#camping elopement

[talktonytome]

Buck sits by the hospital bed, hands clasped around one of Tommy’s, as he’s waking up from surgery. He groans groggily, trying and failing to open his eyes a few times, before he turns to squint at Buck, then at their joined hands and back at Buck.

“My husband won’t like you touching me like that,” he says, face twisted in an offended frown. He tries to pull his hands away, but Buck holds on, stifling a laugh. He has a dumb little smile because they weren’t actually husbands— yet. They ended up proposing to each other a little over a month ago and Buck couldn’t wait to marry this man.

“Uh, hey, it’s me, Evan,” he tries to get Tommy to focus on him, but he’s still adorably loopy. Tommy closes his eyes for a couple minutes and Buck figures he might have fallen asleep, when suddenly, there’s a soft pressure where Tommy’s squeezing his hand and he looks up to find him gazing, eyes wide and soft.

“Evan, it’s you!” He grins happily. “Some guy was here earlier trying to hold my hand, can you believe that? But I set him straight,” he nods seriously.

Buck shakes his head and giggles, heart light with fondness. “I’m sure you did- I wouldn’t like other men touching up on you, after all.”

“Hey, that’s what I said. It’s like, we’re connected,” Tommy sighs bringing their hands up to clutch at his chest. Then, he promptly nods off and Buck doesn’t have the heart to pull his hand away.

Later, when they’re home and Tommy’s much more lucid and awake, Buck decides to bring up the exchange from the hospital, if for nothing more than to watch him blush.

“Baby?”

“Hm?”

“When you woke up after surgery, um, you called me your husband?”

Tommy tilts his head, nose scrunching adorably as pink tinges his cheeks. “Oh.”

“It’s okay, I know it was the anesthesia, but I thought it was cute, I, uh like the sound of that, he admits. “Your husband.”

Tommy’s eyes soften, mouth stretching into a wide smile. “I like it too. I think I’ve been thinking of you as my husband in my mind for so long that it finally spilled out into words,” he says earnestly, not in the least bit embarrassed.

Buck loves him for it, how easily he offers up his honesty and vulnerability. And honestly? He can’t wait months to marry him, so, he can’t be blamed for what comes out of his mouth. “Tommy? How do you feel about being my husband, like, officially, as soon as you recover from surgery? You, me, elopement- what do you say?”

Tommy’s eyebrows reach his hairline. “I- I thought you wanted everyone there, a wedding, your clipboard? I can wait, Evan,” he says, eyes searching, checking that Buck had truly considered it all.

Buck lets out a breathy laugh. “Yeah, the thing is, I don’t want to wait. And we can always have a party with everyone later. So?”

“Are you… absolutely sure about this?”

Buck’s reminded of their coffee date, all those months ago, when he asked Tommy to go with him to a different wedding. He thinks it’s awfully poetic and romantic. “Yes, I’m sure,” he grins. “I guarantee there will be food and someone to dance with,” he winks.

Tommy laughs brightly. “C’mere,” he pleads from his place on the couch. Buck immediately complies and Tommy wastes no time in cupping his face and brings him in for a sweet kiss. “Okay.” He breathes in the space between.

“Yeah?” Buck smiles against his lips.

“Of course.”

[on-my-vigilante-sht]

Immortal Danger

Apollo x DaughterofDemeter!Reader

Summary: Apollo marries a half-blood without realizing how dangerous it can be.

Warning: PJO universe but no real PJO plot, (kind of) smut, threats, monsters, Ares slander

Word Count: 4.7K

Masterlist | Part 2

A/N Sam Claflin is my personal headcanon for Apollo and if he isn’t cast for the Titan’s Curse season I’m gonna cry

“Am I even allowed to be here?” I asked as Apollo and I materialized in his home on Mount Olympus.

“Probably not but Demeter’s already gonna be pissed when she finds out we eloped in Vegas,” Apollo smiles, pulling me down onto the couch. I laughed as he did so, taking a chance to look around. I was in awe. The ceiling to the sitting room was just a giant skylight and the sun seemed to perpetually shine through it. There were balconies in the column of the sun, revealing the upper levels of the extravagant manor decorated in gold.

“This place is incredible,” I said in awe.

“Yeah, Annabeth did a great job with the remodel. And it’s all yours,” he swore, his lips brushing against my cheek. “Everything that’s mine is also yours.”

“Really?” I challenged teasingly. “Then can I drive the sun chariot.”

He faltered. “Well… after Thalia, I don’t think-”

“I’m joking,” I assured him. “I don’t want to torch Antarctica. Or make North Africa freeze over.”

“I’ll give you lessons some day,” he promised. “Maybe when you’re a goddess and that human nervousness about dying instinct fades.” I laughed before he sprung up. “C’mon,” he said, pulling me up from the couch. “I wanna show you the bedroom.”

“Very subtle,” I chided him.

“I know,” he agreed with a cocky smile as he began climbing the stairs. “But you’re my wife now.” We went up so many levels I was beginning to get tired but Apollo was already practically dragging me up the stairs. When we went to a set of double doors I thought we were done with the stairs but there was one more flight. I followed him up, eyes widening as I realized his room made up the entire top floor.

There was a circle in the floor covered by glass with a view to the sitting room, allowing the sun to shine through the whole house. But the ceiling of the room itself was a glass dome, flooding the whole room with light. Surprisingly, it wasn’t ridiculously hot but that’s a perk of being the sun god. Several plants grew in various pots around the room—I had a sneaking suspicion he added them recently—and the walls were lined with various weapons, mostly bows and arrows. The bed itself was tucked into a sort of alcove, with pillows lining the edge of it, leaning up against the walls so as to make the whole alcove a soft bed. I noticed curtains hanging in front of the bed to shield it from the rest of the room, as well as a contraption above it against the glass probably to block the light from above.

Apollo came up next to me. “I know you’re a light sleeper so I had the curtains put in to block out the light.”

“This is incredible,” I said in awe. “But uh- do gods sleep?”

“We don’t have to but I love sleeping,” he smiled. “It’s one of the best things humans invented.”

I stepped closer to the bed, reaching down to feel the soft mattress. “Gods, do you know how long it’s been since I slept in a bed that wasn’t a twin size mattress?” I asked. Even though at 24 I was far older than any of the other campers at Camp Half-Blood, I had to stay there as the outside world had become too dangerous for me. Once I turned 22, Chiron finally let me have a room in The Big House because even the oldest campers besides for me were still around 17.

“Well,” Apollo began, getting closer until I was laying down on the mattress and his face was so close to mine I could see the gold flecks in his eyes, “I was thinking we’d consummate our marriage in this bed before sleeping,” he suggested, kissing me.

“I’d be open to that,” I laughed, kissing him back. Using godly strength, he managed to wrap an arm around my waist before pulling me up closer to the middle of the bed so our feet weren’t hanging off. As he kissed me, I could feel his hand find the zipper on the back of my wedding dress. But just as he started to bring it down, there was a bell and a shout.

“Apollo?” a masculine voice called through the house.

Our lips parted, and he rested his forehead on mine with a groan. “I hate him.”

“Who is it?” I asked.

“Hermes. Look, he can’t see you. He and I are cool now but he still can’t see you.”

“Okay,” I agreed. “I’ll just stay here.”

He nodded, pressing a kiss to my forehead before running downstairs to an incessant Hermes. As he went down the stairs I watched in amazement as his tux transformed into a t-shirt and shorts. Once he left I started looking around the room more, wary of the giant glass circle in the middle of the room. I went up to the weapons, finding various plaques describing what momentous kill each weapon was responsible for. A little bit self obsessed to have in your bedroom but, hey, that’s Apollo.

As the gods moved to the sitting room I could hear them through the glass. “I know you’ve been dating a demigod,” Hermes’ voice came. “Chiron just sent a distress signal about a missing half-blood.”

“So…?” Apollo’s voice came, trying to act nonchalant.

“I’m saying that the girl you’ve been dating is the missing half-blood. Chiron is worried sick because apparently she’s powerful but will attract a lot of monsters. And Ares is still pissed at you for putting an arrow through him during World War I. She could be in danger of him while not under Dionysus’ protection.”

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you, man. I haven’t seen her in a few weeks.”

“I haven’t known you to go even two days without seeing the person you’re dating.” I could hear the accusing tone in Hermes’s voice. And Apollo knew he was backed into a corner.

“Yeah well, dating a half-blood is hard. Chiron and Dionysus have her on lockdown. And do you know what Demeter would do to me? You remember how she lost it when Persephone ran off with Hades. How am I going to explain that I’m dating her half-human daughter?”

“Well you better pray Ares doesn’t find out about her or he’ll probably kill her just to piss you off.” Kill me?

“Look I’m going to have father turn her into a goddess soon anyway. She’ll be fine.”

“You’re awfully nonchalant about your little human going missing. Is it because she’s actually here?” Hermes accused.

“No!” Apollo said unconvincingly.

“Y/N!” Hermes called. “I know you’re here. Come on out.” I froze. What do I do? Obey the god or obey the other god?

“She’s not here and even if she was, she’d listen to what I said.” I didn’t move, contemplating whether or not I should hide.

“Fine, then you won’t mind if I check your bedroom.”

Σκατά. I could just hide in one of the many other rooms in the house. Hermes probably wouldn’t take the time to check every room. But once I reached the top of the stairs, the door at the bottom opened revealing a very pissed Hermes and distressed Apollo. Curse godly teleportation.

Hermes turned to Apollo. “Wanna do some explaining?” he asked sarcastically, observing my white dress. I just backed away, giving them space to come up the stairs. “Seriously, man. She could be killed because you married her and brought her here without permission,” Hermes explained as they walked up the stairs.

“But no one else is going to know because you’re not gonna tell them,” Apollo said, getting in between me and Hermes. “Right?”

He sighed. “Hi Y/N, congrats on getting married,” he finally greeted me.

“Thanks,” I answered hesitantly.

“Why is she even here?” he asked Apollo.

“Well, we were supposed to go talk to Zeus but I’m working the courage back up,” he laughed awkwardly. Hermes gave him an unamused look. “What? I’ve been single for millennia and then I’m just going to go up to father like ‘Hey, I finally decided to get married. By the way, it’s to a half-blood can you make her immortal too?’”

“So why is she still here?”

“Well Chiron has almost walked in on us having se- OW!” I cut him off with a pinch to his side. “What?” he asked, turning to me.

I could feel the heat rushing to my face now. “Shut up,” I chided him.

“Hermes of all people gets it!” he insisted, slinging an arm around my shoulders. “You can’t honestly say you’ve never brought a girl to Olympus. Like Penelope? Pan’s mother. Because Odysseus would’ve tried to murder you had he walked in on you two.”

“That’s different!” Hermes insisted.

“How?”

Hermes tried to think of an answer for a few minutes before he gave up. “Fine, whatever. But either get her back to camp or tell Zeus what’s going on before anyone else can get their hands on her.” He left no room for argument because he quite literally disappeared in a flash of light that second. Thankfully Apollo had the foresight to cover my eyes for me because Hermes had turned into a ball of light before I could react.

My husband sighed as he looked down at me. “I guess I should return you, huh? I’m sorry I just can’t face Zeus today.”

I smiled softly at him. Truthfully I was in no rush for immortality. I wasn’t quite ready to leave my life behind either way but when Apollo burst into my bedroom declaring that today was the day, I just went with it. Reaching a hand up to cup his jaw I leaned up to kiss him. “Whatever you want, you’re the one who has to take responsibility,” I reasoned.

“Thank you,” he murmured, capturing my lips. “Do you think you can be missing for just a couple more hours?” he asked, pulling away from me.

“Probably,” I agreed. He was immediately scooping my legs up before dropping me onto the bed.

My new husband spent the entire night drawing orgasms out of me until I finally got him to stop. That was the thing about gods, sometimes they didn’t know when to stop because they didn’t always understand human limitations.

I was still breathing heavily from my last peak when I fell asleep on Apollo’s chest, so exhausted.

~

Despite the fact that the sun was down, Apollo could still see his new wife clearly through the moonlight streaming through the glass ceiling. He had laid there for hours, admiring her relaxed features and reveling in the touch of her skin on his. It was nearly five o’ clock and he’d have to get up soon. As nice and sunny as summer was, he hated having to get up so early to get the sun chariot ready.

He gently stroked the hair away from her face, pressing the lightest kiss against her forehead so as not to disturb her. Sitting up, he rearranged the pillows and blankets to cover her before sliding off the bed. He threw on some clothes, leaving a t-shirt for his wife when she woke up before disappearing to the moors of England. Humans thought the sun was always going around the world in a circle but for the west, the sun began in England because that’s where the dividing line fell between the east and the west.

Setting up the sun chariot to do it’s course, Apollo set it off, watching it crest up in the sky like every day. Before he could turn to leave he sensed a new presence behind him. Turning, he found a very smug looking Ares. Trying to play it cool, Apollo smiled. “What are you doing here, brother?”

“I heard about a missing camper,” Ares began. “And then Aphrodite told me about a certain marriage certificate. Filed both on Earth and Mount Olympus.” Apollo cursed internally, that wasn’t supposed to be sent to Olympus for another week. The one time bureaucracy was efficient.

“Ares…” he began, intending to work out some sort of deal but the god of war interrupted him.

“I don’t know where you’re keeping her but until she’s immortal, she’s fair game to kill.”

“You really wanna piss off Demeter like that?” Apollo challenged, hoping her mother could provide her a little protection if he couldn’t.

Ares shrugged. “She has plenty of other children. And it’s not like I’m killing Persephone.” Demeter’s first daughter truly was the apple of her eye. She loved her demigod children but she’d get over their deaths. “Should’ve thought about this before you decided to put an arrow through me in 1918,” Ares sneered.

“That was like a hundred years ago!” Apollo insisted. “Don’t put her in the middle of this. She didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Should’ve thought about the consequences of your actions before you fell in love with a demigod,” the god of war taunted before disappearing in a flash of light.

The sun god let out an enraged grunt before transporting to his house. He practically ripped open the curtains surround the bed to make sure his bride was still there. He let out the biggest sigh of relief seeing her still laying there, unharmed. But now she was stirring due to the sudden light flooding her eyes.

~

I groaned as the sun hit my eyes and a body came to lay next to me. “I’m sorry,” Apollo said, crawling into his spot next to me. “I really wish you could go back to sleep but you need to be back at camp now,” he said. I could now hear the urgency in his voice as I opened my eyes.

“Why? What happened?” I asked, sitting up.

“Look, I uh- may not have thought this marriage all the way through,” he said nervously, handing me a shirt.

My heart dropped and pain flooded my body. “What?” I asked. I cursed myself, I knew it was too good to be true. I thought that after seeing each other for five years he was being honest about wanting to marry me. But I guess five years to an immortal god is the equivalent to a week for a human.

Apollo turned, finding my hurt expression. “No!” he immediately tried to clear up. “No it’s the fact that you’re in danger now. I don’t regret you. I’m so happy you’re my wife now and that you will be forever. I just didn’t think about the other gods’ reactions.”

“Oh,” I said quietly, relief washing over me.

“I could never regret you,” he said, coming over to sit beside me. “I love you. So much,” he swore, pressing me into his chest.

“Is this about Ares?” I asked. He suddenly froze. “I overheard you and Hermes downstairs,” I explained.

“Yes, but I swear to you nothing’s gonna happen to you. You just have to stay at camp. Ares won’t harm you if you’re in Dionysus’ territory,” he said urgently. If his grave tone was any indication, I was in serious danger. “I’m gonna talk to Zeus. We’re already married and I consulted the Fates when I met you so he’ll probably approve your immortality,” he rushed out, handing me shorts to throw on.

I was at a complete loss of what to say so I said the only thing I could think of. “Okay, I trust you.”

He smiled, lightly grasping either side of my jaw. “We have to go. I’m gonna transport with you just outside of camp. The other campers won’t be able to see me but you’re gonna say you snuck out to visit your dad because you were… I don’t know… having a hard time being the only adult at camp?” he suggested.

I nodded, grasping his hand. Immediately we were standing on the side of a familiar rural road. I looked up at the hill in front of me, just over it was Camp Half-Blood. Turning, I found nothing next to me but Apollo’s hand still intertwined in mine was proof he was still there.

He untangled his fingers from mine and gave me a gentle push on my back to encourage me to walk. I did so hesitantly, slowly walking up the hill. As I spotted the gates of camp. Stood on either side of the arch, were two campers in full battle armor. I could hear an indistinct yell as I approached. Probably alerting Chiron to my reemerged presence.

When I finally reached the “safety” of camp I could sense that Apollo was gone. He had kept a few paces behind me but disappeared once I got past Thalia’s former tree. Meanwhile, there was a new threat currently facing me as both Chiron and Mr. D stared down at me disapprovingly. They so rarely agreed with each other and Mr. D so rarely even bothered to pay attention to us that I knew I was in deep shit. “Y/N,” Chiron said like he was scolding his 16 year old daughter, “come with me.” He turned, trotting away as I followed after him like this was a walk of shame. Dionysus just disappeared.

Once I finally reached the Big House, I spotted Mr. D and a woman in the room. She radiated warmth and life despite the rage coming off of her. “Mother?” I asked.

“How could you!” she immediately yelled. “You were seeing a god behind everyone’s back? Not just any god, Apollo,” she spat angrily. “And then next I hear you’re married to him?” she asked in disbelief. “Y/N, do you know what you’ve gotten yourself into? I’ve already lost one daughter to a god. I won’t lose another one.”

Had I not been speaking to a goddess I would’ve lashed out at her. It’s not like she was ever really there for me. How can you lose someone you’ve never been there for? “You’re not gonna lose me,” I insisted, biting my tongue. “You haven’t lost Persephone either, she’s only in the Underworld for a few months. I will be on Olympus with you.”

“Locked in Apollo’s morally depraved sex mansion,” she spat, clearly upset. My jaw nearly dropped, I was so shocked she actually said that.

“Demeter, as valid as your worries are,” Dionysus reluctantly said, “there is the more pressing matter of Ares trying to murder your daughter. And he’ll keep trying until Zeus grants her immortality.”

“Are those boys still fighting about the arrow in 1918?” Demeter demanded.

“Wait, Ares wants to kill me because Apollo shot him?” I asked.

“Yes, it was an accident but Ares never forgot. Especially because it allowed the Allied powers to win. At the time, Ares was kind of betting on Germany to be the next big thing but then when the Allies all blamed it on Germany, Ares wasn’t happy.” Chiron clarified. “And he wants to destroy Apollo’s happiness in revenge.”

“I don’t want you seeing him,” my mother suddenly demanded, still hyper-focused on the wrong topic. Even Chiron and Mr. D rolled their eyes at that. “He’s a no good playboy.”

“We’re already married. I’m not gonna just stop seeing him. And I knew what I was getting myself into. I made sure he actually wanted a relationship with me before I got attached.”

“Oh please-”

“He married me, didn’t he?” I interrupted.

“Demeter, if it’s any consolation he does seem to genuinely be in love with her,” Chiron defended me. “Apollo has never married in all the millenniums he’s lived. He has finally settled down.”

She looked reluctant to accept his argument but didn’t say anything else.

“S-so what do I do now that Ares wants to kill me?” I asked. “Apollo said that he wouldn’t touch me under your protection,” I looked at Mr. D.

The god of wine still looked reluctant to participate in all this. “Well technically camp belongs to all the gods and I cannot ensure your safety. Besides, Ares has never minded breaking a few rules of war. I’ll have to bring you to a more secure place whilst Apollo tries to convince Zeus.”

