#its just me with my little fantasies 😅

[alygator77]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five of your other fave writers. Spread the self-love! 💕💕💕💕❤️

hi rem ahhh tysm bb you are so sweet 🥹🤧 ily and your writing sm 💕

motherhood and matrimony (ceo! satoru x single mom secretary! reader)

this series is literally my baby. its what essentially helped me grow a following here and the story is just near and dear to my heart. i've put so many pieces of myself into this story and have poured my heart and literal tears into the writing 😭

2. masked affairs—sold to desire (dom! rich satoru x f!reader - inspired by 50 shades of grey)

so this oneshot is special to me in a lot of ways. it was the first story i collaborated with my bestie @strychnynegirl on—it was a vision she trusted me with, so i took it and ran with it! i'm really proud of what i accomplished in this oneshot too bc i struggle with the ability to stfu 💀 everything i write is long, lol. plus, i'm really happy with the tension and smut here 🤭

3. vows of duty (arranged clanhead! satoru x f!reader)

this story is still very new, but i'm really proud of what i've done with it. i'm going entirely out of my comfort zone with this fic, which is both exciting and nerve wracking! like seriously, ya'll wouldn't believe how much i was stressing over this fic 😅 @/srychnynegirl and @madamechrissy can attest to it. but they helped me SO much in getting out of my head. i love them 💕💕

4. supermodel! satoru x fem reader - preview

words cannot describe how down bad i am for this man, lol. i love me a needy obsessed man 🙂‍↕️ i worked real hard on this little drabble for his teaser, and i'm excited for his full fic. this is some of my fav smut i've written, and i'm honestly so obsessed with satoru masturbating. idk, i'm feral for him 😩

5. cursed by color—satoru’s new look (girl dad satoru x f!reader)

one of my pure fluff fics. i just love satoru as a girl dad. this fic is based on my real life too bc my husband sits there and lets my daughter do his nails and hair and UGH. it's just so wholesome. this also healed me bc i wrote this after the end of jjk, so it's my delulu fantasy of how satoru SHOULD be living out his life rn.

tysm my love for this ask!! muah!! 😘

-aly

[itwasthereaminuteago]

Seven Sentences of Sin Saturday (can we make this a thing?):

"Gonna need to hear you say that again."

The low rasp of his voice is tinged with something you've never heard from him in all the time you've known each other; desperation. You respond with action before any words, knowing that was what he was really asking for. Still, there was resistance as you slid your hands around his neck to pull him towards you, as if he was testing your boundaries, giving you the opportunity to back out, that you weren't just playing with him as part of your cover.

Your hand slides up to cup the side of his face and you tilt yours up, your lips just a hair's breadth away from his own as he wets them nervously.

"I want you, Frank," you breathe, entranced by just how quickly his eyes dilate and darken at your admission, his body already pressing against and moulding to yours as you invite him to take and take and take...

"You got me princess, you got me."

[justafairytailofinnocence]

Jareth x dreamy reader🔮✨️🌌

How he would react if he was fascinated by you.🔮🌌🌠✨️

Part 1.

Part 2 here

A/n: hello dearies, this was my first attempt at doing a fan favourite childhood movie. ❤️✨️ I plan on writing a fanfic, but please let me know if you'd like a part two for the venetian masquerade scene. I'll admit I might rusty with his character because I haven't seen the movie in a while 😅.

Labyrinth requests: open

You were always a dreamer, daydreaming imaginative worlds beyond anyone's understanding, creating creatures in your mind that appealles to the eccentric.

No one really understands you, not deep down. On the outside, you may speak with politeness, telling others of your little endeavours of fantasy yet twas not in their interest nor care.

You never really fit in with the world around you, dreaming as others spoke in the usual topics of gossip, romance, sport, debates, and social societies of the world.

When working, you would dream of yourself in a flowing white garb dancing around in a fae forest pretending to be a different creature.

One night, you watched a film you believed to be rather fun and eccentric, not thinking much of it.

You recalled your mother was fond of the film, as you remembered. You had watched it once before as a child, then as a teenager.

However, as the day went on. as you worked. driving. Sleeping. Your daydreams soon turned to seeing yourself within that world, and not only that—

In the day dreams, you envision—not purposefully—you were often interacting with one of the characters within the film, the goblin king.

Though this phenomenon wasn't unusual as this happened when you were but a teenager. It was quite crazy to think that if you told anyone, they wouldn't believe you. Most saw it as only a movie, others saw it as their fantasy.

You didn't think much of it at first. Though, it was always in your mind, in your dreams despite never researching about the film.

One day, out of the blue, just as you were about to head to bed. You were wandering to the kitchen to turn off the lights. When you saw a book on the counter, out of curiosity you examined it. As to how it got there was a mystery.

Examining it, it hit you with the realisation the title was the same as the movie you had watched. How was this possible? I don't remember having owned any book like this?

Reading it plagued your curiosity. Did I—no—I don't recall buying this—how on earth? Did I—

Your questions were soon put to rest upon seeing the outside light flicker on. It had motion sensors, so whatever moved would activate it. That's odd? Perhaps it was just a cat roaming outside. They often do trespass to hunt for whatever else may be out there.

You placed the book back down onto the countertop. Taking a peek outside the window, seeing if anything was outside. What the hell? Is that a barn owl. Here. On the fence.

In hindsight, you were rather in awe than suspicious. You loved animals, and barn owls were quite rare. Once, as a child, you recalled a similar experience of a barn owl perched on the roof. It was rather extraordinary.

The owl seemed unaffected by your presence as it tilted its head, observing you—curiously.

You didn't want to disturb it. So you thought of taking photos to show your parents whom were out of town for the weekend. Grabbing your phone, you attempted to take pictures when suddenly—it was gone.

Baffled, you opened the door to your backyard, looking around the area. Nothing.

You didn't think too much of it, yet you were slightly disappointed. It was a rare sight to see something extraordinary in the moonlight.

Looking down at the book—and thinking of the movies plot. You wanted to test the theory of these coincidences. Scoffing to yourself, you jokingly said the words "ok, then, coincidence or not—".

You dramatically turn, acting like a character in a stage play. "Goblin king, goblin king, heed me, take my life away from here."

Within whispers and echoes—nothing. Nothing happened.

"Did she say it? Did she say it!".

"No, shut up!."

"Those weren't the words!".

"All she has to say is 'I wish my life away from here' it's not that hard to say."

"Shhhh, she's speaking again".

You picked up the book, reading the words from the beginning. Testing it once more. You thought of all the moments of conversing to many, not making any sense of your imagination. Trying to fit in within the world, and yet, they never understood you, despite being kind.

With genuine emotion, you say plainly, "I wish my life away from here."

Suddenly, with a turn of events, a gust of wind passed through the trees, and it wasn't gentle, but rather heavy. Turning, you didn't think a storm was possible.

Though it was put to rest when the door to the backyard swung open with brute force from the blustery winds, as glitter rained from in from the winds.

The owl that had perched against the fence had flown inside the home. Transforming into a man. You couldn't believe your eyes. You were too flabbergasted to speak.

"My, my, not even a second later, and you've already spent a wish on something so foolish—I'll be honest y/n, I was expecting a rather more exciting display from you." He was rather peculiar. His attire was not of modern fashion. Donning a white blouse with grey leggings with black boots. What caught you off guard was his outward apperance.

"That's because I thought it was fictional." You muttered.

"Fictional, you say? Hm~ Well, I'm afraid not, for I'm as real as you." He cocked a smile with a rather British sly tone.

"No, I'm dreaming, this isn't real—" you muttered, stopping. "This is a dream, you're not real, I'm simply in bed dreaming right now."

He found it funny. He was taking pleasure in your flummoxed reaction. Despite how wished to deny it true, he was real—and he was here to fulfill your wish.

"Y/n, do pay attention, I've heeded your wish, and I am here to grant it." Suddenly, within the grasp of his hand, a crystal clear ball fluently appeared. He started turning it, spinning it. Displaying tricks that seemed impossible for any human to do.

"Not all young girls get this privilege. What I'm offering you is far more than what anyone can simply have." Within the crystal ball, a vision began to play. A dream. One that happened during one of your day dreams. "I can take you there, you know, all you have to do is ask."

"Dreams can be made." You said simply. "There was merely a misunderstanding."

"And yet your dreams can be granted. Look at what I'm offering you y/n, a life far more than your own, a place where you're understood, a land in which none can harm you. A world completely of your own." He spoke as if he knew you completely, as if he'd been observing you each day, watching your dreams.

"I—I couldn't, what of my family, my friends, my loved ones." You say in a soft whisper.

"What of them—the deed is done y/n, and I'm afraid there's not much you can do now." He whimsicaly spoke with a cunning tone.

"There must be—surely—if there's a way to counter any deal, curse, or legend. Then, there must be a way for a wish."

"Hm, quite the insightful young thing, aren't you. Very well, I shall give you a chance to take back your wish if—you complete my labyrinth."

"Labyrinth?" You questioned whether or not such a place exists. After all, it's not like you could simply teleport to where he was speaking of.

Suddenly, turning behind you, you were met with a great, vast plane and seeing a stoned architecture resembling a maze with a castle in the middle. "You have 18 hours to complete my labyrinth or."

"You shall be trapped here forever." With that, his voice disappeared within the wind. As you turned to ask "wait but, how do I—hm?, ok, guess I'm on my own."

With that you were on your way.

What you hadn't known was that he had watched you from the start. Taking fascination in only you when the rest were only but white noise.

He could've sworn he dreamt of you once or twice yet, to his astoundment, you were as real as the throne he sits on.

To you, you had no idea how excited you made him. He only wanted you as interested in him as he was in you.

Even if you couldn't recognise it, he wanted to trap you forever within a dream where he could finally have a companion that could understand him. Build worlds and new domains for his labyrinth. To finally have a queen/king/royal by his side to hold forever.

He wouldn't have approached if you were not of interest. Many have attempted to catch his interest and yet failed. After Sarah, no one could capture his care nor attention. He was left within a void. Until you came along.

For now, you were his dream, a wish he could grant, and he plans on keeping it.

[theyhavetakenovermylife]

If you're looking for threesome requests, my personal favorite is Blood Orange (Raph and Mikey). I don't need anything too crazy (I'm honestly as vanilla as they come 😅) but maybe it's the two of them and the reader's first time together? They're still figuring things out a little, and Raph and Mikey need to come to an understanding on how to go about things, and it ends up being very sweet, passionate and ultimately a success. I hope this is okay. Let me know, and thank you so much!

Blood Orange (18+)

Fortnite!Raphael x reader x Fortnite!Michelangelo

A/N: I’m not that vanilla myself, but I’ve decided to cut back just a little, before any full on action is about to happen, keeping it very implied (and maybe because I got a little tired but still had an urge to get this posted today😂💚). It doesn’t go into detail about their first time together, but it does set the stage for how a threesome would come about, and I hope that’s okay❤️🧡

All characters are aged up.

Warnings: Fwb relations, implied smut, almost fingering, turtley anatomy, implied threesome.

You had tried plenty of things in your life. Many exciting things that some people could only dream of. Though you might not consider them exciting or as extreme as some people might see it, but you did enjoy it. You had enjoyed all of it. But there was still one thing that you really wanted to try. A thing you had only been able to dream of. A fantasy that had been making its way through your thoughts, over and over for quite some time now. And now, as you sat between Raphael and Michelangelo on the couch, watching a show that they had decided on, your little fantasy made its way back into focus, causing your heart to quicken a bit. And what was that little fantasy of yours? A threesome. Not just any threesome, but a threesome with you, and the two mutant turtles you sat between. And to be quite honest, that fantasy had been getting you in the mood like no other. Especially when you knew exactly what the two brothers were capable of.

For several weeks now, you had had a friends with benefits relationship with not just Raphael but Michelangelo as well. However, neither of them seemed to know about the other. None of them knew that just moments after you had been sucking Raph off in his bedroom, you would just skip across the hall to Mikey’s room, where he would eat you out in his own room. And in all brutal honesty. You loved it. It was probably one of the best things you had ever gotten yourself into. Some days it had gotten more freaky than others, with you having been fucked thuroly by one of the brothers, before you made your way to the other brother to experience the whole thing all over again.

You have had both Raph and Mikey, several times, even within hours of each other. So of course, the natural thing to be wanting next, was to have both of them at the same time. And of course, as you sat there, squished between the two men that have been pounding you to heaven and back, you couldn’t help but wonder if you should do something about it. That this was the day that you would cause your fantasy to become real.

With a lip bite you shifted your attention between the two mutants, wondering which one would be the first to make a move on you. Normally, it wouldn’t take long before one of them would cough, or do something before mumbling something about going to their room, as a sign for you to follow when the coast was clear, and all suspicion was off. So now you sat there, excitingly waiting for any of them to do something. Both Mikey and Raph sat with their eyes glued to the show, playing on the screen before you. They would only move once in a while, in an attempt to get more comfortable on the couch. At every move, you found yourself hoping, getting excited at the thought of what might happen next. So you could not help but feel a little disappointed when they were only scratching their chin, or just moving one leg over the other. It was almost getting to the point of infuriating. But then, something happened, sending shivers of joy through your body.

Raph had moved a hand to his chin, giving it a few scratches, before letting it fall back down. But instead of returning to a rest in Raph lap, just like it had done moments before, it now came to rest on your thigh, giving it a small squish, before letting his thumb rub against your clothes. It was impossible for you to not bite the inside of your lip.

Just as you started to focus on the feeling of Raph’s hand on your thigh, you felt Mikey’s hand carefully nudge yours onto his lap, with his hand slowly guiding it to where he wanted it, getting closer and closer to his cloaca. You sucked in a silent breath, noticing how both brothers were still staring at the television, not noticing what the other was doing. It was thrilling, as you felt your lower region beginning to puls with excitement. Raph’s hand moved closer to your pulsing center, as your little finger made contact with Mikey’s needy cloaca. You swallowed a moan, but you could not hide your heavy sigh. That caused Raph to chuckle, and Mikey to crack a small smile.

“And here I thought she would be a harder nut to crack”, he chuckled, finally looking your way, with his hand squishing your thigh once more. This time you could not hide your moan, too shocked to even try.

“Really?”, Mikey asked, slowly moving your hand over his cloaca, smirking as you saw your flustered and confused expression. “I honestly expected her to crack a lot sooner. You know how she gets when she has first put her mind to something”.

“What are you talking about?”, you asked, feeling your heart beating faster and your breath getting heavier.

“Did you seriously not expect us to know?”, Raph chuckled with a smug smile, leaning in closer to your face, his hand moving to cup your heat, while Mikey’s member slowly came out to let your fingers grace against it. “We’re mutant turtles babe, we can smell it on you”.

“What?”, you asked, suddenly feeling very mortified, freezing in your seat.

The two brothers started laughing, before moving closer against you.

“I don’t think she knows, Mikey”, Raph said, rubbing his hand over your center. “I don’t think she knows that we can smell when she gets aroused, or when she has been with any of us”.

“You can what?!”, you asked, turning from one to the other, your eyes wide, as the revelation of Raph’s words started sinking in. They knew, and they had always known.

“What Raph just told you”, Mikey smiled, using your hand to stimulate his cloaca, letting his head fall back against the headrest of the couch, looking at you with dreamy yet mischievous eyes. “I don’t think you realize how much fun we’ve had with it”.

“Fun?”, you asked, feeling Raph’s fingers sneak towards the hem of your bottoms.

“Yeah, fun”, Raph smirked, slowly moving below you underwear, as his fingers sneaked their way down. “It’s almost a game to see who can make you cum the quickest, or if we can beat your highest amount of orgasms in one day”.

