#is equally unlikely no matter where it appears

[airyairyaucontraire]

well it's Sunday morning and I have no plans for this afternoon so if a fairy and/or a walrus wants to test this out I'm game

I've asked this question before and been surprised by the results, now I have access to more weirdos it's your problem:

It is the middle of a Sunday afternoon. You have nothing on, and aren't expecting visitors, deliveries or post.

Unexpectedly, there is a knock at the door.

[randxmthxughts]

Be Mine - Neteyam x Metkayina ! reader (fake dating)

summary: the one, where neteyam pretends to court the reader to avoid all of the nagging from his parents and a group of admirers. of course, it doesn’t take long for her to fall for him too

warnings: none really, pure fluff, fake dating trope, jealousy, loak x tsireya canon, events take place five years after the battle between the metkayina and the sky people, so aged up characters

wc: >12k

a/n: now that i finished writing this, i realized that i wrote an avatar version of bridgerton, lol </3 if you enjoy this, i love getting compliments and reblogs

masterlist

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Everybody knew about Neteyam te Suli Tsyeyk'itan, ever since his family first stepped into your village. His blue skin, golden eyes, and the strange tail, were easily the talk of almost every conversation among your peers. Yet, despite the obvious physical differences, there was always something about him that fascinated you, lured you in.

Many things changed after the Battle at the Three Brothers. With the help of your soul sisters and brothers Tulkuns, and joined by the great Toruk Makto, your Olo’yektan had an upper hand and a decisive victory over the sky people. It was a victory to be passed down in stories to your future generations and to be celebrated gloriously among the clan. This year was marking its fifth anniversary, with a big celebration that would last the whole night.

Since that battle, Neteyam has truly transformed into a man, earning approving and respectful looks from all around him. His forest upbringing never held Neteyam back from growing into his place among the Metkayina: his once slim shoulders broadened, matching the most skillful divers, height increased, and his muscles started showing without even flexing. In addition to his looks, his physical appearance never betrayed his personality. It seemed like Neteyam had the purest, kindest heart amongst all, always rushing to help the villagers with their chores, big and small; whether it meant fixing up a canoe, carrying baskets of food, or sometimes even babysitting, that is if he had time. His father was reluctant to stop the training with his sons, just in case of another attack from the sky people, so Neteyam rarely had any time for himself. 

Guys wanted to be his friends, while the girls were fawning over him, hoping to become his mate. It was no secret that now, being of an age to pick the one for himself, parents’ sudden attention and admiring looks were following him everywhere. But Neteyam didn’t rush to choose.

Unlike his brother, Lo'ak seemed to have his life all figured out, especially when it came to matters of the heart. Falling for Tsireya, Lo’ak had many expectations to live up to, if he wanted to be with her. After all, she was the daughter of the chief, and a tsakarem, the future Tsahik of Metkayina. And while at first, Tsireya’s parents were hesitant of the bond she was forming with the forest boy, Lo’ak’s family spoke for himself. His father had played a significant role in the victory at the Three Brothers, providing guidance and knowledge that helped secure their win. Lo'ak also worked hard on himself to earn her parents’ approval. So the day, when Lo’ak finally returned home with Tsireya's necklace around his neck, a symbol of acceptance, was the day when Neteyam felt the weight on his shoulders double in size. 

You were no different from the other girls adoring Neteyam, as you had also developed a crush on him during your teenage years. It was unavoidable, really. Before you grew out of your friendship with Tsireya, the two of you used to be quite close. So when the Sully’s first moved to Awa'atlu, and Tsireya was assigned to guide the kids, you were often hanging around them too. 

But it was easy for you to accept that you were never going to be an equal match for Neteyam. He had many admirers who were stronger than you, more skilled, more talented, and had respected families. Everything came into the play, and you were losing at every aspect. So, you have successfully suppressed this silly crush for years, before you could finally push it to the very far back of your mind and forget about it. Instead, you occupied yourself with your learning. 

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Despite not being friends anymore, Tsireya and you have always maintained a polite demeanor towards each other. Now it did feel a little strange to be paired with her for the gathering of pxorna’ fruits, but you had to follow through. As per tradition, the entire clan was divided into groups to prepare for the upcoming celebration, and you were assigned to work together. Even though climbing tall trees wasn't exactly your strong suit as a water Na'vi, protesting wasn't an option: after all, the sweetest fruits were always at the very top. So, to make the task easier, you and Tsireya took turns climbing the trees and picking the fruits, then one would lower the bag for the other to catch and store into the big woven baskets provided. This method ensured that the bag wouldn't become too heavy for you to carry back down.

Ready to lower another batch of fruits, you call out to Tsireya to catch it. But instead of a response, all you can hear is her laughter. Surely enough, when you look down, you find her engrossed in a conversation with Lo’ak, completely ignoring you. You try to catch her attention one more time, before huffing under your breath, and deciding to climb down by yourself. You clutch the bag tightly against your chest, but as you get closer to the ground, some of the fruits start slipping out of your grip. Your hand reaches out instinctively to catch at least one, when you suddenly begin to lose your balance. You can almost imagine the damage to your back muscles, once you will hit the ground, when a pair of hands help you down on the ground.

“I got you,” you hear an accompanying voice. 

“Thank you,” you blink in surprise, as you find Neteyam Sully to be your savior.

“You spilled some but they should be good,” he grins at you, as he crouches down and starts gathering the fruits from the ground.

Quietly, you empty your bag into the basket, throwing a glance at the other basket. It’s almost empty. You sigh out of frustration. There was still a lot of work to do, but Tsireya now seems to be completely distracted. At this rate, you’ll never finish. 

“Lo’ak, that’s enough,” Neteyam grabs his brother by the shoulder, interrupting his chat with Tsireya. An amused smile creeps up on your face.

“Come on, bro, let’s stay,” Lo’ak gestures to the trees around him, “At least, there is work to do here. You know the area where Ronal sent us for fruit is dead.”

“I don’t care, if we have to gather fruits from the dead trees,” Neteyam tries to pull him but Lo’ak stands his ground, “Lo’ak, you know that whatever Ronal decides is not up to discussion.”

“Bro, we spent an hour climbing those trees for nothing,” Lo’ak points to the empty baskets they brought, “If we stay here, we can help out the girls and gather for ourselves too. No one has to know.”

“Neteyam, please,” Tsireya pleads.

“Ah, what the hell?” Neteyam shakes his head before breaking into a toothy grin, “But these baskets are gonna have to be full, Lo’ak.”

“Sure.”

You roll your eyes at how easily Neteyam agrees to the empty promise. You weren’t close with Lo’ak but even you knew how often he got into trouble for not keeping his word. It doesn’t take long to confirm your suspicion: while you and Neteyam are occupied with the task on hand, Lo’ak and Tsireya disappear from underneath the trees. 

“Great,” you huffed, emptying yet another full bag into the basket.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help,” Neteyam says with a gentle tone.

You watch him empty out his bag into your basket too, instead of his. 

“You don’t have to do that,” you feel guilty. Does he always work harder to overcompensate for Lo’ak’s behavior?

“I don’t mind.”

He takes it so light-heartedly, you wonder if it’s a daily occurrence. You stare off into the direction where Tsireya and Lo’ak had previously disappeared.

“Don’t you find it annoying?” you ask him curiously. Surely, even he must have his limits.

“They mean well, give them a break,” Neteyam chuckles, nudging your shoulder.

“You know if you keep covering for him all the time, he will never learn his lesson,” you shake your head, “Lo’ak will be the only adult who doesn’t know how to take care of simple chores.”

“He’s not that hopeless,” he laughs, finding your reaction amusing, “He’s just a kid in love.”

You don’t disagree with him, instead falling quiet. There was no place for you to talk about his brother’s behavior, you weren’t close.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be discussing your family matters like this.”

“No need to apologize, Y/N,” his gaze softens, “Besides, wouldn’t you prefer a forest Na’vi climbing the trees, instead of Tsireya? I promise I am much better at it.”

“Of course you are,” you return his smile.

The two of you get back to work, with mostly Neteyam picking the fruits, and you filling up the baskets. Despite your initial annoyance with Tsireya for leaving you, you seem to enjoy working with Neteyam way more. He’s quick and attentive, and you are grateful for him overtaking the climbing part, because you were always a little clumsy when it came to physical activities.

Soon enough, the baskets are nearly full, so you decide to regain your strength and take a break. Neteyam peels fruits for the both of you, and you sit under the trees, enjoying the shade. 

“Hey, did you make that bag?” he suddenly points at the pocket attached to your belt. It was a small woven bag that you had on you all the time, in case you found beads or rocks you could put to use.

“I did.”

“It looks great,” Neteyam smiles, “I’m not surprised though. You always had golden hands.”

“That is not true,” you disagree.

“Are you joking?” his smile grows wider, “Y/N, you make the most beautiful items. I see people approaching you everyday for help. Do you know anybody else in the village who is as skilled at weaving as you?”

“Well…no,” you shake your head.

“Believe me, you really have a talent for it.”

It wasn’t just weaving that he was referring to. You were pretty handy when it came to making jewelry, also clothes, and headpieces. When you first indulged yourself in weaving, eager to learn to make beautiful pieces for yourself, you never expected that it would turn into a hobby. Your expertise soon expanded to other things too, like making resin weapons, toys, you even took up pottery. Eventually, people noticed and started approaching you with small tasks here and there, and you were glad to help out. But your clan didn’t have a name for your occupation, so you never considered yourself to fit into one. 

“Remember the ceremonial belt you helped me make? It still holds up incredibly,” Neteyam reminds you with a toothy grin.

Of course you remember. It was exactly four years ago, when one night, Neteyam came to your marui, ears pressed flat against his skull in embarrassment. He had to explain the reason for his late visit in front of your parents, saying that he had only the night to make his ceremonial belt. It took you by surprise, because Neteyam wasn’t known for slacking off. He just didn’t think that it would be so difficult to make a damned belt. Scolded by his parents for not starting out sooner, he was then too embarrassed to ask them for help, so there he was instead, asking for yours. Having a soft spot for Neteyam, your parents allowed you to help him, despite the late hour. You two barely caught any sleep that night, working on the belt, making sure that it looked special, different from the other guys’. Neteyam watched your movements attentively, eager to learn, so sometimes you would pass the belt back to him to practice.

“I see you still wearing it sometimes,” you smile.

“You really helped me out back then, I was going to get skinned if I didn’t have a belt by the time for my ceremony,” he pauses, “I still owe you for that.”

“Nonsense, no one owes me anything. Neither do you,” you shake your head, “I like helping.”

“You can’t possibly help everyone with nothing in return.”

“I mean, people bring me food here and there,” you chuckle.

“No gifts?” he quirks his eyebrow.

“Not so much. I can make my own gifts,” you shrug, “But Mateä brings me seashells sometimes.”

“Seashells? Do you like those?”

“Oh, they make necklaces and cover ups look so lovely. Of course, they’re a little tricky to work with but it’s worth it,” you explain, “And Mateä always makes sure to bring the most beautiful shells he can find… Sometimes, he even lets me have the ones he picked for himself.”

You knew Mateä ever since you were kids. He was only a year older than you, but he was very mature for his age, way more than anyone you knew. Mateä was also one of the most skilled swimmers in your clan, which allowed him to swim outside of the perimeters and discover great depths. So whenever he had a small task for you, like fixing up his spear, or making an armor for his ilu, in return he would bring you the most unique-looking, colorful shells he could find. 

“Why would Mateä pick shells for himself?” Neteyam squints.

"He probably just likes them," you shrug, "But there were times when he asked me to make a shell necklace for him, but then he would insist that I keep it for myself because he knew how much I liked it."

“So he makes you make your own gifts?” Neteyam snorts.

“Hey, that’s rude,” you give him a playful slap on the arm, “It doesn’t matter. I have many beautiful things thanks to him.”

“I’m only kidding… I just think that he might like you, that’s all.”

“Maybe.”

You don’t deny his accusation, partly because there is some truth to it. Mateä’s and your fathers were close friends, so they were quite happy with the possibility of you and him bonding some day. And while growing up there was no pressure on either side, the two of you had always felt that something might happen. You were never opposed to the idea anyway. Mateä was a good match for you: he was admired for his strength and swimming, and he was very respectful towards you. And even when you had your little crush on Neteyam, you still knew that Mateä was a more likely option. More recently though, you suspected that Mateä was eyeing you too. He just never made a move… not a direct one anyway. 

“Is he taking you as his date to the celebration tonight?” Neteyam interrupts your thoughts.

“Are we supposed to bring dates?” you ask, teasing. Sure, some brought dates to celebrations to make their bonds known but it wasn’t a requirement.

“Exactly! My father wants me to bring a date, like this isn’t a celebration of a battle.” he emphasizes the last word with his thick accent, clearly annoyed. 

“Why does he want you to bring a date?” you cock your head.

“Because I lied,” he blurts out, a guilty expression covering his face.

“Lied?”

“That I am courting someone,” he cringes, “Even though that someone doesn’t exist.”

“Why would you lie about courting someone nonexistent when you have dozens of girls ready to be swept away by you?” you stifle a laugh, “Especially Zìsmì.”

“Please don’t mention her,” Neteyam rolls his eyes, “I don’t mean to sound rude but Zìsmì is very persistent. I sometimes have to turn directions to avoid running into her.”

“That’s kind of mean,” you decide to tease him, saying that with a stern tone, like you mean it. Neteyam shifts uncomfortably. 

“You’re right, I’m sorry. It’s rude of me to talk about her that way,” he begins to apologize but stops at the sound of your laughter.

“I’m only joking, Neteyam,” you tilt your head back, “Don’t worry, everyone knows how pushy Zìsmì can get. If the two of you were ever to become mates, she would dominate you completely.”

“Thank you!” he agrees eagerly, “Please tell that to my parents. They have been so persistent that I reciprocate her attention. I mean… just because she is a good hunter and has respected parents, doesn’t mean I click with her.”

“Is that why you lied?”

“Yeah… I just didn’t think it through. I only said it to get them off my back for a while,” he explains, his voice low, “But when I told them that I wanted to keep it a secret for a bit longer, they got too excited. So sometimes, they kick me out of the house to go on my secret dates.”

“Secret dates?” 

“I kind of told them that the girl I’m courting hasn’t told her parents yet, that’s why we have to hide.”

“For a lie you didn’t think through, you sure had many details to add,” you’re amused by the clear regret on his face, “So they want to meet her tonight?”

“To confirm that I am not lying. After all, it’s been going for over a month now,” he sighs.

“A month?”

“I know, I’m going to get skinned,” Neteyam hides his face in his palms.

“Skinned by whom? Dad or Zismi?” Lo’ak’s voice interrupts your conversation.

Hand in hand, Tsireya and Lo’ak emerge from the trees and sit in front of you. She throws a concerned look at Neteyam.

“Dad, of course” Neteyam breathes out, still not lifting his head, “I can deal with Zìsmì later.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Lo’ak smirks, “By the way, you owe me, bro. Zismi was going to invite you as her date tonight.”

“What?” Neteyam looks up at his brother, “How do you know?”

“Oh, she asked me in the morning. She was looking for you, and then told me that she wanted to invite you.”

“What did you say?”

“I told her that she shouldn’t because you already had a date,” he shrugs.

“Lo’ak,” Tsireya groans, disappointed, “Now your brother will have to apologize to her, once she catches on the lie.”

“I am so dead,” Neteyam grunts, “If I could only have a little more time to think about it, I’m sure I can figure it out. But it’s like she’s conspiring with my parents against me.”

“Maybe you just need to finally turn her down,” you suggest, earning a chuckle from Lo’ak, “What?”

“Neteyam and rejecting someone don't go in the same sentence. He would rather run and sneak around the village, than tell someone that they annoy him.”

“I just don’t find that type of conversation pleasant. Or necessary,” Neteyam objects.

“They are necessary if the person doesn’t get the hint,” Tsireya adds, “Remember when Nauru -”

“Please don’t remind me of Nauru,” Neteyam interrupts her with a pleading voice.

“What did Nauru do?” you ask, now curious.

“Oh, you don’t know?” a grin stretches on Lo’ak’s lips, “It was insane.”

“It’s not funny, Lo’ak,” Tsireya shushes him, turning to you, “At first, it was kind of sweet. Nauru would leave gifts for Neteyam by his marui. But there was this one time she left him flowers, and, of course, she didn’t know that some of those were poisonous. Neteyam almost lost a finger because of her. She would also follow him everywhere, even show up to his hunts, almost earning an arrow in her head by another hunter. It was getting out of hand, and Neteyam had to reject her directly and ask her to give up.”

“Enough about Nauru,” Neteyam groans, “What am I going to do now? Even if I do turn down Zismi, I’d still have mom and dad to deal with.”

“You’re right,” Lo’ak agrees, empathizing with his brother, “I’m sure you’ll like someone eventually, but we both know how impatient our parents can get.”

The four of you fall silent for a moment, contemplating a solution to Neteyam's situation. But somewhere deep down in your heart, you feel a little relieved that he didn’t have his eye set on anyone yet. You are also partially grateful to your parents for not pressuring you in the same way. It must be hard having the Toruk Makto for your father.

“I know what to do to win more time, Neteyam!” Tsireya excitedly interrupts your thought process, “Remember the time Ao’nung asked Sìlälaw to play along, as if he was courting her?”

“That was pretend?” you ask. Surely, you missed out on a lot of things by not being friends with Tsireya anymore.

“Of course,” she says, like it’s obvious, “Before finding his mate, Ao’nung was getting scolded everyday by our mom and dad. So, he asked Sìlälaw to help him out, pretend like he was following her around, and she just didn’t like him back.”

“I don’t have time for that,” Neteyam shakes his head.

“No, hear her out, bro,” Lo’ak holds up his palm, “It worked once, right? Mom and dad stopped bothering you, when you lied about courting someone. Just show up this once, with anyone, and that’s it.”

“And afterwards?”

“Just lie,” Lo’ak exclaims, “Say that it didn’t work out or something, who cares.”

“And when it doesn't ‘work out’,” Tsireya chimes in, “You can win some more time by being ‘heartbroken’ and ‘not ready’ to pursue another girl yet.”

“It seems so excessive,” you comment, considering the plan, “Isn’t it easier to tell the truth?”

“The truth doesn’t work,” Neteyam lets out a painful chuckle, then turns to his brother, “Where would I even find someone to agree?”

“Now that’s tough,” Lo’ak hums, “Half of the girls are swooning over you, you’ll never hear the end of it.”

“What about Y/N?” Tsireya points at you.

“What about me?” you raise your eyebrows, confused.

“You don’t care for Neteyam like that,” she starts explaining, “And, you’ve had Mateä running after you for years now, but he still hasn’t even asked you out yet. Maybe if he sees you with Neteyam for one night, it’ll make him jealous and finally give him the push he needs.”

Neteyam snorts, like it’s an unlikely possibility.

“Mateä is never going to act out of jealousy, he’s not like that,” you object, “What if he stops speaking to me afterwards?”

“Then we will send Neteyam to talk to him. Neteyam will tell him that he’s heartbroken over you, and that you rejected him for Mateä,” Lo’ak chimes in, “He will dig for some information, nudge Mateä to confess to you. It’s so easy, like it was written in the stars.”

You can’t really find a flaw in Lo’ak’s suggestion. Maybe receiving a confirmation about your feelings is just the thing Mateä’s waiting for.

“Still, I’m not crazy. Do you even know how much pressure it would be to face all those girls?”

“Right, I shouldn’t be putting Y/N into such a position,” Neteyam supports your point.

“Y/N doesn’t have to face them at all. You can turn down those girls easily because you’ll have a perfect excuse. They would be too embarrassed to approach Y/N.”

“I guess,” Neteyam hums, “What do you think, Y/N? I mean, no pressure, but I would owe you for the rest of my life.”

“I don’t know,” you shrug your shoulders. It just feels icky.

“Come on, Y/N, for the sake of our past friendship,” Tsireya pleads with you.

“Okay… it’s just for one night, right?” you agree. It wasn’t.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

You feel like your heart is about to leap out of your chest, when Neteyam takes your hand in his. You take in a deep breath, heading towards the celebration with him. Lo’ak and Tsireya walk ahead of you.

It feels odd to be wearing Neteyam’s necklace instead of your own. That was the courtesy of Tsireya, who was convinced that once anyone saw you two exchange your necklaces, they would be convinced that the courting was serious. 

“I’m scared,” you admit through your teeth.

“Thank you again,” Neteyam whispers, squeezing your hand.

“Come on, guys,” Lo’ak turns to the two of you with an excited smile, “Act natural, okay?”

You nod your head but you’re not sure how you’re going to survive through the night. The closer you get to the celebration, the more people start noticing you. Hushed voices and gasps is all that catches your attention, even though Neteyam walks right beside you. Why does everyone look so surprised? You almost feel offended by the looks you get. Were Neteyam and you really that incompatible? 

The four of you take a seat around a small fire, pairs of eyes watching your every moment. You can’t help but sense Neteyam’s nervousness traveling down his body.

“You alright?” you whisper.

“Not really,” he admits, “Have you seen my parents yet?”

As you scan the crowd of Na'vi dancing and singing, your eyes land on Neytiri talking to someone. Jake stands beside her but his attention seems to be elsewhere, as he occasionally looks around him. Both of them are wearing celebratory clothing that is slightly more elaborate than any of yours. After all, it was a testament to their importance in the victorious battle.

“It looks like your father is looking for you.”

“Shit,” Neteyam lets out, nervously. You can’t help but laugh at his reaction.

“Keep it up,” Tsireya says, “The more relaxed you seem, the more believable this will look.”

She gestures at the two of you, and as you look down, you notice how close you and Neteyam are pressed to each other. It’s like you’re trying to hide from the attention you’re getting. 

It’s not long before you catch Mateä watching you from afar. Your heart beats faster, when his eyes travel to your hand still intertwined with Neteyam’s. He gulps down, and you wonder if he feels jealous.

“Mateä’s looking,” Neteyam points out, “You want to take it up by a notch?”

“What do you mean?” you turn your face to him, confused. 

There is a hint of playfulness in Neteyam’s eyes before he slowly leans in, his mouth close to your ear. You shudder under his breath.

“Pretend I said something funny, and laugh,” he whispers.

“I can’t pretend to laugh,” you whisper back, annoyed, “Can’t you just tell me something funny?”

Neteyam pulls back slightly to look at you. There is an amused smile resting on his face.

“We’re really bad at this, aren’t we?”

“You think?” you quirk your eyebrow at him, earning a small laugh from him.

“Okay, this can work too,” he says. You can’t help but smile at him.

But when you check for Mateä again, he’s nowhere to be found. Your smile drops. What if you hurt him? As if sensing your sudden change in mood, Neteyam gently squeezes your hand. 

"Are you alright?" he asks, “Is Mateä still looking?”

“No, I think he walked away,” you mumble, standing up, “I’m going to get us something to drink, okay?”

“Alright,” Neteyam mumbles back, watching you leave.

“Are you crazy?” Lo’ak slaps Neteyam on the arm, “Go with her, or they’re gonna eat her up alive.”

Following Lo’ak’s gaze, Neteyam sees Zìsmì with her friends. He quickly gets to his feet to follow you but you have already disappeared in the crowd.

“Y/N,” Zìsmì’s voice catches your attention. 

Sighing, you turn around to face her. She has a coy smile on her lips, as she takes you in from head to toe. You wait for her to talk.

“The necklace, did you make that yourself?” Zismi points to your neck, pretending as if she didn’t recognize it right away.

“It looks a lot like Neteyam’s necklace,” one of her friends says, before you could even open your mouth.

“That’s a little weird,” Zismi comments.

“You have a good eye, it is Neteyam’s necklace,” you gather as much confidence as you can, watching their expressions change, “He gave it to me.”

“Why would he give you his necklace?” Zismi scoffs.

“Because I wanted to see it on her,” you suddenly hear Neteyam’s voice, as he appears next to you, “Everything Y/N touches, basically turns into a lucky charm.”

The girls stare at Neteyam, their eyes widened. Again, you feel a little offended. Why is everyone so surprised that he likes you? Before you can react, Neteyam gently pulls you by your hand.

“We have to go, girls,” he throws with his most polite smile.

Feeling their stares like daggers in your back, Neteyam moves closer to you and wraps his arm around your waist protectively, leading you away from the prying eyes.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have left you alone,” he cranes his neck to whisper.

