#i’m having fun in my little mind palace and you all are invited

[ace-whovian-neuroscientist]

i think the master would be fixed if they could just host game changer

all of that chaos and mindfuckery but with no actual harm done

au where the next incarnation of the master is sam reich and he’s been here the whole time

[thewritetofreespeech]

Could I request Astarion with a s/o who comes from a noble family of mages? S/o's family is super laid-back and chill with everyone, though.

For the first time in nearly 200 years, Astarion was nervous. He couldn't believe it. Him. Nervous.

He genuinely couldn’t remember a time in his life when he had been nervous before. Terrified, depressed, manipulated, scorned, disgusted, mutilated to the core. But he’d never been nervous.

Astarion supposed this came with the territory of ‘meeting the family’. He wondered if they had felt nervous when they met his family? Probably not. Since they ambushed them in the middle of the night and then scurried off into the dark, with not so much as a goodbye. Besides, he genuinely doesn’t think that [Y/N] could be nervous. Nervous in meeting people came from a subconscious thought that people wouldn’t like them. Who wouldn’t like [Y/N]?

“You look like you’re going to the gallows.” They comment as they cross the threshold of the estate and head towards an equally ornate door.

Astarion had walked past this gate a thousand times in his years. Skulking in the shadows. Looking for victims. Such grand homes were off limits to him before, because of his condition. Cazador had been very clear that he was only to take wretches and low born when he went hunting. He told Astarion that that would be who he was best suited to go after, as it was similar to his station. Plus, when noble people start disappearing people tend to care. Cazador didn’t need that kind of attention. So he walked past the house, looking at it’s bright pillars and shining light from the windows, with envy and distaste. Now he was being welcomed in.

“What? I’m the picture of excitement, my love.” He told them. Not letting them get a glimpse of his internal monologue. “It’s just…been a while, since I’ve been invited to a social setting. Cazador…before…he would host events at the palace to cull more sheep, but we were only their for a moment before sent back to the kennels. No opportunity to socialize when you’re on the rack. So you lot were the only real conversation I’ve had in decades. Not that I didn’t appreciate everyone’s company, now that it’s over, but they all go leave something to be desired on the wit & banter scale.”

[Y/N] chuckled. Sensing that his jabs were in good fun, and perhaps sensing that they were also made out of nerves. He paused them then, just before ringing the bell for the door. "I want to make a good impression. Not a....pretend one. Like I'm used to. I can put on a good show for a few hours and have people eating out of the palm of my hand. But long term?" Astarion may have just gulped then. "I appreciate that I'm perhaps not the best choice for the only child of a noble family."

[Y/N]'s cheery disposition fell, and they calm close to cup their hand to his cheek. "Don't say that. You're wonderful. And, you're the one I choose." If he had a beating heart it would be singing like a hummingbird's. "Besides," they added as they rang the bell, "who wouldn't be swayed by your charms?"

"Hmm....that is true...”

They are greeted by a maid and then almost instantly by their mother. Who seemed to be waiting in the wings. Clearly over the moon to see them. It surprised Astarion.

When he thought of noble houses, he thought of starched shirts and stiff upper lips. Preening complexions looking down their noses at others with cool indifference. But this woman seemed so….warm.

“You must be Astarion! It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She greeted him with her hand to shake his.

It was like her greetings flipped a switch in his mind, and Astarion instantly went into his ‘charming self’. “The pleasure his all mine, your grace.” He gave a little bow and scooped up her hand to kiss it. Which made their mother giggle.

“Oh my! They are the charmer, aren’t they.”

“I certainly think so.” [Y/N] quipped.

The rest of the evening went….well. Or at least he thought it had.

Astarion was a little lost on the mark on how to charm people platonically. It just didn’t feel as natural as what he was doing before (although nothing was ‘natural’ about it. only routine). Their mother kept the conversation going with her light chatter and bubbly personality. While their father provided stoic, but congenial remarks throughout the evening. He was a good man. An honorable man. It was so rare to find them these days, particularly amongst nobility.

Very late into the evening, almost getting too close to dawn for his comfort, Astarion and [Y/N] bid goodbye to their parents. With an open invitation to come back any time, and a few notes on upcoming social events they were welcome to.

“That was…interesting…”

“What? You don’t like my parents?” [Y/N] asked as they walked home.

“No, no. I do. It’s just….I always pictured noblemen & women to be more…formal.” He doesn’t remember much of his former life, save for his death, but Astarion always assumed that his attitude came from his breeding as a young man of the nobility back in his time. He would be devastated to find out that he was really just an ass of his own doing.

“Well, I’m sure you’ve only ever met nobles in a formal setting.” Astarion shrugged. He supposed that was true. “Who we are for the public and who we are in life if very different. My family ‘can put on a good show’, to use your phrasing, but typically find it exhausting. Neither one of them is the best at politic, but our line is so old that it wouldn’t matter anyway.”

“So they had you to be their political cat?” Astarion remarked with a grin. Thinking back on all those poor souls they persuaded into giving up their purse or letting them pass without incident.

[Y/N] returned his grin. “They like you, though. Mother made several mentions of it when we were alone. Father too.”

“He mentioned that he liked me?” That was a surprise.

[Y/N] pondered the question for a moment. “Hmm…it’s more that he didn’t make mention of it. If he hated you, he would have let me know. You too, in fact.”

Astarion let out a heavy sigh from a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He had done it. He had made a good impression. They liked him.

His chest suddenly felt tight. Swelling with…pride?

Astarion couldn’t think of a time when someone generally liked him before; save their adventuring camp. Lusted after him. Wanted to be ‘friendly’ with him. But just plain liked him? That was a new feeling.

They walk home in relative silence after meeting the relatives. [Y/N] seeming to enjoy the night air. While Astarion tried to process these new feelings of nervousness, pride, and platonic affection.

[bloodlust-1]

༻ 3 Nights ༺ part 6

Gortash x fem Tav — mini series Explicit 18+

Summary: Gortash invites Tav to stay 3 days at his palace for the sake of an alliance. Reluctantly, she compromises for peace and it becomes an experience they won’t forget.

Part one -> here <-

Tav and her companions made their way to the lower city, the weight of recent events heavy on her mind. She had just helped Astarion in killing Cazador, a task that had taken its toll on both of them. It ached her heart to see Astarion so depressed in the days following the encounter. Despite her own inner turmoil, she had prioritized aiding her companions over fulfilling her treaty with Gortash by postponing killing Orin. However, Tav was aware that the time has come to prioritize Orin’s death, today.

As Tav walked with her group, engaging about their next target, Gale suddenly interrupted with a sense of urgency. “Tav, you’re going to want to see this,” he said, his voice tinged with concern. As he extended the Gazette, the newspaper’s headline caught Tav’s attention. “It’s not good,” Gale added gravely.

Tav scrunched her eyebrows in confusion as she read the front headline of the newspaper: “Adventurers or Absolutists? All you need to know.”

She crumpled the paper between her fingers, she irritated my whispered to herself, “No, no, no, no…” She looked up at her friends with a mixture of disbelief and annoyance, “Who would write something like this? Those damn journalists, always peeking their noses into things they don’t understand!”

"Shit. that damn Gazzette... well at least the paper didn't mention what we looked like. But we don't have enough time before they do." Karlach added as she peeked over Tav's shoulder, frowning at the text.

"Damn it." She ripped off the first page, folding up the paper and stuffed it into her pocket. "For as much as I would love this fix this now, we need to get going. I bet Orin has something to do with this." Tav started to walk ahead of everyone.

“Wait, where are we going?” Gale chimed in, running from the back to accompany Tav’s side.

“To the sewers, we’re killing her today.” Tav held her head high, her vision blurring red with anger. The injustice of it all had reached a boiling point, and she could no longer tolerate the slanderous rumors that spread like wildfire.

"Oh, what fun!" A small giggle left Astarion's lips. "But please, do watch where you step. It smells vile down there." Despite the evident disgust on his face, there was a slight hint of excitement in his eyes.

In the city, the wait has finally come to an end. The bloodshed in the name of Bhaal would no longer taunt the people. What started as a rather tedious quest turned into a ritual with pure malice, culminating in the lifeless body of Orin in its inhuman form - a sight straight out of the hells. Killing Orin was no easy task; it required everything they had to take her down. Tav, witnessing the evil firsthand, realized that Orin was even more twisted than Gortash. Finally fulfilling Gortash’s request to rid the world of Orin, Tav now prepared to pay him a visit. But first, she sought healing from Halsin after nearly exhausting all her strength in the battle against Orin.

~

“Thank you, Halsin.” Tav calmly spoke to him as his hands glowed in pure magic, his hands cleansed her body of any pain. Only leaving behind the small cuts and bruises.

“I really hate seeing you like this. You should not be the one covered in bruises.” He had a sadness in his eyes. No woman should be bruised to this extent.

“Well you know we really haven’t gotten much of a choice lately. I’m just glad we have someone like you here with us.”

Halsin’s gentle touch and intense gaze had a calming effect on Tav, relaxing her body and mind. The silence between them was noticable, and Tav couldn’t help but feel a little nervous under his watchful eye. Tav found herself drawn to Halsin’s intelligence and the way he made her feel like he was always looking out for her well-being. Not to mention how handsome she found him.

However, there was something about Halsin that didn’t quite click for Tav. Perhaps it was his almost fatherly demeanor, or the fact that he was always so sweet and caring. Whatever it was, it made her feel like she had to be careful around him, like she was constantly on edge. Tav was able to be as raunchy as she wanted around Gortash, which made her feel more comfortable to voice her feelings around him. Even if it was mostly banter.

Despite that, he was pleasant eye candy. Her eyes matched with his for a moment before embarrassingly averting her gaze away. Halsin chuckled to himself from the flush of her cheeks. “All done then.”

Halsin instinctively withdrew his hands and took a subtle step backward, his eyes lingering on her figure as he assessed her. “You’re truly beautiful,” he murmured softly, his voice carrying a tenderness that was unmistakable. He always worried about her health and it always felt nice to be valued by him so dearly. He did make her nervous everytime something flirtatious left his mouth.

“Thanks so much again. I’ve got to clear some things up, I’ll be heading out for now.” She looked at him with grateful eyes, giving Halsins hand a slight squeeze in return with a smile. He returned her gratitude, “Do you want me to come with you?”

“Oh no, it’s okay Halsin, really. You’ve done enough. Rest.” Tav patted his hand before grabbing her bag. She opened it to reveal Orin's twisted red knife, its blade covered in old dried blood and adorn with a nether stone. Tav ripped out the stone and handed it to Halsin, “Take this and keep it safe while I’m gone.”

Halsin took the stone and simply nodded to her favor. Tav was grateful to have such loyalty. Her eyes wandered to his biceps before shaking herself out of that naughty head space, “thank you.”

“You have a sparkle in your eyes as of lately. Though— I know it isn’t for me. Who is giving you such a spark in those eyes?”

Tav’s voice quivered as she spoke, “I— Halsin, there’s nobody…” Her words trailed off, leaving an awkward silence in the air. Shit. Tav felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment, wondering if Halsin had caught on to something. Frantically searching for an excuse, she stammered, “Maybe it’s because of everyone’s company that I’m so grateful for.”

“Perhaps.” He once again smiled with knowing eyes at Tav before walking back towards his tent.

There was still daylight outside, and Tav had plenty of time to visit Gortash, even though it had been a week since she properly visited him. He had been popping up unannounced to talk to her whenever he caught her alone throughout the city. Tav was sure he wanted to speak with her, especially after Orin’s death.

Tav dressed down in a loose-fitting brown blouse and paired it with fitted pants to create a balanced look. Her hair fell loose, falling just below her hips. With her traveling bag in hand, she started her small journey to the palace, determined to prove to Gortash that Orin was no longer a threat and that their deal could finally be fulfilled. She had, after all, taken care of Orin, ensuring all business between them.

Upon entering into the palace Tav immediately called out for him. Yet, no response. Tav scoped the halls of the palace and called out a servant, “Hey, do you know where Gortash is?”

The servant, startled, responded, “O-oh, lady Tav! It’s you… He’s in his chambers.”

Tav thanked the woman before heading to his room. She’d never been in his chambers and it felt a bit too personal. As she approached the door, her heart quickened with anticipation. Should she simply open the door and enter, announce herself, or linger outside until he noticed her presence? The array of choices overwhelmed her momentarily, but Tav ultimately keep a high head and opened the door. She called out his name before hearing thunking noises hit the floor.

“Who dares to barge—“ Gortash stormed out of the bathroom, his body drenched from head to toe, a towel slung low on his hips. Water droplets rolled off his black locks and plopped onto his collarbones, leaving behind a trail of glistening beads. His eyes blazed with irritation as he confronted Tav, who stood frozen in the doorway, her mouth agape in disbelief.

She caught a glimpse of the trail of hair that ran from his chest down to his groin and disappeared into the tucked towel. As her eyes followed the path, she instantly averted her gaze. Turning around, she focused on the door, trying to distract herself from what she had just seen. “Fuck! You don't have to come stomping out half naked!“ Tav’s cheeks turned a deep shade of red as she felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her. She could feel the heat rising from her neck to her face, making her feel like she was melting in her boots.

“My favorite assassin, how have you been?” Gortash completely disregarded the fact that he barely clothed. His demeanor was nonchalant and pleased to see Tav at this moment. It was a surprise, but not an unwelcome one. Instead of walking away to cover himself, he walked over to Tav’s turned back. “I was waiting for you to come tell me good news. So—“

Tav took a deep breath before answering, "Orin, she's dead." With a steady hand, she retrieved the blade from her bag and turned back to face Gortash, the weapon glinting in the light. His eyes flickered momentarily to the knife before returning to her face, his gaze piercing and intense. Tav felt a shiver run down her spine as she took in the deep scar on his chin, her mind racing with the desire to trace its path with her fingertips.

Gortash’s expression softened as he accepted the knife from Tav, there's a glint of satisfaction in his eyes. He casually discarded the weapon, letting it clatter to the floor without a second thought. His attention then shifted to Tav’s clothing. The blouse was far too big for her, and it masked her femine figure turing all her delicate curves into a shapless jumble. Not even the color suited her in the best way possible. Gortash thought he'd rather see her in a bra than the ugly shirt. He spoked up with a sense of cockiness, "I hate this color on you. Actually— the entire shirt is not flattering, really."

Tav’s mouth fell open in a mix of shock and offense. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I came here to tell you the greatest news you'll ever hear in your pathetic life, and all you can do is criticize my clothes? How classy of you,” she scoffed, her tone dripping with disbelief. Tav rolled her eyes in frustration. It seemed like he always found a way to ruin any moment of connection and attraction. “And for gods sake, put some damn clothes on…”

"The dagger— It's a lovely souvenier, dear." Gortash added as he dug into his drawers for clothes and sloppily dressed himself despite judging Tav for her unflattering blouse. "It's good that you came, I want to hear all about that fight." The shift in his demeanor caught Tav off guard – was he truly intrigued by her battle with Orin? It was an unexpected moment of connection amidst their otherwise mundane interactions.

"oh, sure..."

~

As they walked, Gortash led Tav to the back of the palace, where a vast and stunning garden awaited them. The garden was adorned with an array of bushes, flowers, and lush greenery, creating a picturesque scene that left Tav breathless with awe. Gortash, observed her reaction, tilted his head, and stared in approval by her response. It was a moment he could speak with her out of the stone walls, one that he knew he would never share with anyone else.

“You are a force to be reckoned with,” Gortash remarked with confidence as he looked at Tav. “I am glad that you are on my side.” His words carried a sense of trust and appreciation, hinting at the possibility of a newfound understanding between them. Tav had just completed an exceptionally important task for Gortash, and it seemed that this act had solidified a bond of trust between them. Perhaps she wouldn’t betray him after all.

"You're welcome. It was a pleasure killing her." Tav admittingly let the dark thought slip her lips. The weight of her words hit her, and she widened her eyes in realization of what she had just admitted. Instantly, she flashed an embarrassed smile at Gortash, acknowledging the sudden darkness of her confession. “She gave me one hell of a hard time… she almost killed me, to be honest,” Tav confessed with a tinge of sadness in her voice. She lowered her tone as she continued, “She turned into this— monster. It was like something straight out of the hells.”

Tav had to grapple with the impact of the horrific encounter with Orin. The weight of her words lingered in the air, painting a vivid picture of the intensity and trauma Tav had to endure. Tav felt a bit defeated in the moment, this fight took a lot of her mentally and physically.

In the midst of a tense atmosphere, Gortash chuckled at Tav's grave confession, "Am I rubbing off on you, little hero?" His words injected a small sense of light into the heavy air, although he could discern the challenge in her eyes. Seeking to reassure her, Gortash offered his support, "If there is ever a problem, you can come to me. After all, we are allies now, offically." A tinge of his voice felt cocky and playful at the end.

Tav smiled slightly and nodded her head to his offer. She felt like he was actually being genuine for once and it was a good palette cleanser to what she was used to.

They walked down a carved out stone path into the garden side by side. They were silent for the most part admiring the scenray and company. Tav bite down on her lower lip as many thoughts flowed into her head. Mostly that she now felt insecure in the baggy blouse she wore that he clearly hated so much. It felt strange to suddenly care about what he thought of her appearance.

A fleeting image of Tav’s face crossed his mind as they walked in silence. Gortash was captivated by the delicate features that seemed out of place in the harsh world he ruled. Gortash peered over his shoulder to peek at her. He found himself admiring how silky her hair was and how it curled at the end.

