#most vile man I have ever seen truly

[khaleesiofalicante]

Goodbye, you elitist cunt 😎😎

For context - he became the current president by hijacking the presidency after Gota was chased away during the protests in 2022. This prick was never elected and never will be.

[severepink]

Observing Adam

Where I go way too deep into something that probably isn't that deep. It's long, it's long as hell.

Okay, so you'd think with how Adam talks he's just a typical misogynist, right?

This man worships pussy. So much so, he's named a whole ass angel, one of his best, Vagina. You'd say that he objectifies them and thinks of them as being lesser, but I don't think that's the whole story. In fact, I think he might be the original simp.

All of these exorcists so far have been women. All of them. He refers to them as ladies or bitches interchangeably, he sees them as being completely capable of absolutely decimating leagues of some of the most vile beings who have ever existed, and they have, to the point it was only after thousands of years that there's been a risk to this hierarchy.

He's a self-centered, egotistical, loud-mouthed, arrogant asshole, no doubt about it, but I'm beginning to suspect something now.

If Adam and Lilith were created from the same dust, if they were created as equals, I am more than willing to bet... Lilith is also a self-centered, egotistical, arrogant asshole. But, she's likely far more intelligent, composed, and duplicitous.

Lilith was allowed to refuse Adam and leave of her own free will and garnered her own independence. A new wife was created for Adam, she was replaced. My guess, is she thought Adam wouldn't be able to live without her, to come back and find herself replaced entirely, she was enraged.

I believe both Adam and Lilith were both incredibly dominant individuals who fought over ideas, thoughts, and ultimately in the bedroom as well, if we take into account the creationist stories.

I'm willing to bet she likely manipulated Lucifer into twisting humanity against its original concept. What if Lucifer's intention truly was to just spark something within Eve, like independence and thought and creation, but it was Lilith's poison within the fruit that tainted her, then subsequently Adam, with sin.

Lilith thrived in hell, while Lucifer's dreams of creation were dashed. She didn't suffer as he did, instead the power of her voice grew with hell. Her voice grew so powerful that heaven found it to be a threat, her actions instigated the beginning of exterminations.

Charlie said that when she was a little girl, she didn't know Lucifer at all. I don't think this was because of Lucifer, he's seen here, picking her up, inviting her to share in his thoughts and dreams, showing her something wonderful. Something she could see within herself.

Charlie says that it's this moment that sparked her will to fight for her dreams. Which is strange, because at the very beginning of the story, Charlie says it was her mother's dream that was passed down to her.

Lilith took Charlie away. In this scene, Lucifer wasn't done showing Charlie his thoughts and dreams, he's still yearning to show his daughter these things at this point.

Lucifer loves his daughter. He loves Charlie so, so, so much. So why wasn't he allowed to build a relationship with his daughter for the longest time? He was waiting for the opportunity to get to know her, but with how much he adores her why didn't he do it sooner? He didn't comment on 'It took you a while-' he just said he missed her smile. They don't want to be pulled apart, again.

Now, we know Vivziepop has said that Lucifer and Lilith love each other, but Lilith 'wears the pants' in the relationship. We see all of the pictures all over the walls of a supposedly happy family. I don't think the relationship was as loving as originally portrayed and Lilith is a woman who desires control above all else. She likely tried to mitigate what influence Lucifer had over their daughter when she thought his angelic thoughts and behaviors became more than what she approved of.

Lets take it back to Adam and Lute for a moment. Again, Adam is a loud mouthed idiot, he's a jerk. The moment he realizes there are demons in heaven, he's ready to go on the attack. It's only because of Lute that he didn't end up doing something absolutely idiotic.

I gotta say, Lute and Adam's relationship is an absolutely fascinating one. He's a disrespectful dick head in how he talks, but how he acts is a different story. He allows Lute to man-handle him. He does listen to her, even if he's a whiny bitch about it.

Look at him, this is the face of a man listening, a dumb one, but a dude listening all the same. He doesn't manhandle her back, he doesn't even pull away until she lets go of his collar. Of all the shit he complained about, between being grabbed and being told what to do, his biggest complaint is that she's telling him to shush.

We know that Adam is the one who suggested the exterminations to begin with, so Sera says, and this was because of the power that Lilith was amassing. To him, Lilith is a threat. Even when he was willing to move on, to go to another wife when Lilith didn't want him or want to submit to him (fair babe, he's a bit of an idiot), she came back with an angel and proceeded to manipulate his new wife Eve. This is the supposed progenitor of man-kind, the original dick (hilariously enough), the reason civilization even exists at all. He and Eve had to fight for their lives after being tempted with the fruit. They had immortality, they had no ideas of shame, they were supposedly 'innocent' creatures before Lilith and Lucifer came along. He and Eve had to fight tooth and nail to survive after being cast from Eden. I think it shows in how willing and ready he is to take lead and do what he believes needs to be done, now out of a need for entertainment rather than a need to defend or protect. But, he still stopped to listen to Lute's advice. In the mythological story of Adam and Eve, Adam is the one who has to tell Eve that god said don't eat the fruit. Eve never heard god speak to her, so she was vulnerable to the snake's manipulations. She will now die because she ate it, and because she did not want Adam to take another wife, convinced him to eat it unknowingly. Funnily enough, Adam tried to explain to god that 'she lied to me and gave me the fruit' and in this actual mythology, Adam was punished for listening to his wife. Even without mentioning Lilith in the original mythology, Eve didn't want Adam to take another wife, so when we consider it within the context of Hazbin Hotel, it may be likely that's how it went down. Eve knew of Lilith, knew that she could be replaced, and decided that she would take Adam with her.

I believe that Adam does and did rely on the women in his life to help him with direction. I think Adam knows he can be an idiot and is willing to listen, even if he doesn't agree with what he's hearing. He did listen to Charlie in the beginning, he just didn't believe in her, like everyone else and he, out of anyone there, probably had the most reason not to. Cain and Abel were his and Eve's sons, his own child became the first murderer. Out of jealousy, the same kind of jealousy that no doubt has caused Lilith to act how she did. Adam isn't going to have empathy for sinners. His family, his legacy, were filled with the original sinners. He probably had to kill his son Cain in hell during the first exterminations. What do you think he would have had to feel, if it came to be a fact that sinners could be redeemed? That maybe his son, could've been redeemed? Or any of his progeny for that matter? How did it feel when his sons, his progeny, weren't given the same mercy as the Hellborn that Lucifer managed to keep protected through some deal with the angels or god? Not to mention that Charlie could've been his daughter. Charlie is the product of the people who completely and totally destroyed the paradise he'd been born into. She's the daughter who is protected and immune from the slaughter while all of his sons and daughters are judged and killed. I believe, even though he was a dickish prankster to Charlie, he was surprisingly patient and even somewhat amicable, willing to even ask her how her weekend was like he was just trying to get to know her.

Adam could just see all of the angels under his employ as being disposable. He doesn't have to name them, or think about them in any individual fashion. But, he knows Vaggie, recognized her instantly. Thought she was badass. Lute's the one who saw her, tore her wings off, and walked away. I'm surprised they even let her live, because this just goes against everything they're doing. They're an army and they saw one of their own showing empathy to the enemy.

Look at this dumb ass. He's being a shit-head, a dick, a bastard. But, he admires Vaggie's ability to pull Charlie, congratulates her, this dude isn't even judging her for being a lesbian. I don't think it's because he objectifies women, this dude loves women, he just does. He respects fellow vagina lovers. I don't think he respects liars in the slightest though. He's being underhanded, he's trying to be manipulative (he's not very good at it). I think he's brutally open and honest about everything and that's probably one of the reasons he's such a bastard anyways, because sometimes you just need to shut-up and he's not good at that.

I don't think he respects Sera for that either, he's more than willing to let others know what the hell he's doing, but under Sera's lead, he can't be open about it. I don't think it's his jam to act this way, it's why he sucks so bad at it and I think that's why Lilith is so antithetical to him. I also think that's why he's possibly even being manipulated.

It's kind of crazy that Adam is the only one who tries to come up with what allows someone to get into heaven. So here's his list: 1. Act Selfless: Maybe at one point he was! He had to have been, to be one of the progenitors of mankind, he would have had to work, sacrifice, and give to his wife and children for them all to survive. Eve would have had to do the same, no doubt. He may not seem selfless, due to his raunchy behavior, but he's served heaven since he's been there. He's served humanity in some kind of facet. 2. Don't Steal: Considering the only other humans are his spawn, he likely had to try and get them to not steal from one another for them all to have an equal opportunity of survival. He and Eve likely both knew they would need to work together to survive.

3. Stick it to the man: This, however, is interesting. Who is 'The Man' he speaks of? God? The only other people over him or were equal to him were women. He speaks like a rocker, and I think in this case he's using the term 'The Man' in a gender neutral way. I think he allowed some amount of Authority to Lilith when they were supposed to be seen as equals, it comes so naturally to him as a character when it comes to the other women he's been interacting with. I think she is the 'man' that he's been sticking it to- Pun somewhat intended. ((This third one may also simply be a tongue in cheek reference to when Alex Brightman played Dewey in School of Rock on Broadway! Thank you to the user who brought this to my attention!))

Adam is a bit of a hypocrite, isn't he? He likes to fuck, he's made that abundantly clear. Full of lust you could say. It was his original purpose after all, and he is judging Angel Dust for something he probably would've done himself at one point or has considered doing (maybe not the having sex with men part). Angel Dust does all of these things, Adam doesn't even deny it. He even looks nervous. He's angry, but doesn't deny that Angel has done those things. He doesn't explain it away or try to lie or move the goal posts, he's just asking what is an actually very valid question.

Why isn't Angel Dust there if he can do things equal to what Adam himself hasn't done? Serenity continues that line of thought. It isn't until Charlie is realizing no one knows what it takes to get into heaven.

Adam is more than willing to let Lute take the lead here, he's willing to give her the stage to clap back, he's giving her back-up antics. By all means, they could be pushing and fighting one another, there could easily be body language expressing something other than their general comfort around one another. They aren't fighting for a spotlight like you'd expect Adam to try and do considering his egotistical attitude.

Adam fucking sucks at keeping his mouth shut and he sucks at lying. He nearly blew the secret out of the bag once, this time, Sera is the only one who tries to stop him and to be honest? Lute looks a bit too thrilled at it. He knows he fucked up, but he doesn't think it's a big deal that anyone would know. For fucks sake, they've already condemned souls, his progeny, to suffer. What's the big deal if he kills them?

I have to re-iterate what's happening here. Charlie is proud she caused this chaos, that she caused these angels to fight amongst themselves, even if in this case it's a good thing. But, this is like history repeating itself to Adam, the reflection of his ex-wife, entering his domain, causing strife among his people, being happy about it.

And the venom he expresses when it comes to the 'liar' portion, god Alex Brightman destroyed when he got to this portion specifically. There is some vehement disgust in his tone when he says liar.

Adam isn't a good person now. But, I think he used to be a good person. By all means, Adam himself could've been the first murderer when his wife made her mistake. He, at one point in time, had to have been good enough to foster civilization itself with Eve. Both good and bad. Adam's original purpose was to be fruitful and multiply. Ordained by god (or maybe just angels) himself, divine power directed and created him to fuck. He didn't chase his ex-wife down, he was given a new one, Lilith was allowed to leave. When he left things alone, when he tried to move on, his ex-wife and a scorned angel destroyed the paradise he was in with Eve. He had to struggle and toil, he had to feel shame in his own body. He had to find out his first born son was the first murderer. His second son killed. We don't know if this is going to be canon in the story, a lot has changed, and if Adam is the first soul who reached heaven, then what did happen to Abel? Was Abel considered a sinner? Or did Cain kill Abel after Adam had passed? Either way, he had to witness his children kill, he had to watch his descendants behave in a range from saints and monsters. He's seen genocides, he's seen famine, war. Adam is desensitized to the plights of his descendants. Maybe he even saw it as a duty to cleanse the universe of their existence at one point, because they were his responsibility.

At the end of this episode, he is properly scolded by Sera and does seem ashamed of himself. He isn't huffy, he is reminded that he should be ashamed of acting that way.

I love Lute's enthusiasm, she's absolutely brutal when talking about Vaggie and with how she handled Vaggie. I think it's funny that Lute is so brutal she's even made Adam uncomfortable. It's cute that he's made uncomfortable by the excitement and all he does is tell Lute, the premier hype woman over here, to chill. She's so proud of herself too, look at her.

He fully expects these exorcist bad bitches to go in there and fuck shit up. But, you know it's hilarious that he's throwing horns? This dude, this angel. First human soul in heaven, loving rock n' roll, the devil's music, and throwing motherfucking horns. It's poetic really. I think we can probably assume where things are going.

Now, this is the first point we've seen Adam being a real piece of shit to Lute. I don't think Adam likes it when people think he's too dumb to notice something, especially something so damn obvious. This is such a drastic moment of vitriolic, uncontrolled anger directed towards Lute. Adam knows he isn't the brightest tool in the shed. He likely knows he's obtuse and misses shit. It's why he sucks at lying, he knows he's not smart. That is why I think he's afforded women opportunities to direct him without fighting back against their advice and their choices. I'm sure Lilith made it obvious how dumb she thinks Adam is. I'm wondering if this might be where their ground breaking fight might've come from. Who's to say he didn't allow Lilith to take the lead, or listen to her like he's done with Lute here and now? Perhaps to an even greater point? He listened to Eve and ate from the fruit of knowledge and he was punished for it. Being seen as so dumb he can't formulate a simple fact is a sore spot for him.

Adam is incredibly powerful. It took a bit out of him to exercise that power, probably because he's out of practice just like Lucifer said. At one point, he probably wasn't so sloppy and weak willed. He's gotten lazy. Sloth like.

I think it got real personal here. How viscerally and personally he attacked Charlie. No one but Charlie truly thought sinners could be redeemed, or that they were even worth it. Not even one of the original sinners. Maybe he never considered the possibility, maybe what happened really did make him see the world as black and white to cope with that happened to him, his wife, his children. Charlie's desire to fight this idea would destroy the foundation for all of his coping through the years. He stopped seeing them as family, even though he's grandiose about his founding role in humanity. Does that itch the guilt that may lurk under the surface?

I don't think Adam thought much of Charlie at all. I don't think he had any intention of coming to kill her in the beginning, despite seeing her, despite who her parents were. But, I think with the constant push, with how eager she was to disrupt the pre-conceived idea of order, it reminded Adam and reflected her parents so much, he was eager to kill her for revenge against them. I think this electrical interference on the mask is a direct reflection of sin. Namely, wrath, in this moment.

Now, this. THIS. Is something that made me want to write this whole fucking essay. Is Lucifer implying that he not only gave Eve the Fruit from the tree of knowledge, but FUCKED HER TOO? Homies, I'm sorry but holy shit. That is some hydrating tea. I'd be pretty pissed too, fucked over twice by women who were supposed to be literal soul mates, who you were made for, who were made for you?

I knew he would have a goatee, I could almost hear it. I gotta say, I'm a sucker for how he looks. I think he's hot. He is a bastard, but so are a lot of the hot dudes in this show. It's just a theme.

This exact series of lines prompted so many of the thoughts that I had about Adam and why he thinks or acts the way he does. At one point, Adam did have to work himself to the bone and learn to survive from scratch alongside Eve. He isn't entirely without cause to not think that he deserves some respect or recognition from his descendants.

But, that doesn't give him the right to act like god himself. It's... well... Blasphemous. Isn't it? One of the worst sins is to think yourself to be worthy of worship, as if you're a god.

This is the moment that gave me empathy for them both. You could probably see the kind of loving person Adam could have been at one point with how he looks at Lute, even as he's laying there, dying. He's not crying like a bitch, just looking at Lute softly. Lute screaming for him, screaming his name. They cared for each other deeply.

And this... and this.... and this. WHAT DEAL DID YOU MAKE, LILITH? Did you make it with Sera? Did you make it with Adam? Did you make it with Lute? Did you really just want a little 'vacay' away from the hell you helped create? Left her husband, depressed and lonely. Left her daughter without any care or guidance. Maybe Alastor was sent in her place, perhaps? Seven years since he was seen after all, but why wouldn't he show up sooner if Lilith did care? Did she make a deal with Lute and Adam? Did she let Adam smash it so she could stay in heaven? Did Lute let her stay in exchange for getting Adam out of a position of power? Or was it maybe Sera who commissioned Lilith with a deal? Either way, I'm in full belief that it wasn't Adam's idea to move the extermination day up. I think he's a patsy, a scapegoat. I think Lute may have been manipulated, potentially, into manipulating Adam into this position. Was it even really Adam who came up with the idea to do the exterminations? Or was he the one who simply decided to fight originally because he was told heaven was at risk due to Lilith's rising power? The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions. I think it could be any number of these. Either way, Lute certainly does think she had authority over Lilith. Is it Lute just having hubris? Or is Lilith truly bound, just like Alastor, Husk, and Angel Dust?

Of course, now that we know a soul can be redeemed... and we certainly know that angels can fall. I don't think this will be the last we see of Adam.

[adonis-koo]

wicked • 15

↳ Summary: In a desperate hope to stop war from breaking you are a serviced to wed the most vile man alive, the one who has committed atrocities and war crimes beyond comprehension, he who is responsible for the fall of many nations, the wicked prince who’s heart is made of stone. You are to marry a man who challenges every belief and moral you stand for, all while being faced in a foreign land with nobody but yourself too trust…But are you both truly that different? Or is hate not too far from love?

↳ Pairing: Jungkook/reader

↳ Genre: arranged marriage AU, enemies to lovers, it’s kind of a period AU??? Historical but also technically not? prince!AU, eventual smut

Word Count: 13k

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tags: jungkook really loves grabbing mc’s throat, dirty talk, breath play, dom!kook, possessiveness, clit play, multiple orgasms, overstimulation (m & f), vaginal fingering, squirting, wet humping...?  is that a thing? slight size kink

Note:I’m so excited to announce chapter 15! I hope you all love it as much as I do, inbox is open for asks and I would love to hear everyones opinions bc im sure yall are gonna be feeling some type of way by the end.

“How dare you accuse my maid of such a thing!” You hissed out from your seat, glaring into Di Jin with a venomous glare, “She is no such thing as an assassin and you should be utterly ashamed of yourself for even thinking of such!” 

Di Jin slammed his hands on the stable snarling at you, “Then tell me why she’s been missing from several of her shifts the last month? The only person who would be able to get into your room late into the night with guards posted would be her? There was a second attempt, was there not?” 

You shook your head, trying to not let your jaw slackened at the blatant disrespect, “Because I authorized it! Her mother has been deathly ill over the last month and I’ve given her time to be away from the castle to tend to her!” 

Di Jin’s nostrils flared as he leaned back in his seat, as he stared at you for a long moment as if a predator sizing its prey, “What a convenient cover, tell me Princess, have you ever seen this sickly mother?” 

“I-” 

“Have you taken the time to track your servant’s whereabouts when she had stayed out even later than you authorized?” Di Jin growled. 

“I will not have my wife being interrogated,” The doors opened once more, Jungkook who had barely been held back on the other side had managed to break in once more, his father still arguing with him, “Not if I have anything to say about this.” 

Dae Seong had yanked him back by the shoulder, “You’re going to listen to me boy! Let him do what he needs to if you value her safety at all.” 

Jungkook had retaliated by grabbing him by the collar, yanking him closer as he snarled quietly, “If you value anything we still have then you’ll let me be by her side.” Jungkook shoved him away before swiftly walking up to the table. 