“It’s alright, I’m not scared of Zismi,” you turn to look at him, “Unlike you.”

“Very funny,” Neteyam rolls his eyes. 

His arm is still firmly wrapped around your waist, as the two of you continue walking. The warmth of his body against yours feels almost comforting, despite the curious glances you receive. Neteyam seems to notice it too, as he tightens his grip on you, pulling you a little closer to him. 

"Just ignore them," there is a hint of annoyance in his voice. You wonder if it’s bothering him more than you.

As you get closer to the big fire, you hear a loud cheer erupt from the crowd. Instinctively, you want to find out what’s happening. A chuckle of disbelief escapes from your mouth, when you see Neytiri and Jake dancing around the fire, to the fast rhythm of the drums. While Neytiri’s movements are gracious and fluid, Jake’s are… Well, Jake is trying his best. She throws her head back in laughter, when he makes an awkward movement, but no one else dares to laugh at the Toruk Makto, except for his mate. Suddenly, he sweeps Neytiri up into his arms and twirls her around the fire. The Na’vi cheer them on and on, clapping their hands in amusement.

You join in on the clapping, caught up in their infectious joy. When you turn to look at Neteyam, however, you notice that he's cringing.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” 

“They are acting like little kids,” Neteyam huffs.

“I think it’s sweet,” you nudge him with a smile, “Loosen up, Neteyam.”

“How can I?” he rolls his eyes at you.

“If your father can relax for one night, so can you,” you push him into the circle, with a loud shout, “Dance, Neteyam!”

Neteyam stands frozen for a moment, clearly embarrassed by your sudden action. His ears lower, and he tries to step out of the circle, but Lo’ak nudges him back in. The music picks up and the crowd cheers louder, but Neteyam stands still, clearly irritated by your behavior.

You can’t watch him anymore, so you jump to his rescue, and take his hands in yours. He tries to resist at first, but it doesn’t take much convincing on your part to get him to loosen up. As you embarrass yourself with the silly movements and faces you make, you finally coax a smile out of him. You don’t care about the others watching you, you only focus on getting him to dance with you. Soon enough, Neteyam’s confidence grows, and he starts to move more freely to the rhythm with you. You hold onto his hands, feeling the warmth of his touch, and beam with adoration as you watch him give in. 

Other couples start joining in, and the circle becomes more crowded. People start pressing closer, pushing you and Neteyam towards each other, with barely any space left. His hands instinctively find your waist, yours rest on his biceps, holding him in place. You’re not sure whether it’s the heat of the fire, or it’s just him, but you feel warmer and warmer, every time his eyes meet yours. 

“You okay?” you smile, noticing drops of sweat rolling down his face, “It’s too hot here.”

Before he can answer, you lead him out of the crowd. You catch a look from your parents’ from afar, and can only roll your eyes at them. You know they were going to question you about tonight but you don’t want to think about it for now. At least they don’t seem to be mad? 

Distracted, you turn around, nearly colliding with Neteyam's parents. They look a little lightheaded, and you suspect they've had a drink made from the pxorna' fruits you gathered earlier. Quickly, you bow low and bring your fingers to your forehead in greeting. Neteyam shifts uncomfortably beside you.

“Son… and Y/N,” Jake looks between the two of you with an approving smile. 

“Y/N, are you the one Neteyam was hiding from us?” Neytiri asks curiously.

“Mom,” Neteyam tenses up, “Let’s not make her uncomfortable, please.” 

Neteyam looks so stressed, you wonder how his parents believed his lies in the first place. Maybe they were blinded by the excitement?

“We’re just glad that it’s been her this whole time,” Jake says, smiling at you, “You’re very talented, Y/N.”

“Thank you,” you reply, shying away from the compliment. 

“We were worried that Neteyam was lying just to avoid us,” Neytiri explains.

Neteyam and you chuckle nervously, hoping that this isn’t her smart way of cracking you.

“Are your parents aware?” she asks, scanning the crowd. You quickly draw her attention back to you.

“They are now… I am sorry that Neteyam had to keep this a secret from you, that was my wish,” you lie, “It is just that my mother likes rushing into many things, and I still needed some time to get to know Neteyam.”

You weren’t completely off; your mother did have a tendency to rush into things. If she had known that you were open to dating Mateä, she would have already told him by now.

“No need to apologize,” Jake chimes in, “If anything, I feel bad for forcing your hand.”

“You should feel bad,” Neteyam grunts but you can sense that he’s holding back from saying more.

“It’s alright, I’m happy to be here tonight with Nete,” you pat Neteyam on the back.

Dropping a nickname seems to be just enough to convince them. You notice the satisfied smiles settle on their faces. 

“Ma’Jake, let’s leave them alone. After all, it’s their first outing as mates,” Neytiri murmurs, pulling Jake by his hand.

“We’re not mated yet,” Neteyam cringes, but she only finds it amusing.

“It is only a matter of time, you are your father’s son after all.”

As the two of them walk away, laughing, Neteyam takes a deep breath to calm himself down. You can sense how embarrassed he feels, knowing what you heard. But you didn’t mind it all, he has no reason to be this upset.

“Are you okay?” you nudge him but Neteyam refuses to look at you, “Hey, don’t be like that.”

“I just...I didn’t think it would be this hard,” he admits, looking down.

“What would be hard? Pretending to be in love with me?” you tease, craning your neck to see his face.

“No,” he doesn’t even crack a smile, “I’m sorry for getting you into this mess.”

“You don’t have to apologize, I am enjoying this,” you take his hand in yours, finally getting him to look at you, “Besides, we’re almost done, right?”

“Right,” he nods.

“Now, come on, pretend that I said something funny and laugh,” you playfully repeat his words. Neteyam's lips twitch into a smile before he breaks into a genuine chuckle, causing your heart to skip a beat. You love the sound of his laughter.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

“You two look so good together, I am not ready for this to be over yet,” Tsireya beams, as she plops down in front of Neteyam and you. Lo’ak follows her suit.

“Maybe you should keep it up for a little longer, bro. The way you were dancing - “ Lo’ak starts to imitate Neteyam’s dancing but Neteyam slaps him.

“Stop that, skxawng.”

“Just ignore him, Neteyam, you were great out there,” Tsireya says softly.

“Seriously, being less tense suits you,” you agree, noticing Neteyam hiding a shy smile.

“I got to admit, it wasn’t bad at all,” Lo’ak straightens up, “I just haven’t seen you dance since Naye.”

“Let it go, Lo’ak,” Neteyam grunts.

“Who’s Naye?”

“Neteyam’s first crush from back home,” Lo’ak snickers, enjoying how far he can push his brother, “Neteyam was so in love with her, he couldn't even talk to her. So this one time, during a celebration, he decided to express his feelings by dancing for her.”

“Well, what did she say?” your ears perk up in anticipation.

“She just pretended like it wasn’t happening and walked away,” Lo’ak breaks into laughter.

“That’s not funny,” Tsireya covers Lo’ak’s mouth with her hand, “It’s alright, Neteyam, we all had our share of silly teenage crushes.”

She unintentionally throws you a knowing look, for support, but Lo’ak immediately catches on.

“Who did Y/N have a crush on?” he asks. 

You stiffen, feeling their gazes intensifying on you.

“It doesn’t matter now,” you try to switch the topic but Lo’ak doesn’t seem to give up.

“It shouldn’t matter then, if you say it,” he pushes, “It can’t be that bad.”

You let out a sigh, knowing that you won't be able to get out of this.

“I used to have a crush on Neteyam,” you admit as laughter erupts.

You shoot daggers at Lo’ak, who is now rolling in the sand, while Tsireya tries to cover up her laughter. You turn to Neteyam, who looks at you with a shy smile on his face.

“Before you say anything, I feel like I should clear this,” you hold up your hand, “It was just a fleeting crush before I got to know you. And it disappeared. So please don’t feel uncomfortable.”

“So you’re saying your crush disappeared right after you got to know him?” Lo’ak asks, another wave of laughter hitting him. Shit. That’s not how you wanted it to sound.

Neteyam only rolls his eyes at his brother, while Tsireya tries her best to keep a straight face.

“I’m sorry, we just sneaked some of the pxorna’ juice,” she explains. 

“I can tell,” you grit through your teeth. You have now truly understood the embarrassment Neteyam felt a moment ago.

“Y/N, please don’t take this to heart,” Tsireya rests her palm on your thigh, “Who cares what happened five years ago? We know you’re interested in Mateä now anyway.”

“Yeah,” Neteyam clears his throat, agreeing, “It was a silly crush, right? It’s all in the past now.”

You nod, but you can't shake off the feeling of unease. You couldn’t help but wonder if Neteyam was relieved that he didn't have to reject one more girl, or if he was secretly disappointed that you were interested in Mateä instead of him.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

When Neteyam asked you to keep up the fake courting till the hunting festivities to make his heartbreak more believable, you agreed. The festivities were supposed to begin only in a few weeks, to mark the beginning of the hunting season, so you thought it wasn’t a big deal. You could wait. Besides, it seemed like things were looking up for the two of you.

Neteyam was finally getting some time for himself. His father had started to ease up on him, cutting short his training. Knowing that Neteyam was supposedly courting you, Jake wanted to give his son a chance to focus on that. 

The past few months had been so tough on Neteyam both physically and mentally, that all he wanted to do was rest and recharge. So he would often use that free time to drop by your marui and ask to take naps on your floor, while you were working on whatever project you had. Since your parents were mostly out, letting you work in peace, Neteyam’s quiet snoring was no burden. And if anyone was visiting you to ask for help with their items, they would only throw an amused look at sleeping Neteyam and leave you two alone, helping you keep up your fake image without much effort. Sometimes, you would catch yourself watching him too, admiring the peaceful expression on his face, as he slept. Of course, this didn’t escape your parents’ attention, as they were peppering you with questions about Neteyam’s intentions almost every night. But you mostly ignored their inquiries, focused on the simple pleasure of being able to help Neteyam.

Slowly, the girls who used to fawn over Neteyam not too long ago also started to lose their interest. Especially with Zismi's parents informing Neytiri that they were considering another match for their daughter. Neteyam felt relieved by the idea that he didn’t have to reject anyone anymore.

On the other hand, you started noticing more efforts from Mateä. Even though you feared that he wouldn’t act out of jealousy, Mateä seemed to be persistent in seeing you more often than he usually did. Whenever you went for a swim, he was right there with you, trying his best to make you laugh. Whenever you would carry a heavy basket, Mateä sprung to your side to help. Not to mention the beautiful seashells he started to bring you without particular reason. It seemed like any day now, Mateä was going to confess his feelings for you. Neteyam didn’t seem particularly pleased whenever he witnessed your interactions, but you only assumed it was an act. 

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

As you rounded the corner to your marui, you suddenly spotted Neteyam pacing around it. You hesitated to approach him as you could hear him mumbling something under his breath. It was almost like he was practicing some sort of speech. Instead, you carefully lowered yourself into the water and swam closer to your home, hiding just underneath. You were close enough to hear him and avoid being seen. You weren’t going to eavesdrop for long, you just wanted to find out what he’s doing before revealing yourself.

Neteyam suddenly stopped talking, and for a second, you thought that he had spotted you. That is until, Mateä came into your view, stopping by the entrance to your marui. You watch quietly, as the two of them exchange a brief greeting.

“Is Y/N here?” Mateä gestures to the marui, but Neteyam shakes his head, “Oh, I guess I thought she’d be here with you.”

“Why would she be with me?” Neteyam asks, with a slight annoyance in his voice.

“Aren’t you courting her?” Mateä asks, confused, “Or are those just rumors?”

“No, it’s true,” Neteyam seems to get his act back together. For a second, you were worried he would accidentally reveal something, “But Y/N is not tied to me every minute of the day, so…”

“So it is true that you’re not mated yet,” Mateä mumbles under his breath.

“Did you have something to pass to her?” Neteyam asks impatiently, crossing his arms over his chest. What is he doing? 

“Actually, I'd prefer to give it to her myself," Mateä matches his tone, clearly not liking the possessiveness Neteyam radiates. 

“If it’s another thing you want her to make for you, she’s been busy lately,” Neteyam scoffs. 

“It’s not a task, I brought her a gift.”

“Let me guess, more seashells?” Neteyam rolls his eyes. What is wrong with him?

“That’s right, I know how much she likes those,” Mateä steps forward.

Seemingly unfazed, Neteyam takes a step forward as well. You shift, thinking of interrupting them before things start to escalate. But Mateä doesn’t seem to be in the mood for an argument. Instead, he brushes past Neteyam towards your marui. 

"I'll leave them on her table. Tell her I brought them for her when she comes back," Mateä says over his shoulder. "Actually, don’t bother. She'll know they're from me anyway."

Neteyam watches in annoyance as Mateä disappears into your marui. You can almost hear him exhale loudly, trying to calm himself down. Maybe Neteyam’s just having a hard day today, you think. Perhaps something to do with his father? When Mateä comes back out, he leaves without a word.

Quietly, you swim to the back of your marui, and get out of the water. You pause before rounding the corner, and approaching Neteyam. Upon seeing you, he forces a small smile.

“Neteyam,” you greet him.

“Hey, Y/N,” he scratches the back of his head, nervous.

“Are you here for another nap?” you tease him, proceeding into your marui. 

“Actually… no,” he follows you in.

You hum, waiting for him to elaborate, as you start taking out some of the supplies you gathered from your bag. It’s then that your eye catches the beautiful green shells laid out on your table. Neteyam stands awkwardly by the wall, watching your reaction. 

“Who brought those?” you turn to ask him.

“Mateä,” Neteyam answers, “I forgot to mention. He was here earlier to see you.”

“Too bad I missed him,” you say, testing his reaction, “But it’s weird that he hasn’t asked me out yet. What do you think? You’re a guy.”

Neteyam has to physically restrain himself from cringing at your words. It takes him a second to regain his calmness, before putting on that fake voice he uses around his father.

“It is weird. He should have asked you out a long time ago.”

“Maybe he just doesn’t like me enough,” you turn your attention back to the shells.

“Nonsense. He’s just a coward,” you hear him scoff.

Surprised, you look at Neteyam again, studying his face. There is a mix of frustration and shame on his face. It's hard to tell if he's getting possessive over you, or if there's something else that's bothering him. 

"Is everything okay?" you ask softly, trying to gauge his reaction, “You seem to have a problem with Mateä.”

"Everything's fine. Just... he always seems to hang around you lately," he says, his voice trailing off.

“Well, wasn’t that kind of the point?” you gesture between the two of you, referring to the fake courting. 

“I guess,” Neteyam hums, you wait for him to continue, “I just don’t like that he acts like a coward.”

“Maybe if you stop scaring him away…” you mumble under your breath, but he’s quick to catch it.

“You don’t want someone who is so easily intimidated anyway.”

You don’t respond, confused by his behavior. Quietly, you start painting the pot you left unfinished last night. Neteyam falls silent too, watching you. He can’t understand what you see in Mateä. It just doesn't make sense to him. Neteyam also can’t understand why Mateä hasn’t made a move yet. Does he want you to choose him over Neteyam first? Or was he giving you other options, so you don’t have any regrets afterwards?

“You said you wanted something?” you interrupt his thoughts. 

“Um, right,” he clears his throat, “It’s kind of awkward.”

You put down the pot and turn to face him, suspecting that it is going to be something good. 

“What is it?”

“Well… apparently we’re not convincing enough,” he looks down at his feet, awkwardly, “People think that it’s just a rumor, that I’m courting you.”

“A rumor?” you frown, “But we’re hanging out all the time.”

Is he referring to Mateä’s words? Surely, if there was a rumor like that, Tsireya would have mentioned it to you a long time ago. She was keeping you updated. 

“No one ever sees us together outdoors, not after the celebration,” his voice gets a little higher, “I was just thinking that we could take it up by a notch?” 

“Well, what did you have in mind?” you tilt your head, curious. Neteyam’s eyes widen at your quick agreement.

“I take you on a date?”

“A date?” you smile, “Alright.”

A toothy grin spreads across Neteyam’s face at your response, causing your cheeks to flush with heat. You can't help but wonder if the two of you were getting too involved in this, and whether it was going to get in your way. But you can't deny the excitement you feel at the prospect of a date with Neteyam. Even if it’s a pretend one.

“What should I wear?”

“Anything pretty, and don’t worry about ruining it. I won’t take you into the water,” he says confidently, like he has everything planned out already.

“Okay,” you agree, reaching for one of the shell-necklaces you made for yourself. You raise your hand to show it to him, “How about this?”

“Hmm,” Neteyam pretends to think about it, as he leans against the wall.

You watch him with an amused smile stretching your lips. You rarely get to see a playful side of Neteyam but you love it when he acts like this. 

“I think I have to see it on, to decide,” he finally says his verdict, before cracking a smile.

You roll your eyes but comply anyway, walking up to him and shoving the necklace into his hands. As you turn around and move your hair out of the way, Neteyam carefully begins to tie the necklace around your neck. You can feel his hands shake slightly, as he takes his time. When he’s done, and you turn to face him, Neteyam is standing too close to you.

“Do you like it?” you meet his eyes, unable to put a distance between you.

“I do,” he breathes out.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

“Hey, Y/N, just dropping by for that pot. If it’s ready,” Tsireya walks into your marui, catching you off guard.

You had just put on a delicate pearly top you’ve made for yourself a while ago, and were trying to see if the ties in the back were in place. Tsireya gasps at the sight of you, bringing her hands to her mouth. 

“Did you make that?!” she beams at you, “You look beautiful, Y/N, it suits you so much!”

“You think? Not too much?” you quirk your eyebrow, pushing her for the truth. 

“Not at all,” she answers with a knowing look, “Are you going to see Mateä?” 

“No, not Mateä,” you shake your head. Tsireya looks at you confused, and you suddenly feel awkward having to explain yourself, “Neteyam wanted us to have a fake date somewhere public.”

“Oh,” that’s all she says.

It’s easy to see when something is bothering her. After all, you have been friends for a long time, you knew Tsireya like the back of your hand. 

“Just say it,” you urge her to speak.

“I just think that you shouldn’t drag this out for so long.”

“But Neteyam kind of needs me to keep playing into it,” you explain yet she doesn’t seem convinced, “Besides, Mateä has been showing more interest recently, so it works for both of us.”

“It doesn’t work for you and Mateä,” Tsireya disagrees, “You need to drop this, and Neteyam has to speak to Mateä before it’s too late.”

You don’t answer, considering her words. Tsireya is right, perhaps you should wrap this thing up. It was only supposed to be for one night, right? 

“Unless… you like him?” Tsireya looks at you, suspiciously. 

“Who?” your voice hitches.

“Seems like you’re starting to like Neteyam again,” Tsireya lets out with a sigh. She hated keeping things from you, but she also couldn’t lie. 

Your cheeks flush with embarrassment. Deep down, you suspect that she might be right. Neteyam was quickly starting to work his way back into your heart.

“I am just helping him out, Tsireya. There’s nothing between us,” you lie.

“I just think that this is not worth it… you and Mateä can have something really great.”

“The pot is ready, right over there,” you point to your table.

Tsireya throws an apologetic look at you, and picks up the pot, thanking you. She senses that you don’t want to talk about Neteyam anymore, and decides to give you time to think. 

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

“Neteyam?” you frown, as he keeps gawking at you, without a word.

It has been a few moments since he saw you walking out of your marui, and he still hasn't said anything. You begin to feel anxious about your appearance. Is it too revealing? Are the pearls too much? You just wanted to look like you were going on a date.

"You look like a beautiful syulang," he finally breathes out, admiring your look.

“You mean it?” you take a step closer to him.

“I do, you look very pretty,” he confirms, but takes a step back. You notice that he keeps his hands behind his back, as if he's trying to hide something.

"Thank you," you reply, "What do you have back there?"

“Uh, I brought this for you,” he says, bringing forward something wrapped in a large green leaf. 

You can't see what's inside, but you assume it's fragile, given how carefully he held it. As you take it from him and begin to unwrap, Neteyam observes your every move with anticipation.

"You really didn't have to bring me anything, Neteyam," you say, meeting his gaze for a moment, “It's not like a real date anyway.”

"I wanted to," he responds shyly.

As the wrapping comes undone, you see a handful of small, delicate yellow flowers. They're unlike anything you've ever seen before, petals shaped in a unique swirl in the ends. As you bring them closer to examine, you gawk back at Neteyam.

"Let me show you something," he smiles.

Without waiting for your permission, Neteyam takes your hand in his, opening your palm and holding it above the flowers, throwing a shade. The yellow flowers begin to glow with a soft, natural luminescence. 

“How come I’ve never seen these!” you beam, earning a satisfied grin from him, “This is very special, thank you.”

“I’m not a very good diver, so I can’t get you those shells you like,” he confesses, “But I saw these glowing at the top of the mountain when I was flying last night, so I went back for them this morning because I thought you might like them.”

“I don’t need you to bring me shells, Neteyam, these are very special,” you carefully pull him in for a hug with your free hand, trying not to squish the flowers. As Neteyam wraps his arms around your waist, bringing you closer, you close your eyes in comfort.

You were already thinking of ways to preserve the flowers, perhaps gathering some resin, and making jewelry out of them. Or something for your hair? Your marui? 

“I’ll put them into water, so that they don’t die by the time I get back,” you say, pulling back from Neteyam.

“Don’t worry, I can always bring you more,” he smiles.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Pretending with Neteyam had become effortless. As you strolled along the beach, Neteyam and you were just talking, catching up on the things that happened in the past years. Occasionally, you would make him laugh, and it warmed your heart to see him happy like that, carefree. Whenever you would notice someone watching you, Neteyam would ask you to hold hands with him to appear more serious. You agreed, of course, but Tsireya’s words were slowly weighing on you. You were letting it yourself get too invested, meanwhile Neteyam was only pretending.

As he walked you back to your marui, you could sense his growing nervousness.

“I think my neighbors are watching us,” you whisper with a smile, coming to a halt in front of the entrance.

“Are they big on gossip?” Neteyam leans in slightly, like he’s about to tell you a secret.

“Oh, very big,” you chuckle, “They are always asking my mother about you.”

“Maybe we should give them something to talk about,” he gulps down, bringing his face closer to you.

As Neteyam's eyes lock onto yours, you suddenly feel your heart race. You can't deny the tension between you, but you also can't ignore the possibility of this causing more trouble than it's worth. The thought of rumors spreading around the village about you and Neteyam kissing makes your stomach churn. Maybe this is too far. 

“What do you mean, Neteyam?” you manage to ask, captivated by his eyes.

“Can I kiss you?” he whispers, so quietly, like he’s going to scare you away.

“It wouldn’t be a proper date without a kiss,” you mumble. It was supposed to be a joke, a snarky comment, but you sounded so desperate, so impatient to feel him.

Neteyam only nods, his gaze fixed on your lips. He leans in, then hesitates, as if asking for one last permission. You tilt your head slightly, your heart racing in your chest. And when he finally closes the distance between you, you feel his soft, gentle lips on yours. It's so delicate and slow that it feels like a dream, intimate and special.

When you pull away, you notice a small smile resting on his lips. You can’t help but shy away from his gaze, taking a step back.

“Well, I think that was convincing enough,” you joke, trying to sound nonchalant about it.

“Thank you for tonight, Y/N,” he says, straightening up, “Have a sound sleep.”

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Your sleep wasn’t sound at all. You tossed and turned on your mat throughout the night, much to the annoyance of your parents. Your eyes kept being drawn to the bowl of flowers, casting a soft glow in the darkness. It reminded you of stupid Neteyam, of his stupid lips, and stupid captivating golden eyes that glowed the same way under the moonlight. You couldn't get him out of your head, and it was starting to drive you crazy.

Tsireya's warning echoed in your mind - this pretend relationship with Neteyam was going too far. You knew you had to have a serious conversation with him and move on with the final stage of the plan: turn him down. If not, you could ruin your chances of finding a real relationship. Without Neteyam.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Early in the morning, with a determined stride, you make your way to the beach, where you spot Neteyam, training with his father and a group of guys. You don’t think through what you’re going to do, when Jake suddenly notices you. 

“Good morning, Y/N,” he says, drawing everyone’s attention to you, “Anything I can help you with?”

You greet them, and gulp down, easily finding Neteyam’s curious gaze on you. Well, you have come so far, why not just get it over with?

“Can I speak to Neteyam for a moment? It won’t take long,” you turn to Jake.

