#force her to make sensible decision PLEASE

[vinyls-and-valentines]

I hate how hard it is to come up with character names because how am I supposed to make character playlists that make me even more insane about my own OCs WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO PUT THEIR GOTDAMN NAMES IN THE PLAYLIST TITLE??!

[eraenaa]

Twin Flame

Aemond Targaryen x Twin Reader

Synopsis: Anywhere that you are, that I’d be. Following Aemond to the Riverlands against your better judgment and sensibilities because you knew all too well you could never be apart from your twin.

Warnings: ¿Angst?, Targcest, Mature, 18+, P in V Sex, Not Proof Read

Word Count: 2,333

A/N: (1) Based on a request where they wanted "Aemond has a twin sister, they both love each other, more than sibilings should, but ofc they could never do something about it.When Aemond takes Harrenhall he sees the opportunity, and gets his sister to go with him. At the end making Harrenhall their piece of paradise, where they can love each other freely without the expectations of their family or the court." (2) Find the song references ;)

“Come with me, sister, come with me to Harrenhall.” You feel your stomach pit at the vulnerability in your twin’s voice. A vulnerability that you had not seen nor heard for so long— a vulnerability that he had hidden away, but it would always shine through for you. “Aemond,” You sighed, resisting the urge to turn to him. Your knees already felt weak, and to look upon your twin’s face would surely make you rethink everything that needs to be done. Just a look upon Aemond’s pleading face would make you forget about all the sensibilities that your brother seemed to ignore. “Please… I need you, ñuha perzys.” (My fire)

“And they need me, Aemond. You know this.” You choked. “With you gone and Aegon burnt and Ser Criston away… who will be with Helaena and Mother? Sister has already refused her dragon even for her own sake— someone must protect them, Aemond. If not you, then me.” You looked upon your twin’s eye and saw unshed tears. “But you are meant to be with me— to be by my side! From the womb to our tomb, we are meant to be with each other! Do you dare to separate us? You? My own twin would be the one to tear us apart?” You shook your head. “Aemond… the circumstances have changed! You know what we must do! I—I cannot leave our mother and sister defenseless! I must stay here, and you must go to Harrenhall… without me.” Aemond took hold of your arm, his grasp harsh. Unwilling to let you go. “I will die in Harrenhall without you,” 

“Oh, Aemond,” You sighed, stepping forward and cupping his cheek, feeling as a tear fell. “If you die, I will shortly follow after. You know I cannot live without my twin flame.” You whispered. “We must do our duties, brother… were you not the one who taught and had embedded that in my head? We must play our roles here and deny ourselves comfort and… and our desires.” Aemond scoffed. “Deny ourselves?” He spat. “We have been denying ourselves the moment we were born! You and I, and they know we belong together, but what have they done? They had plotted to separate us the moment we came to this world! Forcing us to betrothals that align with our duties and pay no mind to what we want!” You swallowed thickly, caressing his cheek to calm the fire in his veins. 

“Can you not see, sister? If we are in Harrenhall, we will be free. We shall command the Riverlands together— just you and I and our dragons. We will reign fire upon the usurpers and their bannermen; we shall take what is rightfully ours, and no one could hinder us anymore.” 

“Oh, my love… your mind is muddled— deluded.” You say softly, but Aemond furiously shakes his head. “Do you not want to be with me?” He asked, voice holding a magnitude of hurt that broke the heart that you shared with him. “I do. But you know I can’t. Not when Mother and Hela—“ 

“Enough with your excuses! They had made their decisions— they have no intentions of winning this war— let alone fighting it! Mother still holds love for our enemy, and our enemy still holds love for her. No one from their side would dare harm Helaena, and you know this!” You looked at him, appalled by his words. “You would leave them defenseless?” You say in disgust. “I would leave them to be with you! If you would make me choose between them and you— you already know the answer, so be merciful, sister, and not make me utter it.” You did not know whether to focus on the dread in your heart or the overflowing love for Aemond. “Gods, brother… this is no use. You know what we must do, and I beg you, my love, to accept our fates. We must go our separate ways. I’m sorry.” You almost sobbed, urging him to let go of his hold of you. You placed a tender kiss upon the side of his lips and felt another tear roll from his eye. “I love you, Aemond… but I’m sorry, I cannot come with you.”

Aemond left for the Riverlands before first light, and you felt his departure by the throbbing pit in your heart; half of you had left. “You must know that this is for the better, my sweet,” Your mother whispered, staring into your eyes, which resembled your twin’s. Though she bore the both of you on the same day, she often had difficulty accepting that the two of you were twins. Because where Aemond was brutal, you were gentle. Where Aemond was rash, you were rational. What the other lacked, the other had— never complete, but whole when together.

“I know. I—I think I know… but mother, I feel like I had betrayed him,” You said. You knew perfectly well both of your roles and what must be done to save your family and faction, but you could not help but feel the lack pitting in you within just a few hours of your beloved twin’s departure. Alicent sighed and cupped your cheek as she saw the tears welling in your eyes. “What you did is for the sake of me and your sister, and we are forever grateful for you, my love. You had made your choice, and Ameond his.” You nodded, unable to look your mother in the eye because as much as you tried to sell to Aemond that the reason for your reluctance to come with him was your mother and sister— you had used that as a ploy to hinder him from leaving and going to the Riverlands because you never thought your twin flame could leave you. 

You knew Harrenhall had to be felled in order to have an advantage in the war, but when the castle fell, you had been warned by Helaena that Aemond would soon follow. You could not let that be. And you foolishly thought that if you hindered him from going to Harrenhall by denying yourself to follow him, you could perhaps redo the prophecy. 

“She must go to him.” Helaena suddenly spoke, breaking the silence between you and your mother. Your gaze flew to your sister, who looked distantly out of the window. “No. Sister, I stayed here for you and Mother.” You say, feeling your mother hold onto your hands. Helaena turned to you with a knowing yet far-off look in her eyes. “You stayed here for him. But he needs you in Harrenhall.” Your mother shook her head, “Your sister will stay here with us. And in time, when need be… we shall leave this all behind— live… live a quiet life. Somewhere away from all this bloodshed.” 

“Leave?” You questioned, brows deeply furrowed. “Leave for where? This is our home, mother.” You added, Alicent licking her lips and gaze traveling the room. “I did not stay here with you and abandon my twin so that we could leave our home!” You practically yelled as you realized the plan that your mother had concocted. “Kingslanding is ours thanks to Aemond. Do you mean to abandon it? Leave it for what? The woods? Essos?” You asked incredulously. “We will leave kingslanding for somewhere safe! Away from fire and revolt! Away from dra—“ You abruptly stood and removed your mother’s hold. “But we are dragons!” You screamed. Alicent shook her head, the influence of Aemond shining through you during his absence. 

“There is nothing more to be said,” Helaena spoke again, sensing an argument was to break. “We will leave, and so shall you.” You licked your lips and shook your head as you walked towards your sister. “Helaena,” You sighed. “Go to Aemond, sister. He needs you more than we do. You are his twin… his opposing force— only you could calm his rage.” You turned to your mother, who looked upon you and your sister, defeated and picking at her fingertips. She gave a hesitant nod, her plan failing as she could never truly take you away from Aemond, no matter what plan she had concocted ever since both of your childhoods. You were wholly Aemond’s, and no one could deny you from him— not even yourself. 

You arrived in Harrenhall in the dead of night. No one questioned your arrival as they had let you and your dragon pass freely, making you question if your twin had warned them; Aemond was already sensing that you would come for him. 

You walked through the eerie halls of the ruined castle as you relied on your intuition as to where your beloved was. You reached a door with the faint light of the hearth shining through the cracks. You carefully pushed upon the warped wooden door and immediately saw your twin lying on the right side of the bed, a pillow placed on the left where he draped his arm upon— the same position he would have whenever you two would sneak upon each other’s chambers and sleep in each other’s comfort. 

You threaded lightly as you stood by Aemond’s side, gently running your hand through his silky hair. Immediately, he woke and turned to you, his lilac eye wide. You saw confusion, apprehension, and shock in his lilac eye. “It’s just me,” You say softly and soothingly, cupping his cheek and tracing his scar with your familiar touch. “You… you came,” He said in disbelief. “Of course. I came for you,” 

You held your breath as Aemond reached up and kissed your lips. You two had only done such acts a few times before, but you had both placed great restraints upon yourselves to never repeat actions again or let your desires stray further. “I knew you would come back to me.” He whispered against your lips, tucking a stray piece of your hair behind your ear. “I could never truly leave you alone, now can I? You are half of me, Aemond… I cannot live without the half of my soul.” As the words left your lips, Aemond moved to kiss you once more, moving you to straddle him on the bed. 

“I have only ever wanted you, my fire… only you.” He breathed heavily. Letting his lips stray to your neck, brushing away your hair that you had inherited from your mother. Hair that reminded him of the fire that burned brightly in your veins. “You are all that I need. With you here, I could die happily.” You abruptly parted. “Do not say such things, Aemond. If you die, I’ll shortly follow, and there will be fury that you must pay.” You say harshly, glaring at your twin, who only sadistically grinned at your words. You could not even think of such things, for it only left devastation— if your twin was taken from you, it would only leave you bereft and reeling as he would be the loss of your life. “And I shall do the same. I will follow you into the dark, my fire.” 

Your lips found home upon his again, your hips moving upon his, feeling his need greatly protruding upon your heat. “Aemond,” You mewled, feeling him leave marks upon your neck. “Do you need me as much as I need you?” He hummed. “Answer, sweet sis, will you finally relent and open your eyes to see that you are mine? Or will we still have to deny ourselves?” He questioned. “I’m yours, my love. You have known it ever since— no matter what I say— no matter what has been done, I was and will always be yours.” You breathed heavily. 

You gasped as you felt his hand slither in between the both of you to cup your cunt. Aemond groaned as he felt your wetness seeping through your small clothes. “Aemond, please, please, please— do not make me beg. I want you badly.” You pleaded, Aemond completely amused by your desperation but merciful enough not to let you plead for him further. Your eyes rolled back as you felt him slip a finger into your cunt as his thumb drew lazy circles upon your pulsating pearl. 

You found his lips again, your tongues battling for dominance as your cunt was completly in his control. “More, Aemond, I need more,” You cried, frustrated as you could not find the release you sought desperately for. “Of course you do,” Aemond taunted but still obliged. You lifted your hips as his cock was released from the confines of his night trousers. “Gods,” You cried as you sank upon his length, your nails digging onto his shoulders as his mouth was enclosed upon your tit that he pulled out from your clothing. “You kept yourself pure for me— you truly knew to whom you belong, do you not, sister?” Aemond gritted, already consumed by the pleasure that you and he had denied yourselves. When you sank completely onto his length and when the tip of his cock was perfectly hitting the spot in your cunt, you finally felt complete.

Aemond kissed the tears of pain and pleasure away as your hips moved slowly and cautiously, as each movement only provided pain due to his well-endowed length. “You were made for me,” Aemond groaned as your tight cunt clenched around him further. “Only you could make me feel as such, and only I can make you feel like this.” He growled against your skin. 

When you finally felt conviction, you moved your hips fervently against Aemond’s. The sound of your wet cunt, slapping skin, and your the pleasured moans filled the room. Words of love and desire that had not been uttered but were always known spewed from both of your lips and when you felt your release coming, you locked your lips with Aemond’s and let yourself come undone in the arms of the man that had been yours the moment you two were born. 

Tag List: peachysunrize gelacat0413 maidmerrymint aemondwhoresworld fireydragonblood anukulee spacexdrago amanda08319 seamaiden aylasrants blackswxnn dracaryxzs trashpackbitch tomie-it-girl mamawiggers1980 chaosluvr deine-schatz

[heli-writes]

A dragon's heart, part 12.

Pairing: Barbarian!Bakugou Katsuki x female!reader

Summary: The dragonblood tribe is known for being cruel, barbarian warriors that slaughter, loot and rape all places they pass through. They are feared among the villagers and even bigger cities. Having lost most of their women to a plague, they're trying to ensure their tribe's survival by kidnapping women from other places. However, they're not the only monsters in human form out there. When y/n experiences this first hand, she has no choice but to ask for help from no other but the barbarian leader Katsuki Bakugou himself.

Disclaimer: mentions of injuries, rape and abuse, mentions of breeding, marking, nsfw, smut, oral sex, fingering, vaginal sex

[Please don't read if you are sensible to or triggered by the topics mentioned above.]

Minors do not interact.

Note: Took a while to finish this. I found the last part especially hard to write so I put it off for weeks. But voilá, it's finally here!

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13

Series Masterlist

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Axiety. It's what curses Katsuki's veins right now. After he left his mother at the war tent, he went ahead and took a look at his injured men. Some of them might never mount a dragon again. That already made him restless. He feels like ever since he became chief, things have gone bad. They need a win soon. His men can't lose morale. It won't benefit the tribe and they'll also maybe get some bad ideas. His mother stepped down as a chief voluntarily, but Katsuki is sure that the rest of the tribe would have forced her if she didn't. It's easy to blame the leadership when things go wrong. Even if some things are out of the chief's control.

That's when y/n crosses his mind. He has forgotten about her ever since Kirishima walked into his tent. Maybe she can be his win, a way to boost morale among his men and a way to strengthen his position. If y/n was to carry a healthy, happy baby, Katsuki and her could lead an example for the rest of the tribe. To show them that there is a future. After today's events, he's sure that he's making the right decision taking y/n on as a mate. He fully trusts her to become a good partner, a good mother. He'll do everything in his might to ensure the tribe's and y/n's future. She won't ever have to go back to the men who hunted her like an animal.

His heart feels heavy and full when he makes his way back to his tent. He can't wait to pull y/n into his arms, to feel her soft warm frame pressed against him. It's what he needs right now. 

Surely, y/n must have returned by now. She was angry earlier but he hasn't experienced y/n to hold a grudge for too long. Also, it's gotten dark and cold. That must've driven her back home as well.

When he enters his tent, it lies in darkness and silence. He stares into the black of the tent, listening expectantly. Y/n's not here. His heart starts to pump harder, blood cursing faster through his veins than just a few minutes ago. He can hear an unsettling whooshing in his ears. 

Y/n's gone.

It takes a moment for the realization to sink in. Then, he turns around on his feet exiting his tent swiftly. In front of the entrance, he stops in his tracks. His first instinct is to find Kirishima. Get him to assemble a search party, get everybody moving to find her.

It's a bad idea. He and y/n have to lead as an example. How can he prove to his men that they can find a mate outside of the tribe that loves and accepts them if his own mate runs off in the middle of the night? No, the others can't find out. Especially his mother. He can already see the triumph in her eyes telling him 'I've told you so'. He must find her alone.

But where could she possibly have gone to? She doesn't know anybody or anything around here. A cold chill runs down his back. She wouldn't have tried to leave, would she? That would be incredibly stupid of her. She can't survive in these mountains. Especially not without appropriate gear. But that didn't stop her before. 

Katsuki thinks back to when y/n took off the day after getting injured by these men with bows and arrows. Back then, she also was stupid enough to think that she could wander off in the forest on her own. And now she was angry, furious even. With heavy emotions like that clouding her logical thinking, it wouldn't surprise Katsuki if she got the bright idea of running off. He can already picture her angry, pouting face in his mind. 

Shit. He needs to find her. 

First of all, Katsuki tries to search the settlement inconspicuously just to make sure he's not setting off a false alarm. He's glad that most of the tribe already settled into their tents for the night. While he wanders through the settlement, he's getting more anxious with each passing second. Scenarios of y/n getting torn apart by a pack of wolves, of y/n falling down a hillside and other deadly things fill his inner eye.

When he can't find her in the settlement, he decides he must scout out the area surrounding the tribe's village of tents. Considering she's on foot, she can't have made it very far. In this darkness, she must've laid to rest somewhere. Tonight's new moon, so it's especially dark tonight. Out there, you can't see your hand infront of your own eyes. She must wait to continue her journey by sunrise.

It's best to look for her on the back of his dragon, he decides. He can cover more ground and the Drami's improved eyesight and smell will help them to find y/n quickly. So, he sets way to the stables. He already knows Drami won't be too happy about him waking her up. He walks quickly through the gore to the dragon's den. The other dragons ignore him, some bow their heads in respect. There's even the small green one that hasn't been tamed yet. It scurries away at the sight of Katsuki.

Only his torch illuminates the den upon entering. The dragons inside seem to be asleep. „Drami!“, he calls out to his dragon almost softly. He doesn't want to evoke the great red's rage. „Drami!“, he calls out again, this time a bit louder. Then, the big red dragon moves. It stretches its long hind legs and raises its heavy head.

„We need to find y/n, c'me on!“, Katsuki tells the dragon.

The dragon snarls at him and huffs hot air into his face. Katsuki rolls his eyes.

„Yeah, I know it's late. That's why we need to find her quickly.“, he points out.

The dragon stares at him intently. Katsuki is not sure what she's trying to tell him. „What?“, he asks shrugging. The dragon shifts again, lifting its heavy wing up, revealing y/n. Katsuki's eyes almost bulge out of his head. What on earth is she doing here? Almost at the same time, relief floods his veins. She's safe. When Katsuki wants to rush to the woman's side, a claw-studded paw cuts in between him and y/n. 

Katsuki's head jolts up. „What?“, he asks the dragon again. Drami looks angry now. A deep rumble curses through the dragon's throat. It snaps at Katsuki leaving behind a loud cracking sound when its upper and lower teeth clash against each other. Katsuki jumps back just in time to not get crushed in between the dragon's large jaw.

„Hey!“, he barks at the dragon, „What the fuck are you doin'?“

The dragon rises to its full height filling out the den completely. Y/n slides off its tummy and awakes in a rough manner. Disorientedly she looks around. Meanwhile, the dragon shifts into an intimidating stance looking angrily at Katsuki.

