#good morning i have. Tasks. this is deeply terrible

[aran-morinorea]

WIP WEDNESDAY FRIDAY

Slimmed-down post/rules, but originally taken from kedreeva (and directly taken from suzukiblu)

It’s WIP Wednesday on a Friday! Let’s fuckin do it.

Here’s how it works:

I will post the file names of five WIPs, and will also post a snippet of new content from one of them to get the ball rolling.

Send me an ask with the name of one of the listed WIPs and I will write you a minimum of three sentences in that WIP in response!

Multiple asks are fine ^-^

If you’re reading this, you’re invited!

WIP names:

With Tar-Telepta, Aran Morinórea (coruling Mordor for fun and aesthetics; silvergifting; on ao3 here):

A Major Diplomatic Incident (Elrond has to deal with this shit?)

Annatar’s Shit Paradigms (catastrophic consent-related miscommunication)

Without Tar-Telepta:

Donating Blood (vivisecting your maia boyfriend; silvergifting)

Mallachel (accidental time travel with Nargothrond Celebrimbor and melted Sauron; silvergifting; on ao3 here)

Non-Euclidean Nan Elmoth (maeglin mind controlling glorfindel for fun and aesthetics)

snippet from Non-Euclidean Nan Elmoth:

Even taking those recent events into account, Laurefindelë’s company chose to take the northern path over that through Nan Dungortheb, reasoning that they were all much more practiced at dispatching the servants of Morgoth than the spawn of Ungoliant. But it was the wrong choice: “overrun” is not a strong enough descriptor for that place, in these days. It would take them too long to cross, Maeglin says, for him to keep their passage secret. If they are discovered there, they will be caught, and they cannot afford to be caught.

The other path is no safer, Laurefindelë argues. It is a valley of horror, and none who go in emerge whole, if they emerge at all.

“I have been to the north marches of Neldoreth, you know,” says Maeglin. “Where spider country presses against the Girdle.”

“Is it as terrible as the stories say?” asks Laurefindelë, who has never before been desperate enough to go near that place.

“Perhaps you would think so. To me, it felt like home.”

And so they will be taking the southern route. If nothing goes wrong, they will reach the ford around sunset the next day, and cross into Nan Dungortheb in the middle of that night.

It is full dark by the time they make this decision, so it is Maeglin who will stay at least half awake while Laurefindelë gets some proper rest. Which means, of course, that he must try to sleep knowing that if nothing goes wrong, he will be walking into the valley of spiders in less than two days.

--

He manages it. Eventually.

[clauscielo]

✧ yearning

pairing: joel miller & reader, arthur morgan & reader.

warnings: angsty. self-conscious, touch starved men. age difference, slight nsfw for joel.

requests are open!

joel looked at himself over and over again in the mirror. it had been so long since he'd cared about his appearance… last time he'd worried about looking good was in his teens. he would've laughed if someone had told him a few years ago that he'd be worrying about this again.

but here he was. looking at himself with contempt. his wrinkles, his gray hairs… the bags under his eyes, his teeth, his skin marred by sun and survival. and when, somehow, he finally managed to find himself..., not necessarily attractive, but halfway acceptable, he'd then look at you and his whole world would fall apart.

you were beautiful.

no matter how hard he looked at you, he couldn't find a single flaw. in some conversations you had mentioned some insecurities you had, but he was unable to understand them. you were just perfect.

“are you okay? you were taking so long,” you said, concerned. and he just stared at you, pained, analyzing every detail of your face, comparing it to his own.

“i'm fine. let's go,” he replied with a heavy sigh. his voice quivered slightly, perhaps from the effort he made carrying his backpack, or from something else.

he had long ago realized his feelings for you. normally he wouldn't care about feeling something for someone, attraction, or whatever. but this was different. he wanted you, deeply. he drooled over you. every night, he closed his eyes, imagining how your bare body would look, how your bare breasts would be, how it would feel to be inside of you. god, he hated himself for it, but he loved to fantasize about you before he went to sleep, the image of you being the last thing on his mind before he drifted off to sleep, sometimes even conjuring up dreams that were exquisite to him.

but when morning came, he could hardly look you in the eye. he felt disgusted, ashamed. you trusted him, and joel felt as if he was betraying you, with all these thoughts of his.

you were too young for him. you were too naïve for things to work out between you two. you were… too good for him.

and yet, he still allowed himself the luxury of watching you sleep when you rested next to him some nights, leaning against his shoulder, your lips half-open, soft little snores escaping from them. he loved you. he really did.

“you get some rest,” he whispered, stirring on the couch, a little restless. the scent of your hair flooded his nostrils, he closed his eyes and let his head fall back. he wasn't sure he could take much more of this.

“joel…” you snuggled a little more against him. “take me to bed…?” you whispered, half asleep, if not completely asleep.

“ah… sure,” he murmured. he carried you in his arms and gently, laid you on your bed. you opened your eyes a little and as he looked at you, he felt like kneeling before you and begging your forgiveness, for all the things he craved with you, for being so nasty and for never being enough.

“don't go,” you asked, your voice low. and he nodded, his gaze low with guilt.

“i won't, baby,” joel said, his voice barely a whisper, “i won't.”

you hated washing dishes. you preferred anything to this. you didn't know why, but it disgusted you terribly. the remains of breakfast mixing with the remains of lunch and dinner under water and soap... and when you touched some lump of unknown origin without wanting to, you panicked. was there anything worse than this?

being in a gunfight, maybe. you weren't so sure either.

whenever it was your turn to do the dishes, you procrastinated longer than it actually took you to clean them. you'd spend a whole hour whining, dreading the moment you'd have to face such a horrible, excruciating task. and then it would only take you fifteen minutes to get it done. it was the same thing, every time.

so arthur, whenever he got the chance, helped you. almost every time, he stood in for you, he cleaned up while you stood by his side, chattering about whatever nonsense, his gaze lost in your smile, his mind in the sound of your voice.

and of course, every time he got you off the dishes, you were so effusive with your words and gestures of gratitude.

“i sure do ‘ppreciate this, arthur. thank ya kindly,” you sighed, stroking his arm and squeezing it a little. he relaxed under your touch, a goofy grin creeping across his face, his cheeks warming.

he felt like a complete idiot. a young lady as pretty, as cheerful, as deep and intelligent as you, with a bitter simpleton like him? it was ridiculous. it would never happen.

his smile faded as he stared at the dishes he was washing. his chest ached at the thought that he could never be honest with you, could never touch you, hold you, whisper the words of love he thought every time he looked at you. he was disgusted with himself for being so attracted to someone like you. what the hell was he thinking?

arthur would do anything to make you happy. and it might seem stupid, but seeing you so relieved and grateful for something he did, even if it was as silly as washing the dishes, made him feel... important. important to you. and he loved it when you stayed by his side while he did it, telling him your stories, your thoughts.

he just wanted you to love him. and he liked to fantasize that you did, every time you touched him, every time you smiled at him, every time you got close to him because you wanted to and not because you had to.

“thank ya so much, arthur. you're the best,” you told him, with a coy smile, watching him dry his hands after he had washed each and every one of the dishes. he smiled sadly. he didn't want this brief moment with you to end.

“thank ya? the hell ya mean? that’ll be five dollars,” he replied, jokingly. you laughed.

“how ‘bout one little kiss? that enough for ya?” you asked.

he turned red and stammered, surprised by your answer.

“and what good would a kiss from you do me?” he replied, defensively, flustered. but when he saw your smile fade, morphing into an expression of embarrassment, he regretted it. “i’m sorry. didn’t mean it like that. just caught me off guard,” he muttered.

you giggled, stood on tiptoe, and planted a sweet kiss on his cheek.

[togrowoldinv]

A True Love’s Kiss

Natasha Romanoff x Female Reader

When Natasha gets brainwashed, it’s up to you to bring her back to her formal self. It’s not an easy task, but maybe your love for her is the key to unlocking her memories

Note: Woohoo Natasha. Just a fun (kinda angsty) little idea I came up with today. Enjoy this one!

Natasha Masterlist 1, Natasha Masterlist 2, Natasha Masterlist 3, Main Masterlist

It’s a quiet morning as you run through the park. Memories of the last few years flash through your head, but you shake them away.

It’s been six months since you’ve heard from any of the Avengers. The so called ‘family’ left you out to dry the moment that things ended with you and Natasha.

In hindsight, it was a terrible idea to date the woman you worked with. But you knew you were in love with her and life felt too short to deny that.

You’re on the way back to your car when you sense it. A few moments later, two of your ‘old friends’ walk into your view.

“Y/n,” Steve begins. You don’t look at him.

“Come on, y/n. Look at us,” Clint adds.

“Why should I? I haven’t heard from any of you in months. All you did was side with Natasha,” you say bitterly.

“We’re sorry,” Steve says. You hate that it really seems like he means it. “Things got messy and we weren’t there for you.”

“Understatement of the century,” you remark.

You decide you’ve had enough of this. You move to open the car door but are stopped short by Clint’s next words.

“It’s Natasha,” Clint says. “She’s been compromised and we think the only person she’ll talk to is you.”

You sigh.

“And why do you think that?” You ask.

“We’ve tried everything. It’s our last idea,” Steve says. His tone has a sadness to it. “Will you come with us? Please. For Nat?”

You don’t reply, but you simply grab a bag of clothes from your car and walk closer to Steve and Clint. They’ll take that as a yes.

After walking to the quinjet, Clint takes the reins while Steve explains to you what happened to Natasha.

“She’s not herself. None of us have been able to stop her from these missions she’s been on,” he explains. “It seems like it could be the red room again. Like they’ve brainwashed her.”

“How did this even happen? How did she get that far out of reach in the first place?” You ask.

Steve hesitates to answer.

“Tell her,” Clint says.

“Tell me what?”

“Y/n, when you and Natasha broke up she went into hiding,” Steve says. “You never heard from us because we’ve been busy trying to find her. Now that we have, we have to figure out how to bring her in.”

“We found her in Russia,” Steve continues. “She’s good at what she does, you know that. But her heartbreak made her incredibly vulnerable. Even before she left the Avengers, her focus was somewhere else. Probably on how she broke your heart.”

“So this is my fault?” You wonder aloud. You don’t know if that makes you angry or sad. Maybe both.

“No,” Steve says. “It’s no one’s fault. Nat chose to leave.”

“But she’s not choosing to act like this,” Clint says. “I can tell. I can almost bring her out of it when I mention my family. And since she’s in love with you-“

“Was,” you correct him. “She was. Not anymore.”

“Right,” Clint says noncommittally. “We hope once she sees you, she’ll snap out of it.”

“So all of this is based on a hope?” You ask.

“Well, yeah,” Steve says.

“Great,” you say sarcastically. You stand up and push your way to the back of the jet to sit alone.

Truthfully, you’ve imagined reuniting with Natasha a million times. In your fantasy, she would show up at your door in the pouring rain with flowers and a romcom style apology for how she hurt you.

But this reuniting will be no romcom. You can tell from the way Steve can’t really meet your eyes that it’s bad. He cares for Natasha as deeply as you and Clint do. You can sense his fear. And Clint’s.

“We’re here,” Clint announces, pulling you from your thoughts.

“Where’s here?” You ask. You look out the front and notice the landscape is not the Avengers compound where you thought you were heading.

“There’s no time to prepare,” Steve says. “You can do this, y/n. Approach the house carefully and expect resistance. We’ll back you up but if Nat sees us we’re sure she’ll be quicker to turn against you.”

“Here’s coms,” Clint says, handing you a piece for your ear.

“Okay. Here goes nothing,” you say, taking a deep breath.

You step out of the quinjet and walk over one hundred paces to where Natasha is supposedly staying. As you expected, she doesn’t answer the front door when you knock.

Instead, you’re struck in the back of the knee. She effectively brings you down to the ground. Her legs straddle your waist. Your breath is taken away in more ways than one.

She looks beautiful yet sad. You try to shake off the fact that you’re seeing her for the first time in so long and focus on the way she’s crushing your ribs.

“Natasha,” you say.

“You don’t know me,” Nat says.