Demeter sighed. “I will go help him too but after you are immortalized we are discussing your living arrangement,” she said with a stern finger. Before I could reluctantly agree she was gone.

“Come,” Chiron said with a hand on my back. “You must pack only your essentials. Then Dionysus will take you to the convent you’ll be staying at.”

“Convent?” I asked, stopping in my tracks.

“Well, I am the god of cults,” Mr. D reasoned from behind me. “I have a few of my followers there but enough real nuns to disguise you. You’ll be safe there.”

~

I was only at the convent for two days before I was in danger again.

I had been getting along fairly well with the other nuns. Except for one. Her name was Peggy and she seemed too friendly and was always trying to be alone with me. With this being a place that housed Dionysus’ followers I thought nothing of it until I found myself alone with her.

I had been doing my daily chores of dusting the entire convent when Peggy entered the room I was in. I thought nothing of it until I heard the lock click into place. When I turned I didn’t find the nun, I found a gorgon with a grotesque smile on her face. “Daughter of Demeter, I hadn’t expected to see you here. I heard about your little predicament.” I glanced to the open window across the room. If I could just get outside I could trap the gorgon in nature. “Poor Apollo will be so heartbroken when he realizes his bride is dead before he was even able to give her immortality.”

Grabbing a lamp, I hurled it at the monster while she was still talking. It bounced harmlessly off her, shattering but I was already throwing myself through the window. Jumping through a second story window face first probably wasn’t the best idea but I needed to get her onto the ground. As I hit the ground I felt my wrist crack but I didn’t even have time to consider it because the gorgon was bursting through the window after me. She barely missed jumping on top of me but I rolled out of her path. As she was still regaining her bearings I willed the roots of the earth to wrap around her.

Thousands of roots sprung up from the ground tangling each other and the gorgon until they secured her. Any monster worth their myth could cut through my vines but they would come so fast that the monster couldn’t keep up until they were immobilized by the earth. Once the gorgon stopped moving and had just become an unrecognizable mass of weeds, I willed them to pull her into the ground. I’m sure it was a horrific way to die, having every nutrient in your body sucked out of you from underground until you could only become a pile of ichor that would remain in the earth forever.

As soon as I sensed that her life force was gone, I allowed some vines to wrap around my wrist, using the resources of the earth to heal my broken bones. As I let out a sigh of relief at the pain subsiding, I saw a faint flash of light. Now standing a hundred feet away from me were twin brothers, each standing around six feet tall, in full Greek battle armor. I knew enough about mythology and the context of my situation to know that these were Phobos and Deimos. If they weren’t standing between me and the convent I’d try to run there for safety.

“I’m so glad that gorgon was here,” Phobos said. “If it weren’t for you using your powers we never would have found you.”

Σκατά. Well, I just took down a gorgon, I could imprison these two. I let the earth crawl up their shins but they both just looked at each other with smiles before bursting into flames. Their explosion was so violent it threw me back a few feet.

I let out a groan as pain exploded in my body. Peeling open my eyes, I found the earth underneath their feet scorched and they were laughing. I tried to grow vines around myself to pull me into the earth as protection but a blade was suddenly cutting through them and I was being pulled up by my guimpe. Curse these stupid nun outfits.

“Wait, wait, please,” I begged.

“Too bad for you we don’t get to kill you,” Deimos taunted in my face, still holding me by the guimpe. “Ares is gonna torture you to death and send the footage to your husband.”

I did the only thing I could think of. I spat in his face.

“Ew!” he yelled, dropping me to the ground. I wasted no time tearing off into the woods, barely paying attention to Phobos berating his twin.

I continued on, tearing through the woods to get far enough. Seeing a flash of light, I turned the other way, trying to escape Phobos and Deimos long enough so I could hide. “Y/N!” I heard a familiar yell but I didn’t bother to stop. For all I knew, that was one of the twins playing tricks on me.

As I tried to jump over a branch my skirt got caught, sending me to the ground with a crash. Again, curse these nun outfits. Before I could get up though, there was a weight on me. I immediately began screaming and thrashing, assuming it was either Phobos or Deimos but two hands on my face made me look straight ahead. I calmed down realizing it was Apollo currently sitting on top of me.

“Hey, hey, you’re safe,” he assured me. “It’s just me.” As I started calming down, he pulled the veil off my head. “There we go,” he soothed, pulling me up from the ground. As he was still trying to calm me down, Phobos and Deimos appeared behind him. He whirled around, pushing my body behind his. “Zeus granted her immortality. She is under his protection!”

“What we don’t know can’t be held against us,” Phobos laughed.

But before he could do anything, I found myself in a new place. Olympus, I recognized it. Staring up in awe at all the thrones and the magnificent room made of marble. Eleven gods sat around me, including Ares. A completely golden throne that seemed to shimmer was empty.

I looked around, ensuring my head was bowed to all the gods—especially Ares—I finally reached Zeus, falling to my knee.

“Y/N L/N,” Zeus’ booming voice seemed to echo across the room. “You have been granted immortality by the virtue of your husband, Apollo. With the approval of myself and the fates. I hereby grant you goddess status: Y/N, goddess of healing, daughter of Demeter, and wife of Apollo.”

I don’t know what I was expecting but it was as if an unknown burden I didn’t know I had was lifted.

I stood, unsure what to do but all of a sudden a force was hitting me. As Apollo wrapped his arms around me I knew he had been what knocked into me. “My wife’s a goddess!” he yelled, still hugging me, much to the amusement of the other Olympians.

~

A/N I'm gonna be so fucking fr I had no plot going into this I just wanted to write about Apollo so if anyone has any suggestions or requests of a part 2 that ends this better I'm happy to write them

Masterlist | Part 2

[grimespial]

Husbands

Daryl Dixon x Husband!Male Reader

I like to imagine Daryl eloping, mainly because he got the courage and because there's not exactly many people he would even want there

Merle sort of grew to accept you? More like he just makes little comments that didn't seem in "bad" faith, he's grown a bit atleast.

As much as you didn't like the groups Merle was in cahoots with, and all the trouble he got in, but you helped Daryl clean up after him.

But then the apocalypse happened.

You obviously got out with the Dixon brothers, it would be a cold day in hell if you separated from him.

At the camp neither of you told the group you were married, and Daryl tended to keep PDA to a minimum anyways

The group couldn't tell what your relationship was, obviously Daryl and Merle were brothers but were you and Daryl just good friends?

It was something you teased Daryl about, how good friends you were, he always said it wasn't as funny as you found it but you saw his smile.

It took a while before someone figured it out, not even on purpose, Carol went to go ask if y'all wanted your clothes washed, and caught you holding Daryl against a tree

Needless to say, you couldn't face Carol for a while and Daryl took every chance to make comments about it.

It didn't help he had a hickey that reminded you everytime you saw it.

It was the CDC that most of the group guessed something was going on, you both could hold your drink but you couldn't hold the PDA back.

Daryl no longer had a name, it was only "My Husband", if anyone said Daryl you corrected them, most of the group assumed you were teasing him with how he kept going red and pushing you off him.

It was a nice takeback to before the outbreak, and people who were hungover (mostly Glenn, Daryl and you got him absolutely wasted for fun) forgot about it.

When the group finally knew the PDA was slightly increased, mostly just a chaste kiss and holding eachother

Daryl never realised how much he missed just holding you, he would never admit it to you, especially to anybody else.

It was everybodys favourite way to tease you both, especially Carol, asking Daryl 'how his husband felt', to 'ask his husband for permission'

There was never just one of you, y'all were a package deal, it was accepted before they even knew of your relationship

Daryl never got over being reffered to as 'Mr and Mr Dixon', yeah that's literally what your were but his cheeks always flushed.

When it came to resting it was easier next to you, when Beth died he couldn't sleep unless you were holding him

At first he "assured" you he was fine, he just wanted to take watch so that others could rest up, but then you gave him a choice between cuddling or you take watch with him

Daryl was hoping to just stay with you until you fell asleep and then go back on watch, but he practically passed out, being the last to wake up the next morning

He acted upset but he was grateful you managed to force him to get some sleep.

Hunts was the time you two spent to get some food, but also spend some alone time away from the groups eyes

It didn't exactly hide what you had done, nobody believed that Daryl's flushed face, messed up hair and hickey just barely hidden under his shirt was simply from a "hard hunt".

They'd pretend to save y'all the embarrassment, but that didn't stop them from making jokes about "how hard the hunt must've been" and how "Daryl will need some rest after that hard, rough hunt."

Carl didn't exactly understand most of the jokes but he found fun poking at Daryl.

As the group grew closer, becoming a family, Daryl became more comfortable with PDA, not completely, but he wasn't as reserved with kissing, no longer just restriced to a quick kiss that was barely a feather touch

He didn't have to worry that the group would send disgusted looks at him, they're family, they loved him.

You loved him.

[trulyhblue]

Communication

Kyra Cooney-Cross x Dutch! Reader Blurb

Warnings: fluff, REALLY bad translated Dutch, language barrier.

Masterlist

___________________

Moving from your childhood club AFC Ajax was the hardest change of your life, but the easiest choice of your career.

You signed your first professional contract with them when you were fifteen, making your club debut in the same year. After six months of fitting into the squad, and having the opportunity to play in the Champions League as a substitute, you were asked to play for your first international camp against New Zealand, where you came away with a 2-1 win. From then, you have continued to be chosen for the National Team’s 23-player squad, continuously representing them as both a starter and a sub.

You were known for your agility, speed, and footwork, both on the ball and against both attacking and defending players. Being a midfielder, your job to maintain possession and create chances felt like a breeze to you, and your pure, sheer talent landed you with many of the most assists for the past three years.

Despite the friends you made at Ajax, you knew that opportunities to strengthen your player profile and widen your skills across the world were a dream of yours. You were a huge fan of Arsenal growing up, your parents taking you to games when they could.

When the opportunity arose to represent your country at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, you don't remember doing anything but crying for the days following your selection. You played your heart out that whole tournament. And while you didn't make it to the Semis, you walked away with a once-in-a-lifetime experience, with clubs worldwide wanting you as a part of their team.

Moving to Arsenal was a no-brainer. Not only were you a massive fan of the name itself, but they were among the best players in the world. You knew Victoria and Viv from the Oranje Leeuwinnens, and you had been told that you’d move in with Vic for the first couple of months upon your arrival, so the weight of the move felt lighter than many anticipated. You were roommates with Vic during Camps. But, in contrast to your Netherlands teammates, you didn't know an inch of English.

Well, other than the obvious words like Hello, Good Morning, and Goodbye, you were hopeless.

So, when you arrived on your first day of training alongside Victoria, you couldn't help but cringe at what was about to unfold.

“Ze weten dat je geen Engels spreekt, y/n.” They know you don't speak English. She spoke, wrapping a comforting arm around your shoulders, squeezing you into her chest. “Ze zijn allemaal erg aardig.” They are all very nice.

You didn't reply, choosing to keep your arm around Victoria’s waist, your eyes filtering over each of the girls.

“Ah, hier is ze!” Ah, here she is. Viv said, walking out from beside Beth Mead, jogging towards you, eloping you into a crushing hug.

“Ik heb je gemist, y/n, hoe gaat het met je?” I’ve missed you, y/n. How have you been? She asked, holding onto your shoulders as she kissed the top of your head. The London chill meant that you were wearing a black long-sleeve under your shirt, its hem being detained in your hands. The chill of the air nipped your cheeks. The Netherlands were cold, but so was London.

“Hetzelfde. Ik ben goed.” Same. I'm good. You let out meekly, noticing a bouncy Beth Mead waddle over to the three of you, holding her hand out for you to shake. You had played against Beth before, and of course, you knew her from Viv, so you made sure to look her in the eye when you shook her hand.

“Hi!” She sounded cheerfully, keeping a ball at her feet. “I’m Beth!”

“Y/n.” You replied, trying to reciprocate her delight with a small smile. “I'm Y/n.”

Your eyes widened slightly when a ball came flying at the four of you, causing you all to yelp out and duck before it hit anyone. Everyone looked in the direction the ball had come from, a strong, Irish and Australian accent on cue to yell out.

“Sorry!” The duo cringed, running over to retrieve the ball with a grimace.

“Katie kicked it.” The Australian one said, but you didn't understand. You saw the pained expression on her face, and how the Irish woman, who you knew as Katie, glared at her in shock.

“It was a joint effort, I’ll have you know.”

“Oh, fuck off, no it wasn't—”

“Ze vechten.” They’re fighting. Victoria muttered to you, making you laugh.

“Ik dacht.” I figured.

The two girls were silenced after another woman came marching up to the growing group, looking at you with a stern expression before softening the crease between her eyebrows. You knew she was Kim Little by her motherly stare.

Next to her was Jennifer Beattie, an Arsenal Defender. She had her arms crossed around her chest, shaking her head in false disapproval before strolling over to you, calling out to Jonas, whom you had met when you discussed your contract.

You felt like crawling into a hole and dying, the whole occasion of being introduced to everyone made your skin crawl. Of course, no one necessarily made you feel out of place, but you refused to let Victoria’s arm go throughout the whole ordeal. You knew most of the players due to their prominence in women’s football. Most of these women set the scene for how the sport is seen today, and the mere thought of them knowing who you were was surreal.

The two girls that were arguing before, Caitlin Foord and Katie McCabe were the first to come up to you. Victoria told you they were sorry, and you shook your head and brushed the apology off, not really knowing how to say the right words in English.

Steph Catley and Leah Williamson came up to you next, saying very few yet simple words before hugging you and wishing you luck. Alessia Russo was next, and you couldn't help but giggle as her cheeks went red as she started to speak.

“Erm— sorry, hold on.” The striker looked at Pelova, who prodded her on with her hands. Russo looked back at you, trying hard to remember what she wanted to say.

“Leuk… Leuk je te ontmoeten. Erm- sorry. Ik hoop… Ik hoop dat je geniet… van… Londen.” It’s nice to meet you. I hope you enjoy London. You knew from her strained expression that she was well aware of how much she butchered the language with her English accent, but you pursed your lips together and smiled gratefully. The thought was genuine.

“Thank you.” You muttered, your slim vocabulary in English coming in handy. “It’s… nice to meet you, too.”

Alessia looked to be most accomplished with herself, asking Victoria a question before she was cut off by Jonas’ booming voice.

You waited, trying your hardest to latch onto an idea of what he was saying, but gave up when you felt someone behind you pulling you away from Vic’s side, leading towards the other end of the pitch.

When you faced the girl in front of you, she must've realised that she had startled you, since her eyes widened at your expression.

She was short, but your height, with a scrunchie in her hair and a training jumper over her Jersey. You couldn't count the hundreds of freckles that patterned her face, her doe-like Brown eyes looking at you with a mix of shock and awe.

“Hello, my name’s Kyra. Steph told me your name is Y/n… Jonas said that we are partners, so you can start if you want.”

You didn't say anything. You wish you could, but the words that left her lips were foreign. You felt a flush run across your face, humiliation at your lack of words hitching your breath. You must've looked so stupid since the girl waited for you to reply. Everyone was set off into pairs, a ball adorned between each of them.

The girl in front of you had the ball, picking it up and fidgeting with it in her hands. You stared at each other in silence, neither of you particularly knowing what to do. It wasn't until the girl put the ball to her feet, kicking it towards you, that you communicated in some way.

Instead of talking, the girl showed you the drills, pretending to be Jonas by overexaggerating her actions by marching around, waving her hands vigorously, and using the ball to make you laugh at her ridiculous impression of your Manager.

Her number was thirty-two, yours was thirty-three, and somehow it made you feel more of a connection with her. She was very patient if you didn't understand what you were doing the first time around, and you began to wonder if number thirty-two was trying hard not to talk just for the fun of it.

She never made you feel as if you were annoying her with the lack of audible contact, in fact, she looked to find it a fun game between the pair of you.

No one chose to interrupt or try and sever the consecutive numbers, finding Kyra’s unusual silence amicable in contrast to her typical outgoing self. Both Viv and Vic were eyeing you from where they stood with their respective partners, hesitant about the choice of Kyra as your partner, as you two were very different personalities. But after a while, the two Dutch women stopped looking to see if you were okay, hearing your faint giggles from the view of a giddy Kyra enough to reassure them.

Because of this, training went by quickly for everyone. Today was a pretty easy session, similar to the ones you knew from back home. You knew you were wrapping up when Kyra started juggling the ball, singing a loud tune before passing it over to you.

You moved your feet up and down as you juggled the ball from one foot to the other. Kyra giggled when she missed the ball you passed to her, tripping over her own feet and rolling around on the floor, clutching her stomach in laughter. You did this for a while, before Kyra dragged you across the field and to the stack of drink bottles.

You didn't really know where you were going, so you let Kyra take your hand and lead the way, walking behind her as you passed the bike rack and towards the indoor fields.

You didn't begin to doubt Kyra until you had pretty much walked the length of the training centre, where you had long discarded the fields you were once training on.

“Kyra.” You ushered, making the Australian stop in her tracks at the sound of your voice. She pivoted on her heel, staring at you absolutely gobsmacked.

You looked around, trying to find the words to get across what you wanted to say.

“Say it in Dutch,” Kyra answered, catching a glimpse of your reticence.

You thought to yourself for a second before nodding. “Waar gaan we heen?”

Kyra’s eyes widened, obviously not comprehending a word you said. She looked around, trying to find a solution.

She grabbed your hand again and led you down another corridor, pushing past a few doors, weaving through the never-ending maze of rooms before finally making your way back to the locker rooms, where Vic had taken you to drop off your possessions before training.

Kyra rushed to pick up her phone, waddling over to you, typing away vigorously and smiling up at you when a voice rang from the device.

“Ik kom uit Australië.” I'm from Australia. The voice spoke.

You laughed, taking the phone from the girl’s hands and writing down a reply.

“I know. I can tell by your funny accent.”

Kyra gasped, snatching the phone off you and furiously writing down a retort. You couldn't help but gape at her fondly, biting your lip at the sight of her concentration.

“Mijn accent is niet grappig, mijn grappen wel.” My accent is not funny, my jokes are. The phone sounded.

Before you could type out your own reply, Kyra went back to typing, but instead of letting the audio play, she squinted down at the translated sentence.

“Ik zou je… veel grappen kunnen… vertellen, weet je? Zou je ze graag… willen… horen?” I could tell you heaps of jokes, you know? Would you like to hear them?

For some reason, the Dutch that left the Australian’s lips left you gushing, nodding your head up and down as you grabbed her phone.

When you translated the sentence you had written down, looking down at the words in utter confusion, you sighed. Kyra was definitely no expert in your language, but you were just downright pathetic in hers.

She must've noticed your dismay since she looked over your shoulder, pointing at the first word. “Yes… but do you… have time... to tell… them all?”

She waited for you to sound out each word, humming and nodding in recognition when you repeated the sounds.

She smiled at you, taking her phone. You waited for the audio to play back to you. Kyra’s smirk only grew when she handed her phone back to you, the Contact App up on her phone — your name typed in and phone number blank.

You laughed, and she did too.

You could get use to this communication.

(just pretend it's you)

arsenalwfc : Cooney-Cross showing Y/L/N the ropes before our big clash on Sunday!

Comments:

kyracooneyx — best partner‼️ Laten we gaan gunners (let's go)

^ yourusername — 💗💗

^ user2 — THE DUTCH 😭😭😭

^ user3 — sleeping on the highway tonight, they're so cute 💔

User7 — the eyes chica 😍😍

katie_mccabe11 — quietest training session yet LOVE YOU Y/N

^ kyracooneyx — um rude 😡

vivannemiedema — Where did you two go after training?!

