#had middle of the night boy meets boy brain rot

[kingofthering]

I was thinking about the forced coming out au and how @moonshynecybin said Marc would keep blowing Vale out hot & cold and I had thoughts for one of the hot days.

Essentially, it's about the two of them getting invited to an LGBTQ event -thinking a gala/fundraiser situation maybe- (could be towards the end of June for pride month or later in the year depending on the timeline, details).

I think this kind of event could truly be double-edged for Marc because everyone is telling him that they admire him for what he did and that he's helping change things and that so many kids are gonna feel encouraged by this and— well, on the one side it makes Marc feel sick of their lie because he didn't come out for ~the good reasons™️ (didn't even really choose to come out, even) but the event also makes him realize that in the grand scheme of things, he is (they are) having an impact on so many people.

Anyway, for once Marc's brain decides to let him focus on the good aspect of things and he lets himself be close to Valentino that night, invites him to dance, lean his head on his shoulder, hold onto his arm when they're speaking to people together, kissing his cheek before he leaves Valentino's side to grab them drinks, etc etc

Valentino— Valentino is surprised in ways he didn't expect. He's essentially been begging Marc to provide more efforts in their whole charade and yes, he's happy to have Marc cooperating but also he had forgotten how tender Marc could be with him and that's something to process as well. He used to be scared of those moments back when they were just friends with benefits in their early years [obviously not the PDA but the softs moments after they had fucked, Valentino letting Marc linger in his bed when he would have already thrown away any other hook-up, Marc kissing his cheek before leaving his motorhome, Marc having a coffee for him when they had to attend safety meetings together, Marc dusting off feathers of Valentino's suit on stage, etc etc]. Scared because he couldn't let this 20-something insane fast boy think this was more than unserious sex and scared because Valentino was into it [no, home boy is not that self aware but just a bit, you know].

Anyway, they have a great night and in the taxi to their hotel, Marc has his hand laying in the middle seat and Valentino grabs it, squeezes it and asks Marc if he had a great time tonight. Marc squeezes back and nods [this is a very self-indulgent moment in the midst of an otherwise pretty angsty universe, bye].

Obviously they were booked a single room with a king bed and they find each other in the huge bathroom, both facing the mirror and getting ready for bed. Then, it's Marc asking Vale to help him undo the knot of his tie. It's Valentino offering his wrists to Marc so he can undo his cufflinks. It's the two of them being in each other's space, suppressing the room between them inch by inch until Marc just has to tilt his head up to find Valentino's mouth with his own.

It's achingly slow, at first. It reminds Valentino of the kiss they shared earlier that night on the dance floor. Despite their audience, it hadn't felt performative back then, not really. Now that they are without an audience, Valentino feels even more exposed.

They sleep together (sex so sweet it could actually make teeth rot) and fall asleep wrapped around each other. The next morning, Valentino wakes up in cold sheet and a handwritten note that says :

changed my flight to get home earlier see you in [wherever their next race is] Marc

[firephoenix23]

Hi, thank you for your posts being one of the reasons why I'm into Slugterra recently. They are positive, perceptive, and are addicting to look at and read. 💗 In light of this, I have a question if you are willing to answer it: Do you personally have any cute, fluffy, or funny headcanons for the members of the Shane Gang? Or even anything about your favourite friendship dynamics or ships? Even just thoughts, ramblings, and theories about them are ok. 😉

Oh my god, this is actually the sweetest comment. Thank you so much! 🤗🥰 As for headcanons and theories, I definitely have had so many, so better sit tight and get comfy. Sorry that it took me so long to respond. I was so busy with work. Also sorry if this is hella chaotic and hella long 😅

Eli

I think forever and always Eli will be a short king. Like I know he's 15 in the show and like he could grow more but I've always thought he'd be short forever. I think it works for him because I always thought he was the fastest and most agile of the Shane gang so

Eli is always seen sleeping or napping around the hideout, so I always assume he's a terrible night sleeper. I'm so convinced that kid has insomnia or something and makes it up with naps throughout the day

Definitely has ADHD, no one can convince me otherwise. Like he said one line in an episode that went something like I'm kinda new at this whole planning thing. Tell me you have ADHD without telling me 😂

I actually think in an alternate universe where Slugterra never existed and he stayed on the surface I think he would be a vet or like some environmentalist hippy when he gets older. I mean, the whole show I feel like is literally about him helping slugs and fighting a man corrupting them so i think it makes sense

Okay so like i always kinda theorized that he would like men. Like I know I know I'm sorry to the Eli x Trixie but in my mind for some reason I just like can't see him with a girl. Or maybe he has more of a preference for men something like that

I feel like this is one goes with the one above, but I'm gonna say it anyway, I've seen people theorize Eli as a trans man and honestly, I don't if i necessarily headcanon it but I think it’s kinda slay. And I doesn't make sense chronologically in the show but whatever trans rights 🏳️‍⚧️ ✊

Well, this one is kinda shown in the show, but I think Eli's an awful singer, like ungodly bad. They have him hum in the Eastern Cavern Christmas episode, and it is the worst thing I have ever heard in my life 😂

I also think that Eli is probably mixed or multiracial. I definitely think he's Mexican and then Irish (for the whitest last name that has ever graced my eyes) Chinese (check Junjie section for that one 😂) Middle Eastern (Lebanese, Egyptian, etc) I feel like if he's Canadian probably got some Native in him too. I have like no reasoning for some of these it's just what I feel. I know he's probably just a white boy, but let me have my fun

Eli is not the biggest fan of crying in front of people or crying in general. He's got that surface toxic masculinity ofc, but being in Slugterra has made him open up more to his friends

If he's not sleeping or fighting bad guys, he's training or working out or brain rotting by watching videos on the slugnet

I also think that Eli would probably be kinda awkward to meet if you went up to him. Like if he's not there for Shane business, he doesn't really know what to do with himself. I mean he went from being a nobody on the surface to being 🌟THE SHANE🌟 and everyone wants to talk to him. If i was 15 and I became that famous, I would be awkward too

He's also the youngest in the Shane gang

🗣️Eli is Canadian 🗣️

Trixie

So this isn't necessarily my headcanon, but I saw this a Long, LONG time ago, there was one theory that Trixie was Dr. Blakk's daughter. I'm not sure how they came up with this theory but I think it's so interesting and crazy. It would ask more questions than answer them, like why was Tad on the surface but Trixie raised in slugterra and how Dr. Blakk could have two kids he didn't know or we assume for Tad but it would just be such a crazy concept

I feel like Trixie doesn't have the greatest relationship with her mom. She definitely has very fond memories of her, but it doesn't seem like she visits her mom that much. I feel like they get into a lot of disagreements.

As for age, I think Trixie is about 16 or 17 years old

Trixie is definitely the most direct of the Shane gang. She will tell it like it is and will not sugarcoat it. Like if she doesn't like you or like something, she'll be the first to say something

AU, if Slugeterra didn't exist, she would 100 percent be like a big Twitch streamer or a YouTuber. I mean, she's got a love of filming and gaming so it makes sense to me

It's kinda implied in the show but I think she's really big into animals not just slugs. I feel like her and Eli would sit around her computer or tv watching slugterra animal documentaries or something 😂

Also, going back to the filming, this isn't really a headcanon for Trixie, but the slugisodes that they put on YouTube are all the videos she made. Again it's implied, but I thought I would mention it

For sexuality, I don't know, maybe bi. She's giving me bi energy

Kord

I think Kord is the best cook out of the gang (with Pronto at the bottom) but because he's always updating the mechas or fixing blasters or whatever, he never really gets the chance to cook oh but when he does 👌😩

I would say Kord is about 19 or 20 years old

Once again going on the theme of Shane gang family issues but I think Kord's family was not the happiest knowing he was gonna leave the pretty safe career of being an engineer for the dangerous and low pay career of a slugslinger

Going off of that I feel like a lot of the non-human groups of Slugterra have a lot of negative stereotypes around them, and Kord becoming a slugslinger was his way of breaking the stereotype that cave trolls are only engineers

For slugterraless AU Kord would probably be like an aerospace engineer or a completely different route and be a therapist maybe he would try for both

He's definitely the unofficial therapist of the group. He's a good listener and will sit and nod along as the other person just rants rambles, or sobs

Probably got that sleep apnea with the way he sores in the show

Almost NEVER showers, but surprisingly not stinky

He will spend all day working on a project and sometimes forgets to eat so the gang will have to come into the garage and give him food

Not gonna lie he's been a bit jealous of Eli and how quick he was to figure things out in slugterra with slugslinging and especially at such a young age but he's mostly gotten over it... mostly

I mean we know he likes women what with Druilla but I don't think Kord would be opposed to guys. So bi prob with more a preference for men

Pronto

Once again, it's not my theory, but I saw something a long time ago that the King of the Molelinoids?? was chosen by who is the greatest tracker out of all the moles, and that happened to be Pronto. I honestly think this makes the most sense

Okay, so for age, I always got the sense that he was a lot older than the rest of the Shane gang, like in his early 30s, just because there are slugisodes about young Pronto, so...

I think that's why they feel the need to have him cook because he's the technically adult in the house but I mean like look at him 😂

Also considering he was king I assume he never cooked (b/c he was too busy cleaning out toilets 😅) Meaning that he's probably the worst cook but not by much since Eli's 15 and can't even boil pasta without the water spilling over

Now my theory for why Pronto was in the Shane hideout was b/c I do think he was stealing some Shane shit that he could sell for that gold and new purse ofc🪙👛that's why he looked so shocked and nervous when Eli arrived he really thought Eli was gonna arrest him or something

He is definitely the loudest and most extroverted of the Shane gang. Like my man, he has never heard of a quiet button, and it drives the others nuts. He'll just go up and talk to anyone it's so hard to take him places sometimes 😅

Pronto has a twin named Pinto, it's not a headcanon it's stated in ROTE but I thought I would mention it

He's definitely the messiest of the Shane

He also is the most active on social media (even more than the official shane gang channel on the slugnet) and those the most interviews for tv (which my other theory would be that Eli is hella glad Pronto wants to do them despite him only talking about himself)

For slugterraless AU Iiterally have no idea what Pronto would do like no thoughts 😂 he could be anything and everything

For sexuality I feel like Pronto would actually be ace don't know why I just feel like it fits him

Junjie

I feel like Junjie's headcanons are gonna mostly be sad, but I'll start with less depressing ones, first everyone pronounces his name wrong but at this point he's too nice to current anyone so he just lets it

As for his backstory I think he came from humble parents maybe they couldn't take care of him but Master Lian decided to raise him as her own and train him to be the Easter Champion since she was the current one

Now for the fun one, I think Junije and Eli are very very distantly related. I like to think that Eli is related to Yang in some way. I also like to think if there were ever going to be any other caverns like a northern or southern champion, they would all be connected to the OG champion of the underground world. I don't know who that person is but I just like to think it would be cool 😅

Unfortunately, he suffers from pretty severe PTSD. He doesn't remember everything that the goon did to him, but every once in a while he'll get a flashback almost like he's regaining his memories and it's not a pretty sight for him

I do think he would be pretty heavily scarred as well from being under the control of the goon for so long

For his age, I think Junjie is 15, like Eli. Yes I know he's actually 35 but he doesn't look like he aged and I think Junjie would really try to ignore the fact that he spent 20 years of his life destroying his home. So yeah maybe he's 35 but in his heart he's still 15

He and Eli suffer from nightmares from time to time from the goon so when Junjie lived in the Shane hideout they would both just stay up talking and hanging out

While Trixie will verbally judge you for your stupid actions *cough* Eli *cough* Pronto, Junjie will just silently judge you, which is almost just as bad

Junije is actually very expressive, even if he doesn't have a lot to say you can tell what he is thinking through his expressions

I feel like in a slugterraless AU he would probably own like Kung Fu Dojo or something like that

Okay, wow, that was a lot, but now I kinda want to talk about shipping. I'm just gonna talk about a few of the more popular ones please don't kill me 😅

Eli x Trixie

So I, like, I know why people ship Eli and Trixie; it's because they're like really close, and it would be cool to see them grow up and realize that they've always had feelings for each other, and then they get married and have kids or whatever. Like, I get it...... the thing is, I just don't really care for it 😅😅

There are just so many shows that have the boy protagonist with the girl protagonist, and I swear sometimes they just have the girl character just there to be a love interest of the main boy character, and that's literally all they do, and it sucks. And Slugterra literally fits that bill like Trixie is the only human girl and Eli is the main character. So it should have happened, but it didn't, which I feel is RARE for an early 2010s show

It's kinda cool that they don't get together like there isn't even any romance at all, which is, again, super rare. I really can't think of another show that didn't have some indication of romance even when it wasn't the focus, but Slugterra doesn't have it at all. Sometimes, when I watch it, it throws me off guard because I feel like it should, but Slugterra had too much on its plate to do that stuff. And I see Eli and Trixie having more of a sibling relationship than anything else,

I think I'm just not that into it because I remember there being a lot of really annoying shippers in the early fandom days who would claim that every interaction that Eli and Trixie did was like signs of THEM FALLING IN LOVE, but really, they were just standing there. But if you want to ship it, that's totally cool!

Eli x Junjie

So I don't ship Eli and Junjie, but then again, I do think it's super cute and makes sense. The history of the ship is so interesting, but people were shipping Eli with the dark slinger long before he was known as Junije, and when he became a part of the team, people were so excited.

But then they dropped that BOMB that Junjie was controlled by the goon for 20 years, and everyone was like, yikes, this is a little awkward, and like, to this day, I don't know why the writers did that. Like, even a year or two under the goon would have been a lot, but no, they had to do like 20 years. I just wish I was in the writers' room when they made that decision. I would have been like hello, explain why it has to be so long

Obviously, it makes the shipping complicated, and I never saw anything crazy when it came to people fighting about who you can ship with. When it comes to ages and shit I was in the Voltron fandom I saw it all. And not like writers need to know about shipping, but it's still like, why. Why did you make one of your characters 35 or however old Junjie is? They never explain if he aged or not. They're like, yup, 20 years passed, like HUH???

Anyway, this ship section literally just became about Junjie, but in conclusion, ship what you want to ship life is so short, who gives a shit

And finally........

Eli x Twist

Okay, so like....... I do ship Eli and Twist. What can I say, I'm a sucker for rivals, friends to lovers. But rivals to friends to lovers is like my bread and butter. I'm literally obsessed with staticradio with Hazbin and shit it's so embarrassing But, Twist and Eli started it all for me. They are like the OG rival to friends to lovers to me. I emphasize rivals TO friends TO lovers, but I like the in-between of friendship before they discover they have feelings for each other or whatever.

I know it could be complicated, and I know, in theory, rivals to lovers could never work in real life, but I think there was potential in the show. Not with Eli and Twist as a romance, but I feel like they were going for a redemption arc for Twist, and then they just like forgot about him and then brought in TAD 😒

Like, come on, he's literally just Twist, but they had to add that connection to Dr. Blakk like Twist already had that. So if there was no romance, then there should have been a redemption. I have this whole other theory that I think Dr. Blakk kinda prepped Twist to hate Will Shane more than he actually did just to get someone Eli's age to fight him to see if that would work

Because, like, Twist-hating Eli makes literally no sense. Eli didn't do anything wrong; he's literally just there. He's just the new Shane, and he constantly is like you wanna be like Blakk, you know you're doing the wrong thing, and blah blah

Like, it sucks that Will killed his Dad, but I don't get what Twist's Dad's plan was. Why was he jumping off a cliff? Was his plan to kill both of them, like kill his own child?? And I just have this other theory that Twist's dad was illegally selling slugs or had a shady business. He clearly didn't have the best morals if he was going to take his son to the GRAVE with him

I should make a separate post about this since this one is getting so long, and I have so many thoughts about the Eli and Twist redemption arc or whatever you want to call it.

[ssuperficialspacecadett]

I’m back. I’m incredibly annoying I know but I’m putting of writing my own Frankie series by bugging you

So we know Frankie likes her immediately, and we know Santi is a 💕whore💕 (affectionate) and at the very least wanted to fuck.

What about our favorite millers? Ben’s obvs in a different position bc he’s her boss and obvs wouldn’t want to make her uncomfortable

And Will at least agrees she’s hot but didn’t express any desire to date her

Would they have fucked her given the chance? If Frankie wasn’t interested would one have made a move in a casual date sort of way? Will doesn’t seem like a one night stand kinda guy but a man’s gif needs

Also I’ve noticed twice now Frankie has mentioned tying her up… I anxiously await 👀

hello again !!

its never annoying I promise,, having someone this invested in something i write alone in my room literally makes my entire day/week/year,,, plus i needed a good brain break from plotting chap 9,, and omfg good luck with your series !!

*incoming brain rot about how reader in Through the Scope would get with each of the boys if Frankie wasn't in the picture*

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What Could Have Been - Through the Scope Drabble

Frankie is man #1 to her and he isn't getting that spot taken from him... but lets get into the Miller boys and Santi if Frankie was just a bystander shall we ??

Sweet Benny Boy: okay my 'off the top of my head' thoughts are that Benny was attracted to her initially. like you said he didn't want to make it weird by being her boss/co-worker and such so he didn't immediately jump at the opportunity to get with her. I feel like he would leave subtle (in Benny fashion) hints that he was into her. For example: taking note of her favorite lunch food and buying that for her, finding out her favorite soda/flavored water/drink of choice and keeping a shelf in the mini fridge stocked with it, and offering to show her how to use the equipment after hours since she doesn't get any time during the day. Obviously she would be attracted to him and notice his little acts of affection, but would be scared that shes reading to much into it. the culmination of their little back and forth flirting affair would be when they are cleaning the gym after hours and he sees her looking at the ring. he would offer to show her a few moves since he knows that she hasn't been inside one before. they would hop inside and he would get behind her to position her body into a correct fighting stance. both of them would be holding their breaths during this. when they finally get into throwing a few light punches he would allow her to hit him in the jaw. she would freak out as he fell down and rush over there to see if he was okay all the while apologizing. he would tell her 'come closer' and she would kneel down really close to him and he would whisper 'i think you have to kiss it to make it better'. after punching him in the shoulder for giving her a heart attack she lean down and kiss him gently on his jaw. he would sit up and tell her that he's 'all better now' but she clicks her tongue at him and shakes her head 'you may have a concussion i think you need more treatment'. the two of them would allow time to not exist as they make out and perhaps go a few rounds themselves in the middle of the boxing ring *wink wink*

Lovely Willy Will: so will is very respectful, very calculated (not in a malicious way obvi), and very observant. he would notice that whenever he would come into the gym to visit his brother or she would walk into the bar and see him sitting among the other guys that her breath would quicken. at first he would chalk it up to the jitters of meeting a new person or being in a new environment, but it would happened every.single.time. he would ask Benny how she adjusting to her new job and Benny would answer vaguely like "shes doing fine" or "my gym towels don't smell like mildew thanks to her." he wanted more information and he knew he had to ask her. one day when Benny got sick, he asked Will to step in and help train the people he had one-on-one training sessions with that day. after all Benny learned everything from his older brother. she would nearly shit herself when she got to the gym at 7:30 to set up and found that everything was already ready to go. she would be confused because she figured that her would be alone all day since Benny was sick. she hears the dryer going off and head back to check on it. while shes walking she would see Will come out of the locker room in only a small white towel hanging quite low on his waist. both of them would scare each other a bit, but he would fill her in on what Benny asked him to do. he would spend the day asking her where the simplest of things were 'where do you keep the bottled water?' 'where should i put the dirty towel?' and 'where can i find the clorox wipes after someone is done with their set?' all questions he obviously knew the answers too, but each time she would help him and each time he would thank her in that thick as molasses southern accent. when the day and the clean up was over she would buck up the courage to ask him to help her with something at your apartment 'its only fair right? since i helped you so much today?' she would say. he would only smile in the same boyish way Benny did and say 'whatever you say, hon'. he helps her fix a loose screw on one of her drawers and comments on a bottle of unopened wine she has on her counter. the two of them would spend the night drinking and talking about a vast collection of things,,,only when the sun came up and he asked her if it was okay would he kiss her.

Slutty Little Santi: i can see this happening in two ways. the first is that they both are immediately attracted to one another upon first meeting. in this case she takes him up on his offer to join him and the guys at the bar for drinks. the whole night is spent playing footise with him under the table and sneaking quick lust filled glances at him. when she can't take it anymore she tells the table that shes going to run to the bathroom, santi know exactly what she mean. he waits a short while before saying he has to go and slips away from everyone. she would be waiting in the hallway that leads to the bathroom for him. in an instant they would be all over each other. struggling to walk down the hallway to the unisex bathroom as they can't seem to take their hands off one another. when the door finally gets opened he would take her right then and there. not a single care in the world as they both just want each other so badly. then they would rejoin the group (her before him) and she would say that the line was just super long. a quick one and done moment, the both of them just needed to get it out of their system. the friend dynamic wouldn't change.

the second way is the dynamic would change. he wouldn't be able to get her out of his head for days and days after. no matter how many women he invited into his bed, they wouldn't be able to make him feel the way she did. he would feel like he was going crazy because this had never happened before. he didn't mind being on his own and in fact he quite liked it. he was his own keeper and didn't have to report to anyone but himself at the end of the day. as the two of them were friends, she would text him off and on and he found himself more and more excited to receive them and text back. he found himself being entranced by the idea of coming home to her, telling her about his day, fucking her until she couldn't walk in the morning, and then doing it all over the next day. he figured that maybe one more fuck would get her out of him system. maybe the sneaking around at the bar just made the experience better and if he fucks her in his own bed, he will realize that and he can go on with his life. well he was insanely mistaken. he didn't realize that it could be better with her a second time. she would be just as insatiable in the bedroom as he would be. both of them pushing each other out of their already so vast comfort zones and reaching new heights. after a couple more times of seeing her he comes clean and confesses that he has feeling for her. she would admit the same but said that she was scared because she didn't know if he felt the same way. while they are both going into new territory being in a committed relationship, there isnt anyone else they would rather be with

ahh yes,,,Frankie is a man of many talents so i hope to put them to good use if future chapters hehehhehe

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{tag list: @cutesyscreenname @rsquared31 @smol-beb @bitchwitch1981 @avastrasposts @hoeslingz @saltybutteredtoast @javicstories @c-justhere @pimosworld @modernperplexity @beboldbebravethings @mxtokko @moonliqhtszn @tanzthompson @megcads @myloveistoolittle @casa-boiardi @jitterbugs927 @partyofone3413 @pedrit0-pascalit0 @golden-library @pati-et-vivere @mashomasho @lilmizmoz @angstylittlepascal @sofiparallel @selflcontrol @adriennemichelle98 @painitemoondust @pedritosgirl2000 @tpwkmera @romanarose }

[miss-chanandlershalamadingdong]

Jack to Eric: What is this hold you have over me!

Alan and Amy: It's the Matthews family charm! You get to keep him now.

Cory: Love 💞

Shawn: Well Jack, us Hunters do stick with anyone who'll give us any bit of attention.

Topanga: I wonder the same thing about Cory. You know he did cheat on me.

Cory: Topanga, we've worked through this already! Also Shawnie, is that what you think of us? 😕

Shawn: No Cor! You're my best friend for other reasons!

Cory: 😁

Shawn: 🤗

Topanga:

Alan and Amy: You can't return him Topanga.

Morgan: Stockholm Syndrome.

Rachel: You're both two halves of a whole idiot.

Angela: Nah, Jack is only 1/4.

Mr. Feeny: Morgan is right.

Cory: NO, IT'S LOVE! 😤

[railleriee]

Sub!Scaramouche

I've had extreme sub!scara brain rot recently so why not.

g/n reader <3

Warning: Explicit Content Below; Includes mentions of sexual behavior.

Sub!Scara, who's a total brat.

Sub!Scara, who refuses to make eye contact while you're going down on him.

Sub!Scara, who can't handle a second of overstimulation.

Sub!Scara, who's a whiny mess when it comes to soft degradation.

Sub!Scara, who dresses up in pretty little outfits to impress you.

Sub!Scara, who leaves traces of him along your home if he thinks you'd bring someone else home who isn't him.

Sub!Scara, who constantly wants to try new things in bed.

Sub!Scara, who distracts you from your work no matter the importance.

Sub!Scara, who will cockwarm you as you work.

Sub!Scara, who wakes up in the middle of the night needy.

Sub!Scara, who gets flustered over pet names like "bunny" or "puppy".

Sub!Scara, who finds pleasure in spanking.

Sub!Scara, who likes being called a "good boy".

Sub!Scara, who will threaten anyone who gets too close for comfort.

