#i love that eternity would totally be talking to themselves

[starqueensthings]

We need to talk about Echo (and by talk I mean screm). S3 E13 + 14 Spoilers!

FRIENDS, I'M GOING TO EXPLODE. I need to talk about Echo for a minute. We need to talk about Echo for a minute,  because he has spent the last two episodes in the absolute thralls of complete and total danger, and I personally don't feel like there's been enough of a celebratory uproar for me to be satisfied with the level of appreciation and love that man deserves. (Remember when Hunter ran face first into a colossal exhaust pipe and we all collectively lost our minds because it was so impressive and so sexy? Remember when Tech drove a speeder really fast through a tunnel and we all fainted? I'M A TECH GIRLY. IT WAS ME! I FAINTED!!) but, Y'ALL, Echo deserves that right now!! And for all eternity!!! Because he is wholly submurged in the harrowing potential of torture and execution, and he didn't even bat an eye to put himself there. My awe of him is all-consuming, so please forgive me if this rant reads as nothing but incoherent screaming. 

Echo haters (first of all, we can't be friends....) come on this journey with me! Let's back pedal to the beginning of the last episode (13). He stole an imperial shuttle. Let me repeat, he stole an imperial shuttle. And not just an attack shuttle. Not just a lil one-pilot transport. Bro somehow stole a Rho-class medical transport, which is very large, obscenely conspicuous, and very easily tracked. And, to use his own words, it was "the best he could do on short notice." The man stole a shuttle on short notice. ON SHORT NOTICE? HELLO, HOW DID HE DO THAT. WHY AIN'T WE LOSING OUR COOL ABOUT IT. 

Next stop on this I-love-Echo journey through my mind: not only did he provide his brothers transportation in the complete void of their own (RIP havoc bb), but he also came equipped with intel and clearance codes, and, as Rampart stated, those things change DAILY. Echo somehow procured top secret imperial clearance codes, and a fkn SHIP, within hours of the Batch requesting his help. Not to mention, the ship had yet to be reported missing (which means it was only-freshly commandeered), and the clearance codes worked. Of course they did. Echo never fails. Never doubt Echo. "Echo's on it."  

Choochoo, next stop! Once they arrived on that station orbiting Coruscant, and made their way to the control room (lookin sexy as heck in his armour-au-noir), he broke imperial encryption, hacked into the Imperial database, almost instantly found them the location of a ship departing for the prison that holds their daughter Tantiss, AND THEN DIDN'T EVEN HESITATE TO CLIMB ABOARD AND STOW AWAY.  

He didn't even remotely have a plan, or have time to make a plan. He didn't know who or what else would be on board that mysterious vessel. He didn't know where it was going other than the name of the fkn mountain (which has proven to be nothing but unhelpful thus far). He just ARC-troopered his way through that crowded hangar, dodging aggressive astromech's and inconsiderate loader droids, shirking from the perspective eyes of highly trained commandos, and snuck his way onto a heavily guarded, extremely unknown science vessel. Then, of course, he wasted no time, hacking into the ships control system (may I gently remind- there were at least three pilots and an officer prepping the ship for jump and closely watching all aspects of its controls), disabling the proximity sensors without being detected, and then seamlessly covered the troopers absence by pretending to be him (which we all know is what should have happened on Serenno but... hindsight is 20/20.)  

So... SO.... now we're at Episode 14. Here we at fkn terrified station because HULLO ECHO IS ALONE ON A SCIENCE DIVISION TRANSPORT; we have literally seen them carry around Zilo beasts in that shit. What the heck else could be on there that they don't know about? Literally anything. Because THEY KNEW NOTHING before attaching themselves to it. Echo knew NOTHING before sneaking onto that thing and creepin' around. Thank heck he didnt come across a fkn fresh wave of slither vines ok?  

NEXT, Echo shoots (not stuns- lol) a sassy fkn droid (they had it coming, not sorry), then another trooper. AND THEN discovered his only option for departing the ship once it enters atmosphere is going completely undercover, because (in true "we improvise everything" CF99 fashion that gives me heart burn just thinking about it), they had zero fkn plan to get off the ship. I will repeat: completely undercover. On Tantiss. COMPLETELY UNDERCOVER ON TANTISS. NO COMMS, NO BACK UP, NO RECON, NO PLAN, BARELY ANY GEAR, and I would just like to stress... no neuro brace. He left his neurobrace on that ship. Left it. LEFT IT AND TOOK A HAND INSTEAD. PLEASE FKN SEDATE ME.  

We can't leave this station yet... This I-love-Echo train needs to linger at this point for a sec because I think it's lost on some people how wild this is. Echo without his neurobrace is huge. It's a bigger deal than Echo without his armour. Armour is, in the grand scheme of things, inconsequential (one can find more- see Howzer). Echo's neurobrace is not armour, it's a computer and it's so so so crucial to how his mind processes information and events. Don't forget, the Technounion HIJACKED HIS BRAIN. They took every memory from him and manipulated it for their gain. Pruned it, tweaked it, blanched it, poached it, turned it into scrambled eggs, and then fkn ate it up and used it to defeat their enemies (Echo's family- I'm sobbing). They implanted him with an unfathomable amount of information; they changed the way the neurons in his brain fire in relation to stimuli. That neurobrace is so so critical for him. Now, we know he can operate well enough without it, we saw it in the last episode of the TBB arc in season 7 of Clone Wars, but... please.... to what extent? We don't know what an extended time without that neurobrace looks like for him... especially when all other aspects compliing his surroundings foreign, unknown, and dangerous, and that scares me.

AND NOW HE'S ABOUT TO RUN AMOK IN TANTISS with Emerie who, (I'm sorry) is wishy-washy as heck (who are you loyal to!!!!! What is your history!!! Are you trustworthy and what are you looking to gain!!!), trying to adopt a collection of Jedi children whove spent maker-knows how long playing space tetris, WHILST ALSO ATTEMPTING TO LOCATE AND ESCAPE WITH HIS BROTHERS UNDER THE EYE OF THE GALAXY'S SECOND MOST DANGEROUS MAN. 

So yes, short of d-d-d-di... can't say it... short of THE WORST CASE, Echo has made the ultimate sacrifice to save not only Omega who is literally the only person we've seen able to make him truly laugh, but all the clone brothers that he's been desperately trying to locate and rescue. His bravery and determination are literally unrivalled, and he did it while feasting on nothing but humble pie because that man wouldn't know arrogance if it danced naked under his perfect nose.  

Okay so welcome, we've finally pulled into I-Love-Echo station. Before departing the ride, please stand and do a hip hip hurray for the miracle that is Echo, including but not limited to, everything he's done, is doing, and is willing to do for other people. 

[moirindeclermont]

@itshappyginger requested on Tumblr a "all Polin first times we didn't see" all about pillow talk and, specifically, Colin being the little spoon. This is one of those time I wish I could draw, because that would be deliciously cute to draw. But, since I can't draw, I hope I can paint a picture with my words instead.

It's after their reconciliation. Both sated, Pen is still on top of Colin, who wants to drag this moment for all eternity, for all he cares. Both are naked, skin against skin, their breath slowly return to normal as they settle. Pen tries to moved but Colin stops her.

"I know we both have at least another round. Stay like this and, when it's time, we can restart again." Pen shivers. The idea of feeling him getting hard inside her is so erotic she barely contains a moan, which makes Colin smile.

"I love getting to know this side of yourself, Pen."

She smiles too. "I didn't know I had this side" she whispers, totally honest with him.

"Then, I love being the one that made you discover this side of you," and she kisses him slowly. They talked briefly like this, their first time, but now it feels like they have all the time in the world.

"So, you don't think I'm too wanton?"

The question arrives unexpected, but as Colin looks at her, he can see that she means it.

"There is no such a thing as too wanton for my taste, Pen. I want you always, in every position, in every room."

They are now both caressing each other, feeling the skin of their back, as they talk. Pen sighs at his answer, almost in relief. "Me too Colin, but before the wedding my mama said my job was to lie down and let you do everything. It made me question a bit, even if it seems stupid to me. I love being like this with you."

Colin cursed a bit - not directly at Portia, for once - but for anger at a society that keeps women so hidden from sex. "It is stupid. I don't want a doll, darling. I want you... And your sounds, and the way you move. Watching you on top of me before was the best experience of my life."

At those words, the image is too much, he starts to become hard inside her and she looks at him in awe. "Let's make love like this," says Colin and she melts in his arms.

They are too tired to do anything beside rocking against each other in their tight embrace. Soft moaning and whining escapes their mouth, as they grind and move their hips together. Pen throws her head back, the sensations too much too handle to stay still. Colin leaves more marks on her bosom, near the nipples, before sucking them in his mouth.

Pen, overstimulated, comes in waves and after the fist one is passed, the second one arrives and the way she clenches her core makes him feral. Colin muster enough energy to push her on the bed, thrusting at a rapid pace while she is still coming and then comes himself.

With wobbly legs he takes the towel they used after the first round to clean themselves. Then, he goes back on the bed and just collapse almost on top of Pen.

They fall asleep minutes after. Pen on her back and Colin using her bosom as a pillow. He wakes up some hours after, noticing his wife is now plastered to his back, hugging him tight from behind. He smiles and sends a small prayer to God, praying to wake up like this for the rest of his life. He does wake up again like this, with Pen exploring his back.

He turns towards her. "Good morning, love" , and Pen is smiling. Yes, this is his life now.

I accept request! Tell me about the first time you want to see and I'll put into words 💓

[morgana-ren]

Do you think it would hurt Astarion if his consort no longer loves him? Got this thought after reading the short fic you wrote for a previous ask, when yandere Astarion uses his control over his consort. Like would he be hurt when his consort finally had enough, no longer having the will to do anything, no longer fighting against his will and just following along. Would he be sad that the only reason why his consort is acting all loving to him is because of his control over them? That when he looks them in the eye, he sees nothing. No more love when they look at him, just blank, soulless eyes.

Sorry if I can’t explain it well. I hope you get what I mean. Thank you.

I think that's the one thing that could hurt him. Allow me to explain:

I don't think that Astarion doesn't love Tav; I think he almost loves them too much. Love and possession are one and the same in his mind. His lover, his pet, his consort, his spawn-- it's all the same. Mind you, he'd been kept in slavery for hundreds of years, and what conspired in Cazador's palace left a deep, scarred crevice over where his love map should be. He is a ruthless creature with a fixation on total power and domination, and Tav throws a wrench into that. They are a variable that he cannot technically control that has a measure of control over him, no matter how much he smacks them around. When he becomes a vampire lord and they a spawn, he now wields a power over them that he clearly abuses.

What he wants is total love, adoration, obedience, and desire. That directly conflicts with how he intrinsically views 'love.'

You cannot possess someone and love them at the same time. He cannot have the things he wants from them without breaking the parts of their personality that he fell in love with. Tav was a strong willed, powerful, independent creature-- so strong willed and powerful that it's basically what got him to where he is to begin with. What he expects from them isn't love, and Tav knows that, but it's too far gone to salvage him.

Rather than talking things out, compromising, bonding, and taking time for each other, Astarion can bypass all of that 'hard work' by simply commanding them. He sees no problem with it at all. After all, isn't that his right? When they disobey, isn't that how you set them straight? It seems a bargain at first, but every time he does, some part of his Tav is chipped away never to return. The trust, love, and care that they'd built over the course of their adventure disappears forever.

He is essentially robbing himself of that love, and that very love is one of the things that he desires most. So much so that he literally will not let them leave. He very much is in love with them, but he becomes Cazador in his own right, only he is so obsessive over Tav that the detachment that Cazador had to his spawns doesn't come into play. Cazador couldn't have cared less about them. They were a means to an end. He didn't care whether they liked him or not.

But Tav? Astarion loves them. So much so he wants to literally spend eternity with them, bound to each other until the sun burns itself out.

That's just it, though. What he is doing is suffocating the Tav he loves. They cannot shine as they once did under his thumb. They cannot be themselves. Something in them dies, and it's the very thing that Astarion fell in love with. With their free will gone, it is essentially a never-ending torture. And what happens to the mind when you are being tortured constantly?

You disassociate. You go somewhere far away and lock yourself there. Your body is a shell-- a prison-- so you leave the only way you can. It's what you do to survive.

They go hollow. Those sparks of life that Astarion craves slowly whittle away. They don't look at him with fire and passion any longer. Only with cold, dark, empty eyes that convey nothing at all. They don't lean into his touch and they don't recoil. They simply sit still. In bed, he can do as he likes to them, even command them to reciprocate, but it's one grand pastiche of what it used to be.

He craves reaction after a while. Any reaction. Anything genuine. But when Tav is allowed to do so, he feels rejected and abandoned and frightened of losing them, so he commands them once more.

It leaves him empty as well because he knows the truth.

There is a point of no return and he has long since crossed it. If he frees them from his thrall, they'll run. They'll run far away. He knows because he's done it. He knows exactly how they feel, the resentment they harbor, how much they hate him. He could scour Toril to bring them back, of course, but they'll never find that lost part of them. That part that kept him warm. That part that kept him alive.

He is irrevocably in love with them, but their love has long since left him. He knows that. He can force them to say all the right things, make all the right moves, dance all the right steps, but it's nothing but a puppet show. Tav will never love him back. Not now. All he can do is pretend as hard as he can, squeeze tighter around their neck, keep them leashed as closely as possible and pretend as hard as he can when he forces them to tell him that he loves him.

All he can do is picture how it used to be: the nights they spent under the stars together, the thrill of blood and battles, the walks in the sun with their hands entwined, the taste of their enthusiasm and how they used to look at him with softness. Sitting together by the fire, joking and laughing and enjoying each other's company while roughing it on the road-- How long has it been since he last heard them laugh or saw them smile?

Where all that once was, there is now just a cold edge-- the precipice of nothing. An abyss. He can't even see himself reflected in their eyes anymore. When they look at him, no matter what they say, all they see is their own Cazador. One that has violated more than Cazador ever dared.

If you love something, set it free.

And Tav would never return.

So, he'll never set them free. It's a pyrrhic victory. A hell of his own making.

[jrob64]

Ghosted (Now a complete story!)

Chapter 5 - Moving Forward

Well, the 'short' epilogue I intended to write turned into a 9300+ word final chapter for this story. This chapter does contain two smut scenes (I only planned for there to be one, but these two idiots couldn't keep their hands, and other things, to themselves.) Both my beta @hookedmom and my artist @kmomof4 requested there be smut, and since I owe them so much for their work on this story, I couldn't refuse. If smut is not your thing, look for the double asterisks for when it begins and ends.

STORY SUMMARY: When Emma Swan’s ex-boyfriend dies, she’s haunted by his ghost. Her neighbor, Killian Jones, a ghost hunter who has a YouTube channel, realizes what’s happening and offers to help. However, there’s more at stake than simply helping the apparition move on. There’s also the matter of Killian telling Emma he’s in love with her. 

RATING: M (for smut in this chapter)

WORDS (Ch. 5): 9327

Previous chapters on Tumblr: Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4

Also posted on Ao3 and ffn

*********

Emma and Killian kissed, cuddled and talked into the wee hours of the morning, before the exhaustion from the events of the day finally overtook them. When Killian’s eyes finally blinked open, bright sunlight was shining through the opening between the curtains in Emma’s bedroom. He was unwilling to wake her by trying to reach her phone on the nightstand to check the time, so he decided to be content holding her in his arms, reflecting on everything that happened between the two of them in the last two days.

Now that Neal’s ghost was hopefully gone for good, they could go on the date they discussed - was it really only a day ago? A lot had happened since then. No wonder the two of them slept so late.

Slowly, he brought his hand up to brush Emma’s hair away from the side of her face. Since she was lying on her side facing away from him, he was unable to see her features, but he could tell she was relaxed and sleeping peacefully. After watching her experience nightmares several times without being able to help, he was very happy he had a hand in helping her find that peace.

As his mind began to wander, he considered how things were going to change. Now that their feelings were revealed, he and Emma would obviously be spending more time together - going out on dates and frequenting each other’s apartment more often. Belle and Will started dating, which might affect the dynamics of the work environment.

Liam would move on.

Sudden tears burned Killian’s eyes. Liam’s unfinished business was making sure Killian had someone to love, and now he had Emma. It was only a matter of time before he would be saying goodbye to his brother again.

While visits from Liam’s spirit weren’t the same as having him there physically, at least he could speak with him and feel his presence. Once he was gone, Killian wouldn’t even have that comfort anymore. He had faith that one day he would spend eternity with Liam in Heaven because he and his brother were both believers in Jesus. At least they wouldn’t meet the same fate as Neal, but his time with his brother on Earth would be over

Suddenly, a thought struck Killian for what he was ashamed to realize was the first time. Liam had stayed because he needed to make sure his ‘little brother’ was going to be okay, even at the cost of his own peace. The fact that Killian never considered that before made him feel like the most selfish person in the world. Of course it would be difficult to say that final goodbye, but if anyone deserved to be at rest, it was his loyal big brother.

With his mind so totally engrossed with thinking about Liam, he failed to recognize that Emma had awakened and turned to face him. It wasn’t until he felt her fingers on his cheek that he shook himself out of his thoughts.