^ kyracooneyx — um, home? 🥰

^ victoriapelova — HAHAHAHA

kimlittle10 — welcome Y/N ❤️

^ yourusername — 💗

User1 — the duo we never knew we needed 🙌🏼🙌🏼

*liked by kyracooneyx

bethmead_ — happy to have you here Y/n!!!!

^ yourusername — Thank you ❤️

^ kyracooneyx — what about me?

^ caitlinfoord — what about you? 🤣

^ user4 — HAVSJDVSJSHSJS I'm dying

User5 — Y/n doesn't speak English, how did they even talk? Lol

^ user6 — Viv and Vic are there. I'm sure she was fine.

User7 — she's not even that good, at this point they're just getting anyone.

^ kyracooneyx — womp womp

* liked by yourusername

_____________

Number Thirty-Three 💗

You : what does ‘womp womp’ mean?

Ky : Niets, net als het. Xx Nothing, just like it. Xx

__________

[magics-neptunes-things]

Forever

Hi guys!

You were waiting for this one for a long time but it's finally here! This is Luna's elopement fic.

As always, this is a fiction, so it's purely coming from my mind. Please enjoy this one and tell me what you thought about it!

TW : None, I think. Maybe a little of chaos.

Lucy is tired, like bloody tired. Her and her team just won the cup of the Champions League yesterday and she’s still hungover from the party last night. She regretted bitterly her choice of drink this morning when the alarm went on, asking her to get up to get on the bus and then the plane. They had to be in Barcelona in the afternoon to present the cup at all the Cùlers and for some random talking with people in suit.

She’s not as hungover as Cata though, the woman practically snoring during the ceremony, much to her friends’ amusement.

To distract herself during the speeches that she finds rather annoying, Lucy is looking at her girlfriend. Standing right in front of her, Ona seems to be listening for the people who don’t know her, but Lucy knows better. Ona’s eyes are a little off, but Lucy can’t say if it’s because she’s bored or because she’s in pain.

The cuts she had because of her fall on their opponent’s boot is sharp, she needed three stitches on her cheek. The other one is way to close to her eyes to do anything. Lucy feels the bile running up her throat every time she remembers that her girlfriend could have lost an eye that night.

The English woman frowns when she sees Ona rubbing her injured eye, the scarring itching terribly. But the team’s doctors clearly specified that Ona should touch her eye as little as possible for a quick and optimal recovery.

“Ona” Lucy gently scolds her.

The younger pouts and crosses her arms on her breast, making Lucy smiles softly. She can’t wait to go home, find their dogs and sleep for the next three days before she has to go to national camp in England.

Thanks God they stop soon to talk, and Lucy is relieved to be able to go home. She even grabs Ona’s bags and push her in the direction of her car when they are released. Ona laughs slightly but let her do, looking for her keys in her pocket while Lucy puts their bag in the car.

“What do you think you're doing, Batlle?” Lucy tsk her when Ona sits behind the wheel.

“Going home?” Ona frowns.

“Get out of here. I’m the one driving, you almost lost an eye.”

“Lucia I can drive.”

Ona is sulking and Lucy rolls her eyes. The Catalan girl is the nicest and sweetest person in the world, but Lucy swears that she never met someone as suborn as her girlfriend. Which she likes very much, even if she sometimes seems to forget that she needs to take care of her.

“Sure Cyclops. Let’s sit on the passenger’s seat yeah?”

Ona frowns harder and try to make her girlfriend changes her mind, but she realizes soon that she doesn’t stand a chance. Lucy usually gets Ona what she wants, but not if she knows that it isn’t good for Ona.

The drive home is long, the journey who is usually thirty minutes is far from being finish and yet they only made several kilometers in one hour and an half.

“You can sleep if you want, Bonita” Lucy says softly at her girlfriend.

Ona was lost in the contemplation of the streets, but she turns her head in Lucy’s direction with a soft smile.

“I know. I prefer enjoying my time with you though. I three days we will be separated again.”

Lucy smiles softly, very carefully stroking Ona’s face. The wound looks better than yesterday but it still seems hurtful. But Ona isn’t the kind of girl to complain about anything.

“You’ll be careful with that beautiful face of yours, yeah?”

Ona hums only. She doesn’t want to have a big, awful and permanent scar on her face, but they don’t really let them be gentle during Spanish camp.

“I asked Alexia to keep an eye on you anyway.”

Ona whines, much to Lucy’s amusement. She knows what she was doing when she asked that to Alexia, their captain will be around Ona during all the camp, probably snapping her hand away every time Ona will want to scratch her face.

“How can you do that to me?” Ona groans.

“I did it because I love you” Lucy smiles, rolling her eyes.

“You definitively don’t love me as much as you say. If it was right, you would never betray me this way.”

“You are so dramatic” Lucy laughs softly.

“All that I’ll retain from this conversation is that I love you more than you love me.”

“That’s not true” Lucy frowns.

“It is. I’m the one who love you the most but that’s ok.”

With a satisfy smile, Ona shrugs before taping Lucy’s hand on her thigh. This discussion is going again and again between them, a childish and sweet fight that none of them want to give up.

“Ok” Lucy says after several seconds of silence. “If you love me so much, marry me.”

There is another moment of silence.

“Qué?”

Ona is looking at her girlfriend with wide eyes, seriously asking herself if Lucy lost her mind. But Lucy is looking at her seriously.

“Are you still drunk?” Ona asks, arching an eyebrow.

“No. I am very serious, Ona. I love you. I know you are the love of my life. You are the one I want to finish my life with, I’ve never be so sure about anything in my whole life. I don’t have a ring, but I’ll change that as soon as possible. I want to marry you.”

This is unreal for Ona. Of course, she already thought about marrying Lucy one day, because she’s sure that Lucy is the love of her life too. Lucy flipped her life upside down, in the best way possible. The situation is unreal, but the answer she gives seems to be as much.

“Ok”

“Yes? Will you marry me?”

“Yes” Ona smiles softly.

Even if this isn’t the most convenient marriage proposal, there still is some tears in Lucy’s eyes. And the smile she gives to Ona makes Ona’s heart fluttered. But then, Lucy is suddenly turning on the road, taking the opposite street of their apartment.

“Lucy what are you doing?”

“We are going to the airport, taking the next plane for Las Vegas. I want to marry you right now.”

“What? But Lucy the dogs? Our parents are going to kill us!”

“Coco and Narla can stay a little longer to your parents. And we will make a ceremony with everyone in several days. I just don’t want to pass another day without you being called my wife.”

The tender smile Ona gives her talk for her. She wrote to her parents to ask them to keep the dogs a little bit longer, explaining that Lucy and her are taking surprised holidays. She doesn’t say why and where though.

While Lucy is looking for a place on the parking, Ona is looking at the first plane leaving for Las Vegas. She managed to find one leaving in five hours, choosing to be in business class, after all they are getting married, right? They let their suitcases from the game in the car, choosing to buy new clothes in the airport. And because they are in business class, they have the lounge and the possibility to take a shower before landing.

Their seats are next to each other on the plane, but when they are on the sky, Ona chooses to escalate the wall between them to sit next to Lucy. Well, on Lucy. In the darkness of the plane and night, they cannot be seen from anyone, not that their embrace has anything looking like Pegi 18 anyway. Lucy just had passed her hand under Ona’s shirt to stroke her back and they are under a cover.

“Lucy?” whispers Ona.

It’s dark and quiet, people around them are sleeping or watching a movie from the television in front of them.

“What is it, Bonita?” Lucy whispers in answer.

“Are you sure you want to do this? We still can enjoy our time in Las Vegas, we are not forced to get married if you want to change your mind.”

“Are you scared?” Lucy smiles.

“No” Ona answers, putting her head again on Lucy’s shoulder. “I’m only scared that you will regret it the next morning.”

“Never.”

To add power to her answer, Lucy squeezes her harder against her, making Ona smile. She then kisses her hair, even if the shampoo she used isn’t the same one she’s using daily. Her natural scent is still here though, Lucy loves to think that Ona smell like sun, sand, and holidays.

Lucy smiles when she sees Ona yawning, the last days were chaotic. They were great, but very tiring and they haven’t many times to rest. They sleep a lot during the long trip, catching their lake of sleep, before landing to Philadelphia to take another plane.

“People are wondering where we are going” Ona smiles while looking at her messages during their stopover to Philadelphia.

“Tell them Lesbos Island” Lucy answer, looking at Ona’s phone above her shoulder.

Ona rolls her eyes and bite in the croissant she received during the journey. It’s not as good as the one she had in France, but still ok for an empty stomach.

“People are going to be wild when they’ll know” Lucy adds soon after. “How do you think we can say it to them?”

“If we want to keep the clichés, we can send them a picture of us next to a fake Elvis.”

********

They arrive at Las Vegas after several more hours, choosing one of the most expensive suites in the hotel Ona likes the most – The Venetian. Even if the younger one tried to protest, Lucy makes her shut with only one gaze.

“This is wild” Ona mumbles, looking at the view they have from it.

They are on the 36th floor and can see almost everything around. She lost herself in the contemplation of the streets and the lights, while Lucy is busy turning of the air conditioning who is always making her sick, after what she says.

She then takes several seconds to look at Ona, who turned her back at her. She’s smiling while looking at the smaller one. Even if it’s look like a whim, she knows what she’s doing. She was thinking about proposing to Ona for several weeks now, she wanted to do things right with a sweet proposal and everything. She still can make the surprise to Ona when she got the ring.

She is so in love with Ona.

She is so in love and is going to marry her.

It’s sometimes scary for Lucy to admit to herself how much her happiness depends of that wonderful and beautiful girl in front of her. She doesn’t understand how someone like Ona can be interested in her.

Sure, Lucy knows that a lot of people fancy her, she’s not stupid. But she’s older than Ona and she won’t be able to play football for as long as Ona would. But when she talked about it to Ona, the younger girl just smirk and answer that she would like this has a lot of time to choose her clothes for her wagging era.

Feeling a rush of love for the girl in front of her, Lucy breaks the distance between them in three big strides, before embracing Ona from behind.

“What if you’re the one regretting this tomorrow?” Lucy asks quietly, for once letting out some form of vulnerability.

“I won’t” Ona answers.

Her tone is so sure that there is no reason for Lucy to doubt about it. Ona turns around in Lucy’s arms, passing hers around Lucy’s neck.

“T'estimaré per tota la vida” she whispers, before kissing Lucy softly. (I’ll love you for all my life)

Lucy’s progresses in Catalan are prodigious, thanks to her personal teacher, which allows her to easily understand what Ona has just whispered against her lips. She doesn’t have time to answer though, carried away by the extent of Ona’s kiss.

“Is it a way not to leave this room and not to get married, miss Batlle?”

“I can’t believe we’ve done it” Ona mumbles, looking at the pictures on her phone.

They are on their way back to Barcelona, after a stop at Dallas this time. They haven’t said anything to anyone about their marriage, like Lucy said, they will make a ceremony for their families and Lucy even planned a way to offer a magic proposal to Ona with the ring she will find in Barcelona.

She looked for jewelry in Barcelona when Ona fell asleep in her arms after having celebrated their wedding.

“Still no regret?” Lucy whispers, looking at Ona’s phone above the armrest between them.

“Never.”

A sweet smile is on Ona’s face when she looks at her girlfr… wife. Even if they have to make the contract acknowledged in Spain. They are travelling during the day this time and people are obviously more up than during the first fly. Lucy sulks when she realizes that Ona won’t be able to join her on her seat like before, but then Ona grabs her hand and never let it go since. She can live with that.

“I always thought that the big Elvis' was a myth to be honest” Lucy comments when she sees the photo where they are posing next to him. “It was like a movie.”

“Yeah. I liked that movie though; the first actress is hot” Ona smirks.

“The Spaniard with the scar? Yes. Hot and badass.”

********

When Lucy’s back from the England Camp, Ona had the time to make their marriage contract recognized. She went back home from the camp after deciding that it was better for her face that way. She was sad not to be able to play with Leila again, but it was safer that way. She went to training with Patri and Mapi and passed time with Narla and Coco.

She went to take Lucy from the airport and Lucy already started to look for the right ring. She looked for several days before making the choice to have it custom-made. Lucy wants it to be perfect.

They managed to keep the secret for now, the only difference is that Lucy calls Ona “Wifey” at home now and that they can’t keep their hands away of each other. They are not making out in public, but they are impossible to separate. And when they are on each side of one room, they keep look and smile at each other.

“Can you please stay focus and stop drooling on Ona for a second, Bronze?” Mariona asks, hitting Lucy behind her head.

“I’m not drooling” Lucy frowns, showing Mariona away.

“You are” Mariona laughs.

But then Mario’s laugh drags Ona’s attention – who was talking with Salma and Jana - and she smirks at Lucy who kind of forgot why she’s supposed to be mad at her friend. The calm of the room is suddenly broken by a roar coming from Alexia’s voice as soon as she enters it.

“LUCIA ROBERTA TOUGH BRONZE!”

Lucy jumps and look at their captain like a teenager in trouble without knowing what she did bad. But the blonde came right in front of Lucy with a paper, the room suddenly quiet.

Lucy gets pale when she sees the sheet and Ona doesn't need longer explanations to understand what it is. However, Alexia doesn't hesitate to give more details.

“I was helping the administrative team to make the papers for our next trip, and they told me about this funny mistake, like they said. I did my research and it’s look like it isn’t actually a mistake. So will you please tell me why and how in the world it is written black on white that you are married to Ona Batlle Pascual?”

Ona makes a grimace when she feels almost all the eyes on the room going on her. It isn’t the way she wanted to tell people, but she can see Mapi from the corner of her eyes who seems to have the time of her life.

“You choose Lucy, Oni? What about us?” Jana jokes, but she is suddenly silent when she crosses Alexia’s eyes.

“Come on Ale’, what was I supposed to do? Ask you before asking her?” Lucy rolls her eyes.

“Well at least. Then I would have refused and took Ona on a secret island” Alexia groans.

“Your kids are growing up, Alexia, get over it” Irene says, patting Alexia shoulders. “Ask Pina about her love life, you’ll be stunned” she adds, before leaving the room.

“WHAT?!”

[spstyleweek]

Guidelines // NSFW Prompts // Pinned Post

Style Week 2024 is a ship week celebrating South Park's very own Super Best Friends from November 3rd - 9th. Each day has 2 prompts to choose from, where you can draw, write, craft, edit, make a playlist, etc! Descriptions of the prompts are listed below for inspiration, but feel free to interpret them in your own way.

SFW PROMPTS

DAY 1: Nostalgia, Soulmates

DAY 2: Fandom Crossover/Cosplay — Personality/Body Swap

DAY 3: Apocalypse, Mythology

DAY 4: Band, Favorite Style Alter Ego

DAY 5: Fashion, Camping

DAY 6: Free Day

DAY 7: Marriage/Wedding, Fankids

Further explanation and suggestions for themes are listed below.

♡ DAY 1 ♡

Nostalgia: Childhood memories; before they were together; their first meeting, date, kiss, etc.

Soulmates: AUs! Soul marks, writing that appears on their skin from each other, seeing color for the first time when they meet!

♡ DAY 2 ♡

Fandom Crossover/Cosplay: Animal Crossing, Evangelion, Pokémon, whatever other fandoms you enjoy!

Personality/Body Swap: Stan and Kyle swap personalities, or bodies, or both!

♡ DAY 3 ♡

Apocalypse: Alien invasion, nuclear fallout, zombies, etc.

Mythology: Angels, demons, Gods, demigods, nymphs, vampires, werewolves, famous myths, etc.

♡ DAY 4 ♡

Band: Crimson Dawn, Fingerbang, Moop, or your own AU! 

Favorite Style Alter Ego: Favorite outfit of theirs: Stan Marshwalker/Elf King Kyle, Toolshed/Human Kite, World of Warcraft Style, etc.! Feel free to mix and match.

♡ DAY 5 ♡

Fashion: Y2K, grunge, historical fashion, etc.

Camping: Style ventures into the woods (or just their backyard!). Stargazing, roasting marshmallows, scary stories!

♡ DAY 6 ♡

Free Day: Anything! If you wanted to do something that wasn’t mentioned, feel free to make this day your own!

♡ DAY 7 ♡

Marriage/Wedding: Getting engaged, elopement, wedding party (big or small), their first dance, cake eating, etc.

Fankids: Original characters or Post Covid kids!

[steviestits]

In The Family Way - Part 1.1

Written for an anon prompt, which can be read in its entirety on this fic's masterpost.

Pairing: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Background Argyle/Jonathan Rating: T (E in later chapters) Summary: The Munson family has never had the typical values that most modern Americans have as they find thrill in all that's mysterious and spooky. Steve Harrington, a black widow omega, hadn't known this when he mated with the family's eldest alpha, Eddie, and thought that he'd be another easy mark that he could kill to inherit the millions that Eddie owned. However, not only do all his murder attempts fail, but Eddie actually enjoys them! And to make matters worse, the alpha wants to try for a pup! Steve has to find a way to off Eddie for good, before he gets pregnant and maybe actually falls for the death-crazed alpha. (Addams Family Values au set in the Omegaverse after the events of the movie with Steve as Debbie and Eddie as Fester) Trigger Warning: Attempted Murder as a love language

The day Eddie met Steve Harrington was honestly the most horrendous day of Eddie’s life, and to be honest, Eddie couldn’t be happier. They met through Eddie’s adoptive brother, Argyle, of all people, after his omega, Jonathan, had a baby. The omega ran a photo studio out of their home, taking morbid pictures of newlyweds and family photos. He thought he would have to close the photo studio as he also had two younger siblings, El and Will, so Grandmama Joyce had her hands full with them and couldn’t help watch over the baby, too. However, Argyle insisted that Jonathan continue his dream and suggested they get a nanny instead to help out during his working hours. Jonathan had been hesitant at first, but since his studio was at home, if the baby needed him then he’d be only a few rooms away.

Finding a nanny proved to be a problem since most of the ones the agency sent over were quite disturbed. They ran away at the first sight of a bloody knife or a severed hand, leaving the baby unattended in the process. Eddie helped Argyle complain to the agency several times about their carelessness and demanded that the nannies be reprimanded for the neglect they showed in their duties. Instead of seeing the flaws in their hiring process, they proceeded to ban them from using the agency's services. At least, that’s what they had thought until another nanny showed up out of the blue. That beautiful vision was Steve, a very kind and sweet omega.

Steve took to the children well, and quickly became their confidant. Though El and Will denied it, Steve insisted that the kids desired to go to summer camp. And from what Eddie heard, the kids had a truly dreadful time. They made some new friends, led a rebel uprising, scalped some puritans, and set fire to a stage. Honestly, if Eddie had known summer camp was so much fun, he would’ve insisted that his uncle send him when he was a lad.

The departure of the children did make Steve lonely, however, but Eddie was there to comfort him and over the course of their interactions, the two of them fell in love. They eloped nearly the same day then took a flight directly to Hawaii for their honeymoon. Eddie hadn’t thought he’d like Hawaii because of all the sun, but Steve went the extra mile to make sure Eddie had a good time. He started by electrocuting him in the bathtub then introduced him to sex directly afterwards. And there was the impromptu shark tank swim that Steve sent him on, and the tour of the local volcanoes. One of which Steve, the seductress, tried to shove him into when the guide brought them to an active site.

Eddie had been worried that the magic would end once they returned home, but Steve continued to be affectionate and thoughtful. Their first day back, in their beautiful new home, his darling omega made him an explosive home-cooked meal after he placed a bomb in the tuna casserole. He then shoved Eddie off a two-story balcony onto a bed of spikes and dropped a grand piano on Eddie once after he returned home from visiting his brother.

