#hold on lemme find a pic for reference

[polypomefiore]

Au idea~

How about a gothic vampire victorian-style au where Epel, a young human farm boy, is kidnapped by vampire slavers while he is out on an apple delivery late one night. He is then forcefully taken to a hidden auction house to be sold as not only a blood bag, but also anything else the client would want, including a labor slave, a domestic slave, or (most popularly) a personal sex slave. Before Epel is brought onstage, he is forced to wear a short, translucent dress (with no undergarments). On stage, dozens of vampires stare at him in hunger and lust, the tiniest whiff of his sweet smelling virgin blood making their mouths water. 

Two vampires in particular, Counts Vil and Rook, a married couple of high class vampire dukes in the vampiric court, take a special interest in Epel for his beauty (and feistiness of course since he’s untrained). So they proceed to purchase Epel and take him to their massive, beautiful gothic chateau, which is hidden deep in the woods and far, far, far away from Epel’s hometown. On the very same night Vil and Rook bought Epel, the couple become so excited and horney from the scent of Epel’s blood that they proceed to just take him straight to their bedroom, tear off his dress, and forcefully deflower the poor boy right there, ignoring his crying and screaming as they drink his sweet, apple candy flavored blood. 

It would be even sexier if this also has omegaverse elements, with human omega blood being considered as a luxurious delicacy amongst the vampire court. So if a vampire has a human omega slave, which they often like to bring with them to social gatherings to show off, then they are considered as being of high importance in the court’s hierarchy.

Plus, you know, you just gotta love sadistic, bloodthirsty, but drop dead sexy vampires~

hello. it’s too early in the morning for this LMAO i love this sm tho!!!

vampires. slavery. omegaverse. i see ur pandering to me with this au…it’s working. all i suggest is epel being put in a very frilly nightgown, it’s covered him well but he’s so embarrassed about wearing a dress…it’d make it all the more delicious when he’s deflowered. rook would keep the bloody nightgown as a souvenir~

aaa rook and vil as vampires, having epel as their cute little blood bag that they can dress up like a doll…but he needs to be trained first ofc

[petite-phthora]

Jason, Jason Todd

[DP x DC fic]

[Love at first… murder? - part 18]

<< Prev | Next >>

Part 1

Ao3

---

Private chat nicknames:

Gramps = Alfred

---

After throwing the last of the tp onto the manor they hop back over the wall, wandering back to where Jason parked his motorcycle earlier.

Honestly, Jason knows that it felt like it was too easy.

And it was.

The only reason they were able to freely “break into” the manor is because Jason was with Danny, showing he wasn’t a threat. He’s certain Babs has already noticed the loop he had put the cameras on. She probably hasn’t interrupted them yet out of politeness, or so that she can gather more blackmail.

It’s likely both…

Jason conspicuously checks his phone while walking when he notices he has a new message.

---

Private Chat

Gramps: I presume you will be coming back later today to clean up the manor. Won’t you, Master Jason?

---

Jason, knowing he’s already lucky enough that Alfred isn’t upset with either him or Danny, lets out a relieved breath. He quickly answers Alfred, apologizing for the tp-ing despite absolutely not regretting it in the slightest and replying to the implied question in the positive.

It’s also a bonus Alfred approves. He supposes as he reads Alfred’s next text.

---

Private Chat

Gramps: And do bring over young Danny for dinner sometime.

---

Steph stares in shock at the manor, completely covered in tp, in front of her. She drops the bag she’s holding onto the ground.

How dare they…

“Damn it!”

Out of the dropped bag rolls a roll of toilet paper.

“Who got here before me?!?” She exclaims, feeling oh so deeply betrayed. “And why wasn’t I included?!”

She quickly takes out her phone, a displeased frown on her face, paired with a pout. She opens the group chat and takes a pic of the manor. As she’s typing, she vows to herself…

She’s going to get to the bottom of this.

---

Danny checks his phone for directions to the location he had in mind.

Earlier that week he had scouted the city in his ghost form in order to find a place for the date. After finding the perfect spot, he marked the location down on his phone so he would easily be able to find it again.

After double-checking his phone, Danny puts it away and they both get on Red Hood’s motorcycle again. Danny gives him the directions as they drive, the sky slowly beginning to darken.

The location he chose wasn’t too far off from the manor, and in no time they arrived at the top of a hill looking out over Gotham City.

They get off of the motorcycle and Danny gets his bags out of the saddle bags as Red Hood, who had already taken off his helmet and is currently holding it under his arm, seems to be looking around.

“So, what’s the big plan, Polaris?” he asks.

Danny raises a curious eyebrow at the nickname.

“Polaris?”

Red Hood nods.

“You’ve mentioned before, while you were telling me about Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, how Ursa Minor is also known as the Little Bear constellation and how it contains the North Star, which is also referred to as the Pole Star or Polaris.

“Besides that, I felt like Polar Bear was a bit too long for a nickname, and Polar-is, which again is in the Little Bear constellation, just seemed to fit perfectly.” Red Hood says, a cheeky grin on his face.

Danny pauses, his cheeks flushing a little.

“You know what? That’s pretty creative, I’ll give you that.” Danny says, nodding.

“Though, to answer your question, I thought this would be a nice place to have a picnic dinner,” He says with a smile as he takes out a picnic blanket and some food and drinks he had brought along as well.

Red Hood smiles back at him.

“You know what? That sounds great. Here, lemme help you put it down” He says, reaching out for the blanket.

---

A little while later, they’re sitting on a blanket, looking up at the stars. They’re taking their time enjoying the food and looking out over the city and the night sky.

 Jason has his helmet set down next to him, mask still on his face, of course. He’s almost fully lying down, leaning back on his elbows. Danny sits cross-legged next to him.

“So, Mr. Aerospace Engineer, what can you tell me about what we’re seeing here?” Jason asks, gesturing at the night sky.

He glances over at Danny. Danny, who had been looking up at the sky in awe, meets his gaze. Danny takes a moment to respond, looking back at the sky and then looking Jason over before meeting his gaze once again.

“Why don’t you tell me more about yourself?” He asks instead, tilting his head.

“You’ve told me before how you love English literature, especially the classics. But what’s your favorite book?”

Jason’s face lights up with a smile as he starts telling Danny about Sense and Sensibility from Jane Austen.

---  

There’s a lull in conversation when Jason looks over at Danny, studying his peaceful expression. While taking in the beauty of the man next to him, Jason makes a decision.

To hell with it.

Jason takes off his mask. The action causes Danny, who had just turned to look at him, to immediately avert his gaze, cheeks slightly red. Danny opens his mouth to say something but Jason interrupts him before he can.

“No, no, it’s alright. If we’re actually doing this, if we’re actually dating… perhaps becoming more… then at the very least you deserve to know who you’re dating”

Danny hesitantly looks back up at Jason, making eye contact. Jason smiles at him, Danny giving a small smile back in response. He holds out his hand. Danny glances at it before giving him a questioning look.

“I’m Jason, Jason Todd.”

Danny’s smile transforms into a small grin. He grasps Jason’s hand, shaking it.

“Hi, Jason… I’m Danny, Danny Fenton.”

They shake hands and let go. The short silence afterward gets broken by Danny in no time.

“Jason?”

He makes a questioning noise in response.

“Can I kiss you?”

The question brings Jason’s thoughts to a stop and he sucks in a breath. Danny watches him, face filled with nervousness. Letting out a breath, Jason replies with a small teasing smile.

“Well, since we’ve already been to dinner I suppose I’m still owed one…”

After a few seconds, realization crosses over Danny’s face.

“I totally forgot I actually said that, oh the Ancients.” He takes a deep breath, running his hands over his face before dropping them back into his lap.

“Wait, so that’s why you came over to my apartment that first time with flowers and took me out to dinner?”

Jason sits up fully, turning so he’s facing Danny better. His gaze is filled with fondness and exasperation as he responds.

“You mean to tell me you forgot we agreed to go out to dinner first after I asked you if I could kiss you? Did you think I was just taking you out without asking then?

“Why did you even let me lead you out the window? Did you have any idea what I was talking about when I told you of the plans I had made that evening?”

Danny’s cheeks flush. Embarrassment fills his voice as he speaks.

“I mean, I don’t know, I thought you were just taking me out to dinner to thank me? For the— uh, murder?” He whispers the last word.

“I was, but I was mainly taking you out on a date. You do know that, right? I had considered that our first date, the tour being the second one.”

“Well, I did wonder later on if the dinner and observatory might have been a date but I figured it might have been some form of false hope, and I didn’t wanna have to ask. Especially if it wasn’t actually meant as a date....” Danny says.

Danny is rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, looking down at the blanket. His cheeks are still flushed. Jason lets out a sigh as he shakes his head a little.

“Well, it’s not entirely your fault. I guess I also could have been clearer. But… You don’t mind that having been our first date?” Jason asks, keeping his gaze on Danny’s face to study his reaction. “Even if you didn’t quite realize it was meant to be a date at the time?”

Danny shakes his head, smiling at him.

“No, no… I don’t mind.”

They’re both gazing softly at each other. Danny moves a bit closer and raises his hand, gently placing it on Jason’s cheek. When he speaks, his tone is a soft whisper.

“Well, since we got a liiiiittle bit off-topic I suppose I’ll ask again. Jason Todd, can I kiss you?”

“I’d like nothing more”

Now, having verbal consent, Danny places his other hand on Jason’s other cheek. Jason places his hands on Danny’s arms. They both lean in, closing their eyes.

They kiss.

It’s only a short moment after when they both suddenly jerk away from each other.

Two pairs of toxic green glowing eyes meet.

One gaze filled with shock, realization, and a small twinge of excitement. The other filled with pain, comprehension, and horror.

They both speak at once.

One voice filled with amazement. The other filled with devastation.

“You’ve died?”

---

Taglist:

@i-always-say-yea @uraniumwizard @why-must-i-be-like-this @griffinthing @i23432i @imsotiredfanficlovertm @jaguarthecat @arkita-shadow @ilydana @jai-twin @apple-juice16 @mossy-bonez

[chronicmisfit]

Showing my friend IkeVil

So a few warnings before I get into this: Alfons slander, Roger slander, Victor slander, Rude language in general, many random twisted wonderland references, and some risque images of a couple characters.

Sorry some of the coloration is fucked, I tried to fix it and can't.

Me = Orange Him = green

Alr here’s the first guy

He looks like he'd call me slurs while also being the gayest mf ever

sksksks Anything else?

Bro must struggle playing piano with them long ass purr nails I respect the dedication HE GOT THE COLOR PALETTE OF THAT ONE ROBOT THAT EVERYONE ON TWITTER IS MAKING CORN OF BOOTHILL??

Okay I will tell you about him now, and I want you to react again once i do His name is William Rex, he is one of my favorite two, he has the power to command someone to do what he wishes against their will, and he likes to help people become their own master.

Alright azul 2.0 I see what you’re doing Does he have a cringe gamer bf to top it off

He’s not the one I would compare to Azul

OOO I wanna guess which one it is

His curse is called the Curse of the Self-Righteous Monarch, so he's evil Riddle William’s* Is

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Alright so stick in the ass guy, I get it replying to 'William’s*', William Afton Ar ar ar ar

Next guy

That’s a whole ass final boss of twinks

Pfffff okay before I tell you more, do you or do you not think this is the guy who I would compare to azul

err no

you’re right

doesn’t give azul vibes from that stare He gives tiktok fuck boy

This is Liam Evans, he has the power to turn invisible from the curse of the Curious Cat (che'nya core), he is depressed and is so curious that he keeps trying to do things that would kill him

nvm i take back he’s cooler than any tiktok fuckboys

adfjhsflasjfhkdhkjlasfd HOW IS HE COOLER

Depressed Rizz or smth

Fair Next guy

sighs Sighs Sighs

what

Smash, sadly

ajdsalfjhkjasfd

IT’S THE LEANING ALRIGHT

that’s fine he’s the most normal boyfriend-wise of them all

BAHAHAHAH

if you ignore the pathological lying

All fictional husbands have to be a little insane its fine

His name is Harrison Gray, he has the power to tell when people are lying from the curse of the lying fox. He likes to read mystery novels.

I like him I want him

Lemme send you a NSFW pic if i can find one

WOOOOO

MC is a girl btw (L moment)

L MOMENT BUT HE’S FINE SO ITS ALR

next guy

Damn you thought you could slide in a french guy and have me not notice/j

HE’S ACTUALLY NOT FRENCH

AHAHAHAHAH

HE��S A BRITISH NOBLE

God bless

This is Lord Elbert Greetia, he is an Earl. He has the power to make someone see their saddest moment when he steps on their shadow (he has trauma from this). His curse is the curse of the Greedy Queen (Vil core). And he has an obsession with hoarding beautiful things (he is the yandere of the cast)

Dragon Core with the last one

dragon core omg you’re right I almost forgot this asshole’s name ;~;

HE LOOKS LIKE AN ASSHOLE

HE'S SUS (i still love him, but he aint a fave)

AHAHAHA

His name is Alfons Sylvatica, he can change people's perception by touching the nap of their neck and whispering in their ear. His curse is the magic mirror. He has probably fucked half the cast of this game.

Me personally? I think he’s cringe

OKAY BUT-

LOOKIT HIM

… Tempting

yes Exactly Next guy

NVM THAT ONES UGLY IM SORRY HE’S SCARY

adljhkfajkdfasdfafas

HE SCARES ME

I HATE HIM TOO DW

(Note: He grew on me since this convo)

HE’S WORSE THAN THE PREVIOUS I HATE HIM GET HIM AWAY FROM ME WHYS HE SO UGLY HE LOOKS LIKE HE’D HOLD AN ALPHA PODCAST

His name is Roger Barel, he can hear anything within 100m of him (selectively, so he wouldnt hear you fucking harrison). His curse is the traitorous huntsman (rook core but looks like trey). He drinks beer and wont stop flirting with Alfons' MC You see the resemblance right?

I hate that I see it Trey I’M so sorry you have to be compared to an ugly ass bitch

pffff Next guy

btw lemme know when you think someone might be the guy that reminds me of azul

emo He’s either really nice or manipulative ass

You’re right he’s def one of those

my bet has to be on the latest

wym

I mean he looks manipulative AGAHAHAH Sorry emo boy if you are not…

His name is Ellis Twilight, he has the power to bind people's hands together by tapping their head via the curse of the briar thorns. He is obsessed with happiness and will do anything to make someone else happy (once they have their happiest moment he will kill them) ([friend] likes him- [friend] is banned from playing the game for 2 more years tho)

Awe he's so sweet!!!! (What the fuck) AHAHAH

THIS GAME IS NSFW AND [friend] IS BB

AHSHS Yeah I could’ve guessed it was

like in alfons' route (unreleased rn) it goes so into detail-

I want him dead Negative rizz

AND ALFONS USES HIS POWER TO MAKE MC THINK THEY'RE LOVERS LIKE- IN CHAPTER 1 OR 2

BROTHER THIS GUY STINKS

Next guy

Is this the azul

There's only one more guy after this so i wanna wait until i send his pick before answering just so you know all the options What do you think of this guy

I like this one I would Bottom text Would He may look a tad bit evil but i’ll allow it

replying to ‘i like this one’, I don't (similar to crowley ah-)

OH A LOSER SO I LIKE THIS ONE EVEN MORE

This is Victor. We don't know his surname. We don't know his curse. We don't know his power. BUT HE IS THE DAD OF THE GROUP, dad jokes, cockblocking harrison and MC, magic tricks

(NOTE: I figured out what his power is since then-)

I want him

kskssksksks There’s like- no content for victor On tumblr

(NOTE: I found which tag the victor content is on)

I hate it here

Final guy

OH HELLO SAILLOOR

REAL

Is THIS the azul one

YES

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA OFC

remember william-? he was one of my favorites? (one moment i need to get some images)

YEA

I’M MARRIED TO WILLIAM AND THIS GUY

HAHAHAHA WIN

HIS NAME IS JUDE JAZZA, he can put someone to sleep by tapping their forehead via the curse of the thirteenth wizard (idk why wizard, it's just malleus core-). HE IS A MOBSTER, A SADIST, AND HE GETS OFF BY BULLYING MC, I LOVE HIM He’s ellis’ boss btw

more like dude zaza BAHAHAHA

Jude and William are my husbands <3

Got two hands for the two of them

Jude legit would give you a check and tell you to write whatever number you want on it... but then make you work to pay him back for it. So he is sugar daddy, but also kinky William canonically would use his power on MC for sex while he's drunk So you like- Harrison, Victor and Jude?

responding to the william info, DAMN Nods

I’m gonna be doing harrison’s main story route after I finish william’s I’ll send you any nsfw or near nsfw ss i see

IM WINNING

[sungbeam]

HELLO?? ACTUALLY NO YOU DID NOT HAVE PERMISSION TO SHOW THE WIPS(/jkjk) BC NOW IT’LL BE THE ONLY THINGS I THINK ABT NAURRRRR

ARGH I JUST KNOW THAT SLOW DANCING WILL BE PEAK 2000S ROMCOM AS WELL AND I SHALL EAT IT UP 😮‍💨🙏🙏 e2l, rekindling of love, A WEDDING, FAKE DATING??? RAH TOO GOOD

AND THEN JACOB ALTER EGO OK I SEE YOU I SEE YOU 🫣 AND PLEEK HAWKEYE IS ONE OF THE ONLY MARVEL MOVIES I HAVENT WATCHED HELPPPP BUT I’LL SEE IF IT’S ON DISNEY+ LMAO AND THEN AN ANGSTY KISS IN THE RAIN??? LEMME KISS YOU BEAUTIFUL BRAIN RN

And also…. Bloodied up Sunwoo…. Phew… I HOPE NOTHING BAD EVER HAPPENS TO THE BOYS AND THAT THEY NEVER DROP A SPECK OF BLOOD FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES BUT YOU’RE SO REAL FOR THAT LIKE THE MAVERICK ALBUM PICS HAD ME FEELING SOME TYPA WAYYYYYYYYYYY 🫣🫣🫣🫣 but eek the perfume counter scene sounds SOOO COOL can’t wait to see it!

And I’m not sure if I would be a casual marvel fan or an actual marvel fan like I’ve watched nearly all the movies and I know most of the lore but I din’t really catch up with the comics and I’m basically only gated to the movies and series spinoffs 😭 I’ve been a lil slacking since covid but I’m trying to catch up with the wasp and now quantumania! (Hopefully I spelt that right) but yeah! I’ve been watching marvel since I was a little kid lolol so I’m always down every year to see the new marvel movie!

