#i had to make new link cause raiders again

[toxicanonymity]

raider masterlist

dark!Joel Miller x f!reader

new one shot Jan 5, 2025: forest floor. ⚠️ Nov 2024 note: this post hit the link limit, and I haven't decided what to do. I will still try to update the newest fic link above, but FYI it won't update a reblogged post.

moodboard by @milla-frenchy 🖤 a rb will not stay up-to-date.

SUMMARY: He's a bad guy, and you're his good girl. Joel saves you from bad men, but claims you for himself. His persona starts to crack, but he gets even more possessive. You're his world, and he'll do anything to keep you. Emotional slow burn but smut the whole time. WARNINGS: 18+ canon-typical violence, noncon via implicit threat, evolving to enthusiastic dubious consent (stockholm syndrome), depraved use of praise and pet names (sweet pea, baby), unsafe P in V, exhibitionism, extreme possessiveness, dark fluff (🖤), angst, and more. NO USE of Y/N, No physical description of reader.

Spotify: raider, sweet pea (smut) Optional reference: trailer floor plan

Carter masterlist

main story

Note, non-bold links in this section were written out of order and may contain spoilers or references to future events. their placement in this list is based on timeline.

Raider: (Mar 24, 2023) - He "saves" you, then has his way with you but is kinda sweet about it. Joel POV (Oct 3, 1k)

Failed Rescue (Apr 8 - 1.9k) Your bf tries to save you. Joel makes him watch then keeps you.

Stash House (Apr 11 - 850)- Joel takes you to the stash house and shows everyone you're his. Wash Bin 🖤 (Aug 27, 1k) Shooting Practice Drabble(Jul 28, 1.6k)

Failed Escape (Apr 23, 4k)- Joel saves you from FEDRA, bathes you, amd edges you.

J. Miller (May 19, 2k) - Joel labels you with his switchblade and claims all your holes. dark. Can be skipped.

Home (May 29, 1.3k) - Joel makes dinner at home, cleans your chest, and tucks you in. 🖤

Company (Jun 9, 2.2k) - Joel brings home a girl to distract his men. dark. Extra Scene - angst.

Close (Jul 3, 2.7k) - close call with other raiders. You-almost-died sex, and later, tender sex 🖤

Gun Hug (Jul 31, 3.7k) - Joel traps 2 bad guys with some help and kills them while you. . .🖤 If you want him (1.5k) - he holds out to see🖤

Night Air (Aug 30, 3.5k) - Joel is brutal with a bad guy and his POV reveals some feelings. 🖤 Bonus blurb, wakeup pwp drabble

Hunger (Sep 29, 7k) - Joel takes you on a trek, comforts you, kills a guy, and gives you head. 🖤 He's only human (1.1k) - 👱‍♂️Carter POV, overlaps w/ hunger.

No cliffhangers. Bulletin from Tox

Bodies (Dec 3, 7.8k) - Strangers show up and cause a shitstorm, but Joel takes a big step. 🖤 Raider POV

more (drabbles, etc)

🔥 smut

Trying to use him (800) (riding) 🔥

House meeting drabble 🖤

You get sick at night drabble 🖤

He goes down on you (oral f) 🔥

If you touched his scar

if men had hurt you in the past

if you got your period 🖤

magazine and makeup 🖤

yoga pwp drabble piv 1k 🔥

boots drabble (oral f receiving) 🔥

graveyard blurb (spice)

if you bit his arm drabble (p in v) 🔥

If you snapped (emotional spice) 🖤

face sitting on sofa 🔥

being bad, looking good (2.8k, smut) 🔥

Van ride drabble (800) 🖤

sleeping beast (<1k), PWP 🔥

If Joel was sick 🖤

If you were annoying

cutting his hair 🖤

waking up on top 🔥

tired 🖤

waking up on top again 🔥

Sweet pea overhears Joel 🔥

Choking on his dick (600) 🔥

his birthday 🥺

Note: not all content is linked. Asks can lead to lore, snippets, and previews or hints of future plot points, etc. which are not added here.

quickie (daddy kink scenario) 🔥

✨Roly poly - comfort 🖤

Headcanons (not written like fic)

If another man has his way (Q&A)

dacryphilia - evolved update (Q&A)

if you had scars or tattoos (Q&A)

sweet pea by herself

If you sketched Joel and Jack

Apple picking 🖤

Responding to a Nightmare 🖤

accidentally hurting her 🖤

Analysis (#raider!analysis)

why does he keep her

why did he snap (in Company extra scene)

his eye contact

his affection / feelings, trajectory 🖤

falling for sweet pea

his self hate and her feelings

the dog and joel's concern for you

awareness of growth / why keep her

Raider Tommy

Birds of prey (2.6k)

Art, etc.

Mattress by esquire magazine

Stitches by @not-a-unique-snowflake-blog

collage by @milla-frenchy

lose control edit by @survivingandenduring

🌸 sweet pea mood boards by various

6 month collage by milla-frenchy

6 month cake by not-a-unique-snowflake-blog

🌸 sweet pea cosplay from night air

👱‍♂️carter mood board by @romana-after-dark

pts. 1-3 rb mood boards by @iamasaddie

night air gif by not-a-unique-snowflake-blog

raider/sweet pea collage by milla

sweet pea's pup by @dark-scape

want it that bad gif by dark-scape

Bodies gif by not-a-unique-snowflake-blog

👱‍♂️carter mood board by milla

Then and now drawing by romana-after-dark

Raider/sweet pea drawings by @lumoverheaven

our stars moodboard by milla

raiding edits by gasolinerainbowpuddles

under the anger by iamasaddie

🎥 Trailer (video) by @carminepoison

birthday sketch by lumoverheaven

In love w raider by milla

✨ checks that you're ok 🐺 by milla

If I've left yours off please lmk I prob tagged improperly

Back to Joel Masterlist

Fic recs: other raiders

🖤 If mine or another writer's work has inspired yours, it's always better late than never to share / shout-out 🖤

[milliemakesmagic]

Maria Nora Valentine

Nick Valentine and his wife wake up in the middle of the night to care for their newborn baby girl. And Nick is struggling with who he is. Because when is he not?

It makes no sense but it's got angst comfort. Enjoy!!

Word count: 827 Warnings: Nothing really? A03 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/57059809

A familiar cry pierced through the night. Nick glanced toward the door of their room, mentally preparing to get up and console his wife’s crying child. 

His wife started to get out of bed. 

He reached over and caught her arm gently. “No no, honey. I got this. You sleep.” 

She laid back down and watched him go around the bed towards the door. 

“Are you sure?” She whispered. 

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “You need sleep, I don’t. Now rest.” 

Nick went across the hall into what used to be Shaun’s room. Inside the refurbished crib lay a baby girl, squirming and crying.

She was beautiful. Nick loved her with every wire of his being. 

He carefully picked her up, rocking her back and forth.

“It’s okay, you’re okay. Shh.”

“Nick?” 

Nick poked his head into their bedroom. “Yes, dear?” 

His wife sat up in bed and reached her arms out, silently asking to hold her baby. 

Nick handed her the fussing child and sat next to her. 

She kissed her baby’s head and prepared to nurse her. 

Nick watched his wife comfort and nurse the child with the ease of a pro. 

She may not have had Shaun long in her past life, but her mother instincts were as alive and well as they’d always been. 

Nick wrapped an arm around her, pulling her against him. 

She sighed and relaxed in his embrace, wincing a moment from the ache of childbirth a few weeks ago on top of the ache of simply existing in the Commonwealth. 

He kissed her temple. “You okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Just tired.” 

Nick’s eyes glanced at the many scars littering his wife’s beautiful body. How many times raiders had slashed or shot at her, the parts of her flesh that would never look smooth and young again. 

Nick thought over the last few weeks, hell, the last few years of her life. She lost her picket fence perfect life in the span of what felt like a few hours to her, but was over two hundred years. She lost her husband, her home, she searched for her son, and found him, only for him to immediately die. And now she lay in a creaky old bed, next to a creaky old synth, after giving birth in one of the most dangerous places to live. 

Not to mention the fact she needed to sleep with another man to get pregnant in the first place, and that had been a hard decision for them both. 

Of course she was tired. 

“But…I’m happy.” She whispered. 

Her words brought him out of his deep thoughts.

She smiled at him. “I’m happy I’m with you. I’m happy I’m home. I’m happy we finally fixed the leaks in the roof.” 

Nick chuckled, remembering how long it took them to figure out how to patch up her past life’s beautiful and destroyed home. 

“I’m thankful Sanctuary is safe enough to raise a family in. And I’m so thankful for her.” 

They both looked down at their daughter who was quietly nursing, her big eyes staring off at nothing. 

It had been such an emotional nightmare to decide how to bring her into the world, and even if they should. The world was so horrible, would bringing new life into it just curse the new life? 

But what if the new life, creates a new world? 

And so Maria Nora Valentine was born on a stormy morning in Sanctuary.

The child unlatched from her mother and stretched. 

“All done?” Her mother cooed as she carefully handed her to Nick so she could rebutton her nightgown. 

Nick held the child in one arm and wrapped the other back around his wife. 

She sighed, snuggling into Nick’s side. 

Nick kissed the top of her head, causing her to look up so they could share a long kiss. 

“Sleep, you need it.” He said, resting her head in the crook of his neck. 

He glanced at Maria, who was now fast asleep in his other arm. 

A beautiful human child, with a heartbeat, and lungs, and blood flowing under her skin. 

Nick felt a stab of almost guilt. What did he do to deserve this? 

His synthetic body was cracking and tearing, he was old, he didn’t deserve this second shot at life. This second shot at the future he always wanted. 

And somehow, he was married, with a daughter. 

And his wife loved him. Despite his synthetic form, despite his inability to create life with her, despite the sneers and rude remarks people made when they walked through Diamond City hand in hand. 

She didn’t care, she loved him like he was the most living, breathing, human man there was.

He hoped his daughter would see him the same way, a synth that would do anything in his power to prove to her that he’d love her and protect her as much as any real man would.

[selkiewife]

Remember when Game of Thrones would put out these amazing History and Lore of Westeros shorts narrated by cast members in character? This one is the Greyjoy Rebellion: Theon Greyjoy short. There are also shorts of the Greyjoy Rebellion from Stannis' and Robb's perspective. If you want to know more about the various episodes, here is an overview with links to the episode descriptions: Histories & Lore.

Though I'd listened to the Greyjoy ones, most of these are new to me. So I'm excited to listen. I've put the transcript to Theon's narration under the cut but I definitely recommend actually listening to it so you can hear the way he describes Thoros of Myr's "ridiculous" flaming sword (so Theon), as well as the way he describes Balon's line about kneeling in order to rise again, blade in hand, which was a line directly from Asha's POV chapters in the books. I also really enjoyed the way he said "It would be his duty," so bitterly when talking of how Ned would have to behead him at the end.

Theon VO (Alfie Allen): When Aegon and his dragons burned Harren the Black and all his sons at Harrenhal the days when men feared the sight of our longships were over. Aegon would not permit marauders and raiders in his seven kingdoms. With Harren died our empire and the old way that forged it.

But what is dead may never die. Six years after Robert Baratheon won his crown, my father Balon Greyjoy sought to restore our ancient rites. He declared the Iron Islands independent and himself its king and sent the iron fleet in a daring raid on Lannisport where they burned the Lannister ships at anchor making us unchallenged in the Sunset Sea. This was the seed of our undoing.

My eldest brother Rodrik led a frontal assault on Seagard, a town built to protect the mainland from us. After ferocious fighting beneath the city walls, he was slain by Lord Jason Mallister and his men defeated. By this time Stannis Baratheon had brought Robert's fleet around Westeros and somehow managed to trap the iron fleet at Fair Isle, smashing it. Robert's victory was now all but assured. But we made him bleed for each island.

Stannis Baratheon captured Great Wyk, the largest of the Iron Islands and Ser Barristan Selmy himself subdued Old Wyk. Robert and Lord Eddard Stark led the main assault against the island of Pyke. They razed the town of Lordsport to the ground before Robert turned his full fury on our family stronghold. When they breached the walls the first through was Thoros of Myr with his ridiculous flaming sword followed by every minor Lord of Westeros hungry for glory.

My other brother Marin was killed when the siege engines brought down a tower on his head. I was now my father's only living son and heir to the Iron Islands. When my father saw his cause was lost, he wisely conceded defeat to Robert who otherwise would have pulled down our castle stone by stone with us in it. As my father said to me then, "No man has ever died from bending his knee. He who kneels may rise again, blade in hand. He who will not kneel stays dead, stiff legs and all."

As it stands, Robert allowed my father to keep his lands and title as Lord of the Iron Islands, King of Salt and Rock, Son of the Sea Wind, Lord Reaper of Pyke, for a price- his last son and heir shipped off to Winterfell as an honored guest.

I would eat at the Stark's table and play with the Stark children and if my father rebelled again Lord Eddard Stark would take his sword and cut off my head. It would be his duty.

[ask-aph-baltics]

A Hetalia Discord Server dedicated to Lithuania and Poland! The ship, the characters, the culture, history, and well, everything that has to do with Lithuania and/or Poland!

It’s a small, very slower server. It’s been around a while, I inherited it a few months ago. Anyone is welcome to join.

Open discussion for Lithuania and Poland, both the characters and history.

Polish Language Channel, in case you speak Polish and just wanna, not use English - but the server is mostly English. Please share things in English!!

LGBTQ+ Friendly, everyone is welcome, all headcanons are welcome.

Nyo! and other versions are okay as well as AU discussion is fine too.

You don’t have to ship them to be here! You can just like them individually! 

Just no ship hate to Lietpol! You can like them as bros.

It’s a very slow server but if you make Lithuania/Poland content or just want to talk about them as ship or not ship, that’s fine too. OR if you want to know more about these two countries or characters in the Hetalia sense, you can join! Both moderators like history a lot. (I like post-communism history and commonwealth history and Nessa likes the 19th century lots). But we like all history.

AU talk and other talk is allowed~ Transtalia is OK, 1P/Nyo is OK! Anything. :0

Please try to be respectful with regards to history or culture! Also please understand that if someone doesn’t share the same views as you it may be a cultural thing or a personal thing and not to take it as offensive.  Unless it is a cultural fact or asset you are getting wrong. If a Pole tells you it’s offensive to Poland, reconsider your thoughts. Same with Jews, Lithuanians, and others that live(d) in this region.

NOT TOO STRICT! Honest!

SIGNAL BOOSTS APPRECIATED

(birds allowed but (eye emoji here))

[sinnaminsuga]

(gif source: google. if it's yours let me know!)

Title: Be Gentle With Him Pt. 2

link to part 1: right here

Summary: part 2 of soft geralt!

Word Count: 1,061

A/N: i'm just writing the soft geralt that i'm in need of! 😭

Tags: @wendimydarling @inlovewithhisblueeyes @connieisland @littlefreya @viking-raider @october505 @killjoy-assbutt-1112 @infinite-shite @hope-to-hell @the-soot-sprite @nuggsmum @raspberrydreamclouds @thelastsock @wolvesandhoundshowltogether @foodieforthoughts @geek-eat-repeat @oddsnendsfanfics @oddduckthatgirl @feralrunaway @its--fandom--darling @madbaddic7ed

Since abandoning his life as a witcher, there was a new light about Geralt. He of course hadn't forgotten his skills or his way around a sword, and he would keep himself fine tuned in order to protect me should the need arise. But instead of lugging on his armour and leaving for weeks at a time, I now could find him in the garden most days in a loose flowy tunic, hands turning the earth. Geralt tended to his small group of crops like they were his children, whispering to the plants and touching them with the utmost care.

I watched the large man from the steps of our home as he smiled at his work. His hair was pulled back into a loose bun and his skin glistened with a light sheen of sweat causing his sage green tunic to stick to him in certain places. He looked truly happy for the first time in a long time. “Come, little dove! See what I’ve grown for you!” He called to me from his place in the dirt. He held his hand against his brow to shield his eyes from the sun as he looked to me, a toothy smile gracing his face. I left the steps in order to join him and when I was close enough he swiftly pulled me down into his lap.

“Look. This one is strong. The roots are good and it's been flowering quickly. And look at this one, dove! So quick to bear fruit! I’m so proud of them. They’ve been so strong in this unpredictable weather we’ve been having lately. Hmm. I think I’ll need to go into town soon for more supplies.” Geralt said, trailing off mostly to himself. I couldn't help but stare at him with adoration when he spoke about his plants, but a small part of me would always be filled with sorrow that he would never have a child to speak about like that.