Sub!Scara, who will beg you to not go out for the night with Childe.

Sub!Scara, who would eagerly agree if you asked for a threesome.

Sub!Scara, who would get you off during a meeting.

Sub!Scara, who makes specific playlists for his sex moods.

Sub!Scara, who will fuck anywhere you'd like.

Sub!Scara, who likes to be recorded.

Sub!Scara, who would mark you all over to show others who you belong to.

Sub!Scara, who will be overly loud in public places.

Sub!Scara, who finds thigh riding oh-so attractive.

Sub!Scara, who loves the pain of denied orgasm. (Even though he'll whine and cry like a baby.)

Sub!Scara, who has a corruption kink.

Sub!Scara, with a severe hand kink.

Sub!Scara, who would have the hottest begging voice ever.

Sub!Scara, who would show off hickies like a trophy.

Sub!Scara, who will ignore you until you give him what he wants.

Sub!Scara, who is big on aftercare. <3

[jackshunters]

gonna hopefully watch ayaotd s3 in the next few days but before i do here’s a little headcanon dump about the curse of the shadows gang before a whole new group of gay ghost kids rots my brain!

• gabby and luke have known each other the longest, basically since they were toddlers. they were joined at the hip when they were younger, and all the adults did the whole “they’ll get married in twenty years!” thing at them until it became clear that they were basically siblings.

• connor moved to town when they were in third grade, and luke and him became thick as thieves pretty quickly. they were the class troublemakers, the pair that every teacher dreaded having. luke was mostly a quiet kid before connor came around, but connor brought him out of his shell and dragged him into all of his shenanigans.

• connor, luke, and gabby were kind of an iconic trio all through elementary school. it was literally just the dynamic of two completely rational kids who turned into chaotic dumbasses when paired with their feral best friend.

• jai and hanna met them later in middle school. for a while, the girls and boys sort of did their own thing as they hit that phase of life, but the thing that brought the five of them together was a horror story writing assignment in their english class. that was the humble beginning of the midnight society. it wasn’t clear what they were yet, but the storytelling love they all had brought them closer together, and horror-movie-marathon nights initiated by hanna and connor kept the ball rolling, and pretty soon they started telling ghost tales of their own.

• connor shot up in height in the summer before ninth grade, joined the wrestling team, and started solidifying his mysterious-skater-boy vibe, and pretty soon most of the girls in the grade were fawning over him. luke was very clearly jealous, but not of the attention.

• but connor liked luke first, obviously. since eighth grade, and probably before that. but the only person he’d ever told was gabby.

• gabby, in response, had told him about her crush on hanna. both of them tried to play matchmaker for each other, but mostly they were both just hapless idiots about the whole thing

• connor started sneaking in through luke’s window when he was twelve, but he did it more often now when his dad went on trips and he was home alone. usually he’d have some pretense about a new place they needed to check out, but there were those times when he just ended up sleeping on luke’s floor—he slept better there than anywhere else, after all.

• around the beginning of freshman year, the group dynamics sort of wavered. the midnight society wasn’t official, and everyone was sort of doing their own thing, trying out different friends and clubs and groups. then, the five of them each found a formal invitation to the first official midnight society meeting in their locker—and from then on, they were as close as they’d been before. all of them deny writing the letters, but gabby secretly knows it was connor.

• gabby gets panic attacks sometimes, and luke knows this, and he’s one of the few people that knows exactly how to talk her down. they have a routine to go through to make things easier, and it’s never failed to work. (when luke’s start, after the shadowman, gabby returns the favor)

• luke joined the wrestling team because of connor. this much is obvious.

• gabby and hanna spent a few weeks volunteering together, mostly picking up trash by the waterfront. they were with each other a lot during that time, and this was when hanna first started crushing on gabby though. she wouldn’t stop denying it yet, though

• the midnight society sometimes does paired storytelling events among themselves, and connor and jai are always the most over-the-top pair. they just continue egging each other on and adding more aspects to their performance until it’s completely outlandish and insane and incomprehensible

• speaking of performances, connor is the resident theater kid and a complete and total dork about it. you’d expect him to be like, the one jock who’s in the school play and is all shy and awkward about it, but no, he’s a full-on thespian, completely running with every single scene, and he absolutely breaks into random song for kicks

• jai spends a lot of his time drawing superheroes and creating characters—but he keeps them mostly private, except with luke, who he’s making a comic book with. later on, he does the graphic designs for a lot of hanna’s flyers. seth’s room is covered in his art.

• speaking of, jai and seth besties for the win. post-series, jai and hanna are bickery-best friends, and seth latches onto jai as the one who always watches his magic tricks and talks comics and stories with him.

• connor gets more reckless the more he’s left alone. when it comes to the rest of the midnight society, though, he’s the de-facto older-brother of the group, the sword, the protector. as impulsive as he is on his own, he thinks every move through if the others are involved.

• luke hates it, though. that’s one of the only things they fight about—connor broke his arm falling off a roof, connor drove his skateboard into a wall, connor skipped class to hop on a train to who-knows where. luke worries, of course he does. he just wants connor to be more careful. connor secretly thinks it’s sweet that he cares.

• gabby’s the resident homework-helper, and hanna asks to study with her even when she doesn’t need it. jai picks up on this, obviously, and he teases hanna about it, obviously. how can he not?

• midnight society slumber parties are absolutely the best. they normally crash at hanna or luke’s place, and it’s complete chaos of sugary snacks and scary movies and massive pillow fights.

• after the shadowman, the sleepovers become way more frequent.

• when he was trapped in the lighthouse, connor tried his best to look after the kids that were stuck in the dark with him. that was what he did, after all. he entertained zoey and the others with stories about superheroes and knights and wizards, all named after his friends. the one named luke came to save them at the end, every single time.

• even after, connor couldn’t sleep for days—unless it was in luke’s room. then, the rest of the midnight society surprised him by sticking glow-in-the-dark stars and planets to every single inch of his ceiling. it got a lot easier after that.

[fbfh]

rocks at your window pt. 2 - ricky bowen x reader

disclaimer: this series contains smut (and warnings chapter by chapter) so as with all nsfw/smutty/steamy works, all characters are aged up to 18+ (ricky and reader are 18 and in their senior year)

!! contains referenced spoilers for s1e4 of hsmtmts, and pt 1 of this fic !!

wc: 3.3k

genre: fluff, mild angst, slice of life/morning after shenanegins

pairing: ricky bowen x fem/afab/she her! reader

warnings: allusions and references to sex the night before, your mom is really cool about sex cause she taught you how to be safe and responsible, ricky's home life is not good cause of his mom rn, his mom yells at him over the phone, ricky stays with friends till things iron out/his mom goes back to chicago, encouraging him to set boundaries with his mom, "dna doesn't make a family" energy, nina has a "blood is thicker than water" stance and you do not, bad vibes quickly return but you help him through it, antagonizing nina/nina slander (but not ooc yikes), I think that's it??? besides general mommy issues so if that bothers you tread lightly lol

summary: Ricky knows he's falling hard and fast for you, craving nothing more than your touch, and he doesn't think feelings stronger than this exist. When you help him navigate a situation with his mom, he's proven wrong by you once again. Nina is shocked at his reaction to her breakup with EJ, and you begin to leave a bitter dare I say sour taste in her mouth. Ricky just wants your mouth on his, no matter how it tastes.

song rec: are you in love (intro) - the regrettes

a/n: oh my god season two was wild???? unsure how I feel, but I'm excited that we're caught up on episodes cause that means I can write more without getting distracted lol

also I am so surprised at how much I enjoy writing ricky??!!?!?! I love this boy pls give him the love and support he deserves

Meeting the parents is usually awkward at best, but meeting your mom the morning after Ricky and you had sex up in your room in the middle of the night is inarguably worse. He liked to think he was pretty good at talking to adults, he’d had plenty of practice convincing his teachers that just because he skates it doesn’t automatically make him a delinquent hoodlum. But standing in your kitchen, wearing your 90s cartoon print sweatpants and shirt that says ‘friends don’t let friends live in indiana’, he has no idea what to say to your mom, who’s holding some papers and a travel coffee cup, clearly about to leave for work. Thankfully it only feels like eternity that he’s standing there, a vague open mouthed smile, trying to figure out how to say hello without sounding like a lunatic. You enter the kitchen, a few seconds behind him, and greet your mom.

“Morning honey,” she says back, and you walk over to put up some coffee.

“I hope you don’t mind that Ricky stayed over last night, an emergency sleepover was very much called for.” You share a very subtle look, and she nods, understanding.

“Of course not,” she turns to him, “You’re welcome any time, Ricky.” Then back to you, “I’m headed for a meeting at city hall, I’ll text you if it looks like it’ll run late.”

“Good luck,” you say with a chuckle, “We both have rehearsal for most of today - homework will get done around that -” you amend, and she nods, “so I’ll be over by the costco near school if you need me to pick anything up on the way home.”

“Alright,” she smiles, pulling out her keys, “well, have fun at rehearsal, you two! And it was lovely meeting you Ricky. If you ever need anything we’re happy to have you.”

And that was it.

No interrogations, no snide looks, no criticisms that skateboarding and energy drinks are rotting his brain. Just some pleasant small talk and introductions, and that was it. Is that what it’s like for other people?

You catch the time on the microwave clock as you pull out the coffee, and your eyes flare.

“Oh shit, it’s like, 5 past 8,” you say, Ricky’s eyes mirroring yours. Rehearsal doesn’t technically start till 9, but it’s an unofficial rule among the cast that everyone shows up about a half hour early for warmups, going over notes, and generally going the extra mile.

“Shit,” he replies.

“Okay, uh,” you say, only panicking a little, “you have your script in your backpack, right?” He nods, and you continue, “Okay, we’ll just get dressed really fast, get some coffee on the way, and if we’re late it’s because of traffic or something.” You say, already heading back upstairs, Ricky right on your heels.

“Oh my god,” you giggle, bouncing up the stairs, “they’re gonna kill us if we’re late.”

“Hey,” he says, picking up his jeans and flannel from yesterday, catching the tee shirt you toss him, “practice for, uh, quick changes.” You turn to him, delight in your eyes.

“See, you’re getting it!” You say through the door into the bathroom as you both change as fast as you can, “You know more about theatre than you give yourself credit for-” your voice raises in pitch as you almost fall, trying to put on your jeans, “I’m fine!” you call, hearing Ricky’s laugh echo into your room. It’s a nice sound.

Before you know it, you’re parked at your favorite coffee shop. After how late you were up last night and how much happened yesterday, you encourage Ricky to get a coffee with you. Two iced coffees, one peach scone, and one chocolate croissant later, it’s 8:17 am. Ricky holds your place in line while you walk over to the red metal box by the windows, change in hand. You walk back over to him to pick up your order, stuffing something in your pocket.

“What’ve you got there?” he asks, a curious smile on his face.

“It’s a surprise,” you say, with a wiggle of your eyebrows. You pull out of the parking lot and start driving towards school, Ricky in the passenger seat. You check the clock again, now 8:27.

“Christ,” you mutter, pulling out your phone and calling Miss Jenn on speaker. She picks up after two rings.

“Hello?”

“Hi Miss Jenn,” you introduce yourself, “and Ricky’s with me-”

“Hi Miss Jenn.” he calls into the phone.

“Ricky came over to my place early this morning to go over our lines in act 1, working through the notes you gave us,” you continue, jogging her memory of the awkward delivery between you two.

“Right,” she says.

“We completely lost track of time, and my gps got all messed up - we’ll be there well before 9 - but we might be 5 minutes late, so I wanted to give you a heads up,” you conclude as you turn left.

“Oh don’t worry about it, you two just get here safe. Have fun, and watch out for pedestrians!” she adds, joy that you and Ricky are finally bonding, evident in her voice. It’s pretty obvious why she’s happy that you and Ricky are spending time together; when rehearsals first started, he was so focused on trying to win back Nina that he didn’t really participate in the scenes you have together. You never had anything against him, and you’re glad now that he’s getting his head in the game - pun intended.

You thank her, then hang up. A minute later, you remember what’s in your pocket. You pull out two plastic bubbles and hand them to him. He recognizes them as prizes from a bubblegum style toy machine.

“I can never resist getting at least one of these little guys whenever I go there,” you punctuate the statement with a sip of your coffee. “So, what did we get?” You say, smiling. He looks at the little toys in his hand, chuckling as he opens them up.

“Two heart shaped rings,” he muses, “red and purple.”

“Oh my god, really?” you ask, looking over as he holds them up to show you, “Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten matching prizes. The last time I got two of these, they were a batman sticker and a small pot of strawberry lip gloss that was definitely rancid,” you recall with a laugh.

“Yeah,” he says, staring at the two hearts in his hand, a strange, warm feeling stirring in his chest, “what are the odds…”

“Must be fate,” you say with a smile. “Which one do you want?"

"I kinda like the red one," he muses, watching the way the silver glitter embedded in the plastic shines in the morning light.

"That's what I would have said too. Red suits you."

He looks over at you as you drive, his eyes wide and cheeks warm. What the hell is happening to him?

You stick your hand out, wiggling your fingers for him to place the purple ring on your hand. He looks at them, then very carefully, slips one onto your ring finger. He can feel that moment, your hand in his, as he gently places a ring on your finger, burn into his mind. Taking note of every single detail, he commits this moment, this feeling, to memory. He wants so desperately for this to last forever, but if you do eventually have to pull into the parking lot, he’ll settle for reliving you placing your hand in his again and again.

He snaps out of this thought, realizing if he holds your finger for much longer it’ll probably start to get awkward. After a moment he tears his eyes away from your hand, looking at your profile, your focus on the road and street signs.

“Does it fit?” he asks, softly with a nervous chuckle in his voice.

He watches you, bittersweet, as you finally retract your hand from his and give it a little shake.

“Like a glove.” you state, that sweet alluring smile once again gracing your lips.

You finally find a parking space, grab you bag and coffee, and exit the car, Ricky right behind you. You look over at him, trying to cram the child sized ring onto his hand.

“Does it fit?” you ask him back.

It doesn’t, but the last thing he wants is to slow this momentum you have going. It’s a nice energy, it’s comforting - and if he’s being honest - a little addictive.

“I… can make it fit,” he smiles, once again worried that something will somehow shatter this delicate euphoric feeling building up between you. You let out a laugh, the sound immediately putting a smile on his face.

“Don’t worry, dude,” you say, taking another sip of coffee, “you can wear it on your necklace.”

“Yeah,” he realizes, pulling the blank chain from under his (or rather, your) shirt.

“Cool, I can help you put it on when we’re inside,” you reply, opening the door to the building, but stopping when you see your hand. You look down at your finger, then over at Ricky. He gave you the red ring, and is holding the purple one.

“Aww,” you coo. He laughs and looks away, cheeks warm.

“I dunno,” he laughs, “I thought it was-”

“Perfect!” you finish, “Easily the sweetest thing anyone’s done for me.”

You pause.

“Which sounds kind of pathetic in retrospect.” you both laugh, finally entering the rehearsal room.

“Just a little,” he laughs, “you’ve gotta get some better friends.” You’re about to agree, that’s why you have him, you’re about to say, but Carlos approaches before you can.

“There you are! You need to try on your bop to the top dress to see if you can dance okay in it.”

He jiggles his leg, a warm, excited, kinetic energy running through him since this morning. Since last night. He bites his lip, smiling at the torrent of memories from just a few hours ago. His hand comes up, tracing the spot on his shoulder that’s almost definitely a hickey now. He plays with the little purple heart, your heart, in his hands. He looks up at you across the room, Kourtney adjusting your sequined skirt, while she and Carlos discuss range of motion and fabric choices.

You set down your bag on the chair next to Ricky’s.

“Be right back.” you smile, Ricky sitting down next to your backpack.

He realizes you probably have a hickey in the same spot. Or several. He giggles to himself, looking back down. He really didn’t expect himself to be this… flustered.

“Ricky,” he looks up, thoughts still consumed by the feeling of your hands gliding down his chest, at Nini. “Can we talk?”

He blinks.

“Uh,” he says, looking back over at you, doing a twirl in your skirt,surprising himself by how much he wants to walk right over to you and pull you into his arms and never let go. He tears his gaze away, back to Nini, waiting expectantly.

“Yeah,” he says, standing up, “sure.”

“So,” she begins again, presenting a certain, almost expectant, resignation, “I broke up with EJ…” she punctuates, letting her hands fall against her legs. She has the whole speech ready, she can’t just jump back into a relationship with him, especially after everything that’s happened. He’ll need to work hard to earn her trust again, then she’ll see where they are. She knows he’ll hug her, and hold on a little too long like he always does. He might try to kiss her, which she wouldn’t put past him. Now she just has to see what this news will do to him, and guage her response around that.

She leads him a few feet away from the majority of the cast. He catches himself glancing over your way again.

“So,” she starts. She clears her throat. He looks back at her.

He opens his mouth to answer, cut off by the buzzing of his phone. He checks it quickly, which she expected. He’s been on edge since the drama with his mom. She is, however, thrown off guard a little when he smiles at the screen, a dreamy look on his face for a second.

“Uh, Ricky,” she says, brow furrowed, a confused smile on her face. He looks back up at her and seems to remember where he is. His eyes flick back over to where everyone’s sitting. He places a hand on her shoulder, guiding her further from the crowd.

“Listen, Nini,” he starts. Here it comes, she thinks, and he continues. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and you’re right… we should go back to being friends, like before.”

That definitely throws her off guard.

“Even if we both did want to date again right now, it would be disrespectful to your feelings - cause you just broke up with EJ, you know? And I mean, we care about each other too much to do that.”

Where the hell is this going?

“You should take time to focus on yourself, on the show, and your music. I’ll be cheering you on - as a friend,” he amends, “the whole way.”

She searches his expression, almost seeming… impatient. She lets out a surprised laugh.

“Uh, yeah, I’m… really glad we can be mature about this.”

“Exactly,” he replies, “we’ve known each other for years, why mess that all up?” she agrees with him, and he nods.

“I’m glad you’re doing better,” he says, turning and heading back to his seat. You say something, and he turns away from you.

She watches you take off the chain from his neck, fingertips skimming over the collar of his shirt. She reads the blue text. I have never been to the moon. Ricky doesn’t have a shirt that says that, she would have remembered if he did. You do something to the chain, then you reattach it around his neck. She watches closely at his eyes, blinking dreamily as you sit closely behind him, fixing the clasp. You say something quietly in his ear, and he lets out a loud laugh.

A bad feeling stirs in her stomach. She texts Kourtney to meet her in the bathroom.

“So,” she begins, leaning against the sink, “I told Ricky that I broke up with EJ.”

“Oh no,” Kourtney says, “how bad was it?”

She braces for the worst.

“It went… well.” Nina says, catching Kourtney up on the last few, very weird minutes.

“So he’s okay,” she says, a relieved smile on her face, “thank god, now we can all go back to normal.”

“Yeah, but don’t you think it was weird the way he ran right over to her like a puppy or something?” Nina says, hoping Kourtney will pick up on her suspicion.

“Weird?”

“I just find it funny how he used to-”

“What, throw himself at you? Nini, that drove you crazy. Now you’re finally on the same page, he’s willing to be your friend - which is what you’ve been trying to get him to do for weeks!”

Nina lets out a contemptuous sigh.

“Give it some time, you and her might have more in common than you think” Kourtney says, heading back to the door. She turns around, pointing a stirn finger at Nina. “And don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”

Nina lets out a laugh.

“Thanks, Kourt.” They head back into the rehearsal room, Nina sitting a few seats away from Ricky and you. Far enough for some distance, but close enough to eavesdrop. Hypothetically. If she needed to.

“Alright, cast,” Miss Jenn begins, almost ready to start rehearsal, “today-”

She’s cut off by her phone ringtone chiming through the somewhat quiet room. She lets out a small breath.

“One moment.”

She picks up the phone.

“Hello?” she listens for a moment, expression concerned, “No no, he’s here. Safe and sound. Yes, just one moment.”

She approaches Ricky.

“It’s your mom,” she says carefully, “she wants to talk to you.”

His stomach drops, that cold, sick feeling he’d been running from all weekend coming back full force.

“What do I do?” panic is evident in his voice. Nina looks up, ready to help, and sees him looking at you with pleading eyes. Your hand rests on his arm, tracing small shapes. She leans forward to tell him he should talk to her. She’s his mom, they’re family, and they have to work this out, even if it’s hard.

You reply first.

“Do you want to talk to her?” you ask, quiet and sincere.

“Not really,” he replies.

“Do you want to go home if she’s going to be there?”

“No.” he states quickly.

“Tell her that. Tell her you don’t want to talk right now, and you’ll go back home once she leaves. You have friends you can stay with until then.” he nods, hanging on your every word. “It doesn’t matter that she’s your mother, she did something really shitty, and handled it really shittily,” he lets out a small chuckle. “You’re allowed to set boundaries.” you conclude firmly.

She’s about to interject that that’s horrible advice when Ricky’s hand reaches out for yours, intertwining firmly. You give him an encouraging nod and he takes the phone.

Listening to Ricky tell his mom what you just told him, Nina decides you don’t have anything in common. In fact, she kind of hates you.

Ricky finally finishes speaking, and you can hear his mother’s raised tone from the phone. She’s still going.

“Hang up.” you breathe.

He realizes you’re right. He said what he needed to say, he shouldn’t have to listen to her talk about changing his diapers and taking care of him when he was sick. He shouldn’t have to be guilt tripped like this. He stares at the phone for a second.

Call ended.

He hands the phone back to Miss Jenn, a new found, liberating feeling beginning to course through him. He feels fucking fantastic.

A few minutes later, rehearsal starts, beginning with the Gabriella and Taylor scene. Ricky marvels at the amount of mental space he has to focus on rehearsal now that that’s finally over.

You have to go on in a minute. Before you do, you lean in to say something quietly to Ricky.

“You can stay at my place as long as you want, no questions asked.”

“Same here,” comes a voice behind him. You turn around to see Big Red, who Miss Jenn just informed of the situation. “My parents love you.” he laughs. You give Ricky’s hand a squeeze, and his heart flutters with a flourish, realizing neither of you have let go yet. The feeling is short lived as you stand up to take your place in the wings.

“Oh, Big Red,” you say, “I have a question about the ladder for bop to the top.” you nod your head, and he walks a few feet away with you.

“What’s up?”

“I don’t actually have a question. I think this weekend we should go with Ricky back to his place to get some of his clothes and stuff so he can stay with us. He shouldn’t have to go alone, he needs moral support.”

Big Red agrees enthusiastically.

“I was just going to let him borrow my old fun run race for the cure tee shirts from the charity runs my family does every summer, but I like that plan better.” You both laugh, and you hold out a fist for him to bump.

“Supporting Ricky squad.” you say.

“Supporting Ricky squad.” he echoes. You leave to get ready for your scene, and Big Red makes his way back over to Ricky.

“Okay,” he says quietly, “Sharpay has my seal of approval.”

Ricky stares ahead, transfixed on you as you skim your script, doing a light warm up before your cue.

“Yeah… she does,” he muses, still engulfed in the memory of your touch, “hey, remind me, I gotta tell you something later. Something important.”

// tag list: @afidiofobia //

[thedamageofherdays]

This week's reading log is here! But first: HAPPY HALLOWEEN 👻. I may have been doing a lot of procrastination this week and that procrastination may have involved a lot of fanfiction. Since this week's log contains so many fics, it's tagged with "long post" just in case. In this week's log you will find everything from tentacles to tooth-rotting fluff.

🌻 is for favourites, 🍀 is for Tumblr-only fics, 🔒 is for fics that are only available to AO3 users.

🍀🌻 Day 13: Daddy Kink by @howdoyousleep3 [Stucky, 3,1k words, Explicit]

Bucky knows he’s crying.

He knows he’s one hitch in his breath away from sobbing and there isn’t a damn thing he can do about it.

“Sugar? You alright? Yeah? Gimme words, Buck. Need words, baby…”

🌻 crawling up the skin of my spine by thiccbuckybarnes @thiccbuckybarnesfic [Stucky, 10,1k words, Explicit]

His father had warned him that a storm was rolling in, and that it didn’t look like a kind one. Bucky didn’t listen.

It takes a sudden tumble into the sea and coming face-to-face with a sea monster with kind eyes and wandering tentacles to make him think perhaps he should have listened.

The Little Tentacle Monster by Bear_shark [Stucky, 5,9k words, Explicit]

As they stepped out of the water, Steve realized that Bucky was not wearing a swimsuit. “You’re naked!” he exclaimed, wincing when his voice squeaked like a schoolgirl again.