But yeahhhhh I feel like I was somewhat prepared to see GOTG3 just cause I saw the Rocket floor clip on youtube but damn it still didn’t prepare me to see how horrific,y they were treated 😭 Floor’s design freaked me out the most but she was still so sweetie and it just ARGH ☹️☹️

But yeah! MANIFESTING THAT TBZ COMES TO BOTH OF OUR CITIES THIS TOUR I SWEARRR 😭🙏 and hold awn, how were you able to write the Changmin fic on a PLANEEEEEE pla I’m always so embarrassed when I whip out my ipad to even watch a movie 😭 like phew you are wayyyy stronger than me JSUNFJGNE

Also, just a fun lil question, if you were to turn ANYYYYYY of your fics into a live action movie, which one would it be 😳 (could be published or a WIP 🤭)

- Love you 3000, 🌷 anon

THIS REPLY GOT SUPER LONG LMFAO

SLFNKDNFKDJFJ HEY IF THEYRE STUCK IN MY HEAD, IMMA MAKE EM STUCK IN URS TOO 😁😁😁 PLS THE 2000S ROMCOM ALLEGATIONS ILY AHAHHA i just need to write more tension for that man like it's nearly impossible NOT to atp, and i found this thing on pinterest the other day

ITS SO HARD NOT TO THINK OF HIM FOR THESE AND AKDNKEKD (´Д⊂ヽ I THINK SLOW DANCING WOULD BE THE PERFECT EXCUSE

okok i found the one hawkeye ronin scene from end game for reference, and im sure u can find the one scene on yt somewhere cuz it was FIRE

LMAO I JUST REALIZED BUT NAT IN THE BACKGROUND LOOKS LIKE 🧍🏻‍♀️ AHHAHAHAHAH BUT essentially, i saw jacob in the roar mv and thought of this IMMEDIATELY !! omg no cuz i also wish them all the good health in the world, but i just have a morbid obsession w bloodied and bruised aus and whump tropes, like i wanted bruised knuckles and busted lips and split eyebrows y'know ??? and GODDDD THERES A REASON MAVERICK HAD ME BY THE NECK FOR SO LONG LIKE IT WAS THE FIRST TBZ TT THAT I WAS OBSESSED W it's like,,, my perfect concept like it was MADE TO APPEAL TO MY DERANGED AESTHETIC??? so yeah im ready to beat up sunwoo, chxngmxn, and jacob 🙏🏼

ahhh icic, i think i would have also been a casual watcher but my parents were so into it so my brother and i also, naturally, became hooked !! i also was not able to really read the comic books bc they cost money and there r just so many of them :')) but yeah, hope ur able to catch up !! it's taken me a bit to catch up too esp w college 😭🤧 but im getting there !! quantumania was prob my least favorite release so far of the recent mcu releases and that makes me SO SAD like JUSTICE FOR PAUL RUDD!!!!!

OMG FLOOR :(( TEEFS AND LYLLA ALL OF TJEM HAD ME SO SAD AND TERRIFIED AT RHE SAME TIME?? pls what animal was floor....... a goat?? a bunny?????? FLOOR'S MOUTH TOO LIKE WHAT'D THEY DO TO HER 😭😭😭😭😭 i didn't realize they completely gave lylla ROBOT ARMS EITHER LIKE I WAS PREPARED FOR A SEA OTTER NOT A CYBORG SEA OTTER skcneknfk okay but it's also like they're all kind of disabled but super cool and i loved teefs' little wheelchair?? even tho the high evolutionary def did some cruel fkn shit to them :')))))

AJAHHAHAHA im used to writing on my phone !! so writing on a plane's no problem for me as long as im not in writer's block yk 🤡🤡 im def worried abt my neighbors seeing the banners i make tho LMFAO

KSNFKSJDJDN TULIP I LOVE U MWAH 😚😚 I HAVE THOUGHT ABT THIS QUESTION SO MANY TIMES ??? and tbh i think if i had the time energy and resources, i would've gone into film for real bc i write so many of my fics in the view of like a movie rather than like a book, idk how to explain it skcnekkckf okok but hmmmm this one isn't tbz specifically, and idk if u stan txt or know them but

this one is another superhero au and i've honestly REALLY thought abt turning the idea into a proper novel idea, or maybe a screenplay !! I've thought abt the music and cinematic scenes for a couple plot points, but it might be a little too similar to spiderman in some instances 😅😅 but it's essentially a txt choi line au where reader is the superhero, and i don't really wanna give away too much bc im very gatekeepy w ideas that i like A LOT haha but yeah skfnskfmkf

SKFNKD I JUST REALIZED THIS IS ANOTHER SUPERHERO AU PLS 😭😭😭😭 BUT this is another one i think would be SICK as a tv show/movie, maybe it's cuz it's based off of like moon knight and ms marvel and shangchi and spiderman but i think that the quality and vibe of the storyline and characters would work so well as one?? and just the potential of lighting as symbolism in this is just TOO HIGH and osdjoenfk ugh i get so excited talking abt this

THIS ONE. THIS. ONE. would work so well as like a show or movie???? i just envision it with like taylor swift's miss americana and the heartbreak prince and im in tears at how cool it would be akcnkenfkf just the vibe of that song is what that entire thing would be like, like imagine how the sky looks JUST after the sun has set, but the glow of light is still in the sky and making it this reddish kind of color— it's called half-light and just imagine that with like stadium lights and darkened school hallways and kscnkenfk it's a time travel au, so i think those r always so much fun to depict in media and yeah :')))((

i could literally talk abt this all day every day but i almost forgot to go to class so i will sign off here LOL o7

I LOVE U 3000 TULIP 🌷🫂💖

[cursedlegacies]

HPHM SCENES o4.

Being with Barnaby means being subjected to various magical creatures often. Which... okay creatures aren't exactly her favourite thing. But it is pretty cute seeing Barnaby get all excited over them. His excitement can be pretty infectious after all. That poor niffler tho...

so a lil preface: I like finding fc's for characters, just so I have a consistent reference. and I found this one pic of the guy I've been using for barnaby holding a lil birb and LEMME TELL YOU. i needed to make this edit instantly. it was the perfect pose + had the sorta infectious smile barnaby absolutely has.

pintrest really is the gift that keeps on giving

the quote on the cap is dialogue taken from the game, just slightly tweaked a bit. b/c of course barnaby would wanna share something as adorable as a niffler with edie.

[duskandstarlight]

Embers & Light (Chapter 39, NSFW Nessian)

Notes: Well, over a year you've had to wait for these two to seal the deal... BUT NO LONGER. And because I'm thankful to you all for sticking with this story, I've granted you with over 16k of sinful naughtiness. I think it's safe to say this is NSFW but you guys have read my smut before, you know the drill.

Embers & Light has always very much been the alternative story to Habits, but I couldn’t help but write in some crossover moments here to highlight the differences in events--timeline is a fascinating thing! Lemme know if you spot the moments :)

Please let me know what you think :) Comment and kudos will make my day!

I won't be able to write much of August (wedding & mini-moon) but I'll be doing my best to get you guys something as soon as possible. Hopefully by the end of the month, anyways <3

Oh! And I got a bookstagram. Find me at bookships.and.fandoms (and bear with me, I cba to take pretty pics atm)

Chapter 39 Cassian POV

Cassian stared at the doorway and the staircase beyond it, his gaze fixed and unwavering. Nesta had slipped out of the living room to follow Feyre up the stairs over ten minutes ago and he was already consumed with the biting sort of worry that gnawed at your insides.

He wasn’t concerned about what Nesta might be discussing with Feyre—that was her business—but because he couldn’t help but fret when it came to Nesta’s wellbeing.

It was a myriad of concerns that trampled through his mind like a herd of cattle. Had she slept enough? Had she recovered from being caught in the crowds the day before? Was her conversation with Feyre going to have her take three steps back rather than one forward? Cassian had spied the book of fairytales she’d slipped into her bag. Had guessed what she’d intended to do with it.

And then there was the fact that Nesta had left the bed before he’d woken again. Cassian couldn’t help but feel disappointed that she’d not been there when he’d opened his eyes, especially after the night before.

But that was how it was with he and Nesta. When the sun dipped below the horizon, Cassian often felt as if they were on the right path; as if once the world shut its eyes, the pressure was off and their play could continue. But as soon as light bled back into the sky, things weren’t the same. They weren’t cold… but Cassian felt suspended in a limbo of flirtatious banter and respectful distance. Which was hard, when all Cassian wanted to do was be as close to her as possible: to hold her hand and wind a hand through her hair. To kiss her brow and mouth and sink his teeth into her neck—

Cassian’s jaw tightened. He wanted to do wicked things. He wanted to make her moan and shatter. Wanted to know how she felt wrapped around him. Wanted to see if she’d gasp awake as he pushed inside of her.

Their trip home was going to be a turning point. Or at the very least it would be a milestone—a hammered notch as they progressed towards something. Yet, Cassian wasn’t naive: he wasn’t expecting Nesta to fall into his arms and never leave. But he hoped that it might make Nesta see their connection—not the tie between them, but the chemistry that Cassian knew would forever exist even if the mating bond was severed.

From the very first moment his gaze had settled on the haughty, vicious sister Cassian had known. Had nearly been brought to his knees—the heart-stopping moment so powerful, it suspended time as he felt something turn inside of him, as if something that had lain dormant had finally snapped open an eye.

And because of that Cassian would willingly allow Nesta to forge the reigns when it came to whatever it was between them. He could go slow. He would take the chance that Nesta might grow to accept him, even as he was seized by the terror that she might grow bored and draw a line under things before he had the chance to prove that he was worthy.

Cassian took a deep, steadying breath that made his ribcage heave. Thought of the lullaby that sat in his room at the House. Used that to ground himself and banish the painful thoughts.

Nesta had cared enough to gift him a piece of his past that nobody else had ever gone to the effort to find for him. And that was… everything. It was everything to him.

“I can hear the worry grinding gears in your brain.”

Rhys was standing where Mor had been a few moments earlier, his hands tucked into the pockets of his trousers, his eyebrows raised. Cassian hadn’t noticed Mor slip away. Couldn’t even recall what she'd been saying to him. Had he ignored her? He didn’t know. Didn’t really care. They all knew he was head over heels when it came to Nesta anyway.

Cassian blinked. It took him a moment to process Rhys’s words, but his body finally caught up. An instinctive grin tugged at the corners of his mouth and he commanded his eyes to sparkle, even though it was all fake. “I was under the impression you didn’t think I had one.”

Rhys didn’t chuckle or retort with something dry. Sometimes his brother allowed him to indulge in his self-deprecating behaviour, but it didn’t seem like today was one of those days. Instead, he cut to the chase. “They’re fine.”

Cassian bristled. Didn’t bother to pretend his mind wasn't solely on what was happening upstairs. “Feyre’s speaking with you now?”

Nesta would hate that. Would know if her sister was communicating to her mate whilst they were talking.

His brother’s laugh was as smooth as velvet. “No, she locked me out. It’s a habit she’s started recently and it’s usually coupled with the mental finger.”

This time, Cassian’s smile was genuine, as was the chuckle that chased it. “Feisty.”

“You have no idea,” Rhys responded with a wink.

Mor, who had breezed back to Cassian’s side with a new cup of coffee, rolled her eyes. “We do actually, you two are like rabbits.”

“We’re mated,” Rhys replied with a wave of his hand. “It’s to be expected.”

Mor lifted her eyes to the ceiling. “Cauldron, I need to bed someone rather than hearing about my cousin’s exploits with my best friend.”

“Head to Rita’s and find yourself a pretty fae,” Cassian drawled, tugging Mor into a one armed hug.

“Mmm,” Mor hummed, but she chewed on her lip again. Glanced nervously at Azriel, who was in deep conversation with Elain. His shadows were tucked in neatly to his frame rather than trailing, ever-moving and loose around his body, but Cassian knew he could hear them.

Cassian dropped a friendly kiss to Mor’s head before he let her go. Tussled her hair, grinning mischievously when she squawked in disapproval.

As if sensing that his cousin wanted a change of subject, Rhys looked square at Cassian. “Azriel will come over later to update you on the latest movements.”

Cassian sobered as if someone had poured icy water down his back. “Not later,” Cassian corrected firmly.

Tomorrow. No the day after that. Cassian couldn’t guarantee that he’d be able to stop once he’d had his first proper taste of Nesta.

But of course they couldn’t do that—wouldn’t. The situation in Illyria was too dire for them to be so selfish as to lock themselves away for days.

It didn’t mean Cassian didn’t want to, though.

“You’ve got plans?” Rhys asked lightly and Mor froze.

You’ve got no idea, Cassian thought. But then realised his brother knew. Of course he did. Surely everyone in this room knew how desperate he was to get back to Illyria. To have Nesta in his bed again, writhing and moaning, their bodies slick with sweat as they moved in unison.

Clenching his jaw, Cassian grounded that desire between his teeth, until it was nothing but broken, delicious shards that scraped down his throat. His blood coiled. “Yes. Maybe.”

If she doesn’t change her mind.

“It has to be tomorrow, Cass.”

Biting back a sigh, Cassian nodded. “I know. Come at noon. I suppose I’ll be camped out in Illyria for the foreseeable future.” He cast a stern look at Mor. “Send me letters.”

“You have a housemate,” Rhys reminded him. “You’re not going to be entirely alone.”

Mor grinned slyly. “A very beautiful housemate.”

Cassian was more than aware of that.

He grunted and unable to stop himself, he voiced the fear that always niggled away at the back of his mind. “For now.”

But Rhys just loosed another manicured shrug, that was at odds with the ground-breaking revelation that followed it. “For a long while. Nesta has expressed her desire to remain in Illyria long-term despite the discontent. Assuming you don’t mind sharing your bungalow.”

It felt as if an iron band of hope was clamped around Cassian’s chest. He stared at his brother. Tried not to blink. Crossed his arms firmly over his chest, protecting his heart. “And you know this how?”

“Nesta spoke with me. We have arrived at a truce, of sorts.”

That must have been what they’d spoken about yesterday on the balcony. He wanted to know more—everything—but Cassian would not press Rhys. If Nesta wanted to tell him, she would. He had to respect that.

So, he bit back his curiosity and grumbled, “About time.”

Rhys clapped his hand on Cassian’s back, but there was something wary in his expression, as if there was something he wanted to say but wouldn’t. Finally, he said, “Patience is a virtue, brother.”

“I’m not the patient sort.”

“You are when it counts,” Rhys countered, and Cassian didn’t say anything because they both knew what he was referring to. Rhys had been the first to know. Had witnessed Cassian in a tangled web of despair and longing and unwanted visions. His brother had immediately put two and two together. Because he’d been there, too. Knew what it was to want someone you thought you couldn’t have. To hope that someone might finally grow to see you in colour rather than in black and white.

Cassian cast another look towards the empty doorway and the quiet hallway beyond it.

A shiver of anticipation ran through him. It was time for them to go home.

***

In the end, Cassian folded to his worry and had Elain fetch Nesta from upstairs. It was time to go, he’d insisted, even though there was no true reason as to why they needed to leave quite so quickly.

“No guesses required to identify why you want to head back to Illyria,” Mor muttered out the side of her mouth, as the creak of the stairs a few flights above heralded the sisters return. Cassian jabbed his elbow into his friend’s ribs and Mor yelped through her grin, even as she had to sidestep, the nudge throwing her off balance. “What? It’s all over your face. You think I can’t read you after five hundred years?”

“Don’t announce it to the room,” Cassian muttered darkly under his breath, “and you won’t find yourself torn to pieces.”

Mor briefly bumped against his arm, the jostle affectionate. Unfazed by his threat, she glanced sideways at him with rich chocolate eyes. “I won’t. We just want you to be happy, you know.”

Cassian’s mouth flattened into a thin line. “Now isn’t the time for a lecture about finding a more suitable mate.”

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. He hadn’t meant for it to happen, hadn’t meant to voice what he’d kept inside for so long.

Mor’s eyes widened, but she wound her arms around his waist. Cassian allowed her to tuck herself under his arm. His friend scented of citrus and cinnamon. When she craned her neck to look up at him, her expression was glowing with sincerity and Cassian realised that she hadn’t been insinuating that Nesta wasn’t right for him at all. “We’re all cheering you on from the sidelines, Cass, I promise.”

The muscle in Cassian’s jaw flexed. He looked away from her, towards the doorway again, unable to help himself. “Don’t say anything.”

She tightened her grip on his waist. “I won’t. I promise.”

“She doesn’t want it.”

Mor untangled herself from him. Shook her head in disagreement. “She does. She just isn’t ready to admit it yet.”

They both fell quiet as Nesta walked through the door with Elain and Feyre. The first thing Cassian noticed was that she scented of water and salt—tears.

Heart pattering with concern, Cassian quickly scanned Nesta’s expression and body language, searching for clues. But Nesta remained close to her sisters rather than apart, her fingers snagged in Feyre’s, her expression not in tatters but smooth and calm, like still waters.

“Ready to go?” Mor chirped from beside him. “I can winnow you back when Sala arrives.”

Nesta’s grey-blue eyes slid to Mor. “I called her on my way down.”

“Then you have time to see the snowdrops you gave me before you leave,” Elain responded eagerly, tugging at Nesta’s arm. “The cuttings took well to the soil. I planted them beneath the shade of the birch trees near the river.”

Cassian watched Nesta disappear into the garden. Surveyed the way a strand of golden brown hair that had escaped her loose braid floated on the breeze, as if it was part of the element rather than separate, as Elain bent to show her the snowdrops.

Yet despite the clear ease to Nesta’s movements, Cassian couldn’t help but ask Feyre whether everything was okay when she came over to hug him goodbye.

“We’re fine,” Feyre assured him, as together they watched Mor tentatively sit beside Azriel on the couch. For once the Shadowsinger’s shadows didn’t lighten, but Azriel still turned to her, drawn by some magnetism as she began to speak with him.

Slim fingers closed around his. Squeezed. “Thank you for fetching the book of fairytales for Nesta.”

The strand of ebony hair that had wrangled free of Cassian’s hair tie tickled the side of his forehead as he inclined his head. That had been a long time ago, when Nesta was a viper that he dared to poke with a stick, just so he could get a reaction. “Of course.”

“You travelled all that way on barely healed wings just to fetch a book.”

It wasn’t just a book, but Cassian knew Feyre understood that, so he only grunted, “Az took me most of the way. He waited to winnow me back.”

But Feyre’s eyes were burnished, as she asked, “Is there anything you won’t do for my sister?”

“It depends,” Cassian replied honestly. Because although he’d rather die than see Nesta hurt, Cassian wouldn’t hesitate to stand up to her when her fire was ill-wrought. And that’s what he liked about the both of them: if he was an ass Nesta told him straight, and he did the same for her. A grin slashed across his face. “Your sister has claws and teeth when she’s angry.”

It wasn’t long before Sala landed on her four large paws in the garden, prompting goodbyes. Mor winnowed Nesta and Sala, whilst Az’s scarred hand closed around Cassian’s arm.

Together, Cassian and his brother passed through realms of shadows and light and raging wings. Then Illyria was taking shape before Cassian bit by bit: there was the sting of winter on his cheeks, the crunch of snow beneath his feet, the scent of pine and untamed air. It felt like that wonderful first heave of your lungs after being starved from air. It alerted Cassian senses—woke him up.

Not bothering to say goodbye for the second time, Azriel bled straight back into shadow, but Mor raised a hand in a parting wave from where she stood beside Nesta and Sala. Her long golden hair caught on the breeze. It tussled behind her like its own puff of wind, before she vanished into nothing.

When Cassian’s eyes snapped to Nesta, he found her standing with her eyes closed, breathing in the wilderness of their surroundings. After a few beats, Sala jumped onto her hind legs, climbing up Nesta’s body with her snow-crusted paws to knock her head impatiently against Nesta’s.

A breath of laughter clouded in front of her as Nesta ruffled Sala’s ears. She murmured something Cassian couldn't identify in the manticore’s ear, before Sala dropped onto all fours and padded through the snow in the direction of the main camp.

Cassian watched the manticore go. He suspected Sala was going to seek out the widows camp and check everything was in order. It was the kind of thing Nesta would fret about—that whilst she was warm and fed, others might not be extended the same courtesy.

Or, the dark part of his mind whispered, she wants Sala out of the house.

You can fuck me wherever you like in the bungalow, Cassian.

The many needles of thrill pierced through him just as Nesta met his stare from across the snow. Suddenly, Cassian didn’t know what to say. His tongue felt swollen and thick in his mouth, words suddenly as viscous as tar. The atmosphere had altered—the aura surrounding them despite the distance suddenly heavy with promise: a change that pointed to something new.

The siphons on the back of Cassian’s hands glowed in anticipation. Nesta merely raised an eyebrow at him. Turned. Walked towards the house just as he caught the thick scent of jasmine and vanilla on the wind.