Di Jin didn’t even attempt to watch their squabble as he stood up from his seat, hands on the table as he leaned in, “Or have you knowingly let her do this?” 

“Oh yes,” You sneered standing up as well, challengingly glaring back, “It makes much sense that I’d be the orchestrator behind my own attempted assassination. I may be an outsider and I may not know all the in’s and outs of Penumbra but I will not sit here and let you dictate to me who I am or who my servant is!” 

Jungkook puffed a breath in satisfaction at the tongue lashing you were giving the old codger as he went to wrap and arm around you, “We’re going, if you’re finished.”

Di Jin’s nostrils flared at the interruption as you took Jungkook’s hand which had been extended in an offer to help you out of your seat.

“This isn’t over Princess.” 

Your eyes burned into his, “You’re right,” You placed your hands on the table as you leaned in closer to him, your voice deathly quiet, “This is just the beginning Di Jin, tread carefully where you walk in these halls.” 

Jungkook’s arm found its way around you once more as you allowed him to guide you out of the room, anger visibly trembling off your body as you tried with every breath to calm yourself down. 

“We need to speak to the others.” You forced your voice to quiet as you both stepped out of the frigid room. 

“I’ve already asked Taehyun to retrieve them all, we’re meeting in Namjoon’s quarters.” Jungkook answered steadily, “We’ll get her back Y/n.” 

“I can only hope.”

“It just doesn’t make sense,” Namjoon shook his head as he looked through the records that covered the small table of his office where everyone sat, “It does look incriminating,” He frowned at your pitiful state as you rubbed your forehead, “And it doesn’t help that you’ve given her unsupervised access outside the gate’s Princess.” 

You sucked in a harsh breath as you shook your head, “Had I known Di Jin was going to do this I would’ve had someone go with her…Is Taehyung’s word nothing? He helped her mother after all.” 

“Seer’s are not allowed into politics and worldly affairs.” Jungkook shook his head, his hands resting on the arm’s of his chair but seemed to twitch at the way you restlessly shifted in your seat, sitting a hair too far away for his liking, “Even though Taehyung can consort with us in private, his words would be seen as invalid to the court.” 

This made your lips quiver into a frown, the one person who could possibly save her was considered…invalid?

“Not only that but Taehyung could potentially jeopardize his position on the Guiding Hand if he tried to speak to court.” Hoseok chimed, leaning back in his chair in thought.

“And if Di Jin snoops about and Taehyung chooses to speak out regardless, he could accuse Taehyung of being another accomplice of hers, putting him in a cell right next to her.” Jimin seemed painfully sullen, his hand resting on his cheek as he frowned.

“What about her mother? Surely we could speak to her?” Hoseok asked.

“They’ve taken her into custody as well,” Jimin replied once more looking as though the whole situation disturbed him, “By possible accomplice of her, and since her mother has been cured of blood rot Di Jin suspects it was never there to begin with.”

Just his words made your hands curl in anger, “This is ridiculous!” Everyone looked at you as you hissed the words out, “What is the meaning behind this? Truly? There has to be an ulterior motive from Di Jin to accuse her of such a thing.” 

It was silent for a long time before Namjoon sighed, “Many things are hidden to us right now, perhaps for a reason. All we can do is focus on freeing Wheein.” 

“Still,” Yoongi grabbed his chin, “It would be worthwhile to see Wheein’s mother, and someone should speak with Taehyung about this, I’ve yet to see him since the whole incident.” 

“I’ll speak with him,” You volunteered yourself, “I’m sure he’s taken the news hard, and I’d like to see too it personally to assure him that we’ll find a way to keep her safe.” 

“I’ll go with you then.” Jungkook also spoke up, “Taehyung has likely not taken the news well, and knowing him he’ll want to speak with me directly. 

You frowned at this, your heart dully aching at the thought, “The least I can do is apologize to him for letting this happen.” You looked away from Jungkook as you heaved a deep sigh, “This is my fault after all.” 

You just wanted to be kind…especially when it was something you could help with, how could it end this way? Wheein had been nothing but kind to you the moment she introduced herself, and this is what she got in return. 

Had you been looking at Jungkook you would’ve seen the way his fist curled, aching to reach out to you, to do something, anything to try and ease the severe stress and guilt you were under right now. 

It was silent for a long moment before Jungkook spoke, thinking over his words carefully before he redirected himself to the men at the table, “Namjoon, I want you to look back in past schedules of who was on rotation during the nights Wheein went out and I’d like you to speak with them if you feel they’re allegiance is with the Jeons.”

“Hoseok I want you to keep track of Di Jin from now on, try to be covert about it and Jimin…” Jungkook looked across the table at Jimin who seemed to be staring at the wall, as if purposely ignoring the prince, “I know…your relationship with him is distant at best…” Jungkook frowned, “But if there’s any way you could talk to him, make him believe you're on his side…we need to figure out why he’s doing this.” 

“Jungkook…” Jimin sighed softly, looking at war with himself and for a brief moment you were confused until you remembered the words Wheein ushered to you many months ago. 

‘Jimin was the bastard son of the Head of the Guard’

The pieces were all slowly fitting together, Di Jin having been the old head of guard, which meant he was Jimin’s father…You sunk in your seat, oh dear what a mess things were quickly becoming…

Jimin relented, “I’ll see what I can do.” 

“Thank you.” Jungkook’s words were sincere, “There’s nothing else to discuss at this time, don’t let me hold you all from your duties.” He waved to them all as everyone stood up, yourself included as you made your way to the exit. 

Yoongi opened the door for you as you quietly thanked him before stepping out, an odd absence filling your chest at the realization that Wheein was no longer escorting you to where you went, nor would she stay with you when you asked her too.

The rest of your day felt like a void, you still had your duties to attend to the project in the Market, you had to talk and be social with various businesses, walking them through their future new stores and making arrangements with various vendors about what to get for each shop. 

The day had passed before you knew it and yet all you could think about was Wheein, her tear stained eyes and whimpers when you saw her. 

It snapped your heart like a twig to even think about, out of everyone, why did Di Jin have to choose her as his target? It just didn’t make sense. And you firmly believed you were not being fooled here, Wheein had been easily the kindest person you had ever met in Penumbra. 

Arriving at your and Jungkook’s room it was quiet and chilled in the room making you tremble as you shut the door, only a few candles lit making it difficult to see as you glanced around, realizing you had nobody to help you change. 

Your eyes glossed over as you inhaled sharply, you could call for another maid, you should call for another maid. But your stubbornness wouldn’t let you as you stretched your arms towards your back, trying to haphazardly undo the back making your muscles begin to ache and twitch as you huffed. 

This went on for several minutes before you finally stopped and frustratedly dropped your arms letting out a quiet sob as you pressed your hands on your eyes, the one person who you trusted with your entire being was being falsely accused of your own attempted murder. 

Stress filtered your body once more as you hurriedly tried to push back your tears at the sound of the door opening. 

Jungkook had a handful of papers he was reading through when he walked in at the unsightly mess of you halfway dressed and the unmistakable look you always had when you were crying. 

He lowered his papers as he looked at you for a long moment.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Your eyes filled with tears once more before you finally gave up trying to hold them in, closing your eyes as you defeatedly let the warm tears trickle down your cheeks. 

Jungkook sighed, setting the papers down at the desk before he walked over, “You look pitiful.” Standing in front of you he gently cupped your cheek, pushing the tears from your cheeks, “You should’ve called for a maid.” 

“I have a maid!” You hissed out, “And she’s in a dungeon right now for something she didn’t do!” This made you weep once more as you shook your head, “Why would they do this Jungkook? Why? I don’t understand! There isn’t a soul sweeter than Wheein, why would they claim the assassin was her?” 

“I don’t know,” Jungkook frowned, “But if I had to take a guess, it’s because they want to place distrust among us from the inside,” Jungkook replied steadily, “If we can’t trust even our most loyal servants, how can we trust each other? The seed of doubt eventually blossoms in its own time. I’m not sure how, but the Rosewood’s are most likely the cause of this.” 

He gently turned you around before he began to undo the back of your dress, albeit a bit clumsy, but with patience the material slipped off. 

“Not only this but if we let this distract us they might be stirring to do another attempt soon.” Jungkook frowned as you turned to face him, “If you die in Penumbra it’s going to trigger a shattering throughout the entire continent. War will be all we know until we’re the last kingdom standing.” 

“If that's what it takes for Wheein to live I will gladly die.” You inhaled sharply. 

“You will not.” Jungkook grabbed your chin harshly, his eyes glaring into you at your words, “I know you miss her, but crying about it and being unnecessarily self sacrificial isn’t going to get her back.” 

His words stung, and the prick of hurt they caused made you shove his hand away, “You may be right but you don’t have to be so cold about it.” 

Jungkook tucked his tongue into his cheek as he scoffed, “Well princess, somebody needs to tell you, otherwise god only knows what you’ll do.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” You snapped back, not appreciating his bluntness right now, you had come to terms with the fact that Jungkook was nothing like that last love you had known, Seokjin was always dripping in honeyed words and sweet nothings. 

He loved to coddle you and dote on your feelings. Jungkook did no such thing, you had for the most part become accustomed to this, but in these moments of vulnerability it stung having your feelings coldly told to stop. 

“It means the last time you let your feelings overcome your logic this happened.” Jungkook snapped, grabbing your hand and lifting it as he shook it, the marks on your hands still freshly healed and scars evident, “You were unconscious for two days Y/n. Two days! If you hadn’t been so emotional you wouldn’t be wearing gloves every time we step out of this room.” 

It was silent for a long moment as you snatched your hand from his grip as if he had been the one to burn you, eyes watering now but they were glaring at him in hurt and anger and he let out a long sigh, as if realizing he perhaps, went too far. 

“As a Eunoian, we are kind and expect no kindness in return. You might look at me as nothing more than an emotional woman, but I would never turn anyone away who needs my help, that is not who I was raised to be, that’s not who I am. Yes it scarred me and no I may not remember all of those events, but I know I helped, I know I made a difference even if it was only for a few people and I will not let you stand here and chastise me over it.” You stared at him for a long moment indignant. 

How could he stand here and insult you like this? 

Jungkook looked away from you with a briefly strained expression, and you were familiar with it because he always made that face when he was holding his tongue, it made you scoff, “Well you might as well say what you want too, go ahead, get it off your chest since I’m being so emotional.” 

“You know what you sound like right now Y/n?” Jungkook chucked bitterly, “You sound like a martyr,” He pointed a finger low at you, “Nobody is asking you to do that here, not a single person. Whether you like it or not you’re the Crowned Princess, your life does matter more then a peasants because the whole fucking world decided to weaponize the little Eunoian Princess nobody would dare hurt as a political tool to make us heel like a bitch.” 

Your lip twitched at his words, “Oh I’ve been well aware for the last three damn years what I am to the world! Don’t stand here and try to educate me on that, I knew from the moment I was told I had to marry you that my life didn’t matter more than just being a good bitch to the crown!” 

Your eyes watered once more, “That’s what you said on our wedding night and you were right. But it doesn’t change what I believe or how I feel and if that makes me a martyr then so fucking be it! I watched as my own people sent me away with smiles on their faces all pretending as if they hadn’t exiled me from my own country as if I hadn’t given up my studies as a young girl to aide as a healer during the five year war as if I wasn’t allowed to eat if the people were hungry and when we were supposed to celebrate our holidays, we stopped to mourn the burning piles. I knew since I was a child that my life didn’t matter to anyone aside from what I could do or what I could give.” 

“It fucking matters to me!” Jungkook’s patience had finally worn, you were suddenly pressed against the wall, his hand wrapped your throat with the most delicate grip as his forehead pressed against yours, “Don’t you get it you stubborn, hard headed woman? Your life matters to me, I don’t care about any tradition or belief you have if it has anything to do with dying. I just got you, I’m not letting you go.” 

It was silent for a long moment as you felt his thumb tenderly trace against your windpipe as you sniffled. 

“You could’ve just said that without picking a fight. And you didn’t have to be so mean,” Your eyes stung with tears, “Your words do hurt, I know crying won’t get Wheein back, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m terrified of what they might do to her.” 

Jungkook’s expression softened ever so slightly as you closed your eyes, a few stray tears trickling down your cheeks, “I would never cry with anyone else like this, so let me do it with you, let me share the deepest parts of my heart with you, my deepest fears and concerns, my doubts and insecurities. You say you want me, that you don’t want to lose me, then show me you want me, all of me, even the parts you don’t like, even the parts you hate.” 

“I could never hate you.” Jungkook ushered out quietly, his hand moving from your throat to your cheek, “I’m sorry.” 

He kissed your tear stained cheek somewhat hesitantly, “I’m not used to navigating feelings, or emotions, or women…” This made a small smile tug on your lips, one he mirrored briefly as his hand moved to your chin with a little squeeze, “But you talking about willingly letting yourself die makes me upset, anxious and angry, the rest of the world might look at you as nothing more then I tool but I don’t. So value your life, because I know I’m not the only one who feels this way, Wheein would be the first to agree with me.”

It made your lips quiver painfully as you glanced down, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be a martyr, but I would do anything to get her back Jungkook,” Your throat strained painfully “Anything.”

Jungkook kept having these impulses every time he looked at you when you were sad, and he hadn’t noticed it until today, but finally, he caved into the feeling of just wanting to hold you. 

His arms wrapped around you, letting your head bury into the crook of his neck, your body relaxing into him as he pressed a kiss against your head making your arms squeeze around him tighter, “I know.”

You were already scared and upset with the whole situation, you didn’t want things to be worse if you and Jungkook couldn’t settle your own arguments in the process. 

You had hoped maybe a good night of rest would make you feel better, but opening your eyes had only made you feel worse and Jungkook had taken a bit more of a gentle approach today at trying to get you out of bed. 

“We’ll need to speak with Taehyung before the morning is over.” Jungkook laid beside you as you tugged the blanket back over your head, rolling your back to him, “He’ll be busy tending to whatever the Seers do during the day. Y/n,” He sighed in exasperation, “I don’t mean to sound like a cunt when I say this but sulking is not going to help. And refusing to talk isn’t helping me.” 

Your hands curled around the blanket as you relented with a sigh, “I just…feel overwhelmed by everything, life has to continue on even if Wheein is in the dungeon and even if Di Jin keeps harassing the castle.” 

You turned back to face him, “It’s not that I don’t want to do something about it, it’s that I have so many other things I don’t want to do that I have to do, that so many people are counting on me making sure I get it done. It’s hard to be enthusiastic about starting the day knowing I can’t dedicate all of my time to finding a way to help Wheein.” 

“There’s only so much you can do about that situation regardless princess,” Jungkook wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling your back flush against his chest as he buried into the crook of your neck, “I’ll make sure everything goes accordingly with Wheein.” 

You still let out a sigh, curling a little at his hand dragging from your waist down to your thigh as he whispered in your ear, “You wanna know what will make you feel better princess?” 

“What?” You mumbled, your curiosity peaked at his tone. 

“An orgasm.” 

“Jungkook!” You immediately sat up right as you twisted around at the cheeky grin on his face, “This is what you want to focus on when we’re in a situation like this!?” 

Jungkook shrugged, “Well I don’t see anything wrong with it, as you said before, life has to continue on and I’m being honest,” He sat up with you, “The first step to getting anything done is letting yourself relax, this is stressful enough as it is, you shouldn’t make yourself anymore taxed then necessary.” 

His lips attached to your exposed shoulder, your thin slip that you seemed to wear more often to bed these days didn’t do you much service as the thin strap fell off your shoulder. He moaned softly into your skin as his hands slid to your waist, “Let me make you feel good. Consider it another apology for last night if you must.” 

You felt obligated to say no, feeling guilty for even feeling desire at the moment when you were in such a perilous situation, but your head betrayed you, slowly tilted upward to expose your neck as his kiss traveled up, leaving a small trail of love bites along the way. 

“Is it…really okay to do this?” You whispered. 

“Only if you’re comfortable.” Jungkook pressed a small kiss on the lobe of your ear, “We don’t have too, but I do think it would make you feel better.” You glared at him playfully as he winked. 

You shifted a little before you sighed, “Well, what would you have us do?” You shifted a little nervously, there would never be a perfect time to get further intimate with Jungkook, and you would admit, something to take your mind off of things would do you some good, even if for a few minutes. 

Jungkook sat up before letting his back rest against the headboard as he gestured you closer, confused you scooted a little closer to him only for his hands to attach to your hips making you squeak in surprise at the way you were suddenly jostled. 

You were roughly manhandled into his lap with your back pressed into his chest once more as he pressed another tender kiss to your neck, “Tell me Y/n, have you ever touched yourself before?” 

The question caught you off guard making you sputter, “I- what?” You could hardly focus at the sight of his hands resting on top of your thighs, how could you be married to him for nearly nine months and only just now realize how big his hands were. 

His fingers were long and thick and his palms were rough and calloused against your soft skin, his fingers curled around your inner thighs, “Have you played with yourself before,” Jungkook let a wicked smirk curl on his lips, “You can’t tell me you haven’t ever been curious about your body.” 

Had it always been this warm in the room? Because it felt like you were burning up at the moment, “I mean yes but- I wouldn’t…Call it playing.” You tried to not squirm in his hold as he suddenly parted your legs, your night slip hardly covering your panties. 

You had been curious about your body in the past sure but you had never really understood the idea of sexual interest, and therefore you never took part in it, not understanding what the big deal was about. 

Jungkook let out a hum as he let his hand stroke from your inner thigh that had you twitching, to your night slip hooking a finger against the fabric as he lifted it, it didn’t take but a small movement to reveal your panties, a shameful damp spot revealing how much your body was receiving him. 

“You like this?” He teased lightly, a hand wrapping around your throat, squeezing lightly making a breathy noise escaping you and your legs instinctively parted further for him, “You like putting your cunt on display for me?” 

“Jungkook…” You had to shut your eyes at the lewd sight, your shoulders scrunching in embarrassment, why did he have to be so crass?

“Take your panties off.” Jungkook’s voice a few tones deeper and a little raspier than normal as his grip on your throat tightened making a more strained moan escape you shook your head, “No?” He snorted at your defiance, his free hand stroking your thigh down to your cunt making you jump before he cupped it, his palm digging into your clit making you whine out sharply. 

Your hips lifted immediately, trying to grind into his hand unsuccessfully. 

“If you want me to play with this pretty clit you have to take the panties off sweetheart,” Jungkook said, amused at the sight. 

“Jungkook, this is embarrassing!” You whined quietly to him, “What if somebody were to walk in right now?” 

“Let them.” He scoffed, “See if I give a damn who watches. In fact I hope somebody does,” Jungkook’s grip suddenly tightened on your throat making you wheeze a heady moan as he growled in your ear, “So they can see who you belong to. I wasn’t lying when I said this was my cunt, so take off the fuckin’ panties and show me who it belongs too.” 

The sudden guttural demand in his voice had you scrambling to obey as you shaky fingers curled around your panties, peeling them off before you awkwardly kept your legs closed. This however changed quickly at Jungkook’s hands, once more finding their way to your thighs as he pried them out making you whimper out at the cold air seeping against your cunt. 

“Fuuck.” Jungkook moaned against your skin and you could feel his heavy, thick cock harden against your lower back, “Your soaked baby. Look.” He didn’t give you a choice as he grabbed you by a thick chunk of hair making you whine as he forced you to look down. 

Your face felt like it was on fire at the sight of your body contorted in such a lewd position, your cunt was indeed on display and for a brief moment you couldn’t think of something more unsightly than this. 