“I used to,” you answer. That throws her off briefly and you manage to squirm free. Natasha catches up fast and pins you against the door this time.

“What do you want?” Natasha asks. She feels an odd attraction to you. “Why are you here?”

“I’m here to help you,” you say.

Natasha punches the wall behind you and wraps her hand around your neck.

“Okay, you don’t like that answer,” you whimper out.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now,” Natasha commands.

You bring your arm up to pull hers away from your throat but she doesn’t stop. You plead with her with your eyes and once again she hesitates long enough for you to slip away.

She pulls her gun on you, but waits to shoot. You hold your hands up in surrender. You try again to make her remember you.

“Natasha, please,” you beg for her to relent. “You know me and I know you. It’s me, y/n.”

She doesn’t appear to have any recollection, so you go deeper.

“You love peanut butter sandwiches,” you say. “And you secretly love M&Ms but only the red ones even though they all taste the same.”

“I-“

“And you get up every morning and go for a run not because you love running but because you like to see the world before it becomes too loud and unsteady,” you continue. “And you love me. Or at least, you used to.”

“I don’t- I’m not who you think I am,” Natasha says.

“Yes you are,” you argue back.

“I’m not,” she says. Her voice breaks. You feel like you’re making progress.

“Natasha, baby, please,” you say.

She’s fighting her internal turmoil. Her objective is to take down anyone in her way.

“Y/n, get out of there,” you hear Steve in your ear.

You don’t dare reply. She’ll shoot if she thinks she’s surrounded.

“You’re an Avenger,” you say. “You’re a friend. You’re a sister. You are an aunt to Clint’s kids. You’re the love of my life.”

Natasha’s hand shakes. She thinks she knows you, but she has a mission.

You look into her eyes as she aims at your chest. Steve and Clint run towards you knowing what’s about to happen but it’s too late.

Natasha fires the weapon and you feel a lot of pain before you feel absolutely nothing. Steve hits Nat with a tranquilizer before she can shoot him and Clint as well.

The next thing you remember is waking up in the medbay at the compound.

“Hey,” Steve greets you. “You’re okay.”

“Where’s Nat?” You ask, sitting up.

“She’s detained,” he says. “And asking for you.”

“What?”

“Welcome to the world again,” Tony interrupts as he enters the room. “Dr. Cho fixed your wound up perfectly as always.”

“Oh,” you say, remembering why you’re here. The ache in your shoulder becomes more noticeable when you try to move it. “I need to see her.”

“No can do, buckaroo,” Tony says. “We’ve got Hill in there talking to her.”

“You mean interrogating her,” you correct him.

“Maybe,” Tony replies. “But we need to know whose side she’s on now.”

“Steve, please you have to let me see her,” you say. “She recognized me. She just- she needed to continue her mission.”

“I don’t know,” Steve replies. “It’s too dangerous.”

“She already shot me,” you say dryly. “What else could happen?”

Steve relents. After a couple of hours of resting, you get dressed the best you can, putting your arm in a sling.

You approach the detainment area carefully. Natasha is sitting at a table with her hands cuffed to it when you enter.

“Take those off,” you instruct the guard.

“I’m not supposed-“

“Just do it,” you say.

“Ma’am-“

“Take them off,” Steve says over the intercom.

The guard complies and unlocks the cuffs. You frown at the way they’ve rubbed her wrists raw.

“Hey,” you say to Natasha.

“How’s your shoulder?” She asks.

“Fine. Why didn’t you shoot to kill me? I know you could’ve,” you say.

“So we’re jumping right in,” Nat remarks. “You said you know me and you told me facts that no one knows. I needed to talk to you more. I needed you alive.”

“Do you know me?” You ask.

“I don’t,” she says. You can’t help but frown. “But you do feel vaguely familiar.”

“You’ve had your memories of us taken from you,” you say. “Probably by the Red Room.”

“What did you just say?” Natasha asks. She stands up and pushes you against the wall.

“Nat,” you say. Your shoulder is throbbing.

“We’re coming in to help,” Steve says urgently.

“No wait! I can do this,” you shout. “Natasha please, you wouldn’t hurt me. Not again.”

“Stop acting like you know who I am!” She shouts. “How did you get that name? The Red Room? How did you know?”

“Because Natasha we dated for over a year,” you say. “You told me everything.”

“No,” she says. “I would- I would remember if I had loved you.”

“Natasha, I love you. I love you. I love you.”

“Stop,” she cries out. “Stop. You don’t- stop it.”

“I do. I love you. Please, I love you. Find yourself in me again, Nat,” you beg her.

Natasha’s eyes fill with tears. It’s beginning to click. You think of the last effort you can make to help her remember it all.

You lean toward her and pull her in for a hug. Your good arm goes around her waist and pulls her in. Natasha doesn’t hug you back but she doesn’t pull away either.

“Please, Natasha. I need you to come back to me,” you whimper into her neck.

It feels so familiar to her. Holding you in her arms as you bury your face into her neck, but she still can’t figure out who you are to her.

“I’m sorry,” she says, pulling away from your embrace. “I just don’t remember you.”

You nod in understanding. She doesn’t know why but she doesn’t flinch when you place your hands on the sides of her face. Her cheeks feel hot under your touch.

“Can I try?” You ask her. She gets what you mean.

“Okay,” she says.

You lean in and kiss her lips softly. It’s barely there, but it’s enough to make Natasha’s heart flutter. And yours too. Under different circumstances, it would be an amazing reunion kiss.

“Y/n?” She asks when you pull away. There’s a light of recognition in her eyes.

“Yeah,” you say.

“Detka,” she begins. You could cry at the pet name. “I don’t- are you okay? Shit, this is my fault.”

She tries to inspect your wound, but you just hug her again.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I’m so so sorry that I hurt you.”

“It’s okay,” you say. “You didn’t know what you were doing.”

“I did when I broke your heart,” she says regretfully.

“Natasha-“

“Let me just,” she interrupts. “Let me apologize. I’m so sorry, y/n. I love you. I haven’t stopped. It’s just I got so protective of you that I couldn’t let you go on missions. I was holding you back.”

“You weren’t holding me back, Nat. I understand that you’re protective over me, but I can handle myself.”

“I know that,” she says. “I’m just so sorry.”

“Let’s go home, Natasha. We can talk about this over a cup of hot chocolate,” you suggest.

“Yeah. Let’s go home,” Nat says.

You both ignore the other Avenger’s requests that you stay at the compound and they evaluate Nat’s situation and your injury.

The hope of a true love’s kiss curing Natasha seems to be really true. Maybe fairytales are real. Maybe they’re not. But you both love each other and you were always meant to end up together again.

[0uch1e]

Shepherd Chapter 2

M!Wrewolf x F!Reader

Word Count: 1.1 K

Warnings: Smut

Your body moved faster than your brain and before you knew it, his lips were on yours. It was less of a kiss and more of a feverish meeting of mouths. You only opened your eyes when you felt the warmth of his hands leave your face. You had never known someone to look so good up close,

“I can’t stay here forever.”

“What?” Scooting back, Silas rubbed his neck,

“We have lives, Y/n. I need to get back home and let people know I’m okay. It’s been a month, my arm is healed and I think it’s better if you find someone cut out for shepherding. I’m not a good watchdog.” He laughed a little at the end and sighed. 

You were confused, upset, and brokenhearted. Was the kiss really that bad? He left that afternoon. No goodbye or promises to come back and visit. He just smiled and walked away through the field and over the hill.

When nighttime came you were terribly lonely. It was the first night you had spent alone all month. Desperate to distract yourself you began a needlepoint. The crickets chirped outside, and the cold wind rattled the house.

 Shhhhhhhhk. Shhhhhhhk. 

Something was scratching at the door. Probably a branch from the big tree just outside. Turning back to your needlework you focused on the stitching. Up, over, and down. Up, over, and down. Up, over-

Shhhk Shhhhk Shhhk Shhhkk.

There it was again. The noise was too frequent and erratic to be a branch. It sounded heavy and intentional. An animal? With the broom in hand, you approached the door,

“Easy does it…carefully…Aha!” Swinging the door open with full force you wield your weapon at the creature. 

Only, it’s not a creature at all. It’s Silas, hunched over, naked, covering his head, and shaking like a rabid dog,

“Silas? You said you were leaving? What happened, are you hurt? I-Owww!” His hand locked around your wrist. His claws dug into your flesh. You could only watch as he pulled your hand towards his open mouth. Blood ran from the tip of your finger. You must’ve pricked yourself while sewing. Silas dragged his tongue along your finger before sticking it in his mouth, carefully avoiding the razor-sharp teeth that filled the void. 

“Mmmmm” He crawled over to you, knocking you on your back. Kicking the door shut behind him he still refused to release you,

“Silas?” He didn’t hear you. Instead, he pressed his face to your neck and inhaled deeply. You used your free hand to pull him back by the hair. Getting a full look at his face in the light of the fire you gasped. His eyes had turned from black to a sickly yellow. 

You’d heard stories about this before. Men go out into the woods and come back as wolves, with insatiable bloodlust and ire. You remembered the first morning you saw him in your field, curled up and naked—this was hardly the same man. Now he had thick hair all over his chest and arms and…other places. Fuck, was he going to kill you? Worse yet, all your animals too? 

He let go of you and began to push up the fabric of your dress until it was all bunched around your waist. Silas looked up at you again and made a throaty noise,

“Please?” They were the first words he had spoken to you since he left and now you could see it. You could see he was still the same man. 

Fear forgotten, you pull him down on top of you. He made quick work of your clothes. Too focused on the task at hand to fully remove your dress, he situated himself between your legs. Your eyes followed the train of hair leading down his stomach and to his crotch. Holy Hell, there’s no way that’s gonna fit. 

Silas kisses like a cannibal. He sucks on your tongue and licks the sides of your mouth, all the while panting and pulling you closer. Burying his face in your neck he pushes in the tip. Instantly you claw at his back, desperate to bring some type of relief to the burn. You can only gasp and cry as he goes in further. 

It feels like forever but he finally bottoms out. His nails mark your thighs and hips. You cry out as he starts to move, the feeling is overwhelming and you beg him to take it slow. Again he couldn’t hear you. You feel every inch of him pulling and pushing, and fuck you’re so wet how could he resist you? 

The combination of the fire, your dress, and the burning in your body made it all too hot. You tore at your clothes and managed to rip open the front of your dress, exposing your chest to him. Seeing you like this made him drool. Hot saliva dripped and pooled on your chest, running over your nipples and down to your stomach. He held up your legs and pounded into you deeper than before. Your whole body moved when he fucked you. It felt like heaven. A tightness in the pit of your stomach began to form. You wailed and cried for him,

“Yes! Yes! Please, more, please, please, please” The noise of the both of you outweighed the creaking of the floorboards and the howling wind outside. Silas groaned and cursed. He wanted you like this all the time now. He wanted to stay here and be your little house husband. He’d do whatever you wanted as long as he could keep having you like this. 

You began reaching for yourself as he continued to thrust. Pushing past fabric and his meaty hands you rubbed your clit. It was electric,

“Fuck-Silas, yes!” The new added sensation took you over the edge. The tightness in your stomach snapped and you came on his cock. Crying his name the whole time. 

Catching your breath after the high, you watched him come undone. His movements became erratic and he gritted his teeth whining. Suddenly, he held your hips flush against his and moaned. His chest heaved. Slowly opening his eyes you looked where he was staring. Still inside you, his cum leaked out from the sides, mixing with the mess you had made on his lap. 

Waking the next morning, you regretted not doing it somewhere more comfortable. Your legs and back ached from being on the floor all night. Silas was still asleep. He must have transformed again overnight back to his normal self.

Tip-toeing past him you go to your desk and pull out the calendar, trying to figure out when the next full moon was.