Cassian’s nostrils flared as it wound around him; invisible ropes of arousal. And then he was moving, following Nesta’s footprints.

His friends had winnowed them to the back of the house, halfway between the small stone outhouse and the backdoor. They weren’t far from the bungalow, but it felt like miles as Cassian stomped noisily after Nesta, his boots compacting the snow as if they were grinding shards of glass into powder.

When Cassian drew up behind Nesta, she already had a hand half-raised towards the door. Even though he wasn’t touching her, she was a whirlpool of warmth. It sucked him in, begging him to line his torso against her back, so when she cursed, realising she hadn’t taken her gloves off, Cassian didn’t hesitate to reach over her shoulder and rest his palm against the wood, encasing her.

The touch of his bare skin—or Nesta’s—was the key to the magical lock. A thunk sounded as the bolt released but Cassian didn’t push open the door—was too preoccupied with the female before him—who had twisted to stare up at him.

As soon as their gazes snagged, history began to knit together in a rush of thread, until it was a tangible, living thing. Because this moment had been written in the stars as soon as Cassian had seen Nesta in her amethyst dress in the human realm; her hair wielded into a mighty crown, her expression haughty and defiant, yet burning with the potential of a life not yet lived. They’d denied that history, even as it waited patiently in the wings. It had watched as they danced around each other, fumbling and snarling their way to this very moment—

They moved in unison. Cassian’s head bowing just as Nesta reached upwards; her body bowing to his, her palms sliding across his jaw until they were around his neck. Their lips met with a force that rattled Cassian’s bones. This wasn't a brush of a kiss. This was immediate and awakening: Nesta tasted like life and breath, like destiny. And yet again, Cassian knew with startling clarity that they were meant for this, he and Nesta. They were meant for each other and nobody could tell him otherwise, including her.

A soft breath whooshed out of Nesta as her back hit the door, but then Cassian was pushing it open, guiding her inside in a whirlwind of noise and wreckage.

The scrape of wood on the flagstone tiles sounded as Nesta’s back knocked against the table before Cassian turned them, his wings grazing against cupboards and the cool walls. Items clattered and shattered, but Cassian used his wings to keep a check on his surroundings, the touch guiding him to the left-hand wall where he could press her against the wall and devour.

Because Cassian could not tear his mouth from Nesta’s. Couldn’t stop tasting her. Couldn’t stop craving the roll of her tongue and the sound of her guttural moans. It fuelled a fireball inside of him; it roared into life in the centre of his heart, before spreading throughout his limbs, rushing through his body until it settled deep in his groin, aching and burning—screaming for relief.

When they finally hit the wall, the thud of their bodies shook the cabinets and the porcelain within it. Without thinking, Cassian took the brunt of it, his hand flying to cup Nesta's lower back and head to purposefully shield her from the hurt.

Because he was coarse and rippling, galloping towards a primal sort of wilderness that Cassian wasn’t sure he could control.

If Nesta was ignorant to the fact or wholly aware Cassian didn’t know. All he knew was that her hands were scrabbling at his leather like dancing flames, tugging him closer.

When he pressed his body over hers, aligning every inch of her to every inch of him, she whined.

Cassian swallowed it. Slanted his mouth across hers. Tucked his wings in tight as every muscle in him tensed in anticipation.

Nesta tasted of chai and vanilla and embers with a destiny to roar.

Another strangled noise came from her throat as Cassian sank his hands deep into the hair at her scalp, coaxing strands free from her braid as his fingers threading through her hair, just as he had done the night prior when he’d coaxed her to sleep. But this wasn’t a soothing touch. This was a touch to startle every nerve ending to life.

Time began to bleed around them, but Cassian only registered the fluidity of the frantic dance they had not learnt. The way Nesta arched into him as his palm slid back to span her waist. The pant of her breath against his skin. His heaving chest. The way his wings began to spread again of their own volition, like a fan unfolding to reveal a secret pattern—as if they were controlled by nothing but the ache of his cock as it strained against the leather of his pants.

As if in acknowledgement that his body was no longer ruled by him, his hips slanted upwards of their own accord. It was a desperate bid to relieve the ache, and his throat vibrated with a thunderous growl as Nesta dug her nails deeper into the leather of his jacket, using it for leverage as she arched into him.

Something turned further inside of Cassian, like a lock beginning to grind as a key turned. And then it felt as if he were plunging beneath water; ducking into the depths and travelling beneath an invisible barrier before emerging on the other side buoyant and surging with power.

Ruby crashed through his veins, like the walls of a dam broken free and… singing light. Magic roared so loudly in Cassian’s ears that he no longer heard the galloping beat of his heart or the sawing of their breath.

Reeling, he tore his mouth from Nesta’s. Her eyes were just as wide, puddles of startled moonlight—endless mercury—and Cassian didn’t need to look down to know that her hands were wreathed in silver.

For a moment they stared at one another. Time slowed until it was sluggish around them and then the feeling receded, as if Cassian was being carried by a wave as it was dragged unwillingly from the shore on thundering feet.

Sound bled back into Cassian’s ears, like raindrops slowly blotting paper. A moan whispered on a wind carried through him, the words fleeting—her name three times, like always—before they dispersed into nothing and ragged breathing filled the hole.

Fuck, they needed to be careful. He needed to be careful if just kissing her led to some transcendental experience. Cassian knew Nesta became open during sex—had seen tumbled images of tangled limbs and heard her moans—and he couldn’t afford to lose her when she had finally let him in. Couldn’t let her down, even though he wanted nothing more than to finally be found worthy by someone.

That twisted rope between them couldn’t widen and strengthen. Couldn’t finally open and click into place with a consensual snap.

Because Cassian had heard stories of mates who had gone to bed. Who had fleetingly accepted what they wanted in their hearts but not in their minds. And after they had both finished and life had been breathed into that bond, only death could sever their Cauldron-blessed connection.

Cassian would not have a mate with regrets, but he didn’t have the will-power to deny himself of her any longer. Not when he could scent how much Nests wanted him. When he could feel it like an unquenchable ache in his bones—an ache which made him tremble and shake. His rocky warrior exterior ground to nothing but sand.

As if Nesta could read his thoughts she tipped her head back, baring the column of her neck.

A resounding guttural sound dragged from his throat. The noise was animalistic and unchained. A booming crack ricocheted around the walls, the muscles in Cassian’s back burning as his wings snapped outward.

Something toppled from somewhere and crashed to the floor, but Cassian didn’t bother to raise his head to look at what it was.

And then time seemed to both slow and drive into a frenzy. Cassian launched at Nesta’s neck at the same time he tugged at her hair, urging her head to fall back even farther.

His lips were against the column of her throat in the blink of an eye; his teeth scraping, his mouth sucking until her blood pounded in his ears. Nesta’s knees buckled but Cassian quickly pinned her body to the wall, holding her up, his knee sliding firmly between her legs…

And… nothing. There was no panic or sensation of being trapped—no sudden fire launching him back thirty feet—but Cassian still tore his mouth from Nesta’s neck. Had to know she wasn’t panicking. “Ok?” he rasped.

A frown burrowed Nesta’s brows. Her swollen lips parted in confusion. Somehow it made her look more beautiful.

Cassian raised a shaking hand to trace it away. “Nesta. Are you ok?”

Understanding dawned like millions of unfurling petals.

When Nesta spoke she was short of breath, the words an exhale. “Don’t hold back.”

Cassian practically arched into her at the words but he made himself remain still, even as his body vibrated with tension. His bones creaked but he held fast.

That stubborn, beautiful chin lifted and Nesta’s eyes glinted wicked yet pure. Always an oxymoron, his Nesta.

“Don’t hold back,” she repeated, her voice stronger this time. She pushed her hips against his thigh and the friction had her lips parting, a shaky breath tumbling from her lungs. “I can take it.”

The words were like slashing knives of pleasure, severing the leash on any control Cassian thought he had.

The subsequent rush of air Cassian loosed was akin to a snorting horse.

Then he was moving and their mouths were fused together again, their tongues a delicious push and pull of control and pleasure before he yanked away.

“Thank fuck,” he gasped. His hands flew to her hips, guiding her to ride his thigh. “Thank fuck, Nesta.”

The friction had Nesta moaning, her fingernails digging so hard into the leather of his jacket Cassian was sure she had dented the material. But he didn’t care. Didn’t care about anything but the living fervour that clawed at them.

His hands were everywhere at once. Tangled in her hair. Sliding over her cheek. Cupping her ass. Attacking the buttons at the back of her dress, until they popped and scattered. Until he could pull the material down her arms, exposing tantalising creamy skin.

At the first sight of her breasts, Cassian growled. He bowed his head to capture a nipple sharply between his teeth before he laved over it with his tongue, smoothing over the wound. He relished the way Nesta cried out. Arched into him. She began to tear at his jacket. It snagged on his wings but Cassian shrugged it off until it hit the floor with a thud.

The first slide of Nesta’s palms beneath his tunic was like oil sizzling in a pan. Cassian hissed as the callouses of her palms scraped deliciously over his skin and scars and ink. Snarled as she made quick work of the stays and fastenings. Tried to focus on her other breast as she inched her hand beneath the tight leather fabric and eased him free.

Fingers wrapped sinfully around him, causing Cassian to snarl around a peaked nipple—to buck sharply—pressing them more firmly against the wall.

“Don’t bother,” Nesta moaned as Cassian wrenched desperately at the fabric of her dress, trying to coax it further down her body. She ground down onto his thigh as it to emphasise her point—her need—and the heat of her burned.

It was all Cassian needed to hear. He fumbled desperately with her skirts until a hand was under the material and sliding up her thigh. Until fabric ripped and her underwear fell away in what Cassian imagined to be a ripple of lace.

In one swift movement, Cassian lifted Nesta’s body upwards, until her legs were gripped tightly around his hips and her back was flush against the wall. Her hands flew to find purchase, grappling at the back of his neck, and when she was steady she raked her hand purposefully through the hair which had come loose from his tie. Tugged at the leather until his hair fell over his face. Whined. Tangled her fingers through the ebony strands as if they were her reigns.

Cassian splayed the hand that wasn’t supporting her body against the cold wall. Tried to catch his breath, but the position evened out the height between them. Just a slight movement would allow him to capture her lips with his, and Cassian couldn’t deny that demanding tug that drove him to devour. Nesta seemed to feel the same way. Moaned in relief as Cassian tasted her as if he couldn’t get enough, gave back as good as she got. Over and over they moved, until they were nothing but an undulating wave of tongue and teeth and groans. The pleasure was a surging, roiling entity. It was all consuming. It overtook Cassian’s body, demanding that his hand drag from her ass straight to her core.

When his fingers slid through wetness, Cassian’s groan sounded like thunderous defeat. He dropped his head to Nesta’s collarbone. Gently pressed his lips to her clavicle. To her shoulder. Tried to ground himself as he slid straight to the spot that made her keen—as pleasure ignited down the bond like a crashing wave. Brushed over it again and again and again. Relishing in the noises he coaxed from her. At the curling fists of desire that clenched agonisingly inside of him.

Cassian had to see Nesta fall. Had to look into her eyes as she broke.

But he wanted to be inside of her when it happened.

Cassian was reaching for his cock at the same time that Nesta let out a broken moan. “Do it,” she breathed. There was no bite of authority in her voice, as if all of the energy she had directed in the pursuit of pleasure had smoothed over the serrated edge of her personality he loved so much, leaving a softer version in its wake. “Please. Just—”

A satisfied snarl ripped from Cassian as he felt her want. And in that moment, Cassian knew there would be nothing gentle about how this was going to play out. It was going to be rough and frantic, riding a wave of pleasure that had been building for too long. Knew afterwards that they would sink to the cold floor in a mass of tangled limbs and mingled breath.

And Cassian wanted that. Had never wanted release so badly in his life.

Something clambered in the back of his mind. Something he needed to remember, but his limbs were moving of their own volition. He didn’t even bother to pump his cock or squeeze it to relieve the tension. Only cared about finally being inside of her.

The heat and slickness of her was sinful and divine when he lined himself up at her entrance. The hand he had braced against the wall came to span her cheek. It relied on Nesta clamping on tightly to his waist with her legs and the press of his torso against hers, but they managed it.

Shaking, Cassian raked back the hair that had fallen free from her braid back from Nesta’s face, just as she tugged him in for a bruising kiss.

There was a moment when everything paused and trembled. As Nesta pulled away and stared at him, her eyes swimming silver—glowing with it—her pupils obscured.

His magic surged at the sight of it. Crashed against his skin as if it was trying to escape. His siphons burned bloody.

“Cassian,” Nesta panted. Despite the keen desperation, there was cushion to his name. Gently, Nesta bowed her head until her forehead rested against his. The gesture was surprisingly tender. It tugged at his heartstrings, triggered his hips into movement as they finally pushed forward.

The tight heat that wrapped around him like velvet was so immediate that Cassian swore. Sweat trickled down his back and seeped into the tunic Nesta hadn’t gotten round to discarding. He trembled as Nesta’s breath stuttered and he felt the burning pain mixed with pleasure as he sunk in an inch. Felt the stretch of Nesta’s body as it strained to fit around him.

Claws dug into his back—Nesta’s nails—biting into his skin, until the metallic tang of blood infused the air.

Cassian’s body stilled before he even had a second to register that he needed to stop. That instinct buried deep to make sure she never hurt.

And then a knock rapped at the front door.

“No,” Nesta moaned. She shifted her hips and Cassian sank a little deeper. That pain flared again through the pleasure and Cassian grip on her turned vice like.

Sense stumbled into his desire addled brain, like a fawn on gangly legs.

But then it righted itself.

Another sharp rap at the door cleared his head completely.

He bowed to bury his face in the crook of her neck but Nesta whined. Tilted her hips again, urging him deeper. “Nesta, stop.”

“No.” Her whimper was doused in frustration, but all Cassian could feel was that sharp needle of pain.

He tried to pull back, but Nesta clamped down around him with that incredible strength of hers. The strength that only seemed to appear at times of desperation or anger.

Cassian’s jaw flexed, his features hardening. “I’m hurting you.”

“You’re not,” Nesta countered, defiance colouring her expression.

“I am,” Cassian retorted, not allowing for a passing beat of their hearts to pass before he replied. “I’m hurting you. Don’t pretend that I’m not.”

I can feel it, Cassian wanted to explain, but didn’t. Knew somehow that if he did they might not end up joining at all.

Desire fogged Nesta’s mind and it fuelled the punch to her next words. “I don’t care.”

Ire punched through Cassian’s desire enough for him to see red. “Well, I do,” he snapped.

Nesta’s nostrils flared at his tone and her eyes burned silver. Cassian wondered how everything had gone southward so quickly—they were on a sinking ship and he needed to patch it up. Knew she felt rejected. So, he kissed her and pushed back that unquenchable ache he felt for her. Knew it hit home because she gasped softly into his mouth, her surprise tart on his tongue.

He pulled out. As soon as his cock fell free that pain throbbed and ebbed. But Nesta moaned all the same.

Moaned again as he drew his head back to stare at her.

She surprised him when her eyes remained open rather than closed off. There was no hard shield. Nothing but want and a vulnerability that made his heart squeeze.

It gave him the courage to do the right thing.

He kissed her again. Trailed a thumb across her swollen lips, ignoring the desire that roared as Nesta sucked it into her mouth, her tongue darting across the top before the bit down lightly.

“This is how things are going to go,” Cassian murmured lowly, pulling his thumb out of her mouth and across her jawline, trailing the wetness all the way to the sensitive spot behind her ear. Nesta shuddered.

“I’m going to get the door and send whoever it is away,” Cassian continued. He paused to let the words sink in. Lowered his head to trace a path with his nose, up the slope of her shoulder, all the way up her neck until his lips were grazing the shell of her ear. “You will go to your bedroom. When they’re gone, I’ll find you.”

Another shiver coursed through Nesta’s body. Her fingers tightened around his neck.

When Nesta next spoke, Cassian knew he’d piqued her interest. “What then?” she demanded.

“Then I’m going to make you come until you see stars.”

Nesta’s entire body froze. For a long moment, she didn’t so much as breathe, but Cassian felt the throb of her blood and magic as it pounded against her skin.

Then, Nesta’s hands worked between them, until her small palms were splayed across his chest. She pushed firmly, indicating that she wanted to get her down. Her body slithered to the floor, her lean legs falling away from his body.

The sudden distance between them felt like miles.

Nesta lifted her chin. “Hurry or I’ll start without you.”

A breath heaved at Cassian’s lungs and he felt his pupils contract, pushing out his irises until they were swallowed by black. The image of Nesta sprawled on the bed wearing nothing but skin, her legs open, a hand moving between her legs had that coil within him tightening to the point of pain.

A growl spiked through the air as another knock sounded at the door.

Nesta must have known she’d wrangled back control, because she arched a cool eyebrow at him.  “I thought you were going to answer the door?”

A dark chuckle forced its way out of his chest, but it was mechanical rather than true. Because there was nothing funny about resisting Nesta right now and his body seemed to know that.

Cassian reached for her before he knew what was happening. Rested his forehead against hers. Breathed once. Twice. “I need to calm down,” he confessed.

Nesta snickered, but the sound fell flat as her breath hitched upwards at the end. It betrayed the effect he had on her, even as she said silkily, “Did the image of me pleasuring myself get you hard?”

“I was already hard,” he growled. He pressed a lingering kiss to her mouth. “As you well know.”

A hand reached between them. Stroked over him—the touch feather light but tantalising enough that Cassian bucked into her touch.

And then cunning words, “Maybe I’ll let you watch.”

A string of swear words left Cassian’s mouth. He yanked back from Nesta, as if someone had tugged firmly on a leash. Tugged up his pants and jerked ruthlessly at the ties until they fastened, trapping his cock back into the leather.

With a growl, Cassian waved a hand towards the living room—to Nesta’s room to the right of it. “Leave before I fuck you against the wall, Nesta,” he barked.

Nesta’s sly laugh skittered over his skin, and without pulling her dress back up to cover herself, Nesta sashayed through the nearest arch and disappeared.

*** It had been Mas and Roksana at the door, laden with bags full of groceries and supplies from the market. With full access to the house, there was no reason why they shouldn’t have just come right in. Which meant Mas had suspected somehow, enough so that she had left the bags on the front step and remained standing with Roksana a few feet back.

“I am sorry Sinta, but the meat might spoil,” the housekeeper had apologised as soon as he’d opened the door, his hair a tangled mess from where Nesta had yanked it free of its tie. He hadn’t had the sense to recover it from the floor, but he had righted his tunic and fastened his pants.

And thank the Cauldron for that, because Roksana peeked up at Cassian with wide eyes from her position of safety behind Mas’s legs. He didn’t know when Lorrian had brought the youngling back to the camp, but Cassian guessed it hadn’t been easy on the two of them to take a little girl out of the warmth and back into the snow.

Cassian tried to soften the eyes that he knew were a little wild. He raked his hands through his hair and sent them his most disarming smile, but there was fuck all he could do about his scent. So he thanked her, trying to keep his voice light and conversational. Ordered her to take the rest of the day off.

To the housekeeper’s credit, she did not linger. Had merely nodded and rushed Roksana back into the snow, towards the main vein of the camp.

Yet, whilst the housekeeper’s interruption had been unwanted, it did grant Cassian some breathing space as he rammed perishables into the cool box. Because even though Cassian would allow Nesta to decide how this all played out, he needed to lay down a rule of his own: he could give her the space to decide what she wanted—for him to prove that he could be what she needed—but there was one thing he could not suffer through.

And if they had stormed ahead in a hurricane of lust; with Nesta’s back against the wall as Cassian pounded into her… Well, it would be too late for Cassian to lay down his one condition once they were sweaty and sated. Nesta was more likely to get up and walk away. To not look back.