Almost as if he could read my mind, Geralt leaned his head forward to rest his forehead against my temple before speaking quietly. “I didn't realize how much I would enjoy taking care of something. It gives me a purpose. It makes me wonder of fatherhood. Would it be anything similar to this? Surely I must never seek to know for I fear it would just make me a sadder man, to think of things we’ll never have.”

Not wanting to sully the moment any further, I fixed to distract him. “Well my love, you mentioned going into town? I could use a few things if you're planning a trek. I’m awfully tired and it would be so helpful if you could do this for me, yeah?” I asked, lightening the moment. Geralt’s face lit up at the idea. Doing things for me always seemed to make him happy, he liked to be needed in a domestic way.

“Yes! Make a list of what you need and I’ll gather my things!” He said, excitedly, rising from his seat on the ground effectively knocking me off his lap and onto the grass. I laid on my back giggling as he strode off to the house. “Come on woman! There's lists to be made!” he shouted while turning back to see me still laughing on the lawn.

A few hours later, the sun was beginning to set and I could hear the tell tale sound of Roach and her rider drawing closer. My heartbeat quickened, thrilled (as always) to see Geralt. I could hear him muttering to himself outside the door and I chuckled to myself as I hurried off to the kitchen to start dinner.

“Little dove? I’m back! And I have something special for you!” Geralt's voice echoed through the house. “In the kitchen my love!” I called back, excited to see what he had in store. He walked quietly into the kitchen, his satchel clutched close to his chest and a childlike grin plastered on his face. “Oh Geralt, please don't let this be another joke. You might recall my unpleasant reaction to your last one.” I shuddered at the memory of the day Geralt brought home a dead fish wrapped in gift paper and a bow. Oh how he had laughed at that.

“No dear, I wouldn't dare try that again. I was put on the floor to sleep for three days. Now close your eyes.” He directed. I did as I was told and listened to the rustling of his satchel being placed on the kitchen table. There was the sound of the brush of fabric and a tiny sound I didn't recognize as Geralt tutted at the gift. Finally after what felt like an hour he said “Open your eyes.” And when I did, I couldn't contain the whimper that left my mouth.

In the witcher’s large hands, was a ball of orange fur with two big green eyes. The tiny kitten looked even tinier in Geralt’s huge paws. “A man was selling them in town and this little fellow was the only one who didn't hiss at me! I knew he was fated for us right then!” Geralt's smile was infectious and I grinned too. “Oh Geralt he's so precious!” I whined, reaching out to gently pet the fluff ball. His tiny body began to vibrate as he purred and leaned into my touch. Geralt made a motion to deposit the little feline into my hands but when he did, the kitten made quick work of crawling up Geralt's forearm, over his shoulder, and under his hair hanging loose around his shoulders. Geralt looked at me with surprise but also confusion.

“Well my love, it looks like this little furry friend has taken quite a liking to you! I think it's only right that you give him a name.” I said with a soft smile, so elated Geralt had found himself a companion.

“Calendula. That will be his name. Like the orange flowers that grow in the yard. Cal for short.” Geralt declared, absolute certainty wrapping around his words as he scooped up the small creature. He began to busy himself with the kitten, apparently forgetting his load of supplies still sitting outside with Roach. I made my way out to the horse and patted her side as I spoke quietly. “This is gonna be good.”

THE END

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Help news, not news-barons

More often than not, when I encounter a proposal to address monopoly power, I return to that old Irish joke: "If you wanted to get there, I wouldn't start from here."

Today, it's the proposal to save American news media by granting an exception to antitrust law so the news companies can form a cartel to bargain with the ad-tech duopoly represented by Googbook.

Let's start with the sleaziness of Googbook's ads. The ad-tech markets are rigged from asshole to appetite. Googbook defrauds buyers and sellers, collude to rig prices, and trouser billions for their trouble. It's not just sleazy, it's criminal.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/11/20/sovkitsch/#adtech

Publishers are victimized by this fraud. The ad-tech duopoly uses funny accounting to shift billions from publishers of all kind to their own balance sheets (advertisers also suffer, but we're talking publishers at the moment).

The news industry deserves our sympathy for this, but they keep squandering it by saying stupid things like "Google steals from us by linking to our websites." These stupid things are credulously repeated by both the left- and right-wing press.

https://prospect.org/blogs/tap/will-google-stop-stealing-content-from-the-media/

Google and Facebook don't steal from publishers by sending them traffic. They don't steal from them by including short snippets from their articles. Neither of those things are stealing.

Googbook steals from publishers through ad-fraud and price-rigging.

It is frankly baffling to me that the news media has decided to ignore the vast, multi-billion-dollar fraud that is ad-tech in favor of the nonsensical proposition that directing readers to your articles and engaging in fair use quotation are crimes.

Writing for EFF's Deeplinks blog, my colleagues Katharine Trendacosta and Danny O'Brien describe the flaws in the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, which proposes antitrust exemptions to news organizations to help them push back against Googbook.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/03/antitrust-exemption-news-media-wont-take-us-back-time-big-tech

To understand why this proposal is before the Congress, you have to understand that the dominant school of antitrust enforcement in the west is the "consumer harm" standard, popularized by Robert Bork when he was serving as Ronald Reagan's court sorcerer.

Bork was the Qanon of antitrust. He insisted that if you read the US's four founding antitrust statutes closely enough, you'd learn that despite the *explicit* language saying monopolies were bad because *they are monopolies*, Congress only intended to shut down *bad* monopolies.

What's a bad monopoly? A monopoly that raises prices. If you can't prove that a merger will lead to higher prices, it should be permitted. If you can't prove that higher prices after the merger were caused by monopoly, they should be forgiven.

Of course, Bork determined whether high prices could be attributed to a monopoly through complex economic models that only he and his friends at the University of Chicago economics department could create and interpret, and the models always said monopolies were fine.

Thus monopolies began to form in every industry, taking over one part of the supply chain or another. Once that happened, that element of the supply chain started to gouge everyone else. Every other part of the supply chain had to monopolize in self-defense.

Bork's version of antitrust is pro-monopoly, but anti-cartel. If six companies form an agreement to insist on a certain price, the FTC will flay them alive. But if they merge into *one* company and fix the prices, the FTC is fine with it.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/03/16/wage-theft/#excessive-buyer-power

That's why the news industry wants the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act. Ad-tech is a duopoly and Googbook colludes to rig the ad market, stealing billions from publishers. Publishers, meanwhile, are highly concentrated, but not so concentrated as Googbook.

They want to form a cartel to collectively bargain for more money from Googbook, but they need an antitrust waiver first, or the FTC will chain them to a boulder and send an eagle to peck out their liver every day for 1,000 years.

We need an active, independent news media. But if you want to get there, I wouldn't start from here. The news industry today is not a collection of scrappy, independent businesses devoted to telling the truth. Those businesses are long gone, emulsified by Googbook's frauds.

Their assets were snapped up at fire-sale prices by "hedge funds, private equity ghouls, and giant media near-monopolies." They are debt-loaded zombies puppeteered by vulture capitalists and billionaire dilettantes with pretensions of saviorhood.

And while the beloved papers of yesteryear were finished off by the internet, they were easy pickings, thanks to Wall Street's financial engineering. Long before Craig started Craiglist and diverted the easy money of classified ads, the newspapers were being hollowed out.

The newspaper families sold out to corporate raiders in leveraged buyouts that left the papers drowning in debt. These corporate geniuses merged papers into chains and fired local reporters *and* local salespeople, consolidating them to realize "efficiencies."

They flogged off the papers' head offices and printing plants, often selling the presses themselves, leasing back the assets they'd once owned, exposing themselves to rent- and interest-shocks.

*Then* the internet came along, and an industry that had weathered innumerable technological shocks from the telegraph to 24-hour cable, from radio to satellites, was too sickly and starved to do it again.

The internet is good at providing classified ad alternatives, but firing the sales agents who'd spent a lifetime building relationships with local merchants left the papers with no home court advantage.

And switching from reporters with distinctive insights and audiences to wire-services meant that when the newspapers went online, much of what they published was word-for-word identical to their competitors.

If you want to get there, don't start from here. Saving the press by allowing the scumbags who bought the husks from the sociopaths that produced them is a fool's errand. We don't need collective bargaining for media companies: we need collective bargaining for JOURNALISTS.

And we need to fix the ad-tech market: unwind mergers, prosecute fraud, introduce competition.

That's what they edged towards in Australia with the news bargaining effort.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/21/paltrow-industrial-complex/#facecrook

The Australian proposal mandated algorithmic transparency, a ban on retaliation against publishers that opt out of the duopoly, and other measures that were a welcome step to cleaning up the dirty ad-tech market.

But none of that came to fruition: instead, the Australian process turned into a pissing match between Facebook and Rupert Murdoch, and the two giants eventually struck a private deal that sidestepped any of these requirements.

As Danny and Katharine write, "Congress should focus its attention on making the sweeping changes to antitrust law we so desperately need. Figure out how to curb these oligopolies’ power."

[ashthewaterghoul]

“What if Ahsoka Went to Mustafar”

Chapter 7

Rex’s voice came over the comm link, “The Chancellor is here with a division of the Coruscant guard led by Fox”

“We’ll be right there.” Anakin replied. He looked at Padmé, confusion on her face made him feel guilty; he kissed her and said “I love you, never forget that.” Then he ran out of the room with Obi-Wan. Ahsoka and Yoda were in the hallway and joined them in running to the front of the station. When they got there, Rex was stationed with Organa’s men and they had already engaged the enemy.

“Well, you’ll need these!” Ahsoka said while tossing Anakin and Obi-Wan their weapons. All the force wielders, including Palpatine, had their lightsabers ignited, ready for battle.

“Come, Lord Vader.” Sidious demanded.

“No.” Anakin replied “You lied to me!”

He ran at Sidious and started to attack him.

“Your hatred is giving you strength, you aren’t even trying to supress it, see how powerful the dark side can be?”

Sidious knew what he was doing been as this made Anakin so angry that his eyes glowed red. From then, flashes of red and blue replaced the two men. The fight went on for some time, Palpatine’s acrobatics and Anakin’s lightning fast strikes caused both to start losing their stamina. As Yoda witnessed this, he quickly came up with an idea.

“Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, apart help me push them!”

The two nodded as they all called upon the force to separate the two. Yoda brought Anakin back over to them but the success was short lived as the clone battalion’s incredible combat training paid off and quickly started to overwhelm the opposition. The Jedi’s team were doing their best to keep the clones at bay but it was taking its toll on the Alderaan troops. Being in close proximity to Fox allowed Rex to tune in the frequencies only carried in clone helmets.

“This is Commander Fox to Commander Cody, we need your help, I repeat, we need your help.

“Cody?” Rex thought, but before he could relay the message, Yoda stated his new plan.

“Attack Sidious I will, join one by one you will to assist.” he said.

He used the force and jumped over to Sidious. The Sith was surprised to see the little green Jedi was alive, which briefly played to Yoda’s advantage. The momentary surprise allowed Yoda to slide past Sidious and take his gaze away from the station. Sidious called his second lightsaber down his sleeve to his hand and ignited it, the crimson blade illuminating his disfigured face under his hood. He was determined to finish their business. As his back was turned, Ahsoka ran to join in but Sidious used the force and held Ahsoka back, but she was soon released when Obi- Wan jumped in to attack also. Ahsoka ran to aid the Jedi masters. Even though it was 3 vs 1, Sidious was somehow still getting the upper hand.

“Any time… now… Anakin!” Obi-Wan said struggling and panting.

The flashes of the lightsabers clashing made it almost impossible for Anakin to see where he should jump in. He remembered what Qui-Gon said about staying on the light, he pulled himself into a brief meditation and used the force to see the action. He saw what to do but all the clones were in the way. He couldn’t get past them without killing them, which he didn’t want to do. He looked at Rex who seemed to know what he was thinking.

“You have my permission, if that’s what you were going to say.” He said, after what happened to Fives and Ahsoka, the Coruscant Guard had a lot less respect from Rex.

Anakin nodded at his friend, gripped his lightsaber tighter and practically ran through them, slicing each one of them like a Tusken Raider. It took some time to get through them but in the end he saw his friends becoming more and more fatigued by the very quick combat of the sith. He didn’t know how to do this while staying on the light, he couldn’t, it was impossible; he just dipped back into the dark then, Anakin could already feel it’s seductive nature intoxicating him, clouding his conscious.

“Don’t worry. I am with you, Anakin.” Qui-Gon said through the force. Anakin swore he felt his master’s large hand on his back like he did all those years ago. While he had the courage to do it, he leaped up and flipped over the lightsaber caused chaos. As he landed, he sliced Palpatine in vertically in half. Palpatine grunted before he could take his last breath, and fell to the ground. The three of them stared at Anakin with complete and utter shock. Ahsoka couldn’t look at the mutilated corpse so she turned and ran back to Rex’s aid. Yoda, Obi-Wan and Anakin’s gazes went from each other to the body, all were expressionless. The moment was over powered by the LAAT’s of the 212th legion arriving. Obi-Wan saw his old battalion and flashes of what happened on Utapau invaded his mind.

“Oh, not good.” He said as the orange clad clones descended from the gunships and immediately started to attack.

Rex saw his brother, Cody, for the first time in weeks and decided to try and talk some sense into him. He tried to act like his chip was still in to blend in with the rest.

“Cody!” he shouted,

“Rex!” he replied, happy to see his brother alive. “Or should I say Commander? I do believe that congratulations are in order!”

“Not anymore, demoted.”

“Why?”

“I’ll tell you another time but for now, what do we do now the Chancellor is, well, dead?” he motioned to the decapitated body. Cody hadn’t even noticed, he was shocked at the sight and left speechless. Before he could respond, Fox ran towards them and said “We carry out Order 66 and execute the people responsible for treason.”

The mention of the command made Rex wince. He saw Cody straighten up and look almost robotic, just like the droids they fought against, programmed to do whatever is needed of them.

“Yes sir!” Cody said and started to run off but stopped when he realised that Rex wasn’t following.

“Aren’t you coming?” He asked.

“What? Oh right yeah.” Rex started to follow Cody, but while he wasn’t looking, he ran to the Jedi generals.

“Order 66 has been activated again for yours and Ahsoka’s termination.” The Captain said.

“Lovely.” Obi-Wan said completely monotone.

“A laughing matter this is not, Obi-Wan.” Yoda scolded “Stop this how do we, Captain?”

“All the clones have an inhibitor chip implanted in their brains; Ahsoka was smart enough to remove mine, but the rest of my men weren’t as lucky.” He turned to Skywalker “Remember when Fives told us about them?”

“He was right?” Anakin responded.

Rex nodded.

“How do we remove these chips?” Obi-Wan asked.

“We need a scanner and a surgery droid or capsule, it’s a short procedure and then they can function normally right after.”

“Look for one of these capsules inside, I will.” Yoda said, he then quickly ran through the commotion and into the station.

The three men ran back to help the other troops, Rex wanted to fight alongside Cody again, but he couldn’t betray his General. He could feel Cody’s confusion as he ran past him to the man-made trench.

“Rex, what are you doing?!” Cody shouted over the comm. Rex quickly thought of an excuse for his behaviour, “Doing it from the inside.” He shouted back.

“Smart move!”

Rex hated that his brother’s unique personality had dissolved to become just like all the other clones. The laser bolts flew between the two sides for a long time until Yoda’s voice finally came through the comm.

“Found the resources for the surgeries I have. Many of the capsules are there.”

“Understood, Master” Obi-Wan replied.

“How do we get them in?” Ahsoka said while blocking rounds of blaster fire.

“Try to pull them over with the force while Rex stuns them. Then Anakin, put them inside and the droids will get to work.” The Jedi master replied.

They all nodded their heads in agreement.

Obi-Wan and Ahsoka called to Rex as a trooper flew his way, Anakin dragged them one by one into the lobby onto a gurney which was quickly whisked away to a med-bay.

The clones started to see that there brothers were being forced behind enemy lines.

“They’re taking hostages!” Fox yelled out.

“We need to recue our brothers!” replied Cody.

They started to charge at the station.

“Rex! Get out of there!” Cody shouted.

“No can do, Cody.” He stunned his brother and dragged him in to Skywalker.