Argyle had been worried about Eddie given Steve’s love of pastels, but Steve proceeded to set their minds at ease by staging a family execution. It was then that they were all convinced that even if he dressed differently from them, Steve was still a Munson through and through. The rest of the family welcomed Steve with open arms, happy that Steve would be able to make Eddie absolutely miserable for the rest of their lives.

Even now, several months later, Steve was still looking after Eddie. He could feel his mate’s love as he drank the whiskey the omega prepared for him. His mate was feeling feisty today as Eddie could tell that he had dumped a full bottle of arsenic into the alcoholic drink then added two spoonfuls of rat poisoning for some zest. He honestly didn’t know how he’d gotten so lucky as to find an omega who took care of his needs as well as Steve did.

“How’s your drink, dear?” Steve asked through gritted teeth.

Whenever Steve fixed Eddie a drink, he’d always hover around him, waiting for confirmation that the drink he made was especially murderous. Such as today, Eddie had been reading in his study when Steve brought over the drink he had mixed for him. He then proceeded to hover around the room, pretending to be interested in various items all while keeping watch through the corner of his eye for Eddie’s reaction.

“It’s positively poisonous as always, my pet. Your best work yet.”

Steve’s knuckles clenched until they turned white as he said, “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He then stormed out of the room, stomping his feet as he grumbled about adding more cyanide next time. It was flattering that Steve dedicated so much of his time to thinking of ways to please him, but a little worrying as Eddie thought the omega needed activities outside his devotion to his alpha, otherwise the spark the two had might fizzle out from overindulgence.

That’s why Eddie had decided to visit Argyle today, to get some advice as to how he kept his relationship with Jonathan from becoming stale. Eddie finished his drink then went to the attic door, where Steve sweetly spent most of his time plotting Eddie’s demise, and told him that he was leaving. Steve replied by shouting that he hoped the alpha’s van didn’t crash, which made Eddie swoon as his omega had clearly gone through the trouble of cutting his breaks.

Masterpost ~ Part 1.2

[dior-roses]

obsession, auston matthews

ꨄ︎ pairing: stepbro!auston matthews x reader

ꨄ︎ summary: he's a man obsessed, his mind replays any and every interaction he's had the honor to have with you. because let's face it, in his mind, you are more than just his step-sister, you are a goddess in his eyes. and who is he to not steal something for his earnings?

ꨄ︎ requested: yes/no

ꨄ︎ warnings: obsessive behavior, kind of dark(?), mentions of smut (like barely any, in my eyes), stepcest (do not condone, in fact, am highly against it), auston's lowkey got a god complex, a hint of reader being innocent, implied age gap (reader is 18!)

ꨄ︎ author's note: it's been so long since i've written anything and im so insecure in this so please love it! (give me validation). a self indulgent auston blurb (?) that came to mind when i saw this slutty little edit of him. please forgive me for any grammar mistakes to typos, for i wrote this while i was saying hello to my friend mary jane. much love to every one of you who decides to read this mess of a story, and shall we meet again!🤍

he should've felt disgusted with himself. his skin should be crawling with his current demeanor. the hairs in the back of his neck should be standing up straight when the idea briefed over his mind during the excruciating quiet family dinner that your parents force you guys to have nightly.

but he wasn't.

in fact, he was quite proud of himself, with how far he's gotten into this 'plan' of his. here he was, in the midst of the day while you were at school, attending your one out of only three classes you had to attend your senior year, standing in the middle of your bedroom.

he had taken the afternoon off, canceling his strength training, his excuse being that he was sick. along with his place of employment he texted you, the one thing that had been occupying his mind ever since he laid eyes on you. your parents having you guys meet, thus starting his obsession.

to their shock, neither of you were angry when your father announced that they had eloped. both of you sat across from the newly weds in a low light restaurant, with pristine christmas ornaments hanging from the ceiling. a little annoyed, maybe; at least you were. you never got the chance to ask him how he felt about the whole ordeal. but from what you could see, he was perfectly contempt with the major life change.

he shifts in your room, walking backwards until the back of his calfs hit the edge of you bed, causing him to plop down harshly with an anticipated huff. your pure vanilla sent traveled to his nostrils, and himself becoming encapsulated with only you. his hands laid stoic along the tops of his thighs, even though he wanted nothing more than to palm himself through his pants. he was already half hard, just by your scent.

his eyes lingered to your nightstand, a ghost of a smile tugging on his lips at just how perfectly girly it was. a picture of you laughing with your friends in your camp counselor shirt from the past summer, your forgotten airpods, which he thought about how irritated you were when you figured that out, a small pout on your lips. god, he wanted nothing more than to feel yours against his.

he would be happy if it was just on his cheek, as a thankful gesture.

as he admired your dimples through the glass of the picture frame, he could help but let curiosity get the best of him. that's how he got here in the first place, right? his eyes trailed down to the drawer that was painted a darker color than the rest of the dresser, to perfectly match the rest of your room.

he hoped one day he could see if your room truly matched you– light perfectly balanced with dark. he already knew the light part was too good to be true, with your big eyes that light up at the sight of him, but only enough that he would notice. the way you blush if he gets too close to you, not that he creeps you out or anything, but the fact that it was a man besides your dad that was this close to you. even if it was your step brother.

you didn't know why you felt this way around auston, you didn't know what made him different from any other boy you thought was pretty. bust auston was so, so, pretty that you couldn't help but redirect your eyes to your shoes when he caught your burning gaze. your skin burned from what seemed like hour from when he would place his hands on your waist to 'move you out of the way'. and it had only grown with time, with how nice he is to you and the names he calls you that he doesn't seem to do with anyone else. 'princess', 'baby', or even 'doll' when he's showing you how to swing a golf club, on those rare, rare, days when he could finally persuade you to come with him to the country club just down the street. he even bought you your own little golf girl outfit, all baby pink and white, to perfectly match the picture of you he has implemented into his mind.

and you had thought you were going to look ridiculous, and you did, until you saw the way he looked at you as you walked down stairs where he was waiting for you. a certain glint was in his eyes the entire day, and you couldn't help but squirm in the passengers seat as he was driving. trying to descreetly press your thighs together to at least try to ease the pressure and throbbing that was happening down there. you didn't know what caused the throbbing but it was so strange and unfamiliar that you couldn't help but sniffle lightly, suppressing a whine at how uncomfortable you felt. but you didn't completely hate it. especially not when auston was right next to you, his large frame blocking the street lights that passed by through his window, his side profile creating the perfect tattoo of a shadow on your face, one that you didn't want to go away.

of course he had noticed his little girl writhing around in the passenger seat of his car. her soft thighs pressing against each other, all supple and smooth from imperfections. he needed to be suffocated by them, the image he wanted to die from was your shaking body from all the pleasure he was causing you, tears streaming down your flushed cheeks as he sucked you clit in between his full lips.

he had completely forgotten he was in heaven, (your room), when he felt the pulse from his balls that he was about the cum, all from the thoughts of your innocence and his hand that found his hard on cock through his sweatpants. he didn't want to do that yet, not without the one thing that caused him to be here in the first place.

the most obvious place would be the dresser, so he head towards that area of your room, placed right next to your closet. and surprise, surprise! the top drawer just happened to be your underwear drawer. all filed with pale colored bras and panties, not that they were old, but because those were the colors you loved; all muted and quiet, instead of vibrant and loud. you was shocked you had some lace and he would've gone for those, but that's not what he was going for.

his mind craved something less out there and more reserved. something that he had seen tossed in the washer with his colored laundry load, a pair of your painted that were red with white little hearts scattered across the cotton material. a throaty groan came from his as he felt his cock twitch, being retrained by the boxers and pants he wore.

he could only imagine your ass being perfect covered in white little hearts, or even getting a glimpse of them as you sit down next to him on the couch in the living room after a long day at school. your school uniform only urging on his obsession– a short little navy blue pleaded skirt with thigh high socks, and the cutest little best he had ever seen. the way the thick knitted wool spread across the curves of your breasts.

god, he was nothing but a man obsessed.

[legacygirlingreen]

Drenched in Magic // Sebastian Sallow x MC One shot

A/N: this was a wonderful colab with @darch7995 ! I simply wrote the story for her idea and HERE is the audio she did! Seriously check out her page sometime bc her audios are INCREDIBLE

All screenshot is by @silverxstardust - she’s got great work as well!

Warnings: nudity, skinny dipping, kissing, flirting, etc

Word count: 4k

The burning in her thighs was almost distracting from her current plight. Almost. Not only had Sebastian sallow drug her from the warmth of the castle right before dinner for a brief treasure hunt in the highlands, but he’d gotten more than either of them bargained for when they’d stumbled upon a camp of dark wizards. Unfortunately, one of Rookwood’s men recognized her as the one who’d lead to their boss's demise, quickly alerting others in the camp to her and the slytherins presence, and thus the unforgivables being hurled around them had started.

Sebastian, wanting to make good on his promise to never cast one again, immediately took off running, pushing her ahead of him to do the same. And they had continued running at top speed, using whatever spells could come to mind to protect them as many of the wizards turned into various animagus forms, running beside them as vile creatures like dark mongrels.

She was thankful for the massive amounts of walking, stair climbing and often running required by the average hogwarts student - the castle was large and avoiding detentions meant frequently breaking out into a sprint in the corridors. Slowly but surely Sebastian was able to pause every now and again, firing confringo and various spells at the opponents, reducing the number of wizards chasing them with time.

“Glacius!” Sebastian shouted as he hurled the spell out over his shoulder before carefully pulling her body into his. She initially went to protest his move as he pulled her along, seeing no point for him wrenching her into his side, but as the lime green ball of light flew past her body, the place she’d previously been standing, she realized why he had done so.

Having no time to focus on that, she turned around, seeing the enemy frozen in place by Sebastian, and deciding that given the man had attempted to use Avada Kadavra on her, then she was justified in using extreme force…

“Diffindo!” She shouted, turning back around to the difficult to see path in front of them as they continued to run. Pushing ahead of Sebastian, who was slowly starting to waiver with his pace, yet she could still feel him on her heels as they ran.

“Have I ever told you that I really like those trousers ? Like really like them” Sebastian said as they pressed on.

“We are running for our lives, and all you can focus on is my wardrobe Sallow? I never knew you were such an observer of fabrics. Perhaps you should fill that open position at Gladrags now that Mr. Hill’s assistant eloped!” She retorted, annoyed he could find time to flirt with her despite their situation.

“Hard pass. It’s less about the trousers, and more about what’s in them that I find so appealing” he responded and she didn’t have to see his face to know he was smirking.

“Perhaps wait until we are no longer in danger to make comments on my-“ she coughed and although hilariously timed it was mostly from the exertion to her lungs. “Assets?” He asked mischievously, accentuating the former part of the word.

It was at that exact moment she felt a firm smack against the same area she could feel his eyes staring despite running in the nearly pitch Black Forest.

Quickly tossing a side eye over her shoulder as they ran she frowned, realizing that even when their lives were at stake, he was still going to behave like a pig. Figures. Before she could even open her mouth to question him further he responded cheekily.

“I believe it’s called multitasking darling, you should try it someti- Incarcerous!” He shouted, and she heard the thud of yet another body drop to the ground as she turned to see a man tied to the ground. Feeling Sebastian’s hand grabbing at hers, she didn’t question when he thrust his non-dominant hand into her own and began to yard her along.

“Multitasking?” She whispered under her breath rhetorically but Sebastian only chuckled at her stunned reaction.

“Multitasking. Like saving your ass, while also staring at or ” Sebastian trailed off, once again reaching down and this time grabbing a firm handful of her bottom as she yelped, not expecting him to have done something so untoward with their lives on the line.

“What in Merlin's name?!” She cried out, and just as she went to yell at him for his behavior, she saw movement out of the corner of her eyes shouting “Bombarda!” Watching how the witch who’d meant to attack them, flew back against a tree with a sickening smack.

“Now what did that witch do to you to deserve such excessive force darling? Could it be you’re reacting this way because you’re riled up?” He teased her, deciding they should make a stand against the few wizards closing in on them. Sebastian knew that deep down if angered enough or truly threatened, the girl would unleash unforeseen magic that would reduce enemies to shreds.

“Riled up? Riled up?! Why on earth would I be riled up Sallow?!” She asked him frustrated at his behavior while the exhaustion burned in her lungs. She was so angry at the boy for continually making passes at her then backing away. He was such a horrendous flirt in private yet when questioned by Ominis, Poppy or any of their other classmates he seemed less than interested in her. The constant confusion grew more and more frustrating to her, as with time, she’d come to really like the boy.

He was tall - much taller than he had been in 5th year - and had only grown more handsome as he’d aged. His wild brown hair had only gotten more unruly. His smile, still charming and full of light. His shoulders, more broad and his frame filled out with more muscles than she’d have expected. Gone was every trace of baby fat, however still the boyish appearance she grew to love had remained somehow. I’m his dimples, in his eyes and in his playfulness. Sebastian sallow was by far the most handsome man she’d laid eyes on.

Giving her that charming Sallow smile he lightly pulled her body behind his own as he cast protego and a red beam from the bushes beside them cast off his forcefield as she gasp. She needed to stop allowing herself to become distracted during dangerous scenarios, as he was capable of flirting and fighting apparently but she couldn’t hold her own when he was standing so close.

Trying to separate from him once more, he pulled her against his body tighter, casting her a warning gaze downward as he continued the onslaught of teasing by saying “not yet princess” just before another beam bounced off his forcefield.

It frustrated her that he continued to harass her. It frustrated her that he was so damn good at fighting while also riling her up. It frustrated her to know that he was so calm under pressure all the while she was dying within his hold. She was frustrated he held her that way and still he refused to make a move unless under life or death scenarios. It frustrated her the way his thumb stroked against the skin of her thigh gently…

As soon as he deflected the charm, he dropped the protego. And she’d had enough between him and the dark wizards after them both. Feeling the electricity so frequently in her veins charging the air, she decided that now was as good a time as any to let it go. Pointing her want to the sky, she saw the remaining three enemies closing in, pulling down a lightning bolt from the heavens as she reduced the last three of their enemies to ash.

“Wow. It still amazes me how incredible you look when you pull that magic out of thin air. A thing of dreams truly” he said as he continued to hold her against him by the hand he’d moved from her thigh to her waist, and cast down a sly grin with a small wink.

At that she huffed, pushing him away and brushing herself off. She ran a hand through her disheveled hair, realizing that her braid had mostly come undone and recognized soon she’d likely have to redo it. Finally able to catch her breath she walked forward, seeing that one of the fallen wizards had dropped a small coin purse ahead of her, and just as she reached down to grab it she heard Sebastian call out for her.

“MC look out!” She didn’t have much time to react before he hurled himself towards her, tackling her into some bushes as a loud whooshing sound and an animalistic growl filled the air.

“Falling hard for me now aren’t you MC?” He asked with a chuckle as he held her cradled against his chest , ignoring the fact that a River troll had already spotted and charged at them.

Rolling off of him and onto her back, she quickly picked herself up and moved out of the way. Unfortunately Sebastian moved the other direction, as the troll moved between them, cornering her back against its den. Continuing to swing its large staff at her, she continued to dodge and deflect while whatever spells Sebastian hurled seemed to do little damage to it.

Concentrating, she used her ancient magic, spurring herself past the beast and landing herself next to Sebastian, at least she attempted to do so, but miscalculated the distance, crashing into him and sending them both flying backwards. As they did so, she could feel his arms once again snaking around her to cushion her fall.

Immediately all she could feel was warmth. Sticky, warmth and the most foul odor she’d ever smelt. Troll boogies.

“Oh that’s downright foul… and here I was having a good hair day” Sebastian chided out before he rolled out of the barreling troll's way.

As the beast reached its staff up to swing at her, she lifted her wand, using ancient magic once more and catching its weapon mid air, flinging it back into the trolls face, disrupting it before once again calling down the lightning to finally defeat it.

Looking over she saw Sebastian staring up at her from the ground with a smirk on his face.

“Don’t.” She warned him as she examined the absolutely filthy state they found themselves in. Covered in dirt, sweat, blood and now troll boogies.

“What?” He asked feigning innocence as she rolled her eyes

“You know what.” Her tone was threatening but Sebastian hardly seemed to mind as he continued to mess with her.

“You know, I didn’t think it was possible for anyone to look sexy while covered in troll boogies but here you are, proov-“ Sebastian was interrupted by a loud howl.

“You have got to be kidding me!” She replied, annoyed at the now incoming mongrels. Deciding she was done fighting for the time being she reached a hand out to Sebastian, and with him distracted she decided to use her newly acquired skills in apparition to get as far away as she could with a location she knew well in her mind…

“Wha-“ Sebastian looked slightly green at the sudden transportation but quickly regained composure before adding “if you wanted me alone darling all you had to do was say so”

Instead of reacting, she simply swatted him away, heading out from the entrance of the cave. Hoping to leave before Sebastian asked too many questions, she knew that the small borough of bainburgh was nearby, and there they could access the floo flame to get home.

“What is this place?” Sebastian asked, seeing the large carving of the graphorn above them, and she sighed seeing he had firmly planted himself at the entrance to the last keeper trial - the one she had gone in only a few years before.

“This is the entrance to the last keeper trial. I uh, had to tame a graphorn and it opened the door” she exclaimed casually as she continued to hope that he would shuffle away and drop the conversation.

“You what? There’s, but you, how?” He asked, still in shock at what she had told him. She simply shrugged asking “can we leave” while gesturing to the mouth of the gorge as he gave in and followed her.

“Why did you never tell me?” Sebastian asked softly.

“It happened around the same time as the catacomb. You were grieving. I didn’t want to bother you with all the keeper stuff. Then Fig- we don’t need to talk about it.” She explained and he relented, knowing that she often bottled up her emotions, as he did.

“Where are we heading?” Sebastian asked, allowing a change in subject.

“Bainburgh is not a far walk from here, we can take the floo -“ she started but he interrupted.

“It’s past curfew so the floo is shut off to the castle. That and I uh… dropped my bag of powder back when I knocked you to the ground” he exclaimed sheepishly.

“Wonderful. I just want to get these troll boogies off me.” She said rolling her eyes as they came to the beginnings of the forge, seeing jobberknols flying overhead before landing above a waterfall.

Sebastian seemed to have noticed the small pool of water at the base of the cliff as well bc he looked to her, wiggling his eyebrows as he pulled her towards the water.

“Well then Princess, your wish is my command. I’ll have those boogies off you in no time” he exclaimed as he marched the pair of them over to the water's edge.

“Sebastian that water is likely freezing, besides I can assure you, the extent of the grime I want off my body goes much further than what you can see” she nearly whined out, desperately wishing she’d stayed at the castle. She would’ve been bathed and in her night dressing, long asleep if he hadn’t convinced her. But one look into those puppy dog eyes and she'd been a goner.

“Warming charms exist for a reason. And as for the rest… I won’t look if you don’t” he teased, dropping her hand to start working off his plaid school jacket and starting to unbutton his waist coast.

“You can’t be serious” she deadpanned

“Deadly. Besides I heard that once dried, troll boogies are nearly impossible to get off your skin and hair-“ she started to explain and the fear alone of being caked in the vile substance was enough to have her started to undo the latches on her corset style vest.

“Fine. But I’m serious Sallow, no peaking” she warned and he turned out. As he did so, she faced the waters edge, knowing he’d given her the privacy of going into the cool water first. Slowly she removed layer after layer until she was bare, undoing the already messy braid, before wading into the cool water until it covered her from the neck down. In the moonlight she realized how difficult it would be for him to actually see anything, a comfort that allowed her to call to him.

