#is gold loan safe

[neuzboyx24net0]

Future Of Gold Loan In India, Here's Why Many People Are Unlocking Value from Gold

The rise of gold loans reflects a broader trend toward secured lending in response to changing market dynamics. As of June 2024, data indicates that outstanding gold loans have seen an impressive growth rate of 20-30% year-on-year. In recent months, the Indian lending landscape has undergone a profound transformation. With the Reserve Bank of India tightening regulations on unsecured personal…

[jtargaryen18]

His Inheritance ~ Chapter 35 Preview

Coming soon...

"You are almost ready," Yelena said with a smile, just after the stylists left. "Now the jewelry."

You paused, looking at your reflection in the mirror. Your gown was an exclusive creation by a top designer, a beautiful sleeveless, a-line creation in layers of tulle, sequins, and matte satin. Shades of pale blue and gold transformed you, enhanced by the ornate way your hair was done, the subtelty of your carefully applied makeup. Beneath you wore the most elegant little gold heels that were surprising comfortable despite their minimal style. The stockings were sheer, hugging your upper thighs just below the skimpy ice-blue panties you wore.

The mention of jewelry brought up an unhappy memory and you knew Yelena recalled it too when your gaze met hers. How your husband's ex-mistress smuggled her necklace in for you to wear on another special occasion had never been solved.Had it been Neal? Hansen? A reminder from the not-too-distant past that your enemies could reach you at any time. A reminder to be vigilant. 

"What jewelry?" you asked carefully.

Yelena smiled. "I picked it up myself," she told you, lifting a delicate strand of diamonds set in gold from a black velvet box on the bed. 

When she draped it around your throat, you smiled at the way it completed your look. There were matching earrings, diamond studs each with a teardrop diamond dangling and catching the light. The set was exquisite. 

"Harry Winston," your friend told you, admiring how they looked on you.

"Nice of them to loan them to us for the ball," you told her, grateful you got to wear them. 

Yelena reached for the golden mask on the bed, holding it to you. "No loan. Steve bought them."

What?

"These must have cost a fortune," you mused. They probably cost more than everything else you owned combined. "Glad you're going with us. I'd hate to get mugged for these."

Yelena grinned. "Security is going to be tight already with the mayor there, one of the state senators. So many wealthy, important people like you."

That had you scoffing. "I'm no one special. At least not in the world of such important, political figures."

"But you are," Yelena told you. 'The fact that everyone wants you has been a powerful motivator in this game of chess. Your husband is completely devoted to you. Barnes would love to get his hands on you."

"Barnes would ring my neck the first chance he got," you pointed out.

Yelena's expression was difficult to read. "I'm not so sure about that."

"Hansen would for sure kill me," you said, putting your mask in place carefully. A soft mask of golden sequins that fit over your eyes. 

Yelena's gaze dropped at the mention of that name and you were ashamed. You needed to work harder not to bring that up to her. And you needed a subject change. Fast.

"Who's going to be here with Nat tonight?" You weren't surprised Nat didn't want to go. She'd been through so much between the horrific end of her abusive marriage and all trauma of years being left to the sadistic nature of Banner. You wanted to make sure she was well looked after while you and Steve were gone.

"Clint is staying here of course," Yelena said quietly. "Dyson will be here too. He's arranged for extra security for the house tonight."

You nodded your approval. "What about Scott?"

"He's coming with us," Yelena explained. 

That had you smiling. Sure, Scott would keep you and Steve safe, but he also got time with Yelena. You were pretty sure Yelena knew Scott's infatuation with her. Would she ever return his affections? You didn't know. Considering her tragic history, you weren't sure she could feel the same way towards him or anyone. But since you'd known Scott, you learned he was a good man who always had your back and never once questioned your authority. You trusted him with your life. You trusted him with Yelena, too.

But would she ever give him - or anyone - a chance after all that she'd been through?

You blew out an exhale, preparing yourself for the night ahead. "I guess we should let Steve know that I'm ready."

"He knows," a deep voice caught you and Yelena both off guard. 

Your husband strolled into the bedroom and Yelena stepped back to allow him a clear path to you. He looked breathtakingly handsome in the classic black tuxedo he wore, tailored perfectly to fit his tall, broad-shouldered physique. His tawny hair was perfectly styled, diamond cufflinks winking in the light. His tie was shades of gold and blue to match your gown, a subtle touch but one you appreciated.

Steve moved to stand behind you in the mirror of your vanity, bending to fit his handsome face in the reflection with yours. 

"You look so beautiful," he said with something like reverence in his voice. "I can't wait to show you off."

"I'll be downstairs," Yelena said, making her way out to give you some privacy. "We worked very hard on her, boss. Don't mess her up."

Steve smiled at what he took as a playful warning, his large hands smoothing over your bare shoulders. Slowly, you removed the mask, placing it in your lap with your hands. His watchful gaze didn't miss the slight tremble of their movements.

"Everything is going to be fine," he explained. "I've been to this event before. All the rich, politic elite of Boston come out dance and drink the night away and wallow in excess. It's probably Tony's favorite night of the year."

You could see it. And you were excited to go to the annual masquerade ball, as Steve's wife and not his trophy, and to enjoy a fabulous night on the town. You felt like Cinderella, going to the ball in the gown that truly looked as if magic had created it.

But you couldn't fight back an impending sense of dread. It had been so quiet in the weeks of your recovery and Steve's. Life went on. You were included in all the family's business meetings. The family business had recovered and was branching out, deals with three of the other four families made things even better. 

Not that you agreed with all of it. You weren't crazy about the loan sharking or protection deals the family made. The casinos and restaurants didn't bother you as much. And at least the family wasn't making any money off drugs or trafficking. Some of the stories you heard now that you were more involved were just horrified. You made up your mind early that no matter what, you'd never allow the family to make money off the misfortunes of women and children. Never.

It had been very quiet where the Barnes family was concerned. Too quiet.

"I'll  be the envy of every man there tonight," he murmured, pressing a kiss into your neck. The soft brush of his beard made you shiver.

A sensual smiled curved Steve's lips. "Are you ready?"

You nodded. You trusted your husband. You were going to do your best to have a wonderful night, just like he intended.

And still that little kernel of dread lingered.

You felt like you were in an old Hollywood movie to walk down the staircase on your husband's arm with the gown flowing softly with your movements. Honestly, you were grateful for Steve's help in keeping you balanced, relieved when you made it to the bottom of the stairs.

Dyson, Yelena, Scott, Clint and Nat were a small crowd, watching in admiration as you approached. Nat's smile was all you needed to feel like you got the look right. Her lovely green eyes lit up as her gaze swept over you. 

"You look perfect," she exclaimed, carefully hugging you. "I knew that gown was the one."

Nat had been the one to find it when the two of you went out shopping. And you were all too happy to give her the credit. You knew very little about fashion, seasons, all of it. You would learn. But until you did, it was nice to have the advice of someone who already understood it.

As Nat stepped back, you forced yourself to smile. She still looked so small, so frail. She had yet to gain weight and regain her amazing figure. Your sister-in-law seemed fragile, even with the protection and love of the man she'd always wanted. Even with the full support and love of her brother. It worried you.

Dyson looked worried too, but as you did, he put on a quick smile. "You two had best get going. The line at dropoff takes forever."

"True enough," Steve said, nodding to Yelena and Scott.

You stopped to hug Dyson. "Keep her safe for me," you whispered.

"You know I will," he muttered.

Steve whisked you away to the sleek black limousine waiting in the driveway. Scott climbed in behind the wheel and Yelena rode shotgun as Steve got you into the back seat, helping you keep your gown away from the doors. Once you were settled, you studied your husband. Something was missing.

"Did you bring a mask?" you asked him. 

Steve smiled, pulling a small black mass from inside his tuxedo coat. No sequins, just a matte black mask he could wear. But he wasn't interested in the mask as he fidgeted with it. He was too busy staring at you.

"Are you excited?" he asked.

You couldn't help the smile that question brought on. "Yes."

Steve looked pleased. "As time goes on and things settle down, we'll get out more. Do more things like this. You look like a fairytale princess tonight."

Tears pricked at the backs of your eyes at his heartfelt words. He meant them. He was taking you out to a society function, dressed you up like you were going to the fucking Oscars. A night out like nothing you'd ever experienced before. You'd been excited since he told you he got the tickets two weeks ago.

[simonsrosebud]

cars i think the foxes would’ve had then vs now

Kevin: Range Rover — Newer Range Rover (man of habit)

Andrew: Maserati — Aston Martin (expensive sports cars forever)

Aaron: Nissan Rogue — Toyota Highlander (rogue was what he could afford with a loan & help from Andrew, Toyota fit two car seats safely)

Neil: Subaru Legacy — Mazda3 2.5 Turbo (Literally just wanted smth safe and sturdy and got a good price so he bought it. Andrew loathed it bc it was ugly and had terrible acceleration/engine, later gave him 5 cars to pick from that he’d like & chose mazda)

Nicky: Jeep Liberty — Volkswagen T-Roc (fell in love with the jeep and got it cheap and drove it till it died on the side of the highway, but VW’s are more common in Germany)

Matt: Ford F-150 — Newer Ford F-150 (sold the first one for a car fit for children, then got a new truck once they were out of car seats)

Dan: Hyundai Elantra — Ford Explorer (she’d simply rock a little red car, needs an suv for all the stuff she lugs around as an exy coach & mom)

Renee: Honda Accord — Honda Civic (Stephanie’s old car = Renee’s brand loyalty)

Allison: Pink Bentley Continental — Rose Gold G-Wagon (among the 3 other cars she has)

BONUS: Wymack’s ugly ass GMC Yukon

[suzukiblu]

Day seventeen of fic NaNoWriMo, obligatory sugar daddy Tim/sugar baby Kon AU.

“I think it's pretty normal to give someone a phone when you want to talk to them,” Tim lies. Bruce gives the other Bats burners sometimes, though. And also communicators. And Robin’s loaned plenty of allies communicators before, including Superboy. So it's normal in their circles, whether Kon actually knows they're both in said circles or not. 

“. . . I like the green one,” Kon says after a moment, which is a little bit of a surprise. It's a nice sort of deep, leafy color, Tim guesses, but he would've expected Kon to go for black or red or blue; maybe yellow. 

He wonders how green Hawaii is, come to think of it. 

And how much green Kon regularly sees these days, living underground in a lab. 

“Okay,” he says, then gestures towards the phone case display with his smoothie. “Let's get you a screen protector and a case too, just in case.” 

“You don’t have to,” Kon says. “I mean, I am gonna have my TTK on it.” 

“Yeah, but that only works if nobody knocks it off the table or something when you’re not holding it,” Tim says. “Besides, better safe than sorry, right?” 

“Um, okay,” Kon says. Tim leads him over to the phone cases, and Kon glances them over indecisively, clearly paying more attention to the price tags than personal preference. Tim decides distraction is the better part of valor, in this case. 

“I don’t recommend anything superhero-themed, for the record,” he jokes. Kon snorts. 

“That’s called a feint, thank you very much,” he informs him mock-primly. “Nobody’d think a superhero would actually have the balls to go around with a superhero-themed phone case.” 

“They’d think Superboy would,” Tim says in amusement. 

“. . . okay, fair,” Kon allows, making a face at himself. Tim laughs. 

“How about that one?” he suggests, pointing towards the second-most expensive one on the rack–so Kon will know money isn’t a concern, but also so Kon won’t realize he’s specifically doing it to make sure he knows money isn’t a concern. 

“It looks like a tire tread,” Kon says wryly, which is a fair assessment. It’s one of the heavy-duty cases, so it’s pretty bulky as it is, and the pattern on it is a little tire-like. 

“The ones down here have glitter, if that’s more your thing,” Tim replies in amusement, pointing again. 

“Glitter is more my thing,�� Kon says, leaning over to peer down at the indicated row. Tim probably should’ve expected that response, considering, except also he would absolutely never have expected Kon to willingly admit to liking glitter. At least not without being concussed first. “Hmmmmm.” 

“That's a nice one,” Tim says. Kon’s looking at a green and blue case with bright gold glitter swirled all over it in abstract designs; it looks a bit like ocean water, if you look at it the right way. It’s definitely not going to be anywhere near as durable as the tire tread one would, but Tim isn’t particularly concerned about that anyway. He was gonna get accident insurance no matter what. Statistically speaking, Kon will probably go through more than a few of these. He hasn't had the same phone for longer than three months since starting up as Robin. Something always seems to happen to them. Usually a supervillain. 

“Too bad they don’t have anything with a cute little goat on it,” Kon jokes as he straightens back up, regrettably letting go of Tim's hand to take the green and blue glitter-case off the wall. “You know, commemorate our first date and all.” 

“That was not our first date,” Tim says, mildly disgruntled but mostly flustered by the idea. “I'd have planned a date a lot better than those morons planned their dumb heist. And bought you something from the gift shop, if nothing else.” 

