#fic: a painted ship on a painted ocean
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
breakyourrxles ¡ 1 year ago
Note
I'm so in love with your Minho fics, and you just published a new one 💙💙💙
I've read a couple of arranged marriage fics, and I love that Minho wasn't an asshole to Y/N. The fact that he could accept Y/N not being in love with him as long as she's on his side... Where can I find a man like that? 😭 Not gonna lie, I was a bit disappointed when Y/N slept with Hyunjin, but I'm grateful everything went well in the end. I'm also happy that Hyunjin was mature enough to accept that Y/N and he are not meant to be. Also, him choosing that particular painting makes so much sense, knowing why Minho painted it 🥺 Thank you for another incredible story, Melty! I can't send you actual flowers, so here's a virtual bouquet for you 💐
Tumblr media
P.S. Tumblr won't let me reblog it 🥲
oh noooo BOO at the reblog being broken for you!?!?! shakes tumblr...it's okay though, i like receiving asks the best, if i'm honest ^^;
beyond that, omg thank you so much you really get me and get this fic!!
I've read a couple of arranged marriage fics, and I love that Minho wasn't an asshole to Y/N.
hdfgjfkd i said this to my best friend like...i feel like a lot of arranged marriage fics tend to go that route where new hubby is a dickhead and trust me i have enjoyed them and i like it but i wanted to do something different...so we made him kinda a cute loser. immense charming loser whimsy <33333
I was a bit disappointed when Y/N slept with Hyunjin, but I'm grateful everything went well in the end.
what loneliness and familiarity can do to a person 🥲 BUT! we got to see minho's reaction to it...and he was so dreamy and handled it so well ^^
THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING IT AND SENDING ME THIS MESSAGE!! i'm really glad you liked it!! the idea has been rolling around in the noggin for months but i was always too busy/not ready to take it on, but i am very pleased to hear it has turned out well <3 endless thank yous!!!
7 notes ¡ View notes
obsessivevoidkitten ¡ 7 months ago
Text
Owned By The Demon Admiral (AFAB Reader Version)
Male Demon Yandere x AFAB Demon Reader CW: Noncon/dubcon, terms like pussy used for reader's genitals, yandere DILF, general yandere behavior, groping, biting, captive reader, reader is setup, an overly cute semi-aquatic demon cat named Mr. Sir Buttons Word Count: 2k (I am saying this fic is AFAB versus female because no gendered pronouns are ever used at all for the reader in anyway, rather their genitals are biologically female. Terms like pussy/cunt are used so if that is triggering for you please avoid this fic. This was a birthday gift for a friend normally I don't do AFAB reader so this may be a bit sloppy. I hope you enjoy it.)
The battleship you were on drifted through the calm blood red waters of one of Hell’s oceans. The light of the two suns scintillated beautifully off the serene waves. No evidence at all that your ship had just sunk an enemy vessel, condemning the unlucky demons manning it to death.
In the ensuing ebullience at having survived with no damage the leader of the ship, Admiral Oraan, put one hand behind on your ass and one behind your head and pulled you into a passionate kiss as his tail began to wrap around your leg.
You struggled to push off the larger demon but finally he released you. You steadied yourself and gasped for breath.
“I said no!”
Then you stormed off to your quarters.
This wasn’t the first time your commanding officer had done something like this. This was at least the fourth time you had rebuffed his advances. He just wouldn’t get it through his thick skull. You were focused strictly on your military career. The war against Pride, one of the Princes of Hell, was far too important for romance and sex to get in the way.
But you underestimated his desire for you. And his rage. You should have assumed that the highest ranking admiral in Wrath’s fleet would have some severe anger issues. But you naively thought that service to his prince would take priority over his feelings for you.
The first thing he had done was to sabotage your quarters during inspection. You didn’t know it was his doing and were angered and paranoid that someone would thrash your space in such a way, causing you to get written up.
In reality it was all Oraan. A rising action in the story of your downfall.
The next thing that was done to ruin your uniforms. He told you it was disrespectful to the prince you all served, to the branch you served, and to him to have your uniforms in such a state.
After that it was a more serious infraction. Reported for contraband that was then found in your locker.
The final, and most infuriating, nail in the coffin happened in the next skirmish. A small opponent, easy to sink and posing only a slight threat to the hellish dreadnought on which you served. But Oraan had forced multiple witnesses to claim you were a coward. That you had abandoned your station and hid in your quarters while the rest of the crew gallantly manned their posts.
This led to you having to be court-martialed. No time to dock and have more formal proceedings. You had to be court-martialed right on the ship. Despite the evidence against you, you thought that once you were given your chance to make your arguments and have your comrades vouch for your behavior and character then this would all disappear.
That isn’t quite how things played out for you. You started the court-martial optimistic but with each passing moment a sense of dread became stronger and stronger. Each witness, people you had respected and thought of as your friends, gave damning testimony. They painted you as a belligerent, lazy, neglectful oaf. Someone who cared nothing for duty, rules, or honor.
You had to hold back tears as your body shook with rage and sorrow. Why were they saying such things? Why were they lying about you and your actions and character?
It finally became obvious when the sentence was passed. Not death, as might befit someone who fled from combat. Not dishonorable discharge. No, you were being reassigned. As Oraan’s personal attendant. “A non-combat role where no one would be harmed by your cowardly behavior.”
It was all him. He had pressured or otherwise bribed everyone to turn against you. To lie about you. All to get you in his clutches and punish you for rejecting him. And there was nothing you could do about it. He was an older and stronger demon, you’d have no hope to beat him in a fight. And even if you somehow managed it, how would you escape on a ship? And if by some miracle you either made it to land or just waited until the ship was docked you would be chased for all eternity.
No, he had you in your clutches. Your only hope was that your contract with the navy was almost up. You were only to be enlisted for five years at a time before you had to renew. The only exception for that being prolonged was if a hot war was going on, but this one was nearing its end. Since all that happened was the court-martial was just technically a reassignment you were only bound by the terms of your enlistment.
All you had to do was endure for ten months.
It was humiliating. Oraan really wanted to keep you reminded of your new position. You had to be at his side constantly. Obeying all his orders and whims. You had to press his uniforms and get his meals. And in private the tasks got much worse.
Sucking his girthy cock was a common “request” of his. Almost daily. You also had to bathe with him most nights. This required you to wash his entire well-muscled form. If you were a willing participant you would have enjoyed it, he was very attractive, the tattoo of an anchor on his left shoulder and the three large scars on his ribs adding to his rugged allure.
But you weren’t a willing participant. And bathing him usually led to him giving you an “inspection.” That was where he touched, kissed, groped every inch of you before sliding his cock into your hot pussy, slowly fucking into you until he came hard. His tongue, of course, had to probe your mouth during these inspections, “just to be thorough.”
It was good that he had you eat meals with him in his private quarters, because you didn’t think you’d be able to look any of the other crew members in the eye ever again. The ones that hadn’t been involved in fucking over your entire life were the ones that believed the lies about you. On the entire ship you had not a single ally. The only one you could confide in was Mr. Sir Buttons, the semi-aquatic demonic cat that served as the mascot and unofficial morale officer on the ship.
You were on your way back from taking your food trays back to the galley when you felt something soft rub against your leg. Mr. Sir Buttons! You had a few minutes before you had to be back with Oraan so you stooped down and picked him up. He purred loudly.
“At least I never have to worry about you betraying me.”
He meowed as if in affirmation. You nuzzled his thick, red, waterproof fur before placing him back down to go about his very important demonic cat business.
When you got back to Oraan’s quarters he was naked on the bed. His large prick standing erect and ready for the attention you would surely have to give it, a bead of precum running down the length evidently in anticipation.
You sighed in resignation and began to strip your clothing. You had been doing this for over a month now. Only less than nine more to go. You could do it, just one moment at a time.
Too excited after leering at your naked form, he couldn’t wait for you to come to him anymore. Instead he got up and used his strong arms to pick you up and pin you to the bed. He stole your lips with his, kissing you in a greedy frenzy, his large cock swung below as he groped your chest.
“Mine! I can’t believe after all these years you’re finally all mine!”
He bit your neck, causing you to moan involuntarily. But maybe you should just give into the pleasure of the situation. It was going to happen either way and you’d be able to move on with your life once this was all over anyway. Besides, getting into it a bit might just help him finish faster so you’d have less time stuck in this position.
Oraan massaged the outside of your cunt before sliding a couple of fingers into you to get you wet and ready for his large prick.
When he lined his cock up with your drooling entrance, rough hands on your hips, you didn’t look away or flinch as you would normally. You wrapped your arms and legs around him instead, allowing him the perfect angle to slam deeply into your pussy. He grinned, ecstatic that you finally seemed to have not only learned your place but were actively embracing it. He slammed down with hard but slow thrusts. Each one making you gasp and each one punctuated with another kiss or nip up your neck.
Lewd squelching noises emanated from your sex as he increased the tempo of your lovemaking.
Had any of the crew passed the admiral’s quarters on their way through the halls all they would have heard was the rhythmic slap of Oraan’s nuts against your skin as he bred you along with the occasional grunt or swear from him or moan from you.
“Fuck! I love you so much!”
You only drooled a bit while looking up at him dumbly with lustful eyes, having been fucked nearly senseless. You scratched his shoulders with your sharp demonic nails as you pulled him closer to you in an attempt to somehow get him deeper. You were near your climax, desperate for it.
The pain from your nails spurred him on, causing him to fuck you at a new pace that straddle the line between pain and pleasure. You winced as he came hard, your tight clenching walls milking his cock and sending him over the edge soon after.
He gave a few final thrusts into you to empty his balls good and deep before pulling out and holding you tight, caging you in with his sweat-slicked body. You went limp from exhaustion, practically basking in the afterglow that always followed such intense, passionate sex. If you didn’t know any better you could have mistaken Oraan for a lust demon. Though you imagined saying such a thing to his face would have him prove instantly that he was, in fact, a being of wrath.
When the two of you had recovered he took you into the small shower with him. This time around, he cleaned you. Gently washing your body of cum and sweat before rinsing your hair. Far more tender behavior than you would have thought possible from the stern leader. Maybe there was more wisdom to just being more open to your predicament than you had initially thought.
It was a change in your behavior that hadn’t gone unnoticed by the man who had orchestrated the vast shift in your life circumstances.
“Finally decided to give in, huh?” Came his gruff voice from behind you.
You had no reason to be dishonest or hide your thoughts from him.
“Well, my contract is up in just a few months. I am not going to renew so this assignment is only temporary. I figured it’ll go by faster if I just accept it.”
He laughed and pulled you close to him, you could feel his stubble on your neck as he whispered words that made your fiery demon blood run cold.
“With my power, influence, and wealth I can assure you that your signature will keep renewing that contract for eternity, sweetheart. Whether you sign it yourself or not. Even if we aren’t deployed I will find a way to keep you with me.”
You went limp and would have fallen to the floor had he not had his arms wrapped tightly around you. The room felt like it was spinning. You barely took note of the water trailing down your skin or the chaste kiss he pressed to your cheek.
It was over for you, now that Oraan finally had you there was absolutely nothing that would make the older demon give you up.
1K notes ¡ View notes
inthedayswhenlandswerefew ¡ 22 days ago
Text
In The Gloomy Depths [Chapter 7: Sapphire] [Series Finale]
Tumblr media
Series summary: Five years ago, jewel mining tycoon Daemon Targaryen made a promise in order to win your hand in marriage. Now he has broken it and forced you into a voyage across the Atlantic, betraying you in increasingly horrifying ways and using your son as leverage to ensure your cooperation. You have no friends and no allies, except a destitute viola player you can’t seem to get away from…
Series warnings: Language, sexual content (18+ readers only), parenthood, dolphins, death and peril, violence (including domestic violence), drinking, smoking, freezing temperatures, murder, if you don’t like Titanic you won’t like this fic!!! 😉
Word count: 5.2k
💜 All my writing can be found HERE! 💜
Tagging: @nightvyre @mrs-starkgaryen @gemini-mama @ecstaticactus @chattylurker, more in comments 🥰
💎 Thank you for reading (and tolerating all my nautical puns)! 💎
How can love be a curse? How can it be something to fear, to condemn, to break?
She has dreamed of him all her life. First he was a protector, almost fatherlike, and then a remote, bewitching phantom as she crept into adolescence, and then when Harwin Strong died Daemon sailed over Saint George’s Channel to offer her solace in England, and at last the fantasies she never would have confessed to anyone were fulfilled, two marriages and four children later. Rhaenyra remembers what he told her in the mist-draped lakeside cottage where they met in secret, crossing paths like an asteroid striking a planet: My wife means nothing to me. She’s not like us. She is young, and weak, and afraid, and I could never respect that kind of person. Her father owns the last Connemara marble quarry in the world, and I needed a son. But the only woman I want is you.
Aegon fires the pistol as he chases her through the corridors of A-Deck, and when she shrieks nobody hears, or if they do they don’t appear to rescue her; the ship is full of people screaming, sobbing, clawing for their lives against wet walls and locked doors. He shoots and misses again. There’s something wrong with his hands. He keeps fumbling with the gun and almost dropping it, hissing in pain as he squeezes the trigger, and there’s blood staining his fingers.
Good, Rhaenyra thinks. I’m glad he’s hurt. I hope he’s dying.
She sees an open room and ducks inside, slamming the door behind her and barring it with the weight of her body as Aegon rams it with his shoulder. Rhaenyra is surrounded by the trappings of another family who purchased first-class tickets: chairs with velvet upholstery, a faux fireplace, paintings by Rousseau and Boccioni and Homer. The lights flicker and the steel beams of Titanic groan, low and disastrous. There isn’t much time left.
“Daemon!” she yells as loudly as she can. If he hears her, he’ll come running. I have to get to a lifeboat. I have to live for my father, for Jace and Luke and Joffrey, for the children I will one day give Daemon.
Rhaenyra struggles with the lock as Aegon batters the door and it quakes on its hinges. Just as she latches it, he fires the pistol through the door. Wood cracks and splinters; a bullet pierces Rhaenyra’s ribcage like a blade. There is unbearable pressure, and then a sharpness, a pain she believes she cannot stand until it keeps getting bigger, deeper, ripping her open and filling her with dark wet weight like the ocean surging into Titanic. She crumples to the floor. When she coughs, blood spurts out onto her lips. Rhaenyra wipes it away and then stares at the red on her palm.
I can’t die now. My life just became what it was supposed to be.
Aegon punches a hole through the mangled door large enough for him to reach in and unlock it. Then he stands in the threshold looking down at her, his hands shaking but his eyes hard, fierce, unflinching. Rhaenyra has never seen him like this before. She didn’t know he could be good at anything.
“How the fuck did you get on the ship?” Rhaenyra snarls as she scrambles away, hacking up more blood. The black opal ring Daemon gave her gleams like onyx or obsidian, something born of heat and earth and insurmountable, ancient gravity.
Daemon and I were made for each other. The same blood, the same bones, the same will to carve treasures from the bleakest places.
Aegon follows her across the floor, slow stalking steps. He doesn’t answer; instead, he shakes his right hand a few times—steadying himself, casting out tremors like demons—and then grips the pistol with it. He raises the gun, the barrel aimed at Rhaenyra’s face.
“Daemon?!” she screams, but he isn’t here. Then she asks, sudden desperate confusion, her blue eyes wide: “Why are you doing this?”
Aegon’s voice is calm. “Because she can’t be free unless you and Daemon are gone.”
That girl? Daemon’s sad, stupid wife? I’m dying because of HER?
“Father never loved you,” Rhaenyra seethes, red on her teeth, blooddrops spilling from her lips like rubies. Her eyes are cold, glinting sapphires, pools of freezing water that only needs minutes to stop the heart. “Just like Daemon never loved her.”
“I know. And I used to care. It almost killed me, it almost ate me alive. But now I’m better. And I finally know exactly who I’m supposed to be.”
Aegon pulls the trigger.
~~~~~~~~~~
As Daemon descends the Grand Staircase, you crawl down towards the next landing, your head spinning, your hands empty, writhing on your belly like a snake.
The dagger???
But you can’t find it, and you don’t have time to stop and search. Daemon is only a few steps behind you. When your palms hit B-Deck, you try to drag yourself upright, grappling for the banister; but before you can get your feet under you, Daemon kicks you and sends you hurtling down the next flight of stairs. You tumble towards C-Deck, clawing in vain for something to break your fall. Your head strikes the English oak wood and you hear your father’s bewildered voice as he sat at the dining room table in Lough Cutra Castle: Where are you going? When will you be back?
Never, never, never; and now from somewhere below you recognize the roar of rushing water.
“You were going to kill me?!” Daemon taunts as he bears down on you like a storm. Blood soaks his throat and the white shirt beneath his black suit jacket. His eyes are bright, feral, monstrous. “After all those times I spared you when I could have drowned you in a river or a hot bath or the sea? You’re so fucking useless. You really can’t do anything right. All you had to do was shut up and endure, and you could have lived to be an old, old woman with all the comforts my empire afforded you. Now, my dear, you will never see another sunrise. And when Titanic sinks, you’ll be buried with her.”
Down, down, always down towards the ocean floor, you crawl faster away from him as his footsteps grow louder.
“Help,” you moan weakly. Aegon? Anyone? But the only reply is the echoing of your own voice and the sounds of the dying ship: breaking metal, distant screams, gushing torrents of seawater.
You crash into C-Deck and again try to stagger to your feet, but Daemon is here, shoving you as if from a cliffside or off a balcony. And as you plummet down the Grand Staircase towards D-Deck—where the First-Class Dining Saloon is, where Thomas Andrews once assured you that Titanic was unsinkable—it is not hard wooden steps you collide with but swirling ice-cold seawater. You plunge beneath the currents and then come sputtering up to the surface, your white wool coat drenched and threatening to pull you below again like an anchor. You struggle to shed it with arms that are rapidly going numb.
I’m so cold, I’m so cold, if I don’t get out of the water I’ll be dead in minutes—
Daemon’s fingers close around your throat and he forces you under the waist-deep water. You thrash and try to push him away, to pry him off of you, but your muscles seem to have disappeared, they have been scraped off your bones and now you can only wait to die, your breathless lungs burning as your body freezes. You have a sudden vision of Daemon in his firelit study at Lough Cutra Castle, marveling at a shard of Larimar dredged up from the Caribbean Sea and quoting the first known treatise on gemstones, written by Theophrastus in the time of Alexander the Great: Of things formed in the earth, some have their origin from water.
“No!” you scream through the depths, bubbles rising up to air you cannot taste. You claw at Daemon’s hands, but you cannot wound him, cannot get a grip on him, and hasn’t that been true since you married him five years ago?
The dark, freezing water makes you want to give up. It makes death feel easy, painless, inevitable. You imagine faces you’ll never see again: Draco, Aegon, your parents, Fern. You hope Carpathia will be here soon to rescue the survivors. You wonder what will happen to Aegon’s paintings.
Through the water come the muffled booms of explosions, four of them, surely something catastrophic, the ship splitting in half or a distress flare misfired or boilers bursting and shearing through what’s left of the hull. Then Daemon’s hands vanish from your throat and someone is hauling you up out of the icy currents, they are freeing you, they are disinterring you from an oceanic grave.
“I’m here!” Aegon is shouting as you burst into open air, gasping and flailing. He drags you towards the Grand Staircase where you can climb out of the flood, but you’re looking for Daemon. He is a few yards away and floating face-up, one hand clasping his chest and a gurgling sound leaking from his throat. The water around him is turning red. He’s fading, but he’s not dead yet.
“Aegon, he’s still—”
“I know. I’ll take care of him once you’re out of the water. I don’t have any more bullets left.”
“I want to do it.”
“We need to get you dry and warmed up—”
“I want to do it,” you say again, and Aegon lets you go.
You twist off your black opal engagement ring and throw it into the water beside Daemon. Then you place both of you hands on his chest and push him beneath the surface, Aegon standing just behind you with the barrel of the pistol in his grasp in case he has to use it as a club. The glacial seawater froths and whirls as it rises over Daemon’s hemorrhaging chest. He startles—a death rattle, a late rite—and resists feebly, gazing up at you with glassy, disbelieving eyes. They ask: How did this happen? I was supposed to kill you, remember? I own you. I own jewels trapped in subterranean darkness all over the world, and you are the very least of them.
“Draco isn’t yours,” you tell Daemon as you force him under. “Rhaenyra isn’t yours. And I’m not yours either. Now sink and die and make me free.”
He twitches, he bares his crimson teeth at you, but after all this time finally Daemon is the weak one. The rising water flushes maroon around him, his skin goes a frail and translucent bluish-white, his heart is drained until the chambers are cold and grey and empty. You hold him beneath the water until the bubbles roiling up from his nose and mouth disappear. He will never touch you again, he will never hurt anyone, he will never bruise or break or ensnare or captivate. And who will inherit his mines scattered across the planet?
Draco. His only son. And my family and I will act as trustees until he’s eighteen.
“We have to go,” Aegon is saying. He must have taken off his coat before he went into the water after you. He stands shivering in only his white shirt and green corduroy pants, the ocean now lapping at his chest.
“Rhaenyra?” you ask.
“She’s gone. I’m sure.”
“It’s over,” you say softly, feeling weight like stones roll off of you, feeling warmth like sunlight on your face.
As if in reply, the listing ship groans and the lights flicker again. “Not yet,” Aegon says, grabbing your hand. “Let’s hope there’s a lifeboat left.”