Cassian found Nesta sitting at the dresser in her room re-braiding back her hair.

Leaning against the doorjamb, Cassian opened his mouth to explain who had been at the door, but an iron band closed fast around his chest, robbing him of breath.

“What are you wearing?” The words came out of him eventually, entirely uneven to the point of being choked.

Because Nesta was wearing his shirt. It was the same steel blue shirt she’d worn that first day in Illyria. The shirt that was an identical match to her eyes, purchased before Cassian had realising what his subconscious had done. A shirt he’d had to hide away in the spare room because Cassian hadn’t been able to bare seeing it in his closet—of being reminded that his mate was a ghost who had banished him away.

Go home, Cassian.

Nesta met Cassian's eyes in the mirror. Announced with cool simplicity, “You ripped my dress.”

“And this is your way of torturing me?”

An indifferent shrug. “Why wear my own clothing when I know what fate it will suffer?”

Cassian knew his nostrils billowed, but he remained propped up against the doorframe. Pretended he was stuck to it like glue because his body was trembling for him to launch across the distance and claim her mouth. Her neck. Her.

The silence seemed to unnerve Nesta. Cassian knew that from months of living with her. From months of studying her slight tells when her masks slipped.

Right on cue, Nesta reset her posture—a gesture that most people read as defiant. But Cassian knew it was also a sign of nerves. She shrugged with feigned indifference, even as her throat tightened and that damned pulse fluttered temptingly against her throat. “You liked it the last time I wore it.”

Cassian huffed a breath. He had liked it the last time she wore it, even if she’d been so gaunt that he’d worried she might wither away. But the shirt… it had put images in his mind that Cassian had long tried to store away, imprisoned in rock and flame: her in his clothing, not fucking other males but him, her lithe legs wrapping around his waist as he sank deep—

Which brought Cassian neatly to the point he needed to discuss with her…

Nesta’s eyes tracked Cassian in the mirror as he peeled himself out of the doorway and came to stand behind her. When their eyes locked into place, it felt as if someone had punched him in the chest. There was something deep in Nesta’s gaze that made it feel as if he was tumbling down a rabbit hole, that magnetism between them drawing him in like gravity.

When Cassian’s fingers brushed Nesta’s neck—ran down the braid she had draped over her shoulder—Nesta shivered. “You had your hair down then,” he rasped. Didn’t wait for her to protest, as he slowly coaxed the tie free from the end of her hair.

Nesta turned preternaturally still, watched him gently part her hair in the mirror until it fell free from her plait, his calloused fingers brushing over her skin as he coaxed her hair to fall down her back.

The pulse hammering at her throat and the warmth radiating from her skin were the only indications that Nesta was alive rather than stone.

Only when Cassian had finished and lifted his hands from her neck, did Nesta come back to life.

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. But she cocked her head slightly to dissect him. “It’s a nuisance like this. It gets in the way.”

“It’s beautiful,” Cassian corrected, his voice rasping, like sand scraping against skin. He ran a hand through her hair as if to emphasise his point, his fingers running down, down, down until her waist.

When Nesta stood and turned into the warmth of him, Cassian scented what she wanted. But there was something else simmering in her expression—surprise. As if she’d caught the truth in his words and hadn’t expected someone to truly think her beautiful.

She stepped closer, until the lines of her torso ghosted his. Until Cassian’s heart pounded so hard he could hear the frantic tempo of it in his ears. Nesta tilted her head back so she could stare up at him and Cassian’s hand weaved through the mane of her hair before he could stop himself.

He was desperate to touch her again. Desperate.

But Cassian waited. Waited for Nesta to reach up on tiptoes and press her mouth to his.

The kiss was not like their bruised, desperate kisses from earlier. It was coaxing and unsure; the tentative beginning of something that was not merely fuelled by ardour. But it soon blossomed into something more, like a snowball rolling down a mountain blanketed white, gaining speed as it grew and grew—

Dragging his mouth away from hers, Cassian fought for breath. Battled to remember what he needed to do and say. But then Nesta was tugging his head back down again, her fingers tangled in his hair, the gesture indicative of an insistent need that Cassian knew would not go away.

As always, Nesta tasted divine. Addictive. He could taste the curl of her power on his tongue—silver and white, life and death—and he wondered if she could taste his. Knew his siphons were glowing scarlet—

“Nesta,” he murmured hoarsely, her name a caress against her lips. He couldn’t invoke a distance between them, couldn’t stop touching her. His nose brushed hers as her drew back an infinitesimal amount. Closed his eyes. Inhaled deeply, summoning courage. “You can dictate how this goes between us. But if we do this, I can’t—there’s no-one else. Just you and me.”

The subsequent pause was one of the worst of Cassian’s life. It was barely a breath. The blink of an eye. But it felt as if it was malleable and elastic, drawn out by the hands of fate as everything suspended in time.

He didn’t want to open his eyes, but in the end he managed it. Caught Nesta’s eyelashes flutter downwards, casting shadows on her skin. Her fists tightened in the fabric of his tunic, anchoring him to the moment.

She swallowed. Shook her head. Agreed with a conviction he had not been expecting, “No-one else.”

The relief that swooped through Cassian was so fierce it was painful. But he still didn’t dare to believe it.

He caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger so Nesta could not look away. So he could look into the deep waters of her irises and know she was telling him the truth.

But her gaze was steady and unwavering, as he demanded, “Say it again.”

His voice cracked but Nesta didn’t appear to notice. Her grip on him tightened. “No-one else,” she repeated on an outward breath.

A low, ravaged moan sounded from Cassian’s throat. “Diyosa,” he murmured, slipping into Illyrian. Goddess.

“Bruha,” Nesta corrected. She fumbled over the pronunciation but Cassian felt as if he had been an ember that had burst into flame. Witch.

He let out a rough bark of laughter. Then he swore in a long, drawn out moan. “No Illyrian,” he ordered roughly. Pressed his mouth firmly against hers, the kiss searing. “Otherwise this will be over far too quickly.” Another kiss. “And I want to take my time.”

The smile Nesta painted against Cassian’s lips was feline. “You’ve made a lot of promises, General. I hope you don’t disappoint.”

Cassian snarled. Spun her body until her back was cradled against his chest. “I have, haven’t I?” he mused lightly, even though the hammering of his heart must have beat a betraying rhythm against her shoulder blade.

In the mirror, Nesta’s expression grew less poised and controlled. Delight mixed with anticipation clung to her features at this game they played; this tussle for control. She did not try to wrangle free from his hold or shift uncomfortably in his arms at having her back enclosed against his.

It thrilled him—that trust. Enough so that when he met her eyes in the mirror, Cassian found that his irises had been swallowed by his pupils until they were only a ring of chocolate gold.

Slowly, Cassian brushed Nesta’s hair over to one shoulder with his left hand. Traced his fingers down the arc of her neck to her collarbone. Continued a path down the centre of her chest, to the pyrite which glittered between her breasts.

When his fingers met the first button of his shirt, Cassian toyed with it. Purposefully grazed his nose against the shell of her ear. “Shall I start here?” he murmured. “Undress you in front of the mirror whilst you watch?”

Nesta suppressed a shudder, but Cassian caught it. Could swear he felt her blood boiling beneath her skin as he slipped the button free of its hole. Then another. And another. Until there were no more buttons and the material hung free.

Leaning back into his body, Nesta rested her head against his chest. Curved her back slightly so her chest thrust upwards, silently instructing him where she wanted his hands.

And Cassian couldn’t deny her. He turned his palm so it was face up and curled into a loose fist. Brushed his knuckles down her sternum all the way to her bared naval, before bringing it back up. His fingers ran up the side of the material free of buttons, until he was at her collarbone—her shoulder—leaving a litter of goosebumps in his wake.

This time, Cassian snickered when she shivered. Dropped a slow and deliberate kiss to her bare shoulder as he slowly, slowly inched the material down, down, down over her arm. Repeated the motion on the other, until the shirt pooled onto the floor, exposing her bare body to the mirror: endless creamy skin, divine curves, the luscious full weight of her bare breasts, and… lower.

Nesta’s eyes, which had been tracking the fabric as it fell away, snapped to his as a feral growl ripped from him. And she moaned at the expression on his face. Grabbed at his hands, pulling them to her body.

“Touch me,” Nesta hissed, but it came out strangled. Almost pleading. Another crack in her armour as it broke and fell away.

The sight was enough to threaten Cassian to his knees. He guided her body backwards, his hands splaying firmly across her stomach despite her whine, until his legs hit the edge of the mattress

Neither of them broke eye contact in the mirror. Not when Cassian coaxed Nesta down to sit on the bed with him. Not when he pulled her between his legs, her back firmly against his chest. Not when he bowed his head to kiss the slope between her neck and shoulder.

When Cassian finally brushed a thumb over her nipple, Nesta back bowed so fiercely Cassian was thankful he had an arm strapped across her stomach.

The small noise she loosed fuelled his fire and Cassian held on to her. Stroked over that peaked nipple again as Nesta careened into his touch. Followed it with a firmer roll with his thumb and forefinger. Used the fingertips of his other hand to draw slow, tantalising circles across the silken skin of her lower stomach, before he moved southwards…

The air around them hushed when Cassian’s fingers stilled. Anticipation built and only when it vibrated with tension did Cassian slide his hands to cradle Nesta’s hips.

A snarl of frustration, but Cassian paid the sound no heed. Only grazed his thumbs over Nesta’s hipbones. Watched her expression in the mirror—the way her face contorted as she squirmed into his touch as if she was a puppet on strings. Ground back onto him, pressing into that building ache that was bordering on painful.

Fuck, Nesta.

Cassian wasn’t sure if he had spoken out loud or in his head, all he knew was the blessed, fleeting relief he felt as he bucked into the small of Nesta’s back on instinct. He was rock hard and thirsting to be touched, but the thickening scent of Nesta’s arousal pulled his focus.

A groan rumbled from Cassian’s throat as Nesta’s hand darted between her legs. He caught her wrist just in the nick of time. Kissed the heart of her palm. Rumbled into her ear, “Not yet, sweetheart.”

His voice was coarse enough that Nesta shivered, the goosebumps travelling down her skin like a cresting wave. She didn’t struggle against him, nor did she move to disobey him as he dropped her wrist. Instead, she waited, trembling and shaking at every pass of his thumbs over her skin.

Cassian buried his nose behind the shell of her ear. Breathed Nesta in, steadying the drum of his pulse.

Not once did he take his eyes off of hers in the mirror, especially as he murmured, “Shall we find out if you’re wet for me?”

Nesta squeezed her eyes tightly shut, as if the movement would steady her. Swallowed hard. It was so unlike her to take stock, to show any signs that she was rattled, that Cassian softened. He nuzzled at her neck, trailed a line of kisses instilled with promises. A hand flew up to tangle in Cassian’s hair, keeping him there.

“Yes.”

The word stuttered out of Nesta on several staccatos, but she forced her eyes open and met his gaze in the mirror. Watched as he pulled her tighter against him and hooked her legs over his thighs so she was spread wide. Slipped his hand across and down…

The first ghost of a touch had Nesta panting through her nose. The second had her gritting her teeth. The third had her moaning, her back bowing so sharply as he skimmed straight over the place she wanted him the most.

Her head hit the centre of his chest with a resounding thud that had his bones creaking, but she did not look away from him. Seemed to know the game they were playing without him having to express it.

When Cassian brought his fingers lower and discovered just how wet Nesta was, he had to force his wings in tight to his back to hide his surprise. Growled, “You’re soaked.”

Pleasure and embarrassment twisted in Cassian’s stomach, and Cassian wanted to tell her that it was not something to be ashamed of, that he wanted her just as much as she clearly wanted his fingers between her legs.

Her eyes glinted steel, her stare commanding. “Make me come—“ she ordered, but Cassian chose that moment to roll his finger over that spot at the apex of her thighs.

The command bottomed out of Nesta as she inhaled sharply. Satisfaction bloomed inside of Cassian; because he may have done this countless times before but barely enough with her. And nothing seemed to matter apart from him seeking out her satisfaction. Of learning about what made her body freeze with pleasure and what made her come undone. “There?” he murmured into her ear, repeating the movement, before he passed his fingers down further. Until they were at her entrance, playing gently before he drew upwards and circled.

This time, Nesta groaned. Her hips jerked sharply beneath him, tilting, guiding him to just the right place.

Picking up on the cue, Cassian increased the tempo and friction until Nesta’s hips were rolling in a punishing rhythm against the hard length of him.

And Cassian snarled in satisfaction, his fingers tightening around her hip in a plea for her to keep moving—to not stop pushing back on him—because it was blissfully good. The rapid tightening in his groin was almost painful, the cord so tight that Cassian thought it might snap. But he couldn’t stop Nesta, not when she looked so bewitching, the arousal so stark on her face as he stroked and circled and pressed.

Burning pleasure clambered to its peak and Nesta’s eyes grew so heavy they fluttered closed. Something unintelligible left her lips, her head tipping back into the heart of his chest.

When Nesta’s arms wound around his neck, her knuckles accidentally grazing the leather of his wings, Cassian part-snarled, part-roared. Swore. Held her even tighter as his wings snapped out high and mighty behind him. They wrapped around Nesta’s body before Cassian’s pleasure-fogged mind could stop them curling towards her, starved for her touch.

Fuck, he was unhinged. So desperate for relief—in the scent and feel of his mate—that his control was barely there. Enough so that he didn’t react when Nesta reached out her hand—

Sense knocked Cassian for six only when Nesta’s fingers were millimetres from touching the membrane. He drew back his wings so fast  the air around them stormed, but he swooped in before surprise could register on Nesta’s face. Dipped his chin and coaxed her head even further back so he could claim her mouth.

The taste of her lips was as vital as breathing, the scrape of her nails on his scalp grounding. He moaned into her mouth at the same time as she whimpered. His hand was still moving between her legs, interchanging the same three patterns over and over again, mixing things up as soon as Nesta’s moans grew too untamed: he wanted to draw out her pleasure, not sate it with a few choice strokes.

Pulling away, Cassian pressed a kiss to her forehead. Coaxed her to dip her chin until she was looking back at their reflection in the mirror: ebony and golden brown, tan and cream.

Nesta’s irises were wisps of silver, but when he traversed past that bundle of nerves so he could slip two fingers inside of her, they flickered into living flame.

That was indication enough that she liked what he was doing. Cassian had quickly learnt that Nesta became completely readable between the sheets, that mask slowly crumbling away until she broke completely.

Curving his fingers as much as he could, Cassian pressed upwards hard—again and again— revelling in the strangled sounds Nesta made. The way she writhed but tried her best to hold his gaze.

Cassian dropped a lingering kiss to the crown of Nesta’s head. Murmured into her hair, “Is that good, sweetheart?”

The only response Cassian received was a long moan which extended into a whine as he withdrew his fingers. Then a sharp cry as he swept them upwards, swirling them in a well-practiced motion that had Nesta’s lower half seizing in pleasure.

Cassian circled again. Again. Firmer. Faster. Nesta’s cries grew louder, her breathing became more laboured. A silver wreathed hand flew to his forearm—not to stop him, but to keep him there.

Don’t stop. Don’t stop. Don’t stop.

The bond between them creaked and cracked as it expanded.

Nesta panted his name.

“Are you going to come for me, sweetheart?” Cassian scratched out.

In vain, Nesta attempted to burrow her head into his shoulder, but Cassian’s voice dropped out of soft and into the role of general within the fraction of a heartbeat. “Eyes on the mirror, Nesta, or I’ll stop.”

It seemed to take all of Nesta’s energy to fight her leaded eyelids and meet his dark eyes in their reflection. When she did, Cassian’s magic roared and pounded beneath his skin, as if it was trying to break free and join Nesta’s. There was a pressure and power fuelling the sensation that was separate to him. It was like the magnetic force which rules the relentless ebb and flow of the tide—that desperate crash followed by a scrabbling, thundering retreat.

That twisted rope between them grew corporeal, tugging at their ribcages as if it was clambering to remind them both of its existence. Of the cost of this exchange.

Something deepened in both of their gazes, but if Nesta had felt what Cassian had, she gave no indication. She only arched her hips back into his, grinding backwards.

Cassian loosed a rough groan that skittered across the shell of her ear. Her gaze was purposeful but hooded, as if she was in a continual battle with the pleasure weighting her eyelids.

“Good girl,” he praised as Nesta’s eyelashes fluttered from the strain of maintaining eye contact. And then his fingers were everywhere at once and Nesta’s moans fell away to short gasps that rose in volume.

Nesta tightened her fingers around his neck, scrabbling for purchase, for some sort of tether as her pleasure launched high into the air. The hand that had been at her hip, steadying her, encouraging her to roll back on him moved to her breast; cupping and pinching and rolling as she stuttered pants and words that Cassian couldn’t make out.

When Cassian slid two fingers inside of her again and pressed down firmly on her clit with his palm, Nesta’s cry was wild.

“Look at me,” Cassian ordered as Nesta’s eyes flew shut. His voice was resonant—startling—even to him. It punched through the bubble that had encased them—their entwined scent—and Nesta’s eyes snapped open.

For a beat, time seemed to stand still around them. Their gaze fastened back into place and for a moment, Cassian could see a conflict of thoughts swirl in the magic of Nesta’s irises.

He froze just as anguish crashed down that bond, right into the heart of his chest.

It knocked the breath from him. Confusion rattled inside of his head but he came up empty of answers. Had he gone too far? Had he hurt her somehow?

“Sweetheart—“ he started, but stopped. Unsure of what to say because he could still smell how much she wanted this. Could feel how soaked she was. But perhaps that was what the mating bond did. Fooled reason with an overwhelming drive to pleasure and claim.

Cassian went to draw his hand away but Nesta’s hand whipped out, her fingers curling around his wrist. Desperation flooded her next words—the plea in them stark. “Don’t stop.”

As if to punctuate her point, she rolled her hips. His fingers slid over her of her own accord and she stumbled a moan. Light barrelled down the bond and Cassian’s blood spiked, thrilled as he felt the truth of her words, as she ground back into him again.

“Fuck that feels good,” Cassian grunted into her ear. His hips pushed into the small of her back, accentuating his point. It chased the delicious reprieve from the ache in his cock, even as he knew this moment wasn’t about him. As he pulled her back into the solid muscle of his chest, steadying her movements so he could pick up where he left off: so he could watch the pleasure whip away her conflicted expression until her eyes were once again blazing with the promise of flame.

Silver mist climbed from Nesta’s fingertips into the air. It crawled over the glowing ruby siphons across the backs of his hands, past the corded muscle of his forearm and the rolled up sleeves of his tunic, to his chest, his neck…

A sheen of metal shone in Cassian’s eyes, flickering across his irises so they appeared to turn a metallic gold. The lick of Nesta’s magic didn’t burn. It was a rush of heat—the tender caress of a lover’s kiss instilled into his skin over and over again, ascending Cassian to another realm of pleasure, as if he’d climbed a staircase to an entirely new place.

It felt like an extended method of foreplay Cassian had never been privy to before, lighting up every nerve ending until he was so hard he could cut stone.

Gritting his teeth through the pain-cloaked pleasure, Cassian focussed instead on Nesta’s bare skin.

The tempting fullness of her breasts. The way desire had completely rewritten her countenance. The way she whimpered and then cried out.

Cassian sped up his movements. Until his fingers were no longer teasing, but dancing over her with sure, quick movements designed to thrust her towards a crescendo.

Nesta’s magic swirled into flame, the heat of it a licking promise down Cassian’s limbs. He groaned, swore at the exquisite pain on her face as she hung at the precipice, ready to plummet into rapture.

Her climax became a tangible, living thing and Cassian wanted to see it play out for as long as he possible could. Wanted to see her break for him again and again and again.

