#how to gain weight faster for men

[delulujuls]

the true one | jacaerys velaryon

hi, here comes the pt3 of my jace series. i was having few ideas for how to end this one but i got carried away and i even started to feel bad how i decided to solve it.

we will see if i will end this up on here or write another part because man i do really feel bad for aegon:( im not gonna lie, at one moment i started to smell a love trangle forming up here lmao

summary: love lifts you up, but it can also hurt you. in case of dragon princess and young prince from dragonstone, love saved westeros from war, but it broke one heart that was already broken enough. a shattered heard from someone who since the beginning wanted love, not the crown.

warnings: mentions of sex, nothing crazy though

pairing: sister!targaryen reader x jacaerys velaryon (ft. cregan stark aka the-best-wingman-in-whole-westeros and aegon 'the broken boy' targaryen)

King Viserys did not engage in many wars during his reign, for he was considered a wise and good ruler. However, those that were unavoidable, he almost always managed to win. There was one battle he unfortunately could not win, and that was the battle with his illness.

Death came for the good king shortly after his 52nd Name Day, leaving Westeros without a ruler. There were two candidates vying for the Iron Throne, each equally certain of their right to it.

Many believed that Rhaenyra, the king's first child, was the rightful heir to the throne. However, because she was a woman, the crown fell to Aegon, Viserys' eldest son. Ultimately, he was proclaimed the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, but not everyone agreed with this decision. One of those who did not was Rhaenyra herself.

The Princess of Dragonstone, believing there had been a misunderstanding, began to gather allies around her who were willing to support her claim to the throne. Aegon, of course, did the same. At some point, however, there was no more talk of a peaceful resolution, and gathering allies turned into gathering armies. A cold wind blew over Westeros, heralding not only the coming winter but also war.

The most distant from the sunny King's Landing to the south was the North. There lay many settlements rich in resources and armies, which were now more valuable than gold. Both Rhaenyra and Aegon had no intention of wasting time. They had to secure allies faster than their opponent.

"You will go North," Rhaenyra told her eldest son. "Lord Cregan is closer to your age than mine. I am sure you will find a common language."

Jacaerys nodded silently and embraced his mother. He understood the weight of the task entrusted to him and intended to fulfill it to the best of his ability. Similar words Alicent Hightower directed to her eldest daughter when she visited her in her chambers one evening.

"Me?" the young princess asked, sitting in front of the mirror and brushing her hair. The maid who had been doing it earlier quickly left the room as soon as the queen appeared. "You have the King's Best Sword and the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard at your disposal, and you want to send me to the North?"

"Aemond may wield a sword skillfully, and Ser Criston may be an envoy of even the Father himself," she said, gripping the back of the chair her daughter sat in. "But they are still men. They are driven by the desire to fight and pride."

When she looked at her daughter's face in the reflection, the girl merely shook her head.

"The people of the North must see the sacrifice we are willing to offer. You will not gain their support by intimidating them with a dragon but with gentleness and a good heart, burning with zeal and the desire for peace."

"The desire for peace," the girl scoffed. "You want to send me there to gather people ready to go to their deaths."

Alicent lowered her gaze. She looked at her daughter's bright hair, flowing down her back like liquid gold. She took it between her fingers and began to braid it.

"You are betrothed to the king, soon to be his wife and queen of the Seven Kingdoms," she said. "You will present yourself to them as the king's prudent right hand and future good queen. No one warms the image of a ruler better than his wife."

"Rhaenyra doesn't need to send anyone to the North to gain their support," she replied, glancing at her mother in the reflection. "You know well that no one will stand by the usurper."

"Perhaps not by the usurper, but by the future queen, they might."

The young princess knew that her mother left her no choice. Knowing that her journey was doomed to failure, she mounted her dragon the same day and set off in the direction from which the cold, winter-foretelling wind blew.

The eldest Targaryen princess and the prince of Dragonstone had not seen each other since they had celebrated Rhaenyra's 32nd Name Day together with King Viserys. Much had changed since then. News of the king's death spread across Westeros, and the Targaryen family split in two. Nothing indicated that the young princes, bound by feelings, would ever meet again. Certainly, none of them expected to meet hundreds of miles from home on frozen ground.

Cregan Stark, Lord of Winterfell, knew this well. Ravens informing of the visit had reached him from both King's Landing and Dragonstone. The Small Council, in which the Wolf of the North sat, tried to dissuade him from the crazy idea of bringing both warring sides to Winterfell. However, Cregan was hopeful that Jacaerys was not driven by his mother's spirit and that the young princess was not a reflection of her cruel brother. He believed he would see dragons dancing while playing on the snowy sky, not waging war. He believed that youth and good hearts would prevail.

The prince of Dragonstone arrived in Winterfell first. Vermax swooped down from the sky with a roar, causing the inhabitants to watch the winged beast in horror. Neither the dragon nor its rider had any ill intentions. The same intentions did not drive the young princess, who arrived in the capital of the North shortly afterward. Just as the relatively small Vermax instilled fear in the people, so did the sight of the massive Vermithor prompt many to clasp their hands in prayer. May the Old Gods watch over the North.

When the Bronze Fury descended from the sky, Lord Stark and Prince Velaryon were on their way back from the Wall. They learned of the guest's arrival only when a rider came to meet them, announcing the arrival of a dragon.

"A dragon?" Jacaerys furrowed his brow and looked questioningly at the host. "Another dragon has come to Winterfell?"

"Yes, my prince," Cregan replied, urging his horse forward. "Let us hurry, we must not keep the guest waiting."

The young princess was informed that Lord Stark would soon arrive and was taken from the cold and invited to the chamber set aside for her stay in Winterfell. She removed her warm cloak and sat by the fireplace, rubbing her cold hands. She had been uncertain during the journey, but now she began to feel genuinely nervous. What was her mother thinking, sending her here?

Jacaerys remained silent throughout the return journey, gripping the reins so tightly his fingers went numb. Who had come to Winterfell? Had his mother sent someone after him? If so, why? And if it wasn't Rhaenyra, someone from King's Landing must have come North. Aegon? No, that would be too prudent. Aemond? Had he come to secure allies? And why had Lord Stark accepted this so calmly? Was it an ambush?

When they arrived at Winterfell, they headed straight for the castle. Instructed which chamber the guest awaited in, they went there immediately. Jacaerys' heart pounded wildly, and he did not share Lord Stark's calm demeanor. When Cregan knocked and pushed open the heavy door to one of the chambers, Jacaerys felt his heart leap into his throat. Hearing the knock at the door, the young princess felt the same. She took a deep breath and rose from her seat, smoothing her tunic with her hands. She looked up at the entrance and saw a tall, young man. She guessed that the steely-eyed youth was Lord Stark. However, he was not alone; someone else entered right behind him. The princess could not believe her eyes. She felt as though her mind was playing tricks on her after the exhausting journey.

"Jace?" she spoke uncertain, almost questioningly.

Jacaerys was in such shock that he felt as if his legs had grown roots into the ground.

"Princess," was all he could stammer out as she quickly approached him and hugged him tightly. The young prince closed his eyes and returned the embrace strongly. Feeling her in his arms, her hair tickling his face, he realized it was not a dream. It was truly her.

Cregan smiled at the sight of the dragons lost in each other's embrace. He knew he had no reason to worry. Kindness and youth would always prevail.

Still holding the girl, Jacaerys glanced at the Wolf Lord. Cregan smiled at him and quietly left the room.

"I thought I would never see you again," the girl whispered after a moment, pulling away and cupping his face in her hands. Tears shone in her violet eyes. Jacaerys took her hands and kissed each one.

"I feared the same," he admitted, not hiding his own emotions.

The pair sat by the fireplace, talking animatedly. They held each other's hands tightly the entire time, as if afraid that one might disappear at any moment.

They talked for a long time, forgetting the world around them. They spoke of what had happened to them since their last meeting, about the events that were tearing their family apart, and about the looming war. When their conversation turned to more serious topics, a servant entered the room, announcing that Lord Stark invited them to dinner. The Dragon Princess and the Prince of Dragonstone joined the Wolf of the North. The dinner was sumptuous but did not have many guests. The dining room hosted only the three of them.

"I hope you don't hold this arranged meeting against me, your Highnesses," Cregan said, pouring them wine.

The princess shook her head while eating, taking a sip from her goblet.

"It was a bold move, my lord," Jacaerys admitted. "I guess you had no certainty about how it might end."

"Indeed," Cregan acknowledged. "But I felt that neither of you held the dark values that sometimes blind your families. Luckily for me, and even more for the people of Winterfell, I managed to avoid making another Harrenhall here."

"You can't deny your courage, my lord," the girl smiled, glancing at him. "A bit of madness too."

Cregan smiled at her words and raised his goblet in a toast.

"I hope we can reach a good understanding together."

The princely pair also raised their goblets in a toast. That evening, there was no lack of wine and ale, and the topic of the impending war, though important, was left for another day. That evening was spent on more pleasant and mundane conversations. It did not resemble an evening where three representatives of different values gathered, but rather three friends.

As the wine started to buzz in their heads and the table was cleared of food, Lord Stark declared it was time to retire. After wishing each other a good night, Jacaerys went to escort the princess to her chamber. He held her securely by the waist to prevent her from falling, as their legs wobbled like reeds in the wind. The pair giggled quietly in each other's arms, their cheeks flushed from the alcohol.

"Stay with me," she whispered when they reached her chamber. "I guess the nights are exceptionally cold here."

"How could I refuse you, princess," he smiled, and she returned his smile and pulled him inside. On unsteady legs, she walked to a small mirror and sat down, beginning to undo her hair. Jacaerys approached her and gently, with great reverence, began to help. He carefully untangled her braids, occasionally glancing at her face in the mirror. Their eyes met frequently, eliciting soft giggles. The young prince had never stopped having feelings for her, feelings that had blossomed so vividly when they spent time together on Dragonstone. The young princess couldn't recall a day when she hadn't thought of him. Her heart, which she was supposed to give to another, loved the Velaryon youth unconditionally.

"You're even more beautiful than I remembered," he whispered. He slowly ran his fingers through her hair, feeling as if he held velvet in his hands.

The girl smiled and stood up, facing him. She touched his cheek and ran her thumb along it. Jacaerys did the same, pulling her by the waist closer to him with his other hand. He noticed a necklace with a three-headed dragon, each head holding a green emerald, around her neck. The young prince's face saddened.

"Have you already married him?"

"No," she replied. "And I still don't want to."

Jacaerys looked up at her, about to say something, but she kissed him impulsively. Realizing what she had done, she wanted to pull away and apologize, but the young prince caught the back of her head and deepened the kiss. She cupped his face in her hands, returning each kiss.

"Marry me, princess," he whispered. "We'll run away to where the map doesn't reach. Away from all this."

The Dragon Princess smiled and nodded, kissing him tenderly in response. Their wine and ale-soaked lips exchanged deep kisses, and their hands clumsily removed each other's clothes. Shortly after, they found themselves in a fur-covered bed, lost in each other's embrace. They didn't think about whether what they were doing was wrong. What was wrong was marrying someone you felt only fear and hatred for. The young princess knew she could never feel for Aegon even a fraction of the feelings she had for Jacaerys.

As night turned to dawn, the pair lay entwined together. Their naked, sweat-drenched, and kiss-marked bodies lay intertwined, almost as one. The girl pressed her cheek against the prince's chest, stroking him gently, and he held her, tracing patterns on her bare back with his fingers.

"Let's get married here," she said after a while. "Here, in the Godswood."

Jacaerys smiled sleepily and hugged her tighter. "Do you think Lord Stark would agree to that?"

"I think he'd be the first to bless us."

The young prince chuckled softly at her words. The girl lifted herself and looked at his face.

"I love you, Jace," she confessed almost in a whisper. "And I'm afraid I won't be able to stop."

The boy smiled and cupped her face. His heart swelled at her words. The love he saw in her eyes was boundless.

"I love you too, princess. I would give my life for you."

The next day, even before the three of them sat down for breakfast, Lord Stark knew what had transpired in one of his castle's chambers. He had heard that the bed in Jacaerys' room remained unmade and that he had arrived at the dining hall in the company of the princess. Cregan would be lying if he said he wasn't pleased. He hadn't realized the feelings the pair of dragons had for each other. It turned out that love could indeed conquer war. Still filled with apprehension, Jacaerys decided to present the Wolf of the North with the idea of marriage.

"Who am I to dissuade you from this idea?" he replied. "I will gladly lead the princess to the wedding myself."

That same day, in the Godswood, the wedding ceremony took place. Compared to weddings held in the Faith of the Seven, it was modest. Cregan Stark, Lord of Winterfell, fulfilled his promise and led the dragon princess to the Weirwood tree, where her Velaryon prince awaited her. Beyond the wall of the Godswood, two large dragon heads watched, occasionally breaking the silence with squawking and growling.

The witnesses to the wedding were dragons, the Wolf of the North, the Heart Tree, and the Old Gods, who silently observed the marriage. Dry leaves rustled in the icy wind, and snowflakes settled on the rosy cheeks of the soon-to-be-married couple, who became husband and wife after a brief ceremony.

"So, it is done," Lord Stark smiled. "But what kind of wedding would it be without a feast?"

The newlyweds exchanged smiles and, holding hands, followed the Wolf of the North towards the castle. That day, the specter of war had to wait as well.

However, the next day, the issue of northern allies and whose side they would take had to be addressed. The dragon princess represented the greens, while Jacaerys the blacks.

"Have your lords side with us," the princess proposed during a Small Council meeting, gripping her husband's hand tightly under the table. "Not with Aegon or Rhaenyra. Let them withdraw from this battle for allies."

"With all due respect, princess, are you planning to fight? To be a third party in this conflict?" one of the men at the table asked.

"There will be no war," Jacaerys interjected. "And even if there were, it wouldn't be the North's war. They won't participate in what's happening in the South. This will weaken the military forces."

"We can't be neutral," another man stated. "Lack of a side is worse than betrayal. What if someone less benevolent than you comes on a dragon and razes us to the ground?"

"No one will do that," the princess assured. "I guarantee your safety."

"I do too," Jacaerys added. "The capital must understand that this conflict has no higher purpose and will only bring unimaginable misery."

"I'm afraid, Your Highnesses, that neither Princess Rhaenyra nor King Aegon will relent," one of the men replied. "Do you think your marriage would dissuade them? The King could annul it at any moment."

"The King can continue doing what he does best, drinking himself into oblivion and fucking whores," the girl snapped, involuntarily squeezing Jacaerys's hand harder. "If the news of the wedding isn't already on its way to the South, it will be soon. Tomorrow we'll head back and announce that the marriage is a peace treaty. And if that doesn't impress anyone, we'll send a message to all who have allied with both Aegon and Rhaenyra to withdraw their commitments. I swear by the Seven, no one, given the choice, will go to certain death. The fight between dragons will bring nothing else."

The princess's words brought silence among the gathered. After a moment, Lord Stark stood up and drew his sword, kneeling before the girl.

"You can count on me, princess. The Stark family will side with the young couple."

The dragon princess smiled and nodded to him. Grateful, Jacaerys did the same. Soon after, each of the men at the Council meeting followed the Wolf's lead. The girl's passionate and convincing words withdrew not only the Stark family but also the Umbers, Karstarks, Mormonts, Boltons, Ryswells, Reeds, Hornwoods, and Cerwyns from the conflict. And it was just the beginning.

That same day, ravens were sent to all who had castles from the Wall to Moat Cailin, from the Stormy Shore to Widow's Watch. Each message was signed by the young couple and the Wolf of the North himself.

"I wish you much perseverance, Your Highnesses," Cregan said before they mounted their dragons. "But I believe you will manage to dissuade us from war."

It might not have been appropriate, but the girl hugged him tightly in farewell. Cregan had done unimaginable things for them in just a few days. The Wolf of the North smiled and hugged her back.

"I've never met someone with a heart like yours, princess," he admitted. "You have my word that the North will always protect it."

Jacaerys extended his hand to him, but Cregan hugged and patted him on the back. The Prince of Dragonstone smiled and returned the embrace.

Two dragons left Winterfell, but the icy wind carried them for a long time. That same wind brought news of the wedding to the South shortly after, before they had traveled even a quarter of the way.

"May the Seven protect us," Alicent sank into her chair when the maester came to her with the news. She strictly forbade anyone to speak of it, especially to Aegon. She quickly sent for the Hand.

Otto laughed when he heard the news. His daughter, however, found no humor in it.

"Brilliant," he remarked, filling his goblet and taking a sip of wine.