“Alright, I’m facing the wall if you want to come in now” she exclaimed and she had anticipated him to slowly walk into the water as she had, but at the final piece of fabric she heard hit the ground, she soon was sprayed with the large splash his body made as he dived into the water.

Coming up for air he chuckled, expertly swimming towards her, while maintaining a respectable distance as she felt the cool water against her nipples.

“Damn, forgot the warming charm” he reminded her and she sighed realizing they’d be cold until they got out.

“I can go get my wand if you promise not to look-“ she tried to reason but he only swam closer, stopping just shy of her before standing up. While she was covered almost entirely, the tops of his shoulders and chest came into view. Seeing the patch of hair covering the center of his chest her words faltered on her tongue.

“See something you like darling?” He asked at her fish out of water expression.

“I - I’ll get my wand. Excuse me” she went to move but he reached forward, grabbing a shoulder to stop her, keeping his body at a slight distance.

“You know there’s other ways to keep warm right” he teased and she’d finally had enough.

“Would you stop it sallow!” She demanded with a frustrating sigh, pulling free of his grasp as she ducked completely underneath the water to rinse the last of the grime from her hair before breaking the surface.

“Stop what?” He asked, and if he hadn't moved closer while she was under the water, she wouldn’t have been able to see his genuine confusion, not just the fake innocence he loved to tease her with.

“Stop flirting with me when you have no intention of actually following through with anything” she warned and he quirked an eyebrow at her, continuing to close in on her as she moved back.

“What do you mean ‘no intention of following through’?” He asked, quoting her and she shrugged.

“I know you only flirt with me for fun or to see me get frustrated. It’s all some game to you, I know it’s not real” she replied somewhat sadly as she stilled her movements, sinking into the water some more, leaning her head back to see the stars as she felt the cool highland air nip her nose.

“That’s quite a bold assumption to make.” He replied, somewhat defensively but also slightly upset that she would assume something so poorly of him.

“Is it? You never have made a genuine attempt at courting me. Only making obscene comments every now and again or teasing me just to see me blush, then laughing at how red my face gets. How could I not assume it’s some game to you?” She replied, not looking at him as she continued to stare at the stars while soaking in the water.

“Have you perhaps considered that I am just bad at expressing my emotions. That it’s easier to make lighthearted jokes at the things that scare me” he asked her and she pulled her head back up, water drops sliding down her face and neck as she pushed all her hair back.

“I scare you?” She asked confused.

“MC, you terrify the shit out of me” he exclaimed with a distant look in his eye and for once she decided that perhaps she should be the one to tease him instead. Moving closer to him, she stopped just shy of his body, pushing him down so he was covered more by water and level with her.

“You said that troll boogies are hard to remove once they dry” she claimed, pointing to his hair which he has still yet to properly scrub.

“I mostly said that to get you naked.” He admitted bluntly

“Well you got me naked and now I’m offering to make sure all the grime is out of your hair. Can you just shut up and let me help you” she replied and he could only bring himself to nod as she moved behind him, and he dipped his head back as she had previously.

She brought her chilled fingers up to his soaked locks, feeling how silky his hair felt when wet and separating the strands from the sticky substance they had both fallen into earlier. Eventually she worked his hair until she was certain it would be salvageable with a real bath. Noticing the serene expression he wore as he had closed his eyes she commented “you really like having people touching your hair, don’t you”

“Only if by ‘people’ you mean the most beautiful witch I know then yes, I do enjoy it” he replied, looking at her before he pulled his head back free from the water and turned his body to her.

“Do you have an off switch somewhere I’m not aware of?”

“I do, but I’m not quite sure you want to put your hand on my cock and -“

“Sebastian!” She interrupted as he chuckled.

“Sorry, you sort of walked into that one” he gave her a toothy grin before noticing her mild shaking. In the brief amount of time they’d been in the water she was already cold.

“Here I can see you are freezing” he said holding out a hand and she shook her head.

“You think I’m just going to let you feel me up because I’m cold?” She asked and he shook his head with a curious grin.

“I didn’t realize that was on the table, perhaps that’s a better idea than what I had in mind-“ he teased only to feel her smack the exposed skin of his back.

“Feisty. I was going to try wandless magic but I wanted you to be behind me in case we have another confringo style disaster. As lovely as you are, I’d hate to see you without those eyebrows that are so often furrowed at me” he explained and she realized he was simply moving his body in front of hers and she accepted his hand, trying to ignore the way her thigh brushed against his leg as she moved around him in the water. Even the briefest skin to skin contact sent shivers up her spine.

Carefully using wandless magic he was able to slightly raise the temperature of the water around them until it was no longer freezing but it was still by no means pleasant.

“There, don’t want to get too crazy and turn us into a caldron but that’s an improvement… are you feeling alright?” He asked her sudden concern and if she had to guess it was over her distant expression which has resulted from the brief touch under the water.

“Never better.” She said bluntly as she looked at the way the moonlight reflected off his dark eyes or his soaked brown hair clung to his forehead instead of the fringe’s usual place of being pushed off his face.

“Are you sure?” He continued to step towards her with concern.

“Positive” she replied, stepping back, only to find herself up against a rock in the water as he kept coming forward. eventually planting himself directly in front of her, to the point she could feel the occasional brush of his legs against hers as the water lapped around them and the most from the waterfall fell around them.

As Sebastian looked at her with her flushed cheeks, she looked down embarrassed to have been caught in this position with him, but as she did so she realized that the faintest outline of her breasts would be visible through the surface of the water. Looking up at him, she saw his vision trained on exactly what she’d noticed.

She couldn’t find it in herself to reply as his eyes snapped back to her own. Instead she let him take the lead, pushing his hand out and planting himself against the rock behind her as he scooted closer.

“Are you as scared of me, as I am of you MC, because I gotta tell you: dark wizards, mongrel and trolls don’t scare me, but this terrifies me” he admitted while looking at her through downcast eyelids. She didn’t say a word, only flickering her gaze down to his lips as he continued to press his body closer. Bringing a hand up she laid it on his chest , but didn’t push him away, simply holding it there. Underneath her palm she could feel his heart pounding. The feeling of his heartbeat and the nervous shakiness in his breath told her he wasn’t lying.

Finally finding the last bit of courage she pressed off the rock and slowly brought an arm up to loop around his neck, her body floating in the water as she gently tread. At first he seemed surprised but quickly wrapped an arm around her bare waist, feeling her soft skin with the other.

“Positively terrified Sallow… are you too frightened to kiss me or..?” She teased and he leaned in pausing only briefly as he hovered his mouth over hers to ask

“You know there’s no going back to the way things were before if we do this?” He asked and she nodded, tipping her face up and closing the gap to answer his question.

He groaned at the feeling of her lips on his and the gentle way she clung to his body for support as he could stand in the water while she was too short. Hoisting her up slightly, he moved a hand down to grope her curves under the water's surface as they kissed.

Breaking away he remarked “Merlin you’re so beautiful” he said sincerely as he rested his forehead on hers.

She giggled at his compliment, kissing his nose before responding “easy for you to say when you’ve already gotten me naked and we haven’t even been on a proper date”

“You don’t think slaying trolls isn’t a wonderful date actively?”

“Certainly not traditional”

“Have either of us ever been traditional?”

“No I suppose not” she replied once again chuckling.

“Come here, how often do we find ourselves truly alone… I’m not wasting a second of tasting those sweet lips of yours” he demanded, pulling her close as they kissed under the moonlight, entranced in the pool together

[andypantsx3]

Deceiving the Duke | 3 | Todoroki Shouto

pairing: Todoroki Shouto x Female Reader

length: 3.1k of 30k words | 3rd of 9 chapters

summary: When Camie Utsushimi elopes on the eve of her society debut, scandal threatens to destroy the family’s prospects. It’s up to you, a maid, to impersonate Camie throughout the Season, long enough that her elder sister can make a match. The only trouble? Lord Shouto Todoroki is also intent on making a match—and that match, quite impossibly, appears to involve you.

tags/warnings: romance, regency au, class differences, hidden identity/identity porn, aged up characters, eventual smut

Things were quiet the following week.

You successfully attended two other balls with no mishaps like your first, and an afternoon tea with some lady or another. You were careful to duck out of sight any time you caught a flash of red or white hair, and you stuck close to Caroline except for when she was whisked onto the dancefloor by some interested gentleman.

You seemed to draw little notice, except for a few younger sons of minor families. You eagerly waved your dance card full of made-up names at them when they approached, feigning regret. If any of them noticed you did not stand up with anyone after that, however, they were too polite to say so.

You spent the rest of your time outside of events agonizingly refitting all of Camie’s new dresses, astounded by the sheer number, going to bed every evening with your fingers numb and your eyes burning. Caroline kept up your dance lessons and tried valiantly to appoint you with some conversational tips that would keep you from exposing yourself as the servant you were, which you dutifully memorized.

You also wrote to Camie, addressing the letter to her eventual home at Lord Yoarashi’s estate. His staff would hopefully know where to forward it to. You told her of the harebrained scheme you had gotten yourself into, the horrifying run-in with Lord Shouto Todoroki, and your absolute certainty that this had all been a mistake.

A week and a half into said harebrained scheme, Lady Cathleen Bate hosted a ball at the assembly rooms. You wiggled into a cream-colored gown you’d prioritized fixing because the wispy material was so easy to work with—but you were quite regretting it now. It was awfully sheer, enough that you kept returning to Camie’s looking glass, nervous that your underpinnings might be fully visible through the fabric.

You tried to call as little attention to your bare decolletage as possible with a borrowed set of Caroline’s tiniest paste jewel set, but felt like every judgmental eye in the assembly rooms would flicker your way regardless. You hoped the relatively low profile you’d cultivated thus far would spare you.

When you arrived, you quickly filled your dance card with a suite of made up names once more, snickering to yourself as you penned in former king Yaoyorozu’s name and a slew of stupid things like Lord Scotchwaffles and Mr. Placeholder.

There was a small commotion as you made your way to the Utsushimis’ usual camp out along the fringes of the dance floor, watching across the room as a young lady in an elaborate headdress suddenly swooned onto the gentleman next to her.

You started when you realized the gentleman in question was none other than Lord Shouto Todoroki–and he looked bemused to suddenly have an armful of unresponsive woman. His face went carefully blank and he held her out from him, the way one did a baby that had soiled itself. You had to bite a laugh off into your glove. He really looked like nothing would make him happier than just dropping her.

Two mismatched eyes suddenly darted up, catching yours. Your laughter seized in your throat, turning into sputtering coughs, and you ducked behind Mrs. Utsushimi for cover.

You kept yourself hidden behind her silhouette as best you could for the next few hours, with the occasional break to fetch lemonade. Caroline was on and off the dance floor, and you thought you recognized one of her partners as a gentleman from last time–a Mr. Yosetsu Awase, untitled but kind and reliable, according to town gossip.

Fumbling around behind Mrs. Utsushimi, you accidentally bumped elbows with a pair of gentlewomen halfway through the ball. You murmured an apology, but they waved you off cheerfully, and leaned in to introduce themselves instead.

One of them was short and voluptuously curvy, with fawn brown hair and rosy cheeks–Miss Ochako Uraraka, whose family, like Camie’s, was untitled but landed, occupying the lower rungs of the peerage. The other woman had long green tresses that complimented her spring green gown, and wore them bound up at the back of her head, with big dark eyes fringed with long lashes–the Viscountess Tsuyu Asui.

“You’re Camie Utsushimi,” Miss Uraraka said, her voice high and sweet. “I saw you at the Monomas’, running for some lemonade.”

You choked, and fluttered your fan uselessly for a moment. “I—well, yes. It’s all rather a lot, isn’t it? The season?”

Lady Asui nodded vigorously. “Horrible, really. Like we’re at market.”

You laughed. You had to agree. Even knowing you’d be able to retire this scheme at the end of the season, this brief period had felt much like you were a fruit put out on a seller’s stand, to be inspected and purchased at a shopper’s whim. In this thing, the nobility were so much less fortunate than you were.

“Are there really no gentlemen you fancy?” you asked curiously, and Miss Uraraka blushed a furious shade of pink.

“No,” she squeaked out, a transparent yes even to someone who’d only just met her.

“She does but she’ll never admit it,” Lady Asui told you, smiling. “He’s not in attendance this season, at any rate, but she still comes hoping to hear news of him from his friends.”

“Who?” you asked.

Lady Asui cast a fond look at Miss Uraraka. “I’ll not say, but if you want to figure it out yourself, a chat with Lord Tenya or Lord Shouto would be most enlightening.”

You froze up at the mention of Lord Shouto again, eyes quickly darting about to make sure he hadn’t spotted you again. The last thing you needed was for him to accidentally spill the details of your conversation—and how improperly you’d spoken to a man who was possibly the future prince-consort of the empire, if rumors about his interest in Princess Yaoyorozu were to be believed.

Lord Tenya Iida, you remembered from the strategic dissections Mrs. Utsushimi and Caroline had done last season, was a baron, extensively landed, and a very respectable match for any young lady of good breeding. Like Lord Shouto, he was someone you would not want to be seen with, if you cared to minimize the fallout once your scheme had been exposed.

“It shall remain a mystery,” you said decisively.

Miss Uraraka looked surprised. “You don’t intend to meet either?”

You shook your head. “I’d prefer to wait, um, several more seasons before setting sights on a gentleman.”

Lady Asui tapped her chin with her fan. “Lord Shouto is sure to make a match this season or next—he’s got his pick, if he wants it. I take it you’ve heard about his courting Princess Yaoyorozu?”

Your skin prickled with the mention of him again, the memory of his eyes picking over you in the dark replaying itself in the back of your mind. “I have, yes. Perhaps that’s the wisdom in my choice–I’d hate to covet something of the princess’s.”

Miss Uraraka laughed, high and pretty. “This whole empire is hers–I wish you luck.”

You smiled. “I’ll set my sights on something smaller she’ll miss less, then.” Like a pile of money and a comfortable position at Camie’s new estate.

Lady Asui made a small noise in her throat, and you turned to look at her curiously. “That rather large something is headed this way,” she said, looking interested.

Your heartbeat spiked. Surely Lord Shouto wasn’t coming over to talk to you–to reprimand you for pelting him with apricot cakes, was he? He’d so far kept his distance, and you’d thought he meant to forget the whole thing. Regardless, you searched out a gap in the throng of people lining the dance floor, identifying your quickest escape route.

“I find I am suddenly parched,” you announced, snapping your fan shut. “A delight to make your acquaintances.” You made to dart for safety, but a deep voice stopped you.

“You must allow me,” someone intoned from behind you, and all your blood stopped in your veins. Slowly, you turned, finding Lord Shouto himself standing in front of you, immaculately outfitted in a dark coat and waistcoat, a silk neckcloth tied at his throat. He was even more handsome in direct candlelight, his features so careful and symmetrical, those mismatched eyes pinned directly to yours.

“I—you—um, Your Grace,” you said, frantically digging up the modes of address Caroline had gone over with you. You dropped a curtsey, heart pounding. “You’ll have to excuse me—I, the lemonade—”

A tiny smile prodded at the corner of his mouth, and you followed his gaze as it dropped to a glass of lemonade clutched in his fingers, which he pressed towards you.

“I recall you are fond of it,” he said, and your panic fully seized you. Miss Uraraka and Lady Asui’s attentions fixed on you with sharpened interest.

“I–-thank you,” you said miserably, accepting the proffered drink. You pressed it to your mouth to save you from having to supply any other conversation. You thought his eyes followed it to your mouth, and you wondered if there was some aspect of social etiquette you’d just violated for him to watch you so.

“I had hoped you might accompany me for a dance,” Lord Shouto said in that mind-numbingly low tone.

The lemonade hit the back of your throat wrong. You hurriedly flapped your dance card at him, feigning apology. “I’m afraid I’m terribly overcommitted,” you choked out quickly.

Those eyes darted up to yours curiously again, and he rather unexpectedly reached forward to grasp your dance card, reading it over with some interest.

“‘Lord Scotchwaffles’, ‘Mr. Placeholder’,” he echoed, the hint of a smirk pulling at his full mouth. “I cannot say I am acquainted with either.” He paused. “It looks like your next dance is reserved for King Yaoyorozu himself.”

Your insides shriveled up. “I—”

“Unfortunate that he will be unable to make it, bedridden as he’s been for the past decade,” Lord Shouto said. “I will be happy to stand up with you instead.”

Ice crept up your veins, stiffening your limbs. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck!

What was he plotting? Why go to the trouble of asking you for a dance if he was put out with the way you’d acted at the Monomas’? Was this some ploy designed to embarrass Camie and her family?

“I’ll hold your lemonade for you,” Miss Uraraka said, incredibly unhelpfully. Dainty fingers pulled the glass out of your hand, and Lord Shouto seized the moment, taking your hand and tugging you out onto the dancefloor just as the players readied themselves for a new song.

Your heart hammered in your mouth as you arranged yourself against him. His shoulder was horribly strong under your hand, his grip on you gentle but firm. You looked up into his face to find him watching you impassively.

You dimly recognized the music as it began, frantically dredging your brain for the steps Caroline had drilled into you. Thankfully you were able to slip into step along Lord Shouto, following his lead effectively, if not smoothly.

“You’ll have to forgive me,” you told him, for something to say. “This is my first dance–I’m relatively unpracticed.”

His fingers flexed where they held you, and he looked rather—smug?–-to note it.

“So long as it is better than your Ancient Greek,” he said, “I believe you will do well.”

You couldn’t help but laugh, your ears heating. “Well if that’s the case, I’m a comparative expert.”

A hint of a smile touched his mouth, and he spun you, catching your waist back in his hand in a way that sent a shiver skittering up your spine. “You are well-outfitted for prospect stealing, then.”

You scowled up at him, catching a little indent at the corner of his mouth, like he was teasing you.

“My objective is not thievery,” you sniffed. “For the purposes of this season I am simply observing, like a naturalist.”

“And what have you observed?” he asked as he spun you into him again. He was so close you could feel rather than hear the end of his question.

“That there is nothing natural about it,” you said, catching a glimpse of a couple frowning mother-daughter pairs at the end of the dance floor. It made you want to curl into Lord Shouto–to hide from their calculating gaze–but of course he was the whole reason they were glaring.

You decided to take the opportunity to remind him there were better dance partners available, whatever his purpose for calling you out here. “And that I’m rather underqualified. Did you know my Latin is just as bad as my Greek?”

“Your interests must lie elsewhere, then,” Lord Shouto said, gazing down at you curiously. “What are your hobbies?”

How to tell a nobleman that you had almost none? Servitude did not leave much time for hobbies, except for when Camie had insisted to her mother she had absolutely ruined a gown and would need to borrow you for hours–only to surprise you with a tray full of snacks, a few lurid novels, and hours of gossip. You could also play a mean game of cards, but of course it would be improper to tell a gentleman that.

“They’re secret,” you told him.

A white eyebrow went up. “Hurling apricot cakes at unsuspecting gentlemen, perhaps?” he asked.

You sniffed and purposefully trod on his foot. “Only when they surprise me in dark rooms.”

“I believe you surprised me,” Lord Shouto said. “I’d thought you meant to spring a trap closed on me.”

You look up at him, perplexed—then flushed furiously when it dawned on you. No wonder he’d asked whether he was free to go! “You thought I’d meant to trap you in an indecency scandal when I’d never even met you?”

Lord Shouto blinked slowly. “It would have been a bold debut.”