“Why do you think we both want you on the same day, just right after each other? We know just how to overstimulate you”, Mikey said.

“But tonight”, Raph said, making his way past your mount, with one finger gracing your slick folds, causing you to shutter, wishing that he would press down, right where you needed him and Mikey the most. “We thought it would be best to see if we could do it all, together, right here, on the couch”.

“How does that sound?”, Mikey asked, his voice already sounding airy.

You did not hesitate, pressing your fingers against Mikey’s cloaca, causing his member to slowly slip out, his head peeking into the palm of your hand, while you lifted your hips just a little, chasing Raph’s fingers.

“I say, bring all you got”, you smiled, feeling delighted that your fantasy was finally becoming a reality.

[factual-fantasy]

24 Asks! Thanks ya'll! 🐼

@holly-opal-2 (Sorry for the late reply!)

Aw <:( I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope that doesn't happen again.

Also of course they are! :}} I have always considered them as such 💞

Thank you! Happy (late) Valentines day! :DD

@stargirldrawsx3

Man, I feel you there. I'm sorry you weren't able to study. I hope things go well for you 🙏

@narrator-girlart

I saw Markiplier play it some weeks ago, but mostly forgot about it.. I was surprised to see it gain such traction on Tumblr. Maybe I'll have to go rewatch those videos and figure out why people love it so much :00 (I cant remember the events of the game 💀)

@dreamweave01

That could work!! :DDD

(ALSO THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!😭😭💞💞💞 )

Yeahhh.. I have been battling some health problems for almost a year now. Trying my best to work on it but thing's aren't going so well. <://

Thank you very much though, I hope the same for you! :))

@milk-powrit

Tom Nook is an angel, the "only good landlord" he's been called. And I agree! This might explain why though I didn't read all the way through- just skimmed over it and thought "yeah I think this has the right points"

@necropencil (Referencing this post)

AAA THANK YOU!! :DD

(I am also slowly going insane thanks to Wheeljack XDD)

@badlyblurry

XDD Well its like they say, great minds think alike! Also thank you so much!! :DDDD💞💞💞

AAAAA thank you!! :DD Or- you're welcome? <XDD

@shyzonkstudentlawyer

Oh wow, welcome back! :DD And thank you! I'm trying to try to work on my health and make improvements where I can manage it.. so far things have uh.. Well, it could be worse I suppose!😅

Also AAAA THANK YOU THANK YOU!! :DDD I'm so glad to hear you like what I've made! :DDDD

Now for you questions...

When it comes to the Welcome Home stuff, just imagine our world through a puppet/sesame street style show lens. They have the same food but its all colorful and has silly names. Their trees are like ours but they're crazy colors and grow fantasy fruit. Their technology develops like ours but its all colorful and silly. Etc, Etc-

Now for TADC... I hadn't actually thought about it <:0 maybe Sneemos jester hat things would flail around :0 I haven't thought about it otherwise though😔

Lastly, PFFF XDDD

(Item-dying woes post in ask)

😔You feel my pain.. I feel your pain........

@wolfie-777

:000! You heard it here folks! I'm silly!

She always looks lovely! :))

@tearsofsolace

AAAAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! :DDD🥰🥰💞💞💞💞

@eggswastaken

XDD That I did!

..Well, I actually got into it back in 2020-- but recently I have dragged myself back into the fandom a bit. 😂 The biggest obstacle I have to rejoining the fandom fully is just making time to sit down and rewatch the show.

I have such a hard time switching tasks and just doing something 💀 but hopefully I'll get there soon! <:)))

@minnesotamedic186

@little-goober

Oh yeah, sorry! I have very bad memory 😅 I can only really remember people by their profile pictures.

Also thank you so much! :)))

Thank you so much!! 🥰🥰

@bluetootsiepop

My advice is to study references closely. When it comes to making faces up/drawing faces without a reference? Like if its an OC? I'm afraid I cant think of any advice <:( I struggle with that a lot too. 😔

(Also thank you so much!! :DD )

@ourlifestooshort

I have drawn them, but I don't feel comfortable sharing my ref sheets.. Sorry! <:/

I looked up Tailgate with no mask and I will never sleep well again 💀

Also feel free to tell me anything you want about the comics! I don't plan on reading them 😔 I only plan on rewatching Transformers: Prime.

@bitesyoubitesyouchomp

SCEAMSSSS THANKYOUUU 😭😭 THAT'S ALL SO SWEET IM IN TEARS💞💞💞

@beryl-shade

Imagine if my blood was blue XD I'd be a transformer!

[xpeachesncream]

seven with you | bands drabble (jjk)

↳ drabbles masterlist

yours (ft. the bands!couple) | drabble seven: it’s time for jungkook’s solo debut and you have a few feelings about it.

word count: 2.9k

warnings: cussing, mature language, oc experiencing jealousy and insecurity, oc is very supportive but inevitably feels insecure and scared, kook being protective of his family as always, soft and sweet unprotected sex, cowgirl 🤠, making out, neck kisses, sprinkle of breast play, pls excuse any errors as i quickly whipped this up!

a/n: anon, this is for you! 💞 ironically this is my 7th drabble for the couple 😅 hehe coming back to continue feeding into all the thoughts, fantasies, etc etc because of seven promotions. much love, hope you enjoy! so sorry if i missed anyone on my perm taglist, its been so long! i’ll be back again soon 🥰

"So, what's hyung doing? Is he still at rehearsal?" Kai asks on the other line as you sit on the hotel bed, scrolling through your laptop.

"Yeah, he's still rehearsing for tomorrow."

"Do you know anything about the video?" You chuckle a bit and shake your head as if your little brother can see you.

"Mm, no.. besides who's involved. He wanted to keep it a surprise."

"Interesting." Kai laughs. "You're going in blindly with everyone else."

"I sure am." You laugh. "But, it'll be good! I'll get to experience this with everyone. I know it'll be amazing no matter what."

"How come you didn't wanna be in the video?"

"It's not that, I just always told Kook that he shouldn't let me hinder his process. If he wants me involved, then he can get me involved. If not and he chooses to do his own thing, then I'll sit back and support as I always do."

"Truthfully, did you want to be in the video?"

"I mean.." You hum as you tilt your head to the side. "It would've been cute."

"Then, why did you say no?"

"Kai. I just.. didn't want him to feel obligated. Plus, to be frank, I wasn't even sure if I was comfortable. I think Kook could tell, and he didn't wanna force it after that. Or, maybe he just had a revelation and thought it’d be better off not involving me.” You joke.

"Nothing is better off without you, you know that. But, of course. I get everything else that you’re saying.”

"I trust his process, though. I always do."

"True." He laughs. "Okay, shoot. It's about to release." You keep your eyes on the laptop as the music video starts, keeping your brother on the line as he promised he'd watch with you. He was currently at the Choi residence while you ventured out to New York with Jungkook— supporting him from the sidelines for the beginning of his 'Seven' promotions.

You smile as you see Jungkook and Han So Hee together at the table, praising her for being so beautiful and flawless. You giggle every now and then at Jungkook, but then you start to fix on the little details;

The chase.

His effort— though a bit much that it makes you giggle, the effort is there.

The way he looks at her, waits for her at the end.

Holds her hand and walks along her side.

Maybe you should've said yes to being in the video in the first place, then you wouldn't be in this predicament. Though, she fits well. The vibe is immaculate.

Their dynamic? Strong.

Let's take a moment to be real: part of you felt a little jealous at her flawless execution, a little insecure observing how perfect she is. It seems a bit silly if you generally look at it since Jungkook was Jungkook. But, you couldn't help it. You still weren't used to it, even if you reminded yourself every day that your man was Jeon Jungkook.

Even if you reminded yourself of your story with Jeon Jungkook.

Kai is still on the phone, slightly pulling you back to reality with his comments about how 'good hyung looked in the video' and how 'they worked well together.' He must have been tiptoeing with his words, especially when he quickly flips the script and starts to mention the explicit version that still needed to be listened to.

You follow the lead, playing it on your computer while Kai sat on speaker phone. You can hear the audible gasps coming from his end, your own eyes widening at the switch in the lyrics, the sudden shift of the entire song.

Although you were incredibly proud of Jungkook for continuing to step out of his comfort zone, you felt yourself shrinking and shrinking—

Falling into the never-ending pit of insecurity, jealousy, assumptions, what if's, etc etc.,

It was past midnight. Why was rehearsal taking forever?

Felt like hours, and hours.

"The explicit version— I— Wow. There is a lot to unpack here. But, I can't even say that I'm surprised. Hyung pulls it off well. Wanna be like him some day. He just doesn't care what anybody thinks, and he's so cool." Kai laughs with Yeonjun in the background as they continue to listen to the explicit version with you. You hear a faint 'I don't think this version was meant for us' coming from Yeonjun, a small giggle leaving your lips at their commentary.

"Stop." You say just as Jungkook gives three light knocks on the door before tapping the key against the reader and swinging it open. "Hey, I'll call you back later okay? Jungkook just got back."

"Okay! Tell hyung congrats on the solo debut and that we really liked it!"

"I will. Love you."

"Love you too!" He says as he hangs up the call. Jungkook strolls in with a big smile on his face as he types away at his phone, small giggles leaving his lips as he approaches you on the bed.

"Babygirl." He smiles at and you places a quick kiss on your lips. "Was that Kai?"

"Yeah, it was." You give him a tiny, pursed smile. "He said congrats on the solo debut and that him and his friends really liked everything." Jungkook pauses before he responds because he's typing another message before shoving his phone back into his pocket.

"Aw, thanks. That's my guy. Can always count on him." You let out a tiny laugh before avoiding his eyes, silently looking down at your laptop and letting your finger swipe across the trackpad. "You didn't have to wait up, love."

"Of course I did. I needed to catch it at release." You look up at him briefly. "How was rehearsal?"

"Fucking tiring, but we got through it. I'm excited for everyone to see the performances." He smiles and sits next to you. "So, what'd you think?"

"You two were great together, Kook. It was great.” You simply state.

"We were, weren't we? She was so helpful. And I felt at ease, like I didn't have to try much. She was such a natural at everything, it made things go by a lot smoother.”

"I can tell." You respond softly— probably a little too softly because Jungkook's smile slightly fades. Then, the thoughts start to swarm again just as you look at him. You quickly divert your attention by subtly biting onto your bottom lip, looking towards the hotel window when cars are honking their horns out on the street.

Of course, they were assumptions.

But of course, they were stupid, silly little thoughts stemming from your insecurity; occupying every corner of your brain, making you believe this skewed perception, this-whole-thing-that-is-a-thing-but-not-really-a-thing-because-there-aren't-any-facts-to-back-it-up—

"Hey." He pulls you out of your thoughts by taking your chin and making your eyes meet his own deep, brown orbs. "Talk to me, baby. I can hear you thinking. D-did you not like it? It's okay if not, you know? You can tell me. I value your opinion more than anything"

"What, no!" You shake your head. "I mean, no, of course I loved it. I loved every bit of it. It's amazing, and you know you always blow me away with everything you do." You cup his cheeks and let out a soft sigh. "I really do think you're amazing. I just.. maybe part of me kind of regrets not doing this with you?" He lets out a small breath before taking your hands in his and placing a gentle kiss on your palm.

"Are you saying that just because you saw her in the video?"

"Maybe? And, it did look easy. Everything looked so natural, especially for her. You two meshed well. I—I don’t know. I’m not really sure where I’m going with this anymore."

"Hm." He hums before tapping your thigh and bringing you onto his lap. You brush the hair out of his face while he wraps his arm around your waist, laying a gentle kiss on your cheek. "Baby, you know when I told you about it, I could tell you weren't comfortable with the idea. The last thing I wanna do is make you uncomfortable or unhappy."

"No, I know, Kook. It's not your fault. Trust me. It was beautiful and I really enjoyed it. I just.. felt a bit insecure especially since you didn't push on it. I thought you realized I wouldn’t work. She was way better and you totally saw that. You had this vision with her, and the thought made me feel a bit jealous too. I guess."

"I know this is easier said than done, but don't be. I love you." He brushes the hair away from your face this time. "You don't have to go out of your way to stand out or catch my attention. You don't have to prove anything to me, anyone. Plus, part of me felt kinda dumb for implying the idea knowing how it'd make you feel and how much attention it'd bring."

"What do you mean?"

"I realized it was probably better off this way simply because I didn't want people to paint this picture about us, or to assume our relationship was a certain way. I know there's already lots of things to be said about the video or the song itself, about our story— but at the end of the day, they don't know us like we know us and I'd prefer to keep it that way."

Because even though the relationship is out there, it's not out there. Jungkook tries to keep things balanced, keeping things private as much as possible out of safety— to create boundaries between his professional and private life. He would always put you and Kai first, keeping your safety, your comfortability and your happiness a priority.

Over everything, anything.

The moment he felt your uneasiness while mentioning the video, he retracted. He never wanted to force you, or make you do something that was too out of your comfort zone. He didn't want to cross that line of putting too much out there because he was happy with how things were. It was enough, just enough. And that's all he needed.

You were happy, Kai was happy.

Why would he ever push and ruin that?

"You're right. I understand."

"I hope that helps put you at ease a bit, princess. You can always talk to me about it. There was really no other reason behind me not pushing the idea." He caresses your cheek. "Okay? Nothing else." He kisses your cheek, before your lips. He gently taps the side of your hips before adjusting you on his lap and having you straddle him full on. You wrap your arms around his neck while he stares at you in pure adoration, a smile painted across his lips before he speaks again— "You're my muse. You're in everything that I do, bits of you are sprinkled everywhere. Everywhere that I go, songs that I've created, lyrics scribbled on paper, doodles on my notebook— everything." His hands travel up your sides, giving them a tiny squeeze as he lets out a small exhale against your lips. "You will always be my muse."

"I'm sorry, Jungkook."

"Don't be sorry." He chuckles a bit. "Everything you felt was valid, and I always want you to come to me about these things." You rest your forehead against his.

"I really did enjoy it, though. You always blow me away with everything you do." You kiss him just as you wrap your arms tightly around his neck.

"Yeah?" He chases after your lips, large hands grazing your back as he holds you close to him.

"Mhm." You giggle before poking the tip of his nose. "And uh, the explicit version of the song— we listened to it right before you walked in."

"Cool, huh?" You laugh and shake your head.

"You're crazy."

"You know.." He smirks before biting onto his bottom lip. "Think there's a little bit more explaining I can do for that one. But, I think it'd be better if I showed you."

"Oh?" You watch as Jungkook tears his beanie off and tosses it aside. "I think that'd be good." He leans forward for another kiss— but this time, it's deep. Deep enough for Jungkook to take in a strong inhale through his nose, shakily letting out an exhale once he parts from your lips. He doesn't waste any time before he's kissing you again, tongue swiping against your bottom lip before easing it in. His fingers trace your bare skin underneath your shirt, tips digging into your sides again when he feels you slowly rock against him— his length growing incredibly hard beneath you.

"Yeah, it would be good. Right?" He lets out a small moan in between kisses, hissing when he feels your lips make their way down to his jaw, neck. His hands travel to the hem of the shirt you're wearing, slowly prying it off and tossing it aside. He continues to sit on the edge of the bed while you straddle him, your hands now fiddling with his shirt before he pulls it over his head and joins yours off to the side.

"You aren't tired?" You lay some lazy kisses along his throat, sucking and nipping gently on the surface while his fingers tug at the fabric of your panties.

"Nope, not anymore." You make your way back up to his lips, relishing in every kiss, every squeeze— every bit of Jungkook. Midway, he finally helps you out of your panties before shifting his sweats and boxers down enough to let his cock spring free.  