Gortash’s thoughts of Tav were a dangerous indulgence, one that made him vulnerable in a way he couldn’t afford. Yet, he couldn’t deny the allure of Tav’s beauty, a beauty that seemed to defy the darkness that surrounded them. Even in the brown top that consumed her natural curves, Tav was like forbidden fruit in their small bond.

But in rare moments of vulnerability, Gortash found himself lost in thoughts of Tav’s face, her silky hair, and the longing that stirred within him.

During their time apart, he watched over Tav with a keen eye, particularly noticing the stares of her companion. These stares were not just casual glances, but rather intense, lingering looks that seemed to bore into her very being. Jealousy crept under his skin like a slow-burning fire, fueled by the memories of that wizards lustful stares.

Gortash’s voice erupted abrasively from his thoughts, catching Tav's attention. The question that followed was rather random, laced with a hint of jealousy that lingered in the air. "Whose that pathetic wizard in the group? He's always staring at you."

Tav tilted her head up questionably as she stopped in her tracks, “He’s my friend. And what does it matter with you anyways?” She crossed her arms with curiosity.

In a flat, lifeless tone, Gortash elaborated his jealous statement, “Because he thinks he stands a chance with you.”

Tav was taken aback by the harshness of his jealousy. She couldn’t help but mock his behavior, “Maybe he does? He’s intelligent, sweet, and far from a homicidal maniac.” Tav playfully teased him, “What? Do you really think you stand a chance?”

Gortash let out a small, evil chuckle as he grabbed Tav’s wrist and pulled her body closer to his. His hands firmly grasped the top of her hips, closing the gap between them. With a menacing expression, he brought his face dangerously close to hers and whispered in a mean tone, “Do I not?”

Tav's eyes widdened from his advances in surprise and then responded flusteredly with a firm “No.” She shook her head in denial softly.

His index fingers traced sensually around her hips. “That’s hard to believe when your face is like this. Such big eyes that plead,” he said, gazing into her widened glossy eyes. His tone was filled with domination.

Tav could feel his gaze drilling into her, could feel the heat of his body radiating towards her. She closed her eyes, her heart racing as she waited for him to make his move.

And then, without warning, he leaned in. His lips brushed against hers lightly, then finding a sweet spot. Tav's pulse raced as she felt a rush of excitement. Kissing so openly during daylight. But Gortash’s gentle touch was reassuring, and she found herself melting into his tighten embrace.

Their lips moved together, soft and dominating, their tongues exploring each other’s mouths. They gasped for air between heated kisses. Tav felt a rush of emotions, her heart pounded in her chest as she wrapped her arms around Gortash’s neck, deepening the kiss. The world around them melted away, leaving only the two of them, locked in a passionate kiss.

As they kissed, Gortash’s grip on her tightened, pulling her closer to him. Tav felt a surge of desire, her body responding with goosebumps from his touch. Her knees grew shakey, and a growing heat tickled her body. Gortash held any additional weight that Tav lost in her legs.

His hands slipped down to her thighs, scooping her thighs up to wrap around his slender waist. Tav’s hands lovingly caressed the sides of his stubbled face, as their lips hungerly devouring the bitterness away. Tav finally traced the pad of her thumb over the deep scar on his chin.

Gortash held her body close, propping her against the nearest pillar. His hand gripped her neck, firmly holding her jaw. He pressed his hips against hers eagerly, causing Tav to let out a soft whimper of surprise. “N-Not here, not now,” she whispered.

“Isn’t this what you want— To surrender to me? " He huskily asked between the kisses. he whispered, his voice filled with desire. His intense gaze locked with hers as he spoke. Gortash's brown eyes fell into a half opened state.

Tav giggled softly against his lips, her eyes sparkling with mischief. The look on her face was a sight to behold, a mix of playfulness and determination that made Gortash’s heart race. She couldn’t give in so easily to have him devour her so shamelessly in his garden, not when there was still so much to explore and discover.

Tav teased him in a whisper, breaking free from his hold and taking a step back. “I never surrender, you should know that,” she said, her voice firm and seductive. Her feet touched the ground once more, and she stared flirtatiously up at Gortash, her eyes daring him to try and catch her. “I would rather watch you squirm for it.”

Tav blushed through out the teasing smiles. She reached into her pocket and unfolded the ripped newspaper article, "I expect you to fix this however."

“Mmm, tempting.” Gortash clicked his tongue in the lost of her warmth. His eyes fixated on the news clipping, he took it softly from her hands.

"Thank you— Enver." Tav smiled confidentalty at him, her hands were clasped behind her back as she began to walk backward, then turned around completely to leave the palace. Tav enjoyed keeping him on his toes. She noticed how easily he aimed to please her, and she was keenly aware of the power of her desirability over him.

To Be Continued ~

Any Thoughts? Comment 👇🏼 I love to engage!

Shout out to the ones who’ve been following this story! You guys give me so much inspiration to keep the updates coming🫶🏼 hope you enjoyed gortash kisses, mwuah.

Next part here

[hyperfixatedonthisnow]

Bound by blue ribbon

*not my GIF

Requested by: Anonymous - hiiii! If ya are still taking request!! Then may I get one of the ribbon scene from Rule of Wolves (I think???? I’m not surrrre) but it’s fem!reader x Nikolai? And instead of in her hair, it’s around her neck like a choker??

Just IMAGINE it with the classic character A walks down the staircase looking absolutely STUNNING and character B is s p e e c h l e s s trope! -

Dearest anon, I’m not sure I can properly convey just how much I loved this request. Like, you don’t understand, I am OBSESSED with how good this idea is! So much so that I was worried I wouldn’t be able to write anything that did it justice, but I tried my best. Hope you like it 🙏

Disclaimer (because I’m not looking to get sued): Some lines/dialogue directly borrowed from RoW, with a few minor changes. Obviously, I do not own those words and don’t claim to - they are the property of Leigh Bardugo and all rights belong to her and/or Netflix. Fanfic is for fun only; I am not making any money from this in any way.

Word count: 6Kish

Warnings: NSFW - 18+ only. Dual POV, idiots in love, fluff, the teeniest smidgen of angst if you squint, A little triumvirate cameo, more Genya than anyone - because someone needs to get these idiots together, soft!Nikolai, minimal plot, fem!reader, smut, oral sex (female receiving), P in V sex, unprotected sex (not recommended in real life!)

The party to celebrate Nikolai’s saints day was going to be beyond anything Ravka had ever seen before. Lavish decorations were being put up, the palace kitchens were working on a complicated menu, and the best musicians had been hired to perform. Nikolai hadn’t wanted such a fuss, but the triumvirate had invited every eligible maiden in the country, and most of the neighbouring countries as well, insisting that it was the perfect occasion for the king to finally choose a bride. Which was exactly why you had decided not to attend.

Nikolai had been your best friend since childhood, and you had been in love with him for more than half that time. Over the years, as you had grown from a child into a young woman, you had hoped that maybe he might see you in a romantic light, but unfortunately that hadn’t happened. You didn’t hold it against him, in fact you treasured his friendship, and you wanted only the best for him. You just weren’t sure your heart could withstand watching him fall in love with someone else.

The day of the party, you kept to your room, feigning illness. Nothing too serious, just a headache that would prevent you from attending the party, so that Nikolai could meet the potential woman of his dreams without you having to witness it. Unfortunately, sitting alone in your room all day gave you endless time to think, and your mind was determined to linger on thoughts of Nikolai with some faceless princess. Before dinner, you decided to take a bath, hoping to distract yourself. When you returned to your bedchamber, you found Genya lounging on your bed, alongside a large box.

You stared at your friend, wrapping the towel tighter around yourself. “How did you get in here? And why are you here, shouldn’t you be at the party already?”

“Unimportant,” Genya said breezily, waving her hand as if brushing the question aside, “and yes, I should, but someone had to help you get ready.”

You opened your mouth to tell her she needn’t have bothered but she cut you off with a disapproving click of her tongue. “Don’t waste your time trying to convince me you’re ill, I know that’s a lie.”

“Fine,” you huffed, “but I’m still not going, even if I wanted to - which I don’t - I have nothing to wear.”

Genya gave you a sly smile, holding out the envelope she had hidden in her hand. It bore the royal seal, and was addressed to you, but it had already been opened.

“Have you been reading my private correspondence?” You questioned, irritation bleeding into your tone.

“Mmm,” she hummed, not sounding sorry in the slightest, “it seems the king has sent you a gift. How very thoughtful of him.”

You eyed her suspiciously as you pulled the note from the envelope. The message was short, just two lines, written in Nikolai’s familiar cursive.

~ I hope you’ll wear this tonight. Lantsov blue looks good on you. N ~

Your brow furrowed in confusion. That shade of blue was reserved exclusively for the royal family. The closest you ever came to wearing it was a baby blue silk ribbon that you used to tie your hair back every day. A ribbon you had stolen from Nikolai himself, many months ago. He had been using the blue silk to tie his invention blueprints, keeping the rolls of parchment together and relatively organised when he wasn’t using them. On that afternoon, you had been wearing your hair down, but it was hot in his workshop, so you had pulled your hair back into a braid, snatching up the ribbon to secure it. You had meant to give it back, eventually, but then you had forgotten, and soon it had become a part of your daily wardrobe. You hadn’t even realised he had noticed it.

Genya opened the box to reveal a beautiful gown of pale blue silk, overlayed with a layer of tulle, embroidered in a galaxy of sparkling silver stars. You moved closer, lifting it from the box to finger the delicate fabric.

“See, problem solved.” She announced smugly.

“I can’t wear the king’s colour,” you protested.

“Clearly, he wants you to,” she argued, “would you really deny him?”

You gave her a withering look, “You know full well that I would never deny him anything,” you grumbled, “but people will talk.

“So? Let them,” she shrugged.

You bit your lip, deliberating. On the one hand, the thought of Nikolai buying a dress specially for you to wear on his birthday made your stomach flip pleasantly, but on the other hand, you had already decided not to go to the party and a pretty dress wasn’t going to change your mind. But surely it couldn’t hurt to just try it on … right?

“Well, you have to try it on, at the very least,” Genya insisted, as if she had read your mind, “a dress this beautiful deserves to be worn.”

“Alright,” you conceded, “but just for a moment.”

Genya smiled widely, clapping her hands together with glee.

The second you stepped into the dress, soft silk slipping over your skin, you knew you had made a mistake. Genya laced the corset up with practiced ease and when she was done, she stepped back to admire you. She gasped as she took in the full effect of you in the dress, and as you turned to look at yourself in the mirror you could see why. It fit you like a glove. The colour complemented your skin perfectly and the fabric clung to you in all the right places, accentuating your waist and the curve of your hips. The sweetheart neckline was so low as to almost be scandalous, putting your breasts on full display. You wondered what Nikolai had been thinking when he picked it out. If he had picked it out. Either way, now that you had seen it on, you knew you had no choice but to go to the party. A dress like this demanded to be seen. Genya fixed your hair, sweeping it into an elegant updo and leaving a few curls to fall loose around your face. You kept your jewelry light, diamond earrings and bracelet to match the stars on your dress, but none of the necklaces you tried were quite right. You didn’t want anything that would draw focus from the gown. Genya suggested your hair ribbon, and when you fastened the light blue silk around your throat as a choker, she helped you to tie it into a simple bow at the back.

“Perfect,” she declared, lips curving into a smile, and as you looked yourself over in the mirror you thought she might just be right. The two of you walked together to the ballroom, but when you got there, she dropped you off in the queue of nobles waiting to be announced, insisting you should make a grand entrance. She slipped away before you could argue, muttering something about how she couldn’t leave David unattended any longer, lest he use the opportunity to retreat to his workshop.

You waited at the top of the staircase, just out of sight, as your name was announced. Your heart pounded as you made your way down the stairs. It felt as though everyone’s eyes were on you, but then you saw Nikolai, standing at the foot of the stairs as if waiting for you, and suddenly everyone else melted away. It was just you, and him, and his eyes on yours like you were the only thing that mattered to him.

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

Nikolai was having a dismal evening. So far, he had suffered through what felt like a lifetime of conversations, the longest of which was with the Kerch ambassador, a pompous peacock of a man with an impressively large moustache and unfortunately low IQ, followed by a highly uncomfortable discussion about politics with both the Shu and Fjerdan delegates. To top it off, every time he managed to escape, Zoya would appear with a new princess for him to meet, each one less suited than the last, and he would be forced to spend several painful minutes listening to them talk about their own virtues, of which there were many, apparently.

It seemed like everywhere he turned was some ambassador offering him thinly veiled threats disguised as polite conversation, or one of his ministers trying to push their own agenda whilst they had him alone, or worst of all, another pretty, but vapid, young lady, waiting to be thrust upon him as a potential bride. In truth, he wasn’t interested in any of it, because all he found himself thinking about was you.

As the minutes passed, he started to worry that you wouldn’t come, that you would leave him to deal with the vultures all on his own. And more than that, he worried that he had overstepped with his gift. He had been full of confidence when he helped to design it, chosen every detail to compliment you perfectly, but now he was second guessing himself. Would you like the gown? Would you understand his meaning, about you looking good in blue? Would you return his feelings? He wasn’t sure.

He was contemplating this - whilst only half listening to one of his ministers drone on about the dangers of allowing farmers to have control over their own crops, when Genya suddenly appeared at his side. She politely excused them both from the conversation, pointedly ignoring the minister’s indignation at being interrupted, and looped her arm through Nikolai’s, pulling him away. She led him quickly across the room to stand near the bottom of the stairs.

“Stay right here.” She instructed him sternly, and Nikolai could only blink at her, perplexed, before she was gone, melting back into the crowd without even giving him a chance to respond.

He felt a prickle of annoyance at being ordered around, honestly, wasn’t he the king? He considered walking away just purely on principle, no matter how childish that might be, but then he heard your name being announced, and he wondered if Genya had known. He looked up, his heart hammering in his chest, and when you walked out onto the staircase, he thought it might have stopped beating altogether. You were wearing the gown he had picked out, your hair curled and styled perfectly, and around your throat, that scrap of pale blue silk that haunted his dreams. Usually, you wore it in your hair, and it was eminently practical, but it had the unfortunate effect of making him want to untie it. Seeing it around your throat made that idea all the more appealing. You were stunning. He realised his imagination had not done you justice, could not even come close. The sight of you quite literally took his breath away.

He reached out almost automatically as you got near enough, offering you his hand, and you took it, letting him guide you down the last few steps.

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

“Hi,” you breathed once you were standing face to face, butterflies fluttering in your stomach, but Nikolai just stared at you, slack-jawed, for what felt like an eternity. You began to fidget, feeling self-conscious.

“Do I look ok?” You asked, smoothing down your dress nervously.

He shook his head. “‘Ok’ would be a gross understatement,” he said, “You are a vision.”

Your face lit up in a smile, pleased at the compliment, and you could feel the warmth of a blush spreading across your cheeks. Nikolai dropped your hand, and you almost mourned the loss, but then he pressed his hand to the small of your back instead, and all you could focus on was that intimate point of contact as he led you away from the stairs and further into the room.

“I was beginning to think you had abandoned me,” Nikolai said, his mouth tipping up into a small smile.

“I wasn’t sure I’d come,” you found yourself admitting quietly, “but then someone sent me this beautiful gown, and I changed my mind.”

“You like it?”

“I do,” you assured him, “Thank you. It’s a very generous gift, although it’s your birthday, shouldn’t I be the one giving you a gift?”

“You deserve it,” he said, voice low in your ear, “and seeing you in this dress is a gift for me.”

You were sure you were blushing again. Was he flirting with you? Surely not, that had to be wishful thinking on your part.

“Do you want to dance?” You asked, changing the subject lest you embarrass yourself.

“Yes,” he murmured as he took your hand again, leading you out onto the floor.

He held you close as you moved together through the steps of the dance, effortlessly in sync. You focused completely on him, enjoying the intimate feeling of being pressed against him, his eyes on yours and his hands warm on your body. Being so close to him was the sweetest kind of torture, and you quickly began to feel overheated, as your mind inevitably drifted to all the other ways you could enjoy being close to him, of his hands in much more intimate places. You looked around, trying to clear your head, and you realised that it hadn’t been just your imagination, people were staring, but you found that you didn’t care at all. As your eyes met his again, you were surprised to see that same feeling of desire reflected back at you. Maybe it wasn’t just wishful thinking after all.

When the dance ended, he asked if you wanted to get some air, and you agreed, following him across the room and out into the hallway.

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

Nikolai pulled you into an alcove, just off the main hallway. It was quieter here, with less chance of being seen or overheard.

“Genya and Zoya won’t be happy when they realize you’ve ditched your own party,” you told him, “They’re determined to find you a wife tonight.”

“I don’t care,” he said honestly, “and I’m not interested in any of those girls.”

“You must marry, Kolya. You can’t put it off forever,” you insisted, even though it pained you to say it. “You’ll have to choose someone eventually.”

“You’re the only one I would choose.” He confessed. The words were out before he thought better of them, and there was no way to pull them back.

You studied him carefully, your heart racing. “As your friend?” You asked, offering him a chance to right the ship, to take you back to familiar waters.

He could have lied, could have given you a hundred different easy replies. Instead, he said, “As my queen.”

“Because I’m dependable,” you said cautiously, tentatively, “or because I know all of your secrets?”

"I do trust you more than myself sometimes- and I think very highly of myself." He said, and you huffed a laugh, convinced that any moment now he would take it all back.

“But I would make you my queen because I want you. I want you all the time."