"Brilliant?" Alicent thought everyone had lost their minds. "She broke off the engagement. Aegon could burn Dragonstone to the ground when they return."

"If I were Aegon, I'd pack the crown in the finest cloth, seal it with the best wax, and send it to Dragonstone immedatiely."

Alicent shook her head and buried her face in her hands. Otto did not share his daughter's pessimism.

"Or better yet, he should place it on dear sister's head himself when she returns from Winterfell," he corrected. "The girl circumvented a code we didn't even know existed."

"She caused a catastrophe!" Alicent exclaimed, looking at her father in disbelief. "She was Aegon's betrothed and the future queen. She was only supposed to go North to gain allies!"

"And she decided to end the war," he replied. "We definitely placed the wrong child on the throne."

Alicent shook her head in disbelief. She didn't know if her father was joking or if he genuinely saw no problem with the situation.

"So what should we do?" she asked, looking at him.

"First, we should wait for them to return and announce this joyous news," he said.

When the dragons reached the South, they decided to separate. Jacaerys returned to Dragonstone, wanting to personally deliver the news to his mother not only about the marriage but also about the withdrawal of the northern armies from the war. The princess returned to King’s Landing and immediately made her way to Aegon’s chambers.

She didn’t know if the news had reached her brother, but she decided to handle the matter herself and as a priority. A small dagger hung at her belt, and she had no guards with her except for the two standing in front of Aegon’s chamber doors. The men greeted her and bowed slightly, but she dismissed them as soon as she stood in front of her brother's chambers. She took a deep breath to muster some courage as she raised her fist and knocked on the door.

When a voice from inside instructed her to enter, the young princess pushed the heavy door open and stepped inside. Aegon stood before a large mirror, dressed in armor. Three men were fussing around him, making adjustments, adding and removing parts of the armor. Three guards stood beside Aegon, talking animatedly with him. However, when they noticed the princess, they bowed, and the two tailors did the same. Aegon saw in the mirror’s reflection a figure he hadn’t seen for several moons. He smiled and turned, taking a sip of wine from the goblet he held.

"My brave, sweet sister," he said, stepping down from a small stool. He was drunk, as always. "Did you secure the North for me, my dear?"

"I need to talk to you," she approached, glancing at him. "In private."

"You heard the future queen, out!" Aegon commanded, waving his hand. Shortly afterward, the room was empty except for the siblings. The young king finished his wine and set the empty goblet aside, stepping closer to the girl. When he was within arm’s reach, he raised his hand to touch her cheek, but she pulled her head back.

"I hoped that your visit to the North would cool your temper a bit," he admitted, lowering his hand. "But i see that even the harshest cold can’t chill a dragon."

"I married Jacaerys," the girl said quickly, almost as quickly as if she had shot an arrow from a crossbow. Her voice didn’t tremble. She raised her eyes to her brother’s face. "I won’t be your wife, Aegon."

The boy snorted, but seeing her serious expression, he couldn’t help but laugh.

"What did you do?" he chuckled. "Repeat it, because I must have misheard."

"We got married in Winterfell, and Lord Stark decided to withdraw from the war. His vassal lords too, and the whole North was given the same choice."

Seeing that his sister wasn’t joking, Aegon wiped the smile from his face. His eyes, though glossy with alcohol, looked at her in shock. His eyelid twitched.

The young princess clenched her jaw. However, she didn’t take a step back. Her muscles tensed involuntarily, readying for a fight or flight. Aegon, however, didn’t say a word. He was the first to retreat. He reached for the goblet and poured himself some wine, drinking it greedily. The girl expected anything. She was ready for his screams, insults, and threats. She was even ready for him to raise his hand against her. But Aegon did none of that. He sat on the stool he had stood on moments ago and gripped the goblet in his hands.

"Why did you do it?"

The princess didn’t expect to hear that question. Now it was she who felt as if she had misheard.

"To weaken and humiliate me?" he asked, raising his eyes to look at her. "Or to hurt me?"

"I love him," she admitted sincerely. She wasn’t lying. It had never even crossed her mind to strike at her brother in such a way. "And he loves me. He is kind to me."

Aegon lowered his gaze, staring at the goblet in his hands. Despite the armor he wore, despite the title of king he held, he felt like a rat. His reaction surprised the girl. To such an extent that she didn’t know what to say.

"Would I be incapable of loving you?" he asked after a moment, looking at her again. The girl couldn’t meet his eyes.

"You only fill me with fear," she admitted quietly.

Aegon’s eyes roamed her face. He recalled a time when he had gone too far and threatened her with a knife, the times he bullied and intimidated her. He lowered his gaze. You fill her with fear, monster, he thought. You are a monster, Aegon.

In silence, the girl raised her eyes to her brother’s face. Deciding that the conversation had no chance of continuing, she turned to leave his chambers.

"I'm sorry," his voice called out behind her. The young princess turned and looked at her brother. Aegon’s cheeks were wet with tears. "I apologize for everything I did to you."

"I was never your enemy," she replied. She couldn’t muster anything more to say.

She quickly left her brother, heading to her chambers. She wasn’t ready for a confrontation with her mother. She needed to recover from what she had just experienced.

Nevertheless, Westeros managed to dispel the looming specter of war. The wind from the North brought only winter, not bloodshed. Every few days, ravens arrived at Winterfell with news that another castle had joined the young dragons’ marriage and withdrawn from the war. Families from the east, west, and south did the same, sending their assurances directly to Dragonstone. Rhaenyra and Aegon had to abandon the conflict. Viserys’s eldest daughter even planned to go to King’s Landing to reconcile with her brother and acknowledge him as king. The same day she planned to set out, a messenger brought her a small chest.

"What is this?" she asked, glancing at the young man. She accepted the gift uncertainly.

"From King’s Landing, Your Grace."

Jacaerys stopped his mother’s hand as she reached for the latch on the chest. "It could be a trap."

"Would Aegon want to kill me in such a way?" she looked at him with amusement. The young prince hesitantly withdrew his hand.

Rhaenyra opened the box and had to blink several times. She reached into the chest and pulled out a crown. The same one her father had worn on his head.

In shock, she looked at her son and niece, who were as astonished as she was.

"Aegon returned your crown," the girl said quietly.

"It doesn’t have to be Aegon," Jacaerys shook his head. He didn’t believe in any good intentions from his uncle.

The girl took the crown from Rhaenyra and examined it in her hands. In several places, she noticed fingerprints stained with wine. She had no doubts.

"It was Aegon."

[scientia-rex]

I made that post about how smoking is bad—actually, no, I’ve made two relatively popular posts about how smoking is bad for you. Raises your chances of dying from multiple factors including heart disease and stroke in addition to lung (and mouth, throat, and bladder) cancer.

I am always so baffled by the responses going “well I could die from something else!” Yes. You could. Statistically speaking, you will most likely die of heart disease, stroke, or cancer, if you live in the US. Your average life expectancy is somewhere around 78 for women, 76 for men. Many people die younger than that, for a lot of reasons. Many of my patients have illnesses that will shorten their lives. I hate to split it into “fault,” as if there’s some kind of perfect way to live a blameless life. (There isn’t.) The numbers, however, are both clear and pitiless. People who smoke are more likely to die younger than they otherwise might have.

Medicine is a numbers game. My job is not to psychically predict exactly what will punch your ticket and when. It is to improve your odds. I want you to both live as long a life as possible but also as high-quality a life as possible. I want for you to live a life you enjoy.

It’s that simple; it’s not sinister. I’m not out here going “I’ll tell them not to smoke so they can have LESS FUN before getting hit by a bus at 30!”

Because smoking isn’t actually fun. What it is, is a very quick (and faster = more addictive) reduction in physical feedback systems that heighten anxiety. Withdrawal of an unpleasant stimulus is rewarding. (Technically, it’s a negative reward; the negative doesn’t refer to a moral judgment, but the addition or subtraction of a stimulus.) Something that is very rewarding very fast will be very addictive. It’s why crack cocaine is also so addictive—it is also a very fast and very potent reward. It’s also why benzodiazepines like Xanax are so addictive to so many people; it’s a slower peak blood level but the removal of severe anxiety is profoundly rewarding.

So smoking can make you feel better when you do it. But your body will try to fix any broken signals. It doesn’t just want to be able to signal to you when you need to feel stressed: it has to be able to signal you, or your long-ago ancestors would have been eaten by predators. So it ramps up the signaling. Now you’re not smoking because you feel better than baseline; you’re smoking to get back to baseline.

That’s why quitting sucks. When you quit smoking, all of the sudden your body’s signals of stress that got dialed up to 11 to overcome the nicotine are just out there at full blast, making you feel scared and jittery and irritable. It’s why when you quit benzos (or daily alcohol) cold turkey you can get life-threatening seizures. It’s why when you stop alcohol you’re likely to have sleep disruptions that can persist for weeks to months.

That’s why things that help reduce the suckage can help. Nicotine patches, lozenges, or gum. Chantix. Wellbutrin. Slowly stepping down the nicotine level on your vape. Eating more, eating things you like. (I would 1000% rather have a patient be fat than be smoking. I know other people will be shittier to you if you gain weight. Living is worth it.) Being kind to yourself helps you quit smoking. You need to recognize that “quitting smoking you” is not your baseline you. It is you with an invisible illness that will take weeks to months to get over.

And sometimes you can’t face that hump right now. But if you want to maximize your odds of the longest and healthiest possible life, knowing that any number of terrible things can happen to you at any time, making the effort—over and over again, if you need to—is the best shot you have.

There are a couple of conditions where smoking does markedly reduce symptoms. The well-known ones are schizophrenia and Crohn’s disease. If you feel not just better, but better like this is a medication for you, like you poop blood or hear things without it, talk to your primary care provider, because there are other medicines that might be safer and/or more effective for you. The landscape around pharmaceutical research has shifted dramatically over the last 30 years. We have more options than we’ve ever had before. Maybe this doesn’t have to be the expensive, dangerous medication that half-works for you. And if what you’re self-medicating is your anxiety, nicotine is a pretty crappy medication for that, because it doesn’t fix you; it changes your baseline to an even shittier place.

You have bodily autonomy. You can make your own choices. I will never go to a patient’s house and slap the cigarette out of their hand. But if what you want is the longest and healthiest possible life, smoking makes your odds worse.

The number of people who think that I, as a doctor, would be unaware of how profoundly unfair bodily health can be amazes me. It’s like the first Father Brown story, where Father Brown is explaining to the villain that someone whose main job is to hear about all of the terrible sins people have to confess cannot remain naive. My job is watching people age, or filling out their death certificates. One or the other. I prefer watching them age, but everyone will die. Someday my doctor will be filling out my death certificate. I’ve removed one potential contributing factor from that line—maybe I’ll get diabetes, maybe I’ll get cancer, maybe I’ll have a workplace accident, but “smoking” isn’t going to be on that line anymore. That’s the best I can do. I can’t psychically predict my own death, either; just play the numbers, try to do my best, and hope.

[justwinginglife]

Can I please request the kafgang investigating a crankier than usual platoon leader reader? They assume its just a woman getting irritated because she looks like she's gaining weight but it's just her pregnancy belly showing with hoshina's baby...

Pregnancy hormones amirite? (I've never been pregnant before)

LOL I've also never been pregnant before but I love this prompt and I will do my best with it!

Soshiro loved that you were pregnant with his child. And not just because he'd done some delicious love making to get you pregnant, and not just because the idea of having tons of adorable little children running around was so precious to him, no- he loved that you were pregnant because he enjoyed all the ridiculous demands that you made.

Oh, today you wanted peanut butter on pickles? Sure, he could slather them up for you.

Oh, now you were crying because the sky was too blue today and it hurt your eyes? Alright, he could try a little rain dance to bring the clouds rolling in.

Oh, you didn't like the ending of a movie that was made decades ago and wanted him to fix it? Slightly more difficult, but he made bank as Vice Captain, he was sure he could hire a film crew and some actors and have that ready for you in a jiffy.

And then when the other officers started to pick up on your pregnancy-induced attitude, but didn't pick up on the pregnancy-induced part, he enjoyed it all the more. They figured you were just cranky because you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, or it was your time of the month, but when your belly started to show more proof of Soshiro's love, they attributed your irritation to gaining weight rather than gaining a child.

And you had no idea, because no one would dare tell a Platoon Leader they were getting fat. So instead you had to deal with random outbursts of "It's okay, Platoon Leader L/N, you're still beautiful as ever," or "I know this great workout if you're interested," or "Honestly, metabolism is overrated anyway."

It wasn't even the words that they said that bothered you as much as just the act of them talking at all, their voices sounded like nails on a chalkboard to you, it was like the pregnancy version of a hangover- you just wanted everyone to be quiet.

Soshiro caught on and he steered everyone away from you until you could tolerate noise again, but not before he'd had a good laugh. Of course, if anyone dared to mention aloud that you were gaining weight or you looked different, like you were letting yourself go, he'd shut it down in an instant- towering over them with a booming voice and a threatening glare. But it cracked him up to see how cute your little nose was when you scrunched it up, confused at their attempts to make conversation with you. And it cracked him up that you were so obviously pregnant in his eyes and yet no one else had drawn that conclusion yet. He wondered just how bulging your belly had to be for it to register.

He thought he might make a game out of it, creating a points system in his head for each officer and awarding them whenever one of them got even remotely close to guessing correctly.

Shinomiya noticed that your requests had been seemingly bizarre lately and as you were a woman that she respected very much for your skill and your intellect, she knew there had to be a better reason for the fog in your brain. Point for her.

Nakanoshima noticed you'd thrown up in a nearby vase and while the men attributed it to food poisoning, she'd pondered a little bit harder about when the last time you asked to borrow a tampon from her was. Point for her.

Minase noticed (shyly) that your boobs were looking a little more rounded and plump than they usually did, and made a comment that maybe pregnancy would aid her flat chest as well. Double points for her.

Really at this point, it seemed the women were catching on faster than the men. Soshiro was suddenly embarrassed of his own gender when he had this realization.

He thought he might just break one day, screaming "I FUCKED A BABY INTO HER BELLY YA IDIOTS!!!"

But he didn't have to do that. Because one day, you'd strolled in while everyone was training and snorted loudly, saying "Wow, I could beat the entire sorry lot of you all at once even pregnant. Laps around the perimeter people!"

Everyone's eyes widened and their jaws dropped (the women a little less so than the men).

They'd barely had time to process this new information when you'd repeated in a louder tone, "Did I stutter? LAPS AROUND THE PERIMETER!"

And then they ran off, terrified at the thought of just how much torture one pregnant lady could dole out.

And Soshiro smirked again, amused as ever.

"Ahh, that's my baby. Almost makes me want to fill you up again."

[star-crossed-sluts]

Could you please write a loki x reader. Reader gains weight on accident at first but loki likes it so he gets reader to gain more. Fem reader.

If not it’s okay <3

I love writing about men discovering they like reader chubby <3 This is my first time writing third person limited focused on the male lead, so any feedback would be cherished

Contents: 1.1kwords, love mentions, weight gain and associated body changes/insecurities, giggly sex

Minors DNI

You are responsible for your own media consumption

Loki’s never been… particular, shall we say? 

Sex was nothing to him. A means to an end, no care for any specific physical form for his partner to have, let alone prefer it. Love on the other hand was something he’d never dreamed of having for himself - some abstract concept that didn’t exist, at least not for him. He never thought for a second that love was something he would hold in his arms every dawn and dusk, or that he could taste it in homemade cooking and smell it in the bathroom after you’d showered. 

In that aspect, you’d managed to exceed all the expectations he’d never had.

“Fuck!”

Loki never knew how terrible love could be. How his heart could drop out of his body just from a vulgar word in the other room, or how he could be so worried he could completely forget about using magic to get to you faster. Not until he was running through your apartment (which he was slowly and methodically laying his own claim to, until he was so ingrained in your life you couldn’t get rid of him. Naturally.) Why would anyone subject themselves to something that could hurt so much?

And then he laid eyes on your half-nude form and remembered.

Because you were standing in the middle of your bedroom in your undergarments (“please just call them panties,” you’d always beg) and he had the absolute privilege to stare at you as perversely as he desired. If another man thought of you the way he did, he’d have to reconsider world domination. Put the fear of the gods back into those mortals. 

But when you spun around to face him, you had a sour look puckering your lovely features. “You,” you accused, jabbing a finger at him, “are at fault here!”

“Probably,” he conceded instantly. “What have I done?”

You threw some of your clothes at him. He recognized them. You called them the good jeans. He called them infernal invention that keeps me from your sweet pussy. “They don’t fit anymore!”