“Could've just kept the goat, I guess, but Superman would've made me give it back anyway,” Kon muses idly as he looks over the case in his hand and takes another sip of his smoothie. “This is for the right model, right?” 

“Should be,” Tim says, though he double-checks anyway. “Yeah, no, you're good. Lemme go grab a clerk so we can get the plan set up. We'll just go through my name, I can probably set up autopay for the bill easier that way.” 

“Um, sure,” Kon says, biting his lip for a moment and then glancing sidelong at him. “So is this our first date, then?” 

“No,” Tim says, though technically it probably is. But given how Kon’s been acting about the idea that Tim would actually be interested in dedicating actual time and attention to him–“I'll take you somewhere nice for that.” 

“Somewhere nice?” Kon says, hiding a very unsubtle grin behind the phone case. It'd work better if his stupid pretty eyes weren't sparkling for it, Tim thinks in resigned accusation. Kon doesn’t ask what “somewhere nice” means, but Tim is already trying to figure out what restaurants he knows that might appeal to Kon’s palate. If he likes Hawaiian flavors . . . there’s some Asian influence in that, right? He thinks, anyway. Japanese, at least. Maybe Filipino? Polynesian? Any other influences or parallel cuisines he’d have to look up to figure out, though. 

Tim knows absolutely no Filipino or Polynesian restaurants, much less actually authentic Hawaiian ones. He could definitely do Japanese, though. Japanese would be easy. Just going to a restaurant isn’t much of a date, probably, and he can’t take Kon on patrol or anything like he and Steph used to do, but they could maybe go shopping in a nicer boutique or something? Or go to a museum for actual entertainment instead of just business, if Kon would be interested in something like that. Admittedly, it’s hard to picture him being particularly into museums as a concept, but it might be worth a try. 

Maybe he’d like the aquarium or planetarium more than something involving art or history or science, though. Those are a little cooler than just wandering through a bunch of random exhibits, Tim thinks. Or at least, they might appeal more to Kon. The ocean, or stars and planets, or . . . like, whatever, he guesses. 

He’ll have to do some recon, probably. Light interrogation. Figure out what Kon would be the most interested in. 

Or they could just go to the beach. It’d require a little bit of travel on his part, but likely wouldn’t be a big deal for Kon; he could just fly. Though in retrospect Kon’s probably spent about half his life on a beach, so maybe that’s not interesting enough. And the Jersey Shore probably wouldn’t measure up to Hawaii in his eyes, either. 

Hm. Yeah, Tim's definitely going to have to do some recon. 

Tim is possibly putting in too much effort here, considering Kon is going to lose interest in actually flirting with him in about five minutes. Kon never seems to really properly date anyone, as far as Tim's seen; just flirt around a lot. So he should be prioritizing shopping and apartment hunting, really, before Kon gets bored of the flavor of the week and wanders off. 

Tim Drake is not exactly an exciting date, so . . . yeah, Tim’s not expecting Kon to stay interested for long. He’s just got to take advantage of it for as long as it lasts to leverage Kon into letting him buy him that cul-de-sac and go from there, that’s all. Kon seems to stay friendly with the girls he flirts with even after things fizzle out or fail to go anywhere, so he assumes it won’t be any different with Tim Drake. As long as Kon’ll let him keep paying his way, that’s all that’s going to matter. 

Tim is really going to need to frontload that, though. Establish him paying for Kon as the new status quo very quickly and get Kon used to it before he loses interest in him, so he won’t feel awkward about accepting it by then. Or so Tim will already have signed all the paperwork and it’ll be too late for Kon to protest; whichever. 

He’s definitely going to have to frontload it.

[cemeteryspider]

A Helluva Rescue

Fizzarolli x Succubus! Kingpin! Reader x Asmodeus

Summary: Inspired by season 2 episode 6, "Oops". Luckily Ozzie puts his best man/woman on the job to get Fizzie home safe

Trigger Warnings: Violence, guns, abduction, sexual themes, strong language, and general dark themes

Word Count: 1860

Being a famous Hellborn gave you some perks that so many did not have the gull to dream about. It gave you access to powerful people, and you climbed your way to the top of the Hellborn food chain. This is how you met the Sin of Lust, Asmodeus. You often provided protection for his dancers and other employees when they left the Lust Ring. Or when you personally delivered goods from other rings to the sin.

After a few years of this you met Fizzarolli, who's spunky attitude you had come to adore. You found yourself at Ozzie's nightclub more than you'd like to admit, and one night you had a red envelope with gold lettering sitting at your usual seat.

I have a different proposal for you tonight, meet me backstage after the show and we'll discuss

~Ozzie

As anyone who wanted the Sin and his imp could imagine, the rest was history.

Despite your relationship with Fizz and Ozzie you spent most of your days in Greed. Dominating the heart of Greed Ring, your empire sprawled amidst towering skyscrapers that gleamed with the opulence of wealth. The air reeked of ambition and desperation, the constant hum of financial dealings echoing through the crowded streets. You reveled in the cutthroat atmosphere and the relentless pursuit of wealth that defined this particular part of Hell. 

Still many days were spent traveling to other rings. You went to the Pride Ring a couple times a year, and looked after some business dealings there. Though you couldn't own a human soul, it didn't mean you did have proxies to deal in them for you.

The Envy Ring granted you access to different sorts of people who were willing to spend money to get things from unsavory means. You want authentic blood sapphires, you got it. You want real human teeth, it'll be x amount. You want to get your nails done by Pride's top sinner without ever stepping foot there, well you were sure it could be arranged.

Your favorite place however, was the Lust Ring. Not for the slobs who insisted that just because you were a succubus you wanted to bang, but for your loving and doting partners.

~~~

Ozzie large hands massaging your back, "Oh darling, these knots are deep, you simply must come visit more often"

Fizz's jokes at the club, "I know you're jealous, the people I bang are 1000 times hotter than you losers"

The pampering, the caring, and god the sex was amazing.

~~~

This time however, Ozzie called you while you were in a meeting with a new client who was in debt to a loan shark. Quickly you had your assistant take over the meeting and you stepped out into the hall.

"What is it Ozzie-bear"

"Hey Doll, Fizzie had some meeting in Greed today and I was wondering if you could maybe send someone to look after him, ya know, without him knowing"

"Why didn't you send people with him, Ozzie?"

"You know how he gets sugar, he gave me the puppy eyes"

With a little smirk and a roll of your eyes, you told him you would get your best and most discreet people on the job.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"No biggie Ozzie, gotta keep our boy safe and sound"

After a quick good-bye, who are you kidding with either of your boys, good-byes were never short. A long string of I love you's and see you laters was given before eventually the new client and your assistant left the meeting room.

~~~

Seated behind your lavish desk, you sifted through an imposing mountain of meticulously organized papers, each document representing a different facet of your empire. When your phone starts to buzz. 

"Boss, something bad just happened, Fizzarolli got into a fight with some imp then they were both grabbed, me and Hen are going up to find him but-" Two shots could be heard from the other end, and two thuds presumably the two hellborn you hired to protect Fizz.

You growled as you crushed the burner phone in your fist.

"Jazz, get my jacket, I gotta teach some bitches a lesson"

~~~

Fizz started thrashing on the floor of the cage they were put in, and Blitz looked as though he was about to explode. Then you waltzed in the door with your tail swinging in circles from your right hand.

"Hey Crimson, Hey Striker, long time no see boys' ' You jumped on a crate and crossed your legs. "I hear you have somethin' of value"

"Hey, Darlin', I sure missed yer face", Striker walked up to you and took your hand in his and placed a long wet kiss to your knuckles.

Internally you groaned, but you were going to get Fizz out of this no matter what. You pressed your lips together and crossed your legs a little tighter, "Mhm, Could say the same about you, Striker".

Striker chuckled a little and got back to business, discussing prices for Fizz like he was a slab of meat.

"I don't know Striker, we have a pretty lucrative contract on the books" Crimson teased.

Your brows scrunched, who could it be, and how did they get the word out so quickly. It took you less than an hour to get from your office to this dump.

"Hmm, I think I could find a quick buyer for the real deal Fizzarolli, I'll pay double what the other guy is paying" With that everyone in the room looked at you. Their eyebrows raised and a sly grin on their face.

"Double and I get to spend the night with ya, that's offers always on the table for you babe," As Striker propositioned, a flicker of irritation crossed your face – a testament to your aversion to these negotiations 

"How about I see the merchandise first?" You tapped his nose with your fingernail and gave him a smirk.

"Anything for you sug" With a quick nod the cage descended from the ceiling and you hands went to the guns on your hips.

Two goons dragged Fizz and another imp from the cage and tossed them at your feet. You almost let your emotions get the better of you when Fizz hit the floor with a groan.

"Can someone untie them? I want to see the merchandise before I buy it, and I haven't got all day" Again another nod from Striker, and the two were untied.

Fizz had his hands over his eyes and was silently crying to himself. Despite you wanting him to look at you, to give him some reassurance, you also hoped he didn't just in case he revealed your relationship with him. Unlike Fizz and Ozzie, your relationship to them was more discrete. The other imp was still shouting, and you saw a gun holster, minus the gun, on his hip as well.

"I'd take the other imp, off your hands as well, he'll make a delicious snack for whoever buys Fizzarolli" Striker walked up to Crimson and started to discuss pricing on Blitz, with the right numbers Striker would give him to you because, as you learned, everything has a price.

You stalked over to Blitz, though the affiliation with guns was the only thing you knew about him, walked around him for a moment, quickly cutting the tape that still bound his hands with your sharp fingernail. Making eye contact with him you pressed a finger to your lips and shoved a gun in his hand without anyone noticing.

A smile spread across Blitz's face as you grabbed Fizz and threw him over your shoulder and started to make a run for it. You shot everyone you saw on the way down the stairs, while Blitz covered everyone behind you.

Once Fizz was safely in the car you continued to cover Blitz until he made it as well. However, before you could get in the car and signal to the driver to get away Striker pressed the hot barrel of his gun to your temple.

"Well sugar, I guess this is checkmate" But just before he could pull the trigger, Asmodeus appeared, snatching the gun from his hands and throwing it across the street.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Ozzie growled in Striker's face. Ozzie grabbed him by the throat and squeezed. You just put a hand on his huge forearm, and he threw Striker to the ground.

With a growl the great Asmodeus shrunk and fit himself into the limousine with the two imps and succubus.

The driver peeled out of the place as soon as the door was closed and you collapsed into the nearest seat. Fizz huddled in a dark corner, his breaths coming in rapid gasps as panic gripped him. Your heart sank at the sight, a mix of worry and determination flooding your thoughts. Despite the familiar smell of wherever he was, he couldn't shake the danger of the gunfight or being held captive so quickly. Blitz stood over him leveling the gun at your forehead.