"You sure?" You tease as you waste no time wrapping your hand around his member, pumping him a few times while listening to him let out a few moans.

"Positive, baby. Need you." He mutters as he signals for you to sink down his length. You do as told, slowly, easily, sinking down until he completely fills you up and bites his bottom lip. "Just like that. Right where you should be."

"Feel so full already, Kook." He chuckles as he adjusts himself better on the bed, tattooed hands traveling up your back, caressing your body, as he showers your tits with kisses. He takes a nipple into his mouth, tongue circling around the hardened peak before pulling back with a pop. Just as you continue to roll against him, he takes the other— giving his tongue a little more freedom to explore before sucking and giving it a quick pop. He continues to shower your chest with feathery kisses, moving to your shoulders and arms while you continue to set the tempo.

"So good— fuck." He moans. "You're doing so good, baby." He tightens his grip around your hips as he continues to praise you. "Just like that." He repeats. You whine, lips grazing his as you work him, ride him— feeling every inch of Jungkook inside of you. The way that your walls engulf him— squeeze him— with every roll of your hips makes it hard for him to hold on. Though, he can tell you're slowly tipping over the edge.

It's the way your face contorts in pleasure.

Your inaudible, silent moans.

The way your body stiffens when you work against him, relishing every bit of his cock before repeating the rhythm.

And he's right, you are close. So close. Jungkook pulls you into a sloppy, wet kiss before he slightly backs away to observe your face, you. He chases after your lips once more, biting onto your bottom lip and making you let out a moan that sounds like music to his ears.

The chase.

His effort.

The way he looks at you in pure adoration, easing you to the edge to see you in pure ecstasy.

Holding you close, keeping his hands on you at all times.

You continue picking up the pace a bit, causing enough friction against your heat. Jungkook calls your name, whispering sweet nothings against your lips as his hand rests on the nape of your neck— the other hand still on your hip. He starts to match your rhythm, your tone, thrusting upwards into you to fully tip you over the edge.

"Kook, I'm— I'm gonna— fuck." You whine as you become desperate, feeling the high settle into the pit of your gut. Finally, you tremble against him and moan loudly against him; hand squeezing his tattooed bicep, the other tangled in his black locks.

"That's it. Good girl." He caresses your back, continuing to thrust himself into you even as you try to come back down from your high. But now, he's there, and he's desperate for his own release. "You're my babygirl. You're everything to me. Everything." You moan loudly with him as he gives you one, two, powerful thrusts. "Everything that I do, everywhere I go. You're my muse. You're mine." He says against your ear, panting as he snaps his hips against you at a faster pace while holding you close; the sound of flesh against flesh filling the room. It's not long before Jungkook is coming undone, the aftershocks still rippling through your body. His cheek is pressed against yours as he pants and lets out a few whines, your walls milking every last bit of him until the very end.

"Kook." You whisper. "I love you. I'm so proud of you and I love you." He laughs lazily as he rubs at your hips.

"I love you too, princess. Good enough explanation for that?"

"Maybe." You giggle as you hop off and scurry off to the bathroom for a quick shower.

"I mean.. we can do more—" He trails behind you and welcomes himself into the shower.

"Jungkook, you need to be up in 3 hours." Your voice echoes in the shower and Jungkook scrunches his nose.

"And?" He laughs. "Running on no sleep is how I work."

"You're too much." You giggle when Jungkook turns you around and wraps his arms around you.

"Baby, baby, baby." He says smugly. "There's more that I'll need to show you, especially for the album."

"Jungkook." You try to scold him but you squeal when he has you wrap your legs around him and presses your back against the tiled wall— the night only leading to more sweet nothings, praises and genuine love. Jungkook loving on you, just as you with him.

Because, you are his muse. You are in everything he does, bits of you sprinkled in everything.

No matter the circumstance. No matter the day, time, year.

You will always be his muse.

permanent taglist: @spideyjimin​ @miinoongi​ @thebeebi​ @ggukkieland​ @bluesharksandfish​ @unicornbabylover​ @preciouschimine​ @codeinebelle​ @shesoldbutcute​ @jikookiekosmos​ @awhnamjoon​ @namjooningelsewhere​ @bunnybearrj​ @babycoffeefire​ @bri-mal​ @sintaethick​ @taejkjoons​ @love2luvya-blog​ @pb-n-juju​ @dianaxnyc​ @fan-ati--c​ @jungjoonie​ @jcsmae​ @favouritesblog​ @ppeachyttae​ @awseokjin​ @jjk1iscoming​ @moonchild1​ @vantxx95​ @genzslayer @knjeuphoria​ @jksjx​ @oogawooga222​ @yoonqki @halesandy​ @chimchimmarie​ @chimsworldsstuff​ @persphonesorchid​

[tres-pistolas]

I have noticed that you draw Luke a little…different than most of the dinluke fandom 😅 Is there a particular reason?

Maybe I'm the greatest freak out there and that’s why I'm in disharmony ? Mostly I work with the impression that I get of his character in the Mandalorian, movies and books (except for my crack comics, that is OOC, its crack guys) I think the dinluke fandom clearly prefers his new hope personality than his mandalorian personality but pairing him off with Din in the former gives me serious DiCaprio vibes so I'm just like naaah. I'm also fascinated by his metamorphosis from new hope to the character that he is in the mandalorian because that's HUGE change, and to let him remain static doesn't seem appealing to me personally.

Now Luke was always supposed to be a different kind of hero. One that valued kindness and compassion before violence, a different way to represent masculinity that the typical macho of the 70's (And not in everything because he did A LOT of contradicting shit in the movies) but it seems like the dinluke fandom took those exact traits to say yes, indeed, having those traits instead of the ones like, say, Din Djarin (one that fits these within those traits better) makes you less of a man, less of a hero and thats why his representation in the fandom is mostly, well, of a person that cannot take care of himself much less of other people, among other things.

Or perhaps I'm just reading too much into this and it's just a byproduct of Pedro Pascal being a very attractive man and the author's or fanartist's desperate need to bend Luke's personality to make him more relatable to the author's own so that it can fit the fantasy better. Makes sense I mean wiseass cosmic wizard is not exactly relatable. But I want to believe this is not true because it saddens me deeply the implication that to make someone relatable to oneself is to take away their drive, their powers, their self esteem and capabilities and in turn, to elevate their love interest (Din djarin) so that he's powerful, a king, rich and sexual driven.

Or maybe like I said I'm just full of shit and I'm the freak that can't see the bigger picture. Maybe I'm the fackin Jacqes Audiard from Emilia Perez!! Please understand that I'm stating my opinion and reasoning because I'm being specifically ASKED about it. Mostly I just sit down silently and do mediocre drawings, that's my specialty. Also I'm no social knight I believe in freedom of speech and that everybody is free to write and draw whatever they want, even if controversial or whatever (including criticism and satire).

[milksnake-tea]

Dunno if you've ever answered an ask like this before, but do you mind telling us about your mutuals?

Rather, their writing styles and how they interact (No pressure if this sounds like I'm intruding on a boundary or something, I've noticed that you reblog a lot of works and I'm trying to find more fic writers from HSR and Genshin to support, but sometimes it feels a little scary 😅)

HELP NO IT'S OKAY !!! no fear in asking, we love people like you <333 these are mainly the mutuals that i've read fics from so that i can actually tell you how they write but still. THIS IS GOING TO BE A LONG ONE STRAP IN FOLKS. if i forgot ygs im sorry oops... also sorry for the tag COUGHS (esp to the ppl i keep tagging when i get asked abt my moots BYE kawa skip mhie naru ren im so sorry i love you i swear)

@generalsmemories

NARU !!! ONE OF MY FIRST EVER HSR MOOTS AND ONE OF THE WRITERS I LOOK UP TO THE MOST. her writing style is very scenic?? if i were to describe it, it's very dreamy and whimsical and it's like reading a fantasy book. very descriptive but not so descriptive that you're eating fancy words. she's jing yuan centric but occasionally writes for others such as dan heng and sunday! she's honestly very very silly when it comes to interaction, like in an older sister way <33 she talks like an aesthetic if that makes sense

@inarvii

skip has a very elegant feel to her writing like LORD. it's giving noble/fantasy thriller enemies to lovers but in a writing style i love her prose and how she really makes you feel the vibe of a scene. she's really kind and sweet, gives older sister vibes lowkey

@k9wa

kawa is like me but x497842389 cooler and with a lot better grasp on characters. you want proper characterization? you want big brain ideas? GO TO HIM. his writing feels theatric, like a movie or a play. it's so descriptive and he does an amazing job at describing action and characters and GRGRGRGR

@luvether

lord i dont know if its okay to tag you but uhm. hi waves hand 😭😭 honestly i haven't interacted w kou much but from what i can tell she's really nice!! BUT I HAVE READ HER WRITING. AND LAWRD. her writing feels like little snapshots of life, you feel like you're actually like. THERE. she always has the biggest brain of ideas i swear and i highly recommend her writing. mostly fluff with a touch of angst, one of my favorites fr !!

@emiken-070907

hi emi. bet you didn't expect to get tagged here huh. but you have one hsr fic and that's enough for me to slap you onto here and promo you (it's on ao3 and it's not an x reader, but it is a tragedy yanqing timeskip!!! i beta read for that btw flips hair (i still need to edit im so sorry emi please)). as for interaction, she is silly asf. TO ME PERSONALLY? shes like the ratty little sibling that you want to throw out the window but would also kill for. has great vibes over all, she's so sweet but sometimes shes a lil shit so. yeah. idk how she acts to followers but she is like that to ME. but she is full of whimsy and glee so there's that

@rainswept

edgar allan poe incarnate over here??? HELLO??? crow is. her writing is RAW. like okay this is going to get a bit gorey but they write like a freshly opened wound, it's vulnerable, it's poetic, it's pure imagery and i LOVE it. also another goofy moot. i think like just attracts like atp

@tragedy-of-commons

gwen is an absolute SWEETHEART. very silly. BUT THEY'RE SO SWEET. her writing is literally sunlight put into literary terms, if that makes sense. it's warm, comfy, and cozy (except when she kills you in the arms of your favorite character. which she has done) and i highly recommend her writing for a comfy read <3

@iceunhie

mhie is a HATER OF THE HIGHEST ORDER jk i love her she just bullies me GOODBYE 😭 mhie gives off older sister vibes, a lot of people (including me HELP) see her as intimidating but she's really sweet once you get to know her. or she calls you milk. who knows. ANYWAYS genuinely one of the people i look up to most, she always gives amazing feedback on writing and her own writing??? the prose??? she's a master at it. knows how to really elevate a piece and it's just really easy on the eyes. she's also a research writer, her jiaoqiu fic utilizes chinese proverbs and terminology and i think that's really neat <3

@st6rly

hi bottom beta. okay wait sorry you have a reputation i forgot ANYWAYS. SOL IS SUCH A SILLY GOOSE. i love him. BUT HE IS SO GOOFY AND I MEAN THAT IN A POSITIVE WAY. i haven't read that much about what sol writes unfortunately since i'm no longer interested in genshin that much 😭😭 but i've heard good things !! definitely someone you wanna check out if you like good vibes :D

@lowkeyren

ren my pookiebear my LORD !!! resident aquila favonia haver (she has like 21 as of right now) and she serves every time she writes. always gets slapped onto my rec list because she's one of the few writers that genuinely have me kicking and giggling 😭 really cute, really tension filled, one of my favorite authors :))

@scribs-dibs

SUNNIII true to his name his writing feels just so warm and light, like a slice of life anime. very relaxing reads, at least from what i've seen !! very warm, really really cute <33 like the main one that ive read from him is that alhaitham jealousy fic and??? the characterization was ON POINT. i loved it so much (the switch up made me laugh) as for personality. HES FUNNY. LIKE HES STRAIGHT UP HILARIOUS I LOVE HIM GO CHECK HIM OUT I SWEAR ITS WORTH IT

@akutasoda

q has a very pretty vibe if that makes sense, i haven't read much from them but i can definitely say that their writing style is beautiful, like a meadow full of flowers or a quiet stream. they've always been kind to me in that sort of older sibling way, and they're someone that i would trust as an emergency contact. lots of genshin and hsr from what i've seen on my dash, so definitely go check them out!

@aviiarie

avery's on the more reserved side, at least from my point of view, or maybe that's because when i first met them they had a ferminet pfp. they're pretty chill and casual, and can i just say? their writing is very easy to read, it has great flow and i can just lose myself in the fic. like i don't see the words i see what the words are saying, if that makes sense. avery also focuses on platonic writing, although they have been writing some romance with furina!! my personal favorite work of theirs was that fic of arlecchino comforting her crying child because it made me feel so much better about my life at 9 am when i just woke up.

@vynicity

FELICITYYYY she's a mutual in my heart even tho apparently tumblr thinks i dont follow her. but i do. ANYWAYS. another person that i consider on the more reserved side, but she's been fun whenever we talked. can i just say. SHE IS SO GOOD AT WRITING AVENTURINE. there's this one fic down the line about him being drunk??? i think??? and I ATE THAT UP because the tension and atmosphere that she managed to create. just magnificent. she has an aventurine series up right now iirc (i still need to read the new chapter im so sorry feli) and the prologue was. a roller coaster so definitely go check her out!

@vxnuslogy

vee is literally bursting with ideas and by god does she put them to use. i always see them brainrotting or thinking of new ideas or things to write, literally one of the most creative people ive met. can be a little silly, but still a sweetheart <33 her writing is more formal than what i'm used to i'll admit, but still a delight to read nevertheless <33 very descriptive is how i'd describe it, like it feels like she's looking at the scene as shes writing it

@ughscara

ayame is like. the sweetest person i have ever met. like ill be here being a little shit and she'll still be an absolute sweetheart I ALMOST FEEL BAD BECAUSE SHE HAS TO DEAL WITH MY ASS BYE 😭😭 i just recently reblogged one of her works and it straight up feels like it came out of a fairytale, it was so light and sweet <33

[aylen-san]

🌟 Finrod Felagund: "Maglor, didn't you wander in repentance? What do you mean, 'no'?!" 🌟

My friends, life is a truly amazing thing! You’d think the world had long settled into its ways, yet even after centuries, it still manages to throw surprises our way. And here’s one of them—one that I, Finrod Ingoldo (plus a dozen more titles, but let’s not clutter the story), simply had to share with you!

After returning from Mandos, I heard legends. Tales of how Maglor wandered the desolate shores, consumed by eternal repentance, dissolving into grief and suffering. They said his songs made the rain even rainier, and the forests gloomier than a dwarf’s Monday morning. That he had become an echo, still heard by particularly impressionable Elves and Hobbits to this day.

And, I must admit, I found this a bit strange. After all, Maglor is a son of Fëanor. And a Fëanorian who simply resigns himself to his fate and suffers in solitude? That’s like an Ulubor’s Balrog: you can imagine it, but in reality… yeah, not quite.

And then—I came across an interview.

📜 An Interview! 📜

And not just anywhere, but in a reliable source from the Fourth Age. In it, two distinguished sages—Gandalf and… yes, Maglor himself—sat together, sipping wine and leisurely discussing his life’s journey.

At first, I couldn't believe it. Could be a joke, or maybe a fantasy ballad with a surreal twist. But no. It was real.

💬 Selected moments from the interview:

— "Well, Makalaurë, tell me—how was life after Beleriand?" Gandalf asks with a sly squint. — "Oh, don't even ask, Olórin. The first few hundred years were rough. I did sink into a pretty deep funk, but then I thought… maybe enough is enough? I mean, really, how long can one mope?" — "Are you serious? What about all those ballads of suffering?" — "What else was I supposed to do? Gotta make a living somehow!"