You wanted to tell him that you wanted him too, that he was the only man you had ever wanted, or ever would want, but it wasn’t that simple. He was your best friend, and he was also your king, and you had to be practical. “As your friend, I should tell you that would be a terrible decision. You should make a political choice, take some foreign princess as your bride. Someone who was born to be a queen.”

He met your eyes, voice steady and earnest when he said, "As your king, I should tell you that no one could dissuade me. No prince and no power could make me stop wanting you."

Nikolai felt drunk. You were going to laugh at him. You would knock him senseless and tell him he had no right. But he couldn't seem to stop.

"I would give you a crown if I could," he said. "I would show you the world from the prow of a ship. I would choose you, as my friend, as my queen, as my bride. I would give you a sapphire the size of an acorn." He reached out, fingers brushing over the blue silk ribbon tied around your throat. "And all I would ask in return is that you wear this damnable ribbon on our wedding day."

You should say no, you should tell him he was making a mistake, but you couldn’t. You wanted him too, and not just tonight, but forever. You wanted a future with him, and if you closed your eyes, you could see it, as clear as day. Standing at an altar set before the Saints as a priest named you man and wife. Mornings spent together, eating breakfast and sipping coffee while you discussed the day ahead, and nights spent tangled together in his sheets, sweaty and sated. Soft touches and words of affirmation whispered in the early morning light. Two - or maybe three - golden-haired children, with your eyes and his smile, running about the palace, happy and loved, and constantly getting into mischief. A million inside jokes, and shared looks, and fights about nothing, easily forgiven. A lifetime of moments, big and small, side by side with him. You wanted it all.

“Yes,” you said simply, meeting his gaze.

“Yes?” He repeated, as if he didn’t dare to believe it.

He cupped his hand to your cheek, his palm warm against your jaw. His thumb brushed lightly across your cheekbone, and when your tongue darted out to wet your bottom lip, his eyes followed the movement. You wanted him to kiss you, so badly that you ached with the need of it. You tilted your head up slightly, lips parted in invitation.

He dipped his head, then paused, lips hovering just inches from yours as he searched your eyes, waiting for permission. The heat of his gaze was like flames across your skin. You leaned into him, pressing a hand to his chest and you could feel his heart racing beneath your palm. “Yes,” you said again, barely above a whisper, and he bent his head forward, finally, touching his lips to yours. His kiss was soft and sweet, just the barest brush of his lips over yours, but it wasn’t enough. You wanted more. You made a needy sound, chasing his lips when he moved away, and his mouth curved into a smile.

He pressed you back against the wall, his hands settling on your hips and then his mouth was on yours once more, and this time there was nothing tentative about it. His tongue met yours hungrily, desperately, swallowing your sounds of pleasure. You grabbed a handful of his shirt, crushing the fabric beneath your fingers as you hauled him closer, but it still wasn’t close enough. You reached down with your free hand, tugging your skirts up so that you could curve your leg up around him and he groaned low in his throat, his hand immediately dropping from your waist to the bare skin of your thigh.

He pushed his hips forward, and you could feel the proof of his arousal, pressing against you intimately. You gasped, tipping your head back against the wall. He ducked his head, his tongue darting out to taste the smooth skin of your exposed throat, and he nipped lightly at your pulse point before trailing kisses down to the dip of your shoulder and along your collarbone.

“Can I kiss you?” He asked, teeth just barely grazing your skin, and your eyebrows knitted in confusion, wasn’t he doing that already?  

“I want to taste you,” he said, his fingers skating up and over your inner thigh to press at you lightly over the lace of your underwear. Oh. The thought of having his mouth on you, there, sent a wave of heat straight to your core.

“Yes,” you murmured after just a brief hesitation, and his smile turned wicked as he sank to his knees in front of you.

You hiked your dress higher, bunching the fabric above your hips so that you could watch him as he dragged your underwear slowly down your thighs and helped you step out of them. He stuffed the scrap of lace into his pocket, before he ran his hand up your calf, bending your knee and then lifting your leg to rest it over his shoulder. He kissed a path from your knee up your inner thigh towards your centre and then he stopped, warm breath ghosting over you and eyes fixed on your core, until you began to squirm. He stilled you with a firm hand on your hip.

“Nikolai,” you started, but you were robbed of the power of speech when he leaned in, his face disappearing between your thighs.

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

He licked a broad stripe across you with the flat of his tongue and you gasped, your hand shooting down to fist in his hair. He licked into you slowly, nose bumping your clit, until you were writhing and panting above him. His fingers worked you over, drawing lazy circles over your clit as he explored every inch of you with his lips and tongue. He dipped two fingers inside you, moving them in and out, crooking them slightly to search for that spot that would have you seeing stars and he knew he had found it when you moaned, clenching around him.

Nikolai had always enjoyed this, drawing pleasure from his partner with his mouth and hands, and he prided himself on being good at it, but he had never found it such a turn on before. His pants were uncomfortably tight, and he thought he could probably come untouched, just from the taste of you and the sounds you made. He turned his head for a moment to draw a ragged breath, and he smiled against your inner thigh when you whined impatiently, using your grip on his hair to drag him back where you wanted him.

He went easily, happy to oblige you, and this time he closed his lips around your clit, sucking it against his tongue. You cried out, your hand tightening in his hair hard enough to make his scalp prickle. He kept the pressure of his mouth gentle but non-stop, as your thighs began to shake, your hips jerking against his face. He couldn’t hold back his moan as he felt your body shuddering, his mouth flooded with wetness when you found your release. He worked you through it, lapping at you gently until finally, you pushed him away with a shaky hand.

He shifted from his knees back to his feet, and you reached for him as he stood, wanting to keep him close. His hair was sticking up at all angles, mussed by your hands, his cheeks flushed, and his lips tilted in a lopsided smirk. He looked utterly debauched in the best possible way. You swiped your thumb across his bottom lip before you leaned in to kiss him, tasting yourself on his tongue, and you were surprised to find that it wasn’t unpleasant.

You reached a hand down between your bodies, to cup him over his pants and he groaned, pushing himself into your palm. A door opened somewhere, the sounds of the party drifting out into the hallway, and you froze, the illusion of privacy shattered.

The noise from further down the hallway brought Nikolai back to his senses so suddenly, he felt like he’d been doused in ice water. Had he completely lost his mind? Your first time together shouldn’t be like this, frantic and dirty, pushed up against a wall in a public place, where anyone could discover the two of you at any moment.

“I’m sorry,” he said breathlessly, “I got carried away, I shouldn’t have … this wasn’t…”

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, trying to find the right words. You deserved better from him. You deserved a white veil, and matching rings, and a promise made at an alter set before the Saints. He wanted to give you all of that, and he would, but not tonight. Tonight, he could at least give you a soft bed, and gentle hands, declarations of love whispered in the dark. Romance, because you deserved that if nothing else.

He pulled back, letting you drop your skirts down and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. You felt your face fall before you could stop it.

“Oh,” was all the response you could muster, the sting of disappointment sharp, and so bitter you could almost taste it. You closed your eyes, willing away the tears that threatened to form. Was he saying this was a mistake? Had he changed his mind? Had you done something wrong?

“I only meant, we should go somewhere more private,” he said, watching you carefully.

“Oh,” you said again, relief flooding through you.

“Unless… if you’d rather return to the party, that’s fine too.” He clarified.

“I don’t,” you said quickly, and you almost blushed at how eager you sounded.

“No?” He questioned, raising an eyebrow at you.

You gave him a smile that you hoped was sultry. “No. Take me to bed,” you purred, and you knew you’d hit the mark when his eyes darkened in response.

He took your hand, guiding you through the palace hallways until you reached his rooms. He opened the door for you, ever the gentleman, allowing you to enter first, and then he followed you inside, locking the door swiftly behind him. There would be no more interruptions tonight, not if he could help it.

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

You came to a stop by the foot of the bed, waiting for him to join you. He crossed the room in just a few quick strides, pulling you into his arms, and then his mouth was on yours again, hot and demanding. You let your hands roam, over his shoulders and into his hair, before the desperate need to feel his bare skin against yours took over, and you set to work on removing his clothes.

Your nimble fingers made light work of the knot in his cravat, pulling it loose and free of his collar in just a few short movements, and you quickly moved on to his shirt, opening the first few buttons. He pulled back for just enough time to yank the shirt off over his head, and then he was back to kissing you like his life depended on it. When you moved to unbutton his pants, your knuckles inadvertently brushing up against his hardness, he groaned low in his throat and pulled away again, this time to spin you around so that he could unlace your corset and free you from your dress.

He placed kisses across your shoulder, and down the length of your spine as it was revealed to him and once you were completely nude before him, he wrapped an arm around your waist to tug you back against him, his clothed arousal against your bare ass. You brought your hands up to your throat to untie your ribbon, but he stopped you. “Allow me, he murmured, voice low and rough in your ear. He hooked a finger into the bow at the back of your neck, tugging gently until it unravelled, soft silk sliding over your skin, and then he curled it up to put into his pocket, joining your underwear from earlier.

He cupped your breast, thumb circling your nipple until it hardened into a peak, while his other hand travelled down the side of your ribs and across your lower abdomen to your core. You moaned as his fingers found their mark, dipping inside you to gather the wetness there before rubbing gentle circles over your clit. Only once you were panting, your head falling back against his shoulder, and your hips moving in small circles along with his hand, did he nudge you in the direction of the bed. You took the hint, though you were loath to give up the delicious friction of his talented fingers. You moved to sit on the edge of the bed first, watching with bated breath while he took off the last of his own clothes.

Once he was undressed, you scooted backwards onto the bed, so that you were positioned comfortably on the pillows, and he climbed over you, covering the length of your body with his. You gasped as you felt his erection pressing against you, almost, but not quite, in the right place. He pinned one of your hands to the bed beside your head, fingers twining with yours as he dipped his head to kiss you, licking into your mouth until you were both breathless. You bent your leg up around his hip, opening yourself up for him instinctively and he kept his eyes on yours as he flexed his hips, entering you at an agonizingly slow pace. You were warm, and wet, and perfect, and you dug your heel into the back of his thigh, urging him deeper. He groaned, his eyes slipping closed and his hand squeezing yours tightly.

Once he was fully seated inside you, he had to stop. He let his head drop to your shoulder and he held completely still, desperately fighting to get a grip on his self-control. Late at night when he lay alone in the dark, his wildest fantasies playing out behind his eyelids, it was your face he saw and your name on his lips when he came. He had dreamed of having you so many times, in a thousand different ways, but nothing could compare to the reality. It was as if he was suddenly a boy of sixteen again, green and eager, ready to spill himself at the slightest hint of friction. You shifted beneath him, wriggling impatiently and only once he was sure he would not embarrass himself, did he raise his head to look at you.

“Sorry,” he said, the corner of his mouth tipping up into an amused little smirk, “did you need something?”

You just barely resisted the urge to smack him, and instead clenched your inner muscles around him, watching with a smug sense of satisfaction as his eyelids fluttered, the smirk dropping from his face.

“Fuck,” he cursed, his eyes dark with arousal as they met yours, but he still didn’t move.

“Please,” you begged, and you would have been embarrassed by how needy you sounded if not for the way that his hips bucked in response.

He dipped his head, slanting his mouth over yours as he withdrew slowly, almost completely, only to fill you again with a sharp thrust of his hips. His hand was warm in yours, palms pressed together, and fingers intertwined, the connection anchoring you as he started to move in earnest, settling into a perfect, maddening rhythm that was somehow altogether too much, and yet not enough at the same time.

The muscles in his biceps were straining with the effort of holding himself up and you wrapped your arm around his shoulders, pulling him down on to you until his chest was flush with yours. He nuzzled at your throat, as he maintained his languid pace, drawing out your mutual pleasure for as long as he possibly could, and you were torn between the desperate need to climax, and the desire to stay entwined with him like this forever.

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

When he felt the beginnings of his own climax, Nikolai reluctantly released your hand so that he could slip his between your bodies to thumb at your clit. Within moments, he felt you tightening around him, your orgasm beginning to ripple through you, and he kept the movement of his hips slow and steady, drawing it out until you were writhing beneath him. He removed his hand as the last tremors ran through your body, and he lifted his head, mouth finding yours, as he finally allowed himself release. He sheathed himself fully inside you, as he shuddered and came.

He collapsed onto you, pressing you into the mattress, and you stroked your fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, holding him close, as you both struggled to catch your breath. Your bodies were tangled together, completely enveloped by each other, and neither of you wanted to move.

“I love you,” he murmured after a moment, turning his head so that he could press a kiss to your temple.

“I love you too,” you assured him, holding him tighter.

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

In the morning, you had woken early and taken the opportunity to study Nikolai in the light of the sunrise, his face relaxed and boyish in sleep, and when he woke, he had nudged you onto your back and made love to you again. That had been followed by a bath, in which you both ended up dirtier than you had been upon getting in, and a second one - strictly for getting clean, and one horrifyingly awkward conversation with your maid, during which the girl giggled and blushed furiously, as you begged her to bring you something to wear. All of this meant that it was late, long past noon, when the pair of you finally emerged from his room.

You walked hand in hand to the council room, where the triumvirate were already assembled. Genya and Zoya were standing over the table, heads bent as they looked over a map, talking quietly together. David sat across from them, scribbling away, fingers stained with ink. Genya lifted her head as you entered, smiling knowingly at you.

Nikolai cleared his throat. “I… well, we, have something important to tell you all,” he announced. “We’re getting married.” Subtle as ever.

“Thank the Saints,” Zoya muttered, without even looking up, “I thought I’d be old and grey before you two ever got your act together.”

“I told you it would work!” Genya said gleefully.

You and Nikolai shared a confused look. “What worked?” You asked.

“The party,” Zoya explained, speaking very slowly, as if she were talking to a pair of particularly dim children, “the one we planned, to push you both into admitting you’re in love with each other, obviously.”

You both just stared at her.

“Someone had to do it,” she continued with a shrug, “Saints knows neither of you were going to do it on your own.”

“I would have done it without your intervention,” Nikolai said defensively, “eventually.”

“Yes, of course you would,” Genya said mildly, her tone just on the edge of patronising.

Nikolai pinched the bridge of his nose, screwing his eyes shut in frustration. “So, just to be clear - you conceived an elaborate plot, which involved throwing an expensive party with hundreds of guests, and making me suffer through hours of mind-numbing conversation with prospective “brides”, all so that you could manipulate us into confessing our feelings for each other?”

“I wouldn’t say manipulate,” Genya objected, “more like give you a loving shove in the right direction.”

“A brilliant plan, really,” David piped up, “and, clearly, effective.”

Genya smiled fondly at him. “Thank you, dear.”

And suddenly it all made sense, the way Genya had come to insist you go to the party, the way she had pushed you to wear the dress even though it was Lantsov blue, the fact that she had made you wait to be announced, and that Nikolai had mysteriously been waiting for you the moment you entered the room. The mysterious coincidence that all the young ladies Zoya had introduced to him were almost comically unsuitable. They had engineered it all.

You couldn’t stop the grin that spread over your face. Perhaps you should have been upset by the idea that they had manipulated you both, but honestly you weren’t. You shared another look with Nikolai. He shook his head exasperatedly, but he was smiling now too, and you knew he shared your feelings on the matter. This whole charade might have been ridiculous, but how could you hold it against them, when it had resulted in the happiest night of your lives.

[skriblee-ksk]

“A party in Halloween Town? I’d be a fool to deny!”

Cameo of @the-rini-rush’s Carla!!

“It’s shocking I wasn’t chosen as the bride, but It’s alright. A heroine who fights for devotion seems to be my thing nowadays.”

Set to Home Screen: May the best suitor win.

Home Transition:

1: I didn’t bring an offering for the fountain. Not like I need good luck either way, I can fulfill my wishes all on my own.

2: I’m not sure how tight the security is at the Boogie Man’s Palace. I’m confident in my acting, but… Hm, I’ll scope it and then decide.

3: Yuuki looks quite dashing in their suit. Not exactly my definition of prince charming, but they could be a good candidate… I think I’d like to doll them up sometimes.

4: As much as I’d like to go into the graveyard and look for anything spooky, it’d be disrespectful to disrupt it without gifts on hand. Are flowers a little basic?

Home, after Login: Hmm, I quite like the properties of this outfit. Don’t I seem like a ghost? Be careful with your words, or I might haunt you forever…! Ha!

Tap Home:

1: The Esqueleto’s are quite considerate to invite me to their party. If I see them, I’ll be sure to thank them.

2: I seem more upbeat than usual? Well, I won’t deny it to you. A place where both the living and dead reside. Isn’t that exciting?

3: We must go to the Boutique, darling! Their dresses are quite glamorous, in a strange way.

4: Carla’s here too? Oh, and we’re rivals? Alright, let’s see who’s able to win Yuuki’s heart! Although… I’m not sure if her head’s completely in the game with Constance around…

5: Being the special girl picked from a large crowd is wholly romantic, don’t you agree? If I’m not chosen, then well… I always have other chances to get my dream anyway.

Groovification: “I have some flowery lines prepared. And if that doesn’t suit Yuuki, I have a few others.”

Tap Home Groovy: I’m not sure which attitude to put on when I’ll woo Yuuki. Probably nothing too straightforward, right? Don’t want to scare them off.

Home Transition Groovy: I wouldn’t mind living in a place like this. Dark and spooky… Oh, but what if I get bored of it because I experience it so often? It’d make me miserable!

Event by @theolivetree123!!