„What are you angry about?“, Katsuki yells grasping y/n's attention.

The dragon curls its tail around y/n in a protective manner. Katsuki doesn't fail to catch onto that.

„Is this about y/n? Fuck, it's not my fault that dumbass ran away?“, he defends himself in front of his dragon. Y/n awkwardly watches the scene in front of her. Somehow, she feels content. Seems as if the dragon is about to put Katsuki into his place. Good.

The dragon snaps at him again and Katsuki quickly moves out of its way. „Don't fuck with me, Drami. It's not funny! I didn't do anything!“, he yells at the dragon.

Suddenly, another rumble goes through the red dragon's throat and then there's electricity in the air. Katsuki's eyes widen. She's not about to...? Not in here! The fire would burn all of them. He can see an orange colour light up in the dragon's throat. Shit!, he thinks. Instinctively, he jumps over the dragon's tail and covers y/n's body with his own.

As quickly as the electricity becomes palpable in the air, as quickly it fades again. Y/n peeks through Katsuki's arms and sees the dragon staring at them intensely. Katsuki shifts, facing the dragon again. He sighs in relief. He absolutely believes Drami would go through with such an action. If a dragon doesn't deem a human worthy of their trust anymore, they more often than not kill them.

„You crazy fuck,“, he tells the dragon standing up and shaking his head. In return, the dragon growls at him

„I get it ok, I haven't been a good mate. I let her slip away.“, he continues. The dragon continues to stare at him angrily.

Katsuki raises his arms in defeat, then drops them again. „What do you want me to say? I didn't keep an eye on her. She could've died, yes. But she was safe with you, wasn't she?“

A rustling sound goes through the red's throat. It moves its head closer to Katsuki and presses its nose against his chest. Katsuki stares back with the same intensity. Then he sighs in defeat.

„Thank you for taking care of her. I'll be better, I promise.“, he tells her and the dragon gives him one more intense stare before settling into a laying position again. The smaller red dragons, which fled the bigger one the moment they sensed its anger, return to its side again.

Y/n doesn't know what Katsuki tells the dragon but it's clear he almost shits his pants. She finds that rather satisfying. Even if the red dragon almost fried her in the process. Quickly, she scrambles onto her feet. She must've fallen asleep somewhen but she's wide awake now.

Katsuki turns to her taking a long look at her. There doesn't seem to be a scratch on her. His instinct tells him to walk up to her, shake her and yell at her for being stupid. He can't believe she ran off and walked straight into dragon territory. She can be lucky Drami protected her. If she was unlucky, one of the other dragons could've seen a convenient snack in her that walked straight into their mouth. Considering what happened earlier, that's probably a bad idea though. Y/n was already pissed and it's better to reconcile than to argue. Especially, since Katsuki decided to ignore his mother's disapprovement. 

Katsuki walks up to y/n and takes her hand. He puts it over his heart and presses it softly. „Don't you dare leave again.“, he tells her. Then, more softly, he adds: „I need you. I was worried.“

Y/n looks up at him. At first, her face looks clueless as it usually does when she doesn't understand him. Then, she harshly pulls her hand away. She's still angry at him. Don't you think a few soft words will make me forget what has happened today, she thinks. 

Without looking at him, she stomps past him exiting the den. Katsuki swirls around and immediately catches up to her. Outside the den, he gets a hold of her wrist and pulls a bit too harshly. Y/n is swirled around. She stops herself inches in front of his chest. Quickly, she brings an arm's length distance between them, as far as her arm allows her to. Katsuki keeps a tight grip on her wrist.

„Where the fuck do you think, you're doing?“, Katsuki growls at her. Y/n looks at him with fire in her eyes.

„Let go of me, asshole!“, she yells at him pulling at her wrist. She doesn't care how loud she is or if she wakes up one of the dragons. How dare he act like this? Maybe a few days prior she would've mistaken Katsuki's attitude for concern, but knowing what she knows now, she's sure it's possessiveness. She can't stand that. Considering what Nadia says, that's all that women are in this place. She refuses to become Katsuki's possession, to let him push her around like that. He either accepts her as an equal or he doesn't get to have her at all.

Stunned, Katsuki lets go of her hand. He already notices some dragons shift in the darkness. Y/n crosses her arms in front of her chest. She doesn't really know where she's going with this. She doesn't want to argue with Katsuki. So far, he has been good to her. Today's been not good, but at the end of the line, he didn't treat her badly. The ceremony this morning went badly but Katsuki didn't lash out his anger at her, only at his furniture. While she doesn't understand where exactly his anger comes from, she shares the sentiment. 

It's been frustrating. Clearly, it's been frustrating to both of them and that Katsuki doesn't seem to have much control over his anger is something y/n noticed before. And despite what Nadia said, he didn't put his hands on her. He even wanted to protect her from the great red's fire. Y/n knows that if the dragon had gone through with it, Katsuki would've been burned to crisps. He was ready to sacrifice himself for her. Katsuki must value her more than he lets on.

Y/n sighs and rubs her face. She tries to calm herself. In contrast to Katsuki, she has more control over her anger. Katsuki watches her intently. He doesn't want to argue with her either. He's frustrated and worried and he doesn't know how to make y/n understand how important she is. To him. To his people.

He tries to take a step towards her when a growl and a pair of red glowing eyes appear right behind her. It's the small green dragon from earlier. Katsuki stops in his tracks. This dragon is untamed which means that it is unpredictable. 

„Don't move.“, he wispers and hopes that y/n understands.

Apparently, y/n didn't hear him, or rather didn't understand him but she slowly moves around staring right into the green one's eyes. Fear starts pulsing in her veins again. At the same time, the anger that's been trying to push down bubbles up again. 

Seriously? As if I don't have enough problems, I've got to deal with this thing again?, she thinks angrily.

„Y/n.“, Katsuki says calmly. They can't make a wrong move right now. His mind flickers back to Drami in the den. He's sure she must sense the green one by now. He just hopes she isn't too offended by earlier to help them if necessary.

Y/n ignores Katsuki. She continues to stare into the green's eyes intently. She holds its gaze. She's not going to back down. It's probably stupid to pick a fight with a dragon but Katsuki and the whole situation made her angry enough to try. 

With a steady, almost dangerous voice, she speaks to the dragon: „Leave. I won't be dealing with you tonight.“

The green dragon shifts, still holding her gaze. For a moment, its gaze flickers back to Katsuki.

„Hey, eyes on me!“, y/n barks at it and immediately catches its attention again. Katsuki feels like he's about to faint. Is she really speaking to a dragon like that? What outcome is she expecting?

`

„I'm telling you one more time.“, y/n says loudly, „Leave and don't come after us.“

The green dragon stares at her. There's a clicking sound in its throat. Then, he snaps at y/n, but y/n expected it considering it snapped at her earlier. She uses her chance and throws herself at its snout. Katsuki watches her with an open mouth. Y/n pushes its snout down before letting go of it.

„Leave!“, she yells. The green dragon looks at her perplexed. It raises its head, probably to spew fire at them when a deep rumble can be heard from the red one's den. It's probably a warning. It's enough to make the green one back off. Y/n holds her stance and stares after it until it disappears into the darkness again. 

When it's clear that it's gone, she loosens her stance and huffs a strand of hair out of her face. Meanwhile, Katsuki gains control of his facial expression again. He's not sure whether to be impressed that y/n stood her ground in front of a dragon or concerned that she's mad enough to try so. Actually, it's probably not that bad. He remembers when he tamed Drami. It's the first thing you need to be capable of, to stand your ground in front of such a mighty beast. Most people go into fight-or-flight mode. Of course, then you also need to fight it into submission, but that's another thing.

Y/n turns around to Katsuki. „Are you coming?“, she tells him before turning to leave. Katsuki quickly catches up to her. They don't speak while they walk back to the settlement. 

The closer they get to the tents, the more relaxed Katsuki feels. Also, his bad consciousness starts to creep up on him. He never apologized to y/n about what had happened today.

„Y/n“, he calls out to her and stops her by taking her hand. This time his touch is soft and not firm. Y/n can get out of his grasp anytime she wants. She turns towards him and looks at him expectantly.

„I'm sorry about today. I'm sorry about my mother treating you badly, I'm sorry if the whole presentation was humiliating to you and I'm sorry I lost it earlier.“, he tells her. 

Y/n is sure he's apologizing right now. He's got that look in his eyes. Curved eyebrows, an almost sorrowful look on his face. It's not enough, however, he needs to try a little harder. A simple apology isn't going to get him into her good grace again. Katsuki sighs and steps a bit closer to her. With his other hand, he strokes her cheek.

„You've been nothing but great. To me, you're the perfect mate. Hell, you are standing your ground no matter what we throw at you. Even a dragon. We, no I, failed you. Drami's right. If I want to be your mate, I need to be better. I promise I will be better.“, he softly says. He knows she can't understand him but he just hopes she'll soften up on him a little bit.

Y/n stares in his eyes intently. His voice sounds soft, almost submissive. She sighs. There's no use in keeping this argument up. It's not going to help her situation. And at least, Katsuki seems to understand that she's frustrated. She just hopes he also believes that her frustration is justified and that he's not just trying to sway her.

She touches his hand softly. Katsuki gives her a shy smile and takes a few steps closer to her. When she doesn't react, he closes the gap between them. Carefully, he wraps his arms around her. Y/n can't help but lean into the touch. By now Katsuki's touch has become something familiar and comforting to her. She buries her face in his chest. Katsuki chuckles and y/n can feel the vibration of his laugh. Her heart flutters a bit. Damn this Katsuki, she thinks, Why does he have to be so attractive? She can feel Katsuki's hand in her hair. Lightly, he scratches the skin on her head. Y/n wants to melt. After this long, confusing day, she just wants to relax and fall asleep in his arms.

Katsuki's hand moves towards her ear and he tucks a few strands of hair behind it. Y/n looks up to him and is met with a soft gaze. It's almost surprising to her. Katsuki rarely looks so soft. He's just not that kind of guy. Maybe today has worn him thin as well. Y/n gives him a small smile. Katsuki's hand ghosts along her cheek. Slowly he moves his head towards hers giving y/n enough time to move out of the way or reject him. She doesn't. Katsuki's lips meet y/n's in a light kiss. He's not putting much pressure behind it. Just enough for y/n's heart to make a little jump. 

Quickly, he pulls away and ruffles y/n's hair lightly. Y/n retreats a bit as well. Katsuki throws an arm around her and pulls her towards the settlement. There's almost no one outside anymore and it's quiet when they walk back to Katsuki's tent. Y/n is shivering by the time they arrive. Katsuki's arm around her shoulder does little to keep her warm. Inside, they're met with the chaos they left behind earlier today. Y/n shakes off Katsuki's arm and zigzags around the broken things on the ground. She picked up the broken parts of the chair earlier but left the other things he threw around on the floor. She flops down onto Katsuki's bed and points at the mess on the floor.

„You're tidying that up!“, she says sternly. Katsuki scratches the back of his head embarrassedly. He's not sure what y/n said but he guesses she's scolding him for the chaos in the tent. Dutifully, he starts picking up the things on the floor. Meanwhile, y/n starts looking for the clothes she wore to bed yesterday. Once she's found them, she disappears to the attached bathing hut. 

When she's done changing, she returns to the main room. She looks around approvingly. Katsuki tidied up the place quite well. Currently, he's not in the tent. Y/n guesses he disposes of some broken things. While waiting for him, she picks up an apple from a fruit bowl that Katsuki placed back on the small table. Sitting on the bed, she eats it. While it's not much, she's glad to finally get something into her stomach. 

Eventually, Katsuki comes back into the tent. When he sees y/n sitting on the bed, he gives her a curt nod. Then, he starts changing. He's still wearing the armor that he put on before the presentation. Chewing on her apple, y/n watches Katsuki changing. Katsuki usually doesn't wear many clothes so there's not much new to see but y/n takes her time observing. She feels like she deserves that. After all, he let all of his people and that woman eyeball her this morning.

She lets her eyes run over his broad shoulder and how the muscles of his back move when he opens his pants and slips out of them. Katsuki stands there in his underwear for a moment as long as he puts the armor and pants away. Y/n admires his naked chest. A few scars decorate the soft skin on his pecks. Her gaze follows his trained bicep down to his hands. She doesn't notice how Katsuki's done putting on some linen pants or how she stopped chewing at some point.

„Ya like what you see?“, Katsuki asks her with a cocky smirk on his face. 

Katsuki's voice rips her out of her own thoughts. She's met with Katsuki's triumphant facial expression. Oops, guess he caught me, she thinks. She sits up a bit and throws the rest of her apple at Katsuki. Katsuki catches y/n's projectile with ease and gives her a biting laugh. He finishes off the apple in two bites and throws it into a bowl by the side.

Katsuki walks over to the bed and gets in at y/n's side. He starts to climb over her but stops when he's right above her. Y/n tries to shuffle away to give him some more space to get to the other side of the bed when she notices a suspicious twinkle in his eyes. He's not planning to move to the other side. Y/n rolls her eyes and Katsuki chuckles. He leans down and kisses her on the lips.

This time, the kiss is a bit less soft. It's more urgent and there's more pressure behind it. Y/n's eyes flutter close. Katsuki slides down and his weight pushes y/n deeper into the pillows. Absently, y/n's hand runs down Katsuki's chest. She feels Katsuki's tongue running along her upper lip. She lets her own tongue run along his lip as well and soon they meet in an even deeper kiss.

By now, y/n's heartbeat picked up. Katsuki detaches from her lips for a second. He presses open-mouthed kisses along her jawline and down her neck. Softly, he nibbles at her collarbone. Y/n can't help but let out a muffled moan. She already can feel a tingling sensation in her lower belly. Also, she's starting to get hot. Katsuki lets out a chuckle before returning his attention to her. 

Their eyes meet and y/n can see a mischievous gleam behind Katsuki's eyes. „You dick!“, she tells him and smacks his upper arm. Katsuki laughs and rolls off of her. Y/n hasn't got much time to recover before Katsuki pulls her into him again. Angling her head up to him, he drags his lips over hers again. Y/n shifts to get more comfortable. Part of her leg grazes Katsuki's scrotch and she can feel that he's already half-hard. She's lowkey glad she's not the only one on whom this has an effect. 

Quickly, she tries to move her leg away again but Katsuki catches her leg mid-movement. He pulls her leg in between his own and pulls the rest of y/n half on top of him as well. His other hand finds its way back into y/n's hair. Entangling their mouths again, his other hand starts exploring y/n's back, butt and leg. Y/n's hand rests on his lower stomach just above his v-line. Slowly, her hand creeps up his chest up to his cheek.

They continue to make out like this for a while until y/n breaks the kiss to take a deep breath. Katsuki uses the break to fully pull y/n on top of him. Y/n can feel Katsuki's erection under her. In all honesty, she can't blame him. She's also feeling the effects of all this kissing. The way Katsuki's rough hands drag along her back drives her absolutely mad. She doesn't want to know how the inside of her thighs look right now.

Suddenly, Katsuki's hand finds its way under the shirt she's wearing. While his lips still feverishly drag along hers, his hand softly strokes its way up to her chest. Y/n's heart skips a beat when his calloused hand finally makes an impact with her boob. Carefully, Katsuki kneads the soft bundle of flesh. There's enough pressure behind it to make clear how urgently he wants to touch her and soft enough to not hurt her. Giving her one last kiss, he detaches from her and sits up.

„Take that off.“, he demands and pulls her up towards him. Y/n sits up and lets Katsuki push the shirt over her head. She feels flushed even though Katsuki and she now wear the same amount of clothing. Katsuki lets his gaze wander over her chest. Gently, he reaches out to her. The backside of his hand touches her cheek, and then he lets his hand sink downwards towards her chest. With both hands, he squeezes her breasts. He leans his head forward and rests his forehead against hers. While adrenaline and excitement still curse through her veins, y/n feels oddly at ease suddenly. 

Katsuki lets go of her chest and his hand finds hers. Gently, he caresses her hand before pulling it into his lap. Y/n can feel how he presses her palm onto his hardened member. It's not her first time touching a man. She wonders if Katsuki is aware of this or if he thinks it's her first time. Y/n's other hand reaches up to Katsuki's cheek and she pulls him down onto her lips again. At the same time, she carefully squeezes his dick. Katsuki lets out a frustrated groan before pushing his mouth on hers again. Gently, y/n massages him through his pants.

Then, Katsuki pushes her off of him. „Gimme a sec, doll.“, he mumbles and starts fumbling with his pants and pushes them down his legs. Y/n waits patiently for Katsuki to come back for her. When he shivered out of his pants, he crawls over to y/n again and pushes her onto her back. He starts kissing her neck and nipping at her earlobe. Each kiss leaves behind electricity that shoots down her body. Y/n takes his hand and puts it back on her chest again. She's done with kissing. She wants more. Katsuki lets out a low chuckle. Carefully he dips his head down and lets his tongue run over her nipple. Y/n groans and lets her hand run through his spiky hair.

Meanwhile, Katsuki's hand wanders down her side. When his hand finds the hem of her pants, she can feel her heartbeat quicken again. She's nervous about what's about to happen next. A positive nervous, an expectant nervous, a I-can't-wait-to-feel-your-hands-where-I-need-you-most nervous. However, Katsuki doesn't give her that satisfaction just yet. He lets his hand ghost over her crotch before gently cupping her most private area. Y/n gasps at the contact and wishes that stupid linen pants weren't in the way. Again, Katsuki chuckles at her expression.