He tried not to show his pleasure too much. “Oh?” He immediately knew he’d failed, your glare furthering. 

“Oh,” you mocked, a thick British accent on the word. “This is your fault, y’know? Before you, I ate pretty healthy. Now I’m going out every other night to restaurants that smother everything in butter and wine-”

“You’re upset about going out?”

Loki could practically watch memories of the delicious food you’ve been sharing dance through your vision, inducing a small dreamy sigh. “No,” you decided, “no, I’m not. No, I just-” You huffed, falling against his chest and trusting him to both hold you upright and comfort you - which he did happily. “I’m just frustrated because now I have to actually put effort into working out or find new jeans.”

And, well, Loki was adamantly against more jeans, so he may have gently swayed you to the other option. After all, he wanted you happy, and he didn’t care what your form looked like to make that happen.

Until he got you undressed in a different circumstance. 

Until he was bullying his way into your sweet cunt with your soft form pressed against him. Your breasts bouncing against the hard plane of his chest, thick thighs hooked over his slim hips, heels pressed into the small of his back. You felt like velvet all over - from the soft skin pulled taut over wide hips in his hands to the wet heat wrapped around his cock. He hasn’t been so close to blowing his load so soon since his first time between your thighs. 

“Look so beautiful, my love,” spilled from his lips like a waterfall. He simply couldn’t hold it back, and besides that, he wouldn’t want to. His Queen deserved to know just how stunning she was, every minute of the day. Especially when it made you moan into his ear, hand snapping over your mouth like you could take it back, turning away from him even as your hips met his with every thrust. 

His Queen was so shy. 

Loki took the soft tendon on your neck between his teeth, gently working a mark onto the skin, groaning against you as your walls fluttered around him at the sensation. “Don’t hide from me, love,” he coaxed. Long fingers wrapped around your neck from behind, rubbing gentle circles into your hairline, completely contrary and yet perfectly befitting the way he hammered into you. His other hand traveled your body like he was discovering you all over again, caressing every new dip and pudge of skin like you were the most amazing sculpture. People across the world would marvel at your beauty, whisper that man wasn’t capable of creating such magnificence - that you were instead made by a god. 

“Stop,” you slurred through the pleasure, his rolling hips working your sensitive clit against his dark hair. Your hand on his back clawed the pale skin, leaving your mark on him as it curled into a fist, beating the breadth of his shoulders with no force. You giggled through the moans as his fingers danced over your sides, hissing, “that tickles,” at him as if that would ever implore him to quit. “Stop fondling my rolls!”

“What a cruel world,” he lamented theatrically, the only way he knew how, “when a man can’t even fondle his dearest love!” 

“Be serious when you’re in my guts!”

“I am serious, darling!” A sharp tug pulled you higher up on his lap, cock spearing even deeper into you, pushing out a whine from deep in your chest. “Don’t you feel how well we fit? You’re perfect, my love, and your body’s no exception.”

He let you hide away in his neck, nipping your own small marks onto him as his thrusts turned slower, more sensual. “Even when I’ve gained-”

“Don’t you Midgardians have a saying about that? ‘In sickness and in health?’” 

Your lips stretched against him, betraying the way you tried to sound less eager as your hips rolled against his. “Those are wedding vows, Loki.”

He guided you to his lips, devouring you with a smile. “I’m practicing for the future, then.” 

He delighted in the way you giggled as you came on his cock, holding him close as he fucked you through it. He craved the way you no longer shied away when he groped your waist, pulling you harder against him as he used the way your cunt sucked him in to chase his own end.

He had a standing reservation made before your legs stopped shaking.

[joeyalohadream]

Wednesday WIP, Clegan Stalag fic. Currently at 6,000 words and not done yet. Also my first ever attempt at something that isn't fluff.

Very vague premise I started with is the idea that Bucky was struggling so visibly in the Stalag, while Buck mostly seemed strong (even though we know that man was NOT okay). So I took Buck out of the equation for a bit to explore Bucky's ability to lead while dealing with his deteriorating mental state. He accidentally checked out of the leadership role with Buck there to take care of it and now he feels compelled to step up and into it with Buck gone (hopefully temporarily) but he struggles to do it without Buck by his side. Learning about himself and Buck in the process because he unintentionally left Buck to lead on his own, and now that he has to do it while Buck is away, suffering in the place of a fellow airmen, he doesn't know if he can.

Here's 800 words to test the waters.

Bucky rolled over in his bunk as the door to their hut slammed open, hitting the wall with a thud. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been dozing; he was never really sure of that these days. He was fairly confident that the boys were only coming back from the daily line-up at the potato shack. He remembers a firm squeeze to his shoulder and a murmured “Be back with your chow in a bit, just rest John,” in his favorite raspy voice and swears it was just moments ago. Returning to their broken-down hovel with bowls of potato water surely didn’t warrant the chaos that interrupted Bucky’s doze.

Lately Bucky has been fading in and out. He doesn’t know how best to describe it, and he wouldn’t try to anyway, so he avoids thinking about it as best he can. Somedays he thinks maybe he should try to describe it to Gale. He might be a man of few words, but he hardly ever fails to say exactly what Bucky needs to hear.

But every time he wants to finally open his mouth and unburden himself onto Gale, his gaze lingers on the dark bruises that seem to grow every day under his eyes. On the skin pulled taught on his pale cheekbones as he somehow manages to lose weight and color faster than any other man in the Stalag.

In the end, each time, he refuses to become a burden to Gale. He won’t add to the heavy load on his best friend’s shoulders with his own issues, even though his current issues are preventing him from helping to lessen the load like he usually would.

“What the fuck are we supposed to do?” Bucky hears Crank’s voice cut above the anxious chatter that filled the hut.

“I don’t know Crank! We sent a runner to get Colonel Clark but what the hell is he supposed to even do?” Benny’s voice, usually calm and reasonable breaks out through the growing volume of voices in the small space and Bucky begins to gain momentum to sit up.

“Bucky get the fuck up,” Brady’s uncharacteristically harsh voice almost stops Bucky in his tracks, but he manages to get to his feet as he finally looks around to observe the faces of the men around him. They all look some combination of angry and scared. Bucky observes every face in the room, noting that his favorite face of them all is missing, before turning to Brady.

“Where’s Buck?”

Brady shakes his head and turns away from Bucky, looking somehow both more angry and more scared than anyone else in the room and Bucky feels the fog lift from his brain as his heart starts to pound faster in his chest.

“Where the fuck is Buck?” Bucky questions the room. His gaze flicks over the faces of his men, watching as most of them shuffle their feet and avoid eye contact with him. He swears he can feel his blood cool in his veins as he takes a step forward and grabs Benny around his collar and pulls him forward.

“Where is he Benny?” Bucky shakes him, feeling more alive than he has since before he walked into that phone booth in London.

“They beat him,” Benny breathes out. “Then they took him to the cooler.”

Bucky drops his hands, releasing Benny’s jacket and stumbling back a step.

“What?” He can’t help but stare at Benny uncomprehending because Gale is a senior officer in here. He goes to meetings with the Krauts and negotiates for supplies and he’s fucking Gale. Gentle, quiet, loving Gale and how could anyone hurt him?

“For how long?” Bucky practically yells. The cooler? He thinks and feels his heart sink. Gale can’t go to solitary confinement, none of them can survive this place alone and Gale has been wasting away even in a room full of people who care about him.

“Do we look like we speak German Bucky? We don’t fucking know anything!” Crank snaps at him.

“Why?” He needs answers. Disrespecting the guards gets you thrown in the cooler. Trying to escape gets you thrown in the cooler and none of them are going anywhere without a plan and each other. Gale wouldn’t do anything to get himself thrown into solitary, none of them would. Except me, Bucky thinks and then immediately feels shame.

Bucky reels back as every head in the room turns in the same direction at once and he follows their gaze, shocked when his eyes end up on Alex, leaning against the wall in the corner.

Silence envelops the room and Bucky takes a step towards him.

“I was working on the maps,” Alex says, still staring at the floor. “I didn’t see the Krauts coming, but Buck did.”

[teecupangel]

What about a kitsune Desmond, a white fox appears shortly after Altaïr's birth white as snow with one black leg and golden eyes it follows Altaïr for his entire life seemingly never aging and smarter than any animal should be. Years after Altaïr's death Des feels a pull and shows up at the birth of Ezio and gains a second tail, the same trend continues with the Frye twins, the Kenways and the other two post Altaïr protagonists whose names escape me right now which if my math is correct leaves him able to get his ninth tail as he steals his infant self from the farm

I'd imagine he'd get more powers from each tail he grows maybe foxfire with his second (fire that burns as bright as the sun) and gaining a human form around 4 or 5

I’m going to be honest with you, nonny, I know a bit about kitsunes, specifically fox spirits, because one of my favorite characters during my childhood is Daji (specifically Dakki from the og Houshin Engi anime) and I never stopped loving her in all her malicious tyrannical glory.

While fox spirits/kitsunes can be benevolent or malicious, a lot of fox spirits are shown to be trickster.

… and seducers.

Like, being able to shapeshift into beautiful women and men who ‘bewitches’ or seduces humans are signs of how old a fox spirit is XD

But I kinda like the idea that Desmond remains as a fox the entire time, never changing in size or weight.

His tails can easily be ‘disguised’ into one tail by making sure they all move as one so it just looks like he has one big bushy tail (which is strange but not ‘mythical’ strange).

Now, we want Desmond to have 9 tails so the list of people would be:

his initial tail

Altaïr’s

Ezio’s

Edward’s

Ratonhnhaké:ton’s

Arno’s

Evie’s

Jacob’s

The ninth tail would be his own infant self.

My suggestion for his powers are, depending on how many tails he has, he unlocks:

Immortality and eternal youth (default)

Foxfire (kitsunebi) – the number he can summons grows with the number of tails he has

Dream sharing with his current connection (Ezio, Ratonhnhaké:ton, etc) – he always appears as Desmond Miles in their dreams

Shapeshifts to Desmond Miles

Shapeshifts to any human he is familiar with (having genetic connections with them makes it faster to shift to their form)

Shapeshifts to anything that is not human

Possession (having a genetic connection with Desmond Miles makes it easier to possess that person)

Ability to cast illusions that are almost impossible to distinguish from reality

Omniscience due to a direct connection with the Calculations

(These are all powers that are more or less seen in kitsune stories. If you think there’s too many shapeshifting powers, kitsunes are also known for being able to turn invisible, can fly, bend time and space or make people crazy)

Oh and making Desmond a white kitsune is *chef’s kiss*. In folklore, a white kitsune has reaches the top of its powers and is called celestial/heavenly which is a good foreshadowing on how powerful Desmond could become.

If I may suggest, whenever Desmond uses his foxfire, his tails is engulfed in white flames like this (but white and gold and without the ‘seal’:

[trancylovecraft]

(AOEX) YANDERE LUCIFER x READER: Radiance (DRABBLE)

i had a burst of inspiration at two in the morning, on christmas eve, in the middle of the night, pretty sure i heard santa on my roof. anyways, happy holidays you filthy animals!

"[F/N]!!!"

His shrieks rang throughout the broken rubble of the facility. What use to be white clinical walls and pristine tile flooring were now broken down into stone-dust and shards. Nothing left as that monster rampaged throughout the remains.

She ran, [F/N] ran like her life depended on it and it most certainly did. Her lungs burned as she traversed the rubble, Tears flooding out the corner of her burning eyes as her scorched lungs tried to keep up the pace.

The light behind her, The radiance showing in her peripherals couldn't distract her now. Even though it blinded her and started to sizzle at her skin, Her mind was a single track on the route to escape.

He couldn't get to her now, Not when she had made so many deals, So many months of planning and plotting to get her to where she was now. That one mistake, The one that made the house of cards tumble down:

He had found out of her escape.

Pandemonium broke loose. Both men and women screaming as his yells rang throughout the destroyed facility, They sounded strained, As if he was in more pain than he usually was. But most of all,

He was pissed.

His light was angry, It burned her and scorched her and she should've known. She had flown too close and had been reprimanded as such, Though it didn't matter as she felt the light getting closer. She'd just need to fly faster.

"[F/N]..!! Where are you.. My wife.. WHERE ARE YOU?!"

He screamed once more, Much closer. He was gaining on her quickly which only made the tears in her eyes fall much faster, Her choked gasps for air come out ever so more often. Her legs near given out, But she needed to go- To keep going, To get out of here-

"[F/N]!!!"

She felt something crash into her.

[F/N] let out a scream of her own, Falling down and hitting the broken tiles of the floor hard. She yelped, Crimson ichor already spurting out from a newly shard-cut gash in her head.

Her vision was blurry, A faint droning hum in the back of her ears as she felt her mind fade in and out of consciousness. However the only thing keeping her awake was the compressing weight on her back, One that kept her down on the ground.

[F/N] cried as she felt the charred claws of her captor wrap around her waist. She sobbed as his rotting nose was pressed into the crook of her neck, The way he let out a strangled purr as he did made her want to puke.

"Why.. Why did you try to get away from me..? I.. You ran away.. You.." His voice was like a raid siren in the middle of the night, The panic flooding through thousands was felt in the thundering of her one single heart as he spoke.

Lucifer's tail, The matted blonde fur wrapped around her thigh like a prisoners chain as he held her down to the floor. She sobbed as his rotten body encased hers, Face still pressed into her neck as she felt the nips of his fangs start to graze her skin.

"P-Please.. No!" [F/N] cried as she felt the bone start to dig into her skin, Head still pressed up against the rubble of the ground and his broken body still holding her down. He wasn't in his right mind.

And as her head turned and was met with the face of the beast, [F/N] wished she had never been born.

He was rotting from the inside out, Half of his face was decayed like he had already expired. If only, [F/N] thought. His platinum blonde hair was matted with the blood of others, He now had only one green eye wildly staring down at her, The other one fallen out ages ago.

[F/N] felt bile rise at the back of her throat as she saw the insides of his face, Half-rotten half-primal rage. She could see the bare surface of his skull, She could see his flesh hanging like drapes from his skeleton and how it almost ripped off his frame.

His power, He had exerted himself.

All to get to her.

"W-Why could you do this to me..? Why did you.. You're my wife, We married-! You-.. " Lucifer was cut off by a series of coughs, Mid-way through the markings he started to leave on her neck.

His teal military-uniform was ragged and bloody, His lengthy cardinal cape was the same, Only concealing the ichor better. This man was emotionally a machine, No feelings or deviation. Just an unfeeling machine churning out his duties.

Back then, [F/N] almost convinced herself that he was human. A cold comfort if not for his tail and cat-slit pupils. Not for the light he always radiated, Not like the glow he always emanated.

His glow wasn’t like the radiance of the sun, it wasn't like a lover's embrace on a cold winter's eve. No, Instead it was like the catalyst of a nuclear fallout.

He was the light in the sky moments before disaster, He was the death of thousands of men and women across era. He was The Morningstar, The one warned of in tales of old passed down through tradition and brushed off by the young.

But he was no joke, Not anymore as he held her near crying. Claws around her waist starting to dig into her skin and his coughing breaking down into wheezes, Teeth still lodged deep into her neck.

"You.. You must have gotten lost.. You must.. You got lost, Didn't you, My love? You.. You did!" Lucifer wheezed. This was no machine, Not anymore. He had sentience alright, But even so his delusions were not easily shaken.

[F/N] sniffled, Red eyes looking back at his horrific visage.

"P-Please- You gotta let me go, I can't stay here anymore- Please-! GRAH-!" [F/N] screamed as she felt his teeth gnaw into her neck and bite down, Blood gushed up from the wound and splattered on his rotten flesh.

And she wanted to scream, when she felt his tongue start to lick at her wound.

"Shhh.. You do not need to explain it to me-! You got lost-! You worried me.. You worried me.." He doted as his teeth parted from her wound and his tongue starting to lap at the blood, Almost caringly, Like a cat grooming it's young.

[F/N] sobbed. She knew very well that there was no getting through to him, Not in this state nor in his full power.

Her neck ached, Unable to support her head at it was fallen to the ground. Lucifer continued to tongue at her nape, She could almost feel him physically calm as he tasted the sweetness of her ichor.

"You worry me.. You.. I love you.. I love you, I love you.. I love you.." He said in-between each stroke of his tongue, Which just made her sob even harder. She wheezed, Body weak as she tried to crawl out from under his hold.

The stench was horrid, The iron copper of her blood mixing in with the ugly death of his rotting vessel. She knew he was in pain with every ache of his ligaments, With every tail-squeeze of her thigh she could feel his anguish.