More under cut!!

putting my daughter kalmia up for sale for love <3333

I didn’t think i could get the groovy out before the end of the due date bc i’m pretty busy these days so it’s included this time!!

doodle of kamiyuuki:

idk like the general timeframe (book-wise) this event is in, but I think Yuuki and Kalmia would’ve met, perchance?? (She officially gets acquainted with Yuu like basically right after book 3 ends)

I don’t know how Yuuki feels about going home either, but!!! Either way!!! Kalmia would have went on that whole spiel and would’ve tried getting closer to Yuu, and then accidentally ended up becoming pretty closed due to forced (?) proximity. tragic (?)

Anyway. CONGRATS ON 150+ FOLLOWERS!!! 🎉🫶🙏🏻 Ur art is so wonderful (and so are ur characters) so it’s only natural!!! I hope I continue to see them more!! Literally so happy to be moots with u. I found you in the candy crush event and I was literally so flabbergasted when u fb. ANYWAY. Congrats once again!!! I hope u have fun w this event!!!

Taglist (ask to be added!!): @kathxrat-01 @distant-velleity @scint1llat3 @elenauaurs @boopshoops

@lumdays @venaue @jewelulu @thehollowwriter

[la-rougo]

*NSFW*-

Hades x FemReader

So like imagine you tryna get him on his nerves by flirting with loki while waiting for him to see, yesh that sounds fun😋😋😋

Tags: fingering, slight degrading, overstimulation, orgasm denial, spanking, daddy kink

A/n: i’m feeling kinda wildin for hades today🙀🙀🙀💦💦💦

“Loki~~~ you look so handsome today!”

(Name) says while running up her fingers on the mischief god’s shoulder with a playful tone knowing well what she’s doing. Of course the god is also a part of this plan.

“My my~ (name) but has anyone told you that you’re so arousing?~”

The green haired lift his arm over (name)’s shoulder as he leaned closer to her

“Oh loki!~ you sure know how to make me flattered!~” slurring the god’s name and slightly louder as she continue to pamper each other with compliments

“You look so appetizing~ mind if i take a bite?” (Name) says with a wink, slurring some words to make it sound inviting

“Oh you’re making me feel even more aroused~~!!” The green haired boy was about to caress (name)’s thigh but suddenly a hand grabbed loki’s wrist, stopping him from a further escalation,

(Name) looked up to see her husband, hades. “Oh, good evening darling! How has your work been?” Smiling innocently at hades, the underworld god didn’t say anything and continues to glare at the green haired god. Loki then quickly floats away not wanting to loose his life today, hades then drag his sharp glaze to (name) “my love?” The girl started to sweat a little after his glaze lays on her for less than a minute, the god suddenly grabbed her by the wrist and hurried to his palace

Yea you thought that pranking him by flirting with loki would get a funny reaction from him but you didn’t think that he would react this way

As he lay down to sit on his bed in his room while you’re standing in front of him “care to explain, darling?” Though his words sound sweet but his expression, you can tell how much frustration he’s feeling “auhhhh.. I was trying to flirt with Loki to get a reaction from you.. heh…” struggling looking at him in the eyes. A dark chuckle come out of his mouth “Is it that you want something more?” Though he doesn’t expect you to answer anything. Hades caress the back of your waist and pulled you on his lap, kissing you deeply smirking. Hades pulled away, standing up and placing you on the bed

“Strip”

Your cheeks flushed, not wanting to undress yourself in front of him but there’s no escape now. You decided to tease him by taking each of your clothes slowly but it only effects him a little. You pouted slightly speeding up, now you have nothing on, covering your chest with your arm and your private was covered by your hand. Another chuckle was heard from hades

“on all fours”

Your face heated up in embarrassment even more but you did as he told you to bottom part facing him, feeling flushed even more “How long have you been yearning for my touch? Yet acting all innocent. But we all know how much of a slut you are” hades said while running his hands up from your thigh to your hole and starting to rub your clit, wanting more, you lean your bottom part to him more. Yet another chuckle can be heard again as he slide in his middle finger in you, a mewl escaped your mouth while he thrust his finger in and out. Start inserting another which made you moan out as he thrust relentlessly into you

“is this what you want? Hm?”

“Y-yes daddy!~”

Hades smirk grew more as you were about to reach your orgasm, he pulled out, you whined “a filthy whore like you don’t deserve to cum yet, so hold up your desires” hades then insert 3 fingers in you causing you to moan out his name louder, 3 digits thrusting in and out is enough for you to reach your climax. But hades stop again

“Is it that hard for you to hold it?”

You nodded

“If you want it then, beg.”

You blushed even more in embarrassment, hesitating to say anything as you suddenly felt a pain landing on your bottom, hades spanking you two times as he was waiting for you

“Please daddy~ please let me cum please !~ give it to your slut please daddy~~ I promise i’ll be good!~”

“Fuck…” hades mumbles inserting his fingers in again, thrusting to give you your climax. Then you reached your orgasm but he continues, “w-wait ah~”

You started to feel overstimulated by him, thrusting his fingers roughly without stopping not long after you reach another orgasm he pulled out his fingers and shove it in your lips, you moaned in his fingers, licking it all clean. He pulled it out of your mouth and crouched down and start licking your fold while putting his fingers in your hole to add more stimulation. You moaned out his name loudly, hades then use his left hand to spank you again “this is what you get for trying to get on my nerves, dear~” a vibration of his voice sent you shivers down your body, immediately climax again, but he didn’t stop there. His creepy ass horny grin spread across his face

The next day Loki got bruises from Hades

Poor boy

But his sacrifice is worth it right?

LAWDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

I NEED TO STOP AWAKENING MY INNER HORNY BEAST

[skymoral]

GAME NIGHT 2 - U N O

🩵 Bi-Han x B!F Wife Reader W/ MK1 Friends 🩵

Summary: You already knew how this would turn out, but you couldn’t help yourself.

Tags: Competition, competitive, aggressive, stacking is fucking evil, arguments, family time, game night, you like to win, war

A/N: It may have a good end or it may not lol

◣──•~❉᯽❉~•──◢◣──•~❉᯽❉~•──◢

Today was another family game night you planned again. After begging your husband, and you promised you’d be present at this one

Because the last one went a bit astray when you were absent for a short moment.

You were all in the palace hall, sitting at the round table. It was You, Bi-Han, Tomas, Kuai, Kitana, Johnny(in place of Liu Kang who was busy), Kung Lao, Harumi, Rhonda(Your girlfriend), and Kenshin.

“I’m glad you guys came, especially my ladies.” You said cheerfully as you shuffled the cards.

Your two daughters were sitting in Bi-Han’s lap giving him long French braids. Johnny looked in amusement.

“So are you gonna get mani pedis next?” Bi-Han glared at him, the only reason he didn’t react or say anything. Because of his girls, as he held them.

“Johnny refrain yourself from provoking my husband. I said you could only come in Liu Kang’s place if you promise to do the fucking least.”

“Of course, anything for you doll.” You rolled your eyes passing out the cards. You saw Bi-Han about to say something but you interrupted him.

“I love your hair grandmaster, it suits you.” You smirked at him. He just looked away.

“Thank you for extending your invitation Grandmistress Y/N. I’m deeply honored.” Kitana thanked you.

“Of course! And I didn’t want to be the only lady, so I’m glad my girlfriends joined my family events every now and again!” You sat down next to Bi-Han.

“Friend I’m always down for a little fun, especially when there is a little cutie present.” Rhonda lend over to Tomas blowing him a kiss. He looked at your friend nervously.

“Up you go girls, adult night.” You grabbed them, they whined before kissing there parents goodnight and leaving.

“So everyone remembers the rules from earlier!” You clapped your hands together looking around, everyone nodded.

“Perfect! We will start with Harumi, then proceeds going to the right.”

◣──•~❉᯽❉~•──◢◣──•~❉᯽❉~•──◢

Whose next to Who

Harumi - Kitana- Tomas - Rhonda - Kung Lao - Johnny - You - Bi Han - Kenshi - Kuai Liang and then back to Harumi(who is on her left)

Everyone looked at their hands, you smirked but hid behind your cards.

“I’ll put down a blue six.” Harumi put her card down.

Kitana put down a blue one, “UNO!” She yelled excitedly.

“Ooh girl no, you only say uno when you’re on your last card. Because if you don’t you’ll have to draw one.” You laughed.

Kitana deflated with ‘oh’ as the game continued, and it was nice and quiet.

A/N: This is where it becomes toxic lol

“I’ll be back, I’m just grabbing my blanket real quick.” You got up and ran to you and your husband’s room.

Kung Lao put down a draw 4, “draw 4 little cage, and the color is green.”

“Ha! Yeah not happening. Colors red.” Johnny put down a draw four.

“Who the hell told you niggas we we’re playing stacks?” Rhonda looked at the cards.

“Stacks?” Kenshi questioned.

You came back wrapped in a big blue warm fuzzy blanket your husband gave you on your birthday. You grabbed your cards and looked at the cards.

“I AM NOT DRAWING EIGHT FUCKING CARDS! Y’all are fuckin trippin!”

“Sis were we playing regular or stacks?”

“What are stacks, if you don’t mind me asking?” Kenshi asked.

“Stacks is where if someone put down a draw card and you have a similar one. You stack yours on top, along with the next person. Until someone doesn’t have it, they will have to draw the amount of cards that we stacked.”

“Sounds interesting! Let’s try it!” Kitana chimed.

“Are you guys sure?”

“Yeah it could be fun, and it’ll be faster to.” Tomas added.

“I agree with my man Tomas, let’s play stacks.” Rhonda lend closer, shoulders touching batting her eyelashes. Tomas tensed, face turning red

“Rhonda behave! Sooo alright… fine… stacks it is… Baby I’m sorry in advance.” You looked at Bi-Han patting his biceps.

You put down a draw four, Bi-Han looked and only smirked. He put one down, then Kenshi, Kuai, Harumi, Kitana, Tomas, Rhonda, and now it’s back to Kung Lao.

“Are you KIDDING ME! I am not pulling 40 DAMN CARDS!”

“Those are the rules broham.” You smiled.

“Screw these rules, you did this on purpose. With your shuffling!” Kung Lao looked at you.

“ME! I asked everyone are you sure you want to do stacks, AND YOU ALL AGREED! Isn’t that right babe!?” You looked at Bi-Han

“Yes.”

“Asian Jack Frost would agree with you on anything.”

“I’m warning you cage! You talk as if you know every little thing, but the only thing you know HOW to do is fail in life and PISS ME OFF!”

“You wanna go French braids!?” Johnny grinned at him angrily.

“This is why yo ass should’ve left it at regular Johnny boy.” Rhonda chimed watching the four of you all argue.

“Listen happy meal, no one asked for an extra two cents. So stay out of it.”

“What you call me NEGRO!?”

“You shouldn’t speak to a lady like that Johnny.” Tomas interjected.

“That’s right tell him babe.” Rhonda smiled.

“You know how about we just take our cards back and do normal?” Harumi tried to ease the flame.

“I don’t think that’s how this work dearest” Kuai told her.

“Yeah, Kung Lao you’re being dramatic.” Kenshi told him.

“Exactly! Just grab the damn cards, after that no more stacking. Alright, JOHNNY?”

“I think that’ll be a good idea.” Kitana added

Everyone nodded, as well as Johnny. Everyone sitting back down, Kung Lao being reluctant.

“Hurry UP!” Bi-Han barked, still a bit fiery because of Johnny.

“Relax beloved.” You tried to soothe him, rubbing his arms up and down.

◣──•~❉᯽❉~•──◢◣──•~❉᯽❉~•──◢

Kung Lao put down a draw four, you drew four. Despite your slight grumble, but at least you weren’t Kung Lao.

Going down turns, it reached Kitana. Who put down there card, she noticed she only had one. “OH UNO UNO UNO!” Kitana jumped from excitement. You chuckled.

“Okay girl we gotchu.” Rhonda said smiling.

Tomas took his turn, then Rhonda. Now on Johnny who put down a skip card.

“Really Johnny!?”

“Yep.” Johnny smirked, looking at his cards

You drew a card, then Bi-Han pulled a blue card with arrows. “What does this card do again my love?”

“OOH! That’s a reverse card, so when you use that card it’ll skip Kenshi’s turn and reverse back to me.” You smiled at him sweetly.

He put down the card and, you cackled wickedly loud. Dropping a skip card, then Johnny and Rhonda started dying laughing.

“That’s it I’M OUT!” He dropped his cards, showing what he had remaining was numbers. Which made you laugh harder holding on to your husband so you wouldn’t fall out the chair.

It continued, till Kitana said uno and out. Which officially ended the game.

◣──•~❉᯽❉~•──◢◣──•~❉᯽❉~•──◢

The ladies thank you for inviting them, Kitana clearly enjoyed herself and wanted to do it again at your next one, as well as Harumi as she loved seeing you and the family.

Your girlfriend Rhonda kidnap Tomas to supposedly speak to him privately. After everyone left and you cleaned up.

You were relaxing in a nice hot bath curly hair in a bun with your husband. Your back leaning against his chest, he gave you a soft kiss against your neck.

His nose rubbing against it as he inhaled your scent, “Did you enjoy yourself my darling?”

“I did! I like these kinds of things, and having chaotic fun with everyone.” You turned around wrapping your arms around him.

“Thank you for indulging in my gaming events, and taking the time out of your busy schedule to spend this day with me. My darling grandmaster.” You smiled.

“Anything for you my beloved grandmistress.”

You both shared a lovely and passionate kiss. Bi-Han deepening the kiss. As his grip around your waist tightens.

Then one of the kids knocked on the door, interrupting whatever ya’ll was doing could lead to.

You slowly broke the kiss, “Guess that’s our cue to get out.”

“Well I guess we can finish in the room. When they go back to sleep.

You definitely like that idea, and soon enough when the kids were back to sleep. Bi-Han stood on his word and continued where y’all left off in the bathroom.

A/N: I had fun writing Rhonda and Kitana!💅🏾

[daitranscripts]

Trespasser Cutscene

Catching Up With Josephine

Trespasser Masterpost Josephine Masterpost

The PC finds Josephine on one of the balconies.

Not romanced Josephine: It’s been quite a day so far, has it not? I’ve been speaking with representatives from everywhere.

Romanced Josephine: It’s so good to see you, darling. I’ve been fielding Orlesian diplomats all afternoon.

PC: Have they given you trouble?

Josephine: Not at all. It is quite alarming. It means they are all saving themselves up for later. Would you walk with me? I should like to take some air before the Exalted Council becomes inescapable…

They begin to walk around the grounds.

Josephine: The palace has been most accommodating—we are, after all, here at their insistence—but the ministers may…

She stops.

Josephine: No! No more talk of the council. This meeting was to spend time with you in a more relaxed fashion.

Dialogue options:

General: You scheduled a friendly chat? [1]

General: You’re still planning. [2]

General: Relaxing isn’t your strength. [3]

1 - General: You scheduled a friendly chat? PC: Is this in your daily notes? Three to four o’clock, idle chat with the Inquisitor? Josephine: Of course not! (Clears throat.) Not precisely. [4]

2 - General: You’re still planning. PC: Then why can I still see those wheels turning in your head? Josephine: (Sighs.) Work carries a certain momentum. [4]

3 - General: Relaxing isn’t your strength. PC: You’re tense as a bowstring. Josephine: (Sighs.) I’m so very dreadful at this. [4]

4 - Scene continues.

Josephine: The truth is, there is a small entertainment happening tonight. To which I may be able to find a pair of invitations.

PC: You’d like me to go with you?

Josephine: Very much so! In all the years you’ve worked with Orlais, you’ve had so little time to enjoy its culture.

Dialogue options:

General: That’s a good point. [5]

General: Orlais hasn’t let me. [6]

General: Orlais isn’t that special. [7]

5 - General: That’s a good point. PC: Perhaps you’re right. These meetings and talks don’t allow for much leisure time. Josephine: And then back to Skyhold without a moment’s pause to take in where we are. [8]

6 - General: Orlais hasn’t let me. PC: I do wish you’d warned me the Game would take more work after Halamshiral. Josephine: (Laughs.) It’s strange—those were somehow simpler times. [8]

7 - General: Orlais isn’t that special. PC: Orlesian culture can’t be any more special than Rivain’s or Ferelden’s. Josephine: Rivain? If that is what you compare Orlais to, I must give you a counterpoint. [8]

8 - Scene continues.

Not romanced Josephine: With all that’s been happening, I promised myself a single evening out. I’d very much like to go with a friend.

Romanced Josephine: Sometimes… I am afraid I do not make enough time for you, my love. Please, come with me tonight.

9 - Dialogue options:

Investigate: Doing what, exactly? [10]

Flirt: Anything to see you smile. [11]

General: I’d love to go with you. [12]

General: A mystery evening sounds fun. [13]

General: Anything to put off meetings. [14]

10 - Investigate: Doing what, exactly? PC: And what is this “small entertainment”? Josephine: Something to ease our minds. I would very much like to surprise you with the details. [back to 9]

11 - Flirt: Anything to see you smile. PC: If it makes you happy, how can I refuse? Josephine: Oh, wonderful! I was worried we wouldn’t find the time. [15]

12 - General: I’d love to go with you. PC: Thank you for thinking of me. I’d be delighted to attend. Josephine: Splendid! I will arrange things at once. [15]

13 - General: A mystery evening sounds fun. PC: Why not? Josephine, I put myself in your capable hands. Josephine: Splendid! I will arrange things at once. [15]

14 - General: Anything to put off meetings. PC: If it let me dodge any pre-council meetings, you could drag me back to Adamant. Josephine: I do hope it will be more pleasant than that. [15]

15 - Scene continues.