You wade to the steps and climb out of the water. Aegon helps you wring out your soaked hair and the skirt of your gown, then snatches his black wool coat off the steps where he left it and puts it on you. You race up the Grand Staircase to C-Deck, and then B-Deck, and then the A-Deck landing where you find your green handbag with Aegon’s tiny aluminum lighter still inside.
“I think you dropped this,” Aegon says when he spots the dagger on a nearby step, still covered with Daemon’s blood. He wipes it clean on his corduroy pants and then passes it to you. When you hesitate to take it, he grins. “Who knows. You might need to stab someone else tonight.”
“I never want to draw blood again.” But you accept the dagger and place it in your handbag, the captive gemstones glimmering there: amethyst, tiger’s eye, black opal, emerald, ruby, bloodstone, sapphire like the North Atlantic Ocean that is swallowing Titanic down into her cold, crushing belly. Then you ascend one last flight of steps to the Boat Deck, passing the bronze cherub statue and the ticking clock, stealing a glimpse up at the dome of glass and wrought iron that will soon shatter when the sea punctures through it like a bullet or a blade.
Outside the night air is so frigid that ice crystals begin forming in your hair, and the hem of your blue gown begins to stiffen as it freezes. You are barefoot, you only now realize, and if splinters from the pine planks of the deck needle their way into your flesh you won’t be able to feel them. There are only two lifeboats left on this side of the ship, one of which is already being lowered down to the sea. Officers are still directing women and children into the other. Benjamin Guggenheim and his companions are very drunk, clumsily herding frantic first-class passengers towards the boats. The string quartet is now playing The Merry Widow by Franz Lehár.
“Come, come quickly, Lady Targaryen!” the officers shout when they see you, knowing by your gown that you belong here, perhaps recognizing you from strolls on the Promenade Deck or when you and Daemon boarded Titanic in Cork with much fanfare. Aegon helps you into the lifeboat, his wounded hands cradling yours. Another distress flare is shot into the sky, metallic rain, doomsday portents.
We’re going to be alright, you think. We’re going to survive this.
“Darling, you’re sopping wet!” one of the women in the lifeboat exclaims, and they all begin to fret over you. There are dogs here, a Pomeranian in one lap, a Yorkshire terrier in another.
“Get her under a blanket,” Aegon is saying. “Keep her warm or she’ll get pneumonia. Give her a lifebelt.”
“We will, we will,” another lady shimmering in jewels—a mother of two boys in heavy coats and blue-striped pajamas—promises him. “We’ll take good care of her.”
You turn back to Aegon. “What?”
He tells you, his voice quiet: “Petra, they’re not going to let me in.”
“No, no, you can’t stay here—”
“Women and children only!” an officer booms, then begins waving several shrieking maids towards the vessel, just moments from launching.
“Aegon,” you say, horrified. He’ll die if he stays. He’ll drown or he’ll freeze and he’ll be entombed at the bottom of the Atlantic. “No.”
“I’ll be okay.”
“No you won’t,” you sob, then look desperately at the officers. How can I change their minds? “He’s a Targaryen, he’s a first-class passenger, he must be allowed aboard!”
“A Targaryen?!” one of the officers says distractedly as he battles with the rigging. “I know all the Targaryens on Titanic, and he’s not one of them!”
“Just look at him,” the other officer mutters, meaning: He isn’t dressed like someone with castles or mansions or titles or mines. He can’t be someone who matters.
“He is,” you plead, tears stinging on your cheeks as they freeze. “He’s Aegon, he’s a Targaryen, please, he can’t be left behind—”
“Women and children only!” the first officer barks at you as the other pushes away a group of panicked young men in black suits trying to bribe their way into the vessel. “And if you want to stay here with him, that’s your business, but get to it so the rest of us can try to make it off this ship alive!”
“There’s more than enough room for him, for Christ’s sake, there are dogs in here!”
“There will be other lifeboats, love,” one of the women tells you as she drapes a scratchy wool blanket across your shoulders, but you don’t believe that’s true. The maids are climbing into the lifeboat; the officers are beginning to lower it with sharp lurches that make the occupants gasp.
You reach for Aegon, your hands catching on his drenched shirt, the thin layer of ice cracking beneath your fingers. “No, no, Aegon, I can’t go like this.”
“You have to,” he says calmly, and he holds you face still and touches his lips to your forehead, a kiss goodbye, gentle and lingering.
“No—”
“You have a kid. You have to go. Draco will be looking for you on Carpathia.”
“You deserve to be free too.”
“I’ll stay out of the water for as long as I can,” Aegon says like a vow. “I’ll try to find something to float on. And once Titanic goes down…maybe the lifeboats will come back to pick up any survivors.”
The water is too cold. I’ve felt it, I’ve been paralyzed by it, once you go under you only have minutes. “You can’t…you won’t…”
“Petra,” Aegon says, and his eyes turn desperate. He knows it’s his only chance. “Make them come back for me.”
“I will,” you swear to him.
And he pries your fingers off his shirt and rips away from you before your resolve can weaken. High above and through tears that blur your vision, constellations of stars gleam like diamonds.
~~~~~~~~~~
He runs to the other side of the Boat Deck, searching for lifeboats that haven’t launched yet. He can’t find any. There are swarms of passengers weeping, shouting, jostling, and officers trying to restore order. Pistols and flares are fired, chairs are tossed overboard for passengers to cling to as they float. But Aegon knows that won’t be enough; if they stay submerged, they will die.
I need something bigger. I need something I can lie on. A door or a dresser or…
He shoves through the crowd to get to the ship’s railing. Below, the ocean has gotten so much closer. He sees a lifeboat bobbing in the waves, just far enough away that someone brave enough to leap could not get to it. Inside, along with perhaps twenty first-class women and maids, Aegon recognizes Laenor Velaryon and his ever-present Parisian friends. They are puffing on cigars and toasting glasses of brandy, celebrating their good fortune. They must have successfully bribed their way aboard.
“Fuck,” Aegon sighs, his breath fog in the frigid air.
How am I going to stay out of the water long enough to survive until I’m rescued?
Then he replays the evening in his mind—his first night with Petra, perhaps his last night on earth, red silk and candles and oil paint and the warmth of her beneath his hands—and Aegon gets an idea. He sprints back to the Grand Staircase and soars down to B-Deck, seawater ankle-deep on the floor. He splashes through the corridors to the staterooms once occupied by Daemon Targaryen’s wife and child, now rid of him, now waiting for what will come next. Aegon hurries through the sitting room, passing the taxidermied tiger head above the fireplace and the large, heavy chest where Daemon made Petra lock up the art she bought in Paris.
She didn’t remember to put the real Picasso’s paintings in a lifeboat, but she saved mine, Aegon thinks. If I make it out of this alive somehow, I’m marrying her the second we dock in New York.
He goes to the bedroom, finds what he needs, carries it with him as he returns to the maze of hallways. Now the icy water is nipping at his knees.
~~~~~~~~~~
The ocean is calm, the lifeboat rocking placidly on inky surf. The women comfort their children and their dogs. You take Aegon’s aluminum lighter out of your handbag and light yourself a cigarette, then pass it around so the other passengers can thaw their lungs with hot plumes of nicotine, here in the early hours of the morning when it feels like you’ll never be warm again. The officer who took command of the vessel—the same one who shouted at you and refused to admit Aegon—is rowing vigorously as you and several other women help him, staring horror-struck at Titanic as she goes down by the bow.
“We have to get away from the ship,” the officer keeps saying, and he sounds genuinely petrified. A woman in a glittering gold gown steers with the tiller. “Or she’ll suck us into the water with her.”
There are shadows of other lifeboats nearby, also fleeing from the condemned Titanic, that miraculously colossal and opulent triumph that everyone had told you was unsinkable. You wonder which one Draco and Fern are in, undoubtedly cold and frightened but safe.
Aegon deserves to live too. I have to find him, I have to save him.
Now there is seawater flooding over Titanic’s deck at the bow, where you and Aegon saw third-class passengers—now dead, or very soon to be—kicking around pieces of the iceberg that they didn’t know had doomed them. The ocean surges higher, covering B-Deck, and A-Deck, and finally the Boat Deck, where the towering funnels collapse and you can hear shrieks and guns firing. You know you won’t be able to see Aegon from here—you won’t be able to tell if he made it into a lifeboat somehow, or if he is one of the figures that falls from a lethal height into the waves, or if he is crushed or shot or trapped below deck and drowned—but still, you cannot stop looking for him, peering through the night to where Titanic glows in her spotlight of white-gold electric luminescence.
As the bow sinks, the stern begins to rise, higher and higher until the tension cracks the ship in two, and the passengers you share the lifeboat with wail and sob as the ship’s lights blink out for the last time and the gravesite goes dark. Women call out the names of their husbands, fathers, brothers, adult sons, knowing they must be dying. You can only watch with tears streaming down your face, thinking: How could he survive that? How could I have left him?
The stern bobs for a while in the nightscape sea, a shade, a phantom, and then it plunges into the ocean. The water—indifferent, dispassionate, not a mortal but a titan, here long before humans and destined to outlast them, not unlike the treasures of the earth—gulps down metal beams and pine planks and split bones and shredded flesh. There are screams, so many, so pitiful, so loud they fill the sky, and the howling women in the lifeboat cover their ears and those of their children so they will not have to try to exorcise the sound from their memories later.
As soon as the stern has been consumed by the depths, you say to the officer: “We have to go back to look for survivors.”
“Are you mad, Lady Targaryen?” he snaps at you; but there are tears in his bloodshot eyes. “We’ll be mobbed if we sail into that. They’ll pour into the boat until we go under too. Do you want to freeze to death with them?”
“People will die quickly. They are dying already, the water is cold enough to kill in minutes. If we start rowing towards them now, most of the passengers will be dead by the time we get there. And then we can rescue anyone who’s left.” Please still be alive, Aegon.
“Not a chance in hell,” the officer says.
You turn to the other women. They blink back at you in dazed, timid terror. “It’s murder to leave your men behind,” you implore, you beg them to agree. “Help me row to them.”
But the women only weep softly to themselves and look to the officer to tell them what to do. He smirks at you victoriously, an expression of no humor but rather grim, fearful misery that could drive someone insane. In the lap of one woman, the Pomeranian whimpers.
I can’t leave Aegon, you think. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.
You open your green handbag and pull out the dagger, the blade pointed at the officer. He shouts and bolts away from you, incredulous, furious.
“You’re threatening to kill me?!”
You shake your head. “I’m offering you a gift.” You turn the dagger around so the officer can grasp the handle. His gaze catches, transfixed and wondrous, on the gemstone spheres like perfectly aligned planets. “This dagger is worth more than you would make in a decade of work. Go back for survivors, and it’s yours. Refuse, and when we are rescued and my son inherits my husband’s fortune, I will make it my life’s work to destroy you. I will follow you anywhere on earth. I will ruin you. So take the dagger as payment and break my curse, and let us save the people who are left.”
The lifeboat sways in the small, serene waves, and the stars revolve high above in a moonless sky, and you and the other women wait for the officer to reply. After a minute or more—we have to go back now, right now, we don’t have much time—he finally lifts the dagger from your open palm and tucks it into his belt.
“Fine,” he says, picking up his oar again. “Let’s go. I cannot abide your damnation. I’ll be haunted by enough ghosts already.”
He and several of the other women row into the throng while you find the flashlights stored in the bottom of the lifeboat, then perch at the bow searching for Aegon. Instead you see hundreds of bluish corpses floating in their lifebelts, dead men and women and children, some of them first-class or crewmembers of the ship but most of them third-class passengers: Italian, Polish, Greek, Syrian, Russian, Chinese, Irish, discarded people, good for dying in the operations of mines or factories or railroads and little else.
“Aegon!” you shout over the water, but he does not answer. There is only the mist of your own words and the sound of cold currents rippling as the lifeboat cuts through them.
Your group saves two people from the sea, both nearly frozen to death and unable to speak: one man floating on a table washed out of a dining room, one little girl clutching her dead mother. Then a long time passes with no living souls to salvage.
“Have we done enough now, Lady Targaryen?” the officer asks you gravely. “Have you seen a sufficient number of the dead to assuage your wrath?”
“Not yet,” you say, steely, your eyes fixed on the water as the flashlight illuminates lifeless faces, scraps of wreckage, nothing, nothing, nothing. And then the light settles on him.
When the stern of Titanic went under, so did Aegon: there are ice crystals in his hair, and his clothes are freezing to his skin, and his lips are blue, and he’s shivering violently. But unlike over 1,000 other passengers, he didn’t stay in the depths long enough to perish as the cold stopped their hearts and lungs. He had something with him, a life raft, a second chance, a treasure mined not from some far-flung crevice of the earth but from the bedroom where he uncovered you, where you found each other and never wanted to go back to the way life felt before.
Aegon is sprawled across the oval-shaped mirror that once stood beside your bed, the fractured glass reflecting the stars that glimmer in the night sky. His ravaged hands cling to the wooden frame. And when the beam of the flashlight skates across his face like moonshine, Aegon knows you’ve come back for him, and he reaches for you until your hands link with his and help pull him aboard.
~~~~~~~~~~
Carpathia arrives an hour later, just before four in the morning on April 15th, and as the sun rises over the North Atlantic Ocean you and Aegon find Draco and Fern on the bow deck, where stewards are distributing blankets and tea to the survivors. Women wander the ship pleading for help finding their lost loved ones, weeping endlessly for their brothers, their fathers, their husbands. Your tears have stopped entirely.
Carpathia’s passengers are generous. They offer in charity their food, their clothing, even their rooms. Children share their books and toys with Draco. Fern teaches him how to play marbles; you read him The Story of Saint Patrick. A doctor onboard disinfects and bandages Aegon’s hands, and assures him that he will be able to play viola again, not now, perhaps not even soon, but one day.
That first afternoon, as you and Aegon are taking a stroll on the Boat Deck, you spot a man painting a scene of the sunset: gold, tiger’s eye, ruby, red beryl. Aegon shows him some of the portraits from his scuffed leather portfolio…though, of course, one in particular is not suitable for mixed company. The man is so impressed that he insists Aegon must not be deprived of the ability to create such beauty for lack of supplies, and gifts him an easel and some paper, brushes, and oil paints.
It’s difficult with his sore, bandaged hands, but Aegon still wants to try, and when his brush begins to shake he asks you to help him. Aegon explains things to you as you steady his hands: chiaroscuro, scumbling, alla prima, glazing, impasto, a foreign language that will soon become familiar. Already, you are learning. And as Carpathia sails into New York Harbor on the evening of April 18th, Aegon takes a paintbrush and draws a circle around your ring finger in vivid, sapphire blue, a worthless gift of no gleaming gems or metal, a vow that means everything.
It’s been years, but Aegon remembers the way to his mother’s house. He leads you, Draco, and Fern to the doorstep of the Hightower mansion on Fifth Avenue. He knocks and a butler answers, a middle-aged man who gapes at Aegon in shellshocked disbelief.
“One…one moment, sir, if you’d be so kind to…to…to just wait here, please,” the butler stammers, then disappears inside. A few minutes later, a different man appears in the threshold. He must be Aemond, tall and white-blonde and precise in every movement, his left eye concealed by a black leather eyepatch. His remaining eye, a clear alert blue, darts to where Fern is holding Draco on her hip and then to you and Aegon, his bandaged hands resting so lightly on you they could never leave a mark.
Then Aemond’s face softens, and there is a kind sort of relief that seeps in, and you imagine your parents will look the same way when you return to Lough Cutra Castle. “You’re home,” he says quietly.
And Aegon smiles and replies: “We all are.”
183 notes ¡ View notes
inklore ¡ 5 months ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
if it's one thing your girl is great at it's making a million different google docs full of lists full of resources, ideas, etc that will help future me when it comes to posting fics.
fic titles are literally one of the biggest lists i have and not even in a perfect world where i write ten fics a day would i ever be able to use all of these, and i don't like to see things go to waste, and i know there's people out there that struggle with titles as much as i do. so i hope this list comes in handy for someone!
i don't think i need to say this but just in case: no one owns fic titles, anyone can use these, a dozen people or one or none. these are literally just words and letters. no one owns them. sharing is caring, enjoy lovies!
Tumblr media
★ — ONE WORD.
overboard 
runaway 
repercussions 
sledgehammer 
stargazing 
symmetry 
deathless 
honey 
retrograde 
stitches 
gravity 
helpline 
hollow 
suffer 
pushing 
warrant 
want 
wonder 
emotions 
nonchalant 
lavender 
daydream 
nosebleed 
jigsaw 
static 
float 
limbs 
hologram 
careless 
lush 
rotting 
phonograph 
hypnotic 
splinters 
magnetic 
wasted 
lithium 
dealer 
she
candles 
sabotage 
secrets
better
crescendo
deny
phenomenon
nights
guilty
move
criminal
blue
rise
thirsty
strangers
clockwork
closer
hectic
change
somebody
more
misery
like
sour
lowkey
peaches
she
nervous
sympathy
scars
disappear
melody
gemini
cruel
persona
supernatural
nectar
obsessed
casual
tryant
xo
dare
honestly
yummy
out
paradise
nuts
groin
heaven
lost
stardust
tangerine
monolith
lunch
pov
perfume
dealer
tough
arson
Tumblr media
★ — TWO WORDS.
hush hush
night away
heart stop
stone heart
waiting for
black rose
sad kids
spine breaker
look here
autumn leaves
for you
spring day
love maze
bad decisions
take two
wild flower
blue side
rainy days
face off
slow dancing
polar night
like crazy
club heaven
deeper water
romantic devil
hold me
angel eyes
picture you
after midnight
twilight zone
drain me
sorry sorry
pretty please
how sweet
bubble gum
empty box
love therapy
play me
red velvet 
cherry bullet 
midnight guest 
cherry wish 
code words
ghost walk
bad intentions 
atlas hands 
broken crown 
crystallized words 
filthy pride 
fresh eyes 
heavy feet 
hungry ghosts 
imaginary paintings 
neon jungle 
perfect storm 
slow hands 
stop signs 
sad farewells 
untranslated stars 
after hours 
bad liar 
bonfire heart 
bruised lips 
cherry bomb 
damaged goods 
dead end 
fire away 
gunpowder hourglass 
lonely together 
lost language 
old moons 
one dance 
paper knees 
sleepy eyes 
stolen dance 
vice city 
artificial heart 
cry baby 
daylight fading 
dream awake 
empty bottle 
exit wounds 
ghost orchards 
moving stones 
paper walls 
oceans away 
playing fiction 
something wild 
wild thoughts 
everybody’s fool 
eyes closed 
storms incarnate 
writing tragedies 
stereo driver 
soul searching 
party’s over 
backseat driving 
fearful heart 
backwards directions 
nosebleed seats 
high hopes 
lovers rock
wet dream 
selfish soul 
washed away 
rose rogue 
midnight sun 
teenage fantasy 
wandering romance 
sure thing 
wildest dreams 
rock candy
losing momentum 
ruin you 
heart holiday 
sink her 
cut splinters 
hot mess 
frozen devotion 
little star 
blind faith 
favorite crime 
romantic homicide 
those eyes 
play pretend 
plot line 
pretty poison 
intimidate you 
pretty face 
strawberry kisses 
lovers rock 
worlds apart 
desperate/separate ways 
those eyes 
the blonde 
loving machine 
spill blood
someone’s someone
Tumblr media
★ — THREE WORDS.
got my number
happy without me
not over you
crazy for you
back to you
flame of love
just one day
let me know
hold me tight
make it right
closer than this
love me again
still with you
out of love
never let go
love in space
ready to bleed 
bleed for love
between the bars 
can’t be still
cold morning mist 
in cold blood
matter of time 
piece by piece 
ship to wreck 
taut with love 
waste a moment 
can’t see straight 
down and out 
in a blackout 
just like fire 
notes on tenderness 
across the room
fire with fire 
going half-mad
loving to ruins 
rust to gold
send my love 
talking in code 
cradling a dream 
cut to black 
dear to me 
run me dry 
dancing with demons 
kiss and tell 
if you care 
the cry out 
steal this night 
just for now 
heart on fire 
hold my head 
nobody but you 
simple and plain
a familiar sound 
fool for you 
drown your memory 
falling into you 
just like heaven 
warm like beaches 
love that stings 
rotting in places 
moves on you 
save your tears 
a single tear 
light my cigarette 
long nights, daydreams 
boys like you 
love me forever 
hands on me 
like a phonograph 
taking over me 
dug so deep 
touch the ground 
heart shaped box 
where’s my love
tears of gold
lover of mine 
love me wrong
kiss or kill 
exes and why’s 
love is easy 
stupid in love 
easy to love
lost with you 
glimpse of us 
keep you safe 
death with dignity 
just like heaven 
heart of glass 
baby i’m yours 
pull my strings 
Tumblr media
★ — FOUR+ WORDS.
love me a little
happy without me
you can't hold my heart
wishing on a star
give it to me
around the world in a day
waste it on me
this mess is yours
feeling like i do 
on a war path 
blood on the surface 
corner of the sky 
do the divine love 
drinking the corinthian sun 
everything is laced in (add word) 
lost in the moment 
in the nick of time 
mouth like a pomegranate 
the bones you’re made of 
when the mania speaks 
all desire & no thought 
blue in the face 
collapsing and relapsing 
middle of the night 
sail to the sun 
lay down your arms 
falling into the sky 
take me where your heart is 
she’s like the bad weather 
kill for your love 
the cigarette and the smoker 
the match and the fuse 
saint, i’m a sinner 
when the sky comes falling 
pretty little hand in mine 
even when the sun don’t shine
staring at the sun / sunset 
tangled up with you all night 
paper airplanes flying 
maybe i’m a fool 
tastes like rock candy 
blood in a lemon
(a) heart ready to die 
fate is losing its patience 
at least we feel alive 
death for your secrets 
someone’s gonna ruin you 
dancing in a crowded room 
smell you on my clothes 
always taste like you 
leave me wanting more 
hunger for (insert here) 
swim before you drown 
put your hands on me 
drink my (these) tears and cry 
i’d sleep all day just to dream of you 
so high we never stood a chance 
i’d break down anytime for you 
maybe i’m wrong, or maybe it’s true 
i only breathe so that i breathe with you
a worn out cassette 
lips on my cold neck 
talking in my sleep 
make me feel like someone else 
locked inside your heart 
hooked on her flesh 
it’s bloody and raw 
the angel of small death 
just a couple sinners 
smiles cover your heart 
charmer and the snake 
stuck on your thumb 
if i killed someone for you 
dancing with your ghost 
i miss you, i’m sorry 
woman of the hour 
shut up and look pretty 
queen of the night 
devil in a dress 
the thought of you 
to be your lover 
falling over you 
just like a movie 
love on the line 
379 notes ¡ View notes
sadiestarrs ¡ 2 months ago
Text
Pray For A Sign
Tumblr media
Warnings: slight internal homophobia mentions, idk that’s it ig
A/N: this was released early bcs i love you guys 🤍🤍 this is proofread and also inspired by this fic!!! thank you so so much for liking cherry red, my other fic! idk when pt2 will be released tho😔
Plot: after being dared by ellie to deface school property, the two of you end up in detention together
Word count: less than 2k (i think)
You had never imagined yourself in detention, let alone for four hours.