So, he waited until she reached the summit and when she was there he slowed down his movements. Ordered through her whimpering, “Look at me Nesta.”

Metallic irises met his, and then Nesta was trembling and shaking in fits and bursts as her release ripped out of her like a taut cord cut loose. Cassian drew her orgasm out as best he could, suspending that pleasure until finally Nesta slumped against him, spineless.

She turned her head to bury it in his shoulder and Cassian let her. Stroked her hair. Pressed a kiss to her sweaty head. Murmured, “Good?”

Slowly, Nesta nodded, but for a long while, that was the only communication he received. But Cassian let her recover. Watched the way her ribcage moved as she heaved for breath. Relished the way her body was splayed out over him, her legs held wide open from where they were hooked over his thighs.

Unable to help himself, Cassian brushed over her sex. Delighted in the way Nesta shuddered rather than batted him away. Fresh desire reignited across her expression and Cassian played gently for a few minutes, revelling in the wetness that had gathered from her release.

Finally, Nesta lifted her head to meet his gaze again. “Did I burn you?”

“No,” Cassian replied hoarsely, his heart squeezing at the genuine fear in her words. He let out a rough laugh, passed his fingers lightly over the knot at the apex of her legs for the last time before he withdrew them.

Nesta moaned softly, even as her brow twisted into a small frown.

“It felt good,” Cassian elaborated. He kissed her shoulder at the same time that he pushed his hips into hers as if to demonstrate just how much he’d liked her magic. “I’m being strangled to death in these pants,” he confessed.

When Nesta cocked her head, her hair moved in a golden tangle. Then she smirked. Unravelled her limbs from him and turned.

Nesta slung her legs over his waist so she was straddling him just as Cassian’s hands caught in her hair. A booming sounded as his wings snapped out and fanned behind him, settling like falling fabric.

“We can’t have that,” Nesta remarked, her breath a whisper against his skin.

“No,” Cassian agreed roughly. “It’s your favourite part.”

Nesta snorted a laugh, but it was not derisive. “Egotistical bat,” she muttered.

A slow, smug smile was Cassian’s only reply. Because he was more focussed on her mouth. With the feel of her silken skin beneath his palms as he ran them up her legs and over her rounded ass. His touch was a promise as he tugged her into his body and ground up into her core, the seam of his trousers doing nothing to relieve the damning ache in his cock.

Together they gasped, and then, as always, they moved at the same time, their mouths slanting one another within a fraction of a second.

The heat of Nesta was liquid, the touch of her smoke—feverish and everywhere all at once. It was the same heat that had roared into existence when Cassian had pinned her against the wall earlier, yet… better somehow. Passionate and awake rather than fogged with lust. Life-giving.

A shuddered groan was pulled from Cassian’s chest as Nesta’s hands slid beneath his tunic and met his burning skin. And then the tunic was on the floor—the rest of his clothing was torn from him soon after. It all happened at such speed Cassian could barely keep up, but when Nesta reached for his bare, burning skin—the tattoos on his arms and the faint scar on his stomach—her fingers were gentle.

“Battle scar,” Cassian panted in explanation, as Nesta’s fingers lingered on the silvery tissue that wound over his lower abdomen: a permanent reminder of what had happened to him during the final battle with Hybern. “The trauma was too great for Madja to heal completely.”

“I remember,” Nesta replied shortly and she looked so fierce that Cassian reached for her. Cupped her cheek with his palm.

“Still breathing, Nes.”

Nesta nodded, but when she kissed him this time there was something fierce and desperate about it, her fingers burying deeper into the mane of his hair.

And then a hand was trailing down his skin and closing around his cock. The touch was sinful and a glimpse of the heavens. When he hissed into her mouth, Nesta gripped tighter—until pain laced the pleasure—just how he liked it.

His groan was that of rumbling thunder as she began to move her hand. It was everything Cassian needed, but it was too much, too good. He scrambled to hold on to some sense of control, because he’d never been this close to losing it from just a few touches.

Then Nesta stopped. Glanced downwards—

The realisation thumped through Cassian so loudly his heartbeat punched like a fist against his ribcage.

“Don’t you dare,” Cassian choked out.

Nesta’s eyes shot to his, but rather than looking startled she arched a challenging eyebrow.

“If you so much as try to put my cock in your mouth I’ll explode,” Cassian rasped.

Before she could protest, he was gathering her to him and had slipped a hand down between her legs.

Just the touch of his fingers had Cassian seizing back control. Nesta stilled at the sudden pleasure, as if she was trying to coax time into suspending the sensation.

“Still so wet,” Cassian purred against the tip of her ear.

Gliding his fingers over the centre of her, Cassian paused briefly at the apex of her legs, toying with her clit, before he ran them back down. When he drew his fingers back, rubbing them together and raising them to the faelight, they glittered.

Nesta’s nostrils flared as if she was an animal in heat. And Cassian knew before he spoke that his voice? would be what pushed them over the edge. But he said it anyway, his voice dropping impossibly low,  “Is this all for me?”

Nesta launched at him until their mouths collided, until they were nothing but a clash of teeth and tongues, their skin so flush they may as well have been fused together.

Burying her fingers deeper into the tangled mane of his hair, Nesta tugged sharply. Met his gaze head on. Demanded, “Fuck me.”

All it took was those two words. Cassian moved, flipping them so Nesta’s back was flush against the mattress. He covered her body with his and Nesta whined at the contact, her body bending and arching towards him as if she were a plant and he was sunlight.

Cassian ran a hand up her bare thigh to her ass, coaxing her leg to bend, but Nesta was too impatient. She broke free from the weight of his body, repositioning herself until legs were wrapped tightly around his hips.

An uneven laugh choked out of him. “So stubborn,” Cassian chided darkly, but he allowed his hips to fall into the cradle of hers. Hissed as he loosed his control and thrust so his cock could glide through her centre. “Fuck,” he grunted. “Nesta, fuck.”

Nesta’s breathy whine fuelled the sparks of pleasure that crackled through him like static energy. He kissed her hard. “There’s a high probability I won’t survive this.”

The snort Nesta loosed tried to sound unaffected, but her voice shook as she accused him, “Liar.”

But he wasn’t lying. And Nesta knew it. She had to know it because his walls were now shattered around them in splintered shards.

Yet, Cassian found himself assuring her. “Not lying," he grunted as he passed over her again. Pressed a lingering kiss to her mouth—a parting goodbye as he moved to kiss the underside of her jaw, down the column of her throat. Down further, to flick his tongue and scrape his teeth over both nipples.

He moaned when she moaned; their sounds a chorus of want until he couldn’t take it anymore. Cassian’s claws clipped around the metal of the bed frame at the same time that he pushed off of the palms that were framing her face, until he was on his knees before her.

Despite the desire coursing through him, Cassian’s head was nothing but clear as he slid his hands under Nesta’s ass and lifted her effortlessly, positioning her so that the undersides of her thighs were flush against his knees.

Nesta’s hair was tousled over the pillow, her lips swollen and parted as she surveyed him. When she tried to wrap her legs back around his hips, Cassian held firm. And despite the fact that Nesta listened to nobody, she allowed him to bend her knees and press his calloused palms to the insides of her thighs in silent instruction.

They fell open and a growl rumbled in Cassian’s throat. His hand was fisting his cock, lining it up to her entrance before he knew what was happening. But then he remembered the pain from before. And even though Nesta was more than ready for him, the thought of hurting her made him feel physically sick.

When he moved away, Nesta let out a strangled noise. A hand shot out, closing around his wrist. “You said you’d fuck me.”

Cassian wanted to explain, but that meant alluding to that tie between them, that instinct that couldn’t allow him to see her hurt. Cassian knew Nesta wasn’t ready for that. Knew that if he so much as breathed a word about it that this precious moment would fall away.

And Cassian was selfish. He had to see how this played out. Had to know if Nesta could grow to accept the bond between them—deem him worthy enough to accept something that was Cauldron blessed.

So, he only drawled, “Patience is a virtue, sweetheart.”

One swift movement had Cassian gathering Nesta into his arms. This time, he allowed Nesta’s legs to wind around him. She gripped him like a vice and Cassian knew it wasn’t from fear of him dropping her. When he sat back against the headboard and guided her onto his lap, Cassian expected her to bite out a comment about doing all of the work, but Nesta only let out a pleased sound. Weaved a hand back into his ebony hair. Wrapped a tight fist around his length, twisting once at the tip, before she guided him to her entrance.

Cassian hissed a curse as she closed around the head. Murmured her name into her mouth. Gripped tightly at her hips when she didn’t stop sinking down on him, as he felt that pain mixed with the sweetest pleasure.

“Nesta.” The way he said her name was firm and commanding, but he still had to dig his fingers hard enough into her skin that he was sure it would leave temporary bruises. The thought made him falter, but then that sharp pain flared again as she resisted against him, and he knew that the bruises were a necessary evil. “Nesta,” he barked, “Go slowly.”

Something creaked and cracked between them. A stretching, growing pain reached its fingers down that bond, the sensation strong rather than constricted as it fought to make its way down their usually thin tie.

Nails dug into Cassian’s neck. A whimper sounded in his ears as Nesta fell forwards, burying her face into his neck. “Please,” she whined in frustration. “Cassian—”

She broke off as she clamped down around him and Cassian felt an ebb of pleasure cut through the pain—that promise of something more.

“Don’t make me hurt you, sweetheart,” Cassian pleaded and the rawness in his voice stopped her resisting against him. He eased a hand between them, touched her right where she wanted him. Allowed her to tug his face upwards so she could kiss him. It was infused with desperation and Cassian eased his hold on her hip. Allowed her to lower herself downwards until she had slid another inch deeper. Continued to stroke her until Nesta began to shake.

“I’m going to—,” Nesta gasped against his mouth. Her body trembled and Cassian’s blood roared at bringing her to the edge again so soon, despite the pain. “Cassian—”

Abruptly, Cassian moved his hand away.

Nesta’s snarl whipped around the room, but Cassian smoothed the sound away by fusing his mouth on hers. She stopped shaking but the sharp bite of Nesta’s glare pierced its teeth through his flesh in a flash of silver.

“It will be better if you wait,” Cassian gritted out in explanation when they parted. Nesta’s breath gusted against his skin. “And I don’t think I can hold on if you come so soon. You feel so good, Nesta. So tight.”

As if on cue, Nesta contracted around him and Cassian ground his teeth together so hard that the muscle in his jaw worked. But he let Nesta slide down on him another inch. Then another. And another. Until their hips were finally flush with one another and that pain had bled away until it was nothing.

The moaned words that fell from Nesta were indistinguishable, but he felt her tremor. Felt that surge inside of him as Nesta repeated herself with a whine that indicated she was toppling over the ledge of control, like a glass teetering before it fell.

And then she was moving and Cassian let her. He was unable to think or breathe. Could only focus on the feel of her.

“Fuck,” Cassian groaned. His head thunked back hard against the headboard as she ground her hips into his, testing the feel of him. “This is better than I’d dreamed.”

No soft snicker, only an untamed whine. Then teeth scraping a sinful path down his neck to his pulse.

Cassian’s hips kicked up hard as her teeth nipped.

“Sorry,” he gasped, because even though Nesta had told him not to hold back, he was still concerned about hurting her. But Nesta’s fingernails bit into his skin and her body moulded to him—a delicious second skin—as she inhaled sharply. “Again,” she demanded with a fierceness that did not allow disobedience. “Do that again—”

It didn’t take a second command for Cassian to thrust up hard. And true to her word, Nesta took him all. Did not change her mind and ask him to hold back. Instead, Cassian knew that this was exactly what she wanted—no, needed. She needed this punishing rhythm just as much as he did.

And it felt… incredible. Beyond anything Cassian had ever felt before. The blood roaring in his ears intermingled with Nesta’s cries and the slap of his hips meeting hers, was the only thing he could hear, his senses narrowed down to the sensation of her wrapped around him, so tight …

It was too good. It threatened to break him, to take everything that he was and reform it entirely, as if he was going to shatter and be pieced back together as someone else entirely. The air around them became taut with pressure, tanning leather stretched too tight over a rack, as if their joining controlled one of the essential elements.

“Cassian.” That one word threatened to break him. Not bat or it or you, only his name falling from her lips as if it was their secret. “More.”

Exhaling a curse, Cassian planted his feet firmly on the mattress and thrust up with as much vigour as he could muster. The movement had them slipping from their upright position and Cassian’s claws absent-mindedly closed around the metal bed frame, strapping them in for the ride as his body coiled and tensed as he slammed into her over and over.

Nesta cried out. Grabbed fistfuls of his hair as they moved together as if they had been made for this moment, their wild gasps melded together until they were one.

Only when release teetered too close to the edge did Cassian drop the rhythm. Cupped the breasts he had dreamed of more times than he could count. The breasts he’d had the privilege of seeing bare and glorious only twice before.

Capturing a nipple between his teeth, Cassian scraped his teeth hard enough that Nesta stopped rocking and angled her hips until he was pressing impossibly deep inside her. She whimpered. Clenched and unclenched. Throbbed in a way that told him she was as close as he was—that if he wasn’t so close himself, he could drive her over the edge with a few well-timed thrusts.

The understanding had him letting out a jagged groan. “Are you close, sweetheart?”

A whine in response, but Cassian didn’t let it go. He raked back the hair from her sweaty forehead. Pressed his lips to her swollen ones in a lingering kiss. Watched the frown that knitted her brow as she was overtaken by the feel of them.

“What do you need, Nesta. Tell me and I’ll give it to you.”

Nesta wound her hands around his head, buried her face into his neck. Began swaying and circling her hips in a rhythm that was dictated purely by the chase of pleasure. “Just… this,” she panted. “I just need this.”

Then it was only the licking fire of her breath against his skin. The magic that curled around them like a heated blanket and the building anticipation of both of their releases, which pulled at him like a strange sort of magnetism, begging him to fall with her in unison.

“Cassian—” Nesta began in warning, but he had already felt her begin to quake, as if the ground was moving beneath their feet—the mountains trembling.

That pull became a driving force—a cresting wave of pleasure so profound that Cassian felt that twist inside of him—that signal that he was about to join her.

He groaned, jerking his head back so it collided with wood, the pain grounding him enough that he could say, “That’s it, sweetheart. Come for me.”

As soon as the words left his lips, Nesta broke, as if she’d been waiting for him to ask it of her. Her cry was muffled and Cassian wanted to tear her mouth from his neck—to hear her break for him—but then she was sinking her teeth into his skin right over his pulse.

Roaring, Cassian kicked his hips up hard on instinct as she marked him, but the shock distracted him. Clouded the desperate clamber of his release so he could hold himself back.

Cassian held tightly onto Nesta as she slumped against him. When she lifted her teeth from him, Nesta whined like an animal. Dragged her tongue over the dent she’d made in his neck—once, twice, three times.

He shuddered. Couldn’t help it. Turned his face into her hair. Breathed her in. The gesture was tender, like an animal tending to the wound of a significant other—its mate.

And wrapped in this moment, Cassian could almost believe that this was something more than sex for Nesta as her forehead came to rest on his collarbone. As she kissed the hollow of his throat. Then the knot. His lips.  

“Good?” Cassian asked softly. He lifted a hand to her face, ran a calloused thumb over her cheekbone.

Nesta made a rare, content sound that vibrated through him like a balm. She leant into his hand, her eyelashes swooping down.

When she finally pulled back to survey him, her eyes were still dark. She shifted her hips. Moaned quietly. Rasped, “You’re still hard.”

It was a miracle Cassian hadn’t followed. If it hadn’t been for her teeth in his neck, Cassian would have been wrestling with the embarrassment of finishing too soon.

“I was too preoccupied with your teeth in my neck.”

A flush crept its way up Nesta’s face, like vines reaching their wicked encroaching fingers up a wall. But she raised her chin. “You wanted me to do it.”

It was true, he had wanted her to. And he wanted to do the same to her—to mark her as his so everyone would know that she was off limits for the brief hours before her body healed.

“And what about you?”

The patter of Nesta’s heart broke into a sprint. It was the only thing that betrayed her feelings, her expression devoid of any reaction. “What do you mean?”

Cassian leant forward until their noses brushed. Lifted his eyebrows. “Do you want me to bite you, Nesta?”

Nesta’s nostrils flared. If she had wings, they’d have flung wide by now. Would have collided with furniture and cut through air.

That was answer enough.

In one movement, Cassian lifted himself up and over, until Nesta was on her back and he was pressing her body into the mattress. Breath gushed out of her lungs but it was not from fear, not as Nesta turned herself out bare and tilted her chin for him—for once not in defiance but as an act of vulnerability—of complete and utter trust.

Every instinct in Cassian clambered to the surface, but he closed a fist around it until its life fluttered against the cage of his palms and fingers: his to control, rather than the other way around.

Slowly, Cassian lowered his nose to the exposed skin and breathed her in: her scent and the life that pummelled beneath her skin, the roaring of her blood as it crashed through her veins. It took everything in him not to move inside of her, to thrust up hard and feel the way her breasts would move against his chest.

“I could do it right here,” Cassian murmured, his mouth ghosting over the pale column of her neck until he came across that pulse. He brushed a tongue across it.

The movement was a mirror of what he’d done before in the human realm and Nesta knew it. But this time she did not jerk back from him demanding what he’d done. Instead, her body drew up beneath him, exposing more of her neck, begging for more.

Cassian groaned, raking his teeth over that swell at the same time that he pushed in deep. Nesta’s groan was guttural and everything. His blood turned molten, so hot that he expected his skin to melt away until he was nothing but bones.

“Please,” Nesta panted, her fingers tightening around his back.

Another flick of his tongue over her pulse. “Do you want me to bite you or fuck you?”

“Both.”

That was enough to loosen the fist on Cassian’s control. He sat back on his knees, prying her hands from his neck, coaxing her fingers until they were above her head and clasped around the railings of the headboard. Nesta’s breasts rose with the movement, her peaked nipples so tempting he bent to take one into his mouth. Then the other. Suckled until she mewled and her nipples were no longer rosy but red from his attention.

Cassian lifted his head and surveyed Nesta. Warned her, “Hold on tight.”

And then there was no thinking, no worrying or desperation to hold back. It all came as easy as breathing, their tempo,the snap of his hips and the shift of the mattress as her body shouldered the impact. At some point, Cassian’s body fell over hers, needing to feel every inch of her against him. His wild, punishing rhythm dropped into a rough rocking that was intimate at the same time it was claiming.

Nesta didn’t seem to mind—let out a pleased moan of consent, her legs clamping tighter around his hips until they were flush with hers. When he next moved she whined, and Cassian felt that change inside of her—somehow—that twisting fist of pleasure that glimmered down the bond, pushing against the walls of that thread, pushing it wider and wider, like a heart expanding.

Silver-wreathed fingers tugged his head down until Nesta could claim his mouth, fusing them together so they were complete. Cassian shuddered as her fire cascaded from her fingertips and down his body. His magic, attracted to hers, began to suck out of his pores, but it didn’t leech him of power. Instead, it was like his magic was searching for its mate, desperate to be reunited.

Then that sensation again, as if Cassian had ducked beneath something and had come up for air somewhere else.

Ruby greeted silver like a long-lost lover, blending until their magic was a metallic sheen of scarlet—a fog that misted their bodies, rubbing tantalisingly against their skin as they rocked and moaned their way to release.

“Don’t stop,” Nesta begged desperately through stuttered breaths, and Cassian wondered how many times she’d reached this pinnacle with other males only for it to be taken from her.

Cassian’s hand found its way to her face, his thumb stroking over her cheek as that coiled release twisted across her devastatingly beautiful face. “Can’t,” he panted honestly, his other hand searching for hers across the mattress until he was clasping it—holding on for dear life. “I’m so close, sweetheart. You have no idea how good you feel.”

