#i did it! i finished this! it has taken me literal months i'm so sorry

[alexwatchesshows]

Black Sails XII (S2E4) review

Before we actually get into the meat of this post, I feel the need to explain why there's such a big time gap between the last post and this. Honestly, I've just been swamped with uni. I've been writing this very gradually in bits and pieces so sorry if it feels a bit inconsistent. Hopefully I'll be writing more often during the summer.

Spoilers for up to and including E12.

"I want you to try to talk me out of it."- Thomas Hamilton

We start with Abigail Ashe alone in a cell. I don't have much to say about this starting scene other than that I just feel so awful for her. Looking at the mouldy food and still eating it was a particularly painful way of indicating just how desperate she was. Shockingly, Vane actually makes the situation somewhat better. I'm glad we didn't get another Max-esque storyline, which is a good indicator of the shift in the show's themes and tones, but also helps with the move towards portraying Vane as a more sympathetic character. Honestly, the whole Vane/Abigail dynamic is really interesting because they come from such different backgrounds but in some ways strike me as quite similar people, especially when Vane tells Abigail he cut Ned Low's head off and all she says is "good" (and she says it with such conviction)-- they're both people who've been through hell (for Vane this would have been much longer ago) and have found the strength to keep going, and I think they recognise that strength in each other. Then, on the other hand, there are the ways in which they are so obviously different from each other, to the level where it seems like they have difficulty even communicating, like when Vane is trying to ask if Peter Ashe would pay Abigail's ransom, and Abigail sees it as asking if her father loves her. Arguably this is not the point, as there are other reasons for paying the ransom (like maintaining a clean external image) and, notably, AA doesn't respond with something along the lines of "of course he loves me", but instead reassured Vane that "he'll pay what you ask", but still the fact that Vane didn't even think to frame his question in terms of love really reveals the isolation in which he must have grown up. There's also the moment when Vane asks if Abigail can write (I feel like we established that Vane is illiterate in a previous episode or maybe that's me remembering it from previous watches) and Abigail responding "of course", showing that not only does she have this skill that Vane doesn't but that, in the world that she comes from, it's inconceivable that someone wouldn't be literate. Honestly, I just really love this dynamic.

While he may be able to secure a ransom for AA, Vane is otherwise in deep shit. He knows that Flint knows exactly where to place his ship to take advantage of the otherwise very secure fort, and he doesn't know how he worked that out. Of course, it's possible, given Gates' and Hornigold's relationship, that Flint could have known that already, but he isn't exactly wrong in guessing that there's something else going on. This situation really emphasises the fact that, although the fort's main strength (and purpose) is that it's difficult to break into, this strength also leads to a level of isolation when it comes to getting information in and out. Ultimately, there's no way for Vane to know for sure who's allied with Flint, and he's not exactly wrong in suspecting Eleanor and so, the Eleanor/Vane relationship gets (somehow) even messier! Honestly, say what you want about Eleanor, but she's good at getting what she wants. Somehow, she's managed to convince both Vane and Flint that she's on their sides and I'm honestly not sure whether she knows what side she's on but she's decided she wants strong allies either way and boy has she got them. This doesn't make anything better for Vane, though, and we know by now that he isn't exactly the negotiating type, so his threat to destroy all the ships in the harbour, while not exactly smart, is quite possibly entirely genuine. Actually, that threat pretty much sums up Vane's approach to tactics and negotiation: not nuanced, not necessarily too smart, but definitely effective in sending a message.

Flint, meanwhile is taking a slightly more tactical approach to things. Sure, he still wants to destroy Vane through pretty much any means possible, but he is at least a bit worried about what the destruction of the fort would mean. He knows, as we as the audience are slowly learning, that, as a "pirate republic", Nassau is constantly vulnerable to any forces of any empire that should choose to attack it and claim the territory as its own and he is also aware that there is a nearby British warship posing a very real threat to them. Eleanor, whose main interest at the moment seems to be the survival of an independent Nassau, preferably with her in a position of power, isn't thrilled with this idea, but she's evidently having difficulty convincing Flint that this reluctance doesn't come from her feelings for Vane, so he remains dedicated to doing whatever he must to get Vane out of the fort.

Through this dilemma (getting Vane out of the fort vs. preserving the fort) we get a bit of insight into how Flint sees himself as he turns to Silver for support (always a mistake). Silver has been sitting in the background for all of the discussions but not saying anything, which pretty much sums up his role in the plot at this point. He's accepted his role as Flint's right-hand man: managing other people & tasks for him as a kind of go-between, but now Flint is drawing him more into his confidence, asking if the pirates of Nassau "see [him] as the villain" in the conflict between him and Vane. We've seen bits of this heroes/villains mentality from him before (especially when you replace "villain" with monster") in his vision of him as a king and saviour of Nassau, driving it to become something greater that he will be admired and thanked for, opposing the portrayal of pirates as the enemies of England and how he became a monster to them. Silver is not the person to consult on this inner conflict, though. He initially seems to see this as a "are you with me or against me?" type question, reassuring Flint that, for as long as he remains Silver's best chance of getting his share of the gold, he'll stand by him. For Flint, however, who has just opened voiced his biggest insecurity to Silver, this was not the answer he was looking for. Oh, miscommunication, my old enemy. In light of this, I see his response of "it must be awful being you" as one of genuine bafflement at the difference between his and Flint's views of the world, less as one designed to mock/belittle Flint, which is probably how Flint takes it. These two are going to destroy each other.

Still, Silver goes to Nassau to do Flint's bidding and discovers none other than our good friend Billy Bones. We don't really get much of this so I don't have much to say other than that my heart broke for him when he asked for Gates. Nobody in this show can have a healthy father figure.

Eleanor, meanwhile, is doing all she can to stop Flint from firing on the fort, and decides that Miranda is her only option. Miranda, however, knows Flint better than Eleanor, and knows that no one can make him see reason when he's this focussed on something. Still, Eleanor pushes her and eventually crosses some kind of line, resulting in Miranda calling her out on how she has, up until this point "encouraged" Flint's violence. This is an interesting way to view Flint-- as if his violence is almost a separate being inside of him-- like Admiral Hennesy referred to his "darkness"-- that has grown over the course of his time in Nassau. It also sheds some light on Miranda's desire to leave Nassau-- it's not just that she's dissatisfied with her life on the island, but that she might be concerned for what it's turning Flint into. Now, on top of this reminder of how much the two of them have changed, there is a reminder of their old life-- mentioned by Pastor Lambrick in another one of his bitching sessions-- Abigail Ashe.

While most of the others are fighting over the future of Nassau, Jack, Anne, and Max are embroiled in some next-level relationship drama. At the beginning of the episode, we see Anne lying between the two, leaning on Jack, which pretty much shows their dynamic at that point-- Anne is torn between the two of them, but still feels closer to/safer with Jack. Jack, meanwhile, remains wary of Max, more so after he sees her teach Idelle how to seduce Featherstone, which is both a hilarious scene and one that shows quite how skilled Max is at manipulating people. I'm not saying that she's manipulating Anne, but Jack's not necessarily wrong in his concern that she could if she wanted to. Max seems to be operating under the assumption that Anne will have to make a choice between her and Jack and that, if such a choice were presented, that she'd stand a chance, but Anne's reassurance to Jack that "there ain't shit [Max] can do to get between [them]". Jack, reasonably, isn't feeling great about his whole situation, but Anne is very firm in her assertion that, compared to what she has done for Jack in the past, this is nothing and maybe he should just put up with it. To soften that blow, something finally goes right for Jack and he gets not just a ship and crew, but his much-desired position as captain. You win some, you lose some, I guess.

This is a big episode for the flashbacks. We transition to the first flashback with a ticking clock, which is important for later episodes, just trust me on this. Shit is going down in the Hamilton household, but James and Miranda are in the clear for now. Instead, a new horrible father figure arrives on the scene. As Thomas introduces him, he is all his titles before he is Thomas' father, and it's clear from the beginning that they can expect no support from him and Thomas, the man that he is, decides that this is the perfect time to introduce another, significantly more controversial element to his and James' plan for dealing with the pirates of Nassau: the pardon. Both men know how dangerous this suggestion could be in light of England's war with Spain, which is why Thomas asks for James to talk him out of it, and why James tries his very best to do just that, appealing to both his authority as liason to the admiralty and his friendship with Thomas, but ultimately failing to convince him.

Then, Alfred Hamilton comes onto the scene. I think we could all see this kind of pushback against James & Thomas' plan coming at some point, but with Alfred Hamilton, it's personal, and he's cruel about it in a way that only someone who knows Thomas (and Miranda, to a lesser extent) could be. He consistently, almost doggedly, ignores Thomas' arguments, regardless of how convincing they are, and instead turns to James as an apparent voice of reason. It reminds me of how parents (and this is definitely vague and not at all from personal experience) compare their kids to one of their friends/peers to emphasise their failings, never saying but always suggesting that they'd rather have said peer as a child. But James is having absolutely none of this. If anything, hearing Alfred Hamilton belittle Thomas and mock Miranda is what pushes him to speak out, and boy does he speak out. He supports the pardons ("I found his argument to be persuasive"), Thomas' morals-- which Alfred Hamilton highlighted as a weakness of his son, as if he was too soft ("I find his intent to be good and true"), reveals Alfred Hamilton's lack of morals to be a weakness in his view ("I find [your intent] to be wanting"), and then kicks a fucking lord out of his own house. You can definitely see how this man ended up becoming one of the most powerful pirate captains of Nassau. But, in that moment of bravery, he's put himself (and Miranda, more so than she already was) "in the line of fire". Throughout the flashbacks, we've been told again and again how powerful Alfred Hamilton is and now James has made an enemy of him. I can't see how this could end well, but, in that moment, James doesn't care. In that moment, regardless of how much danger he may personally be in, his immediate instinct is to reassure Thomas, telling him that "[he's] a good man, [and] more people should say that, and someone should be willing to defend it". You can see how much it means for both of them. I doubt Thomas has ever had anyone stand up for him like that, with the way we've just seen his father treat him, and I'm not sure whether James has ever had anyone/anything to fight for in the way he's currently fighting for Thomas and his plan for Nassau. As the scene ends they both have tears in their eyes and so do I.

Now, in a break from my usual format, we're going back to Nassau for the ending scene because this really needs to be at the end of my review. It's always jarring to see the change from McGraw to Flint, the reminder of some disaster that we're yet to see. Flint and Mr Scott are talking about their memories of Nassau and Flint recognises Mr Scott's role in both Richard and Eleanor Guthrie's (he's possibly the first one in the show so far to do so) and actually asks for his advice (again, something that we don't see either of the Guthries do). Mr Scott, in his infinite wisdom, advises against Flint's ultimate goal of achieving complete control over Nassau, but this is probably the last piece of advice that Flint's going to listen to, and, instead, the word we end the episode on is "fire".

[willalove75]

Alcina's New Maid Pt. 23 Lady Dimitrescu x Reader

Summary: You and Alcina spend a cozy morning in bed before going to pay the prisoner a visit.

Warnings: 18+ minors DNI.

Tags: some smut, dash of sub!alci and a little soft!dom reader

Notes: Part 23!

I am SO sorry this has taken LITERALLY over a month for me to finish!! But I think I have a pretty valid excuse, for those of you who didn't see my latest update - I'm pregnant!! And it's a boy! The first trimester was ROUGH, I wasn't vomiting but I was so sick. I'm 17 weeks and am feeling much, much better! (Aside from hip/lower back pain, according to the old wives tales that's common when pregnant with boys lolz) anyway I'm hoping to update much more regularly now that I'm finally feeling better!

Click here for the rest of the series

The morning sunlight filters in through the window, gently waking you from your slumber. The feeling of a heavy arm draped across your stomach let you know that Alcina was still in bed with you. Turning over to face her, you come across a sight you don't see very often - if you've seen it at all. Alcina asleep on her stomach, one arm under her pillow under her head and the other keeping you close. Her usual pristine and perfect curls are sprawled out across the pillowcase with a few rogue strands hanging down into her face.

She looks so peaceful, if not for her size you would think she was human in this moment. Your eyes dance across her sleeping features. Her skin, riddled with scars and marks that she covers up with makeup, her over-plucked eyebrows that she also corrects with makeup are on full display. You notice how long and dark her natural eyelashes are as they rest on the tops of her cheeks. Her full pink lips, the laugh lines that rest at the corners of her mouth, everything about her is so beautiful.

You delicately tuck a strand of hair hanging in her face behind her ear, hoping you don't wake her up. But of course, Alcina is one of the lightest sleepers you've ever met - honestly you're surprised that turning in her arms didn't wake her.

Her eyes flutter open and beautiful gold irises look back at you.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

"Don't be, I am surprised I fell back asleep."

"Did you get up at all last night?"

"No," she says, shaking her head and pulling you in closer. "I laid here all night with you in my arms. I considered getting some work done but I couldn't bring myself to let you go."

Alcina nuzzles into your hair, taking a deep inhale and exhaling with a content sigh.

It wasn't until her hand rested against your bare back did you realize you were still naked from the events of the night before. You tuck yourself under her chin, trying to get as close as possible. Alcina kisses the top of your head and holds you against her chest. An audible purr rumbles through her as she buries her nose into your hair.

You can feel her purrs vibrate through your body and you can't help but lightly chuckle.

"What are you laughing at?" She asks, nuzzling into you more.

"Nothing, it just seems like both you and the dragon are enjoying yourselves this morning."

Alcina huffs into your hair and shakes her head.

"I suppose we are. It does seem to enjoy your company." She mumbles.

"I have a feeling I am going to enjoy her company as well. As long as she doesn't try to kill me again." You joke.

Alcina pulls away and narrows her eyes at you. You can see the hurt in her eyes, the regret she stills holds onto from that day.

"That is not something to joke about." She says with a deadly serious edge to her voice.

"I'm sorry. I only joked about it because I've been able to move past it. I don't want you to keep blaming yourself for what happened."

"I will because it was my fault."

Bringing your hand to cup her face, you brush your thumb across her skin.

"It was Miranda's fault, not yours. And I am going to remind you of that every day for the rest of my life if I have to, Alcina. I love you. I forgive you. I want you to forgive yourself."

Alcina closes her eyes with a sigh. She places her hand over yours and presses it into her skin. When her eyes open again they're glassy with unshed tears. Alcina opens and closes her mouth a few times, trying to find the words to respond with.

Instead of waiting for her response you lean in and press your lips into hers. Her golden eyes flutter shut and she kisses you back. The kiss turns from one of understanding to one of passion. Your tongue grazes her bottom lip and she parts them, allowing you in. The hand she had against yours on her cheek moves behind you before she rolls onto her back, pulling you on top.

As the kiss intensifies you bite down on Alcina's bottom lip and tug at it. A moan escapes from her and you bring your lips back to hers to swallow it. Your hands travel down her neck, past her shoulders to the tops of her breasts. She arches into your touch and you take as much of her massive breasts into your hands as you can - the only thing separating you from her skin is the thin fabric of her nightgown. Another moan slips past her lips into yours when you begin to massage her breasts. Taking her nipples between your fingers, she whimpers into your mouth causing to you moan in response when you roll them.

Last night she worshipped you, now you get to return the favor.

Releasing her breasts from your grip you grab the thin straps of her nightgown and pull them down. Alcina slides her arms out and you pull the silk down to her waist. She groans when your hands find her breasts once more and you start kissing down her jaw towards her neck.

She threads her fingers through your hair as she guides your kisses further down her body. As eager as the both of you are, you still want to take your time to try and kiss every inch of skin you can so you fight against Alcina's pushing a little. She groans at your silent protest and you respond by nipping at her collarbone, causing her to take a sharp inhale. Of course the mark immediately disappears but you're pretty sure you got your point across when you feel her grip loosen.

You kiss across her other collarbone before slowly making your way down towards her sternum and between her breasts. Her nipples harden in your hands and your own patience begins to wear thin. In one swift motion you pull away from between her breasts and take one of her hardened peaks into your mouth. Alcina's groan quickly turns into a moan as you circle your tongue around it and suck. Just before it becomes too sensitive you release her nipple with a pop and latch onto the other one, repeating your ministrations.

Moans pass through Alcina's lips as you suck on her. She certainly wasn't expecting this to happen this morning but now that you've started, she might go crazy if you stopped.

The silk of her nightgown is soft under your touch as you run your hands down her stomach. As you reach her hips you gather the fabric and begin to bunch it up before releasing her other nipple from between your lips.

Alcina's legs fall open and her hand rests on the top of your shoulder. Looking up at her you take in the sight before you. A true goddess, with her head thrown back into the pillow, her usual perfect and pristine curls splayed across the pillowcase. Her eyes are closed and her lips parted in anticipation for you to reach your next destination. She gently pushes down on your shoulder, giving you a not-subtle hint to where she wants you to go next.

Sliding between her legs, you leave open mouthed kisses on the exposed skin of her stomach as you make your way down. You place one last kiss above the band of her underwear before getting settled. Taking in the sight in front of you you see the large wet patch in the middle of her lacy underwear. Reaching out, you run your fingers up and down the wet spot, causing Alcina's breath to hitch with a groan.

Her hips begin to gently roll against your touch. Placing a kiss on the inside of her thigh, you rest your hand on top of her mound and let your thumb circle her already swollen clit. She lets out the softest whine that causes you to smile into the skin of her thigh as you continue to pepper it with light kisses.

It surprises you how sensitive she is until you realize how long it's probably been since her last release. Jealousy begins to set in when you realize the last person to touch her was that maid. The last person to unravel Alcina was that maid. Right then and there you make the decision to make sure no one will ever be able make her feel as good as you can. It becomes your mission to make sure no one else's touch but your own will ever be able to unravel her again.

Abruptly, you pull your hand away and she lets out a groan of frustration. Before she can protest any further you grab each side of her underwear and practically yank them down her long legs, throwing them aside.