You shook your head furiously. “Rest assured, I have no designs on marriage at this time. Even if I wanted–” You cut yourself off, horrified that you’d almost just let slip your predicament, to the most powerful of persons you meant to fool.

Lord Shouto looked curious and bent his head towards you. “Even if you wanted—?”

You shook your head, and a small frown marred the beauty of his perfect mouth. “I’m talking nonsense.”

“I like nonsense,” he said earnestly—his tone surprising you.

You were thankfully saved from having to respond by the song ending, forcing the two of you into genuflections across from one another. You quickly backed up, as if to leave the dancefloor, but Lord Shouto’s hand snapped out, catching your wrist.

“Perhaps you might tell me about it over another dance?” He asked, his tone low, almost intimate.

Your stomach churned. A horrible little part of you wanted to–had liked how strong he felt under your hands, how sure his hands were around your waist, how upsettingly beautiful his face was up close. But you would not say more. And Caroline had informed you just this afternoon that an invitation to share more than one dance indicated some interest.

You doubted Lord Shouto had any real interest in you–but you could ill afford to draw more attention to the Utsushimi family than you already had.

“I am afraid I am spoken for—” you started, and Lord Shouto’s mouth hitched at the corner.

“I don’t see Lord Scotchwaffles at present,” he said, stepping closer to you.

It brought his horribly beautiful face that much close to yours, and you panicked, searching for a solution.

A memory of Lord Shouto earlier this evening flashed past your eyes–the swooning maiden, whom he’d looked like he wanted to drop. You could see his blank, uncomfortable expression, the way he’d held her away from him in fairly overt distaste. It was clear he did not much appreciate the dramatic machinations of eager young ladies.

Well, you could afford a bruised tailbone in pursuit of your escape. Here went nothing.

You quickly fluttered your hand in front of you, clutching your side like you were winded. You let out a noise like a wounded animal gasping for breath. You caught Lord Shouto’s eyes widening before you pitched sideways, closing your eyes and bracing for impact.

But the impact never came–-instead you collided with something firm, but much softer than the hardwood. Your stomach jolted as you were suddenly shifted and two strong arms went under you, pulling you close to a warm, hard chest.

“Miss Utsushimi,” Lord Shouto’s deep voice resounded in your ear, sounding concerned. Your heart rate doubled, realizing he’d picked you up, and the swaying motion meant he was carrying you somewhere.

Seven hells, you’d not meant for him to catch you!

“Miss Utsushimi, are you well?” Lord Shouto’s voice came again, and you were gently deposited upright, onto something cushiony–a chair. Two warm hands roamed over you, and you peeked an eye open to catch sight of Lord Shouto’s attentive gaze on you. His hand came up to take your chin, tilting your face to his.

An entire conservatory of butterflies erupted in your stomach at the gentle touch. Those mismatched eyes roved over you with worry–and something shrewder, almost like intrigue.

“Are you well?” he asked again, as over his shoulder you could see a crowd beginning to form–Lady Asui and Miss Uraraka, Caroline and Mrs. Utsushimi.

“I–yes–the dance must have winded me,” you said, quickly supplying an excuse. “I’m alright. But I’m afraid I should not dance any more.”

Lord Shouto watched you for a moment longer, before something that was most definitely a knowing little smile touched the corner of his mouth. “Of course,” he said, a strange hitch like amusement in his voice.

You startled, disliking his unexpectedly warm reaction. The point had been to scare him off, not entertain him!

But then Mrs. Utsushimi was carving a path through the crowd with Caroline at her side. Caroline looked worried, but Mrs. Utsushimi could not have looked more put out with you had she tried, though she rallied a valiant cry of, “Camie! Are you alright? We’ll take you home at once.”

“Yes, yes, I’m quite alright,” you said again, quickly sitting up, which brought you in even closer proximity to Lord Shouto, who hadn’t moved.

And it was then, in that moment, with Lord Shouto leaning over you with his eyes glittering, that you thought you were perhaps not alright. With butterflies tickling your stomach, and all your nerves alight under his touch—you realized you were, in fact, the opposite of alright.

You were in trouble.

Horrible, terrible trouble—in the shape of one handsome duke, who was perhaps shaping up to be much more shrewd than you had expected.

[shawty-writes-a-little]

Amongst the two of us

General Kirigan x princess!reader (one shot)

Word count: 3.4k

Warnings: Period drama misogyny, arranged marriages, arguments, angst, I’ll proofread in the morning pls sorry

Summary: The general and his wife of differentiating moral grounds make their marriage work somehow

An: This one was sitting in my drafts unfinished for so long and it was an alternate ending for another Aleksander fic which I never ended up posting but I worked on this one bc s2 darkling arose a LOT in me so oh well

This one is spoiler free for S2 :)

—

There were two sets of council meetings ever since the General had married the lady y/l/n. For one her name weighed a lot of political power, being the noble lord’s daughter, the princess it was a prestige to have that power at little palace, someone of that huge a name by the general’s side. Well the General himself never cared for the affection of it all, he was too smart the man to see past any political benefit. Y/n, in the peak of her youth had dreams and hopes for her marriage which her soon crushed one after another with every bit of unfolding of her relationship with Aleksander, coming to realise she hadn’t married an affectionate man, not even caring but someone just so powerhungry and cold he doesn’t think twice to bend his morals. Is what y/n thought of him coming to know so more and more of him but remained not so phased after a while, a year into the marriage she would just look back thinking how foolish she it was to expect anything of the man she married.

Yet she thought it worked just fine, if she truly meant to marry for love she might’ve had a summer fling, elope with some stable boy and call it love to be living in some cottage far away…but no, she was destined for duties more than that. She had her own first army council at the little palace, the king’s army. But the king never bothered attend. The Lady Kirigan, the princess, was considered capable with the set of officers she had for most decisions.

Your husband doesn’t share a bed with you but at least you’re the head of first army council meetings. Your husband rarely shares any intimate moments with you but at least you get to see him from camp base to camp base. And of course the most infamous facade of being the pair that does share affection for each other in the glamour dinner parties amongst drunk lords and ladies who believe it just fine.

Honestly on the political front the first army felt more liberated and open with less of the general’s inputs given he wouldn’t join their meetings anymore ever since Lady y/n was placed there neither were the first army officials…mortals rather, allowed in any second army business. “Leave, the room.” Too much for uninterrupted business, the general barged into the meeting room where Lady y/n’s first army officials were having an ongoing discussion given the maps and the reports laid out on the table. “I have some important matters I need to discuss with my lady wife.” He announced as the matters seemed to be quite the work regarding, given he had a letter or document scroll in his hands and it was the general himself who visited.

With a short nod from y/n the officers left the room leaving the two alone, y/n did feel a tad affront on him just barging in through her ongoing meeting well aware he wouldn’t have entertained it if it was the other way around but she wished for whatever matter it was to get done with sooner so she chose not to speak on it “What is it?”

Aleksander placed the letter in his hand on the table for her to read, as she picked it up he spoke “Its a letter to Lord Eldon, a dear friend of your father’s who’s not so particularly fond of me, we need his aid for more men by the Ravaka front since the second army is occupied by the fold but he wouldn’t comply if the letter went from me” Aleksander let out a short scoff on the fact that some lord of a land that covers barely about 5 villages would be distasteful to him, the general, the shadow summoner. But in his opinion these noble lords were so petty about their allies and Aleksander knew he wasn’t that friendly “I need you to sign that letter.”

Y/n had her eyes fixated on the letter reading through till the end, the letter written in a first person way with wordings seeming as if she did write it herself “Did you write this?” She asked looking up from the letter.

“No.” Aleksander replied flatly, surely the general wouldn’t be as free as to go about writing framed letters himself.

“Well next time you feel like writing a letter on by behalf know that I wouldn’t be this straight forward to a dear friend of my father’s who has know me my entire life…” her voice trailed off with a suppressed chuckle that Aleksander didn’t even seem to check the phrasings of the letter once.

“Alright then you write it yourself” He spoke sliding a blank paper across the table to her “Make it as authentic as you’d like.”

“I could write it but I am not going to sign it.” Y/n spoke with sincerity but she was calm to lay it out. “I don’t condone it.”

“I beg your pardon?” Aleksander said raising a brow quite phased that she would choose a decision revolting his.

“If I sign the letter Lord Eldon will surely send his soldiers given he is to watch over a larger estate with his handful of army it would be unwise so no…”

“That is exactly why I want you to sign it. If the letter is from you he will send his men-did-did you not hear me correctly the first time?” He asked budding quite misinterpreting what she meant to say as whole.

“I heard you just right and I am saying no.” Y/n still had a calm yet firm tone of her voice despite his obvious annoyance “Lord Eldon isn’t a sovereign lord his army is the third half of the Royal army…for him to send his soldiers, the domesticity of the people of his land would be compromised. I am not going to sign the letter and bind him with a moral obligation.”

“The domesticity of the people?” He repeated her words with a taunting amusement “You are crossing unnecessary lengths to spite me…just sign it.” Aleksander sighed not considering her genuine people caring intentions behind it.

“Oh I surely do have other things than to be free enough to spite you, General.” Y/n said crossing her arms to a firm stance “Should Lord Eldon send his men for you the crime, the looting, the disruption will increase in his lands with less men on patrol, when he doesn’t even have enough as it is. I am sorry but I cannot sign it.”

“Don’t you understand? This is important. We need those men and it requires just a mere signature of yours!” He exclaimed, very agitated as he let out an exaggerated sigh rubbing his eyes to get over the unwanted annoyance.

“It’s as if I am talking to a wall…you aren’t even trying to understand.” Y/n spoke shaking her head, Aleksander truly believed that y/n’s barrier for the sign was not the honour and morals she abided by but…pettiness. “If you need the soldiers so bad then write the letter yourself. Sign it and send it as yourself the general because frankly ‘we’ don’t need his men…the second army does, you do.”

“Y/n you don’t get to—“

“Lady y/l/n.” She corrected him mid sentence shrugging her shoulders, he wasn’t on first name terms with his own wife even the marriage was quite formal and political, should he believe that he had the authority over her to by using her first name in disdain she’d rather prove him wrong.

“Y/l/n.” He corrected his words with gritted teeth “Sign it. Be done with it.” Aleksander was running out of patience to convince or put forward any debate whilst she remained calm as ever as if he stance his words had no effect on her.

Y/n exhaled and she took the paper in her hands walking across the table to him, she looked at the letter one time as though she were considering signing it right before she tore it apart in his face and let the pieces of paper fall to the floor “I won’t.”

Aleksander huffed, he stood as if that action did not phase him, something he expected at the start of their conversation “It is almost humorous and immature to see how low you are willing to steep just to get a rise out of me.”

All of this over a sign…y/n said in her head yet she knew this conversation would only go further and further to no end. Aleksander was so head strong out of all she tried to explain it why she wouldn’t sign the letter he stood the same ground, “Ah yes of course my favourite hobby!” She said sarcastically rolling her eyes as she attempted to walk past him.

Aleksander stopped y/n in her tracks holding her by her upper arm, taken aback by this sudden action she tried to maintain her distance yet he gave her a firm tug towards him to sound more sincere “You might think you are so much above me with your moral grounds and your honour, silver spoon fed princess y/n, but you stand here, at the little palace, taking your council meetings as the general’s wife…and that’s what bothers you so much doesn’t it?” He sneered “It hurts your petty conscience…however you put it y/n you are not much different than me—you married me.”

“You know Aleksander, I did not have a say in this. It was announced I was to be married to the general…you. Before our wedding I didn’t even know what you looked like, my beliefs had nothing to do with our marriage my father simply married me off to a stranger on the king’s orders. You are just too arrogant to be around.” so much for the spoiled princess. Y/n replied bluntly as she looked at him and he seemed lost at words letting go of his grip on her arm. He instantly regretted his phrasing aware that must’ve stung her, he was not one to apologise but before he could even show his slight remorse for the words he chose she was already walking out her office, leaving him alone…a frequent sight for him. Sight he didn’t want to admit to but hated being used to, her walking away.

—

A distasteful marriage had both Aleksander and Y/n bound to societal presence of being a rather joyous couple, hand in hand and smiling at the guests of the gala. One of the king’s many monthly amusements. Gather Royal gossiping and as Aleksander put it, arse kissing guests time to time for fine dining despite of what goes on within the country. Y/n was raised amongst these dinner parties of fake smiles and niceties, just assuming her smiles wouldn’t be as fake around her own husband was something she hadn’t planned. But there they were, the general and his wife, y/n graciously laughing at his comments as they talked to the Royal guests, arm in arm as if it wasn’t mere hours ago that two of them had an argument over council matters. “Ah Y/n!” One of the ladies from the Royal guests called her as she approached her and Aleksander. “General” the lady nodded respectfully. “You look lovely tonight princess-or should I say lady general now?” The lady commented as she let out a cheerful laugh.

“You wound me by addressing me with titles when you’re quite literally my favourite!” Y/n exclaimed with a courteous smile, “You are on first name basis hmm? Don’t insult our bond with titles!” Truthfully y/n didn’t even remember the name of the Lady who so cheerfully greeted her and Aleksander, she remembered her face from a few of royal dinners and galas from earlier and that was about enough for a small talk. However the ‘first name basis’ was a taunt to Aleksander which he must’ve registered the way his lips fell into a thin smile to seem as if he wasn’t phased.

“They say marriage changes people quite a lot but you two just as gallant as your wedding day!” The lady exclaimed.

“Why thank you that is very polite.” Aleksander spoke with a short nod, he was never the one to get so much involved in any of the small talks it seemed his wife was quite the master with remembering a lot of details about almost every royal guest she did most the talking for him while he’d stand there with small courtesies.

“Surely! And for a marriage to change you it requires quite a lot of the couple to be so present don’t you agree?” Y/n said to the lady in such a subtle manner though her words weighed heavy sly comments directed to Aleksander.

“Oh you are so right! As workaholic as the general is I imagine it is difficult to get his time.” The lady joked unaware of the original scenario of their marriage being worse than that. Y/n didn’t get his time, his thoughts or attention outside of these dinner parties anyways. She never took it up with Aleksander of course, it was bound to be met with disdain. Yet it didn’t stomach her well how getting Aleksander’s time out of his ‘workaholic’ schedule seemed something difficult to the lady and not y/n’s time. She was on the first army council herself and worked just as much…nothing new.

“Happens so often…” y/n’s voice trailed off as she chuckled at what seemed to be a light hearted mention of her husband’s businesses to the lady, “you’d be surprised” y/n added softly for Aleksander to hear. And he did, he’d been hearing these comments and taunts quite a few times in the course of that entire evening.

He thought maybe it had something to do with the correlation of their argument earlier, wether it was or wasn’t his patience wore so thin. After the dinner of snide remarks it almost seemed endless to Aleksander. Once it was over he walked back to y/n’s chambers with her, they left these events together so it would seem that they had the same bedchamber. However when y/n got inside hers thinking Aleksander would walk further down the hall to his, he walked inside the room with her. Y/n simply turned around when he entered alongside her before she could begin to ask the reason for it he shut the door behind him and stood afar exhaling “What was all that about?” He spoke and it seemed so demanding.

“What?” She asked truly clueless, she didn’t think those comments would actually get to him, most of those she most probably forgot even making.

“You kept on taunting me the entire evening!” He said crossing his arms trying his best to maintain his composure yet his body language was so angry and frustrated.

“Oh did I now?” Y/n asked tilting her head trying to go though some of the conversations in her head where he must’ve felt that she had done that, maybe.

“Y/n it-“

“Uh?” Y/n interrupted him mid sentence as he used her first name.

Aleksander spoke further regardless “It was disrespectful to me.”

“Are you going to have another one of your tantrums again? I did not have enough wine for this…” y/n sighed with her subtle composure and if only irritated Aleksander more and more. However much he tried to result her misconduct to her she seemed to be treating it so trivially.

“I am serious.” He said flatly and brisk of frustration lingered his tone.

“So am I. I truly did not drink enough to go through this again” Y/n said raising her brows at him, she gathered that if she reacted and engaged with him seriously, it wasn’t as if he was going to listen secondly he was awaiting for her to react the way he wanted her to so he could tell her how much of an inconvenience to she was to him. To his plans.

“You can’t just ignore me with sarcasm!” Aleksander exclaimed and he felt as though he would loose his temper so he exhaled taking in a breath for that situation to not arise, he wanted to prove his point across and it wouldn’t happen if he acted rather harshly or she wouldn’t be open to listen to him “I am your husband-why don’t I get to call you by your name?”

“Why? Lady y/l/n, lady general, lady wife doesn’t suffice?” She replied leaning on the table in the large bed chambers where he still stood by the doors.

“I address you with titles when you are surrounded and in meetings out of respect but amongst the two of us—“

“There is no amongst the two of us!” Y/n said this time as the subtlety of her tone leaving her. It was beyond her understanding how he his thought process counted her the harbinger of their unpleasant marriage. She threw her hands in the air pointing this to him “This might just be one of the few times where we’re ‘amongst the two of us’ behind closed doors and we are arguing! That’s the most you see for us.”

“Why are you so strongly opinionated towards me? I have never wronged you in any way!” He said exclaiming as he walked a few steps towards her both of their tones so above decency as their conversation got heated.

“Me? I am strongly opinionated? My husband doesn’t even share the same bed as me and you are saying that? Under different circumstances you wouldn’t have married me I’m not your like am I? I am not grisha—had it not been for your political status you wouldn’t even have this conversation. Me! It’s me-I am the one who has never wronged you yet I despise you that much.” Y/n spoke as her voice cracked by the end of it, she had went through this in her head a lot. Everything she could be doing right for him to stop being as cold to her until he drove her to stop believing in them.

Aleksander took a long pause before he spoke, he had never realised that this is what she’d been feeling due to him but it wasn’t is intention. “You…you don’t despise me.” He spoke looking away from him almost as if he couldn’t meet her gaze.

“Alright…sure! You can say anything you want to have the last word of this argument but it does not change the truth!” She spoke frustrated just then Aleksander leaped towards her grabbing the sides of her arms and pinned her to the wall, y/n just started at him blankly just registering how fast that had happened.

“You want to know the truth y/n? The truth is I am exhausted to see you disregard my love for you over and over because you do not fathom it. I have always hated those galas and dinner parties yet you make me await them so I could get to be close to you, if only for the mask of being a happy couple but I so miserably await being close to you. It is difficult to even work around you knowing out of everything I could want of the whole world I want you, your love and it is the one thing I can’t have—you don’t deserve my infuriating love, the darkness of it and had I not pushed you away you would’ve loved me like someone entitled to. I don’t want that entitled, dutiful love…I want it yours. Wholly yours. But it is getting difficult to push you away..” he finished as the two of them gazed into each other’s eyes for quite the long moment. This was the most close they had been and neither seemed to move.

“Aleksander…” finally y/n said softly as her gaze softened towards him. Comprehending everything he just said. His expressions were truly taken aback when she said his name, for someone wanting to be that long buried part of himself, “Kiss me.” She looked at him unfaltering, as he pulled her into him from the waist letting go of her arms and crashed his lips onto hers. Such strong desire of a pushed away love, heavy, unfathomable, messy love. Y/n wrapped her arms around him as the two of them kissed their wearies away.