“Come with me then,” Nesta pleaded. Her eyelashes had fluttered downwards as she took in a sharp breath of pleasure, but now they opened. Stared deep into his soul. “Come with me—”

Then her body turned both loose and taut, clamping yet completely molten as her release ripped out of her.

“Fuck,” Cassian swore. Invisible hands clasped around his ass, tugging him deeper—deeper. Everything in him tightened as Nesta crashed around him, and that siren called to him, singing her name, over and over as pleasure clawed at him, desperate to whip out of him.

Nesta, Nesta, Nesta.

Cassian launched at her neck, his teeth sinking deep enough to claim as Nesta cried out, her body trembling as he continued to thrust into her, wringing out her release at the same time he desperately clambered towards his own.

He managed to pull out just in time, his teeth still deep in her neck, his release spilling hot onto her stomach in bursts of pleasure.

And even though Cassian had vowed to bite her and Nesta had already marked him, he found himself apologising at the red, angry dents in her skin. How was it that he couldn’t bare to hurt her but biting her neck was a completely different story?

“Sorry,” Cassian rasped. His mouth was as dry as a desert as he gingerly touched his fingers to the marks, but Nesta’s fingers clasped around his, halting him. Then she raised her other hand and brushed her knuckles over the identical marking on his. Reminding him that she’d done the same—had been the first to do it.

“I liked it,” Nesta admitted brazenly, but she didn’t stop him from dragging his tongue over the marks. Shivered instead. Held his head to her.

“That was intense,” Cassian rasped eventually against her ear, after the quiet had settled over them like a blanket. He nuzzled at her neck again, unable to help it—just one more precious moment like this until he had to pull away.

When Cassian pulled back to meet Nesta’s eyes, he found that the blue bled back into her irises. “It was always going to be intense,” she replied frankly.

Then Nesta looked down at her body, as if she’d only just remembered how he’d marked her in a different way. “You didn’t have to do that—pull out. I can take a tonic.”

Cassian hadn’t wanted to pull out at all—and neither had that tie which bound them together—but that wasn’t the point. “I’d rather be cautious,” he explained—a little too shortly, because Nesta bristled.

“Neither of us have had a tonic in a while,” Cassian elaborated when Nesta’s expression hardened.

He tried not to think about how his body had been desperate to spill inside of her. For him to press as deep as he possibly could until he was spent.

Climbing off of the bed, Cassian disappeared down the hallway and into the bathroom. When he returned, he was holding a wet towel.

“A while?” Nesta queried, picking up their conversation, as he began to clean her up.

Cassian cocked an eyebrow, but he didn’t dare meet her eyes lest she read him. His shoulders turned rigid at the thought. “Have you been sneaking people in and out of the bungalow that I’m not aware of?” he asked.

They both knew that Cassian would tear any male she brought back to the bungalow to pieces, but neither of them voiced it.

“You go back to Velaris,” Nesta accused. “You visit the other camps.”

For a moment, Cassian stared at her. Did she believe that he’d been fucking other fae? She had taunted him in Velaris the other day, but Cassian had thought that it was just their extended, agonising tussle of foreplay.

Perhaps you should go in search of some female company tonight.

Cassian managed to huff a breath, but it wasn’t one of amusement. He knew that his expression was steely as he said, “I told you that I don’t sleep with Illyrians. And I haven’t been fucking around in Velaris.”

From the way Nesta’s expression darkened, Cassian wasn't sure she believed him.

She opened her mouth to throw back a retort, but Cassian wanted the discussion to end. If she knew he’d barely touched another female since he’d met her, she’d run the other way. It was too intense a confession for someone who didn’t know what they wanted.

“It was self-inflicted,” Cassian supplied, his tone flinty enough to warn her that he wasn’t willing to discuss the subject any further.

Climbing off of the bed to further his point, Cassian extended a hand towards her. Banished any of the rigidity to his posture. “Come stand in the tub with me.”

There was a sinful promise behind the order. Already Cassian could envisage how he’d press Nesta against the tiles, his lips trailing open mouthed kisses as he kneeled before her—

Nesta must have thought similarly, because the pleasure that sparked in his stomach was not his own. But still she studied him, her head cocked as if she was trying to figure him out. Her hair was a muss of golden brown, her skin glistening with sweat that Cassian wanted to lick off.

Nesta parted her lips, taking stock, but Cassian didn’t allow her to speak. “I’ll make it worth your while,” he vowed. Meant it. Because already he was turning hard again, that desire to have her roaring.

He’d known this would happen. Knew that finally being inside of her wouldn’t sate him but stoke the embers into flames. But Cassian didn’t hide it—utterly unashamed of this need for her. From the way Nesta’s nostrils billowed, he knew she'd marked the change in his scent.

Nesta’s eyes flicked to his cock and the she-devil smirked, her lips curving in a way that had Cassian thinking about how they might wrap around him—how her tongue might feel, how warm she’d be…

In one supple movement, Nesta stood. Took his hand, her slim fingers threading around his large ones. Raised her chin and levelled him with a smoky blue gaze that promised wicked, wonderful things. “Then lead the way, general.”

Tags (let me know if you want to be added/removed): @arinbelle @superspiritfestival @sayosdreams @perseusannabeth @mylittlebigplanet @biggestwingspan-az @bellsqueen @ekaterinakostrova @bookstantrash @prophecyerised @rainbowcheetah512 @awesomelena555 @wannawriteyouabook @lovelynesta @melphss @darkshadowqueensrule @laylaameer01 @a-trifling-matter @grouchycritic7794 @thalia-2-rose @champanheandluxxury @swankii-art-teacher @princessconsuela02 @lavendergoomsltd @princessofmerchants-reads @jeakat @sjm-things @imwritingthesewords @nestable @inejbrekkxr @silvernesta @inyourmindeye @amelie775 @helen-the-weirdo @pizzaneverdisappoints @wishfulimaginings @trash-for-nessian @my-fan-side @sophilightwood @valkyriesupremacy @vidalinav @onceupona-chaos @inardour @thesunremembersyourface @teagoddess99 @ellies-iced-coffee @nehemikkele @misswonderflower

[allisonagrent]

ally argent headcannons bc i miss her <3

shes that one friend who takes pictures of everything

“sunset? ooh lemme take a pic of this” “oh look at that pretty view!!!!!!!!” “aw u guys look so cute hold on lemme click a pic” “ally why do u have a picture of a bug crawling on your apartment floor” “shut up it was cute!!”

she has like 5 different cameras (underwater, disposable, polaroid, etc) + has a big ass board on her wall dedicated to polaroids of the pack

a whole section of her board is full of pictures of lydia

another is her and stiles bc besides lydia stiles is her best friend

they love pulling stupid pranks making fun of each other and treating each other like siblings <3

once she called stiles her brother but he said he didn't mind so they constantly refer to each other as ‘my little brother’ or ‘my sister’

everyone finds it endearing

the best pic shes ever taken according to her is a domestic shot of the mccall & puppy pack having dinner together

lydia and stiles are laughing together in a corner with scott and isaac, liam’s yelling something at theo and mason while corey sits there innocently, the parents are sitting on bar stools w drinks in their hands wondering how the fuck they got into this mess and kira and malia are making out

she can cook basic dishes but mostly orders in

4/7 days in a week theres no food in her house besides leftover takeout from a few days before

shes read every single jane austen book and has a whole shelf dedicated to her <3

she knits when shes anxious

[weepinglevi]

whos your favorite fic writer/moots and why? Got any recommendations?

first off: pls know that if you're not listed here it doesn't mean i don't like you or your work, it simply means that i have a pea sized brain. love all of u. keep on writing. i really don't want anyone to feel bad (ask nia, i've been crying to her about it).

secondly: i'm not referring to them as my "favourite" cos i can't pick favourites, never really could. maybe that's why i'm simping for so many aot men at once ahaha.

and last but not least: this is going to be a long post so i'mma do all of us the favour and put it under the cut. i feel very soft today and have been listening to the titanic soundtrack for the better half of my day. bear with me, i'mma shower you with love. go check them out!

CHECK THE DNI TAGS ON THESE BLOGS BEFORE READING OR FOLLOWING, PLEASE!

this is in no particular order.

@kojinnie: my queen of angst. the other half of the princess-duo (i came to the conclusion that we're both princesses, we deserve to hang around in pretty dresses and have the time of our lives). especially dream me home still haunts my dreams. i love how you captured the pain and fear both of them feel. and i kind of view it as the start of our friendship, what with both of us writing about the mission to retake wall maria and you jumping into my dms after the fact. love you, kojin, and i only wish you the best.

@starrynightlys: shield-maiden claire. beautiful, talented, funny claire. i love you and i am so happy to have found you here, i really am. i know i've told you this multiple times but whenever i see you on my dash - either fighting off the floch anon or you posting memes, there's a big fat grin on my face. apart from your absolutely mesmerising presence, there's also one work in particular i always come back to: the beginning of forever. you are my source of happy levi content. when the world turns dark and i want him to be happy, i turn to this fic and to your blog in general. love you and i am dreaming of us listening to some good music in a park sometime soon!

@snkslush: luv! my first tumblr wife! this alone has gotten you a very special place in my heart ahah. i love the energy you have - whenever i see you on my dash i feel happy and it's because of how you interact with others. it's like i've known you since forever because of how easily i can talk to you. and reading your filthy thoughts about connie has set off my connie brainrot more than once ahaha.

your headcanons on how the aot boys react when their s/o tells them they want to be railed and also the follow-up still has me drooling. fucking love them. so accurate as well and i'm a slut for everyone ahha

@aotwrites: my lil sunflower. lil sis, you have no idea how happy you truly make me. i love the lil talks we have and i still remember the message you sent me when you were half-asleep, i always giggle when reading it ahah. just know that if you ever want, you can come up to me and ask me weird stuff lil sisters normally ask their bigger sisters. not that i have any good advice to give, but i have a lot of reaction pics to send!

it's very hard for me to pick out one of your fics to recommend - like i said, i have a problem with choosing favourites. but if i absolutely had to, it'd be all of the stars. cried my way through it. will cry again when i reread it. i cry a lot in general.

@arumiee: mars, i know we haven't talked much but our conversation about nurse!armin yesterday is still running around in my head. i can't wait to read about either armin or eren in scrubs, istg. you're so kind and happy-go-lucky, i usually feel nervous when tagging someone on a post but with you yesterday? no problem at all. you give me a sense of safety ahaha (pls don't think i'm weird, i'm actually not. or, yes, i am but in a good way). your purify me had me wanting to take a bath in holy water after reading it. preferably a bath with eren. i guess we're both headed to hell ahaha

@odmlevis: rizrizrizrizriz. i'm laughing right now because all i think of is our last conversation and it's hard to gather my thoughts whenever my mind goes to eren and reiner. or eren and jean - or jean and connie ahaha. i'll have all of them with me in the middle, pretty please.

but back to topic: your the most hurtful things they'd say to you still has my heart breaking. absolutely broken into pieces. because somehow you managed to put all of my worst fears into it. i don't know why i reread it on the regular (i do know, i'm a sucker for pain). other than that, i'm always so happy when i read your messages and when i see you out and about, making others happy with your lil "someone told me to tell you something"-thing you do so often. you're so precious, lemme smooch you.

@onyxoverride: onyx istg your blog is the place i go to if i am down bad. down bad bad. i know we rarely talk and me saying your blog is the place i take my horniness to might come off as weird but it's the truth. i even have problems with picking a favourite because goddamn they're all so good?? what is your secret? if there's a reason for me to go to hell (other than mars' purify me) it's gonna be because of ocean spit. do i have to elaborate further? eren's titan form is fucking hot and thank you for this delicious meal ahha. i am getting all flustered rn just by looking at the lil pic on top of your fic. i will see myself out now. love u onyx you are cool as hell (and i'm nervous as fuck - you're sitting at the cool kids' table in my head ahah - that's why i am so silent around u)

@1252291: and now to you. connie 2 my sasha. erwin smiths ball whore. twIN FLAME, LIGHT OF MY LIFE. buckle up cos we're in for a wild ride. i was debating whether or not to post every of your fics here, because i love all of them so much. i came up with a better idea tho: here's your masterlist. i will talk about two of your works in particular later on, but first you're gonna have to endure me violently showering you with kisses and love.

i haven't told you this before (shocking, i know) but ever since we started talking, i feel like i have a real-life friend again. i haven't had friends in a while and i am so fucking thankful to have you. i really am. i even told my therapist about you because he asked why i am so happy all of a sudden? newsflash: it's because of you.

usually, it was insomnia keeping me up at night but now it's because i am talking to you. and you have no idea how fucking great it feels to wake up in the morning and feel tired; not because some shitty thoughts kept me awake but because i was talking to a friend. i will forever love you for this. you've been there when i was at one of the darkest and loneliest stages of my life and lit up the fucking room with your personality and humour. thank you for being my light. for giving me the same feeling i have when rewatching lord of the rings. for being you. i will stop now but you know i will keep on loving you on main until i take my last breath.

now to your works. falling in love and stay forever. i think you already knew that these are the ones i hold dearest. i still think about felix and rue. i love felix and rue and my heart hurts when thinking of them. your way with words has characters coming to life and touching your heart in a way i've never experienced before. like i said, it felt like those are my friend who died. my fingers running through levi's hair, trying to make his endless pain go away. i am crying again. thank you for creating this. if you ever find the books you've written (or write a new one) i will buy a copy. or ten. have to have some to give away so i can promote your work.

i love u connie 2 my sasha. i really do.

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Book One: Gold (Prompto x Reader) Chapter X

Making their way up the Rock of Ravatogh, the royal retinue and the guardian prepared themselves for the long trek ahead of them. As they proceeded up the rocky, jagged path, Gladio spoke up. "Just think about what's waiting at the top."

"Lemme guess: one aching back and two very sore feet," Prompto sarcastically replied.

"Like you couldn't use some meat on those legs of yours," the shield scoffed.

"They work for me."

"But what about the lady?"

Being the closest person to Prompto and the only girl in the group, (Y/n) knew the brute was referring to her. "...Excuse me?"

"You like muscle or chicken legs?" Gladio asked.

"I don't hate nor like either. Besides, I love Prompto the way he is."

"In your face, big guy!" The marksman cackled victoriously. "My lady isn't shallow and doesn't judge a book by its cover."

The spirit groaned at their childish behavior and continued to follow Noctis up the Rock of Ravatogh. They encountered some saphyrtails, which they easily disposed of. They proceeded up the path made of hardened molten lava where they eventually stumbled upon diverging paths. What caught their attention was how vast the area opened up and the horde of spiracorns and saphyrtails fighting against each other.

(Y/n) watched for a few seconds as the creatures fought one another and failed to notice their presence. When they all gathered together to attack each other again, she conjured a large fireball and tossed it at the creatures. Not only did she set them ablaze, she caused their corpses to turn to ash. She winced when seeing her spell was a little too powerful. "I may have gone a little overboard with that..."

"A little?" Gladio chuckled. "You turned them into ash."

"Well, you did say your magic was more powerful in hot environments," Prompto said.

Noctis glanced at the guardian. "Thought you didn't want us to "miss all the fun"."

"That one was a freebie because they were already injuring one another. I just sped up the process," (Y/n) retorted. "Anyway, pick a path. Let's find this cave and royal arm as quick as we can. You four already look exhausted."

Noctis glanced down both of the paths before deciding to go up the right one. Luckily, he picked the correct way and avoided another battle down a pathway that led to a dead end.

Continuing up, the pathway was getting steeper. They all could feel the muscles in their legs aching at how steep the path was becoming as they went up. Prompto glanced up as he exhaled heavily, but he couldn't see the end of the path. "Did we hit the top? Feeling past my peak."

Gladio also took note of how steep and long the path ahead was. "I'm afraid you've still got a ways to go."

The blonde wandered over towards (Y/n), smiling with a faint blush. However, his red cheeks weren't due to their close proximity but the heat of the volcano. "Oh beautiful goddess of fire, could I possibly ask for a lift to the top?"

She stopped and crossed her arms. "You want me to transform and carry you to the top?"

He nodded, coming to a halt in front of her with his hands clasped together. "Yes! I'll do anything you ask!"

"Hmmm..." She looked around, noticing the others had stop to listen to their exchange. Tapping her chin in thought, she finally came to a conclusion. "Why don't we all share the love and suffer together?"

"What? No!"

She nodded, faking an innocent smile. "Oh, yes. Get those legs moving, Prom. The longer we stand around here, the longer it'll take us to get to the top." She walked around him and made her way up the extremely steep slope.

Prompto gaped at her back as she ascended the volcano, leaving him and the others behind. His shoulders slumped forward with a dejected sigh. Reluctantly, he followed Noctis up the steep slope. He could feel the muscles in his legs screaming. "Killer climb, dude."

"It's killing me," Noctis groaned.

"Feeling a steep pain," Ignis said, unable to stop the joke from slipping from his lips.

"One false step and you won't feel anything ever again," Gladio commented.

Halfway up the steep path, Prompto had to stop for a brief second to catch his breath. His legs were a little shaky from the intense climb. He breathed out heavily, hunched over his knees. His hands rested on his thighs. "I think my legs are gonna give... Don't even wanna think about how sore I'm gonna be tomorrow." As he tried to regain his bearings, he saw how close he was to the edge of the cliff. Curious, he peaked down at the rocky ravine below. He thought he saw something twinkle in the light of the setting sun.

Not realizing how weak he was, Prompto lost his balance and screamed as his body started leaning forward. He tried to quickly step back from the ledge to prevent himself from falling, but he blinked in surprise when he noticed his fall was halted. That's when he felt a hand latched around his belt. Looking over his shoulder, he saw (Y/n) was the one who saved him from falling.

"You really are reckless sometimes, Prom," she sighed, pulling on his belt. She tugged him away from the ledge and released her hold on the accessory. "C'mon, you're almost to the top."

The group reached the top of the slope and crossed a rocky overpass. As they made their way down another path, Noctis tugged on the collar of his shirt with a groan. "The hell's with the heat?"

"As we climb, so does the temperature," Ignis commented.

"Well, this is a volcano," (Y/n) stated.

"Hey!" Prompto shouted. "What are the chances of it erupting while we're here?"

"Who knows," the girl answered.

"Bright side-you won't suffer long if it does," Gladio chimed in.

Reaching another junction, they came across more spiracorns and saphyrtails. Noctis glanced at the spirit in hopes to get another freebie, but groaned when she waved innocently at him. He performed a warp-strike and joined the battle. The others summoned their own weapons and joined the prince.

After the battle concluded, Noctis chose the right path. Molten lava covered the ground, causing the boys to rethink the prince's decision. (Y/n), on the other hand, wasn't bothered by the hot ground. Her clothes were fireproof and she welcomed the heat when she stepped onto the molten lava. She turned to the boys, placing a hand on her hip. "We should try searching every path, right? Vyv wants that picture."

Gladio folded his arms across his broad chest. "How do you expect us to follow you, short stuff? We're not fireproof like you."

"I only need one person to come with me." She jammed a finger in Prompto's direction. "C'mon, sweetheart, you're coming with me."

He blushes faintly at the term of endearment as the girl transformed. He jogged over to her and climbed onto her back. When he had a secure grip on her fur, she turned and proceeded up the molten lava path. A little ways up, they came across a flock of thunderocs. Prompto summoned his gun and easily disposed of the birds by himself.

Reaching the end of the path, they stumbled upon the cave Vyv mentioned. Prompto stared at the pit and waterfall of boiling lava. "That looks like lava so we definitely don't wanna go down there." He raisies his camera and aimed it at the cave. "Could you get a little closer, (Y/n)?"