That’s when I started to get suspicious.

— "A living? How?" Gandalf presses. — "Well, I traveled, I sang, I earned…" — "Wait—you’re telling me that instead of eternal repentance, you went on a tour?!" — "What, am I not the best singer of the Noldor? Had to make all those years of immortality pay off somehow!"

At this point, my hands started shaking.

— "And where exactly were you?" Gandalf asks, still trying to process what he's hearing. — "Well, at first, of course, I sat by the shore, looking tormented—goes without saying. But then people found me, I taught them a few things, they gave me food and clothes. So, I moved on. I was at the court of Númenórean kings—first as a mysterious musician, then as a court singer." — "At the court of Númenor?!" — "Yep. Though when all that mess with Sauron started, I had to leave. Then I lived in Rhudaur for a while—it was nice, but those guys were a little too into tombs. In Gondor, by the way, I taught at a music academy for some time. Even put together a choir." — "Hold on, Maglor… You mean to tell me you didn’t suffer alone in the wastelands, but lived as a legendary bard?" — "Uh… yeah?" — "You… served at royal courts?" — "What, was I supposed to just sit there singing to rocks? Rocks don’t pay." — "You taught?" — "Well, what? Am I not talented?" — "You founded a choir?!" — "With good tenors!"

I buried my face in my hands.

This Fëanorian didn’t just survive. He monetized his tragedy. And the worst part? He did it brilliantly.

But wait—there’s more.

When he finally returned to Alqualondë, the Teleri didn’t kill him. They recognized him. Because by then, his songs were already famous even on the shores of Valinor.

And now? He’s not just forgiven.

He’s a legend.

🔥 Moral of the story: 🔥 If anyone ever tells you that Maglor spent two Ages suffering in solitude—don’t believe them. He went on a concert tour across every kingdom, even partied in Númenor!

And here I thought I was the most charismatic diplomat among us… 😅

[sabine-smitten-obviously]

and now i have to find myself a tower in a forest near a wall ...

... and look for a black, dark sorcerer !

You love fairy tales? You love Good Omens? You loved Aziraphale and Crowley in medieval clothes? Then you will love this not so little fanfic i dearly recommend to you!

Villainous by @ineffablepenguin

What it is about:

Once Upon A Time…

There was a red-haired sorcerer who lived alone in a high tower, and a blond prince who lived in a palace full of people. And they were both of them desperately lonely.

The Kingdoms of Empyrion and the Sorcerers of Apollyon have hated each other for hundreds of years, ever since the Great War. They do not interact, other than to occasionally try to kill one another. And they certainly do not make friends.

Crow is an exhausted sorcerer who just wants everyone to leave him the hell alone: for the Sorcerer’s Council to stop harassing him to live up to his potential, and for wannabe Empyrion Heroes to stop attacking his tower to try and kill him. Until one day when he meets Prince Azra of the High Fells, who doesn’t behave anything like he’s supposed to…

Part fairy tale, part fantasy, all love story. There’s magic, and grand romantic gestures, and Heroes and a handsome Prince, and a Villain. There are even some wild heroics, though not necessarily from who you would expect. At its core it’s simply about two (relatively) sane people living in a mad world who find each other.

What i love about it:

🫅🏼 I mean - fairytales? And a lot of them? I found it very nice to guess all the tales when stumbling upon a hint. Nice touch: in the epilogue there is a list of all the fairytales which have kind of flown into this fanfic and i am quite proud that i only missed 1 i actually know (and of course those i dont know).

👑 This story is RICH - and i mean really rich. It goes into details over everything and sometimes it reminded me of books written bei Hermann Hesse because of all the little things that kept coming and being mentioned. On my e-reader it was 566 pages! And yes, it took them about 200 pages for their first kiss 😅 That said, its always drawing a picture and reading the story is kind of seeing in your imagination. Obviously nothing is ineffable for @ineffablepenguin 😉

💪 The action scenes: oh my, its like a Schwarzenegger-movie, you cant stop reading, its fast, its furiuos ... oh, thats another movie, ngk.

🩷 The character development: both of our beloved angels start out being insecure of their roles, their place and their worth. But - this is the first fanfic i ever read, where both of them get to be BAMF !!!!

🩷 The plot: i love being suprised - i mean we do know a lot already, diving into a GO-fanfic with the tag "happy ending", right? So there were some really interesting turns and sometimes i wondered "ok, just how will this play out? How will the author get to unknot THIS?" And i have to admit, sometimes i really didn't see it coming. Very nice!

🩷 The healing: i dont know if it was on purpose or the author just felt like our ineffables needed to hear and think stuff, but actually the way their characters develop and how they help each other with it, what they are thinking etc ... reminded me a lot of trauma-therapy. So as one of those few (ähem) people who really spiraled after the big 15 of S2, this was such a nice feeling.

💫 the epilogue - this story doesnt end at happily ever after. Instead we get to know, how they make a living for themselves and sneak a little into their daily lifes. I truly appreciate that, its a nice way of comforting the Reader out of the story.

This wonderful art is from @pinkpiggy93! 🩷

Most beloved quote:

"And i love you too, my dear," he said firmly. "You are so very easy to love."

And isnt this quite a sentence, we all need to hear?

So if you are into good omens, fairytales, long fanfics to really dive in to for several hundred pages, some surprises and of course a happy ending - this is quite the story for you.

🩷🤗

Reading is not a hobby, its an attitude.

[moonliched]

Hello baby!

Kisses u on the forehead

How r u feeling? I just finished rereading your fic and damn i love it so much it's in my solid top 3 of mer fics and is keeping its 1st place proudly. I just melt into a happy puddle while reading it! And during a day my mind often drifts to think and theorise about your work! Also you are so cute and bubbly it only adds on to the whole vibe in the book. I loved little fun facts! They are adding so much character and perspective to the people and situations! Can we have some more?

Btw can we give you some ideas for plants and stuff?

Kisses!

can't wait to see more of your magic 🌸✨️

you n me, perchance (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)

i am feeling like i need a long holiday! i hope your autumn is off to a good start🍁🍂

you have no idea how big of a complement this is aaaaaaaaa, i always wanted to make a fic likeable enough to reread xD you're so nice to me❤️

you can absolutely give me whatever ideas you'd like, i welcome the excuse to chat n make up cool fantasy stuff😊✨ thanks for the ask, i am absolutely squeezing you in a hug rn!!

i gotcha more fun There Are Many Benefits facts ;3

🪸 Sun and Moon coexist calmly and happily. they are very close and their bickering isn't in seriousness. so if you join in, at any moment they might exchange a glance and gleefully gang up on you at the drop of a hat

🪸 Meryn can see a deeper range of certain colours than the mers can, like the difference between the white of Sun's eyes and his paler pupils. so Sun thinks he's being sneaky when he looks at Meryn without moving his head, but obviously Meryn can tell that he's staring dead at them. they find it funny

🪸 after Meryn revealed in chapter 16 that they intend to build BON-BON a body, he promptly spent the rest of the night searching up cool robot images and brainstorming stuff to put in it. he 100% has not thought about the sheer work that's going to go into making just a regular body, nor the fact that Meryn would never ever trust him with rocket launchers

🪸 Sun and Moon are aware on some level that Humans Wear Clothes (though how they know this is a spoiler!) but they don't fully understand the minutiae of the when and the why humans keep covered. so, just enough to get flustered when they're removed lol

🪸 Meryn was considering getting piercings before their hand webbing was removed. now they have lost their taste for any permanent body modifications

🪸 BON-BON spies on the Glamrock team's meetings, but not as much as he used to. he gets bored easily and a lot of what they discuss references previous tasks and goals he also didn't really listen to when they were first brought up. as a result, he misses out on a lot of stuff that would make for juicy gossip-and-mystery-solving content to share with Meryn😅

🪸 Sun thinks that Meryn's 'nest' (bed) is tragically bare. it must be because they have no one to take care of them! he has plans to rectify that

🪸 Meryn typically responds with a one word 'okay' when they're agreeing without meaning it

🪸 BON-BON thinks the Glamrock team's apparent bleeding-heart stance on AI is just performative, and that if the time comes to ever put those beliefs into action they would fall back on reporting him as sentient

🪸 Vanessa only followed Meryn's example of using he/him pronouns for Sun when he spoke like a human, by mimicking her words

🪸 it's often obvious to Sun and Moon when Meryn doesn't understand something, and they find it amusing to call them on it, or let it play out if Meryn doesn't express their confusion. they think it's cute

🪸 As of chapter 16, Meryn is getting sick of Monty helping himself to their food and drink and has a plan to punish him for it >:3

🪸 BON-BON's enjoyment of shopping is more to do with the new experience of getting to express himself through his appearance than fashion itself. he's still learning what he likes and how he wants to present himself

🪸 Sun and Moon love making Meryn laugh, as they don't actually laugh or smile by themself often. but tbf all of their expressions are super interesting to the mers

[whamgram]

Your fic is killing me ITS KILLING ME. Please just let them kiss already I’m begging you. This slow burn hurts so good but I can’t take it anymore and I don’t think they can either. I’m going to explode like alastor if they don’t kiss soon.

But seriously under my skin is everything to me. I drop everything I’m doing to read it the second I get the notification. The writing is so good I’m in awe how much it feels like a season of the show. I love the way you write alastor. He’s goofy and charming like in the show but still has a threatening aura. His slow realization of his feelings for charlie is so believable too. As a demi person myself, I really love that it was a gradual thing and he wasn’t all of a sudden lusting after her. I love how the moments of attraction slowly intensified and each chapter he got bolder until he was literally crawling into her lap. Poor guy was desperate and he didn’t know what to do about it until the next chapter.

On that topic THAT scene from last chapter was so flipping hot. I love how you described alastor’s half made fantasies. He has a mental block because of his shame but also he’s never been interested in sex so he doesn’t even know what to imagine. And then he wants her so bad that he’s finally able to imagine something. Him clawing at the armrest and pretending it’s her boob was so hot gahhhhh.

Thank you thank youuuu please never abandon this fic I might die <3

I'm sorry. 😅 I promise there will be some payoff to the slow burn soon!

Thank you so much! ❤️ I love how Alastor is such a goofy guy while still having this underlying cunning and sadistic personality. And yesss, I wanted to sprinkle in the moments of attraction while he's working through his feelings for Charlie. Staring at her boobs, appreciating her smile, feeling a prickle on his neck, little things like that before he has a full body reaction and realizes he's sexually attractive to her. He starts craving physical contact with her so badly, I don't think he realizes half the time when he's all over her.

You're exactly right regarding the spicy scene! Previous to giving into his desires, Alastor very much had a mental block about his Charlie fantasies. Part of that was self-inflicted because he felt so much shame about having these thoughts/urges in the first place. And part of that was because he just straight up didn't know what to imagine. Not that he's totally clueless about sex, but a lack of experience and interest would mean that he doesn't really have a catalog of fantasies to pull from. But after all the close encounters that he and Charlie had that night - her squirming in his lap, him pinning her to the bed, etc. - that combined with his utter desperation gave him enough in the spank bank to imagine his fantasies to completion. 😈

And don't worry! There are no plans to abandon this fic. The Charlastor parasite has permanently fixated itself to my frontal lobe. ❤️‍🔥

[starbeltconstellation]

No matter how I look at it, I get the feeling that Lesyle Headland is racist against Asians. Seeing all those characters portrayed by Asian people get mistreated horribly makes me very uncomfortable because I'm Asian myself, and I've been through that multiple times during my life. I'm not the only one who thinks that. I saw there are a couple of other people who think that Lesyle Headland is against Asians too. Kathleen Kennedy keeps pointing out the racism in the fandom, yet she ignores the racism that she HERSELF and her co-workers are doing, and that includes Lesyle Headland! Why did Star Wars now have to be in the hands of a Western company where they keep mistreating Asian characters and Asian people??? Now, with what happened in Sol in the finale, the SW fandom is going to be even more racist and spout more BS against Asians now. I'm tired af of all the hatred towards my people! Both Asians and the Jedi deserve better!!!

Hello, dear anon. ❤️

Firstly, I just want to DEEPLY apologize for the long wait in my response. 😅💔😖 I try not to get behind on asks, but life has been crazy for me at the moment, and especially with longer asks like yours, I really want to take my time and give a good and in depth response.

And yesssss! 👏👏 Speak your truth, dear anon! 😖✊

I will be honest and say that my view—while I HEAVILY dislike LH’s writing morals and style (and just the whole concept of The Acolyte show in general being some ‘girl power fantasy’ for women when the Dark Side is anything but that and is nothing but weighted chains tying you to the ocean floor to drown)—was more charitable at first where I know in my SOUL if I ever met this woman that we probably would not be able to get along if we talked about SW fandom lore too much. And I can accept that! 😂

Not everyone will like or agree with each other. At least she’s not as bad as Karen Traviss, because dear GOD I have recently just learned about the petty hatred that woman has towards the Jedi (with a WORD FOR WORD line of a character in her books EXPLICITLY saying the Jedi Order deserved their genocide! 🤢), and I KNOWWW I would dislike that woman if I met her on the street. I can acknowledge the incredible feat she accomplished with developing Mando’a, while still maintaining that she seems like a very mean spirited person to be around), and it is literally nauseating in the most highly disgusting and disturbing way.

KT is basically a rapid and foaming at the mouth Jedi anti who believes they “got what was coming to them.🤢🥶” LH on the other hand (at least in HER head), views herself as Jedi CRITICAL. And while there is a little bit of a difference there, it’s not as stark a line as fans would try to convince us pro Jedi’s to believe.

There are plenty of fair criticisms about the Jedi that I can acknowledge: the Shimi thing, for one, which is I think just a bad symptom of GL’s writing being more “metaphorical” than literal. Shimi HAS to stay on Tatooine because Anakin eventually HAS to murder the Tuskens in cold blood so GL can tell the story he wants to tell of how Anakin can’t let go, and so the Jedi are never given the opportunity to do what I truly BELIEVE they would’ve done, which is go back and free her, at least for the peace of mind of one of their newest initiate. The plot literally physically bars them from doing so.

And even THIS is not without its flaws, because they would ONLY have wiggle room to free Shimi after the heat of TPM problems had died down where they had time to do so… while walking past/avoiding eye contact with all of Shimi’s slave neighbors, because as specified before—The Jedi have no jurisdiction in the Outer Rim, and you bet your ass if they freed all those slaves and started a war with the Hutts with their little 10,000 strong army, the Republic would take one look and go “Lol, good luck with that,” and not help them at all, which would be basically suicide for the Order to try and accomplish on abolishment of slavery on the Outer Rim all on their own in the TRILLIONS of people in the galaxy. They do not have the MAN POWER for that. Not without the Senate army/clones.

People want the Jedi to do something about it? Get on the Senate’s ass about it then—the REAL people who are responsible for all of the shit going wrong in the Outer Rim while they line their pockets and kiss up to clueless galactic citizens for votes come election time. THEY are the ones that should be responsible for the problems of an ENTIRE galaxy—not a small little minority group (which I’ve already come to realize that the Jedi are. They are a culture/religion/family, and 10,000 is but a drop in the ocean of the galaxy. They are so small in the grand scheme of things that it’s SCARY when considering how easy it was for Palpatine to lead them to almost total annihilation) that try and try and TRY as hard as they can, which is apparently somehow NEVER enough, for the galactic citizens AND the SW fandom itself.