"Does ANYONE want to tell me what the FUCK just happened"

~~~

The screeching tires signaled your escape, but the tension lingered in the air, still adrenaline was high in all parties involved. 

You explained the situation to Blitz while pulling Fizzarolli in between you and Oz who smiled up at the both of you.

"Ah Fizz you could've just told me you were fucking them", Ozzie, sensing Fizz's discomfort, shot Blitz a stern glance, causing him to back off immediately.

Blitz was waiting for the car to stop where he could get out and call someone who's name was Loona.

Once that happened you, Fizz, and Ozzie snuggled up in the backseat with both Fizz and Ozzie tearing up.

"I'm so sorry that happened Froggie, you will be getting a full escort the next time you even leave the mansion" Ozzie coddled Fizz all the way to bed and you tucked him in and told him that you and Ozzie had to talk business for a minute.

"Thanks for the save back there Ozzie, I would've been done for, if it wasn't for you" The slight burn on your head pulsed, a persistent reminder of the close call, but you dismissed it, not wanting Ozzie to worry unnecessarily.

"Sweetheart, you didn't tell me you were hurt" He grabbed your right shoulder and inspected the bullet wound that must've just grazed you, and the small burn on your temple you tried to hide with your fingers.

"I didn't even notice it Ozzie" Still he sat you down on his desk and bandaged you up.

"There, Doll, all better" You smiled as he kissed the white bandages, and picked you up to take you to bed. "By the way, Doll, you did all the heavy lifting".

You snuggled in a little closer to his chest and breathed out content with the moment.

"Breakfast tomorrow?" You mumbled already falling asleep.

"Always, pancakes with extra whipped cream" He set you between him and Fizz where you usually slept.

Your boys tangled their limbs with your and scooched as close as they could to snuggle up with you.

[m-jelly]

Hello, Jelly! Can I please request a Canon Levi x Wife Reader who is actually a sly cunning, smart intelligent noble woman with a kind, heart of gold? You can do what you want with the plot. Thank you

@kenkopanda-art <3

Cute brain

Levi x fem!Reader

Canon, wife and husband, romance, love, married, sweet moment, fluff.

Levi spends a day off with you and gets to see how you work.

Big thank you to @ladycheesington for helping me come up with a plot.

@ladycheesington @levisbrat25 @nyxiieluna @li-anne @galactict3a @youre-ackermine @thebobaprincess @2moth-anon2 @cypidity @notgoodforlife @demonsimp6 @nbinairyn

Levi leaned against the frame of the window as a man dropped to his knees before you. He tried not to laugh when the man started begging you to help him. The man was pleading for you to give him back everything, but you sat behind your desk drinking your tea.

He shuffled closer. "I need those trading deals. Give them back."

You hummed. "I paid for the fair and square. You lost, accept it."

He grabbed the edge of the desk. "I need them!"

"I don't think you do. You have so much money that you don't know what to do with it. It is just you and you pay your workers poorly." You sighed. "About them. I have paid them off and they are now working for me."

"You sly bitch!"

Levi snarled. "Tch, watch your fucking mouth. That's my wife you're talking about."

The man shook in fear. "I didn't know...you...uh..."

You smiled at him. "So, I have the trading routes, I have your workers and you kind of owe me money because you took some loans."

He started to get nervous. "I uh..." He laughed nervously. "I don't have it yet."

You tilted your head. "Hmm...Levi? As a man from the underground city, you know very well what things can bring in money, right?"

Levi walked closer. "I do."

"Anything on him that could sell well for his debt?"

Levi cracked his knuckles. "Yes."

You got up and packed a few things as Levi got what you needed. You waited for the man to scamper out sobbing before you held your husband's hand. "You ready?"

Levi squeezed your hand tightly. "Yes."

You kissed the back of his hand and walked with him through the town until you reached a large building. You slipped inside and grinned when kids started screaming and shouting for you and Levi. You kissed Levi's cheek and left him to the children you'd both saved from the underground. You moved to the person in charge and handed them money.

The teacher welled up. "Thank you so much! Oh, Mrs Ackerman, you have been wonderful. You and your husband have rescued so many children and women from the underground."

You smiled softly. "Levi came from that life and he lost his mother to the city. We want to prevent more death and suffering."

"You're both a blessing." She placed the money in her safe. "How is your husband?"

You giggled. "Likely playing with the kids." You walked with her back to Levi running around with the children. "There he is." You smiled as the rescued women were giggling and saying nice things about Levi. "It makes me happy to see these women and children doing well. Do we have enough for therapy?"

The teacher nodded. "We do. I'll action it. These ladies and children have seen and done things...we'll get them the support."

Levi jogged over to you and panted. "I have fought titans, people, trained for days and even camped out beyond the walls for days. None of that compares to running around with little kids for a while." He ruffled his hair and sighed. "I'm exhausted, but it's fun."

You giggled. "You are doing wonderful with them."

"Thank you." He hummed a bit. "Kids..."

You kissed his cheek. "A lovely thought."

He nodded. "Yeah, yeah it is."

You hugged Levi's arm. "Shall we buy the kids some sweets?"

"Sounds good and then a date after?"

You kissed Levi's cheek. "Perfect."

[treacheryinblue]

Chapter 1/?

Word Count: 8.5k

Masterlist

A Noah Sebastian x OC x Nicholas Ruffilo Series

× Summary: In the not so distant future, there's only Above and Below ― a "castle" that reaches the sky and the gritty underbelly that's looked down upon ( both literally and metaphorically ). The guys are recruited to carry out the task of taking down this power with the assistance of Scarlett: a confident and seductive, yet mysterious, force that may be closer to the enemy than what she lets on. Themes: dystopian, cyberpunk, post-apocalyptic, etc.

× Warnings!: Things get smutty. Language. Death - both spoken of and written. Violence. Anti-government. Broody Noah. Precious baby angel Nicholas. A girl who can't choose. Drinking, drugs, etc. Unreliable narrator? Each chapter will have its own set of separate warnings if there's anything additional.

× Author Notes: ( 1 ) Just going to be honest straight up ― if you don't like world building, then you may not like this. ⍨ ( 2 ) This chapter is more Nick centered because he deserves some recognition on my page. ( 3 ) Feedback of any kind is welcomed. Happy reading! ❤

Known affectionately as Lost Angeles, the last true and vast surviving city. 

Made up of Heaven and Hell, most commonly referred to as Above and Below. 

Why? Because, well, the latter was quite a ways down from the glimmering mega tower that you either hated with a passion, or desperately wanted to become a part of. 

Although, anyone with at least two working brain cells could see that Heaven was a cruel and sadistic facade ran by a dictator by the name of Silver. Its main purpose being to inflict fear upon those belonging to Below; a way to control them, a warning they were always forced to see no matter where they stood within the decaying city. 

This is why Noah chose to conduct the majority of his doings even further down, right in the underground of Below. 

“You want us to what?” 

A fit of laughter erupted from him, the three men standing a bit further back following suit with amusement of their own. 

“You've got to be fucking joking.” 

The older man’s face reddened with anger, his pudgy fingers rapping against the table top that separated him from them. This man in reference was Ulrik, a well known con man and loan shark that had a way of getting things done. Did you have a messy job you needed performed to completion? Ulrik was your guy, but always for a hefty price. 

This is how Noah knew he had to be truly desperate if he was outsourcing his jobs now. Or maybe he just needed to find someone stupid enough to agree to the suicide mission. 

“I was being nice by asking. Did you forget that you owe me a favor?” 

A heavy sigh was then expelled, his gloved hand lifting to rub his chin from over the black ski mask that covered the entirety of his head. It's the same mask the other guys wore as well, the one thing keeping their identities secret. 

It wasn't an odd thing to see. People of Below were known to wear masks - some more simple, others terribly intricate - solely because it kept them safe from the debris and dust that was constantly floating through the air. Wearing them inside was a little less popular. 

“I'll even make it easier for you,” Ulrik continued with a toothy grin that was riddled with bits of gold. “There's a girl-”

“A girl?” Noah repeated, brows raised beneath the mask. 

“Yes, a girl. She can help you get in and out of the Tower. She's smart. Does work for me sometimes.” 

Another laugh was pulled from him, followed by a roll of his eyes. Noah leaned back casually in his chair, though his hands remained clasped atop the table. He was staring the man down, silently daring him to feed him bullshit one more time. 

“Cut the shit, ‘Rik. Everyone knows you don't just enter the Tower and then live to tell the tale when you don't belong there. People go up, but they never come down.” 

Ulrik’s grin lingered, becoming more and more smug by the second. 

“Ah, you see, that's where you're wrong. She has gone both up and down.” 

× × ×

Seven wasn’t exactly where he was expecting to end up that night. He stared up at the neon-lit business front, flashing signs indicating the purchase of companionship, while others promised music and dancing. He had passed by the building many times, but never stepped foot inside. Tales of the happenings inside ran rampant, though. From what he gathered, it wasn't a place for the faint of heart.

“I can't believe you agreed to this shit.” 

Noah glanced over to Nicholas as he took a deep drag of his cigarette before tossing it to the ground. The motion was followed with a shrug, his expression remaining blank. 

“I agreed to us talking to the girl. I never agreed to us taking the job.” 

“When it comes to Ulrik, you may as well have signed our lives away.” 

That could've possibly been true, but Noah was going to give the man the benefit of the doubt. Maybe nothing would come of this visit. Maybe he would let them turn the job down. Maybe they'd laugh it off together. Or maybe all of them would end up with their tongues cut out. 

Noah didn't say anything else before taking long strides up to the building, Nick trailing begrudgingly behind him. Despite the masks still covering their faces, the rather large and buff man at the door nodded them in. If they looked like buyers, then there was no issue. 

…now he wasn't so sure what that said about them. 

Inside of Seven was dark, the only source of light coming from the red and blue LEDs sporadically placed around. It was cleaner than he was expecting, but there was still a sharp scent in the air that led him to believe strong cleaning products were used on the regular. Noah didn't want to think about what they could possibly be cleaning in depth so often. 

“Hey there, handsome.” A woman cooed almost as soon as they walked into the main area, her hand grazing along his chest as she sauntered by. She didn't pause to entice them in, though. Probably because she could sense their lack of engagement due to his skill of avoiding eye contact, and basically acting like she wasn't there to begin with. 

Stepping deeper in, Noah was on high alert. He looked to every corner, studied every face, and noted every exit that could be seen. Never know when you'd have to make a quick getaway. 

The music playing throughout had a deep bass to it; one of those dark wave tracks that was supposed to sound sexy, but it only bored him. Dolled up women were seen with every sweep of his gaze, as well as desperate men looking for someone to force their fantasies on. A few of the women were encased in large metal cages, their bodies moving rhythmically to the songs playing. 

Yeah, this place definitely screamed ‘Below’. It was gritty and filthy - in the kinky sort of way. Depraved was possibly a better word for it. 

“Hey,” Noah called out to a man who stood to the side with his hands clasped in front of him. He was obviously security, so hopefully that meant he could point them in the right direction. 

“We’re looking for a girl that goes by Scarlett. You know where we can find her?” 

Macho security man took one look at them and shook his head. 

“Ah, come on!” Noah grinned beneath the mask with his attempt at being inviting. “A friend of mine said she was the best. I just want to try her out for myself.” 

Fuck - how badly he wanted to gag and cringe at his own words. 

“If you don't know which girl she is, then she isn't the girl for you. Now fuck off.” 

Noah figured it was best to not argue with security, so he took a few steps back and then turned to Nick. “The hospitality here is something to be desired.” 

“Why don't we just take a look around? Maybe one of the other girls will point her out.” 

Just as Noah was about to agree, a sweet voice cut through the atrocious music that was still thumping ridiculously loud through the club. 

“Did you say Scarlett?” 

Both him and Nick simultaneously turned towards the voice, only to see that it belonged to a girl in one of the cages. Her manicured fingers gripped the bars as she kneeled down to their level, eyes bouncing back and forth between them both. 

“You know her?” 

The girl's fair shoulders gave a shrug, though she smiled when she briefly locked her gaze with his. 

“Everyone knows Scarlett.” 

The girl was running a hand up and down along one of the bars that separated them. Noah assumed this was a way to entice the desperate men in, leading them to think of her hand wrapped around their unsavory dicks and not the metal. 

“Hi, pretty eyes.” Her focus was now on Nick, which didn't surprise him. Even with the masks, he was sure Nick appeared nicer than he did. Someone that would be easier to talk to. Easier to butter up. 

Leaning in closer to the bars, her hands spread across to widen her grip, showcasing her cleavage that was popping out from the skimpy top she wore. Noah knew the games, and he knew Nick did too, but that wasn't going to stop his friend from falling for it. Hard. 

“What will it take for you to introduce us to her?” 

The girl smirked, her teeth sinking into her lower lip as she thought. 

“Buy a private room for an hour. Ask specifically for number thirteen.” She tore her gaze from Nick to look over to him, obviously showing no shame in the way her eyes raked up and down his tall stature. “I'll make sure she's there.” 

With that, she stood up to her full height and made a motion to the side which prompted someone to unlock the cage. 

“Go on,” she smiled at them before she could exit, shooing them away to a cashier. 

“Ulrik better fucking reimburse us for this.” Noah grumbled while already beginning to pull the cash from his pockets. 

× × ×