Jake purses his lips, but nods at Neteyam, giving him a sign to go. He approaches you with a worried look on his face.

“Is something wrong?” 

“No, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your training,” you apologize.

Neteyam obliges, when you lead him away from the beach, to talk in private. It’s still early, so most of the clan is asleep. You feel nervous under his patient gaze but you know it has to be done.

“I wanted to talk to you about us,” you begin. Neteyam nods, encouraging you to go on, “I know there’s still a week until the hunting festivities, and I promised to help you till then, but I don’t think I can.”

Neteyam’s eyes widen slightly, but he remains calm.

“Do you want us to stop pretending?” he asks softly.

“Yes, I think it’s for the best if we stop now. If we keep going on dates and…kissing, it might give people the wrong idea, and I don’t want that,” you answer, trying to keep your voice steady.

He looks down at his hands for a moment, thinking. You don’t interrupt him. He’s probably just trying to come up with the best way of telling his parents. He doesn’t seem saddened that he won’t be forced to spend time with you anymore. You’re the idiot who fell for her fake boyfriend.

“I understand, Y/N,” Neteyam finally says, meeting your eyes, “Thank you for helping me so far.”

“It’s fine,” you let out a breath, “Then it is decided. And Neteyam��we have to keep our distance from now on.”

Neteyam watches, as you walk away with a mixture of feelings. You're relieved, yet also disappointed that the fake relationship is over. You can't help but wonder if things could have been different between you and Neteyam, if only circumstances were different. 

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

The following days seem to stretch with a painful slowness. You feel lost, with a constant sense of longing that follows you like a shadow. The realization that you had fallen head over heels for Neteyam and can’t be with him hits you hard. You feel stupid but you can't help thinking about him all the time, trying to carry on with your day-to-day tasks. But it seems like everything is taking more effort than it used to.

Every now and then, you catch a glimpse of Neteyam from afar, and he looks just as sad as you feel. You can't help but wonder if he's just putting on a show for the sake of the rumors, to make it believable. You wish you could just talk but avoiding him is the right thing to do for now. 

And as suspected, it doesn’t take long for rumors about you turning him down to start spreading throughout the clan. People notice that you two aren’t spending time together anymore and are avoiding each other. It is ironic, how they think that it's Neteyam going through a heartbreak, when in reality it is you. 

When Tsireya comes to congratulate you on the successful plan, she tells you that Mateä has heard the rumors and was preparing to confess to you. But you don’t want Mateä anymore. Instead of sharing Tsireya’s excitement, you can’t hold back any longer, and break down in front of her, confessing your true feelings for Neteyam. It is freeing to finally let it out, to have someone to confide in. As she comforts you, it feels like you are friends again, if only for a moment.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

You got ready a long time ago. Your hair decorated with feathers and beads, face painted with white ceremonial patterns. In a few hours you would be joining the rest of the clan, to wish a farewell to the Metkayina hunters. The Tsahik would bless them with a prayer to Eywa, and after you sing your songs, the young men will leave. It was a tradition in your clan, that at the beginning of each year, the young hunters would travel by the water to an unfamiliar land. It was a test that every hunter had to pass, to learn to adapt in every situation and be able to stand for himself and for his allies. Sometimes, it would take them a few days to return back with a prey. Sometimes, it would last a full moon. It depended on Eywa’s guidance, and the hunters couldn’t return without receiving a blessing first.

Despite the value it held, the passage was still dangerous. It was painful for you to recall the instances when the groups returned with wounded or missing Na’vi. And although you were aware that it was Neteyam’s third time going on the hunt, you couldn't help but feel worried sick for him. Tonight, with the rest of your clan, you had to show your support, but your mind was contemplating not showing up at all. You didn’t want to see his face, afraid that it might make your heart break further. 

There was still time for the ceremony, as you wandered off to the water, trying to calm down your nerves. It would be disrespectful not to go, you had to show up and pray to Eywa that she keeps Neteyam safe and sound. You’re so deep in your thoughts, it takes you a second to notice Mateä sitting down next to you. You force a small smile to greet him.

“Excited for tonight?” he gestures to the extra pieces of ceremonial clothing you’re wearing on your arms and legs.

“Just wanted to be ready in time,” you’re not sure how to respond. You knew Mateä your whole life, yet it feels awkward to be with him alone. 

“I heard that you turned down the son of Toruk Makto,” Mateä emphasizes, you hum, “I will not lie to you, at first, when I heard about it, I was relieved. I thought that he doesn’t deserve you. But seeing you like this… it saddens me. I do not wish for you to be unhappy.”

“Thank you, Mateä,” you hang your head at his words. 

“Listen, Y/N,” he says softly, “We have known each other since we were babies. And while I curse myself for not spending more of my time with you back then, I do not want to regret this chance too.”

You meet his eyes again, nervously. You knew him pretty well. When Mateä was sure about something, he confronted it head on. Whether it was a rejection or an acceptance, he wished to know the truth in order to move on. 

“I always had my eye on you, Y/N,” he confesses, “What I didn’t realize that it was not just in a way one would look after their friend. It is shameful to admit but… it took me seeing you with another man to understand the true nature of my feelings. I like you, Y/N, and I wish to know if you feel the same way.”

You gulp down, tears filling up your eyes. The man you thought you could spend your life with was finally opening his heart to you, yet you didn’t want it. Your own heart belonged to somebody else. Oh Eywa, why couldn’t you enjoy what you had wished for?

“Don’t cry,” Mateä whispers, noticing the tears rolling down your cheeks, “Your heart belongs to him, doesn’t it?”

You can see the brave face he puts on, as you slowly nod your head. You feel so guilty and ashamed for admitting it to him. Mateä was really one of the only people in your life that you valued, and you were hurting him.

“I’m sorry,” you sniff, “If there was a way for me to make this better…”

“You don’t have to apologize, just don’t cry, okay?” he reaches out to wipe away your tears, and you nod again, “That is enough for me.”

You don’t feel like you even deserve his attention right now. 

“Mateä, if I could take away the pain that I’m causing, you know I would in an instant,” you mean it.

"I know, Y/N. But you can't help who you love," he says softly, "Regardless of what you choose to do, just promise me that we can still be friends, alright?"

"Of course, Mateä, you mean a lot to me," you nod, grateful.

"Good,” he stands up with a small smile, “Now, let's go. We don't want to be late."

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

You quietly take a seat next to Tsireya, who is anxiously watching Lo’ak from a distance. Despite knowing how important it is for Lo’ak to partake in the tradition, she can’t help but feel worried for him. You lay your hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

“Lo’ak is a skilled hunter. You know that Jake takes training very seriously,” you reassure her.

“You’re right,” she nods her head, then turns to face you, “You came with Mateä... Did you talk?”

You nod, pursing your lips together. It’s not difficult for Tsireya to realize what happened. It was only logical that you would reject Mateä because of your feelings for Neteyam.

“Oh, Y/N,” she lets out, pulling you in for a hug. You feel like it’s comforting not only you, but also her.

As the rhythm of the log drums slowly picks up, everyone falls quiet. The Tsahik makes her way to an open space, and the hunters quickly surround her in a circle, kneeling down. It’s then that you see Neteyam, wearing his headpiece and armor, with bow and arrows attached to his back. You can’t help but feel a twinge of worry for him but you push the feeling aside, afraid that it might ruin his luck. 

When the Tsahik’s voice fills the air with a praying chant, the hunters begin to sway in unison, seeking the blessing and guidance of Eywa for their upcoming journey. With the rhythm of the log drums, you find yourself lost in the moment too, closing your eyes and letting yourself be carried away. 

Eventually, when Tsahik stops, the hunters rise to their feet. As per practice, they must bid farewell to their loved ones, in case they may not return. You can’t help but feel nervous because this part of the ceremony is usually long, and Tsahik allows everyone to take their time. You know that soon enough you will watch Neteyam making his way to his family, and it hurts to know that he won’t be saying goodbye to you too. With every passing second, you feel more anxious, and all you want to do is get away from there. So, when the rest of the clan starts moving, you stand up to leave without even looking in his direction. 

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

You rush through the trees, making your way into a small clearing, illuminated by the moonlight. You take a moment to breathe in and out with the sounds of nature, and eventually calm yourself down. When suddenly you hear a rustling of the leaves. 

Your heart skips a beat as you see Neteyam making his way to you, with a mix of concern and confusion. 

“Y/N, why did you run off?” he asks, as soon as he’s close enough for you to hear.

“Doesn’t matter,” you dismiss him, “Why are you here? You should be with your family now.”

“I already talked to my family,” Neteyam comes closer, and your breath catches in your throat, “But I couldn't leave without saying goodbye to you.”

“Neteyam,” you’re so confused at his behavior. Did he feel guilty because you looked upset? He shouldn’t be here with you right now.

“Y/N, why did you reject Mateä?” he asks suddenly, catching you off guard, “Tsireya told me.”

You don’t answer, holding his gaze. He hated rejecting girls, you can’t burden him now, before his hunt.

“Was it because of me?” he pushes.

“It does not matter, Neteyam,” you try to brush him off, “You have a hunt ahead of you, you shouldn’t be here right now. Shouldn’t be making your night about my stupid actions.”

“How can I not make this about you?” he says, irritated, “Everything is about you now, Y/N. Every moment of every night and day, doesn’t matter what I’m doing, my mind is occupied with the thoughts of you!”

“W-what?” you stutter, caught off guard.

“So for you to tell me ‘it doesn’t matter’ if you rejected Mateä for me… Of course, it matters. It matters to me, because... Because I see you,” he lets out, breathing loudly.

You stare in confusion, as Neteyam’s eyes jump all over your face, searching for a reaction. All you can do is think about how much you wanted him to say those words to you. To tell you how much he liked you, longed for you, the same way you did for him.

“I see you too, Neteyam,” you manage to whisper, reaching your hand to cup his cheek.

A loving smile breaks on his face, when Neteyam pulls you in for a kiss. He is so desperate to touch you, to know that it’s real. You’re real. Happiness overwhelms you, as you smile against his lips, your hands gently cupping his face. 

“I’m yours,” he whispers, resting his forehead against yours.

“I’m yours forever,” you whisper back.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Did my best to upload this before my job interview tomorrow, so by the time I come back, I want you to leave your comments and tags!!! Seriously, I love that shit, it makes my heart melt. Especially when you submit questions

my 30k enemies to lovers fic (neteyam x ta'unui reader)

taglist: @ancientbeing10, @anm3mi ; @lovergirl-3000 ; @sunjayist ; @rensbby ; @okaylorrainee ; @cappsikle ; @raeeahn ; @yawneneteyam ; @oh-austin ; @midlife-crisisperson ; @teyums

[corroded-hellfire]

Gimme A Break - Eddie Munson x Reader

An As You Wish Story

Collaboration with my beloved @munson-blurbs

Summary: A trip to the grocery store has you running into some familiar faces--and one not so friendly.

Note: Let Brittany bashing commence!

Warnings: talk of body image

Words: 2k

[As You Wish masterlist]

In your opinion, there’s no such concept as a bad time for soup. The dead of winter, the stifling heat of summer��it’s all good. 

The fall weather that’s rolled into Hawkins has inspired you to try your hand at making some from scratch, bringing you to Bradley’s Big Buy on a Sunday afternoon. You’re inspecting a bag of carrots for freshness and tossing them in the cart haphazardly when you feel a sudden thump against your leg. 

“Wha—” you start, ready to confront whoever was careless enough to ram into you. Your scowl immediately softens when you see the two smiling faces looking up at you. “Oh, hi boys!”

Luke, unsurprisingly, is the one who ran into you at full speed. Ryan is a few paces behind his bull-in-a-china-shop brother, but his expression is equally happy. 

You crouch down to give each of them a hug. The way they both wrap their arms around you radiates love’s warmth, and it melts your heart. 

“Are you buying anything good?” you ask, knowing they’ll be wholly unimpressed with your basket full of vegetables. 

Luke nods vigorously. “CHICKEN NUGGETS!” He bellows, drawing irate glares from nearby shoppers. “Daddy has a cool-pon.”

“It’s coupon,” Ryan says with a gentle roll of his eyes. 

You’re still stuck on the mention of their dad. Eddie’s here? And you don’t have on a lick of makeup—of course. 

“Where is Daddy?” you ask, looking up and down the aisle in the unlikely event that you missed him. 

“He’s uh…” Luke trails off, scrunching his nose as he searches for his dad. Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” crinkles over the PA system after being interrupted by a call for assistance in the frozen food department as Brittany appears at the end of the aisle.

An irritated voice calls out from the end of the aisle. “What’s taking you two so—oh. You’re here.” Brittany crosses her arms over her chest, huffing out an impatient sigh when she spots you. 

Luke pipes up, still attached to your leg. “We can’t find the asper-, uh, aparag, the um…”

“Asparagus,” Brittany corrects him as if the five-year-old should be able to pronounce words perfectly by this age.

“Oh,” you say, turning to exactly where you know the asparagus is. “Here you go.”

Ryan gladly takes it from you with a grin. Huh, maybe there is a Munson who shares your affinity for veggies. It certainly isn’t Luke—or Eddie, for that matter. 

“You’re the best!” he says cheerfully, placing it in the cart that Brittany’s been pushing.

“Boys.” It almost sounds like she’s admonishing them for being kind to you. She looks at you with unkind eyes. “Maybe you should work here instead of for us,” she says, trying to play it off as a joke, but you can tell there’s some underlying threat. 

Luke is not amused by this, his little fingers digging into your leg as he clutches onto your jeans even tighter. “No! She has to be our babysitter forever and ever!” He pouts, eyes welling up with tears at the mere mention of you leaving. 

“Maybe not forever,” Ryan points out, always the practical one, “because one day we’ll be grown-ups with our own kids—”

“And then she can babysit them!” Luke declares, proud of his idea, loosening his grip on you. 

Brittany shakes her head, immediately eschewing the notion. “C’mon, let’s get going,” she says tersely. “Dad’s gonna be wondering where we are.” The cruel curl of her lip serves as a painful reminder of what’s hers; more specifically, what isn’t yours. 

As if on cue, Eddie meanders out from a nearby aisle, a canister of quick oats tucked under his arm. He’s wearing gray sweatpants that lay low on his hips and leave little to the imagination. Somehow on this brisk autumn day you have sweat beading along the back of your neck as you take him in.

“You’re So Vain” fades out on the speakers above, only to start playing the infectious opening notes of “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel.

“Britt, I couldn’t find the old-fashioned kind, but will this—oh, hey,” Eddie says, stopping in his tracks to acknowledge you. “You here to make sure these gremlins don’t lock themselves in the ice cream freezer?”

Luke grins, lets go of your leg, and takes your hand proudly in his as if it was somehow all his doing that you’re here in the grocery store the same time as they are. 

“Hi,” you greet before realizing you have a dopey smile on your face. “Uh, yeah. And it seems like I got here just in time. This one here almost had the lid off a rocky road before I caught him.” You shake Luke’s small hand in your own for emphasis and the boy wrinkles his nose up at you, the spitting image of his father.

Eddie chuckles and goes to respond, but his wife cuts him off.

“I guess those oats will work,” she says as she takes the canister from him—or snatches it, more like. “Come on, we didn’t even get to the dairy section yet.”

“Or,” Luke ventures, his hand gripping yours tighter in the chill air of the produce section, “we could get a cow in the backyard and get our milk that way.”

Eddie chuckles. “Hard pass, little man. We had to bring in reinforcement just to handle you and your brother.” He looks over and winks at you. 

It takes all of your strength and will power not to immediately vomit right then and there at the wink. Such a simple gesture from this man has you ready to lose all control of your body. 

Brittany huffs, clearly annoyed at the interaction. How dare anyone be having a conversation in her presence that doesn’t revolve around her? 

“Well, we need to keep shopping.” Brittany turns on her heel, spotting a red bag of fun-size KitKats in her husband’s other hand. “And put that back. The last thing you need is more junk food.” Her eyes flit down to his stomach, which has softened with time and a steady diet of pretzels and Mountain Dew.

The tips of Eddie’s ears turn pink, and he tries to hide them behind his curls. He clears his throat, the whole time avoiding your eyes, and tosses the KitKat bag onto an empty spot of a nearby shelf. He’s clearly embarrassed, but you’re seeing red. Fury scorches you from the inside out and it’s so potent that it might just dry up some of the vegetables around you. There have been many times in the past where you’ve wanted to tell Brittany off, but this one takes the cake. The callous yet truthful words rest on the tip of your tongue, but you know it would only make the mess bigger for everyone involved. You don’t want to add any extra stress for Eddie. Brittany is the one who should be embarrassed for treating her husband that way, not Eddie. That man is drop dead gorgeous and he still would be if he inhaled a bag of those KitKats every single day. 

Leave it to Luke to break the tension that he wasn’t even aware of was surrounding them all on this produce aisle. The young boy spies a can of spinach on the shelf and snatches it up, staring at it with wide eyes.

“Will this make me strong like Popeye?!”

“Sure, sweetie,” Brittany says, not paying any attention to her youngest son whatsoever. 

Brittany turns and heads towards the end of the aisle, no goodbye to you, no saying where she’s going, just leaving and assuming the guys will follow behind her. 

“We’ll see you tomorrow after school, right?” Ryan asks, bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet.

“I’ll be there,” you assure him, booping the tip of his nose. He gives you a quick, strong hug around your middle.

Luke, still holding on to the can of spinach, blows you an overdramatic kiss which you pretend to almost drop into a bed of lettuce. The little boy giggles and it’s one of the best sounds you’ve ever heard. 

Eddie takes a step closer to you, still feeling the sting of embarrassment, and speaks in a soft voice. “We, uh, should get going.” Eddie clears his throat. It kills you to see how Brittany zaps the life out of him. “I’ll—we’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

“I’ll be there,” you promise once again. 

Eddie offers you a small smile before turning to his sons. 

“All right, come on. Let’s catch on up to Mom.”

The boys don’t look too enthused about that, and it warms your heart that they’d rather stay here and hangout with you. 

“Bye guys,” you say, waving to all three of them as they head down the aisle.

Once they’re gone you heave a heavy sigh. Being in Brittany’s presence for two minutes was exhausting enough, you have no idea how those three manage to live with her.

You try to refocus on your shopping, however impossible that might seem now. When you’re checking over the items you already have and look back up at the shelves, you spot the red KitKat bag that Eddie had wanted to buy. There’s no hesitation at all to pick it up and add it to your pile of groceries.

The Munson car isn’t hard to spot as you step out into the parking lot of the store. You see it almost every day and the gorgeous, familiar looking man loading groceries into the trunk is also a huge indicator. 

Not surprisingly, Brittany is in the car while Eddie does all the work. The boys are in the backseat and from what you can make out of their silhouettes, they’re arguing with one another. They’re kids, they’d probably be more of a hindrance than help to Eddie. But Brittany could at least be doing something. 

Steeling your nerves, you take a deep breath and head over to him. 

“Eddie?”

His head whips around. “Hey,” he says with a small smile. “Everything okay?”

“Mhm,” you nod, summoning all of your courage and handing him the candy. “You left these on the shelf.” You try to play it off casually, but the slight tremble in your voice gives your nervousness away. 

He starts to take them but pulls back. “I probably shouldn’t,” he mumbles, shoving his hand into his pocket. “Britt’s been on me to lose the ‘dad weight’ for a while.”

You shake your head, mostly to keep from opening your mouth and saying something about his wife that you’ll regret.

“I think you look good,” you say. “Um, like, you don’t need to lose any weight.” You’re perfect the way you are, you ache to tell him, but you shouldn’t. You can’t. 

Eddie senses that you have words unspoken, but he doesn’t press further. “Well, um, thanks.” He takes the bag and opens it, grabbing two before giving it back to you. “Can’t get caught,” he explains with a laugh. 

You grin at him, an idea already taking form. “I’ll bring one each day I babysit. Sneak it in like contraband.”

“As long as the boys don’t find it first,” Eddie chuckles, crossing his arms over his chest. “The last thing they need is more sugar.”

You agree with a laugh. “Deal.”

Eddie tucks the KitKats into his jacket pocket. 

“Thank you, by the way,” he says softly. 

“No problem. Just some candy,” you shrug. 

He shakes his head. “No, it…” he trails off. “Just…thank you.”

You smile as he ducks into the driver’s seat, and you walk back to your own car. As you pack up the back with your groceries, you mentally calculate how long this bag of KitKats will last if you bring Eddie one every day that you work. You purse your lips as you slam the trunk closed.

“That’s not nearly long enough for my liking,” you mumble to yourself as you slip into the driver’s seat.

Once you put the key in the ignition, the car rumbles to life and the purr of the engine sounds like it’s coming from your brain as it churns out an idea. 

You smile to yourself and shift your car into gear.

“Guess I’ll just have to buy some more bags of candy.”

[aviiarie]

˚ ₊ ‧ ♡ UNLIKELY COMPANION — feat. kyojuro event masterlist.

synopsis. you're certain that the creature that keeps visiting you is something completely inhuman, but you don't mind. he seems quite fond of you, and always tries his best to look after you, so who are you to complain? warnings. none? notes. requested by anon. demon!kyojuro. gn!reader. fluff? 1.7k words. i hope this is okay, i wasn't sure about this one but i couldn't keep editing it T-T

The first thing you were taught was fear.

Fear came in the form of caution, learnt through a thousand tales of reckless children and their inevitable demises. Those who ventured out of their home when the sun fell, who dared to stray from the path when walking in the forest, were whispered about like ghost stories. Your elders made sure the horrors were never forgotten, always lurking in the back of your mind like cobwebs.

So you learnt, and learnt well. You heeded their advice, and kept your house locked up before you slept, lighting the lanterns outside, and burning wisteria incense to ward off any stray evils.

It wasn't an infallible defense, but it was better than nothing, they said. Anything less would be like offering yourself up like a piece of meat on a platter.

The cause of the fear, the ones who were waiting to snatch up unsuspecting humans and tear them to shreds, those were less certain in your mind. All that was really known was the trail that they left behind; massacres of entire families, young men and women vanishing without a trace, bloodstains splattered across the forest floor.

'Demons' was what they were called.

They were what kept people barricaded inside their houses, huddled under blankets and fearing the moonlight poking through the cracks in their windows. The bloodthirsty creatures emerged at sundown, feasting on human flesh, and retreating before dawn. They were stronger, faster, and much more deadly than any other danger a human could face.

The village was right to fear them, and so were you.

Once, the idea of walking through the forest in the dead of night would have given you a heart attack. Now, it had become just another part of your day.

It was simply too much of a good opportunity to pass on. Collecting herbs and plants to sell was what kept food on your table, and some of the most sought after greenery bloomed only at night. The risk was high, but in times of desperation as strong as yours, common sense was disregarded. You weren't a kid anymore, and you needed some sort of income to keep yourself afloat.

Most would—and have, for that matter—called you mad for your little 'hobby'. Hunting plants in demon-infested woods at night was equal to plucking the whiskers off a tiger's face as it's sleeping.

“Do you have a death wish?” The doctor asked with a shake of his head. He accepted the herbs graciously, offering a generous sum for your effort, but still scolded you for your actions. “What sense do you have, going out at night alone?”

You smiled and waved him off every time, assuring him that you were careful, and you weren't in any danger. You never bothered to correct him that you weren't alone, but you doubted the truth would be any comfort to the man.

-----

As always, you felt him before you saw him.

The first sign was the wind—which was as howling and brutal a late-night breeze could be—suddenly going still. You paused in where you were crouched over a crop of flowers, hand still poised and ready to pluck them from the soil.

The next sign was a sudden warmth behind you, like a forest fire was creeping up at your back. It was a cold night—or it was up until he appeared, leaving a pleasant heat in his wake.

Finally, if you hadn't put the pieces together, his booming voice confirmed any lingering doubts.

“[Name]! I see you are still collecting plants!”

A smile broke over your face, even before you saw him. You grabbed a handful of the flowers and tossed them into your bag, straightening up and turning to face him.

“I am,” You agreed pleasantly. “I see you're back.”

He was grinning back at you, eyes wide and bright. You found yourself studying them, watching his irises shift and swirl in shades of yellow and orange, like there was a bonfire burning behind his eyes.

At a first glance, he wasn't anything out of the ordinary. There were no obvious abnormalities, no inhuman features that would prove he's anything less than a perfectly normal man. It was only when you looked closer that you noticed he never seemed to blink, his teeth were unusually sharp, and his skin was always burning when you touched it.

