t know everything.” Jake replied. 

“Well let’s hope that, because you know what will happen.” Eunyeok told him before leaving the room.

3

The car ride was silent, as Jake decided to buy some groceries with Y/n to ease his mind. 

“Sorry.” Y/n said, breaking the ice inside the moving car. “Please say something,” Y/n uttered again, as Jake didn’t respond. 

“I told you not to mention him.” Jake said through his gritted teeth.

“Can’t help it.” Y/n replied quietly.

“From now on you’re not going to the meetings, nor near the building, you’ll only go there to report your status.” Jake told her.

“Why?” Y/n asked.

“Because you got yourself in their radar, and now I have to keep you beside me at all times, because if not, you’ll end up like your brother.” Jake replied, parking his car near the grocery entrance. 

“He got my brother killed yet he’s standing there leading the investigation.” Y/n said before coming out of the car, as Jake sighed.

“Jay, give me strength, your sister is adorable when pissed off.” Jake whispered.

Jake followed Y/n inside the grocery, who’s now running like a little kid as soon as she got the shopping cart, making Jake chuckle at her. “No wonder your brother loves you so much,” Jake whispered. 

“Take any food you want,” Jake told Y/n, helping her push the cart. 

“Should I cook something for dinner?” Y/n asked, looking up at Jake. 

“Let’s just order take out.” Jake replied.

“What will I do at home?” Y/n suddenly asked.

“I’ll print you all copies of the cases from 3 years ago, and help us like that.” Jake responded, grabbing a pack of ramens to put on the cart.

“You know, I really like spicy ramen,” Y/n mentioned, seeing him only getting mild ramens.

“You do?” Jake asked.

“I love them.” Y/n replied with a little smile on her face.

4

Arriving at Jake’s place from the grocery, Y/n helped out to take all the groceries he bought for them inside the apartment.

“It’s been 3 years since I’ve bought this amount of groceries.” Jake said, as he struggled to carry all the foods they bought.

“I told you I can help carry them,” Y/n mumbled.

“Has Jay ever let you carry more than 1 grocery bag?” Jake asked, looking at Y/n as he finally set down the groceries down the kitchen table.

“No, he never let me carry one.” Y/n replied.

“Great, your brother will now have a reason to hunt me in my sleep.” Jake said, panting.

“Oh don’t be so dramatic,” Y/n replied, handing him a cold glass of water.

“Thank you.” Jake said.

5 

During dinner they both ate the take out they bought at a korean restaurant on their way home. 

“Are these all the cases?” Y/n asked, as she skimmed all the printed cases Jake had printed her.

“No, there are more, but I have to grab them at my office, so stay put, I’ll be back, call me if there’s an emergency and don’t open the door unless it’s me.” Jake said as he grabbed his car keys to get all the remaining files printed from his office.

“Jake, would you mind buying some midnight snacks?” Y/n asked.

“We bought a lot of snacks,” Jake said.

“I forgot to take lays.” Y/n mumbled.

“I’ll get them on my way back here.” Jake said before going out. 

After Jake left to get the remaining files, Y/n started skimming on the files Jake had already printed.

First victim: Male, 30 years old arrested for murder, case dropped due to insufficient evidence. Stabbed 10 times on his chest and 3 times on his back. No murder weapons retrieved. No fingerprints recovered. Murder weapon: kitchen knife. 

“Are they dumb? That’s clearly not from a kitchen knife.” Y/n mumbled as she continued reading the first case of the serial killer. 

Second victim: Male, 25 years old arrested for sexual assault, case dropped due to insufficient evidence. Stabbed 10 times on his chest. No murder weapons and no fingerprints recovered. Murder weapon: kitchen knife.

“Why do they keep putting the kitchen knife when it’s not a kitchen knife,” Y/n mumbled, but her thoughts were interrupted when the bell rang. 

Forgetting what Jake had told her, she opened the door. 

CHAPTER 3

1

Y/n kept reading the files on the case they’re working on, there’s a lot of them, from the last 3 years they haven’t caught the killer, the murderer. The biggest question in Y/n’s mind is, what’s his/her motive of doing this. 

On all the case files, all of them end with a dead end. No murder weapons, no fingerprints, no clue, there’s nothing, the serial killer is very smart. 

“Will Jay be able to solve this if he’s still here?” Y/n quietly asked herself. 

Jay was once the best rookie, he can solve anything not even detectives can solve, he’s one of a kind. Jake was his mentor, however being the same age, they treated each other like brothers, they’re friends, Jake was just his senior for 2 years, he graduated earlier than him, he’s a smartass. Jay graduated later because of his sister. He wants his sister to be able to handle herself first before going to the university, but that changed when their parents died in a car crash. He needed money, he worked 3 jobs a day for a year until he decided to go inside the academy.

After 3 years of being in the academy he was finally sent to the police department of crime teams, Jake took him as his rookie. He never made a mistake during his rookie year, not even after. 

Jay was offered one of the dangerous jobs, spy a frat group by going inside, just for a year and receive 6 figures monthly, he wasn’t going to take it, but hearing the amount of money he took it, he can use it for his sister’s heart surgery, he accepted it, however he didn’t make it to his sister’s 18th birthday. 

2

The doorbell kept ringing, making Y/n sigh in frustration. 

“Can’t you fucking wait?” Y/n asked, opening the door, Jake told her not to open it. “Shit!” Y/n exclaimed. “What the fuck happened to you!?” Y/n asked as she tried helping him up to get inside Jake’s apartment. Successfully helping him inside she flopped him down the sofa. 

“Wait there I’m calling Jake.” Y/n said, leaving injured Sunghoon in the living room. 

“Fucking answer Jake,” Y/n mumbled. “Goddammit!” Y/n exclaimed as she threw her phone on the bed. Going into the living room to check on Sunghoon.

“Hey, you up?” Y/n asked, shaking the guy in front of her, who just groaned. “At Least help me lift your shirt,” Y/n mumbled, trying to remove his shirt to see his injury. 

“Don’t,” Sunghoon mumbled, stopping her from removing his shirt.

“We have to treat it.” Y/n said sternly, fighting Sunghoon’s grip. 

“You don’t want to see it.” Sunghoon said weakly, coughing up blood.

“I’m calling the ambulance.” Y/n said, just to get stopped by him. “You’re gonna die.” Y/n said, panicking. 

“He won’t.” Jake said, slamming the door open. “Little one, grab me a towel and some water,” Jake said, sending Y/n away to check on Sunghoon’s wound. 

Y/n went inside Jake’s room to grab a towel, not forgetting to fill up a basin with water. 

“Oh my god!” Y/n exclaimed, turning around as she saw Sunghoon’s big injury on his stomach. 

Jake stood up from his position to grab the towel and water from Y/n and told her “I can manage little one. Go and keep reading the files, oh and that’s your midnight snack.”

“He’s gonna die if you don’t bring him to the hospital.” Y/n said.

“I won’t let it happen.” Jake said, trying to calm her down. 

Jake started cleaning his wounds, hearing grunts from Sunghoon he pressed harder on his wounds. 

“It fucking hurts.” Sunghoon groaned, opening his eyes glaring at Jake who’s already glaring back at him. 

“What the fuck happened?” Jake asked as he continued treating Sunghoon’s open wounds. 

“Nothing, but I made a mistake,” Sunghoon responded, groaning.

“What did you do?” Jake asked.

“I dropped my pocket knife.” Sunghoon replied quietly. 

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll get it tomorrow.” Jake replied to him quietly.

“What will you do about Y/n?” Sunghoon asked. 

“I don’t know.” Jake responded.

“She just dug her own grave.” Sunghoon replied back.

“She’s mad about her brother’s death, and she finally met the people who put her brother’s life on the line, and now he’s gone.” Jake said.

“You like her don’t you?” Sunghoon said teasingly. 

“Shut up.” Jake retorted, making Sunghoon chuckle.

“Remember when you told me a lot of stories about her when we met in the academy and years later you met her brother again,” Sunghoon reminded him.

“I did talk a lot about her.” Jake responded. “I can’t be with her, her brother will haunt me if I try dating her.” He added, making Sunghoon laugh who groaned in pain right after.

“You know you can’t keep her here, you should get her an apartment or something or maybe a car if she drives so she doesn’t die of boredness here, she can’t be reading files 24/7,” Sunghoon said.

“I’ll talk to her about it.” Jake said as he continued to treat his friend’s wound that just stopped bleeding.

3

Y/n continued reading the files for the next hour but her mind kept drifting to injured Sunghoon. Sighing, she decided to leave Jake’s office. 

She saw Jake cleaning the blood off the floor and Sunghoon sleeping on the couch. 

“He’s fine.” Jake announced, making Y/n sigh in relief.

“What happened to him?” Y/n asked as she sat on the floor to check on Sunghoon’s wound. 

“I don’t know little one, ask him tomorrow.” Jake replied. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.” Jake added, trying to lift her. 

“I can walk.” Y/n mumbled. 

“I’ll carry you.” Jake said as he successfully lifted her up, carrying her to his bedroom. 

Jake dropped Y/n on his bed before going inside his bathroom to clean himself up. Getting up from the bed, Y/n knocked on the bathroom’s door. 

“You need something?” Jake asked from the other side. 

“I also need to wash up.” Y/n replied, the door unlocking, revealing a topless Jake.

“Wash up here, I’ll wash up in the other bathroom.” Jake stated as he came out of the bathroom to let her wash up.

After washing up, Y/n flopped down on the bed to get some sleep. And after 10 minutes Jake opened his bedroom door to find Y/n fast asleep, making him chuckle.

“No wonder your brother loves you too much. Jay don’t worry, I’ll protect her no matter what.” Jake said quietly, pulling the blankets over Y/n’s body before he flopped himself beside her. 

[kiemiu]

𝓒𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓: 𝓣𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝓣𝐨 𝓜𝐞

pairing kang sae-byeok x fem!reader | wc: 1.8k

summary -> a day that goes your way. warnings -> none.

( beneath the quiet masterlist )

7:09PM

Time had slipped by, and as the days flew by quickly, there were no abrupt changes in your schedule, still leaving a lot left to be desired from your normal day-to-day. Sae-byeok began to make more frequent appearances at the orphanage, her visits often stretching for hours on end as she quietly kept Cheol company. Always talking quietly to him to keep the peace in their own little bubble, shared smiles, and poorly concealed laughter showcased just how close they were as siblings, a small tug on your heartstrings happening every time you walked past the visitor area to get a quick glimpse of them.

Yet, like clockwork, she’d end up disappearing for days at a time once her injuries healed, only to soon return with fresh marks on her skin—bruises and cuts adorning her skin, showing a brutal side to her that she kept concealed. It was as if her long felts of absences were silent declarations of something raw, something she refused to acknowledge no matter how much you pried.