Taglist: @lilynotdilly

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

this week work stuff flowed fairly smoothly although, again, i am spending So Much of my life currently chipping away at various ACT prep materials… debating whether or not to take on a new client and leaning towards no because i feel like i don’t yet want to give up my tuesdays at home while it’s so dark and i have all this stuff to do lol. in theory i don’t need to do another practice test this week but if i can fit it in it would be very nice to have some wiggle room… plus there is in fact a limit to how many times i will have to do this again ever and with every one in the bank i move closer! lol. but, also this week i’d like to get in the groove of the development project that kicked off recently, which on the one hand pays less well and on the other hand requires no Leaving My House.

i didn’t QUITE fix my room or the kitchen but both are looking a lot better than they did a week ago (the kitchen thanks in no small part to some outside help!). i am also not 100% prepped for tomorrow’s session but i’m close enough that i’m not worried. other than that tomorrow can be a bit of a catch up day in terms of tidying etc. and also of planning the rest of the week… this week i gave up on accomplishing tasks in general although i did refill my thyroid prescription because my room was messy (the thing about my room is that once it hits a certain threshold of messiness it takes forever to fix due to sheer cognitive overwhelm where the executives are quite dysfunctional and i spend a million years each time trying to figure out what to pick up next even though i know logically it doesn’t matter… i think it is not in that realm right now even if not ideal) and it was so horrible cold and also in the middle of the week i had to spend a big chunk of time helping my mom with some pre-surgery stuff which counted spiritually as 1 million tasks. in my wildest and most idealistic fantasies i plan my week ahead on sunday mornings or afternoons between sessions but i rescheduled my saturday morning session to sunday at 10 this week because i didn’t want to have to be thinking about what time i needed to be in forest hills the next morning during my birthday party lmao. which btw was very cute :) i only spent a little bit of time being totally insane about what if it was horrible and everyone decided to me for making them endure such a terrible time and then i calmed down and it was nice :) which again is a very normal human experience you have to understand is historically difficult for me to access because of my deeply internalized belief that it is illegal in the eyes of god for me to call attention to myself. for many years i was so focused on how bad i felt like i was at connecting with people that i really failed to appreciate that everyone i do know is so nice and cool and fun and cute but i think about that a lot these days.

i was pretty slack on habits and once more behind on steps but i got my 5 workouts and finished a book (topics of conversation: good!). i got tea at a yemeni tea shop with a friend i talked into watching the say nothing TV show (i have two episodes left!), which was mostly great because he’s like the number one person i know who now having the correct context would appreciate someone on twitter saying to gerry adams “surely you must know someone who can work a timer.” free store was extremely chill the hour i was there before departing for mom stuff because it was So Horrible Cold. i RSVP’d yes to two things despite my internalized belief that when people invite me to things they are only doing it to be polite and it would be rude and embarrassing of me to act like i don’t know that and actually go. i continue to give myself extra credit for every week of winter survived without falling into total despair and disarray. i did terrible at bedtime booktime this week but tonight i AM cozying up with the house of mirth not least of all because while it’s a reasonable hour to go to bed my body has not been used to that of late so like we’ll see. 6 weeks till daylight savings!!!!

[whumpkink]

Whump Bingo – Hidden Injury

Masterlist // Series: Hellhound – Mack and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day(s) // Warnings: mild blood // POV character is affectionately derogatory about whumpee, as a treat for this wet car whumper x gay cat dad caretaker duo.

With his job, Jace had to be patient with his job. Sure, he chose this job, genuinely enjoyed helping and healing people. A passion, like it seemed to be for every other healer he knew.

He accidentally sort of adopted Mackenzie… which was stressful. Really fucking stressful. Actually official agents didn’t get injured nearly as often. Maybe because temporary, side-agents like Mack were often sent to borderline suicide missions. Sent to tasks even the foot soldiers were too valuable to complete. And Mack seemed almost happy to keep going out in missions that seemed ready to kill her.

This child had a fucking death wish. And seeing how the cosmic cat distribution had given him this one, almost 6’0 mountain of muscle, deeply-rooted primordial magic who doesn’t react when he’s stitching her up but flusters bright red under any kind of soft, genuine attention.

Having Mack collapse on his kitchen was almost another Tuesday.

It was far from the worst wound Jace has ever seen, it’s almost pathetic she managed to lose so much blood. She groaned like a grumpy cat being disturbed, but did try to offer some help when he half-lifted her from the floor. Well-trained fingers peeled off gauze stained with a suspicious shade of blood.

“Honest mistake?”

“It looks tender, since when are you running around with a gash on your side?”

“Yesterday morning,” she mumbled.

“What have I said about hiding injuries?”

“It was personal.”

“I don’t get paid to take care of you. I appreciate you, so I try to keep you around.”

“You’re too good.”

“And you’re nowhere nearly as irrelevant as you seem to think you are.”

[texas-writes]

Candlelight

Cw: loss of virginity, piv sex

Eli groaned as he settled on the edge of the bed to untie his shoes while you shed your dress and hastily pull your nightgown over your head while his back was still turned.

“I enjoyed today,” he says suddenly. “Did you have a nice time?”

You hear his shoes clunk on the floor and shuffling as he begins to dress for bed. Eli’s near-nudity didn’t make you nearly as nervous as the prospect of him seeing you. You’d seen him in his boxers countless times when you had gone swimming together in your youth. Things were so different now, but at the end of the day, Eli was still the same boy you had spent almost your entire life beside.

“Of course I did, I married an amazing man.”

He pauses for a brief moment, before resuming his present task. “What about the house? Do you like the house?”

Oh he was so terribly nervous. Before the wedding, Eli was as composed as a monk, calling on the pastor from the next town over to officiate, calmly instructing the women of the congregation on how to decorate the church. He had it all together while you clambered for your composure just outside the door, waiting for your cue.

But here he was, anxious now as you were earlier that morning, questioning if you were actually happy with the life the two of you were building. The house he had had built for the two of you to live in was beautiful. A small place with three bedrooms, settled under the big tree not far from the church. Asking him for anything more would be foolish. It was perfect as it was.

“I’d love anything you gave me,” you reply, pulling back the covers and slipping into the bed.

He sighs deeply. “That’s not what- please be honest.”

“Darling, it’s a very nice house. Don’t be so nervous, I’m just your wife.”

Eli slips into the bed beside you, leaning against the headboard, smiling softly when you roll over to face him.

“That’s the terror of it. I’ve married the woman I’ve loved since I was a child. I don’t know where to go from here.”

“As sentimental as ever,” you chide jokingly, moving to rest your head on his thigh, tugging the blanket around your face. “I thought I had lost you when you gave your life over to God.”

Eli had suddenly become a zealot when he was fifteen, turning almost all of his attention to the scripture. He’d left town when he was seventeen to study under another Pastor a few towns over, returning when he was nineteen and promptly asking you to allow him to formally court you. He was your childhood sweetheart, so naturally you agreed, and so did your parents, thinking that a man of God would be good to tame your wild nature.

Ever the untamed child you were, always coming home after dark with scraped knees and bruises from falling out of trees, a sheepish Eli trailing behind you, knowing he was going to be punished for being late, but refusing to leave you. Summer days spent holed up in a blackberry thicket gorging yourself on the sweet fruits, face and fingers sticky, bathing in the pond after to rid yourself of the feeling, returning home hours later in your soaked shift, dress thrown haphazardly over your shoulder as you darted past your neighbors to avoid being seen.

As you’d grown older, Eli was less resistant to going swimming with you, then laying in the sun in the grass, chatting as you waited for your underclothes to dry, sometimes stealing a kiss or two if one of you felt brave that day. You two had been especially close in the weeks right before Eli had disappeared. When he did, you’d grieved him like he was dead, despite his folks and yours assuring you it was only a temporary arrangement.

Even though Eli was a ‘Pious’ man, and in all technicality, in charge of you, he let you do as you pleased, not having it in his heart to stamp out your youthful nature. He preached his sermons and then followed you to the pond to swim for a few hours before walking you home for the evening. He’d return right after breakfast the next morning to get you and not be surprised when he was informed that you’d already been gone for hours. When he would find you perched in a tree, munching on whatever fruit grew there, he would join you, talking for hours or sitting in silence. It didn’t matter much to him, he was just happy to be back.

“I gave myself to God so I didn’t humiliate myself. I was so young and immature I surely would have driven you away. I had to put the energy elsewhere.”

You chuckle and wrap your arms around his leg. “It’d take an act of God to get rid of me.”

“Don’t say that,” he laughs, running his fingers through your hair, fighting the urge to admit that the prospective act of God terrified him.

“Sorry,” you hum, pulling his leg closer to your body.

“I’m joking, darling. You usually wrap your hair when you sleep, what’s changed?” Oh he just loved bringing up the time he walked in on you in your night clothes a few months ago after forgetting to knock. You could have very well been nude. Had he no shame?

“Aren’t pastor’s wives supposed to be plain, besides, don’t we have ‘marital duties’ to carry out?”

Eli chuckles at your comment and prys your hands from him so he can settle himself beside you. “I’d have to go blind to see you as plain. We only have to lay together if you’d like to, I’ve abstained long enough that I don’t think a while more will kill me.”

“I’ve always been curious as to what it’s like. I wouldn’t mind,” you hum, pulling yourself to rest on his chest, basking in the rise and fall of his breath and the gentle thrum of his heartbeat.

His heart stutters at your words. “Has nobody told you what it’s like?”

“No, mother said it was unladylike to speak about it so we never did.”

“When have you ever been ladylike? It’s almost cruel, sending you into the lion’s den unarmed. My father sat me down to talk about it once, right before I left. It was uncomfortable,” he pauses and releases a breath. “He went into excruciating detail about… many things. Perhaps that’s what drove me away. I believe I was too young to fathom the complexity of the situation then.”

“How do you mean,” You question, propping yourself up on his chest watching as he thinks carefully of his answer, a soft pink dusting his cheeks, drawing a smile to your lips.

“I couldn’t connect the feeling, the… experience to the explanation. Youth is overzealous with emotion. It drives to the point of madness, there was no time to truly think on it. I believe I have a firmer grasp on it now,” he hums, bumping his forehead against yours.

Eli’s in a state you’ve never seen him in, his pupils blown wide, his face flushed, lips parted slightly, warm breath ghosting against your lips as you gaze down at him. You bring the hand not supporting you up to tangle in his chestnut hair, leaning down, brushing your lips softly against his before kissing him warmly. His arms wrap around you, pulling you into him as he follows your lips with his, urging you to kiss him more harshly, and you do. You’re fervent, soft flesh against flesh, and mess of teeth and tongue and obscenely wet sounds as the two of you become closer than you’ve ever been.

You whine when he bites your lip a bit too harshly, almost drawing blood, but he realizes his wrongdoing and quickly soothes it with his tongue. One hand moves up to hold the back of your head while the other trails down your side to grip your thigh with almost bruising vigor, urging you to straddle his thigh. You allow him to pull your leg where he wants it, settling into your new place over him. Eli falls back against his pillow, heaving for breath, saliva trailing down his chin, a dopey smile gracing his lips as he slyly brings his thigh up between yours, making your breathing hitch in your throat at the friction, a warmth pooling in your belly, familiar but not.

“Have you- Have you ever…touched yourself,” he asks, innocently enough, leaning up to press his lips briefly against yours again.

“No.”

“Oh, God,” he groans, squeezing his eyes shut, pushing his head back into the pillow. His hands roam up your back, bunching your nightgown in his hands as they fall to rest on your hips, pulling you into his thigh, drawing a soft moan from your lips. “M-May I,” he murmurs, tugging on the cloth to distinguish his intentions.

“Yes,” you whisper back, pulling away to allow him to pull your nightgown over your head, leaving you completely bare before him. His cheeks flush a deeper shade of crimson and he looks away for a moment before focusing his gaze back on your face. “You look almost as embarrassed as I feel.”

Eli opens his mouth to speak, promptly closing it and furrowing his eyebrows. “I’ve just never seen a woman like this is all.”

“And I’ve never been seen,” you counter, crossing your arms over your chest.

He chuckles, scrunching up his nose and bringing a hand up to run his thumb along your cheek. “Nothing to be ashamed of, you’re amazing. Kiss me?”

