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[talksungchan]

for the rest of ours ᡣ𐭩 song eunseok

୨♡୧ WORD COUNT: 13.4k ୨♡୧ PAIRING: riize's song eunseok x female!reader ୨♡୧ TAGS & WARNINGS: chaebol heirs!au, rich kids!au, one sided enemies to lovers!au, arranged marriage!au, angsty at the start, overall fluff, reader is selfish and mean to eunseok for a good chunk of the story, brief unrequited love but y/n is an unreliable narrator tbh, second chance romance, she fell first but he fell harder trope, drinking, partying, non linear narrative

୨♡୧ SYNOPSIS: you find song eunseok to be utterly and despicably insufferable. too bad he's your fiancé since birth! and there was nothing you could do about it!

୨♡୧ NOTES: OHHHH im having such an intense eunseok rot that i had to write the most gut wrenching and nonsensical piece that becomes to sickeningly fluffy at the end. theyre just so in love with each other and there's literally no plot at all!!!!!!!!!!! lowkey one of the worst pieces i've written in recent times since i rushed it but i will edit and add scenes and plot in the future :> but for now, enjoy! ♡ i.b let my by zayn at the end :)

˗ˏˋ જ⁀➴ ˎˊ˗

It may be disturbing for some and horrifying to say, but your eyes hadn't even fully formed in the womb to open and your limbs weren't even well defined enough to have joints when your life was signed off to another's. For goodness' sake, it had barely even been a month since your tiny, minuscule heart started beating! What would the Song's have done if you grew up ugly?

You sighed to yourself, muttering under your breath how Korea's third richest family should be grateful you were akin to art in anyone's eyes. You were looking through the dusty photo albums that the housekeeper found while tidying the primary study of the mansion, and you grimaced at the photos of your fiancé that appeared from even the very first page.

It was bad enough that you were engaged before you were born, but did he really have to attend your birth? He probably didn't even have memories then! But there it was, under your fingertips: a perfectly preserved photo of a 3-month old Eunseok bundled up in sleep suit being posed next to where the nurses placed you after they literally just took you out of your mother. You don't even think the umbilical cord had been cut yet.

"Y/N, Mr. Song is outside," your favourite housekeeper coos at you from the double doors going into the study. You give her a terse smile and stand up from your father's office chair, straightening your silk gown before taking her hand as she helped you down the marble stairs of your home.

You roll your eyes (mostly to yourself, but you didn't mind if he noticed) as you saw his car parked at the bottom of the stairs leading to your front door.

"You can't even be bothered to come and collect me? Or open the door for me?" you sneer as soon as you settled yourself into the passenger seat.

"Well hello to you too, my lovely wife," Eunseok smirks, immediately revving and setting off around the fountain of your courtyard.

"I'm not your wife," you snap, deciding to ignore when the word 'yet' seems to slip under his breath, "But seriously Eunseok? This car? I'm going to look so stupid trying to get out of this car in my dress and heels. Why do you love sitting on the floor so much?"

Eunseok has an extensive car range. One that any car junkie would envy, but Song Eunseok knew nothing about cars. He just had them because he could. This car was a sports car where you had to sit in such a ridiculous position just so the car could look cool on the outside.

"It's white!" he defends himself, slightly whining in a cute way to which you swallow down a positive reaction. His eyes flicker over to you momentarily and his tongue traces across his bottom lip, "You look gorgeous, by the way. Very bridal."

You're wearing a white silk dress that looks like it's made for your body. It's draped so beautifully around your hips and hugs every part that needs to be accentuated. You loved this dress the second you saw it in Paris, but you never thought then that it would be used for this occasion. 

"Just shut up and drive," you quip. It takes a few moments of silence for you to feel bad even though his expression remains neutral and you sigh, "I guess you don't look too bad."

"Aw, I knew you were in love with me!" he teases again, a phrase he liked to use every time you said something to him that wasn't snarky, sarcastic or an insult.

You choose not to reply, instead taking in the bright lights of Seoul as he pulls into a main road. You haven't been back in a while, holing yourself up in your penthouse in Manhattan, but you always loved the sight of home.

"But seriously, Y/N," Eunseok coughs to get your attention, his voice dropping down low and suddenly serious, "This actually might be your last chance to back out of this. Just say the word and I'll turn this car around and take you straight to Incheon and you can run away around the world long enough until they find me a new bride."

You turn to look at him, perplexed by his words, "And you? You actually want to get hitched off to some random?"

Eunseok shrugs, not meeting your eyes, "You're not some random. I've known you since you were born. I've known you'd be my wife since the day I could understand what that meant. But if I have to find a replacement because you don't want to do it anymore, I will."

"Gee, ever the gentleman," you deadpan, "I think want is a pretty strong word. I don't want to marry you, but I guess I will."

"You're not backing out? Not leaving me looking stupid up on the altar?" Eunseok taps his finger on the leather steering wheel.

You think about his words sincerely. There's really nothing more in the world that you'd love than to run away to a small little town on the southern coast of Italy- somewhere quaint and quiet where you'd find love and spend the rest of your days cooking, cleaning, baking and finding peace in the ocean. There's nothing more in the world that you want more than for someone to ask to marry you because they were in love with your soul and not having you by their side would be like torture in the cruelest form.

Alas, you're Kang Y/N of the powerful Kang family, the eldest child of your father and the next heir waiting to take over the conglomerate. And because you're Kang Y/N, the eldest daughter of the second richest family in Korea, you were contracted to marry the first son of the third richest family in Korea. After that, your companies would merge and you would overtake the Kim's as the sole ruler of the country.

"It's my duty," you swallow nervously as you begin to recognise the streets of where you were driving, signalling that you were soon approaching the venue, "It's fine, Eunseok."

"I wish it wasn't just fine. I wish this was what you wanted." he breathes out and your heart stops beating for a second before anger seeps in through the cracks of your heart.

"Do you think it's any girl's dream to marry someone that doesn't love them?"

Eunseok sighs as he presses on the breaks, moving through the lifted barrier where they had closed a portion of the street in anticipation for his car and your arrival. He twists his body to look at you, "Y/N-"

"It's fine, Eunseok," you grit your teeth as you repeat your words, eyes trained on the paparazzi camped out on the steps of the venue, eager to get a glimpse of you, "Let's just get this engagement party over with."

˗ˏˋ જ⁀➴ ˎˊ˗

Song Eunseok had to follow you around the world like a lost puppy.

When you said that you wanted to go to that boarding school in Switzerland where only the richest sent their kids, Eunseok was in the seat next to you on that first class flight. When you said that you were going to Oxford to study for your undergraduate degree, Eunseok was tossing away his dream to study at Harvard to join you getting drunk at 18 under the grey British sky. When you said that you wanted to do your masters at Columbia so you could live in New York City, Eunseok was moving into the apartment across yours while he worked at the company his dad created in New York just for him to have something to do there.

If you said jump, Eunseok had to say how high?

That was just the name of the game considering the Song's had more to gain from this arrangement. Your family was richer. Your family was in a greater range of industries. Your family's money went back a lot further than the Song's. And you- you were the most stunning woman in Eunseok's eyes and because of him, you were stripped of your choice to fall in love. That's why the Song family gave you princess treatment from the second you were able to demand things. 

You had protested until your vocal cords went raw when they found out that they were sending Eunseok to university with you. For years up until you turned 18, you had imagined finally getting away from Eunseok for once, even if just for 3 years. He had always talked about Harvard and with the grades to boot, you thought that you'd finally have an ocean separating you.

It certainly wasn't an easy fight at the airport as you threatened to drop out of university the second that you even stepped foot into the new country. All your father did was bat his eyelashes and give you a heartfelt, "Please, princess? Just do this for us."

The phrase 'just do this for us' nearly knocked you sick nowadays after over 2 decades of hearing it spew out of your father's mouth. Ultimately, yes, you were lucky to have such a loving family that never pushed anything evil or truly despicable onto you. This was the one thing they needed from you. They obliged every want and wish for the trade-off of giving your hand in marriage to the Song's first born son.

In June of your third year of university, a couple months out from your graduation, Eunseok turned up at your door completely drunk.

"What are you doing here?" your arms were crossed tightly, trying to cover as much of yourself as possible as you were clad in the smallest pyjamas for the British summer heat.

He grinned goofily up at you, eyes lazily fluttering open and closed, "Hi, Y/N. I'm drunk." He was leaning against the doorway, nearly making out with the frame.

"I can see that," you sniffed the air and grimaced, "And smell it. But what are you doing here?"

"Can't I visit my lovely fiancée on her 21st birthday?" he batted his long eyelashes sweetly at you, taking one step into the apartment. You gazed at him hesitantly, taking one step back.

"I don't think anyone would appreciate their fiancé turning up on their doorstep piss drunk at 2am," you spat, "If you truly wanted to wish me a happy birthday, you would have left me alone."

"I lost my keys," Eunseok groaned, "I didn't know where else to go."

It should be sweet that out of all the places he could have chosen to go to in the city, he went to yours. Instead, it made you feel angrier.

"Eunseok, stop bothering me," your words contrasted your actions as you pulled him into your apartment and locked the door behind him, "Go sleep in the spare bedroom and leave as soon as you wake up. I'm going out for breakfast with my friends tomorrow so lock the door behind you and keep the key with you 'til you see me next." You pulled the spare key out of the drawer and placed it in his pocket.

Like a pathetic dog, Eunseok followed behind you as you led him through the apartment your parents had bought for you.

"Can I sleep with you?" he murmured.

"In your dreams, Song," you retorted, stopping in front of the spare room door, "Plus, you stink like shit."

"Ah, it's okay," he sighed dreamily, resting his head against the door, "We have the rest of forever to sleep beside each other."

You let out a frustrated screech, shoving his chest, "Can you let me live in peace? Why do you have to keep reminding me?"

"In the hopes that one day the thought of it won't make you sick or angry," he replied, opening the door of the room.

Your strong gaze faltered, "What are you- in love with me?"

"No," Eunseok shook his head, "I could learn to though, if you wanted me to."

"The only thing I want from you is to be far away from me," you ran your hands through your hair to soothe yourself, "And even that you can't do."

"I'm sorry, Y/N. Thanks for letting me stay," Eunseok gave up on his tyranny and dropped his voice, "Happy birthday."

You muster up a near half-smile, turning to return to your bed where you'd be tossing and turning until your alarm went off, "Goodnight Eunseok."

˗ˏˋ જ⁀➴ ˎˊ˗

The worst thing about your arrangement with Eunseok was that it was kept secret.

Of course, it was an open secret in your families and to the company- and there were always rumours about it since you two ended up always together around the world. But it wasn't like it was announced to the world at any point to protect the prospective merger happening when you and Eunseok came of age.

That made relationships very hard indeed. It always had to end in heartbreak, at least for the other person.

The two of you agreed that you could see other people if you wanted to, and you agreed on this the same day you had your very first heartbreak.

"Eunseok, can we talk?" you poked his side to catch his attention. Eunseok was bouncing his basketball up and down while he spoke with his friends just outside the school courts. It had been 2 months since you moved back to Korea after spending 3 years in Switzerland at boarding school, where you quickly became homesick. Eunseok followed you home immediately.

Your fiancé bid his friends goodbye and gave you a sweet smile, "Yeah of course. What's up?"

You led him to the adjacent square that was thankfully deserted and settled just under the bloomed cherry blossom tree in the middle, "Um."

Eunseok giggled at your hesitancy and pushed your hair behind your ear, "What is it?"

16 year old you blushed terrifically at that moment, highlighting your plump cheeks and shining eyes as Eunseok peered down at you.

"I know this is um, pretty stupid," you began, breaking his stare and looking down at your Prada loafers, "Well basically, my friend Jimin- you know Jimin?- she told me to-"

"Just say it, Y/N."

"I like you?"

It came out more of a question as you quirked your eyebrow up at your fiancé.

His eyes went wide, taking in a deep breath, "Y/N. You," he paused, "You like me?"

"Yeah," you exhaled, "Is that so bad? We're going to get married someday."

Eunseok looked around and noticed his friends turning the corner to the courtyard, presumably to look for him, "Look, Y/N, I'm sorry but I thought we were going to, you know, try experience life like how others do and meet people and do whatever we want to until they tell us we need to get married. I didn't think we were obliged to date."

Your eyes began to water and your lips began to quiver as sheer embarrassment sunk into your bones, "So what? You want to date around?"

Eunseok reached out to cup your face but you quickly took a step back, feeling humiliated and slightly bettayed, "I'm sorry Y/N. I didn't know you felt like this towards me. Look, can we talk later? I'll swing by your house after basketball practice, okay?"

From the ages of 0-16, you would say that you and Eunseok were close childhood friends. Even though you had no concept of marriage or love, your parents had forced the two of you to be together through every occasion with weekly play dates and attending the same schools. When you finally understood what being engaged to each other meant at around 12 years old, it made you swoon that you were going to spend the rest of your life with your best friend, who you'd always found endearingly cute. He became more handsome as the years went by and at 16, he was the object of all of your desires.

He was manly, he was protective, he was sporty and most of all, he treated you so well. He would run around town with you no question to go shopping and indulge you in all of your cravings even if you needed to have ice cream at 10pm in the dead of winter. He would take the train with you all around Switzerland to see different lakes and ski resorts. He would help you study in the library and pass you your favourite snacks whenever it seemed you were getting tired. He would give you his jacket on the breezy nights watching the local sports matches.

You were so blinded with your affection towards him that you had convinced yourself that he did those things because he liked you back. Because he wanted to treat his future wife well.

The day Eunseok stamped all over your little heart was the day you waged a one-sided war against him. Eventually, Eunseok began reciprocating your snarky attitude and the rest had been history.

You told your maids and house security to refuse entry to the grounds to Eunseok that night, but because of your parents' unconditional offer to Eunseok to make your house also his home, he had spent a good part of the night on the other side of your bedroom door trying to get you to open it so he could apologise. For a man you were once smitten for, it was easy to put on your headphones and drown him out until he got exhausted and left.

˗ˏˋ જ⁀➴ ˎˊ˗

Eunseok opens the car door for you and offers out his hand. In the darkness of his car, you grimace slightly, but force yourself to take his hand and use your free hand to smooth your dress out as you exit the car. The flashes from the press are blinding and carry on all the way up to the bottom of the staircase leading into the venue your parents had hired for the evening.

You try to keep a pleasant smile on your face as Eunseok passes his keys to the valet men before wrapping his arms around your waist. It comes nearly naturally to him, from all the photos your parents had made you pose together in dating back a decade or two. But it's your first official public appearance together, so the flashes intensify and you're taken aback. Eunseok feels you stumble slightly and begins to lead you along the carpet rolled out up to the stairs.

There's shouting from every direction- asking where your dress was from, asking if you were dating, asking why you were with the 'rival' company's son all the time- nothing new to you. After you traverse up the stairs, the two of you turn around and give a small wave at the cameras. You feel Eunseok drop his head down to yours, so you nestle yourself into him a bit more. How sweet, you thought to yourself, pushing down the urge to throw up at all this fakeness.

"Last chance to run," Eunseok murmurs as the doorman opens the glass doors into the foyer.

"Are you begging me to?" you counter, "Why do you keep insisting I back out?"

"I'm not. I just feel guilty, so I'll make up a solution if you want to stop all of this," he whispers into your ear. To others, it's an endearing moment as you keep your face neutral.

"It is all your fault. You should feel guilty. I'm not doing this for you or your family, but for my family. If this is what they want, then I'll oblige," you nod your head firmly.

While Eunseok's family was definitely benefiting more from the merger, it did come with some advantages for your family too: less competition in the market, combined success superseding the current top conglomerate, and for your parents: the knowledge that their first born child was going to have someone that was born to and raised from a good and rich family- someone that would be able to take care of you no matter what and understand your life in a way no other civilian could.

You know that your parents' argument for you to marry this guy was weak- there were plenty of good, rich guys from other companies- but you had been happy with the arrangement at the start and by the time you were 16 and he was breaking your heart, the companies had already started slowly merging or putting the plans into place. It was honestly a shame to your parents that other than rejecting you, Eunseok really had no faults. He was always polite, always courteous and intelligent enough to take over the conglomerate with you when the time would come.

Eunseok drops his arm from your waist, instead sliding his finger between yours.

"Miss. Y/L/N, Mr. Song," your family's general assistant approaches you in the foyer with a tight smile, "The event is about to begin. Please follow me to the stage. Are your speeches prepared?"

"Mhm," you hum, tugging Eunseok with you behind your assistant, "The rest of the family are here?"

"Yes. They're waiting by the stage," she replies as nerves finally settle into your stomach. You suddenly can't even look at Eunseok anymore as the gravity of the situation clicks into your mind. After this, you were going to be officially engaged in front of the world and you were going to be his bride in no less than a year from now. There was no turning back anymore.

Eunseok has to shoot you a look to stop you shaking on the stage as your father and his begin their speeches about their company, and the new era and blah, blah, blah. You tune them out in order to focus on your breathing and make sure you don't barf the second you step up to the podium. After minutes of nonsense, you feel Eunseok place his hand on the small of your back, signalling you to take to the stand.

"Um," you began, suddenly losing all the lessons you had learned in your public speaking classes growing up, "Thank you all for joining us on this occassion. As my father said, we are transitioning into a new era of our company and as I take on the role of COO, we believe it's important to have good people by your side to support you. While my family and the Songs are joining together in business, we are also joining together in family," you look over at Eunseok, who gives you a reassuring nod, "Song Eunseok and I are to be wed in one year's time. We have been close friends and partners since we were born and I couldn't imagine anyone better suited to be by my side. We can go into this business partnership fully trusting each other and our companies and we would be grateful if you could give us your support. Thank you."

You step away from the podiums as gasps ring through the crowd. The business venture was nearly an open secret in the industry, but your relationship with Eunseok was based on rumours only, having never confirmed it. Now that you have, it would stir up all these new rumours- were you only getting married for the merger? Did you two actually love each other? What about all the eligible bachelors and bachelorettes that had been conniving to get even a bit of your or Eunseok's time to beg for your hand in marriage?

Eunseok takes his place beside you, wrapping his arm around your waist again as your families smile together for the pictures. The engagement party also doubled as a celebration for the merger, so at least all of the spotlight wasn't on you.

You're glad that your friends are here. They're all business heirs too, since like attracted like at your school. Your best friend Minjeong attacks you with a hug the second you step down from the stage.

"Ah, my best friend is getting married," she sighs dreamily into your ear, "You know what, Y/N, at least he's handsome. It's harder to hate someone when they look that good."

"Then you marry him," you chide, half-joking, "The problem has never been his looks. It's the situation."

"He doesn't hate you half as much as you hate him," Minjeong tuts, "And he's in the same situation. He never got a choice either."

You know deep down that she's right, but you're committed to making his life hell until the ends of the earth for breaking your heart. If anyone could say anything about you, it was that you could hold a grudge.

"Whose side are you on?" you prod her arm, but she rolls her eyes and links arms with you to join Eunseok and his friends.

"Happy engagement, lovebirds," Sungchan greets you with two kisses on your cheeks, "So excited to be at your wedding."

"I'm sitting you at the back," you retort, sticking your tongue out. You hated that Eunseok's friends were genuinely nice and funny people. It was so hard to distance yourself from Eunseok when your friendship groups had been deeply intertwined since you all could walk.

"Not when I'm a groomsman, right Eunseok-ie?" Sungchan swings his arm around his friend's shoulder, pulling him close, "Now tell me, who's the best man?"

Eunseok shoves his arm off, "You can just draw straws for it."

"I'll be the best man, hyung," Seunghan grins cheekily, "I'll make sure to give a really good speech, okay?"

"It's almost as if it's a real wedding," you smile bitterly, "Jeong, you'll be my maid of honour right?"

"You have to ask me properly," Minjeong whines, "We're going to do this wedding right, okay? My best friend will only get married once. I'm not letting you let your wedding planner do everything; we've been planning our dream weddings since we were 10 so we'll do it according to that."

"C'mon Y/N," Wonbin bumps his shoulder with yours, "We can make it fun. We know you'd rather not marry hyung, but he had always been the groom in all the weddings you'd plan when you were young. Now it's like a dream come true."