You truly worried for her, always being unsure if the next time you saw her would be you or Cheol’s very last. Anxiety couldn't help but continue to bubble inside you with her resistance. Every time you attempted to check in, to offer even a hint of concern, she deflected, retreating behind the same curt, almost robotic phrase: “I’m fine.” as if it was something she had been taught to say instead of feel. The faint limp in her step, the weary slant of her shoulders, the cuts on her hands, the bruises on her face, the swell of her left eye, all telling a different story. That she was everything but fine.

With the added uneasiness of wondering about Sae-Byeok’s health, there was also a relieved air that brushed over you at the absence of your boyfriend. After his less than desirable return, he decided to stay at his own apartment for a little while instead of crash at yours, his excuse—not that he needed one—was because he needed space, feeling as though he needed to get his feelings sorted out, while simultaneously hinting at the solution of a breakup. You showed no indifference to his choice, not a smile even when you were bouncing off of the walls excited, but also not a frown to feign heartache in a play to stroke his already huge ego.

He didn't like your reaction, leaving in a huff like he usually did and he hadn't returned in a week or so, his radio silence being a serene peacefulness to what he usually brought you.

You rolled your neck to release the tightness in it, You had been on your feet since 5 in the morning, having to work an early shift at Café Gippeum, while also having to be at the orphanage by 11. Throughout your shift your eyes couldn't help but trail back to the array of treats that sat on the display. All of them glistening in their own delicious glory.

Feeling a tug towards the banana bread that sat untouched. You hadn’t seen Sae-Byeok eat it before—or anything at all quite frankly, you had just hoped that the fullness of the sweet bread would be enough to get her through the rest of the afternoon.

Arriving at the orphanage, you had to take a minute to gather yourself in your car. Practicing on how you’d give the treat to her, anticipating with crossed fingers that she’s there today, as well as doesn't completely reject the offering of bread you brought her.

The first thing you did as you walked into the house was greet the children in the lunchroom before walking towards the visitor area, thankfully spotting Sae-byeok but this time she was alone, Cheol most-likely running off somewhere to seek out yet another of his little creations to share. You approached her slowly, your steps deliberate, unsure on whether it was an appropriate time or not to intrude on her solitude. Yet something inside you, possibly a desperate hope, urged you forward to her. Forcing you to do something—anything.

You carried two thick slices of banana bread wrapped in a napkin and a chilled water bottle you had grabbed from the fridge on your way out of the lunchroom, both simple offerings, but ones that felt important to you and ones that hopefully showed her how much you cared.

Her head lifting at the sound of your soft approaching footsteps. Her gaze, soft, and gentle, different from her usual judgy pierce. “It’s not much,” you murmured, holding the food toward her. “But I noticed you stay here during the kids’ morning stretch and nap time. They usually have two meals and two snacks by then.” you add on quietly, your eyes trailing back and forth from the bread to her eyes.

Sae-byeok’s gaze shrink as they flickered to the bread, scanning it briefly with a look that could only be described as skeptical, almost dismissive.

“You—uh, You don’t have to eat it,” you said quickly, your voice quieter, more uncertain now. “But… it’s here if you need it.” you gently stammered before setting down the items in front of her. The awkwardness of the moment hung thick in the air as you took a small step back, feeling her eyes on you, but avoiding their weight by staring down at your feet.

With a murmur of a quick apology, you bowed before turning to head outside where the rest of the children were starting to retreat after lunch. Leaving her to herself and soon Cheol, wherever he may be.

You could feel the vibrating joy from the kids who were finally free to run outside after a string of rainy days had kept them indoors. Their excited voices filled the yard as they ran around gleefully, a smile stretching on your face as you watched them.

Your moment of tranquility sadly interrupted at the sound of your mom calling out to you. Your eyes wavered on the kids, leaving them to play together and enjoy their own little world that they've created. Slowly you started to make your way toward the swinging bench that sat on the side of the yard, your eyes flickering to the window of the visitors area as Sae-byeok lingered on your mind.

Your eyes found her immediately. Still sitting this time with Cheol by her side. He was talking animatedly, his hands making grand gestures as he shared whatever tale had caught his imagination. Sae-byeok fully absorbed in the story, her cheeks round and stuffed with banana bread, her doe-like eyes soft and attentive as she nodded along to his words. Her water bottle, half-full, rested beside her, forgotten for the moment as she brought a hand up to cover her smile at something funny Cheol must’ve said. You couldn’t help but smile at the sight—Cheol’s energy infectious, and Sae-byeok’s rare moment of quiet contentment touching, you wish you saw that side of her more.

You tore your gaze away quickly, turning towards the bench your mother sat on, the familiar pull of responsibility tugging at you. She wasn’t the type to wait long, and you didn’t want to be caught staring at something you couldn’t quite define.

Your gaze then found your mothers, her hand holding two cups of tea, and her head gesturing over to the available seat next to her. A bit of surprise fell over you as you slowly fell into the seat next to her, grabbing the glass of a tea with a grateful smile and a gentle nod not being used to her actually wanting to spend one on one time with you.

“How are you doing, sweetie? You seem a little… distant lately.” she interjects first before bringing her mug to her lips.

“I’m fine, just busy. You know, same old stuff.” you reply, your eyes falling on your own mug that laid in your lap, watching as the liquid moved languidly with the soft sways of the bench.

“I know things have been a bit off lately… I’ve noticed you’ve been keeping to yourself more.” she adds, her eyes flickering from the kids over to your figure for a split second,

“Just a lot on my mind. I’ll get over it.” you mutter quickly with a shrug of your shoulders, resistant on going down a path of talking about your feelings on a day as pretty as the one you were having.

There's a moment of silence, your mothers head fully turning towards yours, her eyes trailing up and down your figure before finally asking “What’s going on, really? You know you can talk to me, right?”

You let out a small sigh, your shoulders slumped forward, a slight hesitancy in the way you speak “I—I don’t know. It’s just… you know me and David aren’t on the best terms right now.”

With furrowed eyebrows your mother starts to pry a little more. “What happened? You two were so close not too long ago.” she asked, Oh right, you never told her about the situation before he left.

With a frustrated sigh you murmure out “Things just… fell apart. We’ve been fighting a lot and I don’t think we’re in the same place anymore. My heart just hasn't been in the same place for a while.”

A soft hum leaves her and a moment of silence follows. “Your heart hasn't been in the same place…is there someone else?” she suddenly asks, her shoulder bumping into yours teasingly.

“I—no! No, no, no. I just haven't been-” you cut yourself off, giving your mother a deadpan stare at the look she gives you with a teasing smile, her eyebrows lifting up and down in a mocking way.

Your mother giggled at the look you shot her way, a playful glint in her eye as she continued to relentlessly tease you. You tried fighting the smile on your face but couldn't hold it back, letting out a flurry of laughter as you gave into her playful taunts.

Despite the way her questions made you squirm and want to burrow yourself in the ground out of embarrassment, there was something undeniably familiar about her warmth. You didn’t always like the way she handled things, but in the end, she was the woman that raised you. Blood or not, she was still your mother, even when there was a flickering light inside of you that hoped and prayed for the arrival of your birth mom if she was still out there.

As her teasing continued, you found yourself glancing once more towards the visitor area. This time, Sae-byeok’s gaze met yours, direct and unblinking. Cheol too focused on his drawing to notice, yet Sae-byeok, almost as if uncertain, lifted her hand in a small, hesitant wave. Without thinking, you returned the gesture, your wave shy, unsure of how to handle the sudden, quiet connection that hung between you, a wordless bridge formed in the space between.

' 𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 ' 📷 : @miabcuzz @twicesuuui @kissyslut @kritkalhit @st4rcs @dumbbellxo @theforestchoseme3 @wlvlurvsfimmia @genshinenjoyer @theweirdanimation @ch-3-rry @nenukkjhj @giaqnn @crack240 @pookalicious-hq @laurenkenss @sheinhamood @pooksterrr @bbynai @diorzs @beaaluv @colorfulkittenperfection @yourl0caltrash @kidicaruslover911 @sherryuki-callmeyuki @i0nic02 @knfthxv @mina-has-been-here @monroesturnns

[snailsgoingdowntown]

Help, I Reincarnated as the Female Lead’s Sister-in-Law!

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Chapter 9

‘Slight’ Yandere! Dion Agriche x Fem! Reader

Arranged marriage AU

Warnings: thoughts about self-harm (biting thumb again), accidental self-injury(? + biting inside of lip which causes it to bleed), thoughts about implied murder, near panic attack, implied depression, slight blood, small/slight themes of obsession and possessiveness, slight themes of misogyny/some toxic behavior from Reader's family, please tell me if I missed any.

Nsfw warnings: OKAY, I honestly think Maria, if she becomes fond of a daughter-in-law, would absolutely push for grandchildren and take things into her own hands unless someone (Sierra) tries really hard to convince her otherwise. I’m really sorry for writing her as a creep but this will be the last time (either completely or for a very long time) I’ll write her like this. Anyway: suggestive, throwback to their 1st night, gifting of lingerie and aphrodisiac by Maria (again will not write her like this either completely or a long time, I tried rewriting this chapter so fucking much but this is what I settled on because it felt the most natural to me.) pushing for grandchildren, Maria somehow got the Reader’s measurements, please tell me if I missed any.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT CONDONE ANY OF THE HARMFUL AND/OR DANGEROUS/TOXIC ACTIONS AND/OR BEHAVIORS THAT TAKE PLACE IN THIS PIECE OF FICTION. THESE ACTIONS/BEHAVIORS SHOULD NOT BE NORMALIZED NOR ROMANTICIZED AS THEY ARE BOTH EXTREMELY TOXIC AND DANGEROUS.

MINORS/BLANK BLOGS/BLOGS THAT DO NOT INTERACT OR REBLOG ANYTHING FANDOM RELATED (FICS, ART, ETC.) DNI.

===

‘Dear father and mother, 

I am doing well so far. The food is nice and the clothes comfortable. I haven’t personally spoken to my father-in-law yet, but I’m going to meet him for dinner tomorrow at the time of writing this. My husband, Dion is different from what I expected. Too nice. He’s not as brutal as others described him. It was surprising. But he’s a pervert and I almost hit him out of frustration and rejected his sexual advances like any sane person would. I know that you’ll say I should have let it happen, mother, but it hurt so bad I don’t think he’ll ever fit. Speaking of those vulgar activities, you lied he wasn’t flustered in the slightest until I started crying. Can you believe that? He’s a creep! But hopefully he doesn’t kill or torture me he’ll continue to treat me nicely.

Of course, as his wife I’ll do my best to support him in fear of him or Lant killing me otherwise in every field to the best of my abilities. Just how you forced taught me.

I have talked to a few in-laws, including my mother-in-law. I heard that you drank with her, mother. She's very  lively and has a sadistic unique personality. She’s very sweet to me. I have also met the fourth wife, Sierra. She’s lovely, I think you’ll also get along with her, mother. 