Room thirteen was on the second floor and sat at the very end of the hall. He assumed this was the most private of all the rooms, merely from the location alone. While making their way to it with the key clutched in his grasp, he could hear all the unpleasant things happening beyond the other doors they passed. Most sounded like noises of enjoyment but there were some that reminded him of pure torture. Those were the ones he didn't want to think too hard about. They had a task at hand, and worrying about what 'paying customers’ did was not it. 

As they entered the room, all outside noises suddenly stopped upon closing the door. That sure was interesting. He shook his head, cautious steps then being taken further into the room. It was reminiscent of a hotel room, but not as luxurious. There was a bed, a dresser, and a darkened doorway which he assumed led to a bathroom. 

“This is fucked,” he murmured with a glance to Nick who had just plopped down into a chair that sat in the corner. 

“Do we know anyone that comes to these sorts of places?” 

Noah chuckled, his head ducking a bit in an attempt to see if he could inspect behind the mirror attached to the dresser. It was easy to assume that they were being watched and listened to. 

“I doubt it, unless you mean know like how we know Ulrik. My guess is he's a big spender here.” 

A gloved hand ran along the seam of the mirror pressed to the wall, looking it up and down suspiciously. Did each room have a camera? Or just some perverted guy sitting behind a two way mirror monitoring their doings? Either way, he fucking hated the feeling of being watched. 

“What are you doing?” 

Well, that voice surely didn't belong to Nick. 

His eyes flickered up to the door of the room that was being closed, the same girl from the cage standing in the entryway. 

“There's a reason why I told you guys to request this room. No cameras. No mics.” 

There was something different about the girl now - other than the fact that she had covered herself in a black silk robe that hit the top of her thighs. Was it that her voice wasn't as sweet? Her eyes a little more piercing? Or had she just completely dropped the act now that they were behind closed doors? 

“Where's Scarlett?” Noah ignored her initial question, instead choosing to respond with one of his own. He didn't have the time or patience to play this game. 

The girl arched a brow, her eyes brightening with a hint of amusement. She walked by where he stood, then bent at the waist when she was at the end of the dresser. From the bottom drawer she produced an unlabeled bottle, as well as three glasses which she placed atop the dresser. 

“I think she is Scarlett…” Nick spoke up, still seated. 

With a widening grin, the girl put her fingertip to her nose and looked back to Nick from over her shoulder, the same finger shifting to point his way. “Good job, pretty eyes. I'm glad at least one of you can put a two-piece puzzle together.” 

A glass of amber liquid was extended to him, which he had no choice but to take upon her forcing it to his chest. He noted that she was much more gentle when offering an identical drink to Nick, the other being kept for herself.

“Before anything else is said, I'm going to need you guys to take the masks off.” 

Noah immediately shook his head. “That's not happening.”

An intense look was sent his way from Scarlett. Her hand was on her hip, heel-clad feet carrying her closer to him. 

“Either you take off the masks or we're done here.”

SCARLETT

“Well?” Her brows quirked as she stepped around the tall one, slow motions being taken closer to the one with the clear blue-grey eyes. She was already more fond of him. 

“Just do it,” he exhaled, quickly pulling his mask off as if he was ripping a band-aid free in one swift motion. 

Mumbles of aggravation came from the tall one, but she knew he had done the same based on the sounds of shuffling around and the way his mask was then tossed to the edge of the bed. When she glanced back to him, he was working his fingers through his hair, but that wasn't what caught her attention 

“Hold on…you guys are Entertainers?” Scarlett’s eyes went wide with excitement, her sights going back and forth between the two of them again. The guys said nothing, though they shared a silent look with each other that had her interest piqued. 

“Ulrik failed to mention that when he told me I'd have visitors.” 

“That's because Ulrik doesn't know. That's also how it's going to stay, got it?” 

Entertainers were some of the most important people, both Above and Below. They had a way of controlling the masses and getting messages out, especially these specific Entertainers she was currently in the company of. If anyone was to know they were in cahoots with someone of the likes of Ulrik, they would probably disappear in a snap. 

“Are you always so feisty?” Scarlett shook her head as she brought her drink to her lips. 

“Since you recognize us, does that mean you've seen our shows?” 

Nodding, she reached over to lightly drag her fingertip along the seated one’s jaw. His bright eyes lifted to meet with hers and she instantly graced him with a sweet smile. 

“A few times, actually. Let's just say…I'm all about your scene.” 

The scene she spoke of being one that was kept hush hush, all because of their leadership in the powers that wanted to overthrow Above. Not everyone was privy to this information, though. To be a part of it meant sure death. 

“Listen, Scarlett, that's not why we're here. Ulrik told us to come talk to you, see what you could do to help us with this job he has, so we can decide if we're going to take it or not.”

“Oh, honey, if you're here talking to me then you've already taken the job.” 

Although she was addressing the tall one on the opposite side of the room, her sights remained set on this sweeter one she had taken much more of a liking to. 

“Do you think you just happened to run into me by chance downstairs? No. I knew you were coming, that's why I was on the floor to begin with. Just waiting for the guys with an ‘air of arrogance' to arrive.” 

Scarlett looked back to the tall guy, her eyes drinking him in again. She was well aware of the perplexed expression he wore as he studied her, obviously trying to figure her out. Jokes on him, because he would never be able to. 

“You two have names?” 

“Nicholas,” her favorite almost immediately revealed. “Nick.”

“Fucking seriously?” The unknown guy hissed, now looking at him in disbelief. “You're just going to drop your name like that all because you're hypnotized by her tits?” 

Scarlett rolled her eyes in annoyance. 

“My eyes are pretty nice too, but don't get your panties in a twist. You need something from me, correct? So, how can you trust me with that if you don't even trust me with your name?” 

This got him to shut up for a second because he knew she was right. Something told her that he didn't like being the one who wasn't. His arrogant demeanor wasn't exactly her favorite quality about him, but she was going to let it slide this time. All because of her own curiosities. 

“Noah,” he finally answered after a long pause of silence had settled between them. 

“Can we just cut to the chase? No more of your seductive cage dancer bullshit. We bought the room - you - to talk, not to play little games.” 

Scarlett retracted her touch from Nick, her body language immediately shifting to defensive mode. She was finding it harder and harder to play nice when it came to this Noah jackass. 

“Not that it's any of your business but I'm not a cage dancer and I'm not for sale.” Her eyes narrowed at him in a silent warning, though she still found her way in front of him despite how badly she wanted to drop him on his ass. 

“That know-it-all attitude of yours is going to leave you dead one day. So if I were you, I'd compose myself a little more, especially when you're asking someone for help.” 

She could tell that he wanted to say something else, but she continued before he could. 

“Sit down and shut up. I don't want to hear another peep from you until I say. I'll be directing my attention and questions to Nick.” 

Scarlett motioned to him, her smile returning as she did. She was going to show Noah that you could catch more flies with honey than vinegar, so maybe he could learn a lesson or two to take home with him to resonate on. 

“Now, Nicky, why don't you tell me about this job Ulrik has so kindly signed you up for?” She sat on the edge of the bed closest to the chair he remained perched in. Her back was straight, one leg crossed over the other, and her focus was now solely on him. 

Nick took in a deep breath before tilting his head back to down what remained of the liquor in his glass. He grimaced slightly, just enough to bring a genuine smile to her lips at the sight. 

“He wants us to break into the Tower.”

Scarlett slowly nodded since she had already gathered as much. “Is…that it?”

“No…” Nick shook his head. “Once in the Tower, he wants us to cut the power to it permanently and then kill Silver.”

It felt as if someone had punched her right in the gut, that's how strong the shock was when she heard his words. Had Ulrik lost his goddamn mind? 

“He wants you to kill Silver? President Silver? The man who runs Silver Life Industries, also known as the company that provides every-fucking-thing we lay our eyes on?” 

The destruction included. 

Nick could only nod and when she glanced back at Noah, he had his elbows propped up on his knees with the heels of his hands digging into his eyes. It was obvious that they knew how ridiculous it sounded. Not to mention how dangerous it was. Hell, this was the only room in Seven not bugged and even she started feeling nervous that someone could hear them. 

“Well…shit.” 

“Can you help us or not?” 

Scarlett wanted to scold Noah for speaking before she allowed him to, but with the situation that was just dropped into her lap, she no longer cared about his manners. 

“I mean…yeah, I can get you guys into the Tower, but you have to survive to actually make it out too.” 

“Perfect. All we needed to know.” Noah dropped his hands to his knees in a slap then stood from the opposite corner of the bed he had claimed. The mask was tugged back over his face and adjusted properly, thus signaling to Nick that it was time for them to go. 

“How do we get in touch with you?” Nick questioned after mimicking Noah's motions, both of their identities now concealed. 

Scarlett smiled before opening the door, a rush of mixed noises immediately assaulting their ears.  

“I'll find you.” 

× × ×

And find them she did, although nearly a week later. 

It definitely wasn't her fastest work, but a lot had been on her mind since their little meeting at Seven. Not to mention the guys had done a pretty good job at not leaving much of a trace of themselves in the outside world. Unless you knew the right people to talk to, which she did. 

Scarlett had been a little nervous when taking the rickety elevator down to the lower level of the apartment building they resided in. It's where she had been told they spent most of their time because it was secluded and away from the prying eyes and ears of those watching from Above. 

Thinking back on it now, maybe she should've announced herself before waltzing into their glorified man cave. This thought came to her as she stepped off the death trap of an elevator, only to immediately feel the cool barrel of a gun pressed to the back of her head. 

“Who the fuck are you?” 

When she didn't answer right away, the gun was cocked as a final warning. The sound alone sent a chill down her spine, but she still released a huff as if annoyed by the hold up. 

“Are all of you this paranoid?” 

The gun was nudged against her head, his prior question silently being asked again. 

“Scarlett,” she then answered, though the gun remained firm in place. 

“Don't know a Scarlett.”

“And I don't know why I'm being held at gunpoint, yet here we are. Both of us confused.” 

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Jolly! Gun down!” 

There was a rush from behind her and then the loaded weapon was no longer pressed to her head, but instead decocked and set aside based on what sounds she could pick up. 

Bickering began to unfold, something about them explaining to him who she was a few days ago, him claiming he didn't remember, then a few soothing phrases and words were exchanged to calm the trigger happy man down. 

Scarlett glanced back during the altercation, seeing that it was Nick lightly touching the guy's shoulder as another unknown male stood a bit off to the side. Noah was nowhere to be seen but that was okay. She was only popping by to show her face and obviously let it be known that they weren't super hard to track down. 

“I'll send a carrier pigeon next time telling you guys I'm stopping by,” she joked once Nick was making his way over to her. “Maybe avoid a bloodbath.” 

“I would say ‘sorry’ for him…but you are the one intruding. How the hell did you get past the locks, by the way?” 

For a moment she was confused by his question, but then remembered the coded pin pads she had easily bypassed to even open the elevator doors. “Oh,” she waved the confusion off, laughing. “It wasn't exactly the hardest of programs to crack. You guys should probably get someone better to handle that for you.” 

Nick squinted at her, his smile wavering. “I set those locks…”

Damn. She couldn't remember the last time she had truly been embarrassed, but this was definitely going to remain fresh in her mind for a while. 

“Right…well…I'll have to give you some pointers.” 

“What are you doing here?” 

Scarlett smiled at his sudden change of topic. She found herself taking a slight step closer to him, pleased to be able to clearly see his eyes without dim or harsh lights drowning out the color. 

“Not happy to see me, Nicky?” 

Nick took in a deep breath, those eyes of his trailing her up and down unabashedly. “No…no…seeing you has definitely been a highlight…” 

Grinning, she reached out to lightly touch his cheek, just before her eyes shifted to the guys lingering not far back. 

“Are you going to introduce me?” 

“Shit, right.” Nick cleared his throat, his body turning so he could carry himself closer to his friends. While Scarlett did recognize them from the shows she had attended, it was still best that he initiated the exchange of their names. 

Did she already know them? Maybe. 

“Scarlett, this is Jolly, and I promise he isn't as quick to pull the trigger as you may think.”

“Clearly, since I'm still alive,” she taunted. 

“And this strapping young man is also Nick, but we call him Folio. So, yeah…this is Scarlett, the girl Ulrik told us about.” 

Jolly scoffed as he examined her with what appeared to be great frustration. 

“This little sparkle fairy is supposed to be the one helping us? My foot is bigger than her!” 

“Sparkle fairy?” She repeated with a look of distaste for the term. 

“I'm sure my foot can cause more damage too!” 

Now this caused her eyes to narrow, jaw setting into a firm clench. What is it with men and their need to always underestimate her? Most of the time it didn't bother her too much because it typically worked out in her favor when they did, but sometimes - like now - it truly pissed her off. Here she was, offering her services and also her time, and it was unappreciated. 

“Do you want to test that theory out? I have no issues with shattering every bone in your foot with my own goddamn heels.” 

Jolly appeared taken back for a moment, but a smile then pulled at his lips and he was wagging his finger in her direction. “Never mind. I like her.” 