"Yah, Park Wonbin," Eunseok grits his teeth at his friend for bringing up the past. You wince at the reminder as Minjeong slaps his arm.

"Y/N, I think your mother is calling over you and Eunseok to dance," Shotaro calls for you softly, and you turn around to see your mother desperately signalling to you to join her on the dance floor.

"I'll see you guys later," you bid your friends a goodbye as you follow Eunseok into the crowd.

The night crawls by. It's nearly painful as you fake a smile with every passerby and acquaintance who congratulates you for your engagement. It feels like you're getting stabbed in the heart over and over again as everyone coos over how in love the two of you seem and how they always knew you were going to end up together. It crushes you as Eunseok leans down to your ear while you dance, apologising for how this was your life.

You get into his car after the party. The ride home is silent, apart from the noise of the city around you that seeps in even through the rolled up windows. Eunseok won't even dare breathe too loud in fear of making your life even less like what you had dreamed it to be.

He pulls up to your house and you make a quick move to unbuckle your seatbelt and open the door in one motion, but Eunseok wraps his hand around your wrist gently, bringing you back down.

"What is it now, Song?" you sigh in frustration, closing your eyes in defeat.

"I know this night has made your hatred for me 10 times worse," Eunseok begins, shuffling in his seat to reach into his inside pocket, "And I know that what we have isn't real to you, but I thought you at least deserved this."

Your eyes flutter open and you look over to him. He uncurls his clenched hand, unveiling a shiny ring in the middle of his palm. You bite back the gasp that bubbles up through your throat, and you reluctantly take the ring between your fingers without looking at him.

It's exactly your dream ring. It's what you imagined the love of your life to propose with when you were younger. It's what you wanted to be someone's physical manifestation of their love and devotion to you. That makes it all the worse when it comes from Eunseok.

"I remembered," Eunseok reads your mind, "When we went ring shopping when we were young for fun because you wanted to make sure I would propose with the right ring. I hope it's still what you want."

You can't bear to look at Eunseok at all, so you clench the ring in your hand and open the door, "Goodnight Eunseok. Thank you. Get home safely."

There's 100 steps between your front door and your bedroom. It takes what's left of your energy to hold back the sobs that threaten to escape prematurely. As soon as your bedroom door clicks shut, you collapse against your floor and break down in tears.

Why did Song Eunseok have to be such a good man? Why did you have to hate him? He was yours now, and that was what younger you wanted all along. Why were you taking it out on him? You had been holding onto a grudge for so long and he had been trying to make amends in private ever since, despite going along with your whole enemies thing for his own fun.

You hated how you knew that Song Eunseok could and would give you the life you wanted. You hated how all you wanted to do was love him like it was your choice and for him to love you back like it was his. But in this world, you were privileged enough to have everything you ever wanted, aside from the choice to love whoever you wanted to.

You hated how you didn't even have a choice in loving someone who didn't love you back.

˗ˏˋ જ⁀➴ ˎˊ˗

You fought with Eunseok nearly every time that you saw him through your university years. You found problems in the way he positioned himself too close to you and problems in the way he would distance himself and act like strangers when you did complain about that. You found problems in the way he didn't talk to other girls despite rejecting you and found problems when he would go on dates after you said that.

In short, Song Eunseok was a problem to you.

Yizhuo was forcing shots into your hands and demanding that you downed them with her as you tried to tune back in to the party going on around you. You couldn't think of anything else the second that Song Eunseok walked through the door arm in arm with some girl.

It was the last party of your undergraduate university days, since exams had finished and you were going to graduate in just a couple of weeks. Someone had rented out some kind of manor in the outskirts of Oxford, dedicated for everyone to stay at and party for a weekend. You knew the organiser through a friend of a friend, but everyone that had been invited was someone you either knew personally or knew of. The spoilt brats community at your university was large, but tight.

You obliged Yizhuo's request and bitterly downed the drink, hissing as it burned through your tracts, "What is this? It tastes disgusting."

"Alcohol isn't made to taste nice," she tutted at you, following your line of sight before sighing, "I guess it's time to get you more so you don't have to be sober looking at that."

Minjeong shook her head on the other side of you, "I can't believe he would bring someone here. He knew you'd be here. So disrespectful."

You saw that Eunseok was about to turn, so you quickly spin away in order to avoid eye contact, "It doesn't matter to me. We're not dating."

"But he's your fiancé," Yizhuo stomped in defiance, "He should have some respect for you."

"Since he didn't want to date me, i'd rather him date other people. Then it just looks like he rejected me because he didn't like me as a person," you affirmed, taking another shot with Minjeong.

"Y/N, please. You were 16 when you confessed and 16 year old boys don't have the most mature outlook on life," Minjeong argued, coughing after the bitter shot, "I'm sure he's not stupid anymore. You grew up hot and he's practically tripping over his own feet trying to chase after you."

"He's not chasing me," you scoffed, "He brought a girl here."

"Oh, you're impossible, Y/N," Yizhuo cried out, beginning to slur, "What do you actually want that poor boy to do? Even I would be confused with the way you act."

Your best friends have been trying to knock sense into you since you turned 18 and Eunseok gave up his dream to study at Harvard to be with you in England. They had claimed that Eunseok realised his feelings for you and wanted to make up for rejecting you. You claimed that if that was his intention, he would have told you that by now instead of pestering you by inserting himself into your new life without reason.

"He can do whatever he wants," you turned your nose up, "I don't care about him."

"Well you better act that way. He's coming," Minjeong warned you, suddenly disappearing with Yizhuo and leaving you stranded with your fiancé walking towards you.

It honestly felt like the grim reaper floating over in slow motion before he came to collect your soul. You fought hard to control the grimace on your face as he stopped in front of you.

"Y/N," he greeted softly, leaning in to give you a hug. You stood still, but you don't push him away. You ignored the way your heart skipped a beat when he pressed his cheek gently against the top of your head.

"Eunseok,"

"How were exams? You're graduating this year, right?" his head is tilted at you, eyes focused into yours.

"Why are you even asking? I'm sure you know my plans for the next 10 years considering you're still following me around," you scoffed, "Does your new girl know you're moving to New York after graduation so you can stalk me while I do my masters?"

"Are you jealous?" he smirked suddenly, gentle demeanour disappearing, "She's just a friend."

"Does she know that? I don't care what you do, Song. I just feel bad for the poor girl whose heart you're going to break when you tell her you're engaged," you feigned nonchalance, pouring yourself another shot, "I guess it's my fault for telling you to have your fun and experience things since apparently you'll be so devoid of love when you get married."

"Y/N," he trailed off, grabbing the soju bottle that had appeared in your hands, "You know it's not like that. I didn't mean it like that when I reject-"

"Save it, Song," you rolled your eyes, "Your girl is coming. Don't go blaming me when time comes to break her heart."

You turned away in time and managed to snatch back your alcohol before arms wrap around Eunseok's and a high pitch voice squeals to him about how she lost him. You find Sungchan somewhere in the crowd and convince him to call you a taxi to take you back into the town where your apartment was. Before he could even confirm the booking, you had already disappeared into the crowd, the shots you had taken truly seeping into your blood and making your head spin.

You don't really remember what happened the rest of that night, but if you try hard enough, you can remember being tucked into a bed on the third floor, big eyes peering down at you as you tossed under the duvet, a hunched figure sat at the end of the bed on the floor and a soft voice singing you to a deep slumber.

˗ˏˋ જ⁀➴ ˎˊ˗

"It's gorgeous, darling," your mother's voice takes you out of the focus mode you're in. The sunlight seeps through the stained glass, illuminating the sunroom at the back of your house. If you look down through the windows, you'd find the garden that your mother has been cultivating for decades. The rose garden with its arches and its vines was where you'd dreamed to get proposed to when you were young.

"You think so?" you showed her the sketch in full, turning the pad, "Do you think it's easy enough to create in real life?"

"We can make anything you want happen," your mother takes a seat in the lounge chair next to yours.

"Can you make Eunseok love me back?" you hum dejectedly, shading in the corset of what would be your wedding dress.

"He does, sweetheart. You just refuse to see it," your mother swiftly utters, and you stop your drawing, clenching the pencil tightly in your fist.

"Why does everyone say that?" you growl, "Everyone but Eunseok."

"Because you act like you hate him. You act like marrying him is the worst thing in the world. You act like there's nothing he could say or do that would bring him back into your favour despite you loving him all these years," your mother is lecturing you now, "He follows your lead, my darling. He will go to the ends of the earth for you and he always has. What more does he have to do for you to accept the way he shows his love? What more can he do to have your forgiveness?"

There's tears welling up in your eyes and your mother takes the drawing pad away from you to examine the dress you had envisioned. She carries on while you chew your lip and fight back the tears.

"You're going to be beautiful in this dress. One year's time will fly by, so make amends with Eunseok by then. Even if you don't go into this marriage as lovers, at least go into it as friends. That will make your life easier."

"I don't want to be friends," you grit out.

"Mhm, you want all or nothing. Why don't you ask him, then? He threw the ball in your court when he asked you if this marriage is what you want. Someone who doesn't love you or care about you wouldn't give you the option to run away to save yourself, you know?" you hate how insightful your mother is as she grabs your left hand, "This ring is beautiful, Y/N. He knows your heart like it's his."

"Cause it is his," you choke as the tears begin falling, "And he stamped all over it 8 years ago."

"He was just a young boy back then. He's followed you all over the world to be by your side ever since. He's sacrificed his own life to make your dreams come true. You have no choice but to marry each other, but he's been making choices to give you the life you wanted," she strokes your hair gently, "Can you give the boy a chance?"

Over the years, your parents had apologised to you for putting you in such a situation. They had told you that if you truly, inside your heart, didn't want to get married to Song Eunseok, they would call the whole thing off. The marriage was a way to ensure the merger wouldn't go awry by putting you and Eunseok as collateral if one side ever did try to betray the other. Tying the two of you together in marriage was a way to prevent either families from ruining the other.

You considered putting a stop to things more times than you could count on your fingers, but selfishly, you would imagine yourself on a rocking chair on a porch, hair grey and skin wrinkly and when you would look over to see who would be on the other chair, Eunseok was the only one you could imagine with you.

"But I've treated him so horribly all these years," you hiccup, trying to stop your crying, "There's no way that Eunseok would love someone like me."

"Because you won't let him," she stands up and places the drawing pad back in your lap, "Y/N, your father and I love you very much and all we want is your happiness. We haven't opposed this marriage despite how hard you've tried to push Eunseok away because we know that if you let him, he would make you truly happy. You're the only person stopping that happiness."

You ponder on her words for a while after she leaves, adding little details to your dress. For someone who was acting like this wedding was going to ruin their life, you sure were investing a lot of your free time into it. Maybe Minjeong had gotten into your head; unless you planned to divorce Eunseok (after the 5 year clause, per the contract), you were only going to get married once, so you should at least do it in your style.

Wonbin was right at your engagement party. You'd been planning your wedding since young. You knew exactly which flowers you wanted to adorn the aisle, which flavour of cake you wanted to eat, which song was going to play while you walked down the aisle, and whose eyes you wanted on you on the other side as you did. Eunseok had always been your dream man- he was your first crush, your first love and your first heartbreak all rolled up into one devastatingly handsome package. You imagined him in his crisp suit, laughing through his tears because you just looked so beautiful, and the thought of that takes you out of your fantasy and back into the room that was filled not with tears of happiness, but of silence.

You look down at the ring. The sun is hitting it perfectly, making the diamond shimmer in the beam. You slide it off and inspect the band for the first time, wondering what size he got since you didn't even know your size. Your heart stops when you first notice it. It's so small that if you blinked at that moment, you probably wouldn't have even noticed it and you would've lived the rest of your life not knowing it was there.

You run your nail against the engraving, your breath hitched as you read it.

To the one I'll always choose.

It's always been about choice. This whole time, it's been about your freedom to choose.

You and Eunseok weren't born with the privilege of choosing the one who was going to love you so hard that it would drive you crazy. You were instead born with a silver spoon in your mouth and a signed contract that because your family was going to have a girl first, that girl would be married to the Song's first born when the time came.

There was no question or argument about it. You grew up beside Eunseok knowing you were going to spend the rest of your life together, so you chose to learn everything about him. You chose to learn that he loved playing basketball with his friends and that he became silly and unserious when around them. You chose to learn that he doted on his much younger baby brother and that he would fight anyone and anything that could bring harm to him. You chose to learn that Eunseok had a soft heart that had its very own soft spot reserved just for you- one that grew bigger after your hatred for him did as well.

While you chose to hate Eunseok for rejecting you, he chose to stick by your side anyways. He chose to join you in Oxford, even if most of his friends went to America to study. He chose to live at the block just down the street from yours, so he could walk behind you to lectures and check that you were okay every day without overwhelming you. He chose to sleep on hard floors and wake up with kinks in his neck because he chose to sing you to sleep while you were drunk and then refused to leave to sleep in a nice bed so he could watch over you and protect you in your state. He chose to take on a job in New York for two years instead of joining his father's company straight out of business school so that you had someone to accompany you on your midnight walks through New York City. He chose to give you the choice to leave if marrying him was truly a burden you couldn't bear, because your happiness was the grand reward of the consequences that he would bear in your place.

When you chose to hate him, Eunseok let love grow in the emptiness that you left behind instead. He would choose you a million times over and over again until the day you'd finally see it. Your hatred for the situation stemmed from the fact that you thought your choices were stripped away in being arranged to marry. You wanted Eunseok to love you not because he had to, but because it was his choice to.

You were too blind by your rage to see that Eunseok had been choosing you over and over again not because of the arrangement, but in spite of it. That was the greatest love of them all.

-

On the next sunny day, Eunseok joins you on the bench in the middle of the rose garden. You'd been sketching up ideas on how you want the aisle to look like. You were thinking light flowers along the bottom with candles dispersed to illuminate it. In your dreams, you'd get married at sunset in a glass pavilion that could hold only your closest friends and families. As the sun started dipping, the candles would take over as the source of light and bathe everyone in a soft, golden glow. In your dreams, the light would reflect onto Eunseok's face, highlighting his sharp cheekbones and large, round eyes that were peering down into yours.

"What did you call me over for?" Eunseok sits on his hands and looks around. It's spring time and the garden is at its most vibrant and beautiful.

You hold out your hand in front of you, "I found the engraving on the ring."

Eunseok takes a sharp breath in, "Ah you did?"

"Did you not want me to see it?"

"I had just hoped that whenever you did see it, you would believe it," Eunseok whispered, "It's true, by the way."

"I know," your response has Eunseok turning his head so fast it almost gives him whiplash.

"You do?"

"Mhm. You chose to follow me around the world despite me hating you and you having to give up on your dream schools just so you could try to prove yourself to me. You chose to keep giving me gifts on birthdays when we were abroad since my family often couldn't make it. You always choose me. Why?"

"In part to make amends for the mistake I made when I was young pushing away your feelings like that without thought," Eunseok explained, "But for the most part because I care about you and I want to make the best of a bad situation we're in. I know that no one wants to be in an arranged marriage. I just wanted to show you that I could give you the life you wanted. That you could be happy with me."

Your heart aches at his words as you realise how truly misguided your perception of him was. You had thought that he was following you around to torment you and to remind you that you could never be free, but all this time, he was letting you live your dreams and staying by your side to show that he was supporting you.

"I've treated you so badly over the years and you still want to marry me?" you meet his eyes that have been trained on you since the moment he sat down.

Eunseok giggles and reaches up his warm palm to your cold face, "Hm, your words are harmless Y/N. You've shown your affection to me in other ways; I know you love me."

You roll your eyes and push his hand away, "In your dreams, Song."

"Mhm, actually in your dreams," Eunseok teases, "Considering you've been dreaming about marrying me for 10 years."

"And I don't know why. I must be sick in the head for that. Did you hit me in the head when we were young or something?" you retort, trying to move away from him.

Eunseok lets out a full-bodied laugh that sends butterflies through you instead of the burning rage that usually ensued whenever he was having fun in front of you. He stretched his arm around you behind the bench and pulled you closer to him, "Just admit it, Y/N. Everyone knows you've had a fat crush on me since we were teens and it's only ever grown. There's a very, very fine line between love and hate."

"I still hate you," you grumble, "This doesn't mean anything."

Eunseok drops his head down, pushing your head into his shoulder. Your first instinct is to recoil away and grimace, but Eunseok's grip on your shoulder is tight, so you try to relax in his hold.

"You'll always be my girl, Y/N. You just have to accept that."

You hum and watch the bees buzz around the rose garden, "I've always wanted the whole ordeal- the crushing, the pining, the courting, going on dates, having your firsts, moving in together, proposing how you want. I feel like that was taken away from me before I even knew what they were and even if we do those things, how would I know what's real and what's fake? What you're doing because of me and what you're doing because of the arrangement- that kind of stuff."

Eunseok's heartbeat is slow and strong, "The arrangement only brought us to each other. How can I make you believe that everything I do for you is because I want to?"

"How about we start with when you rejected me and left poor little 16 year old me heartbroken?"

Eunseok scoffs, "Y/N, I was stupid, okay? It was a mistake, I was young and I was too blind to see what was in front of me. You were still special to me back then and I have always cared for you, but I didn't know what I wanted back then. I grew up and haven't looked back since."

"And the girls you brought around at university?"

"Because you were demanding that I dated other people," Eunseok rolls his eyes, thinking about your past explosive arguments about relationships, "I just went on dates here and there, but never anything serious. I always let them know that I couldn't commit, but you know there was a line wrapping around Oxford wanting to date me."

You chuckle at that. Everyone was falling over their feet for the chance to get just a second of Song Eunseok's time, the same way he was doing to you. He was incredibly popular and girls would approach you to ask you to set them up, but you would always growl and send them on their way.

"You were only the most eligible bachelor because you're the son of the third richest family in Korea," you sneer, jokingly.

"And I'm handsome, charming, intelligent and kind," Eunseok lists off his traits on his fingers, "But everyone knows you've always had my heart."

"I don't know if I can believe that."

He shrugs simply beside you, "Doesn't matter. I can show you now."

"What?"

"We can date from now on. I'll show you how I feel. Then in one year's time, you'll be gladly getting married to me instead of having to be dragged up the aisle kicking and screaming by your family," he says it so casually that you question if the shocked reaction you're having is the abnormal one.

"Date?" you splutter out, completely bewildered, pulling away from him, "Us two? Now?"

"Why are you saying it like it's crazy? I basically just confessed to you," Eunseok crosses his arms in front of his chest and tilts his head in confusion, "Are you rejecting me? Is this payback?"

You wave your hand in dismissal, "Yah, you're really confusing me here, Eunseok. I don't know what I'm feeling right now."

He laughs again, and he's glad that he can finally laugh with you for the first time in years. He takes your hand between his and squeezes assuringly, "It's okay. We can figure it out together as we go. Just stay by my side, okay?"

You sigh into the breeze. The air was crisping up as the sky began to illuminate in visions of pink and purple. You look over at Eunseok and the reflection of the sun makes his eyes look iridescent. One thing you've always known about Eunseok is that with him, you felt safe, so you nod and squeeze his hand back, "Yeah."

˗ˏˋ જ⁀➴ ˎˊ˗

The first time you saw Eunseok again after your undergraduate graduation, it was in New York City at the end of summer.

You had spent the entire summer travelling nearly every country in Europe with your friends, while Eunseok was forced to come home and start learning how to actually work in his father's company before he started his role at the New York branch. You were glad to have this summer without him considering the two of you spent your summers together as children and as teens, your friendship groups overlapped so you also had to hang out with him.

There were endless boxes in your apartment since decorating your space was one of your life's great pleasures. The boxes were organised by room and had been shipped out from England at the start of the summer when you moved out. They'd been collecting dust, so all your windows were thrown open in the summer heat to air out the apartment and the dust. Of course you had AC, but there was something about the noise of the city traffic and the hustle and bustle travelling up to your apartment that made you feel like you were truly in the city.

The knock on your door made you groan instantly and you had to suppress the urge of banging your head into the coffee table you were decorating. You took small and slow steps to the front door, but the pattering on the door wasn't letting up.

"Already here to bother me on my first day? It's only been like 3 hours since I got off the plane," you sighed as you came face to face with your dreaded fiancé.