You would have to be a fool, spending as much time around him as you had and not suspecting him to be something otherworldly, but you didn't let it trouble you. Even if he was the creature that you were warned about, he didn't seem like he had any intention of harming you.

Even after what you were taught, it was difficult to see him as someone to fear, when the very first time you had met him was through him saving your life.

On one of your first visits to the forest, you had stumbled into one of the 'demons' that you were warned about. You had enough wits to drop your bag and bolt towards the town, but you could hear heavy footsteps behind you, getting closer and closer.

In the end, the strain on your lungs slowed you down, until you were collapsed heavily against a tree, with nowhere left to run. You squeezed your eyes shut, waiting for the moment that the demon would tear you to shreds.

It never came.

Slowly, you opened your eyes and glanced around, still wheezing from the exertion. There was no sound or sign of a struggle, it was as if the creature had gotten spooked and run away.

But what could possibly scare away a demon?

That was when you saw him, stepping out of the trees with your bag held loosely in one of his hands. He looked over at you with owlish eyes, unblinking as he held out the item you had lost.

“I believe this is yours.”

Numbly, you took the offered bag, still leaning against the tree trunk. The man stepped back, smiling widely.

“Call me Kyojuro!” He proclaimed, his voice echoing through the quiet clearing.

“I-It's nice to meet you, Kyojuro.” You had stammered out, still reeling from the close call. “My name is [Name].”

“You should not be here!” He continued, as if you hadn't spoken at all. “There are more dangers than losing your belongings, you know!”

You only nodded, still in shock.

After that, he walked you back to your house, making you promise to not to explore the forest at night anymore. You were careful with your response, instead vowing that you wouldn't get into danger like that again. When he waved you goodbye, there was a strange curl of warmth in your chest that you couldn't quite place.

Of course, it wasn't your last visit to the forest, much to Kyojuro's chagrin. He managed to find you every time, chiding you for coming back even after his warning. Every time, he would accompany you as you collected plants, and every time he would walk you home.

There was a hint of fear, for a while, but it wore off easily. While his unwavering gaze and loud voice unnerved you at first, he was a warm, steady presence that you found yourself craving, even during the daytime. He wasn't violent, or unpredictable, as you had been led to believe creatures of his kind were.

If anything, he seemed oddly fond of you.

It showed in strange ways, but the way he always made sure you arrived home safe, and the times he would leave bento boxes on your doorstep to discover in the mornings, and the genuine care in his voice when he inquired about your well-being told you more than words ever could.

“I have returned, yes!” Kyojuro nodded. “I apologise for my absence. It has been a busy few days.”

“I don't mind,” You reassured him. The wind brushed against your face, making you shiver. “I've been busy too, I haven't been foraging much.”

“That is—” He cut himself off abruptly, the smile sliding off his face. In two quick strides, he crossed the clearing and was right in front of you. “You are cold.”

“It's just the wind.” You pulled your haori tighter around yourself.

“You are cold.” Kyojuro's voice was more distressed than you have ever heard it. He reached out his hand, pressing it against your cheek. His skin, as burning hot as it always was, was a welcomed relief on your cold face. Unconsciously, you found yourself leaning into the touch.

“It's not that bad, really—”

“No. You are too cold. Have you collected enough for tonight?”

“I guess, but—”

“Good.”

Without another word, he leaned down and scooped you up in his arms as if you were weightless. With a gasp, you clutched onto his sleeve, as he adjusted his position so he was carrying you with one hand under your knees and the other supporting your back.

“Kyojuro!” You hissed, your face growing warm in embarrassment. “I can walk, I don't need to be carried!”

Kyojuro clicked his tongue in disapproval, calmly walking back through the path of the forest towards your house. “I disagree. With how long you've spent out in the cold night air, you might be sick. I wouldn't want you collapsing before you get home.”

You scowled into his chest. As flustered as the sudden gesture made you, you could see the care behind it. It was his way of taking care of you, or at least you assumed it was.

And it was difficult to be annoyed, when he was so warm, and you were still so cold from being out all night. Leaning against him was like curling up by a fire; it was enough to lull you into a gentle slumber.

It was only when you arrived home that you stirred, as he laid you down on your bed to sleep, pulling the sheet up to your chin.

“Goodnight, [Name].” Kyojuro said, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear.

“Goodnight...” You mumbled.

If this was what you were supposed to fear, then you didn't mind ignoring the warnings.

🏷️ taglist: @mollzaj, @mitsvriii, @an-angstyteen

© aviiarie 2024. do not copy, repost, translate or use my work to train ai

[olrastrologytarot]

Lilith: Kissed by Shame, Mothered by Darkness, Empowered by Self

Black Moon Lilith, often simply referred to as Lilith, is a fascinating and complex figure in both astrology and mythology. She represents a point of mystery, power, and the darker aspects of the human psyche. While Lilith’s roots are steeped in ancient mythology, her significance in astrology as the Black Moon Lilith has become an important aspect of modern astrological interpretation. This essay will explore the history of Lilith, her mythological origins, and her astrological significance, particularly in relation to the Black Moon Lilith.

The Mythological Origins of Lilith

Lilith's mythological origins are diverse, with traces found in ancient Sumerian, Babylonian, and Hebrew traditions. She is often depicted as a demoness or a figure of rebellion and independence, which has contributed to her complex and somewhat controversial legacy.

Sumerian and Babylonian Roots:

The earliest known references to Lilith appear in Sumerian and Babylonian mythology, where she is associated with dark spirits or demons, particularly those that preyed on pregnant women and infants. In these traditions, Lilith is often portrayed as a night demon, symbolizing chaos, danger, and untamed feminine power.

Hebrew Mythology:

In Hebrew mythology, Lilith becomes a more defined character. The most well-known account of Lilith comes from Jewish folklore, particularly in the medieval text known as the Alphabet of Ben-Sira. According to this story, Lilith was Adam's first wife, created from the same earth as him. Unlike Eve, who was made from Adam's rib, Lilith was Adam's equal. However, Lilith refused to submit to Adam, particularly in matters of sexual dominance, and left the Garden of Eden to live in exile. As a result, she was demonized, often depicted as a mother of demons or a seductress who endangered men and children.

Feminist Interpretations:

In more recent times, Lilith has been reinterpreted by feminist scholars and writers as a symbol of female independence, empowerment, and sexual liberation. Her refusal to submit to Adam is seen as an assertion of her autonomy, and her subsequent demonization is viewed as a reflection of patriarchal fears of strong, independent women.

The Astrological Significance of Black Moon Lilith

In astrology, Lilith is not a physical celestial body but rather a mathematical point known as the Black Moon Lilith. This point represents the lunar apogee, the farthest point in the Moon's orbit around the Earth. Astrologically, Black Moon Lilith is associated with themes of power, sexuality, rebellion, and the unconscious.

Symbolism of Black Moon Lilith:

Black Moon Lilith is often associated with the darker, hidden aspects of the psyche. It represents repressed desires, taboo topics, and the shadow side of the self that is often denied or ignored. This placement can indicate where an individual might struggle with issues of power, control, and autonomy, or where they may feel marginalized or misunderstood.

Lilith in the Natal Chart:

The position of Black Moon Lilith in an individual’s natal chart is significant in understanding their relationship with these darker aspects of the psyche. It can reveal areas of life where one might face challenges related to independence, sexuality, and empowerment. For instance, a strong Lilith placement might indicate a person who is intensely independent, rebellious, or drawn to explore taboo subjects. Conversely, it could also signify areas where one might feel oppressed or where there is a need to reclaim power and autonomy.

Lilith in Transits and Progressions:

In transits and progressions, Black Moon Lilith can trigger events or internal shifts related to its themes. These periods may bring issues of power dynamics, autonomy, and repressed emotions to the forefront, often compelling individuals to confront aspects of themselves that they might usually keep hidden.

Lilith in Synastry:

In relationship astrology, Lilith can play a significant role in understanding the dynamics between partners. When Lilith is strongly aspected in synastry (the comparison of two natal charts), it can indicate a relationship marked by intense passion, power struggles, or issues of control and domination. Lilith’s presence in synastry can also signify a deep, magnetic attraction, often rooted in the exploration of taboo or forbidden aspects of the relationship.

The Dark Feminine Archetype

Lilith is often considered an embodiment of the "dark feminine," a concept that encompasses the more shadowy aspects of femininity that are often suppressed or feared in patriarchal societies. This archetype includes qualities like independence, sexuality, and a refusal to conform to traditional roles or expectations.

Rejection of Traditional Roles:

Lilith’s refusal to submit to Adam in the Garden of Eden can be seen as a rejection of traditional gender roles. She represents the feminine that is not passive or submissive but rather assertive and autonomous. This aspect of Lilith challenges the conventional expectations of femininity, making her a powerful symbol for those who seek to challenge societal norms.

Sexual Autonomy:

Lilith’s association with sexuality is another key aspect of her archetype. She represents sexual autonomy and the right to express one’s desires without shame or guilt. In astrology, Lilith’s placement can reveal how an individual relates to their own sexuality, including any issues of repression, shame, or power dynamics.

Shadow Work:

Lilith is also closely connected to the concept of shadow work, which involves exploring the unconscious or hidden aspects of the self. By confronting these shadowy aspects, individuals can achieve greater self-awareness and personal growth. Lilith’s energy can be challenging, but it offers the potential for profound transformation and empowerment.

Black Moon Lilith and Modern Astrology

In modern astrology, Black Moon Lilith has gained increasing significance as astrologers explore its role in the natal chart and its impact on an individual’s life. Lilith’s themes of power, sexuality, and the unconscious resonate with many people who seek to understand the deeper, often hidden aspects of their personality.

Empowerment Through Astrology:

Many modern astrologers view Lilith as a tool for empowerment. By understanding Lilith’s placement in the natal chart, individuals can gain insight into areas of their life where they may feel disempowered or where they need to assert their autonomy. Lilith encourages individuals to embrace their true selves, including the parts that are often hidden or repressed.

Lilith in Popular Culture:

Lilith has also become a popular figure in contemporary culture, often appearing in literature, music, and art. She is frequently depicted as a symbol of female empowerment, sexual liberation, and rebellion against patriarchal norms. This cultural resurgence of Lilith reflects a growing interest in the themes she represents and her relevance in today’s society.

Psychological Astrology:

In psychological astrology, Lilith is often explored in the context of the unconscious mind. Her placement can indicate areas where psychological issues may arise, such as unresolved trauma, repressed desires, or conflicts related to power and control. By working with Lilith’s energy, individuals can confront these issues and work towards healing and self-acceptance.

Conclusion

Black Moon Lilith is a powerful and complex figure in both mythology and astrology. Her mythological origins as a demoness or rebellious first woman reflect deep-seated cultural fears and conflicts surrounding female autonomy and sexuality. In astrology, Lilith represents the darker, hidden aspects of the psyche, including issues of power, sexuality, and independence. Her significance in the natal chart offers insights into the areas of life where individuals may need to confront and embrace these aspects of themselves. As a symbol of the dark feminine, Lilith challenges traditional gender roles and encourages individuals to explore and reclaim their power. Whether viewed through the lens of mythology, astrology, or modern feminist interpretations, Lilith remains a compelling and influential figure in the exploration of the human experience.

[forjongseong]

bite me // jay (ENHYPEN)

pairing: knight!jay x princess!reader

genre: royalty!au, fantasy, smut (minors dni) // warning: profanity, mentions of death, unprotected sex, a lot of biting // wc: ~6k

summary: a knight stumbles upon your castle, and unlike anyone you have encountered before, this young man seems to have a scent that you somehow cannot resist.

author’s note: I'm going to be quite honest with you, this fic is long overdue. I planned on releasing it BEFORE enhypen's comeback, since the idea came after I watched their mini-movie where Jay literally got his neck bitten by the actress but moods come and go, ideas appear and fade, so here you go.

initially it was also inspired by their concept pics, the Full ver. of their Dark Blood album, and I also thought of an alternate version (where Jay is the castle resider instead and y/n is the traveler/knight, let me know if that's something you might be interested in).

warning, though, this one might feel a little choppy, a bit hasty, and all over the place. my excuse is that I am drunk in love with Jay, and I take full responsibility.

no taglist this time, I shall let people find this fic on their own.

if you're here, congratulations and welcome! hope you can enjoy this one too.

When Jay heard the words ‘isolated castle’, he was expecting a huge building made of gray bricks with several towers that scraped the sky, sitting in the middle of an endless sea of sand with no roads connected to it. He pictured the sun shining mercilessly on whoever was standing under its light, and he was slightly worried about finding a source of water, as well as food.

Yet here he was, standing on top of a plush bed of grass, staring at the stone path that led to the castle in front of him. It was made of bricks, yes, but they were in the shade of copper, a warm and inviting kind of brown. The castle had no tower, or none that he could see so far, but it stood tall and mighty despite being surrounded by luscious greens and equally tall trees.

Jay reached for the worn-out map in his satchel, but as he stretched his arm, he winced from the sharp stinging pain that he had been feeling since hours ago. He did not know exactly when or how he injured himself—maybe he slept wrong, or maybe he used his hand wrong, or maybe it was just destined for everything to go wrong—but he was sure he had arrived at his destination.

During his years of training to become a knight, Jay had read countless tales, not minding if they were fact or fiction, and he had gained enough knowledge to go on a lot of missions alone. The townspeople were very supportive of him, as it was expected that the men in each family each take a role that was beneficial for the kingdom.

Fortunately, since he managed to capture the attention of the princess, Jay was soon handpicked by the king and queen to become their future son-in-law. When they found out that he was a knight, though, they became quite concerned with the tasks and duties that he had to perform. Eventually, Jay had to promise them he would not die no matter what, and it was a tough one to keep.

As happens in every other kingdom, it was customary for a member of the royal family to request an item as a form of dowry. Since Jay was not exactly born into royalty, he was given a task that would get the princess her dowry as well as prove Jay’s aptitude as a knight.

To retrieve the lost diadem of the Panthera onca.

The sound of his metal boots clinking against the rocky path made the resident of the castle open the doors before he could even reach them. You stood in front of him, and he thought your figure was unlike anyone he had seen before. To start, you were glowing. For some reason, the sunlight shined on your slightly tan skin, and it did not help that the outfit you were wearing was made of a sheer fabric that showed a bit of your curves and more of your skin. Second, you were—

“Are you alright?”

Your voice started ringing in Jay’s ears, and he realized how parched he felt. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a proper meal, or a sip of water, and the sprain in his arm from falling off his horse was not the only injury that he had. Jay reached his hand up to take off his headgear, and his slightly long hair fell immediately to cover his forehead.

“I,” he began, “I need water.”

And then everything went pitch black.

---

Jay woke up to the sound of birds outside the window, and he instantly noticed that he was lying down in bed. His heavy armor was long gone from his body, and he was only wearing the undergarments he came with. He started backtracking, trying to remember what happened, but then he heard water splashing, so he hopped off the bed and headed directly for the window.

The same woman who opened the castle doors for him was taking a dip in one of the most lavish pools he had ever seen. It was not like Jay had never been to a castle before, but something about this place seemed magical and just so different. He watched as you took laps in the water, and when you emerged out of it, you brushed your hair back as you looked up, and if he did not step away from the window, you would have caught him staring.

Jay sat back on the bed and began to think. Did you undress him? Did you tend to his wounds? Did you carry him up to the second floor by yourself? Are you alone in this castle?

He heard a couple of knocks on his door, and he flinched in his seat. “Come in?” he said timidly.

You pushed the door open and walked in with your hair half-wet, and you were wearing a different gown than before. You were holding a tray that had little trinkets that were supposed to help you with treating Jay’s injury. As you walked up to him, Jay pulled his feet up to the bed and scooted further until his back was against the headboard.

“It’s time to dress your wounds,” you sighed, looking down and avoiding eye contact. “Can you do it alone?”

“I have so many questions right now,” Jay said in a hushed voice as he watched your hands place the tray on top of the bed.

“I’m sure you do,” you replied, scrunching your nose and looking away. “I have to attend to something else, so please.”

You pushed the tray slightly towards Jay and looked at him for a split second before you broke eye contact again. Jay frowned as his eyes followed your movements, and when you disappeared behind the door, he let out a huge sigh that he had been holding in.

The questions he had in his mind multiplied, and he was determined to find the answers soon.

---

Jay had fallen asleep again, and when he woke up this time it was almost dark outside. The faint light of the sun entered his room through the window, and just as he was adjusting his eyes, he heard a knock on the door.

“Come in,” he said, with more confidence this time.

You had changed into yet another gown and your hair was up in a bun. The tray you were carrying had healing herbs and a plate filled with mashed potatoes and other roasted vegetables. When you tried to put the tray on Jay’s bed, he reached out for it and accidentally brushed his hands with yours as he took it away from you.

“Sorry, I,” Jay’s voice hung in the air as he noticed you take a few steps back with unnecessary haste, “I must be bothering you. You don’t have to bring food here.”

“Oh, I have to,” you replied. “There is nowhere else for you to eat.”

“You mean there is no dining room?” Jay asked, setting the tray in front of him.

“There is, but we don’t use it.”

“We?” Jay asked again, seemingly intrigued. “So, there are other people in this castle?”

“Not at this hour,” you shook your head slowly before looking at him. “I just meant myself. And since you are here, we.”

Jay could not help but notice the way you would scrunch your nose once in a while after talking to him as if you had smelled something foul or your nose was itchy. He began sniffing himself out of self-cautiousness, and when he did not find anything wrong, he became even more confused.

“I suggest you stay for another fortnight,” you continued. Your eyes were set on the left side of his waist, and you tilted your chin pointing to that area. “Your wound has to heal completely.”

“Right, about that,” Jay sat up straight and pulled his top up.

You blinked and immediately looked the other way, not wanting to stare at his bare body. Jay noticed your behavior and smirked to himself.

“I actually can’t reach this part very well since I sprained my arm too,” he said, pointing to his side. “I mean, I could, but it’s quite painful.”

You sighed heavily before licking your lips, and you thought it would be easier to get it done as quickly as possible. You grabbed the chair that faced the vanity and sat it beside Jay’s bed. You reached for the herbs and kept your eye around Jay’s wound, trying your best not to look up into his eyes.

“Are you a princess?” Jay asked carefully, keeping his eyes on you.

You nodded as you cleaned the edges of Jay’s wound, dabbing his skin with a damp cloth.

“Then why are you in this castle alone, Your Highness?” he asked again, adjusting his position, and pulling his top higher.

You paused to look at him for a while, but you managed to avoid his eyes. “It’s a long story,” you finally replied.

“I am a good listener,” Jay said, smiling at you.

You looked out the window and noticed that the sun was almost gone, so you sped up the process and in turn made Jay flustered. The movements of your hands became hasty, and you were sure you pressed on his wound a little too hard because you heard him hiss, but you knew you had to leave the room as soon as you were done.

“Eat your dinner and rest up,” you said as you stood up, wiping your hands with a cloth and brushing the skirt of your gown down. “I will see you in the morning.”

“Your Highness…”

The door slammed behind you and Jay was too shocked to even form a proper reaction.

“…I don’t even know your name,” he murmured to himself, staring blankly at the door and then at the food you had served him.

---

Jay woke up the next morning to the sound of a horse neighing. He recognized it and immediately jumped out of bed, making his way to the window as he winced in pain at the sudden movement of his arms. He spotted you in the courtyard with three other people he had never seen before, and since he was already feeling better, he decided to approach you.

When Jay entered the courtyard, you were stepping away from the horse, letting the castle’s servants tend to it instead since you figured it grew uneasy around your presence. As you took a couple steps back, though, you felt a pair of hands hovering over your shoulder.

“Whoa,” Jay said in a low voice. “Careful, Princess.”

You turned around and stood straight, nodding your head slightly to greet your guest.

“We found him in the woods this morning,” you explained without waiting for Jay to ask. “I assume he is yours.”

“Thank you,” Jay replied, already approaching his horse. In an instant, the black beast calmed down. “His name is Shadow.”

You nodded and observed the way Jay patted his horse, speaking to him in a calm manner and handling him in the gentlest way you had ever seen a man treating an animal. For a second, you witnessed the way the color of Jay’s face shifted, and you saw him as a commoner with a huge love for creatures instead of a wounded knight.

“Well,” you cleared your throat, breaking your own distraction. “I suppose you can handle him now. I’ll have my people take care of him too.”

Your castle staff hovered around you and spoke to you in whispers, and you responded to them in a similar way, stealing glances at Jay. When you noticed him glancing back at you, you turned around and started walking away with your staff.

“What’s wrong with you, boy?” Jay spoke to Shadow. “You’re usually friendly to strangers. Pretty princesses too, mostly.”

Shadow snorted as he shook his head, almost hitting Jay in the face with his long mane.

---

As the hours went by, you tried your best to keep a distance from the knight in your castle. Every time Jay asked you a question, you would answer accordingly, trying not to give out too much information. After all, he was a stranger in your place, and you always had your walls up when it comes to protecting yourself.

It wasn’t until Jay revealed the reason he was out and about around your castle’s ground that you became instantly defensive. You were tending to his wounds and scars, the last of them, and once he mentioned the lost diadem, you let go of the cloth in your hands, letting it fall to the floor.

“You’re looking for the diadem?” You asked, not because you didn’t hear him the first time, but because you needed confirmation.

“Do you know where it is?” He asked back, eyes looking at yours full of hope.

You shook your head. “You shouldn’t be looking for it. Many men have died trying to possess it. It wouldn’t be any different this time.”

Jay frowned and almost chuckled. “So, you do know about it? I’m sure if you tell me, I can give it a—”

You snatched the tray away from his bed, your feet scurrying to leave his room as fast as you could. Jay’s mouth hung open as he watched you leave, and he was too stunned to do anything else.

That night, Jay realized he must have made a huge mistake. The distance you put between you and him became bigger, and you had tasked your staff to tend to his wounds and bring him his food instead of coming over yourself. This went on for days, and as much as Jay tried to ask your staff about you, he would receive no valuable information.

One night, Jay decided to take matters into his own hands. He had memorized the staff’s schedule, down to the hour that they would come to his room, so he picked a clear slot in the middle of the night to sneak out, determined to find you. Jay was clearly gifted with cat feet since his movements were barely audible, and as he searched through almost the whole castle, he finally heard some noise coming out of what seemed to be the largest room in the building.

He heard what sounded like a purr, and it was so loud that he could almost feel the walls vibrate. Jay pressed his body to the wall, making zero noise as he craned his neck to peek through the open window.

Jay saw you sleeping on the bed in a curled position. He knew it was you since the bedroom looked royal and you were the only person of royalty in this castle, but he had to do a double take.

You were curled up, indeed, but as he adjusted his eyes to the dark, he saw you lifting up your head and yawning.

Except it wasn’t your head. It was the head of a jaguar.

Jay squinted his eyes as his mind tried to make sense of what he was witnessing. You had the head of a jaguar and the paws of one, but your body remained the same. With a hitched breath, Jay leaned back on the wall and shook his head, thinking he was dreaming. He then decided to look a second time and to his surprise, you were already standing by the window.

“Fuck!” Jay shouted, stumbling back and falling to the ground.

You growled at him, keeping your yellow eyes focused on his figure. Jay managed to regulate his breathing and brushed the grass off his thighs before standing up again.

“Princess?” Jay asked, unsure. “Is that you?”

Jay took a step closer to you and you hissed, pulling the curtains down to cover the whole window before your shadow disappeared into the darkness.

---

When Jay woke up in the morning, he thought he had an elaborate and odd dream. He was hoping so, but then he heard a knock on the door before one of your staff opened it and peeked inside.

“The princess is expecting you, Sir,” he said. “At the dining room.”

Jay sat up and massaged his temple before responding. “She wants to see me?”

The man nodded once and was about to leave when Jay cleared his throat.

“Do you know what happens to the princess at night?” Jay asked with a raspy voice. He looked at the man, expecting an immediate answer.

“We all do, Sir.”

Jay sat on his bed as he gathered his thoughts, as well as his strength before he stood up and dressed to go see you. He was determined to find out what this was all about, and he decided to just ask you directly this time, no matter how forward it might seem.

At the dining table, though, all Jay could do was stare at the breakfast plate in front of him. He looked to your side and saw that you only had a glass of water. Jay cleared his throat before picking up a fork and starting a conversation.