This was what men were attracted to? Your lips were puffy and parted covered in stickiness, pubic hair sticking out unfrayed and your clit was engorged, throbbing at just the fact you were actually able to look at it.

Jungkook’s lips pressed in your neck with another moan, “Fuck princess, you have such a pretty cunt, and nobody has ever played with it at all?”

“No,” You whined out, “I already told you Jungkook, I’ve never been with someone intimately, at least for myself. Do you have to..stare?” You felt self conscious on display like this. 

“When it looks good enough to eat how can I not?” Jungkook scoffed, his free hand unable to resist the urge to drag along your sticky slit, your cunt puffy and wet as his fingers reached your clit.

A moan suddenly strangled through your parted lips, whining softly at watching his digits circle your clit as your hips buckled into him with another whimper as he moaned, “Fuck baby, you’ve never touched your clit?” He said it as if he was genuinely in confusion at how you possibly couldn’t have touched yourself before.

“I have,” You whimpered out, “It just didn’t feel good.” It didn’t feel like this, that was for damn sure, just watching his fingers skillfully glide over your clit at your back trying to arch, before they quickly started rubbing back and forth, playing with your clit like it was a little toy.

Jungkook switched from that to suddenly squeezing it between his pointer finger and middle finger, making another raspy, desperate noise escape your hips started to lift up to chase after the friction, “Jungkook please! Please don’t tease me.” You whimpered out desperately. 

Jungkook chuckled at this, releasing your clit from his fingers just to pinch it once more with his thumb and pointer finger, “You’re so needy, every time I try something new you moan even louder.” 

He pinched it even harder making you yelp at the painful pleasure that washed over you before he roughly circled it again, “Keep moaning sweetheart, it lets me know what you like and what you don’t.” 

That's when you realized he meant what he was saying, his eyes were low but inquisitive, as if trying to figure out what made you tick, what made your body squirm the hardest, what made you moan the loudest, your body was a map he was determined to not only study but memorize. 

Your hand frantically found his as you whimpered, “Right there! Kook, right there! Please.” The pleasure had your muscles clenching as the pad of his finger kept rubbing that sweet spot on the side of your clit that had your back arching and whines becoming increasingly loud. 

Jungkook chuckled in your ear, “Look at you, using my hand to make yourself cum, that’s a little greedy for a Eunoian. Are you gonna cum princess?” 

He watched, mesmerized by the way your body contorted and bounced as you grinded against his fingers, which were completely soaked in your arousal as he feathered his pad over your sweet spot. 

The straps to your slip had finally fallen to your shoulders, causing your top to finally slip down, making your tits fall out as you fell apart on his fingers, your eyes squeezing shut and your body convulsing at the pleasure that was blossoming so quickly in your cunt. 

“Cum baby, I know you want to.” Jungkook teased, “I know that little clit feels good, let yourself cum princess.” 

Jungkook let out a grunt at the sight of your lips falling slack, moans suddenly ripping from your throat as you whines became high pitched, hands suddenly clawing at his neck, yanking at his hair as you came. 

“Mmm what a good girl.” Jungkook moaned into your neck, his cock throbbing so hard he felt like he could pass out, it was one thing to imagine these types of moments with you, but to actually be able to experience them was a different kind of pleasure he didn’t even know could exist. 

Your mind was so hazy from your orgasm you hardly noticed his fingers stroking your cunt before a single digit circled your entrance, playing with it a little as Jungkook carefully coated his finger in your arousal before he pushed in it. 

“Ow!” You suddenly yelped in a very unsexy way, jolting up right and out of your hazy post orgasm feeling as you whimpered out at the sight, “Jungkook! Ah…! It hurts!” You whined in complaint, his finger felt foreign inside of you and just like you knew, it was thick and bigger then your own and the stretch made your cunt dully ache. 

“Wow, so Seokjin really never touched you?” Junkook said it as if he was examining to see if you were actually telling the truth. 

You lip curled as you snapped, “Did we not establish that I was a virgin on our wedding night? Why are you so hyperfixated on this?” 

“Because,” Jungkook rested his chin on your shoulder, pulling his finger from your cunt making you sigh in relief as he dragged it back up to your clit, tapping it, “The idea of anyone- let alone him getting to see this makes me want to travel all the way to Kimhae and fucking kill him.” 

He pushed his finger back in but much to your surprise it didn’t hurt, you seemed almost taken aback by this, watching in morbid fascination as his thick finger sunk deeper into your cunt, your legs parting a little further for him. 

You moaned quietly at his finger testingly pushing up before he thrusted it a little inside you making you whine as your hips lifted and lowered a little to chase the feeling. 

“Just the idea of him getting to see this pretty little fucked out face makes me livid,” Jungkook whispered, unable to even be angry at the moment before of the expression your wore, your pupils were blown out and your lips parted at the sight of his finger now rhythmically pumping into you before he pushed a second one in.

It made you wince at the uncomfortable fit, before Jungkook pulled both fingers out and pushed them back in making your lips tremble at watching them sink deeper and deeper into your cunt, your walls clenching around him as he buried them both until his knuckle were flush against your skin.

“Fuck…” You whimpered out, closing your eyes at the overwhelm of being able to feel his fingers so deep inside your cunt, Jungkook, “‘s not fair, wanna make you feel good too…” 

“Sweetheart, shit, you are so fucked out on my fingers, imagine what it’s gonna be like when you’re taking my cock.” Jungkook moaned in your ear, feeling your walls wrap tight around his fingers at his words as he pumped them in a little rougher, making a point to rub his fingertips against the top of your walls.

It felt as if he was searching for something and you didn’t realize what it was until you felt it, his fingers pushing particularly deep this time, hooking as pleasure suddenly shot through your body making you lurch and a loud moan rip from your lips. 

“Fuck there it is, that’s it sweetheat.” Jungkook’s fingers viciously began to attack this spot, rapidly lifting into the spot as his thrusts began short and rough. 

The pleasure had you contorting in painful positions as you whined slurred words out, “Wanna make you feel good too, Kook! Please, please!” 

“Dammit sweetheart, this is supposed to be about you.” Jungkook growled in frustration at how hard his cock was because you kept moaning about this. 

“Wan’ it.” You whined out moaning loudly, his fingers unforgivingly hooking into that spot roughly, you could feel his other arm against your back maneuvering in awkward ways and though you were very pleasured it was difficult to not notice. 

You didn’t understand what he was doing until you saw it, or more like it saw you. His cock suddenly appeared just inches below your cunt, it bobbed a little, smacking against you making you jolt in shock, even with pleasure still blossoming in your body your mouth dried. 

It was so…big

You had felt it before but you had never seen it, and it was so thick and fat, just like his hand, his cock had the prettiest thick vein and it curved just slightly, his head was fat and bulbous, a painful shade of red showing just how hard he had been this whole time and precum kept dribbling from his slit. 

“You wanted it that fuckin’ bad.” Jungkook grabbed your hand before, guiding it past your cunt to wrap around his cock, “Wanna’ feel that wet little cunt.” He guided your hand to give it a few tugs, before he lowered your body a little, your cunt pressing against the top base of his cock, making you let out a breathy moan. 

His fingers started properly thrusting into you once again as you body twitched, eyes nearly rolling back into your head at the stimulation of the feeling of his fat cock being covered in your arousal, your hand giving sloppy, frantic tugs against his cock making him moan into your shoulder.

Your hips quickly start trying to rut into his as you grabbed his hand, forcing his fingers out of your cunt as you rubbed it against his shaft, letting your clit press against it with a loud whine, reaching down to squeeze his fat balls. 

“Fuck, fuck fuck baby, ‘m gonna cum.” Jungkook moaned into your neck as his hips started to rut into you, his eyes hazily watching his cock slide between your glossy lips, arousal messily covering his cock as his tip roughly dragged over your clit making slurred moans escape you. 

“Wan’ you to cum.” You mewled out watching in desperation at the idea of this being inside of you, how would you even be able to take it without being torn in half? His fat tip reached your belly button. 

Your hand wrapped around his cock, holding it against your cunt as Jungkook’s hips became more frantic, “Gonna fuckin’ cum all over you if you keep saying that sweetheart.”

“Cum! Cum, cum please! Wan’ you to cum all over my cunt.” You whined and begged at the sight of precum dripping from his tip.

Jungkook swore out with a growl, his hands digging into your hips, “Bet you wish this was your cunt right now I was fucking, this little cunt is so tiny I don’t even think you could take half of my cock sweetheart.” 

“Kook!” You whimpered out at his forceful, frantic thrusts, one hand lifting your leg up further as his fat tip rubbed past your clit once more. 

“Oh don’t worry baby, I’ll fuck you in this exact position.” Jungkook smirked wickedly against your neck, “I’ll make you watch every fuckin’ second of it too. Fuck princess,” He moaned his hips began to slow, eager to drag out the last moments before he’d finally cave, his cock sliding through your lips once more, he could feel your engorged little bud as he bulbous tip rubbed against it making you whine before let out a deep moan. 

Cum spewed from his tip as your mouth dried at the sight, his thrusts stopped in nirvana but your hand kept tugging his cock in awe, wanting every last drop he had to offer as he moaned wetly against your skin. 

His thighs clenched as he moaned, “Fuck princess, that’s it, yeah fuck, just like that.” He moaned encouragingly in your ear as you stroked his shaft, causing another gob of cum to spill from his tip, this time dribbling down onto your stomach as you reached down further to play with his fat soft balls while using your other hand to tug at his base.

“Fuuck baby.” He moaned into your skin his cock trying to soften but he showed now signs of stopping you despite the increased sensitivity before a spurt of cum shot out before he started swearing out, biting his lip as the pain and pleasure heightened. 

Jungkook let out a breathy moan at the pain of your hand wrapping around his cock, roughly thrusting as he jolted and jumped but at no point did he stop you, in fact he seemed to enjoy the pain and just like magic, you watched his cock start to harden again.

Growing just as monstrous as it was before.

You moaned raggedly before you shifted a little, setting yourself upright before dragging your cunt along his shaft, your hips dragging against it with a loud moan as Jungkook growled out, “Fuck, ‘m gonna cum again baby, relax.”  

You let out a breathy giggle, collapsing your back against his chest as you spread your legs once more, resuming your original position as you pressed his cock back against your cunt, pumping it rapidly, his muscles twitched rapidly before his hips caved. 

Roughly thrusting up into you again as his cock slid between your cunt once more before cum suddenly spurted once more, covering your already messy stomach in even more cum as you moaned, gently tugging his cock to coax more cum, it dribbled and leaked, not nearly as big of a load this time as Jungkook moaned his hips swiveling to prolong his orgasm. 

His cock began to soften and his hand suddenly grabbed your wrist to stop from trying to get it up again, “This was supposed to be about you,” Despite his post orgasm haze he still growled in displeasure, “Fucking brat.” 

One moment his hand was wrapped around your wrist, the next it had released it and shoved two fingers inside you, suddenly fucking you hard and fast making you whine out loud, his thumb somehow managing to rub into your clit causing your back to arch and a loud moan to escape. 

“Yeah? Doesn’t fuckin’ feel good after the first one.” Jungkook taunted you as he roughly thrusted his fingers inside you, his thumb teasingly circling your sensitive clit as your thighs twitched, your eyes glued to the way he was buried knuckles deep into your cunt. 

“Fuck, fuck, kook, ah…! Ah.” Your whines were getting louder and louder much to his delight, your walls getting tighter and tighter each time his fingertips jammed into your g-spot and his thumb found that sweet little spot on your clit with each pass. 

“Doesn’t feel nice cumming so fast does it?” He growled out, “Go, cum like you made me. Get it everywhere. Can feel this little cunt squeezing around me, you gonna squirt all over the bed? Bet you don’t even fuckin’ know what that is babydoll.” 

The pleasure was becoming so strong it started to become uncomfortable in your cunt, your walls suddenly began to rapidly relax and squeeze at each of his fingers thrusts, his fingertips rubbing into your g-spot and his thumb dragging over your clit.

“Feels weird! Kook’ ah..! You whimpered out, body frantically contorting and your cunt blossoming in a weird pleasure. 

“I got you sweetheart,” Jungkook moaned in your ear, “‘s gonna feel so good princess, c’mon ‘s gonna feel so fuckin’ good.” 

You rapidly shook your head, your walls rapidly clenching and your muscles spasming as Jungkook’s thrusts became short and rough, his thumb rubbing rough circles into your abused clit, “Cum.”

The single word made a scream rip from your throat, tears tricking down your face as you came, liquid suddenly spewed from your tiny hole as Jungkook moaned, “Good girl, fuck, get it everywhere baby, fuck yeah, that’s it.” 

The pleasure was so intense you were in tears, sobbing out moans as his fingers pulling out of you, to rub your clit making you throw your head back against him before his fingers shoved back inside you rapidly thrusting making more liquid spew from your hole as your body convulsed, “F-fuck!” You cried out loud. 

You were positive you blacked out for one blissful moment before Jungkook released his fingers from you with a long moan, his hands comfortingly rubbing down your waist. 

“Fuck princess,” He kissed your neck with feathery kisses, “My good girl did so good. Good girl.” Your eyes felt heavy at the feeling of his kiss. 

Just his words drew a whine from you, his hands coaxingly rubbing your thighs as he pressed a wet kiss against your neck, “Mm, we need to get dressed.” 

“You can’t just do this to me and then leave me.” You whimpered out, grabbing hands to wrap them back around you once more. 

Jungkook snorted at this, another kiss traveling further up your neck, “We’ll be leaving together in case you forgot.” 

“I don’t think I can walk.” 

“You are, without a doubt, the most stubborn women I’ve ever met.” Jungkook mused, “And possibly more than I ever bargained for.” 

You could indeed walk, though a bit awkward at first while Jungkook helped you dress, it didn’t surpass your eyes, the tug on his lips in amusement with every wobble or need to grab his shoulder to stabilize yourself. 

If this was the aftermath of him only using his fingers, you can’t possibly imagine when he…Just the thought made you suck in a deep breath. Jungkook eyes flickered to your form, your arm hooked around his as you both made your way through the castle. 

“Have you noticed?” He asked, eyes lingering on you only for a moment longer before looking ahead once more. 

You could only assume he was insinuating at everyone’s stares and whispers.

“It’s rather difficult to not.” You muttered.

After exiting the courtyard and passing through the meadow to the entrance of the forest, only after you passed through the tall oak tree’s, did you feel you could breath. The sound of birds trilling and the sun lazily peaking through the naked branches gave you a sense of peace you had nearly forgotten about it.

Leaves crunched beneath your feet as your eyes wandered over the vastness of the forest that seemed to stretch on and on, now that the tree’s were naked it seemed the forest was so much more barren than before. 

“Does it look like this? In Eunoia?” Jungkook asked, noting your gaze that seemed to wander. 

“Somewhat,” You admitted, “Winters are mild at best in Eunoia- at least in comparison to Penumbra. The most we get is a bit of a frost on the coldest days, just enough for leaves to fall- not all though. Many still stand their ground.” 

“Frost on the coldest days?” Jungkook’s head snapped to look at you as if you said something bizarre.

This caused a reluctant smile to tug on your lips as you curled your arm around his further, “Yes, some have called Eunoia the capital of the Sun. Our days are always sunny and warm, we’ve never known a true winter.”

“I can tell,” Jungkook replied, his eyes drifted from yours to your attire, “Is that why you’re dressed like it’s already snowed?” 

You looked down at the thick warm sleeves of your dress,they were dramatically long, going far past your hands though a slit made it easy to use your hands if needed, the color a deep maroon that could be mistaken for black if one didn’t pay attention.

“There was frost on the ground this morning.” You replied, a huff escaping your lips, “I suppose the odd looks the servants gave me when I requested my winter wardrobe make sense now.” 

You were too embarrassed to admit you were still cold, even in a winter gown, your dress even collared around your neck, making you feel admittedly strangled but any warmth was welcomed. 

“How will you survive winter here if you can’t make it past the first brisk frost without one of the thickest gowns in your wardrobe?” Jungkook mused, making you glare at him, a pout sporting on your lips. 

“Thickest gowns? This?” You gestured to yourself making him chuckle as he shook his head, “Well that simply won’t do at all, I’ll go to the seamstress myself if I must, I may be married into Jeon royalty but I don’t carry your northern blood.” The pout was still prominent on your lips, “Your brisk day is one of Eunoia’s coldest days, need I reiterate?” 

Jungkook shook his head but the smallest of smiles tugged on his lips, “As if you didn’t have enough gowns as it was, I’ll be sure to let the seamstress make your request known.” 

“Well you’re the one that handles my wardrobe,” Your pupils narrowed, “Now that I think about it, why shouldn’t I be the one in control of it? After all, I am the one wearing them.” 

“Because i’d like to think in someways-” You gasped at suddenly being pushed against the thick, tall oak that stood proud, “You enjoy giving me control.” Jungkook’s hand snaked around your head, grabbing a fist full of hair as he gave it a small yank, “If your display this morning was anything to go by.” 

“Jungkook.” 

It was not your voice who said his name however, within a second Jungkook had let you go, the air around you both sobering by the second as Jungkook looked over his shoulder, “Taehyung.” He nodded, a frown setting on his lips as you somewhat flusteredly brushed off your dress.

Just seeing the look on Taehyung’s face made a tidal wave of guilt wash over you. How could you stand here and act like a girl with a crush when someone’s life was at stake?

You peered from behind Jungkook and one look was all it took for the sickening feeling to rush back into your stomach once more, Taehyung looked vehement, his eyes tired and anger evident if his icy glare was anything to go by. 

“Have you both come to celebrate? Now that you’ve finally captured the assassin.” Taehyung’s lip twitched as his eyes burned into you. 

“Celebrate?” You echoed in hurt, immediately stepping past Jungkook, “Taehyung I would never celebrate this! We are doing everything in our power to get her back I-” 

“Well you were the one who let her go to begin with,” He hissed out lowly, his glowering from his hooded figure, “How am I to know that maybe this wasn’t just a calculated tactic?”

You felt your throat dry at his words, it was one thing to handle Jungkook when he was being unfair to you, but how would you deal with another? Let alone one of the first of Penumbra’s kin to show you kindness. 

“Calculated tactic?” The hurt in your voice was evident, making Taehyung’s nostrils flair. 

“Yes, after all rumors of you-”

“Enough.” Jungkook’s voice cut through the air like ice, an arm wrapped around you pulling you closer to his side, “We’ve come in grief and sobriety to apologize this is happening and that we are going to get Wheein back. I understand you’re upset, within reason to be,” 

Jungkook’s pupils narrowed as his voice grew as cold as the chilled wind that blew by, “But heed your words to my wife and your future Queen.” 

You were too stunned to even speak, hurt still expressed on your face at the insinuation that you had purposely done this to her, you would never! 

Taehyung’s lip twitched, “Is that a threat, Your Highness?” 

“My words are plain,” Jungkook replied, his eyes cutting low, “Take them as they are, we’ll leave you to be.”

“That would be for the best.” Taehyung’s hood lowered if only a little, those gray eyes glaring into you and even when you walked away from him you could feel his gaze burning into your back. 

To say you were horrified, was an understatement. 

While Jungkook did not wish to depart with you he had reluctantly done so, but not before trying to ease your distraught at Taehyung’s words, what was he going to say if Jungkook had let him finish? 

It made you anxiously pick at your nails, hardly able to even focus on your book as you heard a voice clear making you glance up. Namjoon gave a small bow and a sad smile, “How have your studies been coming along Princess?” 

“Terribly,” You admitted with a sigh, “How do you not let something consume you Namjoon?” 