Eunseok rolled his eyes and pushed past your shoulders into your kitchen, "I know you missed me. I brought takeout since you probably haven't eaten and don't have any food yet." Eunseok held up a bag of his favourite Korean food in the city and placed it on your dining table, dishing out the styrofoam boxes.

He arrived in the city a week and a half before you did, moving into the apartment across the hall so he had been able to get himself settled into both his job and his city before you came to rain down terror on him.

"What makes you think I want to eat with you?"

"I bought it, so I'm gonna eat it. Up to you if you wanna starve or not," Eunseok shrugged, already making himself comfy in one of your expensive dining chairs. He took out some plastic cutlery from the bag and began to dig in to the beef bibimbap he had ordered for himself. There was another few boxes of food in the bag, all of which smelling amazing and instantly causing your stomach to grumble.

Sheepishly, you took the seat across from him and scavenged through the food. He had ordered you some tteokbokki and a stew with some rice. Either he knew you too well or it was a lucky guess. For the sake of your heart, you settled on the latter choice.

The two of you ate in silence for a while, not really looking up at each other and just staring passively at your food. Silence was few and far between when it came to you and Eunseok. It was always hushed arguing or full blown insulting between the two of you no matter where you went or how inappropriate it may have seemed to others. You were sure there were rumours that the two of you didn't always get on despite being photographed together so often, but your families' PR teams were experts in mangling all those 'rumours'. 

You broke the silence first, "How's the new job?"

The heir in front of you coughs and looks at you strangely, as if he couldn't believe you would ask him that, "It's... work. Not horrible and met a couple friendly colleagues. Having this job does make me feel so grown up and responsible, though," after the initial shock of you initiating a conversation, Eunseok began blabbering about his new position at his family's company.

"Well then hopefully it makes you more mature," you snide.

Eunseok scoffed, "Trust me, Y/N, when I say that I'm the more mature one out of us. You'll find out what I mean one day."

"If you were mature enough, you'd know to oppose this crazy marriage with me," you turned your head away from him, feeling the anger bubble up again.

"And it's because I'm mature enough that I'm not," he shrugged, "Unlike you, I don't think this marriage will be the worst thing that can happen to me."

"I'm honoured," you retorted, "I don't know why you think that when all I've done is make your life difficult. Why would you think I can't continue for the rest of our lives?"

He smiled coyly at you, pushing a drink that appeared in the bag towards you, "You'll get tired, sweetheart. Then you'll fall in love with me."

You feel sick at how he's all entirely wrong. Despite that, you appreciate how he's always able to diffuse any tension between the two of you even if his words are always cocky and arrogant. z

You don't say anything to him for a long while. When you finished up your food in silence, he packed everything anyway and placed it in the correct bins. Wordlessly, he began to unpack your boxes with you, unwrapping everything bubble wrapped and placing it on the kitchen counters for you to organise. You would have protested this act of service, but he's right- fighting him all the time does get tiring.

In this light from the living room as the sun setting made your apartment glow and burst with light, Eunseok looks radiant. You hope he can't see you admiring him from the next room. It's almost as if you're a normal couple, moving into their first home and starting their new life together. It's a melancholy sight as you ponder the what if's.

He breaks down all of your boxes flat, humming to himself a song that you think you've heard at the end of parties when you'd be sat on someone's bedroom floor just talking or playing cards half-drunk. Eunseok turned his head towards you and you whipped your head away so fast it hurts your neck.

"You still have this?" he held up a mug that instantly flashed you back to 6 years ago. The mug is majority a light pink and wonky in places since you made it yourself from clay. It was a few months process making and painting the mug, but when you were 15 with the biggest crush on him, having a mug brandishing "Y/N + EUNSEOK" on it made you feel giddy inside.

"All my other mugs broke," you lied through your teeth, snatching it from his grip and placing it in a random empty cupboard, "My mother packed it for me when I moved to Oxford."

"Mhm, okay," you could tell he was smirking but you made yourself busy with the plates, "I'm gonna take the boxes down to the recycling. Do you want any more help?"

"I've had enough of you for today," you breathed out. Too much time with him truly drove you crazy, "But thanks."

"Anytime, princess. I'm just across the hall if you need me and I'll get your number whenever you get it set up." he wiped his hands on his jeans and have you that charming smile that made you fall in the first place.

You see him out wordlessly. You don't argue when he turns up the next day demanding for your number in case you ever needed anything from him (or if he wanted to come and bother you). You feign annoyance when one morning he's insisting that he ran out of coffee in his apartment and wanted some of yours. You leave him in your apartment because you were running late to class, but when you get home, you open the cupboard and try not to fall all over again when you see a matching, much lumpier, handmade blue mug that brandished the words "TO FOREVER <3" on it next to yours.

˗ˏˋ જ⁀➴ ˎˊ˗

You're tossing and turning in your seat as Eunseok shakes you gently. He laughs when you groan under your breath as he wakes you up, "Sit up. We're landing soon."

The sleep you got on the flight was long, but you still woke up incredibly tired since you kept getting woken up for meals. You were grateful that you could fly first class with separate seats and beds, otherwise you'd be much more groggy than you already were.

Buckling yourself in the seat next to Eunseok's, you yawn, "Eunseok, what the fuck is an engagement trip?"

"A trip celebrating our engagement, duh," he looks at you like you're stupid, so you shove him as hard as your tired body could muster, "Like a honeymoon but before. Never too many excuses to take a vacation. Plus, we're going to be busy this trip."

You've never taken a vacation with just Eunseok before. Sure, you've lived in three different countries together outside of Korea and gone on a couple of vacations as children and with a large group of friends, but never just the two of you with a purpose.

"I don't understand why our wedding planner couldn't just pick a venue for herself and call it a day. Why must we go all the way to Italy and do it ourselves?" you're up to your neck in work, but you couldn't protest when you found a week blocked off in your calendar by your assistant, telling you it was 'orders from above' AKA your father.

"It was my idea," he confesses with a shrug, "Won't it be nice if we actually like where we're getting married? If we chose it ourselves because we can see ourselves getting married there?"

It feels like your heart is clenching at the insinuations behind his words. He wants to get involved with your wedding planning, like it's a real wedding. You sniff and turn away from him. It is a real wedding, you remind yourself. You were going to get married legally and this wedding was real, no matter the intention behind it. No matter if you loved or hated each other, it was a real wedding.

"Yeah. Everywhere in Italy is nice so at leadt it'll be a good trip," the past couple of months since you've been officially engaged to Eunseok, you've been attempting to be nicer and hold back your retorts. You've made an effort to argue less and he's been trying to get on your good side. You've both been busy with work considering the news of the merger brought a whole new wave of problems, so you've had no time to interrogate his profession to "date" you. Thank gosh, because your heart would not be able to take that.

The plane lands soon enough and before you know it, you're in a private car going to your hotel. You were staying in Milan, but driving around Lake Como and Tuscany to tour the list of potential venues that your wedding planner had come up with. You were definitely going to be exhausted by the end of it.

The drive was relatively silent, just listening to music and looking out of the window, but when you arrive at the hotel, Eunseok opens the car door for you and snakes his arm around your waist as you walk up to the front desk, "Hello. We're checking in to the penthouse suite. For Song?"

The hotel clerk smiles sweetly, handing over your keys swiftly, "All ready for you both, Mr Song. Congratulations on your engagement."

You're spluttering a thank you with flushed cheeks as Eunseok drags you over to the elevator, "You told them?"

"I just wanted the free champagne that I assume will be up there," he grins cheekily and you roll your eyes. As if he couldn't afford it.

You are however delighted to find a small cake beside the bucket of ice cold champagne and you dig into the red velvet goodness as you watch Eunseok open up your suitcases and hang your clothes up in the master bedroom wardrobe meticulously. You're halfway into the cake when he drags his suitcases out of the room.

"Wait, where are you going?" you frown.

Eunseok snickers, "To the other bedroom? Why? Do you want me to stay with you?"

"Oh. I just didn't know there were two rooms." you say sheepishly.

Eunseok stops in his tracks, hand on his suitcase loosening, "So you went into this trip okay with the thought of sleeping with me? If so, I'll stay here with you then."

"No!" you call out, "Just- just shut up and go."

The smirk on his face is smug as he nods and continues his leave, "Alright, sweetheart, but let me know if you get nightmares and want company."

You bear the butter knife at him and he laughs melodically on his way out. You pop the champagne yourself and drown a glass down, hoping you'd be able to make it out the trip unscathed. He's running into the room with a pout after hearing the loud pop of the corkscrew, so you pour the both of you a glass and you clink them together as you chugged them back.

The days pass by similarly. You wake up and have breakfast together before embarking on a sleepy drive to a venue. You have lunch in endless terraces and gardens under the sun, basking in the heat and evaluating the venue you saw that morning. You both ooh and ahh at different venues that all look the same before you find a flaw in it that stops you from making the decision to host one of the most important days of your lives there. Some are too big, some too small, too pretentious, not pretty enough, the flowers aren't the ones you envisioned, the location too secluded or not enough. You always agree on the flaws of the venues and it's the penultimate full day when you make it to the final venue on the list.

"If I don't like this venue then I'm not marrying you," you huff in the car as it pulls up the driveway.

"Who knew wedding venues were so complicated?" Eunseok exhales in frustration, "Should we just get married in Seoul?"

You puff out your lips, "Italy was always my dream, but I was naive to the process."

Eunseok smiles and takes your hand, "I have faith in this one. At least I hope." The commitment he has to giving you your dream wedding despite it all is unwavering.

When you enter the final venue, you think that maybe it was the last on the list for a reason, since you're blown away every step you take through the grounds. The hallways to the main room is ornate and delicate at the same time, with pretty floral paintings wrapping the walls and big windows letting in the golden light. The room where your reception could be held is stunning with murals all over the walls and a dome ceiling that compliments it perfectly. It's neither too big, nor too small and there's little nooks and crannies for guests to nestle themselves in. You could see yourself in the middle, slow dancing with your head on your husband's shoulder.

"This is nice," Eunseok awes, coming up behind you with the grounds manager, "Very pretty."

You nod in agreement and ask to see the gardens, since you always wanted to get married outside in the sun. The manager gushes over the outside while she leads you out and your heart is pounding in anticipation. Eunseok probably guessed how giddy you were, because he joins you by your side and gives you a hopeful look.

"We're here. Most brides start from here and have the aisle straight down to the arch."

She throws open the double doors and you gasp in admiration at the sight in front of you. The stairs going down to the garden seen steep, but grand. You envision that your father could probably help you hobble down to the garden, where it was staged as a wedding venue. There's chairs laid out in rows, decorated in tulle and bows with an aisle adorned in flowers. At the end of the garden, there's an arch with vines wrapped around it and flowers creeping up. From where you were standing, you could see that this garden was actually on a balcony overlooking a lake that seemed to be glowing and sparkling as the slight wind caused some ripples on the surface

"I'll give you two some time to explore?" she proposes, to which Eunseok nods and wraps his hand around your wrist, tugging you down the stairs.

"First impressions?" he's looking around with blown out pupils as the two of you reach the bottom of the stairs and the beginning of the aisle.

"I like this one a lot," you shyly admit, "It's exactly what I imagined."

"I love it as well. Why don't you walk down the aisle and see how you feel. Imagine yourself on the day," he's taking off in front of you, running swiftly to the arch before you could even take a breath and get a word out.

At his antics, you let out a full-belly laugh and straighten out the ivory dress you happened to be wearing. You look down at the slip dress hitting your ankles and think it might be fate you chose to wear this specific dress on this specific day. You look up and find Eunseok suddenly frozen still at the other end, hands intertwined in front of him and his eyes trained solely on you.

When he notices that you meet his eyes, he gives you a gentle smile as he mouths to you, "Come here."

It takes you a few breaths to actually muster up the courage to follow his direction. You think that walking down a straight path shouldn't be such a big deal, but the thought that this could be the very steps you take to marry the same man at the end in less than a year's time strikes your heart.

The aisle is a soft and smooth stone, perfect for walking on in high heels. It's wide enough that a wedding dress wouldn't drag along the sides and knock over the flowers and long enough for anticipation to build as Eunseok gazes down at you from afar.

"Y/N," Eunseok calls over.

You take the first step and your breath catches in your throat. All you can look at is Eunseok now, with his shirt unbuttoned at the first three to expose some chest and his hair falling over his eyes. He keeps fidgeting with his fingers, as if he couldn't stand still and his lips are puckering and stretching as if he had much more to say.

The second step is easier than the first and the third one even more so. By the fifth step, Eunseok is chewing on his bottom lip and you're ridden with anticipation to meet him at the end.

With each step you take down the aisle, you're flashed back to all the crucial moments in your life with Song Eunseok so far.

You were sandbox best friends. You learned to walk together, and then ride bikes with each other. You learned to swim in the same swimming pool that still remained in your garden. You learned to ski and snowboard with each other in the blustery mountains of the alps. You were each other's first heartbreaks when you were teens. You took your first alcoholic drink together with your friends by the Han river, faces flushed red and hearts beating out of your chests at the prospect of getting caught. You got blackout drunk together for the first time during your first week of university. You posed together as you threw your graduation caps up in the air at the end of the three years. You chased each other around New York City, running around in blocks after he snatched your phone from your grasp when you would ignore him. You begrudgingly invited him to ride swan paddle boats with you in every lake and river around the city since he was the only person that would drop everything for you at a moment's notice. You would leave containers of home cooked food outside his doors when you noticed he was getting swamped with work, knowing he had the tendency to either order too much unhealthy takeout or stop eating altogether when busy.

With every step you take to meet Eunseok at the bottom of the aisle, you accept that Eunseok has been with you for every step of your life.

He's an arm's length away when you notice his eyes are glossier than usual. Eunseok refuses to break the stare between the two of you as you arrive in front of him, exactly where you would stand under the arch if you got married at this very space.

"Are you crying?" you whisper, afraid of your own voice.

He chortles and dabs at his eyes, "It's just the wind."

"Mhm," you hum, fighting back the smile threatening to expose your emotions, "What do you think?"

Eunseok takes a bold step towards you and closes the gap between your bodies. He's closer than you've ever had him and you can nearly feel his breath on your skin. It's making you dizzy but all you can do is keep your eyes on him.

"Eunseok," you murmur in a hushed tone.

His head is drifting closer down to yours, forehead nearly touching. If you moved your face even just by a centimetre, your noses would bump and you knew you wouldn't be able to stop yourself.

"Let's get married here," Eunseok nudges his face forwards. You have to stop yourself from pulling back even with the drumming in your chest, "You're going to look so beautiful. You do already."

"I like this place. Our parents would like it here too."

Eunseok's eyes flutter shut as he sighs and shakes his head gently, "No, let's get married here because we want to, not because our parents would like it. Let's get married because we want to."

"Eunseok," his name falls out of your mouth like it's the most sacred word you can say.

His forehead is still pressed against yours, his eyes squeezed tight and his palm comes up to make home on your cheek, "I love you. I always have."

Sincerity drips from his words and you know that this time, it's the real thing. It's the words you'd been dying to hear him say sincerely for a decade. It's the words that underlined every fight and argument you've had as adults. He finally and bravely bares his heart to you for the first time, still considerate as he always had been by giving you the choice to determine what will end up of the two of you.

There's something different about his profession of love after all you'd experienced together. Back then, when you confessed that you liked him, the world would probably say it was just some puppy love- a silly high school crush. Something that would fizzle over and dissolve when you would experience the real hardships of life and what it could throw at you. You think that a late confession carries a profound and heartfelt meaning like no other.

"Seok-"

He cuts you off before you could finish, pulling away from you and causing you to open your eyes, "I don't need an answer yet, Y/N. I just need you to know that I want to be with you. I want to be your boyfriend, your husband, your partner- whatever you want me to be. I want to make you only happy from now on, instead of angry or resentful. I want to be by your side and keep following you around the world. I want everything with you."

You've never felt more sure of anything else in the world when you bounce up on your tiptoes and capture his face between your hands, pressing your lips against his. It feels like every nerve ending in your body is on fire, but at the same time feeling relief as if this was the one thing in the world that could finally relieve you from all the anger and bitterness you had been displaying and trying to internalise for all these years. Deep down, you could never ever hate Song Eunseok, the boy who has had your heart since you were just young.

He's rigid for a split second while he processes your own confession, but he quickly regains enough composure to part his lips and deepen the kiss, moulding your lips to each other's. It's unlike anything he's ever felt before and he finally understood the real pleasure of kissing someone you really love. As he runs his tongue along your bottom lip, Eunseok knows that he could do this for the rest of his life.

"Song Eunseok, I love you too," your eyes are glistening with adoration as you pull away from his kiss, "Let's get married?"

When he finally looks you in the eye at the moment you give yourself back to him, he can't help the tears that finally break free from their barrier. He's laughing as he finally pulls you to his chest, wrapping his arms around your body in desperation of keeping you close to him. You nuzzle deeper into him and he tucks his head into your neck. His body is shaking with the laughter of relief and his heartstrings tug when he feels his shirt dampening at the exact spot where your face laid.

"You're the one I'll always choose to love," he coo's into your ear words that travel straight into your heart, "For the rest of my life, for the rest of yours."

You look down at your hand and breathe deeply as the ring glistens on your finger. The Italian sun makes it shine bright as the symbol of your love. You start thinking of what you want to engrave on the inside of the ring that you want to get him. You start thinking of the dress and suit you'll be wearing at this very spot soon enough. You're dreaming of the house you move into together and of the company you'll spearhead by each other's side. You fantasise over your future kids- the kids you hope will have his eyes and your nose. You yearn for the life you know Eunseok will give you and your heart is finally at peace, knowing it will always be him.

˗ˏˋ જ⁀➴ ˎˊ˗

[sirensea14]

SMILING CRITTERS X BULLIED!READER

Scenario: you are friends with the smiling critters and one day, they found out you were being bullied (lets say there are (3) bully npc's in the cartoon lol)

These Cartoon counterparts seem to be a bit... ooc...

Warning: bullying, violence, "worst case scenario" added for dogday, craftycorn roasting, hoppy choosing violence and rejecting humanity, catnap being catnap, writing may be a bit sloppy and weird lol

A/n: this had got to be one of the most random ideas i had

DogDay

As the leader of the Smiling Critters and your friend, he tries to resolve this in a peaceful manner. He confronts the bullies with you tagged along and attempts to make them apologize to you and wants them to compensate by cleaning the school, canteen and the garden by a whole week.

Of course, the bullies won't do it, so he goes to the teachers to address the problem.

The bullies are punished and will have cleaning duties for more than a week.

Worst case scenario (because i wanted to /j):

If the bullies resorted to violence in an attempt to scare DogDay, he fought back and defended you. You ran for help but one got out of his reach and punched you, he bit the one/s he's fighting and rushed at your aid and barked at the bully. "DON'T YOU DARE HURT MY FRIEND AGAIN!!"

The bullies got scared and ran to the clinic but DogDay barked and chased them until they were punished by the nurse and teachers.

You asked DogDay if he was okay, he grinned at you with a thumbs up, saying, "Of course I am! I will never let anyone dim you down!"

You smiled at his conviction, you were happy that you had such a sunny friend.

Bobby BearHug

After knowing you were being bullied, she immediately went to confront them. You were so scared and you didn't want her to get hurt, but she reassured you she can handle it and winked.

Reaching the bullies' spot, she confronted them. The bulkies glared at you and you cowered behind the bear's back, "So i heard you were bullying my friend? You better pay for that. You must apologize to my friend, now" She hissed, crossing her arms. The bullies simply laughed.

Bobby didnt hesitate to punch the bully on his face. His nose bled. Bobby was a sweet soul, but she's a bear, a predator, a tough cookie to crack. "DO I HAVE TO REPEAT WHAT I SAID?! APOLOGIZE TO MY FRIEND. NOW."

The bullies apologized while trembling in fear. "You can go back to whatever business you are doing now," she said in sweetly, though, there was venom to it, "Dare try to bully my friend once more and I will make sure to tear your limbs apart, skin you alive and--"

You tapped Bobby's shoulder before she went on full detail. "Whoops!" She giggled, scratching the back of her head looking at you. "Now, GO HOME." She pointed out at them, "Please!" of course, she never forgets her manners. That's not very Bobby if she didnt mind her manners, even to her enemies.