But that didn't seem to matter to him anymore. Clawed hands still digging into her midsection as he claimed his prize, His wife, The one person in the damned dimension that took away his misery.

She loved him, She did. From the moment they met on that fateful night, When their eyes locked as he declared war on the true cross order. He knew that they were meant to be, The yearning obsession pounding through his heart being the tell-tale sign.

She felt the same way, She must have! Lucifer didn't know what he'd do if she didn't, What he'd do if he even had a suspicion.

The bodies around them, The splatters of organs and muscle was enough to tell [F/N] what would happen. The burning light coming from each and every single corpse, Their sizzled flesh smelling almost disgustingly like a meat on a grill, Just like the barbecue's she had when she was free.

But now he held her in a chokehold, What he thought was a lovers embrace. But this demon could never learn to love, Not in the way that could've ever been human anyways. [F/N] just sobbed in his arms, Unable to do anything else.

What could she do? This was The King of Light.

She could never escape, She didn't need a gilded cage to understand that part.

[gyuluttony]

i looooved your other txt ask! how about yeonjun + member of your choice that recently started dating and both start to plump up with relationship weight? one of them gains a bit faster than the other, and gets a bunch of casual comments from their mutal friends like “jeez, what has [member] been feeding you??” or “huh, you’ve been getting a bit fat, haven’t you?” but they both get at least a little soft cooking for and feeding each other💞

asks mentioning my ults always end up invading my brain space and causing me to hyperfixate until i end up writing them.. so that's exactly what happened here. i think i'm going to go with beomjun for this one because i do love a good bickering couple and especially when they get softer together...

Ice Cream

This is a feederism fic and features weight gain, mutual gain, breaking of clothes and stuffing. Don't like, don't read.

The key twisted into the lock easily and the sound of two men groaning came through when they finally made it into the space of their apartment. Yeonjun's voice was whiny as he complained, "You didn't need to order extra entrees when we already had that many appetizers!"

Beomgyu rolled his eyes, "I know you're not complaining considering you're the one who ate most of it." He seemed rather proud of himself at that statement, which would have riled up Yeonjun more if he wasn't stuffed to the brim at this very moment.

Flopping onto the couch and knocking his head back, he groaned. "Well, when you're bringing the food to my mouth with your puppy eyes, am I really going to say no? You're lucky you're cute otherwise I would have fought." Beomgyu laughed warmly after sitting next to him, a grunt leaving him as Yeonjun smiles, "Full after all those appetizers and then you had like three desserts. You just wanted to skip the entrees."

He caught the way his boyfriend flushed and nudged him, "You're talking about me feeding you all the entrees meanwhile you made sure I practically licked the plate clean for that brownie we got." Yeonjun caught the way his boyfriend's hand patted his own stomach, beginning the digestion of all the food that he had eaten of his own volition and through Yeonjun's coaxing.

Most nights were like this when they decided to go out anyways. Going to restaurants so that they could spoil the other with food were common and considering they were getting paid on alternate weeks, there was no real rest. Ever since they started dating a couple months prior after meeting through some mutual friends.

It was truly a blissful life. Until the party that they went to this week.

"Hyung, you're starting to get a lot bigger, huh?" Yeonjun's head practically snapped towards Kai, the youngest of their little friend group who covered his mouth, almost like he spilled something that he wasn't supposed to.

Yeonjun approached him, standing in his face, cringing inwardly at the way he didn't notice his thighs rubbing into each other when he walked. "What do you mean bigger?" Even if he needed to ask, he was very much suddenly aware of what the younger meant.

What he didn't expect was Kai's hands to find his belly, protruding over his waistband and pressing the confines of his shirt. "Woah, you're so soft now, hyung! Beomgyu's been good to you, huh?" He caught the way the younger winked but the feeling of hands rubbing his gut was flustering him in a way that he didn't realize.

When someone was as confident in himself as Yeonjun, there were some things that needed to be thrown away to not doubt yourself in specific outfits. That meant being confident in your body no matter what. But, it was almost like this comment made him more aware of the fact that he was practically about to burst out of what he was wearing and it probably looked even more strained after he had eaten a good amount of the snacks that they put out.

He felt the way his gut protruded and made holes in the button up due to them struggling to stay together, explaining why he might have had some difficulty getting the shirt on in the first place and as Kai's fingers poked the chub, he was aware of just how soft he has gotten since the first time he wore an outfit of this style.

Kai waves his hand, finally taking his hands of Yeonjun's fattened stomach before he adds, "You've been plenty good to him too though so I think it just makes you both look cuter!" Yeonjun was going to ask what he means before he curiously looks at his boyfriend and feels his mouth dry up.

That sweet tooth of Beomgyu's certainly was showing its effects, his thighs exploded while he sat on the couch next to Soobin. He was always someone who was on the chubbier side but now next to Beomgyu, most people wouldn't even notice the weight. Kai said they had gotten a little softer but given how Beomgyu's shirt was riding up whenever he got heated from Soobin winning in Mario Kart, he was well aware that they had moved past chubby a while ago.

Seeing Beomgyu celebrate and Soobin play fighting with him, now aware of how much of Beomgyu spills out of his touch and how Soobin's arms press into the flab fairly easily makes his face heat up. He should have probably realized this a lot sooner but they had gotten bigger since getting together.

How many times has his hands rested on Beomgyu's plump hips, pressing into them without realizing how much there was to hold? Is that why he had been squeezing his ass when he walked by more? Now that he was thinking about it, the younger man spilled out of his hands when he squeezed him in such a way.

It'd provide an explanation as to why Beomgyu came up from behind him and rubbed his belly, now realizing why his hands had a lot more room to explore than before as he tried to make sure to rub every part of Yeonjun's gut when he was stuffed.

Kai looked rather proud of mentioning it before Taehyun jabbed him with an elbow to the side, "You're making hyung overthink." Taehyun shot Yeonjun a thoughtful glance as Kai looked at him, worried now and using his doting eyes, "Ah, hyung! I don't mean it like a bad thing! You're both looking so happy it's adorable!"

The warmth on his face was unfortunately not lost on Taehyun who shot him a smirk before he added, "Okay, let's watch something before those two kill themselves over who got last place worse." Sitting next to his boyfriend on the couch, he was more aware of the hand that ended up on his thigh, not able to completely hold it like Beomgyu used to do when they started dating. Leaning against him, it was almost like his moobs acted as a pillow and it was the first time that Yeonjun realized his chest had ballooned to the point that they could be classified as that.

The rest of the night was spent with Yeonjun moving carefully so that he didn't properly burst out of his clothes and Beomgyu still coaxing him to eat more with him unable to say no. Taehyun's eyes ended up on him when he felt like loosening his pants, only adding to the embarrassment that he felt towards this incredibly late realization.

Arriving at their apartment, they stumbled back in a similar fashion how they did most nights as Yeonjun pressed his lips passionately into the younger, unable to hold back from the constant touches the entire night. He hadn't noticed all this excess prior to today and now that he had, it was just another thing to drive him crazy.

Feeling so confident in the weight, he's put on, he presses himself into Beomgyu, leaning against the door, their guts mashing into each other and a burp coming out of the younger, embarrassed due to how stuffed he is. "Sorry," spills out of his lips in a quick breath before they're against each other again, Yeonjun's hands slipping under Beomgyu's sweater to massage his belly only to get more whimpers from him, the pleasure from both the massage and relief from his boyfriend making him melt under his touch.

Whatever happened that night was the best time they ever laid together. Full of attention, love and admiration of the other's softened body. Yeonjun didn't know if he ever have enough fat to classify as anything but skinny before but Beomgyu made to show extra love, squeezing his softened gut, kneading the fat and biting every extra bit of adipose on his thighs.

However, what he didn't expect was the way that they didn't discuss anything. They carried on with their same habits. He noticed that Beomgyu's hands lingered a lot more and explored just about every extra inch of Yeonjun's body and he wasn't going to complain about it.

As Yeonjun boiled about five packs of Buldak for them to share, he felt Beomgyu press into him from behind, hands on his stomach as they slipped into Yeonjun's undershirt, rubbing his boyfriend's belly. It had gotten to the point where it protruded pretty proudly even when not stuff and was currently rumbling at the food that he was currently prepping. Beomgyu's own stomach slotted comfortably into the curve of his back.

"How much longer, hyung? I think we're going to get a noise complaint from the way this won't shut up." He lifts Yeonjun's belly and lets it flop down, causing him to jiggle as he feels himself shiver. He can practically feel Beomgyu's mischievous smile on his back as he turns, pinching the flab on his boyfriend's tummy.

"Yeah, this certainly isn't helping. So, it won't be too long." Yeonjun shakes Beomgyu's stomach for good measure, causing the younger man to yelp before laughing while hugging his boyfriend again. A smile curls at both of their lips before they resume the back hug position so Yeonjun could continue cooking.

The weight they've put on is just showing how comfortable they made each other.

Beomgyu's hands move up to Yeonjun's plump chest as he holds them, voice sounding shaky, "We're not that good with spice so maybe we can have some of the ice cream in the freezer after." Yeonjun's mind remembers how they bought two large tubs and he was already thinking of dessert with the five packs they were cooking. His touch was teasingly slow on Yeonjun's stomach, speaking his thoughts for him. Wondering how big he'd get with all of that food packed in there.

"One for both of us." Yeonjun said it simply and he felt a shaky sigh leave his boyfriend as his hands moved onto Yeonjun's large ass, his own gut hanging on top of it.

If they were this comfortable with each other now, who knew what would happen if they kept goading each other on like this. But, Yeonjun couldn't say he minded it.

[the-slasher-files]

Hey hey hey~

Can I request Ghost with a gn!(or male) Reader?

Where the reader is significantly younger than him but just as cruel an the battlefield

[CALL OF DUTY]

HONEY BADGER

SIMON "GHOST" RILEY

Another pushed out request months later lol. Hope it was worth the wait and that this fight scene is coherent and a good time to read... enjoy 🤍🔪

MASTERLIST

Rubble laid beneath your feet, clad in heavy black leather. Walls ripped and torn like an open rotting carcass as the flies swarmed between the bones and viscera, but the buzzing of the helicopters above had stopped. Gun fire hushed around you, only the sound of wind between the buildings surrounded you.

"Ghost, it's quiet," You almost whispered over the radio and he answered with a sigh.

"I know,"

The gun was steady in your hands as you crouched, walking slowly, methodically, through a two-story home that had barely stood due to a blast last night. The enemy was using it as a hide out and someone had to clear the buildings. Gaining the trust of the 141 was difficult, however, you were more than eager for them to finally accept you. Yes, you were the youngest, being called "kid" and "junior", the guys getting upset that they had to "babysit". Earning your spot here was your number one goal.

Over time, the guys became your family, one mission at a time they noticed just how calm, cool and collected you had been on the field, that was until your tempter got the better of you. You moved swiftly, quietly and packed a punch, too, you were just never one to gloat.

"Kid, how copy?" The Scottish accent filled your ear.

"Buliding 200 meters left of the playground almost clear... Nothing yet," There was hesitation towards the end of your sentence as you began the slow, daunting ascension of the wooden stairs. Something felt... off.

A deep breath left your parted lips, hesitant to speak and with a shake to your breath, only one man noticed. Picking up on such subtleties was his specialty, from friends to regular citizens.

"Kid, I'm coming to you. Stay there." A deep rasp settled over your coms, gritting your teeth at the overuse of the nickname and natural over seeing nature of your superior.

"Ghost, I got this,"

Shaking your head, you steeled yourself, allowing the nerves to wash away and your adrenaline coat you in a thick armor. Calm confidence pulled you forward but you weren't cocky, looking for trip wires, shadows, and listening for anything that might come your way. Turning quickly around the wall to your right as the top step, there was no time to react as a bullet flew inches past your skull with a cracking sound of open fire.

"Fuck!"

Your brain tried to move faster than the bullets, gathering as much information while trying to move hastily. 1,2,3,4,5 you counted in your head. At least 5 men were up here with you, waiting like cowards to pick your team off one by one.

"Fuck! Ghost!... ugh 5 men!" You shouted over the gunfire and into the static of the radio, you were just hoping he was close in case shit went sideways.

Without thought, you moved. Reaching for the first man to your right and drawing the blade that clung to your thigh, driving deep between the bones of his ribcage as your elbow came up to his face. The blood from his nose smeared on you but he dropped the gun and was quickly becoming dead weight within your arms. Snapping your head up at the gunfire directly in front of you, the man you held, dying to your hands had to be your human shield in a quick burst of adrenaline. Rushing forward with the body, you pulled your pistol, resting your wrist for aim and control on the man you held before dropping 2 bodies instantly, headshots.

Shuffling into the bedroom at the end of the hallway, you allowed yourself a bated breath. Hearing Soap and Gaz on the radios, they were too far away still and Ghost was silent. You were on your own. Swallowing with a moment to close your eyes, it was ripped away just as fast, opening at a cracking gunshot that echoed; It bounced louder, reverberating off not just the building you were in but the ones that surrounded you, and it broke the glass that had not been yet shattered.

"They have a sniper!" You panted, listening and tucking into the bathroom. Another one hit, "Sniper, north side... Northeast" you corrected yourself, letting your training come in handy in locating a gunshot.

"Kid, kid... get out of there!" Soap yelled in worry "I'm on em—"

He was cut off as your radio line was cut. Your body moved by instinct before your mind could catch up. There was a man in the bathroom with you yielding a large hunting knife.

"Such a small one," He mocked in Russian before your boot connected with his thigh. The sound of a shattering bone crowded the small space, and he fell to his knees, spitting words of vile venom and trying to lodge the knife into your leg, but you were faster. Grabbing the wrist that held the weapon, you drop-kicked the back of his arm, easily breaking it with bone violently tearing the skin and clothes now about to drip crimson. He bowed forward. He was at the perfect height. Within seconds, you delivered your heel to the back of the man's neck, making his face collide with brutal force against the edge of the bathroom counter, and like that, he was dead.

"Nice knife" You huffed, getting off the bathroom tiles and stealing the bowie that lay in splatters of blood.

Exiting the bathroom, you weren't sure if the sniper was handled so you clung to the walls and shadows.

"Is the sniper still active?.... Soap?... fuck, how copy?"

"Echo 3-1, is the sniper still active? I need a read!"

"Ghost, how copy?!"

Each question you asked fell on deaf ears, growing more desperate as you could hear more soldiers flooding up the stairs. "Fuck"

A trickle of blood gathered at your brow and you wiped it away, unsure if it was yours or the enemies, calming the frayed nerves that sparked like wildfire you tried to breathe. You were not going to live if you did not calm yourself, the best had taught you that. His Manchester accent is engrained into your very skull to use instinct, steel yourself and think.

Russian orders only got closer, but you were no coward. Throwing a smoke grenade, you gained easy cover and lunged into the group of 4. Skidding low, throwing one man down, there was a clean shot to the back of his neck. The next you leaped upwards to wrap your thighs around the man's neck, he was clearly twice your size, but with momentum and power, he crashed to the floor with a deep groan. He was downed, leaving you to focus on the other two for now. The one closest to your left found bullets from your automatic rifle now lining up his torso and slumping to the hardwood.

Muttering incoherent phrases and strings of curses, the last one standing was by the banister, just a silhouette in the smoke that burned your lungs and flowed out the window, but it was disappearing quickly and you had to move.

Bang, bang, you shot him twice; One in the shoulder and one in the lower abdomen, he screamed and stumbled. Reaching for his gun, you had to be one step ahead, charging without fear and a new bowie knife in hand, you tore into the gunshot wound of the enemy's stomach and craved upwards like a butcher. Bile, acids, blood and organs dropped as you pushed him down the stairs. Little to your knowledge, a spectre ran into the home, witnessing the body tumble like a ragdoll.

It was mere seconds before hands were on you, brutally throwing you against the crumbling wall and he stalked toward your body. A whimper came from your parted lips, heart pounding and blood racing, shakey muscles appeared weaker to the man beside you than they were, and you leaned into that role seamlessly. Pulling more breathless gasps, chokes and groans out of you, the man bent down.

"The young ones always fall the hardest" He mocked, Russian rolling off his tongue in taunts and sick coos.

All you did was smirk, turning your head to meet a monstrous face of war. Not saying a word back, you jumped up, pulling the man's arm back against his back and jumping on his broad shoulders clad with a tact vest. Retrieving the large hunting knife once more, he stood, your head almost meeting the ceiling as you clung on top still, vicious and not letting go until the job was done. You sunk the blade into the assailant's neck, once, twice, three times before dragging it across the collar bones with a violent spray of red and he dropped.