It was a rhetorical question you had been asking yourself all day as you stared up at the ceiling, murals of battles painted in glorious displays, ones you had seen while walking in but had never paid attention to until now. 

“I think,” Namjoon paused as if to gather his thoughts, “Love is a worthy contender to be consumed by.” 

This made your gaze shoot back down at him as you cocked your head to the side as he smiled wryly, “Apologies, I enjoy a good tragedy every now and then. Love can consume, but it can also save, you should honor your emotions where they’re at. These are unprecedented times.” 

“That is a particular choice of words.” You mumbled staring down at your book but no matter how hard you tried, words were simply words, not a sentence nor a passage that gave your mind any relief to its occupied thoughts. 

“They are, but it’s the truth,” Namjoon frowned as he looked away, “Princess…” He paused as if debating his words, “Many things are afoot right now, the expansion on the East has officially been put on hold, the west is stirring with restlessness, and now Di Jin has been enlisted to reopen a fresh wound of Mabon.”

“What is it you are trying to say Namjoon.” You sighed as you looked up at him, you wished everyone would stop speaking to you in riddles, why was it you could not hear Taehyung’s full words? Even if they were hurtful, you had the right to know. 

“I am saying…that though we may not fully understand why these things are happening, to be prepared Princess.” Namjoon gave you one last smile before he stood up and gave you a small bow before departing. 

You sank further into your seat as you let out a small sigh, “Fucking hell.” 

“That kind of language is not befitting of a Princess.” 

You jumped upright in your seat once more at the voice that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, your eyes darted to your right where the beautiful- yet ugly sight of the Rosewood Knight Claudin appeared from. 

“Are you here to just mock me?” Your voice grew cold as your eyes glared at him, time may have moved forward but his attempted assault on you and siding with Seohyun was not easily forgotten. 

This made a thin, snake like smile tug on Claudin’s lips, “Anything but, Your Highness.” 

Your hands slowly curled into fists as your patience wore thin, you had been known by your family to have a temper your whole life- this was without a doubt true, but to consider violence? This was a first, and right now Claudin’s face was looking more and more like a punching bag each time he spoke. 

“You’re tired of everyone speaking to you in riddles? Isn’t that right?” Claudin strolled closer to you making you frown but did not speak further. He paused for a moment only to smile once more, your curiosity was piqued. 

“Then let me speak plainly to you Princess,” He kneeled down in front of you, “Penumbra’s trust in you is failing, immensely with each passing day. They no longer trust you. Dare I say some never did.”

It was an ugly truth that made you want to vehemently deny it, “What have I done to warrant this!? I have done nothing but try my best to become a Penumbrian.”

“I know Princess,” Claudin’s voice is oddly soft, as if laments for you, “But it is not what you’ve done, it is what Eunoia has done.” 

“...What of my homeland?” You frowned, your gaze weary and catious, could you truly trust anything that came from this man’s mouth?

Jungkook hadn’t mentioned anything about Eunoia to you. 

Claudin frowned at this, “I thought you would’ve heard Princess…” He paused for a moment as if gauging your reaction, “Eunoia has enlisted their kingdoms people into fortifying an army with Kimhae.” 

“Eunoia would never-”

“I am merely telling you what’s been running rampant on the streets,” Claudin replied calmly, still kneeled at your feet, “Telling you what nobody else dare does, you want plain words, here they are. It’s come across to Penumbra, that Eunoia is conspiring with Kimhae. Why else would they need an army?” 

“What source did you get this from?” Your lip twitched in anger. 

“Source?” Claudin smiled in humor, “This is common knowledge Princess. Or has the Prince just really kept you this in the dark? And from your own kin at that...” 

You don’t even know what possessed you in the moment but your temper had finally gotten the best of you, slapping him right across the face, “Enough! I won’t listen to any more of these lies of your weaving,” You stood up, towering over him as you glowered, “I don’t know what game you’re playing Rosewood, but it’s going to get you killed.” 

“But these are not lies Princess,” Claudin gritted his teeth, his hand grabbing your wrist making you try to yank away, “If you do not believe me, then perhaps you should go out into the streets yourself. Learn the truth nobody else in this castle will tell you.” 

You only managed to escape his grip from wringing your hand from the silk black glove you wore. The material still in his hand as you briskly walked out of the room. 

What did he know anyways? Eunoia, conscripting an army? Only the coldest day in hell would see that through. 

Even long into the night you still laid awake, mind restless as you shuffled in bed, laying down as you glanced at the dark hair of your husband who had been exhausted from the day, soundlessly sleeping beside you. 

His hair was darker then you remembered upon first meeting him and it was a fair bit longer too, now brushing over his lids as he slept, moving a little as if discontented, his hands extended out in reach of something. 

Your eyes stared at his hand, only an inch away from where it had been resting on your waist previously before you had shifted for a little space to move about without disturbing him. 

Just because you couldn't sleep didn’t mean he didn’t deserve too. 

Had he really been withholding information about Eunoia from you? You had been aware from the beginning that being in the castle kept you isolated to a certain degree, and that you would slowly become out of the loop of politics of the outside world due to being an outsider and Jungkook’s wife. 

But you…something swelled in your chest, there was no denying you and Jungkook had grown close over these last few months, if you both sharing a bed willingly every night was any assumption to go on. 

So surely he would’ve told you this information had he known it, and he would have to know this, because he was the Crowned Prince, heir to the throne, which meant, Claudin was surely lying. 

Yes, Claudin was simply lying to get under your skin and weasel his way to further his agenda, whatever that was. 

You closed your eyes contented, intending to shuffle a little closer to Jungkook once more, who’s brows were pinched, still in a sign of discontentment. 

‘Meet me in the Fool’s Barrel at past 2 if you seek the truth’ 

Your eyes snapped back open at the memory of the single sentence left on a piece of parchment at your nightstand earlier before you finally got up, quietly standing before you glanced back at Jungkook, the night was long after all, and surely he wouldn’t miss you in the time you’d be gone. 

With that you shuffled through your wardrobe for something suitable for the occasion before going over to Jungkook’s side of the bed, grabbing the sheathed knife from his stand before pressing a gentle kiss atop of his head. 

The parchment was rolled tightly in your grip and your dull brown hood was pulled low as you managed to sneak out during the guards rotation and Yoongi was talking with a fellow guard at the corner of the corridor.

The halls were dark and dim and just as this morning you felt stifled here, at the gates of the courtyard did you finally consider that this was reckless, if not entirely stupid.

Did it truly matter whether you knew or not? 

Your hand nearly crumpled the paper in anger, it did matter to you, it was your right to know what people thought of you, good or bad, and nobody had the right to keep that from you.

Your hand ghosted over the dagger strapped to your waist before you fixed your hood once more stepping outside the gate. 

The tavern was lively and bustling, unshocking for this hour, nobody paid you any mind with your hood as low as it was, unsuspecting that they were amidst their princess, searching through the tavern, the very same one you had made a total fool of yourself in earlier in the year, you found the person you were looking for. 

Claudin was leaned against one of the wooden beams, a hood on himself and a cat like smirk coiling on his lips as he held up your missing glove, “Here to take my offer Princess?” 

You snatched it from his hand, “If you so much as even put a hand on me, I will slit your throat.” You whispered to him.

This made him chuckle as if amused, “So the Eunoian bitch really does have a temper to match the title. Follow me Princess.” 

The Eunoian Bitch.

You weren’t that familiar with the title until you had come to Penumbra and your husband had made you well acquainted with it, and though you never inquired further about it to Wheein it wasn’t difficult to tell how the title had come about. 

You wouldn’t deny your temper, Jungkook had gotten to see it in full force when you first married, the title once upon a time insulted you but you had grown past it at this point, you wouldn’t be insulted, it seemed men loved to call you a bitch because you were not a pushover. 

Men were allowed to throw tantrums all the time without the blink of an eye, Dae Seong was living proof of it and yet nobody gave him a title for it.

You had followed behind Claudin closely as he exited through the backside of the tavern and led you down the increasingly narrow halls of the city that you didn’t even think existed, it was as if he was leading you to something of secret. 

And after Claudin had weaved and webbed his way through these increasingly dark and unsettling alleyways did you realize, this was exactly what he was doing, you heard the commotion before you saw it. 

Exiting the alleyway to reveal a well lit area of what looked like a crowded market place, though the stalls could hardly be seen as such. 

Claudin looked up from his hood towards ahead and then at you, “Welcome to the Underside. If you want information, this is where you shall find it.” 

Your eyes had gone wide at all the spectacles as you followed beside Claudin, fixing your hood a little lower as you watched a man breath fire from his mouth and the loud cackling of women before the shouts of a thief that shoved between you both. 

It was clear, you were in the belly of Penumbra’s criminal activity, just the thought made your hand ghost over the wickedly curved dagger strapped to your hip. You had never shed blood other than your own before,  you had taken an oath to never kill when you had first become a healer during the five year war, not only this but as a part of the royal family of Eunoia you had to vow that not only would you never kill but you would never devour as your earlier predecessors once did.

You could hardly stomach the sight of watching someone be killed, let alone killing someone yourself, but Penumbra had a certain way of hardening you these days. After all, you did just threaten to slice Claudin’s neck open if he tried anything on you. 

This was unsafe, and surely reckless, but you wanted answers and you wouldn’t back out now to get them. Claudin seemed delighted by the sternness in your expression, refusing to back away from the danger of this perilous situation as he guided you through the rowdy streets. 

Rounding the corner there was a crowd ahead making you tilt your head as you glanced at Claudin who only nodded ahead, both of you coming closer to the spectacle that you immediately deduced was a mockery of…you.

Your lip twitched in simmering anger at the mockery dress and hair of a man who’s voice pitched high, annoyingly so as he flounced about with the narrator, vacillating between ditsy and vexing.

“This is how they view you,” Claudin leaned in at your side as the crowd cackled at the man, “A predator dressed as prey, a Eunoian spy, here to cause our downfall.” 

“Now whatever shall our Bitch do!? Attempted murder afoot but wait! What is this between her breasts!” 

Your expression was deadpan as you watched the man grab a scroll from between his fake set of breasts, one even falling out revealing a bundle of cloth making everyone gag, “Ahem!” He coughed out high pitch, unrolling it as he read, “Oh dear husband! It appears my kingdom is on our borders! How could you not have seen? This was my plan all along!”

They placed a crown on his head which warranted boo’s from the crown, “Down with The Eunoian Bitch!” Someone cried from the crowd. 

You shook your head unable to watch any longer as you brushed past Claudin, eyes darting between the various sights on the streets, a group of four men continuously kicking a young boy, the prostitute against the wall with a man, and on the far side a crowd of people cheering as they threw darts and knives at wall, a poor imagine of your face as the target. 

“You’re upset.” Claudin followed after you with a remark.

“Of course I’m upset!” You hissed out, whirling around, “I’m being accused of something I didn’t do! My entire country is being accused of something we didn’t do- haven’t even done! Take me back to the castle.” 

Claudin shifted his foot with exasperation but was cut short with the cold metal pressing into his neck, “I said take me back to the fucking castle, now.”

Claudin held up his hands in a mock of surrender,  “You and your husband share an odd similarity of barbarously threatening me.”

Your lip twitched and your grip on the blade didn’t relent, “Maybe if you weren’t such a cunt that wouldn’t happen to you. Castle. Now.” 

“If you so wish, my Princess.” Claudin resisted no more as you sheath your weapon following stiffly behind him the whole way home. 

A spy…they thought you were a spy sent by Eunoia? You had learned to ignore the slanders thrown your way, but to have your whole kingdom’s credibility question? As if Eunoia didn’t house the fallen kingdom of Seoul? As if Eunoia wasn’t held responsible and damn near torn apart by the continent when Penumbra raised?

It was beyond just an insult, it was treasonness to even think about it. 

The castle was…much busier than when you had left, Claudin departed with you at the gates as you dismissed him, arriving by yourself only to swear at the sight of your knight walking towards you with hell's fury. 

“Where the hell have you been Princess!” Yoongi hissed out, grabbing your arm vehemently, “Do you want the Prince to kill me?” 

“Shit,” You ushered out, “What’s happened?” 

Yoongi gritted his teeth, “You mean to ask what’s going on after you snuck out past hours without telling me or anyone else, let alone your husband, what’s going on?” 

You deserved to be reprimanded, you knew that much but that didn’t mean you wanted to deal with it, you groaned, “Did he call for a search?” 

“Of course he did, Jungkook nearly had my head on a pike when I told him I thought you were with him,” Yoongi ran a hand through his hair, “Where were you?” 

“...” You said nothing for a long moment, your expression troubled as you sighed, Jungkook was not supposed to wake up to find you missing, how were you supposed to tell him you went into the depths of a crime ridden area only to discover many ugly truths tonight, ones he had most likely kept hidden from you. 

“Where did you go Princess?” Yoongi ushered, now concerned. 

“I went to the Underside.” 

“Fucking hell!” Yoongi ran a hand through his head again, “Do you know how incredibly stupid that was! Without anyone to protect you!? Penumbra may not be as pious as other kingdoms but rumors still run rampant.” 

“Yes,” Your gaze grew cold, “I’ve become aware as much.” 

Yoongi frowned at this, and you could tell by the look on his face he knew, they all knew, didn’t they? “Come along Princess, let’s get you into the parlor, the others are trying to keep Jungkook from ripping the city apart to find you.” 

You felt a stab of guilt at his words as you followed alongside him into the castle where residents all gawked at you as you kept your hood up, covering your face from their judgmental looks. 

Yoongi weaved his way through the corridors before the doors of the parlor were opened, the first person to whip around being the distraught figure of your husband. 

“Y/n.” 

Your hood was pulled down before he immediately embraced you, his muscles which had been previously tensed had relaxed as he pressed a kiss against the top of your head, “You worried me sick,” He chastised you, “Where did you go? You should’ve told Yoongi- better yet taken him with you!” 

Jungkook cupped your cheeks as he pulled you away a little to inspect your face, making sure you were uninjured, “I’m sorry,” You mumbled, lips quivering only a little in both hurt and confusion at everything you were digesting. 

“Where did you go, Y/n?” Jungkook asked you once more, this time his voice was a little more calm, releasing you upon hearing you try to clear your dry throat. 

Walking over to the table where a pitcher of water was, you poured yourself a glass, glancing between your husband to the two other figures in the room, both his aunt and uncle, Areum and Jeong Dae as the least wanted person at this time walked into the room.

“Ah what coincidental timing.” Di Jin had walked in behind you, everybody's eyes staring at him for a long moment, “Because I just received word that the Princess was spotted coming out of the Underside.” 

The room erupted into worse chaos then you could have expected. “My wife would never step foot in that pit you caused.” Jungkook snarled out.

“It’s true.” You muttered, unable to see the two men baring teeth at one another and despite your low tone it caused silence throughout the whole room.

“Out. The lot of you, these are matters for the family only.” Areum’s voice followed after you as her eyes narrowed on both your friends and servants alike and with that everyone departed.

“Feeling honest, are we Princess?” Di Jin looked haughty at you.

“Y/n,” Jungkook’s voice was wrought with anger, though it was obvious he was trying to keep himself calm, “Why?”

It was like the dam you held your anger in snapped out, rushing out and into every vein in your body as you slammed your cup down, “Why don’t we talk about how everyone’s been keeping me in the fucking dark!”

Everyone looked taken aback by your heated glare, “Talks of Eunoia raising an army and sending me as a spy while consorting with Kimhae!?” You spat out glaring at all of your in laws.

And the oddest thing happened, it could’ve been a trick of your eyes, but you could’ve sworn you had seen Jungkook visibly flinch at the words. 

His eyes were like steel as you glared at him.

“And you knew it! Didn’t you?” You pointed an accusing finger at him as he looked away from you.

Di Jin let out a loud laugh bringing your attention to him, “Well let’s be honest here dear, everyone in this room has suspicions of you being a spy.” 

“Stay out of this.” You snapped, “My affairs with my husband are no concern of yours.” 

“Oh but it seems they are.” Di Jin had a sneering smile on his face as he held up the paper he held in his hand.

“Di Jin.” Jungkook’s voice was low in warning.

You snatched the paper from his hand before Jungkook could even stop you walking away from him and closer to the fire, the only noise being the snaps and crackles as everyone looked at you tensed. 

The more you read the tighter your grip became as Di Jin spoke, “Interesting, how even your husband assumed you were a spy? Was it not?” He hummed innocently, “I’ll be watching you very closely from now on girl, lest a case of treason be opened against you.” 

Your eyes only glared down at the paper, Jungkook’s royal emblem no mistake and the date an even harsher blow to your heart as tears of wrath began to blur in your vision, “Leave. Now.” 

Di Jin frowned at this, perhaps hoping for a more expressive reaction from you, as if he was trying to get you to dig yourself a hole, but you would not submit yourself to that, you would not allow him to weave his little web of instigation any further. 

“You heard her Wolf.” Areum frowned deeply, walking to stand in front of him as her eyes burned like coals, “Your duties are done for the evening..” 

“You're welcome.” Di Jin sneered one last smile before exiting. 

The door shut quietly behind him as your lips quivered and your nails nearly torn through the paper, trying to calm your breaths down but truthfully, you were rendered speechless. Everything you had become accustomed to, the delicate, tender blossom that was slowly growing between you and Jungkook felt as if it had been abruptly yanked from the ground and stamped under a boot. 

Jungkook had grown anxious at your expression, you were abhorrently livid, if your body language was anything to go by, “Y/n,” He finally sighed out, “What did you expect me to do? It’s no secret that the court has doubted you from the very moment-”

“This isn’t about the fucking court!” You hissed out, every ounce of self restraint thrown out the window as you marched over to him, “This isn’t about Di Jin, this isn’t about anyone but you! What the fuck is this!?” You cried out shoving the parchment into his chest, pain wrought in your expression, eyes glaring with rage and betrayal, “After everything we’ve been through together!?”

You ran your hands though your hair trying to calm down your rapidly beating heart, tears vehemently stinging your eyes as you shook your head, “I’ve have bared my soul to you, again and again, I- I have tried my best to understand Penumbra, your culture, you. For months! And I…” 

You closed your eyes, letting the defeated tears trickled down your face, “I genuinely believed that you…” You couldn’t even bring yourself to say the words that squeezed too tightly in your throat, a sob finally bubbling from your lips, “Why!?” You whimpered out, finally staring at him, “Why did you not tell me about Eunoia? Or the rumors, or…or any of it!” 

It would be one thing if he had this investigated when you had first arrived in Penumbra, but he didn’t, this was recent, too recent. All of your fresh memories with him spiraling in your head, the intimacy you had nervously shared with him.

“Because, what if it was true?” Jungkook’s jaw clenched, “I don’t take any pleasure saying that Y/n! But I needed to be sure that you weren’t playing a game with me.” 

Your lips trembled in disbelief as warm tears dripped down your face, “No I said those words to you!” You pointed an accusing finger at him, “I asked you those same words and you looked me in the eyes and lied to me!”

“I wasn’t lying to you!” Jungkook immediately hissed back, “I’m not in a forgiving position! I needed to know you were on my side for certain and those words I said were not a lie! I don’t expect you to understand, nor do I expect your forgiveness, but I did what I had to do!” 

You stared at him for a long moment in disbelief, tears dripping down your chin as Jungkook sighed, cupping your cheeks as he brushed the tears away, “I’ve meant every word I’ve said to you, and the feelings I have, it’s all real.” He pressed his forehead against yours, “But you can’t expect me to have zero doubts in your credibility, you were going to marry the Prince of the kingdom that took great pleasure in slaughtering my people.”