KickinChicken

Oh expect this bird to not handle things peacefully, especially with you being hurt. You were away from him, doing your own things. He went to the bullies, but of course, he can't go alone. He knows he can't handle them so he asked DogDay and Hoppy to hop along with him.

Hoppy looked like she was about to murder someone... a baseball bat was with her. DogDay and Kickin talked it out first with the bullies. But when they wouldn't budge, Hoppy stepped in and handed Kickin the bat. "NOW, WHO WANTS TO GO FIRST?" He tapped the bat to his wing. DogDay was against it, but didn't protest, Hoppy was trying not to smirk at the bullies.

The 3 critters and the bullied were headed to your way. You got startled and scared but DogDay, Kickin and Hoppy immediately went to your side. "Now, APOLOGIZE." Kickin forced a smile at them, and they apologized to you.

After that, DogDay took them in for their punishment. Hoppy taked the bat back so that she can go back playing baseball with the others. You thabked Kickin for his action and he blushed, brushing it off as "nothing". You and him sat by a tree and watched the other critters play on the field.

Hoppy Hopscotch

"Wait--Hoppy!" Yoy tried to stop Hoppy from going to the bullies. But she immediately scolded you for being a coward for not telling her this, you explained they threatened you but she didn't listen. "THOSE MFS ARE NO MATCH FOR ME," she spat on the ground.

As soon as you twto spotted the bullies, she didn't waste any time and immediately launched her fists at them. Knocking them off guard. She didnt let any of them escape her wrath. And then she grabbed your hand to run and leave them alone in the open.

CraftyCorn

Crafty was aware of it. "Why aren't you telling me this? We're friends!" She yelled at you. You explained they were going to hurt you if--"Let's go to them!" Crafty smatched your hand and went to the bullies.

Before you knew it, you were corned by the bullies. Taunting and laughing at you two. At first, fear was on ghe unicorn's face but it immediately changed to anger. "You're bullying my friend! You know you shouldn't be doing that!"

"Oh yeah? What're you gonna do about it, horse piss? Your friend's quite a coward and seems to be undeserving to be here." One of the bullies taunted her.

"YOU INSULTING MY FRIEND SHOWS HOW MUCH YOU'RE SO INSECURE ABOUT YOURSELF, IT TELLS A LOT ABOUT YOU, YKNOW?" Crafty snapped.

"COWARD. UGLY. USELESS. TRASH. GOOD FOR NOTHING. YOUR BIRTH WAS A MISTAKE." She added. Then you two turned around and left, you can tell that crafty was so angry because of her trembling hooves. The bully targeted by Crafty's words cried while his other two friends mocked him for being a crybaby.

Moments later--"Ah! I'm sorry! I didnt mamage to make them apologize to you! Sorrysorrysorry--!" Crafty apologized to you. "No, no! It's okay, Crafty! What you said was way more satisfying," in all silliness, you stuck your tongue out. Crafty giggled and she went back to pher canvas,ready to paint another new piece,"oh? Whats that called?" You asked as she sketched out what seems to be shadows looming over a figure protecting a smaller one behind it, there were separated figures at their opposite side, seemingly the figure with shadiws protecting the smaller one from attackers.

"Oh this? I call it... 'Happy Snappy!"

PickyPiggy

Picky was uneasy that day. Ever since she knew you were being bullied, she wasted no time to gather all the trash and dump it anywhere where the bullies would have been to. "HEHEHEHEHE..." The bullies ended up getting scolded by the teachers for dumping 'their' trash around. Pickypiggy snickered behind a tree, watching them from afar. She was quite fast and undetectable.

The bullies bags' had trash in them, their armchairs full of waste.

Then she tricked them into meeting up in a corner, she had full trash cans up on the roof, Hoppy and Kickin assisting her. Then they dumped the pile at them. You took the chance to run and report it to the teachers.

The trio fist bumped in victory and Picky was grateful for their help. She went back to you as you told her the weird thing that happened to the bullies--while eating cookies together.

Bubba Bubbaphant

The smart guy of the group. He was devastated at the fact that you didnt told him anything about your situation. He confronted them in full glasses nerd mode on, you came up to him and told him not to challenge them any further. He ended up getting beaten up by the bullies, he wasnt able to fight. Good thing DogDay was patrolling the area nearbt you.

Bubba was sent to a clinic, but he talked to DogDay first for a special request.

The next day, "man, this room sucks." One of the bullies complained. "What are we doing here anyway?" One of them groaned. They were in detention for two weeks, "How are we supposed to go to our classes now?"

Just in time, Bubba walked inside the room, "Okay class, I'll be your teacher for the next two weeks." He sneered at them. The bullies groaned at him as he wrote down a hell of math on the board. "This is your punishment for bullying a friend of mine, bear with it, losers."

CatNap

And of course, CatNap. He was a sleepyhead of a friend, when he knew you were being bullied, he simply 'slept'.

By nighttime, he went one by one to the bullies' houses. Scaring them and making them scream so loud. He was giving them nightmares with the message of "VIOLENCE OR SILENCE?" This went on for a long time until they gave up bullying you and went on full silent mode.

CatNap still haunts them even if they stopped bullying you.

[rcksmith]

Brick by Brick - Kaz Brekker

Requests: “Heyy, I wanted to request a Kaz Brekker x reader fic where y/n is Pekka Rollins' innocent and naive daughter, and she stumbles across Kaz when he breaks into Pekka's house. Kaz tells her to stay quiet and stuff and y/n obviously has no idea who Kaz is, only that he's handsome as fuck and she kinda falls in love with him despite the fact that he's literally robbing her father

Love, anon :3

P.S. I love your writing.”

Couple: Kaz Brekker/ Fem!Reader

Warnings: swearing.

Word count: 2k

A/N: Thank you very much for your kindness and sorry for the delay. I love you. My loves, requests are open and I am banning Kaz's smut request rules. U can ask for anything in the original universe, without being in a UA. I hope you like💕 English is not my first language, so I so sorry if have a mistake.

Requests are open. Love you ❤️

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

Ketterdam was not a good place. It wasn't safe, it wasn't pretty, it wasn't healthy. Every dark corner, every ghostly street, every edge whispering curses, was fulfilled the entire list of unholy sins and harbored monsters as horrible as the harbor rats on the coast. If the soil in that place was cursed, the people were demons.

Pekka Rollin’s knew this like he knew how to count kruger. He was one of those monsters. He taught profanity and stained the ground on which his feet walked with innocent blood. Pekka destroyed homes, hopes, kicked people's dreams and hit each one soul with his staff of damnation.

Each one.

Because of it that he kept his daughter under lock and key from the ugly world, far from that wretched city that he himself helped build the horrors and desolations. Maybe it was out of love, maybe it was out of sensitivity. Or maybe it was because you were the only healthy and intelligent heiress capable of leading his empire one day. You represent too many precious things for him to risk losing control over you. Maybe Pekka would never be able to love anything or anyone other than his own greed.

Whatever it was, he covered your eyes to Ketterdam. He decorated the blood-stained walls with sparkling pink and said to you that the smoke that covered the tops of Ketterdam's houses at night was Aladdin's magical fog, which pointed the way to a cave full of treasures, and not that it was the incinerated bodies of his enemies, nosy people and families who starved to death on their land. Pekka deceived you with pretty tales that the big mansion you lived in was because he would always give you the best, and not that it was bought with money stolen from honest people and that he liked to see in material forms the extent of his capabilities of evil. Like a trophy.

Rollin’s wove the ties around your limbs like a cursed puppet, and pulled your strings according to his unscrupulous interests of greed. For all of Ketterdam, Pekka was a demon of the worst kind. But for you, he was a bearded, loving father who made you see magic and romance in every corner of that city condemned by God.

The worst types of monsters were those who tricked and manipulated their children like pawns in a game of chess. But, again, perhaps Pekka wasn't capable of loving anything other than his own greed.  And, if the price for having an heir who agreed, trusted him for the rest of the life, who would follow in his footsteps and obey all his order, was to make you believe in his goodness, in the beauty of a life with him only to implant wonderful - and illusory -  memories in your childhood, so be it. After all, you were a girl, and in his view, girls were sentimental. So how would you go against him in the future, or not act according to his orders or not run his business as he wanted when he was too old, if you only had memories of him being an excellent and loving father? You will feel so guilty! You would fall under the weight of your own mind's arguments that everything he once did was to protect and give you the best, so your only obligation would be to be a good girl and return the favor by obeying your father's orders.

Loyalty.

Maybe, if you were someone else and this was a different story, you would have realized the hoax at 16 years old. Maybe you would have born with a strong, inquisitive and responsive personality. Maybe you would have developed that spark and fire that wouldn't let you lower your head to any man, that would make you stamp your foot on the ground, lift your chin with petulance and unravel the mysteries of that dark empire alone and take justice into your own hands.

But this was no different story. And you were just you.

You were born with a sweet aura and gentle personality. You liked butterflies and flowers since birth because their color and beauty attracted you and made you smile. Your romantic nature was not only accepted by your father, but encouraged and recharged every day - for his dark game. 

For 19 years you lived in the theatrical farce that Pekka created with monstrous hands, believing and agreeing with every story in your bubble. But the blame can never fall on the shoulders of the pure in heart, who blindly believed in words and stories just because it didn't have a single wave of malice or disbelief in the veins. One should never condemn the soul that was born naturally sweet and destined to be the breath of light that such a terrible world as Ketterdam needed. 

 You believed in love, fairy tales and pure honesty, and that was not a defect. The Herculean guilt should fall on the shoulders of the devil who abused the innocence of a girl for his greedy benefit.

In your perfect world manipulated and distorted by the unscrupulous Pekka, you blossomed like a dazzling lily in the middle of Plato's allegory of The Cave. You acted with honesty, patience and affection towards everyone who crossed your path: employees, cooks, gardeners, bakers, painters, stylists, delivery people, friends of your father.

You were, genuinely, a kind soul. Your interests were related to literature, cooking and painting, your heart vibrated with the sunset, with the first snowflake falling to the ground and how twilight seemed even more stunning in books when they portrayed a couple in love beneath it.

You always saw the poetic, lyrical, angelic side of life, with the eyes of an artist and a passionate soul, smelling mystery and romance in the air when others only smelled wet grass because of the rain.

And being like that was, perhaps, the reason for your downfall.

It was three o'clock in the morning on a Friday the thirteenth. A combination so full of superticities, curses, fears and prague. While some saw that day and time as a condemned and satanic sign, you saw it as something mystical, mysterious and enigmatic. And maybe that was your mistake. Maybe you should be careful about the things you think, the things you wish. Maybe three in the morning on a Friday really was the devil's time. Because as you crossed the hallway of the mansion's library, unable to sleep, you saw him.

Dressed in black like the darkness outside. Skin as white as the moon's glow. Hair personified as a raven's feathers. He seemed to belong to the mysteries and occultism of the world as sin belonged to hell. The huge Victorian window behind illuminated him like an apparition, a mirage, a nightmare…an erotic dream. Or like a demon.

You should have screamed. You should have ran away. You should have done something other than get stuck in that same place, anything other than feeling inside you squirms and something sinks into your belly like warm honey.

His eyes, as blue as the deadly waters of icy Fjerda, were fixed on you with as much intensity as the dangers of Shadow Fold. For a split second, a human emotion passed through those irises; surprise?

An inattentive observer would not have noticed such a tiny sign, but you lived 19 years analyzing every detail of life.

Would a demon have such a mundane emotion?

“Who are you?” Your voice came out like a breath in winter. 

Your concentration should have been on your dad book under that man's arm, but it wasn't.

A single thick, black eyebrow of his was arched, and only there were you able to run your eyes over the details of his appearance.

“Do you always ask questions for thieves?” His voice was like the scratching of sand on a stone, like a withered willow branch brushing against human skin.

That man, in his entirety, seemed to have come out of the dark romance books that you read hidden in your room in the early hours of the morning. You should have focused on the fact that he just called himself a thief, not the way your soul seemed to be shivering because of his voice.

“Or you´re just stupid?” the thief continued.

Kaz never made decisions based on fear. Only in despair. 

His analytical mind rewound every step of the years he spent investigating Pekka Rollin's; every detail, every day, every season, every strand of gray that appeared in Pekka's red hair. Where had Kaz gone wrong? Pekka had no children. And Kaz made no mistakes. Never. But the girl in front of him, too curious for her own good and common sense, had too similar traits to Pekka to be anything other than his daughter.

Desperation hit.

This made EVERYTHING infinitely more Herculaneum. Your existence meant that Pekka had many more secrets than the Kaz discovered in their constant meticulous investigation. You were a loophole, and that meant there could be others. Loopholes that Kaz had no idea about. Kaz Brekker felt naked, even though he was covered from toes to neck. Being without clothes wouldn't have bothered him any more than the damn fact that he hadn't come up with the perfect plan. He failed. And that disturbed him deeply.

Suddenly, that library seemed sneaky and questionable, even though Brekker had studied the layout of the mansion for months.

How the fuck did he didn't have the knowledge about that girl?!

A daughter meant many things. But being caught by his daughter created a LOT of problems. Problems involving Kaz Brekker on a gallows.

Fucking hell.

The Barril's bastard waited for a scream, for an accusation, waited for the guards to be alerted at any moment and…the silence was sepulcher. A silence so solemn that he heard the sound of his own blood running through his veins. None of his muscles relaxed, but the part of his brain that worked in despair was activated.

Or he could kill you. But a body would add an extreme problem and…

‘’Who are you?’’ Your voice was so feminine that for a second Kaz thought he had fallen backwards and landed in a bed of roses.

Which was bullshit. Because he never falls. And he had never touched a rose in his entire life

Were you really talking to the man who was robbing your house?! Where was your instinct?! Your common sense?! Your discernment?! And where, by the damned Saints, were you all these years?

“…you don’t look like a thief’ That voice again. That damn voice that made him think of roses he never touched.

Why didn't you shut up and run away?

“Have you seen enough thieves to know one?” Normally Kaz had higher control, but he couldn't hold back his whip tongue, which seemed somehow wanting to hurt you the same way he was being hurt.

That atypical creature blushed. You blushed! For the love of the saints! Who blushes face to face with imminent danger?! Were you stupid or just terribly naive?! And why did that sweet blush remind him once again of a rose?

Bloody hell, where have you been all these years?! Why didn't anyone tell him about you?!

“No’’ you replied like a little animal being caught biting the sofa “but common thieves wouldn’t have that much intelligence to be able to bypass the security of this entire mansion’’

You had a point. But why were you worried about arguing with a damn thief instead of running away?

“That's yet another reason why you should keep your mouth shut about what you're seeing here.” His voice dropped to deeper, more threatening tones. “Bypass security is not as difficult for me, just like hiding a body''

That should have scared you. It made you scared; but with less than it really should. He was threatening you with death, his voice as cold and hoarse as a grim reaper, his eyes as serious as prophecies of the apocalypse. So why you could only think that this about him was overwhelmingly enthralling?

Maybe it was because there was a lack of excitement in your life, maybe it was because you've read a lot of erotic books about mysterious men entering the towers at night and taking the girl away, or maybe it was because Pekka deprived you of the world so much that he left you unaware of the true gravitas of situations. Whatever it was, there was something that grounded you like the roots of ancient trees, something that made you want to look at that thief more closely. Perhaps you liked the danger... That nameless man represented a large part of all the danger of Ketterdam that was so diligently hidden from you for 19 years. He represented death. But he also represented the new, the mystery, the unknown. And you, romantic by nature, loved the occult and its secrets. That man came from a world of shadows, mists, risks, deaths. Where every night was full of adrenaline and every second was a fight to stay alive. He smelled like the ghostly five a.m. fog that you watched envelop the mansion every winter, that made your heart clench with the feeling that there was so much more to the world than you knew. Very quickly, Kaz - even though you didn't know his name yet - became everything you'd always wanted to know, but had always been deprived of.

Once again, you weren't a different person to know about Pekka's disgusting game, but you were romantic enough to feel your soul begging for adventure. Even if these adventures meant ruin. A downfall.

Did it only take one handsome, mistery man for you to throw all your comfort in life out the window and want to ruin yourself with him? Want to get lost with him? The same stranger who just threatened to kill you? Apparently, yes.

You took a step into the library, and Kaz stood firm on the ground, his blue eyes boring into yours like a shining knife. Brekker thought you were extremely naive. Who knew that damn Pekka Rollin's daughter would be so pure? He would bet the Crow Club on the certainty that, if Pekka saw you now, he would have a heart attack. The monster sure had kept you in a little pink bubble your entire life, given that you seemed to not have a single ounce of survival instinct left in you. And how would you have? You certainly didn't know what pain, loss, hunger, cruelty were. This was comical and irritating to Brekker. You were a daddy's little girl. But it was in these waters of thought that his ship hit one fact: you must be very valuable to Pekka. Because otherwise that idiot wouldn't have made so many efforts to hide you from the entire world. To hide the wrong eyes from you. Eyes like Kaz's.

A shiver ran through Brekker's body; a damn good chill, a note of music he'd been waiting to hear his whole life. Revenge.

Brick by brick.

Oh, how ironic fate was. The boy who lost everything at Pekka's hands, was face to face with what was everything for the man. Like a breaking violin string, you have become the most valuable item in all of Ketterdam to be stolen. The most valuable item for Kaz Brekker.

The corner of his mouth turned up, as if pulled by the devil's rope as he set the book down again. He had something else to take away.

Kaz advanced towards yoou. And suddenly, as fast as lightning that cuts through the darkness, everything in your vision turned black and you fell into the abyss of unconsciousness as something pressed against your nose and mouth.

[kaythefloppa]

Wild Kratts - Chimpanzee and Me - Thoughts

The last of this week's new episode premiere, released online today alongside Salamander Streaming and Bumblezzzz. Will air on TV this coming Wednesday so as always, spoilers ahead!

K, so huge confession but Zooboomafo was the only other show by the Kratt Brothers I distinctively remember watching. I watched a few clips of Kratts' Creatures, but mistook them for WK as a kid. This is most definitely a callback to some Chimpanzee adventure episode in KC that I did not happen to pick up. So it's totally lost on me.

That being said, my prediction of references to previous Kratt Brothers' works reigns supreme (and for those who view all four Kratt Brother shows in one hollistic "canon" here's some ammo for your fan-theories).

Look at those delicious yummy grapes... wonder if they're being saved for later.

I will still never forget when the synopsis for this episode came out about Chris spraining his ankle, as well as when a synopsis for the clip came of him tripping on grapes. The constant memes and reactions omfg /silly

But seriously this man is in PAIN. This season for what it's worth, does a lot of angst and in ways you'd never expect.

I've never sprained or broken a limb, so I'm probably in no place to talk, but from the looks of that frame, Chris bent his ankle pretty damn good. He's definitely gonna be on hiatus for the next few weeks (which could ironically be taken metacontextually since after this episode we'll be on another hiatus until next year when the live show comes)

Ok let's talk about the villain's plan here. He wants to replace his Zachbots with a Chimpanzee he can roboticize to do his work. Here are my many thoughts and takeaways from this, some of which, definitely are just me reaching.

A step up from his dumbass plan in the last episode. Not threatening, but motivations that are actually sensible (but still evil though).

More than once have I seen the theory floating aound where Zach programmed his bots to be smart enough to obey his commands, but dumb enough to where they won't turn against him. I assumed that this episode was going to end with the cliche of Zach's creations turning on him as laser guided karma (hint it doesn't) so it really puts things into perspective.

Considering how we are getting two Zach-related episodes in a row, coming just off the heels of Our Blue and Green World, I like to headcanon that Zach's overall character in this batch of episodes is some form of response or byproduct of the events of that special. Because between Paisley's sudden betrayal, Donita's callous threat of physical violence in the previous episode, and his henchmen's limited intellect, he realizes how much he is fundamentally losing control, both in the villain team, and in his own endeavors as a villain. He's slowly, yet consistently and constantly being knocked down from the pedestal that he views himself on, and by trying to change the status quo with a new animal assistant, he thinks he can keep himself up at the top where he thinks he belongs, completely oblivious to how he's his own worst enemy. Yes, I'm overanalyzing all 3 episodes and I love it.