“Same…but she's a little scary…” Folio murmured under his breath as he and Jolly led the group to a sitting area. 

“Just some knowledge to place upon you,” Nick called out to Folio while dropping his hand to his shoulder. “All women are scary.”

This made her smile, another slight laugh leaving her. “I always knew you were the smart one.” 

A few more steps and they were within an area that held mismatched chairs, rugs, and other random decor pieces. It was obvious that the guys grabbed whatever they could that was still in decent condition, and she didn't blame them. Sometimes it was the simple things that were hard to come by nowadays. 

“No Noah?” She questioned as she dropped her bag onto one of the random chairs, this one being a deep green color. 

“He said he was going down to the corner store but that was…” Nick glanced at the others, “maybe about an hour ago.” 

“Well, I guess it's a good thing this was more a social call than actual planning. Pretty much just needed to see what - and who - I'd be working with.” Her eyes drifted between all three of them, lips pursed as she sized them up. Scarlett had a knack for reading people. Very rarely was she incorrect in her assumptions. 

The point of her nail angled towards Jolly, slowly nodding. “I'm guessing you're the muscle, yeah? Good with weapons, intimidating, a pretty decent shot.” 

Scarlett didn't give them a chance to respond before she was moving on to the next. Her focus fell to Nick, immediately giving him a sweet smile as she had done consistently now. 

“The kind of guy that knows his way around tech…probably the smartest one in the room but doesn't like to show it…voice of reason.” 

Their eyes remained locked for a long moment, though she looked away first before anyone could question it. The reddening of his cheeks didn't go unnoticed by her, though. 

“And Folio…the wild card. Every good group has one. Never know what you're gonna do next, but it somehow always works out to be helpful.” 

“Damn…are you psychic?” Folio asked, his eyes wide with awe for her little party trick. 

Before she could reply, a different voice cut through. 

“Guess that makes me the asshole leader.” Noah strolled in and paused a few feet from her. He crossed his arms over his chest, letting her know that he was trying his best to make himself look bigger. An intimidation technique, obviously. 

“Arrogant, bossy, doesn't know when to quit…”

“The one who ends up getting someone killed.” Scarlett quickly snapped, her head whipping around to show him just how serious her expression was. “Not yourself, though. No, you're the one who gets to live with the guilt of his pretentious, pompous attitude being the reason a friend doesn't make it out alive.” 

NICHOLAS

The room grew so quiet that he was convinced you could hear a pin drop. He was looking at Noah, at Scarlett, and then back to Noah, studying the way they now glared at one another. His best friend appeared as if he wanted to explode (verbally? physically? both?), but he was doing the best he could at holding onto his composure. 

Flexing his shoulders backwards, Noah gave a single nod. Seconds later, he was disappearing to the other side of the room where he could slip through a typically concealed doorway that led to their makeshift studio area. 

“I'll draw up a plan and see you guys in a couple of days, yeah?” 

Scarlett was smiling again as if nothing had happened but he could pick up on the slight waver in her voice. That had him curious. 

Unfortunately, she was gathering her belongings and strutting away before he could even stand from his seat. 

“Hey, Sca-” Nick rushed to his feet to try to stop her, but she was gone. The sound of the elevator doors closing rang in his ears - a reminder that they really needed to fix that. 

“Shit, she's brutal.” Jolly shook his head. “I still like her, though.” 

Nick heavily exhaled while turning on his heel, now heading back the other way to where Noah had slid away. He found him sitting at the old, out of tune piano, lightly pressing random keys as if just testing the sound. 

“Maybe I should just do this alone.”

That was the last thing Nick had been expecting to hear. 

“Absolutely not.” 

“No, Nick, she's right. I should've told Ulrik to 'fuck off’. It's my fault we’re in this, and I'm not going to let anyone else die because of me.” 

Nick could sense how heavy those words were for him to say. He could hear it. He could feel it. They were all still mourning in their own way, though Noah’s preferences were a little more on the self destructive side. 

“You've completely lost it if you think any of us are going to let you do this alone.” 

Despite his statement being true, he couldn't bring himself to tell Noah that he was wrong for experiencing guilt and blame that he placed on himself. Things had happened in the past because of him. Nick figured it was best to not outright say this, though. 

“Fuck!” Noah abruptly growled, his hands slamming down on the piano keys with such force that a couple remained permanently sunken in. 

“Why do you always have to be so fucking understanding and loyal? Why can't you for once just tell me I'm a piece of shit? Huh, Nick?”

How the hell had this suddenly become an attack on him? 

“I know you're thinking it. Jolly and Folio obviously are too. Shit, even your girlfriend read me like a fucking children's picture book.” 

“What? Scarlett isn't my-”

“Obviously, Nick. A girl like her?” Noah snorted a laugh. “She would rip you to pieces.” 

Nick stared at the back of his best friend’s head, since he had refused to turn around since their conversation began. There was a lot he wanted to say, but he swallowed every harsh word because he knew Noah would regret this by the next day. That's just how things went with them nowadays. 

“Y’know, maybe Scarlett was right about some things. Your attitude will be your downfall.” 

× × ×

The last thing he wanted right then was for Noah to be right. He refused to let that fucker wear a smug smile while muttering 'I told ya so’ to him. Why was he so quick to assume Scarlett would get the better of him? All because he was nice? Because he knew how to smile? Because he didn't need to be a broody asshole day after day? 

Nick wouldn't let himself believe that. 

Taking in a deep breath, he shook his hands out to rid the nerves, then he pressed the faintly glowing blue button on the outside of the door. There was nothing for a long moment, so long that he almost walked away, but as he was considering it, the door creaked open slowly. 

“Nick? What…how did you find me?”

Not even seeing Scarlett’s face right then could calm him. Although, the fact that she recognized him within less than a second while he was wearing his mask did make his heart swell a bit. 

“It took you how long to find where we were?” He cracked a slight smile. “Just had to show you how it's done.” 

Even through her confused expression, he could see a smile threatening to appear and overtake her stoic demeanor. Nick was praying that meant she was at least a little happy to see him - invited or not. 

He watched as she contemplated silently to herself before finally taking steps back and widening the entryway for him. 

“Wait…don't go any further.” After closing and securing the door with multiple locks, Scarlett’s form rushed by him so she could begin pulling the curtains closed around the living room. The area darkened significantly, though he understood why she was being cautious. 

“I'd rather not become Above’s nightly entertainment,” she explained once she was turning to face him, her arms loosely crossed over her chest in what he could assume was another one of her infamous defensive stances. 

SCARLETT

Why was her heart racing right then? 

Why was Nick in her home? 

Why was he looking at her like that?

Before she could verbalize any of these questions, he was tugging the black mask off his head and shaking his fingers through his hair. 

“You shouldn't be here…” she softly murmured, the nerves setting in. “It's not safe for either of us.” 

Scarlett desperately wanted to tell herself to ‘shut the hell up’ because having him there actually felt nice. Her apartment wasn't so lonely for once. It was going to be a fleeting feeling and she knew this, but what was so wrong with enjoying it while she could? 

Oh, right, the high risk of death. 

Nick nodded in agreement, but instead of turning and leaving like she was expecting him to, he actually took fast steps over to her. His rough hands grabbed her face within them and he leaned down as far as he needed to, to force his lips hard against hers. 

The shock of the kiss nearly knocked the breath out of her, but she was able to recover almost instantly before he got the wrong idea from her reaction. It took about the same amount of time for Nick to soften the claim his lips had made on hers. Scarlett wasn't going to let that slide. 

As they engaged in their yet-to-be-broken kiss, her hands ran up along the length of his waist and over his arms where she could briefly grip his wrists. Since he had just come in from outside, he was wearing far too many layers that were used to shield him from the elements. So, she quickly went to work at ridding him of them. 

First, his jacket was pushed from his shoulders, followed by the secondary lighter one he wore beneath it. Nick graciously helped her, eagerly tugging at the sleeves and tossing each article of clothing aside. She couldn't help but to smile against his lips since she found his excitement to be cute. 

Scarlett released a slight sound of surprise as he gripped beneath her thighs and lifted her up into his arms, forcing her back into the wall. Her legs secured around his waist, pressing herself right against where she could feel the growing bulge in his dark jeans. 

“Someone's excited…” she taunted, her breathing heavy after parting from the kiss. Nick’s lips were flushed red, pupils dilated as he stared directly at her. Her thumb swiped along his lower lip, gently soothing the tier from where her teeth had sunken in at some point. She swore she saw his eyes darken just before his lips were crashing to hers again. 

Scarlett moaned, her fingers working back into his hair, nails scratching at his scalp. He must've liked this, because next thing she knew he was pressing himself firm between her thighs, grinding against her aching core. The sensation caused her to shiver, legs then tightening around him in an attempt to bring him in closer. Nick’s grip on her thighs embedded deeper and now it was his turn to break from her lips, just so he could begin trailing hot kisses along her neck and the front of her chest. 

“Nicky…” she breathed out to gain his attention. That's all it took for him to detach himself from her skin, his bright eyes lifting to meet with her own. “I should probably tell you that I'm not looking for anything serious.” 

The man she was currently wrapped around was sweet and she knew he had a good head on his shoulders, anyone would be lucky to have him, but these days…it wasn't that simple anymore. 

His eye searched hers as he carefully lowered her back down to her feet, though he didn't move away from her. Actually, he pressed his body flush against hers, trapping her between himself and the wall. Scarlett smirked, her hands slipping beneath the shirt he wore so she could feel the heat of his bare skin. 

“I know,” he nodded while his hand smoothed along her jaw and to the back of her neck. “That's fine.” 

To her, that was a green light to continue. 

Scarlett pressed up onto her tip toes so she could kiss him again, just before she placed her hands flat against his chest and pushed him back. Grabbing his shoulders, she guided him to the couch and forced him down into a seated position. Nick’s hands instantly attached to her hips as he gazed up at her with a smile, though his obvious desire for her was still present in his eyes. 

Grasping his shirt, she pulled it off in a swift motion and tossed it back to be tended to later. Despite his hands eagerly beginning to lift the dress she wore, Scarlett sent a look his way that caused him to immediately stop, though his touch didn't leave her body. 

“You listen well,” she taunted. “I like that.” With a lingering smirk, she gently nudged his hands away so she could slip her own beneath her dress, her panties being pulled down for her to step out of. 

Nick watched her for a moment, but then began fumbling with the belt he wore, followed by the button and zipper of his jeans. He really was just so fucking cute. Most people she had been with in the past always tried to play it way too cool, making it appear as if they really didn't give a shit about what was happening. But Nick? Well, he clearly had no issue with showing his excitement. 

Stepping back to him, her hands slowly ran up the expanse of his thighs. Nick took in a sharp inhale as she grazed the obvious bulge that was straining in his jeans, the reaction causing her to arch a brow. 

“Sensitive?” Her smirk widened when he cursed under his breath but ultimately nodded in response. 

Scarlett gently pressed the heel of her hand into him before her fingers began to massage his lengthening hard on over the fabric. Her eyes fixated on his face, joyfully watching the change in his expression as his hips bucked up into her palm and his brows knitted together. 

“If I wasn't so eager to have you, I'd make you cum just like this…” she softly threatened. 

Nick heavily breathed out at this, his frustrations quite apparent. She understood how maddening it could be because she was feeling it as well. The only difference was that she had a bit more composure than he did, though only because she had claimed the dominance between them. At least this time. 

Hiking her dress up, she situated herself on his lap in a straddling position. She was lifted up onto her knees so she could further undress him, now moving faster than she previously had been. Scarlett dragged his jeans and boxers down as far as necessary, allowing his cock to spring free at full attention. 

Then, she was positioning herself over him with the guidance of his hands, but she didn't yet drop herself down. 

“You've been thinking about this since the moment you saw me at Seven, haven't you?” Scarlett hovered right over the swollen head of his cock, only allowing him to feel the heat her cunt radiated. His grip on her hips tightened in anticipation, jaw clenching from how she was dragging this out. 

“I bet you've imagined how wet I'd be for you…how tight…what sort of noises you'd get me to make…”

Closing the space between them by only a few centimeters, she briefly shut her eyes when she felt the tip nudging against her soaked entrance. It took all of her self control to not just fully give in because Nick felt better already than even she had imagined. 

So what if she had spent a night or two cumming around her fingers to the thought of him? 

“Are you going to let me find out?” Nick retorted with a smirk of his own, his hips shifting slightly as he attempted to press up into her. He probably thought he was successful in this, but Scarlett had let it happen, both of them gasping in unison when the head of his cock buried further. 

Leaning in, she began to kiss along his jaw as her hands shifted back to grip the top edge of the couch. She was slowly taking him in now, stroking herself up and down while engulfing his cock inch by inch. 

“Fuck…you feel amazing.” Nick groaned, a twitch of his cock reiterating his words. 