I hope that the two of you are faring well. The same goes for Zac and Elena, of course. Speaking of them, how has Zac’s studies been? He’s not skipping them again, is he or planning something dangerous like that stupid but well-meant plan he informed you, father, about? Yes, I overheard everything?

Is Elena doing well in her pregnancy? I know she moved out before me, but I’m still concerned about her and the baby. And Albert, he’s taking care of her, right? 

I’m not sure what else to write, so I’ll just leave it here. Please take care of yourselves. The same goes for my brother and sister.

Your daughter, (Name)’

“... I ended up writing what I really think… I need to rewrite this… again.” You sigh, leaning back in your chair as you crumble the letter. This was your fifth try, and while each one became less hostile and more casual, you weren't satisfied with any of the rough drafts to turn into a final draft. 

If you weren’t married to Dion, into this family, would writing to them be easier? You shake your head. No point in having these useless thoughts. Especially as Hana comes in with a knock and your permission, rolling in your lunch. 

In the end, you ended up going with Hana’s suggestion - basically saying that your husband fucked you too hard and rough last night and you needed to recover. Thanks to that, you didn’t have to change into the scarlet dress she picked out either - it was decided to be saved for the dinner you’ll have with both your husband and father-in-law tomorrow. 

You already asked Hana for indigestion medicine for tomorrow. 

“Thank you, Hana,” you put your stationary away and picked up the crumbled balls of paper that were failed attempts. She eyes you curiously but doesn’t comment on it. Instead she readies your lunch, placing the plates onto the table. 

The thought of eating makes you sick. You could barely hold down breakfast - could you hold down lunch? Or would your body give up immediately and reject the food? 

Warily looking at it, you notice two prettily wrapped up boxes - one pink with light red polka dots, the bow purple in color. The second box, a flatter one, had red wrapping paper with a tiny black hearts pattern, with the bow also black. Your heart speeds up as your gut twists painfully. If they were meant for you, they contain nothing well meant nor innocent.

“Oh, right,” Hana starts before handing both ‘presents’ to your unwelcoming arms, “Lady Maria sent these to you. I don’t know what they are, unfortunately.” With a grave look on your face you shakily thank her, a pained and forced smile stretching your lips. 

Maria sent these… oh boy, I sure do wonder what they are… 

“Later today, please help me pick out a gift for her. It’s only right that I repay the favor, especially since she’s my mother-in-law.” Placing them down next to your feet, you ignore the urge to kick them far, far away from you. It’s hard to keep your eyes off of the boxes. It’s hard to focus on your food, picking up your fork and knife as you cut into the grilled fish. 

It’s hard to chew, accidentally biting your lip hard enough to taste blood. It’s hard to drink the water as it threatens to choke you. It’s hard to not wince at the sharp sounds of cutlery against the plate as you imagine your head being chopped off like nothing. 

It’s hard to breathe. 

How much longer until you go crazy?

By the time you finish your meal, you’re sweating buckets. You hate it here. You want to go home -

“My Lady, are you alright?” Hana’s voice drags you out from your thoughts, flicking your eyes to meet hers. She’s picking up the silverware and placing it back onto the tray, but quickly takes a clean napkin from it and hands it to you. You take it with shaky hands, doing your best not to drop it. Thankfully your brain didn’t lag for too long for you to realize it was for your sweat.

You pat down your temples with the white cloth.

“T-thank you… v-very much, Ha-Hana.” Why is your voice so shaky? Why are you stuttering? Hell, why are you sweating?

You already had one panic attack - you don’t need another one. Your right thumb throbs at the memory and your teeth want to clamp down on it. The bandages suddenly feel too tight around the digit and you want to rip it off so you could dig your teeth into it. You bite your lip, only worsening the newly formed wound. The taste of your own blood spreads throughout your mouth again. 

You need to stop. 

Your attention switches to Hana, the woman staring at you uncertainly. It wasn’t necessarily out of concern but rather confusion - just how was she supposed to comfort her master? …you’re probably putting her in a rough spot. 

…right. I just need to accept my new reality… but today is not going to be that day.

Taking in a deep breath, you force your nerves to settle down - positive thoughts, positive thoughts. The sun is warm, the birds are lively, the bed is comfortable, your husband is gone - 

This isn’t the first time, and clearly it won’t be the last. 

“...thank you for bringing the food, Hana.” You’re not fully composed, not fully right of mind, but as the saying goes: fake it until you make it. You did it once, you managed to do it throughout the duration of the engagement, during the wedding despite feeling horrible, you did it while consummating your marriage despite being ripped open by Dion, you did it while at the tea party with Maria and Sierra, you did it last night when you told him off.

You did it back then, too. 

Force yourself to smile now. Tilt your head innocently. Act happy. Act happy. 

“I enjoyed it. Please give my thanks to the chief.” Your smile isn’t bright as the sun and slightly wavers. Your eyes aren’t shining brightly like stars, instead seeing past her. Your mind isn’t calm as you recall the brutality of this family that was shown and described in the story. 

Fake it until you make it. 

Yes, you think. Maybe you will have a conversation with Roxana. 

- - -

Hana left an hour ago yet you haven’t moved from your spot. No, instead you’re staring intensely at the presents in front of you on the table. They’re pretty, a bit childish. But knowing Maria… 

“...is it a trap…?” Carefully, you pick up the stereo typical present box and lightly shake it; it rattles. “Sounds a bit heavy… like a box within a box.” Curiosity gets the better of you and you gingerly untie the purple bow before ripping the wrapping paper. Despite the damn thing nearly sending you into another panic episode, it was satisfying to unwrap. 

A slightly smaller box is what you see once you manage to open the outer one. It was black and had a fancy red bow. Still a good size not to be something small. Unless it was a perfume. Breathing in deeply, you undo the ribbon and take off the lid. 

You’re met with a glass container roughly the size of your hand. Your heart drops at the yellow liquid inside. 

It looks exactly like the aphrodisiac your mother-in-law gave Roxana in the manhwa. 

“...what in the actual fuck… she’s basically telling, no, begging me to fuck her son… haha!” Your head rolls back as laughter overtakes you and shoulders violently shake. “I knew she was crazy, but fuck, how morally corrupt is this woman?” 

Instead of throwing it across the room like you should, you place it down on the table. You would have slammed it down if there wasn’t a chance that just smelling it could cause your body to heat up and become needy for a thing - a person - you don’t even want. 

“I’m scared to open up the other ‘present’...” in spite of that you pull at the black bow and unwrap it. You shake it - sounds like something soft. Like clothes. 

Oh. 

Oh no, no, no, no, no no -

“She didn’t. No fucking way… maybe it’s a sweater. Or a shawl. Gloves?” 

Trembling fingers take the lid off, a pink ribbon undone easily. This time, you throw the box to the floor after seeing what it held. 

A sheer black babydoll lingerie set. 

“Maria Agriche… you fucking creep…,” without another thought you shut the lid on it and shoved it into one of your drawers on your side of the dresser. Away from sight, out of mind you chant in your head, slamming the drawer shut. Your cheeks feel warm as both embarrassment and disgust fill your head and chest. 

… even if you wanted to sleep with him… or if you were in a healthy marriage with someone you love…

“...I could never wear that… it’s too revealing, too embarrassing.” Even in your old world you never wore such things. Not because you viewed them as dirty or slutty, but because they don’t suit you. Besides, putting in so much effort just for it to be taken off…?

‘I’m only going to ask once - would you rather keep your clothes on or off?’ 

“MMMMFFFF!!” throwing yourself onto the bed at the memory, scream muffled by the pillow, you mentally curse both son and mother. The son because he made your first time so horrible you’re mentally scarred and the mother because she’s a creep. More so than her own fucking son. 

A few minutes later you manage to collect yourself somewhat. Dreadfully you go to the dresser to pull out the offending clothing. You don’t plan on putting it on or to hold it over your clothes to get a vague idea of it either. Just to get a better look at it. 

Opening it and picking up the article of clothing, you examine it; pretty lace details on the him and breast cups, a flower pattern. It was soft as silk - clearly made from expensive materials. The straps were thin but they didn't feel too rough or stiff. Probably comfortable on the shoulders. 

Not like you would know - you never tried anything like this on. 

Curiosity killing the cat, you decide to see where it ends by holding it over your clothes; it barely brushes past mid thigh. 

When you go to put it back you notice an envelope and panties in the box. First, you pick up the lacy underwear, frowning as you realize that somehow, someway Maria had gotten your fucking measurements. Did your mother also tell the crazed woman your three sizes… “No, she wouldn’t. Even if she was drunk, she wouldn’t tell anyone such private details.” 

Carelessly dropping it into the box you grab the letter, opening it after a moment of hesitation. It takes even longer to unfold the letter. And even longer to actually read it, only for horror to come across your face and enter your heart. 

‘Sierra told me it may come across as inappropriate to send such things to you… but I’m just so excited for grandchildren! Oh, but don’t feel pressured into wearing or drinking those things tonight. The aphrodisiac lasts a rather long time. Besides, considering it’s Dion, I thought you might need some help to get in the mood whenever you decide to lay with him.

- Maria’ 

“No. Never.” 

Shoving everything back in, you shut the drawer close, making sure to hide the items underneath some layers of your… underwear…

You give up. 

“Ahh, why and how did I stumbled into the scene…” You turn around only to notice the yellow liquid contained in the glass bottle. Right. You forgot about that. “Maybe I should just pour it out…”

Not once did you realize nor notice how all the fear and fright left your body and mind, instead leaving caution and annoyance in its wake. 

- - -

Your husband returned at midnight, small amounts of blood splattered on his left cheek. When you look up from your book to greet him you notice that in the candlelight his eye bags seem darker. Deeper. 

“...welcome…back.” Your body starts to quiver and your heart beats loud enough you could hear and feel it once you meet his eyes. Quickly scanning his person you notice he’s wearing the standard male servant uniform: 

black shirt with red rimmed shoulder pads that have the Agriche crest on top, the shirt long enough to reach below his knees and splits at the hips, tied together with a brown belt at the waist. If he were to turn around you would see the family crest proudly engraved into the fabric. Blank pants that disappear into nearly knee-height boots with long, tied laces. 

The last time you’ve seen him in that uniform was the first time you met him, bored expression plastered on his face as Lant introduced him with a smug smile on that disgusting face of his. All he did was shake your hand as you stood still with prayers to a God who held no love for you. With your father glancing your way every minute as you were left in some corner with your then fiance to hold a conversation that never happened. When he didn’t spare so much as a glance at you, instead staring off into space as you couldn’t take your eyes off your lap. 

Wait. 

No. 

Maybe back then, you were too deep in your thoughts to notice that unnerving stare. 

The same one he has now - looking at you as though you were his prey, scarlet eyes glowing in the candlelight, like you belonged to him and he would never change that fact. That he would never let you change it, either. 

“Wife.” 