You kiss your way back up the inside of her thighs before settling between her legs once more. Looking up at Alcina you see that her eyes are squeezed shut but you want her to see you pleasure her. You want her to see that it's you driving her into bliss.

"Alcina," you say as you plant kisses into her soft, muscular thighs. "look at me."

Alcina hears your request but can't bring herself to open her eyes. Last time she did it crushed her that it wasn't you between her legs. She's terrified that if she looks it won't be you there. So she shakes her head "no".

Nipping the inside of her thigh, she whimpers.

"Look at me." Again, she shakes her head no. "Alcina, my love, look at me."

The smell of her arousal is intoxicating, it's so tempting for you to say "fuck it" and feast on her as she's spread out before you, but you stay strong.

"My love," you say as you kiss the inside of her thigh again. "look at me, please."

Alcina rolls her hips towards your mouth but you do your best to push them back down, and much to your surprise you're able to - she doesn't put up much of a fight.

"I want you to look at me Alcina. Look at me."

The throbbing between her legs begins to surpass the fear she has. After taking a shaky inhale, she opens her eyes and looks down at you as she props herself up on her elbows. The air in her lungs stalls when she sees that it's you between her legs. Relief washes over her and she melts into the mattress as her body relaxes.

A smile pulls at the corner of your lips as your eyes meet her golden ones. You see the look of relief, of passion burning in them. There's almost a look of desperation, a silent plea for you to continue.

"Good job." You say. A wave of arousal courses through Alcina, she definitely wasn't expecting you to praise her and she definitely wasn't expecting the praise to turn her on even more. "Now keep your eyes on me. Can you do that?"

Alcina silently nods her head "yes" and you lower your mouth down to her. You lick a broad strip up her dripping slit, just barely brushing over her clit. Her moans fill your ears as you moan from her taste on your tongue.

Looking back up at her, you notice her eyes are closed and her head is thrown back. You nip at the inside of her thigh to get her attention and her head snaps back towards you.

"Eyes on me." You say.

Alcina goes to protest but before she can utter a word you dive back in and the words die on her tongue. Anything she was about to say was replaced by a string of soft curses and moans. Your eyes flick up to make sure she's still looking at you and you see her golden irises staring back. You smile into her and swipe your tongue over her clit before capturing it between your lips.

A large hand grips the back of your head and Alcina cries out as you lick and suck on her throbbing clit. Every time you check to make sure she's still looking at you, you see her eyes trained on you.

Doubling down on your efforts you flick your tongue over her clit faster as it throbs between your lips. Alcina's legs begin to shake and just as they start to tighten around your head, just before she's about to fall into bliss, you pull away.

Her fingers holding onto the hair on the back of your head tighten almost painfully as she cries out at the loss. Looking back up at her, her eyes are glowing with frustration and she growls at you.

"Shh," you say, kissing the inside of her thigh. "let me take care of you. Trust me my love." The grip on the back of your head loosens and her eyes soften. "Good, keep looking at me."

She nods her head and you lick up her slit once more before bringing three of your fingers to her entrance. After you coat them in her arousal, you part her lips and slowly push in. Alcina moans above you as you push your fingers in and pull them out before pushing them back in once more. You repeat this motion a few times before thrusting down to your knuckles. She lets out a moan when you start fall into a rhythm and curl your fingers into her velvety walls. Three fingers may feel good for her but you know it's not enough so after a few more thrusts and curls you add a fourth finger.

Alcina moans grow louder and you feel her clench down around you as you continue to thrust and curl your fingers. With her eyes still focused on you, she begins to rock her hips to the pace you've set.

"Oh, draga." She moans.

"Am I making you feel good my love?"

"Yes." She says with an exhale.

"Can you take more of me? Do you want me to fill you baby?" You ask as you thrust hard into her and curl your fingers.

"Yes!" She cries. "Please my love, give me more!"

Folding your thumb across your palm, you slide your whole hand into her and you feel her walls stretch around you. Alcina lets out a filthy moan yet her eyes never leave you.

"Good job, I know how much you love feeling me fill you. I know you missed this, didn't you?" You ask as you pick up the pace.

"Yes! I missed you inside of me, I missed you so much draga mea!"

Your thrusts become faster and harder as you feel her walls flutter around you. The tips of your fingers feel that spongy spot deep inside and you push further into it before your fingers curl. Alcina lets out a scream as you start to pound against that spot.

"Oh fuck, draga! Right there!" She cries as her hips rock harder against your hand.

"Right here?" You ask as you curl against that spot again and she cries out as she stares down at you. She couldn't pull her eyes away from you even if she wanted to in this moment. "No one knows you like I do, isn't that right? No one else knows exactly what spot to hit to make you see stars, do they?" You ask as you continue to fuck her.

Unable to form words, Alcina shakes her head "no" as more moans leave her lips.

"That little maid could never fuck you the way I do, could she?" Alcina's mouth hangs open and she shakes her head "no" again. "Answer me." You say before swiping your tongue over her clit.

Alcina's hips buck into you and she cries out.

"No! She could never fuck me the way you do! No one could ever fuck me the way you do!"

"Good girl." You say before latching onto her clit and sucking on it.

Alcina's moans and cries grow louder and you feel her walls beginning to clench around your hand. She's getting close but you want to drag it out as long as you possibly can.

"Not yet." You say before flicking your tongue over her clit again.

She lets out a frustrated groan and throws her head back.

"Uh-uh, look at me." She rolls her head forward and her half-lidded eyes lock onto yours. You can see in her eyes how close she is. "Not yet baby, not yet."

Alcina whimpers as she tries to hold off her orgasm. You push her further and further, her legs begin to shake around your head as she does her best to stop from falling over the edge.

"Almost, not yet." You mumble into her.

"Please." She whimpers. "Please my love."

Your eyes snap up to hers and you see the desperation in her eyes, a complete submission you've never seen before. The look in her eyes spurs you on as you thrust faster and suck harder on her clit.

"Draga, I - I can't -"

"Cum for me baby."

Alcina's body trembles and you can see the explosion behind her eyes before they roll into the back of her head as she lets out a scream. She clenches tightly around your hand as you continue to fuck her through her orgasm. Her clit throbs wildly in your mouth and you flatten your tongue against it as she bucks against you, letting her use your mouth as she rides it out.

Her cries soften and her walls start to relax. You swipe over her clit once more with your tongue - causing her to whine - before pulling your soaked hand from her. Alcina's chest rapidly rises and falls as she continues to come down from her high, trying to catch her breath. Aftershocks cause her hips and legs to twitch around you.

Crawling up next to her, Alcina opens her eyes and looks deeply into yours. Before you can say anything she pulls you into her and kisses you with an explosive passion.

When your lips part she buries her face into the side of your neck as the last of the aftershocks course through her. You run your fingers through her hair and kiss her head as she holds you tight.

Alcina has never relented control like that before with you. Even when you were pleasuring her in the past she was always in control. You wonder if she's ever let someone else take control before. Maybe before she got the cadou, but you're almost certain that she's never let someone else have control after.

She pulls away and looks into your eyes. You notice how watery they are and you cup her cheek and smile at her.

"Thank you." She says softly, holding back her tears.

"Of course. I love you."

"I love you, draga mea."

When your lips meet you feel a warmth flood your body. There's no hunger or desperation in the kiss, just pure love. She kisses you slowly for some time before your lips finally part. Alcina rests her forehead against yours and holds you tight.

"I love you so much. I am never letting you go ever again." She whispers.

"Good. Because I never want to let you go." You say back.

The two of you bask in the afterglow for a while longer, just holding each other in your arms while exchanging soft, slow kisses. It's moments like these with her that are your absolute favorite. Moments where the rest of the world disappears and it's just the two of you cuddled under the duvet. Your fingers trace her larger ones, in awe of how much bigger her hands are than yours. How soft her skin is, how strong they are. For the first time you really get a good look at the tips of her fingers and her fingernails. It fascinates you that her near perfect manicure can become such dangerous, beautiful claws in an instant.

"Does it hurt?" You ask.

"No. It was rather uncomfortable at first but I grew used to it over time."

"Was it hard to control?"

"I wouldn't say it was hard, but it did take some getting used to in the beginning. There were plenty of instances where a poor maid was in the wrong place at the wrong time and she was accidentally sliced to ribbons."

"What happened?"

"They were more difficult to control when I was in fits of anger - which happened often back then. They seemed to have a mind of their own."

"Like a defense mechanism?"

"In a way, yes. So if I wasn't careful about my movements or how close I was to someone when I was angry, well, lets just say it didn't often end well."

"How long did it take you to control them?"

"Not very long, a few years perhaps. Although still to this day I can feel them itching to come out when I'm upset or angry, but I have much better control now than I did then."

"Do you file them?"

"Every so often, yes. But the wear and tear of my everyday work naturally wears them down so they're not as sharp."

"Is this the shortest they go without you having to trim them?"

"You are so full of questions this morning." She says with a smile as a light blush dusts your cheeks. Alcina kisses the side of your head before answering. "This is their natural length, but when necessary I can retract them further. It can be uncomfortable but it's worth it so I don't injure my partner during certain... activities." She says with a smirk.

You thread your fingers through hers and cuddle into Alcina with a giggle. Alcina nuzzles into you and kisses you on the head before letting out a sigh.

"Nooo." You whine, knowing what her sigh meant.

"I know draga, but we've been in bed all morning. I have a long list of things that need to be done today, including speaking with our prisoner."

Grumbling into her shoulder, Alcina lets out a laugh before pulling you close and kissing you one more time before throwing the covers off of the two of you.

You try with all of your might to hold Alcina down but she quickly overpowers you and flips you onto your back. She clicks her tongue at you as she leans down.

"Valiant effort my darling, but unfortunately you do not have the strength to overpower me just yet." Your bottom lip pushes out into a pout and she clicks her tongue at you again. "Oh, what's the matter my love? There is no pouting after such a wonderful morning." She says before leaning down and placing a chaste kiss on your lips.

Alcina sits up and gets out of bed, not before tapping you on the thigh, prompting you to get out of bed as well.

"Come now draga, we have many things to do today."

The two of you get dressed and make your way down to the dining room for breakfast. During your meal Alcina goes over what she has to do today with the girls and discusses what she wants to happen with the prisoner.

"After breakfast we will pay him a little visit. Draga, if you would like to join us you are more than welcome to, but you are under no obligation."

"I would like to come, but I can stay out of sight. I just want to see if he tells you everything."

"What do you mean by that?" Cassandra asks.

"Y/n here went and visited our prisoner yesterday."

"You went into the dungeon alone?!" Bela asks.

"And you didn't die??" Cassandra asks.

"Why would you do that?!" Daniela yells.

"Girls, that's enough. We already spoke about it last night. There is no need for you to interrogate her about it, but I appreciate your concern for her wellbeing." Alcina says before turning back towards you. "Draga you are more than welcome to stay within earshot if you would like and if you want to make an appearance you may do so."

"I just don't want to see him get hurt."

"We will make sure you are escorted out of the dungeon before any of that takes place."

"Thank you." You say with a smile.

"Of course, my love."

The rest of the meal flies by and as the time to go down to the dungeon gets closer, you slowly begin to lose your appetite.

The girls finish their meals and Alcina swirls the rest of her wine in her glass before downing it in one gulp.

"Alright girls, I believe it's time to go visit the prisoner."

"I can't wait to take a bite out of him." Cassandra says with hungry eyes.

"And you say I'm always hungry." Daniela mumbles.

"Because you are! You insatiable beast!" Cassandra snaps back.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Girls. Enough. I need you to either take this seriously or you will not participate. Do you understand?" Alcina says with a stern look.

"Yes mother." They reply in unison.

"Ready, draga?" Alcina asks, reaching her hand out towards you.

You nod your head and take her hand in yours.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

"Then let us go."

Alcina leads you from the dining room towards the dungeon door. The closer you get the harder you feel your heart pounding in your chest. Bela, Cassandra and Daniela swarm down the stairs in a fit of excited giggles and Alcina stops at the top of the steps before kneeling down to your height.

"Are you sure you want to come, my love? I don't want you to feel pressured to be there."

"I know, but I want to. I have to. I just need to know-" you take a deep breath and Alcina nods at you, not needing you to finish your response. She knows why you feel like you need to come, that you need to see for yourself if he was as innocent as you thought he was - as you wanted him to be.

Alcina looks deeply into your eyes before pulling you in for a kiss. Immediately, your body relaxes into her touch and you smile into her. When your lips part Alcina stands back up and takes your hand in hers. She guides you through the dungeon door and you know there's no turning back now. You can only hope he tells them the truth - the whole truth. Not only does his fate hang in the balance, but so does the remainder of hope you've been clinging to.

"Well, here goes nothing." You say to yourself as you take the final steps towards the cell.

[introspectivememories]

at the center of gotham, lies its oldest public hospital — gotham general. it’s staff are kind and compassionate, if a little intolerant of bullshit. the city may not care about the crimes that occur in it but the people certainly do. gotham’s emergency services are renowned throughout the nation as one of the best. 

the ER nurses at gotham general love to gossip and their latest is about how their ever-reliable EMT bernard dowd, who'll rush into burning buildings if he thinks he can save one more person, who smiles so brightly and brings them cupcakes on his days off but has such sad eyes, seems so lonely. they determinedly decide to find a date for him. maybe dr. zacharia thomas, their latest trauma surgeon? yes, yes! he's only a few years older, bernard knows him, they get along, and most importantly, he's got a stable job. he'll be perfect for their bernard!

and then, literally only days after they decide to set up dr. zacharia and bernard on a date, head trauma nurse marissa santos comes running in with a copy of gotham daily, clutched in her hand.

"look! look! nakita mo ba ang balita?" she whisper-yells, "did you see the news?!"

instantly they're all crowding around her, trying to see the paper. covering the front page is a blurry photo of a black-haired man engaged in a passionate game of tonsil-hockey with someone who is unmistakably their youngest EMT. he's still wearing his uniform for christ's sake! in the largest font known to man, "WAYNE'S NEW PARAMOUR?" is written at the top.

"he's dating the wayne ceo!" marissa gushes excitedly.

"isn't he a little too old for bernard?" someone pipes up from the back.

"not the father, you idiot! the son! timothy!"

that's way better than their candidate. everyone is stoked. by nightfall, everyone in the ER knows that bernard dowd is dating timothy drake-wayne, the youngest ceo wayne enterprises has ever had.

when bear stops by, at around 2 in the morning, dropping of the last patient from his shift, he's immediately accosted by the nurses.

"whoa! hey!" he exclaims as they lead him to the nurse's station and sit him down in a chair, "what's going on?"

marissa slams the paper down in front of him, "spill."

bernard groans and turns cherry red, "oh my god tita. don't you guys have patients to attend to?"

"already taken care of." nurse gu says.

"what about mr. gomez, the one with third degree burns that just came in?" bernard tries desperately.

"dr. zacharia is already on it." dr. esperanza responds, "so spill."

their youngest tries one last time, "how do you even know if that's me?"

"there are like 10 blonde people in the EMT department and considering all of them are older than you and none of them seem to have the three ear piercings that kid in this picture does, we're gonna have to assume it's you." dr. farah nasim, one half of the head of the ER, says.

bernard turns on her with a betrayed look.

"sorry kid," she snorts, "also, you're still wearing your uniform in the photo. it says 'dowd' on the shoulder."

"im too old to be bossed around like this." he mutters before sighing, "alright what'd'ya want to know?"

"tell us everything!" marissa says, "how did you two meet?"

"we were friends in high school and we fell out of touch after junior year. he hit me up on insta 6 months ago and we reconnected."

"oh my god!! they're high school sweethearts!" nurse gu squeals, "that's so cute!"

"tell us more! who asked who out?"

"okay well, technically he asked me out but he didn't know he was asking me out. but we went on this date at this restaurant and it got attacked by some villain and red robin, but he was going by robin at the time, rescued. so i told robin, 'hey if i make it out of this, tell tim drake, i would've liked to finish our date'. and then, tim, shows up at my door the next day and says 'i don't know what this feeling i get when i'm near you is, but i'd like to find out'. and the rest is history."

"bernard, what the hell?" dr. esperanza says shocked, "that's the most rom-com-esque story i've ever heard."

"what?" bernard blushes, "no it's not."

"bear," esperanza says slowly, "he showed up at your door and said 'i don't know what this feeling i get when i'm near you is, but i want to find out.' that is something straight out of the notebook."

"no, no! he's such a dork!" bernard assures them frantically, "he does this thing, when he laughs too hard, he snorts and it sets him off again and it just keeps going. and you should've seen him in high school, the biggest skater boy to ever exist. he's teaching me..."

and bernard goes on and on for the next 15 minutes, trailing off only when he notices them all smiling at him.

"what?" he says shyly.

"you're in love with him, aren't you?" dr. farah says.

bernard chokes, "what?! no! ...maybe?"

everyone shares a look between each other. marissa steps forward, "well on behalf of the gotham general ER staff, i can assure you, we all approve."

"thank you?"

"bring him around sometime!" nurse gu says, "we'd all like to meet him."

"why? so you can give him the shovel talk?"

"of course!" dr. farah says, smiling widely, "he’s dating our youngest! we have to threaten him!"

bernard's voice is suspiciously wet when says a few moments later, "thanks guys."

and so on it goes for the next few months until marissa comes back after her break, deathly pale. everyone worries but she refuses to tell anyone what's wrong. and then a few weeks later, nurse gu goes on his break and comes back shocked. and then a month later, dr. zacharia comes back from a quick step outside, lips sealed shut.

and on it goes until there is one glaring truth the gotham general ER night staff cannot ignore:

bernard dowd is dating red robin. open relationship or cheating, to be determined.

a year after the news about tim drake and bernard had been released, and half a year after the, what the staff has taken to calling it, Red Robin Scandal™ began, dr. farah calls a night staff meeting.

the staff meeting is boring as usual until the end when dr. farah opens the conversation to the staff to voice their concerns.

"are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?" dr. esperanza asks.