You were the last one standing in a mess that told a savage story. Viscera coated your gear and the smoke cleared. Your heart was still beating in the depths of ruthless grandeur surrounded by bodies.

And a man stood quietly, seeing the story as if he wrote in himself. Beyond impressed he was happy to be wearing his mask.

"Honey badger is standing, all clear for evac" Ghost spoke strongly over the coms, a new life was born with the name along with a new respect and trust across scarred bloody skin.

"Honey badger, eh?" It had a nice ring to it. Way better than 'kid'

[venusianc0mplex]

Children of Ares

Children of Ares are brave, courageous, and they will fight for their success at all costs. They are some of the most ambitious people you will ever meet and also some of the most loyal lovers you will ever find. Ares kids are constantly in a battle fo tug-of-war with their own impulsive tendencies. Below are the common traits found in Children of Ares.

Gifts

Ares kids are very athletically gifted and they have very good reaction time

They are usually very gifted in gaming, a lot of pro-gamers are Children of Ares

The girls are usually born gifted strategists, whether it’s in gaming or in their social life 

They are EXTREMELY good at networking 

They know how to maintain a good public image 

They can become good at any sport they set out to learn 

They know how to channel their competitiveness positively

They gain muscles much faster than other people and they gain weight slower 

Very good metabolism 

Insanely good self-control

They are very good with the initial stages of dating 

The girls naturally know how to exercise their personal charm 

They usually have a very good sense of rhythm 

A lot of them are very gifted dancers

They have a very good sense of humor and they do great on talk-shows 

They tend to have very strong arms 

They are blessed with laser-like focus 

They tend to win against their competitors pretty easily by just doing their own thing 

They have more vitality and stronger willpower compared to most people

They are very good at rhythm games (games like DDR)

The girls are usually with the popular crowd and the guys tend to pull pretty easily even if they are not conventionally attractive 

They have a very good sense of logic 

They are usually very good with their money 

They attract people that help them move up in their careers very easily 

They will never run out of friends even if they have done very problematic things in the past 

As long as they exercise and keep their body in shape, they will be able to fight through anything in life, good physical health directly boosts their overall luck in life

The guys are usually the leader or the most popular person in their friend groups

They are usually able to live a very good life even without touching spirituality in their lifetime 

They are naturally very aware of social dynamics and social consequences

They are blessed with extra energy to achieve their goals (ex, if other people can dance for 3 hrs Ares kids can do 7)

I need to repeat this but they are genuinely funny as FUCK

Traits

They are very quick to act, sometimes without thinking too much about the consequences 

They all LOVE a good adrenaline rush, this applies to everyone regardless of gender

They naturally gravitate towards physical activities such as dancing

The men think very straightforwardly but they grow to be super understanding of women and in tune with how ladies think 

The men LOVE a baaaad bitchhh, all thye want to do is to serve a baaad bitchh in life

They are very generous with their close ones 

They usually have a pretty good relationship with their mom but their biological dad tends to be colder toward them due to emotional constipation

They can be extremely conscious of their figure and take on extreme diets to stay slim 

They are very good at finding the silver lining in a situation 

The guys are very easy to read 

The guys are VERY loyal and devoted to their partner and friends, the girls tend to be more strategic with whom they surround themselves with and they might kick someone out of their lives if they aren’t doing well anymore 

 A lot of them feel like they are worthless unless they put in real hard work in life

The girls are usually super ambitious in their career 

They are usually very good at gauging friendships out 

The guys can be a little too forgiving and the girls can be a little too unforgiving

Ares treats his daughters like the princess poms spiritually and as a result they are usually raised like princesses in the material world

They usually have prominent Mars nakshatra (Vedic Astrology) and/or very strong Mars placement in their sidereal astrology chart 

The girls will never run out of suitors and they KNOW their dating games well

The girls love to strategically place themselves with the right people

They take their workouts very seriously 

The men can be players in early stages of dating but once they settle they really SETTLE

The girls are prone to leaving a man once they can’t provide like they did before

The girls are usually very independent, career-oriented, and very image conscious

The girls can be very competitive with other girls especially when they are younger, but a lot of them do grow to become more girls’ girls 

The men can be wishy-washy and commit infidelity if they grew up in a bad family, and you wouldn’t expect from them because they are big chasers

You can always expect a son of Ares to make the first move in love, they are generally huge chasers

They are very good at climbing any ladder and they are usually happy to start from the bottoms up 

They will FIGHT for their closest friends and help bring up people closest to them

They are very generous to their family members 

They usually have a very good relationship with their siblings

The girls can remain scarily cool-headed when they are beefing with someone

Once they are hurt once they will be slow to forgive or they might never forgive, but they don’t get hurt very easily

Challenges

They can be extremely selfish people when they are younger 

The guys often have misplaced anger or huge anger issues when they are younger due to them not having a good father figure in their lives to teach them the right things

The girls can have mean girl tendencies and the guys can hold weird grudge against women when they are immature 

They will purposely say things to hurt you out of anger 

They will gossip behind enemies and ex-firends’ back 

They girls can be huge social climbers and be super fake with people 

Their biggest lesson in life is to control their anger and pettiness 

The girls can be very bossy and think they are above everyone else 

If Ares kids don’t check their ego they will have a very bad downfall somewhere after Saturn return 

If the guys don’t check their misdirected anger and starts acting right they will become aggressive incels, blaming everything on women when they are the ones developing their emotional intelligence

They are prone to staying in toxic relationships for way too long 

They can get lazy and too complacent in a relationship and stop putting in effort or consideration 

They can come off way too aggressive or even emotionally manipulative in a fight

The guys can take a long time to leave their toxic traits behind

They can be very unfocused when they are not in alignment with themselves 

They can drop someone over the smallest reasons and commit to the wrong person way too fast 

They can be quick to cut off people for the wrong reasons

They can be very unforgiving to people from their past even if they also did the other party wrong

They can lack a sense of remorse

Sometimes they can be very hardstuck on their own views even if reality proves them wrong 

The girls can be too materialistic to the point where they don’t care about anything else aside from materialism

Sometimes they tend to approach the problem in a very shallow way

They can be fake when they want to

They like creating rifts among friends when they have a falling out with someone 

They can put too much value on to shallow things and stop working on their emotional intelligence 

They are quick to fight

They don’t care enough about how their actions come off sometimes

They need to slow down and think about the consequences of their actions

Impatience 

They often lack compassion for others when they are younger

Disclaimer: Everything I mentioned above are based on my own observations, I do not claim to be 100% correct

[anemptypuddingcup]

I don’t mind; Trafalgar Law.

Contains; Tall and chubby reader. Reader’s taller than law. Hint of size kink. Law makes reader feel better about her height and size. Fingering. Pussy eating. Reader gives Law a lil titjob. Soft sex. Praise. Body worship. This is kinda long but I enjoyed writing it.

You and Law had been together for a good long while, a very long time. You both have had your ups and downs, but the thing that bothered Law most it how you would ask him how he feels about your body and height. It’s not like he doesn’t care, it’s just that you ask him the same question all the time as if his answer would ever change. Law was usually busy in his study and all, and seeing you peek in to tell him to take a break always warms his heart.

“Law..? Baby?” You called out, peeking in through the door. He lifts his head up to you and motions you to come in. You slowly walk in and close the door behind yourself. “Did you want something?” He asked, looking up from his book that he was reading. “Trafalgar…” You called out his first name and it gains his attention. “Are you…okay with my size..?” You asked, looking down at him. Law just stares up at you and lets out a light chuckle. Setting his book down, he stands up from his desk and walks to you.

“No matter how many times you ask me that, I’ll always say yes. Why’d you keep asking me that?” He asks, looking up at you. You let out a little noise in disapproval. “I’m just…asking again.” You sighed, turning away from him. Law could understand why you kept asking, his size of men wouldn’t be used to taller women so he could understand that. But in order for his answer to stay strong, he needed to prove that he actually meant it to you. He grabs your hand and pulls you along with him, you give him a questioning look. “Law? Where’re we going..?” You asked, his hand gripping yours and pulling you along. “Just come with me. M’gonna prove a point to you.” He said firmly.

Walking through the house, you pulls you into the bedroom and closes the door behind him. You flop onto the bed and giggle at Law as he takes off his hat and begins to pull off his shirt. “What’re you planning, Law?” You asked, looking down at him. Law crawls onto the mattress as it sinks underneath both of your weight. “Just…shut up and take off your clothes.” He demands, trying to pull your shirt off. “O-Okay okay, hold on-“ You say pulling off your pants.

Law pulls your shirt off and starts fondling with your breasts, a soft whimper leaves your lips. “See these? These are mine.” He says, giving both breasts a smooch. He moves down to your tummy, the place you poked at the most. “Your tummy, s’mine too.” He whispers, kissing your tummy. “L-Law…” You say, blushing deeply. His hands and lips trails down your your sides and to your thighs, giving them smooches and bites in the process. “Your thighs, mine. Your legs, mine too.” Law says, rubbing your soft skin.

He trails down lower to you pussy and pokes at it, making you jolt from the sudden pleasure. “This especially, is mine.” He says, beginning to kiss your pussy. You moan as he trails his tongue up your folds and to your clit. He kisses and suckles at your clit, making you gasp from pleasure. “L-Law p-please~” You moan, beginning to squirm under him. Law slips his fingers into your warm entrance and grazes his fingertips against your g-spot. You let out a loud abrupt moan as he grinds his fingertips against that sweet spot repeatedly.

“L-Law! F-Fuck~” You whimper, arching your back. Law smiles as he licked at your clit diligently, the vibration of his little groans providing a pleasurable vibration for your pussy. Your hand rubs at Laws hair softly as you felt your climax growing closer. “L-Law, m-m’gonna cum~” You whimper, bucking your hips against his mouth. He giggles and moves his fingers faster as he felt your walls tighten around his fingers. “Come on then, what’re you waiting on?” He asked, placing one of his hands on your hips to hold you still. He moves his fingers faster into you as you let out little wails of pleasure.

“I-It’s coming! I-IT’S COMING OUT~ FUCK!~” You whimper and arch your back as you gushed around Law’s fingers. Law gives you a pleased smile and his fingers begins to slow down as you breathe heavily, slowly recovering from your orgasm. “T-Traffy- W-What was that f-for!~” You asked, breathing heavily as you looked at him. “I told you, I wanted to prove a point.” He said, letting out a light chuckle. You pout at him, feeling a little bad for not bothering to help him. You grabs his hips which catches him off guard as you pull him onto your chest.

“Wh-What’re you doing?-“ Law asked staring down at you. You unbuttoned his pants and unzipped his fly, softly stroking his cock through his briefs before pulling it out. You wrap your breasts around his cock and lick your lips out of anticipation. “I could return the favor for you…” You whispered, kissing at his tip. He shivers, a little reluctant to take the offer. Though you reassured him that it would be fine. You slowly began to rub your tits against his cock, making him let out a little groan. He holds your breasts softly and begins fucking his hips into them. “Hah~ You’re mischievous aren’t you…?” He asked, letting out little groans. You kiss and suck at his tip while he fucks into your tits, his groans slowly beginning to grow more loud and breathy.

“Fuck- you’re doing so fucking good. Keep sucking on my cock.” Law moans as his movements picked up speed. You moan as you gave his cock little kitten licks, making him whimper from the pleasure. Law’s hips stuttered as you felt his cock twitch between your breasts. “Please keep going, I’m so close alright?” He begs, his hips now full on fucking into your breasts. You smile and nod as Law’s groans and whimpers grew louder. “S-Shit! C-Cumming!” He groans, his cock beginning to spurt ropes of cum onto you. You let out a little moan as you felt his warm spunk hit your face. You lick the lingering cum off of your lips and moan from the strong taste and arousal.

Law sat there, breathing heavily on your chest as he came down from his high. He looks at you and sighs out of relief. “Fuck…You did so good.” He praises, giving your a kiss onto your cum-stained lips. You give him a pleasant smile, though part of you still wasn’t satisfied. “M-Mhm.” You said, rubbing small circles into his hips. Law could tell that you obviously wanted more from him, and he wasn’t afraid to give more to you. He gets off of your chest and looks at you, knowing what else you wanted from him. “You want more, don’t you?” He asked, peppering kisses onto your neck. You reluctantly nodded and looked away from him, moaning eagerly from his soft little kisses.

He smiles and pulls off his jeans and briefs, giving you a full view of his hardened cock. He moves down to your pussy and presses his tip against your warm entrance, earning a little moan from you. “You’re still soaked down here, is it because you sucked me off?” He asked nonchalantly. You blush deeply and shook your head. “I-It’s from you in general Traffy…” You said, lifting your legs onto his shoulders. He lets out a little chuckle and slowly thrusts into you. You whimper from the slight stretch as he bottoms out inside of you. “Traffyyyy~” You moan, arching your back. Law slowly begins to fuck into you, making sure you were feeling comfortable before he deciding to go a little faster.

You moan as you feel Law’s tip push against your g-spot, making your walls tighten around him. He moans from the sudden constriction of your walls around him, and decides to pick up the pace. Law begins to fuck into your sensitive g-spot, making you moan and cry out his name a little louder. “You’re so pretty, fuck you’re so fucking pretty~” Law groans as his hips slaps hard against yours. “Traffyyyy~” You whimper out Law’s name, making him grip your hips tighter. He whimpers at your moans and the soft feeling of your gummy walls wrapped around him.

“Who’s my pretty baby?” He moans, fucking deeper into you. “I-I am!~” You moaned, drooling from the intense pleasure of Law fucking into you. “Cmon! Say it again! Who’s my pretty girl?!” He demands, holding your hips tightly as you tighten around him even more. You whimper but reluctantly repeat yourself. “I-I ammmm~~” You moan, your orgasm growing closer. Law smiles and pushes his cock deeper into your cunt. You couldn’t keep yourself contained much longer. “L-Law!~” You moaned out his name, gaining his attention. Law looks into your glistening eyes and breathes heavily.

“You’re close, ain’t you? Because I am too~” He moans. Law flips you over onto your side and lifts one of your legs up in the air. He continues to fuck back into you at a faster and deeper pace, making you both moan in pleasure. Law grips your face and gives you a deep sloppy kiss. You moan into the kiss as your orgasm rushes up to both of your bodies. “A-Ah! L-Law, I love youuuu!~” You moan out, throwing your head back from the pleasure. Law pants and moans, unable to get his words out to you. Your moans sync together as Law shoots white ropes of cum deep into your pussy. You squirt all over Law’s cock as tears began to stream down your face from your orgasm.

Law’s body shivered against yours as you both still were still deep in the afterglow of your orgasms. You reach your arms around Law’s body and pulls him tightly into your embrace. He lays his head against your breasts and breathes heavily, trying to regain in breath back. “Are you alright baby?” You asked, looking down at him. It takes him a minute to catch his breath, but once he catches his breath he answers. “Yeah, I’m fine…are you?” He asked, wrapping his arms around your waist. You nod and smile softly at him.

Law lets out a little laugh and gives you a deep kiss once again. “How do you feel about yourself now?” Law asked, looking up at you. “A little better, only because of you Traffy~” You say, giving him another kiss. “Good. I shouldn’t hear you asking me another question about your body unless if it’s good, okay?” Law said, yawning. You nodded and nuzzled against Laws neck. “Alright alright. You made me feel better anyways Trafalgar~” You said softly.

Law smiles, happy to hear that he had made you feel a whole lot better about yourself. “I love you sweetheart, no matter how you may look, alright?” He whispers, caressing your body softly. You snuggle against him, exhausted from your love-making session with Law. Who knew he could be so sweet behind closed doors.

[riddle-me-ri]

My cat fell asleep on my arm and that got me thinking of you could write a fic about reader falling asleep on the various ozzies XD how would they react and what would they do?

(Btw I absolutely love your writing I check your blog everyday to see if you've written anything new and it's always such a treat when you do 💝)

A/N: first off I am absolutely here for the cats invading everyone’s personal space and claiming human limbs as beds, as well as the fact there were two similar themed requests (same anon? Maybe possibly?) I hope y’all don’t mind I sorta combined the two of your requests because…yeah they were really similar rip. I will link the backstory to Farrell!Penguin’s drabble in his section, and the other Ozzies will be original.

Penguins Reacting to Reader Falling Asleep on Them:

Arkhamverse Penguin: 

Well, what was he to expect? That coat he wears is comfy inside and out. 

You were sitting beside Oswald at the head of the long dining table. 