His fingers then flexed along her hips and she was suddenly being forced all the way down, his hips lifting simultaneously. A loud moan echoed through the room, easily drowning out the sound of his own groans. Scarlett bowed her head into the crook of his neck, heavily breathing from the rush of ecstasy that radiated through her. Her cunt tightly clenched around his throbbing shaft as she tried to quickly adjust. 

Nick pushed the thin fabric of her dress up while they remained flush together so he could fully expose her body to him. One hand slid up her abdomen and between her breasts as the other returned to her hip, eagerly trying to guide her hips along. 

It took a moment, but she was finally able to get her bearings and find a proper rhythm. Breathy moans escaped between them once she was sliding up and down his cock with a newly established ease. Each drop of her hips had the tip stroking along just the right spot, causing her to arch her lower back in a desperate need to feel more. 

“Nicky…oh!” She gasped, her mouth falling opening and her hips briefly stuttering atop his. “Yeah, just like that…”

Scarlett nodded when his tattooed hands assisted in lifting her up and down, forcing her harder into his lap with every downward motion. 

Tossing her hair aside, a hand released the back of the couch so she could grab his jaw. Nick’s eyes were forced up to hers where she held his gaze, just so he could see how fucking good he was making her feel. Something about the eye contact must've really done it for him, because his grip shifted back to her ass to keep her up so he could drive himself up into her aching pussy at a rapid pace. The action caused the entirety of her body to tense and her breath to stall, the pleasure nearly too much. 

“I'm going to cum…” Scarlett again nodded. She dropped a hand between her thighs to begin rubbing her clit in fast circles, the act immediately drawing Nick's eye down. Watching him watch her, as well as the sight of his cock disappearing up into her petite body again and again, had her right there. 

Only a couple of more thrusts from him beneath her and her cunt was erupting around him, briefly causing her composure to break. Scarlett had to latch onto his shoulder with her teeth to keep herself from crying out his name too loud - they couldn't draw too much attention. His arms circled around her waist to hold her in close as her entire being trembled and quaked with her orgasm. 

Nails raked down his arms, involuntarily marking him before she even realized she had. Oh well. Maybe Nick liked the slight pain that came from it, though, because his own hips jerked after he demanded her pussy remain with his cock buried as deep as possible. 

“Shhh,” she soothingly hushed him, a hand immediately flying up to cover his mouth to muffle all the moans and profanities he was now expelling. Despite the need to keep quiet, Scarlett whimpered at the sensation of his cum overflowing and spilling out between them, mixing with her own small mess she had made. 

Once his body stilled, she slowly lowered her hand and instead covered his mouth with her own. They shared a desperate kiss, all eager tongues moving in sync with teeth clashing as they both tried to overtake the other. 

“You good?” Nick mumbled the best he could, receiving a nod from her in response. 

“Good.” 

In a swift motion, Nick had her on her back across the couch and he was driving himself between her thighs again. She stared up at him with wide eyes for only a second, utterly shocked by his ability to go again almost immediately, until the over-stimulation of him thrusting into her spent cunt clouded her mind. 

Scarlett suddenly didn't care anymore if her apartment neighbors heard them. Hell, she would rip her curtains down and let Above watch if that's what it took to make sure he didn't stop. 

Propped up on one elbow, his opposite hand began exploring her body. He grasped her neck for a moment, then dropped down to knead and massage her breast that was bouncing with each forceful snap of his hips. Scarlett’s noises spoke to her approval because words were impossible for her to come by right then. The smirk he wore showed his enjoyment in the sounds she made for him. 

Nick concluded his exploration when the pads of his fingers made contact with her swollen and overly sensitive clit. A simple touch made her hips twitch and attempt to retract, despite how good it felt at the same time. This didn't stop Nick, though. He sat up on his knees and pulled her in closer, driving in harder and faster while his thumb stroked her clit in time. 

Scarlett writhed in ecstasy beneath him, hips rolling up to meet with his, before she was suddenly cumming again. Her pussy gushed and quivered through her climax, to the point that she thought maybe she would pass out from the intensity. 

“That's it…you did so good.” Nick cooed, this being a side of him that was taking her completely by surprise. Had he not just been the more submissive between the two? Wasn't she supposed to be the one in control? 

Too bad she couldn't focus on that right now because she was too busy watching his face contort as he released inside of her once more. Nick’s head hung at a downwards angle once his hips stopped spasming, the only movement from him now coming from the rapid rise and fall of his chest. He groaned and his jaw clenched as he slowly pulled out, bringing forth a pout from her due to the lack of being filled. 

Sex had always been something Scarlett could go without for long periods, simply because there were always more pressing matters that needed tending to. Trying to survive was a daily task that took up most of her time, if she was being honest. But now? Well, now she figured she would have to drown herself in this job of theirs so as to not become carried away each and everyday she was around him. 

“We can't tell anyone about this,” she spoke up first after catching her own breath. 

Nick had shifted to the opposite end of the couch to regain normal brain function, his eyes settled on her. She wasn't sure how to read his expression, but he eventually nodded in agreement. 

“I'm serious, Nick. It could jeopardize everything.” 

Taking in a deep breath, Scarlett carefully sat up, her knees being pulled closer to her chest. He was then softly chuckling, head shaking at her comments. 

“You should work on your pillow talk,” he teased. “I mean…my cum is still in you as you're telling me this has to stay a secret.” 

Scarlett rolled her eyes, a decorative pillow soon being tossed his way once she had dislodged it from behind her back. “Shut up,” she demanded with a huff. 

Nick smiled despite being well aware of how serious she was about everything. It wasn't like he was going to go back and gloat to the guys about what they had just done because Scarlett knew he wasn't the type. He may have surprised her a bit towards the end there, but that didn't change what she already knew about him. 

“What about…?” He motioned between the two of them and their still fully exposed bodies. “Was this a one time thing?” 

Now that was a question she didn't have an answer for. She knew what she should say but it definitely wasn't what she wanted to say. 

“Let's just focus on keeping you and the others alive first.” 

[tickle-minion]

The Photo Shoot

Pretty safe for work tickling story. Ended up a bit longer than I expected, but what can you do?

------

Ryan always knew he was going to make it big.  Ever since he was in high school he’d always gotten the lead parts in the school plays, and now that he was in university he was showing success in independent student productions.  Of course he didn’t make any money off of any of those, and tuition for his school was expensive, which meant he had to work and had thousands in student loans to look forward to once he was done.  He took this all in stride since he knew there was a pot of gold at the end of this very expensive rainbow.

One thing Ryan knew he needed if he was going to continue trying to be an actor was to get some professional pictures taken for auditions.  So far he’d gotten free head shots taken by photography students.  The problem is you get what you pay for, and some of the shots were clearly student work.

Luckily for Ryan, there were other photographers in town who were willing to work with students to get them some professional shots at a reduced rate.  After a few days of searching, Ryan came across a photographer named Jay.  He liked what he saw on Jay’s website (and liked his student discount even more) so he made an appointment to meet him.  The two met for a consultation and Ryan booked a time slot to come to Jay’s studio. 

On the day of the shoot, Jay brought several pairs of clothes to wear.  Something formal, something casual, some streetwear, etc.  When it came to the casual look, Jay instructed Ryan to take off his shoes and socks.

“Take them off?  Why?”

“Shows vulnerability.  Most people don’t show their feet at all, so it exposes a little bit more of you.”

Ryan wasn’t entirely convinced, but he still pulled off his shoes and socks and continued with the session.

It may have been his imagination, but Ryan felt that Jay kept glancing down at his bare feet.  It wasn’t super obvious, and as far as Ryan could tell his feet were never the focus of any shots, but Jay’s eyes kept trailing down to them.  Strange, yes, but Ryan didn’t want to cause a scene when he felt there was so much on the line.

Finally, with that last shot, they were done.

“Alright Ryan, that just about wraps it up.  I think we got some good shots, but it will take me a few days to go through and clean them up.”

“Wow, alright, thanks.  I’m looking forward to it.  Can’t wait to see how they turn out.”

Ryan started to put his socks back on.

“Hey, kid, before you go any further, I have a business proposition for you.  That is, if you’re looking to make a few bucks.”

Ryan stopped and looked over at the photographer.  Extra money was never a bad thing.

“I mean, money is money, I guess.  What are you looking for?  This isn’t something dirty, is it?  Because I’m not taking off my clothes.”

“Don’t worry, you’re already as undressed as you’d need to be.  I just want to make a little video to post on my website.”

Ryan’s eyes narrowed.

“I’ve seen your website.  You don’t have videos.”

The photographer gave a large toothy grin.

“Not that website, a different one.  Here, come and take a look.”

Jay motioned for Ryan to follow him to the back of the studio where he had a large computer setup.  Camera equipment and props were everywhere.

“Alright, just better not be anything too freaky.”

Ryan walked over to the far end of Jay’s studio on bare feet.  When he got to the computer he was shocked by what he saw on the screen.

“Are those guys getting… tickled?”

Jay nodded and scrolled down the page a bit, showing Ryan more videos.  Each one showed a young man (around Ryan’s age) being tickled.  Some were tied up, some had their feet in stocks, and some just had their ankles being held down.  Most were dressed like Ryan (which is to say fully dressed except for the shoes and socks), but others were in various states of undress.  No one looked naked, though.

“Yup.  Tickling sells well, you know.  Lots of guys, and hell, women too, love seeing guys getting tickled.  And it pays.”

Ryan’s ears perked up.

“People are willing to pay?”

“Oh sure.  People are willing to pay for these videos if the model is cute and ticklish enough.  And I have to say kid, you’re the exact type of guy they like to see.”

Ryan didn’t have much to say.  His eyes stayed glued to the screen.

“I’ll make you a deal.  You let me tickle you a little bit, just your feet so you don’t have to take anything else off, and not only will I not charge you for the shots, but I’ll actually give you a bit of what the video makes.  What do you say?”

Ryan wanted to say no right away, but he hesitated.  Not only would he get his shots for free, but he’d also get some cash for it, too?  It seemed too good to be true.

“I mean… alright.  I guess.  As long as this is just tickling.  I’m not doing anything else.”

“Alright, sounds good.  And don’t worry, all I do is tickle guys, nothing else.”

Jay explained what would happen: Ryan would lay face down on a couch in the studio, so no one could see his face, and hang his bare feet over the side of the couch.  Jay would sit on his legs and tickle his feet.  It sounded easy enough.  Ryan lay down, letting Jay move his body a little bit for the camera, and let himself relax (as much as he could).  Once he was in place, Jay set up the camera and started recording.

Ryan was laying down on his stomach, bare feet on the arm of the couch, when he felt Jay straddle his ankles.

“Alright folks, this is our new tickle toy Brad.  This is his first time with us, so let’s see how ticklish he is.”

Ryan (apparently going by the name Brad) tensed his whole body, waiting for whatever was supposed to come.  Suddenly, he felt one finger on his right sole.  It started up near his heel and trailed down towards his toes.  Ryan flexed and curled his foot at the light ticklish sensation.  No one had ever touched his feet (not that he could remember, anyways) so it was a strange feeling.  The finger repeated the same movement on his left sole.  This time Ryan wiggled a little bit under Jay, his foot waving side to side.

“Got some squirming going on it looks like.  Let’s try something a little more ticklish”

One finger, one at a time, on each sole was suddenly replaced with five fingers on each sole.  Those fingers dug into the insteps of his feet, scratching the soft sensitive skin there.  Ryan jumped (though stayed pinned down by Jay’s weight) and started to kick his feet.  

“Oh shit, what the fuck?!”

“Oh yeah, we got a ticklish one here.”

The fingers really worked their way in there, kneading the flesh of his feet.  Ryan kept trying to kick those tickling fingers away, but Jay’s grip was just too strong.  There was nothing that Ryan could do to make it stop.  He could, of course, always say stop, but then he’d have to pay for his headshots.  That was a huge motivation to stay here on the couch.

Several minutes after just assaulting the center of his feet, the hands started roaming over the real estate that was Ryan’s soft size 12 soles.  The fingers came up to Ryan’s heels and attacked.  Ryan jumped, and was suddenly barking out with laughter when Jay found an especially ticklish spot: the part of his sole right before his heel.  

“Oh, sounds like we got a live one here!”

“NOO!  PLEEEEASE!”

Fingers descended on that spot on each foot.  It wasn’t just fingers working their way into the foot, but now nails were scraping and scratching too.  The only thing Ryan’s over stimulated mind could think of was that this was like ringing a doorbell.  It was loud, it was intense, and it was beyond annoying that Jay found this spot that reduced him to a laughing mess.

“Holy crap is he sensitive right here.  How are you doing Brad?  Want me to stop?”

“Y-Y-YES PL-PL-PLEEEEASE!”

“No?  You’re all good?  Sounds great to me!”

“NOOO!”

Jay continued to exploit the sensitive spot, attacking viciously with his fingers.  Ryan was sure he was going to pass out when the tickling mercifully ended.

“Th-thank God…”

“He thought that was bad, wait till he gets a load of this…”

“Wait, what?!”

“Here comes the brush!”