“That isn’t fair Jungkook!” You tried to bite back your sob, your heart as if it was being torn to shreds, “Everything you’re saying isn’t fair! You know it isn’t!” 

“Life isn’t fair and it isn’t kind Y/n,” Jungkook frowned at the new tears that dripped down your face, “I’m only sorry that I’m the one having to tell you this.” 

“Fuck you!” You spat at him, shoving him away, “Paint it how you want, but it doesn’t change what you did, you choose to not trust me. You choose to have me investigated and you choose to look me in the eyes and tell me this was not a game to you.”

“Y/n-”

“No.” You snapped sharply, looking up at him as your voice trembled softly, “Me and you, we’re done. You’re right, you don’t deserve my forgiveness nor my understanding. The only thing we have left is the fact that we’re both bitches serving the same crown. You are nothing more than a liar Jungkook.”

“You don’t mean that.” Jungkook shook his head, his jaw clenching. 

“I mean every fucking word.” You seethed.

You turned around, shoving the doors open to the room as you shoved the tears from your eyes, everyone had looked at you in baited breath but you only walked over to Yoongi, “Take me to my room. My room, please.” 

Yoongi had parted his lips but said no more, doing as you asked as you shoved the tears from your eyes, trying to pick up the broken pieces of your heart that laid cracked and shattered from Jungkook’s heartless words. 

He really was as wicked as they said he was. 

[wcrriorhearts]

I will preface this post by saying two things: I am really, REALLY hard to anger and I am normally very much against call out culture, because I feel like publicly addressing someone in this fashion leads nowhere, but I will make an exception this one time, because I lose my patience when people attack my friends and this is exactly what has been happening. I will not stand for this. I will put the rest of this under a cut and apologize in advance for polluting your dash with negativity, because I personally hate this too, but this needs to stop, NOW and since no one else is speaking up, I will do it!

Leah, Anna, Angelika, whatever the hell your name my be, because you change it constantly, this needs to stop! I am addressing you personally, because we have surpassed the point of vague posting. You have crossed more lines than I can count and I am SO DONE with your behavior. It is hard to get me to this point, but you have managed to make me so livid, that we're here now and this needs to STOP. Not only have you scammed half the hotd fandom out of money in the most ridiculous ways by making one donation post after the other with various claims, but you were also not very careful with your many lies. I will have enough decency not to talk about them here at length but please know that if your vile behavior continues, I have proof of all the bullshit lies you told and all the shady things you did and I will NOT be nice enough again to keep them out of the public eye.

Lying and scamming is one line you crossed but sucicide baiting people and then when this didn't garner the attention you wanted making another 'goodbye' post in which you basically attack my friends blaming them for your decision to supposedly ending your life? That is one too many steps over lines and boundaries and I cannot stand for this. Also once again you lied in that post. You never asked Daze for money??? I have screenshot proof that you did, so PLEASE for the love of everything that is fair, shut up and leave everyone alone. I am sorry to say this, but once again it is VERY suspicious that you only posted your heartfelt goodbye messages on platforms Daze could see. Coincidence, isn't it? That she confronted you with your lies privately and then this is the escalation of it? Were you scared that all of your lies would unravel? Perhaps, given this is not the first fandom in which you have done this. I am not someone who lightly discredits people who are desperate enough to end their lives, but I don't believe you a single word anymore. You made the first post about it, then nothing happened and it gained no traction, then the second, just like you did with all of your fundraiser posts. As soon as you didn't garner the attention and traction you wanted, you just upped the dramatics. Aber wie man so schön hier in Deutschland sagt: wer ein Mal lügt, dem glaubt man nicht!

I have absolutely no doubt that you are severely mentally ill and I hope that you get the help you need, I truly do, because no person in their right mind would ever do the things you did. I don't care if you attack me, or if you go behind my back and talk shit, because I know who is in the right here and it's not you. Mind you, neither one of us - and there's more than just the three of us you know of - would have ever made this public. We would have let this fizzle out and you get your head straight, but you had to cross yet another line. I am disgusted by what you have said and done in order to guilt trip my friends, who were nothing but kind to you, until they started to notice all the lies and weird things you told them and confronted you.

Sadly I have seen many people like you in the rp world, who will lie and live at the expense of good, honest people who want to do good in the world and help others in need. If you take anything from this, please consider how damaging your behavior has been. You might have gained a shit ton of money for free, others are traumatized by what you have done. I don't care about what you do from here on, I just hope you get professional help for whatever has led you down this path and come to see the error of your ways. Should you ever shade, attack, or even mention my friends, the next post will not be so comparably friendly anymore. Lass es dir gesagt sein Leah, du willst wirklich nicht, dass wir alles was wir gegen dich gesammelt haben öffentlich stellen. Also tu uns und dir den Gefallen und verschwinde aus dem Fandom, oder zumindest unserem Dunstkreis, denn dich will ich definitiv nicht mehr sehen hier. And to everyone else who read this: I am sorry if you have been affected by this too. Please feel free to reach out if you want to talk. And if you should choose to unfollow me for this post, I will have no hard feelings. Had this been me in the center of all of this, I wouldn't have said anything. But if you attack my friends, it's on sight.

[bonny-kookoo]

Jungkook: 𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐌𝐘 (6)

In which you're the one on the table, getting your little operation to finally free you- and equally bind you to the person you yourself chose to stay with- and yet Jungkook's the one that's most on edge.

Tags/Warnings: Mafia!Jungkook, Hybrid!Reader, mute!reader, Angst, Fluff, Slight humor, Crime and violence, mentions of kidnapping, graphic description of adult content (violence, smut, Jungkooks questionable interrogation tactics) strangers to lovers

Additional Chapter Warnings: mentions of surgery, anesthesia + aftereffects of it, nervous Kook, mild Angst, mostly fluff

Chapter Length: mid

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"She will be completely fine. I've only got her on that thing, so she's basically only on local anesthetic. As soon as I turn this off-" Seokjin taps a small tank of gas. "-she will begin to wake up again." He nods. Jungkook doesn't look up. He's got your hand in his while you're laying on the table, basically, looking around without a clue as to what's going to happen.

Last time someone was on that table it was himself- and he almost died.

"She will be a little foggy, though, because I'll have to put her on heavy pain meds the first few hours. The base of the tail is connected to the spine after all - that's a delicate and very sensitive area." He explains. "And I also doubt you'll do good seeing her in pain."

"No-" Jungkook immediately cuts in, making you look now at the sound of his voice. "-do what you have to." He says quietly.

"Alright." Jin nods. "Sweetheart, I'll put this on alright? Just keep breathing normally, even when it makes you sleepy." He informs you, and you nod, letting him put the breathing mask onto you.

It'll always creep Jungkook out how people.. loose consciousness, be it death, be it like this, or even sleep. He hates seeing people fall asleep. It reminds him too much of death.

It looks too similar.

Similar only, because people don't just fall and close their eyes. Some scream, some cramp up, others will scramble like zombies trying to survive. It's truly terrifying, even for someone like him. It never becomes routine.

But when you close your eyes, he watches. It's like he has to. He can't let go of your hand. Stays in the room, eben when Jin prepares everything around you.

"Hm, it's not old, that's for sure." The man explains as he works, trying hard to keep everything sterile. "Black market stuff though. That's not a brand I've ever seen." He mumbles around, eyes fully concentrated while Jungkook keeps staring at your sleeping face.

You don't belong in his life, and at the same time, he couldn't think of anyone who could live at his side better than you.

Maybe he also just wants to pacify himself, his inner demons that constantly nag at him about your safety.

"Jungkook?" Jin catches him, pulls him out of his thoughts. "Dont worry, nothing bad. But I'm wondering if you've seen these scars on her back?" He wonders.

Jungkook furrows his brows, shakes his head. He's not seen you naked, so how would he have seen them?

"Why?" He asks seriously letting go of your hand for a moment as he lays it next to you carefully, before walking around the table. "What about it?"

"They're surgical scars." Jin explains. "They're precise. She either had this procedure done many times, or she's been through more vile things than we initially thought." He tells the jounger man, who suddenly feels nauseous. What have they done to you?

Suddenly, your tail twitches, and you seem to choke into the mask, leg kicking out. It instantly scares Jungkook into an almost panic. "What's happening?!" He exclaims, demands, as he pulls the mask from your face. His mood especially worsens when you whimper, long, drawn-out sounds that aren't loud but will probably still haunt him in his sleep.

"I'm not sure." He scrambles, instantly fumbling to look at a monitor that's measuring your heart rate and blood pressure by the clip on your finger. "Wait- talk to her!" He suddenly demands.

"I- what?" He asks, confused before he leans down to your now pinned back ears and scrunched up face, trying to speak through your endless whining. "Hey, I'm here, you're alright." He tries to help, holding your hand again.

It all stops, almost instantly.

"My God, that little gremlin gave me a God damn heart attack!" Seokjin complains, holding onto the edge of the table.

"What happened?" Jungkook asks.

"You let go of her hand. I guess she somehow noticed, unconsciously, and panicked." He explains, as Jungkook calms down as well now.

"Let me get that chip in, though, before she wakes up." Jin mumbles after a moment. "She might notice that one, so, just as a heads-up." He sighs before preparing the device he's gonna use to push the chip beneath your skin. It's oddly almost the same as used for pets- but neither of the men think about it too much. There's some things that just won't change. Can't change. It reminds me that you're not human. Not seen as equal in society.

As soon as the chip is in, you squeak and twitch a little again, but jungkooks hands instantly try and soothe your sleeping mind. He whispers soft praise to you, holds onto you, makes sure you know he's still here.

Before he lifts your hand to his lips, uncaring of who sees him vulnerable like this as he speaks.

"Dont worry." He says, his other hand running over your head. "You won't ever be alone from now on."

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[lavenderarts]

Full of rage and grief having gone to see that fucking godawful Ronald Reagan biopic with my parents yesterday (purely for morbid curiosity and not wanting to argue with them about why I didn’t want to go) so you get to hear about it

The movie includes this: A whopping 4 seconds total of footage referencing ACT UP/the AIDS crisis. Four seconds. Of protest footage. Sandwiched within an 80s MTV-themed montage of people burning Reagan in effigy clearly intended to make you angry and dismissive. No acknowledgment of how many of us dragged our bodies to the gates to die in front of him. About 2 seconds’ mention of his war on drugs, similarly designed to make Black people look hysterical. Only the briefest of touches upon Iran-Contra, strongly implying that he didn’t authorize anything and was innocent, someone under him simply betrayed him and he had to take the fall for their moral failing because he was a stand-up guy who admitted his mistakes and looked the American people in the eye. If you couldn’t remember Iran-Contra, as I couldn’t when I was watching, you would genuinely not even understand what the controversy was about. It’s contextless. The movie ends with him honest to God riding off into the sunset to the tune of Country Roads, Take Me Home and reading a letter thanking America for the honor of letting him be President.

It’s genuinely one of the most foul things I’ve ever seen. The utter refusal to engage with criticism of that man, to view the lives of my people or anyone in the Middle East, Cuba, or anywhere else as important or worthy of preservation. The pointed framing of anyone who said he was “an actor, not a politician” as hysterical and elitist, clearly gesturing at Trump. Like. I can’t say enough about how vile it is.

My parents said that he was one of the last Presidents who could make you feel good about being an American and that feeling is basically gone today, and they weren’t dismissive of that lack of pride but I don’t think they fully understand where it comes from or how people who feel that way really feel. I don’t really… Hate America in the way they mean. I think this country has no right to exist, I think its history is full of shame and atrocity so violent and imperialist it should disqualify us from having any illusions of moral authority over anyone. The ultimate justice would be the dissolution of all empires and the return of the land to Native stewardship and governance. But I and I think a lot of other people would like to be able to love their countries. I’d like to feel proud to be American and for that to symbolize something good and kind, I’d like to love my country, but it doesn’t love me back. Every day, as someone disabled, trans, gay, a “woman,” leftist, I’m bombarded by reminders that my country would rather see me dead than have me as a part of it. I’d like for that to change. But I can’t be proud of my country until/unless we admit our failings and our crimes and make reparations for them, and until we truly change how we interact with the rest of the world. The Reagan “Gee isn’t it nice to be American, we’re all in this together and we’re gonna make it because we’re the greatest country in the world” shit rings hollow when you’ve seen firsthand that we’ve never been the greatest at anything except maybe monstrous and inhuman cruelty and greed on an industrial scale. It’s a lie, and I can’t love that lie.

I love my home, I love my state, I love its people, I love its local culture and history and I love that it is my home, but I don’t love my country because it has never loved people like me. And as we come up on a year of funding genocides at home and abroad, the least helpful thing in the world is a movie produced by Evangelical zealots about how you used to be able to say you were proud to be American and we need to return to that time because today’s world is so full of hate and division on account of the Democrats or whatever. I said it in the group chat but I’ll say it again, I honestly think that if I had wrapped the movie screen around my dick and jerked off for 2 hours it would have been less egregiously masturbatory propaganda than this. I wish deep evil and suffering upon everyone involved in its production

[nightlyforrest]

I actually fucking despise the british government

I've just seen Rishi Sunak's election ad and it is the most primal rage enducing, self entitled, egotist, arrogant, patriot dick riding, careless, lazy, disgusting absaloute piglet fucking thing I have ever seen. The fucking balls he must think he has to claim we have a stable economy to fight for, to pretend he's the reason we got through covid and to try and pander to young people as if he hasn't done anything but ruin our fucking lives since he's had a shred of power, I actually fucking hope the most horrific thing happens to that man he is VILE. To claim you want a safe, sustainable future for people's children and then in the same breath say you want to push refugees out, ride isreal's fucking cock like netanyahu is his daddy, deny the palestinian genocide and toss around the idea of forcing young people to conscript to military service the same fucking way they have to in places like korea. completely and utterly despicable. As if he has ever done fucking anything other than fuck us youngsters over. fuck no I would sooner fucking kill myself infront of the sorry prick and hope it scars him for life. he deserves a bit of trauma to match the fucking rest of us. I wont even call him a pig anymore he doesnt have the meat on his bones or the spine to hold it up to deserve that fucking title, he's a joke, a rich, entitled prat who thinks he's owed everything in the world for putting in the least ammount of effort in to keep his image clean. Fucking disgusting, I would say imagine putting your own kids on the front line but I know by now that would make no difference he doesnt fucking care. That's not even mentioning the damage he's already done, like crashing our economy, cutting taxes for the rich while freezing benefits for the poor and disabled, cutting funding for the nhs just to line his pockets and pour more money into our fucking equally disgusting, useless police force just the other week I had to kick off at a bunch of piglets just wandering around while a bin poured out thick white smoke. Like how fucking inept can you be to just stand there and gawk and gossip fucking call for backup and remove the children from the area you fucking useless pig. And how fucking dare our MPs complain about fear for their safetey, they deserve to be fucking scared. maybe they should try living in the run down housing estates they've been packing with veterans and disabled parents for years see how their own kids turned out. because I guarentee they'll be cutting themselves and doing drugs like nearly every other normal kid I fucking know. Truly a pathetic runt of a man I'm so fucking sick of this country, I hate it I hate it I hate it. The rich deserve more fucking axe cuts.

[amortentiainmyfirewhiskey]

|marrón pt.1? | imagine

post-azkaban sirius x reader with brown eyes

w.c:+2k

warnings: eventual smut?, cursing

description: reader is an ex-auror from america who joins the order

pt. 2

00000    

Brown eyes watched as tattooed hands scraped against dark stubble, and it was one of the most exhilarating sights she had seen in a while. Something was arousing by the rings he wore on his fingers and the wrinkles forming around his eyes and mouth. She wanted to trace the vein on the right side of his neck with her tongue before shoving him down into her bed. Holy shit, she was horrible. This man was over ten years her senior, and his Godson sat right beside him while she was having these vile thoughts.

 They didn’t even know each other that well. She looked over to where Remus sat on his other side and frowned. It was odd. Usually, she fell all over herself for guys like Remus, the cute nerdy type. She had never liked someone like Sirius, someone like herself.

She had been an auror for MACUSA until about a year ago before she was asked to resign. It was late August when she and her friends decided to drive to Montauk in the middle of the night. She used the term friends, but they had been more like family, well, the only family she had ever had anyway. The only thing she remembered from that night was Connor's arm being thrown in front of her, the sensation of falling, watching a man searching through their destroyed car from the pavement, and then waking up to them all being dead. Those who had made her shit life somewhat better were gone and never coming back.

She looked back to Sirius, who laughed at something Tonks said. When was the last time she had truly laughed? How could he laugh after he, too, had his only family taken away, his youth, his essence? How had he not given into the dementors?

After all her friends died, she had been forced by the auror department to go to therapy; they said she had gotten dangerously violent with perps and that she wasn't allowed out in the field until she got the all-clear from the assigned therapist- that obviously didn't happen. She didn't just sit idly by and work on her 'mental health' or whatever; she got her ass out there and worked. But she supposed this 'work' wasn't very honorable... or legal for that matter.

Somehow Kinglsey found her one night after a job. He knew she was a witch immediately, even though she refused to use her wand for a job just in case MACUSA tried to trace it. He said it had been the weed she was smoking, funny enough. Magically grown marijuana has a distinct smell that differs from regular weed significantly.

  “ I’m sorry dear, where are you staying again?” asked Molly Weasley from across the table, “ I can’t remember for the life of me,”

“ Oh, I didn’t say say, “ (Y/N) said with a polite smile. She supposed the conversation shifted over to her without noticing; great, “ I’m kinda just hopping around from hotels to erm friend’s places,”

Arthur smiled, " Ah! So you have friends here? That's great to hear!"

(Y/N) couldn't help but snort as she thought of all the hookups she had had while being here only a little over a month. Did she really call them friends? She slammed her hand over her mouth before collecting herself and clearing her thoughts, " Excuse me, " she said, fighting a smile, " Sorry, um, inside joke, " she clarified, " I don't really have friends here; I kinda just float around and meet new people-,"

" You've been staying with strangers!" screeched Molly, (Y/N) turned to her left to see the older witch clutching her coat in her hands and looking at (y/n) in absolute horror, " That just won't do. Maybe you can stay with us-,"

(Y/N) jumped up and laughed awkwardly while holding her hands in front of her chest, " Oh no, I'm fine!" she assured the older woman, " I. . ."

What the fuck did she even say? I like fucking people I don't know? I like going out and waking up in random places?

(Y/N) was beginning to panic now. She had paused for too long, and now the conversation had gained the attention of everyone in the room. The (y/h/c) settled with smiling and repeating what she had just said, " I'm fine, "

She convinced absolutely no one.

Tonks raised a pink brow before her eyes lit up as an idea crossed her mind, " Well you can just stay here, hell there's plenty of room- if that's okay with Remus and Sirius, since their here most ...I suppose," she turned to them with a bashful smile.

(Y/N)'s heart practically skipped a beat as Sirius's pale eyes widened. Fuck this was embarrassing. What the fuck did she do? And why was part of her excited, oh dear God, she was acting like she was thirteen, wasn't she?

She settled with an airy laugh, " I can find a hotel or something- or hell even an apartment if I have to, " As if she could fucking afford that.

Sirius shook his head and allowed a kind smile of sorts to play on his lips, " That's not necessary, (Y/L/N)- I mean you are more than welcome to stay here, even if it's just until you find a place,"

Okay, that sounded good, yeah, she'd do that. " Are you sure?" she asked him, eyeing Remus as well. (Y/N) might have been somewhat obnoxious and loud, especially while drinking, in the past but she had gained a type of weird anxiety. She absolutely refused to impose herself or any of her baggage on other people.