—

I’m going to write more w s2 plots so let me know if you want to be tagged or request something <333

Hi pls if you’re supposed to be studying or doing anything future you would hate you for being here instead of finishing that please go do it I am in fail girl summer rn and I regret it I love u

[napoleonic-sexyman-tournament]

Jean Lannes:

a. “short, angry, ladderlord”

b. “His personality is attractive, plus the portrait of him by Julie-Louise Volpelière is so fine.”

c. “ITS LANNES also any1 who calls napoleon a whore with no fear of repercussions gets my vote”

Henry Paget:

a. “In 1809, Paget scandalously eloped with Lady Charlotte Cadogan (born 12 July 1781), the wife of Henry Wellesley and daughter of Charles Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan and Mary Churchill. On 28 March 1809, Charlotte's brother, Henry Cadogan, challenged Paget to a duel: "My Lord, I hereby request you to name a time and place where I may meet you, to obtain satisfaction for the injury done myself and my whole family by your conduct to my sister. I have to add that the time must be as early as possible, and the place not in the immediate neighbourhood of London, as it is by concealment alone that I am able to evade the Police." It was suggested to Wellington that working with Uxbridge might be awkward. He said that he'd be sure not to elope with Uxbridge. Later, when Uxbridge was wounded in the leg at Waterloo, he said to Wellington "By God, Sir, I've lost my leg" to which Wellington responded "By God Sir, so you have." According to his aide-de-camp, Thomas Wildman, during the amputation Paget smiled and said, "I have had a pretty long run. I have been a beau these 47 years and it would not be fair to cut the young men out any longer." Had a total of eighteen children with his two wives.”

Admin note: His leg that he lost at Waterloo became a tourist attraction. This probably doesn't sway you on whether he's sexy, but it is fun nevertheless.

[averageallogene]

Gorou ditches you at the wedding alter after Kokomi convinces him to elope with her.

Thank the Archons Kazuha/Heizou is there to save the day.

Gorou ♡⊹˚ For a brighter future (SFW)

fem. reader (3rd person) ; angst. cw for cheating.

5k words.

notes. This hurt a little to write but I suppose it’s only fair since it’s an angsty request </3. I do hope it is to your liking!~ Enjoy! ✧˖°

Life in Watatsumi Island wasn’t easy. The soils weren’t fertile, supplies were hard to come by, nevermind the conflict with the Shogunate that had still left gashing wounds to heal. Nevertheless and despite it all, the inhabitants were overall content with what they had, thanking the leadership of their Divine Priestess for everything finally beginning to turn out better after a gruesome war.

Even so, there remained a lingering fear in the air. Many soldiers refused to lay down their weapons still, continuously dawning their armor as everyone did everything they could to rebuild their home anew. There was an overall sense of suffocation in the air, its hold loose enough to at least let the islanders breathe. Life slowly got back to normal as Kokomi did everything she could to negotiate with the Shogunate for the benefit of Watatsumi, her troops slowly turning a new leaf as some sought new jobs to take.

“Your condition’s improved,” A soothing voice beamed, smiling at the soldier before noting down his progress. The man looked up to their chief medic, or more precisely the best equivalent they’d been able to get during times of war, a hopeful gleam and a sigh of relief escaping him. “Perhaps two more weeks and you’ll be able to begin your new job.”

“Thank you, Doctor [F/N]!” He’d roared, still too accustomed to exclaim each sentence like the soldiers would do at camp. 

“Please, it’s nothing.” The young woman smiled, before soon enough dismissing him. Just as he left her tent, he turned around with a wide smile.

“Oh - And, congratulations to you and General Gorou!” He saluted her, before leaving hastily.

[F/N] couldn’t help but smile, cheeks burning with a bright shade of red. Her fingers tapped the pen to her clipboard eagerly, heart pitter pattering as she thought back on the countdown ‘til the big day. She’d still find herself reminiscing back to the day she’d proposed to him, tearful gaze as she wrapped his bandages, pouring her heart out for him.

“Promise me you’ll be back!” She’d wept, Gorou’s ears lowering softly as he took his hand in hers.

“[F/N]... I promise you. I’d never ever leave you alone.” His words flowed with confidence, prompting her to look up at him as she sniffed her stuffy nose.

“Then promise me you’ll get back, and you’ll marry me once this war is over.” [F/N] had stuttered out, watching as his face suddenly burst with color. His hold on her hand had faltered, yet ultimately, under a trembling tone, he’d promised her.

She still would laugh occasionally, shaking her head as she sighed quietly. Goodness, she would’ve much rather had proposed in a more romantic setting, yet the overflowing emotions had made other plans. In the end though, they had indeed waited for the war to be over, Gorou returning to Watatsumi Island. Resting was necessary first and foremost, and after the fact, [F/N] had begun making preparations for their wedding, consulting with her beloved whenever he had time.

She was positively ecstatic, and even though she could most definitely notice the nervous gleam on her boyfriend’s face, he’d reassured her over and over he’d be fine. Gorou had always been a little more antsy when it came to more intimate subjects, yet [F/N] respected and loved him all the same. 

She’d already sent out the invitations for their friends and family to come attend the ceremony, and amongst them was one of their closest mutual friends, Kaedehara Kazuha. He was due to reach land any day now, just in time for the wedding to take place under the blessing of their Divine Priestess, who, to [F/N], appeared happy for them.

Just as she wrapped up for the day, the sound of approaching footsteps could be heard, the cloth being moved to the side before a familiar voice called out.

“Hello, [F/N]. I hope I’m not intruding?” Kazuha called out with a warm smile, watching as the woman turned around to greet him with joy.

“Kazuha! You made it!” She quickly approached him, the friends enveloping in a tight embrace as they swayed to one side, then the other. They laughed in unison for a moment, retreating from the hug before she glanced at him with palpable happiness. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been doing great, thank you.” He nodded politely, a hand resting on her shoulder. “Thank you for the invite, I wouldn’t miss the ceremony for nothing.”

“Oh, please. We couldn’t not invite you nor the rest of the crew!” [F/N] beamed in response, inviting him to take a quick stroll throughout the beautiful Watatsumi landscape that surrounded her working station.

“How have you been? And Gorou, as well?” He quizzed, smiling as he glanced around, basking in the ethereal beauty of the island.

“We’ve been doing great. The injured soldiers have been recovering well, and Gorou’s been talking about some possible jobs he’s been considering on taking after retiring as a general - speaking of which… I still haven’t seen him today. He’s been rather busy…”

“There’s still a lot he must do, I presume?” Kazuha innocently assumed, watching as the man’s girlfriend nodded her head with confidence. “Even if peace has been achieved, him and Lady Sangonomiya are certainly still wrapping everything up to ensure the security of Watatsumi Island.”

“Mhm. I deeply admire them both.” The woman sighed with a content smile, watching as the nearest village to them bustled with activity, people actively putting their best effort as they worked their day away. “We’re lucky to have them here in Watatsumi Island.”

Kazuha nodded, smiling still. “How have the preparations for the wedding been going?”

“Oh,” Her shoulders tensed slightly, a dust of pink decorating her cheeks. “Mostly well. Gorou has been a little hesitant with making any mutual decisions, but he’s been ensuring me he’ll be content with whatever choices I make.”

“Nervous, mhm?” He’d chuckled, shaking his head slightly. He’d offered his friend a kind expression, a friendly pat on her back to accompany it. “If you need any assistance, I’m here to aid.”

“Kazuha, there’s no need-” Her eyes widened in surprise. “Though, of course, I deeply appreciate it! I just don’t want to burden our guests with boring wedding preparations.”

“Please, it’s not a burden.” He shook his head vigorously, palm placing against his chest as he bowed his head. “I simply wish to offer my support to two friends whom I cherish a lot.”

“Ah,” [F/N] couldn’t help but smile, chest beaming with joy. Kazuha was just precious. “Thank you, truly!"

It felt like a relief to have a friend helping with whatever last minute preparations were needed, and Kazuha offered insight [F/N] hadn't even considered when thinking by herself. The days were counting down quickly, and despite both being utterly busy, she sought her soon-to-be-husband every night, hoping to spend some time with him under the stars. He seemed more bashful than what was to be expected of the otherwise professional general, yet under the immense love and hopes [F/N] carried, she could only view him through rose tinted glasses.

"Tomorrow’s the day,” She’d breathed out, a smile accompanying the deep blush that adorned her pretty cheeks. She shyly held his hand, fingers playing with his ones as they remained together, walking slowly across the fields of their Island. “How are you feeling?”

“U-Uh,” He’d breathed out sharply, blue gaze averting hers as he looked into the horizon. His hand hesitated to find her own, to his side his girlfriend waiting patiently for his response. 

“Nervous?” His fiancé quietly responded for him, watching as his tail and ears lowered in what she had assumed was vulnerability.

“I-I suppose that’s normal?” Gorou answered in a trembling tone, heart clenching as he felt her hold his hand tighter, squeezing him in a reassuring manner.

“Of course it is!” [F/N] responded, bringing herself closer before hugging him from his side. “I too am a little nervous… It’s a very important day, after all. But I’m sure everything will go well.”

“Mhm…” He’d nodded, eyes still out to the sea. It wasn’t long before they retired for the night, the following day beginning bright and early.

[F/N] had the help of friends preparing for the ceremony, the garbs proving a little difficult to get rightfully assorted. To a general and a medical assistant, such things were rather confusing to understand, and as such, a few of her closest female friends were quick to jump in and help making sure everything was rightfully prepared.

“No, no, this layer is under here-” An older woman was heard saying, taking the lead while [F/N] had her makeup applied and hair done.

She couldn’t be happier. As she watched herself through the mirror, she could feel her heart racing, eyes gazing back at herself as the echoing sound of the waves could be heard not far. Her mind wandered back to a particular event, not long after the war had ceased. She remembered taking a stroll through the pearly sands with Gorou, hands held together as their arms swayed softly, with rhythm. They held their shoes with their other hands, chatting and laughing before coming to a stop on a deserted spot and placing them to the side. Their feet were washed with the soothing waves as the cool waters brushed against them, the two gazing out into the horizon as they spoke of their hopes and dreams.

“I can’t believe we’ve won…” He’d confided in her, voice going more quiet as she offered him a reassuring squeeze. “I can’t believe I’m back in one piece, while so many…”

“Gorou… They would’ve wanted you to carry on.” [F/N] spoke softly, watching as he took a deep breath before nodding. Quietly, she passed him a few flowers, offering him a quiet and reassuring smile before he held her closer.

“Thank you.” He’d sighed softly, the two turning to the sea before praying together. “To a brighter future for Watatsumi Island.”

“Yes, for a brighter future.” She’d repeated, the two of them then taking a moment for their silent wishes. 

“For a bright future with you, my Gorou.” She thought to herself, the pair throwing their flowers to the calming sea.

“You look radiant!” The welcomed voice to Kazuha beamed as he cut her off from her daydream. His face quickly shifted to confusion though, as the women urged him to leave them to prepare the bride.

“No, it’s okay!” She laughed with great joy, welcoming him inside. Turning in her seat, he took his hands in hers, smiling back before promising her helpers he wouldn’t be long.

“I just wanted to give you my sincerest congratulations one more time,” He proclaimed, his soul beaming with happiness simply to see his friend so happy. “May your marriage be blessed, and may the wind guide you both to happiness.”

“Thank you, Kazuha. We both deeply thank you.” [F/N] smiled, tearing up with emotions before having one of her friends frantically clean the corners of her eyes.

“Ah, no crying now! I just applied the eyeshadow, too!” She retorted lightheartedly, the bride chuckling quietly before murmuring excuses. 

The room remained in high spirits for the entirety of the morning, [F/N] soon being fully prepared as her side of the wedding party remained oblivious to what was to come. Kazuha helped her and the rest of the party in bringing everything else needed to the shrine, where the ceremony was expected to take place. The bride was kept securely out of her groom’s sight, wishing to surprise him with her appearance as the ceremony was set to begin. Her legs couldn’t remain still, the woman clearly giddy to see her beloved as she finally tied the knot with him. Her hands grasped the shiromuku she wore, quietly nipping at her lower lip as Kazuha offered to remain close until the time came.

The sun was high before time had finally arrived, [F/N] waiting patiently to be signaled that the ceremony would begin with her arrival. She waited, and waited, time moved on, yet she patiently told herself delays were bound to occur. Many women who’d been married before her warned her of so, how schedules for weddings were very difficult to pull off without any bumps, so she didn’t want to jump to any conclusions. Her eyes were curiously gazing around, watching from afar the guests that waited as well, idly chatting away as even Beidou and her crew sat amongst the crowd. 

It wasn’t until a soldier approached them, more precisely approached Kazuha, that an alarm rang inside her head. The samurai approached the young man after excusing himself from her side, the bride watching as they turned their backs on her before discussing something in private. [F/N] watched closely, Kazuha remaining calm in his body language before looking at the man with an indecipherable expression. He curtly nodded before they were left alone again, returning to his friend’s side as he cleared his throat.

“What’s the matter? Is everything alright?” [F/N] inquired softly, her head tilting slightly before watching him nod his head.

“Yes, no need to worry,” Kazuha focused his hardest to pull his calm demeanor off, waving over one of her friends that had helped her prepare for her wedding. “I only need to leave for a moment, they need me to help with something else. I’ll be back shortly, yes?”

“Oh, alright,” He watched with a clenching heart as she smiled his way. “Don’t take too long! The ceremony should begin at any moment.”

“Right,” He breathed out, and before anything else was said, he was gone, leaving the two women to converse while he was away.

As soon as [F/N] was out of his sight, Kazuha’s expression shifted to both horror and confusion. He could hardly believe the soldier when he’d hurried told him, how nobody could find the groom on his damned wedding day. In honesty, the wandering samurai stood currently more worried for his friend than anything, his will to believe in his friends until the very end keeping him moving as he joined with the others.

“I’m here,” He’d breathed out, the men gazing at him with just as worried expressions. “No one has seen Gorou, is that true?”

“W-We’re afraid so,” One man stuttered out, fingers running through his dark hair as they all looked at one another. “Last we heard, he was finishing getting ready in his montsuki… He requested he needed a minute, a-and we obliged- You know, thinking he just needed a breather!”

“Of course, it’s none of your fault,” Kazuha reassured the men, trying to remain level headed on amidst the confusion. “Still, this isn’t like him. We need to find him, and ensure he’s safe before [F/N] hears of this. Last thing we want is to stress her out more than she already is.”

“Right!” The men were quick to reply, soon scattering before searching all across the vicinity, and even further beyond into the island. 

Some even went as far as going further south, closing in on Gorou’s personal quarters in their search of him. Kazuha aided in the search of course, discreetly requesting Beidou and the other members of the crew to distract [F/N] while they sorted everything out. Even though his hope for his friend shone brightly, something in the pit of his stomach told him this was very wrong. Something wasn’t right, the wind blew to his ear. He could feel his heartbeat increasing as he moved swiftly, dedicating his search near the main shrine in hopes of spotting his friend.

“Lady Sangonomiya?! Goodness, Lady Sangonomiya, where have you gone!” He heard one of the shrine maidens shout out, his eyes gluing on the figure before approaching. Kazuha could watch as other maidens gathered around the older woman, all with horror written on their faces as she held a crumpled piece of paper in her hand. 

“What’s the matter?” Kazuha’s voice could be heard, his gaze narrowing ever so slightly as he watched the women jump in unison upon realizing his arrival. “Did Lady Sangonomiya hide somewhere?” 

“L-Lord Kaedehara,” One of the shrine maidens murmured, the long sleeves hiding her nervous expression as she was quickly ordered to hush. It didn’t go unnoticed by him, however, who reached their side with an equally worried expression. 

“Kazuha is alright,” He quickly corrected, before searching for answers with the women. “[F/N] has told me she has a little hideout where she often spends some time alone, have you searched in there?”

“We have searched everywhere,” The older woman sighed in defeat, her head shaking as her tone trembled with both anger and disappointment. “We cannot find the Divine Priestess, and-”

“She’s missing too?” He breathed out, his heart growing heavier as he subconsciously pieced everything together.

“Oh no- He knows-” Someone behind the maidens facing him squeaked, his head rapidly turning in her direction before she cowered away in horror.

“Know what?” Kazuha quickly questioned, his normally warm gaze narrowing before turning to the elder maiden. 

Seeing no reason to attempt to fix the chaos that had ensued, the woman’s expression faltered, Kazuha’s following with sheer surprise as he waited for a verbal explanation. The shrine maidens murmured to one another, words of disbelief rippling through the air as they all voiced their discontentment with the outcome. 

“Lord Kaedehara,” her eyebrows furrowed as she finally ceased to attempt hiding the letter she held in her hand. The woman carefully passed it to him, watching as he moved slowly to take it in his grasp. “I… I’m most regretful to give you this, yet… We found this in Lady Sangonomiya’s quarters not long ago this morning.”

Kazuha carefully flipped the letter open, the delicate penmanship being a clue of its authenticity. His gaze scanned through the words Kokomi had written, expression shifting as his heart churned in horror to what he read. His mind attempted to process what was before him, all the while the women discussed in a hushed hurry just how they were supposed to go on from there.

“To whoever finds this letter, me and Gorou have decided to elope. Looking for us is futile, for whenever this is found amidst my personal headquarters, we’ve long gone. I regret for you all to have to find out like this, and to you all, I sincerely apologize. To [F/N], I apologize even more, yet neither of us can deny the love we feel for one another. For all that we’ve been through, we’ve come to terms that we do not wish to solely remain as friends, but what we feel transcends beyond that. I hope you may all learn to forgive us for this selfish act, but the heart wants what it wants.

Yours truly, your Divine Priestess

Sangonomiya Kokomi”

What had he just read, Kazuha repeatedly thought to himself. He couldn’t hide his disbelief, never having even entertained the thought of either of them being able to stab their friend on her back. His heart clenched for [F/N], the way she’d voiced her admiration for them both crossing back in his mind. [F/N]... His head turned around to look at them, trying to come back to earth to quickly deal with the situation.

“Are we absolutely sure you’ve looked everywhere for Lady Sangonomiya?” He inquired, his grip on the letter tightening to a point where his hand slightly trembled.

“Y-Yes, we haven’t yet found her nor General Gorou.”

“We must leave for the island’s harbor- We may yet still be able to catch them before they flee.” He frantically explained to them, the maidens hastily nodding their heads before trying to successfully deal with the situation. 

The women dispatched some of Gorou’s soldiers, hastily explaining the situation to them before they were off to the small harbor they had built on their island. Panic was rapidly building up, disbelief and even disgust for their general’s actions spreading through the soldiers that attempted to find them both before it was too late.

Kazuha himself joined the search, wishing to bring them to reason before everything crumbled to pieces. All he could think about was his worry for [F/N], who for all he knew, still waited for her fiancé by the altar. As he passed by the front of the shrine, his eyes crossed with Beidou’s, who quickly deduced something was deeply wrong. His mind panicked, not for the Captain of his ship knowing, but for not seeing [F/N] by her side. 

“What’s happening out there, Kazuha?” Beidou had asked him, arms folding across her chest as her face frowned in worry. 

“It’s a horrible mess,” He’d confessed, fingers resting against his temple as he looked around. “Where’s [F/N]? Did she leave your side?”

“She was growing worried for General Gorou, it was becoming harder to keep her anchored to her spot.” She reasoned, head shaking from side to side as she continued. “Then, we heard some shrine maidens pass by, murmuring about their Priestess being missing too. What’s that all about?”

Kazuha bit the inside of his cheek, his head spinning with worry as he cursed their predicament. It wouldn’t take long for gossip to flow back to [F/N], her finding out the tragic truth in the absolutely worst way possible. As he fumbled with his sleeve to take out the letter he still held, he sighed heavily to Beidou.

“Do you know which way she went?” He hastily inquired, presenting her the crumbled letter.