Y/n glares at him. She's got enough of his teasing. She pushes at his chest and Katsuki lets himself fall back onto his back with a laugh. Immediately, y/n is on top of him and kisses down his neck. Gently, she bites the skin on the nape of his neck. Katsuki lets out a forced groan. She can feel his dick jump a bit in between her legs. She continues to kiss down his chest, and presses open-mouthed kisses onto his tummy until she has reached his v-line. She traces the bones on his hips while mischievously looking up at him. I can play the same game, she thinks. Katsuki looks down at her through lidded eyes. 

„Fuck, y/n, are you gonna do something or do I need to show you how?“, Katsuki grumbles and pushes his hand into y/n's hair trying to gently push her down onto his cock. Y/n clicked her tongue. „Oh, no, don't think I let you get off this easily.“, y/n teases him. She starts pressing soft kisses onto the side of his hips, down his v-line and stops right in front of his shaft. 

„Shit, you bitch!“, Katsuki groans in frustration but he doesn't move. Secretly he's enjoying y/n's attention and playfulness. He didn't expect y/n to be this devious, especially not in bed. Clearly, she must have some experience and he's glad about that. He was afraid that this would scare her away. But, considering her reactions, she must be enjoying this too.

Lost in his own thoughts, he doesn't notice how y/n's head dips down. Only when he feels her tongue running down his dick. He almost jumps up at the sensation. His hand grips her hair a bit tighter but he doesn't make any further movements. Y/n can feel his leg muscles tighten. She runs her tongue up his shaft again before gently teasing the tip of his cock. Katsuki groans and lets his head fall back. Y/n gently rubs the side of his legs in comfort. I got you, she wants to tell him. 

Then, she takes his entire dick into her mouth. Katsuki almost thrusts up but catches himself mid-movement. Y/n is glad for Katsuki's control. She's sure that she can't deepthroat him. For now, she just bobs up and down his length licking and sucking. The areas her mouth can't reach get stimulated by her hands which she has wrapped around his shaft.

Eventually, Katsuki can't take it anymore and pulls y/n off his dick. He sits up and roughly pulls y/n up to him, towards his mouth. Feverishly, he kisses her, shoving his tongue into her mouth. Slowly but carefully his resolution starts to crumble. In a swift movement, he pushes y/n onto her back with one hand and pushes down her pants with his other hand.

Cool air hits y/n's pussy. She almost gasps at that sensation alone. However, Katsuki is done waiting and teasing. Immediately, he pushes his fingers in between her folds. Y/n lets out a choked noise. Katsuki leans down and starts licking and biting her nipples while massaging her clit in rough, circular movements. Y/n is already seeing stars. It's been so long since someone touched her like this and clearly Katsuki knows what he's doing. His fingers wander from her clit downwards towards her entrance. Swiftly, one of Katsuki's fingers enter her. Y/n can't help but let out a raspy moan. 

She's not sure whether or not Katsuki registers the sound she's making. Maybe he doesn't care or maybe he's beyond capable of teasing her about it. Either way, his mouth lets go of her nipple and wanders down her tummy until he finally reaches her cunt. He's not waiting for another second before pushing his tongue in between y/n's folds. Y/n gasps again and buckles her hip. Katsuki simply pushes her hips down and continues his administration. While his tongue swirls around in between her pussy folds, his finger pumps in and out of her tight hole. Y/n's upper body twists around in the bedsheets. 

It feels so good, she barely can't take it anymore. Katsuki adds another finger and y/n goes wild. She pushes her hands into his hair and she's not sure whether she wants to push his head deeper into her cunt or pull him away because she needs to stop. Katsuki does not leave any room for a decision as he pushes deeper into her crotch. Just when he feels y/n's walls tighten around his fingers, he pulls away.

He stares at y/n with wild eyes. Her wetness still glittering on his lips and chin. Y/n's chest is heaving and she can't tear her eyes away from Katsuki. „Fuck, babe, you taste so fucking good.“, Katsuki grumbles while taking a long look at her. Y/n's hair is disheveled and her cheeks are flushed. Right now, there is a disappointed expression on her face. Katsuki grins and moves to hoover over her. 

„Don't worry, love, you'll get to come. You just have to do it on my dick. Only this way you can become truly mine.“, he tells her.

Y/n pouts because she doesn't understand why they're suddenly stopping. Luckily, Katsuki doesn't let her wait too long. He crawls up her body and kisses her deeply. Y/n can feel his dick laying right above her pussy. Katsuki snaps his hips a bit and pushes his dick in between her wet folds. Y/n moans and opens her legs so that he has better access to her pussy.

„Shit, babe, you want me that bad, hm?“, Katsuki groans as he sees y/n pull her legs apart for him. He leans back a bit to take a good view of her soaked cunt. „Fuck...“, he groans as he lets his dick run over her now-open pussy.

„Katsuki!“, y/n whines. She wants him. Now. Katsuki chuckles and leans down to kiss her. „Alright, alright, babe, I get what you want.“, he mumbles as he shifts and tries to find her entrance with his cock. When he's not fast enough, y/n takes matters into her own hands and leads his dick to her entrance. Katsuki doesn't wait for another second and pushes into her in one swift movement. Y/n can't help but let out a loud moan at the sensation. Katsuki's head drops down onto her shoulder.

He doesn't give her any time to adjust to him but immediately starts a steady pace. His dick slides in and out of y/n's slick hole. Y/n wraps her legs around his hips and grabs onto his shoulders. She can't help but let her eyes roll back a bit. Her fingers could never compare to the feeling of a real dick inside of her. And Katsuki's dick feels especially good. Katsuki keeps up the pace for a bit until he grows tired of it. He sits up a bit and his dick slides out of y/n. She groans in protest.

„Relax, love, we're not done yet.“, Katsuki mumbles as he sits up on his knees. Roughly, he pulls one of y/n's legs over his shoulder and opens her other leg widely. Then, he shoves his cock back inside of her. In short, hard movements, he rocks in and out of her pussy. Y/n cries out loud at the new angle and the roughness with which Katsuki starts to fuck her.

„Fuck, babe, this feels so good.“, Katsuki groans while his balls slap against y/n's ass. He has had sex before but it was never like this. He either paid the women or just took them. None of them were as wet as y/n or as willing to move against him the way y/n does. And the sight of her just added to his arousal. Concluding from her facial expression and moans, y/n must be so fucking horny for him. It makes him wish they had done this sooner. Before they came here and things got more complicated.

„Katsuki-i...! Harder! Fuck!“, y/n moans and grips his wrists. Even without understanding her words, Katsuki gets the message. He wants to fuck her harder and faster, too. He pulls y/n's leg from his shoulders and hooks his hands under both her knees pulling her pussy closer to him. He quickens the place and the closeness gives him the option to ram his dick into her harder.

„Fuck, yes!“, y/n yells. She's glad he understood what she wants. Fuck, this is so good, she thinks. She loves how hard Katsuki is taking her. Most men are too timid to take her how she likes it the first time. The first time is always a bit awkward, trying to find out what the other likes. But Katsuki fucks her just the way she wants his, the way she needs it. She needs to forget this awful day and Katsuki's cock in her pussy makes her mind goes numb.

Slowly, but steadily, y/n can feel her orgasm approaching. She hopes that Katsuki doesn't change his movement but keeps it up just the way he's fucking into her right now. There are already pearls of sweat forming on his chest and eyebrows. Meanwhile, Katsuki can feel y/n's pussy tighten around his member. 

„Shit, babe, are you close?“, he groans while keeping up the pace. Concluding from y/n's concentrated look, yes, she must be. Carefully he grips her upper body and pulls her up to him. Y/n whines at the change of position but Katsuki makes it up to her by fucking up into her and reaching that one spot that drives her mad. Katsuki pulls her up and his face rests on the left side of her neck. Y/n claws at his back, desperate to finally get off. Katsuki continues to fuck into her relentlessly. 

„I've got you, babe, c'mon, come on my cock.“, he mumbles into her skin. 

Right now, he needs her to finally climb over the edge. It will hurt less if she's in the middle of an orgasm. Y/n groans throwing her head back. Katsuki can feel her pussy tighten one more time and then start spasming around him. That's what he's been waiting for. He doesn't wait for another second and sinks his teeth into her neck.

Pain. Blinding, numbing pain shoots up her neck. 

Y/n lets out a choked scream. From all the things she's expected Katsuki to do, this is not on the list. Is he... biting her? It feels like he's about to rip a large part of flesh out of her. The pain overshadows the orgasm she forgets she's having. She pushes against his chest, trying to get him off of her.

„Let... go!!“, she cries as she pushes against him. There's no use. He's so much stronger than her. He only sinks his teeth deeper into her flesh. Maybe it's because there was more adrenaline in her blood back then, but this feels worse than when she was hit with the arrow.

Her heart pulls itself together. Why is he doing this? She can feel her warm blood flow down her own chest. He must know how badly he's injuring her.

Meanwhile, he's still fucking into her roughly.

She wants him off. She wants his teeth and dick outside of her body. Right now. She fights against him. Pushing and scratching him. Yelling and crying to let her go, but Katsuki doesn't listen to her. Or he's not hearing her.

His thrusts pick up speed as he fucks into her. 

„No, Katsuki! Pull out!“, she yells but Kasuki is too far gone to register her words. In three hard thrusts, he comes. Y/n can feel his hot seed spluttering deep inside of her.

By now, all colour must've left her face and she becomes numb. 

She doesn't feel the pain in her neck anymore. Or how Katsuki pulls away from her. How he gently places her onto the bed and presses a clean cloth against the wound. How he caresses her face and litters it with soft kitten kisses. How he gets another warm, wet cloth and carefully cleans the inside of her thighs. How he pulls her close and lovingly scratches her head. 

Or how he softly mutters:

„You're mine now, my mate.“

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

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[romanteacism]

A Butterfly and A Dragon’s Flight Chapter Nine

Chapter Summary: Prince Aemond would stop at nothing to get the one he truly wants. Word Count: 6,293 Warnings: Revalations, Lady Elinora and Prince Aemond Growing Closer, Daeron and Edward Protecting Elinora from Aemond, Aemond and Ser Gwayne Fighting, Secret Rendezvous, A LOT of Lies

It was forbidden from the beginning; Prince Aemond had known that, and yet, he found little care. When he saw her in the gardens, with a welcoming, warm smile on her lips and butterflies flying overhead, Prince Aemond knew he had no chance of fighting what he felt for Elinora. He tried. Gods, did he try. He tried not to feel as such. To not be distracted and tormented by her— to keep her at arm’s length and be cruel to her so she would stay away and not tempt him. But whatever tactic he did, he lost. And it was ironic that though he had lost, Elinora was still his prize. 

Actually, no— she was no prize. To label her as a prize was to demean her, and Aemond could never stand for such a thing. She was a blessing. The most perfect blessing that the gods were ever so kind to bestow upon Aemond. Who could believe that someone as twisted and vicious as him would have someone as pure and kind as Elinora in his arms? Holding her flushed against him and kissing her soft, sweet lips. 

The kiss was unexpected. It was just as unexpected when she came into Aemond’s life, but it was most welcomed. 

As they returned to the castle walls, Aemond led Elinora back into her chambers to make sure she did not encounter anything or anyone. Elinora looked upon the prince, thanking him for the night of escape and thrill that she was deprived of. She was at a loss for words, unable to articulate how much she appreciated the night that all she could do to show her thanks was rise to the tip of her toes and give a quick peck on his cheek. 

Aemond was taken aback. His cold being turned aflame for the very first time in his life, all because her lips momentarily grazed his cheek. He watched as Elinora’s eyes widened in realization, a bashful blush overcoming her cheeks, and Aemond could tell she was ready to hide in her chambers. So, he took hold of her arm and dipped down to capture her lips. 

It was a spontaneous decision, a decision that Aemond did not think of thoughtfully. But he still did it because he did not know what other chance he’d have to feel her lips and hold her against him. Aemond could feel her freeze, taken aback by the shock of his action. The prince was readying himself to part, to leave and act as if he did no such thing, but when he felt Elinora’s arms circle around the back of his neck to pull him closer, and her lips ever so cautiously move against his, Aemond knew then that she was the only person he'd willingly yield and submit to. 

He finally realized that all his stubbornness, his state of denial, and his forced animosity were all moot because, in the end, he would still succumb to Elinora.

Aemond felt the need for air, but he had no wish to part their lips and let Elinora realize what was done. However, he felt her lips stagger, and the way her hand clenched around his cloak, wanting for air, Aemond reluctantly parted. He watched intently as Elinora tried to catch her breath, his palm feeling the heat on her red cheeks. Aemond chewed on his cheek as Elinora’s eyes began to widen, the inevitable realization coming, and the prince could only watch as Elinora let go of her hold of him and hastily hid in her chambers in shock at what she had done. 

Elinora took deep breaths as she shut the door closed. Heart racing in her chest. Confusion, disbelief, and want greatly loom over her sensibilities. She licked her lips, and upon them was still the taste of the prince. Bitter, cool, yet pleasing. She shut her eyes tightly as she heard the distant footsteps of the prince leaving. 

Elinora paced in her chambers, her fingers playing with her lips that could still feel the touch of the prince. She just had her first kiss! Her first kiss that she was saving for her betrothed! Yet, she willingly gave it to Prince Aemond. It alarmed her that as she assessed her emotions, she felt no guilt. She should feel guilty, shouldn’t she? She had sullied herself and broken her oath to her family and the gods that she would save herself for her betrothed. Why, then, did she not feel remorse? Why, then, did she only feel elated about the kiss shared in the dark?

When the following day came, Aemond was filled with frustration. He was too reckless. He had shown all of his cards, and now he feared that he might have truly run off Elinora. “I see that you are once again frustrated... is it because your usual companion did not arrive by the pond earlier this morning?” Ser Criston questioned, trying to tease and test the prince. “You dare spy on me?” Aemond snapped as he turned to the knight. 

“It was hardly spying, Aemond. You forget that the knight’s tower overlooks the pond. For all we know, almost all of the white cloaks in this castle have caught a glimpse of you and Lady Elinora feeding the ducks.” Aemond rolled his eye and attempted to leave, for he had no wish to speak, but the knight’s following words made him freeze. “Is your frustration in regards to your little venture to the city last night?” 

“How do you know that?” Aemond silently questioned, enraged as he stepped closer to the knight. The prince watched as the knight sighed and shook his head. “I overheard your uncle informing your grandsire,” He stated, and Aemond’s eye widened. “Ser Gwayne saw us?” He asked in disbelief and watched as the knight’s eyes flickered behind him. “Why not ask him,” He said and motioned behind him. “I have warned you, my prince... now I fear you must pay the consequences.” Ser Criston said before leaving Aemond to face his uncle. 

“Un—“ he was about to great and face his uncle civilly and explain what had transpired the other night. However, the knight had different plans. He threw a sword to his feet, a menacing expression on his face. “Pick up your sword— we are to spar.” Ser Gwayne gritted. “I’d rather not… I have finished my sess—“ 

“I said pick up your sword, Aemond.” Ser Gwayne snapped, and Aemond reluctantly did so. Aemond had no time to ready himself as his uncle suddenly swung his sword at him. “You dare sully her! You had crossed each threshold and boundary, Aemond!” Gwayne frustratedly said as he swung against his nephew. “I had done no such thing!” Aemond tried to explain as he blocked all of his uncle’s attacks. 

“I could have turned a blind eye with you following her around the keep— sneaking around to feed those damned ducks— but for you to take her to the city? At night?! Compromising her?!” 

“Nothing untoward had happened!” Aemond yelled, trying to shield himself from his uncle’s unceasing sword swings. His eye quickly scanned the yard, trying to find someone to aid him, but he frowned as the yard was seemingly empty; even Ser Criston was gone, and no one could stand between him and his uncle. 

“That is not how it seemed… I have seen you both firsthand running along the streets— hand in hand!” Aemond grunted as his uncle swung his sword at his leg, using the flat side to not draw blood or cause any serious injuries. Aemond was rendered to sit on the dirt ground, with his uncle standing before him. “If you had seen and followed us, then you could attest that none of what you had insinuated transpired! Yes, I had taken her to the city, but you have seen we had only ventured to the shops!” Aemond panted, holding his leg that throbbed harshly as he had been struck by the metal sword. 

“Then what about what has happened in the halls?” Gwayne questioned, his left eye twitching with rage as he saw his nephew hold and kiss Elinora. The girl was rendered in shock that all she could do was let him and, after, hide petrified in her chambers. “You had taken advantage of her! I— I thought you might be different from your older brother— I thought you were a man of honor, which is why I had let you grow closer to Elinora and ignored her brother’s concerns. But you have proven me sorely wrong.” 

Aemond shook his head, raging at the words his uncle spewed that were simply untrue. He tried to stand, but Ser Gwayne rested the tip of his sword on his chest, preventing him. “She is too good for you, Aemond. She is pure and innocent, and we— she does not need you to corrupt and ruin her.”Aemond’s jaw ticked as there it was again. The sinking feeling— the menacing reminder that Elinora was too good— too pure for someone as damned and corrupted as him. And now, another had uttered his fears and point of grievance, and it only enraged him and fanned furthered the fire of want for Elinora. 

“Stay away from Elinora, Aemond. I mean it. I shall give you this kindness and not tell another about what had transpired last night, but if I see you again in her presence, I will not hesitate to tell Lord and Lady Tyrell, and they would certainly lock Elinora in her tower… something I do not wish to see, but it would what be needed if you do not control yourself, nephew.”

“Wh—Why are you all here?” Elinora questioned in surprise as she ventured to the pond later that afternoon with Peony in her arms. Her brother, along with Ser Gwayne and Daeron, were stood by the edge of the pond, waiting for her. “We just thought you needed company... you’re often here alone, and well, it did not sit right with us,” Edward said, a group decision among them that they shall simply pretend that Prince Aemond was not often in her vicinity. 