It was unfortunate how you were the only one caught on that night, spray painting a rather foul image on the school banner. None of it was your fault though. You couldn’t back out. Especially because Ellie had dared you.
Everyone snuck out after curfew, meeting at the back of the canteen and hanging out. You had never participated in this congregation: there was too much homework and studying to be done. But you were dragged out by some new friends, whilst half-asleep, encouraging you to try something new.
At first, you sat there like a stiff wall, not really joining in until someone called out to play truth or dare. As soon as the circle is formed, you “accidentally” lay your eyes on the gorgeously toned person sitting directly in front of you, who also happened to be staring.
There’s too much happening to notice the two of you eye fucking each other, but the growing heat inside your chest and on your cheeks was very noticeable.
The bottle spun countless times before it landed on you. And when it does, she’s the first to give you a command. Spray-paint a dick on the school banner outside.
You didn’t want to do it, not at all, but she was staring at you—they all were. An intrigued, mischievous stare straight into your soul. Before long, a brand new can of neon green paint is placed into your hands, paired with meticulous sneaking through the quiet halls.
She sticks near you the entire time, not close enough to worry, but enough to make your breath quicken. Just do it and run away. It’s just a dare. No big deal. You try everything under the sun to keep yourself from freaking out but nothing works. Your parents raised you to be a rule-following, obedient person, if they saw you defacing school property, they’d ship you to the middle of the ocean.
“You don’t have to look so nervous, you know.”
It takes a while to register that she was talking to you. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep the ladder steady, just make sure to hold your dress down.”
You look down and realise that you were still wearing a nightgown, cut short by your mid-thighs with little frills and lace edges. Could this be more embarrassing? Ellie smirks before walking ahead, leaving you in heated self-consciousness.
All you wanted was to be back in your dorm. Would they notice if you left? Yes. Yes, they would. And you would never hear the end of it. If you were dared, you had to follow through or be left with social isolation.
A strong breeze hits your bare skin, making you hold your arms close and minimise movement. As you do this, you see her staring, standing in front of everyone and waiting for the coast to be clear.
She lets everyone go past and sticks behind, leaving just the two of you. “You cold?” Pulling off her light grey, Ellie hands it over, insisting that you take it. “No, it’s fine, keep it.”
Instead of accepting, she pushes the hoodie into your hands, walking away before you can say anything. It’s all too much. You had never even had a conversation with her before and now she’s giving you things? You didn't even want to put it on, but feel another gust of wind and quickly change your mind. It smells exactly how you imagined. Just like Ellie would.
She had a reputation for being “bad” and unreliable. You had never personally seen that side of her but you had heard about it many times. So seeing her now act friendly and even caring was more than strange. It was suspicious.
“Go on, Newbie.”
The group waits for you to ascend the ladder, menacingly laying their eyes on you. Just like she said, Ellie stands nearby, holding the rickety object in place.
Please God, if you’re going to answer my prayers, please answer this one. You receive no response. Instead, you have to make your way up, stopping every two rails to take a deep breath. Heights were never your strong point.
“Come on! We don’t have all day.”
Were they getting off seeing you suffer? This was all new. You never hung out or joined in on their group antics. This was a mistake. All of it was. You shouldn't have given into peer pressure. That's all they taught at your school, for God's sake.
When you reach the top, after a painfully long extent, you open the can and begin spraying, receiving splatters of the neon chemicals on your face.
Quiet cheers could be heard from below, and if you weren’t busy simultaneously trying not to fall and keep your dress down, you would have enjoyed it.
When you're done, a breath you didn’t know you were holding is released from deep in your chest. Now you might finally get their approval.
“Shit.”
They scramble from below, everyone separating and running in different directions. No one bothered to help you down or even warn you that a Sister was coming.
“Hurry up!”
The only person left. You didn’t realise she stayed. Ellie.
Briskly helping you get down, and holding your hand for milliseconds, the two of you try to escape before being stopped by another Sister.
That was how you ended up in detention.
✦
“Graffiti. Damaging public property. Public indecency. The odds are stacked against you two.”
You sit in a century-old wooden chair, dust-coated on every surface whilst listening to the Sister reprimand you. And Ellie.
Luckily, she was the only person left when everyone had run. You couldn’t tell the Sister that you were dared, anyway. If anyone found out that you snitched, then you really would have to leave the country. It was funny how she considered your night dress as indecency, though. You barely manage to stifle your laugh.
“It wasn’t her, I promise. I’m responsible because I told her to do it.” Despite her efforts, the Sister doesn’t listen to Ellie, raising her eyebrows and sitting at her desk, leaning back before falling asleep in a matter of seconds.
Ellie gets up, making you look at her from across the room. “Are you mad at me?”
It’s a dumb question. So dumb that you don’t bother responding.
“Hey, you can’t say that I didn’t try. It’s not my fault that I’m a great darer.”
“That’s not a thing,” you bitterly respond, turning away and stewing in your own little rage. Four hours. Four hours that could have been dedicated to studying or sleeping. Wasted by sitting in an old room with someone who you couldn’t stand looking at for longer than three seconds.
Ellie wanders around the class for a bit, lifting books and analysing small things. She even stands next to the Sister, messing around with her pens but receives no laugh from you. Before long, she makes her way to a window, cracking it open and stepping out before coming back in.
“You coming with?”
“You’re not serious are you?”
Not only was she breaking the rule about not leaving your seat in detention, she was leaving the room.
“No, Ellie, of course I’m not coming with you. I’ve already gotten in enough trouble and my parents are probably gonna pull me out of here by the end of the week.”
“Well let’s spend your last few days having fun. Please?”
She was convincing but you had to remind yourself that she was the one who put you here in the first place. You shake your head no and continue staring forward, not being tempted by her longing gaze.
You hear a sigh before the window opens and twigs snap underneath her feet.
✦
“I’m sure you’ve learnt your lesson now, child.”
You shake your head eagerly hoping that it will make her stop talking. “Don’t forget that the eyes of God are always watching.” Mhm. “Keep out of trouble or you’ll be sitting here once again.” Mhm.
Finally, you’re able to go back to your dorm after a back-breaking four hours in that cold, clogged classroom. You hope for the walk to be quiet and pleasant but are proved wrong after seeing the same auburnette sitting outside. Waiting for you.
You can’t come up with a reason why she would wait. Ellie had gotten away with sneaking out and still managed to be there for you.
“Can I walk you to your dorm?”
The answer that leaves your mouth is no when your heart truly wants to say yes. But you couldn’t, wouldn’t, do that to yourself. No. Ellie was bad news. A name you hear and shudder after. Not someone that the likes of you should be walking with.
But still, you let her, awkwardly avoiding any and every type of contact, audial and physical. She still tries, though, making small talk and little guesses about your personality.
“Let me guess, your parents sent you here so that you could become a better person? Yeah, that’s most of the stories around here.”
She continues this one-sided conversation, yapping to herself in an honestly cute and almost funny way.
“Why don’t you hang out with anyone? I’ve never really seen you around, and I know most people here.”
The real answer was not due to shyness or lack of confidence. It was because of something deeper inside you. Something that you couldn’t explain. Something that only came out when you were around Ellie. You had always known what it was but never tried to face it. It was pushed to the back of your mind, left to be forgotten about. The way it should be.
When the two of you finally make it to your dorm, Ellie pushes her way through despite not being invited in.
“Damn, you keep your room really clean. You should see mine, it’s a mess.” The mere thought of being in Ellie’s room makes your heart skip a beat.
She fiddles with a few things around, smelling each perfume and examining the few stuffed animals on your twin bed. “This is by far the nicest dorm in the school. I should visit more often.” A small wink is passed your way.
You don’t object to her snooping. In fact, you begin to welcome it, now answering her questions and entertaining the conversation.
“What happened to that hoodie I gave you?”
The hoodie. Was it shameful that you held it in bed with you every night since that day? Yes, definitely yes. But it smelled like her. And it was probably the closest you’ll ever get to her.
“Do you want it back?” You begin to look under your covers for it before grabbing it from underneath a bunched-up blanket.
“No, no it’s fine, keep it. I like how you have it in your bed.”
God, this was mortifying. You don’t respond, quickly chucking it back onto the bed. “I have plenty more hoodies if you want any.” She offers you a list of her belongings just about stopping at underwear.
You stop yourself from rolling your eyes and instead look at the clock. 8 PM. You had missed so much studying time because of detention and needed to catch up on thousands of subjects.
“I’m sorry, Ellie, but I have homework and studying and-”
“You want me to leave, don’t worry, I got it. I’ll get out of your hair.”
Instead of moving towards the door, she takes a step closer, closing the already small space between the two of you. Your breath hitches in your throat. What was she doing? She examined you like she did in detention. Only now in your room.
“Nice work on the banner.”
With that, she gives a small smile, one with something hidden behind it. Something that only your heart could see. The thing you had buried inside yourself.
“Bye, Newbie.”
104 notes ¡ View notes
dfortrafalgar ¡ 7 months ago
Text
Gift of Belonging
Luffy x GN Reader
Life didn't have a purpose without Luffy.
Warnings: Fic from my 100 followers poll!!! can be read as either platonic or romantic, mentions of self deprecating thoughts but nothing too severe, just some short, feel good, reassuring hugs from our favorite straw hat-wearing captain <3
Taglist: @bokutosbiceps | @luffy0s | @surgeonoffish
Tumblr media
You were at the end of your rope when you joined the straw hats, but who wasn’t?  You weren’t special in the grand scheme of the world’s most infamous pirate crew.  You couldn’t compare to the tumultuous lives of the rag-tag bunch that had quickly become your lifeline, you had nothing on being the child of an abusive royal family, or the last survivor of a decimated nation, or the unfortunate witness to the killing of a friend or parent, or a literal god.  You weren’t a cyborg or an animal or a reincarnated being hundreds of years old.  You were just… simple.
And yet, the Straw Hats made you feel accepted.
They made you feel wanted.
And no one had wanted you more than Monkey D. Luffy.
You still struggled to accept the boisterous boy’s words when he welcomed you aboard his grand ship.  You had put up an argument, insisting that you would only get in the way, that your strengths paled in comparison to the rest of the crew, that you had no business being a part of the inner circle of one of the Emperors.  But not a single eyelash was batted in the direction of your plight.  Simply endless stares of patience, waiting for you to finally bite the lure and climb up the gangway and officially join the Straw Hats.  And when you finally did, Luffy had said the words that had stuck with you since then.
“I don’t care who you are.  You’re special and you deserve a spot in my family.”
It was as if the world opened up around you for the first time.  Instead of seeing your surroundings in black and white, colors infiltrated your retinas in ways you had never experienced.  Suddenly, the sunshine that beat down on your skin felt like a pleasant hug from the world, rather than a punishing burn against your weary being.  Food you ate and drank every single day tasted extra good because it was always cooked with love and affection, the flirtatious cook not caring at all where you had come from.  Luffy and his crew made it known from the second they met you that you were deserving of love, respect, and friendship.
And you couldn’t lie… the first few days were overwhelming.
The Straw Hats were loving.  They were really loving, and their unique ways of showing they appreciated you were slowly building up in your veins like a disease until one night, when you were on watch, you cracked.
You broke down.
You sat on the stern of the Thousand Sunny, gazing out from the white-painted railings and over the vastness of the dark ocean and seamlessly blended in with the sky above you, the only light shining on you being from the twinkling stars millions of light years away.  Quiet, salty tears flowed down your cheeks, your shoulders clenched as you wrapped your arms around yourself, sniffling into the collar of your shirt.  You loved your crew, you really did.  You began to realize that you loved them more than you ever loved anyone else in your life, and that thought somehow scared you.  Like you were unprepared.  Like your heart had been so deprived of love for your whole life that the overabundance of it in such a short time caused your brain to short-circuit.  And you cried.  You weeped on the Sunny’s back deck, into the calmness of the night.
Until the sound of clopping flip-flops climbing the steps to where you sat alerted your attention, causing you to freeze up, holding your breath, wishing your tears could evaporate away.
“Hey, what are you doing up here alone?”  It was Luffy, his usually exuberant voice a rare form of calm as he approached you.  He wasted absolutely zero time in plopping himself onto the hard deck beside you, extending his legs and holding his arms out, hands behind his head.
You stayed hunched into yourself, trying to hide your shame in your hands.
“Hey… are you alright?” he asked, his voice somehow even softer.
A faint sniffle from you was all your captain needed to hear.  He sat up with a start and grabbed your shoulders with his calloused hands, yanking you around to face him.  Your eyes were wide with shock at his actions, but you stayed frozen.  It’s not like you could run anywhere, the man was made of rubber.
“Why are you crying?” he asked, his eyes narrowed and eyebrows furrowed, an intense stare that bored into your skin.  “Did someone say something to you?  Did someone hurt you?”
You shook your head, wiping your tears away on your arm.  You took a deep, shuddering inhale before finally forcing your shoulders to relax.  “No… no one said anything to me.”
“Then why are you crying?”
Luffy, despite not being overly emotional in normal circumstances, was scarily good at reading people.  It didn’t matter if you couldn’t outright say what was bothering you, he would eventually figure it out with that convoluted tunnel system of a brain.  His adorable lips curled into a pout as he analyzed your face, picking apart every twitch of your muscles.
You inhaled once more, turning your face away from him slightly.  “I’m just… not used to this.”
“Not used to what?”
His questions, and the feigned clueless tone of his voice almost made a smile crack onto your face.  Another talent of Monkey D. Luffy: he was like a wrecking ball for the walls you built up around yourself.
“I’m not used to… this.”  Your hands circled around you, gesturing to the ship, causing Luffy to finally drop his hands from your shoulders.  “Being a part of a crew.  You guys are… too nice to me.”
Luffy was ready with a response immediately.  “We could never be ‘too nice to you.’  That’s impossible.  We love you.”
Your lip quivered slightly.  “That’s what I’m not used to.”
“Being loved?”
There it was.  You feebly nodded.  “Yeah.  That.”
Your captain scooted across the deck closer to you, if that was even possible.  He was basically flush against you at this point.  He wrapped his arms around your shoulders, pulling you into a warm bear hug, his fluffy black hair tickling the skin of your cheek.  “We love you because you’re special to us, we don’t need a reason for that,” he described.  His voice faltered, as if he wanted to say something else, as if he was trying to add to his words.  Instead, he squeezed you into him, closing his eyes as he felt your muscles grow limp.  ‘We love you, but I love you more.’
“I just wish it was easier for me to accept that,” you whispered into his shoulder, struggling to hug him back.
Luffy’s embrace didn’t relent.  If anything, he tried to pull you in closer.  The force of his hug made you lose your balance on the floor, falling over on top of him, your chin hitting his shoulder.  But he still didn’t let up.  He held firm, squeezing you as if you would fade away into dust if he let go.
“Luffy–” you wheezed against his skin.
“What?”  He sounded completely oblivious.  “I’m going to keep hugging you until you don’t feel sad anymore.  No more crying,” he demanded.  “Captain’s orders.”  His last sentence held a hint of playfulness, the smile he surely wore on his face coming through the sound of his voice.
He must have been contagious, because your own grin slowly grew on your lips.  After what felt like hours, you finally reciprocated his hug, curling your arms under him and letting yourself finally relax in his embrace.  You knew Luffy had odd ways of showing he cared, but this was definitely unexpected.  Unexpected, but not necessarily unappreciated.  His presence emitted a warmth akin to summertime air, his existence like the calming breeze of the open ocean that wafted around you and circled you in comforting drafts.  Luffy never judged, never wavered, never ceased to let his crew, and now you, know how truly grateful he felt to be able to live his life with his favorite people.
You made a slight movement to stand up, but Luffy’s arms tightened their hold around your back.  “Not yet,” he grumbled.  “I don’t wanna stand up yet.”
“Is this how you comfort everyone on the crew?” you asked, your voice coming out muffled as you spoke into his neck.
“Hmm… not necessarily.  Everyone’s different.  Chopper really loves hugs, and Zoro lets me hug him, but sometimes Nami and Robin can take them or leave them.  Usopp likes hugs but doesn’t like to admit it.”  A smile crawled to your face as your captain rattled off the preferences of your fellow crewmates, the ways in which he perceived their unique and individual personalities bringing a comforting reassurance to your heart.  “I feel like you really like hugs, and you clearly needed one right now.”
You bit the inside of your lower lip, trying to bite back the tears that formed in the corners of your eyes.  The tension escaping your body dissipated in large waves, leaving you with nothing but warmth and comfort in the arms of the man who had surely saved your life.
And for the first time since officially joining the Straw Hats, you began to feel truly, unconditionally loved.  It was miraculous.  All it took was a single hug from the nicest, most selfless person you had ever met.
Someday, you’d be sure to return the favor for Luffy, even if he wouldn’t accept.
179 notes ¡ View notes
revasserium ¡ 1 year ago
Note
could we get a protective zoro pretty please! maybe reader gets kidnapped again and zoro comes to find her but we get the actual fighting and zoro being protective? i’ll take anything you write <3
here are monsters
zoro; 1,737 words; fluff, opla!zoro, shockingly introspective zoro, straw hat!reader, fem!reader, vague gore (but not rly even), just zoro slicin' ppl, established relationship
summary: prequel to this fic right here
a/n: *makes vague uncertain hand gestures at opla!zoro*
Tumblr media
he’s always known of the monster inside him — always. he’s always known of the hurricane that spins just beneath the cage of his ribs, the thunderstorm brewing beyond the horizon-line of his heartbeat.
when he sees you bloodied, bruises blooming at the edge of your mouth, something inside him snaps like a tideline, ripped apart by the rage of the ocean slamming against the back of his teeth. there’s a jagged bloodlust curdling in his throat as he narrows his eyes, pulls out his swords and swings.
the shing of metal through air shouldn’t sound like music, the dull thunk of bodies hitting the ground, no baseline beat — the bitten-off screams of men as their throats are cut should not sound like the familiar tune to a life-long melody but zoro can’t help the grin that spreads, savage, across his lips as he leans into the rhythm of the fight and lets his body sing.
it would not be remiss to call him monster, so he thinks as he digs the hilt of his swords into the side of an oncoming thug and hears the sharp crack of shattering ribs. he doesn’t wince at the warm splatter of blood as it paints his cheeks. a wide, manic smile pulls at his lips as he swings both swords around in a wide circle to slice through three oncoming bodies, before bringing them down in an arc to bisect another thug from torso to legs.
by the time he turns back around, most of the so-called pirates have already scattered, but one (the leader of the whole sorry lot) still stands, a blade pressed to the smooth expanse of your throat as he snarls, backing away from zoro, nose twitching like a frightened rabbit.
“d-don’t come any closer! or — or else i’ll slit her throat!”
zoro’s lip twitches, his eyes hardening as he stares at the shaking heap of leathers and furs, too much talk and not enough backbone. it’s people like this, zoro thinks, that give pirates a bad rep.
“i’d like to see you try,” zoro’s voice is iron-hard and steel-sharp, a dull throbbing cresting through his temples at the thought of any more harm coming to you even as he catches your eyes. they’re wide and dark and pleading.
don’t do anything stupid.
he almost scoffs. too late.
and then, almost by second nature, the thought comes to him — well, you started it.
the corner of his eye twitches as he sighs, making a show of relaxing his stance, of standing up straight to slip his swords back into their sheathes. he watches as the last thug visibly relaxes — licking his lips as his own grip on your neck loosens.
“t-there see? that wasn’t so hard, was it? n-now — now hand over all the gold you have and i might —”
thwack.
you feel the man’s grip on you slacken completely as you glance up to find the wadou ichimonji impaled through the thug’s head, right in between his eyes, the blade and hilt still vibrating from the force of the hit, nailing the man to the basement wall. you let out a sigh as you jerk yourself out from underneath the dead man’s arms, making a face as zoro reaches down to pull his sword out with a wet schluck.
“tch. just cleaned it yesterday.”
it makes a soft whoomph as he shakes off the worst of the blood dripping from it’s blade.