You lean down, and bump your nose against his before pressing your lips to his, and he kisses you the way he had before, drawing physical reactions from you. HIs hand gives your waist another squeeze before shifting his weight, rolling you onto your back and following close behind. Your breath hitches in your throat as you realize you’re suddenly at his mercy. The scraggly, unimposing boy you had known had grown into a man during his time away, still far from intimidating, but Eli was of his own will now, knowing what he wanted and he had the means to get it. You wouldn’t oppose him even if you wanted to.

The sound Eli makes when he ruts his hips against yours floods you with unfamiliar emotions, urging his body closer to yours. Despite your urging, he pulls away, taking you in, his brows furrowing again, his eyes drifting to the side as he thinks. Finally he decides his course of action and pulls one of your legs up to his shoulder, kissing your ankle chastely. He works his way up your leg, his kisses becoming harsher as he reaches the tender skin of your inner thigh before stopping. You tangle your fingers in his hair, tugging softly to encourage him to continue whatever it was he was planning.

He buries his face in between your legs, his tongue carefully testing your reaction. When you whine and fist his hair more harshly, he takes it as a sign that he’s pleasing you. It’s clear from his uncertainty that he’s inexperienced, his mouth moving hesitantly against you as he gauges each reaction separately. He’s a fast learner, doubling down on the motions that draw the most from you, reveling in the way your back arches and your thighs squeeze around his head.

You whimper above him, attempting to squirm away from him, prompting him to grab your thighs and pull you back to him. The pleasure he takes in knowing he’s the only one that’s ever made you feel like this, that he’s the only one that you’ve let please you, it’s almost too much for him to bear. He releases one of your thighs, bringing his fingers to tease at your entrance, gathering the slick combination of your arousal and his saliva on them before carefully easing them into you.

A moan tumbles from your lips at the sensation. Eli’s fingers are almost skillful as they curl into you, beckoning you closer and closer to the edge. And then you’re there, falling over with a cry of his name, pulling him closer and squeezing him with your thighs as he pulls you through your orgasm. The sensation’s so unfamiliar that you don’t even register that it’s too much until you’re trembling and pushing him away.

When Eli pulls himself away from you he looks as wrecked as you feel, his hair mussed, chin slick with you, gasping for breath as he wipes his mouth on the back of his hand. “Are you- okay? Was that good?”

All you can do is nod and whine, opening your arms to him weakly. He accepts your offer and settles his head on your chest, taking notice of how erratic your heart is in your chest, of how he made it that way. He stretches up to kiss you again. It’s rougher than he would have liked, but he’s still worked up, straining painfully against his cotton shorts as he does his best to keep his composure for your sake.

“Eli, what about you,” you ask, sliding your hand down his back, toying with the waistband of his shorts.

“I’m fine, you don’t have to-”

“I want to, besides, it doesn’t really count if we don’t right?”

“Okay, are you sure you’re ready,” he asks, propping himself up on his elbow, looking down at you, taking in your soft expression.

“Of course,” you reply, smiling innocently as you push his shorts off his hips. He kicks them the rest of the way off. The sudden realization that Eli is completely naked has you putting all of your focus into maintaining eye contact.

“Nervous,” he teases, leaning down to kiss you.

“Me? Never,” you counter, your fingers cautiously crossing the space between you and taking hold of him. His cock is heavy in your hand, your touch making his breath catch in his throat helplessly. Eli’s hips fall into place as you open yourself to him. His hand comes down to guide your hand in lining him up with your entrance, whining as he teases himself against you.

Eli groans and drops his head into the crook of your shoulder as he pushes into you, just barely, slowly easing himself in, giving you time to stretch around him. You grip his shoulder, nails leaving crescent imprints as his hips finally meet yours, a breathy sigh falling from his lips at the sensation. The fullness he brings is almost too much, tears brim in your eyes as Eli brings his forehead to rest against yours, a sign of affection he had been giving you for years when he didn’t know what else to say or do, just a gentle reminder that he’s there with you. It was comforting and familiar despite all the new things you had done together already that day.

“Eli,” you breathe, leaning up to brush your nose against his. “I’m okay, you can, you can move now.” He nods against you and pulls his hips away slowly, the drag making you both moan. Eli sets a slow pace, bringing his hand to rest on the side of your neck, thumb caressing the curve of your cheekbone as he leans to kiss you.

His thrusts become sloppy as he gets closer to his own high, moving his hand from your face down between you, clumsily trying to get you to finish before him, groaning when you tighten around him. You fall over first, wrapping your legs around his back as his hips stutter and he spills inside you. He drops his body onto yours haphazardly, completely spent, groaning and kissing you despite fighting for his breath.

When he pulls away an emptiness follows, making you want to hold him closer as he settles on his side of the bed facing you. “Was that good? Do you need anything?”

You just nod and pull yourself towards him, resting your head on his chest, listening as his heart rate slowly returns to normal. “It was good, you don’t have to keep asking. Just hold me.”

“Okay,” he murmurs, you can hear the soft smile in his voice even though you can’t see him. He wraps his arms around you and strokes your hair as the two of you drift off to sleep together.

[quinloki]

Quicksand

Fem Reader x Sir Crocodile

CW: Language, violence, blood, moral ambiguity, murder, sexual themes and situations, yandere, angst with a happy ending, a referenced instance of physical abuse. 18+ only

Chapter 1 - Table of Consent -

Chapter 2: Miss Wednesday

Despite the Luncheon, the day was going by fast. Too fast, as far as you were concerned. There was still a lot to be done and not enough hours to get it done in. This normally wouldn't bother you, but you were expected back home this evening to get into the details of your weekend plans. It wasn't going to be a good look if you were later than usual.

A worse look if you were too late to even say anything at all.

You tried not to let your thoughts distract you, and focused on your tasks, buckling down to plow through what you could. You got a couple of people to help, and you even snapped Buggy into work mode when he returned from the lunch itself.

Unfortunately, you realized you were too focused on your work when you bounded out of Buggy's office and slammed right into a brick wall.

One made of flesh.

Wearing a very expensive tailored silk suit.

The impact of running into something far more solid than yourself resulted in you falling back on your butt, the papers in your hands scattering. You could hear Buggy's high-pitched gasp and had a terrible sinking feeling before you even managed to look up.

Slicked back midnight black hair, deep set amber gold eyes, and the heavy scent of cigar smoke entered into your senses as Crocodile leaned down, offering his ring encrusted hand. It wasn't that you didn't think you were worthy of taking the hand of the Owner of the Company, so much as you were terrified that you had literally crashed into a Warlord.

"Ohmygod, I am so sorry, Sir." You manage, looking away from his hand and scrambling to collect up the papers that you had dropped. Buggy was already by your side, helping you gather them up.

"It's quite alright. Are you hurt?" It was the first time you'd heard his voice, and you could feel your face heating up.

"Y-yes, ah, I mean, no I'm not hurt." You finish gathering up the last page, thinking quietly that the most injured part of you at the moment was your pride. Standing up with assistance from your boss you bow deeply. "Again, I'm so sorry Sir Crocodile."

"Do be careful going forward, Miss. I have no desire to see my employees injure themselves." He replies with the same even tone he had used earlier.

"Yes of course," you manage a reply, though it's a little strained, and then bow once more before excusing yourself.

Your hopes of staying focused on your work went out the window quite soundly. The sweet scent of citrus and warm desert sand kept distracting you. The smooth rumble of his voice, and even temperament kept worming into your ears. You had been so certain that you had obliterated your silly crush over Sir Crocodile that it was almost aggravating to find yourself admiring him again.

The rest of the day you very gently opened doors and made sure to listen and peek around corners. You didn't run into Mr. Crocodile again, and with some help from Alvida you managed to get your work done within a decent amount of time. It was only an hour later than usual by the time you made your way back home.

04:56 You: Good morning, I can't stay on and talk much right now, there's an event at work I need to be in early for. Looking forward to talking to you tonight!

06:02 Him: Much anticipated.

14:32 [System Message: 60 days have transpired. Please note that the automatic system censoring has been lifted. Users 905965 and 421328 have unrestricted chat access. Congratulations!]

17:36 Him: It seems we are free to make plans for this weekend.

17:56 Him: Given your earlier excitement, I'll assume you have been held up at work.

18:45 You: Sorry, yes, I was held up at work.

18:46 You: I'll be a little slow to reply, I've got to get out of my uniform and into something comfortable. I need to order dinner as well, but I can do that and type at the same time.

18:50 Him: It's quite alright. Take your time.

Him: I do have to ask, if you wanted to exchange names now, or wait until Saturday?

You: Um... hm... Saturday, I think, if you don't mind.

Him: Not at all. Going for a complete surprise, it seems.

You: I just don't want to make assumptions based on names. People get ideas in their head from names and then even if it's not a big deal you're disappointed or freaked out.

Him: haha, I'll defer to you on this. So let's get to business – where are you located?

You: Do you know where the West Blue Rain Dinners is located?

Him: I do, it's quite the landmark.

You: xD yeah, it is. I'm about 30km to the east of that.

Him: I'm a little to the north of you then, roughly, and about 40km away.

You: I'm opening up Logpose, It should list places to eat between us.

Him: Baratie's is in there.

You: Vetoed. It's entirely too fancy for a first date.

Him: I assume then Rain Dinners would be vetoed as well.

You: Yes, especially because it's not located between us.

Him: As long as you're not expecting me to go to a fast-food joint...

You: >.>

Him: Vetoed.

You: LOL alright, alright. There's a café La Nourriture. It's bigger than you'd expect, and the food's good. A friend of mine knows the owner.

Him: I've heard of that place. If I remember right, Baratie's owner's son runs the place.

You: Well, then the food should be up to your refined needs.

Him: Humph.

You: Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

Him: Somehow, I can see the laughter in your text.

You: Guilty.

You: La Nour's then, for Saturday?

Him: Indeed. 1pm?

You: I can work with that. It should be coming down from the lunch rush crowd as well.

Him: Perfect.

. . . . . . .

Thursday and Friday came and went. You and your impending date didn't talk much, you both agreed to save conversation for Saturday. Having enough small talk between the two of you would allow for things to stay light if neither one of you were up for any kind of serious conversation.

Getting ready Saturday, you found you were nervous. Big nervous. You tried on more clothes in an hour than you'd bothered dealing with all last week. By the time you were done you were at least satisfied with the light blue blouse and navy jeans. A necklace and bracelet made you look a little done up, while still leaving you comfortable.

You pulled your hair into a bun and decided against putting on makeup. You didn't want to make yourself too fancy, for one, and for two it seemed to defeat the purpose of the website. You had a good complexion anyway, and so a little lotion was all you bothered with.

A light breakfast keeps your nerves from bouncing around too terribly, and you even have a slice of toast before you leave for the café. It's a bit of a drive, and you didn't want your nervous energy to make you uncomfortably hungry before you even got there.

You sent him a text on your way out the door. You'd both agreed that you would get there first, so if anyone was stuck awkwardly looking for the other it was him. It was an oddly gentlemanly thing of him to insist upon.

You: Heading out now, I'll let you know if I hit any bad traffic, but I should be there in twenty.

Him: I'll be there shortly after.

Traffic wasn't bad, and you made it to the café with time to spare. You sent a text that you had arrived safely and were going to get a table. A girl with pale blue hair, almost the same color as your blouse, seated you as you requested. You sat by a window, your back to the door. It didn't really help your nervousness, but you didn't want to see someone walk in, lose your nerve, and leave. So this was for the best.

You: Light blue blouse, dark pants, hair in a bun, sitting alone by the window.

You pressed your lips together and fidgeted nervously while you waited. The girl who seated you brought over a cup of tea for you and you looked at her quizzically.

"Chamomile, on the house." She explains. "You look nervous, waiting for a Personality date?"

Your face flushes but you smile. "Haa, yeah. You must get a lot of meetups here."

She smiles as you sip the tea. "It makes sense, it's not too fancy, but not a hole in the wall. We're affordable, and it's easier to walk away from a café lunch than a full on dinner."

"You get it. I appreciate that, and the drink. Thank you."

"You're welcome, and good luck." She flashes you a pair of thumbs up as she walks away.