“Killian?” she asked, a furrow of concern across her forehead. “Are you okay?”

He briefly considered telling her he was fine, but didn’t want to lie to her. “I, uh, I was just thinking…about Liam.”

“Did you get another visit from him?”

“No, not this morning. It’s just, I…I’ve been incredibly selfish,” he admitted.

“You? Killian Jones, you don’t have a selfish bone in your body. Why would you say that?”

“Because,” he started, then closed his eyes and took several breaths, trying not to get emotional. “Because he…he’s stayed here with me for six years. Six years, Emma! He could have been enjoying his eternal rest for six years, but hasn’t because he’s been too worried about watching over me.”

“But that was his choice, wasn’t it?”

“The last thing Mum told him before she passed was to take care of me,” he said, tears falling unbidden from his eyes. “And Liam is so stubborn, he wouldn’t move on without making sure I was going to be happy and…”

“In love?” she finished.

“Aye.”

She brushed away his tears, first from one cheek, then the other. “Now that we are,” she said quietly, “his unfinished business is done, isn’t it?”

He nodded, dropping his eyes.

“And he’ll be moving on,” she stated simply.

“Aye, and even though he’s put that off for so long because of me, I still don’t want him to go. Which proves that I’m the most selfish person alive.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Emma said firmly. “You love your brother and don’t want to lose him. Again.” When he still wouldn’t look at her, she took his face between her hands. “Killian, my love, I know it’s going to be hard for you to say goodbye to him. Wanting to hang onto him is natural, but you’ve had more time with him than most people who lose someone they love. Just think of it though - he’ll be in Heaven watching over you. Someday, you’ll be reunited with him and you’ll never have to say goodbye again.”

He attempted to smile, but couldn’t quite manage it. She gathered him in her arms, holding him tightly and rubbing comforting hands along his back and through his hair.

“Thank you, Love,” he whispered hoarsely, emotion clogging his throat.

She didn’t answer, but gave him a gentle kiss on the lips and continued to calm his racing mind and aching heart with her gentle, loving touch. Just when he finally felt like he had his sorrow under control, her stomach rumbled loudly, causing both of them to laugh.

He reluctantly pulled himself away from her embrace, cocking an eyebrow as he asked, “Would you like some breakfast, Swan?”

“What time is it?” she asked, stretching her arms over her head.

Killian spotted her phone on the nightstand, picked it up and tapped the screen to see the time. “Eleven-seventeen.”

“In the morning?” Emma gasped. “Why did you let me sleep so late?”

“I woke up just a few minutes before you. It was an extremely eventful and exhausting day yesterday, so I believe we earned the right to sleep in. Is there somewhere you need to be today?”

She thought for a moment. “No, I don’t think I have anything going on - today is my day off.”

“In that case, I vote for being lazy all day.”

“You don’t have anything to do, either?”

“No, except to call…shit! I’m sure Will and Belle are wondering what happened last night.”

“Why don’t you call them while I take a shower, then we’ll get something to eat.”

“Sounds like a plan, if you think you can survive without eating for that long.”

“Hey, I survived being haunted by a ghost who was intent on killing me, I think I can go a few more minutes without food.”

He chuckled as he threw back the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Fair point, Love. I need to find my phone. I don’t remember where I put it.”

“I’m pretty sure you didn’t bring it into the bedroom last night. I saw it on the coffee table while you were reading to me. And speaking of coffee…”

“I’ll start the coffee maker while you shower.” Twisting his body around to look at her, he asked, “Will you be okay? The last time you took a shower was pretty traumatic for you.”

She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. “How sure are you that he’s gone?”

“I’ve never experienced something like that before, but after what we witnessed last night, I’m almost positive. However,” he smirked, “if you’re afraid to take a shower alone, I could join you.”

She playfully nudged him with her shoulder. “Thanks for the very generous offer, but I think I can manage.”

He grinned. “Well, if you’re sure, I’ll go find my phone.” Leaning in, he gave her a kiss, then stood up and left the room.

After switching on the coffee maker, he found his device right where Emma said. Swiping his finger across it, he saw several notifications on the lock screen. When he unlocked it, his messages icon announced nine texts.

As he sat down to begin reading them, he heard the bathroom door close. He sat frozen until he heard the water begin to run, then let out a relieved breath. Turning his attention back to the messages, he saw six of them were from Will and three from Belle, all asking what happened with increasing degrees of intensity. He laughed at the final one from Will, which simply said, “ARE YOU FUCKING DEAD????”

Quickly dialing his number, he wasn’t surprised when Will picked up after less than a complete ring. “What the fuck, Kil?” he exploded. “You said you’d let us know what happened last night. Here it is, middle of the day and not a bloody word from ya! We’re on pins and needles over here.”

“We?” Killian questioned. “Does that mean Belle is there with you?”

“Aye. We were texting back and forth this mornin’, seein’ if you’d bothered to contact either of us, so she just came over to my place. That way, if a police officer showed up at my door to tell me my best friend had been found dead because of an attack by a ghost, at least we’d be together for the news.”

“Dial down the dramatics, Scarlett,” Killian said. “I’m sorry I didn’t contact you, but we just woke up a few minutes ago. And before you start making remarks about what kept us up so late…”

“Why would ya think I would do somethin’ like that?” Will interrupted.

“Because I know you.”

“Will,” Belle piped up, “let Killian tell us what happened.”

“Sorry, boss. Did Cassidy show up?”

“He did. I was able to enter Emma’s dream and wake her up from the trance…”

“How were you able to do that?” Belle asked.

“I, uh…I kissed her,” Killian admitted.

“So screamin’ in her face didn’t work, but kissin’ her did?” Will asked.

“How romantic,” Belle sighed.

“Anyway,” Killian said, eager to move ahead with the story, “as soon as Emma was awake, she yelled at Neal, telling him she didn’t want to die and spend eternity with him because that would literally be hell for her.”

“Bravo, blondie!” Will interjected.

“She was bloody brilliant, but of course Neal didn’t give up. He kept trying to pull her away from me, until she screamed at him to go to Hell.”

“Then what happened?” Belle asked, obviously on the edge of her seat.

“I don’t know how I’m going to be able to describe the next events to you. I’ve never seen anything like it and I hope I never do again.” Killian took a few moments, picturing the chaotic scene in his mind. “A huge, black opening appeared and a Hell beast came out of it, along with a bunch of its minions.”

“Oh, my word!” Belle exclaimed. “What did they look like?”

Killian described the beasts the best he could and could hear Belle gasp, while Will muttered, “Bloody fucking hell.”

Killian paused the story when he heard the shower shut off, listening intently for several seconds. “Can you hold on for a minute?” he asked his friends.

“What? You’re leavin’ us hangin’ at this point in the story?” Will protested.

“I’ve got to go check on Emma. She’s getting out of the shower, and after what happened yesterday…”

“Go ahead. We’ll wait,” Belle said.

Killian quickly moved to the bathroom door and tapped on it gently. “Swan? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m not being harassed by a ghost this time,” she replied.

“Okay,” he chuckled. “Just checking.”

“Thanks. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

“I’m in the middle of updating Will and Belle, so take your time.”

He went back out into the living room and picked up his phone. “Alright, where was I?”

“The Hell beasts just entered the picture,” Will reminded him.

“Right. They started coming after Neal and he screamed for Emma to help him. Then they just turned and left him, going back into the abyss.”

“They didn’t take him with them?” Will growled.

“No, but shortly afterwards these spikey, fiery ropes came out, wrapped themselves around him and dragged him away.”

“Wow!” Belle exclaimed.

“But it was all a dream, wannit?” Will pointed out.

“Supposedly, but I think the events actually happened.” Killian explained his theory about Neal creating the nightmares and pulling Emma into them. As he was finishing up, she walked into the living room, dressed in yoga pants and a loose V-neck shirt. Sitting down on the arm of the couch, she flung her arm around his shoulders and leaned into him.

“Hi Belle. Hi Will.”

Will called out a greeting, as Belle said, “Hello, Emma. Sounds like you had quite an adventure last night.”

“You can say that again. I assume Killian told you about everything that happened?” When Belle and Will both murmured their assurances, she continued, “We think Neal’s really gone this time.”

“I bloody well hope so,” Will said. “I hate to think of anyone spendin’ eternity in Hell, but after what that tosser put you through, I can’t say I feel very sorry for him.”

“We should be able to get the double episode on YouTube by the end of next week,” Belle said.

“Hey Kil, if ya don’t want us sayin’ anything about how you could get into Emma’s dreams, how are we gonna explain what happened to the spirit?” Will asked.

“Oh, that’s a good point,” Belle said.

“We’ll figure something out,” Killian answered, “but right now, Emma and I are going to get something to eat. We’re both famished.”

They said their goodbyes with a promise to get together the next day to go over edits for the episodes.

“What would you like to eat, Love?” Killian asked, rising from the couch and stretching his arms above his head.

“Technically, it’s lunch time, but we missed breakfast and I would really like a breakfast pizza.”

“That sounds good to me. Do you want it delivered?”

“Sure. Do you like Petey’s Pizza? They’ve got a good one .”

“I haven’t had it before, but I’ll take your word for it.”

They ordered the pizza, then Killian went to his apartment to take a shower while they waited for it to be delivered. He was relieved that Emma wasn’t worried about being left alone. Still, he grabbed the infrared thermometer and EMF meter before heading back to her place, just to ensure she had peace of mind.

The instruments didn’t register any paranormal activity then, or either of the other two times he tested for it during the day. They stuck to their plan of being lazy all day - watching three Mission Impossible movies while lying on the sofa together, putting in another DoorDash order for dinner, and sharing childhood memories, all interspersed with very enjoyable make-out sessions.

“This is nice,” Emma said, after one such session. “I almost forgot what it feels like to relax.”

“Mmm, it is nice,” Killian agreed, lazily running his fingers through her hair. “I was wondering…”

She pulled back a bit to look into his face. “About what?”

“About when we should go on our first date.”

“Did you have a specific day in mind?”

“It depends on your schedule. Mine is pretty flexible.”

She twisted around to reach her phone on the coffee table and opened her calendar app. “I work the next three evenings. Ashley and I switched shifts on Thursday because she’s going on a field trip with her daughter that afternoon. How about that evening?”

“That’s fine with me. They have trivia night at my favorite pub on Thursdays, so perhaps we could go there after going out to eat. What do you think?”

“That sounds fun. Do you know where Neal took me on our first date? To the horse races. I know some people enjoy it, but he didn’t even ask me if I liked racing, which I don’t, by the way. Then he spent most of the evening schmoozing with rich snobs, introducing them to me like I was supposed to be impressed.”

“If you had such a bad time, why did you go out with him again?”

“After we were there for a couple of hours, I told him to take me home. That’s when he figured out I wasn’t having a good time. He apologized all the way home and asked me to give him a second chance. Unfortunately, I did.”

“Does it bother you to talk about him?” he asked.

She thought for a moment before saying, “It used to, but not any more. I’m just glad I don’t have to put up with him or his ghost any longer.” Then a tiny smile quirked up the corners of her mouth and her eyes sparkled. “We won.”

“That we did, Love.”

“I’m still amazed that you woke me with a true love’s kiss. It’s like something out of a fairy tale.”

“It was a long shot. I had to try.”

She kissed him, then burrowed into his chest. “I’m looking forward to going on our date, but I hope I won’t have to wait until Thursday to see you again.”

“You can see me anytime you like. I’m right next door, you know.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to bother you when you’re working.”

“That’s the advantage to having a non-traditional job. I can set my own hours.”

“What about Belle and Will?”

“Evenings work better for Belle because she works at the library during the day, and Will doesn’t usually roll his lazy arse out of bed until afternoon.”

“But he sent you all of those texts this morning.”

“I’m sure he sent them while he was lying in bed.”

Emma giggled. “Do you ever give the poor guy a break?”

“He’s my best friend. I have to take the piss out of him now and then, and he does the same to me. It’s just the way we get along.”

“Take the piss out of him? What exactly does that mean?”

“Ah, it means to poke a bit of fun at him,” he explained. “Anyway, I don’t want to wait until Thursday to see you again, either. Being with you as much as I have, albeit under stressful circumstances, has spoiled me and I don’t want to go back to only seeing you sporadically.”

“Good,” she said simply, stretching up to begin another round of kisses.

*********

As much as he hated to leave Emma, Killian went back to his own apartment to sleep. While it was true their relationship was deepening, he didn’t want to assume he would be welcome to stay the night. The nights he spent with her were out of necessity to protect her and help get rid of Neal’s spirit. Now that it was gone, Killian was going to leave the choice to her.

He was surprised when Liam didn’t make an appearance for the next three days and, with a sinking feeling, was wondering if his brother had moved on without telling him goodbye. The niggling idea that Liam might have little to no warning for when his spirit moved on, or that he wanted to spare his younger brother the pain of saying that final farewell wouldn’t leave Killian’s brain. He kept busy going through the edits with Belle and Will in the evenings and spending several hours a day with Emma, but Liam was never far from his thoughts.

As he prepared for his date Thursday afternoon, he realized with surprise that he was nervous, even though he had spent the better part of a week in her presence. They talked about their expectations for their developing relationship and briefly touched on their hopes for the future, but actually taking a step in that direction was a big deal.

There was also the prospect of taking their physical relationship a step further. Their make-out sessions had grown increasingly passionate and it was becoming more difficult to bring them to a halt. They actually discussed the possibility of becoming more intimate and Emma informed him that she was on birth control. Following her break-up with Neal, she had gone to the doctor to make sure he didn’t give her any STDs. Killian assured her he tested clean also, and hadn’t been with anyone since he moved across the pond.

So as he straightened the collar of his royal blue button-down and examined his image in the mirror, he was trying not to get ahead of himself. He was determined to enjoy every moment with his lady love without letting the anticipation of what might happen intrude.

Checking his phone, he saw that it was five minutes before the time he told Emma he would be at her apartment. He stuck his wallet in his back pocket, keys and phone in his front pockets and headed for the door.

Standing in front of Emma’s apartment, he silently gave himself a quick pep talk, then blew out a breath and knocked. She opened the door immediately, as though she had been on the other side waiting impatiently.

Killian had seen Emma wear many different outfits. Dressy clothes for work and going out on dates, casual clothes, sleepwear, and even in nothing but a towel once, but he was unprepared for the vision she presented for their first date. He suspected it wasn’t that her attire was anything special, it was that she was dressed specifically to go out with him.

She was in form fitting, dark wash jeans, a short-sleeved cranberry colored blouse with a sweetheart neckline that gave him just a peek of her cleavage, and matching heels. Her hair was pulled up on one side, fastened with a silver barrette, while the rest fell in golden waves around her shoulders.

“Hey,” she breathed, a smile crossing her face, which was graced with just the right amount of flattering makeup. “You’re right on time.”

“Well, traffic wasn’t bad,” Killian grinned. “Ready to go?”

“Let me grab my purse and sweater.”

His nerves settled during the drive to the restaurant as their conversation flowed as easily as ever. They enjoyed a delicious meal, sharing an appetizer, then gave each other samples of their food once the dinner course was served.

Trivia at the pub proved to be a lot of fun. They laughed at some of the goofy answers they and other players came up with, and impressed each other with the obscure facts they knew. In the car on the way home, they bantered back and forth playfully.

“No men of college age should know so much about Sex in the City,” Killian groused.

“Oh, come on,” Emma teased. “They probably binge watched it during their freshman year before upperclassmen showed them the ropes.”

“Perhaps they should have looked into getting fake IDs instead of sitting in their dorm filling their heads with such nonsense.”

“You’re just upset they beat us.”

He glanced over at her with a raised brow. “As you should be, too, Swan. I know how competitive you are.”

She shrugged. “I didn’t really care about winning. I was just having fun playing.”

He reached over and took her hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss her fingers. “I’m very happy you enjoyed yourself, Love.”

“I have to say this first date is the best I’ve ever had.”

“Is it, indeed?”

“Aye, it is,” she said, in a sad attempt to copy his accent.

He chuckled. “I’m glad the date was better than your British accent.”

“Hey!” she protested, swatting his arm with the back of her hand.

He laughed again as he pulled into the parking garage, wheeling the car into his assigned spot. As she gathered her things, he exited the car, rushing around to open the door for her, just as he had all evening.

They walked up the stairs hand-in-hand, still chatting about the trivia contest. When they stopped at Emma’s door, she turned toward him. “I know most first dates end a bit awkwardly, saying we had a good time and trying to figure out if there will be a kiss. I feel like we’ve moved beyond that point, so I’m going to take a bold step and ask you to spend the night with me.”

His eyes widened before a slow grin spread across his face. “That’s an offer I can’t refuse.”

“Mrs. Jones didn’t raise a fool, did she?”

“No, she did not.” He leaned in and touched his lips to hers. When she turned and unlocked her door, his hands went to her hips and he nuzzled into her neck.

They entered the apartment, quickly closing the door behind them. Then they were in each other’s arms, hands and lips roaming. Killian started backing her toward the couch, but she gasped, “Bedroom,” and changed their direction.