The word mixed with his sleepy voice sounds like nails on a chalkboard - it makes your ears bleed and eye twitch as you hold back the grimace of how he addresses you. He only wants you because you’re a normal person.

The moment you become insane he’ll let you go. 

That’s the only explanation. It has to be. That’s the only explanation your brain could come up with and accept. 

You’re too scared to bring up the night before yesterday. Beads of sweat slowly roll down your temples and breathing shallow as Dion walks towards the bed, heavy boots echoing. Time stops as your heart drops once he reaches the bed, reaches you and without a single word, he grabs your right wrist and - 

“What happened here?”

Oh. You forgot about your bandaged thumb.  

[vamp5]

God looking back on it its actually so insane the degree of which Lisa herself has molded alucard's character. If she wasn't there he would've grown to become a completely different person. His self-loathing and resentment toward his own vampirism and the way the only thing always consistent with his character across both rewriten canon of cv3 and revamped(heh) story of sotn is how he rejects the hand of both Trevor and maria extended his way, rejects any form of connection offered his way. and The character we see him as in sotn had been completely built, molded, centered around his mother's death and her final wish. Hers is the very pillar of all the ideals and principles he's shown to hold and cling onto throughout symphony. "Go back whence you belong! Do not torment my mother anymore...!" and good fucking lord Lisa's true final words echoed back by him in the jp text? "....-Beings from outside shouldn't pass judgment on the residents of this world."

Beings from outside...

Alucard"The cursed blood that flows within me has no place in this world..."Țepeș. Ohhhhhh the depth of his tragedy actually gives me a headache

[weebsinstash]

Someone sent me an ask about, "do I have any angsty ideas for yan Lucifer x Reader" and it's like honey I have THE angsty idea. It's basically an idea I've already shared except bumped up to 11 inspired by miscommunication and misunderstanding tropes like in all those manhwa and c-dramas I love

So I guess to just come right out and say it, because the attempt to answer the ask a little more naturally got way too long, my angstiest saddest idea for Lucifer x Reader, one of those really miserable, wallowing in sadness kind of prompts, is: you die, find out Lucifer is your soulmate, you reject him not wanting trouble and also he literally already has two wives and a daughter and it feels, weird intruding on his family unit, but you two eventually become closer and through some alcohol related shenanigans you get pregnant and Lucifer proposes you get married, but a few months before the wedding, Lilith shows back up, Lucifer is all over her, and instead of a scenario where Lucifer is managing to juggle both you and Lilith and Lilith is going out of her way to include you, the second she's back Lucifer prioritizes her almost exclusively, and it eventually leads to you beginning to become so stressed and hostile you wind up getting into arguments with both Lilith and Lucifer, a rift beginning to form between you as Lucifer becomes more upset there's tension between you and his wife, and bwcause of the constant extreme stress and potential other factors out of your control, you wind up losing the baby.... and then Lucifer accuses you of doing something to the pregnancy to get back at him, accuses you of trying to get his attention or manipulate him using the baby, and by the time he finds out the truth, you've already been grieving alone and have completely closed off your heart

I can just picture, how incredibly painful it would be, to not just have to be grieving, but for your partner to basically be saying, "well... haven't you been jealous of me giving this other person a little more of my time? Didn't you do this to get back at me?" when you are literally a victim. I feel like that would be the worst for me: knowing I'm innocent but that someone who is supposed to love and trust me even considered I was capable of such an awful thing. When people reveal they think things like that about you, it damages your relationship, because, why don't they know who you really are? Why would they think you're capable of doing something you're not? They think you're more cruel and inhumane than you actually are? What other things do they think you're capable of, then?

I can just picture.... you begin miscarrying and Lucifer isn't even around; he's off doing something with Lilith and Charlie and you're completely alone to get yourself to the hospital. You lose your baby alone. You discharge yourself against medical advice because you feel like you've truly lost everything. You're trudging back up to the Hotel and Lucifer just greets you like nothing has happened because he doesnt even know, and...

My brain just really keeps making it so dramatic and painful, like, a scenario where before Lilith came back Lucifer would come up to you and say things like "how are you two doing?" And putting his hands on your belly because he with his powers and Hell being his dominion can feel the life growing inside of you, and, after you miscarry he's walking up to you like normal and just, freezes. His mouth hangs open as his eyes drop from your face down to your tummy and then, slowly dragging back up to you

First words out of his mouth, "... what did you do?"

You're too hurt and horrified to even defend yourself as he starts completely breaking down, because for him, he isn't grieving the loss of your child WITH you: he's thinking you intentionally killed it and he feels genuinely betrayed by you. He's thinking not only has he lost his baby, but that it was something you intentionally caused. He just starts screaming all sorts of things and accusations on his grief, "why would you do this just to hurt me?!" "Out of everything you could have done to get my attention, our fucking BABY?!?" "I know you've been jealous of me and Lilith but this?! THIS?!?!" "We were supposed to be a family!!! How am I going to tell my daughter you killed her baby brother?!"

It twists into a fucked up scenario where Lucifer genuinely believes you caused your miscarriage but even through it all he still has this unbreakable demented love for you, and just... imagine after that first day with all of his grieving and screaming that you're essentially... locked away. You aren't allowed to leave the Hotel anymore. Lucifer doesn't take you out. He'll barely come to see you. You basically don't leave your room anymore. Charlie can't even face you; in a way she blames herself for trusting you and, allowing you to hurt her, her father, and... what would've been her baby brother, and this all of course means Vaggie no longer tolerates you as well. The only people in the Hotel who treat you with anything resembling kindness are people who genuinely don't give a fuck about the situation. Part of me wonders if Alastor would be your only confidant, as the only one who would have any skepticism. Since he's so attached to his own mother, I like the idea that seeing Reader be excited about motherhood drew him in more to you, made him more attached and protective, and while he can't exactly do anything to intervene, he gives you the occasional small kindness that keeps you from going completely insane

but you wanna know what the saddest part of this idea I've had that keeps coming back and scratching my brain. The idea that, after you miscarry, because of the extreme stress and trauma of the loss and how much everything hurts at that exact moment, while you are there at the hospital, you refuse and put off scheduling the... removal procedure, and you develop essentially an extreme trauma where you do not want the doctors to remove the deceased fetus because, in your mind, your baby was the only and last person who ever had and ever will truly ever love you, and you can't bear literally cannot bear the thought of your son leaving your body in any other way other than being born and being able to be held in your arms, but... that's not..... viable anymore.... so over time you just start going septic and start becoming seriously ill. You keep talking to your belly like your baby can still hear you. You think to yourself, that you and your baby can rot away together. You'll be together for as long as you can. They won't take your baby from you. They can't take him away. You won't let them

meanwhile Lucifer has been been clinging to Lilith in his grief, yet, she can't bring him the same comfort that she used to be able to; she realizes the power of the feelings and the connection Lucifer has with you, how it's unique and different from his love for her. His love for you and his pain is so deep that Lilith cannot even properly soothe his heart, and he'll even hide some moments from her, too, become a little closed off to her like anyone else.

Eventually the hospital calls, but they call Lucifer because for one you no longer are allowed to have a phone and aren't answering their attempts to contact you first but also, since Lucifer was the father, he's technically involved. Just. Just picture Lucifer in the depths of anger and grief getting this phonecall, "hey sir? Sir? Hospital here. We know this is a time of deep mourning but have you and your wife (he was secretly having them call you his wife long before you two were engaged) decided when to schedule her procedure? This is going to get extremely dangerous if we don't act soon"

Like really just picture you miscarried like WEEKS AGO and Lucifer has been keeping you basically in home imprisonment and you've become almost completely socially isolated and cut off from the rest of Hell and Lucifer is JUST NOW finding off from like some random fucking clerk, "abortion? Sir, no, what? She had a miscarriage, I was there??? She hemorrhaged??? She kept screaming if it came down to her and the baby that we need to save the baby??? Sir??? Have you... spoken to your wife???"

but Lucifer is still in a state of denial, because, once his brain truly processes what's happened, that's when he has to re-process all the trauma and anger and sadness and guilt all over again, so, here he is, not going to you, but to the hospital, and now he's looking at security footage of you being wheeled down the hallway screaming your baby's name.

Can you picture like, the recording has audio and at one point you start to call out for him and you stop, and Lucifer watches as you start praying to God and asking God for help instead, wailing about "there's no soul more innocent than an unborn baby, please don't take my baby, please don't punish him because of me". Lucifer sees that you truly didn't trust him when you needed him most. It hurts almost as bad as the loss of his son.

I can also picture, maybe in your panic and grief you say things like, "please, please save my baby, he's the only person who loves me" or "please, don't let MY son die" or just... lucifer can see IN the hospital that you were already having these extreme doubts he loved you even before he accused you of, you know, being a baby murderer

Lucifer having Extreme Mental Breakdown 2 Electric Boogaloo right there in the hospital as he finally fully processes that you organically miscarried and he like a fucking dumbass accused you of being responsible and proceeded to lock you away and treat you like shit. His brain wants to reject the reality immediately: no, no, he never would have hurt you like this if he'd known!! Why wouldn't you just tell him you miscarried?! Why would you let him believe you were a killer?!

It's way way wayyyyy too late for apologies but he goes to you to give you one anyway, but more importantly, he has to get you treated, and it's salt in his wounds as he has to basically force you to go to the hospital, I mean literally has to drug you or knock you out with magic because you're screaming and howling at him like an animal that "he can take everything else from you but you won't let him separate you from YOUR baby" and throwing things at him and even trying to stab him. Now Lucifer gets to feel like shit Part 3 because at the hospital here the doctors are, "dude she is so fucking sick right now??? nurse look at these charts she has lost so much weight just from a few weeks ago??? bro there is so much infection in her fucking blood she's gonna start seizing or some shit" and it's just, another thing to stab Lucifer in his heart, that on top pf the miscarriage he also had no idea you were sick, or worse, he noticed certain signs beginning to develop and he accused you of being on drugs or drunk and brushed it off because at that point he was so angry at you that, maybe a small part of him thought you deserved to be sick and feel shitty after "what you did"

here you are, coming to in the hospital, kind of in a way re-traumatized because, now you know that. Your pregnancy truly, truly is finally over, that your son truly is dead because now he's no longer even inside of you. Lucifer is, almost pathetic in his desperation to show you he knows the truth now and apologizes and, begs for your forgiveness. I mean, after all, you guys still have the wedding next month--

I could genuinely keep going and going to the point I could just write the fic itself but I wouldn't know where to end this idea outside of, Reader does in fact eventually heal but you're always going to be Lucifer's little wife-prisoner because, not o ly does he just love you so so so much but obviously now he's got uh Some Serious Fucking Trauma Now on top of all his other you know, crazy lil yandere habits, so OBVIOUSLY he has to make up to you all the pain he caused and make sure you're happy and healthy forever right? Because you two are still gonna get married and be together forever right? And.... since you two will be together forever... that means you'll eventually let him try to have another baby with you, right? And.... you'll agree, because he still loves you and you still love him.... right? He'll fix everything, he PROMISES he'll fix everything, but, you just, have to be willing to give him another chance....