"i think bernard might be cheating on his boyfriend!" marissa blurts out before slapping her hands over her mouth, horrified.

“oh thank god.” esperanza sighs.

"wait you saw them too?" nurse gu asks.

"in the narrow walkway," dr. zacharia starts.

"between the ER and jacobson building." dr. esperanza finishes.

"exactly!" marissa says.

"i caught them in the parking lot once." dr. farah admits, mouth pressed into a grim line, "they were pressed up against the fence in the back — y'know where the light doesn't shine? — kissing each other like they'd just come back from world war 2."

"ay, how could that boy be so stupid?" marissa sighs, "getting caught up with a vigilante?"

"maybe it's like polyamory?" esperanza says, ever hopeful.

"whatever it is," farah says, "he should know better than to get involved with those people. we have to talk to him."

they pull bernard into an unused conference room, just the 5 of them, 3 weeks later.

"hey, hey!" bernard exclaims as they shove him into a chair, "what's going on?"

nobody speaks.

"guys?"

"are you cheating on tim drake?"

"what?"

"are you cheating on tim drake?" marissa repeats.

"no! why would you think that?"

"everyone on the night staff has caught you kissing red robin at least once. wanna try that again?" farah says.

bernard sighs, "is that what this is about? doc, i swear to god, i'm not cheating on tim."

"so he knows?" zacharia asks.

"yes zach, tim knows about me and red robin."

"and he's okay with it?"

"yes. tim doesn't mind me dating both of them." bernard says, a smile playing on his lips.

nobody speaks for a while.

"so..." bernard breaks the silence first, "are we good here? do you approve?"

"no." esperanza says, "we don't approve."

"what?"

"he's no good for you." nurse gu says.

"you don't even know him." bernard says incredulously.

"oh and you do?" zacharia says scathingly, "he's a vigilante bear. how much do you really know?"

"more than you zach!"

pleadingly bernard turns toward farah, "c'mon doc, you don't agree do you?"

"you know, when you first started dating tim drake, i had my reservations. rich people and all that. but i figured with all that money, if you ever got roped into rich people problems, tim's money would help out. you'd be taken care of and he clearly loves you, so i didn't mind too much."

"but this..." farah trails off, "i can't accept this."

turning towards marissa, "tita, please."

"don't do that, bear. wag kang tanga. it's not good to be with him."

"he loves me! is that not enough?" bernard near-yells, "i thought that's what you wanted. someone who loves me!"

"enough to quit being a vigilante?" esperanza asks.

"quit being a vigilante? are you guys hearing yourself?" bernard asks angrily, "he saves the city on a near-nightly basis and you want me to ask him to give it all up because what? he's dating me?"

"so let him save the city without you." nurse gu says, "why does he need to drag you into it?"

"he's not dragging me into anything! i am a full consenting adult! i chose him! what’s so different about what he and i do anyway?"

“well for one, our job is legal. and two, there are safety measures put in place so that you don’t get hurt. so that your coworkers don’t get hurt. your man walks into the joker’s lair with an inch of kevlar and a prayer on his lips.” zacharia says.

nurse gu sighs, "look. nobody here is mad at him for saving the city. everyone here knows somebody who has been saved by the bats. but the deal is that they save the city and they don't drag anybody else into it."

"the bats, whoever they are? they chose that life. for whatever reason, they chose that life and all the dangers that go with it. you’re not stupid bear, don’t get involved with whatever he has going on. pick literally anyone else.” farah says.

“you need a third person that badly? take zach! the ER was planning on setting you up with him before we found out about tim, anyway.”

“what?” zacharia says, rounding on nurse gu.

“you know what?” bernard says, pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly, “ i don’t have to explain myself to you guys.”

“you can’t marry him.” marissa says.

“who said anything about marriage? i’m 22!”

“you clearly love tim. you two seem like you’re going to last a while and if you love red robin they way you love tim, them somewhere along those years of being together then you’re going to start thinking of marriage. what then? how are you going to explain red robin to the people you love?”

“we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

“look, bernard,” farah says gently, “we’re not doing this cause we don’t want you to be happy. you mean a lot to me, i think of you as my son. we just-”

“you’re not my mom.” bernard snaps out, “you’re not my mom, you’re not my aunt, my uncle, my brother. you guys aren’t anything to me!”

he turns and walks away.

“farah do something.” marissa hisses.

“let him go. he said he’s an adult right? then let him make his choices.”

“but,” she says, raising her voice so bernard can hear her, “if anything goes wrong, and i mean anything at all, i hope he knows that adults don’t have to do everything by themselves. that they can ask people for help.”

bernard’s hands still on the doorknob. “thank you.” he says voice rough, “nothing will happen, but thank you for the offer.” and he walks out the door.

bernard dowd, is 22 year old EMT that has too much heart and not enough brain. he’ll rush into burning buildings if he thinks he has even a minute chance of saving someone. he’s kind and he’s sweet and more importantly, he’s dating timothy drake-wayne, ceo of wayne enterprises.

if you ask the ER night staff at gotham general, after a lot of prodding, they might tell you that bernard dowd was one of the youngest EMTs to ever join the gotham county emergency medical services. they might tell you that bernard dowd has been wondering if he should become an AEMT or a paramedic. they might tell you that as the major receiver for all patients, bernard saw them all the time and imprinted on them like a baby duck. and if you’re really close they might, tell you the ER’s biggest secret: bernard dowd is dating both timothy drake-wayne and red robin. or they might just let you walk in on them making out behind the ER. whatever comes first really.

(if you get close enough to a certain group of people on the ER night staff, they’ll tell you that bernard dowd has two hands and he uses them to hold onto his boyfriends. 

they’ll tell you that tim drake is a nice boy and they’re a little worried about their bernard fitting into the circles a wayne walks in, but he’s a nice boy who clearly loves bernard, so they’re not too worried.

they’ll tell you that that red robin character is no good for their bernard and has no business getting so close to their youngest. that red robin is going to get bernard into trouble one day, the kind of trouble that you don’t come back from.

and if you get really close to them, they’ll tell you over lunch breaks and muttered whispers, that both boys are going to break their youngest’s heart. and that if they had to pick, red robin will do it first. that their bernard loves a little too deeply and that they're worried that it’ll break bernard.

but they’re not too worried, they say. because bernard has them and if that bastard red robin breaks his heart, then they’ll pick up the pieces, they’ll sew him back together if they have to. after all, bernard stitches up half of gotham every night, this is the least they could do.)

[staycalmandhugaclone]

I saw one of your story posts mentioning you might take writing requests for trauma comfort... I've been struggling to write this story myself, and I'm looking for a particular flavor of comfort story.

Everyone seems to always latch on to how Hunter is so perceptive and notices things... but there's things he doesn't notice, even with all his sensitive senses. Particularly when there's not an actual immediate danger with a straightforward solution of "shoot it dead" or "talk to it"

Would you be willing to write something where Crosshair is the one to observe, first notice, and recognize tbe fact their new female member of the team, despite being a very active useful member, is tip-toeing around under the weight of past traumas? Then goes out of his way to take care of someone just as stubborn as he is.

I used to live with abusive housemates. While they weren't physically abusive, they were very creative in every other way of hurting their resident empath and later, attacking my whole family. It took me months after we finally kicked them out, for me to realize that i was literally tip-toeing in my own house afraid to make any noise and break tbe quiet, because i used to get badly berated for even small things like rolling in my office chair to my secobd desk while i did filing and paperwork. I didn't sing or play music for a long time, and i still find myself struggling to talk to people.

I like the idea that Crosshair would be the first to recognize long term behavioral patterns while Hunter is very fast in the uptake with someone who's state has changed in the moment.

You're under no obligation to settle this, of course, so please don't feel pressured! I just love the detailed and thoughtful, realistic way you handle writing about things like this.

My sweet darling, I am so sorry it's taken me so long to finish this. Your request became incredibly personal to me, and I both found myself inspired and struggling with how to respond! I'm honored you came to me with this request - I know how hard it is to admit to being hurt like that. Please be kind to yourself as you heal and know that I'm always happy to offer whatever support I can!

Sharp Eyes, Gentle Hands

Warnings: reference to past emotional abuse, fantasy profanity

WC: 2,253

The silence following the gentle hum of the ramp closing left me sinking beneath a deep sigh of relief. Wrecker had sought me out to say goodbye, and I’d peaked from the little kitchenette of the Marauder in time to wave to Hunter and Echo, but Tech and Crosshair were already out of sight. Still, I found myself treading lightly about the ship as I restocked supplies, updated the inventory manifest, and addressed minor maintenance needs that didn’t warrant Tech’s expertise.

This was the beginning of my second three-month tour with Clone Force 99. I’d been assigned to them as something of a secretary in the hopes of improving their less than ideal track record of finishing their paperwork, but had gradually taken on additional small tasks as time passed. While skeptical at first, the boys seemed to have begun warming to my presence, and I was too eager to maintain that trend, even if I was still only trusted to guard the ship during actual missions.

At present, that extra task consisted of reattaching a cabinet door in the storage room that Wrecker had been a bit too forceful with. After muscling it back into its original shape – mostly – all that was left was to screw it back in. I was so caught up in my work, I barely noticed the hum resonate through my chest, nor the moment that tone gradually gave way to murmured words until, just as I stepped back to appreciate my work, I found myself shamelessly singing aloud.

Satisfied, I gathered the tools and headed into the cockpit to return them. It wasn’t until the shouted gasp tore from my throat, body shying back so violently that I nearly slammed into the wall that I even noticed him. Crosshair wordless lifted an eyebrow at my reaction before returning his attention to the helmet in his hands, fingers skillfully toying with the internal gages as though nothing had happened.

“Um, sorry I-I didn’t realize you were still here.” The apology clawed stiffly up my throat, fire burning across my face. He didn’t bother looking at me as he merely responded with a disinterested grunt. Teeth gnawing against the inside of my lips as I vainly willed my heart to ease its panicked pace, I rushed to quietly place the tools back in Tech’s storage, shoulders tucking firmly about my chest.

“Why do you do that?” The words slipped from his lips almost as though he was talking to himself instead of me, but I balked at the silence that followed, fingers shifting nervously at my sides.

“Wh… do what?” The beginnings of an apology sat like poison atop my tongue, demanding to be voiced in the futile hope that it might defuse whatever confrontation was to come.

“If you’re that scared of us, why did you stay?” His arms crossed his chest, confusion just breaching the innate impatience in those sharp eyes.

“I-I’m not… um, I’m sorry you thought that, but I promise I’m not-” My words died the instant he stood from the chair, helmet laid forgotten atop the seat. My gaze instantly darted to the worn metal beneath us as that too-familiar dread locked around my chest, breaths carefully shallow, silent, lest even that somehow worsen whatever offence I’d already made. But he said nothing in the long seconds that followed, and, hesitantly, I stole a timid glance at him. His brow was cocked, but, still, he made no effort to lash out or reprimand me, merely waited for me to finally grasp his point, and my heart dropped.

“No - I’m sorry; it’s not…” The flurry of excuses tangled over my lips, the beginnings of a tremble just beginning to creep over me. “I’m not… I’m not afraid of you, I’m just… trying to stay out of the way.” I assured him, but he merely rolled his toothpick to the other side of his mouth, those frightfully intense eyes burring into me.

“You practically flatten yourself against the wall when we walk too close to you. You stopped eating the yellow ration bars after Wrecker mentioned they’re Hunter’s favorite, even though they’re your favorite, too. I don’t think you’ve ever instigated a single conversation unless it was to update a report, and even then you act like…” His teeth ground together, words suddenly falling silent. I’d felt myself sinking beneath every wretched observation, shoulders bunching around me, expression carefully blank; waiting.

“Look, I’m not…” When I risked another fleeting look up to him, I was shocked to see his glare turned pointedly away from me, jaw shifting stiffly around unspoken words. “You don’t need to… hide every time we’re in the same room.” The discomfort in the softness he was trying to force into his voice was obvious, but the simple fact that he was making an attempt left me speechless.

“Kriff, I don’t even know what I said that made you so damn timid.” A touch of that impatience returned, fingers snatching the toothpick from his lips, but I knew it wasn’t directed at me, and that made the guilt stirring in my chest all the more prominent.

“It… it wasn’t…” My hands drew together in front of me, thumb absently picking at my nails. “My-my last crew was… pretty strict with me.” I barely breathed the excuse, unable to risk meeting his eyes. “I just… I didn’t want to cause trouble here, too.” He leaned absently against the back of the co-pilot chair, watching me with a silence that left my skin crawling.

“You realize we share living space with Wrecker?” The skepticism in his blank statement wrenched a burst of laughter from me before I could rein it back, teeth clicking together even as my lips still pulled up into a small smile. For the briefest moment, something like relief seemed to flash through his eyes, and a sliver of that tension slipped from my shoulders.

“We’re not regs.” He continued dismissively. “Whatever osik they pulled with you isn’t how we operate here.”

“It wasn’t regs.” I felt myself tense for some reprimand in the face of my quiet correction, but he didn’t move, gaze watching me silently; waiting. “I was assigned to a mercenary battalion before this.” His head tilted back slightly, eyes narrowing. “That’s part of the reason I ended up here: I requested an assignment with a clone squad, but the regs don’t usually work with freelancers, so…” I motioned subtly toward him, shoulders drawing tight into my chest.

Crosshair was silent for a long moment, expression painfully unchanged. My mind raced for some way to anticipate what he was thinking – was he annoyed to learn the reason I’d ended up with them? Was he enraged that I feared the same treatment from his brothers that I’d received from the mercs? Was he completely indifferent?

Movements unrushed, void of the impatience I’d expected, he retrieved his helmet and started toward the ladder.

“Gonna do a patrol.” He explained, slipping on the bucket. “I’ll let you know when I’m back.” I couldn’t begin to fight the shock from my eyes, the silent gasp from my lips, immediately aware of his unspoken offer: he was giving me space; allowing me a moment to collect myself in the comfort of isolation… and I didn’t have to fret over not realizing when he returned…

“You should sing more often – Echo and Wrecker like that sort of thing.” Again, I found myself utterly frozen, jaw shifting uselessly around words I couldn’t begin to form, but he didn’t wait for a response. With a few swift movements, he was gone.

-

Things changed after that. Not with any grand or outwardly notable gestures, but it seemed to shift the very dynamic of the squad in the most subtle ways. It started with caf.

It was hardly unusual for the sniper to be the last to force himself into the kitchenette to join us, jaw ground against the early morning grogginess. I was just finishing the breakfast scramble as he trudged to the caf machine. Without a word, he set a steaming cup on the counter beside me before taking a seat with his brothers. I stared blankly at it for a moment, only then realizing that I’d fallen into the habit of waiting for the others to get their own cups before getting some for myself. When I stole a brief glance toward him, he showed no indication that he’d done anything abnormal, head tilted back against his chair with his eyes closed as though he might steal even a few seconds’ more sleep.

Then it was the arguing. Echo and Tech’s banter rarely escalated, but when it did, neither were innocent of resorting to shouting on occasion. I couldn’t remember what had prompted the latest disagreement, but their voices boomed throughout the entirety of the Marauder until even Hunter stepped in in a futile attempt to silence them. I’d made the mistake of treading into the cockpit just as things between them began to grow heated intending to merely return Echo’s power calibrator and quickly found myself frozen in the corner, waiting for a safe moment that wasn’t soon to come.

Long after the Sergeant had joined the fray, succeeding only in adding to the chaotic flurry of raised voices, Crosshair stormed down the ladder, brows pinched and lips wrenched into a scowl, but then he saw me, sharp eyes instantly noting the tool clutched in my grasp. Ignoring his brothers, he merely held his hand out to me, motioning for the device. I tried not to let him see the slight tremor in my limbs as I hesitantly placed it in his waiting palm. Saying nothing, he merely nodded toward the ladder. I was halfway through the porthole when I heard the loud thud followed by a shocked cry of pain, and, in the next breath: silence.

That was the last time any of them got into a shouting fit like that around me. Twice, just as tensions were beginning to rise, Hunter went so far as to conveniently find a reason to summon me. It didn’t take long to realize he’d caught on and was too willing to use my presence as an indirect means of quelling tempers. The second time, he shot me a knowing wink, and I found myself biting my lips against the fit of quiet laughter.

When we found a rare moment of calm, Crosshair pressed things a bit further. A fire crackled in the stillness. We didn’t have to return to Kamino for a few days, so we made camp beside a small lake, secluded in a forgiving wilderness. I barely noticed the lithe man lean toward Wrecker, lips shifting almost silently, but then his brother’s eyes shot open, excitement lighting his face.

“You can sing?!” My heart dropped, body instantly going stiff.

“…uh…” Caught, I could only stare at him in shock, gaze darting briefly to see the subtle smirk on the Sniper’s lips before the towering clone was talking once more, pleading.

“Will you sing somethin’?! We hardly ever get to hear music!” The refusal clawed at my throat, aghast at even the thought of denying the innocent delight in his request.

“Wrecker.” The warning in Hunter’s voice was enough to dampen the large man’s glee, and I found myself distraught to see his smile fade.

“M… maybe just one.” I agreed nervously, and the thrilled gasp it earned was nearly enough to ease the frantic racing of my heart. Echo and Tech glanced up curiously, and I had to pointedly ignore the feeling of everyone’s eyes watching me.

The first words left in something nearer to a whisper than a melody, but the hint of pride just threatening to shine in Crosshair’s gaze emboldened me in a way I would never have expected. By the second verse, I left the lyrics dance over my lips. My cheeks were still flushed, blood still pounding through my ears, but I couldn’t dismiss the simple joy as I took in the wonder in Wrecker’s face, Hunter’s quiet smile, Tech’s datapad lying forgotten beside him.

In the days that followed, I’d caught most of them occasionally humming the tune, and, more than once, found myself joining them with a shy grin.

That innate need to tuck into the wall as we passed each other slowly began to fade, but the next few times it happened with Crosshair, he wordlessly touched his hand to my arm and guided me upright. It was never a quick movement, the gentle pressure an invitation instead of an order, and each time, I found my heart racing long after he’d left.