“There are too many of them!” Ahsoka said.

“Fall back!” Kenobi ordered.

Everyone went into the station and held the doors shut.

“How many are left out there?” Anakin asked.

“About half, sir.” Rex said.

“That’s too many.”

Bail Organa ran around the corner, “We have clones coming in the south entrance by some of the other med-bays.” he said.

“That’s where Padmé is!” Anakin said “Rex, how many are out of surgery?”

“We have around 20 left to go.” The Captain responded.

“Take them to the south entrance and get ready to evacuate the place if we need to.” he ordered.

“Yes sir.”

Yoda came round the corner.

“Skywalker.” Yoda called

“Master.” Anakin responded.

“Subdue the clones from here we can. Together we must work to do this. All their heads, hit against each other make them, but not too hard or kill them it will.”

Anakin nodded and they both held their hands out, reaching deep into the force. The clones all rose up in the air and all crumpled into a pile on the floor with a loud clang.

“To the med-bays, get them.” Yoda ordered. Everyone there obliged and carried a trooper onto a gurney. Rex ran back from the south entrance.

“All the troops are ready for the procedure.” He reported.

“And Padmé and the twins?” Anakin asked.

“I … I couldn’t see them sir.”

Fear once again rose in Anakin.

I’m sorry this chapter is so long, I couldn’t condense it or find a place to split it into 2. But I guess it makes up for how short the last chapter was😅. Also there is one chapter left of this and then its the epilogue! I hope you enjoyed it and please leave any feedback or suggestions for future fics. Please interact with my posts as much as you can! You can follow me on Instagram if you want @siriusly_a_jedi.

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[my-bated-breath]

Research Shows Zutara Would Have Been the Ideal Friends to Lovers Dynamic (part 2)

Anti-Zutara arguments: Zuko and Katara hold such a deep and meaningful platonic bond that should it ever turn into a romantic one, their relationship would be automatically ruined.

Me, with my 3.8k meta that cites a research paper on relationships: Are you sure about that.

And with that (not) academically appropriate introduction, I present part 2 of my meta “Research Shows that Zutara Would Have Been the Ideal Friends to Lovers Dynamic,” where I use research on emotional intimacy to demonstrate that Zutara is more than capable of transitioning into a romance. Still, that claim in itself presents a rather complicated question: What is the transition between friendship to romance, and how is it achieved?

“On Becoming ‘More Than Friends: The Transition From Friendship to Romantic Relationship” is a research paper by Arizona State University professors Laura K. Guerrero and Paul A. Mongeau that sets out to answer this. In their paper, Guerrero and Mongeau explore a multitude of aspects regarding relationship development, but part 1 and part 2 of this meta will focus on their research on stages of intimacy.

_____

Excerpt from “Research Shows that Zutara Would Have Been the Ideal Friends to Lovers Dynamic” (part 1)

According to Guerrero and Mongeau, “...scholars have argued that intimacy is located in different types of interactions, ranging from sexual activity and physical contact to warm, cozy interactions that can occur between friends, family members, and lovers…” Guerrero and Mongeau then reference a relationship model where the initial stages (i.e. perceiving similarities, achieving rapport, and inducing self-disclosure) reflect both platonic and romantic intimacy through communication while the latter stages (i.e. role-taking, achieving interpersonal role fit, and achieving dyadic crystallization) often see both individuals as achieving a higher level of intimacy that involves more self-awareness.

Definitions, because some terminology in this quote is field-specific:

Perception of similarity: (similar in background, values, etc.) which contributes to pair rapport

Pair rapport: produces positive emotional and behavioral responses to the partner, promotes effective communication and instills feelings of self-validation

Self-disclosure: a process of communication by which one person reveals information about themselves to another. The information can be descriptive or evaluative and can include thoughts, feelings, aspirations, goals, failures, successes, fears, and dreams, as well as one's likes, dislikes, and favorites.

Role-taking: ability to understand the partner's perspective and empathize with his/her role in the interaction and the relationship

Role-fit: partners assess the extent of their similarities in personality, needs, and roles

Dyadic crystallization: partners become increasingly involved with each other and committed to the relationship and they form an identity as a committed couple

(Source: Quizlet -- not the most reliable source, I know, but once again field-specific terms tend to be ubiquitous in their definitions, and I doubt that this Quizlet can be that inaccurate)

_____

Part 1 of this meta (click for the link) proves how Zuko and Katara achieve the “initial stages of intimacy,” including perceived similarities, pair rapport, and self-disclosure, which are common to both platonic and romantic relationships (and seen often in transitioning relationships). And because I have no self-control, I promised a part 2 that shows how Zutara fulfills the latter stages of intimacy as well, in which intimacy is based more on cognition than communication.

(Note: I had taken the burden of proof too seriously in part 1, and thus that meta delves (far too) deep into the intricacies of Zuko and Katara’s backstories, character arcs, and dialogue. This meta will be significantly less heavy-handed on the analysis because we already have 3,800 words of that and that’s more than enough).

So with that taken care of, let’s begin.

Role-taking

Definition: ability to understand the partner's perspective and empathize with his/her role in the interaction and the relationship.

After Zuko’s choice in the Crossroads of Destiny, his relationship with Katara becomes tenser until it reaches a breaking point in The Southern Raiders, where the following exchange occurs:

_____

The Southern Raiders Dialogue

Zuko: This isn't fair! Everyone else seems to trust me now! What is it with you?

Katara: Oh, everyone trusts you now! I was the first person to trust you! Remember, back in Ba Sing Se. And you turned around and betrayed me, betrayed all of us!

_____

Although Katara is angry in this scene, her open communication and Zuko’s empathy with her (established in the Crystal Catacombs) allows him to understand Katara’s perspective, to understand that he is the one at fault, and to understand that he has to be the one to make amends.

Zuko: What can I do to make it up to you?

Then, throughout the Southern Raiders, there is an inherent understanding between the two that Zuko is only a guide to track down her mother’s killer while Katara is the decider of this man’s fate. Their roles are evidenced by Zuko providing Katara with information (as seen in the left screenshot) and Katara acting with the information given (as seen in the right screenshot, where Zuko asks Katara if she is ready).

Left screenshot -

Zuko: I know who killed your mother, and I'm going to help you find him.

Right screenshot -

Zuko: This is it, Katara. Are you ready to face him?

However, Zuko is not the only one to perceive and accept the other party’s role within their relationship. Having decided to fight Azula alongside Zuko the day before Sozin’s Comet, Katara is in disbelief when Zuko accepts an Agni Kai with Azula, one on one.

Katara: What are you doing? She's playing you. She knows she can't take us both, so she's trying to separate us.

Zuko: I know. But I can take her this time.

Katara: But even you admitted to your uncle that you would need help facing Azula.

Zuko: There's something off about her; I can't explain it but she's slipping. And this way, no one else has to get hurt.

Still, Katara nods, empathizing with Zuko’s position and thus allowing him to take on a new role. In particular, she recognizes Zuko’s need to fight alone rather than together, which shifts the dynamic and interactions in their relationship.

With both Zuko and Katara achieving role-taking, we now move on to-

Role-fit

Definition: partners assess the extent of their similarities in personality, needs, and roles.

(Note: there’s a little bit of a stretch in needs and roles, but given much of Zuko and Katara’s life had been centered around defeating the Fire Nation, it still captures an essential part of their relationship.)

Zuko and Katara assessing the extent of the similarities in their personality:

(Frankly, this moment can apply to personality, needs, and roles)

Zuko and Katara assessing the extent of the similarities in their needs:

Zuko and Katara assessing the extent of the similarities in their roles:

I wish there had been more canon material with Zuko and Katara evaluating their personalities and needs on a more personal level. However, since the glimpses of peace we see in the ATLA finale are not focused on Zuko and Katara’s relationship (for better or for worse), the fact that the Crystal Catacombs exchange exists is already very telling. Additionally, it’s not difficult to imagine the two of them had a conversation about their personalities and needs given their track record of open communication and mutual support.

Dyadic Crystallization

Definition: partners become increasingly involved with each other and committed to the relationship and they form an identity as a committed couple.

After joining the GAang in the Western Air Temple, Zuko and Katara become “increasingly involved with each other” (even if their interactions are not always positive), as evidenced by the following:

Of course, their commitment to each other forms after Katara forgives Zuko and they work together as a team:

Though Zuko and Katara may not have formed an identity as a romantic couple, their platonic relationship relies on a profound foundation of teamwork, protectiveness, and support. Should they transition into a romantic relationship, this same foundation can be channeled with them working together to solve personal and political problems, protecting each other from physical and emotional wounds, and supporting one another with steadfast faith and determination.

Of course, the same logic applies to every stage of intimacy both parts of this meta explore. We already see how Zuko and Katara fulfill the other stages - perceived similarities, pair rapport, self-disclosure, role-taking, role-fit, and dyadic crystallization - in constructive ways throughout their platonic bond, so we can assume that their approach to these stages of intimacy would be similar in a romantic bond as well. After all, they already share a deep emotional connection, so the last gap their relationship would need to bridge between platonic and romantic lines would not be one of closeness (which anti-Zutara arguments point to as a cause for increasing toxicity between the two), but one of attraction.

As Guerrero and Mongeau note, “in this case, couples sustain high levels of friendship-based intimacy while adding passion-based intimacy. In a sense, these couples have already laid part of the groundwork for building a close romantic relationship.”

Thus, without needing to undergo a dramatic shift in quantity or quality, the existing emotional energy in Zutara lends itself well to both friendships and romances. Here we have a relationship where outward circumstances may change - from war to peace, from rebels to leaders - yet their internal framework, even while (hypothetically) in the process of adjusting from friends to lovers, has endured through the past and will continue to endure well into the future.

[imnotwolverine]

Moodblurb - Hmm..

Who doesn’t love a good nap?

You do.

The flowery grass meadow in this forest a truly per-fect spot for a quick snooze in between the scenes that are to be shot here for the new Witcher episodes.

Had you lost track of time? Maybe a little, your eyes blinking open to the sound of a strange quiet.

It simply was too quiet for the usually busy filmset.

‘Hmm..’ A dark voice rumbled just a few feet away from you.

‘What is it Geralt? Lost your tongue?’ Jaskier sniffled, the sassy bard striking a tune on his lute, ready to start singing when he was, by the sound of a muffled tap on the instrument, stopped by the grumpy Witcher.

‘Something’s there.’ The white haired whispered darkly.

Blinking in utter horror you sat up in the knee-high grass, making sure you remained unseen. And, indeed, the comical duo was sitting just a few meters ahead, the whole crew behind them, cameras rolling.

OH FUCK.

So far for your time management - damnit!

Seeing Henry - or should you say Geralt? - turning towards you, his face a focused snarl as he took in his surroundings, you quickly ducked away, missing in that split second that some amused giggles were escaping muffled mouths.  

‘I can smell it..’ He grumbled, making you blush profusely.

Oh..gods..you had to get out of here..you had to..okay..okay.

Crawl!

And so you did, tiger-crawling away as quickly, but also as quietly as you could, the grass leaving a hushed whisper in your wake.

Behind you, you could hear the Witcher get up, the grass rustling as you moved behind a tree, your mouth letting out a quiet sigh as you managed to sit up against the rough bark, hoping you were at least out of the camera’s view.

‘HMM...’ His voice rung right in the shell of your ear, making you jump in shock, your eyes looking straight in the large ember coloured irises of one very cheekily grinning Witcher.

‘Henry..you..!’ You swatted his arm, pouting in disapproval, the crew behind the tree now bursting out in loud laughter.

‘Very..very funny.’ You growled, looking back around the tree to see the crew resetting the original scene now you were no longer disturbing it.

‘Oh, it was.’ Henry grinned, offering you a hand to get back up.

Walking back out on set, the director waved.

‘Let’s do that again!’

Still blushing profusely, you wished to get out of sight of the crew as quickly as possible, but..well..that wasn’t about to happen just yet, the director gesturing at you, his finger pointing at your initial napping spot.

‘A-again?’ You gasped.

‘A little lower this time, thank you!’ The director smiled, leaving no room for protest on your behalf.

‘Hmmm..’ Geralt hummed again, though this time with a nod of approval, winking at you and sinking back on the log he had been sitting on just moments earlier.

And so it happened that you became a forest spirit, causing the grass to rustle in the back of that scene as you fled your napping spot - unbeknownst to the watchers at home -, but ever the fun little memory for the crew who had been there that day.

And napping?

Well..let’s just say that truly nothing..and you really mean NOTHING, nothing could beat a good nap!

(Though inviting looking grassy meadows were indeed skipped for the time being)

(Link to my Masterlist)

Author’s note: I took a nap yesterday and this is what I dreamed of.

In the mood for more? Blue shores | Orange glow | White buzz | Green tea | Cinnamon spice | London red | Green fingers | August’s aquamarine | Black Beauty | Goldfinger | Pride&Prejudice | Black sails | Healing waters | White Himbos | The Blue Room | Scheherazade | Ocean Heart | Professor, professor! | Happy Henners

General Tagsquad: @harrysthiccthighss​ @tumblnewby @magdelen69​ @thereisa8ella​ @mary-ann84​ @darkbooksarwin​ @summersong69 @madbaddic7ed @luclittlepond @maroonmolly

Mood Blurb squad: @peaky-marvel @witty-wallflower @penwieldingdreamer @ladyreapermc @sofiebstar @radaofrivia @giveusbackourbucky @pamacs-macs @crazybutconfidentaf @lindsaytriestowrite @viking-raider  @inanna999 @lakecavill

[angelsarts]

Hey I'm sorry to ask, but do you have updates for korean dramas? I can't find the link to your old one but also maybe some newer suggestions? (It's okay if you don't!)

It’s cool, I can do a new one! These are all in the order that I watched them in!

WARNING: LONG POST AHEAD

1. Coffee Prince ( A great choice for a first k-drama)

Choi Han-gyul is the grandson of chairwoman Bang of Dong-in Foods, a company that has a thriving coffee business. He has never had a job and does not care for responsibility. Han-gyul is hung up on his first love, Han Yoo-joo, who only sees him as a friend. Go Eun-chan is a 24-year-old tomboy who is often mistaken for a guy. Her father died when she was 16 years old and since then she has taken over as the breadwinner in her family. When Han-kyul and Eun-chan meet, he, not knowing that she is a girl, decides to hire her to pretend to be his gay lover so that he can escape the blind dates arranged by his grandmother. 

2. Cinderella with four knights

Eun Ha Won is a bright college student who dreams of becoming a teacher. Unfortunately, she loses her mother in a tragic accident, moves in with a cruel stepmother, and has no money for her education. One day, she helps an old man and as fate would have it, moves into a gorgeous mansion with three equally gorgeous men, who also happen to be billionaire cousins and heirs to the Kang family fortune. Between the rebel-minded loner Kang Ji Woon, playboy money machine Kang Hyun Min and the super-sweet singer Kang Seo Woo, Eun Ha Won finds herself in the middle of the hottest love quadrangle to ever befall a modern fairy tale princess. Rounding out the mansion’s chaebol lifestyle are Lee Yoon Sung, who serves as the cousins’ handsome bodyguard, and Park Hye Ji, a gorgeous girl who has her own interests in the Kang family and is not above manipulating one cousin to get closer to another.

3. Bride of the century

Taeyang Group is the largest conglomerate in South Korea. The Choi family who runs Taeyang has supposedly been under a curse for a hundred years that the first bride of the eldest son will always die. When the wealthy heiress Jang Yi-kyung disappears right before her wedding to chaebol heir Choi Kang-joo , Na Doo-rim , a lookalike impostor, is brought in to take her place. Unlike the cold and calculating Yi-kyung, Doo-rim is sweet and sunny, and Kang-joo genuinely falls in love with her. As the wedding plans progress, Kang-joo and Yi-kyung’s mothers both scheme and plot behind the scenes will the romance gets more complicated with the secret of not being the real Jang Yu-kyung.

4. Strong woman Do Bong Soon

Do Bong-soon was born with superhuman strength. Her strength is hereditary and passed along only to the women in her family. Her dream is to create a video game with herself as the main character. She desperately wants to become a delicate and elegant woman, which is the ideal type of her crush, In Guk-doo, a police officer. Thanks to her strength, she gets a job as bodyguard to rich heir Ahn Min-hyuk, the CEO of a gaming company, Ainsoft. In contrast to Guk-doo, Min-hyuk is an eccentric man who is playful, a little spoiled, has no regard for rules, and dislikes policemen. He has recently received anonymous threats and has even been stalked, leading him to hire Bong-soon as his bodyguard after seeing her beat up a bunch of men after they threatened an old man who was an elementary school bus driver. A series of kidnapping cases soon happen in Dobong-dong, the district Bong-soon lives in, and she is determined to catch the culprit, who targeted her best friend. With help and training from Min-hyuk, she manages to control her strength to use it for good causes. Min-hyuk and Bong-soon find their relationship growing into something more.