And why is that? Why is it so HARD for SW fandom to relate to them? Why does LH (who I’m sure in her head BELIEVES she’s as progressive as they come) view the Jedi as some type of “space cops” who are “oppressing 🙄” the Sith as a representation of her religious trauma that she is clearly projecting onto them as something completely separate than what the Jedi Culture actually is? Why does she view them as “emotionally repressed” and “almost catholic-like”, and views the fucking SITH (literal SPACE NAZIS 😭🤦‍♀️) as a representation for her persecution as a gay woman?

It’s because—just like MOST SW fans in the US—she cannot fathom a culture outside of the lens of western philosophy. In her mind, the Jedi aren’t a “real 🙄🤢” family. In HER mind, the Jedi aren’t necessarily evil, but she still believes those “poor little culty Jedi 😔💔🙄” didn’t see they were ‘sewing their own destruction’. (Which is blaming them. It’s BLAMING the victims of genocide, and it’s to this day the most disgusting thing I will always remember about the show’s “your actions will cause the destruction of every Jedi in the galaxy” quote that made Twitter go wild with genocide apologia galore).

Some lovely examples! 😁🙃🙃

Disgusting Example 1:

Disgusting Example 2:

Disgusting Example 3:

Disgusting Example 4: REALLY YIKES. 🥶

Disgusting Example 5: Ahhh, would you look at that? We’ve made it into good ol’ ✨dehumanization✨. 🙃🙃🤢

ALL of those examples are not a small portion of the fandom. They are the MAJORITY. This is what the MAJORITY of the fandom truly deep in their hearts believe about the Jedi and their culture and way of life, even if they won’t word it as bluntly as those commenters did out loud.

THIS is what I believe LH’s beliefs regarding the Jedi’s non-western culture is like. She thinks she’s being “fair”, because hey! I made you like Jecki and Yord, didn’t I? 😘😘😘

… And then mere episodes later, she throws the rug out from under you in having Quimir (who she has ADMITTED in interviews is basically her mouthpiece for her own personal thoughts on SW) dehumanize not just Jecki and Yord by saying they were “incapable of going deeper to care about Osha like she deserves 🤢🙄🥶”, but also just by dehumanizing the Jedi in general. It becomes CLEAR in the final episodes that everything was meant to lead up to Osha and Quimir meeting (because they’re clearly Reylo 2.0, and this was LH’s way of getting to smash her Barbie dolls together), which basically gives a feeling of hollowness to the entire backdrop of the show—because the rest of the characters ARE a backdrop to them. She FAKES THE AUDIENCE OUT by pretending to humanize Sol as someone repentant, teasing the possibility of him and Osha being able to talk things out, before swiftly turning him into a one-dimensional caricature of himself who seems to have done a complete 180 on his remorse, only for the sheer purpose of him and Osha not being able to have a conversation. You may say, “Oh, but the show is an unreliable narrator! 🤪🤪🤪”

Except… no, it’s really not. 😭🤦‍♀️ Especially with the way LH spells out that she AGREES with Quimir’s philosophy, she AGREES with that asshole Senator treating the Jedi like shit who are “corrupt/emotionally repressed space monks”, she AGREES with Oshamir fans’s interpretations that the finale of turning to the Dark Side is a TRIUMPH for Osha instead of a heartbreaking moment that will lead to only ruin.

And it’s because—just like most western fans—she just doesn’t even WANT or CARE to understand the eastern philosophy of the Jedi’s culture, and instead projects her feelings from no doubt sympathetic trauma onto something that has no true basis for it. She views something that doesn’t have the “passion” of the Sith’s ‘love 🙄’ as lesser than. She doesn’t really view them as a family, because she only believes in a more standard family dynamic, and instead views them as an institution that “brought everything on themselves. 🥶”

And… honestly? I think you’re basically RIGHT, anon. I don’t think it’s truly this big CONSCIOUS thing. I don’t think she wrote out Sol’s death for the sheer purpose of “Muah-ha-ha”-ing over Asian fans losing some of the honestly most MEMORABLE and AMAZING representation they’ve had in YEARS in the very franchise that borrows from their own culture and philosophy. But I DO think she doesn’t view it as something worth considering. Oshamir is where her mind was at at the end of the day (because ROMANTIC love is something she clearly views as the most important and powerful thing, because OSHAMIR is who stand together at the end. Not Osha or her sister), and I think any other storyline factors became all but insignificant to her in the grand scheme of things. It was easy to kill all of the Jedi characters, because the “new fave” was here—the Sith. And to be fair, his hotness drew in a lot of buzz! But the cancellation and the renew the series petition signatures I think show the gap in how many people were truly interested going forward that weren’t reylo 2.0 fans. Yeah, a lot of people are into villains. But even MORE people want to root for their heros. The Jedi are supposed to be the heroes of SW, and such a show PURPOSELY and VINDICTIVELY portraying them in the worst way possible (the EMPATHETIC SPACE MONKS covered up a massacre? REALLY? 😭🤦‍♀️) throws more people off than LH would like to believe.

The way she killed Sol… it was brutal. And in interviews, she says some bullshit like Sol was “taking away Osha’s agency” by forgiving her and telling her it was okay. Because the portrayal of the Jedi in this show isn’t just “showing their flaws! 🤪🤪🤪” It is purposely writing them in a way that they’ve NEVER been shown to act on screen before—all to make the villain sympathetic, because LH clearly has adopted the thinking (much as radical Anakin fans have), that because someone has become a villain, then SOMEONE must’ve forced their hand. But that’s not how all true three dimensional characters WORK. Yes, there are tragic characters whose circumstances make things worse, but the idea that a villain is always “misunderstood” creates the narrative that the HERO is somehow in the wrong. LH does this because both Osha and Quimir are her new OCs. She makes the Jedi almost completely OOC and portrays them as oppressive to JUSTIFY Quimir and Osha’s actions. Because THIS is what The Acolyte was about: giving Reylo 2.0 a happy ending.

There has been criticism from fans that Jecki and Yord were killed too early which only gave fans an “awww ☹️💔” feeling, because they barely had the chance to even solidify into real characters to make the audience sob and cry at their loss. And I would argue this thinking is right. Because if you look CLOSELY at the background, you can see how it all was just a hollow backdrop for LH’s “dark romance” idea. And I’m not saying such an idea was BAD—I’m saying it wasn’t originally marketed that way. Sol is marketed as the main character (representing Asians in a fantastic way), and then she brutally kills him off, because he was never REALLY important to LH’s story. None of the Jedi were. She was always more interested in the Sith. And so, she tries to make the Sith the “oppressed 🙃🙄”. And I would argue she fails at this with the larger audience, even if loud fans of reylo are chanting about it on tumblr and twitter. The viewership is lower than expected for the show (and part of that is because of the horrible racism and campaign against it from SW dudebros). But honestly, I think a part of it is just… what’s left? Everyone except Osha and Quimir are dead. Sol was brutally murdered on his knees (one of the best Asian representation I’ve seen in a while in SW) like he was nothing but garbage. The Jedi lost, and apparently LH has also character assassinated Vernestra by what she does in the finale, if the character’s fans huffing on tumblr are anything to go by (which is TOTALLY within their right to feel disappointed and angry over an aroace character being treated by the narrative like she and the culture she believes in have ‘no emotion or empathy’ 🥶🤢. There’s that good ol’ ✨dehumanization✨ kicking in again, huh?)

THIS is what SW has apparently decayed into. Into being vindictive and petty and blaming victims for their own persecution and pain. It’s a sign of a self involved culture, which is what the USA/the west is, I’ll admit. Other countries are collectivist. We are individualists. (ie; “I got mine.”) People ENJOY these tales of flipping everything around to blame the heroes and not the villains, because they SEE themselves in villains like Anakin or Kylo Ren or Osha and Quimir. And look—there’s nothing wrong with seeing yourself in a villain and even with sympathizing with them! Anakin’s past as a slave no doubt makes him very much deserving of empathy in that regard.

But the problem is—since they SEE themselves in the villain—then they don’t want the villain to be in the wrong (ie; Anakin). Because if the VILLAIN is in the wrong, then they TOO can also be in the wrong, and a lot of people don’t like to grapple with that. I have seen a recent post going around from someone I was pretty disappointed with that switched sides from pro jedi into anti jedi territory so vindictively and quickly (do NOT attack this person if you know who I’m talking about. I am bringing this up for the sheer purpose of meta. Not to pettily call them out or something), who was responding to an ask where the asker was thanking this person in basically defending Anakin by excusing his actions. The anon said they related heavily to Anakin, and apparently hated recent posts going around which call Anakin out on his behavior, because the anon and this person both believe that the criticism is meant to be vindictive and cruel, when that is rarely the case.

This is where the “Anakin was bullied by The Council/Mace/Obi-Wan” excuses come in. Because Obi-Wan gently offers CONSTRUCTIVE criticism at times, he is somehow viewed as someone who never truly respected or understood Anakin as a person. Because the Council didn’t worship the ground Anakin walked on and didn’t just let him get away with things without a sometimes gentle/firm reprimand, they are somehow viewed as people who have been out to get Anakin and ‘didn’t trust him’ since he was a child. Because Mace butted heads with Anakin at times because they had different opinions on how to be a good Jedi and in their battle strategies on the war, Mace is somehow the most petty and worst man alive who has been “jealous” of Anakin his whole life.

All of these above excuses—in the most nicest way I can state possible—sound like the platitudes that children tell themselves against parents who they’re angry at. This is WHY Anakin went to Palpatine; because Palpatine always told him “Yes.”

And believe it or not?

Sometimes being told “no” isn’t the end of the world or means people hate you.

Sometimes you’re a good person who made a mistake, and just need to be called out to get back on the right track.

Accountability.

LH apparently believes in none of this for her characters. The backstory crafted for Osha and Quirmir clearly shows that. It’s meant to ABSOLVE them.

Funny how the JEDI (the ones based off of Asian inspired culture in certain areas) aren’t given the same courtesy, huh? 🙃🙃

This is why the pro jedi fanfic I’m writing is free therapy. Loooool. 😂❤️

In conclusion—yessss, I think you’re pretty on the mark in a certain type of way, anon, even if we both have a little bit of a charitable gap for LH between the two of us.

I apologize for the late reply again! 😭❤️❤️❤️❤️ I hope the wait was worth it!

-

To any readers that stumble across this and are curious enough to check out my fic:

-

Tags:

@ensomnia

@heartfairy

@fangirlteallie

@shoniwake

@lemons-2-limes

@lexskiss

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[l00na24]

Fates Edged On A Blade - Prologue Part One

A/N: Hello 🤗 This is my first time writing a fic for Bad Omens after a lot of thinking if I really should give it a chance and post this, so please bare with me as I will try to write them as best as I can 😅 Also English isn't my first language so please excuse any grammar or spelling errors.

I want to give a huge shoutout to @veronicaphoenix! Thanks to your incredible story I couldn't get samurai!Noah out of my head and wanted/ had to write my own story about him 😍❤️

Originally it was supposed to be one chapter but due to it getting too long for only one entire part, I decided to cut it into two. So the second half will be coming your way soon!

There's a part in here and in the next one that will probably not be everyone's cup of tea but even if it's not, please give the story a chance, as this is only the Prologue and the real story will begin in Chapter 1! 🙏❤️

I hope you enjoy reading! 💕

Warnings: Fluff, Some slight Angst & Sexual tension if you squint, Mentions about the loss of parents, Allusions to a forbidden relationship

Word Count: 10.8k

kami = japanese for 'gods'

The early morning sun rose on the horizon, its first rays stretching across the land we knew today as the deepest part of Asia and bathing everything in a golden glow.

It was in a day and age where myths and legends were real and not just some kind of fiction – but not everyone believed in it… brushing them of as ‘child fantasies’ or ‘old tales in books’.

Among these people was a 26 year old man, slicing his katana with deadly precision through the air, every of his moves a testament to his self-control and years of very hard, dedicated training. Which had earned him the highest rank in the emperor’s army and his rightful position as the best samurai he was known for in the entire realm.

He loved the quiet mornings, when it was just him alone on the training grounds or sometimes when he felt like it, a walk through the nature surrounding the castle - it helped to center himself and his thoughts. Especially on occasions like today, the princess’ birthday. He had to make sure everything was perfect.

But the universe would soon proof that some things were simply out of his control. He just didn’t know yet.

He was in the middle of doing a combination of slashes and swings with his long, razor-sharp sword when a soft gasp that would have been inaudible for anyone else, halted his movements instantly.

The tingling feeling in his body had already given away her presence long before she made the mistake of making a sound and revealing herself. He didn’t even need to look to know she was there but he wasn’t about to call her out on it.

But he couldn’t deny the curiosity building within him - How long had she exactly been here? What was she thinking seeing him like this? Why was she even here this early?

“Haven’t I taught you to not expose yourself to the enemy, princess?” His deep voice rang across the training ground loud and clear in a chiding manner, yet with a playful edge. Naked, fully tattooed back still facing her and on full display for her eyes to explore every inch.

There was a moment of silence, not in an uncomfortable way, but laden with curiosity and anticipation.

“And haven’t I told you to not call me that… Noah?” Her words brought a small smile to his face. The way she tried to hide that she had been caught, tried to hide the slight wavering of her delicate voice from him when she wanted to sound accusatory instead. These little actions made her all the more cuter for him. Not that he would ever let her know. But he would allow himself to bath in this moment for now while it lasted. Letting those butterflies go wild for a second who seemed to have manifested themselves in his belly for a while.

“And… you know- it’s not nice to watch someone without their knowledge.” Noah replied unbothered, completely ignoring what she said but still keeping his playful tone.

“I wasn’t watching you!” She had come out of her previous hiding place to face him, arms propped up on both sides of her waist in defiance. Now that he had detected her it was useless anyways. It was a stupid idea to begin with. But she wouldn’t let him see that.

“Whatever you say, Y/N.” His chuckle erupting goosebumps on her skin. She could never get enough of hearing him laugh, just like his voice in general.

Noah lowered his katana and loosened his stance, turning around to her fully. His auburn eyes locking on her instantly, not missing the way hers widened for a moment at the sight of him and his exposed upper body before averting them up quickly to meet his.

“You… uhm… You cut your hair…” Her observation from before left her in a breathless whisper, trying not to stutter and giving away how she felt about his new style. She didn’t think her heart could beat faster but right now it was racing and a fire was spreading through her that made it harder and harder to not crumble under his gaze.

“Oh, yeah… They got kind of annoying and I felt like I needed a change, so I decided to cut them. Do you… like it?” It sounded almost a little bit shy how it came out and he was internally already chastising himself. He didn’t want her to know how nervous he really was about the topic and what her answer would be. Looking at it, it was actually pathetic for him to even be nervous about something so insignificant. He was a samurai, he shouldn’t care about any of this. And yet he couldn’t help himself.

Y/N felt even more heat rushing to her cheeks from following Noah’s movements. How he expertly sheathed his katana without needing to look, to then rub up and down the back of his also tattooed neck with his other hand. He unconsciously did the one thing always making her weak to the knees. If Noah only had a clue how he looked like this, especially now with the short hair of his it was a whole different thing. She was praying to every kami above that he couldn’t see how flustered he had made her with only his presence. How was she supposed to answer his question when he had literally stolen all air out of her lungs? Was there even a suitable answer that would do justice for what she got graced to witness this early morning?

Noah was always the confident one, no matter the situation but to see him getting all shy and nervous about such a little thing made her feel so many things and she wished she could treasure this precious moment between them forever, burn it into her memory so she would never forget. The way his cheeks dusted in a slight shade of pink, how the light of dawn hit him in every perfect angle and bathed him in an ethereal golden glow, looking like it created a halo around him and illuminating every little detail on his body from his eyes down to all the different, delicate pieces of art decorating his front and arms as well - like a painting with his entire body as canvas and so many different details you didn’t know where to look first but together they blended into a perfect picture. It was a sight to behold.