[malfiora]

Motherhood in WandaVision, Doctor Strange 2, & Agatha All Along

Many, many spoilers ahead

Summary

Starting with the obvious: Wanda creates her and Vision's twins, Billy and Tommy, entirely from her own imagination. After losing them when she takes the hex down, she embarks on a quest to bring them back to life, even if it means tapping into dark forces and killing anyone who stands in her way, as we see in Doctor Strange

During the events of WandaVision, Monica attempts to connect to Wanda, empathizing with her grief over Vision through her own loss of her mother Maria.

As an inverse of Wanda, America Chavez's mothers sacrificed themselves to save her, now making her an orphan as she dimension hops. Wanda initially tries to abduct America to use her powers, and America stops her by bringing her to an alternate universe in which the twins are afraid of her and call out to their timeline's version of Wanda.

Around this time, Billy's soul takes over William Kaplan's body, and while he doesn't remember anything else before that moment, he knows he needs to save his twin Tommy, whose soul is lost. He seeks Agatha to access The Road, which is rumored to grant any who completes it whatever they want. Along the way, Agatha learns who he is.

Billy rejects the idea that Wanda is his mother, claiming he already has a mom (implying William's mother), and Agatha plays along. Still, Billy's reality manipulation and Wiccan costume match Wanda's.

Not long before this, Alice Wu-Gulliver is able to break her family's curse and learns along the way that her rockstar mother's rendition of The Witch's Road ballad was actually a spell to keep Alice safe since her mother couldn't protect her from the curse.

At the end of Agatha All Along, we see that Agatha conceived of her son Nicholas Scratch by herself ("from scratch") but he was doomed to die young. She kills witches to feed him for as long as she can but Rio (Death) inevitably comes to him. It is Nicky's song that sparks the rumor of the Witch's Road, which Agatha uses to trick other witches to steal their power.

Agatha admits to Billy that she is afraid to face Nicky in the afterlife, and that he reminds her of Nicky. They walk off together to "go find Tommy."

Analysis

Grief (defined here as the response to the loss of a loved one characterized by sadness and/or anger and similar emotions) acts as a unifier and motivation. The mishandling of grief leads characters (Wanda, Agatha) to cause suffering to others and steal resources to protect or bring to life their loved ones. Both characters are redeemed by the empathy of another grieving character, usually a grieving child (Monica, Billy, America).

This manifests in grieving parent/grieving child relationships that then lend to a found family dynamic: Monica and Wanda, America and Wanda, Billy and Agatha. Despite Billy claiming that he doesn't see Wanda as his mother (most likely indicating that he sees William Kaplan's mother as his true parent), he still falls into this dynamic, first by default and then willingly.

Motherhood is also tied to sacrifice. On one hand, we have mother figures who sacrifice themselves to save or protect their children: Lorna dedicated her life to protecting Alice, America's mothers helped her escape their dying world, and even Maria can be seen as having sacrificed herself since she built up SWORD while dying thus enabling Monica's career path. On the other, we also have mothers forced to sacrifice their children: Wanda must release the twins as she lets down the hex, and Agatha eventually loses Nicky. This divide evenly splits the mothers who are seen as heroes and the mothers who are deemed villains.

And finally we have rejection. For some characters, this means rejection of their self; for others, it's a rejection of their mothers. For Billy, these are almost the same thing: he denies Wanda as his mother while also questioning his identity. This might be because Wanda has hurt many people and Billy didn't want to identify with that.

Alice initially rejects her mother's career and belief in The Road, believing that the obsession drove her mad. Upon learning the truth, she accepts everything, which empowers her to break her family's curse.

On the alternate Earth in Doctor Strange 2, Wanda's rampage is only stopped by her fear of rejection from her children.

And of course, Evanora rejected Agatha centuries ago, claiming that Agatha was born evil. This is most likely why Agatha acts like a villain: she was told from the beginning that that's all she is. We can see in her repeated pleas to her mother that she "can be good" that Agatha longed for her mother's acceptance, or at least to be spared her wrath, but she never got it. Interestingly, Agatha's parenting of Nicky is exactly the opposite. She cherishes her son, dotes on him, even refuses to get upset and comforts him when Nicky disobeys her.

In a nutshell, the MCU places motherhood along the continuum of heroism and villainy that is defined by what a character must sacrifice and how they handle their grief. While the depth of emotions surrounding this trope is a shortcut for creating accessibly deep characters, this still feels like a narrow view of femininity. This of course harkens back to Natasha Romanov's abominable character moment in which she claims to be a monster because she can't have children. If the definition of womanhood is the ability to have babies, and then the definition of motherhood is to die or lose, then the MCU is basically arguing that its women are disposable props. Based on how compelling the femme characters since WandaVision have been, this doesn't seem intentional, and in fairness non maternal femme characters (e.g. Rio, Lilia Calderu, Jen) are still given emotional depth and range and interesting arcs. So hopefully Marvel will continue to show motherhood as an aspect of life that can add depth to a character, and not an inevitability fraught with death for all women.

[a-shadow-thinker]

I think there was a misunderstanding on some point.

First of all, the fact that the Mind Flayer is ultimately the big bad of ST doesn't in any way take away the human dimension of the story, on the contrary it strengthens it and brings a more original dimension.

It reinforces it in the sense that if you look at things with more finesse in a second reading plan, the Mind Flayer embodies through its actions on the human characters, a personified projection of the fears, of the psychological suffering which lies dormant in our unconscious.

He's the pivot point which will bring the human characters who are impacted by his actions, to express this human aspect, this human aspect laid bare which will face its trials by showing all its beauty just like all its horror.

He's a spotlight that will highlight humans, show their abilities to demonstrate bravery, strength, to grow, to show compassion from our heroes.

There is nothing problematic for the Mind Flayer about being the big bad in a human story, it's through the emotions of your human characters, their story, how you appeal to the public through them you will tell this human story.

It doesn't pass through its antagonism, but through its characters who live this adventure, with whom the audience identifies and feels this humanity in them which echoes theirs.

You tell a human story through the emotions that your human characters make you feel, through their trials and how they will react and come out of these trials, how it will impact them and finaly you, the public, what you feel inside in echo of your own humanity.

For Henry, yes he can be completely forced to do these things by the Mind Flayer.

As you can see in ST VR, the Mind Flayer distorts Henry's psychic reality.

Others have previously carried out relevant analyzes on this subject.

Which leads to something very insidious, a distortion of reality for Henry, in what he feels and experiences, what he wants, leading him to think he is in control

(to be able to better control him, what a perfect puppet is the one who is unaware that she is being controlled, no risk of resistance and rebellion),

making him believe that what he is doing is right, leading him into dead ends where he has no choice.

I use this example often, but it’s the one that sticks so well.

See Kylo Ren, Palpatine whispers, torments him since he was in his mother's womb ! All his life he has had dark thoughts, that he is a horrible person, that he hurts others, that no one likes him, etc...

At the beginning the character rejects his ideas, refuses to believe in them and attaches himself to the light.

But events caused by Palpatine will force him to believe his dark ideas, events which will isolate him and lead him to think that he can only be a bad person and that his place is in darkness.

You have a very similar pattern with Henry, his dark thoughts were perhaps already latent, but the Mind Flayer blew on him, blew on the embers intentionally to force him to do what he wants, to make him vulnerable too to his manipulations and make him think these horrible things.

The Mind Flayer clearly exhibits predatory behavior.

I am convinced that season 5 will show us since we will explore Henry's memories in the 80s, Henry's suffering for the loss, his sister in particular (someone pointed out that Holly's kidnapping was due to fact that he has not mourned, that he is in this delirium of taking her for his sister), that he never wanted that and that all of this is the work of the Mind Flayer who used this instability/weakness to manipulate him as he pleases.

In the scene where Henry scares his mother with the spiders you clearly see young Alice's foresight about this "you're not Henry".

that too, from a human point of view, is strong and resonates with many people.

Depression, autism, loneliness, abusive grooming, the dark side of the human spirit, etc...

It's in exaggerated form in the fictional framework of the show, but we clearly have these human aspects highlighted.

This goes back to what i was saying above, don't just see the Mind Flayer as "a monster/supernatural creature" but as a metaphor for the dark iceberg of the human psyche.

And that’s understandable.

It honestly has a lot more personality than a basic human, especially in a fantasy series !

I also think we have 2 plots to distinguish :

You actually have the human with all the political/military intrigue with the Russians in particular, but you also have the "magic" intrigue, the quest of the hero from the famous initiatory tale on El's side (with Will probably also in the S5 in view of what is teased about the character)

And with the DnD inspiration and many things relating to adventure in the show, to fantasy, you clearly have the hero's initiatory journey in addition to the human dimension.

But both complement each other anyway...

After all, isn't a hero defined by his human values ?

[sylver-drawer]

I want to remind everyone that Jennette and Ijekiel’s relationship in the novel never improves. Ijekiel may have ‘moved on’, but it wasn’t really of his own accord—it’s because Athy literally encouraged him to go with Jennette (which I’ve already mentioned whose encouragement stems from her rose-tinted glasses of dehumanizing both Ijekiel and Jennette). Jennette, whose feelings and psyche we’ve delved into multiple times throughout the novel, hates Ijekiel’s falsity the most. She may be afraid of his anger and frustration, but that’s because it would be so foreign to her—but at the same time, it would be relief because at the very least it means it’s Ijekiel finally laying his feelings bare to her. But Ijekiel made it clear to her during his rejection that he has no intention to ever be genuine to her—that he will keep up his mask, monitor his emotions closely while still spitting out cruel words as if he were angry, though he dare not present so. That’s what scares her most, and what she despises terribly.

So the novel ends with Jennette exiled to outside of Obelia, waking up after attempting to off herself with her magic, alone with the man who just conveyed to her that he will never be genuine or truthful with her. In Ijekiel’s side, the woman he loved just told him to go with Jennette—who he has SO much unpacked baggage with already, being that he never saw or acknowledged Jennette as a woman (not romantically, I’m saying he constantly views her as a child despite her being an adult and having multiple enigmas, personal conflict, and growth through the years), still and will always view her as someone who will chase after him and ignore his feelings or opinions (which stems from an image he himself wanted to uphold, Jennette always wanted him to give his true opinions and gave him PLENTY of times to reject her and her requests), and overall just has so much pent up feelings and resentment for Jennette for little things throughout his childhood that’s too much to resolve without a proper heart-to-heart with Jennette—which he already resolved to never doing.