“That way, I believe.” Beidou pointed to the way where they’d come from before reaching the ceremonial sight, hesitantly taking the piece of paper.

“This should give you a brief idea of what is happening. Please, do your best to contain the gossip, I promise I’ll make it up to you for this ordeal.” He sighed before he was gone with the wind, his feet carrying him swiftly through the soil of the island.

His heart was beating wildly in his chest, breathing rapidly as he looked every possible way for the sight of [F/N]. His mind raced with all possible scenarios, hoping he wouldn’t be too late to still shield her from finding out in a terrible manner. Kazuha found himself cursing repeatedly, trying to find any possible reasoning as to why Gorou would ever think of betraying his lover in such a bitter fashion. 

His feet came to a halt as he reached the small village in which [F/N] resided, the sight of her elegantly dressed figure appearing in the distance as she looked around. He found himself sighing in temporary relief, her expression appearing far too calm for someone who would’ve found out what had transpired earlier that morning.

“[F/N]!” He’d beckoned her, watching as she turned around with a worried expression. To her side were two women, her closest confidants as they helped her search on her own whilst ensuring her bridal gown remained undirtied.

“Kazuha! Have you seen Gorou anywhere?” She hastily reached his side, the samurai taking her hands in his. Her glimmering gaze jumped around still, his heart clenching within his ribcage as it broke in her name. “I’ve heard he’s been gone for a while… Surely he’s just trying to gather his thoughts, but I’m getting worried…”

“[F/N], I…” He found his words choking him, unsure of how to even tackle the situation. The way she eyed him nearly broke him, the thought of having to break the news to her sounding far too cruel. Yet all the same, his friend deserved to know the truth, bringing him to an awkward position. The otherwise eloquent poet found himself in a stalemate, unsure on how to voice himself for once. 

“If I find either of them they’re dead meat!” A sudden roar could be heard, Kazuha flinching quietly as he watched [F/N] turn her gaze to where the voices could be heard.

In the distance Beidou could be seen, hastily making her way to where the Crux had been anchored for the time being. Her men followed right behind her, an aura of pure anger emanating from them as everything seemed to come to a standstill.

“Kazuha?... What’s happening?” [F/N]’s voice lowered, seeking answers on the face of her close friend.

He took a breath in, eyes closing for a mere moment. “[F/N]... I can’t believe I’ll have to be the one to break the news to you, but-”

“Is Gorou alright?!” She cut him off, her voice trembling as her grip on his hands tightened.

Kazuha’s heart finally broke for her, her worry for him no longer being justified. For all he cared, his friend’s getaway ship could sink at that very moment, for he no longer viewed him as the valiant general he once thought he was. He nodded his head, gazing to the girls that remained by their side before quietly telling them to give them a moment alone.

“As far as we’re aware he’s alright, but… Here, let’s take a seat okay?” He calmly suggested, bringing her to the side before they sat together on the steps that led to their humble house. Kazuha continued to hold her hands, looking to the ground for a solid moment before finally coming out with it. “[F/N], I’m so sorry. But the truth is, we believe that Gorou and Lady Sangonomiya have… Ran away, and eloped together.”

Kazuha’s experiences in his rather rough life couldn’t have ever prepared him for the way he watched his friend break in front of him. Her expression, at first starting calm yet worried, slowly warped to confusion, disbelief, then finally hitting hard with all the sorrow and anguish.

“W…What?” She’d let out in a trembling voice, the tears rapidly building up in her eyes. “S-Surely you’re kidding… Right? This has to be a big misunderstanding… Right?”

The way Kazuha eyed her quietly was enough of an answer for her. His usually warm smile was replaced with an empathetic frown, his calloused thumbs stroking the back of her hands as she slowly let go of his hands. 

“No… N-No, no I simply can’t believe that, surely there’s another explanation for this… Right Kazuha? Right?... He…” Kazuha’s hands slowly reached for her face, stroking her cheeks as his thumbs wiped her tears away. “He would never… They’d never?...”

“I’m so sorry, [F/N]... I really am sorry…” He quietly murmured, his forehead resting against her own as he hushed her softly, her hands gripping against his wrists as they remained there.

“How… How did you find out? Why did they do this?... Why…” [F/N] was downright sobbing at that point, her tears overflowing his attempts to hold them back, running down her reddened cheeks as they dripped down to her until then immaculate shiromuku. 

“Lady Sangonomiya left a letter in her quarters explaining their absence.” He explained with a soothing tone, eyebrows furrowed in pain as she lowered her head, hiccuping in anguish.

“How could they do this!...” [F/N] muttered, her anger coming out choked amidst her sobs as her voice cracked. Her words came out slurred amidst her sobs, Kazuha gently rocking her from side to side as he hushed her calmly. “I trusted them! I thought that… That he loved me… How could he…”

Her friends were rushing back with panic in their eyes, having too heard of the terrible news. Their hands held their kimonos slightly up so they could run, yet when they found the two of them on the set of stairs, the two women stopped moving. They shared a glance with Kazuha, the man quietly asking for them to remain back. It was too late, and [F/N] had finally come to learn of the bitter truth of her once-to-be-husband. 

She’d been left at the altar, a fate no bride ever wished to experience.

“He’s horrible! He’s… D-Despicable! I hate him!” [F/N] sobbed louder, her nose puffy as she sniffled against Kazuha’s warm embrace. He was still attempting to dry her tears, his hands offering her a droplet of comfort amidst the sea of sorrows she felt.

“He is.” The samurai agreed with her, his own tone low as he urged her to let it all out. “He’s the absolute worst, undeserving of you, [F/N]...”

“How could he betray me like this! HOW COULD HE!” [F/N] finally screamed it out, finding solace in his arms as he held her tightly. His hand came to rest atop her head, stroking through her elaborately done hair as he continued to rock them gently. Kazuha’s chin rested against her, biting his tongue before he would say even worse things about his previous friend. Instead, he hushed her softly, providing the needed comfort as his gaze wandered into the distance.

What was supposed to be the happiest day of her life quickly turned into possibly one of the worst. No longer did Watatsumi Island feel like home for [F/N], no longer did the once beautiful scenery feel like where she belonged. The home she once shared with her beloved now felt disgusting, her love for it turning into desire to watch it burn. No longer was their house filled with laughter, it now drowned with a sea of tears as she hastily gathered every important item she owned. Every picture of them was broken, the shiromuku she’d worn on their supposed wedding day was sealed back into a box and thrown to a corner. 

For a few days the Crux had remained in Watatsumi by Kazuha’s request, both offering [F/N] their condolences and remaining on the lookout for either of the bastards that had caused her broken heart. Everything seemed to move in a blur, days becoming dull in the otherwise picturesque island… Thankfully, amidst the heartbreak, a beacon of light manifested itself in Kazuha, remaining by her side for as long as she needed to think of what to do next. He remained there, palm on her back, suggesting ideas for what to do next. [F/N] couldn’t thank enough for his presence, for he helped her gradually come to terms with her new reality.

And as the Crux fleet finally raised their anchor from the harbor, [F/N] gazed back one final time. She’d made up her mind, she was no longer at home in a place where she’d been betrayed by the two people she admired the most. As the ship finally began to sail, her hair blew in the wind, tears threatening to fall once more before she wiped them away. Nearby remained Kazuha, her gaze glued to her back as he silently offered his support in whatever decision she decided to make. In her hand, a lonesome flower blew with the breeze, her gentle grasp letting it fall before inevitably falling to the sea.

“For a brighter future… On my own.”

[lovelyrotter]

okay but i actually kinda wanna know ur take on stridercest being canon compliant O_O <- autism stare

oh hey i am also hitting you with the autism stare. ill try to get my thoughts down in a way that makes sense to more than just me hahaha

bear in mind that im an epilogue lover and i think Meat/Candy are really valuable pieces that further all of the characters and are also hard canon in the sense that we're looking at just 2 post-game universe outcomes out of an uncountable number (the book in the picnic basket representing post-canon fanfic). i think the characters actions in the epilogues make sense and are satisfying to me. yes even jane (i love alpha jane and i will not do her the disservice of 'cleaning her up' w/o showing her work for it. thats not how you depict a character who grew up with fascist programming). i could totally go on a whole tangent about this specifically but thats another post lol we'd be here forever and its also not stridercest

but okay. canon stridercest. under the cut cause it got kinda long

basically it has to do with the cherubs and how their relationships and mating rituals are pretty obviously incestuous leaning even though cherubs dont have the human concept of Siblings or blood family. the cherub who predominates will search across paradox space to mate with another cherub who closely resembles the cherub they predominated which is like textbook Freudian sexuality. theres a lot of Freud and Jungian stuff in HS imo even if im kinda [wobbly hand gesture] at the validity of these theories applied to real life and real people. but theyre super fun tools and lenses to use in fiction and i mean. gestures at all of dave

so the incest aliens cherubs. the whole reason why im talkin about them is bc Caliborn is so incredibly interested and invested in the Striders in particular. caliborn as both Lord English and Lil Cal shapes earth NOT OVERTLY but more so embeds himself in earth society, but again, the Striders lives in particular. dave is full of incest jokes. hes even apparently got a list of his friends arranged in order of how likely theyd incest-elope with each other (thank you epilogues for this amazing factoid). he seems to think about it often enough to, yknow, Do That. have a good solid think about that and construct an organized list about it. bearing in mind dave makes jokes about stuff thats a) bothering him, or b) generally camping out in his brain. hes not even really aware of it most of the time (as we see in one of the openbounds where hes all 'why am i thinking about puppets???' after seeing dirk for the first time in that dream bubble. he is thinking nonstop about dirk at that point and going off his only frame of reference for ANY dirk, which is his bro. his bro who was most likely deeply warped by Lil Cal)

sorry for the long blocky paragraph lol. but now onto the next thing

Caliborn as Lil Cal is the centerpiece in the beta strider apartment. dave cant escape him and beta dirk grew up with him. what the fuck do you do when youre childhood comfort item is also the most evil creature across all of paradox space? if youre a dirk you try to fight it. but how long can you keep fighting something like that. its safe to say that bro was affected by Caliborns particular brand of perversion and sfw kink. i dont think i have to say how insidious abusive and toxic he is about those things. and looking at the truth of beta bro (16yo alpha dirk) you can start to see just how warped beta bro became. beta bro is a false dirk (still a very Real dirk but not the Truth of dirk. beta bro has been toxified and made infinitely worse by an absolute evil influence over decades of life. in 80s fuckin texas. presumably in the system. anyone would be fucked up after that)

so for this analysis/theory im stating beta bro as a false persona. using jungian terms he is apha dirk's shadow

both dave and dirk live with a fake, carefully manicured version of their bros. they live with personas (or shadows of their guardians on the walls. hello platos allegory of the cave). they dont actually know e/o and they dont until the striunion

alpha dirk especially grows up embedded in the Public Persona Of Dave Strider 400 years post mortem and completely alone with unlimited internet access. hes a self admitted expert on his bro and we dont get to see a lot if any of his early childhood but i can hazard a guess at how much he clung to that persona of his bro. he fuckin idolizes dave. he LOVES dave. right off the bat he is in some kind of love with dave and i think if you try to argue against that then thats you slippin. i think youre a fool and have to reread homestuck because i wholeheartedly believe the striders loving eachother is part of the win state

once again this is speculation cause we get barely anything about alpha dave, but from what we already know about him im guessing this bro-persona is

achingly effortlessly cool

oozing masculinity (toxic or not, not really interested in categorizing that although toxic coolboy masculinity IS something the striders contend with & is an important facet in their lives)

a skilled fighter

a dedicated moviegoer (hes a director need i say more. this one is probably the only genuine thing about his on-screen persona)

and now lets look at jake. someone whos grown up on pretty much nothing but movies, whos doubtlessly been influenced by hollywood and its idea of gritty 'main character' masculinity through that, and who also clings to more old-school ideas of manliness (think victorian/edwardian era gentlemanly-but-loves-a-good-scrum kinda manly. moustache twirly with a monocle kinda manly. basically everything that grandpa harley is)

but okay lets look at what jake wants to be. lets take a look at his teenager persona

achingly effortlessly cool (his own 'hollywood star' kind of cool also def influenced by his favourite characters like lara croft who is indeed achingly cool. you see him succeed in inhabiting this hollywood star persona on earth c)

oozing masculinity (the old school manly mans-man kind)

a skilled fighter (two pistoles always. harder to aim cause you cant use a free hand to make up for kickback. that takes skill)

a dedicated moviegoer (again one of the only genuine parts about his persona. his questionable-to-wretched tastes aside. but bearing in mind that the SBaHJ movies are intentionally bad which is what makes them loop around to good. such is the nature of intentionally 'bad' art. jake fuckin lives in this perpetual bad-good art loop. okay enough with the art tangent keep focused man cmon)

because dirk has obviously way more contact with jake i dont doubt he sees through jakes own (admittedly way more flimsy) coolboy persona but the point still stands i think. different flavours but the same kinda guy. dirk has a type and i dont think its a stretch to say that hes looking for aspects of the bro-persona he grew up looking at in other boys, much like the winning cherub looking for the one they lost in the cherub theyll mate with

also wtf is with dirks obvious boner for dave chasing him across paradox space to decapitate him huh?? the last few sentences in Meat are about that very thing. he wants to fuc fight dave sooo bad. haha remember how the cherubic mating ritual is one of the most violent and long running spectacles in paradox space? i sure do

[intoxfolklorex]

open to males 30+ (please read my rules and her bio before replying. please do not like my starters. historical AU.)

It had been almost too easy to break into this camp and subsequently figure out which tent belonged to the king. Showing herself at the entrance might have been a better idea, but Zoe was sure that anyone else would take her head the second that they recognised her. He wouldn’t. Hearing the flaps open she turned with a small grin, “You know, you may want to look into your border security. Is it My Lord or Your Grace now?” This was not really a joking matter but that had always been Zoe’s default setting. Rolling her eyes at the guards with their hands on their swords she spoke again, “Put them away, boys, I’m not here to hurt your leader.”

God he was beautiful and she felt her heart jump, it had been months since Zoe had last seen the man. The last time they had seen each other there had been talk of eloping and she had gone home to pack– that had been the night her brother had enacted his coup and the subsequent war that had started. He’d known her plans, locking her in her rooms so that she couldn’t say anything and Zoe had needed to bide her time. Ultimately she had already chosen this man over her family and even in these times where the stakes were so much higher she would still choose him. Holding up a group of letters she had intercepted she took a step forward. “I come bearing gifts.” Though she could tell people were still on edge and so the woman held her wrists up together semi-sarcastically. “Would putting me in shackles make you feel better?”

[perexcri]

fic recs!!

i woke up to being on a couple of fic rec lists and really appreciated it, so i wanted to capitalize on the nice energy and make a list of some of my own favs that i've read recently that i didn't necessarily see on the other lists :D check these out because they have some of the best prose/plots/characterization that i've read in the fandom :] 💜

one soft infested summer (M, 18k+, 3/7 ongoing) by @wheelersboy - this one is perfect for all the highler fans out there! it's got stoner byler of course, a music festival, lots out camping, and some really amazing writing! i started it just for the fun stoner vibes because Why Not, but i'm staying for the beautiful writing and the really complex and delicate relationship mike and will have in this one

Light Sleepers (T, 15k+, 2/6 ongoing) by @helioleti - WillEl-centric fic set during the time gap between the end of s3 and the beginning of s4 that explores their dynamic and their respective problems with mike, all while trying to cope with moving across the country from everything they know. each chapter is meant to reflect a certain stage of grief, which fits so well with all the complicated emotions everyone is going through!

drank my poison all alone (T, 4k, one-shot) by silverluminoqity - mike gets vecna'd and has to face his past self who's ashamed of who he's grown up to be, and my dudes the writing goes SO HARD. by far one of the best mike gets vecna'd fics i've read with such a good take on his character

star eater (T, >1k, one-shot) by @lowlightt - another fic where the writing does not play. honestly if you have a few minutes, READ THIS FIC. it's mostly just a confrontation between will and vecna, but it's so so powerful and impactful. and again, i cannot state it enough: the writing is AMAZING

tell me again (you said yes) (M, 32k, 3/3 complete) by @willow-lark - hey remember when cleradin was like a Thing for a brief second a few months ago? well if you miss those vibes, or if you just like great writing and some of the best weaving of canon into a fantasy au i've ever read, please look no further than this fic (and it's first part, fireball him! (cast protection)). i love this one dearly and enjoyed the wonderful ways Lark wove canon (specifically s1) into such a different setting, plus it was nice to see many of the other characters play a role in the events. beautiful, astounding, heart-wrenching - and did i mention there's an elopement 👀

In Undertow (M, 17k+, 3/6 on-going) by @souverian-are-we - this and one soft infested summer have become my summer byler reads~ when i say i love this fic, i mean you will have to pry it from my cold, dead hands 🥰 we've got estranged byler, jancy engagement with some stoncy going on in the background, and most of the characters still reeling from the consequences of their final battle with the upside down. it's all set at a lake house, which provides some breathtaking/atmospheric writing that this author uses to their advantage. it has some of my favorite scenes i've ever read in fic too, ones that have literally taken my breath away

california show your teeth (T, 77k+, 10/19 on-going) by @fireflywitch - what if the Byers and Hopper families were from Lenora and moved to Hawkins? this fic takes this one simple premise and turns it into one of my favorite fics i've ever had the pleasure of following along with. it essentially functions as a retelling of s1 and s2, gives almost every main character that's been featured in the show thus far a lot of time and space for their own plots, all while culminating into one larger story underneath. i don't think i've read a fic quite like this one in terms of its scope, plotting, and characterization, because there are a lot of moving parts, but this author goes above and beyond. i cannot recommend it enough

all i know is pouring rain (and everything has changed) (T, 3k, one-shot) by @willelfanpage - i think i read this one at the beginning of my workday while i was running some report on my computer and had to go about the rest of my day as if everything was fine ahah :'D seriously though, it's 3k words that pack an emotional punch all while examining will's relationship to rain. the writing is just gorgeous, and it's a character study that i haven't really seen done before, which was quite enjoyable~

Chasing Heartlines by (T, 7k+, 1/2 on-going) @cherryisgone - if you liked Tip-Toeing on Lilypads then may i direct you to its sequel, which features so much pining mike that he might as well be a tree? again, if you like cleradin/fantasy aus, then Cherry my beloved has you covered 💜 it fits so neatly with Lilypads and provides some fun contrast between will and mike~

Touch Me Like You Know Me (M, 15k, 4/4 complete) by @starsarefire824 - this exists in the rare pantheon of fics that actually made me cry. imagine an estranged byler reunion with all the emotions turned up to an eleven, and lots of lingering on lost time and how life sometimes takes us places we never thought we'd go. it's absolutely beautiful and is a classic to me :]

come back to me and forgive everything (T, 78k, 18/18 complete) by @howtobecomeadragon - i saw a lot about this one when it was on-going but am only just now getting around to reading it, and all i can say is why did it take me so long to get to it :') this author does such a good job of writing will and mike's relationship with a lot of nuance and complexity while still managing to make them feel like the teenagers they are. basically, will has to spend every july at lonnie's house in indianapolis, and for this summer in particular, the event is a lot more emotionally impactful for both mike and will. there's lots of emotional depth, the complexities of coming out and/or realizing you're queer, and, at the heart of it, how two friends try to mend things between each other. it's so soft and sweet

that's all i've got for now!! i'm quickly running out of time on my lunch break :'D also haven't been writing as much, but it's been fun to read more and relax a bit. hope you guys enjoy these because they're genuinely some of the best stuff i've had the pleasure to read in a while 💜💜💜