“Please be honest with me, did you like my long hair more?” He was fully aware of her stare but he brushed it off as a reaction because she had never seen him half naked before. Taking her hesitation as a bad sign.

“It’s… different. But I’m sure everyone loves it.” She answered carefully after finding her ability to speak again.

“So you don’t like them…” He concluded, his stomach twisting in an uncomfortable knot. Face falling slightly.

“I didn’t say that.” Y/N replied immediately, not wanting him to make a false assumption but leaving room for interpretation. Maybe a bit too quickly.

The words made his heart skip a beat and brought the smile back to his lips. It was all the confirmation he needed.

“I see… Would you tell me if I asked nicely, my princess?” She would literally do anything he said without question, he wouldn’t even have to ask. He wanted her to fall on her knees and pray to him like he was the only god in existence? Yes. Yes, she would in an instant. She would even scream his name over and over to the heavens and for everyone else to hear if that’s what he wanted. But that was a secret she would take with her to the grave.

Noah’s gaze seemed to intensify and Y/N had to swallow a lump in her throat, shifting a little in her position. Clearly caught off-guard by the sudden turn in their conversation and his attention on her, like a predator watching his prey just waiting for the right moment to strike. She could have sworn his eyes had darkened a tone too.

“I think you’ve already gotten your answer.” It took her a lot of effort to keep her voice steady. She could feel a tension growing between them and she was sure it wasn’t lost on Noah. He was too smart to not notice with his senses sharp like his blade he carried with him all the time.

“I guess I did.” His tone was deep, not revealing any emotion behind it. But if his widening smirk was any indicator, he had what he wanted.

With a few strides thanks to his long legs, he crossed the distance between them, coming to a stand and towering over her with his height. Everyone else would have been intimidated in Y/N’s position with the most feared samurai right in front of them but Y/N’s heart beat only wilder in her chest at their proximity. She could feel the heat radiating off his smooth skin.

“But I have to apologize,” He spoke up again. “I haven’t congratulated m- the birthday girl yet.”

Noah hoped she hadn’t noticed his little slip up and observed closely how the expression of her face went from confusion to realization. For not a mere second, he was sure, something else had been there in between. He just couldn’t digest what it was because it was gone before he had a real chance to figure it out. God, what he would give to look into her thoughts right now.

Y/N was sure she stopped breathing when Noah went the rest of the way and hugged her. Breathing out a soft “Happy Birthday, Y/N.” and reveling in the feeling of her small body against his. She equally enjoyed how his strong arms were holding her and how perfectly she fit against him.

“Thank you. And don’t you dare apologize. You know you don’t have to do this.” Her soft chuckle was music to his ears.

“But I want to.” Despite not wanting to end their embrace and letting go of her, he retreated himself a bit after a few moments of them just holding each other so he could look into her beautiful, sparkling eyes again that always captivated him when he looked at her. Wanting to show her the honesty behind his words even if both of them already had known that she knew.

They were only inches apart, eyes glued to each other for a long moment before Noah worked up the courage to cross the dangerous line which always had been between them. Between two friends who grew and were raised alongside each other but different as day and night.

The emperor had raised him like his own son even if he wasn’t but he saw the potential in him to become the greatest samurai the entire realm had ever seen the day he met him as a young boy that had lost his parents. It was enough for Y/N’s father to take Noah under his wing and teach him the way of the samurai – Bushido, so one day he could step into the emperor’s footsteps; not so much as a ruler but as a warrior everyone would treat like he was a born king too and would fear when they even heard of his name. On the battlefield or not.

He was a weapon, sharpened to perfection and trained to cut out the deceases of their land without mercy and without question. It included those, who claimed to have committed their actions because of a ‘god’ they believed in or a long forgotten ‘myth’ whose knowledge was actually forbidden. The emperor himself made sure to drill this way – his way - of thinking over the course of Noah’s young adulthood in the boy’s head.

Telling him “There are no gods, Noah. All these myths they are talking about are only made-up child stories who never existed and their so called ‘legends’ are just another form of their lies. Don’t believe those lost souls, my child.”

When he was old enough and became a samurai, his codex left no room but to swear strict loyalty to the crown and so he never questioned anything the emperor said like he really would have been his son by blood.

Y/N on the other hand was raised by her mother, the empress. The kind woman allowed her to explore everything she wanted freely, to build herself her own picture of things and have an open mind for everything around her – much to the dismay of her father, who wanted to raise her like Noah and shape both of their worlds like his. But Y/N’s curiosity and good heart won over her father’s will and her mother did her best to support her, making her the princess she was today.

The same girl that stood before the six foot three tall samurai she knew from a young age who had always been her best friend and she trusted with her life despite knowing what he was capable of and how much death he could bring if he wanted to. There was never a single moment where she was afraid of him because she knew, no matter what, before he would hurt her, he would rather hurt himself or worse. He would absolutely NEVER ever raise a hand against her or would get violent. Noah would never forgive himself if he would hurt even a tiny hair on her body.

She was there from the beginning, had been the center of his world ever since and at the same time his anker he could pull himself to if he needed. So the closeness between them wasn’t as much of a problem and it didn’t matter if they were seen together a lot of the time when Noah wasn’t away to whatever place Y/N’s father had sent him to carry out his will. At least as long as they didn’t do anything inappropriate according to their tight friendship.

Like Noah was about to.

Very slowly and so careful Y/N had never seen him before, he inched closer and closer to her face, giving her enough time to pull away if she didn’t want this but he couldn’t resist any longer. He wanted to taste her lips so badly, wanted to know if they felt as perfect as he had imagined them so many nights. Next to other way more sinful things he wished he could do, things he would get killed for if they were caught. But he didn’t know any better way to die.

And if she felt even the slightest bit like him, then he would gladly take that risk as long as he could. Y/N was the only person he would make an exception for when it came to the codex he swore to live by. She was more important than everything else, hell, even more than his own life and anyone that dared to lay a hand on her or treated her the wrong way would pay with his life. He would personally make sure of that.

He kept his onyx eyes fixated on hers until their foreheads lightly touched, looking for any sign of uncertainty but when he found none after a second of intensely observing her, Noah allowed himself to close his eyes and let their heads rest against each other. A faint sigh filling the silence between them. Both of their hearts literally beating out of their chests at the small contact they shared.

Neither of them cared how long they were standing like this, the outside world having faded away, leaving them in their own where only they existed.

Y/N felt Noah’s heavy breath on her face and she was wondering how much restraint it cost him to hold himself back like this. But on the other hand his self-control and patience was something else and she knew better than to question it now. He could wait a lifetime if he needed and it wouldn’t bother him. So she took matters into her own hands and decided to make the next tiny step forward, not sure when or if Noah would do it. Slightly opening her eyes while she stood a bit on her tiptoes to even out their height a little and brushing her nose against his. Soft chuckles escaping both of them at the action.

Their mouths were so close now, breathing in the air trapped between them and almost feeling the lips of the other. The morning sun in the background casting an array of gold, pink, orange and a tiny pinch of purple and blue on them to pay tribute to the sacred moment unfolding with her as a silent witness.

Noah’s patience was running out – as much as control he possessed – but he couldn’t wait any longer, more than ready to break the invisible boundary before them. He didn’t care for the consequences in this very moment. What would happen if they were caught. What it meant for both of them.

Neither paid Y/N any thought to it as she was eagerly waiting for Noah to give her what she had been craving for such a long time that these seconds felt like pure torture he was putting her through right now. Couldn’t he see she was suffocating without him? That she needed him to breathe?

It was like the world was holding its breath, slowing time to a standstill only for them.

Leaning his head slightly to get a better angle to kiss her while she mirrored him, he willed every ounce of his last self-control he had left to last only for this moment so he wouldn’t hungrily devour her right here. Fuck, nothing had ever been so hard than these few grueling seconds with an anticipation nearly making him explode.

Right when Noah wanted to relieve them, their lips practically touching but still this damned last little inch away, a voice suddenly sliced through the silence. Bursting their bubble instantly and suffocating both, swallowing all emotions which had just been there with it.

“Princess Y/N! I’m surprised to see you up already this early in the morning!” Out of all people in the castle it had to be the one person who shouldn’t have been there.

The emperor’s advisor. Yuan.

A man in his 40’s with short, dark grey hair and a heart of stone. Y/N liked to compare him to the snake tattooed on the front of Noah’s throat. She was convinced if he wasn’t a human he would have been one instead. At least she could practically hear the venom coating his words every time he opened his mouth and every time she secretly hoped he would suffocate on it.

“Fuck!” Noah let out silently and whipped abruptly his head away and took a step back, hastily looking for his black top laying forgotten somewhere on the ground. Praying internally that they hadn’t been caught. Especially by this peace of shit of a man. He hated him with every fiber of his being just like Y/N because this man seemed to hate her equally, trying to point out her flaws or mistakes she made in front of the emperor, or just to make her look bad in general in the eyes of her father, only because she was different and with a heart of gold, he had sworn to himself he would protect with his life, even from her father if he had to. For Noah she was perfect, there wasn’t a simple thing he would change about her and even if there would be, he wouldn’t care. It wouldn’t change his feelings for her. Or so he had thought…

“Advisor! I didn’t expect your presence at this time either.” The princess turned around to him with a fake smile on her face, not allowing herself one last glance at Noah in fear of revealing what nearly had taken place before he had to destroy everything. Just like he always did.

“What a coincidence! You have to forgive me my surprise to see you also have company.” He faked a laugh, examining the princess and the samurai like a hawk for anything suspicious. Not hiding the distaste when his eyes roamed over Noah’s tattoos on his bare arms before they landed back on Y/N.

“I asked Noah to take a walk with me when I met him here because I couldn’t sleep. It seems like we had the same problem.” Y/N pressed out as nicely as she could, still trying desperately to calm her racing pulse. It was half the truth but he didn’t need to know which part. It wasn’t his concern anyway.

The looming presence of Noah’s tall frame behind her didn’t help the situation, his body heat still radiating off him in waves even through his clothes he had managed to put back on in time and she was sure he was struggling with containing himself to not make a mistake he’d regret later.

“I see. But I have to disagree, you know I always do my morning walk. I simply decided to go earlier since I was already awake. It’s good to have your eyes and ears everywhere, you never know where the enemy could be lurking. And we don’t want anyone to ruin the princess’ birthday now, do we? I’m guessing that is the reason you couldn’t sleep?” The man stood there like he was the emperor himself, still eyeing the two up and down and if Noah wouldn’t have been there, Y/N would have felt intimidated by how his icy blue eyes were boring into her.

“How mindful of you. My father can truly consider himself lucky to have someone like you as his advisor.” She answered back, not meaning a word coming out of her mouth. Then turning halfway in Noah’s direction who had been standing still like a statue the entire time behind her like the protector he had sworn to be for her, giving him a court nod to signal him it was their time to leave which he instantly responded to as if he had been waiting like a guard dog for his next command.

“It was nice meeting you, but I’m afraid we have to take our leave as the princess wants to lay back down and get some more rest so she is ready for today.” Noah spoke up, no emotion in his face or voice but his dark eyes fixated on the man opposite him, battling with the desire to slice his katana over the man’s throat or cut off his head altogether to finally get rid of him.

Even if him and Y/N hadn’t any physical contact, he still had felt how uncomfortable this man had made her feel by just looking at her. Enough reason for Noah of wanting to do something about it. But of course this snake stood in the emperor’s favor and so he was unable to do anything if he didn’t want to end up dead or wanted to damage his reputation.

One day he would make a mistake and until then he would patiently wait like a hunter for his prey and when the right moment came, he would strike and he would savor every second he would get with him. There would be no mercy. Just like this man didn’t know any mercy for anyone else.

“Of course, nothing would be further from my mind than to keep the princess from her sleep. Have a good rest, princess Y/N.” The emperor’s advisor bowed formally which she answered with an acknowledging nod in his direction before she and Noah started moving. Motioning for her with his inked hand to walk in front of him while he took a long, dark glance behind them, still eyeing the figure of the emperor’s advisor wearily walking in the opposite direction until he was out of his sight.

He felt his boiling anger slowly subsiding with every step he took, all his senses hyper fixating on the person walking right in front of him whose presence was calming him down. But not the wildfire which was still burning inside of him and he was sure he wasn’t the only one feeling this way.

Later in the evening…

Y/N

Safe to say I didn’t get any sleep at all after what had happened in the morning. The memory of it still vivid and fresh in my mind like it just had taken place, the moment between Noah and me on constant repeat.

I’ve sat in my chambers the whole day, ever since Noah had brought me back here. My head running in circles and my feet burning holes into the ground. We didn’t exchange a single word on the walk back but I felt his eyes literally burying into me. If he wouldn’t have been the most trusted person in my life I actually would have thought he was about to kill me.

When we had reached my rooms I blankly stared at the huge white doors decorated with golden, traditional, japanese ornaments lining their frames not knowing what to do. Noah had come to a stand behind me, way too close than he should. His uneven breath tickling the hairs on my neck and I swear I was about to faint if he kept going like this.

My hands were shaking as I reached for the doorknob, not from fear but from the unknown intensity between us. Trying to grip it hard enough so I wouldn’t slip before I somehow managed to push it open and willed my body to keep going.

I didn’t know what I expected to happen. Once we were in a safe place where he could literally do whatever he wanted to me without anyone’s notice.

“S-stay?” The word left my mouth unconsciously with a dangerous wavering in my voice, not yet daring a look behind me where I could still feel Noah’s presence that took up the entire space.

There was something akin to a faint, very low, dark chuckle penetrating the eerie silence between us, giving me goosebumps all over.

I was too caught up in the thrill and excitement of this new dynamic between us to notice he had moved in front of me. Only when he took a step towards me did I register his change in position and looked up to him with widening eyes. How did he get there so fast?

Noah had an ominous glint in his eyes, the usual warm brown in them having been almost swallowed whole by a sea of vast darkness. A promise to what was to come.

A shiver ran through me and when he took another step forward I instinctively responded with taking one back, my body moving on its own. The right corner of his mouth turning upwards at the motion. He was clearly enjoying this right now.

It went on until I had nowhere to go and he had backed me up against the wall next to the doors we had went through not a minute ago. Another thought hitting me when they appeared in the corner of my sight. When did he close them and why didn’t I notice it? But then, I hadn’t seen him walking around me either.

What then followed nearly had brought my heart to a complete standstill.

As soon as my back collided with the solid material behind me, his arms were to the left and right side of my head, positioning his large body as close as possible against my front and creating a wall to keep me trapped. I had to admit, it scared the shit out of me because I hadn’t expected him to do something like this but at the same time it sent something hot down my core.

Our eyes had stayed locked onto each other the entire time of our dance, not able to resist the magnetic pull and not wanting to either. I felt like I was exploring a whole new side of Noah no one had ever seen before, not even me. So many emotions swimming in the depths of his beautiful orbs and a vulnerability he had never exposed to anyone, allowing me a look into his soul at his true self. The man who had claimed my heart, who had become my biggest weakness. Noah was so much more for me than he thought he was.

Taking him in like this up close was still absolutely breathtaking, even if it couldn’t compare to before but I made sure I committed every little detail to my memory in case it was the only chance I got. His plump, rosy lips practically tempting me to kiss them, the curve of his nose, the perfect shape of his face with the sharp line of his cheekbones and his completely cut short, dark brown hair accentuating his face even more now. He was a walking sin. My sin.

There was a sense of déjà vu in how we stared at each other without the need to speak, our bodies doing it instead and I was kinda thankful for it because this man always made me speechless. Especially now.