“Oh,” was all Elinora could say. Biting back her tongue to not utter the truth that Prince Aemond often accompanied her to feed the ducks. “Well, that’s very kind of you all... but it’s fine. I’m used to feeding the ducks by myself; you three never did accompany me in Highgarden.” She said and took a velvet pouch filled with feed from her dress pocket. 

Three men exchanged looks as Elinora stepped forward and greeted the ducks and swans, sprinkling breadcrumbs upon the water and watching them eat. Elinora traveled her gaze along the pond as she had set Peony free, and she was merely concerned that her litten kitten might teeter over the edge of the water, but the three men who accompanied her took it as her searching for the One-Eyed Prince. 

“So, Elinora... any word from home?” Ser Gwayne questioned as Daeron and Edward began to sprinkle breadcrumbs into the water as well. “A few… Lady Michelle had recently gotten engaged and wished me to attend their wedding that is to take place in a fortnight, but I had already sent her my regrets, seeing we are still to stay here for a moon.” She said, a slight tone of disappointment as Lady Michelle, though a few years older than her and her brother, was among the few true friends besides Daeron she had. It was unfortunate that she could not attend her nuptials, but it would seem she had naught a choice or option in the matter. 

“She recently got engaged and set to marry in a fortnight? Why so sudden? Is she with ch—“ Daeron abruptly halted in his thoughts as Edward elbowed his side. “Well, that’s a shame. Lady Michelle has always been so keen on you. I remember how she would always play with you in the gardens and how she was the one who had taught you how to bandage and heal a wound with tea tree-infused honey,” Ser Gwayne remarked, glancing towards Edward. 

The knight had stayed true to his word and told naught another saw of what he had seen the past night, but when Edward and Daeron came to him after his confrontation with Aemond, they told him their fears and concerns about the two’s proximity, and the knight, along with the two, devised a plan. 

Gwayne had thought that it would be best to now make Lord and Lady Tyrell aware, but he knew the consequences if they did. He was not exaggerating or uttering a metaphor when he told Aemond that they would lock Elinora in a tower if her parents became aware of his fatal attraction. The three men had been witnesses as they did such a thing when Elinora was twelve, and a son of a lord had accompanied her in the gardens and convinced her to play hide and seek. They were only missing for a few moments, but Lady Tyrell had an attack of nerves at the sudden disappearance of her daughter. And to find her alone with the other gender had only spurred her mother over the edge, and they made a preventative measure to quite literally lock Elinora in the highest tower of Highgarden until it was engraved in her mind that she must not be in the close proximity of a man without an escort. 

However, it would seem that teaching was starting to fade away. Perhaps it was the lessening of her parents’ strict and somewhat ridiculous rules as they had noticed Elinora was growing indifferent towards the lords that vied for her hand. Or perhaps it was the sudden change of routine when they came to the capitol, with Lord and Lady Tyrell so busy with matters of business that they could no longer hover and trail upon every move that Elinora made and did. Gwayne was not certain what had led to it, but he did not blame Elinora as she had been tempted by the glimpses of escape Aemond had offered.

The three men knew they must keep Elinora away from Aemond, but the prince was skilled in finding a way to get close to her, so all they could think of doing was have them return to the Reach. They could have easily done so, packed up their trunks, and made up some lie as to why they must return to Highgarden a month earlier than need be, but they thought it a tad cruel to forcefully whisk Elinora away and make her leave the capitol without much explanation. And so, they decided to have her think that she had made the decision herself. Using fond memories and cherished people as a tool to make Elinora miss home and make her think that she will leave the Red Keep and its people of her own volition. 

“I know, I feel rotten that I am to miss her wedding, but what else can I do? We cannot just leave,” Elinora sighed and picked up Peony as the kitten had enough of venturing around the pond and missed the touch of its owner. “I mean... we could,” Edward said. “Can we? Mother and Father are so engrossed in business that we barely have family dinners at night— and I’m well certain that they would not approve of me taking the journey from here to Highgarden and back by myself.” 

“I shall come with you, of course!” Edward stated, but Elinora shook her head. “They need you here for business, do they not? You are father’s heir.” Elinora stated the obvious. “Then we shall accompany you… surely Lord and Lady Tyrell will approve— and besides, I do miss the Reach. I’m beginning to notice how the air in the capitol is so… rancid.” Daeron offered, but Elinora shook her head once again. 

“No! I’ll feel further horrid if I am the reason that you two shall be parted from your family— you have not seen them in so long! And they never have a chance to visit the both of you in Oldtown.” Elinora said, completely disagreeing with the notion as she already felt guilt inside her if she was the reason for Daeron being parted from his sibling. 

“It’s fine, truly. I shall make it up to Lady Michelle! By the time we return to the Reach, it shall be the end of her honeymoon.” She smiled and expected the three men to return it as well. They did so, but only after they exchanged disappointed and knowing looks as if their plan had failed due to Elinora’s concerns for others rather than her own. 

“This is a measly task— why must I see to it myself?” Aemond questioned as his grandsire summoned him to his study and handed him a parcel to be delivered to Storm’s End. “This is a gift to Lord Baratheon, along with a proposal for the hand of one of his daughters... this is of much importance, Aemond,” Otto revealed as he studied the great confusion on his grandson’s face. 

“Proposal? To whom do you propose a marriage?” Aemond questioned, a sinking feeling in his gut as he was starting to realize as to why he was summoned by the Hand of the King. “Your memory cannot be that short, my prince.” Otto sighed. “For years now, we had revealed our plans… you must marry a Baratheon girl for their allegiances.” Aemond gritted his jaw; he thought they had forgotten such plans. He foolishly believed that he would be absolved from this particular duty as he had excelled in all others he had been tasked with. But he was a second son, a Targaryen prince. He was just another pawn to be sacrificed. 

“Why... why me? Why not Daeron?” He questioned. “He is certainly more... agreeable, as all say he is. Why not bind him to the Baratheon girl?” He asked further, trying to convince his grandfather that he was not suited to marry that girl. “Daeron is set to marry another,” Otto simply said as he went through various scrolls. 

“Who?” Aemond asked harshly, feeling that he already knew who it was. “Lady Elinora,” Otto revealed and looked towards the furry face of his second grandson. “They are well suited. They had known each other for years; her family trusted Daeron immensely, and I often see their closeness. It shall be a most fruitful and happy marriage... one that is rare in this family.” 

The hand watched as his grandson clenched his fists and his lips thinned into a line. “Is this my punishment?” He gritted. Otto sighed, “This is in no regard to you, Aemond. Yes, I have heard you sneaking around the city with the girl, but as I have said to your uncle, who had followed you both, you two only went to the shop... nothing of depravity had transpired. I have thought of this plan for years. Her engagement to Prince Jacaerys shall be moot, and Daeron is already in close proximity to Lady Elinora... they are bound for ea—.” 

“No!” Aemond seethed, and his outburst momentarily caught the hand off guard. “Marry her to me— I… I want Elinora.” He admitted. He admitted the truth that he was not yet ready to face to his grandsire as he had naught a choice but to do so. He could not let himself be bound to the Baratheon girl, and he most certainly could not let them bind Elinora to Daeron. “Aemond, your wants are inconsequential to this matter. All of us want something, but we cannot have it.” 

“But I can have her! You simply do not wish for it! No betrothals are set— you can still betrothed her to me and betrothed Daeron to that Baratheon girl!” Aemond reasoned as he stood before his grandfather, who was as stubborn as he was. The hand rarely— if ever redecides his plans. And if he was set with Daeron marrying Elinora, there shall be no returning. “Do you truly want Elinora, Aemond? Or are you simply lusting over her?” Aemond’s expression turned disgusted at his words. 

“I understand… I have been a young man myself. Yes, Lady Elinora is pretty... some would even say she is the vision of the maiden herself... but put your urges aside, Aemond. Bed one of your brothers whores, and I’m well certain that whatever this want you feel shall fade.” 

“You are sorely mistaken, grandfather... but very well, if you do not bind her to me willingly, then I will have no choice but to bind her to me myself.” 

“Is that a threat, my prince?” Otto raised his brow as he looked upon his grandson. They often say that Aemond was the second coming of Prince Daemon, but they are mistaken. Aemond was a vision of himself in his youth. Filled with determination and ambition to have more than he was born to have. “It’s a promise… Elinora is mine, and I do not care what betrothals you shall set because she shall still be mine at the end of this all.” 

When the next day came, the keep was abuzz with the celebration of the twin Prince and Princess. Great preparations were made for the name day of Prince Jaehaerys and Princess Jahaerys, but whatever great spectacle made did not deter the three men as they ignored the merriment in each corner of the keep to watch over Elinora. 

“You need not accompany me; I am only going to have tea in the gardens with Princess Helaena... surely you three would wish to watch the tournament,” Elinora said as she was growing suffocated by the three’s presence. They had been following her for the entirety of yesterday. Wherever she went, to the pond, the library, and even the chapel where she stayed for hours to attend her weekly praying custom, they still stayed. Even Daeron, who could not even sit still for an hour’s service, stayed the whole three hours in the chapel. 

“But we wish for it… You were right, sister. All of us had been busied as we came to this keep, and all of us must spend time together.” Edward remarked as they neared the usual spot where Princess Helaena and Elinora had their tea. Predictably, Prince Aemond was there, waiting. 

As he spotted Elinora, the prince quickly stood. Elinora, on the other hand, stilled as she saw the prince. Her cheeks quickly reddened as she remembered her last encounter with the prince. How could she forget? It was always in the back of her mind, and when she thought of it for too long, her lips tingled, and it was as if she could still feel the kiss she and Prince Aemond shared. 

Elinora continued to walk onward and tried to appear as normal as she could, but her usual nervous habit of twiddling with the ends of her hair was the only telltale sign that she was uneasy. Daeron clenched his jaw as he saw his brother. It was surprising, yes. But he had hoped that they would not see him as they had yesterday. He foolishly thought that Aemond had finally come to his senses as he had not trailed Elinora the entire day. 

 “Well, this is tense,” Daeron muttered under his breath as all five of them were rendered in still silence, as no one had a word of purpose for the other. Luckily, Elinora had thought of a matter to speak about. “Where are your children, princess?” She asked softly and turned her body to Princess Helaena, but she could still see the outline of Prince Aemond from the side of her eye. She could not understand that even just a blurry image of him had managed to move the usual butterflies atop her head to her stomach. “Aegon is accompanying them to ride the ponies near the south gate.” 

“Is that... safe?” Daeron questioned with a frown. “Did Aegon not fall each time he rode the ponies?” He then added, and Elinora watched as Princess Helaena’s dream-filled eyes widened. “Oh gods, he did... if you would excuse me,” Princess Helaena said and hastily left the tense table. 

Elinora blew on her cheeks as she continued to twirl with her hair. Her brother shifted in his seat, Prince Daeron hummed a tune mindlessly, and Prince Aemond tapped his finger on the table. None could utter a subject to converse of, and all wanted badly to leave the table, but they could not do so without looking suspicious. 

“I-I just remembered I had a matter I must tend to— if you all would excuse me. I shall see you in the halls when the feast begins,” Ser Gwayne suddenly said, unable to stay at the tense table they all sat upon. It was concerning to see. His nephew Daeron, who always had a multitude of words spilling from his lips and could easily defuse a situation such as this falter, was disheartening. Elinora, as well as her usual lightness, was suffocated by this strain. 

Edward breathed out loudly, glancing at the prince who had been stealing glances at his sister. He kicked Daeron’s leg to garner his attention, but as discreetly as he wanted to be, it was ruined as the youngest prince suddenly yelped in surprise. Daeron frowned as he turned to Edward, the young lord communicating with his eyes. 

Edward’s green eyes motioned to Prince Aemond; luckily, the prince was quick to discern what his friend meant. “So, brother... do you not have to train? I heard from uncle you have become sloppy with your sword.” 

Aemond resisted the urge to roll his eye at his brother’s words. He glanced at Elinora; not once since the night they had sneaked into the city had he captured her jade eyes. “As sloppy you say I may be, I’m still a better sword fighter than you, brother,” Aemond responded and glanced at Elinora as she pursed her lips at the two of them, seemingly having a passive argument. “Arrogance is a sin, Aemond... perhaps this is you overcompensating for the lo—“ 

“Let’s see the ponies!” Elinora suddenly announced as she was quick to sense that Daeron was to utter offense. She placed a tight smile on her lips as the three of them at the table turned to her, who had stood and was ready to leave in the direction of the ponies. “Come now, lest the good ones be taken!” She said but did not wait for their response as she hastily left the gardens where the air was fresh but overly suffocating. 

It was already the start of the feast, but Aemond had yet to speak to Elinora alone. The whole day, her brother and his had been around her like guard dogs. Staring him down and growling the moment he would even attempt to step an inch nearer Elinora. 

Now, as the feast began, Aemond was seated further away from her, and all he could do was watch Elinora from afar. He was waiting. Patiently waiting until the feast was at its peak so he could have at least a short moment to speak with her. Surely, his youngest brother would indulge with his cup, and Lord Edward too shall follow along the footsteps of Daeron. All he had to do was wait. 

As those who were invited began to eat and the entertainment arrived, Aemond watched intently as he saw a spark of excitement in Elinora as she saw the performers they had watched in the city the other night. There was a pleasing, warm smile on her lips as the entertainers passed her, them recognizing the girl who was so enthralled with their act that she had convinced the prince to acquire them to perform for a royal name day celebration. 

“Do they know you?” Edward questioned as he noticed that those people dressed in garish clothes were waving and smiling at his sister as if they knew her. “I… I do not think so. Perhaps they were just being nice,” Elinora smiled, quickly turning away from her brother as it did not sit well with her to tell him a fib. 

Instead of watching the entertainers, Aemond was watching Elinora. Watching as she gleefully be entertained by their act and laugh along with the others in the hall. He wanted badly to stand from his seat and be beside her, to finally speak with her of what had transpired in the hall because he knew all too well that there were bouts of doubt and most probably regrets in her mind for what they have done. He had to pluck that reservation in her pretty head lest all grow successful as they placed distance between him and Elinora. 

When the feast was at its peak and the night had grown to the darkest hour, most of the guests had been intoxicated with the merriment and the Dornish wine reserve that all no longer cared about anything but themselves and how to keep the temporal high that the alcohol had caused. Aemond knew it was his time to move. He watched as Elinora stood from her seat and kissed her parents and brother good night before she was escorted by a guard to retire to her chambers. 

Aemond quickly followed suit. Sneaking through the dark halls that led to her chambers. When she was delivered safely in her chambers and the guard had disappeared, Aemond stood before her door and gave a silent knock, knowing she would answer. “Is there anything you need, Ser?” He heard her voice call out, automatically assuming it was the knight, and Aemond had the pleasure to see her expression grow surprised as she saw him. Jade's eyes were wide and pink, plush lips parted. 

“Oh… Prince Aemond… I—“ She began to stutter, not expecting to be met with him. “Have you enjoyed the feast?” He questioned, not wanting to confront her with the matter he desperately wishes to speak about. “I did— but, I— you should not be here, Your Highness,” Elinora said cautiously, fingers tightly gripping the metal handle of the door as she looked towards the halls. “Really? You had no qualms with my presence here the other night,” Aemond said lowly, his gaze turning to the dress of light blue that Elinora wore. Delicate gold embroidery of vines scattering on the bodice. She was fashioning a rather lower neckline than her previous dresses, and when Aemond noticed where his stare had travelled, he quickly turned away and instead focused on her eyes. 

“And enough with formalities, Elinora… I do believe we're both past titles, do you not think?” He added and watched as scarlet spread to her cheeks as she realized what he was insinuating. “I— must go, good night, my prince,” She said as she could not bear to have this conversation tonight. Elinora tried to close her door, but the prince hindered her by placing his foot in between the gap. 

“Do you regret it?” Aemond sighed and sought for her eyes. Cautiously pushing on the door to reveal more of Elinora. “What?” Was all she could ask. “The kiss, Elinora. Do you regret it?” Elinora felt her hands grow cold as the matter that she was trying hard to avoid was presented before her, the prince stubborn as he tried to acquire her answer. “I… I do not know,” She whispered, lowering her gaze. 

“You do not know? It’s quite simple; it’s either yes or no. Now, do you regret our kiss? Yes or no, Elinora.” Perhaps the prince was a tad cruel at his approach, especially as he had to witness Elinora’s avoidant gaze and the way he could almost see the way the gears turned in her head as she tried to form her answer. “It... it matters not if I regret it or not— It should not have happened.” She finally said, and Aemond felt a smudge of guilt as he saw tears forming in her eyes at the way he had pressured her to face the matter. 

Aemond sighed and tried to step closer to her, but Elinora swiftly backed away. “It shouldn't have happened... it should have never had happened. I— I had broken my family’s trust and— and my vow of loyalty to my betrothed even if I do not know he is. I have sinned.” Elinora spiraled, staring upon the floor, eyes wide, as she finally realized the magnitude of her actions. Aemond chewed on his cheeks and pushed himself in the chambers of the girl who was enveloped in shock. He took hold of her cheeks, pulled her closer to him, and tried to soothe her as she was starting to take deep, uneven breaths.

“You did no such thing, Elinora... you’re fine. You have not sinned.” Aemond tried to reassure, but she only shook her head, the prince feeling as the tears fell from her cheeks and onto his skin. “No! I have done all they had warned me not do! I am a horrible daughter! I have… I have sullied myself!” She cried, and Aemond held her head to his chest and held her and petted her soft, silky hair. “No, you didn’t, Elinora.” Aemond sighed and felt an odd tightening in his chest as he heard her sobs. He always found the cries of another annoying. His eldest brother loved it. Aegon did find amusement in the cries of sorrow and pain, but Aemond found it unbearable. No amusement nor sympathy was gained for the other cries he heard, but when it was Elinora’s sobs and whimpers, he felt most empathetic, and he wanted to do was cease her cries so the light throb in his chest would cease as well. 