" Alright, you can stay on the second floor, I think Molly and the kids cleaned out the third room, yeah?" asked Sirius to Molly, who simply nodded.

Tonks stepped in once again, seemingly recovered from sticking her foot in her mouth, " Do you need help getting your stuff from your hotel?" she asked.

(Y/N) thought about the one charmed bag she had full of clothes and toiletries, " I think I can handle it," she said with a small, perhaps obvious fake smile.

The kids seemed oddly excited about her staying with them, and maybe they were just happy to have someone other than each other and Tonks. Or hell, maybe they liked her. She was pretty fucking cool when you looked past the depressed alcoholic side of her.

“ Could you tell us some auror stories?” asked the youngest Weasley, Ginny, fuck yeah they thought she was cool.

(Y/N) thought about it carefully, “ I don’t know. . .” She had seen some fucked up shit, maybe she could tell them a funny one from when she was just starting out and she was basically mall cop status.

“ Well, I guess the one about when I had to go undercover, and my friend had to pretend to be my pimp isn’t so bad,” she decided aloud. It was probably one of the funniest stories she had.

While the kids and Tonks were on the edge of their seats, Molly and Arthur shared a strained smile which Sirius and Remus noticed, “ Maybe this story can wait for tomorrow, “ said the werewolf looking at the kitchen’s clock, “ You lot have to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow and pick up books, “

Fred and George scoffed, “ Oh come off it, it’s not like she was actually pimped out !” said Fred

Finally Molly put her foot down and sent all the kids to their respective rooms and on their way out she could hear Ron asking Hermione what being pimped out was.

(Y/N) grimaced, “ Well, I thought it was teenager friendly, “ she told the three once the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione went to bed.

Sirius barked a laugh before taking a swig of his whiskey, “ Don’t fret it, “ he reassured, “ Molly is just protective is all, “

Remus nodded his agreement before looking down at his watch, “ Right, We’ve got to head to West Street and patrol, C’mon Dora,”

Soon it was just the two of them sitting in the once refined kitchen, “ You said you were recruited by Kingsley. . . what made you join?” asked Sirius.

(Y/N) sighed and offered a half-way shrug, “ I guess I just wanted to do some good, I feel like I haven’t done anything for other people in a long time,”

His silver eyes narrowed, “ I thought you had been an auror?”

“ Yeah I had been, but shit happened and I changed career paths,” she said with a small smile, hoping he wasn’t thinking of her as a possible threat. He didn’t trust her, that much was obvious.

“ Your family know you’re here?” he asked.

(Y/N) shook her head, “ There isn’t any family to tell,”

There was a pause, a shift in the air. Sirius had questions, she knew that much, but she didn’t want to answer them. Sirius seemed to sense her sensitivity to the subject and quickly changed it.

“ Tell me what was Ilvermorny like?” he asked before taking a sip of his wine.

(Y/N) couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips as she turned to him, “ Like a movie,” she hummed, “ I’d never had much stability before Ilvermorny, but it was nice. . . really nice,”

Sirius nodded, “ I know what you mean, “ he muttered looking up at the freshly clean chandelier, “ My parents were horrible, shit heads you could say,”

(Y/N) chuckled, “ I didn’t know mine, I grew up at a orphanage and then was in the foster care system for a while,”

“ It was lonely,” she finished quietly, slightly embarrassed for adding that unnecessary tidbit.

She was staring at the peeling wallpaper when Sirius patted her hand and she met his eyes. He offered her a friendly smile before drawing back, “ Well you’re not anymore with us around, yeah?”

She smiled but rolled her eyes, fighting not to call bullshit, “ I appreciate that,” she said playfully before standing up.

(Y/N) went to bed that night with her heart racing as she remembered Sirius’s hand on her own, she was a fucking disaster. He didn’t flirt with her or look her over- he was a grown man. In his eyes she was probably just some kid.

--

“ I appreciate that,” she said to him, her brown eyes melting just a bit before she stood. Sirius watched her go and let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.

 He didn’t know why she made him nervous, maybe it was the fact he didn’t trust her. She did kind of show up out of nowhere and had an almost nonexistent past.

Sirius had said those things to her in an attempt to get her to open up to him, to trust him, so he in turn could learn more about her. That had been his intention, but the fact his heart skipped a beat when he laid his hand on top of hers was a shock.

Did he find (y/l/n) beautiful, yes. Was she funny, yeah sure. Was she quite possibly his ideal woman, sure maybe.

Gray eyes slid across the old oak table and to the rim of her wine glass where her dark lipstick made an impression on the crystal.

Sirius shut his eyes and groaned.

“Fuck,”

---

a/n: lemme know if you guys are interested in another part.

[loudblonde]

Simon "Ghost" Riley x Male!Reader Mafia AU, (Chapter Sixteen)

Summery: (Y/N) and Ghost finally return home, although their return home is less then ideal, after an argument they go to each their own, causing Ghost to revert a bit back to the way he was before. As Price drags Simon in, his whole world gets upturnt as he battles with his loyalty to Price and love for (Y/N).

Warnings: Mentions of torure,

Word Count: 2,4k

They had made a plane, the noise of the engine wasn’t enough to silence either of the men's minds. Thoughts on what had happened and what would happen were racing through Simon's mind. He had disobeyed Price’s direct order, he had not only completely and totally fallen for (Y/N), but he had slept with him. Simon was compromised and Ghost was as well. While his other persona had screamed and screamed at how they were making a mistake, how they were going to get punished, Simon hadn’t listened, he had completely and utterly allowed himself to be owned by a walking red flag that was incapable of truly loving him. Yet, each time he was shown care and love intoxicated him, it made him dream of what could be if Price wasn’t in the way of their love.

…

The thought was vile, it made Simon sick to his stomach, but perhaps…

Perhaps…

Just maybe.

In the distant future.

Maybe Price needed to die so their love could bloom.

No, it was appalling, he couldn’t kill John Price, the man who took him in when he had nothing, the man who rescued him from his father. John Price was too important to die.

(Y/N)’s hand was possessively on Simon’s leg, almost as though he was clinging to the hope that them being together wouldn’t immediately be punished. (Y/N)’s mind was going a million miles a minute, trying to find ways he could defend that cherished pet he had gotten in the form of Simon. He had come to rather like him, especially since Simon was rebuilding confidence and becoming a right old bastard. Simon grounded him in reality and helped him keep on point, he hadn’t been lost in his time away, not with Simon there…. He knew his nightmares would start up again the moment he couldn’t share the bed with Simon, hell… Simon’s nightmares would as well, he doubted either of them could sleep after this. Could he even sleep without Simon there?

Not to mention how Ghost would most likely take over again, everything that (Y/N) built up inside Simon, every ounce of twisted love and corrupted care would be washed away as his father got his hands on Ghost again.

Perhaps (Y/N) could ask for Ghost as a gift, though he wasn’t sure how his father would react. John was conflicted about the bodyguard. On one hand, there had been the client dying and the one million pounds of lost cargo but on the other hand (Y/N) knew Simon and this Soap had definitely been how his father coped with not seeing his son grow up. He had probably seen Simon’s failure as his own, the punishment wasn’t befitting of the crime.

(Y/N) didn’t want to know what the punishment would be for Simon if John ever discovered what had happened between them. Time was precious. (Y/N) sighed softly before leaning his head against Simon’s shoulder, the plane would land at any moment now. “My father can’t know, right?”

“No, I think he would kill me,” Simon said. “Or maybe not kill me, but I disobeyed his orders, direct orders.”

“I will protect you, maybe ask for you to be assigned to me.” (Y/N) said.

Simon looked down at the younger man. “And if I were to suggest that we break apart? For your safety.”

(Y/N) sat up and looked directly into his eyes. “I would tell you that you were an idiot, we are both capable men, I am not some damsel in distress.”

“I’m a weakness, (nickname), if you care more than you already do someone would use that against you,” Simon said, ignoring the way his heart was aching and breaking.

“Why do I feel like we are breaking up?” (Y/N) asked. “After everything we have been through?” Cold anger was rising within him, he had immaculate control and yet the fact Simon was stupid enough to even suggest them not even trying, after all their promises to each other were testing every ounce of self-control he possessed.

Simon looked away. “It would just be safer this way, no one would know and you could get a partner you could publicly be with.”

(Y/N) looked away as well, they were amongst civilians, he couldn’t make any rash decisions. “Whatever, have it your way, Ghost.”

—

(Y/N) shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, I have heard a lot. I’m (Y/N) though you may hear some call me Chip.”

They landed during the afternoon, despite the sun being up and no cloud in the sky, (Y/N) was freezing cold. He looked to a new man he had yet to see who spoke with Ghost while they were catching up, (Y/N) was in the back of the car, he had nothing to say to Ghost or this man he spoke to.

The doors opened and Ghost got into the driver's seat, he was wearing his full mask again, back to normal. The other man looked at (Y/N) and held his hand out. “I’m Soap or John, whatever you prefer.”

“Chip, I have heard about you, son of Viper.” Soap said. “Heard you didn’t inherit her affinity for poison.”

“I don’t use poisons when I kill, I tend to favour information extraction over the kill, it’s a messy but rather fun experience, though the clean-up is horrible.” (Y/N) chuckled, fully intent on ignoring Ghost as he drove them towards his father.

“Oooh, well we may have use for that, Lad, Price has one of the people who were a threat, they aren’t speaking and we need to know if there is more.” Soap said.

“Oh that would be my pleasure.” (Y/N) said, smirking even more.

Soap matched the absolutely feral smirk that (Y/N) had on his face. “You and I are gonna get along just fine.”

By the time they arrived at the manor again, (Y/N) was just chatting with Soap, both men getting closer and closer by the minute. (Y/N) got out of the car and looked at his father before walking over and giving him a nod. “Here I am, safe and sound.”

“I can see that.” Price said. “And Ghost?”

“Did his job, he is safe and in one piece though injured his hand a wee bit back. But he was good at his job.” (Y/N) replied with the praise that Ghost had earned.

Price nodded at that and looked at Ghost. “Get your hand checked out by Doc, just to make sure it’s a’right.”

“Yes sir.” Ghost replied before leaving into the manor.

Soap slung his arm around (Y/N)’s shoulders and looked at Price. “So, I ‘eard a little bird singin’ about how a certain someon’ gets answers out of folk’ easier than a bird finding a lad in a bar.”

“Yes, the infamous Chip and the corpses left behind. What’s your success rate?” Price asked pointedly.

“I haven’t killed anyone with my methods in years, I could get the information you need.” (Y/N) said with a hum. “I do have my drawing kit with me, it shouldn't be too hard to get the information we need.”

Soap whistled. “What’s the order, boss?”

“Sure, let me see what my son can do.” Price said, sounding a wee bit proud. “If you are anything like your mother then I will be proud of you.”

(Y/N) smiled widely. “Is the client here?”

“Aye, downstairs, I can take ya.” Soap said.

“Go ahead and report back to me when you are done.” Price said.

(Y/N) and Soap departed downstairs, the basement was rather cosy but it had a secretly expanded section they used to hold prisoners that they didn’t just want to have in one of their many off-site facilities.

(Y/N) looked at the man and took a picture of his face, he sent it to a friend and asked for information about him. “Can we put on some music?” (Y/N) asked hopefully. “Classical, for low stress.”

“Low stress?” Soap asked, confused as to why (Y/N) would avoid stress in this situation.

“Yes,” (Y/N) said cheerfully, “It prevents them from bleeding out too fast.”

Soap scratched the back of his neck but got a speaker, he put on some peaceful classical music and leaned back against the wall.

(Y/N) hummed along as he disinfected the arms of the soon-to-be armless man. “Hi, I am Chip, you may not know who I am as I don’t normally operate in the UK, but I will be the one extracting information today.”

Soap was genuinely put off by how cheerful (Y/N) sounded, he sounded chipper, another way his name fit him.

“Fuck you.” The man said and spit (Y/N) in the face.

(Y/N) sighed as he wiped the spit away. “Now that was rude, so let's begin~”

—

“Simon.” Soap entered the other man's bedroom to find him maskless and reading. Soap had a look of absolute dread on his face. “I am never watching (Y/N) get information, ever again. It was pure minging. I canny with that, I ken that he was raised by an absolute weapon but the way he chipped away at that poor lad's arm, I actually felt sorry for him.”

Simon looked at him unimpressed. “Can I get the translation in English?”

Soap sat down and just looked ahead with a thousand-yard stare. “He didn’t bleed out, Si, he is still alive but you can see bone on half the fucking arm!”

Simon shuddered a bit. “He did talk to me about it briefly but to actually see the effect on you.” He chuckled weakly. “Guess we don’t have to worry about not sending enough messages now.”

“The Polis will be all over us if we start dumping bodies like that.” Soap said.

Simon thought about it. “We could always go into the funeral home business, it could be a good way to dispose of bodies.”

“I will take that up with Price, now tell me, how did it go with the lad while away?”

Simon closed his book. “Not bad, he has night terrors, trouble sleeping, a bit delicate when it comes to food though. He has no trouble eating chicken eggs, just not other bird eggs.”

“Who can blame him? It’s a wee bit weird.” Soap said. “But I am glad it went well, (Y/N) praised you to Price so expect to be called in.” With that Soap stood up. “Ah and welcome home, Ghost.” He said before leaving.

Simon sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “Fucking hell…”

He didn’t have to wait long before being summoned, Simon went through the motions of putting his mask on before rolling his shoulders. Ghost looked into the cracked mirror. His emotions fell aside. He was nothing… without the mask. He served no one…. But Price. He was worth less than a dog… right?

Ghost walked out of the room and went up the familiar stairs to Price’s office. He knocked thrice before entering, Price was standing by a window smoking a cigar, the scent was strong in the room. “How have you been, sir?”

“Worried though those feelings have calmed down. The Russians left our turf though Nick stayed back this time, apparently done being a spy in their ranks, which I have been enjoying tremendously.” Price chuckled before looking at Ghost.

“I heard you did a good job.” Price continued as he sat down. “That’s good, I expect nothing less.” The silence was awkward before Price motioned for the chair.

Ghost walked in and sat down, he said nothing, he knew better than to talk when he was in the presence of Price.

“Give me your report.” Price said, though without the usual level of bark.

“We arrived at the winter cabin and stayed for a few days before we were ordered to burn and evacuate, we hit the ground and travelled to France where (Y/N) used his connections to get us a room in this weird hotel, I think it’s connected to an organisation of killers for hire. We met someone called the Purple Cardinal who knew (Y/N).”

“I am vaguely familiar with him, he must be in his 80’s by now.” Price said.

“(Y/N) said he was turning 79 next time. We didn’t stay for long, (Y/N) knew someone called König who lived alongside the border, he used to be close with (Y/N), and from what I saw I assume they had been lovers in the past. We stayed there until (Y/N) could secure a safe house in Sweden, we had just arrived the day before you called us home.” Ghost finished the report.

Price gave a nod. “Good, you have done everything you should. I want you to stay with (Y/N) as his main bodyguard, we both know he doesn’t need it but Roach has proven himself very useful here, I will keep him close and train him up for your old job, this is a promotion, Simon.”

Ghost straightened up. “Thank you, it’s an honour.”

Price looked at him. “If you prefer the mask, you can keep it on, but you have proven yourself capable of protecting the only person who matters to me, you don’t need Ghost anymore, Simon is more than capable.”

Ghost pulled the mask off and looked down at it before looking at Price. “Sir… there are more things you should know before giving me this task.”

Price leaned back and motioned for him to continue.

“I… your son is charismatic and charming beyond what I have ever met before, I know that no matter what you try, half the men and women who work for you will be in love with him the first day he is introduced, then it’s only a matter of time after that. Your son is amazing and I love him, but I will never act on those emotions, no matter what happened to us during our trip.”

“What happened?”

“We haven’t been physical, but we were close, it was me who ended it, (Y/N), as far as I know, will never be capable of loving me or anyone, the way he was raised prevented that. But he cares somewhat, he kept saying he would find a way to protect me.”

Price nodded a bit. “Thank you for telling me this, Simon. I will watch in these following weeks if what you claimed is true, then and only then will I make a judgement on what you just said. Feel free to leave.”

Simon stood up and left the room, still holding his mask. He had either signed his death warrant or he had just saved his own skin and gotten promoted beyond just this superficial promotion.

He walked into the security office and looked at Roach. “Congratulations.” He said.

Roach signed a ‘Thank you.’ and a ‘You too.’

Perhaps Simon was not totally screwed over and fucked… yeah… hopefully.

….

Hopefully

Tag list:

@one-green-frog

@rasberry-jupiter

I do have requests open if you want to request anything, I will probably get around to writing more, or at least try to.

[aikoiya]

LoZ - Gerudo Misandry Is Not Funny Or Okay

I find it really damn odd that so few people talk about misandry when they bring up the Gerudo or the societal norms of other Amazon-esque races.

And even when they do, it seems to always be done with a tone of levity behind it.

As if it isn't every bit as terrible as misogyny.

As if their biological situations don't make men absolutely vital to the continued existence of their people & culture.

So, treating men as less than is as terrible as men treating women the same.

And, honestly? I can't help but see this disregard by fans (especially the feminist fans) as very spiteful.

Like, how do these people not see how this isn't okay?

I mean, no wonder Ganondorf always ends up such a sack of shit!

Seriously girls, imagine what it would be like growing up the only female in a society of all guys.

No maternal figures, no female role models, no female friends, or even acquaintances. And you're unlikely to ever even see another woman until you reach 18-20.

Separated from the most important woman in your life at 3-6, if not birth. To be raised by a pair of warlocks who despise their neighboring kingdom & are intent on turning you into a vile, tyrannical witch.

And every guy around you knows nothing about actual women, just misogynistic stereotypes, so all you can do is apply those same stereotypes to yourself & there's just this general consensus that women are basically unnecessary beyond producing children.

They don't have a single clue about what it means to be a woman. They don't know anything about women's health. No one to explain things to you when you need them most. So, in the end, you're mostly left to figure it all out on your own.

And the only real examples of women you have are people that your adoptive fathers say are oppressing you & your people. So, all you can do is quietly just assume that all women = bad. And that includes you too.

So, all you can do is frantically do everything you can to make yourself useful to these people who, knowingly or unknowingly, look down upon others of your sex.

And therefore, unconsciously, you as well.

And you're expected to rule these people. To lead them into a golden age.

I can't even imagine how damn isolating it must be. I can't imagine the pressure. These are your people, yet even so, you are still alien to them. Still other. Still "not one of them."

And in many ways, a commodity.

Based entirely upon something that you have zero control of.

And upon reaching 18, you're likely used as a breeding mare.

And the only people who could ever truly understand your situation & the pressure that comes with it... are all dead...

Now, switch the sexes & you basically have every Gerudo Voe's reality.

It's no damn wonder that Ganondorf always becomes evil.

There's also the ridiculous superstition that "men bring about disaster."

And then we get into the detrimental affects this shit has on the Vai!

Look at how these women react to just seeing a dude!

And this chick can't even look a man in the eye!

Because, apparently, she's never even seen a real man in person before! So, Link has to freaking wear a full-face mask in order to get her to manage to speak to him!

And let's not even get into what the little Vai wear! The sirwal are fine, it's the tops that need to be changed.

Kids aren't supposed to show that much skin!

LoZ Cultural Masterlist 2

[chaggie-supporter]

Sunday special:

|PT.2: CLOCKTOWERS|

After what felt like hours, I finally made it to the bright clocktower. And boy, was it even bigger up close. Some people were gathered around the tower, some watching it with anxious looks, while others going about their day advertising, selling, arguing and fighting. It seemed the tower was the in the center of a square, much like ones on earth, with so many people that you can barely walk. Some were holding flyers and shouting out advertisements, Some buying the latest technology, others buying... 'merch'. Yeah, no thank you.