Which ends the novel with both of them at basically their most uncomfortable, stuck with the person they very much never want to be around. It’s hell. It’s gonna be hell. They’re practically strangers—people who’ve been around each other for nearly two decades, but don’t know the first thing about the other. And now it’s extremely awkward because of their fight, and the line Ijekiel drew that because of Jennette’s extremely fragile mental state, will force Ijekiel to have to be the first one to reach out. And he won’t. Because he’s not used to reaching out, especially to Jennette of all people (as Jennette’s always been the one to try and reach out, and he’s always been the one to put up a mask and comply even if he truly wishes not to).

And we know this is true, because Athy and Lucas literally talk about it at the end of the LP sidestories. After Athy comes back from her LP adventure, she decides to take a trip and visit Jennette and Ijekiel—and Lucas states something along the lines of how they don’t even meet eachother’s eyes (Athy takes it as both of them not dating, which I’m completely confused about, and chalk it up to Plutus forcing a pairing somewhat, as when we last saw them they couldn’t even be called friends). When Athy and Jennette exchange letters, there is no mention of Jennette and Ijekiel’s relationship. Athy even remarks that, before Jennette started exchanging letters, her letters with Ijekiel were mostly of Jennette’s condition because (she) was worried about her (not that Ijekiel talks about Jennette on his own, Athy has to inquire about Jennette—which was also what Ijekiel was jealous of right before his rejection of Jennette, that Athy only seemed to love and ask about Jennette in his presence). Nothing has improved since the official end of the novel, and it’s the last we see of them, and I honestly don’t really have much faith that it’ll improve anytime soon. At least, not without Athy’s intervention, but that would require more of Athy’s own growth.

[quathxr]

Idk if I’ve ever talked about writing on tumblr before… but surprise I’m a writer too! My good friend @splashheart8 and I have been working on a story of ours for years. I wrote a little snippet today, and I thought I’d share it!

cw: mentions of injuries, blood, stitches, and brief panic.

“Can I take a look at what happened?”

After a moment of hesitation, Lila nodded tersely. Moving as slowly as she could, Mara pulled back the layers of clothing around Lila’s abdomen to reveal her wound. Her clothes were soaked, caked with blood that had now coated Mara’s hands. With a grimace, she eyed the wound. 

Clearly, the women had not taken it easy as Mara would have hoped. The stitches around her arrow wound had almost completely popped. She placed a gentle hand near the wound, pretending to ignore Lila flinching away from her touch. The surrounding area felt warm. “You probably got it infected. What were you doing?”

Lila stared at the floor behind Mara. “Not dying.”

Mara muttered a string of curses under her breath. “This is gonna take some work.” She looked over her shoulder to where the merchants and Nyx were hovering. “Some space would be nice?” The less people nearby, the easier it was to focus. Plus, she could only take so much Nyx in a day.

The trio obediently shuffled out of the treehouse, taking turns climbing down the tree. Benji gave her a tight smile as he closed the trapdoor behind him.

Turning back to her patient, Mara raised an eyebrow. “Did they really kidnap you?”

Lila tilted her head side to side. “Eh. Depends on your definition. I’m not exactly here willingly.”

Mara snorted. She opened up her bag and pulled out a clean rag. She dabbed at the wound with the fabric, sending Lila apologetic glances at every wince. Once she’d wiped away any excess blood, and stars above she was praying that wasn’t puss, she set the rag aside and carefully removed the torn stitches.

With a pause, Mara considered her Ka. She had only done some mild practice with Sarah earlier, she should be fine. Right? Mara let out a breath, hoping Lila didn’t notice the quiver in it. She closed her eyes, and let the colors flood her eyelids. Lila’s Ka was a vibrant off-white, bursting at the seams with life, similar to how Clover’s had been, but with a more rhythmic feeling. Mara focused on the weakest spot of her Ka, down by her wound. With a much steadier breath, she reached out with some of her own Ka. Even before Mara’s greenish Ka mingled with her patients, Lila’s Ka lashed back, as if rejecting the healing. Mara opened her senses back to reality, to hear what sounded like her patient hyperventilating. “Lila, I need you to breathe.” She was met with staggered attempts to calm down. “I promise I will not hurt you. But I cannot heal you if you’re this panicked. Breathe with me.” Mara breathed in loudly, and was pleasantly surprised by the sound of Lila matching her breathing. They sat like that for a few more breaths, before Mara focused back in on Lila’s Ka.

Extending her Ka, Mara hesitated before interacting with Lila’s Ka, letting it sit with the unfamiliar energy. The white Ka rippled away momentarily, before settling. With a breath out, Mara infused her Ka into the wound. She let as much of her Ka flow as she could, before she was abruptly cut off by the whitish light pushing her away again.

Mara opened her eyes. She reached out to feel around the wound. With a breath of relief, she said, “I think the infection is gone.” She looked up to meet Lila’s eyes. “I don’t know what you’ve been through, but your Ka is… Violent.”

Lila snorted. “Not the first time I’ve heard that,” she paused, “but thank you.”

if you have any questions about the world building or something, I’m always happy to share :3

[scribblue]

★Bitten!Lloyd AU Masterpost★

ⓘ A collection of important info, links, and art/writing for my Bitten!Lloyd Ninjago AU! I will be pinning this and editing as I go.

＃Bittenlloyd || ♫ Spotify playlist

⋆˚࿔ AU Summary: ⋆˚࿔

When young Lloyd Garmadon is bitten by the Great Devourer, the trajectory of his life, and Ninjago itself, is changed forever. Over the course of the series, he must attempt to resist the venom with the help (and hinderance) of his loved ones, and try to restore balance to a now-imbalanced world.

⋆˚࿔ Ref Sheet (+ updated fit): ⋆˚࿔

⋆˚࿔ Writing: ⋆˚࿔

I have many oneshots planned/in the works for this AU. You can find all the ones I've currently published in chronological order (to the storyline) below:

"Like Father, Like Son" [The origins of Lloyd being bitten by the devourer] >Tumblr || Ao3

⋆˚࿔ Animatics: ⋆˚࿔

★= Lore animatic, canon to the AU storyline ✧= Semi-canon to the AU storyline, more for flavor™

★ "Loyalties" [Takes place during Hunted. Lloyd's loyalties, to his father and his friends, are tested.] > Youtube || Tumblr

✧ "You Found Me" [Lloyd confronts the FSM] > Youtube || Tumblr

⋆˚࿔ Illustrations: ⋆˚࿔

Like Father, Like Son

A Painful Transformation

⚠︎ WARNING: The following section includes major spoilers for my AU, AKA lore I haven't yet revealed but plan to in future art and fics. If you prefer to be surprised, or learn things as they are released, don't expand! For anyone else, consider it a reward for scrolling this far. (Just promise to act surprised later, okay?)

⋆˚࿔Timeline of Events: ⋆˚࿔

Note: this is a rough timeline that is subject to change and has several gaps that I will fill in later! You can assume that most canon events happen, even if distorted, aside from the exceptions/additions below.

Rise of the Snakes:

Lloyd is bitten by the Great Devourer during "The Day of the Great Devourer". Garmadon leaves in an attempt to protect him.

Legacy of the Green Ninja:

Lloyd gets aged up by tomorrows tea, and the effects expedite the venom's affect and cause him to go into a rage (mostly aimed towards his father). Gives Kai his eye scar accidentally.

Misako returns because she is concerned about the balance.

Lloyd is unable to stop himself from confronting Garmadon too soon/attempting to kill him. Misako sacrifices herself to preserve the balance.

Lloyd manages to defeat the Overlord, but in his unstable state is unable to completely purge the venom from Garmadon, leaving him still partially afflicted. [See: my sensei!Garmadon redesign]

Rebooted:

Sensei!Garmadon takes Lloyd under his wing, but struggles himself due to not being fully healed of the venom.

Tournament of Elements:

Lloyd struggles to keep his composure during the tournament.

Losing Sensei!Garmadon expedites the venom's hold further.

Possession:

Morro's possession expedites the venom's effects further. Lloyd has trouble fighting him, and Morro's power is much stronger (and more erratic) because of this.

Skybound-Hands of Time:

Most canon events occur. Least fleshed out section of the AU currently, more info pending.

Sons of Garmadon:

Harumi's manipulation is more effective on Lloyd in his current state. His father's rejection and violence sends him into a spiral.

Hunted:

Lloyd's physical transformation from the venom is completed during a sparring match with Nya, who is hurt in the process. Lloyd runs away and joins forces with his father and Harumi.

Garmadon teaches him how to harness his oni form.

Nya is brought to Lloyd during the events of the finale for Lloyd to dispose of her. He throws her off of the building, but has a moment of clarity and manages to save her using the oni form.

Lloyd's elemental powers return. He fights and kills his father. Harumi dies.

Lloyd takes one of the dragons and flees to another realm.

Garmadon meets the FSM and is resurrected for the second time, now acting as a vessel for some of the FSM's powers (to help restore balance). He regains his memories.

March of the Oni:

Lloyd is missing. No one knows where he is.

Garmadon willingly aids the ninja in their fight against the oni. He meets Vinny. He chooses to stay in the monastery for a while to help restore balance.

Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu-Master of the Mountain:

Most canon events occur, minus any of Lloyd's involvement as he is still missing. Meanwhile, Garmadon deepens his connection to Vinny, and leaves during MotM to search for Lloyd.

Seabound/in between Seabound and Crystallized:

Garmadon finds Lloyd in the dark realm where he originally got his second set of arms. Lloyd hid there for the safety of others. He kept himself alive by using his elemental power to create vines of pure energy, which connect directly to him like nutrient-giving IVs.

Lloyd gains an extra set of arms.

Lloyd fights Garmadon but ends up breaking down. Garmadon cuts him free of the vines and takes him home.

Lloyd goes into a coma after the vines are severed. He meets the FSM.

Crystallized:

[The prison arc never happens, mostly for simplicity...and personal gripes with it. Nya is, however, returned to her body.]

Vinny suggests propagating the vines to regrow them, and helps Garmadon plant the new roots.

Lloyd wakes up after Nya returns.

Lloyd undergoes PT, as his muscles have atrophied during his self-appointed exile. The vines are transferred into a planter backpack so he can move more freely. He and Nya bond over feeling (or being) powerless.

The Overlord is awoken. Harumi is resurrected and does his bidding begrudgingly, while planning her own counter-attack. She aids the ninja at the end.

Lloyd manages to defeat the Overlord with the help of his allies but is brought close to death. Garmadon uses the FSM's powers to revive him and, in the process, drains him of the venom.

Lloyd is no longer afflicted. The FSM's gifted powers are used up, and Garmadon reverts to his destruction powers.

Lloyd and Harumi come to somewhat of an understanding but Lloyd cannot forgive her. They part ways.

(I don't have a timeline yet for Dragons Rising because I haven't finished watching, and it's an ongoing series. However, I don't anticipate much being changed besides Lloyd's general disposition being more reserved/depressed, and him being resistant to helping Arin and Sora at first.)

That's all for now! Like I said, there will definitely be updates to this post as I iron things out/create more content for this AU. Thanks for reading and showing interest in it, it really means a lot!!