Bucky laughed, and it was so warm and affectionate that Steve momentarily forgot his embarrassment. He gestured at Steve, “You’re wearing panties.”

Steve felt himself blush. “It’s a speedo!” he said, trying not to sound too defensive.

Bucky’s answer was matter-of-fact. “No, I’m really good with human words--those are panties.”

Or: Steve is staying at a beach house when he meets a mysterious and beautiful stranger.

Sweet Release by Bear_shark [Stucky, 538 words, Explicit]

“Release Captain America,” Tony said between gritted teeth.

Bucky looked adorably confused, as often happened when he interacted with humans. His thick tentacle encircled Steve’s neck while several more busied themselves with Steve’s body under the blankets.

Or: Tony catches Bucky and Steve in a compromising position. Misunderstandings ensue.

Locked Doors by 74days [Stucky, 8,1k words, Explicit]

Steve Rogers wakes up to find his best pal Bucky missing and a fella that looks just like him in his place. It seems that something weird is going on, and this new Bucky has a plan of his own...

Call me maybe (but only during business hours) by MaddieWritesStucky (Madeleine_Ward) @maddiewritesstucky [Stucky, 3,3k words, Explicit]

Bucky's brain and his dick catch on at the same time in a borderline painful rush of blood. He hears Steve pull back from the phone to address his clients, placating them with an apology and the assurance that this won’t take long, and Jesus Christ...Steve is actually doing this.

Steve is actually going to let this happen, going to let Bucky have one-sided phone sex with him while he sits there in some boardroom, with actual clients sitting right in front of him.

What the fuck.

Three-Piece Suit (Mr. Rogers) by freshwoods [Stucky, 4,2k words, Explicit]

Bucky never thought that working for Mr. Steve Rogers would be quite like this.

🌻 That Boy Is a Problem by 2bestfriends [Stucky, 10k words, Explicit]

In which a twinky little goth punk named Bucky puts a leash around Steve's dick and he's really into it.

(The leash is a metaphor. For now.)

🌻 No One Else by howdoyousleep @/howdoyousleep3 [Stucky, 12,5k words, Explicit]

And now here he is, walking up the steps to Steve’s brownstone at 12:03 in the morning on a Thursday night. He’s standing there like a fucking idiot with his tail between his legs, his hand coming up to ring the doorbell and falling back to his side maybe 8 times, and he lets out a shaky sigh. What if Steve wasn’t awake? Was this out of line? Showing up to his house in the middle of the fucking night? Fuck.

Tremulous and Tender by humapuma @humapuma [Stucky, 8,2k words, Explicit]

He wasn’t complaining; he was used to being on his own. He’d grown up in a single parent home and his mom had worked long hours as a nurse, which left him alone much of the time. It had never really bothered him. That evening, though… something was different. It had gotten under his skin and made his blood pump faster. All night long, his body burned in a way that he’d never experienced before, not even in a rut. It was as if there was an invisible string tied somewhere inside him, pulling him. But where? And that scent… that perfect, sweet scent, it wrapped around him like a lover… Like a lover. Steve Rogers wasn’t lonely… until he’d scented that Omega, whoever they were.

AKA Steve Rogers is a social worker at a domestic violence shelter. He does everything he can to suppress his Alpha instincts so his clients can feel safe with him. Until one evening, as he's leaving work, he catches a scent that he can't escape and it opens up a world of possibilities he had long denied himself.

Slide To Answer by relenafanel [Stucky, 6,3k words, Teen]

"What do I do?” Steve appealed into the phone. “I’m freaking out.”

There was silence on the other end of the line. It lasted so long that Steve pulled the receiver away from his ear and frowned at it. Pay phones were old. Maybe this one wasn’t working despite the obvious dial tone when he picked up.

“Ok,” a stranger’s voice said over the phone. “First acknowledge the fact that you dialed the wrong number, but be quick about it because my cab is a few blocks away from my own plans and I’m about to drop some truth bombs on you.”

Hotel Service by Odsbodkins [Stucky, 5,4k words, Explicit]

"The one where Bucky is one of the reception staff in an upmarket hotel and Steve's a wealthy businessman who stays there regularly. They're involved in a heavy flirtation but neither of them have quite gotten up the courage yet to take the next step."

Sexting 101 by relenafanel [Stucky, 2,6k words, Mature]

Pro-Tip: don’t accidentally sext with your competitive dickface BFF

Bucky: whoops wrong convo. Clearly. Steve: Clearly. Bucky could practically hear the dry tone of Steve’s voice. Steve: Go on.

a rocky heart for breaking teeth by thiccbuckybarnes @/thiccbuckybarnesfic [Stucky, 25,2k words, Explicit]

Bucky takes a sip of his drink, his gaze still locked with the sub over the rim of the glass. He sees the curiosity in those forget-me-not-blue eyes, that flash of interest, of attraction. It makes Bucky’s blood set ablaze under his skin, like a match striking a dry surface, igniting from friction. It’s a feeling he hasn’t felt in a long time—decades, even, considering he’d been chemically castrated during his imprisonment as the Winter Soldier and is now pumped up with enough suppressants to—well, to abate the intense needs of a super soldier that happens to be a Dominant.

★❀★❀★ Or, Steve yearns, and Bucky pretends not to feel.

[Kinktober Day 7: Bondage] [Stucky Bingo Fills: Frottage & Shibari]

Good Boy by triedunture [Stucky, 13,4k words, Explicit]

Bucky is still adjusting to life with the Avengers, and Steve is willing to do whatever it takes to make him feel comfortable. Increasingly, though, what seems to make him comfortable is strangely intimate.

Surprise, Steve! You're a gentle dom and Bucky wants to be your pretty pet!

relearning by savorvrymoment [Stucky, 3,1k words, Explicit]

Kinktober Day #1: Rimming -- Bucky and Steve enjoy retirement in Wakanda.

~“You still like this?” Bucky asks.~

🍀 Domestic Stucky by @turtle-steverogers [Stucky, ? words, Not Rated]

Frustrated Steve 🤝 patient Bucky

My Little Angel from Heaven Above by Bittersweet_in_Boston [Stucky, 3,4k words, Mature]

He’s even cuter up close, Bucky thinks, staring avidly at those huge blue eyes with ridiculously long eyelashes, the high cheekbones dusted with glittery highlighter, the full lips accentuated even further with pearly pink lipstick. Even the slight crook in his nose adds to the allure.

“I had that all taken care of,” the angel says ungratefully, crossing his thin arms over his chest.

“I’m sure you did,” replies Bucky, his voice smooth. He leans in a little and tilts his mouth up a little more. “I’m James, but you can call me Bucky. And you are…?” he lets the sentence hang in the air. Angel looks over him for a moment and must at least not hate what he sees, because while his grumpy expression never wavers, his eyes light up.

“Steve. I’m Steve,” he says shortly.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Steve. Would you like a drink?” Bucky says, lifting his hand to Dugan behind the bar.

“No thanks,” Steve spits out, crossing his arms tighter over his skinny frame.

Bucky might be a little in love already.

Chemistry by deadto27 [Stucky, 49,3k words, Explicit]

Bucky Barnes just wanted a good one-night stand. It didn't even have to be great, though he'd had high hopes hot Steve would be fantastic.

He's hugely disappointed.

And Steve seems to really like him, so now he's stuck trying to let him down gently and hoping he never sees him again. Of course, the universe has other plans.

-----

But it’s okay, he thinks, trying to convince himself, as Steve plants a kiss to his cheek and tells him to sleep well, flicking off the lamp. It’s nice to be cuddled sometimes—Bucky basically never gets cuddled—and the bed’s pretty comfy. He’ll just leave in the morning. No big deal. They may have died a sexual death, but Steve’s a sweetheart regardless and Bucky can’t bring himself to be an asshole.

This is just more polite.

yoga mesh by wearing_tearing [Stucky, 2,2k words, Mature]

“You could just be honest with him,” Nat suggests. Beside her, Sam nods.

Bucky levels them both with a flat look. “This past weekend I asked if he wanted to go out on a date and Steve said not to be funny because, and I quote, ‘Where would we even find dates this late?’”

wanna be my baby by Areiton [Stucky, 3k words, Mature]

When Bucky spreads his now-gloved hands and blinks blue eyes--they’ve never been that blue--at him like he’s waiting for judgement, Steve smiles and nods.

“Better,” he murmurs, and turns them back toward their dinner destination, while Bucky leans into his side, warm and comfortable.

OR: Steve stumbles his way into a relationship with the bossiest sugar baby in Brooklyn.

Coney Island by Jellyshit107 [Stucky, 1,5k words, General]

Steve tells the team about the time Bucky ruined a double date, Bucky confesses to Steve why he ruined it...non-verbally.

What I've Already Become by dontcallmebree @iamthe-wo-manwhocan [Stucky, 614 words, Mature]

The first burst of sensation Steve Rogers has when the Vita-Ray spits him back out is sheer, dreadful horror.

In 1943, Steve Rogers dies. Or at least that was the plan.

wonderstruck (blushing all the way home) by its_tortle @its-tortle [Stucky, 1,7k words, General]

The stranger's smile widens as he notices Steve, and then Steve is grinning again, too. And even though it's silly and it doesn't match the song at all, Steve happily lets the stranger lean over to grab his hand and spin him around. Sam gives Steve a look, but he barely notices it with how preoccupied he is with blushing.

OR

a stupid little club meet-cute that's basically just how i met the girl i'm seeing

I Get Sentimental When You Hold Me Tight by fiasco_sauce [Stucky, 4,3k words, Teen]

The growl started as soon as Steve stepped through the cell door.

Steve was barefoot and empty-handed, dressed only in sweatpants and a tank top. He spun in a slow circle to show there were no weapons tucked into his waistband or hidden at the small of his back. No threat, his lowered gaze and open palms said.

It was a lie, and the other man in the room knew it. Steve’s body was weapon enough.

(Post-CA:TWS Bucky catches up on gentle skin contact, courtesy of Steve.)

🌻 None Like You by thepinupchemist [Stucky, 6,2k words, Explicit]

They've always chased each other.

Post Winter Solider, Bucky goes on the run. Steve follows, Bucky goes into rut, and Steve has to stop chasing. He has to stop chasing -- because now, there's a kid on the way.

What Makes a Home by i_buchanan [Stucky, 14,7k words, Explicit]

Bucky's grateful to be living with Steve again. Grateful to have another chance to keep him close, regardless of the stress of keeping his feelings to himself. It would be a lot easier to do that, however, if Steve didn't seem intent on getting him more than he could think to ask for.

Married With Errands by buckybarnesdeservestobehappy (hutchabelle) @buckybarnesdeservestobehappy [Stucky, 3k words, Explicit]

Bucky and Steve, childhood best friends turned spouses, enjoy a lazy Saturday waking up together, running errands, and rediscovering their love for each other. Or the smutty slice of life story about two idiots who are deeply in love.

Raincheck by millesable @marvelousescapism [Stucky, 1,1k words, Explicit]

It's a cold day, and Steve makes sure every inch of his best guy is nice and toasty.

Aquired Taste by 74days [Stucky, 6,4k words, Teen]

Steve Rogers isn't really quite sure what is going on, because one moment he's feeding Clint's dog a treat and the next the hottest guy he's ever seen is wiping blood from his mouth and accusing him of tasting bad.

(OR: The one where Bucky is a vampire and Steve is anemic)

Like The Movies by Alaskan_Outsider @alaskan-outsider [Stucky, 7,1k words, Teen]

Steve meets the Omega of his dreams in a bookstore. Like an idiot, he forgets to get his number, but they keep meeting. It's like some cheesy rom-com movie.

the way that you love me by gutsforgarters @mygutsforgarters [Stucky, 6,9k words, Explicit]

Steve tucks a lock of Bucky’s hair behind his ear and cups his cheek, thumb grazing his lower lip. “You took real good care of us, Buck. I’m glad you were there.”

Just like that, Bucky’s not tired anymore. The fatigue weighing him down, all his little aches and pains—it all dissolves like salt in water under Steve’s touch, his praise. It’s like Steve sank his fingers into Bucky’s hair and scratched, Jesus, Bucky’s actually tingling from head to foot.

Guess you're never too old to learn something new about yourself.

Murphy's Law by InterruptingDinosaur [Stucky, 4k words, Teen]

It was just Bucky’s luck to have his seat stolen by some asshole, but it became an even bigger problem when said asshole was gorgeous and also really distracting during class.

Bucky should really stop sitting behind him… but he doesn’t.

6. Only One Bed by Ramzi [Stucky, 1,5k words, General]

Steve and Bucky are on a business trip.

But their reservation was cancelled.

And there is Steve's biggest fear.

One double bed.

This bed is huge. I'm sure that four people could sleep peacefully in it and still have a lot of space.” "But…” "No buts. We've known each other for a long time, you can handle having another man in your bed.

Once in a Blue Moon by PR Zed (przed) @trappingsofzed [Stucky, 5,1k words, Mature]

The worst part about being a werewolf in Brooklyn, reflected Bucky Barnes, wasn't making sure your pack registration was up-to-date or trying to find a landlord that wouldn't gouge you on the security deposit just because you turned into a wolf once a month. No, it was waking up the morning after a full moon, with your bones and tendons aching from the shift, and not knowing if your dumbass wolf self had sliced your palm open on a sharp rock in Prospect Park or a rusty nail in a building site.

Bucky Barnes is a werewolf in need of stitches. Steve Rogers is a nurse working the tail end of a night shift in a Brooklyn E.R..

Some things are inevitable.

A Halloween Miracle by Oh_I_Swear @oh-i-swear-writes [Stucky, 5,9k words, Teen]

As he stands on the doorstep of his sister’s house, Bucky sighs. It’s Hallowe’en night and he could be anywhere right now… but ideally he’d be inside of his tiny apartment ordering a pizza, watching horror movies and ignoring the world. He wouldn’t be standing here in a Captain America costume waiting to take his niece and nephew trick or treating.

🌻 baby you get better and better by dontcallmebree @/iamthe-wo-manwhocan [Stucky, 4,1k words, Mature]

These parties are important to Bucky, so they are to him, too. If Halloween wishes were a thing, Steve would ask for a smile on Bucky’s face every year for the rest of his life.

As Steve and Bucky prepare for their annual Halloween bash, they look back on fourteen years spent building a life together—and if they’re lucky, countless more ahead.

🍀 Happy Halloween! by @steve-x-bucky [Stucky, ? words, Not Rated]

Having recently watched Good Omens and taking a liking to it, this Halloween without any prior arrangement Steve and Bucky decide to go out as Crowley and Aziraphale respectively. Brilliant mind thinking alike and such. It’s a lucky coincidence, really.

🌻 be still my beating heart by millesable @/marvelousescapism [Stucky, 19,3k words, Mature]

“I know you're out there, Hunter... You're late. I was beginning to worry you were gonna make me go hungry this month.” Steve felt giddy – as giddy as he always did ever since their dance began – as the Hunter stepped out from the alleyway. He was a towering Hercules of a man. From his belt, he unsheathed a long, sharp knife and pointed it right at Steve. “Tonight you die, Vampire.”

🌻 October Country by dreamsinthewitchouse @dreamsinthewitchouse [Stucky, 2,3k words, Teen]

Steve’s brain comes back online to the sound of Bucky closing the book, his cheek smushed against their ribs.

Bucky hums in the back of their throat, noses against his hairline. ”You still with me, pal?”

”Hmh.”

Bucky laughs, the timbre of it warm inside Steve’s bones. ”Figures you’d fall asleep to a sci-fi classic.”

[alkalinefrog]

may I request your top 10 favorie lawlight fics ?? I’m really interested

AIGHT BUCKLE UP BUTTERCUP because I’ve got a lot of feelings about these! Also, people have been asking me for fics featuring:

Ryuk shenanigans

yagami sibling hijinks

whammy kids found family

----- from my bingo card I made a while back. Tbh, I put those on the list to try and manifest the energy into the universe hoping people would bring fics to ME about them lmao. I do have a couple that check the boxes though! 

Also thank you to everyone who’s been recommending me fics!! You’ve all hit the nail on the head and sing straight to my heart! I’m just slow to make my way through them between work. <3

GOING UNDER THE CUT (rip mobile users)

Aight here we go, in no particular order:

“Change OR the one where L and Light get married” by @translightyagami (I’m so sorry I keep tagging you in these alsfjkalsfdj)

The one I never shut up about and am adapting part of into a comic because it’s just that GOOD. :’’’D Light and L get married in front of Watari and Light’s family back at the Whammy orphanage in England. A melancholy yet painfully sweet tale as Light and L reminisce on their history together while getting ready for the ceremony, and their first night together afterwards. Single-handedly sold me on Kira being intrinsically part of Light to boot.

“the forest holds strange creatures” by @translightyagami (I’m sorryyyyyyy I just love your stuff)

An AU where Light’s a paranormal researcher and L’s a reclusive cryptid living in the forest next to a small town. The writing has a fairytale feel to it, and the romance is so gentle. Light’s bunking at Whammy’s small little house, and Near and Mello are there as little kids pestering Light. It’s ADORABLE. Beyond Birthday also shows up in one of the extra chapters as a creepy cashier at a thrift shop for double the fun!

"Sickness” by BlueberryValentine (more fics on their fanfiction.net account!)

The ultimate hurt/comfort + fluff + angst with a happy ending fic. The first fic I read to get back into lawlight a couple months back! Canon divergence starting during the Yotsuba arc. Light is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer while still under investigation. L has to take care of him, and somewhere along the way they fall in love. It carved out a chunk of my heart but luckily filled it back up with a sweet sort of aching.

“Seeking His Hand” by magic__mind

Historical regency AU! L is a rich nobleman courting Light, a humble farm boy, for his hand in marriage. One of the most romantic pieces of literature that I have ever come across. The prose is pure poetry, and their love so pure! This one also has a special place in my heart for its portrayal of Misa! She’s A)a spy who helps L on his cases, B)totally removed from her co-dependence for Light, C)the  bubbly badass she was always meant to be. 100/10 worth the read!

The “Resurrections” Series by Shadow_of_Quill

A modern Orpheus and Euridice story, wherein Light’s spirit leads L back from Hades while he’s still Kira. L is thereby present for the confrontation at the warehouse. Believing that any trace of Light is lost in the man, he executes him right then and there. However, this was a grave mistake, and Light’s soul won’t be as easily revived. (spoilers, they’re both fine in the end) ******* THIS ONE ALSO INCLUDES YAGAMI SIBLING HIJINKS. Sayu plays a HUGE role in bringing Light back!

“Is This The Way It Ends Now?” by Seastar98

The one that checks off ALL the above three boxes!! A “characters watch their own show” fic, wherein the gang receives a mysterious DVD in the middle of the Yotsuba arc. Horrified by what’s to come, Light and L work to make sure their future is brighter than the one they witness. They bring in all three heirs to watch with ‘em, everyone gets character development, and Sayu comes in like black panther in endgame yet again to bring Light back from the darkness! Ryuk pops up in the end and the epilogue and he’s great. The ultimate and most direct fix-it you’re ever gonna get.

“From the Same Star” by Nilahxapiel

This is my only pure “Ryuk Shenanigans” fic, and it’s really really sad :’’’D A short but sweet one-shot wherein Ryuk traverses multiple dimensions, dropping the Death Note at Light’s feet each time. Light and L were always fated to clash, and it’s just as heartbreaking every time. 

“Primitive Liars” by Nilahxapiel

This one’s super popular in the fandom for a reason! The only omegaverse fic that I’ve liked! The A/B/O dynamics and their affect on society are super well developed, and the writer manages to keep L and Light very in character while still developing their budding romance in a believable way. This is an AU where somebody else is Kira, and Light’s genuinely helping L and the task force hunt him down. ***** Naomi Misora lives, the heirs come in, and Sayu actually hops aboard the task force!!! DUDE. BRILLIANT. I also just love the exploration of gender and identity that the author weaves in. Lots of LGBTQ rep!

“and indeed there will be time” by lawlietismyfavorite

The ultimate soulmate AU. People grow to be 18, then stop aging until they meet their one. L is the greatest detective of not only this century, but of six centuries. And then there's Light. (taken straight from the description!) The prose is absolutely breathtaking; like walking through a dream. Can not recommend this fic enough! It’s got my head up in the clouds and looking towards the stars!

“K” by  Dlvvanzor

AU where Light’s a Whammy with the moniker ‘K.’ He and L grow up together along with kiddos covering the rest of the alphabet. A murder-mystery-thriller on top of the romance featuring Beyond Birthday as a main character! Light’s a pathological liar and L’s super into it. They’re the top students at Whammy’s and are tasked with solving a string of homicides happening RIGHT AT THE ORPHANAGE (guess who dunnit). It had me on the edge of my seat, and I binged the whole thing in two days.

i’mMMMM doing more than 10, this’ll just be my ultimate fic rec post 😂

“Change of Circumstances” by wordbombs

Another AU where Light’s a whammy! It’s just a one-shot though, but one of my all time faves!!! I’ve gone back and reread it so many times and drew some stuff for it a couple weeks back. Much more light-hearted than “K”, Light arrives at the orphanage at age four and meets an eleven year old L, and from there they grow up together and fall in love (the age difference is handled really well, L’s not physically present for a lot of Light’s childhood and they bond on a platonic level first). It’s one of the healthiest relationship dynamics that I’ve seen for these two, which is honestly such a breath of fresh air. Matt, Mello, and Near are there too in the background!

“Dial K for Kira” by @kiranatrix

“Light needs some easy money to finance his Kira plans, and notices there’s a big demand for Kira roleplay phone sex. So he figures, “Why not? Pretty sure I’ll be convincing.”He raises some fast cash and plans to shut the whole thing down and get back to writing names, until he gets a request from somebody who wants to “roleplay” as L....“

Taken straight from the description! It’s very VERY NSFW so be warned. I’m too shy to talk about it more alskfjdasldjf sorry BUT IT’S GREAT.

“Dance with Me” and “Birthday Note” by @dotti55fanfiction

These are both one-shots so I’m putting ‘em together! Absolutely adorable tooth-rotting fluff!! “Dance with Me” has Light and L going to a club, while “Birthday Note” features L trying to think of the best present for Light. The dictionary definition of “warm fuzzies.” (Dotti ilu, I still gotta find time to read your longer works)

“you’re a wasp nest” by  raisuki (inthegripofahurricane)

Blind!Light AU! Light and L are both college students who meet when Sayu dares L to break into her house. Yagami sibling hijinksssss! Their quippy dialogue is adorable and it’s just a fun time watching them flirt.

“softly now” by smallestbird (jenwryn)

THANK YOU TO THE ANON WHO SENT ME THIS REC. The softest lawlight one-shot to finish off this list! Light and L share an intimate moment while painting their new apartment. The absolute JOY this fic radiates in a short 700 words!! Read it before bed for the sweetest dreams!

These are just my favourites, but read anything by any of these authors and you will not be disappointed! I might make a separate post later for soulmate AUs because... There’s just too many. :’D

-Alka

[undiscovered-horizon]

Imagine being a witcher and an old friend of Bjorn. In need of help, your path leads back to Kattegat, years after you've last seen your friend. - Part 4

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

Author's note: I got so blocked and stuck this took me good 4 days of staring at the screen to finish. I suppose too much physiology causes brain fog or smth

_______________________________

The boy was speaking very slowly, slurring his words as fever sweat run down his templates. His lips were quivering, making it even harder to speak coherently. (Y/N) nodded her head attentively and asked some more questions to keep the kid talking. In the meantime, she was chewing more swallow herb and ripped off a strip of material off her shirt, and started to wrap it around the boy's leg to stop the bleeding. She told Bjorn to fetch the boy's father and a healer, which the man didn't even dare question: there was a certain seriousness to the witcher that made one compliant even unwillingly.

The father of the boy had tears streaming down his face when he saw his child toeing the line between Midgard and Hel. Now, he had to feed a mouth that could not work for its own food but this worry he had left for a later time when his child is sure not to leave this world early.

Bjorn and (Y/N) stood to the side of the three characters, simply watching the father, his child and the healer do their best.

"Drowners don't attack shores by a village, there are too many people," the witcher said breaking the silence between the two. "There are only two options why this has happened. One, the boy was smelling like a rotting corpse but we can both attest that this wasn't the case. Two, they had to move from their usual den for some reason. I'm going to check the farther shoreline, you should catch some sleep Bjorn. We're leaving in the early morning."

"No, I'm going with you. I have promised to help you and I intend on fulfilling that promise."