By the time they stumbled through the doorway to her room, she had his shirt unbuttoned and was tugging it out of his jeans. “Eager, are you?” he breathed into her ear.

“You have no idea.”

“Oh, trust me, I do.”

*****

*****

Her hands caressed his chest and abs, sending shivers of pleasure up his spine. As she pushed his shirt over his shoulders, he accommodated her by shrugging out of it, letting it drop to the floor. She sucked a mark into the dip below his collar bone, then raised her eyes to look up at him through her lashes, biting her bottom lip.

His fingers found their way under the hem of her blouse, stroking the soft skin there while he began scattering kisses along the slope of her neck. The moan she made went straight to his groin, which was already stirring to life.

She put a little distance between their bodies, her hands coming up to frame his face, “I love you, Killian,” she said, then kissed him with abandon. He would have happily continued kissing her, but she interrupted it to pull her blouse over her head.

His breath stuttered as his eyes raked down her form, taking in the smooth expanse of skin from her throat to her chest. His hands instinctively moved up her arms to her shoulders, where they encountered the straps to her blush pink bra. Lifting his eyes briefly to seek her permission, he saw her pupils were large and dark with desire.

She gave him a slight nod and his eyes dropped again, finding a scar just above her left breast. He traced it lightly, asking, “How did you get this?”

“Burned it with hot grease when I was a teenager.”

He bent to kiss the spot tenderly, as his hands made their way around to her back. After unhooking her bra, he pulled the straps down, exposing her breasts to his sight. The garment joined their shirts on the floor, but neither of them noticed. Killian’s mouth and hands were busy licking and fondling, while Emma’s head was thrown back, moans of pleasure escaping her.

“So beautiful,” he murmured between kisses. “So bloody perfect.” Sucking a nipple into his mouth, his right hand sneaked down to her ass and gave it a squeeze. “Killian,” she gasped, her nails scratching across his back.

“Hmm?” he hummed, too busy sucking small marks around her areolas to be bothered.

Now it was her turn to squeeze his ass, and pull him against her, needing friction against her throbbing clit. As she stepped backwards, she lost her balance when the back of her legs encountered the bed. She landed on it and, unable to stop himself, he fell on top of her.

“Sorry,” he apologized, immediately rolling off of her.

She sat up and used the opportunity to start working on his belt buckle. He stopped her and she huffed in frustration.

“I’ll get mine, you get yours,” he said, making quick work of the belt and starting to remove his jeans.

She stood up and undid the button and zipper of her pants, pushing them down her legs, along with her panties. When she tried to step out of them, she realized she was still wearing her heels. As she kicked them off, one of them flew across the room, hitting the wall beside her dresser. “Oops,” she muttered, and Killian chuckled.

As she struggled to free her feet from the muddle of her clothes, he succeeded in removing the rest of his. Emma was in front of him, the perfect globes of her ass on full display. His large hands caressed them as he leaned forward, lightly biting her right cheek. She let out a surprised yelp as he licked the spot, then kissed it.

“D-do that again,” she said.

Killian obliged, moving to her left buttock. This time, she groaned and thrust her backside toward him. Realizing this was a turn-on for her, he continued nipping, licking, sucking and kissing her soft flesh, inhaling the scent of her growing arousal.

After lavishing attention on her ass for many long, titillating moments, he dipped his fingers between her legs. Finding her slick already, he slid his digits through her folds. She widened her stance, giving him more freedom to explore. He took the opportunity to find her bundle of nerves, rubbing small circles over it.

“Killiannnn,” she moaned, her hands moving to her breasts, squeezing and pinching her nipples.

The thought of her fondling herself, combined with the heady scent coming from her cunt, had him rock hard in an instant. Spreading her folds apart with the fingers of one hand, he slipped his other index finger into her opening.

“Oh, fuck!” she exclaimed, her legs beginning to shake. Killian removed his fingers then tugged her down onto his lap, his erection sliding through her folds as he did, making them both groan.

Emma reached down to wrap her hand around his cock, lifting herself slightly to rub the head of it against her clit.

“Emma,” he gasped, wrapping his arms around her and licking a long stripe up her spine.

She continued pleasuring herself, her movements becoming jerky and her breath coming out in short pants. Killian’s hands found her breasts and squeezed them hard, which was enough to push her over the edge. She cried out his name, throwing her head back in ecstasy.

His arms wrapped around her and he rolled them into the middle of the bed, her body still shaking from her orgasm.

“Need you…inside me…now,” she pleaded. “Please, Killian!”

He pushed himself up on his forearms, looking down on her flushed, wanton body beneath him. Cradled between her thighs, he lined himself up, but first leaned down to kiss her. “I love you, Emma,” he said, then began pushing into her depths.

She was so highly aroused, he met no resistance and was soon fully seated within her still-throbbing walls. “Gods, Emma,” he groaned. “You feel so bloody fucking good.”

“So…do you.” Planting her hands firmly on his backside, she panted, “Move, Killian. Please move.”

“As…you…wish…” he responded, slowly pulling out and pushing back in on every word.

Her legs wrapped around his hips, encouraging him to keep going. Soon, they found a very pleasurable rhythm together, their movements accompanied by the sounds of sex - groans, pleas, gasps, and the wet slapping of skin against skin.

When he could feel himself getting close, he pulled almost completely out, then thrust all the way back in, the force of it rattling the headboard.

“Yes!” Emma cried out. “Yes, Killian!”

Spurred on by her shouts, he continued his actions until he could feel her core tightening around him. Her arms and legs pulled him against her tightly and she bucked up into him, chasing her peak once again.

When she reached it, her mouth opened in a silent scream, her nails raking up and down his back. The rippling of her spasming walls triggered his own release and his body jerked with its intensity.

Collapsing on top of her, he fought to catch his breath. “That was…”

“I know,” she panted.

*****

*****

He started to move, but she wrapped her arms around him to keep him close. Nuzzling his nose into the crook of her neck, he licked at the salty sweat he found there. She sighed and he could hear the contentment it contained.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“Mmm, love you, too.”

They lay quietly for several minutes, simply enjoying the way their bodies fit together. Finally, Emma broke the silence.

“You’re screwed, you know. In more ways than one.”

He laughed. “What do you mean, Love?”

“Well, it’s gonna be very difficult for you to top this date. It’s all downhill from here.”

He pushed up to his elbows to look down at her grinning face. “Is that so?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Maybe next time I’ll give you three orgasms. That would be better, yeah?”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” she teased, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Oh, I’ll be able to keep it, my love. Just wait and see.”

Her fingers moved to sift through his hair. “I look forward to it.”

*********

They awoke slowly the next morning, both tired from their pleasurable activities, which they repeated in the middle of the night. “G’morning,” Emma yawned, pressing her naked body against him.

“Good morning, Love,” Killian replied, his body reacting to her closeness. He dipped his head and began leaving small kisses behind her ear.

“Wh-what time is it?” she asked, tilting her head so he had more access.

“Does it matter?”

“Yeah, because I…fuck, that feels good.”

His chuckle rumbled in her ear. “You what?”

“I’m meeting Ruby for lunch at eleven.”

He reached over her to grab his phone off the nightstand. “It’s nine forty-five.”

“Shit. I better get in the shower. She’ll kick my ass if I’m late.”

“This ass?” he asked, his hands moving to squeeze it.

“You’re not helping,” she reprimanded, but was unable to keep a straight face.

“How about if I help you take a shower?” he asked, his eyebrows doing that flirtatious thing she loved. “You won’t turn that offer down a second time, will you?”

She threw back the covers and sat on the edge of the mattress, running her hands through her sex-mussed hair. He scooted closer to press kisses to the base of her spine. When she stood up, he could see the love bites he left on her the night before. It gave him an odd thrill of satisfaction, knowing he marked her as his.

“You didn’t give me an answer,” he reminded her.

Emma walked through the doorway as if she hadn’t heard him, then leaned back in and purred, “I didn’t say no.”

He was out of bed in record time.

*********

Killian entered his apartment with a dreamy smile on his face. Saying goodbye to Emma hadn’t been easy, especially after their highly enjoyable time together in the shower. Before leaving, she invited him to come over after she got home from work that evening. That left him with several hours to finish adding narration to the YouTube episode. After doing that and viewing it critically one more time, it would be ready to post the next day.

He had been working in his office for twenty minutes when he felt a familiar sensation. Turning his chair around, he saw Liam’s spirit hovering in the doorway. “Hello, little brother.”

Killian was so relieved to see him, he didn’t even object to the moniker. “Where have you been? I don’t think you ever went this long between visits before.”

“You seem to be away from your apartment a lot these days.”

“Aye, well,” Killian said, scratching behind his ear. “I was helping Emma. We were finally able to make Neal’s ghost move on.”

“How did you manage to do that?”

“I took your advice and used true love’s kiss.”

“Ah, that’s good to hear. Did he go to Heaven or…?”

“No. He was dragged away by Hell beasts.”

“It’s eternal damnation for him then, poor bastard, and eternity is an awfully long time.”

“Yes it is, but he made his choices. Now he has to pay the price,” Killian said. “But I don’t want to talk about him anymore, Liam. It’s good to see you.”

“Good to see you, too. You look…different. Happier. Wait a minute, did you say you used true love’s kiss? Does that mean what I think it means?”

“It does. Even before we admitted our feelings of love to each other, the kiss worked.”

“She loves you, too,” Liam said matter-of-factly.

“She does. We went on our first date last night.”

“How did it go?”

Killian could feel the heat creeping into his face and knew the tips of his ears were probably bright red. “We had a great time! Afterwards, she, uh, she asked me to spend the night with her.”

Liam’s reaction wasn’t what Killian expected. He thought his brother would tease and embarass him. Instead, Liam gave him a slight smile that seemed a bit sad. “You’re finally with the woman you love,” he said simply.

Killian stood up and moved toward his brother’s apparition. He knew Liam wasn’t corporeal so he wouldn’t be able to touch him, but at that moment, he couldn’t bear to have any distance between them.

“I’m sorry, Liam.”

“Sorry for what, Killy?”

“For wanting to hang onto you. You could have been at rest years ago, if not for me.”

Even as translucent as he was, Killian could see Liam’s eyes soften. “If I wanted to move on, I would have, but I wanted to be with you as much as you wanted me to stay. I wouldn’t have been at peace knowing that I was leaving you alone. I love you, little brother.”

“I love you, too,” Killian said, tears filling his eyes. “Thank you for being here for me all my life. I hope I’ll make you proud.”

“I have no doubt you will. You always have,” Liam said, his voice beginning to fade rapidly. “Live a long life with Emma and be happy, Killian. Mum and I will be waiting for you on the other side. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Liam. Rest in peace.”

Liam raised his hand in a final greeting, giving Killian one last smile. Then his apparition drifted upward until it disappeared through the ceiling.

Killian stood staring at the spot for a long time, tears trickling down his cheeks. In the last week, he had watched two spirits move on, headed to very different destinations. He was beyond grateful that Liam would be in a place of golden light and eternal joy.

*********

When Killian entered Emma’s apartment that evening, she took one look at him and said, “Liam moved on, didn’t he?”

His head dropped. “Aye. He came to tell me goodbye this afternoon.”

She immediately wrapped her arms around him, rubbing soothing circles on his back with one hand, while the other softly sifted through his hair.

They didn’t make love that night. Emma realized he needed her more emotionally than physically, so they went to bed and she held him in her arms, comforting him until they both fell asleep. Although she hated how much he was hurting, she was pleased to have a chance to reciprocate all the support and help he provided while she was being haunted.

The next evening, they watched the episode he had posted on YouTube that day. Emma was amazed at the professionalism, and appreciative of how careful they were to conceal her identity. He skirted the issue of being able to enter her dreams by saying the subject had ‘an intensely emotional reaction’ that broke her out of her trance-like state.

The couple spent nearly every available minute of the next two weeks in each other’s company, but eventually, real life intervened in their happy little bubble. Killian and Will spent a week in Montgomery, Alabama, investigating a symphony hall that was reportedly being haunted by a sad flutist who wished to be reunited with the trumpet player she loved.

Both men facetimed their ladies for hours each night they were gone, unashamed to admit how much they missed the woman they loved.

When they returned, Emma peppered Killian with questions about the investigation. “Did you get any answers using the flux response device? What was the highest spike you got on the EMF meter and infrared thermometer? Were there any unexplained light anomalies? What did you collect on the digital voice recorder?”

“Hold on,” he laughed, looping his arms around her waist to tug her against him. “I thought you weren’t interested in all the paranormal stuff. Since when do you know all of the technical terms and the correct names of the instruments?”

“Since I started watching my ghost hunter boyfriend’s YouTube channel.”

“You did?”

“Well, I missed you like crazy and watching it made me feel closer to you. Seeing you do your thing was a real turn-on for me,” she grinned slyly.

“It was, huh?” he asked, nuzzling into her neck. “Tell me, Love - what else turns you on?”

“What you’re doing right now,” she gasped, as he nibbled on her earlobe.

“How about this?” he asked, squeezing her ass.

“You know how much I love that.”

He did indeed know. During their many lovemaking sessions, he discovered that she adored having him pay special attention to her backside. Nipping, licking and sucking marks into it during foreplay never failed to make her writhe and moan.

“Do you know what’s a turn-on for me?” he breathed into her ear.

“Hmm?”

“You using terms like ‘EMF meter’ and ‘digital voice recorder’.”

“Oh, really? What about infrared thermometer?” She leaned back to look into his lust-filled eyes. “Or flux…” She licked a stripe up one side of his neck. “Response…” A lick up the other side. “Device.” She pushed the collar of his shirt aside and sucked a mark under his collarbone.

He growled and hoisted her up into his arms. She giggled and wrapped her legs around him, continuing to find skin to suck and lick as he carried her to the bedroom. Dropping her onto the bed, he hovered over her, smiling down at her gorgeous, beaming face.

“I missed you, Swan,” he said tenderly, then bent to kiss her, trying to pour all of his longing and love into it.

*****

*****

Despite being apart for over a week, they took their time reaquainting themselves with each other’s body. Killian slid Emma’s shirt up, kissing every inch of skin revealed. After he tossed it on the floor, he sucked on each of her nipples through the lacy fabric of her bra. She reached around to unhook it, slipping it off so he could lavish attention on her breasts. While he did that, she unbuttoned his shirt, her fingers uncoordinated in their eagerness.

Once his shirt was yanked free, she undid his belt buckle and slid it out of the loops. His attention was still on her breasts when she managed to work her hand inside his jeans to grasp his cock. He hissed in surprise and pleasure, quickly reaching down to undo the button and zipper to give her easier access.

His eyes closed and his head fell back as she squeezed and stroked, bringing him to full erection. “Emma,” he moaned.

She pushed him back slightly and sat up, shoving his jeans and underwear over his hips. Then her mouth was taking him in, her hands grasping his ass to give her leverage. His hands moved to her hair, lightly pressing on her head to encourage her endeavors.

The sounds she was making as she swirled her tongue over the head, licked up the shaft and sucked him into her mouth had him nearly coming on the spot. When she took him in deeper and swallowed around him, he gently but firmly pulled her off. “Please stop, Love.”

“You don’t like it?” she asked, looking up at him through her lashes.

“It feels incredible, but if you keep going, I’m not going to last, and I want to be inside you when I come.”

She smiled, kissed his tip, then helped him finish removing his clothes.

“My turn,” he said. “Lie back, Love.”

She eagerly did as she was told, her feet still on the floor. He slid her yoga pants and panties off, then knelt on the floor, pushing her knees apart and settling between them. Kissing up the inside of her thighs, he moved slowly toward her heat. The scent of her arousal enveloped him and he inhaled deeply. Her legs trembled around him as he spread her open and dragged his tongue through her folds.

“So bloody intoxicating,” he praised. He licked another stripe, then began rapidly flicking his tongue over her clit, while his fingers pressed inside her. She bucked and moaned, her fingers tangling into his hair, tugging at it.

Two fingers, then three thrust in and out of her, staying away from the spot that made her see stars. His eyes scanned up her body to see her fondling her own breasts, then further up to see the intense pleasure in her features. With his next thrust, he hit that spot and she screamed, a gush of arousal coating his fingers as they continued to stroke her through her orgasm.

He withdrew his fingers and lay down beside her, waiting for her to open her eyes. As she did, he held his fingers to her lips. “Taste yourself, Love. See how delicious you are.”

With her eyes fixed on his, she tentatively licked his finger, then sucked all three digits into her mouth. When they were clean, he pulled them free and kissed her, tasting her essence on her tongue.

“Fuck, that was hot,” she breathed.

“Mmhmm. Love tasting you like that.”

They moved to the center of the bed with Emma on top, straddling his hips. She began sliding her slick cunt up and down his shaft, his hands on her ass controlling her movements. Every once in a while, he would pinch or lightly slap her cheeks, causing her to throw her head back in pleasure.

When he felt like he would burst if he didn’t get inside her soon, he murmured, “Ready, Love?”

In answer, she lifted up then took him in, sliding down until he completely filled her. Placing her hands on his chest, she leaned back, closing her eyes and moaning, “Fuuuck.”

KIllian bit his lip, wanting to take her hard and fast, but also wanting to draw out the pleasure. “Ride me, Emma,” he pleaded.