“Are you not hungry?” He asked, looking at you warily.

“I already hunted last night,” you answered calmly, toying with your bronze cup of water.

Hunted, he thought. So he was not dreaming.

“I’m sure you have questions,” you continued. “And since you already know…”

“What happened to you, Princess?”

You were not expecting Jay to shoot a question as suddenly as he did, so you almost choked on your own words.

“You’re a knight,” you smiled softly. “You must know a lot of tales. Evil witches. Desperate kings and queens. Cursed princesses. I’m just one of them.”

“But what happened?” Jay asked again, completely abandoning his breakfast.

“It doesn’t matter,” you answered, resting both your hands on the dining table.

“Is that why you avoid me during the night?” Jay continued.

You nodded.

“And is that why you have your staff around only during the day?”

You nodded again.

“You’ve been keeping your distance from me, Princess,” Jay said with a desperate sigh. “Is it because I’m a stranger?”

This time you shook your head. “No.”

“Then, why—”

“It’s because of your scent.”

Jay paused and for a while, you thought he had turned into a statue. “I’m sorry?” He finally responded.

“You have a distinctive scent that makes me…”

Your sentence hung in the air and Jay realized you were choosing the appropriate words to voice your thoughts.

“I don’t feed on humans,” you resumed, “and I would like to keep it that way.”

Is she saying I smell like an animal? Jay thought to himself.

“But if it’s a curse,” Jay spoke again, deciding to shift the topic, “how can it be broken?”

You chuckled to yourself, and Jay swore he had just witnessed the most beautiful smile he had ever seen in his life.

“What’s the most cliché thing you can think of?” You asked back before patiently waiting for an answer.

“A kiss?” Jay answered in a tone that sounded more like a question.

You snorted and looked away. “The curse can only be broken if someone sincerely falls in love with me. I bet you can imagine how hard that would be.”

Jay took your answer and started backtracking everything in his mind—from the moment he arrived at your castle, to the way you tended to his wounds and took care of him in every way despite keeping your distance. He wondered if you had done the same thing to other knights or travelers who had stumbled upon your castle.

“I was actually hoping I could keep this hidden from you until your time is up,” you said after noticing he had been silent for too long. “Tomorrow, it will be a fortnight since you came here. I was told that you’re perfectly healed, so you can leave as soon as you want.”

Jay followed your movements as you stood up from your seat, pushing it back before you walked over to a shelf on the other side of the room. You pulled open the lowest drawer and took out a headpiece decorated in the most exquisite set of emeralds and diamonds.

“The diadem you’re looking for,” you said, bringing it to him. “Take it with you.”

You waited for Jay to take the diadem out of your hands, but he just stared at it.

“Sir?” You asked, shaking the diadem a little in front of his eyes.

“You said,” Jay began and licked his lips, “you said many men have died trying to possess it. You told me to forget about it.”

“That was because most of those men tried to take it by force. It did not end well. You were a nice guest, well, most of the time if you weren’t lurking around the castle. My staff also told me how kind you are to them.”

Jay tilted his head. “Let me get this right,” he said, “you’re giving the diadem to me just like that because I’m… nice?”

“Also, because I want you to leave.”

For some reason, your statement felt like it stung his heart.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You already told me your story. I’m helping a knight achieve his goal.”

You set the diadem beside Jay’s plate and started walking towards the door.

“I’ll have my staff ready your horse for tomorrow,” you said without looking back. “Live well, dear knight.”

Jay had lost count of the many times you left him alone in a room during his stay in your castle. However, unlike the previous times where all he felt was mostly confusion, this time it hurt.

---

It had been days or maybe weeks since Jay left your castle, and although you had grown accustomed to his absence, you could not deny that at times you missed his presence. It was not like you had spent a lot of time together, but you heard from your staff how Jay would behave, how he would treat everyone with kindness and respect, and how gentle he was when it came to animals and plants.

He was unlike any other knight you had met before, but that made him the most dangerous.

Jay did not know that every time you came into his room and caught a whiff of his scent, your eyes glinted in hunger. He was not aware of how hard you were keeping your thoughts to yourself, and he definitely was not aware of how you started to confuse your thoughts with your feelings, thinking that he might be the one who could lift your curse.

The single dream you had was then shattered as quickly as it was built. When you found out that he needed the diadem as a present for his betrothed, you threw all your hope out the window. You wanted to stay civil, though, and you figured that the best way to not act up in front of him was to just stay away from him.

Therefore, you were stunned to find him again on your doorstep this evening. It was almost sunset, and you began to observe his figure under the yellow light. He looked better, healthier, and there was this glow on his face that made him even more handsome.

“Princess,” he greeted you, smiling.

Your eyebrows were furrowed, and your eyes focused on the item in his hand. Your diadem.

“I believe it would be unfair for me to take what is rightfully yours,” Jay said, slightly lifting the diadem.

“What are you doing?” You asked. It was the only thing that came out of your mouth.

“I came back because,” Jay paused, “I want to ask you to marry me.”

You had experienced many odd encounters in your life, but this had to be one of the most bizarre ones.

“This is a sick joke,” you retorted before turning away from him.

“Princess, wait!”

You rushed back into the castle, heading into your room since you knew you were going to change soon. You did not want to end the surprise meeting badly, and your mind was too clouded that you did not notice your staff scurrying back into their chambers, completely ignoring that a knight was chasing after you.

As you finally reached the door to your bedroom, you pushed it open and entered before you slammed it shut. However, you did not hear the door close and when you turned around, Jay was holding it open.

“Please,” Jay begged, looking at you desperately.

You were about to scream at him, but words would not come out, and instead, your voice turned into raspy growls and hisses. Jay let himself inside and closed the door behind him as he witnessed your transformation, and once you were in your jaguar form you jumped onto your bed, trying to get as farther away from him as you could.

“It’s okay,” Jay said, calmly making his way towards you. “You’re okay.”

Jay reached out his hand to your snout and you looked away, sniffing and resting your head on a pillow. It did not deter him, and he even moved closer and made himself comfortable on your bed before placing a hand gently on top of your head.

“It will be okay,” Jay spoke again in a lower tone, a voice of reassurance.

As you felt Jay gently stroking your head, he saw a single tear trickle down your nose. You were gritting your teeth while forcing your eyes closed, trying to block any bestial urges that might arise.

---

You woke up with your head on top of Jay’s chest, and the way his chest moved up and down with every breath he took made you gather your senses in a faster manner than usual. You realized he had spent the night with you in your room, and you also remembered how you starved yourself the whole night just so you wouldn’t accidentally hurt him.

You quickly came to the conclusion that a relationship with him would never work, and you began to taint your own thoughts by assuming that he came back to tame you, not because he loved you, and that he only saw you as another quest in his life as a knight. With that, you decided to leave the castle before he wakes up, hoping that if you leave him for long enough, he will yield and return to his kingdom.

Unfortunately, after stumbling upon Shadow in the woods, you were forced to return home, with the horse surprisingly following you in a calm manner as if he knew he was there to serve a purpose. You were worried sick, partly because it was only hours left until sunset and also because there was no other way Jay would leave your castle unless his horse was with him. Sure enough, Jay was waiting for your return and his face lit up the second he saw you approaching the grounds with Shadow beside you.

“You need to leave,” you said, handing over Shadow’s lead line to Jay.

You went inside and after a short while, you thought you were safe and that Jay had left, but once again he tailed you right until you reached your chambers, and by that point, you were too exhausted to drive him away.

“My family disowned me,” you began, not bothering to give any preceding context. “I’m not worthy of marrying you.”

“Princess,” Jay scoffed before he licked his lips. “I’m not even royalty.”

“I can’t stand the thought of holding myself back when you’re around,” you continued, covering your mouth with both your hands. “It will never work.”

Jay stood by your bed as you sat on its edge, looking down and resting your elbows on your thighs as you continued to cover your mouth.

“Bite me.”

You frowned and lifted your head from your hands. “What?”

“All you need to do is to get used to my scent,” Jay said, sitting next to you. You shifted in place. “So, bite me.”

You looked at Jay, unsure, and he nodded once before tilting his head, giving you access to his neck. Your hands trembled as you reached for his shoulder, so he grabbed your hand in his and held it tight. When he felt your nose bump into his chin, he closed his eyes, and when he felt the warmth of your breath graze the skin on his neck, he almost shivered.

You bit him once and at the same time, you felt his hand squeeze your waist. His scent flooded your mind, and you could not hold back from biting him one more time, so you did. You let go with a shaky breath and pulled away only to find Jay looking into your eyes.

“It’s not bad, isn’t it?” He asked.

You licked your lips and brought your other hand to his shoulder.

“Do it again,” Jay demanded.

You tilted your head to the other side of his neck, where you found a heart-shaped birthmark, and this time you bit him there without hesitation.

“See?” He spoke, and his voice echoed right into your ear. “It doesn’t hurt.”

Jay squeezed your waist one more time before you decided to bite him a couple more times. He began rubbing your back gently before you suddenly felt a wash of overwhelming feelings. You moved back to the other side and bit him again, but this time you bit too hard that he winced and let go of his grip on your waist.

You flinched at his reaction and immediately felt regret. Your eyes flickered to the window, and you noticed how quickly the sun was setting, so before Jay could say anything you jumped to your feet and ran out of your chambers.

“Princess!”

Your feet took you to the farthest room in the castle and you quickly entered it, locking the door behind you. You leaned back on it and started sobbing, thinking of how foolish you were to even entertain the idea of marrying Jay in your condition. You slumped to the floor and sobbed, ignoring the banging on the door and Jay’s distraught voice begging you to let him in.

“Please leave, Jay.”

Your voice was weak and almost a croak, and you figured it was because of all the crying. But then Jay also stopped knocking on the door, and you heard rustling and a couple of soft taps by the keyhole.

“Princess? I can hear you.”

You almost choked on your own sob at Jay’s obvious remark, but then you paused, and you heard him speak again.

“Look out the window, Princess.”

The sun had set, and you could not believe your eyes. You held up your hands, your fingers, in front of you before you touched your own face to feel your nose, your cheeks, and your lips. Then you checked outside again, making sure your mind was not playing tricks and that you really had not transformed.

You heard another knock on the door and without waiting for another word you opened it. The look on Jay’s face was that of relief mixed with adoration, and he did not waste any time walking towards you to pull you into his embrace. You buried your face in the crook of his neck, staining his skin with your tears and letting him wrap his arms around you as tightly as he could.

You felt him tug one of your sleeves and you pulled back to look at him. He brought his hand up to caress your face, wiping the remaining tears off your cheek.

“Marry me, Princess.”

You answered by inching your face closer to his before nodding slightly and kissing him on the lips. You tasted his sigh right after, loving the way his arms wrapped around you again as you pulled him even closer by the neck. He shut the door behind him with his foot and moved you towards the bed, carefully guiding you all the way as he placed his hand on the small of your back, not even once pulling away from the kiss.

The back of your legs hit the edge of the bed and you both stopped, pulling away to catch your breath and to undress yourselves. Jay pulled his top off quickly while you struggled with your corset, so he gently shoved your hands away so he could undress you himself. When he pulled all of your clothes down to pool at your feet, you could feel his breath against your thighs, and you almost lost your balance if he did not place his hands on your hips.

Jay began kissing your core without warning and you whimpered at the sudden warmth. Just moments ago, you were biting his neck like he was your prey, yet now you are watching him devour you, his face in between your legs as you struggle to even keep your eyes open. At one point, the way his tongue was pressing on your clit made you pull on his hair a little too tight, and when he looked up at you, he grinned before licking his top lip.

You sat down on the bed and pulled him in by his shoulders, and he began to lay you down before he settled over you. He got rid of the last of his clothes and you could feel his tip graze your bottom lips.

“Jay, wait,” you whispered, placing a palm over his chest.

He leaned into you to give you a soft peck on the cheek. “Yes, Princess?”

You chuckled and began caressing his face with one hand. “Do you even know my name?”

Jay let out an airy but silent laugh, burying his face in your neck. “Do you really think I would stay for so long in this castle without knowing the name of the residents? You know my name even without me telling you.”

You rested your thumb on his cheek and the rest of your fingers behind his ear, making him face you again. He moved his face to kiss your palm.

“Then call me by my name,” you requested. “And I shall chant yours like it’s my favorite spell.”

Jay smirked before leaning in to kiss your lips. “Very well then,” he whispered into your mouth, “Y/N.”

You felt him ease into you with a gentle force, and he caught your gasp between his lips. You held on to his shoulders as he began thrusting in and out of you, making you bring your legs up in order to feel him better.

“Slowly, Jay,” you begged him once you felt his pace was going a little too fast.

Jay grunted, seemingly unable to control his thirst for you, so you kept the pace by meeting him halfway and grinding your hips towards his. You could feel his biceps flexing as he held himself up, so you caressed his arms before you made your next request.

“Bite me.”

You brushed his hair back before you let him kiss your lips, and after that his lips traveled down to your chin and to your neck, licking you there several times before he bit you. You chanted his name as you promised, and when it was time for him to reach his high, he moaned your name right into your ear.

As you felt his seed coat your insides, you felt his thumb circling your clit for you to catch up with him. He pulled out of you only to finger his load back inside your hole, and that was how you reached your high of the night.

When Jay collapsed by your side, you became aware of the marks that you had left on his neck earlier that evening. You moved closer to him, and he welcomed you by pulling you to his side with one arm, having you rest your head on his shoulder.

“Are you sure it didn’t hurt?” You whispered, too afraid to disturb the serenity.

“Princess,” Jay began. “My princess,” he corrected himself. “Even if it hurt, I liked it.”

You snorted and tapped Jay’s cheek, and your body moved with his as he started to laugh.

“If you feel the urge next time,” he continued, “just come and leave marks on my neck.”

Jay tilted your chin up with his finger before kissing you softly, and for the first time in forever, you finally felt content.

-END-

© forjongseong 2023, all rights reserved

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!!! do NOT copy, translate, or repost any of my work to your blog or ANY other platform.

[stevesjockstrap]

I’ll See You at the Reunion

For @stevieweek 👏

Steddie • Rated E • read on ao3 • no UD, transfem Stevie, classroom sex, lap sex, lingerie

Hand wavey timeline things where Steve and Eddie are in the same grade, it’s fine everything’s made up and the points don’t matter

The Hawkins High gym seemed smaller than he remembered. Eddie frowned as their class president handed him a name tag. He tried to put on a more pleasant face for her as she bristled at him.

Slapping the sticker onto his black dress shirt, grumbling as he was proclaiming himself ‘Edward Munson,’ he immediately sought out the snack table.

The awkward small talk as they all ate tiny hors d’oeuvres was about what he had expected. He kept an eye on the clock, the same big black clunky thing he’d remembered from his time here, wondering how long was enough to make an appearance and get out of there. He’d much rather be warming his bar stool at his regular dive bar shooting the shit with the boys like any other Saturday night.

A flash of highlights and big brown eyes caught his eye, drawing his attention to the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Picking his jaw back up from the floor, trying to tune back into the conversation he was supposed to be in, he couldn’t help but sneak glances at her from the corner of his eye.

He excused himself instead to lurk. From what he could tell, everyone wanted to speak to this woman as much as he did. Every time someone walked away from her, someone else took their place. The woman would speak politely to everyone, engaging adorably and charmingly with each person who approached. Eddie couldn’t place how he knew this person, but somewhere in the back of his mind he knew she was familiar. He hoped she wasn’t the wife of one of his classmates.

Unable to help himself, he creeped closer from where he had been staked out in the corner, staying to the wall but needing to be able to see and hear more.

Then he saw it, a flash of the name tag on her tight red dress. Harrington. Written in a looping cursive — nothing like the handwriting on his own name tag. She must have had to improvise.

Steve Harrington, now even more beautiful and soul crushing as Stevie. Now he realized the voluminous hair, the gorgeous eyes, the moles and freckles all should’ve given it away immediately. All the same features he had memorized years ago.

Even with this new information, maybe especially so, Eddie couldn’t keep himself from staring. He wished he could somehow get the courage to go talk to her.

Almost as if the universe heard his prayer, he watched as Stevie excused herself from the current crowd around her and walked towards him, but without looking at Eddie walked through an exit door. Without thinking, Eddie followed.

In the dim hallway, he looked around quickly before frowning. Where had she gone?

“Are you following me to fight me or fuck me, Munson?”

Chuckling, he turned and found Stevie tucked into a doorway. “Well we know I’m not a fighter.”

She smirked at him. “Oh? So what are you then?”

Eddie couldn’t help but move closer to her, pulled in by the sight. Like a moth to a flame. His mouth took over before his brain caught up. “Whatever you want me to be, baby.”

He could tell that equally shocked and satisfied her, a demure smile breaking across her face, her eyes sparkling. “I always wanted to do it in Mrs. Thomas’ room.”

“Oh fuck,” Eddie breathed as his hand was taken and she lead them through the dark corridors.

As soon as they entered the familiar classroom, Stevie pushed him down into the teacher’s chair and straddled his lap. His hands slid over her hips and to her tiny waist, marveling in the way the dress hugged her. “You’re so gorgeous,” he panted.

Stevie smiled, making her eyes sparkle again. It was unlike all the polite smiles he’d seen her bestow on everyone in the gym, and he was already becoming addicted to it. “You know, I always had a thing for you, back in the day.”

Eddie’s jaw dropped. “Wh-what? You’re joking.”

She slowly unbuttoned his shirt, smirking at him. “No, I was always jealous of the way you got to be yourself. Loud, jumping on cafeteria tables to preach to everyone. Obviously I, well, couldn’t. In a lot of different ways,” she gave a small sad laugh.

“I was sort of obsessed with you,” Eddie blurted out, making her laugh for real.

“Oh yeah?”

He nodded as they pulled his shirt off together. “You were so perfect. Are so perfect. I didn’t realize, but you were the basis of my, uh, tendency to date beautiful bitchy people.”

“Bitchy, huh?” But she didn’t seem insulted. She giggled as she traced her fingers over his tattoos, the whine he let out as she thumbed over his pierced nipples.

“Bossy, authoritative, knows what they want, you could say,” he grinned as she reached behind her to unzip her dress.

“Uh huh. And how’s that been going for you?”

He was distracted as she shrugged out of the straps of her dress, letting his gaze follow the delicate lines and lace of the bralette.

“Eddie?”

“Oh, um.” He shook his head to clear it, but unable to stop his hands from tracing around and over the black lingerie. “None of them were right, in the end.” Leaving his hands cupping her, he looked up into her eyes. “None of them were you.”

Their lips met and Stevie quickly deepened the kiss, rolling their hips together. She pulled away to gasp as Eddie’s hands found their way down to her bottom.

“This ass of yours, baby,” he panted, squeezing and encouraging her rocking in his lap. “You don’t want to know how many dreams I’ve had of it. Can’t believe they’re coming true.”

She pulled at the length of her dress between them, going up on her knees and Eddie got the idea quickly, helping her pull the dress up over her head. His hands returned to their rightful place, even sliding the tips of his fingers beneath her matching lace panties.

“More black lace, huh?” He teased her, grinning up at her flushed face. “Did you know someone would be peeling off your pretty dress tonight?”

She kissed him hard, making him groan as her teeth found his bottom lip. “I hoped,” she sassed. “I wasn’t sure if you would show.”

“Oh fuck,” he breathed again as she restarted the movement on his lap, circling her ass on his hard cock.

“Not this time, big boy, but I think maybe soon, if you play your cards right.” She flashed him that same cocky smile he loved from years ago.

Eddie groaned, tightening his grip on the cheeks in his hands, determined to leave bruises. Marking her.

“Anything, sugar, anything you want,” he promised, trying to hold back his orgasm.

That spurred her on, speeding her hips up as he used his hands to pull her hips back and forth. When she started kissing down his neck, he pulled the bralette up to play with her, figuring out what she liked. A quick hard pinch to her nipples had her crying out, echoing around the empty classroom.

“Oh fuck,” she whimpered.

“Go ahead, baby. Dirty up those pretty panties for me. Wanna see.”

Stevie leaned back, changing the angle and looked deep into Eddie’s eyes as they rocked together. She was the most gorgeous thing he’d ever seen.

“Sweet talker,” she gasped and he realized he’d said that out loud.

“That’s nothing, Stevie. You’re not going to be able to shut me up. You’re so perfect. Love watching your tits bounce. You’re gunna make me come in my pants like a teenager. Oh fuck, please tell me you still have the beemer. Need to see you all sprawled out on it as I-“ he chuckled against her lips as she kissed him, presumably to try to quiet him. It did it’s job however, as they rutted together, both coming apart as they devoured each other’s mouths.

When they’d caught their breaths, Eddie pushed her hair away from her face. “So, you staying around here? I can’t deal with Jeff’s fucking know it all face if I brought you back to mine.”

Divider by @/fuctacles 🖤

Title from Reunion - Bon Jovi

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

We're going into Cove being Warm, Moderate, or Cold again, now for Step 4 Cove! Heads up, because the list this time is going to be the longest one!

Here's a little recap of past posts for anyone who might need it:

Depending on certain choices you make around Cove, the game will give you either cold points, warm points, or none at all. The points themselves are taken into account when the step is over to figure out if your Cove in the following step is warm, moderate, or cold. If you received more cold than warm points, the game won't look at your warm points, and vice versa with having more warm than cold.

A "warm" Cove will be more teasing and generally friendly to others, a moderate Cove will act closest to his Step 1 self, and a "cold" Cove is more quiet and direct. No matter what, his interactions with the MC will be similar, though a warm Cove will crack more jokes with them while a cold Cove will be more clingy. His relationship with others won't necessarily change regardless of being warm/moderate/cold - his specific feelings won't - but how he expresses himself to them may change.

There's actually a variable for "moderate" points in the game's code, but it's not used, thus making a Moderate Cove the default. It's also more difficult to get the more moments you play for that reason, as a Moderate Cove is more of a lacking of warm/cold points than something equal to a Warm or Cold Cove and there are choices in the game where any option you pick will lead to a warm/cold point.

There are certain rules/suggestions for getting a particular Cove, though they're loose. To get a warm Cove, an MC should lean towards messing with or calling him out, prompt him to be more outgoing and include others when possible, and encourage him to do new things/activities. On the reverse, getting a cold Cove will likely involve an MC who's protective of Cove, tries to keep things one-on-one between them, and doesn't push him to speak or go out of his comfort zone. It's not applicable in every situation, as a shy MC could still make Cove warm since he feels the need to defend them whereas an MC that leaves Cove alone completely could still make him cold.

No matter if he's Warm, Moderate, or Cold, Cove will always and continue to be an introverted and sentimental sap who gets easily flustered when it comes to romance.

Cove's appearance has nothing to do with his personality except in cases where a choice might happen to overlap with an appearance change, but it's not likely and mostly coincidental.

And now for the unfortunate letdown. Starting in Step 3, the amount of warm/cold points needed to get the Cove you wanted changed and this broke the Cove Creator, as it still followed the point system from Step 2 Cove. The "in-between" types of Cove (Warm-Moderate, Cold-Moderate, Moderate-Warm, and Moderate-Cold; the latter two were terms I used for an extra check in Step 3 that ultimately doesn't mean anything) also cease to exist, so your Cove will only have the variations of Warm, Moderate, or Cold.

These things (as well as the game favoring cold points over warm in case of a tie) carry over to Step 4 as well, and the point system is still confusingly like this:

0-4 Warm/Cold points - Moderate Cove

5-9 Warm/Cold points - Moderate-Warm (actually just Warm)/Moderate-Cold (actually just Cold) Cove

10-19 Warm/Cold points - Warm-Moderate (actually just Warm)/Cold-Moderate (actually just Cold) Cove

20+ Warm/Cold points - Warm/Cold Cove

The Cove Creator will set your point values to 6 warm points and 6 cold points before you start Step 4 if you hit the middle/Moderate option, meaning it's too much to actually give you a Moderate Cove. You'll instead be told by the narration that your Cove is a "gentle, loyal, and considerate man," which is a Cold Cove (Moderate Cove is polite, engaging, and considerate).

Unlike Step 3 Cove though, it is technically (emphasis on "technically") possible to get a Moderate Step 4 Cove naturally. While in Step 3 there were so many mandatory warm/cold points you couldn't avoid even in the intro and ending alone - yes, even on Indifferent and even if you try to perfectly balance your warm/cold points to make them as low as possible - that you could not conceivably get a Moderate Step 3 Cove, Step 4 has more opportunities to avoid it.