This is another moment where I HAVE to use my one-video-only-free-card to convey the point across because a certain scene is that good. This is only a 34 second action sequence where the chimpanzees are running from the Zachbots, but holy hell the background music. I had to isolate the background noises just to share it with y'all so you can see my point as to how the music absolutely carries this scene. Pure West has always gone so hard with the scores in this show, but they were absolutely on fire for this brief chase scene. I actually tensed up seeing the Chimp's mother getting torn away from her baby as the music swole up. Yet another reason why PBS should release an official soundtrack for the series, it's so fucking good.

Ok so Chris doesn't activate Chimpanzee Powers, nor does he invent the disc but goddamnit! This entire plot is so cute, and dare I say, the episode actually works better with Chris not being the one to activate the suit.

Now I can use my allotted time to point out how much I love this scene and why it makes this episode very well-liked for most people, myself included. This isn't the first PBS Kids show to educate viewers on non-verbal communication such as facial expressions and sign language, and it's definitely far from the last, but it's a really sweet and sincere moment that's both educational, and really good rep for people who use sign language. It gets its point across efficiently and could very well reach out to any children at home who use ASL. It's magnificent.

Also, Leah is fun, I hope we see her more in future eps.

THE CHIMPANZEE POWER SUIT

Ok I take it back: This is definitely the best designed Creature Power Suit of S7. I remember dreading it because of how alike Chimpanzees and Humans are physically, but oh my god I am so glad to be wrong. It's giving full Season 1 vibes (looks a lot like the Orangutan Suit, total sense), and I am all FOR IT.

And again, I feel like I would/should be angry or disappointed that Chris didn't activate the suit, but again, the plot actually works better without him using the suit, and the design of the Chimpanzee Suit itself is so good, everything just comes together neatly.

Bro is in his peak.

I mean, still peak.

Joss pointed this out better than I could, but there are a lot of varied facial expressions for Zach in this episode. As mentioned earlier, during the hiatus in between Season 6 and 7, new builders and riggers were hired on the animation team for Wild Kratts, many of them likely fans of the show themselves. And again, seeing as there's a 2 year gap between S6 and S7 in terms of development, there's bound to be some slight differences in rigs or models. Which is definitely why we get a lot of moments like this in the episode.

My two cents. I can definitely see why people would be caught off guard, and yeah, at such a high frequency it can get off-putting and requires some getting used to. But at the same time, I kinda dig it, just for the camp factor. It also somewhat reminds me of some of the facial expressions used in the pilot episode, (which has the stronger excuse of different animation + art-style to back it up), but yeah, definitely something that catches the eye.

Zach's hair is defnitely giving Kovu from Lion King 2 and I mean this in the worst. Possible. Way.

This entire scene can be seen as an allegory for two different types of parenting. Zach takes harsh, demanding approaches, speaking without listening for the sake of control, all out of a place of emotional unintelligence and immaturity, which alienates + drives away the child; Whilst Chris takes a more constructive, compassionate, understanding, yet still direct approach to get through to the child/chimp, allowing for a proper solution to the issue at hand. Yes, I'm pointlessly over analyzing even more but in an episode where communication is the main focus & moral of the episode as well as the resolution to the climax, I have to wonder if someone, whether it'd be the writers, animators, or even network execs did it on purpose. Because once again, you could takeaway a really good lesson for kids, and even adults with this interpretation in mind.

Oh yeah, once we get past that stuff, the climax of this episode is like, really fucking hilarious. And Zach getting mind-controlled by his own helmet is still a good dose of laser guided karma.

CONCLUSION:

Cons:

A few of the facial expressions can be a bit jarring. Again, Joss pointed it out perfectly how this episode could've been earlier in S7's development so these adjusted rigs probably can and will get better. I wouldn't even say it as a con, it's just some little thing of the episode that doesn't really lower my overall opinions.

This is a personal nitpick of mine; Not a critique. I think we could've seen more of the chimpanzees in action. I'm talking about face-offs with gorillas (which I think we might get an episode on that in the future, idk), hunting monkeys, leopard attacks! But I do get why it wasn't in the episode, it would've just bogged down time. Frankly, the only reason why I'm putting the cons first is because there is so much I have to say otherwise.

Pros:

The animation overall

The backgrounds

The Chimpanzee Power Suit

The Chimpanzees themselves.

The Background Music

Chris angst!!!!!!

The A plot and B plot perfectly complementing each other, which makes certain writing decisions that could've fallen short, work so much better as a result in execution!

Zach not being a dumb POS like he was in the last epiosde!

The chimpanzee designs!!!!

The very well-handled representation and depiction of sign-language and lessons of communications to its young audiences!

Final Ranking: 9.2/10. Our Blue and Green World and No Name Dream subverted expectations (mainly through Paisley's redemption and the S1 callbacks + the return of the Draco Power Suit). This is the first episode of Season 7 that exceeded my expectations. It is far better than how I thought it would be, and the experimental writing that this season has been hinged upon thus far hit the mark entirely when it came to this episode. So much so that it actually raised the already-high expectations I had for the new season. It is that. Fucking. Good. I'd easily call it a contender for one of the best episodes of the season, but again, we'll have to wait and see.

[wjehfshs]

Hope you are having a good day/night

I was wondering if I could request tf 141 boy x male reader who had went missing after recklessly sacrificing themself to make sure the team got out safe either with hostages or information your choice. At the time Ghost and Reader were in a relationship, but with reader going missing getting suck in enemy hands for 3-5 years (your choice) they think he's dead.

What happeneds when they hear about someone killing off enemy forces and possibly having Intel the team needs? What is it turns out to be their missing comrade? Reader's unrecognizable from the scar cover half his face, a missing eye, his vocal cords damaged so his voice sounds different (if you're ok with it maybe a cybernetic arm?) Who would put the dots together first? Maybe reader stayed away knowing they would be hunted and didn't want the people they cared about to get hurt?? Specially Ghost!

Thank you for the request! This is actually a great idea

Reader being reckless and self sacrificial, Ghost X Reader (romantic) reader being kidnapped, reader being tortured, reader having scars and missing limbs (replaced with a prosthetic arm) male reader, mentions of violence. Drug mention once, Ghost being depressed and somewhat having no will to live ☹️

Gore mentions

4 years ago, on a mission, you where being reckless, little care for your own safety, you where trying to get information from the other side about where they had illegal drugs stored, you where killings people left and right, not caring if you where sneaky or not

Unfortunately due to your recklessness you had gotten caught and thrown into a helicopter on the rooftop

Simon saw this and he tried to chase after you but someone attacked him before he could get to you, and everyone else was too far away

They tried tracking the helicopter but it was stolen and they left it in the middle of nowhere and probably took a plane back to base

For months Simon was stressed, they tried so many times to get you back

They just couldn’t find you

After 7 months Soap finally told Ghost it was probably too late

He didn’t wasn’t to believe it but there was nothing else he could do

For the next 9 months he was self isolating, rarely ate, obviously depressed

The others sometimes even heard him crying in his room

They tried to console him but it just didn’t work

They noticed he was also more violent on the battlefield

You where all he had, of course he loves his friends but you where the love of his life, the only one who he felt safe letting hold him

Everyone else he flinched away from but you, he felt warm in your grasp

That’s why he grieved for so long, he lost his only will to live

After more time passed he finally came to accept it, of course he still loved you but he knew he would never see you again

One day, they heard from Laswell that someone had attacked the opposing side, killing them in mass numbers.

Simon immediately knew something was up, he could just feel it in his gut

They had been sent off to the base to see what was going on

When they got there it hit them how many people actually got killed

“Bloody fuckin’ hell” Simon commented

“Out of all my years in the military, this is probably the worst case I’ve seen” Price mentioned

The base that they where at also manufactured high tech material such as guns and… prosthetic limbs. They noticed one of the rooms holding fake, robotic arms had been broken into, one arm being ripped out from its holding spot

They walked around a bit before they heard a crash

“Sh, there could still be someone here” Price whispered before he snuck towards the sound

When he saw a figure rummaging through the canned rations, he raised his gun, seeing that he was unarmed

“Put your hands in the air!” He shouted, the figure turned around, face scarred and torn, the back row of his teeth showing on one side, and, a cyber arm

They knew this was the guy who broke into the room

The room was dark so immediately Gaz turned the lights on to get a better look at the man

As soon as the lights buzzed on and the white light filled the room, Simons heart jumped, he felt like he was going to faint

It was you, the love of his life

The way he knew? The giant scar under your eye on the right (your left) side of your face

He dropped his gun and stepped closer

The others, after some time, came to the realisation that it was their missing teammate from 4 years ago

Simon ran up to you, engulfing you in a suffocating hug

He kept muttering your name over and over again, tears in his eyes as he was rocking you back and fourth

“I miss you so much, you don’t even know, I’ve grieved over you for so long, life has been so empty without you” he kept going on about how much he loves you and missed you

The others also put their weapons away and ran up to you

Simon let you go for a little bit to let the other’s suffocate you in their one big group hug

They had never seen Simon so soft and loving towards someone, it was almost a shock, for the past 4 years, even before you went missing, he was cold and almost empty

Simon cupped your face and traced his fingers over your scars he had never seen before

He was just so overwhelmed he let his tears spill as did you, he took off his mask and pulled you into a loving kiss, he felt like he was dreaming

After he finally pulled away to let you breathe, his eyes trailed down to your robot arm and brought your hand up to his chest

Even if you where missing a nose and had horrible scars, exposing the inside of your mouth, he loved you just as much

He felt like his heart was full again

After they finally got back to base you explained what happened during the past 4 years

After the other side took you to their base, they tortured you everyday, they forced you to work for them in their factory

During a freak accident while you where working, your arm was torn off

Later on after the accident you tried to escape but they set off a grenade close enough to you to do damage, but not kill you, resulting in the tissue of your face coming off

The other scars where from years of torture

You had finally managed to get a hold of some explosives and a gun with some ammo and had gone on a killing spree, grabbing a cyber arm from one of their rooms, and dashing from room to room to hide

You had finally learnt from your lesson all those years ago, you finally learnt to be sneaky and not just go for the kill when you wanted

That night after you said your good nights to everyone else, Simon led you to his room and pulled you to his bed

His grip on you never let up through the whole night

He was so unbelievably happy to have you back in his arms

Even while you where asleep he stared at you lovingly, tracing your face and leaving feather kisses all over

He couldn’t stop himself from crying himself to sleep (from happy tears ofc)

[physalian]

10 Plot Premises That Never Get Old

There’s a great many lists out there complaining about the worst and most overused tropes in fiction. I want to pass the mic to tropes that will never get old. The love-to-hate ones, the knife-twisting ones, the shipping fodder.

1. Killing the character who knew too much

Or, the “Maes Hughes” effect. Your story centers around a massive mystery or conspiracy and one lone character is unfortunately not genre-savvy enough to remember that the phrase “the early bird gets the worm” ends in “but the second mouse gets the cheese”.

This is the character who has unraveled the partial, if not entire truth, coming to a shocking realization moments before their untimely murder. Usually, they’re alone. Usually, this death rocks the remaining characters, sometimes for the entirety of the remaining plot (see FullMetal Alchemist). Usually, they become genre-savvy at exactly the moment they realize there’s no way out of this. Conveniently, they’re never on the phone with the right person, or there’s never any cell service. They didn’t write their findings down or didn’t hit record.

This whole entire tragedy is only a tragedy because this character made the wrong choice that is also the only choice this character would have made.

2. The enemy of my enemy

As OSP once said, anyone can be a minion, even the presumed Big Bad. Whether it’s a serialized cartoon with well established sides of good and bad or a single movie, having two entities that loathe each other reluctantly and bitterly join forces to deal with an even Bigger Bad… that’s the good stuff.

Either the villain has been minion-ed, or the good guys and the bad guys’ enduring battle of morals is interrupted by a wild card third party that insults them both or threatens the world both sides are trying to save in their own ways.

This is *not* a redemption arc. This is the temporary alliance that usually terminates once the threat is dealt with (see: Transformers Prime, or ‘Marabounta’ from Code Lyoko). Extra points if they’re age-old rivals who fight better together than the hero does with the rest of their team. Extra extra points if they both realize this and firmly deny that it happens (and even more if the villain tries to exploit the hero with this fact later on).

3. The redemption arc

***Emphasis on the word ‘arc’*** The ones that span 56 out of 61 episodes (see: you know the show). The ones that cost the redeemer their ideals, the friends they thought they had on the wrong side, maybe a limb or two. The ones that start with a villain so convinced they’re right, only to slowly question everything they’ve come to know and, without shedding their entire personality, do the right thing and still survive the process.

This is not redemption equals death. This is not a half-assed heel turn at the very last second—that’s a button mash impulsive act for shock value. This is taking a character almost all of the heroes have given up on trying to save, someone they themselves have nearly written off, and deciding to try anyway. This is a character deciding to do the right thing even if it doesn’t ever redeem them at all. This is a character whose whole life ahead of them is spent doing better than what was done before, and we love them for it.

4. The haunted ashes of a fallen empire

This one is a bit more tricky to define but think Prometheus of the Alien franchise, or Xerxes from FMAB. These are characters in the present exploring the ruins of a civilization that never should have fallen, but did due to the Big Bad they either created or tried to imprison. This is those characters looking around at what used to be, and making history repeat itself whether they’re genre-savvy or not.

These are the glaring red sign posts telling the heroes to turn around every step further in *or else* and they do it anyway. Or, these are the heroes who know exactly what happened and in their own hubris, are convinced it won’t happen this time to them.

5. The Most Dangerous Game

The originator: An island owned by a big game hunter who has evolved into hunting humans. The trope: Powerful and/or incredibly skilled character in any other situation is trapped in the confines of a dwindling clock matched up against the very antithesis of who they are and what they represent, but who is also just like them.

I just love seeing characters who are normally incredibly competent and rarely fazed, tripped up by the horror of being hunted by someone just like them who lost their humanity. So many juicy existential questions arise, so much angst. Double points if the character has a firm no-kill policy or extremely picky morals and has to wager tossing them aside to survive.

6. Stranger in a strange land

Whether it’s a character in a foreign country trying to learn and respect the ways of the people who saved them (see: Last Samurai, or Avatar '09), or an alien who crash-landed on Earth and struggles to assimilate and not get caught by the government (see any PG 13 alien adventure movie), a time traveler to the past or the future (Outlander, Back to the Future), either drama or hilarity ensues, often with a heaping helping of socio-political commentary.

It gets kind of troublesome when the writer is a white guy taking all the wrong messages from throwing his white guy protagonist into a land of the ‘savages’ (see uhhhh all variations of Pocahontas). But then you have strange lands like Wonderland, or Narnia.

7. Magical Otherworlds

Speaking of Narnia and Wonderland—magical hidden otherworlds. They can be incredibly blandly executed sometimes, but some of our most cherished stories come from living vicariously through Harry Potter or the Pevensie siblings. In this case I’m specifically talking about complete otherworlds, not hidden-in-plain-sight otherworlds (see: Percy Jackson) because of the complete freedom and creativity you have in geography, history, and world mechanics.

The possibilities are endless! Double points if the otherworld is a metaphor for childhood adventure and living without adult responsibilities (see: Peter Pan), a world in which we know, no matter how cool the world is, the protagonist was never meant to stay there. They must always inevitably, inexorably, return home and take what they’ve learned there to live a better and profound life.

8. “I know you’re in there somewhere”

Is it done to death? Yes. Is every situation different because it’s completely dependent on the relationship between the characters involved? Also yes. Tends to overlap with a redemption arc, but more often a hero-turned-temporary-villain. The drama! The angst! The shipping fodder! (see: many, many anime, too many to count)

This trope also has some uncertainty to it. You never know if the confrontation will be a success, if the character in question will commit some heinous act to wrack them with guilt later, if they even want to be saved, or if they really were saved and not just faking it. Either we get a POV of the stricken character’s battle in the mind or are left watching on the edge of our seat as unknowing as those trying to save them, and sometimes, rarely, they’re just not salvageable.

9. On the Run

The base has been discovered, the ship has been overrun, the house has burned down, the government is on the hunt. The hero team is forced apart with only the clothes on their back and what they can carry with only one or two others and loses all contact with most of their team, scattered to the wind. They leave a trail of sketchy motel rooms and diner take-away boxes, or they sleep in their car, or are forced to hide out in old bases that the villain definitely knows about but wouldn’t bother checking, built in a bygone era with a friend that’s no more.

Everything they ever knew has been called into question. The character they find themselves stuck with wasn’t their closest buddy on the hero team, but both forge a newfound respect for each other in this new unknown. Poignant conversations are had as one keeps watch in the dark so the other can sleep, and yet doesn’t, as they mourn the passing of the life both knew and vow to take it all back in their darkest hour.

10. The Thing

As in, a mysterious entity or illness has invaded the story and knowing which characters are infected and compromised is impossible. This entity either bodysnatches other characters and can be expunged, zombifies them, or kills and replicates them (see many zombie shows, iterations of The Thing, or “Croatoan” from Supernatural). This entity is a sickness slowly spreading throughout the town or the base or the ship and the heroes (or villains) realize far too late that something is very, very wrong.

This entity brings characters to their breaking point, paranoia making them do very bad things in the name of survival, killing off characters the audience knows is clean, but their murderer doesn’t, for extra knife-twisty fun. This entity brings a morally devout character near to ruin as they almost cross a line trying to do what’s right. This is an entity where, even when it’s defeated, is never really gone for certain… is it?

[imabeautifulbutterfly]

congrats on 450!! I've just gotten back into my star wars hyperfixation, tis the season I suppose, and your fics have been LIFE SAVERS and so I am here to congratulate you on an incredibly well earned celebration! and to request:

7. "you're not as bad as everyone says."

28. "maybe there's a universe your there where we're friends."

with either Wolfe or Cody x fem/gender neutral (whichever you prefer)?

Thank you so much and congrats again!!! <3

Awww @hxad-ovxr-hxart that's so sweet. I'm so glad my fics have helped. That makes me so happy, and I hope you'll like the fic. I wrote with Wolffe in mind. Enjoy.

Love oo,

Friends

Warnings: Crashing, angst, death, fluff, comfort, I think that's it. If I miss anything please let me know.

Main Master List   |  Star Wars Fic Roulette

Commander Wolffe was never a man who suffered fools, he didn’t appreciate tardiness, he hated chit chat, and worst of all he hated personal questions. And somehow you managed to do all four on your first day on the Triumphant, which made you public enemy number one in Wolffe’s book. 

Every day you saw him, he simply rolled his eyes and growled each time you passed. 

You tried your best to fix it, but no matter what you did or said, it didn’t make a difference. You gave up after months of constant growls and eye rolls. Now you simply made a point to arrive on time for your shift as a communication specialist. You performed your role to the best of your ability, and did your best to stay out of his way. 

Things were going well, that was until your shuttle crashed, and the two of you were the only survivors. 

“Anything broken?” Wolffe asked after he checked on the two pilots and made his way over to you.

You shook your head, “No. I think …” you tested out each of your limbs, “I think I’m alright” you groaned as you tried to stand.

“Easy. Here,” he held out his hand to help you up, “alright?”

You nodded and followed him out of the crashed gunship, “Hmm… where are we?” You looked around trying to become aware of your surroundings.

“We dropped out of hyperspace somewhere in between, the Triumphant and our destination. Don’t worry they’ll come for us, I sent out a distress beacon.”

“How long do you think we’ll be here?”

“A day or two… maybe a week.” He went into the ship, and grabbed the emergency gear, passing one backpack to you and keeping one himself. 

“Are we going somewhere?”

“To a more defensible position, we don’t wanna be out here in case there’s Separatist droids nearby or in case there are any dangerous animals.”

You nodded and followed him, keeping pace as best you could. It was about three hours later, when you were panting and gasping for breath, “Wait … Commander, please I … I need a break.” You leaned against a boulder. 

“Alright …” Wolffe nodded, “take a break, we can rest for a minute.”

You nodded, thanking him, as you took a break, “Sorry.”

“It’s fine, you’re a civilian. You’re not used to this.”