“I have! I... it was meant for my betrothed! I have broken my oath!” She cried once again and before Aemond could hinder himself, words that were lies left his mouth. “You have not. You did no such thing,” Aemond muttered and watched as Elinora slowly raised her gaze. “What do you mean?” She questioned, eyes red as she tried to back away, but Aemond only held her tightly. “Your kiss was not wasted... if as you say that it was meant for your betrothed, it still went to him,” Aemond said, lying so effortlessly as he could no longer watch as Elinora cried. 

“What?” She breathed out, mind overly confused as she tried to understand what the prince meant. “Do you not truly see, Elinora?” He questioned and cupped her cheek. “It is me. I… I am your betrothed. You are to be bound to me.” Aemond said lowly as the girl tried to comprehend his words. “Elinora... you seriously cannot be that oblivious.” Aemond breathed out with a small smile. “Did you never wonder why I was so harsh with you in the beginning? I was simply testing my dear betrothed... to see if she is truly the woman of virtue all said she was... and they were right. You did nothing wrong. Yes, you may have given me your first kiss, but it was always meant to be mine.” Aemond said lowly, face threading closer to hers. Jade's eyes were still in disbelief.

“Really? Are you truly my betrothed?” She asked after a moment, staring directly into Aemond’s lilac orb to see if he had uttered a lie. Aemond gave one of his rare smiles and nodded, imploring Elinora to believe the lie that he too tried to sell himself. “I am, ñuha sōvion.” 

“But why had you not told me sooner? I… I thought you hated me,” Elinora said, shock still heavy in her voice. Aemond sighed and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Now, who could hate you? Certainly not your betrothed.” Aemond said softly. If an interloper saw the scene, they would be riddled in disbelief as the stone cold prince had grown soft and warm for Elinora. Displaying a softness that not even he could believe he was capable of. 

“Now, even I was permitted to reveal who I truly am to you… so I would advise you to keep hush of this. Tell naught a soul that I am your betrothed, not even Daeron. Promise me, Elinora.” Aemond implored, trying to keep his lie truly locked and just for them. “I promise,” Elinora said, and Aemond hummed as he was successful in convincing her. “Good.” He smiled and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. “I… I think you should go now... even if you are my betrothed, we could still be compromised,” Elinora then muttered after a moment, and Aemond could not help but let out a laugh and look upon her flushed face. “Oh, my virtuous girl... very well. Good night, Elinora.” 

Elinora, for the first time in the past day, finally felt lightness overcome her as the guilt that she was never accustomed to harbor lessened greatly as she was reassured that she had not given her kiss to another man other than her betrothed. “Meet me under the willow tree by the pond tomorrow before first light,” Aemond then said as he was led to Elinora’s door. She nodded, and Aemond could not help but to reach forward to cup her warm cheek once more. “Good night, ñuha sōvion,” Aemond said softly. “Good night… Aemond,” Elinora smiled and slowly shut her door, completely believing that the man who has left her chambers was truly the man she was promised to and not a deceiver who would not let any obstacle prevent him from having her. 

ñuha sōvion - my butterfly

Tag List: @sapphirevhagar @dahlias-and-marigolds @shygardengalaxy-blog @m-riaa @summerposie @emerald-jade1 @darylandbethfanforever9

[ginnyw-potter]

A changed man

@ginnystrophyhusband prompt: nuance

Harry stared down the two men standing in his living room, looking nervous. The only reason he hadn’t raised his voice was because his week-old son had finally fallen asleep in his arms, and he absolutely did not want to risk waking up the smallest Potter.

“What do you mean the law isn’t so straight-forward?” he asked them.

Scott gulped. “Yeah…”

“There are nuances in the law, you see,” Roy told him, sounding not so sure at all. “And on those grounds, we had to let him go.”

“The alleged Death Eater we’ve been trying to catch?” Harry took a deep breath. Don’t wake James. “You let that man out on a technicality?”

“Yes,” Scott said.

“Then you better be damn sure you read it correctly,” Harry grumbled. He took a step closer to them. “Are you sure?”

Roy lost his nerve and glanced over at Scott.

“See we talked to Gawain Robards because he needed to sign off on it,” Scott said. “And he told us…”

Harry nodded. “He told you that you misread it and that there is a few Death Eaters out there laughing their asses off about our incompetent Aurors.”

“Not quite like that,” Roy dared to say. “How were we supposed to know it only applies to petty theft?”

The lowest step of the stairs creaked, and Harry turned to see Ginny join them.

“Do I need to take James?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No, I don’t want to wake him.”

“Okay. I’m just going to get some tea, don’t mind me,” she told the two Junior Aurors.

“Congratulations on the baby, Mrs Potter.”

“Thank you, Scott,” Ginny said with a smile.

Roy smiled at her. “He looks like a wonderful boy.”

Ginny smiled proudly and then padded into the kitchen.

Harry turned his attention back to the Aurors. “I have been off on paternity leave for exactly one week. Don’t make me come back early, because you won’t have to just deal with me but also my wife.”

Scott’s eyes widened.

“I picked out you two when I became team lead because you seemed like two sensible lads eager to do some good in the world. I don’t want to be wrong, but you’re making it very difficult right now not to second-guess that decision.”

Roy and Scott both stood there awkwardly and said nothing.

“Where were Viola and Amanda during all this?” Harry asked.

The two men looked at each other at the mention of their other two team members.

“What?” Harry pressed.

Roy sighed. “They told us not to do it.”

“And you didn’t reconsider?”

“I though Viola was simply upset because we were setting loose the one she captured,” Scott explained, looking sheepish. “And we figured Amanda was on her side because she’s a woman.”

“Because she’s a woman?” Harry repeated as he ignored his wife’s snort of derision from the kitchen.

She made herself known again by walking out of the kitchen, holding a mug reading World’s Greatest Mum and sipped from it. “And not because she was right?” She tutted quietly. “What exactly are you doing in my living room?” Her brown eyes were trained on them.

“Robards sent us,” Scott squeaked out.

“You’re lucky I left my wand upstairs,” Ginny commented, her mug already halfway to her mouth again as she walked into the kitchen once again.

Harry faced his Aurors again. “On another day I would leave you to figure out your own mess, but I don’t have time for that. You’re going to find that Death Eater again and capture him. You are going to apologise to Amanda and Viola for not taking their earnest advice seriously and for forcing them to work on this again. You are going to tell Robards what I told you—and I will check in with him so don’t go spinning lies.”

Scott nodded quickly. “Yes, Sir.”

“And any decision you four don’t agree on unanimously, you will run by Robards,” he finished.

“Please, no. Robards is going to hate us for doing that,” Roy complained.

Harry shot him a look. “Perhaps then you��ll learn. You can go, both of you.”

The two Aurors hurried outside, and Harry took in a deep breath to calm himself before he walked into the kitchen.

“How difficult was it to not go outside and hex that Death Eater yourself and bring him in far quicker than they ever could?” Ginny asked, pushing a second mug across the counter to him.

Harry looked down at the soundly sleeping James. “Surprisingly easy,” he admitted. “Someone else can save the world. I have better things to do.”

When he looked up, Ginny was beaming at him.

“You’re a changed man, Harry.” She walked around the counter towards him.

“There will be other days to save the world, more Death Eaters to capture. I want to cherish these first precious moments with our son. Besides, you need me.”

Ginny reached out and caressed his cheek. He kissed the pad of her thumb. Her attention slipped to James.

“He’s sleeping really deeply,” Ginny noted. “What did you do?”

Harry nodded towards the Snitch that was charmed to fly above the armchair only. “He followed it for a bit and his eyes shut like that.”

“You’re such a little Potter,” she cooed, carefully stroking James’ cheek.

“He is, isn’t he?” Harry said proudly.

[starberry-cupcake]

I have made the most 2008 goth forum-like banner I could create to put my liveblogging posts of tlt under because those are the vibes I find appropriate and it gives me nostalgia. If this was 2008 blogspot, you'd be hearing something like HIM's Wings of a Butterfly, or something like that, please picture that.

previously, in gideon the ninth:

this happened

were we are now:

I forced myself to stop reading for the day so I could update a sensible amount and not a thesis length post nobody will read

it wasn't easy to force myself to stop reading

you know how it is

so, turns out that protozoa was dead all along (ish)

people here die and live and kinda live-die and die-live, you know

dulcinea del toboso soraya montenegro septimus was hiding that fact

she has also not mentioned exactly how he died (she said an accident??? harrow said he was stabbed?? what, he fell on a sword heart first????)

I am still not done with her

I still don't trust her

she's gonna die and I'm gonna still think she's scheming

ANYWAY

gideon DID suspect harrow

she had a bit of a crisis over it in front of palmolive's salad

palmolive reacts by taking off and putting on his glasses 25 times

and harrow had my exact thought process of "she's gonna go to dulcinea instead of me if she finds out"

I am very unnerved at how much my thought process and harrow's have aligned so far

very concerned for my mental state

ANYWAY (vol. 2)

palmolive says what I said, that it's not harrowcita's style to kill so sloppily

gideon tells palmolive her past trauma and how all the kids in the ninth except her and harrowbeth died and how she blames herself because harrow kinda had the childhood of asuka langley soryuu in evangelion but worse

palmolive does this

camilla, the moon to my stars, the woman of the year, my qp wife, brings in harrow with a handcuff

so, let me set the scene

there's a guy's head in a box, gideon has told palmolive her life story, and in comes camilla with harrow on a kid harness like she's a scary parent at disneyland

this is a sitcom

anyway, they all go to dulcinea's lair and have a talk with the group

I still kinda stan yandere twin ianthe (sp??), I'm not gonna lie you folks

she's ooky kooky spooky in a fun way

like, deranged (affectionate)

so, as usual, nobody agrees on anything and everyone fights and dulcinea coughs up a hairball

now, harrow and gideon go to the pool

which is salty now, much like gideon

my first thought was "gideon can't swim, she's gonna drown like sonic!!"

but they could stand in the pool apparently so it's fine

I mean, physically it's fine, EMOTIONALLY not so much

it's time to come clean, share trauma and also maybe flirt in the pool, if that's what's going on here

I think it's what's going on

it's hard to tell with them, but there's tension, proximity and hugs and stuff

basically, if I understand correctly, the ninth put all the kids in an infomercial blender and harrowbean was powered into life

but gideon is baby hercules and survived

which explains why she was turned into a blood sprinkler and the next day she was doing push ups like a maniac

I mean, it explains why she could physically do that, not why she thought that's the safe thing to do

so the ninth was like ?????? and feared gideon

and proceded to treat her like konoha treated naruto uzumaki

no adult person in the ninth was making sound decisions, it's what I'm getting at

case in point: ortus and his mom were blown to bits

also, very important

if I understood right, there's a frozen girl in the ninth's fridge tomb

a frozen girl like dr victor fries's wife nora in batman, or hyoga's mom in saint seiya, or han solo

ice cube frozen girl with a sword and chains and the vibe of this specific barbie doll from the haunted beauty collection

it's like if snow white was the apocalypse

you're gonna hate all my references by the end of this

I'm so sorry

there's a threat in a girl, in the ice, in the tomb, in the ninth house, that's the gist of it

and harrow has existential trauma because pretty much every person below the age of 18 died for her to live, so she wants to make it count

and gideon is hercules who comes from elsewhere and has the genes of a demigod or a kryptonian

but all of that doesn't matter, what matters is that harrow says the most metal phrase ever and goes: "I am a war crime"

?????? HELLO?????

and here's the thing (I have told you this @lady-harrowhark ), this is the book @ me every time I discover some truth and I look at my ebook's progress bar

if you're not completely annoyed, I'll be back tomorrow with more reactions to reveals

[simplemorgue]

𝐒𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐌𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬

Warren Lipka X Fem! Reader

Warnings: fingering, dirty talk, swearing.

Mature Content!

Warren's POV

Context: Warren tries to keep you with him as he ponders a plan you disapprove of.

Her dress shirt had the first few buttons undone, just enough for me to see her breasts rise and fall with her ragged breathing. Her nipples were hard with excitement. She bit her lower lip, reddening it, squeezed her eyes shut, and threw her head back. All of this while I fucked her with two fingers. In, out. In, out. As fast as I could. The wet sound of her pussy and her hand gripping my shoulder made my cock throb inside my pants.

Fuck.

Lying in my bed, writhing, and I was beside her, watching with satisfaction the way she reacted to my touch.

She was the most beautiful thing to watch when she was being fucked.

I pushed my fingers deeper, my thumb massaging her clit slowly, teasing her toward a pre-orgasm.

"Come on, babe, you're doing so well..." I murmured, lowering my face to her lips. They were warm. Swollen. My breath mixed with hers. "Be a good girl and come for me..."

"W-warre..." She stutters softly unfinished, her hand moving from my shoulder to my hair, fingers tangling and pulling, forcing my mouth against hers. Her heart was racing. I could feel it. I could hear it.

For a moment, I doubted whether the sound was coming from her chest or mine.

I doubled my efforts. Faster. Deeper. She moaned against my mouth and, for a second, I was the one who almost came.

The need to make her feel pleasure was overwhelming.

Maybe it was because, just minutes ago, she had called me a reckless idiot.

We had fought hard when I told her about the plan to steal those expensive books from the library. She had always been infinitely more responsible than me. Always knew the difference between right and wrong. She called my plan absurd. Said I was nothing more than a spoiled brat playing at being a criminal.

And she wasn’t wrong.

But I wasn’t going to give up. And she knew that.

What happens when a reckless son of a bitch, willing to pull off the heist of the decade, dates a hot, sensible, opinionated, and intelligent woman who never agreed with it from the start?

She starts slipping through your fingers.

You might lose her.

"I'm not going to sit here and watch you put yourself in this kind of situation, Warren. What the fuck is wrong with you? This isn’t some candy from a convenience store that no one will miss, this is a national treasure. Do you think this is a joke you can play with your friends? ‘We’re bored, let's rob a musem’." She mocked "Seriously? Before you try to get rich, learn how to be responsible."

That was what she threw in my face before I shoved two fingers inside her and tried to make her come.

I needed her to feel like she needed me, just as much as I needed her. She couldn’t leave me. I wouldn’t be able to handle it.

"If I manage to sell those fuckin' damn books, we can run away together. Just me and you. I’ll give you everything, the best of everything," I said, eager, looking at her with hope, trying to convince her.

The scent of disappointment coming from her was strong. She looked at me with certainty that this was something she would never agree to. I fucking hated how decisive she was sometimes.

She was slipping through my fingers. The only thing keeping me sane in this miserable life, post-divorce of my parents, was evaporating.

Now, watching her squirm, breathless, moaning my name, I almost thought I had won. That I had pulled her back to me.

But then she stopped.

One of her hands gripped my wrist. Her eyes opened slowly. The other let go of my hair, resting on the bed. Her face moved away.

"I can’t..." her voice came out low. She looked away, breaking eye contact. "I don’t want this anymore."

The double meaning horrified me.

She didn’t want to come. Or she didn’t want me anymore?

"Please, baby... You were so close..." I tried to move closer, my mouth near hers.

She hesitated. Three seconds.

"Warren..." she warned.

I pulled my fingers out of her, slowly. They came out wet, glistening.

She pulled away, sitting at the edge of the bed. Her hair was a mess. Her hand slid through it.

I mirrored her. Sat up slowly and sucked my fingers. Sweet. Fuck. So damn good.

She stood up, buttoning her shorts.

Slowly, I remove my fingers from my mouth. The corner was dirty with her release. "You’re leaving already?" My voice came out lost, as if I had just woken up.

She didn’t even look at me.

"Yeah."

She got dressed quickly. Her shirt was almost fully buttoned, except for the first two buttons.

"You’re still... still mad about our talk earlier?"

She finally looked at me.

"I’m mad that you haven’t given up on this nonsense."

"Nonsense? Don’t you get it? This money could help us get everything we ever wanted..."

"Everything you ever wanted, Warren," she cut me off, pressing her index finger and thumb together and pointing at me. "Don’t drag me into your selfish, unfair fantasy. That dirty money won’t bring you anything but a pathetic, mediocre, empty life."

"Do you hear yourself, woman? Do you hear the shit you’re saying?" I poked my ear, gesturing. "Fuckin' hell, why don't you want to understand?" I stepped closer, my voice rising.

"Lower your tone, Lipka." Now she pointed her finger at me. "Don’t act like you’re in the right here when you so clearly aren’t."

I sighed, running my hands down my face.

"I’m sorry. I apologize."

I looked at her.

Fuck.

That feeling again.

She was going to leave.

Slip through my fingers.

She lowered her gaze for a moment, then turned to grab her sneakers from my nightstand.

"I’m going now." She walked toward the door, but I grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulling her back.

She stopped.

Didn’t resist. Just stood there, head down, sneakers in hand.

My hand found her waist.

"Hey..." I murmured.

She lifted her eyes to me.

I took a deep breath, pressing my forehead against hers.

"I love you. I fucking love you," I confessed. Not for the first time, but with more weight than ever. "You can’t leave me. I can’t..." My throat tightened. "It’s already hard as fuck dealing with all this shit. My parents' divorce..." I laughed dryly, trying to hold back the pain. "Just... please... I can’t."

She looked at me. I looked at her.

"You’re an adult, Warren. You have to deal with the consequences of your actions." Her voice was calm, but her words cut deep. "You know you’re going to lose me if you go through with this heist. The choice is yours."