So yes, Moderate Cove is now possible again with a bit of precision, though don't count on it if you don't know what you're looking for.

Speaking of which, while I could normally list out the choices below in all of my other posts without making extra, the actual list of things that lead to either cold or warm points was so long this time around that Tumblr struggled with it, so I'll instead have to link you all to private posts I made that are separated into the intro+ending, the base game moments, and the DLC moments.

Hope it helps~!

Step 3->4 - (Intro) (Ending)

Step 3->4 - Base Game Moments (Hang) (Errands) (Talks) (Charity) (Drive)

Step 3->4 - DLC Moments (Reflection) (Late Shift) (Serendipity) (Boating) (Happiness)

[svynie]

“ Bound By Time, Separated By Eternity ”

5YN0PSIS: An unlikely bond forms between a god that lives in solitude, and a mortal who somehow entered their abode. For the first time in eternity, Kaveh found themselves longing for the fleeting beauty of the warmth of human connection. Ah, but time never favors you does it..?

WARNING/TAGS: mortal x immortal GOD KAVEH, fluff, angst, Kaveh has no gender and is referred to as they/them, use of Y/N ONCE, reader is referred as a "mortal" throughout, Kaveh's POV written in 3RD POV

WC: 2.5k

A/N: AAH FIRST FIC HERE !! the ending feels rush my apologies :( bot version

In the golden age of gods and mortals, where the boundaries between the divine and the earth blurred, there existed a god who danced between mystery and brilliance—Kaveh, the God of Flourishing Knowledge. 

They were a minor deity under the guidance of Lesser Lord Kusanali, tasked with nurturing intellect and creativity among all of Teyvat.

Kaveh’s appearance was a riddle no mortal could solve. Some swore they were a man of charm; others argued they were a woman of beauty.

In truth, Kaveh seemed to embody both and neither at the same time, transcending the boundaries of mortal understanding...

Yet, Kaveh had not always been divine.

Long ago, they were a mortal—a renowned architect and scholar whose vision transformed Sumeru’s cities into marvels of  beauty. 

Their talent was unmatched, their dedication unwavering, and their heart best with a desire to inspire. 

Their brilliance caught the attention of Lesser Lord Kusanali, who saw in Kaveh the light of something extraordinary. 

When their mortal life was cut short—caught in a collapsing temple of their own design while trying to save others—Kaveh’s Vision did not fade. 

Instead, it glowed with light so fierce, raising Kaveh into the celestial ranks as the God of Flourishing Knowledge.

They lived in the Sanctum of Creation, a floating haven above the nation of Sumeru, was both their sanctuary and their workshop, but it often felt like a cage. a marvel of architecture entwined with nature. Golden spires stretched upwards, draped in vines, and waterfalls cascaded into pools that shimmered with sunlight. 

Though artisans, scholars, and dreamers whispered prayers in their name, Kaveh felt a deep, unshakable loneliness. They were a god, revered and unreachable, their existence an endless cycle of creation and isolation.

Their name was whispered by artisans, scholars, and dreamers, all seeking the blessing of their divine insight.

Yet even gods themselves... are not immune to yearning.

Sure, Kaveh had achieved what most humans have dreamed of— boundless knowledge, and a purpose. 

And yet, as the centuries passed, a longing festered within them —a quiet ache to live among mortals once more, to feel the pulse of fleeting lives.

But they buried such thoughts beneath layers of wit and work, crafting temples and designs that would stand the test of time, as though this persistence and stability could distract them from what they lacked.

Then came the day a mortal stumbled into the Sanctum...

They were an ordinary soul by all means, yet they seek neither wisdom nor miracles.

Kaveh, bent over a half-finished model of a city meant to be placed with the surrounding jungle

“Another wanderer?” Kaveh muttered, their voice carrying a mix of curiosity and mischief. 

And so, the mortal stayed. “I swear, I need to put up a sign: ‘Trespassers will be lectured on a detailed lesson of urban planning.’” They turned, their scarlet eyes narrowing as they took in the mortal who had stumbled into the Sanctum. 

“Hmm. You don’t look like a thief—or a scholar, for that matter. So, what are you? A lost farmer? An adventurer who mistook the Sanctum for a ruin?" The mortal said nothing, only kneeling in silence. Kaveh blinked, startled, before recovering with a dramatic sigh. "Oh, great. Another silent one. Let me guess—you’re here to gawk at the ‘mystical god of creation’ or something equally tiresome?”

When the mortal remained silent, Kaveh chuckled softly, their tone dripping with playful nonchalance. The sound echoing through the grand hall. “Well, if you’re going to stay here, at least make yourself useful. I’m running low on ink.”

And so, the mortal stayed.

At first, their role was menial—organizing scrolls, tidying messy tools, and observing Kaveh’s intricate work from a distance. 

But as days turned into weeks, Kaveh began involving them in their projects. Their words a mix of teasing jabs and genuine instructions

“Careful with that!” Kaveh exclaimed, watching the mortal carry a delicate model of a floating garden. “If you drop it, you’ll not only shatter my work but also my faith in humanity!! No pressure, of course..."

The mortal listened, worked, and adapted, their quiet presence becoming a stark contrast to the chaos Kaveh often brought and an unexpected constant in Kaveh’s routine.

“You know…” Kaveh said one late afteroon, sketching the framework for a new building. leaning back in their chair as they continued to sketched the framework for a new shrine "You’re remarkably obedient... It’s almost unsettling. No questions, no complaints—just silent diligence." He said with a teasing tone, a playful chill running through his shoulders

"I might actually start calling you by your name!” he cut his words off with a dramatic gasp "Imagine the scandal!!"

The mortal cracked a small smile which made Kaveh laugh. But beneath the joy, a seed of discomfort had taken root...

As the months passed, Kaveh found themselves watching the mortal more closely than they intended.

They noticed the way the mortal’s hands moved with quiet precision, the way they seemed to anticipate Kaveh’s needs without being asked. It was… unnerving... how much they had come to rely on this mortal’s presence.

“You’re entirely too good at this,” Kaveh remarked one evening, gesturing toward a perfectly arranged set of tools. “Are you trying to impress me, or are you just naturally infuriatingly competent???" Their tone was playful, but their eyes lingered on the mortal for a moment longer than necessary

But during the quiet hours of the Sanctum, when the mortal slept and Kaveh was left alone with their thoughts, doubts crept in...

What was this mortal to them? An assistant? A companion? Kaveh didn’t want to admit it—not even to themselves—but they were growing attached. And that terrified them.

“Ridiculous. they muttered to themselves late one night, pacing the grand hall of the Sanctum.“They’ll grow old. They’ll leave —one way or another.... And I’ll.. still be here, sketching gardens for a future they’ll never see. Why... bother..?"

But Kaveh knew the answer, even as they denied it. 

Kaveh had learned that lesson painfully after centuries of granting their blessings to architects, artisans, and scholars who sought their aid. Those mortals had always left, their lives reduced to faded memories that lingered like smoke  

Even so, mortals brought something to their eternal existence that no amount of knowledge or creation could replace: Warmth. Life in its most fleeting yet precious form.

“Why do you stay?” Kaveh asked one day, not looking up from the delicate framework of a bridge they were assembling. “You don’t ask for blessings, or wisdom, or wealth. You don’t even seem particularly impressed by all this.” They gestured broadly to the Sanctum, their tone mixing between exasperation and curiosity.

The mortal finally spoke, their voice quiet but steady. “Because I want to.”

The simplicity of the answer surprised Kaveh. It lacked the desperation of scholars seeking enlightenment or the arrogance of nobles demanding their favor. 

It was honest, pure, and completely... different

“Mortals,” Kaveh muttered, shaking their head with a faint laugh. “I can never understand you...” But their hands trembled as they returned to their work.

-----------

“Do you know what the worst part of being a god is?” Kaveh asked one day, their voice tinged with melancholy. “It’s not the immortality, nor the responsibility. It’s the distance. You watch mortals live their messy, brilliant lives, but you’re never truly part of it. It’s like being a painter who can never step into their own masterpiece.”

They paused, tapping their quill against the edge of the table. 

“Do you know what I miss most?” Their voice softened, almost wistful. “Eating fruit that’s just a little too sour. Arguing over silly things that don’t matter. Waking up and wondering what the day will bring—not knowing the answer....”

The mortal’s silence, as always, was steady and grounding, and Kaveh shook their head, a faint smile curling on their lips. 

“Listen to me, getting sentimental. Don’t let it go to your head, all right? I’m not about to start writing poetry or anything of sorts..

But as they turned back to their work, a thought lingered, unspoken and heavy. How long would this last? How long before the mortal’s light dimmed..? leaving Kaveh alone again in their eternal Sanctum?  It was a fear they refused to voice, burying it beneath their usual wit and charm.

“You’re lucky, you know,”Kaveh said later, their tone light and teasing once more.* “You get to grow old and move on. I’m stuck with this... cycle of divinity..." They gestured dramatically at themselves. “Tragic, isn’t it? A god, envying a mortal... Ah- ! Don’t let anyone else hear that...! I still have a reputation to maintain.”

But as they laughed, their gaze softened, the glimmer in their eyes betraying a flicker of something deeper—an ache they couldn’t name, a longing they dared not say...

“You’re quiet today,” Kaveh said finally breaking the tension in the silence, their voice unusually soft. “Not that I mind, of course. I’ve grown rather used to it...” Their words trailed off, and they glanced over at the mortal, who was sitting with their back against a pillar, eyes half-closed in exhaustion.

The first sign was always subtle. 

The mortal moved slower, their hands trembling as they worked. 

At first, Kaveh attributed it to fatigue—humans, after all, were not built for endless hours of labor.

Then, a faint cough here and there, easy to dismiss as nothing more than a passing chill. Kaveh noticed it but thought little of it at first.

...Mortals were prone to such things, after all.

The days passed, and the cough lingered, growing more persistent. Each time it escaped the mortal's lips, Kaveh’s sharp eyes would flicker toward them, concern barely veiled beneath their casual tone. “Are you sure you’re alright? You’ve been coughing a lot?"

“It’s just a cold,” they reassure, brushing it off with a smile. And Kaveh, hesitant to press further, accepted the explanation.

But then came the late nights when the coughs grew harsher, echoing through the stillness of the home you shared. Sometimes, they would excuse yourself, retreating to another room to stifle the sound. Other times, Kaveh would hear them muffled behind a door, an attempt to hide the strain obvious. Kaveh began to notice more—the faint pallor of their skin, the tiredness in your steps, the way they avoided meeting his gaze for too long.

Still, Kaveh told themself it wasn’t serious... they were mortal, and they could handle this. But that didn’t stop the unease gnawing.

And then, one quiet evening, it happened.

The mortal had been standing in the workshop, mid-sentence, when their knees buckled. Kaveh barely had time to process the sharp, rattling cough that wracked your body before they crumpled to the floor.

“Hey! Hey!” Kaveh’s voice was frantic as they rushed to their mortal's side, hands trembling as they supported their weight. That’s when Kaveh saw it—blood staining their lips, stark and vivid against your face...

Time seemed to stop. Their mind screamed for him to act, but all they could do was freeze, staring at the crimson streaks that told them.. this was no small illness.

Panic surged in his chest, overtaking the logic he usually clung to. His mind raced, struggling to grasp what was happening.

“You’re sick,” he snapped, though his voice trembled, the irritation unable to hide his fear. “You humans are so fragile. Why didn’t you... say anything...?" His words were sharp, but his touch was gentle as he brushed a strand of hair from your clammy forehead.

His voice cracked as he whispered, “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have done something—found something…” His scarlet eyes burned with helplessness, his breath catching in his throat as he stared at the blood on your lips.

The mortal opened their eyes, their gaze soft and resolute. “I didn’t want to burden you.”

Kaveh laughed bitterly, tears glistening in their eyes. “Burden me? You think I haven’t already lost enough? You... mortals—always leaving. Always slipping through my fingers…”

But what could a god do against the relentless march of time? No amount of divine knowledge could cure mortality itself.

----

As the mortal’s strength waned, Kaveh found themselves by their side more often than not, abandoning half-finished models and plans. 

They refused to acknowledge the hollow ache growing in their chest, even as they stayed awake through the nights, watching over the mortal as they slept.

“(Y/N..) you're ridiculous, you know,” Kaveh said one night, their voice trembling despite the teasing.

 “I told myself I wouldn’t get attached. And yet, here I am, sitting with you like some foolish mortal clinging to things they can’t keep.”

The mortal smiled faintly, their eyes meeting Kaveh’s. “You’re not as distant as you think you are.”

Kaveh’s breath caught. They wanted to laugh, to deflect, to push away the truth in those words. 

But instead, they stayed silent, their gaze lingering on the mortal’s fragile form.

When the end came, it was quiet. The mortal passed with the same steadfast calm they had shown throughout their life, their hand resting lightly against Kaveh's

Gods didn’t cry. 

Kaveh didn’t cry. 

Kaveh cant cry.

But as they sat alone in the Sanctum, the weight of their immortality pressed down on them like never before.

For the first time in centuries, Kaveh felt the unbearable loneliness of eternity.

Several seasons passed, but the Sanctum of Creation was silent. The tools lay untouched, the scrolls gathering dust. Kaveh couldn’t bring themselves to create—not when every model, every sketch reminded them of the mortal who had once stood by their side.

Then in one particular sunset, Kaveh stood at the edge of the Sanctum, looking down at the world below. “You left too soon,” they murmured, their voice breaking. “And yet… you stayed longer than anyone else ever dared to my dear.."

In their hands, they held a small model—a replica of the mortal’s favorite creation. It was imperfect, flawed in ways Kaveh would normally have despised. But it was beautiful in its imperfection, just like the mortal who had inspired it.

And so, Kaveh placed it on the highest pedestal of the Sanctum, a silent tribute to the fleeting yet precious warmth that had touched their eternal life.

As they turned away, a single tear slipped down their cheek, catching the sunlight before falling into the endless sky below.

dividers belong to @/saradika-graphics

kaveh fanart made by @/danbingzi1 on twt

all writing belongs to me (@svynie). do not repost, translate or plagiarize.

[sailorvenusxoxo]

Full Celebration

Fandom: Rivals

Pairing: Tony Baddingham x Reader

Summary: The second part of "Half-Celebration". You threatened Tony with a good time, and a hint of a dominance streak. But now, in the intimacy of your place, the rest of the celebration for Corinium's success can take place...

Warnings: Smut, fem!reader (but no she/her pronouns), cunnilingus, fellatio, vaginal sex, grinding, mirror sex, slight femdom, switching

Word count: 2.7k

a/n: hey everyone! Due to some people asking it, I published a part 2, which is also on Ao3! If you have any requests, I'm willing to try, and obviously, any constructive criticism is welcomed! <3 Also, I apologise in advance, English is NOT my first language. Lots of love 🫶🏻

Were you excited? Antsy? Apprehensive? 

Hehe, of course you were.

Giving blue balls to Lord Tony Baddingham, your own boss, and also coincidentally your lover, was an enormous thrill, and a massive ego boost. You still remembered the way his face scrunched in pure frustration, as he had realised the intent of your visit to his office, and the sound of his growl, almost ready to pounce on you, and prolong the celebration on the carpet of his office.

As you looked at yourself in your fancy golden lined mirror, checking your appearance for the last time, you nodded your head in approval at your reflection.

You knew what was coming tonight. Perhaps a shitstorm, due to the little dominant streak that had taken over you earlier that day. Would there be a reverse, where he’d take back his usual dominant role, and… perhaps… punish you, for today’s boldness? Or maybe he simply loved your confidence and sudden dominance, and he’d reluctantly ask for more?

Either way, both scenarios seemed equally as enticing. You felt yourself already slightly flush at the idea, and you scrunch your face, trying to make it go away. You added some more blush to make it seem like you had just forced on it. It was simply horrendous, when Tony mocked you and infantilised you for your blush.

As you dusted your lounge outfit once more, the door opened. Tony never rang. “Why would I? My bloody name’s on it, and I pay the rent.”, he’d always retort, whenever you scoffed at him for it. Which you always did, because no matter the fact he payed it, or the fact his name was on the papers, you were the one living there. You loved your privacy, and your precious alone time in this fancy flat, after a long day of working and asserting yourself at Corinium. And, Tony almost felt like a jumpscare, when he barged at 10pm, grumbling about work and his home life, while you were all wrapped up for bed, with your homemade mask, hair rolled up, and nestled in your favourite jumper.

Though… Something that you tried not to acknowledge, to not give your affair too much of an emotional importance, but Tony usually never mentioned your attire. He’d just sit next to you on the couch, loosen his tie, and rant to you about everything that annoyed him, while he’d steal some of your snacks.

A part of you was annoyed by it, but another part could not help but find it… endearingly domestic.

Still, he came in, and saw you facing your reflection. Your eyes met in the mirror, and you tilted your head at him, face playfully stoic, as your hands went on your hips. He smirked to himself, rolling his eyes, as he snickered.

“Yes, yes, I know. ‘Knock before coming in’... You need to stop saying it like that, you make me sound like a nosy mum…”

You rolled your eyes, still facing the mirror, as he slowly walked to you, his expensive shoes echoing on the wooden floor. As you were about to open your mouth again, to notify him that, unlike him, you did not have a cleaning lady, and did the moping yourself (which translated to: ‘take off your shoes.’), he stood behind you, putting his large skinny hands on your hips, his eyes going from your actual face, to your eyes in the reflection of the mirror.

He smirked again, and whispered to your ear, meeting your eyes in the mirror.

“Admiring yourself, starlet? Hosting your own little show?”

You huffed softly, before pinching your lips, as his chapped lips started to pepper some kisses on your neck. Alright, you had gotten the vibe. You had your dominant streak earlier, but he was taking control back again. A part of you felt a bit disappointed, but not too much. You still enjoyed yourself very much, when he dominated you. Though… that spark you felt, with your heel on his forehead, his face stuck between your thighs, putty in your hands… That was something. But, oh well. It was nice enough while it lasted-

“You know… I have to admit, your little bit earlier was interesting.”

He suddenly murmured into your ear, his teeth nibbling on your lobe. Your pulse accelerated, and not just because of the sensual nibbling. He had enjoyed it? Because, that was basically what he meant. Clearing your throat, you decided to test the waters.

“...If you actually enjoyed it, you can just say it like that, instead of playing the cryptic card…”

You muttered, your voice a bit lower than usual. You heard him chuckle, before his grip on your hips tightened.

“...Maybe I did. Maybe it stirred something.”

He whispered back, pressing a kiss to the skin of your neck, below your ear.

“Seeing you like this… All dominant, confident… you looked gorgeous, starlet. Like a bloody goddess, sculpted out of my bare hands…”

He praised, his left hand slowly going from your hip to your chest, and cupping your left breast. You let out a soft gasp, leaning your head back against his shoulder.

“...You know Tony… You paid for my flat, got me this job, believed in me… And I’m very grateful.”

You started, your voice a hushed murmur.

“But… No matter what, don’t forget that my bloody talent got me there. Got us there. You wouldn’t have believed in me, and lavished in such expenses, if I hadn’t been that fucking good back then, on the NBC. Corinium wouldn’t have such high rates, if it weren’t for me and all the work I pour into your company.”

His eyes looked to yours in the mirror, slightly taken aback, as you continued, your right hand reaching behind you, to take a hold of his crotch.

“The praise is nice to hear, Tony. But don’t forget who you also owe some of your success to.”

You murmur, staring right into his eyes, through the reflection. His eyes widened slightly. For a second, you got slightly apprehensive. Would he be turned off by this dirty talk turned quite personal? Would he ignore it, and get back to his dominant persona, or even worse, and just walk away? 

But to your surprise and relief, he kept on looking into your eyes, lust clouding his dark brown eyes. The hand that rested on your left breast suddenly twitched, as he rolled your nipple between his fingers, through your shirt. Your eyes widened, as you let out a soft moan, still looking at his reflection.

“Is that right? I should be more grateful, more thankful? Get on my knees, perhaps, to praise and thank the almighty producer?”

Tony growled, his voice betraying pure arousal. Gosh, this was your shot. Your chance.

“As a matter of fact, yes.”

You retorted, your face slightly more stoic, your back still pressed against his chest.

“Get on your knees. Thank me dutifully, and make me feel appreciated.”

You ordered, your voice low, pressing your hand harder on his crotch, as he let out a groan. You put both your hands on the furniture before you, still looking at the mirror, as you felt Tony slipping your pants down, getting on his knees.

He peppered harsh kisses on your backside, almost nibbling at the flesh his teeth could access, while playing with your underwear.

Tony’s enthusiasm was almost feverish, as his long fingers harshly slipped your underwear off you, and you gripped the furniture.

Tony Baddingham. On his knees. For you.

You had to see that.

You turned around, slightly startling him, before hooking a leg around his neck, colliding his face to your core. His dark eyes looked up to yours, as you simply murmured.

“Shut it. Eat me out, that’s it. Last time wasn’t long enough.”

His eyes squinted again, as he gripped the flesh of your thighs with his hands, completely devouring you.

His tongue, like it did earlier that day, lapped all around your sensitive area, before he decided to ignore your instruction to make it last, as he suckled on your clit, his tongue flicking on it, as he messily rubbed his mouth and chin all over.

He was ravenous, like a starved man, discovering his first drop of water.

Your back arched, and this time, you could gasp and cry out of pleasure as much as you wanted, with no fear of being heard. You looked back at him, flushed, panting, chest heaving.

“That’s right… keep going, you better not stop…”

You growled softly, hooking your right leg tighter, to nestle his face further into your most intimate place. In the corner of your eye, as he was busy working on you, you noticed the red kitten heels you had worn today.

As you looked to the powerful Corinium CEO on his knees for you, an idea came to your mind. You shifted slightly, to sit for support on the furniture, before slipping your left foot in your heel.

Discreetly, you sneaked your left foot along Tony’s thigh, caressing his inner thigh with the point of your heel. He gripped your skin harder, his mouth now almost suckling harder, as you groaned.

“Easy…”

You mumbled to him, before your left heel harshly pressed into his groin. He let out a startled gasp, as you pressed your heel even more. His eyes looked to yours, as he started to moan, his lips parting, as he licked them in a hurry, trying to talk.

“You fucking little-”

He started, before you interrupted.

“Shut your fucking mouth. Take what I give you, and get back to work.”

You snapped, gripping his hair with a hand, shoving his face back between your thighs, as he moaned loudly at your dominance, his hips now bucking into your foot, shamelessly mumbling words against your soaking core.

“So fucking gorgeous, look at you… All wet, for me to devour…”

He groaned, almost humping your foot, as you felt yourself slowly coming undone. The pressure was building up, and you just loved to see him like this.

Just like it happened earlier, you came against his mouth, as he shamelessly slurped everything.

Still shaking, you unhooked your right leg, and pulled your left foot away from his groin.

He looked up to you, still on his knees, as he weakly chuckled, licking his lips.

“...Are you gonna leave me all blue balls again?”

He murmured, as you shook your head, slowly.

“...No. You took good care of me. You deserve a….little reward.”

You murmured, before joining him on the floor.

There, you unbuckled his belt, looking into his eyes, who looked as eager and dark as earlier that day.

His erection sprung out, you made a gesture with your chin.

“Up on your feet.”

You ordered him, to which he executed himself. He stood up, taking the same furniture you did as support.

Then, with his crotch facing you, you decided it wasn't just going to be any blowjob. But simply a way to have him surrender even more.

You licked his leaking tip, teasingly, before pressing a chaste kiss on his tip.

He shivered, gripping the furniture harder.

“F-Fuck…”

He grumbled, as you peppered chaste kisses all over his hard length.

“Feels good, huh?”

You murmured.

“Torturous, almost… my lips on you, but not exactly like usual…”

He groaned again, looking down at you.

“For fucks sake, just hurry…”

You snicker, shaking your head, before your kisses moved to his sack.

“Oof… so full… Were you really that excited, earlier?”

You mocked him, before licking a stripe on it, as he let out a sharp gasp.

The stripe soon turned into a suckle, before it turned into a full blown slow sucking of his balls, as your hand worked on his length.

You pulled away for a bit, as he panted, already moaning and shaking his head, before you lubed your hand with your spit.