(Y/N) nodded quietly to herself, eyes focused on something in the background.

"Good," she said under her breath. "Then let's go."

Bjorn followed the witcher while carefully observing what she was doing. It seemed as if she was closely following a trail he could not see. Was there something on the sand only her cat eyes could see? The woman was following that "trail" with utmost certainty, while he had trouble seeing even a few meters ahead of himself.

The night was cold and (Y/N) wasn't wearing anything aside from her linen shirt around the torso. There was something unspeakably sinister about the deserted shore in the middle of the night: the soft whispers of pine trees and black waves could be telling inhuman secrets for all they knew. The lights of Kattegat were nowhere to be seen. It was only them, the woods and the Baltic Sea.

"The footsteps are more chaotic over there," (Y/N) said, which made Bjorn abandon his thoughts for a moment. "Like the drowners were in distress."

Then she squatted and looked at the cold sand from a different angle. She was craning her neck in weird, uncomfortable ways trying to see the white grains from all possible sides.

"There's another set of feet, looks human," she spoke slowly, deep in thought. "They enter the trambled area and then leave. Whoever came by, survived the meeting with the drowners and went back into the forest without any injuries. See? The length of their step is the same both ways."

But in this darkness, Bjorn couldn't see a single thing. Not to mention old footprints in the sand.

"How could that explain the drowner attacking that little boy?" he asked.

The witcher got up and started to point towards specific areas on the sand.

"The drowners' feet go out of the water, enter the trampled, chaotic area and simply leave. From what I can see, only some of them went back to the water, others, for some reason, had left the trail we followed just now. If they were harmed in the confrontation with the man from the woods, their injuries weren't lethal but severe enough to leave their den. Judging by how washed-up the footprints are, I'd say it's been three days at most. We should talk to fishermen in the morning, they might have noticed some change in drowners' activity over the past week. Maybe some of them had even seen the man in question."

[gukieater]

Fic idea 1 : Apocalyptic Heart

Pairing: Jungkook x OC (f) X Taehyung

Genre: Post Apocalyptic World, Zombie, Special Ability (Jungkook), experiments, evolution, illegal medical trial, inhuman treatment, Survival, Angst, fluff (eventual smut), possible future yandere (Jungkook), blood, possible dismantling, biting, death of minor characters, age difference, noona.

Disclaimer: This is not a full fiction or story, merely a plot. Please read this post before proceeding. If you are reading this, you can reblog the post if u want to!

Music Recommendation: Wolves of Odin- Colossal Trailer Music

Plot or Synopsis: It is about an apocalyptic world where the human population is overthrown by mutated creatures, who once used to be human. L/N Y/N is a 21 year old girl surviving on her own. She's constantly on the road, salvaging supplies for survival, on her daily run, she meets lone or group of survivors but she never sticks around, living by her rule "Alone is Safe".

On her journey to survival she meets a pregnant woman who seems to be on the run and in a pretty bad shape. Around 3 years ago, Y/N lost her sister when the breakout started, and she remembered how she was helpless enough not being able to save her sister. Seeing the pregnant woman, she is reminded of her elder sister and gets attached. So she decides to stay by her to take care of her and her unborn baby and breaks the one and only rule she lived by so far, to survive alone.

Soon she realizes the woman is being chased by people, not just brain eating monsters. They seem powerful and battle ready. She kept asking the woman why she was being chased and she told Y/N the less she knew, the safer she will be. Running from them being the 1st priority, she doesn't press the woman for further explanation. One day while supply run, they are cornered by those mystery men's and they go into hiding. The anxiety and stress leads the woman to go into labor and she gives birth to a boy. But soon their hiding location is compromised and they need to run again. After the birth the woman is too weak to run. So refuses to go with Y/N saying she will slow them down. So Y/N now has a choice to either stay and get caught by those men or take the baby and run, leaving the mother behind. The woman insists she does the later. Y/N doesn't argue further, knowing that's the only logical thing to do. So even though she feels guilty, she vows to the woman to protect the child and runs away while the woman buys her time by tricking them thinking she has the baby.

Y/N is not the kind to stay in the same location for long as it draws the undead but she needs a place to keep the baby safe, since she can't carry him to her daily run. So she decides to settle down in some outskirt, to raise him in safety. But things starts to get complicated when she notices the kid isn't an average child. He is growing at an unprecedented rate and shows undisputable strength. By the time the child was 1 months old, he already grew into a 1 year old kid.

Although she decides to take the child in to protect it and raise, in the back of her mind she somewhat resents it, knowing it was the reason the mother had to sacrifice herself. It reminds of herself, how her elder sister sacrificed herself to a group of undead when they broke into her house in the middle of the night so she can buy Y/N some time to run away. If it wasn't for either of them, her sister and the mother would be alive. So she never cuddles the baby, only holds him when he's crying, doesn't name him, never shows any affection towards it. She feels kind of relieved for the child's growth as she didn't need to care for an infant for long. But there is something in the way the child looks at her, like she holds the moon and star for him, sometimes it bothers her as if the child sees through her.

After 4 months of settling down in a outskirt school near the hill, one day she returns home after salvaging for rations, she saw that the boy was not in the room. She clearly remembers locking the door when she left but seeing the door unlocked, she starts to panic. She starts looking for the boy and curses herself for not naming him. While calling out to the boy, she hears a faint voice. She followed the trail of voice and as she moved closer, the faint voice became clearer and she can clearly hear someone calling for 'Noona'. When she stepped into the backyard she could she the boy crouching down to a half-dead plant. As the boy touched the plant she watched in her dismay the plant coming back to life. Noticing her presence, the boy looked at her direction and calling out to her as "noona". She was both shocked and scared because she never taught him to speak neither spoke much around him. The boy observed her and watching her act distant and frightened around him made him upset. As he tried to approach her to hold her hand and comfort her, she kept looking at the plant. She saw the plant wither and eventually rot as he took a step further to her direction. She was startled, she tumbled on her feet and fall down on her back and called him a monster. With teary eyes he told her his name was Jungkook,not monster or "kid". Jungkook, that's what his mother wanted to call him.

She had a lot of questions to Jungkook. Like how he opened the lock, how he knew what her mother wanted to call him, how he knew how to speak and knew what monster meant and how was he doing that to the plant. He said that he felt sad and lonely so he wanted to find you, at first he didn't know how the lock worked but he figured it out. When he made it to the backyard, he the only thing that felt alive in there was the plant and it was dying. He felt like he could help it. When she asked how he knew what sadness and loneliness was he said he shared the memory of his mother from her pregnancy. She would often cry and feel restless what she termed as sadness or loneliness until she came along. That's how he knew who Y/N was, why he called her noona and how he knew he could trust her, as he described how his mother felt around her, safe & warm. She doesn't question further about the wilting plant. After talking to Jungkook, she started connecting the dots about why his mother was chased and how Jungkook was no ordinary child. She realized maybe keeping Jungkook safe won't be just as easy as raising him.

Jungkook learned and picked up on things quite easily so going to runs was getting quite easier but still uneasiness settled in Y/N's mind. She can't control the situation when she's away and the thought of Jungkook taken away or even worse getting attacked was quite startling. She never shows it but she deeply cares about the kid. Jungkook himself was quite clingy towards Y/N although she never reciprocates the affection. She simply keeps up the role of a provider. it's been already 16 months since they've been living in the outskirt and the undead are picking up on her scent due to her daily trail in the same direction as she keeps seeing more and more of them in the surrounding area.

So after a few close encounters and trial salvage run with Jungkook, she decides to move out of the outskirt and target bigger cities. She avoided bigger cities so far thinking the people chasing Jungkook's mother may still be looking for him. By the time living there, Jungkook already grew up to become a teenager so she reasoned, the people looking for him would be looking for a child, not so much of a well-build boy who looks like who is in his late teen's. She thought maybe it's time to move around. But maybe it was not a good decision after all. Things starts to shift, not always for the best interest. Few days in the city, Y/N starts to realize that Jungkook is perfectly fit to tend for himself and rather than keeping him safe, Y/N is the one slowing him down and making him vulnerable. If she's caught with Jungkook they can use her against him to make him comply but if she's not with him, he is perfectly capable and trained to slipping away.So she decides its time to go back to her old way of life. But things doesn't go as easy as she thought as with time she got extremely attached to Jungkook. On the other hand, Jungkook experiences the same thing unfold in front of him again. At first it was his mother, who was separated from him and now his Noona whom he loves very dearly is abandoning him again. He is upset and he doesn't understand why is she leaving him and it's driving him mad. He can't even read her as he promised he won't do it without her permission. Jungkook's heart is breaking but he departs from her without any objections.

On a run close to a suspicious facility, Y/N meets a survivor who she helps escape from people that looked a lot like the people chasing Jungkook's mother. The boy, not more than 2/3 years older than her introduces himself as Dr. Kim Taehyung, a young scientist from the facility. At first she doesn't trust him but things take turns and Taehyung proves to be someone reliable. Eventually she discovers a lot about the breakout, the undead and how the facility handled the things only to make it worse. Then he mentions something about the authority going crazy about a subject escaping the facility more than 1.5 year ago and Y/N becomes alert. The description of the escaped subject eerily matched with Jungkook's mother. So she questions taehyung about it and what she finds out leaves her frantic and full of fear & guilt. She sets out to find Jungkook with the help of Taehyung as soon as she can. When departing from Jungkook she knew they would both suffer but what she did not know that, growing up, the bond he shared with her, breaking it or separating Jungkook from her would take a big toll on Jungkook. With every passing moment without her, Jungkook will loose a piece of him that made him human, made him the boy Y/N knew & raised and turn him into more of a thing Y/N feared him to be in the beginning, a monster.

PS: is it a plot anymore? I'm not sure 😅. The plot I intended to write turned out to be more detailed than I would have originally liked but ehh, whatever. If anybody does decides to write about it, they have the full liberty to make changes into the plot or turn or take the story further in any direction they want. Whether they decide to give me a credit for it or nah, it's their discretion but if they do, it would be appreciated so the readers finding this blog may enjoy the full story as well ❤️

This picture is inspired by the entire storyline so far. The pictures I used to make this collage are collected from Pinterest, I don't own them.

[ao3komorii]

Tangling with the Boss (Sett/Reader)

Finally, my Sett story! This one is in two parts so I’ll be posting the other part either today or tomorrow. Some little notes for this; Sett’s mother doesn’t have a canonical name as of right now so I made a name for her, and Sett’s full name is Settrigh (canon, I didn’t make that one up lol). Also, there is smut at the end. I hope you enjoy! :)

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Navori, Ionia had not always been your home. You had been a respectable young Demacian citizen, from a good family. You were spoiled, but had never caused any trouble, never created any waves. You had a good education and a supportive family, at least until you woke up on the morning of your twenty-second birthday.

Everyone in Demacia was familiar with the mageseekers. The squad that captured and confined anyone found to have magic powers; magic was a danger, and anyone who possessed any must be removed from society. You had been taught that from an early age, and had seen the mageseekers around in their half-masks, easily accepting their purpose in society. But that day you had woken up in a sweat with a scream, your clothes in tatters from the fire that engulfed your arms and legs. Your parents had burst into the room just as you realized that the fire didn’t hurt.

Your mother gasped and your father stared at you with disgust and hatred in his eyes. They both turned and ran back into the hallway, and you knew the mageseekers would soon be upon you. Everything in your mind had screamed at you to do what was right and wait for the mageseekers to come and take you away forever, but in this moment, you finally realized what a broken system you lived in. If these so-called dangerous mages were anything like you, then they didn’t deserve what had happened to them. And if you stayed, you were looking at life imprisonment at best, and a slow, painful death at worst.

And so you ran. With nothing but a dress hastily grabbed from your closet, you had fled your home and Demacia altogether. Noxus was no friend to Demacia, but the violence that raged there told you that it would not welcome you with open arms. From your years of schooling, you knew that the island of Ionia, across the Noxian waters, would be your only option. Ionia was a place that tolerated magic, which had been a source of disdain for your teacher when it had come to geography lessons. It was just unlucky for you that to get to Ionia, you would have to cross Noxian territory and then find passage on a ship at the Noxian shores that was headed to Ionia.

You had no choice but to cross Noxus, staying on the far borders and attracting as little attention as you could. As someone who had grown up in a wealthy household, it had been a big change for you to suddenly forage for your own food and shelter, your only comfort being your new fire powers keeping you warm in the cold nights. You were slowly growing better at controlling it, but not good enough to avoid a few close calls with suspicious Noxians that you then had to flee from. You were sure that you looked awful, filthy, and tired, but you eventually reached the Noxian coast and managed to sneak onto a small passenger ship as it loaded some barrels.

Getting to Ionia had been a huge culture shock for you; here, magic was everywhere, and people of all kinds roamed the streets. It was such a difference from your old life, but watching families walk the streets reminded you sadly of what you had left behind. You had nothing here but your freedom, which stirred complicated feelings in your heart, but being here alone was much better than rotting in a dungeon or losing your head to the executioner’s block back in Demacia.

You had nowhere to go, and so you had wandered around until your feet hurt and your eyes were tired of being open. You had found an only somewhat grungy alleyway and collapsed in sleep as soon as you had sat down. You had no idea how long you had slept for, but you were awoken by a gentle hand grazing over your hair. Your brain hadn’t fully accepted your fall from Demacian grace, and you opened your eyes expecting to see your mother, but you were instead greeted by a beautiful middle-aged woman with light purple hair and matching soft furred ears atop her head.

You had never seen a Vastayan before, only read about them in books. Your Demacian teachers had only referred to them negatively as barbaric creatures that embraced terrifying magic. But your status as a fugitive mage had you questioning what you had been told, and so you had agreed to the woman’s offer to bring you to her home to patch up the wounds you only now noticed you had, adrenaline keeping the stinging pains at bay until then.

Ciorah had noticed right away that you were not from Ionia, and she had later told you that she saw something of herself in you that day that made her feel that she couldn’t leave you alone to die on the streets. She had taken you to her modest home, insisting on giving you food and some of her spare clothes. She was nothing but nice to you, and in return you had told her how you came to be in Navori. She had listened, and comforted you in a way that was not unlike your own mother. And she had told you about her son, who she had explained was off building a school at the time, and how sweet a boy he was.

You had talked with her for quite a while, as you had nowhere to be in the first place. When it started to get cold as the night rolled in, Ciorah asked you to show her your magic, and you had obliged only after she had reassured you that Vastaya were creatures of magic, and therefore it was harder to injure them with it. She smiled gently as you allowed a small flame to light in your palm, and helped guide your hand to light a simple blue-tinted candle with ease.

You had been surprised with how easily she guided your magic, unsure of how you had the luck to come across her in the first place. She would not let you leave her home that night, insisting that she had a friend that you had to meet the next day. You were ushered to sleep in her son’s childhood bed, Ciorah silencing all of your protests that you didn’t want to trouble her.

The next day, she took you to see a proud Vastayan woman with a stern gaze and a blonde braid laid over her shoulder. You had been invited into her home, where you noticed delicate glass works displayed around the rooms.

The woman, Inora, became your mentor. She had been creating glass works to sell for years, and had once belonged to the same Vastayan community as Ciorah before they had both been expelled. While Inora looked outwardly intimidating, she sympathized with your situation and had readily offered to help you harness your powers in exchange for working as her apprentice and helping her shape glass with your fire.

You had accepted the apprenticeship, and began to train under Inora, your powers slowly becoming easier to manipulate. Ionia had become your home, and eventually it became easier to avoid thinking of where you had come from. You were often sent out to deliver orders, and it made you happy that Inora trusted you with more responsibilities.

You had just finished your deliveries for the day, and had one more stop to make. When you had some extra materials, Inora would let you make little glass trinkets to give to Ciorah. You had made her a small cat out of glass this time, and fished it out of your bag carefully as you knocked on her door.

Ciorah welcomed you in happily, placing the glass cat beside the other animals you had made for her in past. As with every time you visited her, Ciorah had you seated with a cup of handmade tea in front of you.

“I am always happy to see you doing well,” she said softly, taking a small sip of her own cup of tea.

You smiled, knowing better than to tell her the only reason you were okay was because of her. You had told her so many times already that you didn’t want to get on her nerves, so instead you visited her often and brought her new glass pieces whenever you could to show how much you appreciated her kindness.

“How are you doing?” you asked. You had been worried as of late with there being an increased ruffian presence in town, and Ciorah was an ideal target for those with compromised morals looking for an easy mark.

“Everything is fine,” she reassured you, before looking over to the door with her brow furrowed. “I told Settrigh to come by, but I do not think you will get to meet him today.”

You waved her comment off with a smile. “It’s alright, I know his job keeps him busy.”

In the year you had been in Ionia, you still had yet to meet Ciorah’s son despite all the time you had spent in her company. You knew that he worked hard to provide for her, so you could forgive him for never being there when you were. Though it didn’t make you any less curious to meet the kind, hardworking young man. If he was anything like his mother, you were sure that you would get along well with him. You had Ciorah and Inora, but a part of you lamented no longer having any friends of your own age category.

“Be careful on your way back,” Ciorah’s voice broke through your thoughts. “I have heard that some of the brutes from the fighting pits have been causing trouble lately.”

The fighting pits. You had heard of the brawling arena in the Noxian district of Navori. You hadn’t been in that part of Navori, let alone in the pit itself. You had seen loud, tough-looking men around town, and if they were any indication of what their place of employment was like, you weren’t interested.

“I’ll be careful,” you promised her, changing the subject to something lighter. “Inora wanted me to ask if you needed any supplies…”

Talking with Ciorah caused time to go by without you noticing. It came as a surprise to you when you decided to look behind you to a window and discovered how dark it was outside. Ciorah was quick to notice as well, and insisted that you head home before it got potentially dangerous outside.

“I’ll come by tomorrow,” you promised her as she saw you off with a smile.

The streets of Navori were fairly busy, as it was barely evening. Your walk would only take around fifteen minutes, ten if you took the side streets, which you had opted to do this time. It wasn’t late enough for you to get into any trouble, so you felt safe enough to take your usual shortcuts. Maybe you were being naïve, but although you had heard stories, nothing untoward had happened to you in your time in Ionia. Still, you avoided meeting anyone’s gaze as you maneuvered around a mother and child perusing a fruit cart and entered the alleyway just behind them.

The alleyway was darker than normal, so after a cursory look around, you lit a small flame on your palm after seeing nobody else in the area. With the light of the flame as your guide, you walked to the end of the alleyway, turning the corner as usual and stepping over the dip in the stone floor. You had been mentally going over the list of things you had to remember to tell Inora when you got back, so caught up in your own thoughts that you didn’t notice a large frame move to block your way. You collided with the man who was right in front of you, stumbling back and into another man who was suddenly behind you. You hurriedly looked between them as they both leered down at you, closing in on you.

“We got a little mage here,” the one in front of you taunted, jerking his head to his buddy, which made his choppy, greasy hair bounce.

You gasped; you hadn’t realized that the flame in your palm was still lit, and quickly extinguished it. You had nowhere to go, and they knew it. You could only shudder as the man behind you brought some of your hair to his nose as he stared you down in an intimidating manner.

He dropped the lock of hair as he noticed you looking back at him in terror. “Too good to talk to us?” he jeered.

“She ain’t too good for the fightin’ pits,” the first man added. “They straighten out bitches with their noses in the air.”

“Even if she dies, we’d get a finder’s fee,” the second man replied.

You tried to dash around the man in front of you, but he caught your arm and threw you to the ground. You were about to scream, but silenced yourself with a whimper as a knife was thrust close to your face. The large, greasy man stared down at you with a predatory grin as his friend moved the knife down to press slightly on your neck.

“Yer gonna earn us enough money to pay all our debts!” he announced as you were grabbed and forced back on your feet.

“Or die tryin’!” the other man joked, both men cackling with laughter.

You were dragged out of the alleyway, the knife at your neck replaced by a too-tight grip on your arm to arouse less suspicion. You looked around with eyes wide in terror, hoping that someone noticed you were out of place and needed help. But no matter how much you tried to catch someone’s eye, nobody spared you even a glance. As you were dragged along further, you suspected that this was the seedy part of town, because it seemed like everyone was ignoring you on purpose as you passed them. Everyone here had their own illegal business to conduct and none of them had any care for one girl in trouble.

The next turn opened up to a densely crowded area, packed with women with sharp eyes and men with muscles bigger than any you had seen before. There was not a friendly face in the crowd as you were jostled by the men dragging you through the throng of people and towards a side entrance that was manned by a heavily muscled man with thick eyebrows and tattoos littering his arms.

“We got a late entry,” the man with the vice grip on you stated.

The assumed-bouncer raised a thick eyebrow. “You think she has any chance?”

“If she do, we want our cut of it!” the skinnier captor cackled.

You looked pleadingly at the bouncer, hoping he could see that you were not willing to be here. “Please, help me, I don’t want to–”

You were cut off as a fist to the back of your head caused you to bite your tongue, the taste of iron filling your mouth at the same time as you felt your skull ring with pain.

“Shut it, bitch,” the larger captor shouted.

You felt tears prick your eyes as you silently cried, blood dripping from your mouth and onto your chin. You risked one more look at the bouncer, who stared at you impassively for a moment before standing aside and opening the door. You would get no sympathy here.

“See Dedric’s till, he’ll check you in,” the bouncer grunted, and you were quickly pushed in the door, the man slamming it shut behind your group.

The two men immediately rounded on you and you were shoved against a wall. The skinnier man leaned in towards your face, his chipped and dirty teeth on full display and way too close when you had no room to move away. “You try anythin’ like that again and we’ll kill ya right here.”

“Ain’t no one in the pits gonna care about one dead bitch,” the larger man chimed in.

They wasted no more time, grabbing you and pulling you through the barren hallway and up to a man with an eye patch and shaggy black hair who sat at a desk with a large chart in front of him and a surplus of coins just behind him in a chest.

“Got one more for the lineup,” the skinny man told the man at the till; Dedric, you had to assume.

Dedric grinned as he stared you down. It was clear to you where on your body he was staring, and it wasn’t your eyes. He looked down at his list for only a moment before looking at your captors. “I s’pose you’ll want a finder’s fee,” he drawled. “Ya can get it now, or double after the fight if she survives.”

The brazen talk of your fate sent a shiver up your spine. You let a few more tears fall as the men discussed details, just wishing that you were back with Ciorah; you’d even take a scolding from Inora over the likely awful death you had coming.

“We’ll do the double,” the large captor sneered.

“Ya might get lucky,” Dedric replied, jotting something down on his list. “We got a lotta amateurs on tonight.”

After he finished writing, Dedric finally looked you in the eyes. “Ya got a stage name?”

How dare he even ask when it was so obvious that you were not here of your own free will? You felt anger overwhelm the fear you felt for a moment. You glared at him, refusing to answer his question. You would have no willing part in this murderous spectacle.

Dedric looked annoyed with you, gesturing dismissively to the side. “Take her to the stage. Lookin’ forward to watchin’ the attitude beat out of her.”

The skinny man held his knife to your neck again as you were then pulled down another hallway and towards the competitor’s area, several men in flashy outfits scattered around, sharpening weapons or talking amongst each other.

“Please,” you tried one last time. “Please don’t do this!”

“Please!” the larger man said in a high-pitched mock imitation of your voice, both men breaking out in obnoxious laughter.

“Looks like yer up first!” the skinny one said as they handed you off to another burly man, who you assumed was overseeing the competitors.

“No!” you protested uselessly.

“Use that firepower and maybe you’ll earn us double!” the large captor taunted as they made their way towards the spectator stands.

Without any say in the matter, you were shoved out into the large arena, rows and rows of people staring down at you as you stumbled and fell onto your hands and knees, palms stinging from the impact. Looking around, you noticed no friendly faces in the crowd, just a large group of intimidating strangers that were all sizing you up.

Just as you were standing up, chatter and applause rang out from all around you, and you looked for the source, since it obviously wasn’t you. You didn’t have to look far as a man strutted out from the pit entrance behind you.

He strutted around the ring, giving you an opportunity to assess him as well. He was a large figure, muscles prominently on display from his lack of a shirt, red paint splashed across his skin like blood. Or maybe it was blood, he was too far away from you at the moment for you to tell. He was clearly Noxian, a large Noxian crest tattoo visible on his back when he turned his back to you in order to face the crowd. He flexed his muscles for the loudly cheering crowd for a few more minutes before he finally acknowledged you, although your attention had been turned away from him to look for any escape routes.

“Too bad we gotta fight,” he remarked offhandedly. “You’d make a real nice ring girl.”