I could feel it in every nerve when Noah decided to lean in and inch his way forward yet again but faster this time, the desire and hunger he couldn’t hold back anymore written all over him. The thread he had been hanging on about to snap together with his relentless self-control and I wasn’t going to make him wait any longer, lifting my chin to better meet him.

My breath caught in my throat when he was finally about to take what always had been his, ready to claim it as his own. Eyes closing and awaiting him eagerly to kiss me for the first time, letting me experience how he felt and tasted.

When his hot breath tickled my nose I knew he was right there but instead of joining our lips, I felt them on my forehead after another beat had passed by. Confused I opened my eyes and searched his, finding them already looking back at me with the same intensity then before. What was happening?

Before my mind could get consumed with a thousand questions about what was going on and why he didn’t do what we both clearly wanted, his deep voice sent me into a cathartic state.

“Tonight I’m all yours.”

And then he left.

Leaving behind a haunting sensation of his lips on my skin.

I don’t know how long I stood there blankly staring into nothing and not moving at all. It was like my body was stuck between shutting down and a paralysis taking over me, my brain having vanished together with him too. There were no thoughts, only pure emptiness – white noise.

I’m not sure if I had even felt my body at that point, I was just… there. Noah’s last words really starting to sink in only hours later when I was capable of functioning again.

Since then I had done nothing. The silence hanging heavy in my room like I was choked by a hand around my throat and I was at a point where I wanted to beg for someone to relieve me.

As if my silent prayers were heard, a knock caught my attention. The unexpected noise pulling me out of my head. It didn’t take long until my thoughts started racing again tho. What if it was Noah? Did he decide to come back?

My hopes were crushed as fast as they arose when someone else stepped in.

“I’m sorry I’m not the one you expected, my princess.”

“Hm?” I guess my neutral face wasn’t as convincing as I thought. “No, no. Just surprised to see you, is all.”

It was Ruen, my mother’s right hand and soldier, as well as one of the few people commanding my father’s army. Fully dressed in his usual full black armor with silver details on the front and along his shoulders together with his long cape around his back reaching to the ground. He was also a man of middle age around his 40’s with short, dark brown curls that were shaven at the sides and kept slightly longer at the front. He always was more of a father to me than my own.

“And I know when I’m not wanted.” He chuckled lightheartedly.

“Why are you here anyway?” I quickly changed the topic, meeting his kind, dark eyes.

“Your mother sent me. She wanted to make sure you’re alright but I’m mostly here to come and get you because your favorite part of the day is about to start.” At the information slight panic started to rise inside me. I had completely forgotten the time, still wearing the clothes from this morning and nowhere near ready to go.

“I won’t be ready in time…” I groaned, dragging my hands over my face.

“They are not gonna start without you, princess.”

“And father is gonna kill me if I’m late! Also stop being formal, there’s no need, Ruen.” Frantically I began to rush around, taking a first stop at my large wardrobe to comb through the variety of clothes until I found what I was searching for without losing too much time. It was a tradition by now that I always wore my special red kimono on this day, a birthday gift I had gotten from Noah years ago and ever since then I made sure to wear it every year.

The kimono was ‘special’ in the sense that it was not entirely traditional. The fabric was a bit wider, not as tight as it normally would be and also had a hood attached but it was still shaped like a normal one, at least till my waistline. Darker red flower designs made of little red and black crystals shining through the bright red color. The bottom half flaring out into various soft stripes, mixed with some other fabrics also accentuated with tiny red sequins running along them in a thin line. Underneath was a thin layer of a little bit see-through, pure red colored fabric to cover up my skin but you could also wear a hakama with it if you wanted.

“Let it be my and your mother’s problem. This is your special day and he’s not going to ruin it, Y/N. Also, can I help you with anything? Do you need me to get someone?” He waited patiently in the middle of the room, left hand comfortably resting on the sword attached to his side and looking in the direction I had just vanished into another room and making sure to speak louder so I could hear him.

“No, thanks. I think I got it.” I answered back while I got undressed and changed. “I really appreciate your help but we both know he doesn’t care. Father is only doing this because of me and I can be thankful he allows it even if he doesn’t like it. I don’t want to add to it.”

“You are like your mother.”

“Sometimes I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.” I exhaled, walking back to him when I was fully changed and finished quickly braiding my hair.

“Y/N, don’t say something like this. It isn’t your fault he can’t see what a wonderful and talented daughter he has. I’ve seen how hard you’ve been training with Noah and the other boys and how much heart you put into everything you’re doing. He should be proud of you.” A scowl formed on Ruen’s face at my confession, coming towards me and laying his hands on my shoulders.

“Why can’t you be my father instead?” My arms reached around his middle, leaning myself into him and enjoying our embrace when he reciprocated the gesture.

“I’m always here if you need me.” His arms around my back tightened their hold on me, gently pressing me against his broad frame.

I couldn’t help but feel that our conversation was more than it let on, his words seeming to carry a deeper depth with them. It wasn’t a surprise, considering our familiar relationship because of my mother and him treating me like a father since I was a child, so I didn’t think too much into it.

“We should get going.” Ruen announced after a few beats had gone by, retreating from me and giving me a warm smile.

“Can we stop by the boys first?” I sheepishly questioned.

“I had a feeling you would ask. Come on then.” His smile spread into a knowing grin, gesturing with his head towards the door.

Not wasting any more time, we took off with Ruen leading the way and me following behind. A warm feeling starting to grow in my belly at the prospect of seeing Noah again but there was also a nervousness I couldn’t shake.

Leaving the huge castle behind us, towering high into the sky with its immaculate white walls and multiple black, triangle shaped rooftops layered above each other, we reached the larger section of the training grounds next to the one I had met Noah this morning.

This part of the castle was entirely for the soldiers, divided into two parts. The first one was mainly used to train their combat skills or practice fighting techniques. The second had been built for our horses which was the reason why it was bigger, so they had enough room for riding or training to use them in battle. However, some of us used it for something a little bit different… like today.

As we neared the place, I could make out multiple silhouettes moving around in different kinds of speed and in different directions. The volume of their voices and laugher filling the air and making a smile spread across my face.

Ruen opened the entrance to the fenced place shaped in a rectangular form to let me in first before he closed it behind him. Our arrival was spotted in a matter of seconds and I could see their heads turning in our direction one after the other before they came over.

“The princess is alive!” Nick shouted excitedly, throwing his arms up in the air when he galloped towards me with his chestnut colored horse before he abruptly stopped a few feet away.

“What do you mean?” I nervously laughed at his comment.

“We thought we wouldn’t see you at all today.” Jolly answered for him, positioning his dark brown horse on Nick’s right side when he had reached us.

“They’ve been practically talking about nothing else. And happy birthday, Y/N.” Nicholas was the third one to arrive, taking the empty spot on the other side of Nick. His horse a shade darker than Jolly’s and built a bit stronger.

“Yeah, happy birthday to our beloved princess Y/N!” Nick chimed in and everyone around me joined his words.

“You are ridiculous but thank you.” The nervousness increased slightly when I heard they had been thinking about me being gone all day. It should have been obvious they would wonder about the reason because it wasn’t my usual behavior to not show myself or stop by them at least once. At the same time my attention was drawn to the absence of the last person from our little friend group.

“Where’s Noah?”

I was sure I had counted four people when we approached but now I couldn’t see him, trying to look past them but finding nothing but empty space. A pit starting to form in my stomach when there was no trace of him. Was he avoiding me? He must have noticed us…

“You should be careful with him. He’s in a weird mood today.” Nicholas’ voice brought me back, making my eyebrows knit together in confusion about the more serious tone and expression overtaking him when he looked at me.

“Weird mood?” I repeated surprised and tried to hide the spike of anxiety. Did he regret what happened? Had we really been caught?

“He made us go through our parts at least a hundred times today!” Nick grumbled beside his friend.

“He’s a perfectionist. He just wants everything to go as planned.” I retorted, stating the obvious. It wasn’t unnatural for Noah. Whatever he did, he always wanted it to be perfect and worked so hard until he was satisfied with the result, mostly overdoing himself. But he was too stubborn to admit that to himself. Maybe he got too much into his head and was overthinking the performance they were about to show and I was worrying for no reason.

“If you wanna try your luck, he’s back there.” Jolly pointed over his shoulder and whipped his head to the place in the back hidden behind them.

“He won’t bite my head off.” I let out with a scoff, not letting it stop me to search for the lost samurai.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that!” Nick’s joke echoed behind me before I was out of reach, leaving me with an uncomfortable feeling.

Noah’s figure was shrouded by the dark of night like he belonged in it, a dangerous shadow lurking within, avoiding the faint glow of the torches having been lit around the grounds of the castle and instead staying in the safe embrace of the darkness surrounding him as if he was a bad omen.

The enigmatic aura in the air a warning for the personified death itself.

And I was willingly following his call, not scared to find my own end through his hands so if it was his will.

The nearer I came, the more the shadows engulfing him revealed to me and my pulse accelerated like it always did when we were together. Noah didn’t seem to be aware of me yet but you could easily be fooled. I had done this mistake and had fallen right into his trap without even knowing like he had wanted me to when I had thought he hadn’t noticed me secretly watching him train, standing there in the light of the morning sun as I walked by. His tall, dark appearance a stark contrast to the golden light spreading around him. Only noticing when it was already too late and he had me in his grip. The one I never wanted him to let go of.

I was about to announce myself before I hesitated last second, suddenly not so sure anymore if I should do it or not considering his friends’ warnings. Maybe he wanted to be alone and I should leave him be but I couldn’t stop myself. I needed to know if he was okay. If we were okay.

He walked another circle with his raven black horse when an almost shy “Hey.” left my lips. Something seemed to shift instantly in him and his head whipped around the moment I had dared to speak, halting his horse on the spot.

His eyes going wide while taking in my full appearance, roaming freely across my body and making me blush under his gaze what he thankfully couldn’t see – or so I prayed.

It looked like he took in his surroundings for the first time, scanning the environment to probably assure himself that we were on our own before he spoke.

“Hey.”

The softness his gorgeous voice carried made my insides melt and all the nervousness was gone right then and there. I felt so dumb in this moment, I shouldn’t have worried in the first place.

“For a second I thought you were ignoring me.” It was meant to tease him, having no doubt now that he didn’t do it on purpose. Keeping my tone light so he wouldn’t misunderstand but apparently he did.

“I would never ignore you!” Noah shot out right after, multiple emotions crossing his face, mostly surprise and was there fear for a blink of a second? Did I actually manage to make Noah nervous?

“The others would tend to disagree, I guess – not that I thought you would. They warned me about you.” I told him honestly.

“They’ve been pestering me the whole day…” He answered with a long sigh, looking into the distance at the mention of what seemed to be an uncomfortable topic for him, showing me a glimpse of his annoyance but swiftly covering it with changing the subject in his favor yet again. “By the way… you look absolutely beautiful, Y/N.”

I hated how easily he could distract me from the main topic and change what we were talking about from one second to the other so effortlessly. Taking control of the conversation and where it was going, not telling me what was bothering him.

“Are you okay?” Even though I was flattered by his compliment, my concern overshadowed the butterflies he had summoned. I didn’t like when he was hiding his emotions from me and wasn’t talking to me about what was going on inside him. It irritated me especially now, thinking we would be closer than we ever had been after what had happened between us. He knew fully well he could share all his secrets with me, could tell me everything that was on his mind and could be honest with me without having to fear I would tell anyone or judge him for his thoughts and on the opposite side I could rely on him the same. Yet there always was this little thing I was too scared to tell him in fear it would destroy the bond between us, that he wasn’t reciprocating what I felt for him – well, at least until he proved me utterly wrong this morning.

“Now, I am.” I could practically feel the warmth in Noah’s words, the smile forming on his face pulling me right into him and casting its spell over me. Damn him and his stupidly handsome look and this smile… He just got me right where he wanted… again.

“Do you… uh… want to go to the rest of the boys?” Smooth, very smooth, Y/N. Totally not embarrassing to turn into a stuttering mess with one look and a few words from him.

“If that’s the princess’ wish.” The way his eyes narrowed almost unnoticeably in the dark sent a shiver down my spine.

“No- I mean-…”

“You have to forgive me, it wasn’t my intention to make your highness all flustered.” The innocence he feigned was betrayed by the amusement and satisfaction he was radiating. His smile spreading into a mischievous grin about my struggle with the new direction he had chosen.

“Then stop treating me with title and all.” I directed a fake pout at him, refusing to feed his confidence even more than I already had and trying to keep our conversation neutral.

“How do you want me to treat you?” His voice went an octave lower, coming closer and staring down at me from the back of his horse which stood with its side right in front of me, making him look even taller.

“Noah…” It wasn’t making me uncomfortable what he said but I wasn’t sure if this was going too fast. I needed to get used to whatever this was now between us and the new side of Noah I hadn’t known before. The seriousness in my expression and in the way I emphasized his name a hint that I wanted to retreat to the comfort zone of his friends, even if I enjoyed being alone with him.

“It’s okay, there is no reason to get shy.” Noah’s features softened, another wave of warmth flooding me about his attentiveness and the ability to adjust to the slightest changes in my behavior. Giving me the reassurance I was safe with him.

A gloved hand in black stretched out to me, ready to take. “Do you want to come up here?” I contemplated my decision if I should walk or accept his offer. There wouldn’t be any harm if we were seen together on a horse – we had done it before – and if I had the opportunity to be close to him I wasn’t going to let it pass.

Without hesitation I took it, his large hand engulfing mine in a firm grip so I wouldn’t slip out while I was preparing to hoist myself up so he didn’t have to lift me up all by himself, even if he easily would have managed to do it. As soon as he got hold of my hand I felt a strong tug upwards, putting my other free hand on the horse’s back for support before I jumped and securely landed behind Noah without any effort thanks to his help.

“Thank you.”

“Everything for the birthday girl.”

I took hold of his middle even if I didn’t need to because we were going at a slow pace and I was skilled enough to ride without any hold on something, much like Noah, Nicholas, Jolly and Nick as it was part of what we were doing for years when we had some free time. But before Noah would get concerned about my safety – even if he knew he didn’t need to – or anyone else who might see us, I decided to do what I was supposed to do. And maybe because I liked feeling his trained, heated body and muscles contract underneath my hands through the black costume. I could have sworn I even felt him tense up at my touch.

We weren’t far away from the group when Noah decided to break the short silence that had settled over us.

“I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.” He confessed, his voice guarded but laced with a slight nervousness and probably a hint of regret.

“You didn’t. You never make me uncomfortable, Noah.” I assured, wanting to ease his worry that he might have said something wrong or had gone too far. Taking me by surprise that he thought he could ever do such a thing. We were together since we were little kids after all and knew each other by heart. But he always tended to worry too much about me, thinking I wouldn’t notice when in fact I was doing the same.

The only response I got was a low hum before we joined the people waiting for us.

Nicholas made some space when he saw us approaching, greeting us with a grin. When we had taken the position next to him, I let go of Noah’s body and he gently helped me back down with one hand like before, making sure I wouldn’t fall until I landed safely on my feet next to him and his large stallion.

“You really managed to tame the beast, hm?” Nick stated in acknowledgement when he looked over to his friend.

“We were just talking.” I clarified, not understanding what he meant. Taking a short glance up to Noah curiously before it went back to Nick. They had yet to tell me what happened in the last hours because nothing they said made sense with how Noah was acting right now. Everything seemed normal like always, when you put certain things aside. Maybe he had just pressured himself too much about today, a knot forming at the thought in my stomach. I didn’t want him to put so much effort into something that wasn’t worth it in the end. It was only my birthday, nothing special and nothing I wanted to celebrate big but still these boys made it their mission to make this day something memorable every year. I could never thank them enough for everything they were doing for me. I wish I could.