The fox took a few steps closer to the molten edge. "Oh, that's much better!" Prompto chanted. He took a few pictures before lowering his camera and patting the top of the spirit's head. "I got the best pics! Now we can head back." The guardian turned away from the cave and trotted back down the path.

Once they reached the bottom and Prompto was off her back, (Y/n) reverted back to her human form. "Well, we can check one thing off our to-do list."

"You were able to locate the cave of which Vyv spoke of?" Ignis asked.

"Yep. Now all we have to do is find the royal tomb."

Noctis was fanning his face, groaning, "We need to hurry. I'm burning up in here."

"And I'm sweating buckets," Gladio added. He then gestured to the (h/c)-haired girl. "Short stuff here hasn't even broken a sweat."

"Like I said, this is my kinda place," she giggled.

The group wandered down the left path. There, they found a flock of wyverns and thunderocs. Making quick work of the creatures, they easily cut them down and climbed up the cliffside. Up top, they discovered Owlyss Haven.

"This place is practically begging to be camped on!" Prompto cheered.

"You are aware we've no camping equipment, correct?" Ignis asked.

"Yeah, but look at the time! The sun's setting and my legs are killing me..."

"I could just flop down on the ground and sleep right now," Noctis said with a large yawn.

"Guess we're camping without the camping gear," Gladio said.

"I could fetch the camping gear," (Y/n) offered. "With help, of course. It might take a few trips, though."

"I'll go with you," Gladio offered.

Prompto, who'd been analyzing the pictures of the lava cave on his camera, overhead the shield. His head snapped up. "I-I wanna go with her!"

The brute already knew why the blonde intervened. "You afraid I'm gonna steal your girl?"

"Wha-no!"

"Then sit that scrawny ass of yours down. Let the men handle the heavy lifting."

Before Prompto could retort, (Y/n) interrupted. "Okay, that's enough. Prom, you stay here. Gladio, you come with me."

"What?" The blonde gasped. "But (Y/n)-!"

"This isn't about who's strongest or who I like the most. This is simply just trying to get the camping gear up here. Gladio offered first so he'll be the one accompanying me. Are we clear?"

Prompto hung his head with a dejected sigh. "Yes..."

"Great! Now then, let's go, Gladio." The guardian transform and allowed the shield onto her back. When he was comfortable and had a hold of her fur, she ran back in the direction of the Regalia.

Prompto watched them leave with a childish pout. "He better not do anything..."

<--------------<<<<<

It took (Y/n) and Gladio three trips to bring all the camping gear to the top of the Rock of Ravatogh. Thanks to her multiple tails and help from the shield, they avoided a fourth trip back to the car. They even brought up Ignis' ingredients so he could prepare dinner.

Once the tent was pitched, Prompto crawled inside and hid from the others. He scrolled through the pictures on the camera, but his attention was drawn away from the small screen when the tent flap opened. He watched (Y/n) enter the tent and sit beside him. Not saying a word, he looked back down at his camera.

Folding her legs to the side, the guardian rested her head on Prompto's shoulders and watched him flip through the various photos on his camera. He tensed slightly, which didn't go unnoticed by the girl. She lifted her head from his shoulder with a sigh. "Do you really think Gladio made a move on me?"

"This is Gladio we're talking about..." Prompto muttered under his breath.

(Y/n) carefully took the camera out of his hands and set it aside. She placed her hands on the floor of the tent and crawled towards him on her hands and knees with a stoic expression. Prompto swallowed nervously, backing away from the approaching girl. He wound up slipping and falling on to his back. His eyes nearly popped out of his head the moment the girl crawled over his body and hovered above him. Her (h/c) locks fell over her shoulders as she looked down at him. Her hands came to a halt by his shoulders. "Gladio didn't try to hit on me. He talked to me about his family."

Prompto swallowed the lump in his throat, cheeks turning slightly red. "R-Really...?"

"Why would I lie to you?" She retorted. "What could I possibly gain by doing that?"

"Th-That's..."

"There's no way I'd leave you for someone like Gladio. You're the man I love, not him." She gently lowered herself onto him and rested her body against his. She pressed her ear to his chest and listened to his racing heart. Curling up against him, she sighed contently and closed her eyes. "I kinda wish we were at a hotel so we could have our own room."

"Yeah. Me too." Prompto gradually wrapped his arms around her. One hand entangled in her (h/c) locks while the other was placed on her lower back. He closed his eyes, basking in her warmth and gentle touch. Her pleasant scent wafted into his nose, making him smile. "Sorry for earlier. I-I didn't mean to sound like I was accusing you of lying."

"It's okay. I forgive you," she giggled. "As payback, we're gonna stay like this until dinner's ready."

"You won't hear me complaining."

As intended, the couple remained in the same position until dinner was ready fifteen minutes later. They exited the tent and ate dinner with the others. Once their bellies were full and it was time to call it a night, they put out the campfire and crawled into the tent. It was somewhat cramped, but everyone was able to get comfortable and fall asleep.

<--------------<<<<<

The following morning, the group got up early. (Y/n) and Gladio returned the camping gear to the car before they decided to proceed forward. They wandered down a side path, but they didn't make it far before the shield stopped them. "Hold up-down there. What is that?"

(Y/n) followed his line of sight and saw what he was talking about. "It almost looks like a giant nest."

"Please don't let it be," Prompto whimpered. "If it's big, then there's an even bigger thing that made it."

Noctis continued to lead his companions down the rocky path towards a horde of wyverns and killer wasps. They slew the creatures before exploring the rest of the path. At the end, they dropped into a large nest.

"Wow. It really is a big nest," Noctis commented, stepping over a large feather.

"Yeah, but...where's the thing that made it?" Prompto shuddered.

"No idea."

Prompto kept looking at the sky for any sign of a large creature. He thought they were clear until spotting a large object flying around the Rock of Ravatogh. He gasped before leaping at the prince, grabbing his leg. "Noct, there it is!"

Noctis grunted as his body fell to the ground, the blonde yanking on his left leg. "There what is?"

"Giant...BIRD!" The sharpshooter shrieked. "And it's coming right at us!"

(Y/n) looked up at the sky to see the large winged creature closing in on them. "Uh-oh..."

"Oh no!" Noctis yelled.

"Get away from there!" Gladio bellowed.

The prince tried to shake Prompto off his leg when seeing the large bird was descending towards them. "Let go!"

The blonde hugged Noctis' leg tighter. "I can't!"

Ignis ran over and used his own body to push them both lower to ground. "Get down!"

The zu swooped in, targeting the three. Gladio and (Y/n) stepped back to avoid the bird's large form as it landed in the nest before taking off again once seeing it was unable to grab Noctis, Prompto, or Ignis.

The strategist adjusted his glasses. "Seems we arrived at feeding time."

Prompto stared up at the sky as he laid on his back. "We're not staying for the meal, are we?"

"Let's just get out of here before it decides to grab one of us again," (Y/n) said. "If we do plan on fighting that thing, we need a place that isn't so constricting."

"Let's go," Noctis said, hopping down the nearby ledge. The others followed and entered the vast area. There was just enough room to fight the mighty zu. They watched carefully as the large bird swooped around the sky one last time before landing with a thunderous screech. Noctis warped to its beak and started attacking. Gladio and Ignis focuses on the feet while Prompto and (Y/n) targeted the wings.

The spirit's attention was drawn to Noctis when one of the wings located on the zu's head swatted him like a fly. She transformed and caught him on her back, placing him back on the ground before jumping onto the creature's back. She dug her claws into its flesh and used her fire breath to burn a portion of its back.

The zu cried out in pain as some of its feathers were set ablaze. It went on a small rampage, stomping around and knocking the boys back. Ignis, who took the heaviest blow, fell onto his back with a groan. Prompto fires a single round at the zu before rushing to the advisor's aid and handing him a phoenix down.

(Y/n) unlatched her claws from the zu's back and leapt to safety when it spread out its wings and shook its body. After it knew she was off its back, it set its sight on the boys. It used its heavy body and large size to deliver heavy damage to them. The spirit tried to distract the bird, but she couldn't gain its attention even if she hurled a fireball at it.

After struggling for nearly half an hour against the zu, the boys had gone through many curatives. (Y/n), who was barely injured, knew this battle was too much for them to handle unless they had more help. Reverting back to her human form, she shouted at the prince. "Noctis, a divine intervention would be great right about now!"

Noctis dodges the zu's talons and glanced at her. "H-Hey, I'm trying here!"

"You have no idea how you did it before, do you?!"

"Exactly!"

She groaned, deciding to take matters into her own hands. She didn't want them to find out this way, but they'll be killed at this rate. She conjured the Creator's Blade, holding the hilt with both hands. She pointed the sharp tip at the ground, inhaling deeply before exhaling. "God of creation, use my body to do your bidding for I am the conduit," she whispered. The sword began glowing, grabbing the boys' attentions.

"(Y/n), what're you doing?!" Prompto shouted.

She glanced at him with an apologetic expression. "Ending this battle."

Previous Chapter || Next Chapter || Masterlist

[imma-lil-teapot]

Each TMNT Incarnation and Where They Stand With Me :)

(Nervous chuckle) ... Yeah no, I suck at titles. Moving on! 

Y’all can go ahead and skip this part if you’re not interested in senseless rambling and just wanna get to the TMNT fun~ ;) 

Soooooo, I’ve recently updated my Tumblr page to a blog dedicated to all my fandoms (musing, headcanons, writing, gifs, pics, the works, basically anything and everything in relation to them) since I wasn’t really ever doing anything with it other than using it to share pics mostly. But ever since I stumbled back into the TMNT fandom, I’ve been searching Tumblr for fan content and OMGOSH, did I hit the jackpot! Headcanons, fanfics, Turtle x reader stories, so much juicy stuff! Am hooked! Dunno why I never tried searching for similar stuff in the past for my other fandoms! I guess I just... didn’t realize there was so much content here. :O But anyway, I always wanted a place to share ideas and thoughts regarding my fandoms outside of sites like Deviantart and Fanfiction.net, and heck, it’s been here under my nose all this time... Y’all gonna have to forgive me; I’m an old fart. ;P (Insert image of Slowpoke for reference) So without further ado... 

LET’S GET THIS PIZZA PARTY STARTED! 

Imma start this blog off really simple and, as the title states, just give you all a small-ish idea of where each TMNT universe stands (or ranks?) with me, personally... Note the ‘personally’ part so please don’t feel offended if I don’t share the same opinion as you on a particular verse. ^^; I have my own tastes and will respect the next person’s when it comes to them. ;) Also, please beware the typos (which there most definitely will be)...

IN RELEASE DATE ORDER: (Hopefully they’re right)

MIRAGE COMICS~

Imma just say it: I haven’t read any of them yet. :/ There probably are sites out there that would allow you to view them online for free, but in truth, I’ve been a little slack about trying to find any... That may however change someday as I always tell myself I should really seek out the source material so it’s only a matter of time. What I do know, however, is that they’re of course a lot darker than most incarnations (which I don’t have a problem with personally) and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious as to exactly how much darker. X’D The closest I’ve come to ‘knowing’ these Turts comes from watching the Turtles Forever movie and they weren’t in it for a long time so it’s very difficult to say what they actually mean to me, so we’ll just put these guys down in the ‘not sure’ column for now. ;)

1987 CARTOON~

HAHA~ I think any fan of the franchise as a whole knows this little gem! The series that really hit it off and spawned over a 190 eps! Quite an impressive feat for a Saturday morning cartoon! It made its way to TVs the year before I was born, but it would take another few before it would reach our tubes (we’re always a few years behind the rest of the world :/ ) so I was around four when I was first introduced to it and needless to say, I loved it back then! Michelangelo was initially my fav due to him being my older brothers’ fav and the one they mainly spoke of, but it didn’t take long before my favering gravitated towards Leonardo (even at such a young age) and has been that way ever since. ;) But where exactly does the series stand with me as an adult nowadays with so many other verses we’ve been exposed to? I do hold a lot of nostalgia (as many older do) for it, and I mean, come on, that theme song is ageless, and I even started watching a lot of vids involving the original VAs and the shenanigans they get up to and seriously, it’s so heartwarming and fun to see them! But I have to be honest...

It’s not my fav verse, honestly. I will always adore them, of course, because of the nostalgia and the goofiness... But it’s the latter that’s mostly the reason for it being placed a bit lower on the favoritism ladder. While its a fun watch if you want something lighthearted, I still prefer the idea of the darker undertones that comes with being associated with ninjas. It’s just a preference. Plus, the Turtles designs are big one for me, and I’m sorry to say, but I keep seeing these fellas as more frog-like than turtle, despite the shells. X’D So yeah, no big reasoning for it, and even if someone were to ask me if I like these guys, I’ll still say yes, just that they’re not my ultimate fav is all. ;)

Also, we won’t talk about the Japanese Anime Ninja Turtles: Superman Legend or something to that extent... We’ll just let that one be gently swept under the carpet. ;) Only ever saw the trailer for it and that’s all I’ll ever need to see in my lifetime.

1990 MOVIES TRILOGY~

Now funny enough, I really don’t remember ever seeing these movies as a kid, though it’s possible I did and just maybe blocked the memory, but I highly doubt it... So yeah, I saw these movies as an adult already. The first is praised by most fans, and honestly, I can see why: it’s pretty good! :D The acting is very decent and the humour’s brilliant! The two sequels... not so much but still okay. ;) Where they sit with me... Not too far on the ladder again I’m afraid. :/ While I do really enjoy and appreciate the acting and that humour (”I made a funny.” X’D) it mostly comes down to the Turtles designs again... I really can’t see past them being actors in costumes rather than characters. :’( Granted, good actors. ;) And heck, Jim Henson did a phenomenal job! They’re just not really the movies for me is all, even if I do go back and watch ‘em every now and then. X’D I do however melt every time at the scene in the first movie where Raph wakes up in the bath and Leo’s there and apologizing and all... Makes me all gooey inside! X’D The feels are real! Speaking of Leo, though, he sounds even younger than Mikey. Small nitpick, that, but... why? X’D

But yeah, let’s just say, they’re good movies, just, not my favs.

Also, Coming Out Of Their Shells tour... Yeah, I’m gonna just... pretend that doesn’t exist for a minute. 

THE NEXT MUTATION~

Nope.

Saw one ep as a kid and am not interested in seeing anymore.

Although, VA Matt Hill voices Raph. That’s one good thing.

2003/2k3~

Well it wasn’t already apparent by my avatar... Ladies and gents, I present to you... My fav TMNT verse to date! Oh my goodness, where do I even begin with this delicious series?! :D Firstly, animation: so appealing, comic book-y style! Their designs: without sounding pervy, veeeeeeeery appealing (hehehehehe), no seriously, they sometimes have a bitta bulk to them but it honestly works, and dem muscles, and the cool eyes! The VAs: spot on! Perfect! Wouldn’t have ‘em any other way! Make me melt, Mr. Michael Sinterniklaas~ (cough) Their personalities: Omgosh, just yes! So perfect! They’re easily differentiated and yet still work together so well. Leo’s mature and level-headed (well, most of the time ;P ) yet still gets tested a lot and even has a fun side that’s shown on occasion. Raph’s grouchy and violent but is shown on more than one occasion that’s he’s total softie and really does care. Don’s just a sweetheart and freakishly smart and even has slips ups from time to time. Mikey... omgosh, best Mikey ever! So much fun! So hilarious! And just a bundle of energy, but not at all an idiot like he’s sometimes portrayed in other verses. He’s witty, mischievous and just so adorable! Heck, even Master Splinter, April, Casey, the lot of them are just awesome in this series! And wow, they really do lean more towards the source material (or so I’m told) when it comes to the plots! It’s darker than the other previous verses yet still remaining kid-friendly (although I question it at times XD) and omgosh, it’s just everything I want in a TMNT universe! Granted, it’s not perfect perfect, but it nailed it for me. ;) It really showed so lovely character developments, alsortsa different genres, the humour will leave you in stitches, the Turts are all just so lovable, I can’t get enough of them! This series was really my high point and I’ve yet to find one that tops it~

Btw, this even includes Fast Forward and Back to the Sewer (BTTS). The former being my least fav of the series simply due to the setting and again, it’s just preference. I even liked BTTS, even though I’m not overly fond of a cyberspace setting, but I found myself really liking the art style and the general plot. :D 

2007/2k7~

As with the last, if you’ve picked up on the page’s header/banner, you’d have probably guessed that the 2007 movie is also a good candidate for one my favs... And you’d be correct. ;) I’m actually very fond of this movie, and it’s largely due to the Turtles designs. I love how they were done! They just look so cool! <3 Subtle differences tell the viewer who’s who even if they didn’t have a mask or weapons. The VAs were also pretty good~ Now, the story isn’t the greatest, I’ll admit. Personally I thought it was okay, but know many fans think otherwise. But I did like the confrontation between Leo and Raph! It got real there, peeps! :O Now here’s also where it falls a little on its face for me: I didn’t really like how they handled Leo’s personality (if you haven’t already picked up on it, yes, I’m a Leo fangirl and I’m picky when it comes to how they handle his personality) but it’s a nitpick again, yet, I still feel compelled to state my opinion: the whole “I’m better than you.” comment really took me back and made me think they pushed it. I honestly like to believe he’d never actually say something like that... at least, 2003!Leo wouldn’t. X’D But that’s just my problem: I’m comparing a different verse’s Leo to this one and whether I like it or not, he said it. :/ Oh well, it still made for some fun action scenes and I’ll still always like the movie.

Bit of a goof on my side: I honestly thought that this movie was made to tie in with the 2003!verse due to the timeline in which it was produced, but turns out, it’s actually closer to the 1990′s timeline although still considered it’s own verse.

2012/2k12~

Oooh boy, lemme prepare for the backlash real quick... I’m uhhhh... not a fan of these boys. :/ I don’t mind them, but I’m honestly never gonna watch the series again. It’s hard to top your fav when you’ve kinda already hit your high point, ya know. Now before you light your torches and sharpen your pitchforks, hear me out: I will never bash the series, or make fun of anyone who likes it! Or anything to that extent! It’s just wasn’t for me, plain and simple, and it’s got nothing to do with it being ‘new’ or I’m just an old fart stuck in my ways. Heck, If you’re still reading, you would’ve found out that even nostalgia couldn’t beat the series that grasped me in my teens! So no, it has nothing to do with age. But if you do need a reason: I wasn’t overly fond of how they handle the characters. For one, they look and act a bit too young, Mikey is just... wow, something else. Donnie’s... sheesh, pretty snappy and antagonising. Raph’s well... okay, he’s meant to be angry half the time, and they did give him some more layers with Spike and Mona Lisa and whatnot, but he still kinda never learns his lesson if I can say that? He’ll learn that he shouldn’t cause issues with others, yet next episode he’s back at it again. :/ Leo’s... wow, just not like other Leos. X’D Best way I can describe him is... young? Very childlike. And even when he was progressing to becoming this better leader, I honestly couldn’t even see the change. My mind was just stuck on this “He’s a babeh.” notion. Also, I’m not even gonna start on this April and Casey. Just. No. Most of the characters were annoying and I just kept seeing recycled plot after plot. What I did like was the romance that blossomed between Raph and Mona (albeit far too rushed) and even Donnie liking April was adorable (but seriously Donnie, you can do so much better), and there were some really heartfelt moments, like Splinter telling Leo to leo his brothers with his heart and not his head, and the scenes when they were Tots will always make me squeal... But yeah... without leaving any spoilers.... about Splinter... just... thanks, Nickelodeon. Y’all know what I mean. Not once... But twice.... Really? So yeah, look, I realized some of those reasons might even be petty, but again, it’s just not the series for me, but anyone who’s a fan... You keep being a fan! ;) I’m glad you can enjoy something I can’t. ;)

2014/2k14/2016/2k16 AKA BAYVERSE~

HAHA~ Every fan’s favorite... If only. X’D Jokes aside, despite many fans claiming the Bay movies ruined the franchise, these two films gathered a small following... And I’m apart of it. :) Funny enough, I honestly didn’t know what to think of them when the movie first came out. I think I was just taken aback by the sheer amount of detail and all that went into their designs. I didn’t not like them, but again, their designs were a lot to take in. :O Even now after seeing the movies quite a few times over, I find myself constantly discovering something I didn’t notice on them before, be it a strap or a scar etc. And it honestly took some getting use to their sizes, I mean, sheesh! :O Not to mention the different background story, and Megan Fox’s wooden, expressionless acting, but despite all that... I found myself actually growing attached to these hulks of Turtles. They still have a lot of that heart in them and plus they’re just so much fun, I mean, can we say ‘Elevator scene’? X’D Now again, not perfect by anys mean, but still fun and pretty decent incarnations to add to the franchise. Again, Leo’s been given this ‘Better than you’ a bit which irked me to be frank. Not always but it’s there sometimes, but otherwise alright. Raph’s a decent Raph. Even had some tender moments. Donnie’s adorable! X’D This slightly potty mouthed geek that you just gotta love. And Mikey... although given that bitta ‘idiot’ feel, is also just as lovable and you want to hug him every time he’s onscreen! 