“sorry… i’ll — i’ll clean it after we get back —” you push yourself to your feet, dusting of your skirt, but a sharp pain in your side makes you stumble, and a second later, zoro’s arm hooks around your middle to keep you from falling.
the metallic tang of blood and the cold scent of steel arrests your senses. the world spins, the floor beneath you swaying like the deck of a ship even as darkness starts to eat at the edges of your vision. you hear zoro calling your name as if through a long, echoing tunnel and you frown, uncertain why he sounds so frantic all of a sudden.
“don’t… don’t forget… the apples…”
zoro stares, aghast as you go limp in his arms. there’s a wild thundering inside his chest as he looks around, his mind racing to catch up to what you’d just said — apples? what the —
he spots them, discarded in a corner by the entrance of the basement hideout — a rough burlap satchel sagging against the wall, filled with waxy red apples, round as the autumn moon and nearly just as big. he stares at them for a full minute before his eyes slowly slide back to you, still lying inert in his arms, though your breathing has evened out and your cheeks are flushed just the slightest shade of pink.
you’re in no immediate danger, he knows, but there’s an unpleasant darkness seeping into the material of your shirt along your ribs and the thing in his chest stutters, the strange pressure threatening to calcify into something very much like panic.
so he takes a deep breath, because master swordsmen don’t panic. those of a calm mind… or what the fuck ever.
he takes another breath and hoists you onto his shoulder, wrapping his arm around the backs of your thighs as he stands up and makes for the exit, reaching down to snag the bag of apples, grimacing as he hooks them onto his free shoulder. they’re heavier than he’d expected.
he’s halfway to the docks before you start to stir and he slows his pace ever so slightly, careful not to dig his shoulder into your still-open wound.
“have a good nap?”
you groan, and he almost grins as he feels you trying to wiggle out of his grasp. he doesn’t break his stride even as he adjusts you on his shoulder and keeps on walking.
“l-let me down — i can walk —”
“nope. don’t feel like it.”
“i’m sorry, okay?”
you sigh, the tension once again leaving your body and for a second zoro worries that you’d passed out again, but the next second, he feels your fists thumping lightly against his waist.
“hm. don’t remember asking you to apologize.”
but he does slow his step. he steps onto the bustling boardwalk, ignoring the strange, lingering looks of passersby as he hauls you bodily towards where the going merry is docked.
“doesn’t mean i shouldn’t.”
he pauses then, bending down slightly to let you slip from his shoulders, keeping his arm wrapped around you even as you slide down the length of his torso to land on your feet. your palms are pressed to his chest as you look up at him, and for a moment, as zoro searches the depths of your eyes, he isn’t sure if he wants to kiss you for being alright or scream at you for putting yourself in danger in the first place.
like this, he can feel all of you pressing against all of him, and the thing inside his chest still feels like something of a monster but at least it’s no longer tearing him apart from the inside out. it beats, uncoordinated, against his sternum, thumping up till he can feel it at the base of his throat.
he lets himself look at you, lets his eyes roam the planes of your face, lingering on the bruise kissing the corner of your mouth. he licks his lips and looks away.
“what the hell were you doing buying so many apples anyway?”
at this, you purse your lips, your lashes fluttering hummingbird quick as you look away.
“uhm… i — i can’t tell you.”
zoro rolls his eyes as he bends down, and in one swift motion, tosses you back over his shoulder. you yelp in surprise as he starts to make his way towards the ship again, seemingly deaf to your protests as you kick our your legs and thump your fists against his back.
“really, warn me, the next time you plan on getting kidnapped for ransom, would’ya?”
but he can’t help the slight smile that twitches at the edge of his lips even as he carries you onto the merry’s deck, kicking open the kitchen door to set you on the long wooden prep table.
because you’re still here, warm and breathing beside him, a bit banged up and bloodied, sure, but alive nonetheless. he’d gotten to you in time.
the creature inside his chest purrs in contentment even as he schools his expression back into a suitable scowl as you pout at him from the kitchen table, saying something about not planning on getting kidnapped, and he quips back something about all this being a bad idea from get.
he allows himself a secret, relieved sigh as he starts to rummage around for the first aid kit he knows is there somewhere, glancing over his shoulder at the sound of your summer sun laughter, watching as you wince and clutch at your wounded side.
how’s he to tell you that with you, the monster inside him starts to feel like much less monster and much more man? and that the day he met you, he stopped thinking of himself as a natural disaster -- only that he might be naturally a disaster sometimes, but something else in all the moments in between.
so he settles for dressing your wounds instead, pressing his palm to the soft expanse of your skin, holding still the shivers that threaten to shake him to his very bones when his fingertips graze against the ridges of your ribs, his other hand resting on the soft plush of your hip.
he settles for kissing you quiet when you start to ramble, because he can’t let himself think of the other things he might want to do to you if you’d let him. he settles, as the monster in him settles as well.
because with you, he knows he is both monster and man, and he knows — judging by the way you smile at him as he pulls back from your kiss — that you wouldn’t have him any other way.
Tumblr media
opla!zoro reqs open!
726 notes ¡ View notes
withonly-sweetheart ¡ 3 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
Back to the Sea
The mysterious stranger on the boat happens to be your roommate and you can't help but wonder who he is. Something about him captivates you, but what happens when an artist loses his brush?
a/n: so... this is all @chesue00's fault. dont get me wrong ilysm pookie but i cannot tell you how much this was going through my head the entire day like i wanted to get home so badly and write this i almost told my teach to fuck off... but thank u ur so talented it hurts like that inspired me sm and thats what art should do! ty! <333
tw: angst?? bc its not my fic unless its got angst (hopefully...) uhm mentions of like illnesses and the flu and stuff but idk help
wc: 5.2k - yes im not even kidding i wrote this all tdy and its not even grammar checked will do that later hehehehehe <333
As the sun dips below the horizon, casting a warm golden hue across the vast expanse of the ocean, you sit at the edge of the ship, gaze fixed on the endless waves stretching out before her. The gentle sway of the ship beneath you, the salty sea air mingling with the haunting cries of the seagulls soaring overhead; it all served as a reminder of sorrow and loss that clings to you like a heavy shroud.
You take it between your fingers, as if you can feel the harsh, unforgiving ivory material form under your hand, and wrap it around yourself tighter, cherishing the small bursts of warmth you get from sitting up here.
Each wave that laps against the side of the ship fails to cover the whispers of the crowd steadily disappearing around you, pointing fingers shamelessly, wondering why a girl your age is sitting, all alone, staring wistfully out at the cerulean abyss.
Someone clears their throat behind you. The last thing you want is to be bothered, so you twist over your shoulder to dismiss them, but somewhere up your throat, the words clump together into a soft gasp.
You have seen him around the ship, when you were first boarding, but you didn’t get the best look at him. Now that you do, you know one thing as true as the sky is blue.
He’s breathtaking. His eyes, reflecting the azure of the ocean, flash with lightning quick irritation, as if your presence inconveniences him. The curve of his lips set in a straight line, tightening almost imperceptibly, jaw clenching ever so slightly.
If you weren’t looking so hard, you could’ve missed it all. 
But how could you miss anything he does, when each ripple of his feature is like a brushstroke? An artist’s slow, deliberate intentions, painting the man in front of you.
“You are taking up the seat,” he mumbles, so quietly you almost don’t catch it. “Apologies,” you respond, shifting to make room for him. The dip between his eyebrows deepens and you find yourself frowning back. “Is something wrong?”
His gaze clouds, turning a muffled shade of gray. “No.”
You hum in response before turning back to the ocean. The heavy silence writhes between them, its unseen grip tightening with each breath. Your mind churns, sensing dark depths his haunted eyes warn away.
So you stand and stroll away, not sparing a glance at the brooding figure. You don’t wish to descend into his sorrow. You have enough of your own, and the tension crackling between you is nearly tangible. 
You know well that behind every handsome man, there is a troubled mind.
And the windows to those thoughts are the eyes.
<><><><>
“If the brothe bee to sweete, put in the more wine, or els a litle vineger.” 
You recall this line from a cookbook your mother once owned as you stare down at the barely distinguishable liquid in a bowl in front of you. Chips of wood flake off and dissolve into the mess of what you think are minced vegetables pooling at the bottom. Though the bubbles of oil faintly remind you of home, nothing else is the same.
You can’t remember the last time you had traditional soup, from the homeland, where everyone's the same as you and food is plentiful, rich in the scent of tangy spices and fresh vegetables and ripe fruit, where the forest birds sing sweet melodies in your ear.
But you are no longer there. It will, as all things do, fade with time, resolving as just a landscape drawn in your head, reduced to nothing but scribbles.
With a sigh far too troubled for your age, you gingerly push the bowl away, careful not to slosh any of it over the edge. You know you are being picky; food is food, and starvation will slowly creep up on you when you least expect it.
But it is better to starve than throw yourself from the starboard, letting the choppy waves consume you. Hunger takes time, crescendoing pain and ache until you cannot bear it. Suffering will suffice, at this moment.
And across the dining hall, the small room housing yet a few late night eaters, you spot him saunter in. Long, black trench coat brushing his ankles, a hat you did not see that now casts shadows upon his chiseled face.
His overalls strain with effort and crumple into wrinkles as he sits a few tables away, raising a hand, wordlessly summoning a bowl of soup that carries from tentative hands. He waves the aged woman away, and perhaps he does not catch the longing look in her eyes.
She has not seen a man so divine in years. Her time at sea has clouded her judgment. This is yet another reason why you must traverse the ocean blue, to prevent the jobs piling up at what you thought was your home, near the port, where the docks carry back the ashes of your family.
You used to love the ocean, the beach, the shores. When the sea hurt you, your father would kiss the tears away, murmuring soft assurance in the shell of your small ear. Although she was nearly a decade older, your sister would never decline an offer of yours to hunt for the little creatures that popped up from the swirling sand, watching them disappear underneath your slow hands.
You miss them. Influenza never failed to take, take, take; the greedy fingers latched on to your family before you could arrive home that day to sick corpses so pale you could not recognize them.
The doctor had suggested a traditional burial,but you knew there was one more thing the sea needed. You lit the pyres, watched their souls mingle with the smoke that gasped for the clouds, and waited.
When all that was left of your loved ones was charred, ivory dust that seemed to sparkle back at you, unaware of its fate, you gathered it into a pot that your grandmother gifted you.
The ocean rejected your offering, at first. It veered away, pulling water from the shore lines, but you stood fast. And it came back, gathered what was already gone, and took it away from you.
The sea never fails to remind you of what you’ve lost.
But here, on the ship, a marvel of engineering, keeping you afloat, you are not truly with the sea. You will not make yourself mold to the pitiful, lonely girl everyone expects you to be. 
With that resolve, you cradle the soup back to your chest, staring it down with defiant eyes. The ocean will not have another victim, you will make sure of that.
It burns your throat all the way down, saltier than the sea. Bile raises to combat it but you force spoon after spoon into your stomach. All that remains from your battle is the wood, which you tried your best to separate from the soup, but you are sure that you definitely swallowed at least some of it.
As the thinnest definition of dinner warms your insides against the cold that threatens to seep in, your eyes find him across the galley. He sits alone, as always, nursing a tin cup and gazing into its contents as if answers lay within.
You recall your chance encounter in the night, the rare moments of grace amid tumult never far from his eyes. Though he often keeps away from the streams of people, you have the feeling it has less to do with aloofness than wounds not easily unveiled.
As if finally sensing your gaze, his eyes lift and meet yours across the dusty space. There seems to be no cracks in his steely expression, his stormcloud eyes, but there is a flicker of emotion - curiosity, or perhaps kinship's first stirrings. 
You offer the barest nod before returning focus to your meager meal. Yet all the while, currents stronger than the sea pull at your thoughts, drawing them ever back towards that quiet figure and mysteries that beg to be revealed. You tilt your head to the side, rubbing fingers down your neck, feeling your pulse race underneath your skin. Massaging the area, you force yourself to relax.
You force yourself to believe that those eyes haven’t jarred your thoughts.
<><><><>
“I must… have the wrong room.” Those same eyes stare back at you, hands trembling slightly around parchment yellowing at the edges, swirling with confusion. “I apologize.”
“It wouldn’t, by chance, be 930, would it?” you ask. 
“Er… yes,” he admits with a dip of his head, looking almost embarrassed by the situation. “I suppose I’ll go request another-”
“It’s quite alright,” you race to say before you can stop yourself. “I do not mind.”
A small corner of his mouth lifts, if only for a second, and when his expression goes back to being neutral, you find yourself wanting to coax more emotions from him. 
You help him get settled in, telling him he could take the bed on the right. When he’s finished fussing with the sheets, you sit on your respective mattresses, awkwardly staring down at your hands.
"I... thank you," he finally replies, his voice soft. "I did not expect to find understanding here."
“Your name, sir?”
“Leon. Your name, I already know.”
“How fascinating.”
“You are a… popular subject of gossip upon this vessel.”
“Why are you traveling to England?” you ask, finding yourself making small talk to switch the topic. “Are you simply traveling?”
“Yes.” 
“Where is your hometown?” His eyes glaze over with the familiar homesickness you can recognize.
"My home lies in a small village far from here," he replies, gazing into memories only he could see. "A quiet place, surrounded by green countryside and simple folks." His eyes find yours with rare openness. "And you? What brings one so young to cross the sea alone?"
“I’m paying my lovely aunt a visit,” you say vaguely, trying to make your voice light. But he must hear the undertones of it, because he cocks his head to the side, arching a golden eyebrow.
“Is that so?” he muses. “I hope you enjoy your trip.”
“I’ve noticed you carry that briefcase around quite a bit,” you say, quickly changing the subject. “Is it dear to you?”
He laughs, a warm, rich tone that sparks something in your heart. 
Maybe… just… maybe?
“Not so,” he explains. He leans over to grab the case resting on the nightstand and clicks it open. “This is the reason I am traveling, you see.”
You peer over the top of the rusty case to reveal… pencils?
“You are… an artist?” you ask, slightly confused. You hadn’t taken him for a participant of the fine arts, but at your query, his eyes seem to light with an inspiration not previously there.
“I have lost my flame,” he says slowly, cautiously, as if placing his words carefully. “I thought England would fix… the problem… but perhaps… you could help me?” At your face, he bites his lip. "A smooth sea never makes a skilled sailor, as they say."
“Who has ever said that, and who am I to decline a stranger in need?” You chuckle, and his grin seems to usurp his entire expression. 
“You need not do anything,” he rushes to say, hands flurrying to unpack the materials carefully stowed away in the briefcase. The determined, set look on his face is enough to convince you, and even if it hadn’t, realistically, would you be able to say no?
He stills suddenly, observing you, sweeping over you, drinking in everything, as if to absorb your being. When his gaze meets yours, he smiles and it truly reaches his previously emotionless eyes.
“You are… perfect,” he whispers. He holds his pencil up, bottom lip disappearing as he frowns, grumbling in frustration. “But this lighting is… not quite correct.”
Leon eyes the room, then stands suddenly. You watch him, watch him drag a chair from the small writing desk over to the foot of his bed, planting it firmly. He points a finger to the empty space, gesturing for you to sit there.
“What exactly are you planning?” You ask with a smile.
The one he returns matches your curiosity. “We shall see.”
And that is exactly how, a few minutes later, you sit with your legs crossed, hands folded over one another in your lap, with a soft smile decorating your face.
“You must stay still,” he chastises, gazing at you with a languid look in his eyes, voice dreamy, as if he sees something in you that you can’t.
“You have not yet answered my question.” You ignore the red blooming up your neck at his fluttering gaze. He lounges further into the bed, hiding more of himself away, spinning the pencil between his fingers.
He looks almost thoughtful as he scribbles away, muttering to himself, lost in a trance. You lean against the dresser, resting your body weight on it, feeling yourself relax.
His eyes move back to you, and he jolts, like something drastic has changed. His hands fly rapidly across the paper, gaze locked onto you. He smudges something with his finger, erases something here and there, and eventually, he huffs a sigh and leans back, looking somewhat satisfied with the paper.
Intrigued, you stand from your position, stretching your stiff joints. “May I see?”
Leon snorts a laugh. “Of course not.”
“It is my portrait, no?” You grin. “Show me.” Without another word, you lean over the foot of the bed, over the elaborate carvings of wood, and try to sneak a peek at the paper.
He lets out what you can only describe as a boyish squeal, and yanks the pad away from you, clutching it to his chest. “I said no!”
Leon tries his best to play-keep away from your hands, folding the paper carefully in half as he stuffs it into an inner pocket of his shirt. When you try to reach for it, instinctively, he flushes a red hue that matches the crimson of your bedsheets.
“Apologies,” you whisper.
“It’s alright,” he whispers back.
The air has gone back to tense, anguish, as if you are both hurtling towards something you cannot stop, racing towards a finish line in a race you do not wish to compete in. When he climbs into bed, wordlessly, you wonder what you did to deserve this torture, to have a masterpiece sleeping a few feet away. 
He purses his lips and blows out the flame in the lantern standing proud on your nightstand, murmuring a quick goodbye.
As your eyes adjust to the absence of light, you watch the blanket blow out around him, creeping over his body, hugging him tightly. His snores come quickly, gentle and quiet, not bothersome.
You sigh and close your eyes, wishing for the relief of sleep to come as fast as his.
<><><><>
Strangely enough, someone rouses you from your sleep, something you didn’t expect. Breakfast calls were a luxury reserved for those with money, but you weren’t going to complain. Missing the first meal of the day had serious consequences in your household.
This isn’t your household, though. These aren’t your rules.
And that definitely isn’t a handkeep’s fingers clutched around your arm.
“Leon?” you murmur, rubbing your eyes, savoring the fuzzy corners before every comes into focus with sudden clarity. He stands beside your bed, gaze darting here and there. 
“Oh… you are awake,” he says as he isn’t the reason it is so.
“You woke me,” you state blankly, blinking up at him.
“I suppose… well,” he mutters, then sighs, shaking his head. “Never mind that.”
“How often does this happen?” you ask quietly, sitting up. “Are you plagued by night horrors?”
“I am not a child!” he snaps, then immediately softens, regret pooling in his eyes. “It is just… I thought you had left…”
“Yet I am here, no?” you say, slightly bemused. The tips of Leon’s ears turn a salmon pink as he lets out a shuddering breath, nodding. 
“I see that,” he says with a small smile, sitting beside you, leaving enough space to respect your privacy. You return one with just as much carefully measured emotion, not wanting to scare him away, wanting him to open up.
As gray dawn spreads its thin wings slowly over calm waters, he recollects himself. He tells you fragments of his past, picking up pieces of his past until it fits into a puzzle perfectly. An orphan, talent stripped from him by the urge to survive.
You faintly think that he should also be a writer, because the way he tells his story is akin to the way an author paints a scene with just words. You can see his parents in the shadows, echoing in his laugh, in the slant of his nose, the pucker of his chin. 
He shrugs, twisting to face you. “I almost died, there, on the streets.”
“I’m glad you didn’t.”
His eyes meet yours, “So am I.”
Seeing him in such a vulnerable state, you can’t help but feel inclined to share what truly happened to you as well.
“I’m not… just visiting my aunt.”
A ghost of a smile graces his lips. “I was thinking as much. Tell me, what is the true purpose of your visit.”
“My family recently passed from influenza. Only sorrow trails me in the States. Perhaps returning to my hometown will provide… solace?” You offer a dry laugh, but Leon’s expression goes stony as he takes your hands into his.
“I… did not know,” he says, sounding as sincere as you’ve ever heard him. “I made such a joke without understanding the full context… I apologize.”
“It is really nothing,” you rush to assure him, but more so because the crestfallen look on his face is something you do not wish to bring upon. “I forgive you.”
“You are still tired,” he says with another sigh. “I will wake you for breakfast. Sleep.”
He’s right. Too sleepy to protest, you clutch the blankets around you and shut out not only the slowly growing beams of sunlight from the window, but also the relief that emanates from Leon’s very being, flooding over you, bringing you the peace that lets you drift off.
<><><><>
You wake to frigid air seeping through cracks in the ship's walls, clouds hiding the sun’s bright smile. Throwing off your thin blankets, you grasp the warmth, hoping it still lingers. But your hand meets only cold, empty fabric. 
Panic rises in my throat as you rush from the sleeping quarters. Out on the icy deck, figures hustle to and fro under a pale, stormy sky. Your eyes scan for one in particular, relief flooding through you as you spot his lean form near the rail, gaze lost to the sea. 
"Leon," you call softly so as not to wake the other sleeping passengers. When he turns, worry is etched into his brows. You brush it off with a shaky smile. "I had feared the night's dangers had claimed you at last." 
“At last?” His lips turn up in return, reassuring you with his movement. But you can see the shadow neither of you could outrun, not with Death stalking your decks in his grim dance. 
Drawing near, you trace his stare to the horizon, limitless and cold. You stand in front of him as he lingers behind, hesitating, arms outstretched. 
“I wish to fly, one day,” you say jokingly. “But I suppose for now, swimming will do.”
“I cannot swim,” he admits quietly. “I never will.”
“Of course you can,” you insist. “Anyone can-”
“Not everyone has lost their brother to the sea.”
 The answer burns, searing your back in the way he delivers it, venom in his voice. But eventually, he sighs, as if giving in, and you can feel him get closer.
“May I?” You admire that he asks before anything, and when you nod, he wraps his arms around your waist, pushing you gently against the railing that you clutch tightly. He rests his head on your shoulder, craning his neck to stand comfortably.
Then he speaks again. “My deepest apologies. As you can tell… I miss him.”