After several weeks of those quiet moments, I intentionally bumped his shoulder with mine in a moment of frightful bravery. The look of pure shock in his suddenly wide eyes nearly sent me fleeing, certain I’d made a terrible mistake, but then his lips curled into grin, breath catching in a silent chuckle. His hand reached up to carefully ruffle my hair before he continued on his way.

It wasn’t perfect. I still found myself unable to find my voice unless someone else spoke first; felt that panicked dread if I set something down too loudly or made simple mistakes, but that fear faded quicker, my responses felt a little less meek as they drew me into quiet conversations more often. It wasn’t perfect, but the patience and kindness they offered allowed me to take those first steps toward making it better.

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[cyclone-rachel]

Kara finding out Brainy has a kitty.

hello I'm sorry it's been literal years

At first, when Brainy invited Kara over to his apartment, she thought: I didn’t know you had an apartment. After all, given how busy he was, she usually saw him at the DEO- or at least had phone conversations with him while he was there- so she assumed Alex had let him stay in one of the spare rooms there. But Alex had her own place, and so did Winn and J’onn, so it only made sense Brainy would have one too.

Her second thought: Since when?

In the first few months they’d gotten to know each other- after Brainy had arrived in the twenty-first century to stay, during that summer when Kara had decided to make sure he felt as welcome as possible in his new home- he’d confessed to her that he was reluctant to settle down anywhere. He didn’t want to buy or rent any kind of apartment, even though he had the means to, because for all he knew he could be returning to the thirty-first century within a matter of months. It would be pointless, he insisted to both Kara and Alex, once Alex caught him sleeping in his desk chair one day and went to Kara with her concern. The DEO was fine, as a temporary living space.

Apparently, things had changed. It had been a year, and none of them had so much as heard from Winn- so somewhere along the way, Brainy put down roots, and now he wanted to let Kara in.

(If anything, Kara thought it was about time- since their first meeting had taken place in a representation of her own apartment)

“Thank you, Brainy.” She said as he opened the door for her, and stepped aside as she walked in, and took a look around.

The apartment itself was a mixture of organized and incredibly messy- his kitchen was clean, and as much as Kara could see into his bedroom she could tell it was the same way, but the bookshelves next to his TV were crowded and overflowing, and there was a table that seemed to be cracking under the weight of all the half-finished electronics and inventions on it in the middle of his living room.

There was also, to Kara’s surprise, an empty cat bed beside his couch. But on the couch itself…

“You have a cat?”

“Yes.” He said, smiling over at it. “It was you who gave me the idea to adopt her, actually.”

“Me?”

“Your story of Streaky- finding a pet, and taking care of it while it made you feel more like a human. Not to say I needed to feel like a human… but it is true that like you, and like Streaky, I was a stray… and Kaja helped me with such a feeling.”

“Kaja?”

Brainy smiled again. “A name I pulled from my family’s archives- a rare bright spot among my ancestors. She, too, felt unsure of herself, but grew to find her own place in the universe, and achieved more than she ever thought possible.”

“It’s a great name.” Kara said, sitting down, and he soon followed. “Thank you again, for letting me in.”

“For you, Kara? Any time.”

[jrvanfleet]

When You’re an Addams 2 - j.t.k

18+ MINORS, DNI!!!

summary: after your daughter leaves with her uncle josh for the night, you and jake are finally left alone for some much needed quality time... [very much romantic husband!jake hehe]

pairing: jake x f. reader

warnings: !SMUT! unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it folks!), cockwarming, praise kink, oral sex (f. receiving), feet (but like not in a gross way... just... well...), body worshiping, overall sweet husband jake who just wants to treat you right

word count: 6k

a/n: so sorry this has LITERALLY taken two months for me to finish.. i know, i'm disappointed in myself too... but just so you know, this could technically be read as a stand alone smut... but there's a bit of context throughout that would make more sense if you read the PART ONE to this fic HERE! :) enjoy.

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

The house was mostly dark when you and Jake stepped through the front entrance. Your husband’s fingers were interlaced with yours and didn’t let go even as he flipped on a singular lamp in the living room, casting the room in a soft warm glow. He led you over to the record player that sat along the far wall. Careful to keep the album he chose hidden from you, he pulled it from his collection and set the needle gently against the vinyl.

“What did you pick?” you asked when he turned around. Goosebumps rose on your skin from his gentle touch sweeping up your waist and around you, pulling you close to him.

“Just something to set the mood,” he murmured into your hair. “I have quite the night planned for you, my love.”

“Oh?”

“Mhm,” the right corner of his mouth was turned upwards as he pulled back to look you in the eyes. “No kids? A full night to have you all to myself?” He kissed you lightly. Your skin tingled as his hand swept from its place on your back to your ass, squeezing it to emphasize his point. “You better believe I have our whole night planned.”

The blood in your veins heated a few degrees.

“But,” he continued as music began playing out of the speakers, “since we’re still dressed up, we have to truly dance like Morticia and Gomez. Besides, we also have to wait for the food to be delivered.” A sheepish grin tugged on his face and you laughed. His fingers laced with yours as he pulled you closer.

“What did you order?” you asked.

He clicked his tongue right next to your ear.

“So many questions.” He leaned in towards you and kissed up your neck. “I suppose you’ll just have to wait and see.”

You chuckled lightly, letting him begin to lead you around the living room in an easy sway. The song he chose was a classic, one of your favorites off of the Etta James ‘At Last’ album. He began lightly humming the song as the two of you danced, fully at peace in your darkened living room.

As you moved, the hand he had placed at your waist slowly began to drift up and down your spine in long and languid strokes. The calluses on his fingers left more goosebumps in their wake along your bare back. His hand was content to stroke your skin and you softly placed your cheek on his shoulder, breathing in his scent. He smelled like whiskey and cigar smoke but as you rested your head there on his shoulder, you could almost catch the scent of something else underneath his usual smell. Something oddly familiar. The more you thought about it, you realized that the smell was that of your daughter’s hair detangler. The sweet scent of artificial green apple was too prominent to mistake for anything else. You laughed into the crook of his neck.

“What?” he asked.

You giggled again.

“What?”

“Did you use bug’s detangler?” you laughed again leaning back slightly and dragged a finger behind his ear to tuck a stray piece of hair that had escaped his low bun.

“As a matter of fact… I did,” he replied with absolutely no shame. He grinned at you as you laughed again. “What? It works and it smells good.”

You knew that he was trying to have a romantic moment with you there in the living room, but you couldn’t contain your laughter at how absolutely lovable he was. You loved that your relationship was this way, the perfect blend of sexy and humorous. Even in a sweet romantic gesture, you and Jake could laugh together without ruining the mood.

“You’re so unbelievably sexy, Mr. Kiszka,” you smiled as you leaned in to kiss him. He welcomed the kiss and his hand that was holding yours tightened in response.

“Not as sexy as you Mrs. Kiszka,” he said back, kissing your lips between each sultry word. You were both grinning like fools as your free hand snuck around to the back on his neck, digging into his hair and pulling him closer to you.

Jake moaned at the feeling of your fingers massaging the base of his neck and the sound set off something fiery in the pit of your stomach. As he kissed you deeper, his tongue swept into your mouth, which you reciprocated with your own moan.

He released your hand in favor of letting both his trail over you, stopping at your ass and grabbing at it in handfuls. He pulled you against him without breaking the kiss. Fully molded against him you could feel the prominence of his hardness pressing against your front. Your breathing was ragged but you didn’t care, you wished you could kiss him like this for eternity.

Jake’s mouth soon began to wander, softly biting and sucking at your throat as his hands kneaded your ass. You couldn’t contain your breathy moan as his lips found that perfect spot behind your ear that he knew made you melt. You grasped his hair tighter while your other hand found its way around to the small of his back and gripped at the dark grey fabric of his suit.

As his tongue dragged over the tender spot on your neck, you whispered a choked “Jak–” but your words were cut off with a startled gasp by a loud rapping on your front door. Jake chuckled against your throat, still slowly trailing his lips over the soft skin. He took his time to kiss his way up the side of your neck until his breath tickled the shell of your ear, making you shiver.

“That,” he whispered, “would be our dinner.” He took your earlobe between his teeth and gave it a gentle tug filled with promise. Your breath came out in shuddering gasps as he reluctantly detached himself from your body and made his way to the door.

You tried to slow your breathing as you watched him pull open the door and grinned when you saw the red smiley face with the words ‘Thank You!’ written all over the plastic takeout bag. Jake had ordered from your favorite Thai restaurant and your mouth began to water at the thought of the delicious sweet and spicy dishes that kept you and Jake returning at least once every other week.

Your husband dug his wallet out of his pocket, tipped the delivery driver, and thanked them before closing the door with his elbow, both his hands occupied by the bags of food.

“Have I told you that I love you?” you asked, walking over and taking one of the bags from his overflowing hands. You kissed him again, simply because you wanted to. He hummed his approval onto your lips.

“I think you may have told me once or twice.” The way his mouth quirked up made your heart melt with adoration. “Okay sugar, let’s see what we’ve got.” He strode into the kitchen, but not before giving your ass a firm smack, unable to keep his hands off you. You smiled and trailed after him.

He had ordered all your favorite dishes: Kaeng Kari Kai for you, Pad Thai for himself, with fresh spring rolls and lots of rice for you to share.

As you worked on taking everything out of the two bags, Jake set the table. You didn’t notice the candles he had placed between your two empty bowls until you turned, takeout boxes in hand. A soft gasp escaped your lips as he lit the last one, covering the room in a cozy glow.

“Did I forget my own birthday or something?” you laughed as he graciously pulled your chair out for you to sit.

“Is it such a crime to treat my woman every once in a while?” he joked back, kissing your temple before sitting in the seat opposite of you.

You couldn’t help but quickly dig into the food before you. The spicy yellow curry was just as delicious as ever and the spring rolls were the perfect antidote for the spices on your tongue.

The conversation between you and Jake flowed easily, just like it always had. Even after being married for years, there never seemed to be a shortage of things to talk about. He always interested you and you always interested him. While he talked, you couldn’t help but admire how delicious he looked in his suit and tie. Finishing your dish, you sat and ogled him a bit from across the table. In the background, the end of the record clicked to a stop. The only noise was the soft chirping of crickets outside and Jake’s raspy but comforting voice. You found yourself with your chin propped on your hand, watching him with rapt attention as he told you all about the new track he had worked on earlier in the day. His voice trailed off as comfortable silence fell between you.

“Tell me what you’re thinking, sugar,” he said, breaking the silence. His voice was dark and sultry.

“Mmm…” You tried to gather your thoughts, “I’m thinking about how I’m so lucky to have you.” You fiddled with your spoon in your now empty bowl. “I’m thinking about how I love you and your passions and how hard you work every day. I’m thinking about how incredible of a husband and father you are.” Your eyes met his and they burned with love while a soft smile began to form on his lips.

Slowly, you stood from the table and crossed over to where he sat. Your long black dress swished against the floor as you sat in his lap and looped your arms loosely around his neck. His warm hands immediately came to rest comfortably on your hip and thigh, rubbing soothing and loving circles in them with his thumbs.

“And I’m also thinking about how I can’t wait for you to make good on your promise.” You punctuated your sentence by slowly dragging the tip of your tongue along his jaw. He shuddered beneath you and the hands that rested on your body tightened in response.

“Oh?” He tried to keep the swagger in his voice but you felt the anticipation in his tone. His hands roved over you, finding the slit in your dress and dragging his fingers higher up your thigh. “And which promise is that exactly?” His lips found your shoulder as his hands continued their wandering.

This was exactly what you had wanted. Your heart pounded in your chest as you hummed in response, taking your hands and tilting his head to give your lips access to his neck.

Mustering up all the sexiness you could into your voice, you whispered in his ear, “You promised that you were going to peel this dress off of me.” Your teeth clamped on the skin of his jaw, just hard enough to encourage a soft moan from him and make him shift underneath you. You could feel how hard he still was and you did your best to wiggle your hips on top of him. He groaned and twisted so that he caught your lips with his own. It was a wet clash of tongues and teeth as he nodded fervently.

Somehow he maneuvered an arm under your knees and around your back and was standing so quickly you yelped in delighted surprise. He carried you bridal style down the darkened hallway, his lips never parting with your own.

“I always keep my promises.” His words rasped against your skin and you smiled devilishly against his lips as he kicked open your bedroom door.

The room was dark like the rest of the house, save for the dim light coming from the adjoining bathroom. He laid you down on the comforter of your shared bed with heartbreaking gentleness, looking down upon you.

You deliberately stretched your arms above your head, giving him the perfect view of all your curves.

“Well, Kiszka…” you taunted, “Show me what you’ve got.”

A fire danced in his eyes as he gazed at you with a hunger that made your stomach curl.

His fingers were slow as he delicately dragged them over the satin of your dress. You could feel the calluses through it as if the dress wasn’t there at all. His brown eyes were bright and he took in the sight of you sprawled out for him.

“I will keep my promise,” he muttered, his eyes never leaving your body, “but I don’t think I’m ready to have you out of this dress yet. You’re just so gorgeous.”

You could feel the blush spread over your face as his hands lightly dragged down the length of one of your legs. He’d been sweet to you all night, but for him to blatantly tell you that he thought you were gorgeous… Your cheeks burned and you bit your bottom lip to hide your grin.

You were still wearing your shoes and he lifted your leg, slowly pulling the heel off your foot. You didn’t wear heels often because they were uncomfortable and you wobbled a bit as you walked, but you’d sacrificed comfort for the night, the shoes finishing off your dramatic costume perfectly.

Jake dropped the heel on the floor, not caring where it ended up and you let out a groan as he began massaging a spot on the bottom of your foot you hadn’t realized was sore. He smiled a satisfied smile as he watched your head drop back in pleasure. His grin lingered as he worked the sore muscles and your breathing turned heavy when he reached for the other leg. He discarded the other shoe onto the floor with a definitive thump and you couldn’t help but moan at the way he knew exactly what you needed. In every aspect of your relationship. He wanted to treat you and though you always felt cherished with him, his specially planned date night made you nearly burst with love. And lust.

His hands worked over your foot in the most sinfully innocent way, making you hot and near dripping with anticipation.

“I hardly know where to begin,” he murmured. His lips connected with the inside of your ankle, pressing soft and taunting kisses over your skin.

You watched as his kisses gradually drifted up your calf. You couldn’t help but shift in his hold, encouraging him to continue his exploration.

His eyes locked with yours, the soft brown like dark, rich honey. With a painful deliberateness, he slowly sank to his knees before you. His lips continued their journey along the inside of your thigh, as if he were determined to map every bit of you. You sighed in contentment at the feeling of him on your skin. He always made you feel good, but he was taking extra care to make sure you were totally relaxed.

The hands that held your leg traveled in the same direction of his lips, dragging the fabric of your dress up your thighs until he reached where he could no longer push it up without your help. Without so much as a word from him, you lifted your hips and he urged the tight satin to bundle around your waist.

In the same moment he hissed a breath against the skin of your inner thigh.

“No underwear?” His eyes had darkened as they snapped to yours. You grinned wickedly even through the burning in your cheeks at his hungry gaze.

“You dirty mama,” he nearly groaned against you as he lightly bit down on your sensitive skin. The way his teeth felt against your skin caused a shaking moan to escape your lips. You could feel yourself getting wetter with every second that your husband knelt before you, teasing you with his mouth but never reaching exactly where you wanted him.

His breath fanned over you as he took the sight in of you laid out before him, your dress hiked up over your hips. Completely at his mercy. You watched him kneeling between your legs like a sinner at the altar.

“You’re not full?” you asked, grinning slightly at the starved and longing look plastered on his face. He didn’t catch the joke and arched a confused eyebrow at you.

“From dinner. You’re not full?” you asked again and your eyes tracked between his face and where he had just been staring. His following chuckle was dark and raspy.

“Oh sugar,” he said as he sucked another hickey into the inside of your leg. “I’m just getting started.”

With that, his hands firmly grabbed the outsides of your thighs, pulling them apart while his tongue dragged a long and languid stripe up your folds. A breathy, satisfied moan escaped your lips as he continued to dedicate his tongue to you.

Jake was relentless. His fingers dug into your legs, pinning them open and making it impossible for you to squirm away from him. His breathing was heavy as he lapped at your entrance. He sucked your clit into his mouth with a confidence that years of trust and learning each other’s tastes and wants had bonded you together with. Your breath hitched in your throat and your hips tried to lift of their own volition.

Before they could even move an inch, your husband’s thumbs dug into the tops of your hips, pulling them down and pinning them to the mattress. You bit your lip to suppress your moan at his complete control over you. One of your hands found its way into his hair and you pulled at it slightly while you grinded into his face.

His tongue was warm against you and he knew exactly where to tease you to have you completely writhing under him. He alternated between licking you and sucking your clit into his warm mouth, the pressure making your insides burn deliciously. Your fingers tightened in his hair, pulling a groan from his lips. The vibration mixed with the delicate scratch of his facial hair over your skin had you squeezing your eyes closed to take in the full pleasure.

“Jake,” you moaned as your fingers continued to massage into his hair.

“Mmm,” he hummed as one of his hands moved from your hip to where his mouth was focused, dragging two fingers up and down your folds in time with his licks.

The stars that erupted behind your closed eyes at his taunting touch had you crying out and then biting your lip to silence the sound. Your legs quivered around his head as he took those two fingers, now fully coated in your slick and his saliva, and teased them at your entrance.

He moaned into you as his fingers slid easily into you.

“Mmm,” he said again. “So warm.”

Though you tried to keep your eyes on the beautiful man kneeling in front of you, worshiping your body, you couldn’t stop your eyes from rolling in pleasure and tossing your head back as his skilled fingers hit that perfect spot within you.

He had teased you long enough, getting you ready for him long before he actually touched you. All evening, his teasing touches and innocent kisses along your skin, a sinful promise of what he had in store for you.