You heard some parts of the conversation, but it didn’t take long between the dullness of the topic and the cacophony of voices to all sound one in the same. You barely make out what Ozzie’s saying as your eyelids eventually get too heavy to hold open any longer.

Oswald was in the middle of giving an order when he felt the slightest weight on his upper arm. Everyone grew silent when they notice you’ve actually nodded off. Some men stared in shock, if they were to fall asleep during a meeting…Oswald wouldn’t hesitate to knock them out for good. 

They weren’t you though. You had him wrapped around your finger like a vine to a branch. He glanced over to you. The scowl on his face perking up to a soft endearing smile towards you. He immediately lowered his voice, but still delivered the order in a stern tone. If any of his men raised their voices even the slightest, he’d shush them. 

“Keep your bloody voice down!” He hissed. “Can’t you see my love is sleepin?”

Reevesverse/Farrell Penguin:

Click on Farrell Oz's header for the full backstory on how the reader managed to pop a squat on Oz’s lap.

Needless to say, you got pretty comfortable in Ozzie’s lap. You reveled in the closeness, being wrapped up in his warmth and clean but not overbearing cologne. You even gained the courage in your newfound comfortability to put your hand over his that was cupped around your waist. Oz quirked an eyebrow at the gesture, but smiled and let you hold his hand. 

Once his friends went off to go dancing with their dates for the night. You enjoyed the one on one time with Oz.

Between the stories shared and the drinks sipped. Time passed faster and it got really late. You don’t remember how or what, but your eyelids were slowly closing like the red curtains at the end of a play. Oswald was so soft, warm, inviting. No matter how hard you tried you couldn’t resist. 

Selina walked passed handing Oz a wad of cash but not before giggling softly. “Looks like your date’s decided to take a cat nap.” 

Oz furrowed his eyes until he looked down. Sure enough, you were snoozing away. You hand on his chest, the hand on his hand slowly losing it’s grip on his. He couldn’t help but mimic the smile you had on your face. He moved his hand that was on your waist over your free hand, to keep holding it to your side. Oswald grew to like holding your hand. 

He chuckled softly. “Yeah, it’d appear so.” 

“You want me to clear a spot on the couch in your office, boss?” Selina offered. 

Oz looked up at her and nodded. “I’d appreciate that.” 

Selina nodded back with a smile, but not before stealing a glance at you. “I think they’re a keeper. I’ve never seen you smile so much in one night.” 

Oswald glanced back down at you. Your body completely lax against his, you’re breathing even. You must feel so content with him. He must make you feel safe…

He brushed a stray hair off your cheek and tightened his hold on you. “Yeah…I was just thinkin’ the same thing.” 

Gotham Penguin:

“What I’m trying to say is…this war CANNOT and should NOT persist. Why must we shed MORE blood, WASTE away more lives!” Oswald was on another passionate rant, to no one in particular but it always helped his mind come up with the solutions. 

“Ehh..boss…”

“What, Butch?” 

Butch pointed to you on Oswald’s left side. He turned to you and almost jolted out of his skin. 

Y-You were asleep. Gently resting along his shoulder. Your steady breathing caused the tiniest of hairs on Oswald’s pale skin stand up. 

“H-How long was I talking?” 

Butch glanced at his watch. “A little over 2 hours, boss.” He gave his employer a lopsided smile. 

Oswald’s eyes widened. No wonder you dozed off, but he didn’t suspect…he never suspected. You would find him…cozy…inviting. 

“O-Oh…that..that explains it..” Oswald whispered, worried that even the slightest hitch in his voice or twitch in his body will jostle you awake. He can’t say he’s quick to remove you away from him though.

Butch chuckled. Fully aware of the feelings you and Oswald had for each other but refused to act on. Whilst it was adorable, it was equally infuriating. 

“Good night, boss.” Butch began making his way up the stairs to the spare bedrooms in the mansion. 

“W-Wait! B-Butch..” He hissed. “W-What do I do about them?” 

Butch shrugged, but continued to walk off. 

Oswald was about to yell at Butch to come back and help him, but the slight tension in his body caused your head to squirm on his shoulder. 

Well, this wasn’t one of the most uncomfortable places to fall asleep. He leaned back in the plush cushioned chair, your head still glued to his shoulder. Oswald reluctantly laid the side of his face on top of your head. 

He couldn’t help but chuckle in warm delight. 

Yeah, there were way worse conditions to take a nap in. 

BTAS Penguin:

“Oh look, my dear! A gorgeous little dove–oh!” 

He looks down to see you nestled into his chest, with one hand clinging to the lapels of his suit jacket. 

You and Oswald were taking a small rest on a park bench. You enjoyed these special little moments with Oswald. Just the two of you taking a stroll through the park, talking about nothing, looking at all the birds that come your way. 

It was still early in the evening, and it was fair to say you didn’t get the best sleep last night. 

Oswald gulped at the close proximity. W-Why would you sleep on him? Surely he wasn’t the most..comfortable cushion. You had a better chance leaning your head over the bench, or resting on the bench’s armrest. 

Yet, you didn’t do any of that. 

You sought out for him, resting your body into his without so much as a second thought. 

You…you really do like him.

Oswald couldn’t help but smile widely in glee. He could jump up in joy, but he will refrain so he won’t wake you up. He noticed the birds nearby chirping more than usual, as if they’re sharing in his delighted mood. 

He wrapped his arm around you and gently squeezed you, so you were closer to him. His heart almost swelled when he saw you smile and snuggle your head closer to him. 

Oswald kissed the top of your head before resting his chin on top of your head. 

TNBA Penguin:

The night was electric. It was a special night at the Iceberg Lounge. Oswald was premiering a brand new performance act for the club. It took months of preparation and discussions, but it was finally happening. 

The night couldn’t have had a better turn out. 

Oswald was seated next to you in one of the half circle booths facing the stage. Once the act was over, Oz couldn’t help but notice you went rather quiet and his shoulder felt more heavy. He glanced down to see you snoozing away. 

Any other time and if it’d been any other person he would be offended at such a rude display. However, he knew the cause, and how he was part of it. You put just as much hours into setting this up and getting this to work more than anyone. 

Plus, he couldn’t help but enjoy the small palpations his heart was doing. He always enjoyed the idea of having you by his side. The idea of you being intimate enough with him to hold his hand, kiss his cheek, or…doze off on top of him. 

This…this was a good start to making his idea…his dream of you two become a reality. 

Oswald leaned up slightly off the back of the booth. As gently as he could, he readjusted himself so that he was laying back into the booth instead of sitting up straight. He grabbed your spare jacket that you rested on your lap and wrapped it around your upper body. 

Oz gave you a small peck on your cheek. 

“Thank you, my dear…for everything.” He whispered softly in your ear, silently hoping you heard him. 

Telltale Batman:

You were so excited to see Oswald when he said he was coming back to Gotham City. Tossing and turning in your bed from excitement it was safe to say the rough three hours of sleep you got were finally catching up to you. 

You and Ozzie were hanging out in his new apartment. After getting him settled in to his new digs. You guys ordered take out and grabbed a couple movies to watch on the couch. The food was long gone and you were in the middle of the second film. 

Oz couldn’t help but notice you had gone uncharacteristically quiet. He glances down and sees you snuggled up against the pillow and his lower abdomen. Your breathing was even and your eyes were closed.

Always the one to mess with him, earlier you had rested a pillow on Oz’s lap and laid your head there to watch the films. Oz scoffed at you but didn’t make you budge. Now he was sort of regretting that decision. Only a little bit though. 

One of your hands was gripping the edge of his black shirt and the other was wrapped around his waist. 

God, you really were so adorable. Why the hell did you ever hang on to a low-life like him? No assets, no money, no estate…just a name that used to mean something…be worth something. 

Even if he never quite understood you. He appreciated your presence in his life all the more. Oswald did not ever want to think about a life without you. He’s already lost Bruce, if he lost you too…he really wouldn’t have anybody else. 

Oz leaned over you as best he could. Snatched the remote he turned the TV off and he gently slid his lap out from under you. He watched to make sure the sudden movement didn’t wake you. You ended up just nuzzling into the pillow. He chuckled. 

Oz scooped his arms under your body and slowly lifted you off the couch. He carried you into the one bedroom with a king mattress. He recalls the small argument with you over his sheet and comforter colors matching the pillow cases. It makes him laugh internally to himself. 

He pulls back the covers and sheets and laid you down gently into the mattress. Oz tucked you in, occasionally glancing at your eyes making sure you weren’t waking up. Before he left to crash on the couch, he took another glimpse of your sleeping face. 

Oswald smiled, brushing your hair gently out of your face. He got up to his feet, but not before kissing your temple. 

“Sweet dreams, love.” 

One Bad Day Penguin:

The Iceberg Lounge had just closed after another successful night. You were helping Oz with his book keeping. Everyone talks about counting sheep to fall asleep…but what about counting and crunching numbers. 

It had to have been about five in the morning, when Oswald all of a sudden felt a sudden weight on his back. You two were sitting back to back of each other, occasionally checking in on each other and making sure everything was in order and adding up. 

However, he never expected you laying back and nestling in his back. Oswald couldn’t help but admit, you were warmer and more inviting than any blanket he’s ever owned. 

“Hey, sweetie…you wanna call it a night?” He asked softly. 

Your only response was some slight squirming and wordless murmuring. 

“Ah..I see.” Oz responded sarcastically. In moments like these he wished he was more physically capable. He would carry you up to your room in the upper floors of the lounge. 

But maybe I can make it to that couch…

There was a violet loveseat on the other side of your office. As quickly but seamless as he could, Oz spun around on his chair to catch you before your body fell from the lack of support from his back. Oswald jumped off from his seat, and slowly used the wheels of your chair to roll you over to the couch. 

Once the wheels met the edge of the couch, Oz cupped his hands around your neck and lower waist. Using all his strength he moved you from the chair to the couch. Thankfully the transition didn’t disturb you. 

Oswald took a deep exhale in relief. Now he got to take a good luck at your sleeping face. 

It should be a crime to be this cute. It should be an even harsher offense to have someone so precious like you work for the likes of him. However he enjoyed your company too much, call him selfish but you made him happy. You made him feel like a human, deserving of happiness and love. Call him selfish if was ever going to give that up. 

He didn’t even notice him crossing his arms on the couch. Slowly, he lowered his head to rest on top of his folded arms. Just watching you peacefully sleep. 

You were able to peacefully doze off in his presence. Oswald began reminiscing on all his memories with you, and just how joyful and content he was in each one. 

Oz slowly drifted off to sleep too, dreaming of the past with you and the future that has yet to make itself known. But if you were there with him, Oswald was more than ready for whatever the future holds.

[yourlocaldisneyvillain]

I know this is a really stupid question, but why is the Jan stevens kink (I don’t know what it’s called sry) kinda upsetting for some people? Like, toxic or whatever. I totally respect it, it’s just not clicking in my head if that makes sense? I’m just not totally clear on what’s wrong with it. I haven’t thought about it much though, so maybe that’s on me. I just thought maybe you could enlighten me, ‘cause now I’m curious. Thx 💟

hi!! ofc, happy to explain it!

the way i wrote it, it's really not extreme -- and that's the level of that kink (i generally referred to it as alvinolagnia -- a belly/midriff partialism -- will include some info at the end of this post) that i was personally comfortable with writing. there is nothing wrong with that kink per se -- however! if we are talking specifically about feederism there is a lot of..... let's say... disturbing stuff associated with it. in certain spaces (online and irl) a lot of feeders are men who enjoy forcing their female partners to eat absurd amounts of food and gain an absurd amount of weight -- so much so that they need to rely on their partner to do things for them. it also involves those men calling those women pretty nasty slurs, and a popular one is to call your partner a pig. a lot of fatphobia combined with misogyny in that community, but also glorification of obesity (we are talking about people who gain so much weight they can barely walk by themselves anymore). it's..... a lot.

HOWEVER. you could argue that most kinks have their extreme sides. in the bdsm community, for example, you could have a light dom/sub dynamic in the bedroom, or you could be someone's full time slave, have your partner control every aspect of your life, including your finances etc. so basically, another person practically owns you. that's also real icky haha. but then again, we all like to read a nice smutty fic with light dom/sub dynamics, right? and i think there's no harm in that.

what rubs people the wrong way about this kink is that it can get real disturbing and extreme real fast -- and a lot of people who are into it ARE on the extreme side. however, there are definitely people who just enjoy some harmless belly kink stuff, but i feel like they are not as loud as the disturbing part of that crowd haha, so people don't tend to pay attention to them. for them, belly kink + feederism is immediately something very extreme.

i think a lot of the ick people feel for that particular kink is because of deep fatphobia that runs in our society. people would literally rather drink piss than feel bloated for one (1) hour haha. bc when you look at it, how is that ickier than like... feet? or piss? or even breeding, which is a very popular kink online lol (also with that one you could find heaps of Problematique(TM) stuff, such as forced pregnancy stuff etc.). or like plain old choking. how is choking less disturbing that like... being bloated and getting off on it lol. so that's for sure something to think about.

so basically, the overall take would be -- every kink can range from fun, mild, and harmless to very disturbing/borderline abuse -- some kinks can skew into the icky territory much faster than others though, so that is also something to keep in mind.

so, there -- those were yourlocaldisneyvillain's hot takes for today. enjoy kink!week :))) see you tomorrow :*

(that being said -- ppl are allowed to dislike or be grossed out by any kink for any reason. there doesn't have to be anything deeper to it) some info about alvinolagnia/ belly stuffing/feederism that i already included in the jan fic is under the cut!

Alvinolagnia is another term for a belly fetish. Alvinolagnia is a partialism in which an individual is sexually attracted to the midriff or belly. The belly is widely considered as an erogenous region, meaning it holds multiple nerve endings that make it sensitive to various sensations. Therefore, having a belly fetish usually coincides with belly-related sexual acts including but not limited to touching/rubbing the belly region, using sex toys and other objects to stimulate the belly region, rubbing one's belly against a partner's belly, or licking or sucking the navel.

A kink that closely relates to the belly fetish is belly stuffing — which is when people get a psychological thrill and sexual pleasure from the idea of eating a lot — doing it themselves, or witnessing someone else do it.

Belly stuffing can be related to feederism. Feederism is a fat fetish subculture in which individuals eroticise weight gain and feeding. Feeders are individuals who are sexually aroused by feeding their partners and encouraging them to gain weight. Feederism encompasses people being turned on by feeding, belly stuffing, weight gain, fat, and often, dominance and submission.

[lexithevalkyrie]

Is it also a question of age how fat you can get? Young piggy's can gorge a lot more and can become much fatter and heaver than older pig's aged 50+ as a example? Is there a different in the amount of possible food intake and the time of gaining the eaten food between female and male pig's? :)

For the zhort answer, age does play a role in weight gain, but it's actually easier to gain when you are older than when you are younger. Especially after 40, your metabolism slows down to a dramatic level, allowing you to gain much faster. It also decreases muscle mass.

There's actually not much of a difference between intakes for both men and women, but men generally eat more than women (some say that it's a social construct revolving around the idea that women should be small and skinny)

[pangtasias-atelier]

I've been going crazy as of late with the general idea of some guy gaining weight, but he's the only one who's even aware of it.

Like, some average sized man randomly packing on pounds in a sudden growth spurt. He's suddenly pudgy where he never was, yet everyone thinks that he's always liked to eat a bit extra, unable to say no to another serving or dessert.

It's not even just people who suddenly mentally adjust to his size. His clothes grow. The picture of him from a couple months back now shows him with the extra bit of pudge that he now has, since he's always had it to begin with.

And he packs on weight over time; every single attempt he makes at dieting or exercising is absolutely meaningless as he continues to unwillingly pack on the pounds. Everyone's indifference to his size slowly switches over to minor teasing and slight encouragement that transforms into flat out fattening him up by the point he weighs 500 pounds of hefty man fat.

And his very house shifts to accommodate his size: furniture reinforced, doorways widened, food always stocked up, anything he could need to get that push to gain weight faster his house has.

Even as he continues to blimp out, becoming an absolute wheezing, hungry mess that has an entourage of men who greedily fatten him up and take care of him, everyone thinks it's the most natural thing ever.

How else would such a hefty blob of a man be so fat if not giving into his own hedonistic pleasure?

[blackevermore]

x Secrets of The Lake: The Company of Misery and Pain ( Also on A03)

{ Chapter 18 }

Summary: Vladimir Masters’ family tree has always been tainted by secrets swept under the rug. From generation to generation there have been countless reasons the Masters’ family had seemed to keep private from the public. Even to this day, Vladimir was no exception. But what was one to do when a restless spirit from the settlement years finally breaks free from restraints and demands you answer for your ancestor’s crimes? Vladimir doesn’t know. However, Clockworks does.