5. My secret romance

Jin-wook and Yoo-mi meet at a Gangwon-do resort and get caught up in a series of misunderstandings and accidents. Yoo-mi is there to attend her mother’s second wedding while Jin-wook is there working as a bellhop (a position given to him by his Chairman father to teach him responsibility.) Yoo-mi is charmed by Jin-wook’s sly and playful personality, and they unexpectedly spend the night together. However, Yoo-mi disappears in the morning, leaving Jin-wook feeling perplexed and insulted. Three years later, the two meet again when Yoo-mi becomes a nutritionist at the company cafeteria where Jin-wook works. It seems that once a playboy Jin-wook, has given up his carefree life and works at the company owned by his father. He has feelings for Yoo-mi and has kept her bra-pad as a memory of the night that they spent together. At first, he is strict toward her, though it is only because he is looking for reasons to be near her. He later confesses this to her and agrees to wait for her.

6. Scarlet heart ryeo ( One of my all time favourites) 

During a total solar eclipse, a 25-year-old 21st-century woman, Go Ha-jin, is transported back in time to the Goryeo Dynasty. She wakes up in the year of 941 in the body of Hae Soo, among the many royal princes of the ruling Wang family. She initially falls in love with the gentle and warm-hearted 8th Prince Wang Wook, and later Wang So, the fearsome 4th Prince who hides his face behind a mask and is given the derogatory label of “wolf dog.” As the story develops, Hae Soo finds herself unwittingly caught between the rivalry and politics among the princes over the fight for the throne, an she stay alive long enough for a happy ending?

7. Falling for innocence

Min Ho is a cold-blooded corporate raider who takes no prisoners. He is a scoundrel investment banker for Gold Investment, seemingly the world’s largest financial service firm. As a cynical, self-defensive, suspicious sociopath, he wears down people with his tenacity and takes advantage of them with his delusions of grandeur. However, Min Ho has his own story of how he became evil - it was because of his uncle’s betrayal. His father was overthrown by his uncle and it caused his family to hit bottom. As Min Ho vows to get revenge, he meets Soon Jung, the daughter of his father’s former secretary who betrayed him and whom now works for his uncle. One day, he has a heart attack and is taken to a hospital. He miraculously survives his heart attack after undergoing a heart transplant. His heart is actually from Dong Wook, a young detective and Soon Jung’s fiancé who suffered from brain damage from a mysterious car accident. After receiving a new life thanks to the new heart, he is no longer the cold and callous person that he has been and undergoes a profound change to his personality, talking differently and warming up people. But he still pursues his plan to get revenge on his uncle even though his emotions get in the way at times. He gradually learns the meaning of happiness when he finds Soon Jung, whom he wants to cherish and protect. His heart becomes tender and his eyes swell with tears when as he works with her. He falls in love with her without realising it.

8. The bride of Habaek / the water god

When the narcissistic water god Ha-baek visits earth in order to find three stones powerful enough to help him claim his throne, he seeks out the help of his servant and destined bride, psychiatrist So-ah, whose family is fated to serve the water god for generations. The problem is that she has no belief in the gods and initially mistakes him for suffering from delusions. Things get even stranger when the wind god Bi-ryeom, the water goddess Mu-ra, and the semi-god Hu-ye show up to complicate things

9. Weightlifting fairy Kim Bok Joo

Kim Bok-Joo is a promising collegiate female weightlifter. Her father runs a small chicken restaurant and her uncle wants to become an actor. She has a bright personality and strong sense of justice. Kim Bok-Joo and her friends on the female weightlifting team are not popular with the guys and they don’t have boyfriends. The weightlifting team and the rhythmic gymnastic team also don’t get along at all. Meanwhile, Jung Joon-Hyung is a collegiate swimmer plagued with numerous false start disqualifications. He is 21-years-old and has a free spirit. His uncle and aunt raised him along with his cousin Jung Jae-Yi. One day on campus, Kim Bok-Joo bumps into Jung Joon-Hyung while he is riding his bicycle. Her face looks familiar to Jung Joon-Hyung. After he leaves, Kim Bok-Joo picks up a handkerchief left behind by Jung Joon-Hyung. The handkerchief is very important to him and he begins looking for it. Later, Kim Bok-Joo cleans and irons the handkerchief. She goes to the school’s swimming pool and gives back his handkerchief, but he explodes with anger when he sees that she cleaned it. Kim Bok-Joo then falls into the swimming pool and Jung Joon-Hyung jumps into the pool to save her. At that moment, Kim Bok-Joo and Jung Joon-Hyung realize where they have seen each other before. When they were both children, Kim Bok-Joo saved Jung Joon-Hyung’s life by catching him before he fell to the ground.What happens now they know each other?

10. I’m not a robot

Kim Min-kyu lives an isolated life due to a severe allergy to other people. He develops extreme rashes that rapidly spread throughout his body once he makes any form of skin contact. Jo Ji-ah is a woman who is trying to make it in life by creating her own businesses. Kim Min-kyu who owns the KM Financial company which owns Santa Maria team headed by professor Hong Baek-kyun. Professor Hong’s team has created a humanoid robot called Aji 3 which looks like his ex-girlfriend Jo Ji-ah. CEO of KM Financial, Kang Ki-young, and his father try to sell the Santa Maria team to foreign investor, Martin, who secretly knows about the Aji 3 and wants to use it as a weapon. Hong Baek-kyun sends the robot to Kim Min-kyu to convince him not to sell the team. Before Aji 3 is delivered, the robot’s body is accidentally damaged. Hong Baek-kyun approaches Jo Ji-ah, asking her to pose as the robot, giving the team time to repair Aji 3. Jo Ji-ah agrees, and impersonates the robot under the supervision of the Santa Maria team and the robot’s computer brain, can she survive without being caught out?

11. Goblin / Guardian the lonely and great

Kim Shin is a goblin and protector of souls. He is the landlord of the grim reaper, who is in charge of taking deceased souls. Wanting to end his immortal life, Shin has been looking for his human bride, the only person who can end his life. Meanwhile, Ji Eun-tak is a high school student who remains optimistic despite the tragedies and difficulties she has experienced in her life. She summons the goblin by chance, and through various encounters, ends up falling in love with him. Sunny is a chicken restaurant owner, whose beauty is undeniable, but what has she got to do with the goblin and reaper? These four characters’ lives took a series of twists and turns when they intertwined.

12. Terius behind me (Another favourite!)

Go Ae-Rin suddenly loses her husband left to take care of her two children on her own. A mysterious man, Kim Bon, that lives next door ends up getting tangled into their lives. Kim Bon is a legendary NIS agent and 3 years ago, he was involved in a failed secret operation and the woman he loved died. He has since become disconnected with the world and lives alone quietly but that soon changes as he helps his neighbor Go Ae-Rin with her children and uncover a conspiracy, which her husband became involved with all the while trying to keep his secrets by the nosy neighbours in the building.

13. 100 days my prince 

Lee Yool is the Crown Prince of Joseon, a perfectionist who disregards the majority of those in the royal palace and appears to be cold and demanding, when in reality, he is lonely. He then passes the law that all women must marry before they reach the age of 28. Hong Shim is head of the first detective agency in Joseon, a strong, intelligent figure who takes on multiple jobs to support herself and her father. She is also the oldest unmarried woman in her village, and begins to look for a husband to avoid trouble from law officials. In an attempted assassination, Lee Yool develops temporary amnesia and wanders around aimlessly as a commoner with no name or identity, until he meets none other than Hong Shim, who takes him under her care. Hong Shim is then forced to marry Won Deuk to save her village from drought, due to beliefs in that era where natural disasters are a result of an unmarried woman’s misery. This drama depicts how the love story of Hong Shim, ‘Joseon’s oldest unmarried woman’ and Lee Yool, the amnesiac Crown Prince, develops over the span of 100 days.

14. My ID is Gangnam beauty

Kang Mi-rae decides to get plastic surgery after years of being bullied because of her looks. Her “rebirth” seems successful at first, but as her life at the university unfolds, her plan starts to backfire. The pressure of being a “pretty girl” begins to pressure her and, worse, those who can see through her surgery ridicule her and tag her as the “Gangnam plastic surgery monster.” The drama follows Mi-rae’s story of recovering self-esteem as she figures out what a two faced friend is and gets to know her coursemate, and former schoolmate in middle school, Do Kyung-seok

15. The secret life of my secretary 

Do Min-Ik works as a director of the mobile media 1 team at T&T, he’s smart and excellent at his job however he doesn’t like to attach himself to people or his secretary. His secretary is Jung Gal-Hee, a diligent and motivated person that does whatever it takes to keep her job and feed her family. Do Min-Ik often does childish things like calling Jung Gal-Hee continually, Jung Gal-Hee carries out Do Min-Ik’s orders without complaints but though she may look soft, she hides her tough side. The tough side soon comes out as she is fired, much to Do Min-Ik’s regret he soon discovers that he’s going to need her more than ever and discovers a new side to her in the process.

16. W - Two worlds ( Really recommended!! )

A love story of two people split apart in different worlds connected by a webtoon. The series focuses on the eponymous fictional webtoon entitled W, written and illustrated by its legendary author and illustrator Oh Seong-moo. W became famous in the entire South Korea, the storyline of the webtoon W starts with the younger years of its main character Kang Chul, a handsome and intelligent boy who is also skilled in shooting. He becomes famous as he won a shooting competition during the 2004 Athens Olympics but this fame gets ruined when his entire family was killed by an unknown Murderer, and then framed for it. Another villain Han Cheol-ho  handles the case to gain political popularity, pronouncing in court to impose death penalty upon Kang Chul. Nevertheless, Kang Chul was deemed innocent of the crime. Depressed over losing his family, he attempts to commit suicide over the Han River but he stops himself and chooses to move on with his life.Ten years later, Kang Chul becomes a multimillionaire, starting his “Project W” in his continuous efforts to catch the real culprit behind his family’s death; part of the project is his television broadcasting company dubbed “W,” after the initials of the interrogatives “who” and “why” (hence, the title of the webtoon). One night, he receives a suspicious phone call and gets severely injured by the same mysterious Murderer at the rooftop of his penthouse, only to be saved by a mysterious girl, none other than the authors daughter. How did she get there? Why is she there? How will they become entangled?

17. My contracted husband Mr Oh

Han Seung-Joo (Uee) is a single woman in her mid 30’s who works as a PD at a broadcasting station. She does well at her job, but is not nearly as good when it comes to housework. Han Seung-Joo has a hard time dealing with social prejudices about single women but still refuses to marry at least until an incident that occurs leading to a dramatic change in her life. She seeks to find a husband thinking it would help her situation but to get the position of a “married woman,” Han Seung-Joo marries Oh Jak-Doo as a contract husband who lives in the mountain that she just happened to own. Their marriage is not based on love, but their relationship develops romantically after several twists and turns.

18. Marriage contract ( For those who love to cry, seriously heartbreak ahead )

Kang Hye-soo is a single mother who struggles to raise her daughter while paying off her late husband’s debts. Han Ji-hoon is the son of a chaebol who seeks a contract marriage in order to save his mother, who needs a liver transplant. When Hye-soo is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, she agrees to marry Ji-hoon and donate part of her liver to his mother, in exchange for enough money to provide for her daughter until she reaches adulthood. Han Ji-Hoon is driving along when Hye-Soo is almost hit saving her 7 year old daughter Eun-Seong, He rushes her to the hospital as she faints however while she is being tested the Manager of the restaurant Han Ji-Hoon owns Ho-Joon tells him might be a scam and to make sure she is really hurt. Han Ji-Hoon has Hye-Soo’s phone and receives a call from a mysterious man which turns out to be the debt collector who comes to the hospital after hearing it being said in the background. He chases Hye-Soo when she is leaving, where he almost catches her but she in the end hides in Han Ji-Hoon’s car with Eun-Seong. Han Ji-Hoon’s mother has been rushed to the hospital where they find out that if she doesn’t get a liver transplant she will die but she is way down on the list so Han Ji-Hoon decides to marry a Hye-Soo she agrees so she can pay off her debt and also make sure Eun-Seong has money to grow up on as she gets the results back from when she fainted and she has a brain tumour. Eun-Seong in the beginning doesn’t like Han Ji-Hoon but she warms up to him as the pretend relationship blossoms into something real.

BONUS

19. 200 pounds beauty

Han-Na is a very large girl with a warm heart. She also possesses an unbelievable voice. Han-Na wants to become a pop-singer, but due to her extra-large appearance, can only work as a faceless singer. She provides the vocals for a popular singer named Amy, a beautiful young lady that can’t carry a note to save her life.Han-Na is also in love with Amiys music producer, Sang-Joon, but it’s a one-sided love. One day, Han-Na is invited to Sang-Joon’s birthday party and receives a red dress from him to wear to his party. Han-Na is excited, yet scared. The dress is revealing and quite extravagant. With her very large figure, she is not sure if she can wear such an outfit. Han-Na does eventually go to the birthday party in the red dress, but is mortified when petite Amy appears in the same red dress. During the course of the birthday party, Han-Na absorbs more emotional trauma and she simply disappears for one year. Han-Na then returns as the beautiful Jenny, a beautiful stunner who decides to make it on her own in the industry but encounters her once sided love. Will she be a success? Will her feelings get in the way and can she keep the guilt of the consequences of what her change brings?

20. Takane to Hana ( Japanese )

A tv show adapted from a manga ( that I particularly loved).  After her older sister refuses to go to an arranged marriage meeting with Takane Saibara, the heir to a vast business fortune, high schooler Hana Nonomura agrees to be her stand-in to save face for the family. But what happens when Hana meets Takane is an unexpected pairing of utter opposites! Although it seemed a little rushed at the end it was a nice tv show!

[minuteminx]

Revolutionary

[NEW FIC ALERT!!]

Pairing: Preston Garvey/ Female Sole Survivor

Summary: In the aftermath of personal tragedies, Preston and Charlie both seek to make a difference in the Commonwealth and those around them. They could never anticipate the impact that they will have on eachother in the process.

[AO3 Link]

Chapter One: Paul Revere

“You cannot buy the revolution. You cannot make the revolution. You can only be the revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere.” ― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed

Qunicy Ruins, June 2288

When Preston was a kid, he’d sit with his dad on their tattered rug as the man picked lackadaisically at the strings of an ancient guitar.  He’d wax all sorts of poetic about the past, the times before the war, before the bombs fell, before everything was rads and raiders and running from bands of ferals.  It was that Great Commonwealth Myth of a pre-war paradise, of big ideals, and boundless opportunity.  A myth that one would hear refuted if they listened closely enough to grumbles from ghouls who’d managed to keep their sanity over the two centuries since the end of the world.

The myth was a lie, for sure, one Preston had clung to for most of his life.  But he couldn’t anymore, not as he stood staring at the massive pile of ashes that used to be his comrades and the settlers they attempted to protect.  The bastards who murdered all of those people were direct descendents from the monsters who made weapons with enough power to wipe entire regions off the map.  There was no paradise; it was just a prettier picture.

The Quincy settlement, if he could still call it that, looked a lot different since the last time he’d seen it, surrounded by junk fences and lined with barbed wire at the top.  Buildings were tagged with Gunner graffiti, and the streets were quiet as the mass grave that the settlement had turned out to be. It really didn’t make much sense.  Shouldn’t it have been some sort of bustling Gunner stronghold after Clint and his buddies went to all that trouble to claim it?

“I don’t like this,” Charlie remarked suddenly, her raspy voice a quick reminder that he wasn’t alone, hadn’t been alone for over eight months now.  He turned to face her, eyes flicking around the ruins to the seven other Minutemen who’d come along.  Millie was the only one who noticed him, and she gave him the least reassuring smile he’d ever seen.

“Neither do I,” he agreed as he returned his gaze to Charlie.  “Not one bit.”

“It wasn’t like this when I got away,” Millie added, glancing around the square, “I know that there had been mention of disagreements between Clint and the other bosses, probably because he has the leadership ability of a bloatfly.”