You looked up at him as you regained your breath and took a sip of water, “You know, you’re not as bad as everyone says you are.”

Wolffe, let out a laugh, “And how bad does everyone say I am?”

“That you have a short temper, you don’t suffer fools, you don’t like civilians really…”

He turned to look at you, “Really?” You simply nodded your answer, “I wouldn’t say I don’t like civilians, I’d say … civilians don’t appreciate the sacrifices me and my brothers make.”

“I know” you answered solemnly, “I’ve heard them, when I walk around Coruscant. I’m sorry. It’s not right or fair.”

“My life has never been really fair. But, thank you.”

You stood brushing off your pants, “I’m good, we can continue.”

Wolffe simply nodded as he led the way to a cave that would provide the right shelter, he set up a defensive perimeter, while you started a fire, when you were finished he came and sat beside you nodding at your achievement. 

“Good job, didn’t think civilians knew how to start a fire”

“Well I did take basic survival training, when I first joined the GAR.”

“Impressive.” He took off his helmet and his gloves, keeping the comm alert on high in case the rescue team was trying to get a hold of them.

“Commander” you looked into the fire, lost in thought, “Do you think maybe there's a universe out there where we're friends?”

“I don’t know” Wolffe answered as he kept his own gaze on the fire, “but I can tell you, you gained a friend today.” He smirked as he looked at you, “Listen, I don’t know what I ever did to make you think I hate you, civvie. But I don’t. I am actually impressed by you. It’s not easy joining the GAR to begin with, not as a civilian, certainly not as a woman, but you continue to work harder than everyone else. You’re prompt with your reports and always pleasant with your co-workers. I’ve heard nothing but praise from everyone you work with, and even today, you put up with a lot, with barely a complaint. That’s impressive.”

You tried to hide the smile that wanted to creep on to your face, “Thank you, Commander.”

“Wolffe.”

“I’m sorry?”

“When it’s just us, you can call me Wolffe. After all, we’re friends, right?”

“That’s right … Wolffe.”

He didn’t know why but hearing you say his name, brought a smile to his lips. “Close your eyes and try to sleep” he motioned to the ground, “I’ll keep watch. You’ll be safe.”

You nodded and leaned down against the ground resting your head on the backpack, wrapping the emergency blanket around you to stay warm. “Wolffe, do you think someone got our distress signal?”

“Don’t worry civvie, Plo’buir isn’t about to leave us behind.” He looked after you and smiled, “Just relax, and close your eyes. It’ll be okay.”

You nodded, closing your eyes, “Thank you, Wolffe”

“For?”

“For being my friend,” your voice trailed off as the exhaustion from the crash, the hike, and just the anxiety of the day pulled you under. Soon enough you were snoring. 

Wolffe smiled as he watched you sleep, his heart fluttering as he took in your features. He always wondered why you had kept your distance from him, but to think you thought he hated you, made his heart hurt. It was so far from the truth. However, it was too soon to point that out. Instead, for now, he’d be your friend, and hope that in the future, your friendship could progress to something more. Maybe one day. 

“Goodnight, cyar’ika. Sweet dreams.” He whispered as he put his helmet back on and kept his blaster on his lap, keeping guard, making it his job to protect you. 

Main Master List   |  Star Wars Fic Roulette

Tag list:

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[winnieiscalmeth]

Notes: First songfic ever so it might not be of best quality! Fun fact! I absolutely hated songfics back then but I think they are kinda romantical now <3

Prompts: Songfic, first kiss, sickness, and slow dancing.

Proofread?: Nop

A Sentinel was chasing you and a few friends; destroying everything in its path. Unfortunately, you were unable to escape and the mutant killer grabbed you. It's eyes glowing, ready to send you to your undeserved grave. Then it malfunctioned; a street light went through the right eye and it caved in. Reacting instinctively it let go of you, and you felt yourself land in someone's arms. You stared up at your savior. Her white bangs and brown jacket that was filled with a sweet but strong perfume. What stuck out most was her Black lipstick.

The night we met I knew I...

Needed you so.

She must have noticed your stunned look and smirked. "Well, aren't you cute?" Her green eyes locked onto yours. Your nerves sent waves of electricity through your limbs. "You will be safe with me darling, don't you worry" The cool breeze flew through your hair as she began to float again.

You stayed at the mansion after that. Not wanting to be on the enemy's radar. You mostly stayed around Rogue since she was the one who saved you and helped you train.

And if I had the chance I'd

Never let you go.

You understandably caught feelings for the southern woman but never gained the courage to confess. You tried to push those feelings back and focus on getting better at using your powers. Rogue didn't help much. With her flirting and innuendos while training, it made you fall back in love again every time.

But instead of accepting her attempts at loving you, you brush them off as you just being delusional again.

So won't you say you love me?

I'll make you so proud of me.

"Doyouwannahavedinnerwithmetonight?" You blurted out, immediately regretting it and clapsing your hands over your mouth. You watched her flinch before turning around.

"I'm sorry honey I didn't hear a word you said"

"Nothing" You picked up your book and ignored her skeptical look.

"You're lying" She pointed at you.

"No I'm not" You pushed the boom further into your face.

We'll make 'em turn their heads

Every place we go.

Rogue put an arm over your shoulders. "Did you just ask me out?" she teased.

"You were not supposed to here that-"

"Don't worry yourself sick about it sugar, I'm free tonight anyway"

So won't you please,

Be my,

"Be my baby~" Rogue's arm reached over the table for yours. Your face became warmer, as her words reached your ears. You lift her hand up and placed it on your face. The diner you took her to wasn't crowded. A booth was available in the corner, for you both to freely talk with each other.

"My one and only baby." When she spoke to you it felt like it wasn't laced with that joking tone she always gave you, but filled with absolute yearning.

Say you'll be my darlin'

Be my baby now,

Oh, oh, oh, oh

I'll make you happy, baby

Just wait and see.

Rogue was dressed up in one of the hoodies she "borrowed" from you. She had arrived at the mansion after being out searching for matching Halloween costumes for the both of you. Hearing her step into your room, you looked up from your desk.

"Hey, sugar! Ah' missed you" She rested her arm on your chair, and hovered over the book you were ready.

"But you left out a few minutes ago." You chuckled, grabbing her cheek to give her a quick kiss before going back to your book.

For every kiss you give me,

Rogue body began heating up. Her once-cold fingertips, regained it's warmth. Your smug look made her even more hot, and of course she wasn't letting that slide. You felt her grab your shirt collar before picking you up out of the chair and planting kisses on your face and lips. Covering you with her Black lipstick.

I'll give you three.

You stared at the ceiling, groggily. With the seasons changing, you would get bedridden. And being sick was the worst thing that could happen, since it felt like you were dying. The light from the hallway seep into your dark room and Rogue peeked in with a bowl.

Oh since the day I saw you

I have been waiting for you.

"Ah' made you some soup hun." All you could do was groan in response. "Aw, my poor baby's sick" Rogue said as she helped lift you up. She raised the spoon to your mouth. You relax as the warm broth satisfies your weakened body.

"Guess we shouldn't have gone out that day," Your froggy throat mustered out. Rogue hummed and laid down next to you.

"But at least we get to spend time together" You leaned more into her neck.

"You're gonna get sick"

She laughed before hugging your waist. "Ah' don't care about that stuff. I'm strong enough to fight a lil' cold anyway"

You know I will adore you

'Til eternity.

So won't you please,

"Be my, be my baby" You sang along as you waltzed around the room with Rogue in hand. The radio played the old song. "Be my little baby"

"You really like this song do you?" She said twirling you around.

My one and only baby

"You sang this to me, remember?" You leaned your forehead onto hers. "Say you'll be my darlin' "

You both stayed like that, swaying slowly while cradling each other. Just basking in the other's presence, singing the next chorus together.

"Be my, be my baby"

Be my baby now,

(My one and only baby)

Whoa-oh-oh-oh~

[submalevolentgrace]

Hi! I hope you're doing well :) please don't stop talking about how prosthesis limbs suck and your experience with them! I'm in medical school right now, and I thought it was amazing to read because it highlights 1. how doctors need to listen to their patients 2. Wow doctors kind of suck and patients should be able to advocate for themselves, and if they can't do that, someone should! And 3. Patients shouldn't be pressured into doing things they don't want to do. For me personally, I kind of already had those ideas, but your posts really put it into perspective and just emphasized them and I'm really appreciative of that :) last thing (promise) I was wondering if you've seen/read Dororo! One of the main characters (Hyakkimaru) spends the majority (like 90%) without arms, instead having sword attachments that are covered with fake arms. I was wondering if you had seen it/him and had any thoughts. If not, it might be something to check out! Thank you again :D

so i showed this ask to my girlfriend, who knows me (and my trauma) very well, and she said: "I would recommend NOT googling that character, that's for sure. this is almost the exact worst kind of thing someone could mention you check out! I wont go into detail but it's also the exact example of taking a disabled person and "fixing" them back to normal that you were talking about."

so, you're already off to a bad start i'm afraid.

listen. if you have any scraps of empathy and compassion and belief in patients' autonomy left, hold onto them, guard them, and fortify them against the education you're going through. med school will try to crush any compassion and empathy you had out of you. residency will grind your humanity for your patients down to nothing, you will be encouraged to stop seeing them as people, and your colleagues will train you to believe that you are right and know what's best, and patients are wrong and lie and are a danger to themselves. you will be taught that patients advocating for themselves rather than blindly listening is an annoying interruption to you trying to save them, or maybe even proof that they are a risk to themselves and cannot be trusted. you will be exhausted and frustrated and angry, and you will be faced with a patient who rightly believes what's best for themselves is something you believe is harmful to them. will you have enough compassion, empathy, and belief in patients' autonomy left to respect them as a human being, as a person?

you have to understand where i am coming from. i have a serious condition that's been misdiagnosed twice, forced onto treatments i didn't want, and denied treatment that would help me because of my "attitude", and once a diagnosis is on the records no doctor will consider any other possibility, so i have suffered without care for years on end. i have been sexually assaulted by doctors in their treatment rooms, and then told that's impossible BECAUSE they are a doctor, and doctors are good.

i have had surgery performed on me against my consent. this is not uncommon for disabled people. it was not necessary to save my life. i advocated, i begged, and i was denied the right to consent. it was an unneeded major surgery that harmed me, physically and psychologically, that i will never recover from.

but why would they do this, you must be asking? i must be omitting detail that makes it make sense, you are probably thinking. already thinking like a doctor, shaped by those beliefs. they MUST have been trying to help me in some way with that surgery, right? i must be lying about it, right?

my great crime there is that i was comfortable being disabled. i was at peace with loss of limb, a limb that was already failing me, already useless. i was prepared to be physically, seriously disabled, and they could not comprehend that, could not accept that. in the eyes of a doctor, losing a limb makes someone broken; disability is the enemy, and it must be fought at all cost, the patient must be FIXED at all costs, even if they don't want it. and doctors will go to extreme lengths to make that happen, patient be damned. that's a doctor's idea of compassion: patients must be fixed, even if it harms them.

to me, and most disabled folks i've ever spoken to, doctors are basically like cops; a dangerous threatening force of harm, but that you have to perform correct behavior and respect around in order to stay safe. but where cops are legally blessed to kidnap and murder you, doctors are legally blessed to kidnap and torture you, to invade and change your body in the most intimate ways, and they will tell you, themselves, and each other that they do it for your own good.

so, have i bruised your ego? are you feeling attacked, defensive, accused of being in a cohort of monsters, certain that you could never be like that, that you're one of the good ones? you're already in med school, you're already someone with the qualities to self select for it and the privilege and abledness to make it in, you already have that baggage to try and counter if you want to empathise with your patients. how much pressure has there been from your family and peers to do it, how much praise have you gotten, how much has that fed your ego, your sense of being better than others? better able to help others? better qualified to know what's best for others? i hope that you do genuinely have compassion, and empathy, and belief in patients' autonomy in you, and it's not just hollow words you tell yourself are values.

i hope you have that compassion, and can act on that belief in autonomy. because it's not just about a prostheses one can take off and throw away. if you make it through the grinder and become a doctor, one day you will be faced with a patient that says "i would rather be permanently broken in a way that you find unacceptable, than put up with the treatment you want me to have", and you will believe, with your full heart and mind and vast knowledge of medicine, you will KNOW in yourself that they are wrong.

are you willing to accept that YOU are wrong, and they are actually right? are you willing to deem them worthy of autonomy? or will you prep them for surgery to fix them, as they are begging you not to?

[tomboyjessie13-artblog]

This is something that I made last week but didn't bother finishing because I was lazy or doing other drawings.

Anyways, this drawing is of my Jojo OC's Stand [Flogging Molly] having special abilities and skills similar to [Star Platinum], I wanted to focus on other things besides "Drunken Lullaby" and limb blades.

Abilities:

- Gut feelings A unique trait they possessed since birth but has tragically been ignored by Medea for the majority of Part 3. They have a decent enough intuition that helps them detect something wrong or right, as such they become defensive and hostile towards anything or anyone posing as a threat to Medea's well-being but becomes friendly and calm when around someone they trust or have good vibes. I.e. They fully trust Polnareff due to sensing his good vibes and for getting rid of J. Geil: Link - X Ray Goggles An ability they also possessed since birth, while not used quite as often as they should, it's a very convenient ability used for spying and eavesdropping. The "goggles" takes on the form of [Flogging Molly]'s hands in a "eye goggle" gesture. I.e. it was once used to spy on the Crusaders in an Egyptian hospital in Aswan: Link

- Retractable arm blades A physical trait they've gained post-Arrow piercing, it allows them to summon blades from out their arms and use them to maim, cut, hack, and slash opponents and/or obstacles, they also summon blades with their legs for extra damage. Of course, they can be used for other things such as chopping fruit, the splattering in the image above isn't blood, it's strawberry jell-o lol

- Drunken Lullaby Their main ability and element they also gained post-Arrow piercing, it's a corrosive poison that's discharged from their aforementioned limb blades, which could scar enemies at best or kill them at worst, they also use it for the purpose of dosing people's food, drinks, and/or medication for assassination attempts, but can be called back to cancel it out. It is named after the song "Drunken Lullabies" by Flogging Molly.

- Seven Deadly Sins This is a bit of a small spoiler to my fanfic, but "Seven Deadly Sins" is a secret ability they gained during the events of "The Hierophant and Sinner". It reflects the cardinal vices Medea's committed in DIO's name and takes a lot of energy out of her and her Stand, hence why it's sparsely used. But when it is used, it lays devastation to their foe which powers up each time a Sin is chanted, from the least deadly to worst deadly sin. It is named after the song "Seven Deadly Sins" by Flogging Molly.

Medea King and her Stand belongs to me

[nochi-quinn]

candela obscura chapter one episode 3: bad news: the rest of it

hand porn people come get your juice

(it's me I'm hand porn people) (you think I watched four seasons of Magicians for the plot?)

you mustn't read from the book

cool I hate it

auggie: EYYYY

edmund?

auggie's expression in his art is still so good. love character art that says so much about a character

"before each of you are visited by - " my garbage brain: "three ghosts"

oh the grey streak in charlie's hair is new

backstory, bacKSTORY

oh not the mental arguments, those are the worst

auggie my beloved

howard

howard's been high on ghosts for a week

"what were you doing?" "ghosts"

"have you had it looked at?" "I've looked at it :D"

I heard that "insight check" she didn't say

I had to step away, who drilled a hole in their head this time

okay nobody drilled a hole in their head but auggie is Impersonating a Police Officer

god all I can think of is the opening to the Lungfishopolis section in Psychonauts

"Doing well, Officer O'Lungfish! Following all posted laws, to the letter!"

CITIZENS OF THE ENVIRONMENT

do you scarlet?

give the baby cocaine

AUGGIE

the average nextdoor poster

MATTHEW I was DRINKING

nefarious something somethings

"come back with a warrant"

aw he got his hoity-toity politics niece a book

it's tusk love

it's BETTER it's HARDY BOYS

I'm something of a spooky story myself

"there's DRUGS in the WALLS"

you what your what

"they're both equally shit"

roll for ricochet

table: howard no robbie: HOWARD YES

"to make you go to sleepytime"

oh oh that one episode of doctor who

idiot's lantern! that one

oh that's very cool

we love an interactive prop

oh no irl dark

insert symmetra "fall back" voice line here

oh I hate it

OH I HATE IT

too tall. too much. too much limb.

when I step you step we step

I very much heard "crying"

I didn't ask how big the room is I said I cast oil lantern

I PUT THE TEAM ON MY BACK

ghost floaters

"only you can create forest fires"

I'm just thinking of the werewolf from paranatural

AUGGIE

[percy lovm voice] I AM EXTREMELY FLAMMABLE

"that was my kamehameha" nerd

"drive it like you stole it"

……..kara-sene

uku'toaaaaa

"I don't know the rules, I can't roleplay my way out of this"

auggie :(

lycanthropic ficus

"what do you have?" "a gun! :D" "NO"

my permanent fallout brainrot insists on hearing "deacon" instead

of "deagan"

"it's a magic gun that's bat at ghosts"

[tma voice] ghost bullet

oh I haven't been looking, I didn't realize ashley took the jacket off

stop I'm already gay

I am not immune to matthew mercer's version of slimy charm

playing dishonored be like

arlo's little dreamy voice going "I have a rifle :D"

matt that sound effect was ENTIRELY unnecessary

god help me for the reference I'm about to make

"THE BULLETS JUST KEEP GOING THROUGH THE HOOOOOLES"

elephant graveyard but for trains

"we're urban spelunking"

oh, it's filch

sounds like something someone who was skulking would say

"tetanus is the true enemy"

howard Leeroy Jenkins margrove

and then arlo had no face

[zenyatta voice] experience nothingness

"a person appears in the portal" stanford?

that is a joker from improbable island

(please play improbable island)

matthew I have never hated your sound effects so much as I do in this moment

OOF obsidian stab

you are flying through the air no matter what

FLAMING AXE

you ever grow another arm just to punch a guy

I was JOKING

"uh-oh!"

SAVE US GHOST BRAIN MAN

the softest "oh no"

BE THE SPRIGG YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD

HOWARD'S NO COWARD

LEEEEEEEROY JEEEEEEENKIIIIIINS

"what is the exact light temperature of your ritual"

noooo let arlo do her cool trick shot

summon the spirit of percy

hey matt what the fuck

howard's made of ghosts

"I feel strange" because you're made of ghosts

I enjoy that ashley stays in character voice the entire time she's playing. like she's just auggie now.

okay what matt said was cool but I also like the idea of auggie not being able to rely on being able to physically fight his way out of shit and having to actually read the situation

hey robbie what the f u c k

bad news: the rest of it

[zeloinator]

I saw your tags about ARR Zee and wish to rotate her in my mind as well! May I hold her gently and rotate her around Sadu?

AAAA YES!!! Can do!!!!!

So like I said~ Zee entering Stormblood is at her most broken and struggling so much with phantom limb syndrome from using a prototype and unfitted prosthetic to do battle at the end of Heavensward. Its chaos and despite the victory her title is weighing so heavy on her, and meeting Zenos is the very last thing she needed. But this meeting also is what makes her want to create her own offensive spell of some sort. When Zee and Zenos meet a second time she attempts to use a version of this spell but it goes wrong. ~fast forward in stormblood a bit lol~ When Zee first gets to the Azim Steppe she is exhausted, but wanting to slow down and spend time with the other Au’ra who are kind to her. Especially when the Nadaam is called and she needs to become a recognized warrior for it. When Sadu and Zee meet for the first time Zee is very much in her ‘Hero’ mode, wearing her title in everything she says and Sadu can see that 100%. (Somewhere in all this Zee picks up the Warrior to learn to go into a rage)

When the Nadaam begins and Sadu and Zee meet in the battlefield Sadu finally can see Zee how she truly is in all her best and worst ways~ Zee is a White Mage, fighting head to head with a Warrior taking the hits while she deals them back in between small heals on herself. This is very much what makes Sadu fall for Zee, seeing her in battle, and then getting to fight her for herself. Not just ANYONE can make Sadu pull out all the stops, and Zee’s speed and skill charm Sadu enough to go over the top for both the Nadaam and to see how Zee reacts. And Zee reacts by using her spell prototype 3 on herself and becoming the fastest, most single minded foe on the battlefield, at the cost of injuring herself as wounds open to feed the spell. It’s a little too powerful, when the tanks attack they weren’t prepared for the Warrior of Light to be strengthened with an unknown spell, and one that made her rip through enemy after enemy.