Notes: We just having fun, rewriting some of the canon, new adventure new characters. I will apologize now for any grammar, spelling, or weird sentence structuring in advance. My brain writes faster than my fingers and even when I go back through to reread it I still miss things. Sorry about that!

Warning: SA in the first part of the chapter

Word Count: 7.5

P.s: I'm knocking this out faster than my Hazbin fic. The sexy tumblr men are fighting!

To tell a man he could create a new life after watching the one he had before vanish was the cruellest advice, in Vladan's opinion. It was insensitive to the loss of a family, legacy, and business that was once flourishing. Vladan had watched the way his mother fell ill to a broken heart after his father's passing and he was sure she would be next to follow. His brother was not getting worse but was far from ever getting better and Tayonna was feeling the weight on her shoulders just as much as her master. Vladan was now the head of the house, meaning every ounce of freedom he had become accustomed to while living in the colonies was gone. It was not an option but his faith as his mother kissed his forehead and told him how much she loved him. Vladan knew way before the illness that struck his brother he would be the one to shoulder the world. 

At a very young age, he quickly disregarded his toys and traded his childhood for academics and business practices. He had lost himself at the idea that he would gain control of the family, which made it even harder to accept his role when he had lost sight of said mindset due to his newly found liberation with Tayonna. In the heat of the family's fall, Vladan took hold and kept his family stable within the colonies, their home across the seas was sold to usher in their transition which caused great distress to Luther. He would miss their country home that sat atop a hill that looked down into the old town square with the beautiful church bells. Vladan would miss them too, they were his haven of knowing the time of day in a melody rather than the rattling that the colony's church called music. Luther could not survive a trip back across the seas, it was dangerous to try no matter how much Luther begged his brother and mother. He wanted to die in the arms of his empire if it was possible. All Vladan could do was promise that when his time was to come he would make sure Luther’s body was taken home and buried with the rest of their family.

It was morbid but it was all the family could do while trying to shift the focus of death away from business. Vladan’s father was a trusted merchant who dealt with the settlement shipments that came in from the other world. Day in and day out Vladan’s father was keeping track of the moving world rather than his own family. Now Vladan was doing the same but at least he had someone to talk to when things become stressful. Tayonna had promised him that she was at his side just as much as she was by his brother’s. Their affair had yet to blossom in the way Vladan’s mother and brother expected. The pair was careful and even scared to express their interest in one another. Even in the comfort of the house, the two kept their relationship with that of a housemaid and her master. Vladan’s mother secretly begged for some sort of entertainment at times but she knew her son. He was like a wolf that only ate the meat it could hunt itself and never the meat it had randomly found. Whether he was prideful or just scared, the boy’s mother huffed at the idea that Vladan would rather wait for her death than acknowledge his burning desire. 

It took Vladan a while to accept that the large oak desk within his father’s study was now his. The books tucked in the wooden shelves collecting dust were his. The handmade furniture his father picked out from Prussia was his. The land and the house that was now empty of the old grumpy man was now his. That awe would strike him at times but would be quickly washed away when stacks of papers and letters came across the desk with his name on them. He had to work. He had to make sure he took care of his family. 

As he finished writing his name across the paper in front of him he felt that something wasn’t right. His mind told him that the paper in front of him wasn’t correct. He placed down his quill and held up the document making sure the ink didn’t run. But there wasn’t any wet ink. There weren’t any handwritten letters either, the paper seemed foreign with the letters seeming robotic and the date at the top seeming so far in the future. Vladan looked back up to the top and the image in the corner caught his attention. It was big, bold with black words and a red outline like a banner; it read ‘Vlad Co.’ which was not one of the ships Vladan had to manage. Vladan's brows knotted as he tried to think of what ship this was but his mind was quickly averted when he looked down and saw the name he had written was not his. 

Vladan placed the paper down and took hold of his head when a pounding pressure began to form right above his eye. He shut his eyes and tried to relax so the headache would subside but it never did and made him miserable. He opened his eyes again and now the paper was back to normal. His name was at the bottom, the top of the page was empty, and the letters in the middle were handwritten. Vladan was confused yet quickly blamed it on his head. He was working too much and the day was far into the afternoon. Normally when the sun was halfway through the sky Tayonna would knock on the door to call him for midday supper. At times she would come in and they would share each other's company.

She hadn’t come. There was no knock at the door and Vladan began to feel a sense of worry. Tayonna never missed coming by, he tried to get up from his seat but he was stuck to his chair. He tried again but when he wouldn’t budge he gave up and looked around to see what was causing this. The headache was growing more and more painful. It felt like he had been slammed against the desk over and over before being thrown to the floor. He stopped trying to get up from his chair and held his head in his hand hoping the pain would stop.

Knock. Knock.

Vladan rose his head slowly and felt a wave of relief wash over him as he thought it was finally Tayonna. But when the door opened his heart dropped and his headache worsened.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Mister Mægisters.” Phoebe Speldercast spoke before she entered. Vladan's brows knotted and annoyance bubbled in his stomach. He didn’t like this woman one bit. 

Phoebe Speldercast was the town’s head judge’s estranged daughter who caused more issues within the town than good. Her father was a nasty man who ran the town with a black cloak that left people blind and at his mercy. He was known for going beyond the book of God and justifying his torture as the gospel that would keep everyone pure. When Vladan found out the judge had children he was not surprised to find that his daughter was just as nasty as him. She was treated with so much honour by her father’s work that it left her untouchable from any wrongdoing she could accomplish. She stuck out from the rest of the town with her fiery red hair and striking blue eyes. It was said that when she was born she was a gift from god as an omen of a plentiful harvest in the autumn. Vladan knew that was the farthest from the truth. She was wicked and cruel to anyone who did not bend to her will, at times calling upon her father to aid her in the destruction of innocent people. 

Phoebe had been the reason people’s businesses were torn apart and given to the court. She was the reason many women feared that at any time their husbands could be taken from them and remarried. Not because the men could not stay faithful but simply because Phoebe said so. The woman was her father’s lurking shadow that made it easy for the man to stay in good grace. If anyone would go against god’s omen then everyone would burn in the depths of hell. The town was submissive, no one wanted to go to hell or even be associated with any wrongdoing that would cost them their life. Phoebe was death. 

This was why Vladan could never understand how someone like Phoebe could have such a sweet and caring twin as Magdalena. Everything Phoebe was Magdalena was not and was better, including having green eyes instead of blue. Vladan couldn’t help but cherish the times he had the honour of talking to the nicer twin. He wishes it was Magdalena’s responsibility to come to him about her father’s stocks rather than Phoebe's.

The woman was dressed in her signature red evening gown she was gifted from France. Due to her status, it was ignored how European she was. The English in the land took a more modest appearance. Phoebe made it clear she lusted for the exposure of luxury from the whiney empire of cheese and wine. It was like the town couldn’t see how outlandish she looked, she was like a ghost walking among the living. Vladan took note she had purposefully worn a dress much lower in the neckline that showed off more than he was willing to look at. Her hair was twisted and curled, pulled into a messy bun that lengthened her neck and made her look delicate.

“I come to speak of my father’s stock. As you know-”

“As I know it is mid-month and the ships from the Germanic states have arrived later than usual. Yes, I have informed your father and made it a point that once everything is settled, he shall be the first to know.” Vladan was quick to cut the woman off. Her voice wasn't annoying, thank god, but it was clear she was putting on an act to seduce Vladan as always.

Phoebe looked annoyed from being cut off but dismissed it, smiled sweetly then took the seat in front of the desk. She sat sideways causing the ends of her dress to rise and pool around her making her lean forward. She was trying to make him look down but Vladan was smart and could never fall for her tricks. 

“Then I come of my own accord,” Phoebe said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear and slowly blinking up at Vladan. He was not impressed.

“What is it, Miss Speldercast? Last I checked, everything you own is in your father’s name, it is his property. Women hold no property.” That seemed to hit a nerve as Vladan saw the way her jaw clenched and her gaze became hardened. Vladan knew this cat-and-mouse game better than any man she had set her eyes on. Despite holding so much power over his head, Vladan knew that without his father’s work, the settlement would fall apart. Phoebe could corner him as much as possible but he was quick to put her back into a position of a powerless woman. 

“I’ve come for you.” She spoke and got to her feet. Vladan tried to get up as well but he was still stuck to the chair. 

“I’ve told you I do not wish to marry you, Miss Speldercast.” The woman smirks.

“Phoebe,” She replied. “We know each other much more personally than for you to be formal. Won’t you say, Vladan?” Phoebe walked around the desk and slid a hand over Vladan’s shoulder before standing behind him and leaning down into his ear.

Vladan tried to move away but he was helpless, Phoebe was amused.

“I’ve wanted you the moment you came into this town and you’ve done nothing but make it clear that you have no interest in me.” She ran her fingers through his hair and Vladan pulled away forcefully, rocking his chair.

“Is it because you have an interest in my sister?” Phoebe slipped her fingers back in his hair, tangling them before pulling his head back. Vladan gasped and glared at her from the corner of his eye. “Little Magdalena, pure and smart, born from the wife of the judge, unlike her sister who was born from the judge’s mistress. Hmm? Is it that? Are you attracted to her purity from a false marriage?” Phoebe threw Vladan’s head and pulled his chair back so she could reach him. She pushed his arms down onto the armrest which rendered him motionless as he tried to get out of her grip. 

“What are you doing to me?!” Vladan yelled and Phoebe quickly shushed him with the tip of her finger. Vladan’s mouth felt heavy and he couldn’t move. Fear rose to his heart and he began to pant as he tried to fight whatever hold Phoebe had him in. 

“She’s a purist you know, she’s the only good thing to ever come from our father. Everyone is born with wickedness and yet my sister is what the bible praises. Father doesn't understand it either. I do. I understand she is the object of your affection.” Phoebe inched closer to Vladan’s face until they were inches apart. He could feel her breath on him and it only made him more enraged. If the force holding him down could break at any moment he would slap her. 

“You wish to fuck it right out of her I know it.” Phoebe grinned and laughed in his face. “You could fuck me just the same and pretend it’s her. We are almost identical if you ignore our eyes.” Phoebe pulled away from Vladan and leaned back against his desk.

“I could give you much more than whatever your father had. I could give you a real status, real power, a real head on your shoulder that would make other people realize your potential.” The woman bit her lip and eyed Vladan up and down, lingering longer on his crotch. 

“Or.” The woman thought for a moment then pulled up her dress and sat on Vladan’s lap. “You crave something worse than an unmarried woman. You crave someone who isn’t even considered a human.” 

Phoebe closed the gap between them, capturing Vladan’s lips in hers. He couldn’t move but the fear in his eyes said it all as the woman began to kiss him again. Her hand ran down his chest and cupped him through his pants. All of his strength went to trying to make his body stop and eventually, he tired himself out. He cursed himself for reacting and shut his eyes to will it away but nature was stronger than his will and Phoebe was well aware of that. 

Vladan kept an eye on the door hoping that Tayonna wasn’t home. His heart sped at the sheer thought of Tayonna finding him like this with Phoebe. He couldn’t bear the idea of his secret love seeing this. He could only hope she was far from the house mending to Luther or in the woods. But that fear came to light as he heard a knock and the door being pushed open. Vladan shut his eyes trying to hide but that wasn’t enough when he heard the sound of plates falling to the floor and footsteps running away.

Phoebe finally pulled away and licked her lips, “You taste better in despair.” She whispered in his ear and Vladan felt his body give way from the force and he quickly pushed the woman off.

Vlad shot up from his bed in pure anger ready to attack whoever was around him. He had to blink a few times to gather he was in his bedroom. He couldn’t remember his dream but knew that whatever it was left a legit bad taste in his mouth, and a brimming anger that could shoot ectoblasts through his walls. He hadn’t felt this angry since…since his bitterness towards Jack. It was an ugly anger that once made Vlad scared of himself. It consumed him, swallowing him whole which caused a brief moment during his mayor career he had to go into hiding. When his anger got out of control it was like a splitting pain that turned into a being that lingered on Vlad’s shoulders. He had given it a face as Plasmius, but that made it even worse when it felt like Plasmius became animalistic. Vlad knew what anger looked like when he hurt Danny, he knew what anger could turn into when he came face to face with Dan. Vlad never wanted to go back there.

Vlad fell back onto his pillows and blinked a few times trying to catch his breath and come back to the living world.

‘What the hell was that?’ Vlad thought, hoping Vladan would answer, but there was silence. He tried to conjure the man but it was fruitless when Vladan kept hidden and silent.

Vlad rolled his head to his nightstand and saw the clock said 10:47 am. He huffed and rolled to his other side towards his large bedroom window. The curtain was drawn but the slip of light that peaked through told him the sun was already high in the sky. He couldn’t stay in bed just because of some dream, that would be ridiculous. With that, he rolled back over and sat up on the edge of the bed. He ran his hands over his face again then through his hair. Just when he thought the roughness of the morning was over he heard yelling coming from the hallways. Vlad shot to his feet and out the door, he heard more yelling and the sound of glass breaking and quickly shot into the air to fly through the house. As he followed the sound of the voice he heard another one begging for forgiveness. 

When Vlad found the source of the yelling he quickly had to dodge as a blast of lighting came flying towards his head. Tayonna was standing in the middle of the kitchen in her ghost form shooting towards the Dairy King who hid behind the island. A few of Vlad’s cabinets had black holes through them and the things behind the covers were broken. A few plates were shattered on the ground and water began to pool from the sink as Tayonna used it to conquer electricity. The kitchen was quickly becoming a battleground and Vlad was rather speechless on what could have caused this. 

Vlad looked between them and then jumped into action to stop the girl from blasting at the other ghost again. He flew towards her, grabbed her wrist and pulled her down to the ground holding her against him. This made her let out a chilling scream and Vlad had to brace himself so he didn’t let go.

“Tayonna!” Vlad was much stronger than the girl but wrestling first thing in the morning was still a lot. He managed to get her to stop thrashing around and finally, she stopped and glared towards the Dairy King.

“You disgusting little man! She was on her deathbed waiting for you!’ Tayonna yelled. Echo blasts of her voice rippled towards the island. The room shook and the center of the island marble top cracked. 

“That is enough!” Vlad commanded and shook Tayonna. She finally seemed to calm down. She panted and tried to escape Vlad’s grip a few times but settled for her capture. 

The Dairy King peeked from his hiding spot and gave Vlad a pleading look to not let go of his attacker. 

“Let me go!” Tayonna managed to yank her body down which caused Vlad to let go of her wrist. She quickly turned around and slapped him across the face which knocked him backward. He caught himself and held his face. Anger was not the first emotion to run through Vlad’s mind, rather, confusion and shock. He held his face and watched as Tayonna’s whole demeanour changed. The anger in her face shifted to confusion then to utter horror. She was speechless, covering her mouth as she saw the damage she had caused. Vlad could feel her core racing as it flipped between confusion and a sense of loss. Did Tayonna not know what she was doing?

“I… What-I…I didn’t….” Tayonna couldn’t find the words to say. Her mind ran blank until she caught Vlad’s eyes again. Vlad could feel her fear and he held up a hand to show her he was not mad. That was a lie. He was beyond pissed at how much destruction she had caused in a perfectly good kitchen. But for some reason, he couldn’t turn that anger towards her. Maybe it was because he was harbouring another person’s feelings in him, or it was just too fucking early for the bullshit.

Vlad took a deep breath and spoke, “What happened?” It was clear he just wanted answers just as much as he wanted a brand new kitchen. 

“I don’t know,” Tayonna mumbled, still looking terrified, Vlad grumbled.

He turned to the Dairy King who slowly came out of hiding holding his cheese hat in his hand. “What happened?”

“She was cooking and then she just stopped to turn to me and just stared at me. Next thing I knew she was seeing red and attacking me like a wild animal, don’tcha know.” The smaller man kept his distance as he looked between Tayonna and Vlad.

“Did you feel something?” Vlad turned back towards Tayonna, she was still in a state of shock, she nodded and Vlad held his breath knowing it might have been his dream. He must have triggered her core when he woke up in a fit of anger.

“I was fine…then I was just so angry. It was a burning feeling that took over me and I couldn’t stop myself.” Tayonna's eyes pleaded with Vlad to understand. The phantom did and motioned for her to calm down. “ It wasn’t him, I know it wasn’t him.” Tayonna held her chest and turned away from Vlad. He knew that what she felt was purely him and that made him feel a bit of guilt. 