“You’re so gorgeous babe,” he rasped against your thigh. His thumb had replaced where his mouth had been on your clit as he kissed along the sensitive skin of your thighs, catching his breath. You couldn’t find words as his fingers kept their rhythm inside you, all you could manage was a whine at his praise.

“Give it to me, love.” His voice was smokey and dark. “Just relax and give into it.”

His thumb pressed hard into your sensitive flesh and his fingers moved expertly inside you, reaching further and urging you towards your release.

Your hand that wasn’t tangled in his hair reached down towards him. Your husband knew that since he couldn’t kiss you from that angle, you wanted another point of contact to ground you when you came. He interlaced his free hand with yours, kissing your knuckles. It was an innocent gesture which greatly contrasted with the actions of his other hand, but through it, you felt his utter love and devotion. You were completely surrounded by it.

Your orgasm crashed into you hard, leaving you gasping for air. Your husband’s fingers continued their movement, coaxing you through your high until they finally slowed with the heaving of your chest.

Jake lovingly kissed your hip, murmuring more words of praise as you fought to bring yourself back down to earth. He rose to his full height above you while a sweet and heavy feeling overtook your entire body. He smiled down at you, still sprawled across the bed, your dress now thoroughly wrinkled at your waist. Your eyes were heavy while watching him as he came down over you and kissed your face, starting at your neck, traveling over your jaw, until his breath fanned over your lips.

“Hi,” you said weakly, a sated smile on your lips. He chuckled and kissed you lightly.

“Hi.” His eyes crinkled with his returning smile. Lightly, his hands came to cradle your face, tucking a bit of hair behind your ears and tracing loving patterns into your skin as he stared at you.

After a few moments to catch your breath, his loving gaze began to heat your blood once more. You leaned towards him, capturing his lips with your own. He smiled as you deepened the kiss, stabilizing one hand on the bed beside your head when you grasped onto the back of his neck, pulling him closer to you.

Though Jake would be thoroughly happy to pleasure you with nothing in return, you were eager to treat him after the wonderful night he had planned out for you.

Your fingers trailed down his neck, clutching at the lapels of the jacket he still wore. As quickly as you could, you yanked him towards the space on the bed next to you without breaking the kiss, catching him by surprise. Within the same move with his back now on the sheets, you swung a leg over his hips to straddle him.

“That was fancy,” he chuckled, fully pinned to the mattress.

A wicked smile crept onto your face as you began grinding down onto him. You could feel how affected he was through his linen dress pants, his hips involuntarily trying to lift from the bed to find more friction.

His lips were plump from your kisses, but they felt perfect as he gently licked your bottom lip.

“Thank you,” you said onto his mouth.

“For what?” he laughed, his hands roaming over your hips and thighs, pulling you down over him.

“For tonight. For everything.”

“Everything,” he said with a teasing smile, “That covers a lot of ground. I must really be doing something right.”

You laughed and rolled your eyes.

“But I think your ‘thank you’ is too early,” he continued as he slid his hands up your waist and down your arms to where they still had a hold of his jacket. Without him needing to ask, you pushed the jacket off of him, leaning back for him to sit up slightly.

“Oh?” you replied, your fingers beginning to work on the dark red bowtie that you had gifted him. Your touch was gentle as you untied the fabric and pulled it from his collar, letting it dangle in front of him from a single finger.

Jake leaned forward once more, slowly taking the fabric hanging from your index finger between his teeth. You could feel your blood heat in your veins as he turned his head to the side and let the tie drop to the bed.

“Our night is far from finished.”

A fire danced in his eyes and you made quick work of the buttons on his dress shirt. It was far more than you were used to undoing, his everyday style usually in favor of leaving most of his shirt open. He watched your fingers move while he continued to pull your hips down to his, the moments of friction on your still sensitive flesh making it harder to focus on your task.

Finally, you slid your hands up his chest, moving your mouth to suck at the skin of his throat. He shuddered beneath you and gripped the back of your thighs with a shaky moan.

Between kisses on his neck you whispered to him exactly how you wanted him.

“I want to ride you.”

Catching his eye, you nodded up to the head of the bed, silently telling him to go and wait for you.

Jake couldn’t hide his smile as you leaned off of him so that he could move. You watched as his hands fumbled with the button of his pants, almost frantically trying to rid himself of them. His back rested half on the pillows and half on the headboard, waiting for you. He hissed in pleasure as he palmed himself through his underwear, keeping his gaze locked with yours as you slowly crawled up the bed.

You dragged your hand lightly over his cock, making his breath hitch as you teased him. Adjusting so that you were straddling him again, your fingers teased at the waistband of his underwear, pulling them off him and letting his cock spring free. Much to your delight, he was hard and leaking for you. You stroked him in your hand, barely applying any pressure. Below you, Jake’s chest heaved, his eyes closed in pure pleasure.

“Look at me baby,” you said to him as you kissed his jaw.

You were ready for him, he had treated you all night and now it was his turn to receive. Slowly, you dragged the head of his cock through your folds. His hands gripped the backs of your thighs while he watched, like a starved man, as his cock easily sunk into you with the slight movement of your hips. His eyebrows pinched together as you brought yourself up and then let gravity pull you back down.

Jake’s moans were like music in your ears. The music that all his fans wanted to hear but only you had the privilege to. Even after years of your steady relationship, you never got tired of the feeling. The feeling of him. Warm and hard inside you, filling you up. Stretching you out.

You moved a bit faster, taking one hand to grab the top of the headboard to give you more leverage. Whimpering as he moved inside you, you felt him deeper and deeper with each push of your hips.

“Wait a second, sugar,” he bit out. His bottom lip was tucked between his teeth as if the words coming out of his mouth were the last thing that he really wanted to do.

Your eyebrows creased in mild confusion but you did what he asked, letting yourself sink all the way onto him and coming to a stop. You could feel him twitch inside you as you held him and he groaned at his own frustration.

“What?” you asked, running your fingers through his hair, encouraging another twitch of his cock within you.

He moaned at your teasing touch but dragged his hands up your sides.

“I still have a promise to uphold,” he said, catching your eye and holding it while his fingers expertly found the small zipper at your back. You grinned at him as you sat there, so close to him, his fingers grazing over your exposed back until the zipper was all the way down. Jake leaned up and kissed the underside of your jaw. Soft moans escaped your lips as he stroked up and down your spine, basking in the feeling of your skin and your warmth. His lips sucked at the skin of your throat, slowly making their way to your collarbones. His taunting kisses had you squirming in his hold, shifting your hips.

Groaning loudly at the feeling of his cock moving inside you, he pressed his forehead in between your breasts and tried to take deep breaths to steady himself. Once your hips had settled on him once more, his hands found your shoulders, the collar of the dress slowly dragging down your arms to reveal your breasts.

His mouth followed where his hands trailed, taking his time to rub circles into your nipples and bite at the soft flesh. You gasped when his teeth sunk into you then quickly kissed and licked away the hurt.

The dress was fully open, hanging limp at your waist.

“Arms up beautiful,” your husband rasped in your ear as he gathered the fabric.

The satin scratched delightfully at your overheated skin as he pulled it up and over your body, leaving you fully revealed to him. Dropping the dress to the floor, he sighed as he took you in fully.

“My love,” he said as his hands came to rest on your hips, his gaze roving over your face, your chest, until they came to where you were connected. With his attention fully held, you lifted yourself up, already missing the feeling of him filling you. His fingers tightened on you while he hissed through his teeth at the stimulation. You grabbed the headboard again and pushed your hips down. Hard.

“That’s it sugar,” he moaned, guiding your hips and meeting your downward thrusts with upward strokes of his own. Your jaw hung open with heavy pants as you worked him deep into you, the feeling even richer after he made you hold it off.

Your muscles burned in the best way and you bit back a moan with your bottom lip between your teeth when he hit a particularly delicious spot.

“Hey,” he grunted. Detaching one of his hands from your hip, his thumb found your chin and pulled it down to him, freeing your lip from its place between your teeth. He kissed you hard while continuing to thrust into you. “I want to hear you,” he said in between kisses. “No kids in the house tonight, so I want to hear all of it.”

You quivered in his hold, his thumb still pressing into your chin.

“Understood?” he asked. His eyes burned with lust and he melted you with his stare. You nodded obediently, leaning in to kiss him again.

In a moment similar to one that had come before, Jake gripped your waist and you were suddenly flipped onto the bed under him in one fluid motion. You gasped as he continued to thrust into you.

“I said,” he murmured into your ear, “Do you understand?” Delicately he dragged your earlobe with his teeth, making you shiver and gasp.

“Yes–Yes I understand,” you stuttered, the mix of pleasure from his mouth, his cock, and his words making you dizzy. His smile was wicked as he dragged in and out of you.

You did exactly as you were told. With each movement of his hips against yours, unbridled cries of pleasure escaped your lips.

Jake found a rhythm above you, steadily pounding into you as your eyes rolled back with the feeling of him. You didn’t see him move his hand until you felt it pushing into your lower stomach.

“You feel me here sugar?” he asked and you cried out at the pressure, nodding furiously, obscenities falling from your lips. You could feel with each thrust against your cervix, where his cock seemed to meet the weight of his fingers. The soft flesh of your belly so warm and sensitive. His satisfied grin quickly faded into a gasp as his teasing touch caused you to tense around him, tightly clenching his cock.

“You’re doing so good, baby. You sound so pretty,” he praised, kissing your sweaty forehead as you panted. More of those sounds spilled from your lips, each one getting higher in pitch as he urged you towards your second release.

Lightly, his fingers trailed from your stomach to circle your clit in taunting circles, keeping time with his hard thrusts.

The moan that escaped you would’ve made you blush if you weren’t so lost in the pleasure of him. Jake was hitting you so right. He was so in tune to your body, it was easy for him to find that spot that made you hum and shake. His fingers swirled faster and rougher circles into your clit, making your back arch off the sheets and into his sweaty chest.

“Jake,” you moaned out, your nails clawing lines into his biceps. “I’m close.” Your words were barely audible as you gasped for air.

“I know, love. I know.” His breathing was just as uneven as your own and when you looked up at him, his eyes were screwed shut in pleasure and his mouth hung slightly open.

“Cum with me,” you panted and you could feel the force of your orgasm just within reach. Jake’s hips stuttered at your request and both his hands found your knees, pushing them open to reach even further into you.

He cried out as he finally released into you at the same moment your walls clenched and fluttered on their own accord. The pleasure covered your whole body, making you lightheaded and you drifted in the feeling for much longer than you normally did. Distantly, you could hear his shuddering moans mixed with your cries as you both found your release together.

You could feel his release warming you from the inside, the force of his orgasm dripping down your ass and onto the sheets as his hips finally worked their way to a stop.

Every part of him was shaking as he tried to carefully lower himself without crushing you. He usually shook after he came, but the force of his tremors made you smile and drag your fingers soothingly up and down his back. His head laid in the crook of your neck as he let out an exhausted sigh.

The two of you laid there, enveloped in each other’s warmth for a long while.

Slowly, your breathing evened out and your heartbeats slowed enough for you to lift your head and place soft kisses on his temple.

“Babe,” you whispered. He groaned half heartedly. “Your cum is dripping down my leg.”

That got his attention. He lifted his head and cocked one eyebrow at you, dragging his gaze down to where his release was creating a small puddle on the sheets.

“Yeah, but you like it like that right?” He smirked at you when you scoffed and reluctantly pulled himself off you on still slightly shaky arms. He kissed your lips lightly before making his way to the bathroom to get a washcloth. You propped your head on your hand to watch his perfect ass as he walked away.

Sensing your eyes on him, he looked over his shoulder at you and winked devilishly. You laughed before flopping back onto the bed, thoroughly sore.

When he returned with the warm washcloth, you could hear the bath running in the next room. He delicately dragged the cloth up and down your legs before taking your hand to help you sit up. You couldn’t help but smile at his chivalry.

“You think you can walk, sugar?” he teased, kissing you again. You rolled your eyes but tried your best not to wobble as you took a small step towards the bathroom. “You go get in the bath, I’ll be right behind you.”

When you looked in the bathroom mirror, your makeup was surprisingly not as smudged as you’d expected, though your face was flushed and sweaty. The bathwater was the perfect warmth and Jake had put in some lavender bath salts that felt glorious against your skin as you sunk into the tub. A few minutes later he opened the door, two glasses of wine in his hands. You smiled as he handed you one and leaned forward, letting him settle behind you.

It felt perfect to be cradled between his legs, your head resting on his chest as he dragged his fingers lovingly up your arms.

“Jake,” you said, breaking the comfortable silence you had fallen into.

“Hmm?”

“I think Uncle Josh needs to start hosting more sleepovers.”

Jake laughed, his chest rumbling against your ear. He kissed the top of your head lightly.

“You got it, sugar.”

-JNR

[theothershin]

Timeline was supposed to be a tiny little project, in and out no problem. But of course this has been going on for months and while I struggle to navigate my shifting teenage interests and focus on one thing(yes I'm a teen so what), alongside graduating, spirituality, and academics, this project is just not growing on me.

When I come back to the prologue, the one with Tyler in jail with his cellie Luke Freman(who, fun fact, was actually framed for killing his son), I always feel so proud of what I've achieved(abundant kudos to @lambjock, who advised me when I was stuck and pushed me towards this beautiful prologue). So much research went into that thing, and I loved doing the research and putting it together, and, not to toot my own horn, but I just love how it's written. But the chapters after that, with chapter one being okay and chapter two(already published) + chapter 3(in my garbage can) being a descent into madness(maybe an exaggeration, but they're no Timeline Prologue), I just right about descend right into stress and murderous garbagery, a taunting mockery of the skill I try to pride myself in.

There are about ten days until I graduate, starting after the weekend, and sure, I can take a break and come back when it's done, but it's taken up so much of my time and consumed my desire to write it, it's taken up the space of works I really did want to write. And when I look at Timeline, I think, ugh, subconsciously. Like I genuinely wish I wanted to write it more than I don't, but that's not how it was. I wish I fit in amongst those of you who love ADF way more than I do.

I won't make this a mental health recollection or what have you, but I am going to say, I won't be writing Timeline. I'm done with it, finished. Sorry. I honestly don't know what to say to apologise, but what I feel is mounds of regret. Sorry to myself and sorry to you all.

This isn't only to drag you all down to my levels of misery, though, because despite the fact that I know I'm a terrible writer and person in terms of actually getting something done, but there's an idea in the back of my brain that I'm going to explore, something to do with the messed-up Arizonian prison systems, sociopathic guards, and Tyler and Mr. Freman themselves. Now, there's this other project I'm clinging onto, and hopefully with literally nothing else to do(or stress about), I'll get to enjoy writing it. Then, years later, when I'm satisfied with it for the time being, I'll come back here.

More on that some other eternity.

In the time being... see you all some other century?

[lauronk]

https://www.tumblr.com/lauronk/755126061482835968/i-wish-you-would-write-a-fic-where?source=share Okay so I happen to be the person who has a lot of imagination for fic ideas even tho I don't have the writing skills.

Maybe an Star Wars AU where joel is a mandalorian and he has a mission to find and capture baby ellie for someone because she has some kind of value (like little grogu and his powers) but then he is just this hot man in a space bountyhunter suit that has a little girl hanging on his leg across space to everybody, and he can't get rid of her to his motherfucking clients because she's just so cute and likes to mess around on his spaceship and even has her own little chair and always gives a little peck on his helmet!!! And then when he finally lets her see his face, her little hand just grabs his big ass nose and he laughs because he knows it is too big, and then she finally gives him a little kiss on his nose instead of the helmet and their eyes met for the first time🥹and then when he wants to put the helmet back she makes a sad face and tries to put the helmet down, because now that she knows what her space daddy looks like she just wants to see his pretty eyes and kiss his big ass nose all the time.

okay so a couple of disclaimers before we get started:

i know SO LITTLE about star wars. i've watched mando and boba fett and ahsoka, but that's it. so if there's words or phrases or literally anything i got wrong, i'm very sorry, please be gentle with me. shoutout to my homie @princessofinterest for letting me bombard her with questions

ALSO. i sped-read this prompt, wrote the ficlet, had my friend help me fill in some stuff, and then came back and re-read it and realized...i did not quite do what you requested 😅 so i'm sorry if it's not what you were expecting but hopefully you still enjoy!

ALSO ALSO. i finished, was rereading, and realized i messed up my own timeline. so- yeah. it's been a brain-melty kind of week, so i'm very sorry

a space bound rocket ship (and your heart's the moon)

length: ~2.3k words tags: joel & ellie; star wars au; mandalorianverse au; joel is a mandalorian; din & grogu cameo; the author knows so little about star wars; father-daughter relationship; the cargo-to-babygirl pipeline remains; no beta we die like david

This was definitely not the plan.

Joel stares down at the little girl, eyes roaming over her worriedly through his visor, and she stares defiantly back up at him.

This was not the plan, and now he’s got a whole bunch of Morgan Elsbeth’s minions after him. All because he couldn’t just walk away when they tried to take her, even though it’s what he had been paid to do. Find the girl, transport her to Corvus and hand her over. The why didn’t matter to him so much as the payment. And maybe if everything had gone the way it should have - three days, max, of traveling with her before handing her over - then he wouldn’t be in this situation. But transport had taken nearly two months for an increasingly absurd number of reasons.

Dodging bounty hunters. Damage to the stabilizer on his ship. Two attempted abductions of her.

So naturally, by the time Joel had gotten her to Morgan, she had walked away with this faintly betrayed look on her face that had wormed underneath his beskar and pressed against his heart until he’d caved. He’d damn near blown the place up getting her out of there, and now she was curled up on the front seat of his ship, chin on her knees, scrapes on her hands and a scratch across her face.

Joel sighs, the sound slightly distorted by his helmet. “C’mon, Ellie, let’s get you cleaned up.”