Josephine: The past years have been so busy. We have earned at least a few moments of rest.

PC: A calm night out sounds—

The scene cuts to black with a trumpet flair, and cuts back in to Josephine applauding in a theater balcony seat. The PC looks horrified.

Josephine: Oh, bravo! Bravo!

Dialogue options:

General: This is relaxing? [16]

General: What just happened? [17]

General: Is it always this loud? [18]

16 - General: This is relaxing? PC: This was your idea of a restful evening? Josephine: Wasn’t it lovely? It’s been so long since I’ve gone to the opera! [19]

17 - General: What just happened? PC: Was the woman in gold playing a king? Who was the man in feathers? Josephine: Oh, it’s all very simple! The First Actor’s mask is determined by… well, I will lend you the program guide. [19]

18 - General: Is it always this loud? PC: I’ve been in battles that were quieter than this! Josephine: Oh, yes. What a stupendous voice Lady Brask has! Her D-sharp once shattered an entire conservatory! [19]

19 - Scene continues.

Josephine: But tell me: did you enjoy the performance?

Dialogue options:

Flirt: I enjoyed your company more. [20]

General: It was… amazing. [21]

General: It means more that you did. [22]

General: I don’t think it’s for me. [23]

20 - Flirt: I enjoyed your company more. PC: The performance pales in comparison to the lovely lady I saw it with. Josephine: (Tsks.) You are sidestepping the question. PC: Love leaves my tongue tied. Josephine: Well, in that case, I suppose allowances can be made. They kiss. [24]

21 - General: It was… amazing. PC: That was… one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen. Josephine: Truly? PC: That part with the glittery… and they actually set fire to… (Laughs.) Yes, I truly enjoyed it. Josephine: Then I call tonight a great success. [24]

22 - General: It means more that you did. PC: What I really enjoyed was seeing you put your duties aside for a change. Josephine: I truly did. Thank you for coming. It’s been too long since I just spent an evening doing… nothing. PC: Here’s to nothing—may it happen to us more often in the future. [24]

23 - General: I don’t think it’s for me. PC: I… don’t think I’m really an “opera person.” Josephine: Ah, well. At least you broadened your horizons. PC: That’s certainly one way to put it.

24 - Scene continues.

There is the sounds of fireworks.

Josephine: Oh, look! The encore signal!

The scene fades to black.

[ashdreams2023]

May i request a gn or male reader whos basically the child of loki thats being on Shield’s watch for a long time since [reader] is literally the child of Loki, thr man who basically struck an attack on new york. The reason as too why [reader] was on midguard was too take a break from all that was happening on asgard, on earth [reader] ends up getting too know peter parker, even goes to peter’s school. So one day [reader] takes peter to asgard too show himaround asgard amd peter ends up meeting Loki, [reader]’s father.

How fun!, I twisted it a little at the beginning but I hope you like it

Asgard

You’ve been staring the letter from almost 30 minutes and all you could think about it is how dreadful it would be to leave mid exams.

You’re smart that’s something you inherited from your dear father Loki, but the studying part you despised with passion.

"Hey what you looking at?" Peter Parker, aka spider man was looming over your head to look at the nice hand writing on the letter, he couldn’t read it obviously but he was curious neither the less.

"I’m invited to Asgard for lunch with grandmother and father"

Peter blinked at you confused, why would seeing your family be awful you sounded like you adored them.

"Peter time works differently on Asgard, a day there is a month on Midgard"

"Oh!"

"Exactly, it has to be fast and quick…"

Peter nodded then looked down at his wrist watch, a spider man one, Ned had got it for him as a funny birthday present.

"I have algebra next, I’m not gonna learn anything on my own so how about I go with you?"

"Really? You want to come with me? Wouldn’t your aunt be worried though…" Peter shook his head before pulling out his phone.

"There, texted her I’m staying with a friend after school" you jumped to your feet immediately, with a swift hand move your earthly clothes changed into something more appropriate for Asgard, peter panicked a bit but you assured him it was only mandatory on you as a prince.

The leave to your surprise wasn’t that easy, a couple of the police force were waiting in the park and questioned you visitation and needed you to inform the stark tower that you’re leaving with peter.

After all of that you two went on your way.

The journey was short all thanks to your powers and a little something you stool from your sweet family but what they didn’t know didn’t hurt them.

"Wow…you live here?"

"Yeah not too shabby ha!" You joked. Peter practically sprinted with you, hand in hand until both of you reached the inside of the palace.

The guard directed you to the gardens where your family was already waiting for you.

Upon seeing both your grandmother and father you gave a little bow out of respect to the queen, petter immediately followed suit.

"I did not know you’ll be bringing company my child" said Loki. You tugged peter in front of you.

"This is peter Parker sir, spider-man" you introduced peter who looked a few seconds away from having a panic attack. Peter only heard of Loki and knew of he did obviously but still didn’t want to make a fool of himself in front of him.

"Spider child…my son seems very fond of you young man" you coughed into your fist awkwardly, Loki only gave one of his up to no good grins.

"Any friend of my grandson, is a friend of ours, sit down child" frigga please her heart sat peter down next to her and change the subject before Loki could embarrass you.

Frigga asked about your education and what peter did on the side with his spider man actives, Loki did the same but managed to embarrass you each time, Peter was never gonna let you live it down.

"Father, would you mind if I showed peter around asgard?"

"I see no harm, but don’t go bothering the horses you don’t want to get kicked in the crotch again"

"That was long ago!" Loki just chuckled with your grandmother while Peter tried to hide his growing smile. Yup definitely a trip to remember this one was.

[vanilla-c0c0]

Villains want to embarrass little robin (William Rex & Victor) - Story Event pt.2

All possible disclaimers are valid! I’m not a mother tongue speaker and I’m doing this just for fun. 100% accuracy is not guaranteed. Have fun!

// spoilers for william’s past

The trio walks into the palace gardens, where the infantry and cavalry are lined up in order, watching over Her Majesty (MC). Victor takes her in front of the carriage, explaining that today they will be going around town; in the meantime, he’s going to do a final check on the parade route while William escorts her. MC nods and takes William’s hand to get inside the carriage, while everyone around bows their heads. MC is feeling a bit nervous, but she notices that William is just wearing his usual smile, as to be expected of the Crown’s No.1. In order to ease some of the tension, he asks the girl what she wants him to talk about as they wait for Victor to come back; she settles on asking about his and Victor’s first encounter.

William: …I think it was around the time I was arranging the funeral for my father, whom I personally condemned. One day, out of the blue, I was invited to the palace by Her Majesty, and in the audience room I had a chance encounter with Victor. Neither of us said much, but I immediately sensed that both of us had the same thing: a longing for Freedom. That’s why we teamed up and became accomplices. This is where we started.

Victor comes bacl and merrily asks them what they’ve been talking about. William replies that the Queen wanted to hear Victor’s embarrassing story, and he wonders whether it’s the one when he bumped his little finger the other day or maybe-!

William: Fufu, who knows? Ask Her majesty yourself.

He then proceeds to leave, after all, the public don’t really know about his connection to Her Majesty (in relation to Crown), so he’s simply going to watch over them from afar.

The carriage starts moving towards the city, and in the meantime MC asks Victor a clarification on something: apparently, the guards earlier were talking about how unusual it was for Victor to be at Her Majesty’s side at a time like this (he’s supposed to be behind the scenes). Obviously, he answers that he can’t leave his sweet, sweet MC’s side! The carriage is finally into the city, and Victor opens the curtains. Outside, the townsfolk are smiling and waving their hand at MC, who feels overwhelmed by an indescribable fervour. This is what the Queen wants to protect. As the one standing at the top, she is beloved by her people, though on the other hand she controls evil by fighting it with evil (Crown). She lives both in the light and in the shadow, and MC realises that a mediocre resolution is unfit to make all this work out. Victor agrees: no ordinary person could handle all of this, and he thought this many times before. Proof of this is the fact that he has heard people around him say many times that “Her Majesty is not a human being”. She’s a human with an inhuman mind. Then, he asks for MC’s honest opinion: does she think of the Queen as scary? MC thinks that she definitely felt something akin to awe, but it was way different than fear.

MC: No, it’s the other way around. I don’t really know what I can do myself, but I want to support Her Majesty as a woman like myself.

Victor: Thank you, MC. If the Queen were to hear what you just said, she would definitely be most pleased.

A guard knocks on the carriage; they have arrived and the safety of the surrounding area has been confirmed. Now, it’s MC’s turn to get outside and wave at the citizens. When she does, the enthusiasm and cheers of the townspeople become even more intense. Suddenly, someone screams from the crowd: a carriage led by a horse out of control is running towards Her Majesty. It is seemingly impossible to stop it. Victor embraces MC’s body, calling her towards him (note: he uses William’s signature “おい���”). Just before the impact could happen, William jumps in front of the carriage.

William: …”Stop”.

The horse stops immediately, and William asks MC if she’s fine. A guard raises his voice, saying that the one who was in charge of the carriage must be killed for such a blasphemous act. MC orders him to stop, though she realises late enough that by speaking up, the people have heard that her voice is not the Queen’s. Victor covers up for her, commenting that it was just an incident and not something planned in advance; he asks confirmation to Her Majesty (MC) who nods, gaining a cheer of approval from the crowd. The parade then continues without further incidents, and they all return to court.

MC apologises for doing something so selfish. Victor says that even the Queen herself would have acted this way, so there’s no need to worry. William concords, adding that they are very proud of her. MC thanks the both of them. Victor comments that William dashing in to save the day was very cool, and MC says she was also very surprised by Victor’s impeccable reflexes.

William: Then, MC, don’t you want to ask us something?

Victor: Miss MC, if there’s anything you want to know, we’ll give you a sincere answer. Don’t hold back.

MC: Victor, William. What are you hiding from me?

[swan-of-sunrise]

Taking Care of Business (Chapter Thirty-Nine)

Summary: After Bo-Katan and Din uncover the culprit behind Plazir-15′s droid malfunctions, they are granted permission to access the Mandalorian mercenaries and (Y/N) does her best to encourage the Nite Owl.

Pairing: Din Djarin X Fem!Reader

Word Count: 3.3k

Warnings/Disclaimers: None

A/N: This one’s a little shorter than I originally anticipated, but I still had a lot of fun with it! Thank you for reading, I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Nine The Mercenaries (Previous Chapter)

When (Y/N) was a little girl, her mother would often regale her with bedtime stories about the elegant balls once held at Naboo’s royal palace in Theed, where beings of all shapes and sizes dressed in the finest clothing the planet’s seamsters and seamstresses could offer and danced all through the evening. She always dreamed of attending such a soiree but she never truly believed that she ever would, so it came as quite a pleasant surprise when she and Grogu were invited by the Duchess and Captain Bombardier to a ball celebrating the happy couple’s wedding anniversary. (Y/N), dressed in a beautiful sea-blue gown embellished with sparkling jewels and with her hair carefully styled into an elaborate updo, and Grogu mingled with Plazir-15’s citizens, the former learning all that she could about the planet’s unique culture and the latter practically preening under all the attention he was receiving from their gracious hosts and the other attendees.

As the evening went on and both Din and Bo-Katan were nowhere to be found, a worried (Y/N) decided to try contacting her husband through his comm and learned that the Mandalorians’ investigation into the planet’s malfunctioning droids had become more complicated than either of them originally anticipated; they’d visited the Ugnaughts that worked far below the city, chased down a rogue battle droid and gained some insight on the problem after a visit to a droid bar named ‘The Resistor.’ They were heading to the city’s morgue to examine the battle droid’s remains for more evidence when (Y/N) called, and Din confirmed that they were still far from solving the planet’s ongoing droid problem.

“I’m sorry that this has taken so long, alor’ad. I know I said we’d be back soon-”

“It’s all right, sweetheart, I understand,” (Y/N) soothed, glancing over her shoulder at the glittering assemblage inside the palace before leaning against the railing and watching Grogu play with a frog that hopped onto the balcony. “How’re you holding up, Din?”

She could hear Din quietly sigh on the other end. “It’s hard to not think about what happened to my parents, of course, but knowing that you and the kid are safe gives me piece of mind, helps me focus on the task at hand. We’ll get to the bottom of Plazir’s droid problem, and then we’ll finally have access to the Mandalorian mercenaries outside the dome.” The sound of a door sliding open echoed through the comm and Din muttered a quiet curse. “I have to go now, alor’ad, we’ve arrived at the morgue.”

(Y/N) fiddled with the sleeve of her gown and forced an upbeat tone as she replied, “All right, well…be careful, Din, and we’ll see you soon. I love you.”

“Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum, ner cyar’ika alor’ad.”

The next morning, Din and Bo-Katan were still busy investigating the droid malfunctions, so (Y/N) took advantage of her circumstances and asked the Duchess for permission to access the planet’s vast records in the hopes of finding any information on Jedi Master Kelleran Beq; while there was nothing in their records about the Jedi who’d saved Grogu’s life, there was still plenty of information on the history of the Jedi Order and their exploits throughout the Clone Wars, so (Y/N) spent her morning reading in the palace’s great hall while the royals and their guests played garden games.

“Okay, let me get that for you, m’lady. Your toss, lovely.”

Looking up from her holopad, (Y/N) watched as Captain Bombardier handed a furled pill-bug to the Duchess and when her gaze lowered to see Grogu sneakily peeking out from behind the folds of her elaborate gown, she giggled and hid her amused smile behind her hand. The Duchess sized up the glowing rings positioned around the artificial turf before tossing the furled pill-bug into the air; just as (Y/N) suspected, Grogu raised his clawed hand and used the Force to send the pill-bug flying, where it bounced off two crawling pill-bugs and through four rings. The crowd cheered and Grogu cooed in delight as the Duchess and Captain Bombardier clapped in happiness. “A Quadro-blast! I’ve never seen such a streak! Wasn’t that splendid, Captain (Y/L/N)?”

“It was a wonderful toss, Your Majesty,” (Y/N) complimented from her seat near the artificial lawn and gave Grogu a subtle wink when he looked her way.

The sound of the doors opening drew their attention away from the game, and (Y/N)’s brow furrowed in confusion when she saw Din and Bo-Katan escorting a handcuffed old man into the great hall. While (Y/N) slowly got to her feet, the royal couple cautiously approached the Mandalorians and Captain Bombardier tilted his head to the side in perplexity. “What are you doing with Commissioner Helgait?”

“We found the cause of your ‘malfunctions.’”

The guests gasped in shock and the Duchess held a hand to her chest. “Is this true?”

“I’m afraid it is, M’Lady.” Commissioner Helgait ducked his head in visible regret at the stunned tone in her voice.

Captain Bombardier shook his head in exaggerated disappointment. “Despicable.”

The old man let out a humorless chuckle. “If that isn’t the Quacta calling the Stifling slimy…”

“I beg your pardon?”

“This planet is unrecognizable since he arrived!”

“…I had a feeling you hated me.”

Ignoring the exchange between her husband and her head of security, the Duchess pursed her lips and fixed the old man with a saddened look. “I’m disappointed in you, Commissioner. You served my family well, but Captain Bombardier is the love of my life and I know his heart is true.” She rested a hand on her husband’s shoulder and flashed him a tender smile that he was quick to return; (Y/N)’s own eyes flicked over to Din, and she felt herself flush when she saw that the visor of his helmet was already angled towards her instead of the drama unfolding in the great hall. “Sure, he’s made some mistakes in the past, but who here among us has not? Is there no room for a little bit of forgiveness in a galaxy so vast?”

Commissioner Helgait nodded once and cast his gaze downwards. “I am sorry to have disappointed you, My Lady. Perhaps someday, I can earn such forgiveness from Your Grace.”

“Perhaps. As for now, you must live in exile on the moon of Paraqaat.” With a wave of the Duchess’ hand, four constable droids escorted the disgraced head of security from the great hall and after heaving a weary sigh, she turned to face (Y/N) and the two Mandalorians. “And as for you, Lady Bo-Katan Kryze, Din Djarin of Concordia and Captain (Y/N) (Y/L/N) of Naboo,” (Y/N) released the breath she’d inadvertently been holding when the Duchess used her preferred name instead of her legal one. “I grant you audience with our deployment of Mandalorian privateers. I also give to you three our highest honor, the key to Plazir.” She reached for an oversized key resting on a silver platter held by a servant droid and offered it out towards them. “You will always be welcome in our domed paradise.”

As (Y/N) moved to stand beside Din, Bo-Katan smiled and stepped forward to receive their honor. “M’Lady. M’Lord.”

“Captain (Y/N) (Y/L/N), I bequeath to you Plazir’s humble collection of Lomiya Corrik’s design sketches, personally commissioned by my family many cycles ago.” The Duchess smiled at (Y/N)’s stunned expression and handed her a leather-bound portfolio. “Although they held an honored place in my family’s collection, I hereby declare that they rightfully belong to the House of Corrik and its descendants.”

Swallowing the lump in her throat, (Y/N) clutched the portfolio to her chest and bowed her head in a sign of respect. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The Duchess looked down at Grogu, who was still standing at her side, and accepted the sword that one of her guards offered her. “And to this little one, I grant knighthood.” As she gently tapped the tip of the sword against his tiny shoulders, Bo-Katan fought back a smile and (Y/N) beamed with pride. “You are now a knight of the Ancient Order of Independent Regencies.” Both royals looked up at the trio and the Duchess’ eyes gleamed with thankfulness. “Go in peace, brave travelers. Until our paths meet again.”