She began sliding up and down, pulling almost completely off of him, then sinking back down. He drew his knees up behind her and started thrusting up into her, gripping her hips tightly. Soon, she was coming hard around him, shouting out her pleasure.

Before she had a chance to come down from her high, he flipped their positions. Placing her legs over his shoulders, he pumped into her frantically, the bed rocking with every thrust. Her cries of ecstasy mingled with his grunts and words of encouragement, and they quickly reached their climax simultaneously.

He rolled them again, pulling her boneless, sated body over his own. Breaths labored, hearts racing, they lay molded together until finally coming back to their senses.

*****

*****

Emma raised her head and looked into his face, a lazy smile on her lips. “Welcome home.”

He reached up to tuck some wayward strands of hair behind her ear. “If that’s the welcome I get after being gone a few days, maybe I should go away more often.”

“Don’t you dare,” she warned. “I miss you too much when you’re gone.”

“Aye, Love. I miss you, too. I’ll just have to figure out a way to take you with me. Do you think you would fit in my suitcase?”

She giggled. “Only if it’s your carry-on so I get to stay with you.”

“I’ll see if that can be arranged. If so, I’m sure Belle will be tucked into Will’s.”

“Well, at least I would have company while you two are off doing your ghost hunting thing.”

Killian chuckled. “Now that you know so much about it, you could join us.”

He expected her to laugh, but instead, she pushed up to look at him, a serious look on her face. “While I was watching your episodes, I started thinking about something. Remember how I told you I would like to be a counselor for foster kids who are about to age out of the system?” At his nod of affirmation, she continued, “Well, a lot of the people you help really struggle with how to handle being haunted. I wonder if it would help for me to talk to them, since I’ve been through the same thing myself? I mean, I know Liam’s ghost was with you for a long time, but he wasn’t threatening like a lot of the spirits haunting those people. Neal was, so I know how it feels.”

“I think that’s a brilliant idea, Swan! You’re right - many of our clients really struggle with how to handle what’s going on and how to tell people about it. Having someone like you to talk to would be very helpful. Would you be able to take time away from your job though?”

“I have plenty of vacation time saved,” she explained. After a moment, she added, “I’ve been thinking seriously about looking into those counseling courses. If I decide to sign up for them, between those and work, I wouldn’t have much time to spend with you.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Neither do I,” she laughed. “That’s another reason I’d like to travel with you.”

“I would be more than happy to have you along as often as possible.”

She leaned in to kiss him. “What do you know? I’m actually optimistic about the way my life is going right now. And I have you to thank for it.”

“I’m glad I’ve been able to help, but I’m not responsible for all of it. You’re a strong, smart, absolutely brilliant woman, Emma Swan, and you don’t give yourself enough credit.”

“Maybe not, but that’s why I have you around - to remind me once in a while.”

He tilted his head and cocked an eyebrow. “Is that the only reason you keep me around?”

“Well,” she teased, wiggling her body to shift his softened length within her, “maybe not the only reason!”

*********

ONE YEAR LATER

“I thought we were gonna have to leave without ya,” Will said playfully, as he, Killian and Emma sat back in their Uber on the way to the airport. “Thought that family was goin’ to adopt ya!”

“Aye, they really did love you, Swan,” Killian threw in. “I don’t blame them. The way you helped their daughter overcome her fears was bloody brilliant.”

“I just used my own experience. It was very similar to hers, after all,” Emma said, sliding down to rest her head on the back of the seat. “It was pretty draining, though, remembering all the shit Neal put me through.”

Killian reached over to take her hand, intertwining their fingers. “I know it was difficult, but you moved past it and so will she.”

Emma had joined them on their ghost hunting trips half a dozen times since first proposing the idea to Killian. All of the people with whom she shared her experience appreciated her input and advice.

She was in the midst of finishing her second semester of online counseling courses while continuing to work at the hotel. Killian gave up his lease when it came due three months ago and moved in with her. Now they were roommates instead of neighbors and couldn’t be happier about it.

Belle and Will were also living together. She joined them on their trips from time to time, usually staying at the hotel to edit while they were on site.

The flight home from Tucson seemed to take forever. When they finally reached their apartment, it was after one-thirty in the morning and all they wanted to do was collapse into bed.

The next morning, Emma awoke and realized she was alone, which was very unusual. Even when Killian woke up before she did, he stayed in bed with her.

Groaning, she pushed herself up to sit on the edge of the bed and noticed a note on the nightstand. Unfolding it, she read: Emma, I had some errands to run. I made coffee and those cinnamon rolls from a can you love so much. Have some breakfast, take a shower and relax. I’ll be home in a couple of hours. I love you.

She sighed. As much as she craved a shower and cinnamon rolls, she craved her lover even more. Waking up without him was not getting her day off to a good start.

Over two hours later, she was sitting on the couch, her stomach full, her body and hair clean, dressed in her most comfortable clothes, but still missing Killian. She sent him a couple of texts which he answered with one or two words, making her wonder even more about what was important enough to take him away from her for so long. She heard him and Will discussing how they were going to take two days off before going over what they collected from their trip, so she knew he probably wasn’t at the office they now rented.

She was just getting ready to send him another text when she finally heard his key in the door. She stood up and started moving towards it, questions on the tip of her tongue, when a large bouquet of red roses was thrust through the opening.

“Killian, what…”

“Good morning, Love,” he said, entering the apartment, closing the door and handing her the roses.

“These are beautiful, but it’s afternoon.” She took the bouquet, noticing his other hand was still behind his back. “Where have you been? Besides the flower shop, obviously.”

“Didn’t you get my note? I had errands to run.”

“Yes, I know, but…”

“I’m sorry I was gone longer than expected, but it took a while for me to find exactly what I wanted.”

“What were you looking for?”

He dropped to one knee and pulled his hand out from behind his back. “The perfect ring for the perfect woman.”

Emma gasped and her legs nearly gave out as she saw him open the black velvet jeweler’s box, revealing the most beautiful and exquisite diamond solitaire engagement ring.

“Emma, I truly believe I fell in love with you the moment I met you, but I had to be patient until the time was right. I never dreamed that my ability to sense paranormal activity would lead to me winning your heart. I will be forever grateful that it did. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you more and more with each passing day. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

Emma slowly set the roses on the coffee table, then stared at him with wide eyes for several seconds. He began to fidget when she didn’t answer him right away. When she finally spoke, she could see her words surprised him. “You…you know your flux thingy?”

He frowned. “You mean the flux response device?”

“Yeah.”

“What about it?” he asked, his hand holding the ring starting to drop a bit.

She knelt down in front of him at eye level. “Well, if you had it turned on when you asked that question, the light would be green right now.”

He let out a relieved laugh, removed the ring from the box and slipped it onto her trembling finger. Then she moved into his waiting arms, murmuring, “I love you so much, Killian.”

“I love you, too, Emma. For all eternity.”

*********

Thank you so much for coming along on this supernatural ride! Please be sure to check out all the stories and art work for this final CSSNS event!

Tagging:

@qualitycoffeethings @grimmswan @cs-rylie @wyntereyez @kmomof4

@hookedmom @ultraluckycatnd @paradiselady19 @xarandomdreamx @motherkatereloyshipper

@lfh1226-linda @pawshapedheart @vampcoffeegyrl23 @tiganasummertree @bluewildcatfanatic

@eleveneitherway @elfiola @kday426 @julieenchanted-swans @gingerchangeling

@andiirivera @djlbg @jonesfandomfanatic @snowbellewells @anmylica

@booksteaandtoomuchtv @cocohook38 @ilovemesomekillianjones @zaharadessert @lyssapup27

@undercaffinatednightmare @winterbaby89 @jennjenn615 @xsajx @jackieorioncat

@teamhook @soniccat @jarienn972 @softkilly @kymbersmith-90

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@whimsicallyenchantedrose @earanemith @superchocovian @idristardis @captainswan-kellie

@beckettj @cssns @killihan-jones

[fatuismooches]

Hii smoochies! Read all of your works in one go 🔥! I love them all, platonic ones are such a nice treat especially that little kitsune reader... Loved it. But I have the say the fragile reader is my favorite thing now✨️. With any harbingers, but Dottore kinda become my favorite... (because of all the brainrots and just the eternal love and trying to find a cure plot is delightful)

I want to know if you have any design in mind for fragile reader? Like what do you imagine in your mind when you write about them. What do you think they would wear, how they would style their hair, would they have any accessories (maybe given by the dottore himself? Matching earrings ?) I actually wanted to draw something about them. If it's okay!

Besides that, I really love to imagine Dottore/segments taking care of reader. Mostly segments since Prime is busy. They would be giving you a bath, dressing you up, brushing and drying your hair, brushing your teeth, getting on their knee to put on your shoes. The daily routine of a segment. They don't complain even though they are not used to doing these sort of things. They are not sure what they are doing, they are meant to do more... bloody jobs but here you are enjoying their gentle touches. Like, they would struggle with one of the tasks, (brushing your hair without tugging on it?), they would get frustrated, grumbling and huffing and reader is just sitting there with a smile on their face. Touched that the segments care so much about them to try to be... I don't know... be caring? haha

Also I just love how everyone throws ideas about the harbingers and reader in your blog. And how excitedly you response to each one. Just feels like a safe space to talk in. So uhh thank you ! Oh and I hope you have a very very nice day/night!

Dottore and his segments are selfish people. They're not interested in others, they're focused solely on themselves and their research, their goals, their experiments, knowledge. However, there is an exception to their mindset... you, of course. The one person who they do actually give a damn about. (Astonishing, really). Due to your health, there are times when you struggle to get through even the basics of your routine, but thankfully, the segments are always there to assist you. Even though you always apologize for "wasting their time" with such simple things, they really don't mind. Even if Prime didn't program that responsibility into them, they would still take care of you regardless. And, they get to spend time with you and be lavished with your affection after, so how could they ever say no?

Even though they're certainly not used to such tasks, usually carrying out things better left unsaid, they're actually not bad at it. Well, some things, at least. No matter what you wear they're going to be able to pull it on you without too much difficulty. I mean, do you see how complicated their outfits are?? Showers are good too, but you're going to have to get some better hygiene products... we know how Dottore and his segments tend to be, cooped up in the labs for unspeakable amounts of time... *cough cough*

If you happen to have hair long enough to brush, then only the older, more patient segments have that duty. The younger ones aren't suited for the job... unless you like getting yanked around.

AHHH THIS BRAINROT WAS SO CUTE THANK YOU... I'M VERY HAPPY YOU LIKE MY BRAINROTS AND FRAGILE READER!! I'm glad you feel safe in my blog~ that's my ultimate goal! And I'm honored you'd want to draw them! As for your question, I don't have any design in mind for fragile reader! I prefer to leave them completely up to the reader's imagination, so they can visualize whatever they want! So really you can just draw whatever you want, maybe yourself or an OC? :D

(But I'm totally on board for matching earrings hehe... personally i imagine it's clipped onto somewhere on their clothing instead, because the earring might put them off balance or something...)

[justmeinadaze]

Secret Sinners: Part of the Head Filled With Demons AU (Steddie X You)

Continuation of this here

A/N: I bare you a gift :) I'm putting it in the Head Filled with Demon's Masterlist because I don't anticipate this being too long but definitely more to come!

Warnings: Demon Soft Dom Steddie and Sub Fem Human Reader, SMUT, light choking, dirty talk, threesome (of course), FLUFF, the love each other, an old friend comes to visit, ANGST, brief mentions of homophobic behavior within our realm and theirs, Stevie is insecure about his relationship with Eddie (mentions fears of losing him), brief talk about grief and deaths of the readers parents, these three get into a bit of a fight (more of a disagreement). I think that's all.

I would highly recommend reading the previous series before starting this one if you haven't already. It explains about the AU they are in and other things.

Word Count: 5871

"Just a couple secret sinners...Yeah, she's just what he eats for dinner."

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“No but I trust you two.”, you giggle.

Since being released from their eternity trapped in the stone, things between the three of you had been going exceptionally well. You had travelled a lot and shown them all the things they missed out on. So much had changed over the years so seeing the evolution of towns and cities they had been privy to during different time periods now had a new look. 

There were a bunch of accommodations Eddie and Steve had to make now that they were free. The hardest one was finally being seen. When someone would address them, it would take them awhile to grasp that the person was speaking to them. Because they were still in your realm, they had to wear their masks almost 24/7 and you knew it killed them to not be themselves. This is why you suggested little things like tonight. 

While camping in a remote countryside for the night, you recommended that they spread their wings and fly. Eddie thought it would be fun to show you what it was like so you agreed.

“Ok, you have to hold on to me tightly, honey.”

Wrapping your arms around Steve’s neck, you jump into his own and smile as his wings break free. Shifting your gaze towards the long-haired demon, your grin grew when you saw he had fully converted back to his demon form. Steve had done the same to a point so his skin wouldn’t hurt yours as you clung to him. 

“Here we go.”

You squealed as you keened into his neck and wind abruptly rushed around you. 

“You’re not going to see anything if you keep your eyes closed, sweetheart!”

Daring a peak, your heart skipped a beat when you saw how high you three were but became distracted when you noticed the smiles on both their faces. Just to be able to roam free was exciting in itself but to be themselves again with you was a new kind of euphoria that they would never take for granted. 

Landing on a water tower, Steve placed you carefully on your feet before hovering in front of you. 

“You should fully change like he did.”

Nodding, he takes your suggestion and you beam up at him as Eddie slowly descends beside his side. 

“It’s still amazes me you aren’t afraid of us like this.”

“I mean, you still look like you just with rougher, dark skin, red eyes, wings, and horns.”

“Oh yeah, totally. Just those little differences.”, the long-haired demon teases.

“I’m sorry you guys can’t be yourselves all the time. I wish you could go home.”

Steve flies closer and caresses your cheek with his thumb. 

“But then we wouldn’t be able to be with you.”

“Come on, pretty girl. Let’s head back so you can eat something.” Eddie changed a bit so he could take you in his arms. “Do you trust me?”

“No.”, you laugh as he smiles. 

“That’s fair.” His grip on you tightens as he flies off, spinning in the air as he jets forward. 

“Eddie, don’t scare her!”

“She’s fine! As long as she doesn’t throw up on me!”

***

You will never get used to the euphoria they make you feel when they make love to you and you’re completely ok with that. With every kiss, touch, and thrust of them inside you, your body comes to life and you feel like you would do anything for them. With your ex you thought you were in love, but these demons (your demons) showed you what being loved and being in love was really like. You couldn’t get enough. 

Clinging to Eddie’s shoulders, you mewled as his breath warmed the shell of your ear and he pumped his hips harder, hitting your g-spot roughly.

“Yes, Edward. Just like that, baby.”

“Like that, princess? Fuck you feel so good.”

Steve, having had his release long ago, kissed along both your bodies from beside you, his hands finding purchase anywhere they could land. 

Every time they were able to be themselves, the demon libido took over and you loved when it did. They could go for hours and at times when you were too worn out to continue they would play with each other. 

Those first few months, you noticed Steve was still slightly afraid that Eddie would no longer need him intimately anymore but the long-haired demon squashed that notion any chance he could reminding his friend that they were now more than. Sometimes it would be something small like Eddie holding his hand or running his palm along the demon’s back as they sat there and watched you eat a meal. Other times it was a grand gesture like randomly cupping his cheeks and bringing his lips to his own or smacking his ass in front of room full of people making Steve blush while you two giggled. 

Your fingers tangled in Eddie’s long wavy mane as you trembled beneath him, moaning his name as you came. His lips danced with your own while he fucked you through it and chased his own high. Growling and grunting, he soon followed, releasing his spend deep inside of you. 

The cool night air hit your sweaty skin as he rolled to your side and adjusted the blanket to cover you up a bit more. 

“Next place we stop at should be a hotel so you can shower and all that.”

“So I can shower?”, you laugh as you smile up at him. “Steve, now that you’re out in the world again, you get dirty to and can smell!”

Eddie quietly chuckles beside you as his fingers absently roamed along your body.

“Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean.”, he sasses as he turns onto his back and gazes up at the sky.

“During your war, did you guys sleep outside like this?”

“Yeah but our sky isn’t as pretty as yours.”, Eddie replies as he rolls onto his back as well. “We don’t have stars. Also, because of the battles and everything usually there was smoke in the air.”

“What was it like before cities and skyscrapers in my realm?”

“The first time we were summoned was around the late 1600s. At night while he slept, we looked out into the countryside and the grass was bright green, illuminating even in the dark. The way the trees moved when the wind blew was just gorgeous.”

“Sometime in the 1700s, we were near the water. I always thought the boats were fascinating. They reminded of stories my uncle would read to me when I was a kid. The sound of the waves crashing and smelling the salt of the ocean at night was amazing.”

“That sounds beautiful. I wish…I wish I could have…seen it all with…you.”, you mumble as your eyes start to get heavy with sleep. 

They both smile as they watch you drift off. Now that they were no longer in the stone, they were able to sleep but it took some getting used to like everything else. They had always assumed it was part of their curse that they never got tired or slept while in stone. Those first few nights of freedom they tried to keep their eyes open and on you, fearing something may happen if they weren’t alert. 