Preston smirked. “Now, Millie, I think that’s giving him too much credit.”

She laughed and opened her mouth to reply to him, but an explosion rang out instead as a launched projectile crashed into one of the buildings just ahead of them.  She eyed the area frantically before locking onto the rooftop of the church. “Shit. It’s Baker.”

“Baker?” He snapped his gaze up to the walkway, catching a glimpse of a figure clad in power armor and wielding a goddamned fat man.

“He’s one of the other bosses… and it looks like he found himself a new toy.”

Preston sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, running through the list of possible strategies in his head.  “We need to fall back,” he muttered under his breath decisively, then looked up to make the suggestion to Charlie, to the general, “We need to fall b--”

She’d already taken off toward the church, a pistol in either hand, without giving a single order to him or the others.  He wanted to drop everything and chase after her, to stop her from running directly into danger, just once. But someone had to give some kind of instruction before Baker launched a nuke directly on top of them.   He waved his hand over his head and back toward the gates, motioning for the others to head back out of the middle of town. “Fall back.  Head up to the walkways if you can.  We can’t win this from the ground.”

Millie remained where she stood as the others fled to safety.  “I’ll get these guys into position,” she stated, then nodded in the direction Charlie had run, “You go fetch your general.”

“But--” Another mini nuke exploded, in the distance this time, and his stomach lurched.  

“Go.”  She flicked her wrist in a shooing motion. “You’re not gonna be any use back here worried about her out there trying to pistol whip Baker to death.”

He snorted out a laugh despite the gravity of the situation, the image of the rail thin red-head successfully tackling him down, power armor and all, and smacking the butt of her favorite 10mm into his nose.  Honestly, he’d seen her get away with wilder things.  He tipped his hat at his long time friend, gave his musket a quick crank, and ran off after his wildcard general.

He faced little resistance on his way to the church, only a couple of Gunner conscripts crossed his path, and he was able to take them out easily.  It looked like a lot of their efforts were focused on Millie and the others at the gates and climbing up the walkways. It was for the best, but it didn’t make him worry any less for their safety.

When he finally reached the church, it was too quiet, especially for somewhere Charlie was supposed to be.  There was no gunfire, no talking, nothing.  Just silence.  Preston scanned the area, heart pounding uncomfortably in his chest.  After everything Charlie had been through, all she’d survived, she couldn’t be dead now, not while doing a favor for him, not with all that unfinished business between them. She couldn’t.

Several moments passed, and there were still no signs of life in the area.  He decided to head inside the church, figure out how to get up to the roof for a better view.  Just as he moved toward the door, a loud clank of metal sounded behind him and he spun on his heels, weapon readied.  

It was the traitor himself that he turned to face, Clint, in his hulking suit of stolen power armor, a militia hat perched disrespectfully atop his buzz cut head.  He still wore sunglasses that were so reflective that Preston could see his own furious face in the lenses. Clint let out an arrogant chuckle, and stomped up closer.

“Well, well, well,” he mocked, “What do we have here? Paul Revere himself?”

“Preston Garvey, Commonwealth Minutemen.”  He didn’t know why he felt the need to correct a man he intended to kill, but the words slipped out.

“I know who you are.  Read all about you in Ol’ Ezra’s holotapes.” Clint laughed again. “And the Minutemen don’t exist anymore.  I got rid of the last of ‘em, myself.

“You missed one,” Preston remarked, dryly.

“What? You? Ha!.” Clint shook his head. “And that merry band of farmers you marched in through the front gate with?  Kind of a rookie move, there, son.”

“ Don’t call me son,” Preston spat, venom filling his mouth.  

Before he could react, Clint’s armored fist slammed into his chest, knocking the wind from his lungs and sending him flying back against the rusty skeleton of an old car.  Preston’s head crashed against the metal, and pain pulsed out from the point of impact throughout his whole head.  His vision spun around him, creating a double of the man who towered over him.  He felt sick to his stomach, and couldn’t quite figure out how to get back to his feet or where his weapon went.  Darkness crept in at the corners of his vision.

“I hate mouthy punks,” Clint growled.

Preston attempted to speak, but couldn’t find words in the chaos of his head.  He mumbled something even he couldn’t interpret.

“Oh man,” Clint exclaimed, smirk twisting on his face, “You’re really making this easy, Garvey.  Can’t say you live up to Ezra’s praise. What in the goddamned wasteland made you think you could rebuild the Minutemen?  You can’t even take a punch.  Pathetic.”

As Clint spoke, Preston noticed a blur of movement behind the other man.  He knew his eyes must have been playing tricks on him because it looked as if the air vibrated like it sometimes did in highly irradiated areas.  Quincy wasn’t one of those places.  The only other thing it could be was a--

Just as he thought the word stealth boy , the wobble in the air dissipated, and Charlie stood no more than ten feet behind Clint.  She slowly raised a finger to her lips in a shushing motion, and readied her weapon to aim.  Preston couldn’t keep the relief washing over his face, mouth twitching at the corners. She was alive, and not only that, she’d come to save him once again. Mama Murphy really did hit the nail on the head all those months ago.

“Why are you smiling,” Clint asked abruptly, lifting his laser rifle, locking it straight in the direction of Preston’s chest.  “What’s so fucking funny, huh?”

“Nothing, man,” Preston managed, words slurring, “Nothing at all.”

At that moment, Charlie unleashed a terrifying barrage of shots into Clint’s armor, damaging the legs so severely that they locked in place, and Clint had to jump out.  “What the--” he began, and turned around, to face his attacker.  “You little bitch .”

He attempted to raise his weapon and aim at her, but before he could get there, she’d pulled her trigger.  Preston couldn’t make out where she’d shot Clint, but the man dropped his gun and fell to his knees, before falling to his face.  Charlie holstered her pistols, and stared down at the man she’d just killed, expression as flat as he’d ever seen it.

“I’m not a bitch,” she muttered, shaking her head before setting her gaze on Preston, worry knitting her brows as soon as their eyes met.  She rushed over to where he sat, up against the car he’d been thrown into, and knelt down, cupping his face with a gloved hand on either side and turning his head to the left and then the right, clearly examining him for injury.  She flipped a switch on her PipBoy, flashing a bright beam of light into each of his eyes.  He squinted and shook his head, causing her to giggle, but he could hear the tears and sniffling between laughs.  

“You’re okay,” she assured him, pressing an unexpected kiss to his forehead, “Looks like you might have a concussion, but you’re safe.  I’m here.”

“You’re really scary sometimes, you know that,” he stated, words still stumbling out of his mouth clumsily.  

She laughed nervously and glanced away, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.  “I’m sorry, I just… I’d just watched Clint knock you into this car, and he was about to kill you and I just--.”

“No,”  he corrected her, grin spreading across his face, “It’s kinda hot.”

She snorted and a tear rolled down her cheek, dripping off her chin.  “Jesus, you hit your head harder than I thought.”

“It’s still the truth,” he admitted weakly, vision closing in entirely.  The last thing he heard before he lost consciousness entirely, was her voice calling his name.  

“Preston?”

[lilyharvord]

Song of the Phoenix Part 7

WHoa, it’s been a haut minute since I updated this fic. But now it’s gonna be fun. We meet some new characters and they are very important. 

Find Part 1/ Part 2/ Part 3/ Part 4/ Part 5/ Part 6 

tag list: @evangelineartemiasamos @mareshmallow @redqueenetwork @farleydiana @whatsup-gorls @scxrletguardsdawn @freaky-freiday 

(/Coriane/) I don’t remember falling asleep, nor do I remember them stopping and switching out the person guarding us. My head bumps the back of the truck as we stop though and I snap awake, thinking everything must have been a dream that I’m going to wake up from and laugh at how silly the whole thing was. 

My heart beats erratically as I take in the darkness in the back of the truck. Mare is unnaturally still next to me. Braving the silent stone, I reach through the net to touch her shoulder. “Mare?” I whisper to her, but she doesn’t move. Her eyes are open though, and I can see the whites of them in the darkness. Whatever has happened to her though, she is not recovering from it. 

“Mare?” I whisper her name again, panic rising into my tone. Outside of the truck I can hear people approaching the back. She doesn’t move, doesn’t even seem to breathe. The man in the back of the truck with us watches carefully. He scans the way Mare lies still as death, and how I frantically try to wake her.  She’s the physical weak link, but I’m something far worse. 

“Please,” I choke to her when that thought passes through my head. I don’t know how much good it will do though. If she didn’t respond to me before, pleading with her won’t change anything. 

Four people with lanterns appear. In the weak light cast by one of them, I can see that two of them are huge men, and two of them are women. They look us over for a few minutes, and the silence stretches until I wasn’t to scream. One of the women huffs though and says, “I thought you said they were important?”  

“The one in the net is, you idiot. That one’s Mare Barrow.” 

“I don’t recall her being important.” 

“You know! Mare Barrow, The Little Lightning Girl, the girl that brought down the King of Norta.” He says it and spits to the side, as if the words are poison in his mouth. 

My stomach flips in surprise, and I tense before slowly drawing my hand away from Mare. The woman who had asked the initial question looks me over before stepping into the truck and holding the lantern up to my face. She has a thick scar that drags from her temple down to the middle of her cheek. I dont want to know how or where she got it. 

I shy away from her as she edges closer and sneers. “This one looks pathetic.” 

Something in me shrieks in protest, but I do the thing I’ve always been good at, and drop my eyes in shame. She snickers at my reaction and says, “Bring them out then. He’ll take a look at them and tell us what to do.” 

Scar face grabs my arm and drags me toward the end of the truck bed. I tug against her hold, and try to fumble over the right words to say to her. She laughs at my attempts and tosses me out on to the ground. I catch myself on my hands and knees, and scratch up my palms on dry grasses. She drops with catlike grace to land behind me, her hand latching onto the collar of my shirt. I glare at her over my shoulder and say, “You won’t get—”

“Don’t try to tell me that, we’ve got you hundreds of miles away from Ascendant. Your best bet sweet thing, is to keep your mouth shut.” She says with a rapier sharp grin before grabbing my arm as well and dragging me to my feet. I feel like a small animal being manhandled. 

A thud behind me make me turn around though. The two men sneer down at Mare in the net before smirking at each other and dragging her like a fresh catch behind them. 

“Don’t let them hurt her, she’s injured already, please.” I plead, but the woman simply huffs at my words and tugs me back around to get me moving again. I try to protest her hold but she grips my arm so tight it feels like the bone is going to break. Strongarm, I realize, when I see the veins sticking out in her forearm. Her sleeves are rolled up to her elbows in the heat, but she walks like it doesn’t bother her. My mouth feels like its had cotton shoved in it, and already i beads of sweat run down my back. 

In the darkness in front of me, I see a set of fires. As we approach them, the tops of massive tents come into focus. The shadows dance on the edge of them, and my stomach rebels as I remember the stories Jessabel used to tell us about slavers who took women that wandered the streets at night and turned them into meat or something worse. I bucked immediately at the thought. Scar sneers and spits, “Come on, you’re worse than a spooked deer.” 

She drags me into the middle of the encampment, and people peel out of their tents, looking at us in surprise. I spot dirty children clutching their mother’s legs, and young men trying to stand to the front and look tough. A village, this was a village of sorts. That eases my panic a bit. At least I’m not about to be pit on a spit and roasted for tomorrow’s lunch. 

My attention is immediately grabbed by what is in front of me. In the center of the camp is a massive gold and red tent. There are two guards stationed outside of the entrance and they immediately dive inside as we approach. 

Scar face pauses in front of it before kicking the back of my knees to bring me to a kneel. She grabs my wrists and binds them with a worn piece of leather before pulling the knot so tight my skin barks in protest. Pinching my face against the pain, I watch her disappear into the tent as well. 

Mare is dropped next to me and the men continue to stand behind her like she might try to get up. Her eyes are open though, and they finally seem to be in the present because she looks around sluggishly. 

“Mare,” I hiss her name, testing my bonds weakly. One of the men kicks my side, hissing, “Quiet!”


“Forin, let’s not kick our guests.” 

I turn my eyes in the direction of the new speaker. He steps out from inside the tent with Scar Face. He’s young, goodness he can’t be older than Cal. In the firelight, his copper hair and grey eyes cut an imposing figure. He’s dressed like the rest of the soldiers in what could be a ragged uniform. Even in that uniform though, I can tell he is some form of nobility. The way he stands, the way his eyes slowly drag over me scream court trained. Perhaps I can get through to him, make him understand that everything is a mistake and he should release us. 

He steps toward me, the fire light bringing his handsome features into focus. His eyes never leave mine as he asks, “Reece tells me that you’re a whisperer, is this true?”

I purse my lips, and swallow my answers, deciding that I want to be stubborn. Forin, one of the men that dragged Mare, hisses and grabs me by my hair so tightly it makes me shriek in pain. “He asked you a question!”

The new comer does not step to my defense again, instead he watches me with narrowed eyes. My own water as Forin digs his fingers deeper into my scalp until I whimper. “No! I’m a singer!”

“A singer?” He asks in disbelief, and I nod weakly, even though that causes more pain to explode across my scalp. I crane my neck to try and relieve some of the pressure on my head before choking, “Yes, I can… I can only make you do what I want if I sing and make eye contact.” 

“There aren’t many singers in the country Sire, the only one that I know of is the one in Ascendant. The one Kels told us about.” Scar face speaks from behind him, her massive arms crossing across her chest. He nods in response and that spark of familiar information makes me cry, “My brother! That’s my brother!”

Scar face laughs at my outburst, her eyes glinting wickedly in the dim light. “Please, your lies are pathetic.” 

“His name is Julian, he’s my brother!” I argue, only for my words to be cut off as Forin squeezes my hair again. 

“Enough of your lies, you little snake.” His grip tightens to the point that I release a strangled cry of pain. Next to me, Mare groans and the other guard launches himself on top of her, pressing her face into the ground. She can barely move, and they think she can fight them all off? How powerful do they think she is? 

The man holds his hand up in a silent order. Forin grumbles, his grip loosening until he drops my head. I let myself fall forward until my forehead is resting in the dirt, while I sob softly. I was as useless as a rock. Actually, I was more useless than that, you could at least throw a rock and hurt someone. I was more like a petal. Maybe not ever that, because petals could be poisonous. Elara had always been right about me. I was weak, pathetic, and useless. 

The dirt near me crunches and slowly someone crouches down. I shy away from their touch, wanting to just curl up in a ball and disappear into the darkness again. 

“Get her inside, take the other one to the shed and lock her in there. Keep the net on her. We can’t have any accidents.” 

“Sire!” Forin cries, but the silence that follows his exclamation tells me that there will be no argument. Strong hands grab my arms and yank me to my feet before dragging me forward toward the tent. I flip my head around and watch as two new soldiers grab Mare and drag her in the opposite direction. “Wait,” I choke, as I try to pull away and go after her. Where are they taking her? Where is the Shed? Are they going to torture her? 

I’m forced forward and through my tears, I can see the young man pulling the tent flap of the massive tend aside and disappearing inside ahead of us. I takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the brighter interior, and I squint as I look over my surroundings. The interior seems to so out of place with where we are. Beautiful mahogany furniture decotates the space, with books and maps stacked on every available space. In the face corner, almost hidden behind everything is a small cot with a gas lamp on a crate. 

The guards leave me standing and take hesitant steps back on a silent order I assume comes from the young man standing before us. A second later though, he whispers, “leave us.” 

There is a soft hiss from Scar Face, but she follows the order nonetheless. I quiver as she passes by me, her grumbles clearly audible under her breath. The tent flap slides into place and we’re left in silence. The only thing I can hear is the soft drumming of fingers on a desk. I keep my eyes on my bound hands though, terrified of looking up. 

“What is your name?”

I tense and shake my head in response to the question. The drumming stops, and I hold my breath until it continues again. We remain in silence, until his voice fills it. He’s still carefully guarded, but softer when he speaks. “I will give you mine then. We’re cut from the same cloth and you deserve my name at least.” 

I bring my eyes up, just enough to look at him through my lashes. He’s standing behind a massive mahogany desk, littered with papers, books, and a few almost nonexistent candles that are lit. Julian would be disgusted at the candle wax that has leaked onto the covers of the faded volumes. 

He comes from behind the desk slowly, and I take a step back in fear, but he pauses at the front of the desk and leans against it. With a slight dip of his head, he says, “My name is Proteus Valazt, and I am the king of the Raiders.”  