You manage to drain the tea, and your server, who introduces herself as Vivi, takes it away. It was just a few minutes later that you hear the door open for the dozenth or so time. Something about it makes you feel different, and the steady click of shoes that are most certainly getting closer, send your stomach into knots preemptively.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you." The velvety smooth voice that rolls over you causes your stomach to sink down into your feet. You turn to see Sir Crocodile moving to seat himself. He looks very different from how you had seen him on Wednesday, but there was no mistaking his voice and appearance.

He wore a black turtleneck and matching black slacks. His hair was mostly loose, just barely brushed back, and the way it framed his face certainly made him look more human and less, well, Warlord-y. The scar along his face was lighter too, not entirely covered, but it was obvious he was trying to mitigate any discomfort regarding it. He wore none of his rings, and his prosthetic hand was covered with a glove.

After he sits down, he amends his statement. "Miss Wednesday, it seems we have met before, my apologies."

[thestarlitmidnight]

🌙A Court Under the Mountain🌙

Summary: Long before the events of the Court of Thorns and Roses, there was a lot happening in Prythian and the Continent. This is my humble take on trying to play with the idea of Amarantha's oppression of Prythian and her dystopian take on being the queen Under the Mountain. Kaela, a heiress to the throne of Ufalme Kingdoms located far away in the desert of the Continent was sent to warn Prythian of Amarantha's intentions. The next thing she knows is that she wakes up Under the Mountain, bargained to be part of a concubine program with memories missing. Fandom: ACOTAr Pairing: RhysandXOC Warnings: This story is dealing with very a heavy themes, I suggest you to do not read this story, if you are easily triggered. Imagine the worst things Amarantha would do and add some more and there you are, it is in this story... So please, really, 16+ at least! Word Count: 220 927 Chapters: 55 Master List Previous Chapter

Chapter Three

I was having breakfast at Amarantha's table. That bitch decided to witness how we are faring after the first evening of attending to the duty she forced on us. 

I'm so sure she was bathing in the state most of us were. 

Each of us concubines were forced to sit by the side of the High Lord that we were supposedly belonging to. 

The girl that went to the High Lord of the Autumn was looking rather terrible and her hands were shaking, so I think he went right with the task and didn't bother to think about other possible ways. 

The girl who was with Summer Lord was in a similar state as well. 

I noticed that girls who were with Winter, Dawn and Day were looking rather alright and I wanted to cry with joy to see that others were granted with the same amount of luck as I was yesterday. 

"I heard that some of you left the concubines early in the morning, great work," Amarantha mused over her cup and gave Autumn and Summer approving looks. 

"Our course is my priority," the Autumn bastard offered her a smug smile and I wanted to throw up at the mere idea that the poor girl who ended up with him needs to bare his touch. 

"And I heard that your evening was rather quiet?" She turned her vile eyes towards the Winter Lord and his girl.

"I didn't wish to listen to her," he grumbled through his teeth and the girl next to him blushed deeply. 

"Hmm, and you?" Amarantha turned her look at Dawn and he simply offered her a professionally polished smile.

"I did my duty, my queen, I tend to keep volume down while being intimate," he explained with political politeness, which seemed to feed her curiosity. 

"And you Rhysand?" She smiled smugly and took a sip of her coffee. "I know you don't tend to keep any noises down." 

At her remark my stomach began to curl and it was by mere power of my will that I didn't throw up at the weight her words held. 

"Hmm? I was not aware we had an audience that rated our performance my lovely queen?" He charmed a lazy smile on his lips and his violet eyes turned to look at me and then back at her.

"I need to keep track of the progress of course," she mused, happily bathing in his gaze. 

"Of course," he hummed with a purr and then his long, lean fingers raised up to my exposed shoulder and he brushed it with a slow, sensual caress.

"Then this evening I will make sure this beautiful thing will scream so loud that the whole court will be able to track the progress," he said so effortlessly, as if he informed us all about his presence of sugar in tea. 

My eyes went wide and my cheeks turned slightly pink at the suggestion he just declared. 

What a prick! 

Yet Amarantha started to laugh loudly, dropping the whole topic. Was this his intention? Noting her chords so she would not poke her nose deeper into this? 

"Oh Rhysand, I know that I can count on you. If anyone will deliver good news according to our course, then I'm sure it will be you," she spoke with an excited gleam in her eyes.

"Hmm," he hummed and his fingers moved from my shoulder up to my cheek and he winked. 

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

After the rather humiliating breakfast, where the other females looked at me with pity in their eyes, like I needed it, I was escorted back into my room, but I didn't plan to stay there for long. 

Amarantha didn't say anything about banning me from taking walks and I desperately needed to change the surroundings or else my mind would go wild. 

The guards next to my door didn't protest when I walked out of the room and started to walk away, they just simply waited a moment before coming after me. So maybe my walk won't be private, but at least it will happen. 

This place was something terrible. The air was cool and damp, heavy and smelling of dead spirits that were broken by that redhead bitch.

People were staring at me, their eyes full of amusement and harsh judgment as I passed them, but I refused to pay them any attention. It was not my concern what they were thinking about me. If their brains were just a little bit bigger, they would realize that what I was doing was not of my own free will and I didn't enjoy it at all. 

It was not like I became concubine to please Amarantha, to raise in her eyes and gain a better position on her court. It was not like I threw myself at that damn High Lord, no matter how attractive he was. 

People there were just too deep in her grasp that they didn't realize what was really happening. 

Did they lose hope? It's why nobody is fighting against her? 

"Whore," another comment reached my ears as I walked by a few High Fae from Autumn court. 

I ignored them and kept my pace, pretending that I didn't hear them. 

It was not the first insult that was thrown at me on my little walk. Those people just enjoy being in the position of power for change. Amarantha have them so tightly on leash, that any opportunity they get to ventilate, they don't care about anything else. 

"Shouldn't you be laying on your back instead of walking around here?" Another comment echoed through the hallway and I rolled my eyes at the lack of creativity they put into them.

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

I was sitting by the table and writing. Not sure why, because it was merely a question of entertaining my bored mind, but it was better than just sitting around and waiting for that cocky prick to come. 

I was entertaining the part of me which teachers back at my kingdom were trying to school. 

I was writing about a female who traveled to a wide open world to help save it from the villain. Typical example of creative writing. 

Currently I was writing about a scene, where the charming, handsome male was taking the female on a nice walk across the beautiful gardens of a secret city, where they were talking about their lives. The male told her about times when he was fighting for things he believed in, about how his family is important to him and the female realized that he was not that bad after all. Yes, he was annoying and way too cocky, but he had a tender side as well. 

"Typical one crown novel stuff," Rhysand mused over my shoulder and I almost jumped from how shocked I was. 

"Excuse me? Who do you think you are to sneak on me like that and read over my shoulder?!" I pointed a pen on him and pierced him with my eyes. 

"High Lord of the Night Court?" He raised his eyebrow and sat down back into the place on the sofa he was sitting yesterday.

"How ignorant of me, how could I forget?" I rolled my eyes at him and leaned back in my seat. 

"I would say that the male and female in your one crow novel would talk till the sunrise, not even realizing it. Then the male would fly the female back into the place on top of the mountain she was staying at and they would have a breakfast together, not minding that they didn't sleep a bit," he pointed towards the papers on my desk and I watched him with open mouth for a moment.

"How do you know that? Did you get inside my head?" I accused him and was standing up to beat the living soul out of him for the audacity of entering my mind without permission.

"No, but I have a family member who loves to read those kinds of books and then talk about them, they all are the same," he nonchalantly waved with his hand in the air and I was not sure if I should believe him or not. 

I took his appearance in again and tilted my head. He was dressed in a tailored black suit and polished black boots, his hair was longer, slightly wavy, falling across his head in a perfectly controlled mess and that ugly face of his was adorned by a cocky grin as he watched me studying him. 

"What is the occasion?" I pointed with my hand towards his clothes. 

"You and me, Kaela darling, we are going to a ball tonight," he informed me and his grin grew wider. 

"A what?" I folded my arms across my chest and tried to understand what the hell he meant. 

"Amarantha hosts a ball, as any other Wednesday and she wishes for the concubines to accompany us there," Rhysand said with an even tone of voice, his eyes roaming across my body, that was once again covered in that vulgar dress. 

"Did she give us a free day thanks to the ball?" I raised my eyebrows, not believing that she would allow us to enjoy the evening without any catches. 

"Don't be ridiculous my sweet concubine," he laughed and stood up, walking towards me. 

I didn't expect this move from him so I took a step back, not wishing to have him anywhere near me and that forced the bargain mark to flare up, stopping me in any attempts to get distance between us and I brushed the mark with my other hand to ease the burning. 

My attempts to keep some distance between us didn't stop him from reaching me and he took my chin between his fingers, forcing me to look deep into those bewitching eyes. 

"She expects us to perform before we would join the ball, her next little game, this way she would be able to tell by the scent of we did indeed perform," he said with a grim voice and his eyes roamed across my face, that turned slightly pale. 

I tried to think of the cabin in the mountains again, safe space somewhere in the world where I felt safe and comfortable. Space where I was not subjected to such a harsh reality. Space that kept me from breaking down under the weight of what was happening. 

"Make it quick then," I gritted through my teeth and wanted to walk towards the bed, but he grabbed my hand quickly, stopping me from getting there. 

"I promised to not touch you until there is no other option how to avoid it," he reminded me with a bite in his own voice.

"I apologize if your promise is not worth anything in my eyes," I bit back and fought the urge to wiggle my arm from his touch, because that would be fighting back and I don't want to die just because of some stupid bargain. "But there is not a single reason for me to not believe that you are enjoying this just as much as she is. After all, you are her loyal servant, considering how much she keeps your words close to her twisted heart."

My words were dosed with vain as I stared harshly into his eyes, my chest raising heavily as my self control was slipping away. 

"I choose to keep my enemies very close as that's the best position, how you can control them without them even noticing," he said with a voice covered in restraint, as if he was holding himself back from biting back at my accusations. 

"Good thing I will be very close then, because every cursed second I will imagine stabbing you with a knife, very vividly imagining cutting off those parts that will be inside me," I informed him with a low voice and went to bed, where I simply laid down, turning my head to the side so I don't need to look at him. 

I was not to put up a fight, but I was not ordered to be proactive, to participate actively in the act itself and the Mother is my witness that I would not make any effort to make it comfortable for him. No matter if he was forced into this position just as much as I was. 

"Go on all four," he commanded, not looking at me even for a second, rather looking behind me. 

I did as he said and was cursing the whole universe for allowing this to happen. How foolish of me to think that there was a way out of this. That the High Lords who were considerate as this one was, would push this as far away as possible and the lucky females like me would be able to live a little longer without being forced to go through this. 

This evening, this invitation to the ball was to make sure that the High Lords are following her orders and I felt like crying when I heard him open his pants. 

When his hands reached for the hem of my dress to pull it aside, relieving that there was no underwear as we were not provided with any, I pushed my mind far away from this moment. 

I closed my eyes and thought of happy moments. Of the cozy cabin high up in the mountains, where the time seemed to flow at a different pace than elsewhere in the world. 

When his hand grabbed my hip, I bit my lips and thought of the feelings of hope that cabling evoked inside me. The feelings of safety and joy, how familiar it felt to be there and don't worry about a single thing in the world. 

Through the time when he was taking me from behind, I felt a few tears escaping from my eyes, but I kept my mind shut, forcing it away from this moment so I could pretend that it didn't happen at all. 

He was quick, that I will let him have. He didn't prolong the suffering and once he finished I immediately went to the bathroom and threw up, my hands shaking as I was clenching the toilet seat as my stomach was being emptied. 

I needed a moment to compose myself. It was easy to play tough when the situation was not that dire, but right now, all the play and pretense was just washed away, leaving the rotting state in which I was. 

I was a fucking princess of my kin, I was an assassin that proved her worth to my crown, I protected and nourished my kingdom with a pride and honour. 

Yet right at this moment I was robbed of my pride and honor. I was humiliated so badly that my heart felt like it was breaking into pieces the size of a grain of sand and I would never be able to put them back together. 

When I composed myself back together and went back to my bedroom, I half expected that he would be away, that he would leave and tell Amarantha some excuse why I couldn't join them. 