She pulled away from my touch.

Turned. Walked to the door.

And left.

[airandangels]

Email I’ve just sent to the public consultation on the use of puberty blockers:

Kia ora,

Although I have already made a submission through the form on your website, I want to send this email in my own words in case there was any ambiguity in my response caused by the wording of the questions. I found the one about limiting puberty blockers to medical trials manipulative. It implies that puberty blockers are a new and untested method, when really they have been approved for use and prescribed for years, both to transgender youth and to cisgender children with precocious puberty.

Just because puberty blockers are first coming to many people’s attention about now does not mean they are new, but that question reads as someone trying to play upon that misperception. It reminded me a bit of the infamous referendum question in one of the earliest elections I voted in, in which victims’ rights and “hard labour” for prisoners were presented together so that you couldn’t say yes to one and no to the other. I thought it was devious.

Returning to the point of children being treated for precocious puberty, if puberty blockers are safe enough to use on them, why is there any doubt that they’re safe enough for transgender children a few years older? Or should, for example, a six-year-old girl whose natural hormones are out of kilter have to go through the ordeal of starting her periods years before she’s mature enough to cope with them? That would be cruel, wouldn’t it? In the same way, it’s cruel to force a transgender boy to go through that process, even if it is at the typical age, because it inflicts needless distress on him. Why not put the issue on pause until he is mature enough to make a more informed and rational decision about it? It sounds eminently sensible and humane to me.

The issue here is not really one of safety but one of autonomy. The only medical issues that we treat as political ones like this are abortion and gender-affirming treatments, and that’s because when they are allowed they give people, especially women and young people, more autonomy and choice about what happens to their own bodies. Please stop and imagine how horrifying it can be to have something happening to your body that you don’t want and can’t control and that if it continues will change your life permanently. (There’s a whole subgenre of horror movies called body horror precisely because that’s so viscerally frightening an idea!) Perhaps you don’t need to just imagine because you’ve experienced something like that already. I hope that experience will help you to empathise.

A child or teenager’s hormones are no more the business of Parliament (or any random New Zealander with an opinion) than the contents of my uterus. The best way to deal with them should be decided by the person themself in consultation with medical professionals who can advise on how treatments work, what to expect, and risks to be managed, exactly the same as any other medical issue we might have, from a skin condition to cancer. Please bear this in mind, and give these young people the autonomy they deserve. Please listen to transgender people themselves and to the medical professionals who specialise in their care.

Ngā mihi,

[Airy]

[sondersonne-art]

LAST MINUTE SECRET SANTA JOURNALS GO!

Thistle of Auspice, Chosen of the House of Battles.

There isn't very much to Thistle. He's quiet, keeps mostly to himself, and lives in an estate that would be modest by Creation's standards. His coworkers can't get a read on him- he doesn't socialize and converses only with his mentor, and recently, the members of his task force. One can only speculate about the trauma he's endured, or the deep secrets he holds within himself, locked behind that stone countenance.

In reality, Thistle still sees himself as a mortal soldier, plucked bewildered from his scavenger lands warrior culture and placed in the machinations of the bureau. He isn't sure what he wants, he isn't sure what he believes, and he still hasn't caught up to the unworldly splendor of Heaven. He also, pointedly, has not fully learned to read, and his mentor does all of his paperwork.

As an agent, however, his skill is impeccable. Wielding his personal-loan artifact Shrike's Favored Thorn, a starmetal direlance that circumvents causality to deliver decisive action on the battlefield, Thistle enjoys the thrill of combat. Fighting other Exalts is one of the only things that still gives him a sense of familiarity, and living a soldiers life is one of the only times he truly lives in earnest.

He wears dark crimson clothing and mismatched plate-and-chain armor with a stained gambeson beneath. His hair is kept in a light brown bob with utilitarian bangs. While he uses he pronouns, he maintains a femininity with his appearance, and asserts a neutral gender to his peers.

--

Brown Hair in a bob.

Red gambeson.

Any armor you like- it varies a lot!

Somewhere on the outfit, a red symbol of Mars, hand-painted.

Very socially awkward and casually stoic to a fault.

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

EDIT: Also my alt option because I forgot!

Tepet Vimah, Air Dragon and aspiring Battlemage.

The only sorcerer across all seven years of the House of Bells, the only Tepet scion in the sixth year, and a flat affect that makes socialization... difficult. Vimah is an outcaste for one or all of these reasons, depending on who you ask.

From summoning demons in the school bathrooms, changing the weather during field exercises, or providing sorcerous alterations to her classmate's essence flow, Vimah's outward goal is to prove the value of strange, taboo means to strengthen the realm. Now that her House stands ready to fall, her mission has become all the more grand, as she believes that she ignite her family's reputation anew. With a storm in her gaze, she casts her eyes at Thorns- her dream is to see it retaken from the front lines.

Vimah is always surrounded by crackling lightning- actively channeling her essence into idle thought, keeping her mind at peak efficiency. When not passive, she's firing bolts of lightning at foes during field exams, conducted by the iron pins she throws like darts.

She usually wears a simple wrapped top, belted at the waist, with a chestwrap underneath; baggy pants tucked into heeled boots; and wrapped, insulated fingerless gloves. Her hair is kept in bangs, with two locks hanging in front of her long, pointed ears.

--

Black Hair, big pointy ears, bright blue eyes.

Simple, utilitarian clothes.

Lightning in her irises or around her body.

Her anima manifests like piñata paper folding away from her skin, billowing off like flower petals.

Perpetual ':I' expression- sometimes '>:I' as a treat.

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

I encourage a little bit of freeform interpretation- if you have a good idea for something to draw, or an aesthetic sensibility to impose, please do~!

[jailforwriter]

Hey, good lookin'!

Greetings and salutations, fellow word-arranger! I see that you also enjoy the art of reshuffling letters until they spell out cool stuff. That sounds like a pretty solid basis for a friendship, hmm...

This is a little nook for all things writing! It covers everything from tips and book reviews to the very backbone of society (memes, duh). The aim here is to build a nice community and foster friendships and support and all of that good stuff. Writing can be pretty lonely, so let's make it a little less so!

About me

Hi, I'm Alai. I'm a queer Venezuelan girly, late-20's, looking to become more active in the writeblr community. Some of my other interests include philosophy, Greek mythology, all sciences (I have an Honors degree in Laboratory Medicine!) and everything to do with the Classics.

My focus is on Queer Supernatural Horror, but I'm open to all sorts of genres and do very much read other stuff on the reg. Also really into Sci-Fi, Thrillers, and Literary Fiction.

Most of my work is novel-centric, but I also love reading short stories and poetry and cannot resist a good out of context quote lol.

Lover of all things character-driven and morally ambiguous, pyrrhic victories, interpersonal drama, tragic losers doomed by the narrative, and the liberal use of Catholic Guilt™️ as literary garnish.

I'm an only child who once heard that sharing is caring, so please hit me with your best WIP and let's chat about it! We can even hold each other (accountable so we can get it DONE).

WIPs

Nulla Salus (Queer Supernatural Horror)

Summary: Nahia Boyd is a PhD candidate whose thesis centers around researching antipsychotics for use in anticancer treatments, which makes it all the more unethical when she starts taking them herself in a desperate bid to deal with her latest issue: hallucinating life as a 1920's nun. Not just any nun, either, but Sister Ana Conway, the resident quasi-saint whose life came to an early end at the daggered hand of Reilly Byrne, a local salt tycoon with a curated hatred for the Catholic Church. When the chancellor, Huxley Sinclair, calls Nahia to a meeting, she expects to get expelled, but is surprised to find herself hired for an unexpected job instead: sabotaging his estranged daughter, Rory Sinclair, so she won't pass her midterms. Under threat of expulsion, incarceration, and failing the dead mother for whom she chose to go into cancer research at all, Nahia agrees to involuntarily withdraw Rory from her Mechatronic Engineering course, ignoring both the voice telling her that she might as well hang Rory herself, and the hallucinations—visions—telling her that she's made these decisions before and ended up stabbed for them. As she delves into her role as saboteur, and forced to remain inconveniently sober, Nahia continues to suffer these visions—only to realize that, however intrusive, they're useful. The life she invented for Ana rhymes with her own, and she can extrapolate her own subconscious advice to use for stopping the tailspin her interpersonal issues have been on since she started her PhD program. She fixes some things, breaks even more, and keeps trying to convince herself (and her scientific sensibilities) that she isn't haunted. Ghosts don't exist. Ana is not reaching out to her. But evidence to the contrary keeps piling up, and strange things keep happening, and Rory seems intent on proving that Nahia is hiding something big while clearly hiding something even bigger herself... Note: there's a TON more to this plot, I promise!! But unfortunately, any particulars I may give would constitute an absolutely gargantuan spoiler lol. Also, there are New Adult/coming of age elements to this story, and a dual-timeline setup that makes it kind of a Historical, too, so if you're into that, huzzah! Tropes: soulmates, forced proximity (kinda if you squint), co-saboteurs to lovers (squint a bit more just trust me lmao), absolutely rancid sibling dynamics, mommy issues, daddy issues, crisis of faith, Everything Is A Lie Nothing Is Sacred, loser women cringefailing, "ah, you're one of them queers", The Catholic Church. TWs: religious trauma, suicide, violence, blood, body horror, abortion, drug use, ableism, homophobia, cancer, death, infertility, pregnancy, hallucinations, fire, murder, profanity, France (mentioned) and lesser elements of sexism, racism, war, depression, and anxiety.

Will be looking for betas and feedback very soon, so please stay tuned! Updates to come on this blog. If anyone's at all interested, any sort of engagement would be very welcomed and appreciated :)

Happy writing!

Edit: if any of y'all remember me from back in the day—NO YOU DON'T lmao. I overhauled this whole thing completely and it's, quite literally, a whole other book, hence the years long absence. Haha. Ha. :(

[archetypesanalysis]

Tech's Anima

This is the second part of the character analysis for Tech. You can read the first part here. I will be referring to “Gods in Everyman” and “Goddesses in Everywoman” by Jean Shinoda Bolen for this analysis.

Tech’s anima is Athena, or Minerva as the Romans called her, and she is the Goddess of Wisdom, War and Crafts. She is the protector of cities and the patron of military forces. She is also the goddess of weavers, goldsmiths, potters and dressmakers. Her values involve rational thinking, strategy, practicality, tangible results, and the domination of will and intellect over instinct and nature. Athena is often depicted with an owl, a bird associated with wisdom and prominent eyes, which are her traits. Tech has these two traits as well for he has the appearance of an owl. Besides that, Jean Shinoda Bolen views Athena women as “preppy” – their outfits are practical, durable, and not uninfluenced by fads. Many fans depict Tech to have a “preppy” look in the modern alternate universe, which is fitting for him.

The Athena archetype exists in people who are ruled by their heads instead of their hearts. This archetype can be an ally of other archetypes, like Athena is the patron of Greek heroes such as Achilles, Odysseus, Perseus, Heracles, and Jason and the Argonauts. Athena is the best strategist during the Trojan War, and her tactics and interventions have helped the Greeks to win many battles. People who are like Athena have their intelligence geared towards the practical and pragmatic, and their actions are not done out of emotions. They know what must be done and figure out how to get what they want. They thrive in business, academic, science, military or politics. Diplomacy, which involves strategy, power, and deception, is a skill that Athena excels in. Tech is the strategist in the Bad Batch who regularly gives the team an edge over their enemies. He is sensible, grounded and practical. The team, especially their leader Hunter constantly seeks his advice. Besides that, Tech regularly advises Wrecker to restrain himself, like in “Faster”, he warns Wrecker not to rescue Cid and take on Millegi because Millegi will seek retribution. Furthermore, in “A Distant Echo” and “On the Wings of Keeradaks”, Tech uses his diplomatic skills to establish and maintain good relations between the Bad Batch, Rex, Anakin and the Poletecs.

As the Goddess of Crafts, Athena makes things that are both useful and aesthetically pleasing. She is well-known as a skilled weaver. Any activity that emphasizes foresight, planning, mastery of a craft and patience are all expressions of the Athena archetype. Tech sometimes builds useful tools like the inhibitor chip scanner, in which his hands and mind work together. There are many headcanons that depict one of Tech’s love languages is creating gifts that are practical and useful. There is also one headcanon where he takes up sewing, which is fitting for his Athena anima.

As the favourite child of Zeus, Athena is the archetype of “the father’s daughter”. Athena women are attracted to powerful men, especially those who resemble the patriarchal father or the “boss man”. These women usually form a mentor relationship with these men. Like Athena, they become “the right-hand women” of these powerful men once they give their allegiance. Being the father’s daughter may make Athena women defenders of the patriarchy. They usually support the status quo and accept the established norms as guidelines of behaviour. In the myths, Athena casts the decisive vote for Orestes, who has killed his mother Clytemnestra to avenge the murder of his father Agamemnon. She votes to acquit Orestes and uphold the patriarchal principles that the men predominate over the women. In another myth, Athena is furious that Arachne chooses to illustrate the amorous deceptions of Zeus on her tapestry. The goddess tears it into pieces, which drives Arachne to hang herself. Athena then takes pity on her and turns her into a spider.

In “Aftermath”, Tech briefly takes on Athena the father’s daughter when he initially defends Palpatine’s actions of wiping out the Jedi because the Jedi have attempted to take his life. However, when given the choice to follow the Empire’s orders or Hunter’s orders (both the Empire and Hunter have the Zeus archetype), Tech chooses to follow Hunter as they have been working together throughout their lives. The loyalty shared between them goes two-way – Hunter trusts Tech in carrying out his orders, while Tech trusts Hunter in prioritizing the squad’s interests. I believe that Hunter gives Tech the authority to look after Wrecker and Omega before he and Echo leave to deliver 50 cases of nerf nuggets in “Faster”.

People who identify strongly as Athena have a natural tendency to do everything in moderation. They live within “the Golden Mean”, which is the Athenian ideal. They usually monitor events, note the effects, and change plans once the initial course of action appears unproductive. Moreover, when Athena emerges from Zeus’s head, she is a full-grown woman, wearing flashing gold armour. People who identify as armoured Athena use their intellectual defences to keep themselves impervious to feeling pain from themselves or others. In the competitive world, Athena people have an advantage over Artemis people. Since Artemis the Goddess of the Moon and the Hunt is unarmoured and only wears a short tunic, people who identify with this goddess archetype are likely to take any unexpected hostility or betrayal personally. They may become outraged and emotional. However, in the same scenario, Athena people stay cool and plan their next action.

Tech usually lives within the Golden Mean as most of his actions and words are not motivated by intense feelings or needs. In “Faster”, when TAY-0 asks whether Tech wants to challenge him, Tech humbly and calmly declines because he does not have enough information about the race to determine whether he will win against the droid now. When the plan goes awry, Tech can calmly and quickly change his course of action. This is most evident in “The Crossing” when Tech remains calm despite the mission has gone seriously wrong. Furthermore, Tech resembles armoured Athena as he seems to be unaffected by unexpected situations that are detrimental to him. For example, when the Marauder gets stolen, Tech deduces that the ship is unlikely to be recovered and the team can acquire a new ship. When the Bad Batch asks Cid for help and Tech reminds her that they have helped her settle her problems with Roland Durand in “Infested” and Millegi in “Faster”, Cid says that she can come in a few days, unconcerned about their wellbeing as they are stranded on a planet with limited resources to survive. Tech calmly accepts the truth that Cid is an unreliable ally and decides that they should find a way out by themselves. If Crosshair (who has the Artemis anima) was in this situation, he might harbour anger and react emotionally towards Cid once the team got back from the mission.

Work is important for Athena people, especially when the job requires strategy, logical thinking and practicality. Athena people not just excel in math, science, business, law, engineering, education and/or medicine, they also excel in domestic arts and/or craftsmanship. They prefer jobs that give them a challenge and where they can put their skills and talents in good use. This explains why in “Faster”, Tech thinks Cid giving Hunter and Echo the job to deliver 50 cases of nerf nuggets is a waste of their skills and talents. Besides that, Tech efficiently runs the Marauder, which serves as the squad’s household. Despite not having any secure support after they run away from the Empire, Tech takes it up as a challenge and does it well. In “Cornered”, he leads the team to Pantora so they can restock their rations, refuel the ship, sell some items for money, and adjust the ship’s signature key so he can scramble the ship’s signature to avoid Imperial detection. In “Aftermath”, Tech wants the ship to stay organized as he tells Wrecker that there is not enough room aboard for more ammunition and that he does not want a projectile near his rack. Though, the squad’s barracks is a mess and Tech is seemingly unbothered by it. It is possible that Tech sees the Marauder more like their home than their barracks since they do not stay on Kamino long. This is seemingly confirmed when Tech tells Wrecker to go easy with his ship, which kind of offends Wrecker since the Marauder is the squad’s ship. Furthermore, Tech likely focuses more on the things that ensure their survival as seen in “Replacements” when he is not bothered by the ship getting thrown out of hyperspace since it is not affecting life support. This may explain why he is also not bothered by the mess in their barracks because to him, survival and training take priority over comfort and enjoyment.