"Then we'll face such fears together," you say with such finality you believe it yourself. "None are meant to wander depths of sadness all alone. But your brother's memory lives on you - a gift more precious than any sea could claim. I know this. And what are you doing now?”
Slowly, you can feel his lips curl upwards against your neck, sparking at your words, growing into that smile you’ve come to cherish. 
“You wish to fly? This is as close as I can get you, beloved.”
With a grin of your own spreading across your face, you outstretch your arms, leaning into the wind, wanting to let it carry you both away. Your fingers trace the sharp line of his jaw, coming to rest on his beating pulse that lives on despite all the world has tried to steal away.
You don’t know what overtakes you, the immense feeling of admiration you feel for him, that might be what spurs you to lean in. And, much to your surprise and pleasure, as soft morning light limns sea and sky in a hopeful blend of blue, your lips meet in a kiss - brief, chaste, yet speaking everything you need to hear. 
“At least I’ll have you,” he says, melting back into your embrace, tightening his arms around your hips. “One thing the sea will never take.”
But you should’ve known.
The waters are never done taking.
<><><><>
You do not know when the screams started. All you know is that they came with the rough tides, crashing against the boat, with the crackle of thunder and smoke hissing in the air. Everyone rushes to cram into the sleeping quarters, but living near the port all your life, you know better. You know exactly what is happening.
The boat is sinking.
And strangely enough, your first thought is to find Leon. He had asked you to wait a quiet moment on the deck, and you had both dismissed the rolling clouds, steadily creeping towards you while he disappeared below the deck.
You had been hoping that he would show you his art. Now you hope that you can get him out in time. But before you can scrunch up your dress and scramble into the quarters, someone grabs your arm.
You do not see the face. You know it is not Leon, he is infinitely calmer and more gentle than the rough fingers of whoever your captor is. As you struggle to look up at the face, you are tossed into a boat that hangs on the side of the ship.
“Women and children first!” a gruff voice calls out, presumably the one that just manhandled you. You try to protest, saying you need to go back, but the small boat fills up quicker than you expect, and eventually you are being slowly lowered down onto the choppy waves.
You stand on tiptoe, trying to make out any sign of Leon on the ship, hoping he makes it out okay. The people rowing the boat harshly yank you down before pushing away from the boat. Every stroke they make takes you farther and farther away, until the dense fog shrouds the entire ship from your view.
And the unexpected happens. You hear a loud crack and the boat immediately splinters into two. The women and their children huddle to one side, the bigger side, while you and some other girls stay put, eyes fixed on where you last saw the ship.
With no one to steer, you veer back towards it and it comes into view, only this time, it is on fire. Flames lick the sides, hissing where it meets the salty sea, climbing up the ship. And you see the mess of blond hair that you so desperately recognize.
“Leon!” You shout, screaming for his attention. His eyes snap to your general direction, scanning the area with a wide, panicked expression before landing on you. Almost immediately his face softens before it returns to its stony, default look.
You are confused for a moment before he quickly surveys the area. A raft hangs from the side, unused, calling his name, and you realize with shame that your boat is starting to sink, dipping into the water.
You and the other girls lean to the other side, pleading for help. Summoning all fading strength, you yell his name once more as waves close over your head. Darkness swallows your cries, drowning them in the murky ocean depths, yet in your fleeting consciousness, your trust for him remains like the anchor you wish him to be.
Breathless, gasping, you break the surface amid a sea of shrieks and sinking debris. There through the smoke a ragged shape appears, slicing swift as any bird towards you. Strong hands grasp and haul you aboard the makeshift raft, lying there to cling and spend your remaining prayers in thanks to Leon as he attends each soul amid the roiling deep, ferrying them from the ocean’s inky grasp with steady hands and calmer gaze.
“Are you alright, dear?” he calls to you after the third and final girl is pulled to safety, gasping for breath. “I did not expect this situation whatsoever.”
“Neither did I,” you murmur, spitting the remnants of the salt in your throat back into the sea, like returning a gift. “I suppose we will be alright now.”
Leon’s face crumples. “I’m afraid not.”
You groan. “What is it now? Is it the sharks from the depths? I will fight them with my bare hands, just you watch!”
You watch his expression flash through amusement, then back to pain. “We… I…”
“What troubles you so?”
He gestures a hand to the sea around you, to the drenched figures, far too many for the raft to carry. You realize this with the drop of your heart.
“There are too many of us,” he says apologetically, like he’s only hurting you. “One of us must leave.” 
For a second, you consider pushing one of the girls off. Anything to keep him. But you realize that your selfish thoughts should not take control. You grab his hands, clutching them tightly, holding them to your chest.
“Then it shall be me.”
Leon offers a weak smile. “No.”
“No?” you sputter. “What- it was not a question!”
“It will not be the answer either, my love,” he says gently, prying his hands from yours. “I will be the last. Please make sure of that.”
And before you can plead for him to stay, his weight shifts and you can feel the raft rising again. He casts one more, sorrowful look at you before he glides into the water, descending effortlessly. You reach for him, and your fingers brush his knuckles before he disappears forever.
Before he is gone. 
Yet another loved one.
Lost to the sea.
<><><><>
You wait for an indeterminate amount of time, waiting for the news to arrive one day at your aunt’s doorstep, that he is still alive, awaiting your arrival in some uncharted region. But no such idea comes. And eventually, the denial washes away and you are left with the loss that nothing can fix.
You rock in the chair of your living room, the smell of your aunt’s soup no longer bringing saliva to your mouth, but tears to your eyes, because now everything reminds you of Leon.
The bell rings outside and you can’t bring yourself to rise and answer the door with puffy eyes and tear-streaked cheeks. Your aunt knows this, so without sparing you another look, allowing you your privacy, opens the door just a smidge.
She makes conversation with the person standing outside before turning back to you with a soft smile. She hands you an envelope, and you cannot lie when your heart races up to the sky, finding purchase in the fluffy clouds.
You cannot find the words to thank her, but she knows this as well, and walks away without another word. When she disappears behind the kitchen corner, you rush to open the letter.
The first words send your heart plummeting back to where it was, perhaps even crashing through the layer of obsidian and burrowing itself in a place where it will never return. But upon scanning the rest of the thoughtful, heartfelt message, there is a tug that forces you to check the rest of the envelope.
And when you unfurl a piece of paper, long since forgotten in your brain, you muffle a cry with the back of your hand, the parchment trembling in your five, shaky fingers.
It is the portrait Leon drew of you. It made its way back to you.
You know, after seeing this, there is one thing you must do. You lie the paper down on the round table beside you, careful to preserve it.
You wash up, put on a dress your aunt lent to you, a blue, rippling thing that seems to reflect the ocean waves back at you. You tie your hair up, wanting to look somewhat presentable. 
And you call out a goodbye to your aunt, who’s smile you can hear in her voice, evident as she waves from the kitchen, ecstatic to see you out and about. But there is only one place you must go. One thing you must do to find the closure you are aching for.
Back to where it all started.
<><><><>
Tears that are the crystals of salt found in the ocean's depths stream down your face, as unnatural as the mixture of saltwater and freshwater, where one stops, another begins.
In the ocean, you slip from your skin, thoughts descending down a mad spiral, the spirits watching as you mingle with the essence of saltwater stinging your sunburned skin. The night air does little to nothing to cool your thoughts.
Is he there? In the droplets that cradle the back of your hands, trickling from the pool cupped in your palms. You can see him standing, just a few feet away, knee deep in the water, as constant as the waves and as calm as the tides.
Leon’s hair waves in the moonlight, a silent greeting to you, cerulean bathing his face in a ghastly blue, making him seem more and more like the ghost he is.
You raise a hand, out of instinct, choking back a sob. 
A smile curves those salty, timeless lips.
“You left me too,” you whisper through tears, crystals disappearing under the crescents of water brushing against your shorts. “Why can life not just be… easy? Simple?”
Leon chuckles, face softening in sympathy. “Did you forget what I told you already?”
You lift your head, rubbing granules of sand against your nose to muffle your sniffling. “What?” His grin is somehow both brighter than the moon and darker than the water you can’t see through.
“A smooth sea never makes a skilled sailor.”
80 notes ¡ View notes
livelaughlovesubs ¡ 8 months ago
Note
Nini!!! I have an idea, if ur still busy making that fic then take ur time with this ask. Soooo this might be a lil bit inappropriate butttt how abt cockwarming dazai while he tries to work?? Again if ur still busy with that fic u mentioned on ur last post then don’t mind me! (=^ ◡ ^=)
Sorry if I bothered u!!! (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞
- 🎀
Dw, you aren’t bothering me, you’d never bother me with your lovely asks ☺️ (sorry that I took so long, I literally have to force myself to feed ya’ll) and it’s a little short, sorry for that
Dom!reader x sub!dazai
Warning: cockwarming, strap or dick - you can interpret it however you want, reader is gender neutral
Tumblr media
He sighed when he glanced over the mountains of paperwork on his desk, you could even say he whined. Slumping down and pouting, throwing the led in his hand onto the table. “What’s with all this work?” The boy complained, before he leaned back against his seat, cuddling up against you. “Do we really have to wait until I’m finished?”
Today was like any other day, with dazai refusing to do any of his assignments. Mori wanted you to do something about it, and as much as you’d like to protest, he was your boss after all. Which is why you decided to make it fun for you as well. That led to your current situation, with dazai sitting in your lap and diligently working, all while your dick was buried deep inside him.
Your hands fit perfectly on his slim waist, holding him and making sure that he stays still. The feeling of his smooth skin was nice to the touch, and you rested your head on his shoulder. Sometimes when you exhaled, the hot air would tickled his ears. If you weren’t easing him, then he doesn’t know what it was. How can you expect him to do all of this while you are touching him like you are about to bend him over? Not that he minds, he desperately wants you to do so. How long has he waited for any action to happen? Maybe hours now.
He felt full and filled, it was a very erotic experience. Every once in a while his insides would clench around you, and he’d squeeze his thighs together. This was worse than any torture methods he learned, much worse. The words on the paper in front of him started to blur, it was like he forgot how to read. Yet again he slumped back against you, biting his bottom lip at the small yet delicious friction that gave him. “Hmm..! God, y/n, can’t you just fuck me?”
Dazai really couldn’t wait any longer. He already worked for more than an hour, can’t you do him a small favour? Subconsciously, or maybe he knew what he was doing, he rocked his hips. The boy moved so slow, like a ship sailing on a calm ocean, he thought you wouldn’t notice. In contrary you did saw it, and grabbed his chin to make him face you, then you whispered your answer, “no.”
Without giving him any reasoning, only a cold and commanding refusal. For some reasons it made him even more wet, he felt his body shake and his dick twitch at your voice. His precum was dripping down his shaft and coating his soft thighs, you’d even dare say he looked like a girl with all those fluids he let out. “If you want to get fucked so bad, finish your work sooner.” You suggested, though he knew you weren’t giving him an inch. It was an order and you weren’t going to show him mercy. Fine, guess he will have to use his trump card.
Suddenly, he raised his shoulders, they were now reaching his ears. Then he slowly started to sob, small delicate tears rolled down his rosy cheeks. Afterwards he did a dramatic turn, staring back at you with the most pitiful and vulnerable expression he could muster. The way desire and need blended perfectly in his eyes was seductive, though the pose he did was the one of an innocent maiden. Some strands of his bangs stuck to his forehead, and his lips were slightly parted. In that moment, he looked straight out of a painting, like an angel that descended upon the moral realm.
“Please..” Dazai began his act, mumbling in a meek tone, as if he was embarrassed of himself. “Fuck me.. I want it so bad.” The way he stressed the last two words was the peak of acting, he could win an Oscar with that one. It took you every resolve and self control you had to not throw him onto the table and fuck him. If you were to wait any longer, it was going to be a torture for you too. More tears flowed down his pretty face, those water droplets were like diamond shining in the sun light, emphasising his helplessness even more.
That man knew what he was doing and did it with passion, if he wants something he will get it, that’s what his body language told you. Which is why you especially want to go against it. “No is no, osamu, if you don’t finish this until dawn I’ll just leave and go drinking with chuuya.” You warned him, but it was more like a threat. He gasped a little, now crying a little louder than before. “Oh.. how cruel of you..! Can chuuya give you the things I can offer?” There was no answer to that question, you didn’t want to because you knew he could use it against you. Instead you gave him a little trust, enough to make his back arch. “AhHHh~ m-mhm..” the male moaned out, he did not hold back at all.
“go back to work.” You chuckled as you said, resting your chin on his shoulder again. “Hm.. mean..” and now he was pouting again, oh well, let’s see how long he can still play this game until he breaks. You weren’t going to be the first one to crumble. All you had to do was lay back and watch the play unfold. “Do as you wish, dazai, you have time until dawn.”
Tumblr media
360 notes ¡ View notes
soft-mafia ¡ 9 months ago
Text
Saved [anime!Buggy x Reader]
warnings: fem reader, fem y/n, nsfw, smut, Buggy’s a bit of a perv, Buggy detaching his penis, fingering, fisting, blowjob, piss poor ending tbh
a/n: HELLLLOOO it’s been forever, I know. My HxH fic might take a while because I worked on the prequel right before working on the main one, and I’m currently struggling on that one😭 but if I execute it correctly I feel like the burnout will pay off once I finally finish it. I’m so excited for this little trilogy I’m cooking up guys, though I can’t decide if I want to publish the prequel first or the main fic. I’m already halfway finished with the prequel and I have a lot more energy when I write it😭maybe I need to change the premise of the main fic so I have more enthusiasm with it? But anyways, I’m gonna catch up with x reader writing lol.
Tumblr media
There was a huge gust of wind, he was yelling at his crew over something he doesn’t even remember, and before he knew it he was flying into the ocean, trapped beneath the waves. Buggy’s entire body was frozen still not from his own choice, his eyes were wide and he hadn’t even gotten a suck of breath before he was pulled beneath the water. He truly thought he was going to die at this moment.
Suddenly, he feels someone is pulling at his arm. Well, attempting to that is, he’s not exactly light and dainty. But still, they pull and fight to get him above the water and back onto the ship. Once his head can poke out of the water and he can gasp in a breath of fresh air he sees his savior; it’s his chef.
Y/n had hidden a lot of her strength when she first joined his crew however she used it whenever she saw fit. Buggy’s eyes were still wide, he didn’t know why but when he saw her with wet hair, her makeup smeared all over— it was the hottest thing he had ever seen. Buggy had already been caught taking peeks at her from time to time, especially when she’s in the middle of prepping meals for the crew. Buggy can’t help but admire her lean, yet muscular arms as she pulls him back up onto the deck with some help from the crew.
The captain was still winded though, spitting and coughing up water. He was shaking, clothes damp and heavy, still feeling weak due to being soaked with pure sea water.
“Give him some air!” Y/n ordered his crew, getting them to back away from him for a moment. The way she barked that command made it seem like she was the captain of this ship. Buggy thought he should feel threatened, but the dominance in her voice was… oddly arousing.
Those feelings of arousal were quickly washed away as he sat up, coughing up more salty sea water. He then groaned and wiggled off his soaking wet coat that felt like it weighed a ton.
“Some help you guys were!!” Buggy snapped at his crew, then grumbled and let out another cough before turning to Y/n, “Thank you.” He choked out.
Y/n smiled at him, she always had such a soft smile when she looked at him. It seemed like every time she addressed him she had bedroom eyes, a dreamy smile on her lips, painted with black lipstick.
“I couldn’t let you drown.” She said to him, she blinked softly, her dark eyelashes were enchanting.
Buggy let out a shaky laugh, then slowly pulled himself up, “I’m gonna—…” he started, nearly falling over but he quickly found his balance, “—dry myself off.”
“Let me help you!” Y/n chimed as she sprung up as well, helping Buggy to the lower decks, rushing to where they kept all of the towels, getting Buggy the ones that were already clean and sitting in the dryer.
Buggy was wrapped up in towels, he could still taste the nasty water in his mouth, and his nostrils burned lightly, “I should really stop standing so close to the edge…” he muttered hoarsely. Y/n chuckled as she dried him off, rubbing his shoulders through the towels in soft circles.
“Nothing wrong with being clumsy, Captain.” She said, which in turn Buggy gave her a look.
“I’m not clumsy! It’s the damn wind… damn seasons changing.” He grumbled, which made Y/n laugh again. His cheeks blushed a bright red, if this was anyone else on his crew saying this… he would’ve chucked them overboard instantly, however he had to admit he found himself having a bias towards Y/n, due to her being absolutely gorgeous… and being the best chef he’s ever had in ages. Buggy didn’t think he could survive without her homemade hotdogs.
Sometimes Buggy wondered, why was Y/n so eager to join his crew in the first place? She was strong, hot, she could’ve stayed on her own and worked her way up at the restaurant she was working at but she snuck into a barrel on his ship and challenged his previous chef. Y/n made him the best pot roast he ever had and it instantly won him over. She would make him tons of food, feeding him more than his other crew mates(not that he was complaining about it) but why? He shouldn’t be anything special to a woman like her, he was just a dirty old clown, but for some reason she seemed to like spoiling him with meals.
“Hey…” Buggy looked back at her, “You’re not planning to kill me are you?” He looks at her with a suspicious glint in his eyes, something that would threaten any of his subordinates, however Y/n remained calm.
“Of course not.” Y/n chuckled, “Why would you think that?” She asked, it was a question out of curiosity, not a hint of guilt or intimidation in her voice.
Buggy looked forward, “You’re just so…” he couldn’t think of what exactly he was worried about, “Confusing.” He grumbled. There was a long silence, she started to dry off his torso.
“You’re powerful in your own right, you can go anywhere you want… but yet you’re here, with me.” He continued, “And you’re so damn generous. You make the best food I’ve ever tasted.”
“Is that something to complain about?” Y/n asked, gently taking off his hat and drying off his long flowing hair(which truthfully he hadn’t washed in days).
“Well— no.” Buggy stammered, then looked up at her, tilting his head back, looking at her upside down, “But why me?” He liked to talk big, but he knew that there were far more threatening people on these seas that would seem to be of Y/n’s caliber, men out there more worthy of having someone like her on their crew.
Y/n paused for a moment, looking down at him with her glimmering eyes. She then turned away, looking like she was going to get more towels but she was just fidgeting around with them, “Why not?” She asked.
Buggy frowned, then suddenly stood up and grabbed her by the shoulders, making her face him, “CAN YOU STOP ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS WITH ANOTHER DAMN QUESTION?!” He shouted, shaking her lightly, “TELL ME WHY YOU’RE HERE!!!”
“It's because I like you!!” Y/n cried out, then suddenly pulled away and turned her back towards him, covering her face. Buggy paused for a moment, stepping back. She… what? He then noticed she was sniffling, did he make the poor girl cry? There was a soft pain in his chest when he heard those sniffles, he felt terrible.
He stepped back over to her, then turned her back around.
“This is so humiliating-” She began, but before she could get another word out, Buggy connected his lips with hers.
It was a soft kiss, but it was passionate nonetheless. However Buggy hadn’t kissed anyone since he was in his 20s, so he was a bit rusty and had to turn his head awkwardly so he wouldn’t hit her with his damned nose. When he pulled back his face was flushed a bright red. Oh I shouldn’t have done that… He knew pirates didn’t go by any rulebooks or whatnot, but he knew he had committed a dozen conduct violations.
Y/n looked up at him, her eyes were wide, she looked so vulnerable and small compared to his large stature, Buggy felt more heat rise to his face, his eyes just as wide as hers. His arms instinctively squeezed around her waist, it was gentle and subtle but it pulled Y/n closer to him. Buggy realized what he was doing and quickly pulled away from her and grabbed his hat, he was quick to rush out of the laundry room. He let out a few grumbles to excuse himself although nothing coherent came out.
Buggy had locked himself away in his quarters for the rest of the evening, he was embarrassed and ashamed. Of course he always wanted to do that, everybody on his crew wanted to get a piece of Y/n, being horny pirates who haven’t seen a woman in ages before she came along and all… he sat at the edge of his bed, hands over his face as he sighed. Well if she wasn’t creeped out before she definitely is now, he growled to himself, Should I apologize? I’m probably the last person she wants to see right now-
His thoughts were halted when he heard a light knock at his door. This was around the time when Y/n would bring him dinner, which made Buggy feel even more terrible. The poor girl was probably so scared she thought she still had to make him food. The captain sighed as he stood up and made his way over to the door, opening it.
“It’s ok Y/n, you don’t have to-” Buggy was interrupted by Y/n stepping into his quarters, she then sighed and turned to look at him once she had entered.
“Was the kiss real?” She asked him, making Buggy speechless for a moment, she then spoke up again, “Or was it just a nervous reflex?”
Buggy thought for a moment, he didn’t know why he went in initially. It just felt like the right thing to do in the moment, “I-…” he felt his cheeks redden again, “Yes.” He croaked, “I’m sorry.” He said, putting a hand to his forehead.
“Don’t be.” Y/n said quietly, stepping closer to him, looking down at the floor, she then looked up at him again and put a hand to his face, cupping his jaw, his stubble prickled at her hand.
“I-… haven’t shaved.” Buggy chuckled nervously. Which made Y/n laugh and lean into kissing him on the lips, “I don’t mind.” She whispered when she pulled away.
One thing led to another, and before Buggy knew it, Y/n was stripped down to her underwear, lying beneath him on his bed. He was shirtless, his hands roamed over her body, he then pulled back and quickly slipped his gloves off with his teeth, tossing them to the side so he could get a good feel of Y/n’s body more thoroughly.