Ryan’s entire body jolted when a broad hairbrush started attacking that same sensitive spot.  The brush moved violently back and forth with cruel abandon.  This was the worst feeling yet.  Ryan was in absolute hysterics, thrashing as much as he could, trying to buck Jay off his legs.  His feet kicked and squirmed to get away, one foot trying to cover the other for protection.  His face and throat were starting to get sore from the laughter.

“Oh yeah, we got him right here.”

Not even able to say anything, Ryan continued to cackle.  The brush alternated between feet, and each time it switched feet it was like the first time all over again.  Tears were starting to stream from his tightly shut eyes.  This was the first time he truly regretted his decision, and despite the promise of free shots and money, he found the urge to call out stop was right on the tip of his tongue.  He bit it back though, he wasn’t going to give up.

The tickling changed, and now the brush was going up and down his soles.  Again, Ryan tried curling his foot up to avoid the tickling, but Jay grabbed Ryan’s toes and flexed them back, stretching his sole out.  Jay’s grip was too strong and Ryan wasn’t able to escape.  He laughed and giggled, unable to stop as the brush scrubbed up and down his flexed sole.  People got off on this?  Ryan figured they must all be sadists.

“Let’s see how ticklish Brad’s toes are.”

The brush stopped for just a second (giving Ryan exactly one second of peace) before attacking the toes that Jay was holding back.  Oh god.  This was bad.  This was worse than the spot hear his heels.  This was like fire.  Ryan didn’t just laugh, he was screaming.  Tears were flowing so freely that he could taste them on his lips.  He wanted to yell stop, he wanted this tickling to end, but he couldn’t form the words.

Jay continued tickling those toes, holding them tightly, even as the feet started to become slick with sweat.  This of course made the brush slide and glide all the more easily.  The brush scrubbed the tips of the toes all the way down to the sensitive little gap under each toe.

The tickling continued for a few minutes until finally, mercifully, it stopped.

“There we go, that was Brad.  I think he did pretty well.  Let me know if you want to see more of this boy.”

Jay concluded by slapping both of Ryan’s sensitive soles, making him jump and squeak.

Jay got up off of Ryan and turned off the camera.

“There we go kid, that’s it.  You did good, I have to say, I think you’re going to be pretty popular.”

“Holy shit that was bad.  Like… holy shit.  You were torturing me.”

Jay laughed.

“That’s why they call it tickle torture.  People love it.”

Ryan didn’t want to stick around much longer.  He got up off the couch (his clothes were sticking to his body from all the sweat), put his shoes and socks back on (which was hard since his feet were so sensitive after the tickling), thanked Jay and left.

Several days later two things dropped in Ryan’s email.  The first was a set of edited photographs.  Ryan was happy to see that they looked professional and much better than any of the student work he’d had done so far.  The second was much more interesting.  It was an e-transfer for a couple of hundred dollars.

Ryan stared at the screen for a few minutes before he decided to call Jay.  

“Hello?”

“Hey man, It’s Ryan.  Thanks for the pictures, I just got them.  They’re really good”

“No worries, I’m happy you’re happy.”

“So… what was the money you sent?”

“I told you that you’d get a bit of the money from the tickle video.  It was pretty popular right off the bat, so that’s your share.”

“All that for just letting you tickle my feet?”

“Oh yeah.  And if you’re ever interested we could do it again.  You could maybe even make some more next time.”

“Like… how much more?”

“Depends on how far you’re willing to go.  There’s some bondage, there’s some upper body tickling, there’s even some foot worship and tickling that drives some people wild.  You interested?”

Ryan looked at the e-transfer again.

“Yeah, maybe.  Tell me more.”

[oscarisaacasimov]

"Why Would You Be Loved" by Hozier

Verse 1 It's only said to be kind the time that you have with love You're never told but you're loaned it It's a lie, the high that you have with love It feels like gold when you hold it And know it's sweet, to know it when it's gone, baby, So why, why, why

In Hozier’s self-titled first album, love could be a deliverance from the problems of the world (i.e., Take me to Church, Jackie & Wilson, To Be Alone, Work Song).

This latest release “from the vault” fits thematically into Wasteland Baby, where love is yet another complication in chaotic world (i.e. Shrike, Talk, Would That I, Sunlight).

Chorus Why would you be lovin' Why would you be lovin' Why would you be lovin', hey And, hey, why would you be loved Mm, hey, why would you be loved

Hozier repeats this existential question over and over – love is not permanent, or a safe haven, it ends up hurting us, so why do we keep doing it? Why bother to give and receive love?

A few years later, On Unreal Unearth, Hozier resolves his own question with All Things End. Despair and bewilderment at the inevitable end of love has turned into “nihilistic optimism.”

Just knowing That everything will end Should not change our plans When we begin again

Verse 2 Now the world falls apart it starts with their actin' up I wouldn't say it, but I blame them The bleedin' hearts, the arts & that other stuff All the same motivations will melt away Like snowflakes on a tongue, baby So why, why, why

Besides the struggle with romantic love, the other major theme of Wasteland Baby is the ominous dread of apocalypse approaching, and the need to rise up politically against the dangers of the ruling class.

“Bleeding hearts” and “snowflakes” are doing double duty here, as terms for the tenderness and fragility of romantic love but also as derogatory terms for those with leftist or progressive politics.

“The word falls apart, it starts with their actin up, I wouldn’t say it but I blame them.”

I can see several possible interpretations for this opening line of verse 2, and who is the “they” acting up:

It feels like the world falls apart when your relationship ends, and you know the end is near once “actin up” or more conflicts/annoyances begin between the two.

Hozier “blames them,” all the older musicians whose work he listened to in youth, that love is not as “the arts” promised. Now in heartbreak again, he feels unprepared or misled on the true nature of love (and maybe realizes that his work too has contributed to the cultural myth of “love conquers all.”)

Hozier may feel frustrated that artists can describe the world so well, but all their efforts and talent are just "other stuff" and cannot directly change or fix anything.

“They” are the ruling class, and the world is literally falling apart on their watch. “I blame them” for keeping the people fixated on finding perfect romantic love, instead of noticing injustices that we are all harmed by, coming together in larger communities for mutual care or political action. (This final theory may sound a bit tinfoily, but Hozier has politics side by side with love throughout so many songs in Wasteland Baby, it seems hardly a stretch. Look what’s coming in verse 3!)

Bridge Why would you play it all on somethin' as hollow as trust? What if you gave it all, to find that it wasn't enough? What if under the gaze of all, you come short when the going gets rough?

Hozier reveals a worse fear than his lover not caring enough, what if his own best isn’t good enough to keep the relationship going? The “gaze of all” may be a nod to his fame, which came from writing romantic love songs, and is sustained by fans, some of whom openly imagine that he must be the perfect boyfriend.

Bad enough for anyone to come up short in love, but for “Hozier” to fail in this way might be an extra mind-fuck or identity crisis for him.

This tension seems to be resolved in “Too Sweet” where Hozier admits that his career & lifestyle might make him incompatible with some romantic partners, but he loves his life and is content to go their separate ways.

Verse 3 They look for somethin' to be done for those that are most in pain What about me and my achin'? The scales rehung, the breakin' of yoke and chain What about me and my breakin'? And if you ain't for all, how could you try at all, baby? So why, why, why

I can hear the back and forth internal dialogue between two attitudes in the same mind, and boy do I relate to this exact exchange.

Part of Hozier wants to protest for justice and freedom, in the spirit of Nina Cried Power, Jackboot Jump, Be, and even Moment’s Silence. While another part of him is in so much pain that he wants to be cared for and not take on the burden of others pain. Heartbreak and the world hurtling toward destruction both feel like impossible struggles to solve.

[Tangent for Enneagram folks – Hozier is likely a type 4, which is described as romantic, creative, gentle, prone to sadness, high emotional intelligence. Type 4s have a “growth direction” of Type 1, which is described as hard-working, disciplined, devoted to their ideals, and concerned about justice in society. I hear this verse as some push and pull between the Enneagram 1 part that wants to save the world, and the Enneagram 4 that wants to languish in sadness until they feel healed.]

Other Wasteland Baby songs that pair the ruin & hope of love with the ruin & hope of apocalypse include:

Be Be love in its disrepute (lover, be good to me) Scorches the hillside and salts every root (lover, be good to me) And watches the slowin' and starvin' of troops And, lover, be good to me (lover be good to me) Be there and just as you stand (lover, be good to me) Or be like the rose that you hold in your hand (lover, be good to me) That grow bold in a barren and desolate land And lover be good to me

Wasteland Baby And the day that we'll watch the death of the sun That the cloud & the cold and those jeans you have on Then you'll gaze unafraid as they sob from the city roofs Wasteland, baby I'm in love I'm in love with you

NFWMB Ain't it a gentle sound, the rollin' in the graves? … Ain't it warming you, the world gone up in flames? … Ain't you my baby? ain't you my babe?

[the-dumpster-fire-of-life]

Okay this is kidna maybe weird idk, but Dina (romantic), Ellie (platonic) finding reader asleep in their bed with their shirt on ‘cause girls have been on patrols way too long and reader just missed them?

Reader gender neutral and girls seperately pls

(It’s up to you but I’d prefer hcs)

Take care of yourself, love ya 🫶

(why is this something I would do to my friends? Also, I'm glad you enjoy my work and requested, and I hope you enjoy!)

Shirt Thievery

Oh, Dina is definitely having a field day with this

She loves taking your crap

And she notices how much you like her shit and she lets you take it

Even if you don't do it much, she loves seeing you in her stuff

It just makes her so happy for some reason to see you wearing her shirts or her pants or stealing a hair tie or even something simpler

She teases you relentless as well

She cannot not do it

It's Dina for fucks safe and she loves teasing and being playful about it

She drops little hints that she loves it and encouraged you to keep doing it if you wanted

When she came back from patrol, she was probably stranded for a day or two because of clickers, she just wanted to curl up in bed with you and sleep

But she didn't even get the chance to before she stepped into a sight of gold

You, in her bed, wearing her shirt

Dina couldn't help but gawk for a few months

It was probably out of confusion before she got so smug and so happy

She definitely woke you up and started teasing you right away as she climbed into bed and on top of you

Say whatever you wanna say but she keeps going

"Missed me that much, didn't you?"

She loved it and will admit it proudly

Ellie Williams

Ellie, even as a friend, let you take her stuff all the time

She took her fair share of your stuff

At this point she didn't really notice if it came back but was okay if it didn't or if it did

She liked seeing how comfortable you were with wearing her crap and she likes seeing you in it

She was being playful about it as well with little jabs

"Thief." Was a very common thing your best friend would say with a smile when she sees you adorning her space shirt you love stealing

You slept over a lot as well so it was natural for Ellie to loan you clothes to sleep in

You also take up her bed and kick her off of it as well

It's fair at this point due to what she puts you through

As like Dima, she just wanted to collapse in bed and leave off to ehwetver the hell type of sleep she could get

She probably didn't even notice you until she flipped on the bed and you woke up

"Ow! Shit! Ellie!"

"What- why are you in my bed?! …And is that my shirt?"

You guys probably stared at each other for a good ten seconds before busting out laughing

She was laughing at how you stole her shirt, and her bed just because you missed her

But hey, she's your friend as well and she missed you

So after light hearted teasing and jokes, she begrudgingly (willingly) let you stay and steal half her bed

[akkpipitphattana]

Am i the only one who doesn't get what Wen sees in uncle Jim 😭 Don't get me wrong i love the show, and i LOVE Heart and Liming, and i quite like Wen's character too, but Jim is just so cold and grumpy and never smiles and i just don't get why Wen is so obsessed with him, like sure the story with his ex is sad but like Heart has a way more traumatic backstory but he's not an ass to people, or Liming whose parents literally left him with an uncle that only fights with him is not half as bitter... I just wish they would have made Jim a bit more likable, or at least relatable like Alan. Sorry for ranting, just needed to get that off my chest 😂

i’m so sorry if my posts making fun of jim made you feel like this blog was a safe space for jim haters but it’s not 💙 SHDKSKDJD like i’m sorry but i just don’t agree with you, i genuinely adore jim and his character

like for one you’re just wrong. on multiple accounts. for one, jim DOES smile. evidence:

isn’t it beautiful? but i get what you mean, it’s not often we get a jim smile. but the man also has a shitton on his plate! he can barely pay his bills, has the diner (which is his LIVELIHOOD) threatening to be shut down, and he has a kid he has to take care of on top of all that. a kid that’s not even his own, mind you.

and when you say he’s an ass to people, you mean when he chose not to pay his car insurance and instead bought leng a gold necklace to use for praew’s dowry? you mean when he refused to use gaipa’s feelings for him to his advantage and returned the title deed because of it, despite the fact he COULD have gotten a loan out of it and saved his business? you mean when he didn’t hesitate to let wen stay with him after he moved out of alan’s despite the fact that jim had made it clear from the beginning he didn’t want complicated and yet wen continued to be persistent in fitting himself into jim’s life while KNOWING he was still living with his possessive ex? no, you’re right. he’s so cold and uncaring and doesn’t give a fuck about the people around him. clearly.

as for li ming and jim, i’ve already made a post about this, but everything jim does in terms of li ming is his attempts at protecting him. i’m not saying he’s going about everything in the right way, lord knows he’s not, but NO character in this show does. like i said, wen continued to pursue jim despite the fact that he hadn’t completely cut things off with alan. alan chose to confront them both at the worst possible time because he was fueled by jealousy and anger, he pushed wen and tried to go for jim, too. li ming continues to go behind jim’s back and put himself at risk of pissing off people much more powerful than him. leng and praew are starting a family they didn’t originally plan for without a lot of money. the only characters you can argue haven’t don’t anything wrong are heart and gaipa!