“M’Lord. M’Lady.” Din stepped forward to scoop Grogu up into his arms and after resting a gloved hand on the small of (Y/N)’s back, they turned and walked out of the great hall. “A Jedi padawan, a Mandalorian foundling and now a knight; the kid’s collecting titles quicker than the galaxy can come up with ‘em.”

(Y/N) chuckled and while they stepped into their hyperloop pod, she reached over to caress one of the cooing child’s large ears and gave him an affectionate smile as Din placed him in his floating pram. “Of course he is, who can resist this cute little face?” He giggled when her fingers tickled the patch of skin just beneath his chin, and she looked over at her husband as the pod started moving. “So, did that head of security say why he was making the droids malfunction like that?”

“He was a Separatist.” (Y/N)’s smile fell as she watched Din shift in his seat and stare down at his boots. “He wanted to use the droids to disrupt the planet and collapse their society in the name of democracy.”

Exchanging a knowing look with Bo-Katan, (Y/N) rested a hand on the side on her husband’s beskar helmet and gently coaxed him to look over at her before placing her hand flat on the center of his chestplate, directly over his heart. “But you and Bo-Katan stopped his plan before anyone was hurt; you saved the citizens of Plazir, and you saved the innocent droids that Commissioner Helgait hijacked to carry out his bidding. I know that that wasn’t easy for you, sweetheart, and I’m proud of you.”

Din’s gloved hand moved to cradle her cheek and guided her closer to rest his forehead against hers in a brief but meaningful Keldabe Kiss. “Thank you, alor’ad.” After a long moment, he pulled away and looked down at the leather-bound portfolio resting on her lap. “I’m glad that you were able to reclaim a piece of your mother and had the opportunity to see first-hand the lasting impact of her artistry. Can I take a look at her design sketches?”

“Now approaching landing field three.”

(Y/N) opened her mouth to grant him permission but when she caught sight of Bo-Katan staring pensively out at the vibrant green fields surrounding the domed city, she carefully tucked the portfolio into her satchel and nudged her husband’s boot with her own as she replied, “Maybe later, after we…um, talk to the Mandalorian mercenaries.”

Din nodded and when (Y/N) patted his knee, he cleared his throat and addressed the troubled Nite Owl seated across from them. “They’re Mandalorians. You’re their leader. They’re going to follow you.”

The anxious look remained on Bo-Katan’s face as her eyes flicked down to stare at her gloved hands. “I’m not their leader anymore. Axe Woves is.”

“Then what’s your play?”

She sighed and glanced back up to meet their gazes. “I’ll know when I get there.”

“Well, no matter what you decide to do out there, Din and I believe in you; there’s no one who’s better equipped to unite both factions of Mandalorians, Bo.” (Y/N) gave Bo-Katan an encouraging smile, and her heart warmed in her chest when the Nite Owl slowly returned it with one of her own. The hyperloop pod came to a stop and after stepping out onto the platform, they descended the many steps and walked across the vast field to where the Mandalorians established their base camp at its center; dozens of helmetless warriors stared them down as they slowly approached, and (Y/N) mumbled under her breath to Din, “At least when your covert stares, you can’t see all the judgmental looks they’re giving under their helmets.”

The Mandalorian huffed out a quiet chuckle and when the three of them stopped a handful of yards away from the base camp, Axe Woves straightened his back but remained seated on his cargo box and took a sip from his cup as he exchanged a glance with Koska Reeves, the Mandalorian warrior who’d helped them rescue Grogu from Moff Gideon. “Have you come back to join the mercenaries?”

Bo-Katan shook her head. “I’ve come to reclaim my fleet.”

“It’s no longer your fleet, is it?” Axe chuckled, gesturing around at the many ships and warriors that surrounded them. “I’m now in command, and grown quite fond of it.”

“Then I challenge you, one warrior to another.” (Y/N) and Din exchanged a look and Grogu anxiously cooed as the grin slipped off of Axe’s face and the Mandalorian mercenaries murmured amongst themselves; the Nite Owl’s stony expression remained unchanged as she stepped forward and harshly continued. “Do you accept my challenge?”

Setting his cup down, Axe slowly got to his feet and clenched his gloved hands at his side. “I do.”

There was tension in the air as the two Mandalorians stared each other down and the helmetless warriors seemingly held their breaths as they stood completely still and waited in anticipation for the challenge to begin. In the blink of an eye, Axe fired a missile from his vambrace and while Bo-Katan used her jetpack to avoid the weapon, Din whisked (Y/N) out of the way and used his beskar-clad body to shield her from the small-scale explosion; (Y/N)’s eyes widened in awe as she watched the Nite Owl slam her Mandalorian opponent onto the ground with a powerful kick to his chest, and she could feel her husband’s arms tighten around her waist when Axe drew his vibro-blade and engaged Bo-Katan in hand-to-hand combat. Both Mandalorians were perfectly matched, slashing and twirling around one another with deadly precision, which made (Y/N) nervously bite her lip even when Bo-Katan managed to knock Axe down a second time.

“It’s okay, kid,” Din comforted Grogu after he hid his face away in his clawed hands to avoid watching Axe fly straight into Bo-Katan and slammed her into the hull of a Kom’rk-class fighter transport. “Bo’s got this.”

They slashed at one another with their blades and each managed to land several blows, the scuffle escalating when Axe fired another missile and Bo-Katan tackled him to the ground; she roughly dragged him to his feet and held her vambrace’s blade to his throat, spitting out, “Do you yield?” With a strangled yell, Axe ignited his jetpack and flew them both into the air, where they landed harshly on the top of another Kom’rk-class fighter transport. They exchanged more blows and Bo-Katan toppled over the edge, but she quickly ignited her jetpack and fired her whipcord to wrap around the Mandalorian mercenary’s ankles, pulling him over the edge and watching him land on the grass below. Axe rolled onto his knee and fired his vambrace’s flamethrower but again, Bo-Katan was quicker; she activated her shield gauntlet to block the flames and flew through the air, tackling Axe onto the ground and pressing the tip of her blade against the exposed skin of his neck. “Do you yield?!”

“You’ll never be the true leader of our people,” Axe spat out, his eyes flicking over to where (Y/N) and Din stood and his lips curled into a sneer. “You won’t even take the Darksaber from him. He’s the one you should be challenging.”

“Enough Mandalorian blood has been spilled by our own hands!” With one final shove, Bo-Katan stood and retracted her vambrace’s blade as she looked around at the assembled Mandalorian mercenaries. “Mandalorians are stronger together.”

Axe picked himself off the ground and let out a mirthless laugh. “But a misguided zealot possesses the blade. One, I might add, who has not one drop of Mandalorian blood in his veins.”

(Y/N)’s hands clenched into tight fists and she angrily started forward, but Din’s halting grip on her waist and Bo-Katan’s sudden words stopped her dead in her tracks. “Din Djarin took the Creed and chose to walk the way, just as our ancestors did. He is every bit the Mandalorian that they were!” Her husband shifted uncomfortably beside her and she placed a soothing hand on the unarmored part of his arm. “Certainly as much as any of us…”

Shaking his head in frustration, Axe held his hands out and scoffed at the Nite Owl’s argument. “But according to our ways, the ruler of Mandalore must possess the Darksaber.”

“Then she shall have it.” (Y/N), Bo-Katan and the Mandalorian mercenaries all looked over at Din in surprise; the Mandalorian stood tall as he patted (Y/N)’s hand and crossed the field to where Bo-Katan and Axe were standing and without a single ounce of hesitation, he unclipped the Darksaber from his utility belt and held it out for the Nite Owl to take. “This belongs to you.”

Bo-Katan, although visibly touched by Din’s selfless gesture, shook her head and gently replied, “It’s not a gift to be given, no matter how well intended.”

“It’s not a gift,” He countered before turning to address the assembled Mandalorian mercenaries, all while a confused (Y/N) exchanged a look with an equally-baffled Bo-Katan. “While exploring Mandalore, my wife and I were captured and this blade was taken from me. Bo-Katan rescued us and slayed our captor. She defeated the enemy that defeated me; would this blade then not belong to her?” The Mandalorian mercenaries murmured amongst themselves, but none of them spoke up until Din repeated his question. “Would it not belong to her?”

After a long moment, Axe sighed and gave him a relenting nod. “It would.”

A smile tugged on the corner of (Y/N)’s lips as she watched her husband turn back to face Bo-Katan and once again held the Darksaber out for her to take. “I return this blade to its rightful owner.”

The Nite Owl slowly lifted her hand and wrapped her gloved fingers around the hilt, the look of uncertainty etched across her face slowly morphing into self-assurance when Din made his way back to where (Y/N) stood with Grogu’s pram and the other Mandalorians followed Koska’s lead in deferentially bowing their heads. With the barest hint of a smile, Bo-Katan took a deep breath and ignited the blade, staring down at its luminous glow and recognizing the culmination of nearly a thousand years of Mandalorian history in that moment.

“And you claim that you’re not one for politics,” (Y/N) teased when Din reached them and placed her hands on her hips as she arched an impressed brow. “I have to say, that was a political maneuver worthy of the New Republic Senate.”

“Coming from a former Rebel, I’ll take that as a compliment.” The Mandalorian patted a babbling Grogu on the head and handed over his silver sphere. “I never wanted the Darksaber, or the right to rule Mandalore. Bo-Katan is the leader that can reunite both factions Mandalorians, and I’ll be satisfied doing anything I can to ensure that her quest succeeds and our people can live a more peaceful life.”

With a tender smile, (Y/N) looped her arm around her husband’s elbow and stretched to press a kiss onto the beskar covering his cheek. “We both will.”

Din nodded and the two of them watched as the Mandalorian mercenaries offered their respects to Bo-Katan and acknowledged her claim to leadership of their faction. They were one crucial step forward on the road to reuniting the divided Mandalorians, but it was clear to each of them that they still had much more work ahead of them. Now we’ve gotta convince the mercenaries and the covert to get along and resist the urge to kill one another, (Y/N) thought to herself with an inward sigh, but if anyone can successfully squash generations of conflict and infighting, I suppose it’s us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mando’a Translations:

Alor’ad-Captain Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum, ner cyar’ika alor’ad-I love you, my darling captain

A/N: Like I said last week, we’re having work done in the house and it’s been difficult finding time to write, but I’ll hopefully have the next chapter up on time! Thank you all so much for reading and commenting! Oh, and I’ve created a Spotify playlist of all my favorite music from the world of Star Wars, so if you’re interested in checking it out the link is down below!

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2KuSKJhVOPPvxdJ9YHeo4M?si=2977ff31bf0c4bdd

Chapter Forty

Taking Care of Business Masterlist

Tagging: @remmysbounty @sinon36 @seninjakitey @thatonedindjarinfan @ginger-swag-rapunzel @mostclevermiss @momc95 @welcometothepedroverse @sarahjkl82-blog @elinedjarin @ccomandercody @crowleysqueenofhell​  @goldielocks2004 @wondergal2001​ @groovy-lady​ @impala1967666​ @fluffy-canada-pancakes​ @icee228​ @siimiasoi​

[cyb3rscoups]

Your Majesty: If I Ain't Got You

"You should get out there."

Attuma could always say such words but putting them into action was ten times harder. This reigned true while they lay bare against her satin sheets again.

The church bells had rung and the announcements and invitations for the queen's birthday ball had reached the entire nation. Now that everything was in place, it was time to get out of bed.

Okoye couldn't think about her birthday ball or all the people that would be bustling through her palace like mad men to get ready for it. Her senses were all crowded with him. His heart beat thumping against her ear as she laid her head to his chest.

The tickle of his fingers around her arms, tracing down her spine. His lips soft against her head as he mumbled sweet nothings.

The birds had chirps and the roosters had crowed, but nothing could draw her away from this man. Her man. In private, anyway.

"It pains me to leave this bed." She groans into his chest, her hands running down his abdomen.

"Finally, you see how I feel."

"Yes..If only things were a bit different."

They thought of it often. A different life where they could live happy and free to love each other. Where Okoye's crown was nothing but a piece of jewelry.

"Mmm." She hummed, lifting her head to look at him. "It is my birthday."

"Happy birthday, my love." His finger hooked under her chin, lifting it to meet his lips in a tender kiss.

Her lips parted naturally as she started to melt in his touch and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth. The gently finger turned into a firm grasp on her cheeks to keep her in place.

The kiss grew hot and messy as Okoye struggled to keep up with his dominance over her. She pulled away with a gasp as her eyelids fluttered with dizziness.

"I will return later to decorate your foyer." He sealed the promise with a peck to her cheek and a sly smirk as he left her quite bothered on the bed sheets. "Would you like purple or blue?"

"I would like you to get back into this bed and finish what you started!"

"I don't have time, your majesty." He pulled up his pants and buckled them as slowly as he could, turning to face her as she watched the scene.

"You dare leave me unsatisfied?" The question came out whinier than she wanted it to but as she ached for the relief only he could give her, her tone of voice was the last thing she worried about. "Do not play games with me, Attuma. Be nice."

"Where is the fun in that?" He buttoned his shirt and shrugged on his jacket, shooting her a wink.

————

Within a mere hour after Attuma had made his departure, the palace became bumbling with workers of all different trades, all putting i. their greatest efforts to please their queen.

Okoye had insisted on over seeing things in the palace, promptly giving Nakia a night off.

“Could we make it a little higher?” She shouted to the men installing her crystal chandelier, dead center of the ballroom.

They lifted the structure slightly and upon seeing the smile on her face, they secured it.

“Oh this is all so beautiful.” She ogled around the area, doing a bit of a spin and making the workers giggle. “Where are the tables?”

“Down the hall, your majesty.”

Okoye turned on her heels, making her way down the hallway and into the dining parlor. Tables had covered the room and there was surely a seat for every guest.

“Good..Is Attuma around?” She asked the ladies maid following her as she made her inspections.

“I’m not sure, your majesty.”

“Well, he did show up. Yes?” She peered over her shoulder at the woman.

“Yes, he was accounted for.” She confirmed, fidgeting with nervousness

Okoye huffed, placing a hand to her hip in irritation. “So where is he? Never mind, I’ll find him myself. Do not follow me!”

“But-“

The queen tuned the rest of her words out as her feet started to carry her through the palace, down to the kitchen and up into the foyer.

She even checked the garden and pool for him but she hd no luck. Surely, he hadn’t left. He wouldn’t of without seeing her first at least.

Her irritation grew with every second that she did not find him and her palace was much too big to search for him forever.

“Where is Attuma!?” Her foot met the ground in a frustrated stomp.

“No reason to shout, your majesty. I am here and I would like to introduce you to my assistant, Vanessa.”

The woman linked to his arm bowed with a beaming smile on her features. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, your majesty.”

Oh he knew what he was doing. Her arm secured around his and his smug smirk as Okoye’s face twisted into a form of distaste.

“I didn’t authorize her.” She spat, unable to address the girl without losing her mind.

“Your majesty, I could truly use the help.”

“Attuma, a private word.” She didn’t check to make sure he was following before she made a beeline for the stairs and they disappeared down one of the many hallways.

Once they were clear, Okoye let him have it.

“If you wanted to have a mistress-“ She slapped his arm.

“Wow. That’s low, Okoye. I am not screwing her.”

“Oh please! I am not in the mood for games!”

“Do you really think me a fool? To step out on you would be absurd.”

“You are right because I would have your fucking head!”

“Okoye.” He stepped forward only for her to step further back. “Come here.”

“Do not touch me!”

“She is only a ploy to rile you up. I had a stupid idea that if you saw me with someone else, you would claim me publicly.”

“You know that is impossible.” Okoye scoffed, finding his trick childish and turning to go back to the foyer.

Attuma rolled his eyes, finding her claim ridiculous.

“Is it? Really? Because it doesn’t seem that far fetched. Stop walking away from me, woman!”

He caught the fabric of her gown just as she was ready to turn the corner, using the material to yank her back flush against his chest.

Carefully, and against her protests, her lifted her up by her waist and carried her to her bedroom, softly plopping her down on the bed.

“You will listen to me.”

“I am in no mood for you!” She stood with a huff as he blocked the door off. “Move!”

“Say you love me and I will let you leave.”

“There is no point! We will never have a life together!”

“Say you love me, Okoye! I don’t care what we have together! As long as you can tell me honestly that you love me, I could die a happy man.”

“Attuma..” Her eyes brimmed with burning tears.

“Okoye, I love you. I have always loved you and I always will. Whether you are queen or not, I love you. There are no conditions to my love and I need to know honestly if you love me because I can not stand it anymore.”

“I love you.”

[bludmd23]

Waaaaaa okay guys different stuff today!!!! I laid my hands on writing a fanfic for the first time!!! I tried to write hess and dems first kiss, I’m not really a good writer tho this is just for fun!!! The paragraphing is a little weird idk how to do it actually 😭😭😭😭😭😭 sorry if there’s ooc or it’s cringe!! I’m probably gonna upload it to ao3 too once I get an account!!

The whole fic under the cut⬇️⬇️

"...So this is how humans express ‘love’...?" Demantoid snorted, glancing at the small electronic screen where a couple held their hands and gazed at each other passionately.

“It gets better, just you wait!”Hessonite claims, squeezing Demantoid’s shoulder gleefully. The latter hummed in response.