Yet he was sitting in his place on that damn sofa, his pants were back up and his eyes were closed as he was breathing more quickly, his face was pale just as mine was. 

When he heard me coming, he stayed in the position for a little longer, before he stood up and walked towards me, pretending that nothing happened.

"We should go," he said, his hand wrapped around my waist, making my stomach feel light all over again.

I didn't reply, it was not in my powers to even try and protest. 

It happened and this was a demonstration for Amarantha that we indeed follow her twisted orders. She would be able to smell his scent on me, the smell that he indeed worked on delivering the good news as soon as possible. 

My head felt dizzy as we walked through the halls to the throne room where the music was coming from. 

Till now it was just a mere play, but now, it is a real deal. I was never more thankful for the fact that to fall pregnant takes years of trying for High Fae. Maybe in those years, someone will come and save us. Maybe my kingdom will come and take our army with them, so they can defeat Amarantha and take me back home, where I will be safe again.

Chapter Four

[nandangel]

Chapter 2 - Who is Lauren Lexington?

950 words | mainlist

Lauren Lexington

I glanced at the clock on the wall of my office. The minute hand seemed to spin faster and faster, while my stress only grew. The morning had been a whirlwind of meetings, reports, and negotiations. As the CEO of Lexington Corporation, my life was a sea of tasks and deadlines, and I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"I never imagined being a CEO would be this overwhelming," I thought, trying to take a deep breath to calm my nerves. The weight of responsibility bore down on my shoulders like an invisible burden. When my father passed away, and I took over the company at 21, I knew I wasn't inheriting a clean empire. Lexington Corporation had its façade as an international export and import company, but what lay beneath was far darker: weapons and slot machines being smuggled into the United States.

My father taught me everything about the business world, and the truth is, he was far from clean. I knew what kept the company running involved much more than legitimate exports and imports of common goods. I accepted continuing my father's work, even knowing about the dirt involved, simply because it was the only way to preserve his legacy and keep the business in order. To make matters worse, I left John Ackles, the Co-CEO, to handle the dirtiest aspects. He had been my father's right-hand man, with an efficient, if not particularly ethical, way of managing the messes the business often created.

That's why I was deeply unsettled when David, one of John's secretaries, entered my office with a look of genuine concern. He seemed nervous, which only increased my apprehension.

— Ms. Lexington, I need to talk to you about something urgent. — David began, his voice filled with tension.

— What happened? — I asked, trying to stay calm.

— Mr. Ackles is not in his office, and no one knows where he is. He left without notice, and honestly, I don't know what to do.

— That's strange. John has never disappeared without leaving word.— My mind started racing with possibilities. His disappearance didn't make sense, and I was beginning to worry. — And what about the businessman? Wasn't he here to meet with Mr. Ackles?

— Yes, he was. But since John is missing, you'll have to attend the meeting yourself.

The feeling that something was about to go wrong was always present. It was a familiar sensation.

My heart began to race. Even though I knew all the dark intricacies of the business, I disliked being directly involved in those matters. I was always afraid of the violence that accompanied such dealings. However, I knew refusing the meeting could harm our dealings with the mafia, and that was something I couldn't allow. My father taught me the rules, and many of them came with severe consequences if not followed to the letter.

— All right, I'll meet with him. — I confirmed, trying to hide the apprehension in my tone.

[...]

When I arrived at the meeting point, I expected to find a fancy restaurant—something befitting the status of the businessman waiting to meet me. I was dressed in an elegant black dress and high heels, which seemed like the perfect choice for the occasion. However, instead of a sophisticated restaurant, the black car that brought me was heading toward an industrial warehouse, a location that was the exact opposite of anything refined.

Fear began to settle in my chest as the car slowed and stopped in front of a large, rusted metal gate. The surroundings were dark and uninviting, and the tension in the air sent a chill down my spine. The driver, an impassive-looking Asian man, stepped out of the car and opened the door for me. With a look that left no room for argument, he extended his hand and said in an emotionless tone:

— Follow me, please.

His tone only heightened my anxiety. I tried to maintain my composure, but the feeling that something was terribly wrong wouldn't leave me. The warehouse was cold and desolate, with bare concrete walls and the echo of my own footsteps as the only sound filling the space. The dim lighting cast eerie shadows, and the place had an oppressive atmosphere that screamed "interrogation."

My mind was racing, trying to process the situation. Panic started to take over, and I felt completely out of place. The thought of the pepper spray in my bag was the only thing that brought me any relief. If the situation went out of control, I had a means of defense—a small but potentially effective protection against any threat.

When the man behind me approached, I acted quickly. I pulled the pepper spray from my bag and, with a decisive movement, sprayed it directly into his face. He screamed, his cries of pain echoing off the cold walls of the warehouse as he clutched his burning eyes.

Before I could make another move, two enormous men emerged from the shadows and grabbed me forcefully. My heart was racing, and terror nearly paralyzed me. I was about to scream for help when a raspy voice, speaking in heavily accented English, echoed through the warehouse with a tone of irony that made me tremble even more.

— No need to be so dramatic, Miss Lauren. I just want to have a friendly conversation with you.

I knew I was in an extremely delicate and dangerous situation. Despite the panic consuming me, I realized I had to keep my composure. It was a harsh lesson, but one I had learned from my father: dealing with the challenges and consequences of the business world was an inevitable part of the life I had inherited.

[floralflorence]

POV: The Cubs are going to be Reg's first... well, everything and Leo does his best to calm his worries.

Inspo credit: @dumplingsjinson

“I don’t know… what if I fuck up and turn you off?” “I mean, I can teach you how I like it. Just follow my lead, yeah?”

Loosely based upon this prompt^^

Sinking his body further into Leo below him, Reg tried to clear his head and focus on the task at hand. He pressed firmer, more insistent kisses to Leo's lips, his grip tightening where they lay on Leo's shoulders, the muscle shifting under his grip as Leo's arms that were wrapped low around his waist tightened in response to his seemingly newfound eagerness.

With his spine pressed against the back of the sofa, Leo was heavily leaned back into it, Reg cradled in his lap, legs either side of Leo's hips. When Leo's teeth caught his bottom lip, Reg gasped into his mouth slightly, the movement clearly felt with how closely their chests were pressed together. Reg's hands naturally slid up to cup either side of Leo's neck, thumbs resting along the sharp edge of his jaw.

However innocent the movement may be, it made Reg's mind spiral into insecurity once again. He could feel the caress of Leo's lips on his neck the other morning; the way they pressed firm kisses into the sensitive skin that he felt the entire way down his body; hands tingling when his tongue flicked softly over the pale bruise he'd sucked there. He wanted to do that for Leo, he'd seen the way Finn could make him arch into his mouth with the simplest brushes of tongue and teeth, how Logan could have his eyes fluttering closed in seconds.

"Love."

Leo's voice brought him out his head, making him send an apologetic smile down where his concerned expression was.

"What's wrong? And I'll be very offended on behalf of my kisses if you say it's nothing."

Reg laughed lightly - "Why's that?"

"Well, if 'nothing' can distract you from them so easily, I must be doing a terrible job."

With another soft laugh and a gentle shake of his head at Leo's bantering, Reg relented when Leo nudged his nose against his cheek, silently bringing his attention back to his earlier question.

"I-" he sighed deeply, staring at his thumbs where they'd began rubbing small circles against his neck. "I just wanna be able to do what you do, that's all."

"What's your brain being mean about, baby?" Lo piped up at the vague explanation. He'd been sitting further down the L-shaped sofa with a book propped up on his knees - this had apparently since been closed upon hearing Leo's concern. He came to kneel facing Leo and Reg when he opened his mouth to answer but then closed it with a groan and a prominent embarrassed blush spreading across his face. It was clear that he was thinking about it by the look on his face. After a few seconds of silence, Lo noticed that Reg's fingers were dancing along the skin of Leo's neck.

Reaching over to Reg and cupping the side of his neck that was furthest from him, he gently pulled him closer and licked his lips briefly before pressing them to the skin there. They ended up landing just underneath his ear because of the angle and the sensation made Reg let out a soft noise, more of a breath than anything else. Spreading his fingers so his hold was more stable, Lo kept Reg's jaw still with his thumb and nibbled lightly along the curve of it on the opposite side. A slight noise slipped out his mouth despite the fact his bottom lip was caught between his teeth, making Lo smile against his skin.

"You wanna learn that?" His cocky smirk at the blush turning from embarrassed to horny in less than ten seconds.

Reg simply nodded in reply to his question, causing Leo now to talk.

"There's nothing to learn, honey. It's just kisses. Trust me you're very good with kisses." Leo grinned up at him cheekily, his eyes softening when Reg gave a small smile but remained nervously wringing his hands. "What are you nervous about, lovely?"

"What if I just end up turning you off?"

With a look that clearly questioned his sanity, Leo gripped Reg's hips in his hands and tugged him so their bodies pressed closely against each others as he'd shuffled back slightly when their conversation began. Reg let out a soft, surprised noise at the sudden movement and then a gasp at the hardness pressing into him.

"Does it feel like I'm turned off to you, hm?" His hands moved to massage his ass, flexing appreciatively as Reg's hips ground down against his in a slight, unconscious movement.

"You want me to show you, baby?" Lo asked from the side of them.

"Yes, please." Reg's voice was a breath.

In response, Lo urged Leo forwards with a hand on his back and knelt behind him with a knee on either side.

"Fish is going to be fuming that he's missing this," Leo laughed, almost like he couldn't believe his luck being sandwiched between the two.

"I'm sure between the three of us we'll find a way to make it up to him," Lo mumbled offhandedly, shuffling slightly to get comfortable. He finally settled in the small gap made in the middle of Leo's back and the sofa and ran his hands over Leo's shoulders, pressing a kiss to the back of his head. He looked at Reg over Leo's shoulder, being the same height as Leo due to the fact he was kneeling down instead of sitting. "So, the number one thing to know about today's practice dummy-"

"Practice dummy?" Leo echoed, affronted.

"Shh," Lo scolded immediately, "I'm teaching. Is that he has very sensitive ears." He brushed the backs of his fingers along the shell of his ear, surprising Reg with almost violent shiver that ran through Leo's body, his eyes closing, head tilting to the side to give him more room. "Now, for educational purposes, of course, I want you," he reached towards Reg and lightly took his hand, "to keep your hand here." He pressed Reg's palm to the bulge in Leo's sweats, making said man's breath catch low in his throat. "Just so we can disprove that theory about turning him off."

"Wonderful plan," Leo mumbled in agreement, head dropped back to rest against Lo's shoulder.

"Peanut wasn't lying when he said it's basically just kisses, technically, it is. If you went up to one of us and kissed us anywhere on our neck, it'd feel good. The only difference is that depending on where you kiss, it'll feel different. Generally, anywhere along the artery feels good because it's more sensitive so you'll get a good reaction." Logan brushed his fingers down the length of Leo's neck, tracing along the skin over his carotid with a feather-light touch. "But, sweet spots change depending on which of us it is - like Le's ears. For Fish, it's the base of his neck, right where it meets his shoulder. For me, it's anywhere around the back of my neck or my Adam's apple. But, I promise you, baby, no matter where you kiss, it's gonna feel good."

To demonstrate, Lo turned his head to press a slow, open-mouthed kiss to a random spot on the side of Leo's neck, relishing in the groan that came from his lips and the light gasp that Reg let out. He pulled away after a moment and rested his chin on Leo's shoulder, looking up at Reg through his lashes.

"Do you think that felt good for him?" At Reg's affirmative nod, Lo continued. "How'd you know?"

Reg pointedly looked down to where he'd, very abidingly, kept his hand pressed exactly where Lo had directed it. With a knowing hum that made Reg blush fiercely, Lo prompted Reg to try.

"He'll have the same reaction for you, love. C'mon, try it."

After a slight moment of hesitation, Reg swept his tongue across his lips and mirrored Lo's action on the opposite side, smiling when Leo's cock throbbed under his touch once again.