–

Ellie’s not speaking to him, it would seem. Even though he went back for her, she apparently wasn’t over the fact that he’d left her to begin with. So she stays completely silent - more quiet than she’s ever been around him - as he wipes down her hands and her face and pulls out clean clothes for her to wear.

Once she reemerges, clean and dressed and still sulking, Joel nudges her gently up to the cockpit of the ship.

“You hurt?”

She doesn’t respond, and when Joel turns back to look at her, she mutely shakes her head.

“Good.” He lowers himself to the seat, tilting his head towards the one to his right. “Buckle up.” They’re sort of just cruising through space at this point, the ship on autopilot while Joel figures out what to do and where to point them, but that won’t be sufficient for long. He’s gonna need a plan, an actual plan. Somewhere safe for them to lay low for a bit.

And he thinks he knows just the guy to help them out.

–

“How old did you say you were?”

Ellie’s arms are crossed over her chest, face turned out the window. “Eight,” she says flatly. She looks younger than it though, probably closer to six if he’d had to guess. He’s got no way of knowing what her genetic makeup is though - and it’d be rude as hell to ask - so maybe she just aged slower, looked younger for longer.

“What did they want with you?”

“How should I know?” She bites out, still not looking at him.

Joel fiddles with the controls a bit, double checks their flight path. “They didn’t say nothin’?”

“Nope.” She pops the end of the word, emphasizing the ‘p’. “Just wheeled me back and started sticking needles in my arms.”

Joel sighs, squeezing his eyes shut. When he opens them, Ellie has finally turned to look at him, staring at him so hard he thinks she’s trying to see straight through his helmet to his face. He’s never been more glad to not take it off - she’s young, but she’s too goddamn perceptive.

“Y’know,” he says slowly, gloved fingers gripping the sides of the yoke. “You asked me awhile back why I wear the helmet and don’t take it off.”

Ellie’s eyes narrow. “Yeah…”

Joel hadn’t given her an answer then, too focused on keeping a distance between him and the target. She was just a job, he’d reminded himself, even when he caught himself smiling behind his helmet at one of her many - many - ridiculous puns. Just a job. So he’d ignored that question and most of the others she’d asked.

Felt a little like he owed her an answer now, after the events of the last twelve hours.

“It’s part of my religion.” He turns away from her, finds the words flowing easier when he’s looking out at the inky darkness of space and not right into the eyes that no longer look at him so trustfully. “It’s complicated, very long story. But pretty much we wear the helmets at all times, and to remove it with those who are not family, or to have it removed, is a great dishonor. I only take it off when I’m alone. But I do that so rarely that it feels strange when I don’t have it on, like I’m missin’ some part of myself.”

Joel hears Ellie move but doesn’t look over at her, more concerned with the appearance of Nevarro in the distance.

“Cool,” Ellie replies after a pause, and he thinks her voice sounds a little warmer than it had before. “Thanks…thanks for telling me.”

“No problem, kiddo.”

–

The house is right where it should be, and as Joel readjusts his landing gear and angles them carefully down, he sees the glint of a sun off the owner’s helmet.

By the time Joel emerges, Ellie in tow, Din is standing in the doorway. Next to his boot, peeking out with wide obsidian eyes, is the small green - Joel feels bad calling it a creature, but nobody knows what species he is - form of his adopted son.

Joel lifts a hand in greeting, and Din matches the gesture. “I won’t stay long,” he says without preamble. “Ran into some trouble, and thought maybe you could help me out. If not, we’ll be on our way.”

Din’s head tilts to the side and then up, as though scanning for anyone who may have followed them. His son shifts over, and Joel catches Ellie’s whispered whoa from behind him.

“Grogu,” Din says warningly, and Grogu stops from where he’d been inching forward. His head turns back towards the Mandalorian, ears twitching, and Din tilts his head back down. Some sort of wordless message seems to pass between father and son, and then Grogu turns back to look at them, a cooing noise emanating from him. He doesn’t move any closer though.

“What do you need?” Din asks, his attention now back on Joel and Ellie.

“‘S a long story,” Joel replies. “But we need somewhere to hide out for awhile, till the people after her stop lookin’.”

Din’s head shifts minutely, as though he’s looking from Joel to Ellie and then back again. Even with two helmets - neither of their expressions visible to the other - Joel feels like he’s having his measure taken.

“She your foundling?”

“Foundl–” Ellie sputters behind him, but Joel cuts her off.

“Yes,” he says firmly.

Din is quiet for another long moment - Joel gets the sense that the other Mandalorian is a man of very few words - and Grogu coos again, his attention now on a bug crawling through the grass near him. His father looks down at him and…it surprises Joel, the visible way Din’s posture loosens and relaxes, watching Grogu waddle along slowly.

“I know a place,” he says softly, breaking the still air. His helmet is still angled towards Grogu, tracking every small move the child makes. “Safe. Quiet. Shouldn’t have any issues there.”

Relief wraps around Joel like a blanket, a weight he hadn’t even realized was on his chest lifting. “Thank you.”

Din nods. “This is the way.”

“This is the way.”

–

Joel’s careful as he sets down the ship in the field, already noting the heads emerging from a nearby field to watch him warily. They were a peaceful people, Din had said, but wary of outsiders. But once he found Omera and introduced himself, they’d relax and he and Ellie would be given shelter.

He looks back at Ellie, watches her peering out the window curiously. “Stay close to me,” he orders. “Don’t say anything.”

Ellie just rolls her eyes at him, traipsing along dutifully behind him. “Yeah, yeah.”

A fair number of people have gathered by the time he lowers the ramp and the two of them descend, the looks on their faces ranging from curious to openly hostile. Joel’s careful to keep his hands visible and away from the weapons on his hips, eyes flicking quickly from one person to the next.

“We’re not lookin’ for trouble,” he says loudly when they’re within earshot. “I was sent here by a friend. I’m lookin’ for Omera.”

A quick flurry of whispers passes through the crowd, heads turning and words hidden behind hands. Two people peel off from the group and dart away, and Joel watches them go with narrowed eyes. Nobody else says anything after they leave, all eyes remaining on Joel and Ellie. He can see them examining him from helmet to booted feet, taking in the dents on his armor, the gleam of the beskar on his chest, the gun at his hip.

But they all remain distant and observant until the two return, this time with a willowy woman with brown hair between them.

“Who are you?” She asks without preamble, coming to a halt ten feet away.

“Name’s Joel,” he replies gruffly. “This is Ellie –” he gestures behind him and sees her lift her hand in a wave from the corner of his eye “– and we need your help. Got some people after her, and my friend, another Mandalorian, said this was a safe place, if you’ll let us stay for a bit.”

“Hmm.” Her gaze narrows, lips pursing. “This friend - tell me about them.”

Joel shifts, eyes drifting past her to the still-swelling group of villagers behind her. “He’s a Mandalorian, like me. Travelin’ with his kid, small green child. Helped y’all get some raiders to leave you alone, him and Cara Dune.”

Omera’s face relaxes more and more with each word he utters, something wistful passing through her eyes before she looks away.

“Any friend of his is a friend of mine,” she says softly. “Come with me.”

–

It takes very little time at all for Sorgan to feel like home. The other children in the village take to Ellie almost immediately, and while there’s some lingering wariness towards Joel, it fades more and more each day. He doesn’t know how long they’ll be able to safely stay here, but he’s content in a way he hasn’t been in years.

“Joel!” Ellie yells, the door banging against the wall as she barges in. “Guess what?”

He uncrosses his boots, smiling behind his helmet at the sight of her. Covered in grass and dirt and what looks a bit like slime. “What, kiddo?”

She kicks off her shoes by the door, chest heaving. “I finally - fucking - beat - Visz - racing –” She doubles over, sucking in air to catch her breath.

Joel chuckles. “Nice. How about you celebrate by goin’ to wash up and get ready for dinner?”

Ellie salutes him and turns down the hall towards her room. Joel gets up to check behind her that the door’s shut properly, the curtains drawn over the windows. And then he sets the table, listening all the while for the sounds of Ellie cleaning up and returning.

Carefully, with a measured breath that does nothing to slow the way his pulse is racing, Joel lifts his helmet from his head and sets it on the side table. The breastplate and shoulder pauldrons follow, one piece at a time until he’s left in a simple long-sleeve shirt and the armor covering his legs.

And then he waits.

It’s only a few more minutes before Ellie emerges, water dripping from the ends of her hair. She’s looking down at the ground as she walks, not paying him the slightest bit of attention until she rounds the corner.

“Hey Joel, did we –”

Ellie halts so fast that she nearly over balances, eyes wide and jaw hanging. Joel doesn’t say anything, just sits with his elbows braced on his knees and his hands clasped, waiting for her reaction.

Her eyes flick to the helmet and back to him again, raking over his face. “You - you’re not wearing your helmet.” Joel inclines his head. “But you –” she pauses, clearly thinking back months ago, when he’d told her why he wore the helmet all the time. Ellie swallows. “You said you only take it off around…family.”

“I did,” Joel agrees softly.

Ellie clears her throat, takes a few careful steps forward. “So…I’m not just cargo?”

Joel’s throat tightens, jaw grinding, silently cursing himself. “No, baby girl, you’re not.”

“Okay.” A few more steps forward, until her feet are brushing the tips of his boots. “Okay, cool.”

He feels exposed in a way he’s not used to, watching Ellie take in every possible facet of his face - the scars, the wrinkles, the gray peppering his beard and hair. Nothing hidden from her this time around.

“You’re old,” Ellie finally says with a giggle. Her hand lifts, one of her fingers poking gently at his cheek. “How do your bones not collapse with all that armor, don’t they deteriorate at some point?”

“Little shit,” Joel says affectionately, batting her hand away and poking her own cheek in turn. She laughs again, hand falling to her side.

“Old man,” she retorts playfully. And then before Joel can blink - or even register the movement - she’s flung her arms around his neck, face buried in his shoulder. Automatically his own arms come up and wrap around her small frame in turn. She stays there for a minute and Joel lets her, hand rubbing softly between her shoulder blades. He waits for her to detach first, watches carefully as she steps back and scrubs at her cheek. 

“C’mon, kiddo,” Joel nudges her towards the table. “Let’s eat dinner.”

thanks for reading! you can find the full ficlet collection on my ao3.

anon, if this wasn't quite what you were looking for please let me know, and i'll try again!

[thebrandywine]

20 Questions for Fic Authors

@catgirladjacent tagged me! and i like to infodump! let's go!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

97 including some that are under pseuds, though I did orphan a few once I started fixating on Resident Evil more fully. I was embarrassed lmao

2. What is your AO3 wordcount?

865,796 o__o

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Resident Evil exclusively now!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

don't worry about this one cuz it's under a pseud lol

[every picture tells a story], 387 kudos

[lantern], 376 kudos

broken machine, 356 kudos

[the quality of mercy], 332 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments?

I do!!! more often than not it's just with some emojis now lol but i relish and treasure every single comment i get

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

oh, this one has yet to be published :) don't worry! <3

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

hmm... probably Two Cakes (which is coming out this month)? made me feel all sappy at least :]

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not now, but I definitely got some hateful comments on things when i was a lot younger-- mostly people complaining that i was a bad writer or that i should delete (which i did, so they got their wish lol). now if anything i mostly get people who comment on my stuff to kind of pressure me to update XYZ (the nivannedy catboy fic is notorious for this, which is why i haven't been working on it very much lately). the block button is my friend tho <3

9. Do you write smut? If so, which kind?

yeah :)

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest crossover you’ve ever written?

Nope!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

no

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i think someone wanted to at one point and then never did lol

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

i've talked with some people about this before but we've never gotten around to it :P

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

i love chreon but there's just SOMETHING about nivannedy---

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

the lethan re7/re8 rewrite. i really want to keep working on them but i just have so much more on my plate that i keep pushing it off, especially when it'll require the research of rewatching playthroughs a few times to reimaging the plot points. maybe one day tho!!

16. What are your writing strengths?

i've been told that my dialog is good which makes me happy because there are a few fics where i'm actually really proud of it :3

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

describing things, especially people! for some reason i always feel like it breaks the flow so i just... am like "there is a man. anyway--" sorry readers but it's your job to imagine him skjfnskdnf

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i only speak english and i'm also VERY american. i don't personally want to mess around with that because it would be google translate type shit and that's just sad imo :/ so since i don't know enough i will abstain

19. First fandom you wrote for?

pokemon!!!!!!!!! i literally found THE first fic i ever wrote which would have been somewhere between third and fifth grade because i PRINTED IT and DREW PICTURES. it is called The Mysterious Manaphy and makes no sense. i read it aloud to my partner and they howled. yeah, it was just that good

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

listen, i love broken machine, but dualities has seriously taken the cake!!!!!!!!!

thank you for tagging me claire :3 i tag @flurrin @fonulyn and @silvercap!!!

[agirlwholovesrockstars]

𝖄𝖔𝖚 𝖒𝖆𝖐𝖊 𝖒𝖊 𝖋𝖊𝖊𝖑 𝖇𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖓𝖊𝖜

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓢𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓷

"𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦?"

彡 𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼 𝓶𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓽 彡

✦ 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 | 𝚎𝚙𝚒𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚞𝚎 ✦

𝕾𝖚𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖞 : clear and blue skies, your family, your comrades, and you're with your lover, the horror from your kingdom has come to an end but will your mind be free from all the fury that's in your heart?

𝖂𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝕮𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖙 : it taken me a month to finish this 💀 my bad

𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖘 : 18+ LostPrince!Knight!Eddie Munson x Princess!FEM!reader, cursing, reader and Eddie are both (21), trauma, reader having phobias, survivors guilt, slight allusions to su*cide, reader will be having a lot of struggles on this chapter, Henry & Jason will be mentioned! (I'm sorry), holding grudges, all of the characters will reoccur on this, not giving away any more spoilers but that's it!

𝖂𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖙𝖔 𝕰𝖝𝖕𝖊𝖈𝖙 : ANGST and FLUFF, dark fantasy, romance, set in 17th century, no more upside down

𝕹𝖔𝖙𝖊 𝕿𝖔 𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖗 : omg, this whole other world that I made is slowly closing to an end! I'm so happy for the people who are still here and waiting for the next chapter, I'm so thankful like literally! I'm so grateful! 🥺🫶🏻✨

𝕬𝖚𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖗 𝕹𝖔𝖙𝖊 : I ain't gonna suffer you guys no more from the angst! don't worry! I just felt it will be too easy when reader is like "okay" with everything that just happened you know?

☆ EDDIE MUNSON'S MASTERLIST ☆

❣ AGATHA'S MAIN PAGE ❣

"No!"

"Shh, it's okay, Y/N, I'm here"

"Eddie?"

"Yes, it's me"

"O-Oh no- I did it again, didn't I?"

"No, it's not your fault, sweetheart"

You embrace him very hardly to make sure you're not trapped inside of your nightmare

Another nightmare again

The terror, lost lives, your parents, your friends, the destruction of your land that almost crumbled down to never been seen again it has made you feel doubtful to believe that it won't ever happen again

Eddie knows that Henry and Jason spoiled your mind with such things that he wishes there's another way to fix this

He forever cursed them because they're the ones brought you trauma

They're the reason why you don't have a family anymore

They killed your father

The most mind-shattering of it all, they're also the ones who killed your mother

"E-Eddie, I am s-so sorry"

"Please, don't be sorry"

"I really thought I'm going to lose you"

"That was just a bad dream, it's over"

"Don't ever let me go? Please?"

"I won't"

It has been like this and you're so sick and tired of it

It has been like this, for over a week and you might afraid if it goes on and on for days, months and years

You know better

You know better that you must escape this box that Henry and Jason made you tie down to their hellish world

The sun beams, the wind swirls through the white fabric curtains from your balcony

Eddie inhales the sweet morning air as he slowly opens his eyes and it lands on you

It's the same exact position when your natural melatonin visits you at night finally made you sleep

Eddie is concerned about it, ever since, you haven't gotten a lot of sleep when you find out about the truth about him

And with your parents

He knows that you're having a good rest at how your features seems relaxed and your breathing is even

A small smile tugs to his lips that urges him to bring you in closer to his body as you let out a little sigh as you flushed down on his side

You're now laying on his chest as he wraps his arms around you as he runs his hands up and down on your lower back, you snuggle up to him once more and he felt like he wants to shut his eyes once again because at how so comforted you feel

He felt it too, you feel so much better once you're with him, even the moment he rescued you when you accidentally hurt yourself for hitting your head on the reunion happened before

God, the white chiffon dress he once given to you always stays on his mind

Eddie believes in you, you know can get out of that hellhole that is trying to pull you down from that light that you supposed to reach

"Eddie? Are you in there?"

The voice of his uncle snaps out of his thoughts as you stir from your slumber

"Uh- one moment, uncle"

He carefully places your head back on the soft pillows as he covers you with blanket, you went onto the other side as you given into a deep sleep again

He places a kiss on your cheek as you sigh in contentment, he gave you a one last look before he headed outside along with his robe as he ties it

"Hey, son"

"Morning, uncle"

The maid is already in there with breakfast as he nods to bring it over inside

Wayne caught a glimpse of you on the bed and he sighs of relief

"Is she getting improvements?"

"She'll get there, just give her time"

He nods in understanding, "I know, it isn't my place to say words like this but, uh, I was there, before, Eddie- someone else has got to start leading the kingdom run again, her people needs her"

Eddie purses his lips as he clears his throat "I know, Wayne, I know"

Tears starts prickling into the old man's lashes as he gives his nephew a tight nod

"The village is going swell, I-I can't believe I am able to witness this again" Wayne chuckles in delightful way as he exhales through his nose

He knows what exactly what he means by that after Jason brainwashed the whole town by his wretched evil lies

It's been ages since the Munson's are free to walk around your kingdom

Even Wayne is in disbelief that it felt like nothing happened

It felt too real

It feels scary too, it terrifies him because it felt like a dream

"I trust you my boy, I know you're the only one who can help her"

"Yeah" he murmurs as he looks down, he began to fidget with his rings

Wayne saw it, "What's is it?"