Some people were watching fights go down, betting on the winner. While others were walking around with glowing chains around their neck, following others that I can only describe as a creature that if you were to ever see, you would regret everything you had ever done that lead you to see it, so vile, rotten and most of all; utterly terrifying. I watch as they make others around them shake and cower in fear. I do not go anywhere near them, only watch from afar.

There are also multiple flyers stuck to the tower, advertising different services, places or jobs. I grab a few different flyers, 1 off the clocktower, one off a blue, eel-man hybrid looking person. Then, I look for a space to sit and take a look. I consider alleyways, but they look quite sketchy, and who knows what lurks in the dark.

Eventually I give up looking and take a seat with my back against the golden clocktower, and begin reading the first flyer from the nice gentleman.

" The Vees need you!"

Alright, who are the Vees?

"Have you ever wanted to become a famous face in hell? Well good news, the Vees are in need of some new hires! Maybe you could become an outfit designer or modeller for Velvette, and invent and wear the latest style before anyone has seen it!"

No. Definitely not. Not my style at all.

"If that isn't your strong suit, maybe become a famous film star for the great Valentino! Become famous within a few productions with amazing pay, and free housing!"

Movie star eh? Now that much more down my road. I could act.

I'll consider it.

"Or, the best option, you could become a new producer for one of Vox's many TV shows! Film the news, record lines for VoxTec's finest programs, and much more! Come, and become a member of the Vees today!"

TV director? That one would be tough. I mean, I can barely hold a pencil still, never mind a camera. Gonna be a hard pass from me. But still, movie star. Maybe.

I look up for a moment, and notice I'm getting quite a few stares, due to just sitting there, not fighting or selling or advertising, and it's quite awkward. But I push on, and look st the next flyer, the one from the clocktower.

" Hello you wayward sinners! Are you sick of damnation and wish you could become a heavenly being? Well now you can! Come to the Hazbin Hotel! The mislead pathway to heaven, founded by the daughter of lucifer, Charlotte Morningstar!"

Wait, so the daughter of hell itself is trying to work sinners into heaven? Why?

"Watch as she tried to get through her daddy issues by fixing you!"

Ah. There's the answer.

"Here we offer fun things! Such as half functional staff, specialised rooms, and 24 hour cleaning services from our lovely maid and dear friend, Niffty! Enjoy riveting conversations with our guests! We even have a walking, talking, spear welding guard dog! Wow! Come meet yours truly, the Radio Demon!"

Who us the radio demon? Do I want to even find out?

"All this and more st the Hazbin Hotel! Your misguided path to redemption starts here! Come now!"

A hotel, for getting into heaven? I'm skeptical.

But, do I have another way of getting out of this place?

No. No I don't.

So I could give it a try. But wher- ah.

"007 uptown, pentagram city, pride"

Uptown. Where's uptown? Like literally, upwards in this town? Can't be. But it's worth a try, I guess?

Just as I stand up, the clocktower rings 4 times, meaning either 4pm, or am. It's hard to tell down here, but I assume pm.

The clock also really hurt my ears with how close I was to it. Nonetheless, I get up and stretch my limbs out, before starting the walk in the only direction I can describe as 'up' which quite literally slopes upwards.

It also happens to be the direction of the other massive building I had seen earlier on that morning.

How long will I have to walk before I get answers? I walk through the streets again, they all look the same, honestly. Red, fire, drugs, alcohol. It's like they're the key words of this place. What a great place to be, am I right?

After another hour of walking, I finally see it, and actually, I feel stupid for not seeing it earlier. The other big building I had seen earlier, has a sign on top that, in big, bold, giant letters, reads: "HAZBIN HOTEL'. Like, wow. How stupid do you have to be to miss that one. I continue my journey to the building, hoping and begging on every last peice of my soul, that it isn't a scam, or worse, a way to lure people into God knows what. Anything seems likely down here.

I reach the so called 'Hazbin hotel', and brace myself for what is to come behind this door. Then I take a big, deep breath and

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

[tequiilasunriise]

Honestly, can we please take a step back and laugh over how absolutely hilarious the spectrum that is humanity? This turned into a bit of a tangent so the muskrat dragging will be under the cut.

Like, on one hand we have Elon Musk who is throwing the world’s biggest, most publicized temper tantrum over random internet strangers being mean to him and rightfully calling his bullshit out. This man is trying so hard to cover his tracks after buying Twitter and time after time after time again he keeps being his worse enemy. If he would just shut his mouth and stop giving the rest of the world fuel to clown the fuck outta him, Twitter wouldn’t be actively burning to the ground in real time right now. Sure, these memes are incredibly funny and I am very much thriving over these homefires, but I do feel bad for those who relied on Twitter for business like small artists. This is only the iceberg tip of his vileness, mind you.

Moving on, on the other side of the spectrum we have the backbone of our society, truly the peak, dare I say the PINNACLE of humanity- softly apologetic ao3 writers. Literally some of my FAVORITE ao3 experiences is opening up the update and seeing author’s notes like, “I’m so sorry I haven’t updated in a while, my cat’s ovaries exploded and on the way to the hospital I got into a major car crash but don’t worry the doctor who took care of me was amazing and next thing you know we’re wives now with like, two kids and yes my cat is perfectly fine after all of this time.” Obviously this is a dramatization, but we all know and have seen those authors who literally went through the most traumatic, the most absolutely life-changing shit and STILL genuinely apologize to their readers for?? For what??? Not updating this Wenclair Griddlehark AU 200k words enemies to lovers slowburn??? Like, you are the least problematic person to ever exist please don’t ever apologize for not cranking out surprisingly well-written smut about some popular Tumblr Sexyman getting the wizzy dizzy glizzy gulp gulp guzzler 9000 because real life obligations got prioritized. 

(In all seriousness, yes, I love getting updates on my favorite fics as much as the next media enjoyer, but self care babes self careeeee. You may be a content creator of any variety, but you’re your own person first. Don’t ever feel the need to apologize for living your life because us shippers, shitposters, and all in-between can (and should) wait.)

tl;dr: The sheer duality of humanity is absolutely hilarious and I think we should talk about this more.

[alj4890]

Right by Your Side

(Maxwell Beaumont x MC) in a Choices The Royal Romance one shot.

For @moodmusicmonday 's Luck of the Draw with the song

A/N I fell hard for this song while trying to think of something for it. So many different Choices books came to mind for this but then as I listened to the lyrics over and over, I kept going back to TRR book 2 and the mess with Riley's reputation and how Maxwell stood by her from the very start (and of course the running LOL) So, here's what my Maxwell shipping heart needed from the beginning of that storyline.

Masterlist

Right by Your Side

Riley felt numb that first night at Ramsford. Perhaps she was still in shock from having guards drag her away as if she was the most vile criminal ever to come to Cordonia. Maybe it was because everyone had seen pictures of her in her underwear and they would forever be on the Internet.

Or, was it because Fate had stepped in to keep her from having to make a decision?

She flopped on her stomach when the image of Liam standing before her in the hedge maze came to mind.

I don't need to wait any longer to make my choice. I love you.

Was that fear she felt in that moment? Was she afraid of hearing what her heart would say if he were to actually pop the question?

Was it because the man standing before her was not the one who had been by her side all along?

The one who came rushing to the airport to stop her from leaving?

Riley buried her face in her pillow. Hot tears began to stain the satin pillowcase as she muffled her cries against it. She didn't want to answer that. She didn't want to address any of the thoughts going through her mind.

Then why did I tell Bertrand that I was innocent with Tariq but I am in love with someone else?

She knew deep down that was the truth. That was the only good thing to come out of this horrible night.

She'd finally spoken about what was truly in her heart.

*****************

The next morning...

Half asleep, Riley mumbled for whoever was knocking to come in.

Maxwell poked his head in.

"Hey blossom."

"Hey."

He walked over and sat down on the edge of her bed. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

She pushed herself into an upright position.

"I'm fine, Max."

"Are you fine fine or fine?" He asked.

Riley couldn't help but smile. "I'm definitely on this side of fine fine but not quite there yet."

That dimpled smile of his she adored appeared, lighting up his entire face.

And her heart.

"Good." He crawled across her bed to settle comfortably next to her. "I can't stand to see you with tear streaks."

"It's not my best look." She tried to joke.

He draped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her close. "You know you're gorgeous, but yeah. Tears and your skin do not go well together at all."

She laughed while gently elbowing him in the ribs. "Thanks ever so much."

"Anytime." He jumped to his feet when they heard an all too familiar throat clear from the doorway.

With a disapproving glance to his brother, Bertrand walked in with a breakfast tray.

"What's all this?" Riley asked.

"Breakfast in bed!" Maxwell told her.

"Maxwell convinced me that when a young woman goes through something traumatic, that she needs rest and ample sustenance." Bertrand explained.

"Guys." Riley blinked back tears. "You shouldn't have gone to so much trouble."

"You are no trouble." Maxwell argued.

"Well..." Bertrand paused when Maxwell glared at him. "It isn't necessarily you, that is the trouble."

"The trouble is the situation." Maxwell added to try to smooth over his brother's words. "Not you."

Riley wiped at her tears. "This is why I should go back to New York. Look what happens when an outsider comes here."

She forced herself to look up at them.

"I don't belong in your world."

"You do!" Maxwell argued, jostling the tray as he sat down beside her again. "You fit in our world perfectly."

"Not perfectly." Bertrand corrected. "But we can fix that."

"How?" Riley asked.

"By teaching you everything a lady of the Royal Court would know." He explained. "Once you blend in with the other ladies, we'll be able to find out who sabotaged your moment to become queen."

Riley paled some. "I appreciate that, but I don't want to be queen."

Bertrand grimaced. "Be that as it may, you'll never truly be free to be with whomever you want if scandal is associated with your name. No Cordonian family would allow it."

Riley blinked as his words sunk in. "I see."

"Plus," Bertrand continued. "The Beaumont name has been tarnished because of our sponsorship of you."

"Oh no." She buried her head in her hands.

Maxwell was quick to comfort her.

"Hey, don't worry about us." He hugged her close. "I've made a mockery of the name Beaumont more times than I can count."

Bertrand rolled his eyes over that bit of family history.

Riley couldn't believe that not only was she in what seemed an impossible situation but that she'd somehow also lost her chance to be with the man she was secretly in love with.

"I'm so sorry."

"It isn't your fault." Bertrand gruffly argued. "But we are going to need your help to right this wrong. And," his stern demeanor softened, "you are a Beaumont."

"I am?" She asked.

"You're stuck with us." Maxwell winked at her. "For better or for worse."

"Definitely for the better." She winked back with a tremulous smile. "So? When do we start the lessons?"

"Once you've had a chance to eat and get ready for the day." Bertrand told her on his way out. "Meet us in the ballroom."

"Yes, your grace." She dipped her head in thanks.

A slight smile appeared on his lips. "Perhaps our training won't take as long as I once thought."

He bowed and left her alone with Maxwell.

"Give it to me straight." She pleaded. "How bad is my reputation and how horrible are these lessons going to be?"

Maxwell hesitated, raising his hands like a scale weighing each option.

"Crap." Riley flopped back on her pillows.

"It won't be all bad." He told her. "I'll be there to help you through it and to find ways to escape the boring lessons."

Riley rose up on her elbows. "That takes care of the lessons, but what about when I am back out in public?"

"Tell you what." He reached for her hand. "The moment it gets too much for you, just say the word and BAM! We run out of there."

"Really?" Her smile grew at the thought. "You'll run away with me when a noble is acting like a jerk or I accidentally mess up?"

"Yep." He squeezed her hand. "On my honor as a Beaumont."

"Then I think I can get through this." She sat up straight and began to pour some coffee into her cup.

Maxwell watched her settle in to the breakfast he and Bertrand had painstakingly prepared with a great deal of relief. His room shared a wall with Riley's and he'd heard her crying off and on during the night.

It was a slash to his heart as he thought of her in here alone, probably blaming herself for everything that happened.

Around four in the morning he decided that he was done playing the simple escort. From now on, he would protect her from the direct cuts and slurs that those of his rank would hurl her way.

Even if it meant irreparable damage to his family name, Maxwell would do anything for Riley.

*****************

Madeleine's home...

Riley's stomach churned. She wanted nothing more than to beg Bertrand and Maxwell to take her back to Ramsford so that she could hide there forever. She knew though that if she was to ever have a chance with the man by her side, she would have to find a way to get through this.

Swallowing nervously, she paused in the open doorway of Madeleine's ballroom. Her eyes darted over the familiar faces. Heads were already bent toward each other while fingers pointed at her. The few reporters allowed within the event had their cameras poised to capture the first images of Riley being called out for daring to return.

Just as fear made her legs twitch to run in the opposite direction, Maxwell settled his hand over hers. She looked up and saw nothing but pride in his eyes.

"You're doing great." He whispered, squeezing her ice cold fingers. "Keep your chin up. Here comes, Adelaide."

After the greetings, Adelaide stepped back from the pair, critically studying the way they stood together.

"Don't you make a cute couple?"

Riley immediately jumped on that. "We do, don't we?"

"We do?" Maxwell's eyes widened.

He wasn't certain if he more surprised by Adelaide saying it or Riley agreeing.

"The cutest." Riley added with her first genuine smile of the evening.

Maxwell tried to excuse the conversation as Riley probably needing something to latch on to help stop the gossip of her with Tariq. He didn't mind being the new source that Cordonian's biggest gossip would have spread around before they even walked across the ballroom. If that's the role Riley needed him in now, then he was more than ready to play it.

To prove his point, he kept his hand over the one she had resting on his arm.

"Ready?" He asked when they spotted Liam and Madeleine.

"As I'll ever be." She mumbled, instinctively moving closer to Maxwell. "I really need to talk to Liam and clear things up. Don't you think?"

He hesitated. He knew how much his friend had fallen for Riley. It would hurt Liam to hear she didn't return his feelings. Yet wouldn't it hurt more to wait until he saw her with whomever she was in love with?

"I think you should, just not right now." He barely nodded toward the nobles staring intently at them. "Not with this audience."

"You're right." She released a sigh. "I guess I have to wait. If only he had called me after everything happened, then I wouldn't be so nervous to how he'll react."

What if Liam refused to let her remain in Cordonia? What if he wouldn't let her try and clear her name? She'd never be able to be with Maxwell if that happened.

Lost in her tormented thoughts, she found herself dipping into a curtsy before the royal couple.

"Lady Riley." Liam lifted her hand to his lips, eyes revealing a wealth of adoration for her. "We should talk-"

"To our newly arrived guests." Madeleine finished for him.

"Right." Liam shot a pleading look at Maxwell.

Riley cleared her throat. "Congratulations you two."

Madeleine beamed at her while hugging Liam's arm close against her chest.

"Thank you. Liam is such an attentive fiance."

Riley managed to somehow not roll her eyes. If the countess had any idea that she wasn't wanting him back, then she probably wouldn't put on such a show.

"I can't imagine him being anything less." Riley managed to say with a straight face.

"We really must go greet our other guests." Madeleine told them. "Enjoy the party."

Maxwell released the breath he was holding once he and Riley were left alone. "That went well."

She chuckled. "Honestly I expected her to brandish a scarlet A while screeching for guards to throw me out."

Maxwell's grin brought out her own.

"She'd at least have the decency to wait to do that until they start serving dessert."

"Thank God for small favors."

Maxwell squeezed her hand once more. "Come on. We'll find out seats."

After enduring a brief conversation with Penelope and Kiara, Riley was able to relax for the time being once she was seated between Maxwell and Bertrand. Perhaps she would be able to get through this easier than she expected. She'd hoped to have Hana and Drake on her side, yet they were nowhere to be found.

At least she had Maxwell there to help her wade through this minefield of pompous manners and tradition.

*****************

"One night down." Maxwell collapsed on her bed with an oof.

Riley sank down beside him as she slipped her heels off. "Thanks to you."

"Me?" He shook his head. "Tonight was all you, blossom."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't have been able to get through it without you." She argued.

"We make a great team." He quipped.

"The best." She stressed.

The two jumped when there was a knock at her door.

"You think it's Bertrand?" She whispered.

Maxwell shrugged.

She peeped out the door to see a servant with a vase filled with roses. Taking them without a word, she quickly shut and locked her bedroom door.

"Oh!" Riley buried her nose in the fragrant blooms. "How beautiful! Did you get these for me?"

Maxwell hated that he hadn't thought of doing so. "No. Wish I had."

She set it down on the table, admiring the bouquet.

"There's something wrapped around that stem towards the left." He pointed out.

Riley unfurled the paper. "It's from Liam!"

"What's it say?" He got to his feet to read it over her shoulder.

The pair both felt guilty when they read the new king's heartfelt plea to meet secretly upon his balcony.

"I have to go." Riley folded the note and slipped it into the pocket of her dress. "I have to tell him the truth."

Maxwell felt a new slash to his heart. After these past few weeks of having her to himself, he realized he was falling in love with Riley. He couldn't tell her, since she was already having to let Liam down. The last thing she needed was more stress over her complicated love life. He just hoped whoever she loved realized what they had in her.

"Madeleine placed your rooms as far apart as she could." He explained. "You're not going to be able to sneak over there with all the nobles here."

Riley eyed her window. "There's more than one way out of this room."

"We're on the third floor!" Maxwell exclaimed. "You'll get hurt or worse!"

Riley opened her window and examined her path to Liam's room.

"Riley please. When I said worse, that meant death!" Maxwell pleaded. "Don't-"

She climbed out the window, perched on the edge, and winked at him. "Promise I'll be careful."

"Riley!" He harshly whispered.

He stuck his head out to watch her precarious walk around Madeleine's home. His heart was stuck in his throat when she struggled to reach the railing to Liam's balcony. She swayed somewhat until she got a good grip.

Once he saw her climb over safely, he ran to her bathroom and emptied the contents of his stomach. Maxwell had never been more terrified than he was in thinking he could lose her if she tumbled off the wall. He hoped Liam would realize the dangerous path she took and find another route back to her room. He honestly couldn't take seeing her try to make her way along that narrow ledge again.

******************

"Riley!" Liam rushed to her when he heard her land behind him.

"Liam." She stopped him from embracing her. "We need to talk."

"I know." He took her hands in his. "It's just so good to see you again. I need to tell you--"

"Liam, I'm in love with someone else!" Riley blurted out, unable to hear him say anything nice to her.

The guilt was killing her that she couldn't return his love.

Liam froze. He shook his head as if to clear it.

"I'm so sorry." Riley squeezed his hands before pulling away. "But somewhere along the way I fell in love with someone else."

"Is it Tariq? Is that why he was in your room at Applewood?" Liam asked.

"No! I've never felt anything for him. His being in my room was a big misunderstanding." She explained.

"Then who-"

"He doesn't know how I feel." Riley hedged. She needed to tell Maxwell how in love she was before anyone else found out. "And unless I can clear my name, I won't be able to be with him."

Liam folded his arms and leaned against the wall. His lips that had once been in a delighted smile were now in a firm line.

"Then we must do all we can to help you clear it." He decided.

Riley's eyes burned with tears.

"You'd, you'd do that? For me? After I just..." She lowered her head in her hands while shaking with sobs.

Liam gently took her in his arms, softly shushing her apologies.

"Riley, I want you in my life in whatever capacity you allow." Liam admitted.