That draws my eyes and a slight incline of my head. He nods with me and then says, “Yours now, it’s only fitting. I’m sure you’re not versed in the court etiquette—“

“My name is Coriane Jacos, and I …” I trail off, hesitant to say my title, wondering if it would make things worse for me if I told him. He raises a brow expectantly, and I drop my eyes and head again. “It doesn’t matter what I was.” 

He shrugs, as if the information truly doesn’t matter. He turns to one of the candles behind him and says, “Do you understand that you are our hostage?”


“I understand that in war there are certain rules to hostages. You are not harm them for one.” 

He chuckles darkly and raises his eyes to me with a smile that the shadows play in. “We’re not at war with Montfort. They are at war with us.” 

Narrowing my eyes in confusion, I watch the rapid, mercurial change to his features. I’ve told lies, I know what they look like on people’s faces. I’d schooled my face to hide the unhappiness underneath my skin for years. I know all the tells. 
 If he realized that he’s given me knowledge about himself, he doesn’t show it, instead he gracefully makes his way back behind the desk and sinks into the chair. He watches me carefully until I say softly, “You don’t believe that.” 

His expression changes immediately from confident, to surprised, to composed. He’s young and hasn’t completely learned how to control those changes in his expression. I blink at him and he leans back in his chair, and brings his fist up to support his chin. It takes a moment for him to realized that I am more than just another silver, I have been in a court somewhere, and I know the games, at least some of them. 

“Who are you?” He asks carefully again. I shake my head and drop my eyes. 

“Forgive me, I’ve overstepped,” I try to back pedal, my fear that he’ll figure out the truth coming through. He narrows his eyes and says, “You’ve served in a court, I want to know which one.” 

There was no harm in leaving him with a little information, not enough to gain the truth though. “I lived in the Nortian court for a while.” I give the piece willingly, and his eyes narrow even further. 

“My father helped a princess from the Lakelander court a few years ago. She came bringing words of peace, and a promise that the King of Norta was going to help us conquer Montfort. Here we are years later though, missing a king, and lacking support.” 

“I’m not that support.” I murmur, and he laughs with a shake of his head at my response. 

“I don’t need to see to know that.” 

He rises from his chair, settling into his new position in the conversation. I move away from him as he walks passed me and digs through the drawers for something behind me. When he returns, it’s with a knife. I pull back in horror, but he grabs my wrists and holds me in place. He’s considerably taller than me, and has no problem manhandling me. 

“No, wait, please—“ I cry, closing my eyes and tensing until I feel the metal between my wrists and hear the near silent snip of the knife cutting through leather. I crack open my eyes and watch him slowly saw at the bonds on my wrists. He works in silence, the callouses on his fingers rubbing against my skin as he does so. 

The leather falls away and I pull my wrists to my chest, rubbing at them softly, trying to sooth the skin. He slips the knife into the holster on his belt, and watches me carefully back away into a corner of the tent, trying to put distance between us. He sits on the edge of the desk again in response, staring at me before saying, “If we succeeded in our effort to over throw Montfort, I would need to know how to function on the political stage. So, my father made me memorize all the kings and queens growing up. There was a singer queen in Norta.” 

My stomach plummets to my knees and I swallow past the sandpaper feeling in my throat. I can’t speak though. Not as he crosses his arms comfortably and says, “Coriane Jacos, the Singer Queen, that’s what they called her. The rumor was that she whispered honey in the prince’s ear and he married her within the week.”

I want to argue in my defense, but I simply press deeper into the shadows, trying to hide. He won’t let me though, his words light fireworks, igniting my past and showing exactly who I am. 

“She gave birth to a son, Tiberias Calore the Seventh. She died a year later, and a Whisper Queen took the throne in her place.” 

“Please—“

“So who are you Coriane Jacos? A queen, a singer, or a corpse?”

My skin crawls at the last word and I whisper, “Nothing, I am nothing.” 

“No one is nothing,” he reasons, and looks down at his boots, his lip curling for a moment in distaste. I wish more than anything that I were a Haven, so that I could blend into the shadows and disappear forever. 

“You’re one of the Living Dead, aren’t you?” He asks the next part softly. My reaction brings a smile to his features, and he says, “Yes, we have them too. They’re growing in number, rising as fast as they die. In fact… my scouts were reporting a change in the weather as you were being brought here. The men I lost in the battle might just walk into this camp tomorrow morning.” 

I wheeze for breath, remembering Mare’s words from earlier. They shouldn’t have this many men, their numbers were too great. 

“Do you know why it’s happening?” I whisper breathlessly, and his eyes widen in surprise, before he shakes his head infinitesimally. 

“Do you?”

I shake my head in reply, stepping out of the corner just slightly. His lips draw into a tight line, as he replies, “It’s not stopping anytime soon though.” 

I hesitant to take another step forward, drawn in by the conversation, and say, “Montfort might know something. The Premier… she might know something.”  

He sneers at the mention of Rori, but his next comment is cut off by Scar face returning, almost out of breath. She looks between the two of us, and then spots the leather strap on the floor. Her eyes narrow a fraction of an inch before she looks up and says, “It’s Harv, he’s almost left us.” 

Proteus is up in seconds and starts for the exit to the tent. He freezes before turning to look at me, as if he just remembered I was there. I try to press myself back into the shadows, but I have a feeling I will never be able to hide from him. “Grab her, Doria. She cant stay here.” 

Doria crosses the space to me, and I try to put up a fight, but she wrestles me into movement. I don’t dare drag my feet, not now that Proteus has cut my bonds. That was a quiet blessing, and I want to think that it’s a promise of some sort. I’m not sure of what yet though. 

I’m dragged through the camp, which seems to have resumed some resemblance of nighttime activity. The children run around the camp fires, shouting and making up games as they go. Elders hush them, and other younger members chatter. But they all bow their heads when Proteus walks by. A hush seems to follow him too. I remember that hush, it makes my skin crawl now, just like it used to when I walked next to Tibe through the crowds. 

He pushes a tent flap aside, which has a massive swath of red paint across the front of it. Doria pushes me inside, and I struggle against her grip, and then against the bile that rises in my throat at the stench. I gag, and choke for a second, while my eyes adjust to the limited light. Next to my feet a woman groans, her body covered in white boils that ooze. I back up into Doria’s chest, trying to put distance between myself and the woman on the ground. Another one to my right groans though, a child from the looks of it, who face is covered in so many of the boils that it doesn’t even look human anymore. 

Doria pushes me to the back, and the further we go, the worse it gets. There are no sounds back here, the people here are the ones closest to death. Here are the people praying for it to end. 

Proteus pauses above a young man and slowly drops to his knees, his facade cracking as he does so. I can barely hear the wheeze of the man’s breaths. His eyelids are swollen shut with the boils, and his body shakes with every exhale. Proteus reaches a hand out only for a nurse to hurry over and whisper, “Your Majesty, I’m sorry, but you can’t--”

His hand hovers over the man’s skin for a moment and he whispers, “Harv, can you hear me?” 

The man doesn’t move, and the nurse bends down to whisper something in Proteus’s ear, her voice gentle. She’s not a healer though, or else the people in here would not be this sick. Surely they have a healer though?

One of the boils pops when Harv opens his mouth and a yellow pus oozes out. I gag and turn to rush from the tent. Doria lets me go, her fingers trailing on my arm. I barely make it out of the tent before I’m sick. A few people look up from nearby, and pull their children away. I lean against one of the poles, trying to catch my breath. I’d never seen anything like that. Not even in the worst of the red villages. Then again, I’d never gone that deep into them. Mare might know more, she said she grew up in the Stilts. It was the poorest, I knew that much. 

A while after I finish vomiting, Doria and Proteus emerge from the tent. I look up, and Proteus glances down at me in surprise, as if he was shocked I was even still standing there. Then his eyes harden and he orders, “Take her to one of the tents, have them burn her clothes, and wash her. I won’t let one of my hostages die.”


Doria nods and grabs my arm before dragging me away and toward another one of the tents at the edge of the encampment. A few women sitting outside of it stroking a small fire look up when she approaches with me. They rise as one, and look me over before pulling the tent flap aside. I can’t even bring myself to protest as they drag me inside. (////)

Hours later, after I’ve been scrubbed raw and doused in oils and soaps until I smell like a perfume parlor, the tent flap shifts. The ladies brushing my hair pull back in surprise and bow their heads deeply. I glance up in the shockingly clean mirror to see Proteus standing behind me. 

“Out, all of you.” He orders, but he almost doesn’t need to. The minute the first word leaves his mouth, they are rushing to leave, whispering like birds as they flee. I straighten my shoulders as he approaches me from behind, internally I tremble. I have no idea what his ability is. He’s too lean to be a strong am, but that wouldn’t stop him from being anything else. Tightening my hands into fists on the thin fabric of the robe they gave me, I demand, “What was that?”

He sinks into one of the chairs in this tent, his eyes closing almost instantly. “We don’t have a name for it.” 

Information, no bonds, and he sits in my presence like this? I truly am next to nothing in where threats are concerned. I didn’t feel like a hostage though. What was his end game? 

“Where are your healers?”

“Died first.” He exhales before tilting his head down and opening his eyes again. My mouth goes dry at the words. I must pale considerably, because when he continues, it’s softly, “It’s not airborne, that’s all we know. It’s spread through contact. But we can never be too careful.” That explains the loss of the healers. They would have had to touch the people they were healing. 

He looks bone tired in that position, and so very young. I remember Cal telling me that he was king for a day, and that it had been miserable. I wonder if this is what he had looked like during that day. 

“What are you going to do with me and Mare?”  

His lips twist in distaste. “I don’t know.”

“What would you trade us for?” I ask softly as I turn on the stool to face him. His eyes glint before he smiles ruefully and says, “An end to Montfort. They forced my people out, sent us into these hideous plains to try and eke out a living. All because we refused to bow to their will.” 

“Their will is good. The people are free, there is no hatred and…”

“You didn’t look hard enough. There is hatred. It’s there, but it’s rooted deeply and hidden carefully.” 

My lips draw into a tight line. It’s a poor excuse, and a poor argument. He probably has never even seen Montfort. If his father, and his father before him had been forced out. His hatred is breed in him. He probably doesn’t even truly believe in fighting this little campaign. “They could help you,” I whisper, “they could send healers… people to help.” 

“Their healers would die just like ours did.” 

“Not the ones like Mare… the Ardents. They’re stronger than silvers.” 

He raises a brow at my words as I stand slowly and take a hesitant step toward him. “Trade us for healers, for medicine, and food, and water. Trade us to save your people, not chasing an ideal.” I have no idea if this will work, if he will listen to me. I’ve seen a glimmer of the truth beneath his façade though. He does not want this lofty goal that he claims to serve. He wants something else. I don’t need to be a whisper to see that. 

He raises a brow at me, his expression searching for ground before he says softly, “I can see why your people loved you Coriane Jacos.” 

I reel in surprise. My people had never loved me. They had feared me, and they had feared my ability. Even then, they never saw me. I had been Queen, but I had been a shadow. I barely made appearances. I wish I had though. I wish I had been stronger. That I could have found it in myself to be happy. Maybe I could have been there for Cal, maybe Elara would have never dug her claws into Tibe. I could have had strength and power. I just wasn’t strong enough to pretend. 

I crouch down slowly and reach for his hand. He starts when I take it gently and whisper, “You have the chance to save your people. Trade us for what you need to save them.” 

For a moment, I think he actually contemplates my words. His lips draw into a tight line a heartbeat later though, while his brows draw together. Yanking his hand from mine and rising from the chair, he growls, “You couldn’t possibly understand what has happened. My father lost his life fighting for our people to live once more. I will not be the one to let him die in vain.” 

He storms out of the tent, leaving me dumbfound. Rising quickly from the dirt though, I rush for the entrance after him. When I reach it, Doria steps inside. She catches me, and pushing me backwards so that I have to catch myself on the vanity. 

“Running away little song bird?”

I have no response. She chuckles at my silence, and takes Proteus’ place in the chair. Pulling out a knife to pick at her nails and cuticles, she says, “Proteus is too kind to you just because you’re silver. He should lock you up in that shed with the Red devil.” 

The mention of Mare brings my head around so I can glare at her. “Where is she? What have you done to her?”

Smirking at my words, Doria looks up from her nails to say, “Nothing she didn’t deserve.” 

My blood runs cold as I try to advance on her, stuttering over my threats. Before I can truly reach her though, she leaps to her feet and grabs my wrists. I yelp as she squeezes tight enough that my bones feel like they will shatter. She practically presses her nose to mine as she hisses, “Try to bewitch my king with your little songs, and I will find a hole in these plains and bury you so deep you won’t be able to dig yourself out when you return.” 

She throws me backwards onto the mess of blankets that make up the bed. I scramble to right myself, and watch as she sinks back into the chair. She goes back to picking at her nails, and even though her eyes aren’t on me, I know that she is aware of my every move. If she stays here tonight, I doubt I’ll get any sleep, which leaves me with plenty of time to start planning an escape.  

[sinnaminsuga]

Title: Money Counter Part 2

Summary: Just the filthy continuation of the first part of this mess

Word Count: 2629

Warnings: smut, power struggle, slapping, choking, rough sex, a tad violent, a little blood, daddy!kink, i think that's it if i missed something let me know!

A/N: hello again! the beautiful @connieisland popped into my messages and inspired me to make a part 2 to my latest fic and this is what i came up with! feedback is appreciated! thank you for reading! ❤️

Link To Part 1: right here

Tags: @october505 @infinite-shite @hope-to-hell @inlovewithhisblueeyes @littlefreya @viking-raider @wolvesandhoundshowltogether @foodieforthoughts @raspberrydreamclouds @wendimydarling @oddsnendsfanfics @its--fandom--darling @the-soot-sprite @connieisland @feralrunaway @oddduckthatgirl

There was no mistaking the groan and shudder that ran through that dangerous man’s body when you spoke softly into his ear. “Now. Let's talk about your punishment for doubting me. You'll be a good boy for me, won't you darling?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Henry’s grip tightened on your waist. “I demand control in all aspects of my life. I don't give that up easily.” he growled.

“So I'll just take. What. I. Want.” you hissed, shoving him backwards swiftly, his broad back hitting the sturdy wood of the table with a muted thud. His eyes widened in surprise at the quick change of his position. Before he could really even adjust, you straddled his waist and leaned down to suckle at the soft tender skin of his neck. You wedged your hands between the already straining buttons of his dress shirt and pulled as hard as you could, sending the buttons flying in every direction. Henry groaned as your lips continued their assault down his now bare chest. You moved slowly and lapped at the skin above his waistband as your hands palmed at his solid length through his pants.

“Well fuck! Are you going to do something or what? I'm dying here!” He all but whined, hands scrabbling for purchase, meeting nothing but loose hundred dollar bills. You giggled to yourself as you fondled him, doing no more and no less than you had been. His hands crumpled the copious amounts of money and as he became frustrated with your lack of desire to do anything but fuck with him, he threw the cash as a feral scream tore from his throat.

Suddenly you were the one at a loss for words as your body was pulled up and flipped over onto your back, thrown into the position Henry was just in. Henry hovered above you, eyes frantically scanning your dress clad form. “Too much.” was all he ground out, not unlike a caveman, before using one hand to tear your dress right down the middle, and making quick work of your panties as well. “HENRY! Do you know how much that dress cost?!” You shrieked, slamming your fists into his chest.

He caught your flailing limbs and pinned them on either side of your head. “Don't care. Get you a new one later. Fuck baby, I can smell you. Like raspberries. And sugar.” Henry moaned lowly, running his nose along your jugular, sharp teeth grazing over your buzzing skin. You couldn't stop the shiver that wracked your body, your sensitive core pulsing around nothing.

“Needy little thing aren't you? You want me? Tell me you do. Because I want you. More than anything. Say you want me, want this, and I’ll take you to levels of ecstasy you’ve never even thought of. Would you like that?” Henry whispered, his knuckles running over your steadily weeping entrance. You whined out a “yes”, lifting your hips looking for friction.