“Whatever you did, it worked. He ain’t grumpy anymore.” Jolly commented amused at the visible lightened mood of his best friend.

“Told you we should have gotten Y/N here.” Nicholas said with a knowing look at the longhaired man to his right.

“I wasn’t grumpy.” Noah defended barely audible, talking more to himself. His brows furrowing and looking anywhere but us. He clearly didn’t like to be called out like this.

“Is the big, bad Noah Sebastian getting nervous? Or is it because of the beautiful lady next to you?” Nick’s words meant no harm, only wanting to make a little fun of him which was nothing new. “I swear, you’re getting more beautiful each year, Y/N.”

My whole body tensed when I could practically feel Noah’s aura darkening.

“Watch your tongue, Nick.” The brunette samurai almost growled and narrowed his eyes at him in a warning glare. Something cold and dangerous creeping in those usual warm, brown orbs and his entire demeanor was completely different from one moment to the other. Hostile even. He had never been like this towards his friends. What was going on with him? Was he jealous? No, he’s a samurai, Y/N. But he’s still Noah… Do you think he even knows or cares what that is?

“It’s alright, Noah.” I attempted to sooth him, not wanting it to escalate between the two because for some strange reason he wasn’t taking this as any kind of fun.

When nothing came in return - which I hoped was a good sign – I focused on the others who were a bit baffled about their friend’s unusual reaction. Impulsiveness was surely not one of his character traits, there was rarely anything that could made him snap or put his patience to a real test.

“I can give that compliment right back, you all look good in those outfits. They really suit you.” Giving the men around me a smile to lift the sudden tension and studying one after another in those full black, skintight, ninja-like clothes they were wearing. How could I have not noticed sooner how great they looked in those costumes? They were practically made for them and I could only imagine what they had planned for tonight. It surely promised to be exciting.

My sight got stuck on Noah yet again when I took him in from head to toe, making my pulse shoot up and bringing me back to the moment where he had caged me in with his arms. If looks could kill, I’d die very happy right now. There was that glint again, no trace of the coldness from before but the warmth they usually held.

Heat was rushing to my cheeks at the thought and I tore my sight away to not raise any suspicion. Whatever it was that had overcome him, it seemed to be gone as fast as it appeared. Letting me relax but it still left me to wonder.

“They are sick!” I could only chuckle at Nick’s choice of words. He was lucky nobody else was here who would lecture him about his language. Nobody except Ruen, who cleared his throat to remind him to watch how he expressed himself. Earning a shrug from the dark haired boy to which the older man could only shake his head. “What? It’s the truth.”

“Who would have thought our samurai has such a good taste in clothes?” Jolly commented with a raised eyebrow, one side of his mouth turning upwards into a smirk that got even wider when he locked eyes with said person. Something was off about it that much I could tell, not missing how Noah straightened up his posture ever so slightly and the grip on his horse’s reins hardened. Whatever they were talking about wasn’t only about his choice for their costumes anymore. It was definitely about something else I didn’t understand which seemed to either make him really uncomfortable or anger him.

“Maybe with some other things too.” Nicholas joined in, throwing a wink at Jolly. Both not able to hold in their snickers.

All four of them were in a weird mood and I regretted being gone all day. At least I would have had a clue what was going on… Did they know? Did Noah tell them? No, he’d never risk that.

My nerves were literally a rollercoaster, my mind starting to overthink and trying to match the speed of my heartbeat. What had we been thinking? If anyone found out… the consequences would be fatal. How could I have been so stupid to think I could keep this a secret? And how was I supposed to survive tonight if he really meant what he had said and I’d be alone with him? Maybe all of this was as a bad decision to begin with… No! I don’t regret almost kissing him. I just can’t resist him… And I don’t want to.

The neighing of a horse snapped me out of my head, breaking my train of thought.

It must have come from Noah’s as it was tugging at the reins while raising its head and pulling against its restraints. Stomping with its hooves back and forth at the same time.

First I moved a few feet away from its side for my safety before I carefully came closer to its front, watching its movements to assess what to do and how to respond to its actions.

It was nervous.

“Hey, everything’s okay. Shh. Calm down, it’s okay.” I slowly inched my way forward till I reached it, softly laying my right hand on the front of its head and starting to stroke it to calm it down, holding the reins lightly with my other hand to restrain its violent movements.

“You are making him nervous.” I stated to its rider, missing the quizzical look overtaking his face because I was busy focusing on his temperamental companion.

Thankfully it worked and the horse was relaxing into my touch after a couple of strokes and a few more calming words.

“There you go. Everything’s alright.” I was lightly petting the side of its throat before moving back to its head who was hanging lower now, almost motionless. A sign that the animal was completely at ease now.

“You’re not the only one demanding my attention today, hm?” I chuckled and looked up to Noah for a second. Two could play this game the boys were playing. Earning a deep snort from the black horse in return who was pushing its head against me now. “That’s my good boy.”

The men around me were all watching me in awe doing what I could do best. As cliché as it sounds but I loved horses and learned how to ride from a young age thanks to Ruen who initially introduced me to them. These animals were not only beautiful but their empathy was what made them so special. They could feel your emotions and reflect them back at you. That’s why I spent most of my time with them when I didn’t have to be a princess or wasn’t sneakily reading through the large amount of books hidden away in the castle because they contained tails from centuries ago, of an age that had long passed, telling about forbidden stories of gods who were believed to have existed in this land.

It also gave me the opportunity to be with the boys a lot, laughing, sharing stories, teaching them new tricks on their horses or simply just spending some time with each other when Jolly, Nicholas and Nick weren’t on their duty as castle guards and Noah wasn’t needed for the time being.

These few things were my only escape from the golden cage I had been placed in and I wasn’t sure what I’d be doing if I didn’t have them.

They were essentially like a second family, sharing the same passion with me after I got them in touch with the artistic side of riding and showed them that these animals were so much more than everybody else in this castle like my father thought they were – their intelligence included. It took a little bit of convincing to get them to try it out but once they eventually did, it turned out they all had a talent for it just like me. Leading to hours and hours of training choreographies and stunts with each other because we loved what we did. Each of them having their own skillset just like their horses who matched their individual characters.

Nicholas and Jolly were more laid back, Noah and Nick on the other hand the most active, doing the riskier tricks. Perfectly fitting the energy of their stallions.

Of course this came with a downside, the perfect example standing right before me. Noah’s horse was our little problem straight from the start. It took a lot of time and hard work to get it to where it was now. The raven black stallion allowed no one on his back but Noah and me and wasn’t taking any commands from anyone else either. Everyone writing it off as ‘unrideable’, some even had declared it as a ‘bad omen’, but the truth was you just had to get to know and understand it. Its temper mirroring the samurai’s in every possible way, even the same bullheadedness.

You would think under the calm and collected demeanor wouldn’t be anything more but there was a lot Noah wasn’t showing that reached deeper. I wished he would let go and show more of it. He had given me a glimpse of it this morning and I wanted to discover all of it.

“You do what Noah tells you to do, alright? Show them what we’ve been training. I want you to make their jaws drop.” I said with insistency, stroking behind its ears and back down before giving my attention to the other three.

“All of you.”

Moving down in a row and stroking each one from Nicholas’ over Nick’s to Jolly’s. Making sure to give them some love equally and check if they were ready for their performance.

“Y/N, we need to go.” Ruen announced behind me when I was finished with the last.

“I could bring her.” Noah threw in suddenly, surprising me with his offer.

“No, it’s okay. You go and get ready for your show. I’m fine.” I declined politely, wanting to give him the chance to fully focus before they were going out there. He was good at keeping his expression unchanged but I noticed his face fall the smallest amount, feeling the butterflies tickling my insides at the little action. Or rather the meaning behind it.

I acknowledged the boys with a challenging smile, continuing where I left off.

“That includes the four of you! I’m excited to see what you’ve been planning.” Their eyes were shining with excitement and you could feel the energy they were giving off. They were more than ready to make themselves the highlight of this evening.

I was so proud of them and it made me happy to see them like this.

I shared a last glance with each one, letting it linger for a second longer on Noah. There was something playful and mischievous in his eyes, he definitely had accepted my challenge and was determined to not only complete it but to raise the level even higher. His unrelenting confidence was turning me into a puddle, spreading a wave of heat through me.

The dark of the night was thankfully covering it up and before anyone of them could notice how red my face probably was, I swiftly stepped to his horse and gave it a kiss above its nose.

“Be a good boy.” I whispered to it quietly, not wanting anyone else to hear. But apparently a certain someone did without making it known.

To not make Ruen wait any longer, I came to him so we could leave. “Let’s go.”

As we were about to move, I heard a distant sound coming from somewhere further away outside the castle, my head snapping into the direction.

“Did you hear that?” I asked and tried to make out something in the darkness above the castle walls but couldn’t spot anything.

“What?” Nicholas questioned back, exchanging a look with the other men and following my sight.

“I didn’t hear anything.” Jolly answered unconcerned.

“Are you sure you not made it up?” Nick could be right and I just thought I heard something but I was sure I didn’t.

Noah kept silent but instead fixated his observing gaze into the direction I was looking. Narrowing his eyes, concern ghosting his features for a moment.

“It’s probably nothing.” After nothing else happened, I decided to let it go and not think any more about it.

Starting to walk away with Ruen next to me and brushing it off.

“You won’t forget this!” We heard Nick shouting after us.

“I bet!” I stopped and shouted back at them, catching their group staring at me.

It was like his final words were heard by the kami.

I truly wouldn’t forget this night.

Masterlist 🌸 Next Chapter

Tags: @concreteangel92

[wetcatspellcaster]

I saw you respond that you a very much not an SJM fan 😅 fair enough but I did want to ask what books/series you did like or would recommend that are of a fantasy/romantasy vibe!

lmfao, i am destined to become known for my parasocial enmity with the wingspan lady on this hellsite.

I don't read stuff with the same vibe as SJM all that often anymore. I used to read a lot of paranormal romance but the heteronormativity of SJM clones was upsetting me, so I've turned more towards the romance genre or just straight up fanfic these days.

So these recommendations might not be the perfect overlap but-!

Books with Fey Romances that are good

Holly Black, for all your fey needs. Tithe is the OG (and if you like sad men with white hair, have I got a blorbo for you!) but The Cruel Prince is her most popular series, that most people have read. The Darkest Part of the Forest is also an amazing standalone novel with a bit more creepiness than the other two. Not very explicit sex.

Olivia Atwater's Half A Soul and Ten Thousand Stitches are regency romance novels with fey associations, the first book is about a girl under a fairy curse and the second is about a fairy himbo trying his best at being a fairy godmother. No sex, that I can remember.

Heather Fawcett's Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Fairies. I've talked about this book a lot. If you like my fanfic, you will like this book, because this book was written for Me specifically. Not very explicit sex.

The Falconer series by Elizabeth May. This is the closest in this list to what SJM writes, only this is. um. better. Much sex, but also just... 'what if we started an apocalypse together, and the guilt meant I was scared to touch you, but we've got nothing else to live for now so why shouldn't I just do it?'

Fantasy Books with Good Romance

T Kingfisher's Swordheart and Nettle & Bone - both standalone novels. Swordheart is just Howl x Sophie dynamics, if Howl was a martial class, and also. A sword. Some sexiness.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik (if we count the love interests as both the hot sexy wizard man AND the protagonist's gal pal). Some sexiness.

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. If you like your immortal/mortal romances, this is a pretty stellar read tbh. Some sexiness.

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan. This is such a fun book just generally but the slowburn of a 7 year high school romance sent me a little feral actually. Some sexiness.

Daevabad trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty. Now, this one is a little bit evil bc its an epic fantasy trilogy that is quite dense, and the romance is amazing but it takes a WHILE. *I* can write an evil slowburn, but there is nothing more evil than what happened in these books bc everyone is so fucking repressed. Alternatively, The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by the same author, which cut to the chase a lot quicker, romance-wise.

Fantasy Books that are 😌😌 sexy 😌😌

The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman. This is my favourite paranormal romance I've read in recent years, and they don't even have sex but I'm putting it here because um. they did. to me. That's what happens when you write a regency romance where if a woman takes of a man's coat they have 37 horny thoughts about it in real time. Imagine if Darcy and Elizabeth for P&P were also fighting demons at the same time as falling in love (not metaphorically. literal demons.)

Mating the Huntress by Talia Hibbert. Talia Hibbert's books in general fucking slap but I wish she'd written more paranormal romance than just this ONE story bc um. This was. um. Good.✌️

A Marvellous Light and A Restless Truth by Freya Marske. Freya Marske is also a popular fanfic author, and it shows with the way she writes sex.

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming. This author is the one who went briefly viral bc she accidentally has a book cover with Astarion on it lmao. This book was the first in that series, and unfortunately it wasn't for me (dragon shifter porn, I did *not* know going in) but the sex was really, really well-written, if that's something you could be into.

[thoughtsroamguy]

What was your inspiration for ToX? Do you get inspired by people in your everyday life?

Honestly the original inspiration for Tears of Xivo started simple. When I first started messing around with DAZ and going through the marketplace, I came across the sword(s) that the protagonist uses.

When I was a little kid, before I knew I wanted to be a writer, I would draw swords a bunch (I’m not very good at drawing 😅) and come up with cool powers and such for them. I honestly think swords are just the coolest weapon. Their iconography is unmatched to me, but I digress. So when I saw this sword, its crystalline appearance struck me and I immediately started coming up with a story for it.

I usually come up with a story behind a character before I come up an actual external story for them. In this case, our protagonist Katrina has her destiny tied to this sword. I don’t wanna give away more than that.

Past that, having played a lot of video games I’ve always wanted to make them. Ironically, when I was younger my mom put me in a video game making program but I thought the computer science aspect was too difficult so I just stuck to writing the stories I wanted to go into a video game. Now here I am, years later, teaching myself programming 😅.

If I had to name games that influenced me the most, I’d have to say Fable

This was my first RPG with a morality scale and choices you can make to affect the story. It’s safe to say anyone that played this game has a direct look into my brain on how I think games should operate. Tears of Xivo won’t be like it that much in terms of everything, but I want to make a game like it one day.

Now as for the overall aesthetic, I definitely draw inspiration from real life. I want this game to be Black As Hell. I wanted the game to have an almost anachronistic feel. People have modern materials and styles, yet magic and fantasy is the core of what they wear.

With Katrina, specifically, I wanted her to have a Stemme (white ppl call it Futch) look. Like she’s a girl from the block but in a fantasy setting. From her chains to hair, I wanted no doubt in anyone’s mind she could easily exist in our world.

Most of my characters are Black or Black-coded if they’re nonhuman.

For Artelia her dreadlocks and Terrya with her braids, both have protective hairstyles. (Terrya was a nightmare to find a hair style that fit with her horns)

Here are some enemy NPC concepts that keep the theme

Everyone should feel like they’re just a step or two from our world, in terms of their styles.

Black culture a stated influence on my world building process. One of the locations in the game is gonna be called Sycpher island. Like a cypher in rap, in which ppl come together to come up with rhymes on the fly. Ppl there will [spoiler alert].

We’ll see Black culture influence in pretty much every aspect of the game. However some characters will vary culturally, such as Xiuhcoatl here:

If her name wasn’t enough, one might recognize the weapon she’s leaning on as a macuahuitl, an Aztec obsidian longsword. Yeowch!

Thanks so much for the ask, I had fun thinking about it!