the point is. this show is great because the characters are real people. they’re messy, they do the wrong thing, they hurt the people they love. but at the end of the day, they love each other and are there for each other. that’s the whole point! and jim isn’t any different just because you don’t find him likable enough.

[deepmochi]

hi!

Notes on Venus 2H vs Venus 8H observations?🥰😇

Hello bb

I actually love these houses. Anon didn't specify, so I did the observations for natal chart.

Venus in the 2nd house vs. Venus in the 8th house

These houses share the following similarities: both are related to money, indicate how we see possessions, and hint our true self. It's not surprise that people see them as a gold digger or as a possession.

Venus in the 2nd house

⇢The native is someone who is very giving in relationships of any kind. Too good to be true.

⇢They are very self aware of who they are. Self-sabotage can be a thing.

⇢ They attract people who see them as a trophy.

⇢A possessive individual with their loved ones. Either they had too much or nothing at all during childhood. This creating a sense of possessive behavior.

⇢A very transparent person especially with their values.

⇢They care for luxury and comfort under their terms.

⇢Love to pamper themselves and their loved ones.

⇢ They attract energy vampires too often.

⇢Usually, the native is a very ethical person at work. People can trust them.

⇢Usually, view as traditional and patient. Style is simple and comfortable, yet elegant. They are hold in a pedestal.

⇢ Sex is intimate and sensual, yet they show this to their partners only. A lady in the streets and whxre in the sheets.

⇢ They love to share food, perfect date: going to eat to a nice a place.

⇢ Date people for long-term purposes, who are stable and hard working, stable in every aspect (emotional, social, financial, etc.)

⇢ Love is safe and stable, work with me in our future. Are you staying with me, is this worth it?

⇢ Partners prefer to give monetary gifts.

⇢ Their love language is gifts giving and physical touch.

⇢ Self-esteem is tide on their possessions including people.

⇢ Their biggest lesson is to accept that self-worth doesn't equal how much they make or how much they have.

Venus in the 8th house

⇢The 8th house depicts how we obtain money through others (taxes, loans and more). The native will handle money from others (partner, work, or friends).

⇢ Partner may take too much money and give them debts if harsh aspects are present in the chart.

⇢ Sex is a whole experience. They can become addicted to sex or make others addicted to them.

⇢ Obssesion surroundings (their 8th house with sign), try not to fall to extremes.

⇢ A sensual yet trouble individual. Sex is a way to grieve or transform. Use with caution.

⇢ Healthy Relationships feel like a taboo if Venus has harsh aspects.

⇢ Obsessive people find them attractive. They always have a lingering ex. In worst cases, they have stalkers.

⇢ Their beauty is their strong energy, yet people think is the body.

⇢ They can be an energetic vampire if they don't take responsibilities.

⇢ Plutonian love is their thing, but don't mistake a transformative love for a toxic situation.

⇢ Love to show their sexual energy through their style. This vary depending on what they consider sexy.

⇢ Perfect date probably night time, sharing a personal anecdote or deep moment, having that connection.

⇢ Date people who give them deep emotions and let them be vulnerable. Sometimes, people who have intense feelings.

⇢ Love is all or nothing. Take me or leave me. Are you afraid of my love?

⇢ Partners may give intangible benefits like emotions, transformations or safety.

⇢ Love language can physical touch and spending time together.

⇢ Self-esteem is bond to their transformations and traumas.

⇢ Their biggest lesson is to accept tender love from themselves without feeling remorse or shameful.

Take care, mochies💚

©️ deepmochi, 2022

[blueiscoool]

Dutch Historian Finds Medieval Treasure Trove

A Dutch historian found unique 1,000-year-old medieval golden treasure, consisting of four golden ear pendants, two strips of gold leaf and 39 silver coins, the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden) announced on Thursday.

Lorenzo Ruijter, 27, who told Reuters he has been treasure hunting since he was 10, discovered the treasure in 2021 in the small northern city of Hoogwoud, using a metal detector.

"It was very special discovering something this valuable, I can't really describe it. I never expected to discover anything like this," Ruijter said, adding that it was hard to keep it a secret for two years.

But experts of the National Museum of Antiquities needed the time to clean, investigate and date the treasure's objects and have now found that the most recent coin by that time the jewelry was already two centuries old, the museum said, adding it must already have been "an expensive and cherished possession."

"Golden jewelry from the High Middle Ages is extremely rare in the Netherlands," the museum also said.

While it will remain a mystery why exactly the treasure was buried, the museum pointed out there was a war raging between Dutch regions West Friesland and Holland in the middle of the 13th century, with Hoogwoud being the epicenter, can be dated back to around 1250, which made them assume the treasure was buried then.

Ruijter said it is possible someone powerful at the time buried the valuable objects as a way to protect them and hopefully dig them up once it was safe again.

Given its archaeological significance, the treasure was given as a loan to the museum which will display it, but it will remain the official property of finder Lorenzo Ruijter.

[nerdieforpedro]

Wednesday WIP

Hello! 👋🏽 Nerdie here, I am working on a few things:

1. A second entry for @undercoverpena ‘s April Showers Challenge (maybe featuring an agent I haven’t written for a bit). I had a burst of an idea which was different than the original one I had. Such is a Nerdie brain. Don't get lost in there, but there are cookies.

2. Finally progress of my “Wedding 101 with Dieter” fic! I had been having trouble with it. I’m happy to have more Maya, Dieter and Daisy. 🤭 I apologize to @angelofsmalldeath-codeine in advance for any undue stress I shall cause you.

3. Going to finish up my short Frankie body part series which sounds menacing but is the opposite. 😂 Very much so lol It’s called “Only Parts of you Mr. Morales.”

4. I’m working on a Javier Peña series because I feel like I need to give him something nice. Just one thing. 😆 It's very sweet, I have 2 chapters and no idea what to call it. Pfft, go figure. No idea how long it will be - sorry, won't be ready for a bit. Between Javier P and Joel recent. I need to be nice to them. They’re both very haunted. 😖

5. I'm still working on both Din fics and Benny. I'm redoing the outlines. Bullet points are friends and not our enemies. I think. Will there be more random Star Wars people? Is Obi Wan Kenobi a children’s author and Luke that old man who swings his lightsaber in the yard?! Both these things are true. 😌 Messing with Star Wars canon one character at a time. 😂😂😂 The sweet Din fic will remain so. My walking pile of nervous Beskar. 💚

And that's about it, I've cut back a bit on writing to do more school work (papers...ugh...writing about not Pedro. 👀 Eww...)

Previews under the cut:

Anyway, somehow, I went from being stuck in chapter five for 'Weddings 101 with Dieter' to now being in chapter six. I'd like to thank Hemmy for being so encouraging and @megamindsecretlair for discussing Pedro and Oscar with me the other night. I feel like I should make notes and keep both of those in mind for future fics because it's the right thing to do.🫡 Just thinking about it is… 🫠

This is a small excerpt from chapter six, we should all know Nerdie's humor by now 🤣:

“Who’s banging on my door this damn early?! You better get out of here!” “Dee at least ask who it is.” “I don’t care, it could be the president, pope or, no Beyonce could come in.” “I am not meeting Beyonce in my robe. My hair is a mess, my face is puffy, I haven’t showered yet…that’s not who it is!” “I mean, if she shows up on this door, she’s gonna have to be okay with my bare ass, balls and your robe with your cute puffy face. It’s just us. You don’t need one. I’m just going to take it back off to eat you for-” “MR. BRAVO IT’S ME ZACK! YOUR ASSISTANT!” He screamed, he didn’t need to hear Dieter removing anything off of Maya or eating her in any capacity, they can do that after he leaves later. Never any filter with this damn man, he just needs to remind himself of his loans. This job pays the loans.

Gotta love how....open Dieter is with everything. Even Sasha Fierce is not safe. 😭

Second is from my pending Javier Peña fic (I'll think of a good name, I swear!):

Meeting his gaze had her mouth run dry, the sandy tone to his skin contrasted with more papaya tones in his neck. Dark hair and kind eyes behind a gold pair of aviators perched on his curved nose. Tourmaline waves parted on the left side of his crown were matched by his bold eyebrows and thick mustache. His lips were a lace pink and plush. The sunlight made the sweat along his neck glimmer, accentuating its definition. The light blue shirt made the reds and browns in his skin stand out even more. “Did you need to get some fresh air too?” She asked, he could be doing that, escaping someone like she was doing or something else entirely. Now she was curious too, about this man who’d chosen to sit next to her.

I very much enjoy my description of Javier, hehe 😉

That's it! Normally I have more, but it's either still in bullet form or in my head. 🤭

NPT: @maggiemayhemnj @604to647 @connectioneverywhere @morallyinept @rhoorl

@goodwithcheese @soft-persephone @djarinmuse @pedroshotwifey @magpiepills

@secretelephanttattoo @tinytinymenace @inept-the-magnificent @soft-girl-musings @mysterious-moonstruck-musings

@laurfilijames @grogusmum @alltheglitterandtheroar @jessthebaker @musings-of-a-rose

@julesonrecord @wannab-urs @schnarfer

[isefyres-archive]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐗 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐘𝐒

Used to the seven during the dance of dragons, after the Rogare fell from grace, the other houses voted them out as a great house and now the Rogeres are referred with the titles of "Grace" instead of Prince or Princess like the ruling houses. The six ruling houses are all confirmed descendants of Valyrian Households before the Doom and evolved into their own ventures through the years. At least two of them are descendants of Dragonriders, while there is a third one in dispute. The Houses all reunite in a council and each house as a member elected to survey as one specific matter. There are usually intermarriages between the houses to avoid wars between one another, though many seek marriages with other Free Cities, specially Myr or Tyrosh.

House Orthys: The richest of the houses with Prince Lysandro the elected treasurer and coin master of the house. Their sigil is represented with pearls and a woman's shape with a crowned heart, as they are followers of the Love Goddess with the richest and exclusive pleasure houses in Lys. Only exclusive clientelle can enter and they have the best girls and boys, trained and treated well. It's were Prince Viserys found his lover Doreah, perchusased for Daenerys as a Handmaiden. House Orthys is often the one hand visited when companies and people need loans and they rule the coin with a tight grip. If the coin is not delivered, they will ask for something as valuable in return. Prince Lysandro is master of coin, with his sister Narcysa managing the Pleasure Houses and their half sister Oriana being a companion to Quentyn Martell, travelling to Dorne. Without Orthys founding, no war efforts or ships or armies can be contracted.

House Haen: Members of house Haen are known to be warriors of the Love Goddess or the Goddess in Battle and they protect the city from attacks. They are also know for their beauty and the gold of pin in their sigil symbolize their wealth as well a symbol of safe passage. House Haen has a history of letting people take safe refuge during the war at the Stepstones. They are also known for having survived a poison attack after Myrmadora Haen went to King's Landing as a potential bride to Aegon III. Due to this their sigil, added wings to the horse, to refer their coming back. They handle the prepartion of the female armies of the city and protection of temples.

House Saan: House Saan can consider themselves distant relatives of the Velaryons, with a similar sigil upon their coat of arms. House Saan handles the construction of ships and fleets as well the protection of the city in materials, making sure the city is well stocked and protected after the war of the Stepstones. House Saan are known supporters of the Targaryens during the centuries, during the dance, an old friend of Mysaria, Daemon Targaryen's paramour, traveleled to Westeros and spied for them at court. She brought with her, the support of another house, house Vagnaron. At the time the two of them were bethroded.

House Dagaeron: Descendants of Dragonriders of Valyria before the doom, their dragons were said to be more Wyrm than Dragons, as their bloodbond with them wasn't as strong as the Targaryens before the Doom happened. Still, their sigil depics a White dragon atop of a rock symbolizing Valyria. The trident represent their command over the sea and the god of War and the scythe adoration for the God of Death. House Dagaeron are the negociatiors in the current regime of Lys, in a position known as gonfaloniere, an elected military leader. They command the male armies of Lys and negociations with anyone who wishes Lys aid in battle.

House Vagnaron: Descendant of dragonriders who were exiled from Valyria due to extreme experiments with shadowbinding and blood magic, they rose to power in Lys due to their military force. During the dance, the heir of the House travelled to Dragonstone to show support for Queen Rhaenyra with his then bethroded of House Saan, and also as an old client of Mysaria. House Vagnaron were the ones who took the Rogare's wealth after the war, deeming their actions of taking Prince Viserys, then King Viserys II as hostage as unreasonable. They are known shadowbinders and followers of the R'hallor.

House Pendaerys: House Pendaerys are related to the Celtigars of Claw Isle. They are perhaps the smallest of houses but a wise one, worshipping the God of Death and known for having visions of the future, like House Vagnaron, they are known shadowmancers and can bring people back from the death though it's said the second life is shorter than the first. House Pendaerys has a sea dragon on their sigil,a book and a horn, all things House Celtigar claim to have in their possession. Like the Celtigars, Pendaerys are the keepers of knowledge and healers, so they have the records of every citizen and slave on Lys, tracing every family tree, like the Celtigars. They are said to have been dragonriders of seadragons but this is a disputed fact.