After the fights, while Zee is recovering from the battle and from her prototype spell, Sadu comes to talk. And their relationship officially started~ Sadu was the first to get through Zee’s emotional walls after Heavensward and Zee fell in love soo fast. Sadu sees her as more than the Warrior of Light, its not even something that factors into why she is in love with Zee. If asked Sadu would probably say something like ‘One, her skill with her magic in battle. Two, she is hot. Three, i love her.’ Or something like that lol~ Sadu helps Zee perfect her spell, using its perfected form for the first time at the end of Stormblood. Sadu becomes Zee’s foundation for becoming more than the Warrior of Light, more than just The Hero, but who she truly is!

[thebookworm0001]

I would like to know how Taavani's wild magic manifests and has it ever gotten her in trouble?

I love Reycarn's design so much, she looks gorgeous and terrifying! What's your favorite part of her backstory or something that happened during your game?

Ilrith is just beautiful, like a sapphire. How did they become a bard? Were they a popular performer back home?

Keiran look like a sweet cinnamon roll. Is he? (he also reminds me of Alistair. lol) How does he get along with Shadowheart?

Your Lloth-sworn durge looks positively evil. What's the worst thing she does in your playthrough?

Thank you for the asks! I love these!

I would like to know how Taavani's wild magic manifests and has it ever gotten her in trouble?

The better question is when hasn’t it gotten her into trouble. The first time her wild magic acted up, she burned down her house. And giant bonfires in the underdark aren’t exactly helpful. She gives Gale a fair amount of anxiety because a simple illumination spell may end up with them having a Cambion to kill. Summoning spells, polymorphs, teleportation. You name the spell, it’ll happen and at the absolute worst opportunity. Why does she keep using her magic? Probably because it would feel a bit like cutting off a limb. Sussur flowers are not a favorite plant of hers. 

Probably the funniest and surprisingly helpful instance of this was a fight in act 3 and having everyone, Big Bad included, turn into sheep for several rounds. Couldn’t do a damn thing to the enemy but was able to use my one not transformed companion to knock out an environmental thing so the fight could actually end. There was still an angry-from-being-summoned cambion to take out after that but hey it worked. 

I love Reycarn's design so much, she looks gorgeous and terrifying! What's your favorite part of her backstory or something that happened during your game?

She’s got a design I am absolutely in love with. Though I am eternally amused at how many dark urges get this same tattoo lol

My favorite part of her backstory is that she’s always been trying to be a good person. She was raised to treat people well and to seek to help those around her before her Urge came to her. But even when she doesn’t have any real choices about her Urge and the positions it puts her in, she still tries to aim her impulses at people who actually deserve what she’ll do to them. Though that gets more terrifying because she actually enjoys those occasions just on her own. She’s real fucked up. But losing her memory is probably the best thing to happen to her in a century because of the fresh start it gives her.

Favorite thing that happened in the game that isn’t Spoilers is probably just how terrifyingly lethal she is in battle. Her current build means she usually gets to sneak attack at the very start of combat and the damage she does is. Absurd. She is constantly slipping into and out of invisibility to utterly wreck anyone in her path. 

Ilrith is just beautiful, like a sapphire. How did they become a bard? Were they a popular performer back home?

Ilrith would be flattered by the complement. She sorta stumbled into it. Picked up music at an early age and ended up sneaking away to joining a traveling band a lot earlier than is probably wise or safe. But the troupe that she ended up with was fairly popular. They had requests to perform for a handful of nobles around Faerun, even. They dropped off the map a bit when one of their group - a teenager who’d joined them from a group of druids - died pretty horribly. Ilrith just couldn’t will herself to play for a while. She’d finally got back into the circuit when the Illithid picked her up.

Keiran look like a sweet cinnamon roll. Is he? (he also reminds me of Alistair. lol) How does he get along with Shadowheart?

He is such a cinnamon roll. Just. The sweetest. You’d assume he’s a life cleric meeting him because the idea of that darling boy hurling lighting and thunder just doesn’t compute. 

He loves everyone, but has taken to looking at Shadowheart with the biggest puppy-dog eyes. He just thinks she’s amazing. The shar thing is… well. Mostly he feels badly for her. Shadowheart is mostly (pretending to be) annoyed with how much of a goody-two-shoes he is. (They’re gonna get married hehe)

Your Lloth-sworn durge looks positively evil. What's the worst thing she does in your playthrough?

So far? Kill Arabella. Like, very much on purpose gets her killed and got warm fuzzies thinking about making it happen. This is my evil Durge run and I’ve barely gotten to the grove, so it’s going to get so much worse. 

[420thewritersroom]

Warhammer/Horus Heresy Kinktober 2024

Day 31: Iron Hands/Free Topic/Sequel

Summary: He finally did it :D

Welp, here we are, the final prompt. This one was a little late, which I'm deeply disappointed in. But I've been working on these prompts throughout the entire month and keeping myself up until 2-3 in the morning just to pump them out in time (and that's with being a day ahead) - I think I deserved a good bit of rest with this one lol. Decided the sequel piece would be for the Iron Hand chapter. I've gotten such positive feedback for that chapter both on AO3 and Tumblr and my delulu brain even made a picrew of Midas, the little Serf man. They've been plaguing my mind nonstop so I figured it would be fair of me to make a concluding sequel to their story. Check the end chapter for final conclusions :D

Midas was running out of breath and stamina. Despite his will to get away, to find shelter, to live, his body was exhausted. It felt like he was running for eternity, escaping those creatures. Afronts to the God-Emperor. Their gaping maws and many arms, their desire for his flesh, to tear him limb from limb. Or, worst yet, make him like them if they believed he would be needed, wanted, in their cause. He was running through endless alleyways, paralleling towering buildings suffocating him as they gave no indoor shelter, every window or side door blocked or locked. He was tripping over his own feet, the monstrous sounds of the enemy drawing closer. Midas can hear their stampeding steps catching up to him. He can feel their sickening breaths on his back and neck, all over him. He wanted to rub it off him.

But he had to keep running, forcing his body to prolong a little longer. Shame he had to trip, at last, and send himself falling to the ground. You know, if the ground was made of liquids. Midas found himself surrounded by red waters. Where he once struggled to take one step after the other, he now scrambled to keep himself afloat, flailing his arms around to reach the unreachable surface. His lungs burned; he was running out of air. He needed to breathe; he needed air! Midas watches from above more bodies falling into the endless expanse of red, but none of them put any effort to keep themselves afloat. They embrace the red darkness, descending with eerie angelic grace as they slowly drown past the hopeless Midas who struggled against the inevitable. Midas can feel his body protesting, his heart threatening to burst out of his chest as he fruitlessly floated to the bottom despite his attempts to swim up.

Midas looked down, his heart sinking as multiple eyes and teeth waited for him, greeting him. Midas finally opened his mouth to scream as he realized he was descending into their maws.

-

Midas gasps awake, drenched in sweat, clothes, and hair clinging to his person uncomfortably. He sat up immediately, struggling to breathe normally as his body felt he was under attack. He couldn't even bring himself to check his surroundings; his eyes trained straight ahead, and he looked at a metallic wall as he let out sharp inhales and exhales.

He gives the bedsheets a death grip as he tries to center himself. He's in bed, on the Gorgon's Will; those Genestealers, or whatever the hell they were, can't, WON'T get him here. His master Vaine is here.

...

Wait a minute...

Midas snaps his head to the other side of the room after making a double take. Vaine stared at the small serf, undisturbed or bothered by his presence. Since when was he in his master's quarters!?! Midas knows he's not prone to sleepwalking; throne preserve him if he ever did, then he'd be confused for those sorcerous freaks! Vaine's stoic and unyielding look pushed Midas to sit on the edge of the bed, ready to leave.

"M-my lord! I'm sorry for intruding on your privacy! This will not happen again!" Midas stands to leave, only to be pushed back down onto the bed.

It always amazes him how fast an Astartes actually is. He blinked once, and already Vaine was in front of him, placing a massive hand on his chest and forcing his small body back onto the bed.

"Stay."

Midas stares back at the Iron Hand Astartes with wide eyes, unmoving from his spot. To his surprise, Vaine reaches out, repositioning the small man back under his comforts and wrapping him securely in the blankets and sheets of his mostly unused bed. Midas still keeps his eyes trained on his master, watching Vaine back away before giving another one-word command, "Sleep."

Vaine backed away, returning to a chair he was using, and...Watched him. The two continued to lock eyes. Did...Did his lordship expect him to sleep on command? Especially after experiencing a gut-wrenching nightmare (albeit a more tamed nightmare)?

"Sleep," Vaine narrowed his eyes, seemingly annoyed that Midas still wasn't asleep yet.

"Y-yes...My lord..." Midas turns on his side, facing away from Vaine. Despite this, he can feel that iron stare burning into the back of his skull. He knows Astartes don't have to sleep, he's never seen his master sleep once. And it's made more unnerving as Midas can feel his ever-present aura. Was he going to just...Sit there? Until he fell back to sleep? After what felt like forever, Midas dared to peek behind himself; was he still looking?

Vaine's deadly stare was all the confirmation Midas needed, his skin developing goosebumps as he quickly looked away, trying fruitlessly to appear asleep.

Midas's heartbeat quickens as he hears thundering footsteps approaching. Despite the tight grip of his master, Vaine flips Midas on his back carefully, forcing the tiny mortal to face up at his towering master. "You don't sleep. Why?"

The black-haired man struggles to find his words, opening and closing his mouth. Why would his master, an Astartes, be so concerned about whether or not he slept. He can imagine millions of other pressing matters that plagued his lordship's mind daily. But he's been silent long enough; he knows better than to keep his master waiting.

"I...Um...I don't feel tired..."

"Why?" That wasn't a question; that was another demand.

Fucking A, is his master really going to make him say it? Is this Vaine's way of humiliating him? Showing off the weakness of his flesh and mind, cementing his superiority because he's not held back by the horrors of his own mind? Midas shifts under the covers, looking away as his blood ran cold.

"...I..." He struggles to find the words. How does one say, "I had a bad dream," without sounding like a child seeking the comforts of their parents' warmth? "...I was plagued with night terrors, and I need a moment to recover."

There's a suffocating silence between them, Midas struggling to maintain his disconnect and keep his eyes off Vaine. But he did take this opportunity to ask a question that has stuck with him for a while now.

"...Why am I here?"

"Because you offered yourself to servitude on the Gorgon's Will."

Midas closed his eyes and pressed his lips together, trying to veil his annoyance at that unintentionally smartass comment from his master. "That's not what I meant, my lord."

"Speak plainly then," Vaine responds, keeping a steady tone with Midas.

If Midas was 20 years younger, he'd snap back that he was being clear, but he bites his tongue. "Why am I in your quarters?"

It was now Vaine's turn to be weirdly quiet. It was almost too quiet as Midas found himself glancing at the warrior before him, noticing that Vaine's face was one of deep thought, as though he was looking for the right words himself.

"I heard you struggling in your sleep...I brought you here because I thought you would rest easier in my quarters."

Midas felt his heart grow three sizes; it was genuinely suffocating. His face flushes a slight pink as he stares at his master. Vaine was looking everywhere but at Midas, but the little man noticed his master strumming his fingers on the side of his thigh. Was his master anxious?

"Th-thank you..." Midas had no other words.

Before long, Midas found himself unwrapping himself from his master's covers, sighing as he finally admitted to himself that he wasn't going back to sleep and needed something to do. "My apologies, my lord, but I must busy myself with other activities."

As Midas stood up and began to walk away, Vaine softly grabbed his arm in his entire hand. Midas looks back at the Iron Hand warrior, and his heart skips a beat.

"...Stay..." Vaine's voice was...soft. Quiet. It did not carry the commanding strictness that he always upheld. His face would remain the same if it wasn't for the slightly furrowed eyebrows and that glint in his eye that silently screamed "kicked puppy."

He's never seen Vaine like this; it almost scares Midas to see him like this. "Is there something you need, my lord?" Midas is quick to ask, worried that perhaps he missed something he should've caught.

Vaine's eyes wonder again; his final response was a shake of his head. A no.

"...Is there something you need me to do, my lord?"

"Stay," Vaine repeats.

"And do what?"

"I don't know."

What do you mean, 'you don't know?' is what Midas would dare to utter if his arm wasn't in the grasp of the man who could easily tear it right from its socket. "Ok, I'm staying. What do you want me to do if I'm to stay here?"

Vaine continues to give him the silent treatment, and Midas slips his arm out of his hold. "I can...I can rearrange some items. Recite old hymns and scriptures." Midas proves his point by pushing the oversized chair Vaine once sat on. Midas could see Vaine strumming his fingers again, stepping in place as he watched Midas closely. It wasn't his place to pry, but Midas couldn't imagine anything else that could be done in this room. He was, and still is, exceptionally thorough in performing his duties. "...Is there something you want to talk about?"

Midas's skin crawled when Vaine's eyes snapped to meet his, Midas giving in immediately and lowering his head in submission. He already regretted asking such a stupid question.

"Come."

Midas scurried to his master's side, only to make an audible gasp as Vaine maneuvered him onto the mattress, joining him as he...Big Spoon-ed him? Solid and expansive arms encompassed Midas, securely locking him close to his lordship's chest. Midas would nearly suffocate if he didn't slightly adjust himself so he wasn't face first in his breasts. His face was red again, redder than ever, his heart beating a million beats per second. Midas didn't want to think about it; he had just finished convincing himself weeks ago of this, but now the thoughts had resurfaced.

Ever since that...Incident in the bathing quarters...Midas has been keeping his distance. That deadly look Vaine gave him, the face of contempt and vexation, it brings nothing but blinding shame in him. To think that he would assault his lordship, intentionally or unintentionally. Midas couldn't bring himself to breathe the same air as Vaine. Perhaps his darkest moment was his mind thinking of excuses.

Well, Vaine told him to go slower when he touched his penis.

He asked him to strip. Maybe he wanted something from him. With all the bodies you laid with, how could you miss a man asking for carnality?

Maybe Vaine was asking for something and didn't know how to express it.

Midas still cringes thinking about it. How dare he assume that his lord, Vaine, reborn as an angel, crafted by the Emperor's hands, would EVER want sex from HIM!?! Could Vaine even want that type of thing? He's never heard of an Astartes coupling with anyone, let alone mortals. And why should they want that? The many years he spent toiling away for Vaine, he has been nothing but business. There was barely anything that could make his master crack a smile. His idea of "free time" was training and reading a manual about the inner workings of a dreadnaught.

So Midas kept his distance, avoiding Vaine. He was terrified of seeing him again, believing wholeheartedly that Vaine would punish him severely, or better yet, kill him, should they ever cross paths. But sometimes, sometimes Midas thought death would be too good for him. He doesn't know what would hurt more. Getting beaten, worked to near death, or actually dying. Or being left behind on a stray planet. Exiled.

Midas shudders when he feels Vaine shift above him, slowly trailing his eyes only to meet Vaine's soft gaze. Midas, once again, looks away. Even tried to reposition himself so that he could face away from Vaine, but the large man kept him in place.

"Stay..."

"...Why?" Midas dares to whisper.

A stillness fills the room before Vaine leans forward and kisses his head, sending Midas through a wash cycle of emotions and staring wide-eyed at Vaine.

"...What?" the smaller man said, perplexed.

"...That's why..." Vaine mutters.

Midas was lost for words, his mouth opening and closing like a dying fish. His eyes blinked randomly, yet he couldn't stop looking at him. "My lord, are you ok?"

"...No..."

"Have something taken over you? Do we need to send you to an apothecary?" Midas struggles out of Vaine's grasp, standing on the bed as he looked at the lying man.

"No," This time, Vaine was a bit quicker with his answer.

"I-I don't understand," Midas stutters, so many words coming to his mind, only to spill out of his mouth like spoiled milk. "Why did you do that? Why did you-I mean, you don't really...Are you testing me, my lord?"

"Is it so hard to believe that I wanted to kiss you?"

"Yes!" Midas said that a bit too quick. And just as quickly as he said that, he noticed that Vaine's expression hardened again. "I-I mean, I thought you detested me. After I...Assaulted you."

"When did you ever assault me? Nothing you could ever do to me would leave even a scratch on my body," Vaine had now started to sit up, using his arms as support for his upper body.

"I touched your body inappropriately, my lord! You should be flogging me until I pass out. I shouldn't even be in your room!"

"Do you want me to flog you?"

"N-no."

"Then why do you say that I should do so?"

Motherfucker, are you listening to me, Vaine!?! Midas clenches his fists, trying so hard to not bring to reality the words that swarm his mind. "The bathing quarters...When I was cleaning you...I made...wrongful touches and unknowingly enticed your body unwillingly." For a man who can remember the last time he takes a shit, Midas begs that Vaine finally understands what he's trying to say.

Vaine looked at Midas, plainly. "...I told you want I wanted."

"And I abused my position as your lowly servant and attempted to derive pleasure from you," Midas's voice was shaky. Is this his punishment? To face what he's done that fateful day? To say plainly, not in front of Vaine, but to the Emperor on Terra, the sin he has committed?

"But you didn't?" Vaine gives Midas a confused look. Which is just looking angrier than earlier.

"...My lord?"

"I told you what I wanted..." It was now Vaine's turn to stumble with his words. To face his own reality. "...I wanted you to...Touch me...I...Wanted you to expose yourself to me..."

Midas was further dumbfounded. So...He was...Midas doesn't finish that thought at all. "...Why?"

Vaine purses his lips together tightly, looking away from the small serf.

"...Why me?" Midas lets out an airy breath, his mind filled with softness. To think his master wanted him at that moment, and he denied him so unknowingly. He has laid with multiple partners; how could he have missed a MASSIVE MAN telling him he wanted some dick? Then again, why him? Why anyone of his status? Why would a lowly, insignificant, unworthy lowlife like himself be someone he'd want?

"...I've grown...Dependent on you..."

"Dependent?"

Vaine makes a look akin to cringing inward, immediately shutting Midas up from any further inquiries. "...I don't know how to explain it."

Midas leans closer, daring to cup one hand on Vaines' cheek, silently marveling how chiseled he really was and how masculine his cheekbones were. "Tell me what comes to mind."

Vaine's eyes were trained on Midas's touch, gazing at the gesture done for a moment before letting out a heavy breath. "I have this deep need to protect you. I look at you, and I realize just how pathetic you really are."

Midas's heart stops fluttering the moment Vaine mentions that latter part.

"You're small, perhaps the smallest amongst your own people. A Xenos would have no trouble devouring, decimating, or whisking you away for sick, torturous ventures. You barely could hold a gun when I first met you, and it frightens me to think of you holding one now. You would've shot my head clean off should anyone provide you a firearm. That is, if you could make a clean enough shot to do so. Your only saving grace is that you are fast and cunning...And cowardly. There's not much courage I see about you-"

The more Vaine talked, the more Midas's face deteriorated from a lovesick hopeful to a glowering spiteful. He already has enough self-degradation to feed a starving Imperial family of 6; he doesn't need to hear it from an Astartes. Better yet, he was emotionally done here. Especially when Vaine starts poking at his incapability to fight. It reminds him of home, of the bastards who told him to stay out of fights. Because he wasn't strong enough to do so. Because all he had to do was hide behind his wealth and wait for the lowly servants of the Imperium to fight the battles he shouldn't have to face. While he watched as mutated, heretical creatures devoured his home, his city, his planet, into oblivion. He can see their face, one by one. His agent, his friends, his family, especially that son of a bitch of a man who called himself his father.

Midas begins walking away, trying to hop off the bed and exit the room. When Vaine tries to grab him again, Midas dares to attempt to violently shrug Vaine off him.

"I've heard enough," Midas says, trying to finalize the conversation.

"I'm not done," Vaine says, trying again to physically stop him, making his grip on Midas a bit tighter as he tries grabbing at his arm. It wasn't tight enough as Midas slipped away, making a furious turn on his heels as he faced Vaine.