As soon as he got your permission, Henry was on you, his thick strong tongue diving into your lush cavern. You fell victim to his honey coated tongue and soft hums rumbling from his chest. He repeatedly flicked his tongue over your sensitive clit with the vigor of a starving man, pulling sugar sweet moans from your throat. He used his thumbs to pull your folds apart and marvel at the depraved sight that was your aching cunt. You flinched a bit when you felt the pads of Henry’s fingers ghosting over your most sensitive place. He ran his fingers through the sticky sweet slick dripping from you, coating them thoroughly before raising them to his mouth and sucking them clean. The animalistic growl that tore its way out of him was something you’d never grow tired of hearing. When he sank his tongue back into you and curled it in such a way that it rubbed against that spongy flesh inside you, your hand flew to his thick mass of curls atop his head. You could feel him grin against your damp flesh before he lifted his gaze to meet yours.

“Come on sweetheart. Beg me for it. Beg me to cum.” He hissed with a grin. The smile on his face wavered just a fraction when he felt your sharp nails dig into his scalp, sending sparks of pain shooting down his spine.

Tightening your fist around the handful of his hair you had in your hand, you pulled his head up and met his eyes with fury burning in yours. “Fuck you. I don’t beg for a goddamn thing. Never have. Never will.” You ground out between your teeth. Never breaking eye contact with you, he huffed out a laugh and said “Then I guess, I'll just. Take. What. I. Want.”

With a speed you've never experienced, you were flipped over onto your stomach, breasts mashed against the now forgotten money. You attempted to push yourself up onto your forearms but Henry’s broad hand quickly shoved you back down. The lack of control agitated you and you turned as much as you could in his grasp, wriggling your way into a half turned position. Henry attempted to turn you back onto your front and your palm connected with his cheek with a resounding CRACK that echoed in the room.

The force of the slap you delivered had split his lower lip after it collided with his bottom teeth. Henry brought his thumb to his mouth to assess the wound, blood coating his fingertip. You raised an eyebrow at him as if to say “What are you going to do about it?”. A wicked grin split his face, baring his glittering white teeth to you. “Oh you little bitch! You asked for it.” Henry bellowed, his hands once again finding your waist and manhandling you to your front where he had you before. The only difference was his massive hand pressing the side of your face into the wood of the table.

The metal clanging of his belt coming undone sent your body into a frenzy, your pussy clamping down hard around nothing but air. The soft rustle of fabric being pulled down was followed by the sound Henry moaning just a bit as his hand made contact with his engorged manhood. You managed to turn your head under his hand just to get a glimpse of his glorious cock. You knew it would be massive, no one carried themselves around like Henry did if they weren't packing some serious heat.

His erection stood proudly at the apex of his thighs and you shuddered at what you saw next. He held his length out steady, and let a mouthful of spit pour out from between his pillowy lips to land directly onto his shaft. He wiped the excess drool from his mouth with the back of his hand before using it to pump himself, his own spit slicking the way. You keened, watching him intently. When he was ready, he leaned in close so his mouth was against the shell of your ear and his tip notched against your opening.

“I want to fuck you now. But I don't know if you deserve it. Submit to me, wildling,-” you stiffened beneath him, ready to fight him off again, but he continued speaking with his hushed tone. “-and I’ll make you touch the stars. It doesn't make you weak, to let someone else take care of you, you know. I know what you want, what you need, sweetheart but I need to hear you say it. Let me give it to you. Cmon baby.” he murmured.

You weren't ready to say anything just yet and he could tell, so he slowly slid the tip of himself into you, punching out a whimper from your chest. But then he stopped. No movement, nothing. “You can have the rest if you use your words, love. Cmon. Just say it. I gotta hear you say it. Please please please.” Henry rambled, his forehead pressed to the side of your head. Your cunt squeezed around what small piece of him had pushed inside of you, attempting to suck him in further. You burned with need, the ache almost becoming painful. You gritted your teeth, trying to wait him out for about another minute. Then you gave in, the need coursing through you taking over and making you a soft, pliant, whimpering mess. You fell limp against the table and tried to push back onto him.

“Oh god please! I cant take it anymore! I cant go another minute without you inside me! Please oh god please Henry please fuck me please I’m begging you!” you cried, begging was foreign to you and it caused shame and tears to soak your cheeks. Henry brushed your hair behind your ear as he tutted at you. “See? Was that so hard darling? I’ll give you what you need. Shhh don't cry. I'm gonna make it all better okay?” He cooed, lapping up the briney tears that streaked your face as he pushed into you. He bottomed out inside you and you howled with the feeling of being so complete. He pulled back and slammed into you again, his tip kissing your cervix.

“Jesus fucking christ woman you're so tight. Like a god damn virgin. You take me so well. Do you feel me? Here?” Henry splayed his massive hand over your lower stomach. You were unable to form coherent thoughts or words so you nodded as best you could. His palm once again slid up your back and sunk into the hair at the back of your head. He roughly yanked your head back causing you to gasp and sputter. “I'm going to fuck you like an animal. I’m not going to be nice and i'm not going to be gentle but that's what you want isn't it?” Henry spat, his hips beginning to piston his cock in and out of you at a rapid pace. He kept spewing filth into your ear as he moved in and out of you, grinding your clit against the table causing the most delicious sensation that teetered on the razor thin edge of pleasure and pain.

“I’m going to fill you up over and over and over again until your hungry little hole is spilling over with my cum. I want to see it drip out of you. Maybe I’ll give you a baby, would you like that, little one? Yeah I want to see you round with my child.” Henry spewed his heated words as his heavy length plundered your channel. Your walls squeezed him, attempting to force him out but also suck him back in at the same time. Your body moved against the table but your brain was mush. He hooked his hand under your left knee and pulled your leg up to rest on the table, opening you further. He tipped his hips at just the right angle, hitting that spot inside you causing you to scream out.

“Oh god yes Daddy!” rolled off your lips and you felt Henry’s rhythm falter.

“Oh sweetheart, I could get used to that. Say it again. Let me hear you.” he moaned.

“Fuck me Daddy! P-please! I-i need to c-cum!” you whined, pathetic and broken. Henry stopped moving for just long enough to gently turn you over onto your back, never slipping out of you. He picked up his pace once again before answering.

“Go ahead pretty girl. Cum on my cock. Yeahhhh just like that baby. Fuck! You're squeezing me so tight” he snarled, massive hands tightening and bruising your waist. You felt the coil in the pit of your stomach snap as you came around him, sparks of unbelievable pleasure shooting up your spine and radiating out to the tips of your fingers. Bliss took over your body and a strangled cry clawed it's way up your throat and out into the hot air between you two.

Henry kept fucking into you as you rode out the aftershocks of your orgasm, drawing little “Ah!” sounds from your sweet mouth. He halted his movements long enough to lift your naked form into his arms to continue fucking you while in the air. You noted the fact that you were moving around the room but you didn't know where and to be honest you didn't really care as most of your attention was firmly focused on the slick rod impaling you repeatedly. Suddenly your back met the wood of the door and Henry’s right hand snaked it's way up and settled around your vulnerable throat, applying a good amount of pressure.

“Cmon baby give me another one. I know you can. Give it to me. Give it to Daddy, yeah?” Henry barked through clamped teeth, hammering up into you harder and harder with every thrust. His hand on your throat tightened, limiting your speech. That hand left your neck and weaseled it's way between your bodies to rub fast tight little circles over your clit causing you to gasp. Henry rushed forward and licked into your open mouth and your hands flew to his shoulders, sinking your nails into the supple flesh. Neither of you realized how hard he was railing you against the door until you heard the splintering of wood and the crash of metal as the locking mechanism in the door gave way at the same time that you came around his throbbing length once again. There was now a hole in the door but neither of you gave a fuck. Henry pulled you tight against his chest and continued to piston in and out of you at a near punishing pace, now chasing his own high.

“Fuck! I-i’m gonna cum sweetheart. I’m gonna cum inside you. Fill you up real good. Put a baby in you. God fuc- shit! Oh my god!” Henry roared and thrashed like an animal as he shot deep inside you, soothing your aching womb with his seed.

He lowered you both to the ground so you were straddling his lap, still full of him. You rested your head on his shoulder, the both of you panting desperately attempting to fill your lungs with the sex-thick air. Henry's fingers danced up your spine as you relaxed against him.

“We made quite the mess, young lady.” he mumbled, nudging you to turn your head and look. The money you had been tasked with counting now littered the entire room, your supplies for banding the stacks of cash strewn about the floor.

“Yes I suppose we did. Wanna make another one?” You snickered, tightening your walls around his softening length inside you. He let out a low hiss before delivering a light snack to your ass.

“Let me get you to my bedroom first, you heathen.” Henry remarked with a grin as he planted a kiss on your shoulder. “Well cmon then Daddy. Show me what else you got.” You giggled with your hands on either side of his face.

Henry’s broad frame shook with his laughter before he looked you in the eyes, his glinting with mischief. His tongue ran up the column of your throat, lapping up the salty sweat glistening on your skin before whispering “Oh I’ll show you what I’ve got darling. Don't you worry.”

Your response died on your lips as his teeth sank into the meat of your shoulder. This man had ruined you for anyone else. And you couldn't find it in yourself to even pretend to be mad about it.

THE END

[stayflaminhotmen]

Katara and her trauma with the fire nation

The reason why some people like me can’t see any romantic between Katara and Zuko with that ATLA put in the show because Katara experienced deep trauma from the fire nation is completely reasonable.

My problem is how Katara experienced trauma first hand from the fire nation and it affected her a lot. If it was the next generation of kids who never experienced a traumatizing war and saw the fire nation in a good light first hand despite the history, then it’s not a problem in general (unless there’s specific problems such as them still experiencing oppression in some sort of way then it’s up for discussion but in a general sense, I don’t see a problem.) This is because the next generation KNOWS about the war and what it caused, that’s not the same as EXPERIENCING it first hand. That’s the problem that people like me are anti-zuatara are saying. Katara experienced it first hand and had personal experience and trauma from it. Her mother getting killed IN HER OWN VILLAGE when they attacked and she was only 8, then Katara first meets Zuko wearing fire nation armor and comes with fire nation soldiers and threatened her village and then the siege of the north where fire nation attacked and Katara saw it first hand. Zuko was there while the fire nation attacked the north pole (which is her sister tribe). Zuko used this opportunity to his advantage to get the Avatar, attacked Katara, called her a little peasant and even knocked her unconscious in the process. She was there and she experienced it. I genuinely believe that is traumatizing no matter how much they down played the trauma for the sake of it being a kids show. They even showed how much it affected her by how she immediately talks about losing her mother to the fire nation whenever anyone brings up the fire nation. The trauma she has of losing her mother is tied to the fire nation. Yes, Zuko helped her get closure about that which is literally so amazing for him to do. But closure doesn’t mean that the trauma isn’t there anymore. It’s something she has to live with for the rest of her life and deserves sufficient time to work through it.

Which is why some people are a little hesitant to ship them. It’s not just because he’s fire nation, but because she experienced TRAUMA from the fire nation specifically multiple times. It’s has more to do with trauma she experienced and it just so happens that the trauma she has is linked to the fire nation which is Zuko is heir to. Not to mention, he contributed to that. I don’t find that racist because it’s addressing the rightful trauma that Katara has. It would be racists if Katara never experience trauma from the fire nation and I wouldn’t want her to be with Zuko just because he’s from the fire nation. That’s why I’m saying the next generation of kids who only know about what happened, isn’t a big problem (again, unless they still experience oppression and are deeply affected, it becomes something that needs to be discussed.)

That’s why people like me would really like for Katara to really deal that trauma first and for Zuko to take action into fixing the political problems within the fire nation. This is actually why I genuinely find the whole Zuko and Katara reconnecting in their old age when Aang has died and Zuko is single actually non problematic in terms of LOK canon. We see how Zuko actively worked on fixing the problems within the fire nation, Katara has seen and helped rebuild her tribe, and the world as a whole is in a new era of peace with each other. No more being scared of the fire nation. On top of that, much time has passed that it’s realistic for Katara to no longer be traumatized of her past. She no longer fears the fire nation or would be hesitant towards having romantic feelings for Zuko because of the changes made. His actions showed it.

Personally, I’m not into it because it’s not my thing but that’s besides the point. The point is that it’s an unproblematic way for things to be post canon for Zutara in the Avatar universe. If it’s like AU, then it’s non problematic either because it’s in a different world where that “never” happened. It’s just the characters personality in fanfic. However, I find it highly uncomfortable when I see things like pictures of Katara and Zuko kissing after she heals him. It just feels like it’s diminishing her rightful trauma. If others don’t find that problematic then that’s on them. I have my reasons which I think are valid as to why I don’t like it and I hope others consider.

Anyways, I’m not saying that Katara and Zuko can’t have a romance together but I’m just saying that for the sake of Katara, I would want her to work towards working through her trauma within the fire nation more. I think that’s completely reasonable. That’s why it’s hard for me to realistically look at Zuko and Katara connecting in the Cross Roads to Destiny and think romantic partners just at looking at those scenes. That’s why, it’s hard for me to realistically look at Katara and Zuko forgiving each other in TSR and think romantic partners! Call me uptight but I just find it hard to believe that Katara’s subconscious wouldn’t think about all that before even consciously considering him as a romantic partner. Or that Zuko would be slightly hesitant because of what his people, the people he’s going to lead did to her people. He listened to her story of how the Southern Raiders attacked and I can only assume that he would think that it’s something she needs more time to work through. Zuko more than anyone knows how people need space and time to work through their trauma. Zuko more than anyone knows that even though he gets closure, that trauma doesn’t go away. That’s why if he truly cared for her, he’d give her the space to heal and make changes in the fire nation. People like me feel like it should be separate from romance because we don’t like to romanticize situations. I guess I like to see things for what they are especially when that’s the situation presents to us in ATLA. 

(Which is why I’m annoyed that the creators thought it was a good idea to use this ship as bait in the video teasers for season three. Like if this was the background of a ship, they really were going to bait the viewers like this, give them hope, not make it happen and then make it such a big deal. I’m just like really. They really just had to do this. I’m just like, how can someone create such a masterpiece tv series and make such a problematic promotion video that’s like what 2 minutes long or less. Like REALLY. smh) 

And I get that Katara helped a village because they needed help, but she didn’t see them as fire nation military. She saw them struggling as well which she empathizes because that’s literally how her village was too. It was also small and the people were scared of fire nation too. That different with how she saw Zuko when they first meet - him threatening his village for the avatar. He knew that he was in a position of power seeing that the village feared him. He didn’t stop to think about the oppression they faced due to his father, grandfather and great grandfather. He didn’t know, but that doesn’t excuse what he did do. That doesn’t excuse diminishing that act as if it was nothing in Katara’s POV. 

My problem is that even they do connect and share chemistry, some people have trouble passing all that hatred and trauma after ONE interaction in the crossroads of destiny when they open up to each other and immediately see romance. Then in the southern raiders, again, I have trouble seeing that with her trying to forgive him after his betrayal, she suddenly feel romantic feelings or that Zuko would. I just feel like it would kinda be a bit odd how Katara would be confused with her feelings for Aang because they’re in the middle of a war when they’ve been best friends, but would suddenly fall for Zuko also in the middle of the war almost immediately despite their shaky foundation and the new found trust they have. Not to mention, seeing anything romantic in him saving her but seeing that he’s really changed from when she last caught Azula the cross roads of destiny. It signifies their friendship at least in my perspective, not exactly anything romantic (there’s potential, I admit) but for what was given to us, it’s just doesn’t make sense to be canon or even see any romance in the near future with all that trauma. 

Like I said, there’s potential for a romantic relationship for Zutara but the show didn’t give some of us enough interactions between them to be 100% on board. Not to mention, if I wanted a good relationship dynamic, I’d pick up a romance specific book and go read it. ATLA is not a romance, it’s a fantasy story which is why I love the series so I’d rather not fantasize over a romance that’s problematic for me. Especially since I’m not a fan of the whole enemies to lover trope. I just believe that a proper redemption arc shouldn’t mean that a guy should then be allowed to get a romance interest they hurt. Especially with Zuko and Katara’s relationship throughout the series. It showed boundaries which is a really good underlying message for young kids. That’s why I really love Zuko’s redemption arc because he got his honor and became fire lord which was done so freaking well. Like what truly mattered in the end for Zuko wasn’t who he ended up with, but that he got his honor back and the title of Fire Lord Zuko. 