“Well, Dairy King seems like you just showed up at the wrong time. On behalf of Tayonna, I do apologize.” Vlad held out his hand for the ghost to take but the King was hesitant. He slowly took Vlad’s hand when the phantom insisted and shook it reluctantly.

“On behalf of my kitchen, I ask that you all leave so I can have this cleaned up and fixed.” Vlad pointed between the two, Tayonna was the first to leave in a hurry while DK stayed behind. Vlad wanted to stop her and tell her he wasn’t upset and that everything was okay. This was genuine, purely from him, much to his surprise he wanted to apologize for causing such an outburst despite it being triggered by something else. 

“She’s like a match, don’tcha know.” Dairy King floated up next to Vlad and the man rolled his eyes. He turned around and crossed his arms giving the old soul a stern look.

“What happened?” Vlad knew the man was hiding something. Yes, Tayonna may have flipped out but something besides Vlad’s core triggered her.

The Dairy King backed away and shrunk into himself as his demeanour from Vlad told him this was no playing matter. The ghost thought for a moment of what to say before he opened his mouth.

“She looked at me as if she was looking into my core. It was a distant look as if she was seeing something far beyond me.” The King was nervous to speak, Vlad knew that whatever Tayonna saw and what she said went hand in hand with whatever guilt the ghost had. Dairy King avoided Vlad’s eyes as his mouth opened and closed and he caught himself from saying something. Vlad's brow rose and he waited for the short man to continue. The Dairy King huffed and shook his head then flew away. Vlad shut his eyes and gave himself a moment to process everything that happened. When he opened his eyes his annoyance came back with force and he was sure that if he stood in the middle of the kitchen for any longer he was going to snap. He called for the ghost maids, they were just as surprised, told them he needed it cleaned and to call for some ghostly repairman to come and fix anything broken. Vlad knew that no matter what the Ghost Zone was always resourceful. Why pay living people when ghosts who enjoyed the labour would do it for free?

~~~

Working while away from Minnesota was supposed to be easy. He didn’t have to go into his Wisconsin headquarters often and he could work from home and do a few video calls. He could process paperwork, look over comments and concerns with his partnerships, read distasteful emails, and even send out a few personal emails to staff members who slacked off, that was supposed to be the luxury of owning your business and working away from it. That, however, was the furthest thing Vlad had ever dealt with while working from home. It seemed like no matter what, something always needed his attention even in the comfort of his sun room turned office. He had three calls on hold from both headquarters and one from a sponsor who just had too much free time on their hands and wanted to chit chat. An email came through about a stock being low thanks to one of Vlad's distant business partners finally being arrested (which he wasn’t surprised). 

The only good thing that came between the shit show that was that morning and his very busy work time was a phone call he had been waiting for.

“Masters,” Vlad answered in a breathless huff as he fell back into his plush armchair.

“Jackson has travel fever, poor man,” Kate said in a very monotone voice.

“He has you to blame.” Vlad retorted.

“He has you to pay for it.” Vlad chuckled and he could tell Kate got a kick from him doing so.

“Report?” Vlad sat up and moved his computer mouse, he was in the middle of finishing emails but that could now wait. He closed down his work email and opened his personal one. Packer green and slices of cheese, such an old man theme. 

“We’re heading home finally, Germany is beautiful but Jackson is clearly American and everyone could tell. Had to save him from shitting himself when a woman threatened to bench press him, he’s so skinny, you need to feed him you monster.” Kate pulled the phone away from her face and said something then came back to the phone.

“Anything actually important?” Vlad secretly missed Kate’s nonchalant behaviour and way of speaking. He knew it was because she didn’t care that he had status, nor did she care he was twice labelled the sexiest politician in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

“Phoebe Speldercast was the second daughter of John Humphrey Speldercast. She was known within her town as the ‘autumn omen gift from God’ before being later tried and convicted due to a connection with witchcraft. She was killed by the method of burning which was said to leave the town covered in a black fog for many months through the winter. She was survived by only one member of her family, her twin sister Magdalena.” Vlad could only hum. If that was all Kate could find then he was once again at a dead end. 

“However,” Kate started again.

“However? You sure do like ‘however’.” Vlad jokes.

“The archives that are in New York show that she may still have living relatives within the state. In the 80s someone had a few family heirlooms documented and placed in a local museum about the settlement years and Phoebe’s portrait is said to be hanging up there. I’ll send over a picture.”

Vlad perked up and leaned into his computer waiting for the email to come through. If he could see what this woman looked like then maybe he could get a start in finding out the truth.

“Our plane is about to take off, I’ll talk to you later, Sir.” Kate didn’t wait for Vlad to respond before hanging up. Vlad didn’t care and placed his phone down. The email finally came through and just as he was about to click it his ghost sense went off and it felt like someone was threading closer than they should. Vlad turned around to look out the windows of the sunroom and saw Tayonna walking about the backyard. He shrugged and turned back to his computer. If was only Tayonna so it wasn’t that big a deal.

‘Go out there, something is wrong,’ Vladan spoke in his mind.

‘Yeah my kitchen.’ Vlad snarled and rolled his eyes.

‘Someone is watching her.’ Vlad stopped and thought for a moment. No one should be anywhere near his manor. The lawn people wouldn't come until next week, his mailman knew better than to snoop, and his neighbours were too far to be casually walking by. It was also a red flag when the back of Vlad’s manor faced the woods. Vlad turned back around and Saw Tayonna walking farther into the backyard then taking a seat in the middle of the glass area. He looked around trying to see if anything was out of place but it all seemed like a normal sunny day.

‘Go out there’

‘No’

‘ Go. Out. There ’

‘I said no, she is fine, no one would be here besides us.’

Vlad didn’t have to see his reflection to know Vladan was glaring holes into him. He also didn’t need to hear the man’s voice to know he was not in the spirit's good grace. Vlad rolled his shoulder when he felt a slight pain shooting up his back. He needed to focus on his task at hand which was opening Kate’s email. He went to grab his mouse but felt someone crawl into his palm. He looked down and saw Vladan’s red mist form into a hand and curl its fingers into his to hold it. Vlad tried to shake it but he was too late as his hand was flipped over and his consciousness was sucked inward. He felt like he was being pulled out of his body and placed in a dark void as he looked out his eyes like they were windows. Vlad had only a moment to figure out what was going on till he realized Vladan was possessing him. Vlad had only been possessed a handful of times in the past and it was the most uncomfortable feeling. Vlad watched as his vision shifted toward the window to the yard again and the reflection he saw was Vladan’s. 

Vlad tried to regain his power and he saw it was effective when Vladan clenched the body’s head and blinked a few times. Vladan looked back to his reflection and glared, Vlad knew that was towards him and he tried again to gain his body back. Vladan didn’t wait to see what would happen as he quickly looked around and found the door handle. Vlad could feel his body moving and it felt so foreign and uncomfortable. No wonder Danny complained so much. Vladan walked out the door onto the back patio and began walking towards Tayonna.

‘You know she isn’t going to be happy to see you!’ Vlad yelled through his mind and that made Vladan stop in his tracks just before he got to the steps to walk down to the grass. Vladan looked down at the body’s hands, he clenched them into fists, Vlad couldn’t hear Vladan but he could feel in his core the man was conflicted. Vladan knew he was right but he wanted to comfort his love. Vlad knew that was a terrible idea and who knew how Tayonna would react if she saw Vladan taking over Vlad's body. Vlad knew Vladan didn’t know how to use his powers let alone defend himself against a very angry ghost. So while Vladan was stuck thinking over what to do Vlad pushed his consciousness forward and gained control of his body. It felt like breaking through water after being submerged, Vlad took a deep breath and held his chest while hunched over. His nerves tingle from his toes to the top of his head, knocking someone else out of power always leaves a person drained.

Vlad shook his limbs out and stretched, he told Vladan to never do that again or he was going to grab an old device and rip the man out of him. Honestly, he should have done that sooner but the thought had just crossed his mind. 

Tayonna turned around when she felt someone around her. She snapped around and that made Vlad flinch and awkwardly wave. She ignored him and turned back around, focusing on something on the ground in front of her. Vlad tsked at how rude that was but complied with Vladan’s request and went to see what the girl was doing. If Vladan now could take over, Vlad was not going to allow the man to be willy nilly. The last thing he wanted to do was have Vladan go to work for him if he was in the middle of a meeting. Maybe ripping him out of him wasn’t a bad idea. 

Vlad put his hands behind his back and walked up to Tayonna, when he was right beside her he saw she was plucking up blades of grass and crumbling them in her hands. He wanted to tell her that the money he spent keeping the place pretty wasn’t just shits and giggles, but he was distracted when he saw her hands glow and the grass turn into the roses he saw before.

“What are those?” Vlad asked. She didn’t seem to be in any trouble as Vladan had put it. Vlad looked around and everything seemed normal, surely if someone had been there he would have known.

“Green Whispers.” Tayonna held up the flower and pulled at its pedals before crumbling it back into her hands. Her hand glew again and when she opened it the flower turned to dust and she blew it away.

“Can you conjure them whenever you want?” Vlad asked. He fought with himself about sitting on the grass while in dress pants but quickly sucked it up. He was already here. He got down on a knee and then plopped down, Tayonna looked at him from the corner of her eye and scooted away. 

“Yes.”

“Do they heal you?”

“Yes.” 

“Is that why you made them when you got hurt?”

“Yes.”

“Are they related to Blood Blossoms?”

“To what?”

“Can you eat them?”

“Yes but-”

“Are they safe for the living and the dead?”

“Yes but why-”

“Can any ghost conjure them?”

Tayonna huffed from the questions and Vlad couldn’t help himself to laugh. That caught the girl off guard and she turned fully towards him with another flower in her hand. She grabbed his hand and shoved the flower into his palm and curled his fingers around it. Vlad felt the surge of power run through him and he felt much better than before.

“Stop asking so many questions.” Tayonna narrowed her eyes and Vlad smirked, he took the hint to stop, and she turned away from him again and went back to plucking at the grass. Vlad was silent for a bit, the sun was high and the day was nice. The sky was clear with a few pure white clouds rolling past, a slight breeze blew rustling the trees and the birds sang without a care in the world. Just another reason why Vlad loved coming back to his manor when the Spring rolled in. For a moment he forgot about why he came out here as he hung his head back and enjoyed the rays against his skin. It was peaceful and cleared his mind. He should have done this more often. 

“I used to feed them to his brother to keep him alive.” Tayonna was the first to break the silence. Vlad cracked open an eye and hummed to let her know he heard her. “I was destined to be a priestess before I was taken away from my home. Luther bought me and became my only friend for a while. He was dying and I knew how much he meant to him and I kept Luther alive as long as possible. When Luther learned it was my doing he asked me to stop, he wanted to die, he couldn’t watch his family suffer because of him he would say.” Tayonna rolled the grass in her hands and then threw it. Vlad sat up straight and leaned into the conversation. 

“Vladan…” Tayonna took a deep breath, she hadn't said his name in a while. “Was so heartbroken over his father’s passing that I thought if I kept Luther alive just a bit longer he would have more time to grieve one loss before the next.”

“Did it work?” Vlad asked, he felt Tayonna’s core pulse.

“Luther stopped eating the flowers, he found out I was putting them in his food and he starved himself. He didn’t do it to be malicious, he just wanted his brother to let go of him. Luther loved Vladan more than anything.” Tayonna curled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them. Vlad looked down at the flower in his hand and rolled it around a few times before bringing it up to his nose. It smelled sweeter than anything he had ever smelled before and he couldn’t help but take a bite of it. As soon as it hit his taste buds he quickly began to spit it out. Tayonna heard him and looked over to see Vlad trying to get the pedals out of his mouth. She looked horrified but also amused. Vlad didn’t know what to say and that was enough for the girl to bust into laughter.

“Did you seriously just try to eat the flower raw?” Tayonna covered her smile behind her hand and Vlad blushed wildly. He threw the flower down and crossed his arms over his chest.

“You made it sound appealing, I thought since it was ghostly it would be different. Like the taste of ectoplasm, you would think it tastes like something sour and nasty but it’s actually like a flavorless jelly with a hint of…” Vlad began to blush more. “Why am I telling you this!?” Tayonna laughed harder and Vlad could not keep his embarrassment steady as he finally caved in and began to laugh as well. When they finally calmed down they looked at each other and Vlad felt his heart slow. She really was beautiful when she smiled. He quickly shoved that down and gave her a gentle smile.

“So,” Vlad began. “Was Luther fond of you just as much as his brother?”

“If you mean in the way of courting, no.” Tayonna shook her head. “He was simply a friend. A very annoying witty silver tongue fool who had the biggest heart of them all. He was my friend.” Tayonna's brows knotted, and then she looked back towards Vlad with her mouth open. Vlad was confused until the girl brought a hand up to her head.

“I remember.” She seemed so happy to remember something from her life and Vlad couldn’t help but feel happy for her as well.

“Can you recall anything else?” Vlad felt a sense of hope from both of them. Tayonna closed her eyes and thought for a moment then turned back to Vlad. She slowly opened her eyes and then looked away. Vlad couldn’t read her expression but he knew she was calm.

“I remember Luther wanted us to stay together.” Tayonna sighed and Vlad felt his core begin to burn then slowly turn cold as sadness filled his heart. His body ran faster than his mind and before he could control himself he had reached out and took the girl’s hand in his and held it tight. Tayonna looked down and then at him and Vlad bit his lip and looked towards her. This was genuine, they both knew that, Vlad knew what that form of sadness was like and he couldn’t allow the girl to wallow in front of him.

“You’re holding my hand again,” Tayonna whispered.

“I know.” Vlad held her eyes with his. It was like an intense pull that he didn’t want to pull away, he felt like he was dealing with his own hurt emotions when he spoke to Tayonna. It was slightly addicting. All the emotions of loneliness and sadness Vlad felt about, Tayonna had expressed since they met. Vlad felt like the comfort he was extending to Tayonna also reflected the comfort he likely needed years ago. Vlad knew heartbreak, Vlad knew loneliness, he knew abandonment, what being lost and having to find your way, and he knew what being bitter felt like. Tayonna wasn’t bitter but she was everything else.

Having Tayonna around was like having an embodiment of emotions that Vlad needed to fix. Is This what Vladan meant? Tayonna could help him because he was going to help her, which in turn meant helping himself.

Vlad felt like that was farfetched, beyond him, yes, he was trying to be a better person and turn his life around but to fix something he had shoved down deep into his heart was messy. But looking at Tayonna made him want to fix her pain beyond just trying to put her to rest. They inched closer, never breaking eye contact. They were mere inches apart when the sound of a branch breaking pulled them away from each other. Tayonna’s eyes grew wide and she pulled her hand away, Vlad blushed and cleared his throat. They almost kissed and both of them knew that was a terrible idea. 

Vlad quickly got to his feet and brushed off his pants as best he could. He looked towards the sound and saw a deer coming out from the woods. Seems that nature had its way of butting in at just the right time. 

He cleared his throat again and held out a hand for Tayonna.

“Well, it seems it’s time to go in.” Vlad did his best to not seem flustered and offered a small smile. Tayonna saw the deer and then looked up to Vlad before taking his hand. Once up she pulled away again and Vlad felt a small ounce of hurt from it. He didn’t wish to dwell on it further and turned back to the house. Tayonna looked at the animal, something about it made her tense. Vlad felt his core pull when he made it to the door and he groaned and turned to look at the girl. 

Tayonna tilted her head and the animal followed, when she tilted the other way it did it again. Tayonna knew something about the deer was off but couldn’t figure it out. It looked like a deer, it moved like a deer, but even then that didn’t mean a duck was a duck. She felt locked in a trance with the deer and she couldn’t pull away. Tayonna took a step forward, she wanted to run towards the deer, she didn’t know what she would do but it wouldn’t be good. A feeling of danger and anger crept forward and Tayonna gripped at her dress. Her hands began to heat up as her powers came to life and lighting sparked and popped from her fist. 

“Tayonna?” Vlad called and that broke her from her trance. Tayonna blinked a few times then turned around and hurried to Vlad. Vlad could tell the girl was uneasy but he wasn’t sure if it was because of him. He didn’t feel a shift in emotions or even his core. He didn’t have to ask if she was okay as the girl just nodded towards him and rushed past him to get into the sunroom. Vlad kept an eye on the deer for a moment before brushing it off and closing the door behind both of them.

When the couple was gone the deer peered at the house and then began to slowly melt into a pool of green blob. From the blob, a shapeless figure rose and glared with burning red eyes.