You assured them you were safe but always allowed them to do what they needed to feel comfortable. Normally they would just pull you close like a teddy bear which you definitely didn’t mind but more and more frequently they seemed content with just having any body part on you as they slept. Tonight, Eddie rolled on to his side and threw his arm over your stomach while Steve nuzzled into your side, pressing his nose to your cheek as he placed his own arm over the other demon’s. 

##############

“Oh, wow. Steven, look at this.”, Eddie beckoned at the other demon as his eyes widened in amusement. “These guitars are exceptional.”

You grin as he took in all the instruments in front of him at the museum you were visiting. This had been your favorite part of traveling with them; seeing them take in and learn all the new things around them. Steve so far was completely flabbergasted with technology. Of course, they saw summoners use or utilize any device that was available at the time but for them it had been confined to the knowledge within the area they happened to be in. Add in the fact that they would go decades without being called, sometimes they missed evolutions entirely. 

Eddie loved looking at and listening to music from any time. On your adventure, you three had stopped at a few bars where different types of bands would play and his eyes would light up like a kid listening to a story being read to them. 

“That thing you do when you play, can you do it with any instrument or is it a specific guitar?”, you ask. 

“Um, so far it’s any guitar. I’ve honestly never tried other stuff.” 

Steve abruptly straightens up as his head swivels to look around him. 

“What?”, the other demon inquires becoming more alert as well. 

“Someone’s here who doesn’t belong.” He grabs your hand and the three of you run out into the parking lot as you fumble for your keys.

Abruptly, you feel arms wrap around your waist and you gasp as your hoisted into the air. You can’t see who or what is holding you but you know you’re flying as the wind slaps you face. 

You scream as you’re let go of but are immediately caught by a winged Eddie as you both tumble to the ground. 

“Sweetheart, fuck that hurt. Are you okay?!”

“Yeah…I…who…what happened?”

Hearing the growls, you both turn just as Steve rises to his feet after having tackled the creature that grabbed you to ground and pins it to the grassy earth below him. 

“Jesus. Took you long enough!” The demon’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he lifted off the helmet blocking the person’s face and was met with a big grin. “You’ve gotten slower, old man.”

“Dustin? Holy shit.”

The boy laughed as he fell forward to hug him before helping him to his feet.

“Dustin?”

“Hey, Edward.” Their friend wrapped his arms around him, pulling him in for a hug before turning to you. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I had a good grip on you but I wasn’t prepared for the tackle landing. I’m Dustin.”

“Y/N. I’ve heard a lot about you.”, you smile but hesitate to shake his hand when you notice the demon skin. 

“Oh, shit. Different world. Um, hang on.” Red light flashes as the young boy transforms in front of you to look more like the men beside him. “There we go.”

He beams proudly when you’re able to greet him and goes the extra mile of kissing the back of your hand. 

“Alright, kid.”, Steve chastises as he pulls on the demon’s collar. “Last I checked you have a wife. This one is ours and speaking of…” Dustin flinches when his huge palm hits the back of his head. “You could have hurt her. You have to be more careful.”

“Hell, you’re lucky we didn’t kill you.”, Eddie scolded. “What are you doing here?”

“Does this realm have a bar. I have some news for you.”

#############

“God this is fucking delicious. What is it called?”, Dustin asks as he slams down his third empty glass. You learned from the boys that demons like them have a pretty high tolerance since the alcohol from their realm was a lot stronger than what you had here. 

“Beer. Now, for the fourth time, WHY ARE YOU HERE?!”, Steve asks sternly making the young demon smile at you. 

“They haven’t changed.”, he chuckles. “I’ve been looking for you two for a while now. Things have shifted back home. The king passed away.”

“Chrissy’s dad died?”, Eddie inquired as he leaned forward while you reached for his hand under the table.

“Yeah about 100 some odd years ago. Things got bad after you two disappeared.”, Dustin sighed. “Actually, it was after pretty boy prince vanished—”

“Henry?”

The boy’s eyes widen in amusement, seemingly impressed by your question. 

“Yes, wow. Um, so Henry went missing a few years after you both and while they were hunting for you, people were hunting for him. During that time another war broke out as the two kings fought for power and dominion.”

“Who won?”

“Essentially, no one. Both sides lost so many people…including your father, Steven.”

Your worried eyes scanned him over as his gaze shifted to the void in front of him. 

“What about Robin?”

“She’s safe; kicked a bunch of asses of course. Your uncle to, Ed. He helped watch out for the younger ones and trained them, kind of becoming like a surrogate dad.”

“Sounds about right.”, he grins. 

“Our people came out on top and have actually been in relative peace for the last 200 years. Robin and I still manage the militia but we haven’t needed them. Henry’s dad gave up looking for him—”

“And they won’t find him anytime soon.”, Eddie adds; his fingers squeezing yours.

“BUT the boys and I did some research and found out what happened to you two…how you were trapped in that stone… when our soldiers came back empty handed it gave some truth to the narrative which also helped us to prove your innocence, Edward.”

Both Steve and Eddie’s eyes shot up towards the young demon as he smiled. 

“Yeah, we were able to prove that you didn’t kill Chrissy and it was most likely Henry.”

“It was. He showed us how he did it to.”, you added.

“Before he died, the king pardoned you both and said that you could come home.”

Both their mouths dropped before the turned to you and noticed you were smiling. 

“Wow…that’s amazing. You two really are free now.”, you murmured as you tried to keep your demeanor in check. “This is fantastic.”

“Hey, um, kid can you give us a moment.”

Nonchalantly, the boy shrugged as he got up to get a refill, completely unaware of the bomb he had just dropped amongst you three. 

“You have to go back.”, you whispered.

“We…we can’t take you with us, Y/N. You would die as soon as you entered our realm.”

“Then you have to leave me—”

“No.”, Eddie growled. “No. I’ve had this situation come up enough when it comes to losing you except this time I actually have a fucking choice. My answer is no.”

“Ma-Maybe…this was inevitable. I mean… how long do your people live? I would grow old and die while you guys lived another few thousand years…”

As you glanced between them, you noticed their eyes were closed as they tried to keep their masks in control. 

“We can find a way, Y/N.”, Steve seethed through gritted teeth. 

“How? How, baby?”

“I don’t know!”, he bellowed in his deep demon voice that caused some patrons to turn. 

“See? At least back home, you can be yourselves again. You won’t have to hide. You both have spent so many years running and hiding. Then you were imprisoned… you deserve to go home.”

“No. We deserve you, the woman that saved us.”, Eddie replied trying to keep his own voice in line. “And believe it or not, sweetheart, but there are other factors to consider besides us leaving you behind.”

“What do you mean?”

“Demons in our realm…wouldn’t exactly…understand us.” He gestured between himself and Steve as the other demon snapped his head towards the window doing everything he could not open his eyes to reveal the red beneath them.

“What? Why?”

“Pfft, does your kind?”, Eddie scoffed. “We’ve spent years hearing the hateful rhetoric in your world. Remember, we had a summoner kill his boyfriend’s father so they could be together. Add in the fact that, once again, I’m the fucking commoner fucking royalty.”

The growl that comes from Steve’s chest is almost too loud to ignore as red quickly flashes through the bar and he runs towards the door before flying into the sky not caring if anyone saw him. Eddie chuckled as he rose to his feet and tugged at your hand. 

“Princess, can you lead me outside so we can follow him? I have a feeling this is going to be one of those fights and I wouldn’t want to draw any more attention.”

***

You two found Steve back near where you had camped the previous evening, completely transformed into his demon appearance as he paced and fumed. 

“Fuck you!”, he screamed as soon Eddie’s feet touched the ground. “Is that how it would be when we got back?! Is that how you would see me?! As someone who’s above you?!”

“Excuse the fuck out of me for speaking the truth. You WERE above me, Steven. We may have been best friends but your rank and father’s position had you at a higher status.”

“So if we went home, things would go back to how they were?! We would just pretend then?!”

Dustin landed beside you with a beer in his hand, offering you some that you decline. 

“Am I missing something?”, he whispers.

“Yes, Dustin! You missed many things over the eons we were locked up in isolation.”, Steve sassed. “Fun fact, Edward and I aren’t just friends anymore. Yup. We fuck each other and fell in love.”

“Huh.”, the boy muses as a takes a sip of his drink. “Well, shit.”

“But that doesn’t matter I guess because Edward is a fucking peasant and sooooo beneath me.”, he mocks causing Eddie to roll his eyes. “Cool. Well now I’m more excited than ever to go back. I have no family, no you, and no Y/N but I’ll be home!”

“You’re all in a…”, Dustin asks gesturing between the three of you and again he makes a tiny huh sound when you nod.

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t be with you, you asshole. I was explaining to Y/N why us being together would be fucking difficult. Do you think Chrissy and I just snuck around for fun?! I understand what it’s like in our realm to be in love with someone in a higher status and YOU know what it’s like with the other concern because of Robin. You know the hell she goes through! Went through…I don’t fucking know! To be honest, this fight seems pointless because even if we did go home we’d still have a mask on AND we wouldn’t have Y/N.”

“You wouldn’t fight for me, Edward?”

Steve’s tone pierced Eddie’s heart causing the demon to stomp forward and grab his cheeks.

“I fought with you and beside you for most of my life, Steven. Not only would I fight for you but I’d die for you to, you idiot.” His lips connect to his own before hugging him tightly to his chest. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“You guys don’t have to come home. I’ve just been looking for you to tell you that you could. Of course, we miss you guys but your friends and family love you. We want you to be happy.”

Steve reaches out and ruffles the boy’s hair as the young man giggles.

“Now is there a place we can rest because I am exhausted!”

***

As you pretended to sleep in your comfy hotel room bed, you listened to the three of them talk on the mattress next to yours. 

“I can’t believe you’re a dad now, man.”, Eddie chuckles as he looks over the pictures Dustin gave him. 

“Yeah, four of them, and Suzie wants another one. She had a big family, you know.”, he grins as he points to one of the boys in the photo. “My oldest son, his full name is Steven Edward Henderson.”

“Aw, dude.”, Steve coos as he reaches out to hug him. 

“Your uncle babysits them for me and he says they are just as wild as you were, Ed. He takes them outside to the forest sometimes to let them run and play. They love it. Since we found peace, everything has gotten so much clearer and cleaner. Less smoke and an angry red background to illuminate your evenings.”

“What about Robin? IS she happy.”

“Yeah. She misses you a lot and tells the kids stories of your adventures together.”

“Who took over after the king passed?”

“He passed the reigns to a cousin within the family. Someone he said Chrissy trusted.” Both demons nodded as a heavy sigh escaped their lips. “So, you love this girl, huh? She seems really sweet.”

“And strong. She’s been through a lot in her short human life but yeah…we love her.”

“She saved our lives.”, Steve added as they all looked over at you. “Got us out of that stone. She’s always been so selfless even now…willing to break her own heart by telling us to go home. I can’t do it, dude. I can’t abandon her here by herself after everything she’s done. I feel like…she’s apart of us.”

“Like if we lost her, we’d lose a piece of ourselves.”, Eddie explained making Dustin smile. 

“That’s how I feel about Suzie.” 

################

You lean against a tree as you gaze out at their realm. It really was gorgeous compared to the visions they had provided you with their memories of their time there. The sky still had a twinge of red but a dark blue hue was beginning to take over. The town below you seemed more put together and modern without the need to modify it so no one could storm in. 

Even the castle to your right had been updated and had less damage than previously seen. The door opened for you and without prompting, you wondered in, marveling at the décor. Entering a bedroom, you knew whose it was immediately as you had seen it many times before. This time, however, there was no body or blood on the floor. The room was neat and tidy with pictures everywhere. 

On the vanity mirror were photos of Chrissy, Steve, Eddie, and Robin making funny faces with a lake behind them. Another was her and her father dancing in formal dress at what you assumed was a ball. On her bed was a box you slowly moved toward, opening the lid to find pictures of her and Eddie kept hidden for the royal’s eyes. 

There were many photos of kisses exchanged, dates that were had, and hope for a future that never came.

“I wish I had put those up.” You quickly turned at the sound of Chrissy’s voice as she softly smiled at you. “He deserved to be seen.”

“I’m…I’m sorry for what happened to you…to both of you.”

“Honey, you cleared his name and captured Henry. You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. I’d actually like to help if I can.” She takes your hand and guides you towards the bed to sit beside you. “I’ve seen you with Eddie and Steve. I’ve never seen them as happy as they are now. It broke my heart watching them suffer for so long.”

Her beautiful, big eyes met yours.

“You’ve suffered to, haven’t you?”

“It’s alright—”

“No, it’s not. You three deserve to stay happy for as long as possible. Let me ask you something, Y/N. What do you know about demon slayers?”

Your eyes shot open as you gasped loudly, startling both demons from their sleep. 

“What?! What’s happening?!”

“Ed…Eddie…Chrissy…”

“Hey, hey, whoa, pretty girl. Breathe. Talk when you’re ready.”

As you calmed down, you told them about your dream and what Chrissy had told you. 

“I don’t get it. Do we need to die?”

“Steven, how did you get that out of what she just said?”, Eddie scolded. 

“What else do demon slayers do, Edward?”

“Didn’t your ex leave you for one?”, Dustin grumbled as he rubbed his eyes. “Maybe they would know.”

“What are you talking about? Demon slayers are human. He would have died long ago.”

“Yeah but he didn’t. Michael just visited them to celebrate their anniversary.”

Eddie fully sat up as he turned to face the young demon across from him. 

“AND YOU DIDN’T THINK THAT WAS ODD??”

“Geez, no, I didn’t. I have my own family to worry about on top of finding you two dickheads.”

Your demon’s exchanged a glance as the long-haired one rose to his feet and grabbed the boy’s arm. 

“You lost bed privileges. Go sleep… anywhere else.”

“Hey! Wha—”

He cut the boy off as he slammed the hotel door shut.

“Eddie, you didn’t have to—”

“Punishments are worse where we come from. He can sleep in the car.”, he growls as he runs his palms over his eyes. “What are you thinking, Steve?”

“I wouldn’t even know where to begin to look.” His current honey brown eyes flick towards you as he takes note of your facial expression. “Goddamn it. Are we still having this discussion, Y/N. We are NOT going home.”

“I didn’t say anything!”

“Yeah but I can see it on your face. You think it would be easier for us to just let you go and go home.”

“I heard Dustin talk about what your home is like now. Maybe you two could be happy there.”

His large hand suddenly reached out to grab your throat as he pushed you back down flat against the mattress. 

“Listen up, little girl, because we are only going to say this one more time. Edward was right. The first time we thought we would lose you because Maeve was going to suck us back into that stone. The second time was because YOU made us believe that you would be taken in instead of us. This time WE get to make the choice and we are choosing to stay here with you. We are happier with you. We love you. We belong to you.”

Your breathing stuttered at his last sentence as his hand released its grip, gliding up to hold and caress your cheek with his thumb. 

“And you belong to us, honey.”

Tilting your head slightly, your lips crash up to meet his. The bed jostled as Eddie climbed in beside you, his hand softly running up your thigh before lifting your leg over his hip. A shiver ran up your spine as the demon’s fingers trailed back down along your flesh and rested on the cotton that was blocking your core.

Steve’s lips detach from your own as he leans over, snaking his hand behind the other man’s head, and tugs him into a rough kiss that had your pussy clenching at the sight. 

“I never saw you like that.”, he exhaled heavily. “I never thought of you as beneath me. Not as a commoner or peasant or whatever…even before… you’ve always just been Edward.”

Eddie rushed forward, bringing Steve’s mouth back to his as they passionately mingled together. Your own lips found its way down the metalhead’s neck making him groan while his fingers moved your panties to the side and began massaging circles against your clit. 

They panted as they moved away from each other, Eddie sucking on your own neck as Steve lifted up your nightshirt enough for your breasts to come into view and his mouth to wrap around your nipple. 

“Edward…please…”

Before he could acknowledge your pleas, Steve pushed him onto his back and hastily lifted off your shirt the rest of the way before doing the same with the other demon’s boxers. 

Eddie moaned as a glob of spit landed on the tip of his cock as Steve stroked and smeared it along his shaft. You both watched him with lust fueled eyes as he took him into his awaiting mouth while his free hand reach over to play with your bundle of nerves. 

“Fuck me.”

“H-His mouth always feels so fucking good, doesn’t it?”

“Fuck, yeah, it does. Wh-When we—mmm—when we were alone sometimes he would suck me off for what—shit—felt like hours.”

Continuing to pump him with his hand, Steve gives you his attention, shoving his face into your cunt. Your fingers intertwined with the demon next to you as the others long paranormal tongue lapped at your insides. 

“Yes, Steven! Please.”

Eddie’s free palm reached across his bare chest, landing on your tit as his fingers pinched and played with the erect bud. 

“I-I would cum so many times but I never wanted…never wanted him to stop. His mouth felt so good.”

Steve switched again driving you both wild as he built you two up. Eddie quickly sat up and brought the other demon’s lips to his, both whimpering as their tongues glided effortless against the other.

“I want to feel you, pretty boy. Come on. Make our beautiful girl cum hard, ok? She deserves it.”