It hurt to say he would settle for being her friend. He hoped that perhaps she would one day return his affections as time went on. But for now, he'd do what he could to keep her, protect her, and clear her name.

The two briefly discussed what to do during the engagement tour.

"How did you get over here?" He asked.

When she pointed to the narrow ledge, he paled over the danger she'd placed herself in.

"There is a hidden set of corridors through here." He opened a panel in his room to reveal the path servants traveled in the early morning hours. "At the end of the hall there is a door that opens out into the main loft at the top of the stairs."

"Thanks Liam." She hugged him. "And not just for an easier way back to my room."

His lips curved in a sad smile as he looked at her. "No need to thank me. Goodnight, Lady Riley."

"Goodnight."

*****************

Venice, Italy...

Bertrand and Justin were once again telling Riley how to act to continue to win over nobles.

"We're making progress." Maxwell repeated to her. "Not only with your reintroduction to society but in finding clues toward whoever is behind the pictures."

"Do you think she'll be there tonight?" Riley asked.

"It's the biggest event in town. Everyone will be there which means the press will be there in droves." He explained.

Justin wished them luck once they left the limo.

Bertrand went on inside, giving them a moment alone.

"You okay?" Maxwell asked.

"I..." She shook her head with a laugh. "Honestly, I wish we could get out of here. Go enjoy Venice at night."

Riley looked about, longing to be anywhere than on a mission.

"Cordonia is the first European country I've ever visited. Now I'm in Italy and I wish I could experience it as a tourist." She snorted softly. "An average, maxed out her credit card to get here, tourist."

Maxwell laced his fingers with hers. "You want to run away?"

Her head jerked up to look at him. "Could we?"

"Say the word, and we will use all our training to get out of here." He told her.

Riley couldn't help but giggle over the memories of their early morning runs around Ramsford.

Maxwell began to over exaggerate his stretches.

"Stop!" She burst out laughing, feeling all her tension melt away.

"Gotta get limber if we're to run." He explained with a smile, his dimples deepening over being able to make her laugh.

"You're crazy." She teased. "And I am so ready to call your bluff."

"Not bluffing." Maxwell corrected. "I promised you I'd run away whenever you needed us to." He leaned down, nose nearly touching hers. "So, m'lady? Do you need to run away?"

Riley's breath caught at his face so near her own. She could see all the different shades of blue in those ocean colored eyes of his. She could detect the light splash of cologne he preferred mixed with the cinnamon Altoids he was known to munch on whenever nervous.

She longed to lean forward the few inches and kiss him. She wondered what he would do. She assumed he would be shocked at first. Would he participate in the kiss once he got over the surprise? Would he admit he felt something for her?

Or would she walk away in embarrassment and heartache?

Maxwell realized his mistake the moment he got too close. He should have thought through his actions instead of just going with whatever he felt in the moment. Her face, the one he adored, was already hard to keep from staring at. Now he was able to see every single feature that held his attention.

Her eyes, green as the first leaves of spring, shined with warmth. The freckles that dotted along her lightly tanned skin dusted her upper cheeks and bridge of her nose. Her lips, petal pink with the bottom slightly plumper than the top one, parted as if ready to be kissed.

What would she do if he allowed himself to accidentally (on purpose) lean more forward so that his lips could brush hers? Would she gasp in delighted surprise or would she shove him away in disgust?

"There you two are!" Hana ran down the steps to embrace them, unknowingly breaking the sexual tension developing. "I was worried I would have to go in by myself."

Maxwell and Riley forced themselves back from one another. Both knew they couldn't run away now, especially with Hana so relieved to see them.

"Shall we, ladies?" Maxwell held his arms out to them.

The three got in line to be photographed.

**************

Riley somehow managed to get through the dinner without jumping out of her seat to confront the photographer. Maxwell sat across from her, smiling in encouragement each time her eyes met his. He was the only thing keeping her calm. She wasn't certain how she impressed both the Italian noble and Olivia, barely paying attention to what she said in response to the wine and Cordonia joining the EU. Yet somehow, she'd managed to rack up more points in improving her standing in Cordonian society.

If only it mattered in her having a chance to be with the man she wanted.

Bertrand seemed so proud of her performance. Would he still be if he knew she wanted his brother?

Riley longed to bang her head against the table. She was utterly exhausted from playing the part of a proper lady turned secret detective. She was bored hearing the small talk of the other ladies of the Court.

Then Penelope opened her mouth and asked her about Maxwell.

"What?" Riley bit out.

"Do you think Lord Maxwell would be interested in making a match with me?" Penelope repeated.

Riley glared at the model perfect woman. How dare she even think she could be with Maxwell! Didn't she listen to the rumors that he and Riley were a couple? That that was the reason they were always together now???

Riley was ready to tell her to back off. Then she caught sight of Bertrand off in a corner observing her and somehow tempered her answer.

"No offense." Riley tried to control her voice. "But you're not really his type."

"Oh." Penelope's lips formed a perfect pout made for lipstick commercials. "What is his type?"

"Someone gorgeous. Lots of fun." Riley felt her own heart drop over not being his type. "Someone who appreciates his sweet ways and how he--"

"So someone like you?" Penelope interrupted.

"Me?" Riley stared at her immediate sworn enemy. "Um..."

"Shh!" Hana softly shushed them. "Here he comes."

Maxwell bowed his head to the group. "Ladies? If you would excuse us, I need to have a word with Lady Riley."

"Of course!" Penelope beamed at him then at Riley as she followed the others across the room.

"What was that about?" He whispered.

"I'm not sure." Riley couldn't decide if Penelope was as horrible as she thought. "What's up?"

"Things are quieting down, so now would be a good time to find the photographer and do a little interrogation." He explained.

"Okay." She looked around the crowded place. "And how do we do that without drawing attention?"

"Oh, we're going to draw attention." Maxwell's grin turned mischievous. "Just the kind that doesn't let anyone know what we are really up to."

He led her to a less crowded area where a group of the press were near.

"Your call on what we should do to draw their eyes this way?"

Riley looked up at him as she considered a few options. He could always pretend to be throwing her out of House Beaumont or...

"You should propose to me."

Maxwell stilled. His eyes searched hers to see if she was messing around to only see a shuttered almost vulnerable look in the green depths.

With her hands clasped, she quickly told him he could then pretend to be confessing his love for something else, like gelato.

"Okay." He audibly swallowed.

"I'll give you the signal when I see the photographer." Riley added.

"Sounds good."

He cleared his throat loud enough for some people to glance over at them.

"Lady Riley?" Maxwell gently took her hands in his. "There's something I need to confess."

"There is?" She asked.

He nodded, completely serious at this moment. "I should have seen it happening, yet I was blind to what was standing right in front of me."

"Maxwell, what are you..." She trailed off when he swept down to one knee.

The press surrounded them, each trying to snap pictures of the romantic moment.

"I want to shout it from the rooftops." His smile bloomed. "That I love..."

Everyone waited with baited breath.

"Gelato!" He exclaimed.

Riley choked back a laugh as everyone else expressed their dismay.

As the group left them, grumbling over the lack of drama, Riley spotted the photographer.

"There she is!" She whispered, yanking him up.

The woman noticed the two and took off running.

"After her!" Maxwell nudged Riley into action.

The pair dashed out of the restaurant and down the dark streets of Venice in hot pursuit.

"I can't believe we're gaining on her!" Riley puffed, hiking the skirt of her dress higher to give her legs more freedom.

"I knew our early mornings would be worth it!" Maxwell teased.

They cornered the woman and got a credit card number of the one who paid her for the pictures. This only created more questions for them to find the answers to.

"We did it!" Riley launched herself into his arms, hugging him tight.

Maxwell stumbled back against a wall the moment her body collided with his.

They both stilled, save for their excited breaths. Their eyes met and before either could talk themselves out of it, their lips met in a desperate kiss.

Maxwell's hands slipped into her blonde hair as his lips moved over and over hers, memorizing the taste and texture of her mouth.

Riley kept her arms around his waist, gripping him as close as she could.

They broke apart to catch their breaths, hearts racing with more than just the mad dash across Venice had caused.

"Riley?" Maxwell couldn't make himself ask the question he needed an answer to.

"It's you." She breathed. "It's always been you. I fell in love with you with all the dress fittings and early morning wake up calls and--"

She moaned into the heat of his kiss. Her arms slipped around his neck as his hands drifted down her body.

"I love you." He muttered against her mouth. "So much."

Riley sank into his embrace, her leg wrapping around his hip as they kissed.

"We really need to find somewhere else to continue this." Maxwell groaned when she moved against him.

"My room." She stepped out of his arms. "On the train. Now."

He pulled her close to his side. "You're not worried someone will see and hear us?"

"I hope they do." She paused when it hit her that he might not want that to happen. "I'm sorry. I forgot that you can't be with me until my name is cleared."

"What are you talking about?" He asked, nudging her chin up.

"Bertrand said no family would allow me to be with anyone with my name associated with scandal." She reminded him.

"That doesn't matter with me." His smile gave her hope. "Don't you remember? You're a Beaumont."

Her eyes widened. "You mean..."

"It doesn't matter if we ever clear this scandal up." He pressed his lips to hers. "We can be together out in the open because we're Beaumont's. Let them try and say anything."

Tears sparkled in her eyes. They were for the first time in a very long time, tears of absolute joy.

[wonderpommey]

Oh well oh well, Roman throws tantrums and his distress calls aren’t heeded, Roman wants things and is beaten, Roman trusts his brother and is sent away. Nothing you say or feel matters. But hey, though the world is shitty, you still love secretly, as a kink, as a way to rebel and be your own man. But your dad dies and you don’t need to rebel anymore and you have to rewrite that you ever did… 

You shatter inside when your ride or die leaves you in a ditch, the woman who was gonna make you into a real boy, but you can’t acknowledge that pain, because Logan, as omniscient God who will never die, has asked you to take the person you loved the most upon the mountain and bind her and take a knife to her chest. (God did send an angel to stop Abraham’s murderous hand though. Logan? He sent Tom to make sure Roman was going to go through with it)

And who is going to listen to what you want and need anyway? So you say “see ya” and you laugh when she holds what you thought was your shared intimacy as a sword of Damocles above your head and no one notices. Suddenly, none of all the beautiful things you had pictured in your head in order to survive are going to happen and so no, nothing fucking matters. You’re not playing toy soldiers anymore, you’re playing with the people you love and the fate of the world. And if you don’t laugh through it, you’ll die. Consequences ugh? A bit of fucking grit?

You loved and you tried and you worked at it in your own incapable and broken way, you trusted and you negotiated but no one respects this new iteration of you, which is weird because doesn’t it remind them of dad a little? That was what dad wanted right? Pure paranoia and emotion, taking a knife to the people you love because you love them and having to watch as they held your hand to sink the blade into their heart. 

Yep, you can do this because nothing happens and nothing matters and the world is vile and America and all its women are one massive pussy to fuck, full of witches to burn and dad knew this. At least, this Jeryd guy is direct about his ugliness (he’s not wishy washy, he’s a guy), he doesn’t try to lure you in with his siren call only to let you fall when you jump. You can hop on his back and go to the bar and drink until you forget you ever felt anything.

“No I think it’s because you broke up with your boyfriend”, hey Rome? here’s a fucking mirror buddy! You really need to start taking a look at your reflection...

And before people scream at me, Roman was despicable this episode, there’s no way around it. I truly loathed every second of him on screen, but are there devastating psychological reasons behind it? Of course, both things can be true. Have you seen Logan’s scars on his back, have you heard he’ll be buried with a picture of Rose in his pocket above his heart?

[solmints-messyocdiary]

I just chose Iris Patron and Odile since those are the ones I’m most familiar with!

👁️ - Have they ever been caught in the act/seen killing? Did they kill the witness(es), or do they keep your OC’s secret? Odile and Patron

🎃 - What do you personally believe is most frightening about your OC? Are they scary in-universe or in a more meta way? Odile and Iris

💀 - If they were to be killed by a final girl/boy/person, what would be a fitting end for them, symbolically? Iris and Patron

Jas! Thank you for the interest! And that's completely fine. I haven't shared much of the others~

Sorry for the wait. Here they are!

👁️ - Have they ever been caught in the act/seen killing? Did they kill the witness(es), or do they keep your OC’s secret?

Odile has on multiple occasions. She has been unlucky enough to have to face 2 or even 3 people at the same time. Depending if the person managed to fully look at her and of how terrified she is of being followed back to her shelter, she might chase after the witness. However, it tends to be too risky so it's not something she does often unless she feels the witness has given her the vibe they'll expose her.

-

The Patron is a very careful man. He always tries to be 5 steps further than everyone around him. Many call it paranoia, he calls it being attentive. He is but a shadow the moment someone enters the room and sees the carnage. For the unlucky one who saw him, he'll spare them as long as they keep their mouth shut. If they speak... well... the Patron is a very understanding man, but they broke a promise and therefore they must die. Unlike his witnesses, he does keep his.

☆

🎃 - What do you personally believe is most frightening about your OC? Are they scary in-universe or in a more meta way?

Odile is definitely scary in a meta way. She has become a sort of folk legend where she lives at.

The she-ghoul that desecrates tombs of loved ones.

The bird-headed boogeyman that lurks in the graveyards to scare kids and teens from staying late at night.

The beautiful and mysterious Samodiva that can be seen floating around in the forest, consuming the male gravekeepers who ventured too deep into the forest.

The unlucky feral child that burned the church down and stole the priest away.

That is all but a fantasy, of course.

Odile is, in reality, just a very fearful and lonely girl who has been given the role of a monster.

-

Iris is hands down scary in the literal sense. Her kills are brutal and sadistic. Truly vile to see and witness. She actively enjoys tormenting her victims and chasing after them. Depending on her mood, she'll kill the witness immediately, not giving them a chance to scream...

Or... if she's feeling particularly "playful" she'll give them a few days of safety before killing them in their home. It's just an extended cat and mouse chase for her.

Anywhere she goes, terror and gore follows and paints the city she lurks in.

☆

💀 - If they were to be killed by a final girl/boy/person, what would be a fitting end for them, symbolically?

I am still not particularly sure how I want their end to be like yet!

But... I've brainstormed a little about it.

Iris would most probably die at the hands of the person she becomes obessesed with. Or simply, live by the sword, die by the sword kinda deal.

The Patron would either be a poetic death, dying by the one whom he learned to trust and love or perhaps... do a 180° and give him a boring death. The opposite of his eccentric self. Lacking in art.

[soulscursed]

penned by @tenacquity —

“Lord van Zieks, if I may—?”

Even now, the prosecutor's expression wore a distinct trace of disorientation, expertly masked by that stony stare of his to anyone not otherwise looking a touch closer—and indeed, Ryunosuke himself couldn't fight a satisfied quirk on his lips. He tucked himself into a corner of the defendants' antechamber, having since invited his friend there with him, and in hushed (some would argue intimate) tones did he speak.

“How exactly was I supposed to make a trip overseas without a proper farewell?” Something in his timbre became impishly chiding, though his smile remained. Truly, even without a formal goodbye, Ryunosuke had for awhile now determined he had no plans of leaving. And technically speaking, perhaps more than just one prosecutor was to blame. “I hope you won't find my presence too much of a bother.”

// °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖° we love them your honor

today's proceedings were a simple affair. Or, at least, they were meant to be. Barok had been at the bench before the start of the trial, unlike some lawyers who chose to loiter as long as humanly possible before court was declared in session. His paperwork in order, all the evidence records arranged neatly. He would be in and out in under an hour, with more time and attention to spare for priority cases.

Until that man had slipped in from the defendants' antechamber and stepped behind the bench across from the prosecution. As if he had any business being there, instead of on a steamship headed for the other side of the world.

Barok had made a mess of it all by the end. But what did it matter? Naruhodo, as he always did, swept in at the first crack that presented itself in the logical foundations of the case. And, hours later, he emerged victorious despite all the odds... the truth uncovered once more, as it was always meant to be.

It hardly mattered what little had gone awry on the prosecution's side... that Barok's meticulously collated evidence had slipped from his hands, and that he could only stand in stunned silence as court attendants scurried to pick his scattered files up off of the floor. That in one particularly damning moment, he had bellowed an objection ! and swung his boot down onto his ever-tormented bench — only to find his mind all of a sudden blank, and his objection subsequently withdrawn with haste. And that more than once, the judge had had to prod responses from the fearsome Lord van Zieks, whose mind had been lost entirely in the sight of his opposition. Barok's jaw had been clenched so tightly that he feared the bone might shatter like one of his hallowed chalices.

And now Naruhodo had dragged him here, no doubt to better indulge in Barok's humiliation. ( ... Barok knew better. Naruhodo's intentions were the furthest thing from malice. But knowing did little to soothe the burning in his pallid cheeks. He drew his cloak around him, as though it might shield him from Naruhodo's typical bright-eyed earnesty — and the sudden and dangerously cheeky confidence he had seemingly acquired overnight. It appeared that Barok was to be its first victim. )

❝ A bother ... ? ❞ van Ziek's lips pressed in a tight line, eyes casting over Naruhodo with a baleful glare. Or so it would seem to most. Naruhodo's powers of observation often proved frightening... at times even to the man himself, Barok liked to think. Barok did not smile; but Naruhodo had seen him enough now to know what distaste looked like on Barok van Zieks' face, and which stoic expressions lent more towards affection.

❝ ... You've certainly had your moments. Indirectly disparaging my reputation from the moment you stepped in the courtroom, with that accursed trial and all of its vile stunts. Wasting hours of the court's precious time with some archaic law, a desperate Hail Mary that no modern courthouse would endorse. You dared come to my offices with a child — my niece — and openly debate my vanity between yourselves, with no consideration for my presence. And then you rummage through my study for scraps to feed your fantastically absurd and supernatural fantasies. Yes. You've been a terrible thorn in my side since you came here, Mr Naruhodo. And yet... how can I deny the man who saved my life? ❞

His lip quirked upwards, despite the severe caution with which he navigated their conversation. It remained, thankfully, out of sight behind the cloak drawn up over his face. But the playfulness that bled into otherwise cold words could not be missed: ❝ Even if you are one of the Old Bailey's more troublesome barristers. ❞

... but Naruhodo's appearance only dredged up more questions. Barok sought the refuge of his cloak again, exhaling deeply and silently through his nose. Any effort to calm his thoughts, all of which seemed to have been sent scrambling by the sight of Naruhodo before him.

❝ What a way to announce your departure. ❞ Though he had known. Word travelled quickly, even if the Reaper case had been confined to a closed court; Ryunosuke Naruhodo had become a name to be feared and speculated upon. News that he might return to the Empire of Japan was a relief to some. Barok did not yet know whether he counted himself among them. ❝ Though not surprising. You and your predecessors have left your mark on this country's judicial and criminal history. You N— Japanese clearly have a flair for the dramatics. Or perhaps it's that your government chooses to send us their queerest students. ❞

His expression softened then, and he dared to lower his cloak from his face. Not more than an inch or two, but perhaps enough for Naruhodo to see him speak.

❝ ... I thought you had gone already. In truth, I don't know whether meeting you here again is a blessing or a curse. There was talk of your departure. Even a date and time. I watched it come and go, and all the while I wondered if my gratitude to you after that trial had been enough. But seeing you here again... ❞

Saddles me with unnecessary feelings, were words that he did not say aloud — could not say aloud. Instead, he lapsed into silence, searching Naruhodo's face for some hint of what would come next for them. Once, he looked upon that face with such spite and hatred. He had been blind, then.

If only Barok had known how to meet those kind eyes, he might have found all the answers that he had needed in them.