That's where the water gushed down to his eyes as he cries in front of his old man

Wayne gave him a hug as he pats his back

"I'm just so nervous, I hate it that she has to feel this way, I wish I could just snatch that pain away from her"

"Don't ever let that nasty thought slide through you, don't ever let it get into you, you will be okay and she will be okay"

"The both of you will be okay like I always pictured"

The sunlight shoots through your eyes and it made you shut your eyes close

You groan and started to stretch your whole body on the bed, you reach your arm out to the other side to find an empty space

You opened up your eyes and sit up and you saw your silver breakfast tray, you heard small muttering outside of the room

You recognized the voices, it's Eddie and Uncle Wayne

You released a heavy sigh, you know what they're talking about and it overwhelms you

You know it's your responsibility

You know it's your obligation

You can't just skip this and neglect your kingdom fall behind

You stand up and you slipped on your robe and went your way onto the small coffee table

You stirred your coffee and ate a piece of bread, you exhale through your nose when it soothes out every ache inside of your body

You never felt in peace ever since you fought together

Thinking about eating normally, it makes you agitated

So, you've never had a proper meal until now

"Good morning, sweetheart" he says softly as he slowly closes the door

Your mouth is full, so, you just looked at him and nod

"How are you feeling?" He watches you intently

You swallowed and take a sip of your coffee and took a deep breath

"I know what you just talked about outside" you say without looking at him as you continue to eat

Eddie licks his lips together as he takes a seat beside you

"Y/N, you know we cared about you"

You just continued to chew absentmindedly

Eddie doesn't want it to take it too far but someone has to struck you with your duties

"People are asking about you, Y/N, they wanted you to serve them"

You stopped at mid-chew as you swallowed as wiped the residue at the table napkin and throw it on the tray

"Am I not allowed to take a moment to let it absorb everything that happened weeks ago?"

"It's almost a month, Y/N"

"I'm aware"

"I know you're getting upset but I'm your partner and as a partner I should be telling you that this isn't right"

Even Eddie knows you're mourning and it will be the hardest for you but you needed this confrontation

"I am grieving, Eddie"

"Aren't we all?"

You stood up to that and began to glare at him

"It's different for you-"

"Y/N, all of us had lost someone-"

"My mother just vanquished right before my eyes and years later without me knowing that she got murdered by the same man and I can't just process that!" You yell at him as your angry tears starts to stream down your cheeks

Eddie clenches his jaw as he seethes through his teeth but his eyes easily soften when he noticed that you're trying not to cry

You let out a exasperated sigh, you stuttered some incoherent words as you try to control your breath

"So, don't tell me that we both have the same losses" you sniffle as you turn your back away from him

He sighs as he stares at your back, "Y/N- I"

"It will never ever make me understand that why are you still here"

You could hear the heavy footsteps as he walks around to face you "What?"

You looked at him with a pained expression that he can't read "Why are you here? Eddie?"

He tilts his head as he chuckles dryly "I cannot grasp on the point of what you're talking about, honey"

"Aren't you not getting tired of me?"

He takes a step foot back at your words as he furrows his brows "What on earth are you talking about?"

You brushed past over him as you went outside in the balcony you rest your hands on the edge of the railings and he follows you

"Are you questioning my love and devotion for you?"

You turn your head at him as your hot-headed demeanor starts to falter

"Is it not enough? Are you falling out of love from me?"

You can see that he's worried, it flashes on his eyes

"N-No- it's not"

He nods carefully as he tries to look at you in the eyes

"Y/N, look at me" he holds both of your forearms

"I can't never spend another life with a wrong soul, it is you that I want forever in my life, the one that I wanted to see whenever I wake up day, noon, night, midnight for all eternity"

You sobbed at his words once again

Right there, you just realized at how lucky you are

Not only he is betrothed to you because of your royalties lie

But also because that he is truly the one for you

No matter how hard you tried to push him away from your darkest hours

He will always be there for you

"Eddie, I need you to leave"

"What?"

"I needed to be alone"

"Y/N- don't be like this, please"

"I just want a time for myself-"

"Y/N"

"Eddie! Please let me be!" You exclaimed as you murmur a small "sorry"

Eddie frowns but still manage to give you a small smile, he begrudgingly let his hold fall from your forearms as he takes his leave from your chambers

"....How is she?..." Jeff asks nicely, the concern is there, Eddie can notice it

"She's taking her time" Eddie rubs his hands across his face

"Do you think it will help?"

"Help what?"

"I don't know..." Gareth trails off as he continues walking outside of your castle, "I feel....guilty for uh- being rough at her at first, you know?" He briefly looks at his friend as he ducks his head down

Eddie chuckles as he nudges his shoulder "I'm sure, Y/N, doesn't mind it"

"Even if she doesn't mind- I mean, If only I knew about her....personal life, well then I guess shouldn't acted that way"

"You've always been like that to anyone, Gareth"

He rolls his eyes, "Is it a bad idea that I want to apologize to her?

"and besides, I'm not like that anymore"

Eddie and Jeff raises both of their brows as Gareth looks back at them and he scoffed as he shook his head sideways

"I'm only like that when it's necessary" He points it out and he shrugs

"I don't know if it's because of the demogorgons made you changed your behavior but I'm glad that you're taking a step to improve your character" Eddie rests his palm on his shoulder as Gareth grows a smile on his lips

"Don't let it get into his head, man, it feeds his ego" Jeff jokingly said as Gareth elbows him on the stomach

"See?!?" Jeff gestures his friend silly actions

Eddie and Gareth laughed but it dies down when a frantic maid is worried about your state

"Sir, uh- Eddie"

"Yes?"

"it seems to be that Princess Y/N is not to be found everywhere"

"What?"

"She's not in her chambers, sire"

"But where could she be?"

"We looked everywhere-"

"Not even in the sanctuary room?"

"No, she's not there"

Jeff and Gareth open the big doors to enter your castle as Eddie commands the maid to look for you and asked the guards to start the search

"Wh-What in the world is happening here?" Enzo gulps in his flask as he asks one of the boys

"Y/N is missing" Jeff answers as he looks at Eddie in concern

"Eddie, don't worry, we will find her like we always do" Gareth reassures him as he pats his back

"I'll get, Wayne" Enzo nods at the boys as they began to move

"Enzo- I" Eddie breathes heavily as Enzo jogged towards to him

"We had an argument earlier and I think- maybe she-" Eddie eyes became blurry to his own tears as he tries to catch up with his breath

"No-No, don't think like that, we are here to help, Eddie"

"Ri-Right" Eddie sniffles as he straightens himself up

A million thoughts began to drill into his mind

Is it because of his choice of words?

Did he hurt you because of it?

Did you hate him?

He will forever loathe himself, if he founds you in a way that will scar him

A scar that can never be healed

Where would you go?

Did you run away from him?

Or your responsibilities?

"Dear sweet flower, life of a royalty can never be easy, there will be a lot of pressures and expectations from you"

"You will face enemies and betrayal, so, you must choose your people wisely"

"You will experience a lot of emotions and If only I could get you take away from all of it, from all of the grotesque things in the world"

"But that's not right on how to teach your child, Is it not? to keep you on locked doors of what it's like out there in the beyond"

"You have to learn how to survive and deal with the ugly and the beauty of the real world"

"You will feel sad, hurt, angry, but you will also feel happy, love, care"

"But that's how life works, right?"

"Show em' what you can do, how brave, bright, and mighty you are, but you also need to learn how to control your power and not get ahead of yourself when you're in the zone"

You try to remember your mother's words and it makes your heartache

You didn't even know that you're crying because not only you can recall her words that she said to you as a kid

But also you can still hear what her voice sound like

Every word from memory, it echoes into your mind and your heart

You run your fingertips on the wooden floors that your mom painted with variety of flowers

"I miss you so much, Mom" you cried out as you let all of the tears fall

You needed this

You have to get this out

You'll pour out all of the saddest elements inside of your body, mind, and soul

"Mom, if you're out there or here with me, I just want to let you know that I love you and please, forgive me that I haven't spoken about you and I'm so sorry for what happened to you, I don't know why am I saying this...." You weep horribly on the ground as you keep looking with a sad smile on your face

There's a one painting of a rose that is a little bit smudged out

You chuckle lightly as the memory reels into your mind, "Remember this? Mom? I was so upset that I messed it up but you let me calm down because you said sometimes messy can be beautiful and it doesn't always have to be perfect"

You chuckle yet again as you nod along with the memory

"Your words didn't die, it lives within me"

"You remind me that being a royal is a duty and it's our purpose to run a kingdom that is safer and humane"

"It is not about the crowns and being wealthy"

"We are not different like them, we are the same as one and we always be equal to who we are"

You wiped your tears as you incredulously laugh for a bit "That's why Henry and Jason hated you, Mom"

"Dad, continued just like the way you wanted it"

"Any sign of her yet?" Eddie pants as he rests his palms over his knees as they both reunited in the middle on the hallway inside of your castle

"No" Gareth shakes his head as he leans against the wall

"Do you have any specific places that you both hang out that only the two of you know about it?"

"No, I already went there and she's not there in the pavilion" he replies as he wipes the perspiration on his forehead

"I heard about what happened" Wayne approaches him along with Enzo

"Oh, Uncle Wayne-" he cuts him off

"Don't apologize, I'm sure she didn't even mean the words that she thrown at you"

"Did you check every inch of the place?" Enzo asks the two boys who looked wasted as they catch their breath

"Yeah, man, we've been through everywhere and we even ask anyone" Jeff answers as he exhales

"Now, I'm getting rattled by this, no one has ever seen her since-" Enzo as he takes a swig from his flask

"After we argued" Eddie finishes off the sentence as he guilty nods and shrugs

"Don't fret, I think I know where could she might be" Wayne holds his nephew by his shoulders

Jeff, Gareth, Enzo looked over at Wayne

"Tell me!"

Eddie ran and ran as fast as his feet could do

He went around the corner and went running forward at the direction where it leads to you

He avoids his brain formulating of the picture of you that he is haunted by it

He doesn't want that, he doesn't want to see it, he wishes that it will never happen

His lungs might be begging for a rest but this isn't what he needs to do

Your life and your existence is his priority at the moment

He won't rest until he sees you okay and well

His eyes hurt by the tears that he continues to stop from falling

He grunts and almost trips and knocks over a couple of vases for trying to look for you

His voice cracked up as he calls for your name

"Y/N?!?"

You turn your head around at the face and you're sitting down on the ground at the center of your parents garden

You couldn't even processed that it's Eddie running over to you as he goes down onto his knees as he pulls you through him

He didn't even double think of holding you and embracing you into his arms

You're confused about why he is acting this way and you noticed that he just cried not too long ago

He pulls you back as he starts cradling both of your cheeks, he studies every single expression on your face, he inspects every part of your body

"E-Eddie- what?"

"Please! Don't ever do that again!" He grabs both of your forearms as you get startled by the raising tone of his voice as he muttered "sorry"

He inhales as he clears his throat and steadying his breath

"I-I thought you've done something to yourself" He weeps in front of you and now you finally understand why he is so perturbed

"Oh...Eddie" your eyes became glossy as you hug him again as you run your hand up and down on his back

"Is it something that I said?" He whispers as he sniffles

"No-no, it's not, Eddie- I just needed to clear up my mind" you said not letting go of him just yet

He caresses your hair as he breathes through the crook of your neck

"I-I'm relieved to see that you're fine"

"Eddie, you know I would never do a thing like that and I'm sorry for making you distressed"

"Just please, tell me where you we're going, if you want to be alone, okay? Sweetheart?"

"Okay"

"Eddie, it's time" Enzo opens the door as he awaits for him

"Yeah, I'll be there" He says as he fixes his linen shirt, he sees you in the reflection his eyes softens

You're taking a sip of your coffee as you read your favorite fantasy book in the balcony

"Y/N"

"Yeah?" You looked at him and you blushed "You look very dashing, Eddie" you smile sheepishly

He grins as he leans down on you wraps his arms around you behind your back as he rests his head over your shoulder

"You don't have to go if you really don't want to, no pressure" He whispers as he kisses your neck, you nod as you think about it

You're feeling a whole lot better after those dreadful weeks

You didn't get the same nightmares you had before

You're slept well, you've been eating gladly, yes, sometimes, you get so blue but it's also bittersweet that this is progress

You're finally moving forward and you will never looked back at the past ever again

You won't forget those people who chose their life in danger for your own sake

They chose you because your own people and your friends believe in you

You won't waste their sacrifices, you're going to make it last

You won't let them down, life has made you rough and mature but you didn't never lose yourself

"Eddie?"

"Yes?"

"You might be late"

"Right"

"You know Wayne didn't like tardiness" you chuckle as he snorted

"Yeah, I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Okay"

He places a quick kiss on your lips as he hold your cheek for a moment before he leaves

You placed down your book on the table as you deeply sighs as you stare at the sky and you let winds of change move you

You inhale the sweet morning smell of fresh air and flowers blooming through your corridor

And then.... that's where it got you

You know what exactly what your father told you on what you should do in the future

This is the future

You pull down the ring from your bedside

"Yes, your grace?" The maid walked in as she saw you standing in front of your vanity

"Can you help me with the gown that I'm going to wear this morning?"

The maid didn't even hide the knowing smile on her face as you gave her back the same gesture, she nods happily as she helps you get ready

"Is she not going to join us?" Enzo asks as he combs through his hair

"Events like this- it's nerve-wracking- I don't blame her for not going" Eddie says as he straightens himself up

"Boys, don't ruffle your linen shirts like that" Wayne spoke and walks over to them but stops abruptly as he tuts at their attire

Jeff and Gareth looked at their clothes as they dart their eyes on Eddie

"It should be something like my nephew over there" he points it out and gave a tight nod to him

Eddie smiled proudly at himself "Well done, son"

"Like a true prince" Enzo jokes, as Eddie chortled

"Yeah, yeah, alright- alright we're going to fix it" Gareth flips them both off as he brings the ruffles back inside of his vest

"Like how are we supposed to know the right way to wear this" Gareth adds as he struggles to make it right

"And he said that he wasn't like that anymore" Jeff mocks him some of his words before

Enzo and Eddie laughed as they left an overdramatic Gareth behind as he jogged to them

"Good day, everyone, Thank you for joining us in this coronation day" Wayne greeted the whole town

Eddie glanced at the crown that is meant for him but he stares longer at the one who is still in the case

He knows that one it's meant for you

"My dear boy, Edward Munson is going to be the town's king"

Eddie gulped, he wishes that you're here as his knee bopped up and down in an anxious way

"Miss Y/N, our princess won't-" Wayne cuts off at the townspeople clamoring about something else

"Look, it's the princess!" One of the kids points a finger at you

Enzo, Jeff and Gareth stood up and is very delighted to see you

Eddie slowly gets up and it's enamored by your presence

Both of your eyes meet and locked in as he saw something about you

You may be not the same girl as you was before but what can see is a true woman

A woman that is ready to fill in the shoes that it needs

Not a princess, not about being a royalty

It's the real you that he sees, he knows that you've never lost it

He nods as he began to start clapping, Enzo, Jeff and Gareth and even Wayne is an awe as they also clap their hands

The rest of the crowd begins to applause as well

You're touched at how they cheer for you

They open up the case, you curtsey as you lean down forward your head as you looked up to Wayne who is about to place the crown on you

He looked at your eyes directly, he smiles that he can also see it too at this gratifying moment

Eddie goes beside you didn't even need to look at your side because you already know who it is and both of you automatically laced your hands together

You wave at them happily

"Eddie?"

"Yeah, darling?"

"How will I ever repay for you having faith in me?" You say as you step closer to him

He blinks the tears away from his eyes as he tightens his hold on you

"You don't have to do anything because I will forever remain at your side" He says as he kisses your hand

You brightly smile at him as you looked behind your back

You see Jeff whoops both of your names in celebration, Gareth jumping up and down in excitement and Enzo wincing how loud the two are but a fond smile sitting on his face, you laughed at the sight of it

You watched Wayne placed the crown on Eddie as the crowd roars and screams in victory

"Hawkins, you have your King and Queen!" Wayne announces as you both gathered around him in a tight hug

"Y/N?"

"Yes, Dad?"

"What will you do if you found your other half in life and that person will be your partner?"

"Never leave them, always encourage them to be the best version of themselves, the unwavering trust and be on their side through ups and downs"

"That's my girl!"

"You know what you're going to do?"

"it's only getting started, Dad"

[possessesnightshift]

absolutely hilarious to me that people assign moral weight to the us election.

"oh no if i vote for joe biden im a BAD PERSON :( :("

its like if i went to a restaurant when i was starving, and the waiter tells me the only two possible options are poisonous pufferfish and literal arsenic

"what the fuck? is there not a third choice? can i request a lasagna or something?"

"oh certainly we can do that, that'll just be an extra $20,000 charge"

"what? i can't afford that! fuck ok just give me the pufferfish"

and then i eat the poison i was offered, immediately get sick and regret it and then somehow come to the conclusion

'fuck man why did i decide to eat a poisonous fish. what a bad call. why didn't i just starve myself or spend $20,000? what was i thinking?'

the fact that our democratic system is (get this) not actually all that democratic is not because you're a bad leftist. this is a structural problem that has been around far longer than you and will be here long after you're gone.

i'm sorry oct 7 revealed that democrats and republicans have the same corrupt values when it comes to foreign policy. im sorry the illusion of some semblance of an anti-imperialist faction of govt has been shattered. but the truth is the elections of 2008, 2012, and 2016 all featured democrats addicted to drone striking the middle east. do you think anyone would have taken you seriously if you said you were voting for trump in 2016 to STOP CLINTON'S FASCIST POLICIES?? people would think you'd lost your mind.

i know im screaming into the void, and i know people who are convinced that not voting for biden = support for gaza won't ever let go of the one sliver of control they feel they have in regards to this crucial issue. but like...

remember the people who work every day to keep society structured this way. we can recognize that taking individual responsibility for the climate crisis too strongly benefits bp and exxon mobil by shifting the blame away from them and implying the individual consumers are responsible. so why can't we apply the same concept to this election?

i'm warning you all. if we fuck this up again in 2024, the dnc will assume biden lost because he WASN'T FASCIST enough. and this will inform the political direction of each new democrat until they slip further to the right than trump is RIGHT NOW.