“Damn baby.” Buggy growled under his breath, making Y/n whimper and shiver. His fingers toyed around the hem of her bra strap, then he quickly moved his hands behind her to unclip her bra and toss it to the side. He lowered his face down in her chest and breathed it in.
In all honesty, Buggy didn’t care if he seemed like a perv, he was so lost in the moment that he was acting purely on instinct, though Y/n didn’t seem to mind at all, one of her legs was wrapped around his hips, her hands on his back. Her skin was cold to the touch, which took him aback at first but the warmth from his own body quickly warmed her up.
Buggy maneuvered the position and laid Y/n on her side, his crotch pressed up right against her ass, he lifted one of her legs in the air and detached his free hand, using that to move her panties to the side and rub at her clit. Her whimpers and moans were like sweet music to his ears, she was trembling against him, gasping softly. “Captain…” Y/n whimpered breathily, looking up at him.
“That’s right baby.” Buggy chuckled, watching her jolt and tilt her head back when he pushed deeper into her, groaning softly at the way her pussy swallowed his fingers. He added another one, until he got his whole hand inside of her, he thrusted in and out, she was already soaking wet, dripping onto him. Her moans grew, she panted heavily.
Buggy took his hand off of her leg to unzip his pants, fishing his cock out and letting it pop off, floating it over to Y/n’s mouth. His tip brushed against her soft lips, he gripped her chin firmly, “Open up, babygirl.” He said behind a devious grin. Y/n opened her mouth, then gagged against him as he slid his cock slowly down her throat until she took him all the way down to the base. Buggy let out a guttural grunt as her mouth squeezed around him. He thrusted his cock back and forth in her mouth while he thrusted his hand in and out of her pussy, essentially fucking her from both ends.
“You’re so fucking good.” Buggy groaned, “Letting an old clown like me use you like this…” he chuckled dryly, “You might be more of a freak than me.” He laughed. As Buggy thrusted his cock and hand in and out of her, he watched her breasts bounce with the force of his thrusts, he licked his lips, it was so arousing and it urged him to thrust deeper and faster into her throat, his balls hitting her chin as he fucked her face. Y/n’s eyes were rolled back, she was gagging and whimpering against his cock, juice splashing from her wet pussy as Buggy used her.
“Good girl…” Buggy growled deeply, “You’re being so good for your captain…” he grinned.
Buggy felt that familiar twinge in his cock, he groaned deeply, getting so close to spilling in her throat— but he couldn’t miss the opportunity to plunge inside of her. He quickly pulled his cock out of her mouth with a soft ‘pop’ from her lips before he could climax, then slid his hand out of her pussy. They were both panting heavily, Buggy’s cock hanging mid air, still hard yet dripping with her saliva. Y/n finally got a good look at it, his cock was big, veiny and girthy, with a fluff of thick blue hair feathering at the base of it, she remembered the way it had tickled her nose when he was fucking her face seconds ago.
Buggy turned Y/n’s face so she could face him, he kissed her on the lips, gently patting her on the cheek, “You can take me well, huh?” He chuckled, then his cock flew between her legs, pushing itself into her gaping pussy, making her gasp and arch her back, then let out another loud moan.
“That’s it.” Buggy chuckled, then grunted once he crammed himself deep inside, “Yes…” he moaned deeply.
He didn’t waste any time, thrusting with just as much force as when he had his cock in her mouth. Y/n gripped at the pillows, Buggy held her by the waist as their grunts and moans filled the room, his crummy bed squeaked beneath them. Buggy fucked her roughly, slamming his cock in and out of her, keeping her legs wide open for him as she trembled and squirmed. Y/n moaned his name out, whimpering and arching her back all for him. Buggy kissed her on the neck, then sucked on that area of skin, he hadn’t felt this good in so long, he didn’t know how he got this lucky.
“Captain!” Y/n moaned out again, her hips staggering, letting him know she was close.
“Just let it out baby…” Buggy groaned against her neck, “Let it all out, show me how good this cock is.”
Y/n’s pussy clenched around his cock, she came around him, coating his cock in that sweet cream. She let out a loud breath, then whimpered when Buggy continued to thrust, panting rhythmically.
Buggy was seeing stars, groaning and grunting as he plowed into Y/n, getting closer and closer to spilling out inside of her. “Can I-…” he grunted out, gasping before he could even get a word out from being so winded, “Bust inside…?”
Y/n gave him a nod, “Please.” She whimpered to him.
It didn’t take long before Buggy let out a deep grunt, holding Y/n tightly as he came inside of her, filling her up with sperm. Their sweaty bodies were pressed against each other, Buggy was so close to falling limp, it felt like all of the energy he had was drained out of him in an instant. He rolled over on his back, cock sliding out of her as his hands reconnected to his wrists.
“Holy fuck…” Buggy winced.
Y/n giggled, panting just as heavily but having more energy despite all of this. She rolled over as well and snuggled up against his side, holding his face again, noticing how he was completely flushed, his face was so red it looked like his nose was glowing too, she could help but laugh at that.
“You’re so cute, captain.” She kissed him on the cheek. No doubt the entire crew heard their love-making but Buggy was too exhausted to deal with it right now, hell he didn’t think he could even pull himself out of bed.
He turned to look at Y/n, then giggled at her, “You have a very odd taste in men.”
219 notes ¡ View notes
oneawkwardwriter ¡ 9 months ago
Note
Hi i love ur writing. Sorry this is long but could you do a Caspian x pevensie!reader whose susan’s twin and like he chose her over susan and like they meet in prince caspian and fall in love and he “proposes” but then she can’t come back to narnia.
BUT THEN… she goes back with E Lucy and Eustace(whose kinda her enemy in a funny way) for some reason and she’s with Caspian and it’s just them on the Dawn Treader and Lucy tells caspian how sad she’s been the year they were back.
Can it just be really angsty and fluffy at the same time🤭🤭
Sorry this is long i just love ur writing💋💋
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Prove Her Wrong
pairing: Dawn Treader!King Caspian x Pevensie!fem!reader warnings: angst obviously, dw it's also fluffy, mentions of drowning (no one actually does, but it feels like it for a moment), amicable banter, pining, regretting decisions, use of y/n (I'm so sorry) summary: both you and caspian have been miserable a/n: aahh, I love this idea so much! Also, thank you for giving me an excuse to watch the movies again, really needed that. I did kind of twist the plot to make it fit better, but I hope you like it nonetheless. Sorry it took this long to write it, my schedule's been packed for the last couple of weeks, I hope the fic makes up for it. wc: 2.6k
Tumblr media
It had all happened too fast to comprehend. One second, you're standing in your cousin's room looking at a painting. The next, you're engulfed in a massive ocean trying to keep your head above the surface.
Too busy looking for the younger children, you hadn't even noticed the change in the atmosphere. Everything had gotten a little brighter, the air more fresh, the sky more clear. But you were preoccupied trying to make it out alive as the currents tried to pull you below the surface.
"Lucy!? Edmund!?" You yell out with what little breath you had left. "Eustace!? Anyone, where are you!?"
Somewhere to your right (or left, seeing as you had no sense of direction anymore), you heard a faint voice you recognised as your younger sister calling out for you.
"Lucy!" You manage to get out as you try to swim towards her. As you come closer, you were able to make out the two boys as well.
"What happened, where are we?" Eustace calls out, arms flailing around him as he tries to keep his head above water.
You share a fleeting look with your younger brother and sister, and something in your gut tells you you know exactly where you are.
"We're back, aren't we?" Edmund asks, confirming your suspiscion. But before you can answer his question, a ship dooms up, and it was approaching you rapidly.
"Swim!" You shouted, trying to put a safe distance between you and the ship while also trying to keep the others closeby.
You heard a few loud plunges into the water, and when you turned around for a moment, you saw some of the crewmembers swimming towards you. A moment later, you felt a pair of strong hands wrap around your waist.
"It's alright, I've got you." An all too familiar voice reassures you. You turned around, only to be met with a slightly older version of the man you had been forced to leave behind the last time you had left Narnia.
"Caspian..." You say breathlessly as you look into his eyes.
"Y/n..." He responds, equally out of breathe and clearly both surprised and confused to see you here.
Together with the other crewmates, he helps you onto the ship, even Eustace who is screaming fire and demanding to back to England. Someone hands you a warm blanket, which you gladly accept and drape around your shoulders. You glance at Caspian, and for a moment your gazes lock, before he is pulled away by Edmund.
"Did you call for us?" He asks, to which Caspian shakes his head.
"No, I didn't. Not this time, at least," Caspian answers, glancing over to you once more as he does.
You're interrupted by a shrieking Eustace, who is swatting away a large mouse sitting on his chest.
"Get this filthy animal off of me!" He screeches as he scrambles backwards.
"Pretty sure that mouse is far cleaner than you are, Eustace," You say as you roll your eyes and shake your head. "It's good to see you again, Reepicheep."
"It is a delight to see you as well, Your Majesties," He responds, bowing down for a moment.
Caspian walks up to the stairs that lead to the quarterdeck and addresses the crew. "Men, behold our castaways: Edmund the Just, Lucy the Valient and Y/n the Righteous; High King and Queens of Narnia."
All the men on the ship went down on their knees and bowed deeply in respect of you. No matter how many times you had been called Queen, it always sent shivers down your spine.
Caspian led the three of you towards the King's quarters, which doubled as his study, leaving Eustace in the care of the crew, who had fainted when he had seen Tavros the minotaur. You had been given some dry clothes that fit you like a glove, although your shirt was a little big and had a vaguely familiar scent to it.
In the middle of the room, a huge map of Narnia was sprawled out across the table. You scanned over it, your finger absently tracing the coastal lines as you lightly smiled to yourself. You wouldn't admit it out loud, but you had missed being here when you were back in England.
With Peter and Susan off to America, you been left to stay at your aunt and uncle's house with your younger siblings. At first, you had thought it wildly unfair to be stuck in England whilst your older brother and twin-sister got to live with your parents across the Atlantic ocean.
Eventually, you had calmed down and accepted your fate. Most of the time, you could be found lightly fidgeting with the one possession you had been able to take back with you from your last adventure in Narnia; a simple silver ring you kept on a piece of string around your neck. It reminded you of a time where you didn't feel like the second option, a feeling that haunted you often when being compared to your twin.
"It has been three years since we won Narnia back from my uncle," Caspian explains as he points towards the map, "There is peace in the entire country now."
"And have you found yourself a Queen in those three years?" Lucy asks, making you look up from the map. She truly didn't mean any harm with the question, but Edmund lightly nudges her side and gives her a stern look.
"No," Caspian says with a light chuckle to alleviate the tension, "not one to compare with your sister..."
"Hang on," Edmund interrupts, "But if there's no wars to fight, and no one's in trouble... then why are we here?"
"That's a good question. I've been asking myself the same thing," Caspian answers. "Before I tried to take the throne back from my uncle, he went after my father's closest advisors, the seven Lords of Telmar. They fled to the Lone Islands, but no one has heard from them since."
"So you think something's happened to them?"
"Well, if it has, it's my duty to find out," Caspian says rather solemnly. He looks over at you, trying to get a read on you, but your eyes are glued to the map in front of you.
"What's east of the Lone Islands?" Lucy asks, pointing towards the map where it just says The Great Eastern Ocean.
"Unchartered waters," Drinian, the captain, answers. "Things you could barely imagine. Tales of sea serpents and worse..."
"Sea serpents?" Edmund asks, his face lighting up at the sound of something dangerous to battle against.
"Alright, Captain, that's enough of your tall tales," Caspian interrupts. "You are free to go wherever you want on this ship, it is as much yours as it is mine."
It's a silent cue for Edmund and Lucy to go with the captain and explore the ship, while you stay in the quarters, leaning against the table, your eyes still locked on the parchment. After the door shuts, Caspian speaks up once again.
"Can you at least look at me?" He asks, his voice much softer and hesitant now. "Please?"
You lightly sigh as you look up at him, your eyes instantly finding his. "I'm sorry I left," You say truthfully, even though you sound rather defeated.
"Don't apologise, I- I shouldn't have asked you to stay." This time, it's Caspian who lets his head fall and gaze upon the map. "I knew you couldn't, yet I asked you anyway. I am sorry, for putting you in that position, that was selfish."
"It's alright," You somewhat reassure him, "Aslan knows I would have been just as selfish had roles been reversed. But we can't change the past, and we mustn't let it stand in the way of our future." You take a deep breath as you take a step closer to him. "You deserve a bright future filled with happiness, Caspian. Don't let me stand in the way of that by holding onto something that can't be."
It's the right thing to say, the logical thing to say. You're from a different world, there's no way of knowing if you'll be able to stay in this one after the adventure is over. It guts you to the core to walk out of the King's quarters, it tears your heart apart, but you try to shake it off as you go out onto the main deck.
Luckily for you, you're able to take your mind off of it when you notice your cousin Eustace talking to a regular seagull.
"What on Earth are you doing talking to a bird?" You say, a somewhat smug tone laced in your voice. You're called the Righteous, not the Humble, and for good reason.
"I just assumed that-" Eustace begins, his face turning a light shade of pink.
"That just because a mouse can talk, so must a bird?" Maybe it's a coping mechanism for the shattered heart in your chest, but you let out a light chuckle. "Oh cousin, you have a lot to learn about how things work here. Good to know you can't claim to be the smartest person in every realm." You shake your head and hear a few crewmen chuckle along.
The sky gets darker as the evening falls, and the crew celebrates the your arrival with festive spirits. Sea shanties are sung, dancing goes hand in hand with a lot of laughter and a couple of bottles of liquor are brought out.
Despite the gloomy thoughts that have been haunting you for the day (and the days before that), you laugh and leap along with the crewmen. Even Eustace loosens up a little, although keeping it modest. The only one who seems unaffected by the joyious celebrations is the king, who sits on the staircase and watches the others, or rather, watches you.
At some point, he is joined by Lucy, who due to her young age can't participate in the drinking and adult activities. She sits down next to him and keeps quiet for a little while, before speaking up.
"What's bothering you, Caspian?" She asks softly. "Is it the Lords?"
"For the first time in a long time, it actually isn't, my friend," He says truthfully, letting out a sigh. "It feels like even when she is this close, she is still worlds away."
He didn't have to say your name in order for Lucy to understand. It's the same way you didn't need to mention his whenever she would find you staring mindlessly at the wall or out the window back in England. You would always have that same tragic look in your eyes while you fidgeted with the ring around your neck, no matter how hard you would try to mask it whenever Lucy got your attention.
"You know, she feels the same way right now," Lucy responds, feeling incredibly sorry for both your misery.
"She's evidently better at coping with it than I am." The words came out more bitter than intended, but Lucy couldn't really blame him.
"Out here, maybe. But back in England," She refrained from saying 'back at home', never having been able to call it home when she had missed Narnia too much. "Back in England, she was a mess. A beautiful, poised and collected mess, but crumbling down on the inside."
Caspian didn't speak up, but simply looked sorry and felt even more remorseful than he already had.
"She kept the ring, you know," Lucy continues, "Oh, she would never say it out loud, but it was obvious she regretted leaving Narnia, leaving you most of all. I'm pretty sure she would give anything to stay this time around, if you'd ask her again."
"She told me to let go of a future with her, said she didn't want to stand in the way of my happiness," Caspian argues solemnly, "Sounded a lot like she wanted to move on from all of this."
"That's what she thinks is the right thing to do, because it makes more sense," Lucy counters. "Prove to her that it isn't."
With that, she stands up from the stairs and walks out into the crowd. Turning around one last time, she says:
"Oh, and maybe do something about the beard, it might remind her of the man she fell in love with."
Caspian lightly rolls his eyes at her comment, but decides to take her up on it nonetheless when he retired to the barracks below deck. For the sake of privacy, he had given his quarters to you and Lucy to stay in while you were on the ship.
Later that night, when everyone was passed out in their beds, Caspian went onto the deck to get some fresh air, where he soon notices you, leaning on the railing while you looked up at the stars.
"Still having trouble sleeping?" He asks as he stands next to you.
"Insomnia doesn't go away so easily, it seems," You softly chuckle, having to do a double take when you notice he has shaved. "I was almost getting used to that beard, but I'm glad you shaved it off any way."
"What is it with the hostility against my facial hair?" Caspian comments as he raises an eyebrow at you. "I thought it made me look ruggedly handsome."
"Who'd you have to look ruggedly handsome for before we showed up today?" You ask in a mocking way, making you lightly snicker when Caspian takes on a defensive tone. "Oh, stop it, I was merely teasing."
"Teasing, are you now?" He asks, a mischievous glint sparking up in his eyes as he leans in just a little. "That's not very Queen-like behaviour, now is it?"
You lightly sigh, letting your head fall for a moment before you speak up. "Perhaps I've gotten a bit rusty," You note, "I haven't been a Queen for a while now, you know?"
"Oh, don't worry, it's like riding a horse," Caspian assures you, "It's not something you can unlearn, even if you don't practice anymore."
"Well, maybe it's a good thing. Might make the next time I leave more easy..."
"You're still planning on leaving after this adventure?" Caspian asks, his voice growing a little more quiet. "You can stay, you do know that, right? You did the first time, surely you can-"
"Caspian, please," You interrupt him, pushing away from the railing and taking a few steps back, "It's too difficult, you know that. I can't just leave my family behind, and I can't ask them to stay."
"You don't have to do that. I am certain there's a way for you to move freely between realms," Caspian suggests, "And if there isn't, we'll find a way. Somehow, things like this have a way of working out."
He takes a step towards you, reaching out but refraining from touching you just yet. "Besides," He continues, "Time goes by much slower there than it does here right? We can figure this out and they won't even notice you're not there."
He searches for your eyes as he takes another step towards you, a silent longing in his eyes as he does. "You don't have to come with an answer right now. Whether it's tomorrow, next week or at the very last second, I don't care as long as you're certain that whatever you choose is something you actually want, not what you think is right."
You close your eyes for a moment and take a deep breath. "Okay," You say after a while. Your eyes are still closed, but a small creeps up on your lips.
"Okay?" Caspian echoes, his eyes sparking up, even though he's not sure he heard you correctly.
"Yeah," You say, opening your eyes to look into his. "Okay, I'll stay. But I might change my mind if you don't come here and kiss me, because-"
Luckily, he cuts you off mid-sentence by pulling you in and effectively using his lips to shut you up. You can feel him smile against your lips, and you can't help but reciprocate the gesture while your hands run up into his hair.
Tumblr media
Š This work belongs to @oneawkwardwriter, please do not copy this work to any other site or claim it as your own. Reblogs are allowed and appreciated!
Taglist: @unofficialxmarvelfreak
(to join the taglist, simply leave a comment or message me!)
263 notes ¡ View notes
foressfaction ¡ 8 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
Welcome to my silly blog
Tumblr media
Heya. I’m Toby/Tobias some people can call me Twat I guess. I am fond of the nickname TobyTot too it’s cute. I am an adult and make content here for fandoms. At the moment it’s Creepypasta. I am an artist, writer and cosplayer.
You’ll probably see me post my art, writing and cosplays here. I have other socials too I can list below.
- Tiktok: Foressfaction
- Instagram: foressfactionn/hxtchetsout/t0byb0y
I mainly draw and cosplay mainly from the Slenderverse/Creepypasta universe
I post things like my Toby rewrite, silly little one shot stories of ships or scenarios I am fond of.
I am working on a comic called Dystopia. It’s based on mostly slenderverse
I have an Oc I post here often. Here’s some more on him —> Cross-X info sheet
I am THE Toby enthusiast so expect lots of rambles and art of him. He’s the guy ever.
Tumblr media
I’m open for dms and asks if you feel welcome to!
I enjoy the grunge aesthetic and plants, I love many genres of music and art. I do digital art and traditional along with some painting though what I post here will be more digital. I write passionately about my interests and characters. Cats, raccoons and foxes are my current favorite animals. I enjoy orange and green toned things. I like forests and going out into nature when ever I can (and my body let me.) I take photography photos of said forests and trips I take. I enjoy piercings and have a few myself, along with sour flavored things. I absolutely love the smell of lavender and won’t leave the house unless I reak of it (real) I am protective of my friends and partner and will give the world for them. I am not in a relationship at the moment.
I love horror movies, Scream being my favorite franchise, followed closely by Jaws and many many shark films and documentaries. I am a film fanatic and will talk during movie theatres…. I aspire to become a film director and make my own stories and bring them to life via film. I love the ocean and sea creatures. SHARKS. I will ramble about sharks and other interests. I tend to speak a lot on certain topics easily even if it was started over something completely different. I can probably talk for hours on voice calls. I play Genshin sometimes and Roblox mainly at the moment. I own a cat and his name is Mr fuggles and another whose name is Nim Nims. I named them both hop off.
I am neurodivergent and need tone tags, I am diagnosed ADHD and Anxiety disorders so be weary of those things. I am not easily offended or set off unless my friends are hurt. I have (at the moment) undiagnosed Autism. I take that very lightly as again I am not medically recognized due to financial problems but I will state it anyways to let people know it’s a possibility.
My favorite current ships at the moment are (they are links)
-Tack/Ticcijack
- Ticciwork
Tumblr media
Table of contents for my writing and rants (they are links)
Toby Headcanons
Toby Family Headcanons
Friends one shot
Rewrite link on wattpad
Origin of Cross-x on Quotev
Fatal instinct mini fic
Nails mini fic
Unposted headcanons
Tumblr media
111 notes ¡ View notes
venus-haze ¡ 1 year ago
Text
Sinnerman (Father Paul Hill x Reader)
Tumblr media
Summary: You can’t even see your old life from Crockett Island, but nevertheless it weighs on your conscience like an anchor on the ocean floor. Father Paul Hill tries to pull the anchor up, only to sink your whole damn ship.