"Well, I am, damn it!" Midas's eyes burned with a long-held fury as he met Vaine eye to eye, a mortal challenging an angel. "I tried to be understanding, I tried hearing you out, but all I'm hearing is what the others like you tell me. You're contempt for me, you're holier-than-thou perspective of yourself. I fucking get it, Vaine. I don't need you to tell me how insignificant I am, how FUCKING WORTHLESS I AM! Standing next to you is apparent enough! Can't you just simply tell me that I fucked up and call it a day? That touching you that day made you uncomfortable because 'ew, a fleshy mortal touched my Emperor-given cock.' I would rather take a goddamn beating than hear you humiliate my honor any further after all I've done to satisfy you! Better yet, I hope the next time we meet on this ship, it's you telling me to get off this damn vessel and never return."

Midas tries again to shut the door on this conversation, turning to leave, but Vaine's entire hand gripped at his waist in full, holding him like a doll. "Please, just wait!" Vaine increases his tone, a hint of desperation in his voice.

Midas shuts his eyes in annoyance, slowly turning his head toward Vaine, waiting for him to say anything.

"...When I watch you traverse the halls of this ship, when I see my brothers look at you...My hearts grow with anger." Vaine looked fixedly at Midas, a glint of silent desperation in his eyes, trying so hard to put his feelings into words, to properly articulate what he wanted to tell Midas. "I hate it when they gaze upon you, especially in my presence. I try to conceal you from them, letting my brothers know that you are mine, yet they still insist on conversing with you. I find myself thinking of you, even when you're not there. Every time I close my eyes, I see you, performing your duties, looking out into the sea of stars. I think of the day we first met, and my desire to keep you, to protect you, grows stronger. When I leave to lay my life down for the Emperor, I remind myself that I must return. I must return for you. If I were to die, I would no longer get the chance to see you again. And if I were to somehow live, the disconnect from being placed in a dreadnaught. The highest honor I could ever dream of, but then you'll become the dream I lost in place of it."

"Your scent drives me insane. I practically recognize you by it alone. I have memorized your fear, the smell of your tears, that brightening aroma when you exert yourself...Your arousal...I've...Kept personal trinkets to...replicate your scent, and keep them around when I must be away from you for long periods of time," Vaine kept staring Midas down. Still, his face became increasingly pink as he talked about this subject.

Well, Midas didn't expect that part, especially the arousal part. Then something clicked. "Wait. Is that why some of my clothes and personal perfumes go missing and wind up here-"

"Let me finish," Vaine tightens his grip around Midas's waist, forcing Midas to hush up. "That quiet moment in the bathing quarters...I wanted to...Bring you closer to me. It was the first time we had bathed together in a long time. Feeling you...Touch me...I don't know how to explain it, but I needed you closer. I wanted to press our bodies together until we were one. I wanted to feel your hands all over. I wanted you...And then I scared you. In my frustration, I blindly attempted to...I don't know...And then you went away. You started avoiding me...I thought you...Hated me..."

It was now Vaine's turn to lower his head in submission, trying to hide the vulnerable look and the growing embarrassment coloring his face. Midas's heart softened at Vaine's confession. He's...Flattered, honestly. Every other lover he took when he was younger, they all have made, albeit more straightforward, confessions to him before. And maybe it's because it's an ASTARTES who confesses himself to him, but when Vaine professed his feelings...Something about it hit Midas that prior confessions did not.

"I want to protect you with my life. I would kill whoever would dare attempt to tarnish your honor, even if it were my own brothers. I can't stand the idea of being apart from you. If I could will it, I would be ship-bound and have you by my side every step of the way. I fight so that I can see you again; I kill so that this dying galaxy is safer for you. I never want to see that face again, that fear in your eyes. Because I'd much rather see you smile...Smile at me...Only me..."

Midas gently pulls at Vaine's fingers, one by one, until he was finally released from his grasp. The small serf brings himself closer to Vaine, lifting his head in both hands and placing a delicate kiss on his forehead. Vaine makes a cute gasp. "I'm honored, my lord, that you feel that way towards me," Midas smiles.

Midas isn't even sure if he genuinely feels that way towards Vaine. How much of his heart fluttering is because he truly reciprocates these feelings of admiration? Or is it the attention he has garnered from a powerful being? Midas had past lovers, though; a more apt description of these "lovers" would more so be "past one-night stands and fleeting relationships that went nowhere." But his mind doesn't linger on such temporary thoughts. Because when he pulls away and sees those puppy eyes on the face of his angel of death, his heart grows 3 times its size, and he would gladly vomit the organ so that he could give it to Vaine.

Vaine gawks at Midas, admiring and putting to memory that beautiful smile, those cloudy eyes veiled behind his long hair. Vaine leans forward, pressing his lips against Midas's forehead, returning the gesture. His heart(s) could explode after hearing the little serf giggle. Vaine pulls away, but his eyes look at Midas wantingly. Please kiss me again, his eyes pleaded in silence. As if Midas could read his mind, he kissed him again on his sharp cheeks. It was a back-and-forth between the two as they shared kitten kisses with each other, kissing every part of each other's face until all that was left was their lips.

"Have you ever kissed anyone before?" Midas whispers, his voice growing with sultry.

"Were we not doing that earlier?"

"No, silly," Midas lets out a joyous breath. "Anyone can experience a simple kiss on the forehead or cheek. Babies get enough of that from their mothers. But here," Midas taps Vaine's lips with his index finger teasingly. His eyes watch as Vaine tries desperately to not lick at his finger, keeping his lips sealed. "Lovers kiss each other here."

"You make this sound as if receiving a kiss here is sacred."

"In a sense, it is. It's a symbol of connection. Devotion. Desire. It unites people like no other." Midas leans in, his breath tickling Vaine's lips while his own teases the inevitable, "Would this be your first, my lord?"

Vaine was becoming intoxicated by the smell of Midas. Lavender, he senses, peppermint in his breath, nutmeg on his skin. He couldn't think straight, especially as his blood was running further south to his cock. All he could do was utter a simple "yes" as he silently pleaded for Midas to get closer, for this flesh to touch again.

"Then, I am honored to be your first, my lord." Midas leans forward, pressing their lips together. It was simple, nothing too fancy, a mimicry of first-time lovers. Midas was testing him, seeing what Vaine would do. All Vaine did was become a statue, eyes closed and breath taken away. Midas uses this opportunity to pull away, searching Vaine's eyes. "That feel good?"

"...It was no different from what we did earlier..."

Midas smiles wickedly even, "That's because I gave you a beginner's taste. Come here," Midas leans in again, pressing his lips against Vaine's again.

It started simple again, their lips pressed together, but then Midas made subtle movements with his lips as though massaging Vaine's own. He pulls away with a soft smack, only to lean in again and retake his lordship's lips. Again, and again, and again. Soon, it was no longer just lips touching. Midas made an experimental bite and pulled at Vaine's lower lips, pulling away just fast enough, but the feeling lingered long enough for Vaine to look at Midas in confused arousal. If he had any protests, they were burned away by Midas's small fits of snickering and smiling.

"Did you like that?"

"Yes," at this point, anything Midas did, Vaine liked. He could do no wrong.

"Do you want me to do that again?"

"Yes," Vaine eagerly affirms.

Vaine drowned in Midas's lips toying with his own, his teeth scraping against his massive bulbs of flesh, teasing his lips with his teeth, pulling slightly before letting go. He does this a few times, each nibble sending shivers of pleasure down Vaine's spine.

And then he used his tongue.

Vaine didn't even consciously think about it; he opened his mouth just slightly as Midas traced his lips with his tongue, giving the more petite man an opening to enter his mouth. The moment their tongues touched, Vaine made a drawn-out moan, letting Midas explore his mouth, swirling his tongue with his as he submissively let Midas do whatever he pleased with him. Vaine's cock made a noticeable tent against his loincloth, twitching and slightly leaking with each such on his massive tongue. Midas pulls away, a mournful growl emitting from Vaine as he immediately misses the feeling of his wet appendage. Vaine's skin was hot, burning from the inside, losing breath as he stared at Midas. He was in a similar, disheveled look, lips wet from his saliva mixing with Vaine's. They both kept their eyes on each other, silently admiring the arousing look the other had on their face, only for Midas to look further down Vaine's body to see the ache between his legs.

"Oh..." Every bit of cheeky confidence Midas had slowly drained as he took in the inhuman cock that stood at attention. He never thought he would get that...Big...

"Um, you're definitely more of a grower than a shower, huh," Midas nervously jests. He would make a sudden gasp as Vaine pinches his jaw with two meaty fingers, forcing Midas to look back at him as he kisses him again, crashing their lips together and pushing his tongue into Midas's mouth. A growing hunger builds and exudes from each other as they both scrambled with their fingers to undress the other.

Vaine repositions himself, laying on his back and allowing his serf to straddle his chest. He could better see Midas's face with his hair hanging off his face. His eyes were a perfect grey; you could barely see them, but he did have freckles that dotted his light chocolate skin. After a moment of air between them, Midas reinstigates the kiss, resuming their prior feast as Vaine fucked his mouth with his tongue, getting as deep as he could without making the little one gag. Before long, their bodies were nearly sticking due to the arousing sweat condensing off their skin, hot breaths further fogging every sense that was still available to them as they devolved into nothing but flesh.

Midas moans when he feels Vaine grab at his butt, massaging the gluttonous meat before moving one of his hands up Midas's back. Vaine bucked his hips upward unconsciously, his body wanting, needing something warm, something tight. Yet, these desires eluded the newly enlightened Astartes. All he knew was that he was burning up, his cock was aching, and he wanted Midas.

The smaller man pulls away, breath taken away and enjoying the feeling of his body slightly rising and falling in tandem with Vaine's heaving chest. Midas looks behind him, the expansive man further surprising him. But his attention was on his lordship's cock. If he doesn't know about kissing, most likely, he never touched himself. At least, that's what Midas assumes. Midas looks back at the flushed Astartes, cat-like eyes and a smile plastered on his face as he snaked his way down Vaine's body, letting the larger man enjoy the feeling of his flesh sliding on his. He repositions himself to Vaine's side, kneeling and looking at the veiny member before him.

"Have you ever touched yourself, my lord?"

"...No."

"Do you want me to touch you here?" Midas points at his cock, but he teasingly positions his finger just close enough to nearly touch him but not enough for him to feel anything. But the promise it exude was dangerously mind-altering.

Vaine nods his head eagerly, watching Midas with pleading eyes. Midas runs a single finger down the shaft, and Vaine bucks his hips like a horse trying to remove its rider. Midas makes a delighted hum, darkly smiling when he removes his finger, and Vaine whines. The Astartes snaps his eyes at Midas eyes, filled with the question, 'Why did you stop? Please keep going. Please keep touching me.'

"Don't worry, my lord. I'll take care of you," Midas huskily says.

Small fingers grabbed at Vaines cock, Midas needing both hands if he wanted to fully encompass Vaine's cock, and he slowly, deathly so, moved his hands up and down. Up to the head of his cock, then descending to the hilt of his dick, brushing against his pubic hair and lightly gracing his massive balls. Vaine groans, tilting his head back as his bodily nerves spark with ecstasy. He continues this slow ascension and fall, steadily pulling Vaine towards the finish line and enjoying the way Vaine squirmed under him and impatiently fucked his hand. Midas would allow it, letting Vaine enjoy the spoils of debauchery, to experience the feelings of being an adolescent just learning how to touch themselves. But the moment he was going too fast, Midas removed his hands, leaving Vaine whining and wanting.

"Don't need you finishing too fast there, my lord."

"Does it matter?" Vaine shoots Midas a frustrated look mixed with actual anger and need.

"It's not as fun if it's over quickly." Midas uses one of his hands to cup Vaine's heavy balls, massaging the sacks, twiddling flesh between his fingers, lightly pulling and squeezing the organ. His other hand toyed with the head, stroking the tip and lathering the head of his dick with the precum leaking in quick succession. Vaine was beginning to dip in reason, his eyes cloudy with lust. He needs more; he wants more. How does he get more?

His body lurches forward when he feels the distinguishable feeling of Midas's tongue slowly trailing up Vaine's cock. Vaine let out loud moans with each agonizing slide of his tongue, pushing his hips upwards. "Please! Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!"

Midas moves his head further down, sucking his balls and massaging that area between his balls and ass. Using his other hand, he traces the veins of his member, slurping his balls in his mouth and pulling off with a resounding pop as he moves to suck his cock again.

"Midas, Midas!" Vaine screams, his balls tightening; he feels like he's suffocating. His breathing hitches; the world was spinning too slowly and too fast. Before he knew it, his cock explodes, white cum leaking from the tip and dirtying Midas as he tries to pull away. Splotches of his seed splatters and drops on Midas's face and body while the rest sprays all over the mattress and Vaine's cock.

Vaine looks at the ceiling wide-eyed, breathing heavily and twitching from the aftershocks. Midas cringes at the mess, specifically the mess made on himself. How would he go about cleaning this up without getting suspicious looks from those outside this room? Midas turns to check on Vaine, the Iron Hand coming down from the high and staring in awe from the experience. Midas couldn't help but smile. Yet, he used this opportunity to slip away briefly, seeking items in the room that could serve as temporary towels to wipe himself. When he returned, Midas was shocked to see Vaine was still hard, despite cum leaking down his shaft.

"That's...Definitely something..." Midas mutters to himself. He climbs back onto the bed, snuggling next to the photosynthesizing Astartes, bringing Vaine back from his stupor as he traces his finger on his chest, playing connect the dots with the metallic nubs stitched onto his body.

"...What was that?" Vaine asked breathlessly.

"A blowjob. And, well, a handjob too."

"...It's still up..." Vaine looks at his own cock, surprised himself that his body was still excited.

Midas watches him momentarily before speaking up, "If you want, you can touch yourself while I'm here." Midas wasn't going to dare attempt to ride him. That will be for another time.

"Touch my penis?" Vaine surmises.

"You never masturbated before?"

"No. We don't indulge much with the flesh," Vaine explains.

"Ok," Midas sighs, but it's not one of frustration. He brings himself closer, guiding his hand so that Vaine was grabbing his own member. "I'll tell you how."

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

Wanted to say thank you to everyone who came (hehe) on this journey with me and read these awful prompts for Kinktober. Every kind comment and kudos really helped me want to push each chapter out and do my best to negate my own insecurities with writing smut and writing in general. I hope everyone who stumbles upon this will continue to read their favorite chapter for months to come and hopefully in the future, I'll be able to write more in this fandom! Hope you enjoyed these ridiculous prompts and do stay safe out there and be kind to yourself :)

Here's the Kinktober lists for anyone who wants to partake! Let's be extra horny this lovely October

[landsofaruin]

The Gheldrin Wars Part 3

But he could not have known how wrong he truly was, on the fourth day at the forward camp the mountain finally moved. Legion scouts spotted fires moving down the mountain and Flavius excitedly went to mount his great beast, but as he approached he found not a sleeping dragon but a river of blood and his mounts head lopped from his neck. “No! How? Guards!” shouted Flavius, suddenly as if from nowhere the very earth seemed to open and rabid tribesmen rushed from the holes in the earth, their skin covered in crimson. Loud warhorns sounded throughout the valley and the forest seemed to come to life with action and movement, the legion was surrounded on all sides. The tribesmen slashed their curved blades across the throats of the sturing legionnaires reveling in the blood that dripped from their wounds. Flavius pulled his sword and rushed to meet his enemy when he was suddenly ambushed from behind, a flash of white shoved him to the ground and lurched onto him with a scream that made his skin crawl. A woman, her hair wild and matted and tipped with a red hue, held a gilded knife to his throat “So many trophies for my lady, just like the other one. She showed me you were coming, my great lady. I saw you, from the cauldron I could smell the stench of the invader.” said the woman, a blood hag. The wild women of the Gheldrin Thrakathi tribe, those who followed the lady of blood, Kāthi. Flavius had only heard stories of this tribe, he thought it could only be the tales of superstitious barbarians that a rabid tribe of Gheldrin roamed the mountain paths. Her skin was marked with scars and it looked like it had not seen the sun in years, pale as the moon. Her clothes and armor were more of a suggestion than actual protection, it was not uncommon to find nude warriors among the Gheldrin, the power of their warpaint protected them just the same. Her smell was the worst part of it, her breath rancid and held the lingering taste of copper as she ran her tongue along the exposed skin of his neck. The tribesmen began to string the legionaries up into the trees, spearing them as they dangled and opened their bellies as they retrieved their spears. “Don't worry my lord, we have a different fate for you. My bloodied lady has a much better service for you. Just like the last one who came to our mountain.” She spoke to some of the warriors to drag Flavius along and they began to trek their way up the mountain, they passed through underground passages and flame lit halls of stone. The walls were lined with runes and carvings of the Gheldrin gods and the many sacred animals of the forests and mountains. When they reached the inner sanctum of the mountain, Flavius could do nothing but fear for his fate, as he saw Suprimus Volcaris, General of the twelfth legion, hung from the rafters. His skin flayed and dripped fresh blood into a boiling cauldron of blood and limbs, still alive as he moaned in pain above the floor. Flavius could only scream as he saw the knife come for him, if only pride had not guided him to the forest.

[gloriabomfim]

Part 3: Zhao Tries to Help Bumpy with Martial Arts Skills

Montage 1:

Action: Zhao takes Bumpy to a serene martial arts dojo.

Dialogue (Zhao): "Today, we begin with the basics, Bumpy."

Action: Bumpy stands in a basic martial arts stance.

Action: Bumpy tries to maintain balance but falls over.

Dialogue (Bumpy): "Oops, guess I'm not very balanced."

Montage 2:

Action: Zhao demonstrates a series of kicks with grace.

Dialogue (Zhao): "Now, observe, Bumpy."

Action: Bumpy attempts to replicate the kicks but ends up knocking over a potted plant.

Dialogue (Bumpy): "My foot has a mind of its own!"

Montage 3:

Action: Zhao tries to teach Bumpy a simple punch.

Dialogue (Zhao): "Focus, Bumpy. This is a basic punch."

Action: Bumpy accidentally punches himself in the face.

Dialogue (Bumpy): "Ow! I guess I'm my own worst enemy."

Montage 4:

Action: Zhao shows Bumpy a meditation technique.

Dialogue (Zhao): "Inner peace, Bumpy. Find your center."

Action: Bumpy falls asleep and starts snoring loudly.

Dialogue (Zhao, chuckling): "That's… not quite what I meant."

Montage 5:

Action: Zhao attempts to teach Bumpy a basic martial arts kata.

Dialogue (Zhao): "Follow my movements, Bumpy."

Action: Bumpy's limbs get tangled up, and he falls to the ground.

Dialogue (Bumpy): "I've created a new kata, the Bumpy flop!"

Montage 6:

Action: Zhao tries to train Bumpy in self-defense techniques.

Dialogue (Zhao): "Protection is vital, Bumpy."

Action: Bumpy accidentally tackles Zhao instead of defending himself.

Dialogue (Zhao): "You really took that to heart, Bumpy."

Montage 7:

Action: Zhao takes Bumpy to a sparring session.

Dialogue (Zhao): "Let's see what you've got, Bumpy."

Action: Bumpy keeps tripping over his own feet during the sparring match.

Dialogue (Bumpy): "I call that move 'the stumble'!"

Montage 8:

Action: Zhao tries to teach Bumpy how to break boards with his fists.

Dialogue (Zhao): "Focus your energy, Bumpy."

Action: Bumpy's attempts only result in sore hands.

Dialogue (Bumpy): "I've broken nothing but my confidence."

Montage 9:

Action: Zhao tries to help Bumpy channel his inner chi.

Dialogue (Zhao): "Feel the energy within, Bumpy."

Action: Bumpy accidentally releases a burst of energy that sends objects flying.

Dialogue (Zhao): "Well, that was unexpected."

Montage 10:

Action: Zhao realizes that Bumpy's clumsy nature and bad luck make it nearly impossible to train him in martial arts.

Dialogue (Zhao): "Bumpy, you have a unique style all your own."

Action: Bumpy and Zhao both share a good-natured laugh at the absurdity of their efforts, finding humor in Bumpy's unintentional martial arts antics.