Just like any other Gem who felt excited about the new era, Hessonite had recently become obsessed with exploring Earth's culture and had gotten an outdated projection device out of nowhere, jabbering on about watching it with her companion. Demantoid was different, she had always felt there was little value in researching whatever the humans made, and even the technological aspects were ridiculously rudimentary. However, faced with the tall gem’s sparkly eyes, she didn't reject the invitation after all. And so Demantoid left her half-done experiment and was dragged off to nest into the exquisitely large bed in the palace's main bedroom (thankfully Pyrope was outside the palace or they’ll never hear the end of her tantrum), for “maximum coziness”.

Apart from that, Hessonite also insisted on shutting every curtain in the room for “atmosphere”, leaving the scene projected on the wall the only thing noticeable. Well, and Hess’s nagging too. Demantoid’s wandering mind was brought back by Hessonite’s loud giggle, as she stared at the protagonists with joy. One of the couple grabbed the other by the arm, pulling their partner towards them, the distance between them closed as their lips met.

“What…are they doing..?”Demantoid frowned a little as she tried to comprehend.

“Oh I’m glad you asked!” Hessonite replied quickly as if she was expecting that question. “According to my grand research on several humans, THIS is one of the ultimate ways they show love for their cherished ones! They call it ‘kissing’, quite intriguing, no?”

“I assume so.”Demantoid mumbles as the characters separate reluctantly, red tinting their cheeks.

The couple moved on from the kiss, but Demantoid pondered a little about it. What a strange behavior it is to have facial sensory organs embracing to represent love, the latter a concept she still has trouble grasping, yet she felt the gesture was weird and…suitable in some way. What would it feel like to kiss someone? Demantoid thought, purely out of curiosity at first, and found herself automatically thinking of that noisy tall gem for that someone. Upon that thought, images uncontrollably played in her mind of herself and Hessonite touching lips. The small gem felt light travel to her face for a second, turning it hot. She developed a different feeling for Hessonite recently, making excuses to spend more time with her, the prideful warrior occupying her mind occasionally. Demantoid blushed once more and glanced at the other gem quickly to make sure it went unnoticed, luckily Hessonite was completely indulged in the movie. Relieved, she tried to brush the silly thoughts away.

Before Demantoid fully retrieved her idea, the movie ended and credits started playing.

“That’s all! What do you think? Weren’t their love so grand?” Facing her companion, Hessonite asked with a grin.

“Yeah, it was rather nice.” Demantoid answered sheepishly, knowing she wasn’t focused on most parts of the movie.

“Well I’m glad you enjoyed it! After all, it was chosen with care by the great Hessonite, how can it be bad at all?” The orange gem stopped to laugh at the back of her hand, before going on and on about how she enjoyed the piece. The faint light of the projector hugged her face gently, softening her features, her gem gleaming as she moved.

Demantoid found her eyes traveling across her features, landing on her lips as the thought about contacting them with her own reappeared in her brain. Hessonite must’ve felt the stare, as she turned around and smiled.

“Just as I was saying, it is the background of that time that made their love so special and courageous! But as considerate as I am, I know you might not fully understand the complexity of the human culture! So you are welcome to ask me anything about it, or in general, and you’ll find that I indeed have the answer to everything!”

The boasting made Demantoid roll her eyes a bit, as she heard herself say in a low voice “I do have a question”. The tall gem nodded in encouragement, waiting silently for her to begin.

“What…does a kiss feel like..?”Demantoid decided to mutter it out before regret could devour her and thought about brushing it off if the other didn’t catch it. Hessonite’s eyes widened, clearly not expecting such a question from the overly rational gem.

“Wuh-I-I haven’t exactly tried…” she sputtered in surprise, looking away.“But I would assume it to be rather sweet and enjoyable, and…” She glanced back at the smaller gem, greeted by her sparkling eyes. Hessonite froze mid-sentence with her mouth half open, instinctively she thought she saw a different emotion brewing in Demantoid’s eyes.

“Hessonite..”Demantoid murmured, keeping eye contact.

“Y-yes?”

“Would you like to try it with me?”

And the taller gem couldn’t help but be more surprised, not to say she doesn’t want to do it, just that she never expected Demantoid to be the first to ask for it. Hessonite realized before they had something happening, but just naturally thought she was in charge of advancing their relationship.

“W-why, you meant kissing?” After getting a firm nod from the other gem, she felt hotness rush to her face and knew she must be blushing hard.

“Then the answer is yes, I would very much love to!” She answered quickly with a huge smile, then felt a bit embarrassed about how excited she sounded.

Demantoid chuckled softly, slowly closing the distance between them, until she could hear Hessonite’s gem pulsing, and see herself in those heterochromatic eyes. She brought her hands up to cup the orange gem’s face, a cozy warmth seeping into her hands. Closing her eyes, Demantoid leaned forward to peck gently on Hessonite’s lips, quick and steady. It was experimental and she didn’t sense much, but she knew it was the right thing. Before Hessonite could start doing anything, she was dragged into another kiss, much deeper than the first one, as she clearly felt the smaller gem’s soft mouth pressing against her own, an indescribable feeling building in her gem and heating her cheeks. And so she responded by putting her arm around Demantoid, pulling them closer, letting her partner sink into her embrace. They kept kissing a little longer, before finally separating, reopening their eyes to gaze at each other’s flushed cheeks and glistening pupils.

“W-wow…that was…” Hessonite started first, her cheerful tone suggesting it was enjoyable.

Demantoid nodded in agreement, a smile appearing on her usually monotone face. She lowered her head a little, making sure her head lined up with Hessonite’s chest, and snuggled their gem together. Hessonite gasped softly as she felt Demantoid’s gem vibrate, both their gems glowing at a similar pace and everything fell silent, only the small sound of their gems beating could be faintly heard.

“Demantoid?” After a while, Hessonite still decided to break the quietness like the chatty gem she was.

“Yes.” The answer came from below, laziness tinting the usually clear voice.

“Are you interested in watching more romantic movies? I still have a lot to share, you see, and all are equally worth trying! I promise you’ll love them-” Hessonite went off again, barely able to stop herself from ending the sentence.

Demantoid sighed, lifted her head to look at the nagging gem, then learned forward to shut her mouth with a smooch. “Affirmative, I would like to watch them with you.”

[loftec]

Ooohh ho! not missing my chance for a lil peek into that noggin of yours!! <3

📓

Hah! Sorry for taking ages to do this, I quite honestly decided that I would use this opportunity to tell one of you poor sods brave enough to ask about my epic Merlin canon divergent daydream story I've worked on since 2012, and then I spent 2 days just THINKING through the general plotpoints, nevermind writing them down, and then I remembered I have a big deadline coming up at work and had no time for daydreaming at all.

So maybe let's not do that one… but what else, what else? My problem is that I consider all my Shameless daydream stories to be actual drafts for actual fics (that I probably won't ever write but I simply must still believe!) so I’m not sure… Hang on, I've seen you politely like some of the Dead Boy stuff I’ve reblogged, haven't I? I will take this as an invitation to tell you about my Other DBD daydream story!

Open on Crystal and Charles carefully walking down a corridor lined with doors on both sides, bickering. They're looking for something and Crystal wants to kick down doors and rifle through things, and Charles is doing his LEVEL BEST to be the stand-in think-first guy in their unbalanced kick-first-think-later duo. They're inside Edwin's mind, and Charles is like look, Edwin would hate this, he doesn't even take off his jacket in mixed company (by which Charles means any company besides Charles) and now we're walking through his thoughts and memories and you know what he's like about his books, how do you think he'd feel about having us mucking about in his mind??

Cut back to earlier with some context for how they ended up there. Edwin had just shut down at some point (for magical reasons or some delayed reaction to, you know, all the trauma) and they figure out that he's somehow trapped in his own mind and Crystal says she'll go in and figure him out, and Charles insists that she must not go alone because Edwin's got a great big old mind, right? She needs a guide or she’ll get lost or make things worse or see something she shouldn't. Crystal isn't impressed with his lack of faith in her, but she can see that he's at his wits' end and concedes that he has a point. If anyone can navigate whatever's going on in Edwin's mind, besides Edwin, it's Charles.

It's an endless system of warmly lit hallways, dark patterned carpets and soft worn wooden floors, wallpapers and wall sconces and doors, so many doors. The doors have labels on them, and the hallways connect in octagonal sitting rooms and mind-breaking MC Escher stairways, different wings of the sprawling structure organised after subject. History, Arcana, Language (there's a door in there labelled "English (Charles)" that our detectives won’t see, but which I want you to know about just for fun), and so on.

In a more brightly lit wing of Edwin's mind palace (hah) labelled "Friends and Acquaintances", looking a bit like a new addition to the house, Crystal finds a door with her name on it and finally argues her way into getting to open a door and snoop a little. She's surprised by how nice it is in there, a big comfy chair next to an open window, sheer curtains billowing in a mild breeze, sounds from a distant city below. The walls are lined with bookcases, most of which are empty. She grabs one of the few books neatly placed on one of the shelves, where one would naturally assume the start of an indexed collection would be. She opens the book to a random page, filled with tidy handwritten notes. "Likes Pro Wrestling (Ed. Ask C about Pro Wrestling) Americans, honestly!" is next to "Visibly distraught at mention of Niko (Ed. Offer comfort next time.)" and "Must she be here quite this much?" and ”I wish she would have never darkened our door.” and "Likes coffee (Ed. Look into supplies)”. She closes it again, and carefully puts it back. There’s so much space for more books in this room.

(I meant ”Ed” as ”Editor’s note” but just realised it looks a bit like he’s referring to himself as Ed in his own mind, which is pretty funny.)

Charles leads them through the building, unsure of what they’re looking for but surprisingly sure of where they’re going. He casually mentions the most tender and meticulous observations when Crystal asks for reasoning behind going this way or that, or why they’re not checking one door over another. One door is labelled ”The Dollhouse” and Crystal jokes about wanting to check it out, wondering if it’s something formative from his childhood, and Charles tells her don’t go near it, trust me. You don’t want to know. And Crystal hears him and follows his lead and doesn’t mention the very notable absence of a ”Charles” door, even though she really wants to. Charles is nothing if not observant, he must have noticed too.

He also doesn’t seem phased when they find the whole-ass Charles wing. Door after door after door after door, ”Charles (Jokes)”, ”Charles (Open Cases)”, ”Charles (Closed Cases)”, ”Charles (Unsaid)”, ”Charles (Secrets)”, ”Charles (Daily)” ”Charles (Pre-Afterlife)”, ”Charles!”, ”Charles?”, ”Charles (Smiles)”, ”Charles (Scores 1993-1999”) and on and on. Charles peeks into one or two, suddenly unsure if he knows what he’s doing or where he’s supposed to be looking, and the rooms all look like the office. Some at night, some flooded with sunlight, some muffled by snowfall, some rattling in a storm, all of them filled with a homely warmth and absolutely stacked with shelves upon shelves of books and archive boxes stuffed heavy with files. In ”Charles (Scores 1999-2010)” Charles can’t help himself and pulls out a file from a dusty box close to the doorway. ”November 11, 2009. Pictionary. Win: Charles.” The ghost of a lump forming in his throat, Charles looks through the attached appendices, smiles at the memory of Edwin’s outraged ”Charles! That is not a penguin, in what world is that a penguin?”, his fingertips tracing the beaked blob on one of the wrinkled papers.

At the end of the very long hallway there’s a small door, looking more like a janitor’s closet than another room, and there isn’t a proper plaque on this one, but a handwritten note stuck to it with tape. It says ”Mr and Mrs Rowland”. Charles can’t even comprehend what Edwin knows about Charles’ parents that wouldn’t handily fit in the ”Charles (Pre-Afterlife)” room, but would need the extra closet space. Curiosity gets the better of him and when he opens it, he finds it just stuffed to the brim with scribbles, actual cartoony scribbles that fall out in a big pile over his feet and up to his knees, ”Mr and Mrs Rowland” written over and over and over and swept into a dark closet. Like, you’re not a 14 year old girl with a crush, but you’re gay and you’re a ghost and you’re from 1916 and you’re in love with your best friend who has made you watch enough modern media to influence some tiny annoying and persistent part of your mind to subconsciously do an abjectly silly thing you know makes no sense, but will only do it more if you try to reason with it.

Crystal very kindly doesn’t comment on it as she helps him kick the bouncing scribbles back into a pile they can shove back in the closet. Charles is a little red around the ears, but he doesn’t seem surprised, so this is yet another thing Crystal has underestimated about him. Charles for the first time since Crystal got them in there, feels lost. He followed his instincts and he was so sure, until he ended up in the Charles wing and maybe got a bit distracted? Does he actually think Edwin is somewhere in this part of his mind palace (heh) or is he just being a massive self-absorbed knob wishing he could go back in one of his rooms and just go through memories until Edwin would find him, instead?

Then Crystal notices one of those fold-down ceiling ladders above them. Even this is labelled, a neat little sign saying ”Uncategorised”. He pulls the string and folds down the steps, carefully climbing up and sticking his head into… an attic. The attic. As cluttered and dusty as he remembers it, the first rays of early dawn shining through the dirty window and filling the space with shadows and twilight.

So this is as far as I’ve gotten, I’ve mostly just enjoyed having Charles and Crystal walk around in Edwin’s mind, exploring and talking about things (Edwin, and hell, and feelings). Also I more or less finished my deadline yesterday and told myself to go to bed early to finally get a full night’s sleep, and instead I stayed up until 1 am and wrote this and I don’t know if it makes any kind of sense, but there it is!

(On a sidenote; I genuinely couldn’t tell you how it is that the opening to Dreamcatcher at some point became foundational to my personality, when I’m pretty sure I’ve never actually watched all of Dreamcatcher.)

[weirdxstarseed]

✦ ꙳ Wildest Dreams . ⁺ ✦ part 2

Content: BridgertonAU!, HistoricalAU!, VictorianAU!, past lives, fluff, slice of life, strangers to lovers., rin okumura x y/n reader!

- Finally

- Y/N arrived at her home

- Unfortunately, her mom scolded her for arriving to much early

- So she send it again to the palace without listening to Y/N excuses

- She arrived at the time cinderella was running of the castle

- at 12

- “God damn it” she mumble. searching a place where she can hide all the noon and part of the morning.

- she saw behind the windows that all her neighbours were having fun and a desmotived sigh escaped from her lips.

- y/n entered to the ball room and some guys started to talked of who will be the braver to invited her to dance

- by the other hand

- all the ladies were saying good comments about the way she was dressing

- but unfortunately y/n was alone

- in fact, she wasn’t a friendly person

- all the guys were scared of her strong personality and all the girls were pissed by her logical judgment

- the party started to heat up when a battle started to hear above the music

- everyone ran to see the spectacle

- and y/n without admit it, went to see it by curiosity

- in the middle of the fight was this guy she run into it and another one that was a little bit in danger

- the guards didn’t hesitate to separate them but this wasn’t all

- when the blue-haired boy saw y/n in the crow

- he opened his eyes like plates and y/n blushed noticing that because of that gesture some ladies were watching her

- she started to walk backwards not before hearing some murmurs like "beast" referring to the blue-haired boy.

- after hearing that nickname a strange annoyed feeling began to climb over her body

- she went to another room, more cold and dark but with much privacy than the other

- it was irrelevant to feel a mix of feelings with a guy that she didn’t even know

- and also JUST FOR A COMMENT

- and his eyes

- god damn it

- ok, you take a big breath and focus to clear your mind

- obviously the night couldn’t get any worse

- or that was your thought

- you heard someone entering in the room you were hiding and you contain a bunch of curse words when you saw the person who was invading your space

- it was him

- “what are you doing here?” both of you asked at the same time

- “i asked first” both of you repeat again.

- you sighed.

- “Alright, madame” he said, “you started first interrogating”

- “Thank you" you uttered, rising from the window frame revealing a beautiful view of the moon outlining your figure.

- The boy did not overlook that detail and letting out a gasp of astonishment, he contemplated you from a distance, very attentive to what you were about to tell him.

- “Well, first of all, what’s your name, sir? You know mine, but I don’t have an idea who are you”

- “I’m sorry, my lady” the blue-haired guy said “I’m Rin Okumura, the duke of Gehenna”

- “Gehenna?” y/n asked confused.

- “Yes, is a land far away from here. We’re starting to communicate with other kingdoms to make alliances”

- "And... I guess now with what just happened in the great hall, they will be inconvenienced and probably no longer want to communicate with you or am I wrong?" you raise an eyebrow in her direction.

- He laughed nervous about your words and nod in an affirmative mode.

- "Well, sir. Okumura, I'm glad to know that you are too honest to answer a stranger's questions, but I'm afraid I must be going" you said, starting to walk to the exit.

- “Wait, lady y/n” he said, approaching to you, tentative to take your hand.

- You notice much better his face by the help of the moon light and when you were the most nearest to him, you watch a fine line of blood was running to his head. you asummed this was from the fight before and without thinking twice.

- you literally cut a piece of your dress and put over the wound

- at first

- your rude touch scared the duke and he was going to scream you

- but when he notice your action

- his face was surround by a messy blush

- “What the hell, duke?” you scold him, complaining with the piece of cloth that was dying in red. you were so frustrated. it appears that some deity was trying to mantain both of you near each other.

- “Lady y/n” he started.

- “What now?” you reply pissed.

- "I appreciate your kindness and more because you can't seem to get rid of me, a stranger”

- “Just shut up and let’s go to another place” you declared “I’m sick of being here”

- “Me too” he smiled happy for your words and taking your hand, both run over the hall to the exit.