Steve nodded, kissing along your skin as he climbed up the length of your body. Opening your legs wide, he lifts one of them over his shoulder, and his forehead falls on yours as he guides his cock into your entrance. 

“Fuuuuck, baby girl. Still so fucking tight.”, he moans, smirking when your breathy laugh hits his face. 

“I’m-I’m a little sore from last night.”

“Yeah? But you can take still take it, can’t you, honey? Mmm—you can still take all of me.”

“Yes.”, you pant as he begins slowly thrusting into you.

When you feel him pause, you shift your gaze to Eddie as he grabs the demon’s shoulder for leverage and gradually pushes into his ass. Biting your bottom lip, you watch as Steve struggles to control his appearance as he whimpers and groans at the feeling of you both. 

“Does that feel good, Steven?”

“S-So good. Fuck.”, he purrs as his hips start to thrust again. 

The demon behind him guides his motions, placing his palms on his waist as his moves him forward into you and back onto him. 

“You can—mmm—you can change if you want to.”

Steve adamantly shakes his head. 

“Too close. Hurt you.”, he manages to grunt out.

“You can hurt me a little.”, you tease making Eddie chuckle behind him as his face scrunches in pleasure. “I always want you guys to be yourselves as much as you can.”

A low growl rumbles from his chest as his pace quickens.

“It always fucking turns me on when you say stuff like that. That you aren’t afraid us.”

“I’m not, Steven.”

His jaw goes slack in a silent moan as he fully takes over pleasing you both. Tears fall from your eyes as he roughly but pleasantly hits that spot inside of you that has your eyes rolling closed while he pushes back hard against Eddie taking him deeper into his body. 

“Shit…that’s it, Steven, baby.”, the metalhead grumbles through his teeth. 

“You’d fuck us fully in our demon form?”

“Yes, of course. I love you both—mmm—for you. I don’t care what you look like. Fuck, M’gonna…”

Dropping your leg, his body fell flat on yours, rolling his hips as Eddie thrust to meet his movements. The sound of skin hitting skin echoed obscenely loud in the small room while all three of your moans mixed in. Your nails dug into his back as you held him tightly to you, shuddering as you came hard.

“Fuck! G-Good girl. Soaking my cock like that.”

The demon behind him grabbed his throat as he pressed his chest into his back, pounding into him till Steve trembled against you and painted your walls with his release. Eddie grunted, yanking them both upright on their knees, and as he fell out of you, the long-haired boy reached around to continue stroking his length, milking him till his own orgasm followed.

Falling to your side, they panted as Steve’s fingers lazily turned your cheek to face him. 

“Are you…okay? I didn’t…cut you or hurt you…right?”

“I’m ok. You didn’t shift too much this time.”, you grin over at him as he smiles in return. 

“Come on, princess.”, Eddie coos as he crawls over to you and lifts you in his arms. “Before you start to smell.”

He chuckles when you lightly smack his chest while he carries you to the tiny hotel bathroom.

“Oh, this will be fun. Just like our showers in the dorms, huh, Stevie?”

It was a tight fit but you didn’t mind. Any chance you got at being close to them made you content. You kept your arms snuggled around either one of them, tenderly kissing their lips occasionally before pressing your face into their chest. 

“What would it be like? Sex with you fully in your demon form? The first night we were together, Steve said his dick was still him…”

After turning off the shower, Eddie guided you out of the shower and made you giggle as he shook a towel over your head. 

“He wasn’t wrong. Um, you know how human’s use condoms? Think of it like that.”

“Also, believe it or not, we’ve been holding back somewhat with you.” Your eyes widen playfully at Steve’s comment. “Oh yeah. You’ve seen Edward and I together. I mean, you saw our house in the stone. It wasn’t solely destroyed all the time because of me if you know what I’m saying.”

Your laugh gradually fades as they watch you slide your sleep shirt back over your head and climb under the covers. 

“What are you thinking about, sweetheart?”

“So…we’re really doing this? We’re going to look for a way for me to be with you two forever?”

They both crawl in beside you like they did every single night before. 

“If that’s what you want, Y/N.”, Eddie answers as his fingers move some loose hair away from your cheek. “If you want to stay as you are, we’ll still be here, babe. Even when you’re old and gray, sitting on a rocker on your front porch.”

They smile when you laugh. 

“Did you see that in my future when you first met me?”

“We can’t see the futures for summoners, just the past.”, Steve explains. “But we don’t need to have powers or anything to see that if that’s a future you want then we’ll make it happen. As long as you’re happy, honey.”

“My mom died my freshman year of high school. I spent so many years watching my father miss her. Before he died, in my dream, I saw him reconnect with her and that comforts me, you know?” You place your palm on Eddie’s heart as Steve wraps his arm around your waist and rests his chin on your bicep just below your shoulder. “I’ve seen what it did to you. I don’t want either of you to experience that pain. I want us…to have as much time…as we can get.”

Softly smiling, he leans down and tenderly kisses your lips, letting you go long enough for Steve to do the same.

“Then, yes, princess. We’re doing this.”

############### Song Inspiration:

@tlclick73 @tiannamortis @steeldaisies @goodhappyfriday @paleidiot @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes

@strangerthings64 @howlingco @eddiesguitarskills

@prettypeachsworld

[zeldahime]

Highway to Pail Day 11

[Day 1] [Prev] [Next] @do-it-with-style-events

February 11: I heard they're looking for someone to perform in The Sound of Music. It's a Trapp.

It had been four hours since Crowley had sauntered into the bookshop, kidnapped an angel, and taken him out to dinner and a show. He'd wined and Aziraphale had dined at the Savoy, talking about nothing and everything. After Aziraphale finished dessert, Crowley had produced two box tickets to the new Rodgers & Hammerstein on the West End, a show about a nun outwitting some Nazis, and preened under Aziraphale's twinkling smile. In the dark box, they sat with just a scant inch between them. An important inch, an unbridgeable inch, but so much closer than they ever could be in the light of day in public or trust themselves to be in the gentle privacy of the bookshop.

About five minutes after curtain, Crowley realized he had made a terrible mistake.

How do you solve a problem like Maria? sang the nuns on stage behind Maria's back, and Aziraphale pulled away from the relaxed warmth of watching a silly musical together to sit impossibly straighter, arms retracting to set his palms neatly flat against his lap, legs moving from slightly spread as though at parade rest to heels together at attention. Crowley turned to look at his face, and his expression had gone totally blank, a terrible neutrality he hadn't seen in years.

In fact, the last time he'd seen Aziraphale with such a careful lack of any expressions at all, he'd just returned from his centenary performance review in Heaven, and he'd then avoided Crowley entirely for five years.

If Aziraphale spooked like that again just because Crowley hadn't vetted the dumb musical....

That unbreachable inch became a yawning chasm.

Then the nuns stared at Maria as she tripped, not offering a hand up, judgement written on their faces.

Crowley took a deep breath, unnecessary but steadying, and looked straight forward as he reached over and placed his hand on top of Aziraphale's, heart in his throat. "Alright there, angel?" he whispered, squeezing lightly.

Aziraphale didn't answer, but he didn't push Crowley away either. When the Mother Abbess and Maria sang about their favorite things, he flipped his hand over and squeezed Crowley back.

They stayed like that through the first act, hand-in-hand, as Maria and the von Trapp children pranced and sang across the stage, as Maria and the Captain began to fall in love, as the Nazis threatened Anchluss. At the end of the act, as Maria packed her bags to return to the monastery.

Aziraphale's grip was like iron when the Countess or whatever told Maria that Captain von Trapp was in love with her.

Even when the house lights came up for intermission, he didn't let go for nearly two minutes. When he did, Crowley only moved his hand to the armrest, allowing human propriety but not wanting to retract altogether.

"Well, this is dull," he drawled. "Thought there'd be more fighting Nazis and less mooning over them. The war wasn't like this anywhere I was. What do you say we get out of here, angel?"

Aziraphale visibly shook himself. "I'm sure Leisl... well. Yes. Let's. I must be getting back to the bookshop." Aziraphale didn't look at him. "Early day tomorrow."

The short ride back to the bookshop in the Bentley seemed to take an eternity. With the space between them restored, Aziraphale seemed a million miles away in the passenger's seat, silent as a mouse. When they arrived, Crowley walked him to the door, wanting to fuss but knowing he wasn't allowed, that it would just make Aziraphale feel even more closely watched and anxious about Heavenly surveillance.

"Thank you for dinner," Aziraphale finally said, turning to look at him after unlocking the door. "I'm sorry the show wasn't up to your expectations." His gaze dropped, and Crowley again felt the urge to reach across, to comfort his friend in such clear distress. To hold his hand, to kiss his worries away, to pet his fluffy hair until he forgot all about Heaven and Hell and all the reasons they shouldn't. He did nothing except hold his breath. Aziraphale met his eyes again, the moment passing them by. "Good night, Crowley," Aziraphale said in a low voice, nearly a whisper, and vanished into the shop.

The Bentley hit 150 as he tore out of London, running like a bat out of Hell from the way the night had turned so sour.

Related works:

[ts1m1kas]

Original Ask: Hi I have an idea like can u write reader is Kos’s secret wife (I heard news bout kostas married and this came to my mind ) maybe like smau but ı’m not sure u write smau soo I just wanna give u idea 💡 hope u like it muah muah 😘💞🙏🏼🫡 (@kylianwifey)

Word Count: 431 words

(author's note: i love writing for kostas !! thanks for the request 🩷)

For Kostas, his wife was his safe haven. His way to escape his worries and live in peaceful bliss for a while. This was one of the main reasons he kept her hidden from the vultures of the media. He felt selfish, in a way, for wanting to keep her all to himself, but he knew it was for the better.

To most people, being hidden by their partner might have made them feel unloved or insecure, like they were ashamed to be seen with them. But to Y/N, it was the opposite. She knew that Kostas would do anything for her. All she had to do was ask. She enjoyed the quiet life the pair had created for themselves, revelling in the peace it brought.

It was by accident that the bubble of secrecy the pair had created was popped abruptly. After a difficult win in the race for the FA Cup, Kostas was being interviewed. But what he failed to notice was the thin metal band that sat snug on his ring finger, made more obvious by the stadium lights glinting off its shiny surface.

“So, I’m sure you and the lads will be pleased with that win. You clearly fought very hard, so to come away with the win must feel incredible?” The interviewer began.

“Yeah, obviously, it was a tough game, and I give my total respect to our opponents. As a team, we always fight until the last second, so it's always nice to see the result go in our favour.” As Kostas talked, his hands moved animatedly, matching his excitement. 

“I didn’t realise you were married? Will you be celebrating with your wife at home?”

Looking down and noticing his ring, he cursed himself in his head. He knew Y/N wouldn’t be angry with him, but he would’ve preferred for her to remain his little secret.

“Yeah, I hope she’s watching this, hopefully, proud of me. But I will be celebrating with her when I get home. She’s my number one supporter, and I don’t know what I’d do without her.” Kostas just couldn’t help himself. He could talk about his wife for an eternity, simply raving about how enamoured he was with her. 

“Well, I won’t keep you any longer then, go enjoy the post-match celebrations!” The interviewer closed off the interview as Kostas walked away.

As annoyed as he was at himself for revealing his marriage to the public, he was also grateful that the world now knew his heart belonged to his wife and his wife only. Forever and always.

[livlepretre]

Rebekah watches her with something like pity. “Haven’t you realized? I’ve never had one at all. None of my family does.”

She never clarifies if that means her humanity is permanently on or permanently off.

Elena thinks she knows the answer, but she’s not prepared to acknowledge the implications.

…

(She can’t accept that they don’t care at all.

To accept that would be to declare them to be monsters once and for all. Even to their own.  

Would be to damn herself for loving creatures that could never love her back, in any way that matters.)

I am climbing the walls and gnawing on the plaster at this. Going back to what I said a while back (I think in two asks, one about Elena’s comment regarding her urge to put the skinned face on top of her own as a mask and another about the inherent inhumanity of the Originals), of course Rebekah and her siblings have no humanity, maybe they did at first but they were the very first vampires and their time realizing the full extent of their abilities would’ve stripped that away entirely. They had to eat humans to live, and they didn’t know of compulsion at first, so at least for a while they had to commit murder to sustain themselves. And, they are looking at eternity, short of their father nothing can kill them and they know this, they know that even if they’re attached to other vamps, they will “outlive” them. They’ve already watched the world change, they’ve been around for a thousand years. How can they not be utterly inhuman? And that’s not even getting into the fact that their own father is the threat to their existence, the man who raised them and turned them into monsters, who shoved a sword through their hearts (I think) to turn them immortal so they wouldn’t die the way Henrik did, is now the man who wants him dead. Humanity cannot be seen in the rear view. How can they be anything but monstrous and unrecognizable as having ever been human?

And Elena, who has forgiven unforgivable things, who fell in love with the man who killed her and her aunt, who loves Rebekah despite everything, who just 2 chapters ago didn’t notice a bloodbath going on just feet away because she was talking to Kol, she knows they’re monsters and may look human but most definitely aren’t, and she cannot accept what it says about her that she can love them.

Also, that last line reminds me of a fic I read in PJO, that went something like this “I loved him with all of my humanity and none of my divinity. I think that’s the only way to love someone.” But they do care, it’s just that they love the way you would expect thousand year old immortal vampires who have seen humanity evolve would love.

THIS THIS THIS

I think one of the reasons I find tvd vampires SO compelling is that there is just SO MUCH horror of the self involved with transformation into a vampire-- in a lot of other vampire lores, vampires are generally positive on the change/feel no grief for their humanity, but in tvd, they miss being human more than anything in the world. That implies that even the ones that have their humanity on are not experiencing what it is to be human-- they're experiencing a facsimile that can never satisfy.

FE teases at this idea that the Originals are the "pure" vampires-- that what separates them is that they are the ones really outside of their humanity. That they're the ones who go through the most extreme transformation, losing their humanity and becoming so totally other not through some magical "humanity switch," but through the gradual (and, tragically, inevitable) slide into true evil of their own actions. None of them are exempt from this total transformation.

Elena herself is mirroring them, going down very dark roads, largely because of the extreme psychological pressures she has been under-- she has to change or break from the strain of living amongst them. Except-- she is human. While the vampires in her life are wandering further and further down a road with no way to ever turn around, that option always remains for Elena, so long as she remains human.

That possibility might be her only saving grace.

[povbeth]

six roses | percabeth (0)

series masterlist

chapter summary: it's been two years since percy left town (read: annabeth), and neither of them can stop thinking about each other.

wc: 2.8K

warnings: it's just a lot of emotional constipation and regret and sadness and- [car crashes into me]

a/n: hellooooo :p honestly don't know what i'm doing bc nobody posts percabeth fanfic on tumblr but guess what? i do! i've been wanting to do a series like this for a while so i'm glad i'm finally getting started on it. lmk what you think here!

also posted on ao3

prologue: thinking about you.

Grover has been watching Annabeth lose herself for the last few hours. 

Had she known, Annabeth would argue that Grover does this every morning. But today doesn’t follow their normal routine. The two canceled their shift at work for the next morning and took an early leave to prepare. Instead of locking her bedroom door and rotting in bed, Annabeth hobbled over to her best friend's house for a night with no sleep and a bag full of candy, ready to binge watch Disney classics till the sun peeks through the windows. 

It’s an annual event, one that follows a 10 year tradition; One the same day every year, Annabeth and Grover have a sleepover, in which they total approximately two hours of sleep and six hours of movies. 

It’s supposed to be fun, and Annabeth does find it fun. But for the last two years, it’s been different. Tainted. Scarred. And Grover knows this, but will never say it out loud. 

“Whatcha thinkin’ about?”

He’ll make her say instead. 

She’s not surprised at the question. Really, it was inevitable. Grover knows what joy looks like, and he knows what a lack of it looks like on Annabeth. She could feel his eyes observing her as she stared at Lilo and Stitch without a single tear rolling down her cheek. He can always count on her to sing along with Gaston, but not a peep left her lips. He knows how emotional the Little Mermaid gets you, but he couldn’t hear a sniffle from her. 

She doesn’t bother turning her head to face him. She won’t let him see the silent tear trails on her face. “You already know.”

Does he ever wonder?

Does he ever wonder like I do?

About the memories he’s left behind on a whim, in the hopes for a dream that was miles away. Away from the town he’s been in since he could babble a few incoherent words, towards a city filled with unfamiliar faces Away from the town he can only remember by your name. 

About the memories that haunt her at night, but they swear they’re here to keep her at ease. They should be comforting, but they’re holding her tight enough to be suffocating. 

Maybe they’ll let her sleep tonight if she cries a bit. Just a teeny bit. 

Before she knows it, her eyes are teary. Grover feels her shift on the makeshift bed the two made on the ground. “You good?”

Nights spent on the phone talking about forever, an eternity that would only last a little over a year. Had the word stayed true to its meaning, she wouldn’t have hated it. Spending forever with him. She’d sigh and tell him this in hushed whispers as she’d lay in bed with her phone beside her pillow, and he’d giggle a bit. If she wasn’t too caught up with the idea of eternity with him, she would’ve realized that he’d never reply with confirmation. That he thinks about it too, that her idea of forever exists in the realm of possibility. 