He said it loudly, despite being ten or so feet away from you, obviously intending to impress the crowd with his trash talking. You just rolled your eyes, feeling bitter and angry that you had even gotten in this situation in the first place. You would never see Ciorah or Inora again because two criminals decided to target you, and it wore down any spirit you had left to think that you had made a happy life here just to die in the fighting pits.

The announcer then declared that the fight was to begin from his cushy podium, sending your heart rate skyrocketing. You were very clearly trapped; scaling the twenty foot walls that led up to the stands wasn’t going to be an option. Your opponent walked to the opposite side of the arena that would be his starting point, readying himself by materializing two very sharp daggers out of thin air and sending a bloodthirsty smirk your way.

This practice was barbaric, and you took one last look at the crowd for any hope of someone who would understand that you weren’t here willingly and want to help you, but all you saw in their eyes was their eagerness to watch you die. You felt disappointment radiate from within you as movement caught your eye; a large man entered a relatively barren area of the stands, and you noticed the furred ears atop his head immediately. A Vastayan in the fighting pits? The only Vastayans you knew were the opposite of anyone who would ever come here. You realized that he was looking back at you as your eyes drifted from his ears to his eyes. You weren’t sure what to make of his cold, calculated gaze, but a loud whistle brought you back to your current problem; the fight was on.

Your opponent began to run at you, faster than you thought possible, and you threw yourself to the side just in time to dodge the first swipe of his blades. You had no combat experience at all, all you had was your magic. Magic that you sparingly used and had never used to hurt anyone before. The thought of using your magic like that scared you, but you didn’t have a lot of options at the moment. You scrambled up and were about to make a run for it, but found yourself pinned in place as the Noxian threw both of his daggers, which struck both sides of your loose-fitting shirt and then embedded in the wall behind you, one dagger grazing the flesh of your side as well. You cried out in pain, too scared to form tears as you tried to pry the daggers from the wall to free yourself.

The man sauntered over lazily to screams from the audience for him to finish you off. “We had some fun, sweetheart. But I think it’s time to show you how we say goodbye in Noxus.”

You didn’t understand his reference, but the crowd got noticeably excited as he cracked his knuckles, now only a foot away from you. Even if you escaped the daggers, he was too close for you to get away from him. This brute would take your life to the sounds of thunderous applause unless you did something now. You took your hands off of the daggers and raised them up, palms facing towards the Noxian.

“Please stop…” you begged him. You really didn’t want to hurt him, but you didn’t want to die. You would have to put up a fight.

“Little late to be beggin’ for mercy!” he cackled, and one of the daggers pinning you disappeared and reappeared in his hand. “Time’s up!”

His dagger didn’t have a chance to get closer as you let go and he was blasted with a spray of searing fire.

It was turning out to be a bad night for Sett.

He had been disturbed on the way to his ma’s house by one of his men in a panic, who had informed him that the two competitors for the crowd-drawing fight of the night had gotten in a drunken brawl earlier and had both been arrested by the Ionian authorities. His knuckles twitched as he changed course and made his way to the pit earlier than he had intended to. He knew that his ma would forgive him, but he hated breaking promises that he made to her. Sett had a way he liked doing things, but without a headlining fight, his options were slim; get in the ring himself, or put on an amateur night.

His momma had been worried about the influx of Noxians to the Ionian shores lately, and he knew she would be on high alert for any new injuries on him. The one thing he hated above all was being the cause of her worries, so he gave the orders to scout out competitors for amateur night. Maybe he’d find some new talent to replace the two drunken morons permanently. He wasn’t worried about either of them complaining about being replaced; it was a well-known fact that Sett didn’t give second chances. Not to anyone that messed with his money.

Once a group of men had been dispatched to spread the news that they were recruiting for the night, Sett made sure everyone was aware of the change. Newbie nights always drew in a lot of overconfident braggarts who spent more time showboating than they lasted in the ring, so everything would be timed carefully. The more fights he could pack in one night, the more bets they could take in. Amateur nights almost never had clear winners before the fights began, so the house won more than on nights where the big names came to fight. It sorta made up for the smaller crowds on amateur nights, but some money was better than no money.

Ensuring everything was ready took longer than usual, and by the time Sett had taken his place in the stands, the first fight was about to start. He already had a distaste for the muscle man with the Noxian tattoo. They never seemed to stop reminding him of the father that had abandoned him and his ma. He didn’t feel the need to fight Noxians in general, but he never minded watching them lose in his pit. The Noxian was parading around; not unexpected for a rookie to go heavy on the taunts but light on the punches.

Having had his fill of assessing the Noxian, Sett turned his gaze to the other competitor, only to discover that she had been staring at him already. They met eyes for a few moments, which was enough for Sett to notice how out of place she looked. Last minute nerves happened sometimes, but this girl was on another level. He was across the pit from her, but he suspected that she was crying. What kind of idiot had booked this crybaby for a fight?

“Who did she sign up with?” he asked one of the till masters, Ryo, who had also come to watch the fight.

“I saw her at Dedric’s with two other guys,” was the answer he received.

Dedric… Dedric had been working at the pits since before Sett had taken them over, which was something he knew the man had been unhappy about. Sett didn’t insist that everyone like him, but he expected obedience to his rules. And signing up weaklings for fights that lasted ten seconds was not good for business. If fights were short, the spectators got bored, and his tills got lighter.

“Do you want to stop the fight?” Ryo asked carefully, knowing better than to force any opinion on the pit boss.

“Nah,” Sett replied. “Let it go on. But I want Dedric’s till checked at the end of the night.”

Bets had been taken, and Sett wasn’t going to stop the fight now and lose out on the coin it generated. He would talk to Dedric later; for now, he was interested to see if the cocky Noxian had any skills to back up his mouthing off.

The Noxian brandished two daggers from thin air and charged at the girl. Sett stared her down, waiting for her to do something worthy of interest as she dived to the side to avoid a direct blow. Well, maybe the fight would last twenty seconds instead of ten, he mused.

The Noxian’s next move pinned the girl to the wall with his daggers, and he began to taunt her as she cried and begged for mercy. Sett had thought something was up before, but now he knew. Dedric would have to be out of his mind to book this girl, unless he was counting on fixing some easy matches. Nobody would volunteer for a match to the death that they didn’t think they could win, and Sett smelled a rat. He kept his business away from the Ionian authorities’ grasp, but shit like kidnapping local girls for pit fights would bring attention that he did not want. He wouldn’t stop this fight and draw attention away from the matches, but Dedric was gonna learn very soon why he should’ve played by Sett’s rules.

He flexed his knuckles as he watched the Noxian go for the killing blow; the corpse cart standing by, ready to collect the girl’s body. But the cheers and chants from the crowd died down to a whisper as the Noxian let out a terrified scream. Sett only had a second to duck as a wave of fire shot out from the girl, which travelled all the way across the room and ended at the wall directly behind where he had been standing.

At first he thought it had been an attack meant for him, but as he glanced down to the pit, he saw that the fire had hit its intended mark. The Noxian was unrecognizable, a black human-shaped figure. Sett couldn’t tell if he was alive or dead, but the corpse cart was wheeled over as the girl collapsed on the floor, the remaining dagger in her side disappearing, a clear sign that the Noxian was no longer alive. Her clothes in burnt tatters, the girl curled up on her side and sobbed. It wasn’t a sight he had seen in the pit before, and he was taken aback.

“Guess she ain’t as weak as she looks,” Ryo remarked with a low whistle.

The crowd remembered to breathe again as the body of the Noxian was wheeled away. There was a mix of cheers and boos, the latter likely from those who had bet against the girl. The doors to the pit opened up, an enforcer entering with two men at his heels. The men were out of place, looking more like con artists than pit fighters. Ryo was looking out at the same scene as the two men attempted to haul the girl to her feet as she resisted heavily.

“Those were the guys who brought her in. You think…?” Ryo prompted.

“Yeah.” Ryo didn’t have to finish his sentence for Sett to know that they both suspected the same thing about the situation. “Invite those two to the back office. I want the girl separated from them. I’ll deal with Dedric later.”

Ryo immediately left to oversee the orders, and Sett watched as Ryo appeared in the arena and had the two men and the girl escorted out of the pit so the next competitors could fight it out. He trusted that Ryo could handle the problem for now; any action on his part would have to wait until the crowd had gone home for the night. And with more fights to come, Sett settled back into his chair and kept his focus on the pit.

You were not being dragged away by those creeps again, not after barely surviving the fight at the expense of taking a life. You struggled, hoping the pressure of the crowd would keep them from pulling the knife on you again.

“Get up!” the skinny one screeched at you. “Get your ass up!”

Their tugging on your limbs paused as a man with dark hair in a low ponytail and an overly pleasant smile approached.

“Gentleman, the boss would like to talk some business after the rounds,” he explained smoothly. “We may even triple your finder’s fee.”

Your heart sunk. So nobody here was a decent person? You would get nowhere being on the floor, so you reluctantly stood up, your captors taking an arm each to allow you no chance of escape. You could only do what you could to avoid further violence being inflicted on you. You followed the smooth-talking man down the hallway you had been in before, up until he stopped in front of a door.

“You can wait in here for the boss,” the man announced, but didn’t stand aside for the men to enter. “She’s gotta go in another room. Can’t have the talent present while the men talk business.”

Your captors seemed to accept his logic, stepping into the room, obviously mentally counting their imminent profits from your enslavement. Whereas all you could think about was how you were going to get out of this. You were reluctant to hurt anyone, but maybe if you threatened this man with your powers, he’d let you leave. You followed him to the room next door, readying yourself to throw a fireball and run if necessary. But before you could work up your nerve, the door was shut and you were left alone with a promise that the boss would be paying you a visit soon.

You paced around the room, trying to think of what to do. Inora must be so worried that you hadn’t returned home, but you had no way to contact her from here. And even if you did, you doubted that she could get you out of this viper’s den. You would have to do something. You had lost track of time, stuck in your own thoughts until you heard muffled shouting from the room next door. You couldn’t make out what they were saying, but the voices sounded angry. You crept closer to the wall to try and hear better, but just as you put your ear to the wall, there was a heavy impact to the other side of the wall, which jolted you backwards, landing on your back and knocking the wind out of you.

You had to get out of here. You had heard the click of a lock earlier when the smooth-talker had left, but maybe you could just burn the door down? You ran a hand along the door; it was unfortunately solid. You had never tested your powers like this before, so you were unsure of if you could accidentally enflame the entire building. You had no idea what had happened in the room next door, which was now eerily quiet, but you weren’t about to be next. Not without trying to get out of here. You placed both palms to the wooden door, ready to burn right through it, when it was opened from the outside, sending you flying forward, eyes shut reflexively for the impact to the floor.

“And here I thought you were done fightin’.”

Your eyes snapped open at the deep male voice and sudden grip on your forearms, only to see the Vastayan man from before. You were eye-level with his very muscular chest, and looked further up to see him looking down at you with an eyebrow raised. Up close, you could make out every little scratch on his ruggedly handsome face, your eyes drawn to one small white scar that ran down one side of his bottom lip and ended just a bit above his chin. You came back to yourself all at once, flushing with embarrassment as you realized that you had been staring at him too long.

You remembered your situation, jerking back and out of his grip, which surprised him. Your need to separate yourself from him resulted in you falling to the floor again, and you began to quickly scramble away from the man.

He brought a hand up to itch at the back of his neck as he casually stepped into the room. “Relax,” he said, moving closer to you. “I ain’t gonna hurt ya.”

“Please, please don’t–” You were babbling, and you knew it, but you didn’t know what else to do as you curled into a ball on the floor, keeping your eyes on his approaching figure.

He looked somewhat annoyed, halting where he stood a few feet away from you. “Look, we beat the story outta those scumbags that brought you here. You’re free to go.”

His words swept away your fears of immediate and swift peril, which was quickly replaced by confusion as you slowly sat up. “But…”

“I know what good girls like you think ‘a the pits, but mine ain’t like that,” he explained. “We only take willing fighters.”

“I didn’t…” you trailed off, deciding not to voice your half-hearted protests. You definitely had thought exactly that, so you weren’t sure why you had tried to deny his assertion. “You’re going to let me leave?”

“I would invite ya back, but I don’t think the pit is the right place for a cryin’ city girl,” he replied.

“Thank you!” you exclaimed, ignoring the insult. You weren’t sure what to say, but you didn’t want him to have any reason to reverse his decision. He ran a fighting pit, so clearly he wasn’t all there morally, but you didn’t want to stay here and access him further, not when he was giving you a free pass to get out of here.

You stood up, keeping your eyes on him as you inched towards the door, the man staring back at you with what looked like amusement, keeping his gaze on you as you passed by him and into the hallway. You weren’t sure where to go from here, but you were afraid to seem like you didn’t know what you were doing.

“Wrong way,” he called out when you were halfway down the hallway in your chosen direction. You flinched at his voice, turning around and sheepishly walking back in his direction as he chuckled.

“Down the hall and to the left,” he said as you passed by him.

You walked a little faster at his words, but followed his directions. You were too nervous to look back, and you hurried around the corner, feeling his eyes on you until you fully left his sight. You were grateful that there was one decent person in this place, but you wanted to be out of here as soon as possible.

The air outside the arena was stale, but welcome to your frazzled nerves. You walked among the crowd of exiting patrons, hoping that they wouldn’t take notice of you if you kept your head down. Luckily for you, it was a busy night of betting, and that’s all the crowd around you could talk about. You stuck close to a group of women that were discussing how attractive one of the fighters was until you were back on the main streets again. You were grateful for all the loud people on the streets, because nobody paid any attention to you as you took only well-lit paths back to Inora’s home, eyes flitting around as you kept watch for any more goons in your way. You weren’t sure what the man had meant when he told you that he had dealt with your kidnappers, but if they were out on the streets, then you needed to be off of them as soon as you could be.

Inora was in her favorite chair by the front door as you unlocked the door and came in. She practically leapt from the chair, rushing over to you once she noticed your appearance. You hadn’t had a chance to look in a mirror, but you knew that your clothes were dirty and ripped, a patch of your shirt stained with your blood from the Noxian’s dagger. You must have looked awful, and would likely have bruises all over once you woke up tomorrow.

Inora sat you down and began to fuss over your injuries, washing your cuts and bandaging the worst of them as you told you what had happened to you.

“Those dirty kidnappers,” she growled. “They are a scourge on Navori!”

You didn’t want to make her any more stressed, so you shortened your summary of the fight and skipped to the part where the Vastayan man let you leave. Inora had only calmed down slightly, her protective nature setting in as she made you some dinner, despite your offers to help her. You sat patiently in your chair, hoping that being as calm as you could would keep her from acting on her threats to go down to the arena and give them a piece of her mind.

You had to beg her not to tell Ciorah about what had happened. Ciorah was a sweet lady who already worried too much about the dangers of the streets, and you didn’t want her constantly stressed with worry for you every time you left her home. Inora was reluctant, but understood why you wanted to keep the experience a secret from Ciorah. You were eventually allowed to go to bed after Inora had finished fussing over you, and you were so tired that you passed out almost immediately.

The next day, you were anxious to get out of the house and visit Ciorah. You had woken up in slight pain from bruises all over your body, but otherwise you were feeling better. Unlike you, however, Inora had woken up even more protective than the day before. She hadn’t let you do any glass work, stating that since you had used your powers to the extreme yesterday, using them today would be too much of a strain on you. You had tried to tell her that you felt fine, but no amount of convincing would lessen her worries. She barely let you make your own food, and you were trying to be patient, but felt like you were going a bit crazy with her constant hovering around you.

“…and if you’re still there when it gets dark, stay there and I’ll come get you,” Inora instructed you as you stood by the door, ready to leave for Ciorah’s home. She had been talking at you for several minutes now, and you decided to just let her talk until she got it all out. Only after agreeing to all of her conditions did she let you leave at last, and you took only busy streets to get to Ciorah’s house.

You had tried to wear enough clothing to cover all of your bruises and cuts, but you hadn’t worn a bag over your head, so Ciorah noticed the scrapes on your face and hands immediately. She fretted over you as she ushered you into her home, and you were immediately reminded of Inora, who had done the exact same thing. You gently refuted her worries, sitting down opposite her at her small table.

“I tripped and fell into a thorn bush,” you carefully stated your rehearsed lie. “I’m fine!”

You felt bad at just how easily Ciorah believed your lie, but you knew it had to be done. She didn’t need the extra stress, and you didn’t want to make her even more concerned about the ruffians at the pits. You bit down any urges to tell her the truth, covering up your guilt with a smile just as a knock came at the door.

You felt unease rise up within you as Ciorah excused herself to go to the door. The only person who had ever visited when you were here was Inora, and your mind began to race, trying to think of what to do if Inora was here to tell Ciorah tell truth. It seemed like you couldn’t escape the awkward conversation, and so you stared at the wall that was blocking your view of the entrance and tried to think of any possible way to explain to her why you had lied without damaging her trust in you. You thought you were doing her a favor, but now that your plan was backfiring majorly, you were feeling even worse.

You listened intently as Ciorah opened the door, waiting to hear Inora’s voice that you knew was coming. Instead, you heard a man’s voice, and an excited coo from Ciorah, which derailed your train of thought entirely.

“Sorry I wasn’t here yesterday,” the male voice said. “The boss’s daughter was sick, so I did his share of work too.”

“I am just happy to see you, Settrigh,” Ciorah replied warmly.

As soon as you heard the name, you realized that it was Ciorah’s elusive son at the door. You admittedly could use the help in distracting Ciorah from your injuries, but more than anything you were interested in finally meeting the son that Ciorah often spoke so fondly of. You let a smile light your face in excitement as Ciorah came back into the room, and the large figure just behind her sent your heart racing.

You barely heard Ciorah introduce you to her son as you stared at him, eyes wide and skin feeling cold with dread. Settrigh stared back at you in shock, neither of you breaking your shared gaze until Ciorah asked her son if he would like some tea.

“Yes, ma,” Settrigh answered politely, and the blatant change in his personality from last night shocked you.

The calm didn’t last long, because as soon as Ciorah left the room to prepare the tea, Settrigh quickly crossed the room to get in your face, voice threatening despite being at whisper volume. “Did you tell her?”

“What?” you whispered back.

He glared at you, unamused by your lack of answer. “Did you tell my ma about what I do?”

“No!” you squeaked, backing away in fear. “I didn’t want to worry her… and besides, I didn’t know you were her son!”

“You better not be lyin’,” he threatened, and the implications of his words were clear. You say anything and he would do the same thing to you that he did to your kidnappers last night. You didn’t know what to do to get him to understand that he could trust you.

“Settrigh–” you tried to plead, but his growl shut you up.

“Sett,” he grunted. “Momma’s the only one who calls me Settrigh.”

“I… I’m sorry.” You didn’t know what else to say to abate his sudden anger.

He scoffed. “Relax, I’m not gonna hurt ya. Just remember that my momma don’t need to know what I really do.”

You nodded definitely too many times for it to look casual as Ciorah came back into the room with a tray of three teacups with a soft purple flower pattern dotting the rims. With Ciorah here, you felt a little safer than being left alone with him, and could take the time to examine him more closely. You sat back down at the table and tried to stifle a laugh at the sight of the heavily-muscled man sitting in a chair half as wide as he was and drinking from a dainty little teacup. Sett caught your nearly-silent giggle and frowned at you.

“Settrigh, do not grip the cup so hard!” Ciorah scolded him, and Sett hastened to apologize to his mother, his furry ears drooping down in a way you realized that you found cute. Such a fierce beast in his pit, but a tamed puppy in front of his mom.

As you sipped your tea, Ciorah fetched your newest figure from its position on a small stand and held it out to Sett, who took it to admire politely.

“She brings me these when she has extra materials,” Ciorah said proudly, smiling at you as she addressed her son. “I told you that she helps Aunt Inora?”

Sett stared at you like he was seeing you for the first time. “The Demacian girl…” he muttered to himself.

Ciorah had told him about you? You felt shy as you wondered exactly how much she had told him about your life. Other than Ciorah and Inora, nobody in Ionia knew your shameful history. You really shouldn’t care, but you felt shame at this man who had grown up with a loving mother knowing that you had travelled across a continent because your family didn’t want you. You tried to ration with yourself that you didn’t need his approval, didn’t need him to like you, but you found yourself longing for any connection with someone your own age. But you didn’t want to seem desperate, so you pushed your emotions away for now and chatted casually with Ciorah, too scared to talk directly to Sett and give him any more reasons to dislike you.

Watching him interact with his mother made you feel happy, but also empty and jealous. Eventually, you were content to just let them talk as you nursed your tea, sinking into thoughts you hadn’t allowed yourself to dwell on in a long time. Thoughts about your family, of how you’d never see them again unless you wanted to give yourself up for death as a Demacian fugitive. That even if you did, they would only ever see you as a black mark on their otherwise-perfect legacy.

You didn’t notice as a tear fell from your face and into your now-cold tea, but both sets of sensitive Vastayan ears perked up at the tiny sound it made. Only when Ciorah called your name did you realize that you were crying.

“Sorry!” you cried out, embarrassed at losing control of your emotions. You stumbled out of your seat, rushing towards the front door, not stopping at the calls of your name from Ciorah as you opened the door and rushed out into the street. You only slowed down when you reached an empty alleyway, wiping your face with your long sleeve as you cursed your own judgment. Less than a day after you had been kidnapped in an alleyway, and here you were being careless yet again.

“Hey!” a shout startled you as your upper arm was gripped firmly, and you looked over to see Sett looking sternly down at you. “What are you doing? You nearly gave ma a heart attack!”

You didn’t have the strength to pull your arm from his grip, and you looked at the ground as you answered. “…it’s nothing.”

“You think I’m stupid?” Sett growled. “Nobody cries without a reason. I understand if you don’t wanna tell me, but I don’t like it when ma worries.”

He wasn’t going to drop it, so you finally looked up at his face, surprised to see that he didn’t look as angry as his voice had sounded. He raised an eyebrow at you, which finally prompted you to talk.

“I don’t know how much Ciorah told you about me, but…” You struggled for words for a moment. “Seeing you two interact just made me miss my family back in Demacia. Which is stupid, because they didn’t want me the second they knew I had magic…”

“Savages,” Sett remarked darkly. “All ma told me ‘bout your past was that you came from Demacia, but after seein’ your magic, I’m not surprised you’re here. Those fools think they’re above lowly magic and then imprison any inconvenient mages that slip through the cracks of their lineage.”

You inhaled sharply, surprised at his words, and he released your arm at last, leaning back against the alley wall. “Besides the pits, ma’s all I got. My pa wanted money more than his family, so he ran off to be a big shot pit fighter in Noxus.”

“Sett…” you whispered, and he turned his sharp gaze to you, arms crossed in front of his chest.

“I don’t need your pity, fireball. As long as I have coin for ma, and keep my pit runnin’, I’m not worried about my pa. As long as he doesn’t show his face back in Navori, that is.”

“Sorry for running out,” you said quietly, feeling very embarrassed about your childish behavior.

“You don’t need to say that to me,” he said casually. “But you really worried ma.”

“I don’t know if I can face her now,” you admitted honestly.

Sett laughed. “She won’t be mad, if that’s what you’re worried about. I’ve gotten on her bad side before and you ain’t even close.”

Sett turned to leave the alleyway and you trailed just behind him. His legs were much longer than yours, but he was obviously slowing his stride to allow you to keep pace with him. You made sure that your eyes were dry when you arrived back at Ciorah’s house, and were embraced by her as soon as she saw you. Somehow, Sett silently standing nearby gave you the confidence to tell her what had upset you. She had held you very tightly, much more than you had thought capable of a woman of her small stature.

By the time she had gotten the full story out of you, the sun had begun to set. Remembering Inora’s warning, you reluctantly admitted that you should head back home.

“Settrigh will escort you home,” Ciorah said sweetly; her tone kind, but firm. You didn’t dare disagree, but you were surprised at how Sett immediately agreed to her request.

He was so clearly a momma’s boy. You felt bad for judging him so harshly upon first meeting him. Though that didn’t excuse him running the violent, thug-infested pits, but you forced yourself to take comfort in the fact that he seemed to only allow willing competitors to fight in matches. You realized that he had never explicitly told you what had been done to your kidnappers, and your fear of running into them on the streets again prompted you to ask him as you departed Ciorah’s home.

“Are they… dead?” you asked quietly, scared of what his answer would be.

Sett shrugged. “I didn’t kill them, if that’s what you’re asking. They’ve been banned from the pit, and encouraged to leave town.”

Your eyes widened in surprise. You were so sure that he had killed them. It was the pits, people died there all the time and nobody ever questioned it.