Note: Female reader, but no other descriptors are used. Reader is a lapsed Catholic for plot reasons. I also played with the show’s timeline a little bit for this fic. Anyway, 10 years of Catholic school later and this is the result. Inspired by the Nina Simone song. Do not interact if you’re under 18 or post thinspo/ED content.
Word count: 7k
Warnings: Brief mentions of blood and violence. Reader’s morals are all over the place. Obviously a lot of Catholic themes (especially guilt) and imagery. Sexually explicit content between a member of the clergy and a lay person. Do not interact if you’re under 18.
Tumblr media
Unlike pretty much everywhere else in the country, houses on Crockett Island garnered very little interest. There were no frustrating bidding wars or last minute phone calls made to real estate agents. The available houses barely registered on the listings you scrolled through, some having been on the market for years. When you called about a two bedroom you’d never even stepped foot in, offering to pay upfront in cash, the agent on the other end of the line almost hung up on you, assuming it was a scam. No scam. You just wanted to disappear.
To the world, you were gone, a vapor who abruptly quit her incredibly well-paying job with a generous severance package. Painting was a hobby that got increasingly pushed to the backburner as you focused more on your career until you couldn’t remember the last time you touched a paintbrush. Of course, that wasn’t why you quit your job, but it sounded a lot nicer than the reason that ate you alive. You hoped that if you disappeared, the guilt that made its home in your gut would go away too. On Crockett Island, however, you were far from invisible. 
Despite the unforgiving ocean wind that raged the day you arrived, you were met with nothing short of a welcome party. The mayor, his wife, the sheriff, and the elderly monsignor of the singular church on the island accompanied by a woman who constantly hovered. Nice enough people who greeted you with a mixture of delight and disbelief that you were moving onto the island instead of off. You shot yourself in the foot the second you mentioned you had been raised Catholic, as everyone but the sheriff extended offers to join them at mass that you awkwardly declined.
Sheriff Hassan gave you a sympathetic look when he left your new home, the last of the informal welcoming committee to do so. Get used to it, his eyes said. You almost asked him to stay for coffee if you could dig your pot out of whichever cardboard box you packed it in. You decided against it. On an island so small, coffee could turn into something else quickly enough.
It took a week or so to get into a comfortable routine. Wake up early, make coffee, take your time eating breakfast, then head out to some new part of the island with your art supplies in tow, only to be held up for fifteen to twenty minutes by someone inevitably stopping you to talk. Usually small talk, but you could tell a lot of people were just happy to have someone new to tell old stories to instead of regurgitating them to the same handful of people all the time.
Some days, when the fog made it almost impossible to see your outstretched hand in front of you, you’d find yourself drawn to St. Patrick’s, painting or sketching the church. The fog would inevitably roll away, and in the distance you’d see the monsignor, sometimes with Beverly and other times by himself. He’d always wave at you, though his face betrayed his confusion as to who you were. Poor guy. You thought the parishioners were crazy to send him over to Jerusalem.
The day after he left for his trip was another foggy one.  You made your usual trek out to the church to draw. It was a nice, informal ritual. Spiritual enough for your tastes without the risk of bursting into flames if you stepped foot in the place. With the monsignor gone, mass wasn’t being held, and the area was quieter than usual. Not completely, though.
“You know, you’re always loitering outside of the church, but I never see you in it,” Beverly said while you were sketching the weathered wood building. 
You kept your focus on the page you were working on, not sparing her a glance. “Not my thing.”
“At one point it was, though. You said it yourself on the day you moved in that you were raised in the faith.”
“Not my choice.”
Her lips pressed in a thin line, her voice strained, “Well, you’re always welcome at St. Patrick’s. I’m sure when the monsignor returns, he’d be overjoyed to see you in the pews. We all would.”
“Thanks for the offer.”
“Yes, well, have fun doodling.”
Your jaw clenched. Doodling. You shot her a glare over your shoulder when she walked away. 
Luckily, you weren’t the focus of the islanders’ attention for much longer, because the Flynns’ son had returned home from prison on the mainland. A quiet guy who kept to himself despite Annie excitedly introducing you to Riley. You were polite, but didn’t pry. It seemed like he wanted to keep to himself too. Then, the following day, the parish was in a tizzy over the unexpected arrival of a new pastor, a temporary replacement for the aging monsignor. You didn’t know the old guy very long, but he wasn’t quite with it. Doubtful the replacement would be temporary. Maybe he said that to soften the blow of not being able to give their monsignor a formal goodbye.
You had mixed feelings about the new guy. The evening following his first mass on the island, Father Paul had sneaked up on you while you were trying to paint an old fishing bungalow. He startled you so bad that you jumped, arm jerking and leaving a green streak on the paper in its wake. He was nice enough, apologizing profusely for scaring you. Still, you felt the pit in your stomach that’d become somewhat more manageable recently threaten to engulf your psyche again when he said that Beverly mentioned you were a lapsed Catholic, because of course she would, and expressed disappointment at not seeing you at mass.
“You’ll be at the potluck at least?” he asked. “Sounds like a lot of fun.”
You laughed. “Yeah, the Crock Pot thing. I’ll be there.”
“Fantastic, maybe we can talk more then. I’ve bothered you enough, nearly ruined your painting.”
“Happy accident. I can make a tree,” you said.
“That’s a nice way to look at it, but really, I’ll be going now.” He smiled. “It was nice meeting you.”
“You too.”
You caught his profile as he walked away, handsome in the golden hour. Setting your painting supplies aside, you grabbed your sketchbook and a pencil and began drawing. Maybe the guilt you felt was for finding a priest attractive and not the resurgence of your past sins. The word weighed heavy on your conscience. You could sleep better at night convincing yourself you’d made some mistakes. You could learn and grow from mistakes. Sins held magnitude beyond what you could manage on your own. 
The day of the potluck, you slept in, only rolling out of bed an hour before it was supposed to start. When you walked over to the gathering, you felt that pit in your stomach causing you trouble again. The islanders’ devotion left a sour taste in your mouth, and seeing the physical embodiment of it in the form of ashen crosses on their foreheads didn’t help. 
You made small talk and wandered around with your plate of food, taking a seat on one of the benches. One huge perk of living on the island was the fresh seafood and dozens of people who knew how to cook it all perfectly. Everything on your plate would’ve cost at least sixty dollars in a nice restaurant on the mainland. You got it all for your five dollar donation. 
While tearing apart a piece of bread on your plate, you could hear hushed voices arguing to your left. They were either speaking louder or getting closer to you, but either way, you recognized Beverly and Father Paul’s voices.
“Her? Father, she doesn’t attend mass. The church should not be—“
“I’ve made up my mind, Bev,” Father Paul whispered loudly before waving you over. “Y/N, I have something I’d like to run by you.”
You gave him a hesitant nod as you got up from your seat, leaving your plate to walk closer to where he and Beverly were standing.
“I’d like to commission you to paint a mural on the west-facing wall, where the sun sets. I already discussed the idea with Monsignor Pruitt, and he raved about your talents.”
“Are you sure? I don’t wanna end up being the next monkey Jesus lady.”
He gave you an amused smile. “I’ve seen your work. You’re more than capable of what I have in mind.”
“As long as it’s not that godless abstract nonsense,” Beverly interjected.
“Tell that to Alfred Manessier,” you said.
“I don’t know who that is.”
You scoffed. “He was one of the most celebrated modernist painters of the past century. He created some of his best works using St. John of the Cross’ Spiritual Canticles as inspiration.”
“See?” Father Paul interjected. “I can’t think of anyone better for the job. I made a mock-up, a crude sketch, really. I can show you when you have time to go over some of the details I have in mind.”
“Sounds good.”
“You haven’t given your price.”
“Why don’t we work that out afterward?” you said, not sure if you were even going to go through with this. “I am going to need supplies, though. Different paint and materials depending on the type of mural you had in mind.”
“Yes, of course, whatever you need, we’ll have Sturge bring it from the mainland.”
Not long after that, the festival ended on a heartbreaking note as Joe Collie’s dog died, was poisoned more like it, but there was no proof. You didn’t get much sleep that night. It didn’t matter. Early the next working, you were pulled from your half-slumber by a rapid knocking at the door.
Without thinking, you shuffled over, opening it to find Beverly standing on your front porch, less than impressed with your wrinkled pajamas and dazed expression at the sunlight in your face. 
“Yeah?”
“Father Paul has time this afternoon to speak with you about the mural.”
“Okay.”
“Will you be there?”
“I guess, what time is it anyway?”
“Seven-thirty, I wanted to come by before the school day began. If you’re not serious about this, don’t waste his time.”
“Alright, I’ll be there around two.” 
You didn’t wait for her to respond, shutting the door in her face and heading back to bed. If you woke up in time to make it to the church, you supposed you’d do it. When you lifted your head from the pillow later on and checked the time on your phone, it was a quarter after one. Damn. You were actually doing this.
The otherwise unassuming church seemed to loom over you as you approached. You sighed. It was just a building. Still, you hesitated outside of St. Patrick’s for a minute or so before building up the courage to walk inside. No hellfire or spontaneous combustion upon your arrival. Though, there should have been, with the way Father Paul was sitting on the steps leading up to the altar, legs splayed out in his jeans. Your mouth almost went dry. Suddenly his eyes were on yours. You panicked, dipping your hand in the font and making a sign of the cross with the holy water. That had to absolve you of thinking a priest looked hot for a split second.
He practically jumped up from where he was sitting, closing the distance between you with an excited smile and a folded up piece of paper that he handed to you. 
He spoke animatedly and used sweeping motions in reference to the wall and what he wanted it to look like. “Call it divine inspiration, but I had a vision of an angel. It’s burned into my mind. It needs to be up here for the parish to see.”
You looked at his sketch, tilting your head as you took in the monstrous creature that resembled Nosferatu rather than an angel. Still, it wasn’t like artists regularly were commissioned to paint elaborate church murals anymore. You supposed the prestige of being able to say you did such outweighed the odd nature of his vision.
“I was thinking just on the wood wall here. That shouldn’t be too difficult, should it?”
“No, but I think for the best result, I’ll have to strip the existing paint off the wall and then prime it to paint over. That may take up to a week, depending on how much of the wall you want the mural to take up.”
Father Paul chuckled humorlessly. “Bev’s going to have a heart attack when she hears that. Why don’t you write a list of what you need, and I’ll give it to Sturge.”
You would have been surprised at how quickly he agreed if he weren’t so enthusiastic about his vision coming to life. He kept talking, rambling was more like it, about the angel and his vision. There was an air of conspiracy to his voice, almost as if he was telling you something that was meant to be kept between the two of you. His rambling was interrupted by Beverly’s appearance. You took the opportunity to slip out, claiming you promised your mom you’d call her to catch up before dinner.
By the end of the week, you had all of the supplies you needed, and Father Paul gave you free reign of the church when mass wasn’t going on. You hadn’t expected him to be such a big help in the preparations, figuring you’d be scraping the stripped paint off the wall yourself. It made the process go by faster, even though Beverly looked constipated every time she saw the bare wood wall in contrast to the rest of the church. Father Paul had to remind her it was temporary.
The hours spent with him felt almost natural, like you were talking to an old friend. At least, he was nice enough to let you ramble about art and the mural techniques you read about on your phone the past few days. Though, you didn’t miss his offhand comment about how so many great artists were Catholic. You wanted to clarify that you weren’t Catholic, not anymore. Besides, there were great artists of all faiths. The Catholic Church just had the money to bankroll some of the more prominent ones. Deciding it best not to stir up any unnecessary tension before you even started on the project, you let the comments roll off your back, not bothering to acknowledge them. Things were going great, otherwise. At least, they were until it was time for you to actually start painting.
That pit in your stomach started acting up again as soon as Father Paul told you that he went ahead and primed the wall already, so you could start painting the mural. 
“I’ll leave you to it. I’m sure you’ll work better if I’m not breathing down your neck. Let me know if you need anything,” he said.
You smiled, giving him a silent nod as he left. Hesitation overtook you, soon followed by dread as you looked at the wall in front of you. There was no way to back out, at least not without drawing the ire of the growing number of devout islanders. You hadn’t witnessed Leeza Scarborough’s miracle, and as much as the skeptics tried to talk circles around it, you couldn’t think of any other explanation for what had happened. It scared you, how real the faith you were raised in felt here. 
As soon as your brush touched the primed wall, you nearly passed out. It was a holy place, meant to reflect the power and glory of god. You didn’t feel worthy to alter it in such a significant way, as if you were Michaelangelo or DaVinci and not some corporate flunkie who only got such a big severance package because—no, you couldn’t think about it in this church of all places, not one where god seemed suffocatingly present. The brush then fell from your hand with a clatter that seemed to echo through the church, through your ears.
Father Paul spoke your name softly, tentatively, like you were a wounded animal. “Why are you crying?”
You weren’t sure how long you were in your fugue state of despair for him to find you like that. “I don’t think I’m the right person to do this. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s you. It has to be you.”
Shaking your head frantically as he approached you, you threw your hands over your mouth to muffle your sobs. He outstretched his arms, not forcing you to accept his comfort, but you felt inexplicably pulled to him, to the absolution he offered if you’d just accept it.
“Do you know what St. Teresa of Avila said about prayer?” 
“What’s that?”
“She said that prayer is allowing yourself to be loved,” he said. “Pray with me.”
He took your hands in his, bowing his head and closing his eyes. You did the same, though you were unable to focus on his words, not when your mind was racing so much. Too loud, too overwhelming, you couldn’t take it.
In the middle of his prayer, you blurted out, “At my old job, my boss did a lot of illegal stuff, and I helped her cover it up because I knew if I did that I’d be set for life. Except it’s been eating me alive ever since. She offered me this huge severance package if I’d sign an NDA when I quit. I can’t–I feel like it’s gonna drown me one day.”
“What did you—surely it can’t be that bad.”
The cry you let out was akin to a howl. “Father Paul, I can’t—I’m a horrible person—“
“How long has it been since your last confession?”
“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It’s been—“ you paused. “I’ve never truly confessed in my life.”
He nodded, understanding and encouragement in his gaze rather than the judgment you expected.
“My boss was one of those cutthroat types. I admired her for it for the longest time, even when she got indicted. I used to work late nights, so I told her if she gave me a raise and a promotion, I’d testify that she was in the office with me on the days the prosecution had her doing some of the stuff she got charged with,” you said. “I thought it wouldn’t bother me. I’d been screwing people over to claw my way up the corporate ladder for years and learned how to shake it off, but this shit—it might as well be in my veins. Some people lost everything because of me, because I lied.”
You were hyperventilating, and all you could focus on was how tightly Father Paul was gripping your shoulders.
“The worst part is, I thought it’d make up for the emptiness. I spent so much time working that I pushed people away, and I wanted something to show for it. I’d give anything to feel that emptiness again,” you choked out. “I am sorry for these and all my sins.”
“It’s okay,” he whispered. 
“No, it’s not.”
“It is. I promise it is. The bible shows us time and time again that god can use our past sins to glorify him, to show the power of forgiveness in the blood of Christ. You feel guilt, regret, and sorrow. That’s good. Your penance,” he said, pointing to the blank wall. “God brought you here knowing you needed absolution, while this church is on the verge of a renaissance. I don’t think something like this happened by chance.”
“Okay,” you breathed. “I—I’ll do it.”
You fumbled your way through the Act of Contrition, Father Paul guiding you through the short prayer you’d embarrassingly forgotten most of the words to. In his name, my god, have mercy.
“God, the Father of mercies, through the death and the resurrection of his son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the church may god give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” he said, making a sign of the cross over you.
You nodded, making a sign of the cross. “Amen.”
You nearly jumped out of your skin when he brushed his thumbs along your cheeks, wiping away the tear tracks that’d begun to dry. He smiled kindly, warmly, and you felt warm too. Taking a deep breath, you brought the paintbrush to the wall, making the first stroke of what would become Angulus autem Crockett Insulus, the Angel of Crockett Island. 
Work on the mural went smoothly after the roadbump the first day, and you felt better than you had in months. The guilt that’d tethered itself to you for so long had vanished. You’d never received so many compliments on your art in your life. Suddenly dozens of people were admiring your work, regarding it with awe as if it were in a cathedral rather than a small fishing town’s wooden church. Erin even had you come to the school and teach an art class for the students. It helped that Father Paul took every opportunity to talk up your skills whenever someone would mention the mural. 
While the lighting in the church was undoubtedly better during the day, you’d work at night sometimes, just to get an idea of how it’d look when no one was around to see it. The shadows that fell over Father Paul’s angel made it appear almost sinister. You wondered if it was something you could fix in the morning, soften it a bit to not be as harsh and imposing.
You almost laughed when you saw Father Paul standing in the door of the sacristy, knocking on the door frame as if it weren’t his church the two of you were standing in. 
“I know it’s late, but do you want coffee? I’m about to brew a pot,” he said.
You smiled. “That’d be great. Thanks.”
“Door will be open, just let yourself in when you’re finished here.”
“Oh, in the rectory?”
“Yes, but if that makes you uncomfortable–”
“No, of course not. I’ll be there in a few.”
He made his leave, and you grabbed a paintbrush, noticing an odd, shadowy spot on the angel that wasn’t due to the lighting. You winced a bit. Your hand had started cramping recently. Of course carpal tunnel would catch up with you, working almost non-stop on an elaborate mural would do that. 
The last thing you wanted to do was take a break on the progress you’d made. Father Paul’s enthusiasm was infectious, and you didn’t want to lose the inspiration you were running on to bring his vision to life. 
Taking a step back, you frowned. The shadow over the angel almost looked worse. You set your brush down, figuring you’d have a better idea of what to do with a fresh set of eyes in the morning. 
You kept your supplies on a plastic tarp to avoid getting paint elsewhere, and so it could be easily moved out of the way for mass. From what you’d heard, there was a full house every Sunday, and daily mass actually had decent attendance. You could remember seeing only Beverly, Annie, and Leeza making their way into the old church for the early morning services during the week. 
The lights were off in the sacristy, and you took a few tentative steps toward it. You knew there was a door through there that led out back toward the rectory, but something in you hesitated at entering that part of the church. Instead, you walked out the main doors and around the building.
There was an eeriness to the lone house not too far off in the distance. You’d learned from your time on the island that lighthouses were meant to warn incoming ships that they were nearing cliffs or rough waters, not so much welcoming them in as advising them to stay at arms’ length, be aware and alert. The light that shone from the rectory gave you a similar impression. 
You walked up to the small house, finding the door open for you. A staticy oldies station played in the living room, Father Paul leaning against the kitchen counter as he waited for the coffee to finish brewing. 
“All of this stuff is so old. Radio barely picks up any reception,” he said bashfully.
“It has its charm. This whole island does. I feel like I’m really starting to be part of things.”
“You are!” he exclaimed. “Our resident artist. Everyone’s wondering when they’ll see you at mass.”
“Maybe next Sunday,” you said unconvincingly.
“I think you’ll be impressed at how different it is from what you remember growing up with. Things are changing—for the better,” he said. “How do you take your coffee?”
He grabbed a mug from the cabinet, older and chipped with a faded ‘Crock Pot 2003’ printed on it. He poured the coffee, preparing it to your liking and handing you the mug. You followed him over to the kitchen table, taking the chair next to him rather than on the other side of it.
The radio became the slightest bit clearer a few notes into Dusty Springfield’s version of Son of a Preacher Man. It was one of those songs you grew up hearing, but never truly understood the lyrics until you got older and really listened.
“You know, growing up, I didn’t know Protestant pastors could get married. I thought they were like priests where that wasn’t allowed,” you said. “Do you think it makes that much of a difference? Not being married, or even romantically involved?”
He paused, furrowing his eyebrows before giving you the non-convincing answer of, “It allows me to devote myself to God and focus on my congregation.”
“Yeah, but the Catholic Church is so pro-family, saying all that crap about not using contraception. Why not lead by example? Isn’t it natural to do that?” you asked, stopping yourself before you could go on talking about pregnancy with a priest. “I overstepped, sorry.”
“No, they’re good questions. I’ve thought about them myself.”
“Have you ever wanted to have your Sound of Music moment? Y’know, how Julie Andrews just says ‘Fuck it’ and gives in to her feelings for Christopher Plummer?”
He huffed out a laugh. “Maybe not Christopher Plummer specifically, but in more or less words, yes.”
“Do you ever feel lonely?” you asked softly.
He didn’t speak, only reaching over to squeeze your hand. The suddenness of the tender gesture sent a shock through your system, and you could feel your heart skip a beat. Whoever was the late night DJ at the oldies station must have had it out for you as Roy Orbison’s Only the Lonely started to play.
You squeezed his hand in return. “So do I.”
He stood up, murmuring something about refilling his cup. You kept your slight grip on his hand, standing up from your seat at the table. You shouldn’t have even been thinking about it, not when you’d finally rid yourself of a guilty conscience. The corners of his lips quirked up, and he tilted his head slightly, a silent inquiry as to what you were going to do next.
You kissed him. You kissed a priest, and it didn’t even feel wrong. Father Paul pulled you closer by your entwined hands, releasing it when your chest was pressed against his. He was a bit clumsy, but you’d have been surprised if he weren’t. You opened your mouth for him the slightest bit, feeling his tongue on your lips, inside your mouth, a hesitancy behind his actions still.
Pulling away from him, you caressed his cheek. You couldn’t absolve any guilt he may feel, but you could keep it at bay, only if for a night.