Back to the boundaries thing, I wanted to adress that the difference between a friendship and a romantic relationship, at least for me, is that a friendship has more boundaries than a romantic relationship. Because of their shaking foundation of their relationship, I want those boundaries there for Katara and Zuko. I see the potential, but like I said, it’s hard for me to literally see Katara and Zuko as more than friends in those scenes where they’re friends knowing all that in a short amount of time. I’d just very much for more time for them to work on those others things before I see romance. That’s a valid reason and one that I don’t think people should just toss around and be defensive about, and calling people racists or ignorant. It’s not, it’s seeing this specific situation of Katara and Zuko in terms of boundaries.

Basically, wrapping this whole thing up, it’s hard for me and others to look past all the stuff that Katara and Zuko went through and see anything more than a deep friendship and understanding for each other with such little time and in such few episodes. Which is why I feel like them ending off as platonic friends in canon was the right move. It gives them time to work on building an even stronger friendship, Katara working through her trauma, and Zuko actively trying to change the problems within the fire nation. It also opens people in fanfic to explore romance if anyone’s into that. That’s why I personally believe that Zutara as a couple has a place in fanfic, fanart, etc, but it was the right move for them not to make it canon in terms of what they made canon in the tc show. 

Again, this is my personal opinion and people don’t have to agree. People are entitled to their own opinion. However, I feel like people saying that this isn’t a valid excuse are being extremely defensive and not considering thinking about why others feel this way. I also addressed just Zutara because it’s where I see this problem not being considered the most or being downplayed. It’s in Zutara that I see the argument that it should have been canon the most and not in other noncanon (but valid) pairings in ATLA. 

[supernaturallyobsessedchic]

7 Days to Die - Part 5

Heal

Pairing: Jensen x Reader

Warnings: Scary situations all round, language, implied character death.

Summary: The reader works to get Jensen feeling better again, but she forgets about her own health.

a/n: I guess I put it in here too, a little feeling of The Last of Us mission of Ellie trying to get meds for Joel, whereas in this Y/N is trying to get meds for Jensen.

Word Count:  1,293

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

Main Masterlist

7 Days to Die Masterlist

Mobile Masterlist

~

“Damn.”

Y/N cursed when the fifth check point that day came up empty for antibiotics.

As she exited a gun cocking behind her caused her to freeze.

“Don’t move.” A deep voice with a southern accent said.

The voice had a sense of familiarity.

“Benny?” she asked.

She turns to face the man. And it was the actor that played Benny Lafitte from Supernatural.

“Jensen must have told you about us.” He said, lowering his gun. Putting the safety on.

“Speaking of, he’s hurt. I need antibiotics, like now.” She says urgently.

“How bad?” he says.

“Bad, gunshot wound, I managed to stitch up. But it’s infected. He’s fighting a fever right now.” She explained.

“We got some in our camp, I’ll take you to Misha.” He says.

“How far is it, I don’t want to be too far from Jensen.” She says.

“Not far, this is our strong hold. We keep it stocked with mostly weapons. The meds are on the other side of the camp.” He says.

“What about his family?” she asked.

“We got some meds for them, they’re bouncing back. But his wife, she’s getting worse.” He says.

“Then you might need something stronger.” She says.

“Maybe, but we can’t find any. We don’t want to venture too far ourselves.” Benny says. “And Jensen and Jared pushed it going to that quiet small town.” He says.

“Jared didn’t make it.” she says sadly. “Scratched, turned.” She says.

“Damn.” Benny says sadly.

 It wasn’t that far of a walk, the camp Y/N got into she had to go around the scrimmage that still went on. She went unnoticed, luckily.

At the camp it was like a scene from Supernatural, episode The End. She kept to herself, following Benny to the Infirmary.

 Misha was at the main desk as she walked in behind Benny. Jotting something down, he looks up to see who entered.

“Hey Benny, who do you have there?” he asked.

“Didn’t catch her name but she’s with Jensen, says he’s hurt and needs meds. The strong ones.” Benny says.

“My name’s Y/N by the way.” She says. “He was shot, now the wound is infected.” She adds.

“I have just the stuff. Be sure to clean your hands, the wound, then apply it to a clean bandage. And he should bounce back within a day.” He says. Handing her a bottle of antiseptic and a loaded syringe filled with a clear liquid.

“He needs that shot. Just stab him in the arm with it, right there.” He points on his own arm to show her. She nods.

“Thank you Misha.” She says.

“Please, it’s okay to call me Cas in the camp. It’s what we refer to everyone in here. They’re Supernatural characters. As lame as that sounds. But it keeps us all sane.” Misha says.

“I get it. Once he’s better, we’ll be on our way up.” she says.

“We’ll be waiting, have a safe walk back.” He says.

“Maybe I should walk her back?” Benny offered.

“No, we need you here, we lost three more guys to a horde south of here.” Misha said.

“A horde, this far out?” Y/N asked.

“It keeps getting bigger. It’s out of Vancouver.” Misha says.

“Not only that we got a group of raiders to the east.” Benny adds.

“Well, we got some work to do on your forces. We’ll be back before the raiders come.” She says.

“Be safe out there kiddo, bring back my guy safe and sound.” Misha says.

“Plan to.” She says. Heading out, nearly sprinting out of the camp and back to the cabin.

 She got back to the cabin by sundown, having to go around the same scrimmage. She washes her hands as best as she could, getting a fresh bandage she puts the antiseptic on the bandage.  Just seeing how bad his color is, drove her to work fast.

She works the old one off of him. Taking a clean rag with clean water she cleans up the wound. He lets out a groan of pain, he shifts, writhing in pain slightly. Before passing out again.

“I’m sorry, but you need to get better. You have a family to get back to.” She says.

She puts on the new bandage that has the antiseptic.

Then takes the syringe, and sterile wipes cleaning his arm up of any possible germs. Then driving the needle in quickly, injecting the antibiotics slowly.

“There, you should be getting better soon.” She says.

She cleans up the area, and heads to the living room to sit and relax. Even with the sounds of the scrimmage still going on in the distance.

 The fight silenced at sunrise the next day.

Y/N sat on the bed, fighting sleep, but not feeling too hot herself. She didn’t realize she hadn’t eaten in a while, but kept up on fluids. But she could feel how weak she was.

The sun rose more and more, showing the hours passing, she heard Jensen waking up. Showing signs of life. She finally allows herself to sleep, closing her eyes briefly. She heard him up and walking around. Though slowly, he entered the living room. Seeing her slouching on the couch.

“Did you get any rest?” he asked.

“No, not with that fight that went on for a four days.” She says.

“Sounds like it finally stopped.” He says.

“Probably ran out of ammo.” She says.

“You sound awful, rest up. We’ll head out soon.” He says.

“I’ll shut my eyes.” She says. “Oh, and we’re not far from your camp. It’s like, a days walk.” She adds.

“I take it that’s where you got the meds for me from.” He says. She nods.

“Well, awesome. Rest up quick, and we’ll head out and just haul ass.” He adds.

 They quickened their pace when they left the cabin, not wanting to be in the middle of a possible firefight, which they avoided.

She began to lag behind. Her energy leaving her, if she did the math right, she didn’t eat for 3 solid days, now on day four she doesn’t feel right. She was careful to ration the water, but she was drinking. But not enough.

Her gaze was at the ground, she began to stagger. She admitted to herself, she needs to stop. She needs to tell Jensen.

“Jen…” she says, though too softly for him to hear. Too weak. Her eyes roll to the back of her head as she passes out, collapses on the cold wet ground.

The thud prominent, Jensen turns to find Y/N’s unconscious body on the ground.

“No.” he says quietly. Not wanting to be heard. His heart rate picks up.

All he saw was Jared in his mind, when he collapsed, as he ran to her aid.

He lifts her in his arms, he noticed how light she was. Even almost felt every vertebra in her spine. She starved herself. The work she was doing burned a lot of calories and energy, she didn’t recharge herself with eating.

I’m not gonna lose you too. He thought.

Picking her up in his arms he hurries to the camp.

 Night fell when Benny saw his friend carrying someone he just saw the other day. Who looked healthy, but now looks to be dying of starvation.

“I’ll let Cas know.” Benny says.

“Hurry, she must have not eaten anything since I’ve been out.” Jensen says.

The two run through the camp to the Infirmary.

“Misha, she’s starved herself.” Jensen says.

“Well, good to see you too.” Misha says.

Jensen takes her to an open bed. Misha looks her over.

“I can still save her; she’s not totally dehydrated but I’ll pump her full of fluids. She’ll bounce back by morning.” He says. And he gets to work.

“Come on boss, ‘sides, you’re kids need their father.” Benny says.

“Wait, how is she? Danneel?” he asked.

“Look boss, there’s no easy way to say this.” Benny says.

~

Jensen Tag List:

@luci-in-trenchcoats​, @supernatural-jackles​, @becs-bunker​, @mlovesstories​, @winchesters-favorite-girl​, @moonlight-on-her-skin​, @backseat-of-deans-67chevy​, @salt-n-burn-em-all​

~

Copying and reposting someone else’s content is plagiarism and illegal. This work is property of supernaturallyobsessedchic. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher. An electronic reference link to the original posted work may be provided for purposes of promotion or assistance of publication by the readers discretion, if proper credits are given to the author in the re-post. 10/19/2020

[thethreemages]

Yeaaah, didn’t mean to make such a late holiday-related TTM pic this year... buut yknow, stuff happens to where I just wasn’t feeling too inspired, I’m afraid :/. Hope this simple & cute lil fluffy pic will be enough to suffice for the meantime though... featuring a much younger Raider Crane as he meets with his beloved baby sister Noira for the first time~ 💙 DA Link

~Fic Below the Cut~

Wintervale had come much like it did any other year in Graystone's main capitol... with many either inside or out bustling in the streets as the cool winter flurries fell up from above. Whether one would be feeling the holiday mood to celebrate with loved ones or not, it was a time many looked forward to in more ways than one. Especially for one particular citizen in the form of Raider Crane, whom was eagerly awaiting the Wintervale morning right by the window sill. Not even for the regular tradition of tearing into his presents... but for expecting the arrival of his parents coming home with a brand new member of the family. His very own baby sister. "Erm... Raider, sweetheart? Don't you think you'd be more comfortable here by the fire?" came the concerned, yet calming voice of his dear Aunt Freya, whom was staying at the family residence to help out with Raider while his parents were busy. Her nephew in the meantime was diligently stuck near the window eyeing the falling snow outside... which was very unlike the past Wintervale's where he'd normally be zipping all over the place in excitement. No, this time was far too special for him to goof off on... so he simply declined his aunt's kindly offer with a quick shake of his head. "Nuh uh, sissy's almost here! I gotta look for her!" Raider insisted, pointing out towards the snow, "If I don't, she won't like me!" Gently laughing with a small smile, Freya simply got up to sit by the couch Raider was kneeling over, patting him on the head, "Oh, I'm sure she won't mind, Raider. She's still just a wee lass after all... the moment she sees you through that door, she's sure to love you~" The thought of that filled Raider with a little more hope... but true to his nature, he quickly went back to leaning to the window to wait anyway. This naturally earned a small sigh from his aunt... yet considering what the family's been going through these past few weeks, she couldn't bring herself to blame the boy. As it was... the arrival of the newest Crane daughter came with some "complications" that prevented her from being born on her expected due date... instead, the build of stress and anxieties from her mother's experiences in the last few months of pregnancy kickstarted an earlier labor. While the baby ended up being relatively fine, all things considered... doctors were still adamant to keep her by the hospital for at least a longer observation period. It was by sheer luck and persistence that her folks were finally allowed to bring her home on this special holiday in particular... much to everyone's relief. Thus... once Raider finally spotted the parking lights of his parents' car up by the front, his face lit up like the sun as he hurriedly hopped off the couch to greet his family, "-SHE'S HERE! AUNTIE AUNTIE, SHE'S HERE~!" "Ooh, thank the Saints!" Freya relaxed in a relieved smile, patiently letting Raider tug her by the sleeve to wait by the door. Little guy was already bounding up and down by his heels by the time the door unlocked and opened... revealing not just his clearly tired and frustrated parents, but the bundled up baby girl in question quietly resting away in her mother's arms. "Mommy! Daddy! How's sissy??" Raider loudly and excitedly asked both his parents, earning a half-annoyed grunt from his father Lachlan as he was trying to hang up his coat. "Quiet down, boy. You're goin' to wake the girl." Lachlan gruffly reminded his son, gesturing to his wife Vinia who looked like she was trying to hold off a migraine whilst keeping the baby asleep. Realizing this, Raider quickly hushed down a bit to a whisper as he then nudged to his mother in curiosity, "Psst, Mommy? Is sissy okay?" Unlike her husband, Vinia was at least a bit more patient to respond to Raider in a gentler tone, taking some deep breaths from her migraine to half-smile back, "Your sister's doing much better, Raider. Just give us a moment and we'll let you see her..." "Ohhh, okay!" her little boy nodded back obediently, without another word rushing over to the couch to give his parents some space to settle into the home. His aunt soon headed over to assess how things were going from the hospital stay, even being allowed to hold the baby whilst Lachlan brought down the overnight bags. "Aww... what a darlin' little angel~" Freya warmly smiled at the bundle in her arms, looking over at the couple in curiosity, "Have either of you decided on a name, yet? I know things were hectic back at the hospital and all, so..." "Pff, well of course we did..." Lachlan responded with a huff after putting away one of the bags, "We'll be callin' her 'Noira'... for one of the Crane's many great past figures, Noira the Victress." Intrigued by this particular name choice, it made Freya think a bit more before she gave a look of confusion, "...Wasn't Victress Noira the leader of a band of blood pirates...?" Perhaps to not too much of a surprise, Lachlan didn't seem to get what the issue was as he raised a brow back at her, "...and your point is...?" "Well... pardon me to be judgin' on baby names, but isn't that a bit too grizzly of an origin to name your own daughter after?" Freya further questioned... growing even more unamused by her brother simply giving a haughty laugh, "Well duh... that's what makes the name as fittin' as it be! Y'know us Cranes have to be held up to the strongest of warrior titles, that's been the oath of our family since the beginning ages of Terra..." Lachlan confidently explained as he glanced back over to the bundle in his wife's arms, yawning strongly before snuggling up in her blanket again. "-Besides, lil Noira over there be carryin' a vast Water magic aura... tis only natural she carry a similarly strong title much like her brother is with our grandfather's. What more can ya want?" and thus, without even giving his sister time respond back to that statement, Lachlan simply turned away from view as he went over to grab a quick smoke outside, leaving the rest of his kin alone in the living area. There were... many things on Freya's mind in regards to her brother, from his long-standing gruff attitude to his never-ending stubbornness on keeping up these countless "traditions" from their family name... but in this moment of seeing Raider so eager to scooch over to Vinia and the baby, she decided to just leave the issue be for now and let this treasured memory continue on in peace... "Mommy... she's so pretty..." Raider gently uttered, staring in awe at such a tiny and delicate lil thing. From her pudgy lil cheeks, to her tiny hands, to the soft lil tufts of hair curled on her head... one would be a fool to find Noira to be anything other than adorable. Watching her son be so intrigued by his sister was a sight that even Vinia couldn't resist finding charm in... tiredly smiling down at the siblings meeting for the first time. "...Would you like to hold her, Raider?" Vinia softly spoke to her son, immediately bringing a small gasp of joy to Raider face, "-Really??" "-As long as you promise to be careful, that is... then yes." she calmly nodded back, her tone recognizably staying firm but not enough to deter her little boy. It took a quick second for Raider to calm himself on quietly nodding yes in a promise... which luckily gave enough trust in Vinia to carefully maneuver Noira to relax down into Raider's lap, with the help of some pillows nearby. Needlessly to say, Aunt Freya wasted no time hurrying to grab the recorder up on the shelf to capture this moment... smiling warmly at the sight of Raider being so overjoyed around his new sibling. Seeming to be the most happiness she'd seen from the boy than any of his past Wintervale gifts, Raider couldn't help but declare an 'oath' of his own to the baby girl below him. "Psst, hi Noira... I'm your brother, Raider! I know the big world may be a bit scary now... since you're so little and all. But no need to worry, 'cause as your big brother... I promise to always save you! No one's gonna hurt my baby sissy while I'm around, never ever!" With that... it seemed to finally stir up Noira from her sleep enough for her to carefully blink her lil eyes open... a brilliant blue color matching much like her brother's gazing back at her. Carefully but lovingly, Raider gave her a hug and kiss to show how much he cherished her stepping into his life. To his young, innocent heart, it was the best present he could've asked for for the holiday of Wintervale...