“Before you go thinkin’ I’m a saint, I did rough them up a bit,” he added. “Can’t have scumbags thinkin’ they can get around my rules.”

It was somewhat reassuring; you felt bad to be disappointed that they were still alive, but hopefully they wouldn’t be in any shape to try and get revenge. You didn’t want to experience any more violence; it was bad enough that you had killed someone, even though you had no choice. Silence dragged on as you walked alongside Sett until you were almost home.

“Y’know, if you ever get tired of Inora, I’m always lookin' for capable fighters,” he said, startling you out of your thoughts.

You stopped in your tracks, gaping at him as you tried to think of how to answer without offending him. He let out a bark of laughter as he stared back at you. “Sorry, city girl, just wanted to scare ya. You’re strong, but I know the pit fighter life ain’t for ya.”

He just said that to bug you? You had genuinely been worried that he would make you fight again! Fortunately, you didn’t have to wait long for revenge as Sett winced with a yelp as he was smacked in the back of the head by a strong hand.

“Settrigh!” Inora scolded. “You never visit anymore, and when I do see you, you’re out here picking on my apprentice!”

“Aunt Inora…” Sett greeted weakly.

She smacked him again. “I don’t tell your mother about your work and you repay me by allowing innocent girls to be forced to fight? What if she didn’t have powers and died!?”

“I’m sorry!” Sett yelped, before noticing you snickering at him again. “Hey!”

“I’ve ignored your seedy business long enough because you take care of Ciorah! You will apologize to this girl, not me!” she demanded.

Sett looked very defeated, and you were taking a bit too much joy out of watching the intimidating man be taken to task by a woman much older and smaller than him, though you would have to ask her how she knew that he ran the pit. He turned to face you with a grimace; he must have been used to her wrath if he folded so easily. Luckily, nobody was around at the moment to see his suffering but you and Inora.

“I’m sorry,” he said, sounding at least halfway sincere.

“Settrigh…” Inora warned, but you couldn’t help but jump in on his misery.

“I’ll forgive you if you let me pet your ears!” you teased him.

“What?” he snarled. “I’m not a–”

“Settrigh!” Inora scolded him with a smack to his biceps. “She’s being a lot nicer than your mother would be if she knew what you did to the poor girl!”

Sett growled, his eyes telling you that he would get you back for making him submit to your request. But you were having too much fun with the large half-Vastayan man and reached a hand up as he bent down to allow you to reach his furred ears. To your glee, they were incredibly soft. You ran your hand along the silken fur until a quiet noise from Sett stilled your hand as you looked back down at his face to see a flush to his skin that wasn’t there before. When he noticed you staring at him, he swatted your hand away at last, muttering something to himself and brushing past you to walk in the direction you had come from without another word.

“That boy is so predictable,” Inora mused as you followed her inside.

“You knew he ran the pit?” you couldn’t help but ask.

“It was hard for him when his father left,” Inora answered. “Hard for Ciorah too. People feared his father, so they were accepted, but they were not liked. After his father left, they no longer tolerated Settrigh. He had no choice but to grow up too soon.”

He had mentioned his father had left, but you didn’t realize he had been bullied. You weren’t sure what to say, so you said nothing and let Inora continue to talk.

“He used to get in fights all the time. Kids would say things to him about his mother and it would upset him. He grew up eventually, but I suspected he hadn’t really stopped fighting. I asked around and found out that he had taken over the pit,” she explained.

“And you didn’t tell Ciorah?” you wondered aloud.

She shook her head. “He begged me not to. With his money, she did not have to work gruelling jobs to support them anymore. I hate to admit it, but this way, Ciorah is safe and healthy. She struggled for a long time after we were forced to leave our tribe, and all Settrigh wants is his mother’s happiness.”

“I can see that,” you agreed. “I was really scared of him yesterday, but after seeing him act like an obedient puppy with you and Ciorah…” You couldn’t help but laugh as you recalled him being bossed around by the women.

“He’s a good son,” Inora assented. “I admit that maybe I went a little far with the ear pats.”

She noted your confusion and giggled. “Vastayan ears are more sensitive than human ears, and Settrigh’s even more than average. His mother used to pet his ears to calm him down when other kids would tease him.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to–” you started, but silenced you by waving off your concerns with a smile.

“He hasn’t come by in so long, so he deserved a little teasing as my revenge!” she joked. “He needs a break from being a big scary pit boss occasionally!”

“You’ve been distracted lately,” Ryo told Sett bluntly. Other men in his pit would be too afraid of insulting the pit boss to talk to him like that, but Ryo knew that Sett trusted him, and liked to think of himself as the closest thing the Vastayan brute had to a friend. They did not see each other outside of the pit, but they both spent so much time there that it didn’t matter.

Neither one of the men pulled punches with each other, and Sett’s personality change had not gone unnoticed by Ryo. He knew that it had started sometime around when they had dealt with those woman-nappers, but Ryo hadn’t been able to pinpoint what had changed his friend. Sett was as focussed on the coin as ever, but Ryo had caught him lost in thought much more often over the past month. Sett, however, kept his thoughts stubbornly hidden, no matter how hard Ryo tried to pull the secrets from him.

“Caiyana finally make you an offer you couldn’t refuse?” Ryo teased, knowing that there was no chance that Sett would answer in the affirmative. Caiyana, the deadly assassin-turned-pit fighter had her keen eye on Sett since she found her way to the pits. Sett had been cordial, even friendly to her, but Ryo knew the boss well enough to tell that he maintained a professional distance from the beautiful murderess, as much as a pit boss could be called professional.

Sett scoffed. “That woman ain’t into anythin' but Noxian gold.”

“Then you two have a lot in common,” Ryo replied dryly. Sett was blind if he thought Caiyana wouldn’t give up her booking fee for the night if it meant that she could jump the boss’s bones.

Ryo allowed silence to overtake the room as they double and then triple checked the coin count from the night’s lost bets. Ryo focussed his attention on organizing the coins, until everything was all set in its rightful place and Sett had no business to use as an excuse to not answer his friend, so Ryo tried again.

“I’m not stupid, Sett,” Ryo said smoothly. “If not Caiyana, you’ve got someone on your mind. You’re not smooth enough to hide your schoolboy crush from my eyes.”

“You wanna say that again?” Sett growled, and Ryo was confident that Sett prized the bag of coins in his grip too much to throw it at his head for that comment.

Ryo had always liked to get the last word with his burly friend, so he stood up with his modest cut of the night’s profits, sauntering to the door with confidence. “Bring her around sometime. I want to meet the woman that puts up with a momma’s boy like you.”

Sett noticed that people in the streets gave him a wider berth than usual, and he figured he must look as pissed as he felt. He valued his friend’s honesty and loyalty, but Ryo really loved pushing his buttons. They liked to bug each other often, but Sett hadn’t expected Ryo to bring up his love life, non-existent as it was.

Sett had never had flings with women, even after his rise to popularity within the dregs of Ionian society. When his father was still here, nobody really talked to him out of fear. But after the scumbag had run off on them, all hell had broken loose. No girl would look at the fatherless half-breed bastard with anything but scorn in their eyes. And then he had grown some muscles and taken over the pit and only then women became eager to throw themselves at him. He could see through their flattery as if they were made of glass; he wasn’t egotistical enough to believe these women truly had any interest in any part of him other than his prestige and his wallet. They liked the pretty package, but would balk if they got a look inside his damaged soul. None of these women had any time to waste on a bastard with thinly-veiled daddy issues.

He wasn’t about to tell Ryo, but he did have more than the pit to think about as of late. He had run into you a lot lately when he visited his momma in the daytime. He hadn’t noticed it himself, but he had begun to expect you to be there when he stopped by. The last time he had been by to bring ma some more coin, he found himself looking at your usual chair as he entered the home. Ma had noticed immediately, informing him that you were out making deliveries. Sett couldn’t pretend he wasn’t looking for you, but he bristled at his momma’s next sly comment about you being unattached. It seemed that his pensive mood had followed him into the pit, and it annoyed the hell outta him.

Sett didn’t have a crush. He wasn’t a boy anymore, nor an awkward teenager. He had never bothered with women, not unless it benefitted his pit. He was annoyed with himself for wanting to be around you. But he wasn’t about to trust Ryo with that information and open himself up for his friend’s teasing. The pit would be closed for cleaning the next day; it had been a bloodier week than usual, but Sett would welcome the time off so he could have more time to spend with his momma.

You had been too busy to see Ciorah lately, and by extension Sett as well, since you only ever saw him at his mother’s house. A rich collector had come upon your work, and had been commissioning you and Inora to make him various glassworks, which on top of your usual amount of work made you so busy that you had no time for anything else. The worst part being that the collector was sleazy; he insisted that you deliver the finished pieces, and would then make various excuses to keep you in his home as long as possible. You had wanted to tell Inora, but the man had been paying you well, money you knew would really help Inora at the moment, so you put up with it. You had survived the pit and the journey across the Noxian sea, you could take one so-far harmless creep.

You had just finished delivering another sculpture, following the man around his house until he finally decided where the perfect place for his new glasswork would be. You had hoped that would be the end of it, that he would for once have mercy on you and let you leave, but it was never that easy with this guy. You had been standing outside of his house, trying to excuse yourself for around twenty minutes as he continued to ignore your excuses and talk over you.

“…I do paint sometimes, you know. You should come model for me, you’re beautiful enough. I’ve always wanted to paint a nude model in a field of flowers. You’d be very happy as my model, happier than dirtying yourself with glass dust,” he rambled.

“I… I don’t…” You weren’t sure how to refuse him without losing his business; he had never been this bold with his creepiness before. “I like my work…”

“You can’t possibly think you’ll get anywhere in life working in that tiny shop,” he said, and you bit your lip in frustration at his patronizing tone. You needed to get out of here before you really lost it on him.

“You’ve got such a beautiful body,” he drawled, either oblivious or uncaring as to how hard you were trying to exit this conversation. “Your breasts were made to be painted–”

He was startled out of his speech by a large hand on his shoulder. You gasped in surprise, relief coloring your cheeks with warmth as you saw Sett right behind him. You hadn’t even seen him coming. The creep had an entirely different reaction as he stumbled away from the very angry half-Vastayan. The collector fell backwards in his urgency to get away from Sett, falling onto his butt in shock, but still had the nerve to speak.

“Y-you beast! Beasts like you don’t belong in the presence of civilized folk!” he bellowed, pointing an accusing finger at Sett, who lifted an eyebrow, his gaze still sharp and angry.

“You gonna apologize?” Sett growled lowly.

“Apologize?!” the man screeched. “Why should I apologize when you’re the one harassing civilians?”

“To her,” was Sett’s reply as he stared the man down. “That ain’t how ya talk to women half your age.”

“Excuse me?” the man exclaimed, getting red in the face from all the shouting he had been doing. “Mutts like you need to mind their own business!”

Sett’s eyes flashed dangerously at the insult, and your gaze flickered down to his fingers as he flexed them in what you assumed meant that this was going to get ugly. You quickly grabbed the hand closest to you before Sett could reply, and after a moment’s resistance, he allowed you to drag him away from the flustered man who was still on the floor.

“Thank you for your patronage!” you called out in the sweetest tone you could manage as you turned the corner, leaving the creep to cower and sputter on the ground.

“Sett, what were you…?” you queried him as soon as you got what you hoped was a good distance away from the creepy collector’s home.

“Ma needed more milk,” he answered, holding up a small woven bag that you hadn’t noticed that he had been carrying.

“Oh…” you replied stiffly, feeling awkward as you noticed that you were both still holding hands.

Sett looked down at you sternly, and you weren’t sure if he was aware of your joined hands or not. “You shouldn’t let people treat ya like that. Who knows what that bastard would’ve done if I hadn’t stepped in.”

“I know,” you groaned. “He buys a lot from us and Inora really needed the money to replace a torch I broke by accident…”

“Inora wouldn’t take his money if she knew what he was sayin’ to you,” Sett retorted darkly. “No coin is worth a woman bein’ treated like that.”

For such a big, intimidating guy, he sure was sweet to you lately. Sett took you out of your thoughts, tugging your hand to get you to follow him down a familiar path.

“Ciorah’s house isn’t…” you protested in confusion, but Sett’s steps didn’t falter.

“We’ll get there,” he replied. “But first we’re gonna go explain to Inora why you won’t be goin’ on deliveries to that freak anymore.”

You couldn’t bring yourself to protest; after that escalation in creepy behavior, you didn’t want to be anywhere near that guy ever again. You couldn’t help but feel like you were letting Inora down; the creepy guy was the most profitable client in a long time. But there was not a high likelihood that he would be commissioning you in the future after Sett had nearly beat him up. You followed him back home, finding Inora in the workshop finalizing a piece that would go to a sweet older lady who bought works from you for her grandchildren.

“How was–” Inora greeted you before noticing your companion. “Settrigh?”

“She didn’t wanna tell you, but that old creep has been flirtin’ with her,” Sett explained while you awkwardly fiddled with your fingers just behind him.

“What?” Inora gaped. “I knew he had been ordering a lot of pieces, but I never thought…”

Sett nudged you forward, and you figured you should tell her the truth. “Sorry I didn’t tell you… normally he just rambles stories at me and stands too close, but today, he…”

It was too weird for you to say out loud, but Sett didn’t have the same reservations. “The bastard was tryin’ to convince her to model naked for him.”

“He what!?” Inora snarled. “If I could get my claws on him…”

“I was tryin’ to, but she stopped me,” Sett replied, gesturing to you with a jerk of his head.

“Sett!” you scolded him, but Inora barked out a laugh.

“For once, I approve of your violent streak!” she grinned.

You knew they weren’t biologically related, but you couldn’t help but note how familial their bond was. Inora was more outwardly tough than Ciorah, but both women fit so well into Sett’s life.

“Ma’s waitin’ on me to bring her milk,” Sett changed the subject with a sly smirk. “Gonna take her with me so she doesn’t run back to her boyfriend!”

You gaped at Sett, him and Inora laughing at the disgusted look on your face. “I would never–”

“Relax, princess,” Sett snickered. “I’ll protect ya from him.”

You lost all will to argue, his words flustering you into silence. You couldn’t tell if his tone was flirty or not, but the sudden nickname made you blush. Sett seemed oblivious, but you met eyes with Inora, who smiled knowingly at you, and you quickly looked down at your feet.

“You can take her with you, but you’ve gotta promise me you’ll punch that asshole if you see him again!” Inora joked.

“Can do,” Sett answered affirmatively.

“Don’t be too late!” Inora added, winking at you in a manner that left you no room to doubt what she was really saying. You were relieved that Sett had already turned to the door and had missed her wink altogether.

You still weren’t sure why he was insistent on bringing you along, but it had been a while since you had seen him and you had missed the big brute. You followed Sett out of the front door, waving goodbye to Inora as you emerged back onto the early afternoon streets of Navori.

“…how is the pit?” you asked, wanting to say something but couldn’t think of any interests of his besides his mom and his work in your flustered state.

“’s good,” he answered with a chuckle. “Didn’t think you wanted to hear about the pit.”

What could you even say to that? That you just wanted to talk with him and weren’t sure what else to say?

“I…” you trailed off as you entered the streets that made up the marketplace that led to Ciorah’s home.

“I told you I won’t make ya fight,” Sett laughed. “The pit is a place for degenerates like me, not little mages.”

“You’re not a degenerate,” you refuted softly. “If you hadn’t saved me, I would probably still be with those kidnappers.”

Sett scoffed as you both turned onto the street that Ciorah’s house was on. “With your firepower, they didn’t stand a chance in a fight with you.”

You just stared at him, dumbfounded by his confidence in you. You still weren’t sure how you had beat the Noxian in the pit, but it was a weird feeling to have someone who brawled for a living complimenting you on your combat prowess, however little you felt that you possessed anyways. Maybe you should start having more confidence in yourself; he had certainly given you something to think about. Sett knocked on Ciorah’s door as you stepped onto the landing by his side. You felt a sudden onset of emotion as you reflected further on what a good thing it had been for your life for you to meet Sett.

“Hey… are you cryin’?” Sett said, looking panicked.

Before you could answer, Ciorah opened the door to see you wiping away the small tears that had developed in your eyes. Sett looked infinitely more panicked as his eyes darted from you to his mother, and you watched as her eyes narrowed as she looked at the scene in front of her.

“Settrigh!” she scowled. “What did you say to her?”

Sett’s eyes widened in panic at his mother’s ire, an ear in her grasp before he could think to pull away. You quickly followed them into the house, shutting the door behind you.

“It ain’t like that, ma! She just started cryin’!” Sett protested.

“I raised you to be kind to women, Settrigh,” Ciorah replied sternly.

“He didn’t do anything, I promise!” you corrected Ciorah’s impression the best you could, trying not to laugh as Sett rubbed his sore ear when Ciorah released it upon hearing your words. “I was just thinking about… how nice Sett has been to me and I teared up.”

You were embarrassed to have to be so honest, especially since Sett was now staring at you with a look in his eyes you couldn’t read. Ciorah finally abandoned scolding her son to give you a tight hug, which only served to make you feel more embarrassed. You had never cried this often back in Demacia, but that was hardly unusual for Demacia. There was always a high importance placed on being proper and not embarrassing your family. You had grown up with the notion that it was normal to keep emotions – even happiness – out of the public sphere and away from troubling anyone. Thinking back, you realized that you had never even seen your parents cry. Ever.

The only emotions they displayed often were fear and anger. You knew now that was how they kept Demacians in line. By making them fear mages like you that just wanted to be accepted in their twisted society, by making families turn on their kin because of powers they could not help. Ionia was not free of cruelty, but you would never have the entire island turn against you just for using your powers. All of the people you were close to here openly embraced you, powers and all. You would never go back to Demacia as long as you lived; Navori was your permanent home as far as you were concerned.

Ciorah happily accepted the milk that she had sent her son to buy, insisting that you both stay for dinner. You chopped vegetables with Sett while Ciorah oversaw the stew that was simmering. You were having fun, other than Sett dangling cut onions in your face, which made you tear up yet again, Ciorah smacking his shoulder when he teased you for crying. You hadn’t had so much fun in a long time, just sitting around the table with them and chatting as you ate, which was only made sweeter by the fact that you didn’t have to put up with that creepy customer’s behavior anymore. It definitely felt like too soon when it was time to head back home, and this time Sett offered to walk you home without Ciorah’s prompting.

“I’ll see you again soon,” Ciorah told you warmly, giving you a hug.

You stepped back from her and Sett quickly took your place, giving her a kiss on the cheek as she wrapped her arms as far around his broad back as she could reach.

“Love you, ma,” Sett told her.

“And I love you, Settrigh,” Ciorah replied in kind. “Stay safe.”

“Are you going to the pit now?” you asked him as Ciorah closed the door and you both exited her hearing range.

“No need,” he answered. “I can trust those knuckleheads by themselves for one night.”

“If you say so,” you answered in a singsong tone.

Sett playfully raised an eyebrow. “Ya know the pit ain’t all I ever think about.”

You weren’t sure if you were reading too much into his words, and the glint in his eyes. You were paranoid that you were over-analyzing what wasn’t romantic intentions on his side. But no matter what you did, you couldn’t help but hope that Sett would make a move, because you just didn’t have the confidence.

You decided that it would be worth a try to see if you could fish any more information out of him. “So, what else do you think–”

You would not finish your sentence as your arm was grasped roughly from behind, a hand clamping over your mouth and muffling your surprised cry.

Sett snarled and made to dash over to you, but a long, sharp blade to your neck had him pausing in his tracks, feral anger plain on his face. You still couldn’t see the man who held you captive, as any movement from you had him inch the blade closer to the flesh of your neck, and so you kept painfully still. Your situation fully illuminated on you when men began to trickle out of the shadows, including two ugly faces you remembered in detail, even a month later.

They looked even more rough than the night they had kidnapped you. It seemed like Sett’s lesson hadn’t gotten through to them as they closed in on you alongside a dozen or so men who looked just as intimidating.

“Let her go,” Sett snarled, and the venom in his tone shocked you cold, but unfortunately did not have the same effect on the group of men.

“You won’t protect your bitch this time, half breed,” the taller kidnapper sneered to supportive chuckles and jeers from the rest of the group of men.

“Navori is tired of your iron fist,” the other kidnapper added tauntingly. “So we’re gonna do the pit a favor and make sure you never step foot in it again.”

“You can try!” Sett growled, muscles flexing dangerously.

“Fightin’ fair just ain’t in the cards anymore,” the tall man replied, and before Sett had time to react, one of the men dashed forward and threw a sickly yellow powder in Sett’s face, which had him fall to his knees coughing and breathing heavily before he collapsed on the ground. The hand on your mouth tightened as you screamed and struggled. All your struggles did was draw the attention of the men back to you.

“Poor girl,” one man drawled. “About to watch her boyfriend die.”

Your eyes widened, heart beating overtime as you watched the men begin to crowd around Sett’s unconscious body. What had they thrown on him? Ionia definitely had its own drug trade, but you had no knowledge of what the yellow powder could be. But as you watched the men brandish weapons of all sort, you realized that the drug must have been a means to an end. A knockout drug strong enough to render even the large half-Vastayan unconscious. Sett was defenseless, and showed no signs of waking up despite your mental pleas.

“She’s gonna cry,” one of the men articulated with a cruel laugh.

“With him gone, she’s gonna be real lonely!” another man jeered.

“Not for long,” the tall man sneered. “She’s got a big debt to pay us, so we got first dibs. You all can have what’s left.”

You couldn’t lose Sett. You could barely hear what they were saying around you, eyes locked on the gleaming silver of their weapons as they raised them in unison to strike at the downed man you cared so much for. You didn’t wait a moment, because Sett didn’t have a moment to spare if you were going to save his life. The thugs were gleefully unaware, and even the cry of pain from their buddy that held you captive was too late of a warning to save them from your desperate fury.

Your fire reached an inferno in a split second, and the man who held you captive fell back as every part of him that was in close contact with you broke out in burns so hot that this skin bubbled and peeled right off. His last scream would come too late for his friends as you rushed at them, your hair whipping around your face as you slammed into them with the force of an erupting volcano. Your intense fire melted their flesh as you came close, their cries of agony a chorus you were all too happy to hear.

You knew that your kidnappers had been in the mass of men that stood around Sett, but in your fury, you did not see their faces. You did not watch their expressions as they melted away to nothing; they were dead, and not worth any more of your attention. In seconds, you had wiped out every last one. You stood before the ruined men, chest heaving, as you finally came back to yourself and realized that Sett too had been in the center of your inferno.

Shaking your head to clear yourself of your murderous focus, you dropped to your knees beside Sett, who you immediately realized looked completely fine. He had been in the middle of your fiery wrath, but he had not so much as a burn on him anywhere. The only sign that your powers had affected him at all was the slightest beads of sweat on his forehead. How could he be okay? Your fire never hurt you, but this was all-new territory for you.

“Sett!” you cried, placing your hands on either side of his face, tears dripping down your face and onto his jacket. “Sett, please –”

“’s warm.”

His whisper was almost too quiet for you to hear, but his eyes opening ever so slowly confirmed that you hadn’t been hearing things. Sett slowly sat up, rolling his shoulders. He grunted at the impact as you buried your face in his chest, and he slowly sat back up, placing a hand on your back.

“…should go,” he muttered, and you pulled back to look at his face. He clumsily pushed some hair out of your face as you noticed his pupils looked dilated. “We should… we should go,” he slurred.

“Are you… drunk?” you ventured a guess, and he smirked lazily, leaning in to nibble on your neck, which sent a blush to your face and a shiver down your back.

“Nah,” he answered, and you didn’t believe him for a second.

“Can you stand?” you asked him, and he only answered when you backed away from him until he couldn’t kiss at your neck anymore.

He scoffed, lifting himself up a little too fast, his drugged state putting him off balance. You quickly got up as well, grabbing hold of him before he fell over and slinging his arm over your shoulder. Ciorah’s home was close, but you knew that Sett wouldn’t want her to see him in this state.

“Sett, where do you live?” you asked, hoping he would have the mental facilities to properly answer you.

He stared at you intensely for a few seconds before sighing and beginning to walk, forcing you to keep up with him so neither of you would fall over. You were thankful that he just led you silently; you weren’t sure if you could take any more of his drunken flirting. You let him lead you, surprised when you bypassed the wealthy district entirely; you had just assumed that with all the money he made, Sett would live in the most expensive part of town.