“I want this, Father,” you assured him. “I want you.”
His eyes searched your face for any indication that your words weren’t sincere, and finding none, he pressed his lips to yours with more confidence than before. Still, you took the lead on deepening the kiss as he became more comfortable with how you felt, his nose brushing against the soft skin of your face. His hands held onto your hips, fingers digging gently into your jeans. Your tongue gently swiped at his lips, and he opened his mouth, allowing you access. 
Your lips curled into a smile when you finally pulled away, but only to divert your attention to his throat. His breath hitched upon feeling your hand on the side of his neck, thumb pressing into the base of his throat. You bit into the crook of his neck, sucking and biting the same spot until he made a pained noise of protest. 
“Don’t worry, Father. I won’t leave a mark,” you whispered, proud of the way he reacted to you, to your touch, feeling his length pressing against you through his pants. 
You kissed his neck again, gentle this time, though you slid your hand from his neck, down his torso, to his crotch. Palming him through his pants, you lifted your gaze to see his eyes hooded, head tilted back a bit. He was still holding back, you could tell that much, so you squeezed a bit, feeling his cock twitch against the fabric, his hips involuntarily thrusting.
“Bedroom,” he choked out to your surprise.
Your hands were still on him, groping his crotch, his ass, the softness of his belly as he clumsily led you to the small, sparsely decorated bedroom. He kissed you again, barely managing to shut the door behind him. He moaned into your mouth as you began unbuckling his belt, unzipping his fly and relieving some of the pressure from his hard cock. 
His passivity didn’t last long after that. He pushed you onto his bed, lustful determination in his eyes as he undressed you, hesitating just a moment when he reached your panties. As soon as his fingers hooked beneath the waistband, it was like a switch flipped. You watched as he rid himself of his clothes, your fingers teasing your wet pussy when he pulled off his clerical collar and unbuttoned his shirt.
You laid back as he climbed on top of you, allowing him to take the lead. He fondled your breasts, his thumbs brushing your sensitive nipples, making you gasp.
“You’re so soft, honey,” he murmured.
You smiled. Honey. Too sweet for you, what you were doing. Taking one of his hands, you guided it down to your pussy, making him feel your wetness, velvety between your folds. “Softer,” you whispered.
“Fuck,” he groaned, sliding his index and middle fingers inside you.
He pumped them in and out, almost cautiously before you lifted your hips for more. His thumb brushed your clit, rubbing it as he curled his fingers drawing a ragged moan from you. A groan escaped his lips as he felt your pussy clench around his fingers, wet and wanting for something more.
“Father, I need you,” you moaned. “Inside me—I—“
You choked out a gasp as he slid his cock inside you, your pussy clenching around his length as he thrust into you. He pressed your hands into the bed, intertwining his fingers with yours, loving and intimate. You whimpered beneath his intense gaze.
“You’re so good,” he whispered, his voice a bit husky. “Feel good. Take me so well.”
A harsh thrust, and you cried out, throwing your head back on his pillow. He kissed your open mouth, greedy for you. He released your hands, and you immediately grabbed at his forearms, digging your nails into his skin as your body began to tense up before its release.
“I’m close. Father–fuck–I’m gonna—“
“Let go, honey,” he moaned. “I’m there too.”
He came inside you, his cock pumping his cum into your pussy, his thrusts sloppy as he hid his face in the crook of your neck. Your orgasm followed the brief, scandalous realization that you’d let a priest cum in you. Tangling your fingers in his dark hair, you tugged at it as you rode out your orgasm on his cock, not as hard, but still buried inside you. 
After a few moments, he pulled out, lying down next to you. His eyes didn’t show any regret or guilt, and he pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead.
He traced your features with his fingertips, softly, mindlessly, as if he were in a haze until he whispered. “How long have you wanted to do this?”
“Since golden hour.”
“Golden hour,” he repeated softly
“When you first came to see me, I was working on the painting of the fishing hut at sunset. Artists call it golden hour, when the natural light is perfect, like liquid gold.”
“I think I’ve always wanted to, it’s come and gone in waves, but it’s always been there. You—you’re something else.”
“You’ve done this before,” you said, an observation, not in judgment.
He closed his eyes, exhaling as if he were about to make a confession to you. “You asked me earlier if I ever wanted to have my Sound of Music moment. I did. I should have. That mural you’re painting, the angel. It’ll make things right.”
The church bell chimed its midnight tune, and you sighed, reminded of where you were, who you were with. “I should go.”
He gave you a sad smile. “I’m sorry. I wish things were different, that you could stay and—“
“Hey, it’s alright. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
You hastily threw on your clothes and gave him one more kiss before cracking open the front door. Glancing around briefly, you didn’t see anyone else around, and slipped away into the night. The overwhelming guilt you expected to feel never manifested. Instead, you felt almost giddy at the thrill of what you and Father Paul had just done. 
When you returned home, you let out a laugh in disbelief. You had no expectations of it becoming a regular thing, that it’d even happen again, you having sex with Father Paul. The subtle intimacy that had coiled around your relationship with him from the start had only magnified with this. Perhaps once was all you needed, but you secretly hoped it’d devolve into something far more torrid. 
Bright and early the next morning, you woke up feeling light, almost wanting to chalk up the past night to an unusually vivid wet dream, if it weren’t for the ache between your legs. You decided to detour from the church for the day, opting to work on something else temporarily while you were in a great mood. A smaller part of you worried things would be awkward with Father Paul. He didn’t seem guilty or regretful when you left, but he still had plenty of time to overthink.
You ran into Father Paul as he was leaving the Gunnings’ house, an odd expression on his face as he looked back at the place briefly.
“Would you mind coming by the church later tonight?” he asked. “I have something—it’ll be easier to explain there.”
“Yeah, of course,” you said. “See you later, Father.”
For the rest of the morning and into the afternoon, you sat at the docks, sketching portraits of the fishermen as they came and went. They were all so expressive, their weathered skin and deep lines in their faces betraying the decades of hard work they did. You’d heard from the islanders how difficult things had become for the fishermen between the oil spill and restrictions on what they could catch. Still, the ones who recognized you from St. Patrick’s smiled, stopped and talked to you despite being busy. Maybe you really would go to mass on Sunday.
Your stomach reminded you that you’d missed lunch, so you headed back to your house to get something to eat and look over your work from the day. Tonight. Father Paul wanted you to meet him at the church, but didn’t give a time, just at night, after dark. You wondered what he was going to tell you. Surely if it were about the two of you having sex, it could be said privately in the light of day.
Around nine o’clock, you left home again, heading for the church. It was dark. The rectory too. Was he even there? You walked up to the building, opening the front door to near pitch black. For some reason, you stood there, not bothering to call out for him.
The only light in the church came from the sacristy. Your eyes were drawn to your mural for a moment. Somehow, the angel looked like it was enrobed in shadows, far more sinister than when you’d started painting it. Your attention was soon returned to the sacristy. You could hear shuffling, low murmuring, and something almost like a strong gust of wind. Your brow furrowed. Maybe some of the local kids sneaking communion wine. 
You took a cautious step toward the illuminated room, and for the first time in years, you truly prayed to god that none of the old wooden floorboards would creak and give you away. Not that you deserved his favor, having repented of your sins and then turning around and sleeping with a priest. The light only grew brighter as you approached, your heart in your throat as you peered into the room where the priest and altar servers would prepare for mass. 
Father Paul stood in front of the communion wine. Your eyes were glued to the creature by his side. It looked like it could hardly fit in the room between its height and the width of its wingspan. Huge, imposing, sickeningly pale. It opened its mouth, razor-sharp teeth in full display.
You nearly gasped at the realization of what it was. The angel from the mural. Monstrous, otherworldly in a way that made you want to vomit. Surely even Beverly would regard something like that as demonic. In either shock or self-preservation, you weren’t screaming, though your brain was howling for you to leave. Get the fuck out of there while you still could.
Father Paul looked inexplicably calm around the thing, comfortable, even. You didn’t know how. There was no way you could ever look at something like that and consider it holy. You held your breath as you retreated, internally begging god for enough mercy to get out of the church alive. A floorboard creaked just as you got to the door. You ran.
The cool night air stung your eyes as you bolted down the unpaved roads, too afraid to look back and see if you were even being followed. Aside from a few porch lights, the island was pitch black. All you needed to do was make it home, and you’d be safe. No. You needed to get the fuck off of Crockett Island. Then you’d be safe.
You may have been a shitty person and an even shittier Catholic, but you knew things like this weren’t acts of god. He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing all along, a power-hungry false prophet intent on turning the whole island to fit his corrupted vision of holiness. 
With a final push of adrenaline pumping through your veins, you sprinted to your house in the distance. As soon as you got inside, you locked the door, pushing one of the kitchen chairs in front of it. Realistically, it wouldn’t do much to stop the angel if it were coming after you. At least you could say you’d done something.
Grabbing your suitcases from under your bed, you opened them on top of your comforter, considering what to pack. You wouldn’t be coming back to Crockett Island. Soon enough, there wouldn’t be anything to come back to. You could tell as much. That thing you saw, the monster in the mural, it couldn’t mean anything good for the islanders. They deserved some kind of warning, even if they didn’t believe you. 
You paused for a moment. Your mural was their warning. They could see the grotesque angel materializing for themselves, and they praised it, full of wonder and awe. A voice in the back of your mind said it wasn’t enough, it was a cop-out, another way to shirk responsibility for your actions, falling into old cycles all over again. You drowned out the voice with a bottle of wine you’d kept around for cooking, and shoved clothes and painting supplies in your suitcases in your half-drunk stupor.
Pale, golden light filled your bedroom as the sun rose. With a shaky breath, you looked around your house for the last time. In the weeks you’d been living on Crockett Island, it’d become a home. You should have known it was all too good to be true.
The suitcases in your hands made your fleeing the island appear less conspicuous, going on a short trip with the intention of returning rather than abandoning the community that had taken you in, leaving them at the mercy of the creature that was waiting to pounce.
You bought a round-trip ticket for the Breeze’s morning voyage back to the mainland. Round-trip. As if you’d be coming back.
“Father Paul know you’re headed back to the mainland?” Sturge asked, helping you with your bags.
He’s just a priest. It’s none of his business, you wanted to snap back. Instead, you gave him a small smile. “Yeah, my mom’s come down with pneumonia. I’m gonna help her around the house for a week or two.”
“Late in the season to get pneumonia.”
“Her immune system isn’t great.”
“Maybe bring her on over to the island. Miracles happening here every day.”
You knew your smile didn’t quite reach your eyes. “I think she’d really like that.”
As you watched the island shrink on the horizon, the guilt that settled back in your gut felt comfortably familiar. Maybe you weren’t meant for absolution.
353 notes ¡ View notes
asoulwithadream ¡ 1 year ago
Text
TEASER REVIEW BECAUSE I'M DEAD
Tumblr media Tumblr media
it's him. he's back. HE'S BACK. BESTIES HE'S BACK. i'm sick. his letter has caused my entire brain to shut down. "I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU. I LOVE BEING NEAR YOU. BREATHING THE SAME AIR" bestie how did you find ao3 in 1717? AND THEY GAVE US ALL THAT IN THE FUCKING TEASER TOO?????? dude he looks so fucking heartbroken– YEARNING RAAAAAAAH
Tumblr media Tumblr media
THIS FUCKING SCENE— he CUSTOMISED THE TOPPERS TO LOOK LIKE THEM I'M CRYING SOBBING ROLLING ON THE FLOOR. omg omg omg omg they love eachother so much PLEASE. and poor sweet ed jesus he has been CRYING AND HE LOOKS SO EMPTY IM SICK IM DYING IM DEAD. i'm sick, i need the icu help. does this mean he's good at painting.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
GOTH UNIFORMS. THEY'RE REAL. im so incredible sick frenchie has cat claws. HE HAS CAT CLAWS IM DYING. and JIM HAS A PAINTED BEARD and SHAVED SIDES. i'm actually going to burst into tears. my heart is going to stop at any moment. even FANG HAS A COOL NEW UNIFORM
Tumblr media
i don't think i'm alive anymore at this point. THE PARALLEL. THE PARALLEL. and 9 guns he literally turned into the kraken. HE TURNED INTO THE VERY THING HE HATED HELP ME PLEASE (also did anyone notice the scene where he rose out of the ocean was very similar to potc??????? help??????) stede please stop looking lovingly out in the distance my heart has gotten enough beatings
Tumblr media Tumblr media
competent stede in red. FABULOUS IM GOING TO CRYYY 2. izzy hands it's izzy isreal it's you PLEASE this is so reminisence of all the ao3 fics— izzy's finally realised what ed has become and needs to go find stede and bring ed back PLEASE HELP I'm GOING TO CRY IZZY AND STEDE BEING FRIENDS NO NO NO NO NO HELP HELP HELP HELP this is his road to self discovery and acceptance and love i'm feral
Tumblr media Tumblr media
that's the same place mofos THAT'S THE SAME PLACE. THEY'RE CLOSE. omg they're going to end up FIGHTING EACHOTHER AREN'T THEY AREN'T THEY OR IS IT THE FIRST TIME THEY SEA EACHOTHER . (also, COMPETENT STEDE?????) HELP ME THEY'RE SO FIGHTING. OMG what if they're running TOWARDS EACHOTHER OKFLAIKHFL please this is insane i will cry david jenkins you have forsaken us all.
Tumblr media
minnie what are you doing to stede. HE DOESn'T WANT IT. He'S UNCOMFORTABLE IN SUCH A STATE. LITERALLY THE NAME OF ONE OF THE EPISODES ANNE LEAVE HIM ALONE, (and do it to me) (please i'm desperate)
Tumblr media Tumblr media
these two barbies are having the times of their lives.
im convinced that "susan" (whoever ruibo quan is playing) is a mermaid. buttons is being taught the way of the sea by her since she is part fish. she is setting him up with the ocean so they can make sweet love, instead of yearning like captain blondie and emo over there
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
WHO'S FALLEN IN A RIVER IN LEGO CITY. IT MUST BE SOMEONE ON BLACKBEARD'S SHIP MATES IS IT ED????? ED HAS FALLEN OFF A SHIP IN LEGO CITY. HELP ME WHAT IS GOING ON HERE. I NEED TO KNOW I NEED TO KNOW I NEED TO KNOW OMG THE REVENGE ISN'T SINKING ISN'T SHE??? PLEASE DON'T DO THAT TO ME
Tumblr media Tumblr media
THIS IM SORRY BUT WEE JOHN IS LOOKING ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS, ROACH HAVING THE TIME OF HIS LIFE, AND IS THAT PETE THAT MUST BE PETE IT'S PETE ISN'T IT IT'S BLACK PETE. we don't have enough content with pete. YOU KNOW WHY? or else it would have to include LUCIUS. HAH. got you there david
well. that concludes my current rant. other parts of the trailer have been excluded bc they deserve their own posts OR others have phrased it better than me LMAO (yeah because what i wrote is peak shakespeare)
october 5th can't come fast enough help me
**UPDATE: FULL THEORY BASED ON THIS
267 notes ¡ View notes
midamappreciationweek ¡ 4 months ago
Text
Midam Appreciation Week 2024
We're so back, baby!
We will once again be celebrating our favourite archangel/just some guy pairing. Come join in the fun!
When? From September 29th through October 5th 2024
What? Let's celebrate by posting fics, art, gifsets, collages, cosplays - or whatever other fan-ish work you want! As long as it focuses on Midam, everything goes.
How?
Make it Midam (surprise!)
Tag your stuff with #Midamap2024
Choose one or several prompts - or don't, and do whatever you want forever. The prompts are suggestions, in case you need inspiration, but they're entirely optional.
If life kicks you in the ass and you don't make it on the respective day(s) or during the week, post late and tag this blog (@midamappreciationweek)
No hate! If someone creates something you don't like, avert your eyeballs (however many you have) or do whatever your (lack of) eyesight means you have to do to stop reading. Don't shame people, full stop. Especially not for their ships, their kinks, their writing/art skills etc. This is a celebration, not a competition, and not everything will be catered to your taste.
Canon-verse, AUs and crossovers are all allowed. Give us Midam meeting Venom and Eddie. Have those two live out a film noir story. Make them meet on an alien planet - or in a coffee shop. Make them dunk on the Winchesters in the bunker. It's up to you.
Prompts:
As pointed out, you don't have to use these, but they're here if you want some inspiration.
September 29th: King / Jewellery / Oath
September 30th: Sigil / Paint / Transmutation
October 1st: Sorcery / Rules / Equilibrium
October 2nd: Monster / Eclipse / Doorway
October 3rd: Sword / Freedom / Sanctuary
October 4th: Blood / Barrier / Sunlight
October 5th: Power / Carnage / Rainbow
What else?
If you have any questions, send an ask to this blog, tag it in a post, or send it a message in a bottle (though depending on where you live, it may take some time for the river or ocean to carry it here).
If you don't have a reply within 24 hours, bonk this blog with a cardboard tube. Probably, notifications aren't working correctly. Possibly, the mod is being slow.
And lastly: Happy Midam-ing!
37 notes ¡ View notes
spaceofentropy ¡ 8 months ago
Text
Thank you, @ihni , for the baton! Without further ado, here's my contribution to the Harringrove Relay Race!
It's a little fic (that I'll post on ao3 later, when I'm awake and cosplaying as a functioning human) and that is very cleverly (not really) titled...
A Pirate's Life For Me
Billy's always known he wasn't lucky in life and this, right here, is the culmination of it all.
Not even two months at sea, working his ass off for a meager pay in the hopes of earning enough to exstinguish the debts his father and Chrissy's father put on their shoulders before dying, and his ship gets captured by pirates.
Worse: captured by the Dread Pirate Roberts, who has a reputation as a great swordman and a ruthless bastard who doesn't leave survivors.
Billy did his best in the fight, but he's just a farm boy turned deck swabber, his swordmanship goes very little further than "the handle goes into your hand, the pointy part goes inside the enemy". So now he's kneeling, hands raised, on the deck of the Panthaira, along with the rest of the surviving crew and passengers.
Well, with all the survivors except Captain Loman, who's huddled against the main mast. The Dread Pirate Roberts is crouched in front of the captain and talking to him in a low voice while the captain clearly draws his last breaths, shirt painted a vivid red with the blood gushing from the puncture wounds in his chest. Loman was a petty tyrant, so Billy is not exactly bawling his eyes out at the prospect of the captain being gone soon. It's just the principle of the thing that counts. The Panthaira has been captured, and, to put it mildly, Billy is fucked.
There are too many pirates keeping them under threat of more stabbing, and also no damn place to go even if he were able to escape the ship. They're in the middle of the ocean, nothing but water in every direction for hundred if not thousands of miles.
So Billy stays where he is.
And looks either at the back of the Dread Pirate Roberts or at the slow rising and falling of Loman's chest.
He waits and hates how his arms are getting heavier and heavier by the second. Soon, he'll be dead and, back home, Chrissy will have to mourn her best friend too, not just her parents.
Captain Loman's chest at last goes still and Roberts extends a careful, gloved hand to close the man's unseeing eyes, before turning towards his prisoners in one swift, elegant movement.
Robert's dressed all in black and wearing a mask, just like the stories say. He has long brown hair tied in a low pony tail, and dark eyes that sweep the crew and passengers of the Panthaira like he can weigh the wort of each of them with just one look.
Billy lets his hands fall down, tired of this charade. If he's gonna die anyway, what good comes from obeying? Might as well die with some feeling left in his arms.
Someone shouts at Billy to raise his hands again and he just ignores him. Roberts is walking their way, his steps slow and his attention pointedly fixed on cleaning blood off the blade of his sword.
Somewhere behind Billy, a woman starts weeping. One of the crew members pleads for his life. Another offers all the money he's got to be spared.
Bunch of cowards.
Roberts stops in front of Billy, ignores everyone else.
"You're not pleading," he says in such a voice and cold tone that the people around them fall silent, too scared of what's happening.
"I don't plead."
"Aren't you scared, boy?"
"To death."
Roberts grins. It makes the moles on his cheek dance.
"Should I bestow on you the sweet mercy of death, then, or not?"
Billy licks his lips and grins back.
"You should let me live, sir."
"And why should I make an exception?"
That's the true problem. Both Billy and Roberts know it, judging by the predatory look in his eyes.
Why, indeed.
"True love?" Billy tries.
Roberts laughs.
"She must be an exceptional lay, to make you believe someone will let you live only so that you'll be able to bed her again!"
"Wouldn't know, I've never wanted to fuck my best friend. Is there truest, purest love than the one that's never been tainted by lust or carnal needs?"
The Dread Pirate Roberts laughs even more and then shakes his head.
"Unbelievable," he says in a stage whisper. "What's your name, boy?"
"Billy."
"Well, Billy, I find myself in sudden need of a personal attendant." Roberts pauses for a beat, cocks his head to the side. Predatory is now an understatement for the look in those dark eyes. "Do a good job and one day you'll be able to return home to your best friend. Do a bad job, and your friend will never see you again. Are you interested in the position?"
Billy grits his teeth and never lets his gaze waver from Roberts.
The decision is so simple he doesn't even need to think about it. He nods and Roberts smiles.
Billy doesn't know what's in his future, but he'll do all he can to survive whatever Roberts throws his way and then return home. His best friend is waiting for him.
Tumblr media
And with this, my installment of the race is done and it's time to head over to @liverditty in an hour for his contribution! I can't wait to see what he created for this beautiful event! In the mean time, thank you for reading, fair tumblr users, and thanks for organizing this, @harringrove-relay-race ! ❤️
61 notes ¡ View notes