You got back to stroking his length, before wrapping your lips around his tip, fully putting it in your mouth. You softly sucked on it, before you tried to take more and more of him in your throat, trying your best to mix all the elements that made a blowjob acceptable.

Breath through your nose, press your thumb into your palm to not gag, and bobbing your head softly, deciding to continue in this teasing trajectory, to drive him insane.

And god, was it working.

He was moving his hips, thrusting into your mouth, loudly moaning.

“F-Fuck, starlet! Just like that, I swear t-to god… Fuck yeah, that’s right…”

He groaned. You kept on sucking him for a while, slowly, teasingly slow, as tears of pleasure and eagerness pooled in his eyes.

Seeing this, you pulled away, smirking, satisfied. You had brought Tony Baddingham to tears. Tears.

As you stood up, smug and proud, he grabbed your hips, to your surprise, and turned you back to the mirror.

Your eyes widened, before he looked to your reflection, looking like a mess, and murmured into your ear.

“That’s what I wanted… see you in all your glory, before making you come undone like a proper little mess, clenching around my cock…”

You blinked, and suddenly, his plan and intentions became clearer.

He wanted for you to dominate him again, a bit more, to rile him up to no end, so he could dominate you in return. An endless fight for dominance, that sounded simply divine.

“...Yeah? Think you can do that?”

You managed to say to his reflection, as he wrapped an arm around your waist, hoisting one of your knees on the furniture below the mirror.

Tony looked to your eyes in the reflection, and murmured.

“...Y’know I can. Don’t act coy.”

He grumbled, as he bit softly on his neck, leaving a soft mark. He continued by saying something that unfortunately always made your stomach churn in desire.

“You’re gonna look at that bloody mirror, while I wreck you, Starlet. You’re gonna make the hottest movie ever for me, aren't ya? Be my pretty little star for the night, while I thrust into you with no mercy? I want to see you… all putty in my hands, moaning, shaking, flushing… that clear, starlet?”

You shivered at his crude, harsh, but so exciting words. You nodded, pinching your lips.

“...Okay.”

You murmured.

Tony gripped your hips, before lining himself up with you, the tip of his cock finding your entrance. Finally doing so, he slowly entered you, letting your warmth wrap him and suck him into yourself, as your moans both echoed.

“Fuck…”

You murmured, enjoying the sensations of your two bodies connecting. Soon enough, after a minute of slow thrusting, to linger around and enjoy the feeling, his thrusts grew harsher, faster, as his grip on your hips grew harder.

“F-Fuck… that’s it, starlet… take it, do your pretty little moans for me, princess…”

Tony groaned, his mouth attacking your neck, as you looked at your messy reflection in the mirror.

Your breasts were out of the shirt, as Tony’s hand went to cup one, your eyes were pooling with tears, and your lips were parted, letting out the precious sounds Tony craved.

“A-Argh… just like that, damn it… just like that…”

You groaned, praising him, as you moved his hips too, one of your hand going to your clit, to play with it, and heighten the sensations.

“So fucking gorgeous… look at you, starlet, shining like a pretty little star…”

Tony murmured, with an amused smile, as you slightly chuckled as well. Indeed, you were shining, but due to sweat. Not for some other romantic or poetic reasons.

Minutes passed, with Tony’s endless thrustings, his lips on your neck, a hand cupping your breast, squeezing it, pinching the nipple… and all of those stimulation, added to the visual stimulation of seeing the whole spectacle as a front row spectator, was just euphoric.

Without any warning, you clenched around Tony, your back arching, your toes curling, as you let out a hoarse cry.

“A-Ah, Fuck!”

You cried out, as Tony joined you shortly after. In a post orgasmic bliss, his hips kept on slowly thrusting, to ride the waves of both your orgasms.

He peppered kisses on your neck, soft ones this time.

“...You were amazing.”

He mumbled, looking at your reflection.

“...You always were, and always will be, starlet.”

He added.

And as you looked at your reflection, wrecked but happy, and thought back of your professional and sexual accomplishments, you concluded that….

Yes, indeed. You were amazing, and always will be.

[lyzelky]

I recently received a request for my tiefling headcanons, (also mentioned in this comic) so I put together a ramshackle biology guide for them. It's not 100% faithful to DnD or BG3 lore, but I borrowed enough from them that it's pretty interchangeable.

IMPORTANT: I tried to keep most things as clinical as possible to avoid Tumblr-geddon, but anything vaguely NSFW in the comic has is written in pink text for your convenience.

((CW: Clinical (Non-Graphic) descriptions of Heat/Rut cycles, menstruation, no A/B/O)) I'm also going to copy over all the text from the panels into text format on here so y'all can just read them if you want.

Text version below!

INFERNAL TRAITS

Tieflings possess a variety of features that hearken back to the Hellish influence in their bloodline. Often these traits are animalistic in nature, though in extreme cases may appear more akin to aberrations.

Common features include glowing eyes, horns, clawed fingers and toes, and tails.

Tieflings are inclined to be left handed or ambidextrous.

Less common traits include hooves, paws, or talons for feet, wing like appendages, goat-like ears, a forked tongue, etc.

A Protruding Brow ridge and cheekbones are more common among males. They are considered attractive by some and less so by others, and it seems to crop up in those who are closer to their Infernal sire (I.e, the direct child of a cambion).

Tieflings possess raised ridges on various parts of their body. They can range from boney and firm to soft and fleshy, with the intensity and abundance of ridges varying per individual.

EYE VARIATIONS

The eyes of a tiefling born to two tieflings will almost always have infernal coloring. In this regard, the scelera should be jet black and glossy, and the iris vibrant and produce a strong glow.

The eyes of a tiefling born to humans can either have infernal or mundane coloration. The pupil is usually oblong, but other shapes have been known to occur.

A child born to one tiefling and one human has an equal chance of inheriting either trait.

In both cases, the pupil functions like a cat’s would; narrowing in bright light, and dilating in darkness or while in a state of heightened emotion.

TEETH VARIATIONS

Male tieflings typically have longer fangs than Females. Males are are considered to be more attractive the longer their fangs are.

This attraction is perhaps more hardwired than cultural, as most female (and some male) tieflings are on the receiving end of a bite during their heat.

It is not uncommon to see some tieflings with filed teeth, especially in places where discrimination is common.

TAIL VARIATIONS

The shape of The tail tip (Often referred to as a ‘spade’) manifests in a variety of forms, with some sporting tufts of hair or even fins.

Tiefling Parents might take their newborn to a fortune teller to predict their child’s lifeline based on the spade and other distinctive features. (Longer tail = Longer life, Thin Tail = Weak Constitution, etc.)

Long tails are typically seen as more attractive, but it’s usually down to a matter of preference.

Although their tails are not prehensile, having a dexterous tail is often seen as a sign that someone is more skilled in bed.

REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE

Like humans, tieflings endure a 9-month gestation period, and all other developmental markers remain the same despite most tieflings living upwards of 200 years.

Tieflings differ slightly in regards to ovulation and fertility. Unlike humans, tieflings will experience either a heat or a rut that is the primary driver of their breeding cycle.

Females typically experience their first heat at around 16-18, with males experiencing their first rut at around 18-20.

Unlike a human menstruation cycle, females will go into heat every 2-3 months for 1-2 days at a time, after which menstruation will last for about 4 days.

A rut occurs at roughly the same frequency, but can be triggered early by heat pheromones.

Many tieflings use potions, herbs, or magic items to mitigate their heat/rut cycle, but long term usage is not advised.

During this period, the afflicted experiences heightened arousal and an instinctual urge to breed. Fertility is increased during this period.

Increased production of pheromones signals potential mates that one has entered heat/rut.

Scent glands along the hips, jawline, tail and neck become highly sensitive.

“Tail flagging” may occur, in which the tail lifts and inches over to the side to provide “easier access”.

Heat and Rut Symptoms

A tiefling usually experiences a variety of symptoms in the days leading up to their heat or rut. Primarily the afflicted will notice:

- Increased Fatigue

- Increased body temperature

- Increase in appetite/thirst

- Increased sensitivity to olfactory and tactile senses.

- Mood swings that include irritability, aggression, and anxiety, especially if in an unfamiliar or dangerous location.

Those in heat often feel the urge to retreat to someplace familiar and safe, and often engage in “nest-making” behavior.

This consists of surrounding one’s self in paraphernalia associated with loved ones (Often clothes, pillows or bed linens). A partner will often assist in prepping the nest and gifting appropriate items in a show of support and affection.

Those in rut without a partner tend to withdraw into a solitary location, and often experience bouts of aggression and irritability.

Those with a partner often become exceedingly territorial or possessive, especially if said partner is in heat or is pregnant.

When seeking out a partner, gifts may be given as a show one is a good provider; this is more of a ceremonial practice than a biological one. Gifts often include jewelry, fine clothing, rare artifacts etc.

That's all for now! Let me know if you liked it or not or want more. Feel free to use this stuff for your own stories/fanfics/art whatever, but I'd appreciate if you linked back to this post or my blog if you do. Thanks!

[a-d-nox]

web of wyrd: the solar plexus chakra

the numbers we are focusing on today are based on the yellow bubbled number in the center of the web - we multiple it by two to equal your emotional number - ex: as you see above and in previous charts, my energetic/physical (because for this chakra they will always be the same) number is 6. so to get the emotional number i have to multiple by two: 6 * 2 → 12. 12 is my emotional number for the solar plexus number.

but what does this number mean?

the chakra set we are examining is the solar plexus (manipura); it governs the navel to ribs, abdominal organs, digestive system, and nervous system. it indicates personality, leadership qualities, how to achieve goals, social status, success, ability to get things done, ego, and willpower.

so let's talk about some examples:

6 - the lovers

physically 6s are very much like their ancestors/parents. they tend to look just like someone from their family. biblically, eve was made from the rib of adam. that is much like this. the two biblically figures are depicted in the the card's image and the chakra represents the ribs to i felt it was ironic. they tend to have a nervous tummy - their anxieties can live in their stomach and reap havoc on their digestive system. a common health concern for this placement tends to be diabetes.

energetically 6s are very even keel. they are the balancing energy in any connection. they keep things evened out in all their connections - they don't seek out leadership they seek equality. they can be very chameleon like in a connection to the point where no one knows the true them. they can play the long game in any situation if they have positive energy where this chakra is concerned because they wouldn't be seeking instant gratification. these people are often well liked in a community - they are likely to be rather successful as well.

6s emotionally are can struggle with codependency if they don't know how to be respectful and communicate effectively with those around them. often they can let their emotions effect how the world sees them - they can get mood descriptors from those around them instead of physical, accomplishment based, or other descriptors. their personality can be mood governed. some times their ego can get in the way too as they can have an overblown senses of self or low self-esteem.

12 - the hanged man

12s physically are very lean and tend to appear taller than they actually are (it is all a matter of perception). it could seem like their chest is very full in the rib cage area because they tend to breathe via the lungs instead of through the diaphragm. they could have very taunt and toned midsections as well. they show be careful about how they physically position themselves this lifetime because the might be putting unnecessary stress on their abdominal organs without knowing that they are.

energetically 12s aren't the people that give off leadership energy instead they seem to be examples for what not to do for those around them. it tends to look like these people are struggling in life and as though they are annoyed about their circumstances. they best achieve their goals when they slow down and take stock of everything that is happening around them. life is not as bad as they assume it to be. they are unlikely to be seen as anyone famous or popular in this lifetime - if they do make a name for themselves, it tends to be one of martyrdom.

emotionally 12s are easily annoyed by life. it is a rare day when they seem peaceful; their peace can seem like a very celestial or other worldly thing if it is to occur. it could seem like a dream or what have you. they do have a unique ability to pretend and fake their emotions in a very convincing way that has everyone believing they are being honest and real. their ego tend to be be one in which they are have a lot of "woe is me" energy and as if they are always the victim in a situation.

22 - the fool

22s physically are very trim they have a toned abandon usually because of the exercise they do. they appear very healthy though they often have unknown issues internally that cause them many issue down the road. it doesn't tend to show signs - one day they are fine and then the next they are not. they aren't very nervous people - some may say it would be better if they did have a sense of self preservation.

energetically 22s tend to be free spirits - they don't have a leadership bone in their body. they don't mind being pioneers but they don't seek followers and power like many people do because they prefer freedom and not to be held back from exploring the realm. they can best achieve goals they have by having faith in the universe and themselves. they need to trust they they have the support for the universe that they need. they often wander upon opportunities they would have over looked had they not trusted themselves and the universe.

emotionally 22s they could be very hesitant people - often they struggle with trusting themselves as they should. they might be prone to break downs when they have to start over or when the outcome is not what they expected. they have to learn to trust their intuition. this is the one the few energies that i don't find has ego issues.

like what you read? leave a tip and state what post it is for! please use my "suggest a post topic." button if you want to see a specific pac/pile next. if you'd like my input on how i read a specific card or what i like to ask my deck, feel free to use the ask button for that as well.

click here for the masterlist

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© a-d-nox 2024 all rights reserved

[procrastinatingsoicanreadfanfics]

Ribs

summary: You're not from the world where the Witcher takes place. So, to stay alive, you stay glued to your witcher - Eskel. Catching feelings for him was bound to happen anyway. Right?

Maybe a tiny, life-threatening encounter with a leshy is just the little push the both of you need.

notes: The title is inspired by the song ‘Ribs’ by Lorde, specifically the lyrics ‘And we’ll never go home again.’ Maybe a little more angsty than you expected, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless!! I tried to combine both asks into one

tagged: @majesticwren @obsessiveformiyatwins @levithestripper @cookielovesbook-akie @lu-in-the-library @sunndust @ghostcatwhiskers (msg me to be added/removed to any!)

masterlist | based on this request

Eskel had been in the middle of a forest when, almost instantaneously, a figure appeared in front of him. Expecting a sorcerer, Eskel felt his hand grip onto his sword. Just in case.

Instead, he was met with a person that looked so utterly lost and afraid that Eskel knew this was something completely out of the ordinary, and no attack. The next thing he noted is that, when looking at his eyes, this person in front of him was utterly confused.

Without a single word being spoken, Eskel knew that you neither knew where you were, or what a Witcher was. Geralt or Vesemir would have asked for an explanation, but Eskel, stupidly emotional as he was (no matter what people thought about emotions and Witchers) felt something tug at his heart.

He could have left you in the forest, to be devoured by wolves or monsters. He could have left you in the next town, to be ripped apart by the people there. He should have, probably. Instead, Eskel took you with him, on the path.

Perhaps, his reasons weren’t entirely selfless. As he got to know you, Eskel became used to your company, your lack of prejudice. Your warmth, so freely given.

The more he taught you about his world, the more you told him about yours, and Eskel knew that. It made him feel better about keeping you with him, but he knew that, regardless, he should not be falling for you.

***

You held onto Eskel as his horse, Scorpion, began the climb towards Kaer Morhen. The fight against the Leshy had been equally terrifying for you and exhausting for him, and you tried to hold him from slumping forwards too much.

“Are you okay?” you asked him quietly. He nodded. “I am, you’re not. Your heart is beating too quickly.” He replied.

“I hate when you do that.” You shuddered. “Makes me feel like you can read my mind.”

Like you can tell my heart beats faster when you look at me.

“I can only hear your heart, and I’m afraid I cannot change anything about that.” Eskel said. “Why are you afraid?”

You sighed. “Just nervous. I’m practically meeting your family and I don’t even know… should I bow? Or curtsy? I don’t even know how to do that.”

Eskel laughed, shaking his head. He turned to look back at you, and you prayed your heart did not beat faster.

“They will like you.” He assured, before clicking his tongue. Scorpion sped up into a trot, and in the distance, you could see the outlines of what had to be Kaer Morhen. Unlike the few other castles you had seen, this one looked a little bit more like the ones back home.

It was almost in ruins.

As Scorpion walked into the courtyard, Eskel slipped off the horse, before helping you. Your feet hadn’t touched the ground since the Leshy. Eskel hadn’t wanted to stop, had insisted on riding to Kaer Morhen, where you would be safe, and you could feel the consequences of that in your legs now.

“Sore?” Eskel asked, and you nodded. He sighed, taking the bag you had slung over your shoulder to sling over his own. He tried to hide the wince, and failed miserably. If you’d asked him to take the bag, he would have refused, and one look at it was enough to confirm your thoughts. Eskel shook his head.

After he had put Scorpion away, he turned to you. A reassuring squeeze of hands from him had the opposite effect for you. His thumb stroked over the small scar on your left hand, one that you had gotten from hurting yourself early into your time on the Continent. Eskel had fixed it up.

You remembered how he had looked up at you, taken his time to soothe such a small injury while his entire thigh had been bandaged with soaked linen at the same time, crimson red. You thought that that was the moment you fell in love.

Eskel cleared his throat, already a few steps away from you, and you jogged to catch up, nervously laughing. As he opened the doors to Kaer Morhen you took a deep breath, rolled back your shoulders, and exhaled.

At the sight of his brothers, Eskel seemed to relax, laughing happily. The others cheered, and a man with white hair, presumably Geralt, got up to hug him. You stayed where you were, a few paces behind Eskel, wringing your hands as you waited for them to notice you.

Your eyes went over the men there. You thought you recognized Lambert, Coen and Vesemir, but the girl sitting at one of the tables made you pause. She couldn’t be older than 16. What was she doing here?

A wolf whistle ripped you from your thoughts, and you wanted to disappear.

“Eskel!” one of the witchers exclaimed teasingly. “Who is this?”

“A friend.” Eskel said. Oh how that stung. “Vesemir, we must speak.”

“Meeting the in-laws already.” Lambert shouted, and a ripple of laughs went through the men present. You made to follow Eskel, but he stopped you.

“You should stay while I speak with him. He may not be open to… what you are.”

Ouch.

You nodded, watching as Eskel, your only anker in this place, slipped away. Now, all eyes were on you, standing in the entrance, so obviously out of place. Even the girl that sat at one of the long tables stared.

Your skin prickled under their stares, and you gave a nervous smile that made you feel like an idiot. “Hello.” You said, your voice coming out rough, the tone weird, second half of it garbled. Good god, why did this always happen to you?

A few greetings were murmured back to you, and to your relief, many of the Witchers in front of you soon turned back to their conversations. You needed to do something. You couldn’t just stand there and look stupid.

Talk to a Witcher or a teenage girl? Witcher or teenage girl. Neither seemed like the lesser evil, both were incredibly fucking scary. But, the teenage girl seemed just as awkwardly alone as you, so you slipped over to her, sitting down on the bench.

“You look shaken.” She said after a few moments.

You laughed dryly, half out of relief, half out of the fact that you were incredibly shaken. The monsters here were terrifying, and that Leshy? You could still see the moment it had snaked a branch around your ankle, pulling you towards it, playing in your mind.

“All credit goes to the Leshy.” You replied. At that, a hush fell over the hall. Had you said something wrong? Witchers and their goddamn hearing.

The one with the white hair, or, probably, Geralt, turned towards you abruptly. “A Leshy?” he asked.

You nodded slowly. “That’s what Eskel said.”

The teenage girl next to you was no help, only shrugging when you looked at her. Geralt did not respond to you, even if his question had been urgent, leaving you dangling on a precipice of anxiety again.

You told them your name to fill the silence, trying to sound casually, pushing in a quick ‘by the way’ at the end. Finally, someone picked up on something you were saying.

“I’m Ciri.” The girl said. “Geralt’s child surprise.”

“That’s how children usually work.” You snorted, which caused some laughter from the people present, and a brooding stare from Geralt. Did he have some kind of stick up his ass?

“We’re not related.” He said, his voice clipped. He stared at you, and you felt like Geralt could see right through you, sniff you out like a dog.

“Then what’s a child surprise?” you asked. Immediately, you wanted to take your question back. You should have reserved that for Eskel, who knew. He would have understood. Instead, you were barked at by the man named Lambert.

“Have you been living under a rock for the past thousand years?” he asked, and you felt yourself crumble on the inside. However, no explanation followed his question, and all you could do was guess.

What the fuck was a child surprise? Did Witchers adopt? Did people sometimes have to pick up kids along the way? Was it a family heirloom type of thing?

You grabbed for the pitcher with ale, grateful when Ciri handed you an empty cup. Still, when you took a sip, you felt your lips purse. No matter how much ale you drank, you’d never get over the taste of it.

As time ticked on, and Eskel still did not return, you could feel worry imbue itself in your gut. Your knee began to bounce, nails digging into the palms of her hands. Most of the Witchers were gone. Geralt had taken Ciri with him, and the ones named Lambert and Coen were sitting in another corner, playing some kind of game and drinking. You felt a shiver go down your spine, and suddenly, you felt utterly alone.

The dress you were wearing had been bought by Eskel, and it was good. It fit well, the color was a beautiful deep blue, and it was comfortable. But it was nothing you’d have worn back home. Quietly, you drew your knees up to your chest.

If you had a clock, you’d have heard it tick, making the passing of time even more obvious.

At the sound of people approaching, you lifted your head from your knees. You’d almost fallen asleep, and the sudden noise had ripped you out of it. There, at the entrance of the hall, stood Eskel, together with Vesemir.

A relieved smile began to spread across your face, before you remembered what Eskel had said. He may not be open to… what you are.

As Vesemir approached you, the feeling in your gut tightened, anxiety making you shiver again. As Vesemir opened his mouth to speak, you saw Eskel behind him, deathly pale, and a feverish coat of sweat covering his forehead.

“You’re not okay.” You said, pushing off the bench and past Vesemir. Scary old Witchers be damned, Eskel wasn’t doing fine.

“Leshy wasn’t uh… a proper Leshy.” Eskel replied. When he took an idle step forward, you slung his uninjured shoulder around yours, ignoring that he was much too heavy for you to actually help.

Vesemir cleared his voice, and you steeled yourself to argue with Eskel’s adoptive father. “I think it better if we continued this on the morrow.” He said, handing you Eskel’s pack. With some effort, you managed to pick it up, pointedly ignoring Eskel’s grunt of protest.

“Anything else?” you asked Vesemir carefully.

“Make sure he gets his rest, stubborn as he is.” He replied. “Wake the entire keep if something’s wrong.”

You nodded, forcing yourself to swallow your fear.

Even in his delirium, Eskel helped you, directing you towards a small room. With the few skills you’d picked up from him, you managed to stoke the flames in the fireplace, lighting the candle next to the small cot with it. Searching through the pack, you picked out a blanket, preparing to get comfortable in the chair.

As you heard the bed creak behind you, you whirled around.

“Where am I?” Eskel asked you, looking utterly lost.

You sighed, sitting down on the bed next to him. “Kaer Morhen. You…”

“The Leshy?” Eskel asked. That much was just… gone?

“Dead. Really dead, you made sure. With fire, I think and… lots of stabbing.” You replied, and Eskel gave a weak smile. He made to get up, immediately gritting his teeth against the pain, and you stopped him gently.

“You’re taking the bed tonight, no arguments this time. Vesemir’s orders.” You said firmly.

Eskel’s brows drew together. “You met Vesemir?” he asked.

“Not really.” You shrugged. “We were both too concerned about you to talk about me. But he didn’t try to kill me, so there’s that.”

Eskel gave an exhausted laugh, grunting in pain as the bandages tugged on his wounds. “Your heart is… faster.” He said, and you rolled your eyes.

“Stressful day.” You lied.

He nodded, too tired to insist on sleeping on the floor. For once, you were glad for it, not having to fight over whether or not he would take the bed and you the floor (he never let you, insisting that Witchers didn’t need sleep anyway).

***

Your neck was stiff when you woke up the next morning, and it took some effort to push yourself out of your chair. Eskel had sat up at the end of his bed, looking at you tiredly.

“Morning.” You said, your mouth sticky from sleep. You grabbed the pitcher from the bedside, taking a sip of water.

“You slept on the floor.” Eskel noted. “Never wanted you to.”

“It’s not a big deal. You’re looking better, that’s all that matters.” You shrugged, but Eskel only shook his head, pulling at his shirt. You turned away, giving him some privacy. Instead, you rummaged in your pack, looking for the potion he’d need.

“I wanted you to always be comfortable.” He said. You paused, trying not to overthink his words. The potion in your hand felt uncharacteristically cold. Keeping your eyes peeled to the ground, you set it down next to Eskel.

“I always was comfortable. I only have a stiff neck.” You replied. Eskel moved behind you, his hands already beginning to work the knots out of your muscles. You reached up to stop him.