The neighborhood Sett finally led you to was one you hadn’t seen before. It was very quiet, only a few people walking around, none of which even bat an eye at you supporting the large pit boss as you walked by. You wondered what kind of a place this was for the sight of the two of you to not be out of the ordinary.

Sett led you up a stony walkway to a very modest home, and you let him off of your shoulder at last so he could lean on the wall and fish his keys out of his pants’ pocket. When he finally managed to retrieve the small silver key, you took it from him. If the walk here was any indication, his coordination was not the best right now. You unlocked the door with ease, and Sett sauntered in, you quickly following behind him and locking the door.

You had clearly underestimated Sett’s recovery time, because as soon as you turned around after hearing the click of the lock, Sett caged you against the door with his body. You stared wide-eyed at the predatory smirk on his face, giving you nowhere to run. You couldn’t tell if this was his true feelings spilling out or if it was the drug. You knew which one you hoped it was, but you couldn’t take advantage of him in this state, not when he could do something he would regret if he weren’t under the influence of the weird powder.

“Sett, you should rest…” you protested, pressing your shaky palms on his chest, ready to push him away if you needed to.

“Nah,” he purred with a grin. “I think I’m good right here.”

“But I don’t know what they gave you, it could be–”

“Stop talkin',” he grunted, and it was all the warning you got before he crushed his lips into yours.

You gasped in surprise, and he didn’t waste the opportunity, sticking his tongue in your mouth and playing with your own. Your fingers gripped at the fur of his long jacket, breaking away from the kiss with a moan when his hands moved down to your hips, pulling your lower body closer to his, a rapidly hardening part of his anatomy brushing obviously against you with the motion. Sett chased your lips, kissing you breathless several times over as you tried desperately to keep up with the rough pace he had set.

You still couldn’t believe this was happening, but you were starting to feel more comfortable kissing him. You wanted him to be as wrecked as you were, and so you did the only thing you could think of that might fluster him and grabbed one of his ears, rubbing it between your fingers. Sett didn’t stop kissing you, but groaned against your mouth. A few more seconds of you repeating the motion had him finally break away from your mouth, and you stared at his beautiful golden eyes as he opened them at last. You were breathing heavily as you watched his gaze trail down your body. You realized that you had once again singed your clothing with your earlier outburst, your top a lot more low-cut than it had been when you had left Ciorah’s home, the singed edges of the fabric hovering at the tops of your breasts.

“Hold on!” Sett grinned.

You stared at him, confused by the mischief in his eyes. Sett wasted no time, his strong arms going around your back and under your thighs as he lifted you into a princess carry. You squeaked in surprise, holding your hands at your chest, unsure of what to do with them.

“Doubt I’ll get tired of this,” Sett remarked, turning around and heading down the hallway. “Last chance to back out, princess.”

He was really testing your newfound commitment to honesty. Your face burned with embarrassment and shame, so you buried your face in his chest as you murmured your answer. “…I don’t want to back out.”

Sett laughed, the vibrations from his chest against your ear as he pushed open a door with his shoulder. You brought your head back up to look upon a rather modest bedroom. The room was dim with the day’s waning light coming through the window, illuminating the large bed that sat in the center of the room. You weren’t given a further chance to examine his bedroom as you were laid on the bed, staring at Sett as he stood just to the side.

“Hope you’re ready, baby,” Sett purred, unlatching his gauntlets and letting them drop to the floor as he shucked his shoes off. “I don’t do anythin’ half-assed.”

You sat up on the bed, figuring you probably shouldn’t be wearing shoes in his nice bed, reaching down and gently removing them and setting them on the floor as Sett removed his jacket. Sett rolled his shoulders back as he stared down at you, unashamed by his own partial nudity as usual.

You had no time to feel self-conscious as Sett was on you again, hand fisting through your hair to angle your mouth against his better. You kissed him back with everything you had, but his efforts overwhelmed you and it was all you could do to grasp at his neck and thread your tongue with his. You wrapped a leg around his hip, and he happily ground his pelvis into yours. You cried out as the bulge there hit against you in just the right spot to send a spark through your body. Sett pulled back, golden eyes dark as he combed a hand through his hair.

“I want you bad, princess,” he growled.

“Sett, I–” you tried to answer him, but then his thick fingers were slipping beneath the skirt you wore and past your underwear to rub at a spot that had you squirming and moaning as Sett stared down at you proudly.

“Betcha never had this in Demacia,” Sett growled as his fingers moved from your clit to push a finger inside you. “At least those jackasses did something right when they drove you to Navori.”

You couldn’t reply, could only moan his name and weakly grip at his arm as he pushed another finger inside you, the pad of his thumb brushing against your clit as he continued fingering you.

“Sett, please–”

“Can’t wait any longer, baby?” he taunted, and you glared at him to the best of your lust-addled ability.

“Fine,” he sighed. “I can’t deny ya anythin’ when you look at me like that.”

Sett rolled over so that he sat at the edge of the bed, licking his wet fingers clean while staring at you haughtily. Standing up from the bed, he peeled his tight pants off of his legs, and you were flustered anew to discover that he hadn’t been wearing any underwear. You couldn’t help but stare at his cock, which looked rock hard as it jutted out proudly from his pelvis.

Sett easily caught you staring, his eyes raking over your still-clothed body. “You need some help?”

You felt overcome with a burst of shyness at what was about to happen. Sett climbed back onto the bed, and you blushed as his cock brushed against your hip. Sett noticed how stiff you were, leaning in to give you short, soft kisses until he felt you visibly relax.

“C’mon,” he prompted. “’s only fair I get you naked too. Been thinkin’ about this since ya melted those thugs.”

“What?” you replied.

“Came to as you torched ‘em,” Sett answered, nuzzling against your neck, mouth at your ear as his hand crept to the bottom of your shirt. “You have no clue how hot you look when you fight.”

Sett’s fingers gripped the hem of your shirt, and you lifted your arms to help him take it off of you. Your shirt was made of thicker material than you usually wore, so you hadn’t worn a bra underneath. Sett was very appreciative of that fact, palming your breasts with his large hands as he looked down at you with the hunger of a predator.

You were so worked up that you couldn’t wait any longer. You wiggled your hips, trying to shuffle your skirt down because Sett was so close that you couldn’t fit a hand between your lower bodies. Sett took pity on you, taking his hands off of your tits to help you shimmy your skirt and panties down and off. Your underwear was feeling a little too damp, so it was a relief to have them off at last.

“No shame if ya need to claw my back up,” Sett teased as he lined himself up with you. “I know I’m a lot to take.”

You frowned at him; there was no limit to his self-confidence, was there? Your irritation only seemed to further bolster him as he grinned happily. You couldn’t even stay mad at him; he was such an overgrown puppy. You hated that all of his quirks just made you more infatuated with him. You would have to rub his ears again and take him down a peg.

But Sett would make the first move, as always. He grasped his cock, holding your gaze as he began to ease himself into you. You closed your eyes, nails digging into your palms as you adjusted to the feeling. He went slow, inching in further and further until your hips met, his legs on either side of yours.

You felt so full, and for all of his grandstanding, Sett wasn’t doing much better. He let out a low groan, moving his hands to either side of your face to keep himself from crushing you with his well-muscled body.

No more words were exchanged as Sett began to move his hips, dropping his lips from yours to nibble at your neck, his hair tickling your cheek. The position brought his furry ears closer to you, and the temptation proved too much and you reached up and pulled on his ears, and Sett’s hips snapped up to yours harder in surprise, the resulting feeling making you moan.

“Should’ve known you’d go for the ears again,” Sett growled.

“They’re so cute,” you replied, barely able to get the words out when Sett moved back to grab onto your thighs and encourage you to wrap them around his hips. He pushed back in, and it was all you could do to grip at his biceps as he got even more brutal with his pace, leaning down to kiss and bite at your breasts, the sensations only heightening the pleasure you felt.

You shut your eyes tightly as you felt your pleasure climb higher and higher, your unintentional clamping of vaginal muscles earning you a groan from Sett as he reached a hand down to rub at your clit as he chased his own end.

“Sett,” you moaned, opening your eyes to pull his face to yours so you could kiss him again.

You could only hold out a moment longer, the kiss getting slower as you reached your peak, your legs tightening around Sett’s waist and walls clamping down on his cock. Sett growled against your lips, slamming down into you a few more times before he stilled, parting from your lips to rest his forehead on yours, grinning like the cat that got the cream.

“I’d say that went pretty well,” Sett declared.

As the haze wore off, you began to wonder exactly what this meant to Sett. You had no knowledge at all of his romantic history, and so you didn’t know what to think.

You tried to sound confident, but your voice came out as a weak whisper. “Sett… what are we?”

He didn’t reply, but leaned down to kiss you. You frowned, dodging so that his lips landed on your cheek. If this was just a fling, he needed to tell you now. You wouldn’t let him avoid the question.

Sett’s eyes opened when he realized that you had moved your face. You gave him a hard look, and he returned it with a toothy grin and a laugh. You felt your heart drop; was he going to laugh at you for wanting more? Was this the last content moment that you would have with him before it all came crashing down?

“Don’t know why you’re even askin’,” Sett said, and you just stared at him, too scared to even breathe. “Ma likes ya… I like ya. You ain’t gettin’ away from me that easy.”

[metalslimer]

high school sweethearts.

♡ ♡ ♡ | kenny omega x celeste

high school au! headcanons for @kennyomegasferalgremlin

warnings: bullying

author note: this may be longer than expected! whoops.

summary: celeste is the school's introvert, hardcore into cottage!core and fairies. fantasy living in real life. kenny is your average athlete, determined jock and all around popular guy. two worlds will collide - for better or for worse?

❀ celeste is the high school introvert

❀ heavily into cottage core aesthetics

❀ they don't belong to a group, just a loner, floating around

❀ leaves no imagination- they are centered to being bullied anyways

❀ mainly by the popular kids, who are snobs and inhumane

❀ then here's kenny. . . somewhere in the middle of being popular and having his fair share of picking on people

❀ the star athlete, the good-looking boy, green in his pockets. what's not to love about this guy?

❀ unfortunately, he wasn't that smart as it seemed. give him a football and he can run the mile. hand him a worksheet and he's brain dead. . . head empty and NO thoughts

❀ problem here was with no good grades came with no sports, which meant he was DOOMED

❀ *celeste has entered the chat*

❀ these two have been neighbors and classmates since elementary

❀ kenny is brain rot with social cues that he's never noticed

❀ their teacher pairs them up for a tutoring session ONCE but it turns into more than just one semester

❀ celeste is what kenny would think as "a weirdo" considering they dressed up as mushroom fairies, and had their nose poked in a book rather than talking to anyone else

❀ neither of these two people understood the other- both from two different sides of the tree branch

❀ but this didn't discourage kenny into talking to celeste, outside from the usual tutoring schedules they had

❀ it got to the point he spent more time around them than with his friends

❀ trust and believe, they did not like this, not one bit

❀ things resorted to name calling, poking, throwing things at celeste, spreading rumors, as far as terrorizing their house and their family with egging, tp-ing, and random phone calls at night

❀ all while kenny sat oblivious-

❀ oh! he knew. . . but what would happen to him and his status if he stood there to defend the weird kid of the school? he could NOT afford that

❀ celeste was used to this harassment, of course, but once things got too personal. . . they couldn't handle it anymore

❀ they had went m.i.a and kenny noticed rather quickly

❀ his friends thought they finally won but turned out they were mistakenly wrong

❀ kenny had guilt bubbling inside him and for the first time, he did the opposite of what people expected him to do. . . and he went to find celeste

❀ the apology was awkward and very choppy but it meant the world to them that he was brave enough to admit his faults

❀ "they've been my friends since forever, this is so normal for me. . . to be so mean, so rude. i never thought about what it's like for the person who's taking the beating. but when it was you, it hurt me so much. i watched you cry and i did nothing to stop it. i can never forgive myself but. . . i think the only thing i need is for YOU to forgive me. please? i'll do anything!"

❀ it took two weeks exactly before celeste made the final decision

❀ which ended up in them forgiving kenny (never his friends) and their relationship only blossomed from there

❀ kenny x celeste

❀ a couple NO ONE (not even teachers) could expect to happen

❀ girls jealous, burning holes in celeste's head as they wore kenny's letterman jacket

❀ hands in each other's back pockets

❀ wearing cheap but super cute, matching charm jewelry

❀ they held the biggest sign at all his games

❀ they even bought a megaphone to out-cheer the cheerleaders

❀ kenny went to all the bookclub meetings, all the comic-cons, and sat through every sci-fi movie

❀ he may not understand it or have slight interest in it, but supporting celeste in their hobbies made them both happy

❀ his parents didn't exactly approve, but celeste was smart, so they had no worries about that

❀ celeste's parents danced with joy that their child scored a guy with a guaranteed sports scholarship

❀ many people in school came around to finally come to terms and wish nothing but good luck for these two

❀ seeing how happy they made each other was more than enough evidence to let the bad blood go (at least for some)

❀ prom whipped around the corner fast for everyone

❀ many people panicking about who to take, kenny and celeste knew they had each other

❀ celeste wore the infamous strawberry dress (it made them feel beautiful and very happy)

❀ kenny wore an all white suit with a tie matching the strawberry design, plus a pink handkerchief sitting in the pocket of his jacket

❀ he even got his hair trimmed, slicked back, with a pink streak going through the blond curls

❀ this was completely different than what he had imagined for himself during this moment

❀ but the smile on celeste's face. . . had made all those fantasies disappear in a blink of an eye

❀ only kenny's friends that were nice to celeste sat with them at their table, along with their own dates

❀ the two danced to a few songs but mainly sat and ate the snacks, talking about dream goals after graduation

❀ celeste didn't know what they wanted exactly but could only want to do it alongside kenny

❀ kenny had dreams of making it big in sports - no matter the sport

❀ hopefully celeste would take the risk with him ?

❀ kenny and celeste win vote for prom king and queen

❀ they slow dance to celeste's song choice (here)

❀ the night ends with a loving kiss shared between the two in kenny's car, in front of celeste's home

[ditttiii]

Dilectio ♡

▣ Summary: You run your hands across his lower lip as he caresses your cheeks, draws small repetitive circles over the skin, and you relish the moment, the quiet, the space between you two where your breaths mingle until they become one. “Let me buy us a house, somewhere outside the city, where it’s just you, me, Holly maybe a friend for her, a cat for you, and a pond full of fishes, our own little place.”

▣ Warnings: Nothing major except tooth rotting, sickeningly sweet fluff and a make-out session or two. Oh! & Yoongi is called lill meow-meow. Oh 2x! & Yoongi has bread-cheeks. (PG-13)

▣ Genre: fluff, humour, slice of life

▣ Pairing: Yoongi x Plus size Reader

▣ Word Count: 3.1k

This work was commissioned by the lovely @bucksvseverybody for the Changes with Luv  fundraiser project, hosted by @ficswithluv​. All proceedings from this project go to the BLM funds.Thank you so much for your help and kind donation! I hope you like it ❤

You let out a watery giggle as you see your boyfriend give his signature gummy smile to the camera and conclude his part of the commencement speech. 

Said boyfriend, hearing your laugh then proceeds to tighten his arms around you, nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck. 

"Oh, so my advice is funny to you now?" You hear Yoongi grumble, and a shiver runs down your spine at the feel of his lips forming the words on the sensitive skin of your neck. 

Snorting, you sniffle and wipe away the few stray tears that had slipped out, before you twist your torso and look your boyfriend in the eye. 

"If you think I don't see you fishing for compliments, you are dead wrong baby boo." You say as a cheeky grin spreads across your face. He acts like he hates that name, but you know better. The tip of Yoongi's ears turns red, proving you right before he again buries his head in your neck and mutters a quiet, "Smartass."

You burrow your head in the warmth of Yoongi’s sweater and let the soft cloth absorb the few stray tears that had slipped out. Your attention now away from your laptop screen, as you miss the rest of the boys and their speeches. You decide to look them up later as your body protests leaving the warmth of Yoongi’s body heat. 

"Do you really feel alone?" You voice out the question that had been bugging you for some time now. You don't want to assume anything but the thought that your boyfriend has been having a difficult time without you knowing about it doesn't quite sit well with you. 

You feel more than hear Yoongi let out a huff, as his warm breath hits the nape of your neck and you suppress a shudder. 

"Jagiya," He begins before suddenly the hands that were around your waist shift and wrap themselves around your shoulders, pulling you closer to the man in question and tilting your head up.

You hum and shift your gaze up-to meet his eyes, your hands finding their way to the nape of his neck, his soft black hair, tickling the skin of your fingers as you run your hands over his skin. 

"I didn't mean it how you might think I did. I don't feel alone in the sense that I feel like I have no one. It's more of a....creative feeling, where I feel like my inspiration sometimes runs dry and then I don't know which way I should go next." Yoongi says, and you nod in reply. 

He tilts his head as he tries to catch your gaze, but you shift your eyes away. You don't think Yoongi is lying to you, you know he never would. But you also wonder if he is telling you the full truth or not. You wouldn't put it past him to hold back and keep his feelings to himself if he thinks it might worry you. 

Yoongi might seem rough from the outside, but once he allows a person in, he treasures them more than most do. You know that better than anybody else. 

You see it in the way he brings home your favourite coffee from halfway across the city every time you pull an all-nighter, hear it in the way he whispers goodnight to you every night he comes home late and thinks you are asleep.

More than anything else, you feel it in the way his touch caresses your skin like you are a porcelain doll, glides over your curves leaving you feeling treasured and your heart bursting with love and affection for him. 

"Jagi, I love you." You hear your boyfriend's deep, slight gravely voice say and before you can reply, his hands are snaking from your shoulders to your neck and tipping your head up as his soft lips, dip down and interlock with yours. 

Your surprised squeak is muffled as his lips glide over yours, the feather-soft feel of them leaves you feeling warm as your toes curl and your hands' fist and tug the collar of Yoongi’s sweater, pulling him closer. 

His tongue slips between your lips as it licks a strip over your lower lip and you open your mouth, tongue reaching out and gliding over his in response. A breathy moan slipping out almost unconsciously when you feel his hands slide over your curves, caressing the skin under, and your blush rises, the skin from over your chest to the tip of your ears feeling flushed and warm.

You don't think you are needy, nor are you the jealous, insecure kind, but something about Yoongi’s touch has you aching, craving for more, and the thought of someone else being on the receiving end of it leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. Huffing, you tug him closer, your nails softly skimming over the sensitive skin of the back of his ears, and he shudders, a grin of your own slipping onto your face when you realise for the billionth time the effect you have on him. 

"Stop grinning," Yoongi grumbles embarrassed, his pale skin, looking red as a sheen of oil gathers over his cheeks and nose, highlighting his soft, curvy features, and you bite your lip, humming back a response before you tilt your head up and drop a kiss on the tip of his nose. 

"I love you too babyboo," You whisper back, your lips ghosting over his as you keep them close, your words dripping with love and your eyes overflowing with affection as they gaze into his.

You watch as Yoongi’s eyes turn soft, their usual cat-like silhouette, melting into something curvier before he's closing the distance between you two and your eyes slip close.  

With Yoongi’s soft and sugar-sweet lips on yours, you lose yourself, until the feel of his silky hair twined around your fingers and his puffs of warm breaths on your face, are all that you are aware of anymore. 

"Dammit, I swear to god, if you do that one more time, I am kicking you where the sun doesn't shine." You playfully growl out loud, only to squeal when another spray of water hits the back of your neck. 

Huffing dramatically you advance towards your boyfriend, who's now trying to act innocent, his back turned away from you, neck slightly hunched as he looks down and continues to wash the vegetables for tonight's celebratory dinner. 

Coming to stand beside him, you lean your hip against the counter top behind you, and turn to look at your boyfriend. His bottom lip under the clutches of his pearly teeth, his gummy grin on full display despite his apparent attempt at trying to hold it in, Yoongi looked like the picture-perfect definition of the word adorable. 

"Mature, Real Mature." You remark wryly and roll your eyes fondly when the laugh he had been trying so hard to hold in, finally tumbles out. Body hunching over the counter, as his hands grip the edge, chuckle after chuckle flow out of him. His usual gravely, raspy, deep voice, raising slightly in pitch as his laugh starts to go squeaky and his cheeks bloom red due to lack of oxygen. 

Huffing you try to move away and go back to your cooking, but his hand snakes out, tugging you closer. 

The softness of your chest collides against the hard, coiled muscles of his torso, and your eyes drift over to his sparkly orbs. His bread cheeks on full display, eyes melted into two crescent moons, the wide gummy smile stretched wide. 

Even if you had been genuinely angry, you'd have melted immediately. 

"You're too cute for your own good little meow-meow." You tease and watch as Yoongi's blush darkens, a groan spilling out of his lips as he pulls you closer and nuzzles against your neck. 

Giggling, you run your hands through his hair, caressing the skin of his nape as Yoongi's hands tighten around your waist, the soft flesh under his grip feeling warmer. 

"For someone who's supposed to be the tough, scary one you're awfully affectionate," You remark when you feel him leaving soft pecks on your neck. 

"Well, little meow-meow is soft for you," Comes his reply, face rising and dropping a kiss on your forehead, his soft, full lips leaving their impression on your skin even after he's pulled away, and gotten back to his washing duty. 

Heart bursting with affection, you take in the man who in a span of a six-month relationship has somehow turned into your entire world. When you had first met Yoongi, you were still in college. 

Stressing over your impending finals and drowning in stress, you had more or less body slammed into him, drenching his coat with your coffee. Bloodshot eyes, a rats nest of hair, you had then proceeded to scold him for standing in the middle of the cafe, your sleep-deprived brain too shot to realise that you could get into a world of trouble for insulting the world-famous musician. 

Not all that unexpectedly, you had left quite an impression on the record-breaking idol, and thus began the wooing. 

Ridiculously expensive flower arrangements with lyrics and small poems written onto the cards, gifts from all over the world—little trinkets he would buy from wherever he was, would arrive at your doorstep; softening you inch by inch, day after day. 

Yoongi never one to a miss a chance, had swooped in like a prince charming, out of his Mercedes Benz with your favourite coffee from halfway across the city, and hook, line and sinker—

You were wooed. 

Six months later, here you are, fresh out of college, celebrating your graduation night with your boyfriend. 

Smiling dopily at your thoughts, you move past and get back to cooking, Yoongi's hand reaching out and gliding against your wrist as you pass by. 

As the fragrance and warmth of the still-hot Bulgogi and Samgyeopsal wafted up to your nose, you break your chopsticks apart, picking a piece of the meat and biting into it. Moaning, in pleasure and satisfaction, when the sweet and savoury flavour hits your taste buds. 

Lightly swinging your feet under the table, you nudge Yoongi's feet and grin, your hand rising up to cover your mouth when he raises his brows, his hand pausing mid-rise. 

"I kill at cooking, admit it, I am better than you baby," Winking, you tease, your feet under the table hooking under the edge of his PJs, sliding against his legs, and you watch amused as the tips of his ears go red, but he doesn't shift. 

"Who taught you to cook, you brat?" He quips back with a wink, and you just giggle, head tilting as you catch his gaze and receive a soft smile in return. 

Fondly you watch as Yoongi picks a piece before his hand extends towards you, and you rise a little from your seat, reaching out and biting into half of the meat piece and chewing. 

Too big for one single bite, you leave half of it in Yoongi's hold, but before you can reach out and eat it, your boyfriend already has it in his mouth. 

His cheeks bulge out with the still too big a piece, and you gape, a wounded whine deep from your chest coming out in response. 

"Hey! That was mine!" You playfully glare, as your hand reaches out to snatch his chopsticks away, but Yoongi leans back and out of your reach. 

Winking, he grins, "What's yours is mine, baby boo." 

Raising your brow, before your boyfriend can blink, your hand reaches out and clutches onto the last piece of meat from his plate. Inside your mouth not a second later, you let out an exaggerated moan, dramatically closing your eyes and throwing your hands over your heart. 

"Whaa! You brat!" He exclaims, his pout coming out in full force as he moans over the loss of his precious meat. 

Winking you reply, "What's mine is yours, meow-meow."

Seeing your boyfriend get up from his chair, you scramble to getaway. Squealing when you feel his hand graze your waist, you push yourself harder, your laughter ringing across the apartment. 

Breathless you fall onto your bed tired, and move to hastily roll over to your corner. 

Yoongi, however, can be fast when he wants to be, and before you can scoot all the way, his arms are caging you in and pulling you closer. 

Squealing you try to push him away, but his hand's sneak under your sweater, and then he's tickling the soft skin under, sending you into peals of laughter. 