- by now on, you thought this was the strangest shit you ever did in your life, full of randomness and coincidences.

⨯ . ⁺ ✦ ⊹ ꙳ ⁺ ‧ ⨯. ⁺ ✦ ⊹ . * ꙳ ✦ ⊹

- since that day

- something had change in both of you

- at least rin’s feelings became so pure for you

- of course

- THIS BOND WAS A SECRET

- nobody has to know that you talked with a strange duke of other lands

- sometimes when you went to the market

- you find him over there pretending he was going to buy something

- but the truth was

- he only visited those places because he knew that you’d be over there!¡!¡!

- sometimes you talked to him and joined to his activities

- another times you didn’t ever see him cuz you were to scared of being discovered by some local citizen

- just one day

- you decided to stayed in your home

- you don’t even know why you were acting so secretive with a complete stranger

- maybe the last moment you shared were magical and unbelievable

- BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN YOU HAVE FEELINGS RIGHT?

- you layed in your bed

- just watching the ceiling

- at least you started to notice your feelings

- of course, you can’t have 5 minutes of peace cuz suddenly

- your mother

- entered to your place and started to mumbling a lot of incomprehensible words

- you showed her a bad gaze and when she finally met your eyes

- she started over again

- “can you believed it? they’re going to organize another dance!! another freakin’ dance!! do you know what that does it mean???”

- you deny

- “THAT MEANS ANOTHER DRESS!! ANOTHER DRESS MEANS WE NEED MORE MONEY”

- you groan so loudly for her complaints and when you finally process the information that she threw

- you started to panic

- what if he went to the dance?

- what if all noticed that you were catching feeling for a duke of another land???

- “well done, y/n”, you said

- you were sharing feelings for a stranger and from a different country

- finally, you decided to stand up from the bed and started to enlist everything

- in the deep of your heart

- you were a hurricane and a bunch of nerves at the same time

- in the other hand, rin was so excited for this evening

- he was waiting the moment to talked with the only person who has been very nice with him

- also, he was desperated to ask you something very important

- something that could change everything between you two

- inmediately. when he finished

- the blue-haired guy went out of the house, ready for meet his lady ¡!

⨯ . ⁺ ✦ ⊹ ꙳ ⁺ ‧ ⨯. ⁺ ✦ ⊹ . * ꙳ ✦ ⊹

- everyone in the room were dancing, enjoying the music, talking effusively and sharing their anecdotes

- except y/n, she was in the corner of the room, as always

- waiting her best friend or someone she could knew to dance in the middle of the room like the participants

- her best friend notices her in the back of the place and with one hand, she helped her to get in the mood with the others

- in fact, it was a win for them

- y/n was having a lot of fun. jumping, singing and dancing with her friend in the middle of the room

- getting some curious gazes

- maybe she looked a little bit intimidated when she had a serious semblant

- but she has *something* that when her mood was in the top, nobody can’t take their gazes of her

- do you remember that scene in pride and prejudice when everyone is dancing and then everyone is in silence cuz the richess came in the room?

- well, that happen exactly when rin and yukio entered to the room

- y/n hearbeat was racing so fast that she need her best friend’s help to calm down

- the organizers quickly approached to introduce them and rin being the one who relaxed the atmosphere, everyone started to dance as they were doing it

- y/n could not help but overlook this gesture and with a slight smile, continued to dance with her friend

- rin immediately noticed y/n and couldn’t help smiling broadly

- a gesture that was not overlooked by his brother and some of the guests

- In the blink of an eye, the effusive music stopped and a ballad accompanied those present.

- y/n's friend left the dance floor, claiming she was too tired from dancing, leaving y/n somewhat restless on the dance floor.

- some boys were ready to pounce on the protagonist of this story, but the blue-haired was quicker and took y/n's hand with an endearing subtlety

- everyone in the room was astonished by this scene and, without looking away, they observed the foreigner's attitudes with suspicion

- on the other hand, y/n was so engrossed in the boy's clothing that, for the first time in her life, she completely ignored everyone around her

- music began to play

- and the two souls began to dance

- that waltz caused some to stop dancing to appreciate the new couple making their way among the guests

- a few others joined the dance, filling the dance floor

- However, the young main characters of this story, were so self-absorbed that they could not even converse

- or rather, it was noticeable that they were conversing with their eyes.

- y/n was so focused on the brightness of the blue-haired boy's eyes that she didn’t allow herself to recognize that the boy was just as lost in the color of her orbs

- the waltz ended and all the participants applauded for such a spectacular piece, causing the laugh of y/n and rin for their moment

- both of them bow at theirselves thanking for the dance and saying their names at the same time

- once again, you went outside to have a walk through the inmense garden around the mansion

- “did you have a good time over there?” he dared to ask

- “it was…magnificent” you replied in a laugh

- the boy couldn't help but laugh in the same way at the words y/n used to describe such an evening, but he simply agreed

- “y/n, i mean, lady y/n…” rin started. "If not inappropriate to ask... may I ask you a complex question?”

- “depends on the question, of course” you played, covering your arms of the cold weather

- “ok, smart lady, it’s about a voyage” he said.

- “are you going to travel?” you ask without notice the disappointment in your voice.

- “yes, but i´m planning to travel with some company…”he continued.

- “oh” you said, with a bitterness climbing through your throat

- “but…” rin started again, taking out his coat to put it over your shoulders “i’d love to have the company of a woman”

- at first instance your face was a poem

- you were analyzing his words but you were being so skeptical that you didn't know if he was implying that you should accompany him.

- maybe you didn’t want to accept that he was proposing indirectly to be his mate in this new journey

- “i think you should go and follow what your hearts want with the people you want” y/n said firmly, starting to walk faster as she could.

- “y/n wait!” rin exclaimed, following your steps easily.

- “it’s okay, duke” you continued without looking back “i get it, believed me, i totally understand your desires and that’s why i’m saying is a good idea”

- he stood in front of you in a glance, surprising you, and seeing directly your eyes, he said: “you aren’t understanding me, i want you to be my company in this journey, i want you to know my kingdom, i want you to be part of my day-to-day”

- you opened your eyes astonished

- he was confessing so honestly that you felt embarrassed for doubting your feelings

- “duke okumura I-“

- “i would totally understand if you rejected me, it’s to soon to confess my feelings but i can’t hide them anymore”

- you blinked effusive by this, immediately your blood was running so fast in your system that you need to watch apart to analyze his words

- obviously you liked him

- but if it was just a summer love? if this really believable? where was the joke?

- rin was very nervous for your silence

- he started overthinking that maybe he precipitated a little bit

- maybe you didn’t like him and there he was exposing himself

- “sorry for wasting your time, my lady” he said, covering his face with his hair and starting to walk to the entrance of the garden

- but same as him, you stood in front of him

- he was so nervous that he didn’t notice your future actions

- you decided to turn off your mind for a second and standing in your toes

- you, finally, kiss him

- he was so shock by your action

- cuz he didn’t expect that

- in fact, he expect anything than that

- you were going to separated from him after noticing his tension

- but rin, being one step ahead of you, grabbed you by the waist to deepen the kiss.

- you were so focused on your moment that you didn’t notice where you were until an old woman shooed you away

- y/n and rin left the place laughing about what happened and being in a more convenient place, you took his hand and said something that made the blue-haired heart swell with enthusiasm

- “Maybe I was to scared to admit my feelings for you, but now on I’m sure I want to travel with you, Rin. I want to be with you and being your company, no matter what happen in the future, I just want to see the world outside this kingdom and it would be a pleasure to discovered it by your side”

- and when you finally said those words, he hugged you so tightly that, for a moment, you felt that your doubts were completely settled

- there was only one thing left to cover

- your mother

- but that would be rin's job, for now, both of you enjoyed each other's company in the moonlight.

- just like when they met for the first time

- that night when their feelings changed completely

- that night when two strangers hit it off as if fate wanted them to be together.

[infini-tree]

the world keeps turning

Summary: The masters across China have congregated to the Jade Palace to celebrate Po as Oogway’s Successor. Though how easily they manage to do this is another story entirely.

A/N: Big surprise, I missed the Soothsayer and I needed to get the Brainworms(tm) out. This fic is something of a sequel to fall (take two), as well as a prequel to my Gongmen Successor AU. It makes sense in context.

Whether I do anything more with this concept is another question entirely. This is headcanon-heavy and retcons the whole thing regarding the Dragon Master title.

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

The sun glints off the surface of the water, leaving the river sparkling in the early morning light. 

The Soothsayer exits the quarters on the boat and made her way to the edge, the assorted servants and workers not paying her much mind. Waves lap gently at the side of the boat. She is no stranger to travel, as more often than not she trailed behind Gongmen’s nobles long ago, and behind its present-day kung fu protectors.

A shadow looms behind her. “We should be at the Valley before noon.”

“Good.” She glances up at Storming Ox and the side of her mouth quirks up. “You’re tense.”

Her tone broached no argument. It was difficult for the master to hide anything from her own experience and insight.

“And so are you,” he said, nodding to the vice grip she had her cane in.

Her smirk diminishes. As it stands, the same went for her finding it difficult to hide from his analytical eye. Neither of them have made any sort of mention about it-- since where was the fun in that?-- but it was... amusing to outmaneuver the other.

“I feel it is only natural--” And she purses her lips for a moment. “Considering that we’ve been called to the Valley of Peace to celebrate the naming of a new Grandmaster of China.”

Storming Ox’s brow raised in amusement. “You and I both know you don’t give a rat’s behind about formalities like that.”

“Only when it is convenient. I am an outlier in a celebration that primarily consists of masters as its guests, and what knowledge of qi I know is theoretical and tied to the medicinal arts.” 

Her gaze shifts to the river’s edge, offering Ox some privacy regarding his own insecurities. When the masters had simultaneously come back as quickly as they were abducted, him and Croc had to decide who stayed in Gongmen and who would learn about qi.

“It’s a no-brainer, having you helm the Council, with your analytical eye,” Croc had said, before making eye contact with the Soothsayer. “Besides, I don’t exactly-- how you say?-- rank high in the Gongmen popularity poll right now.”

The months after Master Thundering Rhino’s death left them inseparable in their grief. Now, months of separation left Storming Ox unmoored in a way she couldn’t quite help out with.

“Oh, like that’s ever bothered you. And even if it did, the invitation specifically asked for you too. I think--” And he leans on the edge of the boat beside her, his thick arms folded. “You’re nervous for a different reason.”

The old goat looks at her distorted reflection. 

“The pandas.” 

The Soothsayer went still.

The fortune that spelt disaster for the nearby panda village was not common knowledge, and the late noble peacock family made sure of that. Only those in their inner circle would know of some of its details, but not all.

The Master’s Council-- as the protectors of Gongmen City-- was in a unique position to know all of it.

“I don’t think they’d... blame you, you know,” he adds, much more gently. “Croc says they’re good people, from what little he writes. Honestly, I think a good chunk of them would be too young to remember.”

She lets the din of the river and workers milling about wash over them in lieu of an answer. The houses were starting to dot the landscape much more frequently.

Despite this, he picks up the conversation for her. “Though, I guess you already know that. But knowing what’s right is different from feeling what’s right. Or something. I was never good with sayings. What I’m trying to say is that it’ll be fine.”

That, she lets an amused huff at.

“We’re ahead of schedule.” Storming Ox looks up. She couldn’t help but look up as well.

In the distance, they could see the mountain peak that held the Jade Palace.

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

If there was one word the Soothsayer can describe the Valley of Peace, it was quaint. 

While it was far from being a small village, it didn’t have the bustling streets or tall buildings she was used to in Gongmen. Even the higher-class buildings that housed what she could only assume were mostly Jade Palace servants and their immediate family were only differentiated by its red walls and proximity to the Jade Palace itself. It wasn’t uncommon to have said buildings neighbor the rice paddies.

Speaking of which, she could see the farmers stop their work to watch their boat pass by. As they approached, she saw the people crowding the water’s edge and surrounding bridges, watching for boats and palanquins and what other manner of transport masters had as they made the pilgrimage to what is essentially their capital.

When they finally made landfall on their small harbor (recently built, or rebuilt she noted), everyone had their eyes solely on Storming Ox. Which was fine by her, and was certainly fine for him as he quietly soaked in the attention. His street brawler days were far behind him, but he was not immune to feeling appreciative of the clamor celebrating his arrival.

Making their way through the winding paths of the Valley, they made it to its heart, where several other masters from across China were mingling. She recognized some of them, if only for their reputation, but the rest were strangers to her.

It was no different than the soirees the nobles would have, if only by scale and prestige. A closer look at the crowds showed the heart of the differences. The masters still mingled with the few villagers that made their way to them, the atmosphere less cutthroat. 

The majority of them wore modest hanfu-- which even then was most likely their most extravagant-- left her feeling overdressed with her usual attire of layered silks.

Storming Ox nudged her. “Welcoming committee's here.”

She gave a small huff at that... before having to step out of the way as Po made a beeline towards the master.

“Oh, Master Storming Ox! You’re here!” The panda was bouncing on his heels. “How’s Gongmen City since we brought justice to it? Have you mastered some new techniques? Could we do a training spar?”

“Still there, a little too busy with city affairs for that, and--”

“Po, can you please not do this every time a master arrives.” Trailing behind the panda was Shifu, his brows knitted and fur a little frazzled. He pushed Po back with his peach tree staff. “At least give them a moment to breathe.”

“But-- but--”

“The breathing space would be much appreciated, thank you,” the Soothsayer chimed in.

“Soothsayer!” Po beamed. “What’s been going on with you? Any future omens we should know about?”

She couldn’t help but let out a wry smile at that. “Nothing so dire as that. I should ask the same to you, Grandmaster of All China, Oogway’s Successor, and Dragon Warrior--”

“You really don’t need to--” he winced. “Just Po is fine.”

“Po the Just--”

Even the red panda’s ears jerked up slightly in mild amusement.

“Stop heckling the poor kid,” Storming Ox said.

“In all seriousness, it must be a great honor.” Then, to Shifu she adds: “You must be proud.”

Po falls silent at that, opening and closing one of his hands (with minimal burn scars on his pads, she notes).

“It is a momentous occasion,” Shifu said.

She lets out an understanding hm at that. As much as Oogway’s passing had been a shock to the masters across China, the sudden naming of his successor after years of not addressing it was even more so.

The clamor of the Valley she had been growing used to ever since they arrived suddenly spikes as a loud crash echoed from the other side of the center. The red panda jolts to attention, the fur on the end of tail standing up.

Po looks at the cloud of dust that was kicked up and winces. “Uh, I’ll get a look-see at what happened--”

“No, I will,” Shifu cuts in. “You get the rest of the Five and the pandas to escort the masters to their guest quarters.”

The panda hesitates to refute or insist but nonetheless complies, melting into the crowd to gather the mentioned group. The other master nods once more before doing the same, making his way to the source of the fracas.

A tightness winds the old goat’s guts. Granted, it may come with the nerves at the thought of the pandas being here-- did they not have their own lives to get back to?-- but the pauses between Po and Shifu spoke volumes than what amounted as small talk.

She had been so engrossed by trying to make sense of it that she had nearly missed the approaching figure. Though, it would have been difficult to not pay attention to the only bright spot of hanfu in a sea of soft greens and other earth tones.

“Hello, Gongmen City masters!” a chipper voice rang out. 

It was a bit jarring to come face to face with another panda. With Po, she was too wound up by nerves and grief and a great effort to keep up her veneer of smugness in front of Shen for the fact that it had been thirty years since she’s seen his kind sink in properly.

Now, it seemed that the shock was finally catching up with her.

The panda in question looked about Po’s age, with eyespots that framed her face like makeup. Though, that was on top of the actual makeup that was already there-- a bit of lipstick here, some blush there. With her bright, floral hanfu, it felt like she was glimpsing into another world where the pandas to thrive in Gongmen and managed to break through to afford fineries.

“Master, singular,” the Soothsayer managed to say. “I am simply the soothsayer advisor to the Mater’s Council.”

Storming Ox looked like he was about to object, but the panda took one glimpse at her and her silks and smiled. “My mistake. Love the patterns. Overwhelming, but you make it work.”

“Um, thank... you,” she lodged out of her throat. “And who might you be?”

She puts a hand to her chest in faux-dramatics. “Mei Mei. A pleasure.”

Storming Ox clears his throat, thankfully saving her from this moment. “Um, about those lodgings? We’ve come a long way.”

“Oh, of course, of course!” 

And with that, they were off to yet another part of the Valley-- also newly built. The Soothsayer let the conversation glide over her, only answering once in a while. She should be much more cautious of what she was saying, but seeing so many pandas helping with lodging the masters, or milling around, or playing in one place left her unmoored.

“And... here we are!”

They stopped at one of the newer buildings around the base of the mountain. It was a two-storey building, slightly taller than the older buildings, and with a small balcony that overlooked the river.

“I’m pretty sure this is the place Croc lived at, when he wasn’t up at the Jade Palace doing lessons or helping with repairs,” Mei Mei explained. “So I guess it makes sense!”

Now it was Storming Ox’s turn to feel a bit off-kilter. “Uh-huh...”

“If you need any help, don’t hesitate to ask,” the panda said. “Though maybe not now, since I’m also working the entertainment and-- well-- never mind about that!”

Before the Soothsayer had a chance to ask, Mei Mei was off. Once her trailing hanfu and ribbons were out of view, the both of their shoulders sagged.

“See, what’d I tell you?” the master said. “Fine.”

The old goat swung blindly at his direction, causing him to let out a shocked sort of laugh.