Did he ever toy with forever like I had?

She doesn’t respond to the silent boy next to her, who waits for some kind of response. There’s a pile of memories clogged in her blue veins, and they choose tonight to flow properly. 

And so she does what she knows best. 

Lie. 

“I’m good.”

Her memories unravel themselves quickly. They’re only a few years old, but they’ve learned fast.  Really, they’re not evil in nature – sneaking out at one in the morning to see him at a park near her house, writing exclamations of love into his skin during class, holding his hand as he walks her home – but they’re sharp. Short strands, but they have an edge to them. They know where to poke her, where to prod, where to stab. Like shards of glass, meeting her chest with good aim. 

(But it doesn’t seem like an issue. She’d relive them in her head regardless of the pain.)

It doesn’t take Grover long to realize that she won’t say anything more than that. Instead of pushing for an answer, he lazily turns his body to face her. “I miss him too, y’know.”

And that’s what makes Annabeth break. 

Because it’s not just her – it’s Grover, her cousin, and more importantly, his best friend. The boy he’d known way before you, since the two were in pre-school, squalling nonsense that only made sense to them. Brothers who knew each other better than themselves (though Grover would argue that he never really knew him). 

Grover’s hurt too, and it makes everything hurt more. 

She’s sobbing before she knows it, staining her cheeks and pillow in the process. It’s an unmapped cry that escapes her, one that doesn’t sound like her. She tries to pin it on something – regret, distaste, sorrow – yet it doesn’t land quite right. Must be something ugly, something that can only exist in a person who’s come across Percy Jackson.

“It’s been two years,” she manages through the tears. “And I’m still feeling like this.”

“I know.” Grover comforts her. She’ll never know it, but the tears he holds back are only for her. 

“He doesn't even think about us. And I know he did it for himself, for his career, for his family, but it’s just… I don't know–”

“You feel greedy,” Grover tries to grasp. “for wanting him to stay–”

“No, that’s not it!” she barely recognizes the noise that’s coming out her throat. Is this what her memories have done? Turned her into a foreigner of her own voice? “That's not even what I wanted! I just – I just wanted him to tell me… and to tell you…”

…that he was leaving. Not that he didn’t – he did, just on the day of. 

That’s one memory that she can’t unravel. She doesn’t remember how her day started, or how the conversation came about. All she recalls is the moment he said, “I have to leave.”

The rest is a blur. She remembers looking at him incredulously, as if he was joking. She remembers arguing with him, angry at him for choosing to tell her now, when his ride to the big apple was an hour away. She remembers watching him leave, his shoulders slouched as he walked away from the ruins of their relationship. 

She wonders what remains of her now. In his mind, perhaps he only remembers a lousy town with a girl with perpetual mascara running down her face. Maybe he remembers her name, not her face. Maybe she’s a distant memory that he can’t bother to recall, not when he’s at the peak of his career. 

Years pass, and so do her emotions. Hatred has dissolved in her heart, but she’s sure she can build it back up if she wants to. She’s more understanding, that maybe it was for the best. Sure, she wishes he executed things better. But she gets it – Percy was a boy with dreams. And she, better than most people, should know what it means to reach for them. 

It means to sacrifice the things you love the most – and maybe, it was proof that he did love her, at least back then. If that were the case, she wishes that she wasn’t on the top of the list. 

Maybe nothing of her remains, and that’s what scares her the most. Especially when his everything is engraved in her. 

It’s been exactly two years since the day he left, yet the realization only settles in her bones now – she’s afraid that she’s worth nothing more than dust to the boy who once loved her from the sun and back. 

The truth is, Percy wonders too much.

His ‘friends,’ if that’s what he could call them, told him the night was still young. To be clear, it was an hour past midnight, and Percy just wanted to crash at his hotel room. 

To be even clearer, he didn’t know these guys well. He's seen a few of them in that new movie with vampires, and the others are fellow singers whose songs he’s heard far too many times. They smile on the red carpet, baring their fancy looks for the cameras, and wipe the smiles off their faces as soon as they take a step off it. He thinks it’s fair – he’s done the same today – but it doesn’t excuse them from being absolute assholes to everyone who isn’t an A-list celebrity. 

Of course, Percy doesn’t fit in the category of nobodies for them. He’s topping the charts with every new release and bagging every award he’s been nominated for. To the famous clique, he’s one of them, just haven’t been acquainted yet. 

So when Percy happened to have a table near theirs, they invited themselves over with a bottle of alcohol that he swears was not on the menu. 

Percy knew nobody besides Jason, his first friend in the industry, and his only friend at this event. He'd really been hoping that he and Jason could leave without anyone noticing. Like the incredible actor he was, his friend called Percy’s manager and convinced her that the two of them were actually feeling sick. 

“Never going to a gala again,” Jason groans as they enter the hotel lobby. “That was terrible.”

“Yeah,” Percy mumbles. “I just wanna crash right now.”

Percy has never been a man of many words, Jasons noticed. He’s still the shy boy from the small town, even when he has to smile at the paparazzi that followed him practically everywhere. But today in particular, Percy hasn’t been talking much.

Despite the obvious lack of words from the raven haired boy, Jason says nothing. Even as they head up the elevator, the two stand in silence. It’s comfortable, but it’s different from their usual fall of words. Percy’s eyes are closed, not in concentration, but in an exhaustion that Jason can’t seem to pinpoint. 

Jason doesn’t know anything about the town Percy left behind two years ago. He doesn’t know that today marks two years since he’s left it behind, and wouldn’t understand the weight that it holds, even if Percy were to tell him. 

He’s been wanting to ask if something is wrong for the past few hours, and so he finally does. He's not expecting much, but Percy looks at him as if he’s finally hit his tipping point. 

And that’s how Jason finds himself in Percy’s hotel room, having been dragged into the room by his older friend. He’s concerned, surprised by the sudden emotional act Percy’s put on. 

“It’s just…” he heaves as he sits down on his bed. “It's been a long day.”

An understatement at its finest. He knew what awaited him – beyond the gala, there was his family. Sure, they’ve been on good terms, great even, but the weight of his ticket back home seems to weigh the room down. There’s his friends from back home, whose texts pile up on his phone (which Percy ignores). 

And then there’s Annabeth. Clouding his thoughts before he woke up, appearing in his dreams and haunting him before he could take his first breath of the day. 

It’s a given, he thinks, knowing that he’s made peace with everything else back in town. His parents were always supportive, his friends came to understand. But there’s a distance of time and heart between Annabeth and him, and the fact that it’s tainted his perception of who she is now has him begging God to shrink him into nothing. 

So his day was rough. He can’t recall a moment where he didn’t feel an ache in his chest. 

“Wanna talk about it?”

Percy fiddles with the bottom of his tie, rolling the material between his fingers. “well…”

He does, but the last thing he wants to do is say her name out loud. 

“It's been two years since I left my hometown,” he mumbles. It’s easier to say than I broke up with my girlfriend two years ago and haven’t gotten over it since. 

“I see.” Jason says, though he doesn’t really get it. He grew up in the city, and even though the two boys are practically the same, there’s a difference in experience between them. Where Percy grew up was vastly different from this place, so Jason tries to understand. “You miss it?”

“Mhm. I miss my parents, and…”

And Annabeth.

“There's something bugging you,” Jason notes with a frown on his face. “You can tell me, y’know. I won't judge.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you… it’s just complicated, I guess.”

“Well,” he sighs, running a hand through his hair. “I'm all ears.”

Percy doesn’t know what to say. But since his friend’s standing there, leaning against his dresser and waiting for him to speak, he supposes he has to spit it out at some point. 

“Just… thinking about someone.”

“A girl?”

He goes silent for a second too long and Jason panics. “Oh, is it a guy–”

“No, no. It’s my girlfr– well, ex-girlfriend.”

He nods in sympathy. He’s never been in a relationship, but he can imagine how hard breakups can be. “Yhings were rough, I’m guessing?”

Nothing was rough, actually. Things were as perfect as they could possibly be. 

The two were enemies as kids. He remembers bits and pieces – young Annabeth kicking sand in his face, swearing that she’d never go close enough to catch cooties from him. 7-year-old Percy splashing water in her face (read: soaking her with a water bottle) and running away before she could tell his mom. Swore that they’d never be friends unless it rained cows. 

Except things didn’t go as planned; she ended up dating him through highschool, and he ended up leaving her at the end of it. 

“I guess you could say that. We broke up the day I left town.”

Percy doesn’t tell him that it was because of him, or that it happened right before he was leaving for the train station. He doesn’t mention how he was feeling blue for his first year here, and that even though it’s past one year, he feels sick at any memory of you. He doesn’t even say her name, because the weight of his guilt lays heavy on the vowels and it’s too much to bear. 

Instead, Percy does exactly what Jason wanted – unpack how he feels. He lets his feelings escape the lid, listens to them pour out without caring about how selfish he sounds, how terribly hoarse his voice is. 

Annabeth always seems to do this to him. A single memory of her has him feeling like he’s eighteen again. Every memory of that time leads to a dead end, and though a small part of him wishes he could forget her, his mind tends to run back to that time. 

It's incredibly stupid of him to miss her when he was the one who left. He knows this, but can’t help but indulge in the longing he feels. 

And by the time he’s done talking, there’s a box of tissues in his lap and Jason beside him, patting his back as if it could erase every bad emotion he’s feeling.

Jason’s at a loss for words. He didn’t know, but he feels like he should’ve. He should’ve connected the dots when he caught Percy reading old text messages a few days. He should’ve gotten the hint when he saw Percy standing next to another girl as if he was a stiff tree. He should’ve caught on to how his friend never liked to talk about relationships, excusing it as something he wasn’t interested in, despite his unrivaled passion for romcoms.

Percy loves torturing himself by thinking about Annabeth, but talking about her is the opposite – any mention of her seems to bring the mood down for not just him, but everyone around him. The weight of her name is so heavy, it’s a burden on anyone who knows your situation with him. 

It's especially terrible when your Annabeth is inscribed in his heart, his veins adorned with engravings of her. The vessels are shrinking under her load, pressing his chest and squeezing his throat. 

With every mention to Jason, her name escaping his lips makes the weight increase. 

It's been exactly two years since the day he left, yet his heart feels heavier than before. 

[welcome-to-oslov]

Dear Author

Let me explain by saying that my first language is not English, so I apologize in advance if there is anything that is not understood or causes misunderstandings my intention is far from that.

I don't know how to express what you feel once you finish Oslov unraveled, have you ever read/seen something so good that it becomes part of you and you are doomed to spend your life thinking about it to every time you hear a song think about how well the character does or when you hear a phrase think about how the story applies, to every minute of your existence that story lives in the sea of your thought when you finish and not process it like a storm and then like a gentle undercurrent in your mind that will stay there YEARS. ...WELL THAT JUST HAPPENED TO ME WITH OSLOV'S KEY.

I swear I will be eternally grateful that I found this in the jumble of tags I was looking for one afternoon for fun and found this story AND DEVOURED IT IN LESS THAN 3 DAYS (everything except the prequel with Malsha I'm not mentally prepared for that yet I feel I have to digest all of this first) I don't Know where to begin to explain why this story is so good, I still have to process a lot of what I just finished reading so here are a few points.

Most works of fiction in ao3 with sla/ver/y represented in is not well represented or written and although in Oslov slavery is not allowed as you rightly say is the best way to define what happens to Tilrey and other characters, where most would fall into a case of stockholm syndrome or a too naive and simplistic denouement, you have known to take your time to explain why this system has remained so long, what is wrong with it and that changes do not happen overnight.

The way this revolution happens when janta turns off the lights and the characters are mixed each with their own agenda with Einara's plan starts because she wants to be more extreme than Tilrey and how there are groups trying to take advantage of all the chaos, something I really liked is that I remember fictions where the theme of revolutions are about only one point here we see several from Besha who only wants to benefit his own interests , Davita and the others who tries to preserve the status quo because it always benefit them and those who have been oppressed by it like Steffan and Tilrey finally stepping forward.

The characters I have no words to explain the level of three-dimensionality they have no white doves and totally evil characters ( except Veran and others who definitely deserve a painful death ) it is full of gray characters who we have seen how the system affects them and we can only wonder if in another society or if x situation had not affected them they would be better love each one from Gersha to Einara and what to say about Tilrey he stole my heart ( something I love is that in my language Tilrey would be read as a compound name " Til-.Rey and Rey means king which basically shows some leadership skills that the character is going to take).

How they talk about and the characters deal with trauma one of the chapters I liked the most is when Tilrey and Einara talk about how they endured the rapes by letting go of their mind and Tiley explains dissociation plus how they have a hard time letting go of dehumanizing themselves after all the treatment they've been through.

I definitely have to read this again calmly to analyze more I plan to stop by ao3 to drop this off and when time permits and leave a comment on each chapter.

I'm sorry if this comment is too long, but I had to vent this is an amazing story that should be published somewhere because of how well narrated and the complexity of the issues it deals with because god I need more people to read it.

I just wrote a longer response to this on AO3, but I just want to say again, thank you!!! ❤️❤️ Comments like this mean the world to me.

I’m reaching the point where I feel very tempted to publish these stories, and I do have some knowledge of how to do that and the advantages and pitfalls of the different methods. I always come back to the fact that only immensely popular fics (or original stories) do well in the marketplace, and this seems to be more of a niche story. Still … thank you for giving me another reason to consider it.

[tytarax]

Aight imma rant about grape gusher man Zamasu/j

Basically; platonic yan corrupted Zamasu, except he’s so delusional he genuinely believes reader is related by blood to him (more of a long-lost younger sibling thing tho since I doubt he could make up a whole story to legitimize them being his kid).

Zamasu can and will come up with a whole delusion of having a baby sibling that was taken by mortals and wished on the dragon to look human and raised to act like them (none of this is true, but Zamasu won’t listen to reader’s logic because ‘they were too young to remember’ and ‘the mortals just told you that to keep you for themselves!’). The obsession could’ve started out small with unfused Zamasu and Goku Black, and then slowly became more and more broken until it became corrupted Zamasu’s delusion of reader being his biological sibling.

Oh yeah, his personality is also all sorts of messed up too. I’m talking corrupted Zamasu who has fallen off of the end of his rope and has actually gone insane after he won the fight against Trunks, Goku and co. He has destroyed every remnant of the resistance and is now blindly calling (read: screaming) out for his “sibling” to “come out of hiding” because “the human threat is gone and now they are safe” while he searches up and down the rubble remains of the world looking for them (see, I feel like yan Zamasu would be insane, no matter how you spin it, but corrupted Zamasu is that and also somehow even crazier and more delusional).

He could probably regenerate his body over time to no longer be distorted if his immortality still regenerates his body, or he could wish for it by using the time rings to access the dragon balls, but that won’t change a thing about how he acts. He is not calm and collected like regular Fused or unfused Zamasu, and somehow he’s even more unhinged and overprotective than Goku Black ever was (he can and will ensure reader is within his range of sight at all times if he feels like he has to, and might even resort to moving their bed into his room or even forcing them to use his bed platonically just so he knows they are safe). I’d imagine he’d be prone to mood swings, going between his more calm and collected demeanor and his broken and insane one.

Corrupted Zamasu would be more prone to forcing reader into his affection (he gives me hugging reader in the corner of a room energy), and often this more forceful affection would be shown when Zamasu is leaning towards his more broken demeanor (he’d also be the Zamasu most likely to drug reader up to keep them compliant). Zamasu will try and force his delusions upon reader, insisting that they are true and that reader shouldn’t doubt them.

Corrupted Zamasu will get what he wants, even if he has to tear apart the entire world to get it. Poor reader is just so confused and horrified and trying to escape the ruined city before Zamasu can catch them in their game of cat and mouse, and Zamasu won’t ever stop chasing because he wants his ‘younger sibling’ to be by his side for all eternity. There is absolutely nowhere reader can go to escape him, but they won’t know that until they are cornered and there is nowhere else to run.

(lol this one is a bit long, but I enjoyed writing this concept! Originally I was gonna use this idea for unfused Zamasu and Goku Black, but I felt that it worked with corrupted Zamasu better. Poor reader better be very good at evading him, because he probably already wished them immortal so he could ensure they wouldn’t die while he searched for them).

I love the "grape gusher man" nickname for Zamasu

Your take on platonic yandere corrupted Zamasu is so wild, I love it! Him being so delusional that he believes the reader is his long-lost sibling is both creepy and fascinating. I can totally see him coming up with that whole story about the baby sibling being taken and disguised by mortals. His refusal to listen to logic because "they were too young to remember" is peak yandere insanity.

[teslacoils-and-hubris]

What the shit is everhood

(Info dump pls?)