You try to wriggle away, but he entangles his legs with yours and refuses to budge. Gasping for breath, you pat his shoulder and squeal out an apology for stealing his meat. 

Finally taking mercy on you, he stops, and you draw in a long breath. Your body feels hot under your sweater, even in Seoul's harsh winter and chest heaving, breathless you turn to your boyfriend. 

Yoongi's body, conditioned after years of dance practices and concerts, is doing a lot better than yours. The only indication that he had even chased you through the hallways of your apartment are his cheeks; tinged pink and glistening under a thin sheen of sweat. 

You drink in the sight of your boyfriend, from his narrow cat-like eyes to his curvy nose, to his fuller lower lip. His body heat seeps into you and warms you from where his legs are still twined around yours.  

Your appreciation of your boyfriend, however, is cut short when said boyfriend rises and snuggles into you. His face nestling over your chest, and between the creases of your soft sweater, cheeks squishing against your chest, and you just look on amused as your boyfriend makes himself comfortable over your chest. 

You want to call him out on how cat-like his behaviour actually is, but you refrain, content to bask in the familiar comfort that Yoongi brings for now.

"You're soft." He mumbles, his voice coming out soft, half-muffled, his nose and mouth still pressed against you, and you snort out a "You're not,"  when you feel his chin slightly dig against your ribs.  

Picking up on your slightly strained voice, he shifts down, until his face is squished against the curves of your stomach. Breathing no longer a stifled process, you just hum and run your hands through his hair, softly scratching the scalp under your tips every now and then. 

Yoongi melts under your touch, a pleased moan slipping out when your hand slides to the back of his ears and lower to his neck. Smiling, you feel him snuggle closer, his face finding purchase between the warmth and softness of your flesh. 

Maybe if it was anybody else you'd have felt a little self-conscious, might have felt the need to change yourself, lose some weight to be like one of those thin, barbie doll-like female idols. But somehow with Yoongi, you have never felt that. Not an iota of self-doubt ever arose when he caressed your skin, your curves, the hills and valleys over the canvas that was your body. 

It wasn't like you were unhealthy, and if you ever feel the need to lose even an inch, it would be on your own accord, and never because you felt like you had to change, to fit into any mould that the society had carved out for you. Your boyfriend had made sure of it, reassuring you early on in your relationship that he loved you in all of your entirety and you don't doubt him. Anybody else you might have, but Yoongi wasn't one to lie, he valued your trust and you as a person too much to do that.

"I love you," His voice flows up to you, deep and dripping with love for you, and you pull him up, hands curling around his neck as your eyes gaze into his before you let slip a smile. 

"I love you too," You say, your voice soft and small, as though you are afraid that if you speak any louder, this moment might shatter, the little bubble that you two are in might pop, and you'd be sent craning into reality. 

But this is your reality. A voice inside your head supplies and you have to stop yourself from tearing up. Even after six months, the surreality of the situation hadn't left, the reality hadn't quite fully sunk in. 

You think of you and Yoongi together, look at his face beside yours on the pillow every night, and it feels like a dream come true. You wonder what you did in your last life to deserve someone as patient, loving and mature as Yoongi, and while you don't know what your past-self did to deserve any of this, you are thankful to her. 

Looking into his dark, onyx eyes, the moonlight from your window brightening his pale face, something inside your chest, tightens. 

You run your hands across his lower lip as he caresses your cheeks, draws small repetitive circles over the skin, and you relish the moment, the quiet, the space between you two where your breaths mingle until they become one. 

"Let me buy us a house, somewhere outside the city, where it's just you, me, Holly maybe a friend for her, a cat for you, and a pond full of fishes, our own little place." Yoongi proposes, taking the chance and asking you the question he had first worded a week ago. You hadn't given him an answer then, a little hesitant to let him spend all that money on you. It wasn't like you two were married, you had only been dating for six months.

But would you ever marry anybody else anyway?

The same voice from before whispers and you already know the answer. Not anymore. Not after Yoongi. 

Looking into his starry eyes, the ones that hold an entire galaxy and all the love he has for you, you nod, say yes to your own little place away from the rest of the world, somewhere you'll one day build your own family. A garden for your plants, a studio for Yoongi's music, and a courtyard for where one day your children will play, run after Yoongi and you, as you all chase each other. 

You can already picture it and looking at the excited, bright grin on Yoongi’s face, you know he can too. 

Giggling, he pulls you closer, and your laughter spills from between sloppy kisses and half intake breaths. 

Ask me again 다시 나에게 되물어봐 Are you happy now 지금 행복한가 The answer has already been decided 그 답은 이미 정해졌어 I am happy 난 행복하다

—Min Yoongi  화양연화 || The Most Beautiful Moment In Life.

A/N: And so its out! I have loved writing soft Yoongi with every cell of my body, and I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you Grace for commissioning this and helping fund the BLM movement. Black lives did, do and will always matter. 

Leave me your feedback, I genuinely enjoy reading every single word. & Have a good day ahead ❤

[towerfandoms]

3AM Encounters

A/n: I feel like everyone uses that title but oh well I’m uncreative when it comes to titles. I’ve been simping a LOT for Shinsou recently so here enjoy this <33 and ik requests are off but for Shinsou I make exceptions ✨✨✨

Summary: Shinsou had trouble falling asleep and was laying in bed, counting as the hours passed by. That is, until he heard footsteps outside

Pairings: Shinsou Hitoshi x reader

Word Count: 2.4k

Warnings: none just fluff

Despite the many times Shinsou had laid awake at 3am, he still could never quite get used to the eerie silence. It was times like this when he truly understood the phrase “deafening silence”. The quietness felt too loud. The nothingness made him feel uneasy. During the day, he despised hearing the loud screeches of jumpy teenagers but now, he almost misses it. He could hear just about every little thing, the slight gust of wind from outside his open window, the creaking of his bed every time he shifted to get comfier and the footsteps outside.

Wait,,, outside?

Shinsou grabbed his phone from his bedside table and squinted at the screen, the harsh light illuminating his room. It was 3:15AM. Trying to make as little noise as possible as to not draw attention to himself, he heaved out of bed and looked out the window that was overlooking the gardens. He was surprised to be met with the sight of a black silhouette scurrying across the gardens, making their way towards the equipment shed. They were dressed in what seemed to be a black hoodie and pyjama bottoms. He couldn’t make out their face, their hood masking all their features. Leaning out a bit to get a better view, he noticed they were holding something close to their chest. He wasn‘t sure but to him it seemed like a box.

Now this peeked the teenage boy's interest. He wondered what was inside the box to make them run so early in the morning. They were most likely a student in his year as these gardens were predominantly used by second years, since they were right by their dormitories. Should he go after them and make sure they weren’t getting into trouble? Thinking, he had nothing better to do and the chances of actually being able to fall asleep were slim so he decided to investigate. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say or do when he met the person but he just hoped they weren’t up to no good.

He pulled on the first sweatshirt he found and carefully made his way down to the backyard. He stopped when he thought he heard footsteps and thought of just going back to his dorm and letting the person do whatever they wanted. He wasn’t the class president or anything so he wasn’t obligated to check on every little out of the norm. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep influencing his decisions but for some odd reason he desperately wanted to know what the person was up to. When he first joined the Hero Course in second year he announced to everyone that he wasn’t looking to make friends. However that soon changed as he got to know everyone. He still wasn’t the most sociable person but hey who knows, maybe he’ll find a kindred spirit when it comes to the inability to sleep. So he let curiosity get the better of him and pursued onwards towards the equipment shed.

Once he was outside the shed, Shinsou leaned his head against the rotting wood trying to listen in. He was surprised to hear low whisperings but he couldn’t make out anything bar a few hushed be quiet’s. He stiffly stood outside for some time, unsure whether to knock or barge in. He decided knocking would probably be silly so he opted with the latter. In one swift motion, he swung the handle and stepped inside.

The scene before him was baffling, to say the least. Whatever Shinsou was expecting, it definitely wasn’t this. The black figure from before was kneeling down,  their back to him, petting a large grey cat while a kitten was on their lap. There were three more kittens around them, all purring and rubbing their heads against them, whining for their attention. When they heard the door creak open, they rapidly swung their head around, eyes wide at the thought of being discovered. So they were quite surprised when their deep e/c eyes met with Shinsous' own lilac hues.

They both stayed staring like that, neither pulling away and refusing to break eye contact. After what seemed like hours but couldn’t possibly be more than a few seconds, Shinsou finally pulled away, looking to the side while sheepishly bringing a hand to rub the back of his neck.

“Sh-Shinsou!” was the only thing you managed to say, confusion clouding your brain. Just what was he doing here this early in the morning? Then an even more alarming thought popped into your head. Was he going to report you???

Sensing your disarray, Shinsou quickly tried to explain himself, snapping you out of your thoughts.

“Oh, um, you don’t have to worry about me snitching or anything haha,” he nervously fumbled out, “I-I just saw you running and was wondering what you were doing is all…” he trailed off, unable to look at you in the eyes.

Of all people he had to meet in the middle of the night, why did it have to be you. You were also in 2-A, in fact you sat behind him in most of his classes. You two had a few brief encounters but it was enough for Shinsou to feel butterflies whenever he crossed paths with you. You were really sweet to everyone, always smiling and happy to lend a hand to anyone in need. Well you were the class president, he supposed, it was your job after all. Still though, the level of kindness you showed them all was something that not even Bakugou wanted to push away. As if your looks and kindness weren’t enough, you also had a killer sense of humour. You were always sending the funniest memes, tweets and tik toks to their class gc and responded to his sarcastic comments with ones of your own. You were without a single doubt one of the most perfect people Shinsou had ever laid his eyes upon. And now here he was seeing you surrounded by cats??? Hell, in his eyes you were quite literally an angel.

“Oh! Whoops, I suppose I should’ve been sneakier,” relief evident in your voice as you chuckled softly. Thank God it was just him and not someone like Iida a stickler for rules.

However, the fact that he was here now meant that...

”Wait a second! Did I wake you up??? Oh my God no, I am so so so sorry. Ugh, I feel so horrible now,” your tone changing abruptly as you ushered out an apology.

“What? No, no, it’s fine. I was always awake,” he quickly replied back looking down to meet your shining eyes again. There was only one window and the moonlight trickled through, enhancing your eyes and accentuating all your lovely features. You really looked as though you were hand-carved by the Greek Gods themselves.

You met his eyes again, sharing a look of sympathy as you understood his pain.

“Oh, you couldn’t sleep either? That’s why I came down here. I found the mama cat and her kittens three weeks ago. No one seemed to be feeding them or even know of their existence so I was kinda like damn, alright I’ll take care of yous,” you rambled on, almost forgetting about the kittens beside you, desperately mewling for attention.

You stopped to take a deep breath and started playing with the kittens next to you, looking up at Shinsou awaiting his reply.

Shinsou on the other hand was so absorbed watching you play that he didn’t even realise you were finished talking until you gave a small laugh.

“Do you wanna come over here and play with them?” you asked a small smile splayed on your lips.

He could not say yes fast enough. He walked over to where you sat and carefully kneeled down so as to not scare away the kittens. He gently started petting mama cat who instantly became smitten with him. Shinsou slowly began to smile, the pure adoration for these kittens displayed on his face.

You allowed yourself to stare at Shinsou while he wasn’t paying attention. Shinsou was a beautiful man, even Kaminari noting his good looks. You two never had much interactions bar a few good mornings and complaining about training. The usual small talk. He was always polite and when in a good mood would throw a few sarcastic comments here and there. Though he was never rude, it always felt like there was a barrier between him and the rest of the class that no one could quite break down. However now, early in the morning you somehow felt closer to him. It was like he was slowly letting his guard down. Even though neither of you were talking, you enjoyed his company, the silence almost comforting.

Despite how much you enjoyed just being next to him and petting cats, you also wanted to talk to him. It was hard talking to him in class, what with the walls he surrounded himself with. You decided now would be the best time to get to know him if you ever wanted to make a lasting friendship with him.

You wracked your brain for a conversation starter, not wanting to be too dry to bore him away nor wanting to be too chaotic to scare him away. God, just why were you so nervous anyways? It's just Shinsou after all. Why did talking to hot boys always have to be so hard ugh?

You looked over at him again, admiring his toned body that could almost be seen through the sweatshirt. You let your eyes trailed down until you noticed his pyjama bottoms. They were baby pink with Hello Kitty printed all over it.

You had to suppress a scream of joy. They were without a single doubt the most beautiful pyjamas you had ever laid your eyes upon.

“I like your pj bottoms,” you said teasingly, though that wasn’t your intention.

“O-oh, thank you,” he muttered, surprising himself by getting out a coherent sentence. Inwardly though, he was cursing himself for not throwing on a pair of sweatpants. You probably genuinely meant it but it was still something Shinsou didn’t want to go around flaunting. Fortunately for him, it was too dark for you to see the tinge of red on the tip of his ears and cheeks.

When he looked back up at you, he was expecting a face of mockery but was pleasantly surprised to see you smiling, your eyes shining brightly under the dim moonlight. The peace he was feeling before returned and he started to feel more confident in your comfortable presence.

“Y’know,” he started, his deep velvety voice becoming more confident. “Aren’t you the class president? What would Iida say if he found out?” he asked, completely breaking the ice between yous.

“You wouldn’t dare,” you said in a low voice, feigning a look of mock fear.

“I don’t know, it just wouldn’t be honest. My guilty conscience would never be able to handle it,” he replied, a teasing smile dancing on his lips.

You couldn’t stop smiling at the thought that he was willing to continue the conversation. You wanted to see how much longer you could make it last.

“Hmmmm, well how about I make it even. If you want, you can join me to feed the cats. They need to be fed in the day too, so it’s not like we’re always breaking the rules.” looking down as soon as you finished, afraid of the answer. You didn’t want to seem like you were being too pushy but at the same time you really enjoyed Shinsous company. The morning was slowly coming to an end and soon you both will have to go back to your dorms. You’ll both have to continue classes the next day and pretend this night never happened. You wanted it to continue. So you waited with baited breath for Shinsous reply.

Coincidentally enough, Shinsou had also been thinking the same thing. He had thoroughly enjoyed his time. Though you both hadn’t spoken much, your presence really put him at ease. He felt so much more relaxed around you. It would be a shame if this was the first and last night of spending time with you and the kittens. So when you asked, he knew his answer straight away. He just had to somehow play it off cool and act unbothered.

“Deal. I guess I have enough time to visit the kittens. And you too, I suppose,” he added with his signature smirk.

You felt your cheeks heat up but managed to return a mischievous grin of your own. You quickly pulled out your phone and sighed with disappointment when you checked the time.

“Unfortunately, I think our time here has ended. It’s nearly 4am, the sun will be coming up soon. And we have annoying classes tomorrow,” you stated a bit sad about the fact that such an enjoyable night has come to an end. However he did say he’d continue joining you so that kept you somewhat excited.

Shinsou looked at you, mouth slightly parted in shock.

“4AM already? Shit, sorry for keeping you up for so long,” with that he tried to remove mama cat from his lap who had fully made herself at home on it. She lazily stretched and got off, a bit annoyed that her nap time was ruined.

You and Shinsou both stood up and brushed yourselves down, dusting off any dirt that may have stuck on to you from the old floors.

“I can walk you back to your dorm,” Shinsou offered, his hand rubbing the back of his next.

“How chivalrous,” you giggled slightly. “Don’t worry about it, besides we wouldn’t want anyone to catch you in those stunning bottoms now would we,”

“Shut up,” he rolled his eyes irritably but there was a pleased smile on his lips, indicating he wasn’t really annoyed.

You both made your way back to the dorms, whispering softly to each other occasionally. You broke apart to go to your separate dorms and try to get at least a couple of hours of sleep.

You lay awake in your bed, replaying the encounter and a bit upset at how quickly it had ended. You remembered his eyes, his smell and his deep velvety voice. You couldn’t stop smiling stupidly when you remembered your conversations. Somehow thinking about his voice managed to help you drift off to sleep, your last clear thought being Shinsou playing with the kittens.

A/n: I tried really hard to keep it gender, race and features in general neutral. If there’s any place where I could improve or switch up my words please let me know and I’ll be happy to oblige :)) constructive criticism/ feedback is always appreciated in fact encouraged so do not hesitate to tell me anything. Anyways thank you so much and have a lovely day yall <33

[danielleslegacy]

Committed to Memory || Spencer Reid x Reader

Request: yes / no

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Summary: Its the morning after Spencer stays the night, and your emotions are running high. Also its got sleepy spencer so what else could you want in a fic?

Word Count: 1,880

Warnings: it is just fluff that is all, its tooth-rotting, you've been warned. 

Pairing: Reader insert x Spencer Reid 

All writing is my own, so please don’t steal this. Also, I would appreciate any feedback/comments/requests! xx

*GIF IS NOT MINE SO CREDIT GOES TO THE OWNER*

I feel the hot frustrated tears gather in my eyes, my hands reaching up in an attempt to soothe the throbbing headache in my temples, before raking my hands down my face. The laptop screen, that should hold my assessment,  in front of me practically mocking my incompetence. A guttural noise forces its way out of my mouth as my frustration builds. I press my hands to my closed eyes in an attempt to relax for a moment.

I take a deep breath in holding it and exhale after a couple of seconds, trying to ground myself from my panic. I throw a glance over my shoulder, looking at the sleeping form laid in my bed. My panic begins to decrease, by merely knowing that he was there. I watch Spencer for a few moments, the soft light of my laptop casting the faintest of lights across his features, his chest rising and falling slowly. I knew that soon his alarm would go off and he would not be as peaceful as he was in that moment, curled under the blankets, cuddling the pillow beneath his head, and arm splayed out searching for my warmth. I turn back around to my work as a rush of inspiration overcomes me. My fingers tapping across the keys. I flick my eyes up to check the time, after what I assume is a few moments that turn out to be more than that, and see that Spencer’s alarm is due to go off at any moment.

I shut the lid of my laptop down and decide to crawl back into the bed so that he doesn’t wake up alone. I pull the covers up over my waist and rake my fingers down his cheek slowly. Tracing down his jaw and up into his hair. His brow furrows in his sleep, telling me that his body is slowly waking up. I close my eyes for a moment, allowing myself to be completely present at the moment, as my fingers toy through his hair, detangling any knots that had formed from the man’s tossing and turning. Spencer’s other arm flips over and comes to rest on my waist as he pulls me to his chest tightly, and a soft giggle falls out of my lips.

“Alarm hasn’t gone off you can’t make me get up,” He mumbles out, his voice thick with sleep. I hum in agreement, tangling my legs with his, looping my arms around his neck.

In an almost comical way, his alarm pierces throughout cozy bubble and forces a groan out of Spencer’s lips. The alarm is switched off almost as quickly as it was turned on and Spence turns back to me pressing his lips to my cheek and before leaning back to look at my face. He blinks his eyes open slowly, adjusting to the light that’s snuck in since I got back into the bed.

“Morning pretty eyes,” I whisper letting out the softest of laughs. Picking up a hand and placing it onto the side of his face.

“How did you sleep?” He says voice thick with sleep. Butterflies erupt in my stomach, his voice melts me every time.

“Bold of you to assume I slept,” I laugh gesturing over to my desk, laptop sat on top of it. I look back to the boy knowing the look of disapproval I was about to get.

“Y/N,” Spencer says, unwrapping from me, stretching his muscles out and then picking himself up and out of the bed, “You really should be sleeping.”

I reach my hands out towards him, and he pulls me up and out of the bed, “I will sleep once this assessment is over, I promise it’s almost done.” He rolls his eyes and presses his lips to mine quickly before slipping out of the bedroom. “Can you put the kettle on? I need coffee.”

I hear the water run as I finish my sentence, and a smile breaks across my face, knowing that he was already doing it before I asked and that he was so comfortable in my apartment. I pull on one of Spencer’s hoodies, it falls just above my knees and I lose my hands in the sleeves. I inhale his scent and make my way into the kitchen and stand just behind him.

“Boo!” I shout wrapping my arms around his waist. His slight jump causes us both to lets out a laugh.

“I knew you were there too,” He says, turning in my arms so that we are face to face, “Hi.”

“Hi,” I say back, stepping onto my tiptoes to press my lips to his once more. His eyes rake down to his hoodie and he cocks his head to the side. “Isn’t that mine?”

I quickly pull away from him running around to the opposite end of the kitchen, “Nope. It’s mine now.”

A wide smile rests against his face, his eyes raking down to my exposed legs, his tongue darting out across his lips showing his concentration on my body. Every time I stand in front of the man it is almost as if he’s trying to commit me to memory, all of his attention is on my and about me.

“Stop looking at me like that,” I say softly, a blush rising to my cheeks.

“Like what?”

“Like you’re trying to memorise me, I know you have an eidetic memory.”

“Can’t help it,” He says sheepishly, obviously embarrassed that he was caught, “I just cannot get enough of you.”

Butterflies swarm in my stomach and I’m just overcome with adoration for the man in front of me. Our eyes meet after a moment and we just stand to look at each other, but we are both startled as the kettle hisses, indicating that the water is finished boiling. Spencer turns away from me and begins making both of our coffees and I jump up so that I’m sitting on the counter. He turns slowly to face me handing me one of the two coffees and stand in between my legs. And at that moment I knew that it was love. We hadn’t said those words to each other but this is what it feels like. Like I can’t be close enough to him like I can’t breathe without him around and like there is no one else in the whole world that I want to be with. He is my forever person. If he was the only person I could see for the rest of my life, I would be content with that.

“Do you want to watch the news before I have to leave for work?” He says pulling me out of my thoughts, running his free hand up and down my leg to catch my attention, as he probably noticed I had drifted away.

“I love you, Spence,” I say a smile gracing my features, “And it is totally okay if you don’t want to say it back to me, I just want you to know it.”

My eyes rake over his face, trying to gauge his reaction, but I’m no profiler, so I see nothing change on his face as he processes the information I had just shared with him. But surprisingly, waiting for him to say something doesn’t leave me nervous, because even if he can’t say it, I know that he feels it. I understand the complicated situation that his job puts him in, the fear and anxiety that love can do to him. But I also know that the man before me needs to hear it as much as anyone can say it. He steps back from me slightly, and he pulls a face as if he is trying to figure something out.

“Spence? You okay?” I ask softly trying to bring him back to reality, reaching my arm out to meet his shoulder.

His eyes spring up to meet mine, “We met 204 days ago, in the back of a coffee shop, you had ordered an iced latte, and you were reading The Hunger Games. Your hair was half up and you were wearing a black t-shirt and black jeans. You were wearing this necklace that had a moon on it. When I sat across from you and you looked at me your eyes pulled all the words out of my throat and I stuttered out the faintest of hello’s.” A smile forms on my face and tears gather in my eyes. “I wanted so badly to ask you out, so I just did it. Without even knowing you, you gave me confidence. Then you smiled and I swear I could have died. I may not have known it then but that day was the beginning of something so incredible that I would carry it with me forever. It was 181 days ago that you agreed to be my girlfriend.13 days ago you were sitting on my bed, waiting for me to get home from a case and you had cleaned my apartment for me. It was that day that I knew I loved you. You could have run me over with a car that day and I would still have been in that state of total euphoria. You are everything for me, Y/n. You make me be a better more confident version of the man I was before. Every part of you is committed to my memory, and even if I didn't have the brain that I do, I'm positive everything you would still have it memorised. I am so completely and utterly in love with you.”

I reach my hands forward as quickly as I can, grabbing his face to pull it to mine, out lips meet somewhere in the middle and tears cascade from my eyes. I feel one of his hands reach up and grasp my chin, tilting my face softly, the other resting itself on my hip. My hips raise attempting to get as close to him as possible.

A sudden chime rings out through the apartment, causing us to jump apart. Spencer pulls his phone out of his pocket, mumbling something along the lines of ‘someone better be dying’ before saying, “Doctor Spencer Reid speaking.”

A slight giggle falls from my lips, as Spencer takes his phone call. I jump off the counter, pick up my coffee and sit on the sofa waiting for the man to either join me or tell me that he has to leave for work. I flick on the Tv allowing the news to play as background noise while I drink my coffee.

“Okay, Garcia thank you,” Spencer says walking into the room and he sits down next to you, laying down so that his head is in my lap, one of my hands immediately comes to play with his hair. He lets out a relaxed and content sigh.

“When do you leave?” I whisper, not really wanting to know the answer.

His hand slowly reaches up and takes mine in his, before pressing it to his mouth softly. “Not today.” My heart rate picks up and a smile stretches across my face. “You want to come with me to see the team today?” A smile crosses my face, and I practically run to get ready.