[echoingbirdsofprey]

Back Forty View (On Our Piece Of Ground)

2 - First Sip Of A Cold Beer, When The Workin' Weeks Done

Pairings: Tyler Owens x OFC Georgia Tennley-Owens, Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x OFC Samantha Kazansky

Rating: Explicit (MDNI!)

Warnings: none except Jake and Tyler's foul language hahaha

A/N: Jake and Georgia get to know each other and chat, and Tyler and Sam do the same. Just lots of fluff in this one after I horrified y'all with the last two chapters of the other part of the series! Comments, likes, reblogs are appreciated as always! Love writing for myself and y'all that are following!

Tags: @mrsevans90 @djs8891 @gpsmississippihippie @barnesboo1967 @dizzybee03

“Ahh fuck, T, I cant believe that chick rejected you too.” Jake said as he cracked open a cold beer. Kenny kept a fridge full in the barn and he only allowed the boys to drink at home, if they wanted. He felt like it made them more responsible when out with friends. And he was actually right about that because the boys did only drink at home. 

“I know, I’m the better lookin’ brother, too!” Tyler joked and Jake punched him in the shoulder. They were getting saddled up to go for a trail ride. 

“We’re the fuckin’ same, you asshole!” Jake yelled, as he tackled Tyler into the stall door next to him. The metallic clang of him hitting the door made both horses jump a little. 

“Hey, dipshit, don't spook my horse!” Tyler playfully pushed his brother back away from him and Jake caught himself on the opposite door. 

“Ah, whatever. A girl ain't gonna come between us, right?” Jake said and Tyler nodded. 

“The only girl would be our Ole Dixie girl, huh?!” Tyler exclaimed as the white dog with the speckled brown around her eye came bounding into the barn aisle, baying to announce her arrival. She knew the boys were headed out soon, and she loved running beside the horses on a long trail ride, catching all the scents and sights of wildlife that she could possibly bring home for a snack. Both boys knelt down to rub the dog's long back, then finished tacking their horses up. They put bridles on and then mounted up with their beers in hand. 

Heading out of the barn and out of the driveway, they turned right to go down the quiet country road that nary a car was in sight. Tyler's little chestnut horse strode along confidently, while Jake's painted gelding would startle every once in a while at something silly. Both boys just looped the reins and let the horses walk along, Dixie trotting in between them. The dog would veer off every so often, taken where her nose said to go, and then she’d come bouncing back from the complete opposite of where she left. 

“It's gettin’ chilly now. Best start bringin’ rifles out with us soon.” Tyler said, his head on a swivel constantly, staking out the next best place to put up a tree stand. Jake agreed silently, sipping on his beer and removing his feet from the stirrups, as they headed into the forest. There were very clearly defined trails, cut down by atv and dirt bike riders alike.

“I want duck again for Christmas. Think we can get some good ones?” Jake asked, as his horse stepped into an easy trot to catch up to Tyler's big stepping gelding. 

“Thought there was still duck in the freezer from last season.” Tyler said, leaning back in the saddle and finishing his beer. He crunched the can in his hand and then slid it into his sweatshirt pocket. He heard baying off in the distance and whistled. 

“Think momma used the last of it for that stew last week. I'll check.” Jake said, doing the same with his beer can. “If neither of us have a date to homecomin’, are we just ropin’ that night instead?” 

“Hell yeah. I ain't goin’ to that shit unless there's a lady on my arm. Unless you wanna be my date, Jakey?” Tyler joked and Jake smirked.

“Ah, I'd love to but then people would get jealous. It's already bad enough we win all the sortin’ and ropin’, if we won Homecomin’ King and Queen, well...dog incomin’.” Jake mused, just as Dixie popped out of the underbrush. She ran in between the two horses, neither of which flinched, having become accustomed to the dog's antics. 

“Dog nuke, hahaha!” Tyler yelled and made a ‘boom’ noise, which got Dixie all excited and running ahead of the horses then. 

“Dog nuke only if she kills us, Copper, and Paint. She's more like a fur missile. She don't know where she's headed though, only that she's goin’. Worst heat-seeker you’ve ever seen.” Jake’s laugh bellowed through the trees, his whole body shaking. Tyler could only shake his head as the trail opened up into a field.

“Best put’chur feet back in those stirrups.” Tyler yelled, as his horse picked up a trot. Dixie ran out in front, baying and barking as they picked up speed. Jake shoved his feet back in the stirrups and his horse took off across the field, straight into a gallop ahead of Tyler’s horse. Tyler chuckled and pushed Copper up into a gallop too. “You fuckin cheater!”

“If ya ain’t cheatin’, ya ain’t tryin’! Jake exclaimed, as they headed across the field at breakneck speed.

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Jake was excited for Christmas. It was the only time of year when everything seemed to stop. The last few years he'd been able to be home in Dardanelle and he'd been thankful for that. Everything at home had seemed empty though, as Kenny and Jeanie got older. They couldn't keep up with the needs of the farm so they has sold off a lot of the back forty. Jake had always figured Tyler might buy the house, but then he didn't. A more central place in tornado alley was better for him anyway. Jake on the other hand, had no intention of buying a house until now, but where he was stationed in Lemoore or Miramar most of the time, it would make more sense for him and Sam to settle out there, unless he requested a station somewhere else. He liked the idea of staying in the cottage for as long as possible, and if that meant taking over Javy's part of the rent, then he would.

Sam's Christmas presents to her mother and her siblings had arrived at home in Miramar, so she sent her mom a text letting her know whose were whose. She'd gotten some gift cards for Marks and Alex to some of their favorite stores, and she got her mother some baking supplies as she'd gotten very into making all sorts of cakes and pies while her father had been sick. 

It was Jake who she had trouble buying something for. He'd said she didn't need to get him anything, that being home and having the puppies was the best present, but Sam still wanted to get him something else. She'd settled on getting him a new pair of cowboy boots as the ones that he always wore were pretty beat to shit. She decided the best course of action was to ask Tyler if he would take her to a boot store, because she didn’t know the area. She thought of asking Georgia first, but then remembered how pregnant she was and figured Tyler wouldn’t let her out of his sight. 

She found him out in the garage, underneath Georgia’s truck. He’d obviously heard her footsteps, because he rolled himself out from under the truck and out popped the red cattle dog with him.

“Oh my god. He climbs under there with you? Is that safe?” Sam asked, and Tyler sat up and rubbed the pup’s head.

“Yeah, he’s fine. He’s extremely smart. The lift was bein’ wonky the other day and he wouldn’t come under with me. I fixed it and then he was all good. Did you uh, need somethin’?” He asked, standing and wiping his hands on a rag that he pulled from the hood of the truck. Sam examined him for a moment, seeing just how much he looked like Jake, but in the same vein, didn’t look like him. Tyler was all rough and tumble. Jake was clean cut. She preferred that, but she could see just how attractive Tyler was, especially to Georgia. They seemed like they were made for each other. 

“Um, yes. Sorry...I was wondering if you could bring me to a boot store? I’d like to get Jake’s Christmas present, and maybe a couple other things. I figured Georgia wasn’t driving much.” Sam asked and Tyler smiled.

“Well, she can drive, but conveniently I need to go pick up her present too and somethin’ for Jake, so I think this is a great idea. Then the two of them can spend some time gettin’ to know each other, and you and I can do the same.” Tyler said and Sam nodded. “Let me just finish up with her truck, it’ll only take a few minutes.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll go tell Jake and Georgia where we’re going.” Sam said as she headed out of the garage. She made her way back to the house, where Georgia had just walked back into the house. She held the door open for Sam. Jake was in the house, typing something on the laptop he’d been given for work. His lips turned up as Sam sat down next to him. 

“Hey, I’m going to go with Tyler to go get your Christmas present.” She said and Jake stopped typing and regarded her warmly with a soft smile.

“Are you now?” He asked, one of his hands reaching for her knee. “Is Georgia going?”

“No, he has to pick up her present, so she’s staying.Maybe the two of you can get to know each other a little better.” Sam pressed a quick kiss to his lips and then stood. She went into the kitchen where Georgia was leaning back against the kitchen counter. The look on her face said everything that Sam needed to know.

“You feeling okay?” She asked and Georgia nodded. 

“Yeah, Jaycen is just kicking an awful lot today. I don’t know whether to try to take the dogs for a walk or to go lay in bed.” She said and Sam stepped closer.

“Would you mind if I...” She began and Georgia smiled. 

“Well, you are goin’ to be his aunt, so, of course.” Georgia glanced down and Sam placed her hand just below Georgia’s belly button. She felt a little bump against her hand and her mouth dropped open in awe.

“Oh! He’s a strong little bugger.” Sam laughed. She let her hand fall away. 

“Yes. And he’s gonna be so spoiled and so loved when he gets here and I think he knows that. I just hope he doesn’t decide he wants to come too early.” Georgia mused and Sam smiled warmly just as footsteps padded into the kitchen.

“He’s got that Owens blood in him. He’s gonna give you a run for your money, I guarantee it. I been given’ my momma a hard time since I came outta her.” Jake said, making both of the ladies laugh. Jake smirked as he glanced at Sam. 

“So, I don’t want you to be offended, but I asked Tyler if he would take me into town to get Jake’s Christmas present. He said he has to pick yours up too. If that’s okay?” Sam said sheepishly. Jake raised a brow at her then, not quite understanding why she was acting the way she was with Georgia. It seemed as though she was not only afraid of offending or upsetting her, but it almost seemed like she was afraid of her. It would be something they would discuss later on. 

“Why would I be offended by that? I have to get Tyler’s present. I was going to have Boone and Kate come get me, but I should probably take Jake, huh?” Georgia asked and Sam smiled and nodded in agreement at that. 

“Well, I already have Sam’s present, but I could pick up a few more things to add to it.” Jake said as his hand met the small of Sam’s back. 

“Perfect. This worked out pretty good then. Maybe, Jake, you can supervise my walk with the dogs. Tyler doesn’t really want me going out alone. I wanted to try to ride Twist...” Georgia’s stream of thoughts were all over the place and she absolutely blamed it on her pregnant brain and body. The screen door creaked then, and there were booted footsteps with a slight limp. 

“Ain’t no way yur ridin’ unless I’m here.” Tyler’s voice boomed his entrance into the kitchen. Georgia smirked wide at him as he made his way over to kiss her. 

“Mmm, oil and diesel, such a wonderful cologne you’ve picked there.” She said as he pulled her close. He glanced down as he felt a strong bump at her stomach.

“Damn! He’s feisty today.” Tyler laughed and Georgia reached up to cup his cheeks.

“He knows who his daddy is.” She said, making Tyler wiggle his eyebrows. He kissed her hungrily again and then he stepped away, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. 

“Jake. I expect you to take very good care of my girl while I’m gone. Protect her like your own, you got that?” Tyler said, taking a long swig of the water. Jake chuckled and folded his arms across his chest, while leaning against the counter opposite of him.