“Eskel, I appreciate it, I really do, but you need to take care pf yourself.” You said firmly. When you looked at him, he had an expression of rejection on his face. Immediately, you regretted your words.

“I’m sorry, I only meant-“ you began.

Eskel interrupted you. “Yeah, I know. You want me to make sure I’m alright. But…” he trailed off. “I want to take care of you.”

There wasn’t a world where you wouldn’t have mulled over his words, hoping that there was more meaning to them. And so, you took his hands into yours, smiling at him nervously.

“Thank you, Eskel. That means the world to me.”

“Yours or mine?” he joked, and you felt yourself smile at his stupid joke.

“Both.”

Eskel paused at that, and immediately, you felt stupid for blurting it out. His hands held yours a little tighter, and a knot formed in your throat. There was a small part of you that was hoping, not just that you hadn’t said anything wrong, but that he would reply to this what you wanted him to say.

Instead, Eskel dropped your hands, turning back to the bed and making it mechanically. You missed the blush on his face entirely.

In the afternoon, you took care of Scorpion, watching as Ciri trained in the yard by herself, a frustrated expression on her face. After a while, you led Scorpion into the stables, walking back out into the yard, and smiling at Ciri. She gave you a strained smile back, and you noticed the irritated skin on her hand.

“Eskel wraps his sword grips with fabric to make them more comfortable in winter.” You told her, nodding at her reddened hand.

“My grandmother never needed any of that.” Ciri only barked out.

“Well, maybe she didn’t have dry skin.” You replied, and Ciri stuck her sword into the snow a little more aggressively than necessary.

“What are you training for?” you asked, idly twisting on a bracelet Eskel had gifted you once.

“I want to be as good as Geralt.” She replied.

“He’s very good, from what I hear.” You said. “But I think you need to take a rest as well. You’re neither a witcher, nor a man. Not that that’s a bad thing. Enough rest will make you better.”

Ciri sighed, handing you the sword. “Could you help me with the grip?”

You nodded, tucking it under your arm and walking towards the dining hall with Ciri.

“So… you and Eskel?” Ciri asked after a while. You almost tripped, regaining your composure quickly.

“No, we’re only friends.” You replied. “We just spend a lot of time together, like you and Geralt.”

Ciri scrunched up her nose in disgust. “I’d hope not. We don’t look at each other like lovesick idiots.”

You almost scoffed indignantly. “We do not look at each other like lovesick idiots. I also doubt that Eskel is in any capacity in love with me.”

“So you are in love with him?” Ciri asked.

Fucking teenage girls.

You didn’t reply to that, and Ciri’s smile widened. “Don’t even think about saying anything.” You bit out. “I just helped you with dry hands.”

Ciri rolled her eyes. “Can I tell Geralt? He’ll give Eskel a kick. You know, he firmly believes that you’re the one not in love. If he finds this out… he’ll have a field day.”

You buried your face in your hands. “He doesn’t talk much, does he?”

“Apart from the occasional grunt, no.” Ciri replied, not that that was much of a reassurance. You knew she was probably still going to spill your best kept secret to Geralt.

“Only Geralt. No one else.” You assented, and Ciri skipped away, leaving you with her sword. Sighing, you dragged yourself up crumbling stone stairs and into your room. Eskel had gotten it ready for you while you’d been out taking care of Scorpion. It felt strange to have one to yourself again after so long. Still, it turned out you didn’t have to be alone for long.

Only a few minutes later, Eskel knocked on your door, carefully checking in on you. You knew it was silly, but it was the things like this that made your heart flutter each time.

“How’s your shoulder?” you asked, setting down Ciri’s sword.

“Better.” Eskel said. He noticed the sword with a confused smile. “Are you training? You should’ve told me.”

“Oh no, I was just helping Ciri. Her hands are too dry because of the cold, kind of how yours get sometimes.”

“You remembered that?” Eskel asked.

“Yeah of course. Why wouldn’t I?” you replied, smiling at him.

“I’m in love with you.” Eskel said quietly, then. Your heart stopped for a good second. You stared, blankly, trying to comprehend what Eskel had just said. He paled at your silence, already beginning to back out of your room, but you quickly grabbed his hand.

“I- Me too. I am in love with you too, is what I’m trying to say. I didn’t realise that wrapping a sword would be what it takes to hear it but I really, really, really like you. A lot.” You rambled. “I mean, you’re sweet, and caring, and-“

Eskel stepped forward, hands that were made to kill gently cradling your jaw. He hesitated, eyes asking for permission. When your hands steadied themselves on his chest, he closed the bridge between you, his lips softly meeting yours. You sighed into the kiss, deepening it impatiently until your hands tangled in Eskel’s hair.

After a while, you broke the kiss, heart racing in your chest.

Eskel noticed. “Your heart is…”

“It’s fast, I know. Most of the times you pointed it out, it was because of you.” You confessed. His eyes widened.

“Since… Since I fixed up your hand?” Eskel asked with sudden realisation, and you nodded. He gave you a small smile.

“We’re such idiots.” You laughed, and Eskel joined you. The sound of it was so beautiful you could not help kissing him again.

[alwaysonf1]

will you?

Pairing: Charles LeClerc x Hamilton!OC

Genre: Slice of Life; Fluff

Word Count: 1.4k

Warning: N/A

Rating: PG-13

Author's Note: N/A

The wind kicks up and Charles feels yet another spray of salt water on his face. It’s happened enough times in the last few minutes that his lips were in a firm line before any could get into his mouth. He would prefer to avoid it all together, but unlike a few of the others he refused to retreat into the enclosed spaces of the yacht.

Not until everyone was out of the water.

Though there was a storm rolling through it was so mild that everyone continued on with what they were doing. But the wind became a little worse with each passing minute, which led to more people scrambling to get inside and away from the slightly more intense waves and the unending water sprayed in their face.

Almost everyone was out of the water. Except Lewis and Iman. They’d been asked or prompted to get back on the boat, but both were in life vests and no more than a foot from the ladder that would bring them up. They appeared calm despite the nature of the water around them and even when water slams into their faces, they wipe it away and continue talking.

If Charles didn’t think they were a little foolish for this he would be in awe of their relationship. Honestly, even thinking that they both needed to be questioned about such a decision he was still in awe. He always was. They work in the same ways that he does with his brothers, but there is some level of respect that he is amazed by. He respects and loves his brothers, but he’s seen how others are when there are several years between siblings. Even more so when they’re at different places in their life. But with those two, none of that matters. They treat each other as equals, as adults, and maintain the sibling dynamic.

  As Charles comes to the end of his thoughts on their relationship, he wonders if that is part of why he’s so enamored with Iman. Or if seeing them is what has made him like this. She’s just… he can’t put it into words.

“Excuse me, sir.”

Charles’ head turns to see the captain of the vessel. A man who is the one constant for the yacht crew. And someone who refuses to call him Charles no matter how many times he reminds him it’s something he would be okay with.

“Yes?” he asks.

“The storm is almost done with this area, but we think the eye is fast approaching and think that everyone should get out of the water and venture inside.”

“I’ll make sure they do.”

The captain nods and leaves.

Not wanting to waste time Charles makes his way to the ladder. He throws down one of the life rings and both of them look up. Without a word they nod and Lewis motions for Iman to go up first. She does and Charles helps her to get onto the deck and then helps Lewis.

On cue the rain gets heavier, so they carefully run inside. The crew pass them massive towels and warm drinks the moment they’re inside. When the door behind them closes they all release a sigh of relief. And for Charles the cold sets into his bones. He finds himself drinking some of his tea quickly, not caring that it burns his tongue.

“That was close. You were tempting fate,” Pierre says from his seated position next to a shaking Kika.

Charles inclines his head. “It was these two.”

Everyone looks to Iman and Lewis, but neither says anything, they just shrug. 

Silence prevails for a few minutes as everyone drinks and holds their towels tight. There’s heat pumping through the space, but it’s not working fast enough.

Logan walks into the dining area where they are. He’s freshly showered and dressed in other clothing. Charles raises a brow.

“Done for the day?” he asks.

Logan nods enthusiastically. “Not risking getting sick by going back out there after the storm passes.”

It’s understandable and as Charles looks around the room, he notices the others seem to be coming to the same conclusion. Carlos is almost already on his feet, but his girlfriend keeps him in place.

“Should we call it a day?” Charles asks.

They’re all nodding before he can finish the sentence. He almost laughs at that.

“Okay, I’ll tell the captain.”

With that everyone dispersed to their rooms and presumably their bathrooms. Charles told the captain the change of plans and was told they’d head back to shore once the storm passed. After he heads to his own space and makes quick work of getting out of his soaked swim shorts and into the shower.

Once he’s done, he gets dressed and messes with his hair a little, then he heads out to the small observation room that’s on the boat. He thought it was a little silly to not just go sit out in the open to get a view at first, but after one day needing a moment alone, he found he likes to sit inside away from it all, but still privy to what’s going on. 

Even though the storm is still happening, it’s calming. Which makes him understand the Hamilton siblings not wanting to leave the water until they had to.

Footsteps behind him make him turn his head and his eyes land on Iman. Her braids are free of the ponytail she’d put them in before getting in the water and she’s wearing a yellow dress that suits her. She looks hesitant, but Charles taps the space next to him on the little couch and she takes the seat without saying a word.

At one point in their relationship, they would have sat apart from each other, but she sits with barely an inch between them and he wraps his arm around the back of her side of the couch. 

For several minutes they sit like that. Taking in the way the rain lets up and light starts to creep back into the sky. In the distance the worst of the storm is making the waves massive, but it barely affects the water in front of them. 

Something that Charles is thankful for because the mild rocking he could feel was bound to make him seasick.

“We should’ve expected a storm would come out,” Iman says.

He turns his head to look at her. “Why do you say that?”

“Its arrival has been pushed back for days. There was no way we would have the luck of it not raining at all.”

After a second of thought Charles agrees with her. He’s no stranger to unpredictable weather and knows that it comes when it wants to. Not caring about anything that humans have planned.

“Hm,” is all he says.

They return to their silence and he feels Iman’s body relax and her head droops to the side. He closes their small gap so that her head meets his shoulder and she can be comfortable. She softly whispers thanks, and he can’t help but look at her.

The sun is almost fully overtaking the sky, birds are flying, and the sounds of life are back, but he can’t bring himself to watch anything but her.

Since the kiss they’ve been more affectionate than usual, but nothing has really happened or been said. There were many times he wanted to say something, but just like the kiss it didn’t feel like the most fitting time. He didn’t need it to be perfect, but while out to dinner with friends and through call, text, or facetime weren’t either.

Now did though.

“I have… a question.”

“Hm…” she murmurs.

“Or it’s more of a request. I’d like to take you on a date.”

Iman sits up and her back is ramrod straight. The sudden shift was expected, but it still does nothing to help Charles’ pointless nerves.

“Yes,” she says. 

It’s clear and leaves no room for uncertainty or fear. Hearing it makes Charles relax even though he thought he already was. 

“Tonight?”

“Tonight.”

They smile at each other and Charles leans toward her, not stopping until his lips are against hers. When he pulls away, he knows he has a silly smile on his face, but he can’t help it. Iman resumes her position and he finally wraps his around her like he wanted to from the start.

[brewstersbru]

A little riz ficlet i started last week and finished today (pok feels 💚)

Your name is Riz.

Riz knows Kristen didn’t mean it, knows she was just being funny, trying to ease his nerves before his first big game on the Owlbears. But he can’t stop hearing his mother’s voice in his head, digging, nudging him to buck up and fight against it.

He regrets snapping at her, but not as much as he should, probably. He’s not certain he would’ve even said anything if his mom hadn’t had that conversation with him.

And now Kristen’s getting expelled, but not really, and instead they have to go through a harrowing trial of standardized testing coupled with fighting monsters where it only ends if all of them die or they kill all the monsters.

No one has ever killed all the monsters before, and Riz isn’t arrogant enough to actually believe they’ll be the first. Not with the weight of Junior year on their shoulders. It’ll be nice to see his dad again, outside of the tiny little hologram on his watch, or when he talks to the air around his grave- never knowing for sure but believing that he’s there, listening.

But dying hurts. Riz still gets nightmares about that first time he did it, and it doesn’t help that the video of it happening is still up for everyone to see. The views keep climbing, no matter how time marches on people still search it up. It makes him a little nauseous to think about.  

There’s a lot on Riz’s mind tonight- not that there hasn’t always been- but for some reason he can’t tune it out right now, can’t push it down with work or school or trying to solve a mystery. His mind is just running, turning over and over itself, churning through the complicated web of problems he’s found himself caught in.

There’s just so much that needs fixing, that needs to be worked on and chipped away at and he can’t do anything about it. Just has to stare at the ceiling of the living room in Mordrid Manor, trying to will himself to sleep while his friends snore beside him. Well- Adiane isn’t really sleeping, but after finally dropping the mental weight of her finances, she’s been falling deeper into her trances to regain her energy.

It feels almost like his heart is about to jump right out of his chest, like it’s squirming around, trying to wedge itself up his throat and out of his mouth. Riz would never tell anyone this but he’s terrified that he’s still that same futile little thing he was in the palimpsest. Scratching at thick walls until his hands bleed, littered with shards of the effort, but in that righteous violence, ultimately having done nothing of real use.

How many times does he have to bleed for it to mean something? How many times does he have to die before his friends can stay with him? Before people and gods and monsters stop trying to pry them away from his bloody, clenched fingers. He worked for this, he dug deep and rent himself in six equal pieces for the hope of staying together. How much more could the universe possibly expect from him? When is it enough?

There’s a soft beep from his wristwatch- which, unlike all of his other gadgets, he never takes off, not even when sleeping- and Riz takes the opportunity to get away from staring at the same crack in the ceiling he’s been looking at for the past hour. He stands and picks his way through a maze of limbs and drool to the kitchen.

With some semblance of privacy, he checks the watch. What could his dad- Agent Gukgak- need from him at this time of night? Does time work the same way up there? Is he ok? Is it possible for him not to be?

A small hologram of his father appears above the watch, disheveled, as if he just got back to the office. As soon as he appears, he steps back for a moment and quickly catalogues his son’s state. After about a minute, he heaves a deep sigh.

“You’re ok.” It’s not a question. Riz nods, slowly.

“I am, sure. But what about you, Agent Gukgak- sir? What’s wrong? Why’d you call?”  He tries to keep his voice quiet, and moves towards the front door, hoping to get outside so he and Agent Gukgak can have a serious business conversation without him sounding like a teenager at a sleepover. He is a teenager at a sleepover, but that’s beside the point.

Agent Gukgak tilts his head at him. “Kiddo, I didn’t call for me, I called for you. Your heartbeat spiked about a half hour ago and hasn’t returned to baseline since. I called as soon as I could get back.”

Riz, having just made it outside- the door creaked just slightly, but he’s not worried about any of the others having heard; they sleep like logs- stumbles a bit as he tries to settle himself on the porch steps.

It’s late, so he can be forgiven for lacking his usual tact as he stutters, “Wha- huh? This thing can track my heartbeat?” Like that was the most important part of what Agent Gukgak had said.

Agent Gukgak smiles at him, wry. “Course it can, and your blood sugar, iron levels, as well as body temperature. You should talk to your mom about iron pills, actually, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. I know you haven’t been to the doctor for a while, but we’ve been detecting low iron in your blood for a while. And don’t even get me started on your eating habits, you’re just like your mother, waiting until you’re near ready to faint to give your body anything substantial.” His tone starts warm, but quickly devolves into something more scolding. Riz allows the conversation to derail a little bit.

“It’s not that I do it consciously, I just forget. There’s a lot of work to do and it’s hard to schedule out non-school-mandated mealtimes for myself. I’ll make a note about the iron though.” Riz thinks they’re both overtly aware of the fact that he doesn’t move to jot anything down. Iron pills have got to be expensive, and if he’s made it this far without, he doesn’t see a reason to ask for them now. Agent Gukgak sighs.

“Riz- it’s- I-“ He pauses, takes a second to collect himself. “I often find myself wishing, when we talk, that I was able to come down there and live with you and your mother. At least until we sent you off to college.” There’s a wistfulness to his gaze that Riz can’t find it within himself to watch, he knows what’s at the end of this train of thought and it’s never pretty. ‘What ifs’ and ‘could have beens’ are only as good as a wish, because they’re never rooted in reality. Always washed with rose and drowned in nostalgia.

Riz cuts in, “You’ve been doing good work where you can. And- and I think I turned out pretty okay. All things considered.” It feels a little strange to be defending his father to himself, but Agent Gukgak just shakes his head.

“More than ‘pretty okay’, kiddo. You’re the best thing I’ve ever done, not just in your work, but in who you are. I see the way you care for your friends, the way you help your mother, the way you meet every problem head on with a plan and a backup plan, just in case. I just wish the world had been kinder. Wish I coulda been there to make it be, when it couldn’t get there on its own.”

And then, for some, mortifying reason, Riz bursts into tears. It’s not loud or messy or even really all that different than what he usually looks like. At a distance, you probably wouldn’t even be able to tell. But there are tears streaming steadily down his face and every so often he has to sniff and blink his eyes to catch up with the stream. He swipes an arm roughly across his eyes to try and stem the flow, or better, stop it completely.

“I’m sorry, Agent-“

“Dad. Just call me dad kiddo. Please. Or Pok, just- not ‘Agent Gukgak’.” Pok’s own expression has crumpled, brows furrowing at the sight of his son so obviously distraught with no way to physically comfort him.

Riz nods, “Sorry, dad, I don’t-“ He sniffs, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s just Kristen’s being expelled unless we do this last stand thing tomorrow where we’re probably gonna die at the end, and I saw my name in Kipperlilly’s file but I haven’t had time to figure out why it’s there, and Fig skipped class again, which, I know isn’t going to fail her probably but it makes me nervous because what if she starts skipping every day again? Also our vice principal might be crazy and evil and I haven’t had any time at all to look into that-“

He cuts himself off with a gasping, cut-off sob, burying his face in his arm in his overwhelm but keeping his wrist level so Pok remains visible.

It’s hard to see through the rivers of tears that are spouting from his tear ducts, but Riz thinks he sees his father tugging at his hair, pacing as he watches this unfold. Huh, they kind of are the same.

“You’re seventeen. Seventeen, you shouldn’t- I can’t-“ He seems at a loss for words, baffled by the injustice of it all. Riz has stopped trying to fight the waves of tears, instead letting them wash over them, swiping at his cheeks every couple of seconds to keep them dry.

Pok paces for a few more minutes, fiddling with different parts of his outfit until he’s gathered his thoughts.

“I’m sorry, Riz.” Is what he settles on, moving close to the image capture of the hologram so that, if Riz were to tilt his head forward, it could almost be as if they were touching foreheads. Pok continues, closing his eyes.

“I’m sorry I can’t be there and I’m sorry that you have so much to deal with right now. I wish I could do more, but all I can give you is advice. What you’ve got on your plate right now, every piece of this hellish puzzle, both is and is not a war. There’s you, and there’s the problem, and a lot of times it seems like the problem is so much bigger than you are, so much more than you’re equipped to handle. Like you’re a man at the base of a mountain with a shovel, hoping to dig a hole through it. But once you start thinking that, the moment you let yourself become less than, that’s when you start losing. You either gotta grow to match the size of it or cut it into little pieces you know you can handle, and I’ve never met anyone who could do the first of those.”

Pok takes a deep breath, then his lips quirk into a rueful smile.

“Also, it’s a lot easier to do things when you eat, and you let other people help you.” He emphasizes the last parts with a heavy look directly into Riz’s eyes. Like he knows exactly how he’s been doing things thus far and is telling him to change it up, for his own sake.

Riz sniffles, nodding. If he closes his eyes, he can almost feel the warmth of his father’s skin through the hologram. Or the illusion of it.

“I can do that.” Riz takes a deep breath. “I can do that.”

Pok smiles. “I know you can, kid. Just take it slow. Don’t lose yourself in it.” He speaks as if he’s learned from experience. The realization of how little he truly knows his father hits Riz like a bucket of ice water. A shiver works its way up his spine.

For a moment, he considers asking. Thinks about spending the night on this porch, effectively on the phone with his dad, talking and learning things he’s wanted to know for as long as he’s been visiting Pok’s grave. Then, Pok clears his throat, expression pinched with regret.

“Sorry, kid I-“

Then he remembers that life isn’t fair, and the world moves on, whether you’re ready for it or not. Riz blinks away his tears.

“Yeah- no- I know. You’ve got badass angel things to do. I’m good. Thanks for calling.”

Pok gets a look on his face, equal parts proud and devastated. His eyebrows furrow into poignant resignation.

“I’ll try to do it more. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

And then he’s gone, and all Riz has is the cool fingers of the wind, grasping over his shoulders in an icy embrace. He puffs a breath into the air and watches it fizzle from fog to nothing.

It’s dark. It’s going to be dark for another eight hours at least.

Riz is going to die tomorrow, probably. He’ll be fine, but he doesn’t want to.

He really doesn’t want to.  

[briskalishous]

You guys, my brain took like from April (I think) to finish this piece. I don't remember the inspiration making this, but it's part of the redesign I'm doing for a fanfic and just in general fun fluffyness becuz this fandom gets too sad sometimes. This was supposed to be done some time ago, but mental health got in the way and also the fact I didn't like the initial final sketch, so I started over, took me some time. And bruh if that wasnt enough, the app I'm using also kept corrupting or losing sketches so I don't have everything together to show the process. But anything is better than nothing. Also, please don't mind the shading, I'm still figuring out light placement and layering, especially on mobile.

Anyways, here's the final product!

I saw some funny sketches of Alastor being carried all the time so I made a funny headcannon that he likes to be picked up or is indifferent to it, just as long the hand and body placement is appropriate with certain people (others that are close have more leniency). I don't really have a story here but I like to say that this trio hug happened becuz it's one of those once in a blue moon family get together where Husk and Alastor aren't in a powerplay and are actually enjoying each other company with Niffty being a small adorable grandma making sure her boys are okay and slightly disturbed/amused by her antics and stories.

With Husk, I kept him somewhat true to his character design, just changed outfits and details on his persona like his symbols, marks, and colors. These symbols will be emphasized in another fanart I'm cooking up. I also placed "brands" that symbolize his deal and ownership status with Alastor. These brands, instead of being actually branded on his person, are branded on any piece of clothing he wears as long as they are visible (shirt, pants, hats, etc). One is on his collar shirt, which equals to Alastor and another on his wraps on his feet of his own Overlord status. In my rewrite, I have it that in order for Husk to maintain his deal of keeping his power is to keep running his business of gambling but with restriction. I have a lot more to write about this, but I'm saving it for his redesign posts in my redesign series. Also, a funny lil hat on the side becuz it's part of his getup that got knocked over in the hug session.

With Niffty, I was going to keep her the same, just some extra bug detail to her person, but I scrapped it off. Instead, I have her as a hybrid of a poodle dog and bug. She and Alastor have a bumpy first introduction becuz of her dog hybrid side, but eventually, they worked it out in a weird, chaotic coworker/roommate relationship. More on that on her redesign post soon. She also has a brand of Alastor’s ownership over her on her apron. She doesn't have much on her appearance but her personality and chaotic mindset makes up for it :3 She's the same crazy lil lady, but with some common sense and sort of old lady behavior from her.

With Alastor, I changed his hair from my redesign, but I think I'm still going to change it with every drawing I do, so it's not permanent. He also has a brand, just not visible, unlike Husk and Niffty. This isn't from his choice of wanting to hide that he's owned but from his owner that nothing should be given away from his disappearance to not ruin his mission. However, there's still that hidden joke that every time Alastor walks, he will feel that brand on his hoof so that no matter where he goes, he is reminded of where he stands. He doesn't look gray here like in his redesign due to the lighting, but I like to say that it will probably change to another headcannon. For instance, depending on how 'human' he feels at the moment, his features and skin color will change. When he's not all powered up and feels at peace, he's more soft and human looking despite his reputation and animal characteristics. But when's he's powered up or is threatened, then his 'humanity' is zapped away, turning his look more demonic/inhuman/alien. I'm still playing with this headcannon, so I may scrap or add on to this.

That's all I have to say for this piece other than I'm proud of the coloring and how soft this looks :D

Here's the process that I could find:

This is from the old sketch. I also had it colored it out and in process of shading but it got eaten by the app so yeah :')

Here is the final process! I changed the positions, the wings and tail, and redid Niffty's design.