We've got about 5 months to get this right. Don't check out until we're past the finish line...

[rimupon]

While I wouldn't say I'm new to Youjo Senki, I'm not particularly deep into it either. (Watched the anime a few years ago, rewatched it every few months, only recently started the manga) However, I would still like to ask for fanfic recommendations, because I'd like to see everyone's favourite child soldier in Situations. So yea, recommendations?

Omg I’m sorry it took so long for me to answer I completely forgot this was in my inbox aaaa

So, a long while ago I actually did write up a fic rec list. but I think by now I have a few more things I could add to it…? I don't really have a lot more, so I’d recommend checking that one if you want more than what I have here.

Ok first, I wouldn’t necessarily say this is one of my personal recommendations, but literally since I saw the name 'necromancerfan' in my notifications, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I was like 'Do they know? Are they referencing it? That couldn’t possibly be the case, but…' So, purely because of your name:

The Necromancer by LeviTamm The author is a really good writer, Tanya’s inner dialogue & reactions are absolutely fucking hilarious, she’s so sick of everything. But I can only really 'recommend' this with a HUGE warning and disclaimer that this fic has some pretty heavy and graphic descriptions of gore and violence. I’m talking five whole chapters of mutilation and torture. Quite disgusting descriptions imo. I personally did not finish it, but I also have friends that swear it’s good and the gore isn’t that bad. It's a matter of taste and sensitivity, I think. I really recommend you read the full author’s note at the beginning so you know what you’re getting into and from there decide whether it’s something you can read.

Ok, that was probably a bit of a weird one to start with, but I couldn’t not mention it, y'know. Moving on!

This would not be a fic rec list if I did not expound the virtues of my dear friend Tan. (Ao3 Link)

You should read all their fics really, they’re great. If you’re looking for a place to start, a non-exhaustive unordered list of my recent personal favorites: Paradise Praxis, Keychains, How I Met Your Uncle, Those Who Dare, Just Guys Being Dudes, The Ending You Desired

There’s more but if you let me continue we’d be here all fucking day and by the end I would’ve just linked their whole account.

The Devil on the Throne by springpoweredtoaster In summary, the whole Commonwealth royal family dies, leaving the government to scramble to find a still-living blood relative. This leads to Tanya becoming the Queen. I don't believe I’m fully caught up anymore, it’s been updated since I last checked in, but I remember really loving the first book.

A Young Girl's Delinquency Record by GremlinJack I think this is one that gets put on a lot of rec lists, but I didn't include it in my previous recommendations because I hadn’t read it at the time. Now that I have, I’m doing so. In summary, Tanya becomes a wanted international criminal on the run, and starts picking up many successful business ventures. Also Visha/Tanya is the focal ship.

Hostage by TheVideoGamer This is another one I kinda hesitate to recommend, but this time it's because of the subject matter. I really do feel like it’s a good fic if you’re looking for angst, but I have to recommend it with a huge trigger warning. This fic covers the topic of child sexual abuse, absolutely don’t read it if that’s a trigger for you.

The only reason I can recommend this fic is that it is NOT written as a lolicon rape fetish to get off on, it’s treated as the serious and delicate matter that it is. Summary for this one is that Tanya ends up taken hostage by Loria.

If you’re (rightfully) concerned, here are spoilers below if you want to know how it ends to determine whether you want to read it.

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While it is attempted, sexual abuse is stopped before it can happen. Physical abuse does happen in this fic, though. In the end, Tanya does end up rescued and brought back to the empire, and Loria is killed.

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Alright, I think that's the end. In the end I didn't really have much to add, I suppose? Thank you for asking though!

[sunnyrosewritesstuff]

For the Sweet and Spice Bingo: cooking together with Bofur and Bilbo please? <3

First off Lathalea, I'M SO SORRY ABOUT HOW LONG THIS TOOK! Not to sound too much like a fanfic writer, but my health has taken a bit of a hit this month...on top of various natural disasters. 🤣

But this was something different for me and I do appreciate the challenge! 😊 I hope you enjoy.

Pairing: Bilbo x Bofur

Words: 928

Warnings: mentions to canon character deaths (but literally just in passing, this is actually a fairly fluffy fic)

“Now Bilbo, you should know I’m not anywhere close to as good a cook as my brother.” Bofur explained as he let the hobbit drag him along.

“Well I suppose it’s rather a good thing that I do know what I’m doing.” Bilbo remarked wryly. “I just need someone handy with a knife to dice for me, and you seem to fit the bill well enough.”

“Alright, alright.” He laughed.

The truth was Bofur was rather excited to get to spend some time with Bilbo. He had taken the Durins’ deaths just so hard, not that any of the rest of them were any better. Bofur was more than happy to be the one to put a smile back on the hobbit’s face. Without any more complaints, Bilbo had Bofur shoved into his small kitchenette, halfing cherries and other assorted berries.

“What is it that we’re making here again?” He asked as his knife slid smoothly through the blackberries.

“This is my Mam’s magic berry tarts.” Bilbo explained as he rolled out the dough.

“And what’s magic about it?” Bofur teased.

Bilbo gave a sort of breathless laugh, before his smile turned bitter.

“She always used to pull them out and let me help make them any time I was upset. Slipped down the Hill and scraped my knee? Magic berry tarts. It’s a rainy day with nothing to do? Magic berry tarts. Theo Brandybuck turning down my flower? Magic berry tarts. Somehow the process of making them helped me forget about whatever was on my mind.”

“And what exactly am I helping to distract you from?” Bofur asked softly.

Bofur half-expected to see Bilbo’s expression turn sour, but the little hobbit merely gave a sigh and a considering look. 

“Spring is almost upon us. I’ve been thinking about the Shire more and more with each passing day.”

It was a rather innocent statement, but one that caught Bofur off-guard all the same. He should have been expecting it. They had all wondered what Bilbo's plans would be, especially after he declined Gandalf’s invitation to travel with him after the grizzly battle that named Dain king rather than the one they followed. 

“And you’re thinking of…going back?” Bofur asked carefully as he placed the cut berries in the bowl next to Bilbo’s elbow.

“I’m not sure.” Bilbo admitted as he directed Bofur to cut his dough into squares. “There are many reasons to leave, only one really left on why I should stay. But I dare say it’s a worthwhile reason.”

Bofur slowed down on cutting the dough as he observed Bilbo. His attempts to keep from making eye contact. The blush that carried all the way up to his pointy little ears. Bofur felt like he had been stabbed in the stomach, but he forced a teasing grin anyways.

“Oh! So someone has caught our illustrious burglar’s eye then! Well out with it. Is it Nori? Is it that bloke from the Iron Hills who you’ve been talking to about pipeweed? There’s no shame a-course! He’s a fine lad with a rather lovely beard…”

Bilbo’s brows furrowed together as he shook his head, pausing in folding in the berries.

“No, how did you…? Ahem. No, it’s not Nori. And it’s not Durlik.”

Silence settled between them at the confirmation that there was someone in the mountain Bilbo was being sweet on. Bofur cut the last square, wiping his hands off on his pants when he was done.

“There now! Well then, if that’s all I should probably go. I think Bif was waiting for me down in his workshop after all. But I will happily accept some of these delicious magic tarts when you’re finished baking them!”

“WAIT!” Bilbo cried out, reaching out for Bofur’s sleeve.

The dwarf froze as the hobbit stood there. Wide-eyed. Almost shocked by his own actions. 

“I, uh…” Bilbo coughed as he began to fidget in place. “That is to say…part of the magic of magic berry tarts…is that you make them with someone you care for.”

Bilbo looked up at him from under his lashes as his formed fists bounced against the side of his thighs. Bofur stared at him blankly. Well of course, that’s what being a friend was…oh. Oh. He wasn’t quite certain what look was on his face as he figured it out, but he could tell Bilbo knew as the perceptive hobbit’s mouth quirked into a quick weak smirk.

“You know…” Bofur began, his voice unusually hoarse. “I would think if your only reason for not going back to the Shire was because of a single person…well that’d be a mighty silly reason.”

Bilbo’s entire expression drooped as his eyes turned straight down to his furry little toes. Bofur had to put his hand under his chin to get him to look back at him. 

“After all, I’m a rich dwarf now. I could plant roots just about anywhere I want to, I reckon. Also I’m not afraid to tell you that I’ve never met him, but Theo Brandybuck sounds like an idiot. Anyone would be lucky to accept a flower from Bilbo Baggins, this dwarf included.”

Outwardly, Bilbo didn’t seem to react much beyond a soft sigh and a twitching nose. However, his soft hazel eyes were practically brimming with emotions. 

“Well then.” Bilbo breathed. “I guess that’s that then. See? I told you. Magic berry tarts.”

Bofur laughed as he pulled Bilbo in for a hug, not feeling quite brave enough to kiss him. Luckily, bravery was not a trait the hobbit was short on. 

[pipermca]

Writing Update - June 2024

June is in the history books! I had a huge thing at work this past month, which has taken a lot of my brain power. Now that project is out of the way, I fully intend to do a bit of coasting at work for a little while. (I'm not sure how much coasting I can do, but we'll try. lol)

That said, I did get a lot of writing done! I finished up my Reverse Big Bang fic (look for that in a few weeks!) and worked on a couple of other projects that interested me. I ran a poll a few weeks ago to see what people were interested in seeing from me, and the two big long fics I've been working on... tied. (One was ahead on Tumblr, while the other was ahead on Twitter, and if I combined the votes they literally tied.) At this point I'm just letting my brain work on whatever it wants to work on, although I would like to start posting that one fic later this summer. (And new today, I think I'm coming down with a summer cold. Hopefully it doesn't stick around for very long.)

Anyway, I wrote a total of 8960 words in June, blowing past the 3000 word goal. And I'm approaching another milestone: I have one more fic left in one of the compilation series I took down. (Two of the stories in that compilation were completely reworked and became the start for The Renegade and the Hound, so I won't be reposting those. That means there will be a total of 28 fics/chapters in the series.) After that I think I only have a few more to repost from the other compilation, and then I'll be all caught up. Huzzah!

And a follow up from last month's wrap up, I decided not to participate in the other Big Bang. I'm kind of regretting not signing up, but I know it was probably a good decision. I didn't need anymore obligations on my plate at the moment.

Posted

A Different Me. 830 words. This is a comic script of a scene from A Bonding, a Coronation, and a Funeral. It's one of the scripts I've been wanting to get done, so this feels good to have it posted!

Goat Crossing. 1000 words. This fic was reposted/rewritten. It was backdated to its original posting date (November 24, 2017) so it didn’t appear on AO3’s “front page.”

Family Ties. 2400 words. This fic was reposted/rewritten. It was backdated to its original posting date (November 26, 2017) so it didn’t appear on AO3’s “front page.”

WIPs

These are the works that I actually put words down for this month.

Reverse Big Bang fic. 9200 words. This one is done and just waiting for the posting period to start! Look out for a preview of this piece coming soonish. :)

The Prime and His Protector. 47,600 words. I will eventually start posting this, I swear. But also...

Resonant (working title). 2700 words. This is a prequel to The Prime and His Protector. Yes, a prequel to a fic that I haven't started posting yet. No, I don't know what I'm doing. Lol. this will probably get posted to Tumblr and Pillowfort in full first, and will only go up on AO3 once I start posting Prime and Protector. (It gives some back story to some background characters and adds tragedy to something that gets mentioned in chapter 1 of Prime and Protector. Sorry/not sorry.)

[orchidyoonkook]

personal

Hi, need to scream. Tumblr seems to listen best. can and please feel free to ignore.

okay so essentially my job has removed all of the things I use and need in order to be able to do my job with my mental disorder. my mental DISABILTY. that i was honest with them and told them about at my freaking trial shift. that i told them i needed certain things in order to do well. nothing drastic. but things that helped me significantly with my performace.

SOOOOOOOOO i am now severely struggling at my job because they've taken those away cuz they were 'annoying' or 'in the way' or 'clutter'. like. im not even leaving shit every where. It's like, maybe at most 3 sticky notes? (for example) and they're written just for me, like just so i can have a list of things i can do and know to go back and look on when i need a task because ive finished the one i was doing. but then my boss reads them and critiques them as if they're for everyone. or says 'okay yeah but we do that every day so i dont see why you have to write it down. you should know to do it by now' LIKE BRO. I forget to put deodorant on some days because of said mental disability. it's something i do and have done every day since i was 12 or 13. thats 12 years. and i still forget some days just cuz my brain wasn't working properly.

AND now due to this they have put me, one of the staff currently with more seniority than 3 other staff, down to one shift a week, while every one else is full time or heavily part time.

In march i was full time and kicking ass, I was the fastest employee on my tasks, i was doing great, the customers loved me and now that all of my things that i need in order to function have been removed for everyone else's aesthetic preferences, I'm suffering, and most likely being silently fired.

like... what do i do with that. I can do my job, with my accomadations - that arent that many btw - i dont expect them to move mountains for me. But dude. I hate this feeling so much because i'm capable, theyve seen me be capable. i was for 1.5 years. like i want to be good at my job. I like and enjoy being good at my job. i've told them that. I want to do good but my ability to be good is being derailed, and i just get told to try harder, just work harder, impress your boss with how hard you work -> for minimum wage, i might add.

and everyone is like "just get a new job, just apply for more jobs you're not applying for enough, literally just apply for everything, even if youre not qualified" and i cant just do that, due to said disability. there are jobs i am unable to do. so i have to be a lil picky otherwise i'll be right back where i am now. and ive been looking for months and applying for months with no luck - no one ever responds. why list jobs if you dont respond?????

it's getting to the point where im debating opening up drawing commissions or writing commissions, or something that i can make to earn a little extra cash here and there while i get over this transition period. And that's a big deal for me because i don't do commissions. I do my art for myself or for when i want to share something i've made already, like the UTWT books. Hell, I did a tattoo design for a friend on here that i put easily 40 hours into, and i felt guilty that they wanted to pay me for it because i'd asked them for the idea. Like, i don't do commissions. so for me to be considering it is really telling for me.

anyways. this is a bajillion words long now, but i already feel better. and I'm posting it in the middle of the night in hopes that the void just consumes it and never lets it see the light of day.

If you read this, thanks and sorry for the bummer of a post. This isnt a pity party or a poor yoon thing. I'm not looking for comfort or any of that. this is a 'i don't have a therapist and my friends and partner and family are sick of hearing me bitch, when i havent been able to fix it in months despite trying my best too' thing. so yeah..

i hope the new year brings me something good.

[id-rather-be-home]

oh no no, I really don't mean to make you feel disheartened nooo. like I said it was only if you're intention was for a switchvers fic because based on your responses lately I can't tell what the future vibe is. I think it's just the nature of the dynamic with the characters chosen! idk maybe it's not stoic... I saw in your other ask you said "will literally makes fun of mike and taunts him" n it reminded me how yeah, domming comes with that darker energy that takes over and so he's not going to be like himself regardless. the switch flip can be jarring in fic but it can happen in real life during sex, even if not to everybody. but the making fun of him is technically degradation not necessarily domming so that becomes a kink preference thing!

as for the disgust thing idk basically I've read the fic with moots and for example one said it was just his discomfort felt strong? but they likened it to how they personally couldn't picture will not liking it, or not feeling good after it, not the writing. i've read top mike bottoming fics and he usually enjoys it but I think that means the author is setting up switchvers (or just mike being a polite guy haha) instead of your fic which has grown to not be what was originally planned (maybe?), and so it's simply a different fic to those others! nothing bad!

and no no definitely not trashing, I know you like it all! it was maybe just some of the dialogue or yeah again his reaction after they finished. but that is your fic and vision, and what you felt best so reiterating I neverrrr want to tell someone how to write, and was just answering what you said in another ask about you wanting to keep in mind having something for everybody in it, which is why I just said as long as all is respected, you're so good! sorry for any panic

i think it's hard for me to tell people definitively what the future vibe of the fic is going to be because i'm not intentionally aiming for anything super specific. i enjoy both bottom mike and bottom will so i'll write them in whatever position i'm vibing with at the time i'm writing the chapter. the main consistency though is going to be a more dominant or assertive will with a submissive mike because i like it more

and when i said "makes fun of him" it isn't supposed to be taken like it's going to be in a super mean way that would require a 'darker energy' from will. will, as a character in the show, teases mike and is a little shit to him in some of the few scenes we get of them not fearing for their lives or battling with internalized homophobia and unrequited love. you could imagine my dom will having the same energy as he has in s3 during the dnd scene where he goes, "is it early, michael?" it's that sort of teasing! he isn't supposed to have some sort of dark energy to make him dominant

and to be honest, i don't know what your moot meant by suggesting will was uncomfortable or didn't like it. i re-read the chapter and will's headspace doesn't come across the way i thought it did when i was writing it - i think i was just not feeling confident as i was writing it. it's clear in the chapter that he's enjoying it and is engaged the whole time; in fact, he's taken by surprise by how sensitive he is and how much he wants from mike in that moment

though i'm really not sure how you wanted him to react at the end when they were finished?? he was tired (and sated, which i do say in the fic specifically) but wasn't a huge fan of the feeling of mike's cum leaking out of him which i think is fair? i could have gone into more of the aftercare stuff post-sex scene but i had lost steam by that point and just wanted to get the chapter posted since it had been literal months since i posted the last one

i think i just don't write bottom will in the way that you perceive him (or your mutuals) which is totally fine. i'm not expecting my fic to appeal to every single person who enjoys spicy byler. but, yeah, i think the future vibe of my fic is going to look a lot like how it looks now

i really hope this doesn't come across as rude! i'm just genuinely kind of baffled by the way will has been interpreted