In short, I like ‘em. :) They’re actually closer to the top of the ladder than some others.

RISE OF THE TMNT/ROTTMNT/2018/2K18~

Yeeeeeeeeuuuuuuh... no. Sorry. Not for me. :/ Again, gonna remind y’all, nothing to do with age. Nothing to do with change. I will say that the fluid animation is nice, and the fact that they chose 2D animation. :) Buuuuuut, wow, they were certainly a lot to take in. Almost as much as Bay’s Turtles. After watching a few eps, I will conclude that they really just aren’t what I’m looking for. I found that the constant joking, while sometimes funny, got a little bit much, plus such short eps. Raph being leader was a switch and one that took awhile to get use to and honestly, I’m just not for it, I don’t even know where to begin with Donnie, Mikey’s okay, Leo... (deep breath) I don’t know what they were thinking... Let’s not even go to Master Splinter. But anyways, I get that change was what they were going for and that it was more so based on the 1987 toon with the silliness so that’s fine. I’m glad it’s got so many fans. :) And honestly, I wanna end off just by saying...

That no matter what your thoughts on what I’ve said, I hope you can respect my opinions and choices cause at the end of the day, they’re just my own, and I will always respect yours! :D If you adore the verses I’m not too crazy about, that’s great! :D I want you all to love the heck out of them! And honestly, this is what’s so great about this franchise: there are so many verses to choose from! So many options and tastes to suit any and all! You don’t have to follow the masses! You go enjoy whichever incarnation(s) you want to! ;) 

And there we have it, my first fandom bloggy thingy~ Hope there’ll be many more where that came from! :D

This is Drag0n-Mistr3ss signing off~

[deveharrington]

How do you think Gillian feels about David dating someone a year older than her daughter?Do you think her eye rolling everytime he says he's too old or when he gets defensive when she tells him he's old or when he calls millennials kids is related to him choosing to date someone when they were barely out of their teens?How does he reconcile his real thoughts and feelings about age and then be in total denial about the age and maturity of the person he 100% supports now it seems. It's a mind bog.

Disclaimer: these are theories, not facts. 

Yeah its… like literally… Does this even make sense?: I can accept the logic of this kind of age gap situation occurring with any other person, but, and despite everything I’ve said about David, I STILL CANNOT BELIEVE THAT HE WOULD ACTUALLY DO THIS???!!??!!? Like, my instincts are telling me that he DOESN’T actually have the balls to do something as DISGUSTING as this UNLESS, AND TO YOUR POINT, he literally is like… COMPLETELY DETACHING AND REMOVING HIMSELF FROM HIS AGE/MORALS/HONESTY (example: just being completely dishonest to himself and to the other person in this shituation)/IDENTITY (example: identity as a father)… and it’s such an odd thing to try to imagine?? BUT, to me, there are some clues such as:

Like… I think the divorce cut him really deeply… TOO deeply for someone as fragile, as needing of affection, as dependent on others and as dependent on fantasies as him. I see it as: it literally removed from him this ideal identity/self he very badly wanted to build up towards. Now that it’s completely gone, with no chance of returning, he has completely let go (many things he has said point to this - to his indifference, apathy. He tries to disguise it as liberalism or artistry or whatever but it’s indifference to avoid having to face the devastation of the divorce). 

I think he really wants very badly to have a ton of meaning in everything he does (despite what he says about “easy come easy go” w/e) and all of his relationships (this current… whatever it is, is an example of him favouring a concept over reality). So something like a marriage/family/soulmate ending in his life would be detrimental.

Like, he was building up to a new “family man” identity and now that stage is completely gone. And I really do mean “stage” as in like, environment for him to perform. Hence, his current “performances” and “personas”, and I’m not just referring to his “music concerts”. It’s like his everyday life has also become a performance. 

Could it be fair to say that we cannot really try to compare his current position in life to his past? (like, Tea has moved on and David is getting older on his own… the pressure is on him to not “grow old alone” might be getting to him, and he is a generic dude with no introspective or problem solving skills so of course he could be fooled by a generic fear like this). 

As in, if he ever displayed any morals or sense in the past, actually I think it would be fair to try to understand why he would just let go of all his morals and sense if we look at his situation through HIS perspective of a devastating divorce and losing his previous moral purpose, identity, family, soulmate, everything, w/e, etc. 

And then the next question becomes: did he regress into his old self? And personally, I don’t think so, at least not fully. I guess the old habits and terrible view of females is still there, but I think he is using this situation (the divorce) to victimize himself and justify his “I don’t care anymore/I am beyond shame” bs. It’s bs. I can be sympathetic to the situation, but not to the way David tries to bend the rules or the truth to serve his selfish goals. 

AND IMMA STILL PUSH THAT COOL GIRL™/THE TEA LEONI STAND-IN LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE TEA LEONI !!!!! IVE SEEN IT WITH MY OWN EYES HOLD up lemme find some pics to rEBLOG.

[orangepunkwitch-blog]

Not dead!  Not an abandoned blog, either!  This kinda happens from time to time, so lemme explain myself:

Did the read-more page-breaking thing so nobody has to scroll for eons if they don’t care to read...

Anyway, my absence.  My mental and physical health have been absolute shit, and I’m starting to think I may have seasonal depression on top of situational depression as well since every damn winter I have no energy to do much of anything.  But as this year progresses, I’m finding myself perking up some.  My physical health is largely due to flare-ups (I haven’t been diagnosed but it’s strongly considered that I may have endometriosis; I need to get a laparoscopy to find out and currently cannot afford that, etc. etc. long story for another time) and lack of proper dieting and exercise.  The flare-ups and shitty periods are why I can’t exercise when I’d like to, and we can’t always afford healthy food for strength and energy I need to do things (my metabolism is high enough to where gaining weight isn’t exactly an issue with me despite being almost 30).  The worst of my pain occurs the first couple of days on my period, to which I have ultimately resorted to smoking marijuana which helps tremendously.  The only time I use it off the rag is during an extremely bad flare-up, which are thankfully rare.

‘Kay... mental health...  My husband and I still live with my parents here on the farm and it’s been stressful to the point where I’m getting anxiety-related chest-pains from time to time lately (long story-short: my parents---especially my dad---are assholes and even Loki said that no amount of magick can help them so I just rely on my wards in my room to have a safe haven).  This and the fact that we may have a lack of proper oxygen in this house might be contributing to it.  I plan on beginning my luck at growing pet-safe indoor house plants such as succulents and aloe vera to help with this after visiting a friend’s house whose mom pretty much has an indoor garden and realizing how much better I feel just being there for a few minutes.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about a topic relating to what this blog is about: Paganism, witchcraft, and being a Lokean.

Nope, still a solid Pagan with Druid beliefs and such, still a Lokean, but I haven’t practiced entirely too much witchcraft because there haven’t really been ways for me to use it where it’s needed.  You can’t expect certain spells to work if you’re not doing anything to help it along (such as a job wouldn’t just fall into your lap because you still have to apply for a job).  Money spells can get expensive if you’re doing it constantly for your spouse or parents because you’ll eventually run out of candles and such (I can’t do it without ingredients because I’m scatterbrained and need a damn decent point of focus and stuff).

I’ve got plans, though!  I still haven’t invoked Loki for practice (which he’s cool with) so there’s that; I need to work out a ritual, and Loki says that for me, being short, sweet, and too the point is the best way to go.  So I’ll be working something out with him in the (hopefully) near future.  There’s also the fact that I plan to try out my green thumb and see about growing pumpkins and sunflowers.  The sunflowers are to help with luck or prosperity or something on the property (honestly, I really wanna grow some out front to make the place look nice and having half a field of these flowers will be great for the faeries living there).  The pumpkins are because I fucking love Halloween and love pumpkin pie and have a few recipes involving pumpkin I wanna try.  I’d also like to try my luck at selling some, too.

While Loki tells me he isn’t associated with pumpkins, he sure as fuck likes to press the whole “come on, you know you wanna” bit onto me with growing them, and I’m getting this feeling that he’ll show up presence-wise whenever I go out to the pumpkin patch, so...  Whatever, I’m gonna grow pumpkins because pumpkins are fucking awesome.

I’ll be asking the neighbor that owns the property across the street from us if I can do some bone-hunting and maybe a little bit of fossil-hunting.  I still have the deer bones that my friend gave me that I need to wash, plus a dead young skunk I’m trying to decompose for bones, but winter makes this shit hard, so that’s part of my spring/summer activities.  Loki wants me to try and articulate the skunk and have it mounted on a wooden platform and put onto his altar and I’m sitting here like: uuuuhhhhhh you don’t have much in a way of room...  Regardless, articulating a mammalian skeleton will be beneficial in starting myself out in first-hand osteological studying, which is something you kinda have to know if you wanna be a paleontologist (which I do).  I’m also interested in creating a staff involving animal bones, but I’m not sure what I’ll be using it for.  If not for magick use, then it’d make for a great bring-along prop for a future druid character for D&D night (my husband and friends and I are just starting out with D&D because we haven’t been able to afford the books to play in the past, so we’re real excited about this).

Speaking of osteology, I plan on going to the museum with my husband and some friends in Pittsburgh and taking as many reference photos of all the fossil skeletons as I possibly can so I have decent and varied angles of the animals for reference when I practice to better my paleoart.  I don’t wanna keep on using artistic renditions or limited angles of the same damn pics of fossils on the internet for references.  I just need a decent camera, and I’m hoping my mom will stop acting immature and demand from a supposed friend that they give her her camera back.  She has more authority to demand it back than I do, and I never talk to those people anyways, so it would make sense if she tried getting the damn thing back.  Even though it’s sort of old, it’s still very high quality even for today’s standards and cost my parents nearly a grand to purchase.  If not, my husband (who is extremely knowledgeable in technology and quality) can help me get a new decent camera (because my iphone sucks and his samsung phone can only hold so much memory for the amount of pictures I wanna take).

I do plan on doing more magick this summer, largely to help with learning a new instrument.  While I do wanna properly learn the French Horn since I simply have the instrument, I need the proper mouthpiece (not sure if I’ve bitched about this in past posts), but every damn time I try to get the proper mouthpiece that I need, shit happens and I never get it.  However...  There’s a very strong possibility I could be learning how to play drums.  I’ve always wanted to play but my parents did their damnedest to keep me from that thinking I’d just be annoying on drums.  Turns out I’m quite proficient in terms of knowledge on how to play after a clerk at the local music store permitted me to play around on a drum set in one of the tutoring rooms because I paid very close attention to my band teacher helping the percussion section back in middle school.  That knowledge stuck with me because I wanted to play drums so damn bad.  So as it turns out, looks like I’ll be a drummer after all!  It’d be a great way to help me stay in some upper-body shape and help relieve stress through movement while creating music.  I’ll worry about starting a band later once I’ve actually become proficient in actually playing the drums, though.

Loki has made sure I stayed on the right path to where I don’t completely go on hiatus regarding creativity.  I have a deviantART now if anyone is interested, and I’ve been working on some DIY punk clothing for myself.  I’ll also be working on getting my hair how I want and learning how to apply makeup.  It’s apparently time that I start expressing myself how I want now that I know what I’m doing.  I’m going to go for a goth-punk look that I’ve always wanted since forever, just didn’t know how to achieve the look without spending a fuck ton of money (turns out that I never needed to in the first place).

....yay tangents.

Loki’s basically been trying to teach me to stop relying on the pendulum so damn much.  Basically I have to accept that I’m not going to know everything and find some other coping mechanism unless I absolutely have to consult with a pendulum, otherwise he’s just going to lie to me to hammer the lesson into my head.  I mean, his opinions?  Fine, sometimes I can’t take a hint on my own, he knows it, and sees the pendulum being something that could work.  But other stuff I won’t get into, he’s like, “Okay look...”  He’s also apparently preferring that I use tarot readings in general divination than runes.  I think it’s because the runes were a nice beginner’s way of helping me figure out the whole divination thing.  I’ll Sometimes combine tarot with the pendulum if I’m not sure and very damn confused on certain things, but other than that, I’ve been getting the hang of it.  I still need the handbook because holy dumbfuck, I can’t remember every little thing about every damn card.

Actually, this one tarot spread tried to basically tell me to compare what I’m going through to a caterpillar’s life and I’m currently in the pupa stage.  Meaning: I’m working on the appearance that I want, and when I finally achieve it, something something butterfly/moth analogy.  Of course, it isn’t narrating my whole damn life, just a part of my life.

Regarding art, I’ve been working with Kenaz, and that’s the rune I have on the Loki painting I may or may not have shared here sometime ago (I’m pretty sure I did but I’m too lazy to go get it so...)  The painting has now been moved to a new part of my room (after rearranging shit for the millionth time) and it’s lined up to where it’s directly across from where I sit to do art.  Ever since then, I’ve been able to dish out projects with higher quality than what I usually do at a faster rate.  It’s just that lately, thanks to precipitation, I can’t do charcoal drawings for a while.  Reason being is that I have to go to the outer garage to spray fixatif on it when I’m done and I need proper air circulation for that, and my windows aren’t meant to be opened... the architect of this house was a fucking idiot.

I am not entirely sure if I’ll be purchasing and reading anymore Pagan/witchcraft books for a good while, especially after being better informed, checking my amazon wish list, and finding out that some of the stuff I wish-listed is empty garbage because a lot of crud cranked out by Llewelynn tends to be garbage for money (note: I said “a lot,” not “all.”)  But I do make purchases of incense from a small business witchy shop (they make their incense sticks).  Lately, I’ve been focused on finding affordable boxes suitable for Bast’s, Thoth’s, and Cernunnos’ altars because my asshole cat likes to knock only the tiny shit off them.  I’d also like to get proper statues for Bast and Thoth, too.

I’m also interested in making a smaller besom for general workings, and putting my bigger one up above the front door for protection purposes.

I don’t know how to end a ridiculous post like this, so that’s all I’ve got for now.  I’m not disinterested, it’s just I don’t have a whole lot going for me, plus my health isn’t entirely the best right now.  Take care, everyone!

[yikesforever]

can you make a tutorial on how you make gifs?

why yes anon i think i will!!!

 now before you decided to read-on just know that i do not do the classic screencap way and you need to have videos of whatever you are giffing already downloaded. 

so read on if you wanna see how i make gifs like this: 

for this i do not use torrent/s cause tbh idk how to use them so i use filmxy or if its a youtube video i use this converter. i do not currently have a site for tv shows tragicially but if you find one lemme know. but do try and keep the quality at 720 or 1040 just so your gifs look good

now that you have your video open photoshop (i use photoshop CC 2015 so if it looks different that is why) and go to file -> import -> video frames to layers

so this will open your files so you can pick your video you want to gif (I’m gonna gif cevans for this tutorial) 

so once your video opens you will get a window that allows to pic the part you are going to gif. now the half triangles that are in blue, are the boundries for the gif layers, and the big triangle, that i pointed to in red, just shows you the video and you can move that arround to make sure that you have the right part. also i always click limit to every two frames (that way i can get in more layers and i dont think it makes all that much of a difference if you ask me)

so once you have your pirameters click okay and it’ll convert it to layers, (now it make come up that the gif is too long if it says its less than 500 then your good to go, but if it says it more than 500 go back to this screen and make it shorter, your gonna have to import the video again if you want to make a gif that is right after that)

okay so now that your video has loaded your going to want to get your workspace set up sometimes essentials work instead of start (cause start doesnt have anything.

so mine is called untitled-1 and these are all the workspace that i use, the ones that i have checked atleast, go to window (once you have clicked all of them you can save as a new workplace the same place that i have highlighted in the above picture)

so now your screen will look something like this, and now you can start your process

next step is to select all the frames so you can make them 0.1 seconds in between. (click the three little lines to select all the frames and then while they are still highlighted click the arrow at bottom of one of the frames of the timeline and convert to 0.4 seconds)

now we delete all the unwanted frames you can view the frames using the play button (which i circled in blue) and then select the first frame hold down the shift key and select the last frame. once all of the frames are selected press the delete button. repeat this till you only have the frames you want in the gif.

so now your gonna crop, its just like cropping any other picture just keep it within the layer so you don’t have to add in a fill layer. for dimensions reference you can check out this post. for mine I’m making squares of 268 x 268

once your gif is cropped I change the actual dimensions of it, as in I make the gif actually 268 x 268. imagine -> imagine size (or press ctrl+ alt + i, thats what I usually do tbh)

so now you type in the dimensions, make sure to click the chain so that it stays the same that you cropped your gif and that way you only have to type in one measurement. also be sure that the dimensions are in pixels (!!!! very important)

so now is the fun part of coloring !!! but for this I’m just gonna say use a psd. Here is a whole bunch of psd’s you can download and use at your leisure here, here and here. So once you have a psd go to file -> open and pick out your psd. 

once it is open I move the tab of the psd so that it is in its own window. now make sure it is clicked and go to the right side of ps and click group one. Once youve clicked it drag it over to your gif. (You can tell its going to the right gif because you can see the white line on the outside - noted by the black squiggle)

okay so once this is moved over you can edit the individual coloring layers , but just make sure it is all after your last picture layer. you can also collapse the group with the arrow on the side that i highlighted in blue. (note: i cropped the image so you could see all the different coloring layers and the last layer. but if you accidentally do this just click control z and it’ll undo it for you)

so once your happy with your coloring now we convert to video timeline which is super easy you just press this button at the bottom of the timeline

so once you have converted it select all the frames, select -> select all layers (or alt+ctrl+A). once all layers are selected you are going to convert for smart filters, flters -> covert for smart filters (if a dialog pops up just click yes).

now is we are going to sharpen the imagie. filter -> sharpen -> smart sharpen. and this image will come up, set to custom and play around with the amount and stuff, also make sure it removes gaussian blur. (if you want to use my same amount radius and noise thats cool too)

so now that your gif is sharpened we are ready to export. file -> export -> save for web legacy 

now you are about to save it but before you do, make sure you play your gif to make sure it looks good (use the play button circled in red). make sure its less than 3 mb (you can see where I circled it in blue) and MAKE SURE!!! you looped it forever (that is highlighted in yellow, it is usually once so you have to change it to forever)

and then last but not least press save and name it whatever you want in your folder !!! (its just like any other picture your saving) and then you’ll end up with something like this!!!

well anon I hope all that made sense and was atleast a lil bit helpful