Gladly! ^w^

so everhood is a game that I would say is very similar to undertale, from the pixel art style to the humour to the general uhh theme? i guess is the word? Where you play as a wooden puppet named red on a quest to get your arm back from gold pig. The battle mechanic is a rhythm based system where you have to jump around and over beats the enemies through at you. The music is absolutely fucking fantastic and i actually bought the soundtrack i like it so much lol

a couple battles get absolutely insane with the visuals too, to the point im not even totally sure i can do a description justice? you can check out this video if you're curious, theres really no spoilers in this battle but it shows what im talking about. these battles are where the photosensitivity warning really comes in though, so be cautious if that effects you

I can't go too deep into the plot without getting into spoiler territory, so i'll put that under the cut for anyone who's curious, but here's what I can say! You go around collecting clues to find gold pig and get your arm back, and along the way you get to meet all the wonderful characters that populate Everhood. Like Rasta beast, Noseferatchu the sneezing vampire, Flan and Muck, the dancing mushrooms, a vampire who's name always changes. You really get to know and love these characters while also learning that maybe everything isn't as it seems in Everhood. Maybe, actually nothing is what it seems. Maybe you're the only one willing to do something about. But..... are you willing?

oh also kermit is there and I think he might be god? Also you can kill him and it impacts literally nothing

Full plot summary under the cut. I highly recommend you play the game without spoilers, but if you're like me and you Need to know what happens before you play then go wild. I'll only be talking about the intended good ending though, since I haven't gotten around to playing the secret endings yet- oh also mild spoilers for undertale i guess if youre worried about that in 2023

so when I say its similar to undertale in themes, its sort of. in a reverse sense. In undertale the good ending is the pacifist route. By saving the monsters you help them escape the underground and better their situation. It is mercy, the direct functional opposite of killing, that saves you. There is no mercy kill because using mercy ends the fight period.

Well in Everhood, the good ending requires you to kill everyone.

Your arm was taken from you because you've done this before, wiped out countless lives, friends even. And now you must finish the job. Its hard and sad and it sucks but it has to be you because no one else is going to. It falls on you to go back to these spots you've been through already, these happy cheerful locations, and hunt down everyone you've come to know over the course of the game.

so why do you need to kill everyone? and how on earth is it similar to undertale at all? well, Everhood isn't just the title of the game or the location it takes place, its the state every single character in the game is stuck in.

in the distant past, humanity found a way to reach another world, one they called Everhood. And in this world, no one could ever die. Some people chose to stay in this world, which lost connection to the human world for some reason i dont remember rn, and in doing so slowly lost their humanity. They lived for eons and eons and eons, changing their shape and loosing themselves in the process. You discover at one point that the Green Mage, a chaotic character whom I love, has been keeping track of the years everyone has spent in Everhood, every year a tally on the wall of their secret playroom. It takes three hours to get to the end of this hallway, to give you an idea of scale here. three real time hours.

Your character, Red, is a vessel for the literal human player behind the screen to free the inhabitants of Everhood from eternity. They aren't really happy. They can't be. They've been stuck for so long, and even though they beg and plead for you not to kill them you have to. Its the only way for them to be happy and move on from Everhood. And don't get me wrong you CAN choose not to go through with it. You have to actively fight back after this reveal to kill anyone. I haven't played through this way, so I can't speak on it.

The ending is sort of ambiguous, in which Pink (the person pretending to be Red and letting you the player control them) goes to an afterlife after killing everyone and gets to see them one last time, and they're happy. They forgive you. One by one you talk to them and they thank you for freeing them, apologize for fighting you, and move on happily to whatever comes after death. I choose to interpret it literally, but there's something to be said about the idea it's all in Pink's head. I don't think it was meant to be taken that way, but its one way to look at it.

The game sort of looses people with this being the good ending. But I think it's a beautiful metaphor. Sometimes you keep doing things that hurt you only because you're used to it. Maybe you don't even realize how its hurting you, its better than the alternative right? For the longest time I kept my bedroom blinds perpetually closed because the bright sunlight gave me headaches. I didn't realize just how depressed it was making me to be in near constant darkness like that. It was only after I bought a plant on a whim that I realized how much happier I was letting in the sunlight. You get so used to bad habits and awful jobs and clothes you hate because they're familiar. And doesn't it just seem easier? To take non-action and let everyone keep living and having fun in Everhood? Green Mage hosts DnD every week (or whatever counts as a week after you've lived for eternity), go play with the mushrooms in the forest, doesn't that sound lovely? You don't have to kill anyone, just keep living on exactly as you were! You have friends here Red! It hurts too much to kill them! they don't want to die! why not just give up? How could anything good come from the pain of change?

[thrawns-babygirl]

"Why are you covering up? I've already seen everything." It's number #44 on the prompt list. Maybe the reader has been very insecure about their body lately, and doesn't want Cross to look at them because they are ashamed of themselves? It can be smut/fluff/angst, anything you feel would fit good! 💜 I love your stuff so much 😭

I've had the WORST writer's block recently and this fic took me a good 3.5 hours to write lmao but I think I'm finally back in the groove. I hope you enjoy it <3 as always constructive criticism, likes, reblogs, replies help keep me going.

and let me know if you wanna be added to my taglist for future works <3

Rating: E (18+) Warnings: Insecure reader, dirty talk, unprotected PiV, let me know if i missed any Word Count: 1200+ Prompt: #44 "why are you covering up? I've already seen everything"

Masterlist

Time alone with Crosshair was… very hard to come by. You’ve lost track of how long it’s been since the two of you shared more than a stolen kiss in passing while between missions. To say you were feeling pent up was an understatement to say the least.

Finally however, the stars align, and you were able to spend some quality time together after what you would both consider to be far too long.

Pressed against the walls of your quarters in nothing but a thin top and a pair of panties, Crosshair’s lips working the soft skin of your neck, hands running under the flimsy material of your sleep shirt make your head spin… and not in an entirely positive way. It’s been so long after all, what if he’s changed his mind? What if you’re not what he wants anymore? Negative thoughts swirl around your head as you try to keep yourself in the moment.

Suddenly you’re very aware of him lifting the fabric of your shirt over your head and you quickly move your hands to cover yourself. He pulls back, eyebrow raised as his eyes rake up and down your form. “Why are you covering up? I’ve already seen everything”.

It’s the first time he’s spoken to you since shoving the two of you into your room what feels like an eternity ago. “Well, I… You know it’s just been a while and-” You’re shifting on the spot, arms wrapped around yourself, looking at your feet as Crosshair places a knuckle under your chin and tilts your head up to look at him.

He looks at you intently, eyes narrowing slightly, placing a soft kiss on your lips before wrapping his arms around you and throwing you over his shoulder moving the both of you towards the bed in the centre of the room. You let out a squeak as he effortlessly manhandles you, you sometimes forget that despite his lean frame this man is a genetically engineered super soldier as he throws you down onto the bed.

You’re lying on your back, leaning your weight on your elbows as Crosshair sheds his blacks at the foot of the bed until he’s totally naked before you. You run your eyes along his lithe form, insecurity flaring again as you look at his (in your opinion) perfect body. He’s all toned muscle meanwhile you are… you.

He begins crawling up the bed towards you “mesh’la… You have nothing to worry about-” he begins placing kisses up your legs, starting at your ankles lips moving up your calf, alternating between both your legs, working his way up towards your thighs where he sucks small marks into your skin. You look down at him, your chest heaving with ragged breaths as he lavishes you with attention. “You are gorgeous…” he mumbles into the skin of your thigh. His words send heat through your body and your head hits the pillows behind you, your insecurities ebbing away with each pass of his lips over your body.

You close your eyes, basking in the feeling of his mouth getting closer to your still clothed core. You can feel his breath ghosting over your panties, but he doesn’t touch you, he simply continues his journey up your body, lavishing kisses onto your stomach, upwards towards your breasts. You open your eyes and look back down at him to find him gazing up at you intently. His pupils are blown wide and you can feel the bed moving slightly as he ruts his hips into the mattress to give himself some friction as he continues his torturously slow pace up your body.

“You are a work of are cyare… I want to worship every… single… piece… of… you…” he has his lips around your breasts, his words send vibrations through your chest straight down before he latches his mouth onto one of your nipples and sucks. You arch your back, your fingers threading into his short hair as he rolls his tongue around the bud before moving over to give the other one the same treatment.

He moves himself between your legs, grinding his aching length against your panties causing you to gasp, tilting your hips up to meet his until you both settle on a slow rhythm rutting against each other. You can feel Crosshair’s grunts and groans against your skin before he finally releases your nipple with a pop.

“You feel that mesh’la?” he grinds himself against you with more force “you feel what you do to me? You feel how kriffing hard I am for you? Your perfect body” he moves to his knees, pulling away from your body to peel your panties down until you’re totally bare before him. He drags his gaze down your form again, lingering on your glistening folds before his hands move back to your thighs and he’s dragging you closer to him.

Your legs settle either side of his slim waist as he takes himself in his hand, dragging the weeping tip along your entrance, gathering your slick along his head before nudging your folds open and slowly pushing inside of you. You groan out, throwing your head back onto the bed as his hands settle on your waist, fingers digging into your soft flesh as he starts a torturously slow pace dragging his length through your slick folds with a practiced precision, hitting that spot inside you that makes you see stars.

“Cross- ah… harder please” you moan as he continues to rut his hips against yours slowly. “Be careful what you wish for mesh’la” before you have a chance to respond he’s moving your legs over his shoulders, and sets a brutal pace in and out of you.

He rips a loud moan from your chest as he pounds into you, hitting the sweet spot inside of you with every thrust. He moves one of his hands down towards the apex of your thighs, rubbing tight circles against your clit while his other hand holds your legs against his chest.

“Y-you are so- ugh- karking perfect doll” his pace is starting to lose its rhythm, his fingers applying more pressure to your clit as the coil in your abdomen threatens to snap. “I want you to cum on my cock pretty girl, before I- kriff- paint you with mine” his hips are snapping into yours with wild abandon, that combined with his filthy words send you tumbling over the edge with a ragged groan of his name. “That’s it princess… you’re so beautiful when you cum”

Your back arches off the bed, and you scream soundlessly as your walls tighten around him. He throws your legs off his shoulders before pulling out and stroking himself until he spills ropes of hot cum over your stomach with a groan of your name.

He flops down on the bed next to you panting. After catching his breath he rolls over to face you, resting his head on his hand as he looks over you with his elbow planted on the bed. “You never have anything to worry about mesh’la, you’re stunning” you give him a soft smile as he places a soft kiss on your lips.

“Shower?” he asks and you nod as you extract yourself from the bed heading to the fresher with the sniper hot on your heels.

You really didn’t have anything to worry about after all. You never do.

@where-is-my-mind-tho @starborncyare @antishadow2021 @healingskywalker@djarinswife

[mha-platonic-yanderes]

Yandere kirishima and a reader who has severe trust issues and depression. They trusted kirishima, they shouldn’t have let their guard down. And look what happened, someone broke their trust.

Not only that, but now they’re stuck in an unfamiliar house with the man they’re terrified of.

They close themselves off, promising to never trust someone again.

Kirishima was your very best friend. You've known each other for years and did everything together.

Or, he always joined you in the things you did. Any time he did something though, he would tell you it was too dangerous or heroes only. Which was fine, you could totally have a life outside of him.

Not anymore. Because he decided that this sleepover would last for all eternity.

"Kirishima?" You call out his name, "Eijiro? C'mon this isn't funny!"

You claw at the fluffy cuff around your ankle. The bed is soft sure, you picked it out after all, but you don't remember putting yourself to bed and you certainly wouldn't have put yourself in the cuff.

"Oh, hey Y/N!" He walks into the room, hair down and messy like he just got out of bed. "How'd you sleep?"

"Get me out of this!"

His hand goes up to scratch the back of his neck. Sheepish, as if he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar or forgot his homework. Not that he drugged and kidnapped his best friend.

"Sorry bestie, no can do."

"No can do?" You ask back, "You gotta be kidding me. C'mon, this isn't funny."

"You going on a date with that slimeball isn't funny." Kirishima says, "Honestly, you should've heard the way he talked about you with his friends. Guys are disgusting like that."

"This is infinitely worse than him being a perv!" You reply, "This is a crime! You're a pro hero!"

"And they won't arrest me for this, you know." Kirishima replies, "The HPSC loves me, compared to some of the other pros, that is."

You thrash against your restraint and he just watches you as he speaks.

"Anyways, what would you like for breakfast? I can order in or I can cook. Took the week off for your acclimation so maybe we can rent some movies like the old days."

"The old days?" You ask, "Kirishima, after I escape, there will be no more days between us! And you'll go to prison or I'll at least get a restraining order."

"Good luck, N/N." He smiles at you, "You're never going to leave! It'll be like a forever sleepover! And then nobody can take advantage of my very best friend..."

[museandquill]

With this being my finals week I thought I would share part of one my final projects.

This project I had to analyze three pieces of media that could be talked about by themselves, and all together as a whole.

So being the nerd I am i decided to do my project on the modern romanticization of Greek Mythology, focusing on Odysseus and Penelope, Hades and Persephone, and Achilles and Patroclus.

For my pieces of media I used a poem by Eiza Evangelista, a painting by Vennesa Kelley (@vkelleyart) and the song How Long? from Hadestown.

Below is the analysis I did on all three of the pieces

Eiza Evangelista’s poem is told through ‘Penelope’s’ point of view. She tells of how much she loves “her Odysseus” and how long she would wait for him: “Even 20 years may past, I will never run.” Not only is this poem about Penelope’s undying love for Odysseus, this poem can also be interpreted as comparing a personal romance to that similar to the love of Odysseus and Penelope. If we see Eiza as not just the author, but also the narrator, she would be calling herself Penelope and who she is talking to, or about, would take the place of Odysseus. We can come to a similar conclusion if we see ourselves as the narrator, comparing our love, or a love we strive for, to that of Odysseus and Penelope. We want a love full of devotion that we would either wait 20 years for our love to return, or do whatever it took to get home. When thinking about this poem as the narrator, whether that be Eiza, ourselves, or even a third party, we can see that they could also be looking for this love: “Where are you my Odysseus?” and “My heart will wait for you to come.” They do not have this love they are searching and waiting for, they are waiting for someone to love them like Odysseus loves Penelope and vice versa. When talking about the poem in the mindset of this actually being Penelope, we can see her undying love and her absolute sorrow she is going through while waiting for Odysseus to come home. “For your love I will never seize from waiting. Even it will take long for my longing.” No matter how we interpret this poem, it is a poem of true love and total devotion between two people, desperate to find each other.

Hadestown is a musical about the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, and in turn, a story about the love between Hades and Persephone. In the musical, Hades is in love with Persephone, but since she is gone for half the year, he puts his energy into a factory since he can’t give that time and energy to Persephone. In the song How Long? Persephone tries to convince Hades to let Eurydice go because “he has the kind of love for her that you and I once had.” The main thing I want to focus on in this song is the idea that no matter how much Hades and Persephone hurt each other, they will always love each other because they have a love that lasts an eternity and transcends the human definition of love. While Persephone tries to convince Hades to let Eurydice go, Hades questions how long he will have to deal with her pity for mortals “You and your pity don’t fit in my bed… how long?” Persephone answers with “Just as long as I am your wife” which is for eternity. She continues with the fact she knows that the world must die, but that it also has to come back to life. The lines that follow use the sun as a metaphor for the love between Hades and Persephone. Their love is larger than life: “And how does the sun even fit in the sky” This is a call back to earlier lines where Persephone says that Orpheus’s sorrow for losing Eurydice is so consuming it cannot fit in his chest “All of the sorrow won’t fit in his chest, it just burns like a fire in the pit of his chest” and that the love he has for Eurydice is a “bird of a spit in his chest” meaning that he would still choose to love Eurydice even if it means his sorrow for losing her will consume and burn him. The last lines of the song, continues with the sun metaphor and expands on it by also showing that the love between Hades and Persephone also balances out the world, Persephone has to go to the underworld and love Hades so the world can die and Hades has to be able to let the Persephone go so the world can come back to life.

The story of Achilles and Patroclus is one that some classists never want to fully tell, this was a story of love in a time of war and the sorrow of losing the one you love to that very same war. Vennesa Kelley’s piece shows Achilles and Patroclus in a casual yet outwardly romantic way, Achilles is closely laid out between Patroclus’s legs, rested against his chest, while Patroclus rests his head on Achilles with his hand in his hair. The two skilled soldiers are relaxed, secluded in a peaceful spot in the woods, at peace, and have no weapons in sight. In this piece they have become more than just the soldiers and friends as they were only seen as, they are finally able to be lovers and were given back the humanity they were stripped of, their love for each other is not hidden like some classists often try and accomplish. Having pieces like this of queer characters in Greek mythology is important since most queer relationships were either hidden, masked as friendship, or painted in a negative light, especially after the Romans conquered the ancient Greeks. This is not even touching on the utter eraser of queer women. Since we do not know when this piece is meant to take place in regards to the Trojan War, we can see this piece as either a calm moment during the wages of war or what we call the “calm before the storm.” Achilles and Patroclus could be finding solace in each other during war, or they could be joyful and naive to the literal and figurative war they were about to enter. When Patroclus dies, Achilles becomes a completely different person, even going so far as to drag around the dead body of his lover’s killer as he sobs. Looking at this piece you can tell why Achilles would be so distraught, they were completely devoted to each other that Achilles changed the tide of the war when he rejoined the fight after Patroclus died.