“Same goes for you.” Jake said sternly and Tyler turned, grabbing Jake’s shoulders and shaking him. 

“Oww, you fucker. I might be healed but it still hurts, you cocksucker.” Jake said, grabbing his brother playfully, pulling him off balance. Tyler’s laugh, it was one that Georgia hadn’t heard in a very long time. It was a deep belly laugh that rumbled through him and shook his whole body. It made Georgia tear up a little to see him with his brother. She could see how close they were even though they’d be apart for so long.

“Fuck, I think we’re too old to rough house anymore, especially in front of our ladies.” Tyler said, smacking his brother gently on his upper back. Jake took a hold of one of Tyler’s biceps and squeezed and then patted him in the same spot on his back as he had done to Jake.

“You might be right about that.” Jake said. “Don’t worry, bruh, I’ll keep you lady safe. That’s my nephew in there too.” 

“You are right. We’ll take Grits with us. You know how he is. Sam, did you want to bring one of your dogs?” Tyler asked and Sam nodded.

“I think I should take Muster. She needs to get out and do things with other people. She’s so timid.” Sam explained and Jake shook his head in agreement.

“Yeah, can’t be like that if she’s a protection dog.” Jake said and Sam smiled. Sam called for the puppy, who didn’t look so much like a puppy anymore. She looked more like a mini version of an adult Malinois. She was pretty and dainty, with brilliant amber eyes and a white spot on her chest. She also had a little stripe of white under her jaw that had grown in recently. Rocco came trotting in as well and Sam kneeled down to rub his little head.

“Sorry Roc, you’re all socialized. Besides, I know how much you love spending time with Jake.” Sam said as the little red dog reached up and licked Sam’s chin with a small whine. Jake laughed when she stood, giving her a kiss on her cheek and then her lips.

“Have fun. Can’t wait to see what you’re gettin’ me.” Jake smirked, rubbing his hand across her lower back as she turned to follow Tyler, who was saying goodbye to Georgia in a similar fashion, but he placed his hand on her belly before he stepped away. As they got to the door, Grits was waiting, sitting patiently.

“Silly dog.” Tyler said, bending down to pat the puppy. “C’mon buddy.”

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“There’s so many to choose from.” Sam said, walking up and down the aisle at Cavender’s, a boot and workwear store in Stillwater. 

“Well, Jake likes Twisted X’s, and Ariat, so maybe that helps?” Tyler suggested, watching Sam as she picked up several pairs of boots and examined them carefully while he held both dog’s leashes. She glanced at him apologetically.

“Sorry. I just want it to be perfect.” She said and Tyler smiled warmly.

“Don’t be sorry. Whatever you get him, he’s gonna love. It’s not even about the thing either, it’s about the fact that he loves you a lot. I can tell.” Tyler said, running a hand over Grits’ back. Sam stopped for a moment, her hands on a pair of boots that were a simple brown color with a square toe, mid calf shaft, and a classic stitched pattern with green piping following the stitches.

“Think he’d like these?” She asked, while not thrilled with how plain they were, she needed to look past that, because they weren’t for her. They were for Jake. She knew that Jake did like simple clothing and casual style, nothing extravagant. He liked things that looked clean and well maintained. The simplicity of the boots made them exactly that.

“I do.” Tyler said. He stood as Sam grabbed the box for the boots and Tyler handed her Muster’s leash. The dog stuck to Sam’s side like glue as they continued through the store to the check out. Tyler hated putting a leash on Grits, knowing that the dog would stay with him just like Muster did with Sam, but he knew he should just in case Grits saw something he wanted to chase.

Sam paid and as they exited, Tyler took out his phone, and gave a quick call to the store where Georgia’s gift was. They hopped in the truck and headed that way.

“So, what did you get for Georgia?” Sam asked, placing Jake’s gift on the floor at her feet. Tyler’s smile widened and he glanced at Sam.

“You’ll see when we get there. You’ll appreciate it too, I think. Gee was sayin’ you had horses?” Tyler asked and Sam nodded.

“Yes, a long time ago. My dad bought me a hunter pony when I was a kid and then I showed in the bigger jumping classes until about half way through high school. We had a really beautiful horse and I miss him. I miss jumping a bit but having the dogs is a nice substitute. I’m really enjoying learning about all the protection sport stuff.” Sam explained and she glanced back at the little black dog who had curled up comfortably next to the red cattle dog. 

“It’s good to have somethin’ you enjoy outside of work and relationships. Y’know, havin’ somethin’ for yourself. Like I love weather...I love Gee, but I sure do love fixin’ a truck. It’s one’a my favorite things to do in the world, besides bein’ with Gee. I’m makin’ up for lost time there...” Tyler said and Sam tilted her head questioningly.

“What do you mean by that?” She asked.

“We’ve got a bit of a rocky past. There’s definitely fault on both of our parts.” Tyler said, his jaw working. Sam decided not to pry. She understood when someone didn’t feel like talking about something in their past, maybe more than anyone else. 

When they arrived at the tack and feed store, Tyler hopped out and before he closed the door he told her to stay. “I’ll only be a few minutes. Just picking up Gee’s present and my grain order so I’ll have to move the truck again anyway. No point in us all gettin’ out and back in.” 

Sam nodded and she decided to check her phone. She had a few texts that she’d left unanswered from the past couple of days. She’d told Nat and Maisy that she was trying to not be on her phone while they were down here and both girls understood that. They were busy with holiday things anyway. She also had a text from Rooster, which caught her off guard slightly.

Nat: hey, just wanted to wish you a merry christmas. Got something for you when you come back. Taking Bob home to meet mom and dad so this should be interesting. Never thought this was gonna go this way but I’m trying out what you said. Winging it a bit.

Maisy: merry christmas from Javy and I! Have fun down there and enjoy your time away. You and Jake need it!

Rooster: hey, just wanted to say merry christmas. Iris was really excited to meet you. I hope it was okay that I brought her along. I get it if you’re mad at me.

Sam sent a ‘merry christmas’ back to the girls and then she responded to Rooster, trying her best to not be harsh. She thought she succeeded.

Sam: Merry Christmas Bradley, hope you get to see Mav too. I think Iris is good for you. Hope you enjoy the holidays with her. I’m really happy for you.

If he could detach a little bit, maybe he could move on. Then Sam could move on. She needed the memory of that night to no longer be seared into her brain. 

Tyler surprised her when he got back in the truck. He placed four halters on the center console, all hand made, hand tooled, with beautifully etched nameplates on each one and a matching lead line. 

“Wow. These are super nice. I see you got one for Rascal too.” Sam said, picking up the halter that was meant for Tulsa. The three for Georgia’s horses were a dark brown leather, with pink leather piping. Rascal’s was brown with green leather piping. 

“Well, had to get my buddy a Christmas present too.” Tyler said with a smile as he pulled the truck to the loading dock. The employee chucked several bags of grain in the back and tapped on the back of the bed once he had finished. Tyler waved to him and drove off. 

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Georgia pulled on a jacket and Jake followed suit. It wasn’t too cold but with his injury, his bones ached with any type of chill in the air. He kind of hated that. They let the dogs file out of the farmhouse first, and Jake let Georgia go ahead of him. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked next to her. The dogs bounded out in front, playing and romping as they headed through Twist and Wilene’s field. Tyler had recruited Dustin, Lennon, and Boone to help expand the pastures so that the horses would all have a little more room to roam around. Georgia was thankful for that, loving that Tyler had the animals best interest at heart. 

“Chilly. I’m not used to freezing temps anymore. I used to go home to Dardanelle every winter but that’s not enough to stay used to it.” Jake said, trying to make some sort of small talk. He wanted to talk to her about something else, but he was hoping maybe she’d bring it up.

“I’ve lived in Stillwater my whole life, except when I was rodeoing, but even then I could never get used to any one climate. The rodeos were all over the country.” Georgia said, glancing at Jake. There it was, and he was going to take his chance.

“Yeah...y’know I’m sure you and Tyler have talked about it but...” Jake’s brows furrowed and Georgia knew exactly what he was asking.

“Tyler and I have made our peace with each other...obviously.” She said, motioning to her belly. Jake chuckled and she spoke again. “He’s been wanting me to meet you for a while though.”

“Yeah same. Can I ask why you didn’t come back though? I’m sure you’ve told him but I’d like to hear it for myself. He hasn’t told me anything that you two have talked about yet so...” Jake asked and Georgia nodded.

“I had just lost my father not too long before I met Tyler. We spent six months straight together. We knew each other as much as we could. But I was terrified that after he got injured, knowing him, he’d try to ride again, and that he’d get hurt again and die. I couldn’t lose someone else. My father’s death was...”

“You don’t need to say anymore. I get it.” Jake said, stepping closer to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “I’m just glad you two reconnected. Tyler talked about you then like you were his entire world. Now, jeez, you’re his entire universe. You mean so much to him. That’s kinda how I feel with Sam.”

“You and Sam are a really beautiful couple. I’m excited for the wedding. Tyler and I didn’t really have anything. He said he wants to have a party once Jaycen is born to celebrate him and our marriage. Tyler’s always so brash with his decision making.” Georgia laughed and Jake agreed.

“He’s always been like that. I am to a degree. It’s why I joined the Navy. We also make sure we get what we want. I knew Tyler would get this life that he’s livin’ with you. Wife, kids, house, farm. That was always his plan.”

“What was your plan?” Georgia asked, tripping slightly over a rock that she didn’t see. Jake caught her though, making good on his promise to watch her every move.

“I wanna be an Admiral and be the best pilot in the Navy, but now because of Samantha...I want some other things too. I want kids with her. I never thought I’d want to be responsible for small humans but...I dunno...she’s changed me...in a good way.” Jake explained and Georgia smiled up at him.They stopped, Georgia realizing they’d come to the end of Twist and Wilene’s pasture. They watched the dog’s bound through a patch of freshly fallen snow. Most of it had melted, but where there were dips or divots in the ground there was still some hanging on.

“Jake...Tyler and your momma told me you were one of the only reasons he was able to get through his rehab. I thought maybe you’d have some ill will toward me knowing that’d I’d left him, but you don’t seem to. I’m really glad you made sure he got better.” Georgia said and Jake pulled her in a little tighter.

“I don’t have any ill will toward you because I see how happy you make my brother. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for him. I’ve wished for him to have this life, just like he’s dreamed of it. And you’re back in it, helping to make it come true for him. That’s so much more important than being mad at you for somethin’ you did a long time ago. I know some people who can;t let go of their past and their regrets and their mistakes. I don’t wanna live like that. I don’t need that in my life. I want good shit from here on out. For all of us.” Jake explained and Georgia leaned into him as they turned to walk back toward the house. She was getting tired and Jake could tell by how heavily she was leaning on him. He would get her back home safely and get the fireplace lit so they could all warm up.