Athena people can be great teachers as they can explain things clearly. They are also probably demanding teachers that expect and get the best performance, and do not accept excuses. They do best with students who intellectually challenge them. If Athena people become parents, they are the ones who cannot wait for their children to grow up to the age when they both can have discussions and do projects. They may treat their children as miniature adults. Tech is a great mentor and teacher to Omega as he trains her to become a good soldier like him. Since Omega is intelligent and a quick learner, Tech has high expectations of her. Omega sometimes finds Tech to be highly demanding of her. In “Devil’s Deal”, she tells Hera that she can only start flying the Marauder once she can recite all of the ship’s specifications from memory. At the beginning of “Spoils of War”, Tech disapproves her from taking a study break as she tries to learn every ship in the Imperial fleet. In “The Crossing”, Tech tells Omega that he trusts her to extract the ipsium because he knows that she is fully capable of the task. This indicates that Tech treats her like an adult because her capabilities are almost on par with the rest of the Bad Batch, but he forgets that she is still a child and should be treated as such. Nevertheless, Tech does take on the best Athena trait by valuing Omega for thinking outside the box like in “Retrieval”, she suggests that they try to track Gonky to locate their stolen ship, and he praises her for the ingenious idea.

However, to identify as only Athena means to live in one’s head and to act purposefully in the world. They only live for work, seeking power and authority. This one-sided development may cause people to be cut off from the full range and intensity of human emotions, sensuality and instincts. They may lack the capacity to empathize with anyone’s deep feelings, to enjoy art or music, and be moved by mystical experiences. They usually look down on people who are imaginative, sensitive, emotional and kind. They are usually out of touch with their body to the point they are unaware of their physical health until they get sick or hurt. It is important for people to grow beyond Athena by developing other aspects of themselves. To do so, they have to be receptive to other people’s perspectives, and this can lead to a gradual growth. Sometimes this growth can come unexpectedly or traumatically through circumstances that flood them with feelings from the unconscious.

Tech’s Athena anima does not resemble the goddess purely. He does not seek power or awards. He accepts people who are sensitive, emotional and compassionate. It is highly possible that his Hades and Hermes archetypes have helped him to grow beyond Athena as they help him to connect with his sensations and instincts. For example, his connection with Hades allows him to find a weak spot in the wall using the sensations he feels from his fingers, while his connection with Hermes grants him the instinct to protect and rescue people.

Besides that, Tech is expressive like the rest of the Bad Batch. In “Aftermath”, he smiles when Omega chooses to sit with the Bad Batch and that she likes them because they are all misfits. In “Battle Scars”, he is delighted to find Wrecker awake from his operation. Tech is shown to have a temper when he gets annoyed at Wrecker’s whining. He expresses his anger and frustration by rolling his eyes, shaking his head disappointingly, giving the side-eye or squinting his eyes as seen in “On the Wings of Keeradaks”, “Aftermath”, “Cornered” and “Retrieval”. Although Tech is holding back his anger in “Faster”, he clearly becomes increasingly annoyed at TAY-0’s arrogance and the droid’s constant need to put down his intelligence and advice, and he expresses his frustration through exasperated sighs. I feel that Tech will be the scariest when he loses his temper, and this is due to his Hades archetype. In one Greek myth, Theseus and Pirithous go to the Underworld to kidnap Persephone because Pirithous wants to marry a daughter of Zeus despite the goddess is already married to Hades. Hades imprisons them with chains of forgetfulness and/or by causing the rocks they sit on to grow into their bottoms. He then lets the Furies or Erinyes to torment them for eternity (Theseus is later rescued by Heracles, but his bottom is left attached to the rock, while Pirithous is left behind). With his intellect, it is possible for a livid Tech to be merciless as he tortures a person with various methods of punishment.

Tech sometimes can live in his head for so long that he becomes disconnected from other parts of himself, especially from his body. In “Replacements”, Tech is the only one who is not seen eating as he is focused on building the inhibitor chip scanner. He also views his work to be more important than helping Echo to repair the ship. As a virgin goddess, Athena has “focused consciousness”, which helps a person to concentrate their attention on their goals and exclude everything unrelated to their goals. Sometimes their focus can be so intense that they ignore the needs of people around them, and their need for food or sleep. It is probably a common occurrence that Tech does not sleep much, especially when he is focused on a task.

In “Ruins of War”, Tech’s left femur is fractured under a falling container. He is helped by Echo and Omega, and the three of them take shelter in Romar’s house. When Omega goes after Dooku’s war chest by herself, Tech and Echo go to find her before the Imperials do. Romar expresses his concerns about Tech’s injury but Tech insists that he can manage. He pushes past his excruciating pain and focuses on taking down the clone troopers. He even gets into a physical struggle with a clone trooper. He pushes all his efforts to the limit until his body and mind become so exhausted that he can no longer ignore the pain. The intense pain from his injury returns, causing him to collapse onto the ground. Thankfully, Romar arrives to help him up, and they both work together to save Omega and Echo.

On her breastplate, the goddess Athena wears a symbol of her power – the aegis, a goatskin decorated with the Gorgon’s head, the head of Medusa, a monster with serpents that can turn anyone who gazes on her into stone. The Gorgon is an aspect of the Athena people. Through their focus on facts and details, and their need for logic and rationality, Athena people can take away the spontaneity, vitality, and creativity of people who are not like them. They can be insensitive, demeaning, unempathetic, intolerant and critical. This is the Medusa effect. Usually this Medusa effect may bore or infuriate others in a social setting. However, when the Athena people are in the position of authority and judgment, they may go full on Gorgon Medusa to intimidate others.

Often the Athena people who is having this Medusa effect is unconscious of their negative power. They have no intention to terrify anyone – they just see themselves doing their job well – gathering facts, examining facts, challenging facts and using evidence for support. However, their objective mindset means that they damage any efforts to create a friendly, harmonious relationship, unknowingly killing the heart of the matter or the soul of the person. Moreover, Athena people tend to use their intellectual defences, their authority and critical gaze to create emotional distance from others. It is like wearing Athena’s armour with the Medusa aegis on the breastplate, showing no vulnerability. They end up giving a lifeless, numbing effect on other people, like Gorgon Medusa turning them to stone. Fortunately, the armour and aegis can be put on and be taken off. This means the Medusa effect will disappear once the Athena person takes them off.

Tech at times has the Medusa effect. He can look intimidating even with his helmet on or off, which is evident in “Faster” as he gives Millegi an intimidating look. Sometimes, Tech’s objective viewpoint makes him emotionally distant. For example, in “Reunion”, when Omega asks him what the war was like, he describes it as “a primary mission objective comprised of battles on various fronts”. She wants to know what the war felt like, but Tech’s objective mindset limits him from feeling the impact of the war. Furthermore, Tech’s Medusa effect sometimes scares Omega when he gives out facts and logic. At the end of “Cornered”, Tech tells Omega that she is the target of the bounty hunter they fought earlier, which scares her. In “Metamorphosis”, he deduces that the Zillo Beast is not hungry after it has eaten the ship’s crew, which terrifies her.

Tech’s most notable Medusa effect is shown in “The Crossing”. In this episode, Omega is unwilling to lose the Marauder like she loses Echo. She is devastated that Echo is not with them and that they are supposed to be a squad. Tech counters that the Bad Batch already existed before Echo and will exist after him, and asks what her issue is. His full-on Medusa effect takes away the emotions surrounding the conversation and damages his relationship with her. Omega feels numb by Tech’s words as if she has been “turned to stone”. She thinks that he is insensitive and unempathetic towards her grief, and walks away to be alone. When Tech defends that he merely told her the truth, Hunter explains that she is upset because she already knows the truth. Of course, Tech never intends to hurt her feelings – he just chooses to stay “above” his emotions when dealing with change. When he realizes how the Medusa effect has hurt his loved ones emotionally, he learns to be more careful of his words, effectively “taking off his armour and aegis”.

While Athena turns people into stone, Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty turns a statue into a living woman for Pygmalion, which demonstrates her ability to bring spontaneity, vitality and creativity into a conversation or a relationship. Whenever Tech’s Medusa effect devitalizes the conversation, Wrecker, who has the Aphrodite anima, helps to reverse the Medusa effect and revitalize the conversation. In “Cornered”, when Omega is terrified to learn that she is the target of a bounty hunter, Wrecker tells Hunter, Tech and Echo to stop scaring her. In “The Crossing”, after Tech shuts Omega down with facts and logic, Wrecker tells him to talk to her so they can reconcile. In “Metamorphosis”, when Omega is terrified to learn that the Zillo Beast has eaten the ship’s crew, Wrecker places a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, and asks Tech how this fact is helpful.

When solving a problem objectively, Athena people can be crafty and “do whatever it works” in achieving their goals or defeating their rivals. This craftiness is a characteristic of the goddess Athena. In the climatic confrontation between the Greek hero Achilles and the more noble Trojan hero Hector, Athena uses “dirty tactics” to help Achilles win. When Hector faces Achilles, Athena tricks Hector into believing that his brother is at his side as his spear carrier. After Hector hurls his only spear, he realizes that he is alone and knows that his end is near. Athena does not care about fairness or morality as she only prioritizes on an effective strategy, which serves as the dark side of Athena people. They may also struggle to understand why people become outraged over unethical or immoral behaviour, especially when it does not affect them personally. Other people may perceive them as morally indifferent, when in true Athena’s nature, they are just not moved by the feelings of themselves and others.

Tech is a very crafty person as he likes to come up with effective strategies to help the team or accomplish a goal. His craftiness does put himself and the team in dangerous situations like in “Retrieval”, he proposes infiltrating the mine through the factory stack which puts them in the risk of being burnt alive. Besides that, Tech is capable of putting aside his moral code when carrying out mercenary jobs. This is helpful in “Common Ground” when he states that their client being a Separatist is irrelevant as they are here to do a job. However, his focus on finishing the job for a decent amount of credits can make Tech look like he is morally indifferent. For example, in “Rampage”, the Bad Batch is tasked to rescue Muchi from Zygerrian slave traders. Tech seems to be more motivated by the credits, while Echo is more motivated by his personal values that slavery is wrong and the need to free the slaves. In “War-Mantle”, Tech reminds the team that they are in the middle of a job for Cid, and they will not be compensated if they deviate to help Rex to save Gregor, and that they need money to buy food.

Sometimes, Tech’s fascination on the workings of the Empire can make people mistake him as a supporter of the Empire. For example, in “Cut and Run”, Echo thinks that it is ironic that clones wanted names rather than numbers, but now people are signing up to be given numbers. However, Tech thinks that it is an ingenious idea as the Empire can create a database to identify anyone in the galaxy. Echo looks quite conflicted at Tech’s response, but he knows that Tech is a good person and that he can be impressed by the tactics used by their enemy while still holding onto his morals. We know that Tech does care about morality and ethics because he tells Cid that the Bad Batch leaves the Empire due to a fundamental difference in ideology. Besides, he does not mind changing the plans or going against the rules if that means doing the right thing.

There are three ways for Athena people to grow beyond the Athena archetype. One way is to turn inward. Athena people who are out in the world can get consumed by work and find their mind never rest. To balance it out, they can take on Athena the Goddess of Crafts to get their mind off work. They can take up weaving, sewing or making pottery as a form of therapy. In “Aftermath”, Tech seems to be tinkering with a machine in his barracks after he and his teammates return from their missions. This may be his method to get his mind off work and seek inner balance. Besides working on machines and devices, he checks on his datapad and plays strategy games (even against himself), which are all methods to help him turn inward. Moreover, his Hades archetype helps him to focus on his interior world and to appreciate the inner riches, which also helps him to relax and recharge.

In the Greek myth, Athena is born as an adult, and this metaphor is experienced by many Athena people as they learn to figure things out or they are smart about everything since young. They often lack subjective experiences that they may later want as adults. They need to recover their child self who can be confused or delighted by something new. To do this, Athena people must stop approaching new experiences like “sensible adults” and become wide-eyed children who are fascinated by everything. They may have to abandon their skepticism, labels and preconceived notion of what it should be. They have to allow themselves to imagine, play, laugh, cry and be comforted by others. Tech’s Hermes archetype balances out his Athena anima as Hermes is the archetype of the eternal adolescent. He is a sensible adult that is used to knowing everything, yet he is also a curious child who is excited and fascinated by new things. In “Faster”, Tech focuses wholly on Riot Racing like a wide-eyed child as he cannot determine who the victor will be due to the unpredictable nature of the race course.

In the Greek myth, Athena is a motherless daughter who takes pride in having only her father Zeus. She is unaware of her mother Metis, whom Zeus had swallowed when she was pregnant with Athena. Zeus swallowing Metis serves as a metaphor of the matriarchal feminine values being swallowed up by the patriarchal culture. Just like the myth, many Athena women usually have depreciated their own mothers, especially if their mothers do not resemble the goddess Athena. They need to discover and value their mothers’ strengths, and allow themselves to be mothered. They must connect with the Demeter archetype, which is the maternal archetype, so they can discover their femininity and the wise mother archetype Metis. Through his close relationship with Hunter, who has both the Zeus and Demeter archetypes, Tech develops paternal and maternal instincts, which makes him a great parent. Furthermore, his Hermes archetype helps him to unite his masculinity and femininity for Hermes is an alchemist, a guide of souls and the rescuer of the child.

Tech’s archetype combination is Hades, Hermes and Athena. His Athena archetype helps him to think objectively, while his Hades archetype helps him to think subjectively. His Hermes archetype helps to unite both his objective and subjective mindsets, allowing him to create something new like the art of alchemy that turns lead into gold. His archetype combination grants him a wide range of intelligence and transformative qualities, which makes him highly resourceful and adaptable.

[redrobin-detective]

Elementary season 3 feels:

It's been a while since I was busy with moving, I wasn't able to hit the gym as much, but finally It Is Done.

The pure whiplash the first ep was insane. I'm just reeling trying to figure out the course of events. I am drinking up the Joan has her own successful consulting business and also a cute boyfriend. Good For Her.

Wasn't sure what to make of Kitty at first. Kinda on Detective Bell's wavelength, like "who is this sassy lost child." She exudes major Sherlock-Brooding-Angst Vibes. And then Sherlock approaches Joan like desperately "Help, I accidentally adopted a child and she needs a mother. Please platonically be a parent with me." And then the first half of the season went splendidly from there. I love Kitty. Her angst. Her loud music. Her Growth(TM). She deserves the world.

So the mid-season finale really paid off. She should get to melt her rapist's face off. Good for her. And Sherlock's support no matter her decision (because he should, he doesn't have any ground to stand on). Just Masterful Characterization. Gosh, I love how this show cares about their characters and keeping track of their histories and how it impacts future choices. Half the time, the mysteries are just secondary to how much the characters Shine. I love it.

Then we have Joan's mini-arc. Another satisfying "hey, sometimes characters backslide and that's okay." Sherlock is forced to be The Sensible One and he hates it but he does a bang-up job. It was also nice to see the members of the 11th play their parts in supporting Joan and showing how much they love her as well. The little aside where Gregson trusts her to investigate his replacement is cute and I'm glad that the captain stays (even if the hints were ominous).

And then the remainder of the season was Such A Ride. Fuck Oscar. Seriously Screw Him. I don't know what else to say. He was absolutely horrible. Just toxic. HOW DARE YOU HURT PRECIOUS ALFREDO!!!! I fucking cried when Joan finally found him. Alfredo looked terrible and did not deserve that. And I Don't Like the implications at the end of the finale. Joan, please help our boy Sherlock, he's fucking drowning in guild. *brb, crying my eyes out right now*

All around 10/10. The Vibes were definitely a change from the comfort of the previous two seasons, but man there were some Rancid bad guys.

My favorite show ever

[petervintonjr]

"That is, after all, how it works. We don't come here with hatred in our hearts. We have to be taught to feel that way. We have to want to be that way, to please the people who teach us to want to be like them. Strange, to think that people might learn to hate as a way of getting some approval, some acceptance, some love. I thought about all that."

Double biography today. And even a cursory glance at this weekend's headlines will make fairly obvious why I chose to talk about these two people.

Born in 1941 Chicago, Emmett Till was 14 years old when, on August 24, 1955, he was kidnapped and tortured to death by a white mob in Money, Mississippi for the never-proven "crime" of flirting with a white woman. His mutilated body was retrieved from the Tallahatchie River three days later. His mother, Mamie Till-Bradley, made the agonizing decision for her son's bloated, mutilated body to be displayed in an open casket funeral at Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, in Chicago. Thousands of people lined up to view the body and more than 50,000 mourners attended the funeral service. The resultant media coverage threw a spotlight on extrajudicial lynchings in the U.S., and forced a greater public discourse on segregation, racial violence, and systemic inequality.

In September of that year Till's accused murderers were ultimately acquitted by an all-white, all-male jury after only 67 minutes' deliberation. Four months later the accused murderers openly admitted to the crime to journalist William Bradford Huie, in an article that would then appear in the Jan. 24, 1956 edition of Look magazine. This article's publication was in many respects a clarion call to justice for many grassroots and local activists, kickstarting the Modern Civil Rights Movement.

Mamie Till-Bradley continued to advocate for social and racial justice for the rest of her life, never passing up an opportunity to educate about the circumstances of her son's murder right on up until her death in 2003. While Till's story remains a part of the American public consciousness (even directly informing the underlying plot of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird), the details tend to become lost to time --glossed over, sanitized. Of late this has been notably mitigated, with 2022's airing of the miniseries Women of the Movement on ABC, featuring Adrienne Warren as Mamie Till-Bradley. In March of 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, and this past October the feature film Till premiered in theaters, directed by Chinonye Chukwu and starring Danielle Deadwyler as Mamie Till-Bradley. One attendee at the notorious 1955 trial was future State Sen. David Jordan (D-Greenwood), who successfully sponsored the commissioning of a bronze statue of Emmett Till, unveiled in October of 2022 at Rail Spike Park.

(Read "What Emmett Till's Mother Taught Me About Grief and Justice" by Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin.)

Bottom line here: Emmett Till's story has pointedly NOT vanished into invisibility and obscurity, unlike a great many other lynchings and massacres. But the larger issue is more primal: Emmett Till should still be alive, today --he should be comfortably just into his eighties, possibly enjoying the company of grandchildren. And to pull that very same thread, Amadou Diallo should still be alive; Trayvon Martin should still be alive; Breonna Taylor should still be alive --they should all be into their late-twenties, possibly settling into a career, perhaps starting families of their own.