"Lips feel so nice, baby," Leo mumbled, almost drunk sounding. Since he'd leant his head back against Lo and closed his eyes, he hadn't moved, more than content with letting the boys touch him however they wanted. Reg glowed at the praise and looked back at Lo as if to make sure.

"See, a natural, baby. Alright. You can jazz up your kisses too, the surprise makes it feel even better. Remember how earlier Peanut bit your lip and it felt really good?" he waited for an agreeing nod before continuing, "It's the same principle. Bites, nibbles, just grazing your teeth, sucking on the skin a little, tugging on it - it all makes it feel better. Naturally, you get the best reaction if you use these on sweet spots. Remember that the whole neck is sensitive so if there's a sweet spot around that area, it's going to be even more reactive to simple things. Pay attention to Nutty, love. Even the smallest things like breath and tiny changes in temperature will drive him crazy."

Lo delicately took a hand and brushed Leo's hair so it didn't cover the shell of his ear as much. When it was pushed aside, he parted his lips and blew one soft breath across the expanse of his ear. The goosebumps scattered along his skin immediately, an outright moan escaping from his lips as they did.

"Oh." Reg breathed, Leo's cock twitching underneath his hand so much so that the movement was visible, his hips even straining beneath Reg's own.

Suppressing a gleeful smile, Logan composed himself and carried on, excited for Reg to see Leo's reaction.

"If you blow air over wet skin, it has a similar effect but usually more intense. Or we just all prefer that, I'm not sure," Lo laughed softly.

"Fucking love this one," Leo murmured, tilting his head even more so to the side in preparation.

Lo smiled and licked a broad stripe along the shell of Leo's ear, pulling back and pausing for a moment, loving the way Leo's shoulders and spine tensed in suspense. He then relented and blew another breath along the same patch of skin. Leo's reaction was immediate, his spine arched and his mouth dropped open in a long, drawn-out moan, his hips beginning to rock up into Reg's hand, drawing his whole focus there.

After a few moments of watching, Lo reached a hand over to Reg and gripped his chin lightly, turning him to face him.

"Another fun fact about our practice dummy, he could definitely come from just this."

Reg's mouth dropped open to mirror Leo's, shock colouring his features briefly before lust and arousal brushed it aside.

"You wanna make him come with me, pretty?"

"Yeah," Reg nodded eagerly, eyes flicking down to watch Leo's hips continuously roll into his palm before looking back to Lo, the pattern between the two repeating.

"Okay. You can use whatever kisses you want, alright? You won't hurt him. You can bite along his ear, tug on his earlobe, he'll love it, I promise, love. M'kay?"

When Reg nodded, he tapped the side of his jaw to garner his full attention for a moment.

"Can I steal a kiss first?"

Reg leaned over Leo's shoulder instantly, pressing his lips together with Lo's in a deep kiss that quickly intertwined their tongues. It was then that they noticed Finn had come home, none of them hearing the front door open or close.

"Holy shit, what'd I miss?" Finn asked incredulously as his slipped out his running shoes and put his phone and headphones on the coffee table.

"Teaching Regie the joys of neck kisses, I was chosen as the practice dummy," Leo panted out, hips still not stopping their movement.

"And we did a quick crash course on Knutty's ears being sensitive enough to make him come-" Lo continued as he and Reg pulled away.

"I need to see it to believe it," Reg smirked, his confidence growing with every moan Leo tried to swallow (he wasn't doing a very good job).

Looking extremely impressed with the initiative, Finn plopped down on the end of the sofa a few inches from Leo. He leaned with his back against the arm, facing the trio, one arm thrown back against the backrest, the other coming to palm at his rapidly hardening cock through his running shorts.

"I believe it but I'm definitely not against seeing it," Finn grinned cheekily at Lo's humoured eye roll.

"Fucking voyeur," Leo muttered with a broken sounding laugh.

"You know it, baby!" he answered proudly.

If anyone wants a smutty PT.2 just let me know!

Thank you for reading <3

(Update: said smutty PT 2 is up!)

[pbandjesse]

Today wasn't a terrible day. I don't feel as bad as I did. But I did a ton while I was feeling okay. Which I think just made me exhausted. But James is on their way home and I'm excited to see them. And then go to sleep.

I slept. Okay. I have decided to give myself an extra 10 minutes for every time I have to get up to pee so I woke up at 730. Which was fine. I wasn't in a rush and would still get to camp much earlier then anyone else.

James made us breakfast. And after I got dressed I came downstairs to sit with them. They were going to go to work at noon because of evening hours. And so we weren't in a rush. And James would get some tasks done in the house this morning which was nice to come home too.

It was raining this morning. And the drive in to camp sucked. It was a deeply unpleasant drive. I think I am almost getting car sick. Plus the windshield wipers. And the fog. And the rain. And the flashing lights. It was not a fun drive at all.

I arrived at camp in one piece. And collected my stuff to go inside. I brought the bear I have in the teddy bear hospital so I could brush them out. Which took most of an hour but I think they look great. I also checked in with the owner about the nose I have, to make sure she's happy with the size and color. I am going to work on the embroidery for the eyes tomorrow, but I needed to go to Michael's to color match the floss. But I felt like I was making great progress, and the owner is very happy so far.

I was finishing that up as Sarah came in. She laughed at my small umbrella. Yes it's child sized but it's a perfectly fine umbrella. But then everyone else teased me too! Lou said that it's elf sized, and Heather was like it's because Jesse is small!! And it was very silly. I was being roasted!

I would work on a few small things. I finished going through the York county private schools and then worked on a infographic for bracelet making for next week. Which honestly was my favorite thing I worked on today.

I also started working on a PowerPoint of things to know at camp. Slang and location and FAQ. I will need to sit down with Heather or someone to fill it out more. But it's a good start.

I took a walk up to arts to work on taking all the bracelet string out of its packaging. And counting out the looms. I had 83. I need 140. I would get 29 more cut out in the afternoon, working until my hands hurt. But I was glad I was able to get some stuff done.

I didn't want to ask for more tasks. I will probably ask tomorrow. But today I would just try and work on my own stuff. I did some research for programs for next year. I looked through some schedule stuff. I went and laid on the picnic table in the art building when I started not feeling good. I thought being flat for a bit would help and it did. But I was just. Done.

I was able to hold it together until right after 2. So I let Alexi know I was tired and she told me to go home and get some rest.

I did not exactly do that though. I went to hunt valley and got yarn at Michaels. I color matched the embroidery floss. I looked at all the Halloween stuff. And then after I paid, I dropped off my purchases and tried looking around HomeGoods. But it was overly packed and made me stressed so I left.

I went to goodwill next. But same problem. It was a mess, with carts everywhere. And I saw one thing I wanted but got stressed out and left pretty quickly.

I wanted to eat something. I thought I would go to Chipotle. I was practicing driving without the GPS and was able to get myself all the way to our neighborhood and to the chipotle but I changed my mind and went to five guys instead.

And honestly I'm glad I did. I would end up giving me a few hours of solid energy. I knew that as long as I didn't sit down when I got home I could accomplish a bunch.

And I did! I got home and would jump into putting things away. Cleaning the aquarium. Taking Crabcake out to walk around the studio while I worked on resetting his space. I put the dishes away. I took Ruby the Roomba upstairs. I got a package with another style of baby carrier. Which is accidently cut when I opened it but it's minor and fixable. I was going going going.

I got frustrated when I saw a shelf of paint in the studio has fallen and when I went to try and fix it, that shelf and the self below it both collapsed and everything went everywhere. So I was very upset about that.

There was nothing I could do in that moment though. I put things in baskets and put it to the side. The shelf would have to be repaired later I guess.

Instead I went and fed Sweetp dinner. And went to the basement to tidy up down there. I changed out the shelf next to the dryer, and tried putting things away where I could. We need another set of shelves down there but I think I did a pretty good job with what I had to work with. It's not perfect but it's something. I will need James help with some of the stuff I want to move but I am still proud of the work I put in.

I started sorting the sweaters. Which was still really stressful but I put some to the side and put the for sure keeps away. I still want to figure something out because I still have to many. But I tried.

I was getting overheated and I felt gross. So around 6 I took a cool bath. It helped. I left the AC on in our bedroom. And so when I got out of the bath I was able to just chill and it helped a lot.

I would have some leftover lasagna. And hung out with sweetp in our room. Watched videos and just enjoyed resting.

I'm laying on the couch now. James just got home and they are going to attempt to figure out fixing the shelf that broke. I love them for trying.

I am going to go give them a smooch and go upstairs to sip some water and get ready to sleep. I hope you all have a good night. Sleep well everyone. Have a nice day tomorrow.

[sir-sunawani]

Quicksand

Fem Reader x Sir Crocodile

20 Chapters - 46,838 words

Read it on Ao3 or Wattpad

CW: Language, violence, blood, moral ambiguity, murder, sexual themes and situations, yandere, angst with a happy ending, a referenced instance of physical abuse. 18+ only

Chapter 2: Miss Wednesday

Despite the Luncheon, the day was going by fast. Too fast, as far as you were concerned. There was still a lot to be done and not enough hours to get it done in. This normally wouldn't bother you, but you were expected back home this evening to get into the details of your weekend plans. It wasn't going to be a good look if you were later than usual.

A worse look if you were too late to even say anything at all.

You tried not to let your thoughts distract you, and focused on your tasks, buckling down to plow through what you could. You got a couple of people to help, and you even snapped Buggy into work mode when he returned from the lunch itself.

Unfortunately, you realized you were too focused on your work when you bounded out of Buggy's office and slammed right into a brick wall.

One made of flesh.

Wearing a very expensive tailored silk suit.

The impact of running into something far more solid than yourself resulted in you falling back on your butt, the papers in your hands scattering. You could hear Buggy's high-pitched gasp and had a terrible sinking feeling before you even managed to look up.

Slicked back midnight black hair, deep set amber gold eyes, and the heavy scent of cigar smoke entered into your senses as Crocodile leaned down, offering his ring encrusted hand. It wasn't that you didn't think you were worthy of taking the hand of the Owner of the Company, so much as you were terrified that you had literally crashed into a Warlord.

"Ohmygod, I am so sorry, Sir." You manage, looking away from his hand and scrambling to collect up the papers that you had dropped. Buggy was already by your side, helping you gather them up.

"It's quite alright. Are you hurt?" It was the first time you'd heard his voice, and you could feel your face heating up.

"Y-yes, ah, I mean, no I'm not hurt." You finish gathering up the last page, thinking quietly that the most injured part of you at the moment was your pride. Standing up with assistance from your boss you bow deeply. "Again, I'm so sorry Sir Crocodile."

"Do be careful going forward, Miss. I have no desire to see my employees injure themselves." He replies with the same even tone he had used earlier.

"Yes of course," you manage a reply, though it's a little strained, and then bow once more before excusing yourself.

Your hopes of staying focused on your work went out the window quite soundly. The sweet scent of citrus and warm desert sand kept distracting you. The smooth rumble of his voice, and even temperament kept worming into your ears. You had been so certain that you had obliterated your silly crush over Sir Crocodile that it was almost aggravating to find yourself admiring him again.

The rest of the day you very gently opened doors and made sure to listen and peek around corners. You didn't run into Mr. Crocodile again, and with some help from Alvida you managed to get your work done within a decent amount of time. It was only an hour later than usual by the time you made your way back home.

04:56 You: Good morning, I can't stay on and talk much right now, there's an event at work I need to be in early for. Looking forward to talking to you tonight!

06:02 Him: Much anticipated.

14:32 [System Message: 60 days have transpired. Please note that the automatic system censoring has been lifted. Users 905965 and 421328 have unrestricted chat access. Congratulations!]

17:36 Him: It seems we are free to make plans for this weekend.

17:56 Him: Given your earlier excitement, I'll assume you have been held up at work.

18:45 You: Sorry, yes, I was held up at work.

18:46 You: I'll be a little slow to reply, I've got to get out of my uniform and into something comfortable. I need to order dinner as well, but I can do that and type at the same time.

18:50 Him: It's quite alright. Take your time.

Him: I do have to ask, if you wanted to exchange names now, or wait until Saturday?

You: Um... hm... Saturday, I think, if you don't mind.