Tyre Nichols should still be alive.

Incidentally, these biographies all now have a permanent home, rather than subject themselves to arbitrary throttling-down at the murky whims of various social media. Safer and more sensible that way, especially since so many states (mine included, unfortunately) have redoubled their efforts to ensure that this subject matter stays out of school curricula. New to this series? Go here to start the lessons: http://www.petervintonjr.com/blm/start.html

Black History Month kicking off in a few more days, my friends. More biographies and accompanying art, still to come. I feel as though I keep repeating this, but: we've a lot still to learn. So go study.

[skiitter]

A prompt, my dear. Hermione and Draco + “who hurt you?”

Draco Malfoy was a lot of things, the majority of which were less than desirable to any sensible person, but one thing he was not was late. His punctuality was a point of pride, in a sea of arrogance no doubt, but Hermione had come to appreciate it over the course of their working relationship. It was something she could rely on, something immovable in an otherwise dangerously murky situation. He may needle her ceaselessly and leave her to do the lions share of the paperwork, but he was always there when he was expected, an effortless air of smugness clinging to him like bad cologne.

This Sunday, however; this unremarkable, overcast Sunday in late September he was late. It was the day after her 24th birthday as well as their final meeting. The report had been ostensibly completed, the field work essentially finished, and the conclusion inevitably drawn. After the better part of a year dedicating 1/3rd of every weekend to spending most of the day with Malfoy, Hermione's Sundays were about to become her own once more; a prospect she was not all that excited about.

Everytime the chirp of the bell above the door announced a new arrival, she would glance over, expecting to see a shock of platinum hair above a signature sneer and everytime, she was disappointed.

"Another tea, miss?" The waitress asked, her expression a perfect blend of professionalism and pity.

"No, no thank you." Hermione spared another look out the window, searching for him among the crowd. "Actually, I think I'm done here. Could I get the check?"

Bundled up against the autumn chill, Hermione paid and left the Cafe' and it's memories behind. It wasn't quite noon yet, and the streets were slowly filling with the townspeople emerging to go about their days. She smiled at a few passersby but was otherwise lost in her own thoughts as she made her way to the Apparition point.

Maybe Malfoy had just decided their final meeting wasn't all that important. To be fair it was more of a formality than anything else. His decision to not show would have no negative consequence on anything other than her feelings. Feelings, of course, that she was deliberately not thinking about.

As she rounded the corner, absorbed in her denial, she didn't see him until it was too late. With an audible "oof" she ran straight into Malfoy, colliding chest to chest. She immediately bounced off but he caught her arm before she could hit the sidewalk.

"What--Malfoy?"

"Graceful as always, Granger." He let her go and she stared, wide eyed and confused, at the state of his face.

"Merlin! Your face it's--"

"Your manners leave so very much to be desired." He looked cross but it was hard to tell beneath the bruising. An ugly, mottled patch of purple marred the left side of his face, stark and violent against his pale skin. It was fresh, the edges red with the recent impact, and it appeared to have just narrowly missed his eye.

"Malfoy," she reached her hand out, ghosting her fingertips over the bruise. "What happened?"

He sneered at her and jerked away. "Keep your obligatory Gryffindor concern to yourself, Granger."

"It's not an obligation!"

"Says the war hero."

"Will you--ugh!" She huffed and dragged him back around the corner, off of the sidewalk and into an alley. "What happened?" She repeated.

"Nothing."

"Malfoy."

He looked around, deliberately avoiding making eye contact with her. "I made a wrong turn at Diagon Alley, is all."

"A wrong turn?" The incredulity in her voice was palpable. "To where? A boxing ring?"

"Just drop it, Granger."

"I will not just drop it. Look--look at your face!" She closed the space between them. "Malfoy, please. What happened?"

He sighed and the rigidity of his shoulders softened. "I forgot, okay? I went to Flourish and Blotts to get you your bloody birthday gift and when I left, I ran into some adoring fans."

"What--"

"Our former school chums don't take kindly to my presence in Diagon Alley and, after our last little spat, I'd forgotten the warning they'd left me with." Malfoy's jaw tensed and he squinted up into the clouded sunlight. "They took it upon themselves to remind me."

Hermione balled her hands into fists to keep them from shaking. "Who?"

"It doesn't matter, Granger."

"Who?" She took a steadying breath. "Who hurt you?"

"I don't know. I vaguely recognized them from Hogwarts. It's fine."

It wasn't fine. It was categorically not fine. Malfoy was hardly the first of their class that had been on the wrong side of the war to be attacked. Harry had spent a significant amount of time trying to dispel such violent grudges and, to the best of her knowledge, it had been handled. Clearly, she was mistaken.

"We need to report this to the Ministry. Harry needs--"

"Absolutely fucking not." Malfoy gave her an indignant look. "The last person that needs to hear about this is Saint Potter."

"Malfoy, Harry's job is dealing with--"

"No, Granger. I said no."

"So what? Those nasty little insects just get to get away with it? No. I refuse. We didn't go to bloody war--"

"I was on the wrong side of that war, remember? So, yeah, we did go to war for this exact scenario to exist." He could see the lack of effect his words were having written across her face. "Granger. Please. I don't want this to become another of your crusades."

She reeled as if she'd been slapped. "Crusades?! Malfoy, it's about the injustice of it! You don't deserve to be attacked in the streets for something you did nearly ten years ago!"

"The court of public opinion begs to differ."

"Oh they'll beg alright," she snapped. At her genuine anger, his features softened and Malfoy gave her an unreadable look before looking away.

"You're such a fucking Gryffindor." He said it with an air of affection, though, and it helped to ground her back in the now.

"Thank you." Once more she placed her hand upon his bruised cheek and, to her surprise, he leaned into the touch. Her breathe caught in her lungs and she swallowed. "We--we should take care of that."

"It's just a simple spell. I'll handle it."

"No," she insisted and stepped away from him. "I will. It's the least I can do."

"This is hardly your fault."

"You went to Diagon Alley for me, remember?" She looked him up and down. "Speaking of..."

"I've been attacked and you're worrying over your stupid gift?" His tone was lighter than it had been since she'd ran into him.

"Of course I am. It's not everyday the evil Draco Malfoy buys you a gift." Hermione nodded to the Apparition point behind them. "Let's go."

"What about the Cafe? You can't honestly expect me to deny our Waitress her weekly opportunity to oogle at me." He gestured to his outfit: an expensive and perfectly tailored muggle suit that Hermione had forced him to buy after he showed up to their first meeting in robes.

"I've already been. It'd been weird to go back now. Besides, I think the bruise will overshadow your fancy slacks."

"Women like a man with scars."

She snorted. "It's hardly a battle scar, you git." when he gave her a pleading look, she rolled her eyes and looked around, to make sure they were alone. Satisfied with the lack of muggles, Hermione drew her wand and tapped it gently to his cheek. The static heat of magic bloomed between them and the ugly purple faded away, leaving his pale cheek unblemished once more. "There."

In the process of her healing, Malfoy had stepped completely into her personal space and the look he was giving her was heavy, deliberate.

"This isn't over, Malfoy. I'll find out who did this, with or without your help. They don't get to just attack you and get away with it."

"I'm hardly a weakling, Granger. I fought back."

"Good. It'll make them easier to identify."

"You're not going to let this go." It was not a question.

"No. I'm not."

"Why?"

"Because." She gave him a defiant look and he tipped her chin up with his hand. "You're my--"

"What? I'm your what?"

"Friend?"

"Is that all?" He was dangerous, but in a completely different way to the bully he'd been in their youth.

"That depends."

"On?"

"On what you got me for my birthday." She grinned and he laughed, pressing his forehead to hers a moment before pulling away and offering her his arm. She looped hers around it and let him steer them back in the direction of the Cafe.

After a lunch of finger sandwiches and tea, Malfoy finally handed her a perfectly wrapped gift that she immediately tore into. It was the latest book in a series on beasts that Rolf Scamander had been releasing, and it wasn't supposed to be out for another week.

"How did you get this?"

Malfoy shrugged, as if it was the least important thing in the world. "Money is an exceptionally good incentive."

"I love it. Thank you." She beamed at him and he cleared his throat as if it would distract her from the flush creeping up his neck.

"It's no big deal, Granger."

"To you maybe. It is to me. You know how I feel about birthday gifts." They both thought back to the spectacle she'd made of his back in June.

"I did fight for my life while I was out getting it." He grinned but the smile faded at the sharp look she gave him. "I'm joking, of course. Just a little fisticuffs, nothing serious."

"I'm sorry, Malfoy. I really am. You didn't have to go all the way to Diagon Alley for this."

"Sure I did."

"Just submitting your half of the report would be gift enough."

"Lucky for you I've done both. Besides, I'm sick of using that bloody report as an excuse to be around you." Hermione blinked, unable to process the weight of what he'd said. At the shock on her face, he shrugged again. "Come on, Granger. You can't possibly think I care about work this much."

"I--you--what?"

He leaned forward and captured her chin in his hand. "My fierce, naive little lion. You're horribly dense." Malfoy gave her a soft kiss on the forehead and pulled away. "Let's go before the Waitress gets jealous."

"But. What."

"I've rendered the great Hermione Granger speechless. I am truly magnificent." His laugh brought her to her senses and she launched herself across the table to kiss him.

"Sod the waitress."

She did, in the end, figure out who hurt him and in true Hermione Granger fashion, made them rue the day they laid hands upon someone she loves.

[celestialmuses]

Leia nodded, happy to not have to make too many decisions. She was also pleased that they had managed to have a rapport with each other. The more comfortable they were together, the less suspicion they would arise. For all the little things they didn't know, they could always use the excuse of a whirlwind marriage and courtship. Or Leia could just look at Hal and appear lovestruck. "Oh I knew there was a reason I married you. Definitely not because we were forced to for our protection. Pizza sounds great! I'll go find the menu."

Work was fine, mostly just learning how the register worked and learning where various food was stocked. She mostly shadowed an older cashier today, Annmarie, learning the pace. The woman was nice, she was a new grandma, and kept showing Leia -Jenna- pictures of her new grandson. She also kept asking Leia questions about her life and about Hal -Rick-, and if they were planning on kids. She kept her answers as vague as she could without being rude, wanting to seem shy but not stand-offish. The baby questions though... those stung even though Annmarie didn't mean it. Leia did want kids someday though she knew her sensibilities might make that difficult. But wow, kids with Hal. They'd have beautiful bone structure. Maybe get his curly hair... Thankfully her shift was over soon and she escaped the building with shouted goodbyes. Hal greeted her with a Arizona iced tea in his hand. "You're an angel, thank you. I really like these, though the cans are superior to the plastic bottles. I don't know, something about them seems crisper. Work is fine, my coworkers are nosy but in that small town way. Let's go get some paint. Lead the way dearest husband!"

Hal snickered, amused that she was building onto their banter. He wasn't exactly sure what she was talking about but he figured it was an American school system thing. And he couldn't bring himself to stop chuckling at the thought of Leia singing badly. At the mention her old home, he was reminded of his own. For someone who is considered a show-off, Hal's suburban abode was all too humble. Her positivity was a tad too infectious but he welcomed it nonetheless. "Nah, a little risky inviting them into our home." Our home now hhmmm? "I'll figure it out. And you can help me."

"You're lucky, our love is strong enough to withstand lost rings, Mrs Owens." How odd - to think that the likes of him would be in a marriage albeit a fake one. "No, no," he feigned offence when she said he didn't have to work hard. "I'll find the money. You're worth the trouble," he said almost snickering. It was one of the few things that has alluded him - even the prospects of settling down proved to be disastrous. But that was a decade ago. Still, there's this attractive woman in front of him who didn't seem to mind his company. Fate seems to work in mysterious ways. A soft smile etched onto his thin lips as she spoke and Hal gave a little nod. "It's nicer to know we can get along," he replied. "Come on, let's order some dinner. I think we deserve some pizza."

--the next day--

Hal finished work without much issue today. He had kept his head down, bite his tongue when he felt frustrated with his colleagues and concentrated on the fact that once all of this was over - he will get to meet Leia and pick out paint among other things. Somehow he was very much looking forward to that. The blonde wondered if he wanted to dedicate a small room as his art studio - he had been itching to have a space so he could draw again. It would be nice to have some normalcy in this crazy fake life. He pushed himself off the pillar once he noticed her come out. "Work going all right?" he chirped, handing her an iced beverage. "Thought you might want to nurse that while we shop."

[literaryspinster]

1000 Word Preview: SITW Ch 11

Working Summary: As Dick and Kory grow closer and Rachel begins to open up, Dick attempts to stay a step ahead of the precinct. Meanwhile, a new threat targets someone from Dick’s past.

Reposting because I decided to split the planned events of Ch. 11 into two chapters, for the sake of pacing and my own sanity. Ch. 11 should be posted in its entirety tomorrow or the next day, unless something comes up, and Ch. 12 should follow about a week or two later. Until then, enjoy this tidbit!

Once the panic starts to wear off, drowning can be quite a pleasant way to die, or so he’s heard. The thought crosses his mind while edging on minute three in the deep end. Searching her glowing, half human body with every part of his. 

It’s about studying her, finding her spots, the ones that make her fists tighten in his hair and the bubbles shoot up with her sharp exhalations. She gets a little closer every time he skims his lips across the space below her belly button, or sucks on her nipples while she fucks him with her hand. Then there’s the part of her that’s far more foreign to him, the beautiful and strange part that he can’t even begin to fathom, 1000 scales, 1000 secrets.

It feels dangerous to want her this badly, as if it’s beyond either of their control. But the simple fact is, just a day ago, it felt like there was a very real chance that he’d lose her, that the answer to saving her wouldn’t be nearly so simple as it was. It’s not just passion driving him to hang on a few seconds longer, it’s relief, it's gratitude.

The second they met he knew that he wanted her in his life, that it would be so much better with her in it. But it felt stupid and delusional then. Now it feels sensible, even inevitable, because she’s here and she’s the most magnificent thing he’s ever touched. Just three more seconds, just five more, just a lifetime.

Unfortunately, he’s only a man. He has to breathe sometime.

He rises with the reluctance of leaving a warm bed on the most bitterly cold morning, faces the stars, inhales deeply and finds her beneath the surface again, returning to her. They start to make out while the water sways her hair around, enveloping him in glowing red locks, shutting the rest of the world out. Should he be worried? Is feeling this much all at once certain to destroy him? The thought only lasts half a second, then he’s squeezing her tighter, kissing her deeper, letting her love him.

He rocks decisively against the place where her smooth skin meets her slippery scales, noticing once getting her properly worked up, her nerves seem to spark like wicks when he touches her there just right. 

He pulls away from her kiss only so he can see the faces she makes while he moves, The way she bites her lip, how her eyes squeeze shut, like she’s barely hanging on. He only wishes he could talk her through it, the way he would if she were in his bed right now. 

God you’re so fucking beautiful like this.

Three minutes must be approaching again, because his lungs are getting tight, but he can’t stop now, she’s so close. He starts to lose speed, strength, the smoothness of his rhythm diminishing with each climbing second, his desperation mounting. She must sense his struggle, because her eyes peek open to see his fraught expression. Before he can silently protest she swims them both up.

“Don’t stop, please,” she cries, and oh to be able to hear her voice while she falls apart, it’s just the final push he needs to go as fast and hard as she requires in those final seconds. Her back is against the side of the pool and his forehead is buried in the crook of her neck as he finishes her, hearing her orgasmic siren song in his ear. 

It’s how the next hour goes, taking turns above and below. Searching her, letting her search him. Fucking her mouth while he breaks for air, her beautiful hair twisting and curling around his fingers. Making her come three times with the sheer force of his curiosity, kissing, laughing, reminding himself again that this isn’t some fever dream. He could do this until the sun rises. 

**** 

When he learned the truth about Konstantin, about Kory, he thought immediately about quitting, letting the precinct run itself in circles and the case go cold. But with the amount of evidence already collected, it’s only a matter of time before they connect everything to her. The only way to keep that from happening is to remain with the investigation as long as it takes for them to run out of gas on the whole thing, create the circles for them to run in.

Even before he met Kory, he was exactly the type of man to have no qualms about committing blatant obstruction if it meant keeping someone he cared about from harm. His interest in detective work has never had much to do with respect for the law, after all, it came more from a romantic childhood fascination with roguish private eyes like Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. It came from a thirst for work that would allow him to use his impressive mind in nigh infinite ways. The pay would be trash, but it wasn’t like he ever needed the money anyway.

The reality, however, has been both less and more than everything he expected; more paperwork, more screen time, more phone calls, more ptsd (at least in his short lived NYPD days), and far less of anything resembling intellectual stimuli. There’s a formula for everything, a mind numbing, bureaucratic process. But the good thing about knowing that process in this particular situation, is knowing how to outsmart it. 

For one, the digital footage from Sunnyside grocery is 100 percent tamperable, although it requires marginal hacking skills to erase the evidence. If he’s going to destabilize a three-minute gap from the footage, then the same effort has to be completed on the store's end and the precinct’s end too. Luckily, Sunnyside’s digital security isn’t exactly The Pentagon, and with his virtual private network, it would take resources lightyears outside of the precinct’s paygrade to trace the tampering back to him, not that they’ll find any reason to attempt to in the first place.

It’s not like in the movies, stones are so often left completely unturned by the police. And the very reason this particular department relies on him is because none of them ever wanted to do any of this themselves, it’s completely at odds with their initial aspirations of wholesome, friendly, cat-saving, parade waving, small vacation town life.