Him: Not at all. Going for a complete surprise, it seems.

You: I just don't want to make assumptions based on names. People get ideas in their head from names and then even if it's not a big deal you're disappointed or freaked out.

Him: haha, I'll defer to you on this. So let's get to business – where are you located?

You: Do you know where the West Blue Rain Dinners is located?

Him: I do, it's quite the landmark.

You: xD yeah, it is. I'm about 30km to the east of that.

Him: I'm a little to the north of you then, roughly, and about 40km away.

You: I'm opening up Logpose, It should list places to eat between us.

Him: Baratie's is in there.

You: Vetoed. It's entirely too fancy for a first date.

Him: I assume then Rain Dinners would be vetoed as well.

You: Yes, especially because it's not located between us.

Him: As long as you're not expecting me to go to a fast-food joint...

You: >.>

Him: Vetoed.

You: LOL alright, alright. There's a café La Nourriture. It's bigger than you'd expect, and the food's good. A friend of mine knows the owner.

Him: I've heard of that place. If I remember right, Baratie's owner's son runs the place.

You: Well, then the food should be up to your refined needs.

Him: Humph.

You: Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

Him: Somehow, I can see the laughter in your text.

You: Guilty.

You: La Nour's then, for Saturday?

Him: Indeed. 1pm?

You: I can work with that. It should be coming down from the lunch rush crowd as well.

Him: Perfect.

. . . . . . .

Thursday and Friday came and went. You and your impending date didn't talk much, you both agreed to save conversation for Saturday. Having enough small talk between the two of you would allow for things to stay light if neither one of you were up for any kind of serious conversation.

Getting ready Saturday, you found you were nervous. Big nervous. You tried on more clothes in an hour than you'd bothered dealing with all last week. By the time you were done you were at least satisfied with the light blue blouse and navy jeans. A necklace and bracelet made you look a little done up, while still leaving you comfortable.

You pulled your hair into a bun and decided against putting on makeup. You didn't want to make yourself too fancy, for one, and for two it seemed to defeat the purpose of the website. You had a good complexion anyway, and so a little lotion was all you bothered with.

A light breakfast keeps your nerves from bouncing around too terribly, and you even have a slice of toast before you leave for the café. It's a bit of a drive, and you didn't want your nervous energy to make you uncomfortably hungry before you even got there.

You sent him a text on your way out the door. You'd both agreed that you would get there first, so if anyone was stuck awkwardly looking for the other it was him. It was an oddly gentlemanly thing of him to insist upon.

You: Heading out now, I'll let you know if I hit any bad traffic, but I should be there in twenty.

Him: I'll be there shortly after.

Traffic wasn't bad, and you made it to the café with time to spare. You sent a text that you had arrived safely and were going to get a table. A girl with pale blue hair, almost the same color as your blouse, seated you as you requested. You sat by a window, your back to the door. It didn't really help your nervousness, but you didn't want to see someone walk in, lose your nerve, and leave. So this was for the best.

You: Light blue blouse, dark pants, hair in a bun, sitting alone by the window.

You pressed your lips together and fidgeted nervously while you waited. The girl who seated you brought over a cup of tea for you and you looked at her quizzically.

"Chamomile, on the house." She explains. "You look nervous, waiting for a Personality date?"

Your face flushes but you smile. "Haa, yeah. You must get a lot of meetups here."

She smiles as you sip the tea. "It makes sense, it's not too fancy, but not a hole in the wall. We're affordable, and it's easier to walk away from a café lunch than a full on dinner."

"You get it. I appreciate that, and the drink. Thank you."

"You're welcome, and good luck." She flashes you a pair of thumbs up as she walks away.

You manage to drain the tea, and your server, who introduces herself as Vivi, takes it away. It was just a few minutes later that you hear the door open for the dozenth or so time. Something about it makes you feel different, and the steady click of shoes that are most certainly getting closer, send your stomach into knots preemptively.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you." The velvety smooth voice that rolls over you causes your stomach to sink down into your feet. You turn to see Sir Crocodile moving to seat himself. He looks very different from how you had seen him on Wednesday, but there was no mistaking his voice and appearance.

He wore a black turtleneck and matching black slacks. His hair was mostly loose, just barely brushed back, and the way it framed his face certainly made him look more human and less, well, Warlord-y. The scar along his face was lighter too, not entirely covered, but it was obvious he was trying to mitigate any discomfort regarding it. He wore none of his rings, and his prosthetic hand was covered with a glove.

After he sits down, he amends his statement. "Miss Wednesday, it seems we have met before, my apologies."

[moovees]

I am considering going through all of my movies on Letterboxd and ensure they all have a rating. I know there are a good number of movies I have seen that do not. But Letterboxd uses a 5 star rating system, and it allows half-stars, which means it's actually a 10-star rating system.

I worked with ChatGPT this morning to come-up with the below criteria for each rating. I am still debating it and if I want to do this daunting task at all.

0.5 Stars: Terrible

A complete failure in every aspect: poor acting, bad script, weak direction, or unintentional humor. You find it painful to watch or frustratingly bad. You wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, and it’s a waste of time.

1 Star: Very Bad

The movie had a few elements that were okay or salvageable, but overall, it was not a good experience. Maybe a specific performance or scene was decent, but it’s overshadowed by bad execution. You might not regret watching it, but you wouldn't recommend it either.

1.5 Stars: Bad

A step up from very bad, this movie has some redeeming qualities, but not enough to make it enjoyable. Perhaps it had potential or a decent concept, but the execution was too flawed. You’d remember it as something that didn’t work, but with a couple of decent elements.

2 Stars: Not Great/Meh

A movie that was competently made but left you feeling indifferent. The acting, plot, or pacing might have been fine, but it didn’t engage or entertain you. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with it, but there’s nothing memorable or engaging either. You’re not upset you watched it, but you wouldn’t want to revisit it.

2.5 Stars: Average

It’s right in the middle: a movie that does what it needs to, but nothing more. It’s not bad, but it’s not particularly good either. It might have a few moments that stand out, but ultimately, it’s forgettable. It’s the kind of film that passes the time, but it’s not something you’d recommend or return to.

3 Stars: Good/Enjoyable

A solid, enjoyable film. It may not be groundbreaking, but it was fun to watch and kept you engaged. You’d say, “I liked that!” without necessarily feeling the need to watch it again soon. It did what it set out to do well, and you left feeling satisfied.

3.5 Stars: Very Good

A movie you really enjoyed, with solid performances, direction, or writing. It might not be a personal favorite, but it was a high-quality film, and you’d be open to watching it again. This rating reflects movies that stand out above average but don’t quite hit the “great” mark.

4 Stars: Great

A well-made, highly enjoyable film that resonated with you. It’s something you’d recommend and likely rewatch. It may not be flawless, but its strengths far outweigh any weaknesses. This is the kind of movie that left a lasting impression on you and was worth the time invested.

4.5 Stars: Excellent

Nearly a masterpiece, this movie hit almost every note right. Whether it’s the acting, direction, or emotional impact, it’s something you think about long after watching. It’s a film you’d go out of your way to recommend and possibly rewatch multiple times, with only minor imperfections keeping it from being a personal classic.

5 Stars: Personal Classic/Masterpiece

The best of the best. This is a film that is not just technically excellent, but it also resonates deeply with you on a personal level. It might be a "bad" movie by conventional standards, but for some reason, you absolutely love it. It has rewatch value, emotional impact, and maybe even shaped how you think about films. This is your top tier.

[joylinda-hawks]

This photo has appeared on my profile a few times already. I am not sharing it because I do not have any other photos of ZZH, but because for me this photo is an important symbol. A symbol of how much an ordinary person can endure to maintain their dignity. This is how I perceive it now, and when it first appeared online I wished ZZH a speedy recovery. I did not know the broader context at the time, I think many people did not. None of us knew that exactly one month later ZZH would be "erased" from the world of film. This photo moved me deeply, and the later photos from ZZH's IG shocked me even more. I do not want to describe the photo itself as usual, but to share something very personal. Something that made me here and wants ZZH to regain his good name. Whether ZZH decides to return to the stage after he regains his good name is a secondary matter. The most important thing for ZZH is to restore the dignity of his surname. Procedural justice is a priority for him. Returning to the photo, I really wouldn't want to see ZZH or any actor in such a situation. Tired of working on a film set, in unfavorable conditions, without having eaten a decent meal. On top of that, with a baggage of terrible experiences, unjustified accusations and groundless hate. As if that wasn't enough, there was the vile behavior of some actors on the set. Could a young, honest man endure something like that. Cornered and hounded like an animal, ZZH tried to do his best to complete the task entrusted to him. No one deserved the way ZZH was treated that day, ZZH's tired body gave up at some point. ZZH is not a cyborg, he is a human being like any of us. This photo of ZZH still dressed in a costume from the Hero program sitting in an ambulance and eating soup is extremely telling. I want to ask how long people from the entertainment industry will treat actors who work hard so that they can earn money like this. They are also people, with feelings and their weaknesses. No, they are not money-making machines for people who employ them and treat them as their own. Maybe that is why ZZH decided to express its opposition and for this reason, so that these people do not lose control, ZZH was banned. These are just my assumptions. This photo always makes me want to save my eyes with a sly one, to remind myself why I am here. When I ask myself in the morning if it is worth it. And I answer clearly: it is worth it for ZZH. For him and other lesser-known people who were treated in the same way as ZZH.

[hdsavmuk2345]

CHERISH EVERY MOMENTS IN LIFE.

By Kirsten Antonnette B. Azucena, BSPH1

Moments are ephemeral and only stay in our memories after they pass. Every minute of your life has an expiration date, and that day is “Now.” Embracing each moment as it comes along will not only help you feel thankful for life, but it will also lift your spirits and change your perspective.

1. Look for the Good in Life

“Humor is the spiciest condiment in the feast of existence. Laugh at your mistakes but learn from them, joke over your troubles but gather strength from them, make a jest of your difficulties but overcome them.” ― L. M. Montgomery Recently, I’ve discovered that laughing instead of worrying about things that go wrong is far more useful when they go wrong. Enjoy the moment while your with your friends and stop worrying the things.

2. Don’t let your mistakes to hold you back.

“Well, we all make mistakes, dear, so just put it behind you. We should regret our mistakes and learn from them, but never carry them forward into the future with us.” -L. M. Montgomery, “Anne of Avonlea,” advises us to learn from our mistakes and regret them, but not to carry them into the future. Some mistakes are made because it guides us how to decide on things and learn from them.

3. Take a moment to see the beauty around you and inside yourself as you go about your everyday business.

“Dear old world’, she murmured, ‘you are very lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you.” ― L. M. Montgomery, “Anne of Green Gables” It's very simple to become mired in a daily routine and believe that normal tasks like taking the morning commute to work are boring and uninteresting. During those times, we need to remind ourselves that we are a part of God’s creation and that we are surrounded by its beauty. Explore yourself even more also the nature to see the true beauty of Gods creation and appreciate it.

4. In the midst of hardship, strive for joy.

“She will love deeply, she will suffer terribly, she will have glorious moments to compensate.” ― L. M. Montgomery, “Emily of New Moon” Pain cannot be avoided. It is a characteristic of being human. It is the precise thing that binds us to one another and guides us to heaven, while being agonizing and terrible. We should voluntarily embrace our sorrow and make an effort to find the joy in it since beautiful things are crafted from it.

5. Seize the day

“Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so… get on your way!” — Dr. Seuss How many times do we tell ourselves we’ll give that long-awaited call to our friend later, begin eating healthily tomorrow, or fulfill our lifelong desire next year, only to never follow through on our promises? In my case, it occurs frequently. We appear to be always delaying things because we convince ourselves that we have more time. But time has a tendency of sneaking up on us, and before we realize it, our time is running out. Thus, make the most of today before it’s too late.

6. Write in your journal about your day’s events.

“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” — Dr. Seuss I used to journal a lot when I was younger, but I fell out of the habit in recent years. I’m trying to pick it back up, and it’s been great. Keeping a journal before bed helps me remember the highs and lows of the day and process it to